News Story not available This story has been published on: 2022-11-02. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. Almost 7 in 10 said so. In the third quarter of 2016, Debtwire canvassed the opinions of 60 private equity investors, prop desk traders, hedge fund managers, credit risk or workout managers, and emerging market investors in the Asia-Pacific region. Respondents were questioned about their expectations for the Asia-Pacific distressed debt and special situations market over the next 12 months. Distressed debt in general refers to high-risk debt securities which are in default or bear a significant chance of defaulting in the near future, and typically sell at a depressed percentage of par value with a potential for high return. Special situations, meanwhile, are circumstances in which the trade of a security is motivated by conditions pertinent to the situation, such as a change in valuation, making the situation event-driven. When respondents were asked to rate each country in the region based on its expected distressed debt/special opportunities in the next 12 months, 67% or almost 7 in 10 say Singapore offers few opportunities; 28% say it offers some opportunities and 5% say it offers no opportunites at all. Singapore is at the bottom of the ranking for countries offering significant opportunities. China is rated by the most respondents (97%) as a country offering significant opportunities in distressed debt and special situations, followed by South Korea and Vietnam both at 93%. More From Singapore Business Review Advertisement - Continue Reading Below This just in... Cambodian lawmakers from the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) look for their names during a meeting in Phnom Penh, Nov. 2, 2016. In a move that is troubling opposition party lawmakers, Cambodias National Assembly agreed to boost 2017 defense spending in the country by about 23 percent even though the country is at peace. We have noted that there is a contradictory point from the governments claims that our country has peace and good relations with neighboring countries, Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) chief whip Son Chhay told reporters after Wednesdays vote to approve the budget. We are spending almost the same as Vietnam, which is having a conflict in the South China Sea, Son Chhay told the Phnom Penh Post. Vietnam and China are among the countries that are at loggerheads over Beijings attempts to control the valuable waterway. Cambodias defense spending would run just over $470 million in 2017, according to an analysis by the newspaper. The Ministry of Interior and Public Order is slated to receive about $320 million, according to the analysis. The countrys total budget for 2017 comes to about $5 billion, local media reported. All told, the budget plan projects that Cambodias spending will increase by about 15.6 percent with increases for most sectors. Education spending for 2017 is expected to be about $667 million, while health spending for comes in at around $420 million, according to the Phnom Penh Post. While the CNRP was critical of the budget approved by all 66 members of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party who attended the parliamentary session, the opposition abstained from voting, according to local media. Son Chhay told reporters after the vote that the CNRP could not support the budget because of what it deemed insufficient increases in spending to the Health Ministry and Education Ministry. The spending doesnt respond to the needs of priority sectors such as education and health, but the defense sector keeps increasing, he said, according to The Cambodia Daily. Prime Minister Hun Sen left the assemblys plenary session early to attend a meeting with the Vietnamese and Lao prime ministers. The color of money While Hun Sen didnt stick around, the national budget reflects his priorities, and the increase in military spending is problematic as the prime minister has shown little reticence about using the military inside Cambodia. Hun Sens personal body guard has been linked to abuses of power including the 1997 grenade attack that killed 16 people in what appeared to be an assassination attempt that targeted CNRP leader Sam Rainsy. Three members of Prime Minister Hun Sens military bodyguard, convicted of the brutal beating of a pair of opposition lawmakers near the National Assembly last year, were freed earlier this month after serving just one year in prison. Hun Sens bodyguard unit also deployed military helicopters, navy vessels and troops for exercises close to CNRP headquarters in downtown Phnom Penh. The prime minister, who has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades, has also made it clear that he will use the military to crush any color revolution in the country. All armed forces are obliged to absolutely ensure that Cambodia is free from any color revolutions, the Cambodian strong man wrote in a Facebook post. Such a revolution will harm peoples happiness and peace in Cambodia, he wrote. Armed forces shall protect the legitimate government. He made similar remarks during the Police Academy of Cambodias graduation ceremony. Hun Sen has inveighed several times against color revolutions, named after a series of popular movements that used nonviolent protests under colored banners to topple governments in countries of the former Soviet Union during the 2000s. Civil society groups and their supporters began staging Black Monday protests soon after the arrests of officials from the human rights group ADHOC that came in connection with the governments wide-ranging probe into an alleged affair between CNRP leader Kem Sokha and a young hair dresser. While the protests began as an attempt to pressure the government over the arrests, it has morphed into a more generalized campaign against government abuses, including land confiscations. Demonstrators wear black during the Monday protests as a symbol of solidarity. Land concession debate The seizure of land for developmentoften without due process or fair compensation for displaced residentshas been a major cause of protest in Cambodia and other authoritarian Asian countries, including China and Myanmar. Land issues were also part of the budget debate on Tuesday as Son Chaay blamed the countrys need to borrow $1 billion on the governments inability to collect taxed from companies with land concessions. Cambodia leases out large parcels of land to private companies that use the land concessions for growing crops or other economic activity. There is a conspiracy to let the concessionaires violate their contracts and sell the concession land or continue their deforestation, he said according to the Phnom Penh Post report. Deforestation is a big issue in Cambodia and other Asian countries. Companies with large land concessions often clear cut valuable timber from what are supposed to be protected forests. The timber is then smuggled into China where it is used to make high-end furniture. Senior CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap defended the budget, saying it will help the country achieve its objective. Spending for the 2017 budget is in response to the priorities and needs of the various ministries and institutions to achieve their policy objectives, he said, according to the Cambodia Daily. Reported and translated by RFA's Khmer Service. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. Apartment buildings surround the Monument to the Founding of the Workers' Party (center R) in Pyongyang, North Korea, July 17, 2016. Real estate brokers have popped up in North Korea to take advantage of the rapid increase in illegal private home purchases and sales in the communist nation as people scramble to secure shelter amid an early cold spell, sources inside the country said. Individual citizens who are forbidden by law to buy or sell houses on their own must rely on the brokers because they are connected to regional housing management departments and judicial authorities, they said. Most of the buyers are North Koreas nouveau riche who have earned money through their positions as Workers Party officials. In Chongjin, capital of North Hamgyong province, there are two brokersMr. Park from the Sunam area and Mr. Choi from the Pohang areawho provide real estate services to buyers, said a source from the province who requested anonymity. The brokers compile lists of people who put houses up for sale in expensive areas and pressure them to use their services to sell the properties, he said. The brokers usually make commissions of 20-30 percent on each transaction, he said. Others involved in the real estate business are mostly unemployed people or ex-convicts who are closely related to law enforcement authorities, the source said. Now an early unexpected cold snap is pushing up demand for private homes, the source said. The demand for private homes has increased because of the recent unexpected cold, he told RFAs Korean Service. Despite some major construction projects, including private homes, which are under way in North Hamgyong province, the housing shortage for North Korean residents remains the same, he said. Home prices have risen due to the housing shortage, and real estate brokers have appeared, he said. Bribe republic Although buying and selling homes is illegal in North Korea where all housing is controlled by a housing management department under each regional peoples committee, those who want to purchase a home usually pay brokers bribes to expedite residence registration and moving procedures, said another source from North Hamgyong province. Brokers threatening insistence that home sellers use their services force the sellers to lower their asking prices, which allows the brokers to make more money on top of their commissions, he said. Those who resist their demand have difficulties trying to sell their houses. The brokers are closely connected to authorities, so people with money use the brokers for housing transactions, he said. The Sinam area of Chongjin, which prospered for many years thanks to its fishing industry, fell victim to a recession years ago, and housing prices there fell, he said. But prices for homes in the Sunam neighborhood have risen significantly for several years because the citys largest market is located there. The newly constructed apartment building in front of [former leader] Kim Il Sungs statue in the Pohang [area of Chongjin] cost about $20,000, [but]private houses in Sunam cost more than $50,000, the source said. Written by Jieun Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Soo Min Jo. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Bangladesh Border Guard personnel stand watch for illegal entry of Rohingya Muslims along the banks of the Naaf River, Nov. 23, 2016. Bangladeshs government complained Friday about an influx of Rohingya Muslims from neighboring Myanmar, following reports that hundreds have crossed the border as they flee killings and the burning of homes in Rakhine state. Border-police officials from both countries met Friday in the southeastern Bangladeshi district of Coxs Bazar to discuss the situation along their shared frontier, while Dhaka summoned Myanmars ambassador to lodge a complaint about the violence in Rakhine a western state in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar where the Rohingya minority is concentrated. [We have] raised our deep concern at the situation in Rakhine state. We have urged them to improve the situation there for the Rohingyas to return to their homes, Bangladeshi Additional Foreign Secretary Kamrul Ahsan told reporters after summoning Myanmar Ambassador U Myo Myint Ahasan to his ministry. Ahsan said he handed the envoy a diplomatic letter conveying Bangladeshs concern about the new influx of Rohingya Muslims into Teknaf and Ukhia, two sub-districts in Coxs Bazar. We have told them that [Rohingya] are sneaking into Bangladesh, Col. Khandker Farid Hasan, the southeast commander of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), told reporters in Coxs Bazar after a meeting with a 31-member delegation representing Myanmars frontier police. They informed us that they were also aware of this. We, the two parties, discussed ways to stop such illegal entry, he said, noting that the two sides had agreed to cooperate in sharing information about cross-border movements of Rohingya. The ambassador and members of the border-guard delegation from Myanmar did not talk to Bangladeshi media afterward. The comments by Bangladeshi officials were the governments first admission that Rohingya had succeeded in crossing into southeastern Bangladesh amid a crackdown by Myanmar authorities that followed the early October killings of nine Myanmar police officers during attacks on border posts in Rakhines Muangdaw township. At least 86 people have been killed and more than 30,000 displaced by the violence in Rakhine, the worst outbreak since hundreds were killed in inter-communal violence in 2012, which caused thousands of Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, Reuters reported Wednesday. Last week, Bangladeshi officials said they had sealed the border and pushed back hundreds of Rohingya who were seeking refuge in Bangladesh. On Wednesday, Abdul Majid, the officer-in-charge of police in Teknaf, told BenarNews,an RFA-affiliated online news service, that the border guard and coast guard had transferred 70 Rohingya and four human smugglers into police custody after they were caught crossing the frontier. They will obliterate us Hundreds of Rohingya have made it over to the Bangladeshi side while others are still waiting to cross the frontier along the Naaf River that separates Rakhine from Coxs Bazar, according to news reports and eyewitness accounts this week. Md Ayub, a Rohingya who succeeded in crossing the river, said he had fled Rakhine to save himself. From here, I can see our village burning. Allah knows what happened to my wife, daughter, mother and others. Please save us. They will obliterate us, he told BenarNews by phone. Ayub said the Myanmar security forces set fire to villages along the Naaf River to force Rohingya to sail into Bangladesh territory. Hundreds of Rohingya have been waiting to cross into Bangladesh. They have no way to save lives, he said. Earlier this week, New York-based Human Rights Watch reported that an analysis of satellite imagery showed that 820 additional structures had been destroyed in five Rohingya villages between Nov. 10 and 18, bringing the total number of burned buildings that HRW claims to have documented in Rakhine to 1,250. On Nov. 16, a spokesman for Myanmars government refuted HRW allegations that 430 buildings in three Rohingya villages had been burned, saying the actual number was 155 and militants had committed the arson. The Rohingya are a stateless people who have suffered from persecution in Myanmar, where they are considered to be Bengalis, or illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. About 300,000 to 500,000 Rohingya are thought to live in Bangladesh, mostly in Coxs Bazar district, according to Bangladeshi government estimates. At least 1,000 Rohingya have entered into Bangladesh; many of them have taken shelter inside the refugee camps, a resident of a Rohingya camp in Ukhita told BenarNews on the condition of anonymity, referring to the latest influx. Reported by Kamran Reza Chowdhury for BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. Myanmar refugees who fled their homes in northern Shan state during armed clashes on Nov. 20-22 huddle in a shelter in Muse township, Nov. 23, 2016. Residents of a Myanmar border town who fled to China to escape fighting between four ethnic armed groups and the government military in northern Shan state are returning home at the urging of authorities trying to restore stability in the area, town administrators and local residents said Wednesday. About 3,000 Myanmar citizens fled across the border after the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and Arakan Army (AA) staged a coordinated attack on military outposts, police stations, and a trade center in Muse and Kutkai townships. Ten people were killed and 33 others were injured during fighting on Nov. 20-22. About 700 people came back to Muse yesterday, and 106 others have returned home today because the situation where they live is becoming stable, said Sai Khein Kham, a Muse district administration department official. All markets and shops have reopened, and banks are open half a day, according to department officials. As of Wednesday, about 3,700 people displaced by the hostilities remained in Muse, which sits on the Shweli River across from Ruili in southwestern Chinas Yunnan province, they said. Government soldiers and local militias are overseeing security in the town, they said. Still afraid Some local residents report that the fighting has not ended. We have heard the sound of opening fire every 10 minutes since yesterday, but not the direct fighting, said a Myanmar man who had fled into Chinese territory. The displaced persons staying in Muse said they are concerned about the stability of the situation there. One woman said she feared that soldiers would force her sons to become their porters as long as her family remained in the town. I am worried only for my two adult sons that they not be taken to be porters, Ma Aye Khine told RFAs Myanmar Service. Another woman, Than Nyunt, said she wants to return home but fears getting caught up in the clashes. I dont want to be here because my health is not good; I had a stroke, she said. I left my home because I was very afraid of being affected by the fighting. Meanwhile, local authorities are continuing to encourage residents not to abandon homes over rumors of an attack. Zaw Min, an administrative official in Muse, said the towns general administrative department will announce any further news about the situation and work with other departments on security matters if need be. Because of rumors, people are fleeing their homes, he said. Because there is no one at home, the houses can be burglarized and burned. Thats why we have requested that people not leave home. The towns security is becoming stable. Call to sign NCA The hostilities prompted State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to issue a written appeal on Wednesday urging the ethnic militias in the northern part of Shan state to sign the governments nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA). Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars de facto leader, has made peace and national reconciliation the main goal of the civilian National League for Democracy government. Eight ethnic armed groups signed the accord in October 2015, but the AA, MMNDA and TNLA were excluded because of their ongoing clashes with the army. In order to immediately end the armed conflicts in northeast Shan state, I strongly urge the armed groups to join the governments peace process by signing the NCA, Aung San Suu Kyi wrote in her capacity as chairperson of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center. She also encouraged the rebel groups to work with civil society to find ways to strengthen the monitoring mechanism that will ensure that the cease-fire accord is not violated, work towards the countrys goal of peace, and cooperate with stakeholders to take part on equal terms in the next round of the governments peace talks in February 2017. China, which has provided shelter and medical services to those who have fled across the border in recent days, said on Tuesday that it will continue to support Myanmars peace process. The Kachin Independence organization, the political wing of the KIA, said Wednesday that the recent fighting in Shan state was a limited war that was not meant to derail the governments efforts to achieve national reconciliation. A statement issued by the KIO said the KIA, MNDAA, TNLA and AA have engaged in the limited war in response to offensives by national army soldiers. The KIO also said it will be very careful not to harm the interests of the people with the new hostilities. Reported by Kan Tha, Ye Htet, and Aung Thein Kha for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. The location where three Uyghur men were arrested near the Sultan Chusku Glacier in the Ladakh region of Kashmir in June 2013. UPDATED at 3:25 P.M. EST on 2016-11-23 India is set to send back to China three Uyghurs who were jailed in 2013 for illegal entry and espionage, almost two years after they completed Indian court-ordered prison terms, documents show. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided in May to deport Abdul Khaliq, Abdul Salam and Adil to China, although their petition seeking asylum in India was pending before a court in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, according to official documents accessed by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. The three were arrested by the army near the Sultan Chusku Glacier in the Ladakh region of Kashmir, whose northeastern corner borders Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in June 2013. They were convicted of illegally entering India and espionage, and jailed for 18 months. But after completing their sentences in January 2015, they have remained locked up in a prison in Leh district under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA). The act allows for detention without trial for up to two years. State officials said they only recently received directions from the ministry to arrange for the trios deportation. The process of preparing travel documents for the three Uyghurs has begun and they will be sent back to China very soon, Ravinder Raina, a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which belongs to the ruling coalition in Kashmir, told BenarNews on Tuesday. They had entered the Indian territory with an intention to spy and pass on information to security agencies in China. They are a threat to national security, Raina said. On Nov. 11, the state government requested that the Jammu and Kashmir High Court dismiss the trios petition for asylum in India, he said. Fear of China The three Uyghurs have consistently denied charges of spying for the Chinese government, and have maintained that they entered India to escape persecution in China. According to their petition for asylum submitted in court, they said they feared being prosecuted or even executed if sent back to their native country. The Uyghurs, a Muslim minority in China largely concentrated in Xinjiang, have been fleeing to other countries to escape Chinese repression. The authorities there consider them to be separatists and terrorists, and have cracked down on their religion and culture. The Turkic-speaking minority is also spread across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkey. The petition states that the three will face charges for crossing into another country and there is a high risk that the petitioners will be tortured upon their return to China. In addition, they will face the prospect of life imprisonment or a death sentence, according to the petition. Indias MHA, however, had decided to deport Khaliq, Salam and Adil before the court heard the trios plea for refuge. In a letter dated May 17, the MHA wrote to the Jammu and Kashmir state government: ... it has been decided to deport/repatriate three Chinese nationals Adil, Khaliq and Abdul Salam, R/O Xinjiang, China (Uyghur), presently lodged in district jail Leh to their native country. You are, therefore, requested to complete the deportation of the above China (Uyghur) nationals in consultation with [the] Ministry of External Affairs (East Asia Division) for issuance of travel documents for deportation to their native country at the earliest provided there is no other court case pending against them and they are not required in any other case. Right to be heard Rights activists have come out in support of the three men, saying they should be given a fair hearing. India should respect the international law that aims to safeguard the interests of refugees and give them the right to be heard. It should also extend them the right to access a counsel before taking an irretrievable decision, V. Suresh of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, a New Delhi-based human rights organization, told BenarNews. China has no respect for issues faced by Uyghurs and there is a possibility of insecurity to their lives if they are deported. Nobody can say with [a] guarantee if they were spying for China, but India should respect the aspect of international law, which allows them certain protection, he said. Ahsan Untoo, chairman of the International Forum for Justice and Human Rights, said Indian authorities had no valid reason to keep the Uyghurs in prison for two years after they had finished their sentences. [T]hey are still languishing in prison under the PSA. And they are only being deported now because they cant be kept in prison any longer. Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir are blatantly misusing the PSA, Untoo told BenarNews. Uyghur activists echoed the criticism of India's decision. "So far the ones who were deported back to China met with worse consequences. And the international community knows about it," said Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress, a diaspora organization. "In this kind of situation if India deports these Uyghurs back to China, their consequence will be even worse," he told RFA's Uyghur Service. Omer Uyghur founder of Omer Uyghur fund, a Pakistan based Uyghur organization, urged world rights activists "to pay attention to our situation." "They have to take this issue seriously. If these Uyghurs are deported back to China and get killed, how it does look in the world?" he told RFA. "Pakistan has deported a lot of Uyghurs, but we hope that India would not make this same kind of mistake. But they are about to do the same. If they are deported back to China, they too will be disappeared," added Omer Uyghur.. But Indian state authorities defended the trios ongoing detention. Any person who enters India with anti-national intention or commits an act that can be a threat to national security can lawfully be held for two years under the PSA. We will now complete all necessary formalities and deport them to China at the earliest, Prasanna Ramaswamy, Leh districts Deputy Commissioner, told BenarNews. Reported by Amin Masoodi for BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, and by Jilil Kashgary for RFA's Uyghur Service. Uyghur comments translated by Mamatjan Juma. MAHILEU, Belarus -- Police in the eastern Belarusian city of Mahileu have detained two teenagers suspected of desecrating a monument that honors victims of the Holocaust. Alyaksey Kaplan, the chairman of the Directorate of the Jewish Community in Mahileu, told RFE/RL that police informed him on November 23 that two "skinheads" were detained and two other suspects were being sought. The suspects face hooliganism charges. Local authorities in Mahileu said on November 21 that unknown perpetrators had poured black paint on the memorial stone during the weekend. The stone marks the site of the Jewish ghetto in Mahileu during the occupation of the town by Nazi Germany in World War II. In October and November 1941, troops from Nazi Germany killed more than 10,000 Jews at the site. In June 2012, vandals poured brown paint on the same stone. The perpetrators were never found. Three years ago this week, a nation rose up and demanded a better life. Three years ago this week, a middle class revolution commenced. Three years ago this week, the Euromaidan was born. And it's worth remembering the Euro part. Because the popular uprising that eventually overthrew the corrupt and autocratic regime of Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych was driven by a desire to be part of Europe. It was an uprising in support of European values. And it is also worth remembering that the more than 100 protesters who were killed during the Euromaidan, died for the values of Europe. They became the first people in history to die for the idea of the European Union. And it's worth remembering that the power and magnetic pull of this European idea was deeply and profoundly threatening to Vladimir Putin's autocratic and kleptocratic regime. So threatening, it appears, that the Kremlin decided that it needed to be destroyed -- first in Ukraine and then in Europe itself. In the wake of the Euromaidan, Moscow launched one type of hybrid war aimed at paralyzing and destabilizing Ukraine -- sending little green men to annex Crimea and to wreak havoc in the Donbas. And it launched another kind of hybrid war in Europe -- weaponizing information and the democratic process to bring xenophobes and Euroskeptics to the brink of power. Three years ago European values were on the march in Ukraine. Today, they're in retreat -- in Europe. Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page. NOTE TO POWER VERTICAL READERS/LISTENERS/VIEWERS: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday this week and my traveling to a conference next week, all Power Vertical products will take a hiatus until Wednesday, November 30. The Daily Vertical will next appear on Wednesday, November 30, The Power Vertical Podcast will next appear on Friday, December 2, and the Power Vertical Briefing will next appear on Monday, December 5. The European Parliament has warned that "hostile propaganda" by Russia against the EU is growing, while urging member states to increase their efforts to counter disinformation. The move drew an angry response from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who lashed out at the European Parliament for lecturing Russia on democracy. Lawmakers voted on November 23 in favor of a motion condemning Russian state media outlets like the television channel RT and the news agency Sputnik for disseminating "absolutely fake" news. They said the Kremlin was using "a wide range of tools and instruments", including think tanks, multilingual TV stations, "pseudo news agencies", and social media to spread fake information, challenge democratic values, and divide Europe. The resolution says the Kremlin has stepped up its propaganda efforts against the EU since Russia's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea territory in 2014. Lawmakers urged the European Union to boost its "tiny" communication force and invest more in "awareness raising, education, online and local media, investigative journalism, and information literacy." They said they were "seriously concerned by the rapid expansion of Kremlin-inspired activities in Europe, including disinformation and propaganda seeking to maintain or increase Russia's influence to weaken and split the EU." Putin told reporters in Moscow that the resolution signaled a "political degradation of democratic ideas in Western society." The motion was approved by 304 votes to 179, with 208 abstentions. The EU Parliament also warned against propaganda from the extremist group Islamic State (IS), Al-Qaeda, and other nonstate actors. Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters A 34-year-old Georgian transgender woman has died in a Tbilisi clinic after succumbing to injuries inflicted on her during an assault in October. Zizi (formerly Zurab) Shekeladze was hit several times by a concrete bar and her throat was slashed by a blade several times in the Georgian capital on October 14. She had been hospitalized since then. A man suspected in the attack, Giorgi Murjikneli, was arrested and charged with attempted murder on October 15. A preliminary hearing into his case is scheduled for early December. LGBT rights defenders in Georgia have demanded the suspect be charged with a "hate crime." Although homosexuality and gender-change are legal in Georgia, society's view of the LGBT minority remains negative. In 2013, Georgian LGBT activists were severely beaten up in Tbilisi after trying to hold a rally against homophobia. Based on reporting by Apsny.ge and 1tv.ge Pakistani officials say at least nine civilians have been killed by an artillery shell fired from Indian-administered Kashmir that hit a passenger bus in the Pakistan-administered part of the disputed region. The bus was travelling in the town of Lawat in the Nellam Valley to the northeast of Muzaffarabad when it was struck by the shell on November 23. Two other civilians also were killed by a shell in the barrage that struck their home in a village near Kashmir's de facto border. Pakistani officials say at least 11 people were also wounded by the artillery attack. Pakistan's army said its troops on November 23 were firing back against Indian military positions in the area, which is in the upper belt of the valley straddling Kashmir's de facto border. An Indian military spokesman said Pakistan's army initiated "indiscriminate" fire on Indian army posts nearby. Pakistan and India have recently been trading fire across the line of control that divides Kashmir between the two nuclear-armed countries. Tensions have intensified since militants attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir in September. India alleges the militants were supported by Pakistan, but Islamabad denies the charges. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP Mohammad Nayeb-Zehi was among the hundreds of worshippers who gathered on September 30 at the Great Mosalla, a religious site in Iran's southeastern city of Zahedan, for Friday Prayers. Just hours later, the 16-year-old's family learned he was dead. Nayeb-Zehi was among the scores of people gunned down by security forces in a brutal crackdown following anti-government protests in Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan-Baluchistan Province, which is home to the country's Baluch minority. "He was a simple laborer and not political," Nayeb-Zehi's brother, Ahmad, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda in a telephone interview from Zahedan, adding that his sibling had been shot in the heart. "We're in pain, and we cannot accept it." The crackdown in Zahedan came amid weeks-long nationwide protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who died on September 16, days after she was detained by Iran's morality police. In Sistan-Baluchistan, public anger at the authorities escalated amid reports that a 15-year-old Baluch girl had been raped by a police official in the province's southern port city of Chabahar. The violence erupted soon after protesters gathered outside a police station near the central mosque in Zahedan. Members of the crowd chanted anti-government slogans, and some threw rocks. Security forces responded with deadly force by firing on the crowd from the station, according to witnesses. Security forces also raided the central mosque and the nearby Great Mosalla and opened fire on worshippers using live ammunition, rights groups said, adding that many were shot in the head, heart, neck, or torso, revealing a clear intent to kill or seriously wound. At least 94 people were killed and 350 wounded on that day, referred to as "Bloody Friday," according to the U.S.-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. At least 13 minors were among those killed, including Nayeb-Zehi. The victims were overwhelmingly Baluch -- a mostly Sunni ethnic group that has long faced disproportionate discrimination at the hands of the Iranian authorities. "He was martyred inside the Mosalla while holding his prayer mat," said Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi. Nayeb-Zehi's family first visited Zahedan's Khatam al-Anbia hospital, hoping he was among the wounded. They later found his body in a seminary at the Great Mosalla. "We entered a room there and saw about 10 bodies," said Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi. "[Mohammad] was among them." He said the authorities prevented the family from filming the scene. "I told them this has to be documented, it has to be published by international media," he said, adding that footage later emerged on social media showing the gruesome scene at the seminary. The family refused to send Nayeb-Zehi's body to the morgue. Instead, his body lay in the living room for around 24 hours before he was buried. "We said he was martyred and there was no need for an autopsy," said Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi. The authorities accused Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group, of attacking the police station. The group is recognized as a terrorist organization by both Iran and the United States and has previously claimed deadly attacks in Sistan-Baluchistan targeting Iranian security forces. But local and independent sources have rejected the authorities' claims. The authorities have also reported a much lower number of fatalities, announcing that only 19 people, including several members of the security forces, were killed. Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi said the authorities were "rubbing salt into the wounds of the people" by claiming "terrorists" were involved. He said he witnessed a military helicopter shooting at civilians near the Great Mosalla. "I haven't even seen such scenes in Hollywood movies," he said. "A helicopter was shooting at people. A lady was shot in front of my eyes." RFE/RL could not verify his account. But activists have accused security forces of shooting at protestors from helicopters. "I don't know what the intention of this crime was," he said. "Our only demand from the establishment is for the murderers of our [family members] to be punished." The killings have led to widespread anger in Sistan-Baluchistan, one of Iran's poorest provinces. Anti-establishment protests have been reported in Zahedan since the crackdown, including on October 14 and October 21, when protesters took to the streets after Friday Prayers and chanted "Death to the dictator." During his Friday Prayers sermon on October 21, influential Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi said senior officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were "responsible" for the September 30 killings. "We are surprised by the silence of the high-ranking officials," he said in his sermon, which was posted on his website. "Scores were killed here without any reason. I don't have the exact number. Some have reported 90, some say less, some say more," Ismaeelzahi added. He also said people will not be satisfied until "those who killed the people" are brought to justice. The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center said the events of September 30 amounted to "a massacre of protesters by security forces." "The government's total denial of responsibility for the massacring of citizens by its security apparatus is consistent with similar past denials and is evidence that internal calls for investigation of such crimes are insufficient," said the rights group, which documents human rights violations in Iran. Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militia fighters say they have completed the encirclement of the Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Mosul -- cutting off militants in the northern Iraqi city from the rest of the country and from Syria. An umbrella group that brings together pro-government Shi'ite militia groups said their advance on the west side of Mosul linked up with the positions of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters on November 23. Peshmerga, government troops, and allied Sunni Arab tribes already hold positions on the northern and southern outskirts of Mosul, while government forces have been slowly advancing within the city's eastern districts. Meanwhile, Iraq's military said a U.S.-led coalition air strike early on November 23 "disabled" a fourth bridge across the Tigris River within Mosul. That leaves IS militants with only one bridge to use for its supply lines between the two halves of the city. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP A parliamentary deputy in Kazakhstan has proposed that the country's capital, Astana, should be renamed to honor longtime President Nursultan Nazarbaev. The suggestion was proposed on November 23 at a joint session of parliament by Quanysh Sultanov, a deputy in the Mazhilis, the assembly's lower chamber. Sultanov said Astana could be renamed either as Nursultan or as Nazarbaev. Information Minister Dauren Abaev said any final decision on renaming Astana would be made by Nazarbaev himself, but could require a constitutional amendment. Mazhilis deputy Vladislav Kosarev said that, if Nazarbaev agrees to the name change, an ad hoc commission would be formed to study the issue. The 76-year-old Nazarbaev was Kazakhstan's last Soviet-era leader and has continued to rule the country since it declared independence in 1991. Exempted from laws that limit presidential terms, he was last elected in April 2015 with 98 percent of the vote. In 2010, Nazarbaev was bestowed by lawmakers with the title Leader of the Nation. Kazakhstan's government moved the capital from the countrys largest city, Almaty, to Astana in 1997. With reporting by Interfax and TASS If Kazakh lawmakers get their wish, the country's capital will be renamed to immortalize its first president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, and the long-standing leader's name will live on at other worthy sites as well. The suggestion to rename Astana was buried in a declaration unanimously passed by both chambers of parliament on November 23. On the surface, the declaration approved in the joint session was to mark the upcoming 25th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence. But reading past the tributes to Nazarbaev's "outstanding service" to the nation, the declaration's very last paragraph called for renaming "the capital and other important facilities across the country" after the first and only president of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Making that call a reality is a decision that rests with the 76-year-old president himself, Interfax quoted Constitutional Council head Igor Rogov as saying on the sidelines of the parliamentary session. Rogov told reporters that Nazarbaev could either call a referendum to let the people decide, or send the matter to parliament for debate. "I cannot say whether the president will make such a decision or not," Rogov added. There was no immediate reaction from the office of Nazarbaev, who has ruled Kazakhstan since 1989 -- first as Communist Party boss and after independence in 1991 as president. But lawmaker Kuanish Sultanov said he expected the president to respond to the initiative within weeks. And another parliament deputy, Pavel Kazantsev, told reporters he expected the capital to have a new name by the end of the year. Great Respect, Or Personality Cult? Initiatives intended to cement Nazarbaev's legacy are not uncommon in Kazakhstan. In 2010, the Kazakh parliament bestowed the title of "elbasy," or leader of the nation, upon Nazarbaev, granting him and his family lifelong immunity from any civic or criminal prosecution. While Nazarbaev formally opposed the bill, it automatically became law under a legal clause pertaining to the work of the legislature. Just days before the passage of the declaration, the country introduced a new 10,000-tenge banknote that features Nazarbaev's image. The banknote will go into circulation on December 1, just two weeks before the country celebrates Independence Day on December 16. Some see the great deal of attention paid to Nazarbaev as a sign of the president's popularity, while others believe a personality cult is being developed. Dauren Abaev, a former Nazarbaev spokesman and adviser who currently serves as information and communication minister, disputed the latter notion, and told reporters that the president, "as always, will make a very sensible decision regarding this matter." It is not clear what names might be considered for the capital. "Nursultan" has become one of the most popular names for baby boys in Kazakhstan in recent years, and according to official statistics, the president as of 2015 had more than 38,000 namesakes across the country. "Nazarbaev" or "Elbasy" would also be possibilities. Astana has been renamed several times since it was founded in 1830 as the settlement of Akmoly. Two years later it became the town of Akmolinsk. Under communism it was renamed Tselinograd in 1961, then, shortly after Kazakhstan gained independence, to Akmola in 1992. In December 1997, the Kazakh government made the city the capital of the country, replacing Almaty. In May 1998 the government renamed it Astana, a Kazakh word that means "the capital." The Czech Justice Ministry says that both the United States and Russia have requested the extradition of Yevgeny Nikulin -- a 29-year-old Russian citizen who was arrested in Prague on U.S. charges of hacking and data theft. A Justice Ministry spokesperson told the CTK news agency on November 23 that both requests would be studied by the ministry before they are referred to a Czech court. Czech police arrested Nikulin on October 5 at the request of the United States on allegations that he hacked into the databases of internet companies, such as Linked in, Dropbox, and Formspring. Nikulin faces multiple charges in the United States, including computer intrusion, aggravated identity theft, and data theft. Russian officials previously said they were working to prevent Nikulin's extradition to the United States. Based on reporting by Reuters and CTK A Pakistani antiterrorism court has sentenced five people to death in connection with the killing of a Christian couple by a mob after they were falsely accused of blasphemy. The couple, Shahzad Masih and Shama Bibi, were beaten and then set on fire by an angry mob at a brick kiln in Punjab Province in 2014. The rulings represent a rare victory for the much-maligned Christian community in Pakistan, where the authorities have previously been hesitant to clamp down on mob violence for fear of angering powerful Islamist groups. The antiterrorism court in Lahore on November 23 also sentenced eight other people to two years in prison for their part in the killing. The court also acquitted 93 suspects in the case. "The five people awarded the death sentence were involved in dragging, beating, and burning the couple, while the other eight played a supportive role, according to the judgement," said Riaz Anjum, the lawyer representing the couple's family. It was not clear when the death sentences would be carried out. Blasphemy Laws Under Fire The brutal, deadly attack on the couple prompted outrage in Pakistan, shedding light on the plight of Christians, who make up less than 2 percent of the conservative Islamic country's population of 170 million. The killings also triggered international criticism of Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which were introduced in the 1980s. Blasphemy is legally punishable by death in Pakistan, where even unproven accusations can prompt mob violence. Rights activists have urged Pakistan to repeal the legislation, arguing that it's commonly used to settle personal disputes, often against Christians. Masih and Bibi were falsely accused by the mob of desecrating the Koran by throwing away pages of the Islamic holy book along with the trash. An angry mob of hundreds of people set upon the couple near the town of Kot Radha Kishan in Punjab, beating them and then throwing their bodies into a brick kiln. After the attack, it emerged that the couple had been falsely accused. Shahzad's father, a faith healer who used pages with inscriptions in many languages for his work, had died shortly before the incident. The family was burning documents that belonged to him. It is unclear whether they were still alive when tossed into the kiln. Mob Justice At least 1,481 people in Pakistan were charged for blasphemy between 1987 and 2015, according to the National Commission for Justice and Peace. At least nine people accused of blasphemy were given death sentences, and another three received life imprisonment between 2010 and 2015. In August, the U.S. State Department released a report raising concerns over laws against blasphemy in Pakistan. The laws "have often been used as justification for mob justice," the report said. Christians have regularly accused the government of discrimination and of failing to protect them against attacks. In March, a Pakistani Taliban splinter group claimed responsibility for a bombing in a Christian neighborhood in the eastern city of Lahore that left more than 70 people dead and around 300 wounded. With reporting by Dawn, AFP, and Geo TV A Russian hacker who was convicted for his leading role in one of the largest data thefts in U.S. history has been released from prison after serving most of his 12-year sentence. Vladimir Drinkman was released from a Pennsylvania jail on October 28, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons told RFE/RL. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not respond to an RFE/RL request for comment on whether Drinkman had been turned over for deportation, a process that can take up to several months. Drinkman's lawyer, Igor Litvak, declined to comment. RFE/RL could not immediately reach Drinkman. Drinkman was a key member of a criminal hacking group that penetrated major U.S. corporations, including Heartland Payment Systems, which at the time it was breached in 2008 was one of the biggest U.S. payment-processing firms. The Heartland attack -- the largest breach in history at the time -- cost the payment company more than $200 million in losses. Varonis, a U.S.-based cybersecurity firm, ranks the attack on Heartland among the 10 largest data breaches of all time. Chuck Brooks, a cybersecurity expert and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, said the Heartland hack was a "wake-up call" for the payments and financial industries to enhance their cyberdefenses. He said the breach led to stronger security policies, including a better understanding by CEOs and CFOs of the threats to business sustainability and reputation. "After the breach, many companies added more stringent data and security policies, including encryption, multifactor authentication, and monitoring of systems and networks," Brooks told RFE/RL. Heartland also later established the Payments Processing Information Sharing Council (PPISC), which serves as a forum for banks and payment processors to share information about breaches and compliance issues, he noted. In addition to breaking into Heartland, the hacking gang also breached Nasdaq OMX Group, 7-Eleven, JC Penney, JetBlue Airways, and others, according to prosecutors. In total, they stole the data of more than 160 million credit cards, leading to more than $300 million in damages. Greg Hunter, a Virginia-based lawyer who has represented cybercriminals from the former Soviet Union, said the Heartland case demonstrated the sophisticated evolution of Russian-speaking hackers. "This was the beginning of specialization," Hunter told RFE/RL. "Rather than an individual hacker spending a lot of time stealing credit card data and then trying to monetize it, you had guys specializing in breaching the security apparatus of a site, others selling the data." The appearance of hacker forums was critical to the phenomenon of a division of labor, he said. Hacker sites "allowed these guys to find each other and work together. A guy who breaches banks could just focus on that, knowing he could find others to either help him know what to get and how to use it, or just buy his services outright," Hunter said. Several of the most commonly used forums where hackers bought and sold stolen credit card data and traded tips included Cardplanet and Direct Connection. A Russian man, Aleksei Burkov, was extradited from Israel to the United States and later pleaded guilty in 2020 to U.S. charges related to his oversight of those forums. He was deported to Russia last year. According to U.S. court filings, Drinkman and another co-conspirator, Alexandr Kalinin, specialized in penetrating network security and gaining access to the corporate data systems. Drinkman along with a third man, Roman Kotov, also focused on mining the networks to steal valuable data. Another Russian man, Dmitry Smilyanets, then sold the stolen credit card information on forums for $10 to $50 each and distributed the proceeds of the scheme to the others, according to prosecutors. Kalinin and Kotov, both of whom are Russian citizens, are believed to still be in Russia. Drinkman was arrested in the Netherlands in June 2012 at the request of the United States, along with Smilyanets. While Smilyanets cooperated with U.S. authorities and arrived in the United States a few months after his arrest, Drinkman fought his extradition for more than a year. Ultimately, Drinkman pleaded guilty in 2015 and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, including time served since his arrest. It is one of the harshest sentences given to a Russian hacker. Drinkman served a total of 10 years and four months, or 86 percent of his sentence. U.S. federal prisoners earn credit each year for good behavior and typically serve 85 percent of their sentence. Smilyanets was sentenced to just time served, or less than six years, and currently resides in the United States, where he works as a cyberthreat intelligence analyst. He declined to comment when contacted by RFE/RL. The United Nations chief has called on Russia and the United States to resume talks to reduce their massive nuclear arsenals. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made the call in a lecture at New York University on November 22. The likelihood of Moscow and Washington opening new talks to cut their nuclear weapons stockpiles is highly unlikely given the increasing tensions between the two countries. "The Russian Federation and the United States, which together hold the largest nuclear potential --I'm guessing, 95 percent of the world's declared atomic weapons are located in these two countries -- should resume a genuine dialogue to cut all types of nuclear weapons," he said. The New START treaty obligates the two sides to cut their deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550, as well as cuts to deployed and non-deployed strategic delivery vehicles and launchers by 2018. The U.S. stockpile is well below that limit, but there's growing unease among some U.S. defense experts that Russia has no intention of meeting that goal. Based on reporting by TASS and RIA-Novosti Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. From left to right: Chief of Narragansett Police Sean Corrigan, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Peter F. Neronha, Narragansett Prevention Partnership Coordinator Nancy DeNuccio, South Kingstown Prevention Partnership Coordinator Heidi Driscoll and South Kingstown Police Captain Joel Ewing-Chow attended a panel on opioid abuse prevention at the South Kingstown senior center on Monday. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. US commerce secretary says regardless of who's president, we still need to trade U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said Tuesday that the United States needs to trade regardless of who is president and that she looks forward to seeing how that's pursued in President-elect Donald Trump 's administration. "Regardless of administration, there's a recognition that we need to trade with other countries," she told CNBC's " Power Lunch ." Trump has consistently bashed the Obama administration-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership and the North American Free Trade Agreement, passed during former President Bill Clinton's administration. He blames the deals for economic struggles in pockets of the country and has pledged to cancel the TPP when he enters office. Pritzker touted the benefits of the TPP, saying it would reduce tariffs for American companies to sell their goods in the Asia-Pacific region. Pritzker said she pursued trade agreements during her tenure as commerce secretary so her administration can shape how the U.S. trades with other countries. She said she aims for policies that are consistent with American values and wants to provide opportunities for American workers. She said she also looks to protect the environment and to ensure that the country's small- and medium-sized businesses have more access to the rest of the world. When asked about Trump facing possible conflicts of interest as president, Pritzker said she could only speak from her personal experience. She resigned from the board of Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H), which her family founded in 1957 and continues to own. She also resigned from the board of her family foundation. More From CNBC Fake news on social media has gotten so bad that it threatens democracy itself, according to President Obama and a host of other deep thinkers. Why, a recent study by Buzzfeed concludes that fake news beat out real news during the past three months of the election. And we all know how that turned out. There are at least two problems with this. First, the epidemic of fake news is overstated. Second, fake news is far from new. The Washington Examiners Tim Carney took the trouble to look beyond the headline about the Buzzfeed analysis. Turns out the analysis was not at all rigorous. It compared only the Facebook engagement metrics the number of shares, reactions, and comments for a small handful of stories. The top fake story about Pope Francis endorsing Donald Trump got 960,000 engagements. The top real story, comparing Trumps level of corruption to Clintons, got 849,000 engagements. If Facebook were the only source for news, that could be alarming although its worth noting that engagement does not equal acceptance. How many of the comments on the Pope Francis story amounted to Yeah, right!? But Facebook isnt the only source of news. Consider: The pope story comes from EndtheFed.org. According to Alexa, which monitors internet traffic, EndtheFed.org is the 2,488,992nd most popular website in the world. In the U.S. alone, more than 363,000 websites are more popular. Compare that to The Washington Post, which is the source for Facebooks second-most-engaged story. It ranks 195th in the world and 40th in the United States. In one month, The Post can rack up 770 million page views. Last October it had seven stories that topped more than 1 million page views each. So: Fake News Beats Real News turns out to be ... fake news. In any event, the concern-trolling about fake news likely has more to do with the fact that Trump won and the top five fake-news stories cited by Buzzfeed all were slanted heavily against Hillary Clinton. This has led to some hand-wringing in the media, which is a bit rich. Most of the media despise Trump, for a simple reason: Much about him is despicable. Yet the hands being wrung in this case are far from clean. If the fake-news epidemic were real, then Patient Zero wouldnt be Facebook, it would be The New York Times. The Times record for disseminating agitprop dates back at least to the early 1930s, when Walter Duranty won a Pulitzer for his reporting that denied the existence of famines in Soviet Russia during a period when millions were dying of starvation. More recently, The Times has given the nation the Jayson Blair fabrications which it followed up with the infamous 2004 story, Memos on Bush Are Fake But Accurate, Typist Says. It followed that up four years later with a story implying that GOP presidential candidate John McCain had had an affair with a lobbyist. (The lobbyist sued, and reached a settlement with the paper.) Over the years other pillars of the media also have fallen on their faces. NBC news had to confess that it rigged GM trucks with incendiary devices for an explosive Dateline segment. The Washington Post gave up a Pulitzer after learning that Janet Cookes reporting about an 8-year-old heroin addict was false. In 1998 the Cincinnati Enquirer renounced its own series alleging dark doings by the Chiquita banana company. That same year, CNN retracted its story alleging that the U.S. military used nerve gas in a mission to kill American defectors in Laos during the Vietnam War. The San Jose Mercury News had to denounce its own series alleging that the CIA was to blame for the crack cocaine epidemic. Rolling Stone just got hit with a big libel judgment for its now-retracted story about a rape at U.Va. And so on. Then there are the broader deceptions, such as the wide reporting on a church-burning epidemic a rash of racially motivated arsons targeting black churches in the 1990s. There was just one problem: It was mostly false. Many of the fires were accidental, and those that were not were often started by African-Americans. Made a heck of a story, though. More recently, many news organizations attacked Mitt Romneys claims that the Obama administration had gutted welfare reform. The claim was backed by lots (and lots) of evidence, but media types were not content to call it debatable; they insisted it had been debunked because thats what the Obama White House insisted. Oh and many news outlets also reported Buzzfeeds misleading story about fake news. Kind of ironic, that. To be fair, professional news organizations that discover flaws in their own reporting admit the mistakes in public and do whatever they can to correct the record. That sometimes entails exhaustive forensic investigations into suspect articles, with full disclosure of the results. Purveyors of fake news, obviously, do nothing of the sort. Senior Home New York University (NYU), a private university located in Manhattan, has unveiled a pilot program plan to save college students on housing. Deemed the "home stay" program, students would live in the spare bedrooms of local senior citizens and would cut their roughly $14,000-per-year housing bill in half, The New York Post reported. The plan seems to be a common-sense solution to living in the most expensive city in the world in terms of student accommodation. Other students, such as Gallatin junior Maddie Perlmutter, believe that there is still more to be done to aid students struggling with housing costs. "Housing is and has been an issue for NYU students, and I believe that this could possibly remedy it for some people but, I dont think that it will make a very large impact," Perlmutter, a student in NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, told the Washington Square News. "The committee must continue seeking widespread alternatives to lower costs in the residence halls, the option most used by the NYU student population," she continued to the News, the student newspaper of NYU. In addition to students saving money, the seniors involved would also get additional money from the agreement. Other universities around the nation, like the University of Illinois, have also rolled out similar experiments to some success. "I lived with roommates my own age, and it wasnt a positive living experience, Christina Larson, a student at the Illinois, told The Post. "Here everyone gets along. We watch a lot of 'Star Trek' together. Everyone is really laid back. The most important job I have is grocery shopping." NOW WATCH: This is exactly what a hiring manager scans for when reviewing resumes More From Business Insider A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. An 86-year-old resident of a Chesterfield County assisted-living facility has been charged with fatally injuring a 92-year-old fellow resident in an alleged assault in the victims room. Edward B. Huff whose attorney said suffers from an acute case of Alzheimers was arrested Nov. 14 and charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of Delora Arnold, who died after Huff allegedly assaulted her on Oct. 27. Both lived at Elmcroft of Chesterfield, an assisted-living facility. Chesterfield police Capt. Gerald Netherland said officers responded to the facility at 8:08 a.m. for a reported assault. Responding officers located Arnold, who had been assaulted in her room. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment, where she died Oct. 29 from her injuries, Netherland said. Netherland said the facilitys staff reported hearing a commotion and when they went to investigate, they discovered Arnold had been assaulted and called police. Netherland said that police charged Huff after a thorough investigation that included consultation with the Chesterfield commonwealths attorneys office. Police declined to describe the circumstances that led to the assault and Arnolds death. The state medical examiners office has ruled Arnolds death a homicide from blunt-force trauma to the neck and chest. Mr. Edward Huff is a divinely wonderful man who had led an exemplary life, said attorney Jud Collier, who is representing Huff. And he unfortunately does suffer from severe, acute Alzheimers. Collier said at this early stage of the case, he has not yet been advised of the substance of the allegations against his client. But however this may have occurred, we have the utmost and sincere sympathies for the family of the deceased lady, Collier added. Huffs daughter expressed similar sentiments. Were trying to take care of my dad, said Lisa Huff Richardson of Powhatan County. He has severe Alzheimers and is in a facility thats taking care of him. We feel horrible, horrible for the other family. Melissa Owens, vice president of sales and marketing for Elmcroft Senior Living, declined to comment on the incident out of respect for the privacy of our residents and families. Owens said Elmcroft of Chesterfield is an assisted-living facility that provides housing for elderly people. She said seniors who reside there are offered assistance with daily living activities based on individual needs. Residents who need special care for progressed dementia along with their daily living activities are housed in a dedicated, secure area, she said. Huff, who has no prior criminal record, has been released on a $1,000 secured bond pending a Jan. 18 hearing in Chesterfield General District Court. Court papers filed in the case said Huff has been moved to a special assisted-living facility. RICHMOND When Gov. Terry McAuliffe stepped out of the Virginia Executive Mansion on Wednesday, he couldnt help but make an observation about the two deer lying in his front driveway. Theyre both beautiful, but someones is much bigger, McAuliffe said, prompting laughter from the crowd packed around the trussed animals. Ill let the chiefs figure that out. The Pamunkey and Mattaponi tribes presented the governor with gifts at a ceremony to kick off Thanksgiving, an annual tradition that dates back 339 years to a treaty signed in 1677 between colonial Gov. Herbert Jeffreys and several American Indian leaders. The peace treaty, meant to preserve territorial rights and codify the tribes status as subjects of the English king, originally called for a tribute of 20 beaver skins and three arrows, McAuliffe said, adding weve obviously upgraded. Mattaponi Chief Mark Custalow went first, presenting McAuliffe with a piece of pottery made with clay from the Mattaponi River. At this time, I would like to present you with our 8-point buck, Custalow said. So its your 8-pointer, McAuliffe said. I didnt want to say anything. Next up was Pamunkey Chief Robert Gray, whose tribe recently became the first federally recognized tribe in Virginia. Were here with our smaller deer, Gray said. But what we figure is, you cant eat the antlers. Gray also gave the governor with three turkey feathers and a walking stick topped with a deer skull. He was telling me earlier he just got back from Australia, and I wondered if he did a walkabout, Gray said of the governor. The deer presented to the governor will be given to homeless shelters for Thanksgiving meals with the help of the Hunters for the Hungry group. Weve got a lot to be thankful for here in the commonwealth of Virginia. We are just blessed with so many riches, McAuliffe said. And we always have to remind ourselves that there are many people today who are going to have trouble putting food on the table tomorrow. McAuliffe invited parents in the crowd to take photos of their children with the deer, opened the mansion for tours and yielded the podium for some tribal dancing. Happy Thanksgiving, McAuliffe said. Abortion access in several states could hinge on the outcome of November elections of lawmakers, governors, supreme court justices and attorneys general. In the first nationwide elections since the U.S. Supreme Court handed states control of abortion rights decisions, abortion rights advocates and Democrats are sounding alarms that putting Republicans in office could lead to new bans and restrictions. Republican candidates are mostly talking about other topics. And when abortion is brought up, a number of them say they would not change the status quo, or would have exceptions if they do impose new restrictions. The issue looms large especially in states where elections are expected to be close. THE 50 million restoration of Wentworth Woodhouse was given a shot in the arm this week when Chancellor Phillip Hammond pledged 7.6 million for repairs to the crumbling mansion. The Advertiser reported last month how preservation trust chairman Julie Kenny and Wentworth and Dearne MP had met Mr Hammond at Westminster to lobby him to support the revival of the subsidence-hit stately home. And the pair must have proved persuasive because the Governments money man announced during his Autumn Statement on today that a huge chunk of cash was heading to South Yorkshire. The Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust (WWPT) has 7 million in place to buy the Big House, as the mansion is known in the village, from its current owners, the Newbold family. But Ms Kenny told the Advertiser last month that the trust was keen to gather more funding for emergency repairs before pressing on to complete the deal. Mr Healey said after todays announcement: The Chancellor made a special exception in announcing the 7.6 million grant to rescue and restore Wentworth Woodhouse. This is great news which gives the full go-ahead to plans to preserve one of Britains great houses for the nation. "I met the Chancellor personally last month to press the case with the chair of the Trust Julie Kenny and Conservative MP Robert Jenrick, who is a heritage expert. We've been meeting ministers and civil servants behind the scenes for over a year, so Im delighted that the Chancellor today recognised the scale of the challenge in saving Wentworth Woodhouse for the public and backed the huge potential boost it could bring to jobs, businesses and visitors in the North. The grant is a great vote of confidence for the work that the Trust and its chair Julie Kenny have been doing on the plans for the great house. EIGHT people have been arrested as part of a new clampdown on foreign national offenders. South Yorkshire Police have joined the nationwide Operation Trivium which was launched on Monday. It aims to target offenders who use road networks to undertake criminal activity across borders. Eight people have been arrested in South Yorkshire and 144 cars have been stopped, A total of 29 cars have been seized and 54 traffic offence reports logged. Officers from Joint Specialist Support Teams and local policing teams have been out conducting spot checks, patrols and using intelligence to target criminals. It is hoped that crimes such as modern slavery will be tackled by the operation. Chief Insp Glen Suttenwood of the Specialist Support Team said: The operation is now entering its third day and the results that have been obtained so far demonstrate the importance of the work that is being done and the effectiveness of the planned operation that is in place. To build on this success, officers will continue to conduct spot checks, patrols and execute warrants under the operation. To report any concerns about human trafficking or criminal activity, call 101. Alternatively people can report any concerns or crimes to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. Zijn Platinum appoints former SA finance minister as deputy chair Nkwe Platinum and South Africa Zijin Platinum, both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Zijin Mining, have appointed former South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni as a non-executive director and deputy chairperson of South Africa Zijin Platinum. Saudi Arabia seeks support from Australian miners to diversify its oil-dependent economy Saudi Arabia is seeking support from Australian miners to support its $170 bn plan to build a mining industry, and diversify its oil-dependent economy this decade. Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef is in... WGC: Global gold demand up 28% y-o-y in Q3 The World Gold Councils latest Gold Demand Trends report reveals that gold demand (excluding OTC) in the third quarter of 2022 hit 1,181 tonnes, up 28% year-on-year. Strong demand pushed the year-to-date total to its pre-COVID levels. Gold... Karo Mining to raise $50m to develop Zim platinum project Tharisa, the platinum group metals (PGMs) and chrome co-producer, says its subsidiary Karo Mining has opened a fixed income note offer to raise $50 million to be listed by way of introduction on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX)... Namibias state-owned diamond trading company, Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) has dismissed reports that it sold the country's diamonds cheaply to Dubai. The Namibian quoted Namdia board chairperson Shakespeare Masiza as saying that they sold two parcels weighing 50 260,53 carats for N$376 million ($26,4 million) this year. The daily had last week reported that Namdia deliberately sold the country's diamonds cheaply to Dubai five times less than the price they eventually fetched in the Middle East. Namdia did not undersell its purchase entitlement. Namdia has not and will not engage in any illicit business, Masiza was quoted as saying. The purpose of Namdia is to independently discover the true market value of Namibian diamonds, and to report to the shareholder what we have discovered in order for government to inform its national resource optimisation strategy. Unnamed sources cited by The Namibian claimed that Namdia sold diamonds in Namibia to Dubai-based companies for $500 per a carat. However, the same diamonds were then re-sold for $2 500 per carat by the Dubai-based companies. Namdia was not pleased by such allegations saying its transactions were above board. Casting aspersions over Namdia's objective with tags like illicit financial flows seek to undermine the genuine pursuit of price discovery, and makes one wonder in whose interest you wish to report such, Masiza said. Mines minister Kandjoze also said last Friday that Namdia was not a vehicle for self-enrichment for middlemen or existing buyers through the De Beers sightholders system. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished Diamcor said it has invested several years and about $50-million into the development of the Krone-Endora at Venetia diamond project, in South Africa. It was currently performing large-scale trial mining exercises with an objective of achieving an initial production decision in the short term. The bulk of the capital expenditure is now complete, and we do not envision any significant additional capital being required to bring the project on stream, Mining Weekly quoted company chief executive Dean Taylor as saying. Krone-Endora was funded through a combination of equity raises, a debt facility from Diamcors strategic alliance partner, Tiffany & Co, and through the sale of rough diamonds recovered as a result of the ongoing testing and commissioning exercises. The project was an opencast, employing low-cost strip-mining methods and the company is targeting an initial 15-year operational life span. Diamcor had a mining right over the initial areas of focus covering 657 ha of the project. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is set to present the Autumn Statement on Wednesday. The statement will also be the first announcement on future budget plans from the government since the U.K. voted to leave the EU in the referendum held late June. The statement is due at 7.30 am ET. Flash Purchasing Managers' survey results from euro area, Germany and France are also due today. At 2.00 am ET, Statistics Norway releases unemployment figures for September. The jobless rate is forecast to remain unchanged at 4.9 percent. At 3.00 am ET, Markit is set to publish France's flash PMI data. The manufacturing PMI is expected to fall to 51.5 in November from 51.8 in October. The services PMI is seen at 51.9, up from 51.4 in October. At 3.30 am ET, Germany's flash PMI survey data is due. Economists forecast the factory PMI to drop to 54.8 in November from 55 in October. Similarly, the services PMI is set to drop to 54 from 54.2. Half an hour later, Markit is scheduled to issue euro area PMI results. The composite PMI is expected to fall slightly to 53.2 in November from 53.3 in October. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. Norway's unemployment rate held steady in September, defying economists' expectations for an increase, figures from Statistics Norway showed Wednesday. The jobless rate came in at 4.8 percent in September, the same rate as in June. Meanwhile, it was forecast to rise slightly to 4.9 percent. There were 135,000 unemployed people in September. The increase of 1000 unemployed persons from June is clearly within the LFS error margin, the agency said. The rate for September indicates the average of August to October and the June figure reflects May to July period. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. Severn Trent Plc (SVT.L), which is in deal to buy Dee Valley Group PLC (DVW.L) in 78.5 million pounds deal, said Wednesday that it continues to consider its options regarding an increased recommended cash offer. The company will make a further announcement in due course, and urged Dee Valley shareholders not to take any action in respect of their shares at this stage. Severn Trent shares were gaining around 3 percent in London. Severn Trent was responding to Ancala Fornia Limited's intention to switch from a Scheme of Arrangement to a takeover offer in respect of its increased recommended cash offer for Dee Valley. On Tuesday, Ancala announced an increased recommended cash offer for Dee Valley, while on Wednesday it announced its intention to switch its offer for the Voting Ordinary Shares from a Scheme to a contractual offer. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday raided the offices of Samsung as well as the National Pension Service related to a corruption investigation on the country's president Park Geun-Hye, reports said, citing South Korea's semiofficial Yonhap News Agency. The raids are said to be related to allegations against Samsung that it bribed Park's confidant Choi Soon-Sil to win state approval for a controversial merger of two Samsung affiliates including Samsung C&T Corp. According to the agency, prosecutors visited the electronics giant's Future Strategy Office, which oversees key decisions, in its headquarters in the Gangnam neighborhood of Seoul. Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the pension fund reportedly confirmed the raid in its headquarters in the South Korean city of Jeonju, as well as its offices in Seoul. The authorities also raided the office of Hong Wan-sun, who was the chief investment officer at pension service, and was a key proponent of the Samsung's last year's merger. Geun-hye's close associate Soon-Sil is alleged to have used her influence to extort money from corporations like Samsung, Hyundai and LG. According to data compiled by corporate-governance research firm Chaebul.com, almost all of the country's conglomerates have donated large sums of money to two Choi-controlled foundations. The heads of Hyundai, LG and SK Group are also summoned by prosecutors for questioning. Soon-sil has since been arrested, while Park faces criminal investigation for aiding in her friend's scheme, making her the first South Korean president to face a criminal investigation while in office. In an earlier raid, prosecutors reportedly have seized documents from Samsung's Gangnam offices and from an advertising affiliate. They have also questioned several top executives. Last year, the proposed merger of Samsung's holding company Cheil Industries Inc. and Samsung C&T was highly criticized, for willfully undervaluing Samsung C&T's stocks. However, Samsung won approval for the merger as the National Pension Service, a major Samsung shareholder, voted in favour of the deal. Following the news of the raids, Samsung C&T shares dropped around 2.9 percent in South Korea. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) said it has received a single-award contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New England District or USACE NAE, to provide environmental remediation and restoration, technical support and facility maintenance at the New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Jacobs has supported NAE in this capacity at the site since early 2004. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity or ID/IQ remedial action contract has a capacity value of $350 million. Jacobs noted that New Bedford Harbor, home to a large commercial fishing fleet, is one of the oldest recreational and commercial navigation harbors along the East Coast of the United States. The USACE was requested by the US Environmental Protection Agency or EPA to clean up PCB-contaminated sediments from the harbor. The contamination is the result of waste discharged from the 1940s through the 1970s by two electrical capacitor manufacturing plants. Separately, Jacobs also said it received an amendment from Saudi Aramco for its general engineering services or GES contract. While the contract value was not disclosed, the five-year extension builds on the framework of the original contract signed in 2011. Services include engineering, procurement and construction management services associated with Saudi Aramco's capital program. The services are being led by the Jacobs ZATE operation in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News The U.S. government's high-profile "Hustle" lawsuit against Bank of America Corp. (BAC) died a quiet death this week as the Department of Justice did not appeal an unfavorable ruling by the November 21 deadline. In May this year, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a $1.27 billion penalty against Bank of America in the 2012 civil mortgage-fraud lawsuit brought by the Justice Department over mortgages sold by the bank's Countrywide Financial unit prior to the 2008 financial crisis. The appeals court had also tossed out a $1 million civil penalty against former Countrywide executive Rebecca Mairone, one of the few individuals prosecuted for alleged misdeeds during the financial crisis. The court ruled that the government failed to provide sufficient proof that Countrywide committed fraud. The decision delivered a severe blow to the Obama administration's efforts to hold banks accountable for their role in the financial crisis. The Justice Department had asked the appeals court to reconsider its decision, but its request shot down by the court in July. The DOJ had until Monday, November 21, to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the lawsuit, but it allowed the deadline to pass. This means that Bank of America and Mairone will now not be held accountable. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was highly critical of Donald Trump during the Republican presidential primary but has still accepted the president-elect's offer to be his Ambassador to the United Nations. In a statement, Haley said she was moved to accept the new assignment out of a sense of duty as well as a satisfaction with what she has achieved in her state during her time as governor. "This month's elections have brought exciting changes to America. Our country faces enormous challenges here at home and internationally," Haley said. "Last week, President-elect Trump asked if I would meet with him to discuss those challenges, which I was happy to do," she added. "He has asked that I serve our country as our next Ambassador to the United Nations. Pending confirmation by the U.S. Senate, I have agreed." Trump announced his intent to nominate Haley as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday, with a statement from his transition team calling her one of the most universally respected governors in the country. "Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country," Trump said. He added, "She is also a proven dealmaker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage." Trump's choice of Haley comes even though she raised significant concerns about the real estate tycoon throughout the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Haley first endorsed Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., before throwing her support behind Senator Ted Cruz, R-Tex. She eventually said she would vote for Trump in the general election. The South Carolina Governor has sharply criticized Trump's policies, especially his proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country, which she called "un-American." Trump has also been critical of Haley in the past, calling her "weak" regarding the issue of immigration and saying the people of South Carolina are embarrassed by her. While Haley is not known for having significant foreign policy experience, Congressman Sean Duffy, R-Wis., told CNN that is not a major concern. "She's a smart woman," Duffy said in an interview on CNN's "New Day." "I don't think you need this great history of diplomatic experience to go in the UN and be successful." He added, "I think what you want to do is find people who will share your worldview especially when they go and represent you from the administration to the UN or any other post." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News A first-of-its-kind journey along India and Pakistan border What binds the two most talked about nations - India and Pakistan together? What makes the In 2010, wed newly arrived in Australia. With an ocean between us and our home it feels even more important to keep our traditions, and Thanksgiving dinner is the centerpiece. For cruisers, recreating That Familiar Dinner (cue the Norman Rockwell images) can be a little tricky. If anything is obligatory, its a turkey. Number of times weve had turkey for Thanksgiving during the eight years outside of the USA: hmm lets see yes, I believe that number is ZERO. Apparently, its predominantly a North American thing. But roasted chicken makes a fine stand in. I always save a can of cranberries somewhere on board (they pop up on shelves every few countries, and are known to get stashed in Totems bilge for many months). There are usually starchy tubers of some kind, onions to cream, something green, and I can always make gravy, and fruit to make pie from. Forget about finding canned pumpkin puree outside North America, but don't worry. Whole pumpkins are plentiful in tropical markets, and cook up easily on the stove. Like a lot of things in the cruising life, the end result is the same getting the task done just takes a little longer. Then there was that year in Thailand, where the chicken I picked up at the village market was whole. Thats whole, as in not just headnot just feetbut the cavity unopened and all the guts intact. At least the weekly market day was ON Thanksgiving, given the lack of refrigeration, and I remembered enough from helping on a farm as a teen to avoid the gall bladder (just a tiny slice taint and ruin your dinner). More to be thankful for, and a story that we now retell annually! As our distance from the US increased, so did our thankfulness for the incredible opportunity to live an adventurous life afloat. Physical separation from our extended family on holidays like this help reinforce my gratitude for the strength of our nuclear family, and the time we have to be together. #grateful Laura Kelly, Derek Schmidt locked in close governor's race, poll shows New polling released Wednesday shows races for Kansas governor and attorney general remain toss-ups, as the Nov. 8 election nears. While many young people on holiday wake up, slap gel on their hair, jump on the bus and head to town, one lad from the village of Letogo chose another direction. The 15-year-old Mahonri Levales destination is the coconut farm to fetch green coconuts to sell. The money he makes feeds his family and provides for their faalavelave. He explains that he wants to repay his parents for all they have done in his life. Right now my school is on a two week break and I am just using this time to look for some money to help out with food for the family, Mahonri told the Village Voice. The money is also used for bus fare for my older siblings who are working. It feels good to be useful around the house. The reason I want to be helpful is to take some weight off of my parents shoulders. All my life they have worked hard to provide for me so this is the least I can do. This is how all of the young people should think. Mahonri is able to make quite a bit of money every day to help his family and all the work is done with a smile. Last week Friday was when my school went on break, he said. I started to bring the green coconuts to sell on that week because I had a lot of time on my hands. I make about $50 a day and it all goes to my parents. I get the green coconuts from our plantation just up the hill over there. There are plenty and I just husk it, put it in a cooler then come wait over here for customers. His message to the young people roaming and wasting time around town is to stay at home and help out around the house. I sometimes come out here in the morning and sometimes I start in the afternoon, Mahonri said. By the end of the day, I would have sold all of the green coconuts. I think the cause for many problems with the young people in Samoa is that they muck around too much. They roam around instead of staying at home and helping out. My advice to my fellow young people is to stop wasting your life and help out those who have helped you while you were growing up. Mahonri says that the school kids mucking around in town is the cause of all the fights in the market places. I hate hearing about fights and disputes between school kids at the market, he said. Its sad and it makes me very angry. Every day after school I just jump in the bus and come straight home because I know what comes of mucking around. I dont want to get involved in any of the mindless fighting, it benefits no one especially your family. The faafafine community in Samoa will celebrate a whole week dedicated to them and addressing the issues they face, starting from the 1st until 10th December. President of the Samoa Faafafine Association, Sooalo Roger Stanley, said the inaugural Faafafine Week - looks to honour and celebrate the achievements of faafafine. Sooalo said the event would be an opportunity to address issues pertaining to faafafine. Such issues include bullying on social media, how faafafine feature themselves on social media as well as how the media portrays them. The week is to celebrate us and our achievements and work not only in the community but government and other areas, he said. The faafafine week is the first of its kind and a national celebration to mark over three decades of advocacy. Its about challenging the status quo by pioneering a unique social movement for positive social change in HIV and AIDS Prevention Human Rights and Gender Equality. Guided by the theme Persevere in Life and Serve with Love, the celebration is scheduled to kick off with a dawn candlelight service on the Apia black sand waterfront. The service will honour victims of HIV/AIDS and those living and fighting the virus. As part of the advocacy work, Sooalo said they would be installing condom dispensers in nightclubs as well as awareness programmes to promote HIV prevention. The faafafine community will also be doing charity work during that week for the Carmelite nuns, Mapuifagalele and childrens' pediatric ward to name a few. A forum to address issues and discuss a way forward for faafafine will also be part of the weeklong event. The event is funded by the British High Commission, Asia Pacific Bilateral Programme Fund, USAID, the Ministry of Health and Civil Society Partners. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (M.C.I.L) has launched an investigation into fresh claims about members of the public being fooled with new fake products on the retail market. The alarm was raised by a local Supermarket chain after receiving multiple complaints from members of the public about the quality of the products in question. The supermarket met with M.C.I.L and the Ministry has immediately responded. The Samoa Observer has been told the fake products are imported from Asia. Among them are the Rexona roll-on deodorant and the Boom washing powder. If you were to see these products in the shops, you would not know which one is the original and which is fake, an official from the Sales and Marketing team of the supermarket in question told the Samoa Observer. We are raising this issue because we believe information like this will help the public more in terms of awareness about what is going on. According to the official, the culprits have photocopied the same details, word for word on the fake Boom powder. The only way to compare them is if they stand directly next to each other. Then differences in height and width are recognizable. The fake washing powder is smaller and slimmer. The whole layout appears darker and there are narrow differences concerning font type. Yet, people who only see one product are not able to figure out whether it is original or not. It is the same with the Rexona roll-on deodorant. As forgers copied the shape and the logo it is almost impossible for the human eye to spot a fabrication. The official said the supermarket was alerted after it received many complaints about the quality of the products after the purchase. The Rexona roll-ons do not last long and have almost no fragrance to it or a very different smell than normally, to list a few of them. It gives a bad consumer feedback in terms of the brand. Complaints about the washing powder were similar. The consumers noticed that Booms ingredients were different. They could tell negative differences when they washed the clothes. So we wanted to see whether we had the right product. So, we went back to the factory to analyse the products and found out we had several fakes. The supermarket blames the new Asian businesses. There are so many of them and they all work together, he said. Chinese are very business-orientated. They will look for loopholes and if they can win something with it, they will do it. On the black market in Hong Kong you can find everything for a very cheap price. Normally the Rexona Roll-ons are sold for about $4. The fake products are being sold for $2.50. Asked for a comment, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (M.C.I.L.) confirmed that the complaint from the supermarket has been lodged and they are investigating it. Principal Fair Trading Officer Karen Niumata is leading the investigation. A lawyer and a former Assistant Police Commissioner has appealed for calm and peace within the Police. Papalii Taeu Masipau, who is also a former Member of Parliament, made the appeal during an interview with the Samoa Observer. He called on Police officers to put the interest of the public first. In light of developments within the Ministry which have led to the Police Commissioner being suspended and a separate Commission Inquiry launched into the conduct of an Acting Commissioner Papalii said its important Police officers remember their oath. He said they are sworn to protect members of the public no matter what and they are there to uphold law and order. Papalii said the Police officers should read the Police Service Act and take that as their guide in difficult times like this. He pointed out that the Police Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner roles are political appointments and the recent developments have been unfortunate. From what I see, he said, the Assistant Commissioners should concentrate on their assigned work and not look at the Commissioners position. Their priority should be doing what they were hired to do and that is maintaining the public trust and confidence by following and respecting the Police Act. Papalii said judging from whats been said and published in the media including several ghost letters some Police officers are wasting too much time nit-picking faults. It seems to me that the problem is that some people are looking at the other persons work instead of doing their own work. It also appears that the rotation of the Acting Commissioners position has caused some distraction for some of the management. Papalii said the administration of the Ministry of Police should be left to Cabinet who make the political appointments. Police officers on the other hand should do what they are there to do. Leave the politics to the politicians. Papalii said he was particularly concerned about the impact of whats happening on Police partners - including the Australian Federal Police who have helped Samoa in so many ways over the years. The partnership with the A.F.P is very important to Samoa. It started around our time when I was there, recalled Papalii. It took a lot of work to establish that relationship and our Police should respect that partnership because they have made a lot of contributions in the development of our police. They have donated vehicles and A.F.P. has a broader vision by offering courses and trainings for local police officers for the future of the Ministry. I think its very important that we dont lose that relationship. Papalii believes that if the Police officers focus on their own individual work and follow the Police Service Act, everything else will fall into place. Papalii had served in the Ministry for 27 years before he became a lawyer and a Member of Parliament. WASHINGTON (AP) Donald Trump's presidential victory has dimmed hopes for reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and analysts say Israel may be given carte blanche from his administration. American presidents have long struck a delicate balance in the conflict, stressing the close U.S. friendship and lavishing the Jewish state with aid. But recent presidents also have tried to negotiate, and they have called out Israel for actions seen as undermining peace efforts, such as expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank. Trump's role can't be easily predicted. A foreign policy novice, the billionaire businessman takes pride in his deal-making skills and says he'd love the challenge of negotiating a Mideast agreement. He told The New York Times on Monday that it "would be such a great achievement." He said his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, an observant Jew and a close adviser, may help make that happen. Last December, Trump told The Associated Press that he wanted to be "very neutral" and try to get both sides together. But his tone became decidedly more pro-Israel as the campaign progressed. He has spoken disparagingly of Palestinians, saying they have been "taken over" by or are condoning militant groups. Some of his top aides challenge the legitimacy of Palestinian demands for a state and have claimed that the Palestinians are a made-up people. That has cast doubt on whether he would ever question Israeli actions or even try to serve as a neutral broker. "Trump's administration may take a totally hands-off approach," said Yousef Munayyer, a political analyst and executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. "Israel would have free reign to dominate the Palestinians forever and ever if there is no external involvement." David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said the volatility of the Middle East and of American political parties after a grueling campaign have made "the conclusion of a two-state solution very unlikely." Some senior Israeli officials share that view. Cabinet Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the pro-settler Jewish Home party, said after Trump's Nov. 8 election that "the era of a Palestinian state are over." Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman suggested Israel could cut a deal with Trump that allowing expanded construction in major settlements while freezing building in isolated parts of the West Bank. That would be a sharp break from Obama administration policy. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been more cautious, congratulating Trump but giving no indication on whether he will now change his policies. Relations have been tense between President Barack Obama and Netanyahu. Trump has accused Obama of putting undue pressure on Israel. But Obama has hardly cast off Israel. In September, the U.S. signed its largest-ever security agreement, giving the Israeli military $38 billion over 10 years. While Obama pressured Israel into a partial settlement freeze in 2009 and 2010, settlements continue to expand. According to the anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now, there were 3,915 housing starts during Obama's term as of the end of 2015. By the time Obama leaves office, that number will almost certainly surpass the 4,191 units started during George W. Bush's presidency. Previous administrations have given varying amounts of leeway to Israel on the issue of settlements, but also have pushed for the two-state solution. President Bill Clinton helped broker the Oslo Accord, attempting to establish a framework to resolve the conflict. President George W. Bush launched a plan that endorsed an independent Palestinian state existing peacefully alongside Israel. Both approaches fizzled, and two rounds of peace talks during the Obama years quickly collapsed. Trump criticized Palestinians when he spoke in March at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington. He said "half of the population of Palestine has been taken over by the Palestinian ISIS and Hamas, and the other half refuses to confront the first half." Hamas, an Islamic militant group, controls the Gaza Strip. ISIS, an acronym for the Islamic State group, is not a major force in the Palestinian territories. One of Trump's top advisers on Israel, Jason Greenblatt, said in a recent interview that the president-elect doesn't think West Bank settlements should be condemned or pose an "obstacle to peace." Greenblatt, chief legal officer and executive vice president at the Trump Organization, was interviewed on Israel's Army Radio. Trump has echoed the decades-old promise of past presidential candidates that he would move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. That would signal U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a move that would infuriate Palestinians, who claim the eastern sector of the city, captured by Israel in 1967, as their capital. Presidents have not followed through on the pledge. Some Trump advisers and supporters have been dismissive of the Palestinian cause. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told the Israeli American Council in September that the U.S. should "reject the whole notion of a two-state solution in Israel." Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson both say the Palestinians are an invented people. John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in 2014 that a two-state solution "would inevitably lead to a terror state on the other side of the border with Israel." Jeremy Ben Ami, founder of J-Street, a liberal pro-Israel group that advocates a two-state solution, said the future of the Arab-Israeli conflict lies in the pending Trump Cabinet appointments. He said if policy is driven by the "Israel-can-do-no-wrong" camp, "then some of those in the Israeli right-wing are going to be very happy." When too much stuff clutters a home, nothing gets rid of that extra couch or refrigerator like a yard sale. But when a biomedical company wants to dispose of a centrifuge or DNA tester, posting signs around the neighborhood isnt going to do. American Laboratory Trading, which recently opened an enlarged office in San Diego, offers biomedical companies a place to sell that old triple quad mass spectrometer or centrifuge. And for startup and smaller companies on a tight budget, American Laboratory Trading provides 50 percent to 80 percent savings off the cost of new equipment. San Diegos dynamic life-science industry which is noted for rapid company formation, growth and acquisitions generates strong demand for such equipment, said Jayson Bernstein, president of American Laboratory Trading, which is based in East Lyme, Conn. Advertisement The new local location replaces a one-person sales office that didnt have equipment on site, Bernstein said. Staffed with 13 people, the nearly 14,000-square-foot office and warehouse is at 6444 Nancy Ridge Drive. The equipment is refurbished to original specifications so labs can rely on it, Bernstein said. Any malfunctioning components are swapped out with good components from other used equipment. People count on this equipment every day in their labs, he said. Theyre counting on it being running up to spec, no down time. If they do have a problem, they need somebody to call. Thats why this company launched, 17 years ago. American Laboratory Trading, or ALT, began as a dumpster-diving exercise, with discarded equipment picked out of the bins of Pfizer and other big drug companies, Bernstein said. But after ownership of the business changed hands, it became more professionalized. One of the biggest makers of lab equipment, Agilent Technologies, recently agreed to sell certified used instruments to ALT, along with services such as software guidance, installation, training and a one-year warranty for customers. Agilents partnership, announced in September, demonstrates how the market for biomedical lab equipment has matured over the years, Bernstein said. Its not just waiting around for peoples table scraps, but hey, let us help you on an ongoing basis to dispose of your surplus equipment, he said. Lets make sure that it gets recycled, lets make sure it gets in the hands of start-up companies that need low-cost, high-quality equipment. We saw a big niche in the business. The equipment mostly comes from medium-sized companies that are closing, Bernstein said. Those businesses may have failed, merged, taken a different direction or been purchased by a larger company. In any case, equipment that could have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars when in mint condition now needs another home. The buyers dont care that the equipment is used or that its not the latest model, Bernstein said. They just care that it comes at an attractive price and does the desired job. For example, almost a year ago we bought the assets of BP Biofuels in San Diego, and that was close to 1,000 items, Bernstein said. And a lot of that equipment was seven, eight, 10-plus years old. We could even be the third or fourth owner. And theres still a tremendous market for that type of equipment. Thats because the overall growth of the industry ensures that someone can use the equipment. Experienced service engineers at ALT look over incoming equipment to ensure its working right, Bernstein said. Were not scientists here, we couldnt tell you how to create methods for your science. But we can tell you when an instrument is running to specifications. bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1020 Thanksgiving will mark two years to the day since ministers at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) made a decision that triggered a swoon in global oil prices. But the energy sector strategist for UBS Wealth Management anticipates the oil market will get back into equilibrium by mid-2017 and that should mean good news for investors. Yes, this is a good time to invest in the energy sector on a selective basis, Nicole Decker said Tuesday in a telephone interview from her office in New York City. We take it day by day but we like the opportunities and the risk-reward, finally, two years later. Advertisement On Thanksgiving Day 2014, OPEC threw the oil markets a curve ball. Instead of cutting production, OPEC delegates decided to keep pumping crude, sending an already swollen oil market into over supply. That resulted in a price crash, with oil dropping from its $100 a barrel levels in 2014 to as low as $26 a barrel in February 2016. In the fallout, few winners emerged. North American oil producers suffered, as did OPEC countries such as Nigeria and Venezuela, whose governments rely almost solely on crude to keep their economies afloat. Investors with holdings linked to traditional energy companies also saw their portfolios take a dive. But there are signs the worst may be over. In an energy update released last month, Decker and UBS analysts said oil market fundamentals are improving and extended their bullishness to natural gas and renewable energy markets. If you believe were entering a period where (gross domestic product) growth might accelerate a bit, that bodes well for energy demand, Decker said. The election of Donald Trump has boosted the hopes of oil and gas operators in the U.S., given that Trump has promised to roll back some of the executive actions and regulations of the Obama administration, in particular, restrictions on exploration on federal land. But while Decker sees signs of the oil market re-balancing itself as producers cut production and demand inches up, she does not foresee a Trump presidency significantly changing the overall landscape. The trends were seeing here in the United States are not really federal policy-driven trends, she said. Theyre economically driven You can let energy projects get the go-ahead but oil is still $48 (a barrel). Thats not going to change a whole lot. What has changed in the wake of the 2014 OPEC move has been how, Decker said, U.S. producers have become extremely resilient improving efficiency and reducing their costs to extract oil and natural gas. A number of producers in the Permian Basin in West Texas have been able to make money even though prices are half of what they were two years ago. The U.S. operator is very competitive and I might even go so far as to say they have an advantage on the global stage, Decker said. Innovation is occurring in all phases of the energy business, including the conventional, traditional oil and gas (sector). Some think a Trump administration equals bad news for renewable energy. Decker is not so sure. Trump may pooh-pooh climate change but if there are jobs to be had in clean energy technologies, he is not going to stand in the way of that, Decker said. Hes not out to declare oil and gas a winner versus renewables and alternatives in my view. The UBS report said wind and solar accounted for about 5 percent of all power generation at utility-scale facilities in the U.S. last year, up from 2 percent in 2010. Trump has also made an appeal to bring back jobs to the coal industry but UBS analysts are pessimistic about King Coals prospects, at least domestically. Thats been economically driven as well, Decker said. U.S. supplies of natural gas have exploded in recent years, largely due to developments in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques. The boom in supply has driven down the price of natural gas, which burns twice as clean as coal. That has resulted in utilities switching from coal-fired power plants to natural gas-fired plants. President Obama didnt kill coal, Decker said. Natural gas killed coal. And I dont see that changing. U.S. companies are also expanding into the energy export market, with liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments going to countries such as Japan and potentially to Europe. And armed with a recent change in the law, U.S. producers can now export crude to countries around the globe. We dont anticipate a spike in oil prices, Decker said. For the average investor who is exposed into the right places and the right sectors, I think theres probably some upside for them as we continue along this path. rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski ALSO What a Trump presidency means for the energy landscape Why Saudi Arabia may be singing a different tune on oil The world gets bullish on renewables Nearly 20 years after arriving in San Diego from his native France, chef Patrick Ponsaty finally has a namesake restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe. And based on two recent visits to the newly opened Ponsatys Fine Dining & Lounge, its been well worth the wait. Ponsatys Fine Dining & Lounge Where: 6106 Paseo Delicias, Rancho Santa Fe Phone: (858) 771-1871 Advertisement Online: ponsatys.com Located in the old Delicias space in Rancho Santa Fe, Ponsatys is a casually elegant distillation of the chefs heritage, training and cooking career at multiple restaurants around San Diego since 1997. The menu mixes recipes from the fifth-generation chefs childhood with signature dishes from past kitchen jobs (Bellamys, Mistral and BernardO) and a host of new inspirations from the Basque region of Spain, where he trained as a young man. The restaurant, which opened Aug. 2, joins an increasingly short list of traditional fine-dining restaurants in San Diego. Even its outdoor patio tables have white tablecloths. Yet while its beautifully plated dishes, Old World-style dining room and dinner entree prices ($32-$49) say special occasion, its friendly service and approachable lunch and bar menus give it the feel of a familiar neighborhood eatery. Theres also an element of surprise (complimentary truffle popcorn at lunch, an unexpected amuse-bouche at dinner and a proffered tour of the new kitchen by its proud cooks) that made each visit memorable. Owned by the Grand Restaurant Group, the space has been smartly redecorated with darker colors, gold accents and black tablecloths. Theres a giant antique breakfront imported from New Orleans, a chandelier from Spain, hand-riveted high-back black leather booths, and a new marble-topped bar thats illuminated from underneath with a ribbon of blue light. Ponsaty is one of just two French Master Chefs in San Diego (the other is the Marine Rooms Bernard Guillas). Members, voted in by their peers, are chosen for their dedication to French cuisine, techniques and culture. As a result, diners expect perfection in the food. They wont be disappointed. A lightly seared and seasoned Cortez corvina fish served over rich lobster saffron risotto, pea tendrils and almond foam practically melts in the mouth. Generously portioned and ultra-tender sous-vide Marys chicken breast was served with savory whole grain mustard, tender mushrooms, fingerling potatoes and sauteed green beans. And fennel-crusted Baja scallops pop with tangy flavor, thanks to an orange blossom mousse. As a complimentary palate cleanser between courses, the chefs sent out petite shooter cups of chilled radish soup sprinkled with goat cheese and served in the carved-out tops of raw radishes. No Ponsaty-prepared meal is complete without his famously decadent port wine-stewed mushroom ravioli. Its available as a dinner entree, but can be served in an appetizer portion by request. And if theres room, pastry chef Bruno Albouze makes all desserts in-house, including an unforgettable supreme lemon tart, which had layer upon layer of citrus flavors baked lemon curd, fresh pink grapefruit segments, candied orange and clementine sorbet. The lunch and bar menus ($9-$22) have some plated entrees, but mostly offer casual fare. The tender King beef burger is served on a house-baked toasted bun with garlic aioli and caramelized onions and a side of truffled shoestring fries. The mountain mushroom duxelles and arugula flatbread is buttery, crisp, cheesy and filling. And the chopped Cobb salad is served mixed together in an intensely flavored house dressing. Ponsatys wine list is ambitious and leans heavily toward French labels. Wines by the glass start at $9. Bottles range from $37 for a Paso Robles zinfandel to $1,500 for a cabernet-based Bordeaux blend. The chef says he hopes that by offering mid- to high-priced entrees and wine options, Ponsatys will attract a wider following, but all of the customers, he says, can expect a fine dining experience. pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com Behind the painted windows of the EcoVivarium in downtown Escondido, a living museum of lizards, dragons, turtles, snakes, chameleons, frogs and tarantulas has opened for business. The 1,800-square-foot educational center at 163 S. Juniper St. is now hosting walk-though visitors and school groups for up-close, hands-on encounters with creatures like Lemony Snicket, a 6-year-old red-tailed albino boa constrictor, and Hank, a 17-pound Argentine black and white tegu lizard. The museum is the dream project of Escondido resident Susan Nowicke, the longtime volunteer president of the San Diego Herpetological Society. All but few of the museums 200 animals were rescued from owners who surrendered, lost interest, abandoned, abused or couldnt afford to feed their former pets. Nowicke adopted the creatures and, with a small army of volunteers, has spent at least 100 hours hand-training each of the animals to become animal ambassadors. Advertisement The scaly inhabitants of EcoVivarium offer children a tactile interaction thats rare at public museums. Even the San Diego Zoo keeps most of the inhabitants of its Reptile House behind glass. Nowicke said she hopes the experience teaches visitors to better appreciate these unusual, misunderstood and, in many cases, quite affectionate animals. Siblings Delila and Benjamin Estrada touch a black and white Argentine tegu on a visit to the new EcoVivarium living museum in Escondido. (Don Boomer / San Diego Union-Tribune ) Nowicke said her passion for reptiles and amphibians began when she started catching slow-moving bufo toads in her native Chicago. I wasnt afraid of them. I thought they were interesting and my parents were great about it, she said. When I got a little older, Id catch nightcrawler worms and dump a bucket of them on the kitchen table ... Then when we moved to Texas and I found a tarantula crawling on my bedroom window screen, I realized I was braver than my two brothers, who were afraid to go near it. Although trained as an accountant, Nowicke quit work to home school her seven children, who are now grown. One of her children has special needs and Nowicke found that her daughter was more receptive to learning about science, literature and other subjects if the lessons involved a tactile experience with a rescued reptile. Thats how EcoVivarium was born. In 2009, Nowicke created the nonprofit to take rescued creatures into public schools for educational animal encounters. The money raised from the classroom visits helped feed and house her growing menagerie. After years of requests to open a storefront for families and school groups, she leased the storefront on Juniper last year. Asbestos under the flooring, inadequate electrical capacity, permit issues and construction dragged out the project for 18 months. It finally opened on Oct. 29. The museum is still very much a work in progress, but Nowicke said theres been a steady flow of foot traffic since the day the doors opened. Bearded dragons are part of several on display at the new EcoVivarium living museum, which recently opened in Escondido. The museum is designed to teach children about reptile and bug species and their habitats. (Don Boomer / San Diego Union-Tribune ) Its not cheap to feed, bathe and clean up after 200 animals (just a few dozen are on exhibit each day, with the selection rotating constantly). The monthly food bill is $1,400 a month, plus rent, insurance, electricity and water. To reduce expenses, Nowicke came up with creative ideas to build and staff the museum. Carpet Club donated $60,000 in linoleum flooring. Volunteer Mike Reed, an Escondido arborist, built all of the oversize glass-front wood exhibit cases, made with windows recycled from an old housing project. She signed up a middle-school class to design and build the light fixtures that will illuminate and heat each case. And local grade-schoolers are shaping and painting foam panels donated by a Hollywood scenery design company to decorate the interiors of each case. Children can sign up to be junior docents, leading tours and helping with animal care. Among those interested in the job is 10-year-old Benjamin Estrada of Escondido. Gently cradling Sugar, a 9-year-old desert iguana, he said he finds reptiles amazing. His family has visited numerous times since the museum opened and Benjamin said he wishes he could come every day. The cases are displayed along a snakelike path, with each cases representing creatures from different habitats, including the desert, grassland, tropical forest, mangrove swamp and more. For now, they cases are decorated with wood shavings, potted and plastic plants and a few branches for the creatures to crawl on. Eventually each case will have its own biome, with live insects, rocks, soil and rooted plants. There are now 27 animal cases, plus 10 more coming by December for large snakes and spiders. One of the bigger cases, which will hold crocodiles and other large reptiles, has a tunnel underneath that children can crawl through to pop their heads up inside a glass dome at the center. The center hosts school groups, walk-in visitors and birthday parties. The most popular activity is touching and holding the animals. Earlier this month, the Estrada family watched in awe as Mac, an 8-foot Salvator water monitor lizard, walked around the museum on a dog leash. Mac was starving when Nowicke adopted him six years ago. The owner had lost his job, his wife and his home and finally gave up the beloved pet before leaving town. Macs story is similar to many of the EcoVivarium inhabitants. Nowicke said many people buy reptiles when theyre cute little babies, never realizing how large theyll grow, how expensive theyll become to feed, how much training they need to avoid aggressive behavior, and how long theyll live. Most live about 25 years, but Ninja, a 1-year-old African sulcata tortoise who inhabits a pyramid-shaped enclosure, can live 80 years and grow to 250 pounds. Many of the rescues arrived malnourished and some have been abused, like a boa constrictor who was shot 13 times and left for dead. The boa survived but still has a bullet lodged near his heart. Nowicke said animals like these have a special place in her heart and in her hands-on programs with small children. The ones weve brought back from the brink of death have a special connection to the people who saved them, she said. Theyre so grateful and loving because theyve been given a second chance. EcoVivarium is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays (closed on Thanksgiving). School tours take place on Mondays and Tuesdays. Tickets are $8 for children ages 17 and under and $10 for adults. Call (760) 975-9690 or visit ecovivarium.org or the museums EcoVivarium Facebook page. pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com On Sunday night, Del Mar native Taylor Williamson will be back in town to perform at the Belly Up Tavern. But unlike most artists making a hometown visit, the 30-year-old stand-up comedian isnt inviting his family or old high school classmates. Williamson who gained national fame as one of the most popular contestants on TVs Americas Got Talent often mines his family history and his awkward adolescence for his oddball comedy, and said some of his subjects might not get his humor. The Studio City-based comedian has established a successful career around his quirky stage persona, which he calls a version of his true self turned up 200 percent. Onstage, hes dorky, shy and self-deprecating with a high-pitched voice, unruly hair and a perpetually bemused expression. Offstage? His fans are often surprised to learn that hes not much different. Advertisement I am a super odd, dumb idiot onstage. Sometimes I joke that its just a character, that I dont talk like this or dress like that. But my favorite compliment is that Im the same onstage as off, he said. I embraced what made me weird and different, and its not just OK, its awesome. Taylor Williamson with Jesse Egan When: 8 p.m. Sunday Where: Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach Tickets: $20-$35 Phone: (858) 481-8140 Online: bellyup.com Williamson grew up in a crazy, wonderful Jewish family in Del Mar, where he attended Earl Warren Middle School and Torrey Pines High. His family, which includes a brother two years his senior, were funny but not on purpose, he said. His mom, Del Mar-based artist Suzanne Williamson, said she thought her son might grow up to be a litigator because he was so bright and quick on his feet. Whatever you would say, he could always find the opposite side. He was very observant and he always found the humor, too. There was always that special spark, that little smile about him, she said. From a young age, Williamson said, he was picked on for how he talked and laughed and for being weird. Eventually, he would learn how to capitalize on his quirks, but in his teens, his differences separated him from the crowd. His mother, Suzanne, said her sons strong will helped him persevere during those years. So many people who are talented get bullied, but he had a strong self about him. He wasnt easily defeated. If someone put him down, he was like, forget you, this is my goal and Im going to achieve it, she said. In high school, Williamson started watching videos of unconventional comedians like Zach Galifianakis, Norm McDonald and the late Mitch Hedberg because he loved their dry, sarcastic, cerebral, stupid, dumb comedy. When he was criticized at school for repeating some of these comics jokes, he spent a year writing his own. At 17, he made his onstage debut at the Comedy Store in La Jolla and became a regular. Few classmates knew about his secret vocation. I was very private about it. I disconnected myself from school to put my passion into comedy, he said. I regret not embracing drama and art (at Torrey Pines), I think I wouldve fit in with the weird artsy kids. I was just alone in my thing. After he graduated in 2004, Williamson studied political science at Cal State Northridge by day and did stand-up by night. Then a comedian he respected advised him to drop out of college. He said, youre already paying the bills doing what you love. Why have a backup plan? Suzanne Williamson said she was worried about his plan to move to Hollywood and pursue his dreams, but she had done the same thing as a young artist so she supported his decision. For the next eight years, Williamson made a modest living working full-time in stand-up. He played clubs in Las Vegas and Reno, was the youngest-ever comedian to perform on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, played the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal and was a semifinalist on NBCs Last Comic Standing in 2010. Then in 2013, his career unexpectedly hit the skids. For the first time, he contemplated getting a part-time job to pay the rent. As a last resort, he auditioned for Americas Got Talent. I did it out of desperation because my career was in such a funk, he said. I was scared of having (judges) Howard Stern and Howie Mandel tell me Im not good. But it went better than I ever couldve dreamed. It changed my life. Williamson who has since been named the No. 4 favorite contestant in the TV talent shows 10-year history became a viral sensation. Teen fans, calling themselves Taylords, uploaded social media videos of themselves reciting his jokes and imitating his often-bewildered expressions (called the TaylorFace). He also had an unexpected chemistry with judge and supermodel Heidi Klum, whose innocent and comic flirting with Williamson each week made him an unlikely sex symbol. On the series finale, Williamson came in second place behind dancer/illusionist Kenichi Ebina. Nonetheless, Williamson said it was the best night of his life because of a brief speech he made to children watching the broadcast. I got to say to the weird kids that if they feel awkward or theyre being picked on, I was like you, and if I wasnt like you, I wouldnt be in the finals, he said. Some kids dont have someone to tell them that. Suzanne, who became close to many of the contestants families at the weekly broadcasts, said that speech was also one her proudest moments as a mom. How brave he was to say that in front of everyone, she said. Hes a beacon for many people who have goals and hes giving back to the universe in that respect. Since then, Williamsons career has been riding high. He travels the country performing two to four weeks a month, year-round. When hes home in L.A., he tests out new material four to five nights a week at local comedy clubs. The material he writes focuses on the ups and mostly downs of his life. Im very lucky that bad things happen to me a lot. My comedy isnt really a bunch of lies, its truth exaggerated, he said. When he discovered his grandmothers parents were first cousins, he turned it into a memorable bit on Americas Got Talent. And when he got carjacked in L.A. several ears ago, it became five minutes of good material. When I got carjacked, they pulled me out of my car, but they couldnt drive stick shift so I had to drive them to their destination, he said. Something like that might be awful for you, but for me its a goldmine. Beyond the comedy stage, Williamson has three television series in the works. Hes developing a quirky travel show, a Pee Wees Playhouse-style childrens show and a Curb Your Enthusiasm-inspired sit-com. Hes also filmed a comedy special thats now being shopped around to networks. Until one of these projects gets the green light, hell focus on stand-up, like Sundays show in Solana Beach, his first headlining gig in San Diego in three years. Im in the almost zone right now, he said, with trademark self-defeating humor. Hopefully one of these things will go. Or maybe things will fall apart and I will have to live with my mom again. pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com Can you imagine creamy pecan praline pie so rich it melts in your mouth, its flavor enhanced with homemade liqueur reverse-engineered from a gift bottle a friend brought from New Orleans? Toasty walnut flavors leaping from crunchy biscotti-like wedges? New white chocolate-drenched Nutella-filled cookies designed for holiday celebrations? San Diego County Fair star competitor Alberta Dunbar, among the fairs winningest Home and Hobby participants, shares these prize-winning delights to tempt us all to expand our holiday repertoire. How does she keep on winning? Advertisement I like to cook and make up recipes, she explained, drawing inspiration from whatever she finds in her cupboards and refrigerator. She admits to keeping her larder well-stocked with sweet butter, fresh and dried fruits, nuts, chocolates and other favored ingredients. The always immaculately turned-out Dunbar, a remarkable woman with a lifetime of detailed recollections of San Diego neighborhoods, turns 89 in January. She baked her first cake at the age of 9 and, thanks to her familys early encouragement, has experimented in her kitchen ever since. Followers of the county fairs food competitions will recognize Dunbars name. Since her initial entries of canned and preserved foods in 1972, shes won thousands of ribbons in every category shes entered, not just at San Diegos fair, but also at the Los Angeles County Fair, the California State Fair in Sacramento and, one of her favorites, the American Pie Councils National Pie Competition, held annually in Orlando. Pies, cakes, cookies, liqueurs, fudge, pickles, jams, preserves, salsa, spaghetti sauce, plus numerous one-day and individual product contests, including Ghirardelli Chocolate, Gold Medal Flour and Bisquick shes won them all. Dunbar also earned the 1998 national grand sweepstakes prize in the Spam competition for her Spam cheesecake, which landed her a guest spot on the The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and a trip to Hawaii. Dunbar retains a special affection for Spam, having honed her creativity as a young girl embellishing the canned meat during lean times in her childhood. Her affinity for preserving fruits and vegetables traces to her mothers farmer parents. Her French grandfather and German grandmother were Kansas farmers, cultivating special breeds of red and yellow watermelons with seeds her grandfather brought from France. Dunbar still makes watermelon rind pickle, a West Coast rarity. She moved to San Diego from Oklahoma City with her family in 1936 at age 8, part of the Dust Bowl migration. Her father was a sign painter, with special talent in applying intricate gold leaf patterns, who bartered his sign painting expertise for motel stays and tanks of gas to move his wife and four children cross-country to San Diego. He was also a skilled cook, who briefly had a small restaurant near the Oklahoma City capitol and later, after he had to give up sign painting, in retirement became a pie cook at a Santa Monica Pier restaurant. The newly arrived family lived in a tourist camp in Old Town before settling downtown, where the young girl took over much of the cooking, learning to stretch the family food budget. Later, she worked in restaurants as a carhop and waitress before marrying her late husband, Gale, a motorcycle patrolman for the San Diego Police Department, a marriage lasting 50 years. They raised their four children in the Normal Heights home where she still lives with Charlie, her cat, and three outdoor ferals. Dunbar began entering competitions quite by chance. I wasnt working, going crazy at home. My friend and I were in San Ysidro and saw You Pick signs along the road. We picked cucumbers and tomatoes. I had two or three bushels of veggies. I made pickles, relish, canned tomatoes. I had never done it before, but I thought Id try canning. Thats what got me started at the fair, she explained. That first year, 1972, she entered four items and won two ribbons. Two more followed the next year. Those first four ribbons she framed and hung on the wall, along with the newspaper clippings announcing her wins. Ever since, shes deposited her ribbon trove into overflowing boxes. Every year, she spends several months preparing dozens of entries, following precise competition rules and the rest of the year conjuring up new recipes. Her figs for her jam come from her own tree. The Meyer lemons for her famous lemon curd come from a Palm Springs friend, while most of her other fruits and veggies comes from farmers markets and her nuts from Bates Nut Farm. Dunbar bought a book and taught herself to make liqueurs so she could figure out how to make her own pecan praline liqueur, which won a first place at the fair. She then produced a strawberry banana liqueur, which swept the awards with best of show, best of class and best of all canning. While Dunbar is a natural competitor and loves winning top prizes, what also keeps her coming back to the fair year after year is the people. You meet a lot of nice people, other contestants, judges, fair employees, many of whom I keep up with, she said. If she says shes going to retire, dont believe her. Thriving on her culinary creativity, Dunbar is already lining up her next years entries. Larson is a San Diego freelance writer. Pecan Praline Delight This pie has won multiple prizes, including the San Diego County Fairs first place sweepstakes. You can make your own pecan praline liqueur (recipe follows) or substitute a commercial praline pecan liqueur Makes 8-10 servings CRUST 1 cups flour teaspoon salt cup vegetable oil cup milk FILLING 12 ounces cream cheese, softened 3 tablespoons pecan praline liqueur 1 12-ounce package white chocolate chips, melted cup ground toasted pecans cup English toffee baking bits 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped stiff TOPPING 1 cups heavy whipping cream 1/3 cup confectioners sugar, sifted 1 tablespoon pecan praline liqueur cup ground toasted pecans cup toffee baking bits Optional garnish 1 ounce dipping chocolate 18-24 whole pecans Crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well with fork. Shape into a circle. Roll between two sheets of wax paper. Place in a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate. Prick with fork. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes. Cool. Filling: In large bowl, beat cream cheese and liqueur with electric mixer until smooth. Beat in melted white chocolate chips until well blended. Add pecans and toffee bits; mix well. Fold in whipped cream with wooden spoon. Turn into pie crust. Chill until set. Topping: Place cream, sugar and liqueur in a small bowl and beat with mixer until stiff. Frost pie, reserving 1/3 for garnish. With pastry bag and large star tip, pipe large rosettes around outer edges. Sprinkle top with mixture of ground pecans and toffee. Optional garnish: Melt dipping chocolate and dip one end of each of the pecans. Place on wax paper-lined cookie sheet and chill until set. Arrange around the perimeter of the pie. Refrigerate pie until serving. Pecan Praline Liqueur This won first place for non-fruit liqueur at the San Diego County Fair. Makes 1 quart BROWN SUGAR SYRUP 1 cup golden brown sugar, firmly packed cup water LIQUEUR 8 ounces chopped pecans 3 cups vodka 1 cup brown sugar syrup 1 teaspoon glycerine Make brown sugar syrup by placing sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, stirring constantly until sugar is fully dissolved and syrup thickens a bit. Set aside and let cool. Place nuts and vodka in a 1-quart fruit jar. Steep at least one month, shaking jar occasionally. Strain and filter through a coffee filter until clear, three or four times. Add the syrup. Place in dark bottle and mature 2 to 3 weeks. Add glycerine for smoother texture. Mandelbrot These cookies are reminiscent of biscotti but tastier. They won first place in the San Diego County Fairs Cookie Jar competition. Makes about 75 cookies COOKIE DOUGH cup Crisco cup Crisco oil 1 cups sugar 4 eggs 1 teaspoons vanilla 4 cups unsifted flour teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder teaspoon cinnamon 1 cups chopped walnuts TOPPING cup sugar teaspoon cinnamon Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place shortening, oil and sugar in a large bowl and beat until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon and whisk to blend. Add this to creamed mixture and mix with clean hands until well blended. Add nuts and mix with hands until well combined. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Using a cookie sheet without sides, roll each part into a roll about 12 inches long and place on cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between each roll. Make topping by combining the sugar and cinnamon and mixing well. Sprinkle the top of each roll with this mixture. Brush off excess topping from the cookie sheet. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until deep brown in color. Remove from oven and cut into 1/3-inch slices while hot. Place back on cookie sheets. Return to oven to dry and brown for about 10 minutes. These cookies keep well stored in a sealed container. Santas Bites This is a new creation to celebrate the 2016 holidays. Makes 38 cookies 1 box Keeblers Original Crackers 1 13-ounce jar Nutella spread 1 pound white chocolate (Ghirardelli melting wafers recommended) 1 cup toasted sliced almonds Red and green candy sprinkles Place 38 single crackers on a large cookie sheet. With salted side up, spread with a layer of Nutella. Top with a second cracker, salted side down. Line two cookie sheets with wax paper. Place chocolate in a microwavable bowl. Melt on low for about 1 minute, 30 seconds (varies with oven). Stir well. Dip each sandwiched cracker in chocolate using a fork. Shake off excess chocolate. Place on lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle one end with almonds and the other with red and green sprinkles. Do six at a time until all are dipped and decorated. Put sheets in refrigerator until set. Place in a sealed container, cover and keep in refrigerator until ready to use. Use any leftover melted chocolate to dip pecans or Craisins (dried cranberries) to form clusters; chill to set. All recipes created by Alberta Dunbar Is the time ripe for a Mad Dog to lead the Defense Department, just as an unconventional president takes the helm? Or will Donald Trump, with his famously thin skin for criticism, shy away from picking a man known for his bluntness to become the next defense secretary? Marines of all stripes expressed excitement about retired Gen. James Mad Dog Mattis a revered figure who led Camp Pendleton troops into battle in Iraq being considered to head the Pentagon. Advertisement Mattis, who retired with four stars in 2013, met with Trump this weekend as a candidate on the short list to direct the Defense Department. Afterward, the president-elect called the Marine icon impressive in a tweet. RELATED: 14 famous quotes from Mad Dog Mattis Mattis is, perhaps, a dark-horse candidate. Other prospects are proven politicians, more likely to smoothly navigate Capitol Hill and without the need for a waiver from Congress to serve. Federal statute dictates a seven-year gap after active military service for a defense secretary. The other reported top contenders are Sen. Jim Talent, a Republican from Missouri; Stephen Hadley, former national-security adviser under George W. Bush; and Sen. Tom Cotton, a first-term Republican from Arkansas who served as an Army officer in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, also a Marine Corps veteran, was discussed as an early possibility. But Mattis name has sparked the most excitement in the news media and among former Marines who served under him. I consider the time I spent on his personal staff as THE formative experience of my time in the Marine Corps. Hands down, he was the best leader that I ever served with, said Joe Plenzler, a retired Marine public affairs officer who did tours with Mattis at Camp Pendleton. Joe Chenelly was a young enlisted Marine in late 2001 when Mattis led Task Force 58 into Afghanistan. Its my personal opinion that weve been at war for 15 straight years because, in part, we havent had enough real warriors at the helm. General Mattis could change that, Chenelly said. Task Force 58 was the first large U.S. ground force in that nation, and Mattis was just a one-star from Pendleton at the time. He was already making waves with his blunt talk. U.S. officials blanched when Mattis was quoted as saying, The Marines have landed and we now own a piece of Afghanistan even though the White House had said it didnt covet foreign territory. Mattis went on to lead San Diego County Marines in the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the bloody Fallujah campaign of 2004. He later had a hand in writing the counterinsurgency doctrine that helped turn around the deadly Al Anbar district after 2006. But his frank comments continued to be a headache for Pentagon brass, such as at a 2005 panel discussion in San Diego. Mattis now famously said: Actually its quite fun to fight them, you know. Its a hell of a hoot. ... I like brawling. He added, You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didnt wear a veil. You know, guys like that aint got no manhood left anyway. Afterward, top Marine generals rallied around Mattis, though they said he should have been more prudent with his remarks. Its an open question if thats why Mattis wasnt chosen as Marine commandant despite leading both the 1st Marine Division and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, usually stepping stones to the Corps top job. His final position was U.S. Central Command, overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nonetheless, the former generals no-holds-barred candor is part of why everyday Marines love Mattis. Many, including some interviewed for this story, have used the phrase I would follow him into hell. Also, stories of Mattis caring about the average lance corporal are legion. Here are a few: Chenelly said circumstances meant that Pendleton Marines went into Afghanistan in late 2001 without cold-weather gear. (Mattis) would walk the perimeters at night, from fighting position to fighting position, asking how each Marine was. Once he realized we didnt have much in the way of warm clothes, he stopped wearing his. Hed bring heating packs (from field meal packages) to the Marines likely his and his staff officers. Retired Marine Corps officer Gary Solis, a former military judge advocate and Marine prosecutor, remembers that Mattis called each Pendleton infantry battalion, one at a time, into a base theater before the Iraq war. It took some time, but the general wanted the grunts to be informed and to hear their questions. I went with him to a couple of those briefings, Solis remembers. He could talk to just about anybody on a level that allows him to connect to them, not in a bureaucratic way, but in a personal way. Solis also tells that Mattis discovered a young newlywed Marine in his command had moved his wife into base housing without any furniture. The general ordered the Marine to come to his quarters and take whatever he could use. Hows that for leadership? Solis asked in an interview Tuesday. There was even a push this spring by a group of Republicans to draft the retired general to become a presidential nominee. He declined, choosing to remain a visiting fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution. Mattis does have a few unsavory notations on his resume. He was in charge of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command when it failed to act on an urgent plea for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to replace regular Humvees. The time was 2005, when Marines were losing limbs on a regular basis to roadside bombs. A 2008 Pentagon inspector general investigation, as reported by USA Today, determined that the development command dropped the ball on the request. In 2012, Mattis became interested in a Silicon Valley upstart, Theranos, whose blood-testing technology had a chance to be a game-changer for battlefield medicine. But the company hit regulatory roadblocks. Mattis pushed to help Theranos gain acceptance from the Defense Department, emailing others, asking how do we overcome this new obstacle? Then, a year later in retirement, he agreed to join the companys board which was approved by a Pentagon lawyer, but with the restriction that he shouldnt represent the company in affairs before the Defense Department. Stars of the American political class have praised Mattis candidacy. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and himself a war hero, released a statement saying that he hopes Mattis has a chance to serve the nation again. General Mattis has a clear understanding of the many challenges facing the Department of Defense, the U.S. military, and our national security, McCain said Monday. But the question remains: Is the warrior-scholar whose battlefield call sign was Chaos a good fit to run a notorious bureaucracy staffed by 742,000 civilians and 1.3 million active-duty troops? Opinion is mixed. Some made it sound like it would be fun to watch the fireworks from a man famous for saying, Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet. I think he has an uncanny ability to cut through the bureaucracy and make a great impact fast than just about any other secretary in modern history, said Chenelly, who is now executive director of the national AMVETS organization. I realize that sounds grandiose, but we are talking a lot about never been done before these days. Plenzler sounded optimistic, saying that the general knows what makes people tick and how to motivate. He has shown time and again that he has the courage to offer his best military advice to leadership -- even when that advice runs contrary to conventional wisdom, the retired public affairs officer added. Solis is dubious about the compatability. He predicted that Mattis might not last long just like another retired Marine leader, Gen. James Jones, who tapped out as National Security Adviser to the Obama administration after less than two years. His candor and regard for truth would, I fear, soon put him at odds with other appointees and entrenched Washington interests with less concern for those attributes, the former Marine lawer said. But, on Tuesday, there were signs that perhaps Trump might listen to the retired generals counsel. Mattis is hawkish on Iran, but he is also known for coaching his Marines to try restraint and cultural understanding when dealing with civilians in Iraq. On the topic of waterboarding, Trump has previously been a fan. But the president-elect told the New York Times that Mattis negative opinion of the practice the retired general said cigarettes and beer work just as well -- may sway him. Trump told the Times: I think its time, maybe, for a general. jen.steele@sduniontribune.com Facebook: U-T Military Twitter: @jensteeley The archbishop spoke with a patience that belied his frustration. My dear brothers and sisters, he said to the congregation that had gathered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on the Thursday evening after the presidential election. We are here tonight because our people are hurting, and they feel afraid. For more than 10 years, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez has argued that the U.S. immigration system is broken, and now overnight, the terms of the debate had shifted. Advertisement The calls for a massive increase in deportations, the political rhetoric of the last year, threatened to become reality, and as he looked out upon the faces of the faithful, he could see their anxiety. We pray for our leaders, including our President-elect Archbishop Jose Gomez 1 / 8 Archbishop Jose H. Gomez greets Jade Lopez, 9, of L.A., during an interfaith prayer service Nov. 10 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. During the service, the day after the election, he called for peace and unity. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 8 L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti hugs Archbishop Jose H. Gomez after the service. For Gomez, who came to this country from Mexico, the service was an opportunity to show the churchs solidarity with the more than 3 million Latinos in the archdiocese. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 8 Nuns participate in the interfaith prayer service for peace and unity. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 8 People participate in an interfaith prayer service for peace and unity, held the day after the presidential election. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 8 Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Nov. 21. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 6 / 8 Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez is surrounded by parishioners after the door-closing ceremony marking the formal close of the jubilee Year of Mercy after a mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Sunday. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 7 / 8 Archbishop Gomez leads a special mass marking the formal close of the jubilee Year of Mercy. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) 8 / 8 Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez leads a ceremony marking the close of the Year of Mercy on Sunday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. (Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times) That afternoon, with preparations in place, he had retreated to his private chapel and prayed. Most homilies take days to prepare, and he had a little more than an hour to find the words to ease the fear sweeping through the archdiocese. He was nervous. Like most everyone, the result of the election had surprised him. What was he supposed to say? After a year of insults, threats and bombast, the election had laid bare the vulnerability of the governed. His quiet, amplified voice echoed through the cavernous space as he continued. We are here to listen to their voices because they feel they are being forgotten. The prayer service had been organized at the last minute, inspired in part by a phone call from L.A. Mayor Eric Garcettis office, and only 100 or so congregants were in attendance. Garcetti spoke, as did leaders representing the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths. But for Gomez, who came to this country from Mexico, the service was an opportunity to show the churchs solidarity with the more than 3 million Latinos in the archdiocese. Thats what tonight is about, he said. Not politics. Its about people. The words had a personal meaning for Gomez, whose mothers family was from San Antonio and whose fathers family came from Monterrey, Mexico, where he was born. As a child, he crossed the bridge at Reynosa, Mexico-McAllen, Texas, to visit his mothers family during the summer and spring break. His father liked to fish, and they would go to Padre Island in Texas. Even though he had a passport and a tourist visa, la mica, he recalls how scary the border crossing was. Right now all across this city and in cities all across this country there are children who are going to bed scared, he said. From 2009 to 2015, more than 2.5 million people had been deported under the Obama administration. Now it appeared that many more were at risk. In the United States, there are 11.3 million undocumented immigrants, including the almost 750,000 so-called Dreamers, who had been given protection under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The president-elect has promised in the next two years to either pressure them to leave or deport them, which would mean taking 15,000 into custody every day. There are men and women who cant sleep because they are trying to figure out what to do when the government comes to take them away from their kids and their loved ones, Gomez said, mindful of families divided, of the children whove lost parents, of grandparents disappearing from their lives. He has long argued that economic desperation drives families to give up their homes and come to the United States. It is what makes Americans unique: not just their citizens immigrant past but their acceptance of newcomers. Immigration, he has written, is not a problem but an opportunity to renew the values that founded this country. After years of pastoral work in Mexico, he was assigned to a parish in San Antonio in 1987. He was ambivalent about going. He describes his ministry in Monterrey as beautiful. At first he applied for an R-1 visa for religious workers, and within six months, he had a permanent resident card, a green card. At the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, along with Rabbi Sharon Brous; Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council; and the Rev. Najuma Smith-Pollard participate in In 1995, Gomez became a citizen, inspired, he says, by the chance to make a contribution to the United States. He says that many immigrants want to do the same. When he thinks about what it means to be an American, he says he thinks about his mother and her respect for others, her willingness to listen. But in the succeeding years he has watched the generosity of this country grow scarce, he says, reflecting upon the words of Pope Francis who has spoken about the culture of selfishness and individualism in society. In 2011, Gomez testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement and outlined the position of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in their opposition of workplace immigration raids and in favor of reform. Two years later, he represented the bishops position before the Senate Judiciary Committee. That same year he put his thoughts in a short book, Immigration and the Next America: Renewing the Soul of Our Nation. NEWSLETTER: Get essential California headlines delivered daily At the time there was the hope that politicians in Washington would fix the system. My fear, he wrote, is that in our frustration and anger, we are losing our grip and perspective. Im worried we are losing something of our national soul. His homily echoed this idea but with added urgency. We are better people than this, he said. We should not accept that this is the best we can hope for in our politics or in ourselves. Carolina Guevara, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said she is moved by the passion in the archbishops words. She also discerned a feeling of loss, a sense that all the progress advocating for a humane immigration system might be swept away. The night before the service, demonstrators burned an effigy of President-elect Donald Trumps head in front of City Hall. Some spray-painted graffiti denouncing the president-elect on buildings and sidewalks, and hundreds stormed onto the 101 Freeway north of downtown, shutting down traffic. That day, Gomez had tweeted: True civility means demonstrating real respect for other people, even if we are deeply opposed to their positions or even their worldview. Speaking in the cathedral, he needed to be more direct. The answer is not angry words or violence in the streets, he said. It never solves anything; it only inflames things more. Yet he understood frustration. He has lived with it through three administrations and doesnt understand why politicians against the wishes of their constituents have been unable to fix the immigration system. It seems to him that they dont want to. Tonight, he said, we promise our brothers and sisters who are undocumented, we will never leave you alone. En las buenas y en las malas. In good times and in bad, we are with you. You are family. When Ellie Hidalgo of the Dolores Mission heard the words en las buenas y en las malas, a popular idiom expressing the unbreakable bond, the love within a family she let out her breath. She had come to the cathedral with nearly 30 members of her Boyle Heights parish, families who wanted to know what the archbishop would say at such a precarious time. She now felt inspired. Lets pray that they can come together, in a spirit of national unity, and agree to stop the threat of deportations until we can fix our broken immigration Archbishop Jose Gomez Also tonight as we come together to pray for unity and to bind the wounds of division, said Gomez, borrowing a phrase from the president-elects election speech, we pray for our leaders, including our president-elect. Lets pray that they can come together, in a spirit of national unity, and agree to stop the threat of deportations until we can fix our broken immigration system. Gomez has never argued for a complete amnesty. He has said that those who are here illegally must be held accountable with fines, maybe community service, and educate themselves about the countrys laws and government. Deportation, he believes, is a punishment that doesnt fit the crime. And in the final words of his homily, he called upon the archdioceses most enduring symbol of hope and unification, a symbol of faith that endures across borders in times of peril. And may Our Lady of Guadalupe the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all the peoples of the Americas may she watch over us and help us to truly become one nation under God. ALSO San Diego judge who mediated Trump University case praised as steady hand That terror is seared into my memory: George Takei on Japanese internment, amid concerns about potential discriminatory policies targeting Muslims Border Patrol union welcomes Trumps proposed wall as a vital tool Police said Tuesday they had captured the blue-haired woman who scrawled anti-Donald Trump graffiti on four Los Angeles County buildings. Surveillance cameras filmed a woman Sunday as she used a can of blue spray paint to deface multiple walls in downtown L.A. with vulgarities about Trump and other writings about the president-elect, according to Deputy Kelvin Moody, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. The markings were found on the Hall of Justice, Hall of Records, Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center and the countys Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant. Advertisement Officials released surveillance images of the woman, who wore a plaid shirt and had a distinct mop of blue hair. On Tuesday, Los Angeles Police Department officers on patrol near 1st Street and Soto Avenue stopped a woman for having an open container in public and immediately recognized her as the suspect from the graffiti investigation. Officers arrested Victoria Jayne Bay, 37, on suspicion of felony vandalism. Listed as a transient, Bay was being held in lieu of $10,000 bail, and its unclear if she was being represented by an attorney. The graffiti caused about $9,000 in damage. Crews were working to remove it. Court records show a woman with the same birth date and name as Bay pleaded no contest in 2004 to a prostitution charge. She was sentenced to 180 days in county jail, according to court records. In recent years, Bay has had numerous encounters with police, including a Jan. 13 arrest for allegedly being drunk in public, according to arrest records. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriffs Departments County Services Bureau at (213) 613-3908, or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477. To read the article in Spanish, click here matt.hamilton@latimes.com Twitter: @MattHjourno. An argument between a couple in South L.A. ended with the man shooting his wife and two stepchildren, then turning the gun on himself, police said. The man, described as in his 50s, first shot his 39-year-old wife in the face, then his 10-year-old stepson in the leg and his 16-year-old stepdaughter in the back before fatally shooting himself, said LAPD Officer Mike Lopez. The stepdaughter was listed in critical condition and the mother was in stable condition, Lopez said. The boy was expected to survive. Advertisement The gunfire erupted shortly after 10 p.m. in the 1400 block of East 51st Street, according to Officer Aareon Jefferson, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. Police had initially said the two children were 8 and 20 years old. Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report. joseph.serna@latimes.com ALSO Blue-haired woman arrested for scrawling anti-Trump graffiti on government buildings, police say South Gate police officer and wife found dead in Long Beach condo FBI closes inquiry into Brad Pitt over airplane incident; no charges filed UPDATES: 8:40 a.m.: This article was updated with the gunmans relationship to the victims. 7:15 a.m., Nov. 23: This article was updated with the age of one of the victims. 11:55 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details about what led to the shooting and the number of victims involved. This article was originally published at 10:55 p.m. Nov. 22 Technology installed in four San Diego neighborhoods will inform officers when and where a shooting happens, even if no one calls it in. The police department this week announced that it had installed a system that can detect gunshots and send information to police in the southeastern communities of Valencia Park, Skyline, OFarrell and Lincoln Park. The system, called ShotSpotter, uses powerful audio sensors placed at least 30 feet above street level. Once the sensors pinpoint where a sound came from, the information is sent to a review center where employees of SST Inc., the for-profit company that developed the system, will determine whether it was gunfire. If the sound is determined to be gunfire, the incident is forwarded to police, a process the company says takes less than a minute. Officers in the field are told the location, the time of the shooting and the number of rounds fired. Advertisement Police said the hope is that the technology will act as a deterrent to gun violence and help officers respond more quickly. Critics are concerned the tool was installed with little to no community input and will contribute to the over-policing of communities of color. Installation of the sensors began in October. On Tuesday night, officers fired 36 shots as a test before the system went online. The department declined to cite specific locations or the number of devices installed. The system cost $245,000 under a one-year lease agreement. It was mostly paid for with asset forfeiture funds from the district attorneys office. The police department contributed $10,000, also from asset forfeiture funds. San Diego Police Lt. Scott Wahl said officials chose the four southeastern neighborhoods after researching which communities experienced high instances of gun crimes. Its about keeping our streets safe and protecting our communities from gun violence, Wahl said. We want to send a strong message that if someone does decide to shoot a gun, a police officer is going to be notified immediately. The technology is used in more than 90 cities worldwide, including New York, Milwaukee and Miami. Statistics curated by SST Inc., the company that created ShotSpotter, shows gunfire in cities that use the system decreased by a median of 13% in 2015. But the system is not without its critics. Christie Hill, a senior policy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote that the technology may contribute to over-policing in San Diegos minority neighborhoods. She was also concerned that ShotSpotter was implemented without first getting input from the communities the tool would serve. Its deeply troubling that while the technology and tools of surveillance advance, the color of surveillance remains the same and basic transparency, oversight and accountability remain the exception, not the rule, she wrote in a blog post. Others worry the system will waste officers time by sending them to locations where no crime has occurred. A review of ShotSpotter data by the Miami Herald a year after the system was implemented in that city showed one in four alerts resulted in a documented crime. Other jurisdictions that tried the system out eventually cancelled it, saying it didnt help officers solve cases. Wahl said the department would evaluate ShotSpotter at the end of the year to determine whether it was effective and worth continuing or expanding. lindsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com Winkley writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune ALSO What it could cost to rebuild California after a mega-quake: $289 billion Citing President-elect Trump, L.A. Council members announce policy to protect immigrant street vendors How a mosquito bite led to paralysis and turned this teachers life upside down A man who stole a San Diego police patrol SUV in Barrio Logan and then used it to run down an officer was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years and four months in prison. William Frank Bogard, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and other charges in connection with the January 2015 incident that injured Officer Jeffrey Swett. Bogard also tried to strike Officer Brett Byler with the SUV, but the officer was able to avoid the hit. Advertisement San Diego Superior Court Judge David Rubin sentenced Bogard in keeping with the plea agreement and ordered him to pay more than $304,000 restitution to the city for Swetts medical treatment and for damage to two police vehicles. Bogard previously entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in this case but later withdrew it. At a defense attorneys request, the judge recommended Bogard be screened for a higher level of psychiatric treatment while he is in prison. According to police and prosecutors, the two officers went to a home on Main Street in Barrio Logan on Jan. 13, 2015, when residents there reported a man outside was acting strangely. Police were told the man, later identified as Bogard, was breaking in through a window and threatening to kill them, Deputy District Attorney Michael Runyon said at a previous court hearing. Bogard jumped into Swetts empty patrol vehicle and drove it at both officers, who drew their guns. Swett was hit and knocked to the ground. Byler fired four rounds, wounding Bogard in a leg. The SUV ran up a utility pole wire and got stuck with its front end in the air. At the sentencing Tuesday, Bogard said, Im deeply, deeply sorry for the way I affected all of your lives, your families lives. He said he had no explanation for what he had done but hoped his time in prison would help them heal. You have nothing to fear from me ever in life from this moment on, he said. Outside the courtroom, Swett a 26-year veteran of the police force who is back to full duty acknowledged the defendants apology and said he feels sorry for Bogards family. I never take it personally, he said. I just think he was looking to kill a police officer. dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @danalittlefield A businessman pleaded guilty Tuesday to defrauding investors several of them from San Diego of millions of dollars through a marketing business that solicited potential plaintiffs for lawsuits against prescription drug and medical device manufacturers. David Aldrich, 43, co-founded Prometheus Law, or PLC, in 2013 and sought investors for the Los Angeles-based business, promising them hefty returns from proceeds of the lawsuits, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. According to the business model, plaintiffs for medical-related lawsuits would be sought out and then referred to a litigation firm. If the case won or settled, then Prometheus would get a portion of the fees for the referral, and that money would be passed down to investors, according to court records. Advertisement To lure investors, the company promised that as soon as claims were filed, the backers would be entitled immediately to money from other lawsuits that had already been settled, prosecutors said. Prometheus promised 100 percent to 300 percent returns. About 200 investors signed up, depositing more than $8.5 million with Prometheus. In reality, only 1 percent of the lawsuits had been settled, and most had not been litigated or successfully negotiated for settlement, prosecutors said. Promises that the investors funds were wholly secured by a lien were also untrue, as were assurances that investors could recoup their investments on demand. The company was only able to pay back about $300,000 to investors, prosecutors said, leaving most investors, many of them retirees, empty-handed. Co-founder James Catipay pleaded guilty to the same charge, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, in October. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which has filed a complaint against Prometheus, accuses the businessmen of misusing $5.6 million in investor funds for personal purposes, including more than $1 million for Aldrichs personal income taxes and another $1 million to buy a condominium. A Los Angeles federal court has appointed a receiver to recover money for investors, prosecutors said. Aldrich has agreed to pay $8.5 million in restitution. kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @kristinadavis While driving along a residential road in Tierrasanta earlier this year, Julianne Little took her eyes off the road briefly but long enough for her to drive onto a sidewalk where she struck two young girls. Both victims suffered serious injuries. One of them a 10-year-old died at a hospital a few days later. Roughly nine months after the collision, a San Diego Superior Court jury has been asked to consider what drew Littles attention away from the road. Advertisement Was she distracted because she was texting while driving, as the prosecution contends? Or did she dose off while behind the wheel, as argued by the defense? She knew she hit those little girls while she was driving distracted, Deputy District Attorney Melissa Vasel said Tuesday morning during her closing argument, noting that Little failed to stop and call for help after the collision. Defense attorney Charles Quirk had a different take on the case, arguing that Little inadvertently fell asleep while driving and panicked once she realized she had driven onto the sidewalk. This was an accident, Quirk told the jury. It wasnt a purposeful act. After deliberating much of Tuesday afternoon, the jury said it had reached verdicts, which will be announced in Judge Lorna Alksnes courtroom Wednesday morning. Little, 31, of Tierrasanta faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run causing injury in connection with the incident that killed Raquel LeeAnn Rosete, 10. Raquel and her 12-year-old friend had been walking to a McDonalds restaurant the evening of Feb. 20, when they were struck on the sidewalk along Santo Road near Shields Street. Passers-by found the girls on the ground and stopped to help. Little, who was driving a Toyota Corolla, kept going but returned to the scene less than 30 minutes later with her father. She had a ton of opportunities to stop, the prosecutor said in court Tuesday. She just wanted to make it to her home safe. Who cares about the little girls she left behind? Raquel suffered brain injuries and died at a hospital. Her friend spent two days in a hospital after suffering a concussion and fractures to both of her ankles. The prosecutor argued that the evidence showed Little had been using her cellphone either just before or at the time she drove over a 5-foot buffer and a 6-foot bike lane and onto the sidewalk. All four wheels of the Corolla left the roadway. She knew what she did, the prosecutor said, noting that the front-end damage to the car should have indicated to Little right away that she had hit something or someone. She knew she was distracted while she was driving, Vasel said. The prosecutor argued that the choices the defendant made before the collision including driving while fatigued were evidence of gross negligence, which support the gross vehicular manslaughter charge. The defense contended there was no evidence of gross negligence, only ordinary negligence and that the panel should find her guilty of a lesser charge. Falling asleep while driving is not gross negligence, said Quirk, who urged the jury to follow the law and not be swayed by the emotion of the case. He argued that the timing of the text message on Littles phone, along with evidence presented by investigators, doesnt support a finding that she was texting at the time she was driving. He also noted that Little did not try to erase any text messages or get rid of her phone before she was questioned by police. dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @danalittlefield Julianne Little wasnt texting and she wasnt fatigued, a jury found, but she was distracted when she drove onto a sidewalk in Tierrasanta in February, striking two young girls. One of them 10-year-old Raquel LeeAnn Rosete died a few days later of brain injuries. The jurors deliberated less than an hour Tuesday afternoon, and their verdicts were announced Wednesday morning. The jury found Little, 31, guilty of gross vehicular manslaughter, with an allegation that she fled the scene, and felony hit and run causing injury. Advertisement San Diego Superior Court Judge Lorna Alksne scheduled a sentencing hearing for Jan. 19. Throughout the trial, the courtroom was filled with family members of the two victims as well as the defendants supporters. There were tears on both sides of the room when the verdicts were read. Outside the courtroom, Raquels sister Jessica Rosete said she felt relief tempered with loss. Im very happy for the verdict, said the 21-year-old, who has a tattoo on the left side of her chest of her sisters name written in thin, cursive script. My sister, she still isnt here. Rosete, who stood with several family members as she spoke to reporters, said she wasnt particularly surprised by the verdicts. Any juror, any normal, decent human being would have known automatically that she was guilty, she said. The fatal crash happened the evening of Feb. 20, as Raquel and her 12-year-old friend were on the sidewalk to a nearby McDonalds restaurant. They were hit as they walked along Santo Road near Shields Street. The 12-year-old girl was seriously injured but survived. Little, who was behind the wheel of a Toyota Corolla, kept driving after the impact and went to her parents home. She returned to the scene less than 30 minutes later with her father. Deputy District Attorney Melissa Vasel argued that Little was distracted and had possibly been texting. There was evidence that she sent a text around the time of the crash. Littles defense lawyers, Charles Quirk and Anna Yum, contended their client had not been texting while driving. Instead, they said, Little fell asleep at the wheel and panicked when she realized she had driven off the road. In his closing argument, Quirk conceded that Little was guilty of vehicular manslaughter, but he argued that her behavior constituted ordinary negligence, not gross negligence. The jurors made findings indicating they did not believe Little was texting or fatigued at the time of the crash, but found that her behavior was grossly negligent. Little faces a possible prison term of up to 11 years and eight months at sentencing. RELATED An Oceanside woman was sentenced Friday to 21 years to life in prison for intentionally drowning her toddler son after learning shed have to split custody of the boy with his father. dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @danalittlefield 1 / 9 Mesa College student Joshua Foster, left, serves himself some salad as he and other students go through the line. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 9 Mesa College student Connal McLean, right, serves fellow student Johnna Hanson. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 9 Gravy is ladled on to a plate. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 9 Mesa College student Tad Tobar walks toward one of the tables with a full plate of food. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 9 Mesa College student Tad Tobar, left, and Jose Quijada eat. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 9 Students eat turkey and ham during the Thanksgiving feast for students who are unable to go home for Thanksgiving. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 9 Students Desiree Johnduran, right, and Carissa Carrasquillo eat during the Thanksgiving feast for students who are unable to go home for Thanksgiving. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 9 Band Three Chamber Heart play as students eat. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 9 Mesa College alumni and food server volunteer Marsha Lanuzo dances to the music of Three Chamber Heart during the Thanksgiving feast for students who are unable to go home for Thanksgiving. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) Some of the students were far away from their families. Some were struggling with food insecurity. And some were facing other challenges. On Tuesday, all of them still had something to be thankful for thanks to the thoughtfulness of fellow students at two community colleges. Advertisement Our overall goal is to make sure everybody at Mesa has a Thanksgiving feast, said Ava Fakhrabdi, president of the colleges Associated Student Government, which organized a catered meal for about 100 people Tuesday afternoon on the campus in the Linda Vista neighborhood. During the same afternoon, about 300 students at Southwestern College in Chula Vista attended an early Thanksgiving meal organized by the schools Associated Student Organization. We started it because many students on campus are not able to spend Thanksgiving with their family, said Yasmeen Obeid, social vice president for the student group at Southwestern. The (Associated Student Organization) wanted to create something that would benefit those students and make them feel at home, she added. Mesa began serving Thanksgiving dinner to its students two years ago, while Southwestern started last year. At Mesa, the meal was catered by Boston Market and cost $2,000. The dinner at Southwestern used staff from the colleges food services department and cost about $5,000. Both of the bills were covered by the student organizations budgets. Tuesdays events were open to all students, although early invitations were aimed at military veterans, international students, former foster children in the Guardian Scholars program and students who had registered to use food pantries on either campus. I think this is one event that really makes us feel like were a community on campus, Fakhrabadi said. At Southwestern, student development director Brett Robertson said some staff members who heard about the student-organized dinner volunteered to help serve food. Students sometimes come up with the most wonderful ideas, he said. Over at Mesa College, the Associated Student Government program HOST Hope Offered to Students in Transition established the Thanksgiving communal meal. The program evolved from a homeless-outreach effort at the school into a broader focus on various types of students in need. Student Angela Arreagu, chair of Mesas Interclub Council, had served food at the inaugural event and helped to coordinate Tuesdays meal. Arreagu said she knows what its like to miss out on a family Thanksgiving because her mother had to work on the holiday two years ago. I didnt have any place to go on Thanksgiving, she said. Joshua Foster, another Mesa student, said he was hoping to meet peers who might be interested in joining a campus improv club with him. Fellow student Allan Hill said simply: Were just poor college students and want some food. The band Three Chamber Heart performed some hard-rock music during the meal, and some students went home with restaurant vouchers and other gifts given as part of a raffle drawing. Victoria Miller, dean of student affairs at Mesa College, said the student-organized dinner was a demonstration of how people at the school care for one another. At Mesa, we pride ourselves in community and building relationships with our students, she said. What better way is there than our own students doing this for other students? Miller said many professors and staff members at Mesa and elsewhere contacted her asking if they could help out with the event. Among them was Bob Benton, a classified staff member from Miramar College who said he was looking to volunteer with a worthwhile cause when he heard about the dinner. Mesa and Miramar are in the San Diego Community College District. Its putting the community into community college and giving back to the students, Benton said. Mesa chemistry professor Rob Fremland also was part of Tuesdays gathering. He and Benton stood side by side, serving sliced turkey. We all work for the students, and this is all about the students, Fremland said. You want to support a day like this. We have students who are wealthy and some who dont know where their next meal is coming from. Other colleges in San Diego County have or will help students celebrate Thanksgiving as well. At UC San Diego, international students will have a chance to dine with local families on Thursday as part of the Thanksgiving Exchange program, and the annual All Campus Feast will be held on the universitys La Jolla campus at Cafe Ventanas that same day. At Palomar College in San Marcos, Extended Opportunities Programs and Services gave 200 economically and socially disadvantaged students $30 gift certificates to Albertsons supermarkets on Nov. 18. gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 Humanities will have a higher profile at UC San Diego in coming years with speaker and film series, collaboration among disciplines and public events planned for the schools new institute devoted to the discipline. An actual building for the Institute or Arts and Humanities still is five years away, but it already has hosted its first author reception and speaker series, and has another series planned for January. With the University of San Diego opening its own Humanities Center this year, UC San Diegos new institute is another sign that schools are paying greater attention to the area after years of focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Advertisement One of the reasons for this rise in renewed and continued interest in the humanities is that were living in challenging times, said professor Luis Alvarez, who was appointed in July to be the co-director with professor Mark Hanna of the new Institute of Arts and Humanities. I think the Institute of Arts and Humanities here really sees the humanities and the arts as being the vehicle that can equip students, faculty and the wider public with the kind of judgment, empathy and the imagination to make sense of the challenges that face us all, Alvarez said. Alvarez said the institute also will help disciplines at the university get out of their silos and work with one another, the community and other schools. Last month, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded UC San Diego and the San Diego Community College District $2.6 million in grant money that will, among other things, allow faculty members from both systems to create a new humanities curriculum. Cristina Della Coletta, dean of Arts and Humanities at UC San Diego, said she got the idea for the institute after asking her faculty members what the school needed after she arriving two years ago from the University of Virginia, where she spearheaded the creation the Institute of Global Humanities while associate dean for arts and humanities. It was serendipity that we found out that what the faculty wanted to promote and support was in part what I had been doing, promoting and supporting in the University of Virginia, she said. But whats fascinating me was what I can do differently, and what I can do here differently is exciting. The creation of the institute coincides with the planning of a new humanities building that will be built as part of the Living and Learning neighborhood, which will include classrooms and student housing. The building is scheduled to open in 2021 and will house the departments of history, literature and philosophy, now on different parts of the campus. It also will provide space for the Institute of Arts and Humanities, including a conference room and venue to show a planned series of historical and new films.. There was a real hunger from my faculty to create something that would really reunite and invigorate the many efforts that were going on in our humanities and arts department, particularly on the interdisciplinary side that were somewhat disconnected, Della Coletta said. The institute recently hosted its first lecture series, Challenging Conversations, which included a talk at UC San Diego and another at City College. We really believe in spreading the humanities beyond the precinct of this university, Della Coletta said. Its very important for us to move beyond the campus, to bring our faculty to the community and bring our students to the community. The institute also has hosted a reception for professors who recently published books, and in January the annual Degrees lecture series will focus on the humanities. Della Coletta said the institute has a core focus on four areas: Equity, diversity and inclusion, global arts and humanities, public arts and humanities, and digital arts and humanities. Whats going to happen in five years is, hopefully were going to have a well-structured institute that has both a local and global footprint around those core things, Della Coletta said. We hope these four clusters will define the institute, and the institute will be a household name, not only in the local community but also nationally and globally. It will have intersected with the major arts and humanities institutions in the nation. The institute also will be a vehicle for collaboration among disciplines, with humanities and science students possibly working together on research and other projects. In one example, Della Coletta said humanities professors may help in the dissertations of students studying in different fields. With more educators and businesses seeing the importance of having a workforce with critical thinking skills and imagination, Alvarez said students should be studying humanities. I tell this to my graduates all the time, he said. The arts and humanities matter, not just because I want you to learn something, but because if youre an engineer or a chemist or a scientist, knowing something about the communities youre from and youll work in will make a better doctor and better scientist. gary.warth@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @GaryWarthUT 760-529-4939 Budding environmentalists at Bayside STEAM Academy in Imperial Beach are using augmented reality to learn how climate changes can alter the terrain. Bayside students are creating interactive environments in an Augmented Reality Sandbox, which allows them to shape sand into topographical models mountains, plains, rivers, lakes and clouds that get augmented in real time with a 3D video camera and overhead projector used to cast a relief map on the area. Children then tinker with the different elements and analyze data produced when the sandboxs computer responds with a new map. Advertisement School officials said Bayside is the first elementary school in the county to have the high-tech learning tool, which debuted this school year. Given our proximity to San Diego Bay, the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Otay River, its important for our students to understand land forms, erosion and climate, said teacher Michael Moran. Fourth graders at Bayside, which serves about 530 children in kindergarten through sixth grade, are using the sandbox for a project that explores how to improve the ability of wetlands to absorb higher tidal flows and rainfall, Moran said. Last May, trustees approved a name change for the campus that would reflect the schools new focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM). The district celebrated the programs launch with a ribbon cutting ceremony Nov. 16. Teachers and administrators did a lot of homework before the school year started last July. A STEAM Team worked for a year to create the program, introduce STEAM-related activities at every grade level and add an engineering lab to the campus. Researching the lab was a job of its own. Planning included visits to the Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab; Feaster Charter School, a K-8 campus in the Chula Vista Elementary School District with a Thinkabit Lab it created; and the Casita Center for Technology, Science and Math in the Vista Unified School District. Follow me @HuardSDUT After two weeks of tabulating ballots, the Registrar of Voters Office expects the rate it counts votes to slow as it begins a more tedious and labor-intensive phase of the counting process. Officials have so far counted nearly every mail-in ballot free of stray marks, water damage or any other problem that would require some sort of adjudication. Now, most of the remaining ballots have time-consuming issues that need to be resolved before they can be counted, Registrar of Voters Michael Vu said Tuesday. I anticipate that today will be the last of the big numbers on what we count. Then well see them drop. All the low-hanging fruit ballots have been counted, Vu said. Advertisement As of Tuesday night, an estimated 106,000 uncounted mail-in and provisional ballots remained. Vu said it was difficult to determine how many remain in specific districts because ballots are in different stages of the counting process. The office typically counts thousands of votes a day. At least 400 employees are involved in the process, up from the registrars regular 66-person staff. Theyre working past 9 p.m. on weekdays and coming in on weekends. They wont work the night before Thanksgiving or on the holiday, Vu said. He didnt know when all of the votes would be counted, including ballots in the closely watched District 3 county supervisor race between incumbent Dave Roberts and Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar or the House contest between Republican Rep. Darrell Issa and Democrat Doug Applegate. Vu said the office would meet the states Dec. 8 deadline to certify the election. Even after most of the votes are counted, there will still be stragglers that are added later, Vu said. In the Tuesday night vote count, Gaspar led in District 3 with 50.15 percent to Roberts 49.85 percent, a 659-vote difference. Thats her largest lead since the Nov. 8 election. In Congressional District 49, which covers parts of San Diego and Orange counties, Issa led Applegate by a 3,234-vote margin. The remaining uncounted ballots take more time to count because some were faxed by deployed service members and need to be transferred onto cards that an optical scanner can read, Vu said. Others were damaged in some way that are unreadable by the registrars machines and need to be transferred to new ballots, he said. With provisional ballots, officials also have to determine if the voters were eligible to cast a ballot and what races they can participate in. If they voted in a contest they were not authorized for, staff has to redact their errant vote before the rest of the ballot is scanned. Twitter: @jptstewart joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1841 Powerful technology installed in four San Diego neighborhoods will inform officers when and where shootings happen, even if no one calls it in. The San Diego Police Department announced Tuesday it has installed a system that detects gunshots and sends information to police in the southeastern communities of Valencia Park, Skyline, OFarrell and Lincoln Park. The system, called ShotSpotter, uses powerful audio sensors placed at least 30 feet above street level to determine when and where shootings take place. Once the sensors pinpoint where the shots came from, the sound is sent to a review center where someone determines if it was gunfire. Advertisement If it is, the incident is forwarded to police. Officers in the field get the location, time of the shooting, the number of rounds. They also can get information such as how many shooters are present and if theyre on the move. Police hope the technology will act as a deterrent to gun violence and help officers respond more quickly to gun crimes. Critics are concerned the tool was installed with little to no community input and will contribute to the over-policing of communities of color. The sensors were installed starting in October. On Tuesday night, officers fired 36 shots to test the system, which went online soon after. Police and ShotSpotter personnel went door-to-door informing community members of the test. The police department declined to cite specific locations or number of devices. The system cost $245,000 under a one-year lease agreement. It was mostly paid for with asset forfeiture funds from the District Attorneys Office. The police department contributed $10,000, also from asset forfeiture funds. San Diego police Lt. Scott Wahl said police officials chose the four southeastern neighborhoods after researching which communities in San Diego experienced high instances of gun crimes. The neighborhoods selected were high on the list and close in proximity. Its about keeping our streets safe and protecting our communities from gun violence, Wahl said. We hope this is a deterrent and prevents gun violence from even occurring, but we want to send a strong message that if someone does decide to shoot a gun, a police officer is going to be notified immediately. Wahl said police officials gathered community input during informal meetings with community leaders. He said the department has been researching the technology for nearly a year, which included speaking with other cities that had implemented the technology and members of San Diego City Council. Councilmember Myrtle Cole, who represents the four communities where the sensors were installed, couldnt be reached Tuesday night for comment. The technology is used in more than 90 cities worldwide including New York, Milwaukee and Miami, and has been lauded by some mayors and police officials who have implemented the system. Statistics curated by SST, Inc., the Newark-based company that created ShotSpotter, shows gunfire in cities that use the system decreased by a median of 13 percent in 2015. The company produces a report called the National Gunfire Index, which analyzes data from cities that have employed the technology. Of the 46 cities included in their 2015 analysis, 36 saw decreases in rates of gunfire. Nineteen saw decreases greater than 20 percent. But the system is not without its critics. Christie Hill, a senior policy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union San Diego & Imperial Counties, wrote that the technology may contribute to over-policing in San Diegos minority neighborhoods. She was also concerned that ShotSpotter was implemented without first getting input from the communities the tool would serve. Its deeply troubling that while the technology and tools of surveillance advance, the color of surveillance remains the same and basic transparency, oversight, and accountability remain the exception, not the rule, she wrote in a blog post on the technology. Hill, and other critics, also raised privacy concerns. ShotSpotter is always sensing for sound. The system is designed to only pick up and pass on noises loud enough to be construed as a gunshot, but sensors retain all detected audio for 72 hours, according to the products website. Others worry the system will waste officers time by sending them to locations where no crime has occurred. A review of ShotSpotter data by Florida newspaper The Miami Herald a year after the system was implemented showed only one in four alerts resulted in a documented crime. Other jurisdictions who tried the system out eventually cancelled it, claiming it didnt help officers solve cases. Wahl said the department will evaluate ShotSpotter at the end of the year to determine whether it was effective and whether its worth continuing or expanding. Breaking News Twitter: @LAWinkley (619) 293-1546 lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com They hoard water, manufacture food at night and con their helpers into working for free. Beneath their celebrated blooms, desert wildflowers are survivalists plants that vigorously defend their place in a hard, parched land. Some shed their leaves at the first hint of drought, while others stash water in succulent tissue or shield it from evaporation with delicate hairs. There are tricksters that reproduce by scamming pollinators with false promises of mates and nectar. Behind its spring flower majesty, the California desert is a laboratory for such dry-weather adaptations. Advertisement Desert annuals, the showy blooms that carpet canyons in spring, persist by living fast and dying young. They spend water lavishly to grow broad green leaves and flashy blossoms during rains, and then swiftly go to seed. These fast-growing showy annuals grow in the desert when its not really a desert, said Travis Huxman, director of the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center. They just have to get their life cycles taken care of in really quick order. Then there are the old-timers: age-tested cacti and creosote, which can live for decades through clever water-conservation schemes. From nighttime photosynthesis to sophisticated moisture barriers, they employ a host of strategies to make the most of scarce supplies of water. Everything is driven by aridity here, said Kate Harper, a botanist in Borrego Springs. Thats the driving force. How can I lose as little moisture as possible while still creating the sugar I need to live and grow? How can I grab moisture and keep it? Wildflowers are starting to bloom now at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and other desert locales, and they typically peak in late March and April. While botanists said low rainfall may lessen this years display, theres still plenty of color if you observe closely. The trick about looking at desert flowers is to get out of your car, walk out a ways and look at things, said Judy Gibson, collection manager for the botany department at the San Diego Natural History Museum. The following is an introduction to some flowers that populate Southern Californias deserts and chaparral shrub lands, focused on how they gain a roothold in rock and sand. Included are some mainstays of the region plants you can see even in low water years along with more unusual blooms. Barrel cactus Ferocactus cylindraceus Stout succulents shaped like their namesake, these plants are experts at retaining water. The thick, cylindrical stem has vertical pleats that expand when the plant absorbs water. This allows the cactus to increase its volume by up to 50 percent in high water conditions and then shrink back in dry weather. Like other cacti, the barrel cactus absorbs carbon dioxide at night through a process called CAM photosynthesis. That means the cactus opens its stomata pores on its stem that control gas exchange when the weather is cooler, cutting moisture loss. Its spines also safeguard moisture by shielding it from the wind. In spring, the barrel cactus blossoms with yellow, red or fuchsia flowers. Chuparosa Justicia californica The chuparosa reduces water loss by having just a few scattered leaves. It instead depends on its light green stems to photosynthesize. Hummingbirds visit the plants flowers, giving it its name which is based on the Spanish verb chupar, meaning to suck. Ancient Greeks used leaves from the Mediterranean variety of chuparosa as decoration for the capital of the Corinthian column. Ocotillo Fouquieria splendens With serpentine branches 10 to 20 feet high tipped with flaming red flowers, the ocotillo towers over other desert flora. The ocotillo is drought deciduous: It can sprout leaves almost overnight in wet weather and drop those leaves as soon as the weather turns dry. If it gets wet, they photosynthesize like crazy, setting up that sugar factory, said Harper, the botanist in Borrego Springs. The plant is so effective at producing leaves quickly that it can do so without nutrients from its roots. Cut specimens will sprout leaves when soaked in water. Creosote Larrea tridentata These low-lying shrubs with yellow blossoms are some of the most drought-tolerant plants in North America. Creosote branches die off in dry years. Then cloned sprouts pop up around it, forming creosote rings that can stretch many meters across and live thousands of years. Scientists estimate that a particular king creosote in the Mojave Desert is 11,700 years old. Thick, resinous leaves help keep in water, while the plants bitter smell and flavor help keep herbivores away. Its flowers rotate after being fertilized, making the petals less obvious and diverting pollinators to the unfertilized flowers. Desert annuals Wallaces daisy, whispering bells, desert primrose, common phacelia Desert annuals are classic spring field flowers. Theyre also rock stars of the floral world, taking center stage before fading out. Their strategy is drought avoidance. These ephemeral plants live in seed for most of the year, explode into blossom during wet months and then go to seed again, biding time until their next comeback. Individual flowers have other specialized features, such as fine hairs on their leaves to slow down moisture loss or seed inhibitors that prevent germination until enough rain washes them off. The seeds are their legacy, Harper said. Ghost flower Mohavea confertiflora Named for its ethereal and pale yellow blooms, this flower has uncommon adaptations. It employs double mimicry, impersonating both a nectar-producing plant and a female bee. The ghost flower looks similar to the blazing star, an unrelated species. The blazing star produces nectar, and the ghost flower rides on its coattails: It entices bees with the promise of nourishment, but without the metabolic expense of actually producing any. The flower also features a red design that resembles a female bee. This fake insect tempts male bees, affording cheap and easy pollination, said Gibson at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Thats another kind of dirty trick lure the male bees in with an imitation female bee, she said. Next time you grab an Uber or Lyft at San Diego International Airport, you may want to take a closer look at your bill. Attorney Kamran Hamidi claims a $4.06 trip fee added to that bill -- one levied by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority and passed directly on to users of the popular app-based ride-hailing services -- is actually an illegal tax enacted without the will of the voters. And tax policy experts think he may be onto something. Advertisement Hamidi -- who in June filed a claim against the authority over its use of a similar fee extracted from taxi passengers -- last week told the airport authority board members the levy constitutes a violation of Californias Proposition 13, the 1978 constitutional amendment requiring voters consent to raise special taxes. He likened the surcharge to a tourism tax hike voters this month rejected as a means to pay for a proposed convadium in downtown San Diego. Hamidi went on to accuse airport authority board members of allowing staff to quietly raise the charge -- meant to encourage rideshare drivers to convert to more eco-friendly vehicles -- by more than $2 over the past five months. Why are (rideshare company) Prius passengers being taxed $4.06 per trip when the board approved $1.67 in June? he asked. Staff is illegally taxing the public when everyone else the convadium, Plaza de Panama and school districts all have to go to a public vote. Its a complete mess. Staff has tax blood on its hands. The airport authority declined to comment on a claim Hamidi filed this month alleging the fee change amounted to a $500,000-per-year tax on rideshare users. Airport spokeswoman Rebecca Bloomfield said charges levied on Uber and Lyft trips were indeed adjusted to reflect increased costs associated with creating a board-approved hold lot for ride-hailing drivers. She did not directly answer a question about whether board members OKd that adjustment. Bloomfield said the airport authority does not assess or collect taxes of any kind, but reserves the right to collect fees from airport users, including taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers. The airport uses those collections to pay for road maintenance, traffic officers and other operating costs, including vehicle hold lots. She said the need for the surcharge opposed by Hamidi stemmed from an almost decade-old agreement with the California Attorney General. That deal, aimed at reducing the airports greenhouse gas emissions, called for the adoption of an incentive-based program to promote the use of cleaner fuel taxis and other passenger pick-up vehicles. Fees from the program generated almost $5 million in revenue for the airport in fiscal year 2016, more than one-third of which was collected from ride-hailing companies. Bloomfield acknowledged drivers with those companies passed the cost of the fee directly on to passengers, though she was was careful to point out the airport collects the charge from permit holders only, not from passengers. Yet California tax experts suspect Hamidi may have legal grounds to oppose the levy. Jon Coupal -- president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and principal drafter of Proposition 218, the states Right to Vote on Taxes Act -- said the fee seemed excessive and likely warranted additional scrutiny. The question is what is the nexus between the payer and the activity? Coupal said. If its a legitimate environmental mitigation fee, why are they only assessing it at the airport? Timothy Bittle, the associations director of legal affairs, agreed. He noted that under California law, tiered fees -- such as those based on the eco-friendliness of an Uber drivers vehicle -- must be justified by actual costs. Unless the airport authority remits some of the fee revenue to the regional Air Quality Control Board, or uses it to purchase emission credits, justification for the tiers escapes us, Bittle said. Adrian Moore, vice president of the libertarian Reason Foundation, said he was confident the surcharge would legally qualify as a fee, though not a very fair one. Economically, this fee is neither equitable or efficient, he said. It is just getting money from a source the airport authority knows will pass the cost on. It wont be transparent to payers and so meets little resistance while padding their budget. Bloomfield said ride-hailing company drivers, and by extension their passengers, could pay a discounted per-trip fee of $1.74 if companies like Uber and Lyft reported the use of alternative fuel and clean air vehicles -- something the companies last week made clear they were not prepared to do, citing driver privacy concerns. Company representatives told airport authority board members they preferred an emissions-cutting solution based on in-app carpooling options that match more than one passenger to a single driver. Several appointees to the 12-member airport board expressed skepticism over the companies reluctance to hand over driver emissions data. Other members balked at an airport staff proposal, modeled on procedures implemented at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, that they feared could prompt rideshare companies to leave the airport entirely. After a nearly hour-long back-and-forth between pink shirt-clad Lyft drivers and sign-toting cabbies, the board opted to return to the matter in January. Until then, ride-hailing drivers will continue to operate, and passengers will continue to pay, under the existing fee structure. So long as thats the case, Hamidi plans to keep fighting. RELATED From the time he was a teenager, Daniel Bledsoe found himself on the front lines of history, first as a Marine who became one of the Chosin Few and later as the FBI agent who initiated the investigation into the Watergate break-in. He did both out of a sense of duty. Mr. Bledsoe died of complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia Oct. 23 at his home in El Cajon. He was 86. Advertisement Mr. Bledsoe was a 19-year-old Marine Corps reservist when he was called up to fight in the Korean War. He landed in Korea with the 1st Marine Division as part of the Inchon invasion, which put Marines behind enemy lines. He served as a scout sniper under Lt. Gen. Lewis Burwell Chesty Puller, the most decorated Marine in history, and Capt. Robert Hilliard Barrow, who would later become commandant of the Marine Corps. During the winter of 1950 amid the Chosin Reservoir campaign, Mr. Bledsoe and his brothers in arms would come face-to-face with enemy troops while fighting in temperatures that dropped to 40 below. The Marines who survived the battle came to be known as The Chosin Few. We veterans felt that our mission in Korea was just, and that we defeated communism, he said in a May 2009 interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune. We taught China and Russia that they could not just come and take a country. I am proud of my service. Daniel Francis Bledsoe was born Oct. 12, 1930, in Salt Lake City, the only child of Thomas Bledsoe and Ima Woodmansee Bledsoe. He held a bachelors degree from the University of San Francisco and a masters from Pepperdine University. Following his graduation from the University of San Francisco, Mr. Bledsoe was appointed a special agent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He served in the Houston and Chicago field offices before being assigned to FBI headquarters in Washington. It was there, as the weekend duty supervisor on June 17, 1972, that an overnight report landed on his desk about the electronic eavesdropping equipment found in connection to a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex. He immediately opened a case under federal wiretapping statutes, which he said prompted a threatening phone call from John Ehrlichman, a key adviser to President Richard Nixon, within hours. Before retiring in 1980, he served on the faculty at the FBI Academy in Quantico and in the field office here in San Diego. Mr. Bledsoe was an accomplished horseman who competed internationally in three-day events where horse and rider test their skills in dressage, cross-country and show jumping. During the 1984 Olympics, he served on the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for Equestrian Endurance Events at Fairbanks Ranch and was a managing member of the cross-country competition held in Rancho Santa Fe. He and Bette Mahoney Bledsoe were married 42 years before her death in 1998. Survivors include a son, Paul of Virginia; and a daughter, Susanne Bledsoe of Maryland. A memorial service was held. Burial in Salt Lake City was planned. Donations to the Salvation Army were suggested. This story was updated Dec. 2 to correct Mr. Bledsoes date of death. RELATED While I agree with Bruce St. Gean (Drastic measures needed to save trees, Nov. 22) that drought conditions have sparked a die-off in California mountain pines due to the subsequent and opportunistic pine beetle infestations, his advocating of indiscriminate aerial spraying to control these beetles is not the answer. Letters and commentary policy The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. E-mail letters@sduniontribune.com Mail: Andrew Kleske, Reader Outreach Editor San Diego Union-Tribune P.O. Box 120191 San Diego, CA 92112-0191. You can also leave a comment below Advertisement Indiscriminate aerial spraying will kill far more than the targeted insects, inflicting greater harm than good. We need more rain, plain and simple. Our best approach to saving not only our trees, but also life, as we know it, is to doing everything in our power to combat climate change. Greg Bowerman Pine Valley Give Trump the chance the Republicans gave Obama I must both agree and disagree with letter writer Jim Biers (Planning, not protests, mark path forward, Nov. 16). I think we have a fairly good idea what direction Donald Trump wishes to take the country with the selection of science-denier Myron Ebell to head the EPA transition team and the selection of Steve Bannon as chief strategist. On the other hand, I agree President-elect Trump deserves the same opportunities to govern as were given to President Obama. Obstruct, obstruct, obstruct. And when Democrats dont get what they want, just shut down the government. Wyman Hack El Cajon At least support for Calexit sends important message Regarding All this Calexit talk is just a waste of time (Nov. 12): As a Never Trump Republican and U.S. Navy veteran, I am appalled and embarrassed that Donald Trump was elected president. I, for one, will never support this undemocratically elected and disgraceful person. I will support Calexit. While the U-T editorial board is correct when it writes that secession is unconstitutional, it is important to send a message that America is not one nation indivisible but completely divided. California, as the most populous and successful state, is in a unique position to deliver this message of opposition. Further, the Electoral College system must be eliminated in presidential elections. This antiquated and unresponsive system has delivered the presidencies of George W. Bush and Donald Trump while more American citizens voted for their opponents. Ken Blalack La Mesa The media should not feed into Trumps narcissism Regarding Trump unloads on media in meeting (Nov. 22): During his campaign debates, in response to a question, Trump said he wouldnt answer and would keep us in suspense. It appears that Trump likes the control and ability to manipulate as he sees fit. He is enjoying keeping the media and the public in the dark until hes ready to include us. Factually speaking, his governing is going to happen regardless of whether the press or the public knows. This passive/aggressive (withholding) is common among controlling individuals. My advice to the press: a media boycott of Trump. Just stop giving him coverage. He loves the attention so hell come around when the coverage stops. Its human nature to want what one doesnt have. Nino Y. Williams Lakeside Our nation cant turn its back on the environment I side with scientists who are concerned about President-elect Trumps statements about climate change and environmental regulations in the U-Ts article (Trump has climate change skeptics eager, scientists and green groups anxious, Nov. 21). The stakes of climate change and clean air and water are too high for politicians to ignore basic science just to follow an ideological agenda. I urge the incoming president to stay in and enforce the Paris climate agreements. I urge for common-sense regulations for clean air and water. I urge the national government to follow San Diegos lead to implement strong goals for climate. Most importantly, I urge for a revenue-neutral, national carbon fee and dividend plan advocated by nonprofit group Citizens Climate Lobby. James Long El Cajon Electoral College protects voters from themselves Regarding More views on the Electoral College (Nov. 19): The U.S. Constitution, in Article 1, lays out the election of the executive branch, known as the president of the United States, through the use of the Electoral College. The 12th Amendment to the Constitution revised the Electoral College in 1804. It has been well thought out. It is the law of the land. If you want to change the Electoral College, get the Constitution of the United States amended again. By the way, you will need a two-thirds majority of both houses of the United States legislative branch to pass a proposed amendment, plus the ratification of three-quarters of the legislative bodies of all the states, not just the most populated ones. Good luck getting the least populated states to fall in line and give up the only leverage they have in electing the chief executive. So stop it already with the protesting and get to work. Chuck Thiele Santee Climate is always changing, and it will continue to The skeptical part of global warming is not that warming is occurring but rather that humans are the ultimate root cause. Climate change has not stopped since the dawn of time this fact cannot be denied. It is likely, in my opinion, that humans can no more change the climate than be the primary causal source of global warming (or cooling) trends. Computer models, the primary harbinger of global catastrophe, have been shown to be inaccurate and dont factor basic elements such as the suns radiation, cloud cover or global moisture cycles. The models are just guesses based on incomplete data and political factors (assumptions) built into the modeling programs, which are shaped by government funding. Lloyd Kitson La Mesa Hard to fathom what kids can learn from Trump In an effort to instill good character values in my children as they grow up, I have on many occasions looked to past U.S. presidents to show my kids examples of good character. Indeed, I have pointed out to my kids, to make sure to learn from the humbleness of Abraham Lincoln, the class and charisma of John F. Kennedy, the empathy and vision of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the strong work ethic of Dwight Eisenhower, the leadership and communication skills of Ronald Reagan, the social conscience and civility of Barack Obama, and even the people skills of Bill Clinton. Sadly, I cant point out one thing I want my kids, especially my boys, to learn from a President Donald Trump. Rene Loaiza Chula Vista Want to see more letters that appear only online? Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook. Its not just California politicians setting themselves up as foils for President-elect Donald Trump . Just days after meeting with Trump to outline some of the biggest concerns of the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio is taking to Twitter to promise he will fight the fellow New Yorkers administration, if necessary. He targeted Trump and some of his campaign rhetoric without mentioning him by name, drawing praise and criticism. Monday in Manhattan, de Blasio gave a speech explaining how he intends to address New Yorkers concerns. We will use all the tools at our disposal to stand up for our people, de Blasio said before addressing some possible Trump administration policies one by one. If all Muslims are required to register, we will take legal action to block it. If the federal government wants our police officers to tear immigrant families apart, we will refuse to do it. If the federal government tries to deport law-abiding New Yorkers who have no representation, we will step in. We will work and build on the work of the city council to provide these New Yorkers with the lawyers they need to protect them and their families. He mentioned a few other issue before saying, This is New York. Nothing about who we are changed on Election Day. He tweeted out a video of the speech with #AlwaysNewYork on Tuesday. The clip was shared widely on social media. As news of his message spread, some reaction was positive. But many rejected the speech for a variety of reasons. What did you think of de Blasios speech? Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @abbyhamblin ALSO Trump should renounce Muslim registry. America is better than that. We all know the images and tales of Thanksgiving. In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony held a three-day communal feast with the native Wampanoag Indians. This event is popularly celebrated as the origin of the American tradition. However, the first Thanksgiving on this continent was not celebrated by pilgrims on the East Coast. It likely involved Spanish explorers about 80 years before the pilgrims. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and 16-hundred of his men held a celebration while camping in modern-day Texas. There were at least three other Thanksgivings before the Plymouth ceremony. Advertisement In June 1564, French colonists held a Thanksgiving celebration in modern-day Florida. English settlers in Maine had a harvest feast with the Abenaki Indians in 1607. In 1610, following a difficult winter, colonists held a thanksgiving in Jamestown after supply ships arrived delivering food. Still, unlike today, none of these celebrations were observed in November. The 1621 Plymouth Colony feast was celebrated sometime in the fall, probably in September or October. In 1789, President George Washington selected November 26 to be a day of national thanksgiving and prayer, but it was still not considered a national holiday. Thanksgiving continued to be recognized on and off on different dates until 1863. In the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln invited his fellow citizens to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise. President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation in 1941 fixing the holiday on the fourth Thursday of the month. This move was prompted by requests from the National Retail Dry Goods Association to extend the Christmas shopping season by one week in years when November have five Thursdays. Twitter: @NewsCruz OCEANSIDE Officers have arrested 18 gang members in Oceansideduring the past two weeks as part of a national sweep targetingviolent street gangs, authorities said Monday. Dubbed Operation Community Shield, federal Immigration andCustoms Enforcement agents working with local and state lawenforcement officers arrested 582 alleged gang members and peoplewho associate with them throughout the U.S. during the ongoinganti-gang effort. Almost all the suspects are accused of administrativeimmigration violations, but 76 have been charged with criminalviolations that include repeated illegal entry into the U.S.,illegal possession of guns and fraudulent documents, and statecrimes. Advertisement I think people need to understand theyre terrorists, becausethey terrorize the community that theyre in, Oceanside PoliceChief Jerome Lance said in an interview. Lance, who spoke at the national press conference in Washington,D.C. representing all local law enforcement involved in the sweep,said gang members steal cars and other things, deal drugs andthreaten to harm and kill people. Last year there were 20 gang-related shootings in Oceanside.Three people were killed and 18 wounded in the coastal community,which has 1,100 documented gang members. The only arrests made in San Diego County during the sweep werein Oceanside, but some of the suspects were gang members from Vistaand Carlsbad, said Lauren Mack, Immigration and Customsspokeswoman. Street gangs in America have grown and expanded their influenceto an alarming level, marked by increased violence and criminalactivity, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in astatement. These gangs pose a severe threat to public safety andthis growth must not go unchallenged. One of the gangs targeted in Oceanside is a new one that used tobe a small group of taggers, authorities said. They said among those arrested in the city was 38-year-old JesusCarrillo-Medina, with a criminal history that includes causingbodily harm and having sex with a child under the age of 3. Another Oceanside suspect, Roberto Figueroa-Alvarez, 25, hadbeen deported eight times before being sent back to Mexico afterhis latest arrest. An official said Figueroa-Alvarez was also takeninto custody on suspicion of drug possession, burglary, robbery andbattery of a spouse. Eleven of the 18 arrested in Oceanside have criminal records, 10were previously deported, and all 18 suspects are Mexican citizens,officials said. Were going to use every one of our resources to target theseindividuals (in gangs) and either prosecute or deport them, saidSerge Duarte, deputy special agent in charge of Immigration andCustoms Enforcement in the San Diego region. About 20 percent of gang members are foreign born, and thatswhy immigration laws are being used to arrest them, in addition tostate and other federal laws, Duarte said. The names of the North County gangs werent released, butofficials said the suspects include three women AlejandraAngeles, 19; Alejandra Hernandez-Galindo, 33, and TeresaMartinez-Ledesma, 51. The other suspects are Alfonso Anaya Mata, 26; EugenioCastellanos, 43: Jhoni Ibanez and Leonel Reyes, both 19; AlfredoRamales-Saldivar, 24; Raul Ragudo and Oscar Ramales-Saldivar, both28; Moises Garcia-Avendano, 32; Angel Cerda-Castellanos, 18;Alfonso Calvo, 26; Jose Damian-Tixteco, 27; Tomas Martinez-Cruz,26, and a 17-year-old boy, who was accused of sexual battery anddriving under the influence. Five of the 18 suspects were still in immigration custody, threeare being held by the San Diego County Sheriffs Department, andthe rest have been deported to Mexico, Mack said. Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 740-3524 orjmoreland@nctimes.com. HONOLULU (AP) After the most powerful El Nino on record heated the worlds oceans to never-before-seen levels, huge swaths of once vibrant coral reefs that were teeming with life are now stark white ghost towns disintegrating into the sea. And the worlds top marine scientists are still struggling in the face of global warming and decades of devastating reef destruction to find the political and financial wherewithal to tackle the loss of these globally important ecosystems. What we have to do is to really translate the urgency, said Ruth Gates, president of the International Society for Reef Studies and director of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Advertisement Gates, who helped organize a conference this week for more than 2,000 international reef scientists, policymakers and others, said the scientific community needs to make it clear how intimately reef health is intertwined with human health. The International Coral Reef Symposium convenes Monday to try to create a more unified conservation plan for coral reefs. She said researchers have to find a way to implement large scale solutions with the help of governments. Consecutive years of coral bleaching have led to some of the most widespread mortality of reefs on record, leaving scientists in a race to save them. While bleached coral often recovers, multiple years weakens the organisms and increases the risk of death. Researchers have achieved some success with projects such as creating coral nurseries and growing forms of super coral that can withstand harsher conditions. But much of that science is being done on a very small scale with limited funding. Bob Richmond, director of the University of Hawaiis Kewalo Marine Laboratory, said the problems are very clear: overfishing of reef herbivores and top predators, land-based sources of pollution and sedimentation, and the continued and growing impacts of climate change. While reefs are major contributors to many coastal tourist economies, saving the worlds coral isnt just about having pretty places for vacationers to explore. Reefs are integral to the overall ecosystem and are an essential component of everyday human existence. Reefs not only provide habitat for most ocean fish consumed by humans, but they also shelter land from storm surges and rising sea levels. Coral has even been found to have medicinal properties. In one project to help save reefs, researchers at the University of Hawaiis Institute of Marine Biology have been taking samples from corals that have shown tolerance for harsher conditions in Oahus Kaneohe Bay and breeding them with other strong strains in slightly warmer than normal conditions to create a super coral. The idea is to make the corals more resilient by training them to adapt to tougher conditions before transplanting them into the ocean. Another program run by the state of Hawaii has created seed banks and a fast-growing coral nursery for expediting coral restoration projects. Most of Hawaiis species of coral are unlike other corals around the world in that they grow very slowly, which makes reef rebuilding in the state difficult. So officials came up with a plan to grow large chunks of coral in a fraction of the time it would normally take. Coral reefs have almost always been studied up close, by scientists in the water looking at small portions of reefs. But NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory is taking a wider view, from about 23,000 feet above. NASA and other scientists recently launched a three-year campaign to gather new data on coral reefs worldwide. They are using specially designed imaging instruments attached to aircraft. The idea is to get a new perspective on coral reefs from above, to study them at a larger scale than we have been able to before, and then relate reef condition to the environment, said Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences Eric Hochberg, principal investigator for the project. If the scientific community and the worlds governments cant come together to address corals decline, one of earths most critical habitats could soon be gone, leaving humans to deal with the unforeseen consequences. What happens if we dont take care of our reefs? asked Gates. Its dire. ___ Follow Caleb Jones on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CalebAP Find more of his work at https://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/caleb-jones I spent the weekend in lovely Hopkins Village a strip of seafront land sandwiched between two rivers. The area is becoming a tale of two cities with Hopkins village proper, one of small wooden houses and thatched roof businesses on the beach and Sittee Point, further south by the gorgeous Sittee River. Sittee Point is growing FAST and is home to larger resorts and more American-style amenities like a deli, laundromat and a gym. They also have HUUUGGGE expansion plans. Almost hard to believe plans. Hopkins Village and Sittee Point are separated by a red road and are an easy bike ride (or short taxi ride) from each other. Its easiest just to show you. I was staying at the beautiful Jaguar Reef Lodge and her sister resort, Almond Beach in Sittee Point. Into the lobby with a really nice gift shop featuring local designer Rebecca Stirm Lots of touches from the local Garifuna culture. And the huge dining room with lots of beautiful local baskets. Especially stunning at night. And a roomthat might work So crazy comfortable, beautiful sheets and pillow. Hard to extract myself from this suite. I was able to spend quite a bit of time in the hammocks. It was BREEZY out. The resort was organizing lots of great trips for the day to Southwater Caye (LOVE THIS), to Monkey River, reef fishing, Bocawina for waterfalls, hiking and zip lining (SO SUPER FUN) and more. But instead, I went out to explore the area and all the changes especially in Sittee Point. And then at the local real estate office these plans! Lots and lots and lots all over the place. Wowzer. Im not sure much of this has happened yet And then the road into the village which has a very different feel. Love that you can pick either side or that you can bicycle easily between the two. The local hostel the Funky Dodo. Ellas Cool Spot, a fantastic place for local food, was celebrating her first anniversary. Rather than hotels on the beach, they are mostly local homes. I love seeing a tiny wooden home looking over the water. This side has such a great feel And then I stopped for some local food at North Side Kitchen it just smelled so good. Mmmmmm Garifuna tapou, hudut or bundiga Heres a recipe for tapou in Saveur Magazine. Fancy! I went for hudut. A hearty delicious coconut soup with pigtail and fish (or any seafood) and a huge dumpling (?) of mashed green plantain. That plus a super comfortable bed lulled me right into a nap. Especially after the 5am wake-up for my impromptu trip to Dangriga for the main event. And early the next morning, I was on my way back home. Leaving this view For the bus over the mountains And then to the water taxi from Belize City to San Pedro. And then home. Oh look! A welcome back rainbow. San Pedroyou shouldnt have. 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Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Roburent, Italy -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/23/2016 -- Finding banks and ATMs in an unknown or foreign land can be quite a daunting task. Now with the help of the website, banks in Italy, travellers and tourists can find ATM facilities in Italy. The website showcases all the required information on various banks in Italy, how to withdraw euros and use any other banking service. Travellers can find information about different locations of the bank, swift codes and the working hours of these banks. Some of the different banks listed on this website are UBI Banca, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banca Popolare, BNP Paribas BNL D'Italia, Carige, CREDEM, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mediolanum, Popolare, Poste Italiane Bancoposta, Sella, Veneto and UniCredit. The website Banks of Italy has all the relevant and detailed information on all these banks. Based on what the website says about Deutsche Bank, "Duetsche Bank Italia is the Italian subsidiary of the global financial provider Duetsche Bank. It has its roots in 1986 when Duetsche Bank acquired over 98% of voting rights of the Banca d'America e D'Italia. Banca d'America e D'Italia was renamed as Duetsche Bank Spa in 1994, the same year the bank acquired Banca Popolare di Lecco. Currently, Italy is the second biggest European market for Duetsche bank. The bank operates both as a commercial and investment bank. With approximately 4,000 employees, 1,500+ financial advisers and about 550 retail outlets, Duetsche Bank Italia offers a whole range of banking and other financial services to private, commercial and corporate clients in Italy. The bank's products include: deposit products, loans, mortgages, payment and current accounts, retirement planning, investment management, online banking, cards services, business banking solutions, and many other services." According to a recent user of this website, "Banks of Italy.com is really awesome because I could get all the necessary information regarding all the banks in Italy. I love this country and I am a frequent visitor. Earlier I used to find it extremely difficult to withdraw euros because I could not find a bank or ATM in my locality. Now, thanks to this website, I can easily find banks and ATMs anyplace I visit in Italy. This is really helpful and I have recommended it to my buddies too." To know more about Banks in Italy, please visit the website: http://banksofitaly.com/ About Banksofitaly.com This website is designed to offer information on the locations of all banks and ATMs in Italy. It is exclusively designed for travellers and tourists in Italy. Media Contact: URL: http://banksofitaly.com [NAIROBI] Sub-Saharan Africa needs to increase adoption of agricultural technology to mitigate climate change and increase food security, experts say. The experts who were addressing the opening session of the 5th congress of the Seed Trade Association of Kenya (STAK) said that although climate change is threatening the agricultural sector on the continent, farmers such as those in rural areas are not adopting technologies to mitigate it. It is now increasingly apparent that the farming community must embrace seed varieties that can withstand extreme weather conditions. James Karanja, The Seed Trade Association of Kenya The conference held in Kenya this month (8-9 November) brought together experts from government, private sector, academic institutions and seed companies. The delegates discussed and shared experiences on topics such as seed and trade, climate change and agricultural productivity, and marketing and access to technology. It is now increasingly apparent that the farming community must embrace seed varieties that can withstand extreme weather conditions, said James Karanja., the chairperson of STAK. Farmers should consequently consider using certified seeds suitable for their climatic zones while the seed industry should make these seeds available. Karanja added that researchers are working to find crop varieties that can do well under particular climatic conditions. The conference was convened and sponsored by STAK in collaboration with Kenya Seed Company, Americas Monsanto and Kenya Markets Trust. Duncan Onduu, the chief executive officer of STAK, tells SciDev.Net that climate change has made several Sub-Saharan Africa countries experience severe floods and extremely hot temperatures. He adds that these floods wash away crops, kill animals and destroy houses while intense heat affects the germination of crops. Will Bett, Kenyas cabinet secretary for agriculture, livestock and fisheries, says that many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa such as Kenya are struggling with droughts. He indicates a need to engage more young people in agriculture to make it sustainable as it contributes 26 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product. Bett explains that the failure by last years COP 21 meeting to seriously discuss agriculture was a disadvantage to Sub-Saharan Africa, which heavily relies on rain-fed agriculture. I am happy this years COP 22 in Morocco put more emphasis on agriculture, says Bett.He challenges African governments to invest more in creating and using agricultural data But Florence Muringi Wambugu, the CEO of Kenya-headquartered Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International, says that there is a need for creating partnerships beyond seed business and ensuring smallholder farmers access information, especially on climate-smart seed varieties.This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk. Microsoft recently revealed through a blog post that Windows 10 PCs, as well as its 2-in-1 devices, will now run Netflix 4K content exclusively. However, for Netflix 4K streaming on a PC device, you must also have a Gen 7 Intel Core Processor along with a 4K supported display. Ruiz-Hopper, Blog editor made it clear that not all Windows 10 devices will be able to run Netflix 4K Streaming. He also added that the PCs which have the latest seventh generation Intel processor will support the Netflix 4K content without any problem. If you haven't yet watched any of the Ultra HD Movies, then here's everything you should know: Netflix 4K Streaming Requirements: How To Watch The 4K Content? 4K Netflix arrives on Windows 10, but probably not for your PC https://t.co/3n1WSO5pRR pic.twitter.com/n9pJrzdajo The Verge (@verge) November 21, 2016 Ultra HD content being offered by the service providers so far is very limited in quantity. As the majority of the cable service providers also do not have any means to broadcast this 4K content directly to your cable box, it's time to do a couple of changes. Obviously, the user needs to have a 4K resolution TV or monitor capable of running Netflix 4K content. The Display should be HDCP 2.2-compliant and connected to the PC or any streaming media player through either an HDMI cable or a Display Port cable.As the black Friday deals are also on, you may find a 4K TV at a very cheap price. The next step is the most important and requires the user to upgrade their Netflix plan to the highest four screens at Ultra HD plan. Although it may cost you an additional $4, it'll really be worth the price. A high-speed internet connection is also required for smooth Netflix 4K streaming. While the service provider makes a recommendation of 25Mbps, a little slower will do the magic as well. Netflix 4K Content Streaming: Ultra HD Movies List 5 Netflix Movies You Can Watch Right Now In 4k Ultra HD #4k #uhd https://t.co/PPQP7mqyru pic.twitter.com/Dasxe6Swwq HD Report (@hdreport) August 20, 2016 Only a limited amount of 4K Content is yet available for streaming on Netflix. However, the available Ultra HD Content does include extremely well-rated movies on IMDB as well as Rotten Tomatoes. The offerings also include the much-appreciated TV series including "Breaking Bad" and "House Of Cards". Other Netflix 4K Content includes "A Very Murray Christmas", "Bloodline", "Chef's Table" and "Chelsea Does". The hot 2016 "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend", "Flaked", "Special Correspondents", "Fuller House", "The Get Down", "The OA" and "Green Eggs and Ham" are also on the Ultra HD Titles being offered. The other well-appreciated titles from the past years include "Daredevil", "Marco Polo" and various more. A number of well received Ultra HD movies are also a part of the Netflix 4K Content Streaming. These include "World War Z", "Star Trek: Into Darkness", "The Avengers", "Skyfall", and other major titles. A number of "Moving Art" documentaries from 2014 are also available for 4K streaming.Stay Tuned to SWR for more updates on Netflix 4K Content Streaming requirements and updated Ultra HD Movies list. Every single year, the Earth's night sky is lit up by millions of celestial fireballs. These fireballs are termed as "shooting stars" but they do not have anything to do with the stars. Whenever this small matter from outer space enters the Earth's atmosphere, it generates a flash of light called "meteor" or "shooting star." Last Tuesday, a newly discovered meteorite has been recovered from Western Australia farm by a group of sky watchers. Astonishingly, the meteorite is believed that it fell somewhere in October. According to scientists, they estimate that the small meteor weighing 1.15 kg is 4.56 billion years old. This makes it older compared to the planet Earth. Professor Phil Band, Founder of Curtin University Desert Fireball Network (DFN) and a planetary geologist, said in a press release that "The fireball was picked up by four of our cameras. Our team was able to track the fall line and calculate its landing spot to within 200 meters of where it was subsequently found." The DFN defined that the meteorite is a type of "chondrite," a meteorite that has not been cooked up enough to melt. "Meteorites tell us pretty much everything we want to know about the solar system... but unless we know where they came from, there's a really big piece of that puzzle left," Professor Bland said. Meanwhile, Dr. Martin Towner of Curtin's Department of Applied Geology said in a press release that the rock is "pristine, unweathered and fresh sample." According to Space, Professor Bland states that "We managed to get in a very pristine way, that we can find some quite soluble elements of minerals in there, or volatile minerals that can tell us about water and organics in solar system." ABC added that the team carefully retrieved the meteorite. It brought back the meteorite to Curtin University for CT Scanning since the preliminary analysis has been done already and named the meteorite as chondrite. Finally, Professor Bland gave assurance that they will find more about the meteorite. They will study its 3D model in detail and conduct chemical analysis of a thin section of the meteorite. In the heart of the Syrian-African rift valley, bordered by the Jordan, Israel and Palestine is the Dead Sea. It is situated 1,407 feet below sea level -- the lowest point in the world. The Dead Sea, also known as the Salt Sea, is 30 miles long and 9 miles wide and is considered as one of the greatest natural wonders of the world as it is also one of the saltiest bodies of water known. Unfortunately, living up to its name, it is also dying. Recent decades showed that the sea had been deteriorating and shrinking about 3 feet every year, meaning that it is literally dying for the past few decades. The sea is particularly popular to tourists, who travel to the Middle East specifically to experience floating in its high-sodium chloride waters with its salt content about 10 times more than the usual salts in the ocean. While so named because it cannot allow marine life to thrive in its waters, humans have discovered over the years that it has many healing powers. It is believed to be able to treat skin, heart and lung conditions. Yet, as the New York Post pointed out, its healing powers could also be the reason for its demise, as humans have been "stealing" the natural springs to put them in beauty products and therapeutic treatments. Environmentalist group EcoPeace Middle East also added that the construction of hotels and other developments enhanced mineral and water extractions, which also add to the reasons of the dying Dead Sea. Water flowing into it from the Jordan River had been diverted, so there is little source of water to keep it full. Today, the group is fighting for the preservation of the Dead Sea by limiting its tourism development. Some plans are already being put into action. CNN reported that a canal will be built from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea so that the water can be supplied to both countries -- and about 300 million cubic meters could also be pumped back into the Dead Sea annually. This way, the Dead Sea can be saved. Marijuana has been legal in so many states. Now, Denver is allowing residents to smoke weed in some if their bars. The question now is that, how will it affect the non-smokers? Denver's new law called initiative 300 authorize a four-year pilot plan in the city, allowing restaurant and bar owners to apply for permits to grant marijuana use in their premises. However, indoor smokers are not allowed to smoke, but outdoors they are permitted. Also, marijuana vaping is allowed so is the marijuana edibles, but only in the properties that had applied for permits. However, the new rule states that bars and restaurants are not allowed to sell marijuana. So, the new rule suggests to BYOP or bring your own pot. According to Denverite, the new law could start being implemented in 2017. The new law got a lot of applause in the tourism industry. As the tourists and renters often times legally buy marijuana in Colorado and only a few spots to smoke. Meanwhile, other advocates are worried about the health effects of the new law, especially the second-hand smoke. "Second-hand marijuana smoke has 33 cancer-causing chemicals, according to the California EPA [Environmental Protection Agency], and some of the same chemicals in marijuana smoke are also in tobacco smoke," according to Peter Bialick, president of The Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution (GASP) of Colorado. The researchers from John Hopkins revealed that an hour of exposure to high THC cannabis in the non-ventilated room. If urine tested, the nonsmokers can be positive for cannabis after 2 to 11 hours after the exposure. However, levels would be lower, but still detectable. The result of their research has been published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence in 2015. Furthermore, when it comes to ventilated areas, the nonsmokers that are still exposed did not show any effects. Thus, it would not be a problem with the new law of Denver, because they do not allow smokers to smoke marijuana indoors, according to Live Science. Diving Colombia destinations The Americas Diving Colombia 18 October 2022 Colombia has diving in both the Caribbean and Pacific. The driest time to go to the Pacific side is January, February, March or the middle of August. For the Caribbean, April to November is best. The Pacific coast offers the more challenging diving, with stronger currents. You are very likely to see big stuff like sharks, tuna and even humpback whales here. World class dive sites include Malpelo, a remote seamount 500 kilometres west of the mainland, famous for schooling hammerheads and silky sharks. Only one liveaboard visits at a time and this must operate out of Colombia. Currently the only liveaboard visiting Malpelo is the Ferox, which has an experienced captain and crew. Some of the best diving in Colombia's Caribbean sea is at San Andres and Providencia Islands. The coral reef here is said to be the world's third largest. The area is in the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve, around 750 km from the mainland. Taganga is one of the most popular areas for diving in Colombia. On the Caribbean coast, the diving is not as good at Taganga as it is in some other places in Colombia, but it does have a plethora of dive shops. It's very cheap to learn to dive here. Taganga has an ATM but this doesn't work with many international cards. You might have to go to Santa Marta to get the cash to pay for your course. Take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance before you travel. Dive Sites of Colombia Dive Operators Accommodation Your Comments Malpelo Gorgona Caribbean Pacific Malpelo Malpelo Malpelo is a small, barren island just 8 km2. It's steep sided cliffs are the only visible part of a volcanic ridge which drops to nearly 3 km. Here hammerhead and other sharks congregate in relatively shallow waters. Only one liveaboard a day is allowed at Malpelo and at the moment the only one travelling to Malpelo is the Ferox, which has high safety standards and experienced crew. This is not a trip for beginners but is truly a world-class dive site. Reviews: " The sinister and forbidding Malpelo Island is located 314 miles (506 Kilometers) off the coast of Buenaventura, Colombia in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Malpelo is home to an important coral formation as well as a large variety and quantity of marine creatures. Of special interest is the hammerhead shark with its awe-inspiring schools reaching up to 300 hundred individuals. The two most outstanding phenomena in Malpelo are the huge number of cluster and free swimming moray eels and the enormous congregations of silky sharks who often mix with hammerheads to form colossal shark schools. Other common sights are the white tip shark, Galapagos shark, giant schools of angel fish, Creole fish, jacks, tuna, and occasionally a sail fish, whale shark and even Humpback Whale." Jairo Criollo "One of the most beautiful sites to dive in the world. Best of all is still unexploited by tourism." Sonia Matthews, USA "Dirty Rock, Malpelo, is 350 miles west of the coast of Columbia. This site is home to hundreds of hammerheads, blacktips, white tips, whale sharks, mantas, yellow fin tuna, etc. 65 deg water with 4-6 ft seas, but high-octane excitment. " Scubajack, USA " Malpelo is the ideal place for shark lovers!! Biggest hammerhead shark population in the world!!" Mariana, (2012) Find a Malpelo liveaboard Pacific Gorgona Island Gorgona Island Reviews: " Gorgona island, until 1985, was a jail; it's now a sanctuary. The land tours are great and you will see sharks, sea lions, dolphins, whale sharks, Whales (sometimes) and it's not over populated with tourists. Gorgona was awesome, As good as the Galapagos. Colombia is more safe than the media would have you believe. " Mark Infanger Find a Gorgona liveaboard Caribbean Providencia Island Providencia Island Providencia island is part of an archipelago around 750 km from the Colombian mainland. In 2000 it was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve - the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve, which includes a massive marine area of 300,000 km2. Other nearby islands include San Andres and Santa Catalina. The archipelago is actually nearer to Nicaragua than Colombia. Reviews: "The most beautiful place I have ever been. There are many places to rent a boat and diving equipment. Cost may vary from season to season. Much better than other places such as Costa Rica. Not only the diving is amazing but the island is magical." Paula Find a Providencia Dive Operator Caribbean San Andres Island San Andres Island The largest island in the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve. It has an airport. Reviews: "I just came back from a week on San Andres island staying at the camera and resorts. San Andres has some of the best diving I have done around the world the Decamaron has multiple dive shops and very well educated and trained crews. There are many great dive sites from beginning open water diving all the way up to advanced and technical dives. By far one of the best places I have to live in the Caribbean. I will definitely be returning. " James, 31 July 2019 "I had a blast. Sunken ships. Sunken 737, Lots of big and bigger barracuda. Stingrays and a great trip to Johnny Cay to feed them in the evening. If you got to San Andres AVOID the Sunrise Hotel. It just plain old sucks and costs way too much. The Decameron Hotels are MUCH better. " Mark Infanger "In San Andres y Providence Island you can find the third largest coral reef in the world plus is considered a Biosphere Reserve by Uesco." Mariana, (2012) Find a San Andres Dive Operator Caribbean Isla Rosario Isla Rosario Part of an archipelago around 100 kilometres from Cartagena. It is one of the 46 Natural National Parks of Colombia. Reviews: "If you like diving the reef and looking at tiny stuff 24/7 this is the dive for you. I would rate Cartagena as over-promising and under-delivering. " Mark Infanger Caribbean Santa Marta Santa Marta Reviews: "Much better than Cartagena San Andras and much more stressless " Frank, Denmark Caribbean Taganga Salidero Salidero "Nice 3 part dive starting with over soft coral moving into a gentle drift dive before ending over a brain and elk horn coral field" Rich Stroud,UK, 2017 Find a Taganga Dive Operator Caribbean Taganga El Torin El Torin Reviews: "Beautiful dive over a big brain coral field, great diversity and healthy big coral (some massive examples of both brain and elk horn corals) " Rich Stroud,UK, 2017 Caribbean Taganga Tayrona Park Tayrona Park Reviews: "Turtles, Barracudas, Corals." George, New Zealand, 2016 Recommend a dive operator or list your diving company on this page. Malpelo Ferox Liveaboard Ferox Liveaboard The Ferex has exclusive diving access to the World Heritage site of Malpelo. Also visits Gorgona island. Renovated in 2017, there are 8 cabins for 12 divers. The former Ice Classed Mine Layer has an 11 mm armored steel hull, all new machinery and electronics as well as an extensive list of safety equipment including three 6m, self-righting, former Fast Rescue Boats that were operated in the challenging conditions of the North Sea. Dive guides have 30 years of experience in Malpelo. BOOK NOW, PAY LATER Caribbean Cartagena de Indias Diving Planet Diving Planet Reviews: Ciudad Amurallada Calle Estanco del Aguardiente #5-94 Cartagena de Indias Colombia Tel: (57 5) 664 2171 Cell: (57) 300 815 7169 - 300 603 7284 E-Mail: divingplanetctg@telecom.com.co Book Diving "Andres knows his stuff " Mark Infanger Caribbean San Andres Karibik Divers Karibik Divers Reviews: Karibik Diver Av. Newball 1-248 Edificio Galeon In front of "Casa de Cultura" Tel: (57)-8-51 20101 " Excellent service. They take care of everything, such as loading and unloading your equipment from the boat and rinsing all your dive gear. The price is very good also. " Firdaus Chinoy, Canada Caribbean San Andres Banda Dive Shop Banda Dive Shop PADI resort Hotel Lord Pierre Local # 104 Banda Book Diving Caribbean Providence Island Felipe Diving Center Felipe Diving Center Providence Island Cabanas EL RECREO Agua Dulce Colombia Tel: 57 (8) 514 8775 / 57 (8) 514 8010 Mobile: 57 (312) 521 7503 Fax: 57 (8) 514 8051 E-mail: info@felipediving.com Caribbean Taganga Oceano Scuba Center Oceano Scuba Center Carrera 2 # 17 - 46 Esquina Taganga Magdalena Colombia Tel: +57 5 4219004 oceano@oceanoscuba.com.co Book Diving Reviews: "Oceano Scuba - an excellent outfit with experienced instructors. Very impressed by this outfit, well organised with good kit and some excellent dive sites. While there may be better dives sites in Colombia, Taganga/Oceano offer the best value dives in the Caribbean. Best in the world for PADI courses and best quality for cost dives I've experienced. Well maintained kit, very professional approach to development courses. " Rich Stroud, UK, 2017 "It was great, the best diving school in the world. 60 dollars two dives and snacks" George, New Zealand, 2016 Caribbean Taganga Ocean Lovers Ocean Lovers A PADI 5* Dive Resort established by Lisi from Austria. Calle 15, 1B-14 Taganga Santa Marta Colombia Tel: +57 304 326 3342 (German, English, Spanish) E-mail: info@oceanloverstaganga.com Book Diving Reviews: "I dived with ocean lovers Taganga. It was a great shop, Austrian owned with good attention to detail and safety." Demi, January 2019 Caribbean Taganga Santa Marta Dive and Adventure Santa Marta Dive and Adventure Calle 17 N 2-43 Centro Historico Taganga Santa Marta Colombia Tel: +57 (5) 4226370 Whats app: +57 3132724842: E-mail: santamartadiveandadventure@gmail.com Reviews: "The school is located in Santa Marta but they also have a centre in Taganga where everybody meets to be get kitted before heading to the boat. Whilst I was there I heard the instructors speaking English, French, German and of course Spanish. Fantastic value for money and what they say is true.....Santa Marta/Taganga is probably the cheapest place to learn to dive. Marvin and the team are a fun and professional group who proactively involve their customers and put them at ease. I will be returning to dive with them again as soon as I am back in Colombia." Andrew Cameron, UK, March 2019 Caribbean Taganga Poseidon Dive Center Poseidon Dive Center Calle 18 #1-69 Taganga Santa Marta 470001 Colombia max@poseidondivecenter.com Book Diving Reviews: " Most professional dive center in Colombia " Frank, Denmark Caribbean Taganga Aquantis dive center Aquantis dive center Calle 18 N 1 - 39 Taganga Santa Marta Magdalena Colombia Tel: + 57 (5) 4219344 E-mail: info@aquantisdivecenter.com Caribbean Taganga Calipso dive center Calipso dive center Street 12 No 1 - 40 SantaMarta Taganga Colombia Tel: (057)5 4219146 E-mail: roberdive@yahoo.com.co Bogota Buconos Diving Centre Buconos Diving Centre Buconos Diving Centre Bogota Colombia Tel: +57+1+3158391 Fax: +57+1+3158391 E-mail: buconos@gmail.com "Dive with us the best of Colombia!" Adolfo Salinas (Buconos Diving), 2012 Caribbean San Andres Sunrise Hotel Sunrise Hotel Avenida Fancisco Newball No. 4-169 San Andres Isla Colombia Tel: +57 (8) 512.3977 Fax: +57 (8) 512.3825 E-mail: info@sunrisehotel.com See availability and book " We stayed at the Sunrise Hotel which is less than a 5 minute walk from the dive shop. " Firdaus Chinoy, Canada " If you got to San Andres AVOID the Sunrise Hotel. It just plain old sucks and costs way too much. The Decameron Hotels are MUCH better. " Mark Infanger Pacific El Cantil Lodge El Cantil Lodge Nuqui Colombia Tel: (574) 2520707 E-mail: elcantil@elcantil.com Lodge with Dive Centre. More Hotels More Hotels For hotels see the Agoda site... Please send us your comments on Colombia. Do you want to recommend a diving centre or dive site? Let us know. Have a question - we're waiting to hear from you. We value your privacy. Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy. Seven ships will offer 130 departures, with more than 75% of voyages sailing to Glacier Bay National Park. Departures are from Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, BC, and Whittier (Anchorage). More than 22 cruise-tour options are available, visiting five Princess Wilderness Lodges. New for 2018, Island Princess will feature a full season of calls to Icy Strait Point on every seven-day northbound 'Voyage of the Glaciers' itinerary. Also new are two 12-day round-trips from Los Angeles. The May-September program includes 'Voyage of the Glaciers' Gulf of Alaska sailings between Vancouver and Whittier. These feature two glacier-viewing experiences on every voyage, with visits to the UNESCO-listed Glacier Bay plus either Hubbard Glacier or College Fjord. These cruises are offered aboard Island Princess, Coral Princess, Star Princess and Golden Princess. 'Inside Passage' cruises are offered on seven-, 10- and 12-day round-trips from Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Ruby and Emerald Princess sail on weekly round-trips from Seattle with all Ruby Princess cruises visiting Glacier Bay. Grand Princess sails from San Francisco, and has five departures visiting Glacier Bay. The two 12-day round-trips from Los Angeles aboard Emerald Princess and Golden Princess also include Glacier Bay. 2018 is shaping up to be a huge year in Alaska, when Norwegian Cruise Line will send its biggest ship ever, the new Norwegian Bliss. Terengganu chief minister Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman said the port will undergo a massive multi-billion ringgit facelift to cater for the demands of the oil, gas shipping and tourism industries. Imagine the tremendous benefits the investment will create in terms of new job opportunities for the oil, gas, shipping and tourism sectors," he said. Other supplementary industries like food, beverage and hospitality, will also gain as millions of tourists from China are expected to flock to the state, reknowned for its idylic islands and traditional food, Razif said. Terengganu is also in talks with several parties, including national oil company Petronas, to develop Marang, another of its ports, into an international-class port to supplement Kemaman. This port is expected to benefit from Petronas demand to provide maintenance, repair, supplies, husbanding and transportation services. The world is waiting to hear what President-elect Donald Trump has in mind for governing the U.S. Among the biggest questions is what will happen to the budget for climate and energy-related activities. Though they're a relatively small piece of a federal budget that is in excess of $1 trillion, how the administration deals with climate and energy will go a long ways toward determining the future of the planet. "We don't get a second chance," Secretary of State John Kerry said last week at the United Nations climate talks in Morocco. "We have to get this right and we have to get it right now." The climate and clean energy budget could be in peril, though. Trump has called climate change a hoax created by the Chinese and has vowed to end the Paris Agreement (though on Tuesday, he softened on both stances in a meeting with New York Times reporters). In a video statement released on Monday, he said he would "cancel job-killing restrictions on the production of American energy, including shale energy and clean coal, creating many millions of high-paying jobs." That could be a reference to his stated goal to rescind the Clean Power Plan and Environmental Protection Agency rules. RELATED: The Race to Save the World's Biggest Trees The EPA transition team leader is Myron Ebell, a climate denier from the Competitive Enterprise Institute. On Monday, the transition team announced that Thomas Pyle, a former Koch brothers lobbyist, would head up the Energy Department transition and Doug Domenech, who runs Fueling Freedom, a group that aims to "explain the forgotten moral case for fossil fuels," would head the Interior Department efforts. Add in a Republican-controlled Senate and House, which have repeatedly tried to block climate action under President Obama, and it's likely that the federal climate budget will suffer in the coming years. Just how remains to be seen until Trump proposes his first budget. Here's where a number of federal agencies stand with climate and energy funding, what they spend it on, and what could be under fire after Jan. 20 when Trump takes office. The budget numbers below are based on the 2017 fiscal year budget requests for each agency or department. Energy Department2017 climate-related budget: $8.5 billion What it's spent on: Energy efficiency and renewable and nuclear energy research and development as well as science and computing. What could happen to it: Trump has said little about what his Energy Department would look like or how its funding would be affected. However, his energy plan calls for aggressively promoting fossil fuels to achieve full energy independence and create new jobs. His plan says he would continue research on nuclear power and renewables, but do so without preferring one energy source over another. By contrast, the Obama administration, through its Climate Action Plan, has made developing renewables a priority while restricting new coal development on federal lands. Coal is a major source of the greenhouse gases driving climate change. If the Department of Energy deemphasizes research and development on renewables, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) could take a major hit. The NREL is a national lab that researches renewable power and energy efficiency technology, and ways to make the electric power grid more sustainable. The DOE, which determines funding for the 17 national laboratories scattered about the country, funds 80 percent of NREL's budget, while the other 20 percent comes from other federal agencies and the lab's partnerships with industry. "We can't speculate on what sort of policies President-elect Trump may choose to prioritize or what the related impacts will be for NREL," lab spokeswoman Heather Lammers said. "In the meantime, we remain focused on our mission to find answers to today's energy challenges." Interior Department2017 climate-related budget: $1.1 billion What it's spent on: Supporting scientific research and managing landscapes for climate resilience as well as expanding public access to climate-related information. The Interior Department, through the U.S. Geological Survey, funds climate science centers, and research on carbon sequestration. Interior's climate resiliency programs include nearly $200 million to help communities such as those damaged by Hurricane Sandy to shore themselves against extreme weather, sea level rise and other impacts of climate change. What could happen to it: Trump has been relatively silent on his intentions for the Interior Department other than saying that he wants to open federal public lands - many of them managed by Interior - to fossil fuels development to the maximum extent possible while also denying the existence of climate change. Trump is considering a wide range of fossil fuels-friendly candidates for Interior Secretary, including Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Lucas Oil co-founder Forrest Lucas, and Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, among others. State Department2017 climate-related budget: $984 million What it's spent on: Almost anything the U.S. does about climate change on the international stage comes via the State Department. That includes committing money to the Green Climate Fund, a global fund to help developing countries adapt to and mitigate climate change, and the U.N. climate negotiation and research process itself. The U.S. also administers climate aid directly through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). More than 40 percent of USAID's climate budget goes into funding adaptation projects that range from helping provide weather-based crop insurance to aiding poor farmers in Ethiopia to helping ensure countries can meet their National Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement. RELATED: Vehicles Will Soon Top Coal, Gas in CO2 Pollution What could happen to it: Trump has said he would pull out of the Paris Agreement. That would likely also come with climate funding cuts to the United Nations programs that are part of the international process. What happens to climate-related aid administered through USAID is less clear. Trump hasn't announced any specific plans on aid, though in a 2012 tweet he intimated that the World Bank linking poverty and climate change was a bad idea. In his presidential bid announcement he said the U.S. should "stop sending foreign aid to countries that hate us." More broadly, Trump has espoused an "America First" policy, which could put international development in the crosshairs. Without any specific policy preferences, it will be up to State Department officials to make the case for why their funding is so important. Ed Carr, a geographer who works on international development at Clark University but has extensive contacts at USAID, said it will likely require framing that speaks to Trump, which might be slightly different than past presidents. "He sees himself as a business person with good deals and bad deals," Carr said. "Almost everybody knows dealing with something proactively costs you much less than reacting much later. Being able to demonstrate that with aid could speak to the businessman and help convince him." NASA2017 climate-related budget: $1.9 billion What it's spent on: NASA funds a variety of climate research on earth and in space. Closer to home, it manages one of the gold standard global temperature records. Its researchers also model the climate and monitor the ice sheets at both ends of the poles for possible signs of melt, which could inundate coastal cities. Beyond the exosphere, NASA satellites monitor carbon dioxide, precipitation, storms, sea levels, land cover change and even gravity shifts at the poles due to melting in ice. These satellites provide a baseline that can measure future climate change against it and also provide crucial information for storm monitoring and weather forecasting. What could happen to it: At an October rally in Florida, Trump said he would refocus NASA's mission on space exploration. Bob Walker, a former Republican congressman who has advised Trump on space policy, told the Telegraph in a recent interview that NASA has been reduced to "a logistics agency concentrating on space station resupply and politically correct environmental monitoring." RELATED: Living Architecture Cools Cities and Spreads Seed Other Republicans in Congress have also expressed a desire to spend more on space exploration while cutting into the agency's climate science research. Despite Republican opposition, NASA's earth science budget has grown during the Obama administration. That could change if Trump's desire to "refocus" the agency comes in the form of earth science budget cuts. Environmental Protection Agency2017 climate-related budget: $1.1 billion What it's spent on: Climate and air quality research and development as well as enforcing climate rules and regulations such as the Clean Power Plan, which would cut greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. Cutting the EPA's budget to prevent it from regulating emissions that cause climate change could be a setback to the Paris Climate Agreement, which was signed with the understanding that the U.S. would be among the world's leaders in emissions cuts. Without the EPA's emissions regulations, the world potentially will be unable to meet the ultimate climate goal - to prevent global warming from exceeding 2C (3.6F). What could happen to it: With the EPA transition team headed up Ebell, a climate change denier, and Trump's stated intention to cut climate-related regulations administered by the EPA, the agency is expected to see deep funding cuts, though nobody knows for sure how deep they'll be. David Goldston, government affairs director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said it's unclear how quickly EPA funding might be cut and how soon rollbacks of regulations might occur, but it's clear that funding for the agency will be a battleground. "I think they're going to pull back on everything they can," said former New Jersey Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, the first EPA administrator under George W. Bush. "They do not believe in climate change and they do not like regulation." National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration2017 climate-related research and development: $190 million What it's spent on: NOAA's climate science budget funds both in-house researchers and a number of programs at universities. The agency monitors global issues like greenhouse gases, sea level rise, Arctic sea ice and El Nino as well as another gold standard global temperature dataset. But it also provides regional climate services that take that data and make it local through the Drought Monitor or regional climate offices, which help farmers, city planners and local governments. The agency also helps maintain research bases at the South Pole and Greenland. What could happen to it: NOAA might be a rare climate bright spot under Trump. Walker has hinted that what NASA loses in earth science research could be shifted over to NOAA. It's unclear, however, if the added responsibilities will come with a bigger budget with Walker only saying that "there would have to be some budget adjustments." It seems unlikely that those adjustments would just give NASA's climate chunk to NOAA given that it's an order of magnitude larger than NOAA's current climate budget. So while it bodes well that NOAA may not lose its budget for climate research, it would be hard-pressed to fill NASA's shoes without adequate funding. More From Climate Central: This article originally appeared on Climate Central, all rights reserved. Sailor Moon, the famous Japanese female anime character known for fighting evil, will now be the face of an STI prevention campaign in Japan. Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon's creator, has partnered with Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to try and raise awareness about the importance of getting checked for sexually transmitted infections, reported the BBC. The campaign was launched as a response to the recent surge in HIV and syphilis infections in young Japanese women. Fliers featuring the iconic anime soldier as well as condoms are being distributed in the form of pink, heart-shaped educational packages to several locations. According to a press release, the Ministry's goal is to prevent STI's but also increase early detection and treatment. The campaign even reworks Sailor Moon's famous phrase: "In the name of the moon, I will punish you!" changing it to: "If you don't get tested, I will punish you!" RELATED: What It's Like to Date a Video Game Character Hoi Cheu, associate professor of English at Laurentian University in Ontario, and author of "Imported Girl Fighters: Ripeness and Leakage in 'Sailor Moon,'" was able to shed some light on why using Sailor Moon - an icon for girl power - might make sense for this campaign, even though it concerns sexuality. "Although [Sailor Moon] is a formula anime, which is not very highly regarded among anime fans, the story actually works really well with young women, with their adjustment to the culture as well as the way people grow," Cheu told Seeker. "So if it's still popular it will probably have an effect. People will have a good memory of it, so there's kind of a nostalgia to it. It's cute, it's funny, it will bring back some memories, it's a hero you trusted from your childhood." According to the National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Japan, the sharp increase in STI's among young women can be partly attributed to a lack of education, especially regarding syphilis. In a report last year, the NIID advised that sex education be stepped up, particularly among high risk groups like teenagers. "A similar trend is also happening in Canada," Cheu told Seeker. "We are also under a transition in sex education, to talk more about different aspects of sexuality than just talk about disease." Cheu pointed out, however, that there has been push back from conservatives against sex education in Canada and elsewhere. "Between the liberal pull for more holistic sex education and the extremist pull to go back and talk about anti-abortion and abstinence, I think young women suffer in between," Cheur said. "This kind of two-way pull in many ways is happening around the whole world." RELATED: Japan's Monarchy Explained This is similar to the state of sex education in Japan, and in order to get the attention of those who are most at risk of contracting a STI's, Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry tapped into a familiar practice. Japanese officials have harnessed anime and manga to inspire young people before. Earlier this year, when the country lowered the voting age from 20 to 18, city officials in Nara created an anime video encouraging young people to go out and vote. Several Japanese political parties used manga and anime in their election campaigns this past summer as well. The Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, distributed a brochure titled "Kuni ni Todoke," meaning "Notify the Country," that was designed to look like a comic for girls, as well as a manga poster with the same character. "Japan does not have a cultural institute like Hollywood, so their best way to work against it is to have anime in adult subjects," Cheu explained. "Not only do they have teen and tween production, they have adult and pornographic production of anime. In the popular culture in Japan, Sailor Moon is not anything less than any Disney major characters. Anime are celebrities, or they are the equivalent in their culture." WATCH: Japan Is Hiring Professional Ninjas For all their infamous raiding and plundering, the Vikings who attacked from Scandinavia might have been just a bunch of lonely-hearted bachelors, new research suggests. During the Viking Age, which archaeological discoveries and written texts suggested lasted from about A.D. 750 to 1050, shipborne crews from Scandinavia went "viking" - that is, they started raiding. However, the causes of these invasions remain uncertain. Previous research suggested a wide range of potential triggers for the Viking Age. One scenario hinted that warm climates led to better harvests and thus larger populations, and that such big groups felt compelled to raid. Another cited innovations in sailing technology, such as the additions of keels and sails to Scandinavian longships. [Fierce Fighters: 7 Secrets of Viking Culture] RELATED: Cats Traveled with Vikings and Farmers However, scientists have argued that such explanations are not especially convincing because they raised questions as to why Scandinavians did not respond in other ways to such triggers. For example, if the trigger for the raids was "innovations in sailing technology, why did Scandinavians elect to go raiding rather than focusing their efforts on peaceful trade?" said senior study author Mark Collard, a biological anthropologist at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. Now, researchers suggest a new twist on an ancient explanation: Scandinavian practices that led powerful men to monopolize women also might have led to significant pools of unwed men. Many of these single men, looking for marriage, might have gone on raids to gain status, wealth and captives, and thus go on to secure brides and concubines of their own. Looking for love The idea that an excess of single young men led to Viking raiding is one of the oldest explanations for the Viking Age, put forward about 1,000 years ago by historian Dudo of St. Quentin in his tome "History of the Normans." "We were able to reinvigorate an explanation for Viking raiding that has been around for nearly 1,000 years," Collard told Live Science. The new model links this older idea with the customs of polygyny, or having multiple wives, and concubinage, or the keeping of concubines, that ancient texts such as the "Sagas of Icelanders," medieval German chronicles, and reports by travelers such as the 10th-century Arab envoy Ahmad Ibn Fadlan suggested that Scandinavians once practiced, the researchers said. Polygyny and concubinage would have limited the number of women eligible for single men to marry. Evolutionary biology suggests that such an imbalance would have then boosted competition for mates among unmarried men. Indeed, prior work has suggested that, on average, men die in warfare more often in polygynous societies than in monogamous ones, the researchers said. This resulted in volatile societies in Scandinavia in which men were moved to engage in risky behavior, such as raiding expeditions to gain wealth and status to attract brides and to secure female slaves. One consequence of this was a surge in raiding that is linked with the start of the Viking Age, the researchers suggested. Viking bachelors Archaeological Viking finds discoveries and historical records suggest that loot and captives were main targets of raiders, and that most Vikings were men, although there is evidence that some raiders may have been women. For instance, the Irish text "War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill" recorded that one fleet belonged to a woman dubbed the Inghen Ruaidh, or "Red Girl," in Ireland during the 10th century A.D., the researchers said. [Photos: 10th-Century Viking Tomb Unearthed in Denmark] This model suggests that most Viking raiders would have been young men. Ancient mass graves and Icelandic sagas support this explanation, the researchers said. Other possibilities the model presents include that the Vikings were hypersensitive to insults, that they viewed risk taking positively and that there was intense competition among men. Icelandic sagas also revealed that these characteristics were common in Viking societies, the scientists added. RELATED: Mystery Settlers Reached 'Step to Americas' Before Vikings "I'd like people to keep in mind that the Vikings weren't particularly unusual in engaging in concubinage and polygyny or in going raiding," Collard said. "Plenty of societies in the past approved of polygynous relationships - indeed, some still do in the present day. Similarly, raiding was not unusual in the past and remains fairly common today in certain places. So, while the Vikings can seem exotic, it's a mistake to view them that way. They weren't outliers when it comes to human behavior." Men of low status might not have been the only members of Viking cultures seeking to go on raids. Powerful men would likely want to support, fund and lead raids to acquire plunder, in order to develop and keep their reputations and further their ambitions, the researchers said. "We're not saying that every Viking went raiding," Collard said. "Many did; others didn't. Social life in the Viking Age would have been as complicated as social life in the present day." It remains uncertain why Viking raids began when they did. The researchers suggested that one trigger of this raiding "might have been an influx of Abbasid coinage into eastern Scandinavia via Russian and Baltic trade routes in the last decades of the eighth century [A.D.]," Collard said. "That's plausible, because it likely would have increased the amount of inequality and, therefore, the level of competition among men. But I'm sure there are other potential proximate triggers that we haven't considered." The scientists detailed their findings online Oct. 30 the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations WATCH: How Powerful Is Norway? In October 2013, General Electric engineer Lyman Connor met a boy on an elevator who would radically impact his discretionary time for the next three years. Connor was in recovery from a serious bicycle accident - nine-skull-fractures serious - when he found himself in a hospital elevator with a young boy. Playfully comparing injuries, Connor found out that the boy had lost a hand and that his family couldn't afford to buy him a high-end electronic prosthesis. When Connor was finally discharged from the hospital, he pledged to design an affordable bionic hand for that kid and others like him. An inveterate tinkerer, he started experimenting in his home workshop, discovered the advantages of 3-D printing, and hasn't stopped since. "A full bionic hand was anywhere from $50,000 to $70,000, and I was thinking I could make something more affordable," Connor says in the project page demo video. Three years later, Connor is close to realizing his vision with the Bionic Hand Project, which includes a nonprofit initiative that aims to provide advanced prostheses to needy patients at a low cost. He's also founded a for-profit arm, so to speak, through which he hopes to sell his technology to other companies designing prostheses. In November, Connor moved operations from his home workshop to a commercial space in Roanoke, Virginia. RELATED: Bionic Eye Creates a Bright Spot for the Blind Connor's current bionic hand model, the Mano-matic, uses off-the-shelf components and design elements from the open-source Robohand project, a South African initiative in which engineers collaborate on low-cost prosthetic solutions. The Mano-matic includes a cuff that reads electrical impulses on the forearm, similar to how a electroencephalogram (EEG) device reads electrical activity through the scalp. Those impulses are wirelessly beamed to a microprocessor and translated into inputs for the prosthetic hand itself. This basic open-and-close system is good enough that users can easily grasp most everyday objects, a cup of water, say. Venezuela is the 10th largest oil producer in the world but the country's economy is also rapidly declining. This has sparked regular protests against the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. What is Maduro's role in the country's collapse and why is he so disliked? Watch today's Seeker Daily video to find out. Check out Discovery GO! Learn More: Fortune: These Are the World's 5 Most Miserable Economies in 2016 The Guardian: Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro given power to rule by decree BBC: Venezuela starts validating recall referendum signatures It might sound like a James Bond movie, but its happening in our homes: Devices with microphones and cameras are transmitting private images and conversations to the Web, and experts fear smartphones and watches could be used for spying, too. The problem of digital eavesdropping gained attention in June, when a photo suggested that Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, might have taped over the video camera and audio jack on his laptop. But the risk goes beyond corporate leaders. Devices ranging from webcams to childrens toys might be tapped for video or audio feeds. Last year, researchers said they could gain access to an Internet-connected Hello Barbie, which would allow them to listen to audio recorded by the doll at home. The universe of objects connected to the Internet, many of them with cameras and microphones, is swelling rapidly. That fact alarms security experts, who note the seeming ease with which attackers took over poorly protected devices like baby monitors and digital video recorders last month. In that case, the devices were used to send errant signals that knocked Twitter and other Internet companies offline. But given control over the devices, hackers could do much more. You have a lot of companies that were not previously engaged with these technology areas, that never dealt with digital security before that are now designing devices that need those protections, said Betsy Cooper, executive director of UC Berkeleys Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity. Those companies might not be as prepared as others. Fred R. Conrad The number of Internet-connected devices with voice features shipped in the U.S. is expected to grow nearly 30 percent from 2016 to 2020, to more than 316 million, according to research firm IDC. In the past, some gadget buyers have dismissed the devices as too complex. But as Amazons Echo and Apple TV bring voice assistants like Alexa and Siri to living rooms, consumers have grown more comfortable with them. Yet regulation of the devices hasnt caught up with their proliferation. Its up to consumers to assess the security reputation of the companies selling the products. Few members of Congress are familiar with the complexities of cybersecurity, making it more challenging for them to write laws on the subject, said Vince Houghton, historian at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. There are a few basic ways that microphones can be accessed. Hackers could take over the device through an unsecured connection, like a Wi-Fi router, analysts said. Malware on computers or smartphones can allow an attacker to take control of the device, sometimes including its microphone or video camera. Experts warn that small vendors overseas may try to undercut larger competitors by skimping on security and testing. For example, low-cost webcams that sell for less than $150 often pose problems, said John Matherly, founder of Shodan, a site that lets people check to see if their video feeds are accessible online. His site shows that there are thousands of video feeds worldwide that dont need a log-in to view. Plenty of webcams still rely on default user names and passwords, making them targets for hackers, Matherly said. Fred R. Conrad If strangers can access a webcams feed, they may be able to know when its owner is home. Audio files can be used for blackmail. Security has not been something that consumers care enough to spend more money on, Matherly said. The Internet-connected Hello Barbie doll, which speaks and listens to children, could be hacked to allow outsiders access to audio recordings, researchers with the San Francisco software company Bluebox Security found last year, according to CNET. San Franciscos PullString Inc., which makes the software behind the doll, pointed to a November 2015 blog post in which its co-founder wrote that we are actively engaging the security community to address any concerns. The blog post, published in response to other reports of security worries and shortly before Bluebox circulated its findings, said no audio of children had been accessed. As for smartphones and computers, its important to keep software updated in order to avoid malware. Since software can disable warning lights meant to show when a camera is active, taping over a camera is the only way to be certain images arent being transmitted. Microphones are harder to debilitate, but some people stuff the audio jack with a nonworking plug. A microphone can not only listen to a conversation, it can also provide clues to passwords. In 2015, researchers from Stevens Institute of Technology, Rutgers University and Florida State University ran an experiment in which they were able to determine the passwords a user was typing on a keyboard by listening in via a smartphone placed near the keyboard. In a crowded space like an airplane, a hacker could place his own phone next to a keyboard and capture the keystrokes that way. While there is already considerable awareness of privacy risks associated with microphones, this awareness usually extends only to spoken words and not necessarily to keystrokes, the study said. It recommended that microphone access on mobile devices should be tightly controlled. Yingying Chen, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Stevens Institute of Technology and an author of the study, said consumers ought to be informed of the risk of such snooping. Google updated its operating system in the fall of 2015 to ask users for permission to give apps access to their microphones rather than automatically allow the access, an approach that is similar to Apples mobile operating system. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Some governments, including Australias, have strict rules for cell phone use at high-level meetings. It is standard practice, on both sides of politics, that no electronic transmitting devices be allowed in the Cabinet room for a range of reasons including security, according to a spokeswoman from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in Australia. Officials in the United Kingdom have been told to leave their Apple Watches behind before Cabinet meetings because of concerns that the devices, which have microphones, could be hacked and used to eavesdrop on conversations, according to the Telegraph. (A different security concern for smartwatches, Chen and other researchers have pointed out, is that their sensors could be hacked to reveal the watch owners hand movements, which could be used, for example, when someone is entering a personal identification number at an ATM.) There are also worries about voice-activated devices listening to everyday conversations and sending the information to third parties. An attorney in New York raised that issue last year when he read the privacy policy on his Samsung TV. It said spoken words, including personal or other sensitive information, could be part of information captured and transmitted to a third party. California subsequently passed a law that would require smart-TV manufacturers to notify customers during set-up that the TV can listen in on their private conversations, and bars manufacturers from selling that information to third parties for advertising purposes. You have devices, once they are turned on and activated, that are capable of hovering over massive amounts of data and capturing lots of background conversations, said Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, who helped author the law. If that gets in the wrong hands, its not going to be a good thing. Amazon said the information collected on its Internet-connected home devices isnt used for advertising purposes, though it does track purchases made through its Echo speaker. Apple said the information Siri collects is anonymized, encrypted and not used for advertising either. Google said it does not serve ads on Google Home but it may use conversations with Google Home to make ads in other services more useful to the user. Despite the controversies, analysts dont believe that people will stop buying Internet-connected devices. Thats because the gadgets can make life more convenient. Houghton, the spy museum historian, lives in Washington, D.C., and says he has a webcam installed so he can keep an eye on his mother in Florida. Its possible that the device could be hacked and people could see what his mom is doing in her home, but it is a risk he is willing to take because that technology also allows him to check up on her and make sure shes OK. Its the give-and-take we have in this modern world, where technology is redefining what we consider security and privacy, he said. Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: wlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thewendylee Californias system that forces companies to pay for the greenhouse gases they emit a key element of the states fight against global warming may be staging a comeback. For much of 2016, many companies appeared to be boycotting the states emissions-trading system known as cap and trade, uncertain whether the regime would survive. In May, when the state held its quarterly auction of greenhouse gas permits, only 11 percent sold. On Tuesday, state officials reported the results of the years last quarterly auction, held Nov. 15 and they showed a dramatic rebound. This time, companies snapped up more than 88 percent of the current-year permits offered, the best performance of any quarterly auction since February. But despite the relatively strong finish to 2016, the programs long-term future remains unsettled. That uncertainty adds to the air of doubt hanging over climate efforts nationwide following the election of Donald Trump to the presidency, given his past statements that global warming is a hoax. (On Tuesday, Trump appeared to soften his stance on climate change in an interview with the New York Times, saying clean air was important.) But the main issues plaguing cap and trade in California have nothing to do with Trump. A long-running lawsuit filed by the California Chamber of Commerce seeks to have the system declared an illegal business tax that should have required a two-thirds vote of the legislature to take effect. Oral arguments in the case, first filed in 2012, are scheduled to begin in January. Critics of the program, as well as the states Legislative Analysts Office, have argued that the system does not have legal authority to proceed past 2020. The state agency that runs most of Californias global-warming prevention efforts, the California Air Resources Board, disagrees and is planning to keep cap and trade running into the next decade. Gov. Jerry Brown, who has made addressing climate change a central part of his legacy, spent much of the summer trying to convince legislators to explicitly extend the system past 2020. But he set a high bar, trying to line up the support of two thirds of legislators, in case the Chamber of Commerce won its suit. Republicans and business-friendly Democrats balked. And yet, cap and trade scored a partial victory in Sacramento when the legislature passed SB32, which requires the state to cut its greenhouse-gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The bills, quickly signed into law by Brown, does not spell out how California should cut its emissions. But the cap and trade system, already running, would be one logical choice. Most of the market is reasonably confident about the continuation past 2020, said Harry Horner, head of analysis for CaliforniaCarbon.info. He added, however, that questions about the lawsuit have not fully subsided. There a remains a chance that even if the suit doesnt wreck the cap-and-trade system altogether, it could change elements of the program. Realistically, the case is going to be a cloud of uncertainty over the market for a year and a half, two years, Horner said. Cap and trade sets a declining limit on the amount of greenhouse gases that California industries can emit, then forces companies to buy a permit known as an allowance for every ton of heat-trapping gas they pump into the sky. The companies can also buy and sell allowances amongst themselves on a secondary, private market. The system covers both California and the Canadian province of Quebec. Ontario is exploring the possibility of joining as well. At one point, six other U.S. states and two other Canadian provinces were considering joining, but dropped out. While backers of the program welcomed the strong results from the latest quarterly auction, they attributed some of the buying to timing. The system set a minimum price for allowances, and that minimum rises each year. Allowances in the most recent auction sold for the floor price of $12.73 per metric ton of greenhouse gases. Prices will automatically increase to about $13.50 per ton in the first auction next year. While buying increased in November, the system remains plagued by what some call a symptom of its success an oversupply of allowances. The states industries have been able to trim their greenhouse gas emissions faster than expected. As a result, companies dont need to buy as many allowances as the state has made available. Some may have bought more than they need. Michael Short / Special To The Chronicle 2016 Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Horner estimates the oversupply may now stand at 77 million allowances, or tons. For comparison, 87 million current-year allowances were offered at the most recent auction, and almost 77 million sold. Keeping emissions below the cap has proved to be not as challenging as the systems authors anticipated, said Alex Jackson, legal director of the California Climate Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. And while most of the current allowances sold in the November auction, companies largely avoided buying allowances for future years. Of the 10 million future vintage allowances offered in the auction, just 1 million sold. While oversupply and legal issues may still dog the program, Trumps election will likely have little effect, several analysts said. Californias cap-and-trade system is grounded in a state law AB32, passed in 2006. While Trump has stocked his transition team and his possible cabinet picks with people who have questioned the reality or severity of climate change, the federal government doesnt have any active involvement in the California program. And California began planning that program during the presidency of George W. Bush, not an advocate of aggressive government action on global warming. AB32 was passed during an administration that was somewhat antagonistic toward climate action, so we have practice doing that, said Erica Morehouse, staff attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund. David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF The organization behind the annual Davos global economic summit announced Monday that it will open a center in San Francisco to study the implications of new technologies poised to transform society. The Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, to be based in the Presidio, will bring together experts from industry, government and academia to study the ethical, legal and social issues raised by such technologies as artificial intelligence, military drones, 3-D printing and digital currencies. The center is an offshoot of the World Economic Forum, an organization best known for convening annual meetings of economic and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland. The forum already has offices in New York, Beijing and Tokyo, in addition to its Swiss headquarters. "We are living at a crucial moment in history, I would say a turning point for the world we are entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution," forum founder Klaus Schwab told a group of 200 people gathered Monday at the Presidio's Golden Gate Club. "It is imperative that we understand and face the choices we could and should make today." The forum identifies the fourth industrial revolution as the current wave of technology that includes physical systems and cyberintelligence as well as innovations that merge both. Self-driving cars are one example. So are efforts to refine the human body and brain using gene editing or custom-designed medications to improve performance. Schwab and a panel of business and government leaders speaking at the Golden Gate Club warned that the new wave of rapid technological change could provoke a fierce public backlash if it throws people out of work. "The idea, the libertarian idea, that technology can exist in a vacuum and will solve the world's problems without the involvement of government is naive," said U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. She noted that self-driving vehicles could soon threaten the jobs of America's 5 million truck drivers. "If you unemploy a huge segment of our population, that isn't good for society," she said. An article on the forums website pinpoints the start of the first industrial revolution, based on steam power and mechanical production tools, in the 1780s. The second revolution began 90 years later, with the introduction of electricity and mass production. The third, by the forums reckoning, started in 1969 and was based on information technology and automated production. The new center will study how new, disruptive technologies will affect individuals, businesses and society. It will also facilitate discussion of public policies to govern the deployment of those technologies, according to the forum. The center is in negotiations to lease a space in the Presidio. The panelists speaking at Monday's event agreed that the dawning revolution could benefit human lives or upend them. Several noted the populist backlash against globalization evident in the U.S. presidential election and the United Kingdom's Brexit vote to leave the European Union. "We're at a decision point where we'll need to decide, will the Fourth Industrial Revolution be for everyone or just for the 1 percent?" said Marc Benioff, Salesforce CEO and a member of the forum's board of trustees. David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF A Richmond man has been charged with a hate crime and murder in the death of an African American man found beaten and shot on an El Sobrante road near a pool hall where investigators believe he was attacked. Daniel Porter-Kelly, 31, who is white, was arrested Nov. 16 and is being held without bail at the Martinez Detention Facility, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office. County prosecutors have charged Porter-Kelly with robbery and murder with a hate crime enhancement in the killing of 28-year-old William Sims of Richmond, police said. On Tuesday, authorities identified two other suspects for whom they are searching: Ray Simons, 32, of Hercules, and Daniel Ortega, 31, of Novato or Richmond. The two, both of whom are white, are considered armed and dangerous. Investigators believe Sims was inside the nearby Capri Club a pool hall and bar in the 4100 block of Appian Way in El Sobrante in the early morning hours of Nov. 12 when the suspects jumped, robbed and killed him. He was beaten and shot, authorities said. A sergeant with the sheriffs office came across Sims body in the street near the pool hall just after 2 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Sims, 28, was a musician who also held a retail job. He had no gang ties or criminal history, said Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the sheriffs office. Lee told KPIX-TV that authorities believe Sims was targeted because he was black. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Detectives also arrested Ortegas mother, 54-year-old Renee Brown of Novato, on suspicion of interfering with the investigation. Brown was held on $500,000 bail. Anyone with information on the incident or the whereabouts of Ortega or Simons can contact the sheriffs department anonymously at (866) 846-3592. Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michael_bodley A male student was sexually assaulted at UC Berkeley inside a university affiliated student cooperative housing unit, police said Tuesday. The assault was reported shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to the UC Berkeley Police Department. The victim, a UC Berkeley student, told police he was assaulted by a man he met on the Internet. It was unclear whether the suspect was also a student. Police said he is approximately 20 years old. The victim and the suspect met at the victims co-op room, and the assault occurred around 1:30 a.m., police said. Officials did not specify the co-op where the alleged assault occurred. The Berkeley co-op system consists of a series of apartment complexes and houses, some affiliated with the university, where students live together in large groups and often participate in shared social events and other functions. Police were working to identify the suspect, but no arrest has been made. Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michael_bodley This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Melissa Lim remembers the first time she locked eyes with Noel Gallagher, the lead guitarist of Oasis. It was backstage at the Bottom of the Hill on Sept. 26, 1994, where the quarrelsome British rock band was making its San Francisco live debut in support of its platinum-selling first album, Definitely Maybe. He came over and sat down next to me, she says. I had never been backstage before, so I asked him, Wheres the afterparty? And he goes, What afterparty? Can I hang out with you tonight? The encounter would play a major part in the groups formative years, chronicled in the action-packed new documentary, Supersonic (from the makers of Amy), which hit U.S. theaters last month. Three days later, after a disastrous concert at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles where the band members were high on crystal meth and saddled with mismatched set lists things came to a head. Gallagher was struck in the face by a tambourine hurled by younger brother Liam, and decided hed had enough. Gallagher grabbed his passport, boarded a plane to San Francisco and reportedly went into hiding at Lims apartment in lower Nob Hill. He was very upset, she says. I took him in, fed him and tried to calm him down. He wanted to break up the band. Carol Vaziri As Oasis manager and record label staff frantically searched for him, Gallagher settled in with the San Francisco native. We went to Huntington Park to clear his mind, Lim says. We listened to music. We went record shopping. One day, while out for her usual supply of Snapple Strawberry Lemonade, Lim recalls bringing back a handful of British music magazines back to the apartment all of them included prominent features on Oasis. San Francisco has a reputation of being a place where bands come to die, like the Band and the Sex Pistols, says Lim. I wasnt going to let it happen on my watch. I told him, You cant leave the band youre on the verge of something big. In Supersonic, without mentioning her specifically, the bands producer Mark Coyle calls Lim a spiritual animal who took Gallagher under her wing and set him straight. Gallaghers memory of their time together is less clear, most likely impaired by his level of indulgence. If I close my eyes now, I cant even picture the girl, he says in the film. I cant remember her name. When The Chronicle asked Oasis to confirm Lims story, Gallagher declined to comment. But the memories are vivid for Lim, who still holds on to old photos of her and Gallagher during that pivotal period. She may not be named in the documentary, but Lim played a crucial role in Oasis lore. Once Gallagher decided to resume his band duties, one of the first things he did was check into a studio in Austin, where he recorded the songs Half the World Away and Talk Tonight: All your dreams are made, Of strawberry lemonade, And you make sure I eat today, You take me walking, To where you played when you were young. On the chorus, Gallagher sings, I want to talk tonight/ Until the mornin light/ Bout how you saved my life. Lim says she and Gallagher stayed in touch as the tour continued, meeting when Oasis shot the video for the song Supersonic at the Cabazon Dinosaurs in Southern California. They would also talk on the phone regularly, with Lim answering the phone with a line from the film Bye Bye Birdie: Whats the story, morning glory? She often had to console him as the brothers fought nonstop with each other and just about anyone else who entered their orbit, including bandmates, relatives and associates. Lims long-distance relationship ended when Gallagher met his future wife, Meg Matthews, at the tail end of 1994 (they married in 1997, divorced in 2001). When Oasis returned to San Francisco to perform at the Fillmore in early 1995, Lim found Gallagher to be distant. But hoping to maintain their relationship, she told him, Its OK, I wont look back in anger. I know were just friends. Although Gallagher didnt tell her at the time, Oasis second album was titled (Whats the Story) Morning Glory? It sold more than 22 million copies worldwide, launched the career-defining singles Wonderwall and Dont Look Back in Anger, and led to the 1996 concerts in Knebworth, England, which drew 250,000 fans over two nights. The documentary closes with that crowning moment, even though Oasis pressed on to diminishing returns until 2009. Watching Supersonic, Lim says she wasnt disappointed by Gallaghers callous attitude about their time together. Keith Richards can remember the name of his milkman from when he was 8 years old, she says. I dont know whats going on with Noel, and thats fine. I was a part of something that touched so many people. Thats good enough. Aidin Vaziri is The San Francisco Chronicles pop music critic. E-mail: avaziri@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MusicSF Supersonic: Documentary. Starring Noel Gallagher, Paul Arthurs, Christine Biller and Mark Coyle. Directed by Mat Whitecross. (R. 122 minutes.) To see a trailer: https://youtu.be/9waBd3yPOLE The 35th president of the United States was the fourth to be shot dead in office. The Chronicles front page from Nov. 23, 1963, covers the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy was shot through the head and neck as he rode beside his wife in a triumphal motorcade through downtown Dallas, the story read. Three shots cracked. Blood sprang from the presidents face and he fell face down in the backseat of the presidential limousine. He died in a Dallas hospital half an hour later. Shock spread through the nation as the news was broadcast on television and radio. In the shadow of the Cold War, many believed the country was under attack. Children were let out early from school. People wept openly. Families rushed home to ensure their loved ones were safe. That day, news broke at an astounding pace. The assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was apprehended after killing a police officer a little over an hour after shooting Kennedy. Oswald, a former Marine who once tried to renounce his American citizenship and live in the Soviet Union, made no confession, read a second Associated Press and United Press story on the front page. I did not kill the president. I did not kill anyone, Oswald told newsmen. This is not justice. I might as well be in Russia. Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office in Air Force One alongside Jacqueline Kennedy, still wearing the clothes splattered with her husbands blood. The Chronicle took the unusual step of publishing a front-page editorial. In the aftermath of tragedy, it was a harsh indictment of the nations climate, an atmosphere in which an inspiring leader could be slain in cold blood. The young president whom we lost yesterday gave at all times his best to the nation, the editorial read. In the spirit of his inaugural address, he asked only what he could do for his country, and did it. Decades later, Kennedy remains an inspiration, and most Americans alive on Nov. 22, 1963, remember exactly where they were the moment they heard the news of his death. See more front pages: Go to SFChronicle.com/covers to search a database of hundreds of Chronicle Covers articles that showcase the newspapers history. Chronicle Covers highlights one classic Chronicle newspaper page from our archive every day for 366 days. Library director Bill Van Niekerken and producers Kimberly Chua, Michelle Devera and Jillian Sullivan contributed to the project. Tim ORourke is the executive producer and editor of SFChronicle.com. Email: torourke@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TimothyORourke (Click to enlarge) An alleged brothel near a high school and San Mateo City Hall was busted and two men were arrested after residents of the Peninsula community complained to police, officials said Tuesday. An undercover investigation that began earlier this month led to the San Mateo Police Department serving a search warrant at a home in the 400 block of West 20th Avenue Monday evening. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The mood among guests mingling at the elegant City Hall Rotunda, where Human Rights Watch hosted its annual Voices for Justice dinner on Nov. 17 was decidedly subdued. When we look at parts of the world, its easy to feel devoid of hope, noted event co-chair Joy Alferness, seeking to soothe troubled souls who ruminated on recent political events. Humanity and human dignity are HRW bedrocks. In that commitment to equity and justice, hope does burn bright. The event was founded 15 years ago by human rights advocate and HRW trustee Darian Swig. This year supporters included co-chair Tina Bou-Saba; honorary chairs Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein; Linda and Jon Gruber; Nion McEvoy and Leslie Berriman; as well as sponsors Dagmar Dolby; Mark and Susie Tompkins Buell; Stephen Silberstein; Amy Rao and Harry Plant; JaMel and Tom Perkins; and new SF HRW director Jen Haile. Sans government funding, this international organization investigates, exposes and works to change abuses while bringing perpetrators to justice. And guests raised more than $500K for those efforts. The evening included a documentary screening of, The Investigators and honored Yonous Muhammadi, a leading defender of refugee rights in Greece. Even caterer Paula LeDuc got into this groove, creating a delish dinner (chickpea Kofta lettuce cups, Moroccan chicken and couscous) inspired by global cuisine. It doesnt matter if youre Muslim, Mexican or a migrant, exclaimed keynote speaker Bruno Stagno Ugarte, HRW deputy executive director of advocacy. We must ensure the toxic promise of President-elect Trump does not become true. Ring my bell: To launch its Red Kettle season, the Salvation Army hosted the 13th Holiday Lunch at its Turk Street HQ with Protocol Chief Charlotte Shultz. Dubbed, Honoring Charlotte and Her Mayors, 320 supporters gave a standing ovation to this beloved civic cheerleader who has devotedly volunteered for mayors John Shelley, Joe Alioto, George Moscone, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Art Agnos, Frank Jordan, Willie Brown, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Ed Lee. Led by S.A. Divisional Leaders, Lt. Colonels Cindy and Tim Foley and a stellar committee (including Ellen Magnin Newman; Jeanne and Sandy Robertson; Reena Evers-Everette; Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz; Mary and C.W. Nevius), the festive fete featured a roast turkey feast that netted $520K for S.A. holiday programs and general fund that provides meals, assistance, clothing, rehab, school supplies and wellness programs to tens of thousands Bay Area children, families, homeless and seniors. 35 years ago, Shultz, dreamed up the Union Square Celebrity Bell Ringing Contest (which happens Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. ) where stars ring in S.A. Kettle Campaign cash. Charlotte is terrific and so creative. But her efforts arent about about her, its about who shes trying to help, toasted her husband, former Secretary of State George Shultz. Thats the Salvation Armys theme. And its the theme of my wonderful wife. Joining that chorus was Beach Blanket Babylon cast member Shawna Ferris McNulty, singing a surprise tribute written by Shultz pal, BBB producer Jo Schuman Silver. Not surprisingly, the hand-crafted lyrics were set to the tune of, Ring dem Bells. Cindy Foley recalled a few of Shultzs madcap civic events: the Golden Gate Bridge 50th anniversary; hosting Queen Elizabeth II and chasing down cable cars, in high heeled Ferragamos, while ringing her red bell to ask tourists for money. I love ringing that bell because the Salvation Army wraps its arms around people-in-need, enthused Shultz. I like asking people for money. Especially when I stand outside Saks Fifth Avenue and ask shoppers how much they spent. Then Ill ask them to donate 10 percent of that to the Salvation Army. But this year, Im increasing it to 20! Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Stella-tacular: Renowned artist Frank Stella drew interesting art-fellows to recent celebrations at the de Young Museum where fans of all stripes were wowed by the recently opened Frank Stella: A Retrospective. Storied vintner Donald Hess, an early collector, hied over from Switzerland to salute his pal whose works adorn many walls at Hess Collection Winery. And fashion house Max Mara hosted a gallery tour and McCalls dinner for the artist. This show is so exciting, enthused Maria Giulia Maramotti, a scion of the Italian luxury company and U.S. retail director. Even at 80, Stella continues to reinvent himself. Seeing his new works in this exhibition gives me goosebumps. Among fans: Fine Arts Museums Director Max Hollein and his wife, Nina; FAM board chair Dede Wilsey; Janet Barnes and Thomas Weisel; collector Frances Bowes; Dagmar Dolby; Whitney Museum director Adam Weinberg; Ray and Giselle Farris; Dorothy and David Saxe and FAM curator Timothy Burgard. During our 1,000-person Stella opening party, I thought the party was a big failure: Nobody was upstairs having cocktails. I wondered, Where is everybody? recalled Hollein, with a laugh. I was told, Everyones in the exhibition. Which speaks so highly about Frank Stella, a living legend and his art. Stella P.S.: The next day, Max Mara saluted Stella at a luncheon and Resort 2017 show hosted by Katie Traina. And Matthew Goldman and his brother, Jason Goldman, hosted a private tour and McCalls dinner inside the spectacular de Young tower. Theyd won a Night at the Museum auction item two years ago at the Mid-Winter Gala. The wait was worth it: Stella was the perfect palette for their artful posse of pals. Catherine Bigelow is The San Francisco Chronicles society correspondent. Email: missbigelow@sfgate.com Instagram: @missbigelow Google Maps / Google Maps Pepper spray was released into a classroom inside a San Jose middle school Tuesday, irritating nearly a dozen students and sending one to the hospital, a fire official said. Administrators flagged down a fire crew coincidentally conducting a routine annual fire safety inspection at Sylvandale Middle School, on Sylvandale Avenue off Senter Road, around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Capt. Mitch Matlow, a spokesman for the San Jose Fire Department. A man who was diagnosed with lung disease after working on nuclear submarines at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the 1970s has no case against the supplier of the asbestos-filled insulation, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday, because the Navy ordered the product despite being aware of its dangers. Contractors that furnish products in compliance with the standards of a government agency, which has weighed a products known risks against its benefits, are protected from lawsuits for any harm the product causes, said the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco. Gary Kase, a civilian employee, worked at the Vallejo shipyard in the early 1970s, helping to load boxes of an asbestos-laden insulation called Unibestos onto nuclear submarines and working alongside those who were cutting the material, installing it on pipes and removing it. Kase was diagnosed in 2011 with the lung disease asbestosis. His lawyers said he settled suits against other companies involved in the production and distribution of Unibestos. But the supplier, Metalclad Insulation Corp., claimed immunity as a government contractor. In Wednesdays decision, which upheld a San Francisco Superior Court judges ruling in Metalclads favor, the court said the Navy first approved Unibestos for its vessels in the late 1930s and continued to use it until the early 1970s. Metalclad started shipping Unibestos, manufactured by Pittsburgh Corning Corp., to the Navy in 1968. By then, the court said, Navy officials were aware of increasing evidence of the dangers of asbestos. The Navy had studied Unibestos for decades and knew it posed serious health risks, Justice Kathleen Banke said in the 3-0 ruling. Yet, it nevertheless made a decision to ... continue using this asbestos product in its naval vessels ... a deliberative judgment call. Kases lawyers also argued that Unibestos could not be considered military equipment because it was available on the commercial market. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has agreed with that argument and allowed suits against Metalclad and other contractors to proceed in federal courts in California and other Western states. The federal ruling does not bind state courts, however. Banke said the Navys decision to approve Unibestos shields Metalclad, even if the product was also available to private companies. Kase and his wife, who also sued Metalclad, may ask the state Supreme Court to review the ruling, said Richard Grant, a lawyer for the couple. Unibestos was not designed pursuant to Navy specifications, Grant said. The court was also wrong in saying the government weighed the hazards of asbestos against its utility. There was no proof of that. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate On a recent visit to San Francisco Chronicle's photo archives I came across a thick folder of old photos of cable cars. The images, many not seen for years, spanned several decades, mostly from the 1940s through the 1970s. A few images from 1947 showed a cable car being lifted on to a flatbed truck, with a brief caption saying it was off to Hollywood. I had to delve into the article archives to see if I could find the matching story. What I found, from June 10, 1947, was as follows: "A Cable Car Will Go to Hollywood Fame and fortune await a San Francisco cable car. The car will be loaded on a truck tomorrow, where it will 'star' in the movie, 'I Remember Mama.' Sidney Fogel, manager of RKO Studios' properties department, yesterday transacted the deal with Leonard V. Newton, vice president of California Street Cable Railways. The movie is an adaptation of the play, 'I Remember Mama,' a story of San Francisco between 1910 and 1914. The car is 41 years old, well-fitted for the role. The studio said it could have made a cable car of its own, for a lesser cost, but wanted the real thing. The car will be returned here." According to ReelSF, some of the movie was filmed in San Francisco, on the 500 block of Liberty Street in the Eureka Valley sub-neighborhood of the Castro district. The presence of the beloved cable car is almost as old as the city. According to the San Francisco Cable Car Museum, the inspiration behind the system came from Andrew Smith Hallidie after he witnessed a horrible accident on a damp summer day in 1869. Hallidie saw the toll slippery grades could exact when a horse-drawn streetcar slid backwards under its heavy load. The steep, wet cobblestone street proved too much, and five horses were dragged to their deaths. According to legend, the shocking sight set Hallidie and his partners into action. "Hallidie's father was an inventor who had a patent in Great Britain for 'wire rope' cable. Hallidie immigrated to the U.S. in 1852 during the Gold Rush," according to the Cable Car Museum. "He began using cable in a system he had developed to haul ore from mines and in building suspension bridges." The Clay Street Hill Railroad launched in 1873 and by 1890 half a dozen competitors using similar technology had emerged. At one time there were "53 miles of track stretching from the Ferry Building to the Presidio, to Golden Gate Park, to the Castro, to the Mission," according to the Cable Car Museum. On Oct. 1, 1964, there was an official ceremony at Hyde and Beach Streets to designate San Francisco's cable car system a special "moving" National Historic Landmark. The queue for the cable cars, at the Powell and Market turnaround, this time of year can be quite long, filled with Christmas shoppers. If you plan to take a ride on one as part of your shopping experience, be prepared to shell out $7 per person. Bob Bragman is a producer for SFGATE. His writing reflects his love of the Bay Area, in addition to his passion for vintage pop culture, ephemera and vernacular photographs. To see more of his content, please click here. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The head of Oaklands public schools has parlayed his sometimes rocky two years in town into a bigger and more visible job in Washington, D.C., highlighting a trend of urban superintendents hopping jobs and leaving instability in their wake. The mid-year departure of Antwan Wilson, announced Tuesday, took district staffers, city officials and parents by surprise. But it shouldnt have. Around the country, the average urban superintendent stays two to three years, and Oaklands schools have been led by eight people in the past 16 years some named by the school board and others appointed amid a crisis-driven state takeover. I think its distressing because superintendents do set the tone and kind of set the spirit of a district, said Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley. This instability just upsets any given course and any clear spirit thats motivating teachers and kids. More for you Superintendent Antwan Wilson Leaving District In February Wilson will head to the nations capital in February to serve as chancellor of schools. In a statement, he called the move bittersweet. I love Oakland and feel great about the work accomplished during my tenure here, said Wilson, who makes just over $400,000 in total compensation in Oakland. I am also excited to begin a new chapter in my career in which I will continue to dedicate myself to ensuring every student thrives. District officials in Oakland will quickly move to name an interim leader and start the search for a permanent replacement, a process that will be addressed at a special school board meeting Monday, said board President James Harris. Unfortunately, Oakland is very familiar with the churn of an urban school superintendent, he said. As a city, we dont have time to lament. Harris said the trustees will look for a candidate to continue the districts community schools effort, which includes providing a range of services for families at school sites, including health care. The next superintendent, he said, will also be expected to partner with the city, as Wilson has, to support programs like Oakland Promise, which provides students funding and support for college. And the next superintendent must have the stamina and stomach for the job. It is very difficult to sit in the fire of an urban district, Harris said. You take a lot of heat. Yet many urban leaders like Wilson are committed to the career. The complicating factor is that they often hopscotch across the country, boosting profiles and paychecks. Superintendent search firms have a stable of candidates they shop around, place in districts and then maybe a few years down the road poach again. San Francisco Unified is also looking for a superintendent after Richard Carranza left to run Houstons schools in September. The district has hired a search firm to identify candidates, and most if not all of them will probably convey a desire to put down roots and stay many years, said school board member Rachel Norton. But the odds are he or she wont stay. Its always a guess, its always a crapshoot in that sense, Norton said. I do think that folks who are building that kind of national profile are also more likely to be courted by other districts and want to be continuing on to new challenges. While San Franciscos recent superintendents have stayed longer than most Carranza for four years and Carlos Garcia before him for five Oakland has pushed the national average down with its eight leaders in 16 years, a number that includes both state appointees and interim superintendents. But Oakland has a lot of company. An EdSource survey this year of the biggest 30 school districts in California found that in 17 of them, the superintendent had been there for less than three years. Only two, Fresno and Long Beach, had a long-term superintendent who had stayed 10 years or more. I think its something school boards across the country should think about when they hire, said Rick Miller, executive director of Core Districts, which helps direct education reform efforts in eight districts, including San Francisco and Oakland. School boards do national searches to bring cachet to a district, he said. We need to all think differently about what makes a high-quality superintendent. Wilson was recruited from Denver, where he was an assistant superintendent, to take over Oakland schools. A native of Nebraska and a former middle-school principal in Kansas, he had participated in the Broad Superintendent Academy, a training program sponsored by billionaire Eli Broad, who supports a more corporate philosophy in running public education. The Broad superintendents often aim for national status and reputation, and they have strong personal career ambitions, said Tina Trujillo, an associate professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education. Almost nobody expected a Broad superintendent to stay, she said. Its a career ladder. That is completely counter to what a high-needs school district needs. Wilsons tenure in Oakland which like Washington, D.C., has about 49,000 students has been marked by criticism of his efforts to overhaul struggling schools in Oakland and to include charter schools in the districts enrollment process. Wilson drew fire within months of his arrival after he initiated a plan to redesign five high schools, an effort community members interpreted as code for conversion to charter schools. He also pledged to create a school enrollment process that allowed parents to choose from among the traditional public schools and the few dozen, nontraditional and largely independent charter schools, which many saw as a threat to the sustainability of their neighborhood schools. The teachers union and other community groups felt Wilson was an autocrat who made decisions without understanding the city and the people in it. The most recent school board election featured battles between incumbents who supported Wilson and union-endorsed challengers who didnt. The incumbents won. Not everyone was sad to see him go. His departure presents Oakland with a unique opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past, and select a new leader who is committed to making a difference in our students and who will stay in Oakland long enough to see those changes through, said Kim Davis of Parents United for Public Schools, a community group representing Oakland families, in a statement. His mid-year decision also did not sit well with Oakland teachers union President Trish Gorham. I dont begrudge anybody making a career move, she said. However, teachers who want to move on to greener pastures in the middle of the year are told their credential will be suspended. Wilsons supporters, however, applauded his work in Oakland, including efforts to increase resources and support for schools serving the most disadvantaged students. Policies and programs he supported including restorative justice and the African American Male Achievement initiative were there when he came and will be there after he leaves, said Gloria Lee, founder of Educate 78, an Oakland nonprofit working to support public education. This is very much a team effort, the proverbial village, she said. The work of creating great public schools in a city goes way beyond one person. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker MICHAEL MALONEY / SFC A person was struck and killed by a Caltrain near Bellevue Avenue in San Mateo Tuesday afternoon, according to the transportation agency. The person whose identity was not immediately available was allegedly trespassing on the tracks when he or she was struck by a southbound train around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. If you're looking for a way to burn off some calories before you feast this Thanksgiving, check out this festive, albeit challenging, bike route through San Francisco. The 50-mile route outlines the shape of a turkey, with the starting line near Castro and 14th St. The wing takes you through the Castro, Dolores Heights, and the Mission District. The route gets harder to follow from there, forming the feathers of the turkey on the east side of the city. Federal auto safety regulators are allowing General Motors to delay a large recall of potentially defective air bags, giving the company time to prove that the devices are safe and to possibly avoid a huge financial hit. The unusual move by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration buys time for GM to do long-term tests of Takata air bag inflators in older trucks and SUVs including its top-selling vehicle, the Chevrolet Silverado pickup. GM reluctantly agreed to recall 2.5 million vehicles in May to replace Takata front-passenger inflators. The company said at the time its inflators are unique and safer than those linked to 11 deaths in the U.S. and as many as 16 worldwide. The company petitioned for the delay last week and the government agreed Monday. The decision delays the recall until Aug. 31, 2017. If GM can prove that the inflators are safe by that time, the recall could be canceled. The recall also covers the GMC Sierra pickup and many popular full-size SUVs from the 2007 to 2011 model years. Some of the trucks are older than the minimum six years that it takes for Takata inflators to deteriorate and become risky. But GM contends its tests show they are safe for at least 3 more years. The testing could help GM fend off several recalls totaling 6.8 million trucks and SUVS with the same inflators that ultimately could cost the company $870 million, according to a GM filing with securities regulators. Another batch of recalls is slated to start Dec. 31. The delay also pushes the decision into the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has stated that he wants to get rid of unnecessary government regulation. GM said the timing of its filings was motivated by looming deadlines. Any other conclusion is just speculation, it said. One auto safety advocate called the decision a backroom deal and questioned whether it would keep people safe. Takata uses ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a crash. Tests show the chemical can deteriorate when exposed to prolonged high temperatures and airborne moisture. That can make it burn too fast, blowing apart a metal canister and flinging shrapnel into drivers and passengers. The safety agencys decision will delay the recall by about two months. GM has said it will take until June of 2017 to design and manufacture replacement inflators. GM will continue engineering and will be ready if regulators decides the recall should happen. The GM case began when Takata filed papers with the government declaring that 40 million inflators in vehicles from 17 auto manufacturers were defective and should be recalled. The addition pushed the number of recalled inflators to about 70 million, adding to what already was the largest auto recall in U.S. history. The recalls would be phased in through December of 2019 as replacement parts become available. In its petition seeking the delay, GM said 52,000 air bags in its trucks SUVs have inflated in crashes, and none has ruptured. The company also said Takata has tested 1,475 GM inflators and all worked as designed. GM also said its inflators have bigger vents than more dangerous Takata inflators, and stronger steel end caps. It also says its trucks have solar-absorbing glass that holds down cabin temperatures, keeping the inflators cooler. The long-term tests would be done by Orbital ATK, a Virginia engineering company that already has determined the cause of Takata inflator ruptures. Regulators said GM will update the agency monthly on testing, and if the agency finds any safety problems, it can require the recall to start. If GM can get the 2.5 million-truck recall canceled, it likely will seek the same decision for 4.3 million more trucks with the same inflators that were due to be recalled starting next year. Safety advocates and a lawmaker argued against a previous GM petition to delay the recalls. Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies Inc., a Massachusetts firm that does testing for plaintiffs lawyers and other clients, said the timing of the decision shows it was a backroom deal that left the public in the dark. Kane said the safety agency apparently didnt consider Takatas manufacturing and quality control problems. In past recalls, automakers excluded some vehicles because they had not experienced inflator ruptures, yet the vehicles were eventually recalled, he said. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., wrote that before a South Carolina man was killed by a Takata inflator in a Ford Ranger pickup, Ford had tested 1,900 Ranger inflators and found no sign of abnormalities. He called the GM delay a mistake and said other automakers could now ask for the same thing while an untold number of drivers continues to be at risk for serious injury or death. Normally, automakers cover the cost of recalls and are reimbursed by parts makers. But Takata is struggling financially, putting reimbursement in jeopardy. Takata has hired a restructuring firm to seek a buyer, and its also possible that its North American operations will seek bankruptcy protection. That could shelter it from some recall costs, which then would have to be borne by automakers such as GM. Billionaire brothers Charles and David Kochs company fought for years to hold on to millions of dollars in profit from Bernard Madoffs Ponzi scheme. That battle just paid off. Koch Industries and dozens of other former Madoff customers are expected to keep as much as $2 billion they made from the con mans bogus securities transactions after U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Stuart Bernstein in Manhattan ruled the cash is out of reach of a trustee recovering money for victims. The ruling on Monday underscores that even eight years after the collapse of the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, the litigation stemming from the scam is still being defined by which Madoff customers profited at the expense of others. Many are still waiting for their principal. Koch Industries and defendants in about 100 other suits argued the profit was beyond U.S. jurisdiction because it had been transferred usually from offshore feeder funds to foreign banks in the years before Madoffs December 2008 arrest. Irving Picard, the lawyer who is liquidating the New York firm, contended that the money could be clawed back because investors and feeder funds must have known they were subject to U.S. law. Bernstein disagreed. While Picard has had mixed success in court, his combination of settlements and courtroom victories has raised almost $11.5 billion for victims, who lost $17.5 billion in principal. The litigation involving Koch and the other early Madoff investors relied on a legal defense known as extraterritoriality, and held the last large pot of cash that may have been available for victims. Koch, an industrial conglomerate and one of the biggest private companies in the U.S., started investing with Madoff in the mid-1990s, according to court records. The company, run by the conservative-activist brothers who are worth a combined $102 billion, has refused Picards demands to return the money. Picard sued Koch to recover $21.5 million that had been sent from Madoffs firm in 2005 to a fund based in the British Virgin Islands, and then to a Koch entity in the United Kingdom. The defendants in the related cases initially claimed a victory in 2014 when U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said that money transferred overseas is generally out of Picards reach, but sent the case back to Bankruptcy Court for further arguments on how his ruling impacted the individual cases. Mondays decision dismisses almost all the claims and denies Picards request to amend them, said Franklin Velie, who represented the defendants in all the lawsuits. Foreign banks and service providers were dragged into the bankruptcy in the U.S. and claims were made against them for vast sums, said Velie, with the law firm Sullivan & Worcester in New York. We are hopeful this is the end of the matter. Picard didnt accuse Koch and the other defendants of wrongdoing. As in his many prior suits to recover cash, the trustee argued the returns werent legitimate because Madoff used money from new investors to cover the fake profits of older ones. Picards spokeswoman, Amanda Remus, said lawyers are reviewing the 87-page ruling and declined to immediately comment. Rob Carlton, a spokesman for the Kochs, declined to comment. Most of the $2 billion affected by the ruling involves transfers from funds that were operated by Fairfield Greenwich Group by far the biggest feeder fund that channeled investors money to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. In many cases, the money was transferred from one overseas account to another, putting it further out of Picards reach and complicating his litigation efforts. Mark Cunha, a lawyer for Fairfield, didnt immediately return a call seeking comment on the decision. Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence in a federal prison in North Carolina for running the Ponzi scheme. Erik Larson is a Bloomberg writer. Email: elarson4@bloomberg.net. SAN ANTONIO The suspect arrested in the ambush shooting of a San Antonio police detective has said he was angry about a child-custody battle and lashed out at somebody who didnt deserve it. Otis Tyrone McKane was being led by police to the Bexar County Jail late Monday when he told reporters that he was angry with the court system for not letting him see his son and took it out on 50-year-old Detective Benjamin Marconi, a 20-year veteran of the force. Ive been through several custody battles, and I was upset at the situation I was in, and I lashed out at someone who didnt deserve it, McKane said. He said he wanted to apologize to the family of the slain officer. McKane, 31, of San Antonio was arrested on a capital murder charge Monday afternoon in the fatal shooting of Marconi. The detective was shot as he sat in his squad car Sunday after making a traffic stop. Authorities have said a gunman walked up to Marconis drivers-side window and fired. It was one of several weekend attacks against law enforcement in multiple states. The San Antonio detective and officers shot in Missouri and Florida were conducting routine tasks Sunday when they became the targets of violence. Marconi was writing a traffic ticket. In Missouri, a St. Louis police sergeant was shot twice in the face Sunday evening while he sat in traffic in a marked police vehicle. He was released from a hospital Monday. Police officers also were shot and injured during traffic stops in Sanibel, Fla., and Gladstone, Mo., on Sunday night, but authorities have not suggested those were targeted attacks. St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson declined to name the 46-year-old officer who was shot and wounded there. He said the officer is a married father of three and has been with the department for about 20 years. This officer was driving down the road and was ambushed by an individual who pointed a gun at him from inside of his car and shot out the police officers window, Dotson said. The suspect, 19-year-old George P. Bush III, was wanted for questioning in recent violent crimes that included several robberies, a carjacking and perhaps a killing, Dotson said without elaborating. Police said Bush was later killed in a shootout with officers. Throughout this bitter election campaign, liberal celebrities like Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lawrence, Lena Dunham and Lin-Manuel Miranda used their powerful media platforms to sing Hillary Clintons praises. Now theyve invited their online followers to join them in processing her loss and protesting the impending administration of Donald Trump. I want to live in a #CountryOfKindness where #LoveTrumpsHate, Lady Gaga wrote on Twitter the day after the election. She added a photo of herself at a protest outside Trump Tower in Manhattan, where she had climbed onto a truck in a strapless black jumpsuit and raised a pro-Clinton sign. While the angry tweets, therapeutic Instagram testimonials and fiery speeches may comfort their fans, these left-leaning celebrities are also inadvertently energizing the opposition. Conservative news outlets most notably Breitbart News Network, the right-wing populist enclave are perfecting the art of sapping Democratic stars name recognition and repurposing their words and actions into pro-Trump material. The enormous reach that celebrities enjoy, and the privileged bubble they live in, is wielded against them here, refashioned as evidence of the outsize control that the rich and famous have over regular Americans. This new battle in the culture wars is being waged not by bombastic, big-name right-wing commentators like Rush Limbaugh, but by nimble, often nameless online aggregators who quickly churn through popular culture and throw the most evocative stories to their readers, often without much commentary. All it takes is a pointed headline, an unflattering photo and a few well-chosen (and real) quotes. Like this: Lady Gaga Protests on Sanitation Truck Outside Trump Tower, read Breitbarts headline for its article on her tweet. America is divided by its politics, its media, and as this election made even clearer, by its celebrity influencers. In the weeks before the election, Avengers director Joss Whedon booted up his own online public service announcement factory, Save the Day, and recruited stars like Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle and Scarlett Johansson to churn out Web videos for Clinton. Katy Perry, America Ferrera, LeBron James and Beyonce joined Democratic candidate at rallies. And when Vice President-elect Mike Pence caught a performance of the Broadway hit Hamilton on Friday, Nov. 18, one of the shows stars addressed him on behalf of the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us. No offense to Paris Hilton and Pat Boone, but the president-elect doesnt have the biggest stars on his side. Instead, Breitbart mostly uses its culture pages to aim spitballs at Hollywood lefties. As part of its coverage of what it calls Big Hollywood, the glamour of celebrities becomes grist for the sites overarching narrative about the corrosive influence of the cultural elite. The image that Dunham posted to Instagram of a restorative trip to Sedona, Ariz., may have played as soothingly aspirational for an audience with many young, coastal women, but to Breitbarts demo, under the headline Grieving Lena Dunham Seeks Answers in Arizona Wilderness After Trump Win, it looks like a damning shot of a celebrity who decided to jet into a red state for a quirky vacation retreat. As the Hamilton controversy raged, prodded by Trumps demand that the cast apologize to Pence, Breitbart pointedly reminded readers of the private fundraiser that Miranda hosted for Clinton during the campaign, where ticket prices ranged from $2,700 to $100,000. And just like that, a celebrity speaking out against Trump becomes a point in his defense. Breitbarts postelection Hollywood coverage appears largely to be a cool cataloging of aggrieved celebrities, including Rick Ross (who just dropped a video for the song Free Enterprise, which includes a lyric that makes reference to assassinating Trump). Beneath the surface of these articles, though, is subtle signaling at work. A piece about a postelection Vice essay by Lawrence, in which she railed against the barriers still facing women in the workplace, includes an underhanded accolade about her: She was recently named the highest-paid actress in Hollywood for the second straight year. This recent headline Depressed Robert De Niro: Trump Election Makes Me Feel Like I Did After 9/11 packs a one-two punch, pairing the image of a pathetic, weepy liberal with a flip attitude toward terrorism. Breitbarts article on the Hamilton dust-up, titled Tolerance: Hamilton Cast Lectures Mike Pence From Broadway Stage, is threaded with buzzwords tolerance, lectures, Broadway that cast liberals as elite, pedantic hypocrites. Postelection, Breitbart may appear little different from any celebrity-news aggregator. But the sites greater political context, as a breeding ground for extremists, adds another layer. Breitbart is the site that boosted Stephen Bannon to a thought leader. (Once the sites executive chairman, he took a leave of absence to steer Trumps campaign and now has a top White House position.) With that in mind, an article calling attention to Dunhams Jewish faith feels like a bone thrown to the sites white nationalist readers. And the catalog of slighted celebrities starts to read like something of a star-studded enemies list. The real ideological action is undertaken by the audience, whose members read between the lines of these culture pieces and then scribble in the margins. Breitbarts two posts on Dunham have amassed more than 10,000 comments, including this insight: Lena was an awesome Trump vote recruiter. Meanwhile, a Patriotic Folks piece on Lady Gagas quotes from a Harpers Bazaar essay soon migrated to a pro-Trump Facebook page that reaches millions, Make America Great Today, which shared it with a baiting line, More white women voted for Donald J. Trump than Hillary Clinton. Lefty celebrities have long been preaching to the choir, but they are increasingly galvanizing the other side when their chatter is rerouted into an online conservative echo chamber. A study last year by Bowling Green State University professors David Jackson and Melissa Miller found that celebrity political statements were highly polarizing to a sample set of Ohio voters, and that no celebrity not Trace Adkins, not Ted Nugent, not even Oprah was likely to inspire net positive votes for his or her candidate of choice. These right-wing aggregators make sure that any leftist celebritys political reach will be neutralized by a backlash from people who dont idolize and agree with them. None of that is likely to stop celebrities from using their own soapboxes to promote their politics. But they would be smart to consider how their words will play on other platforms, too. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Celebrities often disappoint in real life, but Tom Hanks, if anything, gets more and more lovely with each anecdote. The latest tale of Hanks' down-to-earth generosity comes via an artist named Denise Esposito, who heard that Hanks was coming to Rome in October for a film festival. "I already knew that I would be there as a photographer, so I immediately thought that I really had to do something special," Esposito says. "I started to think about what could express all my gratitude in a simple way, and one afternoon I came up with the idea of the sketchbook." With only a month until his arrival, Esposito got to sketching, filling a notebook with beautiful sketches of Hanks in all of his movie roles (you can see some of those sketches in the gallery above). Thanks to the help of a film festival employee, Esposito got her sketchbook into the hands of Hanks' PR person and when Hanks saw the sketches, he immediately asked to meet the artist. Esposito got to shake his hand and take a selfie, and there she thought her wonderful experience had drawn to a close. Hanx, however, had one more surprise for Esposito. The actor sent Esposito a Royal typewriter with a typewritten note on his special Hanx-branded stationary: "For your lovely book of sketches of -- all -- those movies," it reads. "Here is a typewriter to do with whatever you need... Make more art! And many thanks..." Hanks is a well-known typewriter collector and, as nice as it is to have shelves of collectibles, it's even nicer that Hanks is giving away typewriters to fans. Here's video of Tom Hanks receiving his Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday: For Esposito, who already called Hanks her favorite actor before his incredible gift, it was further validation of her admiration for the Bay Area native. "Thanks to his movies and everything else related to him, I've learned a lot, I discovered new stories, new music, and many other interesting things, and this makes him more than just a very good actor," Esposito says. "He's real a source of inspiration, he's a wonderful human being. "He's Tom Hanks. He's like the sun shining!" To see more of Esposito's art, you can visit her Facebook page. 1 Ferguson schools: A federal judge ordered the school district that includes part of Ferguson, Mo, to institute a new method of electing school board members in an effort to remove racial bias from the process. ACLU attorney Tony Rothert on Tuesday hailed the ruling, saying it will finally give black voters an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. The lawsuit alleged that the districts practice of selecting board members at-large made it more difficult for black candidates to win election. 2 Package bomb: A bomb stuffed inside a padded envelope exploded in a Philadelphia downtown apartment early Tuesday when a man opened the package, apparently thinking it contained medicine, police said. The victim was hospitalized with hand and chest injuries. Federal agents and the city bomb squad were investigating the blast that injured a man in his 60s at about 4 a.m. The mans name has not been released. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW YORK President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would keep an open mind about whether to pull the United States out of a landmark multinational agreement on climate change. During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly said he would withdraw from the Paris climate accord. But on Tuesday, he said, Im looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it. Trumps comments came at an on-the-record lunch with the publisher, editors and reporters of the New York Times, a meeting that was scheduled, canceled, and then reinstated by Trump after a dispute with the Times over the ground rules. Trump said he did not want to inflict any more suffering on Hillary Clinton, explaining why he did not intend to investigate Clinton for her handling of classified information or the dealings of the Clinton Foundation. I dont want to hurt the Clintons, I really dont, Trump said. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways. Trump opened the discussion with a list of grievances about the newspapers coverage of him, though he couched it in terms of wanting to improve the relationship. I have great respect for the New York Times, he said. I have tremendous respect. I think Ive been treated very rough. Trump denied that his campaign had energized the so-called alt-right movement, saying he disavowed it. Its not a group I want to energize, he said. And if they are energized, I want to look into it and find out why. In other parts of the discussion: Trump brushed aside questions about conflicts arising from his business dealings, declaring that the laws totally on my side, the president cant have a conflict of interest. He said it would be extremely difficult to sell off his businesses because they are real estate holdings. He also noted that he had turned over the management of the businesses to his children. If it were up to some people, he said, I would never, ever see my daughter Ivanka again. Trump suggested that under the law, In theory I could run my business perfectly and then run the country perfectly. Theres never been a case like this. Trump offered a robust defense of his campaign chairman and newly appointed chief strategist, Stephen Bannon. If I thought he was a racist or alt-right or any of the things, the terms we could use, I wouldnt even think about hiring him, he said. When Trump was asked whether he condemned an alt-right conference over the weekend in Washington, where some attendees raised their arms in a Hitler-like salute, he said, I disavow and condemn them. The California Supreme Court jumped into a high-stakes dispute over public employee pensions Tuesday, agreeing to decide whether laws aimed at limiting preretirement actions to inflate future benefits can be applied to millions of government workers. A state appeals court in San Francisco ruled in a Marin County case in August that the new laws could be applied to current employees a potentially major setback for the workers and their unions, and a victory for local governments facing mounting deficits in their pension plans. But the states high court voted unanimously Tuesday to put that ruling on hold while it reviews the issue for a future statewide resolution. The justices also said they would await another ruling by the appellate court on a similar case involving sheriffs deputies in Alameda County. A final decision is at least a year away. The new laws were intended to curb pension spiking, the practice of boosting retirement benefits by increasing an employees pay during the final years of employment. It is often done by cashing out unused vacation time, sick leave, compensation for use of ones car and other nonmonetary benefits. One example that gained national attention involved an Orinda-Moraga fire chief, Peter Nowicki, who became eligible for a $240,000 pension $47,000 above his final base pay when he retired in 2009 at age 50. Six years later, the local retirement board, which had previously approved Nowickis pension, reduced it to $173,000 and ordered him to return the additional payments over eight years. The issue has huge implications. More than 2 million state and local government employees in California belong to retirement plans, according to court filings. Those plans face staggering deficits. A study in 2010 by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research estimated a shortfall of more than $500 billion in pension plans for state employees, teachers and University of California workers. Responsibility for the underfunding has been heatedly debated, but there is little dispute that it threatens to force counties and cities to lay off workers and reduce public services. The Legislature responded with a pair of laws that Gov. Jerry Brown signed, effective in 2013. The laws prohibited increases in a future government retirees benefits based on compensation that was paid to increase those benefits, including cash-outs of unused vacation and leaves and payments made at the end of employment that exceed a workers regular salary. The laws clearly applied to employees who were hired after January 2013. The issue in the court case was whether they also applied to those who had been hired before 2013 and were still on the job. State Supreme Court rulings going back more than 60 years have said public employees have a vested right to a pension from the day they are hired. That makes the pension plan a binding contract between the employee and the state. A dozen other states follow what has become known as the California Rule, which largely prohibits states from reducing an employees future pension benefits. Unions representing several thousand Marin County employees invoked the California Rule in a lawsuit after the countys Retirement Association applied the new antispiking laws to reduce the pensions of workers who were on the job in 2013 and subsequently retired. Union lawyers noted that the states high court said in 1983 that any reduction in an employees future retirement benefits must be accompanied by comparable new advantages so that the employee breaks even. But the First District Court of Appeal, in an Aug. 17 ruling, said the high court has used the word must in only a single ruling, and has said in other decisions only that any cut in benefits should be offset by increases. Until retirement, an employees entitlement to a pension is subject to change short of actual destruction, Justice James Richman said in the 3-0 ruling. The government may not impose a radical reduction in benefits or a fiscally unjustifiable increase in employee contributions, he said, but may lower future benefits as long as the employee remains eligible for a reasonable pension. In this case, Richman said, the antispiking laws would result in relatively modest reductions, for legitimate reasons, and would not immediately harm employees who could choose to receive the additional compensation before they retired. In seeking state Supreme Court review, union lawyers said the ruling contradicted decades of decisions by the state Supreme Court and appellate courts, was based on governments unsupported claims of financial calamities and was unfair to workers. What is ultimately at stake are the pension benefits of hundreds of thousands of existing public employees, many of whom have labored in public service for decades, relying on promises made to them and vigorously protected by our courts, said attorneys for the Marin County unions. Statewide labor groups also urged the court to take up the case. Attorney General Kamala Harris office, which helped defend the new laws, agreed that the high court should review the case because of its importance but said the laws should be upheld. The case is Marin Association of Public Employees vs. Marin County Employees Retirement Association, S237460. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko To activate the text-to-speech service, please first agree to the privacy policy below. Taipei, Nov. 23 (CNA) A Latvian suspect in a First Bank ATM theft case offered his apologies to the Taiwanese people three times at a court hearing Wednesday, but claimed that he had not intended to commit any crime as he thought he was only helping friends to "take something" in Taiwan. Welcome to followthemedia.com The article or material you have chosen... ftm Radio Page ...is available for restricted access. You may access this specific article or material for 4 If you are an ftm Member, please go to the home page HERE and log in ftm Members can access all site material at no additional charge. You can JOIN ftm here The ftm newsletter available at no charge to all with registration To register click here. Come and enjoy Read more [...] This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate It seems like a good deal: A quick photo op with the president, a pardon, then heading off to a farm to live out life. But while White House pardoned turkeys do get spared the indignity of becoming Thanksgiving dinner, they don't exactly have a long happy life ahead of them. MAKING DINNER: How to cook a whole turkey, head to toe Since President Harry Truman first pardoned a turkey, the birds have been sent to a variety of farms, including George Washington's Mount Vernon. They stopped going to Mount Vernon because having the birds there was historically inaccurate - Washington didn't farm with turkeys. Otherwise, the turkeys have been sent from Washington, D.C. to farms in Virginia, California and Florida. FAMILY FUN: Awkward Thanksgiving photos define holiday struggle The turkeys lately haven't had much time to enjoy being pardoned. Whereas wild turkeys can live up to 5 years (and one was known to have lived to be 13), domesticated meat production turkeys are often fed and bred to live brief, albeit productive, lives. Popcorn, one of the turkeys pardoned in 2013, died the summer after his short stay at the White House from something heat-related," Teresa Davenport, spokesperson for Morven Park told the Huffington Post. Cobbler and Gobbler, who were spared from becoming dinner in 2012, both died within a year of being pardoned. Three of the four turkeys pardoned in 2010 and 2011 died less than five months after leaving the White House. The final turkey from 2011 lived for 16 months following the ceremony. DINNER'S ON: Frying turkey without starting a house fire "The bird is bred for the table, not for longevity," Dean Norton, the director at Mount Vernon in charge of livestock told CNN. "Some of [the pardoned turkeys] have been pretty short lived." Christina Alvarado, a professor in the poultry science department at Texas A&M, said on average, well-cared for turkeys who receive a pardon can live a year or two after the ceremony. The turkeys are bred to have shorter life spans than wild turkeys and are fed constantly to fatten them up, which can cause health problems that shorten their lives. A pardoned turkey may not eat as much after being spared because they are no longer in the meat production line, Alvarado said. BULKED UP: Today's turkeys weigh twice as much as a few decades ago They get pretty good care after they get pardoned," Alvarado said. This year's turkeys, Tater and Tot, the last to be pardoned by President Barack Obama, are headed to Virginia Techs Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences. The birds, which received clemency on Tuesday, will be housed in Gobblers Rest, a newly built enclosure located inside the universitys livestock judging pavilion. DINING OUT: Houston restaurants open for Thanksgiving dinner, and to-go orders The National Turkey Federation, which donated this year's birds, is hoping for more post-pardon time than other birds have seen in recent years. Alvarado said with the expected good care, Tater and Tot should have a a couple of years of good living ahead of them. "Thats a pretty good lifestyle that theyre living, Alvarado said. On Monday, some of the biggest names in TV news trooped into Trump Tower for an off-the-record meeting with the president-elect. It was an all-star cast. Not just on-air stars like Lester Holt, Wolf Blitzer and George Stephanopoulos, but their bosses were also summoned before the Potentate of Fifth Avenue. The meeting was a huge success for Donald Trump. Soon after it broke up, a leak to the New York Post brought on a story about how thoroughly the president-elect had taken the attendees to task. With attribution to anonymous tipsters, the Post wrote: "The meeting was a total disaster. The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing-down. . . . Trump kept saying, 'We're in a room of liars, the deceitful, dishonest media who got it all wrong.' " Call it Woodshed Theater, with all the applause lines for the president-elect. Brandon Friedman, a Virginia-based public relations executive, offered his theory on Twitter: "They walked into an ambush, agreed not to talk about it, then Trump went straight to the Post with his version." Then it was just a hop, skip and jump to a big headline on the Drudge Report, with its huge worldwide traffic: "Trump Slams Media Elite, Face to Face." As Business Insider politics editor Oliver Darcy aptly put it, that is "how a lot of America will see this." The result for the president-elect: He once again was able to use the media as his favorite foil. Having a whipping boy is more important than ever now that the election is over and there is no Democratic opponent to malign at every turn. Yes, there's no proof that the Trump camp tipped the New York Post, but don't forget, this is someone who used to pose as his own spokesman to spread word of his romantic conquests. And the newspeople were largely unable to provide their own version of events because they had agreed to its being off the record. That's supposed to mean that nobody talks about it a rule that was immediately broken (which also doesn't speak particularly well for them). Through anonymous leaks, participants agreed with some aspects of the "total disaster" and disagreed with others, but Trump benefited in the end. He got a lot of attention, he got to continue bashing the establishment elite, and he evidently put the TV people on notice that if they want access to him as president, they'll need to bow and scrape. Notably, Trump hasn't held a news conference since July. On Tuesday, shockingly, a new melodrama arose: Trump's planned meeting at the New York Times was canceled, then restored. The Times played it right. Despite a tweet attack from the president-elect, editors refused to go the off-the-record route with Trump, which was his preference, for obvious reasons because he wanted again to control the story. With the exception of a brief off-the-record conversation between Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger and the president-elect, the meeting was fair game for news stories as it should be. Off-the-record was a mistake for the TV people, and it would have been a mistake for the Times. The paper successfully called Trump's bluff. As much as he professes to despise the Times, he remains in some ways the Queens boy who lusted after Manhattan success and acceptance. In many ways, Trump can bypass the traditional press using YouTube or Twitter to take his message to the world without pesky journalistic fact-checking or filtering. He has masterfully manipulated the media for the past 18 months bullying reporters, garnering billions in free publicity and portraying journalists as part of the corporate structure that must be brought down so that the people can triumph. That's a deeply misleading and dangerous picture. In fact, U.S. citizens need an independent press more than ever. Journalists, and their corporate bosses, shouldn't allow themselves to be used as props in Trump's never-ending theater. BERLIN The German government expressed revulsion Wednesday at Nazi-style salutes such as those performed at a recent far-right event in Washington, but said it was confident the United States can tackle the issue. Video published by the Atlantic showed participants at the event Saturday raising their arms in salute during a speech by Richard Spencer, head of the white-nationalist National Policy Institute. IRBIL, Iraq Iraqi troops gained a foothold Tuesday in another neighborhood in the northern city of Mosul after fierce battles against Islamic State militants dug in behind heavy fortifications, according to a top Iraqi commander. A new analysis, meanwhile, has found that there is a high risk that the Islamic State will deploy chemical weapons against Mosul civilians or Iraqi troops fighting to retake the city. According to IHS Markit, the extremist group has used chemical weapons at least 52 times in Iraq and Syria since 2014, including 19 times in the Mosul area alone. Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil, of the Iraqi special forces, said Islamic State fighters were firing rockets and mortars as his forces cautiously advanced in the densely populated Zohour neighborhood. There are too many civilians still living there, he said. Iraqi troops began their siege of Zohour on Sunday as they fortified their positions in neighborhoods already retaken in eastern Mosul. Suicide bombings, sniper fire and concerns over the safety of civilians there are 1 million still in Mosul have combined to slow down progress in the campaign to liberate the city, which began Oct. 17. Mosul is Iraqs second-largest city and the largest to have fallen to the militants. Most gains in the campaign so far have been made by the special forces operating east of the Tigris River. Other forces, including the Kurdish peshmerga and volunteer Sunni militiamen, are advancing on the city from different directions, and the U.S.-led coalition is providing air strikes and other support. A coalition air strike on Monday destroyed a major bridge over the Tigris in the southern part of Mosul, cutting Islamic State supply lines to the east bank, where most of the fighting is taking place. The coalition has destroyed three bridges in Mosul, and Iraqi officers said the two remaining bridges in the city are also likely to be hit. The Iraqi troops are expected to use U.S.-made pontoon bridges when they need to cross the Tigris later in the campaign. Islamic State captured Mosul in a matter of days in the summer of 2014, when it swept across northern and central Iraq. IHS Markit, a London-based intelligence analysis firm, says the extremists later used the city as a center for the production of chemical weapons. The experts believe Islamic State moved the materials and its chemical weapons specialists out of Mosul ahead of the Iraqi offensive, but may still use crude chemical weapons like chlorine and mustard agents as the troops press deeper into the city. 1 Antiterrorism force: Syrias military announced Tuesday it is forming a new antiterrorism commando force, calling on volunteers interested in achieving the final victory against terrorism to apply. After nearly six years of combat, Syrias conscription-based armed forces have become overstretched and Syria has increasingly relied on its regional allies that have boosted its numbers and capabilities. Iran, Iraq and Lebanons Hezbollah have sent in hundreds of fighters to fight alongside government troops. 2 Land mines report: Despite a global treaty that bans land mines, casualties from those weapons and other unexploded munitions lurking in current and past war zones rose sharply last year to the highest point in a decade, a monitoring group said Tuesday in its annual report. The Geneva group, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, said 6,461 people were known to have been wounded or killed by land mines and other explosive remnants in 2015. That was a 75 percent increase from 2014 and the highest reported casualty total since 2006s figure of 6,573. When it comes to getting pulled over, the name on the car matters. (Steven Hsieh) Attorneys had agreed on the jury instructions. Witnesses were lined up. Twelve locals were already empaneled as a jury to hear both sides of the story. But the case came to an abrupt end on Halloween after six years of arbitration and litigation that involved a heated jurisdictional dispute between the Pueblo of Pojoaque and the county sheriff's department. Santa Fe County instead agreed to a $75,000 settlement last month with Jose Luis Loya, a Texas man who had sued in 2010 alleging wrongful arrest and excessive force by police. Had the case not been settled out of court, the jury would have determined whether Sergeant Glen Gutierrez, a Pojoaque police officer who was also commissioned as a county sheriff's deputy, pulled over Loya without probable cause as he was driving on Highway 84. They would have also heard a claim that Gutierrez pinned Loya's neck against a truck window and kicked him in the leg. But the New Mexico Supreme Court in May 2015 already answered the biggest question arising out of Loya's lawsuitwhether the county can be held liable for the actions of commissioned outside forces. Because of the answer, Santa Fe County no longer commissions outside police to help enforce laws within its jurisdiction. That prompted Sheriff Robert Garcia to end a years-long practice of enlisting the help of 17 different agencies to help enforce traffic laws and state statutes across the expansive region, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the City of Santa Fe, Torrance County, Los Alamos, Edgewood and the Pueblos of Pojoaque and Tesuque. He revoked sheriff's department commissions from the all but one police department. Outside of Garcia's deputies, only officers from the Los Alamos Police Department maintain authority to write tickets and make arrests in unincorporated parts of Santa Fe County. To keep those commissions, Los Alamos officials had to enter into a formal agreement with Garcia's department to carry any liability for actions carried out as county deputies. "Unless I can enter into agreements, things will stay as they are," Garcia tells SFR. "We will continue functioning and cover the county with our own resources." Gutierrez filed a claim saying he was enforcing a state statute for reckless driving during the traffic stop, and was therefore acting as a county deputy during the arrest. As such, county officials should carry the legal and financial burden on Loya's lawsuit. Gutierrez' case went to the Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision, the high court ruled that the county must defend the Pojoaque officer, reversing an Appeals Court ruling. In doing so, the court resolved "a significant issue of law that potentially affects law enforcement wherever state and tribal lands border each other throughout New Mexico," wrote now-retired Justice Richard Bosson. The ruling led to dissolution of agreements between Santa Fe County and surrounding law enforcement departments. Garcia had already decommissioned Pojoaque officers during the legal dispute. Then-tribal governor George Rivera purchased a two-and-a-half page ad in the New Mexican condemning the sheriff department's decision. Rivera's ad followed a rash of complaints by Sheriff Garcia's non-Pueblo constituents of aggressive ticketing by Pojoaque officers. According to the settlement dated Oct. 31, the county does not admit to any wrongdoing on behalf of the sheriff's department or officer Gutierrez. It's agreeing to pay out $75,000 to "avoid the time, energy and expense of further litigation." In the lawsuit, Loya claims Gutierrez applied his patrol car brakes in a "reckless" manner in front of the Texas man's car. Loya and his three brothers were driving north towards Espanola, following a fishing trip. Loya swerved his truck into the adjacent lane to avoid colliding into Gutierrez' car, he says. Gutierrez allegedly pulled over Loya shortly after the near-collision and ordered him to spread his legs and place his hands behind his back. Loya says Gutierrez pushed his neck up to his truck window and shouted, "I told you to spread them," before kicking him in his left leg. The officer arrested Loya and took him to the Adult Detention Center, where the man was incarcerated for two hours, according to jail records. Gutierrez filed a reckless driving charge against the man in Santa Fe County magistrate court. Without the help of other agencies, Santa Fe County deputies must cover a wide area. For example, if an officer from the Town of Edgewood pulls someone over for DWI outside the town boundaries, that officer will have to call the county to make an arrest. But stretching out the county's deputies won't put anyone in danger, says Sheriff's Department spokesman Juan Rios. "We feel comfortable that there is coverage. Just because an agency isn't commissioned doesn't mean there won't be communication between agencies if there is an incident that requires multi-agency interaction." Even so, he says, the Town of Edgewood and City of Santa Fe are both currently in negotiations to reinstate officers as county deputies. Santa Fe Reporter Earlier this year, Martin and Sandra Urban were worried about losing the business theyd spent more than 20 years building. Contracts were coming in and they had plenty of good workers, many of whom they hired from the nearby Pueblos. After wildfires and floods in the Sangre de Cristos, their excavating company won the contract to do cleanup and recovery work at the Pojoaque Valley Irrigation District's reservoir. Completed in the spring of 2015, the work had been inspected and approvedand money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency had already passed into the state's hands. But when the state's Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) continued holding onto the cash, it put the Urbans in a bad spot. Owed more than $2.3 million, the Urbans couldn't pay all their bills, and they were at risk of losing the bond rating that allows them to bid on government contracts. After SFR and KUNM-FM reported on the problems in early September, US Sen. Martin Heinrich reached out to the state and the Urbans. Shortly afterwards, the state's Department of Finance Authority issued two checks to the irrigation district: one for $380,845.48 and the other for $1,469,339.57. After that, the Urbans got their money. But months later, it's still unclear what other problems exist behind the scenes at the state agency. Due 11 months ago, the department's state-required audit for FY 2015 finally arrived at New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller's office late Monday afternoon. In February 2015, the Office of the State Auditor had noted that the department had $40 million in open budgets related to disaster declarations in New Mexico. According to that letter, his office couldn't identify "any valid reason" for maintaining those high balances. Speaking in October, before his office received the draft audit this week, Keller said that despite the red flag, his office was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. "By and large, audits tend to reflect management of the departmentand this is the only cabinet agency that has a late audit," said Keller. When asked if there might be others like Urban who are awaiting payments, Keller could only say that his office is concerned that it's a statewide issue. "We've had dozens of complaints through the fraud hotline," he said. "If [DHSEM] can't get their act together shortly, they're probably going to face legal action from folks who can easily come together with a class action or qui tam suit." In September, Keller's office also sent a letter to Gov. Susana Martinez, asking for her help with the troubled agency. One suggestion he offered was having the state's Department of Finance and Administration oversee disaster grants instead, and take over DHSEM's critical financial functions. DHSEM Cabinet Secretary M Jay Mitchell would not grant interviews with SFR. The department's public information officer, Karen Takai, has not answered our inquiries as to whether the agency has begun its 2016 audit, which is due next month. In September, Mitchell's agency did issue a $256,151.99 contract to RPC CPAs & Consultants, a large accounting firm. That's on top of the contracts the agency already has for other accounting work. Meanwhile, Martinez' office says that the Department of Finance doesn't need to take control of the agency's finances. According to an emailed statement from Press Secretary Michael Lonergan, in Mitchell's two years as agency head, he has "righted the ship and made significant and undeniable progress when it comes to their finances." Lonergan points to a June 2016 letter from FEMA that recognizes the agency's progress following federal monitoring visits that exposed myriad problems at the state. But that letter is far from complimentary, noting that the department still lacks a standard file management convention, has some questionably ineligible reimbursements, doesn't properly document the monitoring of subgrants and fails to include financial documentation in its grant files. The agency also appears to have serious staffing issues. In early November, 22 of the agency's 66 positions were vacant. (In October, those numbers were 25 vacancies out of a total of 69 positions.) When asked why one-third of the staff positions remain unfilled, Takai responded that the vacancy rate has been "greatly reduced" over the past year. "One area that continues to remain strong in the department is our readiness, capability and capacity to respond to emergencies and disasters in New Mexico," she wrote. "Our preparedness outreach programs to our communities, our statewide training for responders, our interagency net working for keeping New Mexico safer will continue to stay strong. It is due to the commitment of the mission and the work ethic of our employees that made this happen." Santa Fe Reporter Haaland Won't Seek Re-election New Mexico Democratic Party Chairwoman Debra Haaland, who was accused of favoring Hillary Clinton during the primary campaign, has . Andrew Oxford reports that Vice Chairman Juan Sanchez of Belen plans to campaign for the post to help unify the party and bring back people that feel theyve been left out in the cold. Business Doesn't Want Trump Supporters The owner of an Albuquerque-based internet marketing company says Donald Trumps supporters . Matthew Blanchfield tells KOB that he has a moral obligation to stand up for what he believes is right and against injustice. Spaceport Transitions to Commercial Space Ops Under new executive management, Spaceport America is , according to Susan Montoya Bryan over at the Associated Press. Contractors Frustrated with Facebook Data Center Construction Standards Construction subcontractors, who had hoped to get lots of new business at Facebooks new data center, are generally by the social media giants Oregon-based general contractor. They claim theyll essentially be disqualified from working on project in Los Lunas. Outside Investigator Will Review Allegations Against Police Department After originally saying the Albuquerque Police Department would investigate allegations that police lapel camera videos were deleted or altered itself, City of Albuquerque Attorney Jessica Hernandez has now agreed to . Meanwhile, Second Judicial District Attorney Kari Brandenburg thinks the allegations warrant a federal investigation. Solano Donates Kidney to Former Judge Vigil Former Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano, who was convicted of five felonies for the sale of county-owned items on eBay, Tuesday to retired state District Court Judge Michael Vigil, according to a Facebook posting by a sister of Solano, and reported by Rebecca Moss. Both men are said to be doing well. Homeless Work Program Questioned Jeremy Reynalds, the director of Joy Junction, a homeless shelter in Albuquerque, is raising concerns about the citys program to offer day jobs to panhandlers and about what kind of background checks are being done and whether taxpayers would be on the hook if someone commits a crime or is injured. Hes also concerned about the programs emergency shelter referral process. Read his excellent essay at NMPolitics.net. Something to be Thankful For Close to two dozen homeowners stuck with large utility bills have . Homewise and the Solar Opportunity Loan Fund have connected them with low-interest loans and private solar contractors to design and install solar-voltaic systems on their homes. For the most part, their monthly payment on solar is less than they were paying for electric, said Rachel Silva, the marketing manager for Homewise, a not-for-profit in Santa Fe that builds energy-efficient homes and works with low- to moderate-income families to finance purchases. Speaking of Thanksgiving, well be off tomorrow but back with the Morning Word before you head out to shop for some deals on Black Friday. 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"Intueris board considers that current trading volumes and the benefits of listing do not warrant the costs of maintaining an ASX listing," the Auckland-based company said in a statement. "The majority of Intueris shareholders (about 75 percent) hold their shares on the New Zealand register and in the past six months, 64 percent of share trading was on the NZX. Delisting from the ASX is consistent with Intueris focus on cost initiatives and efficiencies and will assist in reducing administration and compliance costs, whilst not affecting normal operating activities in either Australia or New Zealand." Intueri's move to delist from the ASX comes after it last month lowered its 2016 earnings guidance, with the private education group saying deeper cost cuts and the decision to sell its dive school aren't enough to offset weaker enrollments and one-time restructuring costs. Its shares are the weakest performer on the S&P NZX All Capital Index this year, having shed 90 percent of their value to last trade at 7 cents in the face of a raft of bad news in New Zealand and Australia, including investigations of some of its schools. ASX, which operates the Australian exchange, has indicated that it would consent to the delisting, subject to conditions which Intueri says it will comply with. Should the move go ahead, any shareholdings remaining on the company's Australian register would be transferred to its New Zealand register, and the company would continue to be listed in New Zealand. No date for the change has yet been set. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Air New Zealand issues Performance Rights Heartland announces new Director of Heartland Bank GEN - Agreements in Principle to Issue New Shares Geraldine McBride steps down from Sky Board Sky ASM 2022 South Port NZ Ltd - Results of 2022 Annual Meeting November 2nd Morning Report AIA - Auckland Airport announces executive team change South Port NZ Ltd - 2022 Annual Meeting ENS - Rights Issue Offer Document Founder Sam Morgan is to leave the board of Trade Me, the company he founded and sold in 2006, on Dec 15, the company said today in a statement. His departure was signposted in October, and tributes were paid at this month's annual general meeting in Wellington, which he attended. He told BusinessDesk in October that he intended to remain a shareholder but wanted to clear his calendar to focus on early-stage businesses and his charitable foundation. Morgan joined the board when it listed on the NZX in 2011. Simon West is to take his place as independent director. West is currently the executive director of Max Fashions, the women's clothing retailer. He was previously chief executive of EziBuy and the Australian e-commerce website, DealDirect.com.au. Trade Me chair David Kirk welcomed him onboard: "Simon comes with great online experience and a deep knowledge of retail. He brings a valuable entrepreneurial outlook and also has a good understanding of bigger businesses. I'm sure he'll be an excellent addition to the board." "Trade Me is a fantastic business with a lot of opportunity in front of it. I'm looking forward to making a contribution to one of New Zealand's most admired companies," West said. Shares in Trade Me fell 0.2 percent or 1 cent to $4.84. They've risen 16 percent since the start of the year. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Air New Zealand issues Performance Rights Heartland announces new Director of Heartland Bank GEN - Agreements in Principle to Issue New Shares Geraldine McBride steps down from Sky Board Sky ASM 2022 South Port NZ Ltd - Results of 2022 Annual Meeting November 2nd Morning Report AIA - Auckland Airport announces executive team change South Port NZ Ltd - 2022 Annual Meeting ENS - Rights Issue Offer Document Foley Family Wines, which operates through brands including Vavasour and Martinborough Vineyard, has warned investors of a challenging period ahead, partly as a result of the Kaikoura earthquake. The quake caused significant damage to storage tanks at the Grove Mill winery in Marlborough, with some bulk wine lost. There was a small amount of damage to vineyards, with minimal damage to finished goods and buildings. Last week, the company said it was clear the damage would be more than its insurance excess of $1 million, although it has the resources to cover the extra cost. In slides shown to shareholders at its annual general meeting in Wellington and published to the NZX, FFW said that its aim was to be back up and running for next year's vintage. However, the challenges are not just limited to recovery from the earthquake. Case sales for the six months to the end of December are expected to be down approximately 15 percent on the year earlier, mainly due to Australian and New Zealand markets. The slide suggests that the second six months will see, "significant improvement due to the current work being undertaken." The collapse in the value of the pound after Britain voted to leave the European Union is also having an impact, with the price per litre of wine in New Zealand dollars from the important British market falling 30.7 percent in the bottled market to $6.08, from $8.78 in August 2016. In Australia, the price per litre in NZ dollars fell 9.5 percent, but in the US it declined just 3.6 percent. Foley Family Wines also warned the 2016 vintage saw bumper yields in Marlborough, up 39 percent on 2015, with a substantial amount of cheaper, bulk wine on the market. The company is strong and will navigate the current headwinds, shareholders were told, with continued opportunities for growth in the United States. The business is majority owned by US billionaire Bill Foley, but listed on the NZAX. Shares were unchanged at $1.50 and have risen 3.45 percent since the start of the year. In a statement to the NZAX, the company said the quake had affected several tanks at its Grove Mill winery in the Wairau Valley near Renwick, although buildings and finished wine stocks were relatively undamaged. The company is currently working through the process with its insurers and the claim is in its preliminary stages, it said. However, it is clear that the cost of the damage will exceed the insurance excess for earthquake claims of approximately $1m. The company has the resources available to cover its insurance excess. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Air New Zealand issues Performance Rights Heartland announces new Director of Heartland Bank GEN - Agreements in Principle to Issue New Shares Geraldine McBride steps down from Sky Board Sky ASM 2022 South Port NZ Ltd - Results of 2022 Annual Meeting November 2nd Morning Report AIA - Auckland Airport announces executive team change South Port NZ Ltd - 2022 Annual Meeting ENS - Rights Issue Offer Document Cautionary note The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this press release Shell, Shell group and Royal Dutch Shell are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words we, us and our are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. Subsidiaries, Shell subsidiaries and Shell companies as used in this press release refer to companies over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to joint ventures and joint operations respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as associates. The term Shell interest is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest. This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. 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There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shells products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shells 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2015 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward looking statements contained in this press release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, 23 November, 2016. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press release that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. Canadian, American women prefer lesbian porn: StudyPostmedia NetworkFirst posted: Tuesday, November 22, 2016 11:44 AM EST | Updated: Tuesday, November 22, 2016 11:59 AM ESTLook out lads! The little lady is lusting after lesbians.A new report released by sex giant Pornhub -- the Walmart of wanking -- reveals that female users of the site are mostly watching lesbian porn.A new study from the website entitled What Women Want is suggesting its goodbye Booty Annihilators 2 and hello Amateur Lesbian Orgy 5.The survey revealed that Canadian and American women are 186% more likely to look for lesbian porn than men.In addition, it also says 63% of North American women are more likely to search for lesbian porn compared to women elsewhere in the world.About 60% of American women were more likely to search for sapphic smut compared to women in the rest of the world.Among the favourite searches by rank: lesbian scissoring, lesbian seduces straight girl, ebony lesbians, lesbian threesome and rough lesbian sex.Pornhub also found younger lesbians are more likely to indulge in sexxx-rated cinema than older women.In the U.S., the states that watch the most lesbian porn are all in the south: Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. Jo Cox: Man jailed for 'terrorist' murder of MP At the Old Bailey Daniela Relph, BBC News correspondent The jury took just one hour and 36 minutes to reach its verdicts. Every seat in Court 8 of the Old Bailey was filled as the jury foreman stood to deliver the guilty verdicts. From Mair there was no reaction. He had maintained his silence throughout the trial and during every police interview. As the verdicts were delivered, Jo Cox's family smiled. Her sister, Kim, held her mother's hand. Then Jo Cox's husband read a victim impact statement. Standing in the witness box, in front of the man who murdered his wife, Brendan Cox told Mair that he pitied him because his life was devoid of love and consumed by hatred. It was a highly charged moment. The Cox family watched as Mair was led away, in silence, to begin his life sentence. The jury took just one hour and 36 minutes to reach its verdicts. Every seat in Court 8 of the Old Bailey was filled as the jury foreman stood to deliver the guilty verdicts.From Mair there was no reaction. He had maintained his silence throughout the trial and during every police interview.As the verdicts were delivered, Jo Cox's family smiled. Her sister, Kim, held her mother's hand. Then Jo Cox's husband read a victim impact statement.Standing in the witness box, in front of the man who murdered his wife, Brendan Cox told Mair that he pitied him because his life was devoid of love and consumed by hatred. It was a highly charged moment.The Cox family watched as Mair was led away, in silence, to begin his life sentence. BBC News23 November 2016Thomas Mair has been jailed for life after being found guilty of the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox.The 53-year-old shot and stabbed to death the mother of two in Birstall, West Yorkshire, on 16 June, a week before the EU referendum vote.Mair shouted "Britain first" in the attack, but the judge said the true "patriot" was Mrs Cox, not Mair.Prosecutors said Mair was motivated by hate and his crimes were "nothing less than acts of terrorism".Mrs Cox, MP for Batley and Spen, had been on her way to a constituency surgery when she was set upon outside Birstall library in front of two of her assistants and shocked constituents.Mair shot the 41-year-old with a sawn-off rifle and stabbed her with a dagger, turning on 78-year-old Bernard Kenny, who tried to stop him. In a raid of Mair's home nearby, police found Nazi-related material.The jury found Mair guilty on three other counts: having a firearm with intent; causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Kenny; and having an offensive weapon, namely a dagger.Mair, dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, remained impassive as the verdicts were read out, after just over 90 minutes of deliberations.He had not entered a plea and chose not to give evidence in his defence at the trial.But before sentencing, Mair asked to speak to the courtroom. The judge declined, saying he had already had an opportunity.In a statement read to a packed courtroom at the Old Bailey, Mrs Cox's husband Brendan said he was not there for "retribution" and felt "nothing but pity" for Mair.Later, speaking outside court, he said his wife's killing was an incompetent and self-defeating act of terrorism that was driven by hatred but instead created an outpouring of love.His family would not respond to hatred with hatred, he said, and Jo's ideas and values would live on in her children and family.In sentencing, Judge Mr Justice Wilkie described Mrs Cox as "a wonderful mother, daughter, sister, partner, and companion".He said her generosity of spirit was "evident in the selfless concern she had for others, even when facing a violent death", referring to Mrs Cox's plea to her assistants to get away and save themselves, as she lay dying in the street.Addressing Mair, he said: "You affect to be a patriot. The words you uttered repeatedly when you killed her give lip service to that concept."Those sentiments can be legitimate and can have resonance but in your mouth, allied to your actions, they are tainted and made toxic."Mair's inspiration was not love of country but admiration for Nazism, the judge said.He said Mair had not the courage to acknowledge what he had done and forced Mrs Cox's family to relive the events.By contrast, Mair's second victim of the day - Mr Kenny - acted "instinctively and courageously" to try to save Mrs Cox and deserves the highest praise, he said to Mair.Mr Justice Wilkie said the murder was carried out to advance a political cause of violent white supremacism, associated with Nazism.He said the aggravating feature was the weeks of planning in which Mair researched Mrs Cox, a past assassination of a serving MP and matricide, knowing she was the mother of young children.The judge sentenced Mair to life imprisonment, with a whole life term.He said he had concluded that the offence was so exceptional that Mair could only be released by a secretary of state.Outside court, Mrs Cox's sister Kim Leadbeater said she and her parents, Jean and Gordon, were relieved that the process was over after a difficult few months."We can and we will work through our pain and, as a family, we are stronger and more united than ever."I, for one, will not be beaten by what has happened and I know I am not alone - it is the last thing my sister would want," she said."There may have been one act of extreme cowardice on that day, but there were acts of extreme bravery," she added.Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mair had "robbed the world of an ambassador of kindness" and urged her fellow MPs to confront those who wish to promote the hatred and division that led to her murder.Home Secretary Amber Rudd called it a "shocking and senseless murder" that was "an attack on all of us and the values we share of democracy and tolerance"."As home secretary, I am determined that we challenge extremism in all its forms including the evil of far right extremism and the terrible damage it can cause to individuals, families and communities," she said.The Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement: "Mair has offered no explanation for his actions but the prosecution was able to demonstrate that, motivated by hate, his pre-meditated crimes were nothing less than acts of terrorism designed to advance his twisted ideology."The CPS said it worked closely with police to build a strong case, and commended a number of "brave" eye witnesses who gave evidence.Mair was a "cold-blooded killer" who lived a solitary lifestyle, with no social circle and had never come to the notice of the police before, DS Nick Wallen, of West Yorkshire Police, said.Nothing could ever excuse the evil and the horror that he brought to the small town of Birstall, he added. BENGALURU: Switzerland has given in to Indias persistent request and agreed to share Swiss bank accounts details with India. This is seen as a big move by the government to recover black money stashed away in Switzerland. But Switzerland will not share details of accounts prior to September 2018. The first exchange of information is supposed to take place in September 2019. According to the joint declaration, both the countries will start collecting information in 2018 and exchange it from 2019 onwards. While Switzerland has agreed on automatic exchange of information, India, on its part, has promised to protect the confidentiality of the data, given the sensitive nature of the case. Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia tweeted: The income tax department will be able to obtain information from accounts of all Indians in Switzerland from 2018 onwards. Switzerland which has always been in the firing line for its strong secrecy clauses till a few years ago around its banking services, which has resulted in Indians allegedly putting money in Swiss banks. A concerted world pressure has resulted in Switzerland giving in and finally relenting on the tough secrecy clauses, which made impossible for countries like India to extract information about the black money stashed away in Swiss accounts. The Switzerland Department of Finance said the automatic exchange of information with India will be implemented based on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information. The Swiss Federal Council has initiated the process and authorized the Federal Department of Finance to start the groundwork for the introduction of the AEOI with India and other countries. According to the Indian Finance Ministry, fighting this menace of black money and bringing back the money stashed in foreign accounts has been a top priority for this government and it will leave no stone unturned to achieve this goal. Read Also: Bill To Ban Commercial Surrogacy Introduced In Lok Sabha Awards Of 15 Lakh For Young Techno Innovators STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Sun filtered through curtain sheers on this brisk morning at Duzer's Local, a Stapleton coffee shop waking up for the day. Bossa nova music played. The cappuccino machine hissed. A bakery driver announced a mirthful 'g'morning!' as he stepped across the wood planked floor with a box full of fresh pastries. "We started two weeks ago and it's been a great reaction from the community," said proprietor Veronica Silvestro. With her from-scratch, flavored simple syrups for coffee drinks and distinct baked goods from Brooklyn outfits, Ms. Silvestro stocks the store with provisions as the days go on -- bitters for a wintry cocktail, crackers to go along with that, plus snack-y extras like chocolate martini olives, gummies and salted candies. "We're starting to build up the retail," said Ms. Silvestro. "We want to focus on quality. We're invested in it." She sells raw, organic brown eggs from the dairy case at 50 cents apiece: The piecemeal keeps it affordable. Balthazar, a brasserie and bakery on Spring Street in Soho, agreed to deliver bread on weekends to Duzer's Local. And, during the week, the French-Belgian baked goods of Colson Patisserie in Park Slope are served. Bread puddings and fresh baked cookies hail from Ms. Bruno's own coffee shop, Henry's Local, also Park Slope. Ms. Silvestro and her business partner, Annette Bruno, display a few custom bites as well. Ms. Bruno claims bread pudding as a specialty. Along with banana-chip, pineapple-coconut and cranberry versions, there is "salted sweet potato" for late fall, baked into individual rectangles marked by unctuous, crisped edges. The custom simple syrups Ms. Bruno designs include a chocolate one for the Cafe Mocha, a drink with pleasant bitter notes. Barista Rosa Lovesy describes the concoction, offered in an oversized cup, as "surprisingly not too sweet." "I think I filled a void here," said Ms. Silvestro, an Eltingville resident who sees great promise in this Stapleton neighborhood. Indeed, in this burgeoning restaurant row on Van Duzer near Beach Street, there are a handful of exciting eats. Vida Restaurant, known for its Southwestern and eclectic American dinners, lives right next door. The Hop Shoppe, specializing in craft beer as a gastropub, thrives diagonally across the street, serving as neighbor to Pastry Lover's Choice, a bakery specializing in cookies, cinnamon buns and cakes with a Southern flair. Los Catrachos up Beach Street provides Honduran breakfasts and meals. Plus, the former Hashtag bar is ready to reopen with a concept "@388vanduzerst" and with a new name soon to be announced. "Nice to have a place like that there," enthused Silva Popaz about Duzer's Local. Ms. Popaz is owner and chef at Vida. Ms. Silvestro said, "Originally we thought we'd be closed on Sundays. But people wanted a place to go after church." So, she established limited hours for the day, in the meantime. She hopes guests book her dining room on Sundays for private parties. "I am really excited about it! And now that the holidays are coming I think it would be great space for office parties. We would totally be affordable. We can hold 30 to 40 people," she said. Food can come from locals such as Vida, DeFonte Sandwich Shop down on Water Street or any outside vendor for such an affair. Overall, hours at Duzer's stand at 7:30 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m. daily. On the weekends, Duzer's closes at 7 p.m. Sundays hours, at the moment, are 10 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m. Duzer's Local, located at 387 Van Duzer St., Stapleton; 646-479-5965. image1.JPG Authorities say they confiscated more than 2,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes from the defendant. (Photo courtesy of D.A.'s office) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The defense attorney for an alleged cigarette smuggler told a judge Tuesday his client has worked as a waiter for the past 15 years. Wenheng Zhao, 42, of Queens, was arrested at about noon Monday near the corner of Arden Avenue and Forest Green in Arden Heights, when a search warrant executed by police yielded 98 cartons containing 19,600 untaxed cigarettes in a BMW sedan, according to the criminal complaint and a spokesman for District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. Police then allegedly seized $30,000 cash and another 2,189 cartons -- containing 437,800 untaxed cigarettes -- from a residential property on Forest Green, listed in court records as a business address for Zhao. In terms of bail, defense attorney Joseph Sorrentino said Tuesday his client is not a risk to flee the area. "Once he hired Joe Sorrentino, he doesn't run for free," he said. "I don't give any refunds." Though based on bank records that show $100,000 wired to Zhao from China, and tens of thousands of dollars in bank accounts over the years, "his willingness to flee is reflective in bank records," said assistant district attorney James Snashall. Zhao is tied to a second address in Queens, according to the criminal complaint, in addition to a second BMW and $90,000 in a bank account at the time of his arrest, Snashall said. And there's little evidence of a trading business registered with the Department of Labor; no store front, trucks, or business cards, Snashall said. Prior to the arrest, Zhao allegedly sold more than 100 cartons to undercover officers over the course of two transactions, according to court records. In regard to the $100,000 bail requested by prosecutors, Sorrentino argued the crime is non-violent, and a class of felony that is not likely to land his client jail time. "We're here to determine whether he'll stay in the court's jurisdiction, not if he's guilty or not guilty," Sorrentino said. Judge Raja Rajeswari set bail at $50,000 bond, or $50,000 cash Zhao had not posted bail, as of Wednesday afternoon, and is due back in court Nov. 25, according to public records. Seawall.jpg A rendering of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' buried seawall with a new boardwalk above it. (Advance file image) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - In getting a green light from two Staten Island community boards, the city cleared a hurdle this week in its quest to acquire 25 East Shore parcels so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can build a seawall. The $579 million project calls for constructing a buried seawall from Fort Wadsworth to Oakwood Beach and a levee and floodwall in Oakwood Beach. Initially planning to build solely on existing public land, part of which had been acquired through state buyouts after Hurricane Sandy, the city determined in recent months that it needed to acquire 25 additional parcels, three of which have occupied homes. City officials are hoping for an amicable deal with landowners but will seize property through eminent domain if necessary. Property owners were notified in October that the city intends to buy the land from them, as it proceeds though a land use process that must be completed before the Army Corps can begin construction. One of many hurdles were cleared this week when both Community Boards 2 and 3 voted to support the city's plan to acquire the properties. "This is a multi-step process, and this is the first step," CB3 Chairman Frank Morano said. "Most of this property is to be used as flood plains. It is vital to protect the East Shore of our Island for all the homeowners and the infrastructure." CB3 voted on Nov. 22 in favor of the city's plan and CB2 voted in favor on Nov. 15. Their support was necessary for the acquisition plan to move along under the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure that requires public review of land use plans. The next step involves the borough president submitting a written recommendation to the City Planning Commission, which reviews the application, holds a public hearing and decides whether to approve, possibly ending with the City Council getting involved. Speaking with the Advance last month, Daniel Zarrilli, a Staten Islander who heads the Mayor's Office of Recovery and Resiliency, said: "We hope to get a negotiated acquisition -- that's the goal. This project is ultimately providing protection for tens of thousands of people, thousands of residences across the entire East Shore. We can't have gaps in that or else the whole system doesn't work." Page Content Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), announces that there will be a road closure of Zagersgut road on 22 and 23 November from 8.00pm to 5am. This road closure is in connection with milling and patching works of existing potholes. The section of the road that will be closed is from the Zagersgut road/Coralita road going toward Bush road. There will be a traffic detour. There will be no through traffic on this section of Zagersgut road. - Traffic coming from A.Th. Illidge road from Madame Estate and Philipsburg going St. Peters have to take Coralita road. - Traffic coming from AJC Brouwers road and or L.B. Scott road heading to Philipsburg or Madame Estate Dutch Quarter have to take L.B. Scott road- Gladiola road Coralita road and a left on Zagersgut road. Or take Bush road- Prince Bernard Bridge Walter Nisbeth road. Road works will be carried out by Windward Roads. Motorists and pedestrians in the area should pay keen attention when commuting as heavy equipment will be in use. Pay attention to traffic diversion signs and workmen who will be present to help direct the flow of traffic. Ministry VROMI apologizes for any inconveniences this may cause. Brian Allan '17 is the 2016 - 2017 student blogger in the office of Communications and Marketing. A double major in English and Spanish with a minor in meida and film studies, he has provided a unique student insight to life at Skidmore. Its a Saturday night, and the wide, wood-paneled stage of Skidmores Arthur Zankel Music Center is flooded with blue light. On it rest a variety of purposefully-angled microphones, two large amps, and, at the very center, a shimmering drum kit. From the 600 seats that face the front of the stage, a crowd of Skidmore students, faculty, and staff talk anxiously among themselves. Suddenly the lights dim, and one of Skidmores most highly anticipated and best known annual traditions, Beatlemore Skidmania, comes to life. The two-day, three-show event has become a kind of Skidmore phenomenon; for weeks before opening night, the hype across campus is unreal. Students and faculty alike discuss, in fervent anticipation, what this years iteration will entail: everything down to the poster, the theme, the songs, and the performers. As far as institutional traditions go, few share Beatlemores capacity to unite the entire campus for a single causein this case, the love of a bygone era of music. This year the event was thematically focused on the album Revolver, which the Beatles released in the late summer of 1966. Though Id call myself a fan, Im by no means an expert on the band, its history, or its discography. That is to say that going into the event, I only knew a few songs off of the album: Eleanor Rigby, Yellow Submarine (duh), and Good Day Sunshine. Despite my limited knowledge of the shows specific thematic interests, I had no qualms about whether or not I was going to enjoy the performances. The general consensus among anyone whos ever been to Beatlemore is that you get your moneys worth and more, so I went in with little to no concern and expectations high. The show did not disappoint. From the contributions of Skidmore bands, such as Funkin Donuts rendition of Got to Get You into My Life and Tim Lok Chans For No One, to the solo acts, including sophomore Lena Schwartzs performance of All My Loving, each element of the show was finely rehearsed and charmingly original. There were even several performances by some well-established campus a cappella groups, including the Sonneteers, the Bandersnatchers, and the Drastic Measures. I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer diversity of the performances and their stylings; the show wasnt just one thing, but rather a celebration of the different voices and sounds that populate our campus collective. It was honestly a treat to get to watchand hearall of these things come together and create such a uniquely captivating whole. By the time that all the performers joined the stage for the final song, a rendition of Yellow Submarine, it was hard not to get lost in the charm of it all. Leaving the show, I got to thinking about why it is that everyone loves this event so much. In the end, I decided that what makes Beatlemore so popular in the Skidmore community, at least in my opinion, is that it appeals to most everyone. For some of the faculty and staff, as well as members of the Saratoga community, it appeals to a very real sense of nostalgia for a lived period of time and music. For others, like me, that nostalgia is rooted in childhoodthis is the music that we were raised on, that our parents played when we were growing up. And for those who dont have a direct relationship to the Beatles, the event is still so many things: a chance to catch a glimpse of the talent that thrives on this campus; an opportunity to learn about and appreciate a musical era; or simply a means of understanding what makes Skidmore so great, which is that here, creative thought matters. Beatlemore is all these things, and more. By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree This year, protesters laid out funeral flowers outside the House and Senate chambers to symbolize the Idahoans who have died without health coverage. Yet lawmakers resisted agreeing on any sort of expansion compromise, instead ending the session by agreeing to study the issue once again under an interim committee. 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The Fyshwick-based company, which was first registered in 1994 and trades as Today's Homes, has placed itself in the hands of Deloitte Restructuring Services. A construction company in Fyshwick has gone under. Credit:iStock "Today's Homes & Lifestyle is currently building homes for 16 customers," joint voluntary administrator, Eddie Sentatore, said. "Construction of homes for a further two customers is yet to commence, and an additional 20 clients are in the design phase." Another binary options trading website operating in Australia is in the sights of the corporate regulator as part of its ongoing investigation into the alleged activities of the Senese family and their associates. Last week the Federal Court issued orders restricting convicted finance criminal Tony Senese, his wife Sandy Senese and son Cameron Senese and Israel-based associate Yoav Ida from operating the website Tradettn.com. A beach in the Seychelles where TitanTrade website operator One Tech Media is located. Credit:Alexander Shalamov The court has already issued orders restricting the group accused of misappropriating millions from Australian investors from operating the TitanTrade website. The orders came as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is in the midst of a major investigation into the activities of Belize-based TitanTrade and its operators, Seychelles-registered One Tech Media and Britain's Ultra Solutions MG (UK). Aldi: the home of cheap alcohol, the famous "middle aisle," and one of the biggest threats to Australia's supermarket duopoly to date. Key to the German discount giant's success has been their everyday offerings of popular grocery products, supplied by brands exclusive to Aldi. From dairy products to cereals, chocolates to soft drinks, even toothpaste and hygiene items, Aldi stocks its own version, often in packaging strikingly similar to that of an original market leading product. But side by side, how do these products compare? Local developer Tony Huang has big plans for the Daily Planet brothel building in Elsternwick, which his company has bought for $12.66 million. Mr Huang's firm last week won a series of three separate consecutive auctions covering three different land titles: one for the Daily Planet brothel and the others for two adjoining buildings. Developer Tony Huang from Auyin Developments in front of the Daily Planet brothel which he has bought. Credit:Pat Scala Gross Waddell agents Alex Ham and Benjamin Klein, who conducted the rapid-fire auctions, said they attracted a crowd of 200 people. While each property sold separately, combined they fetched a land rate of $10,218 per square metre, Mr Ham said. Fund manager Australian Unity has splashed out nearly $13 million on an industrial property leased to Mainfreight in Springvale. Savills agents Chris Jones and Ben Hegerty negotiated the deal on a 7.3 per cent yield. Global logistics manager Mainfreight Distribution has just over four years left on its lease and pays $948,000 a year. Australian Unit has paid nearly $13 million for the industrial property at 1651-1657 Centre Road, Springvale The property at 1651-1657 Centre Road includes a 9910-square-metre office, warehouse and truck workshop on a large 29,640-square-metre site. It fetched $12.97 million for vendors MRS/Harmony who bought it in February 2014 for $10.69 million. A new survey shows Canberra's small businesses are optimistic about their future and planning to diversify their services despite skills shortages and red tape hampering their growth. The Deloitte Private SME Survey, a partnership between Deloitte and the Canberra Business Chamber, showed 90 per cent of small to medium enterprises wanted to grow their businesses. Eighty-one per cent were as or more optimistic about the next 12 months than they were in the previous year. Small business confidence is on the up in Canberra Credit:Erin Jonasson But more than 60 per cent of respondents said local skills shortages were a barrier to growth opportunities and more than half listed red tape around employment and an increase in operating costs as impeding expansion. Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Robyn Hendry said the results were "definitely" more optimistic than those from the previous survey. "Fans of British costume dramas will be very glad to see Little Dorrit has overcome humble origins as a child of the Marshalsea, somewhat surprisingly survived a stint as one of Henry the VIII's wives and gone on to become Queen of England. Who says there's no such thing as social mobility in the Old Dart ?"observes John Croker of Woonona. "Exploring my family history I find two convicts (both sent to Van Diemen's Land), and two murderers (both hanged). What is more I arrived by boat in 1949. What conclusion will the Hon P. Dutton draw from this?" asks John Tapner of North Turramurra. Joy Cooksey (C8) rightly observes that cartoonists have guaranteed material for at least four years, says Allan Gibson of Cherrybrook. "Such material will no doubt include incidents and accidents, hints and allegations, however, the Donald will eventually end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard." "Walking through Martin Place I slipped on something nasty, flew through the air and fell ungracefully on my bum," reports Roger of Paddington. "What was the nasty thing you ask a banana skin. Can I claim to be the only person who has ever really slipped on a banana skin outside cartoons, thank those who helped me and curse the ignorant littering sod who threw the banana skin on the ground in the first place." Recent discussion of nature's favourite drop has produced a lot of froth and bubbles. On its home delivery voyage in 1970 we parked our brand new submarine HMAS Onslow alongside in Acapulco. This joint had been tarted up and, even by our standards, we would obviously benefit from similar personal commitment before stepping ashore. We awaited arrival of the 3000 gallons of fresh water ordered from the Mexican Navy. That froth and bubble was a local worry. Incoming water supply had become cross-connected with outgoing effluvium. Our water arrived on the back of four Mexican Navy trucks in two litre bottles." Tim Bowra, Rozelle The release this week of district plans by the Greater Sydney Commission potentially foreshadows a new era in Sydney planning, which may mean a new look and feel for the city's neighbourhoods and for how we move between them. There is that possibility. But it is also apparent that, for all the power of the documents, the district plans at this stage largely imply the status quo. Why are these documents powerful? They are powerful because they set out the number of dwellings that councils will be required to help provide in the next five years and beyond. The documents provide the broad framework within which suburbs and centres may change, and within which councils may change them. Councils do not rate a mention in Australia's constitution. They exist in NSW as creatures of state law. Councils are therefore independent of government only so far as Parliament allows them to be. If the state government, or an agency created by the government such as the Greater Sydney Commission - directs them to approve a certain number of dwellings within a given period, councils are, subject to other legislation and the messiness of politics, required to comply. And why do these plans imply the status quo? One reason is that despite their many hundreds of pages, they don't say much. They contain targets for jobs and for housing. They offer demographic statistics. And they include pat descriptions of existing suburbs. Joh's fight to the death "The Queensland Government was plunged into turmoil yesterday by a series of dramatic events culminating in the sacking of three ministers by the Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen," the Herald reported. "But the ministers, who include Sir Joh's main challenger for the leadership, the Minister for Health, Mr Mike Ahern, are refusing to step down. The deadlock has isolated Sir Joh, and it seems he will be replaced." Regular shorts "Stevie Wonder was to fly to Sydney on Monday night but decided at the last minute to stay in Brisbane," revealed our correspondent. "He had heard his good mate Michael Jackson was in town. All the luggage had gone on ahead so when the party decided to hit the town later in the evening they had no suitable clothes. They contacted a menswear store at midnight and Stevie paid for new outfits for all." Nimrod's funds cut 1 ON THE SILVER GLOBE (166 minutes) Unrated 18+ The Polish director Andrzej Zulawski, who died this year, was one of cinema's authentic crazed visionaries. His most ambitious work was this never-completed science fiction epic, begun in 1976 but not screened in public until 1988, which deals with a group of astronauts who attempt to found a new society on the moon. Screens as part of Monster Fest. Newly restored version, digitally projected. Lido, Sunday, 11am. Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa 2. 2 CHILDREN OF HIROSHIMA (85 minutes) Unrated 15+ Shot on location in Hiroshima seven years after the dropping of the atomic bomb, with actual survivors in the cast, Kaneto Shindo's bleak 1952 docudrama accompanies a schoolteacher (Takako Ishikawa, Shindo's wife) on a visit to the ruined city that was once her home. The tone is understated, even gentle, but that doesn't make the horrors any easier to take. Screens as part of the Japanese Film Festival. 35-millimetre print. ACMI, Saturday, 2pm. Free. A threat by the incoming Trump administration to the climate research of US space agency NASA would be disastrous for global efforts to monitor and counter global warming, Australian researchers said. NASA's earth science division would be stripped of funds, with the money diverted to deep space exploration, the Guardian reported on Tuesday, citing comments by Bob Walker, a senior advisor to president-elect Donald Trump. "I believe that climate research is necessary but it has been heavily politicised, which has undermined a lot of the work that researchers have been doing," Mr Walker was quoted as saying. "Mr Trump's decisions will be based upon solid science, not politicised science." The election two weeks ago of the Republican candidate to replace Democrat Barack Obama next January for a four-year term sent shockwaves through the global climate research community. Mr Trump has said climate change was a hoax "created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive". Women are invisible at the top of Australian business and many from diverse backgrounds are excluded from the traditional frontlines of feminism, Labor MP Anne Aly said on Wednesday. Delivering the 2016 Emily's List Oration in Canberra, the Cowan MP said her experience as the first woman on a previously all-male board had taught her that men regularly take credit for the work of women. "It was then that I discovered the incredible power that we women have. We are invisible. "Put us in a room full of alpha males and we don a magical cloak of invisibility. Believe me if I had the invisibility superpower there are a few things I would rather do with it." Labor legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus threatened to resign from the frontbench if Bill Shorten backed the appointment of a key ally, Kimberley Kitching, to a casual Senate vacancy. But Mr Dreyfus - a senior member of the Opposition Leader's frontbench team - has not followed through on that threat and Ms Kitching was parachuted into the plum Victorian Senate seat vacated by Stephen Conroy, another ally of Mr Shorten in the Victorian right faction. Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus did not deny he threatened to resign. Credit:Andrew Meares In question time on Wednesday, manager of government business Christopher Pyne stepped up his attack on Mr Shorten and Ms Kitching over the appointment, while challenging Mr Dreyfus to deny his threat to resign. "The Leader of the Opposition deliberately parachuted into the Senate Kimberley Kitching to become Senator Kitching, who is alleged to have fraudulently filled out the safety tests for six union leaders in the Health Services Union," he said, labelling the new senator a "Captain's Pick". One Nation has moved to quell a damaging rift between leader Pauline Hanson and West Australian senator Rod Culleton, with the pair appearing to bury the hatchet in an hour-long meeting on Wednesday, despite a bit of "smoke". Senator Hanson had demanded her colleague "explain his position" after he wrote a letter to a Cairns magistrate that has been referred to police by Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath as a potential attempt to pervert the course of justice. A confident Senator Culleton emerged from the meeting to declare there was no tension within the party and that he had his Queensland leader's full support, while Senator Hanson said she was satisfied with the talks. "We are very united, we are a team," she said. Senator Culleton said he and Senator Hanson had "a good chat", denying there had ever been any tension - although he described her first look as "singeing" and later said she had been "a little bit patronising". The Turnbull government has threatened to sue a retiree who established a little-visited website that campaigns against cuts to Medicare, accusing him of unauthorised use of the healthcare system's green and yellow logo. The use of Medicare against the government has become a point of extreme sensitivity for the Coalition since its near-death experience in July and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's angry election night claim that unions "peddled lies" to voters in text messages purportedly sent by Medicare. But Mark Rogers, a Sydney grandfather of two, said it was "beyond over the top" and "Monty Pythonesque" for the government to threaten him with court and damages for his part-time personal crusade to protect Medicare. On Wednesday last week he received a legal letter from the Australian Government Solicitor giving him less than 48 hours to shut down his "Save Medicare" website and agree to never use Medicare branding again. As one of his final official engagements, US President Barack Obama has honoured 21 groundbreaking artists, athletes, musicians and innovators with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The list of recipients included Tom Hanks, Diana Ross, Robert De Niro and Michael Jordan - but it was funny-woman Ellen DeGeneres whose emotional moment with Obama captivated the room. With the medal awarded for extraordinary contributions to world peace, culture or other national interests, DeGeneres was recognised for her decades of LGBT activism and contributions to pop culture. Obama praised DeGeneres for the immense courage it took to come out as gay in the spotlight almost 20 years ago. The campaign launch comes as parliament is set to debate a bill that would prevent asylum seekers resettled from Manus and Nauru ever being able to visit Australia even for business and tourism. Najeeba Wazefadost also sought asylum in Australia, arriving by boat as an Afghani refugee when she was ten years old. "Things were escalating in my country where there was no longer peace," she recalls. "We could not see that security, we were not feeling secure. Continuously we had that fear of being killed at any time. "I remember, you know, when my father was going out of home, and every time he was leaving home we were saying goodbye to him in a way that he was never going to come back." Najeeba Wazefadost fled Afghanistan with her family when she was 10. Credit:fionamorris@iinet.net.au Wazefadost had little knowledge of Australia as she and her family made the sea crossing. She had few expectations beyond the prospect of safety. She did not know of Australia's immigration detention. Yet her surprise and jubilation at the welcome she received upon her release is still vivid in her memory. "The first amazing Australian woman that I met at the airport, she smiled, she grabbed my hand and said 'Welcome to Australia!'" After being denied access to education during her youth in Afghanistan, Wazefadost graduated with a Bachelor of Medical Science. For her parents, watching her among a sea of graduates underlined why they had braved the treacherous sea journey. Now working as a youth advocate and refugee settlement case worker, Wazefadost is determined to help asylum seekers like herself. "They are not an issue," she says firmly. "They are people. "I think at the moment the whole issue of refugees has been dehumanised. Australia has a shared responsibility of looking after asylum seekers." Wazefadost told Fairfax Media she was "disappointed" by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's remarks last week which linked Lebanese-Muslim immigrants to acts of terrorism. She takes issue with the tendency of current political discourse to conflate issues of asylum seeking and religion, which are not always related. "Australia is a signatory of the UN convention and part of the international community," she argues, restating that seeking asylum is a human right. "Australians have done so well in their history and they can do better." Reconstructive surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis arrived from Iraq in 1999. He fled after his hospital department was presented with three busloads of army deserters and ordered to cut their ears off. He couldn't do it. "In the blink of an eye, I turned from a spoilt brat that's living a very privileged life to an escapee and a traitor to Sadam's regime." Surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis. Credit:Tim Bauer Fortunately, Dr Al Muderis was able to secure work as a doctor two months after his release from detention. His passion for reconstructive surgery was fostered by the horrific injuries his patients had sustained in war-torn Baghdad. He now specialises in fitting amputees with prosthetic limbs. Saeid Safavi landed on Australian shores in 2001. He ran a fabric business in Iran for 12 years before its assets were seized by the government and he was forced to flee. While being processed though a Woomera detention centre, Safavi was persuaded by a friend to meet a woman visiting him. Safavi was nervous about the encounter as he spoke no English. The University of Sydney produces graduates that are more employable than those from Cambridge, Oxford and Columbia, according to a new global rankings measure. The QS Graduate Employability Rankings assessed 300 universities worldwide against five criteria: employer reputation, alumni outcomes, partnerships with employers, employer/student connections and graduate employment rates. It surveyed 37,000 employers and mapped the careers of 21,000 individuals worldwide to determine the rankings. On this basis the University of Sydney placed fourth worldwide, after Stanford and MIT in the US, and Tsinghua University in China. A bushfire is burning out of control near the Blue Mountains township of Blackheath, west of Sydney. The Rural Fire Service issued a watch and act alert, the second highest warning, for the fire just after noon on Wednesday. The fire at Blackheath. Credit:NSW RFS The fire is burning between Mount Blackheath Road and Kanimbla Drive and is moving in an easterly direction. Long-time Nationals frontbencher Duncan Gay says he wants to keep his job as Roads Minister in an expected reshuffle of NSW cabinet and has urged for decisions on who fills the top roles to be based on ability. "I continue to be enthusiastic. I might be over 65 but I just like getting on with the job and I'm hopeful to be able to do the job for a while yet," Mr Gay said on Wednesday. Mr Gay, 66, and Education Minister Adrian Piccoli are under pressure to retain their portfolios after the Nationals' disastrous loss of the seat of Orange in a recent byelection, resulting in the resignation of Troy Grant as Deputy Premier. His replacement as NSW Nationals leader, John Barilaro, has said party colleagues have been pushing him to seek a reshuffle of cabinet positions earlier than Premier Mike Baird's preference for it to be carried out early in the new year. Premier Mike Baird has been accused of political payback and warned the fight against corruption in NSW has been set back years after Megan Latham announced she will resign as chief of the corruption watchdog. The NSW government will launch a search for three new commissioners of the Independent Commission Against Corruption after Ms Latham leaves on November 30 to return to the Supreme Court bench. Legislation passed by Parliament last week abolished Ms Latham's position in favour of a three-commissioner model and the government announced she would be "invited" to reapply for her job, despite having two years to run on her contract. It follows an extraordinary period of close to three years for Ms Latham at the ICAC. The man accused of murdering missing schoolgirl Quanne Diec has led detectives through bushland south of Sydney in the search for her remains. Vinzent Tarantino, 49, was charged by police on Sunday, almost two decades after Quanne, 12, was plucked off a Granville street. He is accused of enticing her off the street just metres from her home, detaining her with the intention of holding her for ransom and then murdering her on July 27, 1998. For much of the day on Wednesday, Mr Tarantino, dressed in prison greens and handcuffs, walked through bushland in Bulli Tops, near Wollongong, with police officers. Man charged with murder after stabbing death at Campsie in Sydney's south-west Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Earlier this year in Chicago - a place created from the ashes of a firestorm in the late 19th century to become one of the world's most acclaimed destinations and a wonder of modern architecture - some of the brightest thinkers on urban affairs gathered to debate the future of global cities. Over three days, talks focused on how our most pivotal cities should behave, rejuvenate and co-operate. The conference looked at the steps that need to be taken for cities to be more inclusive and equitable places rather than what many people feel they are: alien citadels of tower and glass that separate the privileged from the poor. It might sound a lofty notion far removed from what many consider to be more pressing imperatives, but getting our cities right - especially Sydney - and making them generators of global jobs could not be more important. Especially right now, as the nation transitions from a mining, agricultural and manufacturing economy to, well, something else. The sun rises over the city as viewed from North Sydney. Credit:Paul Rovere Cities all over the world are competing more aggressively for jobs and industries as they experience identical changes to their employment structures. For the first time in human history, more people now live in cities than in rural areas. In a few decades' time, more than two-thirds of the world's population will leave the remaining cluster of villages, towns and farms to find their fortunes and futures in regional centres and cities. So, all of a sudden, how to plan our future cities - and how to make existing, overburdened metropolises work more effectively - is being discussed with huge vigour. Ryan McNaught was in his mid-30s when he sheepishly asked his mum if she had kept the Lego bricks he'd loved as a child. "Yes," she'd responded, like it wasn't even a question. Don't all good mothers keep their children's toys for decades? Ryan McNaught is one of only 14 Lego "grand masters" in the world. Credit:brickmanwonders It was 2008 and Mr McNaught had just returned from a trip to the United States, where he'd seen some epic Lego constructions in a shopfront window. They'd left him in awe and with a burning desire to have a go himself. The days of food allergy sufferers trawling through ingredient lists in shopping aisles could be numbered, with Queensland researchers working on developing a vaccine to combat Australia's soaring rates of allergies. The rate of food allergies has tripled over the past decade and Australia leads the world in the number of enfants who suffer from an egg allergy. Professor Andreas Lopata and postdoctoral student Aya Taki. Credit:Laura Males - Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine Sandip Kamath and Andreas Lopata from James Cook University are investigating whether immunotherapy, similar to a vaccine, can be developed to protect people. Dr Kamath said he was studying the allergens identified in shellfish and egg and modifying them so the immune system was trained to tolerate the allergen, without any severe or accidental reactions. The on-demand economy, which uses smartphone technology to immediately fill consumer needs, has changed the way people order food, a car, or a place to stay. Now, technology startups are targeting the next business frontier - insurance - offering coverage with the swipe of an app. Trov, a San Francisco Bay Area firm that provides smartphone-based on-demand insurance for individual assets like computers or cameras, for any duration, launched in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, backed by AXA Insurance, a subsidary of AXA SA. Trov on-demand insurance app "We literally track risk to the second so when you turn something on, it turns it on to the second and then it prices your usage to the second should you want to turn it off," Scott Walchek, Trov's chief executive officer, said in an interview last week. "It's literally the same swipe right to turn it on, swipe left to turn it off." The multitrillion-dollar dollar insurance industry is poised to be transformed "beyond recognition" by new technologies like artificial intelligence, new payment systems, drones and blockchain, CommerzVentures GmbH said in a white paper in March. Episode 5 of Decoding Genius, a podcast series by General Electric that asks what is a genius and how you become one, is available now for download from decodinggenius.com.au or via iTunes Zac Tiessen had just turned 13 when a playground accident altered his personality, tastes and intelligence, and led his family and medical professionals to question whether a head injury could turn an average suburban kid into a genius. In episode five of the podcast Decoding Genius, host Lily Serna speaks to a Canadian family who has not one but two artistic prodigies, with one son acquiring his genius in a very remarkable way. Josh, left, and Zac Tiessen are a rare example of two geniuses in a single family. Both Josh and Zac Tiessen have been recognised for their skills; Josh renowned for his paintings and Zac changing the face of music. Police are on the hunt for a registered sex offender with "an appalling criminal history" who absconded from a Melbourne residential treatment facility on Tuesday evening. Christopher Austin, 22, was found guilty of the rape of a child in 2013 in and is serving a 5-year sentence in Fairfield's Disability Forensic Assessment and Treatment Service. Christopher Austin. Credit:Victoria Police The 14-bed facility, which cares for and treats people with a disability who have committed crimes, has since been locked down. Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing, Martin Foley, said Mr Austin had scaled a large fence when he left the centre about 11.30pm on Tuesday. At least four people have died after the sudden outbreak of "thunderstorm asthma", prompting an investigation into the emergency response to the medical crisis that swept across Melbourne on Monday. Forty-eight hours after the massive asthma event pushed the city's healthcare system to its limits, two more people were confirmed dead. Dr Mark Hotu with Asthma suferer Angelique Harkins. Credit:Jason South Noble Park father-of-two, Clarence Leo, and 35-year-old man, Apollo Papadopoulos, died after suffering asthma attacks that are believed to be due to the unprecedented weather event. As more information about the emergency response came to light on Wednesday - including details of after-hour clinics, doctors and pharmacies struggling to cope with a surge in patients - questions were raised about why a public warning was not sent out to asthma sufferers. The family of the 20-year-old law student who died after suffering an asthma attack earlier this week say they are overwhelmed by the donations streaming in to help with funeral costs. Hope Carnevali drew her last breath on her front lawn as family members desperately waited for an ambulance that came 30 minutes after it was called. Hope Carnevali died the night of the storm. Credit:Facebook Enormous strain was put on Melbourne's healthcare system on Monday night after 'thunderstorm asthma' swept through the city, with close to 2000 calls for ambulances within five hours. At the Royal Children's Hospital there was a huge spike in admissions, with more than 480 children admitted during a 24-hour period. Four masked men armed with crowbars and hammers allegedly robbed a convenience store in Melbourne's north-east during the early hours of Wednesday. Police arrested a 17-year-old Epping boy when they swooped on the Templestowe store about 2.30am. Police have released images of a vehicle similar to the stolen Nissan. However, most of the masked thieves managed to escape in a stolen car. About 30 minutes after the robbery, police arrested a second man on Mahoney's Road, Reservoir. Three people have lost their lives in the unprecedented thunderstorm asthma epidemic which struck Melbourne on Monday. The third victim, 35-year-old Apollo Papadopoulos, is understood to have died after suffering an asthma attack despite frantic efforts by paramedics to revive him. Friends have posted tributes on Facebook to Mr Papadopoulos, who is remembered as a "beautiful person" who will be dearly missed. One friend, Dee Kay, posted that paramedics tried to revive Mr Papadopoulos for more than 50 minutes. The kingpin of Northam's drug trade is a 15-year-old Perth boy, police alleged on Wednesday as they revealed details of a massive drug operation to flush out the Wheatbelt town. Detectives spent two months working Operation Virbius after floods of reports on drug-related harm in the town, and from Friday to Monday conducted a string of raids culminating in 10 arrests, including the Wanneroo boy. Detectives with some of the material allegedly seized. Credit:Emma Young "Disturbingly, police will allege that the primary source of supply into Northam involving the conspirators charged, originated from one of the 15-year-old offenders," a spokeswoman said. Police arrested four adults on Friday after stopping a car on Great Eastern Highway in Bakers Hill, allegedly seizing about 45 grams of methamphetamine. President-elect Donald Trump has named South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as his choice to become ambassador to the United Nations, adding to his prospective cabinet a former critic with whom he had sparred bitterly. Haley's name had previously been mentioned as a possible contender to become Trump's secretary of state, and she met with Trump transition officials last week in New York. Her selection was first reported by the The Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. The news of Haley's selection came after days of criticism of Trump's early picks as a homogeneous bloc of older, white men. If confirmed, Haley would step down as governor and be replaced by the state's lieutenant governor, Henry McMaster, who was an early and vocal supporter of Trump. Haley, 44, supported Senator Marco Rubio during the Republican primaries, and she was a prominent and frequent critic of Trump early in his run. The Great Firewall of China prevents access to Facebook and Twitter. Credit:iStock But the new feature takes that a step further by preventing content from appearing in feeds in China in the first place. Facebook does not intend to suppress the posts itself. Instead, it would offer the software to enable a third party - in this case, most likely a partner Chinese company - to monitor popular stories and topics that bubble up as users share them across the social network, the sources said. Facebook's partner would then have full control to decide whether those posts should show up in users' feeds. Chinese President Xi Jinping, front centre, told executives at Microsoft's main campus in Redmond, Washington in 2015, China advocated co-operation in development of the internet in line with China's 'national realities'. Credit:AP The current and former Facebook employees caution that the software is one of many ideas the company has discussed with respect to entering China and, like many experiments inside Facebook, it may never see the light of day. The feature, whose code is visible to engineers inside the company, has so far gone unused, and there is no indication that Facebook has offered it to the authorities in China. But the project illustrates the extent to which Facebook may be willing to compromise one of its core mission statements, "to make the world more open and connected," to gain access to a market of 1.4 billion Chinese people. Even as Facebook faces pressure to continue growing - Zuckerberg has often asked where the company's next billion users will come from - China has been cordoned off to the social network since 2009 because of the government's strict rules around censorship of user content. US technology companies that do operate in China, including LinkedIn and Evernote, have made changes to their services to comply with censorship regulations. Google, Facebook and Twitter, comply with local censorship laws and block content in many other countries. Each year, the companies publish annual transparency reports where they enumerate the requests they receive from foreign governments to take down content. The suppression software has been contentious within Facebook, which is separately grappling with what should or should not be shown to its users after the US presidential election's unexpected outcome spurred questions over fake news on the social network. Several employees who were working on the project have left Facebook after expressing misgivings about it, according to the current and former employees. A Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement, "We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country." She added that the company had made no decisions on its approach into China. Facebook's tricky position underscores the difficulties that many US internet companies have had gaining access to China. For years, companies like Google and Twitter have been blocked there for refusing to yield to the government's demands around censorship. In 2010, Google said it was directing users of its search engine in China to its service in Hong Kong, because of censorship and intrusion from hackers. Other companies, like the professional social networking service LinkedIn, agreed to censor some content on their platforms in China. Some analysts have said Facebook's best option is to follow a model laid out by other internet companies and cooperate with a local company or investor. Finding a partner and potentially allowing it to own a majority stake in Facebook's China operation - would take the burden of censorship and surveillance off the Silicon Valley company. It would also let Facebook rely on a local company's government connections and experience to deal with the difficult task of communicating with Beijing. Facebook and Chinese officials have had intermittent talks in the last few years about the social network's entering the market, according to employees who were involved in the discussions, though the two sides have been unable to reach a compromise. Facebook currently sells advertising for some Chinese businesses from its Hong Kong office. Among its customers are state-media sites that act as the propaganda arm of the Chinese government, and that operate official accounts where they post articles. Chinese citizens who wish to gain access to Facebook must tunnel in using the technology known as a virtual private network, or VPN. It's unclear when the suppression tool originated, but the project picked up momentum in the last year, as engineers were plucked from other parts of Facebook to work on the effort, the sources said. The project was led by Vaughan Smith, a vice president for mobile, corporate and business development at Facebook, they said. Like Zuckerberg, Smith speaks a smattering of Mandarin. Unveiling a new censorship tool in China could lead to more demands to suppress content from other countries. The fake-news problem, which has hit countries across the globe, has already led some governments to use the issue as an excuse to target sites of political rivals, or shut down social media sites altogether. Internally, so many employees asked about the project and its ambitions on an internal forum that, in July, it became a topic at one of Facebook's weekly Friday afternoon question-and-answer sessions. Zuckerberg was at the event and answered a question from the audience about the tool. He told the gathering that Facebook's China plans were nascent. But he also struck a pragmatic tone about the future, according to employees who attended the session. Loading London: Russian tankers have smuggled jet fuel to Syria through European Union waters, bolstering military supplies to a war-torn country where Moscow is carrying out air strikes in support of the government, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. At least two Russian-flagged ships made deliveries which contravene EU sanctions via Cyprus, an intelligence source with a European Union government said. There was a sharp increase in shipments in October, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. A separate shipping source familiar with the movements of the Russian-flagged vessels said the ships visited Cypriot and Greek ports before delivering fuel to Syria. The Russian defence and transport ministries did not initially respond to requests for comment. The defence ministry later said EU sanctions on fuel supplies to Syria could not be applied to the Russian air group in that country. Ulaanbaatar: Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday he would visit US President-elect Donald Trump, a meeting that would infuriate Beijing which views the Nobel peace prize-winning monk as a dangerous separatist. Speaking during a visit to Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar and asked about the US election, the Dalai Lama said he had always considered the United States a "leading nation of the free world". "I think there are some problems to go to United States, so I will go to see the new president," he said. US President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama at the White House in June despite a warning by China that it would damage diplomatic relations. It was Obama's fourth White House meeting with the Dalai Lama in the past eight years. The emoluments clause, often invoked as the reason Trump must sell his businesses, is no bar. This constitutional provision prevents the president (and any other federal officer) from accepting gifts or compensation from foreign states. It does not limit Trump's ability to benefit from dealings with non-state foreign entities. Whether a "state-controlled" entity falls within the emoluments clause prohibitions has traditionally been addressed on a case-by-case basis, depending principally on how independently such an entity operates from an actual government. Likewise, neither federal law nor regulations limit the president in this area. Presidential candidates and presidents must disclose their finances, but the president is not covered by the principal financial conflict-of-interest law, and the relevant regulations specifically exclude the president. Indeed, it is doubtful that Congress could constitutionally limit the president's personal investments or business activities consistent with separation of powers principles. Of course, Trump's wide holdings will most likely raise real or perceived conflicts of interest during his presidency. Establishing a blind trust would have helped him address those concerns. There are, however, other measures that the President-elect can take to avoid conflicts. He can establish a firewall between himself and his adult children with respect to family business affairs. They would agree to give him no information about their business dealings, and he would pledge not to discuss those dealings with them. In addition, his children could promise to refer any potential transaction involving foreign corporations or other entities to the White House counsel's office or the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to analyse whether it would raise concerns under the emoluments clause. If the answer is yes, then they will avoid that transaction. The president himself would not be informed of the request or determination. Finally, to the extent to which he wishes to seek advice about public policy from his children - which he appears to have done frequently before his election - the president can consult the White House counsel's office about whether discussing a particular issue with them would create potential conflicts of interest. Most government issues do not have a direct impact on the hospitality industry and simply taking action that is good for the economy as a whole would not give rise to a conflict. Nigel Farage is planning to visit Washington DC early next month to hold talks with aides to US President-elect Donald Trump. The visit to the US capital will be seen as part of an unofficial diplomatic offensive by Mr Farage to forge links with Mr Trump's team and will undermine Prime Minster Theresa May, who is yet to meet the new US leader. Sources close to the interim leader of the UK Independence Party said he will be meeting with the team around Mr Trump. Mr Farage is due to travel with the same group that met Mr Trump 10 days ago, including Arron Banks, the millionaire supporter of Ukip, and Andy Wigmore, who advises Mr Banks. The election of Donald Trump has focused attention on the phenomeon of "fake news" and to what extent it may have affected the United States presidential election. Credit:AP Haley will arrive at a United Nations dealing with a world simmering with tension in a myriad of flashpoints. Current UN Ambassador Samantha Power's experience illustrates the sort of promise and problems Haley faces. The key to US leverage is in the 15-member Security Council. Any of its five permanent members - the US, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France - have a veto. Trump's had harsh words for China, while stressing more cooperation with Russia. Nikki Haley, Trump's UN ambassador pick. The South Carolina governor and daughter of Indian immigrants is a novice in international diplomacy. Credit:AP Be careful, warned Senator Ben Cardin, a Senate Foreign Relations Committee member. "Russia has shown itself to be a global bully and not a partner," Cardin said. Power, who has an extensive background in international affairs, has been one of the Obama administration's key people watching implementation of the Iran nuclear pact. She was also instrumental earlier this year in getting the Security Council to unanimously impose new sanctions intended to stop North Korea from further developing weapons of mass destruction. Power has been less successful, though, combating Russian resistance to agreeing on how to curb Syria's civil war. Piccone, a senior foreign policy adviser in the Clinton administration, thought Haley could have an opening. "Trump has said we need to fix Syria," he said. He noted that Antonio Guterres, secretary general-designate, has a political background. He had been prime minister of Portugal. Ann Corkery, a former delegate to the UN General Assembly, said Haley's political experience could be highly useful. "She has consistently demonstrated her ability to bring together people on opposing sides of complicated issues," said Corkery, now a Washington attorney. The news of Haley's selection came after days of criticism of Trump's early picks as a homogeneous bloc of older, white men. If confirmed, Haley would step down as governor and be replaced by the state's lieutenant governor, Henry McMaster, who was an early and vocal supporter of Trump. Haley, 44, supported Florida senator Marco Rubio during the Republican primaries, and she was a prominent and frequent critic of Trump early in his run. That criticism was thought to have kept her off Trump's list of vice-presidential candidates, although her name was mentioned in passing before he chose Indiana governor Mike Pence. Haley called out Trump in January when she gave the official Republican rebuttal to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, and she later took him to task for his failure to condemn groups like the Ku Klux Klan. "Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference," Haley said in the State of the Union rebuttal. "That is just not true. Often, the best thing we can do is turn down the volume." In a follow-up interview on the NBC's Today show, Haley the daughter of immigrants from India said: "Mr Trump has definitely contributed to what I think is just irresponsible talk". Trump responded harshly to that address, calling her "weak" on immigration and noting that she had asked him for campaign contributions. "She's very, very weak on illegal immigration," Trump said. "She's very, very weak on illegal immigration. You can't have that." The following month, she condemned Trump for not speaking out against white supremacy more forcefully. Among the challenges Haley faces: Will Trump renegotiate last year's Iran nuclear deal, reached between that country and the US and five other world powers? Haley opposed the pact. The UN has urged all of the agreement's negotiators to continue honouring it, something all other parties have signalled they intend to do. Supporters say scrapping the agreement will help Iranian hard-liners, whose interests are better served with a more isolated Islamic Republic. Will Trump stick to his campaign promise to halt Muslim migration to the US until terrorist threats are addressed? Will he bar refugees fleeing violence in countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan? Such policy could violate international law, which stipulates that other countries have an obligation to take in people seeking refuge from persecution in their home country and cannot bar refugees based on origin. Guterres is likely to resist any American efforts to dismantle refugee programs. He formerly served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and is a strong advocate for wealthy countries doing their fair share to help the most vulnerable. He will take office January 1. Will Trump have much use for the UN? He's not a fan of traditional alliances. During the campaign, Trump branded NATO, the 67-year-old European defense pact, as obsolete. He said the United States backing of a NATO ally could depend on whether a nation paid its fair share of military spending. About 70 percent of NATO spending comes from the US. Trump appeared to soften that view last week. A NATO statement said he and Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg discussed the alliance's "enduring importance." Trump has also suggested that Japan, South Korea and Germany don't pay enough for US military protection. Will Trump bring back waterboarding as an interrogation tool, even though it's a violation of the international convention on torture? The UN Commissioner for Human Rights has already warned his staff that they will fight attempts from a Trump administration to bend current human rights norms. Trump this week told The New York Times his view of torture may be shifting. Loading For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser PHILIPSBURG:--- Rumors are circulating on social media (Facebook) and throughout the community claiming that the current coalition agreement between the National Alliance (NA), the United St. Maarten Peoples Party (USP) and the Democratic Party (DP) fell through and that talks are currently taking place between the United Peoples Party (UPP), United St. Maarten Peoples Party (USP) and the Democratic Party (DP) to form another coalition government called the Green, Red and Blue coalition. The rumors on Tuesday have caused some severe uproar that some persons have said openly that if that happens St. Maarten and its people could look forward to unrest due to the constant instability since the island became a country in 2010. It should be noted that early elections were called due to the instability and constant change of government. However, the elections did not change that because the voters chose to divide their votes to the four main political parties, namely the NA, DP, USP and UPP. Even though the NA and UPP each were awarded 5 seats while the DP was awarded 2 seats and the USP 3 seats, the main player in forming any coalition has to involve the USP in order to obtain a majority in parliament now that the agreement with the NA and UPP died, when more than one of the candidate Ministers from the UPP did not pass the screening process. SMN News learned that those that failed the screening has to do with investigations against them, at least three persons told investigators that they bought firearms from one of the candidate ministers that ran on the UPP slate, while it is stated that an investigation against the UPP leader is ongoing since 2013, besides that the candidate ministers from the UPP had problems with their taxes which also hindered them from passing the screening process. SMN News contacted the leader of the USP Frans Richardson on the ongoing developments, Richardson made a very stern and strong statement to end the rumor. Richardson said that as leader of the USP his party remains committed to the current coalition (Red, White, and Blue) and that he neither any other members of the USP is involved in any negotiations with any other political party. Richardson said that the USP is busy vetting their Ministers and he wants the people of St. Maarten to know that the USP remains committed to the coalition agreement that was signed last week with the National Alliance and the Democratic Party. In the meantime, SMN News learned that the candidate Ministers that are going to be vetted are Raphael Boasman who will be taking up the post as Minister of Justice on behalf of the USP and Cecil Nicolas as Minister of TEATT. SMN News further learned from reliable sources that Emil Lee will be returning as the Minister of VSA, while the National Alliance will be having William Marlin as Prime Minister, Silveria Jacobs as Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Richard Gibson Sr as Minister of Finance, Christopher Emmanuel as Minister or VROMI, and Henrietta Doran York as Minister of Plenipotentiary while Leader of the Democratic Party Sarah Wescot Williams will be the chair lady of Parliament. The USP will also hold the Deputy Prime Minister seat. CORRECTION: Rockcliff Purchases High Grade Zinc and Gold Property in Manitoba TORONTO, ONTARIO (Marketwired) 11/22/16 This document corrects and replaces the one that was sent today, November 22, 2016, at 08:00 am ET. The ticker symbol for indexing purposes was incorrectly formatted. The corrected release follows. Rockcliff Copper Corporation (Rockcliff or the Company) (TSX VENTURE: RCU) has agreed to purchase the Morgan Lake, Woosey Lake and Cook Lake properties (collectively called the Morgan property) in the Snow Lake mining camp from Copper Reef Mining Corporation (Copper Reef)(CSE: CZC)(CSE: CZC.CN).The Morgan property hosts stratigraphic horizons similar to the prolific Chisel Lake Basin which contain a number of former zinc mines and is located within 3 kilometres from the now operating Lalor Mine owned by Hudbay Minerals. The Morgan property includes a high grade historic zinc-rich Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide deposit and a high grade gold-rich quartz vein system including a high grade historic zinc-rich Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) deposit. The Morgan property forms part of Rockcliffs Snow Lake Project which hosts several high grade VMS deposits and a former historical gold mine. The Project is strategically located near Hudbays mining operations in the Snow Lake mining camp within the prolific Flin Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt in central Manitoba. Rockcliffs President and CEO Ken Lapierre commented, The Morgan property hosts high grade zinc and gold zones within trucking distance to operating milling operations centered in the Snow Lake mining camp. The Morgan property acquisition is in line with our strategy of acquiring the highest grade un-mined copper, zinc and gold properties available in the camp that have excellent growth potential. The Morgan property hosts favourable VMS and gold-bearing stratigraphy striking for many kilometres. We look forward to advancing our understanding of the Morgan propertys potential through compilation of existing historical data followed by exploration programs in 2017. The Morgan property hosts the historical gold rich Morgan zinc deposit documenting as having between a total of 272,000 tonnes grading 15.0% zinc and 3.42 g/t gold and 200,000 tonnes grading 8% zinc. Historical estimates of grade and tonnage given in this Press Release are viewed as reliable and relevant based on the information and methods used at the time. Historical estimates were identified in published Manitoba Government reports and in independent reports from resource companies. Caution must be taken when viewing historical resources as they were not prepared in compliance with resource definitions under NI 43-101 and must be considered only as historic resources. Neither Rockcliff nor its Qualified Persons have done sufficient work to classify the historic estimate as a current mineral resource under current mineral resource or mineral reserve terminology and are not treating the historic estimate as a current mineral resource. The historic resource of the Morgan deposit should not be relied upon. Additional work including surface geophysics, drilling and bore hole geophysics will need to be completed to determine if the historical resource can be upgraded to a current compliant resource. Rockcliff will acquire a 100% interest in the Morgan property (Morgan Lake, Woosey Lake and Cook Lake properties), subject to a net smelter returns royalty (NSR), by paying Copper Reef $100,000 cash and 200,000 common shares on closing, a further $50,000 cash and 400,000 common shares within 6 months and a final 1.0 million common shares within 12 months. Copper Reef will retain a 2% NSR on the Morgan Lake property, which is subject to a 10% net profits interest royalty in favour of the original owner, a 2% NSR on the Woosey Lake property and a 1% NSR on the Cook Lake property, which is also subject to a 2% NSR in favour of a former joint venture party. A third party holds certain rights in respect of the Morgan Lake property and Cook Lake property including a back-in right to acquire a 60% interest in these properties if a mineral resource is identified with 225,000 tonnes of contained copper equivalent or a 20% back-in right if Rockcliff transfers these properties to a major company. If Rockcliff commences commercial production on the Morgan property, it will pay an advance royalty payment to Copper Reef of $1.0 million. Rockcliff at any time will have the right to purchase one-half of the Copper Reef NSRs for $1.0 million and will retain a Right of First Refusal on Copper Reefs remaining NSRs. The acquisition is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. Ken Lapierre P.Geo., President and CEO of Rockcliff., a Qualified Person in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in NI 43-101, has read and approved the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for the disclosure contained in this press release. Please visit our website at for additional information. About Rockcliff Copper Corporation Rockcliff is a Canadian resource exploration company focused on the discovery, advancement and consolidation of the highest grade unmined metal deposits in the prolific Flin Flon Snow Lake (FF-SL) greenstone belt specifically centered on Snow Lake, MB. The Snow Lake Project, totalling in excess of 45,000 collective hectares is located in and around the Snow Lake mining camp and hosts the highest grade unmined copper deposits, the highest grade unmined zinc deposits and the highest grade former gold producer. The properties include two high grade VMS NI 43-101 Resources (the gold-rich Talbot copper deposit and the Rail copper deposit), three historic high grade zinc-rich VMS deposits (the Lon zinc deposit, the Bur zinc deposit and the Morgan deposit),and a Net Smelter Return Royalty (NSR) on the Tower property which includes the T-1 copper deposit. The Snow Lake Project also includes the highest grade former lode gold producer (Laguna) in the FF-SL greenstone belt. Rockcliff also owns a zinc-silver rich NI 43-101 Resource (the Shihan deposit) in Ontario and a royalty on two gold properties in Colombia, South America. Rockcliff is well funded with approximately $3.0 million in its treasury and no debt. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although Rockcliff believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Rockcliff Copper Corporation Ken Lapierre, P.Geo President & CEO Cell: (647) 678-3879 CHF Capital Markets Cathy Hume, CEO Phone: (416) 868-1079 ext.231 Isabelle Marcoux recognized as one of Canadas most powerful women for the third time MONTREAL, QUEBEC (Marketwired) 11/23/16 November 23, 2016 Note to Editors: There is a photo associated with this press release. Transcontinental Inc. (TSX: TCL.A)(TSX: TCL.B) is proud to highlight that Ms. Isabelle Marcoux, Chair of its Board of Directors, has received the prestigious recognition of being named one of Canadas 100 most powerful women in 2016 by the Womens Executive Network (WXN) for the third time in her career. This year, Ms. Marcoux is being recognized in the Accenture Corporate Directors category, which acknowledges women who serve on the board of directors of a Canadian or international company. She was honoured by WXN in the Corporate Executives category in 2010 and 2012. Launched in 2003, the Womens Executive Networks (WXN) Canadas Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards shine the spotlight on the exceptional achievements of women executives who have distinguished themselves in the public, private and non-profit sectors, and honour their organizations and networks. This years award recognizes Ms. Marcouxs proven leadership as Chair of the Board of Directors of Transcontinental Inc. as well as her remarkable contribution to the sound governance of the boards of George Weston Limited, Rogers Communications Inc., Power Corporation of Canada and the Montreal Childrens Hospital Foundation. Her deep commitment to philanthropy and strong leadership with respect to diversity were also among the factors which led to her nomination. It is a great honour for me to join the list of Canadas 100 most powerful women once again in 2016, said Isabelle Marcoux, Chair of the Board of Directors of Transcontinental Inc. Im very proud to share this recognition with all the women who work at TC Transcontinental and who inspire me by continuously aiming for excellence. This honour also reflects on all my colleagues of the boards on which I serve as they drive me to aim higher in creating long-term value through quality governance. Finally, this distinction bestowed by the Womens Executive Network is all the more meaningful to me because it underscores the importance I assign to gender diversity and the advancement of women in strategic roles and on the Board of Directors at TC Transcontinental. As such, I applaud WXNs efforts towards the growth of Canadian women. Ms. Sherri Stevens, owner and CEO of WXN, added: Women are not just leading companies, headlines and new deals, were doing so in record numbers. In addition to closing the gender gap for participation in post-secondary education and the workforce, were excelling at the top levels of every sector. When WXN created Canadas Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards, part of the purpose was celebration. By recognizing a community of now 939 remarkable women, we get the opportunity to look back and appreciate the hard work and hurdle jumping it took to get here. Id like to take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate Isabelle Marcoux on her third win, which speaks to her important contribution to female leadership in Canada. Beyond her professional achievements, Ms. Marcoux is highly involved in the community. In 2016, she is co-chairing the Centraide of Greater Montreal fundraising campaign, among other things. Ms. Marcoux is engaged, both on a personal level and through TC Transcontinental, towards causes that are important to her, particularly those related to women, health and children. Isabelle Marcouxs full bio can be found About TC Transcontinental Canadas largest printer with operations in print, flexible packaging, publishing and digital media, TC Transcontinentals mission is to create products and services that allow businesses to attract, reach and retain their target customers. Respect, teamwork, performance and innovation are strong values held by the Corporation and its employees. The Corporations commitment to its stakeholders is to pursue its business and philanthropic activities in a responsible manner. Transcontinental Inc. (TSX: TCL.A)(TSX: TCL.B), known as TC Transcontinental, has close to 8,000 employees in Canada and the United States, and revenues of C$2.0 billion in 2015. Website: To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: Contacts: Media Nathalie St-Jean, Senior Advisor, Communications TC Transcontinental 514-954-3581 Financial Community Shirley Chenny, Advisor, Investor Relations TC Transcontinental 514-954-4166 LPI Expands Certifications to Recognize the Importance of DevOps to the Open Source Community TORONTO, ONTARIO (Marketwired) 11/23/16 Editors Note: There is one photo associated with this press release. Designed to reflect the growing importance of DevOps collaboration models and tools in both system administration and software development, the planned certification will require candidates to pass an exam to be awarded LPI Certified Open Technology DevOps Engineer. The first exams will take place in Autumn 2017. DevOps, at its core, is a collaboration model supported by a specific set of tools. We have been observing this tool chain maturing over the last few years and its the right time to talk to LPIs open source community about how we can provide proof of proficiency in handling these tools and implementing DevOps solutions, states Fabian Thorns, LPIs Director of Certification Development. Executive Director of LPI, G. Matthew Rice, adds: As more and more companies introduce DevOps methodologies to their workflows, skills in the use of tools supporting DevOps become increasingly important and are having a major impact on the work of all our candidates. It also makes a lot of LPIs primary topics relevant for new audiences, such as developers. The first step of our community-based exam development process is the survey of people working in the industry. This survey will be critical in identifying the skills that are required to support the collaboration of IT administrators and software developers. The consultation known as a Job Task Analysis (JTA) involves an online survey to open source professionals worldwide and consultation with LPIs Exam Development volunteer community. As the exam development process continues there will be ongoing dialogue via the exam development mailing list as well as regular blog posts on the LPI site. We invite everyone involved in DevOps and members of our Exam Development community to participate in this Job Task Analysis. Every single vote is an important contribution to create a certification that reflects and endorses the skills that matter in the workplace, says Mr. Thorns. How to get involved: Find out more about our new certification and how to participate in the DevOps Exam Development: Join our exam development mailing list: Learn more about the LPI exam development process: About the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) LPI is the global certification standard and career support organization for open source professionals. With more than 500,000 exams delivered, its the worlds first and largest vendor-neutral Linux and open source certification body. LPI has certified professionals in 181 countries, delivers exams in 9 languages, and has over 400 training partners. We are committed to providing the IT community with certifications of the highest quality, relevance, and accuracy. This commitment requires that our exam development process be highly detailed, participatory, and consultative. Join the LPI community and get involved. Connect with us on , or join our Exam Development Community of volunteers, collaborating on certifications, exam development, and current technologies . For additional information, please visit our website at . To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: Contacts: Linux Professional Institute G. Matthew Rice Executive Director Alliance Memory Expands Automotive Grade DRAM Portfolio SAN CARLOS, CA (Marketwired) 11/23/16 today announced that its synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) portfolio now features a wide variety of components that provide an automotive temperature range of -40 degrees to +105 degrees C and are fabricated and assembled to automotive quality standards. Alliance Memory offers a complete lineup of high-speed CMOS SDRAMs, including double data rate (DDR), DDR2, and DDR3 devices. The companys portfolio of SDRAMs in the automotive temperature range includes components with densities of 64 Mb, 128 Mb, and 256 Mb. Automotive DDR1 SDRAMs feature densities of 128 Mb, 256 Mb, and 512 Mb, while DDR2 devices are available in densities of 256 Mb, 512 Mb, and 1 G. Alliance Memorys 1-Gb, 2-Gb, and 4-Gb automotive DDR3 SDRAMs operate over 1.35-V and 1.5-V power supplies. Automotive customers need to be able to count on both the quality and the longevity of the memory components they design into key systems, which often need to be readily available years after the original design-in phase, said David Bagby, president and CEO at Alliance Memory. Our commitment to the automotive market includes contracting with ISO/TS 16949 certified fab and assembly facilities around the world, as well as ensuring that the key AEC-Q101-qualified components customers need will be available to them far into the future. Selected automotive 40 degrees C~105 degrees C temperature DRAM products available from Alliance Memory: Alliance Memory is a worldwide provider of legacy memory products for the communications, computing, consumer electronics, medical, automotive, and industrial markets. The companys product range includes a full range of asynchronous and synchronous SRAMs, low-power SRAMs, ZMD low-power SRAMs, 3.3 V synchronous DRAMs (SDR), low power mobile SDRAMs (MSDRs), and DDRs, 2.5 V single (DDR1), 1.8 V double (DDR2), and 1.5 V and 1.35 V triple rate (DDR3) synchronous DRAMs. Depending on the family, these products are available with commercial, industrial, and automotive operating temperature ranges and with densities from 64K to 16G. Alliance Memory is a privately held company with headquarters in San Carlos, California, and regional offices in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, China, and Southeast Asia. More information about Alliance Memory is available online at . Bob Decker Redpines +1 415 409 0233 Kim Bagby CFO +1 650 610 6800 Solar Novus Today Has Been Integrated With Novus Light Technologies Today Visit Novus Light Technologies Today to see all the cutting-edge stories and products that you have come to enjoy on Solar Novus Today. In addition, you will find more information on related light-based technologies. Get the latest solar and renewable energy news delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for the Green Technologies newsletter CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR GREEN TECHNOLOGIES NEWSLETTER As the nations leading producer of pork, corn, soybeans and eggs, Iowas agriculture industry has an enormous impact on the country and the world. This October, I visited over a dozen ag businesses, including family farms, to hear about the true state of the agriculture economy in Iowa, and what I have heard and seen on the ground is far different from the rosy picture being painted by the Obama administration. The agriculture industry is a humble one, filled with fiercely devoted and hardworking Americans. I grew up on a hog, soybean, and corn farm that my family tirelessly tended. Given my agriculture background, I find myself in a unique position as a United States senator to translate the ag communities feedback into action in order to keep these operations alive and well for generations to come. On my agriculture tour, I met with crop and livestock farmers, equipment dealers, farmer cooperatives, fertilizer manufacturers, processing plants and research facilities to do something different than the status quo in Washington: to listen. What I heard is that burdensome regulations, low commodity prices and trade restrictions are the biggest issues causing uncertainty for our states agriculture industry. Government over-regulation was the biggest concern across-the-board. At a local meat processing facility and deli in Eagle Grove, it was not a fear of failure that was holding the business back from expanding to other communities, but the headache of dealing with additional government regulations. I also heard from many of Iowas farmers who expressed grave concern over the Obama administrations proposed rule that would give the EPA extensive power to regulate water on private land under the proposed Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule. In fact, WOTUS would expand EPAs jurisdiction to almost 97 percent of the land in Iowa. I took Iowans fight to the United States Senate to eliminate the WOTUS rule in its entirety. My legislation passed through Congress with bipartisan support, but was ultimately vetoed by the president who sided with unchecked bureaucrats over Iowa farmers. Another significant challenge facing our producers is low commodity prices and volatility in the cattle market. When I asked what we can do to help, I heard a resounding push for increasing free trade. According to the Business Roundtable, more than one in every five jobs in Iowa depend on international trade. Trade is critical for not only keeping job stability and security at home, but expanding Iowas products globally. Ninety-five percent of the worlds consumers are outside of the United States, and we need to have access to those markets. We are seeing an uptick in the demand for protein around the world, and with Iowa producing safe and high quality products, it is a market our farmers want, and should have more access to. Additionally, in the upcoming year, Congress will begin to consider changes to the existing Farm Bill and it is crucial to understand from the agriculture industry what policies helped, or hurt, from the current version. In some cases, such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), clarification on program intent will be part of the conversation. Recent severe flooding on the eastern side of the state also highlighted the need for crop insurance to remain strong in the Farm Bill. Our producers need to be able to count on its stability, especially during a time where not only the farms, but the entire community, are in need. Throughout the tour, my longstanding belief in Iowa agriculture was reinforced. Iowas ag leaders are the best stewards for the production of safe and affordable food. With this knowledge in hand, I can continue to represent our great states largest economic driver in the United States Senate, and make sure our voice is heard. More than five months after the first-ever class of 32 cadets graduated from the Warren Firefighter Academy, Macomb Community College and Dorsey College will be paid for the training services they provided for those cadets. Immigration Canada's new changes will benefit international students, especially Indians and aid in their move to the country, experts said. The changes under the Express Entry programme on November 18, will grant permanent residency to skilled immigrants, especially to students seeking jobs in the country graduated from Canadian universities. The department issued a statement saying, part of a number of improvements the government is making on a continual basis to bring changes for a more fair and responsive immigration system that will address emerging needs and ensure long-term economic growth for the middle class. With these changes, more former international students will be able to transition to permanent residence using the Express Entry system. Former international students are a key source of candidates in Express Entry because of their age, education, skills and experience." And In addition to the time already spent in Canada, integrating into Canadian society permanently will be easier because they will have established social networks and familiarised themselves with life in Canada. Canada is home to more than 1.25 million people of Indian origin and a record 19 Indo-Canadians were elected to Parliament in last years general election, reported Hindustan Times. India is the second largest source country for permanent residents in Canada, accounting for more than 1,355,653 or 3.86 per cent of the Canadian population. The number of Indian students rose by 630 per cent to 48,914 in 2015, from just 6,675 in 2004, and constituted 13.7 per cent of the total foreign student population. With the new residency plan, Indian students in Canada seeking permanent residency after completing education will benefit from a revision in the Express Entry Programme (EEP). Under the new EEP, students education will fetch them points from November 19. This will be based on the courses they take up and the time they spend in Canada. Canada's Express Entry immigration follows a point-system, based on a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) that determines the number of points one can get for each profile factor, such as age, education, work experience, language proficiency. Under this system, a post-secondary education of three years or more would fetch 30 points, and a one- or two-year diploma, 15 points. "Previously, those applying for permanent residency could earn up to 150 points based on their educational qualifications. The only advantage for those who had studied in Canada was that they did not have to prove the equivalency of their degrees. Under the new system, applicants (foreign students) with a Canadian educational credential will get up to 30 additional points. This will strengthen their profile in the express entry pool for better chances of selection against other applicants," explains Ontario-based Talha Mohani, immigration law expert and MD at Migration Bureau Corp, according to a Times of India report. Bessma Momani, a professor at the University of Waterloo and Jillian Stirk of the Simon Fraser University Centre for Dialogue said Canada should put the marketing of its universities into high gear. In an opinion piece, they wrote that in Canada, we capture nearly $8-billion a year from international students who pay higher tuition fees than domestic students, and who contribute to our economy by spending on housing, food and all other aspects of living. According to a 2012 study commissioned by Global Affairs Canada, international students created 86,570 jobs and contributed nearly half-a-million dollars directly to the public coffers in a single year. From employing teachers and instructors to providing language training to support services and giving a boost to internal tourism, international students are a net benefit to our economy. We already attract nearly 336,000 international students, bringing vital economic stimulus to every part of Canada. But the time is ripe now to strategically increase our recruitment of international students. There is a global unease that Mr. Trumps America may not be as welcoming to foreigners and visible minorities. Parents and students have some legitimate concerns, as there are already reported increases in hate crimes across the United States since the election. Sadly, students of visible minorities on American campuses have experienced a surge of incidences of intimidation and verbal abuse since the election. The time to act is now. The end of the fall season is when universities begin recruitment for next years admissions. The United States attracts nearly a million students a year to its universities. Among the fastest-growing senders of international students include Nigeria, China, Vietnam, Brazil, France and India. Canada should aim to take a big chunk of these students. As most parts of Europe are also dealing with their own rise of populism and ethno-nationalist parties that make many minorities and prospective international students feel increasingly unwelcome, Canada can benefit from this sad state. We are, it seems, a rare beacon of a liberal society, welcoming to visible and religious minorities. Indeed, when Global Affairs Canada surveyed international students who are in Canada about why they chose this country to embark on their studies, they noted the quality of our institutions, this countrys reputation as a tolerant society and a high reputation for public safety. Lets make lemonade out of the uncertainty in U.S. politics by increasing our intake of international students. This requires a concerted effort to use global media, foreign embassies and international university fairs to remind the world of Canadas great postsecondary institutions. And as our Prime Minister is one of the most popular world leaders today, it would be a great time for Justin Trudeau to use his global social media visibility to tell prospective students and families that Canada is back and welcoming their young people to our universities. St. Pat's eagles rebuild nest. Plus new vistas created at other parks. You can watch St. Pat's eagles rebuild the nest via Notre Dame's camera. And the new Lydick Bog platform is good for seeing waterfowl. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Welcome to SwanseaOnline - your home for the best news, sports and what's on coverage of the city. Never miss a Swansea story with our daily newsletter Sign up to comment on our stories here Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Swansea City news | Ospreys news | InYourArea DES MOINES Gov. Terry Branstad on Tuesday praised the Board of Regents for its new two-year budgeting model, noting his own push for longer-term planning. We are all for the two-year budget, he told board President Bruce Rastetter during a presentation on the regent university budgets. And I want to compliment you on that, Branstad said. Because were going to submit a biennial budget that fits within the guidelines that the Iowa Taxpayers Association has recommended in terms of accurate budgeting. We think it gives stability and predictability. Since 2011, Branstad has presented two-year budgets annually, although hes gotten some pushback from Democrats. He could see a more amendable Legislature this time following the Republican takeover in last months election. Earlier this year, regents debuted a two-plus-two plan that lays out two years of projected tuition increases for resident undergraduates and two years of state appropriation requests for its universities general education funds. In each of the next two academic years, the board plans to raise tuition for resident undergrads 2 percent a bump that doesnt include potential increases for non-residents, grad students and those in high-cost programs. The board plan also calls for requesting 2 percent more in state support for each of the next two budget years, although the board has said it will approve tuition and state funding requests one year at a time and could increase those figures later if legislative funding falls short in the first year. The intention of the two-year plan, according to Rastetter, is to help students and families budget for the cost of college and give lawmakers foresight of the plans. Were very appreciative and very supportive, Branstad said, with the start of the upcoming legislative session just over a month away. Rastetter called Branstads reaction to budgeting model and requests really positive. Well see what state revenues are like as to whether that can be funded or not, he said. If the answer is no, Iowa State University President Steven Leath said his campus would continue to struggle to provide a quality education to a student population that has grown 40 percent since 2007. During the presentation, Leath showed how state appropriations have not kept pace. This year, were receiving $3,300 less in state funds for each Iowa kid than we did eight years ago, he said. And that is huge, quite frankly. And were really struggling. Leath, like Rastetter, acknowledged the economic realities we face as a state. And we can only expect a reasonable level of increase from state appropriations, he said. But the reality is those increases were asking for are really critical. University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld also highlighted the need for more state resources stressing the Legislatures partnership with the university and students in funding the institution. He said the university, in part through new efficiencies, is hoping to save or generate nearly $12 million more this budget year and beyond. Proposed tuition and fee increases, which regents are scheduled to approve at their Dec. 5 meeting, are expected to generate $16 million for the UI, Harreld said. That leaves the 2 percent bump in appropriations equal to more than $4.6 million for the UI. These resources are vital to our success, he said. And were hopeful that the state will see a way to help us. Interim UNI President Jim Wohlpart said the boost in state funding which for UNI includes a request for $2.5 million in addition to the 2 percent would go to change our business model. We need to spend more time thinking about things like recruiting out-of-state students that will get us the extra tuition that we need, Wohlpart said. The Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 snapped an image of NGC 1222, an odd celestial creation called a lenticular galaxy. Experts believe NGC 1222 is actively consuming two nearby dwarf galaxies. The galaxy NGC 1222 appears to be getting a head start on its Thanksgiving feast astronomers believe this object is gobbling up two smaller galaxies, creating a stunning cosmic sight. Located in the constellation Eridanus over 100 million light-years from Earth, NGC 1222 is a lenticular galaxy traditionally quite smooth and featureless, and made, by and large, of old, reddish stars, according to a statement from NASA. But a recent image of NGC 1222 captued by the Hubble Space Telescope shows an unusually action-packed scene. Surrounding the galaxy is evidence of a starburst star formation on a massive scale that occurred very recently. Because starbursts are known to be violent incidents, astronomers believe NGC 1222 is devouring gas from two close by dwarf galaxies, using the additional material to feed the star-making event. [Galaxies: Collisions, Types & Other Facts ] The earliest discovery of NGC 1222 goes back to 1883 and is credited to French astronomer Edouard Jean-Marie Stephan, according to NASA. While the NGC 1222 has been captured in pictures, Hubble Space Telescope provided this image with its Wide Field Camera 3, offering a unique view of this strange galaxy and its history. Hubble offers a clear view of the dark filaments of dust and bright filaments of gas contrasted against the smooth background of NGC 1222's original stars. Hubble has been sending images of the universe back to Earth for more than 25 years. With the help of five servicing missions, in conjunction with the redundancies programmed into the craft originally, engineers believe Hubble will continue to work well into 2020. In addition, NASA plans to launch another powerful space telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, planned the James Webb Space Telescope , in 2018. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com . Bolden, seen here speaking earlier this year, said Nov. 19 he expected cooperation between the United States and Russia on the International Space Station to remain strong after he leaves office in the coming months. WASHINGTON As he prepares to leave office, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that the agency's relationship with its Russian counterpart remains strong despite continued, broader geopolitical tensions. Speaking at a press conference in Russia Nov. 19 after the successful docking of a Soyuz spacecraft carrying three new crew members for the International Space Station, Bolden and Igor Komarov, head of the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos, said they had discussed continued cooperation, including crew exchanges once NASA starts flying commercial crew vehicles designed to end its reliance on Soyuz vehicles for access to the station. "We should each have a crew member on whatever vehicle is flying. The details for that still remain to be worked out," Bolden said about continuing to fly NASA astronauts on Soyuz vehicles as Russian cosmonauts fly on commercial crew vehicles. "I do not expect that you'll find an all-American vehicle or an all-Russian vehicle ever again." "I believe that it is very important for all participations of the program to have alternative transportation means to the station," Komarov said, speaking through an interpreter. That meant, he said, flying Russian cosmonauts on U.S. commercial vehicles, with some NASA astronauts continuing to fly on Soyuz vehicles. While NASA has been developing commercial crew vehicles for several years to end reliance on the Russian Soyuz for access to the station, NASA officials had previously discussed the possibility that astronauts would continue to use Soyuz while Russian cosmonauts flew on commercial vehicles. How those exchanges would take place, and whether any exchange of funds would be required, is not clear. Bolden, in an interview after the press conference broadcast on NASA TV, said that the space station program has demonstrated the ability of the United States and Russia, along with other international partners, to cooperate on a complex project. "We on the International Space Station are a model for the rest of the world to follow," he said. That has continued despite, he acknowledged, problems on Earth. "The political and diplomatic changes and trauma that goes on down here on Earth, I think we can survive that," he said. "As we have demonstrated, looking at incursions by one of our partners into other countries, that has not deterred or slowed work we have done on the International Space Station." While not explicitly stating it, Bolden was referring to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine triggered in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Although sanctions limited other space-related cooperation between the United States and Russia, operations of the International Space Station remained normal. Bolden is nearing the end of his tenure as NASA administrator, and is expected to step down by the end of the Obama administration in January. In his NASA TV interview, he made clear he believed he was leaving on a high note. "The state of NASA today is strong," he said. "It's stronger than it's ever been, I believe." At the press conference, which also features representatives of the European Space Agency and the French space agency CNES, Komarov mentioned an ongoing legal dispute involving former shareholders of the Russian oil company Yukos that have blocked payments to Russia from Arianespace and Eutelsat. In October, Roscosmos warned the French government it would go to court in six months if it did not receive about 300 million euros ($330 million) in blocked payments from Arianespace. Komarov, at the press conference, called the legal dispute a "misunderstanding" but suggested Russia might stop working with Arianespace on supplying Soyuz launch vehicles should the dispute not be resolved soon. "Our French counterparts are interested in continuing launches from Kourou, and money to organize these launches did not reach the Russian enterprises due to this Yukos case," he said. "If this is not solved, possibly we won't receive payment for providing our services to Arianespace, and the French counterparts understand that we cannot do charity work." This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. NASA challenged engineers to pack an entire satellite dish into a cereal box with Radar in a CubeSat (RainCube), a technology-demonstration mission scheduled for launch in 2017 that will measure rain and snowfall on Earth from space. Until now, most satellite dishes have been parabolic, which means that bigger dishes led to better radio transmissions. But radio-frequency engineers have been known to call the forces guiding communications over the air "black magic" because of their complicated physics, NASA said in a statement and new CubeSat technology must fit that magic into a new, tiny package. CubeSats are spacecraft designed to be light, cheap and extremely small; most aren't much bigger than a cereal box. "It's like pulling a rabbit out of a hat," Nacer Chahat, a specialist in antenna design at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said in the statement. "As space engineers, we usually have lots of volume, so building antennas packed into a small volume isn't something we're trained to do." Chahat and his team worked with a CubeSat team on the design for RainCube, which is something like an umbrella stuffed into a jack-in-the-box, NASA said in the statement. When the cube opens, an antenna pops out and its ribs extend from a canister to spread out a golden mesh. The RainCube antenna has to be small enough to be crammed into a 1.5U container (1U, a CubeSat unit, is roughly equivalent to a 4-inch cubic box, or 10 x 10 x 10 cubic centimeters). "Large, deployable antennas that can be stowed in a small volume are a key technology for radar missions," JPL's Eva Peral, principal investigator for RainCube, said in the statement. RainCube's antenna relies on the high-frequency Ka-band wavelength, a rare choice for current CubeSats. Besides working with smaller antennas, that wavelength allows for a large increase in data transfer over long distances because of its higher frequency, making it the perfect tool for telecommunications, NASA said in the statement. RainCube's antenna unfurls from a compact canister. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) While most CubeSats have been limited to simple studies in near-Earth orbit, RainCube's technology could help scientists eventually use CubeSats much farther away, reporting back from Mars or beyond. "To enable the next step in CubeSat evolution, you need this kind of technology," said JPL's Jonathan Sauder, mechanical engineer lead for the RainCube antenna. Follow Kasandra Brabaw on Twitter @KassieBrabaw. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. In a new video, Texas A&M researchers demonstrate how food is prepared for launch to the International Space Station. Here, a heat process sterilizes the inside of the food packets so they'll last a long time at room temperature. The foil-clad portions of turkey, mashed potatoes and cherry-blueberry cobbler aboard the International Space Station might not look much like a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but they hearken back to the Earthbound feast and the food is made on Earth, too, much of it at the Space Food Research Facility at Texas A&M University. A new video from the university takes a look at the process of packaging and choosing that food. The video features university chancellor John Sharp and food scientist Ben O'Neill, plus a perspective from former space shuttle astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, now an aerospace engineering professor at the university. "The food that is consumed in space, including at the International Space Station right now, is made right here on the West Campus at Texas A&M University," Sharp said in the video. "And these are some of the samples of that." [Space Food Evolution: How Astronaut Chow Has Changed (Photos)] According to the space station's current commander, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, Thanksgiving will be a workday for astronauts this year but he and fellow NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson will still share a festive meal with French astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy, Andrei Borisenko and Sergei Ryzhikov. In a recent video, he showed off his Thanksgiving meal, all stored in a medium-size plastic bag: a pouch full of turkey, cherry-blueberry cobbler, candied yams, and dehydrated cornbread dressing, green beans and mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and sweet tea with lemon. See more In the Texas A&M video, the researchers go over the steps of meal preparation done in the lab: producing the ready-to-eat meal packages, preparing the food, packaging it, heat-sealing the package, and running the food through a heat-processing step to sterilize the food inside the pouch. Because of this step, the food has a very long shelf life. (However, after the best-if-used-by date, the food might not retain the best texture and composition, according to a recent Facebook Live interview with NASA's Space Food Systems lab at Johnson Space Center in Texas.) Over the course of her five shuttle missions, Dunbar had the chance to become very familiar with the food in space. "Before the flight, we go to the kitchens at the Johnson Space Center, and we have the opportunity to taste all the foods," Dunbar said in the video. "When we fly, our meals are color-coded for us. So I know what my meal looks like every day that I should be on flight." Dunbar described how she would eat the astronauts' out-of-this-world turkey: heat it up in the packet, using a briefcase-like food warmer on the station; cut off the corner; and eat it out of the pouch to keep all the juices contained or else Thanksgiving cleanup turns into quite a challenge. "Otherwise, it's in a weightless environment, floating everywhere," she said. Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. The location of Virgo I, which may be the faintest satellite galaxy of the Milky Way yet discovered. The finding suggests there may be many more faint satellites lurking around the galaxy. There's a new guy in the galactic neighborhood a small, ultra-faint satellite galaxy has been discovered orbiting the Milky Way. Currently named Virgo 1, this cosmic groupie isn't alone: There are about 50 known satellite galaxies orbiting our own (the largest of these are the Large Magellanic Cloud and Small Magellanic Cloud, which are visible from Earth with the naked eye). But Virgo 1 is special because it is extremely faint finding it required a very large telescope equipped with a very specialized instrument. There should be many more of these faint satellite galaxies around the Milky Way, according to computer simulations that predict how the galaxy formed. And finding these galaxies will help scientists better understand a major ingredient in those computer models: dark matter, a material that makes up most of the mass in the universe. [Dark Matter and Dark Energy: The Mystery Explained (Infographic)] Virgo 1 "may well be the faintest satellite galaxy yet found," according to a statement from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), which owns and operates the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope located on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The new galaxy (so named because it lies in the direction of the constellation Virgo) was discovered using the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) instrument on Subaru, as part of the Subaru Strategic Survey. The discovery of an ultra-faint galaxy like Virgo 1 may demonstrate that, as telescopes improve, scientists will be able to spot more of these faint galactic groupies, researchers said in the statement. The location of Virgo I, which may be the faintest satellite galaxy of the Milky Way yet discovered. The finding suggests there may be many more faint satellites lurking around the galaxy. (Image credit: National Astronomical Association of Japan) "Our theories and simulations of how the Universe evolves tell us that the Milky Way should have many of these small, faint satellite galaxies," Jason Rhodes, an astrophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told Space.com in an email. "However, they have been notoriously difficult to detect, prompting some people to say that they may not exist. This is called the 'missing satellite problem.'" Modeling the formation of the Milky Way galaxy is kind of like going home and trying to recreate a dish you ate at a restaurant. You assemble the likely ingredients, and do your best to duplicate the steps to cook them. The more complex the dish is, the harder it will be to recreate the recipe. The universe is an extremely complicated dish, and one of the major ingredients is dark matter. There is ample evidence that this mysterious substance exists, even though it doesn't radiate or reflect light (its gravitational effects, however, are quite visible). Some computer models of the Milky Way's formation suggest there should be many more satellite galaxies around it perhaps even hundreds, according to the statement along with clumps of dark matter. It is possible the ideas about dark matter contained in those models is incorrect that scientists have failed to recreate the universe on their own. But if scientists can't see those galaxies, they can't be sure if their models are correct or not. "However, we are now able, with instruments like HSC (Hyper Suprime-Cam) and the ongoing Dark Energy Survey, to find these previously missing satellites," Rhodes said. "This may mean that our theories of the formation of structures like the Milky Way are indeed correct." These ultra-faint galaxies don't necessarily resemble the Milky Way, a galaxy containing hundreds of billions of stars that form massive spiral arms. At its center is a supermassive black hole that binds all the stars and other material together. These satellite galaxies are smaller clusters of stars that are gravitationally bound together. (The Milky Way is also orbited by even smaller groups of stars known as globular clusters). Because the structure of these satellite galaxies isn't as distinct as that of large galaxies like the Milky Way, they can be tricky to identify. Scientists have to first observe a cluster of stars on the sky, and then make sure those stars are actually close together, and don't just appear that way from Earth. (Two stars that appear to be right next to each other in the sky could actually be located at very different distances from Earth.) More of these faint satellite galaxies have been discovered recently by the Dark Energy Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, although the statement from NAOJ notes that those telescopes have a smaller aperture than the Subaru Telescope, "so only satellites relatively close to the Sun or those with higher magnitudes were identified. Those that are more distant or faint ones in the halo of the Milky Way are yet to be detected." "The combination of the large aperture of 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope and the large field-of-view Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) instrument is very powerful in this study," researchers said in the statement. "It enables an efficient search for very faint dwarf satellites over large areas of the sky." Rhodes said the HSC instrument and other telescopes set to come online soon will further expand the search for these faint satellite galaxies. "Virgo 1, the structure these authors found, is just at the limit of the sensitivity of their instrument," he said. "As their survey gets bigger, more of these formerly missing satellites should be found. Likewise, with a new generation of instruments and telescopes in the 2020s, we will be able to push the sensitivity limits even further and find smaller and fainter 'missing satellites.'" Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Updated at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 22. WASHINGTON NASA awarded a contract to SpaceX Nov. 22 for the Falcon 9 launch of an Earth science satellite in 2021. The award, with a total cost to NASA of $112 million, is for the launch of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft, scheduled for April 2021 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The contract, NASA said in a statement, includes the launch service itself as well as spacecraft processing, payload integration, and tracking, data and telemetry support. The contract is the third SpaceX has won for NASA spacecraft, excluding its contracts under NASA's commercial cargo and crew programs. A Falcon 9 launched the Jason-3 satellite in January under a contract awarded in 2012. SpaceX won a NASA contract in December 2014 for the launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, currently scheduled for no earlier than late 2017. The cost of the SWOT contract is significantly higher than previous NASA contracts won by SpaceX. The Jason-3 contract was valued at $82 million and the TESS award at $87 million, according to the contract announcements. All are higher than the price SpaceX quotes on its web site for launch services alone, $62 million, which does not include the additional services or other mission assurance work in the NASA contracts. The total cost of the contract also includes payments to organizations other than SpaceX that support the launch and related services. NASA spokeswoman Cheryl Warner said that the award values can differ from contract to contract depending on the specific requirements for each mission. "The specific launch service price is considered competition and procurement sensitive information," she said Nov. 22. "We're excited to carry this critical science payload into orbit for NASA, the nation, and the international community," Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, said in a statement to SpaceNews. "We appreciate NASA's partnership and confidence in SpaceX as a launch provider." SWOT is a joint mission with the French space agency CNES to study how bodies of water change over time, providing global coverage twice every three weeks from near-polar orbit. CNES, which is responsible for the spacecraft itself, awarded a contract to Thales Alenia Space in January 2015 to develop the spacecraft. SWOT will have an estimated mass of 2,000 kilograms at launch. This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. Food bars for breakfast may help reduce the weight of supplies carried on the Orion capsule for deep-space missions. Whereas astronauts on the International Space Station get to feast on turkey and candied yams this Thanksgiving, deep-space travelers on NASA's future Orion mission may chow down on retro food bars. Because there is limited space inside the Orion capsule, NASA food scientists at the Human Research Program (HRP) are working to reduce the amount of food and supplies astronauts need for longer trips, as well as cut down on the waste they create. As a result, the scientists have developed high-calorie food bars that astronauts can substitute for breakfast. The researchers described this work in a new video. So far, scientists have created a variety of flavors, including banana nut, orange cranberry, ginger vanilla and barbecue nut. Each bar is approximately 700 to 800 calories, thus ensuring the astronauts maintain a healthy weight as they eat the tasty snack. What's more, creating this single-meal replacement could help Orion engineers meet mass reduction requirements for the spacecraft, according to a statement from NASA. [Space Food Photos: What Astronauts Eat in Orbit] "When you have 700 to 900 calories of something, it's going to have some mass regardless of what shape it's in, so we've taken a look at how to get some mass savings by reducing how we're packaging and stowing what the crew would eat for breakfast for early Orion flights with crew," Jessica Vos, deputy health and medical technical authority for Orion, said in the statement. "When you think about multiweek missions in Orion, having just one package for breakfast items for crew will help us limit the space we need to store them." Food bars for breakfast may help reduce the weight of supplies carried on the Orion capsule for deep-space missions. (Image credit: NASA) Reducing weight aboard the Orion capsule is important, as "a heavier spacecraft requires more fuel and energy to propel it to its ultimate destination," NASA officials said. In comparison, astronauts on the space station have about 200 meal options to choose from, and even get a special Thanksgiving dinner, including turkey, candied yams, cherry-blueberry cobbler, mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing and green beans, which Expedition 50 Cmdr. Shane Kimbrough showed off in a new NASA video.Astronauts on the orbiting lab have this array of options because space station meals come from thermostabilized or rehydratable packages sent from Earth. However, there is not enough room on the Orion capsule to store enough of these packages for a crew on a multiweek mission. Stowing food bars will reduce the amount of storage needed for breakfast and allow Orion crews to chow down on lunches and dinners similar to what space station crewmembers eat. However, NASA food scientists "also have to consider how the bars will affect crew morale, since food choice, variety and taste are important aspects of ensuring they consume enough, especially as mission lengths increase," NASA officials said in the statement. NASA scientists have tested the food bars for flavor, texture and long-term acceptability so that they can determine the best possible meal-replacement option for the first manned Orion mission, expected to launch as early as 2021. Follow Samantha Mathewson @Sam_Ashley13. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. MASON CITY Autopsies on a man and woman found dead inside a Mason City home last week provided new information about their injuries, police say. Police say autopsies showed Caleb Christensen, 37, died from multiple sharp-force injuries and Melinda Kavars, 54, died of a single gunshot wound to the neck and chest. Christensen and Kavars were found about 2:30 a.m. Thursday inside Christensens home, 1620 N. Hampshire Ave., in the citys Highlands neighborhood. Peter Veal, 30, of Lake Mills, was arrested 15 minutes later near 12th Street Northeast and North Carolina Avenue after what police described as a brief foot chase. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Police have not answered questions asking if Veal knew Christensen and Kavars, who called 911 or when investigators believe the victims were killed. Quiet Mason City neighborhood rattled by double homicide MASON CITY Residents in the Highlands area of Mason City were stunned by a double homicide They also would not comment on a motive. Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley said police are not releasing additional details about the case to preserve the constitutional rights of the accused. There is not an ongoing threat to the community, and were certain of that, he said. At this point we dont expect that to change. Veal remained jailed Tuesday night in lieu of $1 million cash bond. Optimization Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should? Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools. Occupied El-Aaiun, November 23, 2016 (SPS) - The Moroccan occupying authorities have suppressed demonstration organized by Saharawi people in the neighborhood of El Batimatt in occupied territories of Western Sahara on the ground of their reception of the US human rights delegation reported Sahrawi human rights source. According to the same source, the occupying forces have threw stones at houses and abused them verbally, in addition to the besieged of the mentioned neighborhood, also intervened on the demonstrators, who waved national flags and chanted slogans calling for the independence of Western Sahara and the self-determination of the Saharawi people. The occupying forces has launched huge wave of arrests among Sahrawi militants since last night, where she detained Sahrawi activist Mustafa Labrass, Mahmoud Ould Didi and Ould Allod Ould Ahanini. Moroccan forces has also detained last night Saharwi media activist Walid Salek El Batal, member of Sahrawi Media Group in the occupied city of Smara.SPS 125/090/TRA This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man charged in connection with the killing of a Stamford man has been ordered to surrender his passport. Lawrence Dilione, 28, of Jersey City, N.J., appeared to still be in custody at the Manhattan Detention Complex on Rikers Island as of Tuesday night, according to the New York Department of Corrections website. Calls to the department were not returned and the District Attorneys Office could not comment if he was released. Dilione and James Rackover, 25, were arrested last week in connection with Joseph Comunales death. Comunale, a 2008 Westhill High School grad, was found in a New Jersey grave last Wednesday. Police said he was stabbed 15 times and his body was partially burned. Dilione and Rackover were each charged with trying to conceal a corpse, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. They were held in lieu of a $3 million surety bond or a $300,000 cash bond. Rackover was indicted by a grand jury on Monday in connection with Comunales death. However, the indictment is sealed and prosecutors will not release the charges until his next court appearance on Dec. 12. Dilione is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 5. Rackover and Dilione were originally charged by the New York Police Department on Thursday with second-degree murder. But prosecutors dropped the charge at their arraignments pending further investigation of who stabbed Comunale. Authorities said Comunale was killed Nov. 13 after a night of partying at Rackovers luxury apartment at The Grand Sutton tower in Manhattans East Side. Comunale went with friends to New York City for a night out. Comunale met Dilione and three woman and went back with them to Rackovers apartment early last Sunday morning while his friends went home. Comunale was last seen on security footage returning to Rackovers apartment about 7 a.m. on Nov. 13. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Leos Church on Roxbury Road. jnickerson@scni.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Cedar Attanasio / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Dave Collins / Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Long-delayed negotiations with the umbrella group of state employee unions have resumed, according to an announcement on the website of the Connecticut Police & Fire Union. It indicates a thawing in the relationship between Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and nearly 50,000 unionized state employees. The union said that the Malloy administration and the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition met Wednesday in informal talks and further plans were made to gather again. Twelve of 13 major union contracts expired in June of last year, while benefit contracts run until 2022. In all, there are 34 bargaining units in the SEBAC group. NORA SPRINGS GGs Place in Nora Springs prepared more than 40 free Thanksgiving meals for all who asked. The orders kept coming in, Karla Gordon said. The holidays can be a hard time to be alone and a Thanksgiving meal is tough to prepare for just one or two people. Enter Karla, owner of GGs Place, and her husband, Mike, who manages the restaurant. GGs Place opened in June 2015. Since then, Karla said, the community has really supported the business and she wants to return the favor. This town has supported us very well in the last year-and-a-half, Karla said. I felt a need to give back to the community. You know, a small town helps build your business, and its not just this town. Karla and Mike heard many customers asking if the restaurant would be open for Thanksgiving dinner. I kept saying, No, we werent going to be open, Karla said. A lot of them were older people or younger people who dont have plans for Thanksgiving. The meal will consist of turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, homemade stuffing, lettuce salad, cranberry salad, pie and a homemade roll. Each person had a choice of apple, strawberry rhubarb or pumpkin pie. This year, GGs bought 100 pounds of turkey and is baking 28 pies. The pair will spend Thanksgiving morning cooking and delivering the meals to homes in Nora Springs, Mason City, Rockford, Rock Falls, Rudd and Rockwell. We have to plan a route, Mike said. Al Fingelson of Nora Springs and his wife loved eating at GGs before she moved to the IOOF Home in Mason City due to Alzheimers. We would go down there almost every day for breakfast, Fingelson said. He still makes it over to GGs often, one of Karlas loyal customers. He wanted to help out his family so Im bringing them meals, Karla said. His family was not able to get together for Thanksgiving, so Fingelson and four of his family members will receive meals together. Were going to enjoy it, Fingelson said. Several of the meals are going to local residents who normally receive Meals on Wheels. Karla was a nurse before she started the restaurant. Mike attributes Karlas desire to help people to her nursing background. One of the things she said was she got tired of all the paper work and pushing medicine, Mike said. Shes still able to help a lot of people with food. GGs is accepting donations to cover food expenses. Weve had food donations, money donations plus our own donations, Karla said. Its worked out pretty well. The leftover funds from the donations will go to Toys for Tots. Karla has received toy donations as well for that project. Overall, I was trying to figure out what could help and this way it carries not just through Thanksgiving but Christmas too, Karla said. Karla and Mike hope to continue the free Thanksgiving meals next year and possibly serve more people. My plan is to keep it going for a while, as long as I can if possible, Karla said. I dont have all the time in the world, but at least I can do this one thing. W ord-of-mouth endorsements from loyal customers have always been key to helping small businesses thrive, but the effect is magnified when shoppers recommend local small businesses, such as shops, cafes and hairdressers, online. An independent study for American Express conducted by Econsultancy* found that while the average spend in a small shop is 6.58, if a shopper then shares positive comments or eye-catching images on social media with their friends and followers, this has the potential to generate 125 additional revenue for that shopkeeper from new customers. American Express is also incentivising its own Cardmembers to shop small in December 2016 through the Shop Small Promotion, giving eligible Cardmembers a 5 statement credit when they spend 10 or more at participating merchants. Its interactive Shop Small online map highlights participating small businesses and helps customers know where they can Shop Small to redeem their offer. There is no limit to the number of times Cardmembers can receive their 5 statement credit the more they shop, the more they benefit. However, they can claim credit once at each small business.** The financial services corporation has a long history of working with small businesses, and as principle supporter of Small Business Saturday in the UK, and founding partner of the initiative in the US, American Express has also been providing digital marketing support for UK small businesses over the crucial Christmas retail period, when a share of the limelight can prove difficult to access. Create a complimentary online advert with American Express For the second year running were giving small businesses the opportunity to create a personalised digital advert to increase their online visibility, all at no cost, said Mike Jackson, head of UK merchant services at American Express.*** In three easy steps, American Express is offering participants in this years Shop Small promotion the opportunity to create a personalised online ad which American Express will take care of promoting online to potential customers in your area. Samantha Emson, of Notting Hills Wolf & Badger, has taken advantage of the initiative in previous years: Through the Shop Small promotion, we're able to reach new groups of customers who wouldn't necessarily have heard of us before, thanks to tools such as the interactive online Shop Small map. Using the Ad Creator is a really straightforward process and has helped to raise our profile, and weve seen more and more customers using their American Express card online and in-store. Find out how to create your ad. 5 ways to amplify your online presence Social media enables small businesses to listen, engage and share stories with new and existing customers. Its a great way to drive awareness for your brand, generate sales and create buzz around your products or services. Heres how: 1. Connect with your audience Identify the social channels that your audience uses the most and create bespoke content that will appeal to them. Try engaging your customers in conversations and be responsive to their queries. Customers like to be heard. 2. Keep content short and sweet Tweets are limited to 140 characters (excluding image and video attachments). However, shorter, punchier content typically achieves a higher level of engagement. 3. Tell your brand story through visuals Combine information and links with attention-grabbing visuals, such as GIFS, videos, cinemagraphs and animations. Experiment with different formats to extend your reach and engagement. 4. Embrace video Video value is delivered within seconds so its important to capture attention quickly with engaging brand visuals. Remember mobile video consumption is fast, frequent and sound-free. Keep videos as short as possible (10-40 seconds) and always include captions. 5. Make your updates timely Keep your social media prompts timely and relevant by posting at the times your customer base is most likely to be online. About the initiative The American Express Shop Small initiative is about highlighting and celebrating the importance and contribution of small businesses within local communities. For more information please visit amexshopsmall.co.uk/shop-small-for-business For more information about Small Business Saturday visit smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com *About the research Social media and digital consultancy Econsultancy conducted the research on behalf of American Express, interviewing 4,071 adults during November 2015. **Shop Small Terms & Conditions Full details of offer available at amexshopsmall.co.uk/shop-small-for-shoppers *** Ad Creator Terms & Conditions Participation in the Ad Creator closes on 30 November 2016. Full details of terms and conditions of participating in the Ad Creator available at: amexshopsmall.co.uk/shop-small-for-business/create-ad/terms.html Content on this page is paid for and provided by American Express. L ondon has been the centre of the worlds shipping industry for hundreds of years. In the time of Empire, the City and what we now call Docklands would throng with stevedores unloading ivory from Africa, tea and spices from India and rum from Jamaica. While the ships and docks may be long gone, the financiers and brokers who keep the trade in motion remain. But for how long? Despite generations of City dominance of the lucrative business of broking, insuring, financing and drafting contracts for ships and their cargoes, the industrys captains warn of serious trouble on the bridge. Tough conditions for global trade, Brexit and upstart rivals including Singapore mean Londons status is under the most serious threat in recent memory. The industrys ongoing importance to the UK economy is clear. In 2012, the maritime sector contributed 11 billion and employed thousands of skilled workers. Little wonder, then, that former Lord Mayor Lord Mountevans made it a key goal to bring the crisis of London shipping to the Governments attention, urging that it should not be allowed to sink into oblivion. An independent report led by Mountevans made it clear who was to blame for the situation. A perceived lack of government leadership, co-ordination and interest is felt to be impacting on the UKs status as a world-leading centre for maritime activity, the report concluded. Considering the study was commissioned by the Governments own Department of Transport, that was a stinging claim. Londons position was already suffering before Brexit but the referendum result has thrust the battered and bruised industry, which still conducts 90% of the worlds trade, back into the spotlight. A series of hijackings by Somali pirates plunged the whole industry into crisis at the start of the decade. Although the number of such incidents has since fallen dramatically, the targeting by West African pirates of ships working on offshore oil rigs is on the rise. For those not on deck, rock-bottom freight rates, caused by crippling overcapacity, for dry bulk (transporting raw materials such as iron ore and coal) and container ships are the main concern. The weak general market led to South Korean giant Hanjins collapse this year and forced Danish containers behemoth Maersk into a painful restructuring in September. That was before Donald Trump threatened to rip up US trade agreements and slap steep tariffs on goods imported from China. Its also, of course, before Britain leaves the European Union. #David Balston, director of policy at the UK Chamber of Shipping, says: The importance of making London as competitive as possible in maritime terms is trebly important now in a post-Brexit world because clearly we need to make the UK offering on all sectors and industries as attractive as we possibly can. Other cities have been eyeing up the capitals status as top dog in shipping services amid the torrid conditions in recent years. Balston says Singapore would love to steal that crown from London, and has reeled in business from these shores with lucrative tax breaks for shipping-services firms relocating there. There were 15 shipping groups in Singapore in 2000; that number had grown to 130 by 2014. It is no coincidence that Londons venerable Baltic Exchange, which benchmarks global shipping rates, was this month snapped up by the Singapore Exchange in an 87 million deal. The Exchanges departing boss Jeremy Penn explains: Singapore are keen to develop their business in the West and use the Baltic as a platform for that perhaps attracting financing business. The Department for Transport last week met the group behind the Mountevans-chaired study for the first time since Britain voted to leave the EU, putting trade ties with our closest neighbours under pressure. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, Trade Secretary Mark Garnier and Brexit Minister Lord Bridges heard that unless the shipping industry is given more Government support after Brexit, London is at risk of losing its number one status. Mountevans, a shipbroking veteran himself, was backed at the talks by other industry experts including UK Chamber of Shipping chief executive Guy Platten and Mark Dickinson of trade union Nautilus. The industrys demands of how government can help are many. They include: Ensuring maritime services are in new free trade agreements struck by Liam Foxs newly formed Department for International Trade. More Government help in promoting the industry around the world. A bigger push globally of British engineering and manufacturing to help exports by sea. A commercially oriented shipping register, which would promote British shipping worldwide. Ensuring that quitting the EU means the UK is more free to offer tax breaks to shipping firms. Helping attract more investment into UK ports and talent into the sector. If such assistance is made available, all is not lost for Londons industry, say its practitioners. An insider at last weeks talks says it was a very positive meeting, adding: We were impressed by how ambitious the Government is for the future, and they were genuinely listening and learning and we are quietly optimistic. James Kidwell, chief executive of shipbroker Braemar argues that London has other soft advantages such as the time zone and the fact its generally a very liveable city. Kidwell adds: You have to take your hat off to Singapore in the way theyve created a lot in the last 20 years, but I dont think Londons in any danger of being leapfrogged imminently. Most in the maritime industry are sanguine about Brexit although, as the Baltic Exchanges Penn points out: You dont work in shipping unless youre an optimist. Shipping is all about trade and if you think Brexit enhances trade and pushes Britain to trade more widely, then thats going to be good news for shipping. Another potential positive of leaving the EU is the potential to cut red tape. Shipping leaders argue that the British tonnage tax regime, which offers shipping firms a lower tax environment, has been constrained by EU state aid rules. The UK Chamber of Shipping says that once this stranglehold ends, the number of cargo ships in Britain will start to grow again. The question now is whether the Government can negotiate the deals that the shipping industry needs so desperately. I nvestors in estate agents hoisted the For Sale sign over their shares today, preparing for Chancellor Philip Hammonds ban on letting fees in his Autumn Statement. Estate agents, whose shares have still not recovered from a Brexit battering, will be banned from charging tenants fees for services such as references or immigration checks. Landlords will now shoulder the cost and are expected to shop around for a better deal and drive down industry fees. The plans had not been confirmed when the stock market opened but investors were quick to dump shares in anticipation. Shares in Foxtons, known for its green Minis, slammed into reverse, falling 13.5p, or 11%, to 109.25p. Rival Countrywide tumbled 11.15p to 193.45p, online start-up Purplebricks dived 5p to 110p, and AIM-listed minnow Belvoir Lettings slumped 11.5p to 113p. Encouraged by new highs on Wall Street, the FTSE 100 rose 39.69 points to 6859.41, with miners continuing this weeks rally. Software giant Micro Focus improved 46p, or 2.2%, to 2147p after annual results from HP Enterprise, showing a turnaround in the past three months. Micro Focus recently bought HP Enterprises non-core business in a 6.6 billion reverse takeover. Lingering concerns about a sale of Williams & Glyn knocked Royal Bank of Scotland 3p lower to 204.8p as suitor Clydesdale appeared no closer to a deal for the branches. On the mid-cap index, strong half-year results breathed life into shares of asthma drug firm Vectura, up 3.11p at 149.41p. Hunting was lifted, 40.5p, or 8%, at 548p, when Credit Suisse analysts upgraded the oil services group to outperform, suggesting the embattled firm was turning a corner. Industrial parts distributor Brammer soared 67.25p, or 69%, to 164.75p after US private-equity giant Advent snapped it up in a 165p-a-share takeover worth 221.5 million. The shares were trading at 180p before the referendum. Investors appeared unfazed as Game Digitals house broker Liberum slashed the video games groups profit forecasts amid industry reports of a sales slump this year, especially of hit franchises such as Call of Duty. Game shares edged up 0.56p to 47.31p. T homas Cook has sweetened the pill for investors with its first dividend in five years amid a sea of red. Lower demand for holidays to Turkey, where Thomas Cook is the market leader, dented full-year profits but the tour operator cushioned the blow by promising shareholders a 0.5p dividend, totalling 7.7 million. The payout is higher than chief executive Peter Fankhauser had indicated to investors, a sign the Swiss businessman wants to keep them sweet amid declining profits and reputational woes. It last paid investors a dividend in 2011. Shares rose as much as 7% before settling up 4.55p at 78.1p. Its been a difficult year for tourism. This is a good result, Fankhauser said. Stripping out foreign exchange and the oil price, the groups revenues fell 371 million to 7.81 billion and underlying profits fell by 41 million to 308 million. Customer demand for holidays to Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia fell by 800 million, a 50% drop on last year and the main driver of the revenue decline. Terrorist incidents, plus the failed coup in Turkey and security fears over Egypts Sharm el-Sheikh airport, underpinned the shrink in demand. That took a toll on Thomas Cooks German airline Condor, which is the market leader in flights to Turkey. It made an underlying operating loss of 10 million versus a 66 million profit last time. I cant remember the last time it made a loss, Fankhauser said. The group has put in a number of measures to try to return the airline to profit, including cutting the number of less profitable short and medium-haul flights. The multinational, which traces its roots back to Thomas Cook & Sons formed in 1841, is cautious about the year ahead. It said UK holidaymakers were getting more adventurous and taking longer-haul trips to places such as Cape Town and Tobago. Bookings this winter are up 2% on last year, with package tours up 11% and seat-only sales rising 4%. I knew Alain Juppe was in trouble when a supporter handed me a campaign leaflet in the rue de Levis street market. The picture showed the 71-year-old former prime minister crouched in a parody of dynamism, arm outstretched, a quavering finger pointing towards the future. Photoshop was unable to mask the mortuary pallor of his sunken cheeks. The poor guy looked like he had been cryogenically preserved. With Juppe beaten into second place in last weekends primaries, and Nicolas Sarkozy put out of the race, it looks like Francois Fillon will carry the torch of Les Republicains into next years French presidential election. The campaign generated surprising energy, given there was little to choose between the frontrunners platforms. Fillon took the first round comfortably and seems a dead cert in the run-off against Juppe on Sunday. The decisive factors appear to have been his relative youth (a mere 62) and the favourable impression his coolness and charisma deficit make in contrast with the manic kineticism of Sarkozy. Hes a bit more radical on economics than Juppe, a Thatcher admirer who would wipe out half a million state jobs, and his anti-Islamist rhetoric is a bit more measured than Sarkozys. But hes still in the political mainstream and a veteran of the old guard. Another ex-prime minister, he is what they call here a revenant, one of the ghostly host of political undead who haunt the public stage, decade after decade. Barring earthquakes and a miraculous Socialist revival, Fillon will likely be facing Marine Le Pen in the final round of the presidential election next May. In normal times the outcome would be a foregone conclusion. Most of the defeated mainstream first-round candidates voters would rally behind Fillon to crush Le Pen as they did her father, Jean-Marie, in 2002. But these are not normal times. Between now and then expect many warnings that an establishment Centrist such as Fillon will be vulnerable to the populist tempest blowing in from the Channel and the Atlantic, and postmodern sans culottes could be set to shake the world again. Ill stick my neck out and predict that France will not follow the Brexit-Trump-trend, at least not yet. Politics is taken much more seriously in France than in the US or Britain and consequences are better understood. Ideological identities remain strong. The Front National is not an upstart panacea-peddler but a known quantity, having been around since 1972. Le Pens brand detox has been impressive but has a way to go before Left or Right loyalists feel comfortable admitting their support. So without a landslide the chances are a coalition of voters will gang up to deny Le Pen victory, no doubt to great relief. Except, of course, among the losers, perhaps a third of the electorate, who will once again feel bitter and disenfranchised. That could be when the trouble really starts. Moving forward requires more longing for the past France is a nation of nostalgists and the condition is getting worse. On the newsstands the face of much-loved chansonnier George Brassens, who died in 1981, stares out from the cover of a magazine. At the Hotel de Ville an exhibition pays homage to Coluche, a dungaree-clad comedian who passed away in 1986. Even the Belgian Herge, or rather his great creation Tintin, is being celebrated at the Grand Palais. It seems suffused with desire for a lost age of relative innocence. This election will to some extent be a choice between a vision of an idealised past (Front National) and facing the problems of at least the present if not the future (Les Republicains). Whoever wins, it will be good for the nostalgia industry. We underestimate Le Pen at our peril Marine Le Pen is strong, successful and a real threat to French male political hegemony. No one here, though, is prepared to see her as any sort of feminist. Her attempt earlier this year to present herself as a champion of womens rights by condemning sexual assaults by immigrants in Germany and invoking the spirit of Simone de Beauvoir provoked scorn from the sisterhood. In one respect, however, twice-divorced Marine is perhaps a better feminist role model than some Socialist counterparts. It is hard to imagine her putting up with the philandering that former Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royale endured from her partner Francois Hollande. And one can only pleasurably speculate on what would happen to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the silverback gorilla of French male chauvinism and the man many Lefties wish could return to rescue them, if he dared lay a paw on her. Le vin rules but un pinte hits the spot Europe is supposed to be a single market yet in most supermarkets in France its hard to find wine that isnt French. The vins etrangers section is usually a sorry sight, with a few shelves of American, Australian and Algerian industrial plonk. In Paris, to get decent Italian or Spanish wine you have to go to a specialist shop. Thus cultural and economic protectionism has largely denied the ordinary shopper the products of their wine-producing neighbours and New World vineyards. There are some drinking trends, though, that cant be kept at bay. After 15 years away from Paris I returned to find that young office workers, both men and women, have taken to finishing their week by gathering in a bar for un pinte of lager just like their cross-Channel cousins. It makes you proud to be British, as Winston Churchill said in another context. I n keeping with his character, Philip Hammonds first Autumn Statement marks less of a dramatic turning point than the beginning of an adjusted political arc. The Chancellor eschewed George Osbornes taste for showmanship, preferring the mantle of the rigorous businessman preparing UK plc for uncertain times. There were fewer fiscal fireworks than in the past, less buckle swashed (other than his twinkle-eyed reconfiguration of the Treasury calendar around a Spring Statement and an Autumn Budget). It would be a grave mistake, though, to confuse the comparative modesty of todays measures with strategic insignificance. This was, for a start, the first fiscal event as the Autumn Statement and Budget are now known since the EU referendum. Inescapably, Hammond was operating in the long shadow of Brexit, and made it his business to confront the challenge. Todays statement dwelt upon what he calls future-proofing: insulating the economy against the inevitable precariousness of the years ahead. As Osborne put it in his final Autumn Statement last year, his core belief the essence of his fiscal conservatism was that there is no economic security, there is no national security, there is no opportunity, when you lose control of the public finances. Hammond remains a signatory to this doctrine. Do not believe those who say that he has ditched austerity (just ask benefit claimants, town hall officials, those who need social care, and legal aid applicants). What the Chancellor has done is to broaden his options, mindful of the bleak forecasts presented to him by the Office for Budget Responsibility: a 2.4 per cent fall in growth over the EU negotiating period; 122 billion of extra borrowing by 2020-21 (the snap calculation by the Resolution Foundation); and national debt rising to 90.2 per cent of GDP. Unlike the Brexiteers who believe that escape from the EU will necessarily make Britain more prosperous Hammond sees uncertainty on the horizon, and a consequent threat to the stability that underpins the UKs appeal to the markets and attraction to investors. This is the context in which his loosening of the fiscal rules should be interpreted. The Chancellor is not a sudden convert to Keynesian spending; he is simply preparing for the worst, granting himself fiscal head-room. As a narrowly political intervention, his statement was hailed (especially by No 10) as a lifeboat for those just about managing the so-called Jams. These are the voters upon whom Theresa May has set her sights since her first day as PM, conscious both of their day-to-day struggle and of Labours conspicuous inability to address the problem. Accordingly, Hammond raised the National Living Wage to 7.50 per hour; amended Universal Credit to incentivise work; promised 1.4 billion to build 40,000 new homes to help those desperate for affordable housing; banned letting agent fees; offered help with childcare; froze fuel duty; and promised that the tax-free personal allowance would indeed rise to 12,500 by 2020. In as much as the statement had real-time political grit, this was it. Even so, its most intriguing feature was not the inventory of handouts but the Governments resilient commitment to supply-side solutions. Across the Atlantic, the President-elect pledges to help those that globalisation has left behind by cancelling trade deals, reopening coal mines and imposing tariffs to restore Americas motor industry. It is a pitiful prospect, doomed to failure. The May Government certainly acknowledges this crisis of economic abandonment. In her speech at the Lord Mayors banquet last week, the PM recognised that we have on occasion overlooked the impact on those closer to home who see [globalisation] in a different light, who see their jobs being outsourced and wages undercut. Unlike Donald Trump, however, the response she and her Chancellor are developing is not a populist quick fix but a generational programme of economic, educational and social reform. In truth, this was the most significant theme in Hammonds statement, of much deeper significance than the customary giveaways and gimmicks designed to generate headlines and soothe the political anxieties of the day. True, the Chancellors pledge of 1.3 billion for road-building is a comparatively small sum given the scale of the problem. But it is part of a greater plan. The Government is committed to reduce corporation tax to 17 per cent by the end of the Parliament. An extra 2 billion will be ploughed into research and development before 2020. Full-fibre technology superfast broadband receives 1 billion. There will be further investment in the rollout of 5G capacity. The drive to encourage teenagers to pursue Stem subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) fit for the new economy will become even more relentless. The frame for these measures, as he made clear today with his announcement of a 23 billion investment fund, is Hammonds obsession with productivity: his visible distaste that Britain lags behind even Italy was eloquent. Technological excellence and the devolution of economic decision-making will, he believes, increase efficiency and productive effort in those areas that lag behind the South-East. This, the Chancellor hopes, will help generate the growth that Britain needs to cope with the post-Brexit world and the implacable rigours of the global economy. Witness, then, the blueprint underpinning the bullet-point surface. It is a better strategy by far than Trumps quick-fix populism. It is also much tougher, a programme of structural change that will yield results in decades rather than months. What it tells us is that May and Hammond have not fallen for the infantilist prescriptions of the nationalist Right walls, tariffs, fruitless promises to restore dead industries. Todays Autumn Statement was, instead, the first step on a long and rocky road, taken by a Chancellor whose ambition is, I would say, is both quiet and limitless. I t is great to see that Prince William is concerned about the young homeless and I wish you all the best for your Christmas appeal with Centrepoint [William: Help young homeless, November 21]. However, I wonder when Theresa May and the Government will take notice of this crisis and, more importantly, do something to help? Her address to the Confederation of British Industry, calling on businesses to be more socially responsible, echoes the words of Jeremy Corbyn. The difference was that Corbyn appeared to be sincere while May seems to be treading cautiously. Good businesses are continually undermined by the bad, so it is up to the Government to force companies to do right by their workers. That means implementing the minimum wage wherever possible and rules to ensure that all workers receive a real living wage which would stop them relying on benefits. David Reed The Duke of Cambridges admirable words on homelessness would carry more weight if he could back them with similarly admirable actions. Jose Mujica, the former president of Uruguay, made his official residence available as an emergency refuge for the homeless in the winter of 2012, as well as donating nine-tenths of his state salary to societys poorest. The duke might care to remember this before soliciting donations from taxpayers who are already bankrolling 369 million of renovations to Buckingham Palace. Howard Davies Well done to the Evening Standard for starting a Christmas appeal to help homeless youngsters. As a primary school teacher I am lucky enough to see the happy, smiling and well-loved children that attend my school. Sadly, many others are not so fortunate and we really are coming to the time of the year Christmas and winter when many who may not always be in a position to think of others too much, often start to. I will definitely be donating to this cause and have no hesitation in tweeting about it so others might donate too. Like most schools, Henry Cavendish regularly holds charity events such as cake sales so we are fully aware that donations no matter how small can mount up and make a difference, even if it is just to one person. What might seem at first to be a small difference can be a big difference to someone in need. Mick Anderson, Henry Cavendish Primary School, Balham Your wide-ranging appeal to help the homeless says that homelessness does not have easily defined causes. However, one major factor deserves attention and that is the failure of the Government to build enough homes at rents which everyone can afford. Francis Prideaux Fabric deserves its new lease of life It is encouraging that the Mayor, after his appointment of a Night Czar, has pushed to get the Fabric nightclub back in business. This iconic venue is one of Londons finest and many people were devastated when it closed. Of course it is unacceptable that drugs make their way into places like Fabric but hopefully with tighter controls Londoners will be able to enjoy visiting this famous nightclub once again. Sam Carter The decision to open Fabric again is certainly not about protecting the public. Rather than consuming small amounts of drugs in the club over a whole night, with increased security people will now take all their drugs prior to entry. This is a reckless decision from clueless authorities. Paul Morris The news that Islington council has agreed to allow Fabric to reopen is most concerning. It will mostly be music to the ears of the unlicensed drivers who used to surround the place asking people if they wanted a taxi. Frank Neal Airbnb contributes to the housing crisis Nathan Blecharczyks comments about his company Airbnb [Airbnb chief: We are part of solution to the housing crisis, November 21] are simply misleading. Airbnbs contribution to the housing crisis is not caused by homeowners letting out their property for short periods and supplementing their income but the use of Airbnb by organisations that let out London homes as if they were hotel rooms. This is in breach of the law, which limits such short letting to 90 days a year. Airbnb deserves the criticism and scrutiny it is getting. Ian Fletcher, director of policy, British Property Federation Give women power over their bodies How offensive that prosecutions are being considered for cosmetic surgeons who carry out designer vagina operations at the request of adult women who are willing to pay for it [Doctors face prosecution over genital cosmetic surgery in London clinics, November 21]. Equating this with female genital mutilation of children an entirely different operation and using the law which bans this disgusting practice to stop women making choices about their own bodies is quite bizarre. What will they do next? Ban operations for breast implants and nose jobs? I thought everyone agreed that women are in charge of their own bodies. Evidently, this is not the case. Sandy Robertson Waitroses robin is a winter traveller In response to your story in the Londoners Diary [Red faces over a robin, Diary, November 22], while Bill Oddies eminence in all things feathered is undisputed, I am sure he would agree that the Scandinavian robin depicted in our Christmas television advertisement does indeed migrate. Scandinavian robins escape the harsher northern winters and many go to the same place every year. With this in mind, I would say the mince pie our robin enjoys at the end of the advert is well-deserved. Rupert Thomas, marketing director, Waitrose T he White Horse is everything youd expect from a typical Peckham boozer. You walk in and instantly know what youre getting: a pool table, a dartboard, a pint by the fire and a hearty meal. But tucked away at the back, a room which was once only ever used for wakes and functions has been transformed into a buzzing cocktail bar called the Donkey Sanctuary, serving some seriously top-notch tipples. More and more London venues are offering two-in-one nights out, which is the best kind of compromise if you and your mates have different ideas on where the party is headed. The White Horse has tapped up head barman Chris Lawes, formerly of the Peckham Springs bar, to put together a tantalising menu including the signature Donkey Punch, made with two different kinds of rum, falernum, fresh pineapple, lime and orange. Director Russell Porter, who runs the pub with his partners Neil Watson and Isaac Tooby, says its a step-up from their previous menu, which was very basic... just spritzes and Bellinis. I think with drinks such as Aperol spritz and Negronis becoming more of a part of the mainstream offering in all different kinds of boozers, people have just got a bit more of an expectation for cocktails. Its certainly not a pina colada and a Sex on the Beach. Round up: cocktails at Demon, Wise & Partners, tucked away beneath The Arbitrager pub in Moorgate The refurbishment of the room has included a hefty import of plants from London Terrariums. Underneath the hanging baskets you can relax on a Sunday to a laid-back soundtrack from jazz band The Harrison Cole Trio. Teaming up with another Peckham local seemed like an obvious choice in an area where projects and pop-ups often overlap. Porter says: Chris was looking to do something of a higher standard and make cocktails more in keeping with what youd expect in central London. There wasnt as much around here. Restaurants do really good cocktails but theres nowhere specifically that you could just go and enjoy a really great drink. In Peckham, everyone knows everyone and theres a real vibe of people working together. It seemed like a nice little project, really something different for him and something new for us. The best bars in London 1 /64 The best bars in London Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London 252 High Holborn, WC1V 7EN, rosewoodhotels.com/london The Rosewood is doubly wonderful for drinkers, as theyve two fine spots. In the modern Dining Room, sit at the gin bar, which outstocks anywhere else in London, with more than 400 gins and 27 tonics. Trying to choose is impossible, but what a lovely impossibility to have. The bar staff clearly had one hell of a tasting session as they know the list perfectly. Across the way is Scarfes Bar, a brilliant, brilliant bar gladly shaken free from all the stuffiness usually found in hotel bars. The drinks are stunning, theyve often live music, it gets wonderfully busy and crackles with laughter. Go a little later and its busier, people drink more, everything is better. Bar Americain 20 Sherwood St, W1F 7ED, brasseriezedel.com As the name suggests, this is a classic American bar, and done near perfectly. One can become very fond of Bar Americain and very quickly: passing through Piccadilly Circus, it acts as a magnet a quick negroni becomes a temptation impossible to resist. Its a very beautiful place, calling to mind grand Parisian hotels of the 20s and 30s, bottles winking from the bar, staff floating through with their finery and litres of charm. Youre here to drink the classics: theyve a killer Clover Club and a straight-down-the-line Manhattan. But ask: the bartenders know their stuff and bring their A-game to any challenge tell them what you like, and theyll bring you something new. They often have specials on, as well. Top marks for the attentive staff, bringing plenty of water and bowl after bowl of popcorn both essential after a few here. Oriole Smithfield Markets, E Poultry Ave, EC1A 9LH, oriolebar.com The team behind Nightjar took their winning formula, gave it a bit of a shake up and created Oriole. Theyve live music throughout the week from Wednesday to Saturday, theres a charge per person, so watch out for that which gives any night here a bit of zip. This is a strictly seated spot, so be sure to book: once inside, its a whirlwind tour of the world, with fine details from across the globe, both in the styling and the drinks and so much cheaper than booking a holiday. Drinks are excellent, whether youre into New Orleans style classics or something from the depths of Asia: explore the menu (split into Old World, New World and The Orient) and expect something unusual and faintly brilliant, with a touch of the Tiki. Put it this way: Oriole is ideal whether you prefer drinking from a crystal tumbler, a teacup or, er, a silver crocodile. Piano Works 113-117 Farringdon Road, Farringdon EC1R 3BX, pianoworks.bar Full credit to this fun Farringdon spot: theyve worked hard to make the place better and better since opening, which is pretty good going for what was already a decent spot to begin with. The Piano Works sounds like a quiet jazz bar but instead is a hell-raising house of sound, splendidly raucous, where a house band take requests and belt out your favourite songs. The more you get involved, the more fun it is, and the place heats up the later it gets. Wine starts at 16, house cocktails are 8, but they've tons of terrific deals during the week including cocktails for a fiver (!!) Drink lots, dance lots and leave in the early hours with someone you shouldnt do. Thats what we did. Hawksmoor, Spitalfields 157A Commercial St, E1 6BJ, thehawksmoor.com Its hardly surprising the bar snacks are a highlight here have the oxcheek nuggets with a side of chips, then call the waiter over to order them over again given how good the steak upstairs is. The drinks and setting, though, match them pound for pound. The old tube tiles on the walls, the beautiful parquet floor, the copper tops and silvery black ceiling make the large space a place to settle in for the night no matter your seat, while the cocktails come with oodles of thought in each one: the new menu has homemade bitters, shrubs and syrups, and its bloody obvious everyone behind the bar is more than a little nerdy about building drinks. Shaky Petes Ginger Brew is the classic, so have it, but follow up with the Shadow Boxer, a mix of scotch, sherry and Fernet-Branca. Odd, oddly delicious. Its also a cracking place to sit for a bottle of wine. Andrew Edmunds 46 Lexington St, W1F 0LP, andrewedmunds.com Perhaps better than its ever been, Andrew Edmunds recently won The Good Drinking prize in our Restaurant Awards, and for good reason. Its a small spot, cramped to the point that coming here on a first date feels like youre being very forward indeed , with the best tables upstairs and not much to look at just settle for being distracted by someone beautiful. The food, French-ish/English-ish, is fine, but its the wine that's extraordinary. And youre here for wine: forget cocktails, they have. What a list, and so quietly marked up that youre getting a steal with almost every bottle indeed, the more expensive the better the deal. Having been going 30 years, those who knew old Soho say its one of the last bastion of such things. Drink too much gorgeous wine and come back often. The Connaught Bar Connaught, Carlos Place, W1K 2AL, the-connaught.co.uk A bar for the impossibly beautiful, a bar of high heels and glimmering lights, of perfume and leather. Aside from oddly thumping music, the Connaught is wonderfully detached from the world a place of its own, cosy and winter warm when it needs to be, light and summer when desired. The drinks, naturally pricey, are well put together and while classic in tone, come with crackles of theatre: washes in perfume bottles, branches as garnishes, smoke, the lot. Still, the martini trolley is what theyre famed for, so its only right to indulge. Afterward, head to the Champagne Room: sadly the law stops it being the cigar haven it once was, but it's still gorgeous: romantic and charming with its fireplace, dramatic with its glass ceiling and sculpture swan diving. Treat yourself to the Ruinart blanc de blanc. Damned good olives, too. Milk & Honey 61 Poland St, W1F 7NU, mlkhny.com You know a bar is good when local bartenders love it, and Milk & Honey has long been a Soho favourite for those in the know. Hidden in plain sight this terrific bar has been doing its thing for just shy of 15 years. The talent hasnt diminished, and neither has the care put into the drinks. Cocktails are strong and proper and happily, they're updating the list soon to freshen things up. At around 10 a drink, M&H is also a bargain for central London, and the quality outstrips the price. It functions as a members bar, but non-members can book up until 11pm though going earlier in the week means youre more likely to score a table. Milk & Honey is civilised, without the crushing formality. Next door is the Blind Pig, another top 'hidden' spot. Mark's Bar HIX Soho, 66- 70 Brewer St, W1F 9UP, hixrestaurants.co.uk The bad: you might not get in. If its busy, they dont squeeze people into this basement, so either be there early, or bamboozle them with charm, or dazzle them with your brilliant wit. Were kidding: just take someone hot. The good: pretty much everything else. Naturally, the bar snacks are distractingly tasty, but the drinks list is excellent, and unusual too, with a few historical recipes brought back to life. Attention to detail is everything here, so if youre not sharing one of the big old Chesterfields, head to the bar and sit and watch theres something about it thats like seeing a cardmaster turn tricks. And have a Hix Fix, just to say you have. The Beaufort bar and the American Bar at The Savoy The Savoy, Strand, WC2R 0EU, fairmont.com Glitz, glamour and lots of gold: both Savoy bars are wonderfully opulent. The world-famous American bar, recently revamped, is still up there as one of the best bars on our humble planet. The bartenders bible, Harry Craddocks The Savoy Cocktail Book, was written here, and the cocktails served today remain as finely tuned as they ever were. Whereas as other bars try to recreate the glamour of such places, The Savoy neednt pretend: everything is genuine. The palatial Beaufort is absurdly romantic, and drinks are extravagantly presented: it works for the most special of special occasions, and theres something undeniably grand about sipping away in the same place Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway all did. If youre planning a few drinks, either be rich or take someone rich seriously. Artesian 1C Portland Pl, W1B 1JA, artesian-bar.co.uk Artesian won its accolades for its team, Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale, who ran the place for eight years and earned its reputation as the best bar in the world. Theyve sadly departed, but have left the place in capable hands, and the feel is much the same as it ever was, which is chic, glamorous, and not taking itself too seriously. While the beautiful and the rich rub shoulders, the bartenders are mixing up excellent but often slightly silly drinks but its their mischievousness that makes them so winning. Seriously impressive. Les Compagnie Des Vins Surnaturels 8-10 Neal's Yard, WC2H 9DP, cvssevendials.com Call it CVS and your night becomes considerably easier to pronounce. Sat in Neils Yard, it is one of Londons finest wine bars. Thoroughly French, of course: New World wines barely get a sideways glance, while even Italys finest is only begrudgingly given a little space on the considerable menu. This doesn't mean there is a lack of choice to the contrary, it is almost overwhelming, though they have a short by-the-glass list, and the charming staff are both well informed and passionate about what to have. In the summer, sit outdoors, in the winter, cosy up by the bar. Wherever you are, try the mystery wine; if you guess it, youll win a bottle. Have food small plates made to share, and terrifically good and drink plenty, so the bill doesnt hit as hard. The Shrub & Shutter 336 Coldharbour Ln, SW9 8QH, theshrubandshutter.com This Brixton bar felt new in the area, taking a little of east London and bringing it down south. Theyve a pleasingly patchwork approach to decor: there are jars and bottles and shakers everywhere, which gives the place a kitchen feel. The cocktails, lovely to drink on their own, are made better with the food, which is designed to match what youre drinking. The pairings initially sound a little gimmicky crayfish with vodka, venison on the side of The Deerhunter (an old fashioned, basically) but they work, so drop that sceptical streak for a moment. It gets busy, so book up, get in early, and stay late. Theyve a license until 3am, so itd be rude not to. Sky Pod at the Sky Garden 1 Sky Garden Walk, EC3M 8AF, skygarden.london The truth of it is, you come for the view, but good God it's a great view, and 360-degrees at that. Up 35 floors, if you can think of a London icon, you can probably see it. When the weather's good, get outside for some fresh air. With completely free entry and minimal security fuss, its worth making a reservation, though if youre ok to queue, theyll have you in. Cocktails arent torturously expensive, at around 11.50, and are very enjoyable the cognac-chocolate-caramel-port mix that is Black and Gold is particularly good so it doesn't feel like they're relying on the sights. Theres a sense of special occasion, and all the more so with live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays. Theyre hoping for jazz on Wednesdays, too. If youre tempted to eat, Fenchurch and the Darwin Brasserie are well worth trying Fenchurch is particularly good for veggies. The Gilbert Scott St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Rd, NW1 2AR, thegilbertscott.co.uk Given the golden hue here, where luxury hangs in the air like perfume, its remarkable that wine starts at as little as 5 a glass. Wine is its strong point, and likeable head sommelier Joris Beijn is a man worth knowing: he is passionate about his list, knowledgeable and accommodating. The bar is flexible, in that it is by turns ideal for a date, or a catch up with old friends, or a pre/post dinner drinks. The room is a stunner: high painted ceilings, dramatic red walls, great big bells as art, marble bar top and crystal glasses catching the light. Cocktails come in at around 14, and err on the light side: lots of gin and floral concoctions. The restaurant, next door, isnt to be missed, either, just be prepared to get an Uber home: invariably, youll stretch and tease out the evening to stay just a little longer. Gerry's Club 52 Dean Street, W1D 5BJ, gerrysclub.com A word of warning: this is technically a member's club, but you'll probably be fine if you flirt enough and don't ask for Gerry, he's long since passed. Michael looks after this place now. We've only been once very late, very drunk and with very good friends. Most old-school Soho drinking dens are dead, but this hub of actors and writers is what remains of 'Old Soho'. If you're boring, steer clear: it is a place to drink wine and beer and tell stories, to laugh uproariously and to give yourself a monumental hangover in a faintly discreet way. 68 and Boston 4-5 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4DD, 68andboston.com Boston, the bar upstairs, looks like glamorous train carriage from the golden age of cocktails but plays it a little bit safe. Wine bar 68, downstairs, is the real gem, with a wonderful way of pricing: every bottle on the list is 20, so choose what you like, not what you can afford. Better yet, if you don't fancy a bottle, they're served by the carafe (14) or glass (5.50). Wines are well picked and Denise Medrano, wine blogger and lover found behind the bar, is always working to update the list so go back to try something new. Youll probably end up getting drunk here: the pull of another bottle at just 20 is monumentally hard to resist, but hey, thats what Soho is for. If you fancy drinking something more upscale, ask theyve a few hidden wines kept hidden away for those in the know. Thats you, now. The Pink Chihuahua at El Camion 25-27 Brewer St, W1F 0RR, elcamion.co.uk Forget house infusions and drinks that take half an hour to make: sometimes a good night needs tequila and dancing. The Pink Chihuahua is built for it: theyre providing the tequila more than 300 different types of it, in fact youre there to drink it down and dance it up. Theyve all sorts of twists on Margaritas and Daiquiris, and, given youre downstairs from Mexican restaurant El Camion, plenty of bar food to indulge in too. Lots of fun, and if youre feeling more in the mood just to sit back and sip something slowly, ask about their choice of Mezcal. There's real talent here, but fun too. The Gibson 44 Old St, EC1V 9AQ, thegibsonbar.london Given the dearth of decent cocktails in Farringdon, the tiny Gibson is a God-send. Its a parlour pitched somewhere between Edwardian and Art Deco, and drinks arent simply poured here, theyre tended to, built, thought about, adored. All unsurprising, really, given the team learnt their trade at the likes of Nightjar and The Connaught. This place is doing more creatively to push bartending forward than any bar that's opened up in a while, so ask the team for recommendations and youll be presented with something magic. Youll need to ask, actually, as the menu is a novel and theres the risk of wasting the evening reading instead of drinking, and that simply wouldnt do at all. Peg+Patriot Patriot Square, E2 9NF, talentedmrfox.com The Talented Mr Fox, Matt Whiley, offers is a nice blend of things here: while the menu takes a sophisticated trip around London, with each cocktail a column of flavour, some managing chameleonic taste all within the space of a sip, the actual bar is surprisingly spare and understated. The effect is such that while drinks are upmarket, one doesnt feel obliged to sit demurely to enjoy them. Relax, have a few you might want to, as the serves arent huge. It should be said that these cocktails are among Londons most interesting, rather than Londons best: they are talking points, oddities, they put flavours together in a way that isnt available elsewhere. If youre big on trying new things, different experiences, seeing what a cocktail can do, come, its a must. If its just something reliably delicious you fancy, elsewhere may be better. Worship Street Whistling Shop 63 Worship St, EC2A 2DU, whistlingshop.com One presumes the staff here have night vision, otherwise its a complete and utter mystery how they see customers, let alone their ingredients. Still, they must do, for the output is pretty much excellent through and through at this dark spot. Its Victorian-inspired, which sounds tired and not a little tacky, but the gang from Purl have done it properly. Drinks are busy lots of fusions, blends, gasses and pressure and all sorts so its appropriate they come out of a lab. Still, all this engineering seems to be worth it, as the drinks slip down easily, the alcohol often hidden away. Make sure to take a seat in the Dram Shop, and pop in to the Gin Closet too, which operates as an honesty bar. Kansas Smitty's 63-65 Broadway Market, E8 4PH, kansassmittys.com Below bar Off Broadway a long way off, its Mexican sits this glorious den of jazz and juleps. It is a speakeasy for 2016: that is to say, it has none of the contrived mannerisms of bars which proclaim to be speakeasies, it just happens to actually be one: youll need to knock to get in, the music raves loud and hot, and the place is so crowded strangers become family after a drink or two. The house band, for which the place is named, have envy-inducing talent, and the bar has fairly recently overhauled its drinks list, and the results are good. Youll be absorbed by the music, and stay afterwards to ride the buzz of the crowd. GONG 52, Shangri-La Hotel, the Shard, SE1 9QU, .gong-shangri-la.com Gong is in the Shard, so youre there for the view alone. View it certainly does: at 52 floors up, its by far Londons highest spot to drink: consequently, sipping on a martini, one feels a little like a Bond villain pondering all thats below. Its not a huge bar, but that somewhat adds to the sense of exclusivity. Prices are, naturally, sky high: expect to pay at least 18. The drinks have plenty about them to compete with the view: presentation is everything. Theyve not skipped on the spirits making the mix, either: expect the likes of Zacapa 23 rum (heavenly stuff), Talisker scotch and Tanqueray 10 for the gin. All top drawer stuff. If this all sounds a bit intimidating, bear in mind they operate a no reservations policy, so youve as good a chance of getting in as anyone else. Mr Fogg's Salon 58 St Martin's Lane, Theatreland, WC2N 4EA, mr-foggs.com Downstairs is a pretty decent pub, busy from theatreland. Upstairs, the salon is quieter, but only a little. The walls are a glittering ballgown of 19th century curiosities, unsubtle nonsense winking away. Head to a chaise longues with a couple of friends or a date and take in something from each one of the five acts which split the menu. Drinks seem to smell especially good here, rich, relying heavily on the likes of rum, cognac and sherry. Gin lovers need not despair: theyve a room with 300 different types next door. Come elegantly dressed. Bar Termini 7 Old Compton St, W1D 5JE, bar-termini.com Do Bar Termini right and youll love it: do it wrong, and you may be underwhelmed. Tony Conigliaro, cocktail chap par excellence, and coffee maestro Marco Arrigo have built a revolving-door of a place: dont come here to linger. Expect a night of cocktails and youll leave disappointed: instead, love it in the day for the 1 espressos, and swing by in the evening for a negroni (6). Theyre small, but some of the best in the capital. One swishes in and out here, and that way, it adds a touch of Italian glamour to any evening. Trisha's (New Evaristo Club) 57 Greek St, Soho, W1D 3DX Drinks dont make a bar, and thank goodness, as the stuff served at Trishas named for its owner is uniformly pretty awful: red and white wine youd consider an insult if a friend served it at supper, prosecco wildly overpriced, terrible spirits ecetera ecetera. At more than 70, the club is Sohos oldest, and while nobody who goes there can ever remember anything changing its often quite hard to recall much about Trishas in crystal detail, as it happens nothing needs to. The bad wine and expensive mixers and paint stripper spirits are all part of the point: its a glorious drinking den, and marvellous, marvellous fun. There are characters here: the last time we were in, we sat being scared witless by an old East End gangster who said hes known the Krays. Tremendous. Long may this place live. The Fumoir Claridge's, 49 Brook St, W1K 4HR, claridges.co.uk The Fumoir will confuse you, as youll be torn between shouting about it and keeping it all to yourself. This plush purple and leather spot, deco decadence with a touch of welcome pomp, is hidden away behind a secret door at Claridges. Tiny and glitzy enough to feel like a Hollywood dressing room from the Golden Age, its little surprise the likes of Christina Hendricks adore it. For such a small place, they squeeze an awful lot in: plenty of wines, classic cocktails given a stern shake up, buckets of gin, a lovely choice of armagnac and a magnificent scotch list, gleaming with rarities. 69 Colebrooke Row 69 Colebrooke Row, N1 8AA, 69colebrookerow.com Once known as the bar with no name, henceforth they shall be called the bar with Bernards watch, as there is no other explanation for the speed with which their finely mixed cocktails arrive. Another bar from Tony Conigliaro, its earned its reputation for turning out hit after hit: the drinks list is endlessly tempting. The piano is a nice touch; that is gets played a much nicer one, and make sure to order the Prairie Oyster fun to drink, and one even for those who cant eat seafood. Bear in mind its a small spot, so youre close to your neighbours, and if you dont like strong drinks where the booze kicks, this wont be for you. Happiness Forgets 8-9 Hoxton Square, N1 6NU, happinessforgets.com Dont expect frills and fuss or the rest of it here: Happiness Forgets is cocktail bar distilled down to its very essence, and done very well their tag High End Cocktails/Low End Rent sums it up best. The bartenders are all top drawer, and their creations impeccable. Unsurprisingly, this Hoxton space has its regulars, so the crowd is always good. Tables can be booked, but half are always kept for walk-ins: try your luck, its worth it. Dry Martini by Javier de las Muelas Melia White House Hotel, Albany Street, NW1 3UP, melia.com Come to this one to brag: Dry Martini is known as Barcelonas best cocktail bar, and has been rated the fifth best bar in the world by the Worlds 50 Best Bars panel. Renowned bartender Javier de las Muelas has bought over his concept to us lucky Londoners, and with it, finely mixed and classic cocktails. No prizes for guessing that the Dry Martini is the house special if you dont think you like them, heres a place to change your mind. With more than 80 gins on the list, you could easily lose a week here. Gordon's 47 Villiers St, WC2N 6NE, gordonswinebar.com Gordons seems to get more and more crowded with each passing day, but perhaps rightly so: the beloved Embankment institution is made for knocking back bottles of wine in. Eat a few cold bites and chat into a long, unwinding evening. The wine list is good enough, but youre really here for the atmosphere: in summer, the terrace, buzzing, in winter, the caves indoors, crammed with noise, spilt wine, and joy. Social bar at City Social 25 Old Broad St, EC2N 1HQ, citysociallondon.com Youd think youre at City Social, up 24 stories of Tower 42, to eat, but if you stop in the bar, theres a good chance you wont make it to your table. The drinks come as something of a surprise: theyre so much better than one expects from a restaurant bar, inventive, put together carefully but not staidly, retaining a sense of fun. And, crucially, damned tasty. Its a dark room, and full of city types, but perfect for a few late night cocktails soaking up the view, which is really quite wonderful. Bloody pricey, but thats part of it. Ladies and Gentlemen 2 Highgate Rd, NW5 1NR, twitter.com William Borrells bolthole transcends its gimmick (which, if you hadnt guessed, is that its a converted public loo), with the help of some very handy bartenders, and its house-brewed gin, Highwayman, of which twelve bottles a day get distilled. Ladies & Gents manages well as a place for a quiet drink, or better yet, a place to quietly get roaringly drunk. Convenient indeed. The drinks are strong, very interesting, and theres plenty of odd sods on the wall to keep your conversation up. It maintains a veneer of being somewhere faintly upmarket, but youll probably end up reading from one of the books scattered around or trying to dance to the live music. Perfect for a date that gets out of hand. Bull In A China Shop 196 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6LG, bullinachinashop.london Truth it, youll need to catch this place on a good night, as weve been in often enough to know it has its good nights and its meh nights. But when the place is on, its really cooking, and easily one of the best bars in town. The cocktail list is short, but thought through, and care is taken in even the small things: they even make sure the water glasses are chilled. The chamomile and charcoal Old-Fashioned is a must, and any whisky lovers should get chatting to the bar staff, as theyve bottles which arent available anywhere else in the capital. Sager + Wilde Arch, 250 Paradise Row, E2 9LE, sagerandwilde.com Wine lovers rejoice, wine bores look elsewhere. Sager + Wilde admirably keep things unpretentious: the exposed brickwork sets the tone: theyre keeping things low key. The specials list changes regularly, and always with interesting choices introduced. Some of the wines are exclusive to this place, so youre all but guaranteed to try something new. Have a SHE + T (sherry with tonic, delicious), and absolutely do not leave without having the grilled cheese sandwich. 7 Tales at Sosharu 64 Turnmill St, EC1M 5RR, sosharulondon.com Underneath Jason Athertons Sosharu is this sexy, seedy Japanese drinking den, where youll find the hazy, debauched glamour of Tokyo after dark. Unlike so many bars underneath restaurants, 7 Tales doesnt feel like a holding pen, and drinks are precision made, with flavours leaning beyond the usual think rice-washed gin, sake, infusions of sesame, snacks like tempura. Bar snacks are an irresistible must. Callooh Callay 65 Rivington St, EC2A 3AY, calloohcallaybar.com Eccentric doesnt seem to quite cover it: enter the surreal world of Callooh Callay through an old Victorian wardrobe, catch sight of a throne and order punch out of a gramophone from a menu thats more of a sticker book. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but the bartenders really know their stuff, so for all the quirks, drinks are fundamentally pretty excellent. On the weekends, its a party bar, and DJs spin music to match: youre here for a good time. Any detectives in your gang will find there are two extra rooms in Callooh Callay to explore theyre hidden away, too, naturally. If youre good, you might even get an invite upstairs to the Jub Jub Room, where the 10-long cocktail list changes every three weeks. Fans should also head to their new offering in Angel, Little Bat. Dukes Bar Dukes Hotel, 35 St James's Pl, SW1A 1NY, dukeshotel.com Dukes is known for one reason: martinis. The St Jamess hotel was a favourite haunt of James Bond author and (very) keen drinker, Ian Fleming, who supposedly came up with the shaken, not stirred line here. Their martinis are exceptionally strong, and very large: theres a reason they wont serve you more than two. But look, break the mould: theyre a classic hotel bar, they serve a fine range of classic cocktails. Theres also a cognac and cigar garden, if youre so inclined. NOLA 1st Floor, 68 Rivington Street, EC2A 3AY, nola-london.com It would be too easy to miss this place, so do your homework and saunter in: its must more attractive than sweatily asking anyone if theyve seen the place. Drawing inspiration from the home of proper cocktails, New Orleans, the bar loves traditional drinks, builds them properly and serves them in a den of music and laughter. Unlike some places specialising in old school serves, NOLA is a place for fun: sure, it seems to say, you could have a quiet drink but why would you want to? Theres a cracking cigar terrace too, small enough that everyone talks before heading back in for one hell of a Vieux Carre. Call Me Mr Lucky 11 Southwark St, SE1 1RQ, twitter.com All the hidden bars at the Breakfast Clubs around the capital are popular, with perhaps The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town being the best known. Call Me Mr Lucky, on Southwark Street, happens to be our favourite. Once youve flirted with the staff ask to get lucky youre taken through the restaurants kitchens to a lively bar decorated like some twisted take on a kids party. Have a go on the wheel of fortune, where youll really want to get lucky, and win a free shot, and then work your way through the cocktail list. Like any good-time bar worth its salt, this place is big on tequila, and the drinks are light-hearted fun, but here we go getting lucky again along with the quirks comes quality. By the of the evening, before youre porured back onto the street, youll swear tequila is your new favourite drink, and youll be singing the party hits they play all the way home. K Bar at The Kensington 109 - 113 Queen's Gate, SW7 5LP, townhousekensington.com K bar feels majestic and there is no other word for it because drinking here is a little like being in the captains quarters of the Titanic, albeit without the sinking feeling. There is glamour here: a kind of place to be seduced in. Cocktails wise, bar manager Ben Manchester is the man to ask for, but theres a fine list to choose from. It avoids stuffiness, and just needs to be packed out to really get cooking. Nightjar 129 City Rd, EC1V 1JB, barnightjar.com Nightjar has fame which means writing about it is redundant: people think it marvellously good, and theyve live music most of the week. Its seating only and worth booking: just be sure not to cancel, or theyll charge a steep 10 per person. They do the speakeasy theme, but well enough that it isnt too tired yet, and have plenty of old school style on the list. Pick up a pack of cards from the bar on your way out. Reverend J W Simpson 32 Goodge St, W1T 2QJ, revjwsimpson.com Bourne and Hollingsworth run this rather lovely little bar, downstairs from a small doorway on Goodge St. Service is friendly and speedy, it's comfortable, and drinks more than hold their own there's both obscure traditional mixes and modern serves made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Luckily, with good drinks come good people, and it's a loud, happy place. Albertine 1 Wood Ln, W12 7DP, albertinewinebar.co.uk Albertine hasnt changed much since the day East Enders was commissioned there. A wine bar through and through, youll struggle to get anything else (though there are a couple of ales on the menu.) Its a place with spirit, which draws a regular, devoted crowd. They sell everything they serve, and its well worth splashing out: the mark-up gets less and less as the bottles get more expensive, meaning you can get an absolute bargain at the top end of the list. Its also the kind of wine bar you go to to overindulge. First Aid Box 119 Dulwich Rd, SE24 0NG, firstaidbox2015.com This place really is worth travelling to Herne Hill to, which must be saying something. The team behind Shrub & Shutter have thickly laid on the pharmacy theme here, with cure-all drinks. Its not an idea which sounds like it should work, and yet, how much better life would be if they were one of the emergency services. Expect saline drips, syringes, and the likes of plastic lungs their take on thirst aid but rest assured, flavours arent medicinal in the slightest. At 8 - 10 a drink, its reasonable for London, and wonderful to see a bar really trying something new. Bravo. Media Wisdom Photography - Giles Christopher Nam Long Le Shaker 159 Old Brompton Rd, SW5 0LJ, namlong.co.uk It gained fame for its celebrity fans, which include Mick Jagger and Prince Harry, but Nam Long has held on longer than most A-list haunts: its been going 30 years, and recently was given an overhaul. Its quite possibly the most Chelsea place imaginable there are literally MIC cast members floating about and its a go-to spot to drink far too much and party. The upstairs area is bright, airy, and well looked after by the excellent bartenders, while downstairs "the Opium Den" is as it sounds (though there was no opium available when we asked... ) The drinks upstairs were made with more care, but downstairs is more intimate, opulent, and better for a small groups. Some of those Chelsea types who go really are the very worst, and the drinks are outrageously expensive, but hey, its a laugh. The Vault at Milroy's 3 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4NX, shop.milroys.co.uk A bar through a bookcase: were sold. Better yet, its underneath one of Sohos finest whisky shops with stiff competition from The Vintage House so if youre taken with something downstairs, buy it on your way out. Its a simple little bar and the service is decidedly so-so, but its usually pretty busy, they play good music and have an excellent range of spirits. The menu is changed regularly, but its a good place to cram into with friends or on a date. You mightnt spend the entire night here, but for a couple of drinks on the way somewhere, or on the way back, it fits the bill perfectly. Bounce 241 Old St, EC1V 9EY, bouncepingpong.com There are two Bounce bars, one on Old Street and one on Holborn. The Old Street spot is a little more fun, graffiti adorning the walls,the Holborn spot somewhat more upmarket. Still, they both deserve a mention, and for the simple reason theyre damned good fun. Drinks here are good, with a decent spirit selection at both (and a huge number of gins in Farringdon) and a respectable selection of beers. Food is fine, simple. Still, you come to play ping pong. Theyve tables everywhere. Theres little to fault with Bounce: its a laugh, and sometimes thats all somewhere needs to be. Across town another traditional pub, The Cat & Mutton in Broadway Market, is gearing up for another revamp of its upstairs cocktail bar which helped transform the pubs reputation. Porter thinks while people still love a pint, pubs in London now face competition from more than just the local down the road. Pubs are having to offer a little extra because, especially in Peckham, there are so many interesting little spots opening up. Theres a younger generation of people opening places where you can sit and eat and drink which are not traditional pubs or bars. Our peers and contemporaries are other pubs but also little bars and pop-ups. Rivington Street in Shoreditch is host to one of the citys longest-standing hidden drinking dens. You enter the Jubjub Bar by heading though a door disguised as a wardrobe at the back of Callooh Callay. But there are more secrets to uncover over the road at Bedroom Bar where, if you bypass the banging tunes, you can find a tribute to the long, hot, jazz-filled evenings of Louisiana at cocktail bar NOLA, which serves Hurricanes and Whiskey Sours with a heavy dose of Southern charm. GOAT in Chelsea has undergone a few reincarnations but three years ago the four-storey townhouse was transformed from pub to Italian restaurant. With all those nooks and crannies, though, they kept one secret corner for customers to stumble upon. The Chelsea Prayer Room requires your best speakeasy-hunting skills, with a new passcode every night (make a reservation and theyll share it with you). The Arbitrager pub in Moorgate, a City boys favourite, is dedicated to bringing craft brews to bankers but underneath the pub lies Demon, Wise & Partners, where its all about the spirits. The subterranean bar offers regular special cocktails, which are branded as either Demon or Wise. The staff make a hundred of each before changing a counter on the wall keeps tally. Also in the City is a branch of 5CC, the stealth cocktail franchise found underneath some of the citys best-loved pubs. The Farringdon option is beneath Harrild and Sons, and has a killer collection of rare whiskies. Its also worth having a poke around The Well and Bucket in Bethnal Green, the Electricity Showrooms in Shoreditch and the Exmouth Arms in Exmouth Market. Its no surprise that the capital has embraced the Russian doll model when it comes to drinking: Londoners know that the only thing better than a bar is a bar inside a bar. Its time to double up. @littlewondering Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESGoingOut O ur guide to the London restaurants with big reputations. This time we visit Searcys St Pancras Grand, the perfect pre-Paris stop off in Londons most famous station. The backstory: Even if you havent heard of Searcys itself, youll definitely know about its restaurants and bars. Made up of an impressive list referred to as The Collection- including The Orangery at Blenheim Palace and The Pump Room in Bath- each one is home to a great chef and even better view. Founded in 1847 by the pastry chef to the Duke of Northumberland, the legacy of this hospitality company is both rich and distinguished- they now run 29 restaurants all over the country and even founded National Champagne Week back in 2010, for which we are all eternally grateful. Searcys St Pancras opened its doors six years ago; the Champagne Bar first, shortly followed by the Brasserie. What with Searcys being something of a Champagne aficionado, it seems only right that this should be the first bar of its kind opened in Europe; particularly as us Brits absolutely love the stuff. Both brasserie and bar were designed by Martin Brudnizki- a Stockholm born interior architect with a knack for creating elegant and opulent spaces (hes the guy behind The Ivy revamp as well as other London hot spots such as Le Caprice and Scarfes Bar). Whats on the menu? At the bar, the impressive range of champagnes on offer will satisfy even the most knowledgeable quaffer and the cocktail menu is certainly not to be sniffed at. Both Brut and Rose feature, including Searcys own Cuvvee as well as H. Blin and Louis Roederer. If the extent of your champagne knowledge is Laurent Perrier, dont worry: there is a highly knowledgeable staff on hand to walk you through the menu and offer guidance on tasting notes. Speaking of tasting notes, small plates of mini burgers, broccoli bhajis and pork ribs have been carefully chosen to complement the bubbly; perfectly sized if youre just after a nibble before dinner in Paris. You can even have oysters if youre feeling particularly fancy. Searcys Inside the Brasserie the menu offers a great balance of hearty comfort food (think chicken pie and pork belly) and more refined dishes such as saddle of rabbit with capes, celeriac and confit potatoes. Ingredients are, thankfully, seasonally chosen so you wont find a pallid stick of asparagus sitting morosely on the side of your plate mid winter. Vegetarians are also well looked after with a rich butternut squash macaroni or blue cheese and pumpkin risotto to get stuck into. If you're a vegan, however, this is probably not your best bet as most of the dishes include meat or dairy of some kind. Make sure you leave room for the all-important desert; it really would be sacrilege to miss out on the millionaires pud with coffee ice cream or the delicate fruit tart, for those more able to restrain themselves. The atmosphere: Thanks to the brass, plush leather seating and station clocks hanging from the ceiling, its hard not to feel that youve stepped back in time here. Lines from Brief Encounter were on the tip of the tongue all night and I was half expecting Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard to slide surreptitiously into a neighbouring booth. The bar in particular, with its long galley style, is reminiscent of an old fashioned train car whilst the low lighting in the brasserie adds to the clandestine feel. The excitement for impending travel is tangible but not over the top and the plentiful booths and soft piano music keep up the sense of romance for those so inclined. Who goes there?: As it sits above Kings Cross St Pancras, its mainly people heading off on European or cross country adventures stopping in for dinner or a quick drink, mixed with the usual business clientele keen to get in a decent meal before going to meetings. Expect to see smitten couples kicking off their romantic weekends as well as the odd, usually more refined, hen group too. Searcys Cheque out: Starters and champagne bar bites start at around 7, mains at 14 (although if youre after a steak, they start at 27) and puddings average at 9. Bottles of champagne start at 59 but you can order it by the glass. If youre travelling early, the brasserie opens at 7am and serves a very reasonably priced breakfast, with dishes starting at just 5. Find it: Searcys St Pancras, Grand Terrace, Upper Concourse, St Pancras International Station, N1C 4QL Visit standard.co.uk/restaurants for the latest news and reviews from Londons food scene. Follow Bianca Barratt on Twitter @bianca_barratt Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout A record 200 restaurant openings this year could mark the end of a remarkable golden age for Londons culinary scene, a leading restaurant guide warned today. Although the number of newcomers smashed the previous high of 179 set only last year, there was also a sharp rise in closures to 76, suggesting that the capital could be close to peak restaurant according to new analysis by London guide Hardens. Intense competition and the high risk that Brexit will make it impossible to recruit enough overseas staff pose a major threat to the industry, it says. The guides co-founder Peter Harden said: Londoners are in a true golden age of dining out, as this years record openings show. But as many restaurateurs will tell you competition, heightened by the sheer weight of new restaurants, is increasing and starting to risk an oversupply, as shown by the rising number of closures. Our view is that Brexit poses a high risk to the restaurant trade which like the rest of the hospitality industry is terrified about staff recruitment with tougher immigration rules. There is a risk that we will look back in five or so years and think wow that was great. High-profile restaurants that shut this year included Michelin-starred Hibiscus in Mayfair, the Truscott Arms in Maida Vale and Fitzrovias Piquet, which lasted only a year. Mr Harden said that a number of stalwarts had also shuffled off this mortal coil including Londons oldest Thai restaurant, Bangkok in South Kensington, and Chez Patrick in Kensington, which had been trading for almost 30 years. He added: It used to be the rule that when a restaurant closed it had to be a bad restaurant. I dont see that any more, there is just too much competition, too many alternatives. The ratio of openings to closures fell from 3.2 to 1 to 2.6 to 1 in a sign that Mr Harden said was suggestive of a peak being passed. The average price of dinner out rose by 1.7 per cent from 50.51 to 51.37. The guide revealed that the east is still the hottest area of gastronomic London outside the centre with 44 openings in E postcodes followed by 31 in the west, 27 in the south and 22 in N postcodes. Chez Bruce in Wandsworth was voted Londoners favourite restaurant for the 12th year running, while the Best Gastronomic Experience slot went to The Ledbury in Notting Hill. The ratings were based on 50,000 restaurant reports by 7,500 diners. Visit standard.co.uk/restaurants for the latest news and reviews from Londons food scene. Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESGoingOut F orget Kobe beef and almas caviar, theres a new ludicrously expensive dish that affluent Londoners might want to tuck into around the dinner table this Christmas - but it likely tastes better than it sounds. Donkey cheese, which is currently produced by just one rural farm in Serbia, is being touted by food experts as the next big thing in healthy eating. This is because its exceptionally high in protein, calcium and omega 3 fatty acids, which are all beneficial for maintaining cardiovascular health. Donkey's milk, which the cheese is made from, also contains an anti-allergenic, is low in fat and has 60 times more vitamin C than a dairy cow's milk. But healthy eaters might break out into a sweat when they see the price of the high-end fromage. The cheese, named Pule, costs an eye-watering 880 per kilo - making it the most expensive in the world. Its creators justify their high rates because the cheese is very rare and results in high production costs. It can only be found at Zasavica Nature Reserve, in Serbia, where manager Slobodan Simic creates the cheese from 300 donkeys at the reserve, with only around 20 producing milk at any time. 6 cheese and wine pairings every Londoner should know 1 /9 6 cheese and wine pairings every Londoner should know Click through our gallery to discover the cheese and wine pairings you should know... Shutterstock Tunworth from Neals Yard Try it with: Aged Bordeaux reds, Beaujolais, Cab Sauvignon, Champagne, Sauvignon Blanc, Cider. St James from Cartmel Cheeses Try it with: Burgundy red with aged cheese, Burgundy white with young cheese, Champagne, Sauternes, Marc de Bourgogne which is made from the left over pressings of burgundy wine grapes. Ragstone from Neals Yard Try it with: Sauvignon Blanc from California, Pouilly Fume, Rose, Pinot gris, Beer, Beaujolais. Cheddar Montgomerys from Paxton and Whitfield Try it with: Burgundy, white esp Aligote, dry Riesling, Sancerre, Saint Emilion, Vintage Port. Shutterstock Beauvale from Waitrose Try it with: Sauternes, sweet full-bodied wines, Riesling, Late Harvet wines, Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Baron Bigod from Neals Yard Try: Champagne, Blanc de Blancs, rose, dry Riesling, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir. One litre of donkey's milk costs 40 (34) and each kilogram of cheese needs a whopping 25 litres of milk. On Simics farm, the female donkeys are milked by hand three times a day - but the real cost comes from coagulating the milk, which has much less casein than cows milk, and therefore is harder to churn into cheese. How Simic does this, he keeps a closely-guarded secret. As the cheese is ultra-rare, not many have managed to taste test it. but it is said to have a similar flavour to Manchego, with a rich, nutty, earthy flavour and a crumbly texture. Given that the donkey cheese industry boils down to one small farm, its unlikely youll be picking it up at your local Tesco Metro anytime soon, but were sure Londons discerning diners will soon be handing over their gold cards for a sliver of the stuff at Michelin-starred restaurants across the capital. Follow us on Twitter: @eslifeandstyle P olice officers and forces from across London have sent their best wishes to a brave colleague who was left seriously injured after being stabbed while on duty. Medics raced to the scene and police swarmed the area after the plain clothes officer was knifed three times in the stomach in Bow, east London, on Tuesday night. A teenage boy was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and a knife was recovered at the scene. The Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, Ken Marsh, said: "Yet again a police officer has been badly injured while protecting the people of London. This shows the dangers our members sadly face on a daily basis. "Our thoughts are with the injured officer and his family. We wish him a swift recovery." The officer, who is now in a stable condition in an east London hospital, was stabbed near Bow Bells pub on Bow Road at 9.20pm. On duty: A police officer on the scene in Bow / Nigel Howard Met Police Officer John Sutherland wrote on Twitter: God forbid we ever take for granted the risks that frontline police officers face on our behalf I am more proud than I can possibly say to serve alongside the remarkable women and men who stand on the thin blue line. Another officer, Martin Hewitt, added: Thoughts are with our injured colleague and the team from @MPSTowerHam. Violently attacked while keeping London safe. #JobLikeNoOther. Borough police forces have also wished the injured officer a speedy recovery. Enfield police wrote: Our best wishes to our colleague who is thankfully in a stable condition following last nights incident. One arrest for attempted murder. Southwark police added: Wishing our brave colleague from @MPSTowerHam a speedy recovery. This really is a job like no other. Witnesses reported seeing scores of emergency vehicles descend on the scene as Bow Road was shut in both directions. A woman who was having a drink inside the Bow Bells described seeing police and paramedics everywhere and said officers requested the pub lock its doors after the attack. Temporary Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Richard Martin, from the Met's Specialist Crime and Operations unit, said: Fortunately, the officer is recovering well in hospital, as his injuries could have been a lot worse. Id like to appeal for any information or witnesses to the attack that took place. If you saw or heard anything that may help us catch the people responsible then please get in touch. Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. A wounded man staggered into a south London home after being stabbed in the head, police say. Police were called to the address in Constance Road, Croydon, at 12.55am on Wednesday where they found the 21-year-old victim. Paramedics also rushed to the scene and took the man away to a major trauma centre for treatment. A spokesman for Croydon police said it is believed the man was knifed at a different location. The victim then managed to make it to the home in Constance Road, near a local junior school, before emergency services were called. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening or life-changing, police said. Officers from Croydon CID are probing the incident but have not arrested anyone so far. Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Out on the high plains of North Dakota, a historic gathering is taking place. Thousands have come from hundreds of indigenous tribal nations in opposition to a pipeline they are concerned will endanger the water of the Missouri River their primary water supply and ruin ancestral land. Also gathering are law enforcement officers from the county, state and federal levels, who are patrolling the encampments surrounding the construction site. They have a job, too: to keep the peace. In a perfect scenario, these two goals would not be at odds with each other. The indigenous community and its allies would assemble and be heard, and the police would protect their right to do so. Unfortunately, what we are seeing unfolding on the prairie is similar to what we at Amnesty International saw on the streets of Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri. Rather than having their rights protected, peaceful protesters are being confronted and treated as if they are violent criminals. There is a difference between law enforcement reasonably protecting the public and confronting a group of people, including children, while outfitted in gear that would be more appropriate on a battlefield. Our observers saw lines of heavily armed officers and massive military-grade vehicles when they traveled to the area. We have sent several letters to authorities expressing concern about the policing practices there, most recently when police sprayed a chemical irritant at close range at people standing in water while attempting to cross a creek near the construction site. Contrast this approach to what our teams saw at the presidential conventions this summer. While both Cleveland and Philadelphia deployed a massive amount of law enforcement, the authorities largely managed to exercise restraint without the kind of firepower we are seeing in North Dakota. Arrests at the conventions, when they did occur, were done in an orderly fashion, sometimes with officers even helping people over a fence before methodically and calmly arresting them. While we noted that there were isolated incidents of force used, the response in North Dakota which over the weekend expanded to include the spraying of fire hoses despite below-freezing temperatures seems disproportionate by contrast. Some may wish to believe that everyone in the United States enjoys the same right to free speech regardless of their background. If only that were true. Sadly, the response to the people of the Standing Rock Sioux, like those in Ferguson and Baltimore, shows otherwise. Police should do their best to empower people to peacefully exercise their right to free speech. In any large gathering, there is always the chance that a small minority will seek to escalate a peaceful assembly into a violent confrontation. But it should not be assumed at the outset that a particular group as a whole will resort to violence. Nor should tactics like tear gas and sound cannons which have been used in North Dakota be used to impede the rights of peaceful expression. Not only do these tactics endanger more people than they protect, they are discriminatory when used to silence an entire community. Peaceful dissent is not a criminal act. Everyone in the United States should have the full enjoyment of their rights. No exceptions. All communities have a right to be heard. We reject the idea that any voice should be stifled. T he judge who jailed Jo Coxs killer for life hailed the murdered MP as a patriot and branded her killing an act of terrorism. Mr Justice Wilkie told Thomas Mair he had "betrayed our country" after a jury at the Old Bailey found him guilty of the 41-year-old mother-of-threes murder in less than two hours. He said: "You affect to be a patriot. The words you uttered repeatedly when you killed her give lip service to that concept. "Those sentiments can be legitimate and can have resonance but in your mouth, allied to your actions, they are tainted and made toxic." Thomas Mair jailed for life for the murder of MP Jo Cox He said the murder had been an act of terrorism, fuelled by the 53-year-olds "admiration of Nazism" which had betrayed past generations who fought against Hitler in the Second World War Killer: Thomas Mair (West Yorkshire Police ) / West Yorkshire Police "Our parents' generation made huge sacrifices to defeat those ideas and values in the Second World War. What you did, and your admiration for those views which informed your crime, betrays the sacrifices of that generation. Grieving family: Jo Cox's parents Jean and Gordon Leadbeater embrace her sister Kim Leadbeater outside the Old Bailey(Philip Toscano/PA ) / Philip Toscano/PA "You are no patriot. By your actions you have betrayed the quintessence of our country, its adherence to parliamentary democracy," he added. The judge said the crime was so grave he could not even consider allowing Mair to be released in old age, and only the Home Secretary could made that decision on grounds of clemency. Hitler-obsessed Mair, shot the MP for Batley and Spen three times with a sawn-off rifle and stabbed her 15 times with a British special forces-replica dagger in an ambush outside her constituency surgery in the quiet village of Birstall, West Yorkshire. Jo Cox tributes - In pictures 1 /32 Jo Cox tributes - In pictures Tributes and candles left for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox are seen in Parliament Square, London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters A white and red rose lie on Jo Cox's empty seat in the House of Commons, London PA The parents of Jo Cox, Jean and Gordon Leadbeater look at the flowers laid in memory of their daughter in Parliament Square, Londo Hannah McKay/PA Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn lead MPs including George Osborne and Tom Watson as they process from the Houses of Parliament to St Margaret's Church, London, for a service of prayer and remembrance to commemorate Jo Cox MP Hannah McKay/PA A woman and child leave a floral tribute for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Messages from well wishers for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox are seen on a board in Parliament Square Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Tributes are paid at the Wapping house boat of Labour MP for Batley and Spen, Jo Cox Lucy Young Lucy Powell MP, Jeff Smith MP, Paula Sheriff MP and Karen Rawling arrive to leave floral tributes close to where Jo Cox MP was murdered Matt Cardy/Getty Images Hilary Benn MP for Leeds Central, Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, Prime Minister David Cameron, Speaker's chaplain Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn arrive to pay their respects near to the scene of the murder Matt Cardy/Getty Images The flag above Buckingham Palace flies at half mast Yui Mok/PA Tribute messages at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster, central London, in respect of Labour MP Jo Cox Yui Mok/PA A young girl leaves flowers in Market Square, Birstall, for Jo Cox, 41, Labour MP for Batley and Spen Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Yvette Cooper (left) leaves St Peter's Church Birstall, West Yorkshire after a vigil following the death of Labour MP Jo Cox Peter Byrne/PA Floral tributes are left in Birstall, West Yorkshire, after Labour MP Jo Cox was shot in the street outside her constituency advice surgery Danny Lawson/PA Floral tributes and candles are placed by a picture of slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London Daniel Leal-Olvas/AFP/Getty Images The Union Jack flag at half-mast on top of Portcullis House, London Yui Mok/PA People place tributes at Parliament Square opposite the Palace of Westminster Yui Mok/PA A woman leaves a floral tribute next to a photograph of murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters A message is seen on a floral tribute left near the scene of the murder of Labour member of Parliament Jo Cox in Birstal Phil Noble/Reuters A woman arrives to leave a floral tribute near the scene of the murder of Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Birstal near Leeds Craig Brough/Reuters A flag at half mast above the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh ane Barlow/PA People react as they look at tributes left for murdered Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox in Parliament Square, Londo Stefan Wermuth/Reuters People place floral tributes and candles to slain Labour MP Jo Cox at a vigil in Parliament square in London Daniel Leal-Olvas/AFP/Getty Images Winston Churchill's statue stands in the foreground as Union Flags hang at half mast Stefan Wermuth/Reuters When he struck on June 16, onlookers heard him shouting: Keep Britain independent Britain First, this is for Britain, Britain will always come first. Captured and brought to court, he gave his name as death to traitors, freedom for Britain and insisted on a trial despite having no defence to the charges. A thug swung a terrified dog against the wall of a train in a sickeningly cruel attack. The hooded man hung the Staffordshire Bull Terrier by its lead and swung it against the carriage wall before stamping on the petrified dogs face. Police found animal excrement on the seats and walls of the train carriage after the dog was so terrified it emptied its bowels during the horrific assault. CCTV images show the man stamping his foot into the dogs head as it lays across the seat of the train, which was travelling from Braintree to Witham. Train staff were forced to cancel the service after they found the mess spread across the train carriage. The British Transport Police are now appealing for information following the attack, which happened at around 10.30pm on Monday, October 10. Petrified: The Staffordshire bull terrier was so frightened it emptied its bowels. / BTP Police Sergeant Paul Thompson called it an unbelievably shocking act of cruelty. He said: No animal should ever be subjected to such punishment and I am determined to trace the man responsible. Clearly this animal was frightened for its life as he emptied his bowls on the seat and train carriage. Id urge anyone who has any information on who this man is to contact us as soon as possible. A man aged 22 from Chelmsford was arrested in connection with the incident. Anyone with any information is asked to contact BTP by sending a text to 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 140 of 23/11/2016. Alternatively, you can pass inform A man is fighting for his life in hospital and three other people have been injured after a car ploughed into pedestrians in West Kensington. Emergency services swarmed the area after the car mounted the pavement and crashed into four men in North End Road on Wednesday evening. Police and paramedics raced to the scene of the crash at the junction with Mund Street at about 6.45pm. Dramatic images taken at the scene showed dozens of emergency services vehicles lining the street and medics treating the injured. Scotland Yard said a 56-year-old man and three men, aged in their 20s, were taken to hospital after the crash. Emergency services swarmed the area in North End Road One of the men, aged in his 20s, was in a critical condition, while the other three male pedestrians were described as stable, police said in the early hours of Thursday morning. Police said the car stopped at the scene and a female passenger who was inside the car was also receiving treatment from paramedics for minor injuries. A 19-year-old woman was arrested by officers on suspicion of causing injury by dangerous driving and taken into custody. Police and ambulances parked inside the cordon Witness Srivinas Namilikonda, 32, and three passing medical student helped to give medical aid to the victims at the scene until emergency services arrived. The IT worker, from Hounslow, told the Standard: "An out of control car hit four people, they flew in different directions. It was very bad. "People immediately called paramedics and police. The medical students were really helping and telling people what to do until the ambulances came and the trauma team. "It was a horrific feeling. I have never seen anything like this before. So many people were crying." A woman, who lives in North End Road, told the Standard: "It sounded like a bomb went off. I then went to the window and heard people screaming and shouting. Crash: A car mounted the pavement and ploughed into several pedestrians / Bridgette Parlma @Bparlma "When I left the flat, there were people lying in the road and blood was everywhere. "People were rushing round to try and help the injured. It was terrifying as I didn't know what was happening." The road was cordoned off while paramedics treated the injured and police investigate. A Met Police spokesman said: It is believed at this early stage that the car mounted the pavement and collided with four pedestrians. "The four pedestrians - a 56-year-old man and three males aged in their 20s - were taken to hospital for treatment. "The 56-year-old man and two of the men aged in their 20s are in a non-life threatening condition. "A man, aged in his 20s, remains in a critical condition in hospital." Detectives from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit are appealing for witnesses. Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. G eorge Galloway was showered in glitter by five students during a university speech. The firebrand politician claimed his pregnant wife had to spring to his defence when he was confronted by the mob, led by a trans anarchist. Mr Galloway, who had been addressing University of Aberdeen students on Tuesday night, said he was left feeling unwell after the shimmering substance got into his eyes and lungs. The controversial one-time London mayoral candidate then soldiered on with his lecture, still covered in glitter. Footage acquired by Mirror Online appears to show several people carrying placards walk in front of the stage where the politician, wearing his trademark fedora, is on his feet. Glittery: George Galloway (Ryan Houghton/PA ) / Ryan Houghton/PA The video then seems to show a shower of gold, then green glitter being thrown in the air. A woman can be seen leaping over the desk towards the stage in an apparent attempt to apprehend the culprits and a scuffle breaks out, with her repeatedly shouting: "Who did that?" Mr Galloway tweeted later: "Someone calling themselves "Trans" and an "anarchist" led a five person attack on me on the platform at Aberdeen University. I continued. I now have an unknown substance in my eyes and lungs and feel a little unwell. But the struggle continues:-) He went on: "Few weeks go by when the "identity politics" crowd don't strike one campus or another either physically or with their "no platform" demands. My pregnant wife leapt forward to defend me God bless her." Police Scotland confirmed officers had attended High Street in Old Aberdeen after reports of a disturbance. S cotland Yard is examining 58 deaths in London from the party drug GHB over a four year period, it emerged today. Detectives launched the probe amid fears there could be more victims of serial killer Stephen Port - or further deaths which could be linked to foul play. So far, police say there is no evidence that any of the deaths are suspicious or linked to Port but the review is ongoing. The deaths from GHB poisoning occurred between June 2011 and October 2015 and reflect the scale of the drugs use in London. Drugs such as GHB, or G, are said to induce euphoria and reduce inhibitions and are known as date rape drugs. Guilty: Stephen Port was found guilty of murdering four men at his Barking flat by giving them lethal doses of date rape drug GHB Police say there is a fine line between the drug inducing relaxation and causing users to lose consciousness. Earlier this year celebrity barrister Henry Hendron admitted buying designer chemsex drugs including GHB which resulted in the death of his teenage boyfriend. He said he found Colombian Miguel Jimenez, 18, dead in his bed after he had taken the drug the previous evening. Hendron pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing controlled drugs with intent to supply and was spared jail and sentenced to 140 hours of unpaid work. His is not one of the cases being investigated by police. Scotland Yard has admitted that ignorance of the drug and its links to the gay chemsex party scene played a part in failures to link three of the four murders committed by Port or identify them as suspicious. Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Mets Specialist Crime and Operations command, said at the time front line officers had pretty poor knowledge of drug facilitated sex or chemsex. He said: Some may have heard of it but not many. Now the Met has introduced new training for all its front line staff so they have a better understanding of the issue. Police have also launched a pilot scheme in London to improve their knowledge of the use of drugs in sexual assaults and deaths. Victims of sexual assaults where drugs are suspected of being involved will be asked to be tested for GHB and where men have died and there is evidence of sexual assault their bodies will also be tested for the drug. The pilot scheme launched in September is being run across London. Commander Mak Chishty, the head of community engagement, said: We are looking to learn lessons, to make sure we are better attuned. He said: All lives do matter to us. The Mets LGBT advisory group said there were concerns Londoners did not always receive the same equally high standard across all boroughs in London. The group, which advises the force on gay issues, welcomed initiatives to build trust and confidence including a revised guide to dealing with chemsex issues. T he Met Police was facing a barrage of criticism today for a catalogue of blunders which allowed serial killer Stephen Port who murdered four young men and sexually abused several others to stalk the streets of London for months before he was eventually captured. Senior officers have admitted missed opportunities in its failure to stop the 41-year-old bus garage chef, who murdered four men with overdoses of date rape drug GHB and sexually abusing seven others in a three-year campaign of abuse and death. Officers are accused of fobbing off concerned friends and relatives of the dead men who suspected foul play, insisting for months that the strikingly similar deaths were not suspicious. Port was caught out lying about knowing the first victim, fashion student Anthony Walgate, and was locked up for perverting the course of justice. Stephen Port guilty of murdering four men But it was not until the fourth victim, Jack Taylor, had died that police finally realised they had a serial killer on their hands. Guilty: Stephen Port was found guilty of murdering four men at his Barking flat by giving them lethal doses of date rape drug GHB Even then, they initially dismissed his death as unexplained but when Mr Taylors family investigated themselves and demanded a rethink, detectives belated found CCTV of Port with the victim. Today at the Old Bailey, Port was found guilty after a trial of murdering Mr Walgate and Mr Taylor, as well as Gabriel Kovari and Daniel Whitworth, as well as and a string of others charges that he drugged, sexually abused, and raped men at his flat. He may face a whole life sentence when he is jailed on Friday. Following the verdict, Mr Taylor's family announced that they plan to sue the police over its handling of the case, and said: "We do believe Jack would still be here if they had done their job. Found dead in churchyard: Jack Taylor / Metropolitan Police "The police should be held accountable for Jack's death. We do understand it's not them who took Jack's life, but Stephen Port would have been stopped." Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Mets Specialist Crime and Operations department, admitted several missed opportunities in the original investigation in the four deaths. Seventeen Met officers are now under investigation for misconduct and the force has referred its handling of the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Gay rights activist Peter Tatchell accused the Met of appalling failures and said two of the murder victims could have been saved if officers had taken the case more seriously. The police let Stephen Port slip though their fingers", he said. If four young well-off women had been murdered in Mayfair, I believe the police would have made a public appeal much sooner and mounted a far more comprehensive investigation. "The killing of low income gay men in working class Barking was treated very differently. Police officers stand accused of class, gender and sexuality bias." Victim: chef Daniel Whitworth, 21 / Metropolitan Police Daniel Whitworths step-mother Mandy Pearson said outside the Old Bailey: "We are bereft at the loss of such a clever, talented and much loved boy and we have yet to concentrate on other areas of accountability. An investigation is, as I am sure you are all aware by now, in the hands of the IPCC. The fight goes on until all our questions are answered. Port, who was bullied at school and shunned by his mother for being gay, used dating app Grindr to find his victims, inviting them for chemsex parties at his flat in Cooke Street, Barking. He described himself as 100 per cent gay and fancied young looking men in their 20s, known in the gay community as twinks. But Port also harboured dark sexual desires, to drug men so he could have sex while they were unconscious. He slipped GHB into his victims drinks or applied the drug by pretending it was lubrication. When the body of Mr Walgate, Middlesex University fashion student, was discovered outside Ports block of flats, police captured the killer and questioned him over the death. Port initially pretended not to know the man, but it soon emerged he has hired Mr Walgate through website Sleepyboys as an escort for the night. The victim had texted a friend before the meeting joking: I'm going to get killed", and chillingly met his end just hours later. Victim: Slovakian-national Gabriel Kovari / Metropolitan Police Port eventually admitted lying to the police about knowing Mr Walgate, but detectives were convinced the death was unexplained rather than suspicious, charging him only with perverting the course of justice for which he received an eight-month jail sentence. Following todays verdicts, he has now been found guilty of murdering Mr Walgate with an overdose of GHB. Mr Walgate's friends told Barking CID at the time they believed he may have been killed, but their complaints went unheeded by "unhelpful and unsympathetic" detectives. Before Port could be sentenced, two more men were dead at his hands. Slovakian-national Gabriel Kovari, 22, and chef Daniel Whitworth, 21, both died from GHB overdoses and their bodies were found in St Margaret's churchyard in Abbey Green. Mr Whitworth was even found with a bogus suicide note - penned by Port trying to pin the blame for Mr Kovaris murder on Mr Whitworth. We was just having some fun at a mate's place and I got carried away and gave him another shot of G, he wrote. Victim: Anthony Waldgate / Metropolitan Police I didn't notice while we was having sex that he had stopped breathing. I tried everything to get him to breathe again but it was too late, it was an accident, but I blame myself for what happened and I didn't tell my family I went out. The note added: BTW Please do not blame the guy I was with last night, we only had sex then I left, he knows nothing of what I have done. Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC told jurors police had accepted the apparent suicide note at face value and did not investigate further, including failing to check Mr Whitworths movements that night or trying to find the other man mentioned in the note. LGBT newspaper Pink News were alerted to possible links between the first three murders in December 2014, but were convinced not to go public following police assurances there was nothing suspicious to link them. Police dismissed the deaths as "unusual and confusing" but not suspicious, and it was not until Port killed again, in September 2015, that detectives finally joined the dots. Forklift truck driver Mr Taylor, 25, was found dead in the same churchyard, and CCTV then emerged of him with Port just before he died. Detective Chief Inspector Tim Duffield, who led the subsequent murder inquiry, described Port as one of the most dangerous individuals he had ever encountered, adding: He is a voracious sexual predator who appears to be fixated, obsessed with stupefying young often vulnerable men for the express purposes of rape. From what we have seen as an investigation team this is a highly devious, manipulative and self-obsessed individual. Mr Rees said Port liked to "play God" by drugging his victims because he was "driven by his seemingly insatiable appetite for sex with Twinks while they were unconscious. Port maintained throughout his trial that he had not killed or sexually assaulted any of the victims despite the avalanche of evidence against him. The LGBT Independent Advisory Group said the gay community in London does not always receive service of the same equally high standard across all boroughs, and the case raises concerns about social media dating generally. Commander Cundy said: The evidence we have heard at the trial does identify that there were missed opportunities. Clearly there are significant similarities with each of the four murders. I cannot say lives could have been saved but the evidence we have heard is that there are potential opportunities that we have missed. Port was found guilty by the jury of four counts of murder, four counts of rape, ten counts of administering a substance with intent, four counts of sexual assault by penetration. He was cleared by the jury of three counts of rape against two men. Mr Justice Openshaw adjourned sentencing until Friday, but warned Port he could face a whole life sentence. A teenage boy was being questioned today on suspicion of attempted murder after an undercover police officer was stabbed during a covert operation in east London. The injured officer was knifed three times in the stomach and underwent major surgery after being rushed to hospital last night. Today his condition was described as serious but not life threatening. The plain clothes officer, who is attached to a Specialist Crime and Operations Unit, was deployed on a pre-planned operation in Bow. He is thought to have been targeting a criminal gang when he was attacked by a group of teenagers in an alleyway next to the Bow Bells pub at 9.22pm. Scotland Yard said today the officer was attacked by a group of youths including three boys and one girl, said to be aged in their late teens. Police at the scene in Bow / Nigel Howard It is not believed they knew that the person they attacked was a police officer, and that they may have been out socialising in the area. Police believe the group may have been involved in another incident nearby, outside Devons Road DLR station, where they threatened a motorist with a knife. He managed to drive off and reported the incident to police. A pub worker told the Standard he saw four youths dive out of the alley and flee past him down the busy high street. He said: Two young kids and one girl ran past, then a fourth guy came after them. They were all very young, like under 15, and they ran off towards McDonalds. Then the police came past, and Im not exaggerating, in no more than ten seconds. Temporary Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Richard Martin, from Specialist Crime and Operations, said: Fortunately, the officer is recovering well in hospital, as his injuries could have been a lot worse. Id like to appeal for any information or witnesses to the attack that took place. If you saw or heard anything that may help us catch the people responsible then please get in touch. Police said the covert operation was not terrorist related. A police officer stands guard at a cordon in Bow Road / Saleh Ahmed Surrounding streets were sealed off to pedestrians and traffic within minutes as officers with dogs hunted the suspects. A knife was recovered and a male in his teens arrested. The injured officer, described as a sturdy middle-aged man with tattoos, was seen being wheeled into a waiting ambulance. Saleh Ahmed, 45, was on his way home when he saw the flashing lights of emergency services and a police helicopter overhead. He said: There was a massive manhunt, I havent seen anything like it. Police, helicopters, dogs everything it was chaos. Locals said the alleyway, which backs onto a street of gated executive apartments and a primary school, is a known drug-dealing hotspot that has been the subject of numerous complaints. The incident comes after it was revealed yesterday that two police officers were attacked by a mob of 30 schoolchildren in Lewisham earlier this month. One of the officers suffered serious bruising after being beaten to the ground in the attack. Ken Marsh, the chairman of the Met Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said : Clearly this once agains shows the dangers of the job my colleagues do on a daily basis in London and my thoughts are with the officer and his family. A Met spokesman said: One male has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. A knife has been recovered. A man is fighting for life in hospital after being hit by bus during rush hour in Lambeth. The 54-year-old pedestrian was stuck in Kennington Road at 9.20am on Tuesday. Police and paramedics rushed to the scene, close to the junction with Lambeth Road. The man was taken to a central London hospital where he remains in a critical condition. Dramatic images on Twitter show a large police cordon around the scene of the crash. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: The driver of the bus stopped at the scene. There has been no arrest. Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call detectives from the Roads and Transport Policing Command on 020 8543 5157. A customer at a Starbucks in south London was shocked to discover a spy camera hidden in an air vent above a toilet. The matchbox-sized recording device was discovered hidden behind a grille above the customer toilet in the coffee chain's Vauxhall branch, directly opposite the HQ of MI6. It was found by customer Ricci Arcari, who went into the branch on Tuesday evening and looked up in the bathroom, where he made the disturbing discovery. The 33-year-old from Vauxhall, who is a regular at the South Lambeth Place branch, told the Standard: Id gone in and I had my drink. In that Starbucks theres only one toilet, its a big one for everyone. The camera was found in the branch at Vauxhall, opposite the HQ of MI6 I went in, used the toilet and as I was standing I was looking around. I looked up and thought thats definitely a camera. I panicked a little bit, stopped doing what I was doing, closed the toilet lid and jumped up to have a look. I wanted to make sure it was what it was so I poked and prodded it a few times with my pinky and ran out and got the manager. Shocked: The horrifying discovery was made by Ricci Arcari, 33, from Vauxhall. / Ricci Arcari The device has since been removed by staff at the coffee shop, who contacted the police. It is not known how long the device had been in the toilet cubicle or what it was being used for. Mr Arcari, who works as a media manager for a local authority, said: Its quite shocking. You always think of creepy people doing something like this but you dont think that it would actually happen. Say cheese: The hidden camera which was discovered above the toilet in the south London Starbucks. / Ricci Arcari That cubicle is used by everyone. A mother or father will be like, thats fine for their children, its a cubicle which is secure. You cant even go to the toilet now in private without the feeling you are being watched. A spokesperson for Starbucks said: This is a distressing discovery for our partners (employees) and customers, and we take our responsibility to provide a safe environment very seriously. As soon as the store was made aware of this, we removed the device and contacted the police who are investigating the incident. Starbucks said it is not known how the camera came to be there and whether it was placed there by a member of the public and the police are now dealing with it. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said they do not comment on security issues. P hilip Hammond has delivered his first - and last - Autumn Statement as chancellor. He veered away from the hard austerity favoured by his predecessor George Osborne, and announced measures to help low-paid workers and invest in affordable housing. The former foreign secretary announced a 4 per cent rise in the minimum wage for over-25s - known by ministers as the National Living Wage - to 7.50 an hour from April 2017. One final surprise was the announcement that this was the last Autumn Statement. Instead, there will be one budget in Autumn so that significant changes can only be made once a year. Updates as it happenned: 15.40: That's it for today but stay with the Standard for reports and analysis on what has been a very important Autumn Statement. 14.21: What about the NHS? Chuka Umunna, the Labour MP for Streatham, has raised an interesting point. He posted on Twitter: "Absolutely no sign whatsoever of a path to Boris' promised 350m extra p/week for the NHS in the #Autumnstatement." 14.00: Bleak outlook. In amongst the excitement, there were some important figures which were worse than expected. National debt will peak at a national record of 90.2 per cent of GDP in 2017/18 per cent of GDP in 2017/18 Growth is forecast at 1.4 per cent in 2017, down from 2.2 per cent before the EU referendum per cent in 2017, down from 2.2 per cent before the EU referendum Government borrowing will hit 69.2bn in 2016 and 59bn in 2017, far exceeding what was expected This essentially means that the Brexit fall-out will have a harsher impact on our economy than previously thought. 13.50: Sterling reacts. The pound rose during Mr Hammond's speech, reaching $1.2432 against the dollar, although it has now slipped down to $1.2386. 13.40: Shadow chancellor John McDonnell comes out firing. His assessment of his counterpart is rather blunt. "He has significantly failed," he says. The figures speak for themselves. Growth down, wage growth down, business investment down. And their own deficit target failed. The debt target failed. The welfare cap failed. The verdict could not be clearer. The so called long-term economic plan has failed. He finishes his stinging rebuke by saying: "We now face Brexit, the greatest economic challenge for a generation, and we face it unprepared." 13.30: It's over. Philip Hammond ends with a bombshell in true Jeremy Clarkson style. The chancellor must now hear what shadow chancellor John McDonnell has to say. Meanwhile, one wonders what Mr Osborne makes of all this. George Osborne looks on as Mr Hammond delivers his statement / PA 13.27: This is my first... and my last. Philip Hammond is abolishing the Autumn Statement! Instead, we will have an Autumn budget in order to announce tax changes well in advance of the tax year. There will then be a Spring statement. "I will not make significant changes twice a year just for the sake of it," he says. 13.26: Pensions scams. Mr Hammond is working on a plan to ban pensions cold calling and a range of scams. 13.25: It's official. The chancellor confirms he is banning estate agents from charging letting fees. Weve seen these fees spiral despite attempts to regulate them, this is wrong, he says. Landlords appoint letting agents and landlords should meet their fees. This is major news for Londoners crippled by the housing market (so pretty much all of them). Reference fees alone can cost 50-100. 13.22: Minimum wage up. The chancellor announces a 4 per cent rise in the minimum wage for over-25s to 7.50 an hour from April 2017. "We recognise more needs to be done to help families make ends meet." The treasury has some lovely graphics up its sleeve. 13.16: Corporation tax will drop to 17 per cent. This is the lowest rate of all the G20 countries. That could change as Donald Trump promised to reduce corporation tax in America to 15 per cent when President. Although he promised a lot of things. Meanwhile, insurance premium tax will rise from 10 per cent to 12 per cent. 13.12: Number one. "My priority as chancelllor is to ensure Britain remains the number one destination for business," says Mr Hammond. That's the kind of thing London's business leaders like to hear. All eyes on the chancellor in the House of Commons / Sky News 13.10: The capital is set to receive 3.15bn as its share of national affordable housing funding. This will help Sadiq Khan to deliver more than 90,000 affordable homes and comes as good news for Londoners who are fed up with the worsening housing crisis. But is it enough? 13.04: Life outside London. The chancellor praises the capital as "one of the cities with the highest productivity in the world". But he admits: "No other developed economy has such a gap in productivity between its capital and it second and third cities." He then declares he will fund a major road scheme in the North. 12.55: Infrastructure boost. Mr Hammond announces a huge increase in infrastructure spending. One of the highlights is a rail link between Cambridge and Oxford which could be a "transformational tech corridor". He reveals 400 million will go the Welsh government and 800 million to the Scottish, which is met by loud mutterings from SNP MPs. 12.45: Growth forecasts down. Mr Hammond unveils growth forecasts and they aren't pretty. Brexit fall-out is set to cost 2.4% of GDP over five years. He admits the deficit, which George Osborne wanted to wipe out by 2016, will now be around until at least 2020. However, he gleefully states the UK's growth is still likely to be higher than in other European countries including France and Italy. 12.42: Mr Hammond pays tribute to George Osborne by saying they will have a similar style. He then makes a joke. I suspect I will prove no more adept at pulling rabbits from hats as my successor as Foreign Secretary has been at pulling balls from the back of scrums, he says, referring to Boris Johnson's attempt to 'grab the ball' (become Prime Minister). It's unlikely to be in a Christmas cracker. Philip Hammond delivers his Autumn Statement / Sky News 12.38: We are underway. Philip Hammond leads on Brexit, saying: "That decision will change the course of Britain's history." He calls for an economy where "every part of the United Kingdom contributes and is a part of its success." 12.23: Who had 12.23? Brexit has been mentioned already. The Prime Minister reiterates that she will not disclose her entire plan for leaving the EU in order to help secure the best possible deal. Meanwhile, Philip Hammond sits next to her, silently waiting for PMQs to finish. Theresa May and Philip Hammond during PMQs / PA 12.02: Warm-up. Prime Minister's Questions has now begun. There will be 14 questions for Theresa May to field before all eyes turn on Mr Hammond. 11.58am: Table-banging. When Philip Hammond previewed his statement to Cabinet members this morning they responded by banging the table in pleasure. Will families in London be banging their tables this afternoon? 11.50am: Prudent. It's getting serious now as Theresa May is pictured heading to the House of Commons. Prime Minister Theresa May heads to the House of Commons / Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Her spokeswoman said Mrs May told the weekly Cabinet meeting: "This is a balanced and prudent Autumn Statement which will make clear Britain is open for business and the Government is on the side of ordinary working people struggling to make ends meet." 11.40am. The hour is nigh. The chancellor is expected to deliver his speech at 12.30. Before that, here's a list of the main points to expect. Estate Agents may be banned from charging tenants letting fees Over 1 billion could be made available to target congestion on Britain's roads JAMS - the statement is expected to free up money to help families who are 'just about managing' Debt- Mr Hammond will have to set out his plan for dealing with what he described as 'eye-wateringly large debt' 11.35am: JAMS. One of the key focuses of the budget will be JAM (just about managing) households. It is this group of "ordinary working class people" who are thought to have voted disproportionately in favour of leaving the EU. Philip Hammond will try to find a balance between helping these families and keeping control of debt. 11.26am: Inside track. Gordon Brown's former adviser has offered some interesting analysis on this picture of Philip Hammond having one last look through his Autumn Statement. 11.15am: 'A new chapter'. Philip Hammond has just tweeted this: Meanwhile, his predecessor George Osborne does not sound at all bitter: 11.01am: Estate Agents are reportedly in a panic over the news that Mr Hammond may ban them from charging tenants fees for services such as references. Ed Miliband has had his say (remember him?) 10.30am: George Osborne delivered his final budget in June this year, in which he unveiled a new 'lifetime ISA' to help savers and a tax on sugary drinks. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne holds up the Budget Box on Downing St / Getty Since then Britain has voted to leave the EU, David Cameron has resigned and Donald Trump has been elected President of the US. It's been a relatively quiet year in politics. 10.00am: The day has arrived for Philip Hammond's first Autumn Statement as chancellor, having served as foreign secretary for two years under David Cameron previously. When Theresa May became Prime Minister in July, she quickly moved Mr Hammond in nextdoor at 11 Downing Street. Here he is going through his budget one last time with a cup of tea. P hilip Hammond put up 10 million to tackle homelessness today in an Autumn Statement to help families through Brexit. He aimed to speed up the building of affordable housing in the capital, confirming plans for 90,000 more homes at lower cost or cheaper rents. In a package overshadowed by massive borrowing and greater economic uncertainty from Brexit, he found spare change for a 1.5 million grant for play care and treatment of children with cancer at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, and 3 million for the RAF museum at Hendon. Announcing new money for people sleeping rough, the Chancellor said one person left on the streets was too many. Theresa May, pictured on the morning of the Autumn statement / Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP He praised the Standards Christmas Appeal to raise vital funds to launch the Centrepoint Young and Homeless Helpline, saying it would make a huge difference to peoples lives. Mr Hammond briefed the Cabinet on his debut Autumn Statement this morning, with the City and MPs on tenterhooks for the first official economic forecasts since Britain voted for Brexit. A sharp downgrade in growth from next year and a big increase in borrowing were widely expected to limit his room for manoeuvre. This Government is determined to build an economy that works for everyone, no matter their background, Mr Hammond said as he confirmed the homeless help. Autumn Statement: Hammond on Brexit and Osborne in opening statement One person without a home is one too many, and we want to identify solutions that look at all of the possible causes that lead to someone losing their home. He endorsed the Standards Christmas fundraising campaign, saying: The Evening Standard has long been a champion of tackling homelessness and their current campaign will make a huge difference to peoples lives. This funding is another step in the right direction, and allows the Government to support different projects that will make a difference to people and communities across London and the rest of England. Christmas appeal: Commuters donate to Centrepoint at Kings Cross / NIGEL HOWARD The cash doubles the Governments existing Rough Sleeping Fund, which was announced earlier in the year. It will provide grants to local authorities that produce innovative projects to prevent people at risk of sleeping rough from spending even a single night on the streets, as well as giving support to those already sleeping rough. London is expected to be the largest beneficiary because it attracts thousands of people who are vulnerable to homelessness. Money will be awarded to the best bidders but among schemes being hailed in Whitehall as successes are the No First Night Out pilots in Tower Hamlets, Hackney and the City. Mr Hammond was said to have had a dozen discussions with Theresa May in which he fended off Downing Street demands to loosen the purse strings ahead of the possible pain of Brexit. Homeless Helpline: Centrepoint want a freephone number for young people facing homelessness But the Chancellor was instead emphasising that the best way to improve Britons living standards was to provide economic stability, restore the public finances and boost productivity. Policies trailed in advance by the Treasury were tailored to appeal to the 17 million who voted for Brexit in June. They included: Plans for 40,000 more affordable homes, with 1.4 billion of funding. In addition, restrictions will be relaxed allowing affordable housing cash to be used to support low-cost rents, shared ownership schemes and Rent to Buy. A partial reverse to cuts in in-work benefits, by reforming Universal Credit so that families can keep more of what they earn. Homeless helpline: The Evening Standard launched its Christmas appeal on Monday (NIGEL HOWARD ©) / NIGEL HOWARD A new taper will benefit three million households, according to officials, with a couple with two children receiving housing help, where one parent earns 30,000 a year, being better off by 425 a year. Unpopular letting agents fees that force renters to pay hundreds of pounds up-front will be scrapped, helping 4.3 million households in private rental homes. Citizens Advice say such fees average 337, and Shelter says one in seven have to pay more than 500. Reining in whiplash claims to reduce motor insurance premiums by 40 on average. For Labour, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said millions would still be worse off as the measures did not fully reverse deep and damaging cuts to benefits. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron branded the package all smoke and mirrors. He said: This will prove to be about one thing and one thing only the impact of Brexit on the British economy. The Evening Standard's Homeless Helpline appeal is raising money for the Centrepoint Helpline, a brand new support service that will save young people from ending up on the streets. To donate please visit our Just Giving page. B udget brand Lidl is selling Britains cheapest lobster for a bargain 2.99 thanks to savvy shoppers on social media. The discount supermarket chain promised followers on Twitter that they would drop the price of the luxury item based on the number of users interacting with a post advertising the 5.99 product. The 33 per cent price drop comes thanks to more than 2,000 tweets and countless retweets. Lidl is the first supermarket chain to try-out the unique scheme which attracted the attention of celebrities including TV presenters Denise Van Outen and Jeff Brazier. Bosses are expecting a mad rush of shoppers looking to snap up the cheap treat when doors open at 7am on Saturday morning. However, bargain-hunters are limited to buying just one lobster each. Lidl spokeswoman Georgina Hall told the Mirror: Were incredibly excited about giving our customers the power on Twitter to lower the price of some of our finest festive products. Christmas is a very expensive time of year for shoppers up and down the country and our ambition is to put the control back into the hands of consumers, and save them even more in the run up to Christmas. On Monday, keen tweeters will have the chance to knock down the price of a 29.99 Serrano ham joint. A mini-butter stollen which normally costs 1.99 could go for pennies when it joins the Twitter price-drop in two weeks time. H illary Clinton is being urged to demand a recount of the US presidential election result amid concerns that votes in three key swing states won by Donald Trump may have been manipulated or hacked. The sensational challenge to a Trump presidency is being pushed by a prominent group of election lawyers and computer scientists. According to New York magazine, the group lobbied Mrs Clintons top campaign lieutenants in a call last week to quiz the vote counts in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. It is a race against time because of looming cut-offs for recounts, but the experts believe they have uncovered persuasive evidence that may turn the entire election result on its head. Hillary Clinton urges supporters to give Donald Trump a chance to lead Their findings showed that in Wisconsin, Mrs Clinton received seven per cent fewer votes in counties that relied on electronic voting machines compared with counties that used optical scanners and paper ballots. Donald Trump is preparing to take office in the White House / Mark Wilson/Getty Images Based on this analysis, says the magazine, the former First Lady may have been denied as many as 30,000 votes in a state she lost by 27,000 to Mr Trump. The maths remain tight but the academics argue a recount could result in Mrs Clinton overturning the billionaire former reality show stars winning 290 to 232 Electoral College votes victory. She would need to win a recount in Pennsylvania, which Mr Trump took by a narrow 68,000 margin to claim the states 20 Electoral College votes. She would also require Michigans 16 Electoral College votes that have still not been apportioned because the result was too close to call. Combined with the 10 Electoral College votes if the result in Wisconsin was reversed, Mrs Clinton would be back in the White House and her Republican rival would be back living full time in Trump Tower. In addition, at least six faithless Electoral College voters have said they will not place their votes for Mr Trump even though he prevailed in their states. Any recount would involve a time-consuming forensic audit of voting machines in the states where the results were questioned. Loading.... The lobbying group, which includes voting-rights attorney John Bonifaz and J. Alex Halderman, the director of the University of Michigan Centre for Computer Security and Society, has not found proof of impropriety but claims the suspicious pattern is reason enough to warrant an independent review of the results in the three crucial states. A recount is all the more desirable, says the magazine, in light of the Obama administrations allegation that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee in a bid to help the Trump campaign. However, Mr Obama and his senior team are said to be focused on a smooth transition of power to Mr Trump and oppose any challenge to the election result. Mrs Clinton has not commented on the proposal. The group reportedly made their case for a recount to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and campaign general counsel Marc Elias and New York magazine said some Clinton allies are intent on pushing the issue. Clinton supporters point to the fact that the losing Democrat candidate is 1.7 million votes ahead of Mr Trump in the nationwide popular vote as a reason for forcing through a recount to try and turn around the all-important Electoral College tally. But they do not have much time. The deadline in Wisconsin to file for a recount is Friday; in Pennsylvania, its Monday; and Michigan is next Wednesday. Meanwhile, Mr Trump continues to audition an array of contenders for his Cabinet posts. The latest to emerge as a possible appointee was General David Petraeus, one of Americas most prominent military chiefs. General Petraeus, who was forced to quit as CIA director in 2012 following an extramarital fling with his biographer, has been linked with the Secretary of State job. He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme he would be willing to serve in a Trump administration. While Mrs Clinton ponders on a possible challenge to Mr Trumps election triumph, the President-elect has apparently decided not to pursue his campaign pledge to launch a criminal probe into her use of a private email server while working in the State Department. I think Hillary Clinton still has to face the fact that a majority of Americans dont find her to be honest or trustworthy, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said. But if Donald Trump can help her heal then, perhaps, thats a good thing. A female Indian minister has claimed the country's well-documented rape problems have been exaggerated - putting tourists off visiting. Maneka Gandhi, the Cabinet minister for women and child development, told female journalists India ranked among the lowest four countries in the world for rape cases, the Guardian reported. Ms Gandhi said the Indian medias overemphasis on rape was driving away tourists who are told the country is unsafe for women. She added international attention had been fixated on sexual violence in the country since a brutal gang rape in Nirbhaya, Delhi in 2012 in which a 23-year-old was attacked on a moving bus. She said: In those [foreign] countries [rape] does not become big news, as their newspapers dont report these cases like we do. We have zero tolerance towards rape and our newspapers will write about it everyday. Someone said to me that no one wanted to travel to India. I had data with me and I took a look at it and then showed it to him. As per that data in the world, we ranked among the lowest four countries in terms of rape cases. Sweden was No 1. Loveleen Tharmani, a reporter who attended the workshop addressed by Ms Gandhi, claimed the statements were inaccurate. She said: In my state there are countless rape cases. The minister seemed to be saying that rape is not such a big problem, but I dont really agree. It is an everyday matter. Perhaps its true that the government isnt really doing anything about it, there are so many reported cases still lying in files, and nothing has really been done. Ms Gandhis comments echoed previous remarks issued by senior ministers in Prime Ministers Narendra Modis government. In 2014, finance minister Arun Jaitley described the Delhi gang rape a a small incident which cost the country billions in tourism. S elfridges bosses today unveiled what they claim will be the worlds largest handbag hall as part of a 300 million overhaul of the store. The designer handbag and accessories department is being tripled in size and when finished in 2018 will be 380 ft long 35 ft longer than the pitch at Wembley Stadium. The first phase, being opened today, is part of a four-year project to transform the department stores eastern wing in Duke Street, overseen by designers David Chipperfield Architects. The expansion of the handbag department follows a decade of growing sales of so-called It bags, costing hundreds or thousands of pounds, that have replaced shoes as status symbols. Sue West, Selfridges operations director, said: If you are looking at the new range of Burberry bags, they have become works of art. They are a status symbol, but they are also beautiful objects in their own right. The hall will include concessions for 10 brands: Balenciaga, Burberry, Chanel, Celine, Chloe, Chrome Hearts, Gucci, Loewe, Mulberry and Saint Laurent, with prices from 35 to 20,000.Selfridges believes the 60,000 sq ft department, which will also sell purses, scarves and sunglasses, will surpass the accessories department in the flagship Galeries Lafayette in Paris as the worlds largest. Christmas gift ideas for her - in pictures 1 /29 Christmas gift ideas for her - in pictures Scroll to see our Christmas gift ideas for her... Shutterstock Christian Louboutin Beauty Trouble in Heaven Parfum Known for his signature red soles, the renowned shoe designer recently expanded his beauty range with a trio of womens perfumes. The provocative Trouble in Heaven is a daring choice offers notes of iris, patchouli and amber and is the headiest of the three. Ideal for everyday wear, the scent is housed in a show-stopping glass bottle. 215, Selfridges, Buy it now The New French Couture: Icons of Paris Fashion by Elyssa Dimant Is there a style-conscious lady on your list? Treat your favourite fashionista to new a coffee table read that will feed her addiction. One of the best fashion books published this year, Elyssa Dimants colourful read focuses on modern-day French couture and provides a rundown of its biggest contributors, from Dior and Chanel to Balenciaga and Hermes. The stunning imagery ought to keep her glued to every page. 60, Amazon, Buy it now Bella Freud Cashmere 1970 Jumper If youre looking to spoil her with cashmere, then this uber-chic knit from London-based fashion designer, Bella Freud, is just the ticket and is a favourite of Kate Moss and Alexa Chungs. The cosy crew neck comes in a soft pink hue and is adorned with 1970 intarsia. 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Available in nine sizes, the comfy nightwear sits right on the ankle and comes in a regular fit. Theyre perfect for lounging in on Christmas Day, supermodel-style. 99, Marks and Spencer, Buy it now Laurent-Perrier Brut Champagne and Montezuma Truffle Set As chocolate is one of the best ways to a girls heart, this truffles and champagne gift is a safe bet. As well as a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Brut Champagne, the luxurious red-and-white box features a pull-out draw filled with an assortment of booze-infused chocolates from Montezumas. 60, John Lewis, Visit site Kate Spade New York Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Cover Perfect for the glamorous party girl on your list, this handy speaker will compliment her living space as well as her style. It offers wireless connection to any Bluetooth device, comes in a lightweight size thats easy to keep in your bag and comes with a striking magnetic cover. 99.95, John Lewis, Visit site Nails Inc Prosecco Is Always The Answer Gift Set It doesnt get more festive than this sparkly cosmetics bag and Nails Inc duo. Ideal for the nail fanatic, the adorable set includes a Gel Effect polish in the delicate nude shade, Colville Mews, as well as the brands glittery Snowglobe Polish in New Globe Walk. 20, John Lewis, Buy it now Karl Lagerfeld Karl Kadeau Miniaudiere No womans closet is complete without an eye-catching clutch for those dressy occasions. Karl Lagerfelds dazzling minaudiere comes in the perfect size for your key essentials and will jazz up any LBD or plain outfit. Inspired by a gift-wrapped box, the glitzy design is complete with magnetic snap closure and a detachable silver chain strap. 130, Very Exclusive, Buy it now Skinnydip x Zara Martin Kitty Headphones Is she cray for cats? 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The accessories hall at Selfridges can be found at 400 Oxford St, W1A 1AB For more information visit Selfridges.com Follow us on Twitter @ESLifeandStyle and on Facebook BEIJING, Nov. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, the 2016 Tangguolvju Brand Press Conference for Oversea Version of Xitangji has been held in Beijing Conference Center. It has brought together the celebrities from the hotel industry and association, successful domestic entrepreneurs, tourism elites and more than 10 mainstream media companies in China. Boris Tadic who is the former president of Serbia and Lu Junqing who is the president of directors of TOJOY also attended the press conference. Photos accompanying this release are available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b21ae280-d3ca-4a17-a9cc-0d78bb7bdecd http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/491b2498-813b-4dc6-9182-551b57bb888b http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e7802be1-153e-4312-abf5-a980a4e16bd2 At the conference, Tangguolvju officially launched the oversea brand of Xitangji. Jin Dongzhe who is the founder and CEO of the company made a detailed introduction to the concept and business strategy of the oversea brand of Xitangji. In the age of sharing economy, Tangguolvju has set up a unique image among numerous short-term rental brands. It is mainly reliant on the clear market positioning, real property owner, diversified property source and complete offline service system. With the aid of Xitangji platform, those people loving the traveling will receive the best, most cultural and distinctive services all over the world. As seen in the press conference, Tangguolvju has risen to overthrow the traditional industry of tourism accommodation. It has also covered and integrated the global resources through the unique commercial mode. By changing the accommodation mode and the value of social resource, the commercial mode has spread the brand concept of sharing. Meanwhile, Mr. Jin Dongzhe has also presented a gift with the Chinese characteristic to the former president Boris Tadic who highly praises the innovative concept of the oversea version of Xitangji. In the future, Xitangji will serve as the best one-stop service platform for Chinese outbound travelers. By extending to the value-added services such as air ticket, catering and local guide, it will offer the comprehensive touring experience for those users. Directstreams, provider and operator of new generation digital solutions and services claims important revenue stream from Asia. This is supported through the disruptive approach to technology solutions for hospitality carried out by the company. As such, Directstreams focuses on the needs of the hotel guests offering them a unique and innovative experience (leveraging superior quality wifi, integration with social networks.) while offering hoteliers a very agile, intuitive, efficient marketing and marketing platform. DirectStreams is also an open solution that interfaces with complementary software specific to the hospitality market and is now a leading reference in its trade. Thanks to its fully intergrated and customisable on demand offer, DS is increasing solicited ta take part in conception stages for upcoming landmark properties, and DS capitalises on experience throughout its installed base of customers deployer in over 13 countries spreading over 3 continents. In order to support this momentum, DS plans to continue investements in order grow it is footprint offering to acquire new customers. Thereof, the deployment of new resources is planned in R&D in EMEA, and APAC where revenue growth is taking place. Pascale Chatelain, CEO of DirectStreams " the growth of our activities in APAC sends a strong and encouraging signal for our teams and demonstrates our ability to offer solutions to Hoteliers wishing to grow their quality of service leveraging new technologies and respond to fast growing expectations of their guests. We have all the right bases to ensure a successful outcome on the long run as we cater to all types of independent hoteliers as well as larger hotel chains seeking competitive advantage. Finally our growth is also the result of the tight relationship we maintain with our customers. These privileged relationships allow us to respond jointly with tehm to the fast evolving new technology usage, thus enriching further our offerings. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Nov. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guerra Dental (www.guerradental.com), a specialist in general and cosmetic dentistry, recruited the help of staff and patients alike to find a family in need of Thanksgiving dinner. The family was selected and announced on the Guerra Dental outreach platforms. The Thanksgiving dinner will be delivered on November 23, 2016 to the family at their home. "Guerra Dental staff and patients wanted to help in finding a family in need of a Thanksgiving dinner," said Barbara Guerra, VP of Guerra Management. "The chosen submission is for a single mother of four children who recently moved to Colorado Springs. Guerra Dental in honored to support local families in the community." The chosen family who will receive the Thanksgiving dinner was selected through a submission process. The submission forms were distributed to staff and patients in office as well as on the Guerra Dental website. The submission asked each entrant to list information about the families nominated and why they should receive the donated Thanksgiving Dinner. The Thanksgiving Dinner will help the winning family in this time of transition to gather together and celebrate the holidays around a nice meal. Guerra Dental was founded by Dr. Frederick Guerra whose mission is to provide quality dental care by combining personalized attention and a commitment to lifelong oral health. Guerra Dental focuses on family and cosmetic dental care by offering a variety of services. Guerra Dental offers a state-of-the-art facility and helpful and kind staff. "Our focus on excellent customer service has been the most significant factor in our success," said Heather Buckley, Office Manager, Guerra Dental. "We love serving the families of Colorado Springs and helping them with their oral health. Our customers are our biggest asset." Additional Information Guerra Dental Website: http://guerradental.com/ Guerra Dental General Dentistry: http://guerradental.com/general-dentistry/ Guerra Dental Cosmetic Dentistry: http://guerradental.com/cosmetic-dentist/ NEW YORK, Nov. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attorney Advertising -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC reminds investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Adeptus Health Inc. (Adeptus or the Company) (NYSE:ADPT) and certain of its officers. This case is on behalf of shareholders who purchased or otherwise acquired shares pursuant and/or traceable to the Companys secondary public offering (the SPO) on or about July 31, 2015, or purchasers of common shares between April 23, 2015 and November 16, 2015, inclusive (the Class Period). This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act). The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose: (1) that Adeptus engaged in an extensive predatory billing practice, predominantly in connection with lower acuity level patients; (2) that the Companys predatory billing practices subjected the Company to several known and undisclosed risks, including financial risks, reputational risks, risks associated with improper financial reporting, civil or criminal sanctions, and exclusion from federal and state healthcare programs; (3) that Adeptus financial statements were inadequate with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; (4) contrary to Adeptus statements about its practice of referring lower acuity patients to urgent care facilities, Adeptus regularly treated lower acuity patients and unreasonably billed for services; (5) consequently, Adeptus lacked a reasonable basis for its statements about its business and future financial prospects at all relevant times. On November 17, 2015, a television station aired an investigative report about Adeptus Healths predatory billing practices at Colorado First Choice emergency rooms. Once this information was made public, Adeptus stock dropped in value. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint you can visit the firms site: http://www.bgandg.com/adpt or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 212-697-6484 or via email info@bgandg.com. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address and telephone number. If you suffered a loss in Adeptus you have until December 27, 2016 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firms expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glance Technologies Inc. (CSE:GET.CN) (FKT:GJT) is pleased to announce that it has been exceeding its targets with respect to signed restaurants, restaurant launches and app users since the launch of its Glance Pay app on September 7, 2016. As of todays date, more than 5,000 people have used the Glance Pay app to pay for their restaurant bills at a restaurant in the Greater Vancouver region. Based on the adoption rates of Glance Pay over the past few weeks, Glances management estimates that the number of users will increase to 10,000 in January 2017. Glance intends to expand its fast growing Glance Pay app throughout Canada and the US. With the recent signing of the 32 location MR MIKES SteakhouseCasual restaurant chain, Glance has a great partner with whom to expand throughout Western Canada. Glance has also identified a publicist to work with to sign up restaurants in Toronto for a launch in Spring 2017. Glance Pay now has agreements in place with 95 restaurants for the use of its app, with multiple other chains and hundreds of independent restaurants in the sales pipeline. As of todays date, there are 38 restaurants live that are currently accepting Glance Pay, with another 5 planned to launch over the next week. Glance Pay has signed 48 new restaurants to use the Glance Pay app within the past 36 days. Our target is to sign 30 new restaurants every month to use the Glance Pay app, says COO and President Penny Green. In the past month we have well exceeded our target. We intend to be the largest mobile payment app for restaurants in North America within the next 12 months. About Glance Technologies Inc. Glance Technologies owns and operates Glance Pay, a streamlined payment system that allows customers to pay their restaurant bill instantly with their mobile device. Glance Pay aims to revolutionize how smartphone users choose where to dine, settle their restaurant bills, access their payment records and interact with their favourite restaurants. Glance Pay intends to become the industry standard as one of the four pillars in restaurant payments, beside credit cards, debit cards and cash. For more information about Glance, please go to www.glance.tech or www.glancepay.com and follow Glance Technologies and Glance Pay on Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram and YouTube. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as plan, expect, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions may or will occur. Specifically, the statements about Glance expanding its sources of revenue and offering new revenue-producing services to restaurants are forward-looking statements, and there can be no certainty that these statements will prove to be correct. Although Glance believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. Countries & Areas Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com During last Thursdays county commission meeting, the topic of tourism came up. First District Commissioner Karen Stuppy reported on the Tourism Advisory Council and Tourism Tax Commissions joint meeting earlier that week, at which a task force was formed. She said that the tourism department has an $89,548 budget, with $45,000-50,000 Agreement addresses future production needs of IFN, key component of IFN Kinoid1 PARIS and BOSTON, Nov. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neovacs (Alternext Paris:ALNEV), a leader in active immunotherapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, today announced a partnership with 3P Biopharmaceuticals, a leader in the production of biological drugs, for the manufacture of interferon alpha (IFN). Todays collaboration follows the recent acquisition of the technology for the manufacture of IFN by Neovacs from AMEGABIOTECH. This license agreement will allow Neovacs to directly transfer AMEGABIOTECH's technology to the production site of 3P Biopharmaceuticals, which will ensure the manufacture of the IFN cytokine. As the only Spanish manufacturer of biological products in the healthcare field, 3P Biopharmaceuticals has a successful track record working with top pharma and biotech companies throughout Europe and the United States. Miguel Sieler, CEO of Neovacs, said, This partnership is in line with the recent license agreement signed with AMEGABIOTECH. The completion of these two steps allows us to secure the complete production chain for the manufacture of IFN, one of the primary raw materials of our most advanced product, IFN Kinoid. In addition, the agreement complements the partnership signed earlier this year with Stellar Biotechnologies, the supplier of the other main component of our vaccine IFN Kinoid, Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH). Within the framework of this partnership, Stellar Biotechnologies holds 30% of Neostell, the production subsidiary of Neovacs. Elena Erroba, Business Development Director of 3P Biopharmaceuticals, affirmed: 3P Biopharmaceuticals is very happy with this collaboration. It will allow 3P Biopharmaceuticals to contribute to a very innovative therapeutic approach, with our strong competence in the field of manufacturing high quality protein. _____________________________ 1 IFN Kinoid: Therapeutic vaccine from Neovacs technology, which is composed of the targeted cytokine IFN, conjugated with a carrier protein, Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin. About 3P Biopharmaceuticals 3P Biopharmaceuticals is a leading European CDMO specialized in the process development and GMP manufacturing of biologics and cell therapy products in mammalian, microbial and yeast expression systems. With a highly qualified team of experts, 3P supports its clients offering manufacturing related drug development solutions from initial research, through preclinical and clinical trials to commercialization. 3P was created and promoted by a group of shareholders and institutions with large expertise in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector. Thanks to their financial effort and full confidence, 3P has been able to consolidate its activity into the international market and has become a reference for the biotech sector. http://www.3pbio.com/ About Neovacs Technology Neovacs targets pathologies associated with an overproduction of endogenous cytokines. This technology is based on active immunotherapy to generate an immune response through the administration of an immunogenic complex involving the target cytokine to a carrier protein. The intramuscular injection of this Kinoid induces an immune response and stimulates the production of polyclonal antibodies against the target cytokines. It is thus possible to block cytokine overproduction and its biological effects. Several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases (Type 1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, etc.) are characterized by a disorder of cytokines that are found produced in excess (ex: IFN). This overproduction will promote inflammation and dysregulation of the immune system. About Neovacs Listed on Alternext Paris since 2010, Neovacs is today a leading biotechnology company focused on an active immunotherapy technology platform (Kinoids) with applications in autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases. On the basis of the companys proprietary technology for inducing a polyclonal immune response (covered by five patent families that potentially run until 2032) Neovacs is focusing its clinical development efforts on IFN Kinoid, an immunotherapy being developed for the indication of lupus, dermatomyositis and also in preclinical trial for Type 1 diabetes. Neovacs is also conducting preclinical development works on other therapeutic vaccines in the fields of auto-immune diseases, oncology and allergies. The goal of the Kinoid approach is to enable patients to have access to safe treatments with efficacy that is sustained in these lifelong diseases. www.neovacs.fr Blog Archive Apr 2010 (22) May 2010 (25) Jun 2010 (8) Jul 2010 (12) Aug 2010 (18) Sep 2010 (19) Oct 2010 (29) Nov 2010 (30) Dec 2010 (18) Jan 2011 (13) Feb 2011 (21) Mar 2011 (23) Apr 2011 (19) May 2011 (31) Jun 2011 (36) Jul 2011 (46) Aug 2011 (26) Sep 2011 (12) Oct 2011 (15) Nov 2011 (17) Dec 2011 (7) Jan 2012 (18) Feb 2012 (4) Mar 2012 (12) Apr 2012 (18) May 2012 (10) Jun 2012 (21) Jul 2012 (8) Aug 2012 (15) Sep 2012 (7) Oct 2012 (17) Nov 2012 (20) Dec 2012 (10) Jan 2013 (58) Feb 2013 (59) Mar 2013 (60) Apr 2013 (98) May 2013 (134) Jun 2013 (204) Jul 2013 (293) Aug 2013 (351) Sep 2013 (363) Oct 2013 (347) Nov 2013 (374) Dec 2013 (440) Jan 2014 (544) Feb 2014 (475) Mar 2014 (525) Apr 2014 (527) May 2014 (470) Jun 2014 (408) Jul 2014 (472) Aug 2014 (522) Sep 2014 (441) Oct 2014 (471) Nov 2014 (496) Dec 2014 (535) Jan 2015 (535) Feb 2015 (520) Mar 2015 (579) Apr 2015 (657) May 2015 (679) Jun 2015 (673) Jul 2015 (728) Aug 2015 (803) Sep 2015 (923) Oct 2015 (921) Nov 2015 (801) Dec 2015 (791) Jan 2016 (782) Feb 2016 (835) Mar 2016 (929) Apr 2016 (864) May 2016 (946) Jun 2016 (1044) Jul 2016 (882) Aug 2016 (1035) Sep 2016 (966) Oct 2016 (918) Nov 2016 (854) Dec 2016 (885) Jan 2017 (879) Feb 2017 (777) Mar 2017 (896) Apr 2017 (872) May 2017 (850) Jun 2017 (851) Jul 2017 (971) Aug 2017 (1040) Sep 2017 (998) Oct 2017 (1144) Nov 2017 (1046) Dec 2017 (838) Jan 2018 (873) Feb 2018 (769) Mar 2018 (885) Apr 2018 (808) May 2018 (827) Jun 2018 (820) Jul 2018 (840) Aug 2018 (854) Sep 2018 (844) Oct 2018 (851) Nov 2018 (870) Dec 2018 (912) Jan 2019 (919) Feb 2019 (827) Mar 2019 (957) Apr 2019 (913) May 2019 (1007) Jun 2019 (934) Jul 2019 (949) Aug 2019 (936) Sep 2019 (910) Oct 2019 (920) Nov 2019 (874) Dec 2019 (908) Jan 2020 (941) Feb 2020 (848) Mar 2020 (898) Apr 2020 (848) May 2020 (822) Jun 2020 (787) Jul 2020 (819) Aug 2020 (858) Sep 2020 (841) Oct 2020 (873) Nov 2020 (811) Dec 2020 (780) Jan 2021 (765) Feb 2021 (716) Mar 2021 (819) Apr 2021 (805) May 2021 (815) Jun 2021 (824) Jul 2021 (830) Aug 2021 (832) Sep 2021 (791) Oct 2021 (754) Nov 2021 (683) Dec 2021 (693) Jan 2022 (694) Feb 2022 (654) Mar 2022 (740) Apr 2022 (745) May 2022 (748) Jun 2022 (701) Jul 2022 (704) Aug 2022 (702) Sep 2022 (699) Oct 2022 (737) Nov 2022 (43) Former director at Romanian National Railway Company (CFR) Mihai Necolaiciuc was sentenced to 8 years in prison under final ruling by the Bucharest Court of Appeal. Necolaiciuc was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison in June 2015 by the District 1 Court, sentence that was reduced to 8 years by the Court of Appeal. Necolaiciuc had also been sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for a charge of embezzlement in another case, but he was released on parole in July 2015. agerpres. Chief Prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) Laura Codruta Kovesi requested on Wednesday the notification of President Klaus Iohannis in regards to the criminal prosecution of former Ministers Dan Nica, Adriana Ticau and Alexandru Athanasiu, for the abuse of office in the Microsoft 2 case. "In accordance with the legal and constitutional provisions, the Chief Prosecutor of the DNA sent to the Prosecutor General of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (PICCJ) the report of the matter, in order to notify Romania's President so he could estimate on the right to exercise the request to criminally prosecute several persons, who were members of the Government, namely Minister of Communication and Information Technology Dan Nica, in the period 2000-July 2004 for committing abuse of office if the civil worker obtained for himself or for others an undue benefit; State Secretary Silvia Adriana Ticau, in the period 2003-June 2004, who also was the Minister of Communication and Information Technology in the period July- December 2004, for committing abuse of office, in a continuous form, if the civil worker obtained for himself or for others an undue benefit; Minister of Education and Research Alexandru Athanasiu, in the period 2003-2005, for committing abuse of office, if the civil worker obtained for himself or for others an undue benefit," the DNA release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday reveals. Prosecutors say that Dan Nica, while being Minister by violating the provisions regarding the public acquisitions, initiated and endorsed the following Government Decisions projects No. 1,475/11.12.2003 and No. 470/ 01.04.2004, through which the commercial contract between the Government and Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH regarding the lease of licenses for Microsoft products was concluded. The DNA mentions that Adriana Ticau, while being State Secretary, Minister respectively, by violating the provisions of the Statute of public clerks and the one regarding public acquisitions has determined the closing of the framework agreement of Microsoft licenses in disadvantageous conditions for the Government, pleading that Fujitsu Siemens GmbH Austria is the sole distributor, and in this regard she signed the Substantiation Report to the Government Decision No. 1,473/11.12.2003. The investigators claimed that she initiated and endorsed the Government Decision project No. 1,778/ 21.10.2004, through which the extension of the commercial contract for leasing licenses and Microsoft educational products was approved, without existing a real need. The DNA mentions that Alexandru Athanasiu while being Minister, by violating the provisions regarding the public acquisitions has initiated and endorsed the Government Decision project No. 1,778/ 21.10.2004, through which the extension of the contract was approved without existing a real need. agerpres. Re: EMBA : Duke (Fuqua) vs Sloan (MIT) vs Yale [ #permalink Thanks a lot for the feedback Dr Anthony. When you say the turnaround was quick, could I know what was timeline between you submitting the application and going for in-person Interview. My main motivation of even considering to apply for MIT is fuel up some of the startup aspirations that I have. Till now all these ideas are confined to my notebooks and interaction with my close buddy. I was hoping the cohort experience would add a new dimension to this if it were to take-off. Also I am looking to move out of my technical role in my company to more product/road-map definition role. At the same time I am weary about not having managerial experience whereas most in the class would have substantial amount of it... or may be its a good thing.. I dont know yet. Thanks Rakesh The government of Canada will negotiate to buy 18 new F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters from Boeing, a move that would keep the fighter's production line in St. Louis operating into the early 2020s. These aircraft will fill a "capability gap" until Canada can replace its current CF-18 fighter fleet, Canadian officials said at a press conference held Tuesday in Ottawa. Canada also will launch a "wide-open and transparent" competition to replace Canada's aging CF-18 fleet, Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said. The announcement marks a win by Boeing over Lockheed Martin, its archrival in the fighter business. The previous Conservative government of Canada had planned to buy 65 Lockheed F-35s, the newest fighter in the American arsenal. But the cost of the procurement, initially pegged at 9 billion Canadian dollars with a total project cost of CA$16 billion, kept rising as the Canadian dollar lost ground against the U.S. dollar and government estimates were revised. During last year's national election contest, the Liberal Party of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau labeled the F-35 as too expensive. Canada wants to replace its fleet of 77 CF-18s, an earlier version of the Hornet built in the 1980s. That fleet is no longer capable of fulfilling Canada's duty to NATO and to North American air defense at the same time, Canadian defense officials say. The new F/A-18s will fill the gap while Canada launches a competition for a new aircraft, an effort which may take five years. The F/A-18 has advantages in "interoperability" with the U.S. Air Force in the defense of North America, Canadian officials said. Canada will negotiate with Boeing over price, with the intention of having some of the work done in Canada, Canadian officials said. The Pentagon is paying about $70 million each for F/A-18 Super Hornets. At that price, the Canadian purchase would be worth $1.26 billion. The Pentagon plans to spend nearly $400 billion to buy nearly 2,500 F-35s for the Air Force, Navy and Marines. Canada will continue to play a role in developing the F-35, Canadian officials said. The likely Canadian order is the second piece of recent good news for Boeing's St. Louis-based fighter business, which also produces the F-15 Strike Eagle and the E/A-18 Growler. The White House in September approved the $7 billion sale of F/A-18s to Kuwait and F-15s to Qatar. Those orders were enough to keep the F/A-18 line operating into 2020 and the F-15 line into the next decade. Boeing employs nearly 15,000 people in St. Louis. The potential Canadian order drew praise from the St. Louis area's congressional delegation. "I am optimistic that this potential deal between Boeing and Canada will continue to increase jobs and boost the St. Louis economy, said Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin. She said she is working to win approval in Congress for more Super Hornets that the Navy says it needs. The House passed a defense bill appropriating up to 16 more Super Hornets for the Navy in June, but unrelated differences over funding overseas wars in the Senate have held up congressional negotiators. The current budget for would pay for two more in 2017. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said that Canadas interest is even more evidence of the vital role Missouris workforce plays in national defense both at home and for our strategic allies around the world. The Super Hornets are an incredibly valuable asset, and Canadas investment in American-made fighter jets would mean great news for our states economy and for the security of the U.S. and our allies. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., agreed, saying that an opportunity for an increase in Super Hornet production is great news for the hardworking skilled workers of St. Louis. Chuck Raasch of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. White Americans without a college degree are becoming more likely to die in middle age, reversing decades of progress toward better health. Researchers first noticed this worrisome trend last year. They pointed to increases in opioid abuse, obesity and suicide among the causes of death, but what caused these increases has remained something of a mystery. This week, a pair of economists have advanced a new theory. They suggest that, for many workers, a major shift in the structure of the U.S. economy could have been fatal. The researchers, Justin Pierce and Peter Schott, found evidence that trade with China has resulted in greater rates of suicide and poisonings (including fatal drug overdoses) after 2000, when President Clinton and Republican lawmakers allowed a major increase in imports. Pierce and Schott suggest that as competition with Chinese manufacturing forced U.S. factories to close, many of the Americans who were laid off never got their lives back together. Instead, they fell into depression or addiction. White adults, in particular, suffered from the change in policy. Schott believes that trade can have important economic benefits on the whole, but that his results shows that policymakers need to do more to help those workers who are displaced. "I'm in favor of free trade, but I'm also someone who believes that we should be honest about the consequences," Schott said. "It doesn't benefit everyone equally." The economists estimate that the increase in Chinese imports caused an additional 0.4 suicides per 100,000 residents in counties where local economies were vulnerable to competition, relative to the trend in suicide in those places before 2000 and compared to counties that were more insulated from trade with China. The figure for poisonings was 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people, according to Pierce, who is on the staff of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, and Schott, an economist at Yale University. The nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research published the findings in a working paper on Monday, during an uncertain moment for global commerce. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to renegotiate trade deals and has threatened punitive tariffs on Chinese goods. Like most experts on trade, Schott argues against new tariffs or other restrictions. Instead, he calls on policymakers to do more to ensure that everyone shares in the gains from globalization. "Closing the door to trade I don't see how that's the best possible policy response," he said. "That makes everybody worse off." In 1930, the infamous Smoot-Hawley legislation placed onerous tariffs on imported goods from China and elsewhere. This situation offered more implicit protection to the U.S. industries whose competitors confronted the steepest rates, including manufacturers of plastic bottles. Textile mills especially those producing knit fabric and lace also benefited. Lawmakers gradually weakened these tariffs over time, and those on Chinese goods had become minimal by the end of the century. U.S. industries still enjoyed implicit protection, because there was always a possibility that lawmakers would allow those tariffs to revert to the high levels set in 1930. Investors looking to put money into Chinese factories had no assurance that they would be able to continue producing goods for the U.S. market. However, in 2000, Clinton and Congress made the lower tariffs permanent, Pierce and Schott wrote, a decision most negatively affected the industries that had the highest tariffs under Smoot-Hawley. The opening with China was far more consequential for the U.S. labor market than previous trade deals, including the North American Free Trade Agreement. Employment in domestic manufacturing, which had been declining only gradually, plummeted after 2000. Other economists have estimated that Chinese imports put between 2 million and 2.4 million Americans out of work. The financial crisis in 2008 and the more minor recession in 2000 added to the decline. The two economists then examined records of deaths compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comparing data from counties where the local economy was more reliant on those favored industries with data from counties where other sectors were more economically important. The increase in suicide attributed to the increase in imports was equivalent to 4 percent of the national average. For poisonings including overdoses, the increase was about 28 percent of the national average. The researchers also considered how trade with China affected deaths from chronic liver failure due to alcohol. The results were ambiguous, possibly because it can be many years before diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver become fatal. On the other hand, Pierce and Schott found evidence that exposure to Chinese competition significantly reduced the number of heart attacks, possibly because fewer people were doing strenuous labor. On average, 2.7 fewer people died of heart attacks per 100,000 residents in the typical county with a vulnerable economy, compared to the prior trend in those counties and relative to counties that were more insulated economically. Overall, the two economists found, the increase in Chinese imports caused an additional 13.8 fatalities from internal causes for every 100,000 residents in negatively affected counties. For external causes, the increase in the rate was 3.3 deaths. Schott noted that while the research focuses specifically on counties where Chinese imports had negative economic effects, trade with China might have brought economic benefits to the country as a whole, improving Americans' health. "This paper is about one piece of the puzzle," Schott said. American consumers broadly were able to spend less on inexpensive Chinese imports. They might have had more money left over for medical costs as a result. The opening also directly benefited many Americans who were able to sell their products and services to China. They include farmers, workers who build cars and aircraft in U.S. factories and consultants and researchers who provide services to Chinese businesses. On a wall inside Mellow Mushroom, above the open kitchen, is a mural of famous St. Louisans: Vincent Price, Stan Musial, Jon Hamm. This painting makes sense as a way for a chain founded in Atlanta in 1974 and with more than 200 locations nationwide to try to ingratiate itself with its new community. But on my visits to the areas first Mellow Mushroom, which opened in July in Sunset Hills, I couldnt stop thinking about Hamm and not for the usual reasons. The mural depicts Hamm as Don Draper, of course, in profile in suit and tie and fedora, looking into the distance as he is wont to do, as if hes just figured out how to sell you a Kodak Carousel or hes about to run off to an ashram. Or both. Or maybe hes contemplating the copy one of his junior mad men has written for the About Us page of Mellow Mushrooms website: We began from humble roots, born out of the free-wheelin hippy culture of the 1970s. The idea back then was the same as it is now, to make the most delicious, craveable slice of pizza on the planet. The Mellow founders dreamed of a world where happiness could be found in the simplest things, like a mouth-watering slice of pizza and an ice-cold beer. Don Draper nods. Nostalgia, he likes to say. Its delicate, but potent. Me? I saw a few pieces of groovy decor, and a server said, We packed a bowl just for you, as he brought me a salad, but mostly I found Mellow Mushroom to be a thoroughly contemporary endeavor, from the MMA fights on the televisions to the wavy ceiling fixtures to the expansive outdoor patio with its own bar. The building is new (on the former Growlers Pub site), and the design is by local rock-star firm SPACE Architecture + Design. The nostalgia at the heart of Mellow Mushroom isnt really about a cartoon re-creation of 1960s counterculture. Its about that idea of simplicity, before we were spoiled for choices. Thin, thick or deep-dish? St. Louis-style or New York or Chicago or New Jersey or Detroit? A wood-fired hearth or a fast-casual conveyor belt? Who cares? Its a pizza and a cold beer and greasy palms and the stitch of a nascent cramp because you couldnt stop yourself from one more slice. The pizzas at Mellow Mushroom look the part, the signature crust a golden brown and sprinkled with Parmesan. But this crust, it hits your palate and then lands in your gut like a combination of Bisquick and ready-mix concrete. If it were any denser, it would collapse into a black hole that would consume Sunset Hills and its adjacent municipalities. Id forgive the catastrophe if it were delicious, but after the initial tease of butter and Parmesan, its generically doughy, with a vague sweetness. Mellow Mushroom offers numerous specialty pies, but on this crust even the basic build-your-own option with nothing more than sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni is overwhelming. Choose something like the Thai Dye (curry chicken, limp onion, Roma tomato, basil, cucumber and a more-sweet-than-spicy sweet-chile sauce with mozzarella and a base of garlic and olive oil) or the Maui Wowie (ham, bland jerk chicken and bacon with pale, flavorless pineapple as well as banana peppers and mozzarella on a pesto base), and the pizza seems less like a meal than a challenge of intestinal fortitude. (Prices vary by individual pizzas, but the speciality pies are generally between $12.49 and $12.99 for a small, $19.49 and $19.99 for a medium and $24.49 and $24.99 for a large. The small size does mitigate the heaviness of the crust somewhat.) Mellow Mushroom repurposes its crust for full-size pretzels (three for $4.79, six for $7.99) and pretzel bites ($5.99). I recommend these only as a dipping vehicle for a sharp, thick beer-cheese sauce, which comes with the bites and is $2.49 with the pretzels. Im not sure you want to fill up on any appetizer before these pizzas, but the hummus ($5.99) is fine and the oven-roasted hot wings (five for $4.95, 10 for $8.49) are probably the most flavorful, tender chicken dish available here. I asked if I could order the Carnie Pub Burger ($9.99) medium-rare. You can try, said the server. She was right to be skeptical. My patty arrived medium-well beneath its accompanying Swiss cheese and caramelized onions with lettuce, tomato, pickle and aioli. This wasnt memorable, but it made for a far better nonpizza entree than the Old School Jerk sandwich ($9.49), which delivered the same underseasoned jerk chicken and wan pineapple as the Maui Wowie pizza on a trending-toward-stale hoagie roll. Mellow Mushroom does at least fulfill the beer half of its dream, with an excellent selection of craft brews on draft. And I dont begrudge the restaurant its goal. Right now we could all use a little pizza, love and understanding. Don Draper shakes his head. What you call love, he says, was invented by guys like me to sell nylons. Where Mellow Mushroom, 3811 South Lindbergh Boulevard, Sunset Hills One star out of four More info 314-473-1135; mellowmushroom.com Menu Pizza, sandwiches and salads Hours Lunch and dinner daily Fair Good Excellent Extraordinary Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) is a Canadian spy, assigned to the British and on a mission to thwart the Nazis. His partner in this endeavor is the alluring Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard), who proved her mettle as a fighter in the French Resistance and expects Vatan to be just as tough as she is. She also cautions him that romance is not an option. But being in the thick of World War II has a way of encouraging risky behavior, and its not long before Max and Marianne surrender to their mutual attraction. And once they begin to contemplate a life together, domesticity beckons. Settling into a comfy London home, Max assumes the role of breadwinner, and Marianne puts her days of gun-blazing glory behind her. But their happiness is threatened. Maxs superiors insist on his cooperation in ferreting out a spy who is leaking information to the Germans. Its a mission that hes reluctant to accept. Max was successful at outwitting the Nazis at every turn. But he never expected to wind up in a spot this tight, or this bleak. And he may not be able to get out of it. An old-fashioned film that slyly nods to contemporary sensibilities, Allied is an engaging showcase for Pitt and Cotillard. Working from a screenplay by Steven Knight (Eastern Promises), director Robert Zemeckis (Flight) delivers a romantic thriller thats reminiscent of those that were made during the period in which its set. Pitt is fine as a guy who wants to do the right thing but wants Marianne even more. And Cotillard, who couldnt be more perfectly cast as a femme fatale, brilliantly keeps us guessing about her characters true motives. Some moviegoers may find Allied too different from the usual multiplex fare. But those who are capable of appreciating the virtues of classic moviemaking will be swept away. ST. LOUIS A rural Kentucky couple who admitted illegally obtaining painkillers in Missouri and other states to sell at home were sentenced Tuesday in federal court in St. Louis to three years of probation. Carlie Cole, 55, and Paul Cole, 56, pleaded guilty in June to an oxycodone distribution conspiracy charge and admitted being involved in obtaining prescriptions from pain clinics in Georgia and other states. The conspirators then took those to at least 10 different pharmacies in Missouri and five other states, then sold the pills in Kentucky. In all, they admitted to dealing about 2,100 pills, their plea agreements say. Paul Cole will spend six months of his probation on house arrest and Carlie Cole will spend three months on house arrest. Carlie Cole's son, Jamie Cole, 39, of Lost Creek, Ky., was sentenced in September to 40 months in prison on the same charge. The Coles were arrested in 2013 in Troy, Mo., after a pharmacist raised concerns about a potentially fraudulent oxycodone prescription from Florida. The Coles had targeted Missouri because of a lack of prescription drug database, police said at the time. ST. LOUIS The mother of a mentally disabled St. Francois County man sued the United States in federal court here Tuesday, alleging that a priest had abused the man when he was 8 and living in Hawaii. The lawsuit says that the Rev. Mark Matson worked for the U.S. military under a contract at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii as a priest and religious teacher. Matson was a Catholic priest who was a member of the Theatines religious order, based in Colorado. He was ordained in 1976. The family of the alleged victim was stationed at Tripler at the time. The suit says that Matson sexually assaulted the boy at least six times after Sunday services in 1997-98, raping and spanking him. The first time, he asked the boy if he wanted to see a magic trick, the suit says. Matson threatened the boy with hell if he told anyone what happened, and also told the boy that his parents knew and approved, the suit says. The abuse caused the boy to act out sexually, resent his parents and act violently towards them, the suit says. It also caused or exacerbated the man's mental injuries or conditions, the suit says. The suit also details a series of allegations of sexual abuse dating back to 1976, including incidents in Colorado. It says Matson was fired in June of 1998 and assaulted a boy at a park two months later, for which he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Matson was paroled Oct. 8, 2013 and is still living in Honolulu, according to the state's sex offender registry. The suit says that the Army knew or should have known about Matson's past and never hired him. It also says that they lied about the reason for firing him, and never told the boy or his parents about Matson's subsequent activity. The Army and the Theatines could not be immediately reached for comment. ST. LOUIS Donations for the St. Louis police sergeant who was shot twice in the face Sunday are now being accepted by a national nonprofit and the officer's bank. A private fund for the sergeant, who remains unnamed, has been set up at Carrollton Bank in south St. Louis. Donations can be made to "St. Louis P.D. Injured Officer." The bank is located at 5807 Murdoch Avenue. The National Association of Police Organizations also is collecting donations on behalf of member organization, the St. Louis Police Leadership Organization. The injured officer belongs to the Leadership Organization and its national chapter said it began accepting donations in response to "an outpouring of support from both the law enforcement community and St. Louis region," according to a press release. The association will put 100 percent of donations to its Relief Fund to help support the sergeant, who was shot twice in the face near Hampton Avenue and Pernod Avenue. "While the Sergeant was critically injured, he has since been released from the hospital and has a long road to recovery and needs our support," a statement from the association said. Officials ask those making donations to write "St. Louis Police Sergeant" on their check or money order. Donations may be mailed to: NAPO Relief Fund, St. Louis Police Sergeant, 317 S. Patrick Street, Alexandria, Va. 22314. ALTON A petition to name a bridge here after fallen St. Louis County Police Officer Blake Snyder has gained more than 400 signatures less than 48 hours after it was posted Monday. Chris Rhodes, 28, a lifelong resident of East Alton, posted the petition Monday at noon. "St. Louis County named the park after him, but I wanted to do something in his memory on this side of the river where he grew up," Rhodes said. Rhodes attended the same Alton church as Snyder, who grew up in Godfrey and went to Alton High School. Snyder was his youth group leader for about a year, Rhodes said. "He was always happy and smiling, and if you ever needed anything from him you could just ask him he'd be there for you." Rhodes said the bridge, which is along the route Rhodes and his friends helped decorate for Snyder's funeral procession, doesn't have a name. The walking bridge runs from East Broadway and over the Broadway Connector boulevard to the Liberty Bank Alton Amphitheater. The amphitheater, in Riverfront Park, hosts outdoor concerts during the summer. "We were sitting there the other day and talking, and we said, 'Wouldn't it be nice to get that named after him? To have people walking by see a plaque with his name on it?'" Rhodes, who has a criminal justice degree and is pursuing a job as a police officer, said he was happy with the petition's progress. "I was happy to set a goal for 100 to 200 signatures, but then it went from 0 to 100 within 20 minutes," he said. "Many people feel the same way I do." Rhodes said he plans to present the petition to the mayor. He said he's received dozens of comments of support from the community. "I tell them contact the mayor's office and let them know we want to do this," he said. UPDATED at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday with police saying the man was found safe and unharmed SWANSEA A missing 86-year-old Arkansas man who was on his way to a relative's home in Swansea but had failed to show up was found safe and unharmed Tuesday night. Police said Leslie R. Schwebke was found safe around 5 p.m. He had left his home in Cherokee Village, Ark., on Tuesday, driving a charcoal gray 2012 Dodge Caravan. He was coming to a relative's home for Thanksgiving. It would have been about a four-hour drive. Police say Schwebke was due to his relative's home mid-afternoon Tuesday but hadn't arrived. They think he would have traveled on U.S. Route 62, U.S. Route 67 and possibly Interstate 55. Swansea Police Chief Steven Johnson said Schwebke does not have a cellphone. The family told police he has no issues of dementia. "This is very uncharacteristic, they had no worries about him driving here because he does very well," Johnson said. WASHINGTON Pending recounts, runoffs and challenges, Republicans are poised to have a 241-194 advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives come January. But that only tells part of the story of the GOPs dominance of the peoples chamber in the Nov. 8 elections. More than half of the Democratic caucus in the House will come from just six states: California, New York, Illinois, Florida, Texas and Massachusetts. One of every four House Democrats will be from either California or New York. Fundamentally, Missouri reflected broader trends across the country. It flipped the governorship from Democrat to Republican, and the GOP held its dominance in U.S. House seats, where it won six of eight, and in the state legislature. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote on Nov. 8, rekindling a fresh debate about the Electoral College. But down ballot, her Democratic Party suffered resounding, and in some cases, historic losses. Republicans will hold 39 of the 57 U.S. House seats in the Great Lakes-Rust Belt states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, states that flipped from Democrat to Republican in the presidential race, giving Donald Trump the electoral votes necessary to become the next president. Pending challenges and recounts, Republicans also won 13 of the 18 races considered the closest going into Election Day. And they dominated in U.S. House races in Eastern Seaboard states that Democrats have touted as trending their way in presidential elections: In North Carolina, which ousted a Republican governor but was won narrowly by Trump, Republicans will hold 10 of 13 House seats come 2017. In Virginia, a linchpin of Barack Obamas two presidential victories, Republicans will have seven of 11 House seats. Clinton barely won the state despite having popular Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia as her running mate. In Georgia, which Clintons camp was touting as a potential takeover of a longtime Republican state and a harbinger of a big Clinton victory, Republicans will hold 10 of 14 House seats. Democrats did poorly even in big states with significant Hispanic populations, and in swing states where Democrats were touting their House chances in tandem with Clinton. Republicans will hold 25 of 36 Texas House seats, and 16 of 27 in Florida. Part of the GOP dominance is due to ideology, but some can be attributed to favorable drawing of congressional district lines. And the Nov. 8 results on state ballots paint a grim picture for Democrats hoping to redraw congressional districts to their partys advantage. State legislatures and governors control the drawing of congressional districts in most states, and Democrats now control less than one-third of state legislative bodies in the country. Pending final certification, 33 of the 50 governors in 2017 will be Republicans. Republicans flipped governorships in Missouri, Vermont and New Hampshire. Democrats took the North Carolina governorship from a Republican incumbent. Republicans have gained more than 800 state legislative seats during Obamas presidency, and now have 4,160 of the 7,383 legislative seats around the country, according to data supplied Wednesday by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Republicans now control 66 of the 98 legislative chambers in the country. In addition, the Connecticut Senate is tied and control of the New York state Senate is still undecided, according to the NCSL. And the Kentucky state House went Republican for the first time since 1921. This now means that every legislative body in the Civil War-era South or border states will be controlled by Republicans. JEFFERSON CITY A new federal rule expanding overtime pay to millions of workers could cost Missouri taxpayers an estimated $5.1 million next year. Although the rule was put on hold Tuesday by a federal judge, Missouri officials say they likely will request an additional $1.8 million to cover the increased costs during the states current fiscal year. An additional $3.3 million will be requested for the budget that begins next July, said Ryan Burns, spokeswoman for Gov. Jay Nixons Office of Administration. State departments will have to diligently monitor their payroll expenses and adjust accordingly to minimize the impact of increased costs related to newly nonexempt employees, Burns said. Federal labor law says employees must be paid time-and-a-half once they work more than 40 hours in a week. However, businesses may exempt workers from the requirement if their duties are managerial. Currently, one of the requirements is that the worker must make at least $23,000 annually before he or she could be exempted. The rule announced by the administration of President Barack Obama in May moves that threshold to $47,000 beginning Dec. 1. Under the rule, an estimated 4.2 million additional workers across the nation would qualify to earn time-and-a-half for work beyond 40 hours a week. In Missouri, the Department of Labor puts the number at about 85,000 workers. A Post-Dispatch analysis of state payroll records shows an estimated 37,900 state government employees earn less than $47,000, but not all of those workers would be affected because of existing union labor agreements. Burns said the administration is keeping an eye on what might happen in Washington, D.C., as well as lawsuits that have been filed to try and block the rule. It will be a learning process for all involved, but the departments are making necessary preparations, Burns said. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant III in Sherman, Texas, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the new salary cutoff nationwide. The White House did not immediately comment on the decision. In Washington, the GOP-led House earlier approved legislation repealing the rule, but the measure failed to advance in the Senate. Trump signaled throughout his successful campaign for president that he would dismantle many of the regulations put in place during Obamas eight years in office. In Missouri, the state already is paying out millions of dollars in overtime because its worst-in-the-nation pay scale has made it hard to recruit workers. In February, for example, Missouri Department of Mental Health Director Mark Stringer said vacant positions are a key reason for a $5.8 million overtime bill his department has racked up this year. The Washington Post contributed to this report. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to back away from his campaign trail vow to pursue criminal charges against former rival Hillary Clinton over her email server and family foundation, with a senior Trump adviser saying his White House will not seek a criminal investigation. Hours later, Trump himself said that he was no longer committed to prosecuting Clinton, telling editors and reporters at the New York Times that he doesnt want to hurt the Clintons, I really dont. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways. But Trumps comments were less definitive about his intentions than those made by his former campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, earlier in the day. Asked whether he had ruled out a prosecution of the former secretary of state, Trump said, Its just not something that I feel very strongly about, according to a tweet from Mike Grynbaum, a media writer for the Times. Conway had sounded more certain that the incoming president would allow his Democratic rival to live in peace. I think when the president-elect, whos also the head of your party, tells you before hes even inaugurated that he doesnt wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message, tone and content to fellow Republicans, she said in an interview on MSNBCs Morning Joe. Look, I think hes thinking of many different things as he prepares to become the president of the United States, and things that sound like the campaign are not among them, she added. The uncertainty, while typical of Trumps often mercurial moods and statements, represents a change from his campaign rhetoric, in which he issued incendiary calls for a special prosecutor to reopen the FBIs closed investigation of Clintons use of a private server while serving as secretary of state. He had also urged investigations of allegations of corruption at the Clinton Foundation, nicknaming the Democratic nominee Crooked Hillary, and encouraged chants of Lock her up! at his rallies. Break with protocol If Trump decided to pursue or not pursue a criminal investigation from the Oval Office, it would be an extraordinary break with political and legal protocol, which holds that the attorney general and FBI make decisions on whether to conduct investigations and file charges, free of pressure from the president. While Trump had repeatedly blasted Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, during the campaign, it is a tradition in American politics that after an election, the victor puts some of the rhetoric behind them. Trumps decision would be consistent with that sort of historical pattern. The president-elects apparent new position, however, stands in contrast with leading members of his party. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who is finishing his first term leading the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has vowed to continue to investigate Clintons email server. It would be totally remiss of us to dismiss [the email investigation] because shes not going to be president, Chaffetz said after the election, referring to the defeated Democratic nominee. While FBI Director James Comey has repeatedly said the bureau did not find enough evidence to recommend prosecuting Clinton over the email issue, he questioned her judgment in using a private server, calling it extremely careless. Legal experts say any attempt by Trump to influence whether an investigation would be pursued threatens the integrity of the justice system. The president-elect has demonstrated his complete lack of understanding of how the government makes these kinds of decisions, said Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. The attorney general answers to the president, but the department is supposed to be independent, especially when it comes to prosecutorial decisions. Any president, especially our next president, needs to both understand and respect that or else they risk politicizing criminal prosecutions in ways that can be damaging. Trumps new thinking also drew fire from political supporters and opponents alike. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut criticized Conways remarks even though Trumps decision would benefit the former Democratic presidential nominee. Thats not how this works, Murphy wrote on Twitter. In our democracy, the president doesnt decide who gets prosecuted and who doesnt. On the other side of the spectrum, Breitbart the conservative website that was one of Trumps biggest cheerleaders during the campaign posted a sharply worded headline: Broken Promise: Trump Doesnt Wish to Pursue Clinton Email Charges. Breitbarts former chairman, Steve Bannon, joined the Trump campaign in August, and Trump has appointed Bannon as his chief White House strategist. The conservative legal group Judicial Watch, whose lawsuit prompted the release of Clintons emails, said that if Trumps appointees do not follow through on his pledge to investigate Clinton, it would be a betrayal of his promise to the American people to drain the swamp of out-of-control corruption in Washington. In addition to further probing Hillary Clintons use of a private email server, Trump also called during the campaign for expanding the FBIs investigation into allegations of corruption surrounding the Clinton Foundation, a large nonprofit group that drew criticism for vacuuming up donations from foreign governments and others with an interest in influencing Clinton while she was secretary of state. Prosecutors at the Justice Departments public integrity section advised FBI agents in February that they did not have enough evidence to proceed, people familiar with the investigation have said. But agents in the FBIs New York office have sought to keep their efforts alive, the people said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Its no secret that wind power has experienced a boom in recent years, as demand for renewable energy sources grows. But while the technology is adept at helping curb greenhouse-gas emissions, the thousands of new turbines popping up around the globe do have some drawbacks. Wind farms have a long-documented history of killing hundreds of thousands of birds and bats each year. As it turns out, the bat toll may be higher than previously estimated. In a study published in early November, researchers in the United Kingdom found that environmental impact assessments the main tool used to predict the ecological effects of energy development failed to predict the number of bats that would have fatal collisions with wind turbines spinning blades. Even in the few cases where researchers said early assessments accurately predicted the danger to bats, efforts to mitigate those risks often did not succeed. The findings highlight the difficulty of establishing with certainty the effect of major developments before they occur, co-author Fiona Mathews said in announcing the results. Mathews, a mammalian biologist at the University of Exeter, and colleagues surveyed 46 wind farms across the U.K. over a month to estimate bat fatalities, relying on search dogs to locate bats. They compared findings to environmental assessments. In most cases, pre-construction assessments had not accurately predicted the risk of fatalities. And even where companies had put in place mitigation measures, bats were still killed. The reasons why arent clear. The researchers say it is uncertain whether the acoustic surveys widely used to estimate bat activity are not precise enough or whether bats highly variable activity means they change their patterns too often to predict with accuracy. Bat activity recording during pre-construction surveys may not accurately reflect activity post-construction, the authors write. This may be due to bats changing their behavior at turbines, as bats may be attracted to wind farm sites for a variety of reasons, including the emission of ultrasound from turbines and increased prey availability. In an in-depth article on the problem this year, Scientific American detailed how the wind industry had put in place voluntary guidelines to halt turbines at low wind speeds, when bats are most active. Conservationists praised the move, even as some scientists said more needed to be done. Paul Cryan, a bat biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said he worries about the ongoing impact of turbines on bat populations, which are an essential link in certain ecosystems. Bats are long-lived and very slow reproducers, he said. Their populations rely on very high adult survival rates. That means their populations recover from big losses very slowly. USGS scientists at the Fort Collins Science Center in Colorado have built a research program aimed at investigating the causes and repercussions of bat fatalities at wind farms, with the goal of minimizing deaths over time even as wind energy proliferates. We need to remember, Mathews said, that bats have been around for at least 30 million years and during that time have been able to fly happily without the risk of colliding with a spinning object. Frozen turkey in hand, many Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students tried to knock over bowling pins as part of last weeks Turkey Palooza, sponsored by the Campus Activities Board (CAB), according to a press release. Turkey Palooza featured games such as turkey bowling, a walnut toss, a cranberry cup toss and a canned food ring toss. The CAB event also included a Thanksgiving-themed photo booth and giveaways of Turkey Palooza T-shirts. More than 230 students participated in SIUEs longstanding annual event in the Morris University Center Goshen Lounge. There were five stations for students to enjoy, according to Turkey Palooza event chair Kelsey Reichert, a junior in the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior. It was a fun, free event for students to get into the holiday spirit before the break, said Dylan Stanley, a graduate assistant with CAB. Students came out in droves and gobbled up all the Turkey Palooza fun we threw their way. Jailed: Paul Kenny, who is also known as Paul Quick. A MAN who served nine years of an indeterminate prison sentence for robbery before being freed on licence is back behind bars after drunkenly threatening another driver with a knife. Paul Kenny had already threatened to kill someone after intervening in a dispute on a Stratford-upon-Avon supermarket car park, Warwick Crown Court heard. Kenny, 49, of Stratford Road, Bidford-on-Avon, was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to two charges of making threats to kill and one of making threats with a bladed article. Prosecutor Thomas Edwards said that on 18th October a man came out of the Aldi supermarket in Stratford to find a lorry had parked next to him and there was a conversation between him and the lorry driver about how he would get into his car. At that point Kenny - who also goes by the name Paul Quick - went past in his Vauxhall car, and shouted through the window: Why stand in the middle of the road, d***head. He drove on a short way, but then stopped, got out of his car and threatened the other man: You dont know who I am, Im going to smack you into the ground and kill you. Ill bury you. Another driver on the car park, Clark Carmody, overheard what was going on but in a bid to deflect blame from himself, Kenny went over to him and asked: Did you see that guy giving it the big un? Sensibly, Mr Carmody drove away, but Kenny drove after him and pulled up alongside him when he had to stop at traffic lights at the junction of Birmingham Road and Hamlet Way. Kenny told Mr Carmody, who had his seven-year-old daughter in the car with him, to keep your nose out, and made threats to cut him up and end his life, said Mr Edwards. Mr Carmody responded by saying: What the f*** are you doing? You cant do that to people. That made Kenny even more angry, and he produced a knife and repeated his threats before Mr Carmody drove off. When Kenny was arrested and interviewed the next day, he said he had been very drunk, and would probably have said the words he did, but could not remember doing so. Mr Edwards added that Kenny had previous convictions for violence, and in 2006 he had been convicted of firearm and public order offences in Spain. Then at Coventry Crown Court later that year, for three shop robberies using an imitation firearm, he was given an indeterminate prison sentence. Although he was ordered to serve a minimum of three years, he actually spent nine years inside before his release on licence last year and has now been recalled to prison where he is unlikely to have another parole hearing within a year of serving his new sentence. David Everett, defending, said Kenny had found jobs after his release, but lost all but the last of them when people found out about his convictions. On the day of the incident he had been drinking and had an argument with his girlfriend over the phone and, the same day, learned the work he had was ending because he was not required for a new job his employers had taken on and he carried on drinking. Jailing Kenny, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano told him: It is really unfortunate youre back here. Im sure no-one feels that more than you, because you have had enough prison to last a lifetime. You had served a long period for that set of robberies, and you were getting yourself sorted. It is very, very unfortunate you ended up so drunk that you committed these offences. I take the point you did not take this very far, but you know as well as I do that if you start taking out knives when there is an argument, things can very easily get out of control. I also bear in mind you will suffer for this more than you would if you were not on life licence. It seems to me that if you keep away from drink, you are not really a danger to anyone. Dan and Grace Skelton with industry representatives at the official opening. (Submitted photo) A NEW staff accommodation block has opened at Dan Skelton Racing in Shelfield Green near Alcester. Industry leaders attended the official opening earlier this month, including representatives of British Horseracing Authority, The Jockey Club, Racing Welfare, British Racing School and Haddon Training. Building work began shortly after the Cheltenham Festival earlier this year on what Dan and Grace Skelton, who run the racing stables, have described as a bespoke training and accommodation facility which meets the needs of the dedicated members of staff at Lodge Hill. Alongside en-suite accommodation for the stable staff, the new building has a canteen, lecture room, gym with steam room, common room and two managers apartments. Grace added: We are extremely proud of our new staff training and accommodation facility at Lodge Hill. At Dan Skelton Racing we strive to make the quality of life for our staff the best it can possibly be, as we would be lost without our superb team. It is as much an investment in them as it is in our business, and we hope they are as excited about their new home as we are to have completed the project. Dan, the son of record-breaking Olympic gold medal-winning showjumper, Nick, has had 43 National Hunt winners so far this season. Montenegro was invited to join NATO in December 2015 and is continuing accession negotiations with the EU. But Montenegros economic links to the West are limited as the countrys economy has grown mostly due to Russian investment in mining, energy and tourism. Russia does not support Montenegros accession to the EU or NATO. Montenegros independence stems from the countrys national imperative of aligning itself with the West. After the Balkan violence in the 1990s , Russia saw its regional power diminished as it faced internal problems following the collapse of the Soviet Union. As Western tutelage became the organizing principle for the region, Montenegro obtained its independence from Serbia in 2006 despite the vast majority of the population being Serbian in order to access NATO and EU expansion. The Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) has been in government since 2006, and Prime Minister Milo ukanovic has consistently worked to advance EU and NATO accession. The 2016 elections marked the first time the DPS leadership was challenged. The four pro-Russian opposition parties united over a single common goal of toppling ukanovic by campaigning against his tolerance for corruption. Reports of an alleged coup attempt thwarted on election day, Oct. 16, in which Montenegrin officials claimed Russia played a role, highlighted Russias opposition to the country joining NATO. Weapons found near the Serbian prime ministers home also underscored Russian influence in the region. While Montenegro has maintained close economic relations with Russia, Serbia also has been under Russian political influence. But with Russias economic problems growing in the last few years, both Serbia and Montenegro hope to deepen ties with the West. This tendency will continue. A governing coalition the DPS is negotiating with the Social Democratic Party and four representatives of ethnic minorities will continue Montenegrin accession to both NATO and the EU, as they are core to the countrys strategic interest. Elections matter little, even when campaigning is about geopolitics . Pro-Russian or pro-Western parties may govern, but they cant shape a countrys geopolitical imperatives because they are embedded in its national interest. The current most stringent Russian imperative is to maintain internal stability. While working to reform its economy a long, difficult process Russia needs to act internationally. Russia is lobbying the EU for an end to the sanctions while working to maintain and expand its influence in neighboring countries. Russian concerns and moves are felt in the borderland more acutely than elsewhere. The platform for winning elections in these countries, while targeting socio-economic problems arising from the 2008 crisis, includes the divide between Russia and the West. As EU fragmentation increases and Brussels loses power, pro-Russian rhetoric gains ground. However, considering the strategic economic interest in remaining close to the West, borderland countries will not shift their foreign policy to fully embrace Russia. AECOM Technology (NYSE: ACM) disclosed in an SEC filing: On November 23, 2016, a qui tam civil lawsuit filed pursuant to the federal False Claims Act was unsealed against URS Energy & Construction, Inc. (now known as AECOM Energy & Construction) and the successor to the former parent corporation of URS Corporation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. The qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act, allow private individuals and former employees to bring lawsuits against government contractors on behalf of the federal government, in which the federal government may decide to intervene. As previously disclosed in AECOMs periodic reports, the federal government was investigating contractual compliance and technical issues in the design, development and construction of the Waste Treatment Plant at the Department of Energys Hanford Nuclear Reservation. As a result of these investigations, in November 2016, the Department of Justice partially intervened in the qui tam lawsuit and contended that URS Energy & Construction and the former URS parent corporation made false claims pertaining to the Waste Treatment Plant contract from February 2007 until June 2013, a period which occurred before AECOMs acquisition of URS Corporation and its affiliates in October 17, 2014. On November 22, 2016, URS Energy & Construction and the former URS parent corporation settled with the Department of Justice to resolve the dispute without admitting liability and agreed to pay $57,500,000 (plus accrued interest and the relators attorneys fees). The settlement was favorable to AECOMs reserve for this matter. As a result, AECOM is increasing its fiscal year 2017 U.S. GAAP earnings per share guidance to $2.16 to $2.56 and its adjusted earnings per share guidance to $2.80 to $3.20. (Street sees FY17 EPS of $2.84) Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced that solanezumab did not meet the primary endpoint in the EXPEDITION3 clinical trial, a phase 3 study of solanezumab in people with mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Patients treated with solanezumab did not experience a statistically significant slowing in cognitive decline compared to patients treated with placebo (p=.095), as measured by the ADAS-Cog14 (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale). While the study results, including many secondary clinical endpoints, directionally favored solanezumab, the magnitudes of treatment differences were small. There were no new safety signals identified in the study. Lilly will not pursue regulatory submissions for solanezumab for the treatment of mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. "The results of the solanezumab EXPEDITION3 trial were not what we had hoped for and we are disappointed for the millions of people waiting for a potential disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer's disease," said John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., chairman, president and chief executive officer, Lilly. "We will evaluate the impact of these results on the development plans for solanezumab and our other Alzheimer's pipeline assets." Lilly will work with investigators to appropriately conclude the open-label extensions for EXPEDITION, EXPEDITION2 and EXPEDITION3. The next steps for the remaining elements of the solanezumab development program have not yet been determined. "Lilly is grateful for the dedication of the patients, their families, and the clinical investigators who participated in this study," said Jan Lundberg, Ph.D., executive vice president of science and technology and president of Lilly Research Laboratories. "Lilly remains committed to Alzheimer's research as we have been for nearly 30 years, and our portfolio includes many other promising approaches." Lilly will present further findings from the study at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) meeting on Thursday, December 8th at 9:15 p.m. ET. The presentation will be shared live via webcast from the meeting. To access the webcast, please visit http://www.ctad-alzheimer.com. "Lilly has strong growth prospects without solanezumab," said David A. Ricks, Lilly's incoming chief executive officer and president of Lilly Bio-Medicines. "Driven by new product launches, we continue to expect to grow average annual revenue by at least 5 percent between 2015 and 2020. Over that time frame, we also expect to increase our margins and provide annual dividend increases to our shareholders." The EXPEDITION3 study outcome is expected to result in a fourth-quarter charge of approximately $150 million (pre-tax), or approximately $0.09 per share (after-tax). The company will provide updated 2016 financial guidance and announce its 2017 financial guidance on December 15, 2016 and will also conduct a conference call with the investment community and media at 9:00 a.m. ET on that date, instead of on the originally-scheduled date of January 4, 2017. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) announced its offer to exchange the outstanding unregistered notes that it issued in October 2015 in a private placement pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for new registered notes. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is offering to exchange (the "Exchange Offer") up to $14,600,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its outstanding unregistered (i) $2,250,000,000 2.450% Notes due 2017, (ii) $2,650,000,000 2.850% Notes due 2018, (iii) $3,000,000,000 3.600% Notes due 2020, (iv) $1,350,000,000 4.400% Notes due 2022, (v) $2,500,000,000 4.900% Notes due 2025, (vi) $750,000,000 6.200% Notes due 2035, (vii) $1,500,000,000 6.350% Notes due 2045, (viii) $350,000,000 Floating Rate Notes due 2017 and (ix) $250,000,000 Floating Rate Notes due 2018, for a like principal amount of its new registered (i) $2,250,000,000 2.450% Notes due 2017, (ii) $2,650,000,000 2.850% Notes due 2018, (iii) $3,000,000,000 3.600% Notes due 2020, (iv) $1,350,000,000 4.400% Notes due 2022, (v) $2,500,000,000 4.900% Notes due 2025, (vi) $750,000,000 6.200% Notes due 2035, (vii) $1,500,000,000 6.350% Notes due 2045, (viii) $350,000,000 Floating Rate Notes due 2017 and (ix) $250,000,000 Floating Rate Notes due 2018 (collectively, the "New Notes"). The Exchange Offer will expire at 5 pm ET on December 23, 2016, unless extended (such date and time, as they may be extended, the "Expiration Date"). The settlement date for the Exchange Offer will occur promptly following the Expiration Date. The Exchange Offer is made solely pursuant to Hewlett Packard Enterprise's prospectus dated November 23, 2016, which has been filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Hewlett Packard Enterprise has not authorized any person to provide information other than as set forth in the prospectus. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase the New Notes or any other securities, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Neurotrope, Inc. (OTC: NTRP), a company focused on developing drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, issued a statement on Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY) experimental drug solanezumab. Lilly stated that, based upon results from its recent Phase 3 clinical trial, solanezumab failed to improve cognition of patients with mild Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Daniel Alkon, Neurotrope's President and Chief Scientific Officer stated' "I deeply regret the news released today that Lilly's latest trial of its leading Alzheimer's drug candidate has failed. Lilly's dedication and persistence to finding a cure for this devastating affliction deserves everyone's admiration and gratitude. Repeated attempts to treat or even slow the relentless progression of Alzheimer's disease by targeting the red flag in patient's brains called amyloid plaques have continued to lead to such disappointing outcomes. Neurotrope has focused all of its resources on regenerative medicine that would replace the lost synaptic networks that are so consistently associated with the breakdown of human cognitive functions. Bryostatin, a drug that induces growth of new networks to replace those that have degenerated while also degrading plaques and tau tangles, may also address the red flags of this scourge threatening increasing numbers of the world's aging populations. At Neurotrope, we believe that treating Alzheimer's disease is a daunting challenge that will need to be treated by a drug with multi modal efficacy. We believe that our drug bryotstatin may be the drug. The top line results of our Phase 2 study with 148 patients is expected to be announced in April 2017. We hope, at that time, that a new therapy will be viewed as a possible future treatment for this disease." By Daniel Wiessner and Robert Iafolla (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday blocked an Obama administration rule to extend mandatory overtime pay to more than 4 million salaried workers from taking effect, imperiling one of the outgoing president's signature achievements for boosting wages. U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant, in Sherman, Texas, agreed with 21 states and a coalition of business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that the rule is unlawful and granted their motion for a nationwide injunction. The rule, issued by the Labor Department, was to take effect Dec. 1 and would have doubled to $47,500 the maximum salary a worker can earn and still be eligible for mandatory overtime pay. The new threshold would have been the first significant change in four decades. It was expected to touch nearly every sector of the U.S. economy and have the greatest impact on nonprofit groups, retail companies, hotels and restaurants, which have many management workers whose salaries are below the new threshold. The states and business groups claimed in lawsuits filed in September, which were later consolidated, that the drastic increase in the salary threshold was arbitrary. On Tuesday, Mazzant, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, ruled that the federal law governing overtime does not allow the Labor Department to decide which workers are eligible based on salary levels alone. The Fair Labor Standards Act says that employees can be exempt from overtime if they perform executive, administrative or professional duties, but the rule creates essentially a de facto salary-only test, Mazzant wrote in the 20-page ruling. The states and business groups that challenged the rule applauded the decision. Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt said in a statement that the ruling "reinforces the importance of the rule of law and constitutional government." The Labor Department said it strongly disagrees with the decision. It remains confident that the entire rule is legal, and it is currently considering its options, department spokesman Jason Surbey said. The Labor Department can appeal to the New Orleans, Louisiana-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but that court has stymied the Obama administration before, blocking Obamas executive actions on immigration in 2015. In any case, the Labor Department could drop the appeal after Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. In August, Trump told the website Circa that the overtime rule was an example of the type of burdensome business regulations he would seek to roll back as president, perhaps by exempting small businesses or delaying implementation. Even if the rule survived the legal challenge, it could be upended by legislation passed by Congress or withdrawn by Trump's Department of Labor. U.S. Chamber of Commerce official Randy Johnson said in a statement that the rule would have been costly and disruptive to businesses. But Ross Eisenbrey of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, which supported the rule, called the decision "extreme and unsupportable." "It is also a disappointment to millions of workers who are forced to work long hours with no extra compensation, and is a blow to those Americans who care deeply about raising wages and lessening inequality," Eisenbrey said in a statement. The case is Nevada v. U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No. 16-cv-731. (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner and Robert Iafolla; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Leslie Adler) Republican South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley delivers remarks at the Federalist Society 2016 National Lawyers Convention in Washington, U.S., November 18, 2016. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (Reuters) - South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has accepted President-elect Donald Trump's offer to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the transition process. Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, had backed Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz during the Republican battle for a White House nominee. (Reporting by Richa Naidu in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr) WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) this week announced the 10 young payments professionals that have been selected as the first participants in ETA's YPP Scholar Program. Those selected were chosen from over 50 candidates by an esteemed committee of ETA volunteer leaders to participate in this inaugural program. The ETA YPP Scholar Program provides support, education, and opportunity to young professionals, and encourages leadership within ETA and the industry at large. The YPP Scholars will receive: All five ETAU Courses advanced educational coursework in payments Complimentary registration for the ETA CPP Certification exam A payments industry mentor assigned during the first year Complimentary registration to TRANSACT, May 10-12, 2017 Complimentary hotel arranged by ETA and travel stiped to attend TRANSACT Dedicated networking time with industry leaders at TRANSACT The opportunity to contribute to the development of YPP sessions at TRANSACT Complimentary registration to Strategic Leadership Forum, October 10-12, 2017 Complimentary registration to TRANSACT Tech events in 2017 YPPs stand to gain invaluable insight through this program. ETA's goal is to provide the elements needed to help our young payments professionals of today grow, build collegial relationships with a class of scholars, and meet with respected leaders from influential companies that matter to the future of payments innovation. The 2017 YPP Scholars include: For questions on the YPP Scholar Program, contact Melinda Widlake at [email protected] or Del Baker Robertson at [email protected]. About ETAThe Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is the global trade association representing more than 500 payments and technology companies. CONTACT: Emma Stoneall, 202-677-7415, [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eta-debuts-premiere-group-of-young-payments-professionals-ypp-scholar-program-300368025.html SOURCE ETA AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (ticker: PSH:NA) today released its regular weekly Net Asset Value (NAV) on its website, https://www.pershingsquareholdings.com/company-reports/weekly-navs/. The NAV was computed as of the close of business on Tuesday, 22 November 2016. PSH NAV per share as of close of business on 22 November 2016 was USD17.70 Weekly net asset value (NAV) is calculated as of the close of business on each Tuesday and posted on the following business day. In the event that Tuesday is not a business day, the Company will calculate the close-of-business NAV as of the business day immediately preceding that Tuesday. The end-of-month NAV is calculated as of the close of business on the last day of the month and posted on the following business day. For weeks that include a month-end NAV report, PSH will provide only the month-end NAV and not report the Tuesday NAV. Monthly NAVs are published in accordance with the Decree on Conduct of Business Supervision of Financial Undertakings under the Wft (Besluit Gedragstoezicht financiele ondernemingen Wft). About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (PSH:NA) is an investment holding company structured as a closed end fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005714/en/ MEDIA CONTACT Maitland James Devas, +44 20 7379 5151 [email protected] Source: Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. TSX.V: SCZ FSE: 1SZ VANCOUVER, Nov. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (TSX.V: SCZ) (the "Company" or "Santacruz") reports that a lead thickener and filter press with a 4,000 tpd capacity have been installed, commissioned and are now operating to design specifications at the Veta Grande Mine in Zacatecas, Mexico. "The installation and commissioning of this equipment is part of our ongoing upgrade of the Veta Grande milling facility," stated Arturo Prestamo, President and CEO of Santacruz. "As a result metal recoveries are now approximately 70% and 88% for silver and lead respectively reporting to the lead concentrate, with an additional approximate 14% recovery of silver to the zinc concentrate. We anticipate further increases in the silver recovery as we continue to fine-tune the system. Our next step is to begin work on fabricating and installing a zinc thickener and filter press of equal capacity which is scheduled for completion in Q1 2017." About Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. Santacruz is a Mexican focused silver company with two producing silver mines (Rosario and Veta Grande); an advanced-stage project (San Felipe) and four exploration properties including the Gavilanes property, El Gachi property, Minillas property and Zacatecas properties. The Company is managed by a technical team of professionals with proven track records in developing, operating and discovering silver mines in Mexico. Our corporate objective is to become a mid-tier silver producer. 'signed' Arturo Prestamo Elizondo,President, Chief Executive Officer and Director Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward looking information Certain statements contained in this news release, such as planned production and milling levels, costs, sales prices and efficiencies, constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events, that third party ore to be milled by the Company has properties consistent with management's expectations, that the Company obtains all required regulatory approvals, and that future metal prices and the demand and market outlook for metals remains stable or improves. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to prove not to be valid or reliable, which could result in lower revenue, higher cost, lower production levels, delays, and/or cessation in planned work, that the Company's financial condition and development plans change, delays in regulatory approval, risks associated with the interpretation of data (including in respect of the third party ore), the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to mineral exploration and development activities and to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information or statements, other than as required by applicable law. Financial outlook information contained herein about the Company's prospective costs of production and sales prices is based on assumptions about future events, as described above, based on management's assessment of the relevant information currently available. The purpose of such financial outlook is to provide information about management's current expectations as to the anticipated results of its proposed business activities for the coming quarters. Readers are cautioned that any such financial outlook information contained herein should not be used for purposes other than for which it is disclosed herein. Rosario Mine The decision to commence production at the Rosario Mine was not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, but rather on a more preliminary estimate of inferred mineral resources. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101. Veta Grande Mine The decision to commence production at the Veta Grande Mine was not based on a feasibility study on mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101. Cinco Estrellas Property The decision to commence production at the Cinco Estrellas Property was not based on a feasibility study on mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101. SOURCE SantaCruz Silver Mining Ltd. The ticker and trading information for St. Jude Medical is displayed where the stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday said it has given its conditional approval to U.S. medical device maker Abbott Laboratories' (NYSE: ABT) bid for peer St Jude Medical Inc (NYSE: STJ). Reuters reported on Nov. 15 that the $25 billion deal was going to be cleared in Brussels. The European Commission, the mergers regulator, said in a statement that its approval was conditional on "Abbott divesting two devices used in cardiovascular treatments." (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska) Every five minutes a satellite captures images of Chinas biggest cities from space. Thousands of miles away in California, a computer looks at the shadows of the buildings in the images and draws a conclusion: Chinas real estate boom is slowing. Traders at BlackRock, the money management giant, then use the data to help choose whether to buy or sell the stocks of Chinese developers. The machine is able to deal with some of the very complex decisions, said Jeff Shen, co-chief investment officer at Scientific Active Equity, BlackRocks quantitative trading, or quant, arm in San Francisco. The future star of the hedge fund industry is not the next William A. Ackman, Carl C. Icahn or George Soros. Rather, it is a computer like the one at Scientific Active Equity, which sifts through data like satellite images from China every day. Math whizzes have long dominated the hedge fund universe, but until recently, only a handful of well-known firms like Renaissance Technologies, the D. E. Shaw Group and AQR Capital Management used mathematical models and computers to plot out trading techniques. And other than the occasional blowup, as when Long-Term Capital Management went bust in spectacular fashion in 1998 after its models failed to factor in the possibility of a Russian government debt default, the world of quantitative trading has remained out of the limelight. Now, as the financial world faces dismal returns and investor criticism over high fees, hedge fund managers are turning to computers to make decisions that used to be left to humans about which stocks to buy and sell, for example. Celebrity investors like Mr. Ackman are slowly being replaced by teams of Ph.D. holders who develop mathematical equations for trading and systems to scrape huge sets of data for patterns. For instance, the billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones, who runs the Tudor Investment Corporation, needed to make changes after investors pulled more than $2 billion from his firm, which now manages $10.6 billion. So he cut staff and brought in mathematicians and scientists to build up an analytical team. Other hedge funds have made similar moves. Were seeing a kind of bifurcation among hedge funds, with some moving towards more quant-driven or automated style, while others are turning towards a more long-only model, where they are judged on longer-term investment performance, said Craig Coben, global head of equity capital markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Big institutional investors are also diverting more money to the hedge fund firms that use computer-driven hedge fund strategies. While the hedge fund industry in recent months has suffered the biggest quarterly outflow since the financial crisis, investors continue to allocate money to hedge funds that use computer-driven strategies. Investors have put $7.9 billion into quantitative hedge funds this year, and the universe of hedge funds devoted to these strategies has more than doubled, to $900 billion from $408 billion seven years ago, according to Hedge Fund Research. More broadly, money flowing out of the hedge fund industry as a whole comes at a time when performance has been disappointing. The Hedge Fund Research Composite Index, the broadest gauge of hedge fund performance, has lagged the Standard & Poors 500-stock index this year, gaining 3.56 percent through the end of October compared with the indexs 4 percent gain over the same period, accounting for reinvested dividends. Frankly, we expect to see assets move from human managers to machine managers, Tony James, chief operating officer of Blackstone, told investors earlier this year. The Blackstone Alternative Asset Management arm, which manages $70 billion in hedge fund investments, is a big investor in quant-related hedge fund firms and has put billions of dollars toward these firms in recent years. The division now has $10 billion invested in quant-dedicated hedge fund firms, according to one person with direct knowledge of the firm; it has not publicly released the number. Some industry observers warn that hedge funds building out new quant arms may simply be trying to capture investor money that is flowing into the strategy. But veterans in the quant world see the trend as an indication that the industry is finally catching up to other industries in which technology has disrupted businesses. The portfolio investment industry has been relatively late to adopting technology, said Philippe Jordan, the president of Capital Fund Management, a 25-year-old quant hedge fund firm that manages $6.9 billion. Finance is deeply conservative in nature, he added. A giant excavator loads a mining truck at the Fortescue Solomon iron ore mine located in the Sheila Valley, around 400 km south of Port Hedland, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia December 2, 2013. REUTERS/David Gray/File photo By Jonathan Barrett and Aaron Bunch SYDNEY/PERTH (Reuters) - Coal prices may be recovering, but there are no celebrations in the mining town of Collie, Western Australia, where workers are fighting Indian conglomerate Lanco Infratech over plans to slash their wages almost in half. The move to cut pay at Lanco's Griffin Coal mine comes five years after the peak of a commodity price boom that saw miners, truck drivers and even cleaners earning six-figure incomes in Australia's remote outback mines and offshore oil and gas fields. But unwinding the wage hikes has proved difficult after a collapse in prices for coal, iron ore and other resources pushed dozens of mining companies into bankruptcy and many more to the brink. Lanco's move to switch from an employee-friendly wage agreement to statutory minimum pay when the agreement expired is among the first of its kind and has quickly become a national test case. China's Yanzhou Coal Mining Co <600188.SS> and U.S. giant Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) are among other companies pursuing controversial changes to wages and conditions. While lower wages will help struggling projects survive, some economists worry widespread cuts to worker incomes will weigh on consumer spending and economic growth. Australian wages are growing at their slowest pace on record, the Australian Bureau of Statistics data for the September quarter shows, representing less than half the wage growth rate workers enjoyed a decade ago. Workers in Collie believe the wage cuts will have devastating consequences for their tight-knit town of about 7,000 residents. Graham Latham, who retired from Griffin Coal in July because he was unhappy with the new pay rate and job conditions, said businesses including a hardware store, camera shop and fashion boutique have already shut their doors. "When I first started at out there it felt like a family atmosphere, but now you just feel like a number, you know?," he said. WAGE RECLAIM A KPMG report for lobby group the Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) has found wages in the iron ore industry are 20 percent higher in Australia than in competing jurisdictions, and offshore vessel operators are paid 2-1/2 times more. During the boom time, miners regularly paid dump truck drivers high six figure salaries, while travel arrangements allowed some workers to live in holiday areas such as the Indonesian island of Bali during their breaks. Nicholas Ellery, partner in legal firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth, said the severity of the wage cuts was a result of these high wages and incentives many people enjoyed in stronger economic times. "Businesses are just trying to find ways to survive and stay viable," Ellery said. "This is happening across sectors and while industries are doing it tough, we'll see more of it." Companies including Fortescue Metals Group have changed shift rosters, and penny pinching - from cutting back on soap and bottled water at mines - has become commonplace. Still around 46,000 mining construction jobs were lost between 2013 and 2015, according to National Australia Bank data. Coal prices have surged this year but projects run by Lanco and Yanzhou's local arm, also in Collie, operate on longer-term contracts and have yet to see higher prices feed through. Griffin has lost an average A$48.9 million ($36.2 million) a year since 2011, according to court filings. "There is a significant gap between the cost of production and the income received for selling each tonne of coal," Griffin's chief financial controller James Riordan told Reuters. "Labor costs are by far the biggest cost of production." A spokesman for Yanzhou's local coal operations said the company had been negotiating since early last year without success. "The proposed 15 percent reduction is unfortunately reflective of the difficult economic and operating conditions we are continuing to address at this time," the spokesman said in a statement. COMPANIES IN BOX SEAT Lanco's successful bid in Australia's industrial relations tribunal to return workers to an industry minimum has set a precedent that other companies are now holding over their work forces during negotiations, said unionist Steve McCartney. "Companies think this is a green light to attack wages and conditions for workers all over Australia," said McCartney. "Our people in Collie are digging in." Some Griffin maintenance workers are facing a potential pay cut from around A$130,000 a year to A$80,000, although negotiations with the company are ongoing. Exxon Mobil subsidiary Esso wants to move workers at its oil platform operations in the Bass Strait fields, south of Australia's mainland, from one-week-on, one-week-off shifts, to two-weekly shifts designed to improve productivity. It has started proceedings to move workers onto award wages although an agreement could be reached in the interim. An Esso spokesman declined to comment. Jane Beauglehole, a long-term resident of Collie and wife of a worker at Lanco's operations, said industry minimum wages would affect all aspects of family life. "Work is saying, 'We've got counselors you can use, come use them'," said Beauglehole. "And I say, 'a workforce shouldnt need counselors to help the workers because it should be a happy place to work in'." ($1 = 1.3524 Australian dollars) (Editing by Lincoln Feast) By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - France accused Syria and its allies on Wednesday of using political uncertainty in the United States to launch "total war" against rebel-held areas in the country and said states opposed to President Bashar al-Assad would meet in Paris soon. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is only inaugurated on Jan. 20 and the outgoing administration is not expected to take an active role in Syria so close to leaving office. European diplomats have expressed concern that Assad may feel emboldened by Trump's vow to build closer ties with Russia, Syria's ally. "Today one million people are besieged. Not just in Aleppo, but in Homs, Ghouta and Idlib, and that's the reality of the situation in Syria," Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters after a weekly cabinet session. He did not say what the planned meeting might achieve to tackle five years of conflict which have killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced half of Syria's population, but said protecting Syrian civilians was an urgent priority. "France is taking the initiative to confront this strategy of total war by the regime and its allies, who are taking advantage of the current uncertainty in the United States." A meeting of countries opposed to Assad, including the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, will take place in the coming days in Paris, Ayrault said. A diplomat said the ministerial talks would happen in early December. The U.N. Special Envoy for Syria also expressed concern on Tuesday that Assad could launch a new offensive to crush eastern Aleppo before Trump takes office. Intense bombardment of east Aleppo, including of hospitals, has left residents even more deprived of medicines, food and fuel in recent weeks. Accusing Syria and its Russian and Iranian backers of "cynicism", German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told parliament that the renewed strikes would merely add momentum to the cycle of violence. "Far too many people right now believe they can profit from the power vacuum after the U.S. elections and play the military card," he said. "We have to break through this logic. The talks on ceasefires and humanitarian aid must not stop during this period of transition in Washington." CHEMICAL WEAPONS A Western diplomat in Geneva also expressed concern over Trump's pledge to fight Islamic State alongside Russia. "Today with few exceptions we see Russia fighting the opposition, or rather civilians in besieged opposition areas, not Islamic State," he told Reuters. "If this is the fight Trump would want to join, it would destroy any prospects of a political solution." "But if it means Washington would get Russia to start seriously fighting Islamic State, rather than the opposition, that is good." France, a staunch backer of the anti-Assad opposition, is now actively pushing for a U.N. Security Council resolution to sanction Syria for the use of chemical weapons, Ayrault said. An inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has already found that government forces were responsible for three chlorine gas attacks and that Islamic State militants had used mustard gas. "It's been proved that the regime and Islamic State have used chemical weapons so we now need sanctions and that's the resolution we want at the U.N. The international community must stop turning a blind eye," Ayrault said. "We aren't going to sit and do nothing," he added. Russia has said the inquiry's findings cannot be used to take action at the Security Council and that the Syrian government, which denies using chemical weapons, should investigate the accusations. (Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey, Sabine Siebold in Berlinand Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Dominic Evans) By Ori Lewis JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's attorney-general ordered the police on Wednesday to investigate a government contract with Germany for three submarines and other naval craft, the Justice Ministry said. The deal has come under public scrutiny since it emerged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's personal lawyer also represents the local agent of the German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems set to build the vessels. "Following new information that has been received today from the police and in view of other developments in the matter ... the attorney-general has ordered an investigation to be carried out by police concerning various aspects of the affair," the Justice Ministry said in a statement. Both Netanyahu and his attorney David Shimron have denied any impropriety and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems said it has no contractual connection with the lawyer. Shimron said he welcomed the inquiry and that its findings would clear him and that he would cooperate with investigators. "I am absolutely certain ... that objective, expert officials will find, once and for all, that my actions were faultless and that I acted according to the law and in line with conflict-of-interest arrangements," Shimron said in a statement. On Tuesday, Netanyahu's office issued a statement defending Shimron's integrity. Shimron also represents Miki Ganor, an Israeli businessman described by the Kiel-based shipyards as its sales partner. The three submarines, costing about $1.5 billion, are due to replace aging vessels and will be delivered in about 10 years. Israel currently has a fleet of five German submarines, with a sixth due to go in service around 2018. With the Israeli media largely focused on Shimron and the ethics of his representing both Netanyahu and Ganor, the prime minister, now in his fourth term, does not appear to be in any immediate political danger. Nor has there been any indication that the deal itself, which Netanyahu, 67, defended in public remarks to his cabinet on Sunday, is in any jeopardy. The submarines are widely believed to be capable of carrying missiles with nuclear warheads and serve as a second-strike deterrent against Iran, should it ever build atomic weapons. Iran has denied ever seeking nuclear arms and Israel has never acknowledged that it has any of its own. First elected to Israel's top office two decades ago, Netanyahu has weathered several scandals, including a police investigation and state audits into his family's spending. Former defense minister Moshe Yaalon, who was removed by Netanyahu and is now a political rival, has said that the new submarines are surplus to Israel's requirements. (Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Former Polish President and 1983 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa attends a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela, in this February 18, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Marco Bello By Marcin Goclowski and Pawel Florkiewicz ARLAMOW, Poland (Reuters) - Poland's ruling conservatives are undoing the progress the country has made during more than 25 years of democracy but they will be swept from power once they run out of cash to fund their welfare programs, Lech Walesa said in an interview. Walesa, who led the Solidarity trade union that overthrew communism in 1989 and became Poland's first freely elected president since World War Two, also urged critics of the government to support a new grassroots pro-democracy movement. "There isn't much that can be done while populism is working," said Walesa, now 73. "We need to wait until ... they run out of money to spend. Then the masses will return to support those who oppose what is going on in Poland right now." "Poland used to have a bad reputation. We fixed it and things became fine and now they are taking us back again," said Walesa, speaking in a mountain resort in southeastern Poland where he was once imprisoned by the communist authorities. The right-wing, eurosceptic Law and Justice party (PiS) won a landslide victory in last year's election on a platform of increased social spending, Catholic family values and nationalism. The government remains popular but the economy is slowing and its efforts to reform the constitutional court and assert control over state media have drawn criticism from the European Union and rights groups. "TOO FAR RIGHT" PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski once worked with Walesa in the Solidarity movement but they later fell out. Kaczynski accuses Walesa of collaborating with the communist regime and then of presiding over a sharp rise in economic inequality after 1989. Walesa, a Nobel peace laureate, has retired from active politics but remains an outspoken and divisive figure in Poland. He told Reuters opponents of the PiS government should support the Committee for the Defence of Democracy (KOD), which has organized anti-government protests this year. Walesa also criticized the government's recent costly decision to cut Poland's retirement age - to 60 for women and to 65 for men, reversing a phased move under the previous government towards 67 for all Poles. [nL8N1DH59U] "They (PiS) are giving everything away. When the whole world is working more, we are working less," Walesa said. "We are going be uncompetitive." Economists say PiS has the financing for its welfare plans, including a near-universal child subsidy, in the near term, but slowing growth could threaten their sustainability. The Polish economy slowed to 2.5 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of this year from 4 percent in the last three months of 2015. Economists polled by Reuters expect the economy to expand by 3.1 percent in 2016 and 3.4 percent in 2017. Walesa said Poland's issues with democratic standards were part of a broader populist revolt that included Donald Trump's election as U.S. president and the growing popularity of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen. "We have forgotten what democracy is and we seem to have lost faith in it," he said. "The world keeps searching now and in this search Poland has gone too far right ..." Asked about Russia, Poland's historic foe, Walesa said he expected President Vladimir Putin to hold back on further military action in eastern Europe after the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. "Putin has experienced such losses that he is now thinking how to extricate himself," Walesa said, adding that the cost of Moscow's conflict with the West was becoming too heavy to bear. (Editing by Justyna Pawlak and Gareth Jones) By Patpicha Tanakasempipat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's military government, which has cracked down on online dissent since seizing power in 2014, is pushing ahead with cyber security bills that rights groups say could mean more extensive online monitoring, raising concerns over privacy protection. Amendments to Thailand's 2007 Computer Crime Act to be considered by parliament next month have come under fire from critics who say the bill could give state officials sweeping powers to spy on internet users and restrict online speech. Critics say parliament is likely to approve the amendments because lawmakers voted unanimously to pass the bill in its first reading. The amendments come as the military government has ramped up online censorship since the May 2014 coup, particularly perceived insults to the royal family, as it tries to ensure a smooth transition following the death of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Oct. 13 and ahead of a 2017 general election. Since the coup, the government has shut down or blocked thousands of websites it has deemed offensive or inappropriate. The amendments to the cyber law, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, have pro-democracy activists worried that they could lead to arbitrary invasion of privacy without a court warrant. Sam Zarifi, Asia Director at the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), a Geneva-based non-governmental organization, said the amendments would strengthen the government's ability to silence speech that it deems violates Thailand's lese-majeste law, a crime that is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. "This absolutely curbs free expression," Zarifi told Reuters. In the amendments, Articles 18 and 19 of the Computer Crime Act say state officials can obtain user and traffic data from service providers without court approval and can seize a computer device within an unspecified time period. Article 20 says a website that could threaten national security or "offend people's good morals" can be removed or suspended. A committee would be in charge of flagging suspicious content. The current law says officials need court approval to remove content. In a statement last month, the ICJ and four other rights groups called for Thailand's parliament, or National Legislative Assembly, to reject the draft. The National Human Rights Commission has also opposed the amendments. Members of the National Legislative Assembly declined to comment on the cyber security bills when contacted by Reuters. The amendments will be followed by the Cyber Security Act and the Personal Data Protection Act, which the government has approved in principle and aims to pass through parliament by March. Experts say the Computer Crime Act is a benchwarmer for the more dangerous Cyber Security Act, which would allow the state to wiretap phones and computers without judicial approval. "These laws are aimed at controlling online media, accessing personal data, and when the Cyber Security bill is passed, mass surveillance is a real threat," said Kanathip Thongraweewong, a data privacy expert at Saint John's University in Bangkok. Under the act, a National Cyber Security Committee will have the power to order any state or private agency to do anything without judicial oversight. The committee could take down whatever it wants, said Arthit Suriyawongkul of the Thai Netizen Network group, which has campaigned against the bills. Drafts of the bills show the committee's secretary will also serve as secretary in the Personal Data Protection Committee, raising conflict of interest questions. "A committee that protects people's rights and freedom should be independent from the state, especially when the state is a potential violator," said Arthit. (Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Nick Macfie) SANAA (Reuters) - Twelve Yemeni civilians were killed by a Saudi-led air strike while riding in a pickup truck in the country's northwest early on Wednesday, residents said. Locals said the passengers were shoppers heading to a local market in the Hiran area of northwest Hajja province, which is controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Yemen's Houthis since March 2015 to restore the internationally recognized president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who lives in exile in Saudi Arabia. A spokesman for the coalition did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But the coalition says it does not target civilians. Thousands of air strikes have largely failed to dislodge the Houthis from the capital, Sanaa, but have hit schools, markets, hospitals and homes, killing many civilians. Rights groups say they may amount to war crimes, but the coalition has argued that the Houthi fighters infiltrate and endanger civilian areas. At least 10,000 people have been killed in the 20-month conflict which has unleashed a humanitarian crisis on one of the Arab world's poorest countries. (Reporting By Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Noah Browning) The U.S. Treasury building is seen in Washington, September 29, 2008. REUTERS/Jim Bourg By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury has reassured Brazilian banks they can finance trade with Iran without fear of sanctions, opening the way to billions of dollars in potential exports of jet planes, buses and equipment, a senior Brazilian official said on Wednesday. Sanctions on non-U.S. entities doing business with Iranian companies were lifted with implementation in January of the nuclear accord with Iran, but Brazilian banks remained worried they could still face repercussions, said Rodrigo Azeredo, Brazil's top diplomat for trade. "They feared U.S. and European banks could react by cancelling their credit lines," Azeredo said. That is expected to change after Treasury officials explained to executives of Brazil's largest banks in Sao Paulo last week that they can deal with Iranian banks as long as the transactions - in dollars or any other currency - do not go through the U.S. banking system and do not involve blacklisted Iranian companies. The assurances from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) should remove a financial hurdle to Brazil's plan to expand trade with Iran to $5 billion in a few years from $1.6 billion last year, the Brazilian foreign ministry official said. "The potential for trade with Iran is great, but we need the engagement of Brazil's private commercial banks, and they were very worried," Azeredo said. "The U.S. government felt almost obliged to update its partners on the sanctions on Iran." U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to scrap the nuclear agreement with Iran during his campaign for not being tough enough, which could bring back secondary sanctions on non-U.S. entities. The OFAC team's briefing coincided with a visit to Brazil by an Iranian mission headed by Finance Minister Ali Tayebnia seeking to advance trade deals. Brazil's Embraer , the world's third largest maker of commercial planes, is in talks to sell Iran at least 20 of its E-195 jets worth over $1 billion as the Middle Eastern country moves to renew its aging airline fleets. Embraer still requires a U.S. license for the sale to Iran of sensitive jet engine technology in its planes. An Embraer spokesman said the company was hopeful it will get the go-ahead following similar licenses granted recently to European planemaker Airbus (NYSE: AIR) to sell commercial planes to Iran. Brazilian bus maker Marcopolo SA is also looking to sell hundreds of vehicles to Iran. The company declined to comment. Azeredo said Iranian companies were seeking Brazilian equipment ranging from tractors and electrical generators to hospital and dental equipment. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 6-K REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the month of November, 2016 Commission File No. 001-35531 TAHOE RESOURCES INC. (Translation of registrant's name into English) 5310 Kietzke Lane, Suite 200, Reno, NV 89511 (Address of principal executive office) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F Form 20-F [ ] Form 40-F [X] Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) [ ] Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) [ ] SUBMITTED HEREWITH SIGNATURE Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. TAHOE RESOURCES INC. Date: November 23, 2016 /s/Edie Hofmeister Edie Hofmeister VP Corporate Affairs TAHOE RESOURCES REPORTS END TO LA CUCHILLA HOME PURCHASE PROTEST VANCOUVER, British Columbia November 22, 2016 Tahoe Resources Inc. (Tahoe or the Company) (TSX: THO; NYSE: TAHO) today announced that a previously reported protest involving approximately 25 people outside the Companys Escobal mine in Guatemala has reached a voluntary end. The protest related to the Companys La Cuchilla home purchase program (the Program), which was introduced by Tahoe as a humanitarian act to support the La Cuchilla community as well as the local government. The end of the protest follows discussions between officials of Minera San Rafael, the Companys subsidiary in Guatemala, and the protesters, with the resulting resolution involving no material changes to the terms of the Program. Production at Escobal has remained at normal levels throughout the protest and the Company continues to target over 20 million ounces of silver production for the full-year 2016. Ron Clayton, President and CEO of Tahoe, commented: We are very pleased to have resolved the protest through dialogue and constructive engagement within the framework of our existing home purchase program. Since discussions with the protesters began, we have endeavored to balance respect for the peoples right to peacefully protest with our employees right to work, always prioritizing personal safety. We would like to thank the La Cuchilla community, the Mayor of San Rafael and a number of government agencies for working with us to resolve the situation in a cooperative and respectful manner. The La Cuchilla community is centered approximately half a kilometer from the Escobal mine. Due to unstable soil and steep topography, commonly seen in many parts of Guatemala, the countrys National Coordinator for the Reduction of Disasters (CONRED) recently declared the La Cuchilla village to be high risk. To assist local authorities in re-locating residents, last summer the Company volunteered to acquire homes identified as most at risk by CONRED at prices well above current market levels. To date, approximately 70% of the residents living in these homes have accepted the Companys home purchase offer and the resolution reached between the Company and community will facilitate the relocation of the remaining residents. The Company does not need the acquired land for any reason other than providing economic relief to at-risk residents. About Tahoe Resources Inc. Tahoes strategy is to responsibly operate precious metals mines, to pay significant shareholder dividends and to grow by developing long-term, low-cost assets in the Americas. Tahoe is a member of the S&P/TSX Composite and TSX Global Mining indices and the GDX and Russell 3000 on the NYSE. The Company is listed on the TSX as THO and on the NYSE as TAHO. For further information, please contact: Tahoe Resources Inc. Mark Utting, Vice President, Investor Relations [email protected] Tel: 416-703-6298 1 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 8-K Current Report Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 23, 2016 LEXINGTON REALTY TRUST (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Maryland 1-12386 13-3717318 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.) LEPERCQ CORPORATE INCOME FUND L.P. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 33-04215 13-3779859 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.) One Penn Plaza, Suite 4015, New York, New York 10119-4015 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) (212) 692-7200 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code) N/A (Former name or former address, if changed since last report) Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2.): Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. On November 23, 2016, in connection with the Lexington Realty Trusts (the Trust) effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-206411) that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 14, 2015 (the Registration Statement), the Trust filed a prospectus supplement (the ATM Prospectus Supplement) covering the sale of up to $88,116,012 aggregate offering price of shares of beneficial interest classified as common stock of the Trust, par value $0.0001 per share ( Common Shares), $63,116,012 of which were previously covered by a prior registration statement and $25,000,000 of which are newly authorized. Prior to the date of the ATM Prospectus Supplement, the Trust had sold Common Shares having an aggregate offering price of approximately $36,883,988 under a prior registration statement. Also in connection with the filing of the ATM Prospectus Supplement, on November 23, 2016, the Trust and Lepercq Corporate Income Fund L.P. (the Operating Partnership) entered into separate amendments to each of the two Equity Distribution Agreements (as amended, collectively, Equity Distribution Agreements) previously entered into by the Trust and the Operating Partnership on January 11, 2013 with each of Jefferies & Company Inc. and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. (each a Sales Agent) in connection with the ATM Program to sell the Securities from time to time through an at the market equity offering program (the ATM Program). Under the ATM Program, Jefferies LLC, as successor to Jefferies & Company Inc., and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. will act as sales agents (the Sales Agents). The amendments to the Equity Distribution Agreements reflect, among other things, following the date thereof, the Registration Statement and the ATM Prospectus Supplement and an increase in the aggregate offering price of the Common Shares as described above. Pursuant to the Equity Distribution Agreements, the Securities may be offered and sold through any of the Sales Agents in negotiated transactions or transactions that are deemed to be at the market offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including sales made by means of ordinary brokers transactions, including directly or on the New York Stock Exchange, or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange, at prices related to the prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. Each Sales Agent will be entitled to compensation of up to 2.00% of the gross sales price per share for any Securities sold through it as the Trusts and the Operating Partnerships sales agent. Copies of the Equity Distribution Agreements are attached as Exhibits 1.1 and 1.2 to the Trusts Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 14, 2013 and are incorporated by reference herein. Copies of the amendments to the Equity Distribution Agreements are attached as Exhibits 1.1, and 1.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated by reference herein. The foregoing descriptions of the Equity Distribution Agreements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the Equity Distribution Agreements. Item 8.01. Other Events. On November 23, 2016, Venable LLP delivered its legality opinion with respect to the Securities, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 5.1 and is incorporated herein by reference. On November 23, 2016, Paul Hastings LLP delivered its opinion with respect to certain matters related to the Securities, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 8.1 and is incorporated herein by reference. Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits. (d) Exhibits 1.1 First Amendment to Equity Distribution Agreement, dated as of November 23, 2016, among the Trust and the Operating Partnership, on the one hand, and Jefferies LLC, on the other hand. 1.2 First Amendment to Equity Distribution Agreement, dated as of November 23, 2016, among the Trust and the Operating Partnership, on the one hand, and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., on the other hand. 5.1 Opinion of Venable LLP. 8.1 Opinion of Paul Hastings LLP regarding tax matters. 23.1 Consent of Venable LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1). 23.2 Consent of Paul Hastings LLP (included in Exhibit 8.1). SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. Lexington Realty Trust Date: November 23, 2016 By: /s/ Patrick Carroll Patrick Carroll Chief Financial Officer Lepercq Corporate Income Fund L.P. By: Lex GP-1 Trust, its general partner Date: November 23, 2016 By: /s/ Patrick Carroll Patrick Carroll Vice President Exhibit Index 1.1 First Amendment to Equity Distribution Agreement, dated as of November 23, 2016, among the Trust and the Operating Partnership, on the one hand, and Jefferies LLC, on the other hand. 1.2 First Amendment to Equity Distribution Agreement, dated as of November 23, 2016, among the Trust and the Operating Partnership, on the one hand, and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., on the other hand. 5.1 Opinion of Venable LLP. 8.1 Opinion of Paul Hastings LLP regarding tax matters. 23.1 Consent of Venable LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1). 23.2 Consent of Paul Hastings LLP (included in Exhibit 8.1). Exhibit 1.1 FIRST AMENDMENT TO EQUITY DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT This First Amendment (this Amendment) to the Equity and Distribution Agreement, dated as of January 11, 2013 (the Equity Distribution Agreement) by and among Lexington Realty Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust (the Company), Lepercq Corporate Income Fund L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (LCIF) and Lepercq Corporate Income Fund II L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (LCIF II) and Jefferies & Company Inc., is dated as of November 23, 2016, by and among the Company, LCIF and Jefferies LLC, for itself and as successor to Jefferies & Company, Inc. (Jefferies). RECITALS WHEREAS, pursuant to the Equity Distribution Agreement, the Company has implemented an at-the-market offering program (the ATM Program) under which the Company may issue up to $100,000,000 of shares of beneficial interest of the Company (the Securities), classified as common stock, par value $0.0001 per share over the term of the ATM Program; WHEREAS, as of December 30, 2013, LCIF and LCIF II completed a merger transaction pursuant to which LCIF II merged with and into LCIF, with LCIF as the surviving entity; WHEREAS, prior to the date of this Amendment, the Company conducted the ATM Program pursuant to an automatic shelf registration statement (the August 2012 Shelf Registration Statement) on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-183645), including a base prospectus (the 2012 Base Prospectus) dated August 30, 2012, and a prospectus supplement dated January 11, 2013, including the 2012 Base Prospectus (the 2013 Prospectus Supplement) specifically relating to the Securities included as part of such registration statement; WHEREAS, prior to the date hereof, the Company has sold $36,883,987 of the Securities with $63,116,012 remaining unsold (the Remaining Securities); WHEREAS, the Company has filed an automatic shelf registration statement (the August 2015 Shelf Registration Statement) on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-206411), including a base prospectus (the 2015 Base Prospectus) dated August 14, 2015, relating to certain securities, including the Securities to be issued pursuant to the Equity Distribution Agreement and this Amendment, and has prepared a prospectus supplement dated November 23, 2016, including the 2015 Base Prospectus (the 2016 Prospectus Supplement) specifically relating to the Remaining Securities included as part of such registration statement; WHEREAS, the August 2012 Shelf Registration previously expired and was replaced by the August 2015 Shelf Registration and the ATM Program is, from the date of this Amendment, to be conducted pursuant to the August 2015 Shelf Registration Statement and the 2016 Prospectus Supplement; and WHEREAS, the Company intends to increase the Maximum Amount from $100,000,000 to $125,000,000; The Company, LCIF, on its own behalf and as successor by merger to LCIF II, and Keybanc have agreed to modify the Equity Distribution Agreement, as set forth in this Amendment, subject to the terms and conditions set forth below. All capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Equity Distribution Agreement. AGREEMENT NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises set forth above and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties agree that the Equity Distribution Agreement and the Exhibits appended thereto are hereby modified as provided below: (a) The Preamble is hereby amended to reflect (i) the merger of LCIF and LCIF II and (ii) the execution of this Amendment, and is hereby replaced in its entirety by the following: Each of Lexington Realty Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust (the Company ) and Lepercq Corporate Income Fund L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the Operating Partnership ) confirms its agreement (this Agreement ) with Jefferies LLC, for itself and as successor to Jefferies & Company, Inc. ( Jefferies ) as follows: (b) The first sentence of Section 1 is hereby amended to reflect the increased Maximum Amount and the amount of remaining unsold Securities and replaced in its entirety by the following: The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through Jefferies, acting as agent and/or principal, shares of beneficial interest of the Company (the Securities ) classified as common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the Common Shares ), having an aggregate sale price of up to $125,000,000 (the Maximum Amount ), of which $88,116,012 remains unissued and unsold. (c) To reflect the increased Maximum Amount, each reference to $100,000,000 is hereby replaced by a reference to $125,000,000. (d) To reflect the merger of LCIF and LCIF II into LCIF as the surviving entity, each reference to the Operating Partnerships, each Operating Partnership, any Operating Partnership or the applicable Operating Partnership is hereby replaced by a reference to the Operating Partnership. (e) To reflect the August 2015 Shelf Registration Statement superseding the August 2012 Shelf Registration Statement, each reference to (file No. 333-183645) is hereby replaced by a reference to (file No. 333-206411). (f) Sections 5(a)(9) and (10) are hereby amended to eliminate references to Net Lease Strategic Assets Fund L.P. and Lex-Win Concord LLC and are hereby replaced in their entirety by the following: (9) KPMG LLP, who audited the financial statements and supporting schedules of the Company and its subsidiaries which are included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company as required by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). (10) The financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, (collectively, the Company Financial Statements), included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and any financial statements required by Rule 3-14 of Regulation S-X (the Acquisition Financial Statements), which are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, present fairly the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated, or, if applicable, with respect to the Acquisition Financial Statements, the respective property or tenant; and all such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved and comply with all applicable accounting requirements under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, except as disclosed therein, and that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP and subject, in the case of unaudited financial statements, to normal year-end audit adjustments. The supporting schedules, if any, included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus present fairly, in accordance with GAAP, the information required to be stated therein. There are no financial statements or schedules required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus under the Securities Act, which are not so included or incorporated. If applicable, the unaudited pro forma financial information (including the related notes) included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus complies as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Securities Act, and management of the Company believes that the assumptions underlying the pro forma adjustments are reasonable. If applicable, such pro forma adjustments have been properly applied to the historical amounts in the compilation of the information and such information fairly presents with respect to the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, the financial position, results of operations and other information purported to be shown therein at the respective dates and for the respective periods specified. No pro forma financial information is required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which is not so included or incorporated. Any non-GAAP financial measures, as defined under Regulation G of the Securities Act, included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are permitted for use in documents filed with the Commission and comply with Regulation G under the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act, to the extent applicable. The ratio of earnings to fixed charges contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus has been calculated in accordance with Item 503(d) of Regulation S-K. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commissions rules and guidelines applicable thereto. (g) The first clause of Section 5(a)(15) is hereby deleted and replaced in its entirety by the following: The Companys authorized and issued capitalization is as set forth in the documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and has not changed, except for (i) subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to this Agreement or the Alternative Distribution Agreement or pursuant to reservations, agreements, benefit plans or other plans and arrangements referred to, or incorporated by reference, in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (ii) purchases of securities pursuant to the Companys announced stock repurchase program referred to, or incorporated by reference, in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and (iii) such other changes as are referred to, or incorporated by reference, in the Registration Statement and Prospectus; (h) To reflect the most recent Amended and Restated Dividend Reinvestment and Direct Share Purchase Plan, the reference in Section 5(a)(15) to such Plan shall be replaced by a reference to such Plan as filed with the Commission on an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3ASR on December 24, 2015. (i) Section 5(a) is hereby amended to include a new Section 5(a)(58) as follows: (58) FINRA Matters. All of the information provided pursuant to this Agreement, if any, to Jefferies or to counsel for Jefferies by the Company, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rules 5110, 5190 and NASD Conduct Rule 2720 is true, complete and correct. The Company meets the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act specified in FINRA Rule 5110(b)(7)(C)(i). Neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, or is a person associated with any member firm of FINRA. (j) Section 5(a) is hereby amended to include a new Section 5(a)(59) as follows: (59) No Unlawful Contributions or Other Payments. Neither the Company nor the Operating Partnership nor, to the best of the Company or the Operating Partnerships knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company or the Operating Partnership, has made any contribution or other payment to any official of, or candidate for, any federal, state or foreign office in violation of any law or of the character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. (k) Section 5(a) is hereby amended to include a new Section 5(a)(60) as follows: (60) ERISA Compliance. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus, the Company and each Operating Partnership and any employee benefit plan (as defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (collectively, ERISA)) established or maintained by the Company or such Operating Partnership or their ERISA Affiliates (as defined below) are in compliance in all material respects with ERISA. ERISA Affiliate means, with respect to the Company and the Operating Partnership, any member of any group of organizations described in Sections 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (the Code) of which the Company or the Operating Partnership is a member. No reportable event (as defined under ERISA) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur with respect to any employee benefit plan established or maintained by the Company , the Operating Partnership or any of their ERISA Affiliates. No employee benefit plan established or maintained by the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of their ERISA Affiliates, if such employee benefit plan were terminated, would have any amount of unfunded benefit liabilities (as defined under ERISA). Neither the Company, nor the Operating Partnership nor any of their ERISA Affiliates has incurred or reasonably expects to incur any liability under (i) Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any employee benefit plan or (ii) Sections 412, 4971, 4975 or 4980B of the Code. Each employee benefit plan established or maintained by either the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of their ERISA Affiliates that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified and nothing has occurred, whether by action or failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification. (l) Section 5(a) is hereby amended to include a new Section 5(a)(61) as follows: (61) Brokers. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company or the Operating Partnership any brokerage or finders fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement. (m) Section 7 is hereby amended to include a new Section 7(aa) as follows: (aa) Jefferies Review of Proposed Amendments and Supplements. Prior to amending or supplementing the Registration Statement (including any registration statement filed under Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act) or the Prospectus, other than any such amendment or supplement occurring solely as a result of the incorporation by reference of any report filed under the Exchange Act (unless such supplement or amendment relates to an event reported on Form 8-K which otherwise triggers a Representation Date pursuant to Section 7(o)(1)(iv) of the Equity Distribution Agreement), the Company shall furnish to Jefferies for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement, and the Company shall not file or use any such proposed amendment or supplement without Jefferies prior consent, and to file with the Commission within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such Rule. (n) To reflect the most recent Form 10-K filed by the Company, each reference to the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 is hereby replaced by a reference to the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. (o) To reflect the most recent Form 10-Qs filed by the Company and/or the Operating Partnership, as applicable, the reference to the Companys Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2012, June 30, 2012 and September 30, 2012 in Section 5(a)(44) is hereby replaced by a reference to the Companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 and the Companys and the Operating Partnerships Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2016 and September 30, 2016. (p) The last paragraph of Section 7(o) is hereby amended, with effect from January 11, 2013, to remove the proviso regarding the Form 10-K set forth therein and is hereby replaced in its entirety by the following: The Company and the Operating Partnership shall furnish Jefferies with a certificate, in the forms attached hereto as Exhibit E-1 and E-2 within three (3) Trading Days of any Representation Date. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(o) including with respect to clause (2) above, shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and the next occurring Representation Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Securities following a Representation Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide Jefferies with a certificate under this Section 7(o), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or Jefferies sells any Placement Securities, the Company shall provide Jefferies with a certificate, in the forms attached hereto as Exhibit E-1 and E-2, dated the date of the Placement Notice. (q) To reflect the change in counsel to the Sales Agents, each reference to Hunton & Williams LLP is hereby replaced by a reference to Goodwin Procter LLP. (r) To reflect the change in attorneys and/or counsel to the Company and the Sales Agents, Section 13 is hereby amended and replaced in its entirety by the following: Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, all notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to Jefferies shall be directed to Jefferies at Jefferies LLC, 520 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, Attention: General Counsel, with a copy to Goodwin Procter LLP, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018, Attention: Mark Schonberger, Esq.; notices to the Company shall be directed to it at Lexington Realty Trust, One Penn Plaza, Suite 4015, New York, New York 10119, Attention: Joseph S. Bonventre, Esq., General Counsel, fax no. (212) 594-6600, with a copy to Paul Hastings LLP, 1170 Peachtree Street NE #100, Atlanta, GA 30309, Attention: Elizabeth Noe., fax no. (404) 6855287. (s) To reflect the updated list of Subsidiaries, Exhibit D is hereby replaced by reference to Exhibit 21 to the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. The Company hereby represents and warrants that no significant subsidiary as defined by Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X has been formed by the Company since the date of such exhibit. (t) To reflect the changes set forth in this Amendment, each Exhibit to the Agreement is hereby amended to conform to the changes made to the Equity Distribution Agreement by this Amendment. (u) For the avoidance of doubt, the parties acknowledge that the Maximum Amount represents the aggregate sale price of the Common Shares that may be sold pursuant to both this Agreement and the Alternative Distribution Agreement. (v) This Amendment shall be effective as of the date first written above. [SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS] IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have entered into this Amendment as of the date first written above. LEXINGTON REALTY TRUST By: /s/ Joseph S. Bonventre Name: Joseph S. Bonventre Title: Executive Vice President LEPERCQ CORPORATE INCOME FUND L.P., for itself and as successor by merger to Lepercq Corporate Income Fund II L.P. By: /s/ Joseph S. Bonventre Name: Joseph S. Bonventre Title: Vice President JEFFERIES LLC, for itself and as successor to Jefferies & Company, Inc. By: /s/ John P. Ockerbloom Name: John P. Ockerbloom Title: Managing Director Exhibit 1.2 EXECUTION VERSION FIRST AMENDMENT TO EQUITY DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT This First Amendment (this Amendment) to the Equity and Distribution Agreement, dated as of January 11, 2013 (the Equity Distribution Agreement) by and among Lexington Realty Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust (the Company), Lepercq Corporate Income Fund L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (LCIF) and Lepercq Corporate Income Fund II L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (LCIF II) and Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. (KeyBanc), is dated as of November 23, 2016, by and among the Company, LCIF and Keybanc. RECITALS WHEREAS, pursuant to the Equity Distribution Agreement, the Company has implemented an at-the-market offering program (the ATM Program) under which the Company may issue up to $100,000,000 of shares of beneficial interest of the Company (the Securities), classified as common stock, par value $0.0001 per share over the term of the ATM Program; WHEREAS, as of December 30, 2013, LCIF and LCIF II completed a merger transaction pursuant to which LCIF II merged with and into LCIF, with LCIF as the surviving entity; WHEREAS, prior to the date of this Amendment, the Company conducted the ATM Program pursuant to an automatic shelf registration statement (the August 2012 Shelf Registration Statement) on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-183645), including a base prospectus (the 2012 Base Prospectus) dated August 30, 2012, and a prospectus supplement dated January 11, 2013, including the 2012 Base Prospectus (the 2013 Prospectus Supplement) specifically relating to the Securities included as part of such registration statement; WHEREAS, prior to the date hereof, the Company has sold $36,883,987 of the Securities with $63,116,012 remaining unsold (the Remaining Securities); WHEREAS, the Company has filed an automatic shelf registration statement (the August 2015 Shelf Registration Statement) on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-206411), including a base prospectus (the 2015 Base Prospectus) dated August 14, 2015, relating to certain securities, including the Securities to be issued pursuant to the Equity Distribution Agreement and this Amendment, and has prepared a prospectus supplement dated November 23, 2016, including the 2015 Base Prospectus (the 2016 Prospectus Supplement) specifically relating to the Remaining Securities included as part of such registration statement; WHEREAS, the August 2012 Shelf Registration previously expired and was replaced by the August 2015 Shelf Registration and the ATM Program is, from the date of this Amendment, to be conducted pursuant to the August 2015 Shelf Registration Statement and the 2016 Prospectus Supplement; and WHEREAS, the Company intends to increase the Maximum Amount from $100,000,000 to $125,000,000; The Company, LCIF, on its own behalf and as successor by merger to LCIF II, and Keybanc have agreed to modify the Equity Distribution Agreement, as set forth in this Amendment, subject to the terms and conditions set forth below. All capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Equity Distribution Agreement. AGREEMENT NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises set forth above and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties agree that the Equity Distribution Agreement and the Exhibits appended thereto are hereby modified as provided below: (a) The Preamble is hereby amended to reflect (i) the merger of LCIF and LCIF II and (ii) the execution of this Amendment, and is hereby replaced in its entirety by the following: Each of Lexington Realty Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust (the Company ) and Lepercq Corporate Income Fund L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the Operating Partnership ) confirms its agreement (this Agreement) with Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. ( Keybanc ) as follows: (b) The first sentence of Section 1 is hereby amended to reflect the increased Maximum Amount and the amount of remaining unsold Securities and replaced in its entirety by the following: The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may issue and sell through KeyBanc, acting as agent and/or principal, shares of beneficial interest of the Company (the Securities ) classified as common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the Common Shares ), having an aggregate sale price of up to $125,000,000 (the Maximum Amount ), of which $88,116,012 remains unissued and unsold. (c) To reflect the increased Maximum Amount, each reference to $100,000,000 is hereby replaced by a reference to $125,000,000. (d) To reflect the merger of LCIF and LCIF II into LCIF as the surviving entity, each reference to the Operating Partnerships, each Operating Partnership, any Operating Partnership or the applicable Operating Partnership is hereby replaced by a reference to the Operating Partnership. (e) To reflect the August 2015 Shelf Registration Statement superseding the August 2012 Shelf Registration Statement, each reference to (file No. 333-183645) is hereby replaced by a reference to (file No. 333-206411). (f) To correct a typographical error, the reference to Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. in the last paragraph of Section 1 is hereby replaced by a reference to Jefferies & Company, Inc. (g) Sections 5(a)(9) and (10) are hereby amended to eliminate references to Net Lease Strategic Assets Fund L.P. and Lex-Win Concord LLC and are hereby replaced in their entirety by the following: (9) KPMG LLP, who audited the financial statements and supporting schedules of the Company and its subsidiaries which are included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company as required by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). (10) The financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, (collectively, the Company Financial Statements), included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and any financial statements required by Rule 3-14 of Regulation S-X (the Acquisition Financial Statements), which are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, present fairly the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated, or, if applicable, with respect to the Acquisition Financial Statements, the respective property or tenant; and all such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved and comply with all applicable accounting requirements under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, except as disclosed therein, and that unaudited financial statements may not contain all footnotes required by GAAP and subject, in the case of unaudited financial statements, to normal year-end audit adjustments. The supporting schedules, if any, included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus present fairly, in accordance with GAAP, the information required to be stated therein. There are no financial statements or schedules required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus under the Securities Act, which are not so included or incorporated. If applicable, the unaudited pro forma financial information (including the related notes) included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus complies as to form in all material respects with the applicable accounting requirements of the Securities Act, and management of the Company believes that the assumptions underlying the pro forma adjustments are reasonable. If applicable, such pro forma adjustments have been properly applied to the historical amounts in the compilation of the information and such information fairly presents with respect to the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, the financial position, results of operations and other information purported to be shown therein at the respective dates and for the respective periods specified. No pro forma financial information is required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus which is not so included or incorporated. Any non-GAAP financial measures, as defined under Regulation G of the Securities Act, included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are permitted for use in documents filed with the Commission and comply with Regulation G under the Exchange Act and Item 10 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Act, to the extent applicable. The ratio of earnings to fixed charges contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus has been calculated in accordance with Item 503(d) of Regulation S-K. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commissions rules and guidelines applicable thereto. (h) The first clause of Section 5(a)(15) is hereby deleted and replaced in its entirety by the following: The Companys authorized and issued capitalization is as set forth in the documents incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and has not changed, except for (i) subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to this Agreement or the Alternative Distribution Agreement or pursuant to reservations, agreements, benefit plans or other plans and arrangements referred to, or incorporated by reference, in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (ii) purchases of securities pursuant to the Companys announced stock repurchase program referred to, or incorporated by reference, in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and (iii) such other changes as are referred to, or incorporated by reference, in the Registration Statement and Prospectus; (i) To reflect the most recent Amended and Restated Dividend Reinvestment and Direct Share Purchase Plan, the reference in Section 5(a)(15) to such Plan shall be replaced by a reference to such Plan as filed with the Commission on an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3ASR on December 24, 2015. (j) Section 5(a) is hereby amended to include a new Section 5(a)(58) as follows: (58) FINRA Matters. All of the information provided pursuant to this Agreement, if any, to KeyBanc or to counsel for Keybanc by the Company, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rules 5110, 5190 and NASD Conduct Rule 2720 is true, complete and correct. The Company meets the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Securities Act specified in FINRA Rule 5110(b)(7)(C)(i). Neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, or is a person associated with any member firm of FINRA. (k) Section 5(a) is hereby amended to include a new Section 5(a)(59) as follows: (59) No Unlawful Contributions or Other Payments. Neither the Company nor the Operating Partnership nor, to the best of the Company or the Operating Partnerships knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company or the Operating Partnership, has made any contribution or other payment to any official of, or candidate for, any federal, state or foreign office in violation of any law or of the character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. (l) Section 5(a) is hereby amended to include a new Section 5(a)(60) as follows: (60) ERISA Compliance. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus, the Company and each Operating Partnership and any employee benefit plan (as defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (collectively, ERISA)) established or maintained by the Company or such Operating Partnership or their ERISA Affiliates (as defined below) are in compliance in all material respects with ERISA. ERISA Affiliate means, with respect to the Company and the Operating Partnership, any member of any group of organizations described in Sections 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (the Code) of which the Company or the Operating Partnership is a member. No reportable event (as defined under ERISA) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur with respect to any employee benefit plan established or maintained by the Company , the Operating Partnership or any of their ERISA Affiliates. No employee benefit plan established or maintained by the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of their ERISA Affiliates, if such employee benefit plan were terminated, would have any amount of unfunded benefit liabilities (as defined under ERISA). Neither the Company, nor the Operating Partnership nor any of their ERISA Affiliates has incurred or reasonably expects to incur any liability under (i) Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any employee benefit plan or (ii) Sections 412, 4971, 4975 or 4980B of the Code. Each employee benefit plan established or maintained by either the Company, the Operating Partnership or any of their ERISA Affiliates that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified and nothing has occurred, whether by action or failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification. (m) Section 5(a) is hereby amended to include a new Section 5(a)(61) as follows: (61) Brokers. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company or the Operating Partnership any brokerage or finders fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement. (n) Section 7 is hereby amended to include a new Section 7(aa) as follows: (aa) KeyBancs Review of Proposed Amendments and Supplements. Prior to amending or supplementing the Registration Statement (including any registration statement filed under Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act) or the Prospectus, other than any such amendment or supplement occurring solely as a result of the incorporation by reference of any report filed under the Exchange Act (unless such supplement or amendment relates to an event reported on Form 8-K which otherwise triggers a Representation Date pursuant to Section 7(o)(1)(iv) of the Equity Distribution Agreement), the Company shall furnish to KeyBanc for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement, and the Company shall not file or use any such proposed amendment or supplement without KeyBancs prior consent, and to file with the Commission within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such Rule. (o) To reflect the most recent Form 10-K filed by the Company, each reference to the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 is hereby replaced by a reference to the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. (p) To reflect the most recent Form 10-Qs filed by the Company and/or the Operating Partnership, as applicable, the reference to the Companys Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2012, June 30, 2012 and September 30, 2012 in Section 5(a)(44) is hereby replaced by a reference to the Companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 and the Companys and the Operating Partnerships Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2016 and September 30, 2016. (q) The last paragraph of Section 7(o) is hereby amended, with effect from January 11, 2013, to remove the proviso regarding the Form 10-K set forth therein and is hereby replaced in its entirety by the following: The Company and the Operating Partnership shall furnish KeyBanc with a certificate, in the forms attached hereto as Exhibit E-1 and E-2 within three (3) Trading Days of any Representation Date. The requirement to provide a certificate under this Section 7(o) including with respect to clause (2) above, shall be waived for any Representation Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice (as amended by the corresponding Acceptance, if applicable) is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Representation Date) and the next occurring Representation Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Securities following a Representation Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide KeyBanc with a certificate under this Section 7(o), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or KeyBanc sells any Placement Securities, the Company shall provide KeyBanc with a certificate, in the forms attached hereto as Exhibit E-1 and E-2, dated the date of the Placement Notice. (r) To reflect the change in counsel to the Sales Agents, each reference to Hunton & Williams LLP is hereby replaced by a reference to Goodwin Procter LLP. (s) To reflect the change in attorneys and/or counsel to the Company and the Sales Agents, Section 13 is hereby amended and replaced in its entirety by the following: Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, all notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to KeyBanc shall be directed to KeyBanc at KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., 520 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, Attention: Managing Counsel, with a copy to Goodwin Procter LLP, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018, Attention: Mark Schonberger, Esq.; notices to the Company shall be directed to it at Lexington Realty Trust, One Penn Plaza, Suite 4015, New York, New York 10119, Attention: Joseph S. Bonventre, Esq., General Counsel, fax no. (212) 594-6600, with a copy to Paul Hastings LLP, 1170 Peachtree Street NE #100, Atlanta, GA 30309, Attention: Elizabeth Noe., fax no. (404) 6855287. (t) To reflect the updated list of Subsidiaries, Exhibit D is hereby replaced by reference to Exhibit 21 to the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. The Company hereby represents and warrants that no significant subsidiary as defined by Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X has been formed by the Company since the date of such exhibit. (u) To reflect the changes set forth in this Amendment, each Exhibit to the Agreement is hereby amended to conform to the changes made to the Equity Distribution Agreement by this Amendment. (v) For the avoidance of doubt, the parties acknowledge that the Maximum Amount represents the aggregate sale price of the Common Shares that may be sold pursuant to both this Agreement and the Alternative Distribution Agreement. (w) This Amendment shall be effective as of the date first written above. [SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS] IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have entered into this Amendment as of the date first written above. LEXINGTON REALTY TRUST By: /s/ Joseph S. Bonventre Name: Joseph S. Bonventre Title: Executive Vice President LEPERCQ CORPORATE INCOME FUND L.P., for itself and as successor by merger to Lepercq Corporate Income Fund II L.P. By: /s/ Joseph S. Bonventre Name: Joseph S. Bonventre Title: Vice President KEYBANC CAPITAL MARKETS INC. By: /s/ Jonathan D. Crane Name: Jonathan D. Crane Title: Sr. Ma naging Director Exhibit 5.1 750 E. Pratt Street, Suite 900 Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Telephone 410-244-7400 Facsimile 410-244-7742 www.venable.com November 23, 2016 Lexington Realty Trust One Penn Plaza, Suite 4015 New York, NY 10119 Re: Registration Statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-208755) Ladies and Gentlemen: We have served as Maryland counsel to Lexington Realty Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust (the Company), in connection with certain matters of Maryland law arising out of the registration of shares (the Shares) of beneficial interest classified as common stock, par value $.0001 per share (the Common Shares), of the Company, having an aggregate offering price of up to $88,116,012, covered by the above-referenced Registration Statement, and all amendments thereto (the Registration Statement), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Act). In connection with our representation of the Company, and as a basis for the opinion hereinafter set forth, we have examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the following documents (hereinafter collectively referred to as the Documents): 1. The Registration Statement and the related form of prospectus included therein and the supplement thereto, in the form in which it was transmitted to the Commission under the Act; 2. The declaration of trust of the Company (the Declaration), certified by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland (the SDAT); 3. The Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company, certified as of the date hereof by an officer of the Company; 4. A certificate of the SDAT as to the good standing of the Company, dated as of a recent date; 5. Resolutions (the Resolutions) adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Company (the Board), relating to the issuance of the Shares, certified as of the date hereof by an officer of the Company; 6. The Equity Distribution Agreement, dated January 11, 2013, between the Company, Lepercq Corporate Income Fund L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (LCIF), and Lepercq Corporate Income Fund II, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (LCIF II), and Jefferies & Company, Inc. (Jeffries), as amended by that certain First Amendment to Equity Distribution Agreement, dated as of November 23, 2016, by and among the Company, LCIF and Jeffries (collectively, the Jeffries Distribution Agreement); Lexington Realty Trust November 23, 2016 Page 2 7. The Equity Distribution Agreement, dated January 11, 2013, between the Company, LIF, LCIF II and KeyBanc Capital Markets (KeyBanc), as amended by that certain First Amendment to Equity Distribution Agreement, dated as of November 23, 2016, by and among the Company, LCIF and KeyBanc (collectively, the KeyBanc Distribution Agreement and, together with the Jeffries Distribution Agreement, the Distribution Agreements); 8. A certificate executed by an officer of the Company, dated as of the date hereof; and 9. Such other documents and matters as we have deemed necessary or appropriate to express the opinion set forth below, subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications stated herein. In expressing the opinion set forth below, we have assumed the following: 1. Each individual executing any of the Documents, whether on behalf of such individual or another person, is legally competent to do so. 2. Each individual executing any of the Documents on behalf of a party (other than the Company) is duly authorized to do so. 3. Each of the parties (other than the Company) executing any of the Documents has duly and validly executed and delivered each of the Documents to which such party is a signatory, and the obligations of such party set forth therein are legal, valid and binding and are enforceable in accordance with all stated terms. 4. All Documents submitted to us as originals are authentic. The form and content of all Documents submitted to us as unexecuted drafts do not differ in any respect relevant to this opinion from the form and content of such Documents as executed and delivered. All Documents submitted to us as certified or photostatic copies conform to the original documents. All signatures on all Documents are genuine. All public records reviewed or relied upon by us or on our behalf are true and complete. All representations, warranties, statements and information contained in the Documents are true and complete. There has been no oral or written modification of or amendment to any of the Documents, and there has been no waiver of any provision of any of the Documents, by action or omission of the parties or otherwise. Lexington Realty Trust November 23, 2016 Page 3 5. The Shares will not be issued or transferred in violation of any restriction contained in Article Ninth of the Declaration. Upon the issuance of any of the Shares, the total number of Common Shares issued and outstanding will not exceed the total number of Common Shares that the Company is then authorized to issue under the Declaration. 6. Prior to the issuance of any of the Shares, the Board or the Executive Committee of the Board will determine the price and certain other terms of issuance of such Shares (the Trust Proceedings). Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications stated herein, it is our opinion that: 1. The Company is a real estate investment trust duly formed and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Maryland and is in good standing with the SDAT. 2. Upon completion of the Trust Proceedings, the Shares will be duly authorized for issuance and, when and if issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with the applicable Distribution Agreement, the Resolutions and any other resolutions adopted by the Board or a duly authorized committee thereof relating thereto, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. The foregoing opinion is limited to the laws of the State of Maryland and we do not express any opinion herein concerning any other law. We express no opinion as to compliance with any federal or state securities laws, including the securities laws of the State of Maryland, or as to federal or state laws regarding fraudulent transfers. To the extent that any matter as to which our opinion is expressed herein would be governed by the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Maryland, we do not express any opinion on such matter. The opinion expressed herein is subject to the effect of judicial decisions which may permit the introduction of parol evidence to modify the terms or the interpretation of agreements. The opinion expressed herein is limited to the matters specifically set forth herein and no other opinion shall be inferred beyond the matters expressly stated. We assume no obligation to supplement this opinion if any applicable law changes after the date hereof or if we become aware of any fact that might change the opinion expressed herein after the date hereof. This opinion is being furnished to you for submission to the Commission as an exhibit to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K (the Current Report), which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement. We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Current Report and the said incorporation by reference and to the use of the name of our firm therein. In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required by Section 7 of the Act. Lexington Realty Trust November 23, 2016 Page 4 Very truly yours, /s/ Venable LLP Exhibit 8.1 November 23, 2016 Lexington Realty Trust One Penn Plaza Suite 4015 New York, NY 10119 Ladies and Gentlemen: We have acted as counsel to Lexington Realty Trust, a Maryland statutory real estate investment trust (the Company). In connection with a prospectus supplement dated as of November 23, 2016 (the Prospectus Supplement), the accompanying Form S-3 Registration Statement (File No. 333-206411) (the Form S-3), which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States (the Commission) on August 14, 2015, and the base prospectus included therein (the Base Prospectus, and together with the Form S-3, the Registration Statement), the Company has requested our opinion concerning: (i) the qualification for federal income tax purposes of the Company as a real estate investment trust (REIT) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), as of the date hereof and (ii) the information in the Registration Statement under the heading United States Federal Income Tax Considerations as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement. In connection with this opinion, we have examined and relied upon those documents and such information that we have deemed appropriate, including but not limited to the following materials: (a) the Registration Statement; (b) the Prospectus Supplement; (c) the Declaration of Trust of the Company, dated as of December 22, 1997, as amended to date; (d) the By-Laws of the Company, as amended to date; and (e) the Officers Certificate of the Company, dated as of the date hereof, and the Officers Certificates of Concord Debt Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, Concord Debt Funding Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust, and CDH CDO LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, dated as of January 11, 2013 (the Officers Certificates). Lexington Realty Trust November 23, 2016 Page 2 We do not express any opinion concerning any laws of states or jurisdictions other than the federal law of the United States of America. No opinion is expressed as to the effect that the law of any other jurisdiction might have upon the subject matter of the opinion expressed herein under conflicts of laws principles or otherwise. Except for the opinion expressly set forth below, we express no other opinions and no opinions should be implied or inferred. Our opinion is limited in all respects to laws and facts existing on the date hereof. We disclaim any obligation to update the opinion expressed herein for events (including changes of law or facts) occurring after the date hereof. The opinion set forth below is subject to the following additional assumptions, qualifications and limitations: A. We have made such factual and legal inquiries, including examination of the documents set forth above, as we have deemed necessary or appropriate for purposes of our opinion and after such inquiries, we are not aware of any material facts inconsistent with representations made in the Officers Certificates. As to matters of fact relevant to this opinion, we have relied without independent investigation on, and assumed the accuracy and completeness of, the factual representations in the Officers Certificates. We have not made an investigation as to, and have not independently verified the facts underlying such representations or covered by the Officers Certificates. We have consequently relied upon the representations in each Officers Certificate that the information presented in such document or otherwise furnished to us accurately and completely describes all material facts relevant to our opinion. In addition, to the extent that any of the representations provided to us in the Officers Certificates are with respect to matters set forth in the Code or Treasury Regulations thereunder, the individuals making such representations have reviewed with us or other tax counsel the relevant portion of the Code and the applicable Regulations. With respect to the qualification and taxation of Concord Debt Funding Trust as a REIT under the Code, for the period prior to and including December 31, 2006, we have also assumed to be true and are expressly relying upon the opinion, dated December 21, 2006, delivered to Concord Debt Funding Trust, among others, by Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. B. We have assumed that the Company, Concord Debt Holdings LLC, Concord Debt Funding Trust, and CDH CDO LLC have operated and will continue to be operated in the manner described in the Officers Certificates, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus Supplement, and the applicable organizational documents and that all terms and provisions of such documents have been and will continue to be complied with. C. We have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity and completeness of all documents, certificates and instruments submitted to us as originals, the conformity with the originals of all documents, certificates and instruments submitted to us as copies and the legal capacity to sign of all individuals executing such documents, certificates and instruments. D. We have assumed that there are no oral modifications or written agreements or understandings which limit, modify or otherwise alter the terms, provisions, and conditions of, or relate to, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus Supplement, and the transactions contemplated therein. Lexington Realty Trust November 23, 2016 Page 3 E. We express no opinion as to (1) the effect on the opinions expressed herein of the compliance or non-compliance of the Company or any other party with any state, federal or other laws or regulations applicable to it and (2) the impact, if any, of dispositions, if any, treated as prohibited transactions pursuant to Section 857 of the Code. F. We have assumed that the Company will use the proceeds of any primary offerings pursuant to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus Supplement as provided therein. On the basis of the foregoing, and in reliance thereon, subject to the limitations, qualifications and exceptions set forth herein, it is our opinion that: 1. Commencing with its taxable year ended December 31, 1993, the Company has been organized and has operated in conformity with the requirements for qualification as a REIT pursuant to Sections 856 through 860 of the Code, and the Companys current and proposed method of operation will enable it to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code; and 2. The statements set forth (i) in the Base Prospectus, under the caption entitled, United States Federal Income Tax Considerations, and (ii) in the Prospectus Supplement under the caption Additional United States Federal Income Tax Considerations, insofar as they purport to summarize the legal matters referred to therein, are accurate summaries of such legal matters in all material respects. The above opinion is based on the Code, Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, administrative pronouncements and judicial interpretations thereof, in each case as in effect on the date hereof, all of which are subject to change. An opinion of counsel merely represents counsels best judgment with respect to the probable outcome on the merits and is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service or the courts. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the Internal Revenue Service will not take a contrary position, that the applicable law will not change, or that any such change will not have retroactive effect. We assume no obligation to advise you of any changes in our opinion subsequent to the delivery of this opinion letter. Moreover, the Companys qualification and taxation as a REIT depend upon the Companys ability to meet, on a continuing basis, through actual annual operating and other results, the various requirements under the Code with regard to, among other things, the sources of its gross income, the composition of its assets, the level of its distributions to stockholders, and the diversity of its stock ownership. Paul Hastings LLP will not review the Companys compliance with these requirements on a continuing basis. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the actual results of the Companys operations for any one taxable year will satisfy such requirements. Lexington Realty Trust November 23, 2016 Page 4 Subject to the following sentence, this opinion is being rendered to you for your sole use and may not be made available to or relied upon by any other person, firm or entity without our express prior written consent. We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Commission as an exhibit to the Companys Current Report on Form 8-K to be incorporated by reference into the Prospectus Supplement and the reference to our firm name under the caption entitled, Additional United States Federal Income Tax Considerations, in the Prospectus Supplement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Very truly yours, UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 8-K Current Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): November 22, 2016 Commission file number: 000-28837 NEW JERSEY MINING COMPANY (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter) Idaho 82-0490295 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 201 N. 3rd Street, Coeur dAlene, ID 83814 (Address of principal executive offices) (zip code) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (208) 503-0153 N/A (Former Name or Former Address if Changed Since Last Report) Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions: [ ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17CFR230.425) [ ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17CFR 240.14a-12) [ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) [ ] Pre-commencement communication pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure. On November 22, 2016, the Company issued a press release entitled New Jersey Mining Releases Presidents Letter to Shareholders. A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference. The information in this Current Report on Form 8-K (including the exhibits) is furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 and shall not be deemed to be filed for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section. This Current Report on Form 8-K will not be deemed an admission as to the materiality of any information in the Report that is required to be disclosed solely by Regulation FD. Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits d) Exhibits 99.1 Press Release, dated November 22, 2016, entitled New Jersey Mining Releases Presidents Letter to Shareholders. * *The foregoing exhibit relating to Item 7.01 is intended to be furnished to, not filed with, the SEC pursuant to Regulation FD. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. NEW JERSEY MINING COMPANY By: /s/ Del Steiner Del Steiner, its: CEO Date: November 22, 2016 Exhibit 99.1 New Jersey Mining Releases Presidents Letter to Shareholders COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, November 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Jersey Mining Company (OTCQB: NJMC) (NJMC or the Company) today distributed the following Letter to Shareholders from NJMC President John Swallow: Dear Fellow Shareholders, What a difference a year makes in both our industry and our company. As we stated before, we are firm believers that a great Company can be built during difficult times and 2016 has proven to be a significant year for our Companys growth. Taking the path less traveled, we chose to focus on the dedication of our team and confidence in the potential of our assets. After consolidating ownership at the Golden Chest and adding a potential follow-on project at Butte Highlands, the directors and officers of our Company furthered their commitment by foregoing compensation and taking the lead as the largest investor in our forward gold sale in order to advance open-pit development and production. Today the Company has become an emerging gold producer and is poised to capitalize on its 2016 accomplishments with increased production from the Golden Chest, processing at the New Jersey Mill and advancement of a plan at Butte Highlands. Adding to this foundation are exploration efforts at the Golden Chest which we feel could significantly increase the mine life. The recent discovery of the high-grade Stevens Vein, continuity of the open-pit ore, and re-alignment of the Idaho Fault have aided in the analysis of prior exploration data and greatly increased our understanding of the project and its upside potential. Year-to-date 2016 Highlights Consolidated 100% ownership in Golden Chest Mine. Developed Golden Chest open-pit and underground mine plan. Commenced open-pit mining, processing ore at the mill and dewatering at Golden Chest. Increased the number of identified ore shoots from three to seven, indicating significant potential to increase mine life and resource at Golden Chest. New Jersey Mining Company 201 N. 3rd Street Coeur d Alene, Idaho 83814 Acquired 50% interest in Butte Highlands Joint Venture as potential follow-on project (an advanced-stage project with approximately $39 million in prior development). Optimized and prepared New Jersey Mill for processing Golden Chest ore. With 2016 almost behind us and the Golden Chest Mine advanced to production, our goals for 2017 are as follows; Corporate - Remain mindful of corporate overhead. - Increase company exposure and seek higher exchange listing. - Identify follow-on project team members. - Focus on the Balance Sheet and debt reduction. - As business plan matures, evaluate possible dividend strategy. Golden Chest - Anticipate 8,000 ounces of gold production in 2017. - Given high-grade Stevens Vein discovery and overall grade continuity, further evaluate open pit layback and Idaho Fault surface expression and re-alignment. - Continue near-mine exploration and evaluation program focus on adding ounces/years. - Ongoing focus on improving cash flows and cost structure at mine and mill. Butte Highlands - Further outline the steps/strategy to help move BH closer to production. - As part of Butte Highlands Economic Feasibility Study, endeavor to implement two-phase plan to aid with metallurgical testing and possibility of permitting on-site mill. Exploration Central Idaho - Evaluate strategy to advance Central Idaho properties with focus on unlocking value and retaining production upside. By design, every person at New Jersey Mining is either a shareholder or has stock options. We would not be advancing production at the Golden Chest unless we saw considerable upside potential. And we have the same view regarding the potential at Butte Highlands. Now that our previous ceiling has become the base from which we build, we look forward to 2017 and the opportunities and challenges in front of us. And once again, we appreciate your support. Sincerely, John Swallow President New Jersey Mining Company New Jersey Mining Company 201 N. 3rd Street Coeur d Alene, Idaho 83814 About New Jersey Mining Company New Jersey Mining Company is headquartered in north Idaho, where it is currently in production at its Golden Chest Mine. It is deploying its mining and milling expertise to build a portfolio of advanced-stage assets with near-term cash flow potential and leverage to higher gold prices. - NJMC built and is majority owner and operator of the New Jersey Mill, a 360-tonne per day flotation mill and cyanide leach plant. - NJMC owns and operates the Golden Chest Mine project where open pit mining is underway and underground mining is expected to resume later this year. - NJMC also holds a 50-percent interest in the fully-permitted Butte Highlands Gold Project. Company assets were developed with more than $50-million of investment dollars from New Jersey and other companies. Management owns more than 15-percent of NJMC stock and has participated in prior financings and made purchases in the open market. The Companys common stock trades on the OTC-QB Market under the symbol NJMC. For more information on New Jersey Mining Company, please contact: Del Steiner, Chairman & CEO Email: [email protected] Forward Looking Statements This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections. Such statements are based on good faith assumptions that New Jersey Mining Company believes are reasonable but which are subject to a wide range of uncertainties and business risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the risk that anticipated production levels are not attained, the risk that the mine plan changes due to rising costs or other operational details, the risk that complications arise during the dewatering of the underground workings, the risk that the Company is unable to obtain sufficient funds necessary to resume underground mining at the Golden Chest, the risk that gold recovery percentages are lower than expected, , the risk that oxidization levels remain the same or increase as the pit deepens, the risk that different portions of the mineral deposit respond differently to processing, the risks and hazards inherent in the mining business (including risks inherent in developing mining projects, environmental hazards, industrial accidents, weather or geologically related conditions), changes in the market prices of gold and silver and the potential impact on revenues from changes in the market price of gold and cash costs, a sustained lower price environment, as well as other uncertainties and risk factors. Actual results, developments and timetables could vary significantly from the estimates presented. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. NJMC disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New Jersey Mining Company 201 N. 3rd Street Coeur d Alene, Idaho 83814 Look guys, I'm not going to tell you tomorrow's going to be easy. Historically, Thanksgiving's the time for alcohol-fueled arguments with your racist uncle and this year...well, has been this year. And all of that's before someone overcooks the mashed potatoes or sets the turkey on fire. Before we face potential anxiety tomorrow, let's live inside a world of calm and confident cooking with America's most darling culinary grandparents: Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. In their classic 1999 Thanksgiving edition of Julia and Jacques: Cooking at Home, the duo hack apart a turkey with a meat cleaver (very satisfying!) in what was more or less an improvised scene that could only be pulled off by professionals like these two. "We had talked about how to do the turkey a day before we shot that show," Pepin recalled in a conversation with the Washington Post. "Julia had said, 'Let's try to bone it and stuff it.' I had never done a turkey that way before. What you see on camera is the first time, with no recipe, even different than what we had discussed." While most of our Thanksgiving tables aren't going to employ this level of culinary finesse, Child stresses that improvisation and flexibility are at the heart of cooking, and should theoretically make the experience less intimidating. "As we say, recipes are not written in stone, they're just to give you an idea of what to do and then you go on," she says. But cooking a high-pressure meal can come with a huge amount of anxiety; luckily, Julia was there to help until her death in 2004. Child "embraced the role of national Thanksgiving commander in chief" as outlined in a lovely profile by the Times about the cook's tradition of leaving her home number listed for nervous strangers to call with any Thanksgiving crisis. If Pepin and Child's masterpiece meal doesn't make you feel hugged by a warm blanket of comfort then perhaps Pepin's suggestion to drink "a lot of wine" might help. Recreate Jacques and Julia's meal here, though be forewarned it's not for the faint of heart (or anyone not confident wielding a sharp knife). As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 22, 2016 Registration No. 333- UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM S-1 REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc. (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter) Delaware 2834 47-3116175 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) (Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) 184 Liberty Corner Road, Suite 302 Warren, New Jersey 07059 (908) 574-4770 (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) (Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrants Principal Executive Offices) Fabian Tenenbaum Chief Executive Officer Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc. 184 Liberty Corner Road, Suite 302 Warren, New Jersey 07059 (908) 574-4770 (Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service) Copies to: Kenneth R. Koch, Esq. Jeffrey P. Schultz, Esq. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. Chrysler Center 666 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 (212) 935-3000 Joseph A. Smith, Esq. Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP 1345 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10105 (212) 370-1300 Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement. If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), check the following box. If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. x File No. 333-214230 If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer Accelerated filer Non-accelerated filer (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) Smaller reporting company x CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1) Amount of Registration Fee(2) Class A Units consisting of: $ (i) Common Stock, par value $0.01(3) (ii) Warrants to purchase Common Stock(4) Class B Units consisting of: $ (i) Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 (ii) Warrants to purchase Common Stock(4) Common Stock issuable upon conversion of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock(3) Common Stock issuable upon exercise of warrants to purchase Common Stock(3) $ 1,714,286 Total $ 1,714,286 $ 198.69 (1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the amount of the registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act. (2) Calculated pursuant to Rule 457(o) based on an estimate of the proposed maximum aggregate offering price. (3) Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, the securities being registered hereunder include such indeterminable number of additional shares of common stock as may be issued after the date hereof as a result of stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions. (4) No additional registration fee is payable pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act. This Registration Statement shall become effective upon filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in accordance with Rule 462(b) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. EXPLANATORY NOTE AND INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE This Registration Statement is being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. This Registration Statement incorporates by reference the contents of, including all amendments and exhibits thereto and all information incorporated by reference therein, the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-214230), which was declared effective by the Commission on November 22, 2016, and is being filed solely for the purpose of registering an increase in the maximum aggregate offering price of $1,714,286. The required opinions and consents are listed on the Exhibit Index attached hereto. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Warren, New Jersey, on the 22nd day of November, 2016. BELLEROPHON THERAPEUTICS, INC. By: /s/ Fabian Tenenbaum Fabian Tenenbaum Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated. Signature Title Date /s/ Fabian Tenenbaum Chief Executive Officer November 22, 2016 Fabian Tenenbaum (Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer ) /s/ Jonathan M. Peacock Chairman November 22, 2016 Jonathan M. Peacock By: /s/ Naseem Amin* Director November 22, 2016 Naseem Amin By: /s/ Scott Bruder* Director November 22, 2016 Scott Bruder By: /s/ Mary Ann Cloyd* Director November 22, 2016 Mary Ann Cloyd By: /s/ Matthew Holt* Director November 22, 2016 Matthew Holt By: /s/ Jens Luehring* Director November 22, 2016 Jens Luehring By: /s/ Andre V. Moura* Director November 22, 2016 Andre V. Moura By: /s/ Daniel Tasse* Director November 22, 2016 Daniel Tasse By: /s/ Adam Weinstein* Director November 22, 2016 Adam Weinstein * Pursuant to Power of Attorney By: /s/ Fabian Tenenbaum Fabian Tenenbaum EXHIBIT INDEX Exhibit Number Description of Exhibit 5.1 Opinion of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 5.1 to the Registrants Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (File No. 333-214230) filed with the SEC on November 22, 2016) 23.1* Consent of KPMG LLP independent registered public accounting firm 23.2 Consent of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. (included in Exhibit 5.1) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 5.1 to the Registrants Registration Statement on Form S-1/A (File No. 333-214230) filed with the SEC on November 22, 2016) 24.1 Power of Attorney (incorporated by reference to the signature page of the Registrants Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the SEC on October 25, 2016) * Filed herewith. Exhibit 23.1 Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm The Board of Directors Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc.: We consent to the use of our report incorporated by reference herein and to the reference to our firm under the heading "Experts" in the prospectus. Short Hills, New Jersey Pakistan Permanent Representative Dr. Maleeha Lodhi said that access to water is a fundamental right that must be protected at all the times. Pakistan has warned against use of water as instrument of coercion or war. Speaking in the UN Security Council debate on water, peace and security, Pakistan Permanent Representative Dr. Maleeha Lodhi said that access to water is a fundamental right that must be protected at all the times. She said Pakistan denounces any such practice, real or threatened, as we believe that to be contrary to international humanitarian law. She said that international community must remain vigilant to any sign of unwillingness to maintain cooperation in sharing of waters. The envoy said that Indus Water Treaty is an example of what can be achieved through bilateral agreement. Earlier, Speaking at a UN session on Shanghai Cooperation Organization in New York, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the World body Maleeha Lodhi said Pakistan has expressed its desire to be granted full membership status of permanent member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Maleeha Lodhi said Pakistan is geographically one of the most important countries in South Asia. She said the world nations are facing multiple challenges like poverty, human rights violations, several unresolved disputes extremism and terrorism. At least seven people embraced martyrdom and several others injured when a passenger bus got hit by an Indian rocket on near the Line of Control on Wednesday morning, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported. According to ISPR, the bus came under attack in Dhudnial area of Azad Kashmirs Neelam Valley. India is continuing with its unprovoked firing on all sectors along the Line of Control. Earlier today, the Indian forces resorted to firing and shelling on Shah Kot, Jura, Buttal, Kairla, Bagh, Tatta Pani, Neelum Vally and Keran sectors. Pakistani troops are effectively responding to the Indian firing. Read more: Four Pakistanis martyred, five houses damaged in Indian cross-border fire Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said India is constantly violating 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and targeting civilians in a bid two divert international attention from its atrocities in Occupied Kashmir. Earlier on Tuesday, the Director General (SA & SAARC), Dr. Mohammad Faisal, summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner, J.P. Singh and strongly condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations on 21 November 2016, by the Indian occupation Forces on the LoC (Jandrot, Nikial, Karela and Baroh sectors), resulting in martyrdom of 4 innocent civilians and injuries to 10 others. He stated that the deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is deplorable. The Director General also condemned the violation of Pakistan s Maritime Exclusive Economic Zone by the Indian Naval Submarine on 14 November 2016 in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Also read: Indian quadcopter shot down by Pakistan military near LoC The Director General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding and UNCLOS, investigate the continued incidents of violations and instruct the Indian forces/authorities to respect the ceasefire and international borders, in letter and spirit. Recently, there have been repeated outbreaks of cross-border firing in Kashmir, with both sides reporting deaths and injuries including of civilians. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both countries claim the Himalayan territory in full and they have fought two wars over it. Three Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred in an exchange of fire with Indian troops near the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. "Three Pakistani soldiers valiantly embraced shahadat at the Line of Control while responding to Indian unprovoked firing," the ISPR said. The army's media wing identified the soldiers as Captain Taimoor Ali Khan, Havaldar Mushtaq Hussain and Lance Naik Ghulam Hussain. An ISPR statement also said that seven Indian soldiers confirmed dead in retaliatory fire. The ISPR added that the exchange of fire between Pakistani and Indian troops is ongoing. "It may be mentioned here that in order to distract attention from the real issue of atrocities in India-held Kashmir by Indian troops, they are now targeting civilians population across the LoC towards the Pakistan side," the ISPR claimed. Earlier today, Indian troops targeted a passenger bus near the LoC, killing nine people and injuring 11 others in Lawat. In a separate incident of Indian shelling in Nakyal and Tatta Pani, one person was killed and seven others injured. The latest incident of cross-border firing comes just a day after the Indian army claimed three of its soldiers were killed along the LoC and threatened Pakistani forces of retribution. The Indian army also claimed that the body of one of the dead soldiers had been "mutilated." The Foreign Office however rejected the claim, saying that the "reports are a fabrication and a blatant attempt to malign Pakistan". At least 35 people were killed in two separate traffic accidents in China and Thailand, killing 17 and 18 people respectively. A huge pile-up on a Chinese motorway killed at least 17 and injured 37 people on Tuesday when a total of 56 vehicles crashed into each other in winter weather, said Chinese state media. "The accident happened due to snow and rainy weather in the northern province of Shanxi, on an expressway linking Beijing with Kunming," reported the official news agency Xinhua. Pictures of the scene showed lorries scattered haphazardly across the road, some of them overturned, and burnt-out wrecks of cars after the crash. Traffic accidents are common in China, with the World Health Organisation(WHO) estimating that more than 260,000 people were killed on the country's roads in 2013. The WHO figures are strikingly higher than official pronouncements, in a country where government data are often questioned, with the National Bureau of Statistics reporting 58,539 traffic fatalities that year less than a quarter of the WHO's approximation. 18 dead as Thai bus plunges into ravine Eighteen retirees returning from holiday were killed and 20 were injured on Tuesday after their tour bus plunged down a ravine in northern Thailand, police and a media report said, the latest disaster in a country with notoriously dangerous roads, reported Bangkok Post. The victims were all former employees of state-run company CAT Telecom and were making their way to Bangkok from a province in the mountainous north. 18 people died and 20 were injured after a bus fell down into deep ravine because the driver was not familiar with the road, Commander of Uttaradit Police Station Colonel Ditsayadej Patcharapuwadol told AFP. The bus was on its way to Bangkok coming down a steep road when it hit a barrier and fell into the 50-metre deep ravine, he said, adding that the driver was one of those killed in the accident in Muang district of Uttaradit province. Photos of the crash site posted on social media showed the bus had come to a halt down a steep jungle ravine, its roof almost entirely sheared off. A controversial plan to alleviate overcrowding and increase diversity at two of Manhattan's most coveted elementary schoolsPS 199 on West 70th Street and PS 452 on West 77th Streetwill go into effect next school year. The Department of Education hopes the plan will also bring new families to PS 191, a school that has historically struggled on state tests and recently shook a contested "persistently dangerous" ranking. A 2015 plan to draw more families to PS 191, which primarily serves the NYCHA-run Amsterdam Houses on 61st Street, failed a year ago in the face of strong opposition. And much of that opposition carried over. Tuesday's vote of 9-1made by the District 3 Community Education Council (CEC), a small group of appointed district parentsapproved changes many Upper West Side parents have adamantly protested for months. "We can say over and over again that we are only acting in the interest of our own kids, and that's how we should make our decisions," said Kim Watkins, a member of the CEC. "And we all want the best for our kids. But when our self interests... mete harm on others, we have to reconsider how we make our decisions." The plan calls for moving PS 452 sixteen blocks south to the current PS 191 buildinga larger campuslengthening commute times for many families. Two of the buildings in the sprawling Lincoln Towers co-op community will move from PS 199ranked one of the nation's top schools in 2013to PS 191. PS 191, in turn, will move to a new campus at the nearby Riverside Center, a luxury residential high-rise. Future kindergarteners from the Amsterdam Houses will be zoned across all three schools. Over the summer, PS 452 families came out in force, opposing the proposed shakeup to their walk-to-school routine. Some said they would sooner pull their children from the public school system than follow their principal downtown. "You vastly underestimated the massive life and financial choices we made to attend this school," one parent told the DOE in June. To appease those parents, the DOE this week promised to provide school bus service between the West 70s and 61st Street. Some members of the CEC argued Tuesday that UWS parents' opposition to the rezoning was effectively a vote in favor of segregation. About two thirds of the student body is white at both PS 452 and PS 199, and only about 10% of students at these schools qualify for free lunch. At PS 191, black and Latino students make up 81% of the student body, and 73% of students qualify for free lunch. "The children of the Amsterdam Houses have suffered from a blind eye turned towards them for decades," Watkins said. "No one in this room is responsible for segregating our schools, but we can no longer claim that we are not perpetrating this harm on children living in that part of our district." The playground at PS 191. The Amsterdam Houses are visible in the background (Emma Whitford / Gothamist). Others argued that the CEC can't expect to solve the segregation problem in Upper Manhattan's public schools in one fell swoop. A recent analysis from the New School shows that Manhattan's District 3 is one of the most segregated districts in a city recognized nationally for its school segregation. The plan approved Tuesday only impacts schools in the southern part of the districtexcluding Harlem between 110th Street and 124th Street, where students are predominantly black and Latino and from low-income families. In Harlem, overcrowding is not the issue. Instead schools grapple with under-enrollment, a lack of resources, and the encroachment of charter schools. "If we are actually going to talk about truly looking at diversity across the district, we're going to need a lot of bigger ideas and a lot more creative thinking," said CEC member Dan Katz. "And we're going to need a long process of community-based organizing." Earlier this month the DOE presented a plan to consolidate two Harlem schools. PS 241 on West 113th Street, which currently shares its building with a Success Academy charter school, would move into the PS 76 building on West 121st Street. But PS 241 parents argued that the plan had been sprung with little warning, even as UWS parents entered their 18th month of debate over their own school rezoning drama. The Harlem plan was tabled this weekleaving more time for community engagement in the northern part of the district, but also solidifying a disconnect between Harlem schools and the more affluent school zones to the south. "We don't want to just trash failing schools," testified Ricardo Aguirre, a spokesman for Harlem City Council member Inez Dickens. "It's easy to label them, but what have we done to find the resources to fix them?" Anti-rezoning signs posted at Tuesday night's meeting (Emma Whitford / Gothamist). The effectiveness of the newly-approved UWS zones will be contingent on some parents' willingness to participateto send their children to a new campus, or enroll their children in a school with lower tests scores. Many parents have expressed optimism. "[PS] 452 is the luckiest thing that ever happened to my family," parent Heather Tait testified earlier this month. "I would follow [it] to the moon." But others said that the city was expecting too much. A large contingent of parents from PS 87 on West 78th Street brought "Vote No" signs Tuesday. PS 87 is, like PS 452 and PS 199, high-performing, popular and crowded. Parents said that they feared an influx of applicationsboth from families drawn into the new PS 87 zone, and those unwilling to make the trek downtown. The whole plan, they argued, is contingent on high enrollment at schools less appealing to parents than their own. "This is assuming that schools that people have never gone to before, and never heard of, are going to be immediately popular," said PS 87 parent Wendy Lamont Flagstad. The DOE has pledged that it won't condone long-term overcrowding at PS 87. But Superintendent Ilene Altschul said Tuesday that the school might be overcrowded in the short term "depending how many families move with 452." CEC Member Noah Gotbaum, Tuesday's single dissenting vote, testified that the rezoning had been effectively approved weeks ago, and that the process had been a sham. A strong opponent of the PS 452 move, he received hearty applause from parents who are still staunchly anti-rezoning. Some have accused the DOE of failing to provide accurate data throughout the process. Gary Ramsay, a Lincoln Towers resident whose children will be rezoned out of PS 199, alluded to a possible lawsuit over what he described as the CEC's lack of transparency. Many of his neighbors are angry that future luxury towers fall within the PS 199 zone. "We still don't understand why this needs to happen now. It doesn't make sense," he said. "We know they [the CEC] are going to vote one way," he added. "But this is not over by any stretch of the imagination." The Waitao River story is one of Maori and Pakeha of all ages are banding together to restore the river which runs into Tauranga Harbour. Since 2001, the local community have gone to great lengths and effort to improve the health of the Waitao stream and estuary by carrying out a range of work including planting stream banks and wetlands, clearing weeds and rubbish, and keeping stock away from the water. It was these efforts which saw the Waitao community win the 2016 Morgan Foundation National River Story award. Last night members of the community gathered to celebrate their win and to finally lay their hands on the award which was received on behalf of the community by Waitao Care Group chairman David Hooker during a special ceremony held in Wellington earlier this month. David says while it was an honour to receive the award during the ceremony, its even more special to bring it home and celebrate with the people whod had earned it. The award belongs to everyone thats been involved in restoring the Waitao River and Rangataua Estuary since 2001. We all pitch in with paperwork, monitoring, planting days, and nursery working bees. Everyone contributes what they can and together we get things done. Last nights celebration was in true Waitao style; just a casual BBQ and a chance to catch up and congratulate each other. Contributing landowner is Pirihima Whanau Trust is currently restoring wetlands near the river mouth and trustee Wayne Hudson says restoring kaimoana (seafood) has been a key driver for his whanau. Tom and Hinenui Cooper from Nga Potiki paved the way for us by working with NIWA in the early 2000s to monitor changes in the awa (river). They helped build connections with landowners in the upper catchment that were replanting waterways on their properties. Now our whanau is building on that work. We all want the same thing and were working together as a whole community to achieve it. Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chairman Doug Leeder also attended last nights celebration to congratulate and say thank you to the volunteers who earned the award. Doug says everyone has a part to play in keeping our regions waterways clean and the Waitao community are an inspiration to us all. As a regional council were proud to have been able to assist them with practical advice and funding support. This kind of collaboration is key to improving regional water quality and the health of Te Awanui Tauranga Harbour which the Waitao flows into. The National River Story award recognises inspirational examples of a community or an individual working hard to restore the health of their local river. THE STORY OF THE WAITAO RIVER It was local hapu Ngati Pukenga who took the lead. Theyd heard elders talking of times when the river and estuary were a larder full of whitebait and eels, flounder and mullet. Coastal vessels were able to navigate several kilometres up the river. Kiwi and kokako lived in the bush at the catchment head of the. But changes in land use meant the estuary had filled with sediment. The river had clogged up and was no longer safe to swim in, let alone eat fish from. In 2003, the hapu started working with NIWA and the NZ Landcare Trust to design and implement the Te Awa o Waitao restoration project. They began by clearing weeds and rubbish from wetlands close to the marae on the estuary, and secured funding to fence and plant the land. They appointed a kaitiaki, Tom Cooper, to help collect monthly water samples. Twelve sites have been monitored since then for temperature, clarity, pH and conductivity. In 2007-8 the hapu used early results in workshops to educate their neighbours upstream that they had a role to play too. You could see six metres through the water that flowed from the bush at the top of the catchment. But by the time it reached the Welcome Bay bridge near the estuary you couldnt even see your feet. Those upstream neighbours had already been working together to stop a proposed dump, and in 2008 decided to join the fight to restore the Waitao to somewhere for birds to live and kids to play. Volunteers from the Waitao-Kaiate Environment Group, made up of about 15 families, now run three small nurseries. They source local seed and raise several thousand plants a year, which they then plant out along the riverbank. They have working bees once a fortnight. Now the hapu and the environment group are planning further collaboration. All stock has recently been moved from a wetland between the two marae on the estuary, and the hapu have begun planting four thousand trees provided by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Environment group members are pitching in to help. Theyve already seen some improvement in water quality. The long-term monitoring shows clarity has improved and unhelpful nutrient levels have reduced. NIWA monitoring has found 15 species of fish and invertebrates. However there is still much to do. The regions favourite swimming hole, the Kaiate, which falls near the top of the catchment, is closed to swimmers because of e. coli contamination. Bay of Plenty Regional council staff are monitoring the water there more closely and working to ensure farmers upstream keep their stock out of the bush and away from waterways. Everyone involved in the restoration realises that with changes in land use, much that was good has been lost over the years. The challenge is to bring it back, and that can only happen when everyone along a river works together. Patience and perseverance has paid off perfectly for local astrophotographer Amit Kamble. Amit has tried three times to capture a time-lapse of the glow worms at McLaren Falls near Tauranga, but every time hes gone out there to shoot something has gone awry. But it was a case of fourth times a charm for Amit who managed to capture some decent footage on Sunday. Basically, with all the planning and preparation thats been involved, its taken me about a month to produce this time-lapse. On Sunday the weather was beautiful so I decided to head out to McLaren Falls and shot from 8pm to 11pm and it worked out pretty good. When I got home all I wanted to do was get the footage out there, so I started processing it and the next thing I knew it was 3am on Monday. Amit Kambles time-lapse which was shot using a Samyang 24mm f1.4, Canon 50mm f1.8 on Canon 6D and motion using SYRP Genie mini. Video: Amit Kamble Photography. Now I know what to expect, so Im planning on going back and doing a really long time-lapse, like a day to night time-lapse. Having attempt to capture the time-lapse three times previously, Amit says this shoot was also a lot more comfortable. The first few times I never took a chair, food or drink, I did this time. But it was awkward when people came across me sitting there lounging, I had to explain the reason why I was sitting there, show them my camera, basically prove I wasnt a lunatic, he says laughing. Amit says he only discovered the glow worms a couple of months ago, and ever since that first visit to McLaren Falls hes fallen head over heels in love with the location. Im an astrophotographer, the stars and natural lights really fascinate me, every time I go out and look up at the night sky its just beautiful. The first time I went to McLaren Falls the weather was terrible so I couldnt take any shots. But when the worms started to glow, it was so stunning. You couldnt see the stars but these tiny little glow worms looked similar to them, except they were much closer. Their natural light, it looks magical, it looks dreamy, it is what draws me to this place. Trumpcampaign.jpg President-elect Donald Trump in a campaign file photo. (Associaed Press) SYRACUSE, N.Y. - It would take President Donald Trump at least a year or more to scrap or overhaul Obamacare after he takes office in January, experts say. Trump vowed during his campaign to repeal and replace the health care law which provides health insurance coverage to more than 20 million Americans, including 2.8 million New Yorkers, 78,000 of whom live in Central New York. But Trump has not said with what he will replace Obamacare. He suggested in an interview with the Wall Street Journal the law may be amended and said he may keep some popular provisions of Obamacare such as allowing young adults to stay on their parents' health insurance until age 26 and the prohibition against insurers denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Change won't happen quickly: Within the first few months of the Trump presidency, the Republican-controlled Congress could cut off subsidies that help many Americans pay for Obamacare insurance or make other changes to undermine state and federal health insurance exchanges, according to Cynthia Cox of Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on national health issues. Such a scenario is unlikely because it would disrupt coverage for millions of consumers, she said. To replace Obamacare or revamp it in an orderly fashion will take time, she said. Cox believes the earliest major changes could take effect without disrupting coverage for more than 20 million Americans would be Jan. 1, 2018. Any move to abruptly cancel coverage would spark opposition from consumers, hospitals and the health insurance industry, according to Tom Dennison, a Syracuse University professor and health care expert. "To cancel all those policies with the sweep of a pen would be extremely chaotic," he said. Welcome to Trumpcare: The Trump administration could always opt to make minor changes to the law and rebrand it as "Trumpcare," Cox said. During his campaign, Trump advocated for broader use of tax-exempt health savings accounts consumers can use to pay for medical expenses. These accounts are used in tandem with high-deductible health insurance plans which require consumers to pay more out of their own pocket before insurance coverage kicks in. He also said individuals should be allowed to deduct the amount they pay for health insurance on their tax returns. Hospitals worried: Hospitals have benefitted from Obamacare because the law provides coverage for many people who were previously uninsured. As part of Obamacare, U.S. hospitals agreed to take a $155 billion cut in federal Medicare payments over 10 years. The idea was the increased number of insured patients would offset the Medicare cuts. "Now if there's no insurance and people return to the uninsured rolls what happens to hospitals?" said Dr. William Streck, chief medical and health systems innovation officer at the Healthcare Association of New York State. Interconnected parts of Obamacare hard to unravel: The prohibition on denying health insurance to people with pre-existing conditions, which Trump wants to keep, is one of the most popular features of Obamacare. The individual mandate requiring nearly all Americans to get insurance or pay a penalty is one of the least popular parts of Obamacare. Yet those two provisions are inextricably linked, Cox said. That's because if people do not buy insurance until they are sick, health insurance is not affordable. Premiums paid by healthy young people who use little medical care help offset the costly insurance claims racked up by people who are sick. If the tax penalty is scrapped, people with pre-existing conditions could be penalized by being charged higher premiums, Cox said. "There are a lot of interlocking parts in the Affordable Care Act," Streck said. "They all have to work to make it balance out. If you pull out selective parts you are going to have to give some thoughts to the consequences." Job-based insurance could be affected: Any changes made to Obamacare could affect a lot more people than those getting coverage through state and federal exchanges. That's because the federal law requires most employer-sponsored insurance plans to cover preventive care, prescription drugs, maternity and newborn care, and other services. Cox said an Obamacare replacement plan could remove that requirement from employer-based plans, which cover about 60 percent of insured Americans. Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245 Girl Scouts Go Digital The Cayuga Community Fund has granted $35,000 to 12 non-profits serving Cayuga County including the Girl Scouts. The scouts intend to use its $1,000 grant to bring two programs to girls who are not served by a troop. (AP Photo/Girl Scouts of the USA) SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Cayuga Community Fund, an affiliate fund of the Central New York Community Foundation, has given $35,603 to 12 non-profit organizations that serve residents of Cayuga County. ABC Cayuga, Inc. received $5,000 in support of a capital campaign for Play Space, a community space for young children and their families to play, learn and grow together. Auburn Chamber Orchestra received $500 for advertising and professional fees to put on performances of HMS Pinafore in collaboration with Auburn Players Community Theatre and Auburn High School. Auburn Public Theater received $3,000 to purchase two JamHub stations to expand its Exchange Street Records program which connects youth with progressive music education opportunities. Cayuga Counseling Services received $1,770 to provide mental health first aid training and stress reduction activities for participants in its bimonthly parent-grandparent support group. Cayuga County Habitat for Humanity received $5,000 to rehabilitate a property on Adams Street in Auburn. Cayuga Museum of History and Art received $1,255 to fund its Exploring the Prison through Film, a four-part film series. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County received $4,362 to purchase new laptops, a printer and marketing banner stands to provide technology upgrades for nutrition education and health-related programs. Food Bank of CNY received $5,000 to purchase food that will be distributed from its Cayuga County mobile food pantry. Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways received $1,000 to conduct two programs for girls in Cayuga County who are not served by a Girl Scout troop to offer a fun and interactive way to learn about the basics of girl scouting. Maple Wood Cemetery Association received $553 to repair the face of the vault on its property. Recuse Mission Alliance received $4,770 to create an iPad station for Auburn Rescue Mission's Community Center, which will allow women and families who have experienced homelessness to search for jobs and access homework assignments. Scipio Volunteer Fire Department received $3,393 to purchase four finger pulse oximeters and two suction units. These grants were made possible with support from the Cayuga Community Fund, the Evelyn B. & Emery S. Osborn Fund and the Cayuga Health Association Fund. The Cayuga Community Fund was created in 2008, as a geographically specific fund created to serve as a source of permanent charitable dollars available to nonprofits serving residents of Cayuga County. The fund has granted more than $260,000 to nonprofit groups since 2010. Meth 4.jpg Amy Myers, Christopher Hildenbrandt, Jamie Baker and Raymond Brower (Provided photo) VERONA, NY - Four people have been charged with making meth after Oneida County sheriff's deputies said they found meth-manufacturing items scattered around their home. Deputies also removed three children from the Verona home and charged two of the four with endangering the welfare of children. A 5-year-old and 8-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl were removed from the home at 4575 State Route 49 in Verona and placed in the custody of other family members, police said. Raymond H. Brower, 34, of Lower Lawrence Street, Rome; and Jamie L. Baker, 25, of State Route 49 in Verona were both charged with third-degree unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine, a felony; and three counts each of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor. Also charged with third-degree unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine were Amy Myers, 44, of State Route 49 in Verona; and Christopher M. Hildenbrandt, 36, of Matthews Street Rome. Deputies said they were checking on the children's welfare when they witnessed several meth-making items in the residence, which they said were readily accessible to the children staying in the home. Deputies said additional charges may be pending. pies.jpg Rescue Mission Chief Executive Officer Alan Thornton, left; and Anthony Marrone, right, with two of the apple pies Marrone donated to the Rescue Mission. (Provided photo) EAST SYRACUSE - This Thanksgiving, East Syracuse estate lawyer Anthony Marrone planned to thank his clients by delivering apple pies to them on Monday. Marrone had purchased 205 apple pies for $8 each at a a Corcoran High school fundraiser for the boys' lacrosse team. Monday's winter storm derailed his delivery plans, however, and Marrone began wondering to do with all those pies. Marrone, who volunteers for the Rescue Mission's Freeze Out 5K to end homelessness, immediately thought of the organization. He made some calls, and the apple pies sitting in the freezer at Gannon's Ice Cream were delivered instead on Tuesday to the Rescue Mission. They will be served on Thanksgiving, and. "It's really great that these pies will be put to good use and enjoyed by people on Thanksgiving,'' Marrone said. "I was told there may even be enough for Christmas. "It turned out to be a great opportunity to help this holiday,'' he said. Kendall Slee, speaking for the Rescue Mission, said the pies are a "tremendous gift." "It's a wonderful gesture on Mr. Marrone's part, and we can rest easy knowing we can provide dessert to everyone,'' Slee said. Marrone said he sent a letter to his clients, which are all over Central New York and also near his Watertown branch, explaining his decision. He told them he'd do something special for them for Christmas. They responded saying they were pleased with Marrone's decision. The Rescue Mission typically uses 375 pies for the Thanksgiving meal, Rescue Mission officials said. BILLINGS -- That juicy Butterball or Hutterite-raised turkey that you cooked to savory deliciousness on Thanksgiving Day this year can trace its family tree in the Americas much farther back than the pilgrims and their 1621 party with American Indians. Recent archaeological research in Tennessee, the Southwest and Mexico has shown that turkeys were some of the first domesticated animals in the Americas. Over the years Washington State University archaeologists have repeatedly seen evidence, from bones to blankets to DNA extracted from ancient poop, suggesting that the Pueblo people of the Southwest bred turkeys as far back as 200 B.C. "Turkeys were an important bird symbolically and in practical ways as a source of feathers that kept people warm in the winter," said Bill Lipe, a WSU professor emeritus of anthropology, in a press release. "And they were also important as a food source, probably primarily at periodic feasts and ritual gatherings." About 1,500 years ago in Oaxaca, Mexico, turkey eggs and small poults were used as an offering in some ancient ritual. The remnants of the eggs and birds were found in archaeological excavations. "Our research tells us that turkeys had been domesticated by 400-500 AD," said Gary Feinman, a Field Museum archaeologist, in a press release. "People have made guesses about turkey domestication based on the presence or absence of bones at archaeological sites, but now we are bringing in classes of information that were not available before. The results of the research were published in an article in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. Feinman was one of the authors of the report. In Tennessee the first evidence of turkey domestication by American Indians has been dated to 1200 to 1400 A.D. based on the recent publication of research from archaeological sites that contained more male turkey bones than females, which would be an oddity in nature but not if the birds were being raised by humans. "It appears Native Americans were favoring males for their bones for tools," said Tanya Peres, a Florida State University associate professor of anthropology, in a press release. Peres and graduate student Kelly Ledford wrote about their research in a paper that was also published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. Why were turkeys the go-to bird of the Americas? Whereas Eurasians at the same time had a variety of animals that could be raised for meat pigs, chickens, goats and cattle early Americans had only turkeys and dogs, Feinman said. In addition to providing meat, turkeys would have also been valued for their bones to make tools as well as for their feathers, especially the more colorful males. "They tend to be much brighter and more colorful than the female species, Peres said. Female feathers tend to be a dull gray or brown to blend in to their surroundings since they have to sit on the nest and protect the chicks." As noted in a 1991 Penn Museum article, feathers were commonly used by Indian tribes to make capes, as fletching on arrows, for colorful headdresses, fans and other items used in ritual ceremonies. Some pictographs and petroglyphs depict birds, and myths impart different qualities to certain birds including the turkey who is variously considered wily, a show-off as well as gullible. The eggs found in Oaxaca were an offering of ritual significance to the Zapotec people, where the animals still remain important. "Turkeys are raised to eat, given as gifts and used in rituals," Feinman said. "The turkeys are used in the preparation of food for birthdays, baptisms, weddings and religious festivals." Ledford is collecting data from additional sites across the southeastern United States to see if the pattern of domesticating turkeys was consistent across settlements or if it was an isolated practice. "It might be that not everybody was practicing this, but some people were for sure," she said. At only 33 years old, it seems nearly impossible that Reggie Yates has been involved in television and radio for more than a quarter of a century a fact which he jokingly describes as depressing. But with his more recent movement into documentary-making six years ago, it seems as though Yates is really getting into his stride. This wasnt a pre-planned [decision] he tells me as we sit down before his appearance at the Union on Monday. Ive always found a way to find out about the people that Im speaking to. [] One of the things that I loved the most about kids TV was actually chatting to kids on the phone, or talking to them, really having a conversation and having fun with them and that for me is just another version of what it is I do now. Im just having conversations that are just as revealing regardless of who Im speaking to. It might be a racist in Russia, or a preacher in South Africa, Ill speak to them in exactly the same way, and that tone of conversation is no different to the thing I used to do [] on CBBC. It is undoubtedly his way of talking to people equally and respectfully which won Yates a Royal Television Society Television Award for Best Presenter this year for Extreme Russia a documentary which saw him interview fervently far-right groups whose opinions he clearly disagreed with. I asked him if he found it difficult to not react and argue back in these situations. To begin with I did. To begin with I really struggled with people saying offensive things to my face and for me to be expected to not react to that. But there was almost a penny-drop moment I had in South Africa which was when I realised that its not actually about me. Im essentially the eyes and the ears of the audience so for me to blow up at something offensive my conversation with someone who is pretty interesting or who has a unique point of view ends there and then. Everything [] I do is allowing them to reveal themselves to be exactly who they are, rather than me trying to catch them out. In my humble opinion, thats terrible journalism [], whereas just having a chat with someone and giving them the rope to hang themselves, should they want to do that, is where the good stuff comes in. We turn to talking about his Insider series, which was broadcast earlier this year, and saw Yates spending five nights in a mental health ward of a Texan jail and joining a Mexican army battalion in the war on drugs. I suggested that it seemed like he was putting himself in some dangerous scenarios for some of his films but he light-heartedly corrects me: Not to ruin the illusion, but its not that dangerous its telly! In the Insider series, I am going out of my way to live and breathe in the same way as the people Im talking about. And you can only ever really do that to a point lets not kid ourselves me going to jail as an inmate is going to be me sleeping in a cell, yes, me wearing their clothes, yes, but I havent committed a crime and I know Im going home. I was told that [the production company] wanted me to do one night minimum and the rest was up to me. But after spending a day there with this group of men, predominantly young men at that, I realised that if I were to go back to my hotel, put on a bit of Netflix, have a lovely, long bath, light a candle, it would be disrespectful to them because they were opening up and telling me their stories []. This seems to be an important preoccupation with the filmmaker: giving people the chance to tell their stories from their perspective. During his discussion at the Union he summarises the reasoning behind his approach: Its not about me. Its about them []. Put the issue first. My emotions are not as important as the whys and what fors. Nobody comes out of the womb racist he remarks, so why are they the way they are? He uses the example of a man he spoke to in Russia, who was obsessed with knives, but Yates explains that the violence was an expression of this mans anger at his absent father. That doesnt justify it, Yates is quick to add, but says there are always reasons behind someones viewpoint; in terms of entrenched homophobia in Russia, he identifies the Soviet hangover as a factor. An inevitable question from the audience about the impact of Brexit and Trump clearly did not phase Yates who seemed to have already given this some thought. For a lot of people liberal lefties in our bubble its a wake-up call. He recalls being in Los Angeles at the time of the US presidential election and his American friends disbelieving before the result that a Trump victory was possible. But as he warns, you can be tricked into thinking everyone thinks like you do when immediately surrounded by similar-minded people. Speaking at a university that refers to Cambridge life as the Bubble perhaps makes his point even more pertinent. I finish up my interview with Reggie Yates by asking what we can expect to see from him next, and he suggests there is a Comic Relief project in the making, and also a series in Australia: One film [is] on the Aboriginal community and their relationship with white Australia, and the other film on a drug called ice [] its almost like crack to coke, so its a cheaper, more dangerous version of [meth], and we made a film on that in Melbourne. Theyre coming out soon. Thats a Bluetooth speaker? That looks so cool, was the first thing my wife said when she saw the Marshall on our counter-top. Of the half-dozen or so Bluetooth speakers Ive had in for review over the past several months, none have struck up as much conversation as the Marshall Kilburn. The only other speaker Ive had in for review thats garnered as much attention has been MartinLogans sleek Crescendo. Fans of Marshall guitar amps will want to know, however, that the company behind the famous Marshall Stack doesnt actually build this speaker. The amplifier manufacturer licensed its brand to a third party, Zound Industries, the Swedish company behind Urbanears headphones. But that doesnt take away from the Marshall Kilburns ability to command your attention. Its old-school style is both retro and edgy. Lifting the Kilburn, youre immediately taken by its density. Something can feel heavy but not be dense. The Kilburn feels totally solid, like the analog amplifier head unit it resembles. That bulk makes the included imitation leather strap, which has a smooth velour underside, all the more useful. The strap attaches to each side with brass-colored buckles and a prominent hex-key rounded screw. Theres nothing dainty or understated about the Kulburn. Give the Kilburn an evening gown to wear and itll come out of the dressing room wearing leather combat boots. Theo Nicolakis The Marshall Kilburns rotary knobs and toggle power switch add to the speakers vintage flair. The speakers main controls, located on the top, protrude from a brushed, gold-colored face plate recessed in thick, imitation leather that hugs the Kilburns circumference. Smooth-operating rotary knobs adjust volume, bass, and treble. The latter two are an endangered species on modern portable speakers. An old-school toggle switch turns the unit on and off. An audible click lets you know the control is engaged. Capacitive touch controls have no place here. Even the slightly protruding buttons for source selection and Bluetooth pairing give you both a tactile and audible cue that the Kilburn has granted your desire. The design is straightforward, unmistakable, and gets the job done immediately. There are no hierarchical menus, no multiple taps, and no frills. I love it. Under the hood The Kilburn is a rear-ported design with two 3/4-inch dome tweeters and a single, four-inch woofer crossed at 4200Hz. The drivers are powered by Class D amplifiers and the systems stated frequency range is 62Hz to 20KHz. The Kilburns rechargeable battery boasts a strong 20 hours of run time if youre using it at 50 percent volume. Bluetooth 4.0 and a 3.5mm input are the only two options for feeding this vintage-styled speaker, but there is no aptX support. Theres also no companion app, so you dont get the added features of stereo pairing, EQ, or other enhancements that a few of the competing Bluetooth speakers in this price range offer. Theo Nicolakis The velour-lined strap is slick and stylish. The Kilburn has rubber feet that elevate the speaker about a half-inch and do a good job of isolating the cabinet from whatever surface you place it on. The feet could also be a lifesaver should you spill something next to the speaker, as its not rated for water resistance. Dont like my attitude? Tough I dont know quite why, but I liked this speaker despite the many reasons I shouldnt. It is by no means the best-sounding Bluetooth speaker Ive auditioned lately; its certainly not the most accurate. It exhibits a consistently two-dimensional, flat sound with restrained dynamics and off-axis coloration. Despite all of that, I found it fun to listen to every time I turned it on. Its vintage look is matched by an uncommonly vintage sound, reminding you that music is an experience. Bass lines were smooth and sounded just right. Played through a Pioneer XDP-100R digital audio player, the 192kHz/24-bit FLAC version of The Polices classic cut, Every Breath You Take, from Synchronicity, and the 48kHz/24-bit FLAC version of Meghan Trainors All about that Bass, from her album Title, served up classic examples. (Bluetooth speakers dont stream high-res bitstreams, they down-sample them, so dont let the source material confuse you.) Both songs were smooth and balanced, neither too punchy nor too reserved. Sure, the Kilburn doesnt have the same thwap that the Oppo Sonica, Bose Soundlink III or JBL Xtreme do, but oddly I never longed for it either. The Kilburn presents bass notes as foundational musical elements, as opposed to making bass become that guy who needs to be the center of attention at every party. Theo Nicolakis You can control both bass and treble on the unita feature that you dont often see in powered speakers. During my listening sessions, I also noted that the Kilburn never over-emphasized a pianos or a guitars body, as some other Bluetooth speakers tend to do. Over-emphasizing an instruments body may initially give a euphonic impression, but it gets fatiguing very quickly. For example, the guitar on Simon & Garfunkels The Boxer always knew its place. Playing the MQA version of Lush Life, from Lady Gagas and Tony Bennetts Cheek to Cheek, the Kilburn didnt reproduce the song with pristine accuracy, but it did capture its emotion. For example, the accompanying pianos high notes were a bit syrupy without the characteristic crispness striking the ivory keys produces. Cymbals likewise took a polite back seat on the sound stage. Nevertheless, I found myself surprisingly engaged with the music playing in the background even though it exhibited a clearly boxy sound. Rocking to Tom Pettys Here Comes My Girl or jazzing it down to Grover Washington Jrs Winelight showed that the Marshall loved these genres. The saxophone in Winelight was smooth and warm even though it gave ground on the top end. While the Kilburn is a rear-ported design, placing it right against a wall surprisingly didnt turn bass lines into a muddy, boomy mess. Marshall The Kilburn is a rear-ported design. If youre wondering how the Kilburn would play at a party or outdoors, youll be happy to know it will get along pretty well, but it wont top our best performers in this category. It didnt quite get to the same ear-bursting levels that the UE Megaboom or JBL Xtreme could reach. I also wouldnt recommend cranking up both the source and the Kilburn to max at the same time. If you do, this speaker will get a bit harsh. While you could argue thats vintage sound, thats the one aspect of vintage I can do without. TechHive Recommends If you like your music and and your gear old style, you will simply fall in love with the Marshall Kilburn. Its a smart, spunky speaker with plenty of attitude. The audiophile in me wont use this speaker for reference and, from a purist point of view, the Kilburn has its sonic shortcomings. But you know what? The Kilburn doesnt care. It simply rocks, on its own terms. Whether youll find those terms acceptable is a different story. Recent high-profile distributed denial of service attacks on the Internets infrastructure and an investigative journalists website have spiked concerns over possible disruptions of traffic during the biggest online shopping weekend of the year. Online spending last year exceeded US$5.8 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to Adobe, and that figure is expected to be even higher this year. If you want to mess with the economy, thats the most disruptive time to do that, said John Wu, CEO of Gryphon. A lot of retail sales have shifted from brick and mortar to online these days, he told TechNewsWorld. Cyber Monday is a huge day for a lot retailers. Easy Target for Bot Herders If hackers want to disrupt shopping during the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend, theyll likely use a botnet composed of devices connected to the Internet of Things to do it. Such botnets recently attacked DNS server provider Dyn, disrupting Internet service in the United States. Attackers also used them to launch one of the largest DDoS attacks ever on the website of security blogger Brian Krebs. The reason IoT devices are being used now is because theyre so easily attacked, Wu said. They also have enough processing power on them to carry out these kinds of attacks. Whats more, devices like routers and DVRs are always on, so theyre always available for enlistment in an assault on a website. You can have a huge effect because you can control lots of the devices in some cases hundreds of thousands and flood a server, Wu said, and its very difficult to prevent these attacks, because theyre coming from IP addresses around the world. You cant scale your bandwidth fast enough to prevent it. During Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend, the situation will be exacerbated by a legitimate surge in traffic. Some sites went down last year because they couldnt handle the spike in traffic to them, Wu explained. You could compound that effect with a denial of service attack. 10 Million Logins an Hour Botnets can do more than disrupt shopping traffic during Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend. They can crack into user accounts at e-commerce sites, using the millions of username and password pairs available on the Internet from hundreds of recent data breaches. Because human beings resuse their passwords, that attacker is going to be successful when he uses a password stolen from another website, said Omri Iluz, CEO of PerimeterX. On average, a person uses six passwords for all their online activity, he noted. These attacks are very successful, Iluz told TechNewsWorld. With 10,000 bots, thousands of accounts can be compromised in a matter of hours. Automation is crucial to those kinds of attacks, however, he said. Its only meaningful if they can run 10 million or more login attempts in an hour to get the success rate they need. Gift Card Scams on Steroids Digital desperadoes also have brought the power of bots to another holiday scam: compromising gift cards. After figuring out how gift card numbers are generated for a retailer, an attacker can write a script for the botnet to execute to determine if theres a balance on the card. A hacker could check tens or hundreds of millions of combinations in that way and then register and sell cards discovered to have a balance. Unsafe mobile apps also might victimize Black Friday-Cyber Monday shoppers. Researchers found 5,198 Black Friday apps in global app stores for a recent RiskIQ study. Of those, one in 10 already had been tagged as malicious and unsafe to use. Be Paranoid Online bandits also are exploiting the reputation of some of the largest e-commerce sites on the Web to prey on consumers. The top five brands leading in e-commerce have had a combined total of more than 1,950 blacklisted URLs that contain their branded terms as well as Black Friday and are linked to spam, malware or phishing, the RiskIQ report notes. The same is true of apps from those brands. More than 1 million blacklisted apps reference one of the leading e-commerce brands in either their title or description, according to the study. While consumers cant do anything about a DDoS attack on one of their favorite shopping sites, they can protect themselves from attacks aimed directly at them. Consumers need to be paranoid about what kinds of things people might do to lure them into scams, said Venkat Rajaji, senior vice president for marketing at Core Security. Youve got to keep your guard up during the holiday season. Dont click on any link in a consumer email unless its a highly, highly trusted source, he told TechNewsWorld. Youve got to be paranoid, Rajaji added. Youve got to assume the worst when youre shopping. Breach Diary Nov. 14. Data breach at Friend Finder Network places at risk personal information in more than 412 million accounts. Nov. 14. Adobe agrees to pay $1 million to 15 states to settle case stemming from 2013 data breach at the company, which resulted in unauthorized access to accounts of some 552,000 people. Nov. 15. Seventeen-year-old boy pleads guilty in UK to data breach last year at telecommunications provider TalkTalk, which resulted in unauthorized access to personal data of nearly 160,000 people. Nov. 15. TalkTalk reports profits more than doubled to $75 million from $31 million during the 12 months following a data breach at the telecommunications provider. Nov. 15. Kryptowire discovers several models of Android mobile devices sold through major U.S.-based online retailers, which contain firmware that collects sensitive personal information without the owners knowledge or consent, and sends it to third-party servers. Nov. 16. Workers at Indian security firm AI Solutions discovered selling phone records of Australians from call centers of Optus, Telstra and Vodaphone. Nov. 16. Database configuration error exposes to public Internet personal information of nearly 25,000 members of Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No. 104 in California. Nov. 16. Protenus reports month-to-month decline in healthcare data breaches to 35 in October from 37 in September, although the number of patient records compromised increased to 776,533 from 246,876. Nov. 16. Personal records of more than 34 million residents of the Indian state of Kerala were posted to Facebook by a hacker disenchanted with the security of the states computer systems, GulfNews reports. Nov. 17. Chicago Public Schools notifies families of some 30,000 students that confidential information about them was shared improperly with a charter school operator for use in a mail advertising campaign. Nov. 18. The Three mobile network in the UK reports personal information of more than 130,000 customers was compromised by data breach made public earlier in the week and for which three men were arrested on Wednesday. Nov. 18. Michigan State University announces it will notify some 400,000 current and former students and staff of data breach that has compromised their personal information. Nov. 19. Russian telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor discovers data breaches at 55 websites that contain personal information of children who have written to Father Frost, the Russian Santa Claus. Upcoming Security Events It's no secret that Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook back in China. The country has blocked the social network since 2009, denying it access to 1.4 billion potential users. The CEO made a very public visit to the Asian nation earlier this year, and now his company is reportedly attempting to appease Xi Jinping's government by building a censorship tool. The New York Times reports that the technology can block certain posts from appearing in the news feeds of users in some regions. Facebook wouldn't be the one to censor the items; instead, this power would be given to a third-party, most likely a partner Chinese company. In July, Facebook employees asked Zuckerberg about the technology at one of the company's weekly Q&A sessions. "It's better for Facebook to be a part of enabling conversation, even if it's not yet the full conversation," he replied. The report goes on to state that the tool is just one of many ideas Facebook has come up with as a way into China, and it may never be officially released. Nevertheless, several employees who were working on it have left the company after expressing concerns over the feature. Mike Isaac, who wrote the Times article, tweeted a piece of information that didn't make the final report: it was the US election result and fear of the Trump administration accessing the tool that scared sources into leaking its details. of note: it was post-election result that scared some sources into discussing this tool, for fear of a hostile U.S. admin accessing it --- _ (@MikeIsaac) November 22, 2016 A Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement: "We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country. However, we have not made any decision on our approach to China." The news comes at a bad time for Facebook. The company has faced criticism recently for not doing enough to fight the spread of fake news stories. Now, it will no doubt be accused of putting ethics aside for the sake of extra profit. For a lot of people around the world and in the US, the result of this month's presidential election came as a surprise. But some academics, activists, and computer scientists insist that Trump didn't actually beat Hillary Clinton, and are asking for recounts or audits in three key states where they say the votes were manipulated by foreign hackers. New York Magazine reports that a group of computer scientists and election lawyers are urging Hilary Clinton's campaign to call for vote recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The group says that the Democrat received 7 percent fewer votes in counties that relied on electronic voting machines compared to counties that used optical scanners and paper ballots, suggesting the possibility of a hack. While the group acknowledges that there is no conclusive evidence of hacking, it believes the pattern needs to be examined by an independent review. Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that a loose coalition of experts is preparing to deliver a report to congressional committee chairs and federal authorities next week that focuses on concerns over the results in the three states. "I'm interested in verifying the vote," said Dr Barbara Simons, an adviser to the US election assistance commission and expert on electronic voting. "We need to have post-election ballot audits." In October, the US Intelligence Community blamed the Russian government for a series of high-profile cyberattacks that were apparently aimed at influencing the election. US officials followed this up with a dire warning to Russia, promising to attack the country's key systems if it was found to have interfered directly with the vote itself. In the months leading up to the election, opinion polls had Clinton leading Trump in the three swing states, but she ultimately lost Pennsylvania and Wisconsin by a narrow margin. A final result has still not been declared in Michigan as the results were so close, but it may still go to the Republican side. Clinton has given no indication that she intends to challenge the election result, and Trump's transition team haven't responded to questions. The three states have between Friday and next Wednesday to file for a vote recount. Samsung's recent acquisitions of Viv and Harman provide clues on what the company is planning for its future devices. Samsung's chief of its automotive division just hinted the company would release smartphones with Harman high-end audio technology in 2018. Acquisitions Reveal Clues To Future Devices It is never too early to begin work on future generation smartphones, and acquisitions always have a way of providing some clues as to what smartphone makers are working on adding to future devices. Apple's 2014 acquisition of Beats Music and Beats Electronics for $3 billion paved the way for Apple Music, and the audio technology found in the popular Beats by Dr. Dre accessories brought high-end audio to Apple's iOS and Mac lineup. Most recently, Apple launched Beats Solo3 Wireless headphones that use the same W1 chip found in the company's highly anticipated wireless AirPods, which use a proprietary chip using ultra-low-power Bluetooth that provides long battery life and ability to automatically sync between iOS devices and Macs seamlessly. Samsung has also provided some clues on what we can expect to see in its future smartphones through recent acquisitions. The company recently purchased Viv, an AI company from the makers of Siri. Reports have claimed that Samsung is planning on replacing its S Voice virtual assistant with an enhanced AI assistant that will be so impressive it will have its own button on the side edge of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. Samsung Galaxy S9 And Galaxy Note 9 To Feature Harman High-End Audio In 2018 Samsung most recently acquired Harman for $8 billion in order to gain entry into the automotive market, something Apple and Google are also actively pursuing. "HARMAN perfectly complements Samsung in terms of technologies, products and solutions, and joining forces is a natural extension of the automotive strategy we have been pursuing for some time," said Oh-Hyun Kwon, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Samsung Electronics. "As a Tier 1 automotive supplier with deep customer relationships, strong brands, leading technology and a recognized portfolio of best-in-class products, HARMAN immediately establishes a strong foundation for Samsung to grow our automotive platform. Dinesh Paliwal is a proven global leader and, in our extensive discussions, we have developed deep respect for him, his strong senior leadership team and HARMAN's talented employees. HARMAN's sustained track record of rapid growth fueled by technology leadership and an unmatched automotive order pipeline reflects its commitment to innovation and customers." It appears Samsung is also planning to use Harman's high-end audio in future Galaxy smartphones. "If we are to adopt Harman's high-end audio technology for the Galaxy S series phone, the first model could come in 2018," the chief of Samsung's automotive division, Park Jong-hwan, stated at a press conference. If Samsung does include Harman audio in next-generation Galaxy smartphones, expect it to debut on the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9, which is likely to be announced in 2018. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) report released ahead of World AIDS Day has it that though almost 18 million people living across the world have access to antiretroviral drugs, young and adolescent girls are at increased risk of the disease. HIV Infection In Young Girls Girls aged between 15 and 24 who are transitioning to womanhood, particularly those living in sub-Saharan Africa, are increasingly facing HIV-related challenges in their day-to-day life. On account of that, the UNAIDS has come up with a life-cycle based approach to change the scenario for good. Young women are thrice at risk of developing HIV/AIDS, said Michel Sidibe, the executive director of the Joint UNAIDS program, in a press release. In spite of elevated risk of the disease, young and adolescent girls don't have much access to HIV testing as well as exhibit poor adherence to antiretroviral treatment. Fast-Track Program To End AIDS Epidemic Sidibe and the President of Namibia, Hage Geingob, who launched "Get on the Fast-Track: the life-cycle approach to HIV" report in Windhoek, noted that prevention is the only way to put an end to the AIDS epidemic spreading among young women. The report emphasizes the importance of breaking the cycle by which young girls acquire the deadly disease. According to data from South Africa, young and adolescent girls get infected from adult men sooner in life during their transition to womanhood. Men, however, were found to have acquired the infection much later in life and serve as a potential source of new infection cycles. Worldwide HIV/AIDS Statistics Meanwhile, the report has also released encouraging statistics indicating that for the last six months from January 2016 to June 2016 about 1 million more people have had access to HIV treatment. According to the data recorded until June 2016, about 18.2 million people including 910,000 children were on life-saving medication. Sidibe and Geingob said that only 15 million people had access to antiretroviral medication until two years ago. The scenario has not only improved significantly but new HIV infection in children has also fallen drastically. The Fast-Track program that aims to put an end to the AIDS epidemic by 2030 should come true not only in Namibia and Africa but also throughout the world, added the duo. However, Sidibe noted that the efforts to eradicate AIDS across the world are far from over. "The progress we have made is remarkable, particularly around treatment, but it is also incredibly fragile," said Sidibe. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Apple has recently teased a one-day shopping event this coming Friday through a new webpage section on its official website, signaling it will be rejoining the Black Friday tradition that it dropped out of last year. Those who are hoping to get some deals on various Apple products might just be getting what they want this Black Friday. Apple Black Friday Sale? Apple has unveiled a new page on its website teasing fans of a Black Friday sale. Details on this event have yet to be unveiled but the company did announce on the page that this would only be for one day. In line with this, Apple sent out emails to its customers on Tuesday hinting on the same event but without mentioning the deals to be available. Apparently, promos would be launched both on its offline and online stores though it appears that the Cupertino tech company would be focusing its Black Friday sale on ecommerce this year. The dedicated web section said that the fastest and easiest way to shop during the one-day sale would be through the Apple Store app. Buyers would also get a free two-day delivery on almost anything bought on that day. Additionally, Apple announced it would be opening some of its retail stores earlier on Nov. 25, Black Friday. The webpage has not yet included complete details regarding the products and discounts available during this promotion. Apple: 'Friday Can't Come Soon Enough' Apple's announcement of a one-day shopping event came as a surprise to many people since it dropped out of the Black Friday sale tradition last year to give its staff a break. In fact, Black Friday sale on various Apple products last year were only available through third-party retailers. The company believes that being good to its employees would always be good for business; hence it did not join last year's Black Friday sale madness. But it is looking like a different story this year and Black Friday would be too good an event opportunity to miss. "Friday can't come soon enough. Our one-day shopping event will be here before you know it. Come back this Friday to check everyone off your list," the website announced. Experts were still apprehensive of the upcoming Black Friday sale since Apple has not really been generous with its discounts in the last few years. Third-party retailers have also started selling their discounted Apple gadgets at least two weeks ago. Whatever made Apple change its mind regarding the Black Friday sale still remains to be discovered. The company has not yet responded or released an official statement about its change of heart. But this change of heart is a welcome move for many customers. Apple will be extending hours on some of its offline stores to cater to the possible influx of buyers on one of the year's biggest sales. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. One of the most popular T-Mobile deals is making a comeback for Black Friday, offering customers a free iPhone 7 with a smartphone trade-in. T-Mobile's Black Friday deals leaked earlier this month, revealing exciting discounts and BOGO deals for a number of popular devices. The Uncarrier has now made its Black Friday deals official and they're even better than expected. Following the Magenta Friday deals from last week, T-Mobile is now bringing the big guns for Black Friday. The carrier touts free flagship smartphones from Apple, Samsung and LG with qualified smartphone trade-ins. T-Mobile Free iPhone 7, Galaxy S7 Or LG V20 With Trade-In Back in September, T-Mobile announced that it was offering a free iPhone 7 when trading in an older iPhone. The deal rapidly gained momentum and soon enough, the iPhone 7 broke all records and became the biggest preorder in T-Mobile history, the carrier announced at the time. The trade-in deal played a big role in that success and now T-Mobile is bringing back the popular offer for Black Friday and sweetening the deal even further. "Not only is the Un-carrier bringing that deal back for Black Friday almost definitely for the last time but now, customers can choose to get a FREE Samsung Galaxy S7 32GB and/or LG V20 64GB with qualifying trade-in, as well," touts the carrier. How It Works To take advantage of this deal, customers will have to trade in a qualified phone and have an eligible unlimited plan. Both new and existing customers can qualify, as long as they trade in a fully-paid off. To get the full credit for the free flagship smartphone, customers will have to agree to stay on T-Mobile's network for two years, either on the T-Mobile One unlimited plan or on a Simple Choice Unlimited plan. The cost of the new smartphone will be covered by 24 monthly bill credits. Head over to T-Mobile's website for more details. The same terms apply for the free iPhone 7/ iPhone 7 Plus, Galaxy S7/ Galaxy S7 edge or LG V20. T-Mobile 'Holiday On Us' The carrier is also running a "Holiday on Us" promotion that offers $800 in gift card form for a family of four, when switching and trading in old devices. All members of the family can also take advantage of the free flagship smartphone deal. Lastly, T-Mobile is also offering $200 per line, up to $2,400, when porting a number to its network, and treating everyone even Verizon, AT&T and Sprint customers with a free hour of in-flight Wi-Fi on GoGo-equipped domestic flights. The free Wi-Fi promo runs through Nov. 26. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google is pushing out the final update to the Android 7.1 Developer Preview before the official, stable build releases onto different platforms. Like the first preview released in October, the new and final update will also support the company's older devices such as the Nexus 5X and 6P, the Pixel C and now, Google is also throwing the Nexus 9 into the mix. What's In The Final Developer Preview? No major updates are housed in the second developer preview, since the update is mostly targeted for developers who are putting final touch-ups on their applications for the official consumer release of Android 7.1.1. The final developer preview includes a near-final build of various system behaviors and the user interface alongside numerous bug fixes and optimizations across Google apps and the system itself. The final update would serve as the definitive test bed for developers' applications before the update finally pushes out officially, according to Dave Burke, VP of engineering for Android. Google has provided developers a host of tools to help them create rounded icons and app shortcuts that look like those you'll find on iOS. The final update also comes with developer features and support for API Level 25, which were already introduced in the first developer preview. How To Get Developer Preview 2 If you already have a compatible device that's enrolled in Google's Android Developer Program, your device is slated to automatically receive the update over the coming week. However, if you weren't able to enroll in the beta program, you may still opt-in your eligible Android smartphone or tablet to receive the developer preview over-the-air. Additionally, you may also opt to flash the update on your own. To reiterate, the second and final developer preview will only be available on Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel C and Nexus 9. Android 7.1.1 Final Release Google is hoping to release the final consumer version of Android 7.1.1 "in just a few weeks." Beginning in December, the software will roll out to all supported preview devices alongside Google's pair of flagships, the Pixel and Pixel XL. Keep in mind however, that not all Pixel features will be carried over to Google's older devices. The system-wide Assistant feature alongside the custom Pixel Launcher will seemingly be exclusive on the Pixel phones. It's a nice gesture from Google to continuously support its older devices despite its impassioned focus on its newer and better flagships. It's unclear how long the company will keep on supporting its older smartphones and tablets, but with exclusive features already on the Pixel, it's not hard to imagine that the Pixel pair will enjoy most of the benefits going forward. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The rumor is that Jony Ive, chief design officer at Apple, may be on the way out or at least out of designing the iPhone. This came amid reports that he is purportedly taking a more backseat role in product design. It Began With A Tree The speculation began gathering steam when a Christmas tree at Claridge was unveiled. It was designed by Ive in collaboration with Marc Newson, who both claim to be friends with the London luxury hotel. If you are scratching your head, wondering how all these business are related, we can backtrack last fall when Ive gave an ominous statement. "If I wasn't doing this, I think I would just be drawing or making stuff for friends," Ive told Charlie Rose when asked what he would do if he is no longer with Apple. "Maybe it would just be Christmas tree ornaments, I don't know." The Apple Grapevine Bore Fruit Now, Apple watchers are proposing all sorts of wild speculations. John Gruber, a noted Apple pundit, has suggested that Ive is already probably no longer designing iPhones because he is now merely focusing on architectural projects like the Apple campus and a handful of retail stores. Gruber has stated this in The Talk Show podcast where he also said that he is assuming a Jobs-like role at Apple, directing the development of certain products such as the gold Apple Watch or an Apple car by way of a spiritual leadership. Some observers are joining the fray. Apple blogger Marco Arment, for example, went as far as saying burn out may be one of the reasons. Criticizing execs is unpopular, but Ive seems stretched thin, burnt out, and bored. Id love to see some fresh design leadership at Apple. Marco Arment (@marcoarment) November 15, 2016 App Advice also cited that the Ive rumor came on the heels of the "Designed by Apple in California" book release. It is seen as a tribute to the designer who has made practically all of the iconic products exhibited there possible. More than the recognition of Ive's work, such kind of tribute is also often reserved for someone about to get benched or retired. Clarifying The Apple Rumors After kicking the hornet's nest, Six Colors founder, Jason Snell is scrambling to douse the controversy he has partly set in motion. In a blog post, he clarified that he did not say Ive is on the way out and that he is only involved in architecture at this point. However, he still cited sources that think Ive is on the way out and this has started with his promotion as chief design officer last year. Snell cited the role is largely ceremonial so Ive can spend less time on management. He indicated that product design is now covered by the positions occupied by Alan Dye, vice president of user interface, and Richard Howarth, vice president of industrial design. Both directly report to Tim Cook. Howarth seems to be a key figure in this narrative. He took over Ive's previous job and his bio at the Apple website provides a better insight. "Richard joined Apple in 1996 and has been involved in the design of nearly every Apple product since the original iMac," Apple detailed. "Richard leads a multinational team of extraordinarily talented designers, CAD sculptors and model makers responsible for creating and imagining the future of Apple products." It seems like Ive has nothing much left to do for products. In the meantime, he is off somewhere designing Christmas trees and, as the speculations pointed out, tending the Apple campus. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Facebook is currently banned in China, but it reportedly aims to change that by implementing a new censorship tool to make it "cleaner" for the Chinese audience. China strictly controls what internet services, websites and networks its citizens can access and Facebook is among the prohibited ones. Even Google is banned in China, as are numerous others, and the country's tight censorship is dubbed the "Great Firewall of China." However, Facebook is reportedly working on a new tool that would hide posts regarding prohibited topics so that China users could use the social network without breaking any censorship laws. The New York Times reports that Facebook would not censor the posts itself, but instead it would put the censorship tool in the hands of a third-party in China. The third-party could use the tool to prevent Chinese users from accessing Facebook content that would be in violation of China's rules. Would It Work? There's no doubt that regaining access to China would be like a goldmine for Facebook, opening the social network to a massive amount of users and, implicitly, ad revenue. However, a crippled version of Facebook with a large number of posts hidden may not hold a candle to the real social network experience. Should this censorship tool be implemented, Chinese users would get access to a severely watered-down Facebook, with only a fraction of the posts available on the social network. China already has its own social media networks and platforms that it tightly controls and Facebook might not be left with much to set itself apart if it has to censor its presence. Nevertheless, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes that some Facebook access is still better than no Facebook access. "It's better for Facebook to be a part of enabling conversation, even if it's not yet the full conversation," Zuckerberg reportedly said during an internal Q&A regarding plans for China, according to the NYT. Facebook Still Mulling Approach To Penetrate China There's no evidence yet that Facebook has actually offered this censorship tool to Chinese authorities, and it might never push forward with this project. The toll is apparently just one of a number of ideas Facebook has been mulling, trying to figure out what approach would be best to get its social network into China. "We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country," a Facebook spokesperson tells TechCrunch. "However, we have not made any decision on our approach to China. Our focus right now is on helping Chinese businesses and developers expand to new markets outside China by using our ad platform." For now, Chinese companies can purchase Facebook ads that run in regions where the social network is not banned. It remains to be seen whether Facebook will push forward with this purported censorship tool and manage to seep through the Great Firewall of China and, if so, if Chinese users would be interested in using a watered-down version of Facebook. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. While the Google Pixel and Pixel XL has been largely considered on top of the heap of smartphones right now, its users still lack some key features enjoyed by older Android flagships. Google seems to be rectifying this issue after Pixel owners began receiving an update that gave their devices double-tap and raise-to-wake features. The update, which began rolling out Nov. 22, is only available to Canadian users as of this writing. Fans in the lower side of the pond, however, should be anticipating the update soon. New Google Pixel Features If you have been living under a rock and are positively clueless about the double-tap and raise-to-wake features, these are functions in Android devices that allow gestures to do specific tasks. Double-tap enable users to see notifications on the phone's display while raise-to-wake does just what its name states, it wakes the screen once the handset is lifted. Apple device owners have also been enjoying the wake function with the release of iOS 10. It is important to note that these two features have been available to previous Google devices such as the Nexus 6P. Google watchers, therefore, consider the update not a matter of "if" but "when". Update Details The update comes in the form of build number NPF26J, which registered a 261-MB-file size. Once installed, users will have to manually enable the new features. They can do so by going to the Settings menu and choosing Moves. The "Double-tap to check phone" and "Lift to check phone" moves are lumped with "Swipe for notifications," "Jump to Camera," and "Flip Camera" options. Updating Non-Canadian Pixels If you think that your only choice is to wait before the update heads over to the United States, you are wrong. The file in all its glory has been captured by some members of the XDA Developers forum and is now promptly available for download. As of this writing the only available OTA.zip file works for the Pixel. There is an available update for the Pixel XL but this is not yet verified. To install the OTA, users can use the adb command called sideload, which will update a Google device without having to root or flash a custom recovery. Before installing the update, it is important to remember that the file has successfully updated Pixels with build NDE63V. It is not yet clear whether it will also work for NDE63U and NDE63X, builds identified with the international and Verizon models. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. "Shut Up and Dance," a recent Black Mirror episode where the protagonist was repeatedly blackmailed by a faceless hacker in possession of a video recording of him during a very private moment was, like any Black Mirror episode, sinister in its near-realism and catastrophic consequences. The episode itself is a hotbed for a separate moral discussion altogether, but everyone who watched it can agree that the whole maelstrom could have been avoided by slapping a tape onto the protagonist's laptop's webcam, thereby restricting hackers access to it. Well, the makeshift, slap-on-a-tape privacy solution that even Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg himself uses will soon be useless because it seems as if your security will also be at risk via other channels, this time through your own headphones. Hacking Via Headphones A group of Israeli researchers from Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheva has created "Speake(a)r," a proof-of-concept code designed to show that hackers can spy on targets using alternative channels if a webcam is inaccessible. Speake(a)r is disturbingly able to hijack a computer to record audio even when the microphone is switched off or disconnected from the computer. The malware can turn the speakers or headphones into microphones by converting the vibrations into electromagnetic signals. "People don't think about this privacy vulnerability," Mordechai Guri, the research lead of Ben-Gurion University's Cyber Security Research Labs, told Wired. Repurposing headphones into microphones isn't news. How-to videos accomplishing this task are readily available online. But the researchers took it up a notch. The malware utilizes a feature from RealTek audio codec chips that maneuvers the computer's output channel into an input channel, allowing for headphones to record audio even when connected to an output-only headphone port. Researchers have noted how easy this was to administer given that the RealTek chips are so common. Virtually any desktop computer running Windows or Mac can fall victim to this kind of malware. RealTek has not yet responded with regard to Ben-Gurion University's research. Ben Gurion University's Experiment For the test, the researchers used a pair of Sennheiser headphones. They found out that the audio recording capability of the Speake(a)r can stretch as far as 20 feet. Furthermore, the recorded audio can then be compressed and sent over the internet, with the recorded audio still clearly distinguishable, an appalling scenario not at all unlikely to happen in the future if hackers exploit this little-known RealTek feature. Guri says that there's no simple patch for the attack. The problem stems from the RealTek audio codec chip, which would be difficult to simply override via software. The best solution to prevent hackers from potentially eavesdropping your conversations would be replacing the audio chip inside your computer, which doesn't sound like a problem you can talk about with your computer repairman readily. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States and in Canada. U.S. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. This year it will be on Nov. 24. Although people enjoy Thanksgiving Day with their loved ones, not everyone knows the history or the reason why it is celebrated. Let's checkout what this historic day is all about. History Of Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Day has roots in English traditions. The first Thanksgiving Day is said to have been celebrated in 1621 at the Plymouth Plantation, where religious refugees from England known as the Pilgrims invited the Native Americans to celebrate a successful growing season. The harvest in 1620 had failed and resulted in the death of many Pilgrims. The Pilgrims learned how to cultivate squash, beans and corns from locals of the Wampanoag tribe. They also learned how to collect seafood and catch fish. Although, families in the United States include a turkey in their Thanksgiving Day menu, the celebration in 1621 included deer, cod lobster and other food items but no turkey. So Why Does The Thanksgiving Day Feast Normally Includes A Turkey? A theory suggests that since wild turkeys were commonly found in North America, it was the preferred meal by early settlers in the continent. Another theory claims that the Turkey-feast on Thanksgiving started when Queen Elizabeth heard that some Spanish ships sank while they were on the verge of attacking England. The Queen was said to be having dinner when she heard the news and ordered another goose to be served. Early settlers in the United States were inspired by the Queen's action and roasted turkeys instead when they returned to America. Thanksgiving Day As A National Holiday New York was one of the handful states to adopt Thanksgiving holiday. However, there was no specific date when the day was celebrated. In 1827, Sarah Josepha Hale, a noted editor and writer, started a campaign for establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday. For about 36 years she wrote to presidents, governors and politicians and finally in 1863, Abraham Lincoln scheduled Thanksgiving Day on the final Thursday of November. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving Day up a week to spike sales during the Great Depression. In 1941, Roosevelt signed a bill that officially made the fourth Thursday of each November Thanksgiving Day. How Do People Celebrate? Most people celebrate Thanksgiving with their families, making it one of the busiest travel days of the year in the United States. Traditional food items such as roast turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cornbread form a major part of Thanksgiving feast. Some families also include breaking the wishbone of the roast turkey as a part of Thanksgiving celebration. Two people take one end of the wishbone, make a wish and pull. It is believed that the person who ends up with larger part of the bone gets their wish. After the meal, many families get involve in additional activities such as playing board games, watching TV and more. Helping Others Although, Thanksgiving Day is a family affair, many people take the opportunity to donate and serve food to homeless shelters and help those in need. Shopping The day after Thanksgiving is celebrated as Black Friday, a day when retailers offer massive deals to customers. Thanksgiving is also a busy time for shoppers and a previous Tech Times report highlighted that in 2015 online customers spent $1.096 billion on Thanksgiving Day. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Those who lose an election look for jobs. Ironically, there are probably as many pollsters looking for jobs as Democrats in the administration, because they lost in their predictions of who would win. Political science courses are being redesigned because of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, which cast conventional wisdom to the four winds. The outcome of the election and the lessons learned will be discussed and studied for decades to come. The primary lesson was that rural America should not be overlooked, since rural America voted heavily for Donald Trump, because his messages appealed more to voters outside of metropolitan areas. But the decision leading to the election loss by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not made by her campaign staff, but likely by her. It is unknown how deep of soul-searching Mrs. Clinton has done since Nov. 8, but one question she should ask of herself is, "What if I chose Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack as her running mate. Vilsack was on the short, short, short list for the Democratic ticket, but was edged out by Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine. Kaine may have brought some voters to the ticket, but probably not the rural voters that Vilsack would have generated. Vilsack was a former Iowa Governor when asked by President Obama to run the U. S. Department of Agriculture. He did that. He did it for the full eight years of the Obama presidency, and he did it without the controversies that have brought down other federal department heads. Sure, some farmers were not happy with USDA policies, and some agriculture commodity groups were not happy with some of the decisions that Vilsack made. Earlier this year, he miffed the cotton growers when he decided cotton would not be redefined as an oilseed crop to qualify for higher farm program payments than what the cotton industry initially wanted in the 2014 Farm Bill. Without political baggage, and seen as friendly in farm country, Vilsack would have been a polar opposite to Mrs. Clinton. And while many agriculturally-oriented voters opposed her tendencies toward increased regulations that would be adverse to agriculture, Vilsack could have mitigated that opposition to some extent. However, he would be in the top level of government to ensure some of those proposed regulations would have never have seen the light of day. After all, he would have been No. 2 in the administration. Today, Vilsack has been slow to clean out his desk at Fourteen and Independence in Washington, and has been appearing at a considerable number of speaking engagements. His message is that the political heavyweights, no matter who they are, should not discount the rural American voter. He is pointing to achievements of the USDA, which included declining poverty rates in rural America, and a slowing of the migration from a rural home to an urban home and job. While USDA is known for farm programs and food stamps, there are many others in rural America who never come in contact with either. They may be landowners interested in USDA conservation program funding, or small town mayors needing Rural Development to fund a new community water system, and a myriad of other potential voters who remember that the USDA serves just about everyone in rural America, as well as the hungry in urban America. Vilsack knows those folks, and they know him, and whether he seeks another political office is unknown, maybe even to him at this point. However, the political historians will certainly write about how close Hillary Clinton came to being elected, and some may even point to her decision not to choose Tom Vilsack who could have delivered more rural votes when they were needed. Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) May Come In Four Color Options | TechTree.com Amidst all the rumours that are surfacing lately regarding Samsungs upcoming smartphone, Galaxy A5 (2017), a recent one claims that the new smartphone may come in four color options including Black, Gold, Pink, and Blue. This new rumour comes via a recent tweet by Rolan Quandt, who is a popular tipster, known for his accuracy. For many this may not sound surprising as the Galaxy A5 (2016) variant also came in four color options. However, to refresh your minds, the blue color variant was not available, and instead, we had witnessed a white variant. As far as other specs are concerned, heres is what we know so far. The Galaxy A5 (2017) model is expected to sport a 5.2 inch display screen, with Exynos 7880 Processor powering it under the hood. Also, we may expect a 3 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage, 13 MP primary camera, and a 3,000 mAh battery. However, some sources do claim that the smartphone may come with a 32 GB internal storage as well. To remind you, Android Authority had recently leaked out a couple of images and videos showing the rendering of the Galaxy A5 (2017) smartphone, which resembles the round edges on the back, pretty much like the Galaxy S7. It is also expected that the smartphone may come with USB Type C port, while Android 6.0 Marshmallow may come out-of-the-box. TAGS: Samsung OnePlus Launches Merchandise Store In India | TechTree.com OnePlus is one of the fastest rising brand in the industry. Its OnePlus 3 is a fine example of style, performance, and excellent pricing. Little wonder then, it is our first choice in the list of best sub-30k handsets. However, if your love for OnePlus extends beyond its handsets, there's a good new for you. The Chinese brand has launched its official gear e-store in India. From the portal, you can buy OnePlus branded bags and T-shits. Currently, the catalogue is quite limited to backpacks, travel Bags, and T-shirts in black, grey, and white. So if you happen to be a OnePlus fan, head over to this website to grab the merchandise. On a side note, OnePlus India is teasing the launch of its latest flagship OnePlus 3T. How would you like us to reveal the #OnePlus3T launch date for India? Vote now: https://t.co/uyxr2ObX3r pic.twitter.com/HUbxqjuL7R OnePlus India (@OnePlus_IN) November 23, 2016 TAGS: OnePlus This Israeli firm steals data of a phone in seconds Israeli firm Cellebrite, one of the worlds leading hacking companies tat specializes in extracting information from cell phones in seconds, has shown how they can pull data from a locked smartphone, thereby exposing the vulnerabilities that worry privacy advocates. The company has contracts in more than 115 countries, of which many are with governments. The company came to limelight in March when it was reported that the FBI used its technology to crack the San Bernardino shooters iPhone. Since then, there have been reports that Cellebrite was not involved, and the company also refuses to comment. Nevertheless, it is known as one of the worlds leaders in such technology. It can apparently take a wide range of information from devices, such as from the content of text messages to actual details of where a person was at any given point of time. Even messages can be possibly retrieved that were deleted years before. There are many devices that we are the only player in the world that can unlock, Leeor Ben-Peretz, one of the companys top executives, told AFP in English. But, such powerful technology can end up in the hands of wrong people, leading to exploits, worry privacy and rights activists. Cellebrites technology only works when the phone is physically connected to one of the firms devices and it does not work on online hacking. Recently, its capabilities were demonstrated by the company for an AFP journalist. The password on a phone was disabled and newly taken photos appeared on a computer screen, complete with the exact location and time they were taken. The extraction did not take long, as the phone in the demonstration, an LG G4 that ran on Googles Android operating system, is a model that Cellebrite had already hacked. Ben-Peretz agrees that the real challenge is to stay ahead in a race where phone manufacturers launch new models at regular intervals and update software with ever more complex security. The companys lab has 15,000 phones with around 150-200 new models added each month. Ben-Peretz said that when a new phone is launched, their research team of 250 people fights against competitors to find a clink in its armour, a process that can take a few days and go on for months. Source: securityweek The FBI warns of potential attacks in U.S. after similar crimes in Taiwan and Thailand Earlier this year, the cybercriminals in Taiwan and Thailand programmed bank ATMs by making its gang members stand in front of the machines at the appointed hour in order to collect millions of dollars. Apparently, the cybercriminals are now targeting the banks own computers, with often-dramatic results. Earlier this month, U.S. banks were warned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the possibility for similar attacks. In a bulletin, the FBI said that it is monitoring emerging reports indicating that well-resourced and organized malicious cyber actors have intentions to target the U.S. financial sector. Buhtrap, a Russian gang was mentioned by the FBI bulletin using the software. Buhtrap and other gangs enhanced their techniques on Russian banks, and then expanded to other countries, say computer-security specialists. While there are times, the hackers break into the systems that process transactions on banking payment networks, other times they have hit ATM networks directly. In Taiwan, on July 10, the Taipei city police received a report of currency lying on a First Commercial Bank ATM in the citys Daan Precinct. Soon, reports of loose cash at other ATMs started trickling in. A few days later, in a written statement, police said that ATMs were abnormally spitting out bills. By July 11, the criminals without using ATM cards had collected more than 83 million New Taiwan dollars (US$2.6 million) in cash. Twenty-two people, mostly from Eastern Europe, waited at the ATMs to remove the money. Later, three suspects were arrested and over NT$77 million recovered. A First Commercial spokeswoman acknowledged that the banks ATM systems were attacked in July. The criminals broke into computers at First Commercials London office on May 31, believe the investigators. Once the criminals were inside the network, they sent a malicious software update to the companys 41 PC1500 ATMs, which is built by Wincor Nixdorf AG of Germany. After testing their system on July 9, they instructed the ATMs to empty their cash-carrying cassettes the next day. Wincor Nixdorf did not comment when contacted by The Wall Street Journal. According to the FBI bulletin, the Government Savings Bank in Thailand was hit with a similar attack the next month. Government Savings Bank couldnt be reached for comment by WSJ. Hackers sent fraudulent phishing emails to both the Taiwan and Thailand banks and disguised it to look like messages from ATM vendors or other banks broke, the FBI said. The attacks show hackers capability of conducting low-risk, high-impact attacks, the FBI added. Whether the Taiwan attack was related to the Thai case could not be confirmed by a Taipei City police spokesman; however, he said that the features were alike. The attacks demonstrate a new technique for cybercriminals, who hit ATMs with fraudulent cards or traditionally stole money from consumer banking accounts or other tricks on a single machine. Some criminals have turned to bank networks, breaking in and then discovering ways to make dozens of machines unload their cash at the same time over the past 18 months. These guys, who could have been in the past just going after consumersare breaking into financial institutions, said Eric Chien, technical director of Symantec Corp.s Security Technology and Response division. Malicious software used on ATMs had resulted in more than $300 million in losses, said Taipei police in July, who worked with the FBI on the First Commercial Bank investigation. In a written statement, the FBI said it routinely advises private industry of various cyber threat indicators observed during the course of our investigations. A small group of elite hacking groups is carrying out the attacks, say the investigators. The skill level to create the malware for the actual network intrusions is a step up, from more common ATM crimes, said Robert McArdle, a security researcher with antivirus vendor Trend Micro Inc. U.S. ATMs happen to be newer and difficult to attack than overseas systems, though some are just as ill-protected, says Symantecs Mr. Chien. Almost one-quarter of the institutions hit with another type of Russian malware, known as Odinaff, which targets financial-transaction systems, are in the U.S. said Symantec. Dmitry Volkov, head of cyberintelligence with Russian cybersecurity vendor Group-IB, has spent years tracking Russian-based groups that hack into financial institutions, particularly to steal money by exploiting bank payment systems. The Buhtrap group carried out 13 successful attacks against Russian banks, stealing more than $25 million through the nations bank-clearinghouse system, during the six months ended in February 2016, he said. Earlier this year, an unhappy Buhtrap member released the computer code to carry out the attacks, which is now being used by others, Mr. Volkov said. Another group called Cobalt, which is connected to Buhtrap, has been targeting banks in Europe and Asia too since the summer, he said. Source: WSJ DECATUR -- A year ago at this time, Bettina Ryan didnt have a place to sleep at night. Ryan moved back to Decatur in 2006 from Mounds in southern Illinois. By the summer of 2014, she was homeless. For close to two years, finding a place to rest her head at night was a constant struggle. When it was warm enough, she slept outside. When it got cold, she slept at the homes of family and friends, and took turns paying for cheap motel rooms when she had the money. Eventually, Ryan found a part-time job with the Salvation Army. It didnt give her enough money for a place of her own, but it was a start. During the summer Id sleep outside, go down to the police station to wash up and change my clothes, then my brother and son, who were also on the street, would carry my sleeping bag back and forth until I got off work, Ryan said. Ryan had known about Oasis Day Center, 243 W. Cerro Gordo St., since she first moved back to Decatur. But as Ryan worked to find additional employment and get off the street, Oasis became essential to her. It gave me a place to take a shower, wash my clothes, and I was able to store my personal belongings in a locker there and get some sleep there during the day, because I worked nights, Ryan said. I was down and out, and I just needed some support. When youre in this situation, you dont know how much it means to you. When you cant take a shower and youre going around smelly -- you cant keep a job and no one wants to be around you. Thank God theres a place like this that exists. From her job at the Salvation Army, Ryan got to know someone who also worked at Oasis. Ryans co-worker told her a part-time job at Oasis was opening up. She put in an application, got the job, and in April, began renting a house of her own. The part-time income from the Salvation Army wasnt enough to pay rent and keep the utilities up, Ryan said. When I got the job at Oasis, I was able to pay my rent with one check and my utilities with the other. Ryan isnt the only person who has used Oasis to get back on their feet. According to Oasis Director Todd Tuggle, from July 1, 2014 to July 1, 2015, Oasis served 2,282 different people -- enough to fill Millikins Kirkland Fine Arts Center. Oasis, which is funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services, United Way, Decatur Township and private donations, serves homeless adults and those with multiple diagnoses of substance abuse and/or mental illness. Its open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., 365 days a year. Those who go to Oasis can take a hot shower every day -- Tuggle said about 213 showers a month are taken at Oasis. If approved by Tuggle, Oasis clients can also do two loads of laundry a week -- the washer and dryer at Oasis do around 60 to 65 loads a week. All those things that you and I tend to take for granted, those are the things that Oasis offers, Tuggle said. Oasis provides towels and washcloths that are donated and washed every day using the washing machine and dryer on site. Lockers for personal items are also available. Clients can get coffee from 7 to 9:30 a.m., then from 1 to 2 p.m., and Oasis also provides breakfast. Tuggle said clients can walk three blocks north to the Good Samaritan Inn for lunch, though sometimes Oasis will have lunch donated from the Decatur Club. We have a neat partnership with the Decatur Club where, if they have big banquets and there are leftovers, they bring it to us, Tuggle said. To see homeless people eating stuffed mushrooms and chicken cordon bleu is kind of unique. For anyone needing medical services, a medical assistant and physicians assistant from Crossing Healthcare staffs a nurses office at Oasis every Thursday morning. Anyone needing state identification can get that process started at Oasis. The Secretary of States Office has a program that if we certify that a person is homeless, we have notaries who come in three times a week who can notarize the document certifying theyre homeless, and they can take that document to the Secretary of States office and get an ID for free, Tuggle said. Youll have to have some other forms of ID to prove youre who you say you are -- a birth certificate or social security card. We dont help with that, but the Northeast Community Fund people will if they need it. But that ID is so important. If you dont have an ID, you cant get social security, a job, a LINK card or even a library card. Once you get that ID, the world opens up. Other services include use of the phone, mail service and a computer with internet that can be used to fill out job applications. Free haircuts are available occasionally, and reading glasses, hats, gloves and coats are also available for those who need them. We get those by donation and were always looking for more, Tuggle said. But when it comes to gloves, dont bring us those one-size-fits-all knit ones. Those are OK for if youre walking to your car, but if youre living outside, you need warm, waterproof, insulated gloves. Tuggle didnt want to use the individuals name, but said there was someone who began coming into Oasis in recent years who would occasionally become violent. He would make threats to other people, and could have potentially been you know those folks who go into places and shoot them up? That could have been him, Tuggle said. He was that angry. And he would sometimes say those kinds of things. Tuggle said it got to the point where the individual was making the other clients at Oasis uncomfortable. Tuggle met with the Heritage Behavioral Health Centers crisis team -- Oasis is a Heritage service -- and the decision was made to involuntarily commit the individual. For him, for public safety and for the best interest of Heritage, it was the right thing to do, Tuggle said. The individual was taken to the hospital and was there several days. The person got on medication, and eventually came back to Oasis. He was a different man, Tuggle said. He was given one of the best case workers Heritage has and got the help he needed. Hes in an apartment now and when he comes to Heritage, hes kind and loving. Hes still ornery, but his life has been radically changed since he first came through that front door. We hear those situations on TV and we say, Why didnt somebody do something? Well, we did, and hes doing great. "The summit is being held under complex and sensitive regional and international circumstances," Algeria's President pointed out. | Read More Heads up to prevent injury from falls Morning walks in my neighborhood are one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. I love the coolness of daybreak and the special sightings of the stag and two does that frequent our open space. I also enjoy my walk because each day at... Signs that point to the best time for retirement Ive been thinking a lot about retirement lately. One of our amazing staff members, who has been with Senior Concerns for the last 13 years, retired last month. It just doesnt seem real. I always thought of Dana as young. Certainly not the person to... Rethinking the mandatory retirement age How old is too old for working at a job? Last week a news story hit my inbox and it really got me to thinking about age and retirement. The article noted that Target Corp. abandoned its mandatory retirement age of 65 for its CEO,... Tips to promoting a healthy nights sleep for children Question: Help, please. My daughter is almost 2 years old and has been an easy child to put into her own bed. Yet in the past few weeks she is purposefully stretching out the bedtime routine longer and longer. She wants more: more stories, more... Oksana Mousaelyan On November 22, The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published a report on its fourth periodic visit to Armenia, which took place from 5 to 15 October 2015, together with the response of the Armenian Government. Both documents have been made public at the request of the Armenian authorities. Below is an interview with George Tugushi, a member of the CPT and head of CPTs jurisprudence group who visited Armenia to prepare the report. Could you compare the progress of Armenia in the areas mentioned in the published European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment report with the previous assessments done by CPT. What essentially changed? It is not the first time I am visiting Armenia. I guess this is at least my third visit. Thus, I had the possibility to also observe the dynamics, the progress made in certain areas, and the remaining problems from the past. We have visited several police places. We have visited several prisons and mental hospitals. I mainly was specializing on police establishments and penitentiary institutions. I have to say that when it comes to the issues related to the police and treatment of people apprehended by the police, as the report indicates, we have noticed some progress, because this time we received less allegations of police ill-treatment than during the previous visits. Actually, most of the allegations received refer to the excessive use of force upon apprehension. And, yes, some improvements were registered in these areas. However, there are still indications that ill-treatment by police is not entirely eradicated, and this problem exists to a certain extent. Also, I have to say, while checking some of the medical registers, especially in the central detention facility of Yerevan, we clearly found indications that ill-treatment still occurs. But we also had the possibility of looking into the operation of the Special Investigation Service (SIS). While examining the files at the investigation files handed by the SIS, the impression was also rather positive about the complaints that have been handled by the SIS. We saw that they were trying to do their job. That is a positive development. When it comes to legal safeguards against illegal treatment, and the access to safeguards, the prevention of liberty, one of the problems that was indicated in the past reports is the so-called informal questioning, when you are invited to the polices for informal questioning and then you might end up being charged. So, that remains as a serious matter of concern; where the safeguards are not applicable because you are invited for so-called informal talks by the police and then, it might happen, that these informal talks are actually used to elicit confessions, and you might stay in the police for many hours and sometimes even up to two days before formerly being declared a criminal suspect. We also focused on the prisons, and visited several penitentiary institutions including the Nubarashen prison and the newly built Armavir prison. We also went to Vanadzor prison, and we also concentrated on the Yerevan-Kenton prison and central prison hospital, with a focus on the psychiatric ward of this prison. When it comes to material conditions, the situation is very bad in Nubarashen prison. It was severely overcrowded. The material conditions were appalling. Many of the cells were dilapidated and in a poor state of repair. There was also a striking difference observed in conditions of particular prisoners, and we clearly indicated that corruption remains a problem in the Armenian prison system. We also had the chance to see the new Armavir prison, Unfortunately, while the material conditions there are relatively much better, its a completely new institution and it already has some problems when it comes to installations and the maintenance. It looks like the quality of the work done was not good and it already requires some renovation. In several cells, there is humidity on the walls and pipes are not in good shape. The number of allegations against ill-treatment by police is mentioned in the report as a small number. Is this decrease because of improvement in the system or any other reason related to the general number of detentions in the responding period, for example? Usually, when the CPT visits a country, and not for the first time, there are not too many people in the temporary detention facilities. On the other hand, sure, we always have a possibility to interview people in remote prisons, where they are taken to from police custody. Our impression was that ill-treatment by the police still exists, but to a lesser extent than in the past. It is clearly stated in the report. There is an issue with the excessive use of force, mainly during apprehension. But I also must say there is a decrease, in our opinion, and this is a positive trend. Because of improvement in the system? It looks like, when I mentioned especially SIS is working, I mean it might also be a reflection when cases are investigated, and somehow at least impunity is addressed on some level. It can also be a clear indication that assistance has been given to decrease incidents of ill-treatment by the police. But the problem remains, which we clearly stated in the report When you deal with corruption in prisons and penitentiary establishments, do you have examples of corruption cases? If you look at the previous reports to the Armenian government, you will see that we have noticed, for example, that some prisoners enjoying far better conditions of detention than the majority. Thus, this is also one clear indication that those who are able to contribute financially to their well-being have better conditions. That is all I can say for the time being. We are not an anti-corruption body, but surely we have our own view when we visit particular countries. In the prisons, there are certain indications, which clearly provide you with an overview of the situation. Thus, it was unfortunate to again observe such favorable conditions granted to particular prisoners while others are kept in very bad conditions. To what extent does the government of Armenia cooperate with the CPT? Is it rational to expect the government to implement all the recommendations in the report within 6 months? We continue the exchange of views on the implementation of the recommendations, and we also hope that many of our recommendations will be addressed in the nearest future, because at least there is a will to implement many of them. On the other hand, we will surely continue keeping an eye on the developments, and we do not rule out visiting again, not just periodically. We might come to Armenia sometime afterwards to observe the progress. But six months is the period for the Armenian authorities to respond, which they must send. Whenever we plan a visit, we do not announce it in advance. After a Baton Rouge Police officer shot and killed Alton Sterling in July, hundreds took to the city's streets in protest. Now, City Hall will pay out a few hundred dollars apiece to more than 90 protesters, including Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson, who sued the city after their arrests. The Metro Council voted Tuesday evening to approve the settlement in the federal class-action lawsuit. The settlement, about $100,000 in total, will be borne by four agencies paying no more than $25,000 each: the city government, Louisiana State Police, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's Office. Parish Attorney Lea Anne Batson said the city plans to pay $230 to each of the 92 plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The rest of the money under the $25,000 cap for the city-parish will go toward bonding fees, attorney's fees and other costs, Batson said. East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III had said his office will not prosecute Mckesson and the other protesters booked on misdemeanor counts of obstructing a highway. But the protesters' lawsuit says Mckesson and the others were still required to post substantial bail, pay administrative fees and court costs in order to be released, and that they would have to pay more to have their arrests expunged. +3 Lawsuit challenging arrests during Alton Sterling protests could soon reach settlement Settlement talks that one attorney described as "fruitful" could resolve a lawsuit Black Liv Their lawsuit alleges police were militarized and aggressive in their response to the protesters, and that law enforcement used "unconstitutional tactics" to infringe upon the protesters' First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly. Metro Councilman John Delgado was furious about the settlement payout, and was one of two on the 12-member body to vote against approving it. "To me, this encourages that type of behavior to happen in the future," Delgado said. "I have no interest in paying $100,000 in taxpayer dollars to people who are coming into our city to protest." But Batson said the price is much smaller than what the city could be paying if just one of the 92 plaintiffs could prove that they had been wrongfully arrested. The protests and arrests came after cell phone videos emerged showing a Baton Rouge Police officer shooting and killing Sterling outside a convenience store in north Baton Rouge. Batson said fewer than 10 percent of the protesters in the class-action lawsuit were from out of town. Attorney Roy Rodney Jr. represented Mckesson and the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit. A Baton Rouge police officer also filed a lawsuit earlier this month against Mckesson and Black Lives Matter. The officer, who is unnamed in the lawsuit, said he lost teeth and sustained other injuries during the protests after Sterling's death. His lawsuit against Mckesson accuses the activist of inciting violence. +2 BRPD officer injured during Black Lives Matter protest sues DeRay McKesson, national organization A Baton Rouge police officer who lost teeth and suffered other injuries during a protest out In the matter of Mckesson's lawsuit against the city, Delgado and Councilman Scott Wilson voted against settling the suit and doling out $25,000 from the city-parish. Council members Chandler Loupe, Trae Welch, Chauna Banks, Erika Green, Donna Collins-Lewis, LaMont Cole, Joel Boe and Tara Wicker voted to approve it. Ryan Heck did not vote and Buddy Amoroso was absent from the meeting. A private company will start running the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison's health care operations next year after Metro Council members said Tuesday they had to put aside emotional pleas from prison nurses and do the right thing to make government more efficient. The possibility of privatizing the prison's medical operations has been on the table for months now, but a group of prison health care workers helped to stall the process after telling Metro Council members they were getting a bad deal. But on Tuesday, the Metro Council approved a contract to privatize the prison's health care. The nurses complained more than a year ago that they were dangerously understaffed, needed more supplies and better direction. Over the past few months, many nurses have questioned whether they cost themselves their jobs by speaking out. Metro Councilwoman Chauna Banks warned Tuesday that the council could see unintended consequences as a result of the nurses losing their jobs. For-profit, Georgia-based CorrectHealth LLC will take over prison medical operations on Jan. 1, 2017. CorrectHealth's president, Carlo Musso, said the company has offered the prison health care workers jobs with, at minimum, the same salary levels they currently are paid. He said most of the workers will receive raises by working for his company. But the nurses argued they will lose their generous city-parish benefits, retirement packages and perks like money they receive each year to purchase new uniforms. City-parish Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel also said the city-parish has tried to find jobs for the nurses within City Hall, though they would not be able to still work in nursing. "We've moved mountains to try to find these people comparable jobs so that they can keep their benefits," Daniel said. Under the one-year contract, the city-parish will pay CorrectHealth $5.29 million. A year from now, the Metro Council can choose whether to continue the contract for a second year, and they can choose after the second year whether to approve the contract for a third year. The prison's health care costs have been growing for years, and the responsibility for paying for it has recently fallen to the city-parish. The city budgeted $4.86 million for prison medical services for 2016, but is on track to spend $5.3 million. Prisoners used to receive what was essentially free treatment at the state-run LSU Earl K. Long Medical Center before then-Gov. Bobby Jindal privatized state hospitals and Earl K. Long closed in 2013. The state's Department of Corrections now reimburses the city-parish for "medically necessary" trips to the hospital, but Daniel reminded council members on Tuesday that many of those hospital visits are not covered. He said CorrectHealth would bring a higher standard of care to the prison, and that taxpayers and prisoners would win with the approval of the contract. Still, not all of the council members saw it that way. "We always try to make sure that our desire to be a more efficient government also doesn't hurt our employees," said Metro Councilwoman Tara Wicker. CorrectHealth runs health care operations for dozens of prisons across southeastern U.S., including the prisons in Louisiana parishes such as Jefferson, Plaquemines, Lafourche, Iberia, St. Mary, St. Bernard and Tangipahoa. At Metro Council meeting, doctor at Baton Rouge prison says facility 'not the best place to work' Medical services at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison are improving, but the nurses who wor The East Baton Rouge prison's nurses said they wished the Metro Council members would have considered other companies to run health care operations at the prison, including Correct Care Solutions, which gave a presentation on Monday. They questioned why Daniel and other political leaders did not ask for requests for proposals from a wide circle of potential prison medical providers. Daniel said, though, that the city-parish needed to move quickly on the contract and that CorrectHealth has won contracts through the RFP process in other parishes as well. He said privatization is "the future of health care operations," but union representatives for city-parish workers disagreed and asked for the new administration taking over next year to make the call instead. Metro Council members Joel Boe, Donna Collins-Lewis, John Delgado, Erika Green, Ryan Heck, Chandler Loupe, Trae Welch and Scott Wilson eventually voted in favor of the contract. Banks and LaMont Cole voted against it. Wicker abstained, and Buddy Amoroso was not at the meeting. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. A unique case involving a marijuana-stuffed salmon and a Baton Rouge man facing drug and gun charges could soon land on the U.S. Supreme Court's docket. In what is being described as an unknown area of law, Jacson Moore and his attorney are asking the nation's top court to reverse a Louisiana appeals court and disallow evidence the vacuum-sealed bundles of salmon filled with 6 pounds of marijuana seized by Baton Rouge police in 2012. Rodney Messina, who represents Moore, contends narcotics officers lied to Moore when they stopped his car, told him they were investigating an armed robbery and asked for permission to search his car. East Baton Rouge Parish prosecutors say Moore, 43, not only consented to the warrantless search of his car, where the fish was discovered, and home, where a gun and more marijuana were found, but also did so in writing. Prosecutors contend the searches were valid. Moore only seeks to suppress the evidence seized from his car. The officers, according to Messina, had noticed a suspicious incoming package at the UPS processing center in Port Allen on Nov. 9, 2012. Suspecting that it might contain drugs, the officers allowed the package to be delivered to a Bob Pettit Boulevard apartment while they watched. Moore retrieved the package from his doorstep, went inside and eventually came out with a Styrofoam cooler that he put in the trunk of his car. Police a short time later stopped the car. Moore allegedly told police the cooler contained salmon sent to him by his aunt. Police cut the fish open and found the marijuana. In a legal brief filed at the Supreme Court, Messina claims the officers did not have probable cause to believe contraband was in the car, and he says Moore's consent to search the car was not freely and voluntarily given because officers lied about investigating a robbery. Messina acknowledges that officers can use deception during interrogations, but he stresses that such interrogations must be preceded by police informing the suspect of certain constitutional rights, such as the right to remain silent. "There is a distinction between misleading a defendant once he has relinquished a Constitutional right versus misleading a defendant in order to cause him to relinquish a Constitutional right," he argues in the Supreme Court documents. Messina calls the officers' conduct "a reckless disregard for an individual's Constitutional rights." The lie they told, he adds, was "calculated and intended" to induce Moore's consent to search his car. State District Judge Bonnie Jackson, who is presiding over Moore's case in the 19th Judicial District Court, threw out the evidence confiscated by police. She agreed last fall with Messina that Moore consented to the vehicle search based on the lie police told him about probing an armed robbery. A three-judge panel of the state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge reversed Jackson by a 2-1 vote last December, with Chief Judge Vanessa Whipple and fellow Circuit Judge Wayne Ray Chutz calling Moore's consent free and voluntary. The dissenting circuit judge, Jewel "Duke" Welch, said consent cannot be knowingly and intelligently given "when predicated on a lie by the police." The state Supreme Court, which did not hold a hearing, voted 5-2 to let the appellate court ruling stand. Justice John Weimer, one of the dissenters, said the court should have heard the case, noting that it poses a "vexing question" to which he does not know the answer. Justice Scott Crichton, the other dissenting justice, said cases involving deception to gain consent to search a vehicle are rare, and neither the Louisiana high court nor the U.S. Supreme Court has directly confronted the issue. Crichton also questioned "whether the fish search passes the `smell test.' " The state Supreme Court, he said, has ruled previously that officers "slightly" misstating the purpose of a search does not automatically invalidate a person's consent. In his brief to the nation's highest court, Messina says the Moore case presents "an unknown area of law." He argues that a consent to search obtained by deceptive tactics is not a valid consent to search. "The idea of police using deceptive tactics to obtain consent seems an oxymoron. How can one freely and voluntarily consent to a search based on a lie?" Messina asks. "The officers ... did not slightly misstate their purpose. Rather, their purpose was a blatant lie to look for drugs. Why not ask him to search the vehicle for drugs? If he says no, the officers should have grounds for a warrant." Messina concedes that law enforcement officials must devise effective weapons for fighting the "war on drugs." "But the effectiveness is not proof of its constitutionality," he stresses to the nation's top court. Historically, the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear only a small fraction of the cases sent its way. In one of the few head-to-head appearances before voting begins, runoff candidates for mayor-president landed a few hits on each other but gently. It was clear at the forum before the Press Club of Baton Rouge that Sharon Weston Broome, a former state senator, and Bodi White, representing the northern part of the parish, remain comfortable tangling with each other, as they had when both served in the Legislature. They were on opposite sides in the Senate during the hotly contested St. George attempt to pull out of the city-parish government, but White jibed that Broome was not always so inclined, having voted for earlier Baker and Zachary school systems. In a short question-and-answer format, the significant differences from those earlier issues were not addressed; the failed petition drive was to create a new city en route to the St. George school system. Those folks just wanted better schools for their kids, White said. But the separatist petition drive and legislation, the one thing for which White is probably best-known parishwide, was financially far more radical, reaching out of the St. George residential area to seize sales and property tax revenues from the Mall of Louisiana. It could have crippled local governments and particularly the East Baton Rouge school system. It is that kind of ultraconservative stand that White is now having to play down, because hes running in a wider constituency than the rock-ribbed Republicans of Central. Hes not fleeing his old stands still backing school choice, for example, but always in context of doing what he can for the success of the EBR schools. Together Baton Rouge grills candidates on law enforcement, tax exemptions, flood relief and addressing 'food deserts' A church-full of Together Baton Rouge voters secured a number of campaign promises from Demo In a runoff, Broome aides said, the electorate is historically about 55 percent or so white voters. Yet those have backed Mayor-President Kip Holden three times, and what the English call the floating voters are moderates, including many Republicans, in south Baton Rouge neighborhoods. Broome doesnt have to get all of them but to win she must position herself as the moderate alternative, a black Democrat who opposed the continuous dialogue of division and subtraction. And it is not only White who seeks to create some distance from old positions. Asked about the fairness ordinance rejected by the Metro Council, creating workplace protections for gay and lesbian residents, the candidates dodged by saying how much they abhor discrimination. While perhaps sincere, neither candidate would have been a likely Senate vote for anything approaching a gay-rights bill. Significantly, though, Broome volunteered that she would keep in place the workplace protections for gay city-parish workers set by Mayor-President Bobby Simpson, a Republican, and his successor Holden. And as for a wider ordinance Shreveport and New Orleans have them, as do most progressive cities in the United States Broome said it was a Metro Council matter but she did not want to be obstructionist. That kind of shading of opinion represents a clear bid for moderate votes. While there are relatively few gay voters, the issue has become a proxy for openness and toleration of differing views, across party lines. It was a telegram from Broome to the moderates south of Florida Boulevard. The targets of the debate were thus not the two genial combatants, in a good-natured back and forth, but the swing votes that each will need to expand his or her territory from the primary. Email Lanny Keller at lkeller@theadvocate.com. Yerevan State Medical University took out five loans totaling US$8.5 million with banks in Armenia from 2012-2015, according to data provided by Armenias Control Chamber (a government auditing agency). As of July 1, 2016, the universitys loan portfolio was: ArdShinInvestBank Loan of US$25million taken in March 2012. Paid in full. ArdShinInvestBank Loan of $1 million taken in June 2012.Paid in full. ArdShinInvestBank Loan of $1 million taken in July 2012. Paid in full Interest on the above three loans amounted to $934,400. HSBC Armenia Loan of $1.5 million taken in May 2013. Paid in full. Interest $326,600. ArdShinBank Loan of $2.5 million taken in June 2015. Principal must be paid by June 2017. Interest of $160,600. The Control Chamber (CC) says that the first three loans were for current expenses. The other two were for salary payments. The CC says that before the loans were paid off, new loans were taken to pay the interest on the previous ones. Total interest paid was $1,421,600. Studying the universitys balance in the five banks the CC reported that from August 1, 2015 to the last day of the year, the amount fluctuated between 261.9 million AMD and 1.221 billion AMD. From January 1, 2016 to June 1, 2016 the balance fluctuated from 797.4 million AMD to 947.6 million. Thus, when the university did have money in the bank, it donated large sums to various charitable activities. For example, it allocated 78 million AMD (around $163,000) to Armenias Youth Foundation and 28.2 million AMD (around $59,000) to the Student Council. The university allocated another 30.4 million AMD to various organizations for various purposes. The CC concluded that had the university spent its money more wisely, it could have avoided assuming so much debt and close to $1.5 million in interest payments. Photo: tert.am Authorities have booked three young men in a string of armed robberies in New Orleans, including a recent carjacking in which a woman was shot. Thanks to the recent strength in the price of iron ore mining giant Rio Tinto looks set to deliver $10 billion in operating cash flow in 2017 in and will generate $5 billion in extra free cash flow over the next five years by slashing operational costs across its global empire. The company's new chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques is turbo charging the cost and efficiency drive as part of a broader strategy to prioritise value over volume - in a move that will see the end of the big additions to supply and the return to a focus on judicious capital expenditure and a more conservative balance sheet. Rio took the opportunity of the investor strategy update to escalate its fight against the West Australian Nationals push for an additional tax on iron ore which it said would increase its cost base by $1.5 billion per year. Iron ore boss, Chris Salisbury described the proposed tax as unfair, discriminatory and bad for business, Western Australia, Australia and the mining industry in general. Asset disposals will continue in 2017 and debt is being purchased or repaid in order to strengthen the company's foundations to enable it to weather this period of global geo-political uncertainty and market volatility. "It was as though every vendor woke up in the New Year and made a resolution not to sell." These were the words McGrath Ltd's chairman, Cass O'Connor, used to explain why things had gone so horribly wrong for the real estate group since it publicly listed in December last year. She told investors at the McGrath shareholder meeting on Wednesday that rocketing real estate prices have created "an environment in which vendors are reticent to sell, fearing they will not get back into the market." This is bad news for real estate operators like McGrath which is heavily reliant on property sales turnover for it's earnings. The cost of renting a home in Melbourne is rapidly becoming even less affordable, according to an index of property rental prices to be released on Wednesday. While Sydney is the country's least affordable place to rent, Melbourne has seen the biggest increase in prices since 2013, the Rental Affordability Index shows. The Rental Affordability Index shows the average household that rents spends around 24 per cent of its total income on rent. The index shows that the areas in both Melbourne and Sydney with the most affordable housing are the worst connected to services and are the hardest to get to jobs from. 1. Create a farm website. 2. Create a Facebook Farm Page. Why should you have a website? A website is important because you need to have something online that will represent your farm 24/7. It should be as simple and as beautiful as your farm. Another reason is that you dont want your online farm showcase to be sitting on rented ground like a Facebook Page or Instagram business page. For instance, your Facebook profile and pages are not owned by you, and without your control they can change the way you interact with your followers. You can easily build a website these days using systems like Wordpress, Square Space, Weebly or Wix. They dont cost what they used to and are definitely easier to control. On the homepage, you should put some pictures of the farm and your animals. Visitors should know its a farm website by looking at the page for five seconds. For the navigation of the website, you should start with basic sections. Each section answers a different set of questions that you would get from a consumer. About us This section should answer Why do you farm? and Can you tell me the history of your farm? Our cows Here you should answer all the questions you get about the cows like What do cows eat? and How does a cow make milk? Our products This part of the website should explain Where does your milk go? and Where can I buy it? Tours This section should answer the question, Can I visit the farm? Even if they cant, you should have a visual tour of the farm through photos or videos explaining all the aspects of your farm. Contact us This page should let people know Who can I reach out to about the farm? and make sure it connects with your social media channels like your Facebook Farm Page. Once you have the website done, you wont have to update it too often as long as it contains the latest changes to your farm. Why should you have a Facebook Farm Page? Facebook is about four times as large as all the other social media platforms. It is by far the most active, and consumers are spending a lot of time on it. It also gives you direct access to them and a way to communicate in real time, which isnt available on most websites. If you have a Facebook Profile, you can build a Facebook Farm page. Heres a link to the steps on how to set one up. Once the Facebook Page is set up, almost everything you do can be handled by your smartphone. Youll want to download the Facebook Page app for easier access to your Facebook Farm Page. Why should you shoot video and photos of the farm and share them? The first benefit it if you share photos or videos, you dont have to write very much. I hear from many farmers that they find writing painful to do. Youll also be happy to hear that most people love videos and photos more than reading. Videos and photos are much easier to do because all you have to do is point your smartphone and shoot. Second, you have beautiful subjects: the farm, the animals and the lifestyle. Consumers want to see it - not just read about it. The number one thing that people love to look at is calves. If you are looking for other examples of what you should be posting online, you can check that out on my post What should you be posting on your Facebook Farm Page. Third, Facebook tends to prioritize photos and videos on peoples newsfeed. In other words, this is why when you visit Facebook you see a lot more video and photos. Take three or four minutes every couple of days, post a quick video and then write up what is happening on the farm. Fourth, by using Facebook you are actually building a digital diary of your farm that your great-great-grandkids will go check out long after we are all gone. Digital content never goes away so theyll be able to see what your life was like on the farm. What a great gift to the future. If youve got more than just a few minutes and you really want to connect with your younger consumers, then add more channels like YouTube and Instagram. Finally, once you get comfortable sharing your story, Im sure youd be interested in sharing stories about the dairy industry. Thats why your National Dairy Checkoff staff created a mobile and web application that allows you to quickly see and share positive dairy stories from anywhere. With only one click, you can share these stories to your social media channels. The app is called the Dairy Hub Amplification Center and you can join it by filling out this form. http://bit.ly/dairyampcenter If you have any questions about social media, the internet or communicating with consumers, feel free to reach out to me at don.schindler@dairy.org or you can reach me on social via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I would be happy to help you. Union boss Jim Metcher has been stripped of his executive positions with the peak NSW unions body and the NSW Labor Party in response to revelations he faced domestic violence charges against his wife and daughter nine years ago. Unions NSW said Mr Metcher, state secretary of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), has agreed to stand down from his position on its executive and from the disputes committee, at its request. Labor leader Bill Shorten. Credit:Paul Jeffers "Domestic violence is a scourge in society, one trade unions are determined to combat," Unions NSW said. Opposition leader Bill Shorten told the ABC on Wednesday morning he expected NSW Labor and unions to "act". When American-born Joe Kremer arrived in Australia in 2005 as Australian managing director of tech company Dell, after a few weeks of meetings with IT professionals he had one question: "Where were all the women?" Similarly, when Julie Bishop took over as Foreign Minister in 2013 as the only woman in Tony Abbott's ministry, all the meeting rooms at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's office building were, like the RG Casey Building itself, named for men. Raising the number of women working in IT in government and private industry has been the goal of Dell's Women in IT Executive Mentoring (WITEM) program, which Kremer set up in the December 2005. This week it celebrated a decade of mentoring female technology leaders across government and corporate Australia at a forum in Parliament House hosted by Foreign Minister Bishop. Donald Trump's explosive election win has altered the political landscape in Australia. Over the past two weeks, politicians have been pondering the question: could the Trump model of nationalism, protectionism, parochialism and trickle-down capitalism work in the Australian context? Trump, with all his grating contradictions, doesn't neatly fit into any ideological box. Some of his economic policies would make a modern-day socialist blush: reversing decades of progressive trade liberalism and rebuilding local industry among them. Daniel Andrews has been using rhetoric designed to resonate with a particular group of disillusioned voters. Credit:Justin McManus Others represent clear examples of trickle-down free market liberalism, including blowing away regulatory barriers and slashing the corporate tax rate from 35 per cent to 15 per cent. Australian politics has traditionally been played out along a clear left-right divide. But this could be changing with the realisation that, like in America, there exists a large group of disaffected voters who are increasingly distrustful of politicians and the media and care not a hoot for ideology. We know that Australia has a serious problem with obesity, particularly among our children. We know too that there are some well-established causes that governments have for years been reluctant to address, such as the high consumption of junk food and soft drinks and the relentless advertising of these aimed at children and teenagers. This week, there were calls for a tax on soft drinks based on their sugar content, aimed at tackling the obesity epidemic. While we are reluctant to support anything that increases the cost of living, The Age supports in principle the proposed tax, believing it would have minimal impact on consumers' wallets but would go a long way to addressing this very serious health issue. Consider this: about 30 per cent of adults are clinically obese and another 35 per cent are overweight. One in five children and adolescents are either overweight or obese. Obese children are highly likely to become obese adults, and those with obesity place a significant strain on the health system. They visit GPs more often, go to hospital more often and are more at risk of a range of health problems such as type 2 diabetes. According to a report by the Grattan Institute, about 10 per cent of Australia's obesity problem is caused by soft drinks. If Australia went ahead with the new tax it would be following the lead of such countries as Mexico France, Ireland, Fiji and Belgium. The experience overseas has shown that a tax on sugary soft drinks has significantly cut their consumption, by about 15 per cent. That's true, for Australia as a whole. But it isn't true in VicNSW, where one-quarter of the new net jobs have been full-time, and it certainly isn't true in Victoria, where in net terms they have almost all been full time. Kent reckons most of the collapse in full-time employment took place in just one state, Western Australia, where 49,000 full-time jobs vanished. State final demand, which is the best measure of spending and investment in an economy, sank 7.3 per cent in Western Australia and 1.6 per cent in the half of Australia outside of VicNSW. Within VicNSW it grew an impressive 3.7 per cent. Business investment collapsed 17 per cent in the rest of Australia. In VicNSW it grew 1.4 per cent. Much of the collapse was due to the winding up of mining investment, but in the rest of Australia non-mining investment fell too. By contrast in NSW non-mining investment has been growing 10 per cent per year, and it's now growing in Victoria well. It's technically true to say that on a nationwide basis non-mining investment is weak, but as Kent pointed out on Tuesday, that is scarcely the point. In VicNSW non-mining investors have been prepared to spend more, "aided by favourable financing conditions and in response to strengthening demand". In the rest of Australia they are not. If you're in SydMel, you know for a fact that home prices have been surging: they're up 9.9 per cent in the past year, much more than wages at 2 per cent. But in the other capitals they are growing at a stately 3.9 per cent, much closer to wage growth, which is also near 2 per cent. Builders have got the message. In VicNSW building approvals have climbed 4.8 per cent in the past year. Everywhere else they have fallen 7.1 per cent. Behind the storm cells, though, with be more rain and showers that should clear by about 7pm, Mr Taggart said. "We've seen the peak," said Rob Taggart, a duty forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology just after 5pm. " It looks like we've seen the last of the storms." Bands of storms were triggered as a southerly change rammed into moist airflows from the north-west, bringing gusty conditions and a rapid drop in temperatures. Storms are likely to move in from the west and reach all the way to the coast. Credit:James Alcock Some of the largest disruptions were at Sydney Airport, with ground staff cleared from the tarmac as the thunderstorms moved in. One passenger on a Jetstar flight said his plane "sat on the tarmac for an hour then headed back to refuel but now can't refuel as staff are sheltering", he said as his delay lengthened to four hours. "Obviously, there will be a major backlog." Flights were being delayed by about an hour, and travellers advised to contact their airline for updated departure times. Both domestic and international flights are facing delays, with the backlog now affecting as many as 20 planes. "We're expecting delays to occur throughout the evening and we thank our customers for the patience," a Qantas spokesman said. "When are staff are able to go back onto the tarmac, they will do their best to get customers away safely and as soon as possible." A Labor MP has opened up about her personal experience of domestic violence in a speech to Parliament that left her colleagues in tears. In a statement marking White Ribbon week, Emma Husar, the Member for Lindsay, said 29 of her 36 years had been affected by domestic violence. "The first 13 years of my life were marred with physical domestic violence, committed towards my mother, at the hands of my always drunk-when-abusive father," Ms Husar, who was elected at the July election, said. A five-minute reading check for first-graders that includes made-up words like "beff" and "shup" has dramatically improved early literacy rates in the UK and is set to be adopted in Australia. The Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham has endorsed new research which suggests the UK's Year 1 phonics screening check should be rolled out across Australian classrooms, after pledging to promote a back-to-basics approach to education in the May budget. The test would provide data on student literacy levels as well as on how effectively teachers are teaching phonics, according to the report's author, Dr Jennifer Buckingham from the Centre for Independent Studies. The federal government is threatening to make state education funding contingent on state governments implementing measures like the phonics check, after the current funding deal runs out at the end of next year. A majority of doctors support the profession being involved in assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia if laws are changed to allow it, a survey by the Australian Medical Association has found. Despite the support, the AMA has stopped short of backing calls for new laws, and says doctors should not be actively helping people die in its latest position statement on the fraught issue. President of the AMA Dr Michael Gannon said 4000 doctors responded to a survey about their views on assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia. Credit:Bohdan Warchomij President of the AMA Michael Gannon said 4000 members responded to a survey about their views on assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia recently. He said 50 per cent said doctors should not be involved in euthanasia or physician assisted suicide, 38 per cent said they should be and 12 per cent neither agreed or disagreed. A man who stabbed his friend to death, wrapped his body in a doona, and stuffed it into a car boot has been found guilty of murder. Zhen Fang, 38, had admitted to killing Ting Huang in 2014, but the jury had to determine whether he was suffering from a substantial impairment of mind at the time to reduce his culpability from murder to manslaughter. Zhen Fang was arrested at the airport in 2013. Credit:NSW Police Fang kept his head down and did not appear to react when the jury delivered their unanimous verdict in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon. As the jury left the court, he bowed towards them. Domestic violence perpetrators will no longer be able to use the excuse that they did not understand the law, with the NSW government removing complex legal jargon from new apprehended domestic violence orders. It comes after research from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research showed one in five apprehended domestic violence orders are breached, equating to almost 7700 breaches a year. The new plain-English orders, to be introduced next week, will be translated into 29 languages and worded in a way a year 7 student could understand. A warning about the potential consequences of breaching the order two years' jail and a fine of up to $5500 is prominently displayed at the top of the document, so it is the first thing perpetrators see. Dangerous conditions have forced the closure of many northern Gold Coast beaches. Red flags were flying from Surfers Beach through to Margaret Avenue at Broadbeach as powerful surf battered the coast on Wednesday. Northern Gold Coast beaches were closed on Wednesday. Credit:Robert Pearce Gold Coast chief lifeguard Warren Young said a strong swell was hitting the beaches as a result of a low off the coast. Mr Young said an update on conditions was expected on Wednesday afternoon. Disciplinary proceedings have started against 12 Queensland governmental staff following the first stage of a review into the death of toddler Mason Jet Lee. Three officers will stand down effective immediately, with pay. Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman said the report detailed "serious errors of judgment". Credit:Chris Hyde They will not return to work pending the outcome of the investigation, which could take 10 to 12 weeks. Child Safety Minister Shannon Fentiman said the systems and practice review into the department's interactions with Mason and his family was delivered to her yesterday. New apartment blocks in Melbourne's inner north should be capped at four levels, a council says. And Yarra Council has also asked the Andrews government to almost completely curtail the development of apartments along inner-city shopping strips. The original 16-storey proposal for 26-56 Queens Parade is being re-worked Credit:FloodSlicer The Greens and Socialist dominated council which covers booming development zones including Fitzroy, Richmond and Abbotsford on Tuesday night met for the first time since last month's local government elections. A controversial application by developer Gurner was before the council, for 476 apartments in North Fitzroy. Victoria's highest court has called for judges to impose tougher sentences for home invasions, in adding more than a year to a jail term for a high-profile bikie who stood at the end of a couple's bed and demanded money. Shane Bowden, a 44-year-old member of the Mongols, was jailed for three years and nine months over an aggravated burglary in South Yarra in the early hours of January 20 last year, during which two men inside the house were assaulted. Shane Scott Bowden. Credit:Facebook Bowden was armed with a knife and jemmy bar, dressed in camouflage gear and wearing night goggles when he woke the couple and demanded money. Bowden fought with the man, while the woman fled the house to raise the alarm. One of the three housemates accused of killing Bendigo mother-of-four Samantha Kelly has pleaded guilty to her murder. Peter James Arthur, 44, made the plea during a committal hearing in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court, where he appeared by video link on Wednesday morning. Ronald Lyons (left), Christine Lyons and Peter Arthur spoke to the media in February over the disappearance of Samantha Kelly. Arthur has now pleaded guilty to her murder. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer Arthur will appear at a directions hearing in the Melbourne Supreme Court next week, and he is expected to face a further plea hearing early next year. His co-accused Christine Ann Lyons, 45, and Ronald Lyons, 44, have yet to enter pleas. A man who donned camouflage gear and shot a kangaroo with a crossbow outside a family's home has been jailed for animal cruelty. But James Calleja last week claimed the media coverage of his case before the courts had "destroyed my life", and told a magistrate he had skipped a court appearance because of stress and anxiety. James Caleja was jailed for three months on Wednesday after pleading guilty to aggravated cruelty. Credit:Noni Hyett Calleja, 34, from Sunbury, had his bail revoked last Friday and was on Wednesday jailed for three months after pleading guilty to aggravated cruelty to an animal, possessing a controlled weapon without excuse and trespass. After his sentence, he asked that the crossbow be returned to his brother and asked magistrate Lance Martin if he could appeal. A local Perth school has launched a "Cinderella Project" in a bid to support students who may not be able to afford all the costs associated with the annual school ball. The project began with Butler College community member Kerry Snow and encourages Perth locals to donate their used ball gowns and suits to the school. The costs of school balls and formals have risen in recent years. Credit:Janie Barrett "We have many students in the school whose families are financially struggling and we are hoping to collect donations of ball dresses, formal gowns and even men's suits," she said. "It is our hope that not one student will miss out on such a special night because of financial restraints." A Perth police officer is being hailed as Australia's next swimming star after jumping into the Canning River to chase down a man trying to flee a Return to Prison Warrant. In a video posted on the WA Police Facebook page, the man's white van can be seen speeding along several roads in an attempt to escape, weaving in and out of traffic and even driving in the emergency lane. With police in pursuit, the man suddenly runs out of road near the Canning River, so he abandons the vehicle on Liege Street in Cannington and jumps into the water. That might have been the end of it - but an intrepid officer continued the pursuit on water, swimming freestyle behind the fleeing man, right across to the other side of the river where police were waiting. Washington: There's the presidency and then there are the President-elect's priorities. And in the past few days they seem to revolve mainly around settling scores with media heavies - executives, anchors and reporters. After days spent hammering the cast of the Broadway cult sensation Hamilton for upbraiding Vice-President-elect Mike Pence Trump and then getting stuck into Saturday Night Live for Alec Baldwin's surreally real impersonation of him, Trump lit into The New York Times (again). But on Monday he summoned heavies from the world of TV. Dozens trooped up to a 25th level conference room in Trump Tower, thinking foolishly that the man who had not held a proper news conference since July was about to answer their questions. No sir - the 45th-president-to-be merely wanted to vent at them. US President-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with New York Times staff. Credit:New York Times "People did elect change," said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump adviser. "He is a novel character. We've never had a magnate - a successful entrepreneur and celebrity who understands the tabloids and media saturation, and who thrives off it - elected. He's going to be the most open president we've had in terms of engagement. He's a people person." Sean Wilentz, a presidential historian at Princeton University, said Trump's "reality show ruckus" has been striking and without precedent. "No previous president-elect, let alone president, has acted with the high-pitched drama that Trump has displayed," he said. "Five crises a day - keep 'em coming." Donald Trump warned of a "rigged" election during campaign. Credit:AP Through more than four decades in business, Trump has taken pride in seeming to be both unpredictable and a somewhat mischievous rule-breaker. He delights as much in telling tales of misbehaving as a schoolboy as he does in describing how he maneuvered bankers into letting him keep control of his casino empire even after his companies had suffered a series of bankruptcies. "All publicity is good publicity," Trump's mentor, the New York lawyer Roy Cohn, instructed the young real estate developer. President-elect Donald Trump is guided by his security man, left, as he and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, his daughter Charlotte and Kellyanne Conway, right, leave church on Sunday. Credit:AP Trump took that advice to heart, providing news reporters with a steady stream of stories about his playboy social life, renegade business style and provocative positions on controversial issues. In 1990, at the height of the tabloid frenzy over the dissolution of Trump's first marriage, he said, "The show is Trump, and it is sold-out performances everywhere." During the campaign, Trump often seemed not so much annoyed as perplexed when news reports pointed out that he had contradicted himself or shifted positions on issues such as abortion or the Iraq War. "Who cares what I said 10 years ago?" he asked in a June interview with The Washington Post. "Nobody cares except you." Trump explained that when he was speaking to large crowds at his rallies, he often looked not at the people down front but at the bank of TV cameras, checking to see if the red lights on the cameras were ablaze, indicating that his words were going out live on cable. "I would say something new to keep the red light on," Trump said - and if that happened to diverge from what he had said years or even weeks before, that was secondary to keeping the red light on. Aboard Clinton's campaign plane, meanwhile, the candidate and her aides would catch up on news and become agog by what they read about Trump's performances. Matt Paul, a former senior Clinton adviser, recalled in an interview shortly before the election, "People would just stop and say, 'What?!' And [Clinton] would say, 'What?!' " Being provocative - being the bad boy who would, as one of his final campaign TV ads put it, "turn Washington upside down" - is central to Trump's conception of himself and his presidency. A president who flips positions in pre-dawn tweets is a new phenomenon, but nonetheless one to which the world's leaders and diplomats could adapt, said Ryan Crocker, a former US ambassador to six countries in the Middle East and Near East. "Foreign leaders and diplomats are generally less concerned than many Americans are about the direction of the Trump presidency," said Crocker, who teaches at Texas A&M University and was a signatory to a letter that 75 retired senior diplomats sent in September opposing Trump. "They say, 'Don't worry, you're a nation of laws, a system of institutions." Of Trump's position flips and overnight tweeting, Crocker said: "Clearly, this is a style none of us are used to. Can you name another president who would come anywhere near how he operates? But personality is policy, and it's good that he is reaching out to foreign leaders, even if he's not following the protocol manual. He has a real opportunity to start building some international relations, and people overseas will adapt." Every phase of Trump's career has featured a roller-coaster ride of relations with the news media, from overheated praise and near-wonderment at his successes to searing and embarrassing reporting on his personal flaws and professional failures. And each chapter of his life has led to basic questions about who he really is underneath the bluster and showmanship. Trump himself often says that he is perplexed by such questions: He is, he says, simply a businessman, in it to win. And the path to winning, he consistently says, involves crushing his opponents, calling out the "losers" who criticise him, and saying what it takes to get where he's going. In one of his best-selling books, Trump called that methodology "truthful hyperbole" - his term for statements that sometimes reach beyond the facts or contradict his previous positions. If some people thought he would tamp that tendency to become, as he puts it, "absolutely presidential," his activities in the two weeks since the election indicate otherwise. U.S. Gas Prices Stay Low Ahead of Thanksgiving Holiday So far this year, no state has had its average daily price of gasoline break $3 per gallon. WASHINGTON, D.C. November 23, 2016; Drivers hitting the road for the Thanksgiving holiday have even more reason to give thanks, as for the first time in years, pump prices are staying under $3 per gallon, UPI reports. AAA reported that the national average retail cost of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.13 per gallon yesterday, around 9 cents per gallon lower than the previous month. This year will go down as the first in over a decade that no statenot even traditionally pricey Hawaii or Californiahas seen its average daily price breach $3 per gallon, said Patrick DeHaan, a senior analyst with GasBuddy. As usual, the West Coast states continue to sport the highest pump prices in the country, while the Great Lake states have experienced the most volatility in gasoline prices recently because of maintenance at an Indiana refinery. Meanwhile, OPEC members will come together at the end of November to discuss the proposed production ceiling first put on the table in September. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may have to get non-member nation support to keep such an agreement. Brent crude oil has risen nearly 20% ahead of the expected deal. Feds Give Ethanol A Boost; Iowa (And Patriotic Americans) Cheer SEE ALSO: The Truth About Ethanol - Articles, News, Opinion, Video Special To The Auto Channel The Des Moines Register By Donnelle Eller (deller@dmreg.com) Des Moines Iowa November 23, 2016; Renewable fuel advocates applauded the federal government's decision Wednesday to boost the amount of ethanol that must be blended into the nation's fuel supply next year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set the Renewable Fuel Standard for corn ethanol next year at 15 billion gallons, meeting the target set by Congress. The agency had proposed requiring 14.8 billion gallons of ethanol earlier this year. Renewable fuels supporters called it a parting gift from the Obama administration that will help Iowa and U.S. farmers suffering from low prices and declining profits. It also helps struggling rural economies that have seen little of the job growth that's benefited cities in the recovery, experts said. The decision is especially important in Iowa, the nation's largest producer of ethanol and biodiesel. The EPAs decision means higher income for farmers and lower prices for consumers, said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. It means more jobs in rural Iowa and less dependence on foreign oil. This announcement is good news for Iowa, and in particular corn ethanol producers," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who added that "more work needs to be done to increase levels for biodiesel." EPA stuck to its proposed requirements for biodiesel, boosting the required level to 2.1 billion gallons in 2018, inching 100 million gallons higher than the levels required in 2017. Shaw said the biodiesel levels for "2018 fails to keep up with, let alone push, whats already occurring in the market. Past EPA decisions to scale back ethanol increases have led to unnecessary uncertainty in agriculture and the biofuels industry the last few years, Gov. Terry Branstad said. In this week of Thanksgiving, Iowans should generally be thankful that our nation is moving back toward a robust RFS that is vital to the revitalization of rural America, Branstad said. EPA also boosted levels for cellulosic ethanol, made from grasses, wood chips and corn stalks, to 311 million gallons, an increase of 81 million gallons over this year's target. That's also good news for Iowa, home of three cellulosic ethanol plants, the next generation of renewable fuel that must have at least 60 percent fewer greenhouse gases emissions than gasoline. Bob Dinneen, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, said EPA is sending "a positive signal to investors" that will ripple "throughout our economy and environment. "By signaling its commitment to a growing biofuels market, the agency will stimulate new interest in cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels, drive investment in infrastructure to accommodate E15 and higher ethanol blends," Dinneeen said, "and make a further dent in reducing greenhouse gas emissions." Shaw said the Obama administration had "one last chance" to get the standard "back on track." It's "the type of RFS support that the Obama administration pledged eight years ago," Shaw said. "It's a dramatic return to their roots." Sen. Joni Ernst said EPA's decision "spurs investment and research in renewable fuels and supports our rural economy in Iowa." Janet McCabe, an EPA acting acting assistant administrator, said final standard provides "ambitious yet achievable growth of biofuels in the transportation sector." "By implementing the program enacted by Congress, we are expanding the nations renewable fuels sector while reducing our reliance on imported oil," McCabe said in a statement. Shaw's group said EPA "clearly took into account excess corn stockpiles growing to levels not seen in decades, record U.S. ethanol production, and record levels of ethanol exports. "Instead of forcing ethanol overseas, more of these gallons will now be used to lower U.S. gasoline prices," the association said. The American Petroleum Institute said it was disappointed with EPA's final rule, calling it a "step backward." The RFS mandate is a bad deal for the American consumer," said Frank Macchiarola, an API executive, in a statement. "Todays announcement only serves to reinforce the need for Congress to repeal or significantly reform the RFS. Democrats and Republicans agree this program is a failure. Some environmentalists also oppose the mandate, arguing that corn ethanol is more damaging to the environment than gasoline, given changes in land to grow crops. Renewable fuels supporters have said President-elect Donald Trump has provided consistent support for ethanol and biodiesel, adding that it fits his drive for stronger energy independence and support for rural America. Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi... For Dogs, its Trick and Treat Its almost Halloween, a great time to teach your dog a trick and give him a treat. Most trainers are fans of trick training. Its not as silly as it... Muzzle is not a bad word If you see a dog in a muzzle, you immediately think the dog is aggressive. Right? Well, this is not always true. Unfortunately, seeing a dog in a muzzle carries... Casey Affleck has spent years teetering on the precipice of movie stardom. Recognizable last name aside, Afflecks acting chops appear to not only rivalbut surpassthose of his more famous brother. He was lauded for his twitchy turn in Gone Baby Gone and earned an Academy Award nomination for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. But the younger Affleck was undermined by his own passion project. Coming off a hot streak of acting roles, Affleck made the unexpected decision to refocus his energy on an experimental documentary about his brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix. That germ of an idea eventually blossomed into an infamous project, 2010s Im Still Here. In this documentary turned mockumentary turned cautionary tale, Affleck chronicled Phoenixs fake evolution from leading man to aspiring rapper, complete with notorious TV interviews and the general appearance of personal and professional implosion. Critics reactions to the film ranged from apathy to confusion to anger; one Slate writer declared that The worst thing about Im Still Here is the fact that it exists. Even Ben Affleck admitted that his brother may have made a mistake with that one, noting, I thought it was a really smart, creative thing that nobody else had thought of. But he did it at the expense of his acting career. Its hard to paint the good-looking, headstrong brother of one of the worlds biggest movie stars as a Hollywood underdog. And yet, with Casey emerging as a frontrunner for the Best Actor Oscar for his work in Manchester by the Sea, the 41-year-olds biography has been reworked to fit this winning narrative. In the film, Affleck plays a man whose life has been upended by a tragic event. Its the sort of dark, emotionally exhausting performance that finds actors showered in awards and accolades. Afflecks turn has already garnered rave reviews, as well as magazine profiles that are usually reserved for Oscar favorites. A few of these storieslike Octobers Variety cover story on Affleckfeature an aberrant footnote. Nearly 2,000 words into the profile, theres a brief mention of sexual harassment. Asked to comment on two sexual-harassment suits (here and here) that were brought against him by women who worked on Im Still Here, Affleck responds, People say whatever they want. Sometimes it doesnt matter how you respond... I guess people think if youre well-known, its perfectly fine to say anything you want. I dont know why that is. But it shouldnt be, because everybody has families and lives. The Daily Beast reached out to Afflecks representative for additional comment to no avail. Of course, Afflecks family-man mumbo jumbo doesnt really do justice to the severity of his allegations. In December 2008, Amanda White agreed to serve as a producer on an untitled documentary headed by Affleck and Flemmy Productions, which ultimately became Im Still Here. She had a decade-long history of working with Affleck. Over the course of filming, White alleged in the complaint that she was repeatedly harassed. On one occasion, she claimed that Affleck ordered a crew member to take off his pants and show White his peniseven after she vehemently objected. She claimed that Affleck repeatedly referred to women as cows, and recounted his sexual exploits with reckless abandon. In her complaint, White recalled Affleck asking her Isnt it about time you get pregnant? once he learned her age, and suggesting that she and a male crew member reproduce. Whites accusations go on, ranging from incredibly unprofessional behavior to actual physical intimidation. She described an instance where she was prevented from returning to her bedroom during shooting, because Affleck and Phoenix had locked themselves in her room with two women where they had sex with them (Affleck was married with two children to Phoenixs sister, Summer, at the timethough the couple recently split). She also alleged that Affleck attempted to manipulate her into sharing a hotel room with him. When she resisted, White claimed, he grabbed her threateningly and attempted to scare her into submission. Affleck then allegedly proceeded to send White abusive text messages, calling her profane names for refusing to stay with him. White filed a $2 million lawsuit against Affleck in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 23, 2010. As part of her producer duties, White was also asked to renegotiate an agreement with Magdalena Gorka, the films director of photography. Gorka had previously left the project due to an alleged similar pattern of harassment. In her complaint, Gorka described her treatment at the hands of Casey Affleck as the most traumatizing of her career. Almost immediately after beginning work on the project, the gross comments allegedly began. Gorka claimed Affleck and other members of the production team openly talked about engaging in sexual activities with her, and jokingly suggested that she have sex with the camera assistant, a good friend of Afflecks. On the assumption that Afflecks behavior wouldntor couldntget worse, Gorka said she stuck with the project, and traveled with other crew members to New York for shooting in mid-December 2008. At the time, Gorka was the only woman actively working on the film. In lieu of paying for a hotel, she said Affleck and Phoenix decided to have the crew stay overnight at their apartment. After a long shoot, she claimed Phoenix offered to sleep in the living room and give Gorka his private bedroom. According to Gorkas complaint, she awoke in the middle of the night to find Affleck lying in bed next to her. She alleges that the actor was curled up next to her in the bed wearing only his underwear and a T-shirt. He had his arm around her, was caressing her back, his face was within inches of hers and his breath reeked of alcohol. Unaware of how long Affleck had been there or whether or not he had touched her while she slept, Gorka said she was shocked and repulsed. When she ordered Affleck out of bed, he allegedly responded, Why? to which she replied, Because you are married and you are my boss. Affleck then allegedly asked if she was sure, and when Gorka remained resolute, she claimed Affleck left and slammed the door in anger. Gorka then said that she flew back to New York, informed her agent of Afflecks sexual advances, and quit the project. When Amanda White contacted Gorka in January 2009, the cinematographer decided to give the film another shot. She said she had been unsuccessfully looking for work in the weeks since walking out on Affleck, and believed that having another woman on set would foster a safer working environment, and prevent further sexual harassment. If true, the presence of two women was hardly a deterrent. Over the next few months, Gorka alleged that she was subjected to a nearly daily barrage of sexual comments, innuendo, and unwelcome advances by crew members, within the presence and with the active encouragement of Affleck. In addition to being berated and verbally attacked by the director, she claimed that she was constantly criticized for refusing to be submissive in response to his disrespectful comments and undermining rants. After months of work, Gorka once again resigned from the project due to alleged harassment and abuse. In what Gorka perceives as clear retaliation, Affleck refused to honor the terms of her employment agreement, which included a Director of Photography credit on the film. According to her complaint, Gorka continues to suffer from humiliation, embarrassment, and emotional distress as a direct result of the harassment and abuse she endured during production. Gorka filed a $2.25 million lawsuit against Affleck in L.A. Superior Court one week after White. Amanda White also claimed that Affleck retaliated against her complaints. After White objected to Afflecks behavior, she said he failed to pay her agreed upon producers fee. According to White, he also failed to pay her a living wage while she was working on the mockumentary. At the time of her complaint filing, White maintained that she had not been paid for any of the work she did on the filma project she said she toiled on for over three months. Overall, these complaints paint a decidedly different picture of Casey Affleck, leading man. In addition to allegedly harassing the women he employed, Affleck is said to have actively enjoyed putting them in uncomfortable positions, refusing to step in as the working environment on the project became increasingly hostile. In the words of Whites thorough and deeply damning complaint, Affleck encouraged and participated in the harassment of Plaintiff and Gorka for his own twisted gratification. Furthermore, both women insist that Afflecks treatment only worsened when and if they objecteda campaign of retaliation and verbal abuse that ultimately culminated in his refusal to honor their contracts. When his former employees first sued, Affleck vehemently denied their allegations, going so far as threatening to countersue. However, Affleck eventually agreed to mediation, during which a settlement was reached. While no details of any financial settlement were released to the public, it was reported that both women would receive due credit for their work on Afflecks passion project. As glowing writeups of Manchester by the Sea continue to roll in, Casey Afflecks allegations merit more than an asterisk. Coverage of these types of cases often seems to operate according to an invisible scale. At first, unsavory allegations are cast aside in the service of palatable profiles. We subscribe to easy narratives; reporters dont want to irritate stars with unpleasant questions, and fans dont want to complicate their adoration with dark details. At a certain point, there is no longer an easy way out. The balance of public opinion shifts toward guilt, or, at the very least, suspicion. Thats why, after years of preserving Bill Cosbys Teflon reputation, journalists suddenly stopped writing off the dozens of allegations that had been brought against the comedian. Its why Nate Parkers controversial pastwhich, although underreported, had never been a secretsuddenly became headline news in the weeks leading up to the release of The Birth of a Nation. The Parker parallel is an important one. Of course, Parker was accused of a different, more serious crimeraping a female college student. Parker was acquitted, while Affleck settled. Then theres the fact that Nate Parker is a black man. Like Affleck, the actor and director had been fast-tracked for critical acclaim and stardom. Considering the fact that Parkers career has taken a fatal hit, we have to ask why Afflecks history continues to be hidden paragraphs deep, or swept under the rug entirely. We cant re-try either of these cases; given the facts that we have, journalists and filmgoers can reach their own conclusions of guilt or innocence. But readers should be given this opportunity. Theres no reason why the details of White and Gorkas suitswhich are available online here and hereshouldnt be added as a crucial caveat in fawning profiles and glowing reviews. These types of allegations havent always acted as insurmountable obstacles to continued Hollywood success. Audiences have historically stood by men who have been accused of harassment, sexual assault, and abuse. But by selectively choosing which stars to put through the wringer, the media becomes complicit in this cycle of easy forgiveness and celebrity-related amnesia. During a week that had already seen their last functioning hospital bombed out of action by an incessant hailstorm of airstrikes, barrel bombs, parachute bombs, and rockets; claiming at least 200 lives and counting; it might have been difficult for the 250,000 inhabitants of Aleppos besieged opposition-held eastern sector to imagine how life could get any more distressing. Yet in the small hours of Sunday morning, residents of the Al-Sakhour neighborhood near the de facto east-west partition line found out. Waking around 1 a.m. to the sound of what they thought was a routine explosion, they walked out of their houses to discover they were in fact the targets of a chemical weapons attack. We went outside and started to choke on chlorine fumes, a young man recounted to the Aleppo Media Center (AMC) news network in front of an utterly devastated building. We thought it was a barrel bomb, but it turned out to be chlorine gas. My mother choked, and my brothers son started to foam at the mouth. In all, six people were killedan entire family comprising a couple and their four young children. According to one account, they were hiding in a bomb shelter when a helicopter dropped the chlorine-laden canisters, and were unable to escape in time. Graphic footage broadcast by the AMC showed the lifeless corpses of the girl and three boys, their faces discolored, eyes glazed, mouths wide open. Where are the Arabs? Where are they? an agitated man asks repeatedly as the camera films. If the Arabs were united, Bashar wouldnt have done this to us. But the Arab states are all traitors. So quickly are Aleppos residents being killed, and so overstretched are the citys medical aid workers, that a spokesperson for the Syrian Civil Defense volunteer forcealso known as the White Helmetstold The Daily Beast Monday he still didnt know the names of those six victims. Due to the intensity of the bombardment, and the numbers of victims, we havent been able yet to learn their names, said the spokesperson. Unfortunately, their names have not been ascertained, concurred Aleppo-based media activist Bahaa al-Halabi to The Daily Beast. There may have been no special reason for the regime to strike Al-Sakhour over any other neighborhood, according to Al-Halabi. The regime hits haphazardly; wherever it notices there may be civilians, it strikes, he said. The district does, however, have one feature making it especially vulnerable to chemical gas warfare. In Al-Sakhour, the houses are small, there are Arab houses with only one floor, so the chemicals will spread wider than in other, more built-up quarters, Al-Halabi said. To the suggestion that the chlorine could have been targeting rebel fighters, Al-Halabi retorted that there were none in the particular area struck. In the civilian neighborhoods, there are no militants. The militants are on the edges of the neighborhoods, on the battle frontlines. While the six deaths represented only a fraction of the more than 50 others reportedly killed Sunday in more conventional regime airstrikes, they underscored once again the international communitys continuing failure to prevent Assads frequent use of long-outlawed weapons of mass destruction, in spite of a much-trumpeted deal struck by Washington and Moscow in September 2013, known as the Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons, which did not in fact eliminate Syrian chemical weapons. Quite to the contrary, analysis conducted by the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) in February 2016 found the rate of chemical attacks actually accelerated after the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2118 in September 2013, the express purpose of which was to enforce the Framework. By the SAMS reports count, at least 1,491 lives have been taken in 161 chemical attacks between 2012 and 2015, 77 percent of them occurring after the passage of Resolution 2118. Even the United Nations, which has been notoriously reluctant to assign blame to any party for the ongoing chemical atrocities in Syria, took the uncharacteristic step last month in a report co-authored with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of declaring the Assad regime had carried out at least three attacks since 2014. It was even able to name the air force units responsible for the actsthose of the 63rd Helicopter Brigades 253 and 255 squadrons, based in Hama and Hmeimim. The OPCW media office had not responded to The Daily Beasts request for comment at the time of publication. Though grossly understating the true extent of Assads use of chemical weapons, the UN-OPCW report nonetheless had the potential to be significant, since the text of Resolution 2118 clearly states that in the event of non-compliance with this resolution, including [] any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the Syrian Arab Republic, the Security Council would impose measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, which theoretically can range from sanctions to military action. That was never likely to happen under the Obama administration, as National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price made clear at the time. After noting in a statement that, The Syrian regime has violated the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2118 by using industrial chlorine as a weapon against its own people, he went on to say Washington would work with our international partners to enforce accountability through appropriate diplomatic mechanisms. How much pause this prospect gave Assad can be inferred from Sundays events in Al-Sakhour. Will it be any different under Trump? Nobody knows, although Bashar al-Assad, for one, doesnt seem to think so. Assad famously defied Obamas chemical weapons red line at a time many people around the world thought it a credible pledge. Syrians may already be discovering how much more confident their dictator feels now theres no longer even the pretense of red lines, and the incoming occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue isnt one who thinks his predecessor didnt do enough to stop Assads killing machine, but rather believes he did far too much. Donald Trump may want Mitt Romney to be his secretary of state, but Russia does not. Romney is reportedly in the running to run the State Department, despite Trumps vocal desire to move closer to Russia and Romneys famous denunciations of Vladimir Putins government during the 2012 election. The Russian press hasnt forgotten that either. Secretary of State Russophobe, bellows the headline at the Obozrevatel. Mass media found out about plans to appoint as Secretary of State Romney, who called Russia an enemy of the U.S. Lenta.ru explained. State-owned channel NTV declared that "in America and beyond its borders, Romney is called one of the biggest Russophobes." The headlines harken back to the 2012 election, when Romney called Russia the United Statess number one geopolitical foe. (President Obama ridiculed him at the time, saying The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold Wars been over for 20 years.) They fight every cause for the world's worst actors, Romney insisted. Romney even hit Russia for its support of regimes in Syria and Iran, which, four years later, is even more appreciable in the ongoing war with ISIS. When Assad, for instance, is murdering his own people, we go to the United Nations, and who is it that always stands up for the world's worst actors? Romney asked. It is always Russia, typically with China alongside. Those comments have all but faded from American public consciousness. But the memory of the slights is alive and well in Russian media, which this week put out a plethora of press on Romneys insults to Russia and Putin himself. They dredged up alleged quotes of Romney calling Putin a tyrant, dreaming of restoring the Russian Empire, or a threat to the stability and peace of the world. And the media didnt forget that Romney accused Barack Obama, no friend of the Russian Federation, of being too soft on Moscow. Under my presidency our friends will see more loyalty and Mr. Putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone, Romney promised. Trump, in contrast, has long taken a friendlier approach to Russia. During the campaign cycle, he famously suggested that Russian hackers should take a stab at getting Hillary Clintons private e-mails. But that was just the top of his warm ties with the world power. At the same time, he denied that Russia was behind the Democratic National Committee hacks. (A week later, the U.S. would formally attribute the attacks to Russia.) I dont think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC, he said. [Clinton is] saying Russia, Russia, Russia, but I dontmaybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK? The Trump campaign also tried to gut the Republican Party platform of language critical of Russia, particularly around the ongoing war in Ukraine. But that should have been expected, as his then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was previously employed by ousted pro-Russian Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych. (The FBI is reportedly conducting a preliminary inquiry into Manaforts foreign dealings.) Does Hillary Clinton still have a path to the White House? Thats the provocative question posed by some computer security experts, who think voting results in key states could have been manipulated by hackers. The emphasis here is on could. Theres no clear evidence that voting machines were rigged or that ballots were altered, but as reported Tuesday night in New York magazine, a group of computer scientists and election lawyers has urged Clinton to call for a recount in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, three swing states that Donald Trump won--to the surprise of just about every pollster, pundit, and journalist in America. Clinton would have to win those states back in order to change the outcome of the election. And while its tempting to blame hackers, and not the failure of the political professional class, for Trumps upset, experts warn not to get your hopes up for a shocking turnaround. For hackers to have changed the votes in three states would have been even more surprising than Trumps victory. There is zero evidence of tampering right now. Zero, David Becker, the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, told The Daily Beast. The simpler explanation for why the vote deviated from expectations and historical trends was that Barack Obama wasnt at the top of the ticket. The results for Clinton only look off when you compare them to the Obama elections in 2008 and 2012, Becker said. The hackers would have had to begin their work in advance of the election. And in those states or counties that dont use electronic voting machines exclusively, theyd probably have to be on the ground, infiltrating elections offices, and working up to Election Day if not on the day itself. Throwing the votes in these three states on the same day would have required teams of people working in coordination with a high risk that theyd get caught, Becker said. I dont know how youd plan for something like this even if you had George Clooney and Brad Pitt, he said, referring to the Oceans movie franchise in which talented thieves pull of absurdly implausible heists. Even one of the computer scientists reportedly urging Clinton to call for a recount seemed to downplay the notion that hackers stole the election for Trump. Were this years deviations from pre-election polls the results of a cyberattack? Probably not, J. Alex Halderman, a professor of computer science at the University of Michigan, wrote in a post on Medium. I believe the most likely explanation is that the polls were systematically wrong, rather than that the election was hacked. But I dont believe that either one of these seemingly unlikely explanations is overwhelmingly more likely than the other. The only way to know whether a cyberattack changed the result, Halderman continued, is to closely examine the available physical evidence paper ballots and voting equipment in critical states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, nobody is ever going to examine that evidence unless candidates in those states act now, in the next several days, to petition for recounts. But thats not entirely true, because in some states, officials routinely go back and look at vote counts in order to determine to determine that laws were followed and voting machines worked properly. Wisconsin, a state that Halderman flagged, is one of them. There, the law requires a random audit of each type of voting equipment used in the state, of which there are about half a dozen from different vendors and manufacturers, Michael Haas, the administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, told The Daily Beast. People go through and hand count the ballots and make sure that the equipment counted them as youd expect based on how the ballots were marked, he said. The elections commission will compile a final report by December 15 and provide it to an oversight body. Any petition to hold a recount is due by this Friday at 5pm. We havent received any inquires from the Clinton campaign about a petition to hold a recount, Haas said. Becker said he was confident that the Wisconsin audit would detect any irregularities that could indicate vote tampering. If there is a problem, well know about it. But the auditing procedures in other states may give skeptics less comfort. In Michigan, there is no audit aimed at re-tabulating or counting ballots. Rather, officials conduct a review to ensure that local officials properly followed laws and procedures. Experts say its better than nothing, but isnt a robust means for verifying that there were no shenanigans or errors on Election Day. Michigan only uses optical scanning systems--voters make their choices on paper ballots that are tabulated by a machine. The state doesnt use electronic voting machines, like those with touch screens that may rely on software downloaded from the internet, which could be vulnerable to tampering. This doesnt mean the election results couldnt have been altered. But Fred Woodhams, a spokesperson for the Michigan Secretary of State, told The Daily Beast that the state has used the optical machines for more than a decade and that time and again they have demonstrated their extreme accuracy and integrity. Official assurances count for something. But in the last state flagged by the researchers, Pennsylvania, its not clear that an audit would detect tampering in some parts of the state. Pennsylvania is one of those states that gives election security experts heartburn, because the electronic voting machines it uses dont print out a paper record of the voters selections. In effect, there is no way to verify that the machine accurately recorded the votes, experts say. Experts have long pointed out that these paperless electronic machines would make a prime target for hackers. Pennsylvania does use paper ballots in some parts of the state, and it does conduct some post-election audits. But it could be difficult to detect tampering with the voting machines unless theyre directly examined. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of State said in a statement that officials are aware of the report in New York magazine. The Pennsylvania Election Code includes a provision allowing an election to be contested in the courts. Such action must be taken within 20 days after the election. We will not speculate or comment on any potential litigation. The statement made no mention of an audit. The bottom line is that theres no evidence yet of election hacking, but theres also no universal policy to audit results after an election. And thats unfortunate, because regular audits would help build confidence that elections went off smoothly and werent targeted by hackers, said Pamela Smith, the president of Verified Voting, a nonprofit group that advocates transparency and security in U.S. elections. My feeling is audits should be done as a matter of course, Smith told The Daily Beast, adding that states that dont conduct them now could launch a pilot audit as a sign that they take the issue seriously. A state could say, we know this was a contentious election, we have that unusual situation where the popular vote winner didn't win the most electoral college votes, what the heck, lets do an audit. I think thats a perfectly legitimate thing to do. The spelling of the law offices might have been a clue to prospective clients. Mistyped as Taylor & Associaties, LLP on their Facebook and webpages, the alleged law firm lacked the professional appearance of some of its competitors. And for good reason. The firm was headed by one Reginald Taylor, who, despite passing himself off as a certified lawyer, had actually stolen his bar number from another Missouri attorney, prosecutors say. Instead of law school, Taylor appeared to have gained his legal experience through years of his own convictions on fraud, forgery, and theft charges. Taylor, 40, presented himself as a lawyer for years, a Facebook page for his law firm indicates. But it was one of Taylors legal successes that gave him away. While representing a client on drug paraphernalia charges, Taylor arranged a meeting with Grandview, Missouri, prosecutor Roger Potter, the Kansas City Star reports. A misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charge is punishable by up to a year in jail or a $1,000 penalty in Missouri. But Taylor managed to argue his clients charge down to a littering penalty. Taylor made no more impression on Potter than did the dozens of other lawyers Potter met that day. He came in dressed in a suit and represented himself as a lawyer, Potter told the Star. But when Taylor went to pay his clients $229 littering fine, the check bounced, sending up red flags for court clerks, who began looking into the alleged lawyers practice. On its face, Taylor & Associates might look like a legitimate law firm, albeit one without a good web presence. General law firm providing help to those in need, reads the firms Facebook page, which lists its opening date as May 2013. Personal Injury, Construction accidents, Contracts, Traffic DUI/DWI. Taylor uploaded pictures of custom Taylor & Associates T-shirts, and a conference room padded with legal textbooks. The client Taylor represented in the drug paraphernalia case told police that Taylor kept a framed law diploma. On his Facebook, Taylor made multiple posts indicating that he attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School. But the law school has no record of Taylor ever attending, an administrator told The Daily Beast. Other aspects of his law practice didnt hold up to close scrutiny. Taylor officially registered the business Taylor & Associates Attorneys LLP with the state in July 2014, but lost the certification a year later after he did not renew his application, records show. All numbers associated with the firm were disconnected on Tuesday. The Taylor Business Group PC, another business where Taylor frequently checked in on Facebook, told The Daily Beast that Taylor was unavailable when reached by phone. When court staff first called Taylor to address his bounced check, Taylor denied having met with Potter, court records obtained by the Star show. When staffers assured him that all he needed to do was write a valid check, he reportedly doubled back on his claim and agreed to pay the $229 fee. But court staff kept digging into his record. There, they found years of convictions, including on felony counts of fraud and forgery. When they ran Taylors Missouri Bar number, they discovered that it actually belonged to a different attorney in Columbia, Missouri, court records show. He was charged with forgery and practicing law without a license. Prospective clients might not notice the alleged fraud from the optimistic posts on Taylor & Associaties, LLPs Facebook, however. We just increased productivity and the of the size of our support staff size, read a September post. We fortunate enough to beable [sic] and purchase some up-to-date office equipment from Micro Center. According to business records, the LLP wouldnt be registered for another year and, according to prosecutors, its eponymous attorney never had a law license. LONDONHow did internet trollsthe kind who lurk under the line on comments sectionscome to hijack modern political discourse? How is it that they not only tapped into populist rage, but have led the storming of the White House under President-elect Donald Trump? By now youve probably seen a fair amount about whats called the alt-right, as these characters call themselves. But their gains could not have been so great or come so quickly without what we might call the ctrl-left, or without the real problem of theocratic Islamism cynically exploited by both for their own ends. These days it is common to see analogies between this new right movement and old fascism and Nazismindeed, some flaunt those connectionsbut one of movements greatest loyalties is to neologism. The alt-right found multiple ways to turbo-boost Trumps campaign. Sending their mascot Pepe the Frog viral, they grew out of websites like 4chan, the Right Stuff, and American Renaissance. The term alt-right was popularized by white nationalist Richard Spencer, founder of Alternative Right and Taki Magazine. The movement rose to political significance through the 2014 Gamergate controversya fierce clash that arose between video gamers and some critics, when gaming was put under the lens of progressive cultural criticism. Ann Coulters book Adios, America! The Lefts Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole has become a key text, directly influencing Trumps views on immigration. Gay masculinists such as Jack Donovan, who edited Alternative Rights gender articles, were also key forerunners. Feeling betrayed by the economic globalization free-for-all of establishment Republicans, natural conservatives who prefer homogeneity over diversity migrated, too, to the alt-right. Many, like libertarian PayPal founder Peter Thiel, who no longer believes that freedom and democracy are compatible, advocate that the U.S. should be run like a large company with a CEO at its head. Much of this is influenced by whats called Neoreaction (NRx) thought, also known as the Dark Enlightenment: less democracy, a large government, run by a strongman figure. Mussolini, anyone? Drawing on currents like the new European far-right, Richard Spencer uses the term identitarian to describe white ethno-nationalism, a homeland for all white people, all European people. He has said, ethnic-cleansing has been associated with civil war and mass murder (understandably so). But this need not be the case. 1919 is a real example of successful ethnic redistribution but done peacefully. His Taki Magazine and Alternative Right websites regularly ponder aloud over Jewish power and influence. The use of the (((triple parentheses))) or echoes to identify and target Jews online has been a particularly dark feature of alt-right activism that originated on The Right Stuff. One group of bloggers became obsessed with the notion of scientific race differences. Many alt-righters would prefer to think that an outright neo-Nazi element of their thought is merely left-wing scare-mongering, but a militant neo-Nazi faction called 1488 does exist as part of this movement and is openly planning racial wars for all to see, on sites like Stormfront. The alt-right clearly hates the left, but the movement is also a rebellion against traditional conservatives. Labeling them as cuckservatives, they save much of their venom for attacking this enemy within, who they believe has capitulated to the globalist establishment consensus. The website Breitbart is strongly associated with this movement. Its Executive Chairman Steve Bannon, now Trumps White House chief of strategy, proudly boasted that his outlet was a platform for the alt-right. But Richard Spencer considers Breitbart alt-right lite. Although its various factions acted in concert to support Trump, the alt-right is not a cohesive organization nor a coherent ideology. It is a loose, internally conflicted phenomenon united only by what it hates. Unlike traditional conservatives it has declared open war on the establishmentthe Cathedral. Culture must be taken back from the Social Justice WarriorsSJWs, and the normal peoplenormies, who currently dominate it. This includes fighting traditional political institutions, mainstream media, elitist academia, and a total rejection of progressive ideas around gender, sexuality, race, and immigration. These social injustice warriors, as it were, believe that the left has mobilized women, LGBT people, blacks, and other non-white, non-straight, non-males to unleash outright hatred on white men specifically, and on whites generally. As with all ideological reactions, it builds a massive wall of rhetoric on a few grains of fact. The left progressively tried to shut down what it considered incorrect thinking. Thus Muslims were encouraged to cast themselves only and perpetually as victims, patronizingly assumed to have no independent agency. Whites, on the other hand, were cast as perpetual aggressors. Anyone who dared question whether immigration stances such as Angela Merkels infamous open door policy were indeed wise or even safe was derided as heartless. As polite society took to labeling anyone who questioned this globalist consensus as racist or Islamophobic, many of the disillusioned turned to the rebellion of their day: They waged war against political correctness. The alt-right upended the lefts moralizing. Political correctness was ridiculed by deploying racist and misogynist language for shock value against a stifling culture that came to value collective identities over individual humanity. They derisively dub this cultural Marxism. Thus, the alt-right relish being shouted down with overused terms such as racist, homophobic, and sexist. Rather like the shrill Ms. Umbridge in the Harry Potter books, the ctrl-lefts desire to control and command what people should say, how people should think, and most frustratingly of all, how people should feel, has been its great downfall. The anomalies became most striking in attempts to describe or address Muslim communities. The sacred Western value of free speech lost out when leftists pandered to Muslim blasphemy codes. The inability to concede even an inch to the blindingly obvious fact that Islam today has somethingnot everything and not nothing, but somethingto do with jihadist terrorism, the ctrl-left became as post-factual as it claimed the right was. Progressive liberalism has fallenindeed been beateninto a coma. But it was obvious this would happen. This is why the alt-right grew so quickly, almost as if from nowhere. Rather like the Arab Uprisings that very few people saw coming, here was a revolt long stewing, and primed to suddenly boil over. For years I have been warning that if the left did not cease infantilizing Muslims, talking down at white working classes, denigrating men, and stifling free speech, a dangerous right wing backlasha whitelashwould hijack these causes, and we liberals would lose out. If you keep telling people they are bigots for questioning your tactics, eventually they will reject your entire strategy. Well, thats exactly whats happened now. John Maynard Keynes was right when he said that in the long run the market may correct itself, but in the long run were all dead. Unchecked diversity through globalization can only take us so far. A solution would be for liberals to reject the diktats of the ctrl-left, and return to universal progressive liberalism: a genuine, skeptical, inclusive, scientific liberalism that views people as people, for the content of their character and not for the color of their skin (yes, remember that?). Only a ctrl-left, alt-right, delete can reset and reboot the populist travesty that has beset this very unsettling year of 2016. Almost $600,000 per hour. Thats the fee Donald Trumps charity got for recording a video on behalf of a Ukrainian oligarch. Its a payment that could be in violation of tax laws, legal experts told The Daily Beast. When Hillary Clintons foundation received money from the very same billionaire, Donald Trump blasted her as crooked. Ukrainian steel magnate Victor Pinchuks foundation was the single largest outside donor to Donald Trumps private charity in 2015, according to new IRS filings filed by the organization. The $150,000 gift amounted to 20 percent of the foundations total donations during that time, the documents showed. The filings also affirmed Trump violated tax laws by using his private foundation to self-deal, or enrich himself and his businesses instead of fulfilling a charitable mission. Pinchuks gift was given in conjunction with a short video Trump made for the Yalta European Strategy annual meeting, held in Kiev in September of 2015, according to The Washington Post. In a haphazard 21-minute videoeventually posted to YouTubeTrump answers a series of questions from Doug Schoen, a one-time Clinton advisor and Fox News personality. He was hired by Pinchuk in 2011 to advance the steel magnates interests in the United States. (Around the same time, Newsweek reports, Pinchuk sold millions of dollars worth of oil and gas equipment to Iran.) For every minute that Trump participated, he earned over $7,000. Lawrence Noble, general counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, found the deal surprising, especially given Trumps criticism of Clinton during the campaign. This is at the time that hes making a big deal about the Clinton Foundation getting money from foreign sources, Noble noted in an interview with The Daily Beast. I dont know how he explains that his attacks on Clinton doing it were fair. Noble added that because the video is not remarkably substantive, it raises red flags as to whether it was used as an opportunity to explain away a gift. If its hard to assess the purpose of the video, why are they giving his foundation $150,000, Noble wondered. Was this just a way that they were giving his foundation some money? The question and answer session, billed as How New Ukraines Fate Affects Europe and the World, was given at a time when Trump was already a presidential candidate and in it, he reflects on a personal meeting he had with Pinchuk and his positive relationship with the billionaire. Victor I have known for a long time and he is a tremendous guy, a tremendous guy so it is a great honor to be with everybody, Trump said as he struggled to hear the intermittent audio feed. In the video, Trump also seemed to suggest that Ukraine fell subject to aggression from Russia because President Barack Obama was not a strong enough leader. Putin does not respect our president whatsoever, Trump said at one point. The fact is that Ukraine is an amazing place. You know, Ive known so many people, so many years in the Ukraine. These are people that want whats good. They want whats right. And theyre not being treated right by the United States. And also by the way, and I hate to say this, theyre not being treated right by Europe itself. His comments at the conference represent some of Trumps most sympathetic remarks about Ukraine throughout the entirety of his campaigna sentiment which notably shifted once he brought on Paul Manafort as campaign chairman, who advised the pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych. He went from saying that Ukrainians were not getting the support they need, during the September conference to saying he might recognize Crimea as Russian territory and lift U.S. sanctions against Russia. Pinchuk has been linked to another controversial figure in Trumps orbit: adviser Carter Page, whose ties to the Kremlin were probed by U.S. intelligence officials. According to a Bloomberg report, Page told a colleague at Merrill Lynch, where he worked in the early 2000s that he had a relationship with Pinchuk. Shortly thereafter, Page was sent to help the firm open up its Moscow office in 2004. While the Trump Foundations 2015 return seems clearly focused on accounting for the self-dealing and years of questionable accounting practices reported by David Fahrenthold in The Washington Post over the last year, the Pinchuk donation of $150,000reportedly for Trumps video appearance at the Yalta European Strategy conferencestill raises questions about whether Trump is diverting personal income to his tax-exempt foundation. What tax experts know as the assignment of income issue came up in September, when The Washington Post reported a $400,000 donation from Comedy Central in exchange for Trumps appearance at a 2011 roast and another of nearly $2 million from Richard Ebers, ticket scalper to the stars, who bought goods and service from Trump over the years. Both probably should have been reported as income to Donald Trump the man, not the foundation. I think were in the same world, Philip Hackney, an associate professor of law at Louisiana State Universitys Paul M. Hebert Law Center, and a former employee in the IRSs Exempt Organizations unit, said of the payment from Pinchuk. Assuming Trump was giving the speech in his capacity as an individual, the payment would be income to Trump. Then Trump should have made the contribution to the foundation. The Clintons had problems with this as well. They reported money from speeches as contributions rather than income, Hackney told The Daily Beast. In other words, Trumps speech was work, and should have been paid, and taxed, as such, instead of being routed through his tax-exempt foundation. If Hackney is right, this was income dressed up like a charitable donation. Pinchuks previously unreported donation to Trumps foundation is especially noteworthy, given the criticism leveled at then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after emails obtained by a conservative advocacy group, Citizens United, revealed she had hosted the Ukrainian oligarchwho had donated $8.6 million to the Clinton Foundation while she held the postat a private dinner party at the her home in 2012. The day both the Citizens United emails were released and the Associated Press reported on State Department calendars that implied Clinton Foundation donors received special access to Secretary Clinton, Donald Trump released a statement, calling for the democratic nominees foundation to be shuttered: Hillary Clinton is the defender of the corrupt and rigged status quo. The Clintons have spent decades as insiders lining their own pockets and taking care of donors instead of the American people. It is now clear that the Clinton Foundation is the most corrupt enterprise in political history. What they were doing during Crooked Hillarys time as Secretary of State was wrong then, and it is wrong now. It must be shut down immediately. Now, as Trump prepares to transition to the White House, he faces an onslaught of allegations that his business interests are overlapping with his governmental responsibilities, including stories about foreign business developers currying favor with him in meetings as well as diplomats seeking to stay at his Washington, D.C., property to get on his good side. And its not entirely clear that Trump is willing to address these concerns, as he told The New York Times in a meeting on Tuesday that the president cant have a conflict of interest. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story, even though much of the video was little more than Trump riffing on some of his favorite mantras of the Republican primary. He promised that the U.S. military under my presidency would be very greatly enhanced. Hopefully to a point where we wouldnt have to use it. The military would be strengthened tremendously. Trump then repeated this point, while also promising to take care of the vets. And he devoted some time to discussing one his favorite subjects during the campaign: his rise in the polls. New polls have just come in today and theyve been amazing, Trump asserted before awkwardly going silent again as the audio cut out. The sound system is terrible because theres a huge delay and theres also a lot of feedback but I think everybody understands what Im saying. I hope. He also include a rare note of humility during his $150,000, 21-minute discussion. I know many people that live in the Ukraine. Theyre friends of mine. Theyre fantastic people. Victor is an example. Victor by the way is a very very special man a special entrepreneur, Trump said. And when he was up seeing me I said, I think I could learn more from you than you could from me. Many restaurants, pubs and churches open their doors on Thanksgiving for communal feasts all over town. Thanks, Denton Cooley, for giving people longer and better lives I just read that Dr. Denton Cooley died. I have no way to let his children know how grateful I am for what he contributed to this world other than this letter. I received a heart transplant on June 28, 2001, at the Heart Center at St. Luke's Hospital in Houston. I have nothing but gratitude for what he contributed to the successful life I have been able to live for these last 15-plus years because of him. Please do not take your organs with you. There are so many people who need them here. JOHN M. YOUNG Rockdale Thank you, Nancy Berry, for the many years of service to College Station Thank you, Nancy Berry! College Station has been blessed with many outstanding mayors over the years, but you are the best of the best. Now, after all these years of outstanding volunteer community service and leadership, you soon will have a paying job! Congratulations on your election to the Brazos County Commissioners Court. Also, a special word to Len Berry: thank you for sharing your wonderful wife with us for these many years -- and more to come! DUKE and LAURA HOBBS College Station Donald Trump will be our next president and deserves respect Since the election, I have watched the newspapers to which we subscribe as they published articles, editorials (often reprinted from other newspapers) and cartoons which either castigated President-elect Donald Trump or made excuses for Hillary Clinton's loss. Watching the mainstream media, I see this same situation. In addition, most of the media generally have ignored the unprecedented protests against Trump, even though some of these turned violent, including more than $1 million dollars in damage during the Portland, Oregon, protests. Yet these same media highlight incidents where Trump supporters supposedly attacked or insulted some group of Clinton supporters, even though most of these incidents later were proved false. Because Clinton received more popular votes overall than Trump, the Democrats, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have attacked the Electoral College as "outdated." I have seen several letters in the two newspapers which we receive that explain why the Electoral College is needed: to prevent a few highly populated states from dominating the many less-populated states, the same reasoning our forefathers used in creating a legislature with two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Yet, I have seen no editorials that defend the system. Finally, in the past two or three days, the media have begun to complain about the "slowness" of the Trump transition team and writing or talking about "back-stabbing" within the transition team. Fox News recently compiled the time of naming first cabinet members by previous presidents, including Barack Obama. Too bad others of the media didn't do this. Three to four weeks was not unusual. So, is there a bias against Trump with the media? To me, the answer is simple. Although Trump was not my choice for the Republican nomination, he will be our next president and deserves respect and fairness from the media. KEITH ARNOLD Bryan Ask our representatives to abolish the Electoral College You have seen all the riots against Donald Trump and that isn't going to keep him out of office, but there is a way if people can get together and work fast. I know that is hard for people to do, especially at this time of year. The point is Trump has said he wants to make America great again so let's do it. Call your senators, representatives, and anyone else in Washington you can think of and get them to repeal the Electoral College and go back to the one man -- or woman -- one vote the way it was in the beginning. That way, going back to the popular vote, Hillary would win. Call write or fax the president. I'll bet he will do his best to get it done. We only have a short time; this is a legal way of doing it so get to work. We only have a little less than 30 days to get it done, and when you do tell them to make it retroactive to 2014 that way it already would be in affect and Trump would be out. DANNY STONE Navasota [Editor's Note: Americans never have elected our presidents by popular vote. The Electoral College was created in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution. To abolish it would require a constitutional amendment. There are two ways to do that. The first is a vote of two-thirds of the senators and representatives in Congress to approve an amendment, which then goes to the states, where it must be ratified by three-fourths of the legislatures or constitutional conventions. The send way is for two-thirds of the state legislatures to call a constitutional convention which could issue amendments. Again, such amendments would have to be approved by three-fourths of the legislatures. Only the first method ever has been used. The fastest an amendment has been ratified by the states is three months and eight days, in 1971, for the 26th Amendment lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.] In the early hours of Saturday morning, the 22nd UN Conference of the Parties (COP) on climate change was brought to an official close, amid a series of final declarations. Many had called for COP22 in Marrakech to be the 'COP of action'. There's a big problem here, though: the fundamental nature of these conferences is not active - it's diplomatic. And diplomacy is far better at holding action back, than driving it forward. The reality is that Marrakech was never going to be the COP of action in the way that campaigning groups around the world advocated for. It was the COP for cleaning up the forced, last-minute consensus of the Paris Agreement forged at COP21 last December. Paris was the photo-op, and Marrakech was the first of the nitty-gritty, argumentative, tense meetings that would follow. COP22 was always going to be the one where the Parties decided what the Paris Agreement actually meant. This is not a recipe for ambition, or grand bargains. It is a recipe for pragmatism - and that's exactly what we saw. Kicking the diplomatic can down the road High-level diplomatic action is a very different beast than putting-to-work action or implementation at the level of national governments, local governments, the private sector, civil society - down to individual households. Marrakech did feature action, but predominantly diplomatic and rhetorical action - which does not amount to much in the real world, and certainly does little for the legitimacy of the UNFCCC process. That's not to say there was a great surge of diplomatic action in Marrakech, either. In fact, there are many reasons to be disappointed by the lack of progress. The technicalities of implementing each country's National Determined Contributions (NDCs) remain vague. The open questions that have been kicked down the road at every COP for so many years - like financing, adaptation and compensation to states suffering from loss and damage from climate change - saw the usual spirited debate and confusion, but very little progress. On new topics raised by the Paris Agreement that needed to be filled out in detail and implemented into the Paris framework - like the 'Rulebook' for state action and the 'Facilitative Dialogue' for non-state action - the advance was limited, and disappointed observers and Parties alike. The best that can be said about this year's COP is that it sent a firm, appropriate signal in the aftermath of the US election, thanks in no small part to the Chinese delegation. In the 'Marrakech Action Declaration', Parties to the COP "call on all non-state actors to join ... for immediate and ambitious action and mobilization, building on ... important achievements". In a massive stroke of irony, a federal judge one appointed by President Barack Obama entered a nationwide injunction Tuesday to stop the implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act overtime rules that would have taken effect on December 1, 2016. In March 2014, President Obama directed the Secretary of Labor to modernize and streamline the existing overtime regulations for executive, administrative, and professional employees (read: create more overtime $$$ because raising the minimum wage wasnt working). Nearly three years later, the crown jewel of President Obamas HR-compliance legacy is on ice and could be completely undone. Further down the page, Ill address the HR implications of yesterdays remarkable decision in Nevada v. U.S. Department of Labor. But first, Ill break down Judge Amos L. Mazzants opinion (here). The Final [Overtime] Ruleis unlawful. Back in September, 21 states sued the DOL to block implementation of the overtime rule. Separately, a bunch of business groups brought a similar action against the DOL. Those two cases were eventually consolidated. Yesterday, Judge Mazzant determined that all of the plaintiffs would likely succeed on the merits of their arguments; namely, that the DOL had overreached by raising the minimum salary level for these so-called EAP employees. Without getting too wonky for you, here are the money shots. First, Judge Mazzant concluded that Congress intended that the EAP exemptions only account for duties, not dollars: After reading the plain meanings together with the statute, it is clear Congress intended the EAP exemption to apply to employees doing actual executive, administrative, and professional duties. In other words, Congress defined the EAP exemption with regard to duties, which does not include a minimum salary level. The plain meanings of the terms in Section 213(a)(1), as well as Supreme Court precedent, affirms the Courts conclusion that Congress intended the EAP exemption to depend on an employees duties rather than an employees salary. Second, Judge Mazzant stressed that the DOL had overreached Congress clear intent governing the Fair Labor Standards Act: While this explicit delegation would give the Department significant leeway to establish the types of duties that might qualify an employee for the exemption, nothing in the EAP exemption indicates that Congress intended the Department to define and delimit with respect to a minimum salary level. Thus, the Departments delegation is limited by the plain meaning of the statute and Congresss intent.With the Final Rule, the Department exceeds its delegated authority and ignores Congresss intent by raising the minimum salary level such that it supplants the duties test. Finally, Judge Mazzant underscored that, had Congress wanted to hinge the EAP exemptions on a particular salary level, it should have done so itself: The Departments role is to carry out Congresss intent. If Congress intended the salary requirement to supplant the duties test, then Congress, and not the Department, should make that change. And, this injunction isnt just for employers in Texas; its nationwide! A nationwide injunction is proper in this case. The Final Rule is applicable to all states. Consequently, the scope of the alleged irreparable injury extends nationwide. A nationwide injunction protects both employees and employers from being subject to different EAP exemptions based on location. [Update (11/23/16 2:24 pm: The injunction includes the part of the final rule covering highly-compensated employees. Thanks to a reader for raising that issue.] What are business groups and others are saying about the injunction? From SHRM: Reaction from @SHRM: Court's decision on #overtime rule welcomed news for #HR and employers who have been struggling with impacts of rule SHRM Public Affairs (@SHRMPress) November 22, 2016 From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: U.S. Chamber Responds to Courts Preliminary Injunction Blocking DOLs Overtime Rule | @USChamber. https://t.co/RGmFnjDGNH Rob Engstrom (@RobEngstrom) November 22, 2016 From the DOL: Whats now? The overtime rule will not take effect on December 1, 2016. Whats next? I see a few options: The DOL appeals to the Fifth Circuit, which probably wont issue an opinion until 2017. If the Fifth Circuit reverses, then the injunction is lifted (for now) and the matter returns to the lower court to be litigated further. A lame-duck Congress comes up with a compromise bill (maybe something like this), for President Obamas signature. The DOL does nothing, in which case the case gets litigated and Judge Mazzant likely converts the preliminary injunction into a permanent injunction. President Elect Trump addresses this after his confirmation. Should your business unring the bell too? Most of you reading this post have already prepared for the DOL overtime rule. For most of you, that means some combination of: (a) raising salaries; (b) converting salaried employees to hourly; (c) limiting overtime opportunities; and (d) layoffs. While the overtime rules may eventually change to something resembling the enjoined final rule, what are you going to do now? How will you balance the cost savings of a do-over for the employees whose salaries you raised against the morale hit lowering their salaries especially around the holidays will cause. Do you reconvert the salaried employees whom you changed to hourly back to salaried? On the one hand, a salaried employee generally enjoys more freedom (and benefits). But, will there be backlash from depriving these employees of overtime opportunities. Will you re-hire some of the folks you laid off when anticipating higher operating costs. And, Ill say it. What about those of who may be used the DOL Final Rule as cover to fix some past wage-and-hour transgressions? Does your strategy now change? These answers arent easy and they wont come overnight. But, when you do decide how to proceed, Id like to hear from you. Good luck! Dean Michael Hunter Schwartz has announced he will step down as the Dean of the University of Arkansas - Little Rock law school at the end of the school year. He joined UALR as dean in July 2013. According to one source, he is being forced out for political reasons, because of an email he sent to students after the election offering counseling to those upset by the results. A colleague of Schwartz's, Robert Steinbuch, who previously tussled with Schwartz over diversity in admissions, explained to Heatstreet: If you tell people every time they lose theyre entitled to counseling, you elevate the perceived level of wrong beyond what it is. Most assuredly, Democrats are disappointed a Republican won. I recall when the Democratic Party won the Presidency twice each of the previous two elections. I knew plenty of people who were disappointed at that time, but I didnt know anybody that needed grief counseling. I think when we tell people that they need some form of grief counseling we are normalizing hysteria and suggesting theres something immoral or wrong about our democratic process. Filipinos around the world are demanding that exhumation of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos body, after he was given a secret heros burial. The hasty burial at a heroes cemetery in Manila occurred after the Supreme Court voted 9-5 with one abstention to dismiss petitions opposing President Rodrigo Dutertes approval of Marcoss burial at the cemetery, where ex-presidents, soldiers and national artists have been laid to rest. The ruling, opponents say rolled back the democratic triumph when Filipinos ousted the strongman in a people power revolt three decades ago. We are disappointed. We are heartbroken. We are outraged, a coalition of nearly 40 groups opposed to Marcoss burial at the cemetery said in a joint statement. With this decision, the very definition of hero is now in question. The dictators son and namesake, former Sen. Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. thanked the high court for taking a magnanimous act to uphold the rule of law and expresssed his gratitude to Duterte. It is our sincerest hope that this will lead the nation towards healing, Marcos Jr. said after decades of discord over the burial of his father. The surprise move by the Marcos family and the government to bury him so quickly after the Supreme Court verdict, with appeals still to be heard, caused further outrage. Barry Gutierrez, counsel for the anti-Marcos court petitioners, said the burial was illegal because of the outstanding appeals. "We are shocked and angered," Gutierrez said. A petition has now been filed exhume the body while multiple rallies to protest the move are being planned in the Philippines and around the world. President Rodrigo Duterte himself claimed he did not know the remains of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos would be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani last Friday, November 18. The President added that those who cannot forgive the Marcoses will just have to live with their pain. Groups opposing the burial are also set to hold two grand rallies to further send their message of disdain, particularly to the President. Groups led by the Coalition Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacanang (Carmma) will have a grand rally on Friday, November 25, at 4 pm, in time for Duterte's arrival from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Peru. Meanwhile, the Coalition Against Marcos Burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Camb-LNMB) will "occupy" the national shrine on November 30, Bonifacio Day. Victims of torture during the Martial Law years of the Marcos dictatorship have been holding rallies over the past week In solidarity with them were those who took part in a peaceful revolution in 1986 that overthrew Marcos, forcing him and his family to flee to Hawaii where he died in 1989. He was never buried. Marcos' remains were refrigerated crypt in his home province in northern Philippines. "We cannot allow our history to be rewritten. We must never forget," said Che Lipa, who was at the protest with his wife, Lita. The couple, both 70, met in university where Che Lipa was already a student activist who opposed Martial Law. In 1986, the couple and their young children marched some 35 kilometers from their home to EDSA, the Philippine capital's major highway, where civilians gathered for a peaceful face off with the military. "I was one of those who stopped the (military) tanks back then," Lipa proudly recalled. Marcos ruled the Philippines for two decades until forced into US exile by the "People Power" revolution, a largely peaceful event that inspired democracy movements throughout Asia and around the world. Marcos, his infamously flamboyant wife Imelda, and their cronies plundered up to $10 billion from state coffers during his rule, according to government investigators and historians. The dictator also oversaw widespread human rights abuses to maintain his control of the country and enable his plundering, with thousands of people killed and tortured, previous Philippine governments said. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International in 2004 named Marcos the second most corrupt leader of all time, behind Indonesian dictator Suharto. The Philippines' foreign debt went from $2.67 billion in 1972, when Marcos declared martial law, to $28.2 billion in 1986, according to the World Bank. After Marcos died in Hawaii in 1989, his family began a successful political comeback and tried repeatedly to have him buried at the heroes' cemetery, where other presidents and celebrated military figures are interred. Imelda became a congresswoman and fended off all corruption charges against her. Two of her children established themselves as influential politicians. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jnr, was the more successful, becoming a senator before almost winning the vice presidency this year. However previous presidents had refused to allow the burial in the heroes' cemetery because of Marcos's crimes, so the family kept the preserved body in a glass casket at his home in the northern province of Ilocos Norte. The family's fortunes changed with the election of Duterte, a longtime ally of the Marcos family, as president in May this year. He said Marcos deserved to be buried at the heroes' cemetery based on the fact he had been a president and a veteran of World War II. Duterte also said he owed loyalty to the family because his father served in the Marcos government and the family had helped fund his election campaign. At the assembly of the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses in Malacanang (Carmma) on Nov. 19, groups announced that they will stage a massive protest on Nov. 25, to make President Duterte feel the true sentiment of the Filipino people against the Marcoses, martial law, and its legacy of impunity. Photo caption: Putting an end to "sanctuary cities" is among the bullying tactics being adopted by an incoming Trump administration, writes Dr. Binoy Kampmark.Credit: Center for Immigration Studies, Washington D.C. Commentary by Dr. Binoy Kampmark, Special to The Post Throughout the campaign for the White House, Donald Trump sensationalized one of the great sores of U.S. political and social life: the issue of immigrants, notably the undocumented, and what his presidency would do to them. As Trump asserted to Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, the target here was deporting the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, we have a lot of people, probably two million, it could be even three million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate. To that end, he has also promised to create what he has termed a deportation force specifically to round up undocumented residents, enabling the good ones to enter on a legal basis. This view, incidentally, is common in such countries as Australia and some in the European Union. Building the wall Throughout its history with immigration, the United States has had a complex association, swerving between nativist impulse and economic accommodation. The issue of Hispanic immigrants, most notably Mexicans, riles various U.S. citizens concerned that a reconquista, pecking away at U.S. sovereignty, is in the making. Trumps promised Wall along the Mexican border is not so much a practical response as a viscerally padded one, rooted in the symbol of control long lost. Since a Trump administration is supposedly going to be all about business, the near impossibility of achieving the totality of such an ignoble dream will come to the fore. The balance sheet of contributions by immigrants, whatever their status, has always outweighed by some good margin what negative aspects the vast pool offers the United States. Furthermore, the undocumented pool provides a class that enables prices, however justly this may seem, to be kept down. To deport on scale millions of immigrants deemed unsuitable to the U.S. dream would not so much make America great again to use Trumps tiresome, sales-pitched line as it would unmake it. That is merely an observation on consequence, and possibly one the non-ideologues will pick up on. Shallow on facts The figure of two to three million drawn out by Trump out of his not so magical hat is also questionable. The Department of Homeland Security doesnt have those figures, at least in so far as they are of the bad egg variety. The Donald, as ever, continues being shallow about the facts. Trump is also going to be facing considerable opposition on the ground, both from the legal side of matters, and logistical frustrations. The machinery needed to fulfill the removal of such immigrants is patchy, often stuttering due to local measures. The Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution stands out as one the greatest impediments. Full removal proceedings must be undergone in court. Time is required, with the government having to show grounds of alienage and deportability, with the respondent permitted grounds of defence and opportunities to plead for relief from deportation. These points are also outlined in measures implemented by Congress. A burdensome road for the government indeed. The scale also being promised would be staggering the ACLU suggests that the whole mass deportation scheme, were it to be implemented, would require the arrest of 15,000 people a day on immigration charges, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Courts charged with immigration cases are bound to suffer acute paralysis. Hotspot California In hotspot California, opposition and resistance to any such policy from a Trump administration is being promised. In Los Angeles alone reside up to a million undocumented immigrants of the total 11 million in the country. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said on Monday that no favours were going to be given to the federal government, making the point that the LAPD would not abandon precedent in favour of Trumps new calls. We are not going to engage in law enforcement activities solely based on somebodys immigration status. We are not going to work in conjunction with Homeland Security on deportation efforts. That is not our job, nor will I make it our job. Since 1979, then police chief Daryl Gates signed Special Order 40 prohibiting officers from making contact with someone on the sole grounds of determining whether he or she was in the country on legal grounds. During Gates tenure, the supply of those arrested for low-tier crimes to federal agencies for deportation started to dry up. The LAPD, in other words, was uninterested in doing the dirty work of the federal authorities. Sanctuary cities This effectively undercuts the issue of identifying the undocumented non-citizens in question. To deport, you would have to have the means, and complicity of state authorities, to conduct the round-up. Such behaviour, if conducted to scale, would result in mass violations of the Fourth Amendment, a true police state measure. Trump has a few bullying tricks up his sleeve. He has threatened to withdraw funding from police departments and sanctuary cities that persist in their pathway of protection and stalling on the issue of how to deal with undocumented residents. But government is not merely about hard cash and threats of targeting budgets. Ideas and pragmatism count, and Trumps self-proclaimed embrace of shallowness in search of success will have to bend at least at points. Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: [email protected] This piece was originally appeared in New Canadian Media (newcanadianmedia.ca). See http://newcanadianmedia.ca/item/39264-trump-s-impossible-deportation-goals-trump-s-impossible-deportation-goals A Rocky Mount man's felony conviction for hanging a noose in his yard will stand, based on a decision this week by the Virginia Court of Appeals. Jack Eugene Turner, 53, has admitted he used a rope to suspend a dark-colored, life-sized dummy in his yard during a 2015 feud with his neighbors, a black family. At a bench trial last year in Franklin County Circuit Court, Turner was found guilty of violating a state law, passed in 2009, which prohibits displaying a noose to intimidate someone. He was sentenced to six months in jail and served his time, but earlier this year, defense attorney Holland Perdue appealed the case. In September, a three-judge panel heard arguments from Perdue and from Assistant Attorney General Christopher Schandevel, who said Turner's actions constituted unprotected threats no matter where they occurred. As he had during Turner's trial, Perdue claimed that Turner's display was protected as free speech under the First Amendment, and also that it occurred on Turner's own private property and not "on a highway or other public place" as the statute prohibits. In a 16-page opinion released Tuesday, Judge Robert Humphreys affirmed Turner's conviction. "The evidence was sufficient to support the circuit court's conclusion that the offense occurred in a public place," Humphreys wrote, adding that Turner's act violated the law because "Turner displayed a noose and dummy in a place and manner to communicate threats to others with the intent to place members of the public in fear of violence and bodily harm." While he acknowledged the importance of free speech, and that "the First Amendment protects Turner's right to be a racist and even to convey his racist beliefs to others," he later added that a "constitutional limit to that allowance has been reached when an idea becomes a threat that causes reasonable people to fear leaving their homes." At Turner's trial, one of the victims in the case, neighbor John Mitchell, testified to just that. "If he can hang a noose, I don't know what's going to happen. I fear for my family's safety," Mitchell said in court. "Every morning, I walk out my door. Is somebody going to shoot me in the back?" The hanging dummy appeared in Turner's yard the afternoon of June 17, 2015, just a few hours before a mass shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, that left nine people dead. Although police confiscated Turner's display soon after it appeared, Turner later hung a Confederate flag on his porch and another in a window that faces the Mitchell home. Between his trial and his sentencing, Turner was rearrested for violating the terms of his bond by posting a spray-painted sign in his yard that read: "Black n----- lives don't matter. Got rope?" Turner is the first person in Virginia to be convicted under the relatively new noose law. A Class 6 felony, it carries up to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine. The week before Turner's case was heard by the appeals court, he sent a handwritten letter to The Roanoke Times. Although the note did not acknowledge the incidents or the displays, he asked for forgiveness. "I would like to apologize to all Roanoke to Christiansburg and surrounding area African-Americans for my senseless and cruel actions," he wrote. Nearly 20 veterans with over 175 collective years of active military service were honored Thursday night at the Rocky Mount Masonic Lodge #201. Ten-year United States Army Veteran Dr. David Roycroft was the guest speaker at the annual veterans appreciation dinner, which was attended by local veterans and their families. Roycroft, 80, spoke of the effects of combat on the minds of soldiers and the importance of getting help for PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). Roycroft told the story of his Uncle Tom his fathers oldest brother who was drafted into the Army during WWI. Tom, once very active in his school, church and community, returned home from the war shell-shocked, Roycroft said. Tom went off on a ship, but he never really came home, he said. He lived with his mother and disabled sister the rest of his life. Hed sit outside and stare straight ahead. Hed replay the horrible scenes of war over and over in his head. Hed never talk to anyone about what he went through or the things he saw in France. Normal people do not positively respond to the things of war. No one walks away from it unscathed. Roycroft encouraged everyone to be alert and to look for signs of PTSD in veterans. Try to get them to talk, he said. Its very difficult. If not, try to get them to go to the VA (Veterans Administration), where they can talk about it and get help. Otherwise, they harbor these images in the depths of their minds. I urge you to give them every inch of compassion you can. After the Thanksgiving feast, members of Franklin County High Schools Air Force Junior ROTC presented the colors. Also attending the service was Most Worshipful James Edward Litten, past Grand Master of Masons in Virginia for 2016. In addition to the meal, a military arms display was on display with American and foreign guns and artillery from as far back as the Civil War. The Community Builders Award was presented to Dr. J. Francis Amos, who served Franklin County as a family physician for 39 years before retiring in 2014. The award was given in recognition of outstanding service to the community and with heartfelt gratitude for significant efforts towards making the community a better place in which to live. You possess character traits all masons strive for, said Lodge Master Leon Robertson to Amos. You have moral values. You exemplify honor and integrity. You practice charity. You exercise brotherly love and commitment to family. Youre patriotic and, most importantly, you have a belief in God. Robertson then named Amos an unofficial mason. Your name may not be on a piece of paper officially saying that you are a mason, but you are one in your heart, Robertson said. So we unofficially claim you as our brother. Amos accepted the award on behalf of so many people who have done so much more. Our veterans have done so much more, not just for our community, but for our nation as a whole, Amos said. Thats what it takes to make a community and thats what we are really recognizing. Ive been blessed to be a part of this and to God be the glory. This is indeed an honor and I will always cherish it. Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ... Podcast: Who comes out ahead in the Charlie Jones vs. Iowa football reunion? NORWALK It wasnt until leaders of the local Muslim community approached their counterparts at Congregation Beth El about a temporary prayer space that both groups realized they knew little about each other. There was a lot of language going on over the summer, all over the news and my kids schools and town and even in our synagogue about xenophobia and knowing your neighbors and who means what, and it all came to a head before the Muslim community could move into their new space, and they asked if they could use some of our prayer space, said Sharon DeFala, Beth El president. The rabbi came to our board of directors with the question, and while we were sorting out what we wanted to do for them, we realized nobody knew anyone ... so it opened up a bigger question: how are we going to get to know them? The conversation resulted in an interfaith series at Beth El. The first event took place Nov. 4 when the synagogue hosted the imam from Al Madany Islamic Center of Norwalk. About 40 people from the Muslim community and 120 congregants from Beth El gathered for Friday night services and a dinner in which attendees learned about both faiths, their similarities and their differences. It was so beautiful, DeFala said. Our sanctuary seats were full. There was a whole contingent of people from the Muslim community, a large contingent from our own community, and everyone prayed together. It was really amazing. That was followed by a dinner in the social hall, and part of what the imam spoke about was how similar our two religions are. We have similar styles of worship, similar goals, similar obligations about the poor and the hungry and the weakest among us and what our responsibilities are as a community. The success of the event spawned a second, set to take place Dec. 2 when Beth El will host the Rev. Ronnell Howard from Cornerstone Community Church, a United Methodist Church. It was formed when the congregations of the East Avenue Methodist Church and Norwalk United Methodist Church merged in June. Howard said she thinks the idea of interfaith services is important to the community because it opens up conversations about other faiths. Sometimes we assume that people know about our faith and I think people really dont know about other faiths, Howard said. They know their own, or if they dont have any they dont necessarily know any. This is an opportunity to offer information about our faith and what we practice. Howard echoed DeFalas comments on the influence of a divisive national dialogue regarding religious and minority groups in recent months, and said she hopes to introduce similar events at her own church by inviting faith leaders from other religious groups in the community to take part in interfaith events. Im looking forward to having the dialogue, Howard said. Right now with the climate in our society being so polarizing, its important to take every opportunity to reach out beyond ourselves and make connections with people who are different from us and believe different to draw ourselves closer. Right now were being pulled apart and I think its important to draw each other closer rather than be separated by our differences. The December service at Beth El is free and open to the public, but the dinner does require a small fee to cover the cost of food and other expenses. December dinner is not free, there is a minimum charge, primarily to encourage people to register in advance, but it is open to the public. Pricing and details are available by contacting Beth El at 203-838-2710 by Nov. 25. DeFala said more interfaith services are being planned for the spring. I always think interfaith work is one of the most important things a faith community can engage in, said Beth El Rabbi Ita Paskind. We spend a lot of time in our own little circle talking about how important every human life is and the shared humanity that unites us, and we need to put our money where our mouth is and get to know our neighbors. KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt NORWALK The Norwalk Common Council on Tuesday unanimously approved nearly $8 million in federal and local funding to help floodproof and stormproof the future Washington Village. A $4 million federal community development block grant and $3.95 million to be bonded by the city have been designated to raise the intersection of Day and Raymond streets, move utilities underground and make other infrastructure improvements related to the Washington Village Transformation Plan. Councilman Bruce I. Kimmel, an at-large Democrat, said the approvals were needed for Trinity Financial, LLC, the Boston-based real estate development firm chosen to rebuild Washington Village, to secure financing to break ground on the first phase of the larger $140 million project. Trinity Financial had planned to break ground last year, but a lawsuit filed by a neighborhood organization concerned about rebuilding in a flood plain delayed the start. A judge ruled earlier this year against the plaintiffs. All of the city folks who were involved in this, in a very short period of time, were able to make up a lot of ground quickly and to move this project along, because the $30 million Choice Neighborhoods grant wasnt going to last forever, and we lost those two precious years, Kimmel said. They have done a miraculous job to get us to this point and its going to make it a lot easier for Trinity to raise the necessary funds to really move this project forward. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the Norwalk Housing Authority a $30 million grant to help rebuild the public-housing complex off Water Street in South Norwalk. The Housing Authority and Trinity Financial have scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for Monday at 11 a.m., at 13 Day St. in South Norwalk. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is expected to attend. Phase One of the project calls for construction of 80 apartments on the city-owned parcels at 13 and 20 Day St. Councilman Douglas E. Hempstead, an at-large Republican, thanked city officials and successive mayors and council members of both political parties for believing in the project for eight years. Even back then I knew how much of a game-changer this was going to be for that portion of Norwalk, and the importance of improving the quality of life in South Norwalk, Hempstead said. The larger Washington Village Transformation Plan calls for razing Washington Village and its 136 apartments and building in their place 136 public-housing units, 67 workforce housing units and 70 market-rate units in two-, three- and four-story buildings. The infrastructure improvements will entail raising the intersection of Day and Raymond streets to guard against flooding and also provide a safe evacuation route. Raising Raymond and Day Streets will allow safe access for emergency vehicles and an evacuation route for residents during flood event, and provide greater resiliency and reduce the impact of future flooding in the project area, Connecticut Housing Commissioner Evonne M. Klein wrote in a letter to Norwalk Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Timothy T. Sheehan that was provided to the council Tuesday evening. The infrastructure work also will relocate all above-ground utilities to underground locations. Severe weather is the number one cause of power outages and negatively impacts the regional economy, Sheehan wrote in a memorandum provided to the council. Moreover, the aging nature of the local electrical infrastructure, much of which was constructed over a period of more than 50 years has made it more susceptible to outages caused by severe weather. In other business, the council elected John E. Igneri, a District E Democrat, as its president for the final year of the 2015-17 council. Democrats re-elected John Kydes of District C to lead their caucus. Republicans elected Michelle A. Maggio of District C as the leader of their caucus. NORWALK A suspect in the September robbery of a Connecticut Avenue gold exchange shop has been extradited from Florida to face charges in Connecticut. Antonio Barreto, 21, of Meriden, was apprehended on Nov. 1 by officers with the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force in Kissimee, Fla. on a warrant charging him in the Sept. 9 robbery at Gold Rush, 495 Connecticut Ave. Barreto was being held there on $250,000 bond pending extradition. The 7th Annual Feed the People Food Pantry Thanksgiving Food Drive held at the Aquaculture School in Bridgeport, Conn. on Tuesday Nov. 22, 2015. The drive was held at the Aquaculture School for the first time so some of the students could volunteer and because the school donated some of the food. The Feed the People Food Pantry is located at the P.T. Barnum Apartments and accommodates food for over 500 families. Its founder, Prophetess Geraldine Claytor, passed away in 2015 and her daughter Bennyta Thompson took over organizing the event. JUNEAU A 70-year-old Fox Lake man pleaded guilty to negligent homicide Tuesday. The charges stem from a 2014 traffic crash that led to the death of an 9-year-old Lindenhurst, Ill., boy and severely injured of two adults. Lee Henricksen entered a guilty plea to one count of felony homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and one count of felony reckless driving, causing great bodily harm. An additional count of reckless driving was dismissed but was read into the court record. Judge Brian Pfitzinger accepted Henricksens plea and found him guilty of the charges. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 18. On Aug. 15, 2014, a semi truck, a Honda Insight and a Dodge Intrepid were involved in a crash at the intersection of Highway A and Burns Road in the town of Beaver Dam. According to the criminal complaint, the Dodge County Sheriffs Department crash reconstructionist determined that the driver of the semi truck, identified as Henricksen, failed to stop or brake for the Honda which was stopped at the intersection of Highway A and Indian Hills Trail waiting for a northbound vehicle to pass so it could make a left turn. Henricksens semi truck struck the Honda and pushed it into oncoming traffic where it was struck by the Dodge Intrepid. According to the criminal complaint, the sheriffs crash team determined that Henricksen was not paying attention to the roadway and was exceeding the posted speed limit at the time of the crash. Officers estimated his speed between 58 and 70 mph when the posted speed limit is 45 mph. The driver of the Honda, identified as Judith Haddad, 45, Lindenhurst, Ill., told officers that her son, Ilan Hurtado, was trapped in the backseat and was unresponsive. Officers located a pulse but noticed it was very weak. Both Haddad and her son were extricated from the vehicle and were taken by Flight For Life to UW Hospital in Madison. The driver of the Dodge, identified as Jennifer Polenska, 31, Waupun, told officers that she was driving north on Highway A and saw the black Honda stopped at the intersection of Highway A and Indian Hills Trail. She allegedly said that a semi truck struck the back end of the black Honda which was pushed into her lane of traffic. Polenska said she then struck the black Honda, although she tried to avoid it. Polenska identified the operator of the semi truck as Henricksen. Officers interviewed Henricksen who said that he did not see the vehicle in front of him and rear ended the black Honda. He said the Honda then swung into oncoming traffic, striking the Dodge Intrepid head-on. While being interviewed, Henricksen allegedly said, I have been driving for 35 years. I never did anything or hurt anybody. Henricksen was uninjured in the crash and voluntarily submitted to a blood draw following the accident at Beaver Dam Community Hospital. No alcohol or drugs were detected in Henrickens blood. On Aug. 19, the boy who was trapped in the Honda during the accident was pronounced dead at UW Hospital in Madison. Haddad suffered multiple fractures including a pelvis fracture, broken ribs, and broken lower vertebrae. According to the criminal complaint, she currently remains in a rehabilitation facility in Chicago. Polenska suffered a broken right ankle, a broken left arm, damaged tendons in the right knee, and contusions and abrasions. Patriotismthe love of place, countrymen, and local traditionslasted for millennia, until replaced by nationalism, which we believe is a natural outgrowth of tribal life, instead of an invention of Western Europe. I sat through elementary school not knowing that to guarantee new generations of virtuous and patriotic citizens, the French Revolution established the first comprehensive system of national education. For the first time, education became a primary interest of the state; the schooling of young children served the political and economic ends of the nation and more importantly instilled the love of country. I absorbed the lessons in civic virtues imparted to me and to my fellow students. We heard tales about great patriots and learned such inspiring lessons as Our country! May she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong; and I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country. At times, the main point of school seemed to be about learning the glorious past of America. I was taught an updated version of what a New England teachers group proposed as guidelines for American history textbooks, in 1898: extol the virtues of the noble Indian; dwell on the brilliant intellect, the undaunted courage, and the magnificent faith of Columbus, the hardship of the Pilgrims, the simplicity of the Quakers; show how the Revolution was due solely to the brutal tyranny of the British, and how Washington and Franklin had in supreme degree all the virtues and not a single fault; characterize the Constitution as the greatest product of the human mind; dwell on the enormities of the British after the Treaty of Paris, in 1783, that ratified Americas independence, and the glorious victories of the War of 1812; show how the South went all wrong.[i] I was not taught, and my teachers probably did not know, that patriotism and nationalism are not identical; not once in all my schooling did I hear George Orwells admonition that nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism.[ii] The American Civil War, known in the South as the War Between the States and also as the War of Northern Aggression, pitted a democratic Nation-State against an aristocratic society. The anthems of the South and the North reveal the fundamental differences between patriotism and nationalism. Confederate soldiers strummed their banjos and sang the easy-going tune, I wish I was in the land of cotton, old times there are not forgotten; Look away, look away, look away, Dixie Land. In Dixie Land where I was born in, early on a frosty mornin; Look away, look away, look away, Dixie Land. The Southerners in their reveries to escape the wretchedness of war dreamed of black-eyed peas and grits, recalled the love of the land and local customs, and desired to return to an indolent life supported by slavery. Northerners sang, He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on. God elected Northerners to die to make men free, and with His truth is marching on, a person had no choice but to hop aboard the train of history or to be run over, as the driving motor pulse of the tune informs the emotions. Patriotismthe love of place, countrymen, and local traditionslasted for millennia, until replaced by nationalism, which first appeared in seventeenth-century England. Nationalism is so prevalent in Modernity that we believe it is a natural outgrowth of tribal life, instead of an invention of Western Europe that was exported to the rest of the world. According to historian Hans Kohn, nationalism has three essential aspects: Under Puritan influence the three main ideas of Hebrew nationalism were revived: the chosen people, the Covenant, and the Messianic expectancy. The English nation regarded itself as the new Israel.[iii] Before World War I, for many Englishmen, the difference between God and the British Empire was blurred: The patriotic songs and the church hymns seemed equally holy.[iv] Even the smallest of Nation-States claims an historic destiny. With a name worthy of a Marx Brothers movie, like Freedonia in Duck Soup, Greater Serbia would evoke laughter, if it were not for the Serbian ethnic cleansing of the Kosovar Albanians. The Chosen People The founding of America was based on the Puritans belief that they were the new chosen people of God. For a time, the Puritans believed God had selected England as the country in which the Reformation would reach its consummation. They expected that the Established Church of England would someday be broken up and reorganized into independent, covenanted congregations. By 1620 the Puritans, however, were prosecuted in England and routed out of Europe. Just when their cause seemed hopeless, the hand of God stretched forth and led the most select of His saints out of Egypt to the New Jerusalem to build a City upon a Hill for all humanity to see. In route to New England, in 1630, John Winthrop stood on the deck of the Arbella and delivered a sermon on the Puritans historic destiny: We shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.[v] The New England Puritans saw themselves as having been given a mission by God to show the world how the Reformation was to be completed. In his classic work, The New England Mind, Perry Miller emphasizes that the towns of Massachusetts and Connecticut were not designed to become mere abodes of prosperity and contentment, to give men land and crops, peace and security. They were to demonstrate to England and Europe what yet remained to be achieved, and their appointed task was as clear to the eye of reason studying the pages of history, as to the eye of faith perusing the pages of revelation.[vi] The Covenant The Puritans entered into covenants first with God, then with each other in the Church, and lastly in society to form a political state. Before disembarking at Plymouth, in 1620, the Puritans drew up the Mayflower Compact: We do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue of hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.[vii] The Puritans knew their government had been brought into existence by an act of the people; furthermore, they believed the people created the one kind of government outlined by God. New England political theory made the state almost a kind of second incarnation, a Messiah fathered by God and born of the people, Miller writes.[viii] Once again, and perhaps for the last time, God had entered into history to create a new political order by acting through the people. The goal of the new political order was to prepare citizens for the Final Judgment. Miller points out that the Puritans believed that when mortals combine their several regenerate wills into one all-inclusive will, the state becomes the savior, the child of God and man, leading men to righteousness and preparing them for the final reckoning.[ix] Messianic Destiny As religious inspiration waned in America, the belief remained that Americans are the chosen people with a special destiny in history. America was a new continent, a new beginning for humanity, a beacon to light the way for the rest of the world. John Adams, in 1765, expressed this national Messianism in his diary: America was designed by Providence for the theater on which man was to make his true figure, on which science, virtue, liberty, happiness, and glory were to exist in peace.[x] George Washington in his First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789, proclaimed, No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of man more than those of the United States. Every step by which we have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token providential agency. Thomas Jefferson in his Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1805, said, I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life. Europe is Egypt; America, the promised land. God led his people to establish a new social order that will light the way for all nations and gave them the mission to spread democracy and freedom. On the back of the U.S. one dollar bill is the Great Seal of the United States. Below the unfinished pyramid is Novus ordo seclorumNew Order of the Agesand above the pyramid is Annuit cptisGod favors our undertakings. Later, the Puritans belief that Gods covenant with the new chosen people aimed at their salvation from sin was forgotten; however, the idea remained that the government was formed by a social compact between individuals. When no longer seen as a continuation of the will of God, Americans understood their government was founded on the self-evident truths of nature; the social compact between individuals was believed to be instituted not to carry out Gods salvation plan for humanity, but to secure mens inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness[1]. What then held the nation together was an idea liberty under law; the people themselves had formed the new Covenantthe Constitution. The United States Constitution has lasted longer than any other written constitution on earth because without the Covenant there would be no American nation. Every school child in the United States learns that Americans are the chosen people, who established a City on the Hill, a beacon to light the way for Old Europe. In junior high school, my civics teacher taught that Americans in the nineteenth century sought to fulfill a Manifest Destiny, the religious belief that the United States should expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in the name of God. He showed the class a reproduction of the painting American Progress (1872) by John Gast. (See illustration at top of this essay.) The students were impressed by the settlers moving west under the guidance of Columbia, the personification of American Liberty. As the goddess travels toward the darkened west, she is bringing the light, depicted on the right (eastern) side of the painting. She holds the book of knowledge and is stringing telegraph wire that will enable communication across the vast nation. Americans, in the main, believe the myth that the founding of their country was on the whole peaceful; they ignore that the new American order greatly weakened, if not destroyed, Native American cultures. Disease and at times genocidal policies reduced a population of Native Americans estimated at ten million in 1620 to 240,000 in the early twentieth century.[xi] Already in 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville, a French aristocrat and social philosopher, saw the rapid decline of the Native American population, with many tribes no longer in existence: All the Indian tribes who once inhabited the territory of New Englandthe Narragansetts, the Mohicans, the Pequotsnow live only in mens memories; the Lenapes, who received William Penn a hundred and fifty years ago on the Delaware, have now vanished. I met the last of the Iroquois; they were begging.[xii] Tocqueville witnessed the frightful sufferings that attended the forced westward migration of the Native Americans from east of the Mississippi. Standing on the left bank of the Mississippi at Memphis, he saw a large band of Choctaws arrive and endeavor to cross the river in hope of finding the asylum promised them by the United States government. He saw with his own eyes the miseries the Choctaws endured: It was then the depths of winter, and that year the cold was exceptionally severe; the snow was hard upon the ground, and huge masses of ice drifted on the river. The Indians brought their families with them; there were among them the wounded, the sick, newborn babies, and the old men on the point of death. They had neither tents nor wagons, but only some provisions and weapons. I saw them embark to cross the great river, and the sight will never fade from my memory. Neither sob nor complaint rose from the silent assembly. Their afflictions were of long standing, and they felt them to be irremediable.[xiii] All the cowboy movies I saw as a boy led me to believe that Indian chiefs were bloodthirsty, cruel savages. Not only were the movies an insult to Native Americans, they masked the white mans way. Later, I was shocked to discover that the common opinion that an Indian chief had great power, even the power over life, is false. No Native American chief could declare war and command braves to follow him into battle. If a chief elected to go on the warpath, each brave decided for himself whether to go to war or not. In the Apache Wars, all the braves voluntarily followed Geronimo in his revenge attacks against the Mexicans for killing his family.[xiv] Furthermore, the council of elders made no laws that were enforceable upon individuals. If the council decided to move camp, the decision was not compulsory; no one was forced to leave against his will, and a family or two might elect to stay in the old village.[xv] But if the chief and the elders did not govern through force, then how did they govern? Their sole authority was their personal knowledge of tradition, life, craft, and warfare. Obedience to personal authority was voluntary; no person had political power over any other person. According to Chief Standing Bear, the ancestral Sioux had no system of lawful punishmentno jailing, no whipping, no denying of food, no taking away of personal liberty. A wrongdoer was simply ignored by the entire tribe, and such ostracism made Sioux society particularly free from crime.[xvi] As a boy it made sense to me that an Indian chief was all-powerful, since the white chiefs govern through the threat of force and the exercise of power. We are taught that the modern states power of life and death over its citizens is natural to all social governance, but it is not. The Nation-State, the New God, is the final authority for all political life. A citizen of the United States may belong to many social groups, say the National Rifle Association or the Boy Scouts of America. But the National Rifle Association does not confer to its members the right to bear arms, the Bill of Rights as interpreted by the Supreme Court does. The Boys Scouts of America does not have the liberty to determine if its membership should be exclusively male, the courts have that power. Walter Lippmann, a reporter and political commentator, courageously brushed aside unexamined opinion and wrote, in 1929, A State is absolute when it claims the right to a monopoly of all the force within the community, to make war, to make peace, to conscript life, to tax, to establish and dis-establish property, to define crime, to punish disobedience, to control education, to supervise the family, to regulate personal habits, and to censor opinions.[xvii] All Nation-States are totalitarian, although some are benign in times of peace. In the Western democracies, a Messianic destiny and the rhetoric of individual freedom camouflage the absolute power of the Nation-State. No church, no city, no social group can approach the demands of the Nation-State. The citizens supreme loyalty is to the New God, and just like the God of old, the Nation-State is beyond religious or moral sanction for true believers. National symbols, such as flags and anthems, were created to unify the people. In the early Nation-State, the arts, unlike those in Medieval Europe, no longer expressed what was universally human, no longer served to deepen spirituality and unify the community of Christians. Music was enlisted to arouse national passions. The Marseillaise and The Stars and Stripes Forever unified the hearts and minds of nationalists and stirred their bodies to action. For a stirring rendition of the Marseillaise listen to Mireille Mathieu and for The Stars and Stripes Forever try the United States Marine Band. When I listened recently to the music of nationalism, even a jaded Romanian gypsy like me marched around my study, ready to kill for the glory of France or the United States. If you really want to be depressed and see the reality of the Nation-State, watch the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawas magnificent World War II propaganda film The Most Beautiful; pay particular attention to the sound track, for Kurosawa skillfully used the United States Marines anthem, Semper Fidelis. And, if you do not believe that nationalistic music is easily transferred from one Nation-State to another, listen to the Nazi anthem Horst Wessel Lied. Listen in the original language, and you will see that there is no difference in the emotional appeal of the Horst Wessel Lied, Semper Fidelis, and Marseillaise. The Nation-State imitated the Church in other ways. Holy days became national holidays that brought the people together, so they could act as one. Such spectacles as the Fourth of July and Bastille Day allowed each citizen to be a proud participant in a glorious historic past. Made in the image of the Nation-State, citizens obtain their rights not from God or nature but from their nation. Unlike medieval men and women, who thought of themselves as Christians, subjects of a king or lord, and members of a village community, Western men and women in the twentieth-first century, with few exceptions, think of themselves as citizens of a nation, as Englishmen, Americans, Germans, Belgians, Serbs, or some other invented group. They speak of my country and feel pride or shame in their countrys actions. Historian Boyd Shafer observes that for citizens of a Nation-State the nations language is their language; the nations leaders are their leaders; the nations possessions are their possessions; the nations enemies are their enemies; the nations victories and defeats are their victories and defeats; the nations fortunes are their fortunes; the nations way of life is their way of life.[xviii] The citizen practices his faith by participating in the rituals and ceremonies of nationalism. He salutes his countrys flag, and like the Christian with the cross, never lets it be defiled. He singswith head baredhis national anthem. From childhood, he takes oaths, swearing he will be a good and faithful citizen. He may make pilgrimages to his capital and its famed buildingsits Westminster Abbey, its Lincoln Memorial, its Red Square, its White House. Glorious patriots (saints and martyrs) are buried in national cemeteries or in impressive pantheons. The national heroes are honored and immortalized when their names are given to cities, streets, parks, libraries, theaters, and airports.[xix] Several years after the Fall of Saigon, but before many people realized the American Empire was crumbling, I drove aimlessly around Europe, looking for God knows what. At one point, I was shocked to see the rolling French countryside around Verdun covered as far as my eye could see with over one hundred thousand little, whitewashed crosses bearing the simple inscription Mort pour la patrie. Nearby the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial occupies a small part of the battlefield of the final offensive of World War I that cost the Americans 117,000 killed and wounded, the French 70,000, and the Germans 100,000. In 2007, the ninetieth anniversary of the entry of the United States into the Great War to end all wars went by without a celebration, or even national notice taken to commemorate those brave doughboys who died for their country and to make the world safe for democracy. The war slogans faded from public memory as rapidly as the lyrics from George M. Cohens catchy, patriotic tune Over There. How many of the 2,000,000 doughboys marched off to war with fragments of Cohens jingle reverberating in their minds? Hoist the flag and let her fly, Yankee Doodle do or die Make your mother proud of you, and the old Red, White, and Blue And we wont come back till its over, over there. For the 116,000 Yanks that died in Europe, it was over, over there. English poet Wilfred Owen begged his countrymen not to continue to tell the ancient lie from the Roman poet Horace: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. (It is sweet and fitting to die for ones country.) One week before the signing of the Armistice, Owen died in action crossing the Sambre-Oise Canal. On Armistice Day, while church bells were ringing out in celebration, his mother received the telegram informing her of her sons death in France. Perhaps, it was too much to hope that the first two lines from Owens Anthem for a Doomed Youth would never be forgotten: What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. World War I, now, ancient history, forgottenno one remembers, or careswhy 9.7 million soldiers died fighting a war that resolved nothing and led in twenty years to Europes second attempt at collective suicide. To serve the nation, to cherish and to love it, is for many citizens, the greatest virtue; the greatest self-sacrifice is to give ones life for ones country. To achieve its Messianic end, the State demands that every citizen be willing to sacrifice himself. Not ours to reason why, but to do and die.[xx] This essay first appeared here in November 2016. The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politicswe approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please consider donating now. Notes: [1] Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, of course, knew that John Locke, the philosopher who supplied the theoretical foundations of both modern democracy and capitalism, held that government secured life, liberty, and property, not the pursuit of happiness. [i] See Boyd C. Shafer, Faces of Nationalism: New Realities and Old Myths (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972), p. 205. [ii] George Orwell, Notes on Nationalism, http://orwell.ru/library/essays/nationalism/english/e_nat. [iii] Hans Kohn, Nationalism: Its Meaning and History (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1965), p. 16. [iv] Ronald Blythe, Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village (New York: New York Review of Books, 2015 [1969]), pp. 3536. [v] John Winthrop, A Modell of Christian Charity, in The Puritans: A Sourcebook of Their Writings, ed. Perry Miller and Thomas H. Johnson (New York: Harper & Row, 1963), p. 199. Our text is in modern English. [vi] Perry Miller, The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century (New York: Macmillan, 1939), pp. 470471 [vii] In Miller and Johnson, The Puritans, p. 102. Our text is in modern English. [viii] Miller, The New England Mind, p. 419. [ix] Ibid. Italics added. [x] John Adams, Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, ed. L. H. Butterfield (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1961), vol. I, p. 282. [xi] See Population History of Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and Historical Racial and Ethnic Demographics of the United States, Wikipedia. In our text, the Native American population for 1620 is the mean of the estimates for 1492. [xii] Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. George Lawrence (New York: Harper & Row, 1966 [1835, 1840]), p. 321. [xiii] Ibid., p. 324. [xiv] Geronimo, Geronimo: My Life, told to S. M. Barrett (Mineola, NY: Dover, 2005 [1906]), Part II: The Mexicans. [xv] Luther Standing Bear, Land of the Spotted Eagle, (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1978 [1933]), p. 129. [xvi] Ibid., p. 261. [xvii] Walter Lippmann, A Preface to Morals (New York: Macmillan, 1929), p. 80. [xviii] See Shafer, p. 246. [xix] Ibid., p. 255. [xx] See Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Charge of the Light Brigade, 1854, http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174586. The featured image is Fate of the Rebel Flag (c. 1861) by William Bauly and is in the public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. It has been brightened for clarity. For more than three and a half hours Tuesday, testimony from an expert witness indicated that Bernard Schaeffer would present little danger if released from prison. Then for almost two hours, the prosecution attempted to undercut that testimony. Tuesday was the third and final day of a mitigation hearing for Schaeffer in Hall County District Court. The previous sessions were held July 27 and Sept. 19. Schaeffer, now 56, has been in prison since he was found guilty of killing Donald Beery Jr. of Grand Island in 1977. Beery, the manager of Ace Hardware, was shot 17 times on his 28th birthday at a sand pit near Grand Island. A friend of Schaeffers, George Lanzendorf, was present at the killing, but did not take part. Schaeffer will be resentenced as the result of a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case, Miller v. Alabama. Dr. Kirk Newring, a psychologist who works in Papillion, was on the witness stand for five hours and 40 minutes Tuesday. For three hours and 45 minutes, he answered questions put to him by Lincoln attorney Jeff Pickens of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, who represents Schaeffer. In 1978, when he was 18, Schaeffer stabbed an inmate. Three years later, he stabbed a shop supervisor. He was convicted of both of those crimes in Lancaster County. Prosecutors also say Schaeffer committed another stabbing, which is unproven. But Newring said Schaeffer has matured as hes gotten older. He has made attempts at rehabilitation and is less susceptible to negative peer influences, Newring said. His early troubles reflected a youthful inmate who had to adapt in order to survive, Newring said. Current tests show he has an IQ of 124. Schaeffer has a past history of substance abuse, Newring said. But there is no evidence he is currently using drugs. Newring, who detailed the results of numerous tests, said Schaeffer currently has no mental health disorder, and shows no evidence of instability. Newring described Schaeffer as compulsive and orderly, and says he has adjustment order anxiety. But he believes Schaeffer presents a low risk for future acts of violence. In the 1980s, an expert stated that Schaeffer had an antisocial personality disorder with a propensity for violence. The expert also said Schaeffer suffered from an explosive personality disorder. Newring said Schaeffer does not meet the criteria for antisocial personality disorder and that the explosive personality term is no longer used. A report from this year says no program is needed for Schaeffer. Newring believes Schaeffer did not plan to kill Beery that day. He simply planned to knock him out without being seen. But Beery was murdered, Newring said, because Schaeffer was not able to make proper decisions during times of heightened stress. Miller vs. Alabama struck down laws in 28 states and the federal government that required mandatory life sentences for individuals whose homicide offenses occurred before the age of 18. Schaeffer is being prosecuted by Deputy Hall County Attorneys Sarah Carstensen and Megan Alexander. During an hour and 50 minutes of cross-examination Tuesday, Carstensen tried to attack Newrings credibility. Newring has testified in 18 or 20 Nebraska cases relating to Miller v. Alabama. In response to a question from Alexander, he said in all of those cases hes served as an expert for the defense. Later, in an interview, he said as far as he knows the prosecution has not called on a psychologist in any Miller-related cases. Alexander then asked him about the compensation hes receiving. He said he is paid $150 an hour in Miller-related cases. So far, hes put about 30 hours into the Schaeffer case. Alexander also asked if Newring concluded in any of the Miller cases that the defendant planned the murder in advance. Newring said he reached that conclusion in a case involving a sexual assault. In response to another question from Alexander, Newring admitted that all of the information he received in the case came from Pickens office. Responding to another question, Newring said he had not attempted to contact the defense attorney and prosecutor from the original case, who are still alive. Alexander pointed out that Schaeffer took part in four robberies before the Ace Hardware murder, at least one of which was an armed robbery. Alexander also suggested that Schaeffer began the Ace Hardware crime knowing he might have to fire his gun. The prosecutors point to documents showing Schaeffer purchased bullets in the days before he shot Beery. Alexander argued that Schaeffer could indeed think clearly during times of stress. She also pointed out that Schaeffer discarded a passenger seat from his car before he was arrested. Prosecutors say another document indicates Schaeffer sold drugs while in prison. Both sides agreed that Schaeffer used a type of speed called kronk while in high school. But he hadnt used it for at least three weeks prior to the murder, Newring said. Newring provided the only testimony Tuesday. Schaeffer spoke on Sept. 19, but did not testify Tuesday. Judge Teresa Luther will issue a new sentence for Schaeffer at 1 p.m. Jan. 3. Wisconsin has become tough on crime, and crime has become tough on prosecutors. Over the past three decades, law changes and stiffer penalties have led to more criminals behind bars. While it may sound like good news to many, prosecuting these complex crimes has become a daunting task for district attorneys and their assistants. Many DA offices in the state are understaffed. Prosecutors have requested more help from legislators for several years, but with budgets tight, those requests are fleeting. To add to the frustration, long hours and the stressful caseload are driving assistant DAs out, making constant turnover a headache for their bosses. As the legal system continues to increase in complexity, and new laws added to the books, prosecutors argue the state needs to allocate more funding for the work they do. The state claims it has, but DAs argue pay progression plans havent come to fruition. Lawyers stretched Dan Berkos is a former Juneau County district attorney and has chaired the state public defenders board since 1988. Hes also built a career as a respected defense lawyer. While Berkos believes there are staffing issues in DA offices, he said the problem is more widespread throughout the justice system. In the past 25 years, the state public defenders office also has added staff to keep up with its demanding caseload. There have been multiple studies on what the staffing should be, Berkos said. For instance, our attorneys in the state public defenders office average about 140 percent of what the American Bar Association says it should be, so were well over caseload. Im sure DAs are in the same boat. But, the difference we have between us and the DAs is that, to some extent, they control how much is filed, when it gets filed and when a case is closed. Public defenders have to accept cases as they come in. Berkos said DAs have more flexibility in handling the workload. He said DAs have faced questions as to whether they are charging more crimes to inflate their caseloads. Berkos said the state Legislature has affected the work DAs do by adding laws and making them more complex. I laugh when I see the new budget proposals that come in and the bills that get offered up, Berkos said. Its like within 10 years everybody in Wisconsin is going to have a felony conviction for something. This tough on crime thing, I understand where theyre coming from, but I think its misplaced. Every time you pass a new law, the prosecutors are going to have to charge it and public defenders have to have attorneys that are available to them. Political dispute According to Berkos, the state public defenders office has about 375 staff attorneys in 37 offices. The office has a budget of about $90 million, but has to pay for administrative staff and facilitate offices. As a private attorney, Berkos will take on some cases that would usually go to public defenders, but it comes at a higher cost to the public defenders office. We actually reduce our budget by hiring more staff, Berkos said. DAs dont have that luxury. If they hire staff, its just more to put into the budget. Berkos believes politics played a role in the DA staffing shortage when Gov. Jim Doyle was in office. Berkos said prosecutors feuded with Doyle and members of the attorney generals office and they continue to face punishment for it. Theyve been cut short and I dont dispute that, Berkos said. But I think they dont lobby the fact theyve been cut short properly. There are 71 district attorneys in the state, with one DA handling two counties. With DAs controlling separate offices across Wisconsin, its difficult for them to join forces and push for staff increases. Berkos said the public defenders office created a board in the 1970s to advocate for legislative change. The DAs dont have that, Berkos said. Basically they have 71 bosses and no soldiers. State lawmakers are faced with tough decisions in every budget cycle. While studies show DAs need more assistance, Berkos said theyve taken an almost antagonist approach to the situation, which has brought a cold shoulder from legislators. DAs have taken a much harder stance. (The public defenders office) has been criticized that we dont take a tougher approach, that we should come in and scream and yell every time a new budget is passed, Berkos said. I have to go back to them every two years for a new budget proposal, so why would I want to make these people mad? The increase in caseloads has also affected judges. Juneau County has two full-time circuit court judges: John Roemer and Paul Curran. Berkos said the county could likely use another full-time judge to handle cases. Overwhelming caseloads In Sauk County, Kevin Calkins has been a fixture in the DAs office for nearly 30 years. Calkins served as an ADA for almost 25 years before being elected to the countys top prosecutor role in 2012. I dont think theres any question that caseloads are overwhelming, Calkins said. Early in his career, Calkins saw a major change in state prosecution. Prior to 1990, ADAs were funded by the counties they served, not the state. The law change allowed assistant prosecutors to collectively bargain for wage increases, but Wisconsin has tightened its belt, and its placed a strain on funding. In Sauk County, the DA office has five full-time attorneys and one grant-funded employee, which is on a limited-term basis and isnt considered full-time. Calkins said thats only a slight increase from the four full-time attorneys it had in 1990. Were handling double the caseload now, Calkins said. We are actually telling law enforcement agencies to charge certain types of offenses as county ordinances and to not send them to the DAs office because we dont have time for them. Calkins said his offices felony caseload has risen dramatically since 1990. Since that time, Wisconsin has taken a harsher stance on drunken driving, making a fifth offense a felony. Felonies also have increased for domestic violence prosecution. The laws are aimed to keep the public safe, but its difficult for prosecutors to keep up. Were also seeing a much more sophisticated defense bar as well, as far as attacking things, Calkins said. Not only are the numbers going up, but the time being spent on cases is going up too. In addition, cases have had a wide-ranging scope, from homicides to burglaries. The recent rise in opioid drug abuse has kept law enforcement and prosecutors busy, especially in rural Wisconsin. Were seeing a lot of heroin offenses, such as theft to support a heroin habit, Calkins said. Were seeing plenty of heroin overdoses and possession... We dont have one specific type of case we see on a regular basis. State compensation Current Juneau County DA Mike Solovey said ADAs should receive better compensation for the grind they deal with every day. The average starting salary for an ADA is about $49,000. But many counties in the state hire part-time assistants to fill gaps, and those positions pay less with no benefits. Solovey said its difficult for young attorneys to make a living because theyre often saddled with significant student loan debt. The state was supposed to implement a wage progression that would last through the next couple budgets, but theyve never funded it, Solovey said. The squeeze is on. Solovey said ADAs often put in 50-60 hours a week, but are paid for 40. Not only are the weeks long, but the stress of being a prosecutor can take an emotional toll. Every case is different and you have some that will wake you up in the middle of the night thinking about them, Solovey said. Despite the rigid nature of the job, Solovey ran for reelection this year. He lost to challenger Ken Hamm, a young defense attorney who will make his first foray into prosecution upon taking office Jan. 3. Solovey also served as Juneau County DA in the 1970s. Despite losing his post, he admitted hes looking forward to retirement. Theres a reason why the system doesnt just totally collapse, Solovey said. Its because DAs uphold the law and constantly take that to heart. We just keep plugging along. Its a tough business law demands a lot. It can affect a person deeply; effect how you look at the world and look at the people around you. When do you get time to rejuvenate? When can you recharge your batteries? Change unlikely Solovey doesnt see the state-funded system changing any time soon. If they expect you to keep working 80 hours a week, eventually you will burn out, Solovey said. Ive had to replace ADAs in my office every 6-8 months. Jake Westman, Soloveys only full-time assistant, is leaving for a position in the state attorney generals office. Westman begins his new role Dec. 1. Jessica Miller, a part-time ADA, was hired earlier this year to replace Brian Bultman. Hamm said he will push to increase the part-time position to full-time. The incoming DA plans to implement a drug treatment court, which would require more work, but could save the county money. Im hoping we can obtain a grant to fund that increase, Hamm said. Tania Bonnett has experienced the staffing struggle as both an ADA and DA. Bonnett has served as Adams Countys DA since 2011, but was an assistant prosecutor for seven years before becoming a DA. Bonnett said in her office, the state funds one ADA position at 20 percent. To provide more help, Bonnett worked with the county to reclassify an office manager position into an attorney role. They havent increased staffing for us in way too long, Bonnett said. As a result we have another attorney in the office, but hes also busy with administrative duties. Its less than ideal. Performance impact Bonnett believes the heavy workload doesnt allow her staff to perform its job effectively. She doesnt always have the time she needs to prepare for a trial, which could hurt victims cases. Bonnett has a three-day trial coming up at the end of November. Ideally, she would like to spend a full eight-hour day prepping, but time needs to be divided among other cases. Steven Michels, Communications Director from the Department of Administration, said prosecutor work studies are done every couple years to analyze county caseloads to determine staffing needs. In 2007, the state Legislative Audit Bureau published an extensive report addressing the DA staffing shortage. The pay progression plan sounds nice, but its not actually happening, Bonnett said. In the last budget (2013-15), it was written into the statute, but it went unfunded. Nobody is getting a pay progression right now in our ADA ranks. Michels said the state made a $14 million investment in additional compensation for ADAs in the last biennial budget. In the 2015-17 budget, the plan calls for a 2 percent increase for all prosecutors with at least one year of experience. It was up to the discretion of the district attorneys how this money should be allocated, Michels said. Some prosecutors may have received a larger than 2 percent raise. The increase is in stark contrast to what other state employees received. In the 2015-17 budget, state employees received no increase in pay. Over the past four years, the governor and Legislature have invested significant amounts of money into the pay progression of prosecutors. Bonnett said many ADAs spend 5-7 years working cases and gaining experience before deciding if they want to pursue a DA position or another option. She said the turnover rate among ADAs is atrocious because many leave the field after a few years, shrinking the pool of experienced prosecutors. The pay progression model would be nice, but really we need more people. If we cant keep good ADAs around, we have a really big problem, Bonnett said. Really any county in the state should have two full-time prosecutors because of all the other duties the DA has to do as an elected official. In the end, its the victims that could be hurt the most. You get a lot of ADAs who are handling sex assault crimes and other high-level cases that dont have much experience, Hamm said. People are working hard for the victims, but they might not be getting the most experienced person handling their cases. Multiple attempts to reach Columbia County DA Jane Kohlwey for comment on this story were unsuccessful. All right. We have had enough. Please go back to your job, or to school classes, or to being professional activists for whatever cause inflamed you in the past. We are speaking, of course, of the presidential election protesters who dont like the idea of Donald Trump becoming our next president. That, or they have discovered that there is a thing called an Electoral College embedded in the U.S. Constitution and they dont like the way it works. So they have taken to the streets to demonstrate their angst, often with signs painted with obscenities that arent fit for a family newspaper. And in a few cases, they further show their sincere outrage by bashing other peoples property or screaming insults at the authorities who try to maintain some semblance of order. We have no trouble with those who publicly demonstrate their strong feelings about any number of political issues that are prominent today. That is their right, and it is perfectly proper for them to try to convince others to adopt their views, too. But when they close streets and highways to the general public, or otherwise prevent ordinary citizens from getting to work on time, or getting to a medical appointment, or any number of other activities that are a part of daily living, we have limits. The issue should be pretty darned important, as was the case with the civil rights demonstrations led by Martin Luther King, Jr. But losing a presidential election, although hard to accept, happens every four years to millions of people. It isnt fun to lose an election, but it happens. If you are unhappy with losing, work hard to prepare for the next election. Work to change whatever rules you dont like. Work hard to promote the people you think best represent your views. But work, dont just throw tantrums. And, by all means, remember to vote. TV news in Oregon reports that over half of the protesters recently arrested in Portland didnt bother to vote. We admit to holding a simple, rural outlook, but we can only shake our heads in wonder. Those individuals who place themselves in contention for election to a public office, if elected by democratic vote of a majority of the citizens who place their trust in their officials, give a sworn oath to all the people that they will govern in the best interests of their constituents. The people, when choosing through their votes, have endorsed the elected officials, including their personal traits, beliefs and governing philosophy that they put forth during the campaign. Now that the election season has passed in Nebraska, we would ask Gov. Pete Ricketts to re-examine the oath of office he took to be governor of all citizens and stop his practice of contributing his private, personal money to influence political causes that he favors. Certainly, the governor may speak from the bully pulpit with which he has been bestowed and the citizens can agree or disagree with his opinions. Ricketts clearly did that leading up to the Nov. 8 election, backing specific legislative candidates and the effort to repeal the Legislatures vote to end the death penalty. But he also contributed money to political candidates and the death penalty cause. While his donations were legal, the practice is an example of the governor using his wealth, not his mantle of authority of office, to influence the voters. It is a historical fact that a large number of Nebraskans voted to retain the repeal of the death penalty. Did their governor represent them by contributing $300,000 to influence their vote? In future elections, should the governor wear a T-shirt at events around the state supporting particular political positions or candidates, place yard signs on the lawn of the governors residence, place bumper stickers on his vehicles or place campaign banners in windows of his office in the state Capitol? Gov. Ricketts, speak publicly about your preference, but stop using your personal wealth to attempt to influence the vote. If you have governed well by your actions, it will be beneficial to your political cause. If you have governed poorly, what your opinion is will not further your cause. Let your influence rise or fall based upon your performance as governor, not upon buying influence through monetary donations. As a representative of us all, your sphere of influence comes from who you are as our governor, not from your personal financial position. Phillies make history: Five homers off Astros starter in Game 3 win McCullers, pitching in his first World Series game since 2017, became the first pitcher in postseason history to give up five home runs in a game. Take a journey back in time to an early 19th century Christmas celebration. The 1820 Col. Benjamin Stephenson House ushers in the holiday season with the Christmas Candlelight Tours, November 25 & 26 from 6-9 p.m. A variety of activities are planned to immerse visitors in a truly interactive historical experience. Self-guided tours allow guests to enjoy a leisurely visit of the traditionally decorated rooms while historical interpreters discuss the history of the house and Christmas customs of the 1820s. The dining room transforms into a dance floor offering an opportunity to learn a simple country dance. A storyteller delights children of all ages with tales of Christmas past along with a reading of the famous 1822 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (also known as Twas the Night before Christmas). Music from the restored 1820 pianoforte encourages guests to sing along to many of their favorite holiday carols. Take a seat at the gaming table to play a hand in a popular 19th century card game known as Whist. Rupert, once again, thrills with his mischievous antics as he finds out whos been naughty or nice. And, after the tour, enjoy a cup of hot wassail and a tasty treat served in the detached kitchen. Wood River native Jeff Stassi and his business partner Steve Boyd are combining their extensive nonprofit, healthcare and emergency relief agency experience in acquiring, operating and expanding a non-medical home care business - Central Illinois Care Services (CICS) - to serve clients across Central and Southern Illinois. The Illinois Metro East Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is assisting them. Both of us have always had careers that revolve around helping others, Stassi said. We wanted to combine our expertise, and were attracted to the business model and growth generated by the home care service agencys initial owners. It is clear that the population in our Illinois coverage area supports this business objective. Commercial lender and SW Illinois SCORE chapter president John Vitale referred Stassi and Boyd to the Illinois Metro East SBDC to tap into the centers expertise at no cost. SBDC Interim Director and Small Business Specialist Jo Ann DiMaggio May worked closely and systematically with Stassi to help the duo prepare a Small Business Association loan application and fine-tune CICS business plan. Stassi said DiMaggio May also provided names and contact information for accountants, attorneys, insurance agents and other small business consultants. CICS objective is to support clients wishes to remain independent and in their own homes. Steve and I firmly believe this, said Stassi. Aging adults who are able to safely and securely remain in their home live healthier, more productive, happier lives. Our goal is to exceed our clients expectations and to care for them as if they were our own family members. I was so impressed with Jo Ann, Stassi said. She did a phenomenal job and did it so quickly. She helped shape our business plan and pare it down. Jo Ann also assisted in helping bring clarity to the business plan document. I recommend that anyone who wants to buy a business should first seek the expertise of the Illinois Metro East SBDC. Stassi, an SIUE graduate, added that thanks to the SBDCs assistance, CICS qualified for a substantial SBA 7(a) guaranteed loan. Jo Ann readily understood the details of what we wanted to do with the business and what we needed to share with the lending institution, and was extremely valuable as a liaison with the bank, he said. The agencys 60 employees include home health aides and certified nursing assistants who provide a wide array of services within the clients home to help them remain as independent as possible. Assistance from CICS includes skin care, ambulation, bathing, dressing, exercise, feeding, hair care, mouth care, nail care, positioning, shaving, toileting, transfers, medication reminders, running errands, light housekeeping and cooking. CICS also provides specialized client care for hospice, palliative and Alzheimer patients. DiMaggio May said working with Stassi and Boyd was a rewarding experience for the Metro East SBDC, and that the center continues assisting their business whenever a need arises. Jeff and Steve quickly and diligently worked on their business plan to secure the funds needed to open CICS, DiMaggio May said. They are exceptionally business minded and dedicated to helping others. I am confident in their success and look forward to their bright future. For more information about Central Illinois Care Services, call (217) 994-9016 or visit the agencys Facebook page, facebook.com/YourCareServices/. The Illinois SBDC at SIUE assists new businesses and newly acquired businesses like Central Illinois Care Services headquartered in the nine-county Metro East region of Calhoun, Jersey, Madison, Bond, Clinton, St. Clair, Washington, Monroe and Randolph. It is a no-cost service to the community supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. By aiding entrepreneurs and companies in defining their path to success, the SBDC network positively impacts the Metro East by strengthening the business community, creating and retaining jobs and encouraging capital investment. It enhances the regions economic interests by providing one-stop assistance to individuals by means of counseling, training, research and advocacy for new ventures and existing small businesses. When appropriate, the SBDC strives to affiliate its ties to the region to support the goals and objectives of both the SIUE School of Business and the University at large. To learn how the SBDC can help your small business, contact the Metro East SBDC at (618) 650-2929 or sbdcedw@gmail.com. Mark your calendars for Friday, December 23, 2016 to participate in "Journey to the Manger" on the campus of Metro East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville. At this busy time of year, take a break and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas. See live animals, enjoy cookies and seasonal drinks, and quietly walk through living scenes depicting the beautiful Christmas story just before we celebrate the Saviors birth. This is an indoor and outdoor interactive nativity display from 5pm to 8 pm. Refreshments will be available including cookies, hot chocolate, and cider. Admission is free and donations are gladly accepted to benefit the Fine Arts Department at Lutheran High. With a donation, each family will receive a manger scene crafted by students at Metro East Lutheran. Additionally, Christmas cookies are available to take home with a donation. The scripts, sets, costumes, and the details that have gone into this production were done by the MELHS Fine Arts Department students. Much work has gone into this effort to provide a wonderful presentation of the nativity. Mr. Zach Schnare, chair of the MELHS Fine Arts Department says, these students have imagined, planned, designed, and carried out this event to invite the community to enjoy this wonderful reminder that first Christmas. This event is sponsored by the newly formed MELHS Fine Arts Booster Club. Metro-East Lutheran High School was established in 1977 and is a recognized service organization of the LCMS. MELHS is engaging young adults in a Christ-centered environment, delivering academic excellence and spiritual growth to develop Christian leaders. When I was a youngster, we learned in school that going over the river and through the woods was the route to reach grandmothers house for Thanksgiving dinner with the rest of the family. Sending us merrily along the way with its musical verses put everyone in the mood of what would take place that morning. But for us, the route from where we lived on Talmadge Street meant going down Atwood Avenue to Schenks Corners, turning left at the Security State Bank and continuing down Winnebago Street to Moulton Court where wed turn left on a short hilly court where Grandma and Grandma Kovacs resided. Meals there were always fun and delicious, but on that day, the aroma of roast turkey and all the trimmings created another holiday to remember including the thrill of being able to reach the top of the dining room buffet to remove the cover of a pretty ceramic dish filled with lemon drops. It seemed that Grandma was always in the kitchen, busy as a bee Mother would say, to take care of everything necessary, while Grandpa sat in his favorite chair in the front room, smoking his pipe and conversing with the rest of us in broken English before the meal was served. One time, while sitting on the rug, I found a quarter. Grandpa looked over and gave me a great big smile for being so lucky. Years later Id learn that he had placed it there on purpose for me to find. Commemorating the day as being one of the oldest holidays in the country became more than turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. Id learn later that in 1789, Americas first national Thanksgiving Day observance was proclaimed by President George Washington in acknowledgment of the favors the Almighty had bestowed on them for winning the Revolutionary War. It was a time that had everything to do with prayers, not food. Because Ive always loved making things happen, it also means logging years of records with Thanksgiving recipes to refer to at any time, and this year, when asked why there are always so many cranberries left in a lovely crystal bowl, its because no one really likes them one of my sons confessed. Ill be serving my cranberries differently this year. In the past, Ive mentioned a handy little soft cover, spiral bound, Holidays and Parties cookbook with favorite recipes compiled by home economics teachers in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. Editor Gerry Murry Henderson did an exceptional job selecting the right number of recipes to prepare and enjoy for 14 special days celebrated throughout the year. Instead of peeling pounds of sweet potatoes, Ill take it easy and make one of these Thursday. Sweet potato casserole 40-ounce can sweet potatoes, drained 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 2/3 cup butter, melted, divided 1/3 cup milk 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 1 cup pecans, chopped 1/3 cup flour Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart baking dish. Combine drained sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, 1/3 cup melted butter and milk in large mixing bowl with electric mixer until well combined. Place in prepared baking dish. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, flour and remaining 1/3 cup butter. Sprinkle over top of sweet potato mixture. Bake 35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serves 10-12 North Monterey County High School, Castroville, CA I feel privileged to own two cookbooks published by Byerlys exceptional supermarkets in Minnesota and when searching for a sweet potato recipe, I found one in the 1985 publication, The Best of Byerlys : A Recipe Collection from the Test Kitchens of Their Home Economists. It is described as being canned sweet potatoes transformed in minutes to festive fare. Whole sweet potato bake 2 23-ounce cans sweet potatoes, drained cup packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon cornstarch teaspoon salt 1 cup orange juice cup golden raisins, optional 2 tablespoons dry sherry cup pecan or walnut halves teaspoon grated orange peel Arrange sweet potatoes in buttered casserole. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over potatoes. Bake covered in 350-degree oven until heated through for 25-30 minutes. Serves 8 If youve never slow cooked a turkey breast, you might consider giving it a try. This is a simple recipe to make the daysimpler. Slow cooker turkey breast 1 turkey breast, 6-7 pounds 1 cup apple cider 2 Turkish bay leaves 1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika or Hungarian sweet paprika 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper 2 teaspoons Kosher flake salt Wash and dry the turkey breast and place in a slow cooker. Pour the apple cider in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the bay leaves. Combine the spices and rub over the top of the turkey breast. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low until the turkey breast is done, usually 4-5 hours. The resulting spicy juices become a great low-fat gravy to serve over mashed potatoes. Serves 10 If theres any leftover turkey and mashed potatoes, you might consider making a casserole recipe from Olympus High Schools home economics department in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its described as being quick and easy for the next day, or frozen to enjoy sometime later. After Thanksgiving casserole 2 5-ounce cans boned chicken or turkey, or equal amount leftovers 10-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup 6-serving size package of chicken flavor stuffing mix 3 cups mashed potatoes, prepared Combine poultry with soup; set aside. Prepare stuffing mix on top of range or in the microwave according to package directions; place in baking dish. Spread mashed potatoes over stuffing. Top with soup mixture and cook in microwave on high 5 minutes or baked in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serves 6 to 8 Two people arrested for installing card skimmers on Madison gas pumps hasn't stopped the discovery of more skimmers in the city. The 12th skimmer found on a gas pump in Madison this year was at a BP station, 735 E. Washington Ave., found by a city inspector doing a routine check of the pump. The inspector from the city's Weights and Measures office found the skimmer on Tuesday. Police were called and the skimmer was taken by police, to be turned over to the FBI. "It is unknown at this time if the skimmer can be connected to two California men arrested last week," said Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain. The inspector told police the pump where the skimmer was found was last checked on Nov. 14, and was skimmer free at that time. "There are many criminals involved in this fraudulent criminal enterprise, and skimmers have been found in pumps across the country," DeSpain said. Police encourage gas buyers to be careful, and if unsure about gas pumps, to pay for gas inside the store. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Devina Heriyanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Education and tourism are the foundations of people-to-people relations, concluded speakers in the sixth Indonesia-China bilateral relations seminar conducted by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Chinese Peoples Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) in Jakarta on Tuesday. The symposium was held under Chatham House Rules, meaning The Jakarta Post cannot attribute arguments or opinions to their sources. The rule aims to foster a free discussion between participants. Seek knowledge even in China, is a popular saying among Muslims in Indonesia. However, it was not until 2012 that the first Chinese branch of the Indonesian Students Community (PPI) was established. Currently there are about 15,000 Indonesian students in China, as more universities there are offering courses in English. The interest goes both ways. The Chinese are growing more interested in Indonesia, as proven by the increasing amount of research about Indonesia, as well as the increasing number of research collaborations between the two countries. China and Indonesia have similar levels of development, so they face the same challenges like poverty reduction, climate change and energy shortages. Exchanging experience and knowledge contributes significantly to the research being done by the two countries. Aside from the language barrier, a lack of funding is an obstacle. Speakers agree that private corporations should provide scholarship funds for students studying abroad. Students are important bridges between the two countries. There are concerns regarding anti-Chinese sentiment in Indonesia, which speakers claimed was often exaggerated by the media. It does not help that news about China and Indonesia is often reported by Western media instead of by correspondents from the two countries. People-to-people relations through student exchanges and tourism play a key role in clearing up misunderstandings regarding treatment of Chinese people in Indonesia or treatment of Muslims in China. Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo aimed to get 20 million foreign tourists to visit his country in 2016. Half were expected to come from China. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin John Coyne (The Jakarta Post) Canberra Wed, November 23, 2016 The security situation for 1.3 million Muslim Rohingyas living in Myanmar is becoming increasingly untenable. If this situation deteriorates much further, ASEAN can expect to be facing a mass migration crises before the year is out. Unfortunately for the Rohingyas, the window of opportunity to prevent this humanitarian crises is rapidly closing. Put simply, if Jakarta doesnt respond soon, it will be too late. If this crises cant be averted through careful diplomacy, the flow of refugees from Myanmar is likely to rapidly reach a magnitude that will overwhelm the regions capacity to respond. For 25 years the maritime border security situation in Southeast Asia has been relatively stable. ASEANs geographic isolation from the Middle East, Africa and South America has served to insulate it from the mass migration crises in Europe and North America. In early 2015, almost 25,000 Rohingyas took to boats to escape persecution from Myanmar's Buddhist government. This mass migration flow caused a crisis across Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Over the last month, the situation for the Rohingyas has once more entered a state of rapid and deadly decline. The Myanmar government alleges that on Oct. 9 an insurgent Rohingya group launched coordinated ground assaults against several border guard posts, killing nine police officers and five soldiers. Since the attacks, the Myanmar government has deployed large numbers of police and military forces to the Rakhine state. According to official Myanmar reporting, 69 suspected insurgents and 17 security force personnel have been killed since the attacks began. It is alleged by international advocates that Myanmars government forces have shot scores of people, raped women, burned houses and stores and looted property across Rakhine state. These attacks have universally targeted the Muslim Rohingya minority. Various non-government organizations have reported that in excess of 30,000 Rohingyas are now displaced by the violence. The 2015 Rohingya crisis demonstrated how upsurges in persecution can lead to sudden and large migration flows. The events of the past few weeks have been described by some observers as the biggest surge in violence against the Rohingya for at least four years. Bangladeshi officials are already reporting that the number of Rohingyas attempting to cross the border from Myanmar by land and sea is rising by the day. With an estimated population of 1.3 million Rohingyas in Myanmar, the potential for a mass migration crises in the region is clear. The conditions are now ripe for sparking a crisis that could see tens of thousands of people displaced across the region. In late 2014, European nations were receiving similar warnings of the possibility of a mass migration crisis involving Syrian refugees. At the time both the European Union and many of its individual member states failed to heed the warnings and were ill prepared for the mass migration crisis that followed. The Europeans learned that in the face of mass irregular migration, border security measures quickly fail. Europe's 2015/2016 migration crisis clearly demonstrated that on its own a maritime blockade is not enough to contain desperate people. This is why prevention and early intervention are critical. While well intentioned, the United Nations has had little impact on the situation on the ground. At present, the UN is lobbying the Myanmar government to allow much needed aid to be distributed in Rakhine state. With US president-elect Donald Trumps imminent ascendancy to the Oval Office, American engagement in the Asia-Pacific is on pause and its future uncertain. The strained relations between Myanmar and China ensures that Beijing is unlikely to intervene to secure the Rohingyas' fate. Australias long commitment to the Middle East and the war on terrorism have seen it walk away from the Mekong states, so is unlikely to proactively engage with Myanmar. If the crises is be averted, help will need to come from within the ASEAN region. However, ASEAN moves far too slowly to be a real option. As the worlds most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia has a religious and regional obligation to come to the aid of the Rohingyas. If this is not enough, heading off a costly humanitarian emergency is also in Indonesias self-interest. Indonesia needs to lobby for Myanmar to halt its security operations in Rakhine state as soon as possible. Furthermore, Indonesia should offer humanitarian assistance for the 30,000 displaced Rohingyas. In the longer term Jakarta will need to harness bilateral and multilateral efforts to address the persecution of the Rohingyas if a more permanent solution is to be found. If Indonesia doesnt act soon to end the persecution of the Rohingyas, the region may face a humanitarian crises that stretches from Rakhine state to the archipelagos shores. --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Two years have passed since Joko Jokowi Widodo was sworn in as the seventh President of the Republic of Indonesia. After a rocky and tumultuous start to his presidency, Jokowi has since grown in confidence, enjoying high approval ratings and winning praise from political experts. Yet, for all these achievements, the government of Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla continues to face questions about Indonesias foreign policy. Initial concerns that the President simply lacks interest in world affairs have proven unfounded, as become most apparent in Indonesias announcement that it would seek a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2019-2020. Surprisingly, the announcement came from Kalla and not Jokowi himself, skipped the UN General Assembly for a second year in a row. In response to such concerns, Foreign Minister Retno. LP Marsudi pointed to dozens of bilateral and international meetings that Jokowi attended last year, not to mention Indonesias hosting of the fifth Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), its chairmanship in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and so forth. Nevertheless, there is still a perception of the Presidents disinterest in foreign policy, and in the realm of international relations, perceptions often matter more than reality. To cite an example, while Indonesia was perceived as being highly active in ensuring ASEAN member states would not be divided following the controversial fallout from the 45th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Phnom Penh in 2012, in stark contrast Indonesia was seen as passive when it came to the debacle of ASEANs retracted statement at the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers Meeting in Kunming earlier this year. Jakarta, it would seem, has taken a step back from its self-proclaimed regional leadership role of ASEAN. This is most unfortunate, coming at a time of great uncertainty and instability in the ASEAN region. Former tourism and creative economy minister Mari E. Pangestu recently identified four challenges to unity in ASEAN, which turns 50 next year: the slow recovery in the global economy; anti-globalization, anti-immigration and anti-elite sentiment; disruptive technology; and urbanization and demographic shifts. Arguably a more pressing and immediate challenge is that of Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte, whose country assumes the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2017. Since taking office, Duterte has taken his countrys war on drugs to the extreme, with some 3,600 people killed. He also insulted US President Barack Obama when announcing Manilas separation from its long-time ally for a realignment of the Philippines ideological flow with that of China. Certainly, the region has never before seen an ASEAN chair so openly siding with one major power over the others in the way it will when the Philippines takes over. Even when Cambodia often accused as being a Beijing puppet chaired the association in 2012, it at least attempted to maintain an impression of neutrality. That Duterte will most likely not even pretend to be non-partisan in the contestation of major powers is problematic, as it shakes one of the core purposes of ASEAN; purposes that have not only helped to bind ASEANs 10 member states together but also in their relations with the wider region. Article 1 of the ASEAN Charter, which lays out ASEANs purposes, calls on the association to not only play a central and proactive role as the primary driving force in its relations with external partners, but also in a regional architecture that is open, transparent and inclusive. The notion of ASEAN Centrality that the association has worked so hard for the major powers to recognize will thus be seriously undermined, not least because it depends heavily on ASEANs ability to be an impartial and honest broker that bridges all the different powers in the region. As a diplomatic source once said, ASEAN can play a central role because it is a friend to all the major powers. Clearly this will no longer be the case when the openly pro-China, anti-US Duterte takes the helm of ASEAN. If 2012 was a historic setback for ASEAN that called into question the associations credibility, one can only wonder what will happen next year. It is in this context, that Jokowis foreign policy disinterest becomes worrying. In a period when Indonesia no longer sees ASEAN as the cornerstone of its foreign policy, will Indonesia still be prepared to step in and expend diplomatic capital to maintain ASEAN unity like it did in 2012? Will Jakarta be willing to reassure ASEANs concerned dialogue partners of the associations objectivity in order to ensure ASEAN remains central in the regional architecture? In short will Indonesia take up its primus inter pares role in ASEAN and give the region a clear sense of direction and leadership in the post-ASEAN Community 2015 era? There should be no doubt that the fates of Indonesia and ASEAN are intertwined. As the saying goes, Bersama Indonesia, ASEAN akan kuat. Bersama ASEAN, Indonesia akan maju (With Indonesia, ASEAN will be strong. With ASEAN, Indonesia will progress). We must therefore not allow any threats to ASEAN unity and centrality, whether they come from the contest between major powers, a maverick ASEAN chairman, or even Jokowis foreign policy disinterest. --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Asvi Warman Adam (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Erving Goffman (1968) suggested that stigma was any form of physical and social attributes or signs that diminish the social identity of an individual, disqualifying the person from full social acceptance. Still quoting Goffman, there are three types of stigma: first, one relating to physical disability; second, personal weakness or defamation of an individuals character or background; third, social stigma that is associated with group, race or religion. The stigma of 1965 falls under the second and third categories. Stigmatization began in early October of 1965, following an aborted coup attempt blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), and continued through the days of the New Order to the era of reform. It first came to life when news about the torture of Army generals at Lubang Buaya was broadcast. News reports claimed that members of the Indonesian Womens Movement (Gerwani), the female wing of the PKI, had cut off the genitals and gouged out of the eyes of the high-ranking officers. The smear campaign aimed to expose the public to images that showed how cold-blooded people who embraced communism were. A visum et repertum released later proved the contrary but the government did not clear its publication. Peoples anger toward the PKI and its mass organizations, with pre-existing horizontal conflicts supporting this sentiment and triggered by ensuing military operations, led to mass arrests and killings, mostly in Central Java, East Java and Bali. A couple of weeks after the coup, Gen. AH Nasution commissioned the Lembaga Sejarah (History Agency) and the Defense and Security Staff, with the assistance of historians from the University of Indonesia, published a book, 40 Hari Kegagalan G.30.S, 1 Oktober-10 November 1965 (The 40 Days of the Aborted Sept. 30 Coup, Oct. 1 to Nov. 10, 1965). In October 1965, Maj. Gen. Soeharto was assigned to run operations to restore security and public order. Classification of those involved in the G30S was later decreed: Class A (involved and tried), Class B (lacking evidence for trial), Class C (supporter). The grouping was, in practice, not set according to the appropriate criteria. People wishing to work as civil servants were required to produce a G30S-free certificate from the police. In 1981 the minister of home affairs issued an instruction that did not allow those involved in G30S and their family members to join the Civil Service and the Armed Forces, or fill in other strategic jobs such as teacher and priest. On April 17, 1990, president Soeharto, through Presidential Decree No. 16/1990 ordered a special assessment of civil servants. Candidates for civil service jobs (pending appointment) or active civil servants to be assigned specific duties were regularly scrutinized regarding their own or any of their family members involvement in G30S. The engineering of history took form in history studies, building monuments and museums, film production and observation of historical events. The National History of Indonesia (Sejarah Nasional Indonesia), edited by Nugroho Notosusanto (Book 6) and published in 1975, only discussed a sole version of the G30S story, i.e. the one saying that the movement was masterminded by the PKI. It was this version that was taught at schools. Construction of the Pancasila Sakti Museum took place from 1967 to 1972. In 1987, Gen. Benny Moerdani opened the Waspada Purba Wisesa Museum (to warn of the danger of extreme right-wing Islam), and in 1993 Soeharto commissioned the construction of the Pengkhianatan PKI Museum (to warn of the danger of leftist extremists). History of National Struggle Studies (PSPB) had been a subject since 1984. Its eight objectives include ensuring that: 1) students are aware that one-sided acts by the PKI represent unilateral coercion to destroy the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia; 2) students realize that action fronts against the PKI were driven by the courage to defend freedom and justice; 3) students believe that the New Order put first the interests of the State and its People. Post-reform marked the revision of the history syllabi, such as in the 2004 competence-based curriculum, where G30S was written without the added PKI, and various versions of the 1965 event were taught. In 2006, however, the New Order version of history once again took the stage. Two accusations are always used to stigmatize people associated with communism. First, they are ruthless; a claim that has been around since early October 1965 when Gerwani were falsely accused of cutting off the genitals and cutting out the eyeballs of the generals. Second, they despise religion. Since the 1960s issues about land and estates have been hot topics in the country. On Nov. 3, 1961, farmers in Jengkol, Kediri, arranged a large-scale rally, and on Nov. 15, 1961, shootings by the security force resulted in the death of dozens of them. In the Bandar Betsy affair of May 14, 1965, in South Sumatra, hundreds of farmers killed Second SubLt. Soejono. In Kanigoro, Kediri, on Jan. 13, 1965, a Pemuda Rakyat (Peoples Youth) group dispersed a training event attended by members of Pelajar Islam Indonesia (Indonesian Muslim Students), and it was consistently reported that a Quran was treaded on. The truth was the holy book was safely kept inside a gunny sack. Ayat-Ayat yang Disembelih (Slaughtered Verses, hereafter AAYD) by Anab Afifi and Thowaf Zuharon (2015) and a 2015 book by Taufiq Ismail, Matine Gusti Allah, Riwayat Palu Arit Sedunia Menajiskan Tuhan dan Agama (The Death of God, The Story of How Hammers and Sickles around the World Defile God and Religions, hereafter MGA). AAYD lists the extreme cruelty and vulgarity that generally accompany blasphemy. For example, Kutil: This massacre is my protest to God; Kyai Soeleiman kept praising Allah when he was buried alive; Head pressed down with a stone, killed after leading the early morning prayers; After my tongue was cut by the PKI, I can no longer recite verses from the Quran; Quran Teacher Mutilated; My father was murdered by the PKI after his tarawih prayers; An Islamic seminarian was buried alive with his feet up; Gerwani poison killed Islamic boarding school students. AAYD contains many irrational facts. Kutil, for example, was said to have been detained in Digul following the 1926 PKI rebellious act, but managed to escape and stole a boat, which he used to sail from Papua to Tegal in Central Java. It is suggested in MGA that mass killings of 100 to 120 million of people were recorded in communist countries worldwide. It claims that if communists had taken power in Indonesia, they would have done the same. History discusses things that have happened, not future events. Taufiq Ismail wrote about violent acts committed by the communists while in Indonesia the fact was just the opposite. A book edited by Stephane Curtois, Le Livre noir du communisme (1997), which the writer primarily referred to, was indeed controversial. It received harsh criticism because it was not a book on the history of communism nor the history of violence in communist countries; rather, it was a claim that crimes had been committed in communist countries costing millions of lives. No clear data comparing those states was available. It did not distinguish mass death caused by famine from genocide. It apparently wanted to show that the number of victims of communist regimes was many times larger than that of the German Nazi party. Two writers of the books chapters, Jean-Louis Margolin (on China) and Nicolas Werth (Soviet Union) rejected the conclusion presented by Curtois. *** The writer is a historian with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. This article was presented in the international conference, Reconciling Indonesian History With 1965, at Goethe University, Frankfurt, on Nov. 10-12. --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 The Indonesian Students Association at the University of Oxford, UK, hosted a tempe (fermented soybean)-making workshop on Sunday in collaboration with the Indonesian Tempe Movement (ITM). The associations chairman, Sandoko Kosen, told Antara news agency on Tuesday that the workshop aimed to increase public awareness of tempe, an authentic Indonesian food. Tempe was chosen because it is a delicious and healthy food, environmentally friendly and is seen as a part of local cultures. These features give the soy superfood unique potential in the international food, health, art and business sectors. (Read also: Indonesian student creates social search engine) By learning the tempe-making process, Sandoko hoped the attendees would have a better understanding of the traditional food and be inspired to open a tempe-related business. The workshop idea came from ITMs founder Amadeus Driando Ahnan-Winarno, a student of the food science graduate program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States. The event was part of ITMs activities, which included an international conference, tempe book publication and registering tempe as a UNESCO intangible heritage. (jes/kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Andi Hajramurni (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya/Makassar Tue, November 22 2016 The local authorities in Surabaya, East Java, have prohibited Vietnamese-flagged freighter MV Thaison 4 from leaving Indonesian waters as part of an ongoing investigation into a collision between the ship and an Indonesian fishing boat that left at least three people dead. One team of marine inspectors at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya was deployed on Monday to conduct an inspection of the Thaison 4, which collided with the KM Mulya Sejati from Juwana, Pati, Central Java on Saturday. The team boarded the 22-crew cargo ship to check its seaworthiness in accordance with the standard operating procedures of international shipping, head of Brondong Port in Lamongan regency, East Java, Yuni Arsono said on Monday. The result of the ship examination will be the basis for further investigation, Yuni told The Jakarta Post, adding that the investigation would also determine the legal status of the captain as well as the ship. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login A teen armed with a handgun robbed a pizza delivery driver on the South Side Tuesday night, but she made the robber flee when she honked the horn of her car. The robbery happened at about 7:30 p.m. on Waunona Woods Court, Madison police said. The 37-year-old victim told police she tried to deliver a pizza to the apartment she had been dispatched to, but the residents said they hadn't ordered a pizza. "The victim was returning to her car when she was confronted by the gunman," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. "He demanded pizza and money." The woman gave pizza to the robber but told him her wallet was in the car. "As she went into the car, she hit the horn instead of following his demands," DeSpain said. "This caused the robber to flee with pizza but no cash." The suspect is black, wearing a dark coat and pants, with a ski mask over his face. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya, Moses Ompusunggu and Marguerite Afra (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama came to the National Police headquarters on Tuesday for his first questioning session as a suspect in a blasphemy case, as Muslim leaders called on the public to respect the ongoing legal process against the incumbent gubernatorial candidate. Accompanied by a number of lawyers, Ahok, who seeks to extend his term in the February election, entered the police headquarters in South Jakarta at about 9 a.m., declining to comment. He was questioned for around eight hours, in which police investigators asked him similar questions to what he was previously asked before being named a suspect, his lawyer Sirra Prayuna said. Pak Ahok was calm and relaxed. He answered the questions clearly, Sirra told reporters. Sirra said Ahoks legal team was planning to invite 14 experts and seven witnesses to testify in the case, including eye witnesses who were present when Ahok delivered his comments on a Quranic verse during a working visit to Thousand Islands regency in Sep. 27. Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab was set to be questioned on Wednesday as a witness. Previously, Rizieq was also questioned as an expert during the preliminary investigation of the case. Ahok was named a suspect on Nov. 16, in a decision the police claimed to be objective. Muslim groups, grouped under the National Movement to the Save Indonesia Ulema Councils Fatwa (GNPF-MUI), previously staged a mass demonstration in Jakarta on Nov. 4, demanding the government prosecute the tough-talking governor. They plan to hold another rally on Dec. 2, of which the National Police and the Indonesian Military have said they are against. With firebrand groups purportedly preparing for Dec. 2, Muhammadiyah and Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), the countrys two biggest Muslim organizations, have called on the former to refrain from holding another demonstration, saying the move would disrupt the ongoing legal process. If [the GNPF-MUI] hold the rally, it means that they are trying to take the law into their own hands. This is a country that is ruled by law, thus any conflict has to be addressed through legal mechanisms, NU executive Masdar Farid Masudi told The Jakarta Post via telephone on Tuesday. Muhammadiyah chairman for library and information Dadang Kahmad, meanwhile, said just wait and let the process take its course and hope that there will be a fair and open trial to follow. The Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) has also called for Muslims not to stage another rally, asking them to channel their aspirations through a more democratic way, namely through meetings with the government or through the media. The MUI also distanced itself from the GNPF-MUI, saying the latter was not part of and did not have any formal relations with the council as an Islamic organization. For those societal groups who are still determined to stage a protest on Dec. 2, they shall not go onto the street wearing logos or symbols that are associated with the MUI, MUI secretary-general Sholahuddin Al-Aiyub said. Separately, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu played down circulating rumors saying that the massive rally slated for Dec. 2 by Muslim groups was aimed at overthrowing President Joko Jokowi Widodos administration. Who says there will be [an act of] treason? Neither [the Defense Ministrys] intelligence or I have heard about this, Ryamizard said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Although Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama has been named a suspect in a case of alleged blasphemy, which some believe has tainted his popularity, his campaign team claimed on Wednesday that the incumbent governor remained the frontrunner in next years Jakarta gubernatorial election. Campaign team spokesman Raja Juli Antoni admitted Ahok's status as a suspect in the case had slightly affected the governor's electability, but it had not yet overturned his position as the frontrunner. We have our own unpublished internal survey. The case slightly affected Ahok's electability rating but he remains on top," Raja told The Jakarta Post at the incumbent candidates campaign team headquarters Rumah Lembang in Menteng, Central Jakarta. Raja refused to reveal the percentage of Ahok's potential voters compared to other candidates, saying that the survey was only used for campaign purposes. Ahok, a Christian of Chinese descent, was accused of blasphemy after video footage of a speech in which he mentioned a verse in the Quran went viral last month. The National Police named him a suspect on Nov. 16. A survey released last Friday by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) showed that Ahok's electability rating today only reached 10.6 percent, a significant decrease from the 59 percent recorded by the LSI in March. LSI researcher Adjie Alfaraby previously said the sectarian issue had, to some extent, contributed to Ahok's rating. "It is true that his electability decreased but not to the point [shown in the LSI] survey," Radja said. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Jonathan Pearlman (The Straits Times) Sydney, Australia Wed, November 23, 2016 The Australian government is set to restrict the intake of skilled foreigners as part of an "Australia first" shift in the short-term work visa scheme. As commentators warned of a worrying move towards post-Trump economic populism, the ruling coalition said it wanted to put "Australian workers first" and announced it was reviewing the number of job categories which give overseas workers a four-year stay under the 457 sponsored visa system. According to a report on Monday by SBS News, more than 50 jobs currently on the list have been earmarked for possible removal, including lawyers, chefs, a range of engineers, accountants and medical specialists such as anaesthetists and cardiologists. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the current list of more than 600 jobs was "expansive" but added it would still be necessary to bring in foreign workers, particularly in regional areas where there may be shortages. "We are having a look at it [the list] right now and I think it will be condensed," Dutton told Sky News on Sunday. The move follows heavy pressure by the Labor Party to reduce the number of foreign workers in the country. There are currently about 95,000 people in Australia on 457 visas, accompanied by about 76,000 family members. The government also announced last week that foreign workers on 457 visas will now have just 60 days to reapply for their visa if their job ends - down from 90 days. "This change is about reducing competition from overseas workers for those Australians who are actively looking for work," Dutton said. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has urged the government in recent weeks to "buy Australian, build Australian, make in Australia and employ Australians". The campaign has been criticized as a populist response to the recent shift towards economic nationalism as seen in Britain's Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump as US president, as well as in the strong support in Australia for anti-migration senator Pauline Hanson. Political commentator Troy Bramston said Monday that Shorten was "mimicking Trump's jingoistic and ethnic-nationalist 'America First' motto". "Shorten has seized on foreign skilled workers on 457 visas to capitalize on fears about squeezed job markets and falling living standards," he wrote in The Australian. "More than 70 percent [of temporary workers] are actually highly educated professionals working in areas such as information technology, where there is a skill shortage." Another commentator, Terry Sweetman, wrote in Queensland's Sunday Mail newspaper that the push by the government and opposition for curbs on 457 visas was "nothing more than low-rent cashing-in on phobias about foreign workers [or foreigners] of any kind". In addition to the temporary workers, Australia last year took in about 190,000 permanent immigrants. An expert on migration law, Joanna Howe of the University of Adelaide, has urged the government to use an independent agency to assess labor shortages. "Our labor migration system is broken," she wrote on The Conversation website. This article appeared on The Straits Times newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nethy Dharma Somba (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura, Papua Wed, November 23, 2016 A Cessna Caravan cargo plane skidded off the runway at Aminggaru Airport in Ilaga, Papua, on Wednesday, forcing authorities to temporarily close the airport to allow for the removal of the aircraft. The incident occurred when the plane belonging to airline company Jhonlin Air Transport was about to land at the airport at 8:52 a.m. local time. We have to close the airport as an operation to empty the aircrafts fuel tank is underway. It will be later moved to the airport apron. Hopefully, the airport can resume its operations tomorrow [Thursday], Aminggaru Airport head Dani Joko told The Jakarta Post. He said the Caravan plane, which carried cargo weighing 1,300 kilograms, departed from Moses Kilangin Airport in Timika, Mimika, to fly to Ilaga. Only the pilot, Capt.Timothy, and co-pilot Deni Bagus were on board. There was no fatality or injury in the incident, said Dani. It was the third accident in the past two months. Departing from Moses Kilangin Airport, a Caravan aircraft operated by Asia One and carrying 1 ton of cargo failed to land at Aminggaru Airport on Oct.13. Both pilot and co-pilot survived. A Caribou plane owned by the Puncak administration crashed shortly before it landed at Aminggaru Airport on Oct. 31. Piloted by Capt. Farhat Limit, the aircraft carried cargo weighing 3,130 kg. The pilot and three other crew members, co-pilot Fendi Ardianto and two technicians, Steve David Basari and Endri Baringin, all died. Aminggaru Airports runway is 600 meters in length and 18 m wide. The airport only operates from 6 a.m. to noon every day because smog normally blankets the airport in the afternoon. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Desy Nurhayati (The Jakarta Post) Nusa Dua Wed, November 23 2016 Medicine: Jorge Montoya works at Cannalivio lab in Colombia. Montoya and Mauricio Garcia founded Cannalivio, a pioneer company in the country for the development, production and research of products derived from medicinal plants. When you or a loved one receive a diagnosis of cancer, it is not long before you begin to think of the pain associated with cancer. This can be a frightening time. What will the pain be like? What will it do to our lives? to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ganbat Namjilsangarav (Associated Press) Ulaanbaatar Wed, November 23, 2016 Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said Wednesday he has "no worries" about Donald Trump's election as US president and expects the businessman will align his policies with global realities. Commenting at the conclusion of a four-day visit to Mongolia, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism says he looks forward to seeing Trump at some point following the Jan. 20 inauguration. It was not immediately clear if a meeting between the two has been planned. Such meetings usually draw China's ire. The 81-year-old monk said he has always regarded the US as the leader of the "free world" and wasn't concerned about remarks made by Trump during the election campaign. Some of those comments have been cited as offensive to Muslims, Hispanics and other US minority groups. "I feel during the election, the candidate has more freedom to express. Now once they [are] elected, having the responsibility, then they have to carry their cooperation, their work, according [to] reality," he told reporters. "So I have no worries." China accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to split Tibet from China and had demanded Mongolia scrap his visit. Mongolia's fragile economy is heavily dependent on China, and the countries are in discussions on a US$1.2 billion Chinese loan to help pull it out of a recession. In his comments, the Dalai Lama said his visit to the landlocked, primarily Buddhist, nation had no political purpose and said he had not publicly advocated independence for Tibet since 1974. The Dalai Lama has long called for Tibet to remain under Chinese rule, but with greater political participation by Tibetans and stronger protections for its traditional Buddhist culture. China says Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, although many Tibetans say they were effectively an independent country for much of that time. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Trump in a phone call and the country's state media has welcomed his election as harkening a less confrontational policy toward China. Those outlets have also applauded Trump's announcement that he would abandon a US-led free trade agreement in Asia that had excluded China. However, Trump has also accused Beijing of unfair trade practices and pledged to bulk-up the US military, leaving questions as to his ultimate approach to relations with the world's second-largest economy. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Another mass rally planned for Dec. 2 to protest Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's alleged blasphemy has lost its valid ground after the police named Ahok a suspect in the case, a Muslim intellectual has argued. "The planned Dec. 2 rally is no longer relevant," Zuhairi Misrawi, a young Muslim intellectual at the Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Islamic organization, said after a discussion in Central Jakarta on Wednesday. Zuhairi further said the planned rally could potentially jeopardize the nation's security and stability, especially amid increasing political tension happening in the capital ahead of the Jakarta gubernatorial election. "[We should] settle the issue through the legal process. Just wait for the court [to make a decision]," he said. On Nov. 4, around 100,000 people gathered on the streets to voice their demand that Ahok be named a suspect as soon as possible. National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian and some representatives from the State Palace met with rally representatives, telling them that the legal process was ongoing. The police eventually named Ahok a suspect in the blasphemy case last Wednesday. The group that organized the Nov. 4 rally said recently that it had planned another mass rally on Dec. 2 because the police "had not arrested Ahok". (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Corry Elyda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Students in eight public schools in East Jakarta have studied in dark and hot classrooms this week after electricity at their schools was cut off on Monday. Due to the alleged negligence of Jakarta Education Agency officials, who did not allocate money for bill payments in the 2016 budget, the eight schools, along with another 26 across the city, are three to 10 months behind on their payments, with outstanding debt reaching Rp 2.6 billion (US$192,400). Jakarta Education Agency secretary Susi Nurhati said on Tuesday that state-owned power company PLN had cut off power in eight senior high schools and vocation schools in East Jakarta because they had not paid their electricity bills. There are 26 schools that are also behind on their payments but PLN only cut off electricity in eight schools because they are the worst offenders, she said. The eight schools are SMAN 9, SMAN 42 and SMAN 48 in Makassar, SMAN 93 and SMAN 51 in Kramat Jati, SMAN 104 in Pasar Rebo, SMKN 2 in Matraman and SMKN 10 in Cawang. Susi said the payments were late because officials at the Jakarta Education Agencys East Jakarta office had not included the electricity bills in the Education Operational Fund (BOP) for the 2016 budget allocation. We eventually included the payments in the 2016 revised budget allocation, she said. Susi said after learning of the power cut, the agency immediately negotiated with PLN. We pledged to pay the bill on Thursday, she said, adding that she hoped the power would be turned back on immediately. Separately, M. Misbakhul Munir, SMAN 48 vice principal for infrastructure, said his school had accrued an outstanding debt of Rp 118 million since June. Misbakhul said his students were forced to study outside because their classrooms were too dark and hot as the air conditioner and lamps had been shut off. Water dispensers, attendance record machines and school bells also do not work because they rely on electricity, he said, adding that the school also cancelled an examination training session for the Computer Based Test. Feri Putra Pratama, a 17-year-old student, said the power cut had disrupted his studies. We cannot comfortably study as there is no light. We also cannot use the projector, he said. Acting Jakarta Governor Sumarsono said he would immediately summon the officials who were responsible for the incident. This is negligence. This is not the fault of PLN, he said. He added that if the power had not been turned on by tomorrow, the officials would be sanctioned. They will be transferred to other places, he said. Syamsul Huda, the general manager of PLNs Greater Jakarta branch, said his company had given the city administration a long period of time to pay the bill. So we decided to cut off the power temporarily to gauge more clearly the commitment of the schools to pay the bill, he said. Syamsul said his subordinates had met with the Jakarta Education Agency to settle the payment. If the city gives us a statement letter to pay the bill, we will turn the power back on, he said. The manager said PLN had offered city-owned Bank DKI the opportunity to pay the bill first, but due to complicated bureaucratic matters, the payment could not be executed. We do not want this to happen, especially for education. This is hard for us, he said. Syamsul said he would organize an agreement between PLN and the city administration to prevent such an occurrence from happening again. We could develop a scheme whereby Bank DKI could pay the bill first, he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23 2016 JAKARTA: In the face of a booming tourism industry in its area, the Banyuwangi regional administration in East Java has pledged to ensure that management of the sector would stay in line with Islamic values to respect the majority Muslim population in the region. Regent Abdullah Azwar Anas said that strong Islamic culture in East Java made him decide not to allow the establishment of bars and discotheques like those on the neighboring resort island of Bali in an effort to minimize alcohol consumption in the region. Anwar also said his administration had prohibited the establishment of hotels rated with fewer than three stars. The cheap hotels, he added, would potentially become venues for sex transactions. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ina Parlina and Moses Ompusunggu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 The Finance Ministry has said it will step up reform in the tax office following the recent arrest of another tax official on bribery charges. In a sting operation on Monday evening, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) arrested middle-ranking tax official Handang Soekarno for allegedly receiving a US$148,500 bribe from a businessman. The businessman, identified as Rajamohanan Nair, a director of Jakarta-based export firm PT EK Prima Ekspor Indonesia, is believed to have promised Handang Rp 6 billion in bribes, and had purportedly tried to defy the companys taxation obligations amounting to Rp 78 billion ($ 5.8 million). Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Tuesday she had laid out plans to expedite institutional reform in her ministrys Directorate General of Taxation. The reform measures will focus primarily on hunting down the traitors she said had hampered tax collection in the country. This is a good opportunity [to speed up reform], said Sri Mulyani, whose appointment to the Cabinet in July has been seen by many as an attempt on Jokowis part to ensure the smooth implementation of his flagship tax amnesty. The finance minister rebuffed concerns that the arrest would affect the countrys ongoing tax amnesty, saying that she would urge all taxpayers to help uncover corruption in the tax office and report companies that avoided their tax liabilities. Id say this is a step to prove that you [taxpayers] can trust us, she added. She warned her subordinates to support the reforms or she would allow other institutions, such as the KPK, to intervene. The antigraft body backed the ministers commitment, saying that the arrest had provided an opportunity for the KPK to work with the ministry to reform the nations tax office. We need to have trust in the tax office. The KPK believes that a majority of tax officials have integrity. After the arrest, we are committed to cooperating with the Finance Ministry in its internal reforms, KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo told a press conference at the headquarters of the antigraft body. Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution, who led the tax office between 2006 and 2009 and will participate in the effort to revamp and reform the tax office, admitted that the existing tax system still permitted room for wrongdoing. In a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Jokowi told those serving in his administration to be serious about the business of anticorruption, instructing his ministers to start carrying out major overhauls to tax and state income management, particularly in the natural resources sector. The President has also stepped up efforts to eradicate illegal levies by establishing a special task force authorized with carrying out investigations, including sting operations, to combat a decades-long practice that has long hampered the efficiency of public services across the country. Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung shares the view of Sri Mulyani, saying that the arrest will build public trust as the public will see the incident as proof that the government is resolute in upholding the law. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently called on Indonesia to reform its tax authorities through better administrative practices and by strengthening the roles of tax officials. The OECD argues that this will create a culture of tax compliance in the future and improve Indonesias relatively weak tax base. A Madison woman who crashed into a car stopped at a red light early Wednesday morning then fled the scene was tracked down by police and cited for inattentive driving. Marissa Meiller, 21, was evaluated by police when they found her, and it was determined she wasn't impaired by alcohol in the crash that happened at about 1:20 a.m. on North Blair Street at East Washington Avenue, Madison police said. Meiller was also cited for hit and run to an occupied vehicle. According to police: A southbound vehicle on North Blair Street was stopped for a red light at the intersection, when Meiller's vehicle approached from behind, going at a high rate of speed and hitting the stopped vehicle. A parking enforcement officer saw the crash and was able to provide the license plate number and direction of travel of Meiller's vehicle to officers. Police found her vehicle near the intersection of South Stoughton Road and Buckeye Road, badly damaged with both air bags deployed. Meiller was free to go after the citations were issued. Nobody was injured in the crash. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 The Finance Ministry is ready to accept the Corruption Eradication Commissions (KPK) support in carrying out internal reform, following a recent bribery case implicating an official from the ministrys Directorate General of Taxation, a minister has said. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the ministry would help the KPK to further investigate the bribery allegedly committed by the tax official, in the hope that the incident could provide momentum to trigger reform at the taxation directorate general. We will intensify cooperation with the KPK to create preventive measures and to establish systemic reform, not only at the tax office but also in the ministry as a whole," she said at the antigraft bodys headquarters on Tuesday, where she gave a press statement in response to the arrest of the tax official by KPK investigators. Sri Mulyani added that one effort to prevent corrupt practices was the ministrys plan to minimize direct interactions between taxpayers and taxation officials. KPK commissioner Laode M. Syarif said the antigraft body was ready to help the Finance Ministry in developing a platform to prevent similar cases. KPK investigators apprehended Handang Soekarno, a middle-ranking taxation official from the ministry, along with businessman Rajamohanan Nair, during an operation in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on Monday evening. Handang is accused of accepting US$148,500 of a total Rp 6 billion ($447,427) in compensation promised by the businessman for assistance in evading Rp 78 billion in taxes owed by his company. The two have been charged under the 1999 Corruption Law. (fac/ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 The Golkar Party has ordered all of its members at the House of Representatives to support the reappointment of the partys chairman, Setya Novanto, as the House speaker. Golkar executive chairman Nurdin Halid stated on Wednesday that all party members were obliged to fight for Setyas return to the position. On behalf of the partys central executive board, I hereby instruct all members of the Golkar Partys faction at the House to solidly secure the partys decision to transfer the House speaker seat from Ade Komarudin to Setya Novanto, Nurdin said at a press conference at the House on Wednesday. The senior Golkar politicians announcement was made amid criticisms questioning the ongoing attempt to return Setya to the position he previously gave up after his alleged involvement in an ethics violation scandal involving US-based gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia. Golkars faction is set to present the decision before a House plenary meeting this week for an approval. Nurdin ensured that all faction members had been aware of their responsibility to support any of the partys decisions, including on Setyas reappointment. Setya stepped down from his position on Dec. 16, 2015, following the House ethics councils (MKD) investigation into an alleged ethical violation reported by then Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said. Setya and his colleague, businessman Riza Chalid, were accused of using the names of President Joko Jokowi Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla to seek a 20 percent share of Freeport. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23 2016 JAKARTA: Brit model Kelly Brook has escaped the freezing British winter by having a birthday break in Magelang, Central Java. Kelly, who turns 37 on Nov. 23, posted photos of herself with her boyfriend Jeremy Parisi on Instagram in the idyllic location of the hotel they have been staying in since Monday. She also showed off an apparently makeup-free selfie ahead of the big day, which she captioned: No makeup. No Filters. Time to Relax Meditate be Still and turn 37. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 The National Polices warning about the potential ouster of President Joko Jokowi Widodo by protesters involved in two large-scale rallies slated for Nov. 25 and Dec. 2 has received a mixed reception from lawmakers. Several lawmakers lambasted National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian for revealing the speculation about an attempted overthrow of Jokowi, saying that the statement had led to public confusion. However, others have supported the police chief, applauding his institution for implementing quick measures to anticipate security threats during the upcoming rallies. What the National Police chief has done is to anticipate untoward incidents, said Riska Mariska, a member of the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs, human rights and security, in Jakarta on Wednesday. The ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician also applauded Tito for immediately issuing a circular prohibiting anyone from threatening or inciting others to overthrow Jokowi during the rallies. Titos warning was a necessary measure to prevent unconstitutional actions, she went on. Meanwhile, lawmaker Didik Mukrianto from the Democratic Party said Titos statement was an exaggeration and had undermined the publics sense of security. The police are responsible for maintaining peace and stability, not disrupting it, Didik said. Even if it was true that there was a plot to oust the President, the police must work to prevent it without revealing it to the public. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23 2016 The number of Indonesian students studying in the United States is continuously increasing as the government of both countries provide many scholarship opportunities to attract students to pursue their education in the US. US charge daffairs Brian McFeeters said on Tuesday that more than 8,700 Indonesian students were currently studying in the US, an increase from 8,100 compared to last year. [There are] 8,727 students from Indonesia the highest number in 12 years, making Indonesia the 19th leading place of origin among international students in the US, he said during an exhibition to promote education in the US. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Seoul Wed, November 23, 2016 An intelligence-sharing agreement between South Korea and Japan took effect Wednesday after the countries signed the pact to better monitor North Korea, Seoul officials said. South Korea and Japan had exchanged military intelligence via the United States under a trilateral agreement signed in 2014. But the Asian neighbors had no direct intelligence-sharing system largely because of disputes stemming from Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. South Korea's defense minister and Japan's ambassador in Seoul signed the deal Wednesday. Seoul's Foreign Ministry said the pact took effect the same day. North Korea has reacted angrily, saying the deal would aggravate regional animosities. Worries about North Korea's weapons programs have grown after Pyongyang conducted its fifth and most powerful atomic bomb test in September. South Korean opposition lawmakers accused their government of trying to use the pact as a diversion from a snowballing scandal involving President Park Geun-hye. South Korean officials have denied that. The Korean Peninsula was divided into US-backed South Korea and Soviet-supported North Korea at the end of the Japanese occupation. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Michael Astor (Associated Press) New York, United States Wed, November 23, 2016 The Committee to Protect Journalists honored journalists from India, El Salvador, Turkey and Egypt on Tuesday with its annual International Press Freedom Awards for their commitment to a free press despite death threats, imprisonment and exile. CPJ executive director Joel Simon said threats against journalism are increasing around the world, including in the United States following the presidential election victory of Republican Donald Trump, who has branded mainstream media dishonest and who hasn't held a news conference since his election. "It's a very intimidating, hostile environment," Simon said before the ceremony. "Now, we're not going to compare it to some of the things we're going to see tonight, but certainly the climate's changed and the notion that we're here living in this First Amendment paradise defending the rights of our more vulnerable colleagues around the world, that gap has closed considerably." India's Malini Subramaniam, a contributor to the news website Scroll.In, has been harassed by police and members of a vigilante group for her critical coverage of human rights abuses in the Bastar area of Chhattisgarh state. She said the award was important to send a message to the government that it's being watched. "The importance is also to those journalists who are there, who feel that, OK, even if it is a small place like Bastar in Chhattisgarh the fact that this has come out in the international media, the fact that their situation has been understood, that itself is very good," Subramanian said. El Salvador's Oscar Martinez, co-founder of Sala Negra, the investigative unit of Central America's first online-only magazine, El Faro, also was honored. Martinez was forced to flee El Salvador for three weeks after receiving death threats over an investigation into the killings of eight gang suspects by police. Turkey's Can Dundar, chief editor of the daily Cumhuriyet, was another honoree. He was arrested on Nov. 26, 2015, after publishing an article alleging the government intelligence service sought to send weapons to Syrian rebel groups. He was charged with disclosing state secrets, espionage and aiding a terrorist group and was sentenced to five years in prison. He remains free, after spending 92 days in jail, while his appeal is considered. Jailed Egyptian photographer Abou Zeid, known as Shawkan, was given an award in absentia. Zeid has been jailed since Aug. 14, 2013, on charges of weapons possession, illegal assembly, murder and attempted murder, the charges levied against hundreds of protesters in the clashes between Egyptian security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. He has denied all charges. CNN's Christiane Amanpour received the Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Teachers of Islamic subjects are failing to imbue their students with the values of tolerance and unity, as most of the material delivered in classes merely focuses on rituals and theology, a study has concluded. The study, released by the Analytical and Capacity Development Partnership (ACDP) Indonesia, a think tank within the Culture and Education and the Religious Affairs ministries funded by the EU, the Asia Development Bank (ADB) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade discovered that democracy, pluralism and human rights, are not being taught in Islamic subjects in classes. "Apparently, the curriculum in Islamic subjects never includes how to respect other religions, hence teachers only remind their students about sin [according to Islamic values]," ACDP consultant Muljani Nurhadi said at the Religious Affairs Ministry on Wednesday. Director general for Islamic education at the Religious Affairs Ministry Kamaruddin Amin said that if the issue was not addressed properly, it could lead to extremism and radicalism. "One of the functions of Islamic teaching in schools is the maintenance and preservation of moderate Islam," Kamaruddin said. The study questioned 229 respondents comprising students, teachers and headmasters in 24 schools in four cities namely Jakarta; Medan, North Sumatra; Surakarta, Central Java; and Manado, North Sulawesi.(fac/dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo wants vocational schools to have practical teachers instead of normative teachers to give students necessary workplace skills. "We have a lot of vocational schools, but in the field, 70 to 80 percent of teachers are 'normative teachers': physics, chemistry, and even civics," Jokowi said during a Bank Indonesia (BI) bankers dinner event in Jakarta on Tuesday. Instead, the president wants teachers to teach students how to construct buildings, repair machines and so on. The government is currently negotiating with industry to "borrow" experts to teach in vocational schools. Moreover, Jokowi hinted that he wanted the capacity of vocational training centers (BLK) to be increased. He mentioned that even large BLKs only produced 300 to 400 graduates every year. "That is too small, we need millions, we must prepare this," he added. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rizal Harahap (The Jakarta Post) Pekanbaru Wed, November 23 2016 A Riau court rejected on Tuesday a lawsuit challenging the dropping of charges against a plantation company that had been suspected of causing one of the biggest forest fires the last two decades. Judge Sorta Ria Neva of Pekanbaru District Court ruled in a pretrial hearing that the Riau Polices issuance in June of an investigation termination warrant (SP3) for PT Sumatra Riang Lestari (SRL) had followed procedures. In her consideration Sorta said that the defendants, the Riau Police, had the discretion to terminate the investigation as stipulated in Article 19 (1) of Law No. 2/2012 on the police and that the implementation of the authority was based on the Criminal Code. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login A Madison man who was charged with first-degree intentional homicide for shooting another man to death outside a town of Madison gas station the last of three related fatal shootings last spring pleaded guilty Tuesday to a lesser homicide charge. Kortney D. Moore, 28, pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide for a May 11 shooting that killed Elijah Washington III outside the Capitol Petro Mart, 2570 Rimrock Road. Under a plea agreement, Assistant District Attorney Andrea Raymond will ask for no more than 20 years in prison for Moore. He will be sentenced by Dane County Circuit Judge Ellen Berz on Feb. 23. First-degree reckless homicide carries up to 40 years in prison and 20 years of extended supervision. Moore was the brother of Martez Moore, 30, who was shot to death outside OGradys Irish Pub, 7436 Mineral Point Road, on April 19, and was a friend of Darius Haynes, 38, who was shot and killed on May 10 at a Verona Road gas station. After the plea hearing, Moores lawyer, Robert Hurley, said that Moore has a minimal criminal history with no violent crimes, and had a full-time job. His only conviction was on a 2007 federal drug distribution charge, and he served a four-year prison sentence, plus another 11 months after his federal supervised release was revoked in 2011. His brother and his best friend were killed, and he found himself caught up in this situation, Hurley said. Its a very tragic situation for all involved. A criminal complaint states that Moore was in the Capitol Petro Mart when Washington entered, appeared to notice Moore and turned to leave. Moore pulled out what appeared on surveillance video to be a gun and followed Washington out the door, the complaint states. Washington, who also appeared on video to have a gun, turned to face Moore, and Moore raised his gun and appeared to shoot Washington, the complaint states. A witness at a nearby apartment building told police that after he saw a man fall to the ground, a second man fired gunshots at the man on the ground and then ran away. Washingtons sister heard the shots and ran to Washington and took his gun from him, she told police later. Police found it later hidden under a car seat, the complaint states. Search warrants unsealed in August named William Flowers as a person of interest in Martez Moores death, but he has not been charged. Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said Tuesday that Flowers is not considered a suspect at this point, but the investigation continues. Flowers was arrested on an unrelated outstanding warrant, pleaded guilty in September to misdemeanor battery and was given a jail sentence that was deemed served. Washington was Flowers cousin, police said in a search warrant affidavit. The warrants state the shootings of Martez Moore and Haynes happened over beefs between rival gangs. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Grace D. Amianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Businesses should keep calm and continue with their activities amid rising political tension as President Joko Jokowi Widodo reassures that there is nothing to worry about. Speaking during Bank Indonesias (BI) annual Bankers Dinner on Tuesday evening, Jokowi acknowledged that the country saw rising tension in the political climate following massive protests related to a case of alleged blasphemy of Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama ahead of the citys gubernatorial election in February next year. He said he was preoccupied by political issues, which he previously claimed involved political actors, but stressed that there was nothing to worry about. I was busy managing [the problem], but its actually okay. The tension just gets a little bit warmer whenever there is a regional election. I have experienced it myself during the 2012 [Jakarta] gubernatorial election, Jokowi said in front of hundreds of bankers, government officials and businesspeople attending the event. Stressing his confidence, Jokowi said analysts and economists should not contribute to the rising political tension by commenting irresponsibly and called for businesspeople to remain calm. We [Indonesians] seem to like gossip and rumors as we tend to exaggerate trivial things. It is an obstacle for us to be optimistic. Indonesia ranks second after China as the most optimistic country according to a recent survey, but the fact is, we sometimes appear pessimistic, he said. Jokowi also asked bankers and businesspeople to remain optimistic about the economy as he downplayed the rising global uncertainty following the unexpected victory of US president-elect Donald Trump, who promised protectionism and expansive growth by bringing back jobs to his country. Global markets have reacted to the rising possibility of the US Federal Reserves plan to raise its fund rate sooner to anticipate expansive economic growth, but Jokowi said Trump remained a businessman who would not be reckless with a policy that could damage the world economy. With such confidence, he said the government would continue its ongoing efforts to improve the domestic economy by stressing three main things: fighting illegal levies, cutting bureaucratic red tape and accelerating infrastructure development, which has been supported by the reallocation of fuel subsidies into more productive sectors. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Southeast Asias largest economy slowed to 5.02 percent in the July to September period, lower than the 5.19 percent in the previous quarter because of declining government spending and exports. Meanwhile, BI Governor Agus Martowardojo pointed out three major potentials in the domestic economy that could be enhanced to support resiliency, namely a realistic and mediumlong term fiscal policy, a higher-thanexpected result of the tax amnesty and digital economy development. Agus also stressed the importance of maintaining stability amid rising global uncertainty while at the same time supporting economic growth directly or indirectly through the central banks monetary policies. The central bank has prepared several new measures for next year, particularly in the area of monetary operations by introducing averaging-primary reserve requirement (GWM) and enhancing government debt papers (SBN) as a monetary instrument. The new GWM policy is expected to help banks become more flexible in managing their liquidity as they will be allowed to maintain the average GWM ratio in a certain period only, as opposed to 6.5 percent at the end of the day. Bahana Securities economist Fakhrul Fulvian said the averaging GWM could help banks solve the tight liquidity issue because they would not need to pay GWM on a daily basis, creating more room for their loan disbursements. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Roshan Mughal and Asif Shahzad (Associated Press) Muzaffarabad, Pakistan Wed, November 23, 2016 Artillery fire and shelling from India targeted several villages and struck a passenger bus near the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, killing 11 civilians, the Pakistani military and officials said. The deadly violence marks the latest escalation in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided between the two nuclear-armed neighbors and claimed by both in its entirety. According to Deputy Commissioner Waheed Khan, an artillery shell hit a passenger bus in the scenic Neelum Valley in the Pakistani part of Kashmir, killing nine people three died on the scene and six later, at a hospital. Several people were also reported wounded in that attack. Another two civilians died when a mortar shell hit their house in the Nakyal sector in Kotli district, said police official Waseem Khan. The shelling sent residents fleeing in panic, he said. An army statement said Pakistani troops were firing back on Indian military positions. The statement also said that an ambulance that had rushed the scene of the attack was fired upon by India. An Indian army spokesman, Col. Nitin Joshi, said India was responding to Pakistan's violation of a cease-fire, adding that Pakistani troops have fired at several Indian army positions. Another senior Indian army officer, speaking on condition of anonymity under military regulations, said that Indian troops were responding to an attack on an army patrol that killed three Indian soldiers on Tuesday. The body of one Indian soldier was reported mutilated by the attackers and emotions have been running high following that assault. Deadly exchanges of fire in the disputed Kashmir have intensified in recent weeks. Tensions have escalated since militants attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir in September. India said the militants were supported by Pakistan, charges denied by Islamabad. Both sides accuse the other of initiating the firing along the Line of Control, which separates the Pakistan- and India-controlled parts of Kashmir. So far this week, at least 18 people, civilians and soldiers, have been killed on both sides. Last week, Pakistani army claimed to have shot down a small Indian drone in Kashmir, a day after the Pakistani navy claimed it had intercepted Indian submarines entering the country's territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. Two of the three wars between India and Pakistan since 1947 have been fought over their competing claims to Kashmir. ___ Shahzad reported from Islamabad. Associated Press Writer Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India, contributed to this report. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 The National Police Commission (Kompolnas) has declared its support for National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian, who has been sharply criticized for his recent warning of an attempt to overthrow the government of President Joko Jokowi Widodo through two large-scale rallies planned for Nov. 25 and Dec. 2. Kompolnas commissioner Poengky Indarti said on Wednesday that Titos warning on an attempt to oust Jokowi was valid due to the widespread circulation of provocative information, which she called politically driven. Poengky cited as an example a call through social media for run on banks. A [provocative] message like this does not come from an empty room. It must be driven by a particular motive, the commissioner said. We assume that parties with political interests are behind this [bank run] campaign because it emerged in the midst of the polices investigation into a blasphemy case implicating Ahok, she said, referring to non-active Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama. In a recent social media campaign, Muslims have been called on to withdraw their money from banks on Nov.25. Kompolnas lends its full support to the National Police to hunt down sources of this provocative campaign, Poengky said. Freedom of speech is guaranteed in a democratic country such as Indonesia. However, people must not misuse such freedom to create public confusion. It was earlier reported that protesters planned to occupy the House of Representatives compound in Senayan, Central Jakarta, during the Nov.25 rally, a move that the police viewed as an attempt to oust Jokowi. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Buni Yani, the uploader of video footage depicting what some claim to be blasphemous remarks made by Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, complied with the Jakarta Polices summons to an interrogation over his involvement in the case. Buni was accused of having edited video footage of Ahok to make it appear not as if the governor was criticizing people who were misusing a verse from the Quran, but was criticizing the Quran itself. After the video became available online, such as on Buni's Facebook page, it sparked widespread public anger. Buni's lawyer Aldwin Rahadian said they had prepared evidence for the questioning. We have here several pieces of evidence that show that it was not Pak Buni Yani who first uploaded the footage. Another online media account had previously uploaded the video, in which its length is also 30 seconds," Aldwin said on Wednesday, referring to Media NKRI. The lawyer further said they were ready to summon several experts to defend Buni in case the police decided to proceed with this case and name him a suspect. Aldwin said he believed the police should not prosecute Buni, who he said had uploaded the video only as part of a public discussion. In early October, members of the Community of Young Advocates for Ahok-Djarot (Kotak Adja) reported Buni to the police for his alleged provocative act against Ahok by editing the footage of the governor's speech in the Thousand Islands regency on Sept. 27 from one hour and 48 minutes to 31 seconds. They believed Buni did it intentionally to provoke adverse sentiments based on ethnic, religious, racial and social group-related grounds among the people. On Oct. 10, in retaliation Buni reported Kotak Adja members Guntur Romli and Muannas Al Aidid to the police for alleged defamation. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23 2016 Living in Marunda [Cilincing, North Jakarta] is already difficult. I cannot imagine how difficult things will be if I have to move to Ciangir. Marunda is already far away from anywhere, said 29-year-old food seller Nuraini. What will I do [for a living] there? Located roughly 46 kilometers from the center of Jakarta, or 89 km from the Marunda apartment complex, Ciangir in Banten is being prepared as a new home for thousands of tenants behind in their rent, such as Nuraini, who live in the citys low-cost apartments. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Semarang Wed, November 23, 2016 The Netherlands will be heavily involved in the efforts to end the recurrent flooding in Semarang, Central Java, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said during his visit to the provincial capital on Tuesday. His government, Rutte said, was already involved in the easing of the classic problems faced by residents of Semarang, i.e. floods and the tidal flooding locally known as rob. The involvement, he said, was manifested in the development of polders (dikes) that controlled the Banger River, using a flood-mitigation system already implemented in the Netherlands. During his visit to Semarang, Rutte examined the Banger pump house then witnessed the signing of an agreement between Dutch Water Authority chairman Hans Ooster and Semarang Mayor Hendrar Prihadi. Also attending the ceremony were Dutch Infrastructure and Environment Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen and Indonesian Public Works and Peoples Housing Minister M Basuki Hadimuljono. Rutte said that seeing the polder system in Banger made him feel as if he was back home because it was exactly the same as implemented in the Netherlands. I hope the polders can be a model for many parties. We can also mutually learn from Indonesia in handling floods, he said. Meanwhile Ooster said he was proud that he could join the cooperation in dealing with flooding in Semarang in conjunction with Hendrar. This physical development is very important, said Ooster, adding that what was more important was the next step. I am glad that I can help realize the Dutch polder system in Indonesia with our 350 years of experience, he said. He also reminded Semarang people to always remember to be wary about land subsidence. Schultz added that the cooperation between the Netherlands and Semarang in mitigating floods and tidal flooding started in 2001. A polder-management agency like the one in the Netherlands is very important for Semarang. If we can help, we for sure will help, she said. Both parties also discussed the possibility of constructing an offshore sea wall to help deal with rob. Apart from coping with rob, the Dutch government will also help Semarang city administration in managing the Old Town, which the Central Java provincial and Semarang city administrations have been trying to revive as a Little Netherlands. In the Old Town, the entourage visited Blenduk Church, (the Immanuel Protestant Church) and the Oudetrap building in Srigunting Park. They then proceeded to the Semarang Contemporary Art Gallery, where they enjoyed an exhibition of Herman Thomas Karstens architectural works. Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said that Ruttes visit to Semarang was part of a number of cooperation agreements, including on the rehabilitation of the Old Town, trade and investment cooperation, water management, and transfers of technology from the Dutch. Rutte then visited another Dutch architectural icon, the Lawangsewu building, built between 1904 and 1907 as the headquarters of the Netherlands-Indies Railway Company (NIS). He also visited the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) at the Police Academy compound to highlight bilateral counterterrorism cooperation. Earlier in the day, Rutte had a meeting with Basuki, Ganjar and Hendrar at the Wisma Perdamaian (Mansion of Peace), a building built in 1754 and formerly known as De Vredestein. On Wednesday, Rutte is scheduled to meet President Joko Jokowi Widodo and deliver a speech at the House of Representatives in Jakarta. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has said it arrested a man for the alleged possession of 29,505 ecstasy pills during an operation in Jakarta last month. BNN chairman Budi Waseso said the suspect, identified only by the initials MR, 35, was caught at a supermarket in Pantai Indah Kapuk, Penjaringan, North Jakarta, on Oct.19. The suspect was a courier and he hid the ecstasy pills under his motorcycle seat. The pills came from Riau Islands and were about to be distributed to nightclubs in Jakarta, he told journalists in Jakarta on Tuesday. A lawmaker from the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs, Dwi Ria Latifa, said smugglers in Riau Islands were using new methods to distribute their drugs. The smugglers, she said, would seal the drugs in plastic bags that they released into the sea. Receivers would then pick the drug packages up using traditional boats, she went on. The lawmaker further said smugglers tended to use small islands largely unmonitored by security authorities to distribute the drugs. Budi said the BNN was continuing to question MR, who is believed to be a member of an international drug syndicate. A convict currently serving a sentence at a penitentiary in Jakarta is reported to be involved in the smuggling activity, he said. The suspect will be charged with violating Article 114 of the 2009 Narcotics Law, with the maximum sentence of death. (adt/ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23 2016 Two years have passed since Joko Jokowi Widodo was sworn in as the seventh President of the Republic of Indonesia. After a rocky and tumultuous start to his presidency, Jokowi has since grown in confidence, enjoying high approval ratings and winning praise from political experts. Yet, for all these achievements, the government of Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla continues to face questions about Indonesias foreign policy. Initial concerns that the President simply lacks interest in world affairs have proven unfounded, as become most apparent in Indonesias announcement that it would seek a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2019-2020. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Manila Wed, November 23, 2016 A self-confessed drug dealer, whose father was killed in an alleged gun fight in prison, has testified before a Philippine Senate investigation that he provided police officials and an opposition senator millions of pesos in protection money. Rolando "Kerwin" Espinosa Jr. said Wednesday that he gave 8 million pesos (US$160,000) last year to Sen. Leila de Lima's bodyguard. De Lima was a former justice secretary who President Rodrigo Duterte earlier alleged had collected money from drug lords through her bodyguard, who was also her lover, to fund her senatorial campaign. De Lima, who has initiated an investigation into Duterte's deadly anti-drug campaign, has denied receiving drug money and said she does not know Espinosa. Duterte's anti-drug campaign has left more than 4,000 suspected addicts and pushers dead since July. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Manila Wed, November 23, 2016 The Philippine armed forces chief says five military exercises with the United States, including at least two major naval drills, will be scrapped next year at the direction of President Rodrigo Duterte. Gen. Ricardo Visaya told reporters Wednesday that U.S. officials respected the Philippines' proposal to reduce the number of drills to 258, or five less than this year's exercises. On Tuesday, the two allies held a meeting of their Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board co-chaired by Visaya and Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., head of the U.S. Pacific Command. Visaya said the scrapped drills include an Amphibious Landing Exercise and Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, both major naval exercises that include territorial defense training. He said exercises will be focused on humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and counterterrorism. A man who has been arrested numerous times for breaking into homes turned himself in to Madison police on Monday after learning he was being sought for a Nov. 11 home burglary. Roderick Williams, 23, no permanent address, was tentatively charged with theft and bail jumping, Madison police said. "A prolific West District home burglar, who has a pattern of breaking into more houses while out on bail, adding additional cases to the already busy Burglary Crimes Unit, is back behind bars again," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. His most recent alleged burglary happened early in the morning on Nov. 11 in the 6300 block of Piedmont Road. A bedroom window was smashed and someone made off with cash, two Packers tickets and several pair of women's designer jeans. "Burglary Crime Unit detectives were able to identify the suspect as someone who later sold some of the stolen clothing to a resale store," DeSpain said. "Having learned police were looking for him, once again, the suspect turned himself in," DeSpain said. Court records show Williams has been charged numerous times in the past, including 29 counts of theft and concealing or receiving stolen property in a case brought to court in May. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 Bali is the most popular destination for Indonesian holidaymakers, according to local online travel companies. For a short holiday, Bali [is the most popular destination], said Traveloka marketing head Dannis Muhammad during Festival Jalan-Jalans press conference on Monday as quoted by Antara news agency. A similar trend is also seen in other e-commerce providers, including Pegipegi.com and Blibli.com. Pegipegi deputy CEO Ryan Kartawidjaja says that Bali remains the most popular destination on their website, followed by Bandung and Jakarta. (Read also: Online travel fair aims for 2 million visitors) However, according to Traveloka, domestic tourists, particularly Jakartans, preferred Bogor as their second-favorite city for short holidays. As for international destinations, Singapore is the most popular country for a short getaway, as its distance from Indonesia only requires a short-haul flight. Other popular destinations for local holidaymakers are the eastern part of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan, which are mostly destinations of long holidays. (jes/kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, November 23, 2016 A team of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) law students won the title of Overall Highest Team Ranking in the Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot (FDI) held at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina on Nov. 3 to 6. The seven-membered team reportedly triumphed over teams from 58 other universities from 33 countries, including Harvard Law School, Paris Bar School, King's College London and the NALSAR University of Law. In addition to the aforementioned title, the UGM team was also awarded with Second Best Memorial for Respondent, ranked seventh in Oral Rounds and three of its members were put on the list of 50 Best Advocates, namely Mutiara Khairunnisa, Rizki Karim and Amelia Rohana Sonang, according to the university's newsroom. The dean of UGM's law school, Sigit Riyanto, told Antara news agency Monday that, This is the highest achievement we've reached in FDI. UGM succeeded in achieving the title of overall winner based on their assessed performance throughout the oral rounds and written memorials." (Read also: Yogyakarta university students win big at folklore festival in Russia) The FDI is regarded as a prestigious arbitration competition worldwide in the field of international law investment. This year, the competition used the theme of disputes involving foreign investors who think their investments are being expropriated by the government. Amelia explained that each team had to prepare two statements: one for the investor as a claimant and the other for the government as the respondent. Tomi S. Utomo, who accompanied the UGM team, said the students had prepared themselves very well for the competition. Hopefully this could serve as an example for other [students]. I dont see them as mere college students, but also as skilled problem solvers for society. (mra/kes) We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Agudath Israel of America warmly welcomes todays announcement that President-elect Trump has nominated Betsy DeVos for the position of US Secretary of Education. Agudath Israel has worked closely with Mrs. DeVos for many years, together with other organizations and legislators from both sides of the aisle, to give parents educational options for their children. Thanks to that effort, hundreds of thousands of children across the United States are receiving a quality education they couldnt otherwise afford, including many students who choose to attend Jewish day schools. Shlomo Werdiger, chairman of Agudath Israels board of trustees, expressed his enthusiastic support for Mrs. DeVoss nomination. I have had some excellent discussions with Betsy DeVos, Mr. Werdiger said. She is intelligent, compassionate and effective. President-elect Trump has chosen wisely. I have witnessed, firsthand, Betsy DeVoss passionate support for school choice, said Agudath Israel of Americas national director of state relations, Rabbi A. D. Motzen, and I am confident that a Department of Education under her leadership will correctly focus on students. Agudath Israel of America advocates on behalf of more than 250,000 students in Jewish day schools and post-secondary institutions, and looks forward to continue working with Mrs. DeVos as she leads the effort to implement President-elect Trumps education platform. [TLS] President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC) as the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, a cabinet-level position in the Trump-Pence Administration. Governor Haley is one of the most universally respected governors in the country. After working at her familys business, Governor Haley turned her focus to economic development and has traveled abroad to negotiate with international companies on behalf of South Carolina. As governor, she has led seven overseas trade missions and successfully attracted jobs and investment through negotiations with foreign companies. Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country, said President-elect Trump. She is also a proven dealmaker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage. Our country faces enormous challenges here at home and internationally, and I am honored that the President-elect has asked me to join his team and serve the country we love as the next Ambassador to the United Nations, said Governor Haley. Born in Bamberg, South Carolina, the daughter of Indian immigrants, Governor Haley became the first female governor of her home state in 2011 and is currently the youngest governor in the country. Prior to becoming governor, she represented Lexington County in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011. A true fiscal conservative and savvy businesswoman, Governor Haleys leadership drove down South Carolinas unemployment to a 15 year low by adding more than 82,000 jobs in each of South Carolinas 46 counties. Prior to dedicating her life to public service, Governor Haley worked at her family business. In 1998, Governor Haley was named to the board of directors of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce and named to the board of directors of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce in 2003. She also became treasurer of the National Association of Women Business Owners in 2003 and president in 2004. Governor Haley is a proud graduate of Clemson University where she earned a degree in accounting. Governor Haley and her husband, Michael, a Captain in the Army National Guard and combat veteran who was deployed to Afghanistans Helmand Province, have two children, Rena, 18, and Nalin, 15. [TLS] Two California men arrested last week, suspected of placing credit card skimmers on gas pumps in Madison, were each charged Wednesday with 11 counts of identity theft for allegedly using credit card information gleaned from two skimming victims to steal money. Wafig M. Jebarah, 49, of Los Angeles, and Arsen Piloyan, 46, of Van Nuys, California, were not charged specifically with placing a skimmer on a gas pump at Capitol Petro Mart, 699 S. Whitney Way. But a criminal complaint states that two women whose credit card numbers were used fraudulently had bought gas at the station, where a skimmer was found by an inspector from the city Weights and Measures division on Oct. 25. Dane County Assistant District Attorney Paul Humphrey said he expects to file more charges against the two men, who were ordered jailed on $10,000 bail after appearing in court on Wednesday. He said that police know of seven other victims whose credit card data was stolen and used by Piloyan and Jebarah, and that there may be more victims beyond that. Humphrey said Piloyan and Jebarah had made several trips recently between California and OHare International Airport in Chicago, and that evidence suggests they have used counterfeit credit cards, created with skimmer victims data, to get cash in Janesville, Illinois and Ohio. According to the complaint, after his arrest on Friday, Jebarah first told Madison police Detective Nick Ryan that he didnt know why police wanted to talk to him. He said that he and Piloyan had come to Chicago from California, rented a car and were planning to go to Wisconsin Dells for a family gathering that was canceled. Humphrey said police found no evidence that the men were headed to the Dells. Shown surveillance stills of himself and Piloyan using credit cards at various ATMs, Jebarah admitted using the cards, which contained fraudulently obtained information, the complaint states. He claimed that Piloyan gave him the cards to draw cash from ATMs, but he had no idea where Piloyan got the credit card data, and didnt know anything about Piloyan using a device to put stolen credit card numbers onto the cards he was using, according to the complaint. Jebarah said he knew that using the cards was wrong and that he was embarrassed and ashamed for using them, the complaint states. But told by Ryan that a credit card reader was found in a rental vehicle that Jebarah had driven to Madison, Jebarah said he had no idea that the device was in the vehicle and that he had never seen it before, the complaint states. In the hotel room where Jebarah and Piloyan were staying, police found other items possibly used to install the skimmer found at the Capitol Petro, along with two computers, the complaint states. Humphrey said the computers are being examined for evidence. Police said on Friday that 11 skimmers had been found on pumps in the Madison area in recent weeks, and a 12th was found on Tuesday at a BP station at 735 E. Washington Ave. during a routine check by a city inspector. Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said it wasnt known if the skimmer was connected to Piloyan and Jebarah. According to the complaint, a UW Credit Union fraud specialist contacted police on Oct. 27 after learning about a skimmer found at the Capitol Petro. She checked accounts to see if any clients had made purchases there around that time and found multiple clients whose credit card information had been stolen. Information belong to one victim was used five times at the 7-11 at 1401 Regent St., and at the Best Western East Towne Suites, 4801 Annamark Drive, where Jebarah checked in with Piloyan on Oct. 26. The two were seen on the hotels surveillance video, and investigators determined they used a prepaid Visa card loaded with information stolen from the UW Credit Union customer to pay for the room. If either man posts their $10,000 bail, Court Commissioner Brian Asmus said, they must also surrender their Armenian passports before they can leave jail. Jebarah claimed in court that he is not Armenian and does not have a passport, but Humphrey said Jebarah had already told police that he is Armenian. Asmus ordered Humphrey to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and file a statement next week indicating whether or not Jebarah has an Armenian passport. (front page) SWP launches campaign for mayor of Los Angeles LOS ANGELES There are two classes and three parties in this country, Dennis Richter told working people here Nov. 20 as the Socialist Workers Party launched his campaign for mayor. The propertied ruling families have the Democrats and Republicans. The working class has the Socialist Workers Party. Richter, 67, is a factory worker and longtime fighter for workers rights and unionization. He was joined by several teams of campaign supporters in working-class neighborhoods across the city Nov. 19-20, discussing the deteriorating economic and social conditions workers face, what was revealed by the recent presidential election, and why working people must organize ourselves to fight for our own interests. The working class is at the center of politics today, Richter explained as he campaigned door to door in the West Adams neighborhood Nov. 19. Other teams campaigned in the San Pedro, Highland Park and Reseda areas. I dont say vote for me and Ill fix things for you. It is the capitalist system that is at the heart of the problems working people face, in this country and around the world, Richter told Jonathan Johnson, who works at the University of Southern California bookstore. We need to build a working-class movement to overthrow the whole dog-eat-dog system, and replace it with a workers and farmers government. In working-class neighborhoods throughout the city, the SWP aims to sell hundreds of three campaign books on special, The Clintons Anti-Working-Class Record: Why Washington Fears Working People and Are They Rich Because Theyre Smart? both by SWP National Secretary Jack Barnes, and Is Socialist Revolution in the US Possible? A Necessary Debate Among Working People by SWP leader Mary-Alice Waters. They are also getting subscriptions to the Militant, collecting 1,000 signatures double the requirement and raising $300 to put Richter on the ballot. Richter showed Johnson Are They Rich Because Theyre Smart? which contains a graph illustrating how speedup has boosted the productivity of workers while our wages have gone down. I need to learn more about your party, Johnson said as he signed the petition. At the end of the first two days, SWP campaigners had sold 16 books, six Militant subscriptions, gathered 113 signatures and gotten $36 in contributions. The petitions must be filed by Dec. 7. Some 21 candidates have filed declarations of intent to run for mayor, with the election set for May 16. The current mayor, Eric Garcetti, a liberal Democrat who got national exposure when he spoke at the Democratic Party National Convention in July, has already turned in his petitions. Discussing fight for jobs, health care The reason we go door to door in working-class neighborhoods is to have discussions about a working-class alternative to the two capitalist parties, Richter told Ronald Williams, a painter for the Los Angeles Unified School District. What we need is a real public works program that provides jobs that last and wages that workers can live on. Donald Trump got elected president partly because he promised jobs. Many workers voted for someone who said he stood outside the mainstream, Richter said. And they voted against Clinton. If youre a billionaire youre not an outsider. Trump is not outside his class, Williams said. I couldnt accept him because of his racist comments. We should have universal health care not Obamacare, he said. Health care should not be for profit. Trump says he wants to do a jobs program but its just to give money to rich corporations. There is less racism among working people today, Richter told Williams, saying he appreciated the discussion on these issues. The mass civil rights battles that overthrew Jim Crow segregation had a tremendous impact on all working people. They built upon the accomplishments of the Civil War to overthrow slavery 150 years ago and Radical Reconstruction afterwards. The capitalist economic and social crisis of the past several decades is driving workers of all skin colors to come together, in order to defend ourselves. Richter said. Williams got a copy of The Clintons Anti-Working-Class Record, gave $5 to the campaign and signed the petition. The following day Richter joined a fundraising event organized by tenants at the Marmion Royal apartments in Highland Park. Workers living there have organized a tenants union to fight drastic rent increases and threats of eviction by new building owners. Richter and other members of the SWP then went door to door in the building. With the wages people are paid, they cant afford the increase in rents and prices, a construction worker who asked that his name not be used to avoid reprisals from the landlord, told Richter. The landlord wants to increase our rent up to double what it is. How are we going to pay that? I got a 25-cent raise this year. The owner wants to divide us up and negotiate with individuals, but we are organizing together. (front page) NY meetings campaign for freedom for Oscar Lopez NEW YORK Clarisa Lopez, daughter of Puerto Rican political prisoner andOscar Lopez Rivera, kicked off a four-day tour to New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts Nov. 10. I need your help to win my fathers release from prison, she told students at the largest of three meetings at Hostos Community College here. Her tour promoted the new book Cartas a Karina, a collection of 19 letters by Oscar Lopez to Clarisas daughter Karina. Lopez, now 73, has been jailed in the United States for more than 35 years. The story of his political awakening after being drafted into the U.S. Army in June 1965 and sent to Vietnam, his steadfast commitment to the fight of the Puerto Rican people against colonial rule, and his outrage over the inhumane treatment of fellow prisoners by the U.S. justice system are eloquently captured in the pages of the book. Nearly 100 people listened as professors and students read several of the letters aloud at the Hostos meeting. Professor Ana Lopez, who chaired, said that now is a good time to step up the pressure on President Barack Obama to commute Lopezs sentence. Born in Puerto Rico, the son of a small farmer, Oscar Lopez moved to Chicago when he was 14. After his father abandoned the family, he dropped out of community college and went to work. In one of the letters Lopez recalls how he was drafted and sent to Vietnam, where his squad was ordered to occupy a small village. One day, a young peasant approached him put his arm next to mine, and said, same thing, he writes. We had the same arms, sinewy from hard work. A few nights later the squad commander ordered them to open fire after some noise was heard outside their camp. The next day they learned they had killed the villagers only water buffalo, crucial for working the rice fields. The young man who had showed Lopez his arm was crying over it. Experiences like this turned Lopez into an opponent of U.S. imperialism. When he returned to Chicago in 1967, Lopez joined fights against substandard housing, racist discrimination and police brutality. In another letter he describes how Charles Brown, president of what was then Illinois Bell, had refused to meet with protesters demanding the company hire Latinos and open bilingual offices in the Mexican and Puerto Rican communities. They went to Browns church and made a presentation about their fight. Later they got a call from one of the parishioners giving them Browns address. Buses of Latino workers and their families headed to Browns home and held a picnic protest around his pool. In the end Illinois Bell agreed to their demands. Lopez was arrested in May 1981. Prosecutors claimed that he, and 11 others arrested the year before, were members of the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), a group that took credit for a series of bombings protesting U.S. colonial rule in Puerto Rico. They had no physical evidence that Lopez was involved in any act of violence. Instead, he was found guilty of seditious conspiracy and interstate transport of weapons. He was sentenced to 55 years in jail. Five years later Lopez was framed on new charges of conspiring to escape. For the next 12 years he was kept in solitary confinement at federal prisons in Marion, Illinois, and Florence, Colorado. Clarisa Lopez read from one of her letters in the book, describing those 12 years. Our visits were through a glass, a cubicle with two telephones and two chairs, she said. They would escort you, handcuffed, with 6 or 8 guards. She wrote that when she was a teenager she asked her father why he dedicated his life to the struggle for independence of Puerto Rico as opposed to being with his family. But she said she grew to understand that you desired that my generation and those to come would have a better and a more just world and that for you it is not, nor was it, a sacrifice. Supporters of the fight to release Oscar Lopez are stepping up efforts to win his release. To get involved, visit freeoscarlopeznow.com or www.boricuahumanrights.org. To find out how to get the book, go to bit.ly/cartas-a-karina. You can write to Oscar Lopez Rivera, #87651-024, FCI Terre Haute, P.O. Box 33, Terre Haute, IN 47808. Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home (front page) Moscow, Assad unleash new assault against people of Syria Moscow and the dictatorial regime of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus began a new wave of murderous airstrikes and a ground offensive in Syria Nov. 15. Assad and his allies seek to crush insurgents who arose after his regime put down in blood popular protests for political rights in 2011. Syrian jets pounded anti-Assad rebels in the eastern neighborhoods of the city of Aleppo, while Russian jets hit the nearby provinces of Idlib and Homs. The assault included planes from Russias single aircraft carrier, which arrived earlier this month, part of an eight-ship Russian naval force in the Mediterranean Sea off Syrias coast. Moscow and Damascus had announced a pause in airstrikes on eastern Aleppo Oct. 18, following a monthlong intense bombardment that killed hundreds and caused massive destruction. The regime warned residents in eastern Aleppo by text message Nov. 13 to flee within 24 hours before the planned strategic offensive was launched. Unable to sustain an army capable of dislodging the insurgents, Assads forces are backed by Irans Revolutionary Guards, Lebanese Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite militias and Russian troops and air power. Conflicting national interests among Washington, Moscow, Tehran, Ankara and other Mideast capitalist regimes keep scuttling any effort to bring about a cease-fire in Syria. No aid has reached the 275,000 people in eastern Aleppo since the pro-Assad forces surrounded it in July. United Nations officials said the besieged district was on the brink of starvation. Medical supplies are scarce and hospitals have been hit by airstrikes. Across Syria, food production has dropped to an all-time low, and many civilians, including 7 million who are internally displaced, lack adequate food and clothing as they enter their sixth winter in a war zone. The World Food Program is already distributing rations to more than 4 million people in Syria each month. Moscow says its attacks are aimed at Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), formerly known as al-Nusra Front. The Washington Post reported Nov. 10 that President Barack Obama had ordered the Pentagon to begin bombing JFS, which Washington labels a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda. On the ground, the JFS often fights alongside groups backed by Washington battling the Assad regime. Washington whose power and influence has been weakened by its unending wars from Iraq to Afghanistan sees a bloc with Moscow as the only road to achieve some variant of stability in Syria to preserve its imperialist interests. For months the Obama administration unsuccessfully sought to cut a deal with Moscow, offering a joint U.S.-Russian air campaign targeting JFS in exchange for Moscow reining in Syrian airstrikes. Russian President Vladimir Putin refused. Moscows air-defense systems and warplanes have not interfered with Washingtons operations against JFS. The White House says this course is consistent with its drone strikes against those it labels al-Qaeda affiliates in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. Washington portrays these strikes as having precision accuracy, but civilians and others are also killed and maimed. The Pentagon admitted Nov. 10 that a September drone strike aimed at al-Shabab in Somalia had killed 10 soldiers of a local militia allied with Washington. Ankara targets Kurds in Syria The Turkish government resumed airstrikes in northern Syria Nov. 13, hitting Islamic State forces near the town of al Bab, just 20 miles north of Aleppo. Ankara had halted the strikes Oct. 22 after the Assad government threatened to shoot down any Turkish warplanes entering Syrian territory. A Turkish-led Syrian rebel force backed by Ankaras tanks, artillery and airstrikes is advancing on al Bab. Ankaras real target is the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG). The Turkish regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan aims to prevent any YPG advance that would link Kurdish territory in the east and west, fearing this would advance the formation of an autonomous Kurdish region along Syrias border with Turkey. Ankaras offensive brings Turkish troops close to Syrian and Iranian forces on the outskirts of Aleppo. These groups warned they will act decisively and with force if Turkish troops approach their positions. The YPG announced Nov. 16 that its units had withdrawn from Manbij, northeast of al Bab, and handed control of the city to local forces. Both Washington and Ankara had demanded the YPG leave that city, and the Turkish government had threatened military attacks to drive YPG units back. YPG-led forces liberated Manbij from Islamic State in August. The YPG, together with Arab and Turkmen militias in the Syrian Democratic Forces, is the main force in a U.S.-organized offensive to drive Islamic State from Raqqa, the reactionary outfits headquarters in Syria. A major attack by Ankara on Kurds would jeopardize that plan. Turkish artillery continues to fire across the border, hitting Kurdish fighters and civilians in Syria. Related articles: Communist League in UK supports Turkish Kurds Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home (front page) You can join us to make 2016 SWP Party-Building Fund! The drive to raise $100,000 for the Socialist Workers Party-Building Fund is going into its final three weeks with $54,387 collected so far. The challenge now is to get the final pledges and payments in by the Dec. 7 deadline. Talking with workers door to door across the country, party members find an eagerness for discussion about how the capitalist crisis is affecting working people, what the outcome of the 2016 presidential elections will mean for the working class and to learn more about the SWP. Many decide to get books about the partys program and subscriptions to the Militant newspaper. And some kick in a donation to help the work of the SWP. In Seattle, party members picked up several contributions of $5, $10 and $25 on workers doorsteps over the past few weeks. Colleen Malone and her daughter Kelly both decided to contribute after inviting party member John Naubert in for a discussion Nov. 9. Colleen Malone works in a center for homeless people and had signed up for a one-year Militant subscription when SWP members went door to door in her neighborhood in Kent, Washington, earlier this year. We were just talking about the election, she told Naubert. It was shocking. How could people vote for Trump after his offensive statements about women and immigrants? Both Clinton and Trump represent the ruling rich, Naubert said. What is most offensive is what is happening to the working class. They try to divert us from seeing that its the working people of the world who carry the burdens of capitalisms global economic and social disasters and spreading wars. So what can we do about it? asked Kelly Malone, who said she has to work two jobs to pay the bills. We have to build a movement capable of replacing their system with a workers and farmers government, Naubert said. It will take a deep-going social revolution and to get there we need a program in the interests of working people and a working-class party that will fight for it. We think its very important to talk with workers about all these issues and to introduce the SWP as that kind of party. In addition to contributing to the party-building fund, Colleen and Kelly decided to get Is Socialist Revolution in the US Possible? by SWP leader Mary-Alice Waters, and The Clintons Anti-Working-Class Record: Why Washington Fears Working People by SWP National Secretary Jack Barnes, to learn more about the SWP and its program. Joel Britton in Oakland, California, reported Nov. 15 that the party there has set a goal of getting $150 in contributions going door to door. Most of the $57 they have gotten so far has come at the initiative of the workers theyve met. Im talking about it more myself now. Yesterday refinery worker Ben Fields and I talked for some time with an industrial worker on his porch in Concord, Britton said. He appreciated the discussion and said, Thanks for listening to what I had to say. I asked if he would like to make a contribution to the work of the SWP. He went right back inside and returned with $8 for the cause. Along with weekly voluntary sustainer pledges from members, the annual party-building fund is a cornerstone in meeting the partys budget. To join in getting contributions to the fund or to give a donation yourself, contact the SWP in your area, listed on page 8. Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home (feature article) Thomas Sankara set example for Africa and world Meeting debates lessons of Burkina Faso leaders ideas for worker, peasant struggles today WASHINGTON The words of Thomas Sankara survive. You can read them and learn about what he achieved, said Gnaka Lagoke, welcoming participants to the fifth annual conference on Thomas Sankara here. Sankara was the leader of the popular revolutionary government in the West African country of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987. (See box below.) The Nov. 5 meeting was entitled Thomas Sankara Legacy, Democracy in the Global South, and Black Lives. It attracted more than 120 participants to a discussion and debate on how Sankaras example and ideas can be used to advance popular struggles today from Burkina Faso to Brazil, from Venezuela and Cuba to the United States. Lagoke, the events main organizer and founder of the Revival of Panafricanism Forum, introduced the panel: Shelley Green of Pan-African Community Action in Washington, D.C.; Dr. Msia Clark, professor of African Studies at Howard University; Aline Piva, of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs; and Mary-Alice Waters, a leader of the Socialist Workers Party and president of Pathfinder Press. Lagoke, who teaches African and world history at Montgomery College, also welcomed Armand Tiemtore, who brought greetings from the embassy of Burkina Faso. The majority of participants were from West African countries, including members of Balai Citoyen, a Burkinabe group from New York that helped organize the meeting. Others were from Pan-Africanist groups and other political organizations in the D.C. metro area. Different class courses Two different class courses were presented by panelists: one placing Sankara as part of currents in Africa and the Americas that over the past half century have sought to reform (even radically reform) capitalism; the other pointing to Sankaras communist course and the revolutionary internationalist and Pan-Africanist alternative he posed to the dismemberment of Africa by imperialist powers in order to oppress and exploit its toilers. Community control is true democracy at work, said Green of Pan-African Community Action. Sankaras legacy is linked to control of local economies, education, health care and the police, she said. The legacy of Sankara is through Pan-African activism, said Clark from Howard University. The ways people mobilize have shifted, due in part to social media and how activists engage the state. Instead of one single leader, leadership is dispersed. Piva of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, who is Brazilian, compared the achievements in Burkina Faso during Sankaras years to the goals of the Workers Party of Brazils alternative project to regain sovereignty and rebuild our country into a more equal and democratic society. She called the impeachment and removal of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff earlier this year a coup against the Workers Party. Thomas Sankara understood that to be free from imperialist domination, you must rely on local and natural resources as opposed to foreign aid, Piva said. His revolution promoted self-sufficiency and social programs that directly empowered the people. SWP leader Waters, who wrote prefaces to Thomas Sankara Speaks and two other collections of his speeches, pointed to sharply different reasons why his course set an example not only for Africa but the entire world. Waters talk sharpens the meaning of the legacy of Thomas Sankara in the 21st century and reminds us that democracy is not a classless content, said Mwiza Munthali, host of the radio show Africa Now, during his broadcast of the program, and that the guiding ideology of Sankara was communism. The capitalist rulers and their apologists, Waters said, try to convince us that democracy and capitalism are synonymous. But the course Sankara charted was proletarian democracy, proving that even in one of the poorest countries, it was possible to mobilize millions to take their destiny into their own hands and change themselves as they changed their conditions and the world. What distinguished Sankara, Waters said, is that everything he did was aimed at raising the consciousness, confidence and combativity of the people of Burkina Faso. He was a Marxist, a communist, who had confidence in the revolutionary capacities of ordinary men and women, who are so arrogantly dismissed by the imperialist rulers and leaders of capitalist countries worldwide. Sankara was unique among African leaders in refusing to reject Marxism on the pretext that its a European idea alien to Africa and the struggles of its people. He understood that communism isnt an idea, but a course of class struggle drawing on lessons from centuries of revolutionary battles by working people. Those lessons apply to struggles by working people in Africa like anywhere else in the world. From the American and French revolutions, to the 1917 Bolshevik-led revolution in Russia, to the Cuban Revolution, with whose leaders he closely collaborated, Sankara said, we are the heirs of all the worlds revolutions and all the liberation struggles of the peoples of the Third World. It may be a little controversial to say so, Waters added, but whats sometimes called Sankarism, as well as Pan-Africanism, only point a way forward for toilers if theyre grounded in those historical materialist foundations. Thats the basis on which Sankara led Burkinas working people to become part of the fight to bring down the racist regime in South Africa and struggles by the oppressed in Angola, Western Sahara, Palestine, Nicaragua, Grenada and the United States, she said. Lively discussion period There was a lively discussion period, including questions directed to each panelist by the chair, Gnaka Lagoke. What were the weaknesses of the Workers Party of Brazil? he asked Piva. It distanced itself from the working class, she replied, and didnt put in the time to change consciousness. You see a difference between Brazil and Venezuela Brazil was never a revolution. We did make progress, but now we are taking blows. Piva reported that Michel Temer, who replaced Rousseff as president, is escalating state repression. Yesterday, 14 warrants were issued against members of Brazils Landless Rural Workers Movement, she said, and police stormed their school in Sao Paulo. Earlier in the meeting, Carlos Ron, a consul at the Venezuelan Embassy, reported on efforts by pro-imperialist opposition parties in Venezuela to force the government of President Nicolas Maduro out of office. The opposition is divided, he said. We must preserve the integrity of our country, and we seek a dialogue to turn away violence. Lagoke asked Waters how she would compare the strengths of Sankara, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, the late Venezuelan president. Whats in common to the three of them, Waters said, is their qualities as leaders able to win the confidence of workers and rural toilers, to have rapport with them, as they fight to change the conditions of their lives. But the differences are very important, she said. The Cuban leadership built a proletarian cadre through the revolutionary war and struggles after the victory over the U.S.-backed dictatorship in 1959. Thats how they were able to chart a course toward socialist revolution. Without that, imperialisms efforts to overturn what Cubas working people had won would have succeeded over time. The capitalists always counterattack, said Waters. For them, theres never a hopeless situation. They fear workers and farmers when we go into action, recognizing were capable of making a revolution that can end their class rule, as toilers did in Cuba. Gains won by working people in Venezuela after Chavez became president in 1999 were made within the framework of a capitalist state and property relations, Waters said. There was no revolution. Chavez said in a widely read 2008 interview that, Fidel is a communist. I am not. I am a social democrat. He thought some kind of radical reform of capitalism was possible, that there was a road other than that of Cubas socialist revolution. Like Fidel, Sankara was a communist, Waters added. He made every effort to start down the road charted politically by the leadership of the Cuban Revolution, but with no illusions a socialist revolution was yet possible in Burkina Faso due to economic and social conditions there and in much of Africa. But Sankaras murder and the counterrevolution led by Blaise Compaore werent evidence that the course workers and peasants had begun under Sankaras leadership was premature, Waters said. Sankara had a more difficult load to carry. He was starting from scratch to build a leadership when he and other revolutionary-minded young people and junior officers came into control of the government. There wasnt enough time for Sankara and those closest to him politically to forge that kind of leadership from among Burkinas most selfless working people before the landowners, bourgeoisie and imperialist powers, especially France, mobilized to crush the revolution, as they always will. Sankara and Burkinas working people set an example that continues to spread in Africa and beyond. Waters held up the newly released South African edition of Thomas Sankara Speaks, published by Kwela Books, which will circulate across that country and Africa-wide. Capitalism forces people into struggle, Waters said. It is the great subversive. As the crisis of their worldwide system grows, working people will organize and resist, and from those struggles new leaders like Thomas Sankara and communist organizations led by them will be forged. Thats the opportunity ahead of all of us. Following the hour-long exchange, many continued discussion over a delicious dinner. Participants picked up speeches by Sankara, including Thomas Sankara Speaks: The Burkina Faso Revolution, 1983-1987; We Are Heirs of the Worlds Revolutions; and Womens Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle. Many also left the meeting with The Clintons Anti-Working-Class Record: Why Washington Fears Working People by SWP National Secretary Jack Barnes and other books. The meeting was endorsed by the All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party, All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party-GC, ANSWER Coalition, DC Metro Coalition in Solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, Friends of the Congo, Institute for Policy Studies, Pan-African Community Action, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Revival of Panafricanism Forum and the Socialist Workers Party. Related articles: The Burkina Faso Revolution Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home Saying he doesn't have enough votes to uphold a veto of raises for Dane County Board supervisors, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi did what he could: he vetoed a raise given to his office. Parisi issued a partial veto on Wednesday of an ordinance passed overwhelmingly by the board last week, that part of the ordinance that would have given him a raise every year for the next four years. But the part of the ordinance giving about a 33 percent raise to the supervisors and a 40 percent raise to the board chairman, both spread out over four years, he let stand. "Last week, when the board voted to raise the pay of the county executive, county board and board chair, they did so with a veto-proof majority," Parisi said on Wednesday. "That means, while I do not agree with their proposal to increase the wages of elected county officials, I do not have the ability to stop it from going into effect." The ordinance passed last Thursday on a 26-6 vote with five supervisors absent. Since a two-thirds vote, or 25 members, is needed by the 37-member board to override a veto, the board already has the votes to do so. "Going through the motions of issuing a full veto, only to see it overturned, would serve no purpose other than to subject people in our community to even more political negativity after what has been an extremely negative political period in our nation's history," Parisi said. "And, at the end of the day, the result would remain the same, and the salary increases enacted by the board would remain intact." By rejecting a raise, Parisi's salary as county executive will stay at $134,000 a year for the next four years; the next election for county executive is in spring 2017, and Parisi filed his declaration of candidacy on Tuesday. Parisi gave back part of his salary when county employees saw their pay cut under Act 10. "I am now rejecting this raise because I believe it's the right thing to do, given the uncertain times in which we live," Parisi said. The Madison City Council formally shelved a proposal at its Tuesday meeting that would have given members a $2,000 raise next year. Council members voted to place the proposal on file, essentially killing it. The proposal would have created a $14,692 wage for council members beginning after the spring election in April. The change would have represented a 14 percent increase. It failed to pass the citys finance committee earlier this month on a 4-3 vote. In 2015, members received a more than 60 percent pay increase of $4,920, bringing salaries to $12,692. The citys finance committee rejected a separate proposal in October to the 2017 budget that would have provided a $3,000 pay increase. Some members have argued the raises are about opening the chances for low-income people to hold council seats. Also on Tuesday, the council also declared the day after Thanksgiving as Ho-Chunk Day, voting unanimously to honor of the Ho-Chunk Nation on the fourth Friday of November. Fighting through tears, Ald. Denise DeMarb, 16th District, read a resolution describing the Ho-Chunk connection to the Madison area and the problems they faced when settlers began to move into Wisconsin. In our future days working together, its going to be a good time for the state of Wisconsin and the Ho-Chunk people to make these kinds of strides, said Ho-Chunk Nation President Wilfrid Cleveland. At the meeting, Torrie Kopp Mueller, housing director at the YWCA, was presented with the 10th Jeffrey Clay Erlanger Civility in Public Discourse Award, which honors people who are dedicated to protecting individual and human rights. Finland has decided to revolutionise its education system. According to Pearson, Finland had the best education in the world in 2012 (with a little decrease in 2014). However, the government has decided not to stick with its tried and tested formula, but instead adapt to the modern world. So what did Finland decide to do? They got rid of subjects and disciplines for high school students (16 years old and above). Their goal is to stop constraining students creativity by separating subjects, and not to force a student to learn matrices or the reaction between hydrogen and nitrogen without knowing why. The most famous example of the realisation of this idea is the module entitled working in a cafe. By taking this course, students will learn English, economics, some maths and improve their social and communication skills. This revolutionary change is already having a wide effect. In Siltamaki primary school in Helsinki, pupils are learning English by combining it with geography. Changing the whole traditional education system is a big bet from Finland. We have to ask what are the effects of these changes? Will it have a positive outcome in the long run? Isnt it going to be confusing for children? It is to be said that such an interdisciplinary approach is far from new. Despite the appearance that most people specialise in one field and keep working in it for their whole life, interdisciplinarity is a concept that was actually observed and applied during the Renaissance. In some countries, including France and Italy, where Renaissance flourished in the 16th Century, having a complete education was a central matter. Two names to highlight it particularly: French writer Rabelais described, in Gargantua, what he thought was a good education - including prayers, exercises, health, arts and sciences. Leonardo Da Vinci, Italian artist and scientist, was and is the embodiment of interdisciplinarity. He included art and creativity in his scientific research and included science and rationality in his art, only to provide us with some of the greatest art and most astonishing discoveries in history. The Renaissance was, therefore, a peaceful era of self-consciousness, where art blossomed, major discoveries took place, and education reached its apotheosis (even if this is argued by some historians). By linking disciplines, promoting discussion and spreading knowledge, the Renaissance prevented, for a while, numerous conflicts. Interdisciplinarity also seems to be the future of our world. Mainly because the professional world is no longer asking for individuals specialised in single tasks (unlike the 20th Century with the growth of Taylorism and Fordism). The jobs market is evolving and people are needed to make links between the fields and contribute to a network of knowledge in order to pursue their goals. For example, journalists need writing and communication skills, and a wide knowledge in many different fields to have a capacity to understand and digestinformation. An industrial designer will need a strong creativity, some psychology and marketing background (to understand what effect things have on people), knowledge of material and of physics laws to build a nice-looking but feasible object. And a city architect will need knowledge about statistics and data analysis, technical drawings, sociology and psychology, and more. However, does this objective need of interdisciplinarity imply that we should teach it in high school and/or primary school? Indeed, having defined disciplines helps us categorise things and develop various ways of thinking. How confusing would it be for children to only get a mixture of things? Some would argue that, on the contrary, forcing a child to pursue very abstract modules all the way to their final year of high school, without explaining how to apply them, is even more disturbing. But in order to think interdisciplinarily, dont you need to already have strong basis in the disciplines themselves? Shouldnt there be a balance between disciplinary and cross-disciplinary studies rather than going for one or the other? Some countries, other than Finland, have already worked towards a more interdisciplinary higher education. In France several universities offer double diplomas in various fields. In the US and in Canada, liberal arts degrees are taking more and more importance. In the UK, St Andrews and UCL have created bachelors of Arts and Sciences. As it is working there, is there really a need to start learning interdisciplinary subjects before university? The future will tell us. But specialisation in various fields is still needed, and that shouldnt be forgotten by erasing every discipline. A model has said sorry for an old photo of her that a style magazine selected as their cover photo. Blackhair is a bi-monthly publication that describes itself as packed with hair inspiration for black and mixed race women in its Twitter bio yet it features a white model on the front of the December/January issue, which some people on Twitter demanded an explanation for. .@Blackhairmags - explain why the model on your latest cover is white? You should explain considering you're a magazine for black women. pic.twitter.com/MlXZNZMZyi Tobi Oredein (@IamTobiOredein) November 21, 2016 @Blackhairmags this cover makes no sense to what you stand for!? Smh OG (@Olivia_Gold) November 21, 2016 How did a magazine about black hair pick a white teenager with weave/wig? As usual the worship of loose curls & 'good hair' #blackhairmags https://t.co/8od3s1IKuq CherryLosAngeles (@cherry_LA) November 22, 2016 Model Emily Bador posted an apology on Instagram after realising she was on the cover, saying that it was an old modelling photo, and adding that she is upset and angry over the fact she was never asked by Blackhair if the image could be used. I would deeply and sincerely like to apologise to every one for this, and black women especially, she writes on Instagram. I would like to clarify, I believe this shoot is from when I was around 15 and didnt understand cultural appropriation or the impact it has on POC. Bador also apologises for the picture itself, in which she appears to look mixed-race, explaining that at the time she didnt understand the implications of the image. She wrote: I was uneducated, which obviously is no excuse, ignorant and immature. Growing up in a very very white city, I had no idea the struggles black women face and how often they were persecuted for their hair. I didnt understand how black women are constantly told their natural hair is inappropriate/unprofessional for the work place, or how young girls are told they cant go to school with natural hair. I didnt understand that shoots like this support the very Eurocentric beauty standard that the mainstream media focus on which reinforce the idea that black features are only ok on white women. I didnt understand that as a white passing woman Id be praised for this hair, but if I was a black woman Id be persecuted. She added: I do regret doing this. I hold up my hands, Im so so so sorry and Im very sorry this cover was taken away from a black woman. Several Instagram users have commented thanking Bador for her apology, describing her post as beautifully written, thoughtful and honest and heartfelt. Blackhair magazine has also since posted a statement over placing Bador on the cover, saying they were unaware that she was not of black or mixed-race heritage prior to selecting the image and they also thanked Bador for bringing the issue to their attention. Editor Keysha Davis explained on the magazines Facebook page: We often ask PR companies/salons to submit images for the magazine, specifically stating that models must be Black or mixed race. We can only take their word for it, and of course, try to use our own judgment. Davis added that they are keenly aware of how black women are underrepresented in the mainstream media the last thing we want to do is add to our erasure, she says. In this ever-changing world, race will surely become even more fluid and no doubt conversations around Black identity will continue to change, and we definitely welcome the dialogue. Anyone whos moved flats knows the indescribable pain of paying both a deposit and a months rent upfront followed by the final indignity of the letting agency fee. So good news, renters, as Chancellor Philip Hammond is set to scrap the charges in his Autumn Statement. Philip Hammond will announce his first Autumn Statement today (Jonathan Brady/PA) Letting fees cost an average of 337, according to Citizens Advice, for services such as drawing up tenancy agreements or credit and reference checks. It is claimed the move will stop 4.3 million families in private rentals being hit by upfront charges running into hundreds of pounds. Long-suffering tenants are rejoicing. Letting fees going would be great. Once had to settle for world's dodgiest landlord because I couldn't afford them. Richard Blandford (@rblandford) November 23, 2016 They are banning letting agents' fees in England!! Timely news as we were sent our renewal notice today with a 120 fee attached to it. Elle Field (@ellefie) November 22, 2016 Over the last two years I've spent 600+ on letting agent fees for the same house. Good news if they're going tomorrow #Budget2017 Louise Quarmby (@LoulaQ) November 22, 2016 For some the timing isnt great though. Others are asking for even more to be done. Banning letting agency fees is great- but we need a national landlord reg, longer tenancies, rent controls, funding for LAs to regulate PRS Rebecca Moore (@rebecca_moore_) November 23, 2016 Critics, including the housing minister, have said the costs will just be funnelled back to tenants through their rent. @insidehousing Bad idea - landlords would pass cost to tenants via rent. We're looking at other ways to cut upfront costs & raise standards Gavin Barwell MP (@GavinBarwellMP) September 19, 2016 As a landlord I do agree that letting agents fees shouldn't be paid by the tenant. However that does mean that rents will increase. Richard Howle (@richardhowle) November 23, 2016 I'm all for abolishing letting agent fees, but surely monthly rent amounts will just increase to compensate for it? Martin Adley (@madley80) November 23, 2016 I'm half cheering the proposed ban on letting agent fees & half thinking agents will charge landlords more and rents will go up... Cisco Ventura (@cisco664uk) November 23, 2016 I get that letting agent fees are but won't the charges be passed on to landlords who pass them on to tenants through rent increases? Robert McNicol (@RobMcNicol) November 22, 2016 Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: Fees have gone up 60% in the last five years, with people paying over 300 to letting agents for what is often basic administration, such as checking references and running credit checks. Weve been highlighting the need to get rid of these fees for some time so were pleased the Government has taken action on this issue. Jo Coxs grieving husband has said their two children were enveloped in her love, excited by her energy and inspired by her example. Brendan Cox paid a moving tribute to the 41-year-old MP who he fell in love with when they worked together at Oxfam. Her murderer Thomas Mair was sentenced to life in prison after a guilty verdict was returned by the jury. Speaking outside the Old Bailey, he said: A few weeks ago Jo was taken from us and our lives collapsed. Jo Cox on her wedding day (Jo Cox Foundation) To the world, Jo was a member of parliament, a campaigner, an activist and many other things. But first and foremost she was a sister, a daughter, an auntie, a wife, and above all a mum to two young children who love her with all their being. All their lives they have been enveloped in her love, excited by her energy and inspired by her example. (Yui Mok/PA) This has been Britain at its best compassionate, courageous and kind. Its given us great strength and solace. We try now not to focus on how unlucky we were to have her taken from us, but how lucky we were to have her in our lives for so long. To the person who did this we have nothing but pity that his life was so devoid of love and consumed with hatred that this became his desperate and cowardly attempt to find meaning. A sea of flowers at a memorial in Birstall for Jo Cox (Peter Byrne/PA) An act driven by hatred which instead has created an outpouring of love. An act designed to drive communities apart which has instead pulled them together. An act designed to silence a voice which instead has allowed millions of others to hear it. (Jo Cox Foundation) As a family, we will not respond to hatred with hatred. We will love like Jo did and know that, although she is dead, the ideas and values that she held so dear will live on. And know that, although she is not with us, her energy and her love are hard-wired into our children for the rest of their lives. Finally, we hope the country will also take something from this that Jos death will have meaning. Candles are lit at a memorial (Yui Mok/PA) That those in politics, the media and our own communities who seek to divide us will face an unassailable wall of British tolerance and the articulation of Jos belief that we hold more in common than that which divides us. Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. Please check our main navigation pages for other content: Home Page No, the pope didnt endorse Donald Trump. No, Hillary Clinton didnt sell arms to Islamic State. Yes, cousin Shelley really is getting married. You can trust some of what you read on Facebook (congrats, Shelley), but do not believe every headline that pops up on your Facebook feed. The internet, and Facebook in particular, is awash in a sea of fake news. The stories, mainly political in nature, represent a pernicious mix of lies, exaggeration and fantasy peddled as journalism to a divided nation thats unhappy enough to believe the worst about anyone. Some of the fakery is satirical and should fool only the gullible (Trump Confirms He Just Googled Obamacare). But a lot of junk floating out there like crud on the tide of real events looks legitimate and feeds the suspicions of partisans and cynics. For example, since it could have happened, maybe the Denver Guardian really did break the most shocking story of the presidential campaign (FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide). Whoops, breaking news: That FBI agent story was bogus and there is no such news outlet as the Denver Guardian. A lot of people apparently believed it, since it was passed around Facebook more times than a surprising but true New York Times article (I ran the CIA, now Im endorsing Hillary Clinton). Craig Silverman of BuzzFeed, a real person working for a real website, studied Facebook and found that the 20 top-performing false election stories generated more shares and reactions than the 20 best-performing election stories from 19 major news websites. The Washington Post (real) interviewed Paul Horner (also real), who writes fake news and wonders if he helped tip the election in Trumps favor. His campaign manager posted my story about a protester getting paid $3,500 as fact. Like, I made that up, he said. Horner isnt lying. According to Politifact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning news organization, Horners fake story (Donald Trump Protester Speaks Out: I Was Paid $3,500 to Protest Trumps Rally) was retweeted by Trump insider Corey Lewandowski. It was easy to accept because Trump who spins a lot of tales had claimed protesters at his events were paid. (Sad but true: At some point fake news and political fibs can intersect). There are financial as well as political motives for distributing fake news. Outlandish stories attract readers, which generates ad revenue. But these fake articles cause real damage: They harden preconception and fan discord in a divided nation. They heighten mistrust in democratic norms and distract from legitimate issues. In Berlin on Thursday, President Barack Obama warned about fake news: If we cant discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have problems. A remarkable statement, but you cant blame him: Maybe you saw the photo on Facebook of first lady Michelle Obama holding up a sign that reads An immigrant is taking my job. Real photo, doctored message. How to hold on to reality in a virtual world? Google and Facebook say they are trying to stop fake news sites from making money through ad sales, but its on individuals to read skeptically. A few suggestions, based on our experience: Scrutinize the source. Fake stories typically come from obscure websites masquerading as established ones. Corroborate what you read by scanning other sources or Googling keywords or quotes to confirm the facts. As grizzled Chicago reporters like to say: If your mother says she loves you, check it out. Rely on the mainstream news media. 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This way if the can isnt put back in place exactly, it still looks good from every angle. The can will be on display at City Hall through the winter, and will be placed at the boat launch in the spring. Funding the launch was a team effort. The city was awarded two consecutive Wayne County parks and recreation grants in 2013 and 2014, totaling $56,000, with the city government adding $18,000 to the project. The Gibraltar/Rockwood Rotary Club donated an additional $20,000. The project broke ground near the intersection of Middle Gibraltar Road and North Gibraltar Road in the fall of 2015, and the sidewalk was poured this spring. In June, the decking went in, with the mayor, city administrator and councilmen providing some of the labor. The city council and mayor have been working toward the kayak launch for nearly five years before it finally came to fruition. We are a waterfront community with a handful of marinas, Boismier said in the summer. However, unless you live on the water, or you know someone who has a boat slip, you (must) pay to launch your boat or kayak at the nearby Wayne County Elizabeth Park Marina or Lake Erie Metropark. In Gibraltar, we havent had a public launch of any kind since roughly 1978, when we had a boat basin and bait and tackle shop with row boats for rent. The launch and surrounding area is accessible to disabled residents, including the sidewalk, which was poured at an angle to accommodate wheelchairs and built to specifications of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The site also has a hydraulic launching mechanism, solar-powered and with batteries, to assist disabled boaters getting in and out of their watercrafts. Home >Police Enforcement > Taxes and Tolls > Federal Judge OKs Toll Diversion In New York, New Jersey While everyone was preoccupied with the impending elections, and particularly the presidential race, a federal appeals court quietly issued a pair of rulings upholding deregulation in the taxi and ride-hailing market. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued two separate rulings last month affirming decisions that reforms opening up taxi markets to greater competition in Chicago and Milwaukee did not violate the rights of entrenched taxi interests. The Chicago case concerned the citys decision to allow ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft to operate. In the Milwaukee case, the largest taxicab operator in the city sued after the city removed the cap on taxi medallions, which significantly reduced the artificially inflated resale value of the medallions. Judge Richard Posner did not mince words in the courts Milwaukee decision: The plaintiffs contention that the increased number of permits has taken property away from the plaintiffs without compensation, in violation of the constitutional protection of property, borders on the absurd. Property can take a variety of forms, some of them intangible, such as patents. But a taxi permit confers only a right to operate a taxicab (a right which, in Milwaukee, may be sold). It does not create a right to be an oligopolist, and thus confers no right to exclude others from operating taxis. The decisions were hailed by the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public-interest law firm that represented drivers and entrepreneurs in both cases, and which also has won legal victories against taxi regulations in Denver, Minneapolis and Bowling Green, Ohio. These cases clear the way for transportation freedom across the country, the institutes senior attorney, Anthony Sanders, said in a statement. For too long, cities across the country have embraced an outdated mode of transportation regulation that says competition is to be feared and that freedom for taxi drivers or other transportation entrepreneurs is unthinkable. Todays rulings confirm that there is absolutely no legal barrier to other cities joining the rising wave of cities embracing transportation freedom. Ride-hailing services have sparked a flurry of regulatory activity, both for better and for worse. Initially, governments rushed to impose regulations on the renegade disrupters, particularly in large cities with powerful traditional taxi interests. But, as consumers have increasingly rendered their verdict in favor of ride-hailers, and the inevitability of the success of the new business model has set in, there has been a backlash wave of deregulation for both ride-hailing companies and taxis. San Diego followed Milwaukees lead, lifting its cap on taxi permits two years ago, and cities across the nation Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City; Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas; Sarasota, Florida, and more have deregulated in recent years. This is a great victory for entrepreneurs looking to make a living and consumers, who benefit from the increased competition in the form of lower prices and better service. Now, if only occupational licensing laws and other regulatory and protectionist barriers could be brought down in equal measure and fervor in other industries. Weve got shovel-ready projects all across the country. And governors and mayors are pleading to fund it. The minute we can get those investments to the state level, jobs are going to be created. President-elect Barack Obama, December 2008 Theres no such thing as shovel-ready projects. President Obama, September 2010 Boosting federal investment in infrastructure has never had so many enthusiasts. During the presidential campaign, it was the rare chorus that Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders could all join in singing. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says shes eager to work with Trump on it. Her GOP counterpart, Kevin McCarthy, expects Republicans to cooperate with their president. Both the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are in favor. And why not? Not only will we get more modern facilities, we are told, but the gusher of money will invigorate the economy and create lots of blue-collar jobs. But such investments dont always work out the way theyre supposed to. Pouring funds into highways, bridges, airports, dams and other projects is easy. Spending money wisely is hard. What beckons on the horizon, as Obama discovered after getting his $840 billion stimulus in 2009, often turns out to be a mirage. There are several reasons for deep skepticism about this whole proposed endeavor. One is that the federal government has a lousy record of investing for the maximum payoff. Harvard economist Edward Glaeser has noted that the transportation funding in Obamas package was twice as generous, on a per-capita basis, to the ten least dense states than it was to the ten densest states, even though higher-density areas need more expensive infrastructure. Remember that bridge to nowhere that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin bragged about stopping? It was part of a federal highway bill. When Washington lavishes money on transportation, it typically puts politics above economic merit. Many infrastructure fixes doubtlessly could be done with more spending. But why should the federal government assume responsibility for them? The majority serve mostly local needs and can be financed by the beneficiaries. Mayors and governors are less accountable when such projects are financed by taxpayers who live elsewhere. People in Los Angeles, Houston and Pittsburgh know better than anyone else what the local priorities are. If taxpayers in those places arent willing to shore up the bridges or resurface the roads they use every day, its a signal the money shouldnt be spent. In the 1960s, notes economist Lee Ohanian of the Hoover Institution, capital outlays made up 20 percent of Californias state budget. Today theyre 3 percent. Nor will infrastructure spending yield a harvest of new jobs. A study by the Congressional Budget Office calculated that the 2009 stimulus, of which infrastructure was only a part, created no more than 200,000 jobs by 2014 out of the 9 million the economy added during that period. Andrew Garin, a Ph.D. candidate in economics at Harvard, studied the results of the 2009 package and detected little to no county-level impact of highway spending on local employment outcomes reported by employers. There appears to be no effect on local highway-construction, employment, overall construction employment, or total private-sector employment. The prospect of a blue-collar boom is a feat of imagination. Out-of-work coal miners and autoworkers dont necessarily have the skills contractors need to expand airports or replace bridges. The unemployment rate for construction workers is just 5.7 percent, which means a lot of those hired for public projects would be taken away from private ones. What about the claim that a massive infrastructure program will be a 5-Year Energy shot for the economy? Standard economic theory says that such an effort to boost total national demand can be helpful during a recession. But in the eighth year of a recovery, it will just crowd out private spending, nullifying any macroeconomic benefit. One likely consequence of this type of program, whether financed with direct spending or tax credits, is to add to the federal debt, to the detriment of future taxpayers. The CBO concluded that Obamas stimulus had modest short-term benefits for the economy but negative long-term effects, because increased debt tends to reduce the stock of productive private capital. Trump and others in Washington see an infrastructure push as a superhighway to prosperity. Most likely, its a grander, shinier bridge to nowhere. Cabinet announces 10-year long-stay visas for senior tourists BANGKOK: The Cabinet on Tuesday (Nov 22) extended to 10 years from one the long-stay visa for foreigners aged 50 or older but they must report to immigration police every 90 days. tourism By Bangkok Post Wednesday 23 November 2016, 07:05PM It was not made clear whether the 10-year visa would replace or complement the existing one-year visa option. Photo: The Phuket News The visa will be valid initially for five years and could be renewed for another five, Col Apisit Chaiyanuwat, Deputy Minister at the Prime Ministers Office, said. The visa fee was set at B10,000, he added. In addition to the age requirement, the visa requires eligible foreigners to have a monthly income of at least B100,000 or a bank deposit of at least B3 million, to be maintained for at least one year after receiving the visa. Eligible applicants must also have health insurance coverage for at least US$1,000 (about B35,590) for outpatient care and $10,000 (about B 355,900) or more for inpatient care per policy per year. They must also report to immigration police every 90 days. The revised rule aimed to promote medical and wellness tourism in line with the governments policy. The target groups for the visa are long-stay visitors from Australia, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Taiwan and the United States, Col Apisit said. It was not made clear whether the 10-year long-stay visa would replace existing visa options or become a new visa option for people wanting to stay in the country long-term. Also on Tuesday, to lure more tourists to the Kingdom the Cabinet resolved to temporarily waive for three months the B1,000 fee for tourist single entry visas and to halve the B2,000 visa-upon-arrival fee for tourists from 19 countries from Dec 1 to Feb 28. The 19 countries are: Andorra, Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Tourism authorities said the three-month tourism promotion measure was aimed at boosting the number of visitors by 350,000 and generating income of B28 billion. Read original stories here and here. Canadian appointed as new head of UWC Thailand The Board of UWC Thailand recently announced the appointment of Jason McBride as the new Head of School, commencing in August 2017. By The Phuket News Wednesday 23 November 2016, 04:16PM Jason McBride is married to Samantha and they have two daughters, Paige, aged 6, and Sienna, aged 5. Jason is currently the Head of Stratford Hall School, Vancouver, a three-program IB World School and has previously worked in schools in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Mexico and England. Klaus Hebben, the Chair of the UWCT Board, spoke about the decision to appoint Jason. Jasons appointment represents the culmination of a worldwide search for the right person to lead the school over the next five years and we are honoured that an educator of Jasons calibre will be joining us. "He has vast experience of working in international education and a strong philosophical alignment with the UWC mission and values. Jason succeeds the current Head of School, Julian Whiteley, who will remain on the Board of UWC Thailand. Jason adds, I was drawn to the mission of the United World College movement and believe that there can be no higher purpose than to use education as a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. "In a shrinking, interconnected world, our childrens ability to be caring and principled will be essential to bring the world closer together. I am excited to see how I can continue the work of the school in bringing the UWC mission to life by building the school culture and practices in support of this idealistic, yet vital aim," he added. Jason, a Canadian citizen, is married to Samantha and they have two daughters, Paige, aged 6, and Sienna, aged 5. Emirates flight makes emergency landing at Phuket airport when passenger falls unconscious PHUKET: An Emirates flight from Dubai bound for Kuala Lumpur was forced to make an emergency landing at Phuket International Airport (PIA) today (Nov 23) after one of its passenger felt unconscious. deathhealthpolicetransport By Eakkapop Thongtub Wednesday 23 November 2016, 05:29PM The flight was forced to make an emergency landing at PIA when one of its passengers fell unconscious. Photo: The Phuket News file Phuket resort calls for bras for women jailbirds PHUKET: The Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket is calling for donations of new and second-hand bras to donate to women inmates at Phuket Provincial Prison. charity By Tanyaluk Sakoot Wednesday 23 November 2016, 05:15PM This is the fourth time the resort has held its charity bra drive. Some women are too shy to ask family and friends for underwear, said Ms Tiwaporn. Donations of new and second-hand bras of all shapes and sizes are welcome. The call for donations is part of the resorts annual charity project for female inmates, Tiwaporn Mahaprom, Area Director of Human Resources of Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket, explained to The Phuket News today (Nov 23). There are currently 377 women incarcerated at Phuket Prison. This time is fourth year we have held this activity, which we call the Centara Bras Charity Project, Ms Tiwaporn explained. I think women need these things in their daily lives, and women in cells do not get the chance to get out and buy their own bras. Also, some women are too shy to ask their friends and family for these items, and so they dont ask for them. Thats why we do this project, she said. Also, I believe this activity shows that we still love and care for other people, Ms Tiwaporn added. Bras of all shapes and sizes are welcome will be appreciated. As long as the items can still be worn, Ms Tiwaporn said. Bras can be donated at the resorts Human Resource Office tomorrow (Nov 24). Or come to Phuket Provincial Prison at 9:30am on Friday (Nov 25), thats when all the bras collected will be handed over to women at the prison, Ms Tiwaporn said. For more information call Ms Tiwaporn at 089-6378393. On Demand We have a new story every day on the front page of thephuketnews.com. Also like us on our Facebook page (facebook.com/thephuketnews) and be the first to watch all the new stories. Finally you can watch any segment, any time by going to thephuketnews.com/tv where all the stories are listed for you to enjoy. All our programs can be enjoyed in High Definition when watching on the internet. In-Room VDO Victim who died in Thursday crash was from Sisseton remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. In this Nov. 15, 2016 file photo, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks in Orlando, Fla. President-elect Donald Trump says he intends to nominate Haley to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File) ATLANTIC SKIES: Stellar asterisms eye-catching pretenders to the constellation throne and just part of the bigger picture Most everyone, or at least most amateur astronomers, are familiar with the constellations in the night sky to some degree. Many, however, may not be familiar with the numerous asterisms in the night sky. What is the difference between a constellation ... Hollywood actor Brad Pitt will not face any charges stemming from an incident on a private plane in which he was reported to have lost his temper in front of one or more of his children, an FBI spokeswoman said. Pitt, 52, earlier this month was cleared by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services for the incident on September 14. His wife actress Angelina Jolie filed for divorce five days later. "In response to allegations made following a flight within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States which landed in Los Angeles carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation," said Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Los Angeles field office. "No charges have been filed in this matter," she said. Jolie, 41, filed for divorce from Pitt, her husband of two years and romantic partner since 2005, citing irreconcilable differences and seeking full physical custody of their children, ages 8 to 15. At the time, the Oscar-winning actress said her decision to end the marriage "was made for the health of the family." Their children include two adopted sons, Maddox from Cambodia and Pax from Vietnam, an adopted daughter from Ethiopia, Zahara, and three biological children, Shiloh Nouvel and twins Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline. After Neena Gopals The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and several other by the investigators D.R. Kaarthikeyan, Ragothamman and others, another book on the former prime ministers assassination is all set to be launched on November 24, in Chennai. The countrys longest serving woman prisoner Nalini Sriharans autobiography in Tamil talks about her childhood, her love, some unknown facts in Rajiv's killing, her life in jail and, of course, her meeting with Priyanka Gandhi and what Rajivs daughter wanted to know. It has two full chapters on Priyankas secret meeting with her in Vellore prison, says Nalini's lawyer Pugazhendhi. Nalini refers to this meeting as the tensest moment as Priyanka insisted to know why her fathera good manwas killed, who killed him and the conspiracy behind the murder. But Nalini only said that she did not know about the conspiracy, says Pugazhendhi. Unlike other books which talked about Rajiv's last moments or the investigation and how the conspiracy unfolded, Nalinis book, says Pugazhendhi, tells the accounts of torture in Malligai, by the police officers, where the interrogation was carried out then. Also, it talks about how her mother Padmavathi, who served as a nurse in a private hospital then, was named by none other than Gandhi himself. Nalini, says Pugazhendhi, also writes about her first meeting with Murugan, who is also in the Vellore prison, convicted in the Rajiv assassination case, her love life, the coming of Dhanu, Sivarasan, and the circumstances that made her part of their team. Authored in Tamil and published by Yazh publications, the 600-pager will have forwards from leading politicians in Tamil Nadu, from MDMKs Vaiko to VCKs Thol Thirumvalavan. The book is all set to be launched on November 24, in Chennai. Demonetisation has not stopped Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrsekhar Rao from keeping his vows and spending crores. As the entire state is reeling under currency crisis, the chief minister will, by the end of this month, proceed with fulfilling his vows that he had taken during the Telangana statehood movement. KCR had vowed that he would shower the gods with gold if Telangana statehood became a reality. The chief minister will now be presenting two necklaces to Lord Venkateswara Swamy and a nose stud to goddess Padmavathi Ammavaru at Tiruchanuru. On his return journey to Hyderabad, KCR will have a stop over at Vijayawada to present a nose stud to goddess Kanakadurga. KCR had last visited Tirumala in 2001 just before he launched the pink party Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). While he has never visited the temple city after that, his family members have visited the shrine quite often. Post-bifurcation, this would be KCR's second visit to Andhra Pradesh. He had earlier attended the foundation stone laying ceremony of AP's capital city of Amaravati. Since he wanted to keep his vows, KCR as CM has issued a GO which sanctioned funds for the gold ornaments for a plethora of gods. The endowments department have a Common Good Fund from which they sanctioned Rs 5.59 crore and out of which Rs 5 crore is to be used for the ornaments to be made for the Lord of the Seven Hills. In October, the chief minister presented a 11.7kg gold crown worth over Rs 3 crore to Goddess Bhadrakali at Warangal on the occasion of Durga Navratri. In April, KCR had sent a chador to the Khwaja Moinuddin Chitti dargah in Ajmer, with a Nazarana of Rs 2.51 lakh. A vaastu believer, KCR had conducted an 'Ayutha chandi maha yagam' to appease the gods on his 120-acre farmhouse at Erravalli village in Telangana's Medak district in December 2015 when the farmers in the state were committing suicide due to drought and agrarian crisis. The yagnam which cost the exchequer about Rs 5 to 7 crore had drawn severe flak from different corners. His final vow is a golden mustache for Kuravi Veerabhadra Swamy which is still being readied and KCR would visit the temple on Shivaratri in February 2017. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday disallowed the adjournment motion notices by opposition parties for a debate on demonetisation, amid huge uproar from opposition benches. The pandemonium saw the house being adjourned for the day around 12.30 pm. As the lower house met after an adjournment at 12 noon, Mahajan permitted members from opposition and treasury benches to speak on the issue of having a debate on demonetisation of Rs. 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. Most opposition members demanded that the debate should take place under adjournment motion even as Biju Janata Dal and Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) said they have not given adjournment notices. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the opposition is ready for a debate and accused the government of not wanting to debate on the demonetisation issue. "Prime minister says outside that few people are supporting black money... They do not want a discussion here," he said. Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said the prime minister does not belong to a party but to everyone and he should listen to the opposition. "Around 300 MPs staged a sit in protest near the Gandhi statue (in Parliament complex). The government has a majority here, even if there is voting they will win," he said. CPM leader P. Karunakaran said some parties in the ruling NDA were also against demonetisation and named the Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena MP Anandrao Adsul however maintained that they were not against the move to scrap Rs 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, but the party has raised the issue of inconvenience to the people with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Prime minister has assured us there would be relief," he said. BJD leader Bhartruhari Mahtab and TRS leader A.P. Jithender Reddy said their parties have not given an adjournment notice but want a debate. They urged the ruling and opposition members to come to a conclusion and let the debate take place. Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the nation is backing the demonetisation decision. "Let the discussion take place... people want the house to function and debate this issue. The whole nation is backing the prime minister on this decision," he said. After listening to the members, the Speaker however decided to disallow the adjournment motion, which created a huge uproar among the opposition members. The house then functioned briefly amid din, before Mahajan adjourned it for the day as opposition members continued creating ruckus. Pakistan on Wednesday officially confirmed to India that its top diplomat will attend a global conference on Afghanistan in Amritsar early next month amid intensifying deadly military tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Islamabad confirmed that Sartaj Aziz, foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, would visit India for the December 3-4 Heart of Asia Istanbul Process event. The conference on development and security in Afghanistan is likely to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Aziz said last week that he would go to India. But Swarup pointed out then that India had received no official confirmation from Pakistan about it. The de facto foreign policy chief's participation in the Afghanistan conference comes amid heightened border and diplomatic tensions between the two countries. On Tuesday, three Indian soldiers were killed on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. India vowed revenge after one of the bodies of the soldiers was found mutilated at the de facto border in the Kashmir Valley. Pakistan rejected the allegation as "baseless". The border tension continued on Wednesday with Pakistan alleging that at least nine persons were killed when cross-border shelling from India hit a passenger bus in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. "At least nine people have been killed and seven wounded," Speaker of Pakistani Kashmir's Assembly Shah Ghulam Qadir said, accusing the Indian Army of "deliberately targeting" civilians. The bus, according to Qadir, was hit as it was travelling from Kel to Muzaffarabad in the Neelum valley region of divided Kashmir. On this side, the Indian Army said cross-border firing at various places on the LoC continued for hours on Wednesday and three Border Security Forces (BSF) troopers were injured. Firing exchanges and a bitter diplomatic war between the two neighbours have continued and grown after the September 18 killing of 19 Indian soldiers in a terror attack at a border military base in Kashmir. The attack was followed by a military surgical strike on terror launch pads by Indian commandos in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in which an unknown number of terrorists and their sympathizers were killed. Since then, at least 18 Indian soldiers - 13 army and five BSF men - have been killed in cross-border firing. Pakistan has also claimed that dozens of its civilians and soldiers had been killed in the firing. The two countries upped their diplomatic war on Wednesday with Pakistan forming a committee "to counter India's propaganda campaign" that will also reach out to Indians "opposed to Narendra Modi's extremism". The initiative is said to be Aziz's brainchild. "Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies," Dawn newspaper quoted Aziz as saying. In New Delhi, an ailing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply that Pakistan had made a "crude attempt" to tarnish India's image by leveling spying allegations against Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad. Pakistan earlier in November named eight officials of the mission and alleged they were working for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) or the Intelligence Bureau of India. "The manner in which their names and photographs were prominently published in Pakistani media along with baseless allegation is against the Vienna Convention and also violates the norms of established diplomatic practice," Sushma Swaraj said. Theres no doubting it now. The bromance between prime ministers Shinzo Abe of Japan and Narendra Modi of India is more than just about a few selfies. Six years in the making, the India-Japan nuclear deal was signed during Modis visit to Japan from November 10 to 12. Toasted to with Abes sake and Modis orange juice, the deal ensures that India has a real shot at a clean energy future. It was a huge leap of faith for Japan. This was the first time that it signed such a deal with a country that had not a signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The move will allow other countries to cooperate more easily with India as large components of nuclear reactors come from Japan. The dealmaking, however, was not all that smooth. There were a few tense moments in the run up to the final negotiations after as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar suggested at a book launch that India was not bound to the no-first-use policy of nuclear weapons. It was a major point of concern for Japan. In fact, the deal was not a given as late as last month. In an interaction with the Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents in October, Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu was noncommittal. We are in the process of detailed technical discussions. I cant say it will be signed at the moment, he said. However, a flurry of behind-the-scene negotiations, diplomatic efforts and relentless efforts to assuage Japanese concerns ensured that Modis visit turned into more than just a photo-op. What swung the deal perhaps was a note on views and understanding that binds India to its September 2008 declaration made to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, in which it had committed to voluntary, unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and also reaffirmed the no-first-use policy. The note, therefore, gives Japan the right to terminate the deal if India conducted nuclear tests. It seems the note was released by the Japanese side, hinting at, perhaps, the unwillingness of the Indian officials to be upfront about it. However, it also suggested a shift in the Indian stand on testing nuclear weapons. The Indian position, so far, has been that the right to test or not is a sovereign decision. With Japan, it seems India has made an exception. The note, signed by Indias chief nuclear negotiator Amandeep Singh Gill and his Japanese counterpart, helped break the nuclear deadlock between the two countries. When presented before the Japanese parliament for ratification, the note is expected to clarify all doubts about the deal. However, the question for India is slightly different. Has Modi done a Beckham? Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said the agreement was broadly in line with the agreements that India had done with other countries. Sources in the ministry of external affairs pointed out that Japan had special sensitivities as the only nation to have suffered a nuclear attack. It is different, said Rakesh Sood, who had served as Indias permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament. While the nuclear deal with the United States did not specifically mention that it would be terminated in the eventuality of an Indian nuclear test, it is far more explicit in the Japanese agreement, said Sood. The US does have the right to terminate the deal, but it is not attached to the Hyde Act, he said. In the Japanese deal, it implies automaticity. Forging ties: Modi at the India-Japan Business Leaders Forum meeting in Tokyo | PTI The nullification clause can be triggered by either party. Bharat Karnad, research professor at the Centre for Policy Research, Delhi, said the move was quite normal. He said Japan had not been granted any special favours. The deal follows the same template, but compresses the developments, which have taken place since 2007, said a source within the external affairs ministry. The other question is about the legality of the note as it is not formally a part of the agreement. Els Reynaers Kini, general secretary of the Nuclear Law Association of India and a lawyer, said the note was not an appendix to the agreement, but provided it a context and background. The historic nature of the deal, however, is beyond dispute. It is more of a strategic deal than a nuclear one. We tried hard to get Japan into our fold. It is a reliable partner and has advanced nuclear technology. These are the core issues, said Rajiv Nayan of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Delhi. The deal has opened up doors for other countries and has made them realise that India can be given an exemption. Even China welcomed the deal. The Japan agreement means all others are on board, said Karnad. Japanese companies have important ownership stakes in GE, Westinghouse and Areva, the companies that are planning to set up reactors in India. Police accompanied by veterinary inspectors operating in the Israeli Arab municipality of Dir el-Assad uncovered ten tons of meat from illegal slaughter in a local butcher shop. The meat was confiscated and will be destroyed. In addition, a 22-year-old PA (Palestinian Authority) resident inside Green Line Israel illegally, employed in the butcher shop, was taken into custody together with the 40-year-old owner. Health officials stress the illegal meat poses a major health hazard to the public at large. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Dr. Avraham Yitzchak is a member of Israels Ethiopian community and a real example for many as breaking several significant records. He became the first Ethiopian immigrant to attend medical school, to become a physician, and serve in the IDF as a doctor. Yitzchak has now been appointed Chief Medical Officer of the Southern Command and has been promoted to the rank of colonel. Yitzchak arrived in Israel at the age of 15 from Addis Abba. He attended Ben-Gurion Medical School and graduated in 1999. He was class valedictorian and later moved to the military where he has been working his way up the command ladder. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) [PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] Each year thousands of people visit Hebron for the annual Shabbos Hebron to celebrate the reading Parshas Chayei Sarah. Because of the tie-in with the parsha, Hebron is a prime destination for those wishing to be in the city mentioned in the Shabbos reading. In all, twenty thousand guests are expected to stay in Hebron and Kiryat Arba, Hebrons sister city. Shabbos Hebron became an organized happening almost 25 years ago and has grown exponentially over the years. Every year the Jewish Community of Hebron prepares for this mass of people with logistics such as food, security, and home hospitality. Also, the Hall of Rivka and Yitzchak, the largest in the Machpelah, is open for tefilos exclusively to Jews, one of the ten days out of the year that the space is accessible. This year Shabbos Hebron will occur on 24 and 25 Cheshvan. It will be the first time since 2005 that the Shabbos of Parsha Chayei Sarah will coincide with the American holiday of Thanksgiving, something that will not occur again until the year 2027. The Hebron Fund will be organizing a special Chayei Sarah mission for English speakers from abroad including tours and other activities. Last year, due to the wave of deadly terrorist attacks, there was a sharp decrease in attendance. The usually joyful, picnic-like atmosphere was marred by a terrorist sniper who wounded two civilians, including a visiting American college student named Eli Borochov. Despite being shot in the leg, Borochov expressed a desire to return again in the coming year. His father Ronen Borochov told Israeli news media that he promises to return this year along with his children. Terror wont defeat us, he stated. The answer to the terrorists is that I will come to Hebron, not only with just one child but with my whole family. This years festivities will also feature special mass free Shabbos meals. Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, Chabad of Hebron is sponsoring three free first-class meals. These will take place under a giant tent which will feature 300 meters of special graphic printing telling the Jewish story of Hebron through the ages. The tent will fit 3,000 guests, making the event the largest Shabbos gathering in the world. Moreover, the Shabbos meals will be lavish in style: wedding plates, tablecloths, and waiters with food to match. Chabad of Hebron and the Jewish Community of Hebron have been cooperating since the 1800s. Rabbi Danny and Batsheva Cohen, purveyors of the Hebron Chabad, continue in that tradition, and provide Jewish connectivity to soldiers and visitors, common to Chabad Houses worldwide. Also planning to join the celebrations are elected officials and public figures such as Minister for Social Equality Gila Gamliel, Minister of Religious Affairs David Azoulai Deputy Defense Minister Eli Dahan, Minister of Environmental Affairs Zeev Elkin, MK Moti Yogev, MK Betzalel Smotrich, former MK Orit Struk, Rabbi Hillel Horowitz, and noted lawyer and Hebron donor Yoram Sheftel. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Yishai Fleisher) Cabin crew at Lufthansas budget unit Eurowings launched a 15-hour strike Tuesday, causing dozens of flight cancelations, as the German carrier warned customers to prepare for a larger walk-out by pilots Wednesday. The Cockpit union announced Monday that pilots of all short- and long-haul flights out of Germany will go on strike in a dispute over pay. The airline said Tuesday that due to tomorrows strike 876 of 3,000 LH Group flights had to be cancelled. It said about 100,000 passengers would be affected, including on 51 intercontinental connections. The Cockpit union says the airline has been posting very good numbers for years but that its pilots havent seen any consequent pay increases. It has been asking for a 3.66 percent yearly raise for a period of 5 ? years. Lufthansa has called the unions position absolutely incomprehensible. The disruptions follow a decision by the ver.di service workers union to call on Eurowings cabin crew based in Duesseldorf and Hamburg to walk out Tuesday from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. (0400-1900 GMT). News agency dpa reports that 50 of 88 planned flights to and from Duesseldorf have been canceled, while at least seven departures and seven arrivals in Hamburg were scrapped. The airline and two unions are in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. The other union, UFO, staged a 24-hour walkout last month. Ver.di says its insisting on a separate deal for its members. The airline urged passengers planning to travel Wednesday to check its website for information about canceled flights. (AP) The Obama administration has green-lighted the sale of more than 100 Airbus planes to Iran, officials said Tuesday. It is the latest U.S. license for commercial activity with the Islamic republic following last years nuclear deal. Airbus in September received a license to sell 17 planes to Tehran. Two U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter said the European manufacturer got permission Monday to export 106 more. The officials werent authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. Airbus needs Treasury Department approval because at least 10 percent of the planes components are American-made. Hoping to replace its aging fleet of 1970s U.S. aircraft, Iran has agreed to purchase tens of billions of dollars worth of planes from Airbus and its American competitor, the Boeing Co. But both deals rest on precarious ground. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to re-negotiate President Barack Obamas signature foreign policy achievement, the seven-nation deal that imposed strict limits on Irans nuclear activity in exchange for the end of wide-ranging oil, trade and financial sanctions. And last week, the Republican-led House moved decisively to bar the sale of commercial aircraft to Iran. The bill must now clear the Senate, where the measure will likely face stiff opposition from Democrats. Obama would veto the bill if it reaches his desk, according to the White House, but Trump could view things differently once he is inaugurated on Jan. 20. In a letter to Obama on Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan and two other top Republican lawmakers urged the president not to take any action that would weaken United States or multilateral sanctions or other restrictions against Iran in this post-election period. We respectfully request that your administration take no further actions designed to bolster international investment in Iran, said the letter, also signed by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, and Rep. Ed Royce, the House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman. A smooth transition, they said, means providing Trump the opportunity to assess United States policy toward Iran without new complications. A Treasury Department spokeswoman said the United States already had committed to licensing the export of commercial passenger aircraft to Iran, and the U.S. would fulfill its commitments. The licenses include strict requirements that planes be used exclusively for commercial passenger use and not resold or transferred. The planes are intended for Iran Air, whose sanctions were removed in January, and not Mahan Air, a company backed by Irans Revolutionary Guard and used for ferrying weapons and fighters to Syrias military. Syrian President Bashar Assads forces are accused of widespread human rights atrocities in their 5?-year civil war against rebels backed by the United States. In January, Iran Air signed agreements to buy 118 planes from Airbus, estimated to be worth roughly $25 billion. Iranian officials also have spoken of 112 planes being bought. The two Treasury Department licenses would authorize a sale of 123 planes. Airbus base model A320 lists at an average of about $100 million. The A330 costs more than double that amount. Under Boeings deal, Iran Air will buy 80 aircraft with a total list price of $17.6 billion. Deliveries are supposed to begin in 2017 and run until 2025. Iran Air also will lease 29 new Boeing 737s, making the deal worth as much as $25 billion in total. (AP) A British warship has docked in the Israeli port of Haifa at a time of heightened tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. The two countries conducted a joint naval exercise on Tuesday, and both Israel and Britain are describing the visit by the HMS Bulwark as routine. But its arrival comes shortly after Russias deployment of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov to the region off the coast of Syria. The ships commander, Capt. James Parkin, says the area is a pretty dangerous place, and that his troops are at a high level of preparedness. An Israeli navy official, speaking anonymously under military guidelines, says the eastern Mediterranean has attracted a lot of activity by foreign navies. (AP) Five minors were detained on Har Habayis by police on patrol in the early afternoon on Sunday, 19 Cheshvan on suspicion of prostrating themselves in tefilla and held in remand for over six hours. The five minors, including 13-year old boys, were held at the Merchav David (Old City) Police Station in Jerusalem. Honenu Attorney Rehavia Piltz, who visited them and gave legal counsel, was horrified to discover that they had been handcuffed and leg-cuffed for many hours, in violation of the law. The five minors told Piltz that Yassam policemen had very violently detained them. One of the detainees reported that a Yassam policeman had pulled his peyos. 13- and 14-year old boys have been handcuffed and leg-cuffed for many hours already as if they were the worst criminals, said Piltz as he left the police station. One of the detainees who requested that his leg-cuffs be loosened had his request denied by a policeman who added, You dont talk during interrogation. I dont talk to you. This is unacceptable use of hand and leg-cuffing and corporal punishment on minors. I call on the upper echelon of the Israeli Police and the appropriate minister to take notice. Such a blatant violation of minors rights by policemen should keep every citizen awake at night, certainly when the accusation is for an act which should not be considered an infraction of the law. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) There was a new message for Mayor Bill de Blasio Tuesday night. As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, some constituents said de Blasio needs to reorient his priorities, forget attacking Donald Trump, and fix the city. The succinct message from many New Yorkers was that de Blasio needs to focus on his day job. But since the election, the mayor has spent much of his time challenging Republican President-elect Trump. It started just hours after Democrat Hillary Clinton conceded, continued outside Trump Tower just after the mayor met with Trump last week, and included a speech on Monday at Cooper Union. Kramer asked de Blasio about the concerns about his priorities Tuesday. Kramer: Mr. Mayor, youve spent much of the last two weeks standing up to Donald Trump. I wonder what you would say to your constituents who say thats all well and good, but you should focus on dealing with the citys problems. De Blasio: Theres no contradiction, Marcia. Were going to work on all the issues of the city, but guess what. There was a national election two weeks ago and it has huge ramifications for New York City and for millions of New Yorkers. So, we have to able to walk and chew gum at the same time. Its my job to stand up for New Yorkers. Some worry about whether the president-elect will get tired of de Blasios complaints and seek retribution. The mayor said he does not think so, but others say they are not so sure. READ MORE: WCBSTV One after another, fighter jets catapult from the flight deck of the USS Eisenhower, a thousand-foot (305-meter) American aircraft carrier, afterburners glowing amber above the blue Persian Gulf, on their way northwest to join the fight in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State. The fighter jets refuel on the way before receiving from coalition partners targets like convoys, hideouts and mortar positions in IS-controlled territories such as Mosul and Raqqa, said Rear Adm. James Malloy, commander of the Eisenhower carrier strike group. From his office aboard the USS Eisenhower, Malloy described coalition success around Mosul while cautioning that victory is close at hand. Mosul is the last large city in Iraq that is held by Daesh, but Daesh is by no means finished in Iraq, so our mission in Iraq wont end as Mosul falls, he said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. While inter-coalition coordination was seamless, communication with Russia was limited to deconfliction, Malloy said. Theres no coordination there because the goals are not the same, the admiral said. The carriers captain Paul Spedero said sorties from the Eisenhower have dropped nearly 1,100 bombs on IS targets since June when the ship entered the Persian Gulf after launching strikes from the eastern Mediterranean. The ships 5,200 sailors arm, repair, launch and recover 7-20 Super Hornet F18 fighter jets every day that drop on average 10 bombs each or reconnoiter in support of anti-IS coalition forces. The crew catapults the jets from the ship at 145mph, and they use a hook and cable to rapidly catch the fighter jets on the 500-foot long carrier deck. For a catapult shot, if you think about a Porsche 911, zero to sixty in about 2.5 seconds, these aircraft will go from 0 to 145 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds, said commander Jeremy Rifas, the carriers air boss, from inside the ships control tower overlooking launches. The fighters on these sorties head north by northwest for an hour before refueling midair and then approaching coalition ground forces that provide the pilots with targets for airstrikes or reconnaissance. They go into harms way every single time, every single mission. I dont really close my eyes until 2300 when the last one comes back, admiral Malloy said. The U.S.-led coalition has flown more than 125,000 sorties in Iraq and Syria since Operation Inherent Resolve began in Aug. 8, 2014, according to the US Department of Defense. (AP) Interpol urged all countries on Tuesday to obtain biometric data from fighters for the Islamic State and other extremist groups to help law enforcement track them down, especially when they return home. Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock said in an interview with The Associated Press that the international police organization only has biometric data fingerprints, DNA, iris scans and the like for about 10 percent of the 9,000 foreign terrorist fighters in its database. Stock said Interpol is helping countries to develop biometric technology not only to identify fighters from extremist groups but criminals as well. He cited the case of a terrorist who attacked a police station in France last year who had traveled across Europe using 20 different identities something that could have been thwarted with biometric data. Stock said there are an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 foreign terrorist fighters from almost all over the world and about 15,000 from over 100 countries remain mainly in Syria and Iraq. With 9,000 names in the Interpol database, this means that about 6,000 of the extremist fighters are not on an international register where they could be tracked, which Stock said is a serious gap. But he said the database has grown rapidly when it started in 2013 with just 12 files, and will hopefully continue to add names and biometric data. The Interpol chief came to the United Nations from the organizations headquarters in Lyon, France to speak to the General Assembly which adopted a resolution expanding the organizations cooperation with the U.N. Stock called the Internet a virtual university of terrorism, where extremist groups attract and radicalize would-be fighters, and where information on building or buying bombs and explosives is readily available. The threat level with regard to international terrorism is unprecedented, he said, with international terrorists moving to short-term actions using simpler methods such as knives, axes and in the deadly attack in Nice, France on July 15 a truck. We are fighting a terrorist network or an organized crime network with a law enforcement network, he said. But Stock said its not easy because of legal issues which differ in various countries, including on sharing information, and the difficulties in ensuring that relevant data gets to police, border guards and other officials who need it. He said the increasing use of encrypted websites by extremist groups is also posing a huge challenge to law enforcement authorities trying to conduct surveillance or track fighters and potential terrorists. The dark net has also become a major trading place for weapons and explosives used by terrorists, Stock said. Investigations into the dark net are not impossible, of course, he said. We are developing our tools, but it creates a challenge. Stock also said Interpol is cooperating with industry on new tools to make sure that theres no safe haven for terrorists or criminals. (AP) 10:58AM IL: [VIDEOS & PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] Israel is requesting fire planes from neighboring allies due to the growing number of fires that rage out of control. The fire department remains on 12 hour shifts due to the weather, particularly the forecast predicting the strong winds will continue through Shabbos. The fire in the Nataf area continues and reached a number of homes. In Zichron Yaakov, the blaze continues to flare up in different points due to winds gusts. In Shfaram at least five fire units are battling a blaze that was reported a short time ago. No one has been evacuated at this time. It is too early to make any determinations but fire department officials are not ruling out the fires erupting in many area are the result of arson, possible arson terrorist attacks. Earlier updates appear below: Temperatures in Israel are cool or cold depending on what city one is in but what is significant for the fire department is the strong winds coming from Sinai are making firefighting efforts extremely difficult and the windy conditions are expected to continue through Shabbos. The Zichron Yaakov blaze that burned out of control on Tuesday, 21 Cheshvan is again demanding a fire department response as heavy winds are reignited the fire in a number of area. Over 50 fire vehicles are battling the blaze in additional to aerial support. In the Nataf area, firefighters are battling a large blaze and residents of that community have been evacuated from their homes. There was another blaze in Kfar Veradim in the Western Galil, which BH has been declared under control. There was a large fire in the community of Dolev in the Binyamin Council of the Shomron during the night. At least two caravan homes were destroyed in the blaze. A number of people were treated and transported to hospitals with smoke inhalation. The accompanying photos are from the Dolev fire. The first video shows the Nataf fire Zichron Yaakov blaze burning out of control (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Media Resource Group) Smart energy meters will save households just 11 a year less than half the Government's original estimate. So-called smart meters are small computers that show, in pounds and pence, how much power is being used. They send information on your daily power use to your supplier, so you don't have to submit meter readings. Smart meters are small computers that show how much gas and electricity is being used They are meant to save customers money by showing them how much it costs to leave lights and heating on unnecessarily. The Government has told power companies to install the meters in every UK household by 2020. But it says they will save customers just 11 a year in gas and electricity, down from its initial estimate of 26. Experts say this is because the cost of nationwide installation has soared by 54 million to more than 11 billion. While suppliers have to pay for this, they are passing on the costs directly to customers through higher bills. Households are expected to save 47 a year by 2030. Energy providers starting installing smart meters in 2015 and by 2020 53 million are due to have been put into homes and small businesses. They work by recording how much energy is being used in a home and send this data directly to your energy supplier, so there will no longer be any need for taking your own meter readings. This will put an end to estimated bills, whereby the provider estimates how much energy it thinks you will use, so you will only be billed for the energy you're using. p.thomas@dailymail.co.uk Landlords have warned letting agents not to hike their charges to claw back money lost from a ban on fees for tenants in today's Autumn Statement Hard-pressed tenants have been warned they may not benefit from the government's ban on letting agent fees - because the costs will be passed on in higher rents. A row has erupted with some landlords and agents reacting with fury to the unworkable plans and said they would have a boomerang effect. Others, however, point out that landlords hit by agents hiking charges to claw back lost income could simply move to a cheaper lettings firm. Critics said the charges will simply be passed on to buy-to-let landlords many of whom are middle-class families who own a second property as a nest egg or to the tenants themselves. And they would then need to increase rental charges to make up the shortfall. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond announced a ban on tenant fees, which average 340, in his first Autumn Statement today, after years of some letting agents charging over-sized fees to renters and double-charging tenants and landlords. Richard Price, of the UK Association of Letting Agents, said: A ban on agent fees may prevent tenants from receiving a bill at the start of the tenancy, but the unavoidable outcome will be an increase in the proportion of costs which will be met by landlords, which in turn will be passed on to tenants through higher rents. Richard Lambert, of the National Landlords Association, said: Banning letting agent fees will be welcomed by private tenants, at least in the short term, because they wont realise that it will boomerang back on them. But Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent and former Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors residential chairman said letting agents could find it hard to pass costs on to landlords. The problem with fees charged by letting agents to tenants is that landlords have a choice as to which agent they use whereas tenants generally dont,' he said. 'Landlords can go to another agent so the agents will have to absorb the cost and get it from somewhere else.' The fall in estate agents share prices today indicated that the markets believe they will be unlikely to grab back lost revenue by charging landlords more. London agent Foxtons saw its shares drop by 14 per cent. Mr Leaf said: 'This is why Foxtons' share price plummeted because agents like them who add a lot to the tenants cost of renting, will suffer. The trouble is there are a few rogue agents who have been overcharging and as a result all agents will lose out financially as a result.' While many letting agents simply charge tenants the cost of items such as references, others ramp up the price to make a profit on checks that they do and also impose charges for administrative work such as contracts and inventories, which landlords believe they are already paying for in letting and management fees. Landlords slammed claims they will hike rents to pay for the Chancellor's proposed ban on letting agency fees, designed to help families only just managing to get by. Those claims came as letting agents reacted angrily as the news of the ban leaked last night, suggesting that the move would boomerang back on renters, as agents would pass the cost on to landlords who would inevitably hike rents in response. But some landlords and online letting agents, which charge much lower fees than traditional high street agents, hit back this morning, claiming 'unscrupulous' agents deserved to take the pain. Rob Bence, a private landlord and founder of national landlord forum The Property Hub, said: 'Many traditional agents charge astronomical fees to tenants with very little evidence of why that fee is being charged - admin fees being the prime example here. 'Unfortunately, it is a few greedy letting agents spoiling it for everyone.' Bence admitted that landlords could be forced to hike rents if the charges were passed on, but urged them to look at cheaper online letting agents as an alternative to high street chains before passing on the pain to renters. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, pictured in the Commons today, announced a blanket ban on the fees, which average 340, later today in his first Autumn Statement Intense competition in the letting agency industry means that landlords will have no shortage of alternatives, meanwhile the new wave of online estate agents are dramatically undercutting high street letting agents, while getting properties onto listing websites such as Rightmove. 'The new generation of online agents, which operate without any high street presence and therefore have much lower overheads, are able to charge lower fees while offering all of the same services as their high street counterparts,' said Bence. 'Landlords should be assessing which agents they're partnering with before looking to hike rents.' Traditional letting agencies typically charge tenants 337 in fees to let a home many tenants in London are forced to pay over 400. Yet, while letting agents face costs for references and checks, some have been accused of ramping up these substantially when passing them on to tenants. Credit checks, for example, can cost as little as 3 but many letting agents charge tenants in excess of 50 for them. In other instances, tenants can be charged for admin work, such as tenancy renewals and inventories, when these should be covered by the letting and management fees already being charged to landlords. It was suggested that lost revenue from this will be clawed back by letting agents hiking fees for landlords, who will in turn raise rents for tenants to combat this. Foxtons' share price was down 13 per cent and Countrywide slid 6 per cent following news that letting agency fees would be banned. Landlords are already feeling the squeeze with a stamp duty hike on property purchases and more importantly for many the capping of mortgage interest relief at 20 per cent on tax on rental income. Matthew Daines, co-founder of online agent lettingaproperty.com, said landlords were more likely to change to a lower priced letting agent than hike rents. 'Let's face it, many high street agents have profited hugely in the past by charging tenants inflated tenancy fees,' he said. 'With this change and the landlord knowing that they are having to cover these expenses, more will shop around.' He added: 'Landlords who use reputable agents with lower fees will have the flexibility to compete with lower rental prices.' Bob Young, of buy-to-let lender Fleet Mortgages, said some landlords would also be able to offset higher letting charges against tax. 'Im not completely convinced these measures will result in an increase in rents as typically landlords charge what the market will take and that may not allow an increase,' he added. Letting agents warn renters will still end up footing the bill Letting fees are already banned in Scotland, where agents say rents have subsequently risen and Richard Price, from the Association of Letting Agents, has warned the 'arbitrary' ban on up front fees was 'a quick fix'. He said: 'A ban on agent fees may prevent tenants from receiving a bill at the start of the tenancy, but the unavoidable outcome will be an increase in the proportion of costs which will be met by landlords, which in turn will be passed on to tenants through higher rents.' Estate agents' share prices have plummeted since trading began this morning. Foxtons was down 13 per cent and Countrywide slid 6 per cent following the news. LSL Property Services was nearly 7 per cent lower in early trading. Neil Wilson, a markets analyst at ETX Capital, said: 'News of a ban on charging fees to tenants comes as a hammer blow to embattled estate agents. Passing on the cost to landlords could drive down fees by improving competition, although estate agents claim they make no money from fees.' Why ban tenant fees? The ban on letting agency fees is designed to cut costs for renters who are 'just about managing' and already face having to raise hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds for a deposit. David Hollingworth, of mortgage broker London & Country, said: 'This will be warmly welcomed by tenants delighted that steep upfront fees are likely to be a thing of the past. Given the challenge of pulling together a deposit to buy a property, any reduction in costs for tenants can only help that cause. 'Of course the counter argument is that letting agents will simply attempt to recoup lost revenue by passing on cost to landlords and that will ultimately go full circle in the shape of higher rents. But with landlords being hit by pressures from several different directions agents may find that landlords are not in a position to wear higher fees.' Landlords are increasingly fed up with measures introduced over the past year which have seen their costs sky-rocket. In April they were slapped with a 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge. When my son sadly passed away four years ago, I emailed the online payments system PayPal to inform them, and heard no more. This March, I wanted to sell an item on eBay, which meant I needed a PayPal account in which to receive payment. As my son's account was on my email address, I had to open a new one using a different email. My item sold for 273 but, unfortunately, I forgot to change the PayPal account on eBay from my son's to mine, so the money went into his account. Callous: Paypal jobsworths are refusing to close the account of a man who died four years ago The only way I can get the money is by closing his account as deceased and having the account balance transferred to me. I have sent PayPal copies of my son's death certificate, as well as my passport and a covering letter. PayPal also insists on a legal letter naming me as his executor, but I do not have this, as he died intestate. I've been told the cost of this would be between 200 and 300. I explained this to PayPal and have sent documents from his old bank showing his account was transferred to me, but this is still not acceptable to them. H. R., Hertfordshire. I'm afraid this is yet another case of staff at a large company failing to behave compassionately towards a bereaved person. Instead of offering help and support, PayPal put up obstacles. Its side of the story is that it replied to your email informing them of your son's death the following day, expressing condolences and advising what legal documents would be required to close your son's account. It says that, for legal reasons, it is required to request documentation before it can transfer any funds and close an account belonging to someone who has died. As there was no money involved, you did not respond no doubt weighed down by other, more important issues, so the account was not closed. PayPal further argues that the situation was complicated as your son did not leave a will, so it asked for a written statement from a legal representative declaring that you were the executor of the estate. This, in itself, is nonsense because, when someone dies intestate, their estate is handled by an 'administrator', not an 'executor', because there is no will to execute. PayPal now admits it didn't help matters, not least by not replying promptly to your email of January 2015, in which you queried whether an email it had sent was genuine. Throughout this sad episode, PayPal has shown a complete lack of common sense. The fact that the transfer of the money took place four years after your son died and that the transaction came from a sale using your account seem to have not been considered. PayPal needs to take a serious look at how it handles cases such as this and adopt a more supportive, less heavy-handed approach. It may often be dealing with relatively trivial sums, so to demand a solicitor's letter when there are cheaper ways of handling such issues is ridiculous. You now have your money, along with apologies from PayPal. YOU HAVE YOUR SAY - CHANGING CAR INSURANCE QUOTES Every week, Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some of the best from our story about how car insurance premiums can change depending on the day you buy it . . . I use multiple price comparison websites for car insurance and the quotes vary alarmingly, even with the same provider. Check every comparison site each year and go with the cheapest. Doing this, I managed to get insurance on a Jaguar XK8 for just 180. B. T., Somerset. I never accept a renewal quote insurers are all chancers. I was quoted 1,200 for myself, my wife and two children on a multi-car policy from my existing insurer. But when I checked a comparison website, we managed to get three separate policies for around 700 in total. I went back to my existing insurer, who then matched the price. I promptly told them where to go. Always shop around. T. T., Edinburgh. Things were totally different when most people bought their insurance from a broker, who'd scour the market for the best deal. Years ago, insurers only changed their prices once or twice a year. Comparison sites have made things easier for the insurer and much more costly for the driver. S. D., Northampton. I've been with the same insurer for years and my premium goes up every time I renew my policy. I can only guess they hope I won't notice. So each year, I shop around for the cheapest quote and get them to match it. It takes about 30 minutes and works every time. M. A., Gloucester. Every time you go on a website, it leaves something known as a cookie. If you repeatedly visit the same firm's website, it tracks that you are interested in a product, so the insurer will increase the price. The only way to beat it is to delete all cookies from your computer before revisiting a site. O. B., Shrewsbury. A few years ago, I told NatWest I had got divorced and my premium went up 10 a month. When I queried it, they said I was now a greater risk. Bizarre. H. Y., London. Use a broker and support local business. I've used the same one for all of my insurance for the past 40 years or so. Not only do they always find me the cheapest quote, but they take the hassle out of arranging my own cover. N. D., Yorkshire. Early in July, I changed energy supplier from Scottish Power. I received a letter saying how sorry it was that I was leaving. Then invoices started to come. At first, I received nine or ten per day. Over the past couple of weeks, they are down to one each day. So far, I have received 182 in total, all in individual envelopes. I have phoned many times, but the invoices keep on coming. Mrs C. L., Essex. Scottish Power issued me with a statement, which says: 'Due to a technical issue against Mrs C. L.'s account, it triggered a number of bills to be issued in error.' Well, I suppose 182 is 'a number' though rather a large one. As you may have guessed there was a computer error, which has now been resolved. This will come as a relief to both you and, I suspect, your postman or woman. At the end of the multiple invoicing, it seems your account was 12.48 in credit. Scottish Power has, by way of apology, added a further 100. STRAIGHT TO THE POINT I paid 826 for a hotel via Lowcostholidays on my Barclays debit card. When the firm went bust in July, I heard customers could claim their money back from their bank. Barclays promised to get back to me in two weeks, but I've heard nothing. R. N., Essex. Barclays says it received your paperwork on August 8 and that it credited your card by September 1. The bank admits this is slightly longer than it would usually take, but this is due to the large number of requests it had to deal with after the holiday firm went bust. A company called Pending Fund Release has sent me a letter, claiming I could win up to 20,000. I just have to fill in a form with my personal details. Then if my 'unique ID' matches one on its 'winning ID numbers', I'll get a prize. Is this a scam? K. M, Dumfries. It is almost certainly a scam. Never respond to junk mail sent through the post or by email. Scammers can cause all sorts of trouble for you if they get hold of your details. Tear up the letter and throw it in the bin. Since moving out of a property I rented from December 14, 2015, to April 4, 2016, British Gas has chased me for 45.50 for energy used in the first two weeks of December and from when I moved out in April to the end of May when I wasn't there. Can you help? C. M., High Peak, Derbys. The confusion stems from a dispute between you and your landlord over what period of time you were responsible for the energy bill, as your contract was originally for six months. British Gas told you it couldn't get involved and that you must resolve the issue with your landlord. However, as a gesture of goodwill, it has now wiped the 45.50 bill. I have received a cheque for 1,195 in compensation from Shop Direct for mis- sold payment protection insurance on my Littlewoods credit card. The claims company I used to help me with my case, called Claim4Refunds, is asking me for 427.60. This seems like a lot of money. Does Shop Direct not pay its fee? G. F., London. Claims firms are notorious for charging high fees to chase compensation on your behalf. You are responsible for paying their costs out of any money you get back. However, on this occasion, Claim4Refunds has agreed to waive its fee. It accepts that you were confused about who should pay their costs and that, at 85 years old, you were wary of sending such a large sum of money through the post. My wife and I have been trying to claim 15 in compensation from Northern Rail for nine weeks. We needed a taxi from London to Ipswich, after our train to Bury St Edmunds was cancelled. We are 82 and 75, and were laden with luggage on a hot summer's day. R. W., Lancashire. You were actually travelling with a different rail operator called Great Northern, an easy mistake to make. I have contacted it on your behalf. Great Northern is sorry you had such a difficult journey and has offered to send you a 50 rail voucher. I'm in an absolutely ridiculous position, whereby the credit reference agency Noddle refuses to fix a very obvious error. My name and my brother's are the same, except for the final letter. But Noddle is insisting on putting his details (electoral register, accounts, credits, etc) on my credit report. I've tried telling it, but to no avail. We do not even live at the same address any more! A.S., London. We are frequently assured by credit scoring companies that this sort of error cannot happen. It is inexcusable that Noddle (which is part of Callcredit) failed to make the necessary changes after you had told it of the error. The firm now admits that your complaints were 'processed incorrectly'. I assume this means nobody did anything about them. A spokesman adds: 'Unfortunately, the disputes were not dealt with in a manner we would both have hoped for and, for this, we can only apologise.' The amendments have now been completed and your credit file corrected. A Callcredit representative has also called you to apologise. Richard Sibbald wasn't overly concerned when in August last year his GP suggested getting a small mole on his left shoulder checked by a specialist. There was no rush his appointment was booked for December, four months away and the last time he had a mole checked it had turned out to be nothing. Richard, 41, and his wife Claire, 43, had an annual travel insurance policy so when they booked a holiday to Crete in November for the following May, they assumed they would be covered. However, when Richard saw the specialist on December 3, things started to go wrong. The dermatologist suspected the mole to be cancerous and referred him for surgery to have it removed. Insurers rarely cover customers waiting for test results; they like to wait until you have a diagnosis, so they can assess risk Three weeks later, Richard was told he had malignant melanoma, an aggressive type of cancer, and he needed more surgery to stop it spreading. The doctors were optimistic they had caught it early. The couple's holiday was not for another five months, by which time Richard would, hopefully, have recovered. Then an operation in February to remove a large area of skin around Richard's mole indicated his cancer had spread to the lymph nodes under his left arm, and he would need an operation in April to have them removed. The Sibbalds, who have a four-year-old son Harry and live in London, realised Richard would not be well enough to travel, so cancelled their 1,700 holiday and contacted their insurer, Insure & Go, to claim the money. They filled in a form and attached a letter from Richard's doctor detailing when he had been diagnosed and what treatment he had. However, their claim was rejected and Insure & Go wouldn't budge when they appealed. Richard had made a crucial mistake: he had failed to tell the firm that he had been referred to a specialist before booking so, as far as Insure & Go was concerned, he had withheld important information which it needed to establish how much risk he posed as a customer. This voided his insurance. Richard, who runs a handyman business, says: 'We didn't consider telling our insurer because we never imagined it would be anything serious. 'It wasn't as if my GP had referred me as an emergency. It took four months to get an appointment. We put it to the back of our minds. We always book holidays in advance because they are cheaper. We had no idea we wouldn't be covered.' Insure & Go's annual policy terms and conditions state: 'If after purchasing this policy, any person named on the policy develops a new medical condition or has a change in a medical condition that has already been declared to us () you must contact the Insure & Go Medical Screening Line immediately.' Insure & Go says Richard should have called the moment his GP referred him to a dermatologist. Richard Sibbald, wife Claire, and son Harry had no idea he couldnt claim on his policy He would then have been covered for anything booked, it says, but future bookings wouldn't be covered. Richard would have then known that if he booked a holiday and could not go, he would be unable to claim. Insurers rarely cover customers waiting for test results; they like to wait until you have a diagnosis, so they can assess risk. Once that is done, you will usually have to pay more because you present a greater risk, or you can forgo cover for a claim relating to that condition. Richard's only wriggle-room would have been if his claim was nothing to do with his referral to the skin specialist. This can be risky because some insurers will not pay the claim because customers have not been upfront about their medical history. If Richard had paid for a holiday before seeing his GP, he would have still been covered if he had needed to cancel or had fallen ill while away. Martyn James, formerly of the Financial Ombudsman, says: 'Insurers want to know if there's even the slightest hint your health has changed. 'This includes if you have been to the doctor, got a test booked, an appointment to see a specialist or some form of question mark hanging over you. If your claim is rejected for a condition unrelated to your change in health, you should make a complaint.' A spokeswoman for Insure & Go says: 'Mr Sibbald's condition substantially altered his policy and needed to be declared. There was an element of known risk when he booked this trip, which we were not made aware of. 'If he had had a pending consultation of this nature at the time of purchasing insurance, we would not have been able to offer him cover. It's a horrible situation, but there was nothing we could do to cover the holiday.' I'd like to invest in a fund which is focused on emerging markets. I've heard that India is a great place to invest right now, so would like the fund to include that, too. Have you any recommendations? T.H., by email Attractive prospect? Emerging market economies often grow at a faster pace than in the west Emerging market countries are those whose economies are still developing such as China, Brazil and India. They are attractive to investors because their economies tend to grow at a faster pace than those in the West and they have young populations that are becoming increasingly wealthy, which is driving up consumption. They can also be volatile regions to invest in. Many are still reliant on exports of goods and commodities and have been hit hard by the collapsing price of oil. Their fortunes also tend to be tied to those of developed countries, so for example when the US dollar is strong, that hurts countries like Mexico and Brazil which suffer from the foreign exchange rate with their own currency. You can see that volatility in the average fund performance; in the past year, the typical global emerging markets fund has returned 26.4 per cent, but over three years the average return is 16 per cent. Sentiment turned sharply against emerging markets after Donald Trump's election. This is because he appears to be planning such protectionist policies as raising tariffs on imports and clamping down on immigration. However, you should be investing in something only if you believe in its long-term potential. While China could be hurt by higher import tariffs, over the long-term the country is trying to shift from being an economy driven by exports to one driven by domestic consumers. Darius McDermott, director at Chelsea Financial Services, likes the Matthews Asia Pacific Tiger fund. It invests in companies across Indonesia, South Korea and India and focuses on those with good corporate governance. Current investments include Chinese search engine Baidu and insurance company AIA group, and the fund has turned 1,000 into 1,461 over the past three years. If India is your focus, McDermott likes the Goldman Sachs India Equity Portfolio fund, which focuses on small and medium-sized companies such as tech services firm Infosys and car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India. It has turned 1,000 into 2,079 over the past three years. Beware focusing on just one country, as that is more risky. Printing the Bank of England's new plastic fivers was not enough to boost profits at De La Rue in the first half of the year. The firm, which makes bank notes for various countries as well as passports and driving licenses, said underlying operating profit was 24million in the six months to November 30. Revenue was broadly flat at 189.5million in the period and the conclusion of a 30million contract saw reported profit fall by almost a third to 17.2million. De La Rue said banknote printing volumes were up 22 per cent, with 3.3billion notes made over the period, using some 5,300 tonnes of paper. Production of the new polymer 10 note is now underway and the firm said it had secured a second major customer for polymer banknotes too. Shares eased off 2 per cent, or 11.5p to 565p. A pile of new 5 notes at De La Rue's print works in Debden. The firm said underlying operating profit was 24m in the six months to November 30 The FTSE 100 edged up by 0.62 per cent, or 41.76 points to 6819.72, as investors awaited Chancellor Philip Hammond's first Autumn Statement. Commodity giants led the way once more as optimism about an Opec deal to cut production next week continues. Anglo American was the highest climber of the day, up 7.6 per cent, or 85.5p to 1208p, while BHP Billiton gained 4.9 per cent, or 62.5p to 1334p. DX Group soared as it announced a contract with Her Majesty's Passport Office. The parcels, mail and logistics company has been provisionally awarded a two-year contract to provide secure delivery services for the organisation. There is also the potential for the service to be extended by up to two years. It's a renewal of the contract, which analysts at Numis estimate netted the company around 20m in revenue in the year to June 16. Numis said it was 'unequivocal good news' as the contract is DX's largest. But the stock broker has its rating on the firm under review. It is concerned about challenging conditions within the sector, pricing and costs. STOCK WATCH - VICTORIA Flooring distributor Victoria said pre-tax profit more than doubled in the half year to October 1, up 115pc from a year ago to 8.4m. Revenue climbed 45pc to 153.4m and the firm said there was no shortage of acquisition opportunities. The share price of the business was reduced in September when the company did a five-for-one share split. That means each shareholder gets five shares for each one they hold so while the share price dropped from 1590p to 319p the value of investors holdings stayed the same. Its a strategy used when a firms share price looks high compared to rivals - shares become more affordable without reducing the market cap. Yesterday they finished flat at 296.5p. DX said it had a number of major new contracts due to start but added that there had been a delay in its planning appeal and revised application to develop a hub in the West Midlands. The application is under consideration by the local authority, with a decision expected mid-February. Shares surged 7 per cent, or 1.25p to 19p. Big Yellow Group said revenue climbed 9 per cent to 54.8million in the six months to September 30. The storage company, known for its brightly coloured containers, said adjusted pre-tax profit was up 13 per cent to 27million. The firm's occupancy rate climbed to 79 per cent, with an average rent of 26.15 per square foot, up 3 per cent from a year ago. Executive chairman Nicholas Vetch said it would 'not come as a surprise' to see demand fall in the next year or two, but pointed out that the company had been planning for that eventuality since 2008. Shares inched up 0.1 per cent, or 1p to 669p. Rotork rocketed as it reported that order intake for the third quarter was up 22.2 per cent on the same period a year ago. The firm, which makes components used in industrial valves, said it was investing in infrastructure and IT to improve its performance and good progress was being made on cost cutting. Revenue was 29 per cent higher between July 1 to October 30, compared to a year ago. Rotork said margins were lower than last year but the weak pound is expected to boost full-year profit by 10 per cent, with revenue for the year likely to be at the top end of expectations. Shares advanced 13.1 per cent, or 26.2p to 226.6p. Steel construction company Severfield advanced as it announced a 69 per cent increase in underlying pre-tax profit to 8.1million. The business, which built Westfield Shopping Centre, Leeds' First Direct arena and London Bridge station, said revenue climbed marginally to 118.2million in the half year to September 30. Severfield has undertaken more than 90 projects over that period and said its UK order book was worth 315million on November 1, its highest level in more than six years. Tech boost: IBM is to launch four new UK data centres BACKING BRITAIN IBM has become the latest US tech firm to commit to Britain by announcing the launch of four data centres. The multi-million-pound investment will increase the number of IBM data centres in the UK from two to six, with the next site set to open in Fareham, Hampshire at the end of December. ADULTS ONLY Profits at sex toy retailer Lovehoney have continued to increase. The Bath-based online firm saw profit improve 68 per cent to 5.1million in the year to March helped by sales of its Fifty Shades Of Grey range. In May, Lovehoney received the Queens Award for Enterprise in International Trade for outstanding growth in overseas sales. LLOYDS SALE The Government has reduced its stake in Lloyds Banking Group to less than 8 per cent following a share sale. UK Financial Investments, which manages the stake in Lloyds, cut its holding in the lender by one percentage point. It means the taxpayers stake in the bank now stands at 7.99 per cent, with more than 17billion being returned to government coffers since the lenders 20.3billion bailout. All proceeds from the sales will be used to reduce the national debt. STRONG BOND Adhesives and bonding products maker Scapa reported a 27 per cent rise in first half profits to 12.7million as it was helped by the weaker pound. The company, which operates across Europe, North America and Asia, also said revenue grew 13.5 per cent to 135.4million. Scapa revealed that full-year figures were likely to be ahead of expectations. STEPPING DOWN The founder of Made.com is stepping down after seven years to become an entrepreneur again. Ning Li will remain a majority shareholder at the luxury furniture business but is moving into an advisory role, naming the companys chief operating officer, Philippe Chainieux, as his successor. EARNINGS HIT Shares in insurance services company Charles Taylor tumbled more than 13 per cent after it warned earnings growth would be slower than expected. The warning came despite the company snapping up two closed-life insurance policies and a fund management unit from Zurich Insurance Group for 4million. RIDING WAVE Marine services giant James Fisher and Sons said business was strongly ahead of last year thanks to a post-Brexit fall in the pound and two acquisitions. Thomas Cook posted a fall in profits, but shares moved higher after the travel giant reinstated its dividend and highlighted improved bookings for the year ahead. The group said its underlying profits fell to 308million in the year to the end of September, down from 310million in 2015, after customer confidence was dented by a swathe of terror attacks across Europe and political instability in Turkey. However, the firm said the pound's tumble against the euro since June's Brexit vote and moves to shift from Turkey to alternative destinations such as the Canary Islands and long-haul destinations like Cape Town helped limit the blow. Brighter future: Shares in Thomas Cook were up nearly 7 per cent as it cheered investors by resuming its dividend payout after a five-year break, despite falling annual profits The full year profits fall was also cushioned by the news Thomas Cook will cough up its first dividend in five years - coming in at 0.5p per share for 2016. As a result, the travel firm's shares on the FTSE 250 index soared nearly 7 per cent higher in early trading, up or 5.1p to 78.7p. Danny Cox, at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'The results are pretty dire but a return to dividend paying and encouraging booking numbers for 2017 has helped push the shares higher in early trading. 'TUI are also up this morning suggesting a more positive outlook for package holidays after a difficult year for tourism.' In early morning trade, shares in FTSE 100-listed TUI were up 8p at 1,067p. Analysts also said the group's outlook for the year ahead was decent, although chief executive Peter Fankhauser remained cautious. He said: 'In what's been a difficult year for tourism, I'm pleased with the progress that we've made at Thomas Cook.' Upbeat: Thomas Cook CEO Peter Fankhauser said aside from the boost from the weaker pound, the firm had yet to see 'any noticeable impact' from the Brexit vote on trading Mr Frankhauser added: 'We've had an encouraging start to bookings for summer 2017 in our key markets, but it is early days.' He also made a plea ahead of today's Autumn Statement for the Government to cut air passenger duty on flights for UK passengers. The Thomas Cook boss said: 'APD is by far the highest in Europe and among the highest in the world. 'If the Government wants to help families, they should make it cheaper for them to enjoy a hard-earned holiday.' On current trading, Thomas Cook said winter bookings were 2 per cent higher than a year earlier, or 5 per cent ahead with the impact of Turkey stripped out. In the UK, bookings were also 2 per cent higher, or 4 per cent up excluding Turkey, with average selling prices up 1 per cent. Early-bird demand has already driven bookings higher across the group for next summer, with UK bookings up 2 per cent thanks to strong demand for holidays in Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Mexico and the Caribbean. The group said it is also taking steps to turn around trading at its German airline arm Condor, which it hopes will bear fruit in the second half of the current financial year. Geopolitical turmoil has been an ongoing concern for travel firms like Thomas Cook, which last year suffered from major cancellations in the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in Tunisia, Egypt and Paris. Back in July, Thomas Cook lowered its full year earnings guidance to around 300million when it released third quarter figures, having previously projected profits of between 310million and 335million. The company is now investing in a new raft of own-brand hotels to 'attract a new generation who might have thought a package holiday wasn't for them'. In a small hairdressers next to Lees Village Tea Shop in Greater Manchester, 50-year-old Gaynor Tynan is sitting in front of a mirror with her hair in foils. We don't know each other, but when she hears me mention the word 'bank' to the salon owner, she spins around in her chair with a fierce look in her eyes. 'You won't find anyone here who isn't annoyed about that bank branch closing,' says Gaynor, a nurse at the hospital in Oldham. 'I was talking to my husband about it the other night we just don't know how we'll cope.' Save our bank: Locals protest over the closure of the Barclays branch in Lees, Greater Manchester For Gaynor and the rest of Lees, Barclays' decision to close the branch opposite the hairdressers is a disaster, as it's the last bank in the village. When it closes for the final time on Friday, the nearest branch will be more than three miles away in Oldham. Banks have axed about 1,700 branches in the past five years. And 1,500 of these are in rural areas such as Lees all have been left with no bank at all. They claim this type of branch has to go, because people do not use them enough. The answer, say bank bosses, is to use online banking or a mobile phone to pay bills and check balances. That's all very well in their head office in London but, out in the sticks, the internet connection can be terrible. In Lees, the average broadband speed is two or three megabits per second (Mbps), compared to a UK average of 29 Mbps. As well as being painfully slow, the connection can cut out at any time no good if you're half way through an online banking transaction. As for mobile phones, there's barely enough signal as I wander out of the hairdressers to make a call, let alone check my emails. Lifelong resident Margaret Cheetham, 59, meets me at estate agents Wild & Griffiths. 'Broadband here is a nightmare,' she says. 'You're lucky if you get a strong enough signal to make it through an episode of something on Netflix.' Margaret uses the branch to bank cheques, make payments and change direct debits for herself and her employer daily. 'I don't understand how they can say the branch isn't used,' she adds. 'It's often packed I almost always have to queue.' Painfully slow: In Lees, the average broadband speed is two or three megabits per second (Mbps), compared to a UK average of 29 Mbps Referring to the two women who work there as 'the two Sues', she says: 'They know all the customers. It's good for the elderly they trust the Sues with their money.' This week, Prime Minister Theresa May pledged money for 'hyper-fast' broadband in towns and cities but that won't help rural areas such as Lees, where people need a better basic connection. While telecoms watchdog Ofcom is working with the Government to bring in a national minimum broadband speed of 10 Mbps, there is no sign of it happening soon. In the library, 49-year-old John Salt, who runs a computer repair shop, says he only opened a Barclays account because it was convenient. But from Friday, he'll have to shut the shop for an hour and travel to Oldham potentially losing business along the way if he wants change for the till. John says: 'A bank is the heart of the village it brings people to our high street and then they spend money with local businesses. 'They say we can bank online, but you can't physically bank cash online or get it out.' Elderly residents regularly pop in to ask John about slow internet speeds. Many are worried, too, about the rise of online scams. Back in the tea room, Steve Hewitt, councillor for Saddleworth West and Lees, says that he's had a dozen calls from older people who don't know how they'll manage without the bank. Steve says many are too nervous to use the internet and couldn't afford a computer and broadband bills anyway. And even those who are computer literate don't want to bank online. 'Residents rely on cash, bank branches and human beings. Our internet isn't good enough to expect anything else,' he says. The 50-year-old, who has lived in Lees for 18 years and works for trade union Unite, shows me a picture on his phone of three people queuing for the bank to open that morning. Each time that I pass the branch between 10am and 2pm, there are two or three customers inside. And a constant trickle of people go inside for cash when they find the ATM isn't working. There's one other machine in the village, outside the Co-op. But it's only open during shop hours, after it was pulled out of the wall by crooks late one night. Barclays had also planned to close the cash machine, but backtracked after receiving complaints. Nobody in Lees relishes using the Oldham branch. The 20-minute bus ride costs 4.80. For drivers, weekend parking is free, but costs 2 on weekdays. It's always free in Lees. And, instead of counters and cashiers, visitors to the Oldham branch are directed to machines to pay in cash and cheques. Builder Jack Jones, 65, says: 'The Oldham branch is frustrating because it's computerised the whole point of going into a bank branch is to speak to a person.' He already travels three miles to Lees from Mossley for banking. Customers can use Lees Post Office for transactions. But it was only saved from closure in 2008, and many fear it will not stay open. A Barclays spokeswoman says: 'Customer usage at the Lees branch has significantly declined, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to close it. 'We held two Tea And Teach sessions [computer classes] in the local library in Lees and there was no problem accessing the internet and none of the customers who attended raised internet speed as an issue. 'We've also had meetings with the local MP and councillor and, again, this wasn't raised.' Adrian Alexander, 61, also a local councillor for Saddleworth West and Lees, looks sad as we sit in the Village Tea Room, watching locals going about their business. 'We have worked so hard to regenerate the village, planting flowers and filling empty shops,' he says. 'Now our last bank has pulled out of the village, it's threatening to undo all our hard work. But we won't give up.' Support: Baroness Bakewell has tabled an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill MPs, peers, consumer groups and hundreds of Money Mail readers have backed our campaign to allow five million pensioners to cash in their annuities. Over the past week, we have been bombarded with letters and emails of support, urging the Government to reconsider its surprise U-turn. And, crucially, the Liberal Democrats have taken steps to force the Government 'to think again'. Baroness Bakewell, the Lib Dem spokeswoman for pensions, has tabled an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill calling on the Treasury to honour its commitment to let people sell their annuities. The Government will not be allowed to 'get away' with abandoning pensioners at the 11th hour, she says. 'The Conservative Party told pensioners locked in low-value annuities they would help them access their money. 'It's not good enough to simply say: 'It's too complicated' and hope people forget.' The Pension Schemes Bill, which is currently being considered in the House of Lords, was published in October and is expected to receive Royal Assent next year. Money Mail's Unlock Our Pensions campaign calls for new laws to allow savers to cash in any annuity, regardless of size. Chancellor Philip Hammond has scrapped almost all so-called salary sacrifice schemes in the Autumn Statement. The crackdown on more frivolous uses of the loophole, such as smartphone and gym contracts, cars and even PlayStation consoles will raise the Treasury 260million a year by 2021. Specific benefits deemed more worthy, like pension saving and advice, childcare, commuter bicycles and low-emission cars, will still be allowed. 'Salary sacrifice' allows employers and their staff to reduce their National Insurance payments legally, through workers taking pay cuts on their pre-tax income in exchange for the perks. Worker perk: 'Salary sacrifice' allows employers and their staff to reduce their National Insurance payments legally Salary sacrifice was never an official Government policy involving a 'giveaway' to workers. It has grown up ad hoc over the past 20 years as a result of employers looking for ways to cut their NI bill and co-opting their workers into the process. Treasury sources today said it had grown by 30 per cent since 2010. But a cash-strapped Government now loses an estimated 5billion a year in NI payments and the cost is escalating, so it has been expected to call a halt to the practice for some time. Former Chancellor George Osborne announced a probe in a previous Budget. There are currently no limitations on the uses of salary sacrifice, and the recent HMRC consultation document proposed banning some perks rather than dismantling the entire system. However, it flagged concerns that salary sacrifice benefits are distributed unfairly across the workforce. Large employers are more likely than small ones to offer salary sacrifice, because their size makes it easier to handle the administration and achieve bigger reductions to their NI bill. For people using salary sacrifice to boost their pensions - a practice which will continue - there is an extra benefit for middle earners that lower and higher earners don't get. Pension tax relief means you get a rebate on the tax you pay on contributions deducted from your salary. But you don't get any rebate on the NI taken from pension contributions, so salary sacrifice is a valuable way of getting something back. But this helps middle income workers the most, because low-paid workers do not pay National Insurance in the first place, and NI is reduced on earnings above a certain level. In the current 2016-17 tax year, the main NI threshold is 155 a week or 8,060 a year. You pay 12 per cent on anything earned between 8,060 and 43,000, and 2 per cent on anything above that. Read more here. Trevor Clark, operations director of chartered financial planner Rutherford Wilkinson said: 'Whilst the Chancellor has announced restrictions to the usage of salary sacrifice, the core schemes of pension contributions, child care and cycle to work have survived which is positive, not negative, news. 'These are key benefits that can truly make a difference to someones life, and at the same time save on both the employees and employers National Insurance bill. 'Surely it was never the intention of any government to allow tax relief on excessive benefits in kind provided by employers and this just mops that up without withdrawing its use for the more important schemes which was threatened at one stage.' Addressing fire safety Living in San Diego County, the threat of fires is constant, that is why I have made fire safety one... Supporting animals As a trained Project Wildlife Native Songbird Rehabilitator, my experience raising orphaned and injured songbirds and returning them to the... MBABANE A Nedbank Swaziland Limited Operations Manager has been dismissed for engaging in money lending activities at work. Glory Mkhwanazi, who occupied the position of Operations Manager at the Matsapha branch before being transferred to Manzini, was found guilty of violating the conflict of interest policy which prohibits employees of the bank from carrying out business in competition with their employer. She was also found guilty of providing false information about transactions in her account. Mkhwanazi was dismissed with another employee, Bertha Vilakati, who was based in the head office while Robert Masilela was cautioned. The former employee said she was approached by Nonhlanhla Mkhonta and Masilela who were based at the head office for financial assistance. Mkhonta required a sum of E1 500 after electricity was disconnected at her residence due to default in payment. Masilela requested money amounting to E10 000 for university fees for his two children who were enrolled at the University of Swaziland. Interest on both loans was charged at E300 and E4 000, respectively. Mkhwanazi said she acted as the middleperson between Vilakati, Mkhonta and Masilela. However, a trail of the money transfers showed that Mkhwanazi made a transfer to Mkhonta before she even received the money from Bertha. When the loan amounts were repaid, some of the money would be remitted to Bertha by Mkhwanazi. The former operations manager conceded that the loan transactions between the two were in contravention of the banks policies and as such was wrong. She justified her involvement by pointing out that at the time, she was not a custodian of the policy and she was not aware of it since this was before her promotion to the managerial position. MBABANE The Royal Swaziland Police (RSP) Service terrorised foreign Muslims who had come to attend the graduation and Jasla Ceremony. According to Ezulwini Islamic Centres Imam, Feroz Ismail, guests from different parts of the continent had come to Swaziland to take part in the occasion. Our esteemed guests who had arrived for the graduation and Jasla Ceremony were abused while in the country. They informed me that they were terrorised by the police while visiting some tourist attraction areas including the glass and candle factory, said Ismail. The visibly unhappy Ismail added that the police demanded that the visitors produce their passports and other documents required for visitors to be in the country. The imam said their visitors were not aware that there were harsh rules regarding the entry of Asians in the country and had left their documents in safes at the hotels at which they were booked while in the country. They were ferried in police vehicles to their hotel rooms as the officers demanded that they immediately produce documents which proved that they were in the country legally, Ismail claimed. Upon producing the required documents, the imam said the police then let them off the hook but made it clear that the experience left their visitors and the entire Muslim community unhappy. It is imperative that the issue be addressed in the public domain as the police officers carried out the operation in a manner that can bring disrepute to the country, said Ismail. MATSAMO Illicit goods worth about E1 million that were being transported from the country into South Africa were busted by the neighbouring statess officials at the Matsamo Border Gate last Friday. As a result, three Swazi nationals were reportedly arrested on the South African side of the border and subsequently charged for possession of the illicit goods. Sisonke Maxwell Mabuza (30), Nkosingiphile Esau Dludlu (29) and Themba Goodwill Dlamini (36) were arrested last Friday by members of the Hawks (an independent Investigation Unit of the South African Police Service) in Nelspruit and Jeppes Reef Border Post, also known as Matsamo on the local side. According to the arresting officers, the trio were each driving their own trucks loaded with boxes of illicit goods including Adidas shoes, different kinds of clothes including T-shirts and cosmetics. The major seizure by the South African Hawks has been described by authorities as an effort to stop the smuggling of goods in and out of the neighbouring country. The suspects were apparently transporting the goods from the country to the Republic of South Africa. They were immediately arrested upon their arrival at the Jeppes Reef (Matsamo) Border Post, explained Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, spokesperson of the Hawks in South Africas Mpumalanga Province. Information gathered was that Hawks officers stopped the trucks for inspection at the South African side of the border post upon entry, and a subsequent search by the officers led to the huge bust. MBABANE There was panic and horror as a RSSC employee had a shifting spanner lodged into his head for hours while doctors worked tirelessly to remove it. The incident occurred at 8:15am yesterday at the Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporations (RSSC) Mhlume Factory. The man, whose name was not ascertained, was cleaning machinery in the factory when the incident occurred. According to sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the shifting spanner was eventually removed from the mans head after 3pm. A helmet, also referred to as a hard hat, which was worn by the worker, failed to prevent the spanner he had been working with from hitting and further lodging into his head. RSSCs Group Public Affairs Manager Sifiso Nyembe, in a statement, said the man had just used the spanner to affix a cable to the machine and latter started the motor to test it. He said that was when the shifting spanner he had just used was catapulted and landed on his helmet, penetrated it and went into his head. Another source, who is also employed by the company, said emergency services were called to the scene immediately after the spanner was lodged on the mans head. He said they did not see much as all this occurred within a short space of time. By Suzanne Parker THE BUND 100-30 Queens Blvd. Forest Hills, NY 11375 bundo n67.com When a new restaurant opens, we usually give them a little time to settle in before we subject them to our scrutiny. We broke our own rule with The Bund because we were so excited that a new sit-down Chinese restaurant was opening in our very own nabe. We rocketed over on opening night, prepared to cut them some slack, it being their maiden voyage, but it turned out we didnt have to. There was none of the confusion or clumsiness that often occurs during a restaurants early days. We got lucky. The Bunds name pays homage to Shanghais cosmopolitan business district, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River in the eastern part of the citys Huangpu District. David K, the restaurants founder is a Shanghai native who immigrated to Queens in the 1980s. He also has a Forest Hills connection as an alumnus of Forest Hills High. Back in Shanghai, David Ks aunt known as Madam Fu, operates three celebrated restaurants serving modern Shanghainese cuisine. David sought to replicate that experience, bringing over two chefs from his aunts operation to run his kitchen. He underscored the theme by decorating the space with artwork imported from Shanghai depicting scenes of the Bund district. We tried to zero in on dishes that sounded the most authentically Shanghainese, although thats a little tricky. We were somewhat nonplussed not to find xiaolongbao, those iconic Shanghainese dumplings with the soup inside, on the menu. I want to make this a relaxing sit-down restaurant. Those are eaten like fast food, David K explained. Having long been one of the most cosmopolitan cities of China, Shanghais cuisine has absorbed the influences of other regions as well as those of the West. That said, typical Shanghainese dishes tend to have a soy sauce base, a little sweetness, sometimes paired with the sour, and seldom more than mild heat. From the appetizers, we went with Classic Shanghainese Duck in brown sauce, Old Shanghai Smoked Fish, and an order of Garlic Cucumber that the owner comped us. The duck was meaty and flavorful with more than a passing resemblance to drunken chicken. The half duck would have made an ample entree. The smoked fish derived its flavor more from spicing than smoke. The fish is hacked up bones and all, so that if you are fussy about removing any extraneous bits, you will have your work cut out for you. Still, the tastiness is a good payback for the effort. Garlic cucumber is a great refresher, especially for die-hard garlic lovers. The outsized Lions Head Meatballs, with their traditional Shanghai cabbage manes, were uncommonly light and fluffy. Shanghainese Pork Belly Stew, sprinkled with pine nuts, was a bit of an overlap with the meatballs, the sauces of the two dishes being rather similarboth with a definite dose of sugar in them. Whole Fish with the Bund special sauce was elegantly done with a hint of heat. Crabmeat with Beancurd was a silky, comfort food counterpoint to our other choices. Taken individually, there was not a misstep in any of our choices. If we had any reservations, it was that there was a strong similarity in the flavors of the sauces of most of the dishes we sampled. We thought perhaps we didnt choose well, so we returned the next day to try a couple more items. On David Ks recommendation, we ordered the Jumbo Shrimp with Wasabi sauce. The zaftig shrimp were expertly fried, and slathered with a mayonnaise based sauce that hinted of wasabi. It was a real crowd pleaser. We also tried Shredded Pork with Rice cake. It was OK, but there was that same brown sauce again. So the lesson is check which dishes come in brown sauce, and dont order too many. Do that, and youll have an outstanding meal. The Bottom Line The Bund is a welcome new addition to Forest Hills restaurant lineup. Its menu is a mashup of authentic Shanghainese dishes with enough American Chinese restaurant fare included that if someone in your party is determined not to expand their culinary horizons, they can stick with the familiar. But, of course, they would be missing an opportunity to enjoy a delicious cuisine prepared by a kitchen that knows how to do it right. We suspect that there is more to enjoy here than weve thus far explored, and will definitely be back. Times' Game of the Week Preview: No. 7 Beaver Area vs. No. 10 Deer Lakes Beaver enters the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs riding high after closing the regular season strong. Up next: Deer Lakes for had coach Cort Rowse's Bobcats. OPENINGS Albany Institute of History & Art, 125 Washington Ave., Albany. "Home for the Holidays." Free admission weekend. http://www.albanyinstitute.org A variety of holiday-themed programs and events will be held. Irish American Heritage Museum, 370 Broadway, Albany. "Ulysses S. Grant and the Irish." 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. 427-1916. Join Ben Kemp, outreach coordinator at Grant's Cottage, for a look at Grant and his relationship with the Irish. Kemp will provide a concise history of the Irish in the Civil Wa,r with an emphasis on the Irish Brigade. Also, he will explore Grant's trip to Ireland in 1879, after his presidency. University Art Museum, University at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany. "Ecopoetics Today: A Reading and Discussion with Evelyn Reilly and James Sherry." 7 p.m. Tuesday. Free. http://www.albany.edu Reilly's books "Styrofoam" (2009) and "Apocalypso" (2012) attempt to manifest a poetics of the Anthropocene. Sherry is the author of 12 books of poetry and prose. He has been writing about language and environment since the late 1980s, publishing "Our Nuclear Heritage" (1991) and "Oops! Environmental Poetics" (2014) in a effort to link humanity and nature as a single complex entity. GALLERIES Annex Gallery, Albany International Airport. "Schoharie County Quilt Barn Trail." http://www.albanyairport.com/art Exhibition of photographs by Debra Bechtold documents a selection of the 110 quilt block paintings located throughout Schoharie County. Through Dec. 20. Art de Cure, Albany Medical Center: The Endocrine Group Gallery. 1365 Washington Avenue, Suite 300, Albany. "Inspired by Nature." http://www.artdecure.org The show features the original work of 50 area artists working in oil, acrylics, mixed media, pastel, watercolor and photography. Proceeds benefit the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Through Dec. 30. ArtSpace, 10 Maple St., Hudson Falls. "Luna Park: A State of Mind." 321-9652 Marc Shanker's latest series of paintings and drawings of Coney Island. Through Jan. 15. Big Eye Gallery, 270 County Route 405, South Westerlo. Holiday Show. 966-5833. The show will feature one-of-a-kind gifts, ceramics, jewelry, photography and paintings by a variety of artists including award-winning nature photographer Paul Rappleyea, glass artist Cathy Feaster, fabric artist K. Velis Turan, painter Virginia Cantarella, sculpture by Leslie Yolen and Lois Binetsky, and jewelry by Hope Konecny. Open 4-7 p.m. Fridays; 1-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; by appointment. Castrucci Gallery, Peter Irving Wold Center at Union College. "Concinnitas." 388-8360. A portfolio of 10 fine-art aquatint prints featuring equations, expressions or formulas transcribed by 10 notable mathematicians and physicists, in response to the prompt to record their "most beautiful mathematical expression." Chestertown Gallery, 6378 State Route 9, Chestertown. North Country Arts' "Holiday Expressions." Free. http://www.northcountryarts.org The exhibit will display the work of local/regional artists and artisans. Through Jan. 7. Fenimore Gallery at Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady. "Oakroom Artists 60th Anniversary Exhibition." Free. http://www.oakroomartists.wordpress.com Through Jan. 5. The Laffer Gallery, 96 Broad St., Schuylerville. "Nurture Nature." 695-3181. Featuring Mikel Wintermantel, Karen Elem, Leslie Peck, Nancy Magnell, Takeyce Walter, Audrie Sturman, Celeste Susany, Kate Edwards and David Hill. Through Dec. 31. Mandeville Gallery, Union College, 807 Union St., Schenectady. "Slippery Slope." Georgie Friedman created a site-specific video installation exclusively for the atrium area of the Peter Irving Wold Center. Through November. Also, "Charles Steckler: Contrary to What Sometimes Happens." Steckler is a draftsman, stage designer and collage and diorama artist. He combines many different means of manipulating materials, such as assemblage, painting, printmaking and photography to create his art. Schick Art Gallery, Skidmore College, 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs. "Eclectic Earth." 580-5049. Works by 13 contemporary ceramics artists: Jill Allen, Linda Cordell, Bryan Czibesz, Melody Ellis, Raymon Elozua, Thaddeus Erdahl, Gail Heidel, Matt Kelleher, Steven Montgomery, Tim Rowan, Hide Sadohara, Jane Shellenbarger and Colleen Toledano. Through Dec. 8. Teaching Gallery, Hudson Valley Community College, 80 Vandenburgh Ave., Troy. Fine Arts and Digital Media Faculty Exhibit. Participating artists are: Justin Baker, photography; Milt Connors, photography; Tara Fracalossi, photography; Kyra Garrigue, video; Richard Garrison, painting; Benj Gleeksman, graphic design; Monica Bill Hughes, painting; William Jaeger, photography; Thomas Lail, collage; Jean O'Malley, photography; Julie Pamkowski, photography; Ryan Parr, painting; G.G. Roberts, painting; Linda Ryder, prints; Jason Kates van Staveren, photography, and Jacqueline Weaver, installation. Through Dec. 3. Thompson Giroux Gallery, 57 Main St., Chatham. "En Masse III." 392-3336. A wide selection of contemporary work from more than 40 artists. Through Jan. 8. MUSEUMS Albany Institute of History & Art, 125 Washington Ave., Albany. "The Art of Seating." American chair designs from the early 19th century to the present day. The chair is experienced not only as a functional item, but as sculpture the chair as art. Through Dec. 31. Also, "Spotlight: Alexander Hamilton." The exhibition highlights Hamilton's connections to Albany through personal papers, family heirlooms, historic preservation efforts and a portrait painted by Albany's Ezra Ames (1768-1836). Also, "Rock and Roll Icons: Photographs by Patrick Harbron." An exhibition taken from Harbron's body of concert and portrait photography of influential musicians and groups of the 1970s and 1980s, captured at pivotal moments in their careers. Through Feb. 12. American Italian Heritage Museum, 1227 Central Ave., Albany. "Stepping Into the World of the Italian Arts." 435-1979. An interactive exhibit that displays works of contemporary Italian-American artists working in the ancient and traditional artforms of Italy. The exhibit includes title painting, buon fresco, panel painting, iconography, gilding, mosaic oil, sculpture and intaglio. Ends Wednesday. The Arkell Museum at Canajoharie, 2 Erie Blvd., Canajoharie. http://www.arkellmuseum.org ''The Wizards of Pop: Sabuda & Reinhart.'' The exhibition features the work of pop-up book creators Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. Through Dec. 30. Also, ''Looking Backwards: The Politics and Art of Judge Magazine.'' http://www.arkellmuseum.org Political cartoons from the 19th century. Through Dec. 30. The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs. "A More Perfect Union." The exhibit foregrounds the museum as town square for the greater Skidmore and Capital Region communities. Through Jan. 1. Also, Elevator Music 31 "Political Echo Chamber." American political advertisements from the emergence of television in the mid-20th century. Also, "Sixfold Symmetry: Pattern in Art and Science." Bringing together contemporary and historical artworks, artifacts and material culture from around the world, the showcase looks at why humans discern, design and desire pattern. Through March 12. The Hyde Collection, 161 Warren St., Glens Falls. "Transforming The Hyde: The Feibes & Schmitt Gift." http://www.hydecollection.org Selections from the recent gift of modern art from the collection of Werner Feibes and the late James Schmitt. Through Dec. 16. Also, 80th annual Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region exhibition. Michael Oatman has created an art experience that includes 126 works from 106 artists that stretch the boundaries of the regional art show and features video, collage, mixed media, photography, oil, gauche, sculpture, watercolor and intervention works. Through Dec. 31. Irish American Heritage Museum, 370 Broadway, Albany. "Scenes of Ireland." 427-1916. Paintings from local artists consisting of landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, still lifes, interiors and portraits. MASS MoCA, 87 Marshall St., North Adams, Mass. ''Explode Every Day: An Inquiry into the Phenomena of Wonder.'' http://www.massmoca.org Also, "Sarah Crowner: Beetle in the Leaves." Also, "Alex Da Corte: Free Roses." Also, "Here Comes the Sun." Colombian-born, Miami-based artist Federico Uribe's magical, colorful, sculptural menagerie of animals. Chicago-based artist Nick Cave wraps the Kidspace ArtBar in a graphic Kaleidoscopic Playground, a participatory art-making lab inviting visitors to explore their senses, emotions and self. Also, "The Shape of Things: Photographs from Robert B. Menschel." A compact history of photography, from its inception to the early 21st century, in 100 images. Through May 7. Norman Rockwell Museum, 9 Route 183, Stockbridge, Mass. 413-298-4100. ''Norman Rockwell's 323 Saturday Evening Post Covers.'' Exhibition of original cover tearsheets features each of Rockwell's illustrations for the publication, created between 1916 and 1963. Also, ''Presidents, Politics, and the Pen: The Influential Art of Thomas Nast.'' The exhibit features more than 30 editorial cartoons by the "Father of the American Cartoon," published by the provocative Harper's Weekly between 1864 and 1884. Through Dec. 4. Also, ''Hanna-Barbera: The Architects of Saturday Morning.'' The exhibit provides a glimpse of the animation powerhouse. Through May 29. Red Door Studio and Gallery, 408 Fulton St., Troy. Gallery Opening. Free. View the work and studio space of six local artists. Through Dec. 31. Schick Art Gallery, Skidmore College, 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs. "Eclectic Earth." http://www.skidmore.edu/schick An exhibition of sculptural and functional ceramic works by thirteen contemporary artists. The exhibition is curated by Skidmore Associate Professor of Ceramics Matthew Wilt, with an eye to exposing students to a wide range of techniques, concepts, and aesthetic visions. State Museum, 222 Madison Ave., Albany. "The People's Art: Selections from the Empire State Plaza Art Collection." The collection has been heralded as one of the greatest of modern American art in any single public site. This exhibit features 20 works by 17 artists and includes paintings and sculpture by modern masters such as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Franz Kline, David Smith and Alexander Calder. Through Sept. 3, 2017. Also, "Hudson Valley Ruins." Photography and architecture exhibition based on the work of Robert Yasinsac and Thomas Rinaldi, who photograph the region's forgotten cultural treasures. Through Dec. 31. Also, "Path to Statehood: New York's Constitutions and the U.S. Constitution." New York has had four constitutions, adopted in 1777, 1821, 1846 and 1894. The manuscript texts of New York's constitutions are "treasure" documents carefully preserved by the State Archives. Through Monday. University Art Museum, University at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany. "Future Perfect: Picturing the Anthropocene." 442-4035 or http://www.albany.edu/museum Explores our conflicted relationship to the natural world. Through Dec. 10. EXHIBIT SPACES Athens Cultural Center, 24 Second St., Athens. "Exploring the Tarot." An exhibition of 23 rugs created by a group of fiber artists. Ends Sunday. Marvin Library Learning Commons, Hudson Valley Community College, Vandenburgh Avenue, Troy. "Pride of Our Nation ... Pride of Our College." The exhibition, a collaborative effort by employees from several departments, is an ever-expanding collection of photographs and memorabilia of veterans and active military service members with a connection to the college. Through Dec. 7. Moon & River Cafe, 115 S. Ferry St., Schenectady. Works by Oscar Alberto Bogran. Through Nov. 30. Uncommon Grounds, 1235 Western Ave., Albany. "Faces and Things." Drawings and paintings by Barbara King. Ends Sunday. PHILIP KAMRASS TMTF and Overtones: WEQX will welcome the Moth & the Flame and Rustic Overtones to Jupiter Hall at Lucky Strike Social in December. LA-Based the Moth & the Flame will perform a free concert on Thursday, Dec. 1. The seven-piece, horn-heavy alt-rockers Rustic Overtones are slated to perform on Thursday, Dec. 22. That show will cost you $10. Phantogram homecoming: Phantogram, one of the most successful musical acts to emerge from the Capital Region ever, will perform at Upstate Concert Hall on Saturday, Jan. 14, on the heels of its most recent album, "Three." Hailing from Greenwich, Washington County, the duo Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel founded the electro rock/dream pop duo in 2007 and have been on a straight shot to stardom since. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MUSIC CLASSICAL Capital Trio, University at Albany Performing Arts Center, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. $4-$8. Pianist Duncan Cumming, violinist Hilary Cumming and cellist len Dikener perform works of Haydn, Schubert and others in their 10th year as chamber ensemble-in-residence. Jackie Evancho, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, 32 Second St., Troy. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. http://www.troymusicalhall.org The young soprano was runner-up on "America's Got Talent." Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra, Doctorow Center for the Arts, Hunter. 8 p.m. Saturday. $7-$30. The orchestra presents works by Vivaldi, Wagner, Finzi, Grieg and Mendelssohn. POP, ROCK, FOLK, COUNTRY AND JAZZ Mike Gordon, The Egg Performing Arts Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany. 8 p.m. Saturday. http://www.theegg.org Phish bassist Mike Gordon returns to the road with his band this fall, featuring guitarist Scott Murawski, organ and synth-master Robert Walter, sharp-shooter John Kimock on drums and percussion/n'goni/programmer Craig Myers. Rev Tor's Last Waltz Live, Colonial Theatre. 8 p.m., Friday. $27.50-$50. https://www.facebook.com/events/351494418515815 An all-star cast of Berkshire area musicians celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Band's classic 1978 concert film "The Last Waltz." Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Times Union Center, 51 S. Pearl St., Albany. 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The TSO return with their holiday concert with a rockin' twist. DANCE PARTICIPATORY Burnt Hills Contradance, Calvary Episcopal Church, 85 Lake Hill Road, Burnt Hills. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $7-$11. http://www.danceflurry.org An evening of contras, circles, squares and waltzes. Live music with different bands and callers. All dances (except waltzes) taught and called. Beginners welcome (instruction session at 7:10 p.m.). No need to bring a partner. Please bring a pair of shoes with clean, non-marking soles for dancing. STAGE "A Christmas Carol," Palace Theatre, 19 Clinton Ave., Albany. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. http://www.palacealbany.com Presented by the Nebraska Theatre Caravan. "Camelot," Capital Repertory Theatre, 11 N. Pearl St., Albany. 8 p.m. Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday. http://www http://capitalrep.org. The four-time Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of the legendary King Arthur, who rules his kingdom with new ideals, bringing peace to a troubled land. Candid Camera presents 8 Decades of Smiles! with Peter Funt, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle St., Great Barrington. 7:30 p.m. Friday. http://www.mahaiwe.org Funt's stage comedy is blended with clips, quips and behind-the-scenes tales from the show's funniest moments. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady. 1:30 and 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. http://www.proctors.org Fifteen-year-old Christopher has an extraordinary brain; he is exceptionally intelligent but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. When he falls under suspicion for killing his neighbor's dog, he sets out to identify the true culprit. "Farragut North," Curtain Call Theatre, 210 Old Loudon Road, Latham. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday. $24. http://www.curtaincalltheatre.com It's election season, and a press secretary finds his career as the silver-tongued spinmaster for a presidential candidate jeopardized by one late-night phone call. "The Orphan Sea," Skidmore College, Skidmore Theatre, 815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs. 8 p.m. Wednesday. $8-$12. 580-5439. Multilingual premiere engages the audience on a metatheatrical journey across waters, time and geographies of space using installations of song, poetry, film and dance. "The Turn of the Scrooge," The Ghent Playhouse, 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent. 8 p.m. Friday. $10-$20. http://www.ghentplayhouse.org Spend time with all the familiar characters and maybe a few new ones as The Loons return with their own zany spin on the classic holiday tale, "A Christmas Carol," with another original British-American Panto. COMEDY Pretty Much the Best Comedy Show: Tim Dillon, Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady. 8 p.m. Saturday. http://www.proctors.org New York City-based comedian and writer Dillon headlines the event. WORDS & IDEAS The 28th Annual "Day of Poet" Poetry Contest and Open-Mic, William K. Sanford Town Library, 629 Albany Shaker Road, Colonie. 10 a.m. Saturday. Free. http://www.colonielibrary.org or 316-1387. Open mic followed by contest consisting of two rounds of poetry by each contestant. Poets may present up to four minutes of poetry in each round. All work must be original. Garth Risk Hallberg, University at Albany, Page Hall, 135 Western Ave., Albany. 8 p.m. Tuesday. http://www.albany.edu Hallberg is the author of the national bestseller "City on Fire"(2015), his sweeping debut novel about New York City in the 1970s, where the lives of the wealthy, punks, artists, cops, and runaway teens collide. Evelyn Reilly and James Sherry, University Art Museum, University at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany. 7 p.m. Tuesday. Free. http://www.albany.edu/museum "Ecopoetics Today": A reading and discussion. Reilly's books "Styrofoam" (2009) and "Apocalypso" (2012). Sherry is the author of 12 books of poetry and prose. He has been writing about language and environment since the late 1980s, publishing "Our Nuclear Heritage" (1991) and "Oops! Environmental Poetics (2014). His latest is "Entangled Book" (2016). "Mapping David Vaughn's New York," William K. Sanford Town Library, 629 Albany Shaker Road, Colonie. 2 p.m. Sunday. Free. www.colonielibrary.org David Vaughn was an Irish immigrant who came to Albany in the late 1840s and soon became nationally recognized not only for his talent in drafting maps and plans but also for his keen observations. Presented by Craig Williams, recently retired as a senior historian at the State Museum. Historical Society of the Town of Colonie. Laurie Frey, William K. Sanford Town Library, 629 Albany Shaker Road, Colonie. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Free. http://www.colonielibrary.org The Colonie author discusses her book about autism titled, "My Puzzled Angel: A Mom's Journey with Autism." "Ulysses S. Grant and the Irish," Irish American Heritage Museum, 370 Broadway, Albany. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Ben Kemp, outreach coordinator at Grant's Cottage, looks at Grant and his relationship with the Irish, including history of the Irish in the Civil War and Grant's trip to Ireland in 1879. Second Helpings features condensed versions of the restaurant reviews that run in the Sunday Unwind section. On Sundays, Order Up reviews of inexpensive eateries runs every other week, alternating with Matters of Taste restaurant reviews. In Preview, we bring you tasty selections from both to help you plan. Chester's Smokehouse, 62 Vandenburgh Ave., Troy, 244-5329, www.chesterssmokehouse.com Cuisine: Authentic, old-world Polish cuisine based on smoked sausages, stuffed cabbage leaves, pierogies, and smoked meats from Chester's Smokehouse and Deli in Albany. Ambience: Counter service, no-frills, family-friendly dining in a former Pizza Hut that retains much of its original charm and is kept at a challengingly chilly temperature. Price: $-$$$ Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, closed Monday. (A buffet lunch will be offered from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday later this summer.) More Information Cost control Price ratings for inexpensive eateries based on average of entree costs: $: $9.95 and less $$: $9.95-$15.95 $$$: $15.95 and higher See More Collapse The City Beer Hall, 42 Howard St., Albany, 449-2337, thecitybeerhall.com. Cuisine: Gastropub fare with house-made charcuterie and pickle boards, global-fusion entrees and shareable small plates. Ambience: American craft beer hall, gastropub and music venue in a historic downtown Albany building. Inclusive crowd, though event nights attract core demographics. Calendar online. Price: $-$$$. Hours: Lunch, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday; dinner, 5 to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday; late-night menu, 10 p.m. to midnight Monday to Saturday; brunch, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Fish at 30 Lake, 30 Lake Ave., Saratoga Springs, 539-3473, www.fishat30lake.com Cuisine: Fresh fish with East-West influences, excellent seafood and raw bar and recommended signature burger. Fun creative flourishes go beyond oft-repeated trends. The ricotta gnudi are not to be missed. Ambience: Casual, stylish, open-plan space. The high-energy bar and dining crowds raising room volume to a challenging level. Price: $$$. Hours: Bar: Open daily at 3 p.m. (bar menu available). Restaurant: 5 to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Grazin', 717 Warren St. Hudson, 822-9323, www.grazinburger.com Cuisine: Grass-fed burgers, artisanal sausages and Sunday brunch featuring Grazin' Angus Acres meats, eggs and home-style pancakes. Old-fashioned house-mixed sodas, selection of Chatham Brewing beers (tap and cans) and wines from Tousey Winery. Ambience: Classic casual, family-style American diner. Price: $-$$$. Hours: Noon to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday, noon to 9:30 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m Sunday. The Hollow Bar & Kitchen, 79 N. Pearl St., Albany, 426-8550, www.thehollowalbany.com Cuisine: Mix of burgers and bar standards, a strong vegetarian showing and a farm-fresh dining menu with creative sparks. Catering available. Ambience: Varies by time of day. Popular barroom with TVs, live music room and pool table. Outdoor patio and a small pleasant dining space in exposed brick and wood with tabletop fresh flowers. Price: $-$$$. Hours: 5 p.m. till late Monday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. till late Tuesday to Friday, closed Sunday. Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., happy hour 4 to 7 p.m., dinner from 5 p.m. Lake Local, 550 Union Ave., Saratoga Springs, 886-1373, www.lakelocalsaratoga.com Cuisine: Freshly made burgers, fish sandwiches and salads with eclectic snack foods from Mexican street corn to curried chicken salad and flatbread pizza. This is pub fare from The Local with a heavier lakeside focus on fish. Full bar featuring cocktails and half dozen draft beers, some regional, surprisingly none local. Ambience: Seasonal, marina casual lakeside bar and restaurant with a beachy, contemporary style. Family friendly, bar-focused. Live music Tuesdays and weekends. Price: $-$$$. Hours 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Open seasonally from May to October/November. The Inn at Erlowest, 3178 Lake Shore Drive, Lake George, 668-5928, theinnaterlowest.com. Food: American cuisine driven by colorful plating, local proteins and seasonal farm produce. Classics given creative modernist touches. Weekly changing chef's menu sometimes misses key ingredients. Ambience: Aging classic, slightly stuffy formal dining rooms and casual patio with outdoor fireplace. Prices: $$$. Hours: Restaurant: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. daily. Bar menu: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. daily. Breakfast: 7 to 10:30 a.m. in summer, 8 to 10:30 a.m. in winter. John Andrews: A Farmhouse Restaurant, 224 Hillsdale Road (Route 23), South Egremont, Mass., 413-528-3469, www.johnandrewsrestaurant.com Cuisine: Fantastic, farm-driven menu with simple styling and inspired flavor combinations. Impressive quality ingredients and some notable wines. Ambience: Warm and friendly in chillier months, with a busy rear patio in summer. Price: $$. Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Wednesday. Kraverie, 78 Beekman St., Saratoga Springs, 450-7423, www.kraveriesaratoga.com Cuisine: Mex-Asian food truck fare and French crepes with wine, cider and draft beer. Expanded menu and brunch coming in early 2017. Ambience: Casual fast food and bar with an edgy, youthful vintage rock theme. Price: $-$$ Hours: 4:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 4:30 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday. Maharaja, 10 Wolf Road, Colonie, 599-0571, www.maharajaofalbany.com Cuisine: Wide selection of largely northern Indian cuisine interspersed with regional variations from the palace to the street. Ambience: Shiny copper lighting, tin ceilings, colorful art work creates a warmly inviting, fine dining interior. Price: $-$$$. Hours: 4:30 to 10 p.m. Monday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. (Weekend premium buffet is $14.95) Mr. Pio Pio, 160 Quail St., Albany, 463-2800, www.mrpiopio.com Cuisine: Traditional dishes of Ecuador and Colombia, heavy on meat options and characterized by fresh, bold, authentic preparations and flavors. No liquor license. Ambience: Small, casual, welcoming storefront with a handful of tables. Price: $-$$$ Hours: Opens daily at 11:30 a.m.; kitchen open until 9 p.m. Sunday, 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; delivery orders stop about an hour earlier. Morton's The Steakhouse, Saratoga Casino Hotel, 342 Jefferson St., Saratoga Springs, 682-5999, www.mortons.com and www.saratogacasino.com Cuisine: High-quality prime steak, chops and seafood anchor high-end steakhouse standards on an a-la-carte menu. Prices can add up. Ambience: Sharply sleek, formal dining room befitting high-rollers. Slightly incongruous with the casually attired clientele. Price: $$. Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Oaxaquena Triqui, 77 N. Lake Ave., Albany, 645-0080. Cuisine: Regional Oaxacan-Triqui cuisine of southern Mexico. Handmade sopes and tacos, slow-cooked meats, Oaxacan quesillo cheese, chipulines, tongue tacos and weekend specials from tripe to tamales, plus caramel-filled churros and breads. Ambience: Family-run corner store with a bright, clean, unassuming taqueria in the rear. Seats 18 people max. Price: $. Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Takeout available. Oh Corn! Arepas and More, 1505 Route 9, Halfmoon, 579-0858, www.ohcornarepas.com Cuisine: Venezuelan white corn arepas and yellow corn cachapas with an impressive array of fillings from breakfast-themed to slow-simmered Venezualan pork in red wine and orange juice or beef slow simmered in sofrito sauce. Ambience: Incredibly friendly, casual family-owned Venezuelan cafe in strip mall space. Price: $-$$. Hours: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The People's Pub, 36 Main St., Chatham, 392-2337, www.thepeoplespub.com Cuisine: Locally sourced and farm-focused with flavorful twists on pub standards (Bolognese, burger) and shareable plates (salads, charcuterie and cheese boards). Vegetarian and gluten-free options available. Ambience: Eclectic vintage bistro-pub environment with live jazz several nights a week. Price: $ to $$$. Hours: Bar hours: 4 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Kitchen hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. Closed Monday. Prairie Whale, 178 Main St., Great Barrington, Mass., 413-528-5050, www.facebook.com/prariewhale Cuisine: Elementally simple, wholly committed to seasonal local sourcing, could use a boost on some seasoning and flavors, and attention to meat doneness needs improvement. Portions are on the smaller side. Ambience: Ambience: Rustic village home, rambling with rooms and nooks, and festive outdoor space with games. Price: $$. Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Monday; brunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; closed Tuesday. Salt & Char, 353 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, 786-7100, www.saltandchar.com Cuisine: Seasonal straightforward menu partnering locally sourced produce and organic, sustainably raised quality meats with globally inspired flavors. Beautiful plating; a few dishes run heavy on the salt. A la carte. Ambience: Lively crowd in an upscale bistro dining room (seats 67). Separate bar on one side, plus private room for 10 and the beautiful Van Dam porch (seats 24). Price: $$$. Hours: Bar and bar menu 3 to 10 p.m.; dinner 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday to Monday; closed Tuesday. Brunch and lunch starting in the fall. Savoy Taproom, 301 Lark St., Albany, 599-5140, savoyonlark.com. Cuisine: Simple mix of bar food and seasonal fare from burgers, steamers and wings to nicely executed salads and pasta dishes. Admirable variety of gluten-free or gluten-adjustable dishes. (Bar uses vegan aquafaba in place of egg whites for frothy cocktails.) Much-needed option for late-night eats. Ambience: Subterranean cocktail bar with an appealing cocktail list and high-tops for light early dining. The painfully quiet dining room benefits from the energy of a later evening crowd and live music sets. Lively, younger late night crowd. Price: $-$$$. Hours: 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily: bar menu, 3 to 5:30 p.m.; dinner, 5:30 to 10 p.m.; late-night menu, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Also, brunch starts at 9 a.m. Sunday Sunhee's Farm and Kitchen, 95-97 Ferry St., Troy, 272-3413, www.sunhees.com Cuisine: Familiar Korean dishes that lend themselves to fast casual take out preparation including dumplings, noodles, bibimbap and bulgogi. Vegan and gluten-free options. Beer, wine and dessert bar coming soon. Ambience: Welcoming eatery and marketplace that blends traditional Korean and rural farm elements in a fast casual take-out setting. Price: $ Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday. Yono's, 25 Chapel St., Albany, 436-7747, yonos.com. Cuisine: Two-pronged menu: modern American cuisine with Indonesian flavors and traditional Indonesian dishes. Ambience: Cocooned, richly furnished interior hotel dining room with fireplace and live piano. Prices: $$$. Hours: 5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday, closed Sunday. Buffalo Education Secretary John B. King Jr. is urging governors and school leaders in states that allow student paddling to end a practice he said would be considered "criminal assault or battery" against an adult. King released a letter Tuesday asking leaders to replace corporal punishment with less punitive disciplinary practices that he said work better against bad behavior. He is a former state education commissioner in New York. More than 110,000 students, including disproportionate numbers of black and disabled students, were subjected to paddling or a similar punishment in the 2013-14 school year, said King, citing the Education Department's Civil Rights Data Collection. Corporal punishment is legal in 22 states. Fifteen states expressly permit corporal punishment: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming. In seven states, there is no state law prohibiting it: Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire and South Dakota. "The practice has been clearly and repeatedly linked to negative health and academic outcomes for students," King said during a conference call with reporters. "It is opposed by parent organizations, teachers unions, medical and mental health professionals and civil rights advocates as a wholly inappropriate means of school discipline." Eighty organizations signed an open letter released by the National Women's Law Center supporting an end to the practice. Students are regularly paddled for minor or subjective infractions like dress code violations, cellphone use or disrespecting staff, the letter said. Corporal punishment remains deeply woven into culture and tradition in some corners of the country. School administrators say it has broad support from parents and preserves learning time that would be lost to a suspension. "There are better, smarter ways to achieve safe and supportive school environment," King said It's not enough to say that "Allied" is set in the 1940s. It's set in the 1940s of collective imagination. A fair portion of it takes place in "Casablanca." The musical score, by Alan Silvestri, has the sadness and portent of the music heard in classic World War II documentaries such as "The World at War." There's a lushness to the photography that feels like a color analogue to the soft focus black-and-white photography of Hollywood in the war years. Most important of all, "Allied" finds actual movie stars for the lead roles, and director Robert Zemeckis treats them like movie stars, making their faces the locus of all meaning and their interaction the stuff of romantic fantasy. He creates a movie that is old-fashioned in every possible good way, but that in no way seems passe or cliched. Coming off of "Allied," there were rumors that its stars, Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, were having an affair during its making. Assuming that's not true, it's still understandable how people could think so, or even want it to be true. In the midst of a movie-made romantic atmosphere and depicting the kind of life-and-death stakes that can only intensify an aura of excitement and longing, Pitt and Cotillard make us believe that something is building between them from their first moments on screen. Written by Steven Knight ("Eastern Promises," "Locke") and loosely based on real events, "Allied" begins with a covert operation in Morocco. Max (Pitt), a Canadian fluent in French, is parachuted into the desert and makes his way into Casablanca. With a quick shave and a change of clothes, he looks as impeccable as Cary Grant. He goes to the rendezvous point, a nightclub, where he meets the fellow spy posing as his wife, Marianne (Cotillard). There's no better express train to intimacy than posing as a married couple. More Information *** Review "Allied" Rated: R Length: 124 minutes **** Excellent *** Good ** Fair * Poor See More Collapse The Casablanca mission is almost incidental to the path of the larger story, but Zemeckis and Knight lavish time on it, and they're right to do so. The long lead-up to the big event is also the couple's entrance chute into real emotional closeness, and the very fact that they're resisting the attraction and fighting the impulse, makes us anxious for them to just give in already. The combustion finally happens inside an old sedan in the middle of a dust storm, and it might well be the most satisfying movie love scene of 2016. The bulk of the film, however, takes place in London, but again, this is not the workaday London of reality. This is the London of officers who talk like Terry-Thomas (remember him?), the London whose skies look like a fireworks display at night, with British Hurricanes and Spitfires defending the city against German invaders. Only later can we appreciate Zemeckis' accomplishment here: He crafts a mood so heightened that it in no way feels histrionic, but merely appropriate, that a woman is seen giving birth on a London street during an air raid, with buildings collapsing all around. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. Most of "Allied" revolves around the question of trust and belief. Max and Marianne, after their Casablanca adventure, relocate to London and assume the life of a normal couple. But then one day, British intelligence informs him that Marianne is under suspicion of being a German double agent. Max makes it his mission to prove her innocent, but the issue is complicated by the fact that this is a woman he has seen lie with charm and grace. He has also seen her shooting a machine gun at people at a party a party of her supposed friends. So he knows she's not a normal person. He just doesn't know what kind of not-normal. From that situation is she or isn't she, and a loving husband's desperate effort to prove that she's not "Allied" builds a series of tense adventures, as well as two-person scenes between Pitt and Cotillard that are fraught with an underlying urgency. To describe Cotillard's performance would almost necessitate revealing the ultimate turn of Marianne's character. Better to put it this way: Throughout we're never entirely sure about Marianne, and yet by the end, we realize that Cotillard and Zemeckis have not given us a single false note or misdirection. Cotillard is remarkable, and Pitt does everything a movie star can do, which is what most movie actors can't do. He's the audience's stand-in, the person viewers are content to be for two hours. He makes us care and then shows us that he cares us much as we do, maybe even more. Needless to say, we believe him. Disney's decades-long struggle with its princess addiction finally reaches the acceptance stage in "Moana," the latest satisfying musical from the animation giant. "If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you're a princess," the God Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, tells the reluctant heroine midway through the movie stopping just short of turning to the audience with an animated wink. The studio should populate their casts with whomever they want, as long as the films continue to be this solid. A slow start keeps "Moana" from reaching "Frozen" or "Beauty and the Beast" levels of excellence. But the comic self-awareness, engaging songs and a fulfilling finish are enough to merit a strong recommendation. Walt Disney Animation Studios, which arguably hasn't had a dud since "Meet the Robinsons" in 2007, continues its roll. "Moana" indeed begins with a royal figure Moana Waialiki (Auli'i Cravalho), who is the daughter of a chief on an isolated Polynesian island. But like Anna from "Frozen" and Tiana from "The Princess and the Frog," she is arguably the most capable and liberated person in the movie. More Information *** Review "Moana" Rated: PG Length: 103 minutes **** Excellent *** Good ** Fair * Poor See More Collapse With her island suffering from a curse and the crops barren, Waialiki goes on a mythic voyage with Maui, whose powers are matched by his ego and insecurity. They set sail on the electric blue and green postcard of the sea, meeting flashy mythical sea creatures while they engage in refreshingly romance-free banter on their canoe. (If there's a love interest in Waialiki's world, we don't get to meet him or her. Arguably, Moana is too good for everyone in "Moana.") "Moana" is guided by "The Little Mermaid" and "Princess and the Frog" directors Ron Clements and John Musker, whose Disney pedigree goes back to "Pete's Dragon" in 1977. They get off to a shaky start; the initial island scenes feel like a checklist of Disney animated cliches, with awkward introductions and a poor sense of pacing. A sidekick pig seems thrown in just to add another toy selection for the fast food Happy Meals. The action gets much, much better when the three best characters Moana, Maui and an unintelligent-beyond-description rooster named Hai-Hai ("voiced" by Alan Tudyk) leave everyone else behind. The story finds its sea legs, and the voyage starts to feel like a worthy update of an old Ray Harryhausen "Sinbad" movie. There are big setpieces, unexpected detours and a dreamlike feel, as if our heroes have passed into another reality altogether. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda comes along for the ride, providing musical direction. "How Far I'll Go" is typical Disney Radio fare, as if it was written to be piped through the speakers on the lido deck of the Disney Cruise Line. But the lively Johnson-sung "You're Welcome" and Bowie-esque "Shiny" voiced by "Flight of the Conchords" co-star Jemaine Clement as a disco crab monster are top-shelf Disney soundtrack material, contributing to the story as much as album sales. Along with the slapstick and inevitable peeing-in-the-ocean humor, there's a building sense of environmental responsibility in the Polynesian fables that come to life. Maui's animated tattoos are nature-focused movies-within-the-movie, giving Musker and Clements a throwback 2-D palette to work with. The Balrog-like lava monster at the end of the movie is less of a bad guy, and more of an obstacle in the heroine's journey of self-discovery. Yes, Moana is a princess of sorts, but whatever distress she runs into she'll have to resolve with her own brain and brawn. The animal sidekicks, like the rest of us, are just witnesses to her voyage. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Henry Carr, longtime director of music at Colonie Central High School and founder of the Colonie Memorial Band, died Nov. 12 in Virginia. He was 93. Carr was a prominent figure in the Capital Region concert band scene for decades and continued to perform elsewhere into his 90s. He was the supervisor of music for the South Colonie Central School District and the band director at Colonie Central High School for 31 years. Among the guest artists featured during his tenure were Clark Terry, Louie Bellson, Rafael Mendez, Ed Shaughnessy, and, twice, Doc Severinsen from Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" band. Carr met his wife Suzanne in the euphonium section of the Ithaca College Band. Both continued to play music throughout their lives. Locally, Henry Carr played trumpet with the Albany Symphony Orchestra for 37 years, as well as the Berkshire and Schenectady symphony orchestras. Carr and his wife shared their musical genes with two of their three children. Daughter Virginia has a band called Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet in the Washington, D.C., area, and son Keith performs with Lilt, an Irish music duo in Falls Church, Va. "We grew up in a musical household, and we're both professional musicians," Virginia Carr said. "We're both heavily influenced and have the musical genes." The third child, daughter Amy, lives in Georgia. After retiring from the South Colonie schools, Henry Carr was the founding musical director of the Colonie Memorial Band and led it for 12 years before stepping down in 2011. At the time, he told the Times Union it was important for people to keep the musical skills they learned in school. "Life doesn't end after the high school band," he said. "It's very fulfilling to adults. I find it very therapeutic with life's stresses." He wasn't done with music at age 88; he kept playing with concert bands in Florida. For the final two years of his life, he played trumpet in the Falls Church Concert Band in Northern Virginia. The Colonie Memorial Band will hold its annual holiday concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, at Mark Cornell Auditorium of Colonie Central High School. Dave Knorr, president of the band, said half the program will now be a tribute to Carr, with the band playing some of his favorites. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. "He was an absolute icon," Knorr said. "He knew exactly what he wanted to get out of the band and how to get it. He loved the big, rich, large band sound. He chose his repertoire and rehearsed the band to get the most out of that." Knorr, who plays the bassoon, joined the band in its second year. Five years after Carr left, he said, his impact remains strong. "He made the band what it is today," he said. "He has a tremendous influence in his approach to music and what he expects out of a group." Henry Carr was an Air Force staff sergeant who served in the South Pacific from 1943 to 1946 during World War II. He received the Air Medal and Presidential Unit Citation for flying 31 missions as a crew member aboard the B-25 Mitchell bomber, where he performed dual roles as a gunner and the colonel's hand-picked radio operator. He also led the squadron dance band and played lead trumpet in both official and unofficial dance bands while in the Air Force. He attended college on the GI bill. Carr graduated in 1948, and he and Suzanne moved to Altamont to start his career as a music educator. His wife worked in the Roessleville school. When she stepped down from the job, he succeeded her. The family requested contributions in memory of Henry Carr be made to the Memorial Concert Band of Colonie, the Henry Carr Memorial Fund, c/o TrustCo Bank, 286 Saratoga Road, Glenville, NY 12302. tobrien@timesunion.com 518-454-5092 @timobrientu Tinkers Inter-Tribal Council celebrated Native American Heritage Month with a lunch and learn event at the chapel, Nov. 9. Col. Stephanie Wilson, 72nd Air Base Wing commander, spoke to the efforts and improvements in diversity she has seen during her tenure at the installation. She pointed out that Chief Walter Chrysler has been instrumental in the development and strengthening of the relations between the Native American tribes in Oklahoma and Tinker Air Force Base. There wasnt communication or dialogue between the two. Now, thanks largely to the chief, we have created opportunities which allow for better relations and knowledge of one another. November is recognized as Native American Heritage month, and the Inter-Tribal Council hosts different events as a way for members of the installation and community to learn more about Native Americans and better understand their contributions to the United States. Recognizing and honoring the Native American tribes are important, Colonel Wilson emphasized. The commander preached that the United States is strong because of its diversity, and though the history and the past injustices cannot be ignored or forgotten, forging ahead is important. The richness in Native American culture, the colonel said, needs to be shared. Events like the lunch and learn provide just that. Mr. Chrysler, originally from northern New York, now lives in Wellston. The chief presented an introspective view on various Native American life. There are many tribal nations, Mr. Chrysler explained, all making up one great nation the United States. Mr. Chrysler enlightened the audience with multiple items which are vital to tribes day-to-day lives. He shared different prayers, shawls, dances, songs and even tobacco, stating that it provides sustainability. Spiritual acts, he said, make up a large part, not only of the foundation, but also daily routines. The chief also touched on the acquirement of animals, explaining that prayers are given to Mother Earth, asking for forgiveness in taking a life, but also in thanks for providing nutrients and food. Assimilation has been an ongoing transition into society, the chief remarked. He honed in on the significance and impact positive relations have, and how necessary it is to their progression. Tinker is a huge employer for the state, and has many opportunities which can improve the lives and relations of the tribes, Colonel Wilson added. Taking advantage of those opportunities and fostering those kinds of relationships are beneficial for everyone. November was designated Native American Heritage Month in 1990, following the passage of a joint resolution by President George H.W. Bush. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, as of 2012 there were over 22,000 Native American Indians and Alaska Natives on active duty, and the 2010 Census identified over 150,000 American Indian and Alaska Native veterans. Twenty seven Native Americans have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the nations highest military honor. [November 23, 2016] 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' Lands at World Duty Free, Gatwick, to Take Passengers to a Galaxy Far, Far Away LONDON, November 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With Photos Anyone planning to fly from Gatwick and visit the World Duty Free stores from 23rd November will be immersed in 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story', the very latest Star Wars movie coming to cinemas on December 15th. This will mark the first ever major film release takeover at Gatwick and World Duty Free. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161123/442491 ) (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161123/442493 ) The hotly anticipated epic action adventure from Lucasfilm releases in cinemas on 15th December 2016, but as part of an exclusive tie up to celebrate its launch, visitors to the airport can experience unique elements of the film. This year's 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' is the first in a series of original standalone Star Wars movies, the events of which are set in a time of conflict, when a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans of the Death Star. Travellers will start to get a taste of what's to come as they transfer from the car parks to the airport terminal, as walkways and large format fully digital screens will feature striking visuals and promo footage. Moving into the World Duty Free Gatwick South store, the Star Wars immersion is taken to a whole new level with the appearance of newcomer droid K-2SO, who stands 8 feet tall as well as 'Rogue One: Recon', a 360 Star Wars virtual reality experience. Once seated and wearing the VR helmet, become an everyday Rebel X-wing pilot in space, culminating with a fight for your life in an unexpected battle against the evil Empire. Influential YouTuber and avid Star Wars fan Jack Maynard was on hand to launch the activation today in World Duty Free Gatwick South, closely guarded by stormtroopers and - making their very firs appearance in public - two Death Troopers, who are elite soldiers of the Empire and an intrinsic part of the new film. You can share Jack Maynard's encounter with stormtroopers and Death Troopers, as well as his overall experience here at http://www.facebook.com/WorldDutyFree Passengers will also be able to see a costume exhibit featuring the heroes of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'. Led by Jyn Erso (played by Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones), Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), Bodhi Rock (Riz Ahmed), Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen), Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), the costumes are displayed together for passengers to get up close to as they enter the departure lounge in Gatwick South. Many amazing opportunities for #RogueOnehaslanded pictures are just waiting to be explored! To complement the Rogue One experience, World Duty free has a whole range of LEGO sets to choose from including Darth Vader, Resistance X-Wing Fighter, Millennium Falcon, Imperial Assault Hovertank and Krennic's Imperial Shuttle to name just a few. Customers can also discover a range of exclusive 50ml Star Wars fragrances - Dark, Light, Droid, Rey, Revenge and Galaxy - that capture the essence of rebellion! About 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, with Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel are producing, with John Knoll and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" opens in UK cinemas on 15th December, 2016. Dufry Group - A leading global travel retailer Dufry AG (SIX: DUFN; BM&FBOVESPA: DAGB33) is a leading global travel retailer operating around 2,200 duty-free and duty-paid shops in airports, cruise lines, seaports, railway stations and downtown tourist areas. Dufry employs over 31,000 people. The Company, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, operates in 63 countries in all five continents. World Duty Free's core business is tax and duty free shopping and its proposition covers the complete spectrum of airport shopping including Beauty, Wines & Spirits, Food & Confectionery, Tobacco, Sunglasses, Watches & Jewellery and souvenirs. Social Responsibility Dufry cares for children and supports social projects from SOS Kinderdorf in Brazil, Cambodia, Mexico, Morocco and Ivory Coast. SOS Children's Villages is an independent, non-political and non-demonstrational organization established for orphaned and destitute children all over the world. For more information, please visit http://www.dufry.com and http://www.worlddutyfreegroup.com Note to Editors: Pictures accompanying this release are available through the PA Photowire. They can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] Three Bell leaders among Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women Bell Let's Talk Chair Mary Deacon, Bell Media's Wendy Freeman and Lainey Lui all named to the Top 100 by WXN MONTREAL, Nov. 23, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Bell today congratulates Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let's Talk; Wendy Freeman, President of CTV News; and Lainey Lui, Co-host of CTV's The Social and eTalk reporter on being named to Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women 2016 by WXN. "On behalf of the entire Bell team, I offer our heartfelt congratulations to Mary, Wendy and Lainey on this well-deserved recognition of their talent and accomplishments," said George Cope, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada. "These are leaders highly respected at our company and across the Canadian communications industry for their vision, results and commitment to excellence in everything they do." The Top 100 Awards recognize the professional achievements of talented leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. To learn more about this year's honourees, please visit wxnetwork.com/top-100/top-100-winners. This year's award winners join a number of WXN honourees at Bell, including Hall of Fame inductees Martine Turcotte, Bell's Vice Chair, Quebec; Mary Ann Turcke, President of Bell Media, and Karen Sheriff, former CEO of Bell Aliant and Q9 Networks. Last year, Joanne MacDonald, VP of CTV News, was named to the Top 100, while BCE Director and Gaz Metro CEO Sophie Brochu was honoured in the Corporate Director category. WXN is Canada's leading organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of women in management, executive, professional and board roles. Please visit wxnetwork.com. About Bell Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers and business customers with wireless, TV, Internet, home phone, small business and enterprise communications services. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, digital and out of home media. Bell is wholly owned by Montreal's BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). For more information, please visit Bell.ca. The Bell Let's Talk initiative promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let's Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research, and workplace initiatives. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk. Media inquiries: Jacqueline Michelis (613) 785-1427 [email protected] @Bell_News SOURCE Bell Canada [November 23, 2016] UES Awards More Than $85,000 in Grants for Education and Assistance Programs UniSource Energy Services (UES) has awarded $86,500 in grants to more than two dozen nonprofit groups in Arizona to improve education and provide community assistance. UES Community Impact Grants will help provide healthy meals for the hungry, provide emergency shelter to hundreds of families in crisis, create thousands of new educational and enrichment opportunities for children, and provide other critical services in communities across Arizona. "We're excited about these new opportunities to create a positive impact in the communities we serve," said David G. Hutchens, UES' President and CEO. "UES is committed to improving our customers' quality of life, and our Impact Grants are an important part of a philanthropic program that helps us realize that vision." UES Community Impact Grants significantly expand the resources previously provided through UES' Grants that Make a Difference program, which awarded $47,500 last year. UES Community Impact Grants are awarded for programs with measurable results that help vulnerable populations in northern and southern Arizona communities where UES provides natural gas and electric service. The 2016 Community Impact Grants include: Apache County $5,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Round Valley for its Exploring the Past to Meet the Future program, which provides field trips and educational materials that emphasize science, technology, engineering and math concepts for club members. $1,000 to Make-a-Wish Foundation of Arizona to help grant the wish of a child in Apache County battling a life-threatening medical condition. $4,000 to White Mountain Regional Medical Center for its free Steps to Healthier Living Diabetes Self-Management Program for patients with Type 2 diabetes. Coconino County $3,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff for its Step Up Mentoring program. In collaboration with Coconino County Juvenile Court, Step Up matches mentors with about 150 court-involved youth. $5,000 to Flagstaff Shelter Services for its Rapid Rehousing program, which arranges temporary shelter for clients in crisis and helps them find affordable housing, employment services and referrals to behavioral health service providers. $3,000 to Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona's Sharon Manor Transitional Housing Program. Grant funds will be used to help provide up to 12 months of safe housing, training and counseling for approximately 100 homeless domestic violence victims and their children living in poverty. Funds also will be used to provide two hot meals weekly to about 50 children. $4,000 to Special Olympics Arizona so that an estimated 340 children in Coconino County can participate in the Healthy Lifestyle, Education, and Practice (LEAP) and Young Athletes programs. Healthy LEAP provides students with short, focused lessons about nutrition, fitness and safety. Young Athletes offers inclusive sports and play programs for young children. Mohave County $2,000 to Arizona Youth Partnership in Kingman for street outreach programs that provide services to at-risk youth. $5,000 to Cornerstone Mission in Kingman to support services at two emergency shelters, including education, job training and life skills classes. $2,500 to HavasuCommunity Health Foundation in Lake Havasu City to help pay for monthly health classes, equipment upgrades and other health services for limited-income residents. $3,500 to the Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council in Lake Havasu City, a volunteer-run organization that helps veterans overcome mobility issues and provides assistance with living expenses, medications and transportation. $2,000 to Kingman Aid to Abused People for its Sexual and Domestic Violence Prevention Program. Grant funds will be used to pay for awareness program training and educational materials. $5,000 to the Kingman Academy of Learning's First Robotics Team 60, a community robotics club with members from several schools in the Kingman area. $3,000 to the Kingman Mohave Lions Club to help pay for eye exams and eyeglasses for limited-income residents. $3,500 to River Cities United Way for the Kids Bright and Healthy program, which assists youth from limited-income families with vision and dental care, participation fees, shoes and clothing, and transportation. $2,500 to Women with Willpower, an all-volunteer organization that provides housing, utilities, transportation, groceries and other forms of one-time assistance to women in Lake Havasu City. Navajo County $2,500 to the American Red Cross for free installation of smoke alarms in the homes of seniors and limited-income households. $1,250 to Make-A-Wish Arizona to help grant the wish of a child in Navajo County battling a life-threatening medical condition. $1,250 to Special Olympics Arizona for Young Athletes and Healthy LEAP programs. Santa Cruz County $2,000 to Arizona Theater Company for its Theatre on the Go Literacy Initiative so that more than 300 high school students can learn the works of Shakespeare through interactive classes that emphasize reading fluency, writing skills, comprehension, vocabulary, cultural literacy, self-esteem and team work. $2,500 to the Community Food Bank to help pay for high-protein foods like beans and canned vegetables that are added to emergency food boxes, which provide a three- to four-day supply of food. $1,000 to Make-A-Wish Arizona to help grant the wish of a child in Santa Cruz County battling a life-threatening medical condition. $1,750 to Nogales Community Development for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which provides free tax preparation services and advice for elderly, disabled and limited-income residents. $1,000 to Rich River Athletics Club to help pay for cross country running and track events for hundreds of elementary school age children. $1,750 to Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona for its Imagine STEM! Program, which will engage 150 girls ages 5-17 in science, technology, engineering and math activities that develop concepts participants can apply in school. $2,500 to Santa Cruz Training Programs, Inc., which provides training and educational opportunities to people with special needs. Funds will be used for the purchase and installation of security cameras at organization facilities. Yavapai County $2,500 to Arizona's Children Association for its Parents as Teachers Family Literacy Program, which provides families with enhanced reading opportunities including a traveling library, home visits and quarterly interactive literacy workshops. $1,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arizona for books, educational games and other supplies for use during after-school activities. $2,000 to Catholic Charities Community Services for its Loft Drop In Center for the Homeless in Cottonwood, which provides individuals and families a place to cook meals, wash clothes, shower, apply for work and maintain social connections. $2,500 to Old Town Mission for the purchase of a walk-in refrigerator and refrigerated truck to increase donations of healthy foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products. $2,000 to the Society of St. Vincent De Paul, which helps families in need to pay for outstanding mortgage and rental bills. $3,000 to Verde Valley Habitat for Humanity for its Critical Home Repair Program, which primarily provides wheelchair ramps and exterior property repair and cleaning services for limited-income, elderly and disabled homeowners. $2,000 to the West Yavapai Guidance Clinic Foundation for its Starting the Year Off with Success program. Funds will be used to pay for summer camps, equine activities, dance, karate and other extracurricular activities of more than 40 children from limited-income families. UES employee volunteers and other stakeholders selected this year's Community Impact Grant recipients through a competitive process that attracted nearly 100 applications. Winners were chosen based on program effectiveness and sustainability, applicants' organizational capabilities and other criteria. UES Community Impact Grants are available to organizations in UES' service territories. UES Community Impact Grants, like other community investments, are funded from corporate resources, not customers' rates. The grants are just part of the company's award-winning community service efforts, which include direct contributions, in-kind services, and volunteer support for local nonprofit groups. UES delivers natural gas to approximately 150,000 customers in northern and southern Arizona. It also provides electric service to approximately 93,000 customers. To learn more, visit uesaz.com. UES sister company Tucson Electric Power and their parent company, UNS Energy, are subsidiaries of Fortis Inc., which owns utilities that serve more than 3 million customers across Canada and in the United States and the Caribbean. To learn more, visit fortisinc.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005327/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] UNDP Launches Report on Internet Philanthropy in China SHANGHAI, Nov. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 'Internet philanthropy has the potential to transform the philanthropic sector and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals' (SDGs) was the key message highlighted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China at the launch of their new report today. According to a recent Chinese government statistical report, the number of netizens in China reached 710 million in June 2016, with over 23 million users giving charitable gifts online. To provide a deeper analysis of the innovations that are transforming the philanthropic sector in China and the vast opportunities provided by the internet, UNDP China launched a new report, entitled 'Internet Philanthropy in China' to introduce the experience of internet philanthropy in China and provide recommendations on how to maintain its fast-paced growth and potential to contribute to the SDGs. This is an exciting time for the development of internet philanthropy in China, with the new national Charity Law having come into force in September. The passage of the law marks a pivotal moment in the development of a legal framework for philanthropy in China and will be crucial to fully unleash the potential of Chinese philanthropy. "The internet is revolutionising the whole economy and it is crucial for the future of philanthropy that we harness this new technology too," said Nicholas Rosellini, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for China at the launch of the report. "At UNDP, we have a very positive outlook on the future of philanthropy, especially as it pertains to the SDGS and their implementation in China." The report presents current trends over the four systems of the philanthrpy 'ecosystem': knowledge, giving, management and reporting, and evaluation, supplemented by data provided by Tencent. The report shows the internet giving system is growing fast. From 2014 to 2015, the number of online donors increased from 5 million to 23.8 million. The report also shows the case study of Tencent's September 9th Campaign (also known as the "Internet Philanthropy Day") this year, which mobilized nearly 6.8 million participants and 600 million RMB in just 3 days. Internet philanthropy systems are also improving operation efficiency for charities for registration, fundraising, marketing, reporting, as well as encouraging information sharing between traditional organizations. For example, as of February 2015, the number of registered volunteers was over 100 million, the equivalent of 1 in every 13 people in China. They can now be managed and recruited through online volunteer platforms. The report also forecasts future trends for internet philanthropy to be more transparent and accountable with innovative modes. In particular it points to "Internet +" and the new Charity Law, the growth of mobile internet usage, smart technologies, big data and the "we-media" era, as policies, infrastructure and new technology that have the ability to continue to transform internet philanthropy to become more innovative, targeted and efficient. To create a more enabling environment for internet philanthropy in China, maintaining its fast-paced growth and large donor base, the report firstly recommends, due to the fact that the majority of internet donors are people born in the 1990s, the need to educate and promote a culture of online giving. Secondly, it is essential that regulators, auditors and rating for online platforms be established to ensure transparency and efficiency. On the donor side, polices ought to be developed to incentivize corporate philanthropy. The report was launched at the annual China Private Foundation Forum (CPFF) in Shanghai, along with a parallel forum hosted by UNDP China on 'Philanthropy for SDGs Internet Philanthropy in China'. The UNDP believes that a thriving philanthropic sector in China will be of great benefit to China and to the rest of the world. Last year UNDP China published a report entitled 'Unleashing the Potential of Philanthropy in China', that carries out a review of the status of philanthropy in China. UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in around 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. www.undp.org Get in touch: UNDP on Weibo | Media Contacts | WeChat ID: undpchina, QR code: More resources: Our work | UNDP News [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 22, 2016] Simpson Thacher Elects Eleven New Partners Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP announced yesterday that it has elected eleven attorneys as members of the Firm effective January 1, 2017. The new partners are: Andrew Blau (New York) - Andrew advises clients on executive compensation and employee benefit arrangements, including equity-based incentives, cash-based incentives, deferred compensation, retirement plans and employment, retention and severance agreements, with particular emphasis on issues arising in mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and joint ventures. Andrew received his J.D., with Honors, from the George Washington University Law School in 2003. He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 2000. Andrew was a Counsel at the Firm prior to his election as a partner. Abram J. Ellis (Washington, D.C.) - Abram concentrates his practice on antitrust matters, with a focus on class action antitrust litigation, antitrust merger review and antitrust counseling. Abram also advises on regulatory issues present in international and cross-border transactions. He received his J.D., cum laude, in 2005 from the University of Michigan Law School. He also received an M.A. from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 2002 and a B.A. from Brigham Young University in 2000. Ian Ho (Hong Kong) - Ian advises corporate, private equity and other clients on a wide variety of complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Ian's practice includes representing clients in acquisitions, dispositions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, minority and strategic investments and other related corporate matters. Ian received his J.D., magna cum laude, in 2005 from Fordham University School of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Fordham Law Review. He also received his B.Comm. from the University of British Columbia in 1996. Ian was a Counsel at the Firm prior to his election as a partner. Michael T. Holick (New York) - Mike concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions. He regularly represents private equity firms, corporations and financial advisors in a wide range of transactions. In 2008, he received both his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and his M.B.A. from Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management. He received an A.B.from Dartmouth College in 2002. Shahpur K. Kabraji (London) - Shahpur is a member of the Firm's banking and credit practice. He focuses on domestic and cross-border syndicated credit, acquisition finance and other leveraged finance transactions. He regularly advises leading sponsors and their portfolio companies in connection with a variety of corporate finance transactions, including acquisition financings, bank and bridge loan financings and refinancings. Shahpur received his Postgraduate Diploma in Law Commendation from BPP Law School London in 2005 and his Diploma in Law from City University in London in 2004. He received his B.A., with Honours, from the University of Cambridge-Trinity College in 2003. Parker B. Kelsey (New York) - Parker is a member of the Firm's private funds practice. His practice focuses on the formation and operation of private equity funds, including real estate funds, buyout funds, distressed and other debt funds, co-investment funds and hedge funds. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2008 and his A.B. from Princeton University in 2001. Xiaohui (Hui) Lin (New York) - Hui focuses her practice on capital markets, securities and corporate governance matters. Hui regularly represents private equity sponsors, corporate issuers and leading investment banks in connection with a broad range of transactions, including initial public offerings, secondary offerings, registered and 144A high yield and investment grade debt offerings, leveraged acquisition financing transactions and liability management transactions. Hui received her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and her LL.B. from University College London, both in 2007. Tom Lloyd (London) - Tom is a member of the Firm's banking and credit and real estate practices. He advises clients on an array of credit transactions and financial instruments, as well as cross-border finance issues, with a focus on sponsor-driven real estate investments. Tom received a Diploma in Legal Practice, with Distinction, in 2005 from Nottingham Law School and his LL.B. from the University of Sheffield in 2004. Tom was a Counsel at the Firm prior to his election as a partner. Linton Mann III (New York) - Linton is a member of the Firm's litigation practice, representing clients in a broad range of high-stakes litigation matters including securities, shareholder derivative disputes, class actions, antitrust and complex commercial disputes. He received his J.D. in 2007 from Duke University School of Law and two B.A. degrees in 2004 from the University of Georgia. Benjamin P. Schaye (New York) - Ben's practice focuses on public and private mergers and acquisitions, proxy contests and hostile takeover defenses, spin-offs and strategic alliances and joint ventures. He also advises boards on corporate governance matters, fiduciary duties and shareholder activism. Ben received his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 2007 and his A.B. from Princeton University in 2002. Adam D. Shapiro (New York) - Adam concentrates his practice on banking and credit matters. He regularly advises leading sponsors and their portfolio companies in connection with a variety of corporate finance transactions, including acquisition financings, bank and bridge loan financings and refinancings. Adam received his J.D. in 2007 from the George Washington University Law School, where he was a member of the George Washington University Law Review. He received his B.S. in 2003 from the University of Wisconsin. ABOUT SIMPSON THACHER & BARTLETT LLP Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP (www.simpsonthacher.com) is one of the world's leading international law firms. The Firm was established in 1884 and has more than 900 lawyers. Headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Palo Alto (News - Alert), Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., the Firm provides coordinated legal advice and transactional capability to clients around the globe. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122006122/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 22, 2016] Enlightened, Inc. Received SmartCEO Star Workplace 2016 GovStar Award WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On Monday evening, November 21st, the best and brightest in government contracting gathered at the Hyatt Reston Town Center to celebrate the SmartCEO, "2016 GovStar Awards Finalists." At the end of the evening, Enlightened, Inc. stood as the winner of the Star Workplace Award, for medium size companies. The "SmartCEO GovStar Workplace Award" is presented to those government contractors with second-to-none workplaces. President and CEO, Antwanye Ford and Executive Vice President and CFO, Andre Rogers accepted the award and highlighted the importance of collaboration and the ability to celebrate wins, no matter big or small as the key to continued motivation and a desire to exceed client expectations as the backdrop of Enlightened's success. "Enlightened's culture of mutual respect and teamwork positions the company to celebrate both professional and personal employee accomplishments together," said Antwanye Ford, President & CEO of Enlightened, Inc. "The government contracting industry is one of the most challenging, multifaceted and competitive sectors in business. Enlightened's membership in this arena is proof positive of the passion that each and every employee comes to work wth and their unwavering desire and drive to succeed." About the GovStar Awards The GovStar Awards program honors local government contractors for their technology innovation, workplace environment, growth, veteran support and impact on the industry and the marketplace as a whole. Government contracting is an extremely competitive and growing industry in the Greater Washington market, and the federal government is the largest consumer of products and services in the U.S. The GovStar program recognizes the many commendable attributes of Greater Washington-area companies striving for excellence in this complex and competitive sector. Each year, an independent committee of local business leaders selects the winners based on their growth, innovation, corporate culture, veteran support and industry impact. Finalists are profiled in the November/December issue of Washington SmartCEO magazine and celebrated at an awards reception in November, where category winners are announced live. About SmartCEO SmartCEO's mission is to educate and inspire the business community through its award-winning magazine, connections at C-level events and access to valuable online resources. SmartCEO's integrated media platforms reach decision makers in the Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Long Island, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, metropolitan areas. About Enlightened Enlightened, Inc. ("Enlightened") is an award-winning, HUBZone certified, Information Technology (IT) and Management Consulting firm dedicated to helping our clients achieve success in meeting their objectives and solving their problems. Enlightened provides the highest level of service to our clients because we are thinking about their problems even when they are not. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enlightened-inc-received-smartceo-star-workplace-2016-govstar-award-300367764.html SOURCE Enlightened, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 22, 2016] AlphaTech Announces 2016-2017 Member Cohort WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AlphaTech Group Inc., an exclusive CEO-level program serving emerging mid-Atlantic companies within the cybersecurity, big data, and data analytics industries, today announced that over 20 executives have been carefully selected for the 2016-2017 cohort. AlphaTech's 8-month program includes educational sessions, networking opportunities, social gatherings, access to mentors, and inclusion in a developing alumni network. "We are excited to announce the elite group of executives in our 2016-2017 cohort and the beginning of this year's program, which will facilitate and support their organizational growth," said Greg Giammittorio, a partner in the Corporate Department and Co-chair of the Emerging Companies and Venture Capital practice at Morrison & Foerster and an AlphaTech founder. "This year's cohort our largest to date brings about innovative change to the world of cybersecurity, big data and analytics." The AlphaTech 2016-2017 class includes founders and executives from the following companies: Acuity Solutions Corporation Adlumin Amyx Atomicorp Constellation West Diverse Concepts Inc. Hill Top Security Huntress Labs IP Network Solutions i-VisioNET Light Point Security Minerva Engineering Mission Data NetWatcher NNData NormShield Protenus Shevirah Syncurity TCecure Tekizma TruePoz Vetegrity To learn more about AlphaTech and learn how to apply in the future, companies are encouraged to check out the website: http://www.alphatechgroup.org/ ABOUT ALPHATECH GROUP, INC. Founded in 2013, AlphaTech Group, Inc. is comprised of a diverse group of experienced business professionals within the in the Mid-Atlantic's cybersecurity, big data and analytics sectors. The AlphaTech program symbolizes an intellectual initiative designed to shape stronger, more agile and more advanced businesses. For more information visit http://www.alphatechgroup.org/ or follow us on Twitter @AlphaTechDMV Contact Information: Taylor Siegel Silverline Communications [email protected] (919) 608-5699 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alphatech-announces-2016-2017-member-cohort-300367765.html SOURCE AlphaTech Group, Inc. [November 22, 2016] EndoBarrier Makes Advancement Toward German Reimbursement GI Dynamics, Inc. (ASX: GID), a medical technology company that has developed an innovative device to improve outcomes for patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity, continues to make progress toward full reimbursement in Germany. Germany is typically the second largest market for medical technology in the world and is a high priority country for GI Dynamics. German hospitals have made significant legal progress against resistance to EndoBarrier reimbursement. Recent court decisions reinforce the assertion that payers must support NUB1 new technology payments for EndoBarrier procedures. An arbitration court ruling had denied NUB payments for Frankfurt Sachsenhausen Hospital based upon the argument that the available clinical evidence did not support the treatment efficacy of EndoBarrier. The state government of Hessen rejected this court ruling and confirmed that the Consensus Paper 2 of three German medical societies was sufficient evidence to support NUB payment. This position paper outlines the efficacy of EndoBarrier in treating type 2 diabetes and obesity. The conclusions of the paper were publicly reinforced in a Statement by the German Diabetes Society in 2015. "These legal victories underscore the strong clinical and healthcare system support for EndoBarrier. We appreciate that the hospitals and court system are willing to work through the facts and support the correct administration of NUB new technology payments," said Scott Schorer, President ad CEO of GI Dynamics. "Multiple hospital systems have taken the time-consuming action of advocating strongly for EndoBarrier reimbursement. These legal actions, together with strong combined consensus support from the German Diabetes Association ("DDG"), the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery ("DGAV"), and the German Society for Digestive and Metabolic Diseases ("DGVS") underscore the significance of EndoBarrier as a unique treatment option for patients suffering from type 2 diabetes and obesity," said Schorer. 1 "NUB": Neue Untersuchungs- und Behandlungsmethoden", in German, or: New Diagnostic and Treatment Methods. The correct wording translated from German: "additional payments for new diagnostic and treatment methods (NUB)". 2 Position Paper of Scientific Societies for Recommended Usage of Endoscopic Biliodigestive Diversion in Germany - German Diabetes Association (DDG) / German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV) / German Society for Digestive and Metabolic Diseases (DGVS) About GI Dynamics GI Dynamics, Inc. (ASX: GID) is the developer of EndoBarrier, the first endoscopically delivered device therapy approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. EndoBarrier is approved and commercially available in multiple countries outside the United States. EndoBarrier is not approved for sale in the United States and is limited by federal law to investigational use only in the United States. Founded in 2003, GI Dynamics is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.gidynamics.com. Forward-Looking Statements This announcement contains forward-looking statements concerning our development and commercialization plans; our potential revenues and revenue growth, costs, excess inventory, profitability, and financial performance; our ability to obtain reimbursement for our products; our clinical trials and associated regulatory submissions and approvals; the number and location of commercial centers offering the EndoBarrier; and our intellectual-property position. These forward-looking statements are based on the current estimates and expectations of future events by the management of GI Dynamics, Inc. as of the date of this announcement and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those indicated in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the consequences of terminating the ENDO trial and the possibility that future clinical trials will not be successful or confirm earlier results; risks associated with obtaining funding from third parties; risks relating to the timing and costs of clinical trials, the timing of regulatory submissions, and the timing, receipt, and maintenance of regulatory approvals, the timing and amount of other expenses and the timing and extent of third-party reimbursement; risks associated with commercial product sales, including product performance; competition; risks related to market acceptance of products; intellectual-property risks; risks related to excess inventory; and risks related to assumptions regarding the size of the available market, benefits of our products, product pricing, timing of product launches, future financial results, and other factors, including those described in our filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We do not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, unless required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122006170/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 22, 2016] BrightSource Energy Switches from Oracle to Rimini Street for Support of Four Oracle Product Lines Rimini Street, Inc., the leading global provider of independent enterprise software support services for SAP (News - Alert) SE's (NYSE:SAP) Business Suite, BusinessObjects and HANA Database software and Oracle (News - Alert) Corporation's (NYSE:ORCL) Siebel, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, E-Business Suite, Oracle Database, Oracle Middleware, Hyperion, Oracle Retail, Orale Agile PLM and Oracle ATG Web Commerce software, today announced that BrightSource Energy, a global company that designs, develops and deploys solar thermal technology to produce high-value electricity and steam for power, petroleum, and industrial-process markets worldwide, has switched to Rimini Street for support of its Oracle EBS, Database, Fusion Middleware and Agile (News - Alert) PLM products. The savings from the switch to Rimini Street has enabled BrightSource Energy to fund a new hybrid IT landscape. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122006139/en/ BrightSource Energy Switches from Oracle to Rimini Street for Support of Four Oracle Product Lines (Graphic: Business Wire) "We initially engaged with Rimini Street in Israel for support of our Oracle EBS and technology products. The Company delivered beyond their promise on a premium, hyper-responsive support service, and provided us with a local primary support engineer (PSE)," said Shimi Ben Baruch, global vice president, information officer of BrightSource Energy. "With this exceptional level of service, we quickly added Rimini Street support for our Oracle Agile PLM application, providing us with operational efficiencies including complex customization support and substantial cost reductions. Our collaboration with Rimini Street has enabled us to improve our business efficiencies and re-allocate our dollars to digital transformation initiatives that help our business grow and compete." Driving Digital Transformation from Maintenance Savings With the savings realized from making the switch from vendor support to Rimini Street, BrightSource Energy was able to fund an innovative hybrid IT landscape that included replacing an HR solution and transitioning to a private cloud to best serve the needs of the workforce, allowing access to HR applications and data downloads from anywhere in the world. This new model also enabled BrightSource Energy's employees to be more efficient across all their IT operations, including infrastructure and support. "Israel is a hotbed for new innovation but many CIOs are struggling to find budget dollars to invest in big data, cloud, IoT and other disruptive technologies to help their organizations drive greater growth," says Jack Oster, general manager, Rimini Street Israel and Eastern Europe. "With Rimini Street, companies in Israel and around the world are able to cut their SAP and Oracle software maintenance by 90% in total support costs to fund digital transformation. Today, more than 75 global companies with operations in Israel and Eastern Europe, including five of the Maof-25 Index companies, have signed agreements with Rimini Street to provide support services for their enterprise systems." Rimini Street is the leading independent provider of enterprise software support services, saving organizations up to 90% on their total maintenance costs. The Company provides its clients with a wide range of premium support services, including support for interoperability, security advisory services; performance tuning; a named local PSE with an average of 15 years' experience; and 24/7/365 support coverage with guaranteed 15-minute or less response times for Priority 1 critical cases. Rimini Street also guarantees clients can remain on their current software release without any required upgrades for a minimum of 15 years, and provides ongoing tax, legal and regulatory updates around the world at no additional cost. To learn more, follow @riministreet on Twitter (News - Alert) and find Rimini Street on Facebook and LinkedIn. About BrightSource Energy BrightSource Energy, Inc. provides the world's premier solar field technology for concentrating solar power systems to deliver reliable clean energy to utilities and industrial companies. For more information on BrightSource Energy please visit www.BrightSourceEnergy.com. About Rimini Street, Inc. Rimini Street is the global leader in providing independent enterprise software support services. The company has redefined enterprise support services since 2005 with an innovative, award-winning program that enables Oracle and SAP licensees to save up to 90 percent on total support costs. Clients can remain on their current software release without any required upgrades for a minimum of 15 years. Over 1,600, Fortune 500, midmarket, and public sector organizations from a broad range of industries have selected Rimini Street as their trusted, independent support provider. To learn more, please visit http://www.riministreet.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "may," "will," "plan," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and are based on various assumptions. If the risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. Rimini Street assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Rimini Street and the Rimini Street logo are trademarks of Rimini Street, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122006139/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 22, 2016] VEDC Receives $2.5 Million from Wells Fargo to Support Diverse Small Businesses Valley Economic Development Center, also known as VEDC, is one of 12 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to receive funds from the Wells Fargo Works for Small Business: Diverse Community Capital program. Wells Fargo (News - Alert) & Company (NYSE: WFC) recently announced it is providing $11.2 million in lending capital and grants in round two of the three-year program. Located in Sherman Oaks, CA (News - Alert), VEDC will receive $250,000 in grant funds and $2.25 million in lending capital. The six-round Diverse Community Capital (DCC) program will provide a total of $75 million in lending and grant capital over three years to CDFIs that support diverse-owned small businesses. To date, this program has distributed more than $38 million to 30 CDFIs. The $2.25 million will allow VEDC to expand their African American Small Business Loan Program outside of the Greater Los Angeles area to include all of Southern California. Many African-American small business owners have faced systemic challenges to securing loans from traditional sources. The VEDC program also offers training and free business consultations to address the specific needs of the African American entrepreneur wishing to start or expand their business. VEDC anticipates a total of 450 entrepreneurs and small business owners will receive technical assistance through this program expansion and include 50 loan recommendations. Through this program, 20 new businesses will be created, 50 new jobs will be generated and 100 existing jobs will be retained. "Small businesses create economic opportunities that extend well beyond the business owner by providing job opportunities and commercial growth in their communities," said Robert Lopez, chief operating officer for VEDC. "Wells Fargo and VEDC have a strong history of supporting small business owners and we look forward to continuing our partnership by helping entrepreneurs start and build their businesses." Making a Difference: Concessionaire Expanding in California Airports Palazzo Concessions was founded in 2008 by Simeon Stewart II as a certified Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise in the City of Los Angeles. When Simeon received his first contract with LAX he couldn't qualify for traditional financing due to the startup nature of the business. He had been coming to VEDC for technical assistance and one-on-one business consultations regarding the unique financing and licensing requirements of an airport concession. "VEDC looked at our forecast financials and took a chance. I'm proud to say that we have not missed a payment, have never been late and are almost paid off," stated Palazzo Concessions owner, Simeon Stewart II. "We have now grown from one contract to 19 locations in three airports in California. We couldn't have done this without the help of VEDC." "Our relationship with VEDC goes back 30 plus years and throughout that time, it's been exciting to see the impact of our work together - because of this work more small businesses are thriving across Los Angeles," said David DiCristofaro, lead region president of Wells Fargo in Greater Los Angeles. "We need small businesses to succeed financially, grow and add jobs for our communities to prosper and we want to make every responsible loan we possibly can to help creditworthy small businesses." The 12 organizations selected for round two were chosen from among 98 that indicated interest. Wells Fargo will distribute a total of $8.17 million in lending capital and $3.075 million in grants to the selected CDFIs. The DCC program launched in November 2015 by providing $4.45 million in loan and grant funds to three CDFIs and encouraging others to submit interest forms for the program's first official round. More than 100 CDFIs responded, and Wells Fargo distributed a total of $5.67 million in grants and $16.67 million in lending capital to the 15 CDFIs selected in round one. Application Window Open for DCC Round Three Wells Fargo opened the window for interest forms for the third round of its Diverse Community Capital program on November 1st and will accept the forms until December 1st. CDFIs can visit www.wellsfargo.com/cdfi to learn more about the program's guidelines and to access the link to the online interest form. Available support from the program includes the following: Grant Capital. Available to CDFIs to build their financial, operational, and human capacity to serve diverse small businesses. Available to CDFIs to build their financial, operational, and human capacity to serve diverse small businesses. Debt Capital. Available to CDFIs to build their lending capital to serve diverse small businesses. Financing will include senior debt and subordinated debt. Available to CDFIs to build their lending capital to serve diverse small businesses. Financing will include senior debt and subordinated debt. Social Capital. Offers CDFIs support by focusing on activities including mentorship, peer learning, marketing/outreach, underwriting and guidance on tailored products. The Social Capital component of the program is offered through Opportunity Finance Network. About VEDC VEDC is a leading non-profit small business lender that has a 40 year history of changing the way small business lending is done by making it more available and impactful. With a growing footprint, VEDC has lent $400 million in direct and guaranteed loans to over 108,000 small businesses to create and retain more than 200,600 new jobs. VEDC's mission, as a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), is to help create jobs and promote small business development in under-served communities. The organization provides loans and micro-financing options to small businesses, particularly those owned by women and minorities, that don't qualify for traditional financing. VEDC's expanding portfolio is composed of community-based loan funds in California, Illinois, Nevada, Utah, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida and New York. Learn more about VEDC services by visiting www.vedc.org. About Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,600 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 269,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 27 on Fortune's 2016 rankings of America's largest corporations. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122006198/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] World's Latest E-commerce Model of Jumore Shows in APEC LIMA, Peru, Nov. 23, 2016 /CNW/ -- Jumore E-commerce Co., Ltd. (Jumore) chairman Lu Hongxiang shared his company's new E4B (Ecosystem for Business) e-commerce model with political and business leaders at the 2016 APEC CEO Summit, held on 17-19 November in Lima, Peru. As the only Chinese company represented, Mr. Lu was invited to address the delegation, and also hold an exchange activity for APEC business leaders, the first of its kind by a Chinese enterprise during the APEC Summit. The theme of the APEC Summit was "High Quality Growth and Human Development". Mr. Lu was invited to participate in a dialogue entitled "Redesigning Trade" with, among others, Enrique Pena Nieto - President of Mexico, John Key - Prime Minister of New Zealand and Ken Allen - President of DHL, with Lu stressing that th E4B model will be an innovative driving force for promoting economic and trade cooperation and changing trade pattern. As the initiator of E4B model, Jumore will make the best of an ecological e-commerce platform to promote win-win cooperation among countries and enterprises around the world, help customers carry out transactions and collaboration with others, upstream and downstream, and access to all-round quality services provided by premium third-party enterprises worldwide. After the panel discussion, Jumore held an exchange activity entitled "Interconnection & Sharing Economy" for APEC business leaders, the first held by a Chinese enterprise during the APEC Summit in its 27 years of history. According to statistics, as of September 2016, Jumore has reached cooperation with all Chinese provinces and more than 100 countries around the world, and built a good relationship with numerous APEC members. In addition to the APEC Summit, Jumore will continue the trip through the Americas for more discussions on cooperation with official and enterprise representatives worldwide. During the visits, Jumore will hold several cross-border e-commerce summits in different countries to comprehensively deepen the cooperation. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/worlds-latest-e-commerce-model-of-jumore-shows-in-apec-300367952.html SOURCE Jumore [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] Trina Solar Announces Third Quarter 2016 Results CHANGZHOU, China, Nov. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) ("Trina Solar" or the "Company"), a global leader in photovoltaic ("PV") modules, solutions, and services, today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2016. Third Quarter 2016 Financial and Operating Highlights Total module shipments were 1,361.2 MW, compared with 1,658.3 MW in the second quarter of 2016, and 1,703.2 MW in the third quarter of 2015. Net revenues were $741.1 million , compared with $961.6 million in the second quarter of 2016 and $792.6 million in the third quarter of 2015. , compared with in the second quarter of 2016 and in the third quarter of 2015. Gross profit was $125.6 million , compared with $176.3 million in the second quarter of 2016 and $138.2 million in the third quarter of 2015. , compared with in the second quarter of 2016 and in the third quarter of 2015. Gross margin was 16.9%, compared with 18.3% in the second quarter of 2016 and 17.4% in the third quarter of 2015. Operating income was $54.9 million , compared with $83.7 million in the second quarter of 2016 and $5.8 million in the third quarter of 2015. , compared with in the second quarter of 2016 and in the third quarter of 2015. Net income attributable to Trina Solar's ordinary shareholders was $27.1 million , compared with $40.3 million in the second quarter of 2016 and a net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of $20.0 million in the third quarter of 2015. ordinary shareholders was , compared with in the second quarter of 2016 and a net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of in the third quarter of 2015. Earnings per fully diluted American Depositary Share ("ADS"; each ADS representing 50 ordinary shares) were $0.29 , compared with $0.42 in the second quarter of 2016 and a loss per fully diluted ADS of $0.24 in the third quarter of 2015. Mr. Jifan Gao, Chairman and CEO of Trina Solar, commented, "Largely as expected, we had a slowdown in the third quarter as a result of an oversupply and increasing inventory levels of modules in the market, as well as weak demand in China following a strong first half of the year as developers rushed to place orders prior to a subsidy policy adjustment. As a result, our total shipments of 1.36 GW came in lower than the bottom end of our guidance. Despite the headwinds, we were pleased that we were able to maintain our leading position in the U.S. and achieve record shipments to Europe. Moreover, shipments to India grew substantially and accounted for nearly 30% of our total shipments. "On the downstream business side, we connected 26.0 MW of projects in China, of which 24.6 MW were DG projects. We will continue to execute our strategic initiatives to develop our downstream business in a prudent manner. "We remain committed to pushing the technological boundary and commercializing high-efficiency cells. Recently, our R&D team set a world record of 19.86% aperture efficiency for our high-efficiency 'Honey Plus' multicrystalline silicon modules. This achievement brought the total number of world records that we have set to 14." Third Quarter 2016 Results Net Revenues Net revenues were $741.1 million, which includes $60.6 million in revenues from electricity generated by the Company's operational downstream solar power projects recorded as property, plant and equipment (PP&E) on its balance sheet, EPC services and other downstream business activities. Total net revenues declined 22.9% sequentially and 6.5% year-over-year. Total shipments were 1,361.2 MW, consisting of 1,340.6 MW of external shipments which were recognized in revenue and 20.6 MW of shipments to the Company's downstream power projects. This compares with total shipments of 1,658.3 MW in the second quarter of 2016, consisting of 1,619.0 MW of external shipments and 39.3 MW of shipments to the Company's own downstream power projects, and total shipments of 1,703.2 MW in the third quarter of 2015, consisting of 1,353.2 MW of external shipments and 350.0 MW of shipments to the Company's own downstream projects. The sequential decreases in revenues and shipments were primarily attributable to an overall decline in average selling prices (ASP) and a decrease of shipments in China following a rush of orders prior to June 30 in anticipation of a subsidy policy adjustment. Gross Profit and Margin Gross profit was $125.6 million, compared with $176.3 million in the second quarter of 2016 and $138.2 million in the third quarter of 2015. Gross margin was 16.9%, compared with 18.3% in the second quarter of 2016 and 17.4% in the third quarter of 2015. The sequential and year-over-year decreases in gross margin were mainly because ASP declined at a faster rate than the Company's reduction of costs. Operating Expenses, Income and Margin Operating expenses were $70.6 million, compared with $92.6 million in the second quarter of 2016 and $132.3 million in the third quarter of 2015. Operating expenses included a reversal of accounts receivable provision of $2.8 million in the third quarter of 2016, compared with an accounts receivable provision of $2.4 million in the second quarter of 2016, and $1.5 million in the third quarter of 2015. The Company's operating expenses accounted for 9.5% of net revenues during the third quarter of 2016, a decrease from 9.6% in the second quarter of 2016 and from 16.7% in the third quarter of 2015. The year-over-year decrease was primarily attributable to other operating income, which offsets operating expenses. Other operating income, mainly representing income from electricity generated from the Company's downstream solar power projects that are recorded as current assets on the balance sheet prior to the sale of the projects, was $17.2 million in the third quarter of 2016, $7.1 million in the second quarter of 2016 and nil in the third quarter of 2015. In addition, the Company booked a provision of $45.0 million for the settlement of a lawsuit with Solyndra in the third quarter of 2015. Excluding other operating income and the Solyndra settlement provision, the Company's operating expenses accounted for 11.9% of net revenues during the third quarter of 2016, an increase from 10.4% in the second quarter of 2016 and 11.0% in the third quarter of 2015.This sequential and year-over-year increase was mainly due to the decline of revenues in the third quarter of 2016, from the second quarter of 2016 and the third quarter of 2015. As a result, operating income was $54.9 million, compared with $83.7 million in the second quarter of 2016 and $5.8 million in the third quarter of 2015. Operating margin was 7.4%, compared with 8.7% in the second quarter of 2016 and 0.7% in the third quarter of 2015. Net Interest Expense Net interest expense was $28.6 million, compared with $25.5 million in the second quarter of 2016 and $13.1 million in the third quarter of 2015. The sequential increase in net interest expense was mainly due to less interest expense being capitalized in the third quarter of 2016 and the year-over-year increase in net interest expenses was mainly due to the increase in bank borrowings. Foreign Currency Exchange Gain (Loss) The Company recorded a net foreign currency exchange gain of $2.3 million, which included a gain on the change in fair value of foreign exchange derivative instruments of $2.4 million. This compares with a net loss of $2.9 million in the second quarter of 2016 and a net loss of $13.1 million in the third quarter of 2015. The foreign currency exchange gain in the third quarter of 2016 was primarily because the appreciation of the Euro and the Japanese Yen against the USD offset the depreciation of the RMB and the British pound against the USD. Income Tax Expense Income tax expense was $5.9 million, compared with $16.5 million in the second quarter of 2016 and an income tax benefit of $3.1 million in the third quarter of 2015. The sequential decrease in income tax expense was mainly due to the decrease in taxable profits in the third quarter of 2016, compared with the second quarter of 2016. Net Income and Earnings per ADS Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of Trina Solar was $27.1 million, compared with $40.3 million in the second quarter of 2016, and a net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of $20.0 million in the third quarter of 2015. Net margin was 3.7%, compared with 4.2% in the second quarter of 2016 and negative 2.5% in the third quarter of 2015. Earnings per fully diluted ADS were $0.29, compared with $0.42 in the second quarter of 2016 and a loss per fully diluted ADS of $0.24 in the third quarter of 2015. Financial Condition As of September 30, 2016, the Company had $625.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash. Total borrowings were $1,757.4 million, of which $1,108.3 million were short-term borrowings. In the first quarter of 2016, the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Update 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest, which requires that debt issuance costs be presented on the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the related debt liability, instead of being reported on the balance sheet as an asset. Accordingly, debt issuance costs with an amortized balance of $9.6 million, which used to be reported as an asset, have been retrospectively reclassified as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the related debt liability as of September 30, 2015. Shareholders' equity was $1,140.7 million as of September 30, 2016, an increase from $1,113.8 million as of June 30, 2016 and $1,011.9 million as of September 30, 2015. Operations and Business Updates Manufacturing Capacity As of September 30, 2016, the Company had the following annualized in-house manufacturing capacities: Ingot production capacity of approximately 2.3 GW; Wafer capacity of approximately 1.8 GW; PV cell capacity of approximately 5.0 GW; and PV module capacity of approximately 6.0 GW. Project Development In the third quarter of 2016, the Company connected a total of 26.0 MW of PV projects to the grid in China, including 1.4 MW of utility projects and 24.6 MW of DG projects. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a total of 1,302.8 MW downstream solar projects in grid-connected operation, including 1,267.6 MW in China, 4.2 MW in the U.S., and 31.0 MW in Europe. The 1,267.6 MW of projects in China consisted of 1,017.1 MW of utility projects and 250. 5 MW of DG projects. Going Private Transaction and the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders On August 1, 2016, the Company entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger, pursuant to which the Company will be acquired by an investor consortium in an all-cash transaction implying an equity value of the Company of approximately $1.1 billion (the "Merger"). The Company has called an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, to be held at 10:00 a.m. Beijing Time on December 16, 2016, to consider and vote on the Merger. About Trina Solar Limited Trina Solar Limited (NYSE:TSL) is a global leader in PV modules, solutions and services. Founded in 1997 as a PV system integrator, Trina Solar today drives smart energy together with installers, distributors, utilities and developers worldwide. The company's industry-leading position is based on innovation excellence, superior product quality, vertically integrated capabilities and environmental stewardship. For more information, please visit www.trinasolar.com. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "will," "may," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential," "continue," and other similar statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the Company's ability to raise additional capital to finance its activities; the effectiveness, profitability and marketability of its products; our expectations regarding the expansion of the Company's manufacturing capacities; the Company's future business development; the Company's downstream project development and pipeline; the Company's beliefs regarding its production output and production outlook; the future trading of the securities of the Company; the Company's ability to operate as a public company; the period of time for which the Company's current liquidity will enable the Company to fund its operations; general economic and business conditions; demand in various markets for solar products; the volatility of the Company's operating results and financial condition; the Company's ability to attract or retain qualified senior management personnel and research and development staff; and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the commencement of any downstream project is subject to a number of factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control, such as the availability of network transmission and interconnection facilities, as well as obtaining certain government approvals, project rights based on the land location, land use rights as well as the right to construct manufacturing facilities in the relevant locations. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry in which the Company operates. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. For further information, please contact: Trina Solar Limited Christensen IR Merry Xu, Interim CFO Linda Bergkamp Email: [email protected] Phone: +1 480 614 3004 (US) Email: [email protected] Yvonne Young Investor Relations Director Email: [email protected] Trina Solar Limited Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (US dollars in thousands, except ADS and share data) For the Three Months Ended Sep. 30, Jun. 30, Sep. 30, 2016 2016 2015 Net revenues $ 741,058 $ 961,623 $ 792,599 Cost of revenues 615,503 785,295 654,449 Gross profit 125,555 176,328 138,150 Operating expenses Selling expenses 42,991 44,833 45,389 General and administrative expenses 38,977 43,193 34,790 Research and development expenses 5,853 11,691 7,166 Provision for settlement of lawsuit with Solyndra - - 45,000 Other operating income (17,208) (7,105) - Total operating expenses 70,613 92,612 132,345 Operating income 54,942 83,716 5,805 Foreign exchange gain (loss) (50) (6,877) (11,485) Interest expenses (29,102) (25,973) (13,503) Interest income 538 461 432 Gain (loss) on change in fair value of derivative 2,387 4,000 (1,586) Other income, net 2,953 4,601 2,681 Income (loss) before income taxes 31,668 59,928 (17,656) Income tax benefit (expense) (5,910) (16,500) 3,149 Net income (loss) 25,758 43,428 (14,507) (Income)/Loss attributable to the noncontrolling interests 1,355 (3,155) (5,483) Net income (loss) attributable to Trina Solar Limited $ 27,113 $ 40,273 $ (19,990) Earnings (loss) per ADS* Basic $ 0.32 $ 0.47 $ (0.24) Diluted $ 0.29 $ 0.42 $ (0.24) Weighted average ADS outstanding* Basic 85,124,632 84,932,283 84,662,352 Diluted 106,151,888 105,297,396 84,662,352 * "ADS" refers to any of our American depository shares, each representing 50 ordinary shares. Trina Solar Limited Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (US dollars in thousands) For the Three Months Ended Sep. 30, Jun. 30, Sep. 30, 2016 2016 2015 Net income (loss) $ 25,758 $ 43,428 $ (14,507) Other comprehensive income (loss): Foreign currency translation adjustments (2,834) (10,873) (2,430) Comprehensive income (loss) 22,924 32,555 (16,937) Comprehensive (income)/ loss attributable to non-controlling interests 1,782 (2,284) (4,030) Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Trina Solar Limited $ 24,706 $ 30,271 $ (20,967) Trina Solar Limited Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (US dollars in thousands) As of Sep. 30, As of Jun. 30, As of Sep. 30, 2016 2016 2015 ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 455,964 $ 648,113 $ 279,112 Restricted cash 169,239 183,428 206,964 Inventories 433,839 509,496 507,018 Downstream solar project assets 709,486 692,248 30,194 Accounts receivable, net 779,040 655,281 687,961 Current portion of advances to suppliers, net 14,128 30,434 48,048 Prepaid expenses and other current assets, net 291,792 280,627 218,590 Total current assets 2,853,488 2,999,627 1,977,887 Property, plant and equipment, net (including downstream solar project assets of $788,551, $798,235 and $970,447 as of each period-end, respectively) 1,880,081 1,840,968 1,906,112 Prepaid land use rights, net 66,089 66,249 51,632 Advances to suppliers, net of current portion 18,179 19,746 13,045 Investment in equity affiliates 35,384 32,981 26,177 Deferred income tax assets, net 35,524 35,889 31,942 Other noncurrent assets 85,335 97,751 89,043 TOTAL ASSETS $ 4,974,080 $ 5,093,211 $ 4,095,838 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current liabilities: Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term borrowings $ 1,108,301 $ 1,157,760 $ 1,004,160 Accounts payable 1,073,753 1,227,028 1,130,404 Convertible senior notes 171,192 170,740 - Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 464,926 418,141 292,766 Total current liabilities 2,818,172 2,973,669 2,427,330 Long-term borrowings, excluding current portion 649,137 634,969 167,748 Convertible senior notes 112,522 111,959 279,711 Accrued warranty costs 139,218 141,692 122,066 Other noncurrent liabilities 69,303 73,508 45,319 Total liabilities 3,788,352 3,935,797 3,042,174 Ordinary shares 43 43 43 Additional paid-in capital 765,279 763,090 756,957 Retained earnings 373,226 346,113 237,541 Accumulated other comprehensive income 2,141 4,548 17,381 Total Trina Solar Limited shareholders' equity 1,140,689 1,113,794 1,011,922 Non-controlling interests 45,039 43,620 41,742 Total equity 1,185,728 1,157,414 1,053,664 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY $ 4,974,080 $ 5,093,211 $ 4,095,838 Note: In the first quarter of 2016, the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Update 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest, and retrospectively reclassified the debt issuance costs to reduce the carrying amount of short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term borrowings by $1,100, long-term borrowings (excluding current portion) by $738, and convertible senior notes by $7,789 as of Sep.30, 2015. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/trina-solar-announces-third-quarter-2016-results-300367966.html SOURCE Trina Solar Limited [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact (eNLC) Receives Letter of Support from Optum CHICAGO, Nov. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) eNLC has received a letter of support from Optum. This organization joins a list of more than 25 others that recognize that nursing care in the 21st century must be dynamic and fluid across state boundaries and that the NLC offers the best mechanism by which to achieve this goal. Mary Jo Jerde, MBA, BSN, Senior Vice President, Center for Clinician Advancement, UnitedHealth Group, said, We believe that our mission of making health care work better for everyone is consistent with our support of the eNLC. Participation by more states in the Nurse Licensure Compact will increase standardization and centralization of multistate licensing processes, making these processes more efficient and effective. Allowing nurses to have mobility across state borders, the eNLC increases access to care while maintaining public protection. The eNLC, which is an updated version of the current Nurse Licensure Compact, allows for registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VNs) to have one multistate license, with the ability to practice in both their home state and other NLC states. There are currently 25 states in the NLC. The eNLC enables nurses to provide telehealth nursing services to patients located across the country without having to obtain additional liceses. In the event of a disaster, nurses from multiple states can easily respond to supply vital services. Additionally, almost every nurse, including primary care nurses, case managers, transport nurses, school and hospice nurses, among many others, need to routinely cross state boundaries to provide the public with access to nursing services, and a multistate license facilitates this process. Boards of nursing (BONs) were the first health care provider regulatory bodies to develop a model for interstate practice with the original adoption of the NLC in 1997 and its implementation in 2000. While other health care provider regulatory bodies are just getting started in this process, the NLC has been operational and successful for more than 15 years. Additional information about the eNLC, including a list of all supporting organizations, can be found on nursecompact.com. About Optum and its parent company, UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group (UHG) is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the nation's health care system work better for everyone through two distinct business platforms - UnitedHealthcare, the health benefits business, and Optum, the health services business. The workforce of 240,000 people, including over 20,000 nurses and over 2,700 APRNs, serves the health care needs of more than 133 million people worldwide, funding and arranging health care on behalf of individuals, employers, and government. Within the UHG family, Optum is a leading information and technology enabled health services business dedicated to helping make the health system work better for everyone. About NCSBN Founded March 15, 1978, as an independent not-for-profit organization, NCSBN was created to lessen the burdens of state governments and bring together boards of nursing (BONs) to act and counsel together on matters of common interest. NCSBNs membership is comprised of the BONs in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands. There are also 27 associate members that are either nursing regulatory bodies or empowered regulatory authorities from other countries or territories. NCSBN Member Boards protect the public by ensuring that safe and competent nursing care is provided by licensed nurses. These BONs regulate more than 4.5 million licensed nurses. Mission: NCSBN provides education, service and research through collaborative leadership to promote evidence-based regulatory excellence for patient safety and public protection. The statements and opinions expressed are those of NCSBN and not the individual member state or territorial boards of nursing. Contact: Dawn M. Kappel Director, Marketing and Communications 312.525.3667 direct 312.279.1034 fax [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] Virgin Mobile Canada expands internet footprint and adds heartbeat Home Internet with Heart to help change lives for good TORONTO, Nov. 23, 2016 /CNW/ - Today, Sir Richard Branson announced the expansion of Home Internet by Virgin Mobile into Quebec as well as a new charitable initiative, Home Internet with Heart in support of Virgin Mobile RE*Generation. Now eligible residents in Ontario and Quebec will be able to hook up with Steve, the happy home modem and, from now until December 31, 2016, every time someone gets Home Internet by Virgin Mobile, they will be donating $10 to Virgin Mobile RE*Generation to support youth participating in employment programs in Ontario and Quebec. These donations will help connect youth with what they need to successfully complete job skills training, land employment and change their lives for good. "I am extremely excited about the new Home Internet service from Virgin Mobile Canada - we know Members are going to love it," said Sir Richard Branson, founder, The Virgin Group. "Even better, this fantastic new service has heart and will empower people to help youth in need." Over 250,000 youth in Ontario and 125,000 in Quebec are actively looking for jobs.1 Without skills, experience and connections, many of these youth are at-risk of becoming homeless, if they aren't already. Virgin Mobile RE*Generation focuses on removing these barriers to employment by investing in training programs that give at-risk youth the in-demand skills and supports they need for lasting career paths in construction, culinary, farming, hospitality, IT, self-employment and other in-demand industries. Donations from Home Internet with Heart will be added to existing investments to give youth the resources and supports needed to have the best opportunity to succeed. "The more barriers are broken down, the more youth will be able to accomplish," said Joseph Ottorino, managing director, Virgin Mobile Canada. "With job skills training, employment opportunities and resources, together we can change the lives of at-risk youth for good." Home Internet by Virgin Mobile is powered by Steve, the happy home modem. Steve has the entire household covered with reliable Wi-Fi, super-fast upload and download speeds and amazing Wi-Fi reach reliably covering your whole household. Available through two simple plans, Steve has no installation fees, no long-term contracts and no hidden fees. By connecting with Steve, eligible residents in Ontario and Quebec will receive the same VIP treatment they've come to expect from Virgin Mobile with the added bonus of breaking down barriers. Hooking up has never felt so good. Check out current offers and learn more about Home Internet with Heart. About Virgin Mobile RE*Generation In 2008, Virgin Mobile RE*Generation was created to empower a generation to help its own and support at-risk and homeless youth. This initiative gives Virgin Mobile Members and Canadians a chance to help at-risk and homeless youth gain skills to get jobs. Donations are invested in training programs run by leading youth-serving agencies across the country. The goal is to help 450 youth get jobs by end of 2017- and that's just the start. Join Virgin Mobile RE*Generation to help youth emerge from the cycle of homelessness. Visit www.virginmobile.ca/regen for more information. About Virgin Mobile Canada At Virgin Mobile, you're not a customer, you're a Member and eligible "Members Get" exclusive deals from awesome brands, a shot at VIP access and one-of-a-kind experiences to events in Canada and around the world. That's on top of super-hot smartphones on a super-fast network with plans that have loads of extras built right in! And now eligible Members in Ontario and Quebec can say Hi to Home Internet with ultra-affordable pricing. Virgin Mobile Members and Canadians can do some good in their local communities by helping at-risk and homeless youth in Canada gain skills to get jobs with Virgin Mobile RE*Generation. Wanna hook up? There are loads of ways: head online or call 1-888-999-2321 to get in the know. Get personal with Virgin Mobile Canada on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. 1. Statistics Canada. (October 2016) Selected Labour Force Characteristics: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-001-x/2016009/t009-eng.htm SOURCE Virgin Mobile Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] CERN Selects T-Systems and Huawei for European Hybrid Cloud to Serve 10 Leading Public Research Organizations LYON, France, Nov. 23 , 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- T-Systems has been awarded a frame contract for a joint Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP), led by CERN, that covers the design, prototyping and pilot phase of the Helix Nebula Science Cloud. T-Systems, supported by its technology partner Huawei, will develop a solution based on its Open Telekom Cloud public cloud service launched in March 2016 and which currently supports workloads from various leading enterprises, SMEs and public sector organizations. This 5.3 million joint PCP tender, led by CERN, will establish a European hybrid cloud platform designed to support high-performance, data-intensive scientific use-cases sponsored by 10 of Europe's leading public research organizations and co-funded by the European Commission. A total of 28 multinational companies, SMEs and public research organizations from 12 countries submitted bids during the summer. The PCP will start with a design phase where the four selected consortia will compete to go through to the prototyping phase. CERN is operating one of the world's largest OpenStack private clouds with more than 7,000 servers and 190,000 cores. As more and more research organizations start to use cloud services, demand is growing for dynamic capacity tat can be transparently activated in a hybrid cloud. Open Telecom Cloud, operated by T-Systems and technology partner Huawei, is based on the OpenStack open source architecture and facilitates the management and migration of data and resources between private and public clouds. As part of an earlier procurement in 2016, CERN and T-Systems evaluated the capabilities of the Open Telekom Cloud in a three-month pilot. "Following the extensive tests, it has become apparent, that Open Telekom Cloud can support the high-performance and data-intensive workloads required," said Andreas Falkner, Vice President, Open Telekom Cloud, Digital Division at T-Systems. In addition to CERN, the following research organizations are part of the joint PCP and plan to make use of the European Hybrid Cloud: Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Italy Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Germany Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, (CNRS), France Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie (KIT), Germany SURFsara, Netherlands Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), United Kingdom European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Germany Institut de Fisica d'Altes Energies (IFAE), Spain European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), France This is part of the HNSciCloud project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. About Huawei Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider with the vision to enrich life through communication. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei's 170,000 employees worldwide are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Media Contact: Gavin Guo Tel: +86 755 89247584 Email: [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] Robot to Run for President on Indiegogo DEN HAAG, Netherlands, Nov. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Anyone searching for a cool personal robot might be interested in Dawody Robotics, Bobbie 1S robot. This cute humanoid robot is voice controlled and can be used as a home guard, personal assistant, educational robot and family member in one. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161122/442124 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161122/442125 The robot can be described as a Smartbot. A telephone and robot in one, Bobbie is equipped with a touch screen monitor and a camera that enables it to monitor the house, make calls, surf the web, receive messages and much more. Bobbie has a simple program, mking it easy for young and old to develop new applications for it. Bobbie has its own, sometimes annoying character that makes him special. Sometimes Bobbie will give surprising answers while having a chat with him. While shooting a promotion video, the founder of Dawody Robotics asked Bobbie who the President is. Bobbie's answer was that he is officially running for president himself, promising to make Dawody Robotics great again. (See link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/humanoide-robot-bobbie-1s#/) Dawody Robotics' aim is to introduce Bobbie's little brother in 2017 in collaboration with a partner company that will truly change the way we look at robots. "Our aim is to have robots in every household in a time span of 5 years from now, just like people have mobile phones nowadays," said Safa Dawody, the founder of Dawody Robotics. The price for Bobbie 1S is from $340 USD for the Super Early Birds and will be shipped estimated in March 2017 to its new owners. Who knows, maybe Bobbie 1S will make it to the White House one day. Media contact: Jason Stewart [email protected] 0031623299180 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/robot-to-run-for-president-on-indiegogo-300367696.html SOURCE Dawody Robotics [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] 3D Systems Previews D2P Software Solution for Converting Medical DICOM Data to Digital 3D Models 3D Systems expands end-to-end healthcare workflow facilitating creation of 3D models for pre-operative surgical planning D2P software to deliver patient specific digital models that can be exported for use in various applications including CAD software, virtual reality visualizations and 3D printing ROCK HILL, S.C., Nov. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) previewed today its D2P (DICOM-to-Print) software solution for rapidly converting patient specific medical data into digital 3D models. A planned enhancement to the companys end-to-end healthcare workflow, D2P is designed to make it easier than ever for doctors to practice and plan complex surgical procedures using digital 3D anatomical models as well as facilitate the printing of physical 3D anatomical models. Visitors to the Radiological Society of North America Annual Meeting (RSNA) will be able to preview D2P in 3D Systems booth 1558. Our goal with 2P is to provide medical professionals with greater knowledge and productivity by enabling easier access to 3D models, said Kevin McAlea, EVP, General Manager, Metals & Healthcare, 3D Systems. This represents a significant step forward for our end-to-end healthcare solution. From anatomical models and 3D printers to virtual reality visualizations, 3D Systems comprehensive portfolio of healthcare solutions will be on display in booth 1558 at RSNA 2016 in Chicago, IL, November 27 December 2. For more information on 3D Systems healthcare applications and offerings, contact [email protected] D2P is patent pending and pending 510(K). It is not commercially available at this time. About 3D Systems 3D Systems provides comprehensive 3D products and services, including 3D printers, print materials, on demand manufacturing services and digital design tools. Its ecosystem supports advanced applications from the product design shop to the factory floor to the operating room. 3D Systems precision healthcare capabilities include simulation, Virtual Surgical Planning, and printing of medical and dental devices as well as patient-specific surgical instruments. As the originator of 3D printing and a shaper of future 3D solutions, 3D Systems has spent its 30 year history enabling professionals and companies to optimize their designs, transform their workflows, bring innovative products to market and drive new business models. More information on the company is available at www.3dsystems.com Investor Contact: Stacey Witten Email: [email protected] Media Contact: Timothy Miller Email: [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 'Righteous Rebels' Offers History of AHF, the Largest Global AIDS Organization In this thought-provoking portrait of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the world's largest HIV/AIDS medical-care provider, award-winning journalist Patrick Range McDonald reveals the nonprofit's unlikely rise from a feisty grassroots organization during the 1980s AIDS crisis in Los Angeles to its position today as an aggressive, global leader in the fight to control HIV and AIDS. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005153/en/ "Righteous Rebels: AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Crusade to Change the World" by Patrick Range McDonald, published Nov. 15, 2016 tells the story of AHF, the largest global AIDS organization (Photo: Business Wire) This riveting, untold story highlights AHF's bold history of activism, its forceful, pll-no-punches advocacy on the behalf of vulnerable people, and how the billion-dollar organization provides free HIV treatment and prevention services in more than thirty-five countries. With unrestricted insider access, McDonald follows AHF for a year, in 2014, as it clashes with the Obama Administration, the state of Nevada, and the World Health Organization. He interviews AHF's key players, including firebrand president Michael Weinstein, and he travels to AHF outposts around the globe-from Miami to Uganda, Cambodia to Russia, Estonia to South Africa. McDonald reports back about the current state of the global AIDS epidemic and discovers that AHF is a passionate and tenacious "people power" organization that brings hope and change to nearly all corners of the world. During these uncertain times, the AHF story provides a blueprint for every kind of righteous rebel who wants to make the world a better place. About the author: Patrick Range McDonald is an investigative journalist and former staff writer at LA Weekly, where he won numerous awards, including the "Journalist of the Year" award from the Los Angeles Press Club. He's the co-author of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan's memoir. McDonald is a New Jersey native and a Fordham University graduate. He lives in West Hollywood, California. Author Patrick Range McDonald and/or AHF president Michael Weinstein are available for interviews. Release Date: November 15, 2016 - on sale in bookstores and online sites Website: righteousrebelsbook.com - where you can read chapter one Publisher: Prospect Park Books - www.prospectparkbooks.com Publicity and author events: [email protected] View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005153/en/ [November 23, 2016] Neovacs signs production partnership with 3P Biopharmaceuticals, a leading GMP producer of biological drugs Agreement addresses future production needs of IFNa, key component of IFN Kinoid1 PARIS and BOSTON, Nov. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Neovacs (Alternext Paris:ALNEV), a leader in active immunotherapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, today announced a partnership with 3P Biopharmaceuticals, a leader in the production of biological drugs, for the manufacture of interferon alpha (IFNa). Todays collaboration follows the recent acquisition of the technology for the manufacture of IFNa by Neovacs from AMEGABIOTECH. This license agreement will allow Neovacs to directly transfer AMEGABIOTECH's technology to the production site of 3P Biopharmaceuticals, which will ensure the manufacture of the IFNa cytokine. As the only Spanish manufacturer of biological products in the healthcare field, 3P Biopharmaceuticals has a successful track record working with top pharma and biotech companies throughout Europe and the United States. Miguel Sieler, CEO of Neovacs, said, This partnership is in line with the recent license agreement signed with AMEGABIOTECH. The completion of these two steps allows us to secure the complete production chain for the manufacture of IFNa, one of the primary raw materials of our most advanced product, IFNa Kinoid. In addition, the agreement complements the partnership signed earlier this year with Stellar Biotechnologies, the supplier of the other main component of our vaccine IFNa Kinoid, Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH). Within the framework of this partnership, Stellar Biotechnologies holds 30% of Neostell, the production subsidiary of Neovacs. Elena Erroba, Business Development Director of 3P Biopharmaceuticals, affirmed: 3P Biopharmaceuticals is very happy with this collaboration. It will allow 3P Biopharmaceuticals to contribute to a very innovative therapeutic pproach, with our strong competence in the field of manufacturing high quality protein. _____________________________ 1 IFNa Kinoid: Therapeutic vaccine from Neovacs technology, which is composed of the targeted cytokine IFNa, conjugated with a carrier protein, Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin. About 3P Biopharmaceuticals 3P Biopharmaceuticals is a leading European CDMO specialized in the process development and GMP manufacturing of biologics and cell therapy products in mammalian, microbial and yeast expression systems. With a highly qualified team of experts, 3P supports its clients offering manufacturing related drug development solutions from initial research, through preclinical and clinical trials to commercialization. 3P was created and promoted by a group of shareholders and institutions with large expertise in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector. Thanks to their financial effort and full confidence, 3P has been able to consolidate its activity into the international market and has become a reference for the biotech sector. http://www.3pbio.com/ About Neovacs Technology Neovacs targets pathologies associated with an overproduction of endogenous cytokines. This technology is based on active immunotherapy to generate an immune response through the administration of an immunogenic complex involving the target cytokine to a carrier protein. The intramuscular injection of this Kinoid induces an immune response and stimulates the production of polyclonal antibodies against the target cytokines. It is thus possible to block cytokine overproduction and its biological effects. Several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases (Type 1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, etc.) are characterized by a disorder of cytokines that are found produced in excess (ex: IFNa). This overproduction will promote inflammation and dysregulation of the immune system. About Neovacs Listed on Alternext Paris since 2010, Neovacs is today a leading biotechnology company focused on an active immunotherapy technology platform (Kinoids) with applications in autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases. On the basis of the companys proprietary technology for inducing a polyclonal immune response (covered by five patent families that potentially run until 2032) Neovacs is focusing its clinical development efforts on IFNa Kinoid, an immunotherapy being developed for the indication of lupus, dermatomyositis and also in preclinical trial for Type 1 diabetes. Neovacs is also conducting preclinical development works on other therapeutic vaccines in the fields of auto-immune diseases, oncology and allergies. The goal of the Kinoid approach is to enable patients to have access to safe treatments with efficacy that is sustained in these life-long diseases. www.neovacs.fr Contacts NEOVACS Corporate Communication & Investor Relations Charlene Masson +33 (0)1 53 10 93 14 [email protected] Investor Relations / Financial Communications Germany MC Services Raimund Gabriel +49-89-21-02-28-30 [email protected] Press / U.S. Inquiries The Ruth Group Lee Roth / Joseph Green +1-646-536-7012 / 7013 [email protected] / [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] Animal Wound Care Market by Product, Animal & End User - Global Forecast to 2021 - Research and Markets Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Animal Wound Care Market by Product, Animal & End User - Global Forecast to 2021" report to their offering. The global animal wound care market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% from 2016 to 2021, to reach USD 1,134.0 million by 2021 from USD 818.8 million in 2016. The growth of this market is mainly attributed to rising demand for pet insurance and growing animal healthcare expenditure, increasing companion animal population, and growth in the number of veterinary practitioners in developed countries. Untapped emerging markets offer significant growth opportunities for players operating in the global animal wound care market. However, increasing pet care costs are expected to restrain the growth of this market. Low adoption of advanced wound care products and shortage of vet practitioners in emerging markets are the major challenges for this industry. In 2015, North America commanded a major share of the animal wound care market. This is mainly due to the increasing adoption of pet animals, growing pet insurance industry, and rising veterinary healthcare expenditure in the region. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Growth in the Asia-Pacific market can be attributed to presence of huge number of domesticated animals, increasing awareness about animal health, and growing per capita animal health expenditure in India and China. Companies Mentioned: 3M (News - Alert) Company Acelity L.P. Inc. Advancis Veterinary Ltd. B Braun Melsungen AG Bayer AG Ethicon, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson) Jrgen Kruuse A/S Medtronic PLC Neogen Corporation Robinson Healthcare Ltd. Virbac Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 5 Market Overview 6 Animal Wound Care Market, by Product 7 Animal Wound Care Market, by Animal Type 8 Global Animal Wound Care Market, by End User 9 Global Animal Wound Care Market, by Region 10 Competitive Landscape 11 Company Profiles 12 Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/mwn2gg/animal_wound_care View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005572/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] Axalta Employees Give Back During National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week In every community across the United States, there are people who do not know where they will sleep each night or where their next meal will come from. To recognize and help raise awareness for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, observed on November 12-20, 2016, employees from Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA), a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, swapped their laptops for ladles and fulfilled the Ministry of Caring's lunch service needs at its Emmanuel Dining Room in Wilmington, Delaware. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005645/en/ Axalta employees volunteered to serve lunch at the Ministry of Caring to recognize National Hunger and Homelessness week. (Photo: Axalta) The Ministry of Caring is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting those living in poverty in the greater Wilmington area. Its Emmanuel Dining Room helps combat hunger and serves hundreds of nutritious meals a day, in restaurant fashion, at no cost and with no questions asked 365 days a year. "We, at Emmanuel Dining Room, are passionate about helping those in need in our community," said Dorine Menchhofer, Emmanuel Dining Room Associate Program Director. "We are thankful for the support of donors and volunteers that make an impact every single day." Employees at Axalta's North American Headquarters also hosted a non-perishable food drive to collect canned goods for Emmanuel Dining Room's busy holiday season. And employees at its Mount Clemens, Michigan plant also held a food benefit for the Panther Pantry at Neil Reid High School in Macomb County, Michigan. The pantry provides food to students and families of the high school who have an emergency food need. To learn more about the Ministry of Caring or to donate, visit www.ministryofcaring.org. About Axalta Coating Systems - Celebrating 150 Years in the Coatings Industry Axalta is a leading global company focused solely on coatings and providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable solutions. From light OEM vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish applications to electric motors, buildings and pipelines, our coatings are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity and enable the materials we coat to last longer. With 150 years of experience in the coatings industry, the approximately 12,800 people of Axalta continue to find ways to serve our more than 100,000 customers in 130 countries better every day with the finest coatings, application systems and technology. For more information visit axaltacoatingsystems.com and follow us @Axalta on Twitter and on LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005645/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 23, 2016] Navidea Signs Asset Purchase Agreement with Cardinal Health Navidea Biopharmaceuticals (NYSE MKT: NAVB) today announced that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement with Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH). Pursuant to the purchase agreement, Cardinal Health will purchase Navidea's Lymphoseek product for lymphatic mapping, lymph node biopsy and the diagnosis of metastatic spread to lymph nodes for the staging of cancer in North America. Navidea will receive $80 million at closing, plus the opportunity to earn up to $230 million of contingent consideration based on certain milestones through 2026, with $20.1 million of that amount guaranteed over the next 3 years. As part of the transaction, Cardinal Health will license a portion of the acquired intellectual property back to Navidea to allow Navidea to develop and sell new immunodiagnostic and immunotherapeutic products for specific purposes in North America, and to continue to produce and sell Lymphoseek, mostly under a different brand, outside of North America. Michael M. Goldberg, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Navidea Biopharmaceuticals said, "This transaction is very exciting for Navidea and its shareholders as it will enable the company to extinguish the CRG (News - Alert) debt and to focus the company on several attractive development efforts. With our proven delivery system and broad pipeline of clinical and preclinical products addressing very large commercial opportunities, we intend to build a world-class and highly focused development effort. We will leverage our team and financial resources by continuing to seek non-dilutive grant funding and partnerships with leading academic and commercial entities. We have successfully completed two grant-funded clinical studies in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Cardiovascular disease with academic collaborators and have continued our progress with other successful preclinical studies with candidates from our proprietary Macrophage Therapeutics pipeline." The proposed transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of each company, but remains subject to customary conditions, including approval by Navidea's shareholders, receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the absence of a material adverse effect. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. Proxy materials are being drafted and will be distributed to shareholders as soon as Navidea receives regulatory clearance. About Navidea Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE MKT: NAVB) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of precision imunodiagnostic agents and immunotherapeutics. Navidea is developing multiple precision-targeted products and platforms including Manocept and NAV4694 to help identify the sites and pathways of undetected disease and enable better diagnostic accuracy, clinical decision-making, targeted treatment and, ultimately, patient care. Lymphoseek (technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept) injection, Navidea's first commercial product from the Manocept platform, was approved by the FDA in March 2013 and in Europe in November 2014. The development activities of the Manocept immunotherapeutic platform will be conducted by Navidea in conjunction with its subsidiary, Macrophage Therapeutics. Navidea's strategy is to deliver superior growth and shareholder return by bringing to market novel products and advancing the Company's pipeline through global partnering and commercialization efforts. For more information, please visit www.navidea.com. About Cardinal Health Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH), is a global integrated healthcare services and products company, providing customized solutions for hospital systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide. The company provides clinically-proven medical products and pharmaceuticals and cost-effective solutions that enhance supply chain efficiency from hospital to home. Cardinal Health connects patients, providers, payers, pharmacists and manufacturers for integrated care coordination and better patient management. Backed by nearly 100 years of experience and with more than 37,000 employees in nearly 60 countries, Cardinal Health ranks among the top 25 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit cardinalhealth.com, follow @CardinalHealth on Twitter and connect on LinkedIn (News - Alert) at linkedin.com/company/cardinal-health. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the Act) provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Navidea Biopharmaceuticals (the "Company"). Statements in this news release are made by or on behalf of the Company. Statements in this release which relate to other than strictly historical facts, such as statements about the Company's plans and strategies, expectations for future financial performance, new and existing products and technologies, anticipated clinical and regulatory pathways, and markets for the Company's products are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof. Investors are cautioned that such statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical or anticipated results due to many factors including, but not limited to, the Company's continuing operating losses, uncertainty of market acceptance of its products, our ability to repay our debt, the outcome of the CRG litigation, reliance on third party manufacturers, accumulated deficit, future capital needs, uncertainty of capital funding, dependence on limited product line and distribution channels, competition, limited marketing and manufacturing experience, risks of development of new products, regulatory risks and other risks detailed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005696/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Three seek NLCS Board District 1 seat in upcoming election Three candidates are seeking election to the district one seat on the NLCS board: Incumbent Kirsten Collier, Craig Godsey and Jason Johnson. Saddling up to help children What gave rise to the Ventura County Sheriffs Posses latest initiative to help kids with disabilities? Just a man and his horse. Somis resident Russell... CRPD to dedicate latest neighborhood park near Janss/23 The newest installation in the Conejo Rec and Park District system is now open to the public. On Oct. 21, CRPD crews took down the... The best birthday gift ever As Kerri Braemer-Castro looked down at the mountains and valleys of Camarillo from the cockpit of a World War II B-25 bomber earlier this month,... Break out the costumes HISTORIC FUNTop, Layla Sayegh, 8, of West Hills tries her hand at roping on Oct. 22 during Leonis Adobe Museums annual Pumpkin Party. Above, Lisa... Like an exotic sports car, the PG248Q is not without a few challenges in ownership. But when you make the right tweaks during setup, youll be rewarded with one of the finest gaming experiences imaginable. The smooth and instant response of this monitor is without equal among the products weve reviewed to date. Ultimately, it is well-worth the expense and effort required. Highly recommended. Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test . Introduction In 2013 we looked at one of the very first monitors that could hit 144Hz from the factory. That was Asus VG248QE. Prior to that, gamers seeking more speed had to perform their own overclocks and risk damaging internal components to drive the refresh rate past 60Hz. Today there are plenty of gaming monitors available with both adaptive refresh, in the form of Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync, and rates of 144Hz and higher. Weve looked at a few screens that boast 165Hz, but today theres a monitor that can hit 180Hz: Behold, the Asus PG248Q. Specifications The VG248QE spawned a new era in gaming displays. Not only did it refresh reliably at 144Hz, it was the basis for Nvidias first G-Sync module. It came in the form of an add-on board that required the user to open up their expensive new screens chassis to complete the modification. Now G-Sync is available on many monitors, and, interestingly, it still carries that same $200 price premium Nvidia charged for the kit. Adaptive refresh has also given rise to ever-increasing refresh rates. Even the fastest video boards cant quite reach 144 FPS at FHD resolution, but that hasnt stopped manufacturers from pushing the overclock past 160Hz. The PG248Q is the first screen weve seen that can reliably accept a 180Hz signal and run without any flicker, stutter, or artifact. To keep speeds up, the panel is an AU Optronics TN part with a white LED backlight that runs at a constant current; that is, without pulse-width modulation (or flicker-free). In addition to G-Sync, it offers ULMB with a 100-step adjustable slider to balance brightness with the level of blur reduction. Color depth is a native 8-bits, so you shouldn't see banding in properly encoded content. You also get GamePlus with its on-screen aiming reticules, FPS counter, timer, and screen alignment tool. The VG248QE has remained a top-selling gaming display for more than three years running. Can the PG248Q fill those big shoes? Lets take a look. Packaging, Physical Layout & Accessories The PG248Q comes packed in an oversize carton that provides far more protection than necessary for this premium display. Mail order buyers should have little to fear from even the most abusive shipping companies. The upright is already bolted on, so all you need to do is attach the base with a captive bolt. Asus has included both DisplayPort and HDMI cables. Youll need to use DisplayPort for 180Hz and G-Sync operation. The power supply is external and looks like a miniature Apple TV. A USB cable connects the two-port internal hub. You also get a warranty card, quick-start guide, and the users manual on CD. Product 360 Asus ROG displays exude a little higher build quality than more rank-and-file products. The overall package isnt too heavy but there is beef in all the right places. Styling is chunky and angular with a very sci-fi-tech look that extends across the entire line. Hard plastic is used everywhere except for the front bezel, which is a strip of thin black metal. Its almost flush with the screens anti-glare layer, which aggressively prevents reflection from washing out the sharp vivid picture. Bezel width is only 11mm, making the PG248Q a great candidate for multi-monitor setups. Controls take the form of buttons and a small joystick, which can be found around back of the lower-right side. The stick truly is a joy to use and makes it easy to whip through the OSD almost without thinking. The keys are very responsive and feel like they belong on a high-end product. The stand is as solid as it appears and offers a full suite of position adjustments. In addition to the pictured portrait mode, theres 4.5" of height, 60 swivel in each direction, and 25 of tilt. Movements are damped perfectly, and we experienced no slop or play at any time. The PG248Qs angular design means the panels side profile is a tad thicker than most. One thing we missed here was USB ports. You get two in the bottom input panel but none on the sides. Another nice addition would be a headphone jack. That is behind the monitor as well. Where some monitors eliminate straight lines, this ROG display embraces them. There isnt a compound curve in sight anywhere. The flat spot created for the 100mm VESA lugs is recessed into the taper, so wall mounts will need to provide a little depth for clearance sake. Ventilation is more than adequate since the power supply is external. Our sample generated no significant heat during use. Like most G-Sync screens, the input panel is sparse, providing a single DisplayPort and an HDMI port. The latter will support refresh rates up to 60Hz. The former accepts up to 180Hz and G-Sync, of course. There are also the USB 3.0 upstream and downstream ports, along with a headphone jack, and the power connector. MORE: Best Gaming Monitors MORE: Best Professional Monitors MORE: How We Test Monitors MORE: How To Choose A Monitor MORE: All Monitor Content Indie songstress Beth Brown has just released her brand new single Easy, weaving her guitarwork into a bright and breezy guitar-pop delight. Having moved to Nashville in 2015 to pursue her music career, Beth became the first female Aussie artist to be endorsed by Gretsch USA, and described the move as the experience of a lifetime as she began working with U.S. producer Brad Jones and a range of local artists, putting a debut EP together for 2017. [Nashville] has lived up to its reputation as Music City. Ive never felt so challenged and alive. Its exactly what I wanted. Writing with Butterfly Boucher on this single was an absolute dream. If youd like to see Beth in action, shell be returning to our shores shortly for a string of live gigs, dates below. You can give Easy a spin below, and itll be out on iTunes as of tomorrow. Beth Brown Australian Tour Dates Jan 6th Junk Bar, Brisbane QLD Jan 13th Treehouse on Belongil, Byron Bay NSW Jan 14th Dusty Attic, Lismore NSW Jan 19th Brighton Up Bar, Sydney NSW Feb 2nd Toff in Town, Melbourne VIC Feb 17th Lizottes, Newcastle NSW FBi Radio, that respected staple of the local Australian music community, has announced the nominees for the 2016 FBi Sydney Music, Arts & Culture (SMAC) Awards, which honours the best in Sydney music, arts, and culture. Launching in 2008, the annual awards recognise the talent that Sydney produces across the fields of music, arts, and culture. Previous winners include Flume, The Preatures, Sarah Blasko, and Royal Headache. This years nominees include Julia Jacklin, Rainbow Chan, L-FRESH THE LION, Marcus Whale, Shining Bird, and Ribongia, all of whom are up for Record of the Year. There are a total of 10 categories, including Next Big Thing and Best Live Act and voting is open to the public as of 9am today (23rd November) and will close 5pm Tuesday, 20th December. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at Carriageworks on Tuesday, 17th January. The full ceremony will broadcast live on FBi 94.5FM. Check below for the full list of 2016 SMAC nominees. 2016 FBi SMAC Awards Nominees RECORD OF THE YEAR Julia Jacklin Dont Let The Kids Win L-Fresh The Lion Become Marcus Whale Inland Sea Rainbow Chan Spacings Ribongia Escapisms Shining Bird Black Opal NEXT BIG THING Presented by AIM Buoy Julia Jacklin Middle Kids Moonbase Commander Wallace BEST LIVE ACT Presented by Young Henrys B Wise Dispossessed Marcus Whale Ngaiire Rainbow Chan FBi CLICK BEST PRODUCER Dro Carey Nina Las Vegas Sam Weston Swick Swindail BEST MUSIC EVENT Presented by Red Bull Sound Select BAD Festival Heaps Gay Sidechains Summer Dance Volumes BEST SONG Presented by APRA | AMCOS Buoy Clouds & Rain L-Fresh the Lion 1 in 100,000 Middle Kids Edge of Town Rapaport What I Got Shining Bird Helluva Lot BEST ON STAGE Desert Body Creep Lake Disappointment The Drovers Wife The Tribe Trigger Warning BEST ARTIST Angela Tiatia Claudia Nicholson Ghenoa Gela Giselle Stanborough Jonathan Jones BEST ARTS PROGRAM FM[X] Sydney 2016: What Would A Feminist Methodology Sound Like? Liquid Architecture at Firstdraft Food Fight C3West LIVEWORKS Performance Space With Secrecy and Despatch Campbelltown Arts Centre Women of Fairfield C3West BEST EATS Bar Brose Continental Deli Ghostboy Cantina Hubert Rising Sun Workshop Community radio music coordinators often have an encyclopedic knowledge of local music and an insatiable thirst to keep their ears ahead of the curve. So in this Tone Deaf series, the Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (Amrap) invites music coordinators to highlight new Aussie tunes that you might have missed. In this edition, Emily Nicol from Koori Radio in Sydney contributes with a selection of tracks currently making their way to community radio through Amraps music distribution service AirIt. Check out Emilys selections below and if youre a musician you can apply here to have your music distributed for free to community radio on Amraps AirIt. Ziggy Black Thoughts The debut track from young emerging Indigenous artist from WA, Ziggy, Black Thoughts is the vehicle for his frustration on the predicament that many in our Indigenous communities still face. A natural wordsmith, Ziggy was first introduced to hip hop by his brother as a youngster and has been perfecting his sound ever since. Au Dre Wanna Know Wanna Know is a catchy pop track with disco throwbacks but all the right modern stylings. Talented frontwoman Audrey Pownes superb trumpet and funky production of James Bowers (The Vaudeville Smash, Sex on Toast) give this party track all the right feels. Morgan Bain Hush One of our best soul voices, Morgan Bain, eases into this track with an almost hushed, smoky vocal before taking us higher, launching into the top and fullness of his range. Hush is a melody driven track with a sparse yet lush interlude, a standard setting pop/soul track from a truly talented vocalist, delivered with confidence and style. New Venusians Keep Running And Running An extended release from hot 7 piece indie soul outfit New Venusians, Keep Running And Running serves up the soulful funk in this riff-heavy track that will have your hips moving of their own accord and wanting more Lucky for us, more sexy soul is on the way with a full album release due in the new year. Amaru Tribe Positive Vibes Ethiopia, Colombia and Australia collide in the rhythms of this funky roots track as The Amaru Tribe meet Ethiopian superstar Nhatty Man. Harts Power We have the purple one himself, Prince to thank for Harts still being a part of the music scene. After spending time at Princes Paisley Park Studios, Harts is now determined to keep carrying the torch of pure, raw passion, talent and energy. Power is infused with all of these elements, plus the promise of much more to come from this artist. Diger Rokwell ft Mathas All Time Glow All Time Glow is a slick and catchy beat driven track by Diger Rokwell featuring the lyrical smoothness of Mathas riffing on some of the devastating side effects of modern life. KC Biz Journal: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce selected a familiar name for its Kansas Citian of the Year. The chamber honored Donald Hall Jr. at its annual dinner on Tuesday. Whilst I'm sure he's a nice guy and well deserving of some kind of prize (who isn't?) . . . This Kansas City biz community award reminds us that the corporate elite running this town have very little regard for the lives and or adventures of everyday people on local streets. The bright side is this lack of working-class concern is that the the favor is usually returned in the era of social media where everybody with a phone is the center of their own universe.Nevertheless, not so long ago . . . This honor was once a big deal:Congratulations are in order for this achievement that still doesn't change the fact of that most experts aredespite well-deserved biz communityEither way and once again . . . None of this matters to the average Kansas City denizen more concerned with poultry and sporting events over the next few days.Hopefully, more, discussion, debate and good stuff for the morning update: It seems that a former newspaper Kansas City newspaper scribe has cracked the code of the local online discourse and created a hugely successful online platform for himself according to this latest post.Impressive page views and talk of a constant stream of donations welcome this newsie to the Internets publishing game . . . If his blog post and Twitter feed are to be believed.Word of warning: The former columnist may be enjoying paramount and unprecedented success for a local blogger but we don't advise newsbies to take this path. Mr. Abouhalkah has nearly a half century of journalism experience and a name brand that's renowned throughout the metro area . . . Whereas other Internets denizens who have much better metrics than this columnist (gamers, musicians, movie-makers and hottie models) might not be able to duplicate the results that he claims given that he represents such broad spectrum of opinion among a generous news-reading population who are more than willing to pay for left-leaning content that's also available free of charge across a wide spectrum of online locations.We're certain that Mr. Abouhalkah's touting respectable numbers and a promising journalism profit center is forthright and be would never engage in the same kind of blogger braggadocio which newspaper journalists traditionally denounce.Translation: Don't try this at home, kids.You decide: Six-week update at Yael on the Trail: Opinions, readers and money AIRPORT ALERT !!! We must build, Jolie and Sly say so! KCI /MCI is an absolute disaster! Yesterday, November 22, at 5: 30am I pulled right up and parked at Southwests ticketing area and my passengers were at their gate within 10 minutes Today Wednesday, November 23 at 11:45 am (yes thats right, noon) there were 18 people in the curbside checkin line at Southwest. Very few at the ticket counters inside. I parked right at the curb, passengers disembarked my vehicle and check bags and were at their gate in less than 15 minutes.. WOW what a disaster. We must build a BILLION Dollar airport immediately!!All of the above is of course in jest. When you think that there was a 4 hour back up on the 405 at LAX yesterday when my passengers arrived there, were in pretty good shape. Things are moving better today out there.The point is we are going to start hearing about how terrible our airport is and how bad things are at KCI. How about a little maintenance? That would go a long way toward making the KCI experience a lot better.Last night at the Chamber of Commerce Dinner her in Kansas City, the talk was all about the new single terminal plan. How "we just have to do it, NOW". When several people were asked if they had seen the Crawford Plan, the answer was no. They had no idea there are other, less expensive, more efficient plans available. The mayor has selected the Chamber to lead his fight for his idea of a single terminal , which is now moving into full swing. Be prepared for the propaganda blitz during the holidays..Be cautions and remember the local news is a puppet for city hall.. All in all things are moving very smoothly at the largest carrier at KCI, from what we experienced yesterday and today..Citizens for Responsible Government########### RIGHT NOW PUBLIC RELATIONS EXPERT TRACY THOMAS SHARES THIS SCATHING CRITIQUE OF SCHLITTERBAHN MEDIA STRATEGY AFTER THEIR VERRUCKT WATER SLIDE DECAPITATED CALEB SCHAWB!!! TKC EXCLUSIVE WORD ON SCHLITTERBAHN STRATEGY FROM PUBLIC RELATIONS EXPERT TRACY THOMAS: This morning we're providing more in-depth coverage and testimony of a Kansas City controversy than any other news outlet in the metro.To wit . . .is currently publisher ofLLC. However, her note to our blog community is informed by aworking with top politicos and power brokers to craft the perfect message. Her views are her own and come from a vast wealth of knowledge gained by working in local media for more than a generation.Here's the word . . .From my PR perspective of 40 years in the business, and five years as an elected official, the Schlitterbahn park did the classic. Their lawyers obviously said,It's like when someone apologizesit hurt your feelings--a ping pong apology. Conditional., not honest or heartfelt--because there are millions of dollars on the table here. A ping pong apology deflects the attention, and bouncing back to the victim, rather than absorbing and admitting they did anything wrong. The tone of the Schlitterbahn response was insincere--more about they're sorry it happened. In truth, they're sorry they got caught.Instead of the owners taking the microphone, which would have shown real remorse--they sent up their newbie PR gal from New Braunfels,Texas, Winter Prosapio. She never really studied for this career. She was a comedian columnist, who used to write little waterproof bathroom books about Texas toilet humor. Her sister is an East Coast novelist, who was one of the test dummies for the first raft rides--and is lucky to be alive, considering Verruckt was a design disaster.Tony--the Big Reveal is yet to come...the engineering report. IF it's ever released, which I still doubt. We know the raft design was flawed. Every engineer spotted that. And one local structural engineer reached out and even tried to warn the owners they needed to change the 2nd curve--but he was ignored! The $64 million question is: How much of the blame goes to the Unified Government--for demanding (without any studies, just some staffer and a committee of five untrained appointed local yokels who cooked up some hairbrained 'added security'--that hoops and nets be installed. Insane! So, is legal culpability shared? Can one successfully sue a county for being reckless and stupid??Finally, shame on the local TV stations and the STAR for refusing to reveal the fact of the decapitation--for the first week. One TV news director (was is 4 or 9) actually reported it--and her bosses made her take the story offline two hours later. Why? Not to "protect the family." Follow the money, honey.Schlitterbahn buys a ton of TV and newspaper advertising, as well as some radio. The parent companies did not want to piss off or offend a BIG advertiser. They whored out their journalistic integrity. Remember: the KC STAR's #1 advertiser for 40 years was The Jones Store. Not one negative story ever ran about them.Tracy###############You decide . . . A supervolcano is defined as having the capacity to produce an eruption so big that it can eject around 240 cubic miles of volcanic material in the form of molten rock, hot gases, and ash. Thats roughly one thousand times more than the largest volcanic eruption ever recorded in modern human history. Supervolcanoes are formed when a momentous volume of super-heated magma rises from deep underground, but is unable to penetrate the Earths crust and creates a huge, high-pressure pool several miles beneath the surface. As time passes, pressures rise and this massive pool of magma grows, until a mega eruption takes place. These kinds of eruptions have taken place in the past, and will do so again. It is estimated that such a blast takes place somewhere around the globe every 50 to 60 thousand years or so, with the last one going off 74,000 years ago, in Indonesia. So far, 40 supervolcanoes have been discovered, with seven of them still active. Not even with todays technology are we able to stop any of these volcanoes from erupting, and the best thing we can do right now is to monitor them, learn as much as we can, and prepare for their aftermath. 10. The Apocalyptic Eruption of a Supervolcano We have to make a couple of things clear right from the beginning. For starters, we know relatively little about how supervolcanoes are formed, and we know even less about what sets one off. However, recent geologic studies have shown us that super volcanoes are not like other ordinary volcanoes, especially when it comes to the causes that make them erupt. While an ordinary volcano is triggered by internal mechanisms, like magma pressure building up over time and eventually punching through the rock, a supervolcano is triggered by the above Earths crust which, due to the huge size of the magma chamber below, becomes highly unstable and forms cracks and faults. Through these faults, the magma can generate an unstoppable chain reaction that would lead to a devastating and inevitable explosion, the likes of which can extinguish most life on the planet. Because of this fact, its far more difficult to estimate when a supervolcano will erupt. One such ancient eruption took place around the time of the extinction of the dinosaurs. Coinciding with another cataclysmic event (the meteor that struck the Yucatan Peninsula 65 million years ago), the area of what is now known as the Deccan Traps in central India was the site of a huge volcanic eruption. Even before India slammed into the Asian continent, one of the largest volcanic structures made its presence felt for nearly 30,000 years. It now consists of more than 6,500 feet of flat-lying basalt lava flows, covering an area of roughly 200,000 square miles (almost the size of the Washington and Oregon combined). Its estimated that the original area was three times that size, but shrank due to erosion and plate tectonics. The present volume of volcanic material is somewhere around 122,835 cubic miles, as compared to the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, which spewed out only around 0.24 cubic miles of lava. An even larger and more destructive event occurred some 235 million years ago in whats now Siberia, which triggered the Great Dying event, where 75% of all land life and 95% of marine life went extinct. But the largest volcanic eruption in Earths past 300 million years took place underwater, and began 125 million years ago. It created a plateau 19 miles thick and 750,000 square miles wide (1% of the Earths surface), called Ontong Java, north of the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It released about 24 million cubic miles of lava, and was 100 million times more powerful than the Mount St. Helens eruption. 9. The Hellish Pyroclastic Flows That Soon Follow Immediately following a volcanic eruption, an equally, if not deadlier event takes place. This is a pyroclastic flow, which instantly killed many of the people in the ancient Roman town of Pompeii in 79 AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted. When a volcano goes off, besides the eruption column that forms above the crater, another, deadlier ash-cloud surge flows down the slopes in all directions and at incredibly high speeds (up to 450 mph). This is a fluidized mixture of solid and semi-solid fragments of rock, ash and incredibly hot expanding gases which act similarly to a snow avalanche. Everything that is caught in this flow will be killed instantaneously as temperatures inside it can reach 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. If you find yourself on a path of one of these pyroclastic flows, there is absolutely nowhere to run or anywhere to hide. The gases are so toxic, they wreck the lungs almost instantaneously, while the water inside tissue is simply boiled off. In a supervolcano, the ash in a pyroclastic flow would be so hot that it would turn into lava once it touched back onto the ground. This would lead to lava flows hundreds of miles away from the volcano itself. Because of the extremely high speeds an avalanche like this usually travels, a phenomenon known as viscous heating takes place. Basically, the force moving these solid volcanic materials through the air adds to their overall temperature, making them even hotter and thus turning them into lava midair. Any life found in the vicinity, but not caught in this hurricane of incandescent materials hurtling towards them, would be killed by the poisonous gases that are released after the pyroclastic flow dies off. The area engulfed by the flow would be covered by up to 700 feet of debris. 8. A Volcanic Winter is Coming! Now you may be inclined to believe that, even though huge and deadly, supervolcanoes would wreak havoc on a local level. But this could not be further from the truth. While the popular image of volcanic destruction is that of molten rock engulfing everything in its path, far greater devastation takes place high in the air. A supervolcanic eruption column can rise up to 15 miles and the ash, which is dispersed by winds, can blanket the skies for years to come. The toxic gases react in the stratosphere, blocking out solar radiation and drastically cooling the atmosphere below. The resulting volcanic winter, along with other effects like acid rain, can affect the whole planet, disrupting natural cycles and annihilating plant life, on which other organisms, like us humans, depend. In just several days after the blast, the skies would be dark and deadly, with fallout reaching distances of 1,750 miles from the volcano. Five hundred miles away, ash could settle up to 3 feet deep. Within this zone, movement would be impossible, roads invisible, air travel grounded and people outdoors would not be able to see where they were going, and would probably suffocate. Wet ash would collapse rooftops, short circuit power lines, and clog car engines and power station reservoirs. Nuclear power plants would be forced to close and lawlessness could take over. Those living in the path of the ash cloud would need to protect themselves with masks and visors. This is because volcanic ash is in fact rock which has been blown apart into tiny pieces and transformed into minute shards of glass with jagged edges. In its fine powder form, this ash is easily inhaled into the lungs, and people and animals can suffer a slow and painful death caused by the rare Maries disease. As the lungs fail, the skeletal system goes out of control, rapidly depositing new bone on top of old. This will affect people living even one thousand miles away and within a month of the eruption. A simulation conducted on what happened during the last time Yellowstone erupted, some 640,000 years ago, showed that in one months time, the cloud of fine ash and dust covered the entire Northern Hemisphere and within 18 months the average worldwide temperature dropped by 10 degrees C. As a result, sea ice rapidly grew in the Arctic, reflecting even more of the suns rays. This in turn led to a severe rainfall decline, and oceans and land areas retaining more CO2. All of these factors lead to a drop in biological productivity, with food supplies lasting just mere weeks in some areas. According to the analysis, it took roughly 20 years for the planet to recover to its pre-eruption period. So, if the blast and pyroclastic flow of a super volcano can kill millions of people (depending on where it is situated), the volcanic winter that follows will most likely kill billions all over the globe. 7. Aira Caldera, Kyushu, Japan Now that you have an idea of what a supervolcano is and what devastating effects it can have, well be talking about the seven such active volcanoes we currently know about. The first one is the Aira Caldera, located in southern Japan on the island of Kyushu. At first glance, the Sakura-jima volcano, at the northern half of Kagoshima Bay, looks like any other ordinary volcano. Even though its been in near continuous eruption since 1955, and threatening the nearby city of Kagoshima (population of 500,000 people), Sakura-jima doesnt really stand out from the many volcanoes that dot the Pacific Ring of Fire. This is highly misleading, as Sakura-jima is just the tip of a much larger and far more dangerous volcano. The fact that its positioned on an island in the middle of a bay is the first clue. This is because Kagoshima Bay itself is in fact the infamous Aira Caldera. A caldera, as opposed to a volcanic crater, is a huge depression in the ground which formed after a previous supervolcanic eruption. As the magma chamber emptied, the ground above sank in and partially filled the hole left behind. This caldera in particular formed after a huge eruption about 22,000 years ago, with Sakura-jima beginning to sprout 9,000 years later. Today this volcano acts as a mere vent for the much larger, 150 square mile caldera it sits on. When this supervolcano last erupted, it spewed out roughly 14 cubic miles of material. Japanese scientists believe that a volcanic eruption big enough to disrupt the whole country has a 1% chance of happening in the next 100 years. With the many tremors that take place around Kagoshima Bay on a daily basis, the Aira Caldera is among the top on that list. If it were to erupt today, lava and pyroclastic flows, as well as ash clouds, could engulf areas where 5 million people currently live. Another 120 million people would be severely affected by ash fallout, which makes up pretty much the whole of Japan. 6. Taupo Caldera, North Island, New Zealand Lying beneath the surface of one of the most beautiful landscapes on Earth sits the Taupo supervolcano. Located on the North Island in New Zealand, this caldera is currently covered by the countrys largest lake, Lake Taupo. This volcano began forming some 300,000 years ago, with the present caldera coming into existence around 25,000 BC, in what is called the Oruanui Eruption. It ejected somewhere around 288 cubic miles of volcanic material to the surface when it erupted. Today the magma chamber is situated some 5 miles beneath the surface, and is responsible for the largest eruption in the past 5,000 years. This last major eruption at Lake Taupo took place around 200 AD from vents near Horomatangi Reefs (now submerged). The eruption plume reached heights of 30 miles into the air, well into the stratosphere. The pyroclastic flows that followed engulfed the surrounding area, 55 miles in all directions. This was the largest such event in recorded history, with the Kaimanawa mountains climbing one mile in a matter of minutes. The lake itself was blocked at its mouth, raising the water levels by 112 feet. This natural dam eventually broke out in a huge flood, the effects of which can be traced for over 125 miles downstream, and which include boulder beds and buried forests. It is quite possible that this eruption was the cause for the red sunsets the ancient Romans and Chinese recorded at that time. 5. Toba Caldera, Sumatra, Indonesia The Toba caldera in Indonesia is responsible for producing the largest volcanic eruption in the past 2 million years. It is also the largest at 18 by 60 miles, which makes a total surface area of over 1000 square miles. This caldera probably formed in stages after eruptions occurred about 840,000, 700,000, and 75,000 years ago. This last one was the largest, spewing out a whopping 670 cubic miles of lava, ash and gas. Pyroclastic flows covered an area of at least 7,700 square miles, with the island of Samosir being engulfed by a thick, 1,800 foot blanket of tuff (pyroclastic debris). The resulting ash from the eruption covered an area at least 1.54 million square miles, and reached distances some 4,350 miles away. Many scientists believe that this Young Toba Tuff eruption from 75,000 years ago put an incredible strain on the early human population still living in East Africa. So much so that it created a bottleneck from which only a mere couple of thousand people managed to survive. While this close call with extinction humanity faced back then actually happened, recent discoveries seem to point out that Toba wasnt the main contributor. Archaeological investigations indicate that East Africas climate wasnt so severely affected by the blast and its aftermath as to kill off almost all of humanity. What did it, however, is still a matter of debate. Nevertheless, it seems that the volcanic winter that ensued dropped Earths climate by at least 5 degrees C. and may have triggered a new ice age. 4. Valles Caldera, New Mexico, United States Despite a very green, tranquil and inviting landscape present in New Mexicos Valles Caldera National Reserve, the presence of hot springs, gas seeps and occasional tremors indicate a disturbing presence hiding underground. The volcanic caldera found there is relatively small compared to others here on this list, but at 14 square miles, its quite a hike to walk it from one end to the other. Its also not the first here, as it collapsed over and buried the older Toledo caldera, which in turn covered previous ones. This volcano had two mega eruptions in the past 2 million years, one 1.7 and the other 1.2 million years ago, piling up to 150 cubic miles debris and spewing ash as far away as Iowa. The last eruption here took place roughly 50 to 60,000 years ago, but this blast was far smaller in comparison. Though unlikely to erupt in the near future, the Valles Caldera lies above the intersection of the Rio Grande rift and the Jemez lineament, and its volcanic activity is due to tectonic movement along this crossroads. This makes this particular volcano highly unpredictable and hard to pinpoint a future eruption. With nearly 40 deep wells that have resulted in extensive subsurface data, the Valles caldera is the best explored caldera complex in the United States. 3. Campi Flegrei Caldera, Naples, Italy Everybody knows that the residents of the city of Naples in Italy have always lived in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, which completely wiped off the map the town of Pompeii in 79 AD. What most people dont know, however, is that on the other side of the city rests a 13 square mile caldera known as Campi Flegrei (burning fields). This caldera makes part of the citys westernmost outskirts, as well as the Gulf of Pozzuoli. This volcano went through two major eruptions in the past, 47,000 and 36,000 years ago, with smaller periods of activity at relatively regular intervals of roughly 4,000 years. Two eruptions have occurred in recent history, one in 1158 at Solfatara and the other in 1538, which formed the Monte Nuovo cinder cone we see today. More recently however, back in 2013, a series of earthquakes put the residents of Naples in a state of unrest. Satellite imagery has indicated that the land on top the seemingly dormant caldera had risen by 1 inch in the course of a month, with some regions raising as much as 4 inches. Since the land hasnt yet receded back to its original state, scientists believe that the chamber beneath the city has filled with about 148 million cubic feet of magma. This is not nearly enough magma to be a major cause for concern, as a super eruption needs a lot more in order to occur. Nevertheless, volcanologists need to keep a very close eye on Campi Flegrei, as these tremors can cause major faults throughout the city of Naples. But if it ever erupts to its full potential, all life in Europe could be lost. 2. Long Valley Caldera, California, United States Close to the Nevada state line, in east-central California, lays the 200 square mile Long Valley caldera, just south of Mono Lake. The biggest eruption that occurred here took place some 760,000 years ago and unleashed around 3,000 times more lava and other volcanic material than Mount St. Helens in 1980. The ash that ensued reached as far away as Nebraska and the ground above the magma chamber dropped by approximately one mile. What is most worrisome here is that in 1980, after a swarm of earthquakes, roughly half of the caldera had risen by about 10 inches. Ten years later, CO2 and other poisonous gases began to seep through the ground, killing off trees and other vegetation in the Mammoth Mountain part of the caldera. What sets aside the Long Valley caldera from all others is the fact that, as volcanologists like to put it, this volcano has a split personality. By this they mean that this supervolcano can generate two distinct types of eruptions at once. The first style is a gloppy, not very explosive lava called basalt that poses little blast danger unless it contacts groundwater or snow. The other is richer in glass, called silicic magma, which tends to be more explosive in nature. The official prognosis puts an eruption on any given year at less than 1%, which is somewhat equal to the San Andreas Fault letting loose another magnitude 8 earthquake like the one that destroyed San Francisco in 1906 on any given day. 1. Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming, United States Unbeknownst to many tourists who visit Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming is the fact that they are actually walking on probably humanitys biggest natural threat. Several miles beneath their feet lies the largest pocket of magma we currently know about. It is estimated that theres enough magma in there to fill the Grand Canyon to the brim, eleven times over. The entire national park and the surrounding area form the huge caldera. The caldera is about 1,500 square miles and can fit the entire city of Tokyo in its perimeter. Yellowstone has been active for a very long period of time and has erupted on different sites, as North America moved over it on its tectonic journey west. Its last three eruptions took place 2.1 million years ago, 1.2 million years ago and 640,000 years ago and were about 6,000, 700 and 2,500 times larger than the St. Helens eruption, respectively. Last time it erupted, it released around 600 square miles of lava on the continent and covered most of the present-day United States in a thick layer of ash. Looking at the pattern of previous eruptions, it looks like Yellowstone could be preparing itself for a new one. However, volcanologists believe that its not quite there yet. Nevertheless, the grounds of the caldera have been rising and falling for thousands of years, which clearly indicate that the volcano is still brewing. If and when it finally decides to blow, it is fairly possible that all of the above mentioned catastrophes will happen. Most of the country would be covered in ash, with three feet of ash falling more than 500 miles away, as far as Denver. A volcanic winter will probably ensue and it could last for up to 20 or more years, lowering overall temperatures by at least 11 degrees C. Together with the humongous amount of poisonous gases like CO2, the planet will then begin to warm up exponentially, similar to the Great Dying event of 235 million years ago. As the planet and oceans back then began to heat up, the vast quantities of methane hydrate (30 trillion tons), which lie frozen on the ocean floor even to this day, began to surface and heat up the planet by another 5 degrees in a positive feedback cycle. The most frightening thing here, and far more probable than an imminent super eruption, is that what that ancient volcano managed to do in some 500,000 years, in terms of CO2 production and an initial warming of the planet, we humans can achieve in maybe two centuries. One of which has already passed. In short: if the supervolcanoes dont wipe us out, well probably do it ourselves. Happy holidays, everyone! Other Articles you Might Like The Federation of Hellenic Enterprises (SEV) on Monday presented its positions in an ongoing negotiation on labour issues between the Greek government and the institutions The Federation of Hellenic Enterprises (SEV) on Monday presented its positions in an ongoing negotiation on labour issues between the Greek government and the institutions, during a meeting with Labour minister and representatives of trade unions. SEV said it supported the preservation of supremacy of business contracts over sectorial contracts, deregulating group dismissals with social plans funded by community sources and abolishing an obligatory arbitration in labour disputes. More analytically, SEV said that a large number of enterprises must be restructured in order to survive. This is not related with the sector of activity of each enterprise. On the contract, there are enterprises in every sector that perform well and several that could survie only with drastic restructuring. The current regulation offering business labour contracts supremacy over sectorial contracts, safeguarded the survival of several enterprises and job positions. Any opt out criteria could have significant risks on their implementation, SEV said. On group dismissals, the Federation proposed an open program with community funding to cover their expenses. At present and for some years to come, group dismissals cover cases of life and death for some productive units. Therefore, any further financial burdening would jeopardise the preservation of the remaining job positions in these units. SEV said Greece should seek a way to implement international rules that do not envisage unilateral resort to arbitration in labor disputes and noted that obligatory arbitration was a fundamental distortion of the landscape of free collective bargaining and has accumulated several problems in the past. The Federation said Greece should adopt only voluntary arbitration. For SEV, a modern and functional labour market, like the one described in its positoins, is directly related with necessary preconditions for economic development, improving competitiveness and adopting debt relief measures and accessing ECBs QE program, the Federation said in an announcement. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Some Greek entrepreneurs have moved their businesses abroad to survive the austerity measures visited upon them Some Greek entrepreneurs have moved their businesses abroad to survive the austerity measures visited upon them, including a 29% tax rate that Greece was compelled to adopt as part of an international bailout agreement. The debt crises plaguing Greece and several other European countries has led to drastic spending cuts and tax increases in an attempt to improve government finances. But higher tax rates have put businesses under duress, compelling many to either shut down altogether or move to countries with lower tax jurisdictions, such as Bulgaria or Cyprus. This has helped those economies but undermined the recovery money so badly needed to balance the books in Greece. According to Reuters, the number of Greek businesses that have set up in Bulgaria where the corporate tax rate is as low as 10% has skyrocketed to 17,000 from a modest 2,000 in 2010, the time of Greeces first bailout. In an attempt to address the situation, the Greek government, in cooperation with Bulgaria, has planned a series of tax audits to determine whether the corporate defections are merely changes of address to dodge taxation or a physical relocation of operations. Mr. George Pitsillis, head of Greeces Public Revenues Agency, said that many Greek businesses in neigboring countries are still economically active in Greece, using Bulgarian shell companies. They may soon be in the unpleasant position of paying tax in both countries, plus fines, he said. According to the Greek Embassy in Sofia, businesses that have emigrated to Bulgaria from Greece are reported to generate roughly 5 billion euros annually and to employ an estimated 53,000 people. Whats more, Greek businesses are flocking to Bulgaria in droves, as reported by the Bulgarian Registry Agency, with a staggering 3,642 registered this year alone, up from 3,262 for all of 2015. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report U.S President Barack Obama's visit to Greece was a strong message of support for our country, the government and our efforts to get the country out of the crisis, stated Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras U.S President Barack Obama's visit to Greece was a strong message of support for our country, the government and our efforts to get the country out of the crisis, stated Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during his address to SYRIZA parliamentary group on Wednesday. He noted that Obama's visit also sent a strong message on the need to support Democracy and individual rights in a period when the rise of the extreme right is threatened. Tsipras underlined that the same visit sent a message that Greece is not a country to be avoided, as it was in the disastrous period 2010-2015. The second review of the Greek programme will be concluded, the prime minister added, and there will soon be positive signs concerning the country's debt that will end the "left interlude" speculation. In spite of the fiscal restrictions that were known before the elections in September 2015, the 2017 draft budget forecast 2.7 pct of GDP growth and that the primary surplus target will be surpassed, Tsipras pointed out. "With the budget we are increasing spending on health, education and social protection," the prime minister said, urging MPs to "get out of their offices" and listen to ordinary people's problems, as well as promoting the government's work. Disappointment in the government While admitting that there was some disappointment in the government, because people had hoped for faster economic growth, Tsipras also pointed out that "everyone here, as well as society, knows that to abandon the effort mid-stream and turn back is a recipe for failure." "Our goal is that SYRIZA will not be yet another crisis government but the government that gets the country out of the crisis," he said. Regarding the Cyprus talks and his discussion with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, Tsipras said they had agreed the effort for a Cyprus solution must continue and the next steps laid out "so that we have positive developments on this front also." He also commented on issues relating to respect for international treaties, such as the Treaty of Lausanne, noting that the Greek government showed "particular sensitivity" on such issues. "The Greek government will not accept this unacceptable historical revisionism. Turkey must understand that the Treaty of Lausanne is not questioned by anyone in the international community," Tsipras said. "We will not question the binding legal documents that constitute the pillars of our relations nor will we allow anybody to question them," he added. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report President Nicos Anastasiades has said that he will not let the opportunity for a Cyprus solution slip through his hands President Nicos Anastasiades has said that he will not let the opportunity for a Cyprus solution slip through his hands. During a press conference on the failure of the Mont Pelerin talks on Wednesday, the President said that he went to Switzerland to discuss and finalise the territory criteria. President Anastasiades mentioned that the three territory criteria he agreed to discuss with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci were as follows: - The size of the Turkish Cypriot constituent state after the territorial adjustments - The number of refugees that would be returned to the Greek Cypriot constituent state - The size of the coastline of each constituent state The President said that he had proposed, as per UN recommendations, for the return of at least approximately 78,000 refugees and at most approximately 92,000. However, President Anastasiades added that the Turkish Cypriot side continued to insist on fewer refugees,a number which varied from approximately 55,000 at least and 65,000 at most. Necessary steps The President has said that despite being disappointed with the results in Mont Pelerin, he wanted to assure the public that he is decided in moving forward with all the necessary steps for the dialogue to restart. In order to reach a solution which will be accepted by both communities, what has been agreed must be observed and the solution must meet first and foremost the principles and values of international and European law, and must allow a viable, functional and modern European state to operate, the President said. President Anastasiades has said that he has had excellent cooperation with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Since the return of the two leaders, Akinci has said that the Greek Cypriot side did not show the appropriate realism during the talks. On his part, President Anastasiades has been in contact with European officials on the process of moving forward. UN Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide has also returned to Cyprus, and the UN has expressed that game is not over, on Cyprus negotiations. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Greece wants to conclude a crucial EU/IMF review of its bailout progress but cannot accept irrational demands on labor reforms or any extra austerity measures, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Greece wants to conclude a crucial EU/IMF review of its bailout progress but cannot accept irrational demands on labor reforms or any extra austerity measures, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday. "The Greek government is fully consistent with what has been agreed and has proven that it has the political will to conclude the second bailout review, without meaningless delays," Tsipras told his SYRIZA party lawmakers. "But this does not mean that we could even enter discussions on irrational demands." Differences on fiscal targets, energy and labor reforms could be bridged if there is political will on all sides, Tsipras said, adding that an agreement could be reached by Dec. 5, when eurozone finance ministers meet in Brussels. Tsipras said that there was "political momentum, a window of opportunity" in the European Union to help Greece exit the debt crisis. Source: Reuters Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Over 345,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe from January to November 20, a figure significantly lower in comparison with the same period in 2015 (883,393) Over 345,000 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe from January to November 20, a figure significantly lower in comparison with the same period in 2015 (883,393). According to International Migration Organisation data, the largest number of refugees and migrants arrived in Greece and Italy (171,264 and 168,542 respectively). However, an increase in migrants and refugees deaths was recorded. Approximately 4,655 people died in their attempt to reach Europe when recorded deaths in the same period in 2015 was 3,557. 90 percent of the deaths was during the migrants and refugees attempt to cross the Mediterrenean from north Africa to Italy. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Bahrain-based alternative investment fund Investcorp said its US-based real estate arm has acquired a diverse portfolio of real estate properties in the Boston and Denver metropolitan areas, for $250 million. A global provider and manager of alternative investment products, Investcorp said the investments include 20 buildings and 1.8 million sq ft of office, industrial, flex and laboratory space, thus highlighting the companys strategy to invest in strong, cash-flowing properties throughout key US markets. The investments benefit from a continually improving employment environment. According to Investcorp, the purchases of the five investments were well below replacement costs and have an average occupancy rate of 94 per cent. They were acquired with different local partners who have established track records in their respective sectors and markets, it stated. On the acquisition, Mohammed Al Shroogi, the co-chief executive of Investcorp, said: "Boston and Denver are highly desirable markets whose strong economies make them appealing locations for investments. The acquisition of these properties is in line with our strategy of acquiring well-occupied cash flowing properties in metropolitan areas with strong growth fundamentals." Boston is the 10th largest metropolitan area in the US with an unemployment rate of 3.5 per cent, well below the national rate of 5 per cent. Boston Metro Industrial, a 900,000-sq-ft four building industrial portfolio, is 95 per cent occupied. The industrial market in Boston has been fueled by robust demand for real estate due to growth in the e-commerce field. The second Boston acquisition, Blackstone Science Square, is a 99 per cent leased 76,038-sq-ft office/lab property in Cambridge, Massachusetts, leased primarily to tenants in the life-sciences industry. Located between Harvard and MIT, Cambridge is home to over 300 life science and technology companies, representing the largest concentration of life science firms in the US. Denver, the 21st largest metropolitan area in the US, is consistently ranked as one of the fastest growing cities in the country with the population expected to increase to over 3.5 million residents by 2020. "These investments have long weighted average lease terms, and we believe there is upside potential through our plan to implement property upgrades and accretive leasing," stated Al Shroogi. Fahad Murad, the managing director at Investcorp in Bahrain, said: "With a strong base of tenants and supportive local market dynamics, these properties are great additions to our US Real Estate portfolio. It has been a very busy year for Investcorp on the Real Estate front and we expect to continue to invest in US real estate." Investcorp, he stated, has acquired several office properties in the Denver area, including Centerpoint I & II, a 370,000 sq ft office complex in Denvers Midtown submarket. The firm has also acquired Arapahoe Business Park and 345 Inverness, a portfolio of 10 office/flex properties comprised of 485,000 square feet and located in Centennial and Englewood.-TradeArabia News Service Qatar Primary Materials Company (QPMC) has signed a contract with Rent-A-Port, a Belgian engineering firm that specialises in marine infrastructure development, for the operation of its bulk material handling system (BMHS) at Mesaieed, Qatar. The bulk material handling facility was developed at an investment of QR1.6 billion ($439 million). The port facility located in Mesaieed has deployed cutting-edge technologies which has improved the efficiency of the port, including the unloading and discharging capacity of primary material (gabbro) by 80 per cent, Ahmed Abdulla Al Suwaidi, acting operations director at QPMC, was quoted as saying by The Peninsula newspaper. The BMHS was set up mainly to support the national economy and encourage the private sector to work under the umbrella of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce, said a statement from QPMC. Underlining the support of Qatar Chamber for the project, Eisa Al Hammadi, the chief executive of QPMC, remarked: "The BMHS is a national vision realised after three years of consecutive and diligent work, so let us make a quantum leap and reach the national and noble goals of our company which are in full alignment with the national vision for sustainability and development." Al Hammadi signed the deal with Marcel van Bouwel, the general manager of Rent-A-Port in the presence of Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar Chamber chairman and the Belgian ambassador to Qatar Christophe Payot at the Four Seasons hotel - Doha. Commenting about the BMHS operational strategy, Al Hammadi said that there are key advantages of the system, which include capacity enhancement, reducing waiting time of the vessels, providing free storage facilities to clients for up to 21 days, and minimising malfunctioning and possible losses of materials. Expressing delight at being appointed the operator for Qatars BMHS, van Bouwel said: "This is a great accomplishment for Qatar on the international level and nationally here; it enables us as Rent-A-Port to partake in the urban growth that the country is witnessing today." He pointed out that the BMHS plays a vital role in accelerating the construction operations, and in providing services in an efficient and timely manner. QPMCs director of operations Ahmad Al Suwaidi said the BMHS would improve the flow of the primary materials and respond to the market demand.-TradeArabia News Service Etihad Cargo, the freight division of UAE national carrier Etihad Airways, has successfully completed the task of transporting over 70 elite racehorses from England to Kuwait on a single flight after the European racing season. A total of 72 racehorses, worth a combined 36 million ($45 million), were transported from London Stansted Airport to Kuwait City, where they will spend the winter months training and racing in the temperate Middle Eastern climate, said a statement from Etihad Cargo. They were flown on one of the carriers state-of-the-art Boeing 777 freighters which are equipped with comfortable seating for up to nine grooms and can accommodate up to 75 horses at a time, it said. David Kerr, senior vice president of Etihad Cargo, said: Safety is the most important thing for our equine customers, which is why it is imperative we offer a safe and reliable service on all of our shipments. The Middle East has strong ties to these magnificent creatures dating back thousands of years and, to this day, they are arguably the most precious cargo we carry, he said. In 2016 alone we have been entrusted to transport more than 1,200 horses, with several more large shipments scheduled before the end of the year, he added. Conan Busby, MAGs head of cargo, owners of London Stansted Airport, said: We are delighted that Etihad Airways chose Stansted to handle this delicate and valuable cargo. We are the UKs number one airport for horse travel and we handle many specialist flights every year. Many of the horses taking part in this years Olympic Games and the Queens 90th birthday celebrations passed through our dedicated equine facility, he added. A team of six professional grooms handled the horses during loading, while on board the flight when they visited them in the cargo hold to ensure they are comfortable and calm and on arrival in Kuwait, said a statement. When the horses arrived at Stansted they were loaded by their grooms into jet stalls, specially designed with non-slip floors which hold three horses apiece. The IATA-approved stalls were then loaded onto the temperature controlled cargo hold of the aircraft in an operation which took more than six hours, it said. Etihad Cargo operates a fleet of nine wide-body freighters, five Boeing 777Fs and four Airbus A330Fs, which can be configured to carry 75 and 30 horses respectively, it stated. TradeArabia News Service US-based Liferay, a key manufacturer of software for enterprises, has opened its office in Dubai, UAE, as part of its expansion strategy for the Middle East region. The launch will be marked by a series of events being organised by the company to address key trends in customer experience and omnichannel solutions, including one in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on December 5, followed by Dubai and Abu Dhabi on December 6 and 7 respectively, said a statement from the company. The Middle East has proved to be an important customer base for the comapny, with a significant uptick in interest and adoption of digital technologies occurring in the last five years, it stated. Studies such as those of McKinsey Middle East Index have found that the region features one of the fastest growing digitally enabled consumer bases, with 100 per cent smartphone penetration and more than 70 per cent social media adoption. And yet, many private and public sector organisations in the region have struggled to keep pace with digital opportunities, said the statement. These factors present a regional landscape primed to benefit from the Liferay Digital Experience Platform (DXP), software for creating, managing and delivering digital experiences in context across devices, it added. The Dubai office will be managed by Moussalam Dalati, who joins the company to head continued growth in the region as general manager for the Middle East. In his new role, Dalati has been tasked with supporting businesses in their digital transformation fuelled by Liferay's enterprise software. He brings with him over 15 years of experience in software strategy, sales and technical expertise. Previously, Dalati helped major financial institutions in the GCC transform and grow their digital operations by adopting leading solutions in the capital markets business. On his appointment, Dalati said: The opening of Liferay's Dubai office demonstrates our commitment to helping businesses in the Middle East gain ground in digital transformation initiatives. As a privately owned company with a long-term strategic vision, Liferay has wisely recognised the rich potential for future growth in this region. We're prepared to meet the expanding needs that Middle Eastern enterprises and government organisations have for delivering positive, personal and connected digital experiences to their customers, he added. TradeArabia News Service Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DHL Express to discuss cooperation in regards to growing capabilities within the logistics sector across Omans airports. Representing OAMC at the signing ceremony was Sheikh Aiman bin Ahmed Al-Hosni, CEO of OAMC, while representing DHL Express was Nour Suliman, CEO, DHL Express Mena. In line with its efforts to diversify the economy, the Government of Oman is focussing on a number of key economic sectors. The logistics industry is one such sector which can play an important role the country given the Sultanates ideal geographical position and strong infrastructure base, Al Hosni said. Stemming from the main role of airports in the strategic logistics plan for Oman, OAMC considered the importance of building a cooperative relationship with one of the leading international players in the logistics industry DHL Express. The cooperation comes as part of OAMCs commitment to support national strategic plans. Over the coming period we will implement the memorandum signed today to pave the way for one of the largest logistics centres regionally at the Muscat International Airport. Omans ideal geographical location covers one of the most important logistics tracks for the movement of trade in the region, said Suliman. In the past few years, Oman has witnessed an unprecedented boom in infrastructure including roads, airports, and ports, which will play a major role in facilitating international trade movement in the region. Therefore, we are looking forward to being a key contributor in this important period. The memorandum signed with OAMC aims to discuss ways of future cooperation and contribution towards strengthening the logistics plan of Oman. OAMC, earlier this year, announced its strategy for the coming five years titled Growing gateways to beauty and opportunity, which aims for Oman airports to be ranked amongst the top 20 airports in the world by 2020. The memorandum paves the way for Muscat International Airport to play major role in securing opportunities to support various businesses in Oman. We also aim to provide job opportunities for Omani youth in a promising sector, as well as boosting aviation and cargo movement at the airport; which will be positively reflected on Oman as a growing regional logistic centre connecting East with the West and North with the South. This MoU also falls in line with the launch of the Oman International Logistics Group, a Government holding company aimed at developing and growing this important sector, Al Hosni added. DHL Express is a leading global company in the logistics sector. DHL offers customers superior service quality in more than 220 countries delivered via over 250 large and mid-jets. OAMC works in close collaboration with regional and international airlines, as well as relevant government bodies to position Oman as a unique tourist and visitor destination, and is working to enhance the range of facilities and commercial services provided at Omans Airports nationwide. - TradeArabia News Service Surrounded by amazing bodies of water enjoyed not only by travellers but of marine biologists and surfers, Australia will always be a part of most travel bucket list. With a land area of 7.692 million kilometers, it is with no doubt as to why is a whole continent in itself. Australia also home to some of the most expensive hotel suites every traveller should try to check in at least once in their life. Here are five of the most expensive hotel suites in Australia. The Chairman's Villa, Crown Towers Melbourne - $21,000 per night- Spanning 1090 square metres, the villa is as opulent, luxurious and decadent as its moniker suggests. Boasting a private gym, massage parlour, custom-made bed and a dedicated team of butlers you might never want to leave. SYDNEY SUITE, PARK HYATT SYDNEY - $18,000 A NIGHT- With its 93sq m outdoor terrace offering almost 360-degree views of Sydney Harbour, the Opera House and Bridge, the Park Hyatt's premier suite's location is hard to beat. The palatial 350sq m, fourth-floor, two-bedroom apartment has a dining room for eight, spa bath, dry sauna and steam room. There's also al fresco dining for eight on the terrace, and a 24-hour butler service. See sydney.park.hyatt.com QLD: Owner's Penthouse, One&Only Hayman Island - $12,000 per night- Boasting three bedrooms, three bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling beach-facing windows, and a full wrap-around balcony, this penthouse is simply breathtaking. According to nz.lifestyle.yahoo.com, guests in the owner's penthouse are treated to an on-call butler's service, and can even have their luggage unpacked and re-packed for them when they leave for the duration of their stay. SHERATON MELBOURNE PENTHOUSE - $7000 A NIGHT- Sitting on the 31st floor with sweeping views of Melbourne's city skyline, the Sheraton Melbourne's newly unveiled 261sq m Penthouse suite overlooks Victoria's Parliament House and the MCG. According to www.escape.com.au, the three-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom suite has a dining room for 10, a study/massage room, wine cellar fridge and 40-inch TVs in each bedroom. Its open terrace is said to be one of Melbourne's best spots to view sunsets and the city lights. See sheratonmelbourne.com TAS: Private pavilions at Saffire Freycinet - $2800 per night- A stone's throw from the world-famous Wineglass Bay, the 140-square-metre pavilions boast in-suite kitchens with the option of having meals - from a la carte to degustation - prepared by a private chef. But the real show-stopper is the private courtyard - because of the glimmering plunge pool of your very own in the middle of it. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 The travel industry is on its way to hitting an all-time high and apparently, Millennials are responsible. Experts have found that Millennials have hit an average annual spending of $200 billion on travel and tourism, the largest average the travel industry has ever seen. Millennials, identified as the generation that hit early adulthood in the 2000s, have been identified as the generation that has invested the most money in travel. Furthermore, the generation has been known to impart in travel luxuries such as the use of large travel agencies, attending big events, and staying in starred accommodations. In a report by Forbes, it is mentioned that Millennials find travelling as an entitled privilege, noting that members of the generation are known to fully utilize vacation days. In addition, the Millennial mindset has spread to members of other generations such as people born in the 60's and 70's. In fact, the importance of travelling to members of the generation has reached a point where it has taken over the top slots in the list of priorities. As stated by Yahoo, a White House report from two years ago showed that US Millennials are more likely to travel than to own their own homes. In a similar UK report, it was found that travel is given more importance than the paying of student loans and other debts. Polls have proven that over seventy percent of Millennials identify travel as an integral part of their personal lives. Millennial travel practices are keen on experiencing the full local experience, opting for authentic cuisine and local-loved activities in obscure locations. These practices are also focused on exploration and discover with added emphasis on learning from each adventure. Travel Pulse has also confirmed that the Millennial mindset and thirst for knowledge is reflected in the extent of pre-travel research. The website has stated that travelers will research an average of ten different sources before finalizing travel plans. This rising travel trend is seen to be highly advantageous to the world's economy, particularly to countries that are highly dependent on travel and tourism. With more Millennials investing into the travel industry, the world is expected to see great increases in countries' GDPs over the next decade. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Virgin Australia Airline is facing compliant by a 16-year-old boy for not providing enough medical assistance. The young man suffered from scarring burns due to spilled hot coffee when a cup served by cabin crew glided from a tray table into his lap. He suffered blisters to his groin, thighs, genitals and legs. "It was excruciating and probably the worst pain I have ever felt... I ran to the toilet and Dad immediately started putting cold water on the burn," Rhett Butler narrated on a report of the Daily Mail. The incident happened soon after takeoff on the Los Angeles to Sydney flight. The complainant is from Melbourne, Australia and travelling with his father, Brian Butler, on May 2015 when it happened. Due to the limited resources while onboard, the Butlers used their own bandages. The aircraft staff only provided total of 12 bottles of cold water to soothe the damaged areas and stopped giving them more than that. Two ice packs were also given by the crew. The father and son tandem was furious because of insufficient supply and first aid treatment. Rhett was treated by paramedics when they landed in Sydney. Virgin Australia confirmed the incident in a report from News.com.au on Monday, quoted, "An incident did occur on flight VA2 from Los Angeles to Sydney on 3 May 2015." The airlines representative did not give any other comments but attest that their main concern is the safety of their passengers. He said, "Virgin Australia takes the safety and comfort of our passengers extremely seriously, however given this particular matter has not yet been resolved it would not be appropriate to comment any further." The painful wounds due to burns, Rhett had difficulty in walking and he was bullied at school because of the way he walked. They said that he walks like a gorilla. It took him three months for the wounds to get healed. But the memories of the unfortunate event, lingers in his memories for a long time, that they have finally decided to file a complaint against the airlines this year. Shine Lawyers' Thomas Janson, represents the Butlers in their case. They are filing for damages and asking the airlines to change their coffee cup, insisting that the staff should serve hot beverages with lids to avoid same incident to happen again. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Dragonair has recently rebranded as Cathay Dragon on Monday, November 21. The two airlines combine their expertise and influence to provide an "enhanced travel experience" for their customers, and will remain to operate under their own licenses and function as separate airlines. "We are excited about the future of the airline and the fresh opportunities that our re-branding brings. Cathay Pacific, new prospects will open up on multiple fronts enabling us to become stronger and thrive in this intensely competitive industry," Cathay Dragon Chief Executive Officer Algernon Yau said in Voyager's World. The goal of this partnership is to take advantage of Cathay Pacific's high international brand recognition and connects it with Cathay Dragon's integration to Mainland China. This will introduce both airlines to different and wider set of people. Foreign travelers who are boarding the internationally recognized brand of Cathay Pacific can be presented to different destinations of Mainland China by the help of Cathay Dragon. On the other hand, Cathay Dragon will be open to cater for international tourists who trusted the Cathay Pacific brand. "We are very proud of what we have achieved together. Cathay Dragon is a brand that will be recognisably part of the Cathay Pacific Group for our customers from different parts of the world. The rebranding will enable us to capture the fast-growing passenger flows across the two carriers by creating a more seamless travel experience," Cathay Pacific's Chief Executive Ivan Chu said in Cathay Dragon's website. The launch event was held at the Hong Kong International Airport where Cathay Dragon pilots, crew and staff are joined with some of the airlines' customers. Passengers that day got to meet local celebrity Nicholas Tse and were given treats from Chef Nic's Cookie Cha Chaan Teng. Passengers of the rebranded airline will still enjoy the same amenities Dragonair provided before. In addition to that, they can also join the Marco Polo Club offered by Cathay Pacific. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 During the first few days of January, thousands of devout Ethiopian Orthodox Christians may be seen flocking to the town of Lalibela to visit what is now being called the "New Jerusalem." This holy city is composed of 11 interconnected hand-carved churches that are connected through a series of mazes and tunnels. The first days of January mark the celebration of Genna (also known as Ledet), which is the Ethiopian calendar's version of Christmas. During these holidays pilgrims travel barefoot to the holy land of Lalibela to experience what is described to be a path from darkness into light: a coming out into heaven. The site was constructed in the 12th century AD by the Ethiopian Christian leader, King Lalibela, as a response to the Muslim occupation of Jerusalem. This "New Jerusalem," having seen over 800 years of history and culture, has been named a permanent UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to a report by CNN, Lalibela was created to provide a safe area for Christians to practice their religion during an ongoing Muslim invasion from the North. The concealed site features churches, catacombs, and passageways that are dug meters below the ground. The pilgrimage site is considered invisible from a distance, with its roof level with the ground. The only distinguishable mark of the location is a Greek Orthodox cross, located in the center of a twelve-meter-deep man-made crater. Lalibela's eleven churches are all hand-carved into the monolithic blocks of stone of the nearby mountains. Each church is a product of painstaking hammer and chisel work to create floors, roofs, windows, etc. The site's eleven churches are connected through an elaborate series of mazes, tunnels, and ditches. These pitch black passageways are considered to be the darkness that will lead all to the light waiting at the end. According to News.com, as many as 20, 000 people have been known to travel to Lalibela at the beginning of each year to celebrate the Ethiopian holiday. Most pilgrims have been observed to travel barefoot, sleep on the ground, and continuously celebrate through prayer and worship throughout the once-in-a-lifetime journey. The religious pilgrimage is said to be a great example of community, spirituality, and hospitality. This unique celebration is observed to be full of hope and understanding, with God at the center of every action, particularly of the white-robed travelers. According to recent statistics, only a bare minimum of pilgrims have been identified as foreigners. The site's lack of global awareness may be attributed to Ethiopia's recent State of Emergency and poor economic stature. However, the European Council on Tourism and Trade has recently named the country as the "World's Best Tourism Destination". The government hopes that rising awareness of Ethiopia's cultural and historical sites will raise it tourism. With an increase of twelve percent over the past year, the government hopes to see an even greater rise in tourism in the years to come. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Travelling to a different continent generally comes with its own fair share of challenges, especially when it comes to figuring out how things are supposed to work. When travelling to Europe, other than the confusion over the left-hand driving, proper etiquette is what confuses travelers more. While it's not expected that travelers will immediately know what to say or how to react to some things, one specific form of etiquette is otherwise unavoidable: the etiquette of tipping. Tips can be confusing in terms of amount or percentage, adequacy, and cultural implication. Believe it or not, leaving a tip may be a bad thing in some countries. So how is tipping different in Europe? The answer is not quite so simple, especially since there are so many countries that make up the huge continent. Specific countries may follow different guidelines, but one common trait of tipping in Europe is to always tip in cash. The reason for tipping in cash is simple: security. Should you add the charge to your credit card, the tip may not necessarily reach the intended recipient. Furthermore, while dollars may be accepted in some countries, The Guardian highly recommends that you tip using the local currency, for convenience purposes. Tipping may be simpler in some countries as a service charge may be automatically indicated at the bottom of your bill. Service charges may run from anywhere between five to fifteen percent, depending on the country and the stature of the establishment. On the other hand, some countries indicate labels that state that no tip is needed. For example, in France, the words service compris indicate that there is no required tip. However, as stated by CN Traveler, leaving an extra amount to show appreciation is still acceptable. In other countries where service charges are not directly indicated, locals have a good idea of what a reasonable tip may be. To make sure that you leave an adequate amount, it's best to do prior research or consult a local regarding the local tipping norm. In some of these countries, tipping etiquette is not necessarily based on percentage. Countries such as Croatia usually just recommend leaving the change after paying for a drink, coffee or a cab ride. Furthermore, countries like Scandinavia do not have any formalized tip etiquette, so tips are generally not expected. Countries like Russia recommend giving your tip directly to the person who offered the service, rather than leaving it on the table. This is done to guarantee that your tip reaches your waiter or serviceman, rather than to members of the management or other people that encounter it. All-in-all, tipping etiquette in Europe is relatively confusing, especially if you plan on travelling from country to country. It may be best to prepare a tipping etiquette guide, or to always consult a local before leaving a mindless tip. It is also conclusively better to always carry small bills in cash and convert your money to the local currency. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 With Black Friday just a few days away, hopefully many shoppers have narrowed down a list of things they intend to buy. Taking planning a few steps further, it would be prudent to know when major malls and stores open and close, to be sure and arrive before the store opens, or to standby for and pick through any last minute deals released before closing. Here is a rundown of some of the more famous stores in America and their opening hours for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. JCPenney - According to Fox 8, JCPenney will open its doors at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and will not close at all until Friday at 10 p.m. Shoppers should note, however, that their online sale begins on November 23 at midnight. (READ: The Best Black Friday Travel Deals) Walmart - CNN reports that despite most of Walmart's stores already being open 24 hours, Walmart is set to open at 6pm on Thanksgiving day for their Black Friday Event. Top tip: go to Walmart a day or so before and scope out on-demand items. (READ: Thanksgiving Travel Tips - How to Deal with the Airport, Road Trips and More) Target - Be prepared for their 10 Days of Deals and Black Friday Presale promotions. For the Black Friday sale itself, Target will be opening at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Best Buy - America's number one electronics store is set to open its doors at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving day and then close at 1 a.m. On Friday, the store opens again at 8 a.m. Watch out for their online deals, featuring some of the hottest cameras of 2016 going on sale. (READ: The Best Black Friday Camera Deals For 2016) Sears - Although the company says that some of its stores may be closed during the holidays, shoppers at larger branches can enjoy shopping during Thanksgiving from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. On Black Friday, stores open and the online sale starts at 5 a.m., and lasts until 1 p.m. or until their stocks last. Toys R Us - This kid's favorite is set to open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Kids can enjoy shopping galore here the whole of Black Friday, with the store being open for 30 hours straight. (READ: Gilmore Girls Revival comes out on Thanksgiving - See the beautiful filming locations for Stars Hollow, Chilton High School, etc.) Macy's - An hour earlier than the last two years, Macy's plans to open its Black Friday Sale at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Most of its stores are set to be open until 2 a.m. Friday early morning and then open again at 6 a.m. (READ: Want to get away from the city on Black Friday? Check out the best small towns in America) Mall of America - The famous mall has announced that it will not be participating in the Black Friday Sale. The Mall of America is closing on Thanksgiving to allow its employees, all 1,200 of them, to spend quality time at home with their families in celebrating the holidays. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Walkers Tours was recently awarded Sri Lankas Leading Destination Management Company at the World Travel Awards held in Da Nang, Vietnam on the 15th of October 2016. The event was attended by over 200 hospitality leaders. (TRAVPR.COM) SRI LANKA - November 23rd, 2016 - Walkers Tours was recently awarded Sri Lankas Leading Destination Management Company at the World Travel Awards held in Da Nang, Vietnam on the 15th of October 2016. The event was attended by over 200 hospitality leaders. This was a very proud moment for Walkers Tours, as this was the first occasion a DMC in Sri Lanka has won Sri Lankas Leading Destination Management Company at the prestigious World Travel Awards. It was also a great opportunity for Walkers Tours to introduce its new website World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Today, the World Travel Awards brand is recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire. ### Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 23 Despite their efforts, the Amritsar jail authorities have been finding it difficult to curb the nuisance of sneaking in of mobile phones inside the jail premises, if the recent seizure is anything to go by. During a special checking operation, the jail staff confiscated eight mobile phones from various parts of the jail complex. One of the mobile phones was recovered from a jail inmate, identified as Amanpreet Singh of Mararrikalan village in Majitha. He had concealed the mobile phone in his pocket. The remaining mobile phones were hidden in different parts of the high-security jail premises. The police have registered a case under Section 420, IPC, and Sections 42, 52 of the Prisoners Act against him and other unidentified persons. Various intelligence and security agencies had written to the government to instal scanners and mobile-signal jammers inside the jail premises so that anti-social and anti-national elements lodged in the jail could not run their network in a blatant manner. The agencies revealed that the smugglers and gangsters arrested by the city police in the past were operating their networks and passing on the information through mobile phones. The seizures of prohibited material, including narcotic substances, are routine. The jail was shifted to its new complex at Fatahpur around three months ago. The regular seizures also signify the involvement of the jail staff who collude with the prisoners when they accompany them for court hearings. Jail Superintendent Ashish Kapoor said the jail authorities were doing their job. The criminals made every effort to sneak in prohibited material. Regular seizure meant the jail staff were doing their job and conducted search operations to counter these anti-social elements. KC Singh DONALD Trumps election as US President and demonetisation in India arrived like conjoined twins on November 9. Joseph Schumpeters phrase creative destruction, used in 1942 to characterise industrial evolution, is the hopeful outcome. Experts are divided as neither falls into a neat historical precedent. Since PM Narendra Modis midnight announcement, queues of people wishing to withdraw money for weddings, agricultural inputs, studies, medical treatment or simply to meet daily expenditure continue to mull outside most banks. This has been particularly so in the Capital, where Parliaments winter session gave the Opposition a ready stage for protests. The delivery of additional smaller and new higher denomination notes, printing of which lags demand, has been dismal in the hinterland. The crisis in rural areas has been compounded after cooperative banks were barred from the exercise, apparently due to their links to politicians in many states. Thus while controlling black money has universal support, the poor implementation is souring public opinion. A number of conclusions can be reached. One, daily tweaking of levels, pretexts and manner of withdrawal confirms lack of planning. Two, making the Rs 2,000 note smaller and thus unusable in existing ATMs without recalibration defies common sense. The disruption of supply chains, private transportation and rural credit when the rabi season sowing was underway needs explaining. Finally, eliminating middle denomination notes Rs 500 made the Rs 2,000 note unusable as no one had change at retail level. The government should have had enough new notes when rendering 86 per cent of the currency invalid overnight. Experts on emerging markets are left incredulous. Ruchir Sharma of Morgan Stanley warned that populism cannot paper over economic chaos. India, he argues, is cash dependent, but its figure of 12 per cent of GDP compares with US 8 per cent and Chinas 10 per cent. Tax collection is 16 per cent of GDP, actually slightly higher than the norm for Indias peers. Unlike Indias amnesty scheme that preceded demonetisation, Indonesias keeping tax low at 4 per cent drew out $300 billion of hidden wealth. Sharma concludes that revenge is not a development strategy. Jean Druze likened the governments move to shooting at the tyres of a racing car. Respectable Larry H Summers expressed doubts about achieving stated objectives, pointing out the moral hazard of inconveniencing the majority honest people to bag a few crooks. After incremental bad news that cash shortage could only be ameliorated in some months, not weeks or even days as Modi hinted initially, the government resorted to jingoism. Indian people were participating in a public ritual or mahayagya of self-cleansing for larger national good and better future. Thus its counter-terrorism role to choke funding by counterfeit currency was emphasised. Indias high risk and immediately disruptive policy has been unleashed when externally the world faces what The Economist calls The New Nationalism. Modi is in their League of Nationalists which includes Chinas Xi Jinping; Turkeys Recip Erdogan, Russias Vladimir Putin, and of course Donald Trump. Waiting in the wings are rising nationalists on the left and the right in Europe, particularly Marine Le Pen in France who if elected can spell the end of the EU. Thus the timing for Indian financial experimentation is inappropriate as trade partnerships and alliances are tested globally. US leadership becomes critical at this juncture as since World War II it has underpinned the defence and propagation of a liberal and open international order, albeit for its own dominance. The economic power shift to Asia with the rise of China and now India and the concomitant de-industrialisation in the US and economic distress in Europe, combined with the threat of Islamic terrorism, have created conditions for the rise of the new nationalism. The EU was an experiment in post-nationalism where nation states incrementally surrendered sovereignty to a supra-national entity. The process faces reversal. Trump is the wild card in this new game. In a New York Times interview on November 22, having kissed and made up, he moderated electoral rhetoric on some issues like prosecuting Hillary Clinton and climate change. But his core beliefs remain intact like lowering taxes, renewing US infrastructure or re-examining trade deals. He announced US withdrawal from a putative Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that underpins US pivot to Asia and China containment strategy. Will China read it as US retreat or peace offering remains undetermined. The TPP, constituting two-fifth of the worlds economy, was to rewrite not just tariff and trade rules but harmonise standards on intellectual property, environment and labour rights. China will try filling the gap by either advancing a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific tying 21 countries or pushing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which will, besides 10 ASEAN members, have India, Australia, New Zealand as well as China, ROK and Japan. This is the Chinese riposte to a US-centred intrusion into Asia. India needs to move cautiously as the cracks widen or heal. Meanwhile Pakistan, on the eve of army chief Gen Raheel Sharifs retirement on November 29, has provoked India by repeat beheadings of Indian soldiers. India can either react clandestinely locally, which is unusable domestically by the BJP for jingoism or overtly, which should stall Gen Sharifs retirement. Iran, too, is on tenterhooks with radical elements salivating at the nuclear deal falling through if Trump reimposes sanctions, which would be resisted by its European allies and Russia. On Syria, Trump, in the same interview, indicated urgency for a solution. Is he realising that US retreat, as happened after World War I, would merely buy time till the US has to intervene under worse conditions? With the Opposition unity enhanced, Parliament stymied and the Modi governments ability to restore currency-in-hand normalcy in question, will Modi like Trump tamper the governments brash approach to tackling black money, terror funding and counterfeit currency? With free fire across the LoC, the deterrence value of surgical strike I is questionable. Surgical strike II on black money has disabled a growing economy and launched a Mao-like, hopefully not fatal, great leap forward. History teaches us that for civilisational behemoths like India and China, only little leaps work. For global hegemons like the US leap-backs are equally fatal. The writer is a former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain EVEN at the best of times the Indian public remains blissfully ignorant of what happens at the Line of Control (LoC) on a daily basis. Now when the worry is about changing old currency notes for new or catering for the next meal because of lack of new currency, the LoC is far from the mind. It's at times like these that reminders need to be given in the public space on the situation at the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, where a virtual state of war exists. Public knowledge of this is essential if the correct perception about the state of national security has to be held and not simply taken for granted. The situation at the LoC can dangerously spiral out of control. Firstly, it is important to know just what the LoC is. It is the imaginary line demarcated on maps and ground where the two armies of India and Pakistan were located when the ceasefire of 1948 came into being after the first India-Pakistan Conflict, in 1947-48. Then called the Ceasefire Line (CFL), it got demarcated under the Suchetgarh Agreement of 1972, which followed the Shimla Agreement. It differs from the international border (IB), which is the legal uncontentious boundary between two states. The IB is manned by police forces on a non-tactical basis to prevent unauthorised trans-border movement, smuggling and other such illegal activity. The LoC is, however, different. For one, it is manned by the armies on both sides in eye-ball contact. Although demarcated and signed on maps, there are contentious disputes about the alignment and many an attempt is made to wrest tactically important ground in own favour by eviction of the adversary, by intimidation or simply occupation if not strongly held. The well-known notion which exists is, Grabbers Keepers. It manifests in identification of vulnerabilities, a much higher state of alert at these and constant monitoring. In between the LoC and the IB is an awkward phenomenon called the Jammu IB; an alignment which India considers final and uncontentious but Pakistan perceives it as not finalised. It terms it the Working Boundary, a term we do not share in vocabulary. It remains manned by the Central Armed Police Forces, the BSF in this case and the Rangers a paramilitary force of Pakistan. The LoC may still have been a relatively safe place to operate in the 1980s of the 20th Century. The 1990s brought with them the havoc of infiltration which had to be countered all the time, night and day. The task of the Army then became twofold; first maintaining the sanctity of the LoC (no negative change) in alignment and state and second, preventing infiltration. When translated, the first meant holding posts strongly and dominating the gaps by fire and observation; the second meant physical prevention of any unauthorised movement across the nooks and crannies of the broken and extremely dangerous terrain. As Pakistan ratcheted up the infiltration of terrorists and warlike material, the strength of terrorists on the Indian side increased manifold as did the number of tiers of such manned alignments, ably supported by technology and physical obstacles. However, the public needs to know a couple of things about this deployment and the inherent threats that are prevalent at almost all times. The LoC/Jammu IB provide the scope for sending messages to different stakeholders. When activated, they keep the international community concerned about potentially destabilising exchanges between nuclear armed neighbours. Whenever Pakistan finds it difficult to sufficiently activate the Valley hinterland either due to low strength of terrorists or insufficient energy among the separatist cadres, it resorts to activating the LoC due to all the above reasons. The actions on the LoC and Jammu IB currently underway involve major breaches of ceasefire, which means regular fire assaults, using lethal weapons. These also affect the local population, thus drawing more attention. The LoC in the Kupwara sector, which is densely backed with troops in depth, has lesser density along the LoC itself. This is because it is most prone to infiltration through Keran, Machil and the Northern Gallis. The terrain forces larger gaps and isolation of posts. In the desire to cover maximum ground to prevent infiltration and ensure sanctity of the LoC, units here maintain smaller strength in a larger number of posts. This is what the Pakistan army and the terror groups are targeting. Patrolling by the Indian Army is essential. Thus patrols and smaller posts along the LoC become vulnerable when Pakistan's Border Action Teams (BAT) concentrate to create a local superiority. Intelligence on the broad presence of BATs is usually available, it is the pegging to a narrow location which remains the challenge. The recent casualties inflicted on our troops by BATs is a result of this. The Pakistan army does not have to deploy with a large number of posts as it does not have to execute counter-infiltration nor cater for raids by the Indian Army since India is not infiltrating terrorists to Pakistani territory. However, the Indian Army has struck back quite often in the past and after the recent surgical strikes that fear exists in the Pakistan Army. The devious game has been boldly played by the Indian Army too, giving away some and gaining more. For us, the LoC being quiet is advantageous, quite the opposite of what Pakistan desires. The machismo on the part of the Pakistan Army is a slow and inevitable way of admitting that the surgical strikes in end September 2016 did take place and they hurt. The Pakistani actions at the LoC now underway are obviously with a view to regain face. This will continue for some time, until the new Pakistan Army Chief settles down. The Indian Armys surgical strikes have given hopes to the Indian public that each time it will be the same; that is impossible and imprudent. Yet, a LoC-experienced commander will tell you that the options are limitless; from planned fire assaults to trans-LoC strikes dispersed over time and space. That is what the Indian Army will do as an appropriate farewell for Raheel Sharif. The writer, a former General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, is now a Fellow with the Delhi Policy Group. Wednesday morning the country was told of a big mortar assault by the Indian Army along the Line of Control. There is considerable satisfaction that the government has given a free hand to the Army to settle scores with its Pakistani tormentors. The immediate provocation was a sneak attack from Pakistan that killed three Indian Army men on Tuesday. For grislier effect, the body of one of them was mutilated. This tit for tat in body count has been going on ever since 18 Indian Army soldiers were killed in Uri. The next day, New Delhi arranged for an orchestrated media event announcing retaliatory surgical strikes, that we were led to believe had laid the demon of Pakistani intransigence permanently to rest. Pakistans army calls its country a security state and abashedly claims to be its sole guardian angel. New Delhi has happily played into its hands by opting for an eye for an eye policy on the border. There is no doubt that the mutilation of the dead is no bravery and the perpetrator must be made to pay the price for this desecration. However, as events have shown there has been no end to the violence on the border. One violent act begets another. Post surgical strikes, 18 Indian soldiers and several civilians have laid down their lives. The death toll on the other side of the border has been higher. By now South Block should have realised that a burst of machinegun fire or even a sustained mortar assault does not achieve the type of closure its men of muscle had desired. Even though the Army on Wednesday undertook the biggest fire assault since 2003, it will not achieve the desired result of silencing Pakistani guns. Tomorrow another skirmish on the border might even the score. If New Delhi does not wish to get trapped in this cycle of blood feud, it must tap the interlocutors and their skills. Pakistans foreign policy czar Sartaj Aziz has already signalled his desire to attend a multinational meet in Amritsar. That will be a good time to begin rolling back the spurious satisfaction the gun provides. Of all Indias neighbours Bhutan has been the most steadfast. Three years ago the King happily filled in as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi after the Sultan of Oman suddenly pulled out. Bhutan also supports Delhi to the hilt in international forums as well as in its bilateral disputes. Therefore, India was taken aback when the Upper House of Bhutans Parliament rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modis grand blueprint of a seamless cargo and passenger vehicles corridor. The social media expectedly was furious: Is India losing its influence in Bhutan? Has China succeeded in its game plan of turning Bhutan away from India? It was natural to see Chinas hand in the parliamentary rejection of Modis BBIN (Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal) motor vehicle pact because it competes with the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar) transport corridor. But it seems the real reason is South Blocks failure to test the waters when Bhutans Parliament took up the pact for ratification. The warning signals were ignored. There was a great deal of criticism by the Opposition led by Jigme Thinley when the Lower House approved the agreement. Politicians have long memories. Just before the last elections, India had withdrawn the subsidy on cooking gas. This contributed to Thinley's defeat. India had sought to punish him for holding talks with China without taking New Delhi into his confidence. Thinleys criticism crystallised opinion in the Upper House. Only two out of 25 members supported the agreement. Strategic analysts will be overreacting if they think China had influenced the voting. Bhutan is a major beneficiary of the economic arrangements with India and will be loath to part ways. It is getting further enmeshed within the SAARC framework. Bangladesh will invest in a hydro-power project in cooperation with India and Bhutan. For a country like Bhutan which values its Gross National Happiness, Indian policymakers committed a gross mistake by not accommodating Bhutans fears of getting swamped by vehicles from India. Rather than fretting, a limit on vehicles should bring around the Bhutanese parliamentarians. India, however, must heed the fallout of the two recent lapses of judgement. Deepender Deswal Tribune News Service Hisar, November 22 The Dimapur police in Nagaland have seized Rs 3.5 crore in demonetised currency from a man aboard a private aircraft that took off from Hisar early morning. Amarjeet Kumar Singh from Bihar said the money belonged to a Nagaland resident, son of a late Rajya Sabha member, who had booked the flight for him through an aeronautics firm headed by a Hisar-based man in Delhi. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Sources said the Nagaland resident, who claimed to have earned the money from agricultural sources, had sent Rs 3.5 crore to Hisar in the past to purchase some land but when the deal did not materialise, he asked Amarjeet to bring it back to Nagaland. The aircraft had reached Hisar on Monday evening and took off at 7.30 am today. Amarjeet was apprehended with the cash as soon as he landed at Dimapur. Probe agencies suspect it to be a case of hawala exchange in the wake of demonetisation. Sources said the Delhi firm that booked the flight had booked an aircraft for the same Nagaland man on November 13 as well when two passengers with four-five bags had travelled to Dimapur. Asked if passengers were frisked before boarding, Hisar flying club incharge Shailender Hooda said he was busy. Sources said theclub could be served notice. Abhinav Vashisht Kullu, November 23 The Kullu-Manali Airport at Bhuntar has been included under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). UDAN was launched by the government last month and it seeks to connect small cities by air as well as make flying more affordable for the masses. Kullu Airport Director AN Sharma said the AAI had called for open bidding from all interested stakeholders, including airlines, on the governments regional connectivity scheme UDAN. The Kullu Airport and many other airports throughout the country having less than seven flights a week were included under the scheme. Airfare of Rs 2,500 or lower is to be offered for flights of less than one-hour duration. The scheme is a market-based mechanism in which airlines bid for seat subsidies through auctioning. Operators will assess demand on routes and submit proposals for operating and providing connectivity on such routes and seek Viability Gap Funding (VGF), if any, while committing to certain minimum operating conditions, Sharma stated. So far only national carrier Air India was plying daily flights from Delhi to Kullu. With the inclusion of Kullu Airport under UDAN scheme, other airlines would be encouraged to conduct operations on this sector. Air India would also offer lower airfares after other operators start scheduled operations and offer UDAN seats, AN Sharma added. Kullu Air India station manager Dinesh Bhardwaj said even earlier the airlines had offered lower fares and discounts on special occasions and few tickets had been provided at Rs 2,000 as well. So far, they had not received any communication about lowering of airfare under the UDAN scheme. At present, the lowest fare offered at was Rs 4,000 for limited seats. Travel agents of the region welcomed the decision to include Kullu Airport under the UDAN scheme. Bhupinder Thakur, patron of Kullu Travel Agents Association, said they had been demanding subsidised flights to promote tourism industry since long. Tourist influx would increase with the provision of low air fares and it would also facilitate the masses of the region to avail cheaper air services. Full economy fare being charged by Air India was over Rs 16,000 and seats were not available even at this fare during the peak tourist seasons, which was a major drawback for tourists and the travel agents, he added. Aviation experts said increased air traffic to the valley would boost the economy of the region and promote the tourism industry. Ajay, a frequent flier from the town, said the availability of seats would increase with the commencement of operations of other airlines to Kullu Airport and this would encourage healthy competition which would benefit consumers. Jammu, November 23 Former Vice Chancellor of Jammu University Amitabh Mattoo, adviser to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, on Wednesday tendered his resignation citing personal reasons. Yes, I have tendered my resignation due to personal reasons. I want to spend some time with my family, Mattoo, who was appointed as an adviser in April this year with the status of a cabinet minister, said. Sources close to him said he will be leaving for Australia in a few days to pursue a career in academics. 53-year-old Mattoo had served as an adviser to the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed in August last year but had to relinquish the post in wake of the Sayeeds death in January this year. He had earlier served as Chief Executive Officer and inaugural Director of the Australia India Institute and Professor of International Relations at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Former member of the National Knowledge Commission, a high-level advisory group to the Prime Minister of India, Mattoo is on leave from prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University where he serves as a Professor of Disarmament Studies at the School of International Studies. He has the rare distinction of being the youngest Vice Chancellor when he was appointed to hold the post at Jammu University from November 2002 to December 2008. PTI Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, November 23 A day after three Indian soldiers were killed and one of them beheaded, the Army on Wednesday launched a massive counter-offensive across the Line of Control, in which seven persons, including three Pakistani soldiers, were killed. In a statement, the Pakistan army said, Those killed were identified as Captain Taimoor Ali Khan, Havaldar Mushtaq Hussain and Lance Naik Ghulam Hussain. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Also read: 3 soldiers killed on LoC, 1 beheaded 18 troopers lost since Sept 29, Pak toll more The statement also claimed that seven Indian troops were killed in retaliatory fire. Earlier, the Indian Army said the retribution in Keran and neighbouring Machil sectors had caused heavy damages across the LoC. The retribution has begun and heavy damages have been caused across," a senior Army officer said. He, however, did not reveal whether any casualty had been caused in the retribution. He said traffic movement on Neelum valley road in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) had also been disrupted, including the Pakistan Army vehicular movement. The Army on Tuesday had vowed to avenge the killing of the three soldiers in Machil sector who were ambushed apparently by Pakistan regulars and irregulars close to the LoC, when they were patrolling the area. The body of one soldier was also beheaded. The slain soldiers were identified as Manoj K Kushwah, 31, of UP; Prabhu Singh, 25, of Rajasthan and Shashank K Singh, 25 of UP. Meanwhile, the Pakistani Army on Wednesday violated ceasefire in Balakote sector of Poonch district. Heavy shelling is going on in Nowshera, BG and Krishna Ghati sectors since 8.30 am. Two BSF jawans have been injured in firing in BG sector. With agencies Amit Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, November 23 The Art of Living has offered to rebuild 27 schools burnt in Kashmir to save the education of over 4,500 students of the Valley. It was disclosed in an interview with The Tribune by Sanjay Kumar, who has hosted a conference Kashmir Back to Paradise held by the Art of Living here. What prompts the Art of Living to work towards making Kashmir backa paradise? This is not the first time that the Art of Living has taken any initiative there. We have been active there since year 2000 and have conducted youth leadership training programmes, disaster and trauma relief and wide range of other humanitarian works. In 2005 also the Art of Living had organised a conference on human values in Srinagar. Then Gurudev Sri Sri was greeted by over 500 Muslim youth. The Art of Living organised a conference on Human values and non-violence for leaders of opposing factions, such as the Hurriyat Conference, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front and Kashmiri Pandits. Since the recent escalation of violence many delegations from Kashmir have visited the Art of Living International Centre. What all ground activities are you going to initiate in Kashmir? Earlier, the Art of Living interventions in J&K has spanned four broad areas: Trauma-relief programmes for all sections of society; bringinga sense of harmony by facilitating dialogue between people of diverse viewpoints; working to alleviate the plight of people in migrant camps; and initiating youth leadership programmes, addressing the issues of youth caught in the web of militancy or affected by it. We will continue this programme. Besides, the recent escalation of unrest in the Kashmir valley since July 2016 had an unfortunate fallout - burning down of 27 educational institutions by miscreants. The arson has affected more than 4,500 students, evoking strong condemnation from parents, educationists, traders and mainstream civil society. In the light of this painful incident, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has offered to rebuild the 27 schools burnt down in Kashmir. Many people have responded with a willingness to support this initiative. Do you think by creating a common platform for diverse stakeholders to share their views on the current situation of unrest and some developmental activities, such as constructing school buildings etc, they will come up with a lasting solution without political willingness? The stakeholders are mentioned just above this. One thing to understand here is that there is no ethnic unrest here. Kashmiris are one people, whether they are from the Pandit community or from the Muslim community. The purpose of this conference is to involve all of them, including politicians, to bring in a lasting solution, including rebuilding of schools. Once peace regains its place in the Valley, terrorism will stop. Because the people of Kashmir will say no to this, they will stand up to say no. Sri Sri is a globally reputed spiritual leader. Why does he not involve Pakistan Government and the leaders of separatist groups to be present in this event? This conference is primarily aimed at bringing the people of Kashmir together and is not a political or an ideological conference. Only the stakeholders, the common people of Kashmir are invited to this event. We have our Art of Living centre in Pakistan also and there also we are reaching out to people, thus fostering harmony and peace. What are your plans to uplift the socio-economic status of the vulnerable Kashmiris and establish peace in the breeding ground of cross-border terrorism? Education and awareness are the primary goals of bringing people together at this conference. Rebuilding of schools is another area of bringing them together. People are fed up of violence. Business is suffering. Once they all come together, peace and development will become a reality. Without peace there is no development. Please remember this. Look Kashmir is not a breeding ground for terrorism. It is run by vested interests. Amir Karim Tantray Tribune News Service Jammu, November 23 In a big setback to Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Ministers adviser Amitabh Mattoo has resigned from his post and will be moving back to Australia. According to sources, Mattoo was upset with the treatment being meted out to him as he was seen only as a Kashmiri Pandit face by the people close to the Chief Minister. He was not happy what was happening inside the CMs secretariat as he was given work related to Kashmiri Pandit community only. His potential was not being used for policy-making and improving the delivery system of the government as he had sacrificed a lot to be back in the state and work for the betterment of the people, said the sources. Mattoo will be heading to Australia and stay there with his family. Mattoo, an expert on international relations, was first appointed as adviser to then Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on August 21, 2015, with a Cabinet status. When Mehbooba took over as the CM after her fathers death, Mattoo was again appointed as adviser to the CM on April 27 this year. He even formally joined the PDP on March 3 this year when Mehbooba had kick-started a membership drive for the party in Jammu. A close confidant of Mufti, Mattoo even played a big role in bringing together the PDP and BJP to form the coalition government in the state after the 2014 Assembly elections. He was also an important Track-II diplomacy member and participated in many conferences, including Pugwash meet in Pakistan. The sources said Mattoo had a high regard for Mehbooba but some people did not him want to take more responsibility in the functioning of the CM office and interfere in policy-making. Mattoo stayed away from his family, which is in Australia. For the past three months, his health was also not good but despite that he stayed back in the Valley and tried to work for the state, the sources said. He didnt want to be seen through the prism of the Kashmiri Pandit community. He wanted to utilise his experience gathered during his tenure in Australia and at different posts held throughout his life. But when he found that his is being marginalised and his space has shrunk, he decided to resign, the sources added. Tribune News Service Jammu, November 23 Asserting that the people in the Kashmir valley are fed up of the continuing violence and the youth have been caught between strikes and curfews, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, today said the decade-old strategies would no longer work and there was a dire need of out-of-the-box initiatives to involve all stakeholders, intellectuals for everlasting solution to end the cycle of violence. He added that only the people of Kashmir could find an everlasting solution for themselves. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said this during an interaction with the media on the sidelines of a day-long conference on the topic Kashmir Back to Paradise at the Abhinav Theatre here today. I have no readymade mantra to bring peace in Kashmir, but there is immediate requirement of new think tank to launch a platform to involve diverse stakeholders to share their views on the current situation and ponder over a peaceful solution. The prevailing violence in the Kashmir valley has eventually resulted in a trust deficit, he maintained. The 70-year-old strategies will not work because time has changed and so has the thinking. The recently launched South Asian Forum For Peace is an initiative for bringing sustainable progress in South East Asia, where people can put forth their views without any fear and pressure etc, Sri Sri added. Unfortunately, countries in South Asia have created a hell for themselves by indulging in violence which has resulted in loss of precious lives. It is really sad to see the youth being deprived of education in the valley due to burning of educational institutions which has put their academic career at stake, he opined. The spiritual guru also termed the terrorists and separatists as cash-cows, adding that 90 per cent of the neglected people in Kashmir wanted peace. A majority of the population living in Kashmir wants peace, but they feel neglected and ignored as their voices are not being heard and highlighted by the media too, Sri Sri said after the launch of South Asian Peace Forum programme organised by the Art of Living Foundation. The spiritual guru added that some Imams (religious preachers) also met him and batted for peace, but expressed resentment that nobody listened to them. However, in reply to a question regarding Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, who was killed in an encounter with security forces, Sri Sri said: You cannot say that if he was kept alive and not killed by forces, there would not have been much violence, protests or killings in the Valley. He also condemned the mutilation of the Indian Army soldier by the Pakistani army. While talking about the demonetisation issue, Sri Sri hailed the decision saying that it was an important step. He also supported that there should be a survey to know the views of the general public regarding scrapping of old currency notes. Mukesh Ranjan & Simran Sodhi Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 23 The two Houses of Parliament continued to witness a virtual washout for the fifth consecutive day today as the government and the Opposition parties went on with their spat over the demonetisation issue and the rule under which a debate on it should take place. In the Lok Sabha, Opposition members pressed their demands a discussion under Rule 56, which entailed suspension of the question hour through an adjournment motion, and the presence of Prime Minister during the discussion. In the Rajya Sabha also, parliamentarians insisted that the PM must attend the House to resume discussion. Agitating members, who came with placards demanding the PMs presence in the House, were surprised when Modi attended the question hour in the LS for a brief period. As soon as the LS assembled, the Opposition members thronged to the Well with their demands. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tried to continue with questions, but had to adjourn the House within five minutes till noon. When the House reassembled, members of the Congress, TMC, RJD, CPM and BJD, besides SAD and Shiv Sena, were allowed to express their views. Besides the BJD, Shiv Sena and SAD, rest of the parties stuck to their demand, which was countered by the government claiming that it was ready for discussion without voting. In relief to the government, Shiv Sena MP Anandrao Adsul, who spoke in the House, praised the demonetisation move and clarified that the debate could be held under Rule 193, which does not entail voting. Mallikarjun Kharge (Cong) said they were ready for a discussion under Rule 56. But a message has gone out that the Opposition is not ready for discussion. People are distressed, people are at pain and we want to discuss their problems. What we want is that the PM should be present here. You (Speaker) should allow us the adjournment motion, he said. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar countered, saying the government was willing to discuss the issue any time and it may not be a short duration debate but could go on for 1-2-3 days. He said, If the Opposition offers any constructive suggestion, we will heed to it, implement it. We have launched a campaign against black money, fake currency and corruption and people of India are supporting Modi. Countering Oppositions accusation, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said: Modi is aiming for a cashless economy and would not roll back the demonetisation move. The government is committed to fighting against corruption. This is also a fight against those who have not declared their black money. Modiji gave them time to declare their assets, but they didnt. The fight against them will continue, he said. In the RS too, the situation was no different as the House witnessed several adjournments before it was adjourned for the day at 2.30 pm. But before that Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien pulled up Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as the ruling side created uproar. At the same time, Kurien also grilled Congress leader Anand Sharma after he made an attempt to raise a point of order and accusing the government of violating the Constitution, which was rejected by the Chair. Meanwhile, it is learnt that a section of the Opposition has been conveyed that the PM will be present in the RS tomorrow. Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 22 Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh today told his Pakistan counterpart Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza to stop his troops from firing across the border or else face retaliation. The DGMOs spoke over the hotline a day after three Indian soldiers were killed and the body of one of them mutilated by terrorists infiltrating from Pakistan. On Pakistans request for an unscheduled hotline interaction, Indian DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh spoke to his counterpart this evening, an Army statement said. If any ceasefire violations were initiated by Pakistan troops or any infiltration attempts were made by terrorists from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) or territory under its control, it would invite an appropriate response by the Indian Army, Army spokesperson Colonel Rohan Anand said citing the DGMO. Lt Gen Singh told his counterpart to exercise strict control on their troops to refrain from any nefarious activities. This would lead to return of normalcy along Line of Control. He further raised the issue of infiltration attempts by terrorists from the Pakistan side into Jammu and Kashmir and the unethical act of terrorists mutilating bodies of Indian soldiers along the LoC under cover fire by Pakistan. The Pakistan DGMO informed Lt Gen Singh of civilian casualties allegedly caused by Indian firing along the LoC. Lt Gen Singh expressed grief but said only those locations from where Pakistan had violated ceasefire had been targeted by the Indian troops. The Indian DGMO also expressed concerns on civilian and military casualties caused by unprovoked Pakistan firing. The weekly telephonic talk over the hotline is usually conducted by Colonel-level officers. Deepender Deswal Tribune News Service Hisar, November 23 The Rs 3.5-crore demonetised notes seized at the Dimapur airport yesterday from a Bihar resident, identified as Amarjeet Kumar Singh, belonged to Nagalands Anato Zhimomi. The latter is the son of the late politican-cum-industrialist Khekiho Zhimomi, who was also a Rajya Sabha member. The investigation wing of the Income Tax Department at Guwahati has started a probe. Singh boarded a chartered flight from the Hisar Flying Club, attached with the Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation. Hence, the IT Department in Haryana too has swung into action, say sources. Singh reportedly carried the cash on behalf of Anato, who gave him an authorisation letter, stating that the cash was meant for purchasing land but with the deal failing to take off, he wanted his money back. A Delhi-based aeronautics firm, headed by a Hisar resident, booked two flights on November 13 and 22, at Anatos bidding. While Singh boarded the November 22 flight, passengers V Sharma and A Singh took the November 13 flight. They were carrying two bags which went unnoticed at the Dimapur airport. The probe authorities are on the trail of an Audi car that ferried Singh to the Hisar airport. Sources said the car had a Gurgaon registration number. It was being verified whether it was genuine or fake. Curiously, six flights have taken off from the Hisar Flying Club since November 8 when the PM announced his demonetisation move. Club in-charge Shailender Hooda said they had had no guidelines from the Airport Authority of India regarding frisking of passengers arriving or boarding flights at the airstrips in Hisar or any other town in Haryana and Punjab. Its up to the state government to frame any such guidelines, if required. I have written to the local police on enhancing security at the club, he said. When contacted, Superintendent of Police Rajender Kumar Meena said the police would act as required. Washington, November 23 South Carolina's Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley is the leading candidate to be President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations, media reports said today. While there was no word from the the presidential transition team, several US media reported that the announcement in this regard could be made as early as today. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) If chosen, Haley, 44, would be the first woman and minority to join Trump's administration and would replace Samantha Power as the next US Ambassador to the UN, the Wall Street Journal reported. She would also be the first ever Indian-American Cabinet rank official in any administration. The Cabinet position would require confirmation by the Senate. Reports also said that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Haley ally, is said to be Trump's likely choice for secretary of state, a position Haley was previously speculated for last week. Reports also said that Trump has picked Gen (rtd) James Mattis as his Defense Secretary. The newest revelation comes after Haley's face-to-face meeting with Trump at Trump Tower in New York on Thursday. "It was a good meeting. We talked about a multiple group of topics and it was nice meeting," she had told reporters on Monday. "The move, expected Wednesday, continues the steep political rise of the daughter of Indian immigrants that started six years ago when the Bamberg native was elected as South Carolina's first female and minority governor," reported The Post and Courier, the leading newspaper of South Carolina. "The planned nomination to the cabinet-level post, confirmed by multiple sources with knowledge of the decision, is likely to raise questions about Haley's qualifications for a major foreign policy role since she has little diplomatic experience as state lawmaker and governor," the daily said. The Wall Street said former presidential candidate Ben Carson has been asked to consider leading the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, was a vocal critic of the real estate mogul on the campaign trail. She later voted for Trump, lamenting that she was "not a fan" of either candidate. Born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa, Haley is the first minority and female governor of South Carolina, a deeply conservative state with a long history of racial strife. As the youngest governor in the US and only the second Indian-American to serve at the helm of a US state, she has been characterised as a rising star within the Republican Party. PTI Tribune news Service New Delhi, November 23 The Lok Sabha witnessed a virtual washout for the fifth consecutive day today as the Government and the Opposition parties continued to clash over the demonetisation issue and the rule under, which a debate should take place on it, with the former ruling out any provision of voting in the discussion. Opposition members, including those from Congress, TMC, RJD, CPI(M) and BJD, besides SAD and Shiv Sena, both part of the ruling NDA, expressed their views in the House when it assembled at noon after one adjournment, with the Sena changing its stance on demonetisation and sparing the government of embarrassment by praising the move and supporting its stand that the debate be held under Rule 193, which does not entail voting. The House saw continued protests by Opposition members soon after it assembled for the day, with Congress and TMC MPs trooping into the Well, forcing its adjournment first till noon and later for the day. Speaking soon after the House was reconvened at noon, Mallikarjun Kharge (Cong) said they were ready for a discussion under Rule 56, which entails voting. "But a message has gone out that the opposition is not ready for discussion. People are distressed, people are at pain and we want to discuss their problems. What we want is that the Prime Minister should be present here. You (Speaker) should allow us the adjournment motion," he said. Modi was present in the House briefly during Question Hour, during which only one question could be taken up amid the opposition's din which led to the first adjournment. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Kharge said it is being told outside Parliament that a few people are supporting black money. "But the fact is that ruling party is supporting black money and not allowing the discussion to take place in the House." Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the government is willing to discuss the issue any time and it may not be a short duration debate but could "go on for 1-2-3 days." "If the opposition offers any constructive suggestion, we will heed to it, implement it. We have launched a campaign against black money, fake currency and corruption and people of India are supporting Modi," Kumar said. With Agencies Legal Correspondent New Delhi, November 23 The Supreme Court today rejected the Centres plea for an immediate stay of PIL proceedings in several high courts against demonetisation, but issued notice to the petitioners seeking their response to the governments suggestion that all these cases be transferred to the SC or any one of the HCs. A three-member Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur passed the order even as the Centre claimed the situation had become much better as banks had accepted about Rs 6,00,000 crore of the demonetised currency notes in the denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the Bench that queues outside banks had become shorter, while there was a big surge in digital transactions. The governments move was aimed at flushing out black money accumulated by unscrupulous elements over the past 70 years. The Centre and its agencies were monitoring the situation round-the-clock and issuing orders constantly to address peoples problems. Ideally, cash transactions should not exceed 4 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product, but now it was estimated at 12 per cent. Transferring the PILs pending in various HCs to a single court would avoid conflicting rulings by HCs and the resultant confusion and implementation issues, the AG pleaded. The apex court, however, said it was not proper to restrain the HCs and deny immediate relief to the affected people. It slated the next hearing of the governments plea for December 2 to enable the PIL petitioners in HCs to submit their views. The SC is also hearing a batch of PILs against demonetisation and hearing of these petitions would resume on November 25. In the first hearing on November 15, the court endorsed the drive against black money, but asked the government to minimise the problems arising from the squeeze on currency circulation. Refusing to stay the drive, the Bench had asked the government to file a status report on the steps being taken to help the general public before the next hearing on November 25. The government had then told the SC that the total value of the demonetised currency notes was about Rs 16,00,000 crore, of which only about Rs 11,00,000 crore would be deposited in banks, while the remaining Rs 5,00,000 crore representing black money would become just pieces printed paper. Islamabad, November 23 Pakistan has set up a high-level committee to formulate "a doable and sustainable" policy to highlight the Kashmir issue globally and is reaching out to Indians who are opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "extremist policies", according to a media report on Wednesday. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The move was announced by Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in Senate yesterday, according to Dawn newspaper. The committee will consist of senior officials from the ministries of defence, interior and information, Military Operations Directorate, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB). Speaking about the status of the implementation of policy guidelines, Aziz said the committee was headed by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and could co-opt other members if required. Aziz said another committee, chaired by the information secretary, had been formed to prepare fact sheets "to counter India's propaganda campaign and design a media strategy to continuously highlight the Kashmiri freedom struggle". This committee also includes representatives from the ministries of defence, foreign affairs and information technology, as well as members of the Military Operations Directorate, ISI and IB. Aziz said the Ministry of Information Technology had been asked to prepare a comprehensive strategy to highlight the Kashmir issue via social media. He said "steps were being taken to highlight Indian interference in Pakistan's internal affairs, as well as its support for subversive activities and human rights violations in held Kashmir", the report said. Aziz said steps were already being taken to reach out to segments of the Indian public that were opposed to Modi's extremist policies. Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies," he remarked. Talking about measures to counter India's efforts to isolate Pakistan in the region, Aziz said Pakistan was doing its utmost to engage the international community, including regional partners. He said Pakistan was supportive of all initiatives for peace and stability in the region, adding that this commitment to regional peace and stability was evident from the decision to participate in the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, despite the postponement of SAARC summit in Islamabad because of India. Pakistan's nuclear doctrine, he said, was clearly spelt out and due restraint was being exercised. "Pakistan continues to exhibit maturity and statesmanship despite provocative statements by Indian leadership and the continued ceasefire violations across the LoC and working boundary having resulted in civilian casualties," he said. He said there was a need for a positive response from India to move forward. He said that while Pakistan always conveyed a desire to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, India had chosen to attach conditions to the talks. PTI Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 23 Calling demonetisation a scam, the Congress today demanded a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the leak of Prime Minister Narendra Modis November 8 announcement to some people in the ruling BJP. Leading the charge against the government, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition was united and wanted two things a JPC probe into the leak of the demonetisation move to BJPs organisation and PMs presence in Parliament during the debate. The Congress refused to budge on the issue and decided to observe the Aakrosh Diwas on Monday against problems being faced by the people due to purging of Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes from the system. An aggressive Rahul while accusing the PM of unilaterally announcing demonetisation said, This is the PMs decision. His Finance Minister and Chief Economic Adviser didnt know of it. The PM has centralised power in his hands. He said, The BJP organisation in West Bengal and other places knew about it. PMs few industrialist friends were in the know of the move. Bank deposits surged ahead of the announcement. Also, did you see anyone in suit boot standing in queues for cash? Flanked by his Lok Sabha colleagues, the Congress V-P said his party wanted to debate demonetisation under Rule 56, an adjournment motion but the PM was afraid of allowing the same. The government is offering a discussion under Rule 193 that doesnt entail voting. Moments after joining 12 Opposition parties outside Parliament in a protest against demonetisation this morning, Rahul questioned PMs absence from the House though the PM today attended the question hour in the LS for a brief period. He said, What the PM has done is the world's biggest impromptu financial experiment. He asked Congress state units to protest poor implementation of the move at the grass-roots level. Meanwhile, Opposition unity appeared shaky today with the Congress staying away from the protest organised by the TMC at Jantar Mantar. Washington, November 23 Nikki Haley (44), born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa, was today picked by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations. She will be the first Indian-American to be appointed to the Cabinet-level post in the US Administration, a CNN report, citing a sources, said. The move comes as Trump advisers are seeking to diversify his ranks, The Washington Post reported. Trump's plan to offer the job to Haley, a rising Republican star, was first reported by Post and Courier. Haley has already carved out a legacy for herself, serving as first woman and first minority Governor of her South Carolina. Haley, who is serving her second term, has worked on trade and labour issues as Governor but brings little foreign policy experience. Her views on various US military and national security matters usually fall within the Republican Party's hawkish mainstream. Trump met Haley last week at Trump Tower in New York. She would replace Samantha Power. She would also be the first-ever Indian-American Cabinet-rank official in any Administration. The Cabinet position would require confirmation by the Senate. Haley was critical of Trump during the primary campaign and had backed Senator Marco Rubio in the Republican primary. However, before the General Election, she switched her position, declaring she would vote for Trump. PTI Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 23 Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, leading the protest against demonetisation in Parliament, on Wednesday said the party wanted a joint parliamentary committee probe into the scam involving prior leakage of the decision to a select few in the BJP. Insisting on opposition unity moments after 12 parties joined hands to lead a protest against the move in Parliament House, the Amethi MP said all leaders also wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come to Parliament, listen to them and tell the nation why he took a decision that hit the people and economy. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) After the joint opposition protest, Rahul described demonetisation of high-denomination currency as the biggest impromptu financial experiment in the world saying the decision had hit the Indian economy. He also alleged that the Finance Minister or the Chief Economic Adviser did not know of the move, adding that the BJP organisations in Bengal and other places knew of that which explained why bank deposits surged on the eve of the announcement on November 8. Asked how the BJP organisations could have known of the move when the FM did not, Gandhi said, BJP organisations knew so did a few industrialist friends of the PM. Earlier, the Gandhi scion took swipes at the PM for addressing a pop concert and naach gaana saying, The PM can give lectures to a pop concert where naach gaana is going on. Over 200 MPs are saying they want to tell the nation why he took this decision. The PM does not want to come to Parliament. Why is the PM afraid of going inside Parliament? He is obviously anxious about something. Gandhi said there was no division in the opposition camp about demands around demonetization, adding, First of all we want the PM, who represents the country, to come to Parliament. He should sit in the debate. He will have to listen to us, will have to sit there. Second, we see a scam behind this move. The PM and the BJP president told their own people of the scam. We need a JPC to probe that. You see cent per cent united opposition standing here. Over 200 MPs are here. We are united. The PM should tell us why he has taken this decision. Gandhi said all opposition parties were fighting against black money but the question is why one decision should harass one billion people. Its a question of complete centralisation of power. The country cannot be run in this manner. You have hit the economy. The economy was working well, though not as well as in the UPA time. Bengal and Kerala fishermen industry has been finished, small traders have been hit. Have you seen anyone in suit-boot in the queues? Gandhi said accusing the PM of unilaterally taking the demonetization decision. Asked who is leading the protest from the opposition side considering BSP chief Mayawati and SP chief Muyalam Singh were not personally part of the opposition protest on Wednesday though their MPs came, Rahul said poor peoples voice is leading this protest and MPs are representing that voice. He said it was shameful that 70 people had died following the move and Parliament had not made any obituary reference to them. The Congress remained adamant on its demand for an adjournment motion debate on the issue in Lok Sabha with Rahul saying, The PM is afraid of allowing an adjournment motion. The government says it is ready to debate demonetisation under Rule 193 which does not entail voting unlike an adjournment notice under Rule 56 of the LS procedures. Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Faridkot, November 23 The Faridkot district administration and the private management of Government Adarsh Senior Secondary School, Middumaan, are under scanner over an allegation that students are being engaged in construction work. After a complaint in this regard was submitted, Faridkot Chief Judicial Magistrate Kapil Kumar and DEO Davinder Kumar Rajoria today conducted a surprise inspection at the school. The state Director General School Education (DGSE) has ordered an inquiry into the allegation. The school is working under a public-private partnership (PPP). It has been alleged that the private partner of the school was using students for construction at the school. The manager of the school was himself allegedly supervising the manual work being done by students. Suspecting that some teachers had clicked pictures of students doing labour work, the school manager had also allegedly taken mobile phones of teachers in his custody and deleted all pictures. However, an unknown complaint in this regard was submitted to the Free Legal Services Authority in Faridkot along with pictures. In his report to the DGSE, the DEO has stated that the school manager was very arrogant and non-cooperative during the inspection. The DGSE has ordered a separate inquiry into the alleged exploitation of students, said the DEO. While Hardev Singh, SDM and administrator of the school, declined to make a comment, Narinder Singh Randhwan, manager of the school, denied the allegation. He said students were voluntarily shifting some bricks from one place to another. He denied the allegation of forceful labour from students. Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 23 The Ministry of Civil Aviation has extended the Amritsar-Delhi-Birmingham flight to Toronto, said Rajya Sabha MP Shwet Malik, who is also a member of the Aviation Consultative Committee. Malik told the Amritsar Tribune from New Delhi that he had shot off questions regarding the dwindling flights from Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha. He said today Sinha announced that the flight from Amritsar was being extended to Canada. Malik said he was assured that one direct international flight would also be made available to Amritsar airport after the government procured new aircraft. The MP has been claiming that a conspiracy was hatched during the Congress government in 2012 after which all major international flights were diverted to the privately run Delhi airport, causing a steep fall in the Amritsar airports revenue. He added that post-2012, a bad phase for the Amritsar airport started, as its revenue from cargo and farm-fresh cargo plummeted. Earlier, the rise of the Amritsar airport had started with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government elevating it to the status of an international airport in 2004 and sanctioning about Rs 500 crore for its development. He said the revenue from the export of perishable cargo at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport had come down drastically. For instance, the export of perishable goods like fresh vegetables and fruit, produced in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, to Europe came down to zero in the fiscal 2015-2016 from its peak of 908 metric tonnes in 2009-2010. Earlier, many international flights were withdrawn from the Amritsar airport. Air India had sprung a surprise by discontinuing its Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto flight, which was termed by many as the most successful flight in the annals of the national carriers history. The flight, which used to witness over 90 per cent occupancy, was withdrawn on October 31, 2010. The British Midland International (BMI) had pulled out its Amritsar-Almaty-London flight in October 2012. Before this, Air India had suspended its Amritsar-Toronto flight due to the strike of pilots. Singapore Airlines had launched thrice a week Amritsar-Singapore flight on October 1, 2004. The service ran well for around five years before being discontinued in early 2009. Later, Jet Airways launched its Amritsar-London flight only to withdraw it after sometime. Tribune News Service Faridkot, November 23 A 45-year-old businessman and his 43-year-old wife from Moga district were shot dead in Manila on Monday. Bhagwant Singh and his wife jaswinder Kaur of Daya Kalan village of Moga had been running a finance firm in Manila for the last 11 years. According to family members, the husband and wife were attacked outside the Manila City by unidentified masked assailants when they were travelling in a car. After killing them, the assailants robbed their belongings and fled, said Paramjit Singh, a close relative of the deceased. Two children of the deceased are living with their grandparents in the village. It is believed that both were returning to their company office after collecting weekly installments when the incident took place. Bhagwants friend Surjit Singh, who is based in the Philippines, conveyed the news to Bhagwants parents. This is the 13th incident of murder of a Punjabi from Moga district in Manila in the last two-and-a-half years. Money lending is the main reason behind such crime and demand of ransom is a common practice in the Philippines, said the police. Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 23 Barely two weeks before the marriage of his daughter, a farmer of Majupura village in Majitha area, committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance here on Wednesday. The deceased has been identified as Ravinder Singh (42). He reportedly failed to withdraw cash from a bank at Chetanpura village after several attempts. However, police denied that he was upset due to the cash crunch. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The marriage of his daughter is scheduled for December 4. He booked a marriage palace and made advance payments to caterers and other service providers. Ravinder Singh was reportedly also in debt and had borrowed some money from relatives. Kala Singh, former village Sarpanch, said he was in stress after not being able to withdraw money. Ravinder Singh was very upset. From the last three days he used to visit a bank at Chetanpura. He succeeded in withdrawing Rs 2,000 but he needed lakhs to pay for the marriage palace and other services, he said. Ravinder Singh owned three acres of land and is survived by two sons, two daughters and wife. Rachna Khaira On the outskirts of Kartarpur, Mohinder Pal Singh (56), a farmer of Ali Khilana village, wipes his sweating brow after a tiring day in his lush-green fields along the Bholath road. However, he cant afford to put his feet up. The prospect of sewage outflow from the adjoining drain weighs on his mind. Governments have come and gone, but this historic town, famous for its wooden furniture, still doesnt have a functional sewerage system. The untreated water flows into our fields and remains stagnant for months, damaging our crops, says Mohinder, taking out a container of home-made lassi from his worn-out bag. Even though 80 per cent of the town was connected through the sewerage network by the Akali-BJP government about three years ago, no sewage treatment plant (STP) has been established till date. There is no provision to flush out around 5 lakh litres of water used by over 25,000 people every day in the urban areas. According to local residents, the Municipal Council earmarked 31 kanals to set up the STP, but it could not get the government land transferred in its name due to a local politicians vested interests. Whats worse, the MC has reduced the water supply to the town from six hours to four daily. It would be great if the STP is established. The treated water should be used to irrigate the fields and then diverted towards the holy bein near Subhanpur, suggests Amrik Singh, a farmer from Maliyan village. Karaminder Pal Singh, Executive Officer, Municipal Council, claims that the sewerage project, including the installation of the STP, has been approved by the state government and would be implemented soon. The town, known as the home of the Kartarpuri Bir an Adi Granth written by Guru Arjan Dev boasts of the Jang-e-Azadi memorial, whose first phase was inaugurated recently. However, the residents are worried about the shifting of the decades-old Dana Mandi and the loss of jobs of over 7,000 people in the area due to the shutting down of a major liquor industry. What was the point of spending Rs 350 crore on the construction of a war memorial? We want industrial units to be set up so that employment opportunities can be created for us, says Deepak Handa, an MBA student. He adds that the region is known as an education hub of north India, yet a majority of the youths are planning to go abroad as there are few job avenues here. It is imperative to root out the drug menace from the state and strike a balance between educational, job and entrepreneurial opportunities in the area, he says. The constituency has witnessed twists and turns on the political front. Once known as a Congress bastion, the seat was won by BSP-turned-SAD leader Avinash Chander in 2007, ending the Chaudhary familys 30-year-long winning streak. Five years later, the Akalis gave the ticket to Sarwan Singh Phillaur, who managed to defeat former Congress minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh (now deceased) by a narrow margin of 823 votes. Phillaur, a former Jails Minister, has joined the Congress after the SAD virtually reduced him to a nonentity. The Akalis have fielded a new face, Satpal Mal, from Kartarpur. Speculation is rife that Phillaur MLA and former CPS Avinash Chander, who also quit the SAD recently, may contest from here on the BSP ticket. Voters are looking forward to an intriguing contest in which a rookie Akali will be pitted against former Akalis. Mal will face an uphill task if an old warhorse is fielded against him, says Col Shamsher Singh (retd), a resident of Guru Arjan Dev Nagar. The Congress has a dedicated vote bank of Ad Dharmis (Ravidassias) associated with Dera Sachkhand Ballan while Phillaur has a sizeable number of his supporters. Under the circumstances, he seems to be the best bet for the party keen on wresting the seat from the Akali Dal. The constituency is dotted with hoardings of the AAP nominee, Balmiki leader Chandan Grewal, who has been campaigning as well as grappling with infighting. His candidature has not gone down well with a section of the local AAP volunteers. He is banking on the partys buzzword change to make his presence felt. Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Fatehgarh Sahib, November 23 It has been a month since Manpreet Singh of Dudhal village sold his paddy in the nearby Khanna grain market. The commission agent told him that his produce was worth Rs10 lakh. But exactly a month after his paddy was sold, he is yet to get any money. Manpreet is one of the many farmers in the state who are yet to be paid for their paddy crop. What has been a double whammy for farmers like him is the fact that while the dues for his paddy have not been released, the small amount of basmati they produced is not getting them immediate money from traders/millers because of demonetisation. The paddy procurement season is almost over. But the state government is yet to release over Rs12,000 crore to the farmers whose produce has been bought. From October 27 till date, no money has been released by the state procurement agencies. To date, almost 164.5 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been procured in the state creating a record of sorts. The cost of this purchase by the five state procurement agencies Markfed, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, Pungrain, Punjab Agro Industries Corporation and Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation is around Rs25,162 crore. But inquiries made by The Tribune reveal that so far, only Rs14,000 crore has been paid to the farmers. The reason for the unpaid dues is that some banks are yet to release the money to the state government. Though most banks (from among a 65-bank consortium that give money to the state government) have released the money, some banks whose previous dues had not been settled decided to withhold the fresh release of funds. Official sources in the state Food Department told The Tribune that the RBI had approved a cash credit limit of Rs23,480 crore before the procurement season began. But only Rs13,000 crore could be utilised in October, following which the limit given by the RBI expired. The state government not only sought a fresh extension to its cash credit limit, but also sought an enhancement in the limit to Rs31,000 crore. However now, things have eased. Beginning tomorrow, we will start clearing dues with the Rs1,100 crore being released tomorrow and a similar amount being released on Monday. By the end of the month, all dues will be settled, said a top functionary in the Department of Food and Supplies. Congress to make it poll plank New Delhi: The Punjab Congress will intensify its campaign against non-payment to farmers against procurement of paddy. It will raise the matter in election rallies. Former state Environment Minister Hansraj Josh said here today the payment to several farmers was pending for more than one-and-a-half months. The procurement commenced in the first week of September and ended before the second week of the month. The plight of the agrarian community, which is already reeling under hardships, has been compounded because government agencies have not paid farmers on account of cash crunch, Josh said. As per norms, government agencies procure 75 per cent of paddy which amounts to about Rs 25,000 crore. Only Rs 11,000 crore has been disbursed to farmers, the former minister said. Paddy is grown over 70 per cent of land in several districts, including Abohar and Fazilka. The neglect of farmers considered countrys food bowl is astonishing, Josh said. He flayed AAP for trying to create a space for itself in the state through divisive politics. The Congress is gaining ground by the day. The party will bounce back in the elections, Josh added. Ravi Singh Sushil Goyal Dhuri, November 23 AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal today dared PPCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh to file a case against him if he was confident that the Swiss bank account numbers of his wife Preneet Kaur and son Raninder Singh made public by him were wrong. Addressing a rally here, Kejriwal said he was ready to prove in the court that Amarinders kin had accounts abroad. He asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring the black money stashed in account numbers revealed by him. He said by way of demonetisation, Modi had forced the common man to stand in long queues, but failed to dig out the black money of the Badals. He alleged that there was a tie-up between the SAD and the Congress as both parties protected each other in several cases. Was attacked, claims Delhi CM Chandigarh: Kejriwal has claimed that an attempt was made to attack him at Nihal Singh Wala in Moga on Tuesday. In a statement issued today, he blamed the Akalis for the attack recalling that some miscreants had attacked his car last year near Ludhiana also. However, Surinder Kumar, DSP, Nihal Singh Wala, said no complaint of any attack on Kejriwal was made to the police. "No such incident has been reported to us," he said. Kejriwal blamed the Badal government for a deliberate breach in his security while he was on his way to address a rally at Nihal Singh Wala on Tuesday. "I saw a policeman indicating towards a group of 15-20 people, who came rushing towards me and started attacking my vehicle with canes," he said. TNS San Francisco, November 23 Facebook has built a tool for geographically censoring posts at the leading social network as it seeks a path back into China, The New York Times reported. The New York Times cited three current and former Facebook employees, who asked for anonymity, as saying that the tool could filter news feeds at the social network in specific places. We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country, a Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement emailed in response to an AFP inquiry. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) However, we have not made any decision on our approach to China. Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has supported the effort to build the tool for censoring posts, according to the New York Times story. Zuckerberg has spent years studying Mandarin, and has met with Chinese leaders and visited that country. The social network has been banned in China since 2009, evidently due to the interest by authorities there to control information shared or movements organised using the internet. Facebook restricted content in a score of countries in the second half of last year, according to the most recent transparency report released by the California-based company. US internet companies have a practice of complying with legitimate government requests to block posted information in keeping with local laws, subject to evaluation. For example, Facebook said that in Russia it restricted content authorities there said violated the integrity of the Russian Federation and local law which forbids activities such as mass public riots and the promotion and sale of drugs. The transparency report said that access to items in Pakistan was restricted due to allegations that local blasphemy laws were violated. In France, Facebook restricted content reported under laws prohibiting denying the Holocaust or condoning terrorism the transparency report said. Posts of an image related to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris were removed on the grounds they violated French laws related to the protection of human dignity, according to the transparency report. The software tool created quietly with China in mind would prevent posts from happening instead of waiting to follow up on government complaints to have them removed, the New York Times story said. AFP The heavy mortality from the depredations of the malarial mosquito is a standing feature of the conditions in this country. To this was added many years ago the havoc wrought by the plague bacillus imported from Hong Kong, which has meant the decimation of the population of the Punjab and several other Provinces. And now still another unwelcome visitor threatens as if the disasters wrought by malaria and plague were not enough. The latest danger is the introduction of yellow fever into the port of Calcutta through the medium of Stegomyia mosquito. The opening of the Panama Canal was welcomed by the world as shortening the route to the East but evidently it has placed India within sight of a new danger. Dehradun, November 23 Uttarakhand Congress president Kishore Upadhaya has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not taking in the loop his Council of Ministers and Chief Ministers over demonetisation. He said the move had brought a crisis in the country, he said. Upadhyay, while talking to mediapersons here today, said Modis decision was against the spirit of federalism enshrined in the Constitution. He demanded a debate on the issue. Congress workers will take the issue of demonetisation and problems to people during the Satata Sankalp Vikas Yatra throughout the state. People will punish the BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections, he said. People are giving tremendous support to the Congress rally as evident in Chakrata where they thronged to listen to Congress leaders, including Chief Minister Harish Rawat, he added.TNS Paris, November 23 France accused Syria and its allies of using the political uncertainty in the US to launch total war against rebel-held areas in the country and said states opposed to President Bashar al-Assad would meet in Paris soon. US President-elect Donald Trump is only inaugurated on January 20 and the outgoing administration is not expected to take an active role in Syria so close to leaving office. European diplomats have expressed concern that Assad may feel emboldened by Trumps vow to build closer ties with Russia. Today one million people are besieged. Not just in Aleppo, but in Homs, Ghouta and Idlib, and thats the reality of the situation in Syria, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting. France is taking an initiative to confront this strategy of total war by the regime and its allies, who are taking advantage of the current uncertainty in the US. A meeting of countries opposed to Assad, including the US, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, will take place in the coming days in Paris, Ayrault said. A government spokesman said it would happen at the start of December. Reuters Panama City, November 23 Tropical Storm Otto strengthened into a hurricane in the Caribbean as it lurched towards Central America, causing three deaths in Panama and prompting coastal evacuations in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Otto became the seventh hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic season as it moved westwards packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometres per hour, the US-based National Hurricane Centre said. The hurricane is expected to pick up strength and speed as it approaches the coasts of Costa Rica and Nicaragua before making landfall, the NHC said in a 2100 GMT bulletin. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Currently, hurricane-force winds were extending up to 10 miles from the centre. Ottos rains will likely result in life-threatening flash floods and mud slides, while life-threatening surf and rip-current conditions will be experienced along the coasts of Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the US centre warned. In Panama, two people died from a mudslide and one was killed by a falling tree at the onset of Ottos heavy rain, the head of the National Civil Protection Service, Jose Donderis, told AFP. Nine people were caught in the mudslide that occurred west of the capital. Seven were rescued and unfortunately two deceased people were recovered, he said. The other death was that of a boy who was hit by a tree that fell on the car he was in while waiting with his mother outside his school in the capital, Donderis said. The mother survived. Officials in the country ordered all schools closed. Government workers were told to leave offices hours early on Wednesday. Neighbouring Costa Rica on Tuesday ordered the evacuation of more than 4,000 people along the sparsely inhabited northern part of its Caribbean coast to avoid fatalities. We will not allow people to remain in at-risk areas and loss of human life, President Luis Guillermo Solis told a news conference. The order did not extend to Costa Ricas principal port city of Limon on the southern Caribbean coast. The city, home to around 60,000 people, is projected to feel the glancing force of the hurricane on Wednesday. Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America, has issued a national alert and also ordered coastal evacuations. The co-director of the SINAPRED national disaster agency, Guillermo Gonzalez, said navy ships would evacuate people on Little Corn Island, a popular Nicaraguan tourist spot in the Caribbean, to shelters on bigger Corn Island. Civilian Nicaraguan vessels at sea were ordered back to port. The storm was expected to pass near Managua, Nicaraguas inland capital on Thursday. According to forecasts, Otto was to cut across the narrow Central American isthmus, losing strength as it went, before exiting out into the Pacific Ocean on Friday. AFP Washington, November 23 Two weeks after his surprise election victory, US President-elect Donald Trump has indicated a U-turn on several of his key poll promises and rhetoric, including his hardline on climate change, torture of detainees and his vow to jail Hillary Clinton. During an interview with reporters and editors of The New York Times, Trump threw enough hints that he would be an unconventional president in terms of distancing himself from his business, receiving inputs from family members in his governance and relationship with the press. He held out assurances that he did not intend to embrace extremist positions in some areas, the daily said after the interview with Trump, who vigorously denounced a white nationalist conference last weekend in Washington. Trump made a U-turn from his campaign promise on appointing a special prosecutor to investigate into the alleged email scandal of his presidential rival Hillary Clinton. I dont want to hurt the Clintons, I really dont, he said, adding she went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways. During the election campaign Trump had said Clinton would be in jail if he won the elections. He now faces the consternation of supporters who took that pledge literally. On climate change, he said: Im looking at it very closely as he refused to repeat his promise to abandon the international climate accord. I have an open mind to it and that clean air and crystal clear water were vitally important, Trump said. Earlier, Trump had called climate change a hoax perpetrated by China and vowed to cancel the hard-fought Paris Agreement concluded last year to limit dangerous global warming. Similarly, on the issue of torture, the president-elect said he has changed his mind after his meeting with Gen (retd) James Mattis, whom he is considering to appoint as the Defence Secretary. During the election campaign, he had advocated for restoring water boarding and other sever torture methods. Responding to a question on his kids, he said: If it were up to some people, I would never, ever see my daughter Ivanka again. PTI Trumpspeak Now and then On climate Donald Trump told the New York Times that he thinks there is some connectivity between human activity and global warming, despite previously describing climate change as a hoax. A source on Trumps transition team told Reuters earlier this month that he was seeking quick ways to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change. But asked on Tuesday, the Republican said: Im looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it. On torture The US president-elect has said that advice from General (retd) James Mattis had convinced him to think again about authorising the torture of detainees. He said: Ive never found it to be useful, he said, adding that Mattis advised building a rapport with detainees: Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and Ill do better. I was very impressed by that answer, Trump told the Times, in a marked U-turn from his campaign mantra: Torture works, OK? Believe me, it works. On Hillary He showed little appetite for pressing investigations of his Democratic rival in the presidential campaign. I dont want to hurt the Clintons, I really dont. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways, he said. If Trump does abandon his campaign vow to appoint a special prosecutor for Clinton, it will be a reversal of a position he mentioned almost daily on the campaign trail, when he dubbed his rival Crooked Hillary, and crowds at his rallies often chanted: Lock her up. Hillary urged to call for recount New York: Experts are urging US democratic Hillary Clintons campaign to call for a recount the 2016 presidential election votes in key battleground states, in case the results could have been skewed by foreign hackers, media reported. The developments follow Clintons surprise defeat to Republican Donald Trump and come after US intelligence authorities released public assessment that Russian hackers were behind intrusions into regional electoral computer systems and the theft of emails from Democratic officials before the election. IANS Ex-CIA boss ready to serve Trump if asked London: Retired US general David Petraeus indicated that he would serve in President-elect Donald Trumps administration if he was offered a job, according to an interview on Britains BBC radio. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Petraeus, who resigned as CIA chief in 2012 after an extra-marital affair was revealed, was under consideration for the post of defence secretary. Petraeus oversaw international forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Reuters Kushner may broker peace in Middle East Washington: Donald Trump indicated that he could appoint his son-in-law Jared Kushner a special envoy charged with brokering peace in the Middle East. He said Kushner, an observant Jew, could be very helpful in reconciling the longstanding dispute between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I would love to be able to be the one that made peace with Israel and the Palestinians, he said, adding that Kushner would be very good at it and that he knows the region. PTI Iran warns of retaliation if N-deal breached Beirut: Extending US sanctions on Iran for 10 years would breach the Iranian nuclear agreement, Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said on Wednesday, warning that Tehran would retaliate if the sanctions are approved. The US House of Representatives re-authorised last week the Iran Sanctions Act, or ISA, for 10 years. The Iran measure will expire at the end of 2016 if it is not renewed. The House bill must still be passed by the Senate and signed by Obama to become law. PTI Washington, November 23 The US has warned its citizens that Europe is at a "heightened risk of terror attacks" at its Christmas markets and other seasonal holiday events. The US State Department said it had "credible information" that the Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda were planning attacks and focusing on the "upcoming holiday season", reported the Telegraph. It warned American travellers to exercise caution at "holiday festivals, events and outdoor markets". (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The travel warning was issued as the US military said it expected IS to resort to more traditional terrorist attacks. "We don't think they are going to become an organisation that no longer presents a danger once Raqqa and Mosul are taken away," said Col John Dorrian, the spokesman for the US-led coalition against IS. "What they are going to do is devolve into the type of terror organisation that we've known they were all along and continue to try to do external operations and try to motivate lone wolf attackers." The State Department warning was released a week after the one-year anniversary of the 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people across the French capital. It does not mention any specific countries as being particularly at risk but notes that 2015 saw attacks in Belgium, France, Germany, and Turkey. IANS Some might have considered the scene in The Vault parking lot as organized chaos. But for many of the 750 recipients waiting patiently in line at Sixth Street and South Cincinnati Avenue on Saturday, it meant a Thanksgiving meal and perhaps a bit more. Hugh M. Robert, Lawyers Fighting Hunger co-founder, said the semi-annual event was successful and that Tulsa easily won the fundraising competition among the five cities involved in the project. But the friendly competition wasnt the reason for the event. It was to provide as many people as possible with food for Thanksgiving. Gary Nunley, executive director of the Aruba Community Clinic in Collinsville, said board member Ken Underwood put the organization in touch with Robert, and they were added to the distribution list. The Aruba Clinic provides free medical care to people who dont have access to health care, Nunley said. A team of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel donate services and generally see about 155 patients a month. We have identified area families that, without this food, would not have a holiday meal, he said. Jenni Johnson, a Veterans Administration case manager, loaded her vehicle for about 30 veterans who had been identified as needing assistance but could not come to the pickup point. These veterans have no income and do not receive food stamps, she said. We are thankful to get these items. Case manager Shade Salami and Misty Todd, therapist for Day Spring Preferred Family Health Care, eagerly loaded their vehicles to take Thanksgiving to clients identified as eligible recipients. Both were amazed at the organized the pickup procedure and that Lawyers Fighting Hunger was able to provide assistance to their clients. Many clients are homebound with no families or friends nearby, they said, and only a Social Security income and no extra money for a holiday meal. Robert, a partner with the Sherwood, McCormick & Robert Law Firm, said the weekend event was the eighth consecutive year that Live Local, Give Local made the Thanksgiving distribution. This was a combined effort between the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Emergency Infant Services, Iron Gate and Lawyers Fighting Hunger, he said. The Live Local, Give Local theme empowered donors to support local organizations and provide help and hope in the fight against hunger in Tulsa. Annies Bar again was a major contributor by providing the 1,000 hot dogs and hamburgers, sodas, bottled water music and more. Emergency Infant Services provided diapers to families with young children. The Oklahoma Association for Justice (formerly the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association), Tulsa County Bar Foundation and more than 100 law firms, local businesses and others contributed to make the day possible, Robert said. Platinum sponsors included Sherwood, McCormick & Robert, Graves McClain, Allen Garrett and New Wine and Grace Ministries. Five cities compete for bragging rights on who can raise the most money to feed people in their respective cities, said Noble McIntyre, a Lawyers Fighting Hunger co-founder. Nearly $100,000 was raised this Thanksgiving to help feed the hungry statewide. Tulsa beat Oklahoma City this year by a good margin, said the Oklahoma City attorney. Last year, Oklahoma City won the bragging rights by beating Tulsa, Norman, El Reno and Mustang. The friendly competition among the five cities meant that more than 7,000 Oklahoma families are able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, said Rachel Gusman, with the Graves McClain Law Firm and a Lawyers Fighting Hunger board member. Since the inception of the program, almost $500,000 has been raised and more than 25,000 families have benefited. Robert said the need in Tulsa and Oklahoma continues to increase and with cuts to food assistance programs, many of the working poor are finding it harder to provide the necessities, let alone a turkey and all the trimmings that go with a Thanksgiving meal. 918-581-8480 OKLAHOMA CITY Gov. Mary Fallin on Tuesday said she would consider a job in President-elect Donald Trumps administration if it were offered. At this point in time, I still plan on being governor. But if I got a call saying would you consider serving our nation in a different capacity, it certainly would be a discussion one should have, Fallin said. Fallin on Monday met with Trump and his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, for about 40 minutes in Trump Tower in New York. Her husband, Wade Christensen, was also present. Fallin is reportedly under consideration for a post with the Department of the Interior. He didnt give me any timeline on anything, Fallin said. We just talked in general about a lot of different issues. We talked about different positions he had to fill. Topics discussed included energy independence, the impact federal rules and regulations have on the energy industry, the national economy, job creation and Native American tribes, she said. Fallin said her family would support whatever she might choose to do. He did mention several different things to me as far as positions he was looking to fill, Fallin said. He asked me about several candidates he is interviewing and discussing different positions with. She said Trump is reaching out to a lot of people. It was certainly a great honor to be able to go to President-elect Trumps office and have a conversation with him and his chief of staff about Oklahoma and also about issues facing our nation, Fallin said. Fallin was a Trump supporter and campaigned for him after he secured the Republican nomination. Fallin and her husband traveled on the state airplane and with a security detail to the meeting, said Michael McNutt, a Fallin spokesman. Fallin is a former member of Congress, a past lieutenant governor and a former member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. She is in her second term as the first female governor of the state. If Fallin were offered and accepted a post, Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb would fulfill the remainder of her two years in office and appoint his successor as lieutenant governor. Fallin said she was not concerned about state leadership if she left. We have got great leaders, she said. An Oklahoma City man will stand trial on two counts of first-degree murder related to a double homicide earlier this year at north Tulsas Chamberlain Park. Jacky Cardale Mayfield, 28, was charged July 1 with murder in the deaths of 26-year-old Markey Goff and 31-year-old Meshawna Jones, whose bodies were found early June 14 in a Ford SUV parked at Chamberlain Park, 4940 N. Frankfort Ave. He is accused of shooting Goff and Jones in the head around 11 p.m. June 13 and fleeing the scene in a red Ford Focus that had been reported stolen in Osage County in May. Police said a 5-year-old boy and an infant inside the vehicle were physically unharmed. The boy exited the SUV overnight and told a passerby he needed help, prompting the person to call 911. Mayfields cousin, Rebecca Williams, 26, is set to be tried on claims she was an accessory to the crimes. She was charged Oct. 11 with one count of accessory after the fact based on claims she took one of the victims phones from the SUV and destroyed it while not telling anyone she saw two people dead of gunshot wounds. Special Judge Martha Rupp Carter bound both over for trial following a preliminary hearing on Tuesday in Tulsa County District Court. The state dismissed a felony theft count filed against Mayfield related to his use of the vehicle because a witness did not appear in court. Assistant District Attorney Isaac Shields called about a half dozen witnesses to testify during the preliminary hearing, which revealed authorities belief that Mayfield a member of a subset of the Hoover Crips shot Goff and Jones after one of them refused to let him steal prescription pills. Dameisha Scott, an acquaintance of Mayfields, said he told her he killed two people at Chamberlain Park and that he sent a female back to wipe the car down, apparently for fingerprints. Bobby Padillow testified that he has heard Mayfield discuss his role in the double homicide while both have been incarcerated at the Tulsa Jail. Padillow said Mayfield told him a gang contact reached out to him in Oklahoma City to tell him to hit a lick or rob Goff, whom Mayfield knew, for Xanax pills. He said Mayfield told him he fired into the SUV three times after being denied the pills, and that he expressed to him that he should have shot the children because their statements are likely why he was caught. Padillow said that moved him to speak up to authorities because The kids dont deserve what they went through, and added that Mayfield told him he sent a woman back to the scene. Gregg Graves, Mayfields attorney, addressed Padillows history of criminal cases during cross-examination and implied that Padillow is seeking a deal on a pending felony case in Tulsa County as a result of testifying for the state. Williams attorney, Kirsten Bernhardt, pointed out that Padillow previously told police that Mayfield sent his Oklahoma City contact to the scene. In response, Padillow said Mayfield corrected himself and told him, Im playing. I sent my b-- back. Tulsa Police Detective Michael Zenoni, the last witness, testified that he interviewed Williams and Mayfield about the homicides. Zenoni said Williams told him she did not ask why Goff and Jones were dead after retrieving the phone because she didnt want to know. He added that Mayfield denied taking part in the homicides, even when notified that detectives obtained phone records that put his phone in the area of the shootings at the time they occurred. Both are set to appear for district court arraignment before District Judge James Caputo on Monday. Mayfield is held at the Tulsa Jail without bond, while Williams is in custody in lieu of $500,000 bond. On Wednesday morning, police said a truck reported stolen was found idling in front of a pawn shop's smashed doors and damaged security gates. Tulsa police officers responded to a burglary alarm at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday at Green Country Arms & Pawn, located at 9075 E. 31st St., Tulsa Police Sgt. Stephen Florea said. The responding officers found the truck, which had been reported stolen, wrecked and idling at the front of the building. "Officers reviewed security footage from the store," Florea said in a news release. "And a lone suspect can be seen circling the building in the stolen truck before he attempts to ram the front door and security gate." The alleged attempted burglary only caused damage to the store. Florea said there was no other loss. Anyone with information may contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 918-596-COPS (2677), online at p3tips.com/918 or through the Tulsa Tips app, which can be downloaded from the Google Play or iTunes stores. 9GO! will premiere Outback Wrangler featuring Matt Wright next Tuesday, catching wildlife in the Top End. Outback Wrangler has previously screened on National Geographic. Australias bravest and most skilful animal catcher, Matt Wright, is all set to take viewers on a death-defying journey when Outback Wrangler premieres next Tuesday, November 29, at 7.30pm on 9GO! Tracking Matts daily encounters with saltwater crocodiles, Outback Wrangler puts you in the front seat of his trusty helicopter on an incredible ride across Australias beautiful yet treacherous far north. Raised in the Aussie bush, Matt has made it his mission to keep animals, locals and the environment out of danger by relocating wildlife he catches in the Northern Territory. With big machinery, including airboats, helicopters and a new croc-catching tool, the harpoon, the action never stops in this breathtaking rumble in the tropical jungle. Catch Matt when he drops in to the Today Show this Thursday, November 24, in his first appearance ahead of the series premiere. Tuesday, November 29, at 7.30pm on 9GO! UK period drama Call The Midwife has been renewed for three -count them 1, 2, 3- more seasons. Series seven, eight and nine, will consist of three 860 episodes and three Christmas specials, taking the nuns and midwives right into the mid-1960s. Pippa Harris, Executive Producer for Neal Street Productions, says: Like a truly supportive parent, the BBC has nurtured our series from conception onwards, and this exceptional three-series commission further demonstrates their care and commitment. Its a testament too to the passion, skill and creativity of Heidi Thomas, and to the dedication, talent and brilliance of our cast and crew. Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, says: Im privileged to have Britains most popular drama series on BBC One, and this new three-series commission underlines our commitment to the show. Call The Midwife continues to raise the bar with each new series and is really valued by audiences. The quality and ambition of the storytelling is credit to the excellence of writer Heidi Thomas, who has successfully brought the show into the 1960s with a diverse range of subjects. Heidi Thomas, Creator, Writer and Executive Producer, says I am hugely excited by the prospect of creating three more series of Call The Midwife. In the 1960s Britain was a country fizzing with change and challenge, and there is so much rich material medical, social, and emotional to be explored. We have now delivered well over one hundred babies on screen, and like those babies, the stories keep on coming! Above all else, it is an incredible privilege to work on a show that is made with such care and received with such love. A Christmas Special, which will be fast-tracked to BBC First in Australia, will return briefly to Poplar before the residents of Nonnatus House are transported to the Eastern Cape of South Africa. After receiving an SOS call from Hope Clinic, a tiny mission hospital which is understaffed, underfunded, and with a poor water supply, they soon learn that the struggling clinic is faced with closure. Series six will follow in early 2017. President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain held a meeting with the Ukrainian delegation, headed by the Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, the ministrys press service reported on Tuesday evening. I know that the Ukrainian defence industry is well-developed. Hence, I would like to initiate the extension of our relationship and consider possibility of establishment of joint enterprises in this sphere. Your experience in shipbuilding and development of information technologies is also interesting for us, President of Pakistan said. The Ukrainian Defense Minister, in turn, thanked the President of Pakistan for an opportunity to meet and discuss the issues important for the both countries. Im also reasonably sure the potential for cooperation is not yet exhausted as we have a lot of long-term projects, especially, in tank building. Currently, we are interested in establishment of the concern to produce armament and ammunition. We have already achieved some agreements in this sphere. Weve agreed that our experts will arrive to your country to study experience in order to begin this production. Concerning extension of our cooperation I would like to stress upon that Ukraine always keeps its promises and agreements, General Stepan Poltorak underscored. iy Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Minister Hennadiy Zubko says that the opening of UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services) office in Ukraine will give the government new opportunities for reconstructing Donbas. This will give opportunities not only for reconstructing Donetsk and Luhansk regions, not only for infrastructure projects, this will also strengthen the system of response to emergency situations that may occur in the east of Ukraine, Zubko said during the ceremony of signing of a relevant agreement between the government of Ukraine and the department of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). The vice prime minister also added the opening of UNOPS office will promote humanitarian aid for Ukraine, as well as the foreign assistance. It will also create needed legal framework for raising foreign direct investment, grants, humanitarian aid for the implementation of infrastructure projects and project management. iy Kyiv-based Antonov State Enterprise will demonstrate its new AN132 aircraft in December, the Transport Strategies Center reports, referring to the enterprise. The demonstration of An-132, a new aircraft of Antonov State Enterprise, will be held in December of the current year. At present works on the aircraft assembly are being completed at the Antonov serial production plant (former Aviant), reads a report. After the aircraft assembly is completed, Antonov plans to establish serial production of AN-132 in Saudi Arabia. iy Japanese investments may be directed to the transport infrastructure of Ukraine to implement the projects of construction of bridges over Southern Bug river in Mykolayiv city and the development of port infrastructure in Odesa and Mykolayiv regions. This is reported by the press service of the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine upon the results of the working visit to Japan of the governmental delegation headed by First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv. In particular, during a meeting with representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the largest Japanese companies, which are members of the Japan Business Federation (KEIDANREN) the following projects to attract Japanese investment in transport infrastructure were discussed: - Construction of a bridge across the Southern Bug river in Mykolayiv city; - Development of port infrastructure in Odesa and Mykolayiv regions (dredging operations and reconstruction of berths). In addition, the representatives of more than 30 Japanese corporations, including Marubeni, Sumitomo, Nippon Steel, Itochu and Mitsubishi, took part in the meeting of the Ukraine-Japan Cooperation Development Committee. ol Ukraine uses the potential of organic agricultural production by less than 10%, while this sector is promising for the development of small and medium-sized businesses. Agrarian Policy and Food Minister of Ukraine Taras Kutovyi said this at todays Cabinets meeting, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "Ukraine has an extraordinary potential for organic production, which today is used by less than 10% of our capabilities. It could open great opportunities in the context of export potential, especially for small and medium-sized businesses," Kutovyi said. He expressed the belief that organic production was an area where Ukrainian small and medium businesses could become successful. ol A large number of cases against Ukraine filed to the European Court of Human Rights indicates, inter alia, the imperfection of the Ukrainian judicial system. This was stated by Deputy Justice Minister of Ukraine Gia Getsadze during the fifth meeting "Enforcement of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Ukraine", the press service of the Ukraines Justice Ministry informs. "Only by reforming the judicial system in Ukraine, we will be able to ensure that our courts deliver fair judgments and Ukrainians will not have to seek the truth in the international courts," Getsadze said. He stressed that enforcement of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights was not only Ukraines commitment to the European community. "This is the way to build a democratic and responsible state, for which the human rights are a core value," the Deputy Minister said. ol The extension of sanctions against Russia is on the agenda of tomorrow's EU-Ukraine Summit. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said this to journalists after the Cabinets meeting, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "The key items on the agenda are extension of sanctions, joint struggle against Russian aggression. It is a very important issue that will be discussed first," Klimkin said. According to him, there is also an issue of interaction between Ukraine and the EU regarding the continuation of reforms. ol | By Alex Likowski On Nov. 21, University System of Maryland (USM) Chancellor Robert L. Caret, PhD, spoke with the presidents of system universities to gather input on guidance he was developing regarding possible changes in U.S. immigration enforcement with the advent of a new federal administration in January. A day later, the chancellor provided a letter to USM institutions. It is the intent of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, to act in accordance with his guidance. Here is Chancellor Caret's letter: USM Guidance Related to Undocumented Immigrants on our Campuses "At colleges and universities nationwide, students and other individuals are calling for their institutions to become 'sanctuary campuses' for undocumented immigrants. Since that term means different things to different people, we at the University System of Maryland (USM) must be prudent in our words and actions as we respond. Furthermore, many students, faculty, and staff have expressed concerns about the potential of the new administration to cancel the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) Program, which defers enforcement of immigration laws against undocumented immigrants who arrive in the United States as children and meet certain conditions, allowing those students to remain in this country. USM and its constituent institutions are committed to providing all of our students a safe and supportive educational environment. And we will continue to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulationsincluding FERPA regulations that protect a students privacy. USM institutions may choose not to engage in the following activities: permit immigration enforcement authorities to enter a campus for an enforcement action without a warrant unless there is an exigent circumstance (national security or terrorism matter, risk of death or physical harm, etc.) necessitating immediate action; voluntarily partner with immigration enforcement authorities to assist with enforcement activities; detain an immigrant at the request of immigration enforcement authorities; request and/or share immigration information obtained in connection with a campus arrest; provide immigration enforcement authorities with student records without a lawfully issued subpoena or court order. We encourage our students to reach out for support by using campus advising and counseling services, and other resources. And we pledge our commitment to protecting our higher education community as one of inclusion and diversity, where every students background and perspective enhances the education of all." | By Malissa Carroll Students and faculty of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) and the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) offered free seasonal flu vaccines on Nov. 8 to people visiting the polling site at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) in Rockville, Md. (View a photo gallery.) The initiative was led by student chapters of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP); the Student Section of the Maryland Public Health Association (SMdPHA); and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). SOP students Jeeyeon Shon, Alan Lin, Christine Nguyen, Stephanie Schmersahl; Community Resident Paul Solinsky; students Heather Kirwan, Anh-Tuan Nguyen, Erika Saunders, Jesse Rung, Neha Kumar, Zemen Habtemariam; Asst. Professors Leah Sera and Deanna Tran; student Melanie Slaby; Montgomery County representative Debra Aplan; students Joy Musaerenge, Alina Kukin; and Assoc. Dean Cherokee Layson-Wolf. Organized as part of a national community outreach project known as Vote & Vax, which aims to increase influenza vaccination rates among Americans on Election Day, the clinic immunized 115 people against this serious viral infection. Through their participation in the Vote & Vax initiative, our student pharmacists played a vital and important role not only in helping to meet the public health needs of Marylands citizens, but also in demonstrating the expanding role of pharmacists as members of the health care team, said Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, FCP, dean and professor of the UMSOP. Their outreach in Montgomery County is commendable and consistent with their focus on community engagement a commitment they will surely continue as practicing pharmacists. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. Symptoms associated with the flu can be mild to severe, and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, and fatigue. More than 200,000 people are hospitalized for flu-related complications each year. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccine each year. I have participated in multiple flu clinics during my time at the School of Pharmacy, and was thrilled to be part of this years Vote & Vax event, said Erika Saunders, third-year student pharmacist and chair of APhA-ASPs Operation Immunization at Shady Grove. The value that this initiative provided to the local community was immeasurable, as it offered easy access to free flu shots for any individual living in Montgomery County, including small children and older adults, who are particularly at risk for developing the flu. It also showcased the important role that pharmacists can play in providing vaccinations to help keep people healthy, which is so important to us as student pharmacists. As a member of the planning committee for Vote & Vax, it was incredibly fulfilling to watch this event unfold, added Alina Kukin, third-year student pharmacist and chair of the ASHP student chapters Vote & Vax committee. We were able to immunize more than 100 people, many of whom might not have otherwise received their flu vaccine. It was a remarkable accomplishment for us as soon-to-be health care professionals, as well as an even more significant success for public health in Maryland. This event marked the third time that student pharmacists participated in the Vote & Vax initiative, with faculty and students from the UMSOP collaborating with faculty and students from the UMSON to organize the clinic. The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services provided the flu vaccines at no cost, and Marla Dalton, PE, CAE, executive director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, was on-site to provide individuals with patient education materials. Her daughters and a friend were costumed as flu-bugs to gain the attention of voters and USG students and to entice them to go inside for their flu shots. What truly makes Vote & Vax special is both the time and place at which it occurs, said Melanie Slaby, a second-year student pharmacist and chair of the SMdPHA student chapters Vote & Vax committee. By providing flu vaccines on Election Day, we were able to reinforce the idea that, like voting, vaccination is a civic responsibility. Choosing to vaccinate ourselves against infectious diseases is an action that we all can take to help protect the more vulnerable individuals in our communities against the spread of disease. It was great to have an opportunity to spread this message and help get people excited about preventative health services. Nursing students and pharmacy students who are active in SMdPHA commended its role in Vote & Vax. Speaking on behalf of SMdPHA as its Shady Grove liaison, UMSOP student Quynh-Nhu Nguyen said: Ive had the opportunity to reach out to students at USG in various different academic programs, including the University of Maryland School of Nursing and the University of Maryland, College Park undergraduates in the School of Public Health. I love that USG is diverse in this way. UMSON student Tacarra Gerald said she values how SMdPHA allows her and others to get our hands in and work with the pharmacists, for example, in Vote & Vax. UMSON student Bernadette Jackson said the organization is welcoming to everyone and has events that overlap with pharmacy and nursing, such as the Vote & Vax clinic. She added: Were all here for one purpose, to help our community, and I really appreciate that. Many other UMSOP students also volunteered at vaccination clinics coordinated by Walgreens at polling sites in Baltimore City. United Nations Foundation President & CEO Kathy Calvin today issued the following statement on the nomination of Governor Nikki Haley for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: The United Nations Foundation congratulates Governor Nikki Haley on her nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. From William Scranton to Adlai Stevenson, there is a long history of former governors serving as U.S. Ambassador to the UN, proving that strong international cooperation and diplomacy help advance U.S. interests at home and abroad. If confirmed, Nikki Haley will begin her post just as Antonio Guterres becomes the new UN Secretary-General. Both leaders have strong executive management experience to draw on to ensure a dynamic U.S.-UN partnership so that the world is equipped for the challenges of the 21st Century. Nikki Haley would also start at a time when bipartisan leadership has ensured that the U.S. is fully meeting its financial obligations to the UN, bolstering Americas ability to influence the international agenda. The U.S. remains integral to a strong UN, and our status as a permanent member of the Security Council and host of UN headquarters reflects the central importance of a U.S.-UN relationship. An effective UN is good for America, helping to promote our shared values, national interests, and global security. ### Media Contact: Andrea Risotto, arisotto@unfoundation.org, 202-862-6319 About the United Nations Foundation The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the worlds most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual donors. Learn more at: www.unfoundation.org. UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi talks to Vlada, a 15-year-old displaced Ukrainian, about her wish to study again. UNHCR/John Wendle MAYORSK, Ukraine The queues at the crossing point are long and the weather is freezing. One hour Ive been standing here, one man told United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. It will take me five hours in all just to cross over. Grandi was making his first trip to Ukraine as UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a post he assumed last January. Two and a half years of conflict have left more than two million Ukrainians displaced from their homes in other parts of the country or refugees in Russia. It divided the country into non-government controlled areas in the east, the Donbass region, and the majority of the territory under government control. It is the civilians who are very much trapped. Mayorsk is one of a handful of crossing points where people can now go back and forth. It is a slow and tortuous process but each day several thousand cross over here. It is the civilians who are very much trapped in the logic of this conflict, Grandi said. Many of the people lined up to cross into the non-governmental sector are displaced. They go back to see relatives or to check their houses, often damaged in the fighting and shelling. Most of the people going the other way, according to the man who talked to Grandi, are pensioners. They must cross into the government area to receive their small pensions. To do so they must produce an electronic pass allowing movement across the line. Ukraine: High Commissioner visits border and people with disabilities Earlier Grandi visited an accommodation facility in Sviatohirsk for almost 200 people with disabilities and their carers who are displaced, many of them having been displaced more than once. Officially there are 66,434 registered displaced people with disabilities in Ukraine, more than four per cent of the total number of displaced. In Sviatohirsk they are housed in a disused soviet-era sanatorium. The residents crowded around Grandi, some in wheelchairs, others blind. They cover their immediate needs with money from their disability benefits and have heating but no hot water, because of large, unpaid water and electricity bills. We really need to work with the state in developing systems. The staff of 35 have not been paid in two years and work as volunteers. Sanatoriums are not subsidized by either the local or national governments as was the case in the soviet era. UNHCR, along with partner NGOs, provides these displaced people with coal and wood, blankets, and legal and basic needs support. Grandi, who met the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko on Monday, promised to press for more support for people affected by the conflict. We really need to work with the state in developing systems, he said. That can provide safety nets for those really in need the elderly, the disabled and the poorest. Displaced people from conflict in Ukraine queue to return home. UNHCR/John Wendle The High Commissioner also met Vlada, a 15-year-old girl from a town outside Luhansk. Vlada is confined to a wheelchair and she insisted on talking to Grandi in English, a language she had taught herself. She also taught herself piano. She said she had learned English to see the world, but, told the High Commissioner, now I want to go to school. Before the conflict she did go to a school which had been equipped with ramps for wheelchairs. But the local school in Sviatohirsk has no ramps and the classes are on the second floor. Now she must study in her room with teachers visiting her to provide some education. Grandi said his organization will try identifying a solution to allow Vlada to go back to school. I think you are doing great, he told Vlada, but organizations like UNHCR will have to remain engaged to ensure that people like you have access to basic services and rights such as education and a dignified life. On Saturday, The Rhodes Trust has revealed 32 students who have been chosen to represent the United States as Rhodes Scholars for 2017. Ivy League universities Yale and Harvard have more than one representative in the list. According to a press release by The Rhodes Trust, the announcement was made by Elliot F. Gerson, the American Secretary for the organization. The scholarship will carry the expenses fo the 32 chosen men and women for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford. Gerson described the Rhodes Scholarship as ""the oldest and best known award for international study, and arguably the most famous academic award available to American college graduates." It was created by the Will of Cecil Rhodes in 1902. Rhodes was a British philanthropist and African colonial pioneer. This led to the first class of American Rhodes Scholars entering Oxford in 1904. Those who were elected this year are set to enter Oxford in October 2017. The scholars were chosen based on a two-stage process. First, applicants must ensure an endorsement by their college or university. Afterwards, they are chosen by the following critieria: academic excellence, great personal energy, ambition for impact as well as an ability to work with others and achieve one's goals. A Rhodes Scholar is also expected to be committed in making "a strong difference for good in the world." The 2017 Rhodes Scholars come from different quality institutions in the U.S. Yale University has three representatives: Noah Remnick, Olivia Klevorn and Hannah Carrese. Harvard has four representatives: Anthony Wilder L. Wohns, Maia Silber, Nancy Ko and Spencer Dunleavy. Other institutions who have students on the list are the University of Chicago Law School, Dartmouth College, University of Georgia, Stanford University, Howard University, University of Virginia, Georgetown University, University of South Carolina, United States Naval Academy, United States Military Academy, University of Texas - Austin, Princeton University and Cornell University, among others. Meetings are very important in any company. There, bosses communicate goals to employees, who in return communicate necessary updates and data. Meetings are where ideas are freely aired, plans are made, and job expectations expressed. But meetings aren't like hangouts with friends: they're professional gatherings that require a good code of conduct, too. Being invited to a company meeting for the first time will surely make fresh employees worry and feel nervous. To help with that, here are a few reminders that will help any new worker impress the bosses, and elicit approval from colleagues. These are taken from David Rigby's interview with Al Arabiya English, and from the Management Study Guide. Be prepared for the meeting Don't ever come to a meeting unprepared. Read the agenda and make necessary preparations. Dress up appropriately. Failing to do so gives colleagues and superiors the impression that you view the meeting as less important compared to other things. Come to the meeting early If the meeting is scheduled at 9:00 a.m., show your eagerness by arriving at least ten minutes earlier at 8:50 a.m. This shows discipline, and communicates that you respect your office coworkers' time. Avoid using your phone We live in an age where everyone uses a smartphone as an all-in-one device, but still it is best to turn it to silent mode and avoid using it once the meeting begins. Loud ringing will disturb others in the meeting. Worse, playing games or texting and calling someone while the meeting is going on says that the meeting isn't that important to you. Conflict resolution Avoid slugging it out with a coworker while a meeting is going on. While arguments can bring a good outcome when it comes to decision-making, prolonged arguments take too much time and disrupts the meeting. Conflict has to be addressed with the intention of reaching a mutually-beneficial solution. Respect one another Disrespecting a coworker for his race, gender, education or position is a no-no. Help them whenever needed, and don't join controversies or participate in gossiping. Lauren Uhr, a brain researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is oftentimes mentioned to have been personally motivated by the study, is at arm's reach over completing her latest academic research. Her research, once completed, could prove the proposition that Dyslexia can be tracked in the developing stages of the brain. Starting up in MIT as a biology science major, Urh has not yet fully grasped the wonders of science until she took an introductory psychology course. It was upon taking this course that she was instantly sucked back into her own personal experience. More so, this has rekindled her interest of dyslexia after having suffered such disorder when she was young. The rest was history to her then when after that, she shifted to brain and cognitive sciences. Bearing the enlightenment and the hope that technology may hold the best answer for finally tracking down the occurrence of the disorder in the brain, Urh joined forces with a professor and a team of neuroscientists in MIT. Currently called the READ study, Urh is still even hoping that more collaborative efforts, necessary for keeping the fire that had been started by Boston Children's Hospital and MIT, would arise in the future. Hence, this research by Urh seeks to prove the proposition that Dyslexia can be tracked and therefore monitored in the developing stages of the brain. Eventually, the research's main proponent, John Gabrieli and a team of brain scientists have finally sealed partnership with Urh, MIT News Office reported. Fortunately, quite a good number of children-supporting institutes have recently indicated interest in supporting the research. After all, the outcome of the research benefits best the children. Urh nods in response as there is nothing more that she seeks than to support children suffering from the same difficulty she had undergone before. Dyslexia, respectively, makes reading a very difficult and traumatic experience for children in the elementary years. Having kicked off by inviting a subset of children to come to MIT to have their brains scanned by MRI machines, the research gradually unfolds its methods with a diffusion-weighted imaging technique. This technique aims to suavely detect and track dyslexic tendencies in the brain through accurate mapping coordinates. Hopefully, with the processes ensured, Gabrieli, Urh and the team of neuroscientists may pursue monitoring rights to three more waves of children until they progress to second grade. Hence, it is in the second grade that dyslexia finally takes shape in the brain, MIT News reported. With January 2017 inching close, thousands of engineers and university teams are making sure their Hyperloop pods are up to expectation. After SpaceX founder Elon Musk challenged the world's greatest minds to create a transportation system that would take its subjects from point A to point B in less time than it should take, thousands answered. Most come from university schools and research teams. These teams are working on Musk's idea of supersonic travel using vacuum tubes as a means of public transportation. One team is already gearing up for the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition on January. VicHyper, a team of university students from Melbourne, Australia are proud to release their design, cites New Atlas. VicHyper is just one of the 30 teams that have been selected to test their designs next year. In the previous year, hundreds of teams entered but MIT stood out as having the winning design which includes the comfortability of the passenger too. In order for the Australian team to carry its subjects and reach speeds of over 760 mph, they need to suspend their pods to reduce friction. Most of the teams in the Hyperloop competition use magnetic levitation or air bearings. They were able to create a small cushion of air that enabled the pod to hover. But the students from VicHyper, wh all come from the RMIT University in Melbourne, are doing something different. They are one of the few teams that were able to make the cut from the 125 competitors this year, hailing from the Southern Hemisphere. VicHyper lead Zac McClelland said that SpaceX wanted them to feature how good their designs are of the braking systems. But he added that SpaceX also wants them to simplify their design by putting it on wheels and removing the air bearing. Without having to worry about using magnetic levitation, VicHyper is working on perfecting a braking and acceleration system that works at high speeds and in a vacuum environment. Watch out for VicHyper and other competitors to test out their designs on the Hyperloop track next year. Between Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, there are over 52 flights back and forth. Each flight would take an approximate 1 hour and 35 minutes. But according to RMIT University, they can cut that travel time to almost half. To get from Sydney to Melbourne using the current mass public transportation system, it takes 11 hours by train, and more than an hour and a half by plane. The possibility of traveling from Sydney to Melbourne in just 50 minutes at the speed of sound is not far. After Elon Musk's vision to create a mass public transportation system, many answered with designs that focused on magnetic levitation and brake systems. RMIT University is just one of the teams that are going into the next round of SpaceX Hyperloop Pod design testing in January 2017. And the RMIT team hopes to make Musk's vision possible by creating a pod that can transport subjects at a speed of over 1,200 kmph, cites ABC. Although the concept of high speed travel is not new, the challenge is the tech to be used. Which is why the team is going on a different direction compared to other Hyperloop pod competitors. They are focusing their efforts on creating a great acceleration and braking technology. They are leaving out magnetic levitation and other variables for lesser worry. However, they are still using magnetic levitation and linear induction motors. The team explained that their tech is already used on other techs. The RMIT team adds that they are just grabbing tech from other areas and putting it together to work cohesively. They hope that their design will make the cut and show off the abilities of their acceleration and braking system. With Hyperloop One underway and 20 other student teams from all over the world coming over to California to test their Hyperloop pod designs, RMIT hopes to ace the acceleration and braking design. Canadian students from Queen's University are facing backlash for throwing a party. Now, it's not the partying per se that got the community riled up but its theme, which is racism. Vice reported that a set of photos revealed the racist party at Queen's University in Kingston last weekend. Students dressed up as Chinese food takeout, monks, Arabs, and Viet Cong-esque can be seen in the photos. "A very shockingly racist party thrown by Queen's students happened and the photos made me feel sick to my stomach," Celeste Yim posted on Twitter. Attached to her tweet were some photos of the party. "I was shocked," she told the publication. "I couldn't believe how blatant they were, there was nothing nuanced about them. They were jarringly racist. The photos are indisputably offensive, in context or out of context." Apparently, the photos were taken from an annual party on campus named "Beerfest." The event mainly focuses on an evening of drinking games. It was noted that the party was held in a gigantic tent that was set up in a backyard. Attendees were also told to dress up as a specific country. A graduate of the university revealed that students previously paid $75 to attend the party. Afterwards, they were put into different country-based teams to win prizes. "This isn't an isolated event at Queen's," one student who briefly attended the event said. "All these things are brewing and adding up and it's pretty frustrating and it's pretty disappointing to see from the student body here." According to The Globe and Mail, Queen's University principal Daniel Woolf has already released a statement regarding the party. The principal noted that the party was not sanctioned by the administration. "We are taking the matter very seriously, and continue to look into it," he wrote. "If we determine that this was a Queen's sponsored or sanctioned event, we will take appropriate action. Any event that degrades, mocks or marginalizes a group or groups of people is completely unacceptable." While majority of college students voted for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, there are some who continues to support Donald Trump. In a time of devastation for many, they rejoice in triumph. In an election forecast, it was reported that Donald Trump was losing the vote of college degree-holders. A survey by the Pew Research Center revealed that Clinton had a 23-percentage-point lead over Trump among registered voters who have earned at least a college degree. Moreover, data from polls found that Trump may be the first Republican nominee to lose among white, college-educated voters in 60 years. There is a great divide among voters. Clinton's supporters are those who value college education while Trump's supporters rally about not having manufacturing jobs in the nation anymore. The 2016 U.S. election results came as a shock for many Americans. It is still being talked about today. Recently, Green Day just slammed Trump at the 2016 American Music Awards saying, "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist U.S.A." According to BuzzFeed News, Trump's college supporters see themselves as "underground rebels." Apparently, they want to fight a destructive epidemic of political correctness. "It's the new counterculture," Jared, an undergraduate who wore a suit and tie to a recent meeting of the University of Delaware College Republicans, said. "It's the equivalent of being a hippie protesting at Kent State," he added, referring to the Vietnam War protest in 1970. Andrew Lipman, a senior at the school and chairman of the Delaware Federation of College Republicans, criticized the University of California - Berkeley for straying from what it was known for. Before, the institution was iconic for its free-speech protests. Now, though, it has become known for "silencing conservative speech, because it's considered hateful." "If they could talk about it with their friends they might not feel a need to come here [to the College Republicans] and talk about it, but they don't have that outlet," Lipman added. "They feel like they're being silenced." Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts has decided to ban the American flag in its campus. This comes after a flag was burned down due to protests. The Boston Globe reported that Hampshire College president Jonathan Lash has deemed the flag as a "disruptive symbol." The administration initially replaced the burned flag, taking to mind the "the strong feelings of those who see the flag as a statement of the best of the country." However, last Friday, Lash sent an email to the campus community saying that the flagpole would remain bare until next semester. He also admitted that, with the removal of the flag, the school will instead focus on addressing "racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and behaviors." According to Campus Reform, Hampshire College will not be flying the U.S. flag for the time being. It has also banned other flags to be put up in the campus. "Some months ago, the Hampshire College Board of Trustees adopted a policy of periodically flying the flag at half-staff to mourn deaths from violence around the world," Lash wrote in the email. "Earlier this week, in the current environment of escalating hate-based violence, we made the decision to fly Hampshire's U.S. flag at half-staff for a time while the community delved deeper into the meaning of the flag and its presence on our campus." He did acknowledge that the action has been painful to faculty and students who are veterans or families of veterans. He urges the community to "insist on diversity, inclusion, and equity from our leaders and in our communities." Lash also aims for constructive resistance to those who oppose these values. Moreover, he wants everyone to work actively and passionately toward justice and positive change at the university and in the world. It was previously reported that Donald Trump's victory at the election has increased the number of hostile acts done against minority students in campuses across the nation. Universities have been trying to pacify fears about the nation's future by organizing meetings and counseling sessions. George Washington University is the largest university in the district of Columbia. The private university has around 26,000 students enrolled in different disciplines and an image as a university for rich white kids. The university wanted to shed that image and aimed to be more diverse. Its first step in doing that was to get rid of its admission test. In July 2015, George Washington University announced that they are ditching SAT and ACT scores as part of their admission requirements for fear that they are hindering racial diversity. This week, the announcement came from school officials saying that the freshman class this year is the most racially diverse in the school's history. The university said that out of the 2,523 incoming freshmen this year, 8.8 percent are African American students and 10.5 percent are Hispanics. That's a big progress considering the fact that last year, African American students only comprise 4.7 percent of the university's population, while Hispanics were 9.2 percent. Aside from this, the median grade-point average rose from 3.64 to 3.66. George Washington University president Steven Knapp expressed his pleasure at the progress saying that they are slowly accomplishing their goal of giving more opportunities to underrepresented minorities whose parents are not college graduates. Aside from that, the university reported that the number of first-generation college students also increased from 11.9 to 13.9 percent. Furthermore, the number of those who are in need of financial help to qualify for a Pell gran also increased to 15 percent. With the decision to make admission test optional, George Washington University joins the ranks of a small number of universities like Wake Forest and Brandeis who have taken the same path. At present, there are 900 colleges and universities across the nation are now making test scores an optional requirement in admission. Getting a college education is expensive, starting from the college application process. Because of the high cost of quality education, some opt to take free college, and some opt not to study anymore because they can't afford it. Wouldn't it be nice if there were some ways to lower the costs of education? Many college-bound students apply for college without knowing the costs. Because of this, some students get surprised, Evan Jackson, a school counselor and president-elect of the Ohio School Counselor Association, told U.S. News. "I think that depending on the college, there is a bit of a sticker shock," Jackson says. Some of the application fees actually cause college aspirants to just turn their backs and go away. "It's not often, but I have had students say, 'I'm not going to apply to this one because this is too expensive,'" Jackson added. To help with the costs of college application and admission, here are some tips for students, taken from U.S. News. Save money on college visits Going to a prospective school can be costly, especially if the school is far away from where the student lives. For this, fly-in or diversity programs, which allow students to learn about a school while on campus in a weekend, can help. "What I tell my students is, 'If you know that you're interested in a school and you know that you'd like to go visit them, then come see your school counselor and we can research the college fly-in programs,'" Katherine Pastor, school counselor at Flagstaff High School in Arizona, said. See if you qualify for college application waivers Students who qualify for a fee waiver can save up to $57 for the SAT and almost $59 for the ACT exams with an essay. Students who availed of a low-income student program like Upward Bound can usually avail of SAT and ACT exam fee waivers. It would also be good to look for other college application fee waivers. "Using a fee waiver is a common part of the application process, and most colleges have information about fee waivers on their websites," Jaslee Caryol, a spokeswoman for the College Board, said. Apply for a CSS/Financial Aid Profile waiver Students applying to private schools should fill out the CSS/Financial Aid Profile, in addition to the FAFSA. This Financial Aid Profile, which is used to award institutional financial aid and scholarships, is used by more than 300 schools and scholarship programs. November 23 2016 The University of Edinburgh is progressing plans to sweep away a double-height link building conjoining the Lister Institute and Pfizer building at Hill Square with a Reiach & Hall designed teaching facility.Doubling as a circulation route and entrance space the Teaching and Learning Centre would be accessed off Roxburgh Place with new hard landscaping and little change to an existing rear courtyard.In a design statement the practice observed: The internal spaces will allow for free circulation between both Lister and Pfizer buildings and address the issues created by the multitude of levels to the existing buildings, stitching them together more effectively than the current link building.A steel frame structure it will be clad in aluminium frame curtain walling and translucent polycarbonate panels, forming a lightweight insertion to sit alongside its more robust neighbours. Page Content An internationally known printmaker will visit the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point next week, offering both the public and students the chance to experience his creative process. Sponsored by the Student Art League and SCULPT, a three-dimensional art student organization, Thomas Christison will offer a free public lecture and demonstration at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28, in Room 183 of the Noel Fine Arts Center. Throughout the week, Christison will visit printmaking and sculpture classes to create work with students, answer their questions and work on his own printing project. A master of lithography and monotype processes, Christison creates detailed prints about life cycles, passages of time, regeneration and the food chain. His work may be found in permanent collections in the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and in exhibits in Germany, France and India. He also has conducted workshops and master classes across the nation. He earned degrees at UW-Eau Claire and Arizona State University and maintains a private studio in Iowa City, Iowa. Second Annual UW Giving Day is Nov. 29 The Second Annual UW Giving Day is scheduled Tuesday, Nov. 29. Tuesday, Nov. 29, is Giving Tuesday, and the University of Wyoming honors this tradition with its second annual UW Giving Day. Giving Tuesday, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Giving Tuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving. It follows Black Friday, when shoppers mob the stores, and Cyber Monday, which is a big day for online shopping. Embracing the national day of giving, or Giving Tuesday, can be the beginnings of a wonderful tradition for UW and a way to build better connections between the university and our alumni and friends, says John Small, UW Foundation senior associate vice president for development. It can be the start of something great because participation can be at any level, in any amount and affect any area of campus. It tells us what people care about. Anything a person chooses to contribute to makes an impact and a connection. Those who wish to participate can go to the #UWGivingDay website (www.uwyo.edu/givingday) to give online. Giving will be live on the site from midnight to midnight, and gifts made on that day will count toward total fundraising for giving day. Donors choose from among 15 colleges and units on the #UWGivingDay site, or they can click over to UWs online giving site (www.uwyo.edu/giveonline) and designate their support for the specific programs of their choice. These gifts will have a huge impact on those areas chosen by donors. On Nov. 29, please join us on the global day dedicated to giving back, says Candace Paradis, UW Foundation director of annual giving. Your generosity provides support to the college, department or unit of your choice, positively impacting the entire community at the University of Wyoming. Gifts to all areas of UW ensure financial aid and opportunities for our students that help them be successful in the classroom and beyond -- the present and the future. #UWGivingDay is an online event. Fundraising efforts are supported by social media posts by colleges, units and programs across campus. Participants are invited to share their giving on Facebook and other social media. The tradition of Giving Tuesday connects individuals, communities, and organizations around the world in one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving. From its very first year, individuals and organizations have joined forces to collaborate across sectors, to offer expertise and to work tirelessly for a successful annual Giving Tuesday. The movement continues to gain momentum. For questions or to donate through another channel, contact the UW Foundation at foundation@uwyo.edu or (307) 766-6300. Funds received that day are counted toward the #UWGivingDay total, no matter how they are received. By PTI: From Jaishree Balasubramanian Bangkok, Nov 22 (PTI) At least 18 people, all retired employees, were killed and 20 others injured today when a bus they were travelling in fell into a 70-metre deep gorge in northern Thailand, the latest accident in a country known for its dangerous roads. The Bangkok-bound tour bus, carrying 36 retirees of a telecom company returning from holiday along with the bus driver and a bus assistant, was travelling from Phrae when it ran off the winding downhill road and fell into the deep ravine at tambon Ban. advertisement The bus, operated by state-run Transport Company, was hired to take the 36 retirees on a holiday in the northern province of Uttradit. Rescuers used ropes to lift the injured and dead from the wreckage, Bangkok post reported. The driver, who was apparently not familiar with the road, is believed to have jumped from the bus before it plunged off the road into the ravine, police said. According to the World Health Organizations 2015 report, Thailand has the worlds second most dangerous roads in terms of per capita deaths, second only to Libya. PTI JB CPS AKJ CPS --- ENDS --- Church News October 20, 2022 LIGHT OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH Needing Answers We want God to be like FedEx and deliver overnight. Things dont happen that way, but in... Church News October 13, 2022 LIGHT OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH Natures Therapy The pine tree with its solemn dignity lifts its branches to the sky as if to give... AAP volunteers led by Sisodia, tried to carry out a protest march along with 400-500 volunteers towards Parliament from Jantar Mantar, shouting slogans including "Note nahin, PM badlo" By Mail Today Bureau: More than 50 Aam Aadmi Party members including Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, MLAs and other cabinet ministers were detained by police over demonstrating against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation scheme. Demanding roll back of the demonetisation decision, AAP volunteers led by Sisodia, tried to carry out a protest march along with 400-500 volunteers towards Parliament from Jantar Mantar, shouting slogans including "Note nahin, PM badlo" (change the PM, not currency). As they reached the police barricades outside the police station, about a kilometre ahead of Parliament, Sisodia gave a speech hurling corruption allegations against Modi. They were stopped by police from where they were detained and taken to Parliament street police station on Tuesday afternoon. advertisement Also Read: Blow to Arvind Kejriwal: AAP workers protest against CM's decision to allot ticket to outsider MINISTERS PROTEST Delhi cabinet ministers Gopal Rai, Kapil Mishra and Satyendar Jain besides scores of party MLAs and leaders also participated in the march. Sisodia and Mishra were detained and released after an hour. Attacking the Prime Minister, AAP accused him of shedding "crocodile tears" over peoples' plight and wondered how terrorists were getting hold of new currency notes. Terming demonetisation as a "huge scam", Sisodia alleged that it has neither helped in stopping counterfeiting currency nor it stopped terror funding. NOTE BANDI? "This is not 'notebandi' but 'note-badli'. Terrorists in Kashmir were found with Rs 2,000 notes. From where are the terrorists getting these new notes? Either you (Modi) are unaware of the lapse or you are not interested in taking action against those responsible for it." Sisodia said while addressing the protesters at Jantar Mantar. Referring to Modi's emotional breakdown during his speech in Goa, Sisodia said "The PM who cries on stage is weakening the country. The people of the country don't seek the PM's tears, but a decision from him to rollback demonetisation," Sisodia said. A letter written by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is in Punjab, was distributed at the protest site. The AAP has come out strongly against demonetisation, saying the currency spike was a scam aimed at bailing out corporate houses that had borrowed heavily from bank. --- ENDS --- Amitabh Mattoo was appointed as an advisor to Mehbooba Mufti in April this year with the status of a cabinet minister. By Press Trust of India: Former Vice Chancellor of Jammu University Amitabh Mattoo, advisor to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, today tendered his resignation citing personal reasons. "Yes, I have tendered my resignation due to personal reasons. I want to spend some time with my family," Mattoo, who was appointed as an advisor in April this year with the status of a cabinet minister, said. advertisement Sources close to Mattoo said he will be leaving for Australia in a few days to pursue a career in academics. 53-year-old Mattoo had served as an advisor to the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed in August last year but had to relinquish the post in wake of the Sayeed's death in January this year. He had earlier served as Chief Executive Officer and inaugural Director of the Australia India Institute and Professor of International Relations at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Also read: India to install modern anti-infiltration mechanisms on Pakistan, Bangladesh borders Former member of the National Knowledge Commission, a high-level advisory group to the prime minister, Mattoo is on leave from prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University where he serves as a Professor of Disarmament Studies at the School of International Studies. He has the rare distinction of being the youngest vice chancellor when he was appointed to hold the post at Jammu University from November 2002 to December 2008. Also read: Army launches biggest assault since 2003 against Pakistan to avenge soldier's beheading --- ENDS --- Vietnam to Increase Minimum Wages from January The Vietnamese government issued Decree 153 on November 14 to raise regional minimum wages to US$ 115-167 from January 2017 for workers with labor contracts. The wages will increase by around US$8-11 compared to existing levels. For Region 1, there will be a salary hike of US$166 (VND 3.75 million), US$147 (VND 3.32 million) for Region 2, US$128 (VND 2.9 million) for Region 3 and US$114 (VND 2.58 million) for Region 4. Businesses must also pay minimum wage workers in normal conditions at least 7 percent higher than skilled and trained workers. Reducing extra payments for those working overtime or at night while doing hazardous work will not be allowed. Urban areas in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City come under Region 1, while Region 2 includes the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Citys rural areas and urban parts of Can Tho, Da Nang and Hai Phong cities. Region 3 includes provincial cities and districts in Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hai Duong and Vinh Phuc provinces. Region 4 consists of the remaining areas in the country. RELATED: Payroll and HR Services from Dezan Shira & Associates Business Registrations Approvals Reduced to Two Days in Ho Chi Minh City In a move that will significantly help business owners, the Ministry of Finance stated that business registration applications in Ho Chi Minh City that are not processed by the appropriate departments in two days will be automatically approved. Business registrations submitted to district administrations or the municipal Department of Planning and Investment should be sent to the relevant departments for review within one day. From there, the departments should approve or reject applications within two working days. If no response is given, the registration will be considered approved; the district administrators will then be authorized to license the business. The departments will also be held responsible for approvals. RELATED: Vietnams Visa and Work Permit Procedures Vietnam Backs Off From Ratifying TPP The Vietnamese government has backed off from joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after the uncertainty of the deal due to the recent US elections. Reports say that US is suspending submitting the TPP to parliament thus making Vietnams submission of its proposal for ratification futile. Nevertheless, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated that the country has 12 free trade agreements and will continue to expand its economy. A trade minister further stated that the textiles, seafood and footwear sectors would continue to stay competitive on global markers even without the TPP. Vietnams economy was supposed to benefit significantly with the ratification of the TPP. It expected to gain a percentage increase of 5.4 percent equaling US$6.1 billion. Nevertheless, Vietnam wants to continue to maintain relations with the US. About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email vietnam@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Annual Audit and Compliance in Vietnam 2016 In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we address pressing changes to audit procedures in 2016, and provide guidance on how to ensure that compliance tasks are completed in an efficient and effective manner. We highlight the continued convergence of VAS with IFRS, discuss the emergence of e-filing, and provide step-by-step instructions on audit and compliance procedures for Foreign Owned Enterprises (FOEs) as well as Representative Offices (ROs). Navigating the Vietnam Supply Chain In this edition of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the advantages of the Vietnamese market over its regional competition and highlight where and how to implement successful investment projects. We examine tariff reduction schedules within the ACFTA and TPP, highlight considerations with regard to rules of origin, and outline the benefits of investing in Vietnams growing economic zones. Finally, we provide expert insight into the issues surrounding the creation of 100 percent Foreign Owned Enterprise in Vietnam. Tax, Accounting and Audit in Vietnam 2016 (2nd Edition) This edition of Tax, Accounting, and Audit in Vietnam, updated for 2016, offers a comprehensive overview of the major taxes foreign investors are likely to encounter when establishing or operating a business in Vietnam, as well as other tax-relevant obligations. This concise, detailed, yet pragmatic guide is ideal for CFOs, compliance officers and heads of accounting who must navigate Vietnams complex tax and accounting landscape in order to effectively manage and strategically plan their Vietnam operations. Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs, and Fisheries (AFP Photo/John Thys) In June of this year, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered a total ban on logging timber in the natural forests of the central highlands. The purpose is to protect the land and water resources from further erosion, as the impacts of climate change and drought have been further aggravated by the destruction of forests. The EU applauds this decision. We are leaders in fighting climate change and greening our economies, and we promote partnerships in these areas abroad. We are particularly proud of our partnership with Vietnam, part of our support for Vietnams international integration strategy. And last week we witnessed a new achievement in our partnership, as the EU and Vietnam have reached agreement in principle on an ambitious new timber deal. Once implemented, it will secure access for Vietnamese timber to the EU, one of the biggest timber markets in the world. The stakes are high: in 2014, the timber trade between Vietnam and the EU was worth $705 million. Timber sold in the EU must come from verified sources - sources that are both legal and sustainable. The new agreement will make that possible, providing assurance that exports to the EU are from legal sources. It will apply both to timber that is domestically sourced, and to timber that is imported to Vietnam. To implement the deal, Vietnam has agreed to develop a system that will verify the legality of timber and timber products throughout the supply chain. Our negotiations have ensured that this system will be robust and credible, covering social, environmental, and fiscal obligations. Vietnams forests are a magnificent store of biodiversity, home to many plants and animal species found nowhere else in the world. As well as being a treasure trove of exotic flora and fauna, they provide income for rural communities, and protect locals from extreme climatic events. These forests need to be managed sustainably, to ensure their long-term prosperity and to safeguard environmental security. Illegal logging is a significant challenge, depriving the government of revenue, threatening biodiversity and creating conflicts with forest communities. The task now is to make the deal operational. The EU will work with Vietnam on this, monitoring how the agreement is implemented, especially in areas where stakeholders have concerns. Independent forest monitors from civil society, with their specialised knowledge of local challenges, will be able to help. Vietnam has committed to include all stakeholders, and to create mechanisms that will enable citizens to take part in consultations and participate in the scheme. The EU is offering technical assistance and support. Vietnam now needs to mobilise resources and build capacity, creating the system that will assure the legality of the timber. There will be regular independent evaluations, auditing the scheme and identifying areas for improvement. Setting up the scheme will take time, but the advantages are clear. Implementing the agreement will give Vietnam a competitive advantage over other countries that do not have such control over their timber. It will also strengthen the image of timber products destined for other markets, further boosting sustainable trade. The new agreement shows how much Europe and Vietnam have to gain from closer co-operation. While the EU supports Vietnams international integration, and its ambitious plans to protect biodiversity and fight climate change at home, I want to build on this momentum, and employ the same energy in our joint efforts to crack down on wildlife trafficking. We invite Vietnam to join the EU in our global strategy to ensure proper protection of biodiversity worldwide and at home, for the sake of our future generations. Working together closely will enable us to tackle the roots of the problem, targeting the organised criminal groups controlling this illegal trade. We also need to find ways to reduce demand for illegal products, from rhino horn to pangolin scales. Trafficking is not a victimless crime: just as illegal logging harms local communities here in Vietnam, poaching in Africa deprives local communities of their livelihood as well. I look forward to working together more closely with Vietnam on these problems. Solving them wont just improve the rule of law - it will help protect biodiversity, our common global heritage, and boost sustainable development here in Vietnam. Europe is deeply committed to supporting Vietnam in properly implementing its international commitments and ensure the countrys participation in global efforts for the good of our children and future generations. Chilean law obliges manufacturers to add warnings to packets of food high in sugar, saturated fats and other fattening nutrients. (AFP/Fabrice Coffrini) The government's National Consumer Service said in a statement it had filed a suit against the two companies plus Masterfoods, distributor of M&M chocolates, under June's "Food Labelling Law." It accuses the companies of breaching the law by "using children's characters on packets of various products classed as 'high in'" certain unhealthy ingredients. It said the companies had argued they had a commercial right to use the illustrated children's characters as a brand symbol. Chile passed the law on Jun 27 aiming to curb high levels of obesity. Chilean authorities estimate that one in three children under six in the South American country suffers from excessive weight. The law obliges manufacturers to add warnings to packets of food high in sugar, saturated fats and other fattening nutrients. It banned manufacturers from putting children's cartoon characters on products such as boxes of sugary breakfast cereals. It also outlawed the selling of snacks that include toys, such as "Kinder Surprise" chocolate eggs and McDonalds "Happy Meals." SERNAC director Enrnesto Munoz said the body was demanding a US$110,000 fine for each company. HCM City is looking for investment in infrastructure, transport, wastewater treatment and flood prevention.- Photo sggp.org.vn Hong Young Pyo, vice-chairman of South Koreas Export-Import Bank (KEXIM), said his bank is interested in funding infrastructure and transport projects in Viet Nam, particularly in HCM City, at a meeting on Tuesday with Le Van Khoa, vice-chairman of HCM City Peoples Committee. KEXIM wants to fund urban railway route No 4b-1 (to Tan Son Nhat International Airport) and phase two of urban railway route No 5. The pre-feasibility studies for both projects have been completed and the reports are expected to be released next year. Pyo said his bank was also interested in investing or providing capital for other infrastructure projects in HCM City, such as building and transfer of technology to operate the urban railway routes and the smart traffic operation centre. Lauding KEXIMs interest, Khoa said HCM City wants the bank to complete legal procedures soon and disburse capital so that feasibility studies for the projects can start in the first quarter of 2017. KEXIM should also consider providing additional official development assistance (ODA) from the South Korean governments Economic Development Cooperation Fund, Khoa said. He has also requested the bank to assist HCM City in getting preferential loans from multilateral credit organisations like the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to implement phase two of urban railway route no. 5, after the Korea International Cooperation Agency Team completes its final report next month. In another meeting on the same day, Khoa told Senda Tetsuya, general director of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJs HCM City branch, that the city is looking for investment in infrastructure, transport, wastewater treatment and flood prevention. In response, Tetsuya said his bank is keen to provide capital for key projects. The meeting included representatives from the citys departments and agencies and was aimed at increasing co-operation and getting updates on legal regulations and procedures for acquiring funds. Hang Da traditional wet market was upgraded into a shopping center (Photo: afamily.vn) But for foreigners living here, they have more things to share. VOV reporter Ngoc Huyen takes a stroll around Hanois streets with 2 English expatriates. It had turned warmer with abundant sunshine after several gloomy, cold days of early winter. It was such a great Sunday morning on which to meet with expatriates from England namely Stella Ciorra, who has been in Hanoi for 21 years and Gillian Scourfield, who has been teaching English in the city for 4 years. Kim Co pagoda is located on Duong Thanh street. (Photo: http://360.hncity.org) "We met in front of Hang Da 'market'. They were surprised at the way I called it a 'market' because it looked like a modern shopping mall. When I explained that the building used to be a traditional wet market, Gillian said she loved the Chau Long traditional wet market near her house more than the modern one: "I think its fresh and also it gives local people employment and money. I like supporting the local people. I also feel the quality is good. I have never had vegetables and food from the super market. Its an interesting experience. Somebody introduced me to store holders and shes reliable and honest. Its an interesting experience and better than going to the super market", said Ms Huyen. Ly Van Phuc street is always crowded with diners enjoying BBQ chicken. (Photo: Zing) Stella often shops at a super market and buys tofu and vegetables at her local convenience store because the traditional wet market is too far from her residence. But she insisted that the traditional market provides new comers with a great experience: "Its interesting. Yes. If I have friends visiting, I would take them around. Because its interesting for them", said Stella. Leaving Hang Da market, we planned a walking trip around its back alleys. Though we all have been in the area for quite a long time, none of us realized that there were so many pagodas and temples around. Kim Co pagoda was said by its keeper to be 400 years older than Quan Thanh Temple, built in 1010 near West Lake, one of best known pagodas in Hanoi. Kim Co pagoda stands near a temple honoring Y Lan, the second wife and King Ly Thai Tong (1054-1072), and a communal house worshiping the master of embroidery. Stella said "Its quite simple. I like the colors of blue and yellow and white. Most of the pagodas and temples here are gold and red and dark brown. I think its not touristy so its more peaceful and natural. Its nice." These buildings were loved by Cathy Henheffer from Canada, a friend we met by chance during the trip. "I like the pagodas and temples. The way they respect the deceased, they pray for them and give thanks for them. They ask for success and good luck in a different life. Thats interesting", said Stella. The old French-style villa on Duong Thanh street (Photo: afamily.vn) We chatted while wandering in the some streets around the area, seeing people reading newspapers, surfing their mobile phones, and drinking coffee in the hundreds of cafes along Duong Thanh street. Some leisurely ate pho ga (rice noodle soup with chicken) and bun rieu (crab noodle soup) at street vendors. We have some as well, because it was impossible to let go of the relaxed atmosphere on a sunny Sunday morning. Luckily, Gillian loved it, and street food, in general. "For myself, I have seen such a variety of choices from street vendors to international restaurants with a great variety of food. I like chicken and pork. I enjoy the street with BBQ chicken: Ly Van Phuc. We do have street vendors in London where people sell food. But its not exciting or exotic", said Stella. The vendors of pho and bun rieu were located right in front of a big old villa, which was of great interest to Stella. "I like the old villa cause I like the old buildings and going past some small alleys to see how life was like. I like the history and want to see how everything links together. This old villa looks so artistic." Stella was so interested in Hanois history and architecture that she even planned to start a walking tour, starting at the Hanoi opera house, then Trang Tien street, down Hang Bai, Ham Long, up Ba Trieu and to Hang Khay, where there are many hidden lanes. It would be a very simple square but theres so much history in some of those buildings where different lives were lived from the old days to the French times and then up to now. Stella designed the tour herself and has prepared for it very carefully. She said "I walk it to make sure, check the timing. Ive already planned it. Now, Im writing about each thing, each corner. Ill put things together and then walk with my notes to see if its too long or too short and if there are any extra things to add. This one is new. I enjoyed some walks and know what Im interested in. So I developed a new walk based on what I like and talking to people. Some people give me interesting things. And I must say wow, that must be included in the walk." Our trip ended at a protestant church at the back of Hang Da market. My friends, Stella and Gillian, were singing along to several followers playing the piano to prepare for their afternoon ceremony. They both seemed to be pleased with the walk and we agreed to soon take other similar tours around different parts of Hanoi to hear more interesting stories about the capital city. Photo quochoi.vn The legislature considered and ratified three laws and 11 resolutions, while giving the first readings to 12 laws. These documents will help to improve Vietnams legal framework. Notably, the National Assembly has for the first time discussed the Law on Planning, compiled by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), stressing the need for this law to help the government direct socioeconomic activities more effectively. It is expected that the law will be ratified by the National Assembly in June 2017. Photo quochoi.vn Vietnam has more than 19,000 planning projects whose shortcomings at the central or grassroots levels have wasted national resources and hampered investment attraction, according to MPI. The law on planning combines existing ordinances into a system of planning. It overrides the current haphazard and ineffective circulars and decrees issued by ministries, sectors, and provinces. It is considered a tool to settle conflicts between sectors, or provinces toward more sustainable development. In addition, during the session, an MPI-compiled resolution on an economic restructuring plan for the 2016-2020 period was also passed. The plan highlights the importance of restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs), public investment, and the banking sector. The resolution noted that Vietnam currently faces big challenges in the banking sector and efforts need to be made to deal with and remove cross-investment and cross-ownership among credit organisations, and boost the divestment of capital at commercial banks. According to the World Bank, with elevated non-performing loans (NPL) ratios and balance sheet positions intertwined with the SOE sector, the banking sector remains susceptible to sudden shifts in depositor confidence and unexpected news on SOE performance or asset price movements. The countrys NPL ratio, as at the end of September, was recorded at 2.62 per cent, exclusive of the amount of NLP sold to Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) a state-owned firm in charge of solving NPLs. The bad debt ratio, as such, may well add up to 7 per cent of the total outstanding debts, consisting of the recently announced NPL and the NPL sold to VAMC that have not been collected, according to BIDV acting deputy general director Can Van Luc. However, though having assumed a growing share of bad assets worth about $9 billion, VAMC is yet to develop a clear strategy to resolve them. Progress is partially hampered by gaps in the existing State Bank regulations and the corporate restructuring framework. Also at the session, the National Assembly has also adopted Vietnams socioeconomic development plan for 2017, which set many macroeconomic targets, including a GDP growth rate of 6.7 per cent (increased from the expected 6.3-6.5 per cent this year) and a rise of 4 per cent in the consumer price index. In addition, the National Assembly also reviewed reports from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Peoples Court, the chief prosecutor, and the government on the enforcement of laws on preventing and combating crime, anit-corruption policies, and law enforcement. Furthermore, the legislature also reviewed the report of the Vietnam Fatherland Front on voters opinions and petitions. The National Assembly also reviewed reports on the implementation of the national target programme on developing new rural areas, coupled with restructuring the agricultural sector for 2010-2015. Bills and resolutions are adopted: - Law on faiths and religions - Law on property auctions - Law on amending Article 6 and Annex 4 (List of conditional business activities) of the Law on Investment. - Resolution on pilot issuance of electronic visas for foreigners travelling to Vietnam - Resolution on the socioeconomic development plan for 2017 - Resolution on 2017 national budget estimate - Resolution on 2017 central budget allocation - Resolution on five-year financial planning - Resolution on mid-term public investment for 2016-2020 - Resolution on economic re-structuring plan for 2016-2020 - Resolution on amendment of some articles of Resolution 55/2010/QH12 on reduction and exemption of agricultural tax - Resolution on the continued improvement of the effectiveness of the national target programme on new rural development and agricultural sector restructuring - Resolution on question time in the second session of the 14th National Assembly - Resolution on termination of Ninh Thuan nuclear power project investment plan Bills given the first readings: - Law on railways (amended) - Law on foreign trade management - Law on management and using of firearms, explosive equipment and supporting tools - Law on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises - Law on management and using of state properties (amended) - Law on irrigation - Law on technology transfer (amended) - Law on compensation responsibility of the state (amended) - Law on guardianship - Law on tourism (amended) - Law on legal assistance (amended) - Law on planning US soda consumption fell to a 30-year low in 2015 as worries about obesity and diabetes hit sales. (AFP/Justin Sullivan) PepsiCo bought KeVita, a leader in fermented probiotic and kombucha beverages, for an undisclosed price. PepsiCo praised KeVita for having a "loyal and rapidly growing consumer base in the fast growing functional beverage space." Dr Pepper Snapple bought Bai Brands, a manufacturer of carbonated flavoured water and other beverages, for US$1.7 billion. Dr Pepper Snapple chief executive Larry Young praised Bai as a leader in fast-growing beverage businesses and said he would support Bai's efforts "to continue the breakthrough and disruptive branding and innovation that have revolutionised their categories." US soda consumption fell to a 30-year low in 2015 as worries about obesity and diabetes hit sales. Soda makers have responded with a series of reforms, include use of smaller portion sizes. Soda manufacturers have also faced punitive laws in US cities such as Berkeley, California and Philadelphia, which have imposed taxes on sugary drinks. In November, several other cities joined this movement, including Boulder, Colorado and San Francisco. By Siraj Qureshi: Lohkarera village in Agra was immersed in grief after the residents heard about the martyrdom of Dharmendra Singh, 37, of Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday. Singh was posted at the Line of Control (LoC) where he had re-joined duty after a long leave on November 5. Singh's father Baldev Singh told India Today that his son had joined the Army 18 years back. Three more youngsters from Singh's family are also serving in the Army and the whole village is proud of his ultimate sacrifice. advertisement Singh is survived by wife and two daughters Krishna (10) and Khushi (8), who are hardly aware of their father's death. Commenting on the regular arrival of such sad news from the border these days, social activist Deep Sharma said that the government seems to have lost focus after just one surgical strike and Pakistan has violated ceasefire nearly 300 times since then, killing and injuring numerous soldiers and civilians. He said there has been hardly any action by the government apart from a set line 'muh-tod jawab' which was increasingly appearing to be just another slogan thrown at a time when such sloganeering was at its peak in Indian politics. Sharma said that the action of Pakistan's Border Action Team where three jawans were killed out of whom one body was mutiliated by the Pakistan Army, clearly showed that Pakistan had no fear left of India's retaliatory strike, as India was unable to give a befitting response. SILENCE NOT AN OPTION He added that maintaining a policy of quid pro quo cannot work any more and now the battle should be fought on India's terms, otherwise soldiers will continue to lose their lives and the government will keep sitting doing nothing, except 'kadi ninda' which was yet another slogan. Hindustani Biradari's Ziauddin said that the Army was getting demoralised as it was not being allowed to launch a counter-offensive against Pakistani aggression that could actually make Pakistan step back for some time. Instead, the Army was being forced to sacrifice brave soldiers every day in a bid to protect the border. He said that India's adherence to the principle of maintaining parity of weapons used in such cross-border firing indicated that India was afraid of escalating the current tensions, whereas Pakistan had no such fear. Also Read: Army launches biggest assault since 2003 against Pakistan to avenge soldier's beheading --- ENDS --- Investors at Vietcombank Securities Co. Shares end positive on Wednesday morning, driven by Masan Group after the company announced its dividend payment plan. - Photo vinanet.vn The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange and the HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange edged up 0.2 per cent each to close at 683.23 points and 81.16 points, respectively. The Masan Group (MSN) took the lead during early trading and surged 6.9 per cent after the company announced its plan to pay 80 per cent dividend, of which 30 per cent would be in cash and 50 per cent in bonus shares. Its shares have risen by more than 10 per cent since November 15. Insurance-banking industries also performed well, with Vietcombank (VCB), Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) all seeing gains. These stocks gained between 0.5 per cent and 1.8 per cent. Energy stocks showed some correction following recent gains as oil prices dropped after a three-day rally, following the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failure to convince Iran and Iraq to agree to an output cut at the Vienna meeting. Both dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM) and Faros Construction Corp (ROS) fell on profit-taking, by 0.9 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively. Market trading liquidity remained low, with around 81.7 million shares worth VND1.4 trillion (US$62 million) being traded. Besides, Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, Thai Beverage chief executive, denied earlier media reports that the group is following the state divestment from Hanoi Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Habeco). Acquisitions in Vietnam would help Thai Beverage achieve its 2020 goals to expand the groups overseas operations to 50 per cent of its total revenue from the roughly 20 per cent at present. Thapana said that Vietnam, with its sizeable population of 90 million, is Thai Beverages priority market in its international drive, followed by the Philippines and Myanmar. It is not the first time that Thai Beverage expressed interesting in Sabeco. Earlier in 2014, the group failed to purchase a 53 per cent stake for $2 billion. On the heels of the failed deal, in early 2015, the firm offered to buy a 40 per cent stake in Sabeco, but failed again. Along with Thai Beverage, Japanese Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. and Kirin Holdings Co. are also considering bidding for Sabecos shares. The move is part of the two companies overseas expansion plans to counterbalance a shrinking domestic market. Regarding Vinamilk, a representative of State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) said that numerous domestic and foreign investors have already registered to join the auction. However, specific information about these investors has yet to be disclosed. Established in October 2003, Thai Beverage focuses on four business segments: spirits, beer, non-alcoholic beverages, and food. It is currently the leading beverage producer and distributor in the ASEAN. Thai Beverage was listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange in 2006. The market capitalisation of Thai Beverage is currently over $17 billion. In 2012, it expanded its business overseas and through the acquisition of Fraser and Neave Ltd. a highly accomplished Singaporean company that boasts many renowned brands. The firm has currently 125 subsidiaries, including 18 distilleries, three breweries, and 10 non-alcohol beverage production facilities. It has an extensive distribution network covering 400,000 points of sales in Thailand only. Thai Beverages most recognised spirits brands include Ruang Khao, SangSom, Mekhong, Hong Thong, and Blend 285. This morning, the National Assembly ratified the Law on amending the list of conditional fields in the 2014 Law on Investment. 79 per cent of National Assembly deputies approved of adding producing, assembling, and importing cars to the list. The amendments will become effective on July 1, 2017 for the above activities as well as the sales of hidden GPS trackers or equipment and software to record sound and images. Except for the fields already stipulated as conditional in the unamended 2014 Law on Investment, the remaining fields will be conditional starting from January 1, 2017. After the amendments, the list now includes 243 fields and will be a basis for the government to build a detailed decree regulating automobile business activities. The Ministry of Planning and Investment drafted the law. As reported by Vietnam News Agency, at a November 10 press meeting in Hanoi, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong said that besides outlining conditions to protect consumers against low-quality vehicles and promote safety, the piece of legislation will boost the development of automobile manufacturing and assembling enterprises in Vietnam by striking a balance between them and car importers. He said manufacturers and assembly companies have their hands full with developing factories and distribution systems and training workers, while importers only buy cars from abroad and sell them on for profit. We do not think this is equality. If this continues, no one will pour capital into production and assembly anymore, said Dong. The 2014 Law on Investment stipulated no conditions for producing, assembling, and importing cars. Safety assurance is done through regular checks by the Vietnam Registry. In 2018, as part of its commitments under the ASEAN Economic Community, Vietnam will remove all tariffs on completely built cars imported from the ASEAN. The domestic automobile industry has only a year to gear up for the expected competition. Many car producers in Vietnam have expressed hopes that there will be policies put in place to protect the domestic industry so that they would not have to close shop. The Vietnam Opportunity Fund, managed by VinaCapital Group, has sold its entire holding in an unnamed trophy asset for US$100 million to a newly-formed hospitality joint venture between it and US private equity firm Warburg Pincus.-Photo vietnamfinance.vn The unnamed asset, which has the audited net asset value (NAV) of $60 million as of June 30, 2016, is believed to be the landmark century-old Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel Hanoi. In the filing to the London Stock Exchange, the fund announced that it received the first payment of $37 million upon signing and closing the Share Purchase Agreement on the divestment of an asset to a newly formed consortium. The closed-end fund will receive minimum net proceeds of $100 million from the sale of the asset, and the balance of the remaining proceeds will be payable in two annual installments. According to its October report, the funds portfolio value stood at $823.4 million as of October 31, in which the top ten highest-valued assets accounted for 58.1 per cent. The Ha Noi-based hotel, valued at over $60 million, is the third largest investment of the fund with 7.3 per cent of its NAV, after dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM) with 16.9 per cent and steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG) with 8.8 per cent. The 365-room, French colonial-era hotel was built in 1901 near the Sword Lake in the heart of Ha Noi. It is 50 per cent owned by Vietnam Opportunity Fund and 50 per cent held by tour operator Hanoitourist Travel. The hotel has annual revenue of around VND800 billion ($35.7 million) and net profit of VND200 billion per year, according to Cafef.vn. The fund has been seeking to divest from the hotel since 2012, as it tries to sell premium assets after the collapse of the property market, but it has yet to succeed. We are delighted to have reached this agreement and we look forward to redeploying the proceeds into the many new opportunities in this market as well as toward our ongoing share buyback programme, said managing director Andy Ho. VinaCapital and its CEO Don Lam will continue to be involved in the oversight of the asset and are expected to participate with a non-controlling interest in the consortium. In a related development, VinaCapital, Don Lam and Warburg Pincus LLC last week agreed to form a $300 million joint venture that focuses on development, acquisitions and operations of hotels in Viet Nam and Southeast Asia. By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) The number of AIDS related deaths in the country has reduced by 54 per cent between 2007 and 2015, the Rajya Sabha was told today. Minister of State for Health Faggan Singh Kulaste, in a written reply, said that as on October 2016, a total of 21,406 Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTC) and 1,636 Anti- Retroviral Treatment (ART) centres have been established in the country. advertisement "National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), which was launched in 1994, to address epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the country has achieved remarkable success in addressing the issue. The adult sero-prevalence has declined from 0.38 per cent in 2001-03 to 0.26 per cent currently. "The number of AIDS related deaths has reduced by 54 per cent from 2007 to 2015. As on October, 2016, 21,406 and 1,636 Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTC) and Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) centres respectively have been established in the country. There are 12.2 lakh PLHIV in active care, out of which 9.97 lakh are on ART," he said. In addition, the programme is focusing on elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and all pregnant women are being offered services for HIV testing and preventive therapy to those who are HIV positive. "As a part of its commitment to reach 90-90-90 targets by 2020, HIV counselling and testing guidelines for community based testing and lay provider testing have been finalised to reach out to those currently not knowing their HIV status," he said. The minister said that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country is driven through key populations and as on date 1502 Targeted Interventions programme provides services to these key populations which includes female sex workers, men having sex with men, transgender and injecting drug users. The programme is also addressing sexually transmitted infections and reproductive tract infection through syndromic case management and has established 1164 dedicated facilities for the same. "The programme is also promoting safe blood transfusion to prevent HIV and other infections transmittable through blood and about 80 per cent of blood collected is through voluntary blood donation," he said. PTI TDS SMJ --- ENDS --- Civil society groups on Saturday appealed to the Ministry of Health to be more cautious when releasing statements that could cause panic after it issued a statement earlier this month claiming that a case of the deadly Zika virus had been diagnosed in Cambodia. The ministry quickly issued a retraction of the erroneous statement, which said a 44-year-old man in Kampong Cham province had contracted the disease. It said in the retraction that the results of a second analysis of the mans condition received about an hour after the first statement had been issued showed he was in fact not a carrier. Thida Khus, director of Silaka, an NGO that monitors public policy, said the incident had raised questions about the ability of health officials to make proper medical assessments. We want to trust what they say. However, it raises questions when they say there is [Zika] then take back their words and say there isnt, she said. We want the Ministry of Health to be certain before releasing any statement, for the sake of credibility, she added. Yong Kim Eng, director of the People Center for Development and Peace, said it was regretful that the statement had been issued. Whenever it is thought that there is threat from a dangerous virus, it has to undergo strict laboratory analysis. Once the analysis done and it is found that there is a problem, only then should they make an announcement. Minister of Health Mam Bunheng could not be reached. The Zika virus causes severe birth defects, particularly affecting the cerebral growth of the child, and has spread rapidly across Latin America. It can be transmitted through an exchange of bodily fluids and also from mother to child. Thousands of cases have been reported worldwide, while in Southeast Asia, Singapore has reported more than 240 cases, and Malaysia and Thailand have also reported cases. Former Khmer Rouge leaders Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan have been found guilty of crimes against humanity by the Khmer Rouge tribunals Supreme Court in a final decision that cannot be appealed. The decision on Wednesday came more than two years after they were initially convicted and sentenced to life in prison over the mass executions and starvation they presided over between 1975 and 1979. The Supreme Court, however, found the trial chamber had made mistakes and questionable conclusions during the trial, ultimately reversing some counts of extermination and persecution included in the initial judgment. The court also found, in a decision likely to stoke controversy, that the decision not to subpoena Heng Samrin, the president of the National Assembly who was a Khmer Rouge commander, was erroneous. The charges were brought for the two mens participation in the forced evacuation of Phnom Penh and other areas of the country, and the execution of hundreds of officials of the ousted Lon Nol regime. As the decision was read out, many in attendance applauded. Chan Socheata, the only survivor in her once-15-strong family, said she remembers the starvation, persecution and forced labor vividly, but was only a little bit relieved to hear the decision on Wednesday. Prison nowadays is not like during the Khmer Rouge regime, in which we had the right to work but not to eat, she said. Keng Ly, 68, who observed the verdict, said his feelings are somehow soothed. Yet if we talk about the suffering It was non-stop, he added. But this is a modicum of justice for me that I can accept. He says he still cannot fathom how people could act with such inhumanity towards their fellow countrymen and women. They put forth a killing policy to resolve issues. I still dont fully understand this policy. Whether it was for propaganda or whatever, I still dont understand. Chea was the regimes second-in-command, while Samphan was head of state. They are the only senior officials convicted over the crimes of the regime, with Ieng Sary and Ieng Tharith dying before they could stand trial. The U.N.-backed tribunal has been criticized for the pace at which it has prosecuted cases and for overspending. Since 2006, more than $260 million has been spent on the court. Following Wednesdays announcement, Chan Tani, secretary of the Council of Ministers, said the convictions were a testament to the success of the tribunal. It is important to prevent such tragedies from happening again at any time or in any country, he said. David Scheffer, special rapporteur for the U.N. secretary general at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, said the verdict should be seen as a warning to other totalitarian governments around the world today. Perhaps the leadership of North Korea should take particular note of what occurred here today, he said. Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday urged Cambodian farmers to put off sales of rice due to recent falls in the commoditys price on international markets. Hundreds of Cambodians have protested in recent months over price suppression by local traders. Shortly after the protests, Hun Sen moved to set a fixed price for rice and called on ministries and officials to purchase rice from farmers. When our region and the world is facing a crisis about the decline in rices price I would appeal to people to try to dry paddy rice and store it for a while, he said. When the price rises, sales should resume. He said that Cambodia would stockpile 5 million tons of rice and be in a position to export hundreds of thousands of tons to countries like China and Vietnam. The prime minister also called on microfinance institutions to help farmers, without going into details. The traders who sparked protests were allegedly offering between 600 and 650 riel (about 15 to 16 cents) per kilogram to farmers, but when the rice arrived at the mills they would refuse to pay the full price. Chhong Sophal, coordinating officer of NGO Farmer and Nature Net, said the government should launch a campaign to study rice production in the country, because the overheads were quickly catching up to sales and eating into farmers profits. He said that farmers may spend 900 riel to operate a hectare of rice paddy but earn only 800 from traders. If I produced three tons of paddy rice, I would lose 300,000 riel. Private rice mills were standing to reap the benefits of the price war, as their huge stockpiles had kept the price of milled rice artificially high, he added. Phou Puy, president of the Bank of Paddy Rice in Battambang province, however, said the farmers would not stage further protests as there were signs that the price of paddy rice was increasing. We dont have any problems. The price wont fall in our country, he said. It has started to increase a bit. Australian experts are divided over whether the world's biggest trade deal could survive without the United States. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, on his first day in office. The agreement includes the US, Australia and ten other countries. Donald Trump has dismissed the TPP as a job-killing disaster and has said he would scrap the proposed agreement when he becomes US president in January. Trump has promised to instead negotiate bilateral trade deals that would bring back American jobs. The TPP was signed by 12 countries earlier this year, and covers 40% of the world's economy. To come into force, it must be ratified by February 2018, but there is disagreement if it could proceed if the US walks away. Japans Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, said the treaty would be meaningless without the US. Some analysts in Australia agree, arguing that the TPP is built around a deal between Japan and the United States, and if the U.S. pulls out, the trade pact would collapse. But Tim Harcourt, an economist at the University of New South Wales Business School, believes the deal could be revived by China. I think small, open economies like Vietnam, Peru, Chile - those types of economies do very well out of these free trade agreements. It is probably Japan and the U.S. who are probably, you know, the least keen of all the economies. They have all got to get it through their own parliaments and they would all have to agree to it but it might be possible that China sets up something equivalent to the TPP with China pretty much at the helm, and that would not be a good outcome for the US, said Harcourt. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said earlier this week he was hopeful that Trump might change his mind and embrace the TPP, or that the deal could survive in a modified form to placate the incoming U.S. president. New Zealand has suggested that some sort of renegotiated deal could be possible without the US. The 12 countries of the TPP have a combined population of about 800 million - almost double that of the European Union's single market. Its other signatories are Brunei, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico and Singapore. It aims to strengthen economic ties between these nations and cut tariffs. Critics of the TPP in the U.S. say that it lacks transparency and favors other nations at the expense of jobs in the United States. A U.N.-backed tribunal in Cambodia has upheld life sentences given to two former leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime for crimes against humanity. Khieu Samphan, the former head of state, and Nuon Chea, second in command to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, were originally sentenced in 2014 in connection with charges of extermination, enforced disappearances and political persecution. The Supreme Court Chamber's top judge Kong Srim said Wednesday the life sentences were appropriate, and that the two men showed a "complete lack of consideration for the ultimate fate of the Cambodian population." Chea and Samphan are the most senior Khmer Rouge officials still living. They are also on trial in a second case involving genocide charges. Their lawyers argued the 2014 conviction was tainted by errors and biased judges, and while Wednesday's decision noted some problems, the overall verdict remained the same. The court also said the decision not to subpoena Heng Samrin, the president of the National Assembly who was once a Khmer Rouge commander, was erroneous. The final ruling, which was applauded as it was read out, cannot be appealed. Chan Socheata, the only survivor of her 15 family members who were imprisoned under Pol Pot's rule, recalled starvation, persecution and forced labor. "I was only a little bit relieved, to hear Wednesday's ruling, she told VOA. Prison nowadays is not like during the Khmer Rouge regime, in which we had the right to work but not to eat. Keng Ly, 68, who arrived to observe the verdict on behalf of loved ones, said his feelings are somehow soothed. Yet if we talk about the suffering it was non-stop, he recalled. But this is a modicum of justicethat I can accept. The sheer cruelty of the crimes, he added, are bound to continue haunting him. They put forth a killing policy to resolve issues, and I still dont think I can ever fully understand this policy," he added. "Whether it was for propaganda or whatever, I still dont understand. Chea and Samphan are the only senior officials convicted for crimes of the regime, with Ieng Sary and Ieng Tharithboth influential Khmer Rouge figuresdying before they could stand trial. Trial criticized The U.N.-backed tribunal has been criticized for the pace at which it has prosecuted cases and for overspending. Since 2006, more than $260 million has been spent on the court. Following Wednesdays announcement, Chan Tani, secretary of the Council of Ministers, said the convictions were a testament to the tribunal's success. It is important to prevent such tragedies from happening again at any time or in any country, he said. David Scheffer, special rapporteur for the U.N. secretary general at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, said the verdict should be seen as a warning to other totalitarian governments around the world today. Perhaps the leadership of North Korea should take particular note of what occurred here today, he said. The Khmer Rouge oversaw the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979. While film industries down South continue to make bigger, more larger-than-life films such as Baahubali: The Conclusion and 2.0, Bollywood is still scarred from the failures of Ra.One and Mohenjo Daro. By Devarsi Ghosh: The budget of what is unarguably 2017's biggest Indian film, 2.0, starring Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar is an estimated Rs 350 crore. Exactly Rs 150 crore cheaper is the much-awaited Baahubali: The Conclusion. Both films are multilingual and are supposedly catering to regional industries; but even then, their astronomical budgets will send Bollywood producers scurrying for cover to hide their embarrassment. While regional films from down South can afford to be this costly, why has Bollywood not been able to show such flair and backbone? advertisement WATCH: All you need to know about Rajini-Akshay's 2.0 ALSO READ: Akshay and Rajini to get equal status in 2.0 ALSO READ: From being Khiladi to Rajini's 2.0 villain, how Akshay revamped his career Well, obviously, after colossal financial failures like Mohenjo Daro and Ra.One, no Bollywood producer in his/her right mind would invest a whopping Rs 350 crore in any movie. Hrithik Roshan's Mohenjo Daro, made on an estimated budget of Rs 138 crore, somehow managed to make Rs 100 crore. 2011's Ra.One worth Rs 130 crore grossed Rs 240 crore internationally but was panned critically, thereby putting Shah Rukh's plans for a sequel on hold. 2008's Love Story 2050, yet another CGI-driven film, made on a modest budget of Rs 60 crore, lost an incredible amount of money on release while Drona, made on a budget of Rs 45 crore, earned back less than one-third of the amount in which it was made. On the other hand, SS Rajamouli's Magadheera, a fantasy film with epic visuals made on a budget of Rs 35 crore, earned Rs 150 crore worldwide. Rajamouli's 2012 film Eega/Makkhi, a high-concept supernatural fantasy film made on a budget of Rs 40 crore, earned up to Rs 130 crore internationally. Rajamouli's 2015 magnum opus Baahubali: The Beginning, however, earned a staggering Rs 650 crore off a Rs 120 crore budget! Oh and the Rajinikanth film Enthiran/Robot earned up to Rs 200 crore worldwide from a budget of Rs 132 crore. So, what is the South industry doing right that Bollywood hasn't been able to grasp? For one, all of Rajamouli's films Magadheera, Eega and Baahubali: The Beginning are rooted in Indian mythology. The imagery and the stories of these films have supernatural, fantastical themes that are very Indian and as such, relatable to the average Indian. On the other hand, to make a film like Ra.One or Love Story 2050 relatable to the masses of a country not well-acquainted with science-fiction as a genre, one needs time to establish the worlds of the film. To get people to invest in such high-tech, futuristic material, one needs time and care to build up the world of the film, and a two-and-a-half hour running time is not enough to get people to care about Ra.One. advertisement Another thing that did not work in favour of Ra.One/Drona/Love Story 2050 was the derivative nature of the films. Major chunks of Ra.One were borrowed from The Terminator, Minority Report, X-Men etc., while Drona's storyline was practically lifted from Harry Potter's. One cannot accuse their South Indian counterparts of stealing plotlines and ideas for visual effects, at least. But then, what can explain the freak success of 2011's Enthiran/Robot? And what about the failure of Vijay-starrer Puli and Rajinikanth's Kochadaiiyaan? This goes on to show that with big budgets, content is king. Critics agreed that Enthiran was bombastic and loud, sure, but it did have a decent-enough story for people to invest themselves in; something Ra.One or Drona cannot speak for. Another reason why it will take quite some time for Bollywood producers to invest in big-budget, high-concept, CGI-driven films is the failure of Anurag Kashyaps' Bombay Velvet. Kashyap's Bombay Velvet made on a budget of Rs 118 crore earned a dismal Rs 34 crore internationally. Kashyap had envisioned that if Bombay Velvet became a success, he would make the big-budget adaptation of the Hindi comic book series Doga. But with the failure of Ra.One and Bombay Velvet, Bollywood is not seeing a Doga any time soon. advertisement Meanwhile, the South film industries' astronomical budgets continue to get even bigger. Enthiran's sequel 2.0 has to gross at least Rs 600 crore to make a decent-enough profit over its Rs 350 crore. The mathematics is simple. While Baahubali: The Beginning's worldwide success inspire South filmmakers to go all out with their films, the constant failure of big-budget Hindi films have sent Bollywood filmmakers into a shell. If the Hindi version of 2.0 works as well as the Tamil and the Telugu versions (that is if 2.0 is a hit), maybe, just maybe, Bollywood might get brave enough to attempt something big and crazy. WATCH: Baahubali 2 footage leaked, 2.0 first look breaks the internet --- ENDS --- Intensified fighting between ethnic rebel groups and government forces in northern Myanmar has forced several thousand to flee into Chinas southern province of Yunnan, raising concerns in Beijing about border security. The clashes and reports of stray munitions flying into Chinese territory have stirred up a debate online, with some calling on authorities in China to do more to help resolve the conflict and aid efforts in Myanmar to forge reconciliation. Given Chinas economic interests in conflict areas near the border, there are limits to what can be done, analysts said, but also signs as well that Beijing may be looking for a new approach. Securing the border In response to the violence, China has already put its military on high alert and called for an immediate halt to military action to ensure that stability returns to the border as soon as possible. It has also said it is willing to play a constructive role in Myanmars peace process and efforts by the new administration to resolve decades of conflict with ethnic minority groups. China is traditionally reticent to become publicly involved in foreign nations' internal issues, but top Chinese officials have voiced support for peace talks. Earlier this year, when Myanmars State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi visited Beijing, President Xi Jinping voiced his support of the reconciliation effort. China also sent an envoy to encourage two groups to attend peace talks which were held in late August. Another round of talks is scheduled for February, but the renewed fighting, which has seen three ethnic armed organizations join forces with the Kachin Independence Army, is dimming hopes that groups will be able to agree to a ceasefire before the next round of talks. Myanmar is holding peace talks every six months and aims to achieve complete peace across the country by 2020, if not earlier. Aung San Suu Kyi rose to power on promises of national reconciliation, but the clashes along the Myanmar China border and conflicts in northwestern Rhakine state that have sent hundreds of Rohingya Muslims fleeing into neighboring Bangledesh, have raised questions about the prospects of the effort. What some in China are looking for is a more assertive approach from Beijing. In an article in the Communist-party backed Global Times newspaper this week, Yunnan University political science professor Bi Shihong argued that more efforts are needed. China can take stronger measures of creative involvement to intensify coordination and mediation, and urge the military, the government and ethnic armed groups to go back to the negotiating table, Bi said. What form China's involvement will take remains unclear. In some online forums, internet users have suggested measures such as working to help ethnic groups gain more autonomy or selling the Myanmar military hardware including fighter jets. Independence to Autonomy Analysts note that while it is clearly in Chinas interests to maintain stability at its border and support efforts by the new administration to promote reconciliation, Beijing is in a difficult and delicate position, said Chao Chung-chi, an assistant professor of Southeast Asian Studies at National Chinan University. From Chinas point of view, actively engaging and helping facilitate (the peace process), can help to secure the border, Chao said. At the same time, everyone knows that areas controlled by ethnic minorities are rich in natural resources and if China is actively engaged that can help its ability to continue investing there as well. Overplaying its hand or doing more to help one side or the other be it the Myanmar military or ethnic group has its risks. Some of the ethnic groups that are at odds with the Myanmar government have populations on both sides of the China Myanmar border. The demands of ethnic groups range widely with some striving for independence and others increased autonomy. For groups such as the Kachin Independence Organization, whose armed wing the Kachin Independence Army is involved in the current round of fighting, agreeing to a peace settlement is tantamount to surrendering. New interests For a long time, the buffer zone of autonomous and ethnic regions along the border between Myanmar and China have benefited Chinese commercial interests. Ethnic armed organizations have helped protect the flow of illegal trade of jade and timber through a network of unaccounted stakeholders. But that is changing, even as tensions continue. Myanmars shift toward democracy and emerging environmental laws are make it tougher for Chinese companies to operate. The increased involvement of civil society groups is an emerging obstacle as well. And China, which is still Myanmars biggest trading partner, is seeing its influence erode as involvement in the economy by Japan and the United States grows. Angshuman Choudhury, a researcher at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in New Delhi said that with these changing realities, Beijing appears to be looking for a whole new approach to boost its commercial links with Myanmar beyond its illegal trade. Beijing has higher economic stakes in Myanmar, in the form of massive hydro-power projects (the construction for many are about to start), oil/gas pipelines, road connectivity projects, and perhaps, a legal jade and timber trade, Choudhury said. Unlike its competitors, Choudhury adds, China's position of negotiator in the internal peace process of Myanmar automatically gives it a significant role in the country's internal dynamics, enhancing Beijing's position in future bilateral negotiations. Colombia's government and the country's largest rebel group, known as the FARC, are set to sign a renegotiated peace deal Thursday. The revised document will be signed in Bogota between FARC leader Rodrigo Londono and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last month for his efforts to end the decades-long conflict with the insurgent group. Peter Hakim, president emeritus and senior fellow at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue, told VOA that although the accord lacks universal support, it should be approved by Congress. Hakim said, like other agreements of this kind, there are compromises and, when taken out of the judicial realm and placed into the political realm, inevitably those accused of rights abuses and crimes will escape justice. The government and representatives of FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, have been negotiating in Cuba for more than four years to bring an end to the conflict that has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions in the Andean country. Earlier deal rejected by voters Last month, voters taking part in a referendum surprisingly rejected the first accord, which was seen as too soft on the rebels. After the revised deal is signed, it will be submitted to Colombia's Congress for approval, rather than put to another referendum. Ever since the original deal's defeat at the polls, the FARC and government negotiators have worked around the clock, introducing some 50-plus changes to make it more acceptable to conservative Colombians who overwhelmingly despise the FARC. Some of these modifications include explaining private property rights and detailing how the rebels would be confined in rural areas for crimes committed during the 52-year war. Despite the amendments in the 310-page document, opposition leader and former President Alvaro Uribe on Tuesday rejected the deal, saying the changes are merely cosmetic, adding that there is still a long way to go. "Although the president of the republic calls us radicals, we have accepted that in other areas there were modifications which we have thought convenient and we have said that there is a third category of issues that could be adjusted here in Congress. The serious thing is that the government does not give in to impunity, drug trafficking, Uribe said Tuesday. Uribe requested a meeting with the FARC leadership to discuss his concerns, but his overtures were soundly rejected. Uribe, now a senator, wants rebel leaders banned from holding public office and jailed for crimes committed. "Uribe governed badly, corrupted and bled Colombia during eight years and never wanted peace. He wanted to defeat the FARC, but he couldn't,'' FARC commander Pablo Catatumbo, a rebel leaders in Bogota, said via Twitter. President Santos has made clear there is no more room for negotiation. In a joint government-FARC statement Tuesday, negotiators said they were still working on the procedures that will be used for ratification in Congress, where the government coalition has a solid majority. The United States congratulated the government and the president of Colombia on reaching the peace agreement with the FARC. This progress is a testament to the commitment shown by all sides, including those who did not support the original accord, the White House said in a statement. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a recent statement the agreement "constitutes an important step forward on Colombias path to a just and durable peace. The United States, in coordination with the government of Colombia, will continue to support full implementation of the final peace agreement," he said. The Dalai Lama on Wednesday said he has no worries about the upcoming Donald Trump presidency, and wants to meet with Trump in the future. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said he thinks Trumps actions as president could diverge from some of the more divisive words spoken during the campaign. "Sometimes I feel during election, the candidate has more freedom to express," he said during a visit to Mongolias capital Ulaanbaatar. "Once they [are] elected, having the responsibility, then they have to plan their sort of vision, their works according [to] reality. "So I have no worries," he added. The Dalai Lama said he expects to travel to the United States and hopes to meet with Trump sometime next year. President Obama has hosted the Dalai Lama four times during his tenure in the White House, with the most recent meeting taking place in June. Such meetings are strongly opposed by China, whose Communist leadership views the Dalai Lama as a separatist threat hoping to break the country apart. The Tibetan spiritual leader insists he is only seeking true autonomy for his homeland. Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Wednesday that the Dalai Lamas trip to Mongolia was simply meant to damage Chinas reputation in the international community. "Instead of being in a temple to focus on practicing Buddhism, he travels around the world to meet with other foreign leaders in order to try to undermine relations between China and those countries," Geng said. The Dalai Lama and the Mongolian monastery that organized his visit said the trip was meant solely as a religious event and had no political connotations. The transition team of President-elect Donald Trump has picked South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to serve as his U.N. ambassador. Haley, a frequent critic of Trump early in his bid for the presidency, rose to the national spotlight when she led efforts in 2015 to remove the confederate flag from South Carolina state buildings after the massacre of black worshipers at an historic Charleston church. In a statement on her website, Haley, 44, said she had agreed, pending Senate confirmation, to serve in the U.N. post. "When the President believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nations standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed," Haley wrote. Nikki Haley is Indian American and is the first non-white woman or person of color to be named to the president-elects cabinet. When she delivered the 2016 Republican Party response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, Haley said some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference...That is just not true. Often, the best thing we can do is turn down the volume. Trump responded to those comments by calling her "weak" on immigration. While Haley is not well known in international circles and does not have the foreign policy experience most U.S. ambassadors possess, diplomats and analysts welcomed her nomination. In my previous position as Frances ambassador to Washington, I had the pleasure and opportunity to meet with Governor Haley, Frances U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre said. We had a very good contact. She is a highly regarded, very respected professional. Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters she will bring to the U.N. a strong track record of achievement from South Carolina, and I know that the U.K.-U.S. relationship will continue to go from strength to strength. Israels U.N. envoy, Danny Danon, issued a statement saying Haley "is a longstanding and true friend of Israel and is an outspoken fighter against the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement in her state, and throughout the U.S. U.N. Spokesman Farhan Haq said leaders of the world body are aware of her laudable comments against racism in the wake of the Charleston, South Carolina shooting. In that 2015 shooting, a white man killed nine black worshipers at an historic Charleston church. U.N. expert Richard Gowan, an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University, described the selection of Haley as "a deft pick." He said many U.N. officials had feared a return of John Bolton, who held the job in 2005 and 2006, or someone with similar views. Bolton famously once said that the U.N. headquarters in New York has 38 stories. If it lost 10 stories, it wouldnt make a bit of difference." Bolton, who served as U.N. ambassador under President George W. Bush, is still believed to be under consideration for the post of secretary of state. Question marks Haley was elected governor of South Carolina in 2010 when a wave of "Tea Party" Republicans were swept into office across the country. She has a reputation of being fairly conservative, said Robert Oldendick, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina. He noted that she has in most estimations, done a fairly credible job as governor and easily won re-election. Not much is known, though, about her foreign policy views. She tried to stop the resettlement of Syrian refugees in her state based on security concerns over the vetting process. During the presidential campaign, however, she criticized candidate Trump for proposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. Her position on a key U.N. issue climate change is unclear. She has criticized a clean-power initiative, saying it would hurt job creation. At the U.N., she will have to negotiate resolutions and diplomatic deals with tough and experienced envoys, including those from Russia and China. She governed South Carolina with a Republican majority in her state legislature, so she was not forced into too many political negotiations with an opposing party. I think it would be a mistake to underestimate her and to think that she is just going to be not able to compete in that arena," Professor Oldendick said, "because every challenge she has had to this point in her political career, she has been able to meet it." But the analysts agree that Haley will have a steep learning curve in learning to deal with a raft of issues confronting the U.N. including the war in Syria, terrorism, conflict and hunger in Africa, the global refugee crisis and climate change. Gowan said he would advise the governor to get some on-the-ground U.N. experience before taking up her post next year, perhaps by visiting a peacekeeping mission in Africa or a refugee camp in the Middle East. Republicans tend to think of the U.N. in ideological terms, philosophical terms, but this is an organization that has hundreds of thousands of officials on the ground in horrible, horrible circumstances and Haley should try to get a minimal grasp of what they are doing, he said. When Michael Emmons found out he was losing his job as a software developer at Siemens technology company and being replaced by a foreign worker, the last thing he felt like doing was training his replacement. But Emmons had more important factors to consider than his ego. He worked in a tough industry, and jobs were scarce. His young daughter had spina bifida, a disease that affects spinal cord development, and required expensive surgeries. His medical insurance bill was almost $1,000 per month. "I wasn't going to put her health care at risk," Emmons said. "So I did what I had to do until I found another job." Emmons agreed to train three replacements, each of whom learned a different aspect of his job. It took a lot of work one of his trainees was so inexperienced that they had to resort to a basic "how to" manual for one of the most elementary functions of the trade. Emmons had spent his own time and money to train himself on skills he needed to stand out. Now, not only was he forced to teach someone else those skills, he was training his replacements. "It was the most demoralizing thing I've ever been through," he said. The 25 to 30 replacement workers at Emmons' Orlando, Florida, workplace came from India on L-1B and H-1B visas, just two out of approximately two dozen types of temporary visas that U.S. employers use to hire foreign workers. Such guest worker visas are meant to provide a boost to the U.S. economy, especially the tech industry, by injecting skilled laborers into highly competitive fields to help complement the American workforce. But critics say the system is in need of a massive overhaul, noting that U.S. employers regularly exploit loopholes to hire workers for lower wages, which hurts American workers like Emmons. Trump signals changes There are signs that the system may change under President-elect Donald Trump, who made tougher immigration policies a hallmark of his presidential campaign. In a video Monday outlining his plans for his first 100 days in office, Trump said he will "direct the Department of Labor to investigate all abuses of visa programs that undercut the American worker." Trump wasn't specific about what he would do if any abuses were found. But if he is looking to satisfy many supporters of his populist policies, he could start by making changes to the H-1B visa, the guest worker program that draws the most criticism. Under the H-1B program, 85,000 workers and graduate students enter the U.S. each year, a limit set by U.S. law. The visas can last up to six years. Sometimes the guest workers go on to get green cards. The goal of the program is to bring in specialized, highly skilled employees who aren't available in the U.S. But the problem is that many employers use the visa simply to hire workers with ordinary skills at a lower wage, explains Ron Hira, associate professor of public policy at Howard University. "I'd say that more than half the visas are used to help facilitate the offshoring of U.S. jobs," said Hira, an expert on immigration and outsourcing. "And certainly more than half is used for cheaper labor probably closer to 65 percent." Just as concerning to Hira is that guest worker visas are tied to their employers, creating a sort of de facto indentured servitude that allows employers the ability to exploit foreign employees. "Look Infosys, Cognizant, even IBM are not hiring H-1Bs because these are specialized workers. It's because they're lower wage," he said. Program fix H-1B is very much on the radar of the people surrounding Trump. "The people that are really versed on immigration policy that are at the very top of the Trump campaign and the people that are on his transition team have a very low regard for the H-1B program," said Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, a Washington, D.C.-based group that works to reduce the number of emigrants to the U.S. If Trump chooses to make big reforms to the temporary visa programs, he'll need the help of Congress. And there's a good chance he'll get it, according to Beck, who points out that the guest worker question does not fall along strictly partisan lines. Fixing the problem wouldn't actually be that hard, according to Hira, who proposes the following: Raise wage requirement levels, making it more difficult for employers to hire cheap laborers; require employers to first recruit from U.S. worker pools; and implement a random audit system to ensure the program isn't being exploited. But not everybody would be on board with those changes. Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration policy analyst at the CATO Institute, says that raising the minimum salary requirement to $100,000 a year, as some have proposed, would dramatically shrink the program, hurting Silicon Valley and many other industries. "The program has a lot of problems, a lot of things about it that need to be fixed, but it's better than having no program at all," Nowrasteh said, "because the contribution of skilled, migrant workers to the U.S. economy is pretty great." For now, many of those currently in the U.S. on H-1Bs are on edge, wondering if any changes could affect their visa status. "It is a worry, yes, as my visa will need renewed in 2018," said Alison, an Irish citizen who works for a D.C.-based nonprofit group and who declined to give her last name. As for Emmons, after training his replacements at Siemens in 2002, he went on to get a new job and now works as IT director for a local government office in Orlando, Florida. Perhaps it's no surprise that he supported Trump in the presidential election. "We made a lot of noise back then, but not until Donald Trump came in do we actually feel that they're going to actually do something to help American workers," he said. President-elect Donald Trump said in a video message this week that he would pull the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement on his first day in office. During the campaign, Trump had called several trade deals "disasters" and said flawed agreements had cost millions of U.S. manufacturing jobs. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a deal among 12 Pacific Rim nations, including the United States, that would have covered about 40 percent of the world's gross domestic product the production of all goods and services. Economist and trade expert Gary Hufbauer of the Peterson Institute for International Economics says pulling the United States out of the TPP will be a big loss for Washington and a major win for Beijing. China trade agreement Hufbauer says China has been crafting a different trade agreement with some of the same nations participating in the TPP, increasing Beijing's influence at the expense of the United States. Brookings Institution scholar Bill Galston calls failure to approve the TPP a "failure of American leadership" that boosts China. But Republican Senator Dan Coats says China will have to "establish relationships" with Pacific nations that have some "real concerns" about their very large neighbor. China's economic, political and military power has been growing. Coats says regardless of TPP, some Pacific nations may maintain close relations with Washington. Hufbauer says pulling the U.S. out of the TPP also means giving up about half a percentage point of economic growth for the world's largest economy. He says smaller economies like Vietnam and Malaysia will be hit far harder. Critics of TPP Critics of TPP, including Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch division, said the deal would have given too much power and too many benefits to multinational corporations at the expense of average people. Wallach argued that the deal's rules would have made it harder for people to fight large companies in court and raise the cost of certain drugs. Many U.S. unions also opposed the TPP, worried it might hurt wages and cut jobs. TPP supporters say the deal included strong protection for labor rights, but that argument did not persuade the millions of voters who supported Trump. Many environmental groups campaigned against the TPP. Friends of the Earth applauded the plan to end U.S. participation, arguing that the deal was not about fair trade, but a chance for investors and big companies to "pollute our air and water." Environmental considerations TPP supporters insist the environmental part of the deal was the strongest such provision ever included in a trade agreement. Trump says that after he pulls the U.S. out of the TPP, he will seek better, bilateral deals with trading partners. Skeptics say every step toward a better deal for the United States will make it that much harder to persuade the leadership and citizens of U.S. trading partners to sign such agreements. New antiretroviral drugs can reduce the viral load in the blood and semen of HIV-positive individuals more quickly than older treatments, new research shows. In most cases of HIV infection, the virus is transmitted sexually through seminal fluid. While antiretroviral agents usually suppress the virus in the blood to undetectable levels within six months, researchers say HIV remains detectable in semen in up to 25 percent of patients after that time. Researchers at Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute in Spain have evaluated the time it takes a new antiretroviral drug, called Dolutegravir, to dampen the virus in semen. Known as an integrase inhibitor, Dolutegravir suppressed the viral load in seminal fluid to virtually undetectable levels more quickly than older antiretroviral drugs, including in patients for whom the process took longer. The findings are published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. According to experts, more than 2 million people contracted the virus that causes AIDS in 2015. The Spanish researchers said Dolutegravir has the potential to reduce the chances of sexual transmission of HIV and it is now recommended as a first-line treatment, as part of a drug cocktail, in HIV positive patients. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi said Wednesday his countrys support of the Syrian regime against what he called extremists is necessary for the stability of the region. "Our priority is to support national armies, for example in Libya to assert control over Libyan territories and deal with extremist elements, he said during an interview with Portuguese broadcaster RTP. The same with Syria and Iraq." The reporter then asked Sissi if he was referring to the National Army in Syria, to which Sissi replied: Yes. Sissis response could create tension between Egypt and other Gulf countries, like Saudi Arabia, that back the rebels trying to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Sissi took power in Egypt after a 2013 military coup that saw the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood-backed Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi. Since then, Sissi's crackdown on Islamists and support for the Syrian regime has led to a cooling of relations with Saudi Arabia. In October, Saudi Arabia stopped shipping oil to Egypt because Sissi supported a Russian-backed U.N. resolution that called for a cease-fire in Syria, but ignored Russian bombings in civilian areas of the city of Aleppo. Sissi said the solution to the conflict in Syria must be political. "Our stance in Egypt is to respect the will of the Syrian people, and that a political solution to the Syrian crisis is the most suitable way, and to seriously deal with terrorist groups and disarm them," he said. A far right fanatic was found guilty on Wednesday of killing British Member of Parliament Jo Cox a murder that shocked Britain and reverberated across the European continent and beyond. Thomas Mair, 53, was the lone suspect charged with shooting and stabbing Cox, a pro-immigrant, pro-refugee, junior member of Parliament, as she was arriving at a library in the northern English town of Birstall to meet with voters on June 16. The jury at Londons Old Bailey central criminal court took 90 minutes to convict Mair. He showed no emotion after hearing the decision, according to reports. In his first court appearance, Mair refused to identify himself by his legal name, saying, My name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain. Finland's defense minister said he doesn't see the recent deployment of Russian missiles in the Baltic Sea region as a direct threat, but warned Wednesday that a negative spiral of actions and counter-actions could cause something to happen, even if only accidentally. Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on Europe and Russia held in the Finnish Parliament, Defense Minister Jussi Niinisto said similar movements of missiles had happened before while countries in the area kept close eyes on the situation. We naturally support detente. And we practice an active policy of stability, Niinisto said in an interview with Finnish MTV3 News. We'd like to see the military situation calm down in the Baltic Sea, rather than escalate. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania the Baltic states that spent nearly five decades under Soviet rule and their non-aligned neighbors Finland and Sweden have watched with trepidation as Russia has recently flexed its military muscle in the Baltic Sea region. NATO has also increased its military presence in the area and pledged it will defend its Baltic members, should they be threatened. Finland, like its Baltic neighbors and Sweden, is a member of the European Union and could be called on to help the Baltic countries, if Russia poses a threat to them. I wouldn't want to speculate, but it's clear that Finland as an EU-member is obliged to help, and that also means that Finland, too, would get support at a moment of crisis, Niinisto told MTV3. But, he said, there were no current threats against Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia. Niinisto said he hadn't seen any inclination among the Russian leadership to threaten the small Nordic country. In that sense, Russia is not a threat to Finland. By PTI: liberation New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) On Bangladesh Armed Forces Day, tributes were paid here to war heroes of the countrys liberation war of 1971, with its envoy Syed Muazzem Ali expressing gratitude to India for its decisive support in it. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval hailed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for being the inspiration behind the movement for independence from Pakistan. advertisement At an event organised by Bangladesh High Commission here yesterday, tributes were paid to the war heroes "who laid down their lives for the liberation of Bangladesh in a nine-month war against the occupation forces of Pakistan", a release issue by the Mission said today. Doval, the Chief Guest, praised the Bangladesh Armed Forces as a professional force and recalled its contribution in the 1971 War of Liberation, the release said. He said this force was born through a just war for the independence of nation, inspired by a "revered leader of the sub-continent Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman", it added. He paid his tributes to Bangabandhu. The Bangladesh High Commissioner expressed gratitude to India for its decisive support in Bangladesh?s successful liberation war. He described the Armed Forces Day as ?a great day? in the history of Bangladesh and said Bangladesh force has the distinction of being formed during the liberation war and leading the Mukti Bahini (revolutionary force). A documentary on how Bangladesh Armed Forces were born and how they fought valiantly for the country?s liberation was screened. PTI AKK AKK --- ENDS --- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday expressed her displeasure with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for his plans to pull the United States out of the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership. While Merkel didnt mention Trump by name, she said she was not happy about the potential collapse of the trade deal and said future deals will not be as good. "I will tell you honestly: I am not happy that the Trans-Pacific agreement now will probably not become reality. I don't know who will benefit from that, she said. "I know only one thing: there will be other trade agreements, and they won't have the standards that this agreement and the hoped-for TTIP agreement have," said Merkel, referring to another deal under discussion, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. In a video address released Monday, Trump said that on his first day as president, he would pull the U.S. out of the TPP trade deal, which he called a potential disaster. Trump has also said he wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, with Canada and Mexico. President Barack Obama has been a major proponent of the TPP trade deal. "I think not moving forward would undermine our position across the region," Obama said during the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru. A final proposal of the TPP was signed earlier this year by leaders of 12 nations during a conference in New Zealand, but the deal will not take effect until six countries that make up 80 percent of the groups gross domestic product ratify the document. The United States makes up about 60 percent of the groups combined GDP, making ratification impossible without U.S. support. As India grapples with massive cash shortages, the government has announced a series of measures to improve the supply of new currency to the vast rural areas that have been worst hit since high value currency bills were scrapped earlier this month. Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday that the large countrywide network of post offices would be used to distribute money. "The new denomination notes... have been made available in 155,000 post offices across the country to disburse cash, specially to rural people." The government also said farm cooperatives would provide more than $3 billion in credit to farmers to buy seeds and fertilizer for the winter crop. There has been mounting hardship in villages, where people hold virtually all their savings in cash. Worries are also growing that food production could be hurt due to delays in planting crops such as wheat. Cash has been in short supply since 85 percent of the countrys currency went out of circulation in a matter of hours when high denomination bills of about $7.50 and $15 were scrapped on November 8. The move aims to bring billions of dollars of unaccounted wealth into the mainstream economy, stamping out tax evasion and curbing corruption. The brunt of the cash crunch has been borne by rural areas, where two-thirds of Indias 1.3 billion people live, but where the network of banks is poor, making it a challenge to get new currency bills. Many villagers have been trekking long distances and waiting in serpentine lines in neighboring areas to exchange their cash for new bills, sometimes to find that new notes run out before their turn comes. The worst affected are those at the bottom of the rural economy daily wage workers. Demand for farm labor has fallen as the planting season slows down and even well-off farmers say they do not have enough currency to pay salaries or conduct transactions in the market. A farmer in Haryana states Karnal district, Ishwar Dayal, says although he is allowed to exchange roughly $500 in a week from the bank, that amount is difficult to come by as banks run out of currency. That is hampering his operations. Our rotation in the village depends completely on cash transactions. Whoever we have to deal with, they have no checks, no check books; they only have trust in taking or giving cash, he said. Facing a barrage of criticism for poor preparation and implementation of the massive task of replacing 23 billion old notes, the government has said it could not have printed new bills in advance for fear of the move becoming public. And as the countrywide scramble for new bills continues, political opposition to the action has been mounting. On Wednesday, more than 200 opposition lawmakers protested outside parliament. A top leader of the opposition Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi, criticized it as the worlds biggest impromptu financial experiment, saying it had caused hardship to a billion people. The government says cleaning up the system and getting rid of tax evasion will bring long-term benefits and more revenues to spend on the welfare of poor people. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, threatened Wednesday to retaliate against the United States if it renewed economic sanctions against his country for another 10 years. Khamenei did not specify what he would do, but he said in a televised speech that the U.S. "should be aware that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not stand by idly." The warning came days after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to renew the Iran Sanctions Act for 10 years. The act is set to expire at the end of this year. The House bill must be approved by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama if it is to become law. The sanctions ban businesses from investing in Iran, specifically its oil industry. The act also targeted Libya when it was first passed in 1996, but that portion has since been dropped. The U.S. says the sanctions in the act are separate from those it agreed to drop as part of the nuclear deal signed with Iran and five other countries. Iran agreed to drastically curb its nuclear activities in exchange for that action. But Iran said any sanctions would violate the spirit of the deal. Iraqi-led forces say they have surrounded the contested city of Mosul, effectively cutting off Islamic State jihadists from supply routes to their main stronghold in Raqqa, Syria. According to officials with the Shiite Muslim paramilitary force Hashed al-Shaabi, the group linked up with Kurdish forces along the road that links Tal Afar to Sinjar west of Mosul, cutting off access to the road that leads to Syria. Hashed forces have cut off the Tal Afar-Sinjar road, senior Hashed commander Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis said on social media. Tigris River bridge hit by airstrikes The road's reported capture comes on the same day a U.S.-led coalition airstrike took out another bridge across the Tigris River in Mosul, leaving just a single crossing in use and further isolating the jihadists holed up in the city. Since October 17, 2016, Mosul has been under siege by forces trying to remove the IS fighters who have controlled the city and other large swaths of Iraq for nearly 2 1/2 years. According to the U.N., at least 68,000 people have fled the fighting in Mosul, including 8,300 in the past four days. For Kenyan college students, the university experience involves more than just term papers, final exams and all-night study sessions. A group of university leaders is meeting in Nairobi this week to discuss issues affecting college students, including violence, organized crime, radicalization and violent extremism. Its not mad people who become radicalized; its people like yourselves. People who dress neatly every day like I have dressed, are the people who get radicalized. It is not those people who you think, for example, have not gone to school. It is people like us who get radicalized, said Linda Ochiel, Commissioner of Kenyas National Cohesion and Integration Commission. Ochiel was speaking to about 60 university leaders from around Kenya who assembled at the University of Nairobi Wednesday, to discuss issues affecting college students. Radicalization and violent youth extremism were key topics. Causes Radicalization is a result of the disappointment that young people are going through, said Victor Uhuru, founder and president of the Youth Advancement Initiative, the group organizing the three-day event. Thats why they are vulnerable to these violent groups. So we feel that if these young people are also helped, because the economic opportunity has also become so small, we want them to learn other ways of survival. Delegate Susan Mwangi said that in Kenya, university students have felt the effects of terrorism first-hand, citing the April 2015 Garissa University College attack that killed 147 students; but, she said there are other implications of such terror. Yeah, if you lose a loved one, it affects us, said Mwangi. It also affects our economy, it affects the image of our country, to the rest of the world. When every television news [program], is talking about Kenyans, terrorism attacks, it affects us. Even more when we lose our friends. Ochiel urged university students to remain vigilant against propaganda, the exploitation of religious teachings, and ethnocentrism. Some of the targets of radicalization and violent extremism... these people, recruiters, they go to institutions, formal institutions like universities, said Ochiel. And you know what they are doing right now? Theyre looking for the brightest students. So you guys are actually a target. Ochiel said radicalization does not just happen with terrorist groups like al-Shabab and Islamic State. Politicians and others incite young people to violence against different ethnic groups when it suits their political purposes, especially during election periods, she said. Kenyas elections are scheduled for August 2017. A court in the southern Malawi district of Nsanje has sentenced a 45-year-old man to two years in jail for having unprotected sex with bereaved widows and young girls as part of that areas traditional custom of women cleansing. Malawi police arrested Eric Aniva in July, following orders from Malawi President Peter Mutharika. President Mutharika was reacting to concerns that Aniva might have infected the women with HIV. People from Nsanje braved hot weather to attend the court ruling for a man some of them were hiring and paying to have sex with their relatives. Eric Aniva earlier told both local and international media that he slept with more than 100 young girls and widows during an initiation ceremony known as Kusasa Fumbi or Removing Dust, and Fisi or Hyena. Fisi is a traditional custom in southern Malawi: a man is hired and paid to have sex with widows allegedly to exorcise evil spirits that may bring death to the bereaved family. Kusasa Fumbi is another custom practiced in the area: hiring a man to sleep with young girls who have reached puberty in order to prepare them for married life. Principal Magistrate Innocent Nebi said Aniva violated Malawis 2013 Gender Equality Act which outlaws harmful traditional practices. He therefore sentenced Aniva to 24 months in jail for the first count of engaging in harmful practices and another 10 months jail for attempting to engage in harmful cultural practices. Aniva's lawyer, Michael Goba Chipeta, said he would appeal. We feel there are a lot of errors in the judgment which has occasioned the actual miscarriage of justice. Despite all the allegations that were made as to hundreds of women that were violated or used, not even 10 or five were brought to court to testify that this guy violated us or forced us to do this, said Chipeta. The verdict has attracted anger and resentment among people in Nsanje. Dinwell Chingoma is one of them. He said the sentencing of Aniva will never stop them from performing their cultural practices. What government should have done is to teach us to reform our culture. For example, if they just advised us that we should first go for HIV testing before we engage in any cultural practice that involves sex, said Chingoma. Nsanje district is rich in cultural practices that require men to sleep with women. Besides Fisi and Kusasa Fumbi, there are four more cultural practices that require men sleeping with women. One of them is Dzwande, in which a man is hired to sleep with a single mother when her newly born baby is six months old. Village elders say the aim is to keep the baby away from disease. The increasing likelihood Islamic State terror group fighters battling to retain control of the key Iraqi city of Mosul will start relying on chemical weapons is adding to fears of a humanitarian catastrophe. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are believed to be trapped inside Mosul, even as Iraqi forces have begun to clear neighborhoods in the city's east. And while those forces carry some protections against chemical weapons, little has been done to protect residents caught in the cross hairs. There's a real risk, warned Human Rights Watch senior Iraq researcher Belkis Wille, who recently returned from the country. Neither the Iraqi forces nor the Americans, nor the humanitarians, for that matter, are publicly putting out any information to the communities about what to do in the case of an attack, she said. And she fears it is not just information that is lacking. Equipment critical for surviving potential chemical attacks also appears to be in short supply. I haven't seen a single instance where they're actually bringing forward equipment, gas masks, et cetera, to try to have them placed in the case of these attacks to be available to civilians," she said. Shells, rockets For the most part, U.S. military and intelligence officials have described IS's chemical weapons arsenal as "crude." They say much of it relies on chlorine gas or sulfur mustard, in powdered form, which is added to artillery shells and rockets. Upon impact, the sulfur mustard can form dust clouds that cause irritation, which Pentagon officials admit can be lethal in large doses. For human rights workers and aid groups, there are concerns the effect could be magnified in a dense urban environment. Already, a series of IS chemical attacks near Qayyara, south of Mosul, in September and October injured seven people, all of whom suffered painful burns and blistering after low-level exposure to sulfur mustard. Weapons produced in Mosul A new analysis by IHS Conflict Monitor predicts the use of similar chemical weapons in Mosul, which served as a center for IS's chemical weapons production, is all but certain. "There is a high risk of the group using chemical weapons to slow down and demoralize advancing enemy forces, and to potentially make an example of and take revenge on civilian dissidents within the city, IHS Conflict Monitor Senior Analyst Columb Strack said in a release. The IHS study found IS has already used chemical weapons 52 times in Iraq and Syria over the past two years, with 19 of the attacks taking place in areas around Mosul. The study also concluded there is a risk IS could try to detonate a so-called "dirty bomb," spreading radioactive material using low-grade nuclear material its fighters took from the University of Mosul. "Comments made by Islamic State supporters suggest that members have at least thought about the idea," according to Karl Dewey, a chemical and biological weapons analyst at IHS Jane's. U.S. aware of dangers U.S. officials, aware of the dangers, said even before the campaign started that "prudent, preventive measures" were underway to reduce the risk. "U.S. and coalition forces have placed a high priority on targeting ISIL's chemical weapons and capabilities to produce or use chemical weapons," a senior administration official said this month. "We've tried to destroy as much as we could in advance." An Ohio man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to planning attacks in support of the Islamic State group against a police station and a member of the U.S. military. Munir Abdulkader, 22, was sentenced in Cincinnati by U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett. After completing his time in prison, the West Chester Township man faces lifetime probation. "Using social media to communicate with the now-deceased Syria-based ISIL terrorist Junaid Hussain, Abdulkader coordinated and planned violent murders of military members and police officers. Identifying and stopping such ISIL-directed and -inspired plots is and will remain one of our highest priorities," Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary McCord said. Prosecutors asked for a 25-year prison sentence. Defense attorneys, however, argued that similar cases received sentences of 15 years or less. "Abdulkader's plan was to murder a specific employee of a military base at the employee's home. He planned to videotape the murder so that it could be used in an ISIL propaganda video to further ISIL's cause. Following the murder, Abdulkader would then launch a violent attack on a police station in the Cincinnati area," a Department of Justice statement said. Officials said Abdulkader surveilled a police station, learned how to operate firearms, practiced shooting and received a targeting package about the victim. He also bought an AK-47 assault rifle for the attack. Through communications with Hussain, Abdulkader was directed and encouraged to execute a plan to kill an identified military employee. "The plan included abducting the employee at the employee's home and filming the execution. After killing the employee, Abdulkader planned to perpetrate a violent attack on a police station in the Southern District of Ohio using firearms and Molotov cocktails," court documents said. Besides attempting to kill police officers and the military employee, court documents say, Abdulkader conspired to provide supporting material to a foreign terrorist organization. He also pleaded guilty to a firearms count involving pursuit of a crime of violence. After hearing the verdict, Abdulkader apologized to the court. Abdulkader was arrested in May 2015. The search for oil and natural gas is seen as a driving factor in rival claims to the South China Sea, with many of the countries in the region currently reliant largely on fuel imports. Yet no one has struck a head-turning deposit of oil or gas in the 3.5-million-square-km (1.4-square-mile) sea, which stretches from Taiwan to Singapore, despite prospecting since 1970. Analysts who follow the South China Sea disputes point to national sovereignty as a top reason that countries are exploring for oil and gas. Brunei, China, Malaysia and Vietnam do their own prospecting. The Philippine government accepted exploration bids in 2014 from private companies. The South China Sea is not Saudi Arabia, its not Iraq, its not the Middle East, said Fabrizio Bozzato, associate researcher specialized in international affairs at Tamkang University in Taiwan. The primary purpose of the claimants to be there is not because they want to access the oil and gas resources in the area. Developing hydrocarbon resources in the South China Sea would be way to mark the territory. Fossil fuel exploration came up in October when Manila and Beijing began discussing joint oil exploration, according to Philippine media. The talks are part of rebuilding relations that were strained since 2012 when vessels from the two sides became locked in a standoff at Scarborough Shoal west of Luzon Island. In Taiwan, which also claims much of the South China Sea, the former president suggested joint resource exploration with rival claimants. But the act of exploring for oil or gas sends a signal of control over the tract of sea being drilled, analysts say, pointing to a series of spats. When the Philippines turned up gas off Palawan in 1976, China complained and stalled the project. The positioning of a Chinese offshore oil drillers rig in the Gulf of Tonkin in 2014 sparked a boat ramming incident with Vietnam, where deadly anti-China riots also erupted. Vietnam formally protested another Chinese rig in April this year. Joint exploration would imply a concession of sovereignty, Baker said. Theres probably very little incentive for countries to actually go and try to do this exploration simply because its very difficult to come to an agreement between different countries because it requires some acknowledgement of the right to exploit those resources, which means they have to give up some sense of sovereignty, said Carl Baker, director of programs at Pacific Forum CSIS in Honolulu. And for the Chinese this is very difficult to do, and for the Philippines and Vietnam, theyve found it creates problems in domestic circles as well, he said. The Philippines began more than 40 years ago looking for oil west of Palawan island, at Reed Bank. In 1984, a Philippine company found an oil field in the same region and it supplies 15 percent of the annual oil consumption in the Philippines. The U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates 11 billion barrels worth of oil under the sea and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Much of that lies under the continental shelves of Southeast Asian claimants, which are not disputed. Much of that potential energy has not been tapped yet, Baker said. Saudi Arabia has an estimated 268 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and Iraq has 144 billion, the U.S. Energy Information Agency says. Russia leads the world in natural gas reserves with 5,085 trillion cubic feet. Falling oil prices and the costs of extracting any fuel from under the seabed limit the value of exports from any undersea discoveries, analysts add. In Malaysia, the claimant country that has found the most fossil fuel to date, few are pushing for exploration, said Oh Ei Sun, international studies teacher at Singapore Nanyang University. Malaysia has about five billion barrels of oil and 80 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Even if you discover new sources of oil and gas, you would still have to spend a lot on equipment and other resources to dig them out, so the urgency, the call for having new sources of oil and gas at the moment I dont think they are very high, Oh said. Inside his small studio, Maram Bawk La adjusts a playlist of Kachin-language songs on his computer and checks the microphone to prepare for a broadcast of the Laiza FM radio station. The simple set up, with its bright red carpet, improvised soundproof walls and basic studio equipment, belies its impact. Connected to a powerful radio transmitter with a broadcast radius of about 200 kilometers, the studio airs 10 hours a day from Laiza, a border town and Kachin rebel stronghold on the mountainous Myanmar-China border. It reaches much of Kachin State and northern Shan State, where many ethnic Kachin people tune in to get the rebels' take on their restive region. "Our Laiza FM is popular," said Maram Bawk La, a tech-savvy young man who manages the radio station. "We reach 80 percent of the Kachin population," claimed his boss, Lt. Col. Naw Bu, who heads the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) News and Information Department. Laiza FM was created in October 2012, shortly after a 17-year-old cease-fire between the 10,000-strong KIA and the Myanmar army collapsed. Its purpose is to allow the rebels to communicate with the roughly 700,000 Kachin, most of whom live in government areas, far from the border region under rebel control. About 100,000 civilians were displaced by the conflict, which has recently intensified. "It was set up to bring the real news to the Kachin public and to share knowledge," said Naw Bu. He explained the station broadcasts international and domestic news, as well as KIA news updates on the region, Kachin songs, and informative discussions on such topics as public health. His department also runs a news website, kachinnet.net, and Laiza TV, though the latter can only be viewed in the town of Laiza. A popular station The Kachin have long resented central government control over Kachin State and suffered severe repression during decades of army rule. They make up less than half of the population in the state, but local-language media was banned until a few years ago, and expressions of Kachin nationalism remain sensitive. Many people support the KIA's demands for federal autonomy and are keen listeners of Laiza FM, according to Brang Mai, CEO of Myitkyina News Journal, a private publication in the state capital Myitkyina. "They use their own language, so most local people love to listen to that," he said. "The other reason is that the people want to see (political) changes and they can get all sorts of sensitive information on the border areas and the fighting." He added that improved mobile phone internet was reducing the importance of Laiza FM as an outlet for such information. "When I look at my family members and my neighbors, they are really happy when they can listen in their own language to Laiza FM, especially the music section," said Aung Aung, a nongovernmental organization worker in Myitkyina. "And the news they transmit is reliable from my observation." Because Laiza FM keeps its listeners informed of the fighting, many Kachin know that clashes have intensified in recent months after the Myanmar army launched a major offensive to capture a strategic mountain about 30 km north of Laiza. In recent days, heavy fighting has broken in nearby Shan State, after the KIA and other rebel groups attacked police stations near Muse, Myanmar's main border crossing with China. "I watch Laiza TV and I get information from the radio," said Hkawn Ja, a 41-year-old housewife in Laiza. "I worry that the Burmese troops will come to Laiza. In church we pray; we believe God will bless our soldiers." Army radio strikes back Realizing it was losing the battle over the airwaves to shape Kachin public opinion, the Myanmar army set up Thazin FM radio station in 2013 in the sprawling Northern Command complex in Myitkyina. Thazin FM broadcasts Kachin-language programs seven hours a day, and it tries to jam the signal of Laiza FM by occupying the same frequency: 89.5 MHz. "Our listeners have to tune in very carefully," Maram Bawk La said with a smile, adding that, despite this, few Kachin would mistakenly listen to Thazin FM. "They have propaganda, only the Burmese side of events. We have a little propaganda and a lot of news for the people. Laiza FM has the old Kachin songs and patriotic songs, but Thazin FM has no songs like this. Everybody knows the difference," he said. "Our FM has more listeners" Brang Mai, of the Myitkyina News Journal, agreed: "Thazin FM uses our ethnic language, but most of the Kachin people clearly see that Thazin FM is a sort of propaganda from the military side. So most people ignore it." By PTI: Dhaka, Nov 23 (PTI) A 63-year-old prominent Bangladeshi pro-opposition newspaper editor was today released from jail after spending over three years behind bars on charges of sedition and inciting communal tension. Mahmudur Rahman was released from Kashimpur Jail on bail, officials said. Rahman was implicated in over 70 lawsuits, including one filed over plots to abduct and kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, local media reports said. advertisement A former energy advisor and pro-BNP journalist, Rahman has been behind bars since April 11, 2013. The Supreme Court upheld his bail in the case on plot to kill Joy and paved way for his release. Rahman was the editor of mass circulated Bengali daily Amar Desh, which was shut down. Rahmans release came two months after another prominent pro-opposition magazine editor Shafik Rehman was also freed from jail. The 81-year-old British citizen was a former speechwriter for the main opposition leader and was released spending nearly five months in jail. PTI UZM AKJ UZM --- ENDS --- Pakistan says cross-border firing by India Wednesday killed at least 11 civilians and three soldiers in the disputed Kashmir region. The military claimed retaliatory fire by Pakistani troops also killed at least seven Indian soldiers. But it did not cite sources for giving the toll for the other side and India has not yet responded to the claims. The Pakistani civilian casualties occurred in the Neelam Valley near the Line of Control, or LoC, which divides the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan. Officials said that the Indian fire struck a passenger bus and the death toll was likely to increase. Pakistan militarys media wing alleged Indian troops also targeted an ambulance that was sent for evacuation. Residents in Neelam told VOA they were forced to flee to take refuge in bunkers around their villages shortly after the early morning clashes erupted. The latest skirmishes came a day after the Indian Army vowed retribution for killing three of its soldiers by Pakistani troops across the de facto Kashmir border. One of the bodies had been allegedly mutilated, charges Pakistani military officials rejected as a fabrication. Indian army officials have not yet commented on the bus attack but confirmed ceasefire violations by Pakistan "all along the Line of Control" in Kashmir. Both countries have been routinely trading fire in Kashmir in recent months, rendering a 2003 mutual ceasefire understanding ineffective. The clashes have caused military and civilian casualties on both sides and raised fears of another wider conflict between India and Pakistan. India also maintained direct military pressure on Pakistan through deployment of advanced weapons systems, offensive troops positioning to refine the (Indian) capacity of a surprise attack [against Pakistan], warned Pakistani foreign policy adviser, Sartaj Aziz. He told a conference of South Asian experts in Islamabad that tensions on the eastern border are undermining Pakistans ongoing counterterrorism efforts to secure its 2,600-kilometer porous frontier with Afghanistan. India has increased ceasefire violations on the LoC (in Kashmir) to constrain Pakistan armys ability to deploy more resources on its western borders with Afghanistan, Aziz asserted. Around 200,000 Pakistani troops have already been engaged in major operations against local and foreign terrorist groups in the volatile borderland blamed for deadly attacks in both the countries. Tension between India and Pakistan, both armed with nuclear weapons, have been running high since September when suspected Islamist militants raided an Indian military base in Kashmir, killing 19 soldiers. New Delhi alleged the assault originated from the Pakistani side of Kashmir, charges Islamabad rejected. Days later the Indian army claimed it had conducted retaliatory surgical strikes on militant bases near the LoC in Pakistani Kashmir, assertions Pakistan rejected as fabricated and politically motivated. The Ebola epidemic that swept through Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone during 2014 and the first half of 2015 was by far the worst outbreak of the disease ever, killing thousands of people. Countries with already poor health care systems struggled to contain the early stages of the outbreak, and one of the worst problems they faced was the lack of any quick, reliable way to identify patients infected with the virus. Tests would take two or three, sometimes four days to get results back" to hospitals, recalls Matt Scullion of BioFire Defense, a biotechnology firm in Utah. "In the meantime you had malaria patients in with Ebola patients, and if you didn't have Ebola before, you'd be likely to have Ebola after. Images that linger after the outbreak ended are stark reminders of the suffering in West Africa: deserted villages, a little girl found alone in a house with her sister dying of Ebola, a husband watching his dead wife being carried away by undertakers, a gravedigger wearing worn-out personal protective equipment, and thus likely to become a patient soon himself. But as Ebola was multiplying unchecked across large areas of West Africa, a rapid-testing kit that had been in the works for years was ready to go at BioFire Defense, more than 10,000 kilometers away in the western United States. The U.S. firm, a subsidiary of a large French biomedical corporation, focuses on innovative technologies to help workers in the life sciences identify pathogens quickly and easily. Cynthia Phillips worked on BioFire Defense's Ebola testing kit, known as FilmArray. Test results in an hour The FilmArray kit is both an instrument that is a diagnostic, and a little pouch thats room-temperature stable that you put a human sample in and some water," Phillips said. "You put [the sample] into the instrument and it gives you back results on a whole series of tests for pathogens - about 30, usually," she told VOA, adding that the U.S. Defense Department had previously asked the firm to include Ebola among the pathogens its kits can identify. "We had, I think, three [working] tests before the Ebola outbreak, on two different platforms," Phillips said. By the time it was ready to distribute its FilmArray kits, BioFire Defense's Scullion said, "The device gave us the ability to test patients in one hour." WHO-approved diagnostic tools FilmArray is now one of seven diagnostic tools the World Health Organization has approved for emergency use. Before we had to transport samples to Dakar, Senegal, or Lyon, France. But today, thanks to our partners in France, the CDC in the U.S., and many others, we are able to make rapid diagnoses for Ebola, the inspector general of Guinea's Health Ministry, Aboubakar Sidiki Diakite, told VOA. "Ebola is a frightening disease, very infectious, and the mortality rate is quite high, and that shouldnt be taken lightly," said Scullion, who is BioFire Defense's business development director. During the height of the Ebola crisis, when the first patient evacuated to the U.S. for treatment, he recalled that hospital personnel "had problems just getting couriers to deliver samples to the Centers for Disease Control. That's how big of a fear there was around the handling of a package that had suspected Ebola samples in it." The first Ebola patient to arrive on U.S. soil was an American physician who had been working in Liberia, Kent Brantly. Test kit allayed lab workers' fears Eileen Burd, a professor of pathology and the clinical microbiology director at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, recalls those first days. In the laboratory, we felt comfortable with the level of protective equipment, we felt comfortable with our abilities to do the test," Burd told VOA. "But Ill admit, the first time I opened that first tube of blood, knowing what was in there and what it was doing to the patient down the hall was daunting. So it gave me pause, but then you take a deep breath and ... do the work you need to do. Shortly after our first patient arrived we started using the BioFire FilmArray Ebola Kit," Burd said. "We were lucky that our patients came in [with confirmed Ebola infections], so we didnt have to use [the kit] to make the diagnosis. But we did use it to follow patients, to test different specimen types and for patients under investigation, worried travelers. "We always backed it up with a test at the CDC (which also is in Atlanta) but it was wonderful in this epidemic that the test was available." Like Professor Burd, Dr. Colleen Kraft is an infectious-diseases specialist and medical microbiologist at Emory. She also was one of the physicians who treated the hospital's Ebola patients, and she agreed that easy and quick testing is critical to enable the rapid detection and management of Ebola virus infections. "The crucial part of testing is really moving the patient to the right next place, so is the right next place to be admitted to the Ebola treatment unit or is the right next place to be able to go home and not be in a place where they could contract it from another patient?" Dr. Kraft noted. The World Health Organization declared in May 2015 that the Ebola outbreak of 2014 in West Africa was over, and has since declared that Ebola no longer is "a public health emergency of international concern." However, scattered clusters of cases have been reported every few months, and medical experts caution that no one should conclude that the deadly virus is no longer a risk. They hope that better preparation for future outbreaks and rapid testing tools can drastically lower future death tolls. Analysts and experts are expressing skepticism after an Iranian official said this week that more than 1,000 soldiers deployed by Iran have been killed since 2012 while aiding the Syrian regime in its civil war. Mohammadali Shahidi Mahallati, head of Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, did not elaborate on comments to the state-controlled Tasnim News Agency about the 1,000 dead. The number is a startling jump from four months ago, when the Islamic Republic put the figure at 400. "The numbers could be an accumulation of all killed" including Afghans and Pakistanis fighting with Iran-allied forces and Lebanese Hezbollah, said Mohsen Shemirani, an Iranian scholar and political analyst in Tehran. Iran has sent thousands of Afghans living in Iran, mainly ethnic Shiite Hazaras, to Syria to fight alongside forces of Hezbollah, and sent members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in support of Syrian government forces. Pakistani volunteers are also part of the forces. Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon are fighting alongside Iranians in separate units. As Iran has increasingly made funerals of war dead public, many of the victims are Afghans and Pakistanis who do not have citizenship or resident status in Iran. They agree to fight in Syria in exchange for monetary benefits and rights for their families, experts say. "Tehran allows authorities to grant citizenship to the families of Afghans and Pakistan nationals who are fighting in Syria against Sunni militants including the Islamic State," said Ali Alfoneh, a Washington-based international affairs expert and IRGC analyst. Alfoneh, who daily tracks and monitors Iranian fatalities in Syria's war, said that even with the inclusion of noncitizen deaths, the Iranian numbers appear excessive. "Iran's losses peaked in February 2016, as 61 Iranian nationals were killed in the suburbs of Aleppo," he said. "By comparison, in the course of the past six months, Iran suffered minor losses 18 in June, five in July, five in August, nine in September, six in October and six in November." Iran calls is fighters "Shrine Defenders" as Tehran says it is in Syria to protect the Zeinab Shrine in Damascus. Since 2011, Iran has been a major backer of the Syrian regime in its war with rebel groups across the country, at first sending advisers, then forces from its elite Revolutionary Guard. Tehran was initially silent about its involvement in Syria, but in the last year has increasingly made its presence public to rally Iranians behind the cause. It has sent top officials to funerals, allowed news media to report on ceremonies, and promoted a military theme park for young people touting alleged accomplishments in Syria. Iran, too, has added troops in Syria to include regiments of Iranian army volunteers. And experts say that has led to an uptick in the Iranian death toll though likely not as high as Tehran advertises. "The use of voluntary forces in war has always contributed to more casualties," said Daryoush Bourbour, a retired Iranian special forces commander who lives in the United States. Iranian troops, too, have been increasingly drawn into the fight against Islamic State in Syria. IS is anti-Shi'ite and opposes Iranian involvement in Syria. It has used its propaganda tools to portray Iran as a top enemy. "It is quite probable that the IS picks Iranians as their prime target," said Rasool Nafisi, a Middle East affairs expert in Washington. Japan and South Korea signed an agreement Wednesday to share intelligence on North Korea's military activities, including its nuclear program. South Korea's defense ministry said the pact will help "restrain" North Korea's nuclear and missile activity. "Since we can now utilize Japan's intelligence capability to effectively deal with North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile threats, it will enhance our security interests," the ministry said in a statement. The agreement allows South Korea and Japan to swap information directly, instead of going through the United States as they had been under a deal signed in 2014. The new arrangement drew opposition from activists and political parties in South Korea, including those who are demanding the resignation of President Park Geun-Hye. China, a key ally of North Korea, also objected to the arrangement, saying it will bring an unsafe and unstable element to the region. "The relevant countries have maintained a Cold War mentality and increased military intelligence cooperation, which will increase opposition and confrontation on the Korean peninsula," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. Once a safe haven for those trying to escape South Sudans conflict, Yei is the latest town to be engulfed by violence in the countrys civil war. In Yei, the population often falls asleep to gunfire and wakes up to soldiers patrolling the streets. The army, made up primarily of soldiers belonging to the Dinka ethnic group of President Salva Kiir, controls all roads leading out of town. One hundred thousand people are believed to be trapped inside the city. Another 150,000 have fled, with many heading across the border for Uganda, to the south. Civilians who have fled Yei and arrived in the Ugandan refugee camps tell of kidnappings, abuses and disappearances taking place inside Yei and along the road between South Sudan and the Ugandan border. In Yei, people are dying like insects, says Michael Ayume, a newly arrived refugee in Uganda, and the leader of a Yei merchants organization. In September, 75 boda boda drivers from Yei were arrested by government troops, he says. A boda is a small motorbike and a common form of transportation in South Sudan. These guys, they were just young men doing their business, says Ayume. Twenty-one were later released. The others? We never saw them again. An oasis from war shattered Until the middle of this year, Yei was largely spared the violence that has ravaged South Sudan since December 2013, when fighting erupted between supporters of President Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar. Then, in August, government forces -- soldiers from the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) -- entered Yei, a town surround by farmland in the countrys south. The soldiers were looking for rebels -- members of the the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (the IO). They didnt find any SPLM-IO members, but did encounter local forces that resisted the offensive. Soon, Yei was witness to heavy fighting and attacks on civilians in Yei and the surrounding villages intensified. A report by Human Rights Watch this week says that both sides have committed serious abuses, including arbitrary arrests, torture and sexual abuse, against civilians in and around Yei. A spokesperson for South Sudans armed forces, Lul Ruai Koang, denied the SPLA is responsible for any abuses against civilians in Yei. The local forces do not have a spokesperson and have not issued any statement. In recent weeks, 2,000 people per day have crossed the border into northern Uganda, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. Many of the refugees are women and children. One of those women is Joy, a 28-year-old who left Yei for Uganda with her daughter in August. Only a few kilometers from the border, the car carrying Joy and several others fleeing Yei was stopped by government soldiers. The Dinka men stopped the car and asked us to get out. They would not allow us to leave. We had to abandon the car and hide in the bush, she says. Joy was able to get across the border, but on foot. My husband is still in Yei, she says. He cant move anywhere. The roads are blocked. I dont know when I will see him again. No plans to return Prospects for peace in Yei and the rest of South Sudan are looking grim at the moment. Efforts to end the civil war appear to be making no progress. A power sharing agreement signed in Ethiopia in August 2015 has been violated numerous times. Fighting that broke out around the presidential palace in Juba in July prompted a newly-returned Machar to flee the country for the Democratic Republic of Congo. Last week, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the U.N. peacekeeping force to South Sudan, known as UNMISS, lacks the resources to protect the population. And the U.N. special advisor for genocide, Adama Dieng, warned of a potential for genocide in South Sudan. Across the border in Uganda, Joy doesnt think she will return to South Sudan any time soon. We are tired of this war, she says. I think of my daughter. What future she will have in South Sudan? U.S. President-elect Donald Trump named his first two women for Cabinet-level positions Wednesday - South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as the country's ambassador to the United Nations and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos as his secretary of education. Haley, the 44-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants, is serving her second term as governor of the mid-Atlantic state, but has no foreign policy experience. DeVos, from the midwestern state of Michigan, is the chair of the American Federation for Children, a group that has aggressively sought to expand the number of charter schools and voucher programs in the U.S. to allow students to attend private schools with taxpayer money. The appointment of both women, as with Trump's other Cabinet selections, requires Senate confirmation. In naming Haley, Trump cited her seven overseas trade missions for South Carolina and negotiations with international companies. Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country, Trump said in a statement. She is also a proven dealmaker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage. Devos, a school choice advocate The president-elect declared that under Devos's leadership, "we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families." She is a former chairwoman of the Michigan Republican party. Some education reformers in the U.S. champion the use of charter schools, which they view as favorable to mass public education to give impoverished children a chance to attend better schools with more personalized instruction. But the president of the country's biggest public teachers' union, Lily Eskelsen Garcia of the National Education Association, immediately attacked Trump's appointment of DeVos, a billionaire philanthropist. Eskelsen Garcia said DeVos's efforts "over the years have done more to undermine public education than support students. She has lobbied for failed schemes, like vouchers which take away funding and local control from our public schools to fund private schools at taxpayers expense." Haley, a Republican, did not support Trump during the months-long Republican presidential nominating campaign. She initially backed Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and when he dropped out of the race, shifted her support to Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Shortly before the November 8 election, she said that she was not enthusiastic about the choice between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton to take over the White House when President Barack Obama's term ends in January, but that she would vote for Trump. She criticized his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States and used the national platform giving the Republican Party's response to Obama's last State of the Union address to rebuke Trump's style by saying, "Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference." Trump called her "weak on immigration" and in March wrote on Twitter, "The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!" The two met last week in New York where Trump has been interviewing potential Cabinet members to join his new administration. In addition to Haley and DeVos, he has picked Republican party chairman Reince Priebus as his chief of staff, Breitbart News executive Stephen Bannon as chief White House strategist, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general, Congressman Mike Pompeo to lead the Central Intelligence Agency and retired Army General Michael Flynn as his national security adviser. Trump eyes Carson for HUD Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and another Republican presidential candidate Trump defeated, said he has been offered a Cabinet position as housing and urban development chief, but it is not clear whether he plans to accept. The president-elect described Carson, an African-American, as "a greatly talented person who loves people." Like Haley, other Republican party figures were lukewarm at best to Trump's candidacy before backing him against Clinton. Among his critics was House Speaker Paul Ryan, who now is celebrating Trump's victory and the opportunity for Republicans to control both houses of Congress and the White House. On Tuesday, Trump told a meeting of reporters and editors at The New York Times that party leaders are "loving" him. "Paul Ryan right now loves me, [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell loves me. Its amazing how winning can change things," he said. Trump also touted the field of people he is considering for key positions in his government, including the possible appointment of another one-time critic, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, as secretary of state. "We have many people for every job," Trump said. "I mean no matter what the job is, we have many incredible people." Trump also told the Times he is "seriously" considering retired General James Mattis as his secretary of defense. Most recent presidents have not named their most high profile Cabinet nominees -- secretaries of state, defense, treasury and attorney general -- until sometime in December. Obama did so by December 1 after his first election in 2008, while his predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton waited until the last week in December. Trump's inauguration is set for January 20. Turkey is turning up the pressure on Syrian Kurdish forces, which could put Ankara on a collision course with its Western allies. According to local media, Turkish prosecutors have issued an international arrest warrant for Salih Muslim, the leader of Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD. Turkish authorities link Muslim to Februarys suicide bombing in Ankara, which was reportedly carried out by a splinter group of the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK. The issuing of an international warrant also called a red notice could put Turkeys European allies in a difficult spot. The PYD leader is a frequent guest of European governments, and the PYD, along with its militia, the YPG, are viewed by Turkeys Western allies as one of the most effective forces against the Islamic State group. But Ankara accuses both the PYD and YPG of links to the PKK. Erdogan's accusations On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the European Union for its support of Syrian Kurdish forces, calling it support for terrorism. The previous day, Erdogan said the Turkish military forces in Syria would step up operations against the YPG. Such a threat, coming at a critical moment in the war against IS, will likely cause Washington deep concern. The most efficient element ... today in the fight against ISIL are the Kurds, not only the Iraqi Kurds but also the Syrian Kurds, said Aydin Selcen, a former senior Turkish diplomat. Earlier this month, the YPG launched an offensive to capture Raqqa, the Syrian city that is the de facto Islamic State capital. Several Western countries have deployed special forces to help the YPG, while the U.S. is providing it with air support. That joint operation goes against Ankaras express wishes. (Our) redline is not to involve PYD and YPG in Raqqa operation, said Ayse Sozen Usluer, Erdogans chief of international relations. Line is drawn on Manbij Erdogan said this week that Turkeys forces operating in Syria will move against the strategically important town of Manbij, which the YPG took control of earlier this year after clearing it of Islamic State forces. Ankara claims Manbij is not a Kurdish town and that its capture by YPG forces is part of the groups strategy of seizing predominantly Arab towns and villages and ethnic cleansing them a charge the YPG denies. Usluer claims Turkeys military intervention in Syria against both Islamic State and YPG is enjoying strong local support inside Syria. They welcome Turkish soldiers, they are very happy to see Turkish soldiers in the region because they do not see any other troops or soldiers who protect the rights of local people, he said. The YPG claims its forces have withdrawn from Manbij to join efforts to capture Raqqa. Brett McGurk, the U.S. special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, tweeted earlier this month: Milestone: all #YPG units to depart Manbij. Ankara has openly questioned those claims. But Selcen says Free Syrian Army forces backed by the Turkish army are unlikely to receive a warm welcome if they do advance on Manbij. The Manbij Military Council elements are in control in Manbij, he said. These are people of Manbij, so they are protecting their own land, Arab people, Turkmen people, others. And now if other Turkish-backed elements from the north try to push those out of Manbij, then they will be an open clash. And that wont be in the interests of the United States. Retired Turkish Brigadier General Haldun Solmazturk, who now heads the Ankara-based 21st Century Institute, warns against Turkish forces entering Manbij. It doesnt make any sense, military, politically, he said. Its a built-up area. Why should the Turkish army move into this built-up area, risking huge casualty rates. The YPG has warned it may end its Raqqa operation if Turkish forces move against Manbij. But some say Erdogans threat to move on Manbij could be empty rhetoric. The latest report is Turkish jets have not been able to fly (in) Syrian airspace because of Syrian opposition, which basically means Russian opposition, said Semih Idiz, a political columnist for the Al-Monitor website. So, given this environment, this warning (that) we will take the necessary steps seems a bit hollow to me. Observers say domestic politics may be behind Erdogans latest condemnation of the Syrian Kurdish forces. Such rhetoric plays well with nationalists Erdogan is currently courting in order to secure support for his bid to turn Turkey into a presidential system. But with the head of the Turkish armed forces, Hulusi Akar, visiting troops deployed along the Syrian border, and more Turkish reinforcements being sent into Syria, observers say Western countries will likely be unnerved by the actions of their increasingly unpredictable Turkish ally. The United Nations welcomed the resumption of food deliveries to some of the tens of thousands of Syrians massed along the desert border with northeastern Jordan who have had little access to aid since the Jordanian government closed the border in June. U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said food and other items were distributed Tuesday in the Rukban area as part of what is planned to be two weeks of deliveries and healthcare services. The U.N. estimates there are 85,000 people living in the remote area. A year ago, that number was about 12,000. Jordan was an early welcoming destination for refugees looking to get away from the civil war in Syria that broke out in March 2011, with the country of 8 million people taking in more than 650,000 refugees. But a car bombing that killed six soldiers in July in Rukban brought the closure of the border and declarations that no new refugee camps would be built. In August, the World Food Program got around the border closure by using a crane to hoist food from the Jordanian side to the Syrians. The new deliveries come as the region prepares for the beginning of the winter season. Aid group Doctors Without Borders warned Tuesday that the humanitarian situation around Rukban is expected to worsen given the living conditions. "Syrians living in flimsy, makeshift tents that cannot withstand the strong winds of winter will be forced to face even more challenges simply to survive," the group said in a statement. It identified a lack of proper winter clothing, hot water, electricity and firewood as major challenges facing the Syrians. U.N. figures show 4.8 million registered Syrian refugees, about 500,000 more than there were at this time last year. Turkey hosts the largest population at 2.7 million, followed by Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Another 6 million people are displace within Syria. International efforts to bring a peaceful conclusion to the complicated Syrian conflict have made little progress. Khizr Khan, the Pakistani-American father whose U.S. Army captain son died in Iraq, will write a memoir about his life. Random House publishing company said Wednesday that the as-yet untitled memoir would be published in the fall of 2017. Khan burst onto the American political scene when he gave a fiery speech at the Democratic National Convention criticizing the anti-Muslim rhetoric of then-Republican nominee Donald Trump. Khan and his wife Ghazala, who will contribute to the book, immigrated from Pakistan in 1980. Their son, Humayun Khan, was killed in 2004 when he ran toward a taxi approaching soldiers under his command. A bomb in the taxi exploded, killing Khan, who was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. In his convention speech, Khizr Khan asked Trump, "Have you read the Constitution?'' The Khans came under attack by Trump for criticizing his candidacy. For two years I couldnt get to those trees, says Issa, 24, pointing to a fading patch of olive trees at the base of a nearby mountain. But now I water them and they will come back. Olives are strong. The mountain, he explains, was held by Peshmerga forces while his Iraqi village was held by Islamic State militants. Local people were not allowed too close, lest they attempt escape. Two weeks ago, Peshmerga took Bashiqa after a bitter three-day battle, but homes and roads are still being cleared of booby traps and bombs. Like Bashiqa, most of the re-captured region surrounding Mosul is largely a wasteland, with houses and businesses bombed out or in rubble, and left empty with the sound of ripped up tin flapping in the wind. But along the roads, mostly only traveled by soldiers, sellers like Issa serve olives out of metal bowls, and olive oil in used water bottles. It appears to be the only commercial business that has survived in this area north and northwest of Mosul. When Islamic State was in charge, the sellers say they sold olives and oil from the trees they could access to IS militants, the only people who could afford the luxury. Even then, militants paid a fraction of the normal price for the regions most famous products. When IS was here we were selling these for 500 to 600 Iraqi dinars (about 50 cents) a kilo, says Samer at his stand near Khorsebad, a village shattered beyond repair. Now we sell the same for 6,000 dinars (about $5). Historically a symbolic of peace, civilization and oath keeping, for these farmers, olive trees symbolize something far more pressing: a chance to rebuild their lives from the literal ashes IS left as they fled. Customers are usually Peshmerga forces and occasionally Iraqi soldiers going to and from Mosul, about 30 minutes away by car. Most civilians are not allowed to pass through checkpoints into what is still considered a war zone. All the people in my village depend only on this business, says Issa, who is supporting his wife and four children on his olive sales. And the Peshmerga soldiers all know we have the best olives. Surviving but badly damaged Neglected olive trees, says Gosum, who owns a now badly damaged shop outside of Bashiqa, will take three years to bear fruit if they are regularly watered again. Once a prominent bulk-fruit farmer, his other fruit trees may be permanently damaged and he sells olives in small plastic bags to feed his 13 children. In the mean time, the local population is also trying to recover from the physical and psychological damage inflicted on them under IS, and in the recent battles. When Peshmerga soldiers surrounded IS here, cutting Mosul supply lines, they also cut electricity that was coming out of Mosul. And when the battle ensued, most of the people in the area that remained were in a village at the base of the mountain, directly between the IS front lines and Peshmerga. It was very dangerous because we were in the middle of it, he explains. A few kilometers down the road, Issa climbs the stairs of a building once used as a sniper nest by IS. One farm below is burned to the ground, with only the skeletons of olive trees remaining. The farmer was also a Peshmerga fighter, and fled IS territory as soon as he could. If you left the area, IS took everything, says Issa. In the building next door Long Live the Islamic State is still scrawled on the wall in Arabic. Music was forbidden, shaving was forbidden and our trousers had to be short, Issa tells of IS rule. They would listen at our doors to see if we were talking on mobile phones. If you saw an IS militant, you would be terrified. By Nolan Pinto: There is one important thing people standing in long queues know and that is never to leave their spot. Once left even to get a bottle of water means starting all over once again and this nobody would want to experience. So no matter how hungry, thirsty or tired they maybe, they have no other option but to grin and bear the torture. advertisement Good samaritans who have understood the pain of the common man and are willing to help have started providing food in Bengaluru. Take Fresh Menu for starters. From one week, they are distributing chilled beverages and desserts to people queueing up in front of ATMs and banks across the city. Ali, a manager with the food tech startup tells that they have distributed over 1000 juice bottles and desserts in last one week. With things slowly returning to normal, they will continue to distribute food and water till the time they can. Another good samaritan, Kingsley from Bite Me cupcakes has a reason to help the staff and customers at banks. His father used to be a banker and he tells us that he has a soft corner for people working hard to serve all. So, he first gave his cupcakes to the staff at SBI in Koramangala and then to those customers standing in queues outside the Vijaya Bank ATM near Trinity circle. A Lebanese restaurant in Indiranagar called Byblos is also doing its bit to help out. It has kept a refrigerator just outside its premises and its filled with food and fruits along with water bottles. They call this initiative the 'Fridge of Kindness.' A brain child of Ammar Molki, the head chef of the restaurant, is adamant that only the poor touch this food and they can take how much ever they want. With the poor and the beggers not getting enough change to eat something because of demonetisation, this food fridge of his is a life savior for them all. --- ENDS --- The United States and Russia have both requested the extradition of a Russian arrested in Prague and indicted in the U.S. for hacking computers of social media companies, the Czech justice ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry will review the requests for the extradition of Yevgeniy Nikulin, who a U.S. federal grand jury said had hacked into the U.S.-based social media companies LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring. The requests will then be referred to a Prague court, a spokeswoman said. If the court determines both requests are valid, the justice minister would make the extradition decision, she added. Czech police detained Nikulin in October in Prague, where he remains in custody. His arrest was carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. A federal grand jury in Oakland, California, indicted him on Oct. 21. LinkedIn Corp has said the arrest was related to a 2012 breach at the social networking company that might have compromised the credentials of 100 million users, prompting it to launch a massive password reset operation. Russia's foreign ministry has criticized the arrest, saying it showed Washington was mounting a global manhunt against Russian citizens. The U.S. government had accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations before the Nov. 8 presidential election. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a hacking scandal would not be in Russia's interests. Nikki Haley, born Nimrata Randhawa to Indian immigrants, is the first female governor of South Carolina and the youngest serving governor currently in the United States. Haley was born in South Carolina and worked as a bookkeeper for her family's clothing store from the age of 13. She went on to get a degree in accounting from Clemson University. She first entered politics at the age of 32 in 2004 when she ran for South Carolina's House of Representatives. After winning the Republican Party primary, she ran uncontested in the general election and became the first Indian-American to hold office in South Carolina. Haley served as a state representative and announced her intention to run for governor in 2009. She was endorsed by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Since taking office as governor in 2011, Haley has overseen reducing South Carolina's employment rate to a 15-year low, according to her official website. Haley received international attention for taking down the Confederate Flag from the state capitol last year following a mass shooting at an African-American church in the city of Charleston. Zanu PF Mashonaland Central province has resolved that the partys vice presidents should be elected instead of being hand-picked by President Robert Mugabe, arguing that the current set up is undemocratic. In a move widely seen as part of the intensifying internal political squabbles over Mr. Mugabes succession ahead of the non-elective Zanu PF Peoples Conference to be held before the end of the year, the province also called for the election of a woman in one of the vice presidential posts. The partys provincial chairperson Dickson Mafios told the state-controlled Herald newspaper that the one-center-of-power policy adopted in the last Zanu PF congress in 2014 is unworkable as the current vice presidents are not defending Mr. Mugabe when he is attacked by citizens or members of the ruling party. Zanu PF changed its constitution at that particular congress in which former Vice President Joice Mujuru and several senior officials were kicked out of the party for allegedly attempting to topple the president. Mujuru and her colleagues dismissed these allegations as unfounded, noting that they were victims of political squabbles within the party over Mr. Mugabes succession. Two factions one allegedly led by Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and another by First Lady Grace Mugabe are said to be fighting over the succession of the 92 year old Zimbabwean leader. President Mugabe was given powers at the congress to appoint his deputies, who normally become Zimbabwes vice presidents. Section 32 of the ruling partys constitution stipulates that there shall be two vice presidents and two second secretaries appointed in accordance to the Unity Accord by the president for their skill, experience, probity, integrity and commitment to the party ideologies, values, principles and policies. But Mafios, according to the Herald, says this is undemocratic. Studio 7 was unable to get comment from party spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo. In an editorial meeting Tuesday with The New York Times, Donald Trump repudiated the white supremacist alt-right movement, a fervent segment of the electorate that supports the president-elect. "I don't want to energize the group, and I disavow the group," according to a tweet from New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who attended the meeting. Trump sought to distance himself from the alt-right three days after white nationalists shouted Nazi slogans at an event just blocks from the White House. Trump finally met with editorial staff members of The New York Times, who Trump has frequently criticized, after announcing on Twitter he canceled the meeting due what he said were changes to the editorial ground rules. Trump reversed his decision a short time later. Tuesday was the second day Trump spent meeting with news organizations that he frequently sparred with during his 18-month presidential campaign. "I can't recall an incoming president gathering everybody up in a cattle call and doing it all at once," Allan Louden, chairman of the Wake Forest University Communications Department, said in an interview with VOA. When Trump met Monday with well-known television news figures, he criticized their coverage of the presidential campaign and accused them of not seeing the signs of his surprising win over Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. University of Southern California journalism professor Geoffrey Cowan told VOA that Trump is the first president-elect to use social media as effectively as he has. "Donald Trump is unquestionably an unconventional president and one of the ways in which he's unconventional is his relationship with the media and with the press," Cowan said. WATCH: Crowd reacts as Trump leaves NY Times With nearly 16 million followers on Twitter, more than many news organizations have, Cowan said Trump can afford to spar with the media. "It may play well for him," Cowan said. With Trump's upset presidential victory and a plethora of social media communications channels at his disposal, Louden agreed that Trump has leverage in his relationships with news organizations. "He's dressing them down and he's saying, you guys better behave, and what's the media has to do. They're going to have to come back," Louden said. "This pleases his constituency. He looks like the tough guy and they have little choice but to try to get the news as best they can. So I think he's got the upper hand on this one." Cowan said the American press failed to see the groundswell of support Trump received and should reevaluate how it covers political campaigns. "I think the press has to do its own self-examination and ask why did we miss it," Cowan said. Call to ensure press freedom Trump's latest encounters with the press come after a group of news media advocacy organizations called on him last week to "preserve longstanding traditions" to ensure the press is free to inform the public of his presidential activities. In an open letter, 18 news groups asked him to maintain a pool of reporters who cover all of the president's activities and movements and to have regular briefings with the media. "The role of the press pool is critically important to our country, whose citizens depend on and deserve to know what the president is doing," the letter said. Concerns about news media access to Trump during his presidency were raised November 15 when he departed his Trump Tower residence in New York City without his press pool, for a dinner. During his campaign, it was not uncommon for Trump to hurl angry remarks at journalists or to ban news outlets from his appearances. What can local first responders do when they are faced with emergencies too large for their resources and personnel? They can turn to neighboring police and fire departments for assistance. Certain agreements are in place for such assistance, such as the St. Clair County Fire Mutual Aid Agreement. Marysville recently joined a broader mutual aid organization called the Michigan Mutual Aid Box Alarm System to augment its emergency resources. The hope is that all fire departments in St. Clair County will join as well. The City Council voted 7-0 at its regular meeting on Nov. 14 to join the MABAS association. After the recent incident at the DTE St. Clair Power Plant, the county fire chiefs completed an after-action review, Public Safety Director Tom Konik said in a letter to City Manager Randy Fernandez, dated Nov. 9. One of the areas of concern was addressing the need for additional resources. The County Fire Chiefs Association has decided it is in the best interest of our communities to join MABAS to provide an additional depth to our personnel and physical resources used to protect our residents. A coal-fired electric generation unit caught fire at the power plant in East China Township on Aug. 11. We had resources from four counties and Canada besides St. Clair County, Konik said at the meeting, as viewed on the city of Marysvilles website. It took fire departments until Aug. 12 to extinguish the blaze. The St. Clair County Mutual Aid Agreement will remain in place. This doesnt change that, Konik said at the council meeting. On a daily basis, communities face emergencies that overtax their local fire, EMS and special operations capabilities, Konik wrote. When such cases exist, being a MABAS member agency affords invaluable benefits to a stricken community, regardless of where the community is located. MABAS is designed to provide day-to-day assistance during large-scale events such as major fires, train derailments, tornadoes, wild fires, domestic or foreign terrorism and other events that may overwhelm local resources, according to MABAS information distributed to the council. MABAS allows for the provision of near-immediate assistance. It would fill the resource gap between the exhaustion of local resources and the arrival of federal resources, which requires a disaster declaration from the governor and president and at least 72 hours. There is no cost to join, Konik said. But its not free. The first eight hours is born by the department that sends the resources, Konik said. If the assistance exceeds eight hours, Konik said the hope would be that funding would flow back to the community via emergency disaster declaration. The other gap it hopes to fill is specialized training and resources, Konik said. Who makes up our division? Mayor Dan Damman asked. St. Clair County and its 18 fire departments would be the local division, provided all units of government sign on, Konik said. The county chiefs association would act as its board of directors. Damman also asked if Marysvilles participation would lead to equipment grants from FEMA. Anytime you have cooperative efforts, it is looked upon favorably for federal grants, Konik said. Most grants would likely be for training, not equipment. The state also has training funds available. Councilman Dave Barbers question was: If a piece of equipment or a life is lost during mutual aid, who is responsible? The employer, Konik said, adding that it would be through its liability insurance carrier. How far afield could we go with this? asked Mayor Pro-Tem Wayne Pyden. Theoretically, anywhere in the country, the chief said. MABAS-Michigan has 21 divisions with more than 250 participating agencies. According to the MABAS handout, Michigan is one of 20 states that use the software called Mutual Aid Net, designed to serve as a resource database and deployment tool for mutual aid. The development of Mutual Aid Net was funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and accomplished under contract with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, which operates the system utilizing several hardened data serve sites around the country, according to MABAS-Michigan. Jim Bloch is a freelance writer. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com. Considerable Interest in Gibraltar in Brussels, says Garcia The Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia has said that the wider complex issues surrounding Brexit have helped to raise the profile of Gibraltar in the European Union. There is considerable interest in Gibraltar following the 96% vote to remain and the ongoing developments since the referendum of 23 June. The Deputy Chief Minister is in Brussels with a busy schedule for two days of meetings. Work related to the planned departure of the UK from the EU, or Brexit portfolio was added to that of European Affairs following the recent Cabinet reshuffle. It is Brexit that dominates the agenda everywhere in Brussels. Dr Garcia was able to exchange views on the impact of Brexit with a number of different countries and territories directly affected by the referendum result and with others with an obvious interest. These meetings included the Scottish Government Minister for UK negotiations on Scotland's place in Europe Mr Michael Russell, the Head of European Affairs of the Government of Wales Dr Robert Parry and the Director of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels Mr Andrew Elliot. The Deputy Chief Minister had the opportunity to exchange views with the Director of the Channel Islands Office in Brussels Mr Steve Williams. Dr Garcia also met with the UK Representation to the European Union UKREP. "These and other meetings in Brussels have shown that there is considerable interest in Gibraltar as well as considerable sympathy following the referendum result. It is important to exchange views with others who are also affected as there is a wider commonality of interests in certain areas. The Government will continue to put across our point of view to decision makers in the European Union and elsewhere. It is obvious that a sensible and orderly Brexit is in the best interests of all concerned, in our circumstances it is also in the best interests of Gibraltar and of Spain too," explained Dr Garcia. Dr Garcia was accompanied by Sir Graham Watson who then moved on to Strasbourg with the staff of Gibraltar House in order to continue the lobbying work there also. Gilmore Girls. Photo: Saeed Adyani/Netflix Real-life humans were never meant to metabolize as much food and coffee as Rory and Lorelai Gilmore down on Gilmore Girls. Its simply inhuman. But as the Netflix revival will arrive just after Thanksgiving, when we all have nothing to do but eat, sleep, and avoid our families, we figure that its worth trying out a Gilmore lifestyle, if only for a single six-hour stretch. So, to enhance your pleasure while watching A Year in the Life, weve put together a Gilmore Girls drinking game. Play with coffee, or Irish coffee, or if youre more of an Emily fan some expensive wine. Oh, and because you never want to drink while hungry, be sure to line your stomach with plenty of turkey beforehand, deep-fried or otherwise. Every time Lorelai makes a pop-culture reference you dont get: Take a delicate little sip. When Rory looks like she doesnt know how to hold an everyday object: Sip once, ever so carefully. (We do not recommend trying to hold your cup like she does.) Every time Lorelai makes a pop-culture reference you actually get: Drink once, in celebration. When Rory talks about her career and you get the sinking suspicion she might not be a very good journalist: Drink once, to numb the pain. Every time Emily talks about money: Drink once, even if the reference is oblique. Whenever Kirk describes a new job: Drink once. Every time someone talks about Yale: Drink once. Boola Boola! If Taylor tries to enforce a Stars Hollow tradition: Drink once, as is tradition. Every time Luke refuses service to someone in his diner: Drink once. Also, turn off your damn phone! Whenever Paris makes someone cry: Drink once in sympathy, and then once again, because they probably deserved it. Every time Logan calls Rory Ace: Chug, because ugh. Whenever Jess references a work of literature: Drink once. If he mentions a writer whos not a white man (as if that would ever happen), finish your drink. Every time Dean messes with his hair: Drink, and then reach out toward the screen and wish that you could mess with his hair, too. If you see a cameo from a cast member of Parenthood or Bunheads: Drink once, so as not to spend too much time thinking about parallel universes. Whenever Lane plays the drums: Keep drinking. Hep Alien forever! If Kirks pig is onscreen: Keep drinking. When you hear the last four words: Finish your drink youll probably need to anyway. Happy Thanksgiving, This Is Us fam! The Pearsons are serving up a big ol turkey, some homemade stuffing, and straight-up tears. Tears, you guys! Remember how William let it slip to Beth that he and Rebecca already met? And how Beth is desperate for Rebecca to tell Randall that shes been lying to her son his entire life? Well, that whole thing explodes before the aforementioned turkey gets passed around the table. That poor turkey. But mostly, poor Randall. Not only does he have his entire life blown up, but it happens on his favorite day of the year. Randall is Mr. Thanksgiving. The guy lives for this day. Hes up at 6:30 a.m., thanks to the sweet sounds of Paul Simons Graceland, for kitchen prep. There are traditions upon traditions upon traditions to get to on a Pearson Thanksgiving, and the guy just cant wait to get started. Back in the late 80s (what up, Dad stache?), were treated to a story about how these Pearson family traditions came to be. Its another flashback that reaffirms how great Jack was with the Big Three and how much he fought to keep his family happy. I fear for the flashbacks when he starts breaking hearts rather than warming them. But heartwarming is on the menu at the moment. The five Pearsons hop into the car for their annual six-hour road trip to Rebeccas parents house, where theyll partake in the Thanksgiving tradition of gorging on food and being unbearable. We never meet these parents (can we?), but we learn enough through Rebeccas fears of being compared to her perfect sister (can we meet her too?), and the kids complaining about their mother turning into a high-pitched weirdo every year, that we know Rebeccas parents are pretty terrible. Thankfully, while en route to the Most Uncomfortable Dinner and listening to the sweet sounds of Paul Simon, the Pearsonmobile pops a tire and goes through a fence, setting into motion a Thanksgiving full of new traditions. Stuck on the side of an empty road, the Pearsons walk the 3.4 miles down the road to the nearest gas station. There is no tow truck available, and after Rebecca FINALLY tells her mother off, she and Jack realize they will be spending the night at the creepy lodge across the street. Its run by Pilgrim Rick, a creepster in a pilgrim hat. The heat in their room only has one setting: high. Theres no food except for cold hot dogs, Kraft singles, and saltines. It is an unmitigated disaster until Jack saves the day. He tells goofy stories while wearing Pilgrim Ricks hat. They have an indoor picnic complete with cheese dogs and a viewing of Police Academy 3. They go around the room and each say what theyre thankful for while ripping up Kates itchy sweater. Back in the present, all of these moments have become Thanksgiving Day staples. They hike 3.4 miles, they make cheese dogs, they watch Police Academy 3. By the time they get to the Yarn Ball of Thanks, and Rebecca makes the same speech Jack did all those years ago Theres no one else Id rather be too hot or too cold with were all wiping tears from our eyes because we know how meaningful those words are. But then everything goes to hell. Randall knows that Rebecca and William met long before he introduced them to one another a few weeks ago. Randall knows that every time he asked Rebecca about his birth parents, she was lying to his face. Randall knows all of this because he, being a remarkable human being, wanted to make sure one of Williams Thanksgiving traditions was upheld, so he drove all the way to Philadelphia to find some recordings of William and his friends Thanksgiving Day jam sessions. Unfortunately, right next to the box of tapes is a letter addressed to William in Rebeccas handwriting, containing a photo of 8-year-old Randall. Randall confronts Rebecca right there at the table, as if he just cant hold the anger in any longer. Any time Rebecca tries to explain herself, he cuts her off. He wont hear it; he cant even look at her. You can feel Randalls heart being ripped open. You can feel his relationship with his mother implode. The walls are caving in and Rebecca cant stop it. It is by far the best scene of the series. Because This Is Us loves to twist the knife, the episode ends back in 80s, with little Randall once a true hater of Thanksgiving telling Rebecca that he wants every Thanksgiving to be just like this one for the rest of his life. Mother and son snuggled together after a very good day. Way to kick us when were down, show. Not that it could ever compare to Randalls experience, but Kevin has a weird Thanksgiving too. Part of that weirdness he brings upon himself by inviting Olivia Maine to join his family for dinner. Olivia Maine hates Thanksgiving because OF COURSE SHE DOES. We get it. Shes all dark and twisty because her family is screwed up. But can you stop ruining things for everyone else? You can be a damaged artist and still pick up on social cues. The more I learn about this girl, the worse she gets. If anyone is rooting for Kevin and Olivia yes, they did share a very cute pie moment and a steamy kitchen kiss please state your case in the comments. I only have two items in the proOlivia Maine column: She loves Rocky 2 and she takes good advice from Wise Owl William when she hears it. How could she not, when it was dished out so beautifully? Of course, to get to Williams speech about appreciating the tiny beautiful moments and thanking nice boys for pie, Olivia had to callously ask, How does it feel to be dying? So maybe the whole thing is a wash. While Kevins dealing with Olivia complaining and then leaving and then coming back and eating his face, he also has to handle being around BFF Miguel. We still havent gotten much information on Rebecca and Miguels relationship, but its safe to say that Kevin does not ship it. He cant even say Miguels name without looking like he wants to barf. When BFF Miguel innocently asks if Kevins having fun in rehearsals, he cant help himself: Fun? No, Miguel, Im not having any fun. Its emotionally brutal work, but thanks for asking. Later, when Miguel asks if he can wear the Pilgrim Rick hat because hed like to be included in the tradition, Kevin squarely tells him no. His dad used to wear the hat, and now he and Randall take turns wearing the hat. What does BFF Miguel think hes doing? HE DOESNT EVEN GO TO THIS SCHOOL. Heres the thing, though. As much as he tries, Kevin isnt actually a jerk. Hes just a guy who misses his father. Kevin wears the Pilgrim Rick hat, but partway through the act, he locks eyes with BFF Miguel and sees a guy who is trying his best. Kevin hands over the Pilgrim Rick duties as an olive branch to his stepfather. Man, families are complicated. This Is the Rest: There has been another mannequin challenge at the White House, which makes you think does anything get done there besides mannequin challenges? Today, Black-ish actress Tracee Ellis Ross attended a ceremony at the White House, and caught the challenge on Instagram, Complex reports. In the video, you can find Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Gates, Diana Ross, and yes, even Michael Jordan. The participants were there to join in on a viral phenomenon, but mostly for the Medal of Freedom, which is the highest honor a civilian can receive. Bruce Springsteen, Cicely Tyson, and Robert Redford were among the 21 lucky honorees at the event, and Ellen DeGeneres even teared up as she received the honor. Watch the video above. By India Today Web Desk: Yesterday's episode was a memorable one, and at the same time controversial. With the presence of Bollywood actress and Bigg Boss 5 contestant Sunny Leone as a judge of nomination task viral fever war, the atmosphere in the house was full of excitement. However, the behaviour of certain contestants like Manu Punjabi and Om Swami, made things awkward for Sunny. advertisement Not only Swami was accused by housemates for inappropriately touching Sunny, Manu Punjabi also managed to offend the female contestants of the house after he called Sunny his 'maal'. Also read: BB10: Mona Lisa's boyfriend has THIS to say about her bond with Manu Punjabi After Sunny announced the result of viral fever war, and declared Lopa's team as winner, she decided to recreate the famous Sholay sequence-Naach Basanti with the housemates. While Sunny portrayed Basanti, Manu stepped into the shoes of Veeru. No prizes for guessing who played Gabbar--Om Swami, of course. But it was Manu, who played the actual villain. During the act, he called Sunny his 'maal', and that obviously did not go down well with Bani, who later reprimanded him for using the word for Sunny. Manu however told Bani that if Sunny would have been uncomfortable, she would have told him. Also read: Bigg Boss Day 37: Om Swami gets into trouble for 'touching' Sunny Leone Later, Om Swami was also pulled up by housemates for touching Sunny inappropriately. Swami was the first contestant to hug and greet Sunny. "Maine koi galat bhavana se aisa nahi kiya," he said in his defence. At least, we now know the hidden sides of these housemates. Shame on them. Meanwhile, the losing team in the task, has been nominated for elimination this week. Bani Judge, Gaurav Chopra, Manveer Gujjar, Rahul Dev and Nitibha Kaul. Bigg Boss airs Mon-Fri at 10:30pm and Sat-Sun at 9pm on Colors TV. --- ENDS --- By Vidya : Coming down heavily on the lackadaisical approach of the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities towards the welfare of the people Bombay High Court today summoned the Municipal Chief Ajoy Mehta to be present in court to answer the queries. The advocate representing the municipal authority told the court that the authority was yet to take a decision about the plot that is to be handed over to neurological department for setting up the doppler radar system. To this the division bench headed by Chief Justice Manjula Chellur said that the commissioner did not seem serious about his work. advertisement "Considering the seriousness of the case the high court has been passing lengthy orders but BMC has not done anything about it," said Chellur. The court was dealing with the issue of installation of another Doppler in the city while it was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate Atal Dubey after in June 2015. During the hearing the Metrological Department had told the court that they were looking for a sight to install another Doppler in city to make accurate weather predictions. During the hearing on September 1, the division bench headed by justice V M Kanade had given the municipal authority 10 weeks time to complete all the formalities with the handing over of plot that had been identified by them. The state was also asked to help in the facilitation of the process. However senior advocate S U Kamdar representing BMC said that the authorities hydraulic department had raised issues regarding the location that had been decided. Thus formalities of handling over the plot did not even start. To this Justice Chellur said that It is a very important for a city like Mumbai." Kamdar tried to seek time to clarify on the issues, however, Justice MS Sonak said that if he had come in persons and sought time then his intentions would have been bona fide." With this the division bench summoned the commissioner to be present in person before the court. Also read: Bombay High Court adjourns hearing on RBI circular about cooperative banks Bombay HC admits Rhea Pillai's revision application Maharashtra politicians yet to clear security dues --- ENDS --- More than 80 people have submitted applications to become the next Waco police chief, and city officials plan to interview finalists in mid-December, Waco city officials said Tuesday. A total of 83 applications have been turned in to the citys human resources department, which is working with an outside firm to search for qualified candidates to lead the department with more than 240 sworn officers, city spokesman Larry Holze said. Salvin Management Consultants, based in Norcross, Georgia, is assisting the city with a nationwide search. The city has not named a list of finalists, but interviews and tours of the city for candidates not familiar with Waco will take place in December. Meetings were hosted by the mayor with stakeholder groups on Oct. 3, and additional meetings have continued to take place with stakeholders that were unable to attend the meetings, Holze said. Interviews for the police chief position will take place in Waco on Dec. 13 and 14. Holze said city administrators and City Manager Dale Fisseler, who chooses police chiefs with the councils consent, hope to find a permanent chief by the end of the year. Former Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman, a 39-year law enforcement veteran, retired from the Waco Police Department on Aug. 1, and Assistant Chief Frank Gentsch was named as acting chief during the citys search for a permanent replacement. Holze said he is unsure how many local candidates have applied for the leadership role. Officials have said Gentsch is not interested in taking the chief position permanently. Stroman started his career with the department as a beat cop in 1977 and was named police chief in 2007. During his tenure as chief, Stroman oversaw the start of the investigation into the fatal Twin Peaks shootout between two rival motorcycle clubs on May 17, 2015, and postponed his plans to retire that year. During his retirement ceremony this July, Stroman said after serving 8 1/2 years as police chief, his plans include spending time with his family and traveling. Elm Avenue isnt yet on the verge of giving the booming Magnolia Silos area of downtown a run for its money as a destination. But there are signs that 2017 could be the year the historic east-side commercial corridor hits critical mass. A partnership has lined up investors to renovate a long-vacant garage at 300 Elm Ave. into two innovative restaurants in the first half of next year. Across the street, entrepreneurs are seeking a zoning change next week to facilitate an ice cream shop and bookstore fronting on Elm and a brewery behind it on Taylor Avenue. The Plan Commission will consider the zoning request at its 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday. The buildings are a stones throw from Lula Janes Bakery and are within a quarter-mile of the Brazos River. Sam Brown, who co-owns the three buildings with his sister, Cathy, said Elm Avenue has attracted the imagination of a new generation of entrepreneurs, and next year could be a turning point. All of them have different businesses and backgrounds, but all have a passion for revitalization and for Elm in particular, Sam Brown said. One thing that really impacts my sister and me is that theyre not just looking for a place to put a business, but theyre truly passionate about seeing Elm come back alive. Browns red building at 401 Elm Ave. is under contract to sell to Austin and Julia Meek, who own the Pokey Os ice cream sandwich truck in downtown Waco. Pending a feasibility study, they hope to gut the building and put in a cookie-and-ice cream shop and a bookstore next year. Its not a traditional bookstore, more like an art gallery for books: a small, tightly curated collection, Austin Meek said. In the back is a small area where we plan to have public seating for hosting book clubs and authors. The Meeks had considered downtown for their permanent location but like the potential across the river. As citizens of Waco, were very bullish about Elm Street, Meek said. It seems as if theres real opportunities to build a cohesive district. Behind that building, Brown said he hopes to lease the old Rubel Junk Co. building on Taylor Avenue to Brotherwell Brewing Co., which has been looking for a downtown home. David Stoneking and Jacob Martinka, principals in the brewing company, could not be reached Tuesday. Meanwhile, Blake Batson and Corey McEntyre have the Elm Avenue garage under contract and hope to close in the next month or so. Batson owns Common Grounds coffeehouse and Heritage Creamery, while McEntyre owns the Milo Biscuit Co. food trucks. The partners plan to use part of the 6,000-square-foot building for a permanent Milo restaurant, which would serve breakfast, brunch and lunch based on traditional Southern comfort food, including biscuit sandwiches with locally sourced ingredients and homemade jams. Another side of the building is to house Gumption, a dinner restaurant with a more eclectic menu, including fresh seafood and an extensive wine and beer list. Well have a lot of seasonal, local produce, and were sourcing fish from a company that does what they call sea to table, McEntyre said. They have contractors at every dock in the U.S., and theyll send out an email every day of whats available, like red snapper or bluepoint oysters. Batson said the partners are close to getting it all financed through a local bank and investors, but the pitch wasnt easy for a casual fine dining restaurant on a long-neglected commercial street. Obviously, it was a hard sell, he said. Some of our investors have the same values and vision that we have, and thats what it takes. Its not just this location. To start a restaurant at all is risky. Only a few make it. But were hoping that in Waco, this is the right time. The partnership already has applied for downtown Tax Increment Financing Zone funding to rebuild the sidewalk along the 300 block of Elm Avenue and to help with the facade and a patio. McEntyre and Batson said they hope to have the building renovated and ready to open in mid-2017. Megan Henderson, executive director of City Center Waco, said years of hard work to redevelop Elm Avenue are starting to bear fruit. Weve said for a long time that weve had a lot of interest in Elm Avenue from a lot of folks, Henderson said. Its always been a matter of having the right mix between the desires of the property owner and the vision for that corridor and for the community. . . . I think driving down Elm and not seeing anything physically change, people assume nothing is going on, when the opposite is the case. Henderson said people have gone to Elm Avenue for years to eat lunch at Tony DeMarias, Jaspers Barbecue and, more recently, Lula Janes bakery. But so far, nothing is open after 3 p.m. It adds a lot to the health of the district to have businesses open into the evening hours, she said. Brown, the property owner, said Lula Janes founder Nancy Grayson laid the groundwork for the new batch of prospective businesses. The spark There will never been any questions that Nancy and Lula Janes was the spark, he said. Its also the anchor of the whole street. Everything hinges on what Nancy did a few years ago. Grayson, who opened her bakery four years ago, is also building cottages in the neighborhood near Lula Janes and hopes eventually to build live-work spaces on the same block. People are beginning to see this is a safe, older neighborhood thats stable and walkable to and from downtown, she said. Its become a very attractive location for folks, not just young couples but people wanting to retire. Grayson said shes happy to see the prospective businesses, but she hopes as Elm Avenue gains momentum the development will complement the existing neighborhood. I think the important thing is to keep intact the integrity of this historic part of town, she said. We need to be cognizant and careful of the culture and history of East Waco. . . . After its developed, its too late to go back. Pastor Ruben Andrade Jr. experienced firsthand how an early childhood development program like Head Start can help youth at risk of either falling through education gaps or getting a slow start. Andrade said he was one of those children. Head Start programs help some of the most vulnerable young children get a jump on education in areas where families might not otherwise have the opportunity because of financial issues. Now the pastor is giving back to his community by starting his own preschool program in the 76707 ZIP code. Children, I consider them as a sponge. Theyre grasping and taking everything in, whether its beneficial or not. Theyre clinging to that and they model what they see, Andrade said. I believe its essential parents place their children in some type of Head Start program, or a preschool they can afford, to invest in their childrens future. Its now they need to lay that educational foundation and not have them fall behind. Family of Faith Christian Academy, the new school at 2225 Cumberland Ave., will help low-income families prepare their children for the next level of education. The school will serve ages 3, 4 and 5 and is expected to open Dec. 5. The academy is a dream that has been in the works for years, Andrade said. He started the Family of Faith Worship Center, the church where the preschool is located. The church is located in the -07 ZIP code area, which is one of the most impoverished ZIP code areas, unfortunately, in our community, Andrade said. We have a lot of families who cannot afford quality, and thats what we want to be, a quality child care facility. Not just care for their babies. Mom and dad havent been able to come out of the rut of poverty because of their finances or education, so we want to be able to assist them in helping their children get that quality education in preschool and be successful and not have to travel across town to drop their child off at a facility like this. In 1998, Andrade was asked to return to the same Economic Opportunities Advancement Corp. Head Start program he attended as a child, this time as a parent-involvement coordinator and male role model reading to children, he said. Not long after the visit, he was hired by the program and became involved in the National Fatherhood Initiative, which encourages men to be active in their communities. While working with the initiative in Maryland, friends suggested he open his own school, Andrade said. He didnt start pursuing that dream immediately, though, and became an independent consultant for Head Start programs across the country, he said. About 11 years ago, after settling back in Waco, he founded the worship center. Six years into it, the desire to open a child service center struck again, and he has been working on it ever since, he said. This life is hard We know kids are special, and they need the education because this life is hard. So weve got to put it in their hands and just make sure we do our jobs, said Marcia Beverly, the academys head teacher and a friend of Andrade since high school. Hes shared his dream for a couple years. It was a rough road trying to get started, but were just amazed his time has come. The facility holds up to 29 students in three classrooms, and each student will have the chance to learn through Horizon lessons, a Christian-based curriculum that integrates Scripture into all areas of learning, Andrade said. The preschool will support the mission of Prosper Waco, a collective impact group focused on education, health and financial security in the city that develops community partnerships to bridge gaps in those areas, Prosper Waco spokeswoman Christina Helmick said. More than 80 percent of Waco ISD students are considered economically disadvantaged. Prosper Waco will be able to measure a childs progress as he or she goes through the academy and into local public schools and use the data from the center and other local child care centers to improve the city, Helmick said. Hes really taking steps to pull on the Prosper Waco initiatives to make his Christian academy the best it can be, Helmick said. Hes also taking a holistic approach, because their family resource center is across the street. He can connect them to a variety of resources through their resource center. The academy is open to anyone and has a weekly rate of $110. Parents also can apply for a child care subsidy to help pay for the tuition, Andrade said. I have a lot of friends, church members and former co-workers coming together to help my dream come true but also to help bring a service to this community, Andrade said. The government today announced a slew of steps to help farmers get enough cash to prepare for the sowing season. By Manjeet Negi: In the wake of several reports on demonetisation of currency affecting farmers who are preparing for the Rabi season, the government today announced a slew of measures to address their concerns. NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture And Rural Development) has sanctioned Rs 21,000 crore to district central cooperative bank (DCCB). This will enable the DCCBs to sanction and disburse crop loans to the farmers through the network of Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) The move will benefit more than 40 per cent of small and marginal farmers who avail institutional credit/crop loans. Further, additional limits will be provided by NABARD as per requirement. NABARD and RBI have advised to ensure adequate cash supply is available to the DCCBs. This will ensure quick and unhindered flow of credit and required cash to the farmers, especially for sowing and other agricultural operations during the current Rabi season. advertisement ALSO READ: Demonetisation may hit Rabi crop as farmers have no cash to prepare for sowing season Some other steps taken by the government in the past few days to ease the cash crunch are: Cash withdrawal limit for farmers and Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC)-registered traders increased to Rs 50,000 per week. Farmers can draw up to Rs 25,000 per week against the crop loan sanctioned and credited to their KYC-compliant accounts. If farmers receive payments either through cheques or RTGS into their bank accounts, they can withdraw up to Rs 25,000 per week. Deadline for payment of crop insurance premium by extended by 15 days. Farmers can use old Rs 500 currency notes to purchase seeds from state-owned outlets by showing a proof of identity. Network of banking correspondents has also been activated with higher cash-holding limits to meet the requirements of people in the rural areas. ALSO READ: Demonetisation: Vegetable market in Nashik takes a hit, small farmers forced to feed produce to cattle ALSO READ: Demonetisation: Traders welcomes move, say it will push adoption of digital payments ALSO READ: Demonetisation: Farmers now allowed to buy seeds with old Rs 500 notes ALSO WATCH --- ENDS --- This springs severe flooding wasnt the worst in Lake Wacos history. That distinction belongs to 1991 when the lakes level reached 488 feet elevation with 2007 a close second, but 2016 managed to rack up the third, fourth, and fifth slots on the list, the highest of those a mere 4 feet below the all-time high. The extensive damage from the flooding is why only two parks have been reopened this year, said Heath McLane, lake manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District. Getting those parks reopened has been a priority for McLane and his seven staff members and numerous contractors, who all are working as fast as possible to clear the rest, he said. We well understand the publics frustration and impatience, but people should know that theres no advantage for us to keep the parks closed, said McLane, who has been the head of Lake Wacos flood control office since 2010. We had to do so for safety and are going to repair the others as fast as we can until the money runs out; theres nothing extra coming in from Washington, D.C., to cover the damage. The damage was extensive, with all of the lakes parks, access areas and boat ramps underwater most of those for two months during June and July, peak times for summer recreation. Some parks were covered by 22 feet of water, he said. McLaughlin Road and other roadways were failing, restrooms and gatehouses were destroyed, sanitary lift stations and the pedestals where RVs hook into for electricity became inoperable, fire cookers had fallen in, shade canopy roofs were ripped away by wave action the list goes on and on. Thats not even mentioning the two landslides on the face of the dam in mid-June, one that was 300 feet across. Welcomed help This overwhelming repair job required all hands on deck, and the lake manager had no choice but to work his staff to the max and pray even for outside help. He was pleasantly stunned to receive a timely call from Katy native Jake Elkins, president of Baylors KOT Fraternity, asking for a volunteer project and later sending 50 students to meet at a park playground near the lake to start the massive undertaking. There, the group began the monotonous and backbreaking job of filling hundreds of sandbags, helping to transport them to the face of the dam to toss into the gaping hole, and covering everything with a giant tarp. The sand wont be missed because of a new regulation requiring mulch at area playgrounds. All of us were super excited and motivated to be there, Elkins said. We were determined to finish the project that seemed almost too big to finish in the time frame. It went much better than expected, and the Corps and park staff were very appreciative because the job could have taken them weeks. We actually ended up going over our original endtime, but we were determined to finish no matter what. BUs fraternity will definitely be doing more similar service projects in the future because, as Elkins put it, the members love serving others, not because they were required to meet any degree requirements. All of it is completely optional, but guys show up because all of the members just have much more appreciation for hard work and serving the community, he added. Closed often All of the lake parks have been closed five times since May 2015 and recovery damages are estimated at around $2 million, said McLane, an Oak Ridge, Missouri, native and natural resource graduate of Southeast Missouri State (and no, hes not related to Baylor benefactor and stadium namesake Drayton McLane). McLane has battled the elements nearly continuously the past two years. He has developed a fairly successful plan, inspecting the parks to assess the damage and see exactly whats needed, meeting with his staff to prioritize repairs, and communicating with city and county officials to coordinate closings downstream to keep the public safe. When we checked out the parks in August, we concluded Speegleville and Midway had the least damage and put all available resources there, McLane explained. Next, we fixed the access points like Koehne Park, Flat Rock and Lacy Point for the fishermen and are working to open most of the rest of them by spring break. He also noted that the lost revenue of closed facilities hits not only the federal government but also the lakes marinas, bait shops, convenience stores and gas stations selling fuel and supplies to boaters and fishermen, as well as local guides, not to mention the difficulties downstream with handling the extra water. Ridgewood Country Club manager David Gardner said gas sales for his clubs marina were down by $8,000 through November of this year. Normally, the club has cleared $10,000 to $11,000 by that point. Needing a dam Anyone familiar with Waco history knows how serious the citys flooding was a century ago with East Waco inundated on a regular basis, so officials decided to alleviate the problems by passing a $3.5 million bond to build the original Lake Waco, and construction began on the first dam in 1929. However, the resulting barrier only moderately controlled downtown flooding, so raising a new one began in 58, ending six years later and enabling the lake to withhold more water during heavy storms. Lake Waco, at nearly 8,200 acres of surface water, is the largest lake in the United States that is completely within one citys boundaries. Its been so far, so good as far as major flooding is concerned, but continued Brazos River development will probably call for further flood-control analysis in the near future and ongoing dialogue among all related agencies federal, state, and local, McLane said. Interestingly enough, the worst downtown Waco flooding this year, mostly the unincorporated areas like Downsville, happened without our even being involved releasing water, he said. The city called us to shut the gates, but we had none open at the time. To this end, the lake boss keeps a line open to the McLennan County area in general and vows to continue to initiate clear communication between all governmental entities to reassure the public that everything that can be done will be done to allow park-goers to visit the park of their choice as often as possible. This ongoing flood control changes peoples lives is a conflict of interests, no doubt about it, McLane said. But my job is for people to have what they need to do theirs, and part of that is maintaining the relationship between us at the Corps and the city and county offices. Its solid, and I cant tell you what it means to be able to tell them what we have going on and have their full cooperation. While no one can keep the rain away, and the public cant really donate money to a government agency, volunteer assistance with flood control is always welcome, he said. Overall, our facilites are definitely worse for wear and may not be aethestically pleasing, but were rebuilding all the pedestals and restrooms and replacing granite and electrical features at all sites, he said. It will be as close to whole as it can be and will have all the infrastructure visitors are accustomed to for an enjoyable camping or recreational experience. ----- Lake Waco info Volunteer efforts: To offer to assist with cleanup efforts of other lake needs, contact park ranger Taylor Christian at 254-756-5359. This months forecast: 99 percent chance of bubbles. Theres something about a bottle of bubbles that makes life a little bit better. Rarely do I ever turn a glass of sparkling wine down. Theyre light, fun, and theres something so happy about it. Sparkling wines are for pure enjoyment without having to seriously dissect them like a red or white still wine. What better way is there to start the New Year than with a glass of fun? Does anyone know when sparkling wine was first made/discovered? Does anyone know where? And just what do all those words mean on the label for you to know what the style you like or want is? Most people think that sparkling wine was invented in Champagne, France. I hate to burst your bubble, but it is in fact, not true. The first known method, Methode Ancestrale, actually is written on paper that dates back to 1531 the era of King Henry VIII, Michelangelo and Copernicus. The written record is in a monastery in Saint-Hillaire near Limoux in southern France. However, it could have been made as early as 17 A.D. in the region in a non-religious context, as wines from Limoux were indeed mentioned by Roman historian Livy. These sparkling wines are known as Cremant (pronounced with a long a and a short o with a silent t). Limoux ( pronounced with a short i and a long u on the end), France, lies 19 miles to the south of the medieval walled city of Carcassone, and is part of the ancient Languedoc province and the present-day Languedoc-Roussillon region. The Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest wine region in France, as well a what is believed to be the oldest, dating back perhaps before Roman times. Cremant Limoux was made using the ancient grape Mauzac. Todays Cremant is made from the Chardonnay, Mauzac and Chenin Blanc grapes. Because of the Naturale method used in creating Cremants, these sparkling wines tend to be creamier in texture, a much more delicate bubble stream so that the grape flavors are more intense. They also dont have the butter from a secondary fermentation as the rest do. Now, as legend has it, the monk Dom Perignon traveled to the Saint-Hillaire abbey on the way to Spain and discovered the sparkling wines while there. He fell in love with the wine and wanted to recreate them. Upon his return from Spain to his abbey in Saint-Pierre dHautvillers, near Reims, he started to experiment with local wines from the Champagne region with fellow monk Dom Ruinart. Champagne, France, has existed since the Roman times, with the name coming from the Latin Campania because of the physical resemblance to the city of Campania, Italy, south of Rome. Champagne at the time Dom Perignon arrived was already locked in a bitter viticultural rivalry with Burgandy, its neighbor in the south of France. Burgandy, as well as Limoux and other southern areas, were already designated to produce Cremant. While it said that Champagne was invented in 1693 by Dom Perignon, it is almost certainly not true. He did, however, make an enormous contribution in developing the technique to create the bottle of bubbles that is still used today. Coincidentally, Dom Perignon spent much of his time trying to remove the bubbles from his wine! So, how did the rivalry end between Burgandy and Champagne? After a long and bitter feud to retain its process and its designation to produce Cremant, Champagne patented the process that had been used in Limoux for centuries to create sparkling wines. With tweaking and modernization, it is now referred to on bottles as Methode Champenoise, which was printed on virtually every label of sparkling wines around the world until the early 1900s because by the late 1800s, Champagne had argued enough that any wines coming from the Champagne region could only be called Champagne and everything else sparkling wine. However, the U.S. did not concede until the early 2000s because of a treaty after World War I that was never ratified and left a loophole. You can still find Champagne on several bottles of California sparklings, such as Korbel, due to the fact that any winery producing sparkling wines since the 1860s , and before World War I, retained the right to do so much to the ire of Champagne, France.( And really, they are still that upset over it. Kind of likened to Ch Montelena and Stags Leap taking gold over French wines in 1976 ). Make no mistake, though. Cremant was here long before Champagne. These wines are spectacular and cost less. Cremant Limouxs can be found, or ordered, and are a high recommendation. Now how about a good sparkling wine buying guide broken down so you can pick out one to toast to the New Year? Dry, lean and zesty these have the smallest amounts of sugar and are made from the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes from cool climates. These are labeled: Brut Zero, Brut Natural or Extra Brut. Light, dry, fruity and floral still dry in style, but a bit more trace sugar, these have more floral and fruit notes with the grapes coming from a warmer climate. These are labeled: Brut, Sparkling Rose, Prosecco-Brut or Extra Dry, Sekt (German), Extra Dry Sweet and perfumed these are either sweetened during dosage or made from aromatic grapes. These are labeled as: Prosecco-Dry, Demi Sec, Doux, Asti, Brachetto dAqui. Rich, creamy and nutty these wines are made with the aging process. They come out of the lees with a rich and creamy texture and flavors of toast, brioche, honey and hazelnut. These are labeled as: Cava-Reserve and Grand Reserve, Vintage Champagne. Now here are some top champagne and sparkling wine recommendations that I am sure you will enjoy. These picks are all available in this market, so you may need to search or order one or two of them. These are worth searching for. Champagne Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2004 The top pick (every year, every time) 98 points. From $189 to $269. It is the embodiment of the perfect champagne. Impeccable and refined. Long threads of bubbles open up to an intense and complex nose with dried fruits, toasted almonds and drops of honey. The palate is rich and powerful, structured and balanced with the most perfect acidity and notes of citrus. The finish is long with fresh churned butter, ripe pears and a hint of tart plum. J Sparkling Brut 90 points. From $30 on up. This winery started as a collaboration between Jordan and Piper Heidseck. Jordan wanted to make sparkling and Piper wanted in the U.S. Boy, are we thankful these two paired up! These wines are spectacular! This Brut is bright and zesty, long bubbles with creamy citrus notes, fresh toast, warmed pears, toasted almonds, finishing with a touch of angel food cake. Toad Hollow Cremant Limoux Amplexis 88/89 points. From $15 on up. This one is true to the Cremant grapes from Limoux-Chardonnay, Mauzac and Chenin Blanc. Excellent bottle of bubbly for the price. Nice nose of lemon peel and vanilla with a soft, background floral tone. The bubbles are softer and consistent.The palate is luscious with good apple and pear notes. Very little residual sugar. Good medium body with a creamy, elegant texture. Sparkling wines of this quality for under $20 are near impossible to find. Korbel California Champagne Sweet Cuvee Not rated (just really good) $12 on up. California Champagne using the method champenoise process, which allows the natural fruit to be highlighted without any overbearing sweetness, but just the right touch. Bright citrus and tropical fruits flavors, this is a winner every time. Try it by making the Korbel Margarita Fizz with any leftovers. ----- Lorrie Dicorte has been in the wine business for 37 years and her family for 90 years. Her grandfather, Billy Dicorte, and cousin, Tony LaBarbera, were the first to import fine wines such as Ch Lafite Rothschild. Lorrie has served on international wine competition judging panels, and is known for her keen smell and taste. Lower Columbia River gillnetters told the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Nov. 9 that fishery harvest reforms initiated in 2013 are not working economically, while salmon and steelhead anglers accused the commission of vacating its promise to get gillnetters off the river. As many as 150 people attended the Salem commission meeting and public forum on mainstem fishery harvest reforms, where comments were heard on a proposal by ODFW that would continue gillnetting in some areas of the mainstem river. The harvest reform package, also known as the Kitzhaber plan, is in its final year of transition and was to become fully effective at the beginning of 2017 when all Columbia River mainstem fishing would be allocated to recreational anglers and commercial gillnetters would fish in off-channel select areas, mostly in the lower river and mostly for hatchery chinook and coho salmon. However, the reform also promised to keep gillnetters economically whole, but the actual plan implementation is lagging in hatchery production of smolts, identifying additional off-channel areas and developing alternative gear that would allow commercial fishers to better target hatchery fish, among other issues. The Columbia River Fish Management and Reform was a joint Oregon and Washington Policy initially adopted in 2012 and readopted in 2013. The ODFW staff is proposing to rebalance the harvest reform rules by continuing to allow some gillnetting on the mainstem river, and by targeting for harvest more adult hatchery salmon in the lower river below Bonneville Dam, a conservation move to rid the river of more hatchery fall chinook. As a concession, recreational anglers would gain access to Youngs Bay, near Astoria, an area that has been considered off-limits to them, and would be allowed to use barbed hooks in the Willamette River. Anglers, led by the Coastal Conservation Association, were vocal about the proposed changes at the hearing and wore red CCA hats and badges that said No Broken Promises. ODFW is trying to rewrite Senate Bill 830, the legislation that formalized the Kitzhaber plan, Bob Reese of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders told the Commission at the hearing. Were not getting what we paid for, sacrificed for, nor what we were promised, Reese said. This process feels far from respect. He reminded the Commission that ODFW is funded through angler and hunter fees and that, at least the anglers, are ready to move on. You cannot keep this agencys valuable programs intact without fees from anglers and were ready to test that, Reese said. Im having a tough time defending this agencys actions. He added that his constituents want to see how the full implementation of the Kitzhaber plan unfolds before they would consider the adaptive management measures being proposed by ODFW staff. Commercial gillnetter Robert Sudar said recreational anglers already had a priority in the ratio of fish caught on the Columbia River, even before this policy, and that when commercial fishers use tangle nets, post release mortality of unmarked fish drops to 14 percent from the 40 percent mortality of full-size gillnets. Fisheries are selective through the use of gear, he said. Many anglers at the meeting said gillnetting is indiscriminate and not selective. Even with the changes to the harvest reform policy suggested by ODFW staff, there will be at least a 9-year period of economic loss for commercial fishermen, said Greg Johnson, lower Columbia River gillnetter. Another Astoria-based commercial gillnetter, Jim Wells, said that beach and purse seining, alternative gear changes gillnetters are experimenting with at the urging of both the Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife commissions, are uneconomic. Seine fishing has a high mortality of chinook and coho and a high bycatch of other species, he said. With purse seining, 12.5 sockeye must be returned for every one chinook salmon kept and its worse with beach seining where 15 sockeye are returned for every one chinook kept, he said. You cant run a fishery like that. Were seeing poor participation of seiners because of poor economic returns. This summer just four boats signed up for seine fishing. Coho tangle nets so far are the most promising, he said, of all the alternative gear used. Also, select area fishing cannot make up the difference for the loss of fishing the mainstem, Wells said. Part of the difficulty of providing enough adult fish for commercial off-channel fishing is pending legislation by the Wild Fish Conservancy that challenges NOAA Fisheries funding for 10 Mitchell Act hatcheries. Seven of those hatcheries provide juvenile salmon for lower Columbia River select area fisheries. NOAA and the Conservancy stipulated in September that the agency will not disburse Mitchell Act funds to the hatcheries until the federal agency has completed its hatchery biological opinion and incidental take statements for the disbursements. The outcome of the suit is unknown, said Chris Kern of ODFW. It could mean that more hatchery adult salmon will need to be harvested before they reach spawning grounds or it could mean that fewer juvenile salmon would be released. This gives us another uncertainty, Kern said. There almost certainly will be some reductions. In addition, the states of Oregon and Washington have identified just two new off-channel sites out of 29 potential sites it reviewed. The guiding principles for harvest reform fisheries adopted by the Commission in 2012 included: -- Maintain or enhance the overall economic viability of commercial and recreational fisheries; -- Optimize overall economic benefits to the State; -- Promote conservation of native fish; and -- Promote orderly and concurrent fisheries with the State of Washington. While doing this during the transition period through 2016, reform would shift allocations to recreational harvest, enhance off-channel hatchery releases to ensure better commercial harvests and limit gillnetting to those off-channel areas, develop alternative gears and techniques for commercial mainstem fisheries, and strengthen conservation of native fish, the Commission said. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife also reviewed the three-year results at its meeting in Olympia Nov. 5 but did not take action and did not consider new statutes. The issue has not yet been added to its December 9 10 agenda. Some things are working: ODFW said that for spring chinook a smolt released off-channel is 30 times more likely to be harvested commercially than a smolt released elsewhere and that 10 times more fish are caught commercially for each endangered species act impact than gillnetting in the mainstem (two times if using mainstem tangle nets). However, seine post release mortality for unclipped fish is high: 33 percent of the chinook, 38 percent coho and 5 percent steelhead mortality for beach seines and 21 percent chinook, 29 percent coho and 2 percent steelhead for purse seines. ODFW offered three alternatives to the Commission for consideration: --Full reform: allow the full Kitzhaber plan to begin January 1, 2017 as planned. --Alternative 1, an adaptive management plan: freeze the transition and allow gillnetting on the mainstem river. Seventy percent of the harvest goes to anglers and 30 percent to gillnetters. Gillnetting would be allowed in late spring if impacts are available, also in the summer and in the fall in zones 4 and 5. Allow mainstem seine fishery, 6-inch gillnets and coho tangle nets, all as in transition years. Juvenile salmon releases in select areas totaling 144 million, including select area bright chinook. --Alternative 2, also an adaptive management plan (recommended by ODFW staff and known as the rebalance): freeze the transition and allow gillnetting on the mainstem river. Eighty percent of the harvest would go to anglers in the spring with a small mainstem commercial harvest with tangle nets. Eighty percent would go to anglers in the summer with mainstem commercial harvest with selective gear to be developed by the fleet with ODFW assistance. In the fall, 70 percent angler harvest with mainstem commercial harvest in Zones 4 and 5 and coho tangle nets in Zones 1 to 3. Implement a fall conservation fishery. In addition to releasing 1.44 million select area bright hatchery juveniles, add 500,000 spring chinook from Gnat Creek and 250,000 each from Westport Slough and Coal Creek. Allow barbed hooks on the Willamette River and remove the Youngs Bay angler closure. The impacts on angler trips and ex-vessel value for each of these options are: --No policy, as if the Kitzaber Plan were not in place: 406,100 angler trips, $6.18 million ex-vessel value with a total economic impact of $27.8 million. --Full policy: 437,100 angler trips and $3.7 - $4.7 million ex-vessel value with a total economic impact of $24.5 - $26.3 million. --Freeze the transition: 422,600 angler trips and $5.84 million ex-vessel value with a total economic impact of $27.9 million. --Rebalance: 427,100 angler trips and $5.8 million ex-vessel value with a total economic impact of $28.1 million. At the Nov. 9 meeting, the Commission directed ODFW staff to refine some of its economic models and bring it back to the December Commission meeting. The Commission also decided to begin rulemaking in December, but only in respect to the reform transition deadline that targets early 2017 for the final rulemaking on the overall fisheries reform. Skamokawa News THIS IS IT--It's that time of year when the kitchen is really bustling, as things are being made ready for the big Thanksgiving feast! I hope you are joined by friends and family and just having a great time enjoying one another's company as Thanksgiving Day is here! I hope you've had your warm clothes handy, as the temperatures have dropped out here in West Valley, and I can't say I've enjoyed them much, as the 30-some degree temps seem to chill me to the bone! Here's hoping for a little bit of a warm-up as the holiday arrives. SPECIAL DAYS--Those celebrating birthdays from Nov. 23-30 are Dana Montgomery, Danny Silverman, Matt Helm II, Sharon Deaton, Sarah Clark, Don Ross, Linda Ostervold, Mike Paulsen, Terri Slape, Jace Gibson, Trace Tarabochia, Shane Souvenir, Dominic Diaz, Drake Cook, Robert Kyle, Nancy Good Garcia, Kevin Palmer and Hank Ferguson. Belated birthday wishes to Phil Corbin who turned 80 earlier this month, to Layton Elliott who celebrated his big day on the 17th, to R.J. Miller, grandson of Gene and Karen Healy and to Jody Kephart who not only celebrated her birthday last week but a one year anniversary with her significant other. Hope your special days were wonderful! Those celebrating anniversaries this week are Jim and Bernie Mendoza, Rick and Jenny Benfit, Tom and Rosalie Webb and Sherry and Mark McCormack. Happy days to one and all! MOVIE--There will be a free movie the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, so head to the Cathlamet Community Center and check that out if you're interested in some foreign city and communication things that came from a faraway land. This movie does not appear to be for youngsters. You can check with the center about its true title, and as always, the movies start at 7 p.m. DAYS AFTER THE FEAST--Once you have your celebration on Thursday, you might want to head to Kyle Gribskov's Glassblowing shop, at 123 Middle Valley Road here in Skamokawa and check out all his sale items. He'll be open from 10 to 5, both Friday and Saturday, Nov. 25-26. As always, Redmen Hall will be all decked out for the holidays and they will be showcasing many of our local talented people's work, from jewelry, to paintings, soaps, hand made scarves, food items, a new line of children's books and more, so head to Redmen Hall this Friday as the beginning of the Christmas season begins at noon on Friday, the 25th. The holiday sale will continue through Dec. 11 at their usual Thursday through Sunday times, which are noon to four. For more info call 795-3007. It's also time to head to all the other local shops in our area. You can do that Friday night during the Christmas lighting of the tree in Cathlamet, as stores will extend their evening hours and there will also be some specialty items in the lobby of the Hotel Cathlamet, so let's all get out there and shop local. STAR PROGRAM--We hope you'll be able to provide a gift for a child who may otherwise not have a very enjoyable Christmas, by taking a star off of one of the area's "Star Trees." Locally, the trees with the stars on them are located at The Duck Inn or the Skamokawa Store.If you don't have time to actually go and shop for a child, you can always donate some money so that those in charge of this program can go and do the shopping for you so that these children have a wonderful Christmas too! Want to send in a donation? Mail it to Star Program, P.O. Box 276, Cathlamet, WA 98612. NORSE HALL--Just another quick reminder that all children under 10 years of age, are welcome to come to the Norse Hall on Sunday, Dec. 4 from 2 to 4 p.m., where they can color, enjoy a little tasty treat, enjoy some cookie decorating, and they can even receive a little treat from Santa! The grownups can bring their cameras so they can take that cute snapshot of their children, and they can also pick up some yummy Scandanavian goodies for their holiday guests. All Sons of Norway members are reminded that their annual Christmas dinner will be held that first Wednesday of December, which is Dec. 7 this year, at the Norse Hall on Puget Island. GET WELL--We've been hearing quite a few people mention various health issues lately, and for those of you who are on that get well list, we hope you feel better every day. For those of you who are dealing with life threatening issues, we want you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayers, as you go through treatments, make numerous hospital visits and you keep fighting to make it through one more day. Your strength in this fight has not gone unnoticed. Hugs to all of you! SYMPATHIES--We want to extend our sypathies to the family of Myrtle Gorley, as she passed away recently at the age of 95. When I moved back to Cathlamet, she was one of the first people I ran into as her husband at that time, was Heston Gross, and they had the grocery store right across from where I lived. Later on, she would be living in that very same place that I had lived in, when the Hotel Cathlamet turned into an Assisted Living establishment. Also, we extend our sympathies to the family of Steven McNicholas, who lived in the area for several years, and was once a business partner with one of my cousins; small world. Also, Cindy Seaberg Faubian posted an obituary of her great aunt, Anna Loucille Bolinger Edwards of Huntsville, Arkansas, who passed away recently. Cindy was able to attend her services, which were held back in Arkansas, this past Saturday, Nov. 19. Our sympathies to all of her family members. CHRISTMAS CARDS--I know that in this era of emails, texts, Facebook and Facetime and such, that writing a letter or sending a card seems to just be a very old-fashioned idea. However, there just doesn't seem to be anything that quite matches the feeling of getting a real card or letter in the mail during the holidays, so I hope you'll take a few minutes to make out a few during this special time, so that the special people in your life, know just how you feel about them. If you've got a little extra time, or your Sunday school class or school kids would like to do something nice for someone, why not make out some cards for our Veterans and send them. It sure would be a nice thing to do for those that may not get many cards at all. If you do send them to hospitals or nursing homes or care centers, please do not send cards with a lot of glitter and things on them as they not only can make a big mess to clean up, but they can cause health problems as well. At any rate, here's to all of you who are still supporting our postal system and making someone smile! OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1961, the week began gray and gloomy and ended with some really horrible weather, as it got cold, then poured and blew and was just not a great weather week. Birthdays this week included J.F. Kennedy Jr., Carolyn Kennedy, Bethenia Foster, Dean Shane and new baby girls born to Bob and Barbara Shane and Tammy Rose Bain, while a boy arrirved for the Eli Doumits. For Ralph and Elsie Everest, Thanksgiving Day dinner was spent over at daughter Carol's house, with son-in-law, Krist Pedersen coming to pick up the pair in the afternoon. The table and feast were enjoyed by all, which included Carolyn Madsen, Frank Pedersen's would be bride, and Peggy Peterson, Krist's sister and also Marian Healy (Carol's sister) who joined them for dessert later on in the evening. With the new "Hi-Fi Stereo Console" playing nice soft music, my Grandma Elsie said it was a most pleasant day! The following day, the Delbert Anderson family was injured when they were in a bad accident with a Mrs. Olmstead of Salem. Surgery was performed for Dorothy Anderson that evening, as she was the most seriously injured. Grandma talked to MyLou Johnson for quite some time that week, as her husband's (Dick Johnson) Mother, Clara Johnson had recently had a heart attack. Grandma got a card off to her right away. The Home Ec Club met at Mildred Kerstetter's and everyone had a great time, and with the peppy bunch, the meeting ran extra long and Grandma Elsie came home late! Grandpa Everest wasn't feeling well and so Grandma stayed home from the Rebekahs' Lodge meeting, but Alice Ott was nice enough to call Grandma and let her know what was going on although the biggest news was that Vera Hosley was there to pay the group a visit. By the end of the week, Grandma Elsie wasn't feeling so well either, and so ended the month of November. All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's 1961 diary. HAPPY THANKSGIVING--Here's wishing everyone a Thanksgiving bounty consisting of an entree of delicous food, followed by the main dish of love and family and topped off with an extra dose of kindness and goodwill towards our fellow man, while being thankful for everything and everyone in our lives. Enjoy! By India Today Web Desk: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has concluded their investigation into child abuse allegations made against Brad Pitt and one of his children, according to latest reports. Pitt has six children with actor Angelina Jolie. Jolie filed for divorce with Pitt earlier in September. The child abuse allegations emnated from an incident that occured on a private plane. As such, the case came under FBI jurisdiction. This incident reportedly occured a day before Angelina filed for divorce. advertisement Well, now an FBI spokesperson has said that FBI will not be pursuing the investigation anymore. According to a report on CNN.com, FBI spokeswoman Lauri Eimiller was quoted as saying, "In response to allegations made following a flight within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States which landed in Los Angeles carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation. No charges have been filed in this matter." Brad Pitt's representative offered no comment. Meanwhile Angelina Jolie is actively seeking sole physical custody of all her children with Pitt. Brad has, however, requested for joint custody. At the moment, the children are staying with their mother Angelina Jolie. ALSO READ: Brad is sleeping with an actress almost as big as Angelina Jolie ALSO READ: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie fighting hard to save marriage ALSO SEE: How the internet reacted to Brangelina divorce (with memes on Jennifer Aniston!) According to recent reports, Brad Pitt seems to have moved on after seperating from Angelina Jolie. If rumours are to be believed, the Hollywood superstar is 'sleeping with an actress who is almost as big as Angelina Jolie'. This was revealed by Kriz Herzog, a bodyguard who works for both Brad-Angelina's family and Jolie's faughter Jon Voight. Herzog claimed that Pitt is secretly seeing someone. "He's started seeing another famous actress. She is a personal friend of mine and has told me they are sleeping together. I can't disclose who it is, but she is almost as big as Angelina," Kriz told Grazia magazine. Herzog also revealed that Pitt's 'therapeutic visits' with his children have not gone well. "Brad is so angry. From what I've heard from Brad and Jon, even the kids are turning against him. He's alleging they won't even speak to him and they won't call him daddy or father. They've had two meetings with Los Angeles family services, and in both, none of the kids would talk to him," Herzog was quoted as saying. --- ENDS --- advertisement The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is accepting letters of interest through Dec. 15 for membership on its Master Hunter Advisory Group. The group, which represents master hunters statewide, advises WDFW on issues and opportunities affecting master hunters and the Master Hunter Permit Program. Six volunteer positions will be opening on the 15-member group in April. Five appointed members will serve three-year terms. One Region 2 position will serve out a vacated member's term. All appointees must retain their certification status throughout their entire term. The new appointees will start on April 1, 2017. The group's bylaws state that at least two advisory group members must reside within each of the six WDFW administrative regions. Letters of interest will be accepted from applicants residing in: Region 1 (Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, and Whitman counties) one vacancy. Region 2 (Adams, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, and Okanogan counties) two vacancies (one 3-year, and one 1-year). Region 3 (Kittitas, Yakima, Benton, and Franklin counties) one vacancy. Region 5 (Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, Lewis, Skamania, and Wahkiakum counties) one vacancy. Any county in the state one vacancy. Applicants for membership on the advisory group are asked to explain 1) why they want to be a member of the Master Hunter Advisory Group, 2) what qualifies them to be a member, and 3) how they can help the group achieve its goals. Letters of interest must include contact information (phone number, email address, mailing address, county of residence) and permission for WDFW to conduct a criminal background check. The background check comes at no cost to applicants. Letters should be sent to Tracy Loveless at Tracy.Loveless@dfw.wa.gov or to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Program, Master Hunter Section, Attn: Tracy Loveless, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091. The application process is open to all certified master hunters with no ongoing legal proceedings or convictions in the last 10 years under the state's fish and wildlife enforcement code. After letters of interest are reviewed, perspective candidates may be contacted and interviewed by current members of the Master Hunter Advisory Group. Interested master hunters are advised to review the Master Hunter Permit Program webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/masterhunter/. The Master Hunter Advisory Group meets at least four times per year, usually in Ellensburg. Members serve as volunteers and do not receive direct compensation, but mileage reimbursement is provided by WDFW to attend meetings. Members can expect to donate 75 to 100 hours of their time annually. WAHOO A jury found an Ashland man guilty of assaulting a police officer and two other counts after a two-day trial last week in Saunders County District Court. Bryan Love of Ashland was convicted Nov. 17 of assaulting a police officer (a Class III felony), obstructing an officer and resisting arrest after an August 2015 incident. He faces up to five years in prison for the charges, according to Saunders County Deputy Attorney Demi Herman. The jury also acquitted Love of one count of possession of a deadly weapon during a felony. Love was arrested Aug. 20, 2015 after an incident in the parking lot at Ashland City Hall, where the police station is also located. Love had driven to the police station seeking aid. When Ashland Police K9 Officer Sterling Hitch responded, he determined Love was showing signs of impairment from alcohol. The officer informed Love that he would be arrested for driving under the influence. Love began to struggle with the officer in the parking lot. During the five-minute confrontation, Hitch deployed his Taser as Love tried to drive off. Hitch placed Love in handcuffs, but Love pulled his hands free during the continuing struggle. Hitch used Mace, but Love broke free and pulled out a utility knife. He eventually put the knife in his pocket, but refused to give it to the officer. During the confrontation, bystanders called 911, alerting troopers from the Nebraska State Patrol and deputies from the Saunders County Sheriffs Department. Trooper Andrew Phillips arrived on scene and helped detain Love, using a baton to help subdue the suspect. City Administrator Jessica Quady, who was in city hall for a city council meeting, came out of the building at one point during the altercation and helped recover a knife that had fallen out of the police officers boot. Hitch, Quady, Phillips and the bystander were called to testify during the two-day trial, Herman said. Herman pointed out the seriousness of civilians getting involved in a dangerous situation like this. Its always wonderful to see our community supporting law enforcement, she said. Herman said the county attorneys office is very pleased with the verdict, given the seriousness of the charges. The prosecution concentrated most of its effort on the most serious charge assaulting a police officer. Although the police officer suffered only minor injuries during the altercation, including scrapes and bruises, the situation could have been much worse. Anytime you have our officers facing life threatening situations its important that we have that opportunity to hold that individual responsible, she said. Along with the possible jail time Love is facing, Herman said the county attorneys office is hoping he will be required to undergo some mental health evaluation so he doesnt place himself and other officers in harms way again. Love has bonded out of jail as he awaits sentencing, which will take place some time in January, Herman said. MEAD Tests measuring the spread of RDX and TCE in bedrock under the former Nebraska Ordnance Plant near Mead have been completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The tests results show the treatment of groundwater contamination has been effective. That was the given by Edwin Long, the Corps senior project manager, at a Nov. 16 meeting. The meeting was the second one held this year to update the public on ongoing efforts to clean up the RDX (an explosive) and TCE (a cleaning solvent) that had leached into the ground during ammunition production at the former NOP southeast of Mead. In May, the Corps announced that monitoring wells at the south end of the contamination plumes showed high concentrations of the chemicals at a deeper level than previously penetrated. In response, Phase II was initiated and 11 compliance locations and two perimeter locations were tested at the lower Omadi Formation bedrock depths. Preliminary data showed that 11 of the wells showed no detections of contaminants and two wells showed concentrations below action levels, Long said. The two monitoring wells showing a measure of contaminants are south of contaminant plume three. Since the data has not been confirmed, Long said the Corps would not release the levels of RDX and TCE measured from those wells. However, he did add that the measurements do say that the treatment and remedy is effective. There are no new exposures based on what we found in the Omadi. The Corps can say with confidence that no one is drinking contaminated water from this source, Long said. Once the data is confirmed, the Corps will take the next steps in a collaborative effort with Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and the Natural Resources District. Were going to keep an open mind about the next steps, Long said. Part of the next steps will include an updated well inventory throughout the 87-square-mile area, picking up any wells that might have been dug since the last inventory in 1992, Long said. In addition to the Omadi formation assessment, the Corps will also be conducting two new investigations in the area. The investigations under the Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) will take place at the former demolition grounds on the southwest corner of the site and a landfill area on the northeast corner of the site. These investigations will focus on identifying munitions and explosives of concern, including unexploded ordnance and potential contaminants in the soil, surface water and sediment. Project manager Dane Morris said the investigations are currently in the project planning stages, which include a project planning meeting in January and fieldwork starting in the spring. On the demolition grounds site, geophysical intrusive investigations will be conducted to identify high density munitions areas, munitions types and analyzing soil and water samples based on the munitions found. At the landfill area, the investigation will include similar geophysical analysis as well as excavation. Over half of the 17,000 acres that fall within the former NOPs parameters are owned by the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. The Nebraska National Guard and Army Reserves also own part of the property, specifically the former Atlas Missile Area, where furthest eastern plume of contamination originated. A project planning meeting in January will include these stakeholders, as well as private land owners in the area, Morris said. The two areas of investigation have always been on the Corps radar, but were recently moved up on the overall list of needs, due to a regular assessment and scoring system of all projects, Morris said. While the Corps continues to address the overall needs of the area, Long said the goal for the year was met, as containment was achieved for 2015. On Wednesday, November 23, 2016, from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m., a high visibility safety checkpoint will be set up on Highway 2 just west of 134th Street. Vehicles will be selected in a systematic fashion and checked to make sure the safety equipment is working properly, all the proper documentation is in the vehicle and that all occupants are properly restrained. Following the checkpoint, from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m., deputies from the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office will continue the mobilization efforts through saturation patrol. Additional deputies, in marked patrol cars, will monitor traffic on an individual basis watching for traffic law violations. The 'Click It or Ticket' mobilization is a statewide campaign to promote awareness and increase the use of seatbelts and child restraint systems. The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office will be participating in the mobilization through high visibility enforcement and saturation patrol. Overtime for the additional deputies working during the mobilization will be paid through a mini-grant funded by the Nebraska Department of Roads Highway Safety Office. Public notice is hereby given by the Planning Commission of the City of Waverly, Nebraska, that a public hearing will be held at 7:00 oclock p.m. on December 12, 2016, at the Waverly Community Meeting Hall, 14130 Lancashire Street, in Waverly, Nebraska. Public notice is hereby also given by the City Council of the City of Waverly, Nebraska, that a public hearing will be held at 7:00 oclock p.m. on December 13, 2016, at the Waverly Community Meeting Hall, 14130 Lancashire Street, in Waverly, Nebraska. The purpose of the both hearings is to obtain public comment prior to consideration of an Amendment to the Redevelopment Plan for an area of the City which has been declared as blighted and substandard and in need of redevelopment pursuant to the Nebraska Community Development Law. The property which is the subject of this notice and of the public hearing is commonly known as 12851 Dovers Street in Waverly, Nebraska and certain parcels adjacent thereto, all of which are legally described as follows: Arch rivals BJP and TMC won two Lok Sabha seats each--BJP won the Parliamentary seats of Shahdol and Lakhimpur in MP and Assam, TMC won the Tamluk and Coochbehar Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal . (Left) AIADMK cadres celebrate in front of Apollo Hospital in Chennai where Jayalalithaa is admitted. (Above) CPI(M) candidate Jhumu Sarkar celebrate in Barjala (Tripura). By Mail Today Bureau: Having retained their Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal respectively, the BJP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) claimed the results reflected their stand on demonetisation. The arch rivals won two Lok Sabha seats each. While the BJP won the Parliamentary seats of Shahdol and Lakhimpur in MP and Assam, TMC won the Tamluk and Coochbehar Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal by huge margins. advertisement The ruling parties held sway in the by-elections in six states and Puducherry, retaining most of the 10 Assembly seats up for grabs. In the Assembly bypolls held on November 19, results of which were declared on Tuesday, BJP and AIADMK won three seats each, CPI(M) got two, while the Congress and TMC bagged one each. VOTE TALLY The BJP won the Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat in Assam, vacated by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, by a margin of 1,90,219 votes. The TMC swept Tamluk and Coochbehar Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal by a whopping margin of more than 4.9 lakh votes, almost doubling the gap from the 2014 polls. The TMC also won the Monteswar assembly seat, with candidates of the CPI(M), Congress and BJP losing their deposits. In MP, the BJP's victory margin in Shahdol Lok Sabha seat came down to 60,000 from 2.41 lakh in the 2014 general elections. However, it managed to increase the margin in the Nepanagar Assembly seat from 22,178 to 42,198. In Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK, whose supremo Jayalalithaa is hospitalised for two months, retained Thanjavur and Thirupparankundram Assembly seats and wrested Aravakkurichi seat from the DMK by margins ranging from 20,000 to 42,000. The ruling CPI(M) in Tripura wrested Barjala (SC) seat from Congress and retained Khowai. Senior Congress leader and Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy won the bypoll to the Nellithope Assembly seat defeating AIADMK's Om Sakthi Segar by a margin of 11,144 votes. ALSO READ: If bypolls were a referendum on demonetisation, has PM Modi won it? VICTORY SPEECHES North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) candidate Dasanglu Pul won Hayuliang seat in Arunachal Pradesh, defeating her lone rival Yompi Kri, an independent, by 942 votes. Pul is the youngest of the three wives of former chief minister Kalikho Pul. The bypoll was necessitated by his suicide. Sonowal said the BJP's win showed that people have endorsed the government's decision against black money and corruption. "The BJP's victory in bypolls is a clear indication that people are fully supporting the decision to demonetiseRs1,000 andRs500 notes," he said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, termed the result a mandate against the Centre's decision. "The by-election result is a befitting reply against the anti-people demonetisation by the Centre. It's a people's revolt," she said. advertisement TMC candidate Dibyendu Adhikari won Tamluk seat by defeating his nearest CPI(M) rival Mandira Panda by 4.97 lakh votes. The party won the Coochbehar LS seat with its candidate Parthapratim Roy drubbing his nearest rival, BJP's Hemchandra Burman by 4.9 lakh votes, pushing Forward Bloc to the third position. ALSO READ: AAP claims to have been contacted by 11 Congress councillors who want to join party --- ENDS --- By Indrajit Kundu: Tuesday's bypoll results were touted as almost a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's landmark decision to demonetise high value currency notes. While the jury may be out on whether the BJP has been able to win people's mandate on the issue, there is no doubt that the results will be a boost for the party ahead of the big test in Uttar Pradesh. advertisement ALSO READ | BJP, Trinamool Congress win key bypolls, support galore for party's demonetisation stand It also holds a special significance for the party in the east and north-eastern states as it is keen to increase its footprint in the region. A total of eight seats were up for grabs in the region - three for Lok Sabha and five for the various state assemblies. Of these, it has grabbed one parliamentary seat by winning Lakhimpur in Assam and two assembly seats of Baithalangso (Assam) and Hayuliang (Arunachal Pradesh). ASSAM The Lakhimpur seat had fallen vacant after chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal resigned from Lok Sabha after he was elected to the state assembly earlier this year. While in Baithalangso, the sitting Congress MLA Mansingh Rongpi quit his party and has now been re-elected on a BJP ticket. Lakhimpur was a prestige battle and the ruling BJP has more or less been able to hold on to its victory margin with a 55 per cent vote share. ALSO READ | If bypolls were a referendum on demonetisation, has PM Modi won it? But the big gain in Assam is definitely Baithalangso where dissident Congress legislator Mansingh Rongpi has increased his vote share from 42.84 per cent to 53.77 per cent on a BJP ticket in just a span of six months since the state Assembly elections in May. ARUNACHAL PRADESH In Arunachal Pradesh too, it's yet another gain for the saffron party which had dramatically toppled the Congress government in the state. The bye-election in Hayuliang was necessitated after former chief minister Kalikho Pul's sudden demise. Pul, who was elected from the seat had led the dissident faction of the Congress out of the party to join forces with the Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA), an ally of the BJP to topple the erstwhile Nabam Tuki led Congress government in the state. Arunachal now has an NDA government after another round of defection by majority of Congress legislators to the PPA led by new chief minister Pema Khandu. An ally of the BJP, Peoples Party of Arunachal is an important constituent of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a regional formation under the NDA formed by BJP president Amit Shah in July this year. advertisement BJP was determined to use the popular sentiment attached with Kalikho Pul who was known as the peoples chief minister and had thus fielded his wife Dasanglu Pul who has won comfortably. TRIPURA But apart from these three victories, the other big takeaway for the BJP comes from Left citadel Tripura and erstwhile bastion West Bengal. In Tripura, the party has come second in one of the two seats that were up for grabs. Something that was unthinkable till recently, indicating some amount of surge in its favour. Infact, BJP seems to be eating into the Congress's vote share in the state with the later fiding it tough to keep its flock together faced with multiple defections in recent times. In the Barjala assembly constituency, BJP has given a stunning performance. In a predominantly urban seat located in capital Agartala, the saffron party has polled a whopping 12,395 votes against the winning CPI(M) candidate's 15,769 votes. In the two seats that went to polls, BJP's overall vote share is 20.4 per cent while the Congress has shrunk to a meager 2.4 per cent. WEST BENGAL In Bengal, while the Trinamool Congress has won all the three seats with a massive lead, BJP seems to be gaining ground, coming second in one seat while third in rest of the two constituencies that went for polls. Interestingly, the party seems to be eating into the rest of the opposition vote share of the Left and Congress. advertisement In the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat, BJP has come second with a handsome vote share of 28.32 per cent as opposed to 6.49 per cent of the Forward Bloc and 2.49 per cent of the Congress. In the other Lok Sabha seat in Tamluk, BJP has been a close third with 15.06 per cent against the CPI(M)'s 21.62 per cent. The Congress has polled a paltry 1.52 per cent of the votes in this seat. In the Monteswar assembly seat, the saffron party has garnered 8.5 per cent to come third, just behind 10.6 per cent of the CPI(M). Here too, the Congress has been relegated to the fourth position with just 1.5 per cent vote share. --- ENDS --- On April 18, 1942, 80 men achieved the unimaginable when they took off from an aircraft carrier on a top secret mission to bomb Japan. These men, led by Lt. Col. James H. Jimmy Doolittle, came to be known as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.The raid was an extremely important event in the development of American air power. It marked the first combat use of strategic bombardment by the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II. While the attack itself caused little actual damage to Japanese war industry, the psychological impact on the Japanese military and the American public proved to be immense. It forced the Japanese military to pull forces back from the front lines to protect the home islands and showed Americans that the war could be won. Today, just one of the men survive: Lt. Col. Richard Dick E. Cole, who served as Doolittles co-pilot on Crew No. 1. Cole, now 101 years old, plans to return to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in April to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the raid and to pay tribute to fellow Raider SSgt. David Thatcher, who passed away earlier this year.Mathematically, it shouldnt have worked out this way, Cole told The Missoulian last June. I was quite a bit older, six years older, than David. Figuring the way gamblers figure, he would have been the last man. Anniversary events on April 17-18 are still being finalized but plans include the return of several B-25 Mitchell bombers landing on the runway behind the museum and being placed on static display; a memorial service and B-25 flyover (weather permitting).The Air Force Museum Theatre is planning a living history event with films on the Doolittle Raid and the Air Force Museum Store will have commemorative merchandise available to purchase. Each year since the end of World War II, with the exception of 1951, the Doolittle Raiders held an annual reunion. The museum had the privilege of hosting the Raiders in April 1965 (23rd), 1999 (57th), 2006 (64th), 2010 (68th) and 2012 (70th), before having their final toast to their fallen comrades on Nov. 9, 2013. About The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the worlds largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil. The theatre and store are operated by the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc., a Section 501(c)(3) private, non-profit organization that assists the Air Force in the development and expansion of the facilities of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. For more information on the Air Force Museum Foundation, visit www.airforcemuseum.com. The Air Force Museum Foundation is not part of the Department of Defense or any of its components and it has no governmental status. Sure, we've been running from pillar to post to even buy basics, but there's a beautiful silver lining out there. By Somya Abrol: Ever since November 8, 2016, our point of view towards things we used to take for granted has undergone a paradigm shift. Not only has the way we look at a Rs-100 note changed, we've also learned to look at everyday things like cigarettes and even coffee as 'luxury'--despite working hard enough for them. But we're not here to complain today. We're here to look at the up side of all this chaos, without siding with one or the other political party. advertisement This is how the historic demonetisation drive is helping us gain our health back, willingly or not: 1. We walk more It's not easy to find auto waalas who're either ready to take payment through Paytm or have change for the fake-looking, yet-so-real Rs 2,000 note. If you have Rs 100 notes, you're sorted, but what will you buy the vegetables and eggs and breads with? So, walk walk walk from Metro station to home, Metro station to office. Also read: Walking better than hitting gym to keep healthy: Study 2. We smoke less A TOI report published from Dehradun says cigarette sales in the city had fallen by as much as 40 per cent, with one of the vendors saying that in the first four days of the demonetisation drive, he did not sell even a single cigarette! With such perpetual shortage of change, we guess that's bound to happen. So, in essence, what horrid, ugly advertisements couldn't do, shortage of money has done--make people smoke less! 3. We drink even lesser As of November 12, 2016, the sale of liquor in Kerala had taken quite a hit. Kerala State Beverages Corporation, that has an average daily sale of close to Rs 29 crore, since Nov 8 had dipped to below Rs 20 crore. In Jaipur, IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) has faced the repercussions of the move by a considerable degree. An official from the Jaipur excise department told India Times, "The IMFL is down by 1.7 per cent and beer sales have dropped by 6.7 per cent. Sales have nosedived in rural areas too but specifically, sales of branded liquors in Rs 75-80 segment are almost finished. We would get to know the exact figure at the end of the month as rural shops work on a fixed monthly guarantee. But certainly, the sales have gone down even there." 4. Outside food has become a rarity Laziness is not an option when it comes to rustling up dinner now. Gone are the days when pizza used to be at your doorstep as soon as you reached home from work. In fact, the likes of Pizza Hut have even started sending out messages to customers that say "We miss you at Pizza Hut" to hook the few fish they can. Even if we have those cravings, French fries made at home are way better than French fries from McDonald's. advertisement Also read: Stop ordering French fries, and try this super-easy recipe at home 5. And all of this results in us spending more time with family Now that physical health has been taken care of, this one is contributing to our mental health and well-being. Since we're not eating out as often or partying with friends twice a week, we're spending more and more time with people who matter the most--family members. And there's no better "get together" than the one at the dinner table after a long day at work. --- ENDS --- Australia's richest woman Gina Rinehart has welcomed Donald Trump's election victory as "exciting" for America's economy and called for similar policies to those of the new president-elect to be implemented in Australia, including lower business taxes. Mrs Rinehart criticised the American media for its "constant and unrelenting negative coverage of the president-elect, including at times his loyal supporters, such as his wife, in attempts to upset the focus of the president-elect," in a speech to the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) in Melbourne. Mrs Rinehart's spokeswoman, former Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella, delivered the speech to the free-market think tank on her behalf. In extracts reported by The Australian, Mrs Rinehart said the president-elect's promise to slash federal government red tape by 50 per cent and reduce company tax to 15 per cent would "kickstart the American economy." By PTI: From K J M Varma Beijing, Nov 23 (PTI) Riled by the Dalai Lamas visit to Mongolia, China has cancelled several planned meetings and delegation visits from that country and said that Ulaanbaatar has committed "wrongdoing" by hosting the Tibetan spiritual leader and must take "concrete actions" to normalise ties. Dalai Lamas visit to Mongolia, which is Chinas northern neighbour has riled Beijing as it reportedly put off several meetings and delegation visits, including a visit of Mongolias Deputy Prime Minister. advertisement Asked about the postponement of the meeting and visits, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said "the wrong doing by Mongolia on this issue diminished political foundation between the two countries and brought negative impact to bilateral relations". "We ask the Mongolian side to respect our major concern and take concrete actions to remove the negative impact and bring China-Mongolia relations on to the track of sound development," Geng said. China regards Dalai Lama, 81, as a separatist and routinely objects his visit to any country. "Dalai is a political exile under the cloak of religion who has been engaged in anti China activities overseas," Geng said when asked about the Dalai Lama remarks that he plans to meet make a visit to US to meet President-elect Donald Trump. "He claims himself as a religious leader. But instead of being in a temple he travels around the world to meet with other foreign leaders trying to undermine relations between China and those countries. We hope relevant countries can see through anti-China nature of the Dalai and properly handle Tibet related issues," he said. Dalai Lama was quoted as saying that he had always considered the US as a "leading nation of the free world". "I think there are some problems to go to United States, so I will go to see the new president," he told media in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama four times during his tenure some of them through the backdoor which drew ire from China. However, the invitation to the Dalai Lamaby Mongolia whose resource-centred economy is heavily dependent on China came a surprise as it is reported in negotiations for a USD 4.2 billion loan from Beijing to help pull it out of a deep recession. Mongolian Buddhism is closely tied to Tibets version of Mahayana Buddhism. The Tibetan monk made the first of his eight visits to Mongolia in 1979. PTI KJVUZM AKJ UZM --- ENDS --- advertisement Oh no, the nanny state brigade is at it again. In their certainty they know what's best for us, they're back with their social engineering, wanting to punish us for being fat and use a tax on sugary drinks to push us towards "healthier choices". On Wednesday the Grattan Institute will release a report urging the federal government to impose an excise of 40 per 100 grams of sugar on non-alcoholic beverages that contain added sugar. What part of personal freedom don't they understand? If people want to drink sugary drinks, why should anyone else try to stop them? What harm are they doing to others? Surely this is a matter of personal choice and responsibility. If being fat is bad for the health, it's up to the individual to accept responsibility for their own fate and decide to eat less and exercise more. Cory Bernardi says his three months in the United States witnessing the shock election of Donald Trump has inspired him to be a "catalyst for change" in Australia. The comments will be interpreted as another sign the Liberal senator is preparing to breakaway from the Coalition government and form his own conservative party, something he has consistently denied. Writing in his regular newsletter to supporters, Senator Bernardi said his time spent on secondment to the United Nations in New York had been "enlightening." "[It has] extended my understanding of what is possible and reinforced my knowledge of what needs to be done," Senator Bernardi wrote on Wednesday. The Turnbull government's proposed lifetime ban on resettled asylum seekers receiving visas to visit Australia is "severe and exceptional" and could disproportionately target people on the basis of race, a parliamentary committee has found. Scrutiny of the lifetime visa ban by the Liberal-majority Human Rights Committee found there was no reason why refugees and asylum seekers held in immigration detention on Nauru and Manus Island should be banned from visiting Australia for business or tourism in the future. Chaired by Liberal MP Ian Goodenough, the committee found the ban could be unnecessary because there is no suggestion that any detainee being held presents a danger to Australia or that any future visit could have any adverse affect on national security. "As such, the ban would appear to apply a penalty on those who seek asylum and are part of the regional processing cohort," the report said. A tense encounter is expected on Wednesday between One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and her colleague Rodney Culleton after one of the pair failed to attend a planned crisis meeting on Tuesday night. But in a further sign of the deteriorating relationship between the two One Nation senators, they cannot even agree on who failed to show up to last night's rendezvous. Senator Hanson demanded Senator Culleton "explain his position" regarding a letter he wrote to a Cairns magistrate that has been described as a potential breach of the law and possible perversion of the course of justice. He asked the magistrate to adjourn a Queensland court case, foreshadowed a Senate motion to recall judges for "proven misbehaviour" and added: "We are watching with interest the conduct of all judicial officers Australia wide." Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath has referred the letter to police. For the first 13 years she says her father, a World War 2 veteran, abused her mother. "We would go to the refuges in our community, until, after so many years and so many incidents, my father knew the locations and we were not safe there anymore. We then shifted to staying in hotels, which were located above pubs where the people below were loud and sometimes their noise would spill into the streets, waking me and reminding me that I wasn't in my own bed, in my own home." "I was in a foreign place, because I was not safe." "One night, when Mum was hurrying to get my sister and I out, Dad had removed and smashed the distributor cap from the car rendering it useless and us trapped. The police fetched us this time. I still remember sitting in the police station well into the early hours of the morning and the officers in Penrith police giving us pink milk while we waited. The police did their best." "Again, after this event my Mum returned home." The 90s nostalgia has definitely been out in force the past few months, with bold berry lips, chockers necklaces and slip dresses given a revival when it comes to streetwear style. But celebrities Gigi Hadid, Anna Kendrick, Ariana Grande and Cara Delevingne have worn the ultimate throwback hair style crimped hair. I am old enough to remember the original crimping irons and lo and behold a set turned up in my beauty pile just in time for me to crimp my hair for my son's Miami Vice-inspired party. The results went down a treat. Ariana Grande will play a benefit concert in Manchester. Credit:Getty Images The resurgence of the crimping trend will fortunately not take you back to your childhood kitsch of tightly crimped locks, rather it reached voluminous lengths of simplicity (not a word you ever imagined to describe crimping, right?) as the latest "bed head" hair and the perfect texture boost coming into the festive party season. If you are looking for an alternative to summer beach waves, this may just be your solution.We love the full-blown lambkin treatment referenced by Gigi Hadid who went the whole hog with crimped hair from roots to ends (this look takes time, set aside an hour). Kanye West's personal doctor made the 911 call on Monday that resulted in the rapper's hospitalisation, it has been reported. Dr Michael Farzam told police that his patient "Jim Jones" was suffering from temporary psychosis as a result of sleep deprivation and dehydration, TMZ quoted law enforcement sources as saying on Tuesday. According to the police report, Farzam said his 39-year-old patient had tried to assault a staffer at his trainer's gym. Although "Jones" wasn't violent, the doctor reportedly told police he might become violent when help arrived. West was reportedly handcuffed to a gurney for transport, which is standard procedure as part of a psychiatric hold. As you've probably guessed, we are married and have been for nearly a decade. We have one kid with another on the way. We own a house together and run a reasonably functional household where smiles and laughter are fairly common. Despite some significant differences in our world views, we seem to be able to coexist pretty well, some would even say we are still deeply in love. I'm a bit of a leftie. Not a lot, but definitely a bit. I have been known to hand out Labor how-to-vote cards on election day. My wife is not a leftie, not even a bit, and she has been seen handing out Liberal how-to-vote cards on election day. You get the picture. The relentless polarisation of political discourse and its coverage in the media might lead one to believe that conciliation and compromise are as out of fashion as a clean-shaven man. I might have agreed with you but for one thing my lived experience in my little house. Let me explain. A quick look at social media's coverage of the US election, Brexit and even our own 2016 federal election might lead you to believe that left/right, black/white, us/them, right/wrong ranting is the new normal. Now that the world's most noted democracy has just elected an alleged sex pest, fraudster and billionaire as president despite having a minority of actual votes, this probably won't change any time soon. A couple of disagreements is no bar to happiness for Dallas Baird and Lucinda Crossley Meates, pictured on their wedding day in 2010. Credit:Dean Bentick How do we manage that? How do we succeed in living together where society the political class especially is failing? Given that all politics is essentially domestic, I compiled a list of elements of our bipartisan domestic idyll that might be useful to the wider nation, and perhaps the world, or at least help ease the seemingly automatic mistrust, recrimination and conflict that seems to now be endemic. I understand her family history. My wife was born to a country doctor obsessed with financial independence and his Methodist wife in a small town south of Sydney. Her origins are a world of private schools, country fairs and breakfast table conversations centring on The Financial Review and whatever Alan Jones said that morning. Quite simply, conservatism was part of the furniture in her formative years. It represents comfort and familiarity. We often end up in the same place having arrived from different directions. My wife and I agreed the same-sex marriage plebiscite was a very bad idea eventually. I thought it would be a pointless exercise in delay and obfuscation by an increasingly marginalised right wing of the Coalition that would let god knows how many wingnuts off the leash to spread hatred and bile all so the mighty righties of the Parliament would never have to nail their archaic colours to the mast and openly oppose SSM in broad daylight, brave souls that they are. My wife thought it was an expensive and cumbersome way to obtain a mandate that certain slippery politicians would not honour anyway, so what was the point? Same destination, different paths. Ditto for Trump. A bleeding heart might say this is because, in an open and free debate, the truth will always out. Her differing views often educate mine. There's a difference between changing your opinion completely and becoming more deeply aware of the thoughts and experiences of others. After one of our semi-regular discussions of an issue de jour, I usually find myself not saying "I never thought of it like that" but more often "I wasn't aware of why this aspect is so important to you". Looking at a superficial level at stances on issues like same-sex marriage or border protection will yield only a black/white yes/no understanding, puddle deep and of little benefit to anyone. Gaining an understanding of WHY these issue are so important to others gives insight into the nuances that saturate most complex national questions. A hopeless leftie would call this "empathy". A holiday on the Gold Coast this Christmas would cost twice as much as taking the same holiday in November or February, a bigger price hike than 10 popular overseas destinations. Comparison website Finder has looked at which destinations have the worst "Christmas tax" the premium for taking a holiday there over the popular Christmas period when prices rise because of peak demand. Gold Coast accommodation costs skyrocket during peak holiday times. Credit:Mike Curtain Finder gives equal weighting to the costs of flights, accommodation and car hire for two adults. The cost of flights, hotels and car hire for two weeks on the Gold Coast starting December 24 is $8907, compared with $4391 if the holiday is taken in November or February. By PTI: From K J M Varma Beijing, Nov 23 (PTI) China today said it is planning to open a South China Sea museum to showcase its historic claim of sovereignty over the disputed region as the Philippines announced plans to declare a vast lagoon in the area as a marine sanctuary. The national museum for the South China Sea is ready to open in March with a wide range of antiques collected from China and abroad, the museums preparatory office in Chinas southern Hainan Province said. advertisement The announcement came as Philippines officials said President Rodrigo Duterte planned to declare a marine sanctuary and no-fishing zone at a lagoon within Scarborough Shoal, which China terms as Huangyan Dao. The reef was seized by China in 2012. Philippines officials said the plan to create the proposed sanctuary was "a unilateral action". The Philippines plan comes after Manila won an international arbitration ruling in July which had challenged Chinas seizure of Scarborough Shoal. The tribunal has struck down Chinas expansive claims over the areas. Reacting to the Philippines plans, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told media briefing yesterday thatChina and the Philippines have reached an agreement on coming back to the track of dialogue for the settlement of the South China Sea issue. "Chinas sovereignty and jurisdiction over Huangyan Dao has not and will not change," he said. Besides the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area. The South China Sea dispute was toned down by Rodrigos recent visit to China during which he reset the ties with Beijing, putting the dispute on the back burner. Chinas museum, covering 10 hectares, will display artifacts about the history, culture and natural resources of the South China Sea, highlighting Chinas sovereignty over the South China Sea and the protection of cultural heritage, Ding Hui, head of the cultural department of the Hainan provincial government told state-run Xinhua news agency. Ten valuable ceramic pieces were donated to the museum by two Chinese companies that purchased them at an auction in New York in September. The ceramics, including dainty vases, incense holders, drinking vessels, dishes, cups and saucers from the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), had been in a collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before they were bought by Hainan Zose Group and Evergrande Tourism Group. In addition, the museums preparatory office has received 832 antiques donated by fishermen in Tanmen Township of Qionghai City, where the museum is being constructed. The newest items are more than 100 years old and the oldest date back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420 - 589), Xie Haishan, an appraiser based in Guangdong Province said. Most of them were produced in China, while others came from Southeast Asia and Europe, he said. advertisement These antiques provide valuable clues to researchers about trade and cultural exchanges along the ancient maritime Silk Road, said Zhang Jianping, an official with the museums preparatory office. PTI KJV UZM --- ENDS --- Asthma sufferer Hope Carnevali drew her last laboured breath in her family's arms waiting for an ambulance on her front lawn. The 20-year-old law student was one of two people who died in Melbourne's western suburbs on Monday in what is believed to be a mass incident of "thunderstorm asthma". The ambulance arrived more than 30 minutes after it was called. "Just knowing that if they had of gotten there a little bit earlier, the situation might be different is very hard to deal with," Hope's aunt Melissa Carnevali told Seven News. By PTI: Beijing, Nov 22 (PTI) Chinese archeologists have discovered molecular evidence of keratin protein in a bird fossil from 130-million-year-old Cretaceous Period which may provide clues about the colour of feathered dinosaurs and early birds. The research paper by experts with the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences was published by Americas Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). advertisement Pan Yanhong, a leading researcher with the programme, told state-run Xinhua news agency that they discovered the molecular structure of a protein that determines feather colour in the bird fossil. The study shows that these molecular structures are preserved in fossils and are consistent with modern feathers. Researchers hope the study will lead to hypotheses about dinosaur colour, behaviour, habitat, and physiology. It was also the oldest molecular evidence found in bird fossils. Previously, the molecular structure of the protein had only been found in fossils dating back some 80 million years. The bird that experts used in the research is one of the earliest bird fossils found in China. The Cretaceous bird, named Eoconfuciusornis, was discovered in north Chinas Hebei Province in 2008. PTI KJV UZM --- ENDS --- By PTI: Cuttack, Nov 22 (PTI) Academic activities in Ravenshaw University came to a halt today as protests, dharna and slogan shouting marked the day following series of clashes between two groups of the students late on Monday evening. Agitating students gheraoed the office of the Vice- Chancellor throughout the day. Unable to control the repeated students? unrests in the campus, the University authorities have instructed the local police to take stringent action as per law against the erring students. advertisement Two platoons of armed police are now deployed inside the campus, while policemen are keeping vigil on the situation. ?I have handed over the complaints of both factions of the students to the police and requested them to act as per law against the erring students as they deal with criminals?, said Vice-Chancellor P C Sarangi expressing his helplessness. According to reports, some junior students alleging that they have been subjected to ragging brought some outsiders in the campus and thrashed their seniors in a hostel on Monday evening. Soon the senior and junior students of two separate hostels clashed repeatedly in which at least seven students from either factions sustained serious injuries. PTI COR AAM SUS SUS --- ENDS --- At the invitation of Ms. Sabine Hartmann, President of the Federation of European Movers Association (FEDEMAC), WCO Deputy Secretary General Sergio Mujica attended the annual Moving Industry Summit held in Luxemburg on 11 November 2016. The Summit was attended by International Removal Organizations from all around the world, and it was aimed at promoting better cooperation among the industry members, policy makers and international organizations, as well as the exchange of best practices. In his speech, Mr. Mujica presented the WCOs Strategic Plan and priorities, as well as the main WCO instruments and tools to facilitate secure and sustainable transportation, including the Revised Kyoto Convention, the SAFE Framework of Standards, Authorized Economic Operators, and the Mercator Programme. After his presentation, the Deputy Secretary General signed a renewed and updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FEDEMAC. The cooperation between the WCO and FEDEMAC has a long-standing history, with the first MoU signed in 1995, though then it was focused primarily on prevention of drug smuggling. Two decades later the world has changed significantly, and both Organizations agreed on the necessity of updating the MoU to strengthen mutual cooperation in the development and implementation of international standards, as well as awareness rising, training, education and capacity building. Following an invitation from the National Revenue Authority (NRA) of Sierra Leone, WCO successfully completed a Time Release Study (TRS) workshop in Freetown on the 24-28 of October 2016. This Workshop was facilitated by two experts from the WCO Secretariat and Kenya Customs who shared their knowledge of the TRS and their experience on developing process mapping and the use of WCO TRS software. The core objective of the mission was to support the NRA in building capacities to conduct a TRS in line with Sierra Leones commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA). The mission was the third delivery under Sierra Leones Mercator Implementation Plan, which defines a Sierra Leone-specific programme of collaboration between the WCO and the NRA under the auspices of the tailor-made track of the WCO Mercator Programme. The mission was made possible with the generous financial support of the Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of the United Kingdom as part of the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD TFA Capacity Building Programme. The workshop allowed participants to gain an increased understanding of the concept of TRS as a key instrument to identify bottlenecks in the clearance process and its importance for trade facilitation. Moreover, participants got the opportunity to strengthen their knowledge in performance management and how this can be facilitated by the WCO TRS tool. The participants represented both Customs officials as well as a broader group of stakeholders from the public and private sector involved in the clearance process of goods, such as brokers and freight forwarders; associations, port authorities and shipping lines. The mission concluded in the drafting of process maps for various Customs procedures which will be refined with time. It also led to the establishment of a work programme including specific deadlines for the completion of a first TRS in Sierra Leone of which one of the next steps under the countrys tailor-made Mercator Implementation Plan. The WCO looks forward to this continued collaboration. Under the auspices of WCO/JICA Joint Project, which was launched in July 2016 to support trade facilitation in Africa, a workshop on the Harmonized System (HS) for Master Trainers of East Africa was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 7 to 11 November 2016. Those Master Trainers are Customs officials and have been actively contributing to the capacity development of both Customs and Customs brokers in East Africa. Twenty-three (23) officials from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda participated in this workshop and developed case studies which reflected the classification challenges faced by both Customs officers and trade communities in East Africa. With the inputs and advice from the experts from both WCO and Japan Customs, participants had intensive discussions on the practical cases submitted by their respective administrations and made outstanding progress for their improvement. The development of case studies is expected to be completed at the next workshop planned in 2017. Once completed, they will be used as training materials for Customs officials as well as Customs brokers and thereby contribute to the regional capacity development on classification. Considering the important roles that Master Trainers are playing in the Customs administrations in East Africa, the WCO introduced in details the scope of HS 2017 amendments with a view to ensuring its uniform interpretation and smooth application. The WCO expert also introduced the materials developed under the WCO Revenue Package to respond to the Members needs in respect of fair, efficient and effective revenue collection. Japan Customs shared their experience on the preparatory work for HS 2017 amendments that includes, but is not limited to, revision of domestic laws and regulations, and awareness raising to front line officers and trade communities. Throughout this workshop, all participants made excellent contributions to improve the case studies and at the same time they deepened their understanding of the WCO tools and instruments relating to classification. At the end of the workshop, the participants agreed to continue their efforts to further review the case studies with a view to finalize them at the next workshop in 2017. The WCO/JICA Joint Project is committed to support these continuous efforts of Customs administrations in East Africa to ensure sustainable capacity development. By PTI: Raipur, Nov 22 (PTI) A CRPF personnel was today killed and two other paramilitary jawans were injured in a bombblast triggered by Naxals at separate places in Chhattisgarhs Sukma district. "While a Sub Inspector was killed and a head constable injured in the explosion in Chintalnar Police Station area, a constable was critically injured in the blast in Maraiguda police station limits," a CRPF official told PTI. advertisement A team of Central Reserve Police Forces 74th battalion was out on an area domination operation between Burkapal police camp and Chintalnar, around 450 kms away from here, early this morning, he said. When security forces were cordoning off a patch near Gargarmetta, two personnel inadvertently stepped over apressureIED (improvised explosive device), concealed beneath the ground, triggering theblastwhich left Sub Inspector BS Bist and head constable Sudhakar, belonging to 74th battalion, injured, he said. After the incident, reinforcement was rushed to the spot to retrieve the injured personnel, he said. "Bist succumbed to injuries while being evacuated," the official said, adding Sudhakar was airlifted to Jagdalpur for treatment and his condition was said to be out of danger. Few hours after this incident, a jawan of CRPF?s 217th came under the impact of pressure bomb blast at around 10.45 AM during a road security operation in Maraiguda police station area, the paramilitary official said. The injured was identified as constable Prabhakar Yadav, deputed as a sniffer dog handler, in the squad, he added. The patrolling party of the battalion was providing security to the under construction Golapalli-Maraiguda road. When they reached near Gangler rivulet, Yadav accidentallystepped over the pressure IED connection leading to the blast which left him critically injured, he said. Yadav was immediately shifted to Bhadrachalam (in Telangana), close to Maraiguda, by road from where he was being airlifted to Hyderabad keeping in view his serious condition, the official added. On Monday, two jawans of the 74th CRPF battalion were injured in a pressure bomb blast in Chintalnar area of Sukma. PTI TKP DK NRB DV --- ENDS --- By Juan Jose Rodriguez Panama City, Nov 22, 2016 (AFP) - A tropical storm in the Caribbean turning into a full-on hurricane was lurching toward Central America on Tuesday, causing three deaths in Panama and prompting coastal evacuations in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Tropical Storm Otto, packing sustained winds of 110 kilometers (70 miles) per hour, was building strength before moving toward land, the US National Hurricane Center said in a bulletin. It was expected to become a hurricane with winds over 119 kilometers (74 miles) per hour later Tuesday, and make landfall in Nicaragua and Costa Rica on Thursday. Its rains "will likely result in life-threatening flash floods and mud slides," while "life-threatening surf and rip current conditions" will be experienced along the coasts of Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the US center warned. In Panama, three people died from a mudslide and a falling tree provoked by the first outer dump of Otto's heavy rains, the head of the National Civil Protection Service, Jose Donderis, told AFP. Nine people were caught in the mudslide that occurred west of the capital. "Seven were rescued and unfortunately two deceased people were recovered," he said. The other death was that of a boy who was hit by a tree that fell on the car he was in as waited with his mother outside his school in the capital, Donderis said. The mother survived. Officials in the country ordered all schools closed. Government workers were told to leave offices hours early on Wednesday. Neighboring Costa Rica on Tuesday ordered the evacuation of more than 4,000 people along the sparsely inhabited northern part its Caribbean coast to avoid fatalities. "We will not allow people to remain in at-risk areas and loss of human life," President Luis Guillermo Solis told a news conference. The order did not extend to Costa Rica's principal port city of Limon on the southern Caribbean coast. The city, home to around 60,000 people, is projected to feel the glancing force of the hurricane on Wednesday. Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America, has issued a national alert and also ordered coastal evacuations. The co-director of the SINAPRED national disaster agency, Guillermo Gonzalez, said navy ships would evacuate people on Little Corn Island, a popular Nicaraguan tourist spot in the Caribbean, to shelters on bigger Corn Island. Civilian Nicaraguan vessels at sea were ordered back to port. The storm was expected to pass near Managua, Nicaragua's inland capital, on Thursday. According to forecasts, Otto was to cut across the narrow Central American isthmus, losing strength as it went, before exiting out into the Pacific Ocean on Friday. The storm was a late arrival in the Atlantic hurricane season, which typically runs from June to the end of November, and was hitting land unusually south. Costa Rica has never experienced a direct hit from a hurricane since records began in 1951. A previous hurricane, Matthew, devastated parts of southern Haiti early last month, killing 546 people and leaving nearly 175,000 homeless. bur/rmb/jm The Bombay High Court irked with the response of the CBI asked it what efforts were made to get a ballistic report from Scotland Yard. By Vidya : Even as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) requested the Bombay High Court to not proceed with the Narendra Dabholkar murder case, Justice SC Dharmadhikari came down heavily on the agency saying, "CBI is saying that we cannot catch a culprit, this is shocking." He added, "It cannot go on like this. The situation is such that terrorists are at your door step. It's not about a family or an organisation. This can be the fate of anyone. Political leaders, social reformers, no one is safe and we are supposed to rejoice in this?" advertisement The court has ordered the joint director of the CBI to file an affidavit concerning what steps have been taken by the agency to co-ordinate with Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian embassy in the UK and the authorities there. The court asked the joint director to specify what sincere and genuine efforts were made to get a ballistic report from Scotland Yard. Also read: Bombay High Court summons BMC commissioner over Doppler radar issue The division bench was told by the CBI, which is investigating the murder of Dabholkar in Pune, that it would need some more time to get the ballistic tests that it is seeking from the Scotland Yard. The CBI had said that the three murders of social reformers Dabholkar, Govind Pansare in Kolhapur and MM Kalburgi in Karnataka could have been done by same organisation or individuals. However, even after months have gone by, the report is still awaited which irked the division bench. PUBLIC INTEREST AT STAKE Dharmadhikari said, "Whatever you have done is minimal. You have to take it ahead. There is a larger public interest at stake. Reputation of the state is at stake. We are not happy with the routine status report." The advocate, representing the special investigating team, that is investigating the Pansare murder case while responding told the court, "We can't disclose in an open court what we are going to do but in the next 7-8 days, something will happen in the case." The response irked the bench which said, "We are not going to wait endlessly. You want to be replaced, then will do so right away. The case has to conclude at some point? Don't give an impression that there is no seriousness." Also read: Start trains from Churchgate to suburbs like Thane, Bombay High Court suggests Railways The public prosecutor promised to talk to the additional director general of police, CID Maharashtra Sanjeev Kumar who in charge of the team and get back to the court on December 16, which is the next date of hearing for the case. Also read: Naked man chanting 'Modi Modi' runs into Mumbai CST station, baffles onlookers advertisement --- ENDS --- Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Portfolio Monitoring Top Stock Lists Premium Reports Stock Screeners Live News Feed Premium Support Free for your first month. Suncor Energy Inc. operates as an integrated energy company. The company primarily focuses on developing petroleum resource basins in Canada's Athabasca oil sands; explores, acquires, develops, produces, transports, refines, and markets crude oil in Canada and internationally; markets petroleum and petrochemical products under the Petro-Canada name primarily in Canada. It operates through Oil Sands; Exploration and Production; Refining and Marketing; and Corporate and Eliminations segments. The Oil Sands segment recovers bitumen from mining and in situ operations, and upgrades it into refinery feedstock and diesel fuel, or blends the bitumen with diluent for direct sale to market. The Exploration and Production segment is involved in offshore operations off the east coast of Canada and in the North Sea; and operating onshore assets in Libya and Syria. The Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil and intermediate feedstock into various petroleum and petrochemical products; and markets refined petroleum products to retail, commercial, and industrial customers through its other retail sellers. The Corporate and Eliminations segment operates four wind farms in Ontario and Western Canada. The company also markets and trades in crude oil, natural gas, byproducts, refined products, and power. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today failed to get relief from the Supreme Court which dismissed his plea for a stay on proceedings in a criminal defamation case filed by Union Minister Arun Jaitley against him. His counsel Ram Jethmalani tried to give a political colour to the matter by saying the case is a result of a fight between a "powerful minister" and the chief minister of a small state. advertisement Jethmalanis arguments, including his attempt to rake up the issue of differences between judiciary and Centre over appointment of judges, did not cut ice with the apex court which refused to interfere with the judgement of the Delhi High Court giving the go ahead to the trial court in the criminal defamation against Kejriwal. "We have seen the judgements of Delhi High Court and trial court. We cant interfere with the judgements. In the facts and circumstances of the case, the petition is dismissed," a bench of Justices P C Ghose and U U Lalit said. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, who was present in the courtroom, did not make any submission to counter the arguments of Jethmalani. Jethmalani sought a stay on the trial court proceedings in the case till the civil proceedings in the Delhi High Court continued. The bench brushed aside Jethmalanis arguments that "appointment of judges in the High Court is being interfered. This is a fact known to every child in the country." "Sir, we must please confine ourselves to the facts of the matter," the bench told Jethmalani. Failing to persuade the bench, Jethmalani sought protection for Kejriwal by again saying that it is the fight between a person who is the finance minister of the country and a chief minister of a state. "This is a fight between a finance minister of the country and a Chief Minister of a small state. Please protect the Chief Minister. You know what things are going on these days," the senior advocate said. To this the bench again said, "We must not look beyond the records of the matter." Jethmalani said that the decision or view of the High Court, where civil proceedings are going on, will be binding on the subordinate court, where criminal proceedings on the similar facts and circumstances of the case are pending.(MORE) PTI MNL ABA SJK RKS VSC --- ENDS --- The following companies are subsidiares of Textron: AAI Corporation, AAI Services Corporation, ALSTOM Gears, Able Aerospace, Able Aerospace Services Inc., Able Engineering & Component Services, Aeronautical Accessories LLC, Airborne Tactical Advantage Company LLC, Arctic Cat, Arctic Cat ACE Holding GmbH, Arctic Cat France SARL, Arctic Cat GmbH, Arctic Cat Inc., Arctic Cat Production LLC, Arctic Cat Production Support LLC, Arctic Cat Sales Inc., Arctic Cat Shared Services LLC, Arctic Cat UK Ltd., Arkansas Aerospace Inc., Avco Corporation, Aviation Service servis letal doo Ljubljana, Aylesbury Automation, B/K Navigational Equipment sro, BELL TEXTRON ASIA (PTE.) LTD., Beech Aircraft Corporation, Beech Holdings, Beechcraft Defense Support Holding LLC, Beechcraft Domestic Service Company, Beechcraft Germany GmbH, Beechcraft International Holding LLC, Beechcraft International Service Company, Beechcraft New Zealand, Bell Textron Canada International Inc., Bell Textron Canada Limited/Limitee, Bell Textron Co. Ltd, Bell Textron Inc., Bell Textron Korea Inc., Bell Textron LLC, Bell Textron Miami Inc., Bell Textron Prague a.s., Bell Textron Rhode Island Inc., Bell Textron Services Inc., Bell Textron Supply Center BV, Bell Textron Technical Services Inc., Benzlers, Brazaco Mapri Industrias, Burkland, Cessna Aircraft Company, Cessna Citation European Service Center SAS (99.9%; 1 share Textron France SAS), Cessna Dusseldorf Citation Service Center GmbH, Cessna Finance Corporation, Cessna Finance Export Corporation, Cessna Mexico S de RL de CV, Cessna Spanish Citation Service Center SLU, Cessna Zurich Citation Service Center GmbH, Citation Parts Distribution International Inc., Cushman Inc., Datacom Technologies, David Brown Group, Doncaster Citation Service Centre Limited, E-Z-GO Canada Limited, Energy Manufacturing, Flexalloy, HBC LLC, Hawker Beech de Mexico S de RL de CV, Hawker Beechcraft Argentina SA , Howe & Howe Inc., Howe and Howe Technologies, Industrial Technology Inc., InteSys Technologies, International Product Support Inc., KSB Annecy SAS, Kautex (Changchun) Plastics Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Chongqing) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Guangzhou) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Pinghu) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Shanghai) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex (Wuhan) Plastic Technology Co. Ltd., Kautex Corporation, Kautex Craiova srl, Kautex Germany Holding GmbH, Kautex Inc., Kautex Japan KK, Kautex Shanghai GmbH, Kautex Textron (UK) Limited, Kautex Textron Benelux BVBA, Kautex Textron Bohemia spol sro, Kautex Textron CVS Limited, Kautex Textron GmbH & Co. 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Ltd., Textron UK Pension Trustee Limited, Textron Verwaltungs-GmbH, Turbine Engine Components Textron (Newington Operations) Inc., United Industrial Corporation, Westminster Insurance Company, Williams Machine & Tool, and Zhenjiang Bell Textron Aviation Services Limited. Read More WSU Panel to Debate Value of Electoral College November 23, 2016 OGDEN, Utah For the fifth time in U.S. history, the president-elect isnt the candidate with the most popular votes. Weber State University will hold a panel to debate the pros and cons of the Electoral College used to select the nations president, Dec. 5 at 11:30 a.m. in the Shepherd Union Lair. The Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service will co-host the debate with the Weber County League of Women Voters. The public is invited to attend this free event to learn more about the rationale behind electoral votes and the push for a direct popular election. Political science professors Thom Kuehls and Leah Murray will debate and discuss the role of the Electoral College. Murray will argue in defense of the electoral voting system and Kuehls will argue in favor of the popular vote. "The Walker Institute was created to foster active democratic citizenship, said Carol McNamara, Walker Institute director and debate moderator. The subject of the Electoral College is currently under the microscope, and we wanted to host a serious discussion of the two sides of the argument to help students and the public understand what is at stake. When citizens hear thoughtful arguments on both sides of an issue, we believe they can make informed decisions and are more likely to stay engaged in the political process." Despite Hillary Clintons loss to Donald Trump, her lead in the popular vote has renewed the debate about the Electoral College. The last time a presidential candidate lost the White House while winning the popular vote was in 2000, when Al Gore lost to George W. Bush. The League of Women Voters promotes voting and participating in community issues, said Terri McCulloch, president of the Weber County League of Women Voters. With the recent election, the Electoral College is an active issue and discussing this topic is very appropriate. The league supports an educated community. Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University. Church Events Stay in the loop on church events in West Central Louisiana. Weekend Edition A recap of the most pertinent stories of the week - delivered straight to your inbox! Arts & Entertainment VERNON PARISH -- A Leesville woman and man have been booked in the death of an active duty Fort Polk soldier, according to the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office. Wanda Gail Gordon, 40, and Tobias Lamont Williams, 27, are being held on $3 million bonds each, facing first-degree murder charges as well as obstruction of justice in the death of 40-year-old Jonathan Ellis, who was reported missing back in September. Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office authorities on Tuesday said Gordon and Williams' arrests were the result of an extensive investigation, which included VPSO detectives and agents from the Department of Army Investigation Command. Authorities said Williams led detectives to a location in the area of East Hawthorne Road where Ellis' body was disposed. Authorities worked with LSU Faces lab personnel from Baton Rouge, the Shreveport Fire Department K9 Search and Rescue Task Force, and the Vernon Parish Coroner's Office in the search for Ellis' remains. "The area was meticulously searched and forensically processed for evidence. The K9 handler and cadaver dog were able to identify numerous locations in a wooded area for forensic processing. The location was diligently searched over a two-day period and remains were located in several areas at the location," the release states. Authorities said the investigation continues and additional charges are possible. Here's the full Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office news release: Sheriff Sam Craft of the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office announces the arrest of Wanda Gail Gordon, 40, and Tobias Lamont Williams, 27, both of Leesville. The arrests are the result of an extensive investigation which began Sept. 23, 2016 after Jonathan Ellis, 40, of Leesville, was reported missing by family members. Ellis was an active duty service member stationed at Fort Polk and his family reported last speaking to him during the evening hours of Sept. 19, 2016. VPSO Detectives and Agents from the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Command, Fort Polk, worked a joint investigation into Ellis' disappearance. During the course of the investigation, Wanda Gordon and Tobias Williams were both identified as persons of interest in the case. An investigation into a complaint of vehicle theft led to a warrant being obtained on Wanda Gordon for the theft of the vehicle, which was unrelated to the Ellis case. Gordon was located and taken into custody on the outstanding warrant from Vernon Parish by law enforcement officers in Tyler, Texas on Oct. 18, 2016. Detectives and CID Agents traveled to Texas and Gordon did sign extradition and was transported back to Vernon Parish on the same day she was taken into custody. Detectives attempted to interview Gordon in relation to the disappearance of Ellis, but she refused to cooperate in the investigation. Detectives were able to locate Tobias Williams and several interviews were conducted over a period of time with Williams in relation to the whereabouts of Ellis. Williams did indicate to Investigators that Ellis was in fact the victim of a homicide. Williams did lead Detectives to a location in the area of East Hawthorne Road where he indicated Ellis body was disposed. VPSO Detectives, Fort Polk CID Agents, Vernon Parish Coroner Personnel, LSU Faces Lab Personnel from Baton Rouge, Personnel from the Shreveport Fire Department K9 Search and Rescue Task Force to include a cadaver dog responded to the location. The area was meticulously searched and forensically processed for evidence. The K9 handler and cadaver dog were able to identify numerous locations in a wooded area for forensic processing. The location was diligently searched over a two-day period and remains were located in several areas at the location. Personnel from the LSU Faces Lab were able to immediately confirm that the located remains were in fact human. After further investigation, Wanda Gail Gordon and Tobias Williams were each arrested and charged with one count of First Degree Murder and one count of Obstruction of Justice. Each has a bond set at $3,000,000.00 (Three Million) which was set by 30th JDC Judge C. Anthony Eaves. Both remain in the Vernon Parish Jail. Ellis truck was recovered at a location in the area of Jeane Chapel Road early on in the investigation. The investigation into this matter is ongoing and may result in additional charges in the near future. Craft would like to express his gratitude and appreciation to all of the agencies involved in this investigation. The professionalism, hard work, dedication and combined effort of these agencies led to the arrests of the persons responsible for the murder of Jonathan Ellis. Craft and the employees of the Vernon Parish Sheriffs Office would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family of Jonathan Ellis. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Pannyan Raveendran, former state Secretary of Communist Party of India, attacked Mohanlal for supporting demonetisation when the poor people in Kerala are throttled by the new money policy. By Jeemon Jacob: Kerala politicians, cutting across party lines, attacked popular film actor Mohanlal for supporting demonetisation move. Earlier, Mohanlal in his blog supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi for surgical strike against black money and justified temporary hardships of the common man for a good cause to end corruption. Pannyan Raveendran, former state Secretary of Communist Party of India, attacked Mohanlal for supporting demonetisation when the poor people in Kerala are throttled by the new money policy. advertisement While addressing the protest organised by employees of Cooperative banks in front of RBI regional office Thiruvananthapuram, CPI leader criticised Mohanlal for his untimely blog comments. "Mr Pulimurugan (name of latest mega hit Malayalam film Pulimurugan in which Mohanlal plays the role of Pulimurgan) common people have made your film a great success. They have spent their hard earned money to watch your movies. I want to remind you that it is not good to insult them. We won't allow you to do it," Pannyan Raveendran said. While applauding the decision of the Prime Minister Modi, the actor wrote in his blog that if we could stand in queues outside religious institutions and liquor outlets, we could very well stand in queues outside banks to get money. READ: Vigilance court orders probe against Malayalam actor Mohanlal in elephant tusk case Mohanlal also admitted that like in every other field, demonetisation has affected the film industry as well and they are putting up with it. MM Mani, newly inducted minister in Kerala too attacked Mohanlal for his blog comments. Mani while addressing a public meeting in Elappara in Idukki district said that Mohanlal's new found love for Modi has a reason as he was keeping tons of black money and he wanted to cover it by supporting Modi. Earlier VD Satheesan, PCC vice president and legislator crticised Mohanlal for supporting demonetisation. In his Facebook post Satheesan pointed out that Mohanlal's blog comments were without understanding the problems of common man who is worst hit after Modi's surgical strike in money market. But BJP leaders Kummanam Rajasekharan and K Surendran supported the actor for his timely comments and defended him for his open comments. Also read: Mohanlal's Pulimurugan roars at the box office, mints Rs 20 crore --- ENDS --- Murray police warn of prowlers in several neighborhoods Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: In wake of demonetisation, the Maharashtra State Government Employees Confederation have demanded their salary in cash. In a letter to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the confederation has also asked for the travel allowance in advance in cash for the Nagpur winter session. The winter session of the Maharashtra Legislature is slated to start on December 6. advertisement State government employees travel to the winter capital of the state for the session every year. THE DEMAND "Though the decision of demonetisation is good, it has resulted in cash crunch. The state government employees going for Nagpur session are likely to bear the brunt, so to avoid any inconvenience the travel allowance should be paid in cash. Also, the salary for the month of November and December should be paid in cash. It will help mobilise cash in the market and help boost the present economic situation" the letter reads. Speaking to India Today, Subhash Gangurde, General Secretary of the Maharashtra State Government Employees Central Confederaion said, "Employees will be in Nagpur for the winter session and their families will be here back home. How will they manage their daily expenses? Even the employees in Nagpur will have no time to go out and withdraw money. How will they concentrate on their work?" "This decision in a way will also help the government in easing out the present situation. If salaries are paid in cash, it would make a huge sum of cash available in the market and mobilise the economy" added Gangurde. TOTAL SALARY IS RS 7,500 CRORE Maharashtra government has around 14 lakh employees all across the state that includes government and semi government employees. The total monthly salary of these employees is approximately Rs 7,500 crores including pension. The Gazetted Officers Association too has supported the demand. Last week the Union finance ministry had announced that the central government employees in non-gazetted category will get an advance 'part-salary' amounting to Rs 10,000 in cash by November 23. Sources in the state government told India Today that the State Finance Department too had proposed a similar advance to Grade 3 and 4 employees. The state had then proposed an advance on the same lines upto 3,000-4,000. But citing unavailability of cash chest to store such huge amount, the proposal was shot down by the Chief Secretary. --- ENDS --- By The Associated Press Nov. 22, 2016 | 08:44 PM | LOUISVILLE, KY An atheist's request for a personalized license plate saying "IM GOD" was denied by the state of Kentucky, which said it might distract other drivers, and would be in bad taste. Bennie Hart says that by announcing "IM GOD" on his license plate, he simply wants to show the impossibility of disproving anyone's claim to being "God." Besides, Hart says, he had the same plate for a dozen years when he lived in Ohio, without causing any problems. Hart sued state Transportation Secretary Greg Thomas on Tuesday on free speech grounds, asking a federal judge in Frankfort to strike down someKentucky laws and rules for personalized plates. Transportation spokesman Ryan Watts says the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation. Rita Redmond was a true lady who felt that every pupil had something to gift to the world While the Centre says it has made unaccounted cash redundant, Opposition has protested against the demonetisation drive, calling it anti-people. By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: It has been 15 days since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation initiative. The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre claims that the move has, in one masterstroke, made the unaccounted cash redundant. However, a sizeable section of the Opposition is protesting the demonetisation drive, calling it anti-people. Their demands range from strengthening and streamlining the implementation of demonetisation to its complete roll back. advertisement However, the Opposition itself is divided over the issue. While Congress, the Left, AAP, TMC, SP, BSP and some other parties are against scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes, calling a 'Bharat Bandh' on November 28, others like JDU and BJD have supported the move. DEMONETISATION WILL CHECK TERROR FUNDING: GOVERNMENT The Narendra Modi government on its part firmly believes that the demonetisation drive is fulfilling its objective of checking terror-funding by Pakistan, printing of counterfeit currency, black money and corruption. The government is simultaneously promoting cashless economy by way of digital payment to usher in more transparency, check corruption and black money. Also read | PM Modi may speak in Rajya Sabha tomorrow, his ministers hold talks with Opposition to end logjam PM Narendra Modi and his government are constantly reviewing the situation after getting feedbacks on inconveniences being faced by the people. While outright rejecting rolling demonetisation back, the government has announced a number of measures, taking into consideration the requirements of various sections of society, including farmers who are readying for the Rabi season, small borrowers, people who have wedding in their families, railway passengers and the likes. To this end, the government has modified and relaxed 20 provisions in the last 15 days. 1. TRANSACTION CHARGES ON DEBIT CARDS There are 30 crore RuPay Debit Cards which have been issued, including those issued to Jan Dhan Account holders. There is a growth of nearly 300 per cent in use of RuPay cards in the last 12 days. To facilitate the use of this debit card, the public sector banks and some of the private sector banks have decided to waive transaction charges (MDR) up to December 31. Other private sector Banks are expected to do likewise. National Payments Council of India (NPCI) has already waived switching charges for RuPay Cards. The government believes that together, these steps will improve the acceptance of debit cards at different establishments. 2. E-WALLETS To promote greater usage of payments through e-wallets, RBI has decided to increase the monthly transaction limit for individuals from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. Similar enhancements have also been announced by RBI for merchants. 3. RAILWAY PASSENGERS For convenience of passengers, Indian Railways have decided not to levy service charges of Rs 20 for second class and Rs 40 for upper classes on purchase of reserved E-tickets up to December 31. This would facilitate and encourage the passengers to buy E-tickets instead of across the counter purchase through cash. advertisement Daily average number of passengers buying E-tickets online is 58 per cent and across the counter in cash is 42 per cent of the total purchase of tickets. The effort now is to increase the purchase of E-tickets. It is expected that the above measure will encourage people to migrate to cashless transactions. 4. TELECOM The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided to reduce the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) charges from the current Rs 1.50 per session to Rs 0.50 per session for transactions relating to banking and payments. They have also increased the stages from current five to eight. The telecom companies have also agreed to waive the above 50 paisa USSD charge per session till December 31. Consequently, USSD charges up to December 31 will be NIL. This will provide a very cost effective method of digital financial transaction, especially to the poor people with feature phones (which are currently 65 per cent of the total phones in the country). 5. SMALL BORROWERS As a relief to small borrowers (who have availed loans up to Rs 1 crore), RBI has already decided to provide additional 60 days' time for repayment of dues. This will be applicable to personal and crop loans including housing and agricultural loans, taken from banks, Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFCs), District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs), Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) or Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs). advertisement 6. FARMERS To further support farmers for the current Rabi crop, the Government has decided to allow farmers to purchase seeds with old Rs 500 notes. Farmers can purchase seeds from centres, units, outlets of Central and state governments, PSUs, and national and state seeds corporations on producing proof of identity. This is in addition to the decision taken earlier for making cash available with the farmers by permitting them to draw up to Rs 25,000 per week from their KYC compliant accounts subject to the normal loan limits and conditions apart from the other facilities announced on November 17. Besides, NABARD has made available Rs 21,000 crore's limit to the District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) through State Cooperative Banks for Rabi agricultural operations. This will enable the DCCBs to sanction and disburse crop loans to the farmers through the network of Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS). This will benefit more than 40 per cent of the small and marginal farmers who avail institutional credit and crop loans. Further, additional limits will be provided by NABARD as per requirement. advertisement Also read | Demonetisation: 10 questions PM Modi is asking through his app Also, RBI and the banks have been advised to make the required cash available to the DCCBs. This will ensure quick and unhindered flow of credit and required cash to the farmers, especially for sowing and other agricultural operations during the current Rabi season. On November 17, the government had permitted the farmers to draw up to Rs 25,000 per week against crop loans sanctioned and credited to their accounts. This move will allow the farmers, who had run out of cash, to buy seeds and ensure sowing for Rabi season is not affected. However, the government has imposed the condition that the accounts have to be in the farmer's name and will be subject to loan limits. The government had also decided that the time limit in crop insurance premium cases will be extended by 15 days. Besides, traders in agricultural mandis have been permitted to draw up to Rs 50,000 in cash per week to pay for sundry expenses like wages. 7. PAN The Income Tax Department has prescribed a list of transactions for which quoting of Permanent Account Number (PAN) has been made mandatory. 8. RS 2000 FROM PETROL PUMPS Select Public Sector Unit (PSU) petrol pumps are dispensing Rs 2000 per person in cash against swiping of debit cards. It is aimed at alleviating long queues at ATMs and easing the pressure on the banks which are already under pressure for exchanging and depositing cash. 9. EXCHANGE LIMIT Initially, the exchange limit for Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes was capped at Rs 4,000 and withdrawals were restricted to Rs 2,000 per card per day, and later to Rs 4,000 per card per day. However, the withdrawal limit was increased to Rs 2500 and exchange limit over the counter increased to Rs 4500 from 4000. However, today the limit to exchange old currency notes at banks has been reduced from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,000 per person from November 18. As far as withdrawal limit from ATMs is concerned, it was increased to Rs 2500 from Rs 2000 and weekly withdrawal limit to Rs 24000 from Rs 20000. The daily withdrawal limit of Rs 10000 has been removed. Also read | Demonetisation: Traders welcomes move, say it will push adoption of digital payments Besides, business entities having current accounts and which are operational for last three months or more have been allowed to draw Rs 50,000. This can be done in a single transaction or multiple transactions. This will enable the small business entities to pay wages to their workers and make other petty payments. 10. WEDDINGS Ever since the demonetisation drive was launched, the Narendra Modi government had been receiving representations to relax the rules due to the wedding season. The families in which weddings were taking place were complaining about major constraints. Such families will now be able to withdraw Rs 2.5 lakh for weddings from one account. In a marginal relief to wedding families, RBI on Tuesday relaxed one of several conditions for withdrawal of Rs 2.5 lakh from their own accounts by making declaration for payments beyond Rs 10,000 only. Earlier, the drawee had to declare all payments he had to make out of the Rs 2.5 lakh withdrawal from the account. 11. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES Talking to mediapersons today, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das announced that Central government employees up to group C will be allowed to draw salary advance up to Rs 10,000 in cash. This amount will be adjusted against their November salaries. 12. EXEMPTION DATES Initially, the last date for exemptions for acceptance of old Rs 500 and Rs1000 notes for certain types of transactions was November 11. However, it has been extended twice - first till November 14 and now the last date for availing existing exemptions has been extended up to November 24. The last date for submission of the annual life certificate for pensioners has also been extended up to January 15, 2017. Originally, the certificate was required to be submitted in November 2016. 13. EXEMPTION CATEGORIES Till November 11, government-authorised places, institutions and services such as hospitals, Railways, airline, bus ticket booking counters, petrol, diesel and gas stations authorised by public sector oil companies, consumer co-operative stores, milk booths, crematoriums, burial grounds, toll plazas, pharmacies, onboard rail catering and LPG cylinder supplies were authorised to accept old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes for payment. However, on November 12, the Government extended the exemption on notes in certain other categories like metro rail tickets among others till November 14. 14. QUEUES FOR WITHDRAWALS Long and serpentine queues of people were witnessed outside the ATMs throughout the country from November 10. About two dozen people reportedly died standing in these queues. Keeping this in view, the Government asked the banks to arrange for separate queues for senior citizens and Divyang (differently-abled) persons. Also, for public convenience, banks remained open on Saturday and Sunday (November 12 and 13). 15. INDELIBLE INK Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held two review meetings on demonetisation with officials of the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) so far. In the second one too, the persistent issue of long queues at banks came up for discussion. According to Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, it was found that in many places same set of people were visiting to get cash. They went from one branch to another branch. The unscrupulous elements were trying to convert their black money into white by going to different banks branches several times over in a day. As a result, the benefit of withdrawal was getting restricted to a few people. To prevent this, the idea of using indelible ink marks, like in elections, at the cash counters was mooted. 16. JAN DHAN ACCOUNT DEPOSIT LIMIT While reviewing the demonetisation process, the Narendra Modi Government also received reports that Jan Dhan accounts were being used by other people to deposit their unaccounted cash. As a result, the Government set an upper limit of Rs 50,000 for deposits into these accounts. The source of deposits of above Rs 50,000 into these accounts will now be verified. 17. CCTV FOOTAGE OF JEWELLERY SHOPS Minutes after PM Narendra Modi made the historic announcement in his 8 pm address to the nation on November 8, the Government learnt that some people rushed to jewellery shops to buy golden ornaments with a view to converting their unaccounted cash. While there was no bar on spending the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes, several jewellery shops remained open throughout the intervening night of November 8 and 9 as well as the next day. However, the Government has reportedly demanded the CCTV footage of the shops during this period and also the PAN numbers of the buyers. This is sure to catch those who had sought to convert their unaccounted cash. 18. CANCELLATION OF AIR AND TRAIN TICKETS In the course of reviews, the Government also got the feedback that several people had booked railway and international air tickets only to get them cancelled shortly afterwards to get refunds. This was another loophole found by some. The Government immediately announced that the money from cancellation of air tickets would not be refunded. Also, it started asking for bank details of those cancelling multiple railway tickets in order to transfer the refund amount in their account. 19. BAN ON COOPERATIVE BANKS The RBI on November 14 banned the district central cooperative banks (DCCB) from providing any exchange facility against Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. However, four states - Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu - have strongly opposed the RBI circular stating that the DCCBs are the backbone of rural economy and the only banking apparatus available to farmers and farm labourers. 20. DEPOSITS ABOVE Rs 2.5 LAKH The Narendra Modi Government did not put any cap on the maximum amount of cash to be deposited in banks. However, it was only a day after the announcement of the demonetisation process that the Centre warned that those depositing cash above Rs 2.50 lakh under the 50-day window till December 30 could attract tax plus a 200 per cent penalty in case of income mismatch. Any mismatch with income declared by the account holder will be treated as a case of tax evasion and the tax amount plus a penalty of 200 per cent of the tax payable would be levied as per the Section 270(A) of the Income Tax Act. --- ENDS --- Ever since PM Modi announced demonetisation, troubles for labourers in fisheries and potato farmers in West Bengal have multiplied. Cash crunch has cast a shadow on the cultivation season here. By Manogya Loiwal : The love for fish in Bengal is not a hidden secret but the underlying control of water bodies by ruling party surely is. The demonetisation effect on the fisheries industry is such that the fish pond owners and those in the business are running into huge losses. The number of fish ponds or popularly called 'bheries' in Bengal runs into a few thousands with an estimate of a thousand in a district. The fish production is controlled by the ruling parties in true terms of the phrase...jiski satta uski bheri. advertisement India Today visited on such pond in north 24 Parganas which claims to be running into losses but is saved from the hassles of payments to political parties for a few days. The bheri is around 100 acre and produces tonnes of fishes. They are supplied every day to the local market but the prices have dipped drastically in past two weeks. Also read: Infant dies as Pune hospital refuses part payment in old notes "Our business of fishery is going through a loss, because the fishes that we buy cost about Rs 120 and at present it is getting sold at about Rs 60. Daily wages to labours amount to about Rs 25,000 and because of the slump in sale we are unable to pay the labourers. From where will we bring the cash for everyday transactions? We are receiving less amount of money every week so how are we going to pay the labourers? " asked Rahul Shaw, a manager with the bheri. CASH WOES GRIP FISHERIES Another co-worker Asim Mandal to rued over the problems faced by them following the demonetisation. "My fishery business is not taking place through banking system, all we deal is with cash and that is becoming a problem for us. Ever since the banks limited the withdrawal on cash, we are going through losses as our routine involves a lot of cash transaction. Fishes sent to the market are not being sold as after demonetisation there is a steep decrease in the number of customers," said Mandal. Fisheries industry are labour intensive and hence involve a huge amount of cash transactions. An average 100 acre of a water body has to shell out a minimum of Rs two lakh annually to a designated leader. This money is paid in order to ensure smooth functioning and operations. The bheris are at present running into losses ranging from Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000 each day. The workforce too is apprehensive about the cash being deposited into the banking system without being scrutinised. Also read: Demonetisation hits Minister Sadananda Gowda, denied brother's body by Mangaluru hospital Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on the midnight of November 8, has affected several agrarian businesses across the country. Potato farmers too share a similar predicament as the labourers working in the fisheries department. advertisement NEW NOTES CHOKE BUSINESS "We are unable to change Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes making it very difficult for us. Carrying out transactions with the new Rs 2,000 notes too is a difficult task. We are not getting any labour nor able to buy seeds and products for the cultivation. Without change for the higher denominations we cannot go to the shops. We are not getting any labour nor able to buy seeds and products for the cultivation," said Pushanta Pal a potato farmer. Pal added that if the cultivation is destroyed many like him will run into major losses. According to him, the limit on withdrawal to is posing a grave problem for them. A potato farmer with the outlawed Rs 500 note. (Photo: Sujata Mehera) Several farmers like Pal find it a daunting task to queue up outside banks, as they have to sacrifice their working hours to exchange or withdraw cash. Also read: Bharat Bandh called by a united Opposition on Nov 28 against demonetisation advertisement "Right now if we go to deposit 500 and 1000 rupees note then we are not able to exchange more than 4000 rupees and only 10,000 rupees is able to withdraw from bank account. This new policy has made our cultivation's production low. People who are having 5 square feet of land they require Rs one lakh loan but the farmer won't get more than 20,000 every week so for that farmer has to wait for at least five weeks," said another farmer Sonatam Malik DEMONETISATION OBSTRUCTS CULTIVATION SEASON Malik added that although people support the decision, it would have been better if the government took the step after the cultivation season. According to him, this was a crucial time for potato farming. "I cultivate potatoes but yet I have not able to seed my land. Due to demonetization those buying the cultivated potatoes are paying in the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. The seed seller is asking me to bring new notes, from where I will get so much money, at the moment a bag full of seeds costs about Rs 2,000. As much cultivation will get delayed, that much less production will take place and thus we will end up having loss," said Jiban Pal a farmer from Polempur area of Kamalpur Maidan. advertisement Also read: Show wedding cards, advance payment slips to withdraw Rs 2.5 lakh: RBI's new instructions Pal added that presently about half of the cultivation has been removed from the field and the remaining are yet to be taken out due to labour problems. "For now the paddy field is ready for cultivation but still it couldn't seedbed the land. I have no idea when it will be possible as I have not much money. Should I work in field or queue up outside a bank? This is the problem. If cultivation doesn't take place in time then it will become difficult later on," said Pal. Also read: PM Modi to BJP MPs: Don't call demonetisation surgical strike, only soldiers do that --- ENDS --- Private hospital KMC refused to take old notes after Sadananda Gowda's brother passed away due to illness By Rohini Swamy: Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda has himself become a victim of demonetisation. When his brother DV Bhaskar passed away, the hospital where Gowda's brother was admitted refused to take old currency notes to settle the bills and refused to release the body till the bills were settled either through the new notes or through a cheque. DV Bhaskar was suffering from jaundice and was undertaking treatment at the Kasturba medical college in Mangaluru. Bhaskar passed away due to complications and Sadananda Gowda rushed to Mangaluru from Delhi on hearing that his brother had died. advertisement The bills for the treatment of DV Bhaskar was Rs 2.4 lakh. Rs 2 lakh of which was paid through ATM debit card and Rs 40,000 through cheque. The hospital refused to take cash because of demonetisation. The KMC hospital refused to pay heed to the minister who frantically requested the hospital authorities to release the body as the Union minister want to settle the bills with the old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations. Despite repeated requests the hospital authorities did not budge. DV Bhaskar was suffering from jaundice and was undertaking treatment at the Kasturba medical college in Mangaluru. Also Read: Infant dies as Pune hospital refuses part payment in old notes Sadananda Gowda went on to explain to the hospital authorities that the union government has allowed hospitals to take old currencies till November 25. To this the KMC officials said that it only applied to government hospitals and not to the private hospitals like themselves. An angered Sadanand Gowda asked the hospital to give it in writing, that they will not accept old notes as they are a private hospital,which they did. He went on to say 'If this is how you behave with a central minister, what happens to the common man who comes for treatment at a private hospital like KMC?" Also Read: Delhi: Hospitals reject banned currency, turn away patients as demonetisation kicks in The KMC officials in return asked the minister, "If you can give us an assurance in writing that the banks will accept that the old notes that you are using to settle the bills, we will take it." Sadananda Gowda could not assure that. Finally, the central minister paid by cheque and released his brother's body for the final rites. Also Read: Mega Opposition protest against demonetisation outside Parliament Gowda has instructed the BJP local leader Krishna Palemar to submit a report on the hospital and how people are inconvenienced as private hospital refuse to take old notes. He also has asked for a detailed report on Kasturba medical College and is expected to take serious action of found guilty. Minister's reply- Karnataka health minister Ramesh kumar says, that the state is helpless and they can only appeal to the private hospitals to act on humanitarian grounds. advertisement Karnataka Food and Civil supplies minister and Ullal (Mangaluru) MLA UT Khader says, that the center should be ready to face and address the problems of the common man and not behave like dictators BJP MLA Suresh kumar says, it is a sad case of how hospitals are at faking fault and action needs to be taken against those who violate. Also Read: Show wedding cards, advance payment slips to withdraw Rs 2.5 lakh: RBI's new instructions WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- By Mausami Singh: Battlelines have been drawn between the government and the Opposition on the issue of demonetisation. A united Opposition has called Bharat bandh or 'Akrosh Diwas' on November 28 against the government's demonetisation drive. The Opposition has been mounting pressure on the Prime Minister with a show of strength spilling over from Parliament to Jantar Mantar. Over a dozen Opposition parties have joined hands to corner the government on the issue even as there were differences over what they demanded. While Rahul Gandhi-led Congress claimed the Opposition was united, the government was unfazed after its bold step and blamed the Opposition for the showdown. advertisement MARCH DIFFERENTLY, STRIKE TOGETHER 'March differently but strike together' -- an old saying reiterated by CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, sums up the orderly protest witnessed in Parliament just before the House convened on Wednesday morning. As telling stories of trauma and pain poured in from across the country after the government's sudden demonetisation order, politicians who otherwise won't see eye to eye stood shoulder-to-shoulder to oppose the NDA government. Over 13 Opposition parties, including arch-rivals TMC and Left, BSP and SP, AIADMK and DMK, as well as regional outfits like NCP, JMM, MIM joined the Congress to put up a strong show. Also read | 20 provisions of demonetisation modified by Modi sarkar in 15 days Although all leaders spoke in one voice against the government's shoddy implementation of the scheme, there were discordant voices about the future strategy. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, however, claimed there were no fault lines in the opposition. "Our first demand is that the PM should come into the house. Secondly, there should be a JPC formed to investigate how a few leaders of the BJP came to know in advance that we are all united", he said avoiding the question on Trinamool Congress demanding a rollback. Despite the government alleging that the Opposition had been shifting the goalpost, there was near unity among the latter over the demand that Prime minister be present during a debate in both houses of Parliament. In the lower house, the Opposition has been demanding an adjournment motion under Rule 56 that will require voting, but the government has been adamant on a short-duration discussion under Rule 193. The government got a shot in the arm as the Biju Janta Dal joined its chorus of supporters. The Opposition's unity has been seen to be weakening as the TMC, one of the main catalysts behind bringing all parties on board, is demanding a complete roll back of the decision. THERE ARE 3 MAJOR DIFFERENCES Firstly, the BSP and Congress want to march to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, but the Left thinks it is futile since President has already supported the move. Secondly, the Left wants to do a Bharat Bandh, but others were not on board as that would inconvenience the common man Thirdly, JD-U is not very vocal against government, as Nitish Kumar has already supported the Prime Minister's decision. It is not surprising that parties, which are each others' rivals, have come together on a shaky ground. Last week, it was the Left that derailed Mamata's efforts to march with the Congress and other political parties to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Today, Mulayam and Mayawati gave the protest a miss sending their MPs to shoulder Rahul Gandhi. Responding to a question, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said, "There cannot be a unilateral way to take decisions. Everybody should be taken on board." advertisement Also read | PM Modi shares demonetisation survey results, says 90 per cent respondents back drive One issue that all Opposition parties agree on is the demand for the setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee. However, political pundits would agree that even as the Opposition might have done well to put up a show of strength and forget their internal differences, the question is whether it has been able to dispel the notion that the PM's big decision to crack down on black money was a masterstroke. OPPOSITION NON-SERIOUS: GOVERNMENT The government tore into the Opposition's protest, accusing them of being non-serious. "They are not united, they are in a minority and the people of this country are with the PM. They are running away from a serious discussion, why doesn't Rahul Gandhi say what he is saying in the house?" advertisement Later in the day, Mamata sat on a day-long dharna at Jantar Mantar. A few leaders such as Sharad Yadav from the JD-U have come forward in her support. Strategy meetings and planning in the Opposition indicate that Opposition leaders have sensed a rare opportunity to target the Prime Minister on an issue that so closely concerns the common man and who knows what might just turn out to be a decisive step forward to a new political order. --- ENDS --- By PTI: Panaji, Nov 23 (PTI) AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh today said Congress will go it alone in the Goa Assembly polls even as he appealed to splinter groups to join the party to take on BJP. "We are prepared for all 40 seats. Whoever wants to fight BJP, they should join our party...They should contest on our ticket. Seat sharing is done where there is a political ideology. How can you fight BJP by forming splinter groups? They should come to mainstream Congress," Singh said. advertisement Political parties like Goa Forward and NCP have expressed willingness to align with Congress to fight BJP in the Assembly polls. Asked if his party will declare its chief ministerial candidate in advance, he said, "Congress usually doesnt declare its CM candidates except for a few places. In parliamentary democracy, elections are fought on ideology. Based on that we will ask people to vote for us. We want to give a clean government. We want to maintain the clean character of the state." Singh attributed the mistakes committed in the Congress rule in Goa during 2007-2012 to the alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. MGP had a tie up with Congress before it stitched a coalition with BJP in 2012. "Last time, we were in an alliance with MGP. We did not have absolute majority, many legislators pressurised us due to which we had to make compromises. We wish to win an absolute majority in 2017 so that we do not have to do make compromises again," he said. PTI RPS DK GVS --- ENDS --- Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/11/2016 (2171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A recent expansion has one of the citys leading music labels and artist-management firms looking forward to a banner 2017. Pipe & Hat, now Pipe & Hat Music Group, decided to add two new divisions and to clarify the roles of their two existing ones. The group, which supports up-and-coming local artists such as Attica Riots and the Noble Thiefs, is composed of Pipe & Hat Artist Management, Sugar Gator Records, Flint/Fire Development and Jellyfish Jam Creative Services. Pipe & Hat was growing in the four areas you now see as divisions. The expansion was a way to make this growth more concrete and ensure our fans, our artists, our team and potential collaborators had a clear picture of who we are, why were here and the services we provide, says Pipe & Hat president Tim Jones. This was the catalyst behind the launch of Pipe & Hat Music Group. TRAVIS ROSS PHOTO Sc Mira performs at the Festival du Voyageur in 2015. The addition of Flint/Fire was one of necessity, as Pipe & Hat was finding they didnt have a place for acts who were in their infancy as artists. Jones said many musicians would approach him for advice and help, but didnt meet the criteria to be managed by Pipe & Hat. The acts falling under that umbrella will now be placed in the Flint/Fire division, which will also tackle community development, including producing Pride Winnipegs 30th anniversary event in June 2017. The expansion gives Pipe & Hat the distinction of being the only company in the city to offer all those services under one roof, so to speak (the company ditched its literal roof in the Exchange District; the three full-time staff members plus one part-timer and one intern work remotely). Jones admits that doing so much at the same time may not always work out for the best, but hes optimistic that the future of the group is a bright one, for both his staff and the artists they work with. For better or for worse, commercial viability is pretty top of the list for us now, which might seem odd when you see some of our acts, but keeping in mind weve been working with them for years and were not just going to drop them or anything. When you look at Bright Righteous or Attica Riots or Faouzia, we dont hope that theyll be playing in arenas; that is the expectation. Its kinda that or nothing, that or bust to a certain extent, says Jones, 31. We want the plateau for the acts on Pipe & Hat management to be at that level. From a vision standpoint, a lot of people tell you its about the art and its about all that kind of stuff, and dont get me wrong, I like the music of all the artists I work with, I wouldnt work with them if I didnt like their music, but we have to see some level of commercial viability. Pipe & Hat began officially in 2009 as a management firm that was more or less artist-instigated. Jones explains that he unintentionally wound up managing local hip-hop group the Lytics in the early stages of their career, which snowballed into other artists approaching him to do the same for them. Lane Dorsey photo Attica Riots He and his former partner, Kenny Huynh, then decided to launch the company under the name Pipe & Hat. In 2011, they added the record label after it became apparent that a distribution deal with Fontana North, a Toronto company, was a distinct possibility. In that first year, the Pipe & Hat label released an EP and full-length record for indie-roots darling Ingrid Gatin, the first record for rock and soul outfit the Noble Thiefs and rock duo Mise en Scenes first record. Thats how things started, and that was all within sort of a year, so the label took off very quickly, we had a lot of releases right away, says Jones, who is now the sole owner, having bought out his partners this past summer. At the time, it was a way to benefit our management artists, but now in the last couple years, its mostly been non-management artists that weve put out, so the label is starting to live on its own, hence why we rebranded and did everything else. Currently, Sugar Gator Record is home to a handful of artists who are actively creating and releasing new music, which includes Mise en Scene and the Noble Thiefs, as well as the Moulettes out of the U.K., who performed on the mainstage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival in July, and local group SC Mira. Pipe & Hat is a locally based and internationally focused brand, says Jane Puchniak, marketing director for Pipe & Hat. Its taking these exceptionally talented creatives from Winnipeg and connecting them to their fans and audience locally, which is always that very intimate and special experience, but also connecting them with fans in the American market, the biggest music market in the world and connecting them with fans overseas so that we can establish a career for them that is sustainable for them and longterm, so that they can continue to create music and create art that they love and that can inspire others. Puchniak recently represented Pipe & Hat, and Canada, at a trade mission in New York hosted by the Canadian Independent Music Association. She was one of only 10 delegates chosen from Canada, the majority of whom were from larger music hubs, such as Toronto and Montreal. TRAVIS ROSS PHOTO Bright Righteous singer Kevin Hogg At one point, Jones considered moving the operations head office to Toronto from Winnipeg after many people in the industry told him of the moves benefits, but, in addition to the cheaper cost of living in Winnipeg, one big thing stopped him. The whole reason why our model worked was with Winnipeg being often forgotten by the industry, artists that we probably wouldnt have had a shot working with if they lived in Toronto in New York or L.A., we ended up getting to work with them because nobody found out about them Thats how we made our name, he says. So if I moved, I wouldnt be here to find the next Bright Righteous or SC Mira or whoever. Now, at this point, I feel very proud of the fact that were here, he continues. I think its arrogant to say we want to put Winnipeg on the map, because Winnipeg is already on the map, but I want to contribute to the story. erin.lebar@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @NireRabel If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. TRAVIS ROSS PHOTO The Noble Thiefs TRAVIS ROSS PHOTO Faouzia performs at Canadas Walk of Fame Festival in Toronto. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Pipe & Hat president Tim Jones Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/11/2016 (2171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Negotiations between the U.S.-based owners of the Port of Churchill and a potential buyer group made up at least in part of northern Manitoba First Nations are expected to begin in the coming days. Chief Christian Sinclair of Opaskwayak Cree Nation said Tuesday lawyers for the so-called Northern Delegation and Omnitrax Canada which owns the port and the rail line leading to it met a few days ago. Legal teams are laying the groundwork for more formal talks, he said. Sinclair said the Northern Delegation has assembled a very strong team of expertise and will submit a formal proposal to Omnitrax soon. PHOTO COURTESY CHURCHILL GATEWAY DEVELOPMENT CORP. OMNITRAX The Port of Churchill is seen from the air. They have a time frame that were going to meet, he said of the port owners. The Northern Delegation, which is co-chaired by Sinclair and Churchill Mayor Michael Spence, comprises First Nations and Metis communities along the Hudson Bay Railway, as well as The Pas, Flin Flon, Thompson and Churchill. It also includes an association of communities from the Kivaliq region of Nunavut. Sinclair said several First Nations that had previously supported an initiative to acquire the rail line and port from Omnitrax, which was led by Mathias Colomb First Nation chief Arlen Dumas, have rescinded that support and are now part of the Northern Delegation. The Port of Churchill did not handle any grain during the 2016 shipping season. In July, Omnitrax abruptly cancelled grain shipments without notice, causing the layoffs of more than 100 grain elevator, port and railway employees. Omnitrax also halved the frequency of freight shipments to Churchill to once a week. Delegates to the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) annual meeting in Winnipeg passed an emergency resolution Tuesday calling for joint action on the part of the federal and Manitoba governments to ensure the port reopens in time for the 2017 grain shipping season next summer. They also called on the AMM to lobby the province to make revitalizing the port and railway the No. 1 priority of its new Northern Economic Development Strategy Task Force. Chuck Davidson, president and CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, is co-chairing that task force with Sinclair. Davidson said resolving the operations and ownership of the northern railroad and port are expected to be front-and-centre during those discussions. Hopefully we are going to be able to make recommendations on potential solutions to these issues in order to see it continue to move forward, Davidson said. Churchill Mayor Spence said at a news conference in Winnipeg Tuesday morning that with the Tolko paper mill in The Pas now under new ownership, the future of the Port of Churchill and its rail line is now the single biggest threat our region faces. Spence said the federal and provincial governments must show leadership in ensuring a transfer in ownership takes place and a plan is developed to guarantee the port and rail line are successful in the future. Omnitrax has made no public comments in over two months and has not committed to reopening the port and elevator in 2017. This has led to real urgency in our request for support to move the transfer of ownership along, he said. We will not allow the line to be sold for scrap. Spence noted the federal government has committed $4 million in economic development support for the region. He said the province must do the same. In September, Industry Minister Navdeep Bains travelled to Churchill to pledge $4.6 million in economic development cash for community-driven economic development projects including tourism, health care, education and infrastructure. Almost two months later, none of it has been spent. A spokesman for Bains told the Free Press Tuesday the minister hasnt received any proposals yet for the funds. Spence said Churchill needs training to get people back to work. Premier Brian Pallister said the approach his government takes to resolving the issues with the rail line and port at Churchill will be similar to how it handled the Tolko issue. I believe that our best work is done by being supportive in developing the team around the solution because any solutions that will be found wont be isolated to one level of government or one government agency, he said Tuesday, declining to elaborate. Spence and Sinclair were surrounded by municipal leaders from throughout the North at Tuesdays news conference at the RBC Convention Centre. The AMM represents all 137 municipalities in the province. Some 900 delegates are in the city for its annual meeting this week. The potential loss of the port and rail line would be a setback to all municipalities in the province, AMM president Chris Goertzen said. The development of Canadas North benefits us all. Churchill is Canadas only Arctic port. The number of groups that have coalesced in support of the seaport and rail line in recent months is unprecedented in its scope, participants say. They include northern towns and First Nations in Manitoba as well as communities of the Kivalliq region of Nunavut and the Hudson Bay Route Association. The reduction of freight service along the Bay Line has pushed up living costs and restricted access to fresh foods. Residents were recently hit with a five per cent increase in freight charges, Spence said. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.camartin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Larry Kusch Legislature reporter Larry Kusch didnt know what he wanted to do with his life until he attended a high school newspaper editors workshop in Regina in the summer of 1969 and listened to a university student speak glowingly about the journalism program at Carleton University in Ottawa. Read full biography The video has US President-elect Donald Trump contesting in Tamil Nadu elections against Jayalalithaa, and he is fighting to "Make Tamil Nadu Great Again." By Akshaya Nath: Political satire is not something new, but the latest person to get featured in YouTube channel Put Chutney, was none other than US President-elect Donald Trump. There have been many comic videos made on Trump, but this Tamil YouTube channel has taken a big step mocking the political situation in Tamil Nadu. The video features Trump coming to Tamil Nadu to contest against Jayalalithaa, and is fighting the elections to "make Tamil Nadu great again." advertisement The video goes on to take a dig at Trump's various earlier statements, like building a wall, turning away immigrants and assaulting women, etc. Well, it is not just Trump that features in this hilarious video. Both DMDK chief Vijayakant and PWF leader Vaiko make the whole satire more enjoyable. For more, take a look at the video: --- ENDS --- Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/11/2016 (2171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Premier Brian Pallister blasted a federal government plan Tuesday to consider acquiring 18 new Boeing-made Super Hornet fighter jets, saying it would have a severe negative impact on Manitoba. Pallister was reacting to a report the Liberal government will explore the acquisition of the Hornets on an interim basis until it can decide on a permanent replacement for the countrys aging fleet of fighter planes. The move would deal a blow to the local aerospace industry, the premier said, naming Magellan as one of the local companies impacted. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Premier Brian Pallister says, Were not impressed or happy with the announcement the federal government is looking to acquire Super Hornet jets. Im very concerned in respect of the actions that have been taken by the federal government today, he told reporters. It will have a severe negative impact on the province of Manitoba. Pallister said the federal move is a departure from previous public commitments by Ottawa to Manitobas aerospace industry. Through additional research and dialogue we will be pursuing a course of action on this, but were not impressed or happy with the announcement this morning, he said. The Winnipeg division of Magellan Aerospace is the largest Canadian structural supplier to Lockheed Martins F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It has invested tens of millions of dollars in a production facility specifically to produce horizontal tail assemblies for the conventional take-off and landing variant of the F-35. Earlier this month it received a two-year extension on its contract with BAE Aerospace, the major supplier to Lockheed Martin, that will mean about $70 million in revenue for Magellan. The company had anticipated producing about 1,000 horizontal tail assemblies over the lifetime of production of the F-35, generating about $2 billion in revenue. Magellan has about 150 people employed in the F-35 work and company officials have said that number could triple if it remains in the supply chain and as production ramps up. But Scott McCrady Magellans corporate F-35 program director and the chairman of the Canadian JSF Industrial Group has said in the past that future work will become uncertain were the Canadian government to decide not to buy the F-35. Tuesday afternoon, he said, Honestly, we are still figuring it out. But we have a very good relationship with our customer. There are contracts in place and we expect them to be honored and expect to honour our commitments but we do not really know what is coming. LOCKHEED MARTIN A Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The local division of Magellan Aerospace is Canadas largest structural supplier for the jet. An official who works in the aerospace industry in Manitoba who spoke on condition his name not be used, said, Eventually Lockheed Martin and BAE are going to say if the Canadian government makes the choice not to go with F-35 they will pull out work from Magellan not tomorrow, not for a number of years perhaps, but eventually they would. That would have have impact. But Winnipeg could also potentially benefit from the purchase of Boeing-made Super Hornets. Boeing has its largest Canadian presence in Winnipeg, with about 1,500 employees out of a total of 2,000 in Canada making about 600 different parts for the entire line of Boeing commercial jets. Boeing also has a good track record of generating industrial regional benefits in Canada. It is in the middle of $2.9 billion worth of spending in Canada after the countrys recent purchase of five Boeing C-17 Globemasters. Pallister planned to hold discussions Tuesday with local aerospace officials. He said he also intends to meet with local unions who will be affected by the federal announcement. There were real plans in place here for expansion and job opportunities in Manitoba that I think all of us were very excited about, the premier said. Im concerned also about the nature of how this purchase was done. I think the federal government has left itself open to criticisms in respect of the lack of transparency and openness and in respect the lack of intelligent use of the market and available options, he said. Pallister said he would be making his views known to Ottawa. Well have more to say in the next few hours, he said Tuesday afternoon. KIM HONG-JI / POOL / AP The federal Liberal government says it will "explore the acquisition'' of 18 new Boeing-made Super Hornet jets on an interim basis until it can decide on a permanent replacement for Canada's aging fleet of fighter planes. with files from the Canadian Press larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Larry Kusch Legislature reporter Larry Kusch didnt know what he wanted to do with his life until he attended a high school newspaper editors workshop in Regina in the summer of 1969 and listened to a university student speak glowingly about the journalism program at Carleton University in Ottawa. Read full biography Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/11/2016 (2170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. It took less than two minutes from the time Winnipeg police officer Tricia Zurawsky first spotted 26-year-old Craig McDougall for him to approach her with a knife and police to fatally shoot him, Zurawsky testified Wednesday. On the sixth day of the inquest into McDougalls 2008 death, Zurawsky described the events leading up to the gunfire from another officers weapon in the front yard of McDougalls Simcoe Street home. Three of the officers four shots hit McDougall, who had also been hit twice with a Taser. Craig McDougall, 26, was shot and killed by a Winnipeg police officer on August 2, 2008. Zurawsky was one of three officers who responded to a call reporting a stabbing at the West End home. She approached the house just after 5 a.m. with her partner, Const. Jason Leishman. Acting Patrol Sgt. Curtis Beyak was already on the scene. With a flashlight in hand, Zurawsky said she approached the front yard and peered towards the back alley, where she saw McDougall. She told the court he was wearing jeans but had no shirt on and there was a cellphone in his left hand. He began to walk toward Zurawsky without saying a word in a manner she described as stone-cold and with a purpose. He just looked right through me, she said. It was only when he got closer and began to round the corner toward the yard, that Zurawsky said she saw a knife pressed up against his wrist, tip towards his elbow, his hand gripping the handle. Knife! Knife! He has a knife! she told the court she yelled. At that point, it became a game-changer, she said. Pinned, corralled, cornered Zurawsky described the scene as chaotic and fast-moving and said as McDougall approached the yard, she and the two other officers felt cornered he was blocking their only exit. As he approached, a young child appeared outside the front door. I felt pinned, corralled, cornered, she told the court. My fear was him entering the home. Leishman fired a Taser at McDougall, which was ineffective, she said. As officers screamed at the child to go inside, Zurawsky said she heard shots fired. I heard two shots pop, pop and the subject falls, she said. She radioed to let police know shots had been fired one minute and 45 seconds after police first arrived on the scene. Zurawsky is one of many witnesses testifying at the mandatory inquest, which is the first in Manitoba to consider what role, if any, systemic racism played in a police shooting. The inquest isnt designed to lay blame for McDougalls death an external review has already concluded police were justified in shooting him. At issue is whether anything could have been done differently that may have prevented the death, lawyer Corey Shefman, who is representing the McDougall family, said previously. On Tuesday, provincial court Associate Chief Judge Anne Krahn heard testimony from Beyak, the officer who fired the shots. Earlier this month, McDougalls father Brian testified, telling the court that he was tackled to the ground after his son was shot and held there by an officer pressing on his neck with his knee. McDougalls father said he didnt see any paramedics or anyone trying to help his son. He was put in a police cruiser, taken to the Public Safety Building, questioned and later told his son didnt make it, he testified. As the inquest continues, the judge is expected to hear more about how police shootings are investigated and how policies have changed since the Manitoba Independent Investigation Unit came into force in June 2015. Craigs uncle, John McDougall is expected to testify on Thursday, however inquest lawyer Crown David Gray said Wednesday they were having difficulty locating him. with files from Katie May Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/11/2016 (2170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Winnipegs murder rate continues to fall. New data released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday in the 2015 Homicide Survey revealed Winnipeg which had been known as the countrys murder capital a few years ago has taken a back seat to Regina, Saskatoon and Edmonton for the highest homicide rates per capita in the country last year. The study reported homicide rates per 100,000 population in 33 census metropolitan areas in Canada. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES There were 22 homicide victims in Winnipeg 2015, down from 27 in 2014 Regina led with 3.30 victims per 100,000 population, followed by Saskatoon at 3.22, Edmonton at 2.87 and Winnipeg at 2.72. In total number of victims, there were 22 homicide victims in Winnipeg in 2015, down from 27 in 2014. Only Toronto (82), Vancouver (47), Edmonton (39) and Calgary (39) had more. But Manitoba had the second-highest homicide rate in 2015 among the provinces, behind only Saskatchewan. The lowest rates were in Quebec, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Overall, police services across Canada reported 604 murders in 2015 83 more than in 2014. The country saw its national homicide rate increase by 15 per cent in 2015, to 1.68 per 100,000 population, which is the highest rate since 2011. Guns were used 14 per cent more often in 2015 for killing people, the highest rate since 2010, and there were 178 firearms-related homicides in 2015 23 more than the previous year. The data showed that most homicide victims knew their killers. In 2015, 87 per cent of solved homicides were committed by a person known to the victim. Victims were most often killed by family members other than a spouse (22 per cent), casual acquaintances (22 per cent) or former spouses (14 per cent). There were 83 intimate partner homicides in 2015, three fewer than the previous year. Aboriginal peoples made up 25 per cent of Canadas total number of murdered people while aboriginal people account for about 5 per cent of the countrys population. The study showed that aboriginal people were victims of homicide at a rate that was seven times higher than non-aboriginals. Indigenous men were at the greatest risk of being victims of homicide in 2015 as they were seven times more likely to be murdered than non-aborginal men and three times more likely to be a murder victim than aboriginal females. However, a greater proportion of aboriginal female homicide victims were killed by a casual acquaintance 18 per cent compared to 11 per cent of non-aboriginal females. Data available for the first time in 2015 showed that female homicide victims were two-and-a-half times more likely to be listed as missing persons at the time the homicide was discovered. Overall, males accounted for the majority of both homicide victims and accused persons. In 2015, 71 per cent of homicide victims and 88 per cent of homicide accused were male, findings that have remained consistent over the past 10 years. The highest rates of homicide among male victims were among those aged 25-34 followed by those aged 18-24. For females, the highest homicide rate was for those aged 18-24 years followed by females aged 25-34 years. Overall, police reported an increase in the number of homicides involving a victim who had a criminal relationship with the accused killer 54 in 2015 compared to 29 in 2014. The data was collected through police-reported information on homicide incidents, victims and accused persons in Canada. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/11/2016 (2170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Overshadowed by Ottawas announcement this week it plans to phase out coal-powered electricity by 2030 was another significant climate-change commitment by Manitoba Premier Brian Pallisters Progressive Conservative government. In Mondays speech from the throne, Pallister reiterated the provinces support for a made-in-Manitoba approach to carbon pricing. Manitobas throne speech suggests carbon pricing is part of a broader suite of policies that address environmental challenges and economic aspirations. Investing in clean growth and building resilience to the effects of climate change are among the goals of the government outlined in the speech. Together, they form the kind of holistic climate-change plan Manitoba needs to ensure we protect the environment, develop our economy and protect social supports for Manitobans. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Premier Brian Pallister has touted a made-in-Manitoba approach to carbon pricing. This is a tumultuous time for carbon policy, with United States president-elect Donald Trump vowing to roll back his countrys progress on climate change. The leader of the official Opposition in the House of Commons and some of Premier Pallisters counterparts have come out ardently against carbon pricing as a result, arguing we risk diminishing our economic competitiveness vis-a-vis our southern neighbour. Thankfully, however, Canadas federal government is not backing away from its intent to price carbon, and Manitoba is also showing leadership by standing by its commitments as well. Beyond the importance of the commitment is the fact it comes from the opposite end of the political spectrum of the federal government. Manitoba is sending the signal climate change is not a partisan issue and that smart policy solutions can come from all sides of the left-right political spectrum. Developed properly, a carbon-pricing system can restructure the economy to a more sustainable, green model. The price of burning fossil fuels will increase, but the revenues raised can, and should, be directed to growing a prosperous green economy and assisting those who will be impacted by a rise in fossil fuel prices. There are several models for how this revenue can be used. In British Columbia, carbon-tax revenue is used to reduce income taxes. This model favours taxing negative items (greenhouse gas emissions) while lowering taxes on positive items (income). As a result, B.C. has the lowest income tax rates in Canada for individuals earning up to $122,000. In Quebec, revenues are used to fund the provincial Green Fund, which provides incentives for greater emissions reductions and earmarks spending for investment in adaptation to climate change. Alberta funds research and development aimed at helping industry lower its emissions and adopt more efficient approaches through the revenue it generates. In several jurisdictions, carbon-pricing revenue is also used to help low-income households adapt to carbon pricing and/or provide transitional supports to industries to ensure their continued competitiveness with enterprises in other jurisdictions. Manitobas task will be to ensure the revenues generated by carbon pricing will be used effectively and transparently, to balance the unique characteristics and sectoral breakdown of the provincial economy. Manitoba is already a leader on the generation of clean energy and can be as well in the development of carbon pricing. It will be up to the government to indicate which mix of approaches is best suited for our province, but we also know they are soliciting input from Manitobans and taking into account very carefully how pricing will impact the economy. These early signs are a good indicator, and we encourage the government to continue this engagement. For the rest of us, the task is to make sure we provide useful input to the government. For environmental groups, this means making the case about the need to address climate change and ensure climate policy is sufficiently stringent. Industry must explain the potential impacts carbon pricing will have on its business and suggest ways to ensure their ongoing competitiveness. For socially focused organizations, this means coming forward to ensure disadvantaged groups are not facing challenges that cannot be overcome, such as unaffordable energy prices. At a time of uncertainty over climate policy south of our border, Manitoba is showing leadership by entrenching its commitment on carbon pricing as part of its climate-change plan. Just as importantly, it is indicating to all Canadians climate change is not a left-right political issue but one all Canadians must respond to with sound policy solutions. Philip Gass is senior researcher at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/11/2016 (2170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Jail conditions across the province and specifically at the Winnipeg Remand Centre in Manitobas capital city must be investigated and changed. With several deaths in 2016, this is a real crisis and a gross injustice. It is time for provincial leaders to work in a transparent way to stop the deaths and find alternatives to incarceration. Prison is often thought to be the only place in our society where punishment happens. Prisons are organized federally, have a relatively stable prisoner population and access to more funding for services. Jails and remand centres are organized at the provincial level and lack the funding needed to provide services and exhibit more deplorable living and working conditions. Jails and remand centres are drastically different than prisons and require our critical attention. A lot of overlooked pain and suffering are taking place in jails. Broadly, jails are the place where individuals first coming into the system are processed and await trial, and some people serve short sentences. Most of the prisoners detained are on remand detained while awaiting trial or sentencing. Across Canada, but specifically in Manitoba, there is a big problem with jail bloat, as pointed out in a recent MacDonald-Laurier Institute criminal justice report card. Jail bloat is when court backlogs and lack of diversion programs causes remand populations to surge above 50 per cent. Half or more of jail prisoners are simply awaiting trial. They are presumed innocent but are held in worse conditions than those in prisons. They often cannot afford or manage to arrange bail. The unintended consequences of jail bloat include overcrowding, increased violence and the breakdown of remand centre organization, all of which are punitive in effect for jail prisoners. This remand system causes pain, suffering and, as we have seen in Manitoba, cruel deaths for many people who are presumed innocent. There are more reasons why jails and remand centres involve the worst injustices in the criminal justice system. Jails are more chaotic than prisons. The population turnover is about 45 to 50 times greater than with prison. There are always many more prisoners coming, and going and there is a lack of supervision. Across Canada, there are stories of homicides in jails and remand centres and suicides staff do not seem to find out about for hours. (The pain for families is worsened when the government refuses to release any details). A constant flux in the population and limited supervision leads to harmful collisions of different types of prisoners you do not get in prisons. Jail and remand centres also detain people with mental health issues who do not belong in jail and instead require health care. Canadian jails are full of people punished for their mental health issues. Another reason jail is worse than prison is there are few services or programs despite the number of people on remand and the length of time they are in for. These places are austere. There is little, if any, yard time. People are mostly held in their cells 22 to 23 hours a day. Those detained may be double- or triple-bunked. Some may await trial for months, even years. These are the conditions that create homicide and suicide in jails and remand centres. The system produces them. Jails and remand centres also continue the shameful colonial relationship between indigenous peoples and the Canadian state. Recent Statistics Canada numbers suggest that on average, there are about 14,000 adults held in remand centres across the provinces and territories and 10,000 adults in sentenced custody. Indigenous adults are overrepresented in admissions to jails and remand centres, accounting for one-quarter of admissions while representing about four per cent of the Canadian adult population. In some northern Manitoban jails, more than 60 per cent of the people being held are indigenous. This is despite the fact that in Canada we have seen many commissions in the past three decades argue the use of the criminal justice system to manage indigenous peoples needs to be stopped. The Winnipeg Remand Centre has particular problems and shows why jails are generally worse than prisons because of overcrowding, chaotic management, collision of different populations and lack of programs and services. Our provincial leaders should not only investigate jail and remand conditions in Manitoba, but also scale back and change the system. This does not mean simply changing the way jails work. It requires a bigger conversation about rates of arrest and over-policing, as well as court diversion. Some might argue Canada has missed the punitive turn evident in the United States, infamous for its mass incarceration; that in Canada, incarceration rates have gone down or remained stable since the 1950s, so there is no need to worry about jails. This deflects attention away from the lethal policies in operation in Canadian jails and remand centres today. Pretending we do not have a problem here discounts the lives taken away from Manitoban families, the people killed by a system that has always been broken. It is time to start paying attention. It is time to stop relying on jails and remand centres to manage the social and economic challenges we face. Kevin Walby is associate professor and chancellors research chair at the University of Winnipeg department of criminal justice. Winona County law enforcement, combined with agencies statewide, will be participating in extra DWI enforcement starting Nov. 23 and on weekends through Dec. 30. Officers, deputies and troopers from more than 300 agencies will be working overtime with funding provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety coordinates the extra enforcement and education effort. Drunk driving deaths are 100 percent avoidable. Nobody should get behind the wheel after drinking, said Winona County Sheriff Ron Ganrude in a statement. The holidays are a time for selfless acts that help others. If you have ever driven after drinking, commit to a New Years resolution of sober driving. Itll be the greatest gift youll ever give to family, friends and those you share the road with every day. Following a shakeup in the Minnesota Senate, the Republican majority on Tuesday unveiled a new committee structure and a number of new committees. Winona-area legislators will hold new and old positions for the 2017 session. Sen. Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, will be chairing the newly-formed Jobs and Economic Growth Finance and Policy Committee, which will be looking for ways to improve all facets of the Minnesotan economy. Miller, who won re-election for his third term this year, said economic issues and promoting workforce development warrant a committee because of how wide-reaching the issues are. It affects all of us in one way or another, Miller said in an interview Tuesday. Job growth and economic development will always be a priority to insure strong communities. When the committee convenes for the 2017 legislative session, they will begin exploring initiatives to improve the overall economy, including how to alleviate greater Minnesotas workforce shortage, Miller said. Miller saw his seniority in the Senate rise significantly with the election, and was promoted to serve as one of two deputy leaders, along with Sen. Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake. Miller is a new addition to the leadership team, after serving as ranking Republican on the Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee during the last two years. The committee is one of 22 in the restructured Senate. The flat committee structure will have all the committees dedicated to one topic or similar topics, to remove the need sub-committees and put more power to directly affect the way state government functions in the hands of the chairs of the committees. In the announcement Tuesday, newly-anointed Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, said many of the chairs had served in that capacity previously, and were all experienced in their subject areas and ready to work with all Senate and House members and the Governor. Were going to hit the ground running, Gazelka said. No doubt, there is a lot of work to do, but we are ready to lead. In the House, Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston, was selected to continue chairing the Minnesota House Tax Committee, which he was chair of in the 2011-2012 and 2015-2016 legislative sessions. Davids in particularly is anxious to get back to the Capitol and take a second crack at passing a comprehensive tax bill that had bipartisan support this year but died on Gov. Mark Daytons desk. Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, was also reappointed as chair of the Property Tax and Local Government Finance Division. Drazkowski, who received the chair appointment in 2015, his first, spent part of the time holding listening sessions around the state focused on property-tax and other reforms. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence today seized about 16 lakh tablets of psychotropic drugs worth Rs 57 lakh from Mira Road locality in Mumbai. By Virendrasingh Ghunawat: Based on the specific information that psychotropic substances in tablet form were being exported directly by a group based at Mira Road, adjoining to Mumbai - the special team of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) conducted a search operation and seized 16 lakh tablets valued at approximate Rs 57 lakh. Searches were conducted at the Mira Road premises of Allied Air Express and two other premises resulting in the seizure. advertisement The modus operandi adopted was that orders were received from United States and United Kingdom at three call centres based in different parts of India. The information was communicated to the company, who in-turn received their supplies from various suppliers at Sangli, Ludhiana and Delhi. "The tablets were then packed by the company in courier covers and sent to Delhi from where they were sent abroad by speed post as medical samples," said an official. Till now, eight persons have been apprehended. Also read: Narcotics Bureau raids multiple pharma companies, seizes psychotropic drugs worth over 100 crore Novel antiretroviral drugs may lower HIV transmission risk Udaipur: Bollywood producer Subash Dudhani arrested in connection with 3000 crore drug seizure --- ENDS --- The frac sand discussion in Winona County is over. At least for now. The Winona County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night voted narrowly to ban industrial sand mining for use in fracking in the county, following years of debate over what the countys role is in regulating and overseeing the commodity whose popularity related to its use in fracking elsewhere in the country spiked in recent years, only to see markets drive the demand into a near lull in 2016. The decision, which makes Winona County the first in Minnesota to pass a full ban without restrictions, was approved by a 3-2 vote, with commissioners Marcia Ward and Steve Jacob dissenting. The vote has been consistent for several months, amid multiple public hearings, working sessions, board discussions, and other gatherings as the county has vigorously debated its future role in playing a necessary role in a process that has invigorated domestic oil production while raising significant concerns over environmental and community health. Supporters of the ban have been vocal for several years to move the process forward, citing concerns with water and air quality, health effects on county residents and reclamation possibilities, as well as the ability of the Winona County planning department staff to oversee the industry given its size, resources and workload. Commissioner Greg Olson, the leading proponent of the ban from its first proposal, an issue that in some ways defined his successful re-election campaign, maintained that the majority of the people he heard from supported the ban. Id put more weight on the public that had spoken than I do a letter from an attorney from Minneapolis, Olson said, addressing ongoing concerns that an outright ban could invite legal challenges to the county. I think (the people) have been very unanimous. The other commissioners in support of the ban, Jim Pomeroy and Marie Kovecsi, didnt take much time to reiterate arguments theyve made in the past that the ban was the most efficient and clean way to move forward in terms of regulating the fine, round sand that in recent years has brought national and international interests to the county seeking to mine and process it. Ward and Jacob, meanwhile, were equally consistent in their arguments against the ban over the past several months, also maintaining that there will be impending lawsuits over the decision and it was unnecessary to ban a commodity when there are regulatory options. Jacob, whose motion to postpone the issue until Dec. 27 was voted down, said that a recent letter sent to the county board members by Minneapolis-based law firm Larkin Hoffman on behalf of unnamed clients threatening legal action, the letter Olson had referenced, showed that the board should not approve the ban. Jacob also said he had spoken with a representative of the Minnesota Industrial Sand Council and he thought the board should wait and review. With this litigation pending the wise thing to do would be to take the ordinance that we propose and the pending lawsuits and have the county attorney look at them, Jacob said. While Jacob advocated discussing the ban and lawsuit potential with parties threatening to sue the county, and referred to the document as a lawsuit, County Attorney Karin Sonneman clarified that a lawsuit would actually have to be filed to be called such, and the letter also referred to having to first review the decision made by the board. There is no lawsuit; it is the threat of a lawsuit, Sonneman said. Sonneman said that the process of creating a record of how the board made the decision was exactly the process intended to protect the county against a lawsuit. Sonneman said that that given the threats of lawsuits by mining industry advocates and opponents of the ban throughout the public discussions at the planning commission and county board levels, a person would have to be living under a rock to be surprised by a lawsuit or the threat of a lawsuit. Jacob and Ward also reiterated their characterization of the debate as urban versus rural interests. Additionally, Ward said, without offering specific evidence, there wasnt enough attention given to viewpoints that opposed the ban in the documentation pulled together to support the ban. Its very insulting to all the people who came and all the organizations who support the compromise, Ward said. Thats the beauty of democracy; theres more than one opinion, and no one opinion is right. The ban amendment was drafted by Sonneman and drew from several examples, including Goodhue Countys Florence Townships ban on silica sand mining for fracking and the Land Stewardship Projects proposed ban language from the spring. The legal analysis made several additions to the initial language, including making an argument for the amendment as it relates to the values in the countys comprehensive plan and the purpose of the countys zoning ordinance. It also clarifies the distinctions between restrictions on different types of mineral excavation, extraction and land alteration by defining some as commercial minerals compared to industrial minerals. It would not affect the inter-county or interstate commerce of sand by truck, rail or barge, and would only apply to new mines not grandfathered in, which were previous concerns with the ban. Id put more weight on the public that had spoken than I do a letter from an attorney from Minneapolis. I think (the people) have been very unanimous. County Commissioner Greg Olson Winona County has made a settlement in a long-standing court battle with a former administrator. A settlement agreement was approved by the Winona County Board of Commissioners Tuesday night for the suit brought by Duane Hebert, alleging he was improperly fired in May 2014. Winona County Attorney Karin Sonneman said the amount and details would not be released Tuesday night, pending final approval by a judge and both parties. Still, Hebert, reached by phone Tuesday night, said he believes the decision will be final and called it a success. It provides vindication for me and my family for everything weve been through, Hebert said. Hebert had originally requested a jury trial and a minimum of $75,000 in monetary damages, according to the filing in Winona County District Court, as well as consideration for additional money if the jury had determined the board defamed him by making statements about his actions prior to his dismissal. Hebert worked for the county from 2009 until 2014, when the board voted unanimously to fire him, citing an independent investigation that concluded he was improperly involved with a potential renewable energy project the county was considering. Hebert has long contended that his rights were violated and he was discriminated against because of his wifes employment with the energy company, arguing that since she was an independent contractor doing the companys finances, she played no role in negotiating the project. Hebert had argued the county terminated his employment because of his marital status, violated his right to due process by firing him without telling him the charges or allowing a public hearing beforehand, and denying him a public hearing to clear his name after he was fired. He also accused the board of defaming his name and reputation because the board of commissioners knew accusations against Hebert as committing malfeasance or gross misconduct were untrue, the court filing said. The lawsuit referred to a section of state law that says an administrator with more than one year of tenure can demand written charges and a public hearing on any disciplinary claim or action. Hebert was put on paid administrative leave in April 2014 while the outside investigation took place, and in May was fired. During that time Hebert did not go before the county board publicly, and, according to the filing, was never informed as to why he was on paid leave. After he was fired, he asked the board to provide him a name-clearing public hearing and at first the county agreed. A date was scheduled, but then canceled and another date was never finalized. In summer 2014 Hebert filed a discrimination claim against the county with the Minnesota Department of Rights. But the county didnt agree to the mediation process, saying it was confident it was within its rights to fire him. Hebert and his attorney retracted the claim soon after, giving them the ability to file the suit in Winona County. Hebert argued the county terminated his employment because of his marital status, violated his right to due process by firing him without telling him the charges or allowing a public hearing beforehand, and denying him a public hearing to clear his name after he was fired. The next election is just around the corner. Before the paint on the last protesters sign had even dried, State Superintendent of Schools Tony Evers unveiled his 2017 campaign or his Fair Funding Plan again. Evers usually sits quietly in his Madison office but every couple of years he pops up and shares his vision for Wisconsin public schools. Once again, he has proposed his pie-in-the sky Fair Funding Plan. Its a proposal that represents an increase of aids to schools of 2.2 percent for the 2017-18 biennium and 6.6 percent during the 2018-19 biennium. The goal of this increase is to shift how schools get funded and no district loses money. Evers introduced this same massive budget proposal in 2011, 2013, 2015, and again in time for his reelection bid. His plan assures that every school district initially receives more money. Who wouldnt love that? The fact is this proposal does nothing more than ignite his base of support because the unrealistic plan wont pass the Republican Legislature. In the short term, Evers retreaded education plan may sound great, but thats a lot of new money designed to do nothing more than encourage support for Evers. In the long term, its a proposal that takes even more taxpayer money and shifts it from some districts and gives it to other school districts. What this plan doesnt do is tell us how kids are going to get a better education. Its a proposal that also gives more money to school districts with declining enrollments. This is so those districts can keep paying for teachers they may not need anymore. It doesnt demonstrate how these dollars actually will impact the classroom. If Evers Fair Funding Plan will make education better, then why doesnt he ask for $1 billion? Or for that matter, why not $2 billion? The reality is his plan doesnt guarantee anything, despite the fact the majority of his request $514 million in new money would be needed to pay for his plan. On the upside, there is about $193 million that he does specifically direct to categorical school aids to pay for things like gifted and talented grants, library aids and special education. Other categorical aids, like transportation and school breakfast increases, simply dont make sense. Gas has crept below $2 a gallon, down from $4 a gallon, and he is seeking a 20 percent increase for kids being transported more than 12 miles. Evers budget is designed to create an us against them dilemma; a fight between educators and legislators. What it doesnt do is tell us how little Johnny is going to go from being a D student to a C student. It doesnt tell us whether teachers will get to make the important classroom decisions when teaching or if theyll be forced to teach to national Common Core standards. Three other candidates have thrown their hats into the ring for the top job in Wisconsin education. Maybe we finally will hear some fresh ideas for improving education, rather than Evers often failed Fair Funding Plan. Last week, John Humphries, a school administrator from Dodgeville, joined the race. He signed a recall petition against Scott Walker, but now says he realizes the Act 10 changes to collective bargaining were needed. Itll be interesting to see how he plays with conservatives, but he has clearly targeted Evers, claiming the superintendent spends too much time opposing the expansion of private vouchers and independent charter schools. Germantown Superintendent of Schools Jeff Holmes also is targeting conservative voters. He opposes Common Core and wants to return local control to our schools. He also opposes standardized testing, noting that each kid has his own bar and his own level of improvement. Finally, there is Lowell Holtz, a former cop who recently retired as Superintendent of Whitnall schools. He has an extensive resume working in a wide range of schools, from rural to urban settings. Holtz said, We cannot continue to lose children because we do not have the courage to put a system in place that will lead to student success. Unfortunately for Evers, his political battle first has to be fought at the polls in February and April 2017 before the June 2017 budget battle heats up. This time, he may have overplayed his hand and he wont have the financial backing of the WEAC teachers union. In April, the voters can finally kill Evers poorly conceived Fair Funding Plan. Then we wont have to see it again in 2019. FOX LAKE A food pantry that began as a Thanksgiving food drive plans to move to a new location, thanks to a donation from Kwik Trip, but volunteers and other donations are still needed to keep the project moving forward. Cindy Heller helps manage the Living Hope Community Church food pantry. She said the pantrys roots began a few years ago as a Thanksgiving food drive was hosted by the churchs youth group. They asked, What do we see as a need in the community? She said that led to asking, Why not a food pantry? Audra Michaels approached the churchs committee for permission to start one. Heller said the pantry started in one classroom at the church, and she took over when Michaels left the area. The pantry moved into a second room as the need for its services grew. We knew that we were going to have to move in May, Heller said. So the food pantry reached out to Kwik Trip seeking to lease its former location at 103 Spring St. The building has been vacant since the company moved to a new location on the west side of town. After years on the market it was being prepared for demolition. Instead of renting the space Kwik Trip offered to donate the building. From the outside it appears small, Heller said. But it is actually really big. The food pantry sought volunteers earlier in November to put a new roof on the building, and Heller said volunteer help is still welcome to help get the building ready to serve as a food pantry, and to help pick up and sort food. Her vision for the space includes a waiting area, play space for children while parents select food, a small space for an office and a kitchen with a couple of stoves. I would like to see nutrition classes here, Heller said. We get kale, spinach, turnips people dont know how to use it. The classes could introduce them to those types of foods. The food pantry also needs money to help pay for the building renovation, walk-in coolers, cupboards, stoves and sinks. Another wish list item is a van to pick up food donations. Heller said the pantry receives food donations from Richelieu Foods in Beaver Dam, Aldi, Wal-Mart and more. The food pantry also gets food through Second Harvest and welcomes donations of peanut butter, canned fruits and juice. Heller said the Living Hope Food Pantry serves residents of five school districts across three counties including Waupun, Randolph, Markesan, Fall River and Cambria-Friesland. The Living Hope Food Pantry, still located in the church, 740 W. State St., is open every Monday with hours changing each week. JUNEAU A 24-year-old inmate at the Stanley Correctional Facility pleaded not guilty Wednesday to theft charges after DNA extracted from the 2011 crime scene was found to be a match. Donny Lafferty faces one count of theft after he allegedly took copper cable from Link Aggregate Quarry, W8876 Spruce Road, town of Trenton. If convicted he faces up to 6 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Lafferty entered his not guilty plea before Judge Steven Bauer. Lafferty was previously issued a $1,000 signature bond but he remains incarcerated at this time. On March 24, 2011, officers were dispatched to Link Aggregate Quarry for a report of theft of electrical copper cable. The owner of the quarry told officers that his brother had come to the quarry and noted that some large electrical cable was wrapped around a power control box and he had noticed that the electrical wire had been cut off the electrical control panel and was stolen from the property. Another piece of coiled copper wire was taken as well, along with a small trail camera. He estimated that $8,400 worth of cable was stolen and the trail camera was valued at $400. Chewing tobacco was located where the copper wire was stolen which was taken into evidence to be tested for DNA. On April 21, 2014, the Wisconsin Department of Justice division of Law Enforcement Services State Crime Laboratory discovered that the DNA found on the chewing tobacco matched Lafferty. A search warrant was issued for Laffertys DNA sample. On April 5, 2016, officers traveled to Stanley Correctional Facility where Lafferty was held. Lafferty told officers that prior to his incarceration he had committed a number of drug-related crimes. He was convicted of two burglaries but admitted to committing 38 other burglaries or thefts. Lafferty admitted that the chewing tobacco found at the quarry was likely his. He admitted to stealing the wire which he said he sold for $1,000. He told officers he used the money to buy Percocet, a prescription drug that contains oxycodone. He will appear in court again on Dec. 9 for a plea/sentencing hearing. Roger Noll loves Beaver Dam. He has many memories and has learned much about his hometown dating back to his childhood and beyond. In fact, as the citys unofficial chief historian, he knows countless stories from Grubvilles early days, and the people and things that make it stand out as a truly remarkable place. Some saw him recently in the musical revue Town Hall Tonight, in which he spearheaded the search for resources and scripts to make the production possible. In it he portrayed Harlowe Hoyt, a Beaver Dam native who achieved a national reputation for his writing, reporting and reviewing. Others may have seen Noll serving on various boards, during his history presentations around the city, or while he was operating the Fred McMurray Museum for a time at Heritage Village Mall. Noll graduated from Beaver Dam High School, studied history and speech at UW-Oshkosh, graduated from Loyola Law School, and obtained his master of business administration degree from UW-Madison. He worked at a title firm in Milwaukee and Chicago before eventually returning to Beaver Dam. One of his latest endeavors, and one that will be featured at the head of the Downtown Beaver Dam Parade on Dec. 3, is his reconstruction of the Monarch Range Calliope. The calliope was a staple in local parades and city circus nights for decades. Monarch ranges, the product of the Malleable Iron Range Company, were used around the world even as far as Antarctica. The calliope was built in the early 1940s by a Monarch engineer, Walter Schweitzer, but was dismantled sometime in the 1970s. The calliope was built to celebrate the companys 50th anniversary, and was a public relations tool, Noll said. People loved it and it was expertly played by Otto Windy Jacobs and later Schweitzers wife, Lydia. Jacobs could play almost any instrument, and he was no less accomplished on the calliope. The device was a dramatic recreation of a circus instrument, but was in fact made of painted plywood on a simple wagon. The original setup was fairly modest, but was made to look like something far larger and more elaborate. The original instrument had about 80 pipes, but there was a whole row of fake ones to make it look more impressive, Noll said. It was still pretty amazing and had a huge motor to operate it. It was loud and made a big impression on those who heard it. Schweitzer kept it after Monarch closed. Eventually Mrs. Schweitzer couldnt play it anymore because it took a lot of muscle to press down the keys. The last time it was seen was in the 1970s at a Dodge County Antique Power Show (held every summer since near Burnett Corners). Then it disappeared. While conducting research for one of his presentations (for this years Beaver Dam 175th anniversary), Noll was captivated by a calliope photo, and an idea suddenly developed. Honest to God, I was just looking at it one day and I thought, You know that wouldnt be that hard to build, although I always say that kind of stuff. Then I started looking online for the actual instrument. Eventually I found a calliope broker in Chicago and he had two or three that were possibilities. Two of them were in Milwaukee so it was really easy to go see them. There was a beautiful wood one, which was nothing like the original, and another one that was just right and in perfect working condition. The guy who checked it over said it had been played only a few times and was only about 20 years old. A company in Iowa still makes them and this was one of theirs. The repairman advised me that it was a good deal so I bought it. There were no dimensions for the rest of it, so Noll extrapolated the measurements from a photo of the calliope with Walter Schweitzer (who was five feet, seven inches tall) standing in front of it. Plywood and pine parts were mounted to the sides of an old hay wagon (from Nolls nephew, Jon Turck). The painted scrolls were copied precisely and Noll continued to search for more details. On the original wagon there were medallions commemorating Monarchs 50th anniversary, and at some point in the 1950s they were removed, Noll said. Monarch made coin medallions as well, and I was looking on eBay to find one of those and found the original wood ones instead. Who knows what happened to them all those years ago, but I grabbed the opportunity and bought them. To me that was the most amazing thing of all and confirmed in my mind that it was meant to be. It was amazing to have found them, Noll said. You should have seen my face when they just popped up! They came from a guy in Omro who had picked them up a few years ago at a flea market. He had no idea where they came from. Cutouts and letters were fabricated by craftsmen at the Senior Center Wood Shop (in the Don Smith Learning Academy on Burnett Street), led by shop manager Terry Appenfeldt. They did that in a couple of days, Noll said. It was all assembled in a space tall enough to accommodate its nine feet height. Building and subsequent storage space was procured from the owner of Done Right Rental in the old MetalFab plant on Madison Street. It took six weeks but like 12 hours a day, Noll said. I thought I could do it and I did. And I thought, what a wonderful gift for the city to do this for the 175th. Not only that, but it can be a tradition that stays on for years and years. I think I got it pretty darn close to the original, and Im pretty proud of it. He continued, I dont know if this is my crowning achievement, but its certainly one of them. Other accomplishments include the construction of the miniature schoolhouse in the second floor of the Dodge County Historical Society Museum, 105 Park Avenue; finding and installing the theater seats at Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre, 219 N. Spring St.; and other contributions too numerous to name. That dedication and sense of community are why Noll was named parade marshal for the 25th annual Downtown Beaver Dam Holiday Parade. Not only will he be riding in the calliope (he does not play it it is a player model) on Saturday, Dec. 3, starting at 5:30 p.m.; he will also be sharing holiday facts at The Watermark following the parade. All are invited and there is no charge to attend. The New Lisbon Common Council approved its 2017 general fund budget at its meeting Monday. Before the budget was set, a public hearing was held to consider the options the council had, taking a look at the proposed budget and examining where they could make possible cuts. Where we sit now if we leave the budget we would be exceeding spending limits, New Lisbon Mayor Lloyd Chase said. He also said if the budget was approved at what was proposed, the city would be forgoing approximately $32,000 from the state in the 2018 budget. In the hearing, many options were discussed including taking $2,500 out of the New Lisbon Swimming Pool budget and closing the pool on Sundays, and eliminating a part-time assistant library position. The council also discussed reducing vacation and sick leave and cutting expenses to fix certain aspects of city hall such as the roof and a computer. We cant assume the problems gone because city hall is going to need a roof were going to have to pay people out for sick leave and the computers going to have to be updated, Chase said. Those things will have to happen. The council decided to make decrease the budget expenses of Building Reserve by $1,000, the Contingency Fund by $5,500, Hydrant rent by $34,310 and General Development Operating Expenses $3,000 for the 2017 General Fund Budget. Were keeping in that retirement and vacation amount $3,000, Mark Toelle, who made the suggestion the cut of the above expenses, said. That reduces that by $1,500. The council also made a 5-0 motion to set up a Lake Maintenance reserve account. Chase said the account would be created to put money aside for future maintenance of the lake. He also said the Department of Administration will give the city $53,395 and also an annual distribution amount of $6,400. Chase said the fund will not be a reflection of the budget. That is money we have not had as an income before and since the easement goes across the lake, Chase said. This would establish a fund and if people want to make donations they can but it wouldnt be a budget item or reflected in the budget. In other business: The council approved a 5-0 motion to add the Town of Necedah to the Mauston Area Municipal Court. The council made a 5-0 approval of the appointment of Thomas W. Reigard as the municipal court judge of the Mauston Area Municipal Court (MAMC). Hunters in Juneau County didnt bag as many bucks as they did last year during opening day of gun-deer season. Numbers from Saturday provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) indicate a total of 649 deer were killed on opening day. Juneau County hunters harvested 340 antlered deer and 309 antlerless. Thats a decline of more than 200 from last year when 858 were killed; 402 antlerless and 456 antlered. Across the state, license registration declined as well. Last year, 550,756 licenses were issued, while 533,502 were purchased this year. This years gun-deer season ends on Sunday, Nov. 27. For more information on all deer hunting seasons in the state, go to www.dnr.gov and search deer. By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) India today said it was engaged with all the members of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for its entry into the 48-nation grouping, days after its hopes to secure a membership were dashed after a NSG meeting in Vienna did not make a headway on the issue. The Vienna meeting of NSGs Consultative Committee on November 11 was inconclusive on Indias application as China continued to oppose entry of non-NPT nations and called for a two-step "non-discriminatory" solution for admission of such countries into the grouping. advertisement When asked about the future of Indias membership bid, an External Affairs Ministry source said, "Our membership remains with the NSG. We are also engaged with all the members of the Group." China, which blocked earlier Indias entry during a NSG Plenary in Seoul in June on the ground that it has not signed the NPT, has held two rounds of talks with India about its admission into the group. Beijings stand for a non-discriminatory criteria is regarded significant as Pakistan, a close ally of Beijing, too has applied for the NSG membership along with India. India has secured the backing of the US and majority of the NSG members based on its non-proliferation record in comparison to Pakistan which faced serious allegations of nuclear proliferation in the past specially with regard to its nuclear scientist A Q Khan. At the Vienna meeting of the NSG, members talked about the technical, legal and political matters relating non-NPT members accession to the NSG. India has been maintaining that NPT membership was not essential for joining the NSG, as was the case with France. PTI PYK ZMN --- ENDS --- Sen. Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse was again elected leader of the Democratic caucus in the state Senate on Tuesday, the same day her most-recent challenger announced he would seek a recount in the race that earned Shilling a second term. Shilling ran unopposed for the position of Senate Minority Leader, a spot she's held since 2015. She will lead a smaller caucus after the defeat of Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, in the general election. Meanwhile, the Nov. 8 election provided historic Republican majorities for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester. The Republican victories came at the same time voters in Wisconsin elected a Republican president for the first time since 1984 and re-elected Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Oshkosh over Russ Feingold, a Middleton Democrat who held the seat for years before Johnson unseated him in 2010. Voters' choices in the presidential and Senate races -- for which polling indicated Democrats would prevail -- indicate a need for Democrats to reconnect with the electorate, Shilling acknowledged on Tuesday. Shilling said while "Republican gerrymandering and national factors" limit Democrats, the party needs to do a better job of connecting with voters. Also elected on Tuesday was Sen. Janet Bewley, D-Ashland, as assistant minority leader and Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, to the position of caucus chairman. "It is clear we need to make sure we are connecting with rural parts of the state," Shilling said to reporters after the election. She said her re-election to the position of minority leader and Bewley's election as her assistant "reflects that recognition" because the two are from areas. Shilling and Bewley said the Democrats intend to be more visible to voters and communicate about the kind of legislation their caucus puts forward. Shilling said part of that job is to remind voters which party is in charge. "If voters continue to feel frustrated and continue to feel the majority or government are out of touch with them -- the Republicans control everything," she said. Bewley expressed frustration at the dynamic in the Legislature, which rarely provides for opportunities to "cross the aisle." "One of the challenges of a Republican adminstration in a state that is so split is the Republicans don't have a mandate," said Bewley. "My Democratic colleagues want to be able to produce for the people of Wisconsin and in order to do so, we need to be able to cross the aisle ... And yet we're gridlocked on so many of the important issues." Shilling won her race against Dan Kapanke by just 56 votes out of more than 89,150 cast in the 32nd District in a race that pitted the Senate minority leader against the Republican she unseated in a 2011 recall. County clerks estimate a recount could take five to 10 days. Crawford, La Crosse, Monroe and Vernon counties would all have to hold recounts, although about 70 percent of the votes were cast in La Crosse County. Republicans have ridden a giant wave of liberal rejection. Now its time for the GOP to perform or become irrelevant. Its time to put up or shut up. Or as House Speaker Paul Ryan more appropriately said, Go big, go bold. The shocking victory of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton should have the GOP elated. Despite some very serious concerns about the president-elect, conservatives have a hold on not just the White House, but also the Senate, the House of Representatives, and a majority of state house governments. Even the conservative balance of the Supreme Court will remain in their favor. Seriously, even the establishment should have a glimmer of hope with this kind of lineup. Republican control of the White House, along with the two chambers of Congress, has been extremely rare in the past 84 years. This kind of GOP control, holding all three, only has been in place six of those 84 years. Dwight D. Eisenhower and George W. Bush are the only two Republican presidents to have this luxury. Before you scream about the economic damage allegedly caused by Bush, remember the 2007 Great Recession occurred when Democrats controlled both chambers. The elected members of the GOP also should pay close attention and learn from the failures of the 2009-10 Democrats. Given a similar mandate, the politicos within the liberal movement accomplished absolutely nothing until the pending train wreck known as Obamacare was passed. The Democrats had been so ineffective they had to rush the Affordable Care Act through without even reading it to garner support from their own caucus. For now, the GOP has to demonstrate it can govern and its opportunities are endless. A generation of young people, who only can remember President Barack Obama, have had an economy that is generally hopeless. If Republicans move swiftly, they can teach that same generation how to build a robust economy. The first thing Republicans should do is to lower the corporate tax rate so American companies stop shipping their money and their jobs overseas. They should provide incentives to those corporations so they return the trillions of dollars being held offshore and pump it back into to the American economy. Those dollars can go back to work by creating additional incentives for spending those same dollars, restoring the thousands of empty factories that lay dormant across this country. This reinvestment into the American economy will stop turning our former factories into undeveloped inner city parks and green space. These reinvestments in America not only will begin turning our economy around, they will restore jobs where we need the most help in getting people off of government handouts and back into real jobs. Republicans also need to repeal and replace Obamacare. It needs to be a better plan that protects insurability while giving each of us authority over our own health care choices. Our health care plans and their coverage should not be mandated, these plans should be flexible based upon individual needs. Insurance also should be portable so people arent afraid to lose their health care simply because they moved across state lines. People with good insurance from their employer shouldnt be penalized with a Cadillac tax because they work for a responsible company offering excellent coverage. And we need an enforceable immigration plan. We can cringe, or defend, Trumps call for a wall along the Mexican border, but a good plan means we would not need one. We need to get illegal immigration under control and come up with a plan that deals with the people who already are here. We cant ship them all home, but we can start by developing a plan that doesnt reward illegal immigrants with food stamps and free health care. We need to get these millions of illegal immigrants identified and processed. If they are criminals, ship them back home. If they are not, help them become legal residents and start paying into our tax system. Only citizens should get benefits, but you can become a citizen by earning the right. Citizenship should come from staying out of trouble and getting a job that pays into the system, rather than protects an unspoken slave trade that banishes illegals to cash jobs earning less than minimum wage. The GOP can go big and it can go bold, but most importantly, it needs to deliver results. Put these problems to bed early and there will be no reason to vote Democrat in 2018. A Columbia County Correctional Institute inmates attempt to have 2014 drug charges against him failed Monday when Judge Todd Hepler ruled that there was probable cause for the case to go forward. Aaron A. Allen, 48, of Milwaukee, represented himself, with the stand-by assistance of defense attorney Ronald Benavides, questioning witnesses and inviting the court to examine video evidence. Mondays hearing was Allens second on a motion requesting that charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana be dismissed based on the case being built on a faulty criminal complaint. Allen was granted a hearing for his motion on Sept. 30, only to find out once in court that the criminal complaint had been revised and replaced by Assistant District Attorney Crystal Long minutes before his hearing. Elements of the complaint that Allen was calling into question had been removed, with new DNA analysis results included as the basis of the charge. It is within the right of the District Attorneys Office to amend a criminal complaint, though as Allen had called witnesses and prepared to argue the original complaint, Hepler agreed to reset the hearing for Monday. Ms. Long basically conceded that the misstatements and misstated facts in my motion were true, Allen told the court Monday afternoon. And in my opinion, was disingenuous with the court when she said that she admitted the record to take away the complaints that I had, and that it was easier this way and that it wasnt important to probable cause. This was in reference to a statement made toward the end of the previous hearing, as it was being rescheduled. Long said in September that she filed the amended complaint to take away the objections Allen had about the previous complaint. Not that I agreed with his position Long said, but it is easier this way, to simply remove the allegations as they were not important to probable cause. Even with the changes to the complaint, Allen argued that there were flaws amounting to a lack of probable cause to proceed with the case. The case came from an incident on Feb. 1, 2014, in which, during a strip search in the CCI shower, balloons containing marijuana were found on Allens cellmate Lanis Solomon. According to the original complaint, Solomon told authorities that he had gotten the marijuana from Allen who, he said, was getting it in through his girl Lorita Hawthorne, who had visited Allen that evening. So how is it now, it wasnt important, but now that she has illegally obtained by DNA, all of a sudden it is a moot issue, said Allen. What she was saying was so important, its a moot issue off of a sudden? Throughout the hearing, Allen returned to the point, I was never seen or found in possession of anything. I disagree, I havent conceded anything, said Long. I simply filed an amended complaint containing probable cause and addressing the issues that Mr. Allen had problems with in the other complaint. Hepler explained that Allen could argue his motion if he believed that the new complaint contains critical omissions or misstatements. Officer testifies Allens first witness was CCI correctional officer Tracy Kopfhamer. Allen asked Kopfhamer about his encountering him at the time of the incident. I think when I was coming on the unit, you were being escorted off the unit, Kopfhamer said. Do you recall at any time, my being found in possession of any drugs or any balloons? Allen asked. No, said Kopfhamer. Allen then asked Kopfhamer a line of questions, asserting that the balloons and the marijuana therein, were found on Solomon during a strip search and a subsequent pat-down. Was I found in possession of any drugs? You werent even there. After Long passed on cross examination, Hepler allowed Allens request for one more question. Was it you that put the balloons back in Cell 25? Allen asked. Yes, to secure them, until we could properly obtain them for evidence, and we secured the cell at that time, said Kopfhamer. On Feb. 1, 2013, how many inmates were housed in Cell 25? Long asked. I believe two: Mr. Allen and Mr. Solomon. Video viewed Allen also challenged what he believed to be to key misrepresentation of the complaint as it stands today, in which Columbia County Sheriffs Office Detective Sgt. Michael Haverley is said to have viewed what appeared to be a possible exchange of contraband between Hawthorne and Allen CCI security footage. With Long insisting that the evidence was clear enough upon viewing and Allen saying the lack of evidence equally obvious, Hepler recessed so court staff could set up a DVD player. In the black-and-white footage the court could see Allen in the CCI visiting room, sitting next to Hawthorne in chairs near the administrative desk where correctional office monitor the room. The two could be seen talking, looking at what Allen explained as a three-ring binder catalog, each at times pointing to and noting things with pencils. Hawthorne at one point puts her right hand next to her leg or in her right pants pocket, as referenced in the complaint. At a time when the binder is angled upward, she motions her right hand at the binder. Allen is seen eating potato chips and drinking water, during which the complaint alleges he swallows the balloons in question. As Allen questioned Haverley after the viewing, both were equally insistent Allen claiming he had proven that there is nothing in the video to show he had been given anything illegal and Haverley saying that there were motions made that could be explained by a transfer of contraband under the circumstances. On Sept. 18, 2013, Haverley responded to a call that Hawthorne was waiting to visit Allen at CCI, after which she was taken into custody and strip-searched at Divine Savior Healthcare, which resulted in no drugs or other illegal items being found. On Jan. 22, 2014, Harthorne was charged with manufacture and delivery of marijuana and delivery of articles to an inmate. On March 9, 2014, Allen was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana. On Oct. 22, 2015, Haverley reported receiving analysis from the Wisconsin Crime Lab regarding balloons sent on Dec. 29, 2014. The results showed a positive DNA match between Allen and samples taken from the balloons. In denying Allens motion Monday, Hepler ruled there was enough evidence for the low bar of probable cause, ordering the case to proceed to a preliminary hearing. Hawthorne is scheduled for a two-day jury trial on March 13 and 14. Allen, who has been serving a sentence for armed robbery in Milwaukee County since January 1999, is eligible for parole on Friday. Administrators in the Portage Community School District vowed to make improvements after the district fit into the category of meets few expectations in report cards released Thursday by the state Department of Public Instruction. All Portage schools met expectations, even though the district on the whole at 62.3 graded just below that category (63-72.9). To understand why requires a deep dive into the states 70-page technical guide, Curriculum Director Peter Hibner said, but even if you do that, some questions remain unanswered. We want people to know we take it seriously, Hibner said of the report cards. But it is complicated. Youre talking about different assessments in different years. We used to have Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts exam, then that was revised to the Badger Exam and revised again to the Forward Exam. And in each of these they also change the cut scores the levels you have to reach for proficiency. The simple answer to why every Portage school met expectations yet the district met few expectations is that certain data is determined according to size, Hibner said. While small schools like Endeavor Elementary might not have enough students in a particular subgroup for it to factor into scoring, the district qualifies when you add subgroups district-wide. One big question for Portage is whethe its graduation rates were accurately reflected in the report cards, Hibner said. Portage challenged its initial 2014-15 graduation rate based on the states original assessment that excluded Portage Academy of Achievement graduates. Portage won that challenge and, as a result, its overall score jumped 1.3 points. But 2013-14 graduation rates which have not yet been challenged and appear lower than they should be still might not be correct, Hibner said. The overhauled rating system and performance measurements for 2,341 individual schools and 424 districts returned after a one-year absence, The Associated Press reported. There were no report cards last year while the state transitioned from the Badger Exam to the Forward Exam, and the Legislature made many other changes to how performance data is interpreted and reported. The ratings were based on four areas: student achievement in English language arts and math; student growth; closing gaps between student groups; and measuring readiness for graduation and postsecondary success. Results questioned Cambria-Friesland Superintendent Tim Raymond, whose district was one of only five that failed to meet expectations, stated in a news release that a three-year average using three different exams was an extremely poor methodology. Raymond said the Badger Exam was considered so poor an assessment the state wouldnt release report cards last year. More than 300 districts challenged report cards this year, four times the number of challenges made in previous years, Raymond said. Administrators have also criticized the timing of the assessments. The Forward Exams were taken in March yet districts didnt receive the data until November. That doesnt help us (assess students), Portage Superintendent Charles Poches said. Hibner agreed state numbers are not timely for districts when assessing data, but Portage nevertheless will reflect on them and ask ourselves questions. According to their assessments our subgroups are not doing as well as others (in the state) so we need to think about what to do differently, Hibner said regarding subgroups like minorities and students with disabilities. While Portage showed positive growth in several subgroups, the district fell below the state average in some and it hurt them in the report cards. One of the biggest changes to the formula is that, for schools with high poverty rates, student growth is now weighted more heavily than achievement. Thats particularly relevant to Portage since its demographics have changed so drastically in a short period, Hibner said. The states report shows 41.7 percent of Portage students are considered economically disadvantaged, a figure that increases every year. Hibner estimated that when he started in the district 25 years ago the number was half of that, and the figure has jumped 10 percent in the past five years. When your demographic changes, you need to adapt, Hibner said. We have a lot of room for improvement. Action steps The best way for schools to address achievement is through continued use of local data, Hibner said. Local data derived from such sources as Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) is more frequent and understandable than state testing. Scores in local data are trending up, Hibner added. Third-grade reading widely regarded as being so important to student development exceeds the state average. Most teachers believe topic assessments are the most reliable form of testing because theyre based on lessons were doing. STAR assessments for elementary and middle school students occur three times a year. Scores have been fantastic recently for seventh- and eighth-grade students at Bartels Middle School, Hibner said, scores that, in math, might have been aided by the districts recent switch to College Preparatory Math (CPM). The district needs more time more data to make that determination. The district is also upping its usage of Build Your Own Curriculum (BYOC), which helps teachers and administrators evaluate and revise curriculum, and the district is looking into more ways to test high school students since they are tested less frequently than elementary and middle school students, Hibner said. Attendance, an issue addressed by building principals for the school board earlier this month, will continue to be evaluated, representing a critical area Portage hopes to improve in. Facebook was banned in China in 2009 following Urumqi riots, but now the company has quietly developed a censorship tool possibly according to the country's strict internet guidelines. By India Today Web Desk: Facebook is the biggest social media website, yet it doesn't have access to China, the second largest economy in the world. Facebook was banned in 2009 following Urumqi riots, but now the company has quietly developed a censorship tool possibly according to the country's strict internet guidelines. According to a New York Times report, Facebook has built the tool to persuade China for a re-entry. The software suppresses specific stories from appearing in people's news feeds in specific places. The report said, citing unnamed current and former employees, that the software development was supported by Mark Zuckerberg. advertisement Zuckerberg in March met China's propaganda tsar Liu Yunshan who said that he hoped Facebook could strengthen exchanges and improve mutual understanding with China's internet companies, according to state news agency Xinhua. "We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country," Facebook spokeswoman Arielle Aryah said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "However, we have not made any decision on our approach to China. Our focus right now is on helping Chinese businesses and developers expand to new markets outside China by using our ad platform." Foreign companies in China, especially in media, face political pressure from a range of regulations. The country's military newspaper calls the internet the most important front in an ideological battle against "Western anti-China forces." China, which has the world's largest population of internet users, banned the website following the Urumqi riots in July 2009 in an effort to stem the flow of information about ethnic unrest which left 140 people dead. Though Facebook has developed the new tool, it does not intend to suppress the posts itself, NYT said. Facebook would instead offer the software to enable a third party to monitor popular stories and topics that gain visibility as users share them across the network, according to the Times. The third party partner would have full control to decide whether those posts should show up in users' feeds. There is no indication Facebook has offered the software to the authorities in China, the Times said. It is one of many ideas Facebook has discussed with respect to entering China and it may never see the light of day, it added. Facebook, which has struggled in recent months to combat allegations that it unfairly removes certain content on its service, aims to continue to grow in developing nations where it currently has smaller penetration rates. With Reuters inputs --- ENDS --- By PTI: Tokyo, Nov 23 (PTI) Scientists have detected a dwarf satellite galaxy, believed to be the faintest yet found in the halo of the Milky Way, a discovery that provides important insights into galaxy formation and how dark matter contributes to it. The satellite, named Virgo I, lies in the direction of the constellation Virgo. Its discovery by researchers from Tohoku University in Japan suggests the presence of a large number of yet-undetected dwarf satellites in the halo of the Milky Way. advertisement Currently, some 50 satellite galaxies to the Milky Way have been identified. About 40 of them are faint and diffuse and belong to the category of "dwarf spheroidal galaxies." Many recently discovered dwarf galaxies are very faint with absolute luminosity in the optical waveband below minus 8 magnitude. However, previous searches made use of telescopes with a diameter of 2.5 to four meters, so only satellites close to the Sun or those with higher magnitudes were identified. Those that are more distant or faint ones in the halo of the Milky Way are yet to be detected. The combination of the 8.2-metre Subaru Telescope and Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) instrument enabled an efficient search for very faint dwarf satellites over large areas of the sky. "We have carefully examined the early data of the Subaru Strategic Survey with HSC and found an apparent over density of stars in Virgo with very high statistical significance, showing a characteristic pattern of an ancient stellar system in the colour-magnitude diagram," said Daisuke Homma, a graduate student at Tohoku University. "Surprisingly, this is one of the faintest satellites, with absolute magnitude of minus 0.8 in the optical waveband," said Homma, who found Virgo I under the guidance of Masashi Chiba. "This is indeed a galaxy, because it is spatially extended with a radius of 124 light years - systematically larger than a globular cluster with comparable luminosity," Homma said. The faintest dwarf satellites identified so far was Segue I, discovered by Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Cetus II in Dark Energy Survey (DES). Cetus II is yet to be confirmed, as it is too compact as a galaxy. Virgo I may ultimately turn out to be the faintest one ever discovered. It lies at a distance of 280,000 light years from the Sun, and such a remote galaxy with faint brightness has not been identified in previous surveys. It is beyond the reach of SDSS, which has previously surveyed the same area in the direction of the constellation Virgo. "This discovery implies hundreds of faint dwarf satellites waiting to be discovered in the halo of the Milky Way," Chiba said. "How many satellites are indeed there and what properties they have, will give us an important clue of understanding how the Milky Way formed and how dark matter contributed to it," he said. 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Ltd., Hobart Japan K.K., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components Chongqing Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components Langfang Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium B.V., ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS UK Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW China Investment Company Limited, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Construction Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Services Manila Inc., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Contamination Control Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Deutschland GmbH, ITW Diagraph GmbH, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW EU Holdings Ltd., ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.L., ITW European Finance Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Thailand Ltd., ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France Luxembourg S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW Materials Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Ningbo Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology China Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion Shenzhen Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Illinois Tool Works Chile Limitada, Illinois Tool Works ITW Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, Instron Shanghai Ltd., Instron Thailand Limited, International Leasing Company LLC, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., Itw Spraytec, KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems Canada Inc., Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MTS 2 LLC., MTS 3 LLC., MTS China Holdings LLC, MTS Europe Holdings LLC, MTS Holdings France S.a.r.l., MTS Japan Ltd.., MTS Korea Inc.., MTS Systems China Co. Ltd., MTS Systems Corporation, MTS Systems Danmark ApS., MTS Systems Europe B.V., MTS Systems Finance C.V.., MTS Systems Germany GmbH, MTS Systems Holding B.V.., MTS Systems Hong Kong Incorporated, MTS Systems Limited, MTS Systems Norden Aktiebolag, MTS Systems S.r.l, MTS Systems., MTS Systems.., MTS Sytems Do Brazil, MTS Testing Solutions India Private Limited., MTS Testing Systems Canada Ltd., Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited Enping, Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners Shanghai Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., R&D Engineering A/S., R&D Prague s.r.o., R&D Steel ApS., R&D Test Systems A/S., R&D Tools and Structures A/S., RDGDK Engineering Private Limited, Ramset Fasteners Hong Kong Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco Japan Inc., Simco Nederland B.V., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes B.V., Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Hong Kong Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Shanghai Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stokvis Tapes Taiwan Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Tianjin Co. Ltd., Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Subsidiaries, Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek China Limited, Teknek Japan Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Kunshan Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta Global Limited, Vesta Guangzhou Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil South Africa Pty Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, and Zip-Pak International B.V.. Read More NextEra Energy, Inc. is the largest electric utility holding company in the US. It operates a network of power generation and distribution facilities that include fossil-fuel-generated and green energy. As of mid-2022, the company was capable of generating 58 GW of electricity with nearly 60% of the load produced by green sources including wind and solar. In their view, going green isnt an option, its the solution. NextEra Energy has been recognized multiple times as a leader in clean energy and ESG practices and was ranked the #1 electric and gas utility on the Forbes list of Most Admired Companies. The company is the result of several mergers that begin with FPL Group. FPL Group is now a subsidiary of NextEra Energy and the third-largest provider of electricity in the US servicing nearly half of Florida. FPL and its affiliates are the single largest provider of renewable energy generated from wind and sun. The group changed its name in 2010 following a decision to shift focus onto renewable energy sources. Today, NextEra Energy, Inc through its subsidiary FPL serves about 12 million people in eastern and southwestern Florida. The company employs nearly 14,900 people who service 5.8 million accounts. The company is in business to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity to retail and wholesale clients. Electricity is generated through wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas, and coal-fired facilities. The company is also engaged in the construction and operation of new facilities, specifically renewable power generation, storage, and delivery facilities, and can offer custom solutions tailored to any need. Offerings include tailored services to assist businesses with their transition to clean energy. NextEra Energy also owns and operates 7 nuclear power stations in Florida, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin generating power for the wholesale market. Unlike other companies that are targeting net-zero emissions, NextEra Energy has a plan to reach real zero and is investing heavily to reach that goal by 2045. The company had invested nearly $50 billion in green energy infrastructure and initiatives by mid-2022. The plan is to first work on reducing its own emissions and then take its knowledge and expertise to the world. The following companies are subsidiares of BorgWarner: Akasol AG, B80 Italia S.r.l., BERU AG, BW El Salto S.A. De C.V., BWA Receivables Corporation, BWA Turbo Systems Holding LLC, Borg Warner Europe Holdings (PDS) B. V., BorgWarner (China) Investment Co. Ltd., BorgWarner (Reman) Holdings L.L.C., BorgWarner (Thailand) Limited, BorgWarner Aftermarket Europe GmbH, BorgWarner Alternators Inc., BorgWarner Arden LLC, BorgWarner Arnstadt RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Asia Inc., BorgWarner Automotive Asia Limited, BorgWarner Automotive Components (Beijing) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Automotive Components (Wuhan) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Brasil Ltda., BorgWarner Chungju Co. LLC, BorgWarner Comercial e Distribuidora de Pecas para Veiculos Automotores Ltda., BorgWarner Comercializadora PDS S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner Componentes PDS S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner Cooling Systems (India) Private Limited, BorgWarner Cooling Systems GmbH, BorgWarner Diversified Transmission Products Services Inc., BorgWarner Drivetrain Engineering GmbH, BorgWarner Drivetrain Management Services de Mexico S.A. de C.V., BorgWarner Drivetrain de Mexico S.A. de C.V., BorgWarner Electric Motors L.L.C., BorgWarner Emissions Systems (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Emissions Systems (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Emissions Systems Holding LLC, BorgWarner Emissions Systems India Private Limited, BorgWarner Emissions Systems LLC, BorgWarner Emissions Systems Portugal Unipessoal LDA, BorgWarner Emissions Systems Spain S.L.U., BorgWarner Emissions Systems of Michigan Inc., BorgWarner Emissions Talegaon Private Limited, BorgWarner Engineering Ketsch RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Engineering Kibo RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Esslingen GmbH, BorgWarner Europe GmbH, BorgWarner Europe Holding S.a. r. l., BorgWarner Gateshead Limited, BorgWarner Germany Holding GmbH, BorgWarner Germany Holding Services GmbH, BorgWarner Germany REH GmbH, BorgWarner Germany REM GmbH, BorgWarner Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, BorgWarner Global Holding S.a. r. l., BorgWarner Heidelberg I RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Heidelberg II RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Heidelberg REH GmbH, BorgWarner Heidelberg REM GmbH, BorgWarner Holding Inc., BorgWarner Holdings Limited, BorgWarner Hungary Kft., BorgWarner IT Services Europe GmbH, BorgWarner India Holdings Inc., BorgWarner Investment Holding Inc., BorgWarner Ithaca LLC, BorgWarner Ketsch Plant RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Ketsch REH GmbH, BorgWarner Ketsch REM GmbH, BorgWarner Kft., BorgWarner Kibo RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Korea Holdings (PDS) B.V., BorgWarner Korea Holdings LLC, BorgWarner Korea LLC, BorgWarner Limited, BorgWarner Ludwigsburg GmbH, BorgWarner Ludwigsburg RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Markdorf Plant RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner Markdorf REH GmbH, BorgWarner Markdorf REM GmbH, BorgWarner Massachusetts Inc., BorgWarner Mauritius Holdings Ltd., BorgWarner Mexico Holding BV, BorgWarner Mexico Holdings II LLC, BorgWarner Mexico Holdings LLC, BorgWarner Morse Systems India Private Limited, BorgWarner Morse Systems Italy S.r.l., BorgWarner Morse Systems Japan K.K., BorgWarner Morse Systems Mexico S.A. de C.V., BorgWarner Muggendorf RE GmbH & Co. KG, BorgWarner NW Inc., BorgWarner Netherlands Holdings (PDS) B.V., BorgWarner Oroszlany Kft., BorgWarner PDS (Anderson) L.L.C., BorgWarner PDS (Changnyeong) LLC, BorgWarner PDS (Indiana) Inc., BorgWarner PDS (Livonia) Inc., BorgWarner PDS (Ochang) LLC, BorgWarner PDS (Thailand) Limited, BorgWarner PDS (USA) Inc., BorgWarner PDS Brasil Produtos Automotivos Ltda., BorgWarner PDS Irapuato S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner PDS Mexico Holdings S. de R.L. de C.V., BorgWarner PDS Technologies L.L.C., BorgWarner Poland Sp. z o.o., BorgWarner Pyongtaek LLC, BorgWarner Romeo Power LLC, BorgWarner Rzeszow Sp. z o.o., BorgWarner Shenglong (Ningbo) Co. Ltd., BorgWarner South Asia LLC, BorgWarner Southborough Inc., BorgWarner Spain Holding S.L.U, BorgWarner Sweden AB, BorgWarner Systems Lugo S.r.l., BorgWarner Thermal Systems Inc., BorgWarner Thermal Systems of Michigan Inc., BorgWarner TorqTransfer Systems Beijing Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Tralee Ltd., BorgWarner Transmission Products LLC, BorgWarner Transmission Systems Arnstadt GmbH, BorgWarner Transmission Systems GmbH, BorgWarner Transmission Systems Korea LLC, BorgWarner Transmission Systems Tulle S.A.S., BorgWarner Trustees Limited, BorgWarner Turbo & Emissions Systems France S.A.S., BorgWarner Turbo Systems Engineering GmbH, BorgWarner Turbo Systems GmbH, BorgWarner Turbo Systems LLC, BorgWarner Turbo Systems Worldwide Headquarters GmbH, BorgWarner Turbo Systems of Michigan Inc., BorgWarner Turbo and Emissions Systems de Mexico S.A. de C.V., BorgWarner UK Financing Ltd., BorgWarner UK Holding and Services Ltd., BorgWarner US Holding LLC, BorgWarner USA Industries L.L.C., BorgWarner United Transmission Systems Co. Ltd., BorgWarner Waterloo Inc., BorgWarner Wrexham Limited, Cascadia Motion LLC, Creon Insurance Agency Limited, Delphi Technologies, Dytech ENSA, Gustav Wahler GmbH u. Co. KG, Haldex, Kuhlman LLC, Kysor Europe Limited, M. & M. Knopf Auto Parts L.L.C., NSK-Warner (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., NSK-Warner K.K., NSK-Warner Mexico S.A. de C.V, NSK-Warner U.S.A. Inc., New PDS Corp., Old Remco Holdings L.L.C., Old Remco International Holdings L.L.C., Remy International, SeohanWarner Turbo Systems LLC, Sevcon, Sevcon New Energy Technology (Hubei) Company Limited, and Transmission Systems AutoForm LLC. Read More Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Frost Bank that offers commercial and consumer banking services in Texas. It operates in two segments, Banking and Frost Wealth Advisors. The company offers commercial banking services to corporations and other business clients, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, interim construction related to industrial and commercial properties, equipment, inventories and accounts receivables, and acquisitions; commercial leasing; and treasury management services. It also provides consumer banking services, such as checking accounts, savings programs, automated-teller machines (ATMs), overdraft facilities, installment and real estate loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, drive-in and night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, and brokerage services. In addition, the company offers international banking services comprising deposits, loans, letters of credit, foreign collections, funds, and foreign exchange services. Further, it acts as a correspondent for approximately 171 financial institutions; offers trust, investment, agency, and custodial services for individual and corporate clients; provides capital market services that include sales and trading, new issue underwriting, money market trading, advisory, and securities safekeeping and clearance; and supports international business activities. Additionally, the company offers insurance and securities brokerage services; and holds securities for investment purposes, as well as investment management services to Frost-managed mutual funds, institutions, and individuals. It operates approximately 157 financial centers and 1,650 ATMs. The company serves energy, manufacturing, services, construction, retail, telecommunications, healthcare, military, and transportation industries. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The following companies are subsidiares of Ecolab: AO Ecolab, Abednego Environmental Services, Abednego Environmental Services LLC, Abednego Mexico Holdings LLC, Abednego de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alcide Corp., Anios America S.A., Anios Diffusion SAS, Anios Manufacturing SAS, Aqua Environmental Limited, Bioquell, Bioquell Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Bioquell Global Logistics (Ireland) Ltd., Bioquell Holding SAS, Bioquell Inc., Bioquell Limited, Bioquell SAS, Bioquell Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd., Bioquell Technology Canada Ltd., Bioquell UK Limited, Bro-Tech Limited, CALGON LLC, CID LINES NV, CID Lines, CID Lines Beijing Animal Hygiene Co Ltd., CID Lines France Sarl, CID Lines Iberica SL, CID Lines LLC, CID Lines Mexico S.A. DE C.V., CID Lines R&D NV, CID Lines Sp. z o. o., CORPAK MedSystems, Cascade Water Services, Champion Technologies, Chamtech L.L.C., Chemlawn, Chemstar Corporation, Cirlam BVBA, Copal Holding NV, Copal Invest NV, Cymru Holdings Limited, DERYPOL SA, DMD, E&M Bio-Chemicals LLC, ECOLAB NL 10 B.V., ECOLAB PEST FRANCE SAS, EPN Water Col Ltd., Ecolab (Antigua) Ltd., Ecolab (Aruba) N.V., Ecolab (Barbados) Limited, Ecolab (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Ecolab (Fiji) Pty Limited, Ecolab (GZ) Chemicals Limited, Ecolab (Guam) LLC, Ecolab (Proprietary) Limited, Ecolab (Schweiz) GmbH, Ecolab (St. Lucia) Limited, Ecolab (Taicang) Technology Co. Ltd., Ecolab (Trinidad and Tobago) Unlimited, Ecolab (U.K.) Holdings Limited, Ecolab A.E.B.E., Ecolab AB, Ecolab AU2 Pty Ltd, Ecolab Acquisition LLC, Ecolab ApS, Ecolab Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Ecolab B.V., Ecolab Bahrain S.P.C., Ecolab CDN 2 Co., Ecolab CDN 4 ULC, Ecolab CH 1 GmbH, Ecolab CH 2 GmbH, Ecolab CH 3 GmbH in Liquidation, Ecolab CH 6 GmbH, Ecolab Chemicals Limited, Ecolab Co. Compagnie Ecolab, Ecolab Colombia S. A., Ecolab DE 1 GmbH, Ecolab Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Digital Center Private Limited, Ecolab EOOD, Ecolab East Africa (Kenya) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Tanzania) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Uganda) Limited, Ecolab Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Ecolab Engineering GmbH, Ecolab Europe GmbH, Ecolab Export GmbH, Ecolab FR 1 SAS, Ecolab FR 4 SAS, Ecolab Finance Company Designated Activity Company, Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Private Limited, Ecolab G.K., Ecolab Global Business Services LLC, Ecolab GmbH, Ecolab Gulf FZE, Ecolab HK 1 Limited, Ecolab HK 2 Limited, Ecolab Hispano-Portuguesa S.L., Ecolab Holding Italy S.r.l., Ecolab Holdings (Europe) LLC, Ecolab Holdings Inc., Ecolab Holdings Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Ecolab Hygiene Kft., Ecolab Hygiene d.o.o., Ecolab International SDN BHD, Ecolab Israel Holdings LLC, Ecolab JVZ Limited, Ecolab Korea Ltd., Ecolab LLC, Ecolab LUX & Co Holdings S.C.A., Ecolab LUX 1 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 2 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 4 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 7 Sarl, Ecolab LUX Sarl, Ecolab Limited, Ecolab Ltd., Ecolab Lux 10 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 12 SCA, Ecolab Lux 13 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 14 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 15 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 16 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 17 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 9 Sarl, Ecolab Lux Partner LLC, Ecolab MT Holdings LLC, Ecolab MT Limited, Ecolab Malta 1 Limited, Ecolab Malta 2 Limited, Ecolab Malta GPS, Ecolab Manufacturing IE Limited, Ecolab Manufacturing Inc., Ecolab Manufacturing UK Limited, Ecolab Maroc Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, Ecolab NL 11 B.V., Ecolab NL 15 BV, Ecolab NL 16 B.V., Ecolab NL 23 B.V., Ecolab NL 3 BV, Ecolab Name Holding Limited, Ecolab New Zealand, Ecolab Peru Holdings S.R.L., Ecolab Pest Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Philippines Inc., Ecolab Production Belgium B.V., Ecolab Production France SAS, Ecolab Production Italy Srl, Ecolab Production LLC, Ecolab Production Netherlands B.V., Ecolab Production Poland sp. z o.o., Ecolab Pte. Ltd., Ecolab Pty Ltd., Ecolab Quimica Ltda., Ecolab S. de R.L. de C.V., Ecolab S.A., Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Ecolab SAS, Ecolab SIA, Ecolab SNC, Ecolab SRL, Ecolab Sdn Bhd, Ecolab Services Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Services Malaysia SDN. BHD., Ecolab Services Poland Sp. z o, Ecolab Sociedad Anonima, Ecolab Sp. z o, Ecolab Spain Services S.L.U., Ecolab Temizleme Sistemleri Limited Sirketi, Ecolab U.S. 2 Inc., Ecolab U.S. 6 LLC, Ecolab U.S. 7 LLC, Ecolab US 1 GP, Ecolab USA Inc., Ecolab Viet Nam Company Limited, Ecolab Water Holding LImited, Ecolab a.s., Ecolab d.o.o., Ecolab s.r.l., Ecolab s.r.o., Ecolab y Compania Colectiva de Responsabilidad Limitada, Ecolab-Importacao E. Exportacao Limitada, Ecolabone B.V., Ecolabtwo B.V., Endoclear Equipamentos Medicos Hospitalares Ltda., Enviroflo Engineering Limited, Food Protection Services, GCS Service, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd., GallayTrac Pty. Ltd., Georgia-Pacific - Paper Chemicals Business, Gibson Chemical Industries, Green Harbour Mainland Holdings Ltd, Henkel-Ecolab, Hicopla SL, Holchem Laboratories, Huntington Laboratories, Hydenet SAS, INTERNATIONAL WATER CONSULTANT B.V., Immobiliare R.E.O.P.A. SRL, Instrunet Hospital SLU, Jianghai Environmental Protection Co., Jianghai Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., KATAYAMA NALCO INC., Kay BV, Kay Chemical Company, LHS (UK) Limited, Laboratoires Anios, Laboratoires Anios S.A.S., Laboratoires Anios-Distribution SAS, Les Produits Chimiques ERPAC Inc., Lobster Ink, Lobster Ink Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Lobster International S.A., MOBOTEC AB LLC, Master Chemicals OOO, Meratech Rus Group LLC, Microtek Dominicana S.A., Microtek Italy S.R.L., Microtek Medical B.V., Microtek Medical Holdings, Microtek Medical Holdings Inc., Microtek Medical Inc., Microtek Medical Malta Holding Limited, Microtek Medical Malta Limited, Midland Research Laboratories, NALCO (SHANGHAI) TRADING CO. LTD., NALCO AB, NALCO ACQUISITION ONE, NALCO ACQUISITION TWO LIMITED, NALCO AFRICA (PTY.) LTD., NALCO ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., NALCO BELGIUM B.V., NALCO CHINA HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO COMPANY OOO, NALCO DANMARK APS, NALCO DE MEXICO S. de R. L. de C.V., NALCO DELAWARE COMPANY, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, NALCO DUTCH HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO EGYPT LTD., NALCO EGYPT TRADING, NALCO ESPANOLA MANUFACTURING S.L.U., NALCO ESPANOLA S.L., NALCO EUROPE B.V., NALCO FINLAND MANUFACTURING OY, NALCO FINLAND OY, NALCO FRANCE SAS, NALCO FRANCE SNC, NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO HOLDING B.V., NALCO HOLDING COMPANY, NALCO HOLDINGS G.m.b.H., NALCO HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, NALCO HONG KONG LIMITED, NALCO INDUSTRIAL OUTSOURCING COMPANY, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (NANJING) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (SUZHOU) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (THAILAND) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES CHILE LIMITADA, NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO INVESTMENTS U.K. LIMITED, NALCO ISRAEL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LTD, NALCO ITALIANA HOLDINGS S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA MANUFACTURING S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA SrL, NALCO KOREA LIMITED, NALCO LIMITED, NALCO MANUFACTURING BETEILIGUNGS GMBH, NALCO MANUFACTURING LTD., NALCO NETHERLANDS B.V., NALCO OSTERREICH Ges m.b.H., NALCO OVERSEAS HOLDING B.V., NALCO PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, NALCO PHILIPPINES INC., NALCO PORTUGUESA (QUIMICA INDUSTRIAL) UNIPESSOAL LDA, NALCO PWS INC., NALCO SAUDI CO. LTD., NALCO TAIWAN CO. LTD., NALCO TWO INC., NALCO U.S. HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS BV, NALCO WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, NALTECH INC., NANOSPECIALTIES LLC, NLC PROCESS AND WATER SERVICES SARL, Nalco (BN) SDN BHD, Nalco (China) Environmental Solution Co. Ltd., Nalco Anadolu Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Nalco Canada ULC, Nalco Company LLC (1), Nalco Contract Operations LLC, Nalco Deutschland Manufacturing GmbH, Nalco Japan G.K., Nalco Libya, Nalco Middle East FZE, Nalco Polska Sp. z o. o., Nalco Production LLC, Nalco Real Estate GmbH, Nalco Schweiz GmbH, Nalco US 1 LLC, Nalco Wastewater Contract Operations Inc., Nalco Water India Private Limited, Nalco Water Pretreatment Solutions LLC, Nalco Worldwide Holdings S.a.r.l./B.V., National Wiper Alliance Inc., Nigiko, Nuova Farmec S.r.l., Oksa Kimya Sanayi A.S., Oy Ecolab AB, PT Ecolab International Indonesia, PT Ecolab Technologies and Services, Purate business - AkzoNobel, Purolite, Purolite (China) Co. Ltd., Purolite (Int.) Ltd, Purolite (Pty) Ltd, Purolite AG, Purolite GmbH, Purolite Ileri Kimyasal Ticaret Ltd, Purolite KK, Purolite LLC, Purolite Ltd, Purolite NZ Limited, Purolite Private Limited, Purolite Pte. Ltd., Purolite Pty Ltd, Purolite S. de R.L. de C.V., Purolite SAS, Purolite SRL, Purolite do Brasil Ltda, Purolite s.r.o., Purolite sp. z o.o., Purolite C Corporation, QazSorbent LLP, Quantum Technical Services LLC, Quimicas Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Quimiproductos S.A. de C.V, RP Adam Ltd, Research Fumigation Co., Royal Pest Solutions, Shield Holdings Limited, Shield Medicare Limited, Soluscope International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Soluscope SAS, Swisher Hygiene, TechTex Holdings Limited, Technical Textile Services Limited, Terminix, Ultrafab, VanBaele Hygiene AG, Wabasha Leasing LLC, Zhe Jiang Purosoft Home Appliances Sale Co Ltd, and vanBaerle Hygiene AG. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Kroger: 84.51 HQ Building Company LLC, 84.51 LLC, Alpha Beta Company, Ansonborough Square Investors I LLC, Ansonborough Square Retail LLC, Ardrey Kell Investments LLC, Bay Area Warehouse Stores Inc., Beech Tree Holdings LLC, Bleecker Ventures LLC, Bluefield Beverage Company, Box Cutter Inc., CB&S Advertising Agency Inc., Cala Co., Cala Foods Inc., Cheeses of All Nations Inc., Country Oven Inc., Crawford Stores Inc., Creedmoor Retail LLC, Dillon Companies LLC, Dillon Real Estate Co. Inc., Dillons, Distribution Trucking Company, Dotto Inc., Edgewood Plaza Holdings LLC, Embassy International Inc., FM Inc., FMJ Inc., Farmacia Doral Inc., Food 4 Less GM Inc., Food 4 Less Holdings Inc., Food 4 Less Merchandising Inc., Food 4 Less of California Inc., Food 4 Less of Southern California Inc., Fred Meyer, Fred Meyer Inc., Fred Meyer Jewelers Inc., Fred Meyer Stores Inc., Glasswing Labs LLC, Glendale/Goodwin Realty I LLC, Grubstake Investments LLC, HT Fuel DE LLC, HT Fuel NC LLC, HT Fuel SC LLC, HT Fuel VA LLC, HTGBD LLC, HTP Bluffton LLC, HTP Plaza LLC, HTP Relo LLC, HTPS LLC, HTTAH LLC, Harris Teeter, Harris Teeter LLC, Harris Teeter Properties LLC, Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc., Harris-Teeter Services Inc., Healthy Options Inc., Henpil Inc., Home Chef, Hood-Clayton Logistics LLC, Hughes Markets Inc., Hughes Realty Inc., I.T.A. Inc., IRP LLC, ITAC 119 LLC, ITAC 265 LLC, Inter-American Foods Inc., Inter-American Products Inc., J.V. Distributing Inc., Jondex Corp., Jubilee Carolina LLC, KCDE 2013 LLC, KCDE-2 LLC, KCDE-3 LLC, KCDE-4 LLC, KCDE-5 LLC, KGO LLC, KPF LLC, KPS LLC, KRGP LLC, KRLP Inc., KV Anderson LLC, Kee Trans Inc., Kessel FP, Kiosk Medicine Kentucky LLC, Kirkpatrick West Retail LLC, Kroger Community Development Entity LLC, Kroger Dedicated Logistics Co., Kroger Fulfillment Network LLC, Kroger G.O. LLC, Kroger HQ LLC, Kroger LM Real Estate Holdings LLC, Kroger Limited Partnership I, Kroger Limited Partnership II, Kroger MC Holdings LLC, Kroger MTL Management LLC, Kroger Management Co., Kroger Management Corryville LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Athens I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Champaign I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Champaign II LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Cincinnati I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Dallas I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Danville I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Logansport I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Missouri I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Oak Ridge I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Olney I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Omaha I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Portsmouth I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Starkville I LLC, Kroger Management NMTC Topeka I LLC, Kroger NMTC Fremont I LLC, Kroger OZ1 Inc., Kroger OZ1 LLC, Kroger OZ2 Inc., Kroger OZ2 LLC, Kroger OZ3 Inc., Kroger OZ3 LLC, Kroger Opportunity Fund I Inc., Kroger Prescription Plans Inc., Kroger Specialty Infusion AL LLC, Kroger Specialty Infusion CA LLC, Kroger Specialty Infusion Holdings Inc., Kroger Specialty Infusion TX LLC, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy CA LLC, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy FL 2 LLC, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy Holdings 2 Inc., Kroger Specialty Pharmacy Holdings 3 Inc., Kroger Specialty Pharmacy Holdings I Inc., Kroger Specialty Pharmacy Holdings Inc., Kroger Specialty Pharmacy Inc., Kroger Specialty Pharmacy LA LLC, Kroger Texas L.P., LCGP3 Home Cooking Inc., Latta Village LLC, Local Mkt LLC, Main & Vine LLC, Matthews Property 1 LLC, Mega Marts LLC, Michigan Dairy L.L.C., ModernHealth LTC, Murrays Cheese LLC, Murrays Cheese LLC, Murrays LIC LLC, Murrays Table LLC, Pace Dairy Foods Company, Paramount Logistics LLC, Pay Less Super Markets Inc., Peyton's-Southeastern Inc., Plum Labs LLC, Pontiac Foods Inc., Queen City Assurance Inc., RBF LLC, RGC Southeast Properties LLC, Ralphs Grocery Company, Relish Labs LLC, Rocket Newco Inc., Roundy's, Roundys Acquisition Corp., Roundys Illinois LLC, Roundys Inc., Roundys Supermarkets Inc., Second Story Inc., Shop-Rite LLC, Smiths Beverage of Wyoming Inc., Smiths Food & Drug Centers Inc., Southern Ice Cream Specialties Inc., Stallings Investors I LLC, Sunrise R&D Holdings LLC, Sunrise Technology LLC, TLC Corporate Services LLC, TLC Immunization Clinic LLC, TLC of Georgia LLC, The Kroger Co. of Michigan, The Little Clinic LLC, The Little Clinic Management Services LLC, The Little Clinic of Arizona LLC, The Little Clinic of Colorado LLC, The Little Clinic of IN LLC, The Little Clinic of Kansas LLC, The Little Clinic of Mississippi LLC, The Little Clinic of Ohio LLC, The Little Clinic of TX LLC, The Little Clinic of Tennessee LLC, The Little Clinic of VA LLC, Topvalco Inc., Ultimate Mart LLC, Ultra Mart Foods LLC, Vandervoort Dairy Foods Company, Vine Court Assurance Incorporated, Vitacost, Vitacost.com Inc., Woodmont Holdings LLC, and YOU Technology. Read More Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE), an S&P 500 urban office real estate investment trust ("REIT"), is the first, longest-tenured, and pioneering owner, operator, and developer uniquely focused on collaborative life science, technology, and agtech campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, with a total market capitalization of $31.9 billion as of December 31, 2020, and an asset base in North America of 49.7 million square feet ("SF"). The asset base in North America includes 31.9 million RSF of operating properties and 3.3 million RSF of Class A properties undergoing construction, 7.1 million RSF of near-term and intermediate-term development and redevelopment projects, and 7.4 million SF of future development projects. Founded in 1994, Alexandria pioneered this niche and has since established a significant market presence in key locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle. Alexandria has a longstanding and proven track record of developing Class A properties clustered in urban life science, technology, and agtech campuses that provide our innovative tenants with highly dynamic and collaborative environments that enhance their ability to successfully recruit and retain world-class talent and inspire productivity, efficiency, creativity, and success. Alexandria also provides strategic capital to transformative life science, technology, and agtech companies through our venture capital platform. We believe our unique business model and diligent underwriting ensure a high-quality and diverse tenant base that results in higher occupancy levels, longer lease terms, higher rental income, higher returns, and greater long-term asset value. GB Pant Hospital is one of the biggest state-run medical institutes in the country and is equipped to perform complex neuro, cardio and gastrointestinal surgeries, all of which require MRI scans. MRI is a crucial part of medical treatment and is used to detect tumours, cysts and injuries. By Priyanka Sharma: Want to get an MRI scan done at the Delhi government's super speciality GB Pant Hospital? Come back after three years. Officials have been asking patients and their relatives to wait their turn till 2019 as demand has been piling up with the lone scanner at the institute lying inoperative for the past month. India's public health system is underfunded and overburdened as it struggles to meet the needs of more than 1.2 billion people, about 40 per cent of whom live below the poverty line. advertisement GB Pant Hospital is one of the biggest state-run medical institutes in the country and is equipped to perform complex neuro, cardio and gastrointestinal surgeries, all of which require MRI scans. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to generate images of the inside of the body, essentially mapping the location of water and fat. It is a crucial part of medical treatment and is used to detect tumours, cysts, injuries and abnormalities in all body parts, including in the brain, heart, spine, liver and lungs. PATIENTS' WOES Noor Jahan was shocked when she learnt that GB Pant Hospital has scheduled her MRI exam for March 19, 2019. The 40-year-old is suffering from critical illness in her backbone and doctors have prescribed swift treatment which can only be done based on the test results. "My mother is not in a state to walk or talk. How can the hospital issue a date for MRI in 2019? Her condition may turn critical at anytime," her son, Danish, told Mail Today. Mehar Singh, 61, is suffering from acute neurological disorder, but his brain MRI scan will have to wait till May 2019. "Hospital authorities are mocking our misery and poverty. My husband is an epileptic patient. Very often he gets fits and can also die," said wife Alimsha. These are just two among a rash of such cases. Mail Today has a copy of a list from the hospital's radiology department, issuing dates to a clutch of patients for June 2019. UNAVAILABLE FOR COMMENT GB Pant Hospital Director Dr Rajeev Chawla was unavailable for comment. When we contacted Delhi Health Secretary Chandrakar Bharti, he refused to speak on the matter. Repeated calls to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain went unanswered. A senior doctor, on the condition of anonymity, said, "This is cruelty towards the patients. We feel so bad for the people who join queues from the morning, hoping to get an MRI scan done. Hospital authorities are well aware of the importance of an MRI machine. We have complained to the hospital director many times, but he is still sitting on the matter." advertisement A senior radiologist said more than 200 patients come daily to the centre for MRI tests. Apart from damaged machines, lack of infrastructure and manpower are crippling the department, he said. "For now, only one MRI scanner is functioning at the Lok Nayak Hospital, which is shared by patients referred by 34 Delhi government hospitals." While private MRI tests cost between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000, they are done free at Delhi government hospitals. While a 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner costs between Rs 4 crore and Rs 6.5 crore, a high-end 3 Tesla one may come with a Rs 14-crore price tag. The Delhi government paid close Rs 15.35 crore for the scanner installed at Lok Nayak Hospital last year. --- ENDS --- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, a pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes generic medicines, specialty medicines, and biopharmaceutical products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers sterile products, hormones, high-potency drugs, and cytotoxic substances in various dosage forms, including tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalants, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments, and creams. It also develops, manufactures, and sells active pharmaceutical ingredients. In addition, it focuses on the central nervous system, pain, respiratory, and oncology areas. Its products in the central nervous system include Copaxone for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis; AJOVY for the preventive treatment of migraine; and AUSTEDO for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia and chorea associated with Huntington disease. The company's products in the respiratory market comprise ProAir, QVAR, ProAir Digihaler, AirDuo Digihaler, and ArmonAir Digihaler, BRALTUS, CINQAIR/CINQAERO, DuoResp Spiromax, and AirDuo RespiClick/ArmonAir RespiClick for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Its products in the oncology market include Bendeka, Treanda, Granix, Trisenox, Lonquex, and Tevagrastim/Ratiograstim. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited has a collaboration MedinCell for the development and commercialization of multiple long-acting injectable products, a risperidone suspension for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Flowserve Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD). The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines. The FCD segment provides engineered and industrial valve and automation solutions, including isolation and control valves, actuation, controls, and related equipment, as well as equipment maintenance services for flow control systems, including advanced diagnostics, repair, installation, commissioning, retrofit programs, and field machining capabilities. This segment's products are used to control, direct, and manage the flow of liquids, gases, and fluids. The company primarily serves oil and gas, chemical and pharmaceuticals, power generation, and water management markets, as well as general industries, including mining and ore processing, pulp and paper, food and beverage, and other smaller applications. The company distributes its products through direct sales, distributors, and sales representatives. Flowserve Corporation was incorporated in 1912 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas. Banc of California, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California, National Association that provides banking products and services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, retirement, and interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand accounts, as well as certificate of deposits. It also provides various commercial and consumer loan products, such as commercial and industrial loans; commercial real estate and multifamily loans; construction loans; single family residential mortgage loans; warehouse and indirect/direct leveraged lending; home equity lines of credit; small business administration loans; and other consumer loans. In addition, the company offers automated bill payment, cash and treasury management, foreign exchange, card payment, remote and mobile deposit capture, automated clearing house origination, wire transfer, direct deposit, and internet banking services; and master demand accounts, interest rate swaps, and safe deposit boxes. Further, it invests in collateralized loan obligations, agency securities, municipal bonds, agency residential mortgage-backed securities, and corporate debt securities. As of December 31, 2020, the company operated 29 full-service branches in Southern California. The company was formerly known as First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Banc of California, Inc. in July 2013. Banc of California, Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California. The following companies are subsidiares of Vodafone Group Public: 360 Connect S.A., 3@ Telecom, A-ccelerator B.V., A-ccelerator Holding B.V, AAA (Euro) Limited, AAA (MCR) Limited, AAA (UK) Limited, Acorn Communications Limited, Africonnect (Zambia) Limited, Ag Mercantile Company Private Limited, Al-Amin Investments Limited, Amsterdamse Beheer- en Consultingmaatschappij B.V., Apollo Submarine Cable System Limited, Array Holdings Limited, Asian Telecommunication Investments (Mauritius) Limited, Aspective Limited, Astec Communications Limited, Autoconnex Limited, Aztec Limited, BelCompany BV, Bluefish Apac Communications Pte. Ltd, Bluefish Communications, Bluefish Communications Limited, Business Serve Limited, C&W Worldwide Nigeria Limited, C.S.P. Solutions Limited, CCII (Mauritius) Inc., CGP India Investments Ltd., CGP Investments (Holdings) Limited, COOP Mobil s.r.o, CT Networks Limited, CWGNL S.A., CWW Operations Limited, Cable & Wireless Access Limited, Cable & Wireless Americas Systems Inc., Cable & Wireless Aspac Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Services Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Svyaz LLC, Cable & Wireless Capital Limited , Cable & Wireless Communications Data Network Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Starclass Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Technical Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd (Beijing Branch), Cable & Wireless Europe Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless GN Limited, Cable & Wireless Global (India) Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Business Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Holding Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Telecommunication Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Holdco Limited, Cable & Wireless Networks India Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Trade Mark Management Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Waterside Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Pension Trustee Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Voice Messaging Limited, Cable & Wireless a-Services Inc, Cable & Wireless a-Services Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited Indian Branch Office, Cable and Wireless Nominee Limited, Cable and Wireless Worldwide South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cavalry Holdings Ltd, Celfocus Solucoes Informaticas Para Telecomunicacoes S.A, Cellops Limited, Cellular Operations Limited, Central Communications Group Limited, Central Telecom (Northern) Limited, Centurion GSM Limited, Chelys Limited, City Cable (Holdings) Limited, Cobra do Brasil Servicos de Telematica ltda., Commnet Cellular Inc., Complete Network Technology, Connect (India) Mobile Technologies Private Limited, Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited, Dataroam Limited , Device Insight, Digital Island (UK) Ltd, Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, East Africa Investment (Mauritius) Limited, Emtel Europe Limited, Energis (Ireland) Limited, Energis Communications Limited, Energis Holdings Limited, Energis Local Access Limited, Energis Management Limited, Energis Squared Limited, Erudite Systems Limited, Esprit Telecom B.V., Eudokia Limited, Euro Pacific Securities Ltd., Eurocall Holdings Limited, Europolitan Holdings AB (now Europolitan Vodafone AB), FB Holdings Limited, FM Associates (UK) Limited, FinCo Partner 1 B.V., FireFly Networks Limited, Flexphone Limited, GS Telecom (Pty) Limited, Gateway Communications Africa (UK) Limited, Gateway Communications Tanzania Limited, General Mobile Corporation, Generation Telecom Limited, Ghana Telecommunications, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, Global Cellular Rental Limited, Globe Limited, GrandCentrix GmbH, Grupo Corporativo ONO S.A.U., H3ga Properties (No 3) Pty Limited, HBO Nederland Cooperatief U.A., HBO Netherlands Channels sro, HBO Netherlands Distribution B.V., Hellas Online, How2 Telecom Limited, Hutchison Essar Ltd, Indus Towers Limited, Intercell Communications Limited, Internet Network Services Limited, Invitation Digital Limited, Ipergy Communications NV, Isis Telecommunications Management Limited, Jaguar Communications Limited, Jaykay Finholding (India) Private Limited, Jupicol (Proprietary) Limited, KABELCOM Braunschweig Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, KABELCOM Wolfsburg Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, Kabel Deutschland, Kabel Deutschland Holding, Kabel Deutschland Holding Erste Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Holding Zweite Beteilgungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Neunte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Siebte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabelfernsehen Munchen Servicenter GmbH & Co. KG, LG Financing Partnership, LGE HoldCo V B.V., LGE HoldCo VI B.V., LGE HoldCo VIII B.V., LGE Holdco VII B.V., LLC Vodafone Enterprise Ukraine, Le Bunt Holdings Limited, Legend Communications Limited, Liberty Global, Liberty Global Content Netherlands B.V., London Hydraulic Power Company, M-PESA Foundation, M-PESA Holding Co. Limited, ML Integration Group Limited, ML Integration Limited, ML Integration Services Limited, MV Healthcare Services Private Limited, Mannesmann AG, MetroHoldings Limited, Mezzanine Ware Proprietary Limited (RF), Mirambo Limited, Misrfone Trading Company LLC, MobiFon S.A., Mobile Commerce Solutions Limited, Mobile Phone Centre Limited, Mobile Wallet VM1, Mobile Wallet VM2, Mobile by Sainsburys Limited, Mobiles 4 Business.com Limited, Mobileworld Communications Pty Limited, Mobileworld Operating Pty Ltd, Mobilvest, Motifpros 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Multi Risk Indemnity Company Limited, Multi Risk Limited, ND Callus Info Services Private Limited, Nadal Trading Company Private Limited, Nat Comm Air Limited, National Communications Backbone Company Limited, Navtrak Ltd, Netforce Group Limited, Netgrid Telecom SRL, Number Portability Company (Proprietary) Limited, ONO, Omega Telecom Holdings Private Limited, Oni Way Infocomunicacoes S.A, Oskar Mobil S.R.O., Oxygen Solutions Limited, P.C.P. (North West) Limited, PPL Pty Limited, PT Network Services Limited, PTI Telecom Limited, Peoples Phone Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Group Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Limited, Plex Limited, Plustech Mercantile Company Private Limited, Prime Metals Ltd., Project Telecom Holdings Limited, Quickcomm Software Solutions, Radio Opt GmbH, Rian Mobile Limited, SBC SMART CITY 1517 B.V., SMMS Investments Pvt Limited, Safaricom Limited, Safenet N.P A., Sarmady Communications, Scarlet Ibis Investments 23 (Pty) Limited, Scorpios Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Silver Stream Investments Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Ltd., Singlepoint Payment Services Limited, Siro Limited, Spar Aerospace (Nigeria) Limited, Sport TV Portugal S.A, Starnet, Stentor Communications Limited, Stentor Limited, Storage Technology Services (Pty) Limited, T.W. Telecom Limited, T3 Telecommunications Limited, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern Beteiligungs GmbH, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern GmbH & Co. KG, TNAS Limited, TSM NZ Limited, Talkland Airtime Services Limited, Talkland Australia Pty Limited, Talkland Communications Limited, Talkland International Limited, Talkland Midlands Limited, Talkmobile Limited, Tele2 Italia SPA, Tele2 Spain, Telecom Investments India Private Limited, Telecommunications Europe Limited, Ternhill Communications Limited, The Cobra Group, The Eastern Leasing Company Limited, The Old Telecom Sales Co. Limited, Thus Group Holdings Limited, Thus Group Limited, Thus Limited, Thus Profit Sharing Trustees Limited, TnT Expense Management LLC, Tomorrow Street GP S.a r.l., Tomorrow Street SCA, Torenspits II B.V., Townley Communications Limited, Trans Crystal Ltd., UMT Investments Limited, UPC Nederland Holding I B.V., UPC Nederland Holding II B.V., UPC Nederland Holding III B.V., Unified Communications, Uniqueair Limited, Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH & Co.KG, Usha Martin Telematics Limited, VAPL No. 2 Pty Limited, VBA (Mauritius) Limited, VBA Holdings Limited, VBA International (SL) Limited, VBA International Limited, VEI S.r.l., VM SA, VND S.p.A, VSSB Vodafone Shared Services Budapest Private Limited Company, Verwaltung Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH, Victus Networks S.A., Vizzavi Finance Limited, Vizzavi Limited, Voda Limited, Vodacall Limited, Vodacash s.p.r.l., Vodacom (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business (Angola) Limitada, Vodacom Business (Ghana) Limited, Vodacom Business (Kenya) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group Services Limited, Vodacom Business Cameroon SA, Vodacom Business Cote Divoire S.A.R.L., Vodacom Congo (RDC) SA, Vodacom Financial Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Group Limited, Vodacom Insurance Administration Company (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Insurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom International Holdings (Pty) Limited, Vodacom International Limited, Vodacom Lesotho (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom Payment Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No.2 (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Tanzania Limited Zanzibar, Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company, Vodacom UK Limited, Vodafone (NI) Limited, Vodafone (New Zealand) Hedging Limited, Vodafone (Scotland) Limited, Vodafone 2, Vodafone 4 UK, Vodafone 5 Limited, Vodafone 5 UK, Vodafone 6 UK, Vodafone Albania Sh.A, Vodafone Alternatif Telekom Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Americas 4, Vodafone Americas Virginia Inc., Vodafone And Qatar Foundation L.L.C, Vodafone Asset Management Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Automotive Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Automotive Electronic Systems S.r.L, Vodafone Automotive France S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Iberia S.L, Vodafone Automotive Italia S.p.A, Vodafone Automotive Japan K.K, Vodafone Automotive Korea Limited, Vodafone Automotive SpA, Vodafone Automotive Technologies (Beijing) Co Ltd, Vodafone Automotive Telematics Development S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Telematics S.A, Vodafone Automotive UK Limited, Vodafone Belgium SA/NV, Vodafone Benelux Limited, Vodafone Bilgi Ve Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, Vodafone Business Services Limited, Vodafone Business Solutions Limited, Vodafone Canada Inc, Vodafone Cellular Limited, Vodafone Central Services Limited, Vodafone China Limited (China), Vodafone China Limited (Hong Kong), Vodafone Connect 2 Limited, Vodafone Connect Limited, Vodafone Consolidated Holdings Limited, Vodafone Corporate Limited, Vodafone Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Czech Republic A.S., Vodafone DC Pension Trustee Company Limited, Vodafone Dagitim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Data, Vodafone Distribution Holdings Limited, Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications S.A.E., Vodafone Elektronik Para Ve Odeme Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Empresa Brasil Telecomunicacoes Ltda, Vodafone Empresa Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Vodafone Enabler Espana S.L., Vodafone Enterprise Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Austria GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Bahrain W.L.L., Vodafone Enterprise Bulgaria EOOD, Vodafone Enterprise Chile SA, Vodafone Enterprise Communications Technical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Denmark A/S, Vodafone Enterprise Equipment Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited Czech Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited DubaiI Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Finland OY, Vodafone Enterprise France SAS, Vodafone Enterprise Germany GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Global Businesses S.a r.l., Vodafone Enterprise Global Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network HK Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network Pte. Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Hong Kong Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Italy S.r.L, Vodafone Enterprise Korea Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Luxembourg S.A., Vodafone Enterprise Netherlands BV, Vodafone Enterprise Norway AS, Vodafone Enterprise Regional Business Singapore Pte.Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Singapore Pte.Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Spain S.L.U. Portugal Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Spain SLU, Vodafone Enterprise Sweden AB, Vodafone Enterprise Switzerland AG, Vodafone Erste Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Vodafone Espana S.A.U., Vodafone Euro Hedging Limited, Vodafone Euro Hedging Two, Vodafone Europe B.V., Vodafone Europe UK, Vodafone European Investments, Vodafone European Portal Limited, Vodafone Finance Limited, Vodafone Finance Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Finance Sweden, Vodafone Finance UK Limited, Vodafone Financial Operations, Vodafone Financial Services B.V., Vodafone Fixed Ltd, Vodafone Foundation, Vodafone Foundation Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Gestioni S.p.A, Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited, Vodafone Global Content Services Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Hong Kong) Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Italy) S.R.L., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Japan) K.K., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Russia LLC, Vodafone Global Enterprise Taiwan Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Telecommunications (Hellas) A.E., Vodafone Global Network Limited, Vodafone Global Network Limited Slovakia Branch, Vodafone Global Services Private Limited, Vodafone GmbH, Vodafone Group (Directors) Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Pension Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Services GmbH, Vodafone Group Services Ireland Limited, Vodafone Group Services Limited, Vodafone Group Services No.2 Limited, Vodafone Group Share Trustee Limited, Vodafone Hire Limited, Vodafone Holding A.S., Vodafone Holdings (Jersey) Limited, Vodafone Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Holdings Europe S.L.U., Vodafone Holdings Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Finance Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Receivables Pty Limited, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited, Vodafone India Digital Limited, Vodafone India Limited, Vodafone India Services Private Limited, Vodafone India Ventures Limited, Vodafone Institut fur Gesellschaft und Kommunikation GmbH, Vodafone Intermediate Enterprises Limited, Vodafone International 1 S.a.r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone International 1 S.a r.l., Vodafone International 2 Limited, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., Vodafone International Holdings Limited, Vodafone International M S.a r.l., Vodafone International Operations Limited, Vodafone International Services LLC, Vodafone Investment UK, Vodafone Investments (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Investments Australia Limited, Vodafone Investments Limited, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Ireland Distribution Limited, Vodafone Ireland Ltd., Vodafone Ireland Marketing Limited, Vodafone Ireland Property Holdings Limited, Vodafone Ireland Retail Limited, Vodafone Italia S.p.A., Vodafone Jersey Dollar Holdings Limited, Vodafone Jersey Finance, Vodafone Jersey Yen Holdings Unlimited, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Field Services GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Kundenbetreuung GmbH, Vodafone Kenya Limited, Vodafone Leasing Limited, Vodafone Libertel B.V., Vodafone Limited, Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone M-PESA SH.P.K., Vodafone M-Pesa S.A, Vodafone M.C. Mobile Services Limited , Vodafone Magyarorszag Mobile Tavkozlesi Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Vodafone Malta Limited, Vodafone Marketing UK , Vodafone Maroc SARL, Vodafone Mauritius Ltd., Vodafone Mobile Commerce Limited, Vodafone Mobile Communications Limited, Vodafone Mobile Enterprises Limited, Vodafone Mobile NZ Limited, Vodafone Mobile Network Limited, Vodafone Mobile Operations Limited, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, Vodafone Multimedia Limited, Vodafone Nederland Holding I B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding II B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding III B.V., Vodafone Net Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Network Pty Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, Vodafone Next Generation Services Limited, Vodafone Nominees Limited1, Vodafone ONO S.A.U., Vodafone Oceania Limited, Vodafone Old Show Ground Site Management Limited, Vodafone Overseas Finance Limited, Vodafone Overseas Holdings Limited, Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V., Vodafone Panafon UK, Vodafone Partner Services Limited, Vodafone Payment Solutions S.a r.l., Vodafone Portugal Comunicacoes Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Procurement Company S.a r.l., Vodafone Property Investments Limited, Vodafone Pty Limited, Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., Vodafone Retail (Holdings) Limited , Vodafone Retail Limited, Vodafone Roaming Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Romania S.A, Vodafone Romania M - Payments SRL, Vodafone Romania Technologies SRL, Vodafone Sales & Services Limited, Vodafone Satellite Services Limited, Vodafone Servicios SL.U, Vodafone Servizi E Tecnologie S.R.L, Vodafone Servicos Empresariais Brasil Ltda., Vodafone Shared Services Romania SRL, Vodafone Specialist Communications Limited, Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Vodafone Technology Solutions Limited, Vodafone Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Tele-Services (India) Holdings Limited, Vodafone Telecel-Comunicates Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Telecommunications (India) Limited, Vodafone Telekomunikasyon A.S, Vodafone Towers Limited, Vodafone UK Content Services Limited, Vodafone UK Investments Limited , Vodafone UK Limited1 , Vodafone US Inc, Vodafone Ventures Limited1 , Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, Vodafone Worldwide Holdings Limited, Vodafone Yen Finance Limited , Vodafone m-pesa Limited, Vodafone-Central Limited Vodaphone Limited, Vodafone-Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company S.A., VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V, Vodata Limited , Vouchercloud SA (Pty) Ltd, Wataneya Telecommunications S.A.E, Waterberg Lodge (Proprietary) Limited, Wayfinder, Wheatfields Investments 276 (Proprietary) Limited, Wireless Interactions & NFC Accelerator 2013 B.V., Woodend Cellular Limited, Woodend Communications Limited, Woodend Group Limited, Woodend Holdings Limited, XB Facilities B.V, XLink Communications (Proprietary) Limited, Your Communications Group Limited, ZUM B.V., ZYB, Zelitron S.A., Zesko B.V., Ziggo B.V., Ziggo Bond Company B.V., Ziggo Deelnemingen B.V., Ziggo Finance 2 B.V., Ziggo Financing Partnership, Ziggo Holding B.V., Ziggo Netwerk B.V., Ziggo Netwerk II B.V., Ziggo Services B.V., Ziggo Services Employment B.V., Ziggo Services Netwerk 2 B.V., Ziggo Zakelijk Services B.V., and Zoranet Connectivity Services B.V.. Read More By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) Calling for a rethink of its submarine building programme, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said India should look for greater numbers than the existing plan of constructing 24 such vessels. Referring to the existing 30-year submarine building plan that envisages construction of 24 submarines, including both nuclear and conventional, Parrikar said India needed a longer term plan till 2050. The existing plan ends in 2030. advertisement He also said that the strategic partnership model is in the last stage and once brought out, the ministry will fast- track the P75 India project under which six more conventional submarines are to be built. He rued that unlike the ongoing nuclear submarine project, the indigenisation on the Scorpene projects is very low (30-40 per cent). Parrikar emphasised on the need to retain skill and skilled people engaged in submarine contruction and said the focus should also be on maintainance. "We need to rethink about the real requirement based on our projection... We also need to assure that the skilled manpower and skills developed need to be retained," he said. The minister noted that prime contractors are chosen through stringent criteria aqnd are nurtured through award of contracts on sustained basis so as to retain the industrial base skills, capabilities and technology. He said that Russia has built 595 submarines till date while the US has constructed 285 submarines. On startegic partnership, he said, "It has already been approved and the drafting of the chapters is underway. Approval is needed by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) and probably by the Cabinet as well as it has financial implications," he said. Parrikar also called for a higher level of indigenisation in submarine-building. "Indigenisation in Scorpenes is not up to the mark, but in the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) programme (nuclear submarines) it is over 70 per cent," he said. PTI SAP SC --- ENDS --- Intertek Group plc provides quality assurance solutions to various industries in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Products, Trade, and Resources. The Products segment offers assurance, testing, inspection, and certification services (ATIC), including laboratory safety, quality and performance testing, second-party supplier auditing, sustainability analysis, products assurance, vendor compliance, process performance analysis, facility plant and equipment verification, and third party certification. This segment serves a range of industries, including textiles, footwear, toys, hardlines, home appliances, consumer electronics, information and communication technology, automotive, aerospace, lighting, building products, industrial and renewable energy products, food and hospitality, healthcare and beauty, and pharmaceuticals. The Trade segment provides cargo inspection, analytical assessment, calibration, and related research and technical services to the petroleum and biofuels industries; inspection services to governments and regulatory bodies to support trade activities; and analytical and testing services to agricultural trading companies and growers. The Resources segment offers technical inspection, asset integrity management, analytical testing, and ongoing training services for the oil, gas, nuclear, and power industries. This segment also provides a range of ATIC service solutions to the mining and minerals exploration industries covering the resource supply chain from exploration and resource development, through to production, shipping, and commercial settlement. The company also offers cyber security services. Intertek Group plc was founded in 1885 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. provides home and security products for residential home repair, remodeling, new construction, and security applications. It operates in three segments: Plumbing, Outdoors & Security, and Cabinets. The Plumbing segment manufactures, assembles, and sells faucets, accessories, kitchen sinks, and waste disposals under the Moen, ROHL, Riobel, Victoria+Albert, Perrin & Rowe, and Shaws brands in the United States, China, Canada, Mexico, Southeast Asia, Europe, and South America directly through its own sales force, as well as through independent manufacturers' representatives to wholesalers, home centers, mass merchandisers, and industrial distributors. The Outdoors & Security segment offers fiberglass and steel entry door systems under the Therma-Tru brand; storm, screen, and security doors under the Larson brand; composite decking and railing under the Fiberon brand; and urethane millwork under the Fypon brand. This segment also manufactures, sources, and distributes locks, safety and security devices, and electronic security products under the Master Lock and American Lock brands; and fire resistant safes, security containers, and commercial cabinets under the SentrySafe brand. It serves home centers, hardware and other retailers, millwork building products and wholesale distributors, specialty dealers, and remodeling and renovation markets, as well as locksmiths, industrial and institutional users, and original equipment manufacturers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Central America, Japan, and Australia. The Cabinets segment manufactures custom, semi-custom, and custom cabinetry, as well as vanities for the kitchen, bath, and other parts of the home directly to kitchen and bath dealers, home centers, wholesalers, and builders in North America under the AOK, Diamond Brands, Homecrest, Kitchen Craft, Omega, and EVE brands. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. Describing the signing of declaration as a "big step", Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia tweeted: "The income tax department will be able to obtain information from accounts of all Indians stashed in Switzerland from 2018 onwards." By PTI: In a big step towards fighting black money stashed overseas, Switzerland on Tuesday agreed to automatic sharing of information with India on Swiss bank accounts of Indians as of September 2018 onwards. They will not share details about accounts held prior to that period, while the first such exchange will happen in September 2019. ALSO READ | Leaders with Swiss bank accounts can't preach nationalism: Journos at Sahitya AajTak advertisement The 'Joint Declaration' for implementation of AEOI signed today between India and Switzerland provides that both countries will start collecting data in accordance with the global standards in 2018 and exchange it from 2019 onwards. INDIA PROMISES TO SAFEGUARD CONFIDENTIALITY OF DATA While Switzerland has conformed to the global standards on automatic exchange of information with the signing of the declaration, India, on its part, has promised to safeguard the confidentiality of the data. ALSO READ | Indian black money vanishing from Swiss Banks "It will now be possible for India to receive from September, 2019 onwards, the financial information of accounts held by Indian residents in Switzerland for 2018 and subsequent years, on an automatic basis," said a Finance Ministry statement. Describing the signing of declaration as a "big step", Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia tweeted: "The income tax department will be able to obtain information from accounts of all Indians stashed in Switzerland from 2018 onwards." The Swiss Federal Department of Finance said in a statement that the signing of the joint declaration with India confirms Switzerland's international commitment to implementing the automatic exchange of Information (AEOI) standard. "Switzerland is thus strengthening its network of AEOI partner states. India meets in particular the high demands in terms of adherence to the principle of speciality and the safeguarding of confidentiality for the data delivered, which are pre-requisites for the introduction of the AEOI," it said. Switzerland, which has always been at the centre of the debate on black money allegedly stashed by Indians abroad, used to be known for very strong secrecy walls till a few years ago around its banking practices. A huge global pressure has resulted in Switzerland relenting on the tough secrecy clauses its local laws gave to the banks. Several information requests on details about Indians who had accounts in Swiss banks are still pending. Today's declaration, however, does not talk about exchange of information based on stolen data or pending requests from India. BRING BACK UNACCOUNTED INDIAN MONEY STASHED ABROAD: OPPOSITION Following the government's demonetisation of high value currency notes earlier this month as a crack down on domestic black money, some opposition parties have been demanding that the government take action to bring back the unaccounted Indian money stashed abroad, particularly in Swiss banks. --- ENDS --- advertisement Tyler Technologies, Inc. provides integrated information management solutions and services for the public sector. The company operates in three segments: Enterprise Software; Appraisal and Tax; and NIC. It offers financial management solutions, including modular fund accounting systems for government agencies or not-for-profit entities; utility billing systems for the billing and collection of metered and non-metered services; products to automate city and county functions, such as municipal courts, parking tickets, equipment and project costing, animal and business licenses, permits and inspections, code enforcement, citizen complaint tracking, ambulance billing, fleet maintenance, and cemetery records management; and student information and transportation solutions for K-12 schools. The company also provides a suite of judicial solutions comprising court case management, court and law enforcement, prosecutor, and supervision systems to handle multi-jurisdictional county or statewide implementations, and single county systems; public safety software solutions; systems and software to automate the appraisal and assessment of real and personal property, as well as tax applications for agencies that bill and collect taxes; planning, regulatory, and maintenance software solutions for public sector agencies; software applications to enhance and automate operations involving records and document management; and data and insights solutions. In addition, it offers software as a service arrangements and electronic document filing solutions for courts and law offices; software and hardware installation, data conversion, training, product modification, and maintenance and support services; and property appraisal outsourcing services for taxing jurisdictions. The company has a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services for cloud hosting services. Tyler Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas. Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services. It serves corporate, middle market, and commercial real estate developers and investors. The Consumer Bank segment provides consumer banking products and services related to residential first mortgages, home equity lines and loans, consumer credit cards, and other consumer loans, as well as deposits. The Wealth Management segment offers credit related products, and retirement and savings solutions; and trust and investment management, asset management, and estate planning services to individuals, businesses, governmental institutions, and non-profit entities. The company also provides investment and insurance products; low-income housing tax credit corporate fund syndication services; and other specialty financing services. As of March 01, 2022, it operated through a network of 1,300 banking offices and 2,000 automated teller machines across the South, Midwest, and Texas. Regions Financial Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The following companies are subsidiares of HP: 3Com, 3PAR, ABB CADE, AOME Holdings Ltd., Albacore Holdings Jersey Ltd, Alpha Holding One B.V., Alpha Holding Two B.V., Anatolus Holding B.V., Apogee, Apogee Corp, Apogee Corporation Ireland Limited, Apogee Corporation Jersey Limited, Apogee Corporation Limited, Apogee Europe Limited, Apogee France Holdings SAS, Apogee France SAS, Apogee Germany Holding UG, Apogee Group Limited, Apogee Rentals Limited, Apollo Computer, AppIQ, Applied Optoelectronic Tech, ArcSight, Arnon Holding B.V., Arteis, Artivision Technologies, Aruba Networks, Atos Origin, Atos Origin Middle East group, Autonomy Corporation, Avantek, BAS - Burosysteme GmbH, BT & D Technologies, Balreed Digitec Group Limited, Balreed Digitec North Limited, Balreed Digitec SE Limited, Balreed Digitec UK Limited, Bamberga Holding B.V., Bitfone Corporation, Bluestone Software, Boonton Radio, Bristol Technology Inc., Bromium, Bromium UK Limited, CEC Europe Service Management, CGNZ, CaLan, China HP Co. Ltd Hangzhou Branch, China HP Co. Ltd., China HP Co. Ltd. Chengdu Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Guangzhou Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Jiangan Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Nanjing Branch, China HP Co. Ltd. Shanghai Branch, Choose Packaging, City Docs Limited, City Docs Solutions Limited, Colorado Memory Systems, Colubris Networks, Colubris Networks, Compaq Cayman Holdings Company, Compaq Cayman Holdings General Partnership II, Compaq Information Technologies, Compaq Information Technologies LLC, Computing and Printing Global Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Computing and Printing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Consera Software, ConteXtream Inc, Convex Computer, David Vision Systems GmbH, Dazzle, Digipro Limited, Division, EDS (Electronic Data Systems), EEsof, EYP Mission Critical Facilities, ElseWare, Eon Systems, Eucalyptus Systems, Eunomia Holding B.V., ExcellerateHRO, Exstream Software, Extreme Logic, F&M Scientific Corporation, F. Smith & Co Office Equipment Limited, F.L. Moseley Company, Flame Holding B.V., Fortify Software, Four Pi Systems, GNA Biosolutions GmbH, HP Austria GmbH, HP Belgium BV, HP Bilgisayar ve Baski Teknolojileri Limited Sirketi, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda. - Branch 01 Tambore, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda. - Branch 2 Sorocaba, HP Brasil Industria e Comercio de Equipamentos Eletronicos Ltda. - Branch 3 Porto Alegre, HP Canada Co. HP Canada Cie, HP Canada Licensing L.P., HP China Holding B.V., HP Chongqing Co. Ltd, HP Chongqing Manufacturing Export Procurement and Settlement Co. Ltd, HP Colombia SAS, HP Computing and Printing Middle East FZ-LLC, HP Computing and Printing Nigeria Ltd, HP Computing and Printing Systems India Private Limited, HP Computing and Printing d.o.o., HP Deutschland GmbH, HP Deutschland Holding GmbH, HP Europe B.V., HP Europe B.V. - Abu Dhabi Branch, HP Europe B.V. Regional Dubai Branch, HP Europe BV Amsterdam Meyrin Branch, HP Finland Oy, HP France Holding SAS, HP France SAS, HP Global Trading B.V., HP Global Trading B.V. Kazakhstan Branch, HP Health Solutions Inc., HP Health Solutions Spain Sociedad Limitada, HP Hewlett Packard Group LLC, HP Inc AP Hong Kong Limited, HP Inc Argentina S.R.L., HP Inc Bulgaria EOOD, HP Inc Chile Comercial Limitada, HP Inc Costa Rica Limitada, HP Inc Czech Republic s.r.o., HP Inc Danmark ApS, HP Inc Gulf, HP Inc Hong Kong Limited, HP Inc Magyarorszag Kft., HP Inc Peru S.R.L., HP Inc Polska sp. z o.o., HP Inc Romania SRL, HP Inc Slovakia s.r.o., HP Inc Thailand Ltd., HP Inc Tunisie SARL, HP Inc UK Limited, HP India Sales Private Limited, HP Indigo B.V., HP Indigo Ltd, HP Information Technology R&D Shanghai Co. Ltd, HP International Pte. Ltd., HP International Pte. Ltd. Taiwan Branch, HP International Sarl, HP International Trading B.V., HP International Trading B.V. Puerto Rico Branch LLC, HP Israel Ltd, HP Italy S.r.l., HP Jade Holding LLC, HP Japan Inc., HP KSA Ltd., HP Korea Inc., HP Licensing Holding LLC, HP Luxembourg S.C.A., HP Malaysia Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd., HP Nederland B.V., HP New Zealand, HP Norge AS, HP Onyx Holding L.P., HP PPS Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., HP PPS Australia Pty Ltd, HP PPS Costa Rica Limitada, HP PPS India Operations Private Limited, HP PPS Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., HP PPS Maroc, HP PPS Philippines Inc., HP PPS Sales Sdn. Bhd., HP PPS Services India Private Limited, HP PPS Singapore Sales Pte. Ltd., HP PPS Sverige AB, HP Pakistan Private Limited, HP Panama Sales and Distribution S. de R.L., HP Print Services Ireland Limited, HP Printing Korea Co. Ltd., HP Printing Shandong Co. Ltd., HP Printing and Computing Solutions S.L.U., HP Printing and Personal Systems Hellas EPE, HP Production Company Limited, HP Puerto Rico LLC, HP R&D Holding LLC, HP R&D Singapore Pte. Ltd., HP Schweiz GmbH, HP Scitex Ltd, HP Singapore Private Limited, HP Solutions Creation and Development Services S.L.U., HP South Africa Proprietary Limited, HP South Africa Trust, HP Taiwan Information Technology Ltd., HP Technology Holdings LLC, HP Technology Ireland Limited, HP Technology Israel Ltd, HP Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd, HP Technology Vietnam Company Ltd, HP Trading Kunshan Co. Ltd., HP Trading Shanghai Co. Ltd., HP Trading Shanghai Co. Ltd. Dalian Branch, HP Trading Shanghai Co. Ltd. Zhangjiang Branch, HP UK Development Limited, HP US Digital LLC, HP USA Manufacturing LLC, HPCP Computing and Printing Portugal Unipessoal Lda., HPI Bermuda Holdings LLC, HPI Brazil Holdings LLC, HPI Federal LLC, HPI J1 Holdings LLC, HPI Luxembourg LLC, HPQ Holdings LLC, Heartstream, Hewlett-Packard A.O., Hewlett-Packard Angola Lda., Hewlett-Packard Company Archives LLC, Hewlett-Packard Copenhagen B.V., Hewlett-Packard Development Company L.P., Hewlett-Packard Enterprises LLC, Hewlett-Packard G.K., Hewlett-Packard Global Holdings B.V., Hewlett-Packard Global Investments B.V., Hewlett-Packard Industrial Printing Solutions Europe BV, Hewlett-Packard Ireland 1 Limited, Hewlett-Packard Ireland Holdings Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Japan Holding B.V., Hewlett-Packard Japan NK Holdings C.V., Hewlett-Packard KSA Ltd. Qatar Branch, Hewlett-Packard Lisbon B.V., Hewlett-Packard MENA FZ-LLC Libya Branch, Hewlett-Packard Mercator B.V., Hewlett-Packard Sunnyvale B.V., Hewlett-Packard West Indies Limited, Hewlett-Packard World Trade LLC, Hiflex Software, HyperX, IBRIX, IndiGo, Indigo America Inc., Iseo Holding B.V., Kale Holding B.V., Kale Holding B.V. Puerto Rico Branch LLC, Knightsbridge Solutions, Kopiervertrieb Rhein-Ruhr GmbH, Lefthand Networks, Limited Liability Company HP Inc, Logoworks, Lyra Holding B.V., MacDermid ColorSpan, ManageOne, Manzana Bidco Limited, Manzana Holdings Limited, Melodeo, Mercury Interactive, Metrix Network Systems, NUR Macroprinters, Neoware, Nihon HP Nin-I Kumiai, Novadigm, NuView ManageX, OOO Hewlett-Packard RUS, Office Perfection Limited, OneFlow Systems Limited, Opelin, Opelin, Open Skies, Opsware, Opsware, Optimization Systems, Optotech, OuterBay Technologies, OuterBay Technologies, PERSIST Technologies, PIXACO, PROLIN, PT Hewlett-Packard Indonesia, Palm, Palm, Peregrine Systems, Perigee Holdco UK Limited, Perigee Midco UK Limited, Perseus Holding B.V., PipeBeach, Poly, PolyServe, PrinterOn America Corporation, Printware Limited, Qosnetics, RLX Technologies, Regor Holding B.V., SPI Dynamics, Samsung Printing Solutions, Scitex, Scitex Vision, Scope Communications, Security Force Software, Shunra Software, Shunra Software, Silverwire Holding, Simpress Comercio Locacao e Servicos Ltda, Snapfish, StorageApps, Stratavia, Synstar, Tabblo, Talking Blocks, Tall Tree Insurance Company, Technology Partners, Telegra, Teradici Corporation, Teradici Inc., Teradici UK Limited, The Danwood Group Limited, The Technology Partners, Tower Software, Tower Software Engineering Pty Ltd, Transoft Networks, Trellis Software & Controls, Triaton, Trinagy, TruLogica, Trustgenix, VeriFone, Verifone, Versatest, Vertica Systems, Vital Technology Pte Ltd, Voltage Security, VoodooPC, Xact Document Solutions Limited, and Xera-Logic Group Limited. Read More Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc and lead. It operates the Toquepala and Cuajone open-pit mines, and a smelter and refinery in Peru; and La Caridad, an open-pit copper mine, as well as a copper ore concentrator, a SX-EW plant, a smelter, refinery, and a rod plant in Mexico. The company also operates Buenavista, an open-pit copper mine, as well as two copper concentrators and two operating SX-EW plants in Mexico. In addition, it operates five underground mines that produce zinc, lead, copper, silver, and gold; a coal mine that produces coal and coke; and a zinc refinery. The company has interests in 82,134 hectares of exploration concessions in Peru; 493,533 hectares of exploration concessions in Mexico; 246,346 hectares of exploration concessions in Argentina; 29,888 hectares of exploration concessions in Chile; and 7,299 hectares of exploration concessions in Ecuador. Southern Copper Corporation was incorporated in 1952 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona. Southern Copper Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Americas Mining Corporation. The encounter between the terrorists and the Indian troops started when at 10 am the Rashtriya Rifles battalion deployed along the Line of Control in the Macchil sector in Jammu and Kashmir was alerted that Pakistan army-backed terrorists would try to infiltrate. On September 29, Army had deployed the troops of 4 and 9 Para (Special Forces) and multi-pronged attack on terror launch pads across the LoC, killing several terrorists and Pakistan Army personnel in PoK. By India Today Web Desk: To prevent terrorist infiltration, the Centre has decided to install modern anti-infiltration mechanisms on Indian borders. Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) has been approved for India-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh borders, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Rajya Sabha today. CIBMS is an integration of manpower, sensor, networks, intelligence and command, and control solutions. It includes Electro-Optic Sensors (high resolution day and night camera), radars and the likes. advertisement It said nearly 200 terrorists are active in Jammu and Kashmir. Till September this year, 105 terrorists had infiltrated into Indian side of LoC. The Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government have adopted a multi-pronged approach to contain cross-border infiltration that includes synergising intelligence flow to check infiltration and pro-active action against terrorists within the State. ALSO READ: 2 Pakistan soldiers killed as India responds to ceasefire violation with punitive strikes On a question whether the government is considering any plan to send an all party delegation to Kashmir for a second time, MHA told Rajya Sabha that there was no such proposal as the law and order situation has improved in the state. Asked whether any precautions were in place by the security forces to prevent Uri attack, the Union Home Ministry told the Upper House that in the wake of infiltration incidents from across the line of control and the unrest in the Valley, security forces were and are on alert to meet any eventuality. The ministry also informed that 35 school buildings were set ablaze and 11 school buildings were damaged in Kashmir Valley between July 8 and November 14 while 24 persons involved have been arrested. ALSO READ: Soldier killed as Pakistan army violates ceasefire in Jammu --- ENDS --- Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. The company offers general purpose servers for multi-workload computing and workload-optimized servers; HPE ProLiant rack and tower servers; HPE BladeSystem and HPE Synergy; and solutions for secondary workloads and traditional tape, storage networking, and disk products, such as HPE Modular Storage Arrays and HPE XP. It also offers HPE Apollo and Cray products; and HPE Superdome Flex, HPE Nonstop, HPE Integrity, and HPE Edgeline products. In addition, the company provides HPE Aruba product portfolio that includes wired and wireless local area network hardware products, such as Wi-Fi access points, switches, routers, and sensors; HPE Aruba software and services comprising cloud-based management, network management, network access control, analytics and assurance, and location; and professional and support services, as well as as-a-service and consumption models for the intelligent edge portfolio of products. Further, it offers various leasing, financing, IT consumption, and utility programs and asset management services for customers to facilitate technology deployment models and the acquisition of complete IT solutions, including hardware, software, and services from Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others. Additionally, the company invests in communications and media solutions. It has a partnership with Striim, Inc. to offer high performance and mission-critical solutions with real-time analytics. It serves commercial and large enterprise groups, such as business and public sector enterprises; and through various partners comprising resellers, distribution partners, original equipment manufacturers, independent software vendors, systems integrators, and advisory firms. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. The encounter between the terrorists and the Indian troops started when at 10 am the Rashtriya Rifles battalion deployed along the Line of Control in the Macchil sector in Jammu and Kashmir was alerted that Pakistan army-backed terrorists would try to infiltrate. On September 29, Army had deployed the troops of 4 and 9 Para (Special Forces) and multi-pronged attack on terror launch pads across the LoC, killing several terrorists and Pakistan Army personnel in PoK. By Ajit Kumar Dubey: In a cowardly act, Pakistan army backed terrorists on Tuesday killed three Indian soldiers in Macchil sector and beheaded one of them. Agitated over the killings and mutilation of own troops, Army Vice Chief Lt Gen Bipin Rawat briefed defence minister Manohar Parrikar and vowed to retaliate strongly. The encounter between the terrorists and the Indian troops started when at 10 am the Rashtriya Rifles battalion deployed along the Line of Control in the Macchil sector in Jammu and Kashmir was alerted that Pakistan army-backed terrorists would try to infiltrate. advertisement Soon after, a patrol of around 15 soldiers marched towards the specific suspected area of infiltration for laying an ambush. The terrorists were already hiding there under cover and started firing at the troops. WHAT HAPPENED The army troops from the RR unit also retaliated after they lied down on a slightly higher ground and the gunfire exchange continued for some time between them. As soon as the encounter between the two parties begun, the Pakistan army posts from across the LoC also started firing in that direction to prevent the Indian Army from sending any reinforcements, sources told Mail Today. ALSO READ: 2 Pakistan soldiers killed as India responds to ceasefire violation with punitive strikes During the firing, the troops realised later that three of their comrades had been hit by the initial spray of bullets by terrorists and had slipped down from the small ridge towards the side where terrorists were hiding, they said. By the time, the soldiers tried to retract the body, the terrorists beheaded one of the soldiers' dead bodies and some of them fled with it towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Till the last reports came in, the encounter was still on with Pakistan army fully supporting the infiltration bid using weapons such as mortars and rockets. The Indian Army was also retaliating in an equal manner, sources said. In the evening, Director General Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh is expected to call up his Pakistani counterpart to register Indian protest against the unprovoked attack and beheading of the Indian soldier. ALSO READ: Soldier killed as Pakistan army violates ceasefire in Jammu Sources said this was the second incident of beheading by Pakistani troops in this very area in the last one month as sepoy Mandeep Singh of the Sikh regiment was also killed and his body mutilated in a similar fashion on October 27. The sources said Pakistanis were trying to avenge the loss of face and destruction of terror camps in the September 29 surgical strikes in Machhil and Poonch sectors on the LoC as they have the altitude advantage in both these places. "Their posts are located on higher ground than our posts in these two areas and that is why they are trying to attack us here," sources in the defence establishment said. advertisement Sources said after the first beheading on October 27, Indian Army in a massive cross-border firing had destroyed Pakistani posts and killed seven of their soldiers which was later publicly accepted and announced by the Pakistan army itself. Sources said after the Indian Army's retaliation, the Pakistan army has modified its posts on the LoC and built underground structures inside the existing bunkers protected by heavy concrete to avoid casualties in case of heavy firing aimed at them by the Indian Army. "This new tactics by the Pakistan army has made our attack strategy a bit ineffective as we would fire at them using our 105mm artillery guns and rocket launchers directly at them but now these posts are getting destroyed though they are avoiding casualties," sources stated. UNPROVOKED ACT Sources said Tuesday's attack was totally unprovoked as the Indian side had tried to reduce the tensions on the boundary as Pakistanis were directly targeting civilians in crossborder exchange. "The government has also been informed that the Army is planning to launch a major strike on the Pakistan Army and terrorist infrastructure to teach Pakistan a lesson in its own language," sources added. advertisement With the death of 12 Army soldiers in last two months after the surgical strikes, the Army leadership feels that the time is ripe for a major action to cause heavy damage to Pakistan Army. On September 29, the Army had deployed the troops of 4 and 9 Para (Special Forces) and multi-pronged attack on terror launch pads across the LoC, killing several terrorists and Pakistan Army personnel in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Since then, there has been frequent violation of the ceasefire along the international border and LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, and both the Army and BSF have reacted strongly to it. --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) NIA, probing funding and other activities of Zakir Naik-led Islamic Research Foundation, today claimed ISIS recruit Abu Anas received Rs 80,000 from the foundation as scholarship in October 2015. Anas, a resident of Tonk in Rajasthan, had quit as an engineer in a Hyderabad-based company when he was arrested by the NIA in January for allegedly planning to carry out a terror strike ahead of Republic Day. advertisement The NIA claimed the probe into the IRF funding and distribution of money showed that Anas, who was among 16 people arrested at that time, had received Rs 80,000 from the proscribed IRF as scholarship in October 2015. Anas, named in a charge sheet in June, and is at present at Tihar Jail, had planned to go to Syria, the NIA alleged. The NIA has been conducting searches since November 19 and have raided at least 20 premises in Mumbai which are connected to the proscribed IRF or its trustees. During the search operations, video tapes and DVDs of Naiks public speeches, documents related to property and investment, financial transactions, foreign and domestic funding of the proscribed IRF as well as its associated companies, and electronic storage devices have been recovered by the NIA, it said. The NIA alleged that IRF, which was banned by the Union Cabinet last week under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), had close connections with some companies dealing in media, perfumes and solution. The documents seized during the searches pertain to inflow and outflow of foreign and domestic funding were being scrutinised. The NIA also blocked the website of IRF, which was allegedly promoting "hate speeches" of Naik. If the Islamic preacher fails to respond to the NIA summon, a red corner notice will be issued against him through Interpol by it. The NIA is still trying to block Naiks Facebook page, Twitter account and YouTube videos that contain alleged "objectionable" material and may seek help from authorities in the US where the servers of Internet giants like Google and Yahoo are located. Naik has been booked along with unnamed IRF officials under section 153-A of IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) beside various sections of UAPA. PTI SKL ZMN --- ENDS --- By PTI: Kolkata, Nov 23 (PTI) Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh is the main conspirator behind the attack on Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh, according to noted writer and rights activist Shahriar Kabir. Kabir, one of the key men behind the movement for trial of the 1971 war criminals and against fundamentalism and communalism in his country, said that by doing this, the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh was trying to destabilise the country and show it in a poor light. advertisement "The main agenda of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh is to wipe out non-believers in Islam. They are attacking not only religious minorities in Bangladesh like Hindus and Christians, but also secular Muslims who do not subscribe to their view," Kabir told PTI. "The Jamaat, along with Jamaat ul Mujahidden Bangladesh, are organising the attacks on Hindus. They want to portray our country in poor light. The present government is trying its best to protect the minorities. They have taken stern steps against Jamaat and JMB activists," he said. Kabir is presently on an India tour for his documentary movie "Journey to Justice", which deals with the genocide that took place in Bangladesh during the 1971 liberation war. Early this month, a series of attacks took place on Hindus and their property in Bangladesh. Miscreants had set ablaze some of their houses and damaged two temples in central Brahmanbarhia district, where several places of worship of the minority community were vandalised. PTI PNT MD ASV --- ENDS --- China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page By PTI: Hyderabad, Nov 23 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is likely to move into his new official residence at Begumpet here tomorrow. The event would be a low key affair, official sources said. Though there was no official word in this regard, media reports said the sprawling new residence, with state-of-the -art facilities, has come up over one lakh square feet space. advertisement The reports said that due to security reasons, "bullet- proof" bathrooms have been constructed in the house. A government statement had earlier said the new residence had been planned as the Chief Ministers camp office and residence did not have adequate facilities for parking and holding large meetings. PTI SJR RS DK GVS BAS --- ENDS --- Eskom procurement plan unchanged by lower capacity target 23 November 2016 Share This story has been updated to include comments made by the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa as the documents were gazetted on 25 November. South African utility Eskom will stick with its plan to invite this year applications from companies interested in building new nuclear plants. This is despite the government's newly announced aim to increase the country's nuclear capacity by 1359 MWe by 2037 - less and over a longer timeframe than the previously announced target. The Department of Energy issued a draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) on 21 November after a Cabinet Decision of 2 November ordered their release for public consultation. In a statement to a media briefing on the documents, the Department noted the IRP serves to guide the government's plan for electricity provision within the energy mix, while the IEP aims to guide future energy infrastructure investments over the period up to 2050, and identify and recommend policy options to shape the future energy landscape of the country. According to the latest IRP's base case, 1359 MWe of new nuclear capacity would be built by 2037 and a total of 20,385 MWe by 2050. The IRP for 2010-2030 had called for construction of 9600 MWe of new nuclear capacity - supplying 23% of the country's electricity - with the first reactor to come online by 2023. Eskom's plan Earlier this year Eskom - operator of the country's nuclear power plant at Koeberg - submitted site applications for nuclear installations at Thyspunt, in the Eastern Cape, and Duynefontein, in the Western Cape, to the country's National Nuclear Regulator. Koeberg is the only nuclear power plant on the entire African continent. According to the latest IRP, nuclear capacity in South Africa would be increased by 20,385 MWe between 2037 and 2050. It also includes plans for 37,400 MWe and 17,600 MWe, respectively, of new wind and solar power capacity. The Department attributed the lower target for new nuclear units to the availability of additional generating capacity, lower demand forecasts and changes in technology costs. Eskom said it will still request proposals this year from companies looking to build plants given the long lead times of new nuclear units. In a statement, the utility said it supports the development of a long-term energy and electricity plan for South Africa in the form of an IRP and IEP, for public comment. Matshela Koko, group executive for generation at Eskom, said in the company statement: "We will register as an interested and affected party and submit our comments on the plans through the formal process." Eskom said its current plans are closely aligned to a base case scenario that takes South Africa's carbon budget into consideration and annual constraints on bringing renewables into the grid. This scenario requires the first nuclear unit by 2026. The utility has therefore indicated it will go ahead with the RFP for nuclear by the end of December, "as all indications show 2026 is feasible to deliver the first unit". Koko added: "Should these assumptions not hold and another scenario comes into play in March 2017, we will change accordingly." Test the market According to the latest IRP's base case + carbon budget + annual constraints on renewable energy, 1359 MWe of new nuclear capacity would be built by 2026 and 25,821 MWe by 2050. According to the base case + carbon budget + no annual constraints on renewable energy, 1359 MWe would be built by 2037 and 5436 MWe by 2050. Following the media briefing yesterday, South African news agency Business Day reported that under the draft base case energy plan, gas and renewable energy will provide the biggest chunk of new installed capacity in the country by 2050. The plan envisages 20,000 MWe of new nuclear capacity being incorporated into the grid by 2037, with a price of $5.4 million per megawatt of nuclear energy used for the scenario planning, the news report added. Koko attended the briefing where Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson released details of the IEP and IRP. Business Day quoted Koko as saying a ten-year lead time would be required for the construction of new nuclear plants, which was why Eskom would proceed with its RFP for 9600 MWe nuclear procurement this year to test the market. He emphasised that testing the market was not the same as entering a contract. Koko said the plan was to construct a number of small nuclear reactors: the first, of 1359 MWe, would be constructed by 2025; another of 2718 MWe by end-2027; one of 1359 MWe by end-2029; and another of 1,359 MWe by end-2030. Eskom would aim for a levelised generation cost at or below 100 cents per kilowatt hour from nuclear to make it a viable option, Koko reportedly said. "If it is higher than that it is not going to fly," he said. NIASA alarmed The Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa (NIASA) said it would use the public comments period to "fully represent" the views of the country's nuclear industry, which it said was "highly concerned and alarmed" by the updated IRP and IEP scenarios. "This delay could be devastating to the viability of the nuclear industry as a whole and curtail the founding principles of the new nuclear build program to bring about economic development, localization and curb the negative environmental impact which coal power poses to our environment as confirmed by the World Energy Outlook 2016 report published by the International Energy Agency," NIASA managing director Knox Msebenzi said. The full documents were formally gazetted by the South African government on 25 November, and are open to public comment through a series of consultation workshops to be held in December and January as well as written comments, which must be submitted by 15 February 2017. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Court rules against Entergy on Indian Point licence renewal 23 November 2016 Share New York State's Court of Appeals has ruled that part of Entergy's application to renew the operating licences for the Indian Point nuclear plant must be reviewed at the state level. The New York State Department of State (NYSDOS) has already concluded that the application is inconsistent with its coastal management requirements. Indian Point (Image: Entergy) The court's 21 November ruling reverses an earlier decision by the lower Appellate Division court that Entergy Nuclear Operation's application was exempt from review by the NYSDOS. The USA's federal Coastal Zone Management Act allows a state agency to object to the granting of a nuclear operating licence if the facility is inconsistent with the state's coastal management program. Such an objection, unless overturned by a court or the US Secretary of Commerce, prohibits the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from renewing the plant's licence. The NYSDOS issued an objection to Indian Point's coastal certification in November 2015. Entergy Nuclear Operations subsequently filed a lawsuit questioning the validity of the NYSDOS decision, arguing that it was based on nuclear safety concerns beyond the state's regulatory remit. State governor Andrew Cuomo said the NYSDOS had already concluded the Indian Point relicensing application was "inconsistent" with the state's Coastal Management Program requirements. He said Indian Point was "antiquated" and did not "belong" on the Hudson River in close proximity to New York City. Entergy's Indian Point is home to two pressurized water reactors - Indian Point 2 and 3 - that have been in operation since the mid-1970s. Entergy applied to the NRC for a 20-year renewal for the licences of both units in April 2007, a process which typically takes up to about 30 months to complete if a hearing is granted. However, this has taken much longer than expected for Indian Point because of the number of issues raised by various parties during the adjudicatory process. Both units' 40-year operating licences have passed their expiry dates - unit 2's in September 2013 and unit 3's in December 2015 - but the plants are allowed to continue to operate until the NRC's review of the licence request is completed. New York State earlier this year passed legislation explicitly recognising the zero-carbon attributes of nuclear generation and providing a support mechanism for so-called upstate nuclear power plants at risk of premature closure for economic reasons. The legislation does not include Indian Point, which is located only 24 miles (39 kilometres) from New York City. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics North Korea is a single-party totalitarian country located in the Eastern parts of Asia. The official national language is Korean. The total population of the country is around 25 million and is made up of ethnically homogeneous groups with the exception of small Chinese and Japanese communities. In the early 1940s, the Japanese enforced a cultural assimilation policy in North Korea which to some extent eroded the Korean culture. However, the Northern Korea has been minimally influenced by the outside world. The state protects their cultural heritage. The Kaesong and the Complex of Goguryeo are some of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country. In this article, will discuss the Kaesong historic Koryo dynasty. 5. Description and History - Kaesong is a former Korean capital city that is located in North Hwanghae province, south of North Korea. It served as capital during the reign of Taebong kingdom and Goryeo dynasty. There is archeological evidence that there was life in Kaesong as early as 10,000 BC. The city was made the national capital in the year 919 AD under the Taebong kingdom which later became part of the Goryeo dynasty. In the year 1018, the Goryeo-Khitan War almost brought the city down as the palace and houses were almost entirely burnt down. During the partition of Korea, Kaesong fell in the South Korean territory but was recaptured by the Koran peoples army during the Korean War. During the battle of Kaesong-Munson, North Korea took control of the city. The city was however recaptured by the UN forces and was reclaimed by North Korea after the Korean armistice agreement. Today the city is a huge tourist attraction site. 4. Notable Architecture and Religious Components - In 2013, the city was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a cultural site. It consists of 12 separate components which testify the history of Koryo dynasty. The Manwoldae palace was the official royal palace of the Goryeos dynasty. It is currently in ruins after being destroyed when the Red Turbans invaded Korea in the 14th century. The Kaesong Namdaenum is a magnificent gate of the old walled city and was constructed in the 1300s. It has a strong stone base and topped by a wooden pavilion. However, the current pavilion is as a result of reconstruction that was done in 1954 after the original was destroyed when America bombed South Korea. There I a castle holding two temples; the Kwanum and Taichung temples. The Taichung temple was founded in the year 514 and is the main temple of the Jogye order of the Korean Buddhism. One of the striking sights is 1,000 smiling Buddha statutes. Other sites include; the Songgyungwan Confucian Academy, Sonjuk Bridge, Kwandok pavilion, Sungayng Hall and the Kaesong Chomsongdae. 3. Uniqueness - The architecture of the Kaesong city primarily relied on the local traditions and architects. One of the temples is said to have had a thirteen years old boy as one of the major architects. The tombs of the Joseon dynasty were also part of the Korean culture to show respect to the dead. There was minimal influence in setting up the city. 2. Kaesong Surroundings, Sights, and Sounds - The pakyon falls are located a short distance from the city. In Mount Chonma, a huge Buddha statue carved into a natural stone is found. The Koguryo satellite fortress which was built to protect the current capital city is located ten miles from Kaesong. 1. Threats and Conservation Efforts- The government is at the forefront in ensuring the protection of this heritage site. In 2001, the Korean Cultural Preservation Centre (KCPC) prepared a five-year Kaesong management plan. The plan has prohibited new constructions in the vicinity with the aim of preserving the surrounding natural landscape. Unnecessary structures which may obstruct the sight have also been banned. There are also plans to prepare a tourism management plan. 10. West Virginia (5.18 police killings per 1 million people per year) - West Virginia ranks number 10 in the US for the number of people killed by police officers. Several factors contribute to this statistic, one of which being an increasing number of violent crimes in the state. Between 2010 and 2011, for example, the rate of gun violence increased by 60%. Additionally, the instance of murders by firearm is roughly 2.86 per 100,000 while the national average is only 2.7. The same is true for assault, 2.36 per 1,000 which is above the national average at 2.32. Many of the residents of West Virginia also live in poverty which has been linked to violent crimes. 9. California (5.22 police killings per 1 million people per year) - California is number 9 on the list with 5.22 killing per 1 million of the population. Like the previous state, some crimes are more common in California than the rest of the country. This is true of both robbery and assault, which could contribute to the instance of police killings. This number may also be high because, in 2015, the Los Angeles Police Department was actually involved in a greater number of shootings than any other agency in the US. 8. Alaska (5.91 police killings per 1 million people per year) - In Alaska, nearly all crimes occur at a higher rate than the national average. These crimes include murder, rape, assault, and theft. This state also has the highest rate of gun-related deaths, 60% of households own a gun. Some researchers contribute this violence to rampant alcoholism found throughout the residents, particularly within the Native American and Native Alaskan communities. Additionally, there is a much higher instance of mental illness in Alaska. People with mental illnesses make up just over 25% of national police shootings. All of these factors contribute to a higher likelihood that altercations with the police end fatally. 7. Montana (6.37 police killings per 1 million people per year) - In Montana, as in most western states, gun ownership is common. Here, no permit is required to buy a handgun. This state also has the 5th highest rate of firearm-related deaths in the country, many of which are suicides. Additionally, Montana ranks high in cases of assault. All of these instance of crime lead to more interactions between civilians and police officers, increasing the risk of police-caused fatalities. 6. Wyoming (6.39 police killings per 1 million people per year) - Wyoming is high on the list of fatalities caused by police shootings for several reasons. The state seems to suffer from similar issues as other western states and, like those other states also has a high percentage of gun ownership. In addition to having a high rate of gun-related deaths, suicide is also relatively common. In fact, suicides make up approximately 80% of all firearm-related deaths. This high rate suggests an above average occurrence of mental illness which has been linked to police shooting fatalities. 5. Nevada (6.56 police killings per 1 million people per year) - Nevada is number 5 on the list of police killings. One of the prime reasons for this ranking is its high rate of violent crimes. Crimes like murder, rape, robbery, assault, and burglary occur at higher than the national average. As previously mentioned, higher instances of crime lead to more police-civilian interactions. These interactions increase the chance of being killed by police officers. But, why are violent crimes so common in this state? Part of the reason for this can be attributed to the fact that 15.2% of the population lives at or below the poverty line. Poverty and violent crimes have a positive correlation. With poverty comes the urgent need to fulfill basic needs, even if that means violence. 4. Arizona (6.99 police killings per 1 million people per year) - Arizona is number 4 on the list with 6.99 police killings per 1 million people of the population. This can partially be explained by its higher-than-the-national-average violent crime rate. Rape, assault, murder, burglary, and theft are all serious problems in this state. Some experts have attributed this rate to the states use of SWAT teams to serve drug warrants. These teams are armed with machine guns, which adds to the probability of a fatal shooting. Others attribute it to the 17.4% poverty rate, suggesting this as a reason for increased crime levels. 3. Oklahoma (7.36 police killings per 1 million people per year) - With a 16.6% poverty rate and one of the highest rates of gun-related deaths in the country, its not surprising to find Oklahoma at number 3 on the list. These factors combined with high rates of murder, rape, assault, burglary, and theft make it more likely to be fatally shot by a police officer than in other states. Here, 7.36 police shooting victims per 1 million of the population die every year. 2. District of Columbia (8.48 police killings per 1 million people per year) - The problem with fatal police shootings in the country does not avoid the nations capital. In the early 1990s, this district was referred to as the murder capital of the US. This nickname suggests the long history this area has had with violent crimes. This continues to be a significant problem, particularly in the Ward 8 neighborhood which has the highest rate of poverty in DC. High incidences of violent crime are more likely to result in armed altercations with the police. 1. New Mexico (9.47 police killings per 1 million people per year) - Not only does New Mexico have the highest rate of deaths by police shootings, but the state also ranks high in poverty and income inequality. When people have little to no resources and are unable to provide for themselves and their families, they often feel forced to turn to crime. This, in turn, involves more police officer interactions thus increasing the chances of being fatally shot by a police officer. In New Mexico, murder, rape, assault, robbery, and theft all occur at rates higher than the national average. The Low Countries is a term often used to refer to the Western European nations of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg collectively. They are also called the "Benelux" countries, a word composed by combining the first letters of their names. They are bordered by Germany to the east and France to the south. They are known as the Low Countries because much of their land along the coast of the North Sea and parts of their island are either below the sea level or slightly above. In the case of the Netherlands, more than a quarter of the land is below the sea level. History The area known as the Low Countries was once part of the Roman Empire's frontier provinces and was inhabited by Belgic and Germanic tribes. Frankish tribes first entered the region in the 5th Century. The Frankish ruled the area in the 9th Century, and it became a Frankish empire. In 1477 the area fell within the rule of the duchy Empire and became known as the Burgundian Netherlands or the seventeen provinces. The region united between 1815 and 1839 to form the united kingdom of Netherlands but later disintegrated into the current Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. It adopted the name Benelux for trading among the states after the Second World War Linguistics Ethnically, the Low Countries are a transitional zone between Germanic and Latin heritage lines of Western Europe. The Dutch-speaking people occupy the Netherlands, the Flemish (Dutch) occupies the northern parts of Belgium and the French occupy southern Belgium. Luxembourg is home to the Letzeburgesch people, who also speak a dialect of the Germanic language. Culture Towards the end of 15th Century, the Italian Renaissance increasingly came to influence the culture of the Low Countries. They acquired the painting and sculpture works of the Italians through frequent trades and interactions with Italy. The region has also for centuries been predominately Christian, owing to the early reign of the Flanders and the Roman Empires that promoted the faith. Their shared history makes Dutch a common language in both Netherlands and Belgium making them set up the Dutch language union to encourage cooperation in Dutch language and literature. The Union is a major contributor of literature materials in their education systems and also works to showcase their cultural heritage. In 1997, they signed an agreement on cultural, educational, scientific, and social exchanges. Economic Relations These countries have a long history of close economic connections because they share many aspects of common languages, cultures, and proximate geographical positions. After the Second World War, they united to form the Benelux economic union that enables secure trading among them. They are also members of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Netherlands is the major trading partner for Belgium and it also offers the biggest market for Belgium goods and services after Germany. The Netherlands is also the primary exporter to Belgium. Diplomatic and Economic Relationships Among the Low Countries These countries continue to maintain close geopolitical relations. In addition to seeing each other at EU and NATO summits, these countries' heads of states meet with one another frequently. These relations not only occur through federal states but also separately at the regional levels of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels. In 2008, they revised the Benelux Treaty, which enables closer collaborations in areas of the economy, security, and sustainability. Together they formed many bilateral agreements with each other that allow an even greater cohesion between and among the countries. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called the snub a disrespect to the state government. By Revathi Rajeevan: After PM Narendra Modi refused to meet an all-party delegation from Kerala to discuss the condition of co-operative banks in the state due to demonetisation, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called the snub a disrespect to the state government. The all-party delegation from Kerala had sought an appointment to meet PM Modi on the impact of demonetisation on co-operative banks. PM @narendramodi refuses to meet the all-party delegation from Kerala to submit the resolution adopted unanimously by the Kerala Assembly. Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) November 23, 2016 advertisement PM MODI DISRESPECTED KERALA GOVERNMENT: VIJAYAN PM Modi has refused to meet us despite our appointment with him, and has disrespected the Kerala government in doing so. May I remind Shri @narendramodi ji of his republic day speech as CM (guj) regarding Co-operative federalism. more of a slogan than reality. Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) November 23, 2016 The central government is not running on democratic principles, but on principles of organisations that were led by Hitler and Mussolini, Vijayan said. Also read | Kerala's Marxist CM Pinarayi Vijayan now a fan of PM Narendra Modi The Kerala Assembly had unanimously adopted a resolution yesterday to relax curbs on co-operative banks and credit societies. Also read | Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan completes 100 days in office, organises his own Mann Ki Baat --- ENDS --- Email Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter The cash sales share fell 1.5 percentage points from August 2015 Of total sales in August 2016, distressed sales accounted for 7.3 percent and real estate-owned (REO) sales accounted for 4.6 percent The REO sales share in August was the lowest for any month since August 2007 Sign Up Free | The WPJ Weekly Newsletter Relevant real estate news. Actionable market intelligence. Right to your inbox every week. Go Thank you for your interest! You will now be receiving our Weekly Real Estate Newsletter. Real Estate Listings Showcase According to CoreLogic, cash sales in the U.S. accounted for 31.1 percent of total home sales in August 2016, down 1.5-percentage points year over year from August 2015.The cash sales share peaked in January 2011 when cash transactions accounted for 46.6 percent of total home sales nationally. Prior to the housing crisis, the cash sales share of total home sales averaged approximately 25 percent. If the cash sales share continues to fall at the same rate it did in August 2016, the share should hit 25 percent by mid-2019.REO sales had the largest cash sales share in August 2016 at 58.6 percent. Resales had the next highest cash sales share at 31 percent, followed by short sales at 29.1 percent and newly constructed homes at 15.6 percent. While the percentage of REO sales within the all-cash category remained high, REO transactions have declined since peaking in January 2011.The distressed sales share of 7.3 percent in August 2016 was the lowest distressed sales share for any month since September 2007. At its peak in January 2009, distressed sales totaled 32.4 percent of all sales with REO sales representing 27.9 percent of that share. The pre-crisis share of distressed sales was traditionally about 2 percent. If the current year-over-year decrease in the distressed sales share continues, it will reach that "normal" 2-percent mark in mid-2018.All but eight states recorded lower distressed sales shares in August 2016 compared with a year earlier. Maryland had the largest share of distressed sales of any state at 19.1 percent in August 2016, followed by Connecticut (18.5 percent), Michigan (17.7 percent), New Jersey (15.9 percent) and Illinois (15.3 percent). North Dakota had the smallest distressed sales share at 2.6 percent. While some states stand out as having high distressed sales shares, only North Dakota and the District of Columbia are close to their pre-crisis levels (each within one percentage point).Alabama had the largest cash sales share of any state at 44.9 percent, followed by New York (42 percent), Florida (40.9 percent), Indiana (38.6 percent) and Kansas (38 percent). Email Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter 1 million more travelers than 2015; Las Vegas Top Destination Sign Up Free | The WPJ Weekly Newsletter Relevant real estate news. Actionable market intelligence. Right to your inbox every week. Go Thank you for your interest! You will now be receiving our Weekly Real Estate Newsletter. Real Estate Listings Showcase According to AAA, over 48.7 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving holiday, an increase of one million travelers compared with last year. This represents a 1.9 percent increase over 2015, and the most Thanksgiving travelers since 2007. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, Nov. 23, to Sunday, Nov. 27.This year's increase in Thanksgiving travel is spurred by improvements in the economy during the second half of the year, including rising wages, increased consumer spending and overall strength in consumer confidence. And despite recent incremental increases in the national average price of gasoline, AAA estimates U.S. drivers have saved more than $28 billion so far at the pumps this year compared to the same period last year."One million more Americans than last year will carve out time to visit with friends and family this Thanksgiving," AAA President and CEO Marshall Doney said. "Most will travel on the tried and true holiday road trip, thanks to gas prices that are holding at close to $2 per gallon. Others will fly, take the bus or set off on a cruise to celebrate with their loved ones."The vast majority--more than 89 percent--of holiday travelers will drive this Thanksgiving. The 43.5 million Americans planning a Thanksgiving road trip represent an increase of 1.9 percent over last year. Air travel is expected to increase 1.6 percent, with 3.69 million Americans flying to their holiday destinations. Travel by other modes of transportation, including cruises, trains and buses, will increase only slightly this Thanksgiving, to 1.44 million travelers.Today's national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.16, 11 cents more than the average price on Thanksgiving last year ($2.05). Most U.S. drivers will pay the second-cheapest Thanksgiving gas prices since 2008, when the national average was $1.85.According to AAA's Leisure Travel Index, airfares are projected to increase 21 percent this Thanksgiving, landing at an average of $205 for a round-trip flight for the top 40 domestic routes. Rates for AAA Three Diamond Rated lodgings are expected to remain flat, with travelers spending an average of $155 per night. The average rate for a AAA Two Diamond Rated hotel has risen four percent with an average nightly cost of $123. Daily car rental rates will average $52, 13 percent lower than last Thanksgiving.This year's top destinations for Thanksgiving include many popular west coast cities, as well as perennial family-friendly favorites. The most popular destinations this Thanksgiving, based on AAA.com bookings include:1. Las Vegas, Nevada2. San Francisco, California3. San Diego, California4. Orlando, Florida5. New York City, New York6. New Orleans, Louisiana7. Anaheim, California8. Fort Lauderdale, Florida9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania10. Seattle, Washington A young man wanted to make a point about racism in the United States, but his plan backfired when he was exposed for a liar by police. 20-year-old Khalil Cavil of Texas was working at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa when he claimed he was discriminated against because of his Muslim name. Cavil took Thomas Milvie Lewis By: Tanya Malhotra Police were called to a hospital in South Carolina, after a teenager came in with a gunshot wound. The teenager underwent an emergency surgery on Sunday afternoon, after being shot by his father. Police said that 41-one-year-old Thomas Milvie Lewis of Conway, shot his 18-year-old son during an argument over buying tobacco. At first, when the Horry County police officer arrived in the emergency room at Conway Medical Center at 12:30 p.m., the victim claimed that the shooting was an accident. The young man told police that he was hit with a 12-gauge shotgun. However, after further investigation, police learned that father had shot him during an altercation. The victim eventually admitted that he and his father had a argument about going to the store for tobacco. During the altercation, there was a fight inside the house. The teenager told police that he went out of the house, but his father followed him and shot him once. The teen suffered injuries to both of his thighs, according to an arrest warrant. The victims mother took him to the hospital and he was then transferred to the Grand Strand Medical Center for surgery. Lewis was arrested and charged with attempted murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and the unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was booked in the J. Reuben Long Detention Center. Bail was set at $14,000. Prostitute (illustration) By: Feng Qian Police launched an investigation after a man was stabbed following an altercation with a prostitute, according to police in Zimbabwe. Mvurwi said that 28-year-old Moses Mushonga, was stabbed after offering 23-year-old Chipo, a hard boiled egg in exchange for sex. According to the police investigation, on Sunday night, Mushonga approached Chipo on the street, and began fondling her chest. When Chipo learned that all he had to offer for sex was a boiled egg, she flew into a rage. She grabbed a broken bottle and stabbed Mushonga several times. Police have decided not to charge the prostitute with assault as Mushonga was the one who began the assault. Mushonga was rushed to a hospital, where he is being treated for stab wounds. Mushonga slammed the decision of the police, saying that Chipo could have just said anoa and walk away. CPM, CPI, CPI (M-L), Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Block and Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) have decided to launch a weeklong mobilisation programme from November 24 to 30. By Anindya Banerjee: The government's demonetisation decision has united not only the Opposition, but also different Left parties that, otherwise, have ideological differences. The CPM, CPI, CPI (M-L), Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Block and Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) have decided to launch a weeklong mobilisation programme from November 24 to 30 to protest against the move. advertisement COLLECTIVE CALL FOR PROTESTS Leaders of these parties met today and have given a collective call for week-long countrywide protests from tomorrow against what they call the 'continuing mounting of agonies of the common people, particularly on the marginalised sections of society'. In a joint statement, they said, "Already over 70 people have reportedly died as a result of the government's decision to scrap Rs. 1000 and Rs. 500 notes." Also read | Finance Minister who imposed demonetisation in 1978 said it is not worthwhile The Left parties enjoy considerable support in states such as Kerala, Tripura and West Bengal. The Left's central leadership will focus on Delhi where the House is in session. COORDINATED PROTESTS WITH OTHER PARTIES TOO: D RAJA D Raja of CPI has said, "There will be coordinated protests with other political parties also, apart from this joint agitation by the Left parties. But at a time when the Trinamool Congress is holding its own march, the Aam Aadmi Party is going ahead with its seizure dharna and the Left with its own way of protest, doesn't it give the impression that the Opposition's resistance is scattered? Talking to India Today, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said, "Mao said march separately, strike together". And for now all Left parties have a common target - the Modi government. Also read | Jolt to Congress: Amarinder supports demonetisation while Rahul calls it a scam --- ENDS --- Trio Raise Over 10k For Wales Air Ambulance in Skydiving Challenge This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Nov 23rd, 2016 A trio of brave skydivers have raised more than 10,000 for Wales Air Ambulance after taking on the challenge in memory of a relative who sadly died last year. Gary and Chloe Hocking took on a tandem skydive in memory of Jacob John Hocking, their son and brother, who sadly passed away in a road traffic accident in Corwen in November 2015. Gary and Chloe took on the free-fall challenge, joined by family friend Helen Bourne, to raise funds for Wales Air Ambulance. Two of the Welsh helicopter charitys air ambulance attended the scene of the incident, but were unable to save Jacob. Their sponsored skydive raised over 10,000 for Wales Air Ambulance, collecting donations to help fund the charitys helicopter missions across Wales. Alyson Winn, Wales Air Ambulance Community Coordinator, said: We are very honoured that Gary, Chloe and Helen would raise funds for us in memory of Jacob. Their tandem skydive raised an outstanding 10,515 for Wales Air Ambulance, which will fund over seven of our missions across the country. We would like to thank Gary, Chloe and Helen for their amazing support and for fundraising for us in memory of Jacob. Jacobs friend and family have also held other fundraising events and collections in aid of WAA in his memory, raising a total of 12,340 for the charity. Each of Wales Air Ambulances missions across Wales costs around 1,500, and the familys fundraising will fund more than eight missions across the country. "It's a matter of concern that for the next coming years, till the present government is in power, there will be no leader of Opposition. We can't allow a situation where a law or an institution like Lokpal becomes redundant," CJI Thakur told Centre. By Anusha Soni: The Supreme Court today pulled up the Centre over the pending appointment of the Lokpal. The top court told the government that it must not allow the institution of Lokpal to become a 'dead letter'. Questioning the government, as to why the appointment has been pending since 2014, the court asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi why the government dragged its feet when it comes to passing of the amendment which would have speeded up the process of appointment. advertisement "It's a matter of concern that for the next coming years, till the present government is in power, there will be no leader of Opposition. We can't allow a situation where a law or an institution like Lokpal becomes redundant," Chief Justice of India TS Thakur told the Centre. CENTRE COMES UNDER SHARP CRITICISM The court further observed that the bill has been languishing and the delay is causing misgivings in the minds of people over the intentions of the government. The Centre came under sharp criticism when it was pointed that many other acts have been amended but the appointment of Lokpal has been kept pending as the required amendment over the definition of 'Leader of Opposition' was not passed. Prashant Bhushan led NGO has filed a plea in the Supreme Court on the pending appointment of Lokpal. Under the current law, it's mandatory to have the leader of Opposition for selection process. However, after the new government was elected, no party has the required 10 per cent of the House to qualify for 'Leader of Opposition'. The government has amended many other bills to accommodate the leader of the single largest party (other than the government) as the Leader of Opposition. However, the Lokpal bill has not been amended. It's pending in the Parliament. The plea of Prashant Bhushan led NGO is that the court must step in and read down the definition of Leader of Opposition so as to push the appointment process. "SC CAN'T LEGISLATE ON PARLIAMENT'S BEHALF" Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi representing Centre argued that Supreme Court can't legislate on behalf of the Parliament. Neither can the court decide about the proceedings of the House of Parliament. "How can you assume that the Parliament is not interested in passing the bill. Supreme Court can't pass an amendment on behalf of the Parliament," said Rohatgi while defending the Centre. Centre has to clarify its stand by December 7 in the Supreme Court. --- ENDS --- New documents made available, as the result of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, confirm that the Chilcot report into the Iraq War was set up to ensure that those who organised and planned the illegal war would not be held accountable. The Chilcot Inquiry, chaired by Sir John Chilcot, was established by Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009. Chilcots report was only finally released seven years later, in July. The report provided sometimes devastating confirmation of the criminal role of the British and US officials who organized and led it, but it issued no finding on the legality of the invasion. No one, including then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush, the architects of the war, was called to account. This was always going to be the outcome of the inquiry. Brown set it up with the limited remit of establishing the lessons that can be learned regarding British involvement in the US-led war. Its terms of reference ensured there would be no assigning of responsibility to any politician, civil servant, diplomat or military figure for their role in the events leading to the war, the military slaughter itself, or its aftermath. Those testifying were assured that no prosecutions or legal proceedings would arise from their appearances. Witnesses were not required to speak under oath and none of those testifying, including Blair and Brown, faced anything remotely near a proper cross-examination. The papers confirming that this whitewash was the planned outcome were made public after Chris Lamb, an FOI campaigner, won a two-year court battle for the right to access classified memos by government officials relating to the setting up of the Chilcot Inquiry. The memos were all written in a four-week period in May and June 2009. Labour government officials, including Brown himself, were opposed to any sort of public inquiry. They favoured an investigation by members of the secretive Privy Councilsenior politicians who advise the monarchalong the lines of the Franks Inquiry into the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas war. That inquiry, called by the then Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher, has gone down in history as a whitewash and, as one commentator put it, a classic establishment job. Writing to Browns Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus ODonnell, Cabinet Office official Ben Lyon said an inquiry could be designed to focus on lessons and avoid blame. A parliamentary inquiry, he warned, would lead to a daily running commentary. In response, ODonnell stated his agreement and told Brown a parliamentary inquiry would threaten legal liability for individuals and take a long time. In June 2009, Brown announced that a Privy Council investigation into the war, to be held in secret, was to take place. He faced a public backlash and was forced to relent and authorise a public inquiry. Even then, parts of the Chilcot Inquiry were still held in private in the national interest. Lamb told the Observer, The inquiry was hobbled before it even started, with tight restrictions on what it could do that were not fully made public. That the Chilcot Inquiry was wholly a creature of the government and had no real independence is confirmed in the FOI documents. One of the memos by Lyon states that protocol was that the secretariat of the Chilcot Inquiry should not draw from civil servants and that those selected should not have been involved in Iraq policy since 2002. But ODonnell immediately made Margaret Aldred the secretary of the inquiry, under conditions in which Aldred had chaired the Iraq senior officials group during the period Chilcot was investigating. A previous FOI request by Lamb found that Aldred was directly nominated by ODonnell, despite the inquirys head of communications stating, Sir John Chilcot had complete freedom to choose whoever he wanted both as Secretary and as head of communications. It only gets worse! Other senior Blair government figures involved in the 2003 war, who were enlisted to establish the inquiry, included Sir Jeremy HeywoodBlairs parliamentary private secretary until 2003and Sir John Scarlett, the chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from 2004 to 2009. Scarlett was the nominal author of a draft intelligence dossier produced on September 16, 2002 that contained an executive summary stating that intelligence (in fact, a single source) allowed the government to judge Iraq has military plans for the use of chemical and biological [weapons], some of which could be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them. This was then published by the Blair government, with a foreword by Blair himself that focused on the 45-minute claim to justify waran assertion that Blair then repeated in Parliament. In another memo, ODonnell advised that the Chilcot investigation be organised so that it would be prevented from reaching any conclusion on questions of law or fact, which create circumstances which expose organizations, departments and/or individuals to criminal or civil proceedings or judicial review. Central to this was that there were to be no judges or lawyers among the inquiry appointees. This was critical, wrote ODonnell, in order to avoid a legalistic focus being adopted. The cherry on the cake in ensuring that the inquiry would be utterly toothless was the appointment of Chilcot, the very safest pair of hands, to lead it. Chilcot became a Privy Counsellor in 2004 and was a member of the Butler Review of the use of intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Named after its chairman, Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwella pillar of the establishment who served as private secretary to five prime ministers, including Thatcher and Blairthe Butler report, published in 2004, refused to hold Blair or anyone else accountable for the lies used to justify the war. Throughout his career, Chilcot served as a top official in various Labour and Conservative governments in the Home Office, Civil Service Department and the Cabinet Office. He was private secretary to Home Secretaries Roy Jenkins (Labour), Merlyn Rees (Labour) and William Whitelaw (Conservative). Chilcot is now the president of The Police Foundation, a policing think tank. Earlier this month Chilcot gave evidence at Parliaments Liaison Committee and told them that Blair went beyond the facts in order to justify the war. Translated into plain English, Blair lied, as Chilcot and everyone knows. However, Blair, a widely despised, unindicted war criminal, remains free and is now in the process of establishing an office in London and returning to front-line politics. That this is the case is due to the now proven fact that the ruling elite ensured that none of those responsible for the Iraq war would face justice. Just a few months after Chilcots report was issued, its 2.6 million words, in 13 volumes, are now gathering dust in the House of Commons library. It has served its purpose for the ruling elite, who always intended it as the basis for finally washing their hands of the Iraq War. Following the publication of Chilcots report earlier this year, only around 50 MPs, out of 650, even showed up to debate it in Parliament. Their main concern was that, whatever the consequences of Iraq, it would be wrong to use the criticisms to oppose further wars involving Britains military. Three hundred twenty-six people have been killed in home fires in the United States so far this fall as the heating season is just beginning. Of the 326 people who died, at least 55 are children and another 70 are senior citizens. Twenty-five people died in both Texas and Georgia and 21 in Pennsylvania. With the weather turning cooler in the US, the heating season has begun. This is the time of year when preventable fatalities increase due to inadequate housing and heating conditions, which are forcing many to utilize space heaters to supplement heating, raising the risk of house fires. At least 1,869 people have died as a result of fires this year alone. The figure is most likely higher, as there are likely many cases that never get reported in the media. Statistics compiled from media reports by the United States Fire Administration (USFA) reveal the scale of the crisis. There have been several tragic multiple fatalities in house fires across the US. These largely preventable deaths expose the social inequality and dangerous housing conditions that exist for the working class despite the so-called economic recovery. On November 21, four children, girls ages 11, 9, 7 and 5, died when the house they were living in caught fire in Carroll County, Indiana. The mother was pulled from the blaze with burns on her hands and face and suffering from smoke inhalation. Two police officers who tried to rescue the children were also hospitalized with smoke inhalation. In the last week of October, there was a horrific increase in residential fires, in which 67 people were killed. In that week, there were 12 incidents in which 36 people lost their lives. Sixteen of the victims were under 14 years old. Georgia has had 25 deaths since the beginning of the heating season. Twelve people were killed in fires on the weekend of October 22 and 23 alone. In Trion, in the northwest corner of Georgia, a mobile home fire took the lives of five family members and one relative visiting in a mobile home that caught fire around 11 p.m. on October 23. The victims were Brad Miron and Demi Jones, 29 and 22, and their three children, Clair, Lola, and Olivia Jones, who were aged 5, 3, and just 3 months old, respectively. A cousin staying overnight, Jada Kendrick, age 5, also perished. Brad Miron had installed a wood stove in the trailer the day of fire, and it was determined to be the cause of the blaze. A family member told the local press, Brad was going to make sure those babies were warm, and he had no other option, so he did what he thought was right to keep them warm and it cost them their lives. There has been no confirmation that the home contained smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. Mobile homes are notorious death traps, where fire can engulf the entire home is just minutes. The town of Trion is home to one of the largest textile factories in world for denim, Mount Vernon Mills, which employs 1,700 workers. According to the US Census Bureau, the poverty rate in Trion for children under 18 years of age in 2014 was 29.4 percent, a nearly 8 percent increase over 2012. Also that weekend, five people were killed in a home fire in Duluth, Georgia. Killed in the blaze were Kimberly Lewis, 45, David Waring, 45, Kelley Tomkinson, 47, Edward Brown, 21, and Danielle Waring, 19. A mobile home fire in Kaplan, Louisiana, on October 23 killed a mother and two infants. Felicie Cloteaux, 22, was killed as she tried to save her friends children, Rory and Arabella Hudson, just 3 and 4 years old. At the time of the fire, there were six inside the home, with three escaping when they became aware of the fast-moving blaze in the mobile home early in the morning. The victims were believed to have succumbed to smoke inhalation and were found in the back bedroom of the home. After a preliminary investigation, it is believed that the fire may have started from an electrical malfunction in the living room area. It was reported that there were no smoke or carbon monoxide detectors operational in the home. In Amarillo, Texas, a fire on November 10 in a recreational vehicle killed a mother and her three children. The family was using the RV as a home because their nearby mobile home was not in fit condition to be occupied. The emergency call came at 5 p.m. from a neighbor who noticed smoke. The neighbors attempts at rescue were repelled by thick smoke. Killed in the blaze were Michelle Stone, 34, and her children Richard, Audrianna, and Keegan Stone, who were 8, 5, and 4, respectively. The victims are survived by Michelles husband, Rick Stone, and two older children. The cause of the fire, and whether there were detectors of any kind in the RV, is unknown. All of these deaths were preventable. With the colder weather and the high price of fuel, many working class and low-income families are forced to rely on unsafe space heaters or wood burners. The high cost of housing is also forcing many families into overcrowded and substandard housing, which are often firetraps. As winter approaches, these tragedies will only increase and claim more victims. More than 120,000 children in the UK will be homeless this Christmas, according to a report by the charity Shelter. This is the equivalent of four children at every school in the country. This figure comprising children living in temporary accommodation, such as emergency bed and breakfasts and hostels, or couch surfing involving indefinite stays at the homes of friends and relatives. It represents the highest level of child homelessness seen in the UK for eight years. According to Shelters calculations, the number of families living in temporary accommodation has risen by 15 percent since last year alone, standing at 7,475 families by the end of June 2016. In their report, Shelter interviewed 25 families who were currently or recently living in temporary accommodation. All of the families lived in grossly inadequate and overcrowded conditions, with every family having only one room to share between an entire family. Over half of the parents reported that they also had to share a bed with their children. One family stressed how their accommodation fell way short of acceptable standards, explaining, You know they say a brother and a sister cant share [a bed] past 11 [years old], but [our daughter] shares with three boys and their mum. Another family told Shelter that they were sharing a two-bedroom terrace house with three other families. The temporary accommodation these families are forced to live in was not only overcrowded, but also violated basic health and safety regulations leading many parents to fear for the safety of their children. Many of the rooms had problems ranging from dirty or broken mattresses to mould, sparking plugs, windows that would not shut and doors without locks. Some families reported vermin, exposure to drug abuse, fighting and strangers sleeping in the corridors. These conditions had serious effects on the mental wellbeing of children, with 18 out of the 25 families reporting that their childrens emotional and mental health had been negatively impacted upon. Parents described how their children became anxious, socially isolated and had problems sleeping. Over half of the parents interviewed said that their childrens development had been negatively affected. Shelter reported, [W]hile children in emergency accommodation might have a roof over their heads, they are clearly without a home. They do not have the space to live their livesto play, study, or relax. Nor a place of stability and safety where they can grow and develop. This growth in child homelessness reflects a general rise in homelessness across the entire population. Another report released at the start of this year by Crisis, a charity for single homeless people, documented a 30 percent rise in homelessness in England over a single year. Both Crisis and Shelter cite the huge lack of affordable homes, instability and high costs in the private rented sector, and reductions in welfare as the main causes of this surge in homelessness. Over the past years, relentless cuts to social security payments, such as Job Seekers Allowance and in-work and housing benefits, have removed much of the safety net that many families rely on to avoid homelessness while they look for work or cheaper accommodation. This month a cap on the amount a household can receive in welfare benefits came into operation. The cap will particularly hit those most in need, including an estimated 42,000 single parents. The total amount of benefits a household can receive has been slashed by a massive 6,000 from 26,000 to 20,000 nationally, with the exception of London. In London, it is reduced from 26,000 to 23,000. The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank said the benefit cap almost exclusively affects families with large numbers of children or very high rents or both. Assessing the report, charities estimate that 112,000 families, responsible for 320,000 children, will be up to 115 a week worse off. The Childrens Society said more families could be made homeless as a result. There are already 3.9 million children living in poverty across Britain and the new cap is likely to cause that total to rise. Childrens health, well-being and mental health could all be put at risk, it stated. Compounding the problem families face accessing any decent accommodation is discrimination in the private rented section, with landlords frequently refusing to accept families claiming housing benefits even if the household is in work. Under legislation that came into force at the beginning of this year, landlords are also obliged to verify the immigration status of potential tenants, with the possibility of receiving fines for letting out a property to an illegal immigrant leading many private landlords to be unwilling to let to people they perceive to be immigrants. These stricter laws on renting to migrant workersnominally to stop rogue landlords taking advantage of vulnerable peoplehave in fact imposed further restrictions on access to accommodation for migrant workers and the working class more broadly. According to Shelter, barely half of the 250,000 new homes the country requires in order to keep up with demand are being built. The majority of which are sold at market ratescompletely out of the price range of many families. Add this to skyrocketing property prices and the mass privatisation of many social homes under the Right to Buy scheme, and the reasons increasing numbers of families have been pushed into the unstable and unaffordable private sector become clear. A tenant renting a property in the private sector can be asked to move out with just two months notice. For many families this is insufficient time to find alternative affordable accommodation, or to raise the large amounts of cash that are needed in advance to pay up-front costs such as letting agent fees, tenancy deposits and initial rents. As a result, many families are forced out of their homes and end up with nowhere to go. Councils have a legal duty to provide homeless families with children with somewhere to sleep. However, due to the massive housing shortage, these families are often placed in insecure temporary lodgings. A spokesman for the ruling Conservatives Department of Communities and Local Government hailed the provision of such inadequate housing, stating, Temporary accommodation ensures that no families with children are ever left without roofs over their heads. Just last week, this Government announced it would be backing [Conservative MP] Bob Blackmans Homelessness Reduction Billwhich will also provide vital support for many more people. The bill, which passed its second reading in Parliament on October 28, will extend the period of time during which a person is considered to be threatened with homelessness from 28 to 56 days, giving families an extra four weeks to seek help from their local authority in finding new accommodation. This token measure will do virtually nothing to solve the homelessness crisis. Without greater provision of social or affordable homes, after this extended period many individuals will still be forced into insecure, temporary accommodation or onto the streets. Thousands of Detroit and Wayne County residents fear eviction in the coming months in what could be one of the biggest dislocations of low-income residents to result from the Wayne County treasurers yearly tax auction. The latest tax auction started only weeks after Wayne County Circuit Chief Judge Robert Colombo Jr. ruled in September on a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union filed in July against the county. The ACLU lost its bid for a moratorium on tax foreclosures on owner-occupied homes in Detroit. The ACLU sued on behalf of several owner-occupiers and neighborhood associations in Wayne Countys largest city, Detroit, and was joined by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The plaintiffs framed the case primarily as racial discrimination related to the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). Underlying the case brought against the Wayne County Treasurers office was Detroits illegal over-assessment of taxes underlying each plaintiffs tax debt. While Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has acknowledged the city overcharged residents, his Corporation Counsel Melvin Butch Hollowell, invoked the terms of the Detroit bankruptcy to reject the claims and support the county in the suit. The plan of adjustment was enacted in 2014 as the culmination of the Detroit bankruptcy conspiracy. Enacted with the collaboration of the unions, the Obama administration, bond holders, the banks and the courts, it was used to legitimatize attacks on city workers, privatization of city services, and the illegal looting of pensions of Detroit city workers and retirees. The scale of home foreclosures in the city is staggering. According to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, one in every 275 housing units faced mortgage foreclosure in Detroit during the first quarter of 2009, one of the highest rates in the US. Since 2005, more than one in three Detroit properties139,699 of 384,672have been foreclosed either because of mortgage arrears or property tax delinquency. The 2016 County tax auction was completed at the end of October. Over 14,000 properties were offered for sale. In the first round of tax sales in September only 400 bidders participated and only about 1,000 properties were sold. The county attempted to sell off the remainder in October with lower minimum bids and property tax waivers. Evictions would leave 2,000 owner-occupiers and 6,000 renters with few, if any, options for housing. According to the Urban Institute, between 2000 and 2013 affordable housing units for Extremely Low Income (ELI) renters in Wayne County were cut almost in half, from about 48,000 units to about 24,500. Detroit is now the poorest big city in the US and suffers from the precipitous decline in affordable housing occurring nationwide. From 2000 to 2013 the share of housing units available to ELI renters declined nationwide, from 37 per 100 to just 28 per 100 families searching for a place to live. The Urban Institute notes that the decline in affordable housing is primarily the result of losing unassisted affordable units. This is consistent with the loss of cheaper private market housing such as the single family homes in Detroit that are being pulled down apace. Some 39.8 percent of households in Detroit fall below the poverty threshold, that is families of three making $20,000 annually and individuals making under about $12,000. The median income in Detroit is abysmally low, just over $26,000 annually per familyhalf the US median income. These families look to affordable housing to offset their low-income status. While the ACLU case was filed on behalf of owner-occupiers, renters are affected if their landlord is foreclosed on. Over more than a decade, landlords have bought up whole swathes of single-family homes in Detroit, once owner-occupied, and then milked desperate tenants for rent. As a result the number of neglected properties and blighted neighborhoods is legion. Millions in back taxes owed by rich scofflaws for blight and back taxes went unpaid for years while the speculators did their dirty work. Crains Detroit Business reported last month that Detroit finally filed nearly 600 lawsuits seeking a total of $12.2 million in blight violation fines and unpaid property taxes by large landowners stemming from properties sold in the 2013 Wayne County tax foreclosure auction. Their list of blight violators includes many of the biggest national and international banks such as Deutsche Bank, $495,803.50, Wells Fargo Bank, $302,534.50, J.P. Morgan Chase: $210,190. Dan Gilbert, billionaire owner of Quicken Loans, is said to have 60 office buildings downtown now in his empire of real estate bought on the cheap. For his part, Gilbert is asking the Detroit City Council for waivers from requiring that his housing properties that receive tax abatements contain affordable units. He wants to segregate low-income apartments built as part of any tax abatements granted away from units he builds to house the wealthy. Even most of the low-income rents related to Michigan tax abatement building programs are beyond the reach of current city residents. ELI renters are often priced out of developer-friendly tax abatement programs where $700 or more of the rental price eats up most of the monthly income of the many retirees, disabled, and minimum-wage and part-time workers in this group. The judge in the ACLU case allowed a portion of the case to go forward, and negotiations on streamlining assistance programs are expected. There should be no illusions that the housing crisis and abject poverty that have led to a growth of homelessness in the US will be resolved in the courts or in deals with politicians beholden to big property interests. The organization Detroit Eviction Defense, an affiliate of Moratorium Now, founded by the pseudo-left Workers World Party, has played a role in creating illusions in the courts as a venue to fight foreclosures and evictions. During the Detroit bankruptcy they covered up for the Democratic Party by claiming the source of the Detroit housing crisis was racism. This simply ignores the fact that a series of African American mayors and city council members have presided for decades over the social disaster in Detroit. The World Socialist Web Site spoke to Ronda, who lost her family home in Detroit. She said: I lost my home and never knew anything about it until this guy came knocking on my door and said can I take some pictures? And I said pictures of what? He said your home has been foreclosed. I told him I didnt know anything about the foreclosureno one ever told me about it. I was on a payment plan. Though the value of the house went down, my yearly taxes actually went up. All this happened at the time I was drawing disability because I had been injured in a head-on car collision. I worked for the State of Michigan and Henry Ford hospital for a total of 18 years. For a long time I had kept up with the payment plan I got on the house. I went to the Department of Social Services to get help with the back taxes, the taxes that my uncle had owed. They could never find anything to get it out of his name so the taxes started to build up. The house had been in our family for three generations, since my great-uncle bought it. Some time after he passed, it went to me. The highest tax bill I received during this whole situation was $4,000. DHS paid a thousand and I paid some of it. Then I was making payments, like maybe two hundred a month. When, at the suggestion of the city inspector who came to the house, I went to renew the hardship, they denied me the hardship. I say they denied me because to renew the hardship you have to pay half the back taxes. They did not extend my payment plan, but instead demanded that I come up with half the balance due before they would re-establish the hardship. Why would they do this? I watched the house online for awhile to see if I should try to get it back. The person from out of town who bought up all these houses was going out and reselling them for more than the back taxes owed. I was checking it everyday and saw the back taxes had gone down to $1,000, but then they went back up because obviously the person who owned it was not paying them. After a four-year long battle with droughts, Marathwada farmers are now feeling the sting of demonetisation. By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: After a four-year long battle with drought, Narayan Surey a young Marathwada farmer finally earned Rs 75,000 from his first lot of corn this year. But his latest battle had only just begun -- with demonetisation. Paid by cheque, he now waits for the long queues at banks to dry up, so he can get a chance to withdraw the money and invest in the new sowing season. advertisement And that's not even his biggest problem, as another 100 quintal of corn lies idle with him, in search of buyers. Surey, from Aurangabad's Harsul village, is one of the many farmers in Marathwada feeling the sting of demonetisation. A BED OF THORNS FOR COTTON FARMERS 120 kilometres from Aurangabad, one of the biggest cotton markets at Ambad in Jalna district has been closed for last 8 to 10 days. A market that witnesses trade of around 500-600 quintals of cotton lies deserted, with traders turning away most cotton growers. Pictures: Marathwada drought through lens' eyes Nitin Kamble, who brought a small quantity of cotton on his motorcycle, found no takers for his product. He and others like him who operate small scale are being sent back, because they need to paid in cash. "We ourselves can only withdraw Rs 10,000 per week. How will we buy cotton from them? We have a lot of small farmers who sell small quantity of cotton, we cannot pay them cash," Dada Shelke, a cotton trader, tells India Today. Cotton comprises a major part of farmers' income in Marathwada, and earns them almost 80-85% of their income. But with a majority of them being small and marginal farmers, demonetisation poses a big problem. "It's a catch 22 situation for the farmers... they can either accept cash, that too in old denomination and deposit in banks standing in long queues, or accept cheques and again stand in long queues. In any case they are not getting cash for daily use," explains Sanjay Kalbande, who runs a Primary Agriculture Credit Society (PACS) in Ambad. FROM ONE ADVERSITY TO ANOTHER At least 400 farmers committed suicide in Marathwada in the past year, on the back of a four-year-long spell of drought. This year, however, rains gods finally blessed the parched region, with all 8 districts receiving excellent rainfall. Almost all major and medium dams, including Manjra, Ujani and Terna, also overflowed for the first time since 2010. Read: Marathwada's struggle continues - Then drought, now deluge advertisement This meant bumper crops for the troubled -- cotton farmers got a good yield and a decent rate of Rs 4,900 to Rs 5,000 per quintal. But before they could reap these benefits, they were hit the demonetisation drive. Lack of cash at markets and denial by traders to accept old currencies is causing great setbacks to the farmers here. It explains the anger farmers like Surey are feeling: "What shall I do now? This 100 quintal corn is lying here and I will not be able to sell. I got a cheque of Rs 75,000 for earlier crop but that money will now be lying in the bank as I will not be able to withdraw the money and use it for the next sowing season," he tells India Today. THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM Given the deep roots of the co-operative movement in Maharashtra, the District Cooperative Central Bank (DCCBs) are seen as the backbone of the state's rural economy -- most of these farmers have accounts in District Co-operative banks. And while the RBI has stipulated that DCCBs and PACS can allow existing customers to withdraw up to Rs 24,000 from their accounts per week (until November 24), it has also asked DCCBs to not entertain any exchange or deposit of old bank notes. advertisement In light of the situation, several groups and political parties are urging the centre to withdraw these restrictions and soothe the woes of farmers. But until any new announcements are made, farmers are left to pray for some respite from the government, much like they prayed for rainfall last year. --- ENDS --- Dining service workers at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, voted to end their three-week strike over pay and health benefits in late October. The contract for 700 Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) was negotiated and pushed through by Local 26 of UNITE HERE with the assistance of the pro-Stalinist Workers World Party (WWP), whose supporters held leading positions in the union. The HUDS deal was declared a total victory by the Local 26 leadership and their pseudo-left apologists, but leaves workers earning barely above the poverty level in a metropolitan area with rents and other living costs far above the national average. The union negotiated summer stipends that would put full-time workers only at an income of $35,000 per year. The many part-time HUDS workers fared even worse. Throughout the secret negotiations with Harvard, the union restricted the demands of the strike to maintaining the status quo on health care along with minimal pay increases. Harvard agreed to cover out-of-pocket costs incurred with the transfer to a new health care plan, but left the door open for withdrawing these subsidies in the future. Just last week, janitors at Harvard University also voted 430-105 in favor of ratifying a new four-year contract. The contract was reached in last-minute talks between the university and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32BJ, which negotiates labor agreements covering some 700 custodians who maintain buildings throughout Harvard campuses in Cambridge and Boston. The janitors had voted overwhelming on November 10 to authorize a strike if no agreement was reached by Tuesday, November 15, but negotiations continued early into Wednesday morning as the deadline passed. The settlement reached between union negotiators and Harvard is the latest in a string of poverty-wage deals negotiated for some of the lowest paid workers in the state. According to the Local 32BJ web site, the deal provides a 12.5 percent increase in wages over four years and secures employer-paid health care. Under the unions previous contract, SEIU workers did not receive their benefits directly from Harvard but from a fund SEIU maintains, to which the university contributes. Janitors will make just $24.67 an hour by the end of the new contract. The union claims these jobs remain strong jobs, with good wages and benefits that create an entry into the middle class. In reality, these strong jobs pay below the minimum living wage for an adult with one child. The MIT Living Wage calculator puts this at $26.87 an hour, above what the janitors will be making even by the end of the four-year contract. Since 1990, the cost of living in the Boston area has increased by 68 percent, placing it in the top 10 most expensive cities to live in the US. According to the Expatistan cost of living index, Boston ranks at number six, behind New York City, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Honolulu and San Jose, California. A recent article on bostonmagazine.com put the Boston area cost of living at 39.7 percent above the US average. In the HUDS strike, the primary concern of the unions and their pseudo-left supporters was to bolster the Democratic Party and the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton at the expense of obtaining a livable wage and decent conditions for workers. This effort was supported by sections of the media and political establishment. Just two days before the end of the strike, the Boston Globe ran an editorial supporting the strike and calling on Harvard to settle the workers demands. The same day, the New York Times ran an op-ed article by Rosa Ines Rivera, a cook in the Harvard dining halls who has worked there for 17 years. Earlier, the Boston City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting the strike, and the City of Cambridge, where Harvard is located, had done so in September before the strike began. Nationally, UNITE HERE supported the Clinton campaign. In a July 19 statement, the union described Clinton as a staunch advocate for immigrant families although she supports Obama, who deported more immigrants than his Republican predecessor. The New England Joint Board (NEJB) of UNITE HERE voted to support Bernies [Sanders] call for a political revolution, which was a vehicle for keeping workers tied to the Democratic Party, as shown by the Vermont senators craven support for Clinton following his defeat in the primaries. The SEIU nationally endorsed Clinton, as did Local 32BJ. At the end of October, SEIU Local 32BJ also struck a deal with the contract company for workers who clean Tufts University just two hours before a midnight deadline for a threatened strike. The Boston Globe reported, About 200 Tufts janitors will see their hourly wages increase to $21.55 from $19.35 over the next four years, if the janitors ratify the contract. The workers union also received a commitment from contractor C&W Services to create more full-time positions over the life of the contract. Prior to the HUDS strike, in September, Local 32BJ averted a strike by more than 9,000 janitors who clean commercial office buildings in Greater Boston with a deal that gave a 12 percent pay raise over four years, putting those workers at just $20 an hour by 2020. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the union reached a deal that will pay janitors less than $24 an hour by 2019. In addition, a number of potential strikes in the Boston area were averted as last-minute deals were struck between unions and management meeting in secret negotiations behind the backs of the membership. These included nurses at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston and janitors who clean Bostons transit system, the MBTA. The HUDS strike was one of many shut down by the unions across the country in the weeks leading up to the presidential election. Strikes by state university faculty members in Pennsylvania, Minnesota nurses, Libbey Glass workers in Ohio, and Jim Beam whiskey workers in Kentucky were all sabotaged by the unions. These walkouts followed the strike by 40,000 Verizon telecom workers earlier in the year. The Verizon struggle was isolated and betrayed by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which accepted a sellout agreement that imposed cuts in health care and left workers victimized for picket line infractions. In Philadelphia, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) shut down a powerful six-day strike earlier this month in an effort to boost the vote for Clinton by ensuring that transit would be available for polling day. The deal provides a miserable pay raise of just 10.5 percent over five years, increases health care costs and ignores one of the central demands of workers regarding onerous work schedules that endanger both the workers and the riding public. The deal was pushed through with significant rank-and-file opposition. The primary function of the trade unions over the last four decades has been to suppress the class struggle and maintain the political stranglehold of the Democratic Party. Under the Obama administration, the unions limited work stoppages to the lowest level since the end of World War II while collaborating with the Obama administration to slash wages (2009 GM and Chrysler restructuring), destroy public worker pensions (2013-2014 Detroit bankruptcy) and shift the cost of health care from employers to workers (Cadillac Tax on supposedly overgenerous health benefits for unionized workers). The suppression of the class struggle, the endless promotion of economic nationalism and anti-foreigner chauvinism, and the alliance with the pro-corporate Democratic Party facilitated the greatest transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top in US history. The unions share responsibility, along with Clinton, Obama and Sanders, for the victory of the fascistic Donald Trump in the 2016 election. As the unions become ever more exposed as an agency of the banks and corporations, they rely increasingly on a layer of pseudo-left organizations who have found lucrative careers inside the union apparatus. The chief negotiator in the HUDS strike was Michael Kramer, a longtime supporter of the Workers World Party. WWP National Committee member Ed Childs is a Local 26 chief steward. In addition to falsely declaring contract battles and strikes betrayed by the unions as victories, the WWP specializes in presenting every manifestation of the class struggle in racial or gender terms. In a statement issued in the name of their presidential candidates, they claimed: The [HUDS] strikers were inspired by the historic Black Lives Matter movement at Harvard last semester, when students won victories to abolish the racist house master title and discard a law school coat of arms depicting its founders slaves at work. Their demands included the establishment in the collective bargaining agreement of a task force to combat racism and discrimination in the kitchens. Regarding the HUDS contract, they applaud UNITE HEREs groundbreaking language that will strengthen gender identity protections. The latter will no doubt provide new positions for left union functionaries. The Workers World article reporting the end of the strike declares, The HUDS strike was led by womenLatina, African American, Caribbean, Asian, Indigenous, white, LBGTQwho make up more than 60 percent of the workforce. Workers World claims that the Harvard Corporation caved, literally overnight, granting retroactive wage increases amounting to $3 an hour over the five-year contract; a substantial, first-time-ever stipend during summer layoffs; better, less expensive health insurance, including for retirees; increased uniform and shoe allowances; strengthened gender identity nondiscrimination terms; and union-power language that exceeded their initial demands. In reality, the union restricted the workers demands to the bare minimum and did everything they could to prevent the Harvard strike from linking up to a growing rebellion among lower-paid hourly workers throughout the region and nationally. At the same time, the tightly controlled struggles like the HUDS strike and others, such as the Fight for $15 campaign promoted by the SEIU, are aimed at shoring up the credibility of the unions and the Democratic Party and keeping workers from breaking their political stranglehold. In the months leading up to the US elections, similar roles were played by the International Socialist Organization (ISO), whose member Jesse Sharkey serves as Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) vice president, and by Socialist Alternative, which was influential in the bargaining committee for the Minnesota Nurses Association. In the former, the ISO-backed CTU blocked a strike by 35,000 teachers and collaborated with Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel to impose a deal that strips new teachers of pension benefits and paves the way for more layoffs and school closings. In the latter, the MNA/SA worked with Democratic Governor Mark Dayton to shut down the more than month-long strike by nearly 5,000 and impose a sellout deal containing precedent-setting health care concessions that rank-and-file nurses had repeatedly rejected. Predictably, the ISO and SA hailed both of these betrayals as great successes. The working class must draw the lessons of these struggles. The official trade unions are not workers organizations. They are organizations of upper middle class and increasing wealthy business executives who are tied to the Democratic Party and capitalism and only want a greater share from the exploitation of the workers they falsely claim to represent. These functionaries increasingly include those currently or formerly associated with left politics that want to maintain the stranglehold of these anti-working class organizations under conditions of growing militancy and opposition. If workers in the unions and the tens of millions outside of the unions are to defend their interests, it will require the building of new organizations of struggle, democratically controlled by the rank and file and committed to the methods of the class struggle, not to what the corporate owners and political officials claim they can afford. The development of an industrial counter-offensive by workers must be combined with a new political strategy based on the political independence of the working class from the two big business parties and the fight for a socialist alternative to the capitalist profit system. The protests against South Korean President Park Geun-hye continued last Saturday with another mass demonstration in Seoul. Opposition party lawmakers also moved closer to impeaching Park after she was named an accomplice on Sunday in the scandal that has been used as a focal point for widespread anger toward the president. Approximately one million people gathered around South Korea to demand Park resign, with 600,000 in Gwanghwamun, Seoul alone. Many held placards that read Park Geun-hye resign and Park Geun-hye, Out! Another 100,000 demonstrated against Park in Busan and 40,000 denounced her in Gwangju. Tens of thousands held protests in other cities. The immediate scandal involves accusations that Park allowed her personal confidante, Choi Soon-sil, to be involved in deciding policy matters despite holding no formal government post. Choi allegedly used her position to solicit funds from corporations that passed into companies which she effectively controlled. While the scandal reflects divisions within South Korean ruling circles, including Parks own Saenuri Party, the demonstrations are also being driven by far broader popular opposition among workers and youth to her administrations attacks on basic democratic and social rights. The protests have been the largest in the country since 1987, when pro-democracy rallies forced General Chun Doo-hwan to allow direct presidential elections. Workers are hostile to Parks drive to casualize the workforce, cut jobs, and privatize state-owned industries. Before joining Saturdays mass rally, 50,000 members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) held a rally in Seoul Square to demand Parks resignation. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) also announced it would hold a general strike on November 30. Both the FKTU and KCTU are attempting to direct anger in the working class into support for the opposition Democrats, the Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK). Youth and students have continued to be active at the rallies. Parks resignation is not the end of the issue. The concentration of power (in the hands of the president) is a fundamental problem. And we cant expect a fair and thorough investigation by prosecutors, Park Ji-u, a high school senior, told the media. Another high school senior, Kim Ji-yun, stated: There are more of us (students) willing to speak out about state matters as citizens of South Korea as well, even though we are young. The demonstrations are unlikely to die down. Investigators released new findings on Sunday. We have named the president as a suspect, believing she was an accomplice of (Choi and her aides in the scandal), Lee Yeong-ryeol, head of the prosecutions special investigation team, told a press conference. This is the first time a sitting president in South Korea has been labeled a criminal suspect. Park is protected from indictment while in office, making her voluntary resignation improbable. The primary suspects, Choi, An Jong-beom, and Jeong Ho-seong, have all been indicted. Choi has been accused of setting up a slush fund for the president through two non-profit companies and, with the aid of An, pressuring corporations to give money. Jeong is suspected of passing documents to Choi. On November 15, the National Assembly passed a bill establishing an independent counsel to continue the investigation, separate from that of the prosecutor. It will hold hearings on December 5, with lawmakers from the opposition and ruling parties agreeing to call the heads of top companies, including Samsung and the Hyundai Motor Group, for questioning. The ruling Saenuri Party has blocked the president from being called as a witness. Park previously agreed to be questioned by prosecutors. She has since reneged on her promise and is now refusing to cooperate with the investigation. We cannot trust the prosecutions objectivity and fairness, so we will never respond to its request to conduct in-person questioning, Yu Yeong-ha, Parks lawyer, said. Rather, we will prepare for the planned impartial independent counsel. The push to impeach Park is gaining momentum. At a recent meeting of the main opposition MPK, members unanimously passed a statement calling for her impeachment. Once the National Assembly passes an impeachment bill, and the Constitutional Court makes the right decision through a review of criminal charges against Park that have been exposed so far, the impeachment will be accomplished, MPK leader Chu Mi-ae said. While still calling for Park to step down, another opposition party, the Peoples Party, has made impeachment its official stance. In order for the president to be removed from office, two-thirds of the 300 members of the National Assembly must approve the measure. With 165 seats under their control, the opposition parties need at least 29 Saenuri Party lawmakers to agree, as well as six independents. Six of nine Constitutional Court justices must also agree to remove the president. The Peoples Party is calling for Park to appoint a prime minister selected by the National Assembly to take over in the event she resigns or is removed from office. Park has rejected such a measure. Sim Sang-jeong, head of the minor Justice Party, which poses as a left-wing alternative to the MPK, has taken a similar stance, requesting a meeting of opposition parties to discuss an impeachment bill. Significantly, the anti-Park faction of the Saenuri Party has called for Parks impeachment, lending the opposition its support. Led by former party leader Kim Mu-seong, 32 Saenuri lawmakers backed Parks removal in a meeting with opposition leaders. Two anti-Park members of the Saenuri Party, Nam Gyeong-pil, governor of Gyeonggi Province, and lawmaker Kim Yong-tae, left the party on Tuesday, a move that could lead to more defections. The opposition parties are exploiting the scandal to move against Park while at the same time deflecting public attention from the deepening crisis of capitalism gripping South Korea no less than other countries. None of these parties has anything to offer workers and youth except casualization and job cuts, policies that both the conservatives and Democrats have carried out at the behest of big business since the end of the military dictatorship in the 1990s. By the end of October, the countrys shipbuilding industry, just one sector facing layoffs, had axed more than 20,000 jobs this year, with another 20,000 job losses expected by the end of 2016. These crucial social issues are not being raised at the protests. Instead, the MPK and its allies are hoping to channel the public anger against Park into support for its candidates in next years presidential election. Another rally is scheduled for November 26. The announcement November 16 by French politician Emmanuel Macron that he would run for president in 2017 as an independent candidate points to the advanced state of disintegration of President Francois Hollandes government and of the Socialist Party (PS), which is anticipating a debacle in the elections. Macron was Minister of Economy in the Socialist Party government of Prime Minister Manuel Valls from August 2014 to August 2016. Macron chose the city of Marseille to launch his campaign, visiting a technical school in the north of the city, in the 13th district, governed since 2014 by Stephane Ravier of the neo-fascist National Front (FN). The former minister called for more entrepreneurial freedom and denounced the 35-hour work week. He cynically referred to the plight of refugees drowning in the Mediterranean, although the government he joined in 2014 is fully implicated in the Libyan disaster by its covert interventions in that country, and its support for Islamist insurgents in Syria. Macron asked, Who can be proud to see men and women dying at sea in this, the lands of the Mediterranean? We live in a country that has made citizens of foreigners who shared our values. This attempt to run against the FNs anti-immigrant rhetoric, without naming the latter, in a speech given to a group of roughly 100 students, was meant to cover up Hollandes politically criminal policies. The imperialist war drive of Hollande and the NATO powers provoked the migrant crisis, which the PS used to justify stepped-up repression of Muslims and migrants. This reactionary policy bolstered the FN and encouraged the neo-fascists to protest against, or even attack outright, refugees in Calais and elsewhere across France. Macron, who is running without a political affiliation, also denounced political parties, which he accused of distributing money and organizing debates worthy of a condominium board. But what are these parties, they dont exist anymore! The PS is consumed by a crisis that erupted into the open this spring, when Hollande decided to abandon the attempt to inscribe the deprivation of nationality policy and the state of emergency into the French constitution. This stunned the media, which concluded that the PS would suffer an electoral disaster in the 2017 presidential elections. In April, as protests against the PSs deeply regressive labor law took on a mass character, Macron launched his electoral movement, Forward! [ En Marche !] This movement stressed Macrons persona as a young entrepreneur and former investment banker, to give a veneer of modernity to the brutal attacks being waged against social and democratic rights. In recent months, Macron has obtained the backing of CEOs such as Henry Hermand (who died November 6), whose fortune was based on supermarket chains and who participated in PS-linked think tanks. He also has support from Jean Peyrelevade, the former Credit Lyonnais boss, and Marc Simoncini, founder and CEO of the Meetic dating web site. He also met Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux, the vice-president of the Medef business federation, and Claude Bebear, founder of financial firm AXA and of the Montaigne Institute. Macron also enjoys the support of several PS deputies and of the mayor of Lyon, Gerard Collomb, a former Hollande supporter. The official launch of Macrons candidacy provoked broad media enthusiasm for the former Rothschild banker, with France3 television broadcasting a documentary about his campaign only a few days after his electoral bid was announced. PS National Secretary Jean-Christophe Cambadelis appealed to Macron to join the so-called primary of the left, as a sign he would then support whatever candidate the PS named. I appeal to him this morning, Emmanuel, join the primary, he told France Info. He is not stupid, he knows his political chances are shrinking quickly, Cambadelis added. Cambadelis is trying to prevent the widely anticipated debacle of the PS in the presidential elections by proposing that Macron join the primary in order to boost his support within the PS electorate. Cambadelis, who has recently dropped support for Hollande as the PS natural candidate, stated: This is very inconvenient, because it divides the left, it disqualifies the left without qualifying him for the election. The left-wing electorate is not Macrons strong point. Macron refused Cambadelis call, however, and manifestly is anticipating the PSs demise in the near future. He is putting himself in the best position to pick up the piecesparliamentary groups, seats, official posts, influence networks, and other resources accumulated over four decades as a party of governmentonce the PS disintegrates. Above all, however, Macron will inherit the reactionary politics of this party of the financial aristocracy, which is moving very far to the right. It is not simply a matter of the recent crisis caused by Hollandes unpopularity and mass hostility to his austerity and police-state policies. It is the entire project of building a bourgeois left party to defend capitalism in the period after the general strike of May-June 1968 that is collapsing, amid a deep economic crisis and intensifying class divisions. Macron has now launched his personalized movement, offering France the gift of his supposed economic talent. There is more than a little hint of the traditions of the far right in this. Macron and other former PS politicians who have gone on to create semi-independent movements from the PS, including Jean-Luc Melenchon, Bernard Kouchner and Jean-Pierre Chevenement, are all turning sharply to the right, or even the far right. Macron has already spoken about the support he gave for a time to Chevenements party, the nationalist Citizens Movement (and later, Citizen and Republican Movement). It should be noted that it was in this movement that the FNs number two, Florian Philippot, began his political career. Chevenement himself now openly raises forming alliances between himself and the nationalist far right, including the FN. Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Angela Merkel will run for a fourth term as German chancellor. On Sunday, she announced that she would once again stand for the office of CDU chairperson at the party conference in early December. She told a press conference that, in her opinion, the party chairmanship meant she was automatically the partys candidate for chancellor and consequently she would stand in next years federal election. Media reports pointed out that Merkel had indicated four years ago that she wanted to use her third chancellorship to prepare a change of leadership in the party and government. However, the growing crisis in Europe has left her little room for manoeuvre. At the press conference on Sunday, Merkel emphasized that she had thought long and hard and her decision had not been an easy one. The fact that she has decided to stand a fourth time is directly related to the Brexit vote and election of Donald Trump as US president. Trumps nationalist policy of America first has rocked European politics to the core. Trumps election success was seen in Europe as a vote of no confidence in the ruling elites, represented by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party. Many articles have pointed out that a similar development is taking place in Europe and Germany. Opposition to official policy is growing significantly. Brexit was only the beginning of an intensification of the crisis of the European Union. In the coming period, victories for far-right parties are in the cards in Austria, the Netherlands and France. While the ruling elite in the US is lining up behind Trump, a similar development is taking place in Germany behind Merkel. All of the establishment parties are converging and seeking to form a kind of political fortress against the population. A new Merkel chancellorship is an appeal for a continuation of the current grand coalition of the union partiesthe CDU and the Bavarian-based Christian Social Union (CSU)and the Social Democrats (SPD). It is in addition a call for all parties to close ranks and work together more closely. The recent decision to make Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the SPD the joint presidential candidate of the SPD and the CDU/CSU has the same goal. Many media commentators have described a reelection of Merkel as a policy of stagnation and business as usual. In fact, the opposite is the case. A Merkel cabinet 4.0 would not be merely a continuation of what has already taken place. Merkels decision for a renewed candidacy is linked to a political offensive, prepared long in advance, aimed at tackling foreign and domestic policy changes with energy and aggressiveness. To those critics who warn that continuing the grand coalition will reinforce political disillusionment and extra-parliamentary protest, Merkel supporters reply: Bring it on! Her new candidacy is bound up with preparations to intensify the policies of militarism and the expansion of state powers to combat social opposition that already constitute the foundation of the program of the grand coalition. A review of the record of the current grand coalition shows that Merkels renewed candidacy must be understood as a threat. Following the federal election of 2013, coalition negotiations lasted an exceptionally long time, until it became clear that the governing parties had agreed on a fundamental change in foreign policy in favour of militarism and war. Foreign Minister Steinmeier, Defence Minister von der Leyen, President Gauck and others declared that Germany was too big and too important to comment on world politics from the sidelines. For the first time since the end of World War II and the crimes of the Nazi dictatorship, leading German politicians stressed that the period of military restraint was over. In future, Germany would intervene more independently in crisis regions and focal points of world politicsexpressly by military means. There followed a process of intensive military rearmament. In close alliance with the US, the German government organized a coup in Kiev and, using fascist forces, brought a pro-Western regime to power that threw Ukraine into civil war and triggered a confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia. Next came the deployment of the Bundeswehr in Syria in support of NATO. At the same time, the intervention of the Bundeswehr in Africa was put into motion. German Defence Minister Von der Leyen recently announced additional military expenditures totalling 130 billion, and a new white paper from the Defence Ministry envisages the deployment of the Bundeswehr at home and abroad. In the European Union, Merkel and her finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, have intensified the social crisis with their brutal economic policy. The result is 23 million unemployed in Europe. Millions more work in the low-pay sector and in irregular jobs. In many countriesPortugal, Spain, Italy and Greeceyouth unemployment is over 50 percent. Poverty is growing among the unemployed, young people, low-wage workers and pensioners. This social counterrevolution culminated in drastic austerity measures for Greece, devastating the whole country. In Germany, poverty is increasing rapidly. Over 12 million people are officially registered as poor, and children are particularly affected. Eight million people work in precarious forms of work. In 2030, 50 percent of all pensioners will receive a pension equivalent to minimal Hartz-IV social payments, despite having worked their entire lives. Business associations are already calling for an increase in the retirement age to 73. At the same time, a small minority lives in the lap of luxury. The government has created conditions in which this minority can enrich itself enormously at the expense of the majority. Income from investment assets and property has risen by more than 30 percent over the past 15 years. Preparations for a state of emergency and dictatorship are being pushed forward to suppress resistance to these policies. Based on the anti-terrorism laws, a huge monitoring apparatus is being created. Police and intelligence services work closely together, and the Bundeswehr is active inside the country, despite the fact that both practices violate Germanys Basic Law. The attack on basic democratic rights is most evident in the vicious campaign against refugees. The right to asylum has been mutilated to the point of non-existence. Desperate people fleeing wars in the Middle East and Africa are being abused, detained in prison camps, intimidated and deported. Hundreds drown every month in the Mediterranean. The government and the media are stirring up a hate campaign against Muslims that recalls the Nazi pogroms against Jews. It serves the same purpose, to divide the working class, and plays into the hands of the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The election of Trump in the US has made clear where such a policy leads. Resistance to this development is growing among workers and young people, but the government is determined to pursue its course. With her announced intention to stand for a fourth term, Chancellor Merkel has thrown down the gauntlet on the eve of major class battles. On 15 November, the day after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook the South Island of New Zealand, the capital city Wellington, on the lower North Island, was cut off by heavy rain and strong winds. Widespread flooding, land slips and aftershocks closed both main state highways, caused the suspension of rail and bus services and prompted the evacuation of some residents. On the South Island, the town of Kaikoura remains devastated and isolated by the earthquake, with State Highway 1 severed in both directions. The government sent military convoys and navy vessels, including the guided missile destroyer USS Samson, to evacuate the township. Billed as a humanitarian mission, it is another example of how natural disasters are used to conduct joint military exercises. In Wellington, the quake and severe weather highlighted the lack of preparedness for a major disaster. Late and inadequate tsunami warnings created confusion. GeoNet advised residents living in low-lying areas to seek high ground without waiting for official warnings. Following widespread criticism, Prime Minister John Key belatedly promised a national disaster warning system capable of sending alerts to every cell phone. He claimed it would cost tens of millions of dollars. In a rush to get business back to normal, Wellingtons recently-elected Labour Party mayor Justin Lester declared the central business district (CBD) to be safe, just a day after workers were told to stay home so building inspections could be conducted. Workers and residents were met by cordoned-off areas outside buildings shut down over structural concerns, which were still being discovered days after the event. Lester refused to declare red zones near affected buildings, saying an evacuation of the CBD would be a logistical nightmare. Relatively new buildings, such as the CentrePort-owned Bank of NZ Centre and the governments Statistics NZ Office, that are built on reclaimed land, were badly damaged. On November 17, a carpark complex in the centre of the city was closed, with 100 residents evacuated from nearby apartments. The building has now been declared at risk of collapse and is to be demolished. Other buildings, such as Archives NZ, NZ Post House and Wellington Girls College, were also evacuated. The Queensgate mall and Wainuiomata mall in working-class suburbs outside the city remain closed. Some buildings could be shut for months. Wellington Company director Ian Cassels said most workers returned to work the day after the quake because their employers want them there. Acting Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee initially said he was a little surprised at the decision to reopen the city so quickly but later backed off the criticism, complaining only of landlords not sharing building safety information with city authorities. Mayor Lester told the media it was not his task to create chaos or fear or hysteria. Wellington, however, sits astride a major geographical fault and is at high risk of ongoing damage from aftershocks. The council has a list of over 660 buildings that are classified as earthquake risks. They are not among those damaged last week. GeoNet, which monitors earthquake activity, has forecast aftershocks and smaller earthquakes in the immediate future. Yesterday another quake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.16.3 hit the North Island, north of Wellington. It was centred off the coast, almost 140km from Palmerston North, to a depth of 37 metres. If a major earthquake, of 7.8 or above magnitude, strikes Wellington or the surrounding region, the capital could easily be thrown into chaos, resulting in death, destruction and severing the city from the rest of the country. The day after the November 15 quake, Wellington was hit by a severe weather system with 140 kmph (87mph) gale force winds and heavy rain. Lester initially dismissed the weather warnings, telling the Herald that the wind was nothing more than a gentle breeze. However, State Highways 1 and 2 out of the city were closed for more than a day by flooding and lands slips. State Highway 58 between Porirua and the Hutt Valley, Paekakariki Hill Road and others were also closed, severing the capitals land access. Bus services were brought to a standstill. Thousands of motorists waited hours for State Highway 2 to reopen. Train services were cancelled because of multiple slips, and could not be replaced by buses due to road closures. All train services were suspended after two quake aftershocks of 5.8 and 5.2 magnitude but were subsequently resumed, without thorough track inspections. The longest double-track rail tunnel in the country, near Wellington, had some surface flooding but services continued regardless. Some residents were trapped in their homes by rising floodwaters. Many river banks in Porirua and the Hutt Valley flooded, threatening nearby houses and prompting evacuation calls. Schools, kindergartens and libraries were closed. This is not the first time the capital city has been cut off. In May 2015, heavy rain caused floods and slips, resulting in the closure of both state highways and all passenger rail lines. Severe weather has repeatedly exposed the capitals run-down, outdated infrastructure. Much of it is over 100 years old. Without rational planning and billions being spent on infrastructure, the regions topography and geographic isolation makes a disaster inevitable. Immediate responsibility for this state of affairs rests with the Wellington City Council and the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC). Both institutions have been dominated over many years by Labour Party and Greens representatives. Rather than attempting to meet the needs of working people, their overriding concern is to facilitate business operations. The GWRC has recently opened up the rail network to a private operator. Events such as those of last week expose the complacency and indifference of the entire political establishment to the needs of ordinary citizens. This was starkly revealed in its response to the earthquake that devastated the city of Christchurch in 2011, with the loss of 185 lives. Five years on, entire suburbs have been abandoned and areas of the central city remain rubble-strewn. Mayor Lianne Dalziel, a former Labour government minister, has worked closely with the National government to protect big business and impose the cost of the rebuild on the working class. The city council has cut staff, increased rates and begun to sell off assets to help fund its share of the rebuild. The Christchurch debaclein which the government and rapacious insurance companies have wrecked thousands of livesstands as an indictment of the profit system and all its political representatives. The author also recommends: New Zealand: Five years after the Christchurch earthquake [1 March 2016] Private operator to run New Zealand capitals rail service [31 December 2015] Mondays meeting between President-elect Donald Trump and two dozen media executives and on-air personalities fully deserves the adjectives unprecedented, extraordinary and disgusting. Two weeks after the electionin which he won a majority in the Electoral College despite losing the popular vote by a wide marginTrump berated the assembled media officials for alleged sins during the election campaign, condemning specific reporters, including some who were in the room. According to a report published in the New York Post, quoting unnamed participants, It was like a fing firing squad Trump started with [CNN head] Jeff Zucker and said, I hate your network, everyone at CNN is a liar and you should be ashamed. He went on to denounce all of the media as unfair and dishonest. The meeting was a total disaster, a source told the Post. The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing-down. Each of the five networks sent at least one top executive, and in some cases three or four. None of the executives or journalists had the courage to walk out, denounce Trump as a bully, or warn that the First Amendment would be under attack under a Trump administration as never before in the history of the United States. All five networks whose executives attended the meetingABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBCobserved the ground rules set by the Trump transition team, keeping the entire proceeding off the record. The very fact that the media heads agreed to such an off the record meeting is an abomination. The president of the United States is not commander-in-chief of the media. But Trump summoned highly paid television anchormen and women, and their even more highly paid corporate bosses, who cravenly submitted to a tongue-lashing at Trump Tower. Trump was accompanied at the session by his chief of staff Reince Priebus, chief White House strategist Stephen Bannon, campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, campaign spokesman Jason Miller, Republican National Committee communications director Sean Spicer, and son-in-law Jared Kushner. Bannon is an ally of the white nationalist and alt-right elements who patronize Breitbart News, the ultra-right online site that Bannon ran until he signed on as Trumps campaign CEO in August. His appointment as co-leader of Trumps White House staff, sharing authority with Priebus, signals the entry of the fascistic right into the mainstream of American capitalist politics. After Mondays media session, according to Conway, there was a receiving line of media executives and anchors to meet Bannon, who played a largely behind-the-scenes role during the campaign. Many people wanted to meet him and talk to him, make some eye contact, exchange some business cards with him. Thats just a fact, she told the MSNBC program Morning Joe on Tuesday. The closed-door meeting between Trump and the media is a gross violation of the by now threadbare tradition, more than two centuries old, whereby the press is supposed to constitute a Fourth Estate, an independent watchdog on the activities of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the government. It is true that for more than a generation, the corporate-controlled media has largely defaulted on this role. More than 40 years have passed since critical coverage of the Vietnam War culminated in the publication of the Pentagon Papers, and the exposures of White House criminality in the Watergate scandal culminated in the forced resignation of President Richard Nixon. Today, the watchword of the corporate media is conformity and complacency, while what passes for the news is spoon-fed to them by the White House, Pentagon, State Department and CIA. While individual reporters may still take risks and challenge authoritya rare occurrencethe major news organizations, owned and controlled by giant corporations, are engaged in the manufacture and dissemination of government and corporate propaganda. The thinking in these circles is summed up in the notorious comment of former New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller in response to WikiLeaks exposures of US government criminality, in which he defended the war on terror and declared: We agree wholeheartedly that transparency is not an absolute good. Freedom of the press includes freedom not to publish, and that is a freedom we exercise with some regularity. Trumps session with the television broadcasters was followed by a closed-door meeting Tuesday with the publisher of the New York Times, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, and a longer on-the-record discussion with Times reporters and columnists, leading to a flurry of reports claiming that the president-elect was moderating his positions on a number of issues. These reports are, on their face, complete nonsense. Trump told the Times that climate change may be caused by human action, that a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton was a bad idea, and that he disavowed support from white racist and alt-right groups. Even if these were taken for good coinand there is certainly no reason to do sothis is setting an absurdly low bar for calling Trump a changed man. So anxious were the networks to stay on the right side of the president-elect that NBC, in its report Tuesday night on Trumps purported shifts in policy, did not refer to where these comments were made, at a meeting with the New York Times, in order to avoid reporting on its own encounter with Trump the day before. Trump treats the media with complete contempt, while basing his election campaign in large part on free media publicity. He has not held a press conference since July, preferring to be flattered in interviews by sympathetic Fox News hosts. He has not held a press conference since the election to explain to the public his plans for the new administration, another longstanding democratic tradition trampled on. The shameless rush by the media establishment to ingratiate itself with Trump, only days after an election campaign in which they for the most part portrayed him as a political pariah and moral monster, expresses not only the protracted disintegration of American democracy in general, but more specifically the closing of ranks within the American ruling class behind the ultra-nationalist America first orientation he embodies. This has found a no less noxious expression in the prostration of the Democratic Party before Trump, led by President Barack Obama, and the lineup of its congressional leadership, from incoming Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer to the supposed lefts Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, behind Trumps program of economic nationalism and trade war. If this is how Trump treats the corporate-controlled media, owned by billionaires like himself and staffed by multi-millionaire celebrities who would never think of questioning the capitalist system, what can be expected when the Trump administration encounters genuine criticism and opposition from the working class? This is a government whose actions and appointments demonstrate ferocious hostility to democratic rights. The working class must prepare its own response. This includes defending and increasing the influence of the only genuine media voice of the socialist working class, the World Socialist Web Site. The Kremlin has welcomed the election of Donald Trump in the hope that his administration will de-escalate tensions between Moscow and Washington and allow for a rapprochement on the basis of joint action in the war on terror. At the same time, there is widespread recognition in Russia of what is commonly described as the unpredictable character of the future Trump government, which has already brought onboard right-wing figures associated with the anti-Russian line pervasive in US ruling circles. According to the Kremlin, in a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump last week, both sides agreed on the absolutely unsatisfactory state of bilateral relations, the need to normalize relations, and the importance of constructive cooperation. There is a common political understanding between the two, said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking Friday in Lima, Peru at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. After Donald Trump officially takes the reins of power in his hands, the goal is to transform this spirit into the language of practical affairs, he added. Lavrov expressed disappointment at President Barack Obamas call for Trump to continue Washingtons current policy towards Russia, saying relations between the two countries have never been worse. In the immediate aftermath of Trumps victory, Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev declared his governments respect for the sovereign choice of the American people. The same day, online news agency Gazeta.ru described the election as a blow to the wave of anti-Kremlin material put out by the mainstream US press, which had accused Russia of destabilizing the situation in the US. Social media outlets in Russia, the newspaper reported, were declaring, On Wednesday (November 9), Russians woke up in a different country. According to the polling agency VTsIOM, 46 percent of the Russian population expects an improvement in relations with the US as a result of Trumps victory. The semi-fascist Republican candidate was promoted in the Russian media as a figure friendly to the country, hostile to the interventionist policies of the current Obama and a future Clinton administration, and sympathetic to the right-wing social ideology embraced by the Kremlin. The Russian government hopes that the coming to power of Trump will lead to a shift in US policy in Syria, potentially halting the proxy war aimed at overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Moscows only Arab ally. The Islamist forces cultivated by the US as an instrument of imperialist policy are also active in Russias Caucasus and in Russia-allied Central Asian states. Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Committee on International Relations in Russias upper parliamentary house, recently told the newspaper Izvestia: The United States strategic interests regarding Syria are about to change, because until now their priority was not in suppressing terrorism, but in displacing the countrys government. Such changes are in line with Donald Trumps electoral rhetoric. He has said that the US would stop intervening in the internal affairs of foreign nations. If this really takes place, I see no problems whatsoever that could prevent Russia and the United States from being in the same coalition--one that would base its actions strictly on the norms of international law. At the same time, the Kremlin believes it can benefit from the possible weakening of NATO, which Trump criticized during the election campaign. The expansion of the military alliance up to Russias borders is understood as an existential threat by Moscow. Mondays announcement that the Kremlin would be stationing S-400 surface-to-air missiles and the nuclear-capable Iskander missile system in Kaliningrad, the Russian territory situated within the boundaries of Europe, is intended to signal Moscows readiness to militarily oppose NATO. The Kremlin sees new political possibilities in the dismay in European capitals over the US election result and the rifts emerging between Washington and Europe. The Russian ruling elite, notwithstanding its military saber- rattling, is a weak and venal social class, entirely dependent on the global economy for the preservation of its wealth. It attempts to secure its position by seeking an accommodation with the imperialist powers and navigating between their conflicting interests. In addition, the Russian elite hopes that the incoming Trump administration, with its openly chauvinist and anti-democratic outlook, will cease exerting pressure on Moscow over human rights violations related to Russias treatment of gays, immigrants, national minorities and other segments of the population. The Obama administration has used these issues in its campaign against Russia, in a cynical and hypocritical fashion, to portray its imperialist policy as driven by a desire to secure the well-being of oppressed peoples. The conflict between Russia and the US is not simply the product of the whims of particular sections of the American ruling class, however. It is an expression of the desperate efforts of US capitalism to reestablish its global hegemony through conquest. This mad project objectively places it on a collision course with Russia, whose domination of much of the Eurasian land mass is viewed by the US as an intolerable limitation on its ability to control markets, resources and trade routes. Any belief that the incoming Trump administration will provide a life-line for the Russian regime is delusional. The president-elect has already given or is considering giving top government appointments to figures known for their virulently anti-Russian positions. Mitt Romney, with whom Trump met over the weekend to discuss taking on the post of secretary of state, attacked the Obama administration for being insufficiently tough with Russia. As the Republican presidential candidate in 2012, he described the country as without question our number one geopolitical foe. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, another contender for the job, recently observed, Russia thinks its a military competitor. It really isnt. Its our unwillingness under Obama to even threaten the use of our military that makes Russia so powerful. Mike Pompeo, Trumps choice for CIA director, is similarly considered an anti-Russia hawk. He has declared the idea that Russia wants to defeat ISIS in Syria to be a fundamentally false narrative, and insists that Moscow aims to reassert itself in the Middle East. Like Romney, he thinks President Obama has been too soft on Russia. His positions put him in line with much of the US military and intelligence community. Powerful sections of the Republican Party, like the Democrats, are similarly hostile to Moscow. Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned Trump last week against any effort to improve relations with Russia. We should place as much faith in such statements as any other made by a former KGB agent who has plunged his country into tyranny, murdered his political opponents, invaded his neighbors, threatened Americas allies and attempted to undermine Americas elections, he said. Despite the positive response of the Kremlin to Trumps election, political figures and media commentators in Russia, as well as the US, describe future relations between the two countries as unpredictable and conflict-ridden. In his remarks on Trumps victory, Prime Minister Medvedev sounded a cautious note when he observed that a great deal depended on the degree to which the president-elect is able to preserve those priorities about which he spoke during the election campaign. General-Major Aleksandr Vladimirov, president of the Colleagues of War Experts of Russia, insisted that the most that could be hoped for was a return to nuclear arms control and backing away from the edge of an armed conflict. The Humboldt University chapter of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) protested in a November 12 open letter to Humboldt University Professor Thomas Sandkuhler against assertions and attacks he made in a posting on the Moodle web site for the event titled Introduction to history didactics. The IYSSE received the following response: Dear ladies and gentlemen, I not only posted the statement you criticised on the page Introduction to history didactics, but also in my additional courses. My students are not children who can be intimidated with such letters. I have no inclination to comply with your demand that I remove my statement. That you find it shameful is your problem. Your campaign is repugnant to me; your actions are outrageous, period. In a democratic state, everyone who considers himself to have been slandered has the right to take legal action. So you can sue me. I have nothing to withdraw or alter. With best regards, Th. Sandkuhler In response to this answer, the Humboldt University chapter of the IYSSE states: Mr. Sandkuhlers reply is a declaration of intellectual bankruptcy and speaks volumes about the state of the Institute of History at Humboldt University. As students at the institute and elected student representatives, we protested against an insulting declaration, exposed outrageous lies about the IYSSE, and, above all, raised very serious political and historical questions. In the course of six pages, we presented and documented in detail how Mr. Baberowski has downplayed Nazi crimes and agitated against refugees. Mr. Sandkuhler does not consider himself able to deal with the content of even one of these issues, or to challenge even one of our arguments. He does not deem it necessary to apologise for his obvious lies. This is not only pathetic, but reflects his authoritarian predilections. The letter exposes a deep contempt for democratic rights and a free university. Mr. Sandkuhler believes he has the right as a professor to use the universitys official study platform to spread insults and lies about critical students in his own institute. When students call him to account for this and justify their criticisms in detail, he describes such actions as outrageous, period. Is it now once again outrageous to criticise far-right positions advanced by professors? Is a response to students of period sufficient? It is significant that this is now the third statement against the IYSSE in which Mr. Sandkuhler has been involved. But the accusations against the IYSSE have never been backed up with evidence. If our critique dealt in slanders, it should have been an easy task for a professor of history to demonstrate which citations we falsified, which context we ignored or what facts we omitted. Instead, Mr. Sandkuhler has repeatedly attempted to exploit his authority as a professor to administratively silence us. Such an obsequious attitude to authority made possible the integration of the universities into the machinery of the First World War and, ultimately, National Socialism. Sandkuhler is an example of how the same authoritarian personality, who bows to his superiors only to trample on those below with even more force, is preparing the way for the growth of the far right. With Professor Period, one feels compelled to recall the caricatures of George Grosz or Heinrich Manns Untertan, who sought to avoid military service, but only to advocate war all the more. These issues are not merely historical. They are highly contemporary. In the United States, a semi-fascist is currently taking over as president. Among other things, he has announced the deportation of millions of immigrants and the building of a wall on the border with Mexico. Trump has also appointed the right-wing extremist Stephen Bannon as his chief adviser. Between 2012 and 2016, Bannon was the editor-in-chief of Breitbart News, the far-right web site that praised Baberowski for his agitation against refugees [1] and now plans to expand to Germany. For his part, Baberowski has hailed the authoritarian, police state measures taken by former New York Mayor and Trump supporter Rudolph Giuliani as terrific. [2] Giuliani campaigned for Trump and is now part of his transition team. There can no longer be any doubt that Baberowski is advocating a similar regime in Germany. And despite this, not a single professor has dared to even criticise Baberowski publicly. Not when he downplayed the Nazis crimes, not when he agitated against refugees, and not even when he called for critical students to be thrown out of the university. Instead, professors have stepped up their backing for Baberowski and condemned all criticism of him. Such behaviour should never again be tolerated at Humboldt University. The universitys statement of general principles explicitly rejects subservience to authority and caste-type arrogance. The statement declares that the university is an institution which has determined to assume a critical distance from political and social power. It opposes any form of discrimination, intolerance or cultural elitism. [3] Baberowski opposes such principles with his right-wing agenda, and Mr. Sandkuhler has given his backing with his statement. The fact that there has been no protest from within the professoriate to Mr. Baberowskis positions and Mr. Sandkuhlers authoritarian behaviour only underscores the importance of the IYSSEs work. We therefore call on all students to attend our meetings and support our activities. Notes: [1] Raheem Kassam, Left Historian: Christian Germany... Everything dear to us... will disappear because of mass migration, Breitbart News, 07/12/2015, http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/12/07/left-historian-christian-germany-everything-dear-to-us-will-disappear-because-of-mass-migration/ [2] Joachim Steinhofel meets Professor Dr. Jorg Baberowski, clip begins at 3:00, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QPFV4QxupE [3] General Principles of Humboldt University, adopted on 13/02/2002, https://www.hu-berlin.de/de/ueberblick/humboldt-universitaet-zu-berlin/leitbild/standardseite / According to the Colombo-based Daily Mirror, at a meeting of Sri Lankas security council on Sunday, President Maithripala Sirisena instructed the police and security forces to take all who incite racism into custody and produce [them] before courts under the existing law. While the immediate reason given for this order is to curb racism, it signals that the government is preparing for a broader crackdown on opposition parties and the working class. As Sirisena reaches the second anniversary of his installation as president, his pro-US government is in deep political crisis. The infighting between the ruling coalition and an opposition group led by ousted former President Mahinda Rajapakse is intensifying. Sundays meeting of the countrys top security body was attended by the inspector general of police, the armed forces chiefs and several leading ministers, including Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe and Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake. The Daily Mirror reported that Sirisena inquired about the possibility of enacting new laws to take action against people who promote racism. The justice minister said steps had already been taken to draft the new law and pointed out that even under the existing laws, inciters of racism were liable for one years imprisonment. Last month, the cabinet approved sweeping new anti-terror laws, which a parliamentary committee is now examining. On November 15, both Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe warned about a political conspiracy against the government. The two were speaking at a meeting held to mark the 30th anniversary of Ravaya, a Sinhala-weekly newspaper that helped to bring Sirisena to office. Sirisena declared there were moves to destabilise the government, and a well-organised and well-funded political conspiracy to hinder the march toward reconciliation. Wickremesinghe said racist groups are trying to take the power. Sirisena and Wickremesinghe did not name names but implied that the conspirators were in the Rajapakse-led faction of Sirisenas Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). This faction opposes Sirisenas national unity government with Wickremesinghes United National Party (UNP). The government is seeking to exploit provocations by Sinhala chauvinist groups in order to strengthen its hand. Sirisena and Wickremesinghe are not opposed to communalism. Both were leaders in successive governments that waged communal war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was defeated in 2009. Both have pledged their continued support for the domination of Buddhism and the Sinhala majority. The chauvinist campaign by Sinhala Buddhist extremists has intensified during recent months. Last week, in Batticaloa in the eastern province, a Buddhist monk, a supporter of the Buddhist Brigade (Bodu Bala Sena or BBS)a fascistic group of Buddhist monksthreatened an ethnic Tamil government village officer with bodily harm if he continued court cases against Sinhalese people. In another incident, police were compelled to arrest a Sinhala chauvinist last week who made similar threats against Muslims at a public demonstration in Colombo. On Saturday, the BBS held a Buddhist prayer meeting in Kandy, directed against those harassing Sinhalese. The BBS is notorious for anti-Muslim provocations, including a riot in Aluthgama in 2013 that resulted in the killing of four people and the significant destruction of property. These are not isolated incidents. Many Sinhala chauvinist groups, including the BBS, are backing Rajapakse. The ex-president and his supporters are accusing the government of betraying the war heroesthe armed forces that waged the ruthless communal war against the LTTE. Two weeks ago, members of parliament supporting Rajapakse formed a new political party, named the Sri Lanka Podujana Party. Rajapakse, who is campaigning to regain power, indicated that he would take the leadership of the new party at a future date. As part of its efforts to undermine Rajapakses campaign, the government is trying to intimidate media outlets that sympathise with him. In October, the media ministry revoked the broadcasting license of CSN TV, which is closely connected to the Rajapakse family over alleged license violations. The media ministry secretary has also threatened Derena TV, accusing it of distorting a recent speech by Sirisena. The threat to the media is not limited to these two institutions. The government repeatedly attacks the media for criticising it. Wickremesinghe last week said the government would have to take action against media outlets that did not behave. Yesterday, in a veiled threat, Sirisena said the media did not see any positive actions by the government. Last week, the head of the Sinhala racist Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, Dinesh Gunawardenaa party supporting Rajapakseadded fuel to the governments conspiracy claims. There might be a military coup if the government does not take immediate action to arrest the rapid deterioration of democracy in the country, Gunawardena warned parliament. The concern of Gunawardena and Rajapakse is not the deterioration of democracy. The former Rajapakse government ruthlessly suppressed the media as part of its assault on democratic rights. The government condemned Gunawardenas comments and accused the opposition group of attempting to disrupt political stability and create fear among the people. Both the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government and the opposition groups allied to Rajapaske are fearful that popular unrest involving workers, students and the rural poor could threaten capitalist rule. Over the past year, there has been a series of workers protests demanding pay increases and better working conditions. In September, tens of thousands of estate workers came onto the streets demanding a pay hike and protesting against workload increases. The countrys economic crisis is deepening, with falling exports and investment. Export earnings dropped by 5.8 percent during the first six months of this year and foreign investment fell to $US4.5 billion, a staggering 52.5 percent decline on the previous year. The governments foreign debt has increased to $65 billion, and public debt has risen to 76 percent of gross domestic product. This month, the government presented a budget that imposed heavy taxes on workers and poor, while cutting expenditure on public education and health to limit the deficit to the target set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). One week later, the IMF released the second installment of its current loan package. To meet the demands of the financial markets, the government also decided to expedite the restructuring and privatisation of public enterprises. Tens of thousands of workers will lose their jobs. These attacks will provoke social upheavals. The working people must take a warning. Inciting communalism, against Tamils and Muslims, has been standard operating procedure for every faction of the ruling elite for decades to divide the working class and deepen its repressive rule when it faces sharpening class tensions. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe governments measures are not designed to end racism and communalism but are strengthening police-state methods to suppress the working class and poor. A US-backed Islamist militia in southern Syria has been armed with portable surface-to-air missiles, so-called manpads. These weapons are capable of shooting down Syrian government aircraft as well as Russian warplanes, which have played a prominent role in providing air support to the Syrian army against the Al Qaeda-linked rebels. The group, the Ansar al-Islam Front, exhibited the weapons, SA-7 Strela-2 missiles, in a video it posted on Sunday, claiming that it had a good number of them in its possession. The video, produced by a Dubai-based Syrian opposition propaganda network, shows the Islamists un-crating, assembling and testing the manpads. We, in Ansar al-Islam Front, have distributed several points of air defense to counter any attempt by the Syrian warplanes or helicopters, which bomb points in Quneitra Province. We have a good number of these missiles, one of the Islamists states in the video, according to a translation posted by the web site Middle East Eye. A second individual, identifying himself as Abu Bilal, tells an interviewer: We, in Ansar al-Islam Front and factions of the FSA, are distributing equipment and soldiers toward Tal al-Hara, Mashara, Sandaniya and Jabata. And in the coming days you will hear good news from Quneitra and its surroundings. The shipping of these portable anti-aircraft missiles to Syria marks a major escalation of the US-backed war for regime-change that has devastated the country for the past five years, leading to the deaths of some 300,000 Syrians. In September, US officials told the Reuters news agency that, after the breakdown of a brief US-Russian-brokered cessation of hostilities and amid renewed fighting around the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Washington might resort to a Plan B, giving the green light to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to funnel the portable anti-aircraft missiles to the Syrian Islamists. At the time, however, State Department and administration official spokesmen denied the report. Whether the delivery of the manpads has been ordered by the Obama White House, the CIA, the Pentagon or some faction within the vast US military and intelligence apparatus it is impossible to say. What is clear, however, is that they are intended to establish new facts on the ground in Syria before a Trump administration takes office in January. Pressure for a US escalation in Syria has mounted since Trump gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal on November 11 in which the president-elect called into question the CIA and Pentagon operations for arming so-called moderate rebels in Syria, saying we have no idea who these people are. In a rambling and incoherent statement to the Journal, Trump said he had an opposite view of many people regarding Syria, adding, My attitude was youre fighting Syria, Syria is fighting ISIS, and you have to get rid of ISIS. Russia is now totally aligned with Syria, and now you have Iran, which is becoming powerful, because of us, is aligned with Syria. The statement set off alarm bells within the US political establishment, whose predominant layers are committed to a strategy of escalating confrontation with Russia as part of drive to militarily assert US hegemony over the Middle East and, more broadly, the landmass of Eurasia. The New York Times responded with an editorial The Danger of Going Soft on Russia, in which it accused Trump of acting as Putins apologist and insisted, Since Mr. Trump has refused to criticize the Kremlin, its important that Mr. Obama figure out, before he leaves office, how to punish Russia... It would appear that shipping surface-to-air missiles to Syria, raising the prospect of US-backed forces shooting down Russian aircraft and triggering a far wider and more dangerous conflict, is part of this punishment. As yet, Trump has enunciated no clear policy in relation to the conflict in Syria, outside of vows on the campaign trail to bomb the shit out of ISIS. At the same time, however, many of those surrounding him, including his vice president-elect Mike Pence and his nominee for CIA director Mike Pompeo, have strongly advocated direct US military intervention against the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad. The group which received the anti-aircraft weapons, Ansar al-Islam, while apparently counted by Washington as part of the moderate opposition in Syria, was previously designated as a terrorist organization by the US and the United Nations, as well as a number of other countries, because of its affiliations with the Al Qaeda network. It first emerged as an armed group in the wake of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, fighting against US occupation troops and later the forces of the US-imposed regime in Baghdad. With the fomenting of the war for regime-change in Syria, it sent its members into that country to fight against the Assad government, thereby winning US backing. Two years ago, the majority of the groups leadership announced that it was joining the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), which is supposedly the main target of Washingtons ongoing military intervention in Iraq and Syria. Some elements, apparently including those who have now been armed with manpads, rejected the merger, despite their shared ideology and objectives. Previously, US officials had warned against supplying such weapons to Syrian rebels for fear that they would end up in the hands of Al Qaeda-affiliated fighters and could be turned against not only Syrian and Russian warplanes, but also Western civilian passenger jets. In the past, weapons funneled to so-called CIA-vetted moderates have quickly fallen into the hands of the Al Nusra Front, Syrias Al Qaeda affiliate. Now it appears that such concerns have been cast aside and the missiles have been supplied directly to forces tied to Al Qaeda. The introduction of these weapons into the conflict in Syria in flagrant violation of international law is indicative of the growing desperation within US ruling circles over the debacle confronting its regime-change operation. Syrian government forces have made increasing inroads in the past few days in eastern Aleppo, the last stronghold of the US-backed Islamists, taking back at least a third of the area previously occupied by these forces. The mounting hysteria found consummate expression in a speech delivered Monday at the United Nations by US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, the administrations foremost standard-bearer of human rights imperialism. Power read out the names of a dozen Syrian military commanders alleged to have attacked civilians or overseen torture in Syrian jails, warning, Those behind such attacks must know that we in the international community are watching their actions, documenting their abuses and one day they will be held accountable. Power made no mention of war crimes committed by the US-backed rebels, which are also under investigation by the International Criminal Court, nor of the recent report that the global court is investigating over a decade of torture carried out by the US military and the CIA in Afghanistan and at so-called black sites around the world. One could easily come up with a list of a dozen US commanders who carried out attacks leading to the mass murder of civilians, from the brutal sieges of the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004 through to the assault on the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan just a year ago. Even as Power was speaking, a report filtered out of Syria that US warplanes struck a cotton mill in the village of Salhiyeh in the northeastern part of the country, killing 10 civilians, including children. Among the dead were three workers at the mill, a family of six who had taken shelter there after fleeing from a US-backed offensive in the area, and a bystander. Independent estimates place the number of civilians killed by US air strikes in the country at well over 1,000. The Opposition has tried to corner the Prime Minister for missing from Parliament and alleged silence on demonetisation debate. By Reema Parashar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to speak on his demonetisation move in Rajya Sabha today, senior BJP leader and Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Wednesday. This comes after the Prime Minister's brief appearance in Lok Sabha on Wednesday was criticised by the Opposition, which alleged that the PM was not open to discussion on the banning of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. advertisement In the ongoing Winter session, Thursdays are earmarked for the Prime Minister's Office, wherein any senior representative can reply to queries on behalf of the Prime Minister. However, it is widely believed that the Prime Minister himself will be present to answer questions. Also read | Not in Narendra Modi's blood to go back on decisions: Venkaiah Naidu on note ban rollback ATTEMPT TO BREAK STALEMATE Till now, the government seems to have put up a brave face even as the Opposition has not allowed the House to function since the winter session began on November 16. However, the government is now reaching out to the Opposition to break the Parliament logjam. Senior ministers from the Cabinet today held backdoor talks with Opposition leaders to arrive at a consensus on demonetisation. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu are believed to have tried to pacify the Opposition. Also read | Demonetisation standoff: Modi attends Lok Sabha but does not speak; why is PM scared, asks Oppn Two rounds of meetings were held on Wednesday between the Lok Sabha Speaker, government and the Opposition to discuss the demonetisation issue. Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that his party wanted a debate on the issue under Rule 56 that entails voting on the issue. The government, however, is ready to debate on demonetisation under Rule 193, which does not entail voting. The government and the Opposition have not been able to reach a middle ground on this. Also read | Demonetisation: To counter Modi's 10 questions, Opposition prepares 10-point attack --- ENDS --- Animal enthusiast Shravan Krishnan shared on his Facebook wall pictures of the disemboweled dead female monkey with its limbs tied. By Pramod Madhav: A monkey was tortured and killed at the Christian Medical College in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Animal enthusiast Shravan Krishnan had shared on his Facebook wall pictures of the disemboweled dead female monkey with its limbs tied. "The medical students tied the monkey's hands and started abusing and torturing the animal by beating her with sticks and belts, broke her legs and jaws and finally shoved a rod up her anus and killed her", he wrote in his post. An FIR has been filed against the students under Section 429 of the IPC and the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The monkey's body was excavated and sent for post-mortem. advertisement Also read | Animal rights activists ring alarm bells over treatment of elephants in Kerala On hearing the shocking news, the college management has agreed to take strict action against those guilty. CRUELTY INDESCRIBABLE Krishnan added, "The degree of cruelty and pain the monkey went through is beyond words. We have all been having sleepless nights after we saw the body of the monkey. Extremely disturbed", he said. The incident took place on November 19. The students who saw the sweepers bury the monkey informed animal enthusiasts. Krishnan and others reached the spot and dug the body out the monkey's body to send it for autopsy. SECOND CASE OF ANIMAL ATROCITY This is the second unspeakable act of cruelty against animals involving medical students. A couple of months ago, two medical students had recorded a video of one of them throwing a dog off a terrace for fun near Chennai. Animal enthusiasts say that since punishment against animal cruelty is not severe, such acts mostly go unchecked. --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) Fighting the cash-crunch caused by demonetisation, the government today said its focus would now be on rural areas and more measures would be announced for farmers, as situation was normalising in urban areas. "The situation is normalising in the urban areas. In the next few days, the focus will be on the rural areas so that farmers have enough funds because it is rabi sowing season. Few decisions were taken yesterday night which will be made public today," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said while addressing the BJP MPs in a parliamentary party meeting here. advertisement The Minister said the credit flow from banks would also go up for various activities including agriculture as huge amount of cash due to demonetisation was deposited in the banking system. Emphasising that demonetisation had a direct relation with the poor, with poverty and with poverty alleviation, Jaitley said this move (of demonetisation) could result in huge jump of public spending in rural areas especially for poverty alleviation. Assuring that once this remonetisation or the process to provide alternative currency reaches reasonable level, he said the government would ease all restrictions but till then there would be difficulty for some time. The Minister said the currency cannot be released all of a sudden, it will be done in a calibrated way and for that the focus was primarily on rural areas. "The remonetisation is being done in a calibrated way for coming weeks. The focus is only on rural areas," he added. Yesterday, the Finance Ministry had permitted the farmers to use old Rs 500 notes for purchasing seeds from any state or central government outlets and agri universities. The government has already permitted the farmers to draw up to Rs 25,000 per week from their KYC compliant accounts subject to the normal loan limits and conditions apart from the other facilities announced last week. Besides, the government had already extended the deadline for payment of crop insurance premium by 15 days and permitted APMC-registered traders to withdraw up to Rs 50,000 per week. Meanwhile, Jaitley said that India was working on a framework to check flow of illicit money routed through Singapore. He said that after revising the tax treaty with Mauritius and Cyprus to check flow of illicit cash, India was in talks with Singapore also. PTI JTR KR IKA --- ENDS --- A former Yakima School District employee convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl was sentenced to at least 10 years in prison, with the judge n By PTI: Dimapur (Nagaland), Nov 22 (PTI) A Bihar-based businessman, travelling alone in a chartered jet, was apprehended today at the airport here for allegedly carrying Rs 3.5 crore in demonetised currency. Officials said sleuths of central security agencies and CISF questioned the man, identified as A Singh from Bihars Munger district, soon after his jet landed here. The case was later handed over to local Income Tax authorities. advertisement They said the man had come in here on a jet that had taken off from Sirsa in Haryana early today. "CISF sleuths acted on some prior inputs and intercepted the passenger as soon as he landed here. Initially, the amount detected was said to be Rs 5.5 crore but later I-T authorities reported the final amount with him to be Rs 3.5 crore. The taxman is investigating the source of the currency," they said. A special vigil has been deployed by security agencies and the airport guarding Central Industrial Security Force in the wake of the demonetisation of the two large currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 by the government. PTI NES RT --- ENDS --- Firefighters were battling blazes across Israel on Wednesday for the second day, as strong winds and dry weather made fighting the fires much harder and air pollution levels rose in affected areas. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter As the dry weather and strong winds are expected to continue on Thursday as well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan have decided to ask Cyprus, Greece and Italyand considering asking Turkey as wellfor additional firefighting planes as a precaution. Fire in Zikhron Yaakov (Photo: AP) A large blaze broke out near the community of Nataf in the Jerusalem Mountains on Wednesday morning. Twenty-five firefighting crews, among them 200 firefighters from the Home Front Command, were sent to the scene along with four firefighting planes as the strong winds pushed the blaze towards the community. While firefighters were able to stop the fire from reaching the community, it continued spreading west on Wednesday afternoon before eventually being contained in the early evening. Residents whose houses were close to the fire were evacuated from their homes and found shelter in the nearby Arab village of Abu Gosh. Two houses were burned down while several others suffered damage from the flames. A house that burned down in Nataf (Photo: Toi Yanovsky) Police detained four contractor employees working on a road near Nataf on the suspicion that they lit a bonfire that got out of control and caused the large blaze that currently threatens the settlement. With the fire spreading into Canada Park situated between the Latrun Interchange and Sha'ar HaGai, walkers were evacuated by rescue teams It is not clear whether the original fire was an intentional act of arson or a careless mistake. Following the fires on Tuesday and the weather conditions, acting Fire Commissioner Shimon Ben-Ner issued a fire ban covering near the entire country, which bars lighting bonfires and fires in open fields. Violation of the ban carries a six month jail sentence or an NIS 74,300 fine. A house that burned down in Nataf (Photo: Roi Yanovsky) A brush fire broke out Wednesday afternoon on route 35, near a gas storage facility between Kiryat Arba and the settlement Adora in the West Bank, close to settlement of Telem. Three firefighting crews who were sent to battle the blaze were able to gain control of the fire. Police closed the road was closed to both directions. Also on Wednesday afternoon, a large brush fire broke out near a school in Nazareth. Four firefighting crews were called to the scene after smoke got into the school. The firefighters were able to stop the process of the fire, and there is currently no danger it would continue spreading. A fire also broke out in the Karkom area, not far from the nearby bridge that crosses the Jordan River. Five firefighting crews were on the scene. Meanwhile, five firefighting crews were battling a blaze in Safed, trying to stop it from spreading to the nearby woods. Another fire broke out between Gilon and Tsurit in the Lower Galilee. Eight firefighting crews and four planes were deployed to the scene, with additional aid requested from Tiberias. Police evacuated some residents from their homes in Gilon as a precaution. The fire that raged in Zikhron Ya'akov on Tuesday reignited early Wednesday morning due to the strong winds. Some 50 firefighting teams were in the town battling the blaze with the aid of four firefighting planes, as additional teams came in from nearby districts. Some 100 firefighters from the Home Front Command joined their civilian counterparts. Airtankers battling the blaze in Zikhron (: ") X The firefighters tried to put out the fire during the night, but around 3am the winds picked up, fanning the flames where the blaze had already died. The fire also spread to new areas. Fire damage in Zikhron (Photo: Ido Erez) Police blocked entry to three neighborhoods that were evacuated Tuesday to all but firefighting forces, saying residents could not return until Friday. On Wednesday evening however, authorities declared that they had finally managed to extinguish the fire and residents were given permission to return to their homes, except for those which had been damaged. All firefighting crews left the area, with the exception of 8 who were left there in case of emergencies. Fire damage in Zikhron (Photo: Ido Erez) "The forecast is that residents' return would not be possible in the next few days either due to the strong winds and mortal danger," authorities said following a situation assessment that included the Fire Department, the Home Front Command and the municipality. Fire damage in Zikhron (Photo: Ido Erez) Some residents returned to their homes on Tuesday despite not getting the all-clear and had to be evacuated once more. Thirty houses were damaged in the fire, with 20 of them declared unfit for habitation. Fire damage in Zikhron (Photo: Ahiya Raved) The Environmental Protective Ministry noted that high levels of air pollution were registered in the city and recommended residents who have not been evacuated to remain in their homes and seal any openings. Fire raging in Zikhron (Photo: Eli Segal) Also on Wednesday morning, three firefighting teams were battling a brush fire on the eastern side of Nahariya. Residents were asked to remain in their homes and seal any openings due to the great amounts of smoke. In addition, a forest fire broke out in Shefar'am on Wednesday morning, with five firefighting crews battling the flames. Fighting the flames through the night During the night, five firefighting teams battled a brush fire in the wadi between the villages of Yarka and Jat northeast of Acre in northern Israel. The fire burned through 150 dunam and ended just before dawn. A brush fire that raged overnight near Kisra-Sumei in the western Galilee and was put out restarted on Wednesday morning. Four firefighting teams were on site battling it. Earlier Tuesday night, families were evacuated from the settlement of Dolev in the Binyamin Regional Council in the West Bank due to a fire that was nearing their homes. The fire began dying down around 10:30pm and firefighters were able to start gaining control of the blaze, but an hour and a half later the winds changed directions and picked up to 44 km/h, fanning the flames and reigniting the fire. Firefighting efforts in Dolev (: / TPS) X During the night, over 60 firefighting teams were battling flames that reached 20 meters in height in three different areas of the settlement. Gas containers caught fire and exploded. On Wednesday morning, five firefighting teams were still at the scene battling the flames with the aid of a water-tanked and four firefighting planes, while on Wednesday afternoon the flames rose again in several areas near the settlement's houses. Two people were taken to the hospital in light condition after suffering from smoke inhalation, while the blaze caused damage to several structures and caravans. Later in the evening, the IDF was forced to evacuated a military outpost Residents are still not allowed to return to their homes. Meanwhile, firefighting teams from Kiryat Gat and Ashkelon worked to put out a big forest fire between Kiryat Gat and Lachish near route 35. They were able to gain partial control of the fire. Air pollution Authorities measured high levels of air pollution in areas affected by the fires, and recommended that those suffering from respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome, as well as the elderly, are evacuated. Dr. Levana Kordova-Biezuner, the scientific director of the national air-monitoring system at the Environmental Protection Ministry, explained that "the haze concentrations are on the rise" because of the fires. On Tuesday "we measured (high) concentrations inside the houses and made a decision to evacuate 40 families in Revadim, whose homes were near the fire." In Zikhron Ya'akov, she explained "the fire particles are very dangerous because they contain all kinds of poisonous particles and could cause respiratory syndrome, burning eyes, shortness of breath, and severe asthma attacks to affected people." Firefighters resting in Zikhron after battling the flames throughout the night (Photo: Ahiya Raved Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan stipulated the multiple fires could be the result of arson. "It's beginning to appearin light of the multiple fire locationsthat arson could be the cause of some of the fires. The police and the Fire Department will investigate," he wrote on Twitter. "I ask the public to remain vigilant and report any case of suspected arson and any blaze to the police and the Fire Department, mostly in the coming couple of days due to the dry weather." On Tuesday evening, firefighters were battling a blaze in Kibbutz Revadim in southern Israel, with some 40 families evacuated from their homes after the fire increased the levels of air pollution in the area. Firefighters have since gained control of the fire and are working to completely put it out. Throughout the day Tuesday, firefighters battled blazes in Latrun, Atlit and Nesher. Nineteen people, including a 10-day-old baby, suffered from smoke inhalation. Donald Trump is not an anti-Semite. He has worked with Jews all his life, and has never been known for anti-Semitism. His daughter converted to Judaism, and his closest associate is his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Granted, the ex-wife of Steve Bannon , Trumps chief strategist, testified that her ex-husband did not want his daughters to study with Jewsbut that testimony was given as part of a divorce trial, and Bannon has worked with and employed Jews in senior positions on his website, Breitbart. White supremacists salute 'Hail Trump' at Washington conference Since winning the US presidential election, Trump has stressed that he will be the president of all Americans and has condemned racist assaults. These are facts, but here are a few more facts: Trump ran a dividing campaign and was repeatedly condemned by his party members over comments viewed as racist, including his desire to disqualify a judge who discussed a case directly concerning him for being Mexican, although he is an American born in the United States. Or his statement that Mexico was sending rapists and criminals. His desire to ban the entry of all Muslims to the US has now been replaced with an initiative he has yet to personally renounceda registry of the Muslims in the US. His campaign distributed a poster with a red Star of David on the background of a stack of dollars and Hillary Clinton. His devout supporters attacked Jewish journalists on Twitter and Facebook, forcing them to shut down their social media accounts following violent harassment and threats, with pictures of concentration camps and promises that American Jews would soon be rounded up and taken to the camps. Since Trumps election, America is experiencing a wave of ugly acts of racism, which the anti-Defamation League defines as a rash of anti-Semitic vandalism. Trump has managed to attack the New York Times at least six times on his Twitter account since his election, but has not said a single word there about the acts of violence taking place across America, like students who are shouting at their Hispanic schoolmates, Well build the wall, people who are attacking Muslims, saying Trump won. Now you get out of here, and more. The Alt-right, the alternative right movement, held a conference in Washington several days ago. Its speakers included the person who invented the concept of the white people as crusaders, as occupiers who are the children of the sun and have the blood with the potential for greatness flowing in their veins. The conference also dealt with Jewish influence, and concluded with Hail Trump! and Nazi salutes performed by the participants White supremacists 'hail Trump' with Nazi salute X What does this have to do with Trump? Steve Bannon said that his website was the platform for the alt-right. Well, it turns out that the founder of this term is a Nazi. The Jewish organizations in the US are very concerned. For the first time in two generations, they are witnessing the infiltration of anti-Semitism into the American political discourse, including a CNN caption reading Alt-right founder questions if Jews are people. The bottle holding Americas demons has been shattered, and the demons are walking about quite wildly; they are affecting all minorities, not just the Jews, who are the richest and strongest minority in America. And what about the State of Israel, the Jewish state? Silence has fallen on Jerusalem. Long and aggressive responses are dedicated to every journalistic report that hurts the prime ministers feeling, but what the Jews of Americathe largest and most important diasporaare going through has not been addressed so far. The prime minister cannot and should not attack the Trump administration which has yet to be established; but expressing concern over the events or solidarity with the Jewish community is required. Its possible that by the time you read this, our politicians will have finally said something, but the rise of the radical rightfrom Europe to the USis not a marginal phenomenon. It calls for a coherent Israeli policy, just like the policy against the anti-Israel boycott movements. Its an Israeli duty, and its a Jewish duty. USS EISENHOWER -- One after another, fighter jets catapult from the flight deck of the USS Eisenhower, a thousand-foot American aircraft carrier, afterburners glowing amber above the blue Persian Gulf, on their way northwest to join the fight in Iraq and Syria against ISIS. The fighter jets refuel on the way before receiving from coalition partners targets like convoys, hideouts and mortar positions in IS-controlled territories such as Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, said Rear Adm. James Malloy, commander of the Eisenhower carrier strike group. From his office aboard the USS Eisenhower, Malloy described coalition success around Mosul while cautioning that victory is close at hand. "Mosul is the last large city in Iraq that is held by Daesh, but Daesh is by no means finished in Iraq, so our mission in Iraq won't end as Mosul falls," he said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. While inter-coalition coordination was "seamless," communication with Russia was limited to "deconfliction," Malloy said. "There's no coordination there because the goals are not the same," the admiral said. SANAA -- Twelve Yemeni civilians were killed by a Saudi-led air strike while riding in a pickup truck in the country's northwest early on Wednesday, residents said. Locals said the passengers were shoppers heading to a local market in the Hiran area of northwest Hajja province, which is controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Yemen's Houthis since March 2015 to restore the internationally recognised president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who lives in exile in Saudi Arabia. A spokesman for the coalition did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But the coalition says it does not target civilians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's personal lawyer David Shimron contacted the Defense Ministry's legal advisor two years ago asking for a status report on a deal with the German shipyard he represents, according to a report Tuesday on Channel 10. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter In an email written in 2014 by legal advisor Ahaz Ben-Ari, he tells then-Director General of the Ministry of Defense Dan Harel that Shimron "called me and asked to know whether or not we are stopping the bidding process with his client, as we were asked to do by the prime minister." According to Channel 10, the bid Shimron references in the email was an international bid issued by the Ministry of Defense for the acquisition of vessels to protect Israel's natural gas rigs. German conglomerate ThyssonKrupp, represented by Israeli businessman Miki GanorShimron's clientwanted the deal without having to bid. Photo: EPA, Yaron Berner This email is of significance because Shimron claimed he has never spoken with the prime minister, or indeed any state official, on the matter, which is why there is no basis for claims of conflict of interests. In response, Shimron said, "I never told Ben-Ari anything about the prime minister. I also didn't know anything about the prime minister's request, which I only learned of now from the media. The only possible interpretation of this email, if the quote is true, is that Ben-Ari knew about the request of the prime minister, which I had no clue of. I had no idea about the involvement of the prime minister in the matter. Any other interpretation is not consistent with the truth." Shimron further claimed, "I turned to the legal advisor of the Ministry of Defense as I am allowed to do under the conflict of interest orders, section 7 (c), which allows me to contact legal advisors in government ministries and in this case, it was merely a question." ThyssonKrupp, the German shipyard in question, said that its contract with Miki Ganor, its official representative in Israel, "requires him to seek the company's approval for any subcontractor working on his behalf," which he did not do. "The company did not approve Shimron's employment by Ganor, and if indeed Ganor hired him without approval, it is a breach of our contract with him. The issue is under investigation." However, the company also refused to deny that Shimron was involved with them in the past, and only made clear their intentions regarding the prime minister's involvement in the deal. "We never instructed anyone to directly contact Netanyahu," said the company. "If information about an attempted bribing of Netanyahu comes to light, of course, that would require a thorough investigation." Photo: Avi Moalem Despite ThyssonKrupp's claims, however, leading German economic newspaper Handelsblatt reported that Shimron was present in at least one meeting Ganor had with representatives from the corporation. The paper also reported that Ganor's commission in this deal could reach 30 million euro. Ganor did not comment on the report, while Shimron said: "I never worked as Ganor's subcontractor on any project. I did indeed represent Ganor in his dealings with ThyssonKrupp as a legal advisor, and that too was only during part of their dealings. I had no contact with the prime minister on this matter. I met with Ganor and on his behalf with ThyssonKrupp as his legal advisor. Any other claim that makes it seem as if I represented ThyssonKrupp in its dealings with the State of Israel is baseless." The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement Tuesday backing up Shimron. "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has known for many years that David Shimron is straight as a ruler, extremely careful and aware of laws and procedures. He is a top flight lawyer." On Tuesday, Yedioth Ahronoth revealed that Shimron and Ganor met with Histadrut Labor Federation director Avi Nissenkorn and with the head of the IDF Workers Union Moshe Friedman to dissuade them from trying to foil a deal to outsource the maintenance work on the Israeli Navy's submarines to the German shipyard. This contract would be particularly beneficial for Ganor, who mediated the deal, and would affect the workers at the Navy's shipyard. "Ganor's account made it clear that it would be better for the German company and the IDF Workers Union to negotiate and reach an agreement rather than being dictated by a decision from the Defense Ministry," Friedman wrote in a letter to IDF Workers Union's members. BERLIN -- Pilots at German airline Lufthansa have launched a two-day strike in a pay dispute, a walkout that forced the company to cancel nearly 900 flights on Wednesday alone. The Cockpit union initially called members out on a 24-hour strike Wednesday. Late Tuesday night, after Lufthansa tried and failed to have courts block the walkout, it said that they would also strike on Thursday. The company canceled 876 of the Lufthansa group's planned 3,000 flights on Wednesday, among them 51 long-haul flights, and said that around 100,000 passengers were affected. It expressed "complete incomprehension" at Cockpit's decision to extend the strike and said it would make preparations to deal with the Thursday walkout. By PTI: Puducherry, Nov 22 (PTI) Senior Congress leader and Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today won the bypoll to the Nellithope Assembly constituency defeating AIADMKs Om Sakthi Segar, by a margin of 11,144 votes. While Narayanasamy, whose victory was on expected lines, polled 18,709 votes out of the total 26,564 votes, Segar got 7,565 votes. A John Kumar of the Congress had vacated the seat to enable Narayanasamy, who is not a member of the assembly, contest a by-election before December 6 deadline for getting elected to the House. advertisement Narayanasamy was accorded a tumultuous reception by volunteers of Congress and DMK, its alliance partner in the assembly. Speaking to reporters outside the counting centre, he said he was grateful to the workers and functionaries of the Congress and DMK and its President M Karunanidhi and its treasurer M K Stalin. Thanking the people of Nellithope for supporting him in the bypoll, Narayanasamy asserted that he would ensure that Puducherry developed into a model state. "I will spare no efforts to ensure that unemployment problem of the youth in the constituency is expeditiously tackled." Congress cadres burst crackers at various places to celebrate the victory of Narayanasamy. Congress has a strength of 15 while its ally DMK two in the 30-member Assembly. 69-year-old Narayanasamy, who had served as Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office in the second UPA government after serving as MoS Parliamentary Affairs in UPA- I, was sworn in as Chief Minister on June 6. A law graduate, Narayanasamy practised law for more than ten years since 1973 and jumped into active politics in 1985. He was elected for the first time to Rajya Sabha and retained the seat in 1991. However, he was defeated in the contest for the RS seat in 1997 by DMK and regained the seat in 2003. He was the PCC president in 2007. PTI COR ROH RC DV --- ENDS --- Israel's Fire & Rescue Authority has undergone a complete overhaul since the 2010 Carmel fire, in which 44 people were killed, some 17,000 evacuated from their homes, and 25 dunams of forest were scorched. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "If the fires on Tuesday had happened before the Carmel disaster, it could've ended in disaster as well," said Shimon Ben-Ner, the acting commissioner. "Since the Carmel disaster, the Fire & Rescue Authority has changed beyond recognition," Ben-Ner said. "At the time, it was made up of dozens of different fire associations acting independently of each other. Each fire association dealt with fires with the inadequate measures at its disposal, and if it needed help it would've called nearby fire associations." Firefighters in Neve Shalom (Photo: Gil Yohanan) On Tuesday, however, "I was at the control center, in command of operations to extinguish all the different fires, particularly the big fires in Neve Shalom and Zikhron Ya'akov. There were hundreds of firefighters, hundreds of fire trucks, and at any given moment I knew where each of them were thanks to the technological measures we introduced. That is how I could mobilize the forces and concentrate our efforts based on with what was happening on the ground." Firefighters in Neve Shalom (Photo: Gil Yohanan) Another change is the establishment of a squadron of 14 firefighting planes to replace the crop dusters that were used in the past. Those had to be equipped before being sent out, wasting precious time. "The slow crop duster planes could only carry 1,500 liters of water. The firefighting planes are faster and can carry 3,000 liters of water. Before the Carmel disaster, we have 14 tons of fire retardant, today we have a 1,000 tons," said Ben-Ner. Firefighting plane drops fire retardant in Latrun (Photo: Gil Yohanan) Furthermore, "since the Carmel disaster, when we used fire trucks that were decades oldsome of which broke down on the way to the firedozens of modern fire trucks were acquired, and the firefighters have far more advanced equipment." Finally, the Fire & Rescue Authority has added more manpower, going from the 1,200 firefighters in 2010 to 1,900 in 2016. Firefighters in Neve Shalom (Photo: Gil Yohanan) What the Israel Fire & Rescue Authority doesn't have, however, is a permanent leadership. Ben-Ner has been the acting commissioner over the past six months, as the process of selection the permanent commission is delayed. Because he is the temporary position holder, he cannot appoint other senior commanders in the authority. The selection of the commissioner is delayed because one of the two leading candidates, the Southern District commander Moshe Suissa, is under a disciplinary investigation by the Civil Service Commission. Southern District commander Moshe Suissa Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has decided to wait until the investigation is concluded before making a decision on the appointment. Meanwhile, Ben-Ner's predecessor Shahar Ayalon did not appoint any senior officers in his last three months on the job, leaving the top posts in the Fire & Rescue Authority filled with temporary appointments, including the commanders of the Northern District, the Jerusalem District, the Coastal Plains District and the head of the Operations Department. Officials in the authority say the situation causes both short-term and long-term damage to the organization. The Public Security Ministry and the Firefighters Association, however, reject these claims, saying the past 24 hours show the department is functioning well. CAIRO -- Egypt's president has expressed support for Syrian President Bashar Assad's military in remarks likely to irk Saudi Arabia and Gulf Arab allies who back Syrian rebels in the civil war. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in an interview with the Portuguese TV network RTP that Syrian government forces are best positioned to combat terrorism and restore stability in the war-torn nation. Asked if he'd send Egyptian peacekeepers to Syria under a peace deal, el-Sissi said that "it is better that the national army take responsibility" and that his priority is to "support the national army" of Syria. US President-elect Donald Trump told the New York Times on Tuesday that it would be a "a great achievement" to help mediate a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, adding that his son-in-law, Jewish millionaire Jared Kushner, could play a role in the negotiations. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "I would be happy to be the one who makes peace between Israel and the Palestinians," Trump said. Trump sat down with the NYT after months of antagonistic exchanges, including last minute drama wherein an expected meeting between the two sides was cancelled after Trump claimed the NYT changed the terms and conditions of the meeting. However, after several hours and an about-face, Trump appeared at the NYT building in New York to complain about the coverage of his campaign and his desire for improved relations with the paper. Trump at the New York Times Tuesday (Photo: AP) Among the issues discussed during the meeting was Hillary Clinton, the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Steve Bannon, global warming and another potential meeting with Barack Obama. In what was perceived as another reversal of statements made during his campaign, Trump backed down from both pursuing criminal charges against Hillary Clinton and global warming. Concerning Clinton, Trump said he is not interested in renewing the e-mail scandal that marred her campaign because he is not interested in "harming the Clintons." He further added that he has no desire to "go back and go through it again" and is only interested in moving forward. Photo: EPA In regards to global warming, Trump also backtracked on previous statements and said that he is "keeping an open mind on the issue," when it comes to the US possibly backing out of the Paris climate accord. Trump said that he believes there is a certain connection between changes in the climate and human activities and emphasized that "clean air is an important thing." Following a question from a NTY staffer on Steve Bannon and the "Alt-right," Trump addressed the controversial appointment and said that Bannon "is not a racist." Furthermore, regarding the activities of the group, including the infamous 'hail Trump' rally , the President-elect "disavows" the group. The meeting was concluded with Trump signaling willingness to meet again with President Barack Obama, saying that before their previous meeting, "I didn't know if I would like it. I probably thought I wouldn't, but I did like it. I had a great time, really. It was a great meeting." The White House commented Wednesday that Trump and Obama had spoken again after their first meeting in the Oval Office and White House spokesman Josh Earnest emphasized Obama's commitment to a successful transfer of power, rather than adding the details of the conversation between the two. PARIS -- French officials say that two suspects -- one a school employee -- arrested in an alleged attack plot on France apparently traveled briefly to Syria. An official said Wednesday that two others among the seven suspects arrested over the weekend have been freed. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Monday that the arrests in Strasbourg and Marseille culminated a six-month investigation that thwarted an attack. Two officials close to the investigation said that two of the four people arrested in Strasbourg had traveled to Cyprus as if on a vacation, then apparently made a quick trip to Syria. One, identified as Yassine B., 38, worked in a Strasbourg school. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the case. Activists from the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement have targeted 13 internationally renowned chefs who participated in an Israeli culinary festival in Tel Aviv recently, appealing to them to boycott the event, which they labeled a "whitewash exercise." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The organization also demanded that the Italian water company who sponsored the event withdraw their name and funding. The activists told the company that it shouldn't sponsor what they described as the military siege of Gaza and violent acts by settlers against Palestinian families trying to harvest olive oil. Jose Avillez's restaurant vandalized with red paint The organizers of the Round Tables by American Express culinary festival also said that the chefs were subjected to aggressive posts on Twitter and Facebook. Activists also held demonstrations outside restaurants in France, Spain and New York, which also included vandalism and graffiti on the windows of the restaurants. In spite of the threats, chefs ignored the calls for a boycott and arrived in Israel, which led to a second round of attacks and vandalism. In Portugal, BDS activists painted the entrance of one of the chef's restaurants red and hung signs saying "Free Palestine." Avillez, who cooked with Israeli Chef Shahaf Shabtai at Nithan Thai in Tel Aviv, said that he loves Israel and he will return in the future. Portuguese police announced that an investigation had been launched into the vandalism. According to the promoters of the event in Israel, despite the threats by BDS, all the chefs who were invited arrived in Israel. When they weren't behind the stoves, the chefs took culinary tours in markets, walked and ate in Jerusalem and enjoyed nightlife in Tel Aviv. Chef Diego Diego Munoz, one of the participants in the festival, described Israelis as "Warm and fun people. Getting to Israel is completely different from what you get in media reports. I intend to pass this on to my followers in Peru and tell everyone about the delicious and normal Israel." Munoz cooked with Chef Haim Cohen at Jaffa-Tel Aviv. Chef Shaul Ben Aderet hosted Chef Jeremy Ford and his team from Miami in the Blue Rooster. "All the American guys that we hosted were in awe of Tel Aviv, the energy, the people, the street food (mainly the sabih and falafel) and didn't get worried at all about the voices telling them not to come to Israel. Quite the opposite in fact," said Aderet. "They were really sad on the last day and even checked ways to stay longer in Israel to have fun for a few more days in the Tel Aviv sun. They even sent us text messages when they landed in the US telling us how much fun they had and that they already miss it." Chef Haim Cohen explained the importance of hosting chefs fropm around the world in Israel. "The importance of bringing foreign chefs to Israel is a lot more than just the culinary profit. There is a very important profit in image," Cohen said. "Chefs who are big names and opinion leaders in their countries come here and they meet a different Israel than what they see on television. They meet warm and good people who want just what they wantto live in peace and quiet. An ambassador like this, who isn't Jewish and doesn't work for a fee from the foreign ministry, does more work than any other ambassador. He brings the message on and that is what the government needs to remember, the restaurants in this country are not just to prepare and sell food, they're cultural focal points and magnets for tourists wandering around the world and talking about their experiences on social media." Yair Bakier, Nirit Weiss and Maya Karvat, the events promoters, praised the chefs for not surrendering to the intimidating acts of the BDS activists. "The chefs didn't give in to threats and realized it was a cultural and not a political project, and thanks to them, there are now 45 new Israeli cultural ambassadors in the world." PARIS -- ISIS militants returning from Syria could carry out mustard gas attacks after learning how to use the toxic substance in battle zones, a senior official from the global chemical weapons watchdog warned on Wednesday. An inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded in October that Syrian government forces were responsible for chlorine gas attacks and that Islamic State militants had used mustard gas. "It seems that one of the dangers that we need to face and have a response for - since ISIS has learnt how to make mustard gas - is that sadly one of the people who learnt how to do it comes back to one of our countries and helps carry out an attack like this," Philippe Denier, director at the verification division of the OPCW told a defence conference in Paris. Western officials are increasingly worried that ISIS, which is fighting to defend territory it seized in Syria and Iraq, will call on its followers and jihadists returning from the region to increase attacks in the West. A 17-year-old Palestinian girl, who was convicted of attempted murder after stabbing two people with scissors in Jerusalem , was sentenced on Wednesday to 13 and a half years' imprisonmentexactly one year after the attack. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The Palestinian teenager, who was 16 at the time, lightly wounded a young Jewish man and a 70-year-old Palestinian man from Bethlehem, who she had likely mistaken for an Israeli Jew. A police bomb disposal expert shot and seriously wounded the attacker and killed her accomplice, a 14-year-old Palestinian girl. The terrorist in court (Photo: Eli Mendelbaum) The three-judge panel noted that "in this incident, as is the case in many other terror attacks, the offense was committed for nationalistic and radical ideological reasons. According to the defendant, she and her friend decided to stab a Jew for being a Jew. It appears the offense was committed against a backdrop of murderous ideology that is widely spread, like poison, in different forms of wild incitement." The judges argued that despite the fact the defendant is a minor, "in light of the severity of the offense of attempted murder, its circumstances and its resultsit is only appropriate to take a hard line in her sentencing and condemn her to a long imprisonment." CCTV footage showing the attack X The prosecutor, Yifat Geffen, said following the verdict that "the defendant committed the acts in the midst of the wave of terrorism, and as a result several passersby were woundedsome from fire opened at the attackers in order to neutralize them." The two attackers searching for victims X Geffen added that "the prosecution believes that due to the young age of many of the defendants in this wave of terrorism, there is no choice but to hand out long sentences to those who take part in attacks against innocent peopleeven if they are minors." A team of Israeli archaeologists and high school students have unearthed a 3,800-year-old pottery jug bearing a statuette of a person who appears deep in thought, sitting with knees bent and head rested on hand. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The Israel Antiquities Authority said on Wednesday the jug, dating back to what archaeologists refer to as the Middle Bronze Age, had been found during an excavation in the central town of Yehud. "It seems that at first the jug, which is typical of the period, was prepared and afterwards the unique sculpture was added, the likes of which have never before been discovered in previous research," said Gilad Itach, who directed the excavation, which included teenage diggers. Jewish artifacts found in Israel from 3,800 years ago (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority,Clara Amit) The statuette is about 18 cm (7 inches) tall. Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, EYECON "One can see that the face of the figure seems to be resting on its hand as if in a state of reflection," he said. Photo: Maxim Dinstein, Israel Antiquities Authority) Other vessels and metal items were found such as daggers, arrowheads, an axe head, sheep bones and what are believed to be the bones of a donkey. The excavation site (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, EYECON) Itach said the collection seemed to be funeral offerings, likely of an important member of an ancient community. Archeologists and volunteers work to uncover lost items (Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, EYECON) "To the best of my knowledge such a rich funerary assemblage that also includes such a unique pottery vessel has never before been discovered in the country," he said. The statuette was the latest discovery by the Israel Antiquities Authority, which is charged with carrying out excavations at all major building sites across the country to ensure that no relics are destroyed. In recent months its teams have found treasures from gold coins to an ancient mosaic. A German state court says authorities are entitled to grant Syrians a form of protection that falls short of full asylum, a decision that goes against rulings by several lower courts. Germany's government resumed closer checks of Syrians' claims this year after a large influx of newcomers in 2015, and decided that migrants granted "subsidiary protection," short of formal asylum, would not be allowed to bring relatives to join them for two years. Some 94,000 Syrians have been granted that status. Many have sued successfully for more generous treatment. However, Schleswig-Holstein state's upper administrative court ruled Wednesday that Syrians who can not show that they were personally persecuted are not necessarily entitled to full asylum. It said there is no evidence that Syrian authorities automatically assume everyone who fled supports the opposition. Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces clashed with Kurdish-led forces on Wednesday in northern Syria, where both are fighting the ISIS group. The press office for the Kurdish-held parts of Syria said eight civilians were killed in shelling by Turkish-backed forces in the countryside between Manbij, a town controlled by Kurdish-affiliated forces, and the IS-held town of al-Bab. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two civilians were killed in the clashes, which were still underway. The Turkey-backed forces have converged on al-Bab in recent days. On Wednesday, the Kurdish-affiliated forces entered the ISIS-held town of Arima, near al-Bab. Turkey has called on the Kurds to leave Manbij and withdraw to the east. Navya Nanda Naveli, donning a pair of shades and wearing a short shirt, looked relaxed and calm in her new Instagram picture. By India Today Web Desk: Amitabh Bachchan's elder granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda is known to be pretty active on Instagram. Her latest photo on the social networking site took her fans' breath away. Wearing a short shirt and red sunglasses, Navya looked absolutely relaxed and calm while her followers could not stop commenting on the picture. Have a look. ALSO READ: How Aaradhya's birth was the beginning of our obsession with star kids advertisement SEE PICS: Navya Nanda Naveli look stunning in new pic with aunt Aishwarya and Karan Johar ??? A photo posted by Navya Naveli Nanda (@navya__nanda) on Nov 22, 2016 at 8:38am PST Navya has been hitting the headlines for quite some time thanks to her pictures where she is seen partying with her friends in addition to her very happening Snapchat feed. Navya's recent photo with her aunt Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and director Karan Johar made news a few days back. ??? A photo posted by Navya Naveli Nanda (@navya__nanda) on Nov 19, 2016 at 11:02pm PST Even though Navya's mother Shweta Nanda complains that her daughter's private life is splashed all over tabloids, Navya seems to be in no mood of staying away from social media. WATCH: Big B's heartfelt letter to his granddaughters Navya and Aaradhya is meant for every Indian girl --- ENDS --- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has given the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow a distinguished award for its efforts in spreading tolerance and understanding. The choice was met with a level of surprise, as just last month the UN body refrained from acknowledging the Jewish peoples link to Temple Mount. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Russia's Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar responded to the award on Wednesday, saying that the Russian government, and President Vladimir Putin in particular, respect the Jewish community and allow them to live a safe life. He went on to say that Russian Jews are far better off compared to the Jews of some other European capitals. The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow (Photo: Itzchak Tessler) The museum was granted the awardwhich amounts to $100,000a few days earlier, at a special ceremony in Paris. Receiving the award was museum CEO and The Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States of the former Soviet Union-ed.) President, Rabbi Alexander Boroda. Putin has exhibited a great deal of interest and warmth toward the Jewish museum, which was partially funded by the Russian government. In the four years since its founding, the Russian president has visited it three times, and during his last visit he announced his desire to donate a portion of his monthly salary to the museum. This in turn prompted other public figures to follow his lead. The museum is also visited by all public schools in the capital despite the fact that the percentage of Jews within Russias population remains very low. The museum was inaugurated in the presence of then-president Shimon Peres. It cost $60 million to build and includes interactive features such as a four-dimensional movie screening detailing the story of the Jewish people and humanity, from the dawn of time to the present. A part of the museum is dedicated to the Holocaust and another to the Russian roots of Zionism. Though the museums signs offer information in Russian and English alone, it does feature Hebrew guides. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed to Cyprus' rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders not to let a 'historic opportunity' to reunify the ethnically divided island slip away, Ban's spokesman said Wednesday, after pivotal talks at a Swiss resort hit an impasse. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Ban shares the leaders' disappointment over the deadlocked talks, and "urges the leaders to continue their efforts in line with their shared commitment to do their utmost in order to reach a settlement in 2016. "Especially in a region and in a world marked by increasing tension, they must not let this historic opportunity slip," Dujarric added. He said Ban has reiterated his full support to the peace talks and the UN commitment to assist Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci in reaching their shared goal. He said the UN chief will soon be in touch with both leaders to discuss the next steps. The trial of Sgt. Elor Azaria reached its conclusion Wednesday afternoon at a special military court in Jaffa during which the prosecution and defense teams delivered their final appeals. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Azaria is facing manslaughter charges after he shot to death a seriously wounded Palestinian terrorist, Abed al Fatah al-Sharif, in Hebron in March Sgt. Elor Azaria with his mother (Photo: Motti Kimchi) During the final session military prosecutor Lt. Col. Nadav Weisman sought to undermine the credibility of the defendant, reiterating previous points in which he accused Azaria of repeatedly lying during his testimony. Weisman also argued that Azaria changed his version of what transpired on the day of the shooting and charged that he fabricated a story according to which his commander Maj. Tom Na'aman slapped him in front of people present at the scene. Weisman highlighted that the claim could easily be refuted due to the fact that nobody appears to have witnessed any such incident. Sgt. Elor Azaria with his father Charlie (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Arguing that Azaria should be given no quarter for his actions, Weisman outlined the various levels of manslaughter in an effort to convince the judge that Azarias case fell in the most serious category. When a soldier plays with his gun he doesnt want to kill his friend which is why it is attributed to the less severe threshold of the offense. When a soldier shoots a terrorist knowing that he is going to take his life this is the higher threshold, he said. Prosecutor Lt. Col. Nadav Weisman. (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Weisman then returned to the apparent contradictions in Azarias testimony, once again accusing him of being a liar. His version is just lie after lie after lie. There is no consistency. He did not only lie but he also falsely accused his commander, he declared. Weisman, who lost his voice during the day, said that the various versions offered by Azaria were merely his attempts to shape his own verdict. He wants a new lawthe Azaria law which does not require any legislation. I call upon the court to determine that the defendant lied, falsely accused and is not worthy of any faith or belief. His claims are false. Ilan Katz and Eyal Beserglick (Photo: Roee Idan) Azarias lawyer Ilan Katz cited what he described as the contamination of the judicial process. The prosecutor is essentially saying, watch the video and hang Azaria in the city square. It was not Azarias actions that rocked the state but the things said by former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon in which he said that Azaria transgressed after the incident. His second defense attorney, Eyal Beserglick emphasized that from a point of view of mental objectivity, Azarias fear of a bona fide threat led him to shoot the terrorist in self defense. In reality, the prosecutor is claiming that Elor is guilty of murder, Beserglick said. Azarias testimony was consistent and the things he remembered during the trial were due to his mental state. We have proposed that he be interrogated again by the Military Criminal Investigation Division. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced Wednesday that the Israel police will look into the purchase of German submarines, after it was revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attorney David Shimron had represented the German ThyssonKrupp corporation, raising concerns over a possible conflict of interest. The deal cost $1.5 billion. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Suspicions of impropriety were heightened when former defense minister Moshe Yaalon said he was sidelined on the purchase plans, which went forward after he was replaced earlier this year. IDF submarine (Photo: Elad Gershgorn) Channel 10 reported this week that Netanyahu had personally intervened in the awarding of the contract. Netanyahu denied the report, and said he was only made aware of Shimron's connection to the firm in recent days. The Justice Ministry issued the following statement in light of the investigation: The attorney general conducted further consultation meetings regarding the submarine deal, which included the state attorney and other officials from the Justice Ministry, as well as the head of the Israel Police Investigation and Intelligence Department. The statement explained that the consultations focused on new information received by the police today, as well as other developments on the matter. At the end of the discussion, the attorney general decided to instruct the government to conduct an investigation led by the Israel Police on the different aspects of the affair. Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Reters) Eli Shaked, who is representing Shimron in the matter, issued a statement on behalf of his client following the attorney generals call to investigate the case. I congratulate the attorney generals decision to open an investigation. I am certain that after things are examined by an objective and professional authority, it will become clear, once and for all, that my actions were without reproach, and that everything was done in accordance to the law and to settle any conflict of interest. It goes without saying that I will fully cooperate with the investigation authorities. Earlier on Wednesday, the Knesset rejected a motion petitioned by the opposition to set up a parliamentary investigation committee in the matter of the German submarine deal. It was presented by MKs Stav Shafir from the Zionist Union and Michal Rozin from Meretz. Avichai Mandelblit (Photo: Amit Shabi) The deal struck with ThyssonKrupp stipulates that the submarines maintenance will be outsourced to Germany, which would effectively prevent local, IDF civilian workers from maintaining the vesselsas well as being paid for said work. On Tuesday, it was reported that Shimron had made it clear to the representatives of the IDF civilian workers that the deal had been decided upon in advance by the Defense Ministry. Supporting these claims are reports of an email sent in 2014 by Ahaz Ben-Ari, who at the time was the Defense Ministrys legal adviser, to Dan Harel, who was the Defense Ministrys director. In the email, Ben-Ari mentions receiving a phone call from Shimron. I got a call from attorney David Shimron, who represents the ThyssonKrupp corporation, wanting to know whether we were halting the tender for the deal in to order to begin negotiations with his clients, as per the prime ministers request. The problem with such a scenario is that the tender was reportedly looking to purchase marine vessels to protect the recently discovered gas reserves at the lowest cost, while ThyssonKrupp was looking to be granted the deal without a bidding war. As allegations of a conflict of interest began to emerge earlier this month, Shimron claimed he had never discussed the deal with any government official. David Shimron (Photo: Ido Erez) Shimrons lawyer responded specifically to reports of Ben-Aris email account of receiving a call from Shimron. I never told Ben-Ari anything regarding the prime minister. I also didnt know anything regarding the prime ministers request, of which I am hearing about only now, from the media, in addition to the connection that Ben-Ari had made between the two. The only possible explanation for this email, presuming it has been accurately quoted, is that Ben-Ari knew about the prime ministers request, while I had no idea of it. I had no idea of the prime ministers involvement in the ships. Any other interpretation bears no relevance to the truth. The three submarines are due to replace aging vessels and will be delivered in about 10 years. They are widely believed to be capable of carrying missiles with nuclear warheads and serve as a second-strike deterrent against Iran, should it ever build atomic weapons. Israel currently has a fleet of five German submarines, with a sixth due to go in service around 2018. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Wednesday, thanking Russia for sending an enormous firefighting aircraft to help extinguish the fires that have resisted dying out for the past couple of days in north and central Israel. The Russian aircraft is the Be-200 Altair, which can hold up to 12 tonnes of water. It joins aircrafts sent by Croatia and Greece, in addition to local Israeli efforts. Rabbi Col.Eyal Karim, who was slated to become the next IDF chief rabbi, denied in a written statement to the High Court of Justice on Wednesday ever having said that raping women was permissible during times of war. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter After the High Court delayed the appointment of Rabbi Karim, he issued a written affidavit to the HCJ, refuting claims that he ever made such a statement despite the fact that he already halfway apologizing for his comments. Karims statement also included detailed response to other comments he made as a civilian, 14 years ago. In addition to his reported statements on raping women, he has also described gay people as sick or deformed and called for soldiers to disobey military orders that conflict with Jewish law. Despite this, his appointment did go through the usual vetting procedure with IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, who accepted Karims explanations of his previous comments. Eyal Karim (Photo: Bamahane) Karim approached the court by saying that in the past, he was wrong for glibly and succinctly answering complex questions that require more than one Halachic explanation, in addition to being wrong in not wording his responses more carefully, resulting in others being offended by them. I have already written of this offense, saying that I fully apologize for it, wrote Karim. He did, however, clarify that some of the things he said in the past were part of a theoretical discussion that aims to interpret a case presented in the Torah, whose practical implementation in the IDF are fundamentally anachronistic. I never said, wrote or even thought that IDF soldiers should be allowed to rape women during times of war. That was my position then and it is my position now. He ended his deposition by saying, One must treat any person in a way that is equal, respectful and draws people together, regardless of their religion, sex or sexual orientation. Karim was due to begin his new position this week. However, the HCJ issued an injunction on Monday that delayed his appointment, in response to a petition filed by Meretz political party. Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, who heads the panel of judges reviewing the case, said that We are looking to hear what he has to say. What his position was at the time, what his position is today, and whether he has recanted. The State responded to Karims statement by saying that after Eisenkot read it, and following their past conversations over previous comments made by Karim, he was convinced, and is even more so today, that the rabbi is in agreement with him regarding the Military Rabbinates role, and that his actions over the last decade show a stately and proper attitude that wishes to bring and bind together all those serving in the IDF and to take their feelings into consideration. For this reason, the State repeated its position that the petition to look into Karims appointment be rejected. The State would like to reiterate its position, namely, that the judgment granted to the authority to appoint a person to a public position is quite broad, and that intervening in it should only be done in extreme and irregular cases. This is truer when regarding the IDF chief-of-staffs appointments within the IDF. The chief-of-staffs decision to appoint Karim, in addition to his decision not to revise it, and its approval by the minister of defense are still valid and appropriate, and do not warrant the courts intervention. This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company. As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism. We hope you are equally as excited as us. This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers. Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited. In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy. Happy shootin' my friends! Buying Guides: Firearms Firearm Accessories Ammunition Gun Safes Scopes & Optics Hunting Air Rifles Best AR-15 Best AR 15 Scope Best Hunting Rifle Best Gun Safe Best AK 47 Best AR 10 Best Glock Triggers Best Glock Best Home Defense Shotgun By PTI: Kochi, Nov 22 (PTI): A sexagenarian businessman from Maldives, two thirds of whose left lung was destroyed due to ailments caused by chain smoking, got a new lease of life through complicated surgery at a hospital here. 62-year-old Manik Ali had been undergoing treatment at the Kims hospital here for the last two years. During these couple of years, Ali used to be extremely breathless and could barely walk a few steps without gasping, a hospital spokesperson said. Of these hospital stays, at least 10 of them were in the ICU with his breathing being supported by the ventilator. Ali had frequent lung infections and very low oxygen levels. advertisement "Finally, Ali walked out of the hospital on October 10 as a completely different man - he was no longer breathless and had normal oxygen levels. He no longer had the fear of getting readmitted to hospitals," the spokesperson said. Being exposed to the strain from vagaries of the weather and the sea, Ali began smoking 20 cigarettes a day even at a very young age. His lung condition was diagnosed as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) with Bronchiectasis of the left lung. COPD is a condition where the lung becomes weak with increasing age and is most commonly caused by smoking as well as by pollution or chemical exposure. Bronchiectasis is destruction of the lung leading to sacs of pus. PTI TGB APR --- ENDS --- These amendments were the result of initiatives put forward by the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA), which has been advocating for such changes as it would lead to direct savings for the real estate industry. Neville Pozzi, REIWAs chief executive officer, said the amendments would not only lessen the administrative burden and cost savings for tenants, lessors, and real estate agents, but would also increase efficiencies that are expected to contribute towards keeping downward pressure on rental costs for tenants. REIWA commends the Barnett Government, the Minister for Commerce and the Opposition for passing the Bills, which will reduce compliance costs, save the industry money and make it easier to conduct real estate business in WA, Pozzi said. The proposed amendments will include modifications to the following: Changes to the Residential Tenancies Act: Will simplify the process when a lessor is required to issue a notice of proposed entry to the tenant Will enable the service of notices and documents under the Act by electronic means Will remove the requirement for notices of abandoned goods to be advertised in a newspaper circulating throughout the state Will remove the prohibition that prevents real estate agents from receiving commission prior to settlement from an off-the-plan strata sales transaction (as defined by the Act) Will allow auction licensing renewals to align with other industry license renewal periods, up to three years Related stories: Landlords Urged To Speak Up In Tenancy Legislation Review Unlocking The Secrets To Happy, Long-Term Tenants As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More The NIA has sent a notices to three private banks to freeze 25 accounts of Naik, his family members and the IRF. By Press Trust of India: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today asked three banks to freeze 25 accounts of controversial preacher Zakir Naik, his family members and Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), which has been banned under anti-terror law. In addition to it, the NIA has handed over a list of over 12 people including Naik, his family members, close friends and organisations, to all 72 scheduled commercial banks to check whether these people had any account in these financial institutions. advertisement Official sources said the NIA has sent a notices to three private banks to freeze the accounts of Naik and others, which were found to be in operation during the three-day search by it that ended last night, till further orders. In both the letters, the NIA has cited section 43 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for executing such action. Under this section, an NIA officer above the rank of deputy superintendent of police can order freezing of bank accounts. Also read: DRI seizes psychotropic drugs worth Rs 57 lakh from Mumbai The agency has booked Naik, IRF and unnamed office bearers of his organisation under IPC section 153-A relating to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, besides various sections of anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES After registering the case, the NIA had carried out searches for three days at 20 premises during which records related to bank accounts and other financial activities linked with Naik and IRF were seized. The agency has claimed to have found documents showing that ISIS recruit Abu Anas had received Rs 80,000 from the IRF as scholarship in October 2015. After these documents were analysed by the NIA, it had moved to block his bank accounts. Also read: Zakir Naik's NGO awarded ISIS terror accused Rs 80,000 scholarship A Tonk resident, Anas who is an engineer by profession, was arrested by the NIA in January for allegedly planning to carry out a terror strike ahead of Republic Day. The NIA has also written to the home ministry for banning the website run by the IRF and as well as suspending its online activities which includes videos of speeches on social networking sites, the sources said, adding that the request will be forwarded to Information Technology ministry. The NIA alleged that the IRF, which was banned by the government last week under UAPA, had close connections with some companies dealing in media, perfumes and some other sectors. advertisement Also read: NIA court frames charges against 5 ISIS accused who used matchsticks to make bombs --- ENDS --- New research from North Carolina State University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Linyi University has found evidence of original keratin and melanosome preservation in a 130-million-year-old Eoconfuciusornis specimen. The work extends the timeframe in which original molecules may preserve, and demonstrates the ability to distinguish between ancient microstructures in fossils. Eoconfuciusornis, crow-sized primitive birds that lived in what is now China around 130 million years ago, are the earliest birds to have a keratinous beak and no teeth, like modern birds. Previous studies argued that the feathers of these and other ancient birds and dinosaurs preserved small, round structures interpreted to be melanosomes - pigment-containing organelles that, along with other pigments, give feathers their color. However, without additional evidence, it was not possible to prove that these structures weren't just microbes that had coated the feather during decomposition and fossilization. Yanhong Pan, associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and corresponding author of a paper describing the research and co-author Mary Schweitzer, NC State professor of biology with a joint appointment at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, examined feathers from an Eoconfuciusornis specimen taken from the Jehol Biota site in northern China, which is renowned for excellent fossil preservation. Advertisement "If these small bodies are melanosomes, they should be embedded in a keratinous matrix, since feathers contain beta-keratin," Schweitzer says. "If we couldn't find the keratin, then those structures could as easily be microbes, or a mix of microbes and melanosomes - in either case, predictions of dinosaur shading would not be accurate." Pan, Schweitzer and their team used both scanning and transmission electron microscopy to get microscopic details of the feather's surface and its internal structure. They also utilized immunogold labeling - in which gold particles are attached to antibodies that bind to particular proteins in order to make them visible in electron microscopy - to show that filaments within the feathers were keratin. Finally, they mapped copper and sulfur to these feathers at high resolution. Sulfur was broadly distributed, reflecting its presence in both keratin and melanin molecules in modern feathers. However copper, which is only found in modern melanosomes, and not part of keratin, was only observed in the fossil melanosomes. These findings both support the identity of the melanosomes and indicate that there was no mixing or leaching during decomposition and fossilization. "This study is the first to demonstrate evidence for both keratin and melanosomes, using structural, chemical and molecular methods," says Pan. "These methods have the potential to help us understand - on the molecular level - how and why feathers evolved in these lineages." Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - In commemoration of Rosa Parks Day, the Main Library will host Celebrating the Life of Rosa Parks on Thursday, December 1st, at 6:30 p.m. The program will include a discussion by Frenchi Moore, a presentation by the Yuma Young Marines Honor Guard, and a performance by the Arizona Western College Choir. Light refreshments will be served. There is no charge to attend. The Main Library is located at 2951 S 21st Drive. For more information, call (928) 782-1871. Nikki Haley has accepted President-elect Donald Trump's offer to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations. By Press Trust of India: South Carolina's Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley has accepted President-elect Donald Trump's offer to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations, a leading American newspaper reported today. The move, which will be announced later today, comes as Trump advisers are seeking to diversify his ranks and marks his first female appointment to a cabinet-level post, The Washington Post reported. advertisement Trump's plan to offer the job to 44-year-old Haley, a rising Republican star and daughter of Indian immigrants, was first reported by the Post and Courier. "The move continues the steep political rise of the daughter of Indian immigrants that started six years ago when the Bamberg native was elected as South Carolina's first female and minority governor," the leading newspaper of South Carolina had said. Haley, who is serving her second term, has worked on trade and labour issues as governor but brings little foreign policy experience. Her views on various US military and national security matters usually fall within the Republican Party's hawkish mainstream. Also read: H-1B visa: Indian techies face uncertain future under Donald Trump Trump met with Haley last Thursday at Trump Tower in New York as part of the round of meetings, the president-elect has held. The Post and Courier noted that Haley has taken at least eight trips abroad since taking office in 2011, including visits to Germany. FIRST WOMAN IN TRUMP'S ADMINISTRATION If chosen, Haley, would be the first woman and minority to join Trump's administration and would replace Samantha Power as the next US Ambassador to the UN, the Wall Street Journal reported. She would also be the first ever Indian-American Cabinet rank official in any administration. The Cabinet position would require confirmation by the Senate. Reports also said that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Haley ally, is said to be Trump's likely choice for secretary of state, a position Haley was previously speculated for last week. "The planned nomination to the cabinet-level post, confirmed by multiple sources with knowledge of the decision, is likely to raise questions about Haley's qualifications for a major foreign policy role since she has little diplomatic experience as state lawmaker and governor," the daily said. Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, was a vocal critic of the real estate mogul on the campaign trail. She later voted for Trump, lamenting that she was "not a fan" of either candidate. Also read: Donald Trump changes his tune on climate change, jailing Hillary Clinton Born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa, Haley is the first minority and female governor of South Carolina, a deeply conservative state with a long history of racial strife. advertisement As the youngest governor in the US and only the second Indian-American to serve at the helm of a US state, she has been characterised as a rising star within the Republican Party. --- ENDS --- A new circular issued by the National Institute of Technology, Calicut administration threatens girls living in campus hostels with suspension and expulsion if "found roaming with boy students inside the residential campus". By Vivek Surendran: The Indian society, dominated by a patriarchal mindset, has always discriminated between men and women. From the preference of male child to giving better opportunities to men, examples to prove this are aplenty. Stemming from the same thought process are other regressive practices of creating a gender-based gap between men and women and moral policing against adults who are together by will. advertisement Beginning right from the school days, where boys and girls are seated separately, are made to stand in different sets during assembly and other functions, this aversion towards the opposite sex is cultivated in children. As they grow older and have a better worldview, they realise the futility of such practices and mingle freely with the opposite sex. While many establish strong bonds of camaraderie, other fall in love and may or may not explore physical relationships. Our society, however, doesn't approve of this, and constantly try to curb individual freedom by formulating RULES and REGULATIONS, be it in schools, colleges or at workplaces. Last year, Chennai's Sri Sairam Engineering College made headlines after a circular titled 'Special Instructions For Girls', numbering 22 regressive rules for girls, went viral. Among these 22 rules were "Should not bring mobiles, pen drives, sim cards etc.","Should not have account in Facebook, Whatsapp and other related types of this kind", and the most regressive - "Should not talk to boy students". Yesterday, the National Institute of Calicut administration issued a regressive circular to the female students living in campus hostels, threatening them with "severe action" like suspension and expulsion from the hostel, if found "roaming with boy students inside the residential campus". Titled as "Warning Notice" and undersigned by the hostel warden, the circular says, "Inmates of Ladies Hostel and Mega ladies hostel are strictly instructed not to roam with students inside residential campus. We get a lot of complaints in this regard. If any girl found along with boy student inside residential campus, severe action will be taken against her including suspension and expulsion from hostel [sic]." An image of Mega ladies hostel at NIT Calicut Photo courtesy: thenitconnect.com The restriction, however, is only for the area in the campus called as the "residential campus", an area where faculty apartments and ladies hostels are located. advertisement NIT alumnus Abhimanyu Mongandh tweeted the photo of the circular this morning saying, "NIT Calicut is going back in time instead of forward. Threat of suspension from hostel if a girl is found with roaming with a boy." NIT Calicut is going back in time instead of forward. Threat of suspension from hostel if a girl is found with roaming with a boy. pic.twitter.com/nhg5ijXNUu Kozhikoden Manyu (@abhimanyuma) November 23, 2016 Talking to IndiaToday.in, Abhimanyu said, "NIT Calicut was never really a liberal space like IIT Kanpur where I have studied. There was a 7 PM curfew for girls to enter the hostel even in 2011, the year I graduated. Few professors had issues with girls and boys interacting outside academics and moreso if they were perceived to be in a romantic relationship." In a Facebook post, another NIT alumnus Ullas shared the circular posted by a friend and aid, "Haven't seen administration poking its nose in our personal affairs." To the post, NIT faculty Paul Joseph responded saying he is extremely sad to see such a notice. He also said, "Let them suspend some students for walking together, then I will interfere as a citizen of our great India! I really don't know this person who has put that notice [sic]!!" advertisement Ullas is also questioning the administration's decision to punish only the female students and not the male students. Nithin Gopinath, NIT alumnus who graduated in 2011, told IndiaToday.in, "I cannot remember an instance where such regressive language was used in any communication to the students." A member of the Students Affair Council, Hanz M Antony said, "The matter has already been discussed with the concerned warden. The notice didn't turn out the way they wanted to, was the answer," in a Facebook comment. He also said, "This was put up in a hurry due to some events that took place in that area. Hopefully they will take down the notice very soon." Update: NIT Calicut administration has taken down the regressive circular. --- ENDS --- Washington: Vice President Joe Biden has closed the door on the possibility of leading the Democratic Party after leaving the White House next year. Biden's name has been floated in recent days among Democratic insiders looking for someone with the stature and position to lead the party out its electoral abyss. Democrats urging him this year to run for the Democratic National Committee chairmanship had said his appeal to white, working-class voters might help the party refocus after losing badly among those voters to President-elect Donald Trump. "The vice president is not interested in being DNC chair, but he intends to remain deeply involved in helping shape the direction of the Democratic Party moving forward," his spokeswoman, Kate Bedingfield, said. Largely leaderless other than outgoing President Barack Obama, the Democratic Party early next year will choose a new national chairman following devastating losses in the 2016 elections. Longtime Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepped down under pressure during the Democratic National Committee. Since then, interim Chairwoman Donna Brazile has led the party, also under pressure after stolen emails showed she'd communicated with Hillary Clinton's aides about potential questions to be asked in campaign forums. "Joe Biden is the one person who I think could bring the party together, the progressive wing of the party, the left and center, and start giving a cogent message to those working-class Democrats who abandoned us," former DNC Chairman Ed Rendell told CNBC yesterday. Bowing out of the DNC race means Biden will likely cease to have a formal role in the party come January after serving more than four decades in elected office. He's expected to remain a public voice and has discussed with universities the possibility of setting up a policy centre or institute. He's also said he'll continue to work on the "moonshot" he launched after his son died to accelerate cancer research. Biden faced even louder calls last year to run for president, but ultimately declined. Bogota: A new peace accord between Colombia`s government and Marxist FARC rebels will be signed on Thursday and sent to Congress for approval, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Tuesday, bringing a formal end to the 52-year civil war ever closer. The revised document will be signed in Bogota between FARC leader Rodrigo Londono and Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last month for his efforts to end the conflict with the insurgent group. "We have the unique opportunity to close this painful chapter in our history that has bereaved and afflicted millions of Colombians for half a century," the president said in a televised address. The government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been in talks in Havana, Cuba for the last four years, hammering out a deal to end a conflict that has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions in the Andean country. The government published the revised peace deal last week in a bid to build support after the original draft was rejected in an Oct. 2 referendum amid objections it was too favourable to the rebels. Santos and Londono signed the original deal two months ago in an emotional ceremony before world leaders and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The decision to ratify the revised accord in Congress instead of holding another referendum will anger members of the opposition, particularly former President Alvaro Uribe who spearheaded the push to reject the original accord and wants deeper changes to the new version. "This new accord possibly won`t satisfy everybody, but that`s what happens in peace accords. There are always critical voices; it is understandable and respectable," said Santos, 65, warning another plebiscite could divide the nation and put in danger the bilaterial cease-fire. The expanded and highly technical 310-page document appears to make only small modifications to the original text, such as clarifying private property rights and detailing more fully how the rebels would be confined in rural areas for crimes committed during the war. Uribe has criticized it as just a slightly altered version of the original and wants rebel leaders to be banned from holding public office and for them to be jailed for crimes. Washington: It's a proud moment for all Indians and Indian-Americans as well! Indian-American Nikki Haley has been picked by President-elect Donald Trump as US Ambassador to the United Nations, PTI has reported quoting CNN. Here are five key things that you may not know about her:- 1- The daughter of Sikh immigrants from Amritsar, her full name is Nimrata Nikki Randhwa Haley 2- She converted to Christianity when she married Michael Haley, but both she and her husband have attended gurdwara services. In 2014 both of them visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar. 3- Haley was a trenchant critic of fellow-Republican Trump during the election campaign; she is governor of South Carolina 4- She is considered as a rising star in the Republican Party; 44-year-old Haley was elected earlier on Wednesday as the vice chair of the Republican Governor's Association. 5 - She is the first ever Indian-American Cabinet rank official in any administration in the US. Haley was elected Governor in 2010 and re-elected in 2014 and her current term ends in 2018. Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would "keep an open mind" about whether to pull the US out of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change, The New York Times reported. Trump, who met with the newspaper`s publisher, editors and reporters in New York, said he thinks there is "some connection" between climate change and human activity but "it depends on how much", Xinhua reported. Trump said he is also thinking about "how much it will cost our companies" and the effect on American competitiveness. When asked if he will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, Trump said: "I`m looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it." It appeared that Trump has softened his stance on climate change. During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which took effect on November 4. WASHINGTON: Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency with less support from black and Hispanic voters than any president in at least 40 years, a Reuters review of polling data shows, highlighting deep national divisions, that have fueled incidents of racial and political confrontation. Trump was elected with 8 percent of the black vote, 28 percent of the Hispanic vote and 27 percent of the Asian-American vote, according to the Reuters/Ipsos Election Day poll. Among black voters, his showing was comparable to the 9 percent captured by George W. Bush in 2000 and Ronald Reagan in 1984. But Bush and Reagan both did far better with Hispanic voters, capturing 35 percent and 34 percent, respectively, according to exit polling data compiled by the non-partisan Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. And Trumps performance among Asian-Americans, was the worst of any winning presidential candidate since tracking of that demographic began in 1992. The racial polarization behind Trumps victory has helped set the stage for tensions, that have surfaced repeatedly since the election, in white supremacist victory celebrations, in anti-Trump protests and civil rights rallies, and in hundreds of racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic hate crimes documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which tracks extremist movements. The SPLC reports there were 701 incidents of hateful harassment and intimidation between the day following the Nov. 8 election and Nov. 16, with a spike in such incidents in the immediate wake of the vote. Signs point to an ongoing atmosphere of confrontation. The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a white separatist group that vilifies African-Americans, Jews and other minorities, plans an unusual December 3, rally in North Carolina to celebrate Trumps victory. Left-wing and anarchist groups have called for organized protests to disrupt the president-elects January 20 inauguration. And a Womens March on Washington, scheduled for the following day, is expected to draw hundreds of thousands to protest Trumps presidency. American politics, became increasingly racialized through President Barack Obamas two terms, but there was an attempt across the board, across the parties, to keep those tensions under the surface, says Jamila Michener, an assistant professor of government at Cornell University. Trumps anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric brought those divisions to the fore; it activated people on the right, who felt empowered, and it activated people on the left, who saw it as a threat, she added. That dynamic was evident last week. When Vice President-elect Mike Pence, attended the Broadway musical Hamilton in New York on Friday, the multi-ethnic cast closed with a statement expressing fears of a Trump presidency. A far different view was on display, the next day as a crowd of about 275 people cheered Trumps election at a Washington conference of the National Policy Institute, a white nationalist group with a strong anti-Semitic beliefs. We willed Donald Trump into office; we made this dream our reality, NPI President, Richard Spencer said. After outlining a vision of America as a white country designed for ourselves and our posterity, he closed with, Hail Trump! Hail our people! Hail victory! DIVISION BREEDS CONFRONTATION Though Trumps election victory, was driven by white voters, his performance even among that group, was not as strong as some of his predecessors. Reagan and George H.W. Bush, both won the presidency with higher shares of the white vote than the 55 percent that Trump achieved. The historical voting patterns reflect decades of polarization in American politics, but the division surrounding Trump, appears more profound, says Cas Mudde, an associate professor specializing in political extremism at the University of Georgia. These days, he adds, people say they dont want their children even to date someone from the other party. Indeed, voters opinions of those on the opposite side of the partisan divide have reached historic lows. Surveys by the Pew Research Center showed this year, that majorities of both parties held very unfavorable views of the other party a first since the center first measured such sentiment in 1992. And the lions share of those people believe the opposing partys policies are so misguided that they threaten the nations well-being, the center found. That level of division, has spurred activists on both sides of the political divide to take their activism in a more confrontational direction. In the wake of Trumps victory, protesters on the left took to the streets by the thousands in cities across the country, in some cases causing property damage. Much of the agitation was motivated by a belief that Trumps administration will foster racism and push the courts and other political institutions to disenfranchise minority voters, says James Anderson, editor of ItsGoingDown.Org, an anarchist website, that has promoted mass demonstrations against Trumps presidency, including a call to disrupt his inauguration. Many on the left have come to distrust government institutions, embracing a breed of activism aimed at directly confronting, what they see as condemnable political forces, Anderson says. The answer now is to organize, build power and autonomy and fight back. On the opposite end of the political spectrum, Trumps election is bringing new hope for right-wing activists who felt abandoned by the major parties. John Roberts, a top officer in the Ku Klux Klan affiliate planning the December rally to celebrate Trumps election, says the group is committed to non-violent demonstrations, but he sees Trumps election as likely to bring a new era of political conflict. And much of the strife, he says, will be centered around racial divisions. Once Trump officially takes office, there is going to be a boiling over at some point in time, Roberts says. Who knows when thats going to be, but its not going to be pretty." Bangladesh police on Wednesday, detained dozens of Rohingya migrants, some of them children, and said, they would return them to Myanmar, where there are reports, the military is burning villages and raping women. Rohingya community leaders say, there has been a sharp rise in the number of people who make it across the border into Bangladesh and an estimated 500 arrived overnight, using cover of darkness to evade detection. Up to 30,000 Rohingya, a Muslim minority group that Myanmar does not recognise as its citizens, have been forced to flee their homes according to the United Nations, which is urging Bangladesh to open its border to them. More than 2,000, are thought to have crossed the border in recent days following a surge in violence in Myanmar, many with stories of villages raised to the ground by the military, which some also accused of raping and killing Rohingya. Police in the Bangladeshi border town of Cox`s Bazar said on Wednesday, they had detained 70 Rohingya, including women and children, and would send them back across the border. "We nabbed them after they illegally trespassed (into Bangladesh). They will be pushed back to Myanmar," local police chief Shyamol Kumar Nath told AFP. Security is tight on both sides of the border and Aleya Khatun, 38, had suffered splinter injuries from a landmine as she crossed the border into Bangladesh overnight with her relatives and nine other families. She said, the mine had killed her neighbour Johra, who was travelling with them. "I brought Johra`s three children with me as they had nobody to look after them," Khatun told AFP over video call from a makeshift medical camp near the border. She said that, at least 1,200 more Rohingya families were hiding out in the woods near the border, waiting to cross the river at nightfall. Security forces have killed almost 70 people in Myanmar`s western Rakhine state and arrested some 400, since the lockdown began six weeks ago, according to state media reports, although activists say the number could be far higher. The violence is a fresh blow to de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi`s hopes of forging a nationwide peace agreement after decades of bloody insurgencies in Myanmar`s borderlands. Authorities in Bangladesh have intensified border patrols in recent days, reinforcing frontier check-posts and deploying extra coast guard ships in the Naf river to prevent entry of Rohingya on boats. Most of the Rohingya, who entered the country are hiding out in camps for the 32,000 legally registered already living in southeast Bangladesh, fearing repatriation if they are found. Police said, they had detained at least four people smugglers who took money from Rohingya in exchange for organising their journey to Bangladesh. Islamabad: Bodies of 10 militants who were killed in the June 2014 Karachi airport attack were exhumed from the graveyard in Pakistan by health officials under the supervision of a judicial magistrate and police. According to officials, this was done to collect DNA samples after it was revealed during the investigation that not all the deceased suspects were foreigners but some were from Karachi, Dawn reported. The police along with a team of doctors and judicial magistrate reached the Edhi Foundation`s graveyard under tight security and took more than five hours to complete the job - where they had to dig up 10 graves one by one to take DNA samples from the bodies. Aleppo: Syrian pro-government forces pushed deeper into rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Tuesday, forcing civilians to flee as the regime pressed an assault to recapture the entire city. Recapturing east Aleppo would be the government`s biggest victory yet in Syria`s five-year conflict and deal a potentially decisive blow to the opposition. The city was once the country`s economic powerhouse, but it has been ravaged by the war that has killed 300,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011. Military aircraft dropped leaflets over east Aleppo, urging rebels to distribute food to civilians, leave the area and allow residents to do so too. Government forces pounded the area with air strikes and barrel bombs as ground troops advanced in the key eastern district of Masaken Hanano, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A week into the latest round of fighting for the city, the regime controls around a third of the district, the Observatory said. The area has been shelled heavily during the war, and many residents had already fled, but the latest fighting prompted even the last holdouts to leave. Milad Shahabi, a member of the local council, told AFP that residents were fleeing to southern parts of the opposition-controlled east. Masaken Hanano was the first Aleppo district to fall to rebels in 2012, and it is strategically vital. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said that if regime forces manage to take the district they will be able to "cut off the northern parts of rebel-held Aleppo from the rest of the opposition-held districts". At least 143 civilians, including 19 children, have been killed in the city`s east since the latest assault began on November 15, according to the Britain-based monitor. Another 16 civilians, including 10 children, have been killed in rebel fire on government-controlled western Aleppo, it said. It added that residents of eastern districts had suffered from "suffocation" after four barrel bomb attacks and that medical officials suspected a chlorine gas attack. The Organisation for the Prohibition for Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that the regime`s key backer Russia had offered it "samples" relating to an alleged chemical attack in Aleppo. The global watchdog tasked with destroying chemical weapons is probing more than 20 reports of the alleged use of toxic arms in Syria since August. Government troops, backed by Lebanon`s Shiite Hezbollah group and Russian and Iranian forces, are battling rebels on several fronts inside opposition-held districts. Iran`s veterans` affairs office said that more than 1,000 combatants sent from Iran to fight in support of President Bashar al-Assad had been killed in the conflict. Tehran has sent military advisers, as well as fighters recruited from Afghanistan and Pakistan, to work with Assad`s forces. The renewed fighting comes amid international concern for the fate of more than 250,000 civilians trapped in besieged rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Despite searing international criticism, there is little sign that the government advance will be halted.For the past four years, Aleppo has been divided between the government-controlled west and rebel-held east, which has been sealed off from the outside world since the army surrounded it in mid-July. No food aid has entered since then, and locals suffer severe shortages of food, fuel, electricity and water. Rebels have tried several times to break the siege, without success. The UN`s aid chief Stephen O`Brien on Monday slammed the use of sieges in Aleppo and elsewhere. In remarks to the Security Council, he said nearly one million Syrians were living under blockade. Emile Hokayem, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said there was very little the world could now do to prevent the whole city falling to pro-regime forces. "You can`t send weaponry in any more, all the supply roads are cut, and you won`t intervene from the air because of the costs and the risks," he told AFP. "There was a time to do something about Aleppo... but now it`s too late." Russia, meanwhile, accused the UN`s Syria envoy of torpedoing a Security Council resolution to revive peace talks between the regime and opposition. "The United Nations in the form of its special representative Staffan de Mistura has been sabotaging the resolution for more than six months," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. The resolution calls for "holding inclusive Syrian talks without preconditions", he said. And in Washington, the Pentagon said a US drone strike had killed a senior Al-Qaeda leader in northwestern Syria. Kathmandu: Offering a ray of hope towards ending the protracted Madhesi agitation against the year-old Nepali Constitution, the Madhesi Morcha on Wednesday consented to the tabling of a statute-amending proposal mooted by the ruling CPN (Maoist Centre) - Nepali Congress alliance. An understanding in this regard was reached during a joint meeting here of the ruling alliance and the agitating Madeshi Morcha -- or the United Madhesi Democratic Front (UMDF). The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. The government had sought a formal meeting with UMDF leaders in its final attempt to reach agreement on the amendment proposal after failing in its bid with the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxists-Leninists) [CPN-UML]. Madhes Samajbadi Party General Secretary Keshav Jha later said the leaders reached an agreement to table the amendment in Parliament within two days. Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party Chairman Mahantha Thakur clarified that they had only agreed for the tabling of the amendment motion and will decide upon forwarding the motion only after studying its contents. The meeting, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office, assigned the task of tabling the amendment proposal to Prime Minister Prachanda. Madhes-centric parties, following the promulgation of the new constitution in September last year, launched a violent anti-statute protest in the southern Terai region of Nepal which saw blockading of all major access points linked with India. The almost eight-month-long stir resulted in an economic and trade blockade of the Himalayan nation and caused immense suffering to people in the land-locked country. The agitation, which saw a brutal crackdown by the law-enforcing authorities, claimed at least 59 lives. However, in evidence of dissension within the Madhesi Morcha, a section of Madhes-based parties and Janajatis/Adivasis led by Upendra Yadav expressed strong reservations against the move. Any proposal that cannot deal with and address the grievances of minority communities which have suffered since centuries will be just a waste of time, Yadav said while registering his protest over the government move. Issues pertaining to the boundary of seven provinces, proportional representation in the National Assembly, citizenship, language, and making the constitution more friendly to the minority communities will be incorporated in the proposal, it was learnt. Main opposition CPN-UML lambasted the proposal as "anti-national" and warned that it will protest in Parliament and take to the streets if the amendment was passed. By PTI: Dhaka, Nov 22 (PTI) No Hindus will be left in Bangladesh 30 years from now if the current rate of "exodus" continues as on an average 632 people from the minority community leave the Muslim-majority country each day, according to an eminent economist. "The rate of exodus over the past 49 years points to that direction," Dhaka Tribune quoted Dr Abul Barkat, a Dhaka university professor, as saying. advertisement There will be no Hindus left in the country three decades from now, Barkat said in his book Political economy of reforming agriculture-land-water bodies in Bangladesh which was published on November 19, the paper said. From 1964 to 2013, around 11.3 million Hindus left Bangladesh due to religious persecution and discrimination which means on an average 632 Hindus left the country each day and 230,612 annually, he said at the book launch ceremony at the Dhaka University (DU). From his 30-year-long research, Barkat said he found that the exodus mostly took place during military governments after independence in 1971, its said. Before the Liberation War, the daily rate of migration was 705 while it was 512 during 1971-1981 and 438 during 1981-1991. The number increased to 767 persons each day during 1991-2001 while around 774 persons left the country during 2001-2012, the book says. DU professor Ajoy Roy said the government grabbed the properties of the Hindus during the Pakistan regime describing them as enemy property and the same properties were taken by the government after independence as vested property, the report said. According to the book, these two measures made 60 per cent of the Hindus landless. Retired Justice Kazi Ebadul Haque said the minorities and the poor were deprived of their land rights. DU professor Farid Uddin Ahmed said the government has to ensure that the indigenous people would not be affected or harmed, the report said. Former National Human Rights Commission chairman professor Mizanur Rahman said there was no accurate estimation of the indigenous peoples living in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Adivasi Forum President Santu Larma said, "we need a people-oriented government. But the reality of state mechanism does not allow this to happen". Larma, also the chairman of the CHT Regional Council, claimed that over 50 indigenous groups were on the verge of extinction, but they want to live with dignity with the remaining indigenous groups. Barkat dedicated the book to his childhood friends who belonged to Buno indigenous group, but now remain traceless. "I have not heard about them since long... May be they were forced to leave the place by the land grabbers and have gone to India and took a different name," Roy added. PTI CPS AKJ CPS --- ENDS --- advertisement Kathmandu: Seeking to end the political crisis over the new statute, Nepal government will table a Constitution amendment proposal in parliament within three days, with Prime Minister Prachanda planning to split a province to meet the demands of agitating parties, including Madhesis. A tri-party meeting held among the ruling partners, the Madhesi Front and the Federal Alliance this morning agreed to amend table the proposal. An agreement has been reached to table a proposal for amending the country's main law by incorporating the issues pertaining to the boundary of provinces, proportional representation in the National Assembly, citizenship and other technical ones, media reports said. Secretary of the major ruling party CPN (Maoist Centre) Barshaman Pun confirmed the meeting understanding to introduce the statute amendment proposal to the House within the next three days. "There was an understanding in the meeting that the government would table an amendment proposal regarding the constitution at the parliament being based on the discussions held in the meeting," he said. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ramesh Lekhak said the meeting with the dissenting parties ended into a very positive note with the agreement on tabling an amendment proposal very soon. "The tri-party meeting went through discussions in a very cordial manner and ended positively. It has created trust on public sphere that the country would head towards the election soon with seeing a greater-acceptability of the constitution." Although, the Alliance has also given a positive comment on the meeting outcome, it said that it would support the Constitution implementation process by presenting their differing views as the 'note of dissent'. Terai-Madhes Democratic Party's senior Vice-Chair Hridayesh Tripathi said that his party has accepted the agreement on registering the constitution amendment proposal in the parliament. "The Prime Minister has proposed to integrate Hill districts of Province 5 into Province 4 and Province 6. He prepared the proposal after consultation with some senior Madhesi leaders," Kathmandu Post quoted a Maoist leader close to Prachanda as saying. Re-demarcation of the provincial boundary and citizenship issue are the two major demands put forth by the agitating Madhesi parties. The minority, mostly of Indian-origin, has led months- long violent protest seeking better representation in the Parliament and the federal structure of the Constitution that divides their ancestral homeland. Prachanda's close aides said the proposal will address concerns of both Madhesi and Tharu communities. The Madhes-based parties have been demanding another province along the plains, besides Province 2, without Hill districts. Tharus have been making a pitch for a Tharuhat province. The government hopes to give final shape to the draft after consultation with the Madhesi parties. Kathmandu: Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal plans to split Province 5 of the country which currently has 13 districts to woo Madhes-based parties. However, the country`s main opposition the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), also known as CPN-UML has already objected to this plan.Close aides of the Prime Minister have said that concerns of both Madhesi and Tharu communities will be addressed through this proposal. A demand for another province along the plains, besides Province 2, without Hill districts is being made by the Madhes-based parties whereas Tharus want a Tharuhat province. The Kathmandu Post quoted sources, as saying," Prime Minister Dahal is set to discuss the idea with Madhesi leaders at an "official meeting" between him and Madhesi leaders at Baluwatar on Wednesday. The government hopes to give final shape to the draft after consultation with the Madhesi parties as it is planning to register a constitution amendment proposal in Parliament later this week. A Maoist leader close to Dahal said, "The Prime Minister has proposed to integrate Hill districts of Province 5 into Province 4 and Province 6. He prepared the proposal after consultation with some senior Madhesi leaders." According to Dahal, province 5 consisting of Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kaplivastu, Dang, Banke and Bardiya could largely address the concerns of agitating parties. Dahal`s proposal calls for merging seven hill districts of Province 5 with Province 4 and Province 6. Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party Chairman Mahanta Thakur has said that a comment would only be made by him after he gets to see the proposal. "Initially, they were saying that there will be some changes in boundaries of Provinces 4, 5 and 6. Now, they are saying only Province 5 will be divided. There still is some confusion," said Thakur. "We have been informed that the proposal will address our concerns over four contentious issues-federal boundaries, representation in the Upper House, citizenship and working language of provinces," he added. However, some senior Madhesi leaders including Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav have threatened to disown the constitution amendment bill if it fails to address all the demands of the agitating parties in its entirety."We will not accept the constitution until our 26-point demand is addressed," said Yadav. "The government must act as per the commitment the Maoist Centre and the Congress made in the three-point agreement signed before the formation of this government," he added. Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif`s adviser on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz informed the Senate on Tuesday, that a high-level committee consisting of senior officials from the ministries of defence, interior and information, the military operations directorate, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), has been formed to formulate "a doable and sustainable India-Kashmir policy." Aziz said, that Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry is heading the committee and could co-opt other members if required. He said that the committee would regularly brief the two committees, which Senate had originally recommended including chairpersons of the defence and foreign affairs committees. The Dawn quoted, Aziz as saying that a committee, chaired by the information secretary, and representatives from the ministries of defence, foreign affairs and information technology, as well as members of the Military Operations Directorate, ISI and IB had been formed to prepare fact sheets, counter India`s propaganda campaign and design a media strategy to continuously highlight the Kashmiri freedom struggle. Ministry of Information Technology had been asked by Aziz, to prepare a comprehensive strategy to highlight the Jammu and Kashmir issue, by means of social media. "This dossier has been shared with other key countries and international organisations. Another dossier on the activities of Kulbhushan Jadhav will also be finalised in the near future," Aziz said, while referring to the dossier on India`s interference in Pakistan, presented to the UN secretary general by the prime minister in September. Asserting that, Pakistan was supportive of all initiatives for peace and stability in the region, he said, this commitment to regional peace and stability was evident from the decision to participate in the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, despite the postponement of SAARC summit in Islamabad because of India. Japan and South Korea, on Wednesday, signed an agreement to share defence intelligence about North Korea, despite protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul and strong criticism from China. South Korea`s defence ministry said, the accord was necessary in the face of growing military threats from Pyongyang, which has conducted two nuclear tests and more than 20 missile launches this year. "It is ready to conduct additional nuclear tests and missile launches at any time," the ministry said in a statement. "Since we can now utilise Japan`s intelligence capability to effectively deal with North Korea`s escalating nuclear and missile threats, it will enhance our security interests." Japan`s foreign ministry said in a statement, the military agreement would allow the two governments to "share information even more smoothly and swiftly". But China, already angry at South Korea`s planned deployment of a US missile defence system, sharply criticised Seoul and Tokyo for what it termed a "cold war mentality". The agreement "will aggravate the situation in the Korean peninsula and bring new unsecure and unstable factors to Northeast Asia", said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a regular briefing in Beijing. "While conducting military cooperation, relevant countries should respect the security concerns of regional countries and do more things for peace and development, not the opposite." China says Seoul`s earlier decision to deploy, the THAAD missile defence system that will increase the risk of military conflict in the region. Seoul and Tokyo currently use their mutual ally Washington as an intermediary, when sharing military intelligence on Pyongyang, under a deal signed in 2014. The new intelligence-sharing agreement is also controversial in South Korea, where memories of Japan`s harsh 1910-45 colonial rule still mar relations with Tokyo. South Korea and Japan, were on the verge of signing an intelligence-sharing deal in June 2012, but Seoul backtracked at the last minute in response to a public outcry. Noting Tokyo`s surveillance assets and geographic location, South Korea`s defence ministry said, the deal would be a "big help" in better analysing Pyongyang`s nuclear and missile programmes and collecting more intelligence about its submarine-launched ballistic missiles. North Korea has slammed the military pact, labelling it as "a dangerous act" that would further raise already-high tensions on the Korean peninsula and open a door to Japan`s "re-invasion". The contentious issue comes as, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye faces growing calls for her resignation over a widening corruption and influence-peddling scandal that has sparked huge street demonstrations. The deal has been fiercely opposed by South Korean opposition parties and activists, who point to Seoul`s failure to seek public support and historical sensitivities. South Korea`s main opposition party has called the deal "unpatriotic and humiliating" and threatened to impeach Defence Minister Han Min-Koo if the agreement was pushed through. Seoul: Japan and South Korea signed a controversial agreement on Wednesday to share defence intelligence on North Korea, despite protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul. South Korea`s defence ministry said the accord was "necessary" in the face of growing military threats from Pyongyang, which has conducted two nuclear tests and more than 20 missile launches this year. "It is ready to conduct additional nuclear tests and missile launches at any time," the ministry said in a statement. "Since we can now utilise Japan`s intelligence capability to effectively deal with North Korea`s escalating nuclear and missile threats, it will enhance our security interests." Japan`s foreign ministry said in a statement that the military agreement will allow the two governments to "share information even more smoothly and swiftly". Seoul and Tokyo currently use Washington as an intermediary when sharing military intelligence on Pyongyang under a deal signed in 2014. The new agreement is controversial in South Korea, where the legacy of Japan`s harsh 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula is a deep well of anti-Japanese sentiment and a belief that Tokyo has never properly atoned for the abuses of that era. South Korea and Japan were on the verge of signing an intelligence-sharing deal in June 2012, but Seoul backtracked at the last minute in response to public outcry. Noting Tokyo`s surveillance assets and geographic location, South Korea`s defence ministry said the deal would be a "big help" in better analysing Pyongyang`s nuclear and missile programmes and collecting more intelligence about its submarine-launched ballistic missiles. North Korea has slammed the military pact, labelling it as "a dangerous act" that would further raise already-elevated tensions on the Korean peninsula and open a door to Japan`s "re-invasion". The contentious issue comes as South Korean President Park Geun-Hye faces growing calls for her resignation over a widening corruption and influence-peddling scandal that has sparked huge street demonstrations. The deal has been fiercely opposed by South Korean opposition parties and activists, who point to Seoul`s failure to seek public support and historical sensitivities. South Korea`s main opposition party has called the deal "unpatriotic and humiliating" and has threatened to impeach Defence Minister Han Min-Koo if the agreement was pushed through. Bangkok: Thailand`s attorney general said on Wednesday it would charge the abbot of a powerful Buddhist sect and four others suspected of money laundering in the latest twist of a long-running saga that has divided Thai Buddhism. Police in the predominantly Buddhist country have tried several times to arrest Phra Dhammachayo, abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, a futuristic-looking monastery located some 50 km (30 miles) north of Bangkok. "Prosecutors have agreed to charge Phra Dhammachayao of Dhammakaya temple on charges of conspiracy to launder money, money laundering and receiving stolen goods," Somnuek Siangkong, spokesman of the Office of the Attorney General, told Reuters. Thailand`s Department of Special Investigation in 2015 summoned Phra Dhammachayo for questioning after his temple was accused of receiving more than 1 billion baht ($28 million) of embezzled funds. Prosecutors in charge of the case have postponed a decision to charge the monk four times while Phra Dhammachayo has failed to show up for police questioning, citing ill health. The controversy over Phra Dhammachayo, 72, has fuelled a feud between traditionalists in Thai Buddhism and those who support more modern sects. The country`s dominant religion has come under repeated scrutiny following a series of sex, drugs and money scandals involving several temples and monks over the years. Critics say that the Dhammakaya Temple, which says it has millions of followers around the world, is too money-focused and encourages financial donations as a way to gain good karma. They also say it strays from the Theravada Buddhism practiced by millions of Thais. The temple denies this. The attorney general`s office on Wednesday said the statute of limitations in the case against Dhammachayo was 15 years and that police would have to arrest Dhammachayo within that time. Phra Sanitwong Wuttiwangso, the temple`s public relations chief, said Dhammachayo was at the temple and has not fled abroad. "Our abbot is very sick and cannot travel outside the temple grounds," he said. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on the Bihar government's plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to RJD legislator Rajballav Prasad Yadav, who is to stand trial for raping a minor in February this year. Reserving the order, the bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre said: "We are concerned with fair trial, because it is a case filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO) and a child is also involved. We are not going to dismiss the petition (by Bihar government) because we want fair trial." The court said that it would pronounce its order in a couple of days. The apex court said this as it was told that on its direction, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) lawmaker from Nawada was sent back to jail for two weeks and the period was coming to an end. The court on November 8 ordered Rajballav to surrender so that the victim girl could record her statement before the trial court. The court reserved its verdict on the bail plea even as senior counsel Dushyant Dave, who appeared for Rajballav, tried to assure the bench that he would stay away from Bihar until the trial in the case of minor's rape is complete. However, this was opposed by senior counsel Gopal Subramanium, who said that there are many important witnesses, including the doctor who had examined the victim, to depose before the court which was trying the case. Subramanium told the bench that Rajballav's second bail plea before the Patna High Court, in which he was granted the bail, should have come before the bench that had rejected his first bail plea. The Bihar government had moved the apex court against the grant of bail to Rajballav by the Patna High Court in September. He was accused of raping the girl at his residence in Bihar Sharif, and was suspended from the party after the incident came to light. However, he continues to be an RJD lawmaker in the state assembly. Rajballav, who was denied anticipatory bail by a local court in Bihar Sharif in February, was on the run but later surrendered in the court in March. He was granted bail by the high court on September 30. Yadav was named one of the five accused in the chargesheet filed in April. Besides Rajballav, Sulekha Devi and those accused of providing women to the RJD lawmaker for sex were named the accused. Raipur: More than 50 banks in Naxal-hit areas of Chhattisgarh have recorded deposits of nearly Rs 20 crores within two weeks. Based on an intelligence report, transactions in these accounts have been put on hold. Police suspect the money deposited belonged to the Naxals and that the latter is using the bank accounts of other people to escape the demonetisation drive. Police said they are not making the names of the account holders` public as of now, but if the money was found to be of Naxals, legal action will be taken against the latter for helping the former. Also Read: Demonetisation: Short of cash? Here's how you can pay your utility bills with mobile wallet Apps Special Director General (Naxal Operations and Special Intelligence Bureau) Durgesh Madhav Awasthi told ANI: "We have issued an instruction that after demonetisation. The Naxals will bring out huge hoarded money buried in the ground for mobilisation in a bid to save it from becoming illegal tender. They are applying a two-way approach to save their money: first, they are returning old money to their contractors and asking them to provide new currencies after getting it converted; secondly, they are using their rural and urban networks to deposit their money in banks." "We are getting such information from all eight Naxal-hit districts. In the last three to four days, we have identified people in whose accounts money was deposited, and have sent their names to the SP (Superintendent of Police), Collector and banks, asking them to stop transactions in such accounts till it is established that the deposited money belongs to account holders. The depositors will themselves speak about the source of money. It is also possible, in some cases, that money belongs to the depositors," he said. Also Read: Do you support demonetisation? PM Narendra Modi wants to know directly from you "However, as per information, Maoists have deposited big amounts in the accounts of people having very little transactions or having `Jan Dhan` accounts. I have instructed Superintendents of Police and bank officials to inquire into such accounts. More than 50 accounts have been traced so far, but their numbers are increasing. We have information of Rs 15-20 crore being deposited in such accounts," he added. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to pass any interim order on a PIL seeking a direction to the Centre to remove the cap on daily withdrawal of money deposited by the public in banks before demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice V K Rao declined immediate relief to the petitioner, a businessman, on the ground that the Supreme Court is seized of the issue. It further said that it was not aware of the proceedings before the apex court and, therefore, the petitioner should produce the copy of the order by November 25. "Let it (the order as well as the matter) come up on Friday (November 25). Then we will decide what to do and what not to do," the bench said. The bench's oral observations were made during a brief hearing of a plea by Ashok Sharma, who, through his counsel A Maitri, urged the court for an interim relief on the ground that the Centre's decision to put a cap on weekly withdrawal of Rs 24,000 is "affecting right to livelihood" of the people at large. The counsel also told the judges that as the apex court has declined to withhold the petitions against demonetisation in different high courts, this court should give some interim order as the government may tomorrow again come out with new directives on withdrawal. To this, the bench responded since it is not aware of the proceedings in the Supreme Court, it will wait for the copy of order. The petitioner, a resident of Delhi, has urged the court to quash clause 2 (VI) of the notification by which conditions were imposed on withdrawal of money from bank accounts. "A reading of the notification shows that Clause 2 (vi) was intended for cash deposits, which were to be tendered between November 9 and December 30. This clause as well as the notification has no connection with the bank deposits, which were made prior to November 8," the plea said. "On account of the notification, there is no normal banking transaction available, so the petitioner has been unable to carry out his business and Clause 2 (vi) of the notification has affected his right to livelihood," Sharma`s lawyer submitted. Rome: Rescuers recovered eight bodies and saved 1,400 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe by boat, Italian coastguard said on Tuesday. The migrant corpses and survivors were transferred to rescue vessels from at least 11 overcrowded boats off the Libyan coast amid calm seas, according to coastguard. One migrant who had a heart attack and two suffering from severe hypothermia were taken to hospital by helicopter. The coast guard ship Diciotti took seven corpses from a rubber boat, while one body was recovered from another rubber vessel by the Topaz, a ship run by humanitarian group Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS). The migrant vessels included one wooden trawler that was carrying 450-500 people as well as two smaller wooden boats and several overcrowded inflatable dinghies, the Red Cross said. The survivors included migrants from Syria, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and sub-Saharan Africa. "It is not in Modiji's blood to go back on his decision, this move too won't be reconsidered," Naidu said, indicating that the government is not interested in the rollback argument. By India Today Web Desk: While the Opposition is trying to corner the government over demonetisation of high denomination currency, BJP leader and Union minister Venkaiah Naidu today said that it is not in Narendra Modi's blood to go back on his decision. "It is not in Modiji's blood to go back on his decision, this move too won't be reconsidered," Naidu said, indicating that the government is not interested in rollback of demonetisation. advertisement BUILDING A CASHLESS ECONOMY While Opposition has been protesting against the decision to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, saying it is causing inconvenience to common man, Naidu said the move is in sync with the Prime Minister's aim to make India a cashless economy. ALSO READ: Demonetisation drive well-planned and executed, no question of rollback: Jaitley "Modiji aims to build a cashless economy where you don't have to pay anything to anyone," the Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation said. ALSO WATCH NOT MAGGI BUT BAGGY Justifying the demonetisation decision, Naidu said, "PM first tried to bring back black money from abroad, now he is trying to unearth black money stashed within the country". He said some people are complaining that Modi doesn't eat nor does he allows anyone to eat. "I am not talking about eating Maggi but 'baggy'," Naidu said, referring to Modi's tough stand on black money and corruption. ALSO READ: Kejriwal demands rollback of demonetisation; says Modi govt leaked information to its friends OPPOSITION's ARGUMENTS HOLLOW Upping the ante against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's continued silence and absence from Parliament despite growing demands for him to speak on demonetisation, 13 Opposition parties today protested outside Parliament in the morning. Later, the PM attended the Lok Sabha proceedings but did not speak on the subject. "Despite the PM being present in Lok Sabha, why didn't the Opposition allow the House to function? Creating uproar has become their habit," Naidu said. Union minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad concurred. "One has the right to protest... Had they (Opposition) spoken in the House their hollow arguments would have been exposed," Prasad said. ALSO READ: Mamata takes to the streets in Kolkata to protest against demonetisation ALSO READ: After Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee, now Rahul Gandhi calls demonetisation a scam ALSO WATCH --- ENDS --- PARIS: France accused Syria and its allies of using the political uncertainty in the United States to launch "total war" against rebel-held areas in the country and said, states opposed to President Bashar al-Assad would meet in Paris soon. "France is taking an initiative to confront the strategy of total war by the regime and its allies, who are taking advantage of the uncertainty in the United States," Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting. He said, a meeting of countries opposed to Assad would take place in the coming days in Paris and that France would also now actively push for a U.N. Security Council resolution to sanction the Syrian government for the use of chemical weapons. Lahore: Over 70 Hindu pilgrims from India have arrived here to participate in 308th birth anniversary of Sant Shada Ram in Sindh province. The Evacuee Trust Property Board officials received the pilgrims at Wagah border yesterday. "Seventy-one Hindu pilgrims, including 17 women, arrived here yesterday to take part in festivities on the birth anniversary of Sant Shada Ram in Mirpur Khas," ETPB spokesman Amir Hashmi said. He said the ETPB, which looks after the holy places of minorities in Pakistan, has ensured foolproof security for the visiting Hindu pilgrims. He said the board has arranged the visit of the pilgrims in seven cities of Sindh. Hashmi said Pakistan had issued visas to 84 Indian applicants. Of them, 13 did not come here due to reasons best known to them. "My father who had 2,000 acre land, left his village close to Mirpur Methaleo during partition. After 70 years, I am fortunate to get?opportunity to visit our ancestral place. This visit has brought me immense joy and spiritual satisfaction," one of the visiting members Bansi Lal said, adding both governments should facilitate people-to-people contacts and make visa process hassle free. The Hindu pilgrims will return Lahore on December 2 and leave for India next day. Patna: Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi today made a scathing attack at the Nitish Kumar government for failing to make available 200-acre of land for setting up a second AIIMS in Bihar despite repeated pleas made by the Centre in the past two years. "Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced a second AIIMS for Bihar in his budget speech in 2015-16. Since then the Union Health Minister wrote more than half-a-dozen letters to Bihar government to make available 200-acre of land properly linked with road, power and water," Modi said in a statement here. But the state government has not replied to any of these letters, he claimed. "In a bid to further complicate the matter, the Bihar government is now asking the Union ministry to select a district for second AIIMS even while the responsibility of selection of district and making available land is of state government," he added. The Centre would bear the expenditure on setting up another AIIMS and its running in Bihar, Modi said. A former deputy chief minister of the state, the BJP leader alleged that the state government was not interested in starting of another super speciality hospital and college in the state since it would give credit to Prime Minister. He asked the Bihar government not to politicise the development work and select the land in 3-4 optional places for setting up a second AIIMS in Bihar which would benefit the people. DelhI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend Rajya Sabha on Thursday, BJP leader and Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu was quoted as saying by India Today on Wednesday. The Opposition has been demanding PM Modi's presence and participation in the debate on demonetisation. In the ongoing Winter Session, Thursday is earmarked for Prime Minister's Office. Any senior representative can reply to queries on behalf of the Prime Minister on this day. Meanwhile, Lok Sabha witnessed a virtual washout for the fifth consecutive day today as government and Opposition parties continued to clash over the demonetisation issue and the rule under which a debate should take place on it, with the former ruling out any provision of voting in the discussion. Opposition members, including those from Congress, TMC, RJD, CPI(M) and BJD, besides SAD and Shiv Sena, both part of the ruling NDA, expressed their views in the House when it assembled at noon after one adjournment, with the Sena changing its stance on demonetisation and sparing the government of embarrassment by praising the move and supporting its stand that the debate be held under Rule 193, which does not entail voting. Sena had been critical of the demonetisation move and its members even joined a TMC-led protest march to the President last week, but softened their stand after a meeting with the PM yesterday. PM Modi was present in the House briefly during Question Hour, during which only one question could be taken up amid the Opposition's din which led to the first adjournment. On the other hand, the government today reached out to the Opposition with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar holding talks with Congress and TMC leaders. Kumar and some other leaders in the government will continue deliberations with floor leaders of various political parties tomorrow. "Nothing has been achieved by holding up the Parliament proceedings. Everybody feels that there should be action against black money. The Opposition parties apprehensions are about only implementation of demonetisation, we have been saying that we are ready to listen to their concerns. I have again requested them to start discussion where they can express their view points on this issue, which government will listen and consider," Kumar said, as per PTI. Kumar added that he has requested political parties to see the "writing on the wall" and start discussion on the issue. "I requested them that they can themselves see that public is in favour of this move. Rather than holding up the proceedings, it should be allowed to run smoothly," he added. (With Agency inputs) New Delhi: Amid protests over demonetisation, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday ruled out withdrawing the government's demonetisation decision as demanded by some Opposition parties. "Rolling back something is not in Narendra Modi's blood," M Venkaiah Naidu said. "Wapas lena Modi ji ke khoon mein nahi hai," he said while addressing a 'mahapanchayat' of Delhi Dehat Kisan Mazdoor in New Delhi. He made it clear that the decision to withdraw old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes "will not be taken back in any situation". "The government is ready to make improvement and Opposition parties can come forth if they have any suggestions regarding it," Naidu added. Naidu's comments came in the background of some parties, including Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, vehemently opposing the demonetisation move and demanding its rollback. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court, on Monday, asked the Centre for a response on a plea that sitting Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies should not participate in poll campaigns for their parties. A bench of Chief Justice, G Rohini and Justice V K Rao said that, the issue needs consideration and, therefore, the government should file a counter affidavit with regard to the averments made in the petition. The bench fixed March 8, 2017, for further hearing on the issue. The petition has contended that ministers, MPs and MLAs are public servants and under the law, public servants are prohibited from participating in elections except to the extent of casting their vote. Petitioner Mohan Singh Sharma, a retired sub-inspector, has said that, after MPs and MLAs take oath, "it should be presumed that they will only work for the nation and not for any political party during their tenure". New Delhi: The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of India and Pakistan spoke to each other on Wednesday, a day after three Indian soldiers were killed, including one beheaded, authorities said. The talks between the DGMOs came after the Pakistani side requested for an "unscheduled hotline interaction", said an official statement. Director General of Military Operations Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh raised the issue of mutilation of a soldier's body and infiltration bids, while his Pakistani counterpart raised the issue of civilian deaths on their side in cross border firing. The Indian DGMO expressed grief at civilian casualties, the statement said. Pakistan on Wednesday said that three of its soldiers were killed in Indian firing on the LoC, while nine civilians were also killed. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said that seven Indian soldiers were killed in retaliatory fire. Kollam: Four ruling CPI-M activists including Cashew Development Corporation Chairman S Jayamohan and a staff member of a Kerala Minister, have been arrested by CBI in connection with the brutal murder of a Congress worker at nearby Anchel in 2010. Jayamohan, charged with the offence of providing hideout to the persons who murdered Nediyara Ramabhadaram, was taken into custody today, while the other three were arrested yesterday, CBI sources said. Jayamohan was summoned to the CBI office and arrested. He was later released on bail, they said. The other three CPI-M activists -- Maxim, a staff member of Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty, district committee member K Babu Panicker and DFYI leader Riyas were today produced before a CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram and remanded to judicial custody. Ramabhadaram, also an INTUC leader, was murdered on April 10, 2010 in his home right in front of his wife and two daughters. Reacting to the arrest of one of her staff members, Mercykutty alleged the case was "politically motivated". Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Ramesh Chennithala attacked the fisheries minister and said she had no right to continue as a minister. "She was allowing the staff to continue with the argument that he was only arrested and guilt has not been proved," Chennithala charged. "It is a weak defence to protect a murder accused who was arrested by CBI with all evidences," he added. Puducherry: Puducherry Chief Minister, V Narayanasamy on Wednesday, sworn in as a member of the Assembly. Speaker V Vaithilingam administered oath to Narayanasamy, who took it in Tamil. Narayanasamy won the Nellipthope Assembly bypoll, held on November 19, by defeating his immediate AIADMK rival Om Sakthi Segar by a margin of 11,144 votes. Ministers, MLAs and leaders of the Congress, DMK?and other alliance parties, and officials of various departments were among those who greeted him after the swearing-in ceremony. With his induction, the strength of the Congress has been restored to 15 in the 30-member Assembly. DMK, which has two members, is also supporting the government. 69-year-old Narayanasamy was not a member of the Assembly, when he assumed charge as Chief Minister on June 6. A John Kumar of the Congress, had vacated the seat on September 15, to enable Narayanasamy contest the bypoll before December 6 deadline for getting elected to the House. Narayanasamy had served as Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office in the second UPA government, after serving as MoS Parliamentary Affairs in UPA-I. Delhi: The NIA has written to banks asking them to freeze accounts of banned Islamic Research Foundation and its founder Zakir Naik. As per media reports, the NIA has also written to Union Home Ministry for blocking websites and other online activities of Naik and IRF. On November 19, the NIA had registered a case against Naik and his organisation under anti-terror laws and for allegedly promoting enmity between groups on the basis of religion and race. The anti-terror probe agency's action had come barely four days after the Union government had declared IRF a banned organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). After registering case against the 51-year-old Naik, IRF and others, NIA sleuths along with Mumbai police had carried out searches at 10 places in the megapolis, including residential premises of some of the office bearers of the foundation, which was earlier put on restricted list by the Union Home Ministry for receiving funds from abroad. Naik, who has been staying in Saudi Arabia to evade arrest after his name surfaced during probe into the Bangladesh terror strike earlier this year, has been booked along with unnamed IRF officials under section 153-A of IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) beside various sections of UAPA. The charges slapped in the FIR, registered by the NIA's Mumbai branch, also included sections 10 (being member of an unlawful organisation), 13 (punishment for being member of illegal organisation) and 18 of UAPA (punishment for being involved in a conspiracy for committing any terror act). IRF came under the scanner of various security agencies after one of the terrorists involved in the Dhaka cafe attack had allegedly posted on social media that they had been inspired by Naik's speeches. Some of the youths from Mumbai suburbs, who had left their home to join Islamic State earlier this year, were also allegedly inspired by the preacher. The speeches of Naik, who is currently out of the country apparently to evade arrest, are banned in the UK, Canada and Malaysia. MHA has alleged that the NGO had "dubious" links with Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, accused of propagating terrorism. According to the Home Ministry, Naik, who heads the IRF, had allegedly made many provocative speeches and engaged in terror propaganda. Maharashtra Police has also registered criminal cases against Naik for his alleged involvement in radicalising Muslim youth and luring them into terror activities. Naik was alleged to have transferred IRF's funds received from abroad to Peace TV for making "objectionable" programmes. Most of the programmes, which were made in India, allegedly contained hate speeches of Naik, who had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists" through Peace TV. An educational trust run by Naik has already been barred from receiving foreign funds and probe agencies are looking into their activities. (With PTI inputs) By PTI: Kishtwar, Nov 23 (PTI) Unidentified persons looted over Rs 34 lakh from a Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch in Kishtwar district, police said. According to a senior police officer, the amount was looted from the banks branch in Sarthal area of the district overnight. Police have registered a case and started investigations, he said. PTI CORR AB DK TIR --- ENDS --- advertisement Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said 11.61 lakh farmers across the state will get Rs 1,776 crore in crop insurance for Kharif season of 2015. The state government has started the process for disbursal of crop insurance amounts among six lakh farmers of 10 districts in western Odisha. While more than one lakh farmers in Bargarh district will get Rs 276 crore, Sambalpur district will receive Rs 100 crore, Kalahandi will receive 166 crore and Balangir will get more than Rs 370 crore, the Chief Minister noted. Launching the distribution of crop insurance for farmers in Bargarh district, Patnaik said the state government has fulfilled its promise to provide special aid of Rs 100 per quintal paddy to the farmers hit by drought last year. He said the District Collectors have been directed to ensure farmers do not face any difficulties at the procurement centres during the paddy purchase. Speaking on the Mahanadi project issue, the Chief Minister said Chhattisgarh has constructed barrages in the upper catchment areas of the Mahanadi river, which would affect the interests of farmers in Odisha. He said the state government has moved the central government demanding to constitute a tribunal to safeguard the interests of the people. The Chief Minister said he requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that the common people do not suffer due to the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. Kishtwar: Unidentified persons looted over Rs 34 lakh from a Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch in Kishtwar district, police said. According to a senior police officer, the amount was looted from the bank's branch in Sarthal area of the district overnight. Police have registered a case and started investigations, he said. New Delhi: Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday closed ranks to demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in the House to reply to the debate on hardships caused by his decision to ban old 500 and 1000 rupee notes, forcing adjournment of proceedings twice. The uproarious scenes led to the adjournment of the proceedings first till noon and then till 1400 hours. BSP leader Mayawati went to the extent of seeking an apology from Modi for speaking outside the House when Parliament is in session, while the Congress demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to go into the "sudden announcement" of demonetisation of 86 per cent of the currency in circulation. While the BJP members too shouted slogans seeking resumption of discussion on the issue that started on November 16, opposition members led by Congress and TMC trooped into the Well of the House raising slogans demanding that Prime Minister be called to the House, forcing Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien to adjourn the proceedings till 1200 hours. Soon after obituary references and laying of the listed papers, Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said when the Prime Minister says the demonetisation decision was taken in national interest, why is no compensation being paid to over 75 people who died because of hardships caused by it. Naresh Agarwal (SP) said if Prime Minister does not have the time to come to the House, arrangements should be made for an online interface, an oblique reference to Modi using video conferencing to address events held in far-off places. Mayawati (BSP) sought the Chair's protection in getting Prime Minister to speak on the issue inside the House and not outside when the Parliament is in session. By speaking outside, he has "insulted" the House and breached its privilege, she alleged and added: "Prime Minister should be called to the House... He must apologise why he is speaking outside." Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said Modi was violating the Consitution by not answering questions in the institution (Parliament) he is accountable to. Anand Sharma (Cong) said even during a financial emergency, the government cannot restrict citizens from accessing their own bank accounts like the way severe restrictions have been imposed on withdrawal from own account after the November 8 decision. "He has created financial anarchy. Prime Minister must come" and answer questions on hardships caused, he said. Naresh Agarwal (SP) alleged that since even Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was not taken into confidence, he may not be able to reply to the debate on the issue. So the Chair should call Prime Minister to the House, he added. Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (TMC) said Prime Minister cannot make statements on policy decisions outside the House when Parliament is in session and went on to ask the Chair to give a ruling on Modi repeatedly speaking outside the House. Soon Congress members trooped into the Well, carrying placards saying: "We want JPC on demonetisation". Kurien asked members to resume the debate started last week, suggesting that all points the Opposition has been raising can be mentioned there. "How do you know Prime Minister will not come... Start the discussion, Prime Minister may come," he said. But the members were unrelenting, forcing him to adjourn the proceedings till 1200 hours. Soon after the House met at noon, Chairman Hamid Ansari asked members to allow the Question Hour to be taken up but a vociferous opposition created an uproar and rushed to the Well again raising slogans. Members of Congress, TMC, Left, DMK, NCP, SP and BSP demanded the presence of Prime Minister in the House and asked the Chairman to do so before the discussion on demonetisation was resumed. "Prime Minister should be called to the House, this is the sense of the House," said Naresh Agarwal (SP), with other members joining him to urge the Chairman to ask for the PM's presence. "Don't get into all this. Please allow the Question Hour to run. Let us get on with the Question Hour," Ansari said, with a resounding 'No' from the opposition benches. As pandemonium prevailed in the House amid opposition members shouting slogans in the Well, which was countered by some members of the treasury benches. The Chairman's pleas fell on deaf ears as opposition members continued with their uproar, forcing the Chairman to adjourn the House till 2 pm. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday hauled up the government for not amending the Lokpal Act to recognise the leader of the single largest opposition party in Parliament as the leader of the opposition. "For last two and a half year there is no leader of opposition. This position is likely to continue for next two-and-a-half years. There would be no leader in opposition. Will you allow the law to become redundant just because there is no leader of opposition?" asked the bench of Chief Justice T.S Thakur, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice L Nageswara Rao. Noting the manner government was dragging its feet in amending the Lokpal law for recognising the leader of the largest opposition group as the leader of opposition for constituting a Search Committee, the bench said: "This is an institution intended to bring probity in public life, then this institution must work. We will not allow the situation where the institution is rendered redundant." As Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi resisted suggestion from senior counsel Shanti Bhushan telling the court that the matter could not be left to the political parties and the court should step in, Chief Justice Thakur said: "The law was notified in January 2014 and now we will be in January 2017." He told the government: "What you are doing in other enactments, you are not doing in it (Lokpal)." Shanti Bhushan appeared for the the petitioner NGO Common Cause that has challenged the Rules for setting up the Lokpal Search Committee. Attorney General Rohatgi opposed the suggestion by Bhushan that the judiciary should pass a direction to Parliament to pass the amendment saying it would amount to judicial legislation. "We have introduced the amendment to the Lokpal Act. Judiciary can`t direct Parliament. It would amount to judicial legislation," he said. At this Chief Justice Thakur said: "You are committed to Lokpal and you also say that the leader of the single largest party should be recognised as leader of opposition. You should welcome any judgment by the court saying the leader of the single largest party would be treated as the leader of the opposition (for the purpose of the Lokpal Act)." As Attorney General showed his reluctance to accept the suggestion, the bench said: "It would mean court can`t give any direction, you will not legislate, how can it be done Mr AG?" The court pulled up the government in the course of hearing of a petition by Common Cause challenging the Lokpal Search Committee Rules coming in the way of setting up a committee for the last two years. New Delhi: Out of the 43 names returned to it by the government for reconsideration, the Supreme Court collegium has "reiterated" its recommendation for 37, deferred three proposals while three other names are still with it, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. On November 18, the Supreme Court had informed the government that it had reiterated every one of the 43 names that was sent back by the government to the collegium for reconsideration. "We have reiterated 43 names for the appointment as judges of high courts which were rejected by the government and have been sent back for reconsideration," a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and A R Dave had said. But Minister of State for Law P P Chaudhary told the lower house in a written reply that the collegium has reiterated its recommendation for 37 candidates only. "Out of the 77 proposals submitted by the Supreme Court collegium, the government has appointed 34 judges in various high courts and sent the names of 43 recommendees to the collegium for reconsideration. "The Supreme Court collegium reiterated the names of 37 recommendees; the proposal of three recommendees has been deferred and the proposal of three recommendees are with the SC collegium," he said. The Centre had on November 15 told the apex court that it has cleared 34 names out of the 77 recommended by the collegium for appointment as judges in various high courts in the country. The government had also apprised the apex court that no file with regard to the recommendations for appointment of judges was pending with it. Against the backdrop of the Supreme Court regularly slamming the government over vacancies in high courts, Chaudhary said pending finalisation of the revised memorandum of procedure -- a document to guide future appointment of judges to SC and HCs --during the current year 124 additional judges have been made permanent and 120 new judges appointed in HCs. Mathura: Wife of a former Uttar Pradesh minister's on Wednesday came forward to donate one of her kidneys to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. UP's former minister Ravi Kant Garg's wife Meera Garg said,"Sushma Swaraj's honesty, commitment toward the country and devotion for the welfare of people is an example for the whole country." "I have offered to donate my kidney to Sushma Swaraj; it would be a matter of great consolation if my kidney is found fit for transplant," Meera Garg added. Swaraj was admitted to AIIMS for treatment for renal failure on November 16. Jammu: Three soldiers were killed, and one of them was beheaded on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir - in action that the Army said bore the "signature" of the Pakistan Army's Border Action Team. Pakistan has, however, flatly denied the allegations. The soldier who was mutilated has been identified as 31-year-old Rifleman Prabhu Singh from Khirjankhas village in Jodhpur district, Rajasthan. The other two soldiers are Gunner Manoj K Kushwah and Rifleman Shashank K Singh, both from Gazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. The beheading is the second incident of mutilation of a soldier's body in less than a month. The army has vowed "heavy retribution for the cowardly act". The incident took place in Machhil sector of the Line of Control (LoC), which divides the state between India and Pakistan, in Kupwara district. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was briefed about the situation by Army Vice Chief Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat, officials said on Tuesday. "The cowardly act of mutilating the body of one of the Indian soldiers had all the signatures of a BAT (Border Action Team) operation by Pakistan army using terrorists and its soldiers," said officials. "3 soldiers killed in action on LoC in Machhil. Body of one soldier mutilated, retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act," the army's Northern Command said in a tweet. Spokesperson of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry M. Nafees Zakaria denied mutilation of any Indian soldier by Pakistani forces. "Pakistan strongly rejects the false and baseless Indian media reports regarding the alleged mutilation of an Indian solider on the LoC," Zakaria said in a tweet. "These reports are a fabrication and a blatant attempt to malign Pakistan. "As a professional force, Pakistan army isn't involved in any such unethical and non-professional activity and neither supports any such action," he said. The opposition parties led by Congress questioned what the Indian government was going to do about the incident. "If our soldiers are being brutalised in this manner the responsibility is of the government squarely. the question that needs to be asked is what is the government going to do about it," Congress leader Manish Tewari said. On October 28, the body of 27-year-old Indian soldier Sepoy Mandeep Singh was mutilated by terrorists, who fled back to Pakistani part of Kashmir under supportive fire cover by Pakistani troops. In response, the Indian Army carried out a heavy assault in Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir, destroying four Pakistani posts. According to figures given by Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre in the Lok Sabha last week, till November 14 this year, eight Army personnel have been killed and 59 injured. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Bhamre also said that there has been an increase in infiltration attempts since the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani on July 8. This was not the first time that Pakistan has mutilated bodies of Indian soldiers. During the Kargil war in 1999, Captain Saurabh Kalia, and Sepoys Arjunram Baswana, Mula Ram Bidiasar, Naresh Singh Sinsinwar, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria and Bhika Ram Mudh of 4 Jat Regiment were captured by Pakistani troops and brutally tortured. On January 8, 2013, Pakistani soldiers entered Indian territory in Krishna Ghati sector of the border and killed two Indian soldiers -- Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Indian officials said bodies of both were mutilated, and Hemraj's body was decapitated. Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention protects captured military personnel, some guerrilla fighters, and certain civilians. It applies from the moment a prisoner is captured until he or she is released or repatriated. One of the main provisions of the convention makes it illegal to torture prisoners and states that a prisoner can only be required to give their name, date of birth, rank and service number if applicable. The killing of Indian soldiers and the barbaric treatment meted out to them in past by the Pakistani troops calls for a befitting response from the Army to our hostile neighbours. India has long followed a policy of strategic restraint vis-a-vis Pakistan which revolves around avoiding or minimising military confrontation with Pakistan in case of a terrorist attack in India. However, after the recent attack on an Indian military post at Uri which was followed by the last month's the last month's surgical strikes by the Indian Army along the LoC, New Delhi has signalled that it is ending its 'Strategic Restraint Doctrine' towards Pakistan. In the present context, it is sure that any sort of intervention conventional or non-conventional by Pakistan in Kashmir or elsewhere would evoke a similar response from India. Undoubtedly, the deepening tensions between India and Pakistan after Uri and now Machhil incident are likely to escalate at wider military and diplomatic fronts. The level of distrust between the two states has reached the point where accommodation and reconciliation appear unlikely, at least for now. Pakistan has vowed to highlight Indias human rights abuses in Kashmir. It has openly blamed India for a number of recent terrorist attacks in the country. Pakistan has blamed Indian Intelligence agencies for terrorist attack in Quetta and the current unrest in Baluchistan. India, on the other hand, has raked up international pressure to declare Pakistan an Ivy league of terrorism and war criminal. India wants Pakistan to give up its support for militancy in the region that ISI and its powerful Army is unlikely to do after the recent bilateral military and diplomatic clashes. In the aftermath of Indian Army's surgical strikes and PM Narendra Modis open support to Baluch people and his government's aggressive campaign to isolate Pakistan globally will only increase Islamabads support for various militant groups operating from either its soil or Afghanistan. In the present circumstances, giving a free hand to the Indian Army, as indicated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, in dealing with cross-border infiltrations, and a renewed international campaign by our diplomats to expose Pakistan as 'state sponsor of terrorism' can force Islamabad to tighten its noose around various terror outfits and its notorious spy agency ISI. New Delhi: At a time when Arvind Kejriwal has gone all out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an elderly lady from Delhi has something to say to her Chief Minister. In a video that has gone viral on social media, an elderly lady is seen sitting on a dharna near the AAP office demanding that Kejriwal should face her and answer her questions. The lady is seen slamming Kejriwal for alleged hypocrisy on the fight against corruption. "Kejriwal does no work; he only levels baseless allegations against people as he did against PM Narendra Modi," the woman alleged slamming Kejriwal. "One day he will raise allegations against Anna Hazare as well; he may level allegations against Lord Vishu too," said the agitated demonstrator. Here is the video that has gone viral and has social media abuzz:- A old woman sitting on dharna near AAP office exposing @ArvindKejriwal and his hypocrisy on fighting corruption pic.twitter.com/Rmb8P6Kibx Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) November 22, 2016 DISCLAIMER: Zee News doesn't vouch for the authenticity of the video. Also, this story is entirely based on social media trends. Srinagar: A day after killing three Indian soldiers, the body of one of whom was mutilated, on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani troops on Wednesday violated ceasefire yet again and resorted to heavy shelling and firing at Indian positions along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region, injuring three Border Security Force (BSF) troopers. The troopers, wounded in the border district of Rajouri, were taken to a hospital, a police officer said. "Doctors described their condition as stable," the police officer said. In response to the offensive, the Army today launched a counter-offensive against Pakistan along the LoC. The offensive came hours after the Indian Army vowed "heavy retribution" to the attack on its soldiers. Brigadier, Northern Command, S Gotra, said the Indian Army launched a counter-offensive along the LoC in retaliation to yesterday's offensive in Machhil sector of Kashmir. The Indian Army posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply, Defence PRO Manish Mehta said. The Pakistan Army fired at Indian posts along the LoC in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nowshera sectors of Poonch and Rajouri districts, Mehta told news agency IANS. "They are using 120 mm mortars and automatics to target our positions, our posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply," he added. In the cross-LoC attack by suspected Pakistani terrorists, three Indian soldiers were yesterday killed, with the body of one of them being mutilated. The ambush on the Army patrol took place in Machhil sector of Kashmir, following which the Indian Army vowed heavy "retribution". The Northern Command spokesman had yesterday tweeted, "3 soldiers killed in action on LC (Line of Control) in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated." He said the "retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act." The soldier who was mutilated has been identified as 31-year-old Rifleman Prabhu Singh from Khirjankhas village in Jodhpur district, Rajasthan. The other two soldiers are Gunner Manoj K Kushwah and Rifleman Shashank K Singh, both from Gazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had yesterday condemned the "cowardly and brutal" killings of three Indian soldiers. "The cowardly act of mutilating the body of one of the Indian soldiers had all the signatures of a BAT (Border Action Team) operation by Pakistan army using terrorists and its soldiers," said officials. Spokesperson of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry M Nafees Zakaria had denied mutilation of any Indian soldier by Pakistani forces. This is the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier in the same sector since October 28. On that day, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by the Pakistani Army, had crossed the Line of Control and killed 27-year-old Indian soldier Sepoy Mandeep Singh and mutilated his body in Macchil sector. One attacker was killed in that incident. In response, the Indian Army had carried out a heavy assault in Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir, destroying four Pakistani posts. During the Kargil war in 1999, Captain Saurabh Kalia, and Sepoys Arjunram Baswana, Mula Ram Bidiasar, Naresh Singh Sinsinwar, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria and Bhika Ram Mudh of 4 Jat Regiment were captured by Pakistani troops and brutally tortured. On January 08, 2013, Pakistani soldiers entered Indian territory in Krishna Ghati sector of the border and killed two Indian soldiers -- Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Indian officials said bodies of both were mutilated, and Hemraj's body was decapitated. According to figures given by Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre in the Lok Sabha last week, till November 14 this year, eight Army personnel have been killed and 59 injured. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Bhamre also said that there has been an increase in infiltration attempts since the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani on July 8. Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention protects captured military personnel, some guerrilla fighters, and certain civilians. It applies from the moment a prisoner is captured until he or she is released or repatriated. One of the main provisions of the convention makes it illegal to torture prisoners and states that a prisoner can only be required to give their name, date of birth, rank and service number if applicable. (With Agency inputs) By PTI: From Sajjad Hussein Islamabad, Nov 22 (PTI) Pakistan discourages any arms race in the region today, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said, underlining that the country is exploring the way forward for peace and stability in South Asia. Addressing at the inauguration of the ninth International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) here, Sharif said Pakistan was committed to discouraging arms race and promoting "the motto of arms for peace, which has always been the tagline of IDEAS". advertisement He expressed Pakistans commitment to regional peace, saying that, "we will explore the way forward for peace and stability in the world in general and our region in particular". Sharif said the environment for foreign investment was encouraging in the country in view of improved law and order situation, besides power projects being completed on time. The Prime Minister said Pakistan had achieved self-reliance in defence production and mentioned that IDEAS-2016 was a demonstration of the collaboration of local and foreign technologies. He said over 2,000 weapons system and equipment on display at the exhibition reflected broad-based participation of the countrys public and private sector in defence production, supported by research and development. The Prime Minister said the country?s defence products were state-of-the-art and stood fully tested by its armed forces. "Our defence products have made their mark in many countries of the world," he said, adding there still existed many opportunities for further growth and exploration of new markets. He said Pakistan was fast emerging producer of quality defence products. The Prime Minister invited foreign companies to expand their business linkages with Pakistan in the field of defence production. Later, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the exhibition, flanked by Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Mohammad Zakaullah and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman. 34 countries and a total of 418 companies are participating in IDEAS 2016, including 261 foreign and 157 Pakistani companies. The exhibition will continue till November 25. PTI SH UZM AKJ UZM --- ENDS --- Srinagar: A day after killing three Indian soldiers, the body of one of whom was mutilated, on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani troops on Wednesday violated ceasefire yet again and resorted to heavy shelling and firing at Indian positions along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region, injuring three Border Security Force (BSF) troopers. The troopers, wounded in the border district of Rajouri, were taken to a hospital, a police officer said. "Doctors described their condition as stable," the police officer said. In response to the offensive, the Army today launched a counter-offensive against Pakistan along the LoC. The offensive came hours after the Indian Army vowed "heavy retribution" to the attack on its soldiers. Brigadier, Northern Command, S Gotra, said the Indian Army launched a counter-offensive along the LoC in retaliation to yesterday's offensive in Machhil sector of Kashmir. The Indian Army posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply, Defence PRO Manish Mehta said. The Pakistan Army fired at Indian posts along the LoC in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nowshera sectors of Poonch and Rajouri districts, Mehta told news agency IANS. "They are using 120 mm mortars and automatics to target our positions, our posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply," he added. In the cross-LoC attack by suspected Pakistani terrorists, three Indian soldiers were yesterday killed, with the body of one of them being mutilated. The ambush on the Army patrol took place in Machhil sector of Kashmir, following which the Indian Army vowed heavy "retribution". The Northern Command spokesman had yesterday tweeted, "3 soldiers killed in action on LC (Line of Control) in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated." He said the "retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act." The soldier who was mutilated has been identified as 31-year-old Rifleman Prabhu Singh from Khirjankhas village in Jodhpur district, Rajasthan. The other two soldiers are Gunner Manoj K Kushwah and Rifleman Shashank K Singh, both from Gazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had yesterday condemned the "cowardly and brutal" killings of three Indian soldiers. "The cowardly act of mutilating the body of one of the Indian soldiers had all the signatures of a BAT (Border Action Team) operation by Pakistan army using terrorists and its soldiers," said officials. Spokesperson of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry M Nafees Zakaria had denied mutilation of any Indian soldier by Pakistani forces. This is the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier in the same sector since October 28. On that day, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by the Pakistani Army, had crossed the Line of Control and killed 27-year-old Indian soldier Sepoy Mandeep Singh and mutilated his body in Macchil sector. One attacker was killed in that incident. In response, the Indian Army had carried out a heavy assault in Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir, destroying four Pakistani posts. During the Kargil war in 1999, Captain Saurabh Kalia, and Sepoys Arjunram Baswana, Mula Ram Bidiasar, Naresh Singh Sinsinwar, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria and Bhika Ram Mudh of 4 Jat Regiment were captured by Pakistani troops and brutally tortured. On January 08, 2013, Pakistani soldiers entered Indian territory in Krishna Ghati sector of the border and killed two Indian soldiers -- Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Indian officials said bodies of both were mutilated, and Hemraj's body was decapitated. According to figures given by Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre in the Lok Sabha last week, till November 14 this year, eight Army personnel have been killed and 59 injured. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Bhamre also said that there has been an increase in infiltration attempts since the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani on July 8. Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention protects captured military personnel, some guerrilla fighters, and certain civilians. It applies from the moment a prisoner is captured until he or she is released or repatriated. One of the main provisions of the convention makes it illegal to torture prisoners and states that a prisoner can only be required to give their name, date of birth, rank and service number if applicable. (With Agency inputs) Delhi: Three Pakistani Army soldiers were killed in retaliatory action by the Indian troops along the LoC, as per media reports. One of the soldiers killed is a Pakistani officer. Those killed were identified as Captain Taimoor Ali Khan, Havaldar Mushtaq Hussain and Lance Naik Ghulam Hussain by a statement issued by the Pakistani Army, as per PTI. Indian Army had today launched a counter-offensive against Pakistan along the LoC after three soldiers were killed, with body of one of them mutilated in a cross-LoC attack. The offensive came hours after the Indian Army had vowed 'heavy retribution' to the attack on its soldier. Brigadier General Staff (BGS) of Northern Command, Brig PS Gotra said today that Indian Army had launched a counter-offensive along the LoC in retaliation to yesterday's offensive in Machhil sector of Kashmir. Indian Army posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply, Defence PRO Manish Mehta said, as per PTI. Pakistan Army also fired at Indian posts along the LoC in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nowshera sectors. Also Read - Three Indian soldiers killed by Pakistan in J&K, one body mutilated; Army vows retribution for 'cowardly act' A senior BSF officer said, "Two BSF jawans suffered minor injuries in ceasefire violation by Pakistan troops along LoC in Bhimbher Gali area of Rajouri district at 0945 hours." #JKOps 3 soldiers killed in action on LC in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated, retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act @adgpi NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) November 22, 2016 This is the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier in the same sector since October 28. On that day, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, had crossed the Line of Control and killed an Indian army jawan and mutilated his body in Macchil sector.One attacker was killed in that incident. (With PTI inputs) Ranchi: Six suspected Naxals were on Wednesday killed in a gunbattle with CRPF commandos in the jungles of the Maoist violence-affected Latehar district of Jharkhand. The encounter was reported around 9 am from the Karamdih-Chhipadohar jungles of the said district when a squad of CoBRA commandos of the CRPF was out on patrol, officials said. "Six bodies of Naxals in uniform, an INSAS rifle, an SLR, a carbine and three other firearms have been recovered from the spot. Search operations are on," they said. Further details are awaited, they added. Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government today cancelled all orders related to the proposed Aranmula airport project, including the grant of in-principle sanction. A decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting here, an official release said. The project, promoted by KGS Group, had run into trouble after it was mooted nearly seven years ago with environment groups and people in the area holding that it would cause environmental hazards. The CPI(M)-led LDF government in an affidavit filed in the Kerala High Court in a connected case in August had said that it had decided to take immediate steps to cancel its decision to notify approximately 500 acres of land in Aranmula as an industrial area. The government had also stated that it was found that the proposed project area constitutes large extent of paddy and wetland which cannot be legally converted for the purpose of a private company in view of existing legal provisions. The project, opposed by BJP in the state, came back to focus afresh after the Expert Appraisal Committee under the Environment Ministry had permitted KGS Group to conduct an environment study at a meeting on July 29. The National Green Tribunal had in 2014 set aside the environmental clearance given by the UPA government to the project and directed KGS Aranmula International Airport Ltd, the promoters, to stop construction at the site. The tribunal passed the order on a petition filed by the Aranmula Heritage Village Protection Action Council. The project also faced stiff resistance from devotees of Sri Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple, who said that the airport would cause structural damage to the temple. Chennai: Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who is fast recovering from her ailments at a hospital in Chennai, on Tuesday thanked thousands of her supporters for electing her party candidates in three assembly constituencies in the recent bypolls held in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK chief asserted that it was a big victory for her regime's "achievements, welfare measures and visionary schemes." Expressing her "heartfelt thanks" to voters for "giving me consecutive electoral victories," she said the poll win "proved yet again that people are on my side" in a veiled attack on arch-rival DMK. She said people voted for AIADMK candidates by a huge margin after considering her regime's "achievements, welfare measures and visionary schemes." In a party release here, she said,"I would like to happily inform you that my work will continue according to your expectations." She said,"the electoral victory has given me, boundless joy and enthusiasm," adding she was now recuperating. Stating that she would never forget people's "great love," for her, she thanked them for it. She said she was aware that people, and her party workers were offering prayers continuously for her recovery and scores of them were also visiting the hospital to enquire about her health. Also, she thanked her party functionaries, cadres and leaders of alliance parties for their election work in the three constituencies. Chennai: DMK president M Karunanidhi on Wednesday said the ruling AIADMK's win in all three Tamil Nadu Assembly seats where polls were held on November 19 was not surprising as the party had "misused" authority and money power to engineer an "artificial victory". "There is no surprise or anything new in the ruling AIADMK's win in the three constituencies in Tamil Nadu. DMK's hard work could not stand before misuse of authority and money power," he said. Karunanidhi alleged that "money power has once again won" in Tamil Nadu. "Therefore this is an artificial victory," he said in a statement. He also congratulated his "dear friend", Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayansamy for leading the ruling Congress there to a "massive win" in the Nellithope bypoll. Continuing its electoral dominance over arch rival DMK amidst hospitalisation of its supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, AIADMK had yesterday romped home in Thanjavur and Aravakurichi polls as well as the Thiruparankundram bypoll. AIADMK had wrested the Aravakkurichi seat from DMK and retained Thanjavur and Thiruparankundram by margins ranging from more than 20,000 to 42,000 votes, dealing a blow to its Dravidian rival. Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is expected to move into his palatial new home in Begumpet on Thursday. According to The Times of India, several lakh rupees have been spent on the construction of the house, which sprawls over one lakh square feet. The daily reported that these measures have been implemented on the recommendations given by state intelligence officials. Notably, KCR is a Z+ security protectee and travels in "mine-proof" cars. Also Read: Telangana CM KCR to offer 11.7 kg golden crown worth Rs 3.70 cr to Goddess Bhadrakali Here are the highlights of K Chandrasekhar Rao's palace: Sanaa: At least 12 Yemenis were killed and six injured in Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes in the Hajja province on Wednesday, officials said. Residents said, passengers travelling in a pickup car were targeted, as they headed toward a local public market to shop in the district of Hayran, Xinhua news agency reported. The victims were hit in the Akawah area, saying "it was the latest in a series of barbaric airstrikes targeting civilians by the US-backed Saudi air aggression." Saudi Arabia, which led a mostly Arab countries` military coalition, intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 via an air campaign. The campaign is attempting to restore to power expelled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, whom Houthi rebels exiled to the Saudi capital of Riyadh in 2014. Thousands of airstrikes have failed to restore Hadi or defeat the Houthis, yet killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children and women, and displaced over three million people. By PTI: From Sajjad Hussain Islamabad, Nov 22 (PTI) A week ahead of Raheel Sharifs retirement as Pakistan Army chief, a lawyer has approached the Supreme Court challenging a lower courts dismissal of a plea seeking direction to the government to elevate the powerful General to the rank of Field Marshal. Terming the extension or conferring of the Field Marshal title as greatest national interest, a petitioner yesterday requested the court to set aside the Islamabad High Courts earlier order. advertisement Appellant Adnan Mazari, who is a Rawalpindi Bar Association (RBA) member, made Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the government and the Defence Ministry as respondents. Raheel, 60, will retire on November 29 after a three-year stint. Mazari contended that the IHCs order is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional without taking into consideration the merit of the said post which is globally recognised and Pakistan is no exception. "That the exemplary, outstanding and professional performance during peace and war time with total dedication and devotion by attaining the highest standards and mastery in battlefield our present COAS (Chief of Army Staff) needs national appreciation, award and recognition; and in our constitution of Pakistan no tenure/period of COAS is enshrined anywhere," the appellant contended. The appeal stated that Pakistan recorded a substantial decrease in terrorism last year, with 45 per cent less attacks and 38 per cent less deaths reported in the year than the previous year, according to the report of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2016. He added that this is the second consecutive year in which Pakistan has seen reduction in terrorism. Raheel will retire on pass on the baton of command of the army to the next army chief at a ceremony by the end of this month. Raheel in January had said that he would not seek extension amidst speculation that he may get an extension. PTI NSA AKJ ZH --- ENDS --- Beijing: China attaches great importance to military cooperation with Russia and is ready to strengthen bilateral strategic mutual trust, an official said on Wednesday. Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks when meeting with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Beijing, Xinhua news agency reported. This year is the 15th anniversary of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation and the 20th anniversary of the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination. China-Russia ties are at their best in history, said Yu, adding that the partnership not only benefits the two peoples, but meets the needs of safeguarding regional and world peace and promoting international justice. He called on the two countries to boost all-round cooperation and jointly work for world peace, stability and development. Shoigu said strengthening the strategic partnership of coordination with China is a priority of Russia's foreign policy. The close contact between leaders of the two countries have guaranteed the high-level cooperation between the two countries and the two armed forces, he said. Russia will actively advance exchanges and cooperation with the Chinese armed forces in accordance with the consensus reached by the two leaders, he added. Florida: President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will nominate South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, a Republican critic who once rebuked him for failing to disavow white supremacists, as US ambassador to the United Nations. An Asian-American with little previous foreign policy experience, Haley was the first woman to be picked for Trump`s cabinet, injecting a measure of diversity in a group that until now has consisted solely of white men. "Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country," Trump said in a statement. "She is also a proven dealmaker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage." Trump`s transition team highlighted her travel abroad as governor to negotiate with international companies on behalf of her state. "The United States faces enormous challenges here at home and internationally, and I am honored that the President-elect has asked me to join his team," Haley said in a statement, accepting the offer. The daughter of Indian immigrants, the 44-year-old politician is a rising star in the Republican Party`s right wing. She has been governor of South Carolina since 2011.Haley`s nomination comes after a divisive election campaign in which Trump harshly attacked Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals, threatened a ban on Muslims and faced accusations of sexual harassment and assault from a series of women. She was fiercely critical of Trump during the campaign, calling him "everything a governor doesn`t want in a president" in February. She supported Senator Marco Rubio during the Republican primary race before endorsing Senator Ted Cruz. On the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries in March, she called Trump out for not repudiating the white supremacists backing his campaign, recalling the 2015 massacre of nine black churchgoers by a white supremacist gunman in Charleston, South Carolina. "I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party. That is not who we are." She also denounced Trump`s promise to ban Muslims from entering the United States as "un-American." Trump called her "very, very weak" on immigration. However, Haley said she voted for Trump in the election, describing him as "a friend and supporter before he ran for president."A former state representative, Haley is the daughter of Sikh immigrants from India who ran a clothing business. She rose to prominence after the former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed her in a Republican primary during her campaign for governor in 2010, part of an effort to tap female candidates from the extreme-right Tea Party movement. She later won widespread praise for backing the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state house after the 2015 killings. The flag, which Haley had previously supported, is associated with slavery and opposition to civil rights reform. Haley faces a tough challenge at the United Nations during a time of international uncertainty over Trump`s promises to scale back Washington`s central role in global security. A veto-wielding member of the UN`s Security Council, the United States frequently clashes with Russia -- another veto-holder in the council -- over developments in Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere. Although Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have praised each other, saying they want to improve relations, few foreign policy experts believe Moscow will ultimately end its opposition to US policy. Haley`s nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. An official announcement from Trump`s transition team is expected later on Wednesday. London: A man obsessed with Nazis and white supremacism was sentenced to life in jail on Wednesday for the murder of British lawmaker Jo Cox in a frenzied street attack which stunned Britain a week before the European Union referendum. Thomas Mair, 53, shot Cox three times and repeatedly stabbed the 41-year-old mother of two young children in her northern English electoral district. During the attack on June 16, he shouted "Britain first" and "Keep Britain independent" his trial heard, and when arrested he told officers he was a political activist. Mair, slight of build and balding with a grey goatee beard, had refused to enter a plea or speak in his defence at the Old Bailey trial. He asked to make a statement only after the jury unanimously returned a guilty verdict but judge Alan Wilkie turned down his request. "You are no patriot," Wilkie told him. "By your actions you have betrayed the quintessence of our country: its adherence to parliamentary democracy." He added: "It is clear ... that your inspiration is not love of country or your fellow citizens, it is an admiration for Nazism and similar anti-democratic white supremacist creeds." Mair, who was charged under anti-terrorism legislation, was also convicted of grievous bodily harm after he stabbed a 77-year-old man who had gone to Cox`s aid during the attack. "Mair has offered no explanation for his actions but the prosecution was able to demonstrate that, motivated by hate, his pre-meditated crimes were nothing less than acts of terrorism designed to advance his twisted ideology," the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement. Cox had only been in parliament for little more than a year, winning the seat for the opposition Labour party in the area where she grew up by a large majority. Her murder a week before the referendum led to the suspension for several days of campaigning ahead of the EU vote which had become increasingly ugly and included bitter personal recriminations, with the issue of immigration key. London: South Korea President`s office has confirmed, that it bought 360 Viagra pills to treat altitude sickness of presidential aides and employees during President Park Geun-hye trips to Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, as these nations were thousands of metres above sea level. As the revelation sparked frenzy across internet, the spokesman of the presidential Blue House, Jung Youn-kuk said, the pills were not used. Viagra-style drugs are sometimes prescribed by South Korean doctors to climbers as they are supposed to be effective in preventing altitude sickness, reports the Guardian. These revelations come as Park is struggling with a massive political scandal. President Park is also accused of letting her confidante Choi Soon-sil, who does not hold an official government post, view confidential documents and presidential speeches. Local media and opposition parties have accused Choi of using her relationship with Park to accumulate millions of dollars in donations for her foundations. Opposition parties and some members of her own Saenuri party are pushing for an impeachment motion against Park. Offices of the Samsung Group and the state pension fund were raided by prosecutors on Wednesday, as the electronics giant faces allegations that it had bribed Park`s confidant Choi Soon-Sil to win state approval for a controversial merger it sought in 2015. Beirut: At least 6,455 people have been killed by the United States-led international coalition against the Islamic State in Syria since operations began on September 23, 2014, media reports said on Wednesday. According to the latest figures released by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the coalition bombings wounded hundreds of people, mostly IS militants in various Syrian provinces, Efe news agency reported. The fatalities included at least 700 civilians, of which 169 were minors and 106 were women. The IS suffered at least 5,506 fatalities, including some of its leaders such as Abu Omar al-Shishani, Abu Hija al-Tunisi and Abu Osama al-Iraqi. The coalition aircraft also killed 141 members of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the formerly al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front. The coalition also killed 90 combatants from Syrian regime troops in attacks on the outskirts of the northeastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zour. The SOHR did not rule out that the number of deaths among IS militants could be greater than they reported due to the difficulty in documenting the casualties in IS-controlled territory. Well, the Government of Delhi has finally woken up and taken notice of the depleting Ozone layer and banned the use, sale and storage of plastic bags. Bio-degradable bags, they say, will now be encouraged.

It was in the reckoning for long, but the followers of laws and rules that we Indians are, I guess the government must have considered quite a lot before enforcing the ban. We actually have a crack code for every law or rule that comes in our way. The declaration is that anyone caught carrying plastic bags will be at a risk of facing a five-year jail term or a fine of one lakh rupees, or both. Sounds good, doesnt it? I think it does for those who care for the environment that ultimately boils down to caring for oneself.

Now we have to carry a cloth bag or paper bag, when we go out shopping for groceries or at the dairy outlets for milk. All the shops and the shopping malls will have to provide their customers with paper carry bags too.

All the ban and penalty seems pretty cool for the cause of the environment, but will it actually be followed? I ask that question because, honestly, I havent seen many follow the traffic lights or use the subway for crossing the roads or even get their driving licenses made through the legal procedures. There is a jugaad to anything and everything in our country. I might sound blunt, but this is how it is and one would realize it if some unbiased thought is given to these things.

There was so much hype and hoopla about the smoking ban. But now it seems as if it was only a rumour. There was supposed to be a fine of Rs 200 on the person found smoking in public places. As far as I remember only 80 challans were issued on Day 1 of the ban. And after that, I never saw any news regarding the same. Well, Im sure there arent only a hundred or so smokers in our country that has the second largest population on this planet.

I just hope that the same is not the case with the ban on the plastic bags, considering the deteriorating environmental condition in the world. Global warming has been on a rise since forever now. Thanks to the negligence by the people world over. The attitude that prevails is nothing-will-happen-with-just-one-charger-plugged. But that one unplugged charger or a fan or a light switched off actually makes the difference. And one person starting to carry bio-degradable bags is bound to make a difference. One plastic bag will burn less and the environment will be affected 0.0000001% lesser. There is a difference, without a doubt.

The point here to ponder over is the hefty fine, leave alone the imprisonment. Can a daily wage earner pay a fine of one lakh rupees if caught carrying a plastic bag? There are murderers roaming free in this country, or should I say some corrupt citizens even running this nation. So is it practical to impose these punishments? The fine for over speeding is about four hundred rupees. We generally get away with handing over a Rs 50 or a maximum of Rs 100 note to the policeman. As stated above, a jugaad for everything here.

So how much do we pay for a fine of Rs 1 lakh? 200 bucks? I dont think so. The same 50 or 100 rupee note would do. Something better than nothing (in case they issue the challan) for the concerned authorities.

The citizens will have to put their foot down and support the governments steps for a better environment. We need to fight for a universal cause of Global Warming, which seems a petty issue to most of us. That can be done to some extent if we dump the plastic bags for bio-degradable carry bags rather than finding jugaads of evading the penalty. Imagine everyone calling you big ears.

Not that big ears are bad things to have; think of all the extra earrings you could wear (for girls) and all the extra earrings you could wear (for boys)! But for a minimalist like me who cant really stand jewellery, having big ears becomes a bitermheavy on the head.

So, before all those who rejoice in reminding me of my twin assets (OFCOURSE, ears I mean), I drop names of some personalities with similar anatomy- Gandhi, Buddha, Ganesh.the last name warms ones heart, no? But as far as Ganesh goes, I am happy that the similarities end at ears.

For, imagine everyone calling you big nose, big paunch, elephantine and toothy, apart from big ears. Of course, only the ignorant can call Ganesh such names intending literal meanings. There, I wish, were more similarities between Him and me.

Ganesh doesnt have a pan-India approach for nothing. With Mallus cladding Him in mundu, Gujaratis depicting Him as the ideal dandiya boy, the northerners happy to see Him perched on a rat and the ancient Afghans sculpting Him in their traditional turban et al, I dare say Ganesh one of most popular Gods of the Indian pantheon and with the unique position of being prayed to first.

And, as I said, its not for nothing.

Such is the appeal that from the millennia old Rig Veda to the Shahrukh Khan starrer Don, no one can do without a swish of His ears and the aroma of His modak. Though the Rig Veda, contend a few, may not be referring to the Ganesh that we welcome to our homes every year with a lot of pomp and show.

May we worship Ganapati,
The Protector of Noble People,
The Best Poet,
The Most Honourable,
The Greatest Ruler and
The Treasure of all Knowledge

(Rig Veda 2.23.1)

goes an invocation to Lord Ganapati in the oldest Veda. This probably is the only reference to Ganapati- another name of Ganesh. But is that the same elephant headed God who is being sung about in the Veda? Cant say, for the imagery that we associate with Ganesh appeared only in the Gupta period.

But, better late than never!

We should thank Ganesh for appearing and Adi Shankaracharya for categorizing Him as one of the 5 eternal deities of Hindu religion (the other 4 being: Sun, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga)

Just imagine (again) whom would we call upon to clear our path of obstacles had it not been for Ganesh; the Karmayogi Krishna (would probably say: You will reap as you sow) or the Mahayogi Shiva (would just mutter Ommm)?

But why is Ganesh called Vighneshwara, the Lord of Obstacles, if he is supposed to destroy the obstacles? In Hinduism and Buddhist tantra, Vinayakas were four mischief-making entities. If they were propitiated, they obliged one by not causing any trouble. Some just point out that it is Ganeshs job to give trouble to those who are up to no good, thats why the name.

Whatever the history/hearsay, the reason that Ganesh endures as the God of small and big things even today is that He is so real and ideal at the same time.

He is the child in all of us. He wants to be loved by His parents- even more than His sibling. Even if He has to forsake his desires (symbolized by flashy mounts viz lion, bull, peacock etc.) and choose the humble mouse, he will happily do so just so His parents favour Him.

Like a good, obedient lad He will follow instructions of the mother even if He has to risk His ego (symbolized by the human head that Shiva axed). In return, He got the dignity, respect and wisdom that are captured only in the head of an elephant. That wisdom made him circumambulate his parents when he was asked to take the round of the Earth- Shiv Parvati are His world.

With that one sacrifice, Ganesh the boy became Ganesh the God.

And he is loved by millions because He is always ready to listen. His big ears are a solace to those who have been wronged and need to empty their troubled souls. His trunk helps Him discriminate between right and wrong- as also indicating His great reach. His beady eyes enable Him to see only the good in people. His single tooth signifies that there is only One God, that He is all wisdom (elephant head) & love (the modak).

Bowing to Ganesh means understanding and appreciating all of the above, hence attaining the Truth. The 10-day Ganesh festival also has a deep meaning to it. Though an ancient tradition, it was turned into the grand affair that it is today by Lokmanya Tilak to drum up nationalistic pride and unity among people.

But Ganesh is beyond any country. He has got nothing to do with national pride (though, internationally, He is an India icon) but everything to do with existential essence.

For Ganesha is called Pranavakaar- in the shape of OM.

To You whom the wise exclaim
As the single-syllabled Supreme sound,
Stainless & peerless
Primeval One, I bow in adoration

(Adi Shankaracharya in Ganesh Bhujangam)

Ganeshs form resembles OM and in that He is a universal entity, present at the very core of Being.

Welcoming of Ganesh means bringing out the Lord that resides within us, in order to thank Him and serve Him. For 10 days, everything & everywhere becomes Ganesh i.e one sees the good aspect within all. At the end of the festival, we ask Ganesh to not just remain outside but enter our stream of consciousness- that is Visarjan. And all of it is done with joy and playfulness- as Ganesh likes it.

For thats what being Ganesh is: giving up the ego, remaining above materialism (symbolized in His one feet always being above the ground and one on the seat), yet using materials when needed, being an exceptional leader (Gana-pati) and yet keeping humble (He travels on a mouse). In short, living it and loving it too.

So this time, when you are grabbing a modak after prayer and somebody calls you Big Paunch, just know that there is someone else who is a big paunch and its doing a lot of good! In the past 54 days after the September 29 surgical strike India and Pakistan locked in a tit-for-tat firing along the LoC. India has lost 17 soldiers. By Alok Ranjan: On November 22, Pakistan resorted to yet another brutal act. Three Indian soldiers were killed in the Machil sector along the Line of Control (LOC). The suspected Border Action Team (BAT) of Pakistan terribly mutilated the body of an Indian army soldier and killed two others when they ambush counter-infiltration patrol on the LoC at Machil sector of Kupwara district. advertisement The Indian Army has vowed revenge, saying, "The cowardly incident will be responded to appropriately." This is for the second time in a month Pakistan has mutilated the bodies of Indian soldiers. Taking barbarism to new heights, militants backed by Pakistan on October 28 mutilated the body of an Indian Army soldier Mandeep Singh close to the LoC in the Machil sector. Also Read: Army launches biggest assault since 2003 against Pakistan to avenge soldier's beheading After the Indian surgical strike inside PoK on September 29, Pakistan appears to be perplexed and is resorting to illegal firing and shelling in the civilian areas. Pakistan has endlessly violated ceasefire since the surgical strike and is being given a befitting reply by the Indian forces. In the past 54 days after the September 29, surgical strike India and Pakistan locked in a tit-for-tat firing along the LoC. India has lost 17 soldiers that includes army and BSF troops. The casualty on the Pakistani side is much more than India but it refuses to accept it. There has been a steady rise in ceasefire violations by the Pakistani side. There is considerable rise in attempt by terrorists from Pakistan to sneak into Jammu and Kashmir post surgical strike by Indian Army. According to government figures in 2016 there have been as many as 167 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control(LOC) and International Border(IB) under operational control of Army (till November 14) and another 210 Ceasefire Violations along International Border under operational control of BSF (till November-1). Also Read: Indian forces inflict heavy damage on Pakistan after 2 jawans were martyred on LoC While India has made honest and sincere efforts to normalize relationship with Pakistan, it always betrayed us in return. After Uri attack India succeeded in isolating Pakistan in International arena. In a tough move to teach Pakistan a harsh lesson India carried out surgical strike in PoK on September 29,2016 to destroy the terror hotbeds. Also Read: Baramulla Army camp attack: 2 terrorists killed, BSF jawan martyred India's response Unfortunately nothing has changed since surgical strike. According to some reports post surgical strike, Pakistan has violated ceasefire over 100 times. There is mini war type situation prevails along the India-Pakistan border and our hostile neighbour. Pakistan has learn no lesson from surgical strike. Now the question is how India should respond to Pakistan's continued hostility towards India. Whether India should hit back with full force or should go for another surgical strike. The Indian government should have to take a bold step so that the justice should be done to the families of 17 martyrs who lost their lives post surgical strike. advertisement TOTAL JAWANS KILLED: 17 ARMY JAWANS: 12 BSF JAWANS: 5 A list of Indian soldiers killed during Pakistan firing post surgical strikes: Nov 22, 2016: Three soldiers were killed in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Machil area. The body of one of the soldiers was mutilated. Nov 21, 2016: BSF head constable Rai Singh was killed when Pakistani troops fired mortar shells on forward Indian positions at Tarkundi in Rajouri district. Nov 12, 2016: An army jawan was killed in ceasefire violation on the Line of Control (LoC) in Keran sector of north Kashmir's Kupwara district. Nov 9, 2016: An Army jawan was killed in sniper fire from across the Line of Control in Machael sector of J&K's Kupwara district. Nov 8, 2016: Two Army jawans were killed when a 120-mm mortar bomb fired by the Pakistani troops landed and exploded near an Army truck in Nausheha sector along the de facto border in Rajouri district. advertisement Nov 6, 2016: Sepoy Gursewak Singh (24) of 22 Sikh and Naik Rajinder Narayan Tukpare of 22 Maratha Light Infantry were killed to heavy shelling and firing in Krishna Ghati and Saujiyan sectors in Poonch district this morning. Oct 28, 2016: One more BSF Nitin Subhash from Maharashtra martyred in operation during cover fire in Kupwara area in Machhil sector. Oct 28, 2016: Army soldier 26 year old Mandeep was mutilated by a militant in Kupwara's Machhil near LoC while the army was engaged in cross-border firing with Pakistan's army. Oct 27, 2016: Rifleman Sandeep Singh Rawat laid down his life while fighting infiltrating militants in Trangdhar sector of Kupwara district. Oct 27, 2016: BSF Head Constable Jitendra Kumar was martyred during CFA violation in RS Pura and Arnia sectors along the International Border in Jammu district. Oct 23, 2016: BSF jawan Sushil kumar was martyred during a ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the International Border in RS Pura Sector. Oct 22, 2016: BSF jawan Gurnam Singh who was injured on October 20 was martyred. advertisement Oct 16, 2016: Army sepoy Sudees Kumar was martyred due to sniper fire at a forward post in Balakote sector (Poonch district). Also Read: Martyrs never die, says Naugam encounter martyred jawan's father CIVILIANS KILLED- 12 civilians killed (till November,10) according to a Rajya Sabha query. JAWAN'S BEING MUTILATED- Nov 22, 2016: The body of one of the soldiers was found tortured and mutilated. Oct 28, 2016: Militants backed by Pakistan on October 28 mutilated the body of an Indian Army soldier Mandeep Singh close to the LoC in the Machil sector. CFA VIOLATIONS Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre told the Lok Sabha on November 18, 2016 that there have been as many as 167 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LC) and International Border (IB) under operational control of Army (till 14th November) and another 210 Ceasefire Violations along International Border under operational control of BSF (till 1st November). This resulted in 66 injuries of Jawans (both from the Army and BSF) besides killing 12 of the personnel from the Army and BSF. Since then there has been at least 5 more deaths. WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- The de facto foreign policy chief's participation in the Afghanistan conference comes during heightened border and diplomatic tensions between the two countries. The conference on development and security in Afghanistan is likely to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. By Indo-Asian News Service: Pakistan on Wednesday officially confirmed to India that its top diplomat will attend a global conference on Afghanistan in Amritsar early next month amid intensifying deadly military tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Islamabad confirmed that Sartaj Aziz, foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, would visit India for the Heart of Asia Istanbul Process event on December 3-4. advertisement The conference on development and security in Afghanistan is likely to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Aziz said last week that he would go to India. But Swarup pointed out then that India had received no official confirmation from Pakistan about it. The de facto foreign policy chief's participation in the Afghanistan conference comes during heightened border and diplomatic tensions between the two countries. PAKISTAN REJECTS ALLEGATIONS On Tuesday, three Indian soldiers were killed on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. India vowed revenge after one of the bodies of the soldiers was found mutilated at the de facto border in the Kashmir Valley. Pakistan rejected the allegation as "baseless". The border tension continued on Wednesday with Pakistan alleging that at least nine persons were killed when cross-border shelling from India hit a passenger bus in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. "At least nine people have been killed and seven wounded," Speaker of Pakistani Kashmir's Assembly Shah Ghulam Qadir said, accusing the Indian Army of "deliberately targeting" civilians. The bus, according to Qadir, was hit as it was travelling from Kel to Muzaffarabad in the Neelum valley region of divided Kashmir. On this side, the Indian Army said cross-border firing at various places on the LoC continued for hours on Wednesday and three Border Security Forces (BSF) troopers were injured. URI ATTACK AND SURGICAL STRIKES Firing exchanges and a bitter diplomatic war between the two neighbours have continued and grown after the September 18 killing of 19 Indian soldiers in a terror attack at a border military base in Kashmir. The attack was followed by a military surgical strike on terror launch pads by Indian commandos in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in which an unknown number of terrorists and their sympathizers were killed. Since then, at least 18 Indian soldiers - 13 army and five BSF men - have been killed in cross-border firing. Pakistan has also claimed that dozens of its civilians and soldiers had been killed in the firing. The two countries upped their diplomatic war on Wednesday with Pakistan forming a committee "to counter India's propaganda campaign" that will also reach out to Indians "opposed to Narendra Modi's extremism". advertisement The initiative is said to be Aziz's brainchild. "Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies," Dawn newspaper quoted Aziz as saying. In New Delhi, an ailing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply that Pakistan had made a "crude attempt" to tarnish India's image by leveling spying allegations against Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad. Pakistan earlier in November named eight officials of the mission and alleged they were working for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) or the Intelligence Bureau of India. "The manner in which their names and photographs were prominently published in Pakistani media along with baseless allegation ? is against the Vienna Convention and also violates the norms of established diplomatic practice," Sushma Swaraj said. --- ENDS --- Rahul Gandhi takes a dig at PM's Lok Sabha visit: "Question is not whether PM sits there, question is are we being allowed to speak? We aren't. By India Today Web Desk: As the demonetisation drive entered the third week, the standoff in Parliament continued today with the Opposition demanding the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the debate and the government rejecting the demand. While Modi briefly sat in the Lok Sabha today, he did not speak, triggering more protests by the Opposition. Both Rahul Gandhi and Mayawati asked why is the PM scared to speak in the House when he has been talking outside. advertisement Earlier today, nearly 200 MPs belonging to a more than a dozen political parties came together to escalate their protest against the decision to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes by holding a massive dharna and forming a human chain outside Parliament. Upping the ante against Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi called the decision "PM's biggest impromptu financial experiment ". "What PM has done is the biggest impromptu financial experiment, he didn't discuss this with anyone. This isn't Finance Minister's decision but PM's," Gandhi said. The Congress leader further called the decision a scam, and alleged that the Prime Minister had already informed his close friends before making the announcement on November 8. He also demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into selective leak of information. Here are the latest developments: BJP leader and Union minister Venkaiah Naidu said, "Despite the PM being present in LS, why didn't the Opposition allow the House to function? Creating uproar has become their habit." "We have the mandate to implement note ban," Naidu said. Opposition is not allowing discussion in the house by creating uproar,on the contrary they are putting blame on govt: Naidu #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/FKfTB5N0f0 ANI (@ANI_news) November 23, 2016 Naidu: Left frustrated because of byelection loss due to BJP in West Bengal. Naidu: BJP snatched seats from Congress in byelections. "BJP is the protector of the poor in the country. This is bold step taken by the BJP government," said Naidu Rahul Gandhi takes a dig at PM's Lok Sabha visit: "Question is not whether PM sits there, question is are we being allowed to speak? We aren't. Rahul Gandhi said that his party wants the debate on demonetisation under adjournment motion. "What is the PM scared of," Gandhi said. Opposition leaders met Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan amid protest against demonetisation move. Meanwhile, Mayawati said, "I urge President to summon PM and ask him to take measures to solve the problems faced by people post demonetisation move". "I want to ask the PM that if he has done such a good job then what is he scared of," Mayawati said. The Congress had announced the protest with 10 other Opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, Nationalist Congress Party, the Left parties, and the Janata Dal (United). Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress's Derek O'Brien, Janata Dal (United)'s Sharad Yadav, and the DMK's Kanimozhi were among about 200 Opposition MPs gathered next to Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament premises. Since the winter session of Parliament started on November 16, a united Opposition had been demanding the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House to debate demonetisation. "Save poor people", "Not a surgical strike, but carpet bombing on people", and "Stop the persecution of common people" were some of the slogans raised by the leaders. Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been at the forefront of the protests against demonetisation, is also expected to lead a protest at the Jantar Mantar today. On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi, in a dig at Modi, had questioned his absence from both Houses of Parliament, which has been unable to function due to chaos over the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. "The Prime Minister can speak on TV, can speak at a pop concert, but why not in the Parliament," Rahul had asked. Meanwhile, senior Union ministers including Rajnath Singh, Ananth Kumar, MA Naqvi are holding a meeting in Venkaiah Naidu's chamber to decide the government's strategy in Parliament. Modi, in an emotional address to the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting on Tuesday, had urged the members to counter what he called "misinformation" being spread by the Opposition parties. The Prime Minister also launched a survey on demonetisation by asking the common people 10 questions on his Narendra Modi mobile app. After Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee, now Rahul Gandhi calls demonetisation a scam --- ENDS --- Jean-Claude Juncker (left) said he was against Jose Manuel Barroso taking up a job with Goldman Sachs European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled plans Wednesday to tighten the code of conduct for former officials after a row over his predecessor Jose Manuel Barroso's role with Goldman Sachs. The "cooling-off" period during which they must inform Brussels if they take a new job would be extended from 18 months to three years for former commission presidents and to two years for former commissioners. "In the light of recent experience made with members of the previous commission, I feel that our code of conduct should be tightened in order to set the highest ethical standards possible for cases of conflict of interest," Juncker said in a statement. "For the future, I want notably to extend the cooling off period for former presidents to three years. Tighter rules are certainly not sufficient to bring about acceptable ethical behaviour in all cases, but they are an indispensable starting point." Ex-Portuguese premier Barroso headed the Commission, th e EU's powerful executive arm, from 2004 until 2014, emerging as a high-profile public figure with political and business connections worldwide. His decision to join US bank Goldman Sachs, widely blamed in Brussels for its role in the 2008 global crash, sparked uproar with French President Francois Hollande saying it was "unacceptable". An EU ethics committee last month cleared Barroso, who waited the compulsory 18 months, of breaching ethics rules but criticised his "judgment" for taking the Goldman job. Former Luxembourg premier Juncker himself said he was against Barroso taking the Goldman job, saying that there was "no problem for him to take a job in a private bank, but not that one". Pope Francis extended the power to forgive abortion to all Roman Catholic priests day before yesterday. The right was reserved for bishops and special confessors earlier. Pope Francis walks after closing the Holy Door to mark the closing of the Catholic Jubilee Year of Mercy. Photo: Reuters By Reuters: Pope Francis on Monday extended indefinitely to all Roman Catholic priests the power to forgive abortion, a right previously reserved for bishops or special confessors in most parts of the world. Francis, who has made a more inclusive and forgiving Roman Catholic Church a characteristic of his papacy, made the announcement in a document known as an "apostolic letter" after Sunday's close of the Church's "Holy Year of Mercy". advertisement He said he wanted to "restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life" but "there is no sin that God's mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with (God)". Francis had already temporarily granted the power to all priests to give what is known as "sacramental absolution" for abortion during the Holy Year, from Dec. 8 to Nov. 20, but the solemn tone of his words in Monday's letter suggested that the change would last for at least the rest of his papacy. In Roman Catholic teaching, abortion is such a serious sin that those who procure or perform it bring automatic excommunication on themselves as they are knowingly committing a sin the Church considers grave. In the past, only a bishop or a designated special confessor could grant absolution for an abortion and lift excommunication. Although bishops in some dioceses in developed countries such as the United States and Britain had already delegated this authority to parish priests, the old practice was still in effect in most of the world. "Not only is this a change in Church policy, it changes Church law," said Father James Bretzke, a professor of moral theology at Boston College. "I think it's very significant in the context of Pope Francis' theme of his pontificate, which is going to go down as the pontificate of mercy; he sees mercy as absolutely the key." At a news conference at the Vatican, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who oversaw Holy Year activities, said the new norms applied to all Roman Catholics involved in an abortion, including the woman and medical staff. Fisichella rejected suggestions that some people could see the move as putting abortion on the same level as lesser sins. "There is no type of laxness here," he said, repeating the pope's words that while abortion was very grave, there was no sin that could not be touched by God's mercy. In a document last year, Francis described the "existential and moral ordeal" faced by women who have terminated pregnancies and said he had "met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonising and painful decision". --- ENDS --- advertisement Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues his massive, authoritarian purge of his country's public institutions, news media and civil society groups with a fresh wave of public-sector firings, bringing the total number of jettisoned public servants to 100,000. Erdogan also shut down more civil society groups and independent news agencies (129 in total). The purges use last summer's failed coup, and the brutal crackdown on the Occupy Gezi protests of 2013. The EU is contemplating full membership for Turkey; prior to the Syrian refugee crisis, the principal bargaining chip in these negotiations was respect for fundamental human rights in exchange for EU membership. These days, the EU seems to be willing to admit Turkey in its most dictatorial state in a generation in exchange for the country serving as a buffer and holding-pen for refugees fleeing the conflicts in Syria and Iraq a compromise also fueled by the Russian power-plays in the region, which gives Turkey a second bidder for its allegiance. Erdogan is deliberately baiting the EU now his party recently introduced legislation to legalize the rape of children, provided that their rapists "married" them. The bill has been relegated to a committee after public outcry. The new wave of dismissals came on a morning when the European Parliament was scheduled to debate freezing accession talks for Turkey to join the European Union. It was one of several recent indicators that the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was abandoning hope of success in that process, which has dragged on for 11 years. Mr. Erdogan has been defiant, saying it was time that the European Union made up its mind on Turkey's membership, and threatening to hold a nationwide referendum on whether to continue the talks. A recent European Commission report expressed concern that Turkey's worsening record on human rights and press freedom was making accession increasingly difficult. The Turkish president has advocated bringing back the death penalty, which is banned in European Union countries as a condition of membership, and he has ordered a thorough crackdown on the country's news media, with 129 outlets now closed. 15,000 More Public Workers Are Fired in Turkey Crackdown [Rod Nordland and Safak Timur/New York Times] (via Super Punch) (Image: Taksim Gezi Park protests 2013, Fleshstorm, CC-BY-SA) Releases from NASA, NASA's Galex, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, HubbleSite, Spitzer, Cassini, ESO, ESA, NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory, Royal Astronomical Society, NRAO, Astronomy Picture of the Day, Harvard-Smithsonian Center For Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Gemini Observatory, Subaru Telescope, W. M. Keck Observatory, Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, JPL-Caltech, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, ICRAR, etc "We feel that this decision is a scam. The PM had informed his close friends about this before the announcement," Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi said. By India Today Web Desk: After Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Congress has now called the demonetisation a scam while a belligerent Opposition continues to block Parliament and demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in the House. "We feel that this decision is a scam. The PM had informed his close friends about this before the announcement," Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi told reporters in New Delhi today, shortly after more than 200 Opposition MPs formed a human chain outside Parliament to protest the note ban. advertisement ALSO READ | PM can address Coldplay concert, why not Parliament: Rahul Gandhi "Prime Minister should come here, sit, debate and listen to us. Why is he scared of coming here?" Rahul asked. GANDHI SCION DEMANDS JPC PROBE Rahul demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into allegations that the BJP had informed its friends beforehand on the banning of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, announced by Modi in a televised address on November 8. Shortly after the announcement, both the AAP and the TMC had launched a major attack on the government, calling the decision a "big scam". EVEN JAITLEY WAS UNAWARE: RAHUL Rahul said even the Finance Minister was unaware of the demonetisation move. "He (Modi) can go to a pop concert and speak, but 200 MPs of opposition are standing here demanding his presence," he said. Calling the demonetisation the "world's biggest impromptu experiment", Gandhi said that even Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was not aware of the decision. He was quick to add, however, that many industrialists and BJP members were in the loop of the note ban decision in advance. "PM did not ask anyone, not even Finance Minister or the Chief Economic Adviser, before taking this decision. But there were many in party (BJP) and many industrialists, who were aware. Big deposits were made in banks before this decision," Gandhi said. --- ENDS --- Hundreds of thousands of laptops are set to be delivered to schools across Kenya by G4S in a government drive to boost IT literacy. The Kenyan government plans to fund the computers for the country's 22,000 primary schools, dubbed the 'Digischool' programme. It believes that the initiative will be a major boost to not only education - putting Kenyan schoolchildren on a par with their global counterparts - but also the country's economy. G4S Kenya has signed an agreement with one of the two universities selected to supply and install the devices, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). Over the next two years, the business will distribute 365,737 devices to 8,600 primary schools in 21 counties, through its existing courier services network. The equipment is being stored and secured at G4S Kenya's main hub in Nairobi, where work has already begun to pack and deliver the laptops to an initial 75 schools. "We're delighted to be involved in such an important programme for Kenya, which will empower our young people with advanced IT knowledge and help secure the future of our country," said Geoffrey Mwove, Director - Courier, G4S Kenya. "We already have an extensive courier operation, with more than 600 vehicles and 141 offices nationally, which was one of the factors in the award of the contract to G4S." Announcing the government's plans, Joe Mucheru, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of ICT, said: "We are now starting on a journey that will without a doubt transform not just the education sector but the entire economy. "When we put these devices in the hands of our children, we are securing not just their future but that of the country and look forward to being a global IT powerhouse in a few years." Deputy President William Ruto added: "We have trained 80,000 teachers in all primary schools in readiness for this massive programme. We have also ensured that each school is connected to electricity. "This programme will revolutionize the process of learning in this country and put our children on a par with their global counterparts." Notes to Editors G4S Kenya is in talks with the government over plans to eventually extend the programme to Grade 1 and secondary schools. Media contacts: For all media enquiries please contact G4S Media Team at media@g4s.com or call +44 (0) 20 7963 3333 About G4S G4S is the world's leading global, integrated security company specialising in the delivery of security and related services to customers across six continents. The group is active in more than 100 countries*, and is the largest employer quoted on the London Stock Exchange with over 610,000* employees and has a secondary stock exchange listing in Copenhagen. *Includes 44,000 employees in businesses in 15 countries that are being sold or exit For more information on G4S, visit www.g4s.com BIONOR PHARMA ASA STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting 14 December 2016 (Oslo, Norway, 23 November 2016) An Extraordinary General Meeting of Bionor Pharma ASA will be held on Wednesday 14 December 2016 at 16:30 hours CET (the "EGM") at KS Agenda Mtesenter, Haakon VIIs gate 9, Oslo, Norway. On 21 November 2016 Bionor Pharma announced (the "Announcement") that the company has entered into an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Solon Eiendom AS (the "Acquisition"). In connection the Company will do a Private Placement and a Subsequent Offering as further described in the Announcement. The Acquisition, the Private Placement and the Subsequent Offering are subject to shareholder approval and the Company accordingly call the EGM for the purpose of obtaining such shareholder approval. The largest shareholders of the Company, including Ferncliff Listed DAI, Lars H. Hie, Cipriano AS and Alden AS, have signed a lock-up undertaking until the EGM and have undertaken to vote in favour of such resolutions at the EGM. The notice of the EGM is attached hereto and includes detailed registration and proxy instructions. All relevant documents and link to online registration of attendance and advance voting can be found on www.bionorpharma.com. Please note that to attend the EGM, attendants must be registered shareholders five working days prior to the meeting, i.e. 7 December 2016. This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Further information Einar J. Greve Chairman of the Board, Bionor Pharma ASA E-mail: ejg@cipriano.no Cell Phone: +47 900 27 766 Unni Hjelmaas Acting Chief Executive Officer, Bionor Pharma ASA E-mail: uh@bionorpharma.com Cell Phone: +47 915 19 651 Cecilie Grue, Director Legal Affairs, Bionor Pharma ASA, E-mail: cg@bionorpharma.com, Cell Phone: +47 991 62 486 CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SPX Corporation (NYSE:SPXC) announced that it has entered into an agreement for the sale of its European Power Generation business (the Balcke-Durr group, or Balcke-Durr) to mutares AG (mutares), a German-based publicly traded industrial holding company. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur by December 31, 2016. The terms of the purchase agreement include the sale of the subsidiaries comprising Balcke-Durr in exchange for nominal cash at closing and a commitment by SPX to leave sufficient liquidity within Balcke-Durr, including a loan from SPX, to support ongoing operations and the implementation of mutaress strategic plan. A more detailed description of the transaction is provided in the companys Form 8-K filed today with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Gene Lowe, President and CEO, remarked, The agreement for the sale of Balcke-Durr is another significant step forward on our value creation roadmap. Our team has worked tirelessly to arrive at the best possible solution for delivering on our commitment to eliminate the losses from the underperforming portions of our Power Segment. With the completion of this transaction, and the earlier sale of our Dry Cooling business, SPX will substantially complete the transformation of the Power Segment, leaving the company with three strong platforms to continue executing on our growth strategy. As previously disclosed, the elimination of the underperforming portions of our Power Generation business would have the effect of increasing the companys current Adjusted EPS* guidance for 2016 by more than $0.30, the majority of which is attributable to the sale of Balcke-Durr. SPX anticipates that the transaction will qualify for discontinued operations presentation in our full-year 2016 financial statements, and now expects to report full-year Adjusted EPS* significantly in excess of our current guidance range of $1.00-$1.20. About SPX Corporation: Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, SPX Corporation is a leading supplier of highly engineered HVAC products, detection and measurement technologies and power equipment. With operations in about 20 countries, SPX Corporation had approximately $1.7 billion in annual revenue in 2015 and approximately 6,000 employees worldwide. SPX Corporation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SPXC. For more information, please visit www.spx.com. About mutares AG: Based in Munich, Germany, mutares AG is an industrial holding company that focuses on acquiring companies currently finding themselves in a special situation, such as owner or management succession or strategic repositioning. Getting engaged with its own teams, mutares actively supports its portfolio companies ensuring sustainable, long-term growth. The shares of mutares AG are traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol MUX (ISIN: DE000A0SMSH2). For more information, please visit www.mutares.com. *Non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EPS is calculated in a manner consistent with the presentation of Adjusted EPS in SPXs press release dated November 3, 2016 and submitted as Exhibit 99.1 to SPXs Current Report on Form 8-K dated November 3, 2016. Because of the forward-looking nature of the estimate of Adjusted EPS, it is impractical to present a quantitative reconciliation of such measure to a comparable GAAP measure, and accordingly no such GAAP measure or reconciliation is being presented. Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby. Please read these results in conjunction with the company's documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's annual reports on Form 10-K, and any amendments thereto, and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These filings identify important risk factors and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from these statements. The words believe, "expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, estimates of future operating results are based on the company's existing operations and complement of businesses, which are subject to change. Statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release, and SPX disclaims any responsibility to update or revise such statements. As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ The Bharatiya Janata Party today said that they would not be making the Ayodhya-Babri Mosque controversy an electoral plank in the elections. The proposed Ramayana Museum is slated to come up within 15 km from the disputed Babri Masjid-Ram janmabhoomi site. By Siddhartha Rai: Those yearning to see the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election being fought in the name of Ram Temple in Ayodhya are likely to be disappointed as the Bharatiya Janata Party would not be making the Ayodhya-Babri Mosque controversy an electoral plank in the elections. While the right-wing seemed to be speaking in different voices, Mail Today has learnt that the issue would not figure in the list of "deliverables" in the upcoming party manifesto. On the contrary, the party is said to be interested in keeping the issue alive and its stand on it, ambiguous. advertisement On being asked if the party would finally catapult to the pressure from the radical elements in the Sangh Parivar, a top BJP leader summed up the stand thus: "Not a step forward, not a step back." ALSO READ: Muslims hold key to electoral outcome in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls Even the radical Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), while maintaining its firm stand that a temple be made at Ayodhya - outfit's general secretary Champat Rai declared in May this year that construction would commence before December 31, is said to be of the opinion that the issue not be lent to the BJP as a poll plank. "The Uttar Pradesh election should be fought on the issues of development and not Ayodhya," said a top VHP leader. Sources also told Mail Today that even the RSS meet in Hyderabad had brainstormed on the matter. ALSO READ: Opinion poll: BJP ahead in Uttar Pradesh on back of OBC support DIFFERENT VOICES Meanwhile the Sangh Parivar has been speaking in different voices. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had declared during the Ujjain 'Vichar Mahakumbh' that the construction of the temple would be in the interest of the country. The brainstorming session had been organised in the wake of the Simhasta Kumbh mela on the banks of Kshipra river. At the conclusion of the national executive meeting in Hyderabad, while RSS's second-in-command Suresh Bhayyaji Joshi had said that the 'Hindu Samaj' desired that there should be a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, he had also cited that the matter had been pending before the Ram Mandir not to be a poll plank Supreme Court. However, he urged that the legal problems be sorted to start the construction. Even BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had said that the temple would be built soon. He had said that while the apex court's verdict was awaited, he was confident of a favourable judgment and in that case the construction was expected to begin by the year end. ALSO READ: Swamy claims Ram temple is on BJP agenda, India Today-Axis poll finds 0 per cent UP voters want it advertisement But at the same time BJP leaders - including Union home minister Rajnath Singh, party's UP unit president Keshav Prasad Maurya and Union minister Uma Bharti - had declared categorically that the issue was only a matter of faith and not a political issue. Even Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Ravi Shankar Prasad had said the same thing. Recently, party leader Vinay Katiyar had called the proposed Ramayana Museum as a mere "lollipops" in the name of the temple. The museum is slated to come up 15 km from the disputed Babri Masjid-Ram janmabhoomi site. --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan Kathmandu, Nov 23 (PTI) Yoga guru Ramdev today said he will invest billions of rupees in Nepal to create 20,000 jobs in the country as he jointly inaugurated a new venture to produce organic medicine and other items. Ramdev, who arrived here on a week-long visit yesterday, inaugurated the new factory of his Patanjali Ayurveda Grama Udyog with Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari in Bara district in southern Nepal. advertisement The factory which was established with an initial capital investment of Rs 1.5 billion will be upgraded to Rs 5 billion in future and will produce organic medicine and other products, Ramdev said during an interaction with officials and members of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry here. Ramdev said he will invest billions of rupees in Nepal for producing ayurvedic products that would eventually generate employment for 20,000 Nepalese youths. Ramdev, who was accompanied by his close aid Acharya Balkrishna, also flew to Bara district in southern Nepal, where he will conduct a five-day yoga camp, according to sources close to Patanjali Yoga Ashram of Nepal. President Bhandrai, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, ministers, leaders and members of the business community are among others who have been invited to attend the function in Birgunj. Thousands of yoga enthusiasts from Nepal and India have assembled in Birgunj are have been preparing for a month for the event. PTI SBP MRJ AKJ MRJ --- ENDS --- Telugu actor Ravi Babu stood in an ATM queue in Hyderabad with his piglet to withdraw money. By Indo-Asian News Service: Actor-filmmaker Ravi Babu today made a public appearance with a piglet in Hyderabad, much to the surprise of the general public. He had come to withdraw cash from a bank. The piglet plays the central character in his upcoming Telugu film, "Adhugo". READ: Maharashtra state government employees demand salary in cash "Wherever I go these days, I take the piglet along. I can't leave him at home because there's nobody to take care. I had to withdraw cash from the bank, so I decided to take the piglet with me. Although people were a little surprised to see it, nobody made a fuss out of it," Ravi Babu told IANS. advertisement The film is currently in its post-production stage. READ: Bengaluru food tech startups come to the rescue of those standing in ATM queues "I raised a few piglets in my friend's farm for the film. While most of the film was shot with live piglet, we did use animatronics to shoot some important sequences. It's the first time an Indian film has used a piglet," he said. The film is produced by Suresh Babu. Also Read: Panic fades as ATM queues become shorter, bank branches still under pressure Bengaluru driver flees with Rs 1.37 crore ATM cash Not just a token: This farmer market in Telangana believes in cashless transactions --- ENDS --- By PTI: Hyderabad, Nov 23 (PTI) Electricity regulatory frameworks of the country must support the technological upgradations in the power and energy sector, Telangana State Electricity Commission (TSERC) Chairman Ismail Ali Khan said here today. Addressing a conference on Clean Power and Energy 2016 organised by CII Telangana, in partnership with British Deputy High Commission, Hyderabad, here today, Khan said capacity additions in terms of solar and wind are progressing well in the country. advertisement "As share of renewable energy grows in grid handling capacity you have to move innovatively to stabilise the grid. As share increases in grid, energy storage is one of the option. We are in the process of developing technical support requirements," he said. He stressed that along with technical innovations, as well as the investments to support the grid stability and security, regulatory framework also has to change and be ready with a regulatory system. ?Technically, we have to adopt innovative technologies from across the world and also improve regulatory system and the Government is moving towards this direction,? Khan added. He said the renewable energy plants are deceptive due to climatic conditions and hence it is a challenge to ensure instantaneous support to the grid. ?In this regard, technologies to enhance new storage capacities are very important which the UK partners have immense expertise," Khan said. Andrew McAlister, Deputy High Commissioner, British Deputy High Commission, Hyderabad, mentioned that the UK has already committed to deliver 5.8 billion Pounds as climate finance between 2016-2021 supporting developing countries to deliver climate resilience and transition to a low-carbon economy. McAlister also talked about the strengths in UKs renewable energy initiatives that would help Indias objectives in meeting energy requirements of the future, through a strategic partnership. "UK is going to phase out coal powered energy by 2025, and targeting 30 per cent electricity needs through renewable energy by 2030 from the current 13 per cent," he said. Frank Gordon, Senior Policy Analyst, Renewable Energy Association (REA), spoke about significant developments in energy storage, which is critical to meet the energy requirements of the world. He opined that the costs of power are coming down drastically and at the same time the technological capabilities have improved to a large extent. He also briefed about the UK?s initiative on Enhanced Frequency Response, which happens to be one of its kind. PTI VVK DK MR --- ENDS --- By PTI: Hyderabad, Nov 23 (PTI) Electricity regulatory frameworks of the country must support the technological upgradations in the power and energy sector, Telangana State Electricity Commission (TSERC) Chairman Ismail Ali Khan said here today. Addressing a conference on Clean Power and Energy 2016 organised by CII Telangana, in partnership with British Deputy High Commission, Hyderabad, here today, Khan said capacity additions in terms of solar and wind are progressing well in the country. advertisement "As share of renewable energy grows in grid handling capacity you have to move innovatively to stabilise the grid. As share increases in grid, energy storage is one of the option. We are in the process of developing technical support requirements," he said. He stressed that along with technical innovations, as well as the investments to support the grid stability and security, regulatory framework also has to change and be ready with a regulatory system. ?Technically, we have to adopt innovative technologies from across the world and also improve regulatory system and the Government is moving towards this direction,? Khan added. He said the renewable energy plants are deceptive due to climatic conditions and hence it is a challenge to ensure instantaneous support to the grid. ?In this regard, technologies to enhance new storage capacities are very important which the UK partners have immense expertise," Khan said. Andrew McAlister, Deputy High Commissioner, British Deputy High Commission, Hyderabad, mentioned that the UK has already committed to deliver 5.8 billion Pounds as climate finance between 2016-2021 supporting developing countries to deliver climate resilience and transition to a low-carbon economy. McAlister also talked about the strengths in UKs renewable energy initiatives that would help Indias objectives in meeting energy requirements of the future, through a strategic partnership. "UK is going to phase out coal powered energy by 2025, and targeting 30 per cent electricity needs through renewable energy by 2030 from the current 13 per cent," he said. Frank Gordon, Senior Policy Analyst, Renewable Energy Association (REA), spoke about significant developments in energy storage, which is critical to meet the energy requirements of the world. He opined that the costs of power are coming down drastically and at the same time the technological capabilities have improved to a large extent. He also briefed about the UK?s initiative on Enhanced Frequency Response, which happens to be one of its kind. PTI VVK DK MR BAS --- ENDS --- Rifleman Shashank Kumar Singh, who was with the 57 Rashtriya Rifles had joined the Indian Army in 2011, was posted in Jammu and Kashmir. By Rohit Kumar Singh: The martyrdom of rifleman Shashank Kumar Singh, has sent his village into mourning. Singh, who was a native of Nasiruddin village in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh was one of the three jawans who were gunned down by the terrorists who were trying to infiltrate into the Indian soil in Machil sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Shashank, who was with the 57 Rashtriya Rifles had joined the Indian Army in 2011, was posted in Jammu and Kashmir. Shashank Singh (25), was the youngest of the three sons of Arun Kumar Singh, a farmer. Shashank's eldest brother is also posted with Rashtriya Rifles while other brother is working in a private company in Delhi. advertisement SHASHANK WAS TO GET MARRIED NEXT YEAR Shashank's father informed India Today that his youngest son was scheduled to marry in May next year. His mother has been inconsolable as the news of her son's death reached her. Also read: Pakistan army beheads soldier at LoC, India retaliates, deploys troops "GOVERNMENT MUST TAKE STRICT ACTION AGAINST PAKISTAN" Speaking to India Today, father Arun Kumar Singh lashed out at Pakistan and demanded the government to take stern action against the neighbouring country to teach them a lesson. "I am proud that my son has laid his life for the motherland but this has now become a practice that our jawans are being killed. I seek strong action against Pakistan so avenge death of my son", said Arun Kumar Singh, distraught father of martyr Shashank. Also read: Pakistan summons Indian official to protest 'ceasefire violations' Shashank's cousin brother too wants to join the Indian Army soon. "I have been selected in the first round of test conducted by Indian Army. I want that the government should give me an opportunity to fulfil the work which my brother has left incomplete", said Naveen Kumar Singh, cousin of martyr Shashank. LAST RITES TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY Martyr Shashank's body is likely to reach his native village on Thursday where his last rites will be conducted. Also read: Pakistan TV channel claims their navy chased 'Indian submarine' away Indian Army rubbishes Pakistan's claim of killing of its 11 soldiers on Nov 14 in cross-border firing Watch the video --- ENDS --- By PTI: Vadodara, Nov 22 (PTI) Demonetised currency notes worth Rs 31 lakh were today recovered from the residence of the brother of a sitting BJP corporator in the city, police said. The accused, Vaikunth Pavar alias Dabangg, has been detained after the recovery of cash in old currency notes, Joint Commissioner of Police D J Patel told PTI. advertisement "We had reliable information that Pawar has kept the cash at his residence. Based on the tip-off, action was taken," the officer said. "The detained person is the brother of Vijay Pawar, BJP corporator in Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC)," Patel added. Further investigation into the case is being carried out by the Crime Branch, he said. PTI CORR NP SMJ --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan Kathmandu, Nov 23 (PTI) A Russian pilot was today killed and a Canadian woman critically injured when their ultralight aircraft crashed in Nepals western Kaski district. The deceased has been identified as Alexandr Maximov, who worked at the Avia Club, Nepal. According to the District Police Office, Maximov was taken to Gandaki Medical College for treatment where he passed away. advertisement Canadian national Jillene Marie Volker, 27, who was also on the adventure flight sustained critical injuries, said the police. A senior police officer said the ultralight aircraft with call sign 9N-ALC had crashed soon after it took off for a recreational flight from the mountain resort town of Pokhara. Powered by an engine, ultralight is a two-seated small aircraft used for recreational aviation flights. Ultralight flights are popular among tourists for seeing panoramic views of the majestic snow-capped Annapurna mountains. However, accidents are also common. On November 13, the wreckage of an ultralight aircraft that went missing on October 8 last year was found near the Mount Machhapuchhre in Kaski district of western Nepal. Police also recovered remains of two foreigners ?Russian pilot Valerie Putin and South African woman Elizabeth Well ? who were aboard the aircraft. PTI SBP UZM --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on November 25 a plea seeking constitution of an SIT to investigate into the "incriminating" evidence and details of "unaccounted" cash recovered allegedly during the raids by the Income Tax and CBI in two companies two years ago. A bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said this after senior advocate Shanti Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner NGO Common Cause, mentioned the matter before the apex court. advertisement The plea sought a direction to the CBI, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to "produce the records and the seized material recovered in the raids" before the apex court. It also sought a direction to the "authorities not to return the seized documents to the business groups concerned". The application, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, claimed that "actionable evidence" gathered during the raids on both the groups was given a "quiet burial" by Income Tax Department and CBI. It said that CBI had conducted raids in 2013 at various premises of one of the groups company during its probe into the coal block allocation scam case. "The documents seized by the CBI in its search operation in Mumbai reportedly revealed massive bribery of politicians and officials of various ministries over several years," it alleged. Referring to media reports, it said IT department had raided the other groups offices in Delhi and Noida in November 2014 and during which "incriminating documents and cash" were reportedly seized. PTI MNL ABA SJK RKS ZMN --- ENDS --- As a Canadian, I am more than a little surprised at the backlash our Prime Minister has had over his remarks on Castro's passing. Seems to me that he was much more even-handed than other world leaders were when the king of Saudi Arabia died, and the praise he gave Castro was factual: he health care and education imprived under Castro. Literacy went up from 60 percent before the revolution to 99 percent now (better han the United States and roughly equal to Canada). Infant mortality is much better than the united States, and almost as good as Canada, and their doctor-to-patient ratio is better than either Canada or the United States. I have been to both Cuba and the United States, and while there are areas in the United States where I would not feel safe, I never experienced that in Cuba. Yes, the people there are poor, and it's not a great place to be if you are homosexual, but neither was the United States until recently, and if Castro's greatest critics, Cruz and Rubio, had their way, LGBT rights in America will become a thing of the past. And if you want to talk about repression, there's always Guantanamo, Black Lives Matter, and Standing Rock: And you have a President-Elect who'd like to tinker with your first amendment. To paraphrase the Great American songsmith Elias McDaniel, before you accuse Cuba, take a look at yourself. Next spring, Jaspers studying Economic Growth and Development will extend their reach more than 7,000 miles from Riverdale to Rwanda, and have the chance to study a developing country firsthand. ECON 412 is part of a push to expand study abroad course offerings in Africa, a continent thats remained untouched by the Colleges academic programming until this year. In general, study abroad is important to globalizing your knowledge and experience, but it expands the more you travel to different parts of the world, says Kevin Gschwend, study abroad coordinator at Manhattan College. Africa is a very different experience in comparison to studying abroad in Italy or France. Ethiopia Gschwend was part of a cohort of Manhattan College faculty and administration, along with representatives from the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, International Association of Lasallian Universities (IALU) and La Salle University, that traveled to Ethiopia in May to explore study abroad opportunities and collaborative research projects with partners in Africa including Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the United States Aid for International Development (USAID), among others. The group also visited the Ethiopian Catholic University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (ECUSTA), a higher learning center that the Institute of the Brothers has been asked to administer. Mays exploratory visit was the second of two led by Brother Jack Curran, FSC, Ph.D., vice president for mission at the College, and could result in the establishment of the first Catholic university in Ethiopia. Ghana The following month, Jawanza Eric Clark, Ph.D., associate professor of religious studies, led the Colleges first ever study abroad trip on African soil. Six students, none of whom had been to the continent before, spent two weeks studying African Christianity in Ghana. I talk in my class a lot about the western misunderstanding and misconception about Africa, about this myth of the primitive that we have to constantly combat, Clark says. Once they got there and actually engaged with people on the ground, they realized their assumptions about Africa and their expectations were totally torn asunder. Clark also explains that his students connected with the course material in a completely different way than they did on campus. While in Ghana, we visited Elmina Castle, a former slave trading post built by the Portuguese in 1482, says Allison Vaccaro 18, a special education major. We got to tour the castle and learn about its dark past. Reading about the castle in a classroom in New York would have been powerful, but being there was absolutely indescribable. Standing in the dark cold cellar was something you had to experience, not learn about. Just a few weeks later, Ghana welcomed another Jasper this time through a CRS-sponsored Faculty Enrichment Program that seeks to integrate the work of CRS into the classroom. Jessica Wilson, Ph.D., assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, along with faculty members from across the country, met with community leaders and partners in Ghana to observe their water filtration systems. Back home, three graduate environmental engineering students are working with Wilson to research and improve these systems. Rwanda ECON 412 will examine the economic issues that arise out of poverty, lack of accessible education and health care, environmental degradation, as well as international trade and financial agreements. Most economic models dont work in developing countries. This course will be very topical and data-driven, says Gwendolyn Tedeschi, Ph.D., associate professor of economics and finance. Following the trip, Tedeschi will have her students write a reflection, incorporating data they collect in Rwanda and examining findings that may be inconsistent with their initial predictions. Planned in partnership with the Global Engagement Institute, the trip will include opportunities for students to visit the Nyamirambo Womens Center in Kigali, an artisan collective that provides education and training to disadvantaged women; a Vision 2020 community in Gashora that is working to overcome rural development challenges; a Catholic Relief Services branch in Kigali; various fair trade vendors; as well as the countrys genocide memorials and a full-day safari. International studies major Oliver Granas 17 is enrolling in Tedeschis course with the hopes of heading back to Africa after he graduates in May. Last spring, Granas spent a semester abroad in Morocco through an International Studies Abroad (ISA) program. There, he was able to practice his French and Arabic minors daily while living with a host family in Meknes. Theres a great mix of cultures there, even within one country, Granas says. Africa is developing. Its becoming much more influential in today's world. Africas global influence has indeed prompted the College to think strategically about its offerings there. In the future, Clark says he would love to teach a course in Black Theology in Cape Town, South Africa, and Ghislaine Mayer, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, has proposed a Field Work in Global Health/Neglected Tropical Diseases course in Ethiopia. When theres real world application, it makes a difference and the information sticks, says Granas, who is looking into joining the Peace Corps or becoming a government translator. I think its important to study areas other than popular destinations. Its important to step out of your comfort zone. Iran to send delegation to Vienna to strengthen relations with IAEA Iranian Foreign Minister to discuss state of nuclear deal negotiations with Borrell Putin: Russia is ready to supply grain to the poorest countries even without participation in the deal Pentagon to supply Vampire anti-drone system to AFU Xi Jinping confirms China's readiness to invest in Pakistan Kuzmina: I don't agree that Armenia's economy will be swept away if the borders with Turkey are opened Poland to build wall on border with Kaliningrad Garo Paylan proposes opening Armenian-Turkish border Eduard Solovyov: Russia stated extreme undesirability of close contacts between Baku and NATO countries Zelenskyy: Threat of use of nuclear weapons by Russia exists and it is not related to non-compliance with ultimatums IRNA: Azerbaijani State Security Service reacted nervously to Pashinyan's visit to Tehran FLYONE ARMENIA to start operating flights on the route Yerevan - Beirut Yerevan Moscow to host meeting of Secretaries of CIS Security Councils Armenian MFA considers it inappropriate to comment on Lukashenko's rambling statements Dollar rises, euro falls in Armenia Biden's threat to impose profit tax on oil companies is more of boast than threat Vadim Mukhanov: Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh are one of main points of negotiations Russia analyst describes Karabakh Armenians fate if Western version of peace treaty is signed Armenia MFA: Lukashenko statement is disconnected from reality Russia MFA spox comments on Zangezur corridor prospects Voytolovsky: Both sides will have weighty reasons to extend Russia peacekeepers mission in Karabakh Armenia finance minister: Expenditure for PM's office will be reduced next year Finance minister: Expenses for needs of parliament staff, Armenia President will increase considerably in 2023 Zakharova on meeting of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs in Sochi Armenian President congratulates Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Azerbaijani special forces conduct exercises on border with Iran Armenia defense minister meets with head of EU monitoring mission Nikol Pashinyan: It is necessary to continue the work to reduce cash turnover Russia resumes its participation in grain deal UK shortage of F-35 fighter pilots Premier: Ministry of Internal Affairs, Foreign Intelligence Service will be established in Armenia in 2023 Shoigu: The NATO grouping near Russia's borders has grown 2.5 times since February New Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad hopes to continue talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran Security Council chief receives head of EU monitoring capacity mission to Armenia Pashinyan: Armenia-Azerbaijan borders existence was recorded both in Sochi and Prague Second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan to take part in rally on November 5 Canada to welcome 500,000 immigrants a year by 2025 Armenia PM: Communication difficulties, challenges in relations with Turkey have been overcome Pashinyan: Armenian side suggests extending mandate of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh MFA: Armenia has no misunderstandings with Iran Russia position on Karabakh status corresponds to Armenia government approach, PM says Pashinyan: Armenia attaches great importance to further development, deepening of relations with Brazil Premier: Armenia defense spending will increase by 113% in 2023 compared to 2018 Deputy PM Grigoryan to attend Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation, security commissions 3rd meeting Pashinyan: Armenia has set new record for registered jobs Israir Airlines launches flights between Tel Aviv, Yerevan Armenia envoy briefs UK House of Commons defense committee chair on impact of recent Azerbaijan attack PM: Armenia's economy is booming today Seoul, Pyongyang launch missiles Newspaper: Armenia ruling political team is in favor of western version of peace treaty with Azerbaijan State Department: US will contribute to Armenia-Azerbaijan talks Turkey parliament approves extending mandate of countrys military in occupied Aghdam of Karabakh Sweden to reach NATO's defense spending goal of 2% of GDP by 2026 Lebanon raises electricity price for first time since 1990s Lavrov and Cavusoglu discuss situation over 'grain deal' Turkey not satisfied with Sweden's promises Azerbaijan claims to have 'exposed' Azerbaijanis who acted 'under control of Iranian secret service' Taliban sets up female Interior Ministry unit in Afghanistan to disperse protests U.S. concerned about Iran's 'threats' against Saudi Arabia Lebanon is facing a power vacuum, left without a president Gas exports from Iran to Armenia to double In first 9 months about $1.7 billion is transferred to Armenia Baerbock and Scholz disagree on China Delegations of Ukraine, Turkey and UN temporarily suspend movement of ships in framework of Black Sea grain deal Qatar Energy Minister calls EU proposal to limit gas prices hypocritical Jamshidi: Any capturing of further territories is occupation Putin: Kiev must give real guarantees of strict compliance with the Istanbul agreements Putin and Erdogan discuss results of meeting of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Sochi Blinken goes to Germany to meet with G-7 colleagues Iranist: Cooperation between Yerevan and Tehran will prevent further Turkish activism U.S. military conducts field weapons inspections in Ukraine Defense Ministers of Russia and Turkey once again discuss suspension of 'grain deal' Armenian President and ICRC representatives discuss Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan Aliyev's aide visits Nakhchivan Berlin urges Serbia to choose between EU and Russia Armenian Deputy Prime Minister and USAID representatives discuss bilateral cooperation Erdogan: Turkey continues to make necessary initiatives on grain deal Macron promises Ukraine to survive winter and strengthen air defense The Collins British Dictionary chooses main word of 2022 Medvedev: Western countries are pushing the world into a global war Deputy Minister: 50,5 bln AMD will be allocated to North-South transport corridor construction in 2023 Georgia begins preparations for multinational exercise Agile Spirit 2023 Armenia and Iran discuss bilateral energy cooperation Paruyr Hovhannisyan receives Erin Elizabeth McKee Dollar, euro drop in Armenia Erdogan plans talks with Putin and Zelenskyy in coming days Head of Armenian State Revenue Committee: In 2022, the state budget will lack about AMD 84.8 billion Russia's richest billionaires will become $83.4 billion richer in 2022 Expert: expansion of relations between Tehran, Yerevan may prevent corridor creation Governor of Armenias Gegharkunik briefs EU mission on condition of settlements affected by Azerbaijan shelling (PHOTOS) Russia and Iran to sign deal on free trade zone with EEU Armenia National Assembly opposition factions representatives meet with visiting European Parliament members Hearings on South Caucasus to be held in US Senate Central Bank chief: High activity in Armenia economy is maintained in third quarter of 2022 OPEC Secretary General: Europe and U.S. are heading for economic recession Pashinyan briefs Raisi about talks in Sochi and their results Ardshinbank and Mastercard offer to pay with Apple Pay and get cashback Nine people arrested in India after mass deaths in bridge collapse CSTO meeting on Armenia-Azerbaijan border situation to be held on November 23 in Yerevan Zas: CSTO working towards proposals regarding situation on Armenia-Azerbaijan border By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on November 28 a plea of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking a direction to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to frame detailed guidelines and "fool-proof policy" for grant of security clearances. A bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and justices D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao agreed to hear the plea in which Swamy said both the Delhi High Court and Bombay High Court recently took divergent views on the matter of security clearances while dealing with e-auction process of private FM radio channels. advertisement "The matters related to the national security of the country are specifically been delegated by the President of India to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and not to any other department or body of the Union. "That means any decision by the Home Ministry on the subject of the national security cannot be questioned by any other ministry or persons. The matter of national security being a specialised job and therefore is an exclusive domain of MHA," his plea said. It said, "The petitioner herein was alarmed that some of the 2G accused were being permitted on a doubtful and contrived security clearance to participate in the e-auction process of private FM radio channels (phase III) and airwaves held by the central government." Swamy in his plea said that in particular, Sun Group is controlled by Kalanidhi Maran and former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and both of them are accused in Aircel-Maxis scam case. "The control of the radio and airwaves as well as electronic media by the central government is an extremely important aspect of national security and this court has time and again emphasised that the national security cannot be compromised," he claimed. "The inadequate security clearance policy of government and the two judgements of Delhi and Bombay high courts can be used as a ground to bypass the mandatory security clearance process by the companies and this could become a potent threat to the national security of the country," the BJP leaders plea said. It alleged that "inadequacy" and "non-uniformity" in security clearance policy of the government has created this problem where a "tainted person or a company" can be part of a process which can have serious impact on the national security of the country. PTI MNL ABA SJK RKS ZMN --- ENDS --- YEREVAN. The joint group of troops of Armenia and Russia is nothing new at all, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Shavarsh Kocharyan, stated at a press conference on Wednesday. The [respective] agreement existed since a long time ago, and its in force since a long time agosince the beginning of 2000, explained the deputy FM. In this case, its about some not-so-profound changes. In his words, first and foremost, this matter refers to joint actions in case of aggression, and this is very important at this phase. We [i.e. Armenia] place our hopes on ourselves, noted Kocharyan. But this doesnt mean that we dont expect assistance by [our] partners. Moreover, he stressed that the assumptions, according to which the command of the Armenian army may be handed over to another army at some point, are unfounded. Its about the [military] subdivision for joint actions, added Kocharyan. Commenting on some analysts statements that the Armenian-Russian joint military group may somehow affect Armenian-Georgian relations, the deputy FM of Armenia noted that there exists the precedent in 2008, when Armenia was able to maintain good neighborly relations with both Georgia and Russia, when these two countries had a brief war with one another. Such fears are imaginary, said Shavarsh Kocharyan. While Shahid Kapoor was being a hands-on dad, carrying baby Misha in his arms, mommy Mira Rajput lead the way with flair. By India Today Web Desk: Earlier this year at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, Shahid Kapoor had said that he has become a hands-on dad and that he wakes up every 3 hours to change baby Misha's diapers. ALSO READ: Shahid can't stop praising Padmavati co-star Deepika SEE PICS: Protective dad Shahid carries baby Misha as he steps out with wife Mira advertisement ALSO READ: Shahid Kapoor's shirtless photos will give every dad a complex ALSO READ: Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput spotted on a cosy dinner date Well, that surely cannot be further from the truth, as was proven by his latest pictures that were clicked at the Mumbai international airport. Papa Shahid Kapoor was clicked carrying baby Misha in his arms while mom Mira Rajput, sporting shades lead the way. Seems like Shahid Kapoor is enjoying his new stint as a dad. The Udta Punjab actor was quoted as saying, "Misha gives me a lot of strength. Life is all about her now. I feel like I am ready to protect and even fight for her. I want to be my best for Misha. I never want to leave home once I return to my wife and baby." Shahid and Mira gave birth to their first child, a baby daughter on August 26 this year. The 35-year-old actor later shared the child's name Misha on Twitter. Misha is formed from the combination of the first letters mother Mira's first name and those of papa Shahid's first name. On the work front, the 35-year-old actor will be soon seen in Vishal Bhardwaj's Rangoon alongside Saif Ali Khan and Kangana Ranaut in 2017. After this, Shahid will be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati which also stars Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. (All photos by Yogen Shah) --- ENDS --- YEREVAN. - Progress shouldnt be expected in the talks over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement as long as there is a threat of resumption of military actions. Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Shavarsh Kocharyan, said the aforementioned at a press-conference Wednesday According to him, the Armenian side has never avoided meetings, of course, always expecting that they should be productive. The productivity can be judged by the fact that there is no progress in the talks. Moreover, progress cannot be expected unless the agreements reached in Vienna and Saint Petersburg are implemented. It cannot be expected as long as there is a possibility of war and as long as there is no confidence, firing continuing on the border, the Deputy Minister noted, adding that first of all, the ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995 should be implemented, which mention about the incident investigation mechanisms. Thus, this is the direct responsibility of Azerbaijan. But Azerbaijan is trying to torpedo their implementation, Kocharyan noted. Commenting on the threat from Azerbaijan, Kocharyan noted that the talks are making no headway, since this country uses them for covering its policypropaganda built on conflict falsification, which turns it into a territorial dispute creating grounds for military settlement. In his words, Azerbaijan thought that the time worked in their favor, their military budget increasing, but the April developments showed that this is not so. They showed that the Azerbaijani blitzkrieg failed. Its another issue that we also had weaknesses, which we are correcting. If those events recur, the result will be much serious for Azerbaijan, Kocharyan noted. In his words, the circumstance that Azerbaijan torpedoes the implementation of the agreements on introducing incident investigation mechanisms indicates who exactly their initiator is. The implementation of the Vienna agreements is the basis for continuing the talks, Kocharyan said. YEREVAN. - Armenian consumers have every right to return goods, head of the Informed and Protected Consumer NGO, Babken Pipoyan, told reporters Wednesday. He recalled that the corresponding amendments to the Law on Protection of Consumers Rights took effect by the end of July 2016. The buyer then had a right to return goods only if the seller couldnt change them. That is, the seller could say: If you dont want this shirt, I have hundreds of others. And he was right according to the law. But now the law is in favor of consumers, he noted. Pipoyan urged the citizens, from whom sellers refuse to take back lawfully returned goods, to seek legal assistance. Nevertheless, it is necessary to understand that only non-grocery goods unrelated to personal hygiene can be subject to returning, he added. To return the goods, it is necessary to present the invoice of the purchase within 14 days. Thanks for setting unrealistic travel and relationship goals, Siddhant and Megha. By India Today Web Desk: TV stars Siddhant Karnick and Megha Gupta are on cloud nine these days, and why not, after all they are travelling the globe honeymooning. advertisement France, Canada; the whole world is in their bucket list. Also read:TV actors Siddhant Karnick, Megha Gupta tie the knot secretly Megha recently posted a picture of the same on her personal Instagram account. In the said picture, the newly-weds are surrounded by water. She captioned the picture as "At Niagara Falls. Drenched from the outside with the water, drenched from the inside with beer - Perfect. #instamood #instamoment #iphone6 #NiagaraFalls #Canada #Toronto #MaidOfTheMist #Honeymoon #TheFallsAreSeriouslyInsane." We bet the falls are insane, but you two look insanely happy as well, Megha. And just a few days ago, the couple were having a lovely time in France. But this is not your conventional honeymoon, guys. "Relatives from my dad's side live here and we are all getting together for this trip," the talented actor told BollywoodLife. Siddhant Karnick and Megha Gupta were married on August 16 this year. --- ENDS --- It is supposed that an agreement on liberalization of broker and dealer operations in EAEU stock exchange will be signed in the second quarter of 2017. The Minister in charge of Economy and Financial Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Timur Suleimenov, told the aforementioned to Armenian News NEWS.am. Accordingly, Armenian brokers with license issued by the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) will be able to enter into commission deals involving securities also on the fund stock exchange of Russia and Kazakhstan. In fact, they will be entitled to serve clients not only from Armenia but also from any other countries except for the one where the stock exchange is registered (i.e. Armenian brokers will not be able to serve Russian companies on the Russian stock exchange). But in the future we want to propose the national banks of EAEU countries to remove this restriction as well. We are still making a tentative move, Suleimenov noted. The agreement is almost ready and is under approval by the member-states. YEREVAN. - Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) does not rule out the possibility that at the extended-format session of the partys political councilscheduled for December 3a call will be made to its former leader Gagik Tsarukyan to return to politics. MP from PAP faction, Mikayel Melkumyan, said the aforementioned to Radio Liberty. Nothing can be ruled out: the political council deals with this. I dont rule out that this issue will be discussed. We are all convinced that we will be stronger and more viable with Gagik Tsarukyan, Melkumyan stated. The party spokesman Vanik Elizbekyan also told Armenian News NEWS.am that he cannot rule out anything. The upcoming session, during which it is planned to discuss issues related to the future elections, will be closed-door. NYPD Reponds to Thanksgiving Parade Threat The department is boosting security at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade after a threat by ISIS. The New York Police Department will be boosting security efforts on Thanksgiving morning this year after a recent edition of a magazine published by the Islamic State called Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade an "excellent target." The magazine, Rumiyah, was published on Nov. 11 and focused vehicular attacks and specifically highlighted the parade, which runs more than 2 miles through Manhattan. The article encouraged readers to plot attacks in the same way Mohamad Lahouaiej-Bouhel, an ISIS-inspired attacker, drove through a crowd on Bastille Day in Nice, France. The NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence, John Miller, said that the department is keeping an eye on businesses that rent or sell large trucks that could be capable of mass casualties. They are reaching out to the businesses to offer guidance on how to identify and report potential truck renters who could be interested in doing harm. In addition, NYPD will deploy about the same number of police officers that it did last year, roughly 1,300, many of whom are plainclothes officers positioned among spectators. Miller also said the route will have police vehicles stationed in large groups, called blocker cars, that separate the floats, balloons, bands, and other elements of the parade from spectators. This process also helps to shield the elements of the parade from harm's way. They treat the parade in a similar manner that they would a presidential motorcade. Police will also have many explosive detection and radiation devices deployed, among many other assets. Miller said the bottom line is, "Go to the parade. Take your family; I always take mine." Africa the Pros and Cons of Black Friday for Small Businesses JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 22, 2016/ Black Friday is an American tradition that has quickly taken root in Africa. The large online e-commerce shops and the major retail chains in many parts of the continent will be splashing out with big promotions and marketing campaigns to get consumers to part with their cash.This day takes place the first Friday after Thanksgiving (25 November 2016) and is a day of big deals and promotions for American shoppers. Black Friday is already popular in South Africa, as is Cyber Monday, the following Monday (28 November 2016) when online shoppers are out in full force looking for tech and gaming bargains. We also see countries like Kenya and Nigeria following suite, with e-tailers planning big discounts.If youre a business builder with a small retail operation, you may wonder whether its a good idea to take part in the mayhem of the day where crowds pack shops and storm websites looking for bargains. On the one hand, its a great opportunity to build some hype for your Small & Medium Business on a day that consumers are particularly receptive to spending money. On the other hand, your promotions and marketing may be drowned out by the noise generated by retailers with massive budgets for promotions and advertising.So, lets look at the pros and cons of Black Friday for small businesses. Shopper enthusiasm Pro: Customers know about Black Friday and look forward to shopping for bargains on the day. Theres a high level of awareness and interest among those treating themselves or shopping for Christmas gifts. Con: If customers expect you to have wonderful Black Friday deals every year, it might discourage them from spending money in the weeks leading up to the big day. Intense competition Pro: If youre agile enough, have the right offers and a sharp marketing message, you might be able to attract some good business with low-cost, tactical email and social media campaigns. Con: The competition from other retailers is intense, especially with large ecommerce sites and big retail chains offering loss-leaders to get people into their stores to spend money. It can be hard to cut through the noise. Rid your business of old stock Pro: Its a great opportunity to market old inventory that you would need to mark down or dispose of, anyway. Con: Customers are price-sensitive on Black Friday, and you could find yourself needing to discount aggressively to close sales. Scaling up for customer traffic Pro: You can generate a lot of footfall into your shop or traffic for your website with the right offer. Con: You need to be sure that you have the capacity to serve the customers you attract if your website falls over under the weight of thousands of visitors, your delivery logistics arent up to scratch or you dont have stock to service demand, it could damage your brand. Draw new prospects Pro: Shoppers are adventurous on Black Friday, so you have an opportunity to attract new customers or to get customers to buy goods from you that they usually get somewhere else. Con: Its open to question how loyal some of these customers will be they could simply be bargain hunters. As the pros and cons show, there is no clear-cut answer about whether Black Friday is a must for small retailers each must look at its business needs, customer expectations, capacity, and ability to execute before committing resources to Black Friday. What is clear, however, is that you must do Black Friday well if you are going to do it at all or else you might end up with disappointing results and angry customers. Elsewhere in the world, we have seen the rise of counter-movements to Black Friday for example, Small Business Saturday. This originally started as an American Express initiative encouraging consumers to support small, local shops. It would certainly be interesting to see a movement like this on the African continent. As champions for South African entrepreneurs, wed love every Saturday to be Small Business Saturday! Dion Chang, Trends expert and founder of Flux Trends says: We see a massive adoption of North American retail trends in South Africa it is tested, it works and is already embedded in the minds of South Africans. Africa has an hour glass economy with the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer and the middle class being squeezed people are going for deals just to make ends meet. For big and small businesses, this is definitely an opportunity for them to join and leverage this trend for their brand. Distributed by APO on behalf of Sage. About Sage: Sage (www.Sage.com) is the market and technology leader for integrated accounting, payroll, and payment systems, supporting the ambition of entrepreneurs and business builders. Today, business builders measure success in strong relationships, partnerships, and communities. Its why Sage helps drive todays business builders with the most intelligent and flexible cloud-enabled software, support, and advice to manage everything from money to people. Daily, more than 13,000 Sage colleagues in 23 countries work with a thriving global community of over 3 million entrepreneurs, business owners, tradespeople, accountants, partners, and developers to champion the success of business builders everywhere. And as a FTSE 100 business, we are passionate about doing business the right way, supporting our local communities through the Sage Foundation. Sagethe market and technology leader for integrated accounting, payroll, and payment systems, powered by the cloud and supporting the ambition of the worlds entrepreneurs and business builders. Because when business builders do well, we all do. For more information, visit www.Sage.com. Other Point of Sale blogs of interest: FuturePay Wins Stevie Award for Fastest Growing Company of the Year Women in Business Women Around the World Recognized at Event in New York City SALT LAKE CITY November 21, 2016 FuturePay, an online payment option and alternative financing solution that allows shoppers to buy now and pay later, has been named the winner of a Bronze Stevie Award in the Fastest Growing Company of the Year category at the 13th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The awards ceremony took place Friday, November 18 in New York City. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business are the worlds top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and the organizations they run. All individuals and organizations worldwide are eligible to submit nominations public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. The 2016 awards received entries from 31 nations and territories. FuturePay, which launched in the summer of 2013 and was co-founded by current CEO Bobbi Leach, experienced impressive growth this year in numerous areas, including revenue, partnerships and employee count. As a female entrepreneur in the tech industry, Id like to dedicate this award to every young woman out there who is considering a career in tech and business, said Leach. Im so proud of the momentum our team has achieved in just three short years. More than 1,400 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in more than 90 categories. Stevie Award winners were selected by more than 160 professionals worldwide who participated in the judging process this year. Each year we think the quality of achievements portrayed in Stevie-winning nominations couldnt possibly get any better, and each year the amazing women who are recognized in this program prove us wrong, said Michael Gallagher, Stevie Awards founder and president. We are thrilled and humbled to be able to recognize so many outstanding women in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and to share the stories of their achievement with the world. For more information about FuturePay and how it can help your business provide shoppers with a better payment option, visit www.futurepay.com . Details about the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the list of Stevie Award winners are available at www.StevieAwards.com/Women About FuturePay: FuturePay is the simplest way for merchants to offer instant credit to their customers at point of purchase. With FuturePay, customers can buy now and pay later with one click, creating a streamlined checkout process on every device. With guaranteed payments and an easy integration, retailers can start attracting new customers instantly. To learn more about how FuturePay can benefit your business, visit www.futurepay.com . Follow us on Twitter @FuturePay. About the Stevie Awards: Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com Other Point of Sale blogs of interest: Payout provider will provide localized, multi-currency payout options for globally-dispersed artists. San Francisco, California Hyperwallet, a leading global payouts provider to millions of independent workers, today revealed its partnership with USA Media Rights, a music and media rights company providing a broad range of music business services. Through this strategic alliance, USA Media Rights will continue to connect Hyperwallet with music industry organizations to improve the processing and delivery of royalty payments for recording artists, music producers, and songwriters worldwide. Historically, it has not been a priority for the music industry to make sure royalty payments reach recording artists, record producers and songwriters in a way of their choosing, explained Erik Steigen, CEO of USA Media Rights. The process of getting paid can be extremely cumbersome. Several of the larger companies still require physical paperwork to be signed and notarized in order to process basic necessities such as changing a mailing address or the contact information for authorized representatives, not to mention the initial set-up for payment. As the music business becomes increasingly international, there are a tremendous number of globally-dispersed contributors that have difficulty receiving their hard-earned royalties. We believe Hyperwallet is the solution to that issue. USA Media Rights has been instrumental in bringing Hyperwallet into the music industry, said Brent Warrington, Hyperwallets CEO. With their vast experience as industry insiders, they recognized that royalty payments were an area where we could work together to improve the experience for music organizations and artists alike. We admire USA Media Rights commitment to their clients success and look forward to our ongoing partnership. Utilizing Hyperwallets global payout network, music organizations are expected to substantially reduce the frustrations that come with cross-border royalty payments, where payees have traditionally been subjected to high foreign exchange fees and lengthy delays. Hyperwallet will enable international artists to quickly receive their royalties in their local currency, in addition to providing a range of diverse payout options and a self-serve online earnings portal. About Hyperwallet Hyperwallets payout platform provides growing organizations with a frictionless, transparent, and reliable way to manage payments and enhance the payees experience anywhere in the world. Trusted by enterprise, ecommerce, and on-demand platforms, Hyperwallet makes it easy to pay up to 7 billion people in a singular payment environment. Put your payees in control with enhanced financial management tools, integrated payment tracking technology, and user-friendly compliance and identity verification. Hyperwallet has offices in San Francisco, Austin, and Vancouver. You can learn more at http://hyperwallet.com About USA Media Rights By PTI: Sena to PM New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) NDA constituent, Shiv Sena today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought change in the demonetisation policy to allow cooperative banks, credit societies and district banks to carry out transactions of old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denomination, saying the situation on the ground was become alarming. advertisement Sena, which currently shares an uneasy relationship with the BJP and is also critical of the demonetisation drive. "In smaller towns and villages, it is the District Central cooperative banks, cooperative urban banks and cooperative credit societies which have taken banking to the masses. "We urge you to make judicious use of this dense network of cooperative and urban banks by allowing them to participate in the demonitisation drive. "Accepting loan installments in old currencies would give a big relief to the rural population. Necessary changes in the policy by allowing cooperative banks and credit cooperative societies to handle transactions of exchanging old currency notes in lieu of new legal tender will also give people some relief," a delegation of Shivsena MPs told Modi. Maharashtra, known to the birthplace of cooperative movement in the country, has nearly 500 such banks that constitute nearly one-third of cooperative banks in India. "We are not against the demonitisation drive, but the way it has been implemented. Even during our march against the drive along with the West Bengal anti-demonitisation drive with (West Bengal chief minister) Mamata Banerjee, we have maintained that we oppose the way it has been implemented, but not the decision," Shivsena MPGajanan Kiritikar said. The Shivsena MP from Northwest Mumbai said the delegation also told the Prime Minister that all financial institutions should be given permission to accept demonitised notes as an installment in borrowers loan accounts. "The banned notes collected from such financial institutions in cooperative sector should be accepted by nationalised banks," the delegation said. Kiritkar said the PM has assured the delegation that he will discuss the matter with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The delegation said Maharashtra has some 503 co-cooperative banks with 6000 plus branches and 2800 plus ATMs. It also has 33 district co-operative banks with more than 3000 branches. PTI PR SMJ --- ENDS --- The offensive comes hours after the Indian Army vowed "heavy retribution" for the attack on its soldiers. By Gaurav C Sawant: The Indian Army has launched a massive counter assault along the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir a day after Pakistani forces mutilated the body of a soldier and killed two others. The fire assault on Pakistan's permanent defences has begun with the Army using heavy mortars to hit back. The Pakistani army posts that helped infiltration along the border by giving cover fire are being decimated. advertisement The offensive comes hours after the Indian Army vowed "heavy retribution" for the attack on its soldiers. Brigadier, Northern Command, S Gotra told news agency PTI that the Army launched the counter offensive in Machhil sector of Kashmir. "The Indian Army posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply," Defence PRO Manish Mehta told PTI. In retaliation, Pakistan Army also fired at Indian posts along the LoC in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nowshera sectors. BIGGEST ASSAULT SINCE 2003 Senior officers said it is the biggest fire assault yet along the LoC since 2003. On Tuesday, three soldiers were killed, and one of them was beheaded on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir - in action that the army said bore the "signature" of the Pakistan Army's Border Action Team. The beheading was the second incident of mutilation of a soldier's body in less than a month. On October 28, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, had crossed the Line of Control and killed an Indian army jawan and mutilated his body in Macchil sector. One attacker was killed in that incident. Pakistan has denied the allegations. --- ENDS --- US rubber giant Firestone, no stranger to controversy during its 90 years in Liberia, is again stoking anger, this time for firing hundreds of workers who now fear for their livelihoods. Firestone has carried out two waves of sackings over the last few months, aiming at a seven percent cut in the workforce because of what it describes as "ongoing significant and unsustainable losses" due to depressed rubber prices. Workers at its plantation around an hour from the Liberian capital, aware of strong competition from Asia and the little respite in sight for the rubber market, fear they have few means of fighting back. "The day we were told, the same day, 189 people had already been laid off," said Harris Kerkula, president of the Firestone Agricultural Workers Union of Liberia (FAWUL), who told AFP the firm had broken a collective bargaining agreement. After intervention by the labour ministry, a few dozen jobs were saved, but officials asked the union to accept the redundancies "because the company is going through some difficulties", Kerkula added. As Liberia's biggest private sector employer, with around 8,000 staff, Firestone's plantations in Harbel have grown into an entire community over the decades, providing a generous package of services the state cannot match. As a result, redundancy means workers lose their free housing, money for school fees, medical care and subsidised meals in one fell swoop, with just six weeks' severance pay for many. "I will be going to Lofa County where I was born because if I stay here my family will die from hunger," former employee Nyumah Tamba told AFP. "I have been working for nine years and I am leaving with nothing," he said, watching his three children play nearby. - Troubled history - Critics say Firestone has always exploited Liberians. Allegations of child labour and "slave-like" working conditions have dogged the company for years, despite more recent improvements. In 2014, US media outlets ProPublica and PBS Frontline accused Firestone of paying off the regime of former dictator Charles Taylor during the early years of the 1989-2003 civil war to allow its operations to continue. Story continues Children were forced to work alongside their parents to meet impossibly high production targets, others alleged. The firm denied funding Taylor's atrocities and asserted that it simply paid taxes as required by any government. Child labour was not permitted, Firestone added. But despite many twists and turns through some of Liberia's darkest years, these redundancies are the first since the 1980s, the company claims. In an email to AFP, the firm defended its decision on the grounds of low natural rubber prices and high overhead costs associated with the company's concession agreement, along with Liberia's "uncertain business climate". Furthermore, as a direct result of the 14-year civil war, when new rubber trees were not planted, production was low, Firestone said. - Government cash cow - The monotonous work of rubber tapping may not seem immediately attractive to workers, but the Firestone package is rare in a society with catastrophic education standards and an absence of training programmes. More than 16,000 students are enrolled in 17 Firestone-funded schools, while the Firestone Medical Centre, a 300-bed hospital cares for 5,700 patients a month. Since 2004, Firestone says it has paid $1 billion (940 million euros) in tax revenue to the government -- indispensable in a nation that counts the presence of just a handful of multi-nationals. Labour Minister Neto Zarzar Lighe was careful not to criticise the firm in an interview with AFP. "A total of 500 employees were to be redundant and we were able to reduce that to 428 employees. That is significant," he said. He defended the firm against accusations they had reneged on a pension agreement with employees, saying that as the scheme was private and non-contributory, different rules applied. It was not always like this: Firestone and its employees enjoyed the boom years when Detroit's automobile firms were the powerhouse of the American economy. But today life is much changed for the workers who have been let go. Some have turned to plantations abandoned by Firestone, tapping the same trees as contractors and climbing perilously high up the exhausted trunks with the hope of finding some remaining latex. "(Firestone) give us $180 (169 euros) for a ton of rubber. To get the one ton you have to work for at least two months because we climb the tree before getting to the liquid," said Zayzay Flomo, 30. "It's pure slavery". A Caribbean storm verging on a hurricane spun towards the coasts of Costa Rica and Nicaragua on Wednesday, prompting evacuations and red alerts ahead of "life-threatening" flash flooding. In Bluefields, a Nicaraguan city of 45,000 inhabitants directly in the storm's path, there was panicked buying of battery-powered lamps, bottled water, canned food and plastic bags. "We're ready to run or stay put," one resident, Dolene Miller, told AFP by telephone. "I'm expecting it won't hit Bluefields directly... but it's worrying that it's stationary because it's growing bigger and taking up a lot of water and has become unpredictable -- it could go in any direction," a shopkeeper, Elmer Jackson, said. Tropical Storm Otto, lumbering in slowly from the Caribbean, was regaining strength, after briefly losing a little force earlier Wednesday. It was forecast to become a full-on hurricane with winds over 119 kilometers (74 miles) per hour when it makes landfall on Thursday, the US National Hurricane Center said. It has already proved deadly in Panama, where on Tuesday its outer band of rains and wind caused a mud slide that killed two people and brought down a tree that crushed a nine-year-old boy in a car in the capital. A search was underway for three people who went missing in a small boat, Jose Laniado, operations chief for Panama's National Air and Naval Service, told media. Another person was feared swept away by a river. - Evacuations - Princes Barberena, a resident in Greytown, an outpost on Nicaragua's far southern Caribbean coast, said some locals were crossing the nearby border into Costa Rica looking for safer shelter. But the situation there was not projected to be much better. Costa Rican officials have ordered the evacuation of more than 4,000 people along the sparsely inhabited northern half of its Caribbean coast. But some were defiantly staying. "Some people don't want to leave their homes, leave all their possessions, their animals," police officer Christian Rodriguez told the Costa Rican newspaper La Nacion in the village of Batan, close to the Caribbean port city of Limon. The Teletica television network reported that two people were arrested for prowling through evacuated homes. One woman who did evacuate her home near the village of Barra del Colorado, Teresa Romero, 52, told AFP that around 10 men had refused to leave. She was taking shelter with neighbors in a church near the inland capital of San Jose. The high winds and heavy rains could devastate crops -- a big blow especially in Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Otto "could seriously jeopardize food security for small-holder farmers who rely on maize, beans, cocoa, honey, coffee and livestock for their livelihoods" in Nicaragua, Jennifer Zapata, a regional director for Heifer International, a US-based poverty-fighting charity, said in a statement. "The storm is coming at a terrible time for the vital coffee crop, which is usually harvested between now and December," she said. - Late-season storm - Otto was a rare, late-appearing weather system in the Atlantic storm season, which runs from June to the end of November. It was also on an unusually southern trajectory. If it does strengthen, it will be the first time Costa Rica has suffered a direct hit from a hurricane since records began in 1851. A previous, far-stronger hurricane, Matthew, devastated parts of southern Haiti early last month, killing 546 people and leaving nearly 175,000 homeless. The US National Hurricane Center said up to 50 centimeters (20 inches) of rain could fall on northern Costa Rica and southern Nicaragua between Wednesday and Thursday. "These rains will likely result in life-threatening flash floods and mud slides," it warned. Dangerous surf and rips were also likely, it said. The Philippines said Wednesday it has launched criminal proceedings against six bankers accused of failing to stop the laundering of tens of millions of dollars stolen by cyber-criminals from Bangladesh's central bank. The electronic thieves in February shifted $81 million from the bank's account with the US Federal Reserve in New York to the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) in Manila in one of the world's biggest bank heists. The money was transferred to four accounts at an RCBC branch from where it was funnelled into local casinos, according to regulators who fined the bank a record $21 million in August. Manila's Anti-Money Laundering Council said it filed a criminal complaint at the justice department against RCBC's retail banking group head at the time, its national sales director and four other bank officials. "The... respondent officers and employees of RCBC facilitated the suspicious transactions involving the four accounts above, by failing to conduct the requisite investigations and enquiries into the accounts," it read. The complaint, filed on Friday, also cited the Filipino respondents' alleged "deliberate refusal to know the unlawful origins of the funds". Justice department prosecutors will decide, based on evidence presented by the money laundering watchdog, whether to file criminal charges in court against the six. The offence carries a maximum prison term of seven years and fines of up to three million pesos (about $60,000). No one has been arrested in the Philippines over the heist but the government has recovered about $15 million, some of it from a Manila-based casino operator who has pledged to cooperate with the criminal enquiry. The recovered funds have been turned over to Bangladesh Bank. The brazen cyber heist highlighted how the Philippines' banking loopholes have made the corruption-prone nation a dirty money destination. Philippine law exempts casino transactions from scrutiny by the anti-money laundering council unless a case has been filed in court. Ayala Corporation president and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala will be the keynote speaker of the BusinessWorld-PAL ASEAN Regional Forum to be held tomorrow at the Forbes ballroom of Conrad Manila at the MOA Complex in Pasay City. Following the success of the BusinessWorld Economic Forum last July, the countrys leading business newspaper will launch another pioneering event meant to give clarity to the evolving landscape that is ASEAN and the Philippines role in the region. The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 has made the regions economic integration a reality, opening a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs not only from across the 10 nations that comprise the group, but also for those from outside wanting to do business in the area. The forum is timely as it comes ahead of the Philippines hosting of the ASEAN Summit next year. Zobel will jumpstart the discussion of how companies can chart their course in the AEC anchored on the forums theme, Building Globally-Competitive Enterprises. He is joined by international professionals such as Bonji Ohara, director for policy research of the Tokyo Foundation, and Thanh Hai Do, senior fellow of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, who will discuss the economics of competing territorial claims in the South China Sea. Aside from businessmen and professionals, the forum also features government leaders such as Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who will talk about governments role in making ASEAN more inclusive. Visit http://bweconomicforum.com/asean for more details. Hurricane Otto was forecast to strengthen in the Caribbean as it churned toward Central America, causing three deaths in Panama and prompting coastal evacuations in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Otto became the seventh hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic season earlier in the day when the US-based National Hurricane Center updated it from a tropical storm. The hurricane, which is packing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, is expected to pick up strength and speed as it moves westward, approaching Costa Rica and Nicaragua on Thursday before making landfall, the NHC said in a 0000 GMT Wednesday bulletin. Currently, hurricane-force winds were extending up to 10 miles from the center. Otto's rains "will likely result in life-threatening flash floods and mud slides," while "life-threatening surf and rip-current conditions" will be experienced along the coasts of Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the US center warned. In Panama, two people died from a mudslide and one was killed by a falling tree at the onset of Otto's heavy rain, the head of the National Civil Protection Service, Jose Donderis, told AFP. Nine people were caught in the mudslide that occurred west of the capital. "Seven were rescued and unfortunately two deceased people were recovered," he said. The other death was that of a boy hit by a tree that fell on the car he was in while waiting with his mother outside his school in the capital, Donderis said. The mother survived. Officials in the country ordered all schools closed. Government workers were told to leave offices hours early on Wednesday. - Evacuations - Neighboring Costa Rica on Tuesday ordered the evacuation of more than 4,000 people along the sparsely inhabited northern part of its Caribbean coast to avoid fatalities. "We will not allow people to remain in at-risk areas and loss of human life," President Luis Guillermo Solis told a news conference. The order did not extend to Costa Rica's principal port city of Limon on the southern Caribbean coast. The city, home to around 60,000 people, is projected to feel the glancing force of the hurricane on Wednesday. Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America, has issued a national alert and also ordered coastal evacuations. The co-director of the SINAPRED national disaster agency, Guillermo Gonzalez, said navy ships would evacuate people on Little Corn Island, a popular Nicaraguan tourist spot in the Caribbean, to shelters on bigger Corn Island. Civilian Nicaraguan vessels at sea were ordered back to port. The storm was expected to pass near Managua, Nicaragua's inland capital, on Thursday. According to forecasts, Otto was to cut across the narrow Central American isthmus, losing strength as it went, before exiting out into the Pacific Ocean on Friday. The storm was a late arrival in the Atlantic hurricane season, which typically runs from June to the end of November, and was hitting land unusually south. Costa Rica has not experienced a direct hit from a hurricane since records began in 1951. A previous hurricane, Matthew, devastated parts of southern Haiti in early October, killing 546 people and leaving nearly 175,000 homeless. Almost two years after Mozilla launched Focus by Firefox, the rebranded new browser for iOS was just released as Firefox Focus. This is a browser designed to give iOS users a private experience by blocking ad trackers and erasing browsing history. Thats good news for privacy advocates and maybe business owners worried about compromising the security of their devices. Its bad news for business site operators and marketers trying to gather as much data on their visitors and potential customers as possible. According to Nick Nguyen, VP of product at Firefox, This is a free, super simple, super-fast Web experience with no tabs, no menus, no pop-ups private browser for iOS. Focus blocks web analytics, social and advertising trackers as well as erasing your browsing history, including your passwords and cookies. And because it removes the trackers and ads, Firefox says users can expect better performance. Firefox has taken a stripped down approach for this browser, so it wont clutter your device with unnecessary functions. When you go to settings, the only thing you will see is an on or off button to block the data you want. This includes ad trackers, analytics trackers, social trackers, content trackers and web fonts. Once you adjust the settings, you can start browsing and when you are finished all the data is deleted. If however you want to manually clear your browsing history, there is an erase button you can click before closing the browser. The one downside for many users may be Mozillas choice of using Yahoo as a default browser, which cant be changed in the current version. However, TechCrunch has reported future versions will have that option. Content blockers now face applications that dont allow their site to load or load correctly. Focus goes around this problem by opening the site in Apples Safari or Firefox. With apps that track your web activity and follow you no matter where you go across devices and accounts, privacy may seem hard to come by. You can try Firefox Focus by going to the Apple App Store for a free download, here. For parents who want to encourage a love of art for their kids, the art programs at most schools might not be enough. But thats where businesses like Kidcreate Studios come in. The business was born out of a desire to provide more art education and programs for kids. You can read more about the company and its story below in this weeks Small Business Spotlight. What the Business Does Provides art education for kids in a fun way. Founder Lara Olson told Small Business Trends, Kidcreate Studios specializes in childrens art classes, camps and art-themed birthday parties for children ages 18 months to 12 years. Classes are provided both in-studio and On-The-Go, where kids can learn about art techniques, concepts, as well as art history. Each location also sells educational products including art kits, books and supplies. Business Niche Offering different options. Olson says, Kidcreate Studio is different from any competitors in that they are the only concept that has both in-studio and On-The-Go classes. How the Business Got Started Because of a frustration with art education. Olson says, After being discouraged by my son Jakes lack of art education in school, I was inspired to start Kidcreate Studio. Jake was very frustrated in most of his classes but found joy and solace in art. I could relate to this feeling, as I felt the same way when I was Jakes age. Since Jake did not have nearly enough time every week doing what he loved, I decided to create a place where kids could experience art enrichment outside of school. We opened our first location in Eden Prairie in 2008. Biggest Win Simplifying the business with technology. Olson explains, I was able to develop a seamless integration of multiple technology-based systems that simplified the running of the studios. I focused on things like a class-tracking application, online class registration software, in-studio class registration stations, database management software, and sales and marketing automation. Biggest Risk Starting the business in the first place. Olson says, I had no experience doing anything remotely like running an art studio or developing curriculum. If things had gone badly it would have been a painful blow and would have set my family back financially. Luckily, the business has been a success, and is growing quickly since we are now offering franchise opportunities. Lesson Learned Get help you can trust. Olson says, As do many first-time entrepreneurs, I thought that I had to do everything myself. I thought that no one could or would do as good of a job as me. Thankfully I have hired a great team I can now delegate to, and trust with whatever task may come their way. How Theyd Spend an Extra $100,000 Growing the team. Olson says, With the rapid growth we are experiencing in the near future, I want to be sure I stay ahead of our staffing needs. Studio Pets Parakeets. Olson explains, Each of our studios have pet parakeets that the kids can visit with! Their names are Arty and Crafty. The kids love it and the parakeets provide some lovely background music. See Also: Latte Art Just Got a Lot More Advanced Favorite Quote Every child is an artist; the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. -Pablo Picasso * * * * * Find out more about the Small Biz Spotlight program This 83-year-old is revolutionizing U.S. hygiene, proving that you dont need to be Mark Zuckerberg to launch innovative new products. In fact, this new product might be all thanks to years of experience. Angelo Chetta is the entrepreneur behind the new Milavo Pocket Bidet, a personal hygiene spritzer. And this isnt Chettas first foray into entrepreneurial ideas and leadership. The longtime New Orleans resident is credited with creating the Crawgator regional mascot concept back in 1983. And he also served as director of operations for the Louisiana Superdome (now the Mercedes Benz Superdome) for 20 years. But the idea for the Pocket Bidet actually came to Chetta after a recent trip to Europe. He noticed how common bidets were in European bathrooms. And upon returning to the U.S., he found it odd that there werent more options for Americans, who otherwise seem to be obsessed with cleanliness. Chetta said in a statement, For a nation that is obsessed with cleanliness, it struck me as dumb that we would settle for using dry toilet paper in our daily hygiene. So Chetta set out to create a product that was both portable and easy to use. The Milavo is essentially a pocket-sized spray bottle that you can use to create wet wipes anywhere, without having to cart around a bulky plastic container. It might be a small product. But it has the potential to make a big impact in an area where not a lot of entrepreneurs are really focused. The product contains an all-natural blend of purified water, aloe vera juice, tea tree oil, lemon peel oil, naturally derived stabilizers and lavender. So it doesnt contain any alcohol or other irritating or allergenic ingredients. Milavo is available online on the companys website and in 89 Kinney Drug Stores in New York and Vermont. By PTI: Washington, Nov 22 (PTI) You could soon charge your smartphones within seconds, thanks to scientists, including one of Indian origin, who have developed new flexible supercapacitors that can be recharged more than 30,000 times without degrading. After 18 months or so, smartphones hold charge for less and less time as the battery begins to degrade. Scientists from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in the US developed a new process for creating the novel supercapacitors. advertisement The novel method could eventually revolutionise technology as varied as mobile phones and electric vehicles. "If we were to replace the batteries with these supercapacitors, you could charge your mobile phone in a few seconds and you wouldnt need to charge it again for over a week," said Nitin Choudhary, a postdoctoral associate at UCF. Researchers experimented with applying newly discovered 2D materials only a few atoms thick to supercapacitors. Other researchers have also tried formulations with graphene and other 2D materials, but with limited success. "There have been problems in the way people incorporate these two-dimensional materials into the existing systems - thats been a bottleneck in the field," said Yeonwoong Jung, an assistant professor at UCF. "We developed a simple chemical synthesis approach so we can very nicely integrate the existing materials with the two-dimensional materials," said Jung. Researchers developed supercapacitors composed of millions of nanometer-thick wires coated with shells of 2D materials. A highly conductive core facilitates fast electron transfer for fast charging and discharging. Uniformly coated shells of 2D materials yield high energy and power densities. Scientists already knew 2D materials held great promise for energy storage applications. However, until the UCF-developed process for integrating those materials, there was no way to realise that potential, Jung said. "For small electronic devices, our materials are surpassing the conventional ones worldwide in terms of energy density, power density and cyclic stability," Choudhary said. Cyclic stability defines how many times it can be charged, drained and recharged before beginning to degrade. For example, a lithium-ion battery can be recharged fewer than 1,500 times without significant failure. Recent formulations of supercapacitors with 2D materials can be recharged a few thousand times. By comparison, the new process yields a supercapacitor that does not degrade even after it has been recharged 30,000 times. Supercapacitors that use the new materials could be used in phones and other electronic gadgets, and electric vehicles that could benefit from sudden bursts of power and speed. Since they are flexible, it could also mean a significant advancement in wearable technologies, researchers said. advertisement The study was published in the journal ACS Nano. PTI MHN SAR MHN --- ENDS --- The human gut is a complex and amazing system, and the more we learn about it, the more amazed we are. It turns out By PTI: Colombo, Nov 23 (PTI) A senior Sri Lankan minister today said opposition groups which back former President Mahinda Rajapaksa are out to create communal tensions in the country, including in the Tamil-dominated north, for political gains. Government spokesman and Minister of Health Rajitha Senaratne said the motive was to set the Muslim minority against the current government. advertisement "They will want to create problems both in the north and the rest of the country by flaming communal clashes to try and win the next election through the Sinhala majority vote," Senaratne said. Last week, police arrested an extremist Sinhala majority activist and a Muslim religious activist for hate speech. Senaratne said the Sinhalese arrested was a member of the Rajapaksa son Namals blue brigade. His arrest came as he openly advocated violence against the Muslims. "Muslims will never vote for the Rajapaksas, so they are trying to stop them voting for the government," Senaratne said. Senaratne had earlier charged that the Ava Group, a violent group operating in the Tamil-majority Jaffna district, was backed by Rajapaksas brother Gotabhaya as the Defence Ministry Secretary said the group will carry out violent attacks in the north curbing the peoples right to vote freely in a future election. The current government received an overwhelming support from the Tamil and Muslim minorities in the last presidential election in January 2015 when Rajapaksa was defeated. Since then the government has launched a series of action to achieve reconciliation with the minorities. The Sinhala majority nationalist groups have blamed the government for appeasing the minorities at the expense of majoritys interests. They are particularly upset by what they allege governments inaction against the seemingly rising Muslim extremism in the island. PTI CORR MRJ AKJ MRJ --- ENDS --- The Office of the Ombudsman has affirmed its decision indicting an official of the city government of Lapu-Lapu in Cebu for persuading overseas job applicants to undergo skills training in a private firm. Public employment service officer Grace Jamio will be charged for urging job applicants to South Korea to enroll at the AB Tutorial and Languages Center. Aside from Jamio, named respondents in the case were Buenaventura Igot and Arturo Aliazon, both of AB Tutorial. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by 15 job applicants who were allegedly enticed by the respondents to enroll in the Korean language program of AB Tutorial for a fee. Jamio allegedly assured the complainants of a government program deploying factory workers to South Korea. The complainants discovered AB Tutorial was not accredited with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) or the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The ombudsman said the respondents gave unwarranted benefits to AB Tutorial, noting that free courses were being offered by POEA and TESDA. LONDON The pound is pushing into positive territory after chancellor Philip Hammond delivered the government's first major economic update since Brexit the Autumn Statement. As of 4.30 p.m. GMT (11.30 a.m. ET), sterling is trading higher by around 0.05%, breaking back above the $1.24 mark. Sterling traded lower all morning, before poking its head into positive territory when Hammond first spoke, then dropping sharply as the Autumn Statement progressed. It has now jumped back into the green for the day. Here is the chart: gbp again autumn statement Markets Insider The statement Hammond's first as chancellor was something of a continuity announcement, with no huge surprises. Hammond announced a focus on improving productivity through infrastructure, creating the biggest government investment programme in over a decade, pledging to spend 23 billion ($28.5 billion) on technology, housing, and transport infrastructure. During Hammond's opening remarks, he once again delivered the assertion that Britain is the "fastest growing major economy," in the world, but warned that the decision to leave the EU makes it more important than ever to address the weaknesses present in the British economy. Hammond presented the latest forecasts from the independent Office for Budgetary Responsibility, showing that it expects the British economy to grow 1.4% in 2017, down from 2.2% in previous OBR forecasts thanks to "lower investment and weaker consumer demand," driven by the Brexit vote. He noted that this is equivalent to the IMF's forecast for growth in Germany next year, and better than forecasts in Italy and France. You can read Business Insider's full coverage of Hammond's statement here. NOW WATCH: Heres what its like inside Sneaker Con where people spend millions selling and trading sneakers See Also: SEE ALSO: HAMMOND: Brexit makes tackling the weaknesses of the economy more important than ever SWNS

The average American begins to notice the signs of aging at the age of 42, but 15% noticed themselves getting older before age 35.

Thats according to a new poll of 2,000 Americans with representative samples for Gen Z, millennials, Gen-X and baby boomer respondents, where respondents believe they were at the peak of their health at the age of 34.

On top of that, 46% of Gen X were unaware they couldnt engage in the same fitness or diet regimens as they could when they were younger until they were over 40.

While respondents start noticing they need to make changes to their health and wellness routines around the age of 39, 21% admit theyre currently in denial about their body aging.

Another 30% of respondents admit they used to be in denial, but theyve since accepted it.

Of those respondents, 61% put off making necessary routine changes for three to six years, while 29% put it off for up to two years.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of evidence-based weight care program, Found, the survey found that things like joint pain (39%), the onset of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes (37%), slower metabolism (35%), or where respondents carry their weight (30%) are some of the top indicators that respondents believe are signs of aging.

Because of these changes, respondents are making adjustments to their health and wellness routines.

Overall, 36% are making adjustments to the types of vitamins and supplements they take, with baby boomers (41%) being the most likely generation to do so.

Two in five (40%) baby boomers are changing the types of food they eat, with 34% of Gen X doing the same.

Even 30% of Gen Z are doing so, despite their relatively young age.

Thirty-one percent of all respondents are fine-tuning what types of exercises they do as they get older.

And millennials might be getting ahead of aging more than others, with that generation being more likely to do so than any others (36%), including Gen X (31%) and baby boomers (30%).

Millennials were also the most likely generation to practice meditation or mindfulness, especially when compared to baby boomers (30% vs 21%).

And while about one-quarter (24%) found making those adjustments difficult, 46% found it to be an easy process.

But that doesnt mean respondents arent looking for guidance, as 35% tend to lean on their primary care physician and specialty doctors (30%).

While aging is inevitable, making healthy changes to your lifestyle are preventative care measures that can help mitigate age-related issues like weight gain and chronic conditions. Over the past 100 years we have nearly doubled our life expectancy, so its crucial to be proactive about extending our health span as well as our lifespan, said Dr. Rekha Kumar, Chief Medical Officer at Found. Programs that incorporate guidance to not only help people manage their weight, but also improve overall lifestyle habits, such as improved sleep, daily movement or taking care of their mental health, can help people maintain their health as they age.

While aging may be inevitable, respondents outlined mixed feelings about it. Almost three in 10 (29%) admit theyre either stressed or anxious about aging, while some are confident (25%) about the inevitability.

In fact, 41% of respondents have experienced shame or embarrassment when discussing their changing health and wellness with their primary care physician, with 47% of millennial respondents experiencing this.

Even so, 31% also say they trust their PCP the most when it comes to advice about maintaining a healthy weight as they age.

Almost two-thirds (64%) agree that they struggle with their body not only not looking like it used to, but also not feeling the same either. .

Although 39% are happy with their current weight, one in five were happiest between the ages of 20 and 30.

Research has found that the stories we tell ourselves about our weight and our motivations to make lifestyle changes dramatically affect how successful and satisfied we are with those changes, said Laura Garcia, Director of Clinical Design at Found. We are so used to focusing on what we want to get rid of, and not what we want to gain. Positive lifestyle changes give us the opportunity to feel better about our bodies now and, most importantly, allow us to continue doing what we care about in the long-term. If we are motivated by extending our health and preventing the negative effects of our lifestyle on our bodies, we will be more likely to maintain these changes over the years--which is key for sustainable weight loss and overall health.

By PTI: Colombo, Nov 23 (PTI) A senior Sri Lankan minister today said opposition groups which back former President Mahinda Rajapaksa are out to create communal tensions in the country, including in the Tamil-dominated north, for political gains. Government spokesman and Minister of Health Rajitha Senaratne said the motive was to set the Muslim minority against the current government. advertisement "They will want to create problems both in the north and the rest of the country by flaming communal clashes to try and win the next election through the Sinhala majority vote," Senaratne said. Last week, police arrested an extremist Sinhala majority activist and a Muslim religious activist for hate speech. Senaratne said the Sinhalese arrested was a member of the Rajapaksa son Namals blue brigade. His arrest came as he openly advocated violence against the Muslims. "Muslims will never vote for the Rajapaksas, so they are trying to stop them voting for the government," Senaratne said. Senaratne had earlier charged that the Ava Group, a violent group operating in the Tamil-majority Jaffna district, was backed by Rajapaksas brother Gotabhaya as the Defence Ministry Secretary said the group will carry out violent attacks in the north curbing the peoples right to vote freely in a future election. The current government received an overwhelming support from the Tamil and Muslim minorities in the last presidential election in January 2015 when Rajapaksa was defeated. Since then the government has launched a series of action to achieve reconciliation with the minorities. The Sinhala majority nationalist groups have blamed the government for appeasing the minorities at the expense of majoritys interests. They are particularly upset by what they allege governments inaction against the seemingly rising Muslim extremism in the island. PTI CORR MRJ AKJ MRJ MVV --- ENDS --- The Vietnam War ended more than 40 years ago, but it continues to claim soldiers lives. Nearly every spring, new names are etched into the black granite walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which pays tribute to the more than 58,000 U.S. service members who lost their lives in the conflict. Jim McGough is one of them. As a 19-year-old infantryman, McGough was with his unit near the Laotian border in 1971 when they came under fire. A grenade exploded nearby, tearing up his feet and lower legs. McGough was evacuated to Okinawa, where he underwent surgery, including a blood transfusion. He was discharged because of his injuries and shipped back to the States, where he married his high school sweetheart, Sheryl Isaacson, and they settled down near their home town of Fort Dodge, Iowa. Twenty years passed before McGough, who worked in magazine advertising sales, learned that he had hepatitis C, a blood-borne viral infection that attacks the liver. The virus was discovered only in 1989, and routine testing of the blood supply began shortly afterward. It was at about that time that McGough, a regular Red Cross blood donor, learned he had been infected. He had never been an intravenous drug user or gotten tattoos, two common routes of infection, so the McGoughs figured he must have contracted the virus when he had the blood transfusion in Japan. Veterans are more than twice as likely to have hepatitis C as members of the general population, studies have found. The virus is significantly more common among Vietnam-era veterans than among other service members. McGough went to a liver specialist, who found no damage. The standard treatment at the time, a combination of the drugs interferon and ribavirin, had debilitating side effects, so the McGoughs, who had two daughters, decided not to do anything. We were having a great time, said Sheryl, now 62. Were going, No big deal. When youre young, youre invincible. In his late 40s, Jim started to show signs of liver damage. About that time, he and Sheryl took a trip to Washington and visited the veterans memorial. He thought it was magnificent, Sheryl remembers, and told her, If this thing kills me, I want to get my name added. In January 2014, shortly before his 63rd birthday, the virus did kill him. Jim had gone through the interferon treatment but couldnt shake the disease and finally succumbed to liver cancer. To have their names added to the Wall, Vietnam veterans must meet criteria established by the Department of Defense. Many of the 376 names that have been added since the memorial was completed in 1982 are people who died during the war or shortly afterward but whose records were misplaced or who were overlooked for other reasons. Their deaths generally must be the result of injuries sustained during the war in Vietnam or a related combat zone. A number of causes of death dont qualify, including exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange or similar chemicals, illness or suicide related to post-traumatic stress disorder, diabetes, cancer and heart attack. They reject far more than they accept, said Tim Tetz, director of outreach for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which created the memorial and is responsible for adding names to it. But in McGoughs case, he and Sheryl had found a handwritten note from a nurse in Okinawa ordering a blood transfusion for him on the day after he was wounded. That documentation proved that his disease was service-related and qualified him for veterans disability benefits. After his death, the note found at the bottom of a box in the couples basement helped realize his goal of having his name added to the memorial. In addition to McGoughs, seven names were inscribed in 2016. Theres not much room left to add more, Tetz said. Theres space for one more long name, he said, fewer than 20 medium-length names and a basically unlimited number of short ones. Its an issue that the National Park Service is wrestling with, he said. In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first of a number of new drugs that cure hepatitis C quickly and with few side effects. It was too late for McGough, though, who died just weeks before the drug came on the market. I can hardly bear to watch those commercials, Sheryl said. Its just heartbreaking. This column is produced through a collaboration between The Post and Kaiser Health News. health-vietnam In a video released Monday, president-elect Donald Trump pledged that in his first 100 days in office he would abolish a host of regulations to stimulate domestic energy production. I will cancel job-killing restrictions on the production of American energy, including shale energy and clean coal, creating many millions of high-paying jobs, he said. Thats what we want, thats what weve been waiting for. Trump didnt spell out what restrictions he has in mind. While energy experts and businesses can point to a variety of federal environmental regulations on oil and gas drilling, most were perplexed by what Trump might have been talking about with regard to restrictions on clean coal. There arent any restrictions on clean coal, on the research on making coal cleaner. I dont think that theres restrictions on that. Indeed the Department of Energy has been actively funding research on clean coal. So what he must be implying there is that any restrictions on coal are restrictions on clean coal, said Tom McGarity, a law professor at the University of Texas who specializes in the regulatory process. In addition, creating many millions of high-paying jobs seemed unlikely. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a total of 352,800 people are currently working in the oil and gas and mining sectors. I think the right way to read that is that he intends to scrap a lot of environmental rules that regulate coal production and end the Clean Power Plan that would accelerate the decline of coal, said Jason Bordoff, founder of Columbia Universitys center for global energy policy. And the use of the word clean is just propaganda to pretend all coal is clean. Experts note that coal is not ever clean. The mining process disturbs the land, produces toxic waste in the form of coal ash, and when burned for electric power emits traditional pollutants such as mercury as well as carbon dioxide, which speeds climate change. Carbon-capture-and-storage systems can reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but there is no technology that can do this economically at large scale. The coal industry has been declining for many reasons much more important than government regulation, Bordoff said, citing competition from cheaper natural gas, the falling cost of producing energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind, and weak Asian demand for coal. So eliminating environmental rules like the Clean Power Plan can slow the decline of coal but the coal industry is not coming back as he promised even if he eliminates all these rules. When it comes to oil and gas drilling, there are more identifiable targets for Trump and the industry. Those options increase if Trump has the cooperation of the U.S. Congress, which he surely will, and chooses to use a Gingrich-era law called the Congressional Review Act. This allows, in certain circumstances, for an incoming president and sympathetic Congress to nullify late-arriving regulations finalized by the previous administration. If the regulations were finalized within 60 days of the end of either the Houses or Senates sessions, then they can fall victim to the objections of the next Congress. If the party holding the White House has changed, then a resolution under the Act is unlikely to be vetoed. According to a Congressional Research Service determination issued just after the November election, this would apply to regulations finalized after May 30, 2016 if Congress did not come into session again this year. As the congressional calendar changes between now and the close of the year, that date will move forward. This would subject some Obama administration rules to potential reversal. They can pass a joint resolution, and if its signed by the president, then that regulation disappears, said Tom McGarity, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in the regulatory process. Its void. And worse, in my view, is that the agency can never publish a regulation on a substantially similar topic without express authorization of Congress. It not only kills the reg but it makes it so nobody can do it again. So what regulations are vulnerable here? Perhaps the most obvious is a recently finalized Interior Department rule controlling the flaring, venting, and unintended leaking of methane gas from oil and gas operations on federally owned or Native American lands. Because the rule took effect so close to the end of the Obama second term, its possible that Congress could use the Congressional Review Act to block the regulation passing a resolution to do so that Trump would then be willing to sign as president. Another Obama methane regulation, promulgated by the Environment Protection Agency and designed to reduce methane gas leaks in the name of climate change, was finalized back in mid-May, so it seems unlikely to be subject to such a sweeping rollback option. Trump might also be referring to other obstacles, such as permits for oil and natural gas pipelines. The hotly disputed Dakota Access pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois would probably receive the additional approvals it needs to be completed. The Keystone XL pipeline, rejected by President Barack Obama, would get a fresh look. Companies seeking to build gas pipelines out of gas-rich Pennsylvania could get Trump administration support, though federal agencies have not been standing in the way of gas pipelines. How the politics of shale energy play out is uncertain. A rising number of Americans oppose fracking the hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technique used to unlock oil and gas from shale rock. But Trump could benefit from lucky timing, Bordoff said. I think to pretend that federal regulation has been a major barrier to us developing our shale resources is incorrect, he said, noting that shale drilling has slowed because world oil prices have plunged. We may well see a scenario where a Trump administration scraps a bunch of environmental rules, oil ticks up, U.S. shale production goes up again because industry efficiencies are up so much and then the Trump administration claims credit for making U.S. oil production go up, Bordoff said. And this too may be only the beginning of what Trump can do to roll back Obama moves to tighten regulations for drilling and exploitation of domestic energy sources. The deregulatory impulse of the next Administration will likely proceed through direct alteration or repeal of regulations; legislation; or use of more esoteric strategies like appropriations riders, resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, or even judicial settlements, Scott Segal, a partner at the law firm Bracewell who focuses on energy regulation, said in an email. trump-energy SANTA FE Fresh off an election cycle in which Republican Donald Trump won the presidency and Democrats reclaimed control of the New Mexico Legislature, both major political parties will soon have new state-level leaders. Democratic Party of New Mexico state Chairwoman Debra Haaland said Tuesday that she will not seek a second term; state GOP Chairwoman Debbie Maestas had already informed party insiders she wouldnt seek re-election, either. In a memo to Democratic State Central Committee members, Haaland touted the election gains of Democrats in the Legislature and said the state party had managed to pay off a long-standing debt estimated to be roughly $48,000 in 2015. I intend to finish my term strong, Haaland said in her letter. My team and I have worked very hard to build an infrastructure that will give us a strong footing for our 2018 election. In a post-election email of her own, Maestas had told fellow Republicans the state party had raised more than $1.7 million since she took over as chairwoman in December 2014. She also cited the Election Day victories of Trump and state Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura, the first Republican to win election to the states highest court since 1980. However, she also acknowledged Republicans legislative losses, saying, Overall, this is the game of politics. We win some and we lose some. Both major political parties have had to adjust their strategies in recent years, as political action committees particularly independent groups known as super PACs that arent affiliated with the parties have become big-spending forces on the campaign trail. Under Maestas leadership, the Republican Party filed ethics complaints against several Democratic candidates before this years election, but faced criticism for a campaign mailer that suggested voters neighbors could find out if they didnt vote. Meanwhile, the state Democratic Party in recent months sent out a steady stream of news releases denouncing Trump and Gov. Susana Martinez, who declined to endorse Trump, but ultimately voted for him. But at least some New Mexico Democrats were upset over the cancellation of a straw poll at the Democratic Partys state convention earlier this year and a dozen or so Bernie Sanders supporters booed Haaland during a campaign rally in Albuquerque last month. An enrolled member of Laguna Pueblo, Haaland was the first Native American woman to hold the position of state party chair. She was elected to a two-year term in April 2015, and she vowed to reach out to Hispanics, Native Americans and independents. In addition to making gains in the Legislature, Democrats also had success in many other contested races in New Mexico, as Maggie Toulouse Oliver was elected secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton carried the state by a comfortable margin. Republicans will elect a new state party chair, along with new state officers, in mid-December. Democrats will elect new party leaders of their own at an internal meeting in April 2017. Senate Democrats plan to file legislation next week insisting that President-elect Donald Trump sell off his business stakes and place his assets in a blind trust or they will treat all his business dealings as potential violations of the Constitution. The resolution, which the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Ben Cardin, plans to introduce next week, comes as Trump is facing fire for adding meetings with business partners to his presidential transition schedule, including his children who are supposed to be running Trumps business after his inauguration in meetings with foreign heads of state and allegedly encouraging foreign diplomats to stay at his new Washington hotel. It is effectively a warning shot from Democrats, who could use claims of constitutional impropriety to build a case against Trump, potentially even to the point of attempting impeachment proceedings. But Democrats will need the cooperation of Republicans to put such a measure on the floor and it is unlikely that the GOP will be inclined to schedule such a vote during the few weeks remaining in the jam-packed lame duck session. Even if Cardin gains support for his legislation, the sense of the Congress resolution would not bind Trump to divest his business interests. Although past presidents have taken such measures to avoid the appearance of impropriety, there is only one explicit constitutional prohibition that could cause problems for Trump: the Emoluments Clause, which says that no one holding office can accept foreign gifts of any kind whatever without the consent of Congress. Though the Trump transition team maintains that it can avoid any problems, Democrats warn that the Trump Organizations foreign holdings and dealings will put the president-elect precariously close to that constitutional line. Democrats are hoping that with this resolution they can compel Trump to sell his business stakes and put the money in a blind trust, or take equivalent steps to remove any potential for a conflict of interest. Unless he takes appropriate action, Mr. Trumps many international financial interests pose a great risk of violating the Constitution once he assumes the Presidency of the United States, Cardin said in a statement announcing his resolution. He should provide the American people with clarity and certainty that he will in no way, shape or form use the office of the President to advance his substantial personal fortune. But Republicans have not yet expressed any support for the measure. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that it would be impossible, at this point, to determine whether there would be unanimous consent to consider the resolution. In general, however, Republican leaders have been noticeably quiet about the mounting concerns involving Trumps foreign holdings though a Republican member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Justin Amash, Mich., said Monday night in a tweet directed at Trump, You rightly criticized Hillary for Clinton Foundation. If you have contracts w/foreign govts, its certain a big deal, too. Over in the House, Democrats have not filed a resolution but are echoing demands that Trump dispose of his business interests and place his assets in a blind trust and are pushing him to disclose his records as he separates his finances from the Trump Organization. The President-elect must demonstrate to the American people that he is not using the power of his presidency to enhance his business interests. This is a big deal, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel, N.Y., said Tuesday in a statement. Leaders in Congress should demand that these conditions be met before we consider any part of the Trump agenda. Otherwise we will have no idea who stands to benefit from his proposed policies. trump-dems PALM BEACH, Fla. With Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort for Thanksgiving, it isnt the first time a president-elect has used Palm Beach as his vacation refuge. John Kennedys family estate, known during his term as the Winter White House, is seven miles north at the other end of Ocean Drive. Like Kennedys visits, Trumps trips to Palm Beach will bring increased attention, some unwanted, to this wealthy enclave of about 10,000 people, a number that triples in the winter. The new presidents stays will also bring road closures and heightened security when the caravan of Secret Service agents, political aides, journalists and medical personnel arrives and departs Palm Beach. The community sits on a long, thin barrier island with narrow streets and only three bridges to the mainland. In 1960, a would-be assassin planned to kill Kennedy there. But unlike with Kennedy, the government will not have to build Trump a bomb shelter. He already has three. A closer look at the community and the president-elects place in it: ___ THE TOWN Palm Beach is quiet, and residents like it that way. Earlier this year, the town went to court to block a planned march by farmworkers to the home of Wendys fast-food Chairman Norman Peltz. Town officials wanted to ban the use of loudspeakers. A judge approved their use, but told marchers they had to stay on the sidewalks. With Trump as president, more protests are likely, although the area around Mar-a-Lago isnt inviting. The club sits on a busy stretch of road with limited sidewalks. The town is also rich. It has Floridas 10th highest median household income at $105,700, according to census data. Conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, former New York Mayor and Trump confidante Rudy Giuliani and entertainers Howard Stern and Jimmy Buffett are among the celebrities with homes there. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, I am sure the residents of the Town of Palm Beach will take this as a great honor, Mayor Gail Coniglio said. We will all accept (Trumps visits) with gentility. The community remains much like it was in Kennedys era, said Debi Murray, chief curator of the Historical Society of Palm Beach. The business district is still home to upscale shops, boutiques and restaurants, and the shoreline boasts exclusive resorts. And residents still dont like lookie-loos. Murray said one difference is that residents today are worried Trumps visits could make the town a target for terrorism. Its a more dangerous world we live in, she said. ___ THE ESTATE When Trump bought Mar-a-Lago for $10 million from the estate of cereal tycoon Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1985, he was not greeted warmly by everyone in town. He was seen as brash, nouveau riche and a limelight seeker, not genteel, quiet old-money like his neighbors. After the town rejected his plan to subdivide Mar-a-Lagos grounds and build up to 10 mini-mansions, he converted the property into a club in 1995 to bring in revenue. The property is now believed to be worth more than $100 million. Trump and his neighbors have battled over the years about noise emanating from his grounds and over a car-lot sized U.S. flag and its 80-foot pole that he erected in 2006 without the proper permits. The two sides eventually settled. Trump got his pole, and his foundation gave $100,000 to veteran charities. ___ THE STEPPED-UP SECURITY Former Secret Service agents Dan Bongino and Arnette Heintze say Trumps neighbors should expect some security-related disruptions such as the possible construction of a helipad, but it shouldnt be too stressful. Mar-a-Lago is a Secret Service agents dream to secure. It is everything you would want, Bongino said. You have limited access and a really exclusive enclave where people who dont live down there will generally stick out pretty quickly. Mar-a-Lagos members, who pay a $100,000 initiation fee and $14,000 annual dues, can expect to walk through metal detectors and have their cars and luggage sniffed by bomb dogs when Trump is there. Still, Bongino and Heintze said, Secret Service agents will do their best to allow the resort to operate near normalcy while still protecting Trump. Look at when the president visits the Waldorf Astoria in New York. There are a lot of people who live there, Heintze said. They arent thrown out. Berndt Lembke, Mar-a-Lagos general manager, did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment from The Associated Press. He told the Palm Beach Daily News that guests wont notice anything different unless Trump is present. Hes mostly here for Christmas, New Years Eve and Easter, when its mostly just members, he told the Daily News. The Coast Guard has issued restrictions barring boaters from coming close to the resort during his stay, and the Federal Aviation Administration has forbidden private planes from flying overhead below 3,000 feet. ___ THE ATTEMPT ON KENNEDYS LIFE Domestic terrorism nearly claimed Kennedy in December 1960, a month before he took office. Richard Pavlick, a 73-year-old retired New Hampshire postal worker who hated Catholics, planned to kill Kennedy in a suicide-bomb attack as the president-elect stayed in Palm Beach to prepare for his inauguration. Pavlick loaded his 1950 Buick with dynamite and parked near St. Edward Church, intending to detonate the car as Kennedy arrived for Mass. He later told police he decided to temporarily spare Kennedy when he saw Jacqueline Kennedy and their children with him. A former colleague figured out the plan from postcards Pavlick had sent him. The colleague then alerted the Secret Service, and Pavlick was arrested a few days later as he re-entered town, seven sticks of dynamite still in his car. He spent seven years in mental hospitals. ___ THE BOMB SHELTERS One thing Trump will have in common with Kennedy when in Palm Beach is access to a fallout shelter. When Kennedy became president, the military took 10 days to build a secret nuclear shelter and command post on nearby Peanut Island in case World War III broke out. Today, its a tourist attraction. Mar-a-Lago is said to have three bomb shelters. ___ Follow Terry Spencer on Twitter at https://twitter.com/terryspen . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/author/terry-spencer . The FBI has concluded its review of a murky, September incident involving actor Brad Pitt and his children aboard an airplane, and no charges will be brought in the case, a bureau spokeswoman said Tuesday. In a statement, spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said allegations were made after a flight carrying Pitt and his children landed in Los Angeles, and the FBI had conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation. Eimiller said no charges had been filed in the matter. She declined to offer more detail, except to say as in all cases agents would have consulted with the U.S. Attorneys Office before coming to a determination about charges. Representatives for Pitt did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The incident which the FBI was reviewing occurred on Sept. 14 the day before the actor officially separated from his wife, fellow Hollywood A-lister Angelina Jolie. TMZ reported though it was not confirmed by officials that Pitt allegedly went wild, screaming and getting physical with the kids. The FBI had jurisdiction over the matter because its agents investigate incidents that occur on airplanes. Pitts highly publicized divorce with Jolie has created something of a public relations nightmare in recent months, though the closure of the FBIs review with no charges is the latest in a series of good news for the actor. Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, which had also reportedly been looking into purported airplane misbehavior, had closed their case with no finding of abuse. Pitts new movie, Allied, will be officially released Wednesday. Jolie, in her divorce filing, cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the couple parting ways, but she notably listed Sept. 15 the day after the airplane incident as the date of separation. TMZ reported that the incident triggered the separation. pitt-airplane The suspect arrested in the ambush shooting of a San Antonio police detective has said he was angry about a child-custody battle and lashed out at somebody who didnt deserve it. Otis Tyrone McKane was being led by police to the Bexar County Jail late Monday when he told reporters that he was angry with the court system for not letting him see his son and took it out on Detective Benjamin Marconi. Ive been through several custody battles, and I was upset at the situation I was in, and I lashed out at someone who didnt deserve it, McKane said. He said he wanted to apologize to the family of the slain officer. McKane, 31, of San Antonio, remained jailed on a $2 million bond after his arrest on a capital murder charge Monday afternoon in the fatal shooting of Marconi. The detective was shot as he sat in his squad car Sunday after making a traffic stop. Authorities have said a gunman walked up to Marconis drivers-side window and fired. It was one of several weekend attacks against law enforcement in multiple states. The San Antonio detective and officers shot in Missouri and Florida were conducting routine tasks Sunday when they became the targets of violence. Marconi was writing a traffic ticket. I think the uniform was the target and the first person that happened along was the first person that (the suspect) targeted, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said. In Missouri, a St. Louis police sergeant was shot twice in the face Sunday evening while he sat in traffic in a marked police vehicle. He was released from a hospital Monday. Law enforcement officials say theres been an alarming spike in ambush-style attacks. Sixty officers, including the San Antonio detective, were shot to death on the job this year, compared with 41 in all of 2015, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Of the 60 killed, 20 were purposely targeted by their assailant compared with eight last year, the group said. Police officers also were shot and injured during traffic stops in Sanibel, Florida, and Gladstone, Missouri, on Sunday night, but authorities have not suggested those were targeted attacks. All the shootings come less than five months after a black military veteran killed five white officers at a protest in Dallas the deadliest day for American law enforcement since Sept. 11, 2001. Race was a factor in the Dallas attack, but police have not said if race played a part in any of the attacks on Sunday. In San Antonio, the suspect is black and the officer was white. In St. Louis, the suspect was black, but police have not released the officers race. Most killings of police officers are carried out by white men, and most people shot and killed by police are white, said Craig W. Floyd, president of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Chief McManus said McKane was arrested without incident after the car he was riding in was stopped Monday afternoon on an interstate. Surveillance video shows the suspect at San Antonio police headquarters about four hours before the 50-year-old Marconi, a 20-year veteran of the force, was shot. The suspect asked a desk clerk a question but left before receiving an answer, said McManus, who declined to say what the man asked. I dont know why he was in headquarters. We have some ideas, he said. St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson declined to name the 46-year-old officer who was shot and wounded there. He said the officer is a married father of three and has been with the department for about 20 years. This officer was driving down the road and was ambushed by an individual who pointed a gun at him from inside of his car and shot out the police officers window, Dotson said. The suspect, 19-year-old George P. Bush III, was wanted for questioning in recent violent crimes that included several robberies, a carjacking and perhaps a killing, Dotson said without elaborating. We believe he knew he was good for those crimes and that we were looking for him, Dotson said. Thats why he aggressively attacked a police officer. Police said Bush was later killed in a shootout with officers. On July 7, Micah Johnson shot and killed five law enforcement officers who had been working to keep the peace at a protest in downtown Dallas over the fatal police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. Ten days after that attack, a man wearing a ski mask and armed with two rifles and a pistol killed three officers near a gas station and convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And earlier this month, two Des Moines, Iowa-area police officers were fatally shot in separate ambush-style attacks while sitting in their patrol cars. Its always difficult, especially in this day and age, where police are being targeted across the country, McManus said. ___ Salter reported from St. Louis, and Warren from Dallas. Associated Press writers Jamie Stengle and Terry Wallace in Dallas and Tammy Webber in Chicago also contributed to this report. I found the Washington Post article by Amy Wang in a recent Journal, Truth no longer matters and thats the truth, interesting, to say the least. Apparently in the wake of the Brexit voting in the United Kingdom this past June, and now, more recently, the two-year run-up to the U.S. presidential election just past, Oxford Dictionaries has selected the term post-truthas 2016s international word of the year. Regarding our own sins here in the States, Wang presents conservative columnist Jennifer Rubins comment, We concede all politicians lie. Nevertheless, Donald Trump is in a class by himself. This comment followed by The Atlantics David Frum describing Trumps dishonesty this past May as qualitatively different than anything before seen from a major-party nominee, and from Chris Cillizza of the Post, Trump has set records for fabrication. Hillary Clinton had her share of prospective misnomers, as well, with hundreds of fact checks having been published about interesting statements made by both candidates. None of this would matter so much, I suppose, if it werent real life and real elections affecting millions of people in this country, Europe and much or most of the rest of the world, both directly and indirectly. If we lose truth, what have we got? Oxford Dictionaries defines post-truth as relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. From my point of view, truth is the anchor point from which we all relate, and comes from spiritual values that originate from a variety of origins, but which we can all relate to from truth. Many rulers who were or became dictators in their respective societies began by their use of charismatic, overpowering personalities projecting words, phrases and concepts appealing to emotions of the people they sought to rule, whether true or otherwise, and many times ending in catastrophe for those societies. I believe that in the wake of our own election just completed, we have some serious perhaps even overwhelming soul searching to do, just possibly with the need to be prepared for the national trauma which may be about to challenge us as a society. The line stretched almost to the door Tuesday at Escuela del Sol Montessori as teachers, families and neighbors gathered to celebrate the schools 15th annual Thanks for Giving luncheon, a tradition that draws hundreds to the small school in Downtown Albuquerque. Parents loaded up childrens plates with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls and pumpkin pie food prepared by the school community, including middle school students in a culinary arts class. A parent spent hours smoking 16 turkeys to cover about 550 meals. We all come together, said Friedje vanGils, head of the school. This is a chance to thank everybody. The celebration now spans generations. Jack Gauthier used to take his daughter, Emily, to Escuela del Sol for preschool years ago. On Tuesday, he accompanied Emily and her young children, Ayla, 4, and Jack, 1. Its fun, Gauthier said. Its great to be back. The community here is deep. Jolie Tafoya also says she has a whole history at the school. Her mother worked there when Tafoya was a child, and she started attending when she was 2 years old. Tafoya eventually followed her moms lead, taking a job teaching Escuela del Sols toddlers and enrolling her son, Trey, 5. Its great to see all these families, Tafoya said. Its a nice way to get into the holiday. When Tafoya was little, Escuela del Sol Montessori offered only preschool and kindergarten. It has since expanded to K-8, adding middle school grades this year and growing enrollment to 210 students. VanGils said she is thankful for the schools progress over its 48-year history and hopes the luncheon also provides an opportunity for the kids to reflect on their own gratitude. Asked what she was thankful for, fifth-grader Solana Pearl listed desserts and a coming trip to Arizona. She was also happy her mother and father would be in the audience for a luncheon presentation on the cornucopia. Pearl wore a large feather headdress and cape to portray ancient Greek goddess Amalthea, who created the traditional horn of plenty. Much of the political commentary over the past weeks has been bleak and despairing for the future of our fragile republic. It has assumed the worst about Americans true character, our dedication to inclusiveness and diversity, and our ability to rein in our ugliest instincts. America has abandoned its values, we pundits fret in unison. Iraqi-born immigrant Omar al-Khattab doesnt buy it. Last week, with a full heart and an open mind, al-Khattab recited the oath of allegiance to the United States. He became a newly minted U.S. citizen exactly one week to the day after Americans elected a president who said Muslim immigrants like himself dont belong here. Al-Khattab was joined by 14 other immigrants at a naturalization ceremony at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. The museum, dedicated to telling the stories of generations of American immigrants, hosts this event every year; this years proceedings, though, took on a new sense of urgency and hopefulness. As despondent native-born Americans muse about ditching their country for greener, Donald Trump-free pastures in Canada or New Zealand, these 15 immigrants instead pledged their commitment to stay and fight for the nations most fundamental values. These emigres swore as no native-born American is ever legally required to do as a condition of their own citizenship to support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Al-Khattab, 37, may have recited this oath aloud for the first time on Tuesday. But he has been walking the walk for years. As a child, he was enamored of American culture. He taught himself English by watching Robert De Niro films and listening to Michael Jackson songs. And as an adult, he repeatedly risked his life for Americans. Al-Khattab is a surgeon by training. While working in an Iraqi hospital, he began liaising with local American hospitals and eventually became an interpreter for the U.S. Air Force. Yes, I worked several missions in the field, he says. They were very, very risky, and exposed me to almost assassination. Six years ago, he came to the United States on a special immigrant visa for Iraqi and Afghan interpreters. (The United States has pledged to help the 50,000 interpreters who heroically aided U.S. forces, but we have actually brought over shamefully small numbers of them.) He says his parents remain in Iraq and have been seeking refugee status. Today al-Khattab works as a patient coordinator at New York-Presbyterian hospital while he studies for his medical licensure exams. He ultimately plans to redo his residency and practice as a doctor once again. His new citizenship status offers him some additional legal protections, of course (well, maybe). More generally, though, he mostly shrugged off concerns about recent displays of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment. Including those from our new president-elect. What matters are Americas enduring institutions and legacies, al-Khattab says. The fear we are seeing is basically fear of the unknown, he says, arguing that everyone has been unfairly prejudging Trump. If given the chance, al-Khattab says, he would have voted for Hillary Clinton, but he trusts that the candidate who won instead will take his new responsibilities seriously. The guy has not even been in the White House yet. He speaks strongly. He has. But remember his job entitles him to be the protector of the U.S. Constitution, no matter what, al-Khattab says. He notes that the United States has always been a temple of immigrants: Its the Constitution and the values you look at. Its the values of the country as a whole, not what a person says or not. But what of Trumps proposed Muslim immigrant ban, or the outbreak of anti-Muslim hate crimes? If you survive Iraq, you will survive anything, he says with a smile. He believes that journalists have been irresponsible in our portrayals both of Muslims and those who might fear Muslims. Everyone he has come into contact with here in the United States has been kind and good to him, he says. I come from a country where fear from the other is tearing it apart right now, he says, suggesting that Americans must engage with fellow citizens motivated by fear as well. When somebody tries to impose that on me, I have to please understand where is he coming from. He probably doesnt know who I am as a person, but once he knows who I am, Im sure his attitude will definitely change. Welcome (more permanently) to the United States of America, Dr. al-Khattab. For your sake, and all of ours, may your countrymen be everything you believe us to be. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group. From a 20-year-old student to a 105-year-old environmentalist--Indian women are making the nation proud, and how! By India Today Web Desk: Sunny Leone has made it to BBC's 100 most influential women for 2016. But that's not the news that's exciting us the most. The fact that four other Indian women, whom you might never have heard of otherwise, have also found coveted spots on the list--and that's reason enough to celebrate mid-week! Apart from Leone, the list includes the names of Indian women Gouri Chindarkar (from Sangli), Mallika Srinivasan (from Chennai), Neha Singh (from Mumbai) and Saalumarada Thimmakka (from Karnataka). advertisement Twenty-year-old computer engineering student, Gouri Chindarkar, is one of the first children in India to experience a unique learning experience that goes by the name of School in the Cloud (England). Mallika Srinivasan, 57, is more popularly known as the Tractor Queen of India. She is the CEO of Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd, which is now the third-largest tractor manufacturer of the world. Actor-writer Neha Singh, 34, founded a movement--called Why Loiter? Mumbai--to encourage women to walk the streets in Mumbai to defy harassment. And the oldest woman on the list is our very own 105-year-old environmentalist from Karnataka, Saalumarada Thimmakka, who has planted more than 8,000 trees in 80 years. As a matter of fact, her project first began in response to social ridicule, at not being able to have children! Sunny Leone took to Twitter to share her excitement of making it to the coveted list: "Thank you?thank you? @BiggBoss @BeingSalmanKhan @rajcheerfull for having me on your show! Means the world to me! All began here!! Xoxo. (sic)" Thank you...thank you... @BiggBoss @BeingSalmanKhan @rajcheerfull for having me on your show! Means the world to me! All began here!! Xoxo pic.twitter.com/j7dQlBK8KS Sunny Leone (@SunnyLeone) November 21, 2016 --- ENDS --- Two years into the federal reform process, the Albuquerque Police Department has completed the 237 new policies it was required to write and get approved, but it still has a big hill to climb since it has completed just a quarter of the 270 tasks laid out in the citys agreement with the Department of Justice. So it is puzzling that the U.S. attorney for New Mexico, Damon Martinez, seems so concerned with what seem to be unrelated decisions that go into running a law enforcement agency facing a manpower deficit. There is clearly plenty for Martinez to focus on under the 2014 settlement agreement, prompted by DOJ findings that APD had a pattern and practice of civil rights violations regarding its use/abuse of force. Simple math would show that by Martinezs estimate, APD has around 202 tasks still on its to-do list. And it would be upsetting if the U.S. attorneys team is learning about significant (APD) matters from media reports if those were in fact significant matters related to the constitutional policing issue. But Martinez was in court last week and as part of his report was upset that federal attorneys werent briefed in person about city plans to hire retired police officers to handle things like taking burglary reports. They wouldnt carry weapons or make arrests but would free up certified officers for more pressing matters in a department that is around 200 officers short of its allotted manpower. Like many law enforcement agencies across the country, APD is struggling with staffing. Chief Gorden Eden and his team have debated for months how to best deploy its officers and have floated several options for having someone other than a sworn officer handle calls involving fender-benders, for example. So when the brass decided on a plan to maximize manpower and free up sworn officers to better handle the higher-priority calls more likely to require use of force, why is that a significant matter that requires an engraved invitation be sent to the U.S. Attorneys Office? Yes, professional courtesy should have dictated the city send a memo to the U.S. Attorneys Office on its redeployment of forces plan, especially considering the proposal should mean that tougher calls for service get the time and attention they deserve. The public needs the folks in charge to work together on this. But if Martinez wants to micromanage a law enforcement agency, he could start with the U.S. Marshals Office. Shots have been fired five times in as many months this year during the agencys area task force arrests one incident leading to the filing of a $10 million lawsuit. Or theres the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, which had black-clad agents in black SUVs surround businesses and break down doors to confiscate bath salts in 2012. Both agencies are far less transparent with those they are entrusted with protecting. And there certainly is no lapel camera video in a federal shooting. U.S. District Judge Robert Brack said Friday he was both disappointed and encouraged by APDs progress at building a better police force in the past two years. On the encouraging side, the SWAT team is using model policies and learning cutting-edge tactics, the city has developed a good way of analyzing policies, and the civilian oversight system and area command community policing councils are having a positive effect. On the disappointing side, officers still are not turning on their cameras, and there are those 202 reforms that have yet to be implemented. Two years into a federal settlement agreement, Albuquerque residents need to have a police force they believe in, one they trust to do the right thing when called in a moment of crisis. And interagency/intergovernment turf wars dont make that happen or tick items off that to-do list. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. A group of 25 New Mexico Republican lawmakers is calling on the University of New Mexico to halt research involving fetal body parts that have come from abortions. The group also requested in a letter to the board of regents that UNM suspend the transfer of fetal body parts to or from the university until administrators can prove theyre not violating the law that bans profiting from the sale of such material. The lawmakers also expressed concern that UNM may have improperly entered an agreement with Southwestern Womens Options, one of a few clinics nationwide that provide late-term abortions. At one point, UNM medical students were doing rotations at that clinic, and the clinics director, Dr. Curtis Boyd, was a volunteer faculty member. I hope that we can work together to restore proper oversight, the letter read. No one wants to see the reputation of our flagship university unnecessarily damaged over the actions of a few unaccountable faculty members. UNM Health Sciences Center officials didnt say whether they would comply with the requests but insisted the university had not violated any laws. UNM HSC categorically denies ever having bought or sold fetal tissue. Nor has it made any reimbursement for the tissue it has received from women who consented to donate it for research purposes, the center said in a statement provided to the Journal by Michael Haederle, whose title is strategic support manager. Rob Doughty, president of the board of the regents, said regents received the letter Monday but have not discussed it. Such a discussion by the board would have to take place in compliance with the Open Meetings Act, Doughty said. The letter from New Mexico lawmakers is connected to a monthslong investigation by a U.S. House of Representatives select investigative panel into UNMs handling of fetal tissue and body parts from aborted fetuses. Some researchers have said the tissue from the second trimester is particularly valuable for some research that seeks to address medical issues of fetuses in the same age of development. The 25 Republican state representatives and senators who signed the letter also asked for a meeting with the regents before Nov. 30. Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, said he sent the letter to regents because he and other lawmakers have had difficulty getting answers from Health Sciences Chancellor Dr. Paul Roth. Health Sciences includes the University of New Mexico Hospital and researchers who use fetal tissue for medical research. I am asking the regents to look into it because, quite frankly, Dr. Roth and his staff have been a little less than forthcoming, Montoya told the Journal on Tuesday. Montoya said he started asking UNM questions about how it handles its fetal research in the summer of 2015 at the behest of constituents who wanted to know more about UNMs connection to Southwestern Womens Options and the clinics director. The U.S. House select panel, Montoya said, later asked him about the questions he asked and the information he received. So I provided it to them, he said. Montoya said he has not received a response from his most recent letter to UNM. In its statement, Health Sciences said that fetal tissue research has helped to improve the lives of premature babies, and that the university cooperated with the House panel investigation. We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate that we have conducted our research, educational and clinical activities ethically, lawfully and transparently, the statement said. Under federal law, abortion providers are prohibited from selling fetal tissue, but they can donate it for medical research. Abortion providers can recover the cost of processing and transferring the tissue, though those costs are not specified or capped in law. New inquiry The Journal also obtained a copy of a Nov. 18 letter from the U.S. House panel to UNM that asked the university to set up an interview with the person who oversaw fetal tissue transfers between Southwestern Womens Options and UNM. That same letter also asked for the financial information for tissue transfers between UNM and other parties. It also sought information about the number of second- and third-trimester abortions from 2011 to the present at UNM facilities. Its not clear whether that includes Boyds clinic. Earlier this year, the congressional panel asked the office of New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas to investigate if UNM had violated a New Mexico law titled the Jonathan Spradling Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, a rule that governs the transfer of body parts. U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said in a statement in June that UNM violated state law in receiving fetal tissue from Southwestern Womens Options to use for research. UNM Health Sciences spokesman Billy Sparks earlier this year denied UNM had done anything wrong in receiving tissue from Southwestern Womens Options. He also said the Spradling Act doesnt apply to aborted fetuses. UNM and Southwestern Womens Options have cooperated with most of the House panels requests, though they have refused to provide names of doctors, researchers and others, saying theyre concerned that releasing the individuals names could endanger their safety. PLYMOUTH, Mass. The Mayflower II, a replica of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to Americas shores in 1620, is getting a massive makeover. And its not just cosmetic. Its hull is rotting; beetles are gorging themselves, Thanksgiving-style, on some of its timbers; and half of what lies beneath the waterline needs replacing. We have issues all over the ship, said Whit Perry, director of maritime preservation and operations at Plimoth Plantation , which maintains the replica that Britain built and sailed to the U.S. as a gift of friendship in 1957. She needs major structural frame repair and planking, he said. Without a project of this magnitude now, her days would be numbered and that would be tragic. Over the next 2 years, skilled craftsmen with the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard at Connecticuts Mystic Seaport will complete a $7.5 million overhaul to get the vessel ship-shape for 400th anniversary festivities in 2020. An estimated 25 million people from around the globe have boarded the 60-year-old ship. Generations of schoolchildren have clambered above and below decks to learn about the original Mayflower and the hardy settlers it carried to the New World. But this Thanksgiving, theres nothing but an empty slip on the waterfront near Plymouth Rock, where the national treasure usually sits. It wont return until 2019 from dry dock in Mystic, where a live webcam has been set up to provide 24-hour views of the reconstruction. This is an opportunity to preserve a piece of history and allow millions more people to experience her, said Plantation spokeswoman Kate Sheehan. Immigration, journeys, where we come from: These are profound questions, and theyre really relevant in our current political climate. Although a crowdfunding campaign to raise $250,000 fell short this month, Sheehan said private donors, corporate sponsors and government agencies so far have contributed more than $7 million. The ultimate goal is to amass $12 million and create a cash reserve for future maintenance. Its vital to preserve it, said Harold Closter, director of the Smithsonian Affiliations, a partnership that includes the Plantation and the Mayflower II. The ship itself, even though its a replica, is such a central icon of the peopling of America. Perry took over stewardship of the Mayflower II and the restoration project in 2014, after spending a decade caring for similarly square-rigged ships in Jamestown, Virginia. The first step was what he calls exploratory surgery carefully removing planks and X-raying iron hardware to grasp the full scope of the damage. Experts determined the 106-foot ship is in surprisingly decent shape for a wooden vessel exposed to six decades worth of the elements. Thats good news, because junking the ship and building a new Mayflower from scratch an option once under consideration would have cost $15 million. But they also found enough rot and other deterioration to warrant renewing 40 percent to 50 percent of the vessel. Another unpleasant discovery: A species of beetle that normally lives on land somehow got aboard and attacked the bottom. Perry insists the infestation is merely a minor nuisance because the wood the beetles were feasting on already needed replacing. The Mayflower II will be restored and refitted using the same materials and methods employed to build it. Boatsmiths will use white oak from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Kentucky and Virginia, and 20,000 board feet imported from Denmark. Were getting the ship ready for its next 60 years of life, Perry said. In 2019, hopefully well see her sailing back to Plymouth in her full glory. Thats an incredibly exciting prospect for me. ___ Follow Bill Kole on Twitter at https://twitter.com/billkole. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/william-j-kole . NEW DELHI Heavy cross-border shelling in the disputed Kashmir region killed at least three Pakistani military officers and seven Indian troops Wednesday, Pakistans military said, in a sharp escalation of violence following a deadly ambush of three Indian soldiers. At least 10 civilians were also killed, witnesses said. Pakistans military announced the death toll of both Pakistani and Indian forces. There was no immediate word from India on the casualty count. The clashes were the latest along the heavily militarized border separating Pakistan and India in recent weeks and raised the risks of more retaliatory unrest between the two nuclear-armed rivals. On Tuesday, the Indian army vowed that retribution will be heavy after three soldiers were ambushed and killed while on border patrol in the rugged Machil area on the Indian side of the border. The body of one of the soldiers was mutilated in the attack, military officials said. Condemn the cowardly and brutal killing of our soldiers, and mutilation of one of them. Salute these brave martyrs for their supreme sacrifice, said Indias defense minister, Manohar Parrikar. The Pakistani military said Wednesday that a heavy exchange of fire continued along the heavily wooded and mountainous area that separates the Indian and Pakistan sides of Kashmir. In Islamabad, Pakistans prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, decried the continuing naked Indian aggression a further sign of the deepening rifts between both sides. Reports also indicated civilian deaths. Khawaja Basharat, 40, a truck driver in the Neelum Valley in Pakistan, said a bus was hit by a mortar shell, killing eight people and seriously wounding several others. Basharat said he heard a loud boom and rushed to the area to help the injured people from the wreckage. Two other civilians were killed in an area further south Wednesday, witnesses said, including a teen girl. Relations between the two regional rivals have been tense since Pakistani militants attacked an Indian military outpost on Sept. 18, killing 19 Indian soldiers. Eleven days later, India responded with what it described as surgical strikes at about a half a dozen sites in Pakistan that India described as staging grounds for dozens of militants waiting to cross the border. It is still unclear how many of the alleged militants were killed in those raids; Pakistan has said only that two of its soldiers died in the attack. Since then, cross-border skirmishes have become a near-daily occurrence in the contested area, with an estimated dozen civilians and 17 security personnel killed in India and 30 civilians and 15 soldiers killed on the Pakistan side of the border. Hundreds remain evacuated from villages in border areas, but many have remained behind to tend crops and livestock. Diplomatic relations have been frosty, although Pakistans foreign affairs adviser, Sartaj Aziz, is set to attend a two-day regional conference in Amritsar, India, beginning Dec. 3. The two countries technically have a cease-fire agreement in place that dates to 2003, but officials said both sides violate the agreement with regularity. Iqbal reported from Peshawar, Pakistan. The Washington Posts Ishfaq Naseem contributed to this report from Srinagar. indopak A Northern California middle school teacher is facing criticism for using the concept of lynching black people to explain the meaning of equality. During a discussion about the Constitution earlier this month, Woody Hart, a teacher at Sutter Middle School in Sacramento County, tried to explain equality by saying that when you hang one black person, you have to hang them all (as) that is equality, according to a complaint filed by the family of an African American student. The student, 13-year-old Tyler McIntyre, felt singled out by his teachers words during the Nov. 2 history lesson, his parents said. Its insensitive; it alienated my son, his father, Tyrie McIntyre, told The Washington Post. He felt as though all eyes were on him. Tylers parents contacted Folsom Cordova Unified School District officials and filed a complaint, saying Hart made racist comments in class. They also asked the district to place their son in another history class and to ensure that other students are not further subjected to these racially insensitive remarks. Victoria McIntyre said such comments shouldnt be used in discussions about the Constitution or equality. As a parent and an extension of my child, Im here to advocate for him, she said. When we send him to school, we trust that the school and teachers are doing the same in our absence. I dont feel that that was done. According to the complaint, the assistant principal told Victoria McIntyre that he has known Hart, who is white, for years, and that the teachers comments came as no surprise. Efforts to reach Hart on Tuesday were unsuccessful. But he told the Sacramento Bee that he used a lynching analogy to make the discussion interesting and to catch students attention. Heres what I said: If you hang black people in the South, that means that you hang any black person who comes from outside the state,' he told the Bee. In the schools formal response to the complaint, principal Kelli Phillips wrote that Hart did make a reference to hanging all blacks as an example of states treatment of individuals under the Constitution. Phillips interviewed six students, one of whom recalled references to lynching while the other five didnt. School officials have directed Hart to not use stereotypes or culturally insensitive language that may be misconstrued or may be hurtful to others. For challenging and controversial lessons that require making complex or difficult inferences, create very simply analogies that do not focus on the controversy, but can convey the message clearly to teenagers in a manner to which they can relate, the formal response states. Hart told the Bee that he will never refer to lynching again during discussions about the Constitution or equality, and that in the future, hed use simpler concepts, such as traffic fines, to explain how officials in one state should treat residents from other states. He also said that he has spent much of the year teaching students about racial equality. Daniel Thigpen, spokesman for the school district, said racist remarks have no place in our schools, and that Harts comments were not intended to target or harass any student. Folsom Cordova schools are committed to ensuring a safe, inclusive learning environment for all students free from harassment of any form, Thigpen said in a statement. We take all such allegations seriously and will always investigate them fully and take appropriate action. Its unknown if Hart is facing disciplinary actions. Thigpen said the school district is prohibited by law from disclosing information on personnel matters. The McIntyres, however, said theyre dissatisfied with how the school district addressed the incident. They said they would have appreciated an apology, but that none was made. As a parent, you try to bring your kid up, you try to shelter him, said Tyrie McIntyre, who works as a police officer. You try to help him through certain situations. You dont know what things are going to impact him. Were trying to handle this as delicately as possible. Unfortunately, were not sure how its going to impact him. Victoria McIntyre, a preschool teacher and day-care center owner, said her concern is not only how the comments might affect her son, the oldest of their three children, but also the impact on other students. Children are very impressionable, she said. To have these types of views poured into the minds of children, theyre going to be adults one day. I think its very important that children are being shaped in the right way. McIntyre said her son told her that there was at least one other African American student in the class. calif-teacher TUCSON, Ariz. Arizonas Pima County will wait until February to decide whether to offer a property tax deal to agricultural biotechnology giant Monsanto. The county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to put off the decision after hearing dozens of people speak in opposition to Monsantos plan to build a 7-acre greenhouse in the Marana area northwest of Tucson. Supervisor Ramon Valadez proposed the delay, saying speakers raised a number of questions that deserve answers. The Board of Supervisors also plans to create an agricultural science advisory committee to address some of the speakers concerns, many of which relate to the potential health impact of Monsantos plans to use genetically modified crops. The company says its greenhouse laboratory would create about 50 jobs with an average compensation of $44,000. Some area residents, however, criticized the plan to give tax breaks to a Fortune 500 company. Marana is a poor farming community, speaker Wendy Wiener said. Why dont we give them tax breaks? A handful of speakers advocated bringing the large corporation to Pima County. Tucson Metro Chamber CEO Michael Varney praised Monsanto for a demonstrated history of innovation and Arizona Farm Bureau Federations Pima County leader Jack Mann described the greenhouse as opportunity to try to develop and improve our production. Monsanto Government Affairs Director George Gough said the delay provides a good opportunity to address some of the residents concerns. Were excited to be in dialogue, added company spokeswoman Christi Dixon. Were trying to engage differently and more openly. LAS CRUCES Phillip Hernandez, a former theater teacher at Centennial High School accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student, was sentenced on Tuesday to 18 months of supervised probation. Hernandez pleaded no contest to a reduced count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a fourth-degree felony. The remaining charges, three counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor by school personnel and two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor by school personnel, all fourth-degree felonies, were dismissed by the 3rd Judicial District Attorneys Office. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison, but Hernandez was spared prison time. His attorney, Michael Stout of Las Cruces, asked for the probation to be unsupervised, but Chief District Judge Fernando R. Macias denied the request. Hernandez was arrested in April 2014 on suspicion of having sexual contact with a male student from October 2013 to January 2014. Hernandez allegedly engaged in oral sex and sexual intercourse with the student during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, according to court documents. Court documents also accused Hernandez of engaging in other inappropriate sexual contacts with the student, including fondling and kissing, which reportedly took place during school activities as well as outside of school. The student reported the allegations to school administrators and a school resource officer on April 16, 2014. By that time, Hernandez had been placed on administrative leave. Hernandez, who was hired by Las Cruces Public Schools in the summer of 2013, resigned from his teaching position on April 21, 2014. Eight days later, he was booked into the Dona Ana County jail. He was released the same day on an unsecured bond. There was some confusion at Tuesdays hearing as to whether Hernandez had been sentenced when the terms of the plea deal were accepted last month. The victims mother came prepared to deliver a statement in objection to the plea deal. Macias told her Hernandez had already been sentenced, and it would have no impact on the sentencing, but she addressed the court anyway. Hernandez getting a slap on the wrist hurts my entire family more than you will ever know, she told the court. We (have waited) for almost three years, not giving up, so we could make sure that he never teaches or is around young people again. The victims mother was not present at the October plea deal hearing and sentencing, but said that she would have been if she had known Hernandez was being sentenced. The mix-up appears to have resulted from miscommunication. The terms of the agreement mandate a substance abuse assessment and prevent Hernandez from seeking employment in any role in any school, or any institution thats primary purpose is the education of children under the age of 18, Macias said. Hernandez will not have to register as a sex offender. After the hearing, the victims mother told the Sun-News she is satisfied with the outcome. At least he will not be allowed to be around young people anymore, she said. That was our most important (concern). We werent happy that it was pleaded out, but that wasnt really our choice. Im feeling good about it, the victim said. Its better than nothing. After three years, Ive done all that I could. And this is much better than getting nothing. The victim told the Sun-News that the plea agreement provides some closure. I feel like I have time to heal now, instead of having to rehash it and open it up over and over and over again, he said. He described the situation as stressful and fearful. It was all new to me, he said. I didnt know how to handle it. His mother said she is upset that Hernandez will not have to register as a sex offender, but realizes that, had the case gone to trial, a conviction was not guaranteed. In court, she said she was unhappy with how the investigation was handled. There was no investigation, she told the Sun-News after the hearing. I think that was probably what made the DA sit back and think, Wait a minute. This is not good. It would have been my sons word against his, basically. She said she feels like justice was served to some degree, but it could happen again. We hope it doesnt. Hopefully he doesnt do this to anyone else. Im very proud of our victim in this case for being strong, and being willing to stick with this case for three entire years, said Deputy District Attorney Davis R. Ruark, who prosecuted the case. Theres always a little bit of a sense of could we have done something else? But the evidence is what the evidence is, and we have to factor that in. Ruark said Hernandez is not licensed to teach, and he doesnt anticipate that he will ever be licensed to teach in any school, in any state in this country. Hernandez plans to live in California, his attorney told the court, and is expected to ask that his probation be transferred upon his move. Macias authorized the transfer, pending approval by California authorities. Damien Willis may be reached at 575-541-5468, dawillis@lcsun-news.com or @damienwillis on Twitter. 2016 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. New Mexico regulators have received a formal proposal from the U.S. Department of Energy to close part of the nations only underground nuclear waste repository due to safety and contamination concerns. The repository has been shuttered since February 2014, when a chemical reaction inside an inappropriately packed drum of waste triggered a radiation release. The closure halted the shipment of tons of Cold War-era waste from sites across the country, stalling a multibillion-dollar cleanup campaign by the Energy Department. The incident also resulted in an overhaul of policies and procedures, costly work to mitigate the contamination, and a multimillion-dollar settlement with the state of New Mexico for numerous permit violations. Under the proposal to close part of the underground area, federal officials want to install a series of steel barriers that would permanently seal off disposal rooms and other main corridors in the southern end, reducing the chance of waste disposal and mining activities stirring up dust and contamination. The barriers would reduce the footprint of the contaminated areas by about 60 percent, officials said. Maintenance and monitoring work underground have been limited due to the contamination and reduced ventilation, leaving workers to wear special protective gear and carry bulky monitoring equipment. The closure plan was first announced in October and officials with the New Mexico Environment Department say they recently received hundreds of pages of documents that make up the federal governments formal request. The documents cover changes to the state permit that governs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southern New Mexico. State Environment Secretary Butch Tongate said it will take some time for state regulators to review the proposal so its unclear when a final decision will be made. Were going to get to it as soon as we can because I think if they do close it, it will enhance their ability to get restarted in an efficient way, he said. The state is also awaiting a readiness report from the Energy Department and the contractor that manages the repository. Tongate said that will be reviewed to ensure everything required has been done to begin handling waste again. State regulators also are preparing for their first inspection of the underground area since the radiation release occurred nearly three years ago. Well be looking at safety aspects not only for their workforce but for the general public, Tongate said. It all needs to be addressed to make sure everything theyve done is aligned with that message of safety. The federal Energy Department had hoped to resume some operations by the end of the year, but watchdogs are calling on Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to follow federal environmental laws as his agency works to reopen the troubled repository. The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Southwest Research and Information Center sent Moniz a letter this week, saying there hasnt been a public process under the National Environmental Policy Act with regards to resuming operations. The groups are asking for a broad environmental review that would look at everything from corrective action plans to the potential effects of another catastrophic incident. They contend the department hasnt looked at alternatives as required by law. Moniz has said repeatedly that reopening the waste plant is a top priority. His agency said Wednesday the letter was being reviewed but did not comment on the timing of reopening the facility. Detectives have arrested a 19-year-old who chased down and shot and killed a man who he said tried to rob him at the Wells Park Community Center Tuesday afternoon, according to court documents. The victim has been tentatively identified, but officers had not yet released his name late Wednesday, saying they need to contact his family first. A witness told police that around 2 p.m. he heard several gunshots and saw a man bending over another man in the parking lot of the community center, located at Fifth and Mountain NW. The suspect then fled the area, driving erratically. The witness gave detectives the license plate number of the car, and they traced the car to Damian Hidalgo. When detectives caught up with Hidalgo in his Southeast Albuquerque apartment Tuesday evening, he said he had shot the victim, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. He said he had received a text message Tuesday morning asking if he wanted to buy marijuana and arranged to meet with a man at the community center that afternoon. Hidalgo told detectives that when he arrived at the center, a man he believed to be the seller climbed into his car. But instead of selling him marijuana, the man took out a pocketknife and demanded his wallet, according to the complaint. Hidalgo gave the man his wallet and the man got out of the car and began to run away. Thats when Hidalgo told police he got a gun from under his seat and shot the man in the back. Hidalgo told police that after he fired the first shot, he approached the man, who was lying on his back on the sidewalk leading to the community center. The man continued to yell at him and threaten him with the knife, Hidalgo told officers. Mr. Hidalgo told the male that he wanted his wallet back, but the male kept cursing at him, a detective wrote in the complaint. Mr. Hidalgo approached the male within an arm-and-a-half to two arms-lengths away and fired into the mans head. Then Hidalgo said he rummaged through the dead mans pockets and got his wallet back. He said he left the scene and continued about his day, and was not planning on telling law enforcement about the killing. Hidalgo was charged with an open count of murder and was booked into the county jail Wednesday. A window was shattered at the Project Defending Life ministry in Northeast Albuquerque Wednesday. The ministry's offices were set on fire by a suspected arsonist and the FBI is investigating the crime. (Roberto E. Rosales/Journal) A photographer surveys the damage at the offices of the Project Defending Life ministry Wednesday. The office was set on fire in multiple places by a suspected arsonist, according to the FBI. (Roberto E. Rosales/Journal) The Project Defending Life building sits at the corner of San Mateo and Marquette, directly across from Planned Parenthood. The office was set on fire early Wednesday morning and the FBI is investigating. (Roberto E. Rosales/Journal) Prev 1 of 3 Next The FBI released surveillance footage of a car who was in the area around the time fires were set at the Project Defending Life anti-abortion ministry. (Courtesy FBI) The FBI released surveillance footage of a car who was in the area around the time fires were set at the Project Defending Life anti-abortion ministry. (Courtesy FBI) The FBI released surveillance footage of a car who was in the area around the time fires were set at the Project Defending Life anti-abortion ministry. (Courtesy FBI) Prev 1 of 3 Next Clarification: an earlier headline on this story said the FBI had launched a hate crime investigation. That was premature. A hate crime is only one of several possibilities they are looking at. In what investigators say could be a hate crime, at least one arsonist set a series of fires early Wednesday morning inside a building housing an anti-abortion ministry across the street from a Northeast Albuquerque Planned Parenthood. The suspect or suspects smashed a window to gain entry to the modest white brick building, then set at least four fires in its chapel and gathering area, according to a leader of the ministry Project Defending Life. The FBI was called in several hours later and is now assisting the Albuquerque Fire Department to determine whether any federal violations were committed, said Frank Fisher, an FBI spokesman. Hate crime could be on the table, depending on what we find, he said. No suspects have been identified, but Fisher released a video and three surveillance photos of a white car that was in the area at the time the fires were started. There is a gap of several minutes between the time the vehicle stops and the driver gets back into the vehicle, Fisher said. He said the driver is not considered a suspect at this time, but investigators would like to talk to him or her. Dominique Davis, the director of client services at Project Defending Life, said the buildings alarms started going off around midnight. The executive director of the nonprofit arrived as firefighters were working to extinguish the flames. Four fires had been set throughout the building, at San Mateo and Marquette NE. In the Holy Innocents chapel, a fire had been set on the altar beneath a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and another was started on one of the half-dozen pews. In the buildings meeting area, a blaze had consumed much of a table that had held pamphlets and papers, and a rack of pocket-sized pamphlets was set on fire. It was at that point that they realized there was some intention behind the fires, Davis said. Throughout the day Wednesday, volunteers and employees worked to clean and secure the building. They swept up broken glass and nailed plywood over broken windows and doors. The inside of the building, dark and waterlogged, still smelled of burning rubber and smoke. Davis said the ministry focuses on providing pregnancy-related services to women who dont want to have an abortion and are looking for other options. The Catholic-based organization started in 2006. It holds Mass in the chapel and offers gynecological services as well as parenting and life-skills classes. Davis said shes not sure why the ministry became a target. They might have thought because were pro-life we shame women and want to take away rights, she said. Board member Curt Kuper said someone threw a rock through the window a couple years ago, but generally the ministry is a quiet and peaceful place. Davis said the building will be shuttered for at least several months, but she could not estimate how much repairing the damage will cost. She said ministry staff is working to figure out how to continue to care for the 15 women who are currently using its services. Thats what makes me the most sad about it, she said. No matter where you stand on the issue (of abortion) were just trying to help families, and weve helped lots of families with housing, getting jobs and getting established. Respect New Mexico Women a coalition of progressive groups, including Planned Parenthood released a statement Wednesday afternoon condemning the arson. We are compelled to speak out against violence of any kind, even when directed at those who may share different values and beliefs, the statement reads. Now more than ever our communities must provide strength and comfort. Respect New Mexico Women offers Project Defending Life positive thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Less than an hour after the fires at the ministry, firefighters were called to a blaze that destroyed a nearly completed luxury condo project on Central Avenue. A spokeswoman with the Albuquerque Fire Department said they dont believe the two fires are related. Journal staff writer Nicole Perez contributed to this report. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the FBI at 505-889-1300. Santosh Moorat Singh, who is dead on paper for last ten years, want to change it by donating his kidney to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Santosh, who is dead on papers for the last ten years, wants to be certified as alive, as a price for his noble gesture. By Sneha Agrawal: He's a dead man walking. On the paper for the last ten years Santosh Moorat Singh is 'dead'. But now he wants to change that for good by donating a kidney to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. In return of this noble gesture, Singh wants that he's certified as "a living human being". His story is rather strange. Singh once worked as a cook for veteran actor Nana Patekar. But because of his inter-caste marriage, Singh's relatives allegedly got him declared as 'dead' and usurped his ancestral property. advertisement ALSO READ: I want to help Sushma Swaraj: AIIMS flooded with kidney donation offers SANTOSH MOORAT SINGH'S STORY After he had moved to Mumbai with Patekar, Singh married a Maharashtrian Dalit woman in 2003. When he returned to his native village in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, his relatives abused him physically and threw him out of the house. "After being turned away, I went back to Mumbai. Six months later After being turned away, I went back to Mumbai. Six months later I found out that my last rites were performed and a death certificate was issued. It's been a futile struggle ever since to prove to the authorities that I am still alive. All documents that could prove me right were destroyed too," alleged Singh. "I returned to my village and sought help from the police but nobody came forward. When I went to the lawyers, they asked for money which I did not have. I approached the President, the prime minister and Uttar Pradesh chief minister, petitioning them earnestly. But so far no one has come to my rescue," Singh told Mail Today. ALSO READ: In AIIMS due to kidney failure, Lord Krishna will bless, tweets Sushma Swaraj Singh, who has been protesting for the last four years at Jantar Mantar, said that several influential people had promised to help him, but till date he doesn't have an identity proof. He claimed that once UP CM Akhilesh Yadav had intervened and got an FIR lodged at Hazratganj police station, but the case fizzled out. "Today, I have no option but to sit at Jantar Mantar. I am hoping to get back my right to life and dignity. I hope one of our finest political leaders, Sushma Swaraj, would notice the so called dead man's plight," Singh said. --- ENDS --- WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump has named an economic consultant who has shown a hands-off approach to regulation to help his administration with the transition at three financial regulatory agencies. Sharon Brown-Hruska, who briefly headed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under President George W. Bush, was named to Trumps landing team Tuesday for the CFTC as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission and Farm Credit Administration. Brown-Hruska previously opposed some efforts at increased regulation, including the SECs increased oversight of the hedge fund industry, and had often expressed the view that too much regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market may reduce efficiencies and add costs. She was a CFTC member from 2002 to 2006 and was the acting chairwoman for about a year, to mid-2005. Her role as part of the landing team will be to ensure a smooth transition, particularly at the SEC, where Chairwoman Mary Jo White has said she will depart when the Obama administration ends in January. Trump has provided little detail about his ambitions for financial regulation, but the Republicans who control both chambers of Congress have been outspoken in their desire to roll back regulation, especially the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul of 2010. At the CFTC, in 2004, Brown-Hruska disagreed with the SECs approval of new registration requirements for hedge fund advisers. She argued that the CFTC and the National Futures Association, a self-regulatory body, had already accomplished the SECs oversight goals. The SEC decision at the time was a 3-2 vote, and also drew the opposition of then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Her CFTC tenure was otherwise marked by agreements between the two agencies over the regulation of the trading of futures on debt security index contracts. They also signed an agreement on how they would oversee security futures. Brown-Hruska, in a speech in 2014, criticized the CFTC for reducing the role of economists in evaluating the cost of regulation on U.S. businesses by downgrading the role of chief economist to what she called a consultant. Various rules arising from the Dodd-Frank law have been tossed out in court over inadequate economic evaluations, and agencies are now working to improve the cost-benefit data on rule making. Brown-Hruska joins the transition team as the CFTC is considering new rules for whats known as position limits, which cap the amount of exposure a party may have to various derivatives. Its unclear whether those rules will be rolled out before Trump takes office. In a speech from 2009 on the matter, she said she opposed any effort to set limits on financial derivatives, but was silent on the subject of the current CFTC proposal, which sets derivative limits designed to curb speculation in 28 physical commodities like gold and oil. Brown-Hruska had previously urged regulators to refrain from overreacting to high energy prices in the mid-2000s. At the time, she maintained the energy markets had a high degree of transparency, and that additional regulation threatened to add costs. Brown-Hruska is now a director of the Securities and Finance Practice and the White Collar, Investigations and Enforcement Practice at NERA Economic Consulting. Federal records show no donations by her to Trumps campaign. She donated $250 to Hillary Clintons campaign last month, and also contributed $1,000 to former Jeb Bushs primary campaign. She previously donated to the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and John McCain, records show. 2016 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved Visit CQ Roll Call at www.rollcall.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain. Als Folge der Animals-Asia-Langzeitkampagne gegen rituelles Schlachten haben lokale Behorden ein vietnamesisches Buffeltotungsfest verboten. Die vietnamesische Provinz Lam Dong hat das Ende eines blutigen Buffel-Abstech-Festivals verordnet. Eine Entwicklung, die aus der Animals-Asia-Kampagne zur Beendigung des Nem Thuong Schweineschlachtfests resultiert. Die Initiative veranlasste das vietnamesische Ministerium fur Kultur, Sport und Tourismus dazu, derartige veraltete und unzivilisierte Veranstaltungen zu unterbinden. Das sogenannte Buffel-Abstech-Festival wurde bis dahin von der ethnischen Gruppe der K'ho als Fruchtbarkeitsritual praktiziert. Dabei wird ein angebundener Buffel mit Speeren getotet. In einer Pressemitteilung gibt das Volkskomitee der Lam Dong Provinz bekannt, dass dieser gewaltsame und aberglaubische Ritus nicht langer mit dem modernen Leben vereinbar sei und daher kunftig verboten wird. Im Gegensatz dazu, und trotz der Verurteilung desselben seitens der Zentralregierung und Offentlichkeit, besteht das Schweineschlachtfest in Nem Thuong weiter. Die lokalen Behorden (Bac Ninh Provinz) haben es in den letzten zwei Jahren nicht unterbunden. Tuan Bendixsen, Direktor Animals Asia Vietnam: Wir sind hocherfreut, dass die Beamten der Lam Dong Provinz der Aufforderung der Zentralregierung gefolgt sind und damit der barbarischen Praxis ein Ende setzen. Spatestens jetzt mussten die Behorden der Bac Ninh Provinz dem Beispiel folgen. Es ist an der Zeit, dass sie dem Schweineschlachten in Nem Thuong offiziell ein Ende setzen. Es weiter zu veranstalten, ware entgegen der Vorgaben der Zentralregierung und der offentlichen Meinung. Bereits im Februar dieses Jahres hat die Dak Lak Provinz die Beendigung eines ahnlichen Festivals angekundigt. Dave Neale, Direktor Tierschutz, Animals Asia: Es ist das vierte Buffeltotungsfest, das resultierend aus unserer Nem-Thuong-Kampagne verboten wird. Was wir hier erleben, ist ein Domino-Effekt. Wir hoffen, dass er sich uber ganz Vietnam erstreckt und somit allen tierqualerischen Festivals im Land ein Ende setzt. Andere Provinzen, die bereits ahnliche Festivals verboten haben, sind Dak Lak, Hue und Nghe An. Zudem untersagten die Behorden drei Buffelkampf-Feste. Dabei handelt es sich um jene in Phuc Tho (Hanoi), Phu Son (Bac Ninh) und Bao Thang (Lao Cai Provinz). Dave Neale: Es ist traurig zu sehen, das die Behorden von Bac Ninh nichts gegen das Nem Thuong Schweineschlachtfest unternehmen, wahrend andere Provinzen engagiert die neuen Vorgaben der Zentralregierung umsetzen, um gewaltsame Feste gegen Tiere zu unterbinden. Nach einem Bericht von Animals Asia uber das Schweineschlachtfest von Nem Thuong aus dem Jahr 2013 haben 30.000 Tierfreunde weltweit eine an die lokalen Behorden gerichtete Petition zur Beendigung der Veranstaltung unterschrieben. Das Schlachtfest findet jeweils zum Neujahr nach Mondkalenderrechnung statt. Die Animals-Asia-Initiative hat hohe Resonanz durch die lokalen Medien erfahren. Die Aufforderung grausame Feste zu beenden, wurde anschlieend von wichtigen Politikern wie dem Premier Minister und dem Minister fur Kultur, Sport und Tourismus unterstutzt. Entgegen der Anweisungen durch die Zentralregierung und trotz offentlicher Verurteilung der gewalttatigen Festivitat haben die lokalen Behorden das Schweineschlachtfest in Nem Thuong bis heute nicht verboten. By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) A 19-year-old boy and two juveniles have been nabbed for murdering a man and his wife in southwest Delhis Bijwasan area over a property dispute, police said today. Sahil and the two juveniles were nabbed from Najafgarh yesterday, they said. On November 14, two boys came to their house and sought to meet Sanjay Rana as they wanted rooms on rent. When Rana, who was suffering from paralysis, came out of the house with the assistance of his wife, they shot at the couple, said DCP (Southwest) Surender Kumar. advertisement The accused then fled on two scooties along with two accomplices who were waiting outside the house, the officer said. The couple were rushed to a hospital where Rana was declared brought dead, while his wife died during treatment, police said. "During investigation, it was found that Rana had some dispute with a few people, including with some of his family members over the property where he was staying," Kumar said. "Rana also owed one Rakesh Rs 20 lakh which he had not paid. A civil litigation is pending over this," he said, adding Rakesh is currently lodged in Tihar jail and was involved in two murder cases. "Rakesh wanted to settle scores with Rana, who had neither handed him over the property they had agreed upon nor paid back Rs 20 lakh," Kumar said. "Earlier, Rana didnt want to pay Rakesh. But, after demonetisation, he offered to pay him back the amount in demonetised banknotes. However, Rakesh insisted that Rana should pay him in new currency notes," another officer said. "During questioning, Sahil and the two juveniles said Rakesh, who is the father of one of the juveniles, had masterminded the double murder from the jail and even helped the assailants procure firearms," Kumar said. Sahil has studied up to class XII from a reputed school and was a national-level badminton player in the junior category, police said. SLB NSD --- ENDS --- Tina Dabi, the 22-year-old who topped the UPSC exam in 2016, shared a life event on Facebook declaring herself to be 'in a relationship' with Aamir. By India Today Web Desk: Last year, young man Athar Aamir Khan lost the first place in the UPSC exam to Tina Dabi. Then, he lost his heart to her. Recently, Tina, the 22-year-old who topped the UPSC exam in 2016, shared on Facebook a life event where she declared herself to be 'in a relationship' with Aamir. Also read: UPSC Civil Services toppers Tina Dabi, Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan, among 178 getting IAS advertisement While some are jumping the gun and announcing weddings, that's not the case. Speaking to TOI, Tina clarified that wedding plans are around the corner, but they are yet to set a date for the engagement. So hold your horses, people. Reminiscing, Tina shared how they met for the first time at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy for Administration in Mussoorie during a felicitation function earlier this year. "We met in the morning and by evening Aamir was at my door. Uske liye pehli nazar mein pyaar ho gaya (For him, it was love at first sight)", she said. It took Athar some time, but by August, he had won her heart. Since, their social media pages have been flooding with their romantic snapshots. Also read: UPSC IAS topper Tina Dabi shares her secret formula Source: Facebook While their families have been supportive and happy about their relationship, many others haven't. "I am very happy with my choice and so is Aamir. Our parents are happy too. But there will always be those elements, that small minority who will always pass negative comments about dating someone from another religion," she said. "There are comments that are anti-caste, targeting reservations, religion. It's as if I have committed a crime by falling in love with someone who is not the same religion or caste as me." That, however, hasn't put a dent in their relationship. "It is just that 5 per cent. The majority are very happy. You would have seen in my Facebook timeline that most of the comments are encouraging. In fact, I am overwhelmed by the support and congratulatory messages." At the end of the day, it's a happy, healthy, prosperous love story that counts. We wish Tina and Aamir all the best. Source: Facebook --- ENDS --- The case against a British tourist who claimed she had been raped by two men in Dubai has been dropped, its public prosecutor has said. The woman, in her 20s, had been arrested after she reported being allegedly attacked by two men from Birmingham while on holiday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in late October. Thailand's military government has approved a one-time payout for low-income people in an effort to stimulate the country's weak economy. People who make less than 30,000 baht (680) a year will receive 3,000 baht (68), while people who make up to 100,000 baht (2,267) a year will receive 1,500 baht (34). The measure was approved at the weekly cabinet meeting, but no date was set for its implementation. The payments are earmarked for 5.8 million people, excluding rice farmers, who will instead benefit from a recently approved multimillion-pound government subsidy paying them to temporarily store their rice so supplies and prices remain stable. The cash handout will be used alongside other measures to help low-income people, such as free public transport. "Don't think the government is just giving out free money," prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said. "This is a way to support those of low-income in professions other than farmers, because I care for people of all professions." The rice subsidy has been criticised because it resembles a programme for which former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is being tried on grounds of corruption, which she denies. She has also been ordered to pay 35.7 billion baht (800 million) to compensate the government for its alleged losses. Critics of the junta, which came to power by staging a coup against Yingluck's Pheu Thai Party-led government in May 2014, say it is simply emulating populist policies for which it had criticised civilian politicians. Economic growth has stagnated under the junta. Mr Prayuth said he hopes the cash handouts will be spent and will help boost the economy. Consumer spending has dropped since King Bhumibol Adulyadej died on October 13, initiating a year of mourning for the government and curtailing public entertainment events in the month since his death. Mr Prayuth also said the minimum wage would rise next year. Irish card payment provider, Elavon, has this week released research which identifies the key challenges facing small and medium retailers (SMRs). In Elavons research, almost four in five respondents worry about their cash flow and 58% spend more than 14 hours a week on administration. Business owners have to juggle many roles, from sales to HR to admin to logistics and they feel the time pressures associated with having to be a jack of all trades. Research shows that the way customers are choosing to pay for goods and services is rapidly evolving in Ireland and SMRs are aware of this growth and what it means for their business. Card payment transactions have grown by an incredible 24% over the last 5 years, with debit card transactions doubling in the same period and contactless payments reaching more than 2 million transactions each week. Furthermore, the research from Elavon shows that most retailers believe that accepting cards is critical. Technological advancements have left customers expecting a hassle free and quick payment experience and retailers are continuously seeking new ways to improve their customer experience and satisfaction. Elavons Ireland Country Manager, Eric Horgan said, "The majority of retailers have still to fully exploit the potential of what technology can do for them. Although new technologies may seem daunting to some more traditional SMRs, almost all of those surveyed agree that getting paid quickly for card transactions was crucial to running their business." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Ireland has signalled to several large investment banks it would be reluctant to host large trading operations, banking sources told Reuters, despite Dublin's desire to attract financial sector jobs from London after Britain leaves the EU. This reticence, linked to Ireland's painful experience of a banking crash in 2008 and subsequent international bailout, means Dublin is unlikely to become a major destination for what is regarded as some of the banks' riskiest business. Ireland's central bank has indicated in talks with the banks that they would face high hurdles to win regulatory approval for such operations, which involve huge sums when compared with the relatively small size of the country's economy. "Ireland is being very realistic about what it can and what it wants to do," said one source at a large global investment bank, speaking on condition of anonymity as the discussions are private. "If you've come from all the troubles Ireland has, you want to be very careful about taking on risks." The largely U.S., British and Swiss investment banks are working out how to secure access to the European Union when Britain leaves the bloc. The main question is where to trade and clear European securities, euros and other market activities controlled by EU regulation. Such trade carries a lot of risk and large balance sheets, meaning regulators must supervise the banks' trading models closely. This, along with the scale of the business, has prompted the cautious response from Dublin, according to the sources. A spokeswoman for the Irish central bank said there was no blanket policy of turning certain types of business away. "The central bank is open to engagement with any firm wishing to obtain an authorisation," she said. However, another banking source said Dublin had specific types of financial business in mind. "Yes, Ireland want insurers, asset managers, back office functions ... but they don't want big balance sheet risk. They just don't want to take on that kind of risk and feel that they don't have the regulatory bandwidth to do that," the source said. Reuters asked the five large U.S. banks as well as Barclays and Credit Suisse, who have some operations in Ireland, whether Dublin was still a contender. All of the banks declined to comment. Until now, global banks have always put the bulk of their European markets businesses in London, which is by far the largest financial centre in the EU. When Britain leaves the EU financial firms based there are likely to lose their "passporting" rights, an EU system that lets them operate across the bloc but under the supervision of just one member state's regulators. That's prompted the likes of Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, Luxembourg and Frankfurt to encourage banks, insurers and fund managers to set up entities in their cities that can get licences to operate across the EU. Ireland is also presenting itself as the only English-speaking country that offers a base in the euro zone and a future in the EU. Kieran Donoghue, who heads up International Financial Services at IDA Ireland, the state agency charged with attracting foreign investment, has described Brexit as a "historic opportunity" for the financial sector. Ireland is already one of the world's largest centres for back office banking functions such as settling transactions, many of them farmed out from London. On top of that, it hosts a growing financial technology industry. But it has a population of less than five million and its annual economic output is only around 10 percent of neighbouring Britain's. That left it vulnerable when disaster struck in 2008. Irish taxpayers had to stump up 64 billion euros - or almost 40% of GDP - to rescue a banking system brought down by a property market crash. The cost of staging the biggest public rescue of banks in the euro zone forced the state to take the 85 billion euro bailout in 2010. Conditions of the three-year EU/IMF programme included deeply unpopular austerity polices. Investment banks with large sales and trading operations, which buy and sell foreign exchange, debt, equities and other financial instruments for clients across Europe, require large balance sheets, specialised talent and regulators who are familiar with sometimes esoteric financial instruments. "Our sense is that the appetite in Ireland is not that high for balance sheet banks," said a third source at a global investment bank. Irish central bank governor Philip Lane told Reuters in October that his office had seen a jump in inquiries from financial services companies since Britons voted to leave the EU in June. However, he doubted activity will cluster in a single euro zone city because none offers a close substitute to London. Central bank officials have also publicly said the authorisation process for financial services firms wanting to set up in Ireland cannot be short circuited, and that board and management positions would need to be located in the country. "A lack of specialised supervisors and the risk of sophisticated investment banking to the state makes Irish regulators reluctant to host such banks in Dublin," said a person familiar with Irish central bank thinking. "It has been a worry for a while. It is difficult to find enough regulators. A growth in highly sophisticated financial services companies would be a real worry." Under EU "bail-in" rules introduced since the global crisis, investors and uninsured depositors will be have to fund any future bank rescues rather than governments. Nevertheless, the source still said the "risk to the taxpayer" was a second reason for concern. The European Central Bank now oversees the largest banks operating in the euro zone, rather than member states, but it still relies on staff from national supervisory authorities to help carry out its work. Bank executives say that as well as meeting the requirements set by Irish regulators, they would have to satisfy their home-country authorities that any operations they sited in Ireland were adequately capitalised and supervised. "It's not just down to the Irish regulators. It's down to the British, and the U.S. and the continental regulators," said another banking source. This year Credit Suisse became the first global investment bank to set up a trading floor in Dublin, with around 100 jobs offering prime brokerage services. About 40 are trading positions, with the rest in support functions. That process for a very specific and narrow trading licence took between three and four years from initial planning stages to approval, according to a source familiar with the process. Banks would want to be able to move other, larger types of trading operations much faster, given Britain is expected to leave the EU in 2019. U.S. bank Citigroup has denied a report it was planning to move up to 900 jobs from London to Dublin as a result of Brexit, though it already has a large unit there providing some banking services. But like other U.S. banks, it would need to host large trading operations in a separate entity known as a broker-dealer under American regulations. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie About us By PTI: From Aditi Khanna London, Nov 22 (PTI) US President-elect Donald Trump today created a frenzy in UK political circles by indicating that he would like to have far-right leader Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit movement, as the next British Ambassador to the US. "Many people would like to see [@Nigel_Farage] represent Great Britain as their Ambassador to the United States. He would do a great job," Trump tweeted last evening. advertisement While the UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader said he was "very flattered", Downing Street issued a statement dismissing any such possibility. "There is no vacancy. We have an excellent ambassador to the US," a Downing Street statement said in reference to Sir Kim Darroch. Farage, who was often seen by Trumps side during the election campaign and was among the first to fly out to the US to meet the President-elect after the election, said he had not been expecting Trump?s tweet, but teremd it as a signal that Downing Street needed to change its thinking about him. "I can still scarcely believe that he did that, though speaking to a couple of his longtime friends perhaps I am a little less surprised," he wrote in a piece this morning for right-wing site ?Breitbart?. "They all say the same thing: that Trump is a very loyal man and supports those that stand by him," he said. Repeating his offer of help, which had been rejected by Downing Street on multiple occasions, Farage said: "The world has changed and its time that Downing Street did too." The role of UK ambassador to the US is among the most prestigious in the diplomatic service. It is unprecedented for an incoming US President to ask a world leader to appoint an opposing party leader as ambassador, and Trumps tweet would put British Prime Minister Theresa May in a slightly difficult position. PTI AK ZH --- ENDS --- It was announced today that 40 Molesworth Street, the former office of the European Union in Ireland, has been undergoing an extensive refurbishment over the past year and is due to be ready for occupation by June 2017. Located on the corner of Dawson St and Molesworth St between Trinity College and St Stephens Green, the property benefits from multiple transportation options and easy access to Dublin Airport. t is well placed for external meeting venues with plentiful dining options, shopping at Grafton Street, and hotels nearby including the celebrated Shellbourne Hotel around the corner. The excellent local transport network is due to be improved further with the completion of the Luas cross city line which runs past the property. Molesworth Street is currently undergoing concentrated office development, where four office developments totalling 253,000 square feet, will transform the streetscape when complete next year. The prominent Dublin office building which was purchased by IPUT in 2013 is available to let through Savills who are offering space on a single let or floor-by-floor basis in sizes ranging from 3,000 -30,000 square feet at a rent of 60 - 65 per square foot. Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Modified On Nov 25, 2016 02:18 PM By Arun Japanese automaker Mitsubishi has announced a winter service campaign for its customers. The camp, called 'Gear up for Winter Campaign' and 'Service Caravan', will be conducted at all service outlets of the manufacturer for the whole month of November. The campaign includes a 30-point check-up of the vehicle with "a detailed examination of all key functions of the vehicle". Mitsubishi says that this "will enhance the superior driving experience during the tough winter ahead". The campaign also includes discounts on car care products and fuel additives, and a free car wash as well. The Service Caravan is a periodic activity carried out by Mitsubishi, at three locations - Mumbai, Chandigarh and Ludhiana. "Mitsubishi Motors have deputed Japanese technicians so as to have direct interaction with customers and to have rewarding ownership experience. The technician would also equip the dealer service personnel during the activity," read a press release issued by the manufacturer. Mitsubishi India currently retails the Pajero Sport and the Montero SUV. The current scenario is bleak, with a lacklustre product lineup and feeble sales and service network. The brand shot to fame with its popular Lancer sedan, which took on the Honda City of yesteryears. Sadly, the brand failed to keep up with the fast-changing competition and was gradually relegated to the sidelines over the years. The Japanese auto giant found themselves in a soup recently, over fudged fuel-efficiency numbers, and was subsequently acquired by Nissan. Recent buzz suggests a possible compact SUV, developed in conjunction with the Renault-Nissan alliance, which we hope signals the revival of Mitsubishi in India. Published On Nov 23, 2016 04:55 PM By Arun for BMW 1 Series BMW's new 'China only' sedan deserves a spot in the Indian lineup. Here's why. After having the business end of the luxury car segments done right, BMW has now set its eye on the blooming entry level space. The 1 Series sedan first broke cover back in July, and has now made its first official appearance at the 2016 Guangzhou Motor Show in China. Developed jointly with Brilliance Automotive, the 1 Series leverages a lot of existing technologies, engines and platforms, to put forth a BMW for the masses. Here's why we think the small sedan deserves to be on BMW India's roster: 1. Lacklustre sales of the hatchback It is rather surprising that BMW's most affordable offering in the country, the 1 Series hatchback, is also among the least selling. First launched in 2013, the hatchback got a midlife makeover last year. Sadly, not even a renewed set of features or redone styling managed to turn the tide for the smallest BMW on sale. 2. The Sedan Factor A major reason behind the hatchback not finding homes, was, well the fact that it was a hatchback! Most buyers couldn't digest the prospect of a hatchback that cost well over Rs 30 lakh on road, and the average feature list did very little to help its case. For a market like ours, that equates money spent with the size and class of the vehicle, a plush hatchback just doesn't cut the mustard. We also take pride in showing off our sedans, for they have always been the perfect 'badi gaadi' (no matter how small they get) and command great bragging rights. An affordable BMW sedan only means.... 3. Snob Value! The Roundel has its own charm with the audience, on par with the three-pointed star and the four rings. The brand itself has always stood for a premium experience with a generous dose of driving pleasure, and we think the 1 Series sedan opens up that promise to a whole new base of clientele. Most importantly, a sizeable chunk of this new audience are likely to tilt in favour of the sedan purely because 'it is a BMW', over other conventional big sedans or SUVs. 4. The Big Battle The entry-level luxury saloons have the Audi A3 and the Mercedes-Benz CLA slugging it out for the top spot. BMW's German contemporaries have taken separate approaches in building their compact sedan brands. Audi has widened the appeal of the A3 by introducing the Cabrio. On the other hand, Mercedes served the full-fat CLA45 AMG at a delectable price. There's clearly a lot of room for yet another contender, and in a booming auto market like India, this particular segment holds a lot of promise and potential for growth. 5. The Recipe The 1 Series sedan is based on the UKL platform that also underpins the new 2 Series Active Tourer as well as the new X1 crossover. Engine options include a 136PS 1.5-litre turbo petrol and a 2.0-litre turbo petrol that can be had in with either 192PS or 231PS on tap. Of course, BMW can also look at equipping it with the 150PS 1.5-litre diesel motor, that currently powers the 118d hatchback. To keep costs in check, the 1 Series sedan can be assembled locally at BMW's Chennai facility, alongside other cars that share its underpinnings. BMW's plan for expansion in India will only be strengthened further with the 1 Series sedan. On paper, it does seem like a package that holds promise to do well in a market like ours. Your move, BMW India! Read More on : 1 Series 2016 Armed forces and emergency services charities will receive a further 102m in banking fines over the next four years, the Chancellor announced in todays Autumn Statement. In his first Autumn Statement as Chancellor, Philip Hammond announced 102m to go to armed forces and emergency services charities, as well as other related good causes; 7.6m to go to the restoration of a 300-bedroom stately home; and 3m from the controversial, and due to be scrapped, tampon tax to go to Comic Relief to distribute to womens causes. The organisation receiving the largest sum from banking fines is the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC), which will receive 20m to contribute towards the capital building costs of its new centre, Stanford Hall. Run by the DNRC Charity, which was previously called the Black Stork Charity, the centre is due to open in 2018. The Army Museums Ogilby Trust, which supports over 138 individual Regimental and Corps Military Museums, will receive 5m from the banking fines, which largely come from fines paid by banks following the Libor fixing scandal. Combat Stress, which works with veterans suffering from PTSD, will receive over 2m, while the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund will also receive 2m to contribute towards building a respite facility for RAF veterans in the Midlands. Air ambulance charities again received a significant portion of the amount, with Wales Air Ambulance Charity, Devon Air Ambulance Trust and Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust each received 1m. Government ignored own guidance on good grant making Asheem Singh, interim chief executive of Acevo, said that the allocation of Libor fines show that the government has ignored its own post-Kid Company guidelines on good grant making. The full list of organisations receiving a share of the 102m can be found here. The Chancellor also announced that 3m from the tampon tax would go to Comic Relief to distribute to a range of womens charities. This 3m forms part of a 15m sum collected by the government each year in VAT on womens sanitary products. The first 12m had already been allocated by in Marchs Budget by the then Chancellor George Osborne. The tampon tax is a tax on womens sanitary products. The Treasury had announced that it is due to be scrapped by 2018 at the latest, despite it going against EU to do so. The documents accompanying the Autumn Statement state that, in addition to the 3m, the government will be inviting applications from charities from 1 December 2015 for the next round of tampon tax to support womens charities, including those running programmes that tackle violence against women and girls. Urgent repairs of listed property Hammond announced 7.6m to go towards the urgent repairs of Wentworth Woodhouse near Rotherham, a Grade I listed country house. Hammond said that the house, which is said to be the inspiration for Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice, is now at critical risk of being lost to future generations. A charity, the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust, has been established to secure a long term future for Wentworth Woodhouse. Its trustees include the Duke of Devonshire. Its restoration is subject to approval of a sustainable business case. The revelation that a military charity received Libor funding following the recommendation of a high-profile Conservative minister is just the latest in concerning reports of government funding, says Alice Sharman. Last year the now-minister for Brexit David Davis wrote to George Osborne, then the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The correspondence read as Davis pulling favour for a charity he supported, Care After Combat, founded by comedian Jim Davidson. Four months after that letter was sent, Osborne announced in the Autumn Statement 2015 that Care After Combat would receive 1m in Libor funding. Since then, the Charity Commission has started to look into whether some of this money may have gone towards Davidson's salary, and whether that was an appropriate use of funds. But even without that scrutiny, this kind of behaviour ought to ring alarm bells. When an MP writes to the man in charge of the government's chequebook, seeking preferential treatment for a charity he supports, and the charity then receives a considerable chunk of what is on offer, we cannot help being slightly suspicious that public money is being distributed to charities because of patronage, rather than merit. Although it is often not the charities who are to blame when questions are raised about government grant funding, the charity has not helped dissuade people from this impression, either. Care After Combat hosted a stand at the Conservative Party conference this year, and it says on its website that it was lucky enough to meet several ministers to discuss the charity, including David Davis. As far as I can tell, the charity made no appearance at any of the other party conferences this year. George Osbornes letter to Jim Davidson, which informed him that his charity would be receiving 1m in Libor funding, followed the same theme as his Budget announcements. It was littered with personal pronouns a-plenty, and made it clear that this kind of charitable funding was viewed by the Chancellor as within his personal gift. Writing "I would like to inform you of my decision to commit 1m", "my intention has always been", and "I have made a series of banking fines announcements". I have written before about how this sort of language brings more questions than answers as to how exactly funding decisions are made. When asked about this letter, a Treasury spokesman said it was not uncommon for MPs from any political party to write such letters in request for funding for certain charities or causes, suggesting a view that this is an acceptable basis for the distribution of funds. However, in light of the now-infamous demise of Kids Company, perhaps discreet lobbying for funding for pet causes by influential people should be uncommon. A familiar story It was only last year that the awarding of public money by government to pet charities was making the front pages. No-one can forget the Kids Company scandal, where the charity continued to receive funding even while on the brink of collapse. Arguably, government's role in the collapse of the charity has not had the scrutiny it deserved. Why did successive Prime Ministers feel it was acceptable to plough tens of millions into an organisation with so little oversight? Yet after Kids Company there has been little reform. It's hard to discover how Libor funding is handed out, and it has already caused concern in some parts of Whitehall. The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) report, The Collapse of Kids Company, suggested that there could be some concerns around the awarding of Libor money. It said: The government should consider whether sufficient safeguards are in place to ensure that the Libor Fund is administered in line with these principles of objectivity and transparency. Behind closed doors We have to question whether the Libor Fund meets the principle of transparency, and the behaviour of the Treasury has done little to reassure on this point. This organisation waited six months for the department to answer a Freedom of Information request on how Libor funding decisions are made, significantly longer than the 20 working days outlined in the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and only received a response after a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office. When a response arrived, much of the requested information, including information on how the decision to make the funding was made, was exempted under section 35(1)(a) of the Act it being related to the formulation or development of government policy. The Treasury said that in this case it considered that disclosing the information held, which relates to the approvals process for funding, would or would be likely to prevent officials from conducting rigorous and candid assessments of the options available to them, and that disclosure might close off discussions and the development of better options now and in the future. It added: Clearly this would not be in the public interest, the interests of the government or charities. Taking these public interest balance reasons into consideration we conclude that the overall balance lies in withholding the information. This seems odd, however. If the Treasury has a clear process of deciding how grants are awarded, what could be the harm in revealing it? Most large grantmaking organisations - even those which do not announce their grants live on television - manage to disclose their processes, and still carry out "rigorous and candid assessments". This leads one to suspect quite how "rigorous and candid" these assessments actually are. In reality, it is not that bad. The project summary and grant agreement received as part of this FoI request show that there are measures in place to protect public money. But why has the Treasury been so reluctant to show us this? Measures in place Additionally, there does seem to be some evidence that work is being done to make the application processes clearer than it previously was. The Treasury made an announcement in September that it was taking open applications for funding before todays Autumn Statement. If this has happened previously it was definitely not so well publicised. But we should be seeing more transparent grant-giving across all of government, where the application process, assessment criteria and performance measures are all openly available to anyone that wants to see them - without the six-month wait. If foundations and non-departmental public bodies such as the Arts Council can do it, surely so too should government departments. But as the government promised a "fundamental review" of how it makes grants to charities in January, perhaps that is still to come. But, as todays Autumn Statement the first with the new Chancellor - is likely to bring us a new flurry of awarded Libor funding, we shall see if that really is the case. 11/23/2016 Kauai, known as Hawaiis oldest and most pristine island, has for nearly fifty years been an unlikely host to one of the worlds biggest agricultural seed and chemical companies. Syngenta Corporation has amassed close to 6,000 acres on the island, sparking a backlash in recent years among some residents and local leaders. In 2013, the Kauai City Council voted to put strict regulations on Syngentas operations on the island. The council reportedly debated until 3 a.m. before passing an ordinance that would have forced agriculture companies working on the island to disclose what pesticides they use, the quantities, and where they spray pesticides. The law also created buffer zones between fields where pesticides are sprayed and schools, parks, and hospitals. Farmers, who came out against the bill, would have been required to disclose to the public all genetically engineered crops that they grow, or face stiff penalties. The ordinance also required Kauai County to study "environmental and public health questions related to large-scale commercial agricultural entities utilizing pesticides and genetically modified organisms," as a recent court ruling explains. Counties ban GM farming At the same time that Kauai tried to clamp down on genetically engineered crops and pesticides, Hawaii County passed a law banning companies from growing any new genetically engineered crops. And Maui residents shortly afterword voted to approve a ballot initiative that similarly prevented companies from testing and growing new genetically engineered crops on the island. The biotech industry was clearly not pleased. Because of Hawaiis tropical climate, says a United States Department of Agriculture document, ...the state has become an attractive location for field tests of a variety of biotech crops including corn and soybeans. Major biotech companies sued to overturn the local regulations in 2014, and a recent decision by a federal appeals court has granted the industry another victory. Over the past several years, lower district courts had sided with Syngenta, along co-plaintiffs BASF and Agrigenics, in their lawsuit against Kauai. Environmental and food groups defending Kauais ordinancethe Center for Food Safety, Earth Justice, and the Pesticide Action Networkas well as Kauai County, then appealed the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which released its decision favoring the industry last Friday. Kauai residents have reported experiencing medical symptoms due to contact with pesticides applied on Plaintiffs' farms, the opinion written by Judge John Callahan of the 9th Circuit explains. Additionally, a University of Hawaii study detected pesticides in indoor and outdoor air samples collected at a Kauai middle school, albeit at concentrations well below health concern exposure limits or applicable screening levels, Callahans opinion goes on. Despite the potential concerns about pesticide pollution that the 9th Circuit opinion describes, Callahan writes that federal and state laws already adequately regulate genetically engineered crops, as well as the spraying of herbicide and other pesticides. Not mentioned in his opinion is the news from earlier this year that the Department of Agriculture had launched an investigation into Syngenta after ten workers in Kauai were hospitalized. Syngenta site manager Joshua Uyehara told a local news channel that the workers had walked onto a site that had been sprayed with pesticides without waiting a full 24 hours, as they are supposed to do. People were in the field four hours prior to when they should have been, he said at that time. Protected by preemption laws Just as local fracking bans in some cities have been overturned on the argument that they cannot preempt state laws, Syngenta and its agrochemical competitors similarly argued that Hawaii state law preempts the [Kauai] Ordinance's pesticide provisions, with the courts agreeing. The 9th Circuit Appeals Court released a concurrent opinion last Friday, in response to a lawsuit over Mauis law. Agrochemical companies Monsanto, Dow, and their industry trade groups had fought the Maui law. In court, Mauis City Council and Mayor sided with the agrochemical companies in that case rather than with the voters. The federal appeals court came to the same decision, that state and federal laws preempt local regulations. Syngenta's defense in court Attorneys for the food safety and environmental groups defending Kauais ordinance had argued that companies like Syngenta could still do business in Kauai, even under the regulations. Ordinance 960 doesn't tell the plaintiffs or anybody else, you can't do business in Kauai County. You have to follow these disclosures and you have to have buffer zones, Paul Achitoff, the attorney for EarthJustice, testified last June, according to court transcripts. Which certainly is not interfering with their ability to do business in the county. The attorney representing Syngenta countered that the entire ordinance needed to be struck down. Over and over again you see references to them -- to the council members saying, We don't want to hurt the local farmers, we don't want to get the little farmers. We just want to get the seed companies. And that's what they did, and they did it in ways that are in fact irrational, attorney Paul Alston said in court. A Syngenta spokesman did not return an interview request, but whether this court victory means very much for the companys operations in Kauai remain unclear, as Syngenta announced in September that it is planning to sell its 6,000 acres of land in Kauai and operate under contract with a different landowner in Hawaii. Syngenta is also reportedly in talks to be acquired by a Chinese chemical company for $43 billion. The Euroradio Committee is excited to announce the first 4 broadcasters to receive funding from the new Euroradio Innovation Fund. Projects from RTBF (Belgium), Czech Radio, RTVSLO (Slovenia) and the BBC (United Kingdom), will all benefit from the Fund to help develop specific projects. EBU Head of Radio Graham Dixon said The Radio Unit at the EBU is delighted to have made funds available to foster creativity and development of this flexible medium. This advances the potential of radio through providing funding for particularly innovative projects, and ones which have the potential for sharing with other EBU members, whether as software, elements, or learning from the process of production. He added: There was an extremely strong field of fourteen proposals, and the EBU Radio Committee had the difficult, but rewarding job of choosing between them at its meeting in Brussels in September. The selected projects are extremely diverse, and reflect different parallel paths for the development of radio, both content and technology. The following projects will benefit from the Euroradio Innovation Fund: RTBF Storyboard Major social media platforms do not allow sharing of audio files. Storyboard allows broadcasters to take an audio file and share it as a video on social media. The Storyboard concept was first explored at a Hackathon competition in Stockholm where it picked up awards for "Most Relevant Product" and "Most Innovative Product". Swedish Radio worked hard to develop the first incarnation of the tool which has now demonstrated the proof-of-concept on a variety of big sporting events last summer. Storyboard's potential for other kinds of content such as news or music is clearly obvious. For near-live production it allows the user to create a video from a single still image. Producers with more time available can layer images and text to create advanced compositions and slide shows. Users access Storyboard via web browsers and there is no special software to install. Unlike many software packages that have high start-up or subscription costs, Storyboard is available to all EBU members at no cost. At the end of development, any EBU member can take the Storyboard code and develop around it to suit their own requirements. CZECH RADIO 1968 in Prague, in Paris, and on the Radio The year of 1968, May in Paris and August in Prague, is retold and relived by the participants of the events themselves with relevance to the happenings of current days and their younger family members in 2018. The content is developed by means of surround sound and archived material both audio as well as graphical, as the storyline develops across all platforms on-air, online, virtual reality and the main focus is put on the immersive sound experience. Radio gives rise to personal thoughts and feelings, and works with the latest technology and sound work to create an audio space not focused primarily on visual elements. The immersive experience will be delivered to the listeners in their cars, online and on mobile devices; main focus will be the binaural sound and the visual content will be treated as a complement to the audio experience. The aim of the project is to help transition radio forward towards the era of binaural sound and VR environment without losing its main focus on audio experience and audio delivery. RTVSLO PLAY DJ Some Snapchat-using teenagers may not find radio so cool, but will agree, however, that working for radio could be cool. Play DJ is here to make that a reality. To some, working for radio will be their first ever experience of radio, public or commercial. We will go looking for talented teenagers who dream of becoming DJs. We will brainstorm with them, give them some radio training and prepare them for half an hour of live radio show in which talented youngsters will be able to express their passion and knowledge for music. Play DJ will take the Snapchat audience and bring them closer to radio. We will help them create their own radio. Because it's hard to find a better way to share the passion BBC Quake (working title) Since the 2011 Haiti earthquake, mobile and open source technologies have revolutionised International Search and Rescue. Inspired by this unassuming global revolution, Quake is a life-affirming audio drama with a ground-breaking fragmented non-linear format. Designed for todays on-line, digital savvy audiences and reminiscent of the concept LPs of the 70s with their short tracks and unifying themes, this format offers an exciting new audio drama experience. Twelve tracks of varying lengths (under 6 min) will be available simultaneously for self-scheduling, any order, any time. Each stand-alone track follows a character caught up in the aftermath of an earthquake but rather than the traditional dramatic climax, the 12 tracks build to a 360 dramatic experience and in the process show digital humanitarianism in action. Bespoke elegant visuals will accompany the dramas for multi-platform listening and the intention is to create a VR radio drama experience with at least one of the stand-alone tracks. With global rights and several years' international availability, the goal is to share with EBU members the processes involved in all the elements of this project and to see all 12 dramas available through the EBU as well as BBC Radio 4 website with promo tracks on YouTube. (WASHINGTON, November 23, 2016) - The American Society of Hematology (ASH) today announced the recipients of its 2017 Scholar Awards. One of ASH's most prestigious award programs, the ASH Scholar Awards financially support fellows and junior faculty dedicated to careers in hematology research as they transition from training programs to careers as independent investigators. Each Scholar Award provides up to $100,000 for fellows and $150,000 for junior faculty over a two- to three-year period. The program funds hematologists in North America who conduct basic, translational, and clinical research that furthers the understanding and treatment of blood disorders. ASH Scholar Awards are made possible through support from the ASH Foundation as well as from the corporate community, individual donors, and funds committed by the Society. ASH recognizes this year's corporate supporters, Janssen and Incyte. "This award has launched the careers of many independent researchers in hematology," said ASH President Charles S. Abrams, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania. "The scholars we are supporting today have demonstrated creativity and commitment to hematology research, and I have no doubt that their studies will lead to important discoveries in our understanding of blood diseases, treatment, and patient care." The 2016 Scholar Awards recipients are: Basic Research Fellows Grazia Abou Ezzi, PhD Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO Kelly Arcipowski, PhD Northwestern University Evanston, IL Jeevisha Bajaj, PhD, University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Tae Kon Kim, MD, PhD Yale University New Haven, CT Kellie Machlus, PhD Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, MA Anna Protopopova, PhD University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Philadelphia, PA Marco Ruella, MD University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Zuzana Tothova, MD, PhD Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Boston, MA Andrew Volk, PhD Northwestern University Evanston, IL Clinical Research Fellows Melanie Fields, MD, MSCI Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO Erin Peckham-Gregory, PhD, MPH Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX Eric Smith, MD, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, NY Basic Junior Faculty Margarida Almeida Santos, PhD, MS, BS The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX Craig Byersdorfer, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pittsburgh, PA Shuaiying Cui, PhD Boston Medical Center Boston, MA Jarrod Dudakov, PhD Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Seattle, WA Renata Grozovsky, PhD Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, MA Sanggu Kim, PhD The Ohio State University Columbus, OH Dan Landau, MD, PhD Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Genome Center New York, NY Emily Mace, PhD Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX Jeffrey Magee, MD, PhD Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO Christopher Ott, PhD Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Boston, MA Elli Papaemmanuil, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, NY Vikram Paralkar, MD University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Clinical Junior Faculty Premal Lulla, MD Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX Alice Mims, MD, MSCR The Ohio State University Columbus, OH Hong Zheng, MD, PhD The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine Hershey, PA Joanne Levy, MD, Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement Christopher Sturgeon, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, will receive the 2016 Joanne Levy, MD, Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement. This award is made possible by the family of past ASH Scholar Award recipient and distinguished Society member Joanne Levy, MD, who passed away in 2004. It is presented to the current ASH Scholar with the highest-scoring abstract for the ASH Annual Meeting, as determined by the appointed abstract reviewers. Dr. Sturgeon received his doctorate degree from the University of British Columbia and is currently an assistant professor in the Division of Hematology of the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is being honored for his oral abstract (Publication #883), "Human Definitive Hematopoietic Specification from Pluripotent Stem Cells Is Regulated by Mesodermal Expression of CDX4." ### About the American Society of Hematology The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is the world's largest professional society of hematologists dedicated to furthering the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood. For more than 50 years, the Society has led the development of hematology as a discipline by promoting research, patient care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. The official journal of ASH is Blood, the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online. About the ASH Foundation: The ASH Foundation is dedicated to moving hematology forward through support of research, career development, and quality care and education programs. The ASH Foundation is supported through funding, resources, and leadership provided by ASH, the premier organization for physicians and scientists studying and treating blood disorders, and provides a mechanism for ASH members to give in support of critical programs. Personal donations to the ASH Foundation allow the Society to do more for hematology through the expansion or enhancement of existing programs. By PTI: Chennai, Nov 23 (PTI) Two and three wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor Company has launched a mobile application to help customers enhance their riding experience. "IRIDE is an intelligent, intuitive automobile post sales and service smartphone application to enhance the riding experience for customers," a company statement said. It would provide vehicle assistance to customers in emergency and also provide better ride experience and service facility. advertisement "It is also a two-way interaction forum as customers can provide real time feedback of the application", it said. The company said the application is available for download on Google Playstore. "TVS Motor company has always been lauded for its customers centric approach and it is our endeavour to keep improving our offerings", TVS Motor Sales and Service Vice-President J S Srinivasan said. "Designed for tech-savvy customer, IRIDE is our next step at creating a superior experience for our customers. We are confident that they will be delighted by this initiative as it will amplify their long-term ownership experience," he said. PTI VIJ VS ABI --- ENDS --- Reporting this week (Wednesday Nov. 23) in the journal Nature an international team led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explains that present-day thinning and retreat of Pine Island Glacier, one of the largest and fastest shrinking glaciers of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, is part of a climate trend that was already underway as early as the 1940s. It is already known that Pine Island Glacier -- roughly two-thirds the size of the UK -- has been thinning and retreating at an alarming rate since 1992 when satellite observations first started. The ice lost from this glacier and its neighbours, has added significantly to sea-level rise, and currently this area is one of biggest single unknowns in future projections. Until now, it was not known when the retreat of Pine Island Glacier started, or its underlying cause. In this study, seabed sediment cores obtained from beneath the floating part of Pine Island Glacier have revealed that a cavity started to form beneath the shelf prior to the mid-1940s. This allowed warm sea water to flow under the shelf, and cause it to lift-off from a prominent sea-floor ridge which held it in place. This strongly suggests that current retreat was initiated by strong warming of the region associated with El Nino activity. Lead author, marine geologist Dr James Smith from British Antarctic Survey, says: 'We are very excited about this new finding as it provides the first direct evidence of the timing of glacier retreat even before we had satellites to measure them. The sediment cores were obtained through a 450-m deep hole in of ice, and up to 500 m of ocean. The sediment reveals climate events that initiated the current thinning of Pine Island Glacier. They show us how changes half-way across the planet in the tropical Pacific, reached through the ocean to influence the Antarctic ice sheet. "Pine Island Glacier is one of the most inhospitable and remote areas of Antarctica, so to get all the equipment needed to hot-water drill through the ice shelf required a major effort from our collaborators at the US Antarctic Programme. On the ground it was real team effort to lower the drill by hand to the seabed on nearly 1000 m of rope. After all that work, the cores show us something so unexpected." Co-author and principal scientist Professor Bob Bindschadler of NASA says: 'A significant implication of our findings is that once an ice sheet retreat is set in motion it can continue for decades, even if what started gets no worse. It is possible that the changes we see today on Pine Island Glacier were essentially set in motion in the 1940s'. Professor David Vaughan, co-author and Director of Science at British Antarctic Survey, says: "Ice loss from this part of West Antarctica is already making a very significant contribution to global sea level rise, and is actually one of the largest uncertainties in global sea-level predictions. Understanding what initiated the current changes is one major piece of the jigsaw, and now we are already looking for the next -- how long will these changes continue and how much ice will Pine Island Glacier and its neighbours lose in the coming century? Data from the UK science programme iSTAR will tell us even more about Pine Island Glacier, but these are big questions that need the international science community to work together." ### A new joint programme recently announced by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the US National Science Foundation will allow a more focussed study of Pine Island Glacier and provide a new opportunity to understand West Antarctica and quantify how much sea level rise it might cause in the coming century . Issued by British Antarctic Survey Press Office: Athena Dinar Senior PR & Communications Manager tel: 44-0-1223-221-441; mobile: 44-0-7909-008516 email: amdi@bas.ac.uk Sarah Vincent Corporate & Internal Communications Manager tel: +44 (0) 1223 221445; mobile: 07850 541910 email: sarnce@bas.ac.uk Photos and video of Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica are available from the BAS Press office as above. Notes to Editors: Sub-ice shelf sediments record 20th Century retreat history of Pine Island Glacier by Smith J.A, Anderson T.J, Shortt M, Gaffney A.M, Truffer M, Stanton T.P, Bindschadler R, Dutrieux P, Jenkins A, Hillenbrand C.D, Ehrmann W, Corr H.F.J, Farley N, Crowhust S, Vaughan D.G is published in the journal Nature on Wednesday 23 November. Pine Island Glacier drains an area equivalent to two thirds the size of the United Kingdom; it is the most rapidly shrinking glacier on the planet and is contributing more to sea level rise than any other ice stream; it is approximately 2km thick, but is thinning by more than 1 metre per year. It is responsible for a greater contribution of ice into the sea than any other glacier on Earth which, given the global concern about rising sea level, makes it very important. Significantly, this contribution appears to be increasing. PIG is also the fastest shrinking on the planet and it is contributing to sea level rise faster than any other glacier. Over the past 15 years, PIG has thinned at a rate of more than 1 metre per year. Glaciers thin when more mass (ice) is lost during the summer than is replaced by snowfall in the winter. When this happens it is said to have a negative mass-balance. Temperature, precipitation and the speed at which a glacier is moving are the main factors controlling this relationship. It is not known for certain why PIG retreat is accelerating but one theory attributes it to the warmer sea temperatures felt around Antarctica in recent years. This warm water acts to melt the underside of an ice shelf, making it weaker and more likely to crack and fall into the sea. In recent years the location at which PIG starts to float on the sea, its grounding line, has retreated by more than 1 km per year, and in July 2013 a 720 km2 section (roughly eight times the size of Manhattan Island) of PIG's ice shelf broke away. Having a smaller ice shelf means that less 'back pressure' is exerted on the rest of the glacier and results in an increased rate of flow. The point at which a glacier meets the sea bed is called the grounding line. As warmer water pushes underneath the glacier, the lower ice is melted away, effectively pushing the grounding line backwards. The fast the grounding line retreats, the faster a glacier is melting. This research was supported by NSF's Office of Polar Programs under NSF grants including ANT-0732926 and ANT 0732730 and funding from NASA's Cryospheric Sciences Program; by New York University Abhu Dabi grant 1204; and by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)-British Antarctic Survey 'Polar Science for Planet Earth Program'. Work at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) was performed under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 and grant LLNL-JRNL-697878. British Antarctic Survey (BAS), an institute of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), delivers and enables world-leading interdisciplinary research in the Polar Regions. Its skilled science and support staff based in Cambridge, Antarctica and the Arctic, work together to deliver research that uses the Polar Regions to advance our understanding of Earth as a sustainable planet. Through its extensive logistic capability and know-how BAS facilitates access for the British and international science community to the UK polar research operation. Numerous national and international collaborations, combined with an excellent infrastructure help sustain a world leading position for the UK in Antarctic affairs. For more information visit http://www.bas.ac.uk A multi-institutional group of researchers, led by investigators at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Michigan, have identified a simple and inexpensive tool for assessing the prognosis of pediatric brain tumors called ependymomas. Their study, which demonstrates the epigenetic mechanism behind these tumors, may offer future opportunities for novel therapeutic options. It will be published online by Science Translational Medicine on November 23. Childhood posterior fossa ependymomas (PF) are tumors found largely in the hind brain (consisting of the cerebellum, pons and the brainstem) of children. Routine assessment of tumor grade and other markers in PF ependymomas do not correlate well with outcomes in these tumors, highlighting the need for new prognostic markers. Genomic sequencing efforts have not identified mutations in these tumors, and the origin of PF ependymomas remains obscure. While lacking recurrent genetic mutations, a subset of these tumors exhibit alterations in DNA methylation. In this study, the researchers looked at modification of histones - protein components of the chromatin around which DNA winds, and which play a role in gene regulation - in particular, histone H3. Co-lead investigator, Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD, of the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan, observed that histone H3 is modified differently in pediatric posterior fossa ependymoma. Specifically, 80 percent of these tumors exhibited loss of the H3K27me3 a repressive mark, while 20 percent of tumors retained H3K27me3. Researchers went back and looked at MRIs and outcomes of children treated for these tumors and identified that tumors with loss of H3K27me3 tumors behaved more aggressively and showed poor overall survival. This suggests that reduced H3K27me3 may be a prognostic indicator in PF ependymomas. "Detection of H3K27me3 by immunohistochemical staining is a widely available and cost effective surrogate molecular marker. This test can be readily implemented in most departments of pathology and provides a much-needed tool to risk stratify and identify ependymoma patients who would potentially benefit from epigenetic therapies," said co-lead investigator Alexander R. Judkins, MD, of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at CHLA and Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. This loss in H3K27me3, along with other epigenetic changes, was similar to that observed in another type of pediatric brain tumor of the hind brain region termed diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs). This suggests that both of these tumors arise from similar epigenetic states. Intriguingly, researchers found that certain progenitor cells in this part of the brain also showed low H3K27me3, suggesting - as both tumors share epigenetic similarities - that low methylation of H3K27me3 is important to the development of tumors in this region of the brain. According to the Collaborative Ependymoma Research Network (CERN) Foundation, the current standard therapy for ependymomas includes total surgery that may be followed by radiation therapy. Complete surgical resection is often not possible due to tumor location and concerns about damaging the surrounding brain during surgery. Because such treatment can come with a cognitive cost, especially to pediatric patients, there has been a lot of interest in what drives ependymomas so that they may be treated more effectively. "By demonstrating the epigenetic mechanism - that we theorize likely goes awry during brain development - we will be better able to identify these tumors, determine a more accurate prognosis and - importantly -perhaps develop better therapeutic options," said Venneti. ### Additional contributors include Jill Bayliss, Chan Chung, Pooja Panwalkar, Abhijit Parolia, Arul M. Chinnaiyanm, Richard C McEachin and Marcin Cieslik, University of Michigan; Piali Mukherjee and Ari Melnick, Weill Medical College of Cornell University; Chao Lu, C. David Allis and Benjamin Sabari, The Rockefeller University, Siddhant U. Jain and Peter W. Lewis, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Daniel Martinez, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Ashley S. Margol and Benita Tamrazi, Children's Hospital Los Angeles; Melike Pekmezci, UC San Francisco; Benjamin A. Garcia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; Gaspare La Rocca and Craig B. Thompson, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Mariarita Santi, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; and Cynthia Hawkins, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. This work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute of the NIH (K08 CA181475, the Mathew Larson Foundation, the Sidney Kimmel Foundation and the Doris Duke Foundation (SV); and RO1GM110174 and P01CA196539 (BAG). RCM is supported by the University of Michigan Bioinformatics Core. C.L. is the Kandarian Family Fellow supported by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (DRG-2195-14). CBT is supported by the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (CBT) - a NIH P30 CA008748. New research by an international team shows that the present thinning and retreat of Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica is part of a climatically forced trend that was triggered in the 1940s. The team -- made up of scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the British Antarctic Survey, University of Copenhagen, University of Alaska, Naval Postgraduate School, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, University of Leipzig, University of Geneva and University of Cambridge -- analyzed sediment cores recovered beneath the floating Pine Island Glacier ice shelf. The team concluded the date at which the grounding line retreated from a prominent seafloor ridge was in 1945 at the latest. The team also found that final ungrounding of the ice shelf from the ridge occurred in 1970. "Our results suggest that, even when climate forcing (such as El Ninos, which create warmer water) weakened, ice-sheet retreat continued," said James Smith of the British Antarctic Survey and lead author of an article appearing in the Nov. 23 issue of the journal, Nature. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is one of the largest potential sources of water that will contribute to rising sea levels. Over the past 40 years, glaciers flowing into the Amundsen Sea sector of the ice sheet have thinned at an accelerating rate, and several numerical models suggest that unstable and irreversible retreat of the grounding line -- which marks the boundary between grounded ice and floating ice shelf -- is under way. Understanding this recent retreat requires a detailed knowledge of grounding-line history, but the locations of the grounding line before the advent of satellite monitoring in the 1990s are poorly dated. Pine Island Glacier, which drains into the Amundsen Sea, has retreated continuously throughout the short period for which there are observational records (from 1992 to the present). The coherent thinning of this and other glaciers along the Amundsen Sea coast indicates a response to external forcing and has been attributed to high basal melting of the floating ice shelves by warm circumpolar deep water. Thinner ice shelves are less able to buttress inland ice, leading to glacier acceleration and ice-sheet thinning. Evidence gathered by Autosub, an autonomous underwater vehicle operating beneath the ice shelf of Pine Island Glacier, revealed a prominent sea-floor ridge that probably acted as the most recent steady grounding-line position. The earliest visible satellite image, from 1973, showed a bump on the ice surface that was interpreted as the last point of grounding on the highest part of the ridge. The bump had disappeared several years later, suggesting that the present phase of thinning was already underway. "This finding provided the first hint that the recent retreat could be part of a longer-term process that started decades or even centuries before satellite observations became available," Smith said. For the study, the team drilled three 20-centimeter holes through the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf during December 2012 and January 2013 to access the ocean cavity below. Sediment cores were recovered at each site. Changes in the lithology and composition of sediment deposited beneath the glacier record the transition from grounded glacier to freely floating ice. Measurements of lead (Pb-210) and plutonium in the sediment were used to determine when the ice retreat began. Analyses of trace levels of global fallout plutonium in the sediment were performed by high-precision mass spectrometry at LLNL. The appearance of plutonium in the sediment marks the onset of above-ground testing of nuclear weapons in the 1950s, and indicates that ice-sheet retreat began before this time. The Lab's Amy Gaffney contributed to this portion of the study. "Despite a return to pre-1940s climatic conditions in the ensuing decades, thinning and glacier retreat has not stopped and is unlikely to be reversible without a major change in marine or glaciological conditions," Smith said. "A period of warming in the Antarctic shelf waters triggered a substantial change in the ice sheet, via the mechanism that we see today -- that is, ocean-driven thinning and retreat of ice shelves leads to inland glacier acceleration and ice-sheet thinning." ### Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory provides solutions to our nation's most important national security challenges through innovative science, engineering and technology. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Frankfurt, 23 November 2016. To date, the bonuses paid out to executive board members in Germany have not been sufficiently linked to long-term corporate success. This is the conclusion reached in the new "Remuneration Report" by consultants PwC in cooperation with Goethe University Frankfurt. Whilst about 60 percent of overall remuneration for Dax and MDax board members is indeed made up of performance-related payments - of which in turn more than half are long-term - most of these payments, which are known as Long Term Incentives (LTIs), are in cash rather than based on share plans. That means: Bonuses are automatically decoupled from business development the moment they are paid out. "When compared at international level, Germany can thus be classed as a special case. In our view, it would be more advantageous if long-term bonuses were awarded in the shape of shares in the respective company and the board members were also bound by means of corresponding clauses actually to keep these securities for a longer period of time, if necessary even beyond their term of office. This would ensure that it is in board members' vested interest really to work towards the company's long-term success", says Remo Schmid, co-author of the report and partner at PwC in Germany responsible for remuneration issues. CEOs earn almost twice as much as their board colleagues For the report, PwC and Goethe University Frankfurt examined remuneration structures in Dax and MDax companies. The analysis shows that developments in executive board remuneration in 2015 differed in comparison to the previous year: On average, a Dax CEO earned 5.6 million, a plus of a good 3 percent. Other board members earned 2.9 million, which equates to a minus of 2 percent. CEOs in MDax companies earned 2.5 million on average, whilst their board colleagues were paid 1.3 million. In other words: On the Dax, the barometer for blue chip companies, top managers are paid more than twice as much as their counterparts in medium-sized enterprises on the MDax. What's more: The average CEO earns on average almost double the salary of a "normal" board member. Women are still greatly underrepresented According to the analysis, the percentage of women amongst top-level executives is rising at an astoundingly slow pace. At the end of 2015, a good 91 percent of all board positions in Dax companies were still occupied by men - whilst in MDax firms it was even 96 percent. The picture is far better, though still not good, in regulatory bodies: In Dax companies, 26 percent of all supervisory board members were female compared to 18 percent in MDax firms. "In many enterprises, cultural change in this respect would be highly desirable", says Professor Dr. Hans-Joachim Bocking, co-author of the report and professor at Goethe University Frankfurt. Still: "At least as far as the basic salary of executive and supervisory board members is concerned, no gender-specific differences were detected either in Dax or MDax companies", says Bocking. A chairman on the supervisory board of a Dax company received an average total remuneration in 2015 of 311,000. Deputies earned 230,000, other supervisory board members 127,500. Pay scales in MDax firms were far lower. Here companies considered their main overseer to be worth an average of 183,500, the deputy was paid 121,500 and the other members received 75,000. Worth noting: Whilst the fixed remuneration for supervisory board members increased on average by about 12 percent in Dax and MDax companies, variable remuneration is still on the decline: in 2014, four out of ten Dax companies still made some form of variable payment. In 2015 it was only three out of ten. ### Professors Jean-Claude Kieffer and Francois Legare from INRS's Centre Energie Materiaux Telecommunications were honoured at the Royal Society of Canada's (RSC) Induction and Awards Ceremony, held at the Isabel Bader Centre in Kingston on November 18, 2016. They have been elected by their peers in recognition of their accomplishments. "This peer recognition is a real sign of appreciation of the quality of an academic researcher's work. We are delighted about the well-deserved recognition that professors Kieffer and Legare have received and we are honoured to have these two brilliant researchers, who help advance laser science and raise INRS's profile," said Yves Begin, Vice Rector of Research and Academic Affairs. Elected to the Academy of Science Professor Kieffer was inducted into the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) Division of the Royal society of Canada in recognition of his academic and scientific accomplishments. It is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon an academic working in the field of arts, humanities, and sciences. Kieffer is regarded as a leader in Canada and is internationally known in the field of science and ultra rapid laser technology. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated visionary leadership, as evidenced by the creation of the Femtosecond Science Laboratory (ALLS). He has made impressive contributions in the fields of plasma physics, the generation of new X-Ray sources for the health sciences, material, chemical, and organic imaging, and early cancer detection. He is also holds the Canada Research Chair in Ultra Rapid Photonics. Rutherford Memorial Medal in Physics Professor Legare was awarded the 2016 Rutherford Memorial Medal in Physics by the RSC for his outstanding research in physics. He is the first researcher from INRS to receive this award. He has gained a reputation that extends well beyond our borders for ultrafast molecular imaging, the development of high-power lasers, and tissue imaging with linear optical microscopy. Among his contributions, he has developed a new approach to laser amplification that is revolutionizing ultrashort pulse lasers and has led to the creation of a spin-off company. Professor Legare is the recipient of the 2015 Herzberg medal and director of the Femtosecond Science Laboratory (ALLS). Legare was doubly honoured, as he also became a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. He is part of the 2016 cohort, comprised of 80 researchers and artists representing the emerging generation of scholarly, scientific, and artistic leaders in Canada. ### About the Royal Society of Canada Founded in 1883 by the Canadian government, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) brings together the country's most eminent scientists, researchers, and scholars. Regarded as the National Academy of Canada, the RSC is made up of the Academy of the Arts and Humanities, the Academy of Social Sciences, and the Academy of Science. Its mission is to promote research and scholarly achievements in Canada, recognize academic and artistic excellence, and advise governments, organizations, and all Canadians about matters of public interest. About INRS Institut national de recherche scientifique (INRS) is a graduate-level research and training university and ranks first in Canada for research intensity (average funding per professor). INRS brings together some 150 professors and close to 700 students and postdoctoral fellows at its four centres in Montreal, Quebec City, Laval, and Varennes. Its basic research is essential to the advancement of science in Quebec and internationally, and its research teams play a key role in the development of concrete solutions to the problems faced by our society. INDIANAPOLIS -- Peter J. Embi, MD, MS, who joins the Regenstrief Institute as president and CEO on December 15, has been selected as the chair-elect of the board of directors of the American Medical Informatics Association, the largest international professional biomedical and health informatics association. The four-year term includes a one-year term as chair-elect, two years as the chair of the association's 21-person board of directors, and a final year as chair-emeritus. Dr. Embi is an internationally respected expert in biomedical informatics -- the application of computer and information sciences to health care and biomedical research. He has been a member of the American Medical Informatics Association since October 2000, and a board member since January 2015. In 2012 he was also inducted as a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics, joining a select elected group of individuals who have made significant and sustained contributions to the field of biomedical informatics. "This is a critical time for health care in our country and for informatics in particular," Dr. Embi said. "As informaticians we are working to improve health care through the optimal use of information and information technology. "That couldn't be more important than it is today. We need to improve quality of care for individuals, accelerate biomedical discoveries, and keep our populations healthier. By leveraging health IT and health care data, we can better prevent, diagnose and treat disease -- with more precision and at lower cost to society - and learn from every patient to improve care well into the future. Informatics professionals are key to achieving this vision for a learning health care system." Dr. Embi notes that as a professional society, the American Medical Informatics Association is uniquely positioned to draw upon the expertise of its varied informatician membership -- physicians, nurses, pharmacists, computer scientists, technologists, physicists, biologists and others -- to determine how to optimize the use of health information technology and biomedical computing to improve health and the delivery of care. This fall he chaired the association's 2016 Annual Health Policy Invitational Meeting on health information policy. He anticipates that he, like past AMIA board chairs, will represent the association in many settings, including on Capitol Hill, and across a range of issues including electronic medical record systems, health information exchange, patient participation in their care, and accelerating biomedical research and innovation. Dr. Embi joins the Regenstrief Institute following six years at the Ohio State University, most recently as associate dean for research informatics at Ohio State's medical school. Regenstrief is recognized for pioneering work in the fields of medical informatics, aging, and health services research and for the practical application of this research to global needs -- present and future. The institute is composed of three research centers -- the William M. Tierney Center for Health Services Research, the Indiana University Center for Aging Research and the Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics. The institute's new Industry Research Office facilitates and supports industry-funded research partnerships leveraging Regenstrief's extensive resources. The institute's focal areas currently include applied health information technology, patient outcomes and safety, population and public health, precision medicine, global health informatics, brain health, health data standards, healthcare data analytics, patient outcomes, implementation science, drug safety, decision making, symptom management, nursing home care, physical fitness and health communication. Regenstrief's faculty and affiliated scientists include representatives of numerous disciplines including medical informatics, geriatrics, general internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, public health, emergency medicine, gastroenterology, psychiatry, neurology, sociology, global health, palliative care, communications and a variety of engineering disciplines including software and human factors engineering. In addition to his leadership position at the Regenstrief Institute, commencing next month Dr. Embi will serve as Sam Regenstrief Professor of Informatics and Health Services and as associate dean for informatics and health services research at Indiana University School of Medicine, associate director for informatics at the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute and vice president for learning health systems at Indiana University Health. ### Around five years ago, a team led by a physicist from Kiel University, Professor Robert Wimmer-Schweingruber, won the coveted tender for providing instruments to be placed on board the "Solar Orbiter" space probe. This joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the US space agency NASA is expected to launch in October 2018, and will go closer to the sun than has ever been done before. Now, exactly on schedule, the preparations in Kiel for this mission are entering their final phase. On Monday 21 November the flight instruments from Kiel were handed over to the space probe installation team in England. Instruments on board a space probe must be able to withstand large temperature variations, intense vibrations during the launch of the rocket or voltage surges, without their functionality being affected. In order to ensure this, scientists at the Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics subjected their instruments to extensive tests. Representatives of ESA assessed the results just over two weeks ago, and after a few subsequent improvements, finally certified the solar particle sensors from Kiel for use in space. "Our sensors have passed the tests with flying colours!" said a delighted Wimmer-Schweingruber. "The instruments have been approved. On Monday, our team will personally deliver them to England. It is especially thanks to our excellent team that we have successfully met the tight deadline!" A total of four instruments will be installed in the "Energetic Particle Detector" (EPD) on board the space probe. The sensors measure electrons, protons and ions of all the particles in space, from helium nuclei right through to iron nuclei. They must cover a particularly wide energy range, from approximately 2 kiloelectronvolts up to 200 megaelectronvolts. The results of these measurements will help to better understand sun particle radiation and its effect on the earth. ### Photos are available to download: http://www.uni-kiel.de/download/pm/2016/2016-386-1.jpg The three sensors from Kiel are ready for space: EPT-HET1 and 2 on the left, and STEP on the right. Photo/Copyright: Jurgen Haacks, CAU http://www.uni-kiel.de/download/pm/2016/2016-386-2.jpg Close-up of the two-in-one-sensor EPT-HET (left), which measures in two directions. STEP (right): due to the magnetic field in the sensor, the installation position in the space probe was changed on the fly during the development process, as there were fears that it could affect other instruments. In spite of the tight deadline, the team from Kiel managed to modify their instrument on time for its new position. Photo/Copyright: Jurgen Haacks, CAU http://www.uni-kiel.de/download/pm/2016/2016-386-3.jpg Experts, including representatives of the ESA, closely examined the test results and the sensors from Kiel on 3 November. Photo/Copyright: Jurgen Haacks, CAU http://www.uni-kiel.de/download/pm/2016/2016-386-4.jpg The team from Kiel delivers: their sensors will be installed in the Solar Orbiter space probe. Photo/Copyright: Jurgen Haacks, CAU Background information In addition to a team of engineers, there are also scientists, doctoral candidates and students from Kiel University involved in the EPD projects. They work together in an international team, with members from Spain, Germany and the USA. Among the total of four instruments in the "Energetic Particle Detector" (EPD) are an Instrument Control Unit (ICU) and the SupraThermal Ion Spectrograph (SIS). This SIS will undertake particle measurements during the voyage to the sun, in an energy range from around 100 kiloelectronvolts to 10 megaelectronvolts. The sensor was developed at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) under the leadership of Professor Wimmer-Schweingruber. Three sensors were developed in the Kiel physics cleanroom: The STEP (Supra Thermal Electrons and Protons) sensor measures in the energy range from 2.5 to 65 kiloelectronvolts. If there is an influx of particles in this range, electrons are deflected by means of a magnetic field on the one side of the instrument. Only protons and ions are measured here. On the other side of the instrument, without a magnetic field, the entire flow of particles in the relevant energy range is measured. The difference between the two sides allows determination of the electrons present. The EPT-HET1 and 2 instruments are identical, and each contain two sensors: EPT (Electron and Proton Telescope) and HET (High-Energy Telescope) sensors. Together they measure electrons in the energy range from 20 kiloelectronvolts to 20 megaelectronvolts, as well as protons from 20 kiloelectronvolts to 100 megaelectronvolts. The HET also measures heavy ions up to 200 megaelectronvolts. The EPT-HET1 and EPT-HET2 instruments can each measure in two directions (sun-facing side / dark side or alternatively prograde / retrograde relative to orbit). The Kiel projects are funded by the DLR Space Agency, and the SIS is funded by the ESA. More information: http://www.physik.uni-kiel.de/de/institute/ieap/ag-wimmer/solo Contact: Prof. Robert Wimmer-Schweingruber Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics Kiel University E-mail: wimmer@physik.uni-kiel.de Mobile number: +49 173 951 3332 Kiel University Press, Communication and Marketing, Dr Boris Pawlowski, Text: Claudia Eulitz Postal address: D-24098 Kiel, Germany, Telephone: +49 (0)431 880-2104, Fax: +49 (0)431 880-1355 E-mail: presse@uv.uni-kiel.de, Internet: http://www.uni-kiel.de, Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kieluni Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kieluni, Instagram: instagram.com/kieluni CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon in sheets just one atom in thick, has been the subject of widespread research, in large part because of its unique combination of strength, electrical conductivity, and chemical stability. But despite many years of study, some of graphene's fundamental properties are still not well-understood, including the way it behaves when something slides along its surface. Now, using powerful computer simulations, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have made significant strides in understanding that process, including why the friction varies as the object sliding on it moves forward, instead of remaining constant as it does with most other known materials. The findings are presented this week in the journal Nature, in a paper by Ju Li, professor of nuclear science and engineering and of materials science and engineering at MIT, and seven others at MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, and universities in China and Germany. Graphite, a bulk material composed of many layers of graphene, is a well-known solid lubricant. (In other words, like oil, it can be added in between contacting materials to reduce friction.) Recent research suggests that even one or a few layers of graphene can also provide effective lubrication. This may be used in small-scale thermal and electrical contacts and other nanoscale devices. In such cases, an understanding of the friction between two pieces of graphene, or between graphene and another material, is important for maintaining a good electrical, thermal, and mechanical connection. Researchers had previously found that while one layer of graphene on a surface reduces friction, having a few more was even better. However, the reason for this was not well-explained before, Li says. "There is this broad notion in tribology that friction depends on the true contact area," Li says -- that is, the area where two materials are really in contact, down to the atomic level. The "true" contact area is often substantially smaller than it would otherwise appear to be if observed at larger size scales. Determining the true contact area is important for understanding not only the degree of friction between the pieces, but also other characteristics such as the electrical conduction or heat transfer. For example, explains co-author Robert Carpick of the University of Pennsylvania, "When two parts in a machine make contact, like two teeth of steel gears, the actual amount of steel in contact is much smaller than it appears, because the gear teeth are rough, and contact only occurs at the topmost protruding points on the surfaces. If the surfaces were polished to be flatter so that twice as much area was in contact, the friction would then be twice as high. In other words, the friction force doubles if the true area of direct contact doubles." But it turns out that the situation is even more complex than scientists had thought. Li and his colleagues found that there are also other aspects of the contact that influence how friction force gets transferred across it. "We call this the quality of contact, as opposed to the quantity of contact measured by the 'true contact' area," Li explains. Experimental observations had shown that when a nanoscale object slides along a single layer of graphene, the friction force actually increases at first, before eventually leveling off. This effect lessens and the leveled-off friction force decreases when sliding on more and more graphene sheets. This phenomenon was also seen in other layered materials including molybdenum disulfide. Previous attempts to explain this variation in friction, not seen in anything other than these two-dimensional materials, had fallen short. To determine the quality of contact, it is necessary to know the exact position of each atom on each of the two surfaces. The quality of contact depends on how well-aligned the atomic configurations are in the two surfaces in contact, and on the synchrony of these alignments. According to the computer simulations, these factors turned out to be more important than the traditional measure in explaining the materials' frictional behavior, according to Li. "You cannot explain the increase in friction" as the material begins to slide "by just the contact area," Li says. "Most of the change in friction is actually due to change in the quality of contact, not the true contact area." The researchers found that the act of sliding causes graphene atoms to make better contact with the object sliding along it; this increase in the quality of contact leads to the increase in friction as sliding proceeds and eventually levels off. The effect is strong for a single layer of graphene because the graphene is so flexible that the atoms can move to locations of better contact with the tip. A number of factors can affect the quality of contact, including rigidity of the surfaces, slight curvatures, and gas molecules that get in between the two solid layers, Li says. But by understanding the way the process works, engineers can now take specific steps to alter that frictional behavior to match a particular intended use of the material. For example, "prewrinkling" of the graphene material can give it more flexibility and improve the quality of contact. "We can use that to vary the friction by a factor of three, while the true contact area barely changes," he says. "In other words, it's not just the material itself" that determines how it slides, but also its boundary condition -- including whether it is loose and wrinkled or flat and stretched tight, he says. And these principles apply not just to graphene but also to other two-dimensional materials, such as molybdenum disulfide, boron nitride, or other single-atom or single-molecule-thick materials. "Potentially, a moving mechanical contact could be used as a way to make very good power switches in small electronic devices," Li says. But that is still some ways off; while graphene is a promising material being widely studied, "we're still waiting to see graphene electronics and 2-D electronics take off. It's an emerging field." ### Besides Li and Carpick, the research team included former MIT and University of Pennsylvania visiting student Suzhi Li, now a Humboldt Research Fellow in Germany; Qunyang Li at Tsinghua University in China; Xin Liu at the University of Pennsylvania and now at Intel; Peter Gumbsch at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany; and Xiangdong Ding and Jun Sun at Xi'an Jiaotong University in China. The work was supported by the National Science Foundation. PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Nov. 23, 2016 -- Faster and more precise information about how best to treat cancer patients should be possible thanks to a $200,000 Compute the Cure grant announced today from the NVIDIA Foundation to the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). The grant will help TGen accelerate the computer processing of transcriptomes from thousands of cells gleaned from patient tumor samples, using a complex computational algorithm. Transcriptomes are all the messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules expressed from an individual's genes. This process will advance the practice of precision medicine by quickly informing doctors with the best options for attacking each individual patient's cancer. "When you analyze actual patient data, your goal is to help physicians better understand treatment options, providing these answers to the doctors as soon as you possibly can. There is a lot at stake for our patients, and time is critical," said Dr. Seungchan Kim, an Associate Professor and head of TGen's Biocomputing Unit. Specifically, the grant will enable TGen to perfect its prototype statistical analysis tool called EDDY (evaluation of differential dependency), reducing its analysis turn-around from months to days. By simultaneously sequencing the mRNAs of thousands of individual cancer cells from the same tumor, it will help physicians understand why some cancer cells respond to treatment, and some don't, leading to more precisely targeted therapeutics. "We can actually separate all these individual cells and then look in more fine detail at how each cell responds to each compound," Dr. Kim said. "With that information we can propose which treatment might be best for each patient. You might have to use more than one compound to get all the tumor cells." According to TGen's project proposal, single-cell RNA sequencing addresses several shortcomings of the traditional averaging of RNA expression from multiple cells. In isolating the specific genetic profile of individual cells, subtle changes in biological behavior are brought into sharp focus, enabling new research directions such as microevolution, dynamic RNA processes and the biological mechanisms involved in rare diseases. The challenge for researchers is that each cell contains billions of pieces of genetic information. Initial attempts to simultaneously analyze thousands of tumor cells proved time consuming. Using a CPU -- a central processing unit, which is designed to conduct many different tasks -- EDDY ran for two months and was still not able to complete the analysis of an initial batch of more than 4,700 samples, even using hundreds of CPUs simultaneously. However, using a GPU -- a graphics processing unit created by NVIDIA, which is designed to accomplish simple tasks but in massive parallel computing units -- researchers anticipate EDDY will be able to analyze thousands of samples in a matter of days. Working with the University of California San Francisco, TGen will apply this GPU-accelerated process to a study of brain cancer patients, analyzing their tumors, proposing therapies and monitoring the results. "That is the promise of this grant proposal," said Dr. Harshil Dhruv, an Assistant Professor in TGen's Cancer and Cell Biology Division. "With the GPU, we can speed up the computation significantly, process the patient data within a few days, and give that information back to the oncologists so they can make an informed decision about how best to help the patient." Compute the Cure is the NVIDIA Foundation's philanthropic initiative to fund computational efforts to advance cancer research, diagnostics and treatment, support non-profits that provide patient care and support services, and engage its employees in fundraising activities. Through this initiative, the NVIDIA Foundation has donated nearly $3 million to cancer causes since 2011. The award to TGen was selected by a group of NVIDIA employees, with the support of researchers at the National Cancer Institute, from among nearly 20 proposals submitted from across the globe. "Advanced computation is indispensable to the search for cancer cures, so we're supporting researchers who embrace this view, like TGen's Dr. Kim. We're impressed with his novel use of single-cell transcriptomic profiling, the broad experience of his research team, and the potential of his GPU-accelerated analysis method to advance the clinical practice of precision medicine in cancer," said John Montrym, chief architect at NVIDIA, and an NVIDIA Foundation Compute the Cure review committee member. ### About TGen Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. TGen is focused on helping patients with neurological disorders, cancer, and diabetes, through cutting edge translational research (the process of rapidly moving research towards patient benefit). TGen physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of both common and rare complex diseases in adults and children. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities literally worldwide, TGen makes a substantial contribution to help our patients through efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. For more information, visit: http://www.tgen.org. Follow TGen on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @TGen. Media Contact: Steve Yozwiak TGen Senior Science Writer 602-343-8704 syozwiak@tgen.org The decision to provide healthier range of food to students has not gone down well with exclusive college canteens in Kolkata, who seem to understand the taste-buds of the college kids well. By Romita Datta: Universities in Bengal have been asked to switch to healthy food in their canteens. According to University Grants Commission's (UGC) recent order, central varsities such as Jadavpur University, Presidency University will have to change their menu to incorporate healthier food items. Soups, sandwich, boiled egg, momos and roti-sabzi have been identified as the healthier options. The university students, habitual to junk food, such as rolls, chops, chowmein and fried food are finding it hard to digest. advertisement READ | Make NCC elective subject: UGC issues circular to universities The UGC's decision comes in the wake of a health survey and report which has raised concern over the growth of lifestyle disease among teenagers, especially school going and college going children. Diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, stomach ailments and liver related problems have sharply increased in the age group of 18-30 years. The UGC authorities have asked the colleges to ask their canteen to sell only health food. Promode da's canteen in Presidency and Milan da's canteen in Jadavpur University keep changing the menu catering to the taste of the students. READ | Celebrate National Education Day: UGC directs universities NOT AN EASY JOB TO TAME COLLEGE CROWD'S PREFERENCES? "A UGC's order cannot dictate the food choice of students. If we don't sell the items they prefer, the students will buy their tiffin outside the campus," said an employee of Jadavpur University canteen. A delicacy, dhoper chop, which is a fried item, sells like a hot cake in Jadavpur University. The canteen people feel that it will be difficult to replace such an item. Smoking and drinking inside the canteen is not allowed, but the colleges choose to overlook this matter. "Do you think college goers are kids? Their preferences cannot be controlled. This notification will not be accepted. They are trying to tell us what we should eat which is ridiculous," said Jayita Bhattacharjee of Arts faculty. The Presidency University will take a call only after discussing it with students' forum. READ | UGC issues circular to cut down junk food supply in colleges --- ENDS --- A naturally occurring predatory bacterium is able to work with the immune system to clear multi-drug resistant Shigella infections in zebrafish, according to a study published today in Current Biology. It is the first time the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus has been successfully used as an injected anti-bacterial therapy and represents an important step in the fight against drug-resistant infections, or 'superbugs'. Shigella infection is responsible for over 160 million illnesses and over 1 million deaths every year - and is a common cause of 'travellers' diarrhoea.' Cases of drug-resistant Shigella are also on the rise as, although the diarrhoea usually clears up without treatment, antibiotics are often used even in mild cases to stop the diarrhoea faster. Resistance to antibiotics has prompted a team of researchers from Imperial College London and Nottingham University to look to the natural environment for creative solutions to this problem. To investigate Bdellovibrio's ability to control drug resistant Gram-negative infections, researchers injected zebrafish larvae with a lethal dose of Shigella flexneri strain M90T, resistant to both streptomycin and carbenicillin antibiotics. Bdellovibrio was then injected into the larvae's infection site, and a decrease in the number of Shigella was seen. In the absence of Bdellovibrio, zebrafish were unable to control the replication of Shigella and levels of the bacteria rose. Wellcome Research Career Development Fellow Dr Serge Mostowy, co-lead author from Imperial College London said: "This study really shows what a unique and interesting bacterium Bdellovibrio is as it presents this amazing natural synergy with the immune system and persists just long enough to kill prey bacteria before being naturally cleared. It's an important milestone in research into the use of a living antibiotic that could be used in animals and humans." Bdellovibrio can invade and kill a range of Gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, in the natural environment. Previous research has shown that it can reduce pathogen numbers in the stomach of chickens when taken as an oral therapy, but there is growing need to develop therapies to target infections in wounds and organs. Successful use of Bdellovibrio highlights its potential uses in tackling a range of drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections that can develop in hospital patients. Professor Liz Sockett, co-lead author from The University of Nottingham said: "This has been a truly ground-breaking collaboration that shows therapeutic Bdellovibrio in action inside the translucent living zebrafish. The predatory action of the Bdellovibrio breaks the Shigella-pathogen cells and this stimulates the white blood cells; redoubling their 'efforts' against the pathogen and leading to increased survival of the zebrafish 'patients'." Remarkably, Bdellovibrio is also able to reduce pathogen load in immunocompromised zebrafish larvae that have been depleted of white blood cells. However, survival is significantly greater in immune-competent zebrafish, showing that Bdellovibrio's maximum therapeutic benefit comes from its ability to work cooperatively with the host's own immune system. Dr Michael Chew, Science Portfolio Advisor at Wellcome said: "It may be unusual to use a bacterium to get rid of another, but in the light of the looming threat from drug resistant infections the potential of beneficial bacteria-animal interactions should not be overlooked. We are increasingly relying on last line antibiotics, and this innovative study demonstrates how predatory bacteria could be an important additional tool to drugs in the fight against resistance." ### This research was funded by Wellcome, the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, the Medical Research Council, The Leverhulme Trust, U.S. Army Research Office and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Notes to editors Contact Emily Pritchard Wellcome Trust T: 020 7611 8248/07590 468763 E: e.pritchard@wellcome.ac.uk Reference: The paper 'Injections of predatory bacteria work alongside host immune cells to treat Shigella infections in zebrafish larvae' is published in Current Biology: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.09.067 (URL will go live when embargo lifts.) About Wellcome Wellcome exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive. We're a global charitable foundation, both politically and financially independent. We support scientists and researchers, take on big problems, fuel imaginations and spark debate. About the University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is 'the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a "distinct" approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.' (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and winner of both 'University of the Year for Graduate Employment', according to the 2017 The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide and 'Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers' at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. It is ranked in the world's top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16. More than 97 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is recognised internationally and it is 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world's greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities. About Imperial College London Imperial College London is one of the world's leading universities. The College's 16,000 students and 8,000 staff are expanding the frontiers of knowledge in science, medicine, engineering and business, and translating their discoveries into benefits for society. Founded in 1907, Imperial builds on a distinguished past - having pioneered penicillin, holography and fibre optics - to shape the future. Imperial researchers work across disciplines to improve health and wellbeing, understand the natural world, engineer novel solutions and lead the data revolution. This blend of academic excellence and its real-world application feeds into Imperial's exceptional learning environment, where students participate in research to push the limits of their degrees. Imperial collaborates widely to achieve greater impact. It works with the NHS to improve healthcare in west London, is a leading partner in research and education within the European Union, and is the UK's number one research collaborator with China. Imperial has nine London campuses, including its White City Campus: a research and innovation centre that is in its initial stages of development in west London. At White City, researchers, businesses and higher education partners will co-locate to create value from ideas on a global scale. http://www.imperial.ac.uk NEGLEY, Ohio She wanted a lake house. He wanted a forest. In 1993, Richard Berg made his dream a reality and purchased 132 wooded acres in Negley, Ohio. It is not just 132 acres. I tell people, it is 132 beautiful acres, Richard said with a grin. Judy, his wife, never got her lake house, but she now spends her days helping him at Pancake, which is what they call the property because it sits on Pancake-Clarkson Road. It is his own Mill Creek Park, said Judy, and he just loves it. Conserve The Bergs of Boardman, Ohio, have been working to conserve and protect the land from day one, collaborating with many federal, state and local programs. When you ask my dad what he wants for his birthday, he says, five hours of help, he wants help out at Pancake, said Richie, Richard and Judys son. He just never stops, but he enjoys every minute. The Bergs recently were honored at Columbiana Soil and Water Conservation Districts banquet as the 2016 Cooperator of the Year. Early on, Jim Elze told me the more roads you have in your woods, the more you are going to be able to enjoy it. I have taken that to heart and created many roads and cleared and tended to the ones that were already here, Richard said. Learning I didnt know anything about this stuff, admits Berg. But Jim Elze, Dan Bartlett and the associations I am involved in were so helpful in teaching me about drainage, plant and tree identification and what to do. He is a member of the Little Beaver Creek Wild Scenic Advisory Council and the Northeast Ohio Forestry Association. Daniel Bartlett, Columbiana Countys service forester with the Ohio Division of Forestry, came on the scene in 2006 after the former service forester, Jim Elze, had written the original forest management plan and certified the property as a tree farm. Bartlett updated the plan and guided the Bergs in moving forward. Mr. Berg is a guy who will ask questions and carry through with a project. He has turned a property, which had been heavily cut, into the beautiful piece of land it is now, said Bartlett. Because of Bergs early collaboration with the SWCD, he received its Outstanding Woodland Owner award in 1999. He has been heavily involved in the Northeastern Ohio Forestry Association, attending workshops, tours and hosting a tour of his own, said Jim Elze, a certified forester and runs LZ Forestree Consulting. Berg has completed timber stand improvement measures on the woodland, including planting American chestnut trees, crop tree release, and grapevine control measures on all 132 acres. Keeping focus He has cleared trees, but not sold much of the timber. I have sold cherry firewood to restaurants in Youngstown, but Ive stopped. When Im focused on selling wood, I cant get to what I really want to be doing. Richards focus is on removing invasive plants, building drainage systems and laying stone so water can filter down the hills and ravines without moving massive amounts of sediment into Little Beaver Creek, which is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers program. They have laid about 80 ton of rocks on the paths, about 800 pounds at a time. He hand off-loads the rocks and then loads them into an all-terrain vehicle to transport the gravel. Many of the roads that run through Pancake Tree Farm are old logging trails, said Richard. They have done years of clearing trees to restore the paths and created new paths of their own on the now Certified Tree Farm. Richard has also installed by hand many pipes and culverts to help the water in flowing down to the river. Richard estimates hes invested $5,000-$10,000 in rocks and drainage pipes to help keep the sediment from running down into the creek. Benefits The benefits are so numerous, said Bartlett. He is doing so much to keep the canopy and the banks, and what he is doing is affecting the aquatic habitats long term, eventually creating valuable timber. Because Pancake Tree Farm is in the Little Beaver Creek watershed, whatever Berg does affects the water quality and wildlife in the area, said Elze. Most wildlife like a diversified environment and Richard works to keep his forest vibrant. His stewardship affects hikers, too, as the North Country Trail, which runs from New York to North Dakota, cuts through the property. The public is free to walk this scenic trail through the Bergs property. Maple sap Walking through his woods, you will see hundreds of tapped maples. They have tapped maple trees for sap for about seven years, and take their sap to Dave Hively and his Misty Maple Sugar House in Salem, Ohio. The Bergs get half of whatever is produced from the sap they bring Hively. The Bergs have 5/8 tubing lining many of their trees. They started with 88 taps and grew to nearly 1,000 taps, but have cut back over the years to about half that, Richie said. The Bergs work with the Ohio Maple Producers Association to learn and network. Value-added Richie, their son, has been making granola bars and granola for seven years using the maple produced from the tree farm. He keeps busy from June through October selling the products at farmers markets, and year-round delivering them to four area stores. I put my granola up against national brands in competitions. In 2011, I won an Ohio food contest everyone loves it, Richie said. Maple syrup has one of the least calories per ounce of any sugar. Richie was one of the founders of the Lake to River Food Co-op established in Youngstown in 2011, which works with local producers and consumers to showcase the diversity and quality of the regions agricultural and culinary landscape. Family The land has brought enjoyment to the whole family, and the Bergs daughter, Amy, and her husband Tim have built a two-story cabin on the property, where they enjoy hosting fires and camping with their three daughters. My father just turned 70, said Richie. I am so afraid I will go out to the woods one day and just find him there. But research studies show that after two years of inactivity, people start to go downhill physically and mentally. There is no fear of that with my father. (Reporter Katy Mumaw welcomes feedback by phone at 330-337-3419 or by email at katym@farmanddairy.com.) The Soil Association the UKs largest organic farming charity has been forced to apologise after suggesting that non-organic farms abuse livestock and are bad for animal welfare. The organisation used Twitter to make the claim in a tweet that said: Millions of animals are abused in pursuit of cheap food, but there is another way. The tweet linked to a video and a webpage arguing that low welfare is still the norm on non-organic UK farms and urging people to donate to the Soil Association. See also: Farm network shares ideas and techniques The Soil Association subsequently deleted the tweet, but not before infuriating farmers including some of the associations own supporters. They took to Twitter to express their anger. Well this family farm isnt impressed by the suggestion that those who arent organic abuse their animals https://t.co/aE6aNGbLpy James (@Wilkster_) November 21, 2016 @PhilLatham @SoilAssociation @Wilkster_ Management has more impact on welfare than the system in my opinion Adrian Clark (@adrianjcl123) November 21, 2016 @adrianjcl123 @SoilAssociation of course & its quite wrong to try to elevate one system spuriously above another unless theres some proof Phil Latham (@PhilLatham) November 21, 2016 @Wilkster_ @SoilAssociation no problem with you promoting organic farming but to constantly abuse non organic farms is an appalling approach John Rainsforth (@JRainy) November 22, 2016 @SoilAssociation @Wilkster_ suggesting mainstream ag is broken is totally unfair. Time for me to consider assurance with a different body Rob Halliday (@cvfarming) November 21, 2016 Eventually, the Soil Association deleted the original tweet and issued an apology. It said: We apologise for the misunderstanding caused by a recent tweet. Animal welfare is an emotive subject and we were trying to convey a very complex message in a short space, and we didnt do a good job. In the pursuit of cheap food, more than 80% of animals raised in the EU each year are factory farmed, where they cant exhibit their natural behaviours. This is a problem with the system, not individual farmers. We recognise that most farmers, whether organic or not, care deeply for their livestock. The demand for cheap food means that the scale of these indoor, intensive farms is increasing, pushing out smaller family farms to make way for industrial systems that affect local communities and the environment as well as the animals themselves. We want farmers to be paid fair prices, which will allow all farmers to farm in ways where animals have a good life. This is why were campaigning for higher animal welfare. Haiti - Elections : Statement by the U.S. State Department Monday, John Kirby, Assistant Secretary and Department Spokesperson, Bureau of Public Affairs of U.S. State Department declared "The United States welcomes the holding of the November 20 elections as an important step towards returning Haiti to full constitutional rule and addressing the serious challenges the country faces. We commend Haitians for exercising their right to vote in a peaceful manner, and in some areas, amidst difficult circumstances. The United States welcomes the continued determination of the Provisional Electoral Council, the Haitian National Police, and the Government of Haiti towards the realization of free, fair, credible, and peaceful elections. Preliminary reports indicate that the elections were conducted with minimal violence and disruption. The United States deplores the isolated incidents of violence and intimidation, and urges that those responsible be brought to justice under Haitian law. We call on the Government of Haiti and all Haitians to foster a climate of calm during the tabulation period to ensure that Haiti remains on track toward democratic renewal of its state institutions and the seating, in early 2017, of a president elected by the Haitian people." HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping politics... Fanmi Lavalas claims victory Sunday, a few hours after the closure of the polling stations, Fanmi Lavalas issued a statement saying "[...] we have information that let us know that the vote of the majority was expressed in favor of Maryse Narcisse [...] we have information that let us know that the vote of the majority was expressed in favor of Maryse Narcisse [...]" Declining participation rate ? On Monday, the Citizen Observatory for the Institutionalization of Democracy (OCID) revealed at a press conference that the participation rate at national level would be 23.3% (30% in 2015), estimating the participation of women to 37.9% and men to 62.1% Reginald Delva convinced that nothing has changed According to Reginald Delva, former Minister of the Interior and former Secretary of State for Public Security "The notions of massive fraud and zombie votes" have been a mere invention of the enemies of the Nation. 1 year and more than 100 million dollars later, we realize that the results of the elections have not changed (since October 25)." The PHTK claims victory Monday noon during a press conference, Rudy Herivaux, spokesman of the party PHTK declared "The candidate Jovenel Moise is the elected president of Haiti [...] Officially we already know, the country know , The whole world knows who the President-elect of Haiti a nd this is not a mystery..." Discovery of ballots Ballots were discovered around Saint Jean Bosco, a judge was dispatched on the spot. More women in the composition of the BV In the elections of 20 November, the representation of women in the composition of polling stations (BV) increased from 34.5% to 38.9% on 25th October 2015 (35.8% as President, 39.1% as Vice-President and 41.8% as Secretary). HL/ HaitiLibre Two masked thieves have stopped a car carrying two tourists in Paris, sprayed them with tear gas and stolen belongings worth as much as 5m (4.2 million). A police official said the two Qatari women were targeted on the A1 highway as they headed to Paris's high-end 16th arrondissement after arriving on Monday night at Le Bourget Airport. Russia has offered to provide samples linked to alleged chemical weapon use in the Syrian city of Aleppo to the international chemical weapons watchdog. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Russia recently offered it "some samples and other material in relation to an incident of alleged use of chemicals as weapons in Aleppo". The organisation said the samples "may be of use in the ongoing work of the OPCW fact-finding mission", which is investigating allegations of chemical attacks in Syria. To see this post on Facebook, click here. Russian defence ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on November 11 that ministry experts found unexploded ordnance and fragments of munitions containing chlorine and white phosphorus on Aleppo's south-western outskirts. Mr Konashenkov said the discovery proved that militants have used chemical weapons against civilians and Syrian soldiers. The Syrian National Coalition (SNC), a main opposition group, denied rebels used chemical weapons in Aleppo. It says the shells that were fired are similar to those used by government forces and militias fighting with them. The SNC called on UN organisations to open an investigation. The US and its allies have pushed for sanctions on Syria for using chemical weapons. Russia has questioned international investigators' conclusions linking chemical weapons use to its ally, the Syrian government, and pointed at evidence of their use by the militants. The UN Security Council has voted to extend the mandate of inspectors working to determine those responsible for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. The OPCW has suggested Russia hand over the material in Damascus or The Hague because Aleppo is too dangerous. Russia has not yet responded. Prof Giorgio Sacerdoti, who has worked on behalf of the World Bank and World Trade Organisation on the settlement of international disputes, was announced yesterday as the EU arbitrator in the case between the US and the EU over the unprecedented delay in Norwegian Air Internationals (NAI) foreign carrier permit application. Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune welcomed the news last night, describing Mr Sacerdoti as a suitably qualified candidate. He has served eight years in the appellate body of the World Trade Organisation, she said. I have also written to US transport secretary Anthony Foxx to ask that he approves the licence before the end of his tenure on January 20. NAI, an Irish subsidiary of low-fares giant Norwegian, applied to the US authorities almost three years ago for a permit to operate flights from Ireland to the US, including Cork-Boston and Cork-New York routes. Its application is facing stiff opposition from various US and EU labour unions and airlines which have claimed the airline is operating a flag of convenience to skirt strict labour laws a claim the airline has repeatedly rejected. The US department of transportation granted tentative approval for the permit in April, but a final decision is still awaited. It is now the longest pending permit application of its kind. NAI and EU political leaders insist NAIs application complies with the terms of the EU-US Open Skies deal, and that the US refusal to sanction the permit is in direct contravention of the 2007 deal. The EU transport commissioner, Violeta Bulc, signalled in July that she would take the unprecedented step of triggering arbitration in the case in a bid to break the impasse. Under arbitration, the EU and US will each name an arbitrator, while a third arbitrator will be appointed by their mutual consent. If the US is found to have breached the Open Skies agreement, the EU could suspend US airlines benefits under the 2007 agreement. Ms Clune repeated her calls for NAIs licence to be granted without delay. It has been largely held up due to political interference and pressure from unions on the US side, she said. We cannot allow this situation to drag on indefinitely. I am concerned about what consequences this matter could have, not only for relations in aviation but for overall transatlantic relations. It is of the utmost importance that agreements like Open Skies are upheld and this impasse sets a bad example at a time when bilateral ties may be strained and questioned by many sectors of our societies. She said NAIs proposed services from Cork and Shannon offer enormous potential for the entire country, in terms of improving connectivity, boosting investment, and attracting more tourists. Party leader Eamon Ryan said his bill is similar to Fianna Fails and the proposal for a Dublin city mayor would work like in London. Last night, the Dail heard a debate on a bill brought by Fianna Fails John Lahart which proposes a directly elected mayor for Dublin on a salary of up to 175,000 a year. The bill, which is not being opposed by the Government, aims to legislate for a key part of the Fianna Fail general election manifesto commitment to give fresh leadership to local communities with directly elected mayors. Currently, Dublin has four local authorities, four chief executives, four mayors, 183 councillors, and countless State agencies in Dublin, often competing against each other rather than together. A directly-elected mayor would provide singular leadership to this structure, he said. He added: It is vital that we provide for a new, more co-ordinated, collaborative approach with one overall figure in office. A new, directly-elected mayor will move beyond ceremonial purpose and into the position to concentrate on forming policy, allocating resources, alleviating problems in planning, housing, transport and other critical issues in the capital. The Government is opposing the Green proposal which would include a period of consultation to ensure voting in city mayors takes place by 2019 to coincide with the local elections then. City mayors would have the powers to tackle housing and transport problems, he said. He said the Greens, while in government with Fianna Fail, were close to passing the same mayoral legislation. He said that the Greens proposal for regional mayors is a key difference to the Fianna Fail bill. It strengthens all of us if our cities work well. Our cities are not working. Planning in Cork, Galway and Limerick is a real problem, he said. He said he wants to know if Sinn Fein, Labour, the Social Democrats and others support the proposal. The teenager had been standing in queues for the past few days but could not get money. By PTI: An 18-year-old student allegedly committed suicide after failing to withdraw money from the bank to submit his examination fees, in Uttar Pradesh. The incident occurred in Mavai Buzurg village of Banda district, the police said. Suresh had been standing in queues for the past several days to withdraw money so that he could submit his exam fees. Everyday, he returned home empty-handed. advertisement After returning from the bank on Tuesday, he hanged himself from the ceiling with the help of his mother's saree, the police said. ALSO WATCH Suresh was pursuing Bachelors in Science degree from Panchnehi Degree College. According to his family, the last date for fee submission was today. A case has been lodged and investigations are on, the police said. On hearing about the student's suicide, angry villagers pelted the bank with stones. On Monday, a four-year-old girl had died in a bank compound after her father failed to withdraw money for her treatment in Tindwari police station area in Uttar Pradesh. ALSO READ: Note ban deaths: SBI cashier dies of heart attack while at work in Nagpur ALSO READ: 25 deaths in a week: PM Modi's demonetisation drive takes a toll on aam aadmi ALSO READ: Demonetisation hits Minister Sadananda Gowda, denied brother's body by Mangaluru hospital ALSO WATCH --- ENDS --- Ms Buckley, who was murdered by Alexander Pacteau as she left a nightclub in Glasgow in April 2015, had moved there to study occupational therapy at Glasgow Caledonian University. Her body was found days later on a farm north of Glasgow following an intensive search across the city for the missing 24-year-old from Mourneabbey, Co Cork. In a statement to the Irish Examiner, Glasgow Caledonian University confirmed Ms Buckley was post- humously awarded the masters during a conferring ceremony yesterday. On Tuesday, November 22, during GCUs winter graduation ceremonies, Karen Buckley was awarded a posthumous Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (pre-registration). Her family have asked that her achievements can be celebrated privately, the statement read. Ms Buckleys father, John, collected the masters degree on behalf of his late daughter, according to people present at the ceremony. Karen Buckleys dad collected her award and it was so hard not to cry, Beth Mclardie tweeted. Emma Thorpe, whose mother graduated during the same ceremony, also posted on Twitter that it was heartbreaking to see Mr Buckley collect his daughters degree. More than 1,600 graduands from Glasgow Caledonian University will graduate at ceremonies held at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow this week. In September 2015, Pacteau was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of 23 years, after pleading guilty to Ms Buckleys murder. Glasgow High Court heard judge Rita Rae describe Pacteau as a callous and calculating man who told a tissue of lies, to the distress of the Buckley family. Earlier this month, media in Scotland reported that Pacteau was moved from HM Prison Shotts in Lanarkshire to another prison in Kilmarnock because authorities believed he was at risk of attack by other inmates. CEO Jeremy Masding apologised to borrowers yesterday and said a systems failure was responsible for taking low-cost mortgages off almost 1,400 borrowers. However, Sinn Fein finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said such actions outside of a financial institution would see someone thrown into prison. You watched these individuals lose their homes, he said. This was daily robbery by an institution which took money off customers, the TD said at a hearing with the lender before the Oireachtas Finance Committee. The courts last year upheld a finance ombudsman decision which had found that borrowers on tracker rates were unfairly switched to higher rates. This resulted in some mortgage borrowers going into arrears and losing their homes. The situation saw families put onto fixed rates without options of returning to a tracker. In some cases, families had to pay an extra 500 a month. The bank had fought the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court and had to pay compensation of tens of thousands of euro to some customers affected. Mr Doherty said some officials with Permanent TSB an institution 75% owned by the State were paid over half a million annually in salaries. He brushed aside suggestions it was just a small error. He said that if he had taken thousands of euro off such borrowers that he would have been locked up in Mountjoy. No heads had rolled at the bank, he said. CEO Jeremy Masding defended the actions of the lender. I didnt hide anything, I stood up and apologised [at the time], he told the committee. The events had been a sad episode for the bank, he said, and a detriment for customers. However, he also insisted the bank had found no one person responsible and it had been a systems error. This response angered Mr Doherty even more. The decision to appeal the ombudsman case through the courts had caused more hardship to borrowers affected, said the Donegal TD, who questioned why there was no accountability at the State-owned lender. You took their money how come nobody is going to be able to be held accountable? he said. Some 80m of the 140m in compensation for customers has been paid to date, the committee heard. Meanwhile, Fianna Fail finance spokesman Michael McGrath said 49,000 mortgage customers of Permanent TSB (PTSB) who are still paying the standard variable rate (SVR) of 4.5% should avail of savings available with the lender by switching to the banks Managed Variable Rate (MVR) product. It will be alleged that at around 4am on September 22, 2014, after the 2014 All-Ireland final in which Kerry were playing, Jacinta OConnor went to the garda station in Killarney and claimed she was raped by a foreign national, Tom Rice, prosecuting, outlined to the jury. Ms OConnor, of Steelroe, Killorglin, Co Kerry, denies that she knowingly made a false report that an offence had been committed and had wasted garda time. Mr Rice said Ms OConnor claimed she was raped by a foreign national unknown to her. An investigation was conducted, CCTV footage collected, and it was decided the complaint was false. It will be suggested that the accused had had consensual sexual relations with someone known to her from Ireland and that she was not raped, Mr Rice said. Sergeant John OGorman, the garda in charge on the night said Ms OConnor was somewhat dishevelled her hair was ruffled and there was concrete-coloured dust on her exposed arms and on her thighs and lower legs. She was dressed in a black dress and white cardigan. I felt she was calm. I felt she might have been in shock and maybe a little bit detached, He felt she was sober, the garda said. There was no female garda on duty and a female colleague from Cahersiveen, an hour away, was sent for. Ms OConnor told him she had been socialising in the Grand Hotel nightclub in Killarney. She said she left at 2am and was attacked five to 10 minutes later. She described a tanned gentleman with his green hood down and no facial hair, short and fat, who had a brown complexion, like a Pakistani person. She described how her clothes had been pulled off her and a vaginal rape had taken place and then an attempted anal rape. The sergeant went to the scene and recovered a bra. At 6am, she travelled with gardai to the alleged scene. Later she was brought to the sexual assault unit at the South Infirmary in Cork for examination. On October 10, after being shown still CCTV images of a gentleman with a receding hairline who had not been mentioned by Ms OConnor, she said she wished to make an alternative statement and withdrew her complaint, the sergeant said. Under cross-examination by Liz Murphy, defending, Sgt OGorman said as the CCTV stills were shown to her on October 10, her demeanour began to change. It was possible things came back into her memory. The trial continues. Inga Ozolina, aged 45, of 2 The Malt House, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, appeared in court in Thurles yesterday morning charged in connection with an incident which occurred at her home. Audrius Pukas, aged 40, originally from Lithuania but also living at 2 The Malt House, was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency services were called to the address at 2.30am on Sunday. Mr Pukas had suffered apparent stab wounds, gardai said. The court heard that Ms Ozolina is originally from Latvia but has lived in Roscrea for the last 11 years. She has two daughters, aged 22 and 24, who live in Latvia and Germany. Detective Garda Stuart Beattie told the court that she was arrested at 3.43am on Sunday in Roscrea and taken to the Garda station where she was detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. She was formally charged, with assault causing harm, at 6.12pm on Monday evening, at Nenagh Garda Station, in the presence of an interpreter. In reply to the charge, she said: I disagree with this charge. I did not assault this man. We did have a fight. I acted in self-defence. Gardai objected to bail, with Detective Beattie saying that the woman has no ties in Ireland and could be a flight risk. There may be further, more serious charges against her, he said. Solicitor John Spencer, for the accused, said she has lived in Roscrea and worked for the same employer in the area for 11 years. She would consider herself well settled here in Ireland and a member of the community here, he said. There are very extenuating circumstances in this case. My client will face her trial and give her account of what happened. She would probably lose her job if not granted bail, he said, and her employment is still open to her. Judge Elizabeth McGrath agreed to grant bail, on the accuseds own bond of 1,000 and an independent surety of 5,000, with a 2,000 cash element. Conditions of bail are that she must not leave the jurisdiction; must surrender her passport and not apply for any more travel documentation; must sign on at Roscrea Garda Station three times a week; and must not make any contact with any witnesses. The judge remanded the accused in custody, with consent to bail, to appear at Nenagh district court on December 22. Jaxon Minerals Inc. (TSX.V: JAX) ("Jaxon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Van Silver Holdings Ltd. to acquire 35 contiguous property claims on the western boundary of its newly acquired Price Creek precious metal-rich, polymetallic property in north-central British Columbia, Canada. The claims are being acquired following a comprehensive and on-going review of historic data on the Price Creek property and surrounding area. "With the addition of this ground Jaxon will control more than 3,000 hectares representing the most prospective ground in this area." said Jason Cubitt, President of Jaxon. "This significantly expands our exploration potential, giving Jaxon access to multiple new high-grade gold and silver-bearing surface structures." On completion of the property acquisition, the vendor will be owed 300,000 shares of Jaxon and a 1% net smelter royalty. Price Creek is an advanced exploration (brownfield) opportunity that hosts widespread soil anomalies and surface showings up to 3,398 g/t Ag, 22.7 g/t Au and 22.29% Zn. This news release has been reviewed by Glen Macdonald, P.Geo. (a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101, Standards and Disclosure for Mineral Projects). About Jaxon Jaxon is a base and precious metals exploration company with a regional focus on western Canada. The company is currently advancing its optioned Price Creek Property in north-central British Columbia. The property has seen considerable historic exploration work and presents a VMS-style target with reported potential Eskay Creek / Equity Silver style mineralization. Source: Jaxon Minerals Lion One Metals Limited (TSX.V: LIO) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that drilling, dewatering, and development has begun at the Company's 100% owned and fully permitted Tuvatu Gold Project located on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. Initial drilling results include 71.41 g/t Au over 8.41 meters from infill drill hole TUDDH 406, including 126.67 g/t Au over 4.56 meters, drilled from surface to a vertical depth of 92 meters. Lion One has commenced ongoing drilling of infill and extensional targets of the Tuvatu gold deposit, with one surface drill rig currently operating, and one underground drill rig onsite and ready to be mobilized as the dewatering of the Tuvatu decline progresses. "These initial infill drilling results further confirm the high grades and continuity of near surface mineralization at Tuvatu", said Stephen Mann, Lion One's Managing Director. "Our objective with our ongoing drilling programs is to extend and increase confidence in the resource ahead of mine development at Tuvatu." Results from TUDDH 406 Hole ID N E RL Azimuth Dip Depth m TUDDH 406 3920834.00 1876426.00 219.66 67 -62 150 From (m) To (m) Width (m) Grade (g/t Au) Lode Targets 4.60 5.10 0.50 5.93 45.19 46.15 0.96 1.04 GRF SKL2 48.42 51.30 2.88 5.30 GRF SKL2 59.05 59.35 0.30 4.29 SKL3 61.34 61.60 0.26 1.95 SKL3 70.93 71.23 0.30 23.30 SKL4 72.30 73.55 1.25 10.16 SKL4 96.10 104.51 8.41 71.41 SKL6-7 includes 96.10 100.66 4.56 126.67 SKL6-7 and 102.71 104.51 1.80 12.58 SKL6-7 116.55 117.27 0.72 36.20 SKL8 142.11 142.40 0.29 1.07 SKL The Tuvatu decline was developed during a previous feasibility study and consists of 1,341 m of decline, strike and rise development to a depth of 240 m below surface. Previous work included systematic geological mapping and channel sampling of the UR, URW, GRF, SKL, and Murau lodes. A total of 588 historic channel samples from this area exceeded 1.0 g/t Au, 214 channel samples exceeded 10.00 g/t Au, and 32 samples exceeded 100 g/t Au. The highest historic value from this program was a channel sample of 0.60m grading 840 g/t Au. The decline is driven through competent impermeable Monzonite with stable ground conditions. Water ingress is primarily due to a permeable structure, the Core Shed Fault, 150 m inside the decline. Rehabilitation of the Core Shed fault will require cementing and heavy ground support, and will enable access to the Nasivi/SKL stockwork zone which is targeted for further drilling and initial extraction. The existing decline can accommodate 15 tonne trucks and provides access to mineralization targeted for extraction in years 1-3 of the Tuvatu mine plan. Jomaki Ridge Trenching and sampling continues with results pending at the Jomaki Ridge Prospect situated within SML 62, 1.50 km south-west of the planned processing plant site at Tuvatu. Navilawa Tenement Application The Company has been advised by the Mineral Resources Department that the review process for Navilawa tenement applications is still underway. Quality Control (QAQC) Samples for the 2016 drill program are marked, logged, and cut with a diamond saw onsite, placed in sealed bags sent to the Company's Nadi office. Samples are shipped to Brisbane Qld for customs clearance, then Townsville Qld for sample preparation and multi-element ICP analysis. A Quality Control/Quality Assurance program, including the insertion of Standards and Blanks, has been implemented. The 2016 exploration program is performed under the supervision of Stephen Mann, P.Geo, Managing Director of Lion One Metals, and a 'Competent Person' under JORC. Mr. Mann has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release. Albert Siega, P. Eng., a full time employee of the Company and Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release. The Company is not basing its production decision on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability; as a result there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks associated with its production decision. About Tuvatu The Tuvatu Gold Project is located 17 km from the Nadi International Airport on the main island of Viti Levu in Fiji. Discovered in 1987, Tuvatu was advanced by previous owners through underground exploration and development from 1997 through to the completion of a feasibility study in 2000. Acquired by Lion One in 2011, the project has over 100,000 meters of drilling completed to date in addition to 1,600 meters of underground development. Tuvatu is a high grade, low sulphidation, epithermal gold deposit hosted inside a South Pacific-style volcanic caldera, along the Viti Levu lineament, Fiji's own corridor of high grade gold deposits. In January 2016 the Hon. Prime Minister of Fiji, Mr. V. Bainimarama, formally presented the previously granted Tuvatu Mining Lease to Lion One, concluding the permitting process for the development of an underground gold mine and processing plant at Tuvatu, demonstrating strong government support for Fiji's 85 year-old gold mining industry. As per its independent June 1, 2015 NI 43-101 PEA Technical Report on the Tuvatu Gold Project, the Company envisages a low cost underground gold mining operation producing 352,931 ounces of gold at head grades of 11.30 g/t Au over an initial 7 year mine life, including 262,000 ounces at 15.30 g/t through year three, at cash costs of US$567 per ounce with all-in sustaining costs of US$779 per ounce. Total capex of US$48.6 million includes a contingency of US$6.1 million with an 18 month preproduction schedule and 18 month payback on capital. At a US$1,200 gold price the project generates net cash flow of US$112.66 million and an IRR of 52% (after tax). Tuvatu is situated upon a 5 hectare footprint inside a larger 384 hectare mining lease that contains numerous high grade prospects proximal to Tuvatu, at depth, and up to 1.50 km along strike from the resource area, giving the project near-term production potential and further discovery upside inside of one of Fiji's underexplored volcanic goldfields. The information in this report that relates to the Exploration Results or Mineral Resources is based upon, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation compiled by Mr. Stephen Mann, who is an officer and director of the Company and is a member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr. Mann has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and the activity in which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person under 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code). Mr. Mann consents to the inclusion in this news release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in previous news releases referred to above, and confirms that the form and context in which the findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original news releases. Albert Siega, P. Eng., a full time employee of the Company and Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release. Source: Lion One Metals VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Nov. 23, 2016) - Advantage Lithium Corp. (the "Company" or "Advantage Lithium") (TSX VENTURE:AAL) is pleased to announce it has entered into a letter of intent ("LOI") with Orocobre Limited ("Orocobre") - one of Argentina's leading lithium producers - to acquire up to 75% of Orocobre's Cauchari project and a 100% interest in five other lithium brine projects (the "Acquisition). This portfolio of projects, comprising a total of 85,543 ha, are located in the northern provinces of Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca in Argentina's lithium triangle. Following completion of the Acquisition, Orocobre will own 40,622,200 common shares of the Company, with a minimum ownership of 31.12% of the outstanding common shares of Advantage Lithium (calculated on a fully-diluted basis post capital raising). Advantage Lithium will be the operator of the projects. Furthermore, a joint venture will be formed between Advantage Lithium and Orocobre for the Cauchari project, which hosts an inferred resource of 470,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE)* and 1.62 million tonnes of potash (KCL)* from the combined northern and southern resource (from 230 million cubic metres of brine at ~380 mg/l Li and 3,700 mg/l K and a large exploration target of 5.6mt to 0.25Mt of LCE and 19mt to 0.9 of KCL(1). Cauchari is located just 10-20 km south Orocobre's flagship Olaroz Lithium Facility. Property Province Area (ha) Interest Cauchari Jujuy 27,771 *50 % Antofalla Salta 10,653 100 % Incahuasi Salta 9,843 100 % Guayatayoc Jujuy 21,276 100 % Two projects currently under application ** 16,000** 100 % * Initial 50%. Can be increased to 75% ** Application to acquire has been filed Agreement Highlights Orocobre to own over 31% of Advantage Lithium, with share lock-up to apply post-closing. Upon closing, Orocobre will own approximately 31.1% of Advantage Lithium (on a fully-diluted basis post capital raising). A pooling agreement will be entered into between Orocobre and the Advantage Lithium insiders, pursuant to which the parties will agree not to sell their shares of Advantage Lithium for specified periods post-closing (subject to customary exceptions). Upon closing, Orocobre will own approximately 31.1% of Advantage Lithium (on a fully-diluted basis post capital raising). A pooling agreement will be entered into between Orocobre and the Advantage Lithium insiders, pursuant to which the parties will agree not to sell their shares of Advantage Lithium for specified periods post-closing (subject to customary exceptions). Up to 75% Interest in Cauchari project, host to a significant lithium potash resource. Advantage Lithium will acquire an immediate initial 50% interest in the Cauchari project, with the option to increase to a 75% interest, upon incurring exploration expenditure of US$5m over 3 years or completion of a NI 43-101 feasibility study in that period. Advantage Lithium will acquire an immediate initial 50% interest in the Cauchari project, with the option to increase to a 75% interest, upon incurring exploration expenditure of US$5m over 3 years or completion of a NI 43-101 feasibility study in that period. Joint Venture Partnership on Cauchari project, which lies just 20km from Orocobre production plant Potential for Offtake agreement. Orocobre will retain a 1% royalty on the Cauchari properties, and will have rights of first refusal on brine production (and may enter into an offtake agreement in respect of such brine production). Orocobre will retain a 1% royalty on the Cauchari properties, and will have rights of first refusal on brine production (and may enter into an offtake agreement in respect of such brine production). 100% interest in five additional projects. Full portfolio comprises 85,543 ha land package in Argentina . Advantage Lithium will acquire Orocobre's interest, and will be the Operator, in six lithium brine projects constituting 85,543 ha.in the northern provinces of Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca. Advantage Lithium will acquire Orocobre's interest, and will be the Operator, in six lithium brine projects constituting 85,543 ha.in the northern provinces of Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca. Award-winning technical team . Advantage Lithium Technical team will be led by multiple award-winning geologist, Ross McElroy, together with, Callum Grant P. Eng, will work closely with Orocobre's in-country team . Advantage Lithium Technical team will be led by multiple award-winning geologist, Ross McElroy, together with, Callum Grant P. Eng, will work closely with Orocobre's in-country team Advantage Lithium Financing: The Company will conduct an equity financing to raise gross proceeds of not less than US$15,000,000 to a maximum of US$25,000,000 to maintain and advance the projects. The Company will conduct an equity financing to raise gross proceeds of not less than US$15,000,000 to a maximum of US$25,000,000 to maintain and advance the projects. Upon closing, Orocobre will have the right to nominate two nominees to the Board of Advantage Lithium, which will then be comprised of six members. David Sidoo, President and CEO, of Advantage Lithium, commented, "This agreement creates an exploration company in Argentina without peer. Argentina is part of the Lithium Triangle, home to over 70 percent of the world's known reserves and Orocobre is not only one of the country's leading producers, it is one of the largest producers in the world. The deal will combine our technical excellence and ability to raise capital, with access to Orocobre's large in-country operations team. For Advantage Lithium shareholders, this agreement represents incredible value, including an unrivalled project portfolio and a genuine partnership with one of the world's top lithium producers." Richard Seville, CEO and Managing Director, of Orocobre, said, "Partnering with Advantage Lithium will see the high potential assets in our exploration portfolio developed and advanced without the need for any further capital from Orocobre shareholders. In addition, this will allow Orocobre's management and technical teams to focus on the optimization and further expansion of our Olaroz lithium production facility. Our decision to enter this agreement speaks to the high regard with which we hold the Advantage Lithium team at both the Board and technical level and we look forward to working closely with them." Project Highlights - Cauchari Substantial Inferred Resource: Host to an inferred resource in the combined northern and southern resource areas containing an estimated 230 million cubic metres of brine at ~380 mg/l Li and 3,700 mg/l K. This is equivalent to 470,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate (~88,000 tonnes lithium metal) and 1.62 million tonnes of potash (KCl - equivalent to ~840,000 tonnes of potassium). Host to an inferred resource in the combined northern and southern resource areas containing an estimated 230 million cubic metres of brine at ~380 mg/l Li and 3,700 mg/l K. This is equivalent to 470,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate (~88,000 tonnes lithium metal) and 1.62 million tonnes of potash (KCl - equivalent to ~840,000 tonnes of potassium). Near-Surface. The initial resource estimate is based on five diamond holes in Orocobre's eastern Cauchari properties and tests only to an average depth of 170m in the northern resource area and 50m in the southern resource area. The initial resource estimate is based on five diamond holes in Orocobre's eastern Cauchari properties and tests only to an average depth of 170m in the northern resource area and 50m in the southern resource area. Exploration Potential. Consideration of the western properties suggests continuation of the aquifers hosting brine at Olaroz continue beneath the Archibarca alluvial fan directly into the Cauchari JV tenements. Drilling by Lithium America Corporation (LAC) on adjacent properties shows that brine is present beneath the alluvial fan sediments. On that basis an additional exploration target has been defined further to that publicly released with the original resource estimate. The combined exploration target in the Cauchari JV properties both west and east of properties held by LAC is defined with a range of 0.25 to 5.6 mt of lithium carbonate and 0.9 mt to 19 mt of potash (KCl) for the lower and upper ranges applied for the combined exploration target. (1) It must be stressed that an exploration target is not a mineral resource. The potential quantity and grade of the exploration target is conceptual in nature, and there has been insufficient exploration to define a Mineral Resource in the volume where the Exploration Target is outlined. It is uncertain if further exploration drilling will result in the determination of a Mineral Resource in this volume. Consideration of the western properties suggests continuation of the aquifers hosting brine at Olaroz continue beneath the Archibarca alluvial fan directly into the Cauchari JV tenements. Drilling by Lithium America Corporation (LAC) on adjacent properties shows that brine is present beneath the alluvial fan sediments. On that basis an additional exploration target has been defined further to that publicly released with the original resource estimate. The combined exploration target in the Cauchari JV properties both west and east of properties held by LAC is defined with a range of 0.25 to 5.6 mt of lithium carbonate and 0.9 mt to 19 mt of potash (KCl) for the lower and upper ranges applied for the combined exploration target. Close Proximity to Orocobre's Lithium Facility. Proximity to Orocobre's Olaroz project and similarity in brine chemistry results in potential for Cauchari to be developed in conjunction with Olaroz. An inferred resource from the combined northern and southern resource areas contains an estimated 230 million cubic metres of brine at ~380 mg/l Li and 3,700 mg/l K. This is equivalent to 470,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate (~88,000 tonnes lithium metal) and 1.62 million tonnes of potash (KCl - equivalent to ~840,000 tonnes of potassium). Brine body Parameters Average Resource Concentrations Tonnes Contained Inferred Resource Area Area (km2) Average Thickness (m) Mean Specific Yield (%) Brine Volume (million m3) Lithium (mg/L) Potassium (mg/L) Lithium Potassium Lithium Carbonate Potash (KCI) North 0-170m 19.69 170 6.1 204 400 3,800 81,000 780,000 430,000 1,500,000 South 0-50m 11.35 50 4.6 26.0 260 2,500 7,000 60,000 40,000 120,000 Combined 31.04 230 380 3,700 88,000 840,000 470,000 1,620,000 The resource estimate was prepared by Murray Brooker, an independent consultant employed by Hydrominex Geoscience Pty Ltd. Murray Brooker is a geologist and hydrogeologist and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and International Association of Hydrogeologists. Murray has sufficient relevant experience to qualify as a competent person as defined in the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. He is also a "Qualified Person" as defined by Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101. Additional Project Highlights Antofalla Project - The Antofalla salar is a north-south oriented closed basin which straddles the provinces of Catamarca to the south and Salta to the North. The project is located in the northern region of the salar, in Salta province. On September 12th, 2016, Albemarle announced it has entered into an agreement with Bolland Minera S.A. to acquire its Salar de Antofalla project, which Albemarle Corporation states that it anticipates to be the largest lithium resource in Argentina. The Hombre Muerto Salar, where FMC currently produces lithium is located approximately 60km to the southeast. The Brazilian Major Vale previously spent several years defining potash and lithium resources on the project, drilling holes for resource estimation and pump testing of flow rates from the halite sequence hosting brine. Incahuasi - The project is located near the border with Chile in the province of Salta, approximately 70km to the southwest of Cauchari and 70km to the southwest of the Salar de Atacama in Chile where both SQM and Albemarle produce lithium from brine. Guayatoyoc Project - Located in the province of Jujuy, approximately 70km north-east from Cauchari, Guayatoyoc is a Potassium discovery with lower grade lithium. Pit sampling shows Potassium grades averaging 4,635 mg/L K (ranging from 39 mg/L K to 7,464 mg/L K) over the property. Potassium grades are high and potentially of economic interest. Orocobre Highlights One of Argentina's leading lithium producers One of the world's five primary producers of lithium Currently producing from its Olaroz brine project in Argentina (JV with JEMSE [8.5%] and Toyota Tsusho [25%]). First production began in February 2015. Olaroz production facility has a total capacity of 17,500tpa Dominant land package in Argentina's lithium triangle Strong connections with government and local communities Investor Webcast and Conference Call Management from Advantage Lithium and Orocobre will deliver a company presentation via webcast and conference call regarding today's transaction. Date: November 23, 2016 Time: 1.15pm Pacific / 4.15pm Eastern Webcast: http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/28c47jh8 Participants Dial-in Local / toll-free (Canada/US) dial-in number(s): 416-340-2216 / 866-223-7781 / International dial-in numbers: https://www.confsolutions.ca/ILT?oss=1P29R8662237781 Definitive Agreement The terms and conditions of the Acquisition will be set out in a definitive agreement to be entered into between the parties prior to closing (the "Definitive Agreement"). The Financing The Company has entered into an engagement agreement with Dundee Securities Ltd. and Canaccord Genuity Corp., co-lead agents, for a private placement offering of transferrable subscription receipts ("Subscription Receipts") at a price of C$1.00 per Subscription Receipt (the "Issue Price") to raise aggregate proceeds of a minimum of CDN$20,000,000 (the "Offering"). The Company has granted Dundee and Canaccord an option to offer for sale up to an additional 15% of the Subscription Receipts, at the Issue Price, exercisable in whole or in part at any time for a period of up to 48 hours prior to the closing date of the Offering (the "Offering Closing Date"). Each Subscription Receipt will entitle the holder thereof to receive one common share of the Company (a "Common Share"), without payment of additional consideration or further action, provided that the Escrow Release Conditions have been satisfied prior to the Escrow Deadline (as defined below), upon the date (the "Qualification Date") which is the earlier of: (i) four months and a day after the closing of the Offering; and (ii) the third business day following the issuance of a receipt (the "Final Receipt") for a final prospectus qualifying the Common Shares underlying the Subscription Receipts. The Subscription Receipts will be issued pursuant to a subscription receipt agreement (the "Subscription Receipt Agreement") to be entered into among the Corporation, Dundee and the subscription receipt agent. Pursuant to the Subscription Receipt Agreement, the gross proceeds from the Offering (less 50% of the Agent's cash commission and all of the Agent's expenses) (the "Net Escrowed Funds") will be held in escrow pending satisfaction of the escrow release conditions (the "Escrow Release Conditions"), including (i) completion of the Acquisition as contemplated by the Definitive Agreement, including receipt of all regulatory approvals, shall have been completed or waived on terms previously disclosed to or otherwise reasonably acceptable to Dundee; (ii) the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals (including if necessary, shareholder approval) with respect to the Offering including conditional approval from the TSXV with respect to the listing of the Common Shares underlying the Subscription Receipts; (iii) the Company having delivered a certificate to Dundee that the conditions set forth in (i) and (ii) have been satisfied; and (iv) the Company and Dundee having delivered the completion notice and direction pursuant to the Subscription Receipt Agreement to the subscription receipt agent. Upon satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions, the remaining 50% of the cash commission will be released to the Agent plus any additional expenses of the agent, if any, and the balance of the Net Escrowed Funds, together with any interest earned thereon, will be released to the Company. The Subscription Receipts will not convert into Common Shares until the Qualification Date, as described above. If the Escrow Release Conditions are not satisfied on or before March 15, 2017, (the "Termination Time"), the Subscription Receipts will be deemed to be cancelled and holders of Subscription Receipts will receive a cash amount equal to the Issue Price of the Subscription Receipts and any interest that was earned on the Net Escrowed Funds less any applicable withholding taxes. The Company will be responsible for any shortfall in the amount returnable to holders of Subscription Receipts in this event. The Company will pay the agents a cash commission equal to 6% of the gross proceeds of the Offering, and will also issue compensation warrants equal to 6% of the number of Subscription Receipts sold pursuant to the Offering. Each Compensation Warrant shall be deemed exercised on behalf of, and without any required action on the part of, the holder thereof into one compensation option (a "Compensation Option") on the Qualification Date. Each Compensation Option will be exercisable into one Common Share at the Issue Price for a period of 24 months following the closing of the Offering. The Offering is subject to certain conditions including receipt of all regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). Details of Agreement The terms and conditions of the Acquisition will be set out in the Definitive Agreement. In order to acquire the projects, Advantage Lithium will issue to Orocobre 40,622,200 common shares in the capital of the Company, which will represent no less than 31.1% of the outstanding common shares of Advantage Lithium (calculated on a fully-diluted basis post completion of the capital raising). The completion of the Acquisition (the "Closing") will occur on the second business day after satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to closing set out in the Definitive Agreement, or such other date as Orocobre and Advantage Lithium may agree (and in any event within 90 days unless otherwise agreed). The completion of the Acquisition is subject to a number of conditions that will be set out in the Definitive Agreement, including: Advantage Lithium and Orocobre settling the terms of the Definitive Agreement to their mutual satisfaction and execution of the Definitive Agreement; The receipt of all required regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"); The receipt of all shareholder and director approvals required by Advantage Lithium; Completion of satisfactory due diligence by each of Advantage Lithium and Orocobre; Completion by Advantage Lithium of the Offering; Completion of a technical report on the Projects, as required to the standard required by the National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects; and No material adverse change in the business, operations, results, prospects, properties or assets of Advantage Lithium having occurred prior to Closing. The parties will enter into a joint venture with respect to the Cauchari properties, with each party initially holding a 50% interest. Advantage Lithium will be entitled to earn a further 25% interest in such properties by expenditure of US$5m or completion of a NI 43-101 feasibility study during the three year period following receipt of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in respect of the Cauchari properties. After Closing, Advantage Lithium will be the operator of the Projects. After Closing, and provided that Orocobre holds at least 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Advantage Lithium, Orocobre will have a pre-emptive right to maintain its proportionate interest in Advantage Lithium by participating in future offerings of securities by the Company. Orocobre will also have the board representation rights described above under "Agreement Highlights". Orocobre will retain a 1% royalty on the Cauchari properties, and will have a right of first refusal on brine production (and may enter into an offtake agreement in respect of such production). Orocobre will have a right of first refusal over any direct or indirect sale by Advantage Lithium of all or any portion of the Cauchari properties, and Orocobre will be entitled to re-acquire the Cauchari properties pursuant to an agreed valuation process in the event of a change of control of Advantage Lithium. Advantage Lithium may pay a finder's fee in respect of the Acquisition, provided that any such fee will comply with the applicable rules of the TSXV. The technical information in this news release has reviewed and approved on behalf of the company by Ross McElroy, P.Geol., Technical Advisor and Director for Advantage Lithium Corp., and a "Qualified Person" as defined in NI 43-101. Further Technical Details A National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on the Cauchari Lithium Project resource estimate will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days. Further information about the company can be found at www.advantagelithium.com. About Advantage Lithium Corp. Advantage Lithium Corp. is a resource company specializing in the strategic acquisition, exploration and development of lithium properties and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Common Shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "AAL". The company is earning an interest from Nevada Sunrise Gold Corp., in a portfolio of five lithium brine projects in the Clayton and Lida Valley regions of Nevada, USA, together with certificated water rights in the Clayton Valley. The company has also entered into an LOI agreement to earn interest from Radius Gold Inc. in four lithium brine projects in the states of Chihuahua and Coahuila, Northwest Mexico. In addition, the company has acquired 100% of the Stella Marys lithium brine project, immediately adjacent to Orocobre's Salinas Grandes project that hosts an inferred, near-surface resource, in Argentina's Lithium Triangle. NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN. Blue Sky Uranium Corp. (TSX.V: BSK / OTCQB:BKUCF), ("Blue Sky" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has staked ten new exploration properties (cateos) totaling 100,000 hectares in the core of the 140-kilometre mineralized trend of the Amarillo Grande Uranium Project ("the Project") in Rio Negro province, Argentina. With the addition of these new properties, Blue Sky controls all of the most prospective targets in this new uranium district, with total land holdings of over 280,000 hectares. "We are thrilled to be able to make such a significant expansion to our already highly prospective land holdings at the Amarillo Grande Project. We are moving quickly to explore all the high-priority areas and delineate our drill targets for 2017," stated Blue Sky President and CEO Nikolaos Cacos. Fifteen Kilometre Ground Geophysical Survey Launched Blue Sky has completed an initial ground geophysical survey at the Anit property of the Amarillo Grande Project using Electrical Tomography (ET). Results from the survey (see Figure 1 below) indicate that ET is an excellent indirect tool to define near-surface ancient river channels ("paleochannels") & high-conductivity horizons that potentially host uranium mineralization. Based on these results, the Company is launching a fifteen kilometre ET survey over the main targets within the Amarillo Grande project. This program will help to refine targets for a 10,000 metre RC drilling program, scheduled to commence at the beginning of 2017. About the Amarillo Grande Project This new uranium district was first identified, staked and underwent preliminary exploration by Blue Sky from 2007 to 2012 as part of the Grosso Group's strategy of adding alternative energy focus to its successful portfolio of metals exploration companies. The close proximity of several major targets suggest that if resources are delineated a central processing facility would be envisioned. The area is flat-lying, semi-arid and accessible year round, with nearby rail, power and port access. Mineralization identified to date represents a Surficial Uranium style of deposit, where carnotite mineralization coats loosely consolidated pebbles of sandstone and conglomerates. Carnotite is amenable to leaching, and early metallurgical work indicates that the mineralized material can be upgraded using a very simple wet screening method. The near-surface mineralization, ability to locally upgrade, amenability to leaching and central processing possibility suggest a potentially low-cost development scenario for a future deposit. Rio Negro is host to several facilities related to the nuclear industry. Furthermore, the Provincial government is amenable to mining as a means of socio-economical development. In addition, the Federal government has expressed support for building domestic resources of uranium. In particular, the Argentina Atomic Energy National Commission (CNEA) published its Strategic Plan 2015-2025, which includes a strategic objective "To ensure the supply of domestic uranium for nuclear power plants in operation, under construction and planned." For additional details on the project and properties, please see the Company's website: www.blueskyuranium.com Qualified Person The contents of this news release have been reviewed and approved by David Terry, Ph.D., P.Geo. Dr. Terry is a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101. About Blue Sky Uranium Corp. Blue Sky Uranium Corp. is a leader in uranium discovery in Argentina. The Company's objective is to deliver exceptional returns to shareholders by rapidly advancing a portfolio of surficial uranium deposits into low-cost producers. Blue Sky holds has the exclusive right to over 428,000 hectares of property in two provinces in Argentina. The Company's flagship Amarillo Grande Project was an in-house discovery of a new district that has the potential to be among the first domestic suppliers of uranium to the growing Argentine market. The Company is a member of the Grosso Group, a resource management group that has pioneered exploration in Argentina since 1993. Source: Blue Sky Uranium By Yi Whan-woo President Park Geun-hye is becoming the nation's biggest security and diplomatic risk as political uncertainty over the fate of the scandal-ridden leader is causing havoc in international relations at a crucial period, analysts said Tuesday. Possible security and diplomatic risks in the absence of a head of state have been cited as a reason for objections to Park resigning or being impeached despite a corruption scandal surrounding her and her confidant Choi Soon-sil. But it is actually the President who is escalating such risks by clinging to power and snubbing the people while the vacuum in state affairs is stirring up chaos, according to the analysts. They said Park's presence at Cheong Wa Dae is hampering efforts to restructure foreign and security relations with allies amid growing uncertainties over security on the Korean Peninsula after Donald Trump was elected as the new U.S. president. The experts also said Park is responsible for stirring up misunderstanding among the people concerning the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between South Korea and Japan, although it is crucial to countering North Korea's threats. "The current power vacuum will be the biggest stumbling block in coping with uncertainties on the peninsula when Trump begins his term," said Kim Joon-hyung, a professor at Handong Global University, during a discussion at the National Assembly. A think tank under the wing of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea hosted the event. "Now is the golden time for Korea's diplomacy because it will be around next May and June at the earliest for the Trump administration's foreign affairs team to be ready to deal with international affairs. Therefore, Park's resignation and holding an early presidential election will be the only option to save our diplomacy." Choi Jong-kun, a Yonsei University professor who mediated the discussion, echoed this view. "We saw Trump winning the election when the power vacuum caused by the Park Geun-hye and Choil Soon-sil scandal stirred up chaos, and that's what makes the people more anxious," Choi said. "I urge the Park government to call it a day, and arrange an election for us to pick the next leader." By John J Metzler UNITED NATIONS - A powerful UN committee has scathingly criticized the ystematic human rights abuses in communist North Korea. In a damning ten page resolution, the Third Committee has offered a detailed and precise indictment of a deteriorating human rights situation in the quaintly titled Democratic People's Republic of Korea, (DPRK) aka North Korea. The annual resolution was sponsored by the USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea and members of the European Union. The resolution decried reports of "Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including inhuman conditions of detention; rape; public executions; extrajudicial and arbitrary detention." Significantly it added, "The existence of an extensive system of political prison camps, where a vast number of persons are deprived of their liberty and subjected to deplorable conditions, including forced labour, and where alarming violations of human rights are perpetrated." Regarding severe restrictions on freedom of thought and belief, the resolution added, "All-pervasive and severe restrictions, offline and online, on the freedoms of thought, conscience, religion or belief, opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, the right to privacy and equal access to information." It underscored the "unlawful and arbitrary surveillance, persecution, torture, imprisonment and, in some instances, summary executions of individuals exercising their freedom of opinion and expression." Some of the toughest scrutiny concerned the North Korean communist regime's degrading treatment of women, "Violations of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, in particular the creation of internal conditions that force women to leave the country and make them extremely vulnerable to trafficking in persons for the purpose of prostitution, domestic servitude or forced marriage and the subjection of women to gender-based discrimination." Importantly, the resolution cites evidence of the DPRK regime's Orwellian system of classifying the population into certain reliable and politically undesirable categories. The report adds, "Discrimination based on the songbunsystem, which classifies people on the basis of State-assigned social class and birth, and also includes consideration of political opinions and religion." Through such classifications citizens are assigned to a rigid and near unchangeable place in the socialist society which they have little chance for change. Given that "the commission's finding that the body of testimony gathered and the information received provide reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," there may be future referral of key North Korean political figures to prosecution by the International Criminal Court, (ICC). Such a legal course of action is currently being pursued by the UN Security Council and the resolution underscores the need "to continue to discuss the situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, including the country's human rights record." Specifically the resolution strongly urges North Korea "immediately put an end to the systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rightsand to immediately close the political prison camps and to release all political prisoners unconditionally and without any delay." Equally the resolution demands that the Pyongyang rulers, "extend their full cooperation to the Special Rapporteur, including by granting him full, free and unimpeded access to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea." As would be imagined the communist authorities have blocked access into North Korea by human rights observers and have systematically sealed off the reclusive country from its prosperous cousins in South Korea. So shall yet another harsh condemnation of the DPRK regime really change very much? No and yes. No because Kim Jong-un and his followers know exactly how to use terror and intimidation against their citizens. Yes, because a growing awareness in the international community realizes the depth and magnitude of this human rights "black hole" in North Korea. Accountability remains crucial. When the change finally comes, and it will, nobody wants to be called either complicit or condoning of this glaring humanitarian outrage. John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism: The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China." Contact jjmcolumn@earthlink.net. Gangdong-gu Mayor Lee Hae-sik delivers a speech on the district's healthcare technologies at the 2016 Global Conference on Health Promotion held in Shanghai, China, Monday. / Courtesy of Gangdong-gu Office By Park Jae-hyuk Gangdong-gu Office head Lee Hae-sik introduced the district's healthcare technologies at the Ninth Global Conference on Health Promotion in Shanghai, China, running from Monday to Thursday, the district office in eastern Seoul said Tuesday. As a chairman of the Korea Healthy Cities Partnership, Lee introduced Gangdong-gu's stair-climbing smartphone application, health checking zones and healthcare centers at the conference. Thanks to the office's efforts, the physical activity scale of its residents increased from 17.0 percent in 2009 to 26.1 percent last year and obesity rates dropped from 24.6 percent in 2008 to 23.5 percent last year, according to the 2015 Community Health Survey by Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Korea's healthy cities are enhancing the global governance, building international networks with overseas healthy cities," Lee said. "We will continue to share and develop our policies for Korea to be much healthier." Co-hosted by the World Health Organization and China's National Health and Family Planning Commission, the conference focuses on promoting health and sustainable development, which had been highlighted in the Ottawa Charter signed at the first international conference in 1986. Participants of the conference included public policy decision makers, health promotion experts and ministers of agriculture, development cooperation, finance, foreign affairs, health, planning, and trade. About 750 participants discussed better policies and introduced cases supporting healthy cities for sustainable development. LifeStyle The best LifeStyle shows are right here, from Australia and around the world. Catch up with the experts on home design and interiors, food and cooking, the property market, and get fresh ideas with the savviest of renovators. Whether you need inspiration for cooking up a storm, to refresh a tired room, or tips to sell your property, Foxtel LifeStyle will always something new for you to watch. Enjoy your favourite experts like Andrew Winter and Neale Whitaker, or Deb Hutton and Jamie Oliver live or On Demand. Get Foxtel Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. The 2016 edition of the Ghana Models Award is scheduled to come off at the Accra International Conference Centre- Committee Hall 1 on Friday November 25. Anticipated to be an exciting event, this year's award will be honouring models who worked in Ghana between the periods of 2014 to 2016 with special awards going to specific models for their efforts in pushing Ghana's modeling industry onto international frontiers. Belinda Baidoo, an international Super model of Ghanaian origin, will in that regard, be given a special honorary award called 'The Mentor Award' for her active role in the girl-child development in Ghana. She returned to Ghana and has initiated programmes to help transform the Ghanaian girl-child into a vessel for national productivity. She has spearheaded numerous projects in Ghana such as the Belinda Baidoo Model Search Programme, the Belinda Baidoo Foundation, B2 Model Agency, and other projects. Other special awards will be given to Pearl Amoah; the Lifetime Achievement & Legendary Award, Gloria Dogbey and Just S. Ocansey for their philanthropic roles in their societies. The event will be hosted by award winning model, Zion Benjamin and model philanthropist, Augustina Didi. There will be exciting performances from music talents such as 'Habyba', 'Acoustic' and others, with comedy performance from Nigerian comedian, 'Legend'. The event will see 17 awards for individuals and institutions that have excelled in the fast growing modeling industry in Ghana. The show is officially dedicated to the Queen of Fashion in Ghana; Joyce Ababio. The Presbyterian Praise Ministry (PPM), under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana has scheduled a mega gospel concert to promote Peace towards Election 2016, on Saturday, November 26th, at Trinity Presby Church, Kwashieman, in Accra. The program to start at 2.30pm prompt is dubbed Ayeyi Peace Concert 2016 and it will bring together all the key political figures and electorates in the Ablekuma North Constituency. It will also avail the platform for the various political parties to pledge their support for Peace before, during and after the elections. Speaking about the theme for their maiden concert; Let the peace of God rule, an Interim Executive Member and Chairman for the Planning Committee; Mr. Bruno Kwame Kamade underscores the need to allow the will of God to reign in this country. This world and everything in it was created by God, and therefore it is very crucial that we submit our will to Him, so that He will cause His everlasting peace to dwell among us, he said. The vision of the PPM is to evangelize the Gospel of Christ through music, and on Saturday, we are going to worship God, thank Him for how peaceful He has made Ghana, sing praises and dance to His glory, and ask Him to continue holding this country peacefully till He returns, Bruno said. Joining the PPM to preach peace on this day includes DSP Kofi Sarpong, Minister Michael Antonio, Evangelist Ernest Addo, Minister RAJ, Minister Portia Offeibea, Minister Psammie, Minister Kofi Essandoh, and the Davidites of Trinity Presby, Kwashieman. Invited guests to grace this occasion includes Rev. Felix Akresu; Director of Missions and Evangelism of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev. Kwaku Bio-Kyeame; Director of CLAN, PCG, Hon. Sally Amaki Attopee; NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Ablekuma North Constituency; Hon. Nana Akua Owusu Afriyie; NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Ablekuma North Constituency; Hon. Ebenezer Nii Narh Nartey; NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Ablekuma Central Constituency. Ayeyi Peace Concert 2016 is open to the general public, free to attend, and you are specially invited. For further information, kindly call 0244779239, 0244779376, 0266015447, or 0244101740. Come join us to preach peace while praising God. A cross-dressing social media star dubbed Africas male Barbie has shot to fame in Nigeria, sparking a charged debate in a conservative country where alternative lifestyles remain frowned upon. Okuneye Idris Olarenwaju, who goes by the name Bobrisky on SnapChat, makes his living selling 100,000 naira ($317) skin-whitening creams while chronicling online his life of luxury in Lagos. But Bobrisky really went viral in late October, when an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari and a marketing executive pulled out of appearing with him on a social media panel in Abuja, the nations capital. The inclusion of Bobrisky unfortunately sensationalises and radicalises what should otherwise be a serious discourse on new approaches to media engagement, said Alder Consulting, whose social media executive withdrew. Meanwhile, Buharis social media aide Bashir Ahmad said he would be unavailable for the event. Embracing the mantra of every successful reality star theres no such thing as bad publicity Bobrisky went ahead with the talk. The organisers invited me to speak on the fact that people are talking about Bobrisky, the 25-year-old told AFP, characteristically referring to himself in the third person. Them withdrawing wasnt nice. In Nigeria, the majority of people here judge you so fast, added Bobrisky, who recounts online how his lifestyle is funded by a rich, mystery man he refers to only as bae. We are in this life once, people should be given the freedom to express themselves. Rebellious In the wake of the scandal, Bobrisky has earned himself a reputation for being a rebel. Its a dangerous reputation in a country where in 2014, former president Goodluck Jonathan signed the same-sex marriage prohibition bill, forbidding not only marriage, but same-sex cohabitation and any public show of same-sex amorous relationship with penalties ranging from 10 to 14 years in prison. But Bobrisky, who gets over 150,000 views on each video he posts, insisted his appeal isnt because hes a civil rights crusader. People love the fact that Im real, he said, speaking at his apartment in Lekki, an upmarket suburb in Nigerias commercial hub. Its about the way I dance, because Im a very good dancer, and my makeup. Bobrisky has a slight build, with a close crop of black hair he wears in gelled curls. Hes wearing red sweatpants with a Mickey Mouse cartoon embroidered near a pocket and a hot pink mesh tanktop, as he gets ready for a night out in his small living room, decorated with gold and black wallpaper and a crystal chandelier. Im doing a party look, a diva look, he said as he applies the first out of many layers of foundation, explaining that he was 12 when he first experimented with makeup. I liked my moms look, he said with a demure smile. He finishes his makeup by gluing gold glitter on the inside corner of his eyes near the tear ducts, the sparkling beginning of a swooping cat eye even Cleopatra would envy. Beauty is pain, he said, wincing as he applies the chemical glue, but this is the one that holds the glitter on the longest. Unlikely activist Although no one has yet been charged under the 2014 same-sex marriage law, it has led to real fear and abuse, said Wendy Isaack, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, who wrote an October report on the issue. It created opportunities for the police and members of the public to engage in extortion and get money from people they believe to be LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender), Isaack said. If you pass a law that leads to violence with impunity, youre creating a situation where theres lack of respect for rule of law in Nigeria, and thats not helpful, Isaack said. Still, Bobrisky says he doesnt bother with the haters and instead is focussing on launching a YouTube channel where hell do makeup tutorials. Its exactly that born-this-way defiance that endears him to fans. He doesnt have to take on a leadership role, said Olumide Femi Makanjuola, deputy director of The Initiative for Equal Rights, a Nigeria-based non-profit organisation advocating for LGBT rights. People like Bobrisky are creating the conversation. They didnt start out to be an activist, but it happened. Thats one of the powerful things of pop culture. Transvestites are almost non-existent in Nigeria, while gays are regularly the victims of violence. By Josephine Nyarkoh, GNA Kumasi, Nov 22, GNA - Politicians and their supporters to be sincere to voters and step back from lies and deception to win power. Mrs. Ama Duncan, Founder of the Fabulous Woman Network, a peace advocacy group, said it was important to bring some level of integrity into 'our politics'. She was speaking at a peace campaign organized jointly by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Global Transformational Agents Foundation (GloTAF) in Kumasi. It was held under the theme 'Arise Oh Ghana youth and stand out for peace'. Ms. Duncan said political leaders must be trusted to keep their election promises. She also highlighted the need for them to put the general good ahead of individual comfort and convenience, saying, it should be about service to the people and not personal gratification or parochial group interest. She rallied the people to demand responsible conduct by the politicians to keep the country united and peaceful. They should strongly condemn anything reckless and unhealthy to the peace and harmony of the society, she added. Mrs. Duncan said it was incumbent on everybody to accept to play it fair and to get right with the rules of acceptable social behavior. She said there were lessons all politicians could learn from famous leaders in history like Nelson Mandela, who after 27 years in prison, did not revenge but worked to reconcile South Africa's black majority and the white minority. Leaders, she asked 'must commit to working to heal wounds and building bridges of peace. Apostle Michael Adu-Carol, Convener of the campaign, appealed to the security agencies to be firm, even-handed and professional in the discharge of their duties. He also called for the people to have confidence in the Electoral Commission (EC) and support it to conduct a credible election. GNA Surprise, surprise President-Elect Trump appointed former Breitbart News Network executive chairman Stephen Bannon that denied being a white nationalist but a nationalist as strategic counselor. Senator Jeff Session as AG, an anti-immigrant that couldnt be confirmed as Federal judge for his racist views and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn with his anti-Muslim rhetoric as National Security Adviser. Seriously, were you expecting angels from Mars after that campaign? Trumps strategist, Stephen Bannon delivered his share of votes. Anyone that expects him and his followers, now haling him, to go into old woodwork without being adequately compensated must be in a dreamland. During the campaign, Donald Trump was told to castigate some of his followers with extremist views. He echoed them and told them they were so admonished. The crowd burst out laughing. More serious and sober on 60 Minutes, he rebuked them. Older Americans usually vote Republicans at the risk of their Social Security; dislike immigrants that take care of their health needs and pay tax into dwindling contributions to support social security checks. Let Republicans cut their benefit, as reminder of what depression time felt like. Union and Government workers in Wisconsin, Indiana etc. voted in cronies of jobs outsourcing, maximum profit exacerbating income inequality and middleclass access that Democrats protect Most of the white folks that voted for Obama for President in 2008 and 2012 did not suddenly become liberated, cultured or tolerant. Like most Americans, they witness years of progressive race relations and social enculturation while the younger ones were born into it. We should not disparage people of goodwill from all races, ethnic groups and tribes that have labored and died protesting against inequality, misogyny and injustice across the land as extremists voters. It is an assault on their sense of fairness to equate closet racists and those extremists that have been out of American major parties but came out of woodwork in this 2016 Election to tip the balance in favor of the Republican Party. They were attracted by President-Elect Trump that had taken over Republican Party against all odds and predictions. Does anyone really think the crowd that were shouting Lock her up and Build the wall ever voted for Obama? Eighty-one percent of evangelists and regular churchgoers that voted for Mr. Trump were regular conservatives afraid of most liberal change. They have never changed the color of their skins since God created man. Some are the religious fanatics that interpret the Bible and the Koran the way it was written which they have in common with those that interpret old written or unwritten constitutions in their countries. Change, never! They are the ones that have been telling us since slavery around the world to accept injustice from the oppressors because our reward is in heaven. Indeed, the black evangelists are not that different from their white brothers and sisters. Both were the last to accept gays, interracial marriages and womens roles in the church or mosque. They are ready to go to war over their doctrines and highly intolerant of other beliefs or sects, even within their same religion. One would think it is the Hispanics that would come out in higher percentage voting for Hilary against Trump. But they claimed the Cubans in Florida are more conservative. When the whole legitimacy of Hispanic group is being questioned, it does not make a difference which one is from Cuba or Guatemala. They will all suffer the same consequences before they realize who is from Mexico or Honduras. Indeed, the President-Elect bragged that he got more Hispanic votes. Enough blame has been cast on white women that did not vote for their own massively. It was even speculated that some of them enjoyed Mr. Trump locker room talk because they were so exposed and heard it from many boyfriends and husbands. After all, some were women that turned down a pay raise so that they would not make more than their husbands; until he lost his job. There is nothing wrong accepting and respecting husbands as the head of the family. They see most of the women against Trump as liberal liberated women envious of men. They burn their bra and cry sexual harassment at the same time. Of course women cannot be lumped or categorized into one camp or the other and some women do not belong to either camp. Some women are just sick and tired of hearing about Hilary Clinton for so many years and like elder Mrs. Bush, wanted someone else that is neither Clinton nor Bush to run. Others blamed the African Americans for not coming out like they did for Obama. Haba, ninety percent of them came out for Obama, but eighty percent came out for Clinton. Well, well, well! This is pushing it. Those that did not come out in percentages close to 70, not to mention 80% should be the last group to blame African Americans. 80% was still a high number if it is taken into consideration that black mass incarceration was signed into law during Bill Clintons reign. Moreover, black men have always been in the fore front of Civil Rights where they were mostly assaulted, jailed and killed in the process. Indeed, they have never been the main beneficiaries of Civil Rights gains. They have been the angry black men the country hardly listened to or took seriously. They have the highest unemployment rate even in good times. More of them are in the correctional system or on their way than any group of men. Donald Trump exploited that. Compare and contrast that to angry white men that propelled President-Elect Trump to victory! The helplessness and lack of jobs in the new economy of technology, automation and skillful training was in the black community well before the technology started affecting white mens jobs. But most hardly care less. It is usually after the devastating community effect have been accomplished that most regretted 3 strikes law. But black and white were equal drugs users. Nevertheless, the coalition Hilary Clinton brought into the political process won her majority votes. Yes, what matters is the electoral votes that is justified on the basis of vast rural areas with less population to avoid domination by concentrated populations in cities. In this modern age, there is no excuse that the same result cannot be achieved while taking both factors into consideration without one overshadowing the other. We must be clear, majority of white people voted for Senator McCain and Governor Romney. Most of the difference of about ten percent that took President-Elect Trump over Secretary Clinton have never voted for Obama. If anything, most of Obama white voters were probably dejected about their choice in the election and stayed home. If there are enough white voters of goodwill willing to live in peace and harmony with people of different races and ethnic group, nobody should lay the fault at their feet; as Obama voters that switched. National Media Commission (NMC) has lashed out at the media for giving the EC less attention in the Ashanti Region. NMC Executive Secretary, George Sarpong, believes electorates will better appreciate the electoral process if the EC is giving more opportunity to educate them. He was speaking at a regional media monitoring report 2016 in Kumasi. The report covered 44 radio stations, 8 TV stations between August to November 2016 in the Ashanti region. The report seeks to promote free and responsible Media in Ghana. Mr Sarpong said Ghana risks disenfranchising its citizenry as most of them are not aware of reforms and recommendation, after the 2012 election petition. Ultimately, how well the elections go, depend as much on how much space we give to the EC to how much space we give to political parties talk about the rules and the processes and the procedures governing the elections, he said. He again condemns the Medias focus on politics with total disregard to the core needs of the people such as education and employment. Gender and less coverage of other ethnic groups also formed a larger part of the discussion. Mr Sarpong described the Ashanti Region as becoming culturally insular. This document, the outcome of a painstaking investigation has been initiated by the Administrators of Ghanaians Earnestly Year For Akufo Addos Presidency. It represents the views of majority of Ghanaians who feel that the hardship that has been foisted on them should not be swept away just like that. The overall view is that perpetrators of such heinous crime must be made to pay for their crimes against God and humanity. The country belongs to all of us for we have equal stakes in the way it is governed. Thus, under the dynamic leadership of our Decisive President-in-Waiting, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, there will be no sacred cows in the country. Even though, the party has not officially come out with what action it would take on killings that have been the norm rather than the rule that have taken place under this clueless administration, we of the Forum strongly feel and believe that those whose hands are tainted with the blood of their innocent victims should be made to face the full rigours of the law. Let me state here for the avoidance of doubt that the, the personalities whose names appear below will have a day at the peoples court and the International Court of Justice at the Hague for their role/abetment of crime in connection with the death of Former President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills. Let no one read political motive into it. The truth of the matter is that the circumstances leading to the death of President are so strange that one could maintain his/her sanity level only if one suspects foul play. Anything further than that would lead to the incarceration of the person in a mental institution. The death of Professor John Evans Atta Mills smacks of conspiracy hatched at the top hierarchy of the Nefarious Destructive Cancer. Amongst the list of suspects to appear before a duly constituted Board of Enquiry are the following: President John Dramani Mahama Koku Anyidoho Henry Martey Nii Lante Vanderpuye Haruna Iddrissu Yaw Boateng Djan Allotey Jacobs Anita de Souza Kwesi Pratt Kofi Adams Cadmus Mills Asiedu Nketiah Late Presidents sister who visited him on the day he died officially Bukom Banku The two pediatricians who accompanied Mills dead body to 37 Military Hospital Those who were on duty at The Castle on the day the President officially died. Those who attended the birthday bash held for the late President on Saturday, 21st July, 2012. Top members at the Presidency and the NDC who were at the Airport to welcome late President Mills from the US. These highly placed government officials, who for reasons make the President go through a vigorous trotting exercise on his arrival at KIA, knowing very well that the late President was not in the best frame of health. The military Officers who drove the two Armored Cars to guard the residence of the then Vice President Mahama at the Cantonments. It must be mentioned, the then VGP had lived in that residence for more than 3 years without the review of his personal security details. That act was tantamount to Treason because the Commander in Chief was alive at that time. At the appropriate time, we shall make public the roles such people played towards the demise of our late President and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. B. The pregnant woman who died at the BNI headquarters during interrogation by the operatives of the Bureau. We would delve into the matter to make sure that the culprits are made to face the music. By the way, we would like to know whether compensation has been paid to the bereaved family. C.The Chief of Asiedu Nketiahs hometown. Information available to Citizen Daniel Danquah Damptey has it that the Chief was shot dead in broad daylight and that the smock (batakari) that Asiedu Nketia uses actually belonged to the late chief. Investigations are on-going. D. The death of Honourable J.B.Danquah (MP for Abuakwa North). Honourable J.B.Danquah was brutally murdered in his room by men suspected to be hired assassins. Those who stand accused in that gruesome murder include: The BNI Operatives who concluded that the assassination was the work of one person (the suspect) only. Victor Smith, Ghana High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. The question which has defied answers is this: Why did he not declare his intention to contest the Abuakwa North Seat before the death of the late MP. He feared the consequences of facing the late MP in the open. But now, with his elimination he feels the coast is not clear for him to clinch the seat. Definitely, Victor Smith will have his day at the Peoples Court sooner than later. The wife of late J.B.Danquah. Rumours which are gaining currency has it that, some of the first visitors who trooped to the residence of the late MP on hearing news of his death were told by a daughter of the late MP that she heard some struggle and noises coming from his fathers bedroom but when she brought this to the attention of the early callers, the mother told her to shut up Investigations are on-going. E) The culprits who butchered 3 NPP supporters right in front of the Aloghoshie Police Station. The Police subpoenaed Sir John and some NPP top Executives to shed more light on the matter. The NPP Executives gave the police names of the suspects, but till now, the Police are yet to act on it, and the culprits are walking the streets of Accra as free men F) The killers of Adams Mahama, Upper East Chairman of the NPP and the NPP supporter who was stabbed to death at Asawase.Police have stayed action on the case for reasons better known to themselves. G) Escape from lawful custody of one of the three culprits implicated in the murder of Issa Mobilla. The NPP had arrested the suspect and handed them over to the incoming NDC Administration. It must be mentioned here that the NDC in its 2008 Manifesto had made the arrest and prosecution of Issa Mobilla a cardinal principle.But, what did the NDC do with the arrested military personnel in its custody? It put in place a highly sophisticated mechanism which culminated in the escape of one of the culprits. The most astonishing thing of this conspiracy is that the escape only came to the public domain more than six months after the escape had been effected. This was done with the sole aim of obliterating any trace of the escape. Whom do we blame? President John Dramani Mahama, of course! Why? Because, at that time he was the Vice President and Chair person of the Police Council! Yes, we will pursue these cases and others with vigour as if our entire lives depend on their successful prosecution. We would like to leave a legacy behind so that our children and generation yet unborn will one day stand up and shout, Indeed, that was their finest hour! Yes, they lie within our grasps and it is to their attainment that our efforts will be concentrated, be the journey long or short. Yes, Our Decisive President-in Waiting is not vindictive like the current one has exhibited. The NPP under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo will not countenance any insubordination from any quarters, pious or otherwise. The law enforcement agencies under Nana Addo will have the power to deal with any miscreant whether from The NDC, NPP or any other political party who flouts the law. Ghana is not a Banana as is being made to appear under this clueless and visionless Mahama Administrators.Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is law-abiding and he expects his followers do likewise. Yes, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo leads and we follow. Daniel Danquah Damptey ( [email protected] )0243715297 (Self-Appointed Special Aide to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo) A number of prominent Ghanaians and civil society groups, including the Chairman of Peace Council, Professor Emmanuel Asante and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), have beseeched President John Dramani Mahama to refrain from making comments deemed ethnocentric against the NPP Party and its running mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. President Mahama while campaigning at Lawra in the Upper West Region, said the NPP will not allow Dr. Bawumia to be their flagbearer because the party is largely not in support of northerners taking up such positions (cityfmonline.com/ghanaweb.com, 21/11/2016). President Mahama pontificates: Sometimes I feel sad when I see some of our northern brothers running and also doing this. They will use you and dump you. Let anything happen today and let our brother Bawumia say he is standing for president in NPP. They will never give it to him I can assure you. Although the right to freedom of opinion and expression stretches to queer and unpopular ideas and statements which shock, offend or disturb, a number of human rights treaties, conventions and declarations, including the ICCPR and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, obligate states to prohibit all forms of hate speech. And more so hate speech the advocacy of hatred based on nationality, race, tribe or religion occupies an exceptional position in international law. Apparently, the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the appropriate permitted abridgements are detailed in international law -Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It must, however, be noted that free speech does not give the right to individuals to say or write whatever they want, whenever they like, without permitted abridgement. The fact of the matter is that freedom of opinion and expression may be subject to restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: For respect of the rights or reputations of others; for the protection of national security or of public order (order public), or of public health or morals. It must however be emphasised that free speech is an inalienable right to seek, receive and convey information and ideas of all kinds, by any means which may be deemed appropriate. In other words, the right to freedom of expression denotes the ideas of all kinds, including those that may be deemed offensive. That said, the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression carries with it special duties and responsibilities. Take, for instance, in Ghana, our constitution has detailed freedom of opinion and expression; it is, however, subject to permitted abridgment. As a matter of fact and record, freedoms are restricted in the public interest on grounds of national security, to preserve public order, to protect public health, to maintain moral standards, to secure due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others or to meet the just requirements of the general welfare of a democratic society. Nevertheless, freedom of opinion and expression is not absolute and must of necessity be subject to limitations on the above lines. And more so the right of free speech and expression does not extend to sedition, slander, defamation and obscenity. Having said so, we must not and cannot lose sight of the fact that most wars, crimes and genocides which were perpetrated against humanity, were arguably expedited through the use of hate speech aimed at securing popular support for illegal and violent action. Apparently, this can be witnessed continued in the past and in the modern era. For we can attest to the Nazi hate speech which preceded the Holocaust, the Radio and Television hate speech which preceded the Rwandan Genocide and al-Qaeda hate speech which preceded the attacks on World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001. In hindsight, we can infer that hate speech could spell doom for a nation. So it is necessary and proper for experienced politicians like President Mahama to stay away from any opprobrious pronouncements that can incite violence. Strictly speaking, freedom of opinion and expression is not an absolute right in national and international jurisprudence. In fact, this right, like others, may be restricted to protect and balance other rights and interests. However, it is the complexion and the degree of these restrictions that is often contended in extant human rights and security jurisprudence. It is, however, worth stressing that the inherent dignity and equality of every individual is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Thus it is not surprising that international law prohibits statements which deny the equality of all human beings. Take, for example, Article 20(2) of the ICCPR requires states to prohibit hate speech: Any advocacy of national, tribe, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law. Even though some experts contend that restrictions on hate speech can be justified, Article 20(2) has proven highly controversial and is variously criticised as being overly restrictive of free speech or as not going far enough in the categories of hatred it covers. In so far as Article 20(2) does not obligate states to prohibit all negative statements towards national groups, tribes, races or religions, if a statement constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, it must be condemned in no uncertain terms. Actually, the two known restrictions on the right to freedom of expression are: The prohibition of advocacy of any national, racial or religious hatred and the prohibition of propaganda. Nevertheless, the prohibition of propaganda is not innately contradictory to the right to freedom of expression. The right holder, however, has to be cognisant of the duty and obligations which are encapsulated in the international human rights instruments. Interestingly, however, while propaganda for genocide is codified as an international crime, the propaganda for the incitement to aggressive war is not. Nevertheless, incitement to commit an illegal act is in itself illegal under international law. Furthermore, incitement, instigation, abetment and solicitation are all common to various criminal codes world-wide. These are generally considered "inchoate offense[s]" or "a step toward[s] the commission of another crime, the step itself being serious enough to merit punishment. In the English common law for instance, there are three general inchoate offenses: 1) attempt; 2) conspiracy; and 3) incitement. Incitement conveys a "general label to cover any use of words or other device by which a person is requested, urged, advised, and counselled, tempted, commanded, or otherwise enticed to commit a crime." To President Mahama: even though, you have inalienable rights as a human being to seek, receive and convey information and ideas of all kinds , such rights are subject to permitted abridgement, so stop misusing such inherent rights. K. Badu, UK. As of the time of writing this piece, it is thirteen days to the elections, yes 13 days! And as I write, the democracy we practice has not provided us with the opportunity of having a presidential debate among the presidential candidates. In effect, there has been no intellectual argument on the policies to be provided we the people, among those seeking to be both Commander-in-Chief and the first gentleman. They have also not been able to provide a clear path on the what, the why, the when, and most importantly, the how of which their heaven-on-earth policies would be carried out and its consequences or otherwise on the Ghanaian and his economy through an intellectual deliberation. In the meantime, the Presidential candidate of the NDC, H.E John Dramani Mahama and the Vice Presidential candidate of the NPP Dr. Bawumia, are in the Upper East Region playing tribal politics just to win the affection of Northners in this years election. It is very sad and sorrowful, that a nation which is unique because of the many tribes in it, will have a faction of it fuelled with a peculiar perception against another group by those who want to lead them just because they want their soiled thumbs on printed sheets of paper that come at cost. Sadly, this is happening on a continent where there is enough history of tribal war from which these gentlemen can learn. And they expect the taxpayers money to be used in funding political parties during elections. How sorrowful! This happened notwithstanding the three clashes that has occurred in two weeks among their party supporters in the name of going on keep fit. One would expect these two gentlemen to put the nation first and pull not the tramp card of tribal politics. We must carry our politics and democracy to another phase of intellectual discussion and of issues where mental reasoning is provoked whiles having respect for peoples opinion. These constant happenings which are seemingly becoming consistent must be of concern to the police and other security forces in the country. Taking cue from Libya and Egypt, the security forces must be aware that such sporadic occurrence can lead to mass instability and apathy towards the need to respect peoples affiliation and views. Many say Ghana is peaceful country. I concur, but that is what must worry us the most. War only erupts from peace and the cost of war is more expensive than any effort that is needed in keeping peace. It is therefore imperative, that people in leadership devoid the use of any derogatory statement that will lead this nation into chaos. The police must also crack the whip on anyone that is found culprit of anything that will destabilise the peace in this nation no matter who. It took the word cockroach to begin a tribal war in Rwanda; it took a group of people to start protest against Gadhafi in Libya which later led to clashes; Charles Taylor took advantage of tribal sentiments in Liberia to build a rebel group; but notwithstanding these things, it takes law and order to keep peace in heaven. We are own brothers keeper, and together we can make Ghana great again, devoid of tribal politics, devoid of vulgar words if we consciously work towards it, giving respect to peoples opinion. But then our leaders must lead the way. My name is Kotey. Good morning. Author: Edwin Kotey Blog: koteyscribbles.wordpress.com The opposition New Patriotic Partys (NPP) Presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has appealed to the electorate in the Northern Region to give him 50 percent of their popular votes on December 7. This, according to Nana Akufo-Addo, will push him to the Flagstaff House as the next President. You have the power and I will continue to beg you for it to be your obedient servant. Give me 50 percent of the popular votes from the north and I will create equal opportunities for all. I am tribal blind and all I see is one Ghana. Nana Akufo-Addo made the plea at the party's Northern Regional rally at the Tamale Jubilee Park. An elated Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo promised never to disappoint Ghanaians if they put their trust in him. If you put your trust in me, I promise you I will never disappoint you, I will never turn my back on you and I am going to do all that is in my power to bring to being the vision and prosperity and the progress that binds us all. If you put your trust in my government, the government that is going to have some of the most brilliant people in the political life of our country, Mahamadu Bawumia, Alan Kyeremanteng and there are so many of them, men and women who are ready to give this country a first class government, the main opposition leader stressed. He asked the electorate to decisively vote for him and all NPP Parliamentary candidates at the polls. If we want change all of us would have to go out and vote on December. Don't let anybody say that we have already won these elections. On that 7th December when you get up take your card and go and cast your vote and when you get to the poll just look for the elephant. He reaffirmed his commitment to lead a united Ghana and promised to create equal opportunities for all citizens regardless of their geographical locations. Within 18 months, my government will transform Ghana and bring prosperity to every part of the country. We have the can do spirit and we are moving ahead to build a new Ghana. Nana Akufo-Addo said the next NPP government under his watch will establish agro industrial businesses to create thousands of jobs for the unemployed youth especially in Northern Ghana. We are going to improve the agriculture of the Northern Region and agro industrial businesses will be the predominant businesses in the Northern Region to create thousands of jobs for the young people of the north so that they can stay here in the north and better their lives here and that is how we are going to implement the one district one factory policy. He reiterated the NPP's campaign promise to restore the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and all pro poor programmes initiated by the erstwhile Kufour led NPP administration. He added that the NPP was committed to revive adult education to harmonize the party's 2012 flagship free SHS agenda. He slammed President John Dramani Mahama over what he described as his divisive and tribal politics. The momentum for change is gathering. Our President and his party are panicking and beginning to resort to divisive and tribal incensement. He is saying that he is the champion of the north. We want one united Ghana and we don't want a situation where tribe is set against tribe and north is set against south that is the politics of yesterday. We are moving ahead to a new destiny, a destiny which has united Ghana, Nana Addo stated. The NPP Presidential candidate commended the people of Northern Region for their unflinching support and reminded them of the need to let it reflect on the ballot on December 7. By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Charlotte Osei, has prayed fervently asking for God's intervention against any form of violence in the December 7 general election. Clad in white apparel, Ms Osei and other female members of the commission, supported by other women groups, grabbed the microphone and took the elections before God to elect a president for Ghanaians. She prayed to God to shame the enemies and allow His (God's) choice to win the elections that she is presiding over. We shall have divine outcome in the election. You are the God who enthrones Kings. Let your will be done, she pleaded. The EC boss asked God to also take control of the airwaves and social media and other media outlets to prevent abuses. The media have been urged not to declare the election results, and the prayer may be directed towards preventing them from declaring results. The country's political temperature is currently high and some political and security analysts have maintained that the tension has been heightened due to doubts over the EC's neutrality in the whole electoral processes. The selective law enforcement being exhibited by the security agencies, particularly the police, is also escalating the tension, according to the NPP. In spite of the anxiety that has gripped some Ghanaians over possible violence, the EC boss is optimistic that God will come to rescue the people of Ghana. Ms Osei made the intercessory prayer at one of the monthly sessions of Women's Aglow Ministry in Accra at the weekend where she prayed for safety of the commission's officials, the electoral materials and what was termed as the 'destructive abuse of social media,' which the authorities have not hidden their desire to ban if it became critical. Father we declare there shall be no war in Ghana. We shall have a divine outcome in the elections. You are the God who enthrones kings let your will be done, she prayed. Asking God for divine protection for all politicians, the security agencies and all stakeholders in the December 7 elections, she prayed, When the enemies rise to destroy the beauty of the electoral process, frustrate their efforts and let us have a nation where the righteous will rule. Aglow's National Prayer Director, Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, led hundreds of women to offer the intercessory prayers for the country and they also prayed for God's protection for the EC boss to supervise a free, fair and transparent exercise. Mrs Affenyi-Dadzie drawing inspiration from the Bible, urged the EC not to be intimidated by individuals and groups who might want to mar the electoral process and asked her to remain steadfast in the discharge of her duties. She, however, asked Mrs. Osei and her commission to put their house in order to ensure that all temporary staff recruited to assist it at various levels would not corrupt and compromise the electoral process. Later, a symbolic pot was broken to signify the divine intervention of God in all matters relating to violence, bloodshed and deaths before, during and after the crucial elections. Mrs Afenyi-Dadzie said, By breaking this pot and engaging in other spiritual exercises, we disorganise all forms of organised plans to perpetrate mayhem during the elections; we break every yoke of misunderstanding and abort all evil plans against the EC and the sanctity of the electoral process. In the course of the symbolic exercise, the EC boss submitted her prayer request to God, calling for renewed strength and co-operation from political parties. She said the EC is up to the task and ready for the crucial elections, adding that the commission needs the collaboration of all the security agencies and political parties to ensure a credible outcome. The EC chairperson and other officials of the women's group asked the media to play their gate-keeping role in an objective and balanced manner in order not to inflame passions. The congregants tasked the media to always cross-check their facts with the commission before proceeding to feed the public with any information. By William Yaw Owusu Apostle Paul Thiombiano 23.11.2016 LISTEN The General Overseer of the Living Waters community Chapel Int., Apostle Paul Thiombiano is of the view that preaching peace and coming up with all kinds of peace songs, adverts, etc, without placing emphasis on justice and fairness in the 2016 general election could be a misplaced priority. The peace we seek for will elude us if we fail to emphasize on justice and fairness, he said. It is an undeniable fact that there can be no peace without justice. It is very sad and unfortunate to note that the same political leaders and their followers who preach peace and proclaim willingness to ensure a peaceful election are the same individuals who insult and make comments likely to cause mayhem and anarchy in this country. Apostle Paul Thiombiano in his sermon admonished the National peace council; the National chief imam; the Christian Council of Ghana; traditional leaders, the Council of State; political leaders; the clergy and all stake holders not to only preach peace but to also preach the need for justice, transparency and equity in the forthcoming elections. Apostle Thiombiano is of the view that if all state institutions, especially the Electoral Commission will adhere to the code of ethics, the rule of law and eschew favoritism and partisanship to ensure justice and fairness, then without a shred of a doubt peace will prevail no matter which side the political pendulum lean to. He urged the E.C to be uncapricious and in all decisions, put Ghana first. The veteran preacher urged political leaders to move away from mere rhetorics and be realistic and sincere in their quest for peace. "Political leaders should condemn, unequivocally, all acts of violence and political rudeness that is likely to breach the peace of this great and noble nation of ours" he said. He prayed for a peaceful and successful election as we all ensure justice, equity and transparency. Source: Apostle Paul Thiombiano General Overseer Living Waters community Chapel 0240276019/0201111188 The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says his government, God-willing, from January 2017 will focus on making the Upper East Region a major centre for agricultural production. According to him, with several hectares of arable land available in the Upper East Region, the provision of irrigation facilities, through the 'one village-one dam policy, would improve the fortunes of the region and its people and make it a potential bread basket for the country. This, he explained, will make the Upper East Region a growth pole and area of wealth creation, as thousands of jobs will be generated for the teeming unemployed youth in the region. Addressing a mammoth rally in Bolgatanga on Monday, the NPP flagbearer stated that the party has a big plan for the development of our country. A plan that is going to bring jobs and prosperity to all parts of Ghana, and in the Upper East Region, agribusiness is going to be our focus. He commented: We are going to create the conditions of year-round farming, if Burkina Faso can do it, then we can also do it in the Upper East Region and create prosperity and jobs for our people. With 15 days to the holding of the December 7 elections, Nana Akufo-Addo noted that the time has come for the Upper East region and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to become one and forge a bond of cooperation and friendship that is going to lead to the development of the Upper East Region and the whole of our country, Ghana. In this regard, the NPP flagbearer disclosed that the Accra-Paga Railway line, which has been on the books for several decades, would become reality during his tenure as president. This railway line would facilitate the haulage of goods from the South to the North, as well as the haulage of iron ore and other mineral reserves in the North. The development of our nation that will take place will be unprecedented and will not be captured in books, but will be captured in reality on the ground. We, in Ghana, are living in a country of tremendous resources and wealth. We're sitting on wealth and yet we are hungry, it's because of poor governance that we are hungry. I am coming to change all of that so that the wealth of our country will benefit each and every one of us, he assured. Outlining some of the other policies for the development of the region, Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment to establishing the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP), which would see every constituency receiving the equivalent of $1 million every year to deal with problems of sanitation, roads, electricity and other infrastructural needs of the constituency. The NHIS, which has been compromised under the leadership of President Mahama, will receive new strength so we can provide healthcare that is affordable and accessible for all Ghanaians. Nana Akufo-Addo also reassured nurse trainees of the full restoration of their allowances when he wins the December elections. The Free SHS policy, he added, will be effectively implemented because we are determined to secure the future of our country. This policy, in addition, will reduce the financial burden of parents who want to provide their children with good education. Apart from education of the children, we are going to revive, in full, adult education so that adults who did not have the opportunity to go to school will also benefit from knowledge and education. We want to have a nation where everybody can improve on their lives and circumstances. That is what we are fighting for, and that is why we are going to restore the allowances of teacher trainees, he added. He called for the unalloyed support of the people of the Upper East Region to bring into fruition the policies and programmes he has outlined. I have come here to ask for your support so that in December the Upper East, for the first time in the history of the 4th Republic, will return the majority of MPs for the NPP and give us a majority of the popular vote in this region, he added. For nearly eight years, Nana Akufo Addo has endured all the vilifications, outright insults, contemptuous comments and name calling. He has deliberately treated all these with controlled temper and insists on focusing on his dream of expertly managing the affairs of this country when voted into power. In the face of these uncalled-for insults the Peace Council never called the NDC attack dogs to order. Apart from a few senior citizens who once a while criticize the attitude of these NDC buffoons, Ghanaians kept silent. When the NDC good-for-nothing goons realized that Nana Addo had a very tough skin, they abandoned the insults and took to violence. It started at Odododiodio where Nii Lantey Vanderpuye armed his boys to go on rampage, beating and slashing innocent supporters of the NPP at random with machetes. They did not even spare a Parliamentarian in the person of Madam Ursula Owusu who was beaten up in the run-up to the 2012 General Election. The police looked the other way as Nii Vanderpuye carried the world on his shoulders and went haywire. After all, is his government not in power? The marauding train of violence moved to Techiman where Mr. Alex Kyeremeh took over the reign of terror. The Techiman Municipality was literally turned into a war zone as machete wielding NDC supporters took to the streets, doing their own thing like the way Nii Lantey did at Odododiodioo. In the case of Techiman, a graduate teacher who was the Techiman North NPP Constituency Organizer was bathed with acid. The injury the guy sustained was so serious that he had to be flown to Germany for surgery. Today this handsome guy is walking with one eye. In fact, according to physicians at Korle Bu where he was first referred to if he had not been sent to that special hospital in Germany he would have died. Then, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Eric Opoku took over the baton. This man who also doubles as the Member of Parliament of Asutifi South organized the NDC goons to beat and kill innocent NPP supporters. The blood of poor NPP supporters that flowed and continue to flow at Sankore, the Constituency capital is regrettable. The police at Sankore have also refused to take action while supporters of the NPP continue to live in fear. Recently when Nana Addo visited Sankore to introduce the Parliamentary Candidate of the NPP, inhabitants of Sankore felt reluctant to come out to meet Nana Addo because they feared when they came out openly, NDC thugs will attack them. Even when Nana met a few of the brave supporters of the NPP to introduce the candidate, some NDC hooligans were lurking around on motorbikes, ready to strike at the slightest provocation. Nana Addo lamented on the way the NDC goons are treating supporters of the NPP and appealed to supporters of the NPP to stay strong because change is coming. Mr. Eric Opoku should remember that when the pendulum starts to swing right he will be the loser. When things change, Mr. Opoku will not enjoy the services of police guards. When that time comes, Mr. Opoku will realize that he will not be safe anytime he visited Sankore. Those who are being harassed today will pay him back in his own coin. Sometimes I wonder what some people want in this world. This is a minister who is fabulously rich and wants some more. If you get all the monies in this world and split the blood of your fellow human being, what do you gain? I don't know if Eric Opoku is a Christian. If he is, he should see his pastor for deliverance. If he is not a Christian and worships deities, he should see an exorcist for the man to exorcise the evil spirit from his soul else he will forever live with disturbed mind. The man has so much blood on his hands. Collins Dauda, the MP for Asutifi North is another man who has bred some hybrid madmen led by his brother one Naaba Abdulai who has even confessed to the whole world that he killed some persons before and will kill again. Such a self-confessed murderer is walking the streets of Mehame in the Asutifi North constituency while the police are looking helpless simply because his brother is a cabinet minister. The NPP supporters should take consolation in the fact that crime has no status bar. When the NDC leaves office (which they will do, anyway) and another government comes to power, cases against this criminal will be triggered and he will face the full rigors of the law. Like Eric Opoku, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development will also find himself in an awkward situation. He will also not get a police bodyguard and he will find it difficult to walk around freely. Collins Dauda has sown dragon teeth at Ahafo Mehame and he will surely reap thorns one day. The irony of this scenario is that when Nana Addo was condemning the violence being meted out to the NPP supporters at Sankore, little did he know that Ako Gunn, a jailbird and his bloodthirsty hooligans were also planning to attack his residence at Nima in Accra. And so on Sunday 13th of November 2016 while Nana was campaigning in the Brong Ahafo Region, Ako Gunn led an NDC keep fit group made up of drunk, drugged, irresponsible, rabble-rousers and fickle-minded criminals to his residence to vandalize the place without any provocation. The sad aspect of this unprovoked attack is that it took the policemen and women at the Nima police station more than one hour to go to the trouble spot to save lives. And the police station is situated a few meters from the residence of the leader of the main opposition party. If you have been reading this column you will remember that I wrote in one of my articles that Americans did not wake up one morning to see cowboys wearing pistols in holsters around their waists. In the early fifties, the commonest things to see in the Wild West in America were gun-totting cowboys who shot their way with impunity. It started when some of these cowboys went on a cattle stealing spree with their pistols. In order to protect their cattle, those who felt threatened bought pistols and laid ambush in the night to make sure no one stole their cattle. That was the beginning of the gun culture in the US. In fact that is the reason why today in America, one out of ten citizens owns guns. What the NDC attack dogs are doing is similar to what some of the cowboys did in those years. If care is not taken, people will not hesitate to buy guns to protect themselves, before, during and after this year's elections. If President Mahama thinks the violence committed by the NDC rubble-rousers will inure to his benefit in the run-up to the general election, he should forget because if even he wins the election, he will rule over a divided nation. As the sages say, a divided army cannot win wars. Similarly, a polarized nation can never see development. Sometimes I wonder why the president is so desperate for a second term in office. He has never lost any opportunity to tell Ghanaians that he has been the best president since independence. Why then the anxiety and desperation? If you think you have done well, sit in your office at the Flagstaff House and wait for December 7. For the past three months, the president, his Veep, his wife, the Chief of Staff and almost all his ministers are on the campaign trail, leaving an empty Flagstaff House. Every day Commissioner Mahama is seen on television stations commissioning schools, toilets and cutting sods to commission fathom projects. You see, Ghanaians have wised up after being deceived for eight years by the NDC administration. It is they who will decide whether the John Mahama administration has done well or not. Let the president and his people go around the country, beating their chest that they have done well. When the D-Day arrives Ghanaians will speak with their thumps. Instead of the man brazing himself up for a crushing defeat, he goes about telling Ghanaians that he will win one touch AKO GUNN: AN EX-CONVICT AND HIS STONE THROWERS If an ex-convict is released from prison and he starts throwing stones, we must be wide awake and gird our loins. Such persons are very dangerous and if they lay their hands on guns, blood will surely flow. Ghanaians are living in bad times and only the Lord God of Hosts can deliver us from the hands of evil-minded persons like this Montie ex-convict. A man who threatened the life of the Chief Justice of Ghana should not be taken for granted. The guy is hot-headed and we should blame those who signed the petition for the president to trigger Article 296 of the Constitution of Ghana which led to the remission of the four-month sentence imposed on this man and his other crazy two Montie people. With every atrocity they commit, they hope that the NPP supporters will grow fearful, retreating and forsaking their ambition to wrestle power and manage the affairs of this country well. They stand against the NPP because the NPP stands in their way. They just want to win power to continue looting the national coffers. By sacrificing human life to serve their ego and personal interest, they think they can survive the change about to blow them away like tsunami. They have abandoned every value except the will to power. They will follow in that path of violence all the way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave of discarded brutalities. Eric Bawah The Inspector General of Police (IGP) John Kudalor has been in the news one too many for negative reasons in recent times. He took on the added schedule of Immigration matters with political undertones when he said that Ghanaians in Togo should not be stopped from coming to vote during the December 7 polls. Like other responsible Ghanaians, he should be concerned when his compatriots in nearby countries are denied their civic rights of casting their ballots for candidates of their choices. What is intriguing though is that our IGP prefers to ignore very important issues such as the impunity of ruling party activists, some of who have confessed to killing many persons a pastime they are nowhere near stopping. No Ghanaian, regardless of which part of the world they are sojourning, would or can be prevented from casting their votes during general elections. We would rather the IGP leaves this aspect of our security enterprise to personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service, who are best primed to manage such subjects. We, just like other Ghanaians concerned with the success of the forthcoming general election, are uncomfortable with the IGP's newfound love with immigration matters much to the detriment of satisfactory policing of the country, especially during these difficult times. We wish to remind him about how a Superior Police Officer used a police vehicle to move election registration machines to Togolese territory with a view to capturing details of nationals of that country during the last limited registration exercise. Hundreds of such persons have voted in our elections over the years and it is this class of persons which every responsible national should prevent from interfering in our electoral process. Failure to do so would constitute a civic irresponsibility, a breach which security fallouts can only be imagined. We do not know why the IGP considered it worthwhile to, as it were, render his concern at this time about Ghanaian voters in the Diaspora when a correspondence sent to him about security concerns by the NPP is yet to be replied to. The reason he has come out this way is because the Volta Region branch of the NPP seeking to ensure that the electoral anomalies of previous polls when Togolese were aided to come and vote in local elections are not repeated. The party has adopted measures to address it. We cannot fathom why he appears jittery about the denial of foreigners from voting in Ghana. Nobody can prevent Ghanaians living in Togo or elsewhere from exercising their franchise if they are registered to do so under the electoral laws of the country. We therefore find it unnecessary that the IGP would be intervening in an issue which has no basis, unless there is something unknown to us but known to him and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) associates. We support the nationalistic spirit of stopping foreigners from voting in our national elections and would laud whoever takes measures to support the upholding of our laws in that direction. The IGP, by his unnecessary concern, has joined the ranks of serial callers and foot-soldiers whose trademark features of wading into issues of propaganda value are a household knowledge. Our IGP's cadre traits have been activated so he dreams of shutting down social media which he is yet to come to terms with, and now seeing nothing wrong with Togolese trooping to Ghana to vote, provided they would vote for the NDC. The youth of La, Ga Mashie, Osu, Teshie, Nungua and Tema yesterday took to the streets of La to demand the release of La Stool lands purported to have been illegally taken by the Ghana Armed Forces and some state officials. The demonstration, which was the largest to be held since the Yaabi Onye Demo about a decade ago, also had priests, priestesses and delegations from principal Dangme states like Ningo, Prampram, Kpone and Ada taking part in solidarity. There was heavy deployment of soldiers around the enclave of Burma Camp, La and Teshie to prevent the demonstrating youth from straying to the military lands, already given to private developers who are putting up massive estate houses at ridiculously high prices but are reportedly not paying any compensation to the land owners. The soldiers took positions at the private residence of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshall Michael Samson-Oje, along the Bush Road. The crowd, dressed in red attires, held placards which read, Ministers Stop Stealing Our Lands, Esi Gbedemah Is A Thief, Defence Minister Kill Us And Take Our Lands and No Land No Vote. They began from the La market through the La Township with the intention of addressing the media on one of the La Stool lands located at Burma Camp, but were forced to revert to the arena of the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre, as armed soldiers prevented the protestors from using the Palm Wine Junction route. The youth, after waiting for close to an hour before the Municipal Chief Executive of La Dadekotopon, Irene Odoley Sowah, came to collect their petition, complained bitterly about the lack of respect the Mahama-led administration has shown to the La Stool. Petition Reading the petition, which was addressed to President John Dramani Mahama, President of the Coalition of La Youth Associations (COLA), Augustine Nii Amoah Nai, said, LAMEI have kept a very loud silence even in the face of the naked robbery of their lands and other provocative things that have been dealt to Lamei and Ga Dangme people. He noted that government had turned deaf ears to their pleas to restore to the La Stool its lands, including the Burma Camp enclave, Ghana International Trade Fair lands, South La Estates, Adenta Aviation lands, Accra Technical Training Centre lands, Presbyterian Boys' Senior High School, University of Ghana lands, Madina Cemetery, Cantonments lands and Social Welfare lands because the people had not had their compensations paid to them. Nii Amoah Nai emphatically stated that the military has no land and that in 1953 there was an agreement between Lamei and the government of Ghana for the military, having paid an amount of 20 pounds, to use the lands for a period of 10 years. He noted that at the end of the 10-year period, nothing was paid. He revealed that a tripartite committee comprising the military, the Attorney General's Department and La Trust, came to a resolution under the hand of the Deputy Attorney General, Dominic Ayine, that the military halt all activities relating to the lands in contention until proper acquisition formalities were consummated and the corresponding compensation paid to Lamei. However, he said the military had not heeded to their part of the resolution, resulting in the marginalization and harassment of Lamei on their own lands. We want government to immediately halt the Accra Marine Drive project until government extensively engages indigenes of the target communities whose livelihood may be affected, Nii Amoah Nai charged. Government Response Ms Irene Odaley Sowah, after receiving the petition on behalf of the government, apologized for her delay a situation she blamed on misinformation. She said once the petition had reached her, the president would take the necessary steps to address the demands of the youth. By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri & Ernest Pappoe IT HAS emerged that there is a sharp division within the rank and file of the disqualified United Front Party (UFP) over whom to support in the presidential race. While UFP's vice presidential candidate and Director of Operations, David Bunya and other national executives have decided to throw their weight behind Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, standard bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the UFP flag bearer, Nana Agyenim Boateng popularly called Gyataba, is reportedly doing the bidding for President John Mahama. Gyataba had a press conference yesterday in Accra to declare support for President Mahama. Mr. Bunya however, told DAILY GUIDE yesterday that the party's executives, particularly those from the Volta and the Eastern Regions, had met and agreed that the UFP should throw its weight behind the leader of the NPP. He said to the surprise of nearly all national executives of the party, the UFP presidential candidate (Nana Agyenim Boateng) held a press conference yesterday where he openly declared his support for President Mahama of the NDC. According to Mr. Bunya, the conduct of Gyataba was highly disappointing and disrespectful to the party executives, considering the fact that they had agreed to campaign for Nana Akufo-Addo, whom he described as God-father. He alleged that Gyataba had been induced with two pick-up vehicles and money by President Mahama, the reason why he (Agyenim Boateng) had chosen to campaign for the NDC leader instead of Nana Akufo-Addo. But the UFP's failed presidential candidate said he was supporting the NDC because he believes they are both social democrats. In a statement he said, We recall with utmost concern the serene atmosphere that characterized the NPP under the leadership of former President John Agyekum Kufuor that is when he was flag bearer of the NPP in the 2008 (sic) and the 2004 elections. For this reason he claimed, However, under the Akufo-Addo leadership, particularly in the build-up to the 2016 elections, the NPP has been on the battle front with disgruntled armies. BY Melvin Tarlue When you are in the city of Lagos, you are told to shine your eyes (be smart and observant). Lagosians dont say this slang for fun. It is because if you dare to laggard, you will have yourself to blame. Same goes for persons who are house hunting in the city. Renting an apartment in Lagos is a project on its own. It is time-consuming. It is even worse when you are desperately looking for an apartment. However, when you are house hunting it requires a lot of patience no matter how frantic you are. This is because the landlord and agent will not live with you in the house. So, if you dont want to regret renting an apartment in Lagos, Jumia Travel shares some tips that can help you. Again, it is strongly advised to shine your eyes. Never allow the agent to sweet talk you You must work with an agent when you are house hunting in Lagos. They know where all the houses that are available for rent. They are the reason for the unreasonable cost of houses in the city. This said, dont ever allow an agent to bamboozle you into renting an apartment. If you dont like firmly say you dont and dont be carried away by their niceties. Its just for show. After they get their money, you are on your own. That is why you should keep the relationship strictly formal. Decide what you want based on money Most times than not, agents take advantage of house hunters who dont know what they want. What kind of apartment are you looking for? Is it a room and parlour or a one room toilet and kitchen or a self-contain? You must define what you want or else the agent will tell you what you want without any options. Also, consider money. Importantly, seek advice from friends who already rented their apartment. The house itself You just have to inspect the house thoroughly before agreeing to rent it. Are there basic amenities like water, and electricity? What about the toilet and kitchen? Can you use them? The people? Is the environment neat that your partner will not complain about it? Are there any cracks in the ceiling? Are the pipes leaking? So, if your answers are yes and you dont want to abandon your rented apartment for any guest houses in Ikeja , dont rent such a house. Always go house hunting during the rainy season The best time to search for a house is during the rainy season. This is because you dont want to return home one day and your house is flooded! The resident landlord Some landlords cannot mind their business. They keep puck nosing into the affairs of their tenants. If you dont like a house where the landlord resides, you may just walk away. Sometimes you dont blame the landlord, some tenants are a menace. Also, some landlords have sugar coated mouths, dont lose your guard. Proximity to your workplace Rent an apartment that is close to your workplace because you will spend less on transport and dont need to worry about the hectic Lagos traffic. But, the ultimate is the comfortability of the apartment. Dont transact for proximity. The environment The environment is the ultimate. It must be secured and not prone to flood. What you should, perhaps, have in mind is that will your partner like the environment or house you rented? By Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA Accra, Nov. 22, GNA - The Second Annual Scientific and Regional Conference of the Critical Care Nurses (CCN) Group, Ghana is underway in Accra with a call on Critical Care Nurses to identify their quality culture and let it inform their activities. Madam Susana Larbi Wumbee, the Deputy Director of Nursing Services of the Ghana Health Services Institutional Care Division, who made the call on Monday, said the quality of culture of the CCN needed to align to the national health policies, standards, guidelines and protocols that especially pertain to their professional discipline. "The nation, health facilities and patients need your holistic services because you can make a great difference for good patient outcome and enable the health sector to meet its goal of quality and safe care," she said. Madam Larbi Wumbee noted that without quality, there would be no positive patient experience for satisfaction, advancement in their professional affiliations and expected patient outcomes. "Ultimately holistic care goals will not be realised," she said. Admitting that critical care need are crucial and takes a lot of resources, she urged nurses to find ways to orientate themselves with leadership and managerial skills adding: "You need these skills to work and also manage your unit efficiently no matter your rank," she said. The Deputy Director of Nursing Services of the Ghana Health Services International Care Division therefore advocated that individual and corporate group should task themselves with innovations from the education that they would receive from the conference where action plans would be made towards implementation. She advised nurses to develop right attitude that would help them meet their patients expectations. She also lauded organisers of the conference saying it was timely as it would help build the capacity of the CCN and pursue continuous education where efficient gaps would be filled. Speaking on the theme: "Holistic Care of the Critically Ill Patient; the Role of the Nurses," Mrs Faustina Excel-Adipa, the Chairperson of the CCN Group, Ghana, said the engagement would afford group members to share their experiences, challenges and equip themselves with knowledge and skills to care for the patients. She noted that the meeting which was the first ever Africa CCN nursing conference would also serve as a platform for educational, acquisition of new skills and sharing of experiences. Professor Ged Williams, the Founding Chair of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses (WFCCN), said critical care drove health care reforms and benefited communities. Speaking at the three-day programme, Mr Kwaku Asante-Krobea, the President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwifery Association (GRNMA) called for the establishment of a consortium that would reflect the training and skills of the group. He pledged of GRNMA preparedness to work with CCN for its goals to be worthwhile. There conference which is a collaborative initiative between CCN AND WFCCN has brought together CCN from the 10 regions and sub regions to engage, deliberate and work towards the sustainability of the group. Members would discuss health topics like management of acute stroke patient, communicating with the families of critically ill patient, neonatal resuscitation in the delivery room, developing worldwide critical care nursing networks, standards and practice improvement: implementation for Africa and the rest of the world as well nursing informatics in Ghana: the challenges and the prospects. GNA In the build up to the 2016 general elections, TEIN-LEGON has intensified its campaign efforts here on the university of Ghana campus in a bid to canvass for votes for H.E JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA and the parliamentary candidate, MR DELALI KWESI BREMPONG. The team made up of 10 sub-teams visited legon hall to interact with students in their rooms, giving them reasons why the President should be given a second term to continue his agenda of Changing Lives and Transforming Ghana. Stickers, books and leaflets containing the numerous achievements of the government were also shared. Members of the various teams explained to students the achievements and projects of the government and how that affects the ordinary UG student.Of particular interest to the students was the university of Ghana teaching hospital located behind Kwapong Hall of the university of Ghana. With this ultramodern facility, the Medical, Allied health and Nursing students will no longer have to stress themselves so much to go to Korle Bu for their practicals. Students will now conveniently have all their lectures and practicals on campus. The response from the students was very positive, as most of them were optimistic that Ghana can transform more under His excellency John Dramani Mahama and Mr.Delali Brempong. They promised to endorse the government massively come 7 December,2016. Vote JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA FOR CONTINUITY Vote DELALI KWESI BREMPONG FOR SERVICE It's still; #ChangingLives #TransformingGhana #DKB-here to serve ANANPANSAH SOLOMON TEIN-LEGON PRESIDENT (0207262608) TEIN-LEGON The 2016 flag bearer of the Peoples National Convention, (PNC), Dr. Edward Nasigri Mahama has described the absence of flag bearers of National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo from Tuesdays Institute of Economic Affair (IEA) organized Presidential debate as disrespect to the people they seek to lead. The medical practitioner cum politician who was speaking on Onua Fm morning show Yen Sem Pa a day after the IEA encounter, expressed disappointment over inability of the two flag bearers to demonstrate to Ghanaians why they are looking for their mandate. It was an opportunity for all of us (flag bearers) to be on one platform to tell Ghanaians our policy plan for the country, but I was disappointed that both the President and Nana Addo did not show up. What they are simply telling Ghanaians is they dont respect them and the platform Dr Edward Nasigri Mahama who is contesting this years election for the 5th time said while there are talks of building strong institutions, people who will help achieve that objective are rather busily destroying the gains made. He argued that anyone who wants to lead Ghana should be prepared to speak to them whenever and wherever they are called to do so Institute of Economic Affairs organized a debate for all the Presidential hopefuls on Tuesday but the two leading candidates in the 2016 elections, President John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress and the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party Nana Akufo-Addo did not attend. So too were Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings of the National Democratic Party and the Convention People's Party Ivor Greenstreet. However, Dr Edward Mahama observed that it would have been opportunity also for all the flag bearers not only to critic each others policies but to demonstrate to the entire world that Ghana is ready for another peaceful elections. Adding that both NDC and NPP decided to stay away for reason best known to them and this is disrespect clearly exhibited here. Dangote Foundation has won the 2016 Philanthropy of the Year award at the All Africa Business Leaders Award (AABLA) held at the weekend in Johannesburg, South Africa. The awards is the initiative of CNBC Africa and ABN to recognize outstanding African companies for their performance in 2015. According to a statement from the organizers of the awards ceremony, a total of nine best business leaders from Africa were celebrated at the 2016 All Africa Business Leaders Awards in Partnership with CNBC Africa (AABLA) at the exclusive All Africa Finale held in Johannesburg. It was attended by prominent business leaders across the continent, ambassadors and the Premier of Gauteng, David Makhura. At the West African Regional Stage of the award held in Lagos on October 20, Dangote Foundation adjudged the Philanthropy of the Year, setting the stage for its emergence as the African Philanthropy of the year. Receiving the award, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dangote Foundation, Zouera Youssoufou, thanked the organizers of the award, CNBC and ABN for the honour done the Foundation and Dangote Group for bestowing such a prestigious award. Represented by the Chief Executive Officer of Sephaku Cement, South Africa, Pieter Fourie, she said the belief of the Chairman Dangote Foundation, Aliko Dangote that 'to whom much is given, much is required' led him to set up his Foundation back in 1993. She explained that the Foundation in the last two years has been restructured to have greater impact, adding that the $1.25 billion endowment by Aliko Dangote has made it the largest private philanthropy in Africa. Ms Zouera stated that Dangote Foundation is focused on improving the livelihoods of the most vulnerable Nigerians and Africans, focusing on health, education and economic empowerment of women. According to her, the Foundation has been the single largest contributor to the fight against Ebola in Nigeria and with the African Union (AU), and is working tirelessly to provide relief to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Northern Nigeria as result of the insurgency. Presidential candidate for the progressive peoples party (PPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom at the IEA presidential debate on the economy last night expressed his disappointment at president Mahama's refusal to participate in this year's event to account for his stewardship. Dr. Nduom who received many positive comments from the general public on Facebook as against his opponents shared a lot of brilliant ideas that will help in the development of the country when elect as president. He shared this with the Ghanaians: "I am a local boy from Elmina, who through education, hard work, and the grace of God has been able to create jobs in all the districts of the country and abroad and who wants to use the experience gained to benefit millions of Ghanaians. Unfortunately, the man who has supervised the mismanagement of Ghana's economy these past eight years as Vice President and President has refused to participate in this event to account for his stewardship. This is what I will do if elected as President: The Ghanaian economy will be managed on a bed of fundamental reforms to make the country great and strong and all of its people prosperous; and using the principle of "Ghana First": 1. Unite the people to ensure lasting peace to enable development. 2. Put in place an all-inclusive, lean Administration of not more than 40 ministers of state for accelerated development and reform the public sector to become responsive to the private productive sector. 3. Provide strategic interventions to support agriculture so that we can feed ourselves - no need to import $1.2 billion of rice, millions of dollars of vegetables and fruit juices - ensure maximum domestic processing of cocoa, maize, yam, palm oil, cashew and fruits. - support our fishermen by protecting our ocean bed from predatory foreign vessels. 4. Use the government's purchasing power to build our local economy. 5. Solve the financing problem in the energy sector 6. Revise the pension investment rules to enable long term funds to be used to meet local private sector investment needs instead of investing in government treasury bills. (Act 766 2008 amended to Act 883 2014) 7. Fight corruption actively including the use of an independent prosecutor. 8. Implement the national identification system and mandate the use of a single identification number to enforce discipline in our society. 9. Open up the country with same quality highways and cross country modern railway system. 10. Ensure the development of a petrochemicals industry in the Western Region. 23.11.2016 LISTEN License allows Bank of Singapore to extend private banking services to its clients in the region. Move further strengthens DIFCs position as growing global financial gateway, enabling business to flow across the South-South corridor. Dubai-UAE/ Singapore: 22 November 2016 Bank of Singapore today announced that it has been granted a Category 4 licence to operate a branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). This allows Bank of Singapore to offer a comprehensive range of customised private banking solutions, including investments, credit and wealth planning advisory services, to its ultra-high and high net worth clients. The official opening of the branch is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2017. Approval to operate a branch in Dubai comes at an opportune time as private wealth in the Middle East and Africa is projected to rise at a compounded annual rate of 8.2%, to reach a record high US$11.8 trillion by 2020 - 1.4 times higher than the global average. Bank of Singapore has anchored its presence in Dubai since 1996 through its representative office based outside of the DIFC. Over the past three years (2014 2016), Bank of Singapore has registered stellar growth in the Middle East region Assets under Management has doubled and net new money has grown by almost five times. The move to DIFC signifies a new commitment by Bank of Singapore to further deepen its presence in this region. Bank of Singapore Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bahren Shaari said: The Middle East, specifically the United Arab Emirates, has always been an integral part of our business. With the establishment of a branch in the DIFC, Bank of Singapore is committed to scaling up our research and advisory capabilities, to better serve high net worth individuals in this region. Dubais position in the Middle East is similar to Singapores role in Asia, - both serve as strategic economic hubs, supporting wealth growth and investments for individuals and businesses. We are confident of replicating our successful Singapore business model in Dubai to support the growing affluence and economic activities in this region. The move further strengthens DIFCs aim to grow three-fold by 2024, through the integration of a three pronged strategy that includes deepening core client synergies, building global relevance in key sectors and facilitating trade and investment flows across the South-South corridor. This is supported through the continuous enhancement of the Centres physical and regulatory infrastructure. Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority, added: We welcome the Bank of Singapore to DIFC, recognition of both the growing demand for financial services in the region and the fact that DIFC, as the Middle East, Africa and South Asians leading international financial centre, offers a best practice legal, regulatory and infrastructure platform for international bank expansion. Singapore and Dubai share an affinity: both are modest in geographic size yet highly developed, cosmopolitan and incredibly dynamic. As the cities are becoming twin hubs for their respective regions, the arrival of Bank of Singapore in DIFC signifies a move to ever closer cooperation and a mutual desire to strengthen trade along the South- South corridor. As the largest, best regulated, most diverse and sophisticated financial services hub in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, DIFCs enabling ecosystem offers an ideal base from which businesses can grow and expand their operations. Earlier in August 2016, it was ranked as the top financial centre in the region in the Global Financial Centres Index; 18th in the world ahead of the likes of Luxembourg, Geneva and Shanghai. As a federal financial free zone in Dubai, it is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). Bank of Singapores representative office will continue to operate to facilitate existing clients access to the Bank of Singapore platform, after the setting up of the DIFC branch. About Bank of Singapore Bank of Singapore is the dedicated private banking subsidiary of OCBC Bank. It has a strong Aa1 credit rating from Moodys and offers a unique value proposition as a safe Singapore-registered private bank. It operates on an open-architecture product platform and has strong research capabilities, especially in emerging market research, to help its clients make the right decisions for fixed income, equities and money market investments as well as portfolio management, trust and insurance services. Over the years, it has built Managed Investments capabilities and premium trust and advisory services, supported by one of the largest research teams in Asia. Beyond private banking services, clients of Bank of Singapore have access to personal and business banking services, as well as investment opportunities offered by OCBC Bank or its subsidiaries. It is able to leverage OCBC Banks commercial banking capabilities to extend its clients a broad array of consumer and corporate banking, corporate finance and treasury services across the OCBC Banks regional and international network. Bank of Singapore serves high net worth individuals and wealthy families in its key markets of Southeast Asia, Greater China, Singapore, Philippines, India Sub-Continent and other International markets. Headquartered in Singapore, Bank of Singapore has a branch in Hong Kong and representative offices in Manila and Dubai. Its strong performance has won it industry recognition. It was named Outstanding Private Bank in Southeast Asia by Private Banker International in 2014. Since 2010, it has been consecutively named Best Private Wealth Management Bank in Southeast Asia and Singapore by Alpha South East Asia. Asian Private Banker has named it Best Private Bank in Singapore from 2011 to 2014 and Best Private Bank in the Philippines in 2015, for the second consecutive year. Bank of Singapore has also been consistently ranked among the top 3 private banks in Singapore by Asiamoney and FinanceAsia. OCBC Bank is one of Asias leading financial services groups and the second largest by assets in Southeast Asia. It is consistently ranked among the worlds strongest and safest banks by leading market research firms and publications. For more information, please visit www.bankofsingapore.com . For all updates on Bank of Singapore, follow @bankofSG on twitter and follow linkedin.com/bankofsingapore on LinkedIn. About OCBC Bank OCBC Bank is the longest established Singapore bank, formed in 1932 from the merger of three local banks, the oldest of which was founded in 1912. It is now the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia by assets and one of the worlds most highly-rated banks, with an Aa1 rating from Moodys. Recognised for its financial strength and stability, OCBC Bank is consistently ranked among the Worlds Top 50 Safest Banks by Global Finance and has been named Best Managed Bank in Singapore and the Asia Pacific by The Asian Banker. OCBC Bank and its subsidiaries offer a broad array of commercial banking, specialist financial and wealth management services, ranging from consumer, corporate, investment, private and transaction banking to treasury, insurance, asset management and stockbroking services. OCBC Banks key markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. It has over 610 branches and representative offices in 18 countries and regions. These include the more than 330 branches and offices in Indonesia under subsidiary Bank OCBC NISP, and 110 branches and offices in Hong Kong, China and Macau under OCBC Wing Hang. OCBC Banks private banking services are provided by its wholly-owned subsidiary Bank of Singapore, which operates on a unique open-architecture product platform to source for the best-in-class products to meet its clients goals. OCBC Bank's insurance subsidiary, Great Eastern Holdings, is the oldest and most established life insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia. Its asset management subsidiary, Lion Global Investors, is one of the largest private sector asset management companies in Southeast Asia. For more information, please visit www.ocbc.com . About Dubai International Financial Centre The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is the financial hub for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, providing a world-class platform connecting the regions markets with the economies of Europe, Asia and the Americas. It also facilitates the growth in South-South trade and investment. An onshore, international financial centre, DIFC provides a stable, mature and secure base for financial institutions to develop their wholesale businesses. The Centre offers all the elements found in the worlds most successful financial industry ecosystems, including an independent regulator, an independent judicial system with a common-law framework, a global financial exchange, inspiring architecture, powerful, enabling support services and a vibrant business community. The infrastructure within the district features ultra-modern office space, retail outlets, cafes and restaurants, art galleries, residential apartments, public green areas and hotels. Located midway between the global financial centres of New York, London in the West and Singapore, Hong Kong in the East, DIFC (GMT +4) fills a vital time-zone gap with a workday that bridges the market and business hours of financial centres in both Asia and North America. In 2015, DIFC launched its 2024 growth strategy, a blueprint for the next decade of growth of the financial hub. This strategy aims to stimulate trade and investment flows along the South-South economic corridor encompassing Africa, Southern Asia and Latin America. Currently, 1,539 active registered companies operate from the Centre, with a combined workforce of 21,076 professionals. DIFC continues to pursue expansion into new services and sectors within the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, an area comprising over 72 countries with an approximate population of 3 billion and nominal GDP of US$7.8 trillion. New research released by global travel technology provider, Sabre Corporation ( www.Sabre.com ), has revealed that African air travel spend is expected to rise 24% with the introduction of the pan-African passport in 2018. The new passport will enable African travellers to visit other countries on the continent without a visa. The comprehensive survey by Sabre aimed to uncover the opportunities and challenges faced by travellers in Africa today, to help airlines' growth and provide African travellers an overall better journey. Travellers from four countries South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt were surveyed, with those having flown in the past 24 months saying they would spend 24 percent more with the introduction of the passport (from $1,100 to $1,500 annually). But despite a willingness among travellers to spend more on flights, travel in Africa still remains inaccessible to the majority, with only 23 percent of those surveyed having travelled abroad at all in the last two years. When asked what prevents them from travelling more, the top reasons were: 32% said travel is too expensive 31% said it is difficult obtaining VISAs 30% said it is too difficult to book travel 28% said there are no flights to their chosen destination Travellers also expressed a number of gripes about their current experiences when travelling: 27% said the check-in process takes too long 22% said the check-in procedure is confusing 20% dont like the food on aircrafts 19% think there is not enough to do at the airport The results suggest that while travel is inaccessible to many and is difficult for those who do travel, there is a still a strong desire to travel more, said Dino Gelmetti, vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Airline Solutions, Sabre. Additionally, most of the pain points can be addressed by airlines, and these tweaks could make all the difference to travellers. African carriers currently face tough competition from international rivals that control 88 percent of African airspace but, as demand for travel increases, African airlines have a real opportunity to win the lions share of bookings by addressing the pain points of travellers and going the extra mile to improve their experience. Like many other travellers globally, Africans also expressed a strong interest in experiencing a travel journey that was more personalised and appealing to their taste. Respondents said that they would be willing to spend up to $104 per trip on an airlines extra products and services such as excess baggage, cabin class upgrades, and special food and beverage if it improved and personalised their journey. Airlines, globally, currently pocket an average of just $16 per passenger on ancillaries, so the fact that African travellers are prepared to spend six times more than that represents a significant retail opportunity for carriers on the continent, said Gelmetti. Airlines will flourish if they invest in technology that can make sense of customer data and use it to offer passengers the right product in the right context at the right time. This technology, which empowers airlines to mirror the personalised shopping tactics already mastered by the online retail industry has been proven to increase ancillary revenue by an average of 10 percent, and is being used by some of the worlds most forward-thinking carriers. As further encouragement for African carriers, Sabres survey respondents stated a number of reasons why people would choose to fly with their local carrier over a foreign airline; the top three reasons were: It offers cheaper tickets It offers the latest technology on board It offers greater comfort on board. For the full survey report, please go to http://APO.af/jT1ezk. 23.11.2016 LISTEN The Association of Concerned Ghanaians in Europe (ACGIE) unequivocally condemns the barbaric attack carried out by supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the residence of the opposition leader and Flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo recently. Like all peace- loving Ghanaians across the globe, ACGIE is appalled and indeed disgusted by this deliberate act of hooliganism and provocation perpetrated by supporters of the ruling party (NDC) knowing very well that this could have very serious security and political ramifications for the country. Our concern and in fact, worry is that this violent attack comes at a very sensitive time when all Ghanaians are praying for a peaceful elections devoid of violence and intimidation. With just nearly three weeks to the elections, such well-orchestrated political violence against political opponents must not only be rejected but condemned by all Ghanaians irrespective of our political leanings. Clearly, this sickening attempt to institutionalise violence in our body politic is becoming too common among supporters of the party in government (NDC) as evidenced by recent events in Asunafo South, Asutifi North and South, Odododiodio in James Town and at the Nima residence of the NPP Flag bearer. These hooligans continue to act with such impunity because the state (the police) has more often than not failed to hold these common criminals accountable for their misdeeds. As the general elections draw near, ACGIE calls on the Ghana Police Service to bring to justice the perpetrators of this shameful act and all others who use violence as a routine tool of political expression to serve as a deterrent to other like-minded criminals. As a country, we cannot continue to tolerate this culture of impunity and allow perpetrators of crimes to go unpunished because of their political affiliations. Ghana is bigger than any political party, as such our actions should be guided by the larger national interest rather our political allegiance. AGCIE therefore calls on the Ghana Police Service to take all the necessary steps to ensure that those who planned, instigated and carried out this vicious attack are made to face the full rigours of the law. That is the only way Ghanaians and the international community can be rest assured that indeed, the Ghana Police force is not merely engaged in giving mere assurances but that it is capable of putting its words into action. Finally, we call on the Peace Council, Christian Council, Catholic Bishops Conference and the self-appointed Peace Ambassadors and advocates to condemn the attack on the NPP-Flag Bearer. It is time to stand up for Peace and be counted ACGIE is an umbrella organisation representing all registered Ghanaian Associations in Europe. ACGIE is registered in Strasbourg- France and a member of the UN Affiliated International Association of Non-Governmental Organisations. God Bless Our Home Land Ghana Signed Kwaku Anane Executive Secretary ACGIE Gas tanker operators in the country have vowed to resist any move by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), to ban the use of gas tanker vehicles that are over ten years old. The NPA recently announced that gas tankers which are above ten years will not be allowed to operate by next year. Speaking to Citi Business News, the Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Drivers Union, George Nyaunu warned that tanker operators are ready to go by any maintenance mechanism that government would outline, but not a ban. According to him, the union will welcome any move by government to help them acquire new gas tanker vehicles before the NPA can be allowed to successfully implement the new regulation. If NPA is ready to replace our old cars with new ones, we will appreciate that. If they are only ready to negotiate with a bank or a company that will give us new trucks, so when they call you and ask, Mr. Mensah how many trucks do you have and I say three old trucks and they say come we have new ones to replace them for you, we will clap for them, he said . But if they can't do that, then they should allow us to use the old ones with good maintenance and works, he added, stating that members of the association have always adhered to strict safety rules in the industry, including going to all the appropriate institutions required for inspection. They know exactly what they are doing. When they are talking of safety we know that safety is the number one priority for tanker drivers because the products that we carry are highly inflammable, we know, we agree, that is why we must maintain our trucks very well, Mr. Nyaunu remarked. Moreover, this directive had been given to us since 2012 and presently we only engage the services of recognized agencies for all our maintenance works. Tanker drivers resist door-to-door gas delivery Meanwhile Mr. Nyaunu also accused the NPA of trying to take jobs from Ghanaians through a new regulation that will ban domestic gas users from filling their cylinders at the pumps, as a door to door delivery system is set to be introduced by the authority. The measures being proposed by the NPA will involve awarding a contract to somebody and taking the job from the Ghanaian but we are also Ghanaians. They have workers at their various filling stations so it's like they are taking the contract from them and giving it to a particular person, he alleged. He was of the view that government can rather start a pragmatic measure by extending gas pipeline to all households with meters like it is done in developed countries. If it must be done then it must be done well. If you travel to European countries, you see that the government provides gas to them in their house and they pay. Instead of doing this house to house, we can plan something like this. By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana The Supreme Court has dismissed a suit filed by the flagbearer of the dormant Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Thomas Nuako Ward-Brew, who had prayed the apex court to order the Electoral Commission (EC) to postpone the December 7, 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections. According to the seven-member panel of justices, presided over by Sophia Adehyira, the suit by Mr. Brew lacked merit in both form and substance. They also stated that, his reason of being in Nigeria during the period which EC was directed to allow disqualified presidential candidates make corrections to their form was frivilous. Supreme Court Mr. Ward Brew wanted the Court to ask the EC to allow him to effect the necessary correction on his nomination forms to enable him to contest the polls. According to Mr. Ward-Brew, the postponement would give disqualified presidential aspirants, including him, ample time to campaign. He further prayed the Supreme Court to extend the period of time for the submission of nomination forms. Nduom, two others cleared to contest 2016 presidential elections Mr. Brew is among nine other presidential hopefuls who were disqualified for not meeting the ECs requirements in the filling of nomination forms. He went to court after three of the twelve, including the PPPs Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom , NDPs Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, and the PNCs Dr. Edward Mahama, were admitted back onto the ballot, bringing the number of contestants to seven. This was made possible by a Supreme Court ruling, after the EC had gone there to quash a High Court ruling that rejected Dr.Nduoms earlier disqualifcation, and asked the Commission to allow him ample time to correct the errors on his forms. By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana 23.11.2016 LISTEN The Minister for Finance, Mr. Seth Terkper has urged the private sector to brace itself up to own Ghanas Export and Import (EXIM) Bank as the country prepares for massive industrialization. Speaking at the annual general assembly of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in Kumasi, the Minister touted the power stabilization program of the government and assured AGI of stable power in 2017 which will mean industrial power will also stabilize. He further noted the opportunities in the Petrochemical sector and encouraged members of Ghana's industrial association to exploit the opportunities, especially, in the production of fertilizers, an area the President will be focusing on to boost Agriculture. The establishment of the EXIM Bank would take advantage of international trading partnerships, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, with the United States of America. The Minister said the bank would be independent but would be under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Trade Ministry. As part of activities of the GEF/FAO funded Trans-boundary project between Ghana and Cote dIvoire, a Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting was organized in the Western Region of Ghana. The purpose of the meeting was to update project partners from both countries on progress of work and explore opportunities for greater collaboration in the joint protection of elephants within the Bia-Diambarakro corridor. The meeting brought together 13 participants from 5 key partner institutions from Ghana and Cote dIvoire. Institutions represented included; Societe de Developpement des Forets (SODEFOR) of Cote dIvoire, Wildlife Division-Ghana, Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) from both Ghana and Cote dIvoire, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Focal point from Ghana and Cote dIvoire, Conservation Alliance Ghana. In their opening statement, the GEF Focal Points and the FAO Representatives expressed satisfaction about the significant improvement of the ecological health of the corridor and the commitment of fringe communities towards sustainable use of natural resources. In particular, the FAO Representative, Dr. Atse Yapi indicated that, if Ghana and Cote dIvoire can collaborate on the project as we are currently doing, then it means we are ahead of the continent in terms of biodiversity conservation. The representative from SODEFOR (the state institution responsible for forest resources in Cote dIvoire), expressed his institutions commitment to undertake large scale restoration of the Diambarakro classified forest to consolidate the efforts being made on the Ghanaian side of the corridor. This activity is to ensure the security of elephants that move from Ghana to Cote dIvoire and vice versa. Dr. Moses Sam, the Central and Western Regional Manager of Wildlife Division, who represented the Executive Director of Wildlife Division expressed gratitude over the support given to the four CREMAs on the Ghanaian side of the corridor. He reaffirmed the commitment of the Forestry Commission particularly, the Wildlife Division to protect elephants within the Bia Conservation Area of Ghana. In an interview, the International Project Coordinator, Ms. Abigail Frimpong was happy to note the commitment of both countries in the development of a common management plan for the Ghana Cote dIvoire elephant corridor. She appealed for the integration of the management plan of the corridor into the Medium Term Development Plan of the District and the Local Government Development Plan in Ghana and Cote dIvoire respectively to facilitate ease of implementation. The International Expert on Protected Area Management agreed that the Management Plan is a novelty and is consistent with international conservation best practices. At the closing session, the Country Director of Conservation Alliance, Dr. Yaw Osei-Owusu appealed to both countries for greater support of the project to help establish a viable and sustainable trans-frontier conservation corridor that will link forest reserves and protected areas in and around Bia and Diambarakro. He also appealed for support for sustainable livelihoods of local communities living within the area. Henrietta Asiedu Conservation Alliance International Email: [email protected] Government should be spending between GHc 25,000 and GHc 30,000 on its mechansied borehole construction, and not the estimated GHc 60,000 per borehole, a water and sanitation expert, Patrick Apoya, has said. According to him, the intervention government is undertaking, most likely falls under the category of a limited borehole mechinisation per information available on the project from the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC). As a pro-poor intervention. They will not be thinking about full blown water supply scheme, Mr. Apoya noted on the Citi Breakfast Show. This follows the opposition New Patriotic Partys (NPP), claim that government, through the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), is spending about GHc30 million on some 500 boreholes in the country coming to about GHc 60,000 per borehole. Mr. Apoya explained that, boreholes could be categorised into three types, that is a borehole fitted with hand pumps, mechanised boreholes and limited-mechanised boreholes. He proceeded to outline the prospective costs for the various types indicating that, if the borehole is fitted with hand pumps, the highest you can think of anywhere in the country is about GHc15,000; but there are places where you can even get it at GHc12,000. In such an instance, you are doing all the geophysics, you are doing the drilling, the development, the water quality test and the installation of the hand pump, he added. He explained further that, for mechanised boreholes, if you want to mechanise and put the tap in one location which we call the limited mechanised system, you just put a tower, put a tank (about 10,000 litres) and drop a pipe or two pipes. You could go as high as GHc 30,000 or as low as GHc 25,000. PURC Public Relations Director, Nana Yaa Jantuah Mr Apoya however noted that, a proper assessment of the PURCs project could only be done when the bill of quantity for the project is made available. If you now want to extend to different parts of the community like a mini-pipe scheme, your real cost will be determined by how much you want to do, how far you want to extend, and how many points you want to install. So the only way by which we can know what the real situation is, will be to have a bill of quantities, the length of the pipeline extension they want to construct, the height of the tower, the capacity of the storage tank and also how many pipe outlets they want to install. Background At a press conference on Tuesday, the NPP, said the amount for the borehole construction has been inflated, by the PURC, to enable the Mahama-led administration siphon public funds for its campaign activities. 'The total cost of the project for the 500 bore-holes are GH30million.' And, no matter where the borehole is being dug, the rate per unit is quoted at GHc60,000. This, ladies and gentlemen, is four times, the market rate, the NPP stated. A former General Secretary of the NPP, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie addressed the press conference But the PURC defended its decision to spend about GHc30 million in constructing 500 boreholes in selected communities across the country, saying the projects which are yet to commence, are integrated water systems saying the cost of such projects are higher than normal boreholes. The PURC Public Relations Director, Nana Yaa Jantuah, said integrated water systems have a lot of components and cannot be less than GHc 18,000 and thus challenged the NPP to provide contrary evidence. By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana The National Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kofi Adams has defended a decision by the Police and the Electoral Commission to add names of new recruits to the list of persons expected to take part in this year's special voting exercise. According to him persons who feel aggrieved over the issue could sue the EC. If anybody feels that somebody has done something that may not be right the right place to go is the court, he said. Though the law governing the conduct of the 2016 election, C.I 94 orders the EC not to accept applications for the special voters not later than 42 days before the elections, a leaked memo from the Police and sighted by Citi News suggest the contrary. The memo, which was written by the Director General of Police Service, COP Chistian Tetteh Yohunu on behalf of the IGP instructed all Divisional Commanders, all Regional Commanders, and all Commanders in charge of Police training schools to key in the names of Police officers whose names are not on the special voters' register. It also directed the aforementioned commanders, especially the commanders of the Police Training Schools, to make sure that all recruits have their names on the special voters' list. Meanwhile, some parties including the New Patriotic Party, People's National Congress and the Progressive Peoples Party have kicked against the move . Policy Advisor of the Progressive People's Party (PPP) Kofi Asamoah Siaw in a Citi News interview accused the EC of conniving with the Police service to rig the December 7 polls and further described the move as illegal. What the EC is doing is illegal and it is an ambush and that is the argument Ive always been making that at the end of the day we'll need to comply with the regulations of C.I.94. Because if things that are unknown are introduced during the process of voting you are only providing opportunities for people to rig the elections. It is unfortunate that the referee is not complying with its own rules and regulations and it's surprising everybody. But speaking to Citi News, Kofi Adams said the EC and the Police have done no wrong. I have heard that some persons who at the time of compilation of the names were not considered to have been part of the security system but have since then been recruited, they are now part of the system and they are away not on their own volition but because of work. And because of that they will be away from where they are supposed to be and possibly even be performing other duties so therefore they qualify to be on the list. So I don't think we should crack heads over this, this is a list that is easy to identity, it's known, can easily be done and worked with and so submitted to political parties, Kofi Adams added. 114,813 to partake in special voting A total of 114,813 voters are expected to cast their ballot during the special voting on December 1. By: Godwin A. Alllotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow @AlloteyGodwin A water and sanitation expert, Patrick Apoya, has cautioned the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), against spearheading a planned project to construct 500 boreholes in various parts of the country. According to him, the Commission's mandate does not include undertaking such projects but rather supervising them. The PURC has been accused by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), of conniving with government to inflate the unit cost of the said boreholes, to fund the governing National Democratic Congress' (NDC) election campaign. A letter authorized by the PURC and addressed to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), in October 2016, sought an approval to single source some selected contractors, to carry out the water project. But according to Mr. Apoya, the approach was wrong. Speaking on the Citi Breakfast show on Wednesday, November 23, he said the PURC's direct involvement in the project could plunge it into credibility problems. They [PURC] oversees, but they don't have to physically do it. You are the person regulating the sector. The PURC does not regulate the rural water sub-sector. They provide advice to assemblies to be able to do the regulations themselves. The PURC doesn't have that capacity of oversee a full-blown water supply system. They are very competent in their area of work; but if they delve into areas that they don't have expertise in, it can end in credibility problems for them. Mr. Apoya expressed concern over the silence of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency about the development, since most of the areas listed to have the boreholes fall under their jurisdiction. Why will the PURC decide that all these towns, fall under the pro-poor consideration and we are going to provide water for them. That is extremely irregular. Pro-poor interventions target areas that need to be served; yet water is not reaching them. But these areas we are mentioning are full schemes we are providing for the communities. They are not pro-poor schemes, they are normal water supply schemes that ordinarily should be handled by the Community Health and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), and I don't know why CWSA is not raising any flags, he added. Gov borehole project cost inflated The opposition New Patriotic Party at a press conference on Tuesday, said the amount for the boreholes has been inflated, by the PURC, to enable the Mahama-led administration siphon public funds for its campaign activities. The total cost of the project for the 500 bore-holes is GH30million.' And, no matter where the borehole is being dug, the rate per unit is quoted at GH60,000. This, ladies and gentlemen, is four times, the market rate, the NPP said. But the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) defended its decision to spend about GHc30 million in constructing 500 boreholes in selected communities across the country saying the projects which are yet to commence, are integrated water systems saying the cost of such projects are higher than normal boreholes. By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow @jnyabor The Supreme Court has dismissed a suit filed by Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) flagbearer Thomas Nuako Ward Brew seeking to overturn his disqualification from the 2016 presidential elections. Mr Ward-Brew in his suit, had argued that he was not in the country when the apex court offered all disqualified nominees a lifeline to correct mistakes on their nomination form. Thomas Ward-Brew and his running mate Isaac Nii Otoo Otoo of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) He stated that the EC failed to adequately inform all nominees of the window of opportunity once the court gave that order. He prayed that the court orders the Electoral Commission to postpone the December 7 general elections. A postponement of the polls he stated would offer nominees who were earlier disqualified an opportunity to effectively campaign. The court in its ruling read by Jsc Sophia Adinyira described the suit as lacking merit in both form and substance. A cost of GHC 3,000 awarded in favour of EC against the DPP flagbearer. The Electoral Commission (EC) said in October that it was unable to accept Mr Thomas Nuako Ward-Brew of the Democratic People's Party nomination as the forms were improperly completed and Candidate's particulars were not provided. Mrs Charlotte Osei, EC Chairman stated in Accra that the Commission noticed the Voter ID number of the Vice Presidential Candidate has not been provided and so the Commission is unable to ascertain whether the Vice Presidential Candidate is a registered voter and eligible to stand as a candidate for that office. Despite requesting candidates to obtain 432 signatures endorsing their presidential nomination forms the number of subscribers to Mr Ward-Brew's forms did not meet the requirements of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of CI 94, the Commission stated. The Commission said there are no signatures for subscribers, signatures of two subscribers (Isaac Dusi & Kofi Kuma) are identical and this raises questions about the legitimacy of the two signatures. The Commission said the same subscriber Kumbung Dosetu endorsed the nomination forms in two different districts (Lawra and Nandom) with two different signatures raising issues again on the legitimacy of both signatures. -Myjoyonline The Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff Department at the Central Military Commission of the Peoples Republic of China, General Wang Guanzhong, paid a courtesy call to President Danny Faure at State House yesterday. General Wang and his delegation are in Seychelles to pursue discussions and explore new avenues to enhance the bilateral cooperation between Seychelles and China in the field of defence. President Faure welcomed General Wang on his first visit to the country and said that Seychelles remains grateful for all the support provided by the Government of the People's Republic of China, especially in its difficult moments. The President reaffirmed that he wants to consolidate what his predecessors have done in other areas, particularly the socio-economic development of Seychelles. "The story of the development of Seychelles cannot be taken for granted without making reference to all the contributions from China. Because of the work of President Michel, we now have people-to-people contact in tourism and have tourists from China coming to visit us. I want to consolidate the socio-economic needs of our country; the institutions, state-to-state and military-to-military cooperation, but I also want to build on commerce and trade so that the economies can sustain development, said President Faure, who is also the Minister for Defence, and Commander-in-Chief of the Seychelles People's Defence Forces. The President also expressed his wish to increase cooperation with the Chinese military to help shape the structure of the defence forces of Seychelles so that it helps the community. During the meeting, General Wang also briefed the President on his meeting with the Chief of Defence Forces, Brigadier Leopold Payet. They also had lengthy discussions on possible future cooperation with the Chinese military through exchange of personnel, training, equipment, and high level exchange visits between Seychelles and China. Defence cooperation between Seychelles and China has progressively increased since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation in October 2004. I would like thank you for your meeting with Brigadier Payet and for all the initiatives that you have proposed. We would like to thank the Government of the People's Republic of China for all the support we have received with our military in very difficult times when we were faced with piracy. We welcome that you will be sending more of your naval ships here in Seychelles for replenishing. All of this shows that we have an excellent relationship, said President Faure. The President also paid tribute to all that the Chinese military is doing for mainland Africa where he said that China has played a gigantic role in its development. Also in attendance at the meeting was the Secretary of State in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Barry Faure, Diplomatic Advisor to the President, Ambassador Callixte Doffay, Military Attache at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Lieutenant Colonel Georges Adeline, Deputy Chief Office of International Military Cooperation in China, Major General Hu Changming, Staff Officer Joint Staff Department in China, Colonel Cai Xiaoyong, Staff Officer Office of International Military Cooperation in China, Lieutenant Colonel Li Jia, Staff Officer Office of International Military Cooperation in China, Major Su Mingyang, and the Charge dAffaires at the Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China in Seychelles, Mr. Zhang Xiangyang. The rotarct clubs of Takoradi, Ho and Abomey made donation to Nana Hemaa Dekyi hospital at Dixcove in the western region. The items which includes waste bins, mob buckets, mosquito nets, mattresses and E&T diagnostic kits was donated to the childrens ward. A clean-up exercise was also conducted at the childrens ward. Mr. Simon Fafa Yahomey the rotaract president of Ho, handing over the items to the hospital, said the donation was part of the continued commitment to humanitarian service and support of the efforts to reach out to the under privilege. Dr. Osei Joseph a medical swip of the childrens ward thanked the club for coming to their aid by showing their full support to the children. It is very immense to provide such a humanitarian service to augment their effort to manage the hospital most especially the childrens ward. He also plead that they provide the childrens ward with more incubators because the hospital only has one and looking at the population of the children it cant accommodate them since the hospital lacks adequate financing. Mr. Simon Fafa Yahomey in an interview with our news team said it is a duty to put a smile on the faces of the children. It is part of their charitable work to serve humanity. He listed some of the projects to be undertaken such as the commissioning and handling over of a computer lab for a school in Ho, donation of school kits. The rotary club also embarked on a project dubbed back to school project to distribute stationery goods to school children of Adaklu a community in Ho and working on a new project to distribute mosquito nets to pregnant women and children under 5 as well as a dental project in December. A gala will be organized in Abomey in Benin to raise funds for a school project. Pearl Sebuabey, the rotaract president of Takoradi also spoke to our news team; she said the club has so many projects to undertake. For the meantime, the club is embarking on a school building project by sponsoring to build a two classroom block for a school. 23.11.2016 LISTEN MARRAKECH -- Representatives of dozens of developing countries, including Africa, small island states, least developed countries and Central American countries joined COP President Morocco in launching the Marrakech Global Partnership on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. The Global Partnership is a major outcome on clean energy from a conference aiming to deliver concrete action and implementation, after a year of high momentum following the adoption of the Paris Agreement. The launch of the Global Partnership is the culmination of a year of collaboration among emerging renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives worldwide. In May of this year at climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, leaders of key negotiating blocs called for for a global partnership. There the Chairs of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, African Group and Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)- representing over 90 countries - were joined by leaders from Morocco and Sweden, building off the inspiration of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), launched at COP 21 in Paris last year. The AREI, a program with pledges of USD 10 billion in financial support, aims to accelerate the harnessing of Africa's huge renewable energy potential in an African-owned and African-led effort to mobilise 300 GW of renewable energy generation capacity in Africa by 2030. Founders of the Global Partnership include five regional renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives from Africa, small island states and least developed countries as well as collaboration with central American countries. Mr. Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, Chair of the LDCs, set out the Global Partnership's vision at the launch, and said: "at this action and implementation COP, the Marrakech Global Partnership is a concrete outcome brightening the futures of the 1.3bn people who currently lack adequate access to energy. The Global Partnership forms a 'roof' supported by the sturdy pillars of regional initiatives, including the newly launched LDC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative (REEEI) for Sustainable Development. These pillars support a home that is more than the sum of its parts, catalysing transformative global action in the energy sector by growing capacity, sharing knowledge and building synergies." Mr. Amjad Abdulla, Chief Negotiator for AOSIS, said: "Island states are increasingly threatened by food insecurity, water shortages and devastating storms. We have recognised the urgency and decided to act now through our Initiative for Renewable Island Energy and the Global Partnership, demonstrating that countries most in need of access to clean energy and ambitious climate action are taking the lead in driving it." Ambassador Seyni Nafo, Chair of the African Group, said: "It is gratifying to see this African proposal for a Global Partnership take flight at a conference hosted by Africans on the African continent. Just as Africa is taking a lead through the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative, so must the rest of the world move towards low-to-zero carbon energy systems to keep warming below 1.5 degrees C." Mr. Ram Prasad Dhital, Executive Director, Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, Ministry of Population and Environment, Government of Nepal, said: "Only 5% of global energy finance flows into low income countries. The LDC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative is not trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it will fill the cracks LDCs currently fall through by facilitating access to finance flows and building capacity to establish the policies, regulations and project pipelines needed to get local projects off the ground." Minister Paul Oquist, of the Republic of Nicaragua,said: "I've often wondered why the most solar panels in the world are in the countries with the least sunshine. Many developing countries have enormous untapped renewable energy potential and the Global Partnership will enable communities to harness this. The link between electricity access and poverty is undeniable.Through the Global Partnership, Central American countries and other developing countries are on the path to low-carbon, sustainable development." Mr. Diego Pacheco, Head of the Bolivian Delegation at the UNFCCC, said: "The Plurinational State of Bolivia is pleased to associate with the Global Partnership. Policies and actions to facilitate renewable energy and energy efficiency in developing countries, are essential for moving towards sustainable development in harmony with Mother Earth." Mr. Said Mouline, Director of public/private partnership COP22, said: "The Global Partnership is a key outcome from COP22 and a shining light for South-South Cooperation. Developing countries are going above and beyond to take ambitious action in the energy sector and steer the world towards a safe and prosperous future for all. Morocco is proud to contribute a strong pillar to the Global Partnership with the International Energy Efficiency Initiative." Representatives of Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) also attended the event to welcome the new Partnership and expressed their support. In addition, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) which has been working in partnership with small island developing states to develop Initiative for Renewable Island Energy was also recognized as important. The Progressive People's Party (PPP) flag bearer, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom was at Axim in the Western region to arouse the support base of the party. Addressing his supporters Dr. Nduom said he is very thankful for their enthusiasm. He only has a short message for the people of Axim and that is to vote wisely. He said, before voting they should put a lot of things into consideration. Dr. Nduom stressed that the town is growth stagnant because there is nothing new to talk of. He said the difference between the developed countries and developing countries is that their leaders have great visions backed by strong actions and commitments. However, the negative consequences for wasting our votes on wrong people can be evidenced by lack of growth in development and hardships in the economy. Political persuasions and unfulfilled promises by our leaders has caused us a lot of harm. Western region is blessed with so many resources but what benefits are we seeing. A chunk of the countrys wealth comes from here but all that we are getting is poverty because some people are mismanaging the resources to their own benefits. According to Dr. Nduom, both the NDC and NPP have taken the people of the region for granted for far too long. He added that the region has nothing to show for its oil and gas resources because we are not getting the benefits as been promised by President Mahama. The benefits of oil and gas should start from where its being produced. This place must be developed first. We must beautify these places before other parts of Ghana enjoy. Dr. Nduom also spoke about the PPP's determination to make proper stewardship, job creation, education and healthcare the cornerstone of its policies for a prosperous Ghana. Dr. Nduom was emphatic about the new party's commitment to eradicate malaria and other preventable diseases from Ghana. Through a single purpose drive to clean our environment and ensure good sanitation everywhere in Ghana, Dr. Nduom was confident that malaria can be banished from our country working with a sense of urgency. He said that other countries in Europe and Asia had experienced malaria in the past and had gotten rid of that health menace and Ghana will do it under a PPP Administration. He also gave the assurance of reviving the fishing industry by protecting the sea. He advised the fisher folks not be tricked by political leaders by taking fishing nets and outboard motors as incentives to vote them but should rather vote for PPP because they have better plans to protect and revive the fishing industry. The Parliamentary candidate of Evalue Ajomoro Gwira Constituency Hon. Prince Adjei also asked the electorates to vote for Dr. Nduom, by stating that its time for PPP to win the race. He said people should combine their forces and vote for him and Dr. Nduom because credibility shows on their part. A senior member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor Kwamena Ahwoi has pleaded with some of members of clergy in Accra to convince members of their congregation to vote for President John Mahama. Speaking at a meeting with the clergy in Accra, Prof. Ahwoi said we beg you as we meet with you today [Wednesday], we are not hiding the fact that we are asking you to talk to your congregations to vote to for our president and our parliamentary candidates. In Prof Ahwois view, the NDC stands for peace, unity and nationhood; a message he said the clergy must convey to their congregants. The choice is very clear; it is between peace and violence. It is a choice between unity and division. It is a choice between nationhood and ethnicity. We beg you, listen to our message. Convey our message to your congregation. Prof. Ahwoi also highlighted the NDC ability to adapt over the years from the revolutionary party it was to what it is in its current incarnation. We have rebranded ourselves. We have especially through Professor Mills, succeeded by President Mahama, completely turned the NDC around the times have changed so the NDC has changed with it. The times have changed, our governance pattern has changed with the times. Julius Debrah who was also at the meeting promised that the next NDC government will provide jobs for the teeming youth in the country as it has laid a solid foundation to propel the country's economic growth to fuel job creation. Mr. Debrah also assured that his partys campaign will be devoid of insults, unnecessary attacks and unwarranted insultsas he encouraged NDC supporters to desist from activities that will lead to trouble, hooliganism and things like that. By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana The National Peace Council says it is alarmed by the practice conduct of some teachers in the Ashanti Region who abandon the classroom to engage political activity. The council says it has information some teachers use student contact hours for radio discussion and some, instances, extend the conversation to the classroom. The councils concern is part of signs picked by the Regional Election Early Warning and Response Group ahead of next months general elections. Officials say they have received reports of both basic and second -cycle schools involved in the practice of sacrificing academic work for political campaigning. The council warns it may be forced to drag some identified culprits to appropriate authorities for sanctions for violating the Political Parties Law after it received several reports on the conduct of the teachers. It is very serious when you look at what is happening even in Ashanti region. We are in Ashanti region, some people can even use more than one hour talk about politics. We have really identified many of them [teachers]. We have received complaints about some teachers who are using contact hours to do studio discussions on certain radio programmes and further return to classrooms to brain wash their students, says Secretary of the Ashanti regional Peace Council, Rev Father George Gyasi Adjei. Section 26 of Act 574 requires neutrality of public office holders in political activities. Rev Father George Gyasi Adjei says the council may be forced to drag the affected teachers before authorities for redress. If they continue doing that, as our advisory role, we think that we would take them to the right quarters so that the law would deal with them, he warned. The peace council is also unhappy about the conduct of some men of God and traditional rulers who are actively involved in politics and making all manner of prediction. It describes as embarrassment clashes between political party opponents and ethnocentric comments by some leading politicians. Traditional leaders and the clergy wield a lot of influence and reverence because Ghanaian traditions and culture acknowledges and exalts them as symbols of unity and peace. Furthermore, the 1992 Ghanaian Republican constitution barred them from such acts. The National Peace Council, Ashanti region wish to counsel such Men of God and our respected traditional rulers to desist from such acts because its harmful. The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA Office for North Africa) will organize on 24-25 November in Tunis (Tunisia) an expert group meeting under the theme : Territorialization of Industrial Policy and Inclusive Growth. This event will take place with the participation of the Tunisian Minister of Industry Zied Ladhari, the acting Director of the ECA office for North Africa Omar Ismael Abdourahman and the acting UNDP Resident representative to Tunisia El Kebir Mdarhri Alaoui ; it will be an opportunity for participants to examine the place and role of territories as spaces for local economic development in North African industrial policies. Participants will include experts from ministries of industry, local authorities, institutions in charge of public policy territorial planning. They will review the state of industrial policies established in the sub-region and their territorial dimension. Experts will also share experiences and good practices in the field of industrial policy governance and public policy coordination, and will identify key reform areas for the territorialization of industrial policies and inclusive development in North Africa. European Union in Kenya partners with Peace Brigades International on the 'International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women' on Friday, November 25, 2016 for the launch of a toolkit for Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) in Nairobi's urban settlements. Women Human Rights defenders are often confronted with gender-based violence including sexual violence and discrimination in communities that expect them to adhere to traditional gender roles. The toolkit aims to improve the WHRDs' understanding on security and protection, by providing them with knowledge, information and relevant tools to undertake their own risk assessments and define security rules and procedures which suit their environment. For Journalists interested in covering this event, send a confirmation to [email protected] and copy [email protected] or call 020- 280 2204/ 0705 951 364 Abidjan, Cote dIvoire, November 23, 2016 The African Development Bank (AfDB) took a step toward increased transparency on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 with the release of AfDB data on AidFlows ( http://www.aidflows.org ), a website that visualizes global development aid. The new data provides information on AfDB funds committed and disbursed to beneficiaries, including South Africa, South Sudan, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Transparency keeps us accountable and engaged with our partners and stakeholders, said Frannie Leautier, AfDBs Senior Vice-President. Through greater transparency, stakeholders are able to monitor the outcomes of AfDBs operations and therefore it will help assure that benefits reach the intended beneficiaries. AidFlows is a unique platform that houses comprehensive and easy-to-read aid data from a range of multilateral development banks and the OECD. Launched in 2010, it was the first platform of its kind to show global data on aid funding. AidFlows provides public access to dataw on the flow of aggregate development funds from development partners to beneficiaries. The expansion of AidFlows has been made possible by open data initiatives within various governments, public and private institutions around the world. We applaud AfDBs efforts to increase aid transparency and openness and welcome them to the AidFlows family, said Axel van Trotsenburg, the World Banks Vice President of Development Finance. This addition helps AidFlows provide a more comprehensive picture of where development assistance is being spent and helps inform and support policy decisions. The addition of AfDB data expands the AidFlows partnership and brings greater detail to development flows to Africa. AidFlows is a partnership between the OECD, the World Bank, AfDB, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank. Contacts: In Washington: Angela Gentile, (202) 621-4955, [email protected] In Abidjan: Olivia Ndong Obiang, +225 2026 4584, [email protected] For Broadcast Requests: Huma Imtiaz, (202) 473-2409, [email protected] For more information, please visit: http://www.aidflows.org Integrated systems research approach in agriculture is key to sustainable transformation in Africa with benefits including increase in yields and livelihoods improvement of resource-poor farmers, according to the Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr Nteranya Sanginga. The systems approach places the farmer at the center and develops an understanding of the farm-household, the environment in which he/she operates, and the constraints he/she faces; together with identifying and testing potential solutions to those constraints. It also involves the dissemination of the most promising solutions to other farm households facing similar problems. Dr Sanginga threw his support to systems researchduring his welcome address to participants at the Systems Marketplace workshop held 15-17 November at IITA Ibadan. The meeting was organized by the CGIAR Humidtropics program, in partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). The IITA boss reiterated IITAs strong history with and commitment to integrated systems research, adding that even though CGIAR would no longer fund standalone systems research programs in its new portfolio, IITA would continue to support systems research and site integration efforts to successfully help with Africas agricultural transformation agenda. According to him, the work of the Humidtropics program has been shown to be very important for improving livelihoods of smallholder farmers, which is attracting the interest of governments and some key donors. Dr Kwesi Atta-Krah, Director of the Integrated Systems on Humidtropics program said system thinking was the way to go. If we want transformation in Africa, we must approach issues in the agricultural sector with systems thinking because the African farmer thinks systemson his farm, he plants cassava, yam, vegetables and name it. It is not just a single crop that he plants, he explained. More than 100 participants including leaders and researchers at the CGIAR System, Center and Program levels, representing subject, organizational and cultural variety attended the 3-day Marketplace workshop. For three intensive and productive days they shared their knowledge and experiences to facilitate integration of systems thinking, tools, methods, approaches and partnerships in other Research for Development (R4D) initiatives. Presenting an independent and general perspective on systems research in the new CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) portfolio, Professor Maggie Gill, Chair of the ISPC (Independent Science and Partnership Council) CGIAR, mentioned that she was at the event to learn what systems research products were on offer, how new CRPs integrate systems approaches to enhance their contribution to achieving the development outcomes outlined in the CGIAR strategy and results framework. Dr Peter Gardiner from the CGIAR System Organization said the systems work done by the Humidtropics collected tools that would be mainstreamed into the new programs. Cairo (AFP) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said he supports the Syrian military, a position at odds with his country's Gulf benefactors like Saudi Arabia. The former army chief, who has overseen a warming of ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main backer Russia, made the comments during an interview aired Tuesday with Portuguese broadcaster RTP. "Our priority is to support national armies, for example in Libya to assert control over Libyan territories and deal with extremist elements. The same with Syria and Iraq," he said, responding to a question on whether Egypt would contemplate a UN peacekeeping role in Syria. Asked by the interviewer whether he meant the Syrian military, he responded: "Yes." Sisi, who was elected in 2014 almost a year after overthrowing his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi, has cracked down on Islamists and is battling a deadly jihadist insurgency. His government had been supported by billions of dollars in aid from Saudi Arabia, but ties appear to have cooled between the two countries amid disagreements over Syria. Saudi Arabia backs rebels trying to oust Assad, while Russia and Iran are supporting him militarily. Saudi Arabia suspended oil shipments to Egypt in October, a move announced after Cairo backed a Russian-drafted resolution on Syria in the UN Security Council, angering Riyadh. In his interview, Sisi maintained Egypt's broad position on resolving the Syrian conflict, saying the solution must be "political." "Our stance in Egypt is to respect the will of the Syrian people, and that a political solution to the Syrian crisis is the most suitable way, and to seriously deal with terrorist groups and disarm them," he said. Sisi, who has praised Donald Trump, also said a plan floated by the US president-elect to have a database for Muslims was understandable. "Yes," he said when asked whether he felt concerned by such rhetoric. "But every country tries to provide security and stability for its citizen, and we understand that." 23.11.2016 LISTEN From William Nlanjerbor Jalulah, Bolgatanga.. President John Dramani Mahama, on Sunday, took his campaign to the Upper East Region, with a call on people of northern descent to come out in their numbers on December 7 to vote hugely for him and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), not because he is a northerner, but because the NDC has developed the north more than the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). Addressing a rally of NDC supporters in Bolgatanga, President Mahama, who is seeking his second and last bid in office, said; It is especially important for us in the three northern regions to turn out for me, not because I come from here, but because if you weigh the two parties [NDC and NPP], the NDC has done more for the people of the north than any other party. And elections are about choices, and if somebody says I will do this for you, and somebody says I will do this for you, what do you look at? You weigh the two and look at the one who, when you had the opportunity, what did you for me, and this one, when you had the opportunity what did you do for me? And when you weigh the two, you find out that the NDC is heavier than the NPP. The NDC's flagbearer further said anytime northerners enjoyed advanced development in all sectors of the economy, including healthcare, education and provision of water in the northern part of Ghana, it has been under an NDC government. He paid tribute to former President Jerry John Rawlings for extending electricity to the three regions Northern, Upper East and Upper West as well as the Brong Ahafo Region, through the introduction of the rural and national electrification programmes. That is why I say the north should turn out in its numbers to vote for the NDC, not because I come from the north, but because the NDC is a party that has proven that its loves the people of the north, and brings development to the people of the north, he added. Before he addressed the rally, President Mahama paid a courtesy call on the Bolgatanga Traditional Council, where the members appealed to him to ensure the completion of all roads currently under construction in the Upper East Region. They also want an airport, the revamping of the Zuarungu meat factor, Zuarungu rice mill and Northern Star Tomato factory at Pwalugu. The Chief of Yorogo, Naba Johnson Awuni Azebire, acting President of the Bolgatanga Traditional Council, who made the appeal on behalf of his colleague chiefs, called on all presidential nominees to ensure peaceful elections, by admonishing their followers not to cause trouble before, during, and after the elections. By Maxwell Ofori [email protected] The leadership of the main opposition political party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. John Kudalor to demonstrate that the police are ready to protect the people of the country without prejudice and favouritism. The NPP said it is convinced the police have a critical role to play in ensuring that intimidation and threats of violence will not mar public confidence in the electoral process. In a 4 paged letter addressed to the IGP signed by the Acting National Chairman, Freddie Blay, the party drew the attention of the IGP to the fact that with less than 22 days left until Election Day, the impartial and untainted professionalism of the Ghana Police Service is needed and is more important. The letter was a follow up of the NPP delegation's meeting with the IGP in the company of Senior Officers on Tuesday October 18, 2016, in the matter of peaceful election activities before, during and after the election and in the matter of prompt and objective enforcement of peace and security by the Ghana Police Service Sir, you would recall that we referred to and emphasized several complaints of incidents of violence and intimidation unlawfully perpetuated against officials and members of the New Patriotic Party all over the country by NDC activists. We call on you to demonstrate that you and your men can even handedly protect all Ghanaians without prejudice or favouritism. We are convinced the police have a critical role to play in ensuring that intimidation and threats of violence will not mar public confidence in the electoral process. In this critical period, with less than 22 days left until Election Day, the impartial and untainted professionalism of the Ghana Police Service is needed and is more important than ever, the letter read. According to the letter, issues of violence were discussed at length and in details with the IGP, while the party officers and its members in the various regions had made several complaints and appeals over the intimidation and violence but regrettably are yet to see concrete measures put in place to deal with, address or forestall further occurrences of such incidents of intimidation or violence. The party, therefore, appealed formally to Mr. Kudalor, once more, to renew his efforts to enforce the peace, to ensure that all Ghanaians felt free of harassment and intimidation in these final weeks before Election Day on December 7, 2016. The letter listed 11 evidential antecedence of the complaint and amongst them was that on May 8th, 2016 during the limited registration exercise in the Volta Region, the NPP Regional Chairman, John Peter Amewu, was assaulted by men in Police uniform at Metsrikasa. The men in uniform were preparing to carry registration equipment on a vehicle toward a town on the Togo boarder which had not been designated in the original registration movement plan. Mr. Amewu was assaulted for using his android phone to capture pictorial evidence of the scenario. We lodged a complaint at the Regional Police Headquarters in Ho, but up till now, the Regional Police Command has not informed us of any results of their investigations. In the Asunafo North and South constituencies of the BrongAhafo Region, Abduallai Mohammed, popularly known as Naabu, a brother of the Local Government Minister, Alhaji Collins Dauda led 'macho men' to beat up NPP agents who were protesting the registration of minors and foreigners, in the full glare of the police, however, no police action has been taken. On the 2nd of October 2016, NDC 'macho men' attacked NPP supporters who were campaigning peacefully in Enyan Main in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam Constituency of the Central Region. Three people received severe knife wounds. The matter has not been investigated. Sir, On Sunday, the 13th of November 2016, NDC activists numbering over 3,000 who claimed they were going on a health walk at the Nima Police Station junction attempted, without any provocation, to force their way into the residence of the NPP's Flag bearer. We have reliably gathered that a number of them threw stones, bottles and other forms of missiles into the house across the wall. Paintings, pictures, banners, etc on the wall were vandalized and in some cases removed by these marauding activists. It continued that, although the few personal security personnel at Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo's gate resisted their attempt to enter into the premises of our Presidential Candidate, this development is alarming and a great cause for concern to the NPP. The party said it had reasons to believe that what happened was not an isolated incident. Mr. Blay said in the letter that the party believes it was an orchestrated and carefully planned attack either to harm, intimidate or provoke unnecessary tension in the country going into the December elections. The implication of the development, the Acting Chairman of the NPP indicated that was most alarming, citing that the Police, we are informed, took over one hour or two, to even make a belated presence, although the Nima Police Station is a two-minute walk from our Flag bearer's residence. In addition to the above-mentioned incidents of violence, the letter stated that the NPP would like to express concern about the Ghana Police Service's announcement of plans to use new police recruits, who are not yet fully qualified, to monitor polling stations and otherwise maintain law and order during the December 7 elections. The use of unqualified recruits , and the rapid scaling up of the recruitment process, as the letter read, raises concerns for the party about transparency in how these individuals were recruited, and their capacity to provide full and equal protection to all Ghanaians on Election Day. Finally, we remain concerned about the threats made by your office to restrict the use of SOCIAL MEDIA and SMS communications on Election Day. Along with other stakeholders, the NPP believes that the free use of SOCIAL MEDIA and other forms of communication are critical to providing transparency and credibility to the election process, by allowing for independent reporting of incidents of violence and intimidation, as well as independent verification of results as tabulated and certified at individual polling stations. By Pascal Kafu Abotsi ([email protected]).. A former General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, popularly called Sir John, says President John Dramani Mahama cannot secure a better future for Ghanaians, because he is a threat to the countrys peace and security. He is a threat not only because he is a tribalist, but more so because he kills hope. Corruption kills and if corruption kills then the man whose greedy hands are constantly on the trigger of corruption must be stopped, to stop corruption killing Ghana, he stated. Addressing the press in Accra yesterday, Mr. Afriyie was optimistic Ghana could perform four times better without President Mahama, as he accused the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of spending four times more than what the country needed to develop. If his government can be this corrupt, reckless, uncaring and incompetent when he knew he would be facing re-election in 2016, then just imagine what he would be if given a final term where he would not have to worry about re-election. I fear for Ghana, he cried out. Sir John questioned the ideological leaning of the NDC, revealing that even though the party often touted its social democratic principles, the party cared less about the welfare of the masses. Instead, he said the strategy and real motivation of the NDC was to rig their way into political life so they could loot state coffers to enrich themselves, their friends, families and close associates. Ghanaians now live under the era where the pitiful plight of the poor has now been capitalized on by the President and his friends and family. Today, the people of La are on a demonstration because they claim their lands are being stolen by the same Mahama, friends and family, he disclosed. The man who drew the countrys attention to the need to fear delegates', touched on sole sourcing which the Mahama government had used in the award of most contracts, saying the government had shoved aside laid-down procedure without recourse to due diligence These contracts often go to friends and family members who often do not even have the requisite know-how to carry through with the job. This has resulted in instances where contracts have been awarded and abandoned midway, and because these awardees happen to be friends and family members of His Royal Highness Dramani, no efforts are made to hold them to account, he alleged. Sir John made specific mention of the construction of boreholes, which contract he said the Mahama-led administration awarded as though they deserved immediate attention. That aside, he descended on the party on the price tag, which he believed was inflated. the price-tag for a mechanized bore-hole, according to players in the industry, should not be more than GH18,000, irrespective of the area or location. To drill a mechanized borehole, it ranges between GH12,000 and GH18,000 anywhere in Ghana on the open market, he stated. As a matter of fact, a company like Animax Drilling Company of Ghana, quotes a mechanized bore-hole within the Greater Accra Region at GHc14,000 and a maximum of GHc18,000 is quoted for same in any part of the country, irrespective of area, location and soil make-up, he added. He juxtaposed the figure with what the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC), for example quoted as its unit cost and that was four times more. The PURC sought to construct 500 boreholes at the cost of GHC30 million, instead of GHC 9 million, if calculated on the cost as quoted by the former General Secretary. Going by the maximum Animax quotation of GH18,000 per borehole in the remotest part of the country, the 500 bore-holes would have amounted to GH9m and not GH30m. So, in all, the contract offered on sole-sourcing by PURC, has been bloated by at least GH21m, he explained. He, therefore, called on Ghanaians not to make a mistake and fail to remove this corrupt, inept, insensitive and visionless John Mahama-led NDC bunch of mismanagers from power at the next opportunity, we shall be calling upon ourselves, a quadruple dose of untold hardships we are currently going through, explaining that Our failure to remove such a corrupt bunch of people from the helms of governance, will be tantamount to signing our ultimate death warrants. 23.11.2016 LISTEN From Edmond Gyebi The effective storage of grains such as maize, beans, cowpea, groundnuts and rice has always been a major challenge for the majority of small holder farmers, not only in Ghana, but the rest of Africa. It is estimated that close to 70% of grains harvested from farms are mostly destroyed by bruchids or weevils within three months of storage. This is due to the lack of effective storage methods or facilities for farmers and other food dealers. Most of the farmers contract huge loans from banks to invest in their businesses, but end up losing virtually everything to pests during storage, which can easily be avoided by using the right methods. It is as a result of fighting this situation that the Purdue University in the United States of America has introduced a new technology called the Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS), in the form of bags to provide a simple, effective low-cost method of reducing post-harvest losses in cereal crops due to insect infestations in West and Central Africa. A PICS bag consists of two layers of polyethylene bags surrounded by a third layer of woven polypropylene, thereby, creating a hermetically sealed environment, in which harvested crops are stored. This oxygen-deprived environment proves fatal for insects and bruchids, and prevents them from causing harm to the stored grains. The PICS technology was developed in the late 1980s by Prof. Larry Murdock of Purdue University, with support from partners in Northern Cameroon, and funding from the US Agency for International Development. With other funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the technology was introduced to Africa in 2007, with efforts under the initial PICS programme, focusing on using the technology to store only cowpeas. This initial phase of the project covered 10 countries across West and Central Africa, including Ghana. However, research presently shows that the technology is as effective in all other cereal crops, as it has been for cowpea, hence the reintroduction of the project to ensure that all other cereal crops are saved during storage from weevil infestation. Benefits associated with the use of PICS bags Firstly, using the PICS bags to store foodstuff reduces incidents of food poisoning associated with the use of chemicals to store food. This is because PICS bags employ the hermetic system of storage, hence, food stored in them does not need to be treated with chemicals before storage. This, therefore, eliminates the use of poisonous chemicals to store food, which, mostly turn to cause health problems for consumers in future. Secondly, the PICS bags have been proven to be a hundred percent effective in preventing weevil infestation in all types of grains, especially, cowpea, beans and maize. For this reason, farmers and other food vendors can now store their foodstuff after harvest, and sell later during the lean season, when prices go up. According to statistics from various market surveys conducted in the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and three Northern regions, rural farmers and market women make close to one hundred and twenty percent (120%) profit more, just by being able to store their produce with the PICS bags for up to six months after harvest. Thus, the PICS bags have definitely created a unique opportunity for them to enhance their economic wellbeing, as well as ensure food security in rural areas. Another significant advantage of using PICS bags is that, they are relatively cheaper, compared to other methods of food storage. The PICS bags are re-usable once the inner linings have not been punctured in any way. Hence, one PICS bag can be used for several years, and it will produce the same results. As such, using the PICS bags to store foodstuff will eliminate the need to buy chemicals and other storage facilities to store farm produce, which usually balloons the cost of storing foodstuff. Since its introduction in Ghana in 2010, the PICS bags have provided many benefits to smallholder farmers and other food vendors across the country. During the first phase of implementation, the project covered over 31,000 villages across the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti regions, benefitting over 300,000 small holder farmers engaged in only cowpea production. Having been reintroduced into the country, this time to cover all other cereal crops, the impact is expected to be even more exponential. Considered as one of the most effective storage methods ever introduced, with nearly 100% effectiveness, it is no surprise that farmers and food vendors have quickly adopted the technology, and are using it to store their produce. Mrs. Hannah Nsiah is the 2010 District Best Farmer for the Ejura Sekyedumasi District of the Ashanti Region. She is also the caterer of the government's School Feeding Programme at the Ejura Methodist School. After years of trying all other methods of storage, both traditional and scientific, Mrs. Nsiah says she nearly gave up cereal cultivation, mainly because of the lack of an effective storage method, until she got introduced to the PICS bags. Now, I can even cultivate more than one hundred acres of only cowpea without any fears, because the PICS bags are able to store my grain without loss, no matter how long I keep them. She also added: Even the students in my school now enjoy the food I cook for them, because I no longer use chemicals to store my foodstuff. They see no weevils in my cowpea after cooking, and the food I serve them also always smells and tastes great, because I am using the PICS bags. Another very significant impact the PICS technology has brought is the creation of a business outlet for agribusinesses and entrepreneurs across Africa. Apart from the project providing thousands of bags to be used on experimental bases by village farmers in chosen regions, Purdue University also provides patent rights to an identifiable producer(s) in each implementing country, to produce the bags on commercial basis for sale to vendors and other agro input dealers across the country, who in turn sell them to make profit for themselves. Since 2007, more than 1.75 million PICS bags have been sold in West and Central Africa alone. In Ghana, nearly five hundred thousand bags have been sold to farmers, predominantly in the three Northern regions and the transition zone, since 2010. At the moment, there are over fifty input dealers across Ghana who retail PICS bags to farmers and other resellers in very deprived communities in the country. This has helped to create jobs for many people, and also expanded the business portfolios of others. Even though Ghana has the capacity to utilise more bags than it is currently doing due to the large annual production of cereals across the country, the main challenge has largely been the lack of adequate knowledge and information about the existence and efficacy of the PICS bags on the Ghanaian market. The other issue has to do with the low interest shown by government and agricultural policy makers, since this technology was first introduced into the country with their prior knowledge. Meanwhile, several visits to the farms of most of the smallholder farmers in the Northern Sector of Ghana, in particular by the Northern File, uncovered that several thousands of them (smallholders farmers), who are not introduced to the use of this new technology (PICS bags), still store their maize, beans, cowpea, groundnuts and rice on their farms at the mercies of unfavourable weather conditions, stray cattle and bushfires. On the other hand, the few farmers who have tested or used the PICS bags for the storage of their produce, have not only given several testimonies towards the effectiveness of the bags in promoting quality food storage and food security, but have also made passionate calls on government, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and its agencies to take the necessary steps to recommend the use of the PICS bag to all farmers in Ghana, and other state agencies like the National Buffer Stock Company, the School Feeding Programme, heads of Senior High Schools, Prisons Services and other institutions which store food in large quantities for a long time. This, they believe, will go a long way to prevent the frequent loss of foodstuff to insect infestations during storage, and also reduce the incidence of food poisoning through chemical application, thereby ensuring food security in the country for many years to come. 23.11.2016 LISTEN By George-Ramsey Benamba, GNA Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - Dangote Foundation, the charity wing to the Dangote Group, has won the Philanthropy of the Year Award, at the All Africa Business Leaders Award (AABLA) held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Awards is the initiative of CNBC Africa and ABN to recognise and reward outstanding African companies for their performance in 2015. A statement signed by Mr Komla Etornam Buami, the Media Relations Manager of the Group, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, in Accra, said nine of Africa's best business leaders were celebrated at the exclusive All Africa Finale. The ceremony was attended by prominent business leaders from across the continent, ambassadors and the Premier of Gauteng, David Makhura. At the West African Regional Stage of the Award, held in Lagos on October 20, the statement said, Dangote Foundation emerged the Philanthropy of the Year, setting the stage for its achievement as the African Philanthropy of the Year. Receiving the award, Ms Zouera Youssoufou, Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Foundation, thanked the organizers of the award, CNBC and ABN for the honour done to the Foundation and Dangote Group for bestowing such a prestigious award. She explained that the Foundation, in the last two years, had grown and was restructured to have greater impact, adding that the $1.25 billion endowment by Aliko Dangote had made it the largest private philanthropy in Africa. Ms Youssoufou stated that Dangote Foundation was focused on improving the livelihoods of the most vulnerable Africans, focusing on health, education and economic empowerment of women. She said the Foundation had been the single largest contributor to the fight against Ebola in Nigeria, with the African Union, and it was working tirelessly to provide relief to the Humanitarian crisis unfolding in Northern Nigeria as a result of the insurgency. GNA By Christable Addo, GNA Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, says more than 213,000 households in all the 216 districts are currently benefiting from the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme. The sector Minister, Nana Oye Lithur, said all the 213,000 beneficiaries under the programme which was one of the country's five flagship poverty alleviation programmes under Ministry, had also been registered on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) free of charge. She said other social interventions such as the Labour Intensive Public Works (LIPW), NHIS, Basic School Capitation Grant and the Ghana School Feeding programmes, were all doing well. The Minister, who could not hide her excitement about the successes and increase in the coverage from 1,654 beneficiaries in 21 districts to the 213,000 in 216 districts when the programme commenced in March 2008, said the LEAP grants were improving social inclusion for poor households, allowing them to re-establish social ties and fully participate in community, economic, religious and social lives. Nana Oye was speaking at the Second Social Protection Dialogue (SPD) series in Accra to disseminate impact evaluation and assessment on the LEAP and the Labour Intensive Public Works programmes. She said the improvement in the LEAP could be attributed to actions taken by the Ministry to remedy earlier challenges in programme implementation. She said the Minister had used findings from two main evaluations; the LEAP 1000, a support programme for children in their first 1000 days of life, and the Impact Evaluation, to make important pragmatic decisions like the regularisation of payments and increase in the cash transfer amount to deepen impacts for programme beneficiaries. Nana Oye Lithur said the programme, which started as a pilot, had since 2008 provided cash payments to extremely poor households with orphans and vulnerable children, the elderly without productive capacity, persons with acute disability and recently expanded to cover pregnant women and children under 12 months. Currently, beneficiaries receive between GH64.00 and GH100.00 every other month through cash transfers using E-Zwich cards, and this achievement has been graded A+ by the British Department for International Development (DFID). The programme, Nana Oye Lithur said, has over the last eight years expanded nationwide with a more refined targeting mechanism which had proven to be effective for the LEAP 1000, as the Ministry makes stringent efforts to include an additional 50,000 households in the second phase. 'LEAP is now functioning much more effectively, supported by a robust M&E system,' she said. Nana Oye Lithur said preliminary calculations from the 2016 end-line evaluation showed an appreciation in the monthly spending of LEAP households from GH112.00 per month per adult to GH187.00 which was an increase of 67 per cent between 2010 and now, and it had also recorded an impressive reduction in school absences. She said the LEAP had also supported households in improving productivity both in agriculture and non-farm activities. However, although there was a strong link between LEAP and NHIS, it does not appear to be translating into improved health outcomes or increased use of health for households, and called for the doubling of efforts to link beneficiaries to access services such as child growth monitoring and nutrition counselling. Dr Isaac Osei-Akoto and Dr Simon Bawakyillenuo, both researchers at the Institute of Statistics, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, took turns to explain the progress and impact of the LIPW, which engages people for public works by promoting the use and management of available human and material resources for the construction and maintenance of infrastructure. They said the LIPW, which had 88.7 per cent beneficiaries, had the potential of causing seasonal migration in the communities where recipients used their incomes to purchase farm inputs and household consumables. Madam Susan Namondo Ngongi, the Country Representative of UNICEF, and Ms Kathleen Beegle, the Programme Leader in Charge of Human Development at the World Bank, expressed their satisfaction of the progress of the LEAP and LIPW towards addressing poverty reduction, unemployment and rural-urban migration. Dr Grace Badiako, a Commissioner at the National Development Planning Commission, urged the Gender Ministry to ensure long-term planning and proper co-ordination to ensure the sustainability of the programme. GNA By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA Kumasi, Nov 23, GNA - The Ashanti Regional Peace Council has expressed concern about the increasing use of the pulpit for partisan politics and said that must stop. It said it found it disturbing, the situation where some pastors were using worship sessions to preach politics, ostensibly to brainwash the congregation. A press statement signed by its Secretary, the Reverend Father George Gyasi Adjei, said that was not the right thing to do because that could create division among church members along party lines. The Council also criticized the judgement of chiefs, openly endorsing presidential and parliamentary candidates. It reminded the chiefs and the clergy of the enormous influence they wielded in the society - their recognition as symbols of unity and peace. The statement added that it would be a sad irony if they 'widely seen and respected as role models and paragons of virtue, decide to stoop so low as to defy the laws of the land and do things which would attract public derision and slight'. It urged them to demonstrate exemplary leadership qualities, to give them the moral right to rein in those who breached the peace of the country. 'We further advise Nananom and our reverend ministers not to lose sight of the fact that they preside over many people with diverse political alliances and persuasions and if they are seen openly endorsing one presidential candidate, may erase and diminish the trust and confidence accorded them. This could be detrimental to their regimes or tenure of office.' The Council spoke of complaints, it had been receiving about the abuse of the school contact hours by some teachers, who deserted the classroom to engage in radio political discussions and return to indoctrinate the students. It asked that teachers adhered to their professional duties and not to stir needless controversies. GNA LAGOS, Nigeria, 23 November 2016,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- SAP's ambitious goal of equipping 5 million African youth with basic coding skills by 2025 took a bold step forward following the release of the results of this year's Africa Code Week. Almost 427,000 youth from 30 African countries completed training between 15 and 23 October, dramatically exceeding the initial participation target of 150,000 students. Africa Code Week is a continent-wide initiative to spark the interest of African children, teenagers and young adults in software coding. Spearheaded by SAP in 2015 as part of its social investments to drive sustainable growth in Africa, Africa Code Week (ACW) is the story of hundreds of schools, teachers, ministers, community centers, code clubs, NGOs, businesses and non-profits getting together to give birth to the largest digital literacy initiative ever organised on the African continent. "In West Africa (excluding French-speaking countries such as the Ivory Coast), we trained more than 73,000 students and achieved high engagement ratios, such as Ghana, with 0,18% youth per 100,000 population," says Claire Gillissen-Duval, Global Project Lead for Africa Code Week. "With Africa contributing more than half of global population growth by 2050, the continent will play a leading role in the future global economy. By learning basic coding skills in an open, supportive environment, Africa's youth are able to take advantage of the immense opportunities presented by the Digital Revolution and become active players shaping the global economy." Africa Code Week's long-term goal is to empower more than 200,000 teachers and positively impact the lives of 5 million children and youth within the next 10 years. Key partners include the Cape Town Science Centre and the Galway Education Centre . Strategic Partners include UNESCO , Google , the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Ampion , King Baudouin Foundation , ALink Telecom , Camara Education and many more. With the highest engagement ratio of 0,47% youth per 100,000 population and a total of 165,352 introduced to coding during this year's initiative, Morocco wins the continent-wide Africa Code Week 2016 award, retaining their top spot from last year. Cameroon was second with 0,26% per 100,000 youth engaged and a total of 62,918 introduced to coding, while Lesotho took third place, with an engagement rate of 0,24%. Other highlights for Ghana and Nigeria include: * In Ghana, the DreamOval Foundation offered free coding sessions at various schools, with full support from the Ghana Education Services; * The wife of Ghana's vice president, Mrs. Matilda Amissah Arthur lent her support to Africa Code Week 2016; * Ghana achieved their target of training 50,000 youth with a final tally of 51,710; * Nigeria enjoyed strong support from the Lagos State's Commission for Science and Technology, Olufemi Odubiyi, and from the Lagos State's Special Adviser on Education, Obafela Bank-Olemoh; * In Nigeria, Africa Code Week reached more than 22,000 youth of which 46% were female. Brett Parker, Managing Director of SAP Africa says: "Africa Code Week 2016 exceeded all expectations and has made a significant impact on the skills development of Africa's youth. And with total female participation reaching 48,6%, this year's initiative also made inroads into gender equality in African ICT education. We will now build on the success of our first two years and, with the help of our partners, start preparing for Africa Code Week 2017." Click here for ACW 2016 infographics . For more information, visit the SAP News Center or visit the Africa Code Week website www.africacodeweek.org or to watch Africa Code Week video footage visit http://africacodeweek.org/media/videos/ The Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministries has cautioned political party agents against using polling stations as a place to incite violence during the general elections. Reverend Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee said the peace of the nation would be preserved when politicians and their representatives become tolerant of their opponents. "Polling stations are not battlegrounds," she said, adding, it is rather the responsibility of political party agents to ensure that the ballots are not tampered with during counting. Refresh the page for more... The Convention People's Party's 2016 Presidential candidate, Ivor Greenstreet, has called on Northerners to reject NPP as an option for change in the December 7 general elections. He said like the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), voting for the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a win for their families and cronies and not for the ordinary people of Ghana. At a campaign event where he addressed the people of Janga in the Walewale Constituency in the Northern Region, Mr Greenstreet took a swipe at the NPP Vice-Presidential candidate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. He said Dr Bawumia has overnight concern for the people of the North following his nomination as the running mate to NPP Presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. He described Dr. Bawumia as an "Accra Northerner" because despite hailing from the Northern Region he does not understand the hardship of the people. Dismayed by the level of poverty he had witnessed on his campaign tour, he said Dr Bawumia despite several opportunities to help his people, found his voice only after he entered politics. "Where has he been all this while" he wondered and said had it not been for politics, Dr. Bawumia would not have been promising the people of the area improved roads and better healthcare. Politicians are falling over each other trying to demonstrate to the voters in the three regions of the North that they deserve their vote. While on a four-day tour of the Upper East region, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, accused President John Mahama of destroying the 'Northern brand'. He said through the President's actions and inactions, the brand, which was known to be one of integrity and honesty has been soiled. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on the campaign trail Speaking at Balungu in the Bongo Constituency last week that, Mr Greenstreet said John Mahamas government is the most corrupt government in the history of Ghana. Dollar for dollar, cedi for cedi, this government is the most corrupt in our history. And yet he tells the people of the North to vote for him because he is our brother. "Why does your government steal from Northerners if you care for Northerners and why do you want us to give you another opportunity to steal more from the people you say you are trying to protect? he quizzed. President John Mahama also courted controversy after he told voters in the three regions of the North to reject NPP because nobody from the region can ever be president on the ticket of the NPP. Mr Mahama noted the reverse is the case with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) where the partys National Executive Committee took a decision and made him the flagbearer. Who am I a boy from savannah Bole born in Damango to stand here today and call myself the president of the republic Ghana? NDC is the party that is the most national in scope; it is the party that opens its opportunities to all Ghanaians irrespective of where your ethnic affiliation is. "Sometimes I feel sad when I see some of my northern brothers running around and also doing this [supporting them]. They will use you and dump you, he said at Jirapa as part of his campaign tour of the Upper West Region. Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com 23.11.2016 LISTEN Ebo Quansah in Accra On Saturday, television cameras relayed the intercessional prayers of Women Aglow for Jesus, the all-female prayer warriors in action at the Independence Square in Accra, praying as usual for peace in this country, before, during and after the elections. I must confess, I am not a fan of the group in which my own sister, Mrs. Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, usually plays the lead role. Last Saturday, I was attracted by what I thought was not a usual sight. I saw Mrs. Charlotte Osei, the controversial Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, praying rather very hard with the group at the Independence Square in Accra. At one point in time, Mrs. Osei was given the front role. She seized the opportunity with both hands, and prayed to the Almighty to grant Ghanaians the wisdom to go to the polls in peace. That is the prayer of every bona fide Ghanaian. We cannot live in rancour and bitterness and destroy our beautiful country, just because there is an election, which is why the National Peace Council has assumed such a prominent role. The Chairman of the council, Very Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Kwaku Asante, has been hammering home the need for peace, as if we are preparing for war. At the weekend, the Executive Secretary of the National Peace Council, Mr. Francis Azumah, was in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, and addressed a sensitisation programme involving all political parties. All of you here, said the Executive Secretary, are responsible parents. How would you feel if you engage in negative acts that would lead to the killing of your children or any of your relatives, while the politician you are fighting for has his or her children? the Executive Secretary asked rhetorically. He told the gathering that the Peace Council would continue to partner this country's development organs to offer the needed education for peace, before, during, and after the elections, in order to ensure that Ghana remained the most peaceful nation in the world, to attract investment. I am not sure whether this country is the most peaceful in the world, but it has enjoyed reasonable stability over the years, and can certainly be counted as one of the most reliable for peaceful co-existence in Africa. We need to continue to nurture our peace, but I dare state that peace is guaranteed when the ground is fertile for fair-play. In other words, a free, fair and transparent election is the key to peaceful co-existence. That is why most Ghanaians are ill at ease with what is emerging as subtle attempts to tilt the vote in favour of the ruling party. Yesterday, The Chronicle published on its front page, a statement issued by the Acting General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, alleging that Parliamentary ballot papers meant for Gushiegu in the Northern Region were found to have been marked at the column for the National Democratic Congress. According to Mr. John Buadu, the consequences of the marked document are that if a potential voter thumbprints any other column, the ballot paper stands to be rejected. On the other hand, a mark at the column for the NDC would render the ballot paper valid, in the sense that the thumb mark would cover what looks like the mark on the paper. The NPP representative, according to Mr. Buadu, promptly drew attention to the anomaly and rejected the papers. My understanding is that the Electoral Commission has accepted liability for the mistake, and has promptly called for a re-print. That is not the only worrying trend. The NPP says it has also uncovered a major security breach at Innolink, the company printing ballot papers for the Greater Accra and Volta regions. Mr. Martin Adjei Korsah, the party's Director of Elections, told Citi FM, an Accra-based private radio station, that the party had lodged a complaint with the police and called for a full scale enquiry over the anomaly. The report was that the Production Manager of the printing company handed over a production plate to a gentleman who entered the printing premises without prior notice, and moved out with the plate. According to my agent, the plate that he saw was exactly the size of the presidential ballot. I immediately requested that he hand over the phone to the Production Manager so I could inquire about this, Mr. Korsah told the radio station. When I got him on the phone, he admitted giving out the plate to the gentleman, who is taking it out of the place. Except that for over 10 minutes, he could not confirm or tell me exactly what plate it was. He said the NPP would not let this information slip away. This story is not going to die, he assured Ghanaians. At the very least, we may have to destroy all those ballots there, because it seems to suggest that it is hugely compromised. We may have to work at it. Everybody is alarmed. We cannot treat this story lightly. The NPP has called for an emergency meeting of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC), over what party officials describe as an illegality in connection with the printing of Pink Sheets without serial numbers. It is against this background that I believe the show of power exhibited by the police and the military in Accra cannot be the solution to the problem related with the elections. It is my conviction that ensuring fair-play and transparency does involve more than marching the military and the police in Accra exhibiting sophisticated weapons. For me, calling for peace involves officials calling on the Electoral Commission to ensure fair-play. I do not know what Ghanaians make of the issue, but the very moment Mrs. Charlotte Osei, a woman who would struggle to exhibit her true credentials as a Ghanaian, was chosen by the President to lead the vote, the electoral process was compromised. Why should somebody born in Nigeria, of a Nigerian mother, lead the process for fair vote in Ghana, when there are so many qualified true-blooded Ghanaians to do the job? For me, a frustrated President John Dramani Mahama knew what he was doing, when he roped in this woman with very questionable nationality, and very little by means of experience, to lead the Electoral Commission. I am not an iconoclast, but I cannot hold myself to believe that Mrs. Osei could do an honest job. Her questionable national identity aside, she has not exhibited the can-do spirit which is necessary to put the burden of refereeing the vote on her tiny shoulders. I am afraid I have to be blunt here. Not many Ghanaians believe in her deputy to deliver a vote devoid of partiality, either. In the run-up to the 2012 vote, Mr. Sulley Amadu held a secret meeting with the top shots of the ruling National Democratic Congress. I dare state that it was the outcome of the meeting that resulted in the Ghana Education Service placing a ban on teachers from the electoral process. The end result was the assembly of virtually foot soldiers who recorded the twenty-seven zero votes. In my humble opinion, Mr. Sulley Amadu has more NDC in his veins than the man seeking re-election as Head of State of this Republic of Ghana on the ticket of the NDC. Unfortunately, the police, under Mr. John Kudalor, as Inspector General, has a lot to do to improve the siege mentality with which it conducts security affairs in this country. The way and manner people on a peaceful march were brutally assaulted on the streets of Accra the other day, does not give me hope that Mr. Kudalor could be an honest broker. That is my humble opinion. I get the feel that as the police capo, the current Inspector General of Police has got more of the zombie mentality than the carrot and stick approach to keeping peace. Read his lips the other day when the police and military showed their muscles, after going on a ride through some streets in Accra. The security agencies are poised for action and will not tolerate any threat to the peace of Ghana. Henceforth, the security agencies will go after any individual or groups whose utterances pose a threat to the security of the country, he warned. This applies to those who rain unwarranted insults on the leadership of the security agencies in a bid to run them down, discredit and ridicule personalities through the media. While security agencies welcome constructive criticism, we cannot tolerate vulgar insults from individuals and groups in the name of politics and freedom of speech, Mr. Kudalor asserted. Just before writing this piece, news filtered in of an official complaint from the NPP, which is demanding fair treatment, in terms of safeguarding their members and leadership, and in maintaining peace. The IGP has a job to do. I do not think the best means of executing his mandate is for the IGP to flex the muscles of the police at only one group of people. Nothing is permanent, I dare state. I shall return! From Issah Alhassan, Kumasi With less than fifteen days to the crucial parliamentary and presidential elections, members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) across the world are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to wrestle political power from the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). And, knowing very well the importance of their polling agents in realising their victory, the Bouake Fun Club of the NPP in La Cote dIvoire has donated 150 bags of rice and 20 gallons of cooking oil at a cost of GH5,000 to the Ashanti Regional party office, to aid in the partys preparations in the various polling stations. Led by Abraham Amoako, Chairman of the group, they believe such donations are vital in protecting the victory and verdict of the good people of Ghana, because, it is when we fail to adequately cater for out agents that the NDC can think of bribing themthis happened during the 2012 elections, but not this time. According to Mr. Amoako, the gesture forms part of efforts to ensure that the party is ready and adequately resourced for victory, because it stands a greater chance of winning this years elections than ever, considering the historic hardships created by President Mahama and his incompetent NDC government. Let me assure all of us here that, this time, we are poised. We have learnt our lessons in a bitter way, and we will resist any move by them to even think of using the state security to intimidate our people or rig this election, the Chairman assured. According to the NPP group, they were moved by the belief that this years elections were theirs for the taking, and the only way they could do this, in their own small way, is the little donation to facilitate movement. According to the NPP group, with the demand of Ghanaians for the return of the NPP to power, it places a duty on the party to re-group and strengthen its outreach programmes, to enable it wrestle political power from the NDC. We have a battle to fight and Ghanaians are waiting for us to rescue them in 2016. We are sitting on a time bomb, and as we want to win power, we need to combine all our resources in order to win the elections, they said. The Coordinator for the NPP Cote dIvoire, Mama China, believed Ghana stands at the brink of collapse should there is a mistake by voters to vote to retain the government, charging the youth of the country to rise up and defend the nation from the hands of this corrupt NDC administration. Receiving the donation on behalf of the party at the regional office, Stephen Amoah, Sticker, was grateful for the gesture, and gave the assurance that whatever donations made to the party will be put to use to benefit the entire members. He also urged them to spread the partys message of change and hope to the Ghanaian community over there, so they would all come and vote for the return of the NPP to the corridors of power, to put in place the best programmes and policies for the forward march of Ghana. 23.11.2016 LISTEN From Samuel Agbewode, Akatsi. The attitude of some Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the Volta Region is likely to affect the fortunes of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), as supporters and sympathisers have started showing signs of apathy towards the party. The Chronicle can state that the arrogance, pride and gross disrespect of these MMDCEs towards traditional rulers, as well as residents in the region, have either discouraged people from continuing to support the party, or created a bad image for the government. Even though the party has the largest following in the region, considered as its 'World Bank', it is fast losing these numbers to the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), due to the attitude of these MMDCEs. One of the MMDCEs, who is dragging the image of the party in the mud, is Samuel Wuadi, Akatsi South District Chief Executive, whose style of administration over the last seven years could negatively affect the NDC in the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections. Mr. Wuadi, over the last seven years, has refused to grant a permit to a private transport organisation, Progressive Transport Owners Association of Ghana (PROTOA), to operate at the district capital, Akatsi. He is alleged to have told irate youth in the district that he (DCE) would never allow PROTOA to operate in Akatsi, because all the youth who are members of the Association, are all members of the NPP, and that his decision is strongly being supported by top government officials in Accra, so he is not afraid of anybody. Consequently, tension is mounting in the district, which compelled this reporter to contact the Volta Regional Minister, Helen Adwoa Ntoso, who, through hard work and determination to succeed, has helped to address all the disputes in the region, including the Nkonya-Alavanyo land dispute among others to intervene. Madam Adwoa Ntoso ordered the Akatsi South DCE to allow PROTOA to operate in Akatsi, but he refused to act on her instructions, because of his 'so-called' top NDC men in Accra who are supporting him. The arrogance and pride of Mr. Wuadi became more visible, when the Chief of Akatsi, Togbui Letsa Korba, appealed to the assembly to issue a permit to PROTOA, like they did for the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), because members of both transport organisations are Ghanaians, but again, the DCE refused. I am the Chief of Akatsi, and my interest is to see all persons willing to work at Akatsi do so without difficulty. All the people working in Corporative Transport Union and GPRTU are all my children, and I do not know which of them belongs to party A, B, C or D, but all that I want is to ensure that they are all working, particularly, at a time the issue of employment is becoming very difficult for government. Therefore, I did not see the interest of the assembly preventing a private company from working at Akatsi, he explained. The Chronicle can state with authority that political tension in Akatsi South is very high, as known NDC members of PROTOA and former executives of the party are allegedly being branded as NPP members by the DCE. The situation has gone from bad to worse, as plans are far advanced by angry youth in the area to stage a demonstration against the assembly and vote the NDC out of power, if the government did not intervene to bring the DCE to order. Further information points to the fact that the Akatsi South DCE could also be cited for conflict of interest, since he is a former Secretary of the Akatsi branch of the GPRTU before his appointment as DCE, hence his refusal to allow PROTOA, which is already operating in almost all the districts in the Volta Region. PROTOA, on three occasions, has been adjudged the Volta Regional best transport organisation. When contacted, the DCE, whether as a result of total ignorance or arrogance, said as part of the local government rules and regulations, the assembly has the responsibility to accept or deny private organisations from working in the district, therefore, when PROTOA applied for a working permit, he called for an assembly meeting, where majority of the members voted against the association operating in the area. Natuzzi brings production back to Italy Italy After a long and delicate period of negotiation, Italys Ministry of Economic Development announced an agreement has been signed with leather sofa manufacturer Natuzzi to re-open the plant located in Ginosa (Taranto) in southeast Italy. To be officially opened on November 30 and operational as from January 2017, the plant will focus on the processing and transforming of pu coated materials for Natuzzis sofas and armchairs, and possibly for other manufacturers. Around 215 people who have suffered from long-term unemployment are to be hired by Natuzzi before the end of 2016, as per the agreement signed with the Ministry on November 15. This is proof that the company has always been committed to addressing the problems arising from global competition in a constructive spirit, with responsibility and realism. The Group has always been faithful to its social mission, while preserving as much as possible employment in the territory, said Antonio Cavallera, Human Resources Manager, Natuzzi. Back in July 2013, Natuzzi had announced the closure of the Ginosa plant, which employed over 1,500 workers, and the opening of a plant in Brazil. Source: Corriere di Taranto Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur says the National Democratic Congress (NDC) governments' continuous investment in education is to secure the future of the youth. He said the NDC's investment in education was not an election gimmick, but a priority of the government. Vice President Amissah-Arthur said this when he inaugurated a girls' dormitory block for the Jinijini Senior High School in the Berekum West Constituency of the Brong Ahafo Region. The event forms part of the Vice President's campaign tour of the Brong-Ahafo Region. Vice President Amissah-Arthur was accompanied by Mr. Eric Opoku, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, Madam Barbara Serwah Asamoah, Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo, Ghana's Ambassador to Algeria, and Mr. Yaw Boateng Gyan, former National Organiser of the NDC among others. Vice President Amissah-Arthur said the first priority of the 2016 NDC Manifesto was to improve health and education, thereby, putting the people first. He said the priority of the government was also to give the youth the chance to improve themselves, adding; when the youth are properly empowered, it is easy to secure their future. He said investing in education was something they intended to continue, adding that whether there were elections or not, they would continue to provide educational facilities. Vice President Amissah-Arthur said improving teacher education to be able to impart knowledge to the students was important to the government. He said providing quality facilities to the school would enable it compete with other good schools in the country. He encouraged the students to make the best use of the facilities provided them by learning very hard. Vice President Amissah-Arthur called on the students, especially those who are 18 years and above, to vote massively for President John Mahama to continue with his transformation agenda. Vice President Amissah-Arthur also addressed NDC supporters at mini rallies in Koraso and Nsoatre. He introduced Mr. Dickson Kyere Duah and Mr Justice Samuel Adjei to the people as the NDC parliamentary candidates for Berekum West and Sunyani West respectively. Source: GNA Geneva (AFP) - A prominent Sudanese rebel group on Wednesday signed a deal with the United Nations to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers in its ranks. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N), which is fighting government troops in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, is on a UN list of groups blamed for committing grave violations against children. The deal inked Wednesday, known as an "action plan", is the first step in getting off that list. "We are open. We have nothing to hide," SPLM-N leader Malik Agar told reporters at the UN in Geneva after the signing. In a separate statement he said his group was "firmly committed to the protection of children in conflict." Under the deal, the SPLM-N agreed to release all children in their ranks, take measures to stop the recruitment of minors including through formal orders to senior commanders, and help ex-child soldiers reintegrate with their families. The UN envoy for children in armed conflict, Leila Zerrougui, called it a "significant day" and said her office would help the SPLM-N honour its pledges. The SPLM-N is one of several ethnic minority rebel groups fighting the Arab-dominated government of Omar al-Bashir, who has been charged with genocide by the International Criminal Court. Last month the SPLM-N said it would suspend talks with Khartoum after Amnesty International accused government forces of unleashing chemical weapons on civilians in Darfur state this year, killing up to 250 people. Two other rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Army faction headed by Minni Minnawi, are fighting Bashir's forces in Darfur. BoG has only $25m of $104m needed for imports but Bawumia has chased 'strategic partner' Abochi into hiding Isaac Adongo Two applications filed at the Supreme Court could delay former Attorney General, Martin Amidus oral examination of businessman Alfred Woyome which was expected to take place tomorrow. One of the application is praying the Supreme Court to review the ruling of the court presided over by Justice Enin Yeboah a week ago. Justice Yeboah had approved Martin Amidus request to orally examine Alfred Agbesi Woyome, the man at the centre of the controversial GHC 51 million judgement debt saga. The second application, on the other hand is a request for a stay of proceedings to enable the court determine the motion for review. A stay of proceedings is a ruling by the court in civil and criminal procedure, halting further legal process in a trial or other legal proceedings. Two applications filed at the Supreme Court could delay former Attorney General, Martin Amidu's oral examination of businessman Alfred Woyome which is expected to take place tomorrow [Thursday]. One of the application is praying the Supreme Court to review the ruling of the court presided over by Justice Enin Yeboah a week ago. Justice Yeboah had approved Martin Amidu's request to orally examine Alfred Agbesi Woyome, the man at the centre of the controversial GHC 51 million judgement debt saga. The second application, on the other hand is a request for a stay of proceedings to enable the court determine the motion for review. A stay of proceedings is a ruling by the court in civil and criminal procedure, halting further legal process in a trial or other legal proceedings. Background Mr. Woyome was earlier ordered by the Supreme Court to appear in court for an oral examination over the controversial judgement debt saga. The order followed an application filed by Mr. Amidu, praying the Supreme Court to allow him to orally examine Woyome, after the Attorney General (AG) discontinued the process to examine him. Justice Anin Yeboah, who gave the ruling argued that the applicant had the right to do that because he personally came to court to get a judgment to have Mr. Woyome pay back the GHc51 million cash he received as judgment debt. -Citifmonline Innolink Ghana Limited, one of the few companies contracted by the Electoral Commission (EC) to print electoral materials for the December polls has dismissed the claim that it has given out a presidential ballot plate to a private individual. Business Development Manager of Innolink, Kingsley Kofi Addo at a news conference in Accra said findings of their investigation into the matter revealed the plate that was handed out was that of Form Eight popularly known as Pink Sheet and not the presidential ballot plate alleged by opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). We wish to state that our own preliminary investigation has established the following facts that no plate of the presidential ballot had been given out by any officer," the spokesperson said. The NPP has raised concerns regarding some activities of companies contracted by the EC to print electoral materials for the upcoming polls. The party had, some few week ago, questioned the decision by the Commission to print supplementary Pink Sheets without serial numbers. The NPP has argued this contradicted C.I.94, the law governing the 2016 general elections. EC Director of Communications, Eric Dzakpasu issued a statement to the effect that the Commission together with political party representatives had agreed that the supplementary documents would instead of having serial numbers, there would be space for the numbers to be entered in them. He described as falsehood another claim by the NPP that it played no role in the decision. With less than 12 days to the presidential and parliamentary election, the NPP has again faulted Innolink Ghana Limited for conniving to hand out the presidential ballot plate to a private individual. NPP Director of Elections, Martin Adjei Mensah told Raymond Acquah, host of Joy FM's Top Story programme Wednesday said he has found the explanation of the company contradictory. According to him, the official statement of the company and explanation of its officers are contradictory. They are irreconcilable, he said. Mr Adjei Mensah said the NPP has not said anywhere that the company gave out a presidential ballot plate to the unidentified individual. He said they were told that a man went into the office of Innolink and later came out with the General Manager while holding what appeared to be a ballot plate. He said the NPP's agents who are assigned to monitor activities at the various printing houses have been trained to report any sneaky and suspicious dealings and that was what they did. "We have made the report to the police to find out the plate that was sent out. We cannot verify that the presidential ballot plate is what was given," Mr Adjei Mensah said. Head of Marketing at Innolink Ghana Limited, Michael Quartson said the Commission contracted them to print the presidential and parliamentary ballot for both the Greater Accra and Volta Regions. Refresh the page for more... Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | Email: [email protected] MTN Ghanas Finance Team has swept three awards at the CFO Awards organized by Instinct Waves. MTN Ghanas Chief Finance Officer, Modupe Kadri, was adjudged the Telecoms CFO of the Year. This is the second consecutive time Mr Kadri is winning the award. He was awarded for his role in improving mobile broadband access and driving financial inclusion through MTN Mobile Money in Ghana. Mr Kadri joined MTN Ghana from MTN Nigeria in 2014 as CFO after an outstanding seven-year career, where he held the positions of General Manager, Financial Operations and also General Manager for Financial Planning in MTN Nigeria. MTN Ghanas Finance team was also adjudged the Finance Team of the Year (Gold) whilst the MTN 4G project won the Financial Innovation Project of the Year. Commenting on the awards, Mr Kadri attributed this feat to the rare sense of professionalism and hard work exhibited by the MTN Finance Team. He said, I am delighted to receive the CFO of the year award for the second time. Its a good feeling and I am happy that my contribution in Finance has been recognized once again. The Finance Team award also consolidates the fact that we continue to work together to achieve the desired results to ensure that the customer is delighted. Earlier in the year, MTN Ghana received an award from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) Ghana and the Association of Ghana Industries for its outstanding contributions to local procurement initiatives. That award follows one MTN received from CIPS Africa in Johannesburg for the Most innovative use of technology in Procurement and Supply. About MTN Ghana MTN Ghana is the market leader in the increasingly competitive mobile telecommunications industry in Ghana, offering subscribers a range of exciting options under Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go Services. The company has committed itself to delivering reliable and innovative services that provide value for subscribers in Ghanas telecommunications market. MTN has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network since its entry into Ghana in 2006. Total investments from 2006-2015 are about US$2.512 billion. MTN has the widest network coverage across Ghana. With the recent commercial launch of 4G LTE services, MTN became the only mobile operator providing 4G services in all regional capitals and large cities. The company has also built three modern Switch and Data centres to deliver stable, reliable, efficient and robust Telecom and Data Services to customers. For further information, visit www.mtn.com.gh . 23.11.2016 LISTEN Ebenezer Twum Asante, MTN Ghana CEO, has been adjudged the overall CEO of the Year in Africa's telecommunication industry at the AfricaCom Awards. Mr. Themba Zotwane, Senior Manager Operations in the WECA Region received the award on behalf of Mr. Asante. AfricaCom is Africas most prominent annual industry awards for the telecommunications and information technology sector. This award comes barely a month after he was adjudged the Best CEO in the MTN Group. Mr Twum Asante is the first Ghanaian CEO of MTN Ghana. He is credited for the companys consistent growth in the market share and entrenched leadership in the telecommunication industry. Recently, MTN Ghana subscriber base saw a 3% growth to over 18 million, shooting its total market share to almost 50 per cent, and mobile data market share to over 60 per cent. MTN Ghana currently has 18 million subscribers and was the first telecoms operator to acquire a 4G LTE license at a cost of US$67.5million. MTN commercially launched its 4G LTE services on 21st June in all 10 regions of Ghana after it acquired the license in December 2015. This year, MTN has spent $96 million on network and information systems including the rollout of the 4G network. MTN Ghana has within a period of one week won several other prestigious awards. MTN Ghanas Finance Team swept three awards at the CFOs Awards organized by Instinct Waves. In addition, at the Advertising Association of Ghanas Gong Gong Awards, four of MTN Ghanas creative campaigns won prestigious awards. Mr Twum Asante attributed these multiple awards to the commitment shown by the strong leadership team and the dedicated staff of MTN Ghana. It's a blend of hard work, dedication and the commitment to delight our customers that drives us to excel in our work" he said. The awards demonstrates our vision and strategy to offer value to our customers. He added that these awards are a recognition of the consistent growth the company has witnessed over the years. He dedicated the awards to all MTN customers. Other awards the company has received this year include the GITTA Best Customer Service of the Year Award for the third consecutive time and three prestigious Institute of Public Relations awards. MTN also recently won the Engineering Business Management award in recognition of its 4G LTE project. About MTN Ghana MTN Ghana is the market leader in the increasingly competitive mobile telecommunications industry in Ghana, offering subscribers a range of exciting options under Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go Services. The company has committed itself to delivering reliable and innovative services that provide value for subscribers in Ghanas telecommunications market. MTN has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network since its entry into Ghana in 2006. Total investments from 2006-2015 are about US$2.512 billion. MTN has the widest network coverage across Ghana. With the recent commercial launch of 4G LTE services, MTN became the only mobile operator providing 4G services in all regional capitals and large cities. The company has also built three modern Switch and Data centres to deliver stable, reliable, efficient and robust Telecom and Data Services to customers. For further information, visit www.mtn.com.gh . 23.11.2016 LISTEN Infrastructure is both the backbone for the economy but also the motherboard for technological innovation. Without adequate infrastructure, Africas economies cannot realise their full potential. The continents low economic performance and weak integration into the global economy is in part a result of inadequate infrastructuremainly energy, transportation, telecommunications, water and sanitation, and irrigation. (American-based Kenyan Dr. Calestous Juma, Harvard Kennedy Schools Professor of the Practice of International Development and Faculty Chair of the Innovation for Economic Development Executive Program/Director of Harvard Kennedy Schools Science, Technology and Globalization Project). INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT & PUBLIC CAPITAL INVESTMENT This observation sums up the importance of infrastructure in national development. This is why investment in public capital is such a prudent choice for any government to consider as a policy priority. The other reason is that no foreign investor will want to invest in another country, with inadequate investment in public capital, to sustain his or her investment. It fits the rational choice theory somewhat perfectly. The only probable downside to investment in public capital in our part of the world is that, we often outsource infrastructural projects, rather than consider local expertise for the job, a policy move that may have severe intended and unintended implications for national development. Thus, it is extremely important that we also find ways to make up for the grinding deficits we have in human capital. We cannot expect to have children studying under trees to compete effectively with their counterparts in the West and the advanced economies of the East, for instance. It is equally understandable that local expertise may not measure up to international standards and therefore governments, like ours, are forced to look elsewhere, although, once again, we have competent men and women with the technical know-how to assist local efforts. David Ajaye is one such individual (Note: We have featured him and some of his outstanding works in some of our earlier articles before he became a fixture on Ghanaweb in connection with designing the National Museum of African American History and Culture). How much do we invest in R&D? Is R&D even a national priority? Apparently not. It matters that institutionssuch as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)should coordinate efforts between the private sector and the state regarding effective ways of funding R&D. No modern civilization can afford to ignore the importance of infrastructure asset management to development economics, human capital management, sustainable development, and development sociology. And in all these R&D figures prominently in any strategic assessment of infrastructure asset management. Still, outsourcing strategies come with technology and knowledge transfer and transfer of other forms of administrative and technical expertise to a local economy. This transfer of knowledge may be overt or implicit in setting up public capital. The overt aspect revolves around a number of social benefits derived from public capital investments. But not when open defecation denies existing public capital its humanity, when maintenance is not part of the technical vocabulary of the Ghanaian bureaucracy and Ghanaians in general, and when open defecation graces some important public infrastructures, for our leaders have never demonstrated any serious technocratic knowledge of compatibility between infrastructure asset management and comparative advantage, pragmatic nationalism, social benefits, and internal development. It requires radical revision of the public mindset, knowledge of public health, and strategic investments in educating the public in order to do away with this shameful chronic problem of open defecation. But there is so much the government and our bureaucracies can do to reverse these shameful trends. Open defecation dehumanizes Ghanaians, depreciates or devalues public infrastructure, results in a dip in tourism revenue, and adds to rising anthropogenic-driven disease burden. What Frantz Fanon called dependency complex cannot help us do away with open defecation, a millstone around our collective neck. It should rely on our own initiative to combat this problem. We must make a concerted effort to protect investments in public capital from vandals, saboteurs and modern-day Luddites. Significantly, the crooked mind that is behind open defecation is the same mind behind public corruption. Perhaps protecting ones comparative advantage is all there is to itthe central question of pragmatic nationalism. It is the case that patriotic members of industrialized polities and emerging ones apply themselves well to matters of comparative advantage and pragmatic nationalism. Ours is a different political and moral narrativepolitical morality. We are hereby referring to public corruption, namely using dubious accounting practices to inflate project costs. We do not invest much foresight and technocratic efforts toward maintaining public infrastructure. Maintenance is required to sustain the physical health of infrastructure, to maximize or optimize the social benefits from public infrastructure, to promote infusions of foreign capital and expertise into the system, and to keep the economy going. We sometimes forget that any piece of infrastructure is just like the human body, which requires technical nourishment from time to time to keep it from homeostatic breakdown. In other words, like human beings, any piece of infrastructure has a natural lifespan which is subject to how we maintain them. However public corruption is not unique to our part of the world. It is seen in the West, Asia and other parts of the world, yet certain economies in the East are fast catching up with the West in terms of the pace of public capital investment. Now talking about public corruption, we can recall a morally instructive anecdote which cites an African minister who traveled to the East, Asia, on a familiarization tour. And whilst there, he was exposed to the near-panoramic continuum of technological and scientific advancements Asians have madesprawling skyscrapers, airports, roads, public service infrastructure, and so on. The minister nearly fainted from lack of inhalation of agoraphobic fresh air. Nevertheless, having recovered fully from his transient stupor, he asked his Asian host almost extemporaneously: How did you guys do it? There was a series of uncomfortable croaky harrumphs from the host: Patriotism, dedication, hard work, a high sense of collective self-esteemYes, we also steal from our national coffers but we still make sure to develop our countries and our people, unlike you Africans who steal all and completely forget about the development of your countries and your people! CONCLUSION All the indications are that we will never be where we are today in terms of infrastructural investment and physical development if our leaders religiously followed the pre-eminent example of Nkrumah. On the other hand, Ghana and its economy have survived to this day because of the pragmatic vision of this great son of Africa and of the world, the worlds Africas Man of the Millennium. The teachable, prime example of Nkrumah is nonpareilthat is, Nkrumah has no peer in the entire political history of the African continent. Perhaps only the Ancient Egyptian vizier and polymath Imhotep comes close (see Robert Bauval/Thomas Brophys book Imhotep: Architect of the Cosmos). This is why the British scholar David Simon, a Professor of Development Geography/Director of the Center for Developing Areas Research at Royal Holloway (CEDAR), University of London, ranked Nkrumah among the worlds most influential fifty development thinkers and why Nkrumah is still studied in development studies across the world today (see the book Fifty Key Thinkers on Development; see also Ivan Van Sertimas text Great Black Leaders: Ancient and Modern). Prof. Simon is also associated with the University of London-based Politics, Development and Sustainability Group (PDSG), a research group made up of the Politics and Environment Research Group (PERG) and CEDAR. REFERENCES Calestous Juma. (June 26, 2015). Infrastructure For Innovation. New African. Founder of International Central Gospel Church, Dr. Mensah Otabil has stated emphatically that Ghana over years seems to have lost its direction not because of the larger Global problem facing all country but rather have lost focus attempting to do everything at the same time. According to him the core functions that drives the country have been mishandled by both leaders and citizenry . The nation is bless with chocolate where there should be chocolate factory litter around the country but there seems to be non.Our beaches have been abuse to the extend that there is no money. He stated. He made the assertion at the launched of Manet Tower 3 at Airport City with the aim of providing modern office space accommodation in the most coveted business hub in the nation's capital city in the Greater Accra Region. He commend the CEO for putting up huge edifice in spite of the economic challenges confronting the country. On his part Executive Director, Mr Martin Beeko, said it is paramount for any organization to look to the future and plan accordingly to accommodate future development which is what the company has been and will continue to do. Despite economic and other significant challenges that plague the real estate industry, such as high taxation on developers, high tariffs on imported materials, among others, developers have to persevere to achieve the goals they set out to achoice. 6 years ago, we inaugurated our inception into the commercial property development market. This is a branch of the company created to cater to businesses wishing to compete with its international counterparts with state of the art commercial accommodation. As an added bonus, this development contributes to the enhancement of the skyline of the country to reflect those of the modern world.He said. The two towers seen behind me marked the beginnings of another branch in the company thereby enabling Manet, cater to the residential and commercial markets. This third development, next to its predecessors is the largest thus far and boasts the highest technological advancements to enhance the business experiences of its occupants. Such projects, especially when developed in high end areas such as the airport city, are viewed as ambitious and its completion fills the company with a great sense of accomplishment. However, such featgs our not accomplished by a single entity. Under rigorous economic conditions, financial support is paramount in the success of such implementations. All attendances will agree, the economy has not been particularly business friendly this year (or should I say the last couple of years) However, despite all these difficulties, our company Was fortunate enough to have the financial upport and backing needed to complete such a development under such economic distress. UT bank embodies what financial institutions should be/strive for. They are the sole financiers of the structure seen before you. We often make reference to knowing your true allies by those who helped and stuck by you when you had your feet in the trenches of mud and UT bank has supported and continues with its support despite economic hardships currently plaguing the country. Another faction critical to the success of this development was the cultivated partnerships with our suppliers. The support of K. Ofori limited enterprises, Agenda and last but not least Aluglass played a significant role in the establishment of this third tower in Airport city. Manet Tower 3, the ten floor structure consists of a total area of 12, 00 square meters with a lettable office space of approximately 7,600 squares. Once the festivities are under way, our facility manager along with some of our capable ushers will be give guests a tour, should they choose. Over the years, Manet, has celebrated and continues to celebrate over two decades of job creation and service to the country. The Company looks ahead to bigger and better advances in the future. Story by Anita Frimpong Sometime in 1979 when I was 23, living in Columbia, Mo., and teaching peace studies at the University of Missouri, a young man knocked on my front door and introduced himself as Dave Rathke. He said he was from St. Louis and worked as an organizer for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. He had gotten my address from the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC), an offshoot of the Socialist Party of Eugene V. Debs, to which we both belonged. Rathke had come by to introduce me to In These Times. I subscribed and was soon hooked on what the masthead described as the independent socialist newspaper. That year, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) decided to challenge President Jimmy Carter in the Democratic primary. Many DSOC elders were delightedbut I, along with the young members of my local DSOC chapter, considered Kennedy too middle of the road. With the help of friends from the local NOW chapter and the Central Missouri Labor Council, we commandeered the Boone County Democratic caucuses, shutting out Kennedy supporters and sending dissident uncommitted delegates to the 1980 state and national conventions. We were Berniecrats avant la lettre, and In These Times was the periodical we turned to as young people coming of age in the aftermath of the 1960s. Historian James Weinstein (1926-2005) had founded the magazine four years earlier on the belief that no political movement can be healthy unless it has its own press to inform it, educate it and orient it. The previous decade had seen the promising rise of the New Left come to naught. Part of the reason the New Left disintegrated, he would later write, was that it had no intellectual center and no popular publication to disseminate its ideas and let people know what it was doing and why. James Weinstein, a historian of the American Left and the founder of In These Times, on Chicagos Milwaukee Avenue in 1976 In the summer of 1976, animated by a desire to help build a healthy progressive movement with an intellectual center, Weinstein and other members of the original ITT staff packed up their homes on the West Coast and moved to Chicago, a city with three things going for it: a low cost of living, a storied labor history and a location that was not the Bay Area, New York or Washington, D.C.places that were, respectively, too enthralled with the counterculture, too burdened by the baggage of left history and too deep inside the belly of the beast. As a historian, Weinstein was interested in what could be learned from the experience of turn-of-the-century rabble-rousers like the Populists, Progressives and Socialists. These radical reformers (and their publications) were mobilized by the intolerable contradictions of the Gilded Age, an era in which an oligarchy luxuriated in ill-gotten riches while the majority endured a series of national economic crises. This was also the period in which the corporation came to dominate the American economy, and corporate entities were formally granted constitutional protections enjoyed by natural persons via the Supreme Courts 1886 ruling in Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company. Through his research into the politics of this period, Weinstein came to appreciate the role the Socialist press played in confronting unbridled corporate power and informing social movements. He was particularly inspired by Appeal to Reason, a Socialist newspaper out of Girard, Kan., which hit a weekly circulation of 761,747 in 1913. The Appeal had published Upton Sinclairs sensational novel The Jungle over the course of nine months in 1905. This expose of the appalling working conditions and stomach-churning practices of Chicagos meatpacking industry created a public uproar that led Congress to pass the Meat Inspection Act in 1906. A former member of the Communist Party (his FBI file runs in the hundreds of pages), Weinstein was also familiar with the Marxist Leftthose fans of Trotsky, Lenin and Mao who from their clubhouses foment imminent revolution. He thought them to be undemocratic, both in how they operated and the goals to which they aspired. In ITTs inaugural editorial, he promised a break with both the sectarian legacy of the socialist Left and the timidity and incapacity of the social reform tradition. Weinstein embraced what he saw as democratic, decentralist and pluralistic political culture of the early Socialist Party, which was founded by Eugene V. Debs, a former Democratic Indiana state representative, among others. The Socialist Party did not shy away from electoral politics. Debs would go on to be a five-time Socialist Party candidate for president, coming in fourth in the 1912 presidential election with 6 percent. He garnered 901,551 votes, one of which was cast by my grandfather, Walter F. Bleifuss, a farmer and physician in Olmsted County, Minn. Despite the Socialist Partys success in electing two members of Congress and a smattering of state and local officials, it never gained a toehold in the national political landscape. This had little to do with its policies and everything to do with the U.S. electoral system. Its called a system for a reason. Over the years it has been constructed to favor the Democratic and Republican parties, two quasi-public institutions, granting them a lock on electoral power. From this study of history, Weinstein understood that democratic socialist ideas would only enter the mainstream through candidates who ran as open socialists under the banner of the Democratic Party. Consequently, a founding tenet of ITT was its opposition to third-party electoral effortsdebilitating exercises that diverted progressive activists toward political dead ends. From the beginning, we made it a priority to cover the campaigns of change-making candidates who challenged the Democratic Party establishment. And once they were elected to office, we reported on their efforts to institute structural reforms like single-payer healthcare, getting private money out of public elections and addressing income inequality through progressive taxation. Though few of the elected public officials ITT championed openly embraced democratic socialism, all stood out as stalwart progressives. President John Mahama has ruled out the possibility of a runoff in the upcoming presidential election, stressing he would win in the first round. He said the many scientific polls conducted by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) reveals a one touch victory against his political opponents. Speaking on Upper East Regional based URA Radio Wednesday, after his tour of the Region, he said, I am confident of victory because we will be able to achieve a first round victory. We have done our own scientific polling and even some of the polling being done by independent people, the numbers are looking great and so I am confident that from what is being done scientifically, plus or minus any margin of error, we will make 50 percent plus, he said. President Mahamas comment follows many surveys which have predicted victory for New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Research works by London-based Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) have revealed resounding win for Mr Akufo-Addo because of it said was the prevailing economic challenges in the country. In EIU's April and October surveys, NPP was tipped to defeat NDC in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. The international research institution had predicted the victory of late President John Evans Atta-Mills in the 2012 general elections, however, he died in July of that year. President Mahama said despite surveys which have predicted a win for his closest opponent, he is winning the December polls. We are looking at issues of concern to people in different regions and so the campaign message is tailored to address the concerns we find in any particular region and the response we have got is very enthusiastic. Wherever we go, I have been warmly welcomed, he said. He said if he is given a second term, Ghanaians would see "far more than we are seeing in this first term." It is not in my consideration, there is no event that we will be going into a second round, from what I am saying scientifically, plus or minus any margin of error, we will make 50 % plus. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | Email: [email protected] Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - Clashes between rival armed groups in the Central African Republic have left at least 16 people dead and displaced several thousand civilians, the UN said Wednesday, warning of "targeted assassinations" against ethnic Fulani. "There have been at least 16 confirmed death and thousands displaced," Vladimir Monteiro, spokesman for United Nations peacekeeping force MINUSCA, said in a statement. The violence erupted on Monday between rival factions of the former "Seleka" Muslim rebel group in the town of Bria, 400 kilometres (250 miles) northeast of Bangui. MINUSCA said Tuesday that one of its bases had come under fire during the clashes before its troops drove the attackers out with retaliatory gunfire. It announced reinforcements were being sent to the base to protect some 5,000 civilians sheltering there. The fighting broke out between the Popular Front for the Renaissance of the Central African Republic (FPRC) and the Union for Peace in Central Africa (UPC). The two factions are fighting for control of taxes levied on Fulani herders during the current seasonal migration. Lambert Lissane, a senior FPRC official, said the group and other ex-Seleka armed groups were negotiating a deal with the government but that UPC chief Ali Darass did not want to take part. "We have decided to stand together against him," Lissane said. The government is trying to bring together 14 armed groups under a disarmament deal to consolidate a fragile peace in the former French colony, where militias are flourishing in the power vacuum left by a weak state. One of the world's poorest countries, CAR is struggling to emerge from a civil war which erupted in 2013 following the overthrow of former president Francois Bozize, a Christian, by Muslim rebels from the Seleka coalition. The coup led to the formation of "anti-Balaka" vigilante units, drawn from the Christian majority, which began to target Muslims. Both sides committed widespread atrocities. France last month withdrew a military mission it deployed in December 2013 to stabilise the country, leaving the UN's 12,500-strong MINUSCA peacekeeping mission to protect civilians from armed groups. International donors last week pledged $2.2 billion (two billion euros) in aid for the strife-torn country. Tamale, Nov. 23, GNA - Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has promised to transform Ghana within 18-months when given the nod to rule the country. He said he was ready to change and create a new Ghana full of opportunities for the youth and the entire populace adding that he would use the country's resources for the transformation and create new hope and prosperous future for the teeming youth. Nana Akufo-Addo said this when he addressed a large crowd in Tamale on Tuesday at a regional rally aimed at galvanizing support for the NPP in the December polls. The NPP has so far organised similar regional rallies in the Volta and Upper East regions where they appealed to the electorate to vote massively for the party on December 7 to enable it to transform the lives of the general populace. Nana Akufo-Addo said: 'I am colour-blind and I don't play tribal politicsI belong to every Ghanaian and will continue to beg for your votes since sovereignty resides in the people,' he said, adding; 'those who do not understand democracy do not know that power resides in the people.' He said the agro-industry would be used to create jobs for the youth especially in the northern part of the country to avoid the situation where they travelled outside the region seeking for non-existent jobs. Mr Alan Kyeremanteng, a leading member of the NPP, said if the party was voted into power it would establish groundnut and sugar processing factories in the northern region and give credit to low-income earners to boost their businesses. He said Ghanaians wanted jobs but had been disappointed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and promised that the NPP would create jobs using local raw materials such as maize, millet and sorghum for its one village, one factory agenda. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Presidential Running-Mate, said the party would change the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to a Northern Development Authority to reflect the original intent and purposes of the authority. He said almost all sectors of the country including health, education, agriculture and the economy were suffering under the NDC Government and called on Ghanaians to vote the NDC out of power. Dr Bawumia suggested that the only solution to the mal-administration of the country was to elect a government of integrity with a good vision to transform Ghana. GNA By Paul Achonga Kwode, GNA Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - Lexta Ghana Limited, the producers and suppliers of Yazz range of products and Hooch Foods, has appointed Seth Ntiamoah-Asare as its new Head of Sales and Marketing. Until his appointment, Mr Ntiamoah-Asare was the Head of Sales, Airtel Money at Airtel Ghana. He also worked at Unilever Ghana Limited where he served in various capacities at the Customer Development Unit and later moved on to become the Country Manager for the top end products and was responsible for overseeing the entire supply chain. Prior to his appointment at Airtel, he was a Territory Manager for Millicom Ghana, operators of the Tigo network. His appointment forms part of the company's quest to become the most preferred brand of household hygiene products in Ghana and the rest of the continent. Commenting on the new appointment, the Chief Executive Officer of Lexta Ghana Limited, Mr Martin Brobbey was confident Mr Ntiamoah-Asare's wealth of experience would positively impact the fortunes of the company. 'We have recently undergone some restructuring and have assembled a team of brilliant and experienced professionals to help drive growth. 'Yazz is a well-known brand on the Ghanaian market and in some parts of the West African sub-region but we would like to commit more resources to positively impact the communities in which we operate so Ntiamoah-Asare is a great addition to the team,' he said. On his part, Mr Ntiamoah-Asare promised to make Yazz range of products and Hooch Foods, synonymous with its mother company, Lexta Ghana Limited. 'My dream is to take Lexta Ghana to the level where in every home, when you mention Lexta, people will be aware of the brand and its range of products. It is a great brand but the brands under Lexta are louder. 'People know about Hooch Foods, people know about Yazz range of products including the washing powders, the sanitary pads, the toothpaste and brushes therefore, this is one bold step the company is taking,' he said. Mr Ntiamoah-Asare indicated his resolve to spread the company's footprints across Africa and the rest of the world. 'As we speak, Lexta is already in West Africa with its range of products so in the next five years, we are aiming fully capturing the rest Africa and the world. Most importantly, I want to personalise the brand, I want to own it and grow with it,' he added. Mr Ntiamoah-Asare has an MBA in Marketing from the University of Ghana Business School. He has expertise in sales and operations, trade marketing and key accounts management and brand building. GNA By Samuel Akapule, GNA Bolgatanga, Nov.23, GNA - Nana Addo- Dankwa Akufo- Addo, the Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said the party would be committed to all of its promises, when it wins the forthcoming general elections. Nana Akufo Addo, who made the pledge at a political rally organized in Bolgatanga, said the party has well planned projects and programmes waiting to be implemented and these would help improve upon the welfare of Ghanaians and the economy of the country. He said it is sad for the current government to have left useful interventions such as the National Health Insurance Scheme and the School Feeding Programme to collapse adding that the NPP would revamp them if it wins the election. He said the development of agro-business is among the top priorities of the party adding that the NPP Government would ensure the creation of irrigation facilities in many of the communities of the area. 'Apart from providing a factory to each of the districts in the country to help generate employment and boost the economy, each of the constituencies across the country will also be given a constituency fund for infrastructural development', he said. Nana Akufo Addo said the party would restore the allowances of the students of the nursing and the teacher training colleges in the country and also provide free Senior High School Education as well as revamp the Adult Education programme to make it meaningful for all. 'The party will also embark upon the construction of a railway from the capital town of Accra through Bolgatanga to Paga to make travelling very easy and boost business and economic activities', he said. He said the country was endowed with various resources that could be tapped for development to help improve upon the economy and blamed the economic challenges on bad governance. Nana Akufo Addo, who expressed gratitude to the people of Bolgatanga for the massive turn out at the rally, said there is the desire for change everywhere he went and appealed to the electorate to vote for the party to turn the economy round. Dr Mohamudu Bawumia, the NPP running mate, said the country's economic woes was due to corruption, adding that the present Government had mismanaged the economy. He said the leaders of the NPP were men of integrity who had the welfare of Ghanaians at heart and reiterated the need for Ghanaians to endorse the NPP to turn the fortunes of the country. Mr Alan Kyeremanteng, the former Minister of Trade Minister, said party would revamp the defunct Pwalugu tomato factory to create more jobs for the youth. Mr Sammy Awuku, the National Youth Organizer of the party, said the NPP government would not abolish the Youth Employment Agency but strengthen it and make conditions of service better for the youth. GNA 23.11.2016 LISTEN By Agnes Ansah, GNA Accra, Nov.23, GNA - The National Peace Council (NPC) in collaboration with stakeholders met national leaders, to promote a roadmap to sustain post elections political dialogue and consensus on strategic reforms to strengthen democratic stability. The meeting launched the process of constituting the collective national leadership and mobilise broad-based public support to promote clean elections and zero tolerance for rigged elections. The meeting held on Wednesday was on the theme: 'Strengthening Ghana's Democratic Stability, Peace and Unity,' and was in collaboration with the National House of Chiefs, Institute of Democratic Governance and the University of Ghana. The Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante, Chairman of the Council, announced this at a press briefing in Accra. The Chairman of the NPC said that though Ghana had worked to maintain peaceful elections and democratic stability for 25 years, 'we must also concede that we have failed to eradicate the turbulence of our democratic elections and confrontational politics". Experiences from the 2008 and 2012 elections showed that communication, consultation and dialogues across institutions, political parties and the public tend to break down between the declaration and finality of presidential election results creating dangerous vacuum in highly polarised partisan atmosphere, he said. He said the recent skirmishes between the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party was a clear indication of possible electoral violence. Therefore, there is the need for a collective national leadership, which is skilled in statecraft to work together to facilitate and coordinate critical communication, consultations and dialogues essential to maintaining peace, stability, justice and fairness in the post-election periods, Rev. Asante said. He called on supporters of political parties especially the NDC and the NPP to exercise caution as they embark on their legitimate rights to promote the virtues of their parties. He said 'it is pertinent to know that Ghana is bigger than any political party and violence has never been a legitimate mechanism for ascension of political power in any part of the world'. He urged Ghanaians to appreciate the political diversity that exist in the country, avoid acts of provocation and exercise restraint while the election processes unfold. GNA By Hafsa Obeng, GNA Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday dismissed a suit filed by the flag bearer of the Democratic People's Party (DPP), praying the Court to order the Electoral Commission (EC) to postpone the December 7, elections. Mr Thomas Nuako Ward-Brew, in his suit argued that he was not in the country when the apex court offered all disqualified nominees a lifeline to correct mistakes on their nomination form. He stated that the EC failed to adequately inform all nominees of the window of opportunity once the court gave that order, and prayed that the court ordered the Commission to postpone the general election. He said a postponement of the polls would offer nominees who were earlier disqualified an opportunity to effectively campaign. However, the seven-member SC panel, presided over by Justice Sophia Adehyira, said the court had considered the application on its merit and procedure and realised that it had no merit both in form and substance. She said the procedure for which the applicant was in court had already been disposed off on November 7, and that he could not properly invoke the original jurisdiction of the court. According to the panel the point on which the applicant was basing his case was in Nigeria where the declaration given was frivolous and had no substance and therefore no merit. The court noted that his party was not a one-man party and therefore he could have delegated others to submit the forms on his behalf, adding that the court also realised that the applicant was not vigilant when he was filling his nomination form. A cost of GHa3,000.00 was awarded to the defendant Mr Ward-Brew is among nine other presidential hopefuls who were disqualified for not meeting the EC's requirements in the filling of nomination forms. He went to court after three of the 12, including the PPP's Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, NDP's Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, and the PNC's Dr Edward Mahama, were admitted back onto the ballot, bringing the number of contestants to seven. This was made possible by a Supreme Court ruling, after the EC had gone there to quash a High Court ruling that rejected Dr Nduom's earlier disqualification, and asked the Commission to allow him ample time to correct the errors on his forms. GNA By Bertha Badu-Agyei, GNA Koforidua, Nov. 23, GNA - The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has cautioned the electorate against using the particulars of the deceased to vote in the coming general elections. A senior civic education officer of the NCCE, Mrs Agnes Majisi who gave the caution at a sensitization forum for members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) in Koforidua, said dead people were not eligible to vote and it is a punishable offence. She said Christians need to lead by example by educating their wards and neighbours on the need to desist from any unlawful act to ensure peaceful and acceptable results on December 7. The forum is part of activities lined up by the NCCE, to educate the electorate on the dos and don'ts as well as whip up the interest of the electorate in the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Mrs Majisi advised the congregation to know their polling station well ahead of the day of voting and after casting their vote go home, however, if they wished to observe the counting could come back after 5pm. She said there is the need to be tolerant of the views of others irrespective of their backgrounds or party affiliations to ensure peaceful co-existence. GNA By Iddi Yire, GNA Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - Microsoft has once again proven that it is a champion of cyber security awareness by joining a growing effort by the government and other agencies to promote Cyber safety and anti-piracy awareness in Ghana. This came out at a week-long awareness drive on cyber security in Accra organised by the Microsoft in collaboration with the National Communication Authority, Ministry of Communication, and National Security Secretariat with the support from the United States. 'Technology is evolving and so is the increased need for security especially around information sharing. What was once a semi-isolated affair has become a multi-agency, cross-continent operation, with governments and rights holders alike striving to share information and pool resources," said Mr Derek Appiah, Country Manager of Microsoft Ghana. The Cyber Security Awareness week kicked off with highly informative and thought provoking discussions presenting opportunities for companies with cutting edge solutions to cyber security and available solutions to businesses and organisations. The week would grace high caliber speakers, sharing their perspectives and experiences in solving the mounting security threats facing government and businesses today. "The interactive Cyber Security Awareness programme would also provide keen insights into the challenges that businesses faced in protecting critical data from continued threats of attacks. "Also during the same week, Microsoft has partnered with the Ghana Copyright office to announce their collaboration in the fight against counterfeit software which has impacted the lives of many users who have been exposed to security breaches. 'We have partnered withGhana and the Ghana Copyright office to create awareness, to promote and protect the rights of both users and fabricators of technology solutions,' Mr Appiah said. "Our networks are getting smarter so are the threats, it's more important than ever to work with Governments to strengthen intellectual property laws and crack down on piracy. 'The impact of pirated and counterfeit software has impacted the lives of many users who have been exposed to security breaches. "As a company, we make Cyber security which broadly includes anti-piracy, our day to day business and as an industry leader we shall continue to forge partnerships to counter these threats to our consumers," he said. Microsoft is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world. Its mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. GNA Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - Mr Frederick Asamoah, a legal practitioner, has called on the electorate to forge a united front and shun ethnic differences as we seek to enhance with the development of the country. He said there is the need for all to demonstrate love towards one another irrespective of one's party affiliation. Speaking during the 70th Speech and Prize Giving Day of the West Africa Senior High School (WASS) at Adenta, Mr Asamoah extolled the roles of some past headmasters and some of the old students who have contributed in diverse ways to the school and the development of the country. Mr Edison Osei-Dwamena, the Headmaster of the school, said due to the strict supervision and monitoring of students, products of the school can be found playing useful roles in all sectors of the country. He said the school, which was founded at Accra Newtown (Lagostown) in 1946 before relocating to Adenta, currently has a population of 2000 students. Mr Osei-Dwamena said some important projects that are still ongoing included a multipurpose assembly/dining hall and a girls' dormitory which is currently under construction. He said besides experiencing challenges in accommodation, the school also faced various difficulties including the inadequacy of computers at the ICT laboratory and appealed to the administrators of the GET-FUND, the alumni of the school and corporate institutions to help them meet their needs. Mr Osei-Dwamena also expressed gratitude to various year groups for their contributions to the development of the school. Prof Clement Somuah, the Chairman of Board of Governors, lauded the teachers and staff for their various roles which has led to improvement in academic performances in all subjects taught in the school. A 14-seater toilet valued at 100,000.00 build by the 1990 year group was inaugurated and prizes and honours were presented to deserving students, academic and non-teaching staff for their distinctive roles. GNA A preview of the JIPLP copyright conference The Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (JIPLP), published by Oxford University Press, is thrilled to announce that it is organising a conference on the present and future of EU and UK copyright laws. Generously hosted by Simmons & Simmons at its London offices, this event will be held on Monday, 16 January 2017 and bring together a stellar cast of speakers and copyright experts. [both heroes of this blog's copyright posts] , this event will be composed of two principal sessions devoted to discussing relevant developments at the EU and UK levels, respectively. With keynote addresses by Professor Maciej Szpunar (Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union) and Sir Richard Arnold (Judge of the High Court of England and Wales - Chancery Division), this event will be composed of two principal sessions devoted to discussing relevant developments at the EU and UK levels, respectively. This is the programme: 13:50-14:20 - Registration 14:20-14:30 - Welcome (Simmons & Simmons + JIPLP) 14:30-15:30 - KEYNOTE: Prof Maciej Szpunar (Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union) 16:30-16:50 - Coffee Break 16:50-17:50 - KEYNOTE: Sir Richard Arnold (Judge of the High Court of England and Wales Chancery Division) By Kwamina Tandoh, GNA Accra, Nov 23, GNA - Mr Justice Emile Short, the Former Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, has called on Ghanaians not to compromise the peace and stability of the country as the country gears towards the general election. He said electoral disputes had caused conflicts with some neighbouring countries having witnessed unrest leading to loss of lives and properties. Mr Short made the remarks at a Town Hall Meeting in Accra organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) for stakeholders in the country's electoral process, as part of efforts to promote peaceful elections in Ghana. The meeting, on the theme: 'Making Ghana's 2016 Elections Peaceful - The Role of Stakeholders,' was attended by representatives of the Electoral Commission, Ghana Police Service, political parties, National Commission for Civic Education, Christian Council of Ghana, Office of the National Chief Imam, Civil Society Organisations and the media. Mr Short said the electoral violence in Kenya during the 2007 Presidential Election resulted in the deaths of 1,133 people while nearly 600,000 others were displaced. He said the leadership of the country ended up in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague accused of crimes against humanity and other international crimes. Mr Short reminded Ghanaians that in Ivory Coast 3,000 people were killed and more than 150 women were raped and urged Ghanaians to take a cue from it and sustain the peace in the country. He appealed to party leaders to take concrete steps to disband all vigilante groups to avoid conflicts. Mr Alfred L. Taban, the Member of the Association for Media Development in South Sudan, who shared the experience of electoral war in his country, advised Ghanaians to shun hate-filled politics, tribalism and corruption, which are the causes of conflict. The stakeholders involved in the electoral process and representatives of the various political parties assured Ghanaians of their commitment to ensure peace before, during and after the December polls. GNA By Lydia Asamoah, GNA Jema, (B/A) Nov. 23, GNA - First Lady Mrs Lordina Mahama has donated an ambulance and other medical supplies to the Kintampo South District Hospital in Jema, in the Brong Ahafo Region to aid the handling of emergency cases and referrals. 'This will go a long way to save more lives,' she said at the handing over ceremony, attended by the chiefs and people of Jema. 'It is not only the ambulance, I have also brought you quantities of medical supplies and equipment, with the support of our partners, MedShare USA, so that your doctors can give you quality treatment when you are sick and visit the hospital for care.' Mrs Mahama said the development of Jema, and the Kintampo South as a whole, was of priority to the Mahama Government. She said with the support from partners and sponsors of the Lordina Foundation, many health facilities in districts across Ghana, had also benefitted from similar support meant to improve the health of the citizenry. She said the aim of these donations was to bridge the gap between the poor and the well-to -do, thereby ensuring universal health care. 'Every human being can suffer health challenges,' she said. 'This is why it is always important for people to have medical care nearby in our communities or workplaces'. Mrs Mahama explained that ambulance service and available medical supplies and equipment were critical for saving lives because it could make the difference between life and death. 'In case of emergency, the availability of an ambulance to evacuate a patient to a health facility or transfer them from a smaller facility to a bigger hospital can determine whether the patient survives or dies'. She said the Jema District Hospital, which served residents of Kintampo South and its environs, therefore, needed the ambulance more than ever, to ensure speedy and safe transfer of patients to other health facilities. She said the lack of an ambulance could cause pregnant women to lose their babies, or even develop other complications and die in the process of being moved to a bigger health facility. The First Lady described the health of the people as dear to her heart especially, that of women and children. 'This is due to the fact that women and children constitute the majority of Ghana's population and have peculiar health challenges'. She said the Government was investing massively in the health sector in the area of upgrading and building of new health facilities and the training of health professionals while boosting emergency services. 'The Ministry of Health revealed recently the government's plans to add 200 more ambulances to the National Ambulance Service,' she said. 'Also the establishment of the National Ambulance Service Training School has allowed the training of more than 500 Emergency Medical Technicians to provide first aid in these ambulances in emergency situations'. She used the occasion to urge all the people to promote peace as the country prepared to go to the polls on December 7. 'All of us in this community must be peace ambassadors, championing the cause of peace and tolerance.' The Chief of Jema, Nana Okokyeredom Kudom, thanked the First Lady for her thoughtfulness about the healthcare needs of the people all over the country. He appealed to her to assist in walling the Hospital to protect it from activities of thieves as well as to help build a market for Jema. Dr Amoako Gyampah, a Medical Director at the Jema District Hospital, who received the donation on behalf of the Hospital, expressed the happiness of the entire staff for the items, especially, the ambulance and promised to make good use of them. GNA 23.11.2016 LISTEN Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - Mr David Duncan, the Director of Water, Access, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) of UNICEF, has called on the assemblies to step up education on hygiene, to curb the abysmal attitude towards good sanitation practices. He lauded the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project (GAMA-SWP) for improved sanitation and increased access to water supply in low urban communities. Mr Duncan made the call when the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development marked the World Toilet Day with a durbar at La Nkwantanang Madina Municipality (LaNMMA) in the Greater Accra Region. The Day was on the theme: 'Toilets and Jobs,' and was funded by the World Bank. It was to create awareness on the need for landlords to provide toilets for their households to curb open defecation. The celebration was climaxed with a float from the Nungua Barrier through La, Osu, Kaneshie, Mallam and ended at Madina. Mr Duncan urged landlords to embrace the one-house one-toilet programme by GAMA-SWP to ensure good hygiene behaviours to reduce diseases among the people. Nana Ama McBrown, an Actress called on stakeholders in health to engage in extensive sensitisation campaign on the need for everyone to preach personal hygiene to solve the problem of cholera and other communicable diseases. Mr Joseph Quarcoo, the Chief Environmental Health Officer of LaNMMA asked the people to obey the rules of hygiene so that they could help the assemblies in their efforts to maintain environmental cleanliness. He said the LaNMMA would facilitate vigorous environmental sanitation and hygiene campaigns to enhance basic knowledge on cleanliness and human behaviour towards good sanitation. Mr Quarcoo said the assemblies would be encouraged to sustain the hand-washing programme by GAMA in the schools for the children to become the best channels of effective information dissemination on good hygiene and environmental sanitation practices. GNA Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - Mr Julius Debra, Chief of Staff on Wednesday said the second term of President John Dramani Mahama would focus on job creation and enabling opportunities for businesses to thrive. He said the creation of jobs would complement the physical infrastructure developed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) under the leadership of President Mahama. Mr Debrah made the remarks when he met the Clergy in the Greater Accra Region to officially inform them of President Mahama running for a second term. He said President Mahama had done a lot in his first term by providing developing physical infrastructure such as roads, school building, hospitals and the expansion and stability of the country's economy. The Chief of Staff noted that the development projects initiated by the President demonstrated the Government's commitment to improve the living standards of the citizenry. Mr Debrah said Ghana was currently peaceful and stable and that President Mahama would not compromise the country's peace to any political gains. The Chief of Staff said Election was not about fighting, but was about expression of views, promotion of ideas and about numbers. He said the NDC as a party under President Mahama leadership was poised to ensure that the citizenry was treated with respect, dignity and live a dignified life in their various homes. Some members of the Clergy expressed concerns about happenings in the country's political circles which needed the supervision of the security agencies to maintain law and order. GNA By Amadu Kamil Sanah, GNA By Lydia Asamoah, GNA Tamale (N/R), Nov. 23, GNA - The Lordina Foundation has donated food items and other products to various children's homes in the Northern and Brong Ahafo Regions as part of its continuous support for the needy and vulnerable in society. The homes included Frank May Children's Home and Bethesda Children's Home both in Techiman, Lets Kids Smile Children's Home in Nkoranza as well as the Tamale Children's Home and Anfaani Children's Home, all in Tamale. First Lady Mrs Lordina Mahama presented various items including motorbikes, baby cots, sandals, shoes, dresses, toys, bags of rice, tomato paste, bags of sugar, cooking oil, boxes of milo, canned fish, toiletries, among others. She said the donation was being made possible through the partnerships with Medshare USA and other partners who have assisted the Foundation over the years to bring solace to the needy in the country. At the Frank May Children's Home, Mrs Mary Apus and her husband, Mr Frank Apus, who received the items on behalf of the children were full of praise for the gesture from the First Lady, who they said has made it an annual event of donating to the home, long before she even became the First Lady. Mr Apus said 'we deeply appreciate this gesture because these items will last the children a whole year'. Pastor Gilbert Ayaric, Manager of the Bethesada Children's Home, and Pastor Stephen Volante Founder, all thanked Mrs Mahama 'for once again remembering the children and being a blessing unto them'. At Let's Kids Smile Children's Home located at new Zongo in Nkronza, Mr Christian Ankamah Gyan, Director of the Home, said: 'we are grateful to the First Lady who has been assisting the Home for over a period of five years'. Master Emmanuel Ofori Aryee, an inmate who doubles as the Chaplin of the Home, assured the First Lady that they would learn hard to become responsible adults in future to justify her kind gesture. Ms Augustina Quainoo, Home Supervisor of the Tamale Children's Home, said 'the First Lady is doing a yeoman's job. Her support has been consistent and she is helping build a dormitory block for the children here'. At the Afaani Children's Home, Ms Joyce Bacho, Home Manger, and Mr Mohammed Abdul Razak, Administrative Manager, who received the items for the children, also commended the Mrs Mahama for the special attention and care she has given to the children at the Home. GNA In this post, we conclude our report on the EU-China IP Forum held on November 8th. Part 1 can be found here Afternoon Session *** Panel 3: Specialist IP courts *** His Honour Judge Hacon talked on the Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court (IPEC), during which he not only explained how IPEC works, but also what parties expectations should be from the court. In this regard, thanks to presentations by Prof. Liu Chuntian (Dean of the IP Academy, Renmin University of China or RUC) and Prof. Feng Xiaoqing (China University of Political Science and Law), the audience at the IP Forum learnt that IPEC shared many of the same objectives of the specialist IP courts in China even though the structure and operation of the Chinese courts differed significantly from the UK approach. In addition, Prof. Liu Chuntian explained the necessity of establishing specialist IP courts: diversity is the key feature of China (This InternKat still often recalls Prof. Manuel Desantess view on China: China is not a country, it is a continent), which involves diverse life-styles, legal cultures and judicial practices. Though each Chinese local area may have different situations, the IP rules that need to be complied with should be the same. Therefore, in order to unify the standards and improve the enforcement quality of IP, we established specialist IP courts. Further, speaking of what kind of specialist IP courts should be established?, Prof. Liu stressed the importance of establishing a unified IP appellate court in China. This panel on specialist IP courts also saw some optimism from Pierre Veron (member of the Drafting Committee of the Rules of Procedure of the Unified Patent Court and now a member of the group of experts advising the Preparatory Committee of the UPC), who expressed the view that even without UK participation post-Brexit, the other participating Member States of the EU would press ahead with the UPC project in the long term and would seek to ensure that the UPC will be a success. *** Panel 4: IP in a digital environment *** Moderator Prof. Manuel Desantes (University of Alicante) opened the last Panel and led the audience into a complete different dimension of IP: not only talking about creativity, but also innovation. Prof. Guido Westkamp (Centre for Commercial Law Studies, CCLS) firstly talked about the notion of communication to the public in the broader context of the European digital single market. Then he linked it to several quite interesting and partially revolutionary judicial interpretations in the Court of Justice in relation to copyright issues, including SCF v. Del Corso, BestWater (Order) and of course GSM v Samona (2016). Prof. Guo He (Deputy Dean IP Academy, RUC) spoke on The Influence on Computer Program Copyright Protection in the Cloud. He said, given the features of cloud technology, copyright law had been unable to provide the perfect protection of the computer program in the cloud. Amongst the possible solutions, namely (1) to expel computer programs from the list of works and legislation in sui generis; (2) to add the right of program execution in copyright law; (3) to stipulate rights and obligations in contracts, he suggested that at the present stage, more attention should be paid to solution no. (3) to realize the interests of right owners through contract, as the major changes in the system must be accompanied by high costs. Prof. David Musker (CCLS) spoke on the heated 3D Printing topic and touched on several questions which this InternKat had asked many times privately too: (3D Printing) are the rights right? Is 3D printing really important?. The cheaper for short runs nature of 3D Printing could benefit certain groups, for instance, sculptors and bespoke/custom product makers; meanwhile, it may harm products that were vulnerable to 3D printer piracy, such as Lego and licensed figures e.g. Batman. There might be space for new markets that draw on advantages and avoid disadvantages, yet before that, the position of the person who supplies the 3D printer files needed clarification. In the end, Prof. Musker suggested that sooner rather than later, we look at providing solutions that before the problems swamp the market. Prof. Wang Qian (East China University of Political Science and Law) talked about a very strange topic the ongoing attempts at introducing notice and takedown into the Chinese Patent Law. Specifically, the attempt referred to in Article 63.2 of the draft amendment of the Patent Law, which Prof. Wang suggested to be better designed in order to strike a proper balance between the promotion of e-commerce and the protection of patents; or to be deleted, so the patent owners can still have chance to apply in court for a preliminary injunction. Prof. Manuel closed the last panel with high praise of the bilateral cooperation, together with thanks to all the distinguished speakers. Ms. Jaspal Channa from IP Key thanked everybody who had made the Forum happen, especially to the RUC for hosting the 1st EU-China Forum in China, and this time QMUL as the main host. She also reiterated the IP Key story, which this InternKat repeats for the benefit of readers who are not familiar with the project: IP Key is an EU-funded project with the EUIPO. What IP Key focuses on is providing support to EU-China IP dialogues and to the creation of a fair and transparent competitive IP environment. So what we do is acting as a bridge between the EU and China to create a landscape that benefits both the EU and Chinese industry operating in China. The Forum indeed was very well-organized, up-to-date and inspirational, both academically and socially. This InternKat very much looks forward to their upcoming IP events in the future, and would like to end this report with a self-created and pertinent slogan -- where there is a will, there is a (IP) key. (Photographers: the 1st photo by Tian Lu, - The Nigerian Army has officially notified families of one officer and 45 soldiers that their loved ones are nowhere to be found - The Army was said to have sent notice to all Army bases across the country to notify them of the inability to find 46 of the 83 soldiers initially declared missing after a Boko Haram attack weeks ago Army spokesman Col. Sani Usman Kukasheka has not yet officially confirmed the notice. The Nigerian Army has officially declared 46 soldiers missing following a Boko Haram attack on their base in Gashigar, Borno state around five weeks ago, Premium Times reports. The Army is said to have just officially informed the families of one officer and 45 soldiers and has asked their loved ones to send in the bank details of their next of kin for remittance of accrued payments. READ ALSO: Nigerian soldier steals bullets to spend 18 months behind bars Premium Times quotes sources as saying that a notice containing all these were sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Jimoh, the new commander of the Nigerian Army 145 Task Force Battalion in Damasak, Borno state. He was said to have informed all Army bases from where the 83 soldiers initially declared missing came. He sent the signal to the 145 Battalion rear base in Ohafia, Abia State and also copied the Army 7 Division Headquarters in Maiduguri and 82 Division Garrison in Enugu, 5 Battalion in Kano; 20 Battalion in Serti, Taraba State; 103 Battalion in Enugu and 119 Battalion in Malam Fatori, Borno state. READ ALSO: Nigerian Army denies kidnapping and murdering pastor in Rivers state Also copied were 143 Infantry Battalion for Special Forces in Borno state; 144 Battalion in Asa, Abia State; and 146 Battalion in Calabar. Premium Times reports that the missing troops were on deployment in Gashigar located on the northernmost edge of Borno state as part of the Operation Gama Aiki aimed at displacing insurgents hiding around Nigerias border with Niger and Chad. Legit.ng recalls that the insurgents reportedly stormed the camp on Monday, October 17, wounding 13 soldiers and taking away several number of soldiers. According to a statement made by the army on Wednesday, October 19, an operation to get back the missing soldiers is still ongoing as the army has gone after Islamic extremists that attacked the camp. Source: Legit.ng The NCRI and MEK, have been committed to a secular, democratic, non-nuclear republic; with gender equality; freedom of religion, thought, press, and association; support for peace in the Middle East; and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights high on their agenda, the report says. The president-elect of the NCRI is Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, who addressed a rally of 100,000 in Paris last July, which was well attended by dozens of prominent speakers from all over the world. The MEK was critical in preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb. By relying on a vast network inside Iran, they were instrumental in exposing Irans nuclear weapons program. MEK revelations of the weapons program significantly contributed to the world peace and the national security of the United States, by triggering the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz and Heavy Water Facility in Arak in 2002 for the first time. Since then, most of the visits by the IAEA inspection teams have been to the sites exposed by the MEK. The role the MEK had played in getting the world attention on Irans nuclear weapons program has been repeatedly pointed to by Senior U.S. officials, including President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. President Bush emphasized that the MEKs revelation of Natanz prompted an international campaign to stop the nuclear weapons program of Iran. Iran has concealed its a nuclear program. That became discovered, not because of their compliance with the IAEA or NPT, but because a dissident group pointed it out to the world. Many of the key front companies exposed by the MEK were eventually sanctioned by the Treasury Department. They include Mesbah Energy, Novin Energy, Kalaye Electric, Kavoshyar Company, and Farayand Technique. In July 2011, the MEK exposed the SPND, a new nuclear organization overseeing the entire nuclear program and run by the military. The U.S. Government designated that entity in 2014. In addition, many companies, key nuclear experts, and military institutions exposed by the MEK have been sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council resolutions 1737, 1747, and 1803. Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) told a House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing We all owe a debt of gratitude to the MEK for bringing this information to the world, and causing the United States and the world to focus on the problem. The MEK played a key role in exposing terrorist operations by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and its entity, the Qods Force. MEKs intelligence on Qods Force operations in Iraq saved many lives, and thwarted many terrorist operations by the Iranian regime. They documented the details of the Qods force production and shipment of advanced EFPs (Explosively Formed Projectiles), which were the number one killer of U.S. forces in Iraq. The MEK also exposed Irans involvement in the bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 American servicemen. The MEK has gained extensive support among a large bi-partisan group of members of congress over the past two decades. Congress strongly rejected MEKs FTO designation, which it viewed as a goodwill gesture to Tehran, as 99 members (52 D and 47 R) called for the groups delisting. Secretary Hillary Clinton revoked the designation in 2012, after being urged by the U.S. Court of Appeals- DC Circuit. Congress held hearings in the House and the Senate supporting the safety & security of thousands of MEK members based in camps Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq, which were being subject to attacks instigated by Tehran. There were several pieces of legislations in support of MEK members in Iraq, e.g., H.Res.704 with 224 co-sponsors (126 D and 98 R). Additionally, for the fiscal year 2016, the National Defense Authorization Act, signed by President Obama, became law, and included language in support of the security and protection of MEK members in Camp Liberty, Iraq. The resettlement of all members of exiled Iranian opposition group, the Mujahedin e-Khalq, or MEK, from Iraq to Europe in September 2016, was lauded by Secretary of State John Kerry, who emphasized that their departure concludes a significant American diplomatic initiative that has assured the safety of more than 3,000 MEK members whose lives have been under threatI first became involved in this effort when I was in the Senate Im very proud that the United States was able to play a pivotal role in helping to get this job done. Also, long before the group was delisted, the U.S. military fully protected all the MEK members in Iraq and recognized them as protected persons under the 4th Geneva Convention. The MEK has been in the forefront of opposition to the regime since early days of the 1979 revolution, when it soon become the number one target of the Iranian regimes repression. The rulers of Iran view the MEK as a threat because of its support at home, with its undermining of the regimes Islamic extremist ideology among a vast majority of the Iranian population, especially the youth. The modern, tolerant and democratic view on Islam held by the MEK opposes the Islamic fundamentalists and the velayat-e faqih system. They are a main victim of repression in Iran. By direct order of Supreme Leader Khomeini, the Iranian regime massacred 30,000 political prisoners, most members of MEK in summer 1988. Over 100,000 of its members have been murdered since 1981, and many of its supporters are currently jailed in prisons across the country. Most of those arrested and sentenced to death after the summer 2009 uprising in Iran, belonged to the MEK. Tehran waged an international effort to have the MEK designated as a terrorist organization, after having failed to physically eliminate them. After all the designations were overturned in Europe and the U.S. with the help of over 20 court rulings, Tehran embarked upon a multi-million-dollar campaign of character assassination and demonization, which described the MEK as a cult. None of those efforts succeeded. Not fewer than four members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been killed by gunmen at a facility operated by the Nigerian subsidary of Italian group Eni. Niger Delta militants disguised as soldiers have killed four NSCDC offficials Reuters quotes local sources and security officials as saying on Wednesday, November 23 that the attack occurred late on Monday, November 21 at an installation at Omoku, near Port Harcourt in River state. READ ALSO: After helping against Avengers, Army is after my life, ex-militant commander cries out The gunmen were said to have stormed the facility dressed in military camouflages but when the NSCDC officials discovered that they were not soldiers, they engaged them in a gunfight. River state NSCDC spokesperson Michael Oguntuase confirmed this much. "The (security) operatives had engaged the gunmen in a fierce gun battle on realising that the intruders were not military men," he said. A local source also confirmed the nature of the strike by the gunmen. "Dressed in camouflage, they came in a speed boat at about 6:40 pm on Monday, exchanged gunfire with the operatives, leading to the death of four," the source said, claiming also that some other NSCDC officials were wounded in the attack. Source: Legit.ng Tanter also points to the war between the Iranian regime and its main opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which acts as the parliament-in-exile. Its main unit, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran/Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (PMOI/MEK) is the largest and best-organized Iranian opposition movement with the NCRI coalition. He calls this struggle between the Iranian lobby and the organization representing the Iranian people, a War for Washington. The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) wrote a letter in favor of the Iran deal. Organizers of that letter lobby on behalf of the deal. The Obama administration allowed entree into the White House for NIAC, but it is doubtful that Team Trump will do the same. Rather the NCRI is more likely to receive favorable treatment because of its policies are against the Iran deal. Their approach aligns with the incoming administration. Tanter writes, The nuclear deal did not do the magic that its proponents promised and Tehrans nefarious conduct at home and throughout the region continues unabated. According to Human Rights Watch, In 2016, Iran is yet again the regional leader in executions at least 230 while it continues to be a laggard in implementing illusory penal code reforms meant to bridge the gap with international standards. On July 20, 2015, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2231, which reinforced the position of the United States about Tehran violating the spirit of the deal, but, there have been at least five ballistic missile tests, in violation of that spirit. In addition, Washington said it would maintain its own sanctions against Iran, which supported terrorism, destabilized the region, and continued to violate human rights, according to Tanter. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a leading opponent of the Iran deal, implied that any unilateral action on the part of the Obama administration would only raise the political pressure on the Trump administration to move quickly to reverse the accord. Specifically, writes Tanter, The perception that Obama jammed Congress and the American people with a unilateral [steps about the] Iran nuclear deal is what has undermined the deals legitimacy in the first place. In addition, Iran stokes the flames engulfing Yemen in Tehrans proxy war against an American friend, Saudi Arabia. Tehran sustains a leader in Damascus guilty of major war crimes against his own people nurtures and sponsors terrorist groups in Iraq and Lebanon, including the notorious Hezbollah. Tanter believes that Iran shares responsibility for the rise of the Islamic State; that it was facilitated by Syrian dictator Assad, and then-Prime Minister Maliki in Iraq, to divert the focus from their own actions, which were supported by Iran and its proxies. The key point in dealing with Iran, Tanter claims, is to engage with the Iranian opposition. The NCRI seeks a nonnuclear Iran, one free of weapons of mass destruction. Tanter writes, Careful academic research and analysis over the years demonstrates that the Iranian resistance is the single entity feared most by the rulers in Tehran: On one hand, the NCRI directly challenges the religious claim of authority that the ayatollahs use to exercise and maintain political power. On the other hand, the NCRI popularity and appeal grows among Iranian youth who are crying for freedom. As such, Tehran resorts to massive disinformation and smears the NCRI. He continues, Forty prominent U.S. national security officials in the past four administrations underscored in a policy initiative in 2015 that it is time to break the stalemate on Iran by implementing some of the following steps: 1Irans destructive role throughout the region must be curbed and deterred. Far from being part of the solution, Iran is a major part of the problem. There should be no direct or indirect cooperation with Iran under the pretext of fighting the Islamic State. 2Washington should be more vigilant and vocal about the serious human rights abuses by the regime that continue inside Iran. During Hassan Rouhanis tenure as President, illicit arms trafficking continues unabated. A successful policy toward Iran and the Middle East must be cognizant of these realities. 3Engage with the democratic opposition. It has been the missing piece of US policy for many years under both Republican and Democratic leadership. The new administration should engage in respectful dialogue with the Iranian opposition, consistent with our countrys policy of dialogue with all political groups. The wishes of the Iranian people and their desire for change must be taken into consideration. By taking the three steps outlined by Tanter, Donald Trump has an opportunity to be a game changer. In spite of Trumps avowed distaste for the nuclear deal with Iran the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Obamas echo chamber is still reverberating with no shortage of experts taking to the web to claim that the re-negotiation is impossible and tearing it up would have a range of consequences from a more rapidly nuclear-armed Iran to international distrust in the U.S. future deal-making. There are a number of assumptions underpinning these positions which need urgent unpicking. The JCPOA eased sanctions on Iran, and released $150 billion in frozen assets, in exchange for limitations on its capacity to enrich uranium and other fissile material. When Iran yet again exceeded the limit placed on heavy water, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) just last week told Iran that it was risking the nuclear deal with the West. This comes after many accusations that Iran has broken the spirit of the nuclear deal. Thus, Trumps critics would do well to remind themselves that Iran has a history of breaking agreements, and, moreover, a history of clandestine nuclear activity. Most important in countering the defeatism with which Iran has been approached by Washington elites is to unpick the hidden assumptions which surround the JCPOA. The JCPOA was meant to address one aspect of Irans problematic behavior in hopes that the mere act of resolution could lead to moderation in other areas, Miller writes. Evidence is clear a year on, the JCPOA cannot. In the UNs words, Iran is experiencing a new wave of oppression at home and increasing its adventurism abroad. Once its understood that fundamental driver of the Iranian elite is regime survival, all assumptions about moderation dissolve. Tehran hijacked a popular revolution through force of arms. This illegitimacy is what propels the regime to repression at home and expansion abroad. The factional fighting and the personalities within these factions, are, in the words of a 1990 State Department cable, interchangeable parts of a machine. These factions are the means of survival, and the fight is about how best to maintain the regime, not reform it. To truly reform is to lose power. Miller says, To understand this dynamic is to understand that there is no prospect of moderation, and, thus, that the wider ambitions of the JCPOA were always a chimera. As for the risk to the U.S. standing as a dealmaker, any glance at the history of the Wests foreign policy towards Iran reveals each Western capitol criticizing the others for concessions to Iran while each making their own unholy deals to avoid the pain of terrorism or to gain a corner of the Iranian marketplace. Leadership in policy towards Iran is long overdue. She adds, The dirty little secret of Western political elites is that Iran has outplayed them for nearly 40 years, dangling the prospect of moderation as the carrot and the threat of terrorism as the stick for a torrent of concessions to the regimes ambitions. Whether it is the retrieval of U.S. citizens from Lebanon or Evin Prison, or a brake on Irans nuclear ambitions, long-term goals have always been sacrificed to the short-term. Western governments must recognize that an alternative presents itself. In the past, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) were demonized in exchange for concessions from Iran. By allowing this, Western governments have strengthened the security of what is an inherently weak regime. However, many of the MEKs supporters are among U.S. decision-makers who were won over by its political sophistication and the diversity of its Iranian supporters. What the MEK wants is a chance for democracy to take hold in Iran, whether the result benefits them or not. It should also be noted, when apologists for the Iranian government attempt to say it has no popular standing in Iran, that it was the MEK which exposed the regimes nuclear program. To penetrate the most secretive part of the state in the most comprehensive of ways demonstrates the depth and breadth of support the MEK has inside Iran, says Miller. What gives the lie to its insignificance is the fact that the regime always puts the MEK on the negotiating table as a diplomatic commodity, in Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfields words. Iran had the U.S. for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the CIA once concluded. And Miller concludes, If President Trump can unpick the long-held but faulty assumptions of U.S. policy towards Iran and appreciate the regimes weaknesses and the MEKs strengths, not least its anti-fundamentalist agenda, he can bring a lasting stability to the region with all the attendant benefits for U.S. security. President Barack Obama tried peaceful negotiations and assistance, but neglected the plight of the Iranian citizens, as it resulted in hard times for the Iranian people. The regime received an influx of money, while many of the measures included in the nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), were not carried out to the full extent. An end to the Obama tenure will be considered a severe blow to Iran. Tehran was able to take full advantage of Washingtons strategic mistakes over the past 16 years, and the entire region is now in chaos: Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. U.S. policy on Iran during the Bush and Obama administrations worsened the situation for the Iranian people. After Obamas election, the 2009 uprising in Iran followed the reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Had Obama supported the uprising, positioned the US against Ahmadinejad, or even questioned the elections credibility, his words would have great effect spirit on the popular movement. Will Trump keep all his election campaign pledges? Maybe, but from Tehrans point of view, this new administration will be completely different from a Hillary Clinton White House. Trump has taken very firm positions against Iran, including his threat to rip apart the nuclear deal. He represents a major contrast to the US policy under Obama. Iran needs the JCPOA to remain intact, as seen in the recent lobbying campaign, and while Trump may not eliminate it, he is not committed to any pledges. Any breech of the JCPOA may cause major changes for Iran regarding the nuclear deal, transforming the pact into an unwanted ordeal. Moreover, the appointees of Trumps probable administration lineup have already spoken out against Iran, including former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Ambassador John Bolton. Many candidates for Trumps cabinet oppose the Iran nuclear deal and/or have supported the main Iranian opposition MEK in its call for regime change in Iran. Irans lobbies on both sides of the Atlantic have launched a smear campaign against these figures, and yet they have maintained their positions. Grandpa duty: Adorable photos of little girls playing with Akeredolu during 2nd term inauguration go viral Lovely photos of some little girls playing with Governor Akeredolu of Ondo state during his second term inauguration on Wednesday, February 24, have gone viral. People from Zagreb, Croatias capital, are addicted to the adrenaline rush that accompanies falling into plush, red, velvet seats as the overture blasts through the rafters or the opening monologue guides all eyes to center stage. The reason, according to Mira Medic, the secretary of the Komedija Theatre on Kaptol Street: Life is bad, but for two to three hours [the people] are living nice. They are singing. While attending a show might seem like an experience at the West End in London or the Minskoff in New York, tourists should know Croats cherish the performing arts as much as any other major city. Below are five distinct theaters that travelers should attend while staying in the heart of Croatia. It is iconically Zagrebian to walk from Masarykova street, past the Hemingway Bar, and see the Croatian National Theatre (CNT) in the sunlight and in all of its bright yellow, neo-Baroque glory. Entering the main archway, statues on either side beckon guests. When seeing a ballet, opera, or drama from the mezzanine, swans on the stairwell railing guide you up to your personal box from which you can watch masterpieces unfold onstage. CNT was founded in 1860 by Dimitrije Demeter, who dreamed of Purgers (as people from Zagreb are called) performing in their own language. The following year, Parliament passed the Theatre Act to state that the Croatian National Theatre is a national institution of the highest cultural importance in the land. In 1895, the theatrical palace was erectedthe same palace a tourist sees with astonishment today. Walk two minutes north of the Cathedral of Zagreb to the two-story Komedija Theatre, established in 1950, for light-hearted shows: comedies, comic operas and musicals. The professional playhousedominated by stone archwaysonce housed priests. Today, tourists can tap into that historic zeal when coming to the theater to see shows like the hit musical, Mamma Mia! To the right is a small cafe where audience members can discuss their post-show thoughts over cappuccinos. We are not too much serious, says Mira Medic, who has been working at Komedija since 1982. Medic says her favorite part of her job is working with the talented actors. These people are not like others. As you walk along Frankopanska Street on your way to Zagrebs main thoroughfare, Ilica, pictures of actors and the word Gavella are scrawled in cursive on the left side of the street. Sonja Kovacic, the Executive Producer of Gavella, claims with pride that Gavella is the only drama theater in Croatia. Dr. Branko Gavella, a pioneer of theatrical arts in the city, founded the Zagreb Drama Theatre in 1953, renamed in his honor after he died. Besides drama, Gavella also specializes in comedies, contemporary and classical works. Kovacic says the audience is mostly made up of people over 50 years old but hopes her workplace will eventually reclaim millennials. [Ages] 20-35 is what we miss the most, Kovacic says. I want to tell them, This theater is also open for you. Zagrebacko Kazaliste Mladih (ZKM), or the Zagreb Youth Theatre, is tucked away on Teslina Street among cafes and bookstores. After you enter through the theaters French doors, large pictures of past productions are peppered throughout the lobby. All photos are edgy; some are provocative. ZKM, founded in 1948, holds classes for a total of 1,500 youth, as well as employing a professional ensemble of 31 actors. The modern playhouse specializes in drama (especially original works from locals), and produces dances and operas. In order to provoke reaction and thought from the audience, ZKM produces more controversial works than popular ones. This is the only institution where you display new writers and directors on a platform with the best actor ensemble, says Nikola Betban, producer of ZKM. We dont play it safe. We push boundaries. Stepping into the Zagreb Puppet Theatre complex feels like entering a childs imagination. The cafe includes a small playground and colorful mural. Inside the only theater in Croatias capital geared solely toward the citys youngest citizens, handmade puppets greet you on every corner. Founded in 1948, this is the capitals oldest puppet playhouse and is the only one to use just puppets rather than additional actors. By exploring these five venues, a traveler can get a taste of the complexity that envelops the city of Zagreb. Whether craving a musical, a drama, a classic ballet, a controversial world premiere, or a cheerful puppet, a theater-goer in Zagreb will always have place to land. McGee Nall is a travel intern with Paste and a freelance writer based out of Athens, Georgia. In the near century since her death, Mata Hari has become more of a legend than a historical figure. The Dutch-born exotic dancer, who rose to fame during Paris Belle Epoque of the early 20th century, crafted a glamorous and near-mythic identity for herself. But in Paulo Coelhos latest novel, The Spy, the author highlights Mata Haris humanity to reveal a flawed woman whose desire for freedom led to her execution. Mata Hari was born Margaretha Zelle in 1876 in Holland, where she grew up and studied to be a kindergarten teacher. But Zelle was eager for adventure, and at the age of 18 she responded to a personal ad listed by Rudolf MacLeod, an officer stationed in Indonesia. They married soon after, and she traveled with him to Indonesia where she began studying local dances. But MacLeod proved an abusive and demanding man, and following the death of their second child, they returned to Amsterdam and divorced. This enabled Zelle to move to Paris in 1903, where she performed burlesque-style exotic dances under the name Mata Hari. By 1905, she was a star. Twelve years later, she was executed by firing squad as a German spy. Coelho lays out these facts via two letters: Mata Haris letter to her lawyer, recounting her life story and assuring him that she will soon be free; and her lawyers letter, written with the knowledge that Mata Hari will be executed the following morning. Neither believe their letters will ever be read by their intended recipient, a twist that adds an air of desperation to Mata Haris words and a desire for absolution to the lawyers. Coelhos prose brings Mata Hari to life as a deeply flawed woman who views her sexuality as a means to gain power and favor. She references her influential friends throughout her letter, listing men who could now use their position to secure her freedom. But she fails to recognize that her own power is easily demonized and that her very reputation as a sensual woman can be used to denigrate her character. The lawyers letter adds another layer of sadness to the already heartbreaking narrative woven by Mata Hari. He outlines the espionage case against her, as she was a double agent recruited by the Germans but loyal to France. She became a victim of a system looking for a scapegoat, and Ladoux, the officer to whom she reported, was not willing to let a lack of evidence against her lessen the severity of his accusations. Mata Hari behaved recklessly, traveling across the continent to play officials off of one another. She had an inflated sense of her own power, one that the men in her life were willing to indulge so long as she provided them with what they wantedbe it state secrets or a night in her bed. When those who could sway the verdict for her could have made a difference, they lined up to deny her; even a soldier Mata Hari had loved claimed he used her as a nurse with no real affection. This is the tragedy of The Spy. Rather than relying on romanticized notions of sexuality and wartime intrigue, Coelho rests the novels drama in Mata Haris efforts to secure her impossible freedom. Her desire to escape the constraints of her childhood, her marriage, and her imprisonment was denied by men at every turn. Despite her strength and ingenuity, Mata Hari was a woman in a time when her independence relied on the favor of menmen who proved too fickle to defend her life. The fact that Mata Hari was executed is established within the novels first pages. But as her story nears its conclusion, its clear that it couldnt have ended any other way. Despite her best efforts, Mata Hari was vulnerable to the whims of the men she trusted. With The Spy, Coelho has created a portrait of an anachronistic woman who was destroyed by her times and became a legend. Investment Bank KBC Denies Involvement in Baazov's Bid on Amaya November 22, 2016 Katie Callahan Dubai investment firm KBC Aldini Capital Ltd. filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after being tied to David Baazov's $6.7 billion Amaya bid, Bloomberg reported. According to Bloomberg Markets, the firm denied being involved in a deal with Baazov, Amaya's founder, who is attempting to take the company private. Amaya is the parent company of PokerStars. After the Globe and Mail reported that KBC was not involved, Amaya stock fell six percent. The complaint that KBC said it filed suggests that their name was used fraudulently, Bloomberg noted. After Baazov announced a bid of CA$24 per share and the third quarter earnings were issued, the SEC filing was published, according to Online Poker Report. Baazov stated in the filing that the equity financiers involved for the purpose of acquiring Amaya" are Head and Shoulders Global Investment Fund SPC, Goldenway Capital SPC, Ferdyne Advisory Inc. and KBC Aldini Capital Limited. This denial by KBC Aldini Capital Limited alleges that Baazov lied to the SEC in the filing. Eric Hollreiser, spokesman for Amaya, told Bloomberg via email that the company has talked to Baazovs advisers about the proposal but there has been no agreement or assurance of one; all statements would be forced to go through appropriate due diligence regarding Mr. Baazovs financing sources. Image courtesy of Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press Partypoker Signs Sam Trickett as an Ambassador November 23, 2016 Matthew Pitt Editor Partypoker has pulled off a major coup by signing a deal with Sam Trickett, the No. 1 player on the United Kingdoms all-time money list, and making him a brand ambassador. Trickett has won more than $20.5 million from live poker tournaments since bursting onto the scene in 2007. The Nottingham based pro won a 110 buy in tournament in May 2007 for 3,610 and it was the catalyst for great things. In 2008, Trickett finished fourth in a $5,000 no-limit holdem event at the World Series of Poker for $245,927 and followed up that impressive result with a victory in the 1,060 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Luton Main Event for 109,050 only a couple of months later. Two years later, Trickett went on a major heater that has shown no signs of slowing down. Since 2010, Trickett has enjoyed results such as: Second place in the $5,000 No-Limit Holdem Event at the 2010 WSOP for $505,725 at the 2010 WSOP for $505,725 Fourth place in the 5,300 EPT Vilamoura Main Event for 139,681 for 139,681 First place in the $10,000 partypoker World Open for $200,000 for $200,000 First place in the A$100,500 High Roller at the 2011 Aussie Millions for A$1,525,000 at the 2011 Aussie Millions for A$1,525,000 Second place in the A$250,000 Super High Roller at the 2011 Aussie Millions for A$1,400,000 at the 2011 Aussie Millions for A$1,400,000 First place in the 8,500 Partouche Poker Tour for 1,000,000 for 1,000,000 Seventh place in the HK$258,000 Super High Roller in Macau for HK$7,750,000 for HK$7,750,000 First place in the A$250,000 Challenge at the 2013 Aussie Millions for A$2,000,000 at the 2013 Aussie Millions for A$2,000,000 Second place in the $125,000 partypoker Premier League for $254,000 for $254,000 Fifth place in the 50,000 Super High Roller at the 2014 EPT Barcelona for 288,400 Trickett is currently in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic where he is competing at the Caribbean Poker Party. As part of his duties as a partypoker ambassador, Trickett will represent partypoker at global events throughout 2017 and will host the soon-to-be launched Tricketts Cash Games online at partypoker. These cash games will be for high-stakes players, are invite-only and will give partypoker players the chance to win a seat on one of these tables, rubbing shoulders with the United Kingdoms most successful poker player. I am proud to be joining the expanding partypoker team and represent the brand globally," Trickett said in a press release. "partypoker was always my first site and I am excited about the direction the company is taking, with the players and a fun feel at the forefront of their minds. I am going to bring monthly high-stakes games online, which my friends and partypoker players can enjoy. Over the coming weeks I will plan my live events schedule for 2017 and look forward to getting back on the tournament circuit wearing the partypoker patch. Group Head of partypoker, Tom Waters, shared Trickett's excitement and said it has shown how far partypoker has come. It is testament to the recent success of partypoker that such a renowned player like Sam was eager to join the team," Waters said. "Sam will be a great addition to partypoker, hosting new and exciting high-stakes cash games on the site that Im sure will make great viewing for the players. Claim Your $500 partypoker Bonus Today Join Trickett at the partypoker tables by downloading partypoker via PokerNews today. When you come to make your first deposit, use the bonus code PNCOM and partypoker will match your initial deposit 100 percent up to a maximum of $500. "No Cigar," or How to Exploit the Psychology of the Near-Miss November 21, 2016 Robert Woolley While playing poker on my recent trip back to Las Vegas, I was on the lookout for hands, stories, and observations I could write about when I got home. For that reason, a remark from a player that I normally would have ignored had me scribbling notes. The comment was innocuous enough, and said with a smile: "If that six had been a seven, you would have been in big trouble." It came during what Tommy Angelo has dubbed "sixth street" the information-rich time right after a hold'em hand ends when many players suddenly open up about what they did, and why. The player in question would have made the nut straight with a river , but the that came instead left him with just one small pair to his opponent's flopped set. I believe that he felt the urge to make this comment only because the six was close to a seven. If that card had been, say, an ace, he probably would have felt that he missed his draw like most of us do most of the time and shrugged it off as not worthy of mention. I think it was the sense that he almost hit a big hand, in a potentially lucrative situation, that set off his friendly "if" thought. Perhaps the visual similarity of the six and seven also played a role for a split second, he might have thought that he actually had hit his gin card. The reality, of course, is that when only a seven will make your hand, it makes no difference whether the card that isn't a seven is a six, a deuce, a jack, or a tarot card. As the old saying goes, "A miss is as good as a mile." The American Heritage Dictionary of Cultural Literacy offers this interpretation of the maxim: "A near miss is still a miss and therefore no better than missing by a great margin." But it feels different, doesn't it? There's some deep psychology behind this phenomenon. For many things in our evolutionary history, it was of supreme importance to know when you were close but not quite there. It's not surprising that our brains react differently when we sense that we're close to a desired object than when we're way off target. Infant mammals including us are equipped with a set of special neural algorithms that use the senses of smell and touch to home in on the source of their mothers' milk. This requires determining whether it's getting closer or farther away, and moving accordingly. Learning to hunt with a spear requires step-wise improvement in accuracy, which can only be accomplished by discerning between throws that came close to the target and those that were badly astray, and then making the necessary refinements to one's aim. So it's not surprising that our brains react differently when we sense that we're close to a desired object than when we're way off target. The problem is that this important mental tool can also mislead us. I first learned about how casinos take advantage of this phenomenon from a 2012 episode of the public radio program This American Life one that also featured poker pro Andy Bloch talking about blackjack strategy. By coincidence, the day I sat down to write about this subject, a new article about it was shared by a friend on Twitter. It's a piece by John Rosengren in the December 2016 issue of The Atlantic titled "How Casinos Enable Gambling Addicts." In the article, Rosengren discusses the psychology of the near-miss at some length. He explains how the microprocessor control of modern slot machines' mechanical or virtual reels has "enabled a deliberately misleading feature, the 'near miss.' That's when a jackpot symbol appears directly above or below the payline. The intent is to give the player the impression of having almost won when, in fact, he or she is no closer to having won than if the symbol had not appeared on the reel at all." He goes on to tell how some slot machines are in fact "programmed to offer up this near-miss result far more often than they would if they operated by sheer chance." Thinking they almost hit the jackpot, "the psychological impact can be powerful, leading players to think, I was so close. Maybe next time." Research shows near-misses often encourage casino game players to keep playing He shares some additional research going back to the famous behaviorist B.F. Skinner showing how near-misses keep players playing longer, and how the "effect is even stronger for gambling addicts, whose brains respond to near-misses more like wins than losses." I suspect, but do not know, that the same idea guides the non-consecutive placement of numbers on the roulette wheel. If the ball falls on, say, 29, you will feel that you just missed not only if your bet was on 28 or 30, but also if your bet was on 7 or 18, the two numbers adjacent to 29 on the wheel. Twice as many chances to feel that you almost won means double the chance that the excitement of having been close will prompt you to place another bet. This "near-miss" feeling can come up in poker, too. One obvious way that I witnessed it occurring at the Orleans last week was in the random draw for hourly cash prizes. One of the big monitors displayed the winner's table and seat number. Predictably, the people in the spots adjacent to the lucky recipient would react strongly: "Just one seat off!" Those at the table numbers one higher and one lower than the selected table would also say things like, "They almost picked us." Surely some fraction of those patrons will stick around and play a little longer than they otherwise would have, because of the illusion that they were almost selected, and therefore probably will be soon. More importantly, I'm convinced that the same misfiring brain circuits can be triggered by specific card patterns during the play of a poker hand. Remember how it feels to flop an open-ended straight-flush draw? You can practically taste that monster hand coming your way. You're so close! In reality, though, there are only two cards in the deck that will make you that monster of monsters. Even with two streets on which to catch, it will happen only about 8% of the time. But the other 92% you're left with that tantalizing feeling that you were almost there though you really weren't. Sometimes it's hard to let go of near-miss hands -- both to fold them and to let go of them mentally It's common in low-stakes games to encounter players who simply can't resist playing any two suited cards, even though the probability of making a flush by fifth street is only about 6%. The brains of these players, I believe, have been hijacked by the squirt of feels-so-good dopamine not only on the relatively rare occasions that they make the flush, but also by all the times that they end up with four of a suit, only to be disappointed in the river. Almost hit it, they tell themselves. I'll get it next time. It's valuable to be watching for this kind of player. He will typically be willing to pay way more than is prudent for a chance to make his draw, giving you immediate EV profit. When the flush draw hits, if you can't beat it, you can just fold, thus depriving him of the implied odds that he was counting on. Even better, though, is that this kind of player will usually be unable to fold the flush he paid so much to hit even when he suspects, or should suspect, that you have a higher flush or a full house. He is therefore extremely vulnerable to a larger-than-average value bet when that third suited card hits and you hold the winner. Players who are misled by the experience of apparent closeness that is actually just randomness will identify themselves if you're paying attention. They'll make the post-hand comments about how they almost hit the winner. They'll exult about having almost been picked for the drawing. They'll tell you about how they almost made a big win in roulette, keno, craps, or a lottery, but were just one number off. When you hear such a tip-off, watch that player's exposed hands and see if it appears that he's playing bad suited cards (e.g., ) that a more discerning player would fold. If so, you're likely dealing with an inveterate flush-draw chaser, which will tell you how to extract the most money from him when he's on the hunt. Robert Woolley lives in Asheville, NC. He spent several years in Las Vegas and chronicled his life in poker on the "Poker Grump" blog. Eighth annual lighting of the Town and State's first official "Heroes Tree" in the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center at 300 Main St in Old Saybrook. By: Old Saybrook Fire Dept 2016 Heroes Tree @ The Kate, Main St. Old Saybrook Media Contact Max Sabrin, Media Relations / Special Events Old Saybrook Fire Dept ***@aol.com 860-395-5550 Max Sabrin, Media Relations / Special EventsOld Saybrook Fire Dept860-395-5550 End -- State and local dignitaries, along with local veterans, shoreline neighbors, The American Legion, VFW, the Westbrook Elks, the Patriot Guard Riders Flag Line and Honor Guards, will gather Friday, Dec. 2nd, 2016 for the eighth annual lighting of the Town and State's first official "Heroes Tree" in the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center at 300 Main Street in Old Saybrook.U.S. Marine, Connecticut native, Gil Simmons, NEWS 8 / WTNH Chief Meteorologist, will be master of ceremonies and will be joined by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Old Saybrook First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr.The public is encouraged to attend the special 5 p.m. tree lighting. Those gathered around the tree will pay tribute to deceased, injured and active members of our Armed Forces from Connecticut. "God Bless America" will be sung by a very special surprise guest.The "Heroes Tree" is adorned with Gold Stars for the deceased, Silver Stars for those injured, and Blue Stars for those currently serving this country from Connecticut. It was decorated by World War II, Korean and Vietnam veterans. The "Heroes Tree" Invocation will be given by Chaplain Captain Jane Viera, U.S. Navy, Retired.The concept behind the "Heroes Tree" comes from artist and Navy Gold Star Mother Kathryn Cross. The "Heroes Tree" is designed to raise awareness during this holiday season toward those who gave their lives or were injured defending this country, and to honor the continuing sacrifices being made since 9/11 by the men and women in our Armed Forces.The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center was chosen as the location for this memorial display because of its relevance to Kathryn Cross, the "Heroes Tree" original artistic director. Katharine Hepburn's sister Peg was also a Gold Star Mother. She lost her son Tommy in Vietnam in 1968. It therefore seemed the most appropriate location for the special "Heroes Tree," whose display is visible to all who travel along Old Saybrook's busy Main Street during this holiday season.A special thank you to Whelen Engineering Co., Inc. for their generous donation of a brand new 'Heroes Tree' and members of the Whelen family lighting the 'Heroes Tree'. More than 300 sector experts from across the continent gathered for the inaugural two-day African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit in Cape Town earlier this month. By: African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit Africas cities are facing an urban polycrisis Media Contact African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit annemarie.roodbol@ spintelligent.com +27217003500 African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit+27217003500 End -- "The firstin Cape Town provided an innovative space for leading built environment professionals to engage with experts, projects, investors and practitioners from all over the continent. We are confident that the summit will grow to become the leading meeting point of the real estate and infrastructure industries in Africa." This is according to Tim Harris, CEO of Wesgro, who was a speaker and session facilitator at the summit.More than 300 sector experts gathered for the inaugural two-day summit earlier this month with interactive sessions that focused on key case studies of visionary city planning, investment opportunities in the commercial and residential real estate sectors across the continent, the African city of the future and the challenges of urbanisation. Innovative development projects from Cape Town, Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Kigali, Lusaka, Kampala and the Taparura project in Tunisia were showcased.A key finding of the conference was that Africa's cities are facing an urban 'polycrisis' and that there is a need for a new urban agenda and an opportunity for innovative solutions to address urbanisation challenges.Expert speaker highlights at theincluded:Africa is on the brink of great change. It is the fastest urbanising region in the world, with around 400 million people expected to migrate from rural areas to cities by 2050. As more and more people move to our cities in search of a better life, it is critical that we provide effective and sustainable infrastructure to meet their needs."- Alderman Ian Neilson, City of Cape Town's Executive Deputy Mayor "New forms of urban planning in African cities seem to be dedicated to transforming them into replicas of Dubai, Shanghai and Singapore. The main challenge of the real estate sector on the continent currently is to find approaches to real estate development which are not only for the wealthy, and which find architectural and planning approaches which are not simplistic 'cut and pastes' of cities elsewhere in the world."- Prof Vanessa Watson, of the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, University of Cape Town "The Voortrekker Road Corridor offers a unique opportunity to invest in the urban core of Cape Town in one of its most important transit-oriented development corridors, taking advantage of the central location and extensive public transport infrastructure." Councillor Johan van der Merwe, the City of Cape Town's Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Environmental and Spatial Planning. "Arup recently completed a transit orientated development masterplan for the light rail transit system in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The project focused on realising the economic potential of the key stations along the light rail system; while regenerating the city, thereby making use of hard infrastructure systems to unlock multiple gains that improve the social and economic prosperity of citizens".- Nico Venter, Associate Director at Arup's Johannesburg Office, responsible for the Urban Design and Cities Business in South Africa. "We passionately believe that Africa is a continent of opportunity. With improving economies, rising populations, rapid rates of urbanisation and burgeoning middle classes, some African cities are expected to grow between 70-100% in the next 15 years."- Mr Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) patron of the African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit.More key findings that emerged during the African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit included:- African countries need to adopt new development models designed to take advantage of urbanisation by facilitating structural transformation, creating jobs and addressing social inequality and poverty, while creating sustainable humansettlements with equal opportunity for all.- The future of Africa is at stake and the future of Africa will be more and more linked to how cities are managed and the way they choose to contribute to African unity.- Careful, complex, thorough administrative management and pro-poor urban development will turn African cities into world-class cities, not design plans based on fantasy Dubai-esque city makeovers.- The city is the centre of the emancipated state and social media needs to be harnessed to unleash the potential of Africa's smart cities.- The City of Cape Town has invested over R22 billion in infrastructure over the last five years, and needs to provide an additional 650 000 housing opportunities over the next 20 years.- Merely pursuing low-density low-cost housing on the outskirts of the cities is not an option. Innovative thinking must be part of the solutions for urbanisation challenges and partnerships between the public and private sectors play an important role.Major infrastructure and building projects and opportunities on the continent featured at the African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit included:- Cape Town's Voortrekker Corridor Road Integration Zone Strategy and Investment Plan- Joburg's Corridors of Freedom for a people-centred city- Kimisange, Kicukiro 237 and Kicukiro 968 in Kigali, Rwanda- Transit Oriented Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia- The PDGML General Master Plan for Luanda, Angola- Comprehensive Urban Development Plan (CUDP) for the City of Lusaka, Zambia- Kampala Physical Development Plan, Uganda- PARURA SFAX The Master Plan for Taparura Project, TunisiaWebsite: http://www.african- real-estate- summit.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ ARES_Summit Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8518271Media contact:Senior communications manager: Annemarie RoodbolTelephone: +27 21 700 3558Mobile: +27 82 562 7844Email: annemarie.roodbol@spintelligent.com End -- Psychometrics Canada is honoured to be celebrating its 40year of operation. Since its founding, Psychometrics Canada's innovative spirit has kept it ahead of its competition. Using data to help organizations make better talent decisions, scoring assessments by computer in the late 1970s, and providing one of the first online testing platforms for psychological assessments are just a few examples of this.Throughout its tenure, Psychometrics Canada has been a leader in its field, working with some of the largest and most progressive companies both in Canada and internationally, including Rogers Communications, Lafarge, Scotiabank, Suncor Energy Inc., Four Seasons Hotels, and London Drugs."Since the company's inception, we have always looked for inventive ways to help organizations maximize their employees' performance and productivity,"explains Mark Fitzsimmons, company President and son of founder George. "We understand the value it brings to an organization to select the right employee and then develop their strengths and abilities."Psychometrics Canada wishes to thank its loyal client base and its community for a prosperous first forty years, and looks forward to another 40 years of developing innovative human and organizational performance solutions using the science of psychology.Psychometrics Canada helps HR departments across the world make strong talent selection and development decisions. Objective data, gathered from their psychological assessments, provides insights into personality, behaviour, cognitive abilities, leadership potential, safety, and reliability that clients use to evaluate job candidates, build better teams, develop leaders, resolve conflict, and run career development programs.For more information about Psychometrics Canada, contact: Dan Costigan; 7125-77 Ave; Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6B-0B5;1976 Family business founded by Dr. George Fitzsimmons, a professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta1979-2005 Partnered with Canadian Test Centre as their research and scoring service for the K-12 Canadian Achievement Test1980s Partnered with Stanford University to bring the Strong Interest Inventory(https://www.psychometrics.com/assessments/strong-interest-inventory/) to Canada. Developed a Canadian version1980s Began distributing the MBTI(https://www.psychometrics.com/assessments/myers-briggs-type-indicator/)assessment in Canada1990 Developed the French Canadian version of the MBTI Form G1991 Developed the French Canadian version of the Strong Interest2001 Published the Work Personality Index(https://www.psychometrics.com/assessments/work-personality-index/) assessment2001 Launched CareerID.com, one of the first online testing platforms for psychological assessment2001 Wins Alberta e-business of the year2002 Published the Career Interest Profiler and Career Values Scale2006 Became the only authorized distributor of the MBTI, Strong and FIRO-Binstruments in Canada2008 Dr. George Fitzsimmons retires. Business is taken over by his son Mark Fitzsimmons2012 Psychometrics Canada acquires Westgroup Solutions, a boutique assessment firm specializing in recruitment and selection2016 Celebrates 40 years The Socimi led by Luis Lopez de Herrera-Oria has completed the acquisition of the Spanish headquarters of McKinsey & Co., one of the leading international consultancy firms, for 41.8 million. This is one of the properties that Axiare Patrimonio announced was in its investment pipeline on 15 November. The acquisition [] Securing Communications in a Trump Administration Susan Landau has an excellent essay on why its more important than ever to have backdoor-free encryption on our computer and communications systems. Protecting the privacy of speech is crucial for preserving our democracy. We live at a time when tracking an individuala journalist, a member of the political opposition, a citizen engaged in peaceful protestor listening to their communications is far easier than at any time in human history. Political leaders on both sides now have a responsibility to work for securing communications and devices. This means supporting not only the laws protecting free speech and the accompanying communications, but also the technologies to do so: end-to-end encryption and secured devices; it also means soundly rejecting all proposals for front-door exceptional access. Prior to the election there were strong, sound security arguments for rejecting such proposals. The privacy arguments have now, suddenly, become critically important as well. Threatened authoritarianism means that we need technological protections for our private communications every bit as much as we need the legal ones we presently have. Unfortunately, the trend is moving in the other direction. The UK just passed the Investigatory Powers Act, giving police and intelligence agencies incredibly broad surveillance powers with very little oversight. And Bits of Freedom just reported that Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Hungary all want an EU law to be created to help their law enforcement authorities access encrypted information and share data with investigators in other countries. Posted on November 23, 2016 at 2:01 PM 107 Comments A team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Georgia has developed a new mouse model that closely mimics fetal brain abnormalities caused by the Zika virus in humans. This model, described in a paper published recently in the journal Development, may help scientists better understand how the Zika virus affects different cell types in the developing brain, which could hasten the creation of new treatments and diagnostics. Spread mostly by the bite of an infected mosquito, the Zika virus can pass from a pregnant woman to her fetus. This can result in microcephaly, a birth defect in which the brain does not develop properly, resulting in a smaller than normal head. "A lot of the discussion about Zika has focused on microcephaly, and while that is certainly important, we found that the virus causes additional devastating damages to the developing brain as well," said Jianfu "Jeff" Chen, an assistant professor of genetics in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Most notably, Chen and his colleagues, including postdoctoral fellow Qiang Shao and graduate student Stephanie Herrlinger, found that Zika infection leads to abnormal blood vessel formation in the brain and a leaky blood-brain barrier, which normally protects the brain from potentially harmful pathogens. "In addition to neural progenitor cell disruption, which is a classical cause of human microcephaly, we also observed massive death of neuronal cells in our mouse model," Chen said. "This combined with the disruption of the vascular system and the blood-brain barrier results in microcephaly and extensive brain damage." Therefore, he added, "It's not just that the brain is smaller than normal; it is severely injured as a result of the infection, and we need to understand all these effects if we are going to develop successful therapies." The researchers created their model by injecting Zika virus that was isolated in Mexico from an infected mosquito into the brain of mouse embryos. They were then able to observe the neurological effects after the mice were born. "A lot of scientists are looking for postnatal mouse models to study the effects of Zika virus infection, but the virus often causes premature birth in mice," Chen said. "The virus-infected pups in our model were carried to term, and they were born alive. This is important, because some infected babies were also born alive in humans, and establishing a postnatal mouse model will be a good start to understand potential neurological complications after virus infection." Ultimately, the researchers hope that this model will prove useful as researchers around the world work to understand the unique disease mechanisms of the Zika virus and test new therapeutics. A recent study from the University of Vaasa shows that advertisement developed in one culture can go wrong in another culture. International marketing and advertising managers should have a simultaneous attention to culture in terms of its values and actual practices in deciding advertising content across culture. The study examined the effect of cultural values and values-practices inconsistency on the use of appeals in advertisements in magazine in Estonia, Finland, Sweden as well as Finnish consumers' perceptions on the use of appeals in advertisements. The analysis supports the idea that cultural values alone do not explain the use of appeal in advertising but in case of certain cultural characteristics, rather practices are reflected in advertising. More specifically even though low power distance and femininity describe the cultural values in these three countries, the used appeals in advertising are inconsistent to these values. Endorsement of egalitarian, modesty, caring and self-restraint values do not describe the culture and how appeals and messages are used in advertising. People in different cultures carry different meanings and frames of references associated with advertising elements. Thus only translating an advertisement in another language might not be effective or in some instance might be offensive. "Idiomatic or colloquial phrases and expressive statements are often used as advertising appeals and their literal translation in another language may not capture the accurate meaning. For instance, the phrase 'like an owl' means wisdom and thoughtfulness in most of the western world but in South Asian countries it refers to an extreme absurdity or silliness," says Salman Saleem who will defend his doctoral thesis at the University of Vaasa. advertisement Contradiction between cultural values and practises Salman's doctoral dissertation also reminds that the culture is multi-faceted including values and practices as cultural characteristics and in some instance those characteristics are inconsistent. The cultural characteristic of power is one example of this contradiction. People may endorse power equality in their personal behavioral preferences, but actual practices in the society related to power might be opposite to the individual's values. People in Finland endorse egalitarian values, for example in Finland the delegation of responsibility is emphasized in management. However, in Finland power is still perceived to be more concentrated at the higher levels of organizations and often Finnish culture is criticized for its excessive bureaucracy. Thus for cultural characteristics, the endorsement of values by individuals does not provide information on actual practices in a culture and the reflection of the culture in the advertising. advertisement "Therefore international marketing and advertising managers should have a simultaneous attention to culture in terms of its values and actual practices in deciding advertising content across culture," says Salman. Luxury, vanity and power appeal in Estonia, Finland and Sweden Salman examined the effect of cultural values and values-practices inconsistency on the use of appeals in advertisements in magazine in Estonia, Finland, Sweden as well as Finnish consumers' perceptions on the use of appeals in advertisements. The analysis supports Salman's idea that cultural values alone do not explain the use of appeal in advertising but in case of certain cultural characteristics, rather practices are reflected in advertising. More specifically even though low power distance and femininity describe the cultural values in these three countries, the used appeals in advertising are inconsistent to these values. In addition, in Estonia the use of indulgence appeals in Estonian advertising is opposed to Estonian cultural values. Thus the appeals are reflections of cultural practices in the three countries. "In other words, endorsement of egalitarian, modesty, caring and self-restraint values do not describe the culture and how appeals and messages are used in advertising," Salman says. For example in several Estonian, Finnish and Swedish advertisements the use of appeals to status, vanity and power can be found. Like in the print advertisement of the cheese brand Vasterbottensost, the product is used by high status people and the advertisement of the clothing brand Baltman in Estonia emphasizes the luxury and dear values. Also the advertisements from the three countries emphasize effectiveness and productivity values which are typical to masculine culture. In Estonia female hygiene pads brand Discreet advertisement shows that the product makes the person effective and productive. In Finland female hygiene pads brand o.b. advertisement shows that the product can make the person competitive and women can easily walk on the rope hanging in air. "My examination of advertising in a cultural perspective is ultimately beneficial in the companies in three countries as findings might help marketing or advertising managers how to communicate to the consumers in three different national markets. According to research, with few exceptions, the use of appeals or themes is similar across these three countries. The good news for advertisers is that they can save a considerable amount of money by tailoring a standardized advertising campaign for Estonia, Finland and Sweden." See more at: http://www.uva.fi/materiaali/pdf/isbn_978-952-476-709-5.pdf On military live fire training ranges, troops practice firing artillery shells, drop bombs on old tanks or derelict buildings and test the capacity of new weapons. But those explosives and munitions leave behind toxic compounds that have contaminated millions of acres of U.S. military bases -- with an estimated cleanup bill ranging between $16 billion and $165 billion. In a paper published online Nov. 16 in Plant Biotechnology Journal, University of Washington and University of York researchers describe new transgenic grass species that can neutralize and eradicate RDX -- a toxic compound that has been widely used in explosives since World War II. UW engineers introduced two genes from bacteria that learned to eat RDX and break it down into harmless components in two perennial grass species: switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera). The best-performing strains removed all the RDX from a simulated soil in which they were grown within less than two weeks, and they retained none of the toxic chemical in their leaves or stems. It is the first reported demonstration of genetically transforming grasses to supercharge their ability to remove contamination from the environment. Grasses are hearty, fast-growing, low-maintenance plants that offer practical advantages over other species in real-world cleanup situations. "This is a sustainable and affordable way to remove and destroy pollutants on these training ranges," said senior author and UW professor of civil and environmental engineering Stuart Strand, whose lab focuses on taking genes from microorganisms and animals that are able to degrade toxic compounds and engineering them into useful plants. advertisement "The grasses could be planted on the training ranges, grow on their own and require little to no maintenance. When a toxic particle from the munitions lands in a target area, their roots would take up the RDX and degrade it before it can reach groundwater," Strand said. RDX is an organic compound that forms the base for many common military explosives, which can linger in the environment in unexploded or partially exploded munitions. In large enough doses, it has been shown to cause seizures and organ damage, and it's currently listed by the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry as a potential human carcinogen. Unlike other toxic explosives constituents such as TNT -- which binds to soils and tends to stay put -- RDX dissolves easily in water and is more prone to spread contamination beyond the limits of a military range, manufacturing facility or battleground. "Particles get scattered around and then it rains," Strand said. "Then RDX dissolves in the rainwater as it moves down through the soil and winds up in groundwater. And, in some cases, it flows off base and winds up in drinking water wells." Wild grass species do remove RDX contamination from the soil when they suck water up through their roots, but they don't significantly degrade it. So when the grasses die, the toxic chemical is re-introduced into the landscape. advertisement Co-authors Neil Bruce and Liz Rylott, biotechnology professor and research scientist, respectively, at the University of York and colleagues had previously isolated enzymes found in bacteria that evolved to use the nitrogen found in RDX as a food source. That digestion process has the added benefit of degrading the toxic RDX compound into harmless constituents. The bacteria themselves aren't an ideal cleanup tool because they require other food sources that aren't always present on military training ranges. So Bruce and Rylott tried inserting the bacterial genes into plant species commonly used in laboratory settings. Those experiments proved that the new plant strains were able to remove RDX contamination much more successfully than their wild counterparts. "Considering the worldwide scale of explosives contamination, plants are the only low cost, sustainable solution to cleaning up these polluted sites," said Bruce. The UW team of civil and environmental engineers spent eight years working to express the same genes in plant species that could stand up to real-world use. They needed a hearty perennial species that grows back year after year and that has strong root systems that can bounce back after fires. Grasses fit that bill, but they are more difficult to manipulate genetically. In particular, the UW engineers had to build into their gene constructs robust monocot "promoters" -- or regions of DNA that cause a particular gene to be expressed -- for the process to work in grass species. "For cleaning up contaminated soils, grasses work best, but they're definitely not as easy to transform, especially since flexible systems to express multiple genes in grasses have not been used before," said first author and acting UW instructor Long Zhang. The research team also found another unexpected side benefit: because the genetically modified grasses use RDX as a nitrogen source, they actually grow faster than wild grass species. Next steps for the UW research team include limited field trials on a military training range to test how the strains perform under different conditions. Wider use would require USDA approval to ensure that the genetic modifications pose no threat to wild grass species. "I think it would be ecologically acceptable because the genes we've introduced degrade real pollutants in the environment and cause no harm," Strand said. "From my perspective, this is a useful technology that's beneficial to the environment and has the potential to remove dangerous legacy contamination from decades of military activity." A new multi-institutional study of the so-called global warming "hiatus" phenomenon -- the possible temporary slowdown of the global mean surface temperature (GMST) trend said to have occurred from 1998 to 2013 -- concludes the hiatus simply represents a redistribution of energy within Earth system, which includes the land, atmosphere and the ocean. In a paper published in Earth's Future, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, lead author Xiao-Hai Yan of the University of Delaware, along with leading scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and University of Washington, discuss new understandings of the global warming "hiatus" phenomenon. In particular, the researchers point to the prominent role played by the global ocean in absorbing the extra heat from the atmosphere by acting as a "heat sink" as an explanation for the observed decrease in GMST, which is considered a key indicator of climate change. "The hiatus period gives scientists an opportunity to understand uncertainties in how climate systems are measured, as well as to fill in the gap in what scientists know," explained Yan, Mary A.S. Lighthipe Chaired Professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment and director of UD's Center for Remote Sensing. "Individually, each of us carries some research into this topic and many of my co-authors are leading scientists who have studied this topic from various and often diverse angles." "The hiatus in the rise of global surface temperature is over, but understanding the processes involved helps us with future predictions," continued co-author Kevin Trenberth of National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). advertisement Where is the missing heat? While Yan said it is difficult to reach complete consensus on such a complex topic, after a thorough review of the literature and much discussion and debate, there are a number of key points on which these leading scientists concur: From 1998 to 2013, the rate of global mean surface warming, which some call the "global warming hiatus," slowed. Natural variability plays a large role in the rate of global mean surface warming on decadal time scales. Improved understanding of how the ocean distributes and redistributes heat will help the scientific community better monitor Earth's energy budget. advertisement Earth's energy budget is a complex calculation of how much solar energy enters our climate system from the sun and what happens to it: how much is stored by land, in the ocean or in the atmosphere. "To better monitor Earth's energy budget, and its consequences, the ocean is most important to consider because the amount of heat it can store is extremely large when compared to the land or atmospheric capacity," said Yan. According to the paper, arguably, the most appropriate single variable in Earth's system that can be used to monitor global warming is ocean heat content integrated from the surface to different layers and to the bottom of the ocean. Charting future research In the near term, the scientists hope this paper will lay the foundation for future research in the global change field. To begin, they suggest the climate community replace the term "global warming hiatus" with "global surface warming slowdown" to eliminate confusion. "This terminology more accurately describes the pause in the increase of the ocean's global mean surface temperature in the late 20th century," Yan said. The scientists also called for continued support of current and future technologies for ocean monitoring as a means to reduce observation errors in sea surface temperature and ocean heat content. This includes maintaining Argo, the main system for monitoring ocean heat content, and the development of Deep Argo to monitor the lower half of the ocean; the use of ship-based subsurface ocean temperature monitoring programs; advancements in the use of robotic technologies such as autonomous underwater vehicles to monitor marginal seas and shelf and coastal regions; and further development of real- or near-real-time deep ocean remote sensing methods. Yan's research group reported in a 2015 paper that some coastal oceans' (e.g. U.S. East Coast, China Coast) response to the recent global surface warming slowdown are three times larger than what is found in the open ocean. "Although these regions represent only a fraction of the ocean volume, the changing rate of ocean heat content is faster here and real time data and more research are needed to quantify and understand what is happening," Yan said. Variability and heat sequestration over specific regions (i.e. Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern Oceans, etc.) was also discussed and requires further investigation. However, there is broad agreement among the scientists and in the literature that the slowdown of GMST increase from 1998-2013 was the "result of increase uptake of heat energy by the global ocean during those years." A study co-led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) has found that people with genes for high educational achievement tend to marry, and have children with, people with similar DNA. Humans generally do not choose their partners randomly, but rather mate 'assortatively', choosing people with similar traits. Among the highest ranking qualities people look for in a potential partner are intelligence and educational attainment. While it is well known that humans mate assortatively in relation to education -- people with similar education levels marry each other -- this is one of the first studies to show that this has significance at a DNA level. The researchers argue that this could increase genetic and social inequality in future generations, since children of couples who mate assortatively are more unequal genetically than those of people who mate more randomly. The study, published in the journal Intelligence, was co-led by Dr David Hugh-Jones, from UEA's School of Economics, and Dr Abdel Abdellaoui, of the Department of Biological Psychology at VU University in The Netherlands. They examined whether assortative mating for educational achievement could be detected in the DNA of approximately 1600 married or cohabiting couples in the UK. The sample was drawn from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, a survey that aims to be representative of the population. Dr Hugh-Jones, a senior lecturer in economics, said: "Our findings show strong evidence for the presence of genetic assortative mating for education in the UK. The consequences of assortative mating on education and cognitive abilities are relevant for society, and for the genetic make-up and therefore the evolutionary development of subsequent generations. "Assortative mating on inheritable traits that are indicative of socio-economic status, such as educational achievement, increases the genetic variance of characteristics in the population. This may increase social inequality, for example with respect to education or income. "When growing social inequality is, partly, driven by a growing biological inequality, inequalities in society may be harder to overcome and the effects of assortative mating may accumulate with each generation." The researchers used polygenic scores that predict educational attainment to see whether they predicted the partner's own educational attainment and polygenic score. They found that the scores correlated between partners and significantly predicted partners' educational outcome, for both sexes, in that individuals with a stronger genetic predisposition for higher educational achievement have partners who are more educated. The researchers also tested whether their data could be explained by other factors, for example by people simply meeting their partners because they lived in the same county. They re-matched individuals with random partners within the same educational levels and geographical locations. However, they found that the scores of the original couples showed greater similarities than the randomly generated pairs, indicating significant genetic assortative mating for educational attainment regardless of educational level and geographic location. A common species of Asian tree frog may actually be two separate species according to new genetic data collected by an international group of scientists. If the two groups of frogs are confirmed to be different species, assigning their scientific names may require searching historical records of foreign explorers in Japan during the 1800s. Before the frogs are officially recognized as two separate species, researchers will test if individual frogs from the two groups have unique physical or behavioral features and if they can produce healthy offspring. The project began when researchers at European universities expanded their studies on sex determination and population dynamics in amphibians to include Asian species. The species of tree frog that they chose, Hyla japonica, is found throughout Japan, the Korean peninsula, eastern China, and eastern Russia. Collaborators around the world began sending genetic samples from local frog populations to discover their evolutionary relationships. The data revealed evolutionarily distinct groups of frogs in Japan, the Korean peninsula, and eastern Russia. Ancestors of the modern frog populations likely traveled either into or out of Japan by two separate routes: from the North on a chain of islands between Russia and Japan, and from the South along a land bridge on the Philippine Sea Plate between South Korea and Japan. Japanese H. japonica populations may have been isolated into separate East and West groups. Researchers are exploring this possibility in more detail with an ongoing research project led by Ikuo Miura, PhD, an Associate Professor in Amphibian Research Center at Hiroshima University. The same separation between East and West Japan is known in other species of frogs and skinks. Miura explains that the scientific community has no definitive information about exactly what caused the divide between East and West Japan, but suggests the possibility of the expansion of ancient basin associated with volcanic activity in central Japan. Miura and Yuya Higaki, a fourth-year bachelor's degree student, are currently running genetic analysis on 50 populations of H. japonica from across Japan. They will present their preliminary results on November 26th at the annual conference of the Herpetological Society of Japan. This project is part of Miura's larger research interests in sex determination and its influence on speciation and evolution. If H. japonica is recognized as two separate species, it will be challenging for researchers to decide which species should keep the original name due to the mystery surrounding which population of H. japonica was used for the original species characterization in 1858. The German-British naturalist Albert Gunther named H. japonica after examining a specimen collected years earlier, potentially in 1826, by Philipp Siebold and Heinrich Burger, German botanists and physicians who were among the first Westerners granted official access to Japan. The modern research team visited the British Museum of Natural History to inspect the original specimen, but the location of where Siebold and Burger collected the first H. japonica is recorded only as "Japan." For now, naming the species will remain a historical mystery secondary to the ongoing scientific questions. The current research paper is published in the November 23, 2016 issue of BioMed Central Evolutionary Biology. They're back. In New England, Winter moths should be fluttering around porch lights and car headlights any day now, creating a nuisance and laying eggs that may lead to another spring of defoliated and dying trees. That's the warning from Heather Faubert, who runs the Plant Protection Clinic at the University of Rhode Island. She said the adult moths -- an invasive species native to Europe -- begin emerging from the ground around Thanksgiving and die before the New Year. "I'll be very curious to see what happens this year," said Faubert, who monitors the population of the insects each year. "Their caterpillars defoliated 27,000 acres in Rhode Island in the spring of 2015, but even though we had winter moths everywhere last year and I saw a zillion eggs, they caused almost zero defoliation." Last year's state-wide defoliation, which began after winter moth caterpillars had long become inactive, was caused primarily by gypsy moths and, in some communities, forest tent caterpillars. Faubert believes last year's strange winter and spring weather negated what she expected to be a dire season for winter moth defoliation. Winter moth eggs typically hatch during a warm spell in April, but last year they began hatching during a warm period in late March. Two weeks later, in early April, temperatures dropped well below freezing and probably killed many of the caterpillars. "I went looking for dead caterpillars but didn't find many," she said. "Maybe the caterpillars hatched too far ahead of the foliage development, so they didn't have anything to eat. I'm not sure what really happened, but it definitely had something to do with our screwy weather." With little defoliation occurring last year from winter moths, Faubert said it's possible that there will be fewer adult moths flying around in the next month. But that doesn't mean Rhode Islanders should expect little impact from the insects. advertisement "Each individual female can lay hundreds of eggs, so it could still be a bad year for defoliation in the spring," she said. What's worse, according to Faubert, is that the combination of several years of defoliation in a row and the extended drought conditions could mean that more trees will die in the coming year. "Defoliation is very stressful to trees," Faubert said. "That alone can kill trees. But having drought conditions is the worst thing that can happen to a stressed tree." What can homeowners do this winter to combat the effects of winter moth caterpillars? Not much. Faubert said that attempting to kill the flying moths is useless since only the males fly. The females crawl up tree trunks to lay their eggs. "Lots of people try using those adhesive tree bands, but the moths will just lay their eggs right below the band, and many of them can make it across the bands," she said. advertisement In an experiment she conducted last year, Faubert placed two tree bands, separated by about a foot, around one tree. The first band caught 207 female winter moths, while the second one caught 138. It is unknown how many made it past both bands. One strategy Faubert is deploying to control winter moth populations is the release of a tiny parasitic fly that lays its eggs on tree leaves. When the winter moth caterpillar consumes the eggs while eating the leaves, the eggs hatch inside the caterpillar and the fly larva eat it from the inside out. The fly has succeeded in controlling winter moth populations in Wellesley, Mass., and it appears to be on its way to doing so in Seekonk as well. Faubert released the flies in seven locations in Rhode Island between 2011 and 2015, and she hopes to soon see signs that it is beginning to work. "It's still too early to tell, but we hope the flies will get our moth population down to manageable levels," she said. Florence spent the first part of her life living on a dog meat farm in Wonju, South Korea. She was kept in a tiny cage with barely any room to move around, and ended up with severely deformed back legs. If Florence had stayed on that farm, she would have been killed and eaten, barely having gotten to live her life at all. Instead, someone noticed her, and decided that her life was absolutely worth saving. Florence was rescued by Humane Society International (HSI) and brought to the U.S. in March, and was taken in by the Humane Society of Central Oregon (HSCO), along with 16 other dogs from South Korea. She had a lot of trouble walking when she first arrived due to her deformed back legs, and her rescuers knew that she was going to need surgery in order to live a normal life. All the dogs were flown to San Francisco, where volunteers from HSCO arrived to pick them up and transport them back to Oregon. "The moment Florence emerged from her kennel at San Francisco Airport, we knew she needed immediate attention and care," Lynne Ouchida, community outreach manager at HSCO, told The Dodo. "Upon arrival, Florence was carried into HSCO's animal shelter because we did not know if her severe leg deformities were painful." Dodo Shows Adopt Me! Scared Little Dog Is So Full Of Joy Now And Looking For A Family When Florence first arrived in the U.S., she was absolutely terrified of everyone, and refused to eat the dog food she was offered. She was already so skinny, and her rescuers knew they needed to figure out a way to get her to trust them and eat the food they gave her. "We asked a person, who once lived in a country where dogs were consumed by humans, what they typically fed their dogs, and she said rice with scraps of meat," Ouchida said. "Florence and many of the other South Korean dogs that were not eating gobbled up the mixture of rice and tuna or chicken." Since being rescued, Florence has undergone two different leg surgeries. The first focused on strengthening three of her knees, and the second was an incredible reconstructive surgery to straighten her severely deformed back right leg. Florence also had to undergo intense physical therapy, and handled every single session like an absolute champ. This browser does not support the video tag. Humane Society of Central Oregon "After each surgery, we knew that rice and tuna was her go-to comfort food, like macaroni and cheese for humans," Ouchida said. It took several weeks, but finally Florence began warming up to people, and even befriended a few. After her first surgery, she felt confident enough to run and play with the other dogs, something she hadn't been willing to do before. Slowly but surely Florence began to heal, until the only thing left that she needed was a family of her own. Ouchida was out with Florence on only her second public outing when something incredible happened. The pair was at a grand opening of a new Starbucks, when Florence met Megan Watkins - her future new mom. "True love happened over a Starbucks Puppuccino," Ouchida said. "Megan Watkins had an immediate bond with Florence. She spent time with her that day, and came to spend more time with her at the shelter the following Monday." Watkins and her family continued to visit Florence, and then decided to foster her to see if she would be the right fit for their family. They built her ramps, a doggie door and a special outdoor area all her own. Florence thrived in her foster home, and even made best friends with one of the family's cats. After fostering Florence for a while, the family made the best decision - that they would become Florence's forever family. Florence went from living in a tiny cage with no room to move to being able to run and play whenever she wants, and it's the happiest ending that anyone ever could have asked for. A lioness sits on her hind legs on top of a red stool. Behind her, a man holds up a rod with a piece of meat attached to the end. The lioness reaches for the meat, swinging her paw as she tries to stay balanced. Born Free Foundation After learning this "trick," the lioness would be forced to perform it over and over and over again in a loud circus arena in front of hundreds of people. The lioness in the photograph is named Sonja. She and her sister Maggie were property of Zircus Las Vegas, a German circus company, for eight long years. Besides what can be seen in two old photographs, not much is known about the two sisters' lives in the circus. Born Free Foundation However, Tricia Holford, rescue program coordinator for the Born Free Foundation, has reason to believe the lionesses had lived in appalling conditions. "Along with regular performances, they spent the rest of their time confined to a circus trailer," Holford told The Dodo. The lionesses might have kept performing in the circus for years - perhaps for the rest of their lives - if it weren't for Maggie's tail injury. "Maggie had an infected wound at her tail," Sil Janssen, founder and chairperson of Natuurhulpcentrum, a Belgian wildlife rescue center, told The Dodo. "When the circus got an inspection from the German authorities, they were warned to take care of the infected tail. When the German animal welfare inspector came back to check, the tail wound was still critical and the owner of the animals got a final warning." Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Couple Meets A Beach Dog In Mexico Who Changes Their Life The kind of cages circus animals tend to be kept in | Animal Defenders International While it's unclear what caused Maggie's tail injury, Holford said it likely had something to do with her enclosure. "Sometimes the tails get shut in guillotine or slide doors when the big cat is being transferred from section to section," Holford said. "There's usually a gap under the barred metal divisions in trailers or zoo indoor quarters, and if an animal leans against the partition, its tail can go underneath. Sometimes a cage mate will pounce on the tail poking through." In May 2013, the German authorities returned for one last inspection, but Maggie's tail hadn't gotten any better. Born Free Foundation The authorities confiscated Maggie and Sonja, along with two tigers being used in the same circus. All four animals were given refuge at Natuurhulpcentrum and received the medical attention they'd lacked for years. In addition to Maggie's tail injury, one of the tigers had problem with his back legs, and all four animals were malnourished. Maggie had to have the tip of her tail amputated, but she recovered quickly. Born Free Foundation While Sonja and Maggie received excellent care at Natuurhulpcentrum, everyone involved in their rescue thought they'd be happier somewhere else - Africa. About a year later, Natuurhulpcentrum and Born Free joined forces to move the sisters to Shamwari, a big cat sanctuary run by Born Free in South Africa. Born Free Foundation The journey was lengthy. Sonja and Maggie had to travel 6,000 miles across two continents, taking trains, planes and trucks to get there. Born Free Foundation But when they finally arrived, it was all worth it. Born Free Foundation Here the two sisters could roam around their large enclosures - and not be expected to do anything but act like lionesses. According to Holford, Maggie and Sonja especially love their viewing deck. Born Free Foundation "They spend a lot of time on their viewing deck, sharpening their claws on it, biting it, and chewing it," Holford said. Born Free Foundation Maggie and Sonja also adore spending time with each other. "When they first arrived at Shamwari, Maggie would take food to Sonja," Holford said. "She would eat a little bit of the portion and then when Sonja looked at her, she would leave that portion for her and would walk to get the other one. Then they would eat together." Born Free Foundation The sisters even made a new friend - a male lion named Jerry, who'd been rescued from a Romanian zoo. Since their arrival, Maggie, Sonja and Jerry have happily lived in the same enclosure together, according to Holford. Maggie, Sonja and Jerry enjoying life together | Born Free Foundation "Though they can never been released into the wild, they live in a large, natural enclosure in their ancestral home of Africa," Holford said. "A lifetime away from the cramped and squalid conditions they endured at the circus." Born Free Foundation Until just recently, Jeta was a "selfie bear." Four Paws International Jeta had a ring pierced through her nose, which was connected to a chain that her owner used to drag her along the beach in Albania. When tourists gawked, her owner would suggest they take pictures with Jeta. "In chains [selfie bears] are led around on the beach promenade in order to make profit with them," Four Paws International explained. "Many tourists want a selfie with a bear and pay money for it." Four Paws International Four Paws International When she wasn't being dragged along the beach, Jeta was totally alone, chained to the floor in a dark concrete cage in her owner's yard. Dodo Shows Dodo Heroes Woman Devotes Her Life To The Stray Dogs Of Bali Four Paws International And Jeta isn't the only one. About 50 caged bears in Albania are known as "the saddest bears in Europe," forced to serve as roadside attractions or exhibits outside restaurants. Four Paws International But last week, rescuers from Four Paws, which has been working with the Albanian government to free the saddest bears, put an end to Jeta's life as a selfie bear: The group finally won her freedom and received the privilege of removing her chains. Four Paws International Rescuers cut the chain that tethered Jeta to the concrete floor of her cage. Four Paws International And then they removed the chain that ran through her nose. "Our team has just released Jeta from years of agony!" Four Paws wrote. "When she awakens from the anesthetic, she will finally be able to move independently without being guided by the chain." Four Paws International Jeta was released from her dark cage and loaded onto a truck bound for her new life. But Jeta isn't unscathed by her years in captivity. "Unfortunately, you can see the years of bad keeping," Four Paws wrote. "Jeta is almost toothless and has an eye condition." Four Paws International But her future holds promise. "The most important thing is that she has been freed from the shed and we can take care of her now," Four Paws wrote. Jeta is currently recovering at a zoo on her way to the Prishtina Bear Sanctuary in Kosovo, with 40 acres of sprawling grassy land, where she'll live a whole new life. This browser does not support the video tag. Four Paws International And she'll never be chained up again. The chain that Jeta had known for years was finally removed. | Four Paws International A couple of college students at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore woke up one morning to find a critically endangered pangolin hanging out in the dormitory common room. The students contacted wildlife rescue experts, and by the time people from Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) showed up to help the pangolin, he was curled up into a little ball, which is what pangolins do when they're frightened. And, sadly, these animals have a lot to be afraid of. Pangolins are the most trafficked animal on Earth. In black markets across Asia, pangolins are sold for their meat, which is considered a delicacy, and their scales, prized in traditional medicine. Pangolin leather is even used to make boots. On the black market, a pangolin can fetch $1,000 or more. Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Rescued Wild Horse Loves To Play With A Little Donkey Because the pangolin wasn't injured and didn't appear too stressed, rescuers picked up the pangolin, put him in a carrier and brought him to a spot in the woods where there were a lot of ants he could eat and fallen logs where he could hide. "Most of the times in Singapore, wild animals get lost in our urban jungle and just need a bit of help to get relocated back safely into a natural habitat," Kalai Balakrishnan, director of ACRES, said. Finally, the carrier door was opened, and the little pangolin could run free again. So, with a few cautious sniffs of the fresh air, that's just what he did. This browser does not support the video tag. ACRES ACRES is the only dedicated wildlife rescue service in Singapore, and it needs a new van to continue its rescue work. You can donate to help the get one here. This browser does not support the video tag. ACRES Melissa Mendes grew up next door to a farm in Massachusetts, and used to do odd jobs for the farmers as a teenager. Now that she's all grown up and a professional cartoonist, the family asked her to come back and paint a mural for their barn - and she ended up with a few unlikely assistants. The farm always had lots of barn cats, which meant that occasionally there were kittens too. When Mendes arrived to start work on the mural, a group of kittens immediately greeted her, eager to help her with her artistic endeavors ... Melissa Mendes ... and came back to see her every time she was there. Melissa Mendes "They were there whenever I was painting," Mendes said. "If the farm was closed to visitors I would go visit the kittens inside the barn." Dodo Shows Little But Fierce Pocket-Sized Kitten Grows Up To Be A Wild Woman Melissa Mendes The kittens made excellent assistants, and were very good at helping with plans ... Melissa Mendes ... supervising ... Melissa Mendes ... and encouraging frequent breaks. Melissa Mendes Mendes already had a cat of her own, an older guy named Bruce, and went back and forth on whether or not she should adopt another. Through word of mouth, most of the kittens were eventually adopted, but Mendes never stopped thinking about what it would be like to take one home. Then, another litter was born, and Mendes met her newest group of painting assistants - including Oscar. Melissa Mendes "I fell in love with one of them and convinced my boyfriend to let me take him home," Mendes said. "It took a while to convince him, but he gave in and now he absolutely loves the kitten!" Melissa Mendes Bruce, of course, fell in love with Oscar too, and now the curious little kitten is thriving in his new home. Melissa Mendes "Oscar is very sweet," Mendes said. "He was a lot more mellow than his brothers and sisters, which is why I fell for him! He likes to rub his nose on my nose, and falls asleep in my arms a lot." Melissa Mendes Mendes's sister-in-law ended up adopting two kittens from Oscar's litter as well, ensuring that Mendes will always have lots of kitten assistants running around to help with her creative process. Melissa Mendes Strikes at Deutsche Lufthansa will wipe out thousands of flights after a failed bid to have a pilot walkout over pay declared illegal led a union to extend the action by two more days. The long-running spat reached new levels of bitterness after the Vereinigung Cockpit union defeated an application to have the strike blocked late Tuesday, and then upped the ante by lengthening the action. Lufthansa said the incomprehensible step would inflict extensive damage on its business and hit back by reviving a legal claim against the labour group dating to 2014. Europes third-biggest airline scrapped 912 flights scheduled for Thursday on top of at least 876 lost on Wednesday, disrupting travel for a total of 215,000 people, before Vereinigung Cockpit announced a further walkout Friday affecting short-haul routes. The first two days of walkouts affect both short- and long-haul services operated by Lufthansas main brand, eliminating about 40 per cent of the usual schedule. Premium flights such as Beijing-Frankfurt, Los Angeles-Munich and 10 out of 12 services from Frankfurt to London Heathrow are among those scrapped. While Lufthansa said its ready to resume negotiations at any time and repeated an offer of outside arbitration, Vereinigung Cockpit is unwilling to return to talks without an improved pay proposal. The union is seeking a 20-per-cent raise for the period spanning 2012 through 2017, or 3.7 per cent a year. Lufthansa has offered 2.5 per cent, or 0.38 per cent annually, through 2018. About 5,400 Lufthansa pilots, around half the total, are covered by a collective labour agreement and therefore potentially on strike, excluding those at the carriers cargo unit. Flights at the groups Swiss and Austrian divisions and the Eurowings discount brand are also operating normally. The action is the latest in more than two years of clashes over pay, working conditions and Lufthansas moves to turn Eurowings into a fully fledged low-cost carrier. The companys recourse to legal action proved especially incendiary given that a similar strategy undermined the last pilot strike in 2015, with the walkout, which was linked to the Eurowings transformation, rejected as an illegal effort to influence corporate strategy. What Lufthansa is doing is trying to censor the wage demands of the union, Vereinigung Cockpit lawyer Martell Rotermundt told the Frankfurt labour court. Thomas Ubber, representing Lufthansa, said the airline could not just pull a new offer out of the hat and that the labour groups demands involved wage discrimination in favour of older pilots. Judge Martin Becker said the labour court is not allowed to make a judgment call on the collective bargaining process, or a call if a wage demand is good or bad, and ruled that the strike could go ahead. A subsequent appeal by Lufthansa to a higher court was dismissed. Lufthansa said customers will be able to adjust bookings free of charge during the strike. The groups operations will have suffered three straight days of disruption and more than 1,850 lost services after a walkout by Eurowings cabin crew called by the Ver.di union led to the scrapping of at least 64 flights Tuesday at the units Dusseldorf and Hamburg bases. Europes third-biggest airline said later it has revived a 60-million-euro ($85 million) damages claim against Vereinigung Cockpit related to a walkout by pilots in April 2014. The carrier had previously filed a lawsuit before requesting that it be put on hold pending the outcome of negotiations. Spokesperson Helmut Tolksdorf said the carrier has yet to decide whether to seek compensation for the 2015 action that was declared illegal, or if it will further pursue its case against this weeks strike. Strikes forced Lufthansa to cancel more than 16,000 flights in 2014 and 2015, burdening operating profit by $650 million. Lufthansa shares closed 0.4-per-cent higher at $18.20 in Frankfurt Wednesday. Theyve declined 12 per cent so far this year. With files from Nicholas Brautlecht and James Regan SHARE: At the largest online travel conference earlier this month, industry executive Steve Hafner was asked an unusual question: Whats the first word that comes to mind when you think about Google? Annoying, said Hafner, CEO of Priceline Group Inc.s Kayak business. Hafner captured the mood well. Despite more than $15 billion (U.S.) in annual revenue and hefty profits, online travel agents (OTAs) like Priceline and Expedia Inc. are increasingly wary of Google encroaching on their turf. Thats lifting tension with a sector thats one of Googles biggest advertisers. The two camps once lived in harmony. The travel giants appeared on top of Google travel search results, either by buying ads or tweaking their websites to suit Googles algorithm. But in recent years, Google remade its search engine to show its own flight and hotel information above links to Priceline and Expedia. It launched a trip-planning app in September and sometimes lets travellers book hotels and flights on Google. Some industry players expect more direct competition like this. Google has a bigger vision than just purely how much theyre making on ad revenue, said Kayak co-founder Paul English, who left in late 2013 and is now building a travel-concierge service called Lola. Google travel executive Oliver Heckmann has the tricky job of keeping online travel agents happy while building increasingly competitive services for consumers. These advertisers need Google as much as the Alphabet Inc. unit needs them, but hes always mending fences. If I look at the industry, everybody is sort of collaborating and competing with each other, he said, while dismissing concern about a larger threat from Google. I want to get a margarita every time I have to clarify that misunderstanding. In an interview at the Phocuswright conference in Los Angeles, he said Google wont become an online travel agent with full booking capabilities. Instead, the companys goal is to provide travellers with the best information. Google can deduce that someone searching for information on the Zika virus is planning a trip, and send them a travel deal before they ask for one. Expedia cant do this by itself, he said. Thats not enough for some in the travel industry who worry the Internet company could relegate online travel agents to background order takers sitting between end providers, like hotels and airlines, and Google controlling the front-end experience. Expedia and Priceline would process transactions and deal with customer service problems, but it may be harder for them to build a connection with users to cross-sell things like rental cars. In 2014, Google argued against a planned U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) measure that would have regulated the company as an online travel agent. The DOT imposes more requirements, like fee disclosures, on companies that handle travel bookings, while firms that just provide information and refer customers have more freedom. Five other companies, including Kayak and TripAdvisor Inc., supported Google. TripAdvisor, which started out as a travel information provider, recently started direct bookings on its own site to diversify away from making money by referring users to existing online travel agents. Google has taken similar steps. It offers a feature that lets people whove already shared credit card information with Google book some hotels without filling in that payment data again on travel agents sites. Heckmann insisted the tool isnt a first step toward handling bookings completely and said the actual transaction still takes place on travel agents computer servers. Google is just trying to speed up the process, he said. Still, Google also offers a Book on Google feature when people search for flights. In some cases, users can purchase tickets without leaving Google. The company passes passenger details and payment information on to booking partners, which could be an airline, not just an online travel agent, according to Googles support website. And in July 2015, it launched a partnership with travel technology provider Sabre Corp. that lets travellers search for hotels on Google Search, Google Maps or Google+, and then book a room directly with the hotel without leaving the page. Googles latest moves are the most aggressive, and the most likely to push online travel agents into taking some of their marketing dollars elsewhere. Priceline and Expedia each spent more than $1 billion in the third quarter to get customers to come to their sites to book trips. Much of that went to Google, putting Priceline and Expedia among Googles top 10 search advertisers. Google ad revenue from the sector is still solid, but Google is making a risky bet, said Jason Hartley, a search marketing executive at ad agency 360i. OTAs already advertise on Facebook Inc. and expect the social media giant to build more travel marketing options in the future. Google has probably done the math, and theyve figured out that they have more to gain than to lose, Hartley said. That calculation involves the rise of mobile devices and voice-based digital assistants, which is changing how travellers research and book travel online. Smaller phone screens and information delivered only by voice wont support traditional text-based search ads and will require Google to offer simpler experiences with fewer steps. Some online travel executives said their own nimbleness will fortify them against Googles entry. Google is an advertising platform and everything that weve seen of them is theyre going to continue being an advertising platform, said Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Google might let some searchers bypass Expedia by sending them straight to hotel and airline websites but the reality is Expedia, as a tech company, is much better setup to work in Googles universe to capture customers. Hotels and airlines are less prepared for combat, he added. Read more about: SHARE: About Me Name: Carl in Jerusalem Location: Jerusalem, Israel I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com View my complete profile Allied Starring Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard, Jared Harris and Simon McBurney. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Opens Wednesday at major theatres. 124 minutes. 14A Director Robert Zemeckis is always efficient but rarely empathetic. Hes an absolute whiz at setting up computer-generated action the skyscraper tightrope scenes of last years The Walk required vertigo warnings and he knows how to push buttons for thrills and suspense. What hes less adept at, a clear disadvantage for his World War II love story Allied, is creating credible romantic drama. He has two of the worlds top actors, Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, in a story that references the selfless heroism of Casablanca, where amour burned for the greater good. Zemeckis is unable to generate enough heat with Pitt and Cottillard to bring more than a warm glow to the proceedings. Capably scripted by Steven Knight (Locke), Allied is more like Casablanca by way of a Mission: Impossible movie, a combination the M: I series already tried, more successfully, with last years Rogue Nation. Pitts Canadian flyboy Max Vatan, first seen as he parachutes into the Moroccan desert, is a spy working behind enemy lines in the Nazi-controlled North Africa of 1942. He teams with Cotillards Marianne Beausejour, a French Resistance fighter whom he meets in Casablanca. Their mission, should they decide to accept it, is to rub out the German ambassador and his stooges, at a fancy dress ball where the assassins are unlikely to survive. The two are supposed to pretend theyre married, which is easy to do physically theres a steamy desert sex scene but harder when emotions get involved, as they inevitably do. Love ensues despite warnings from commanding officers Jared Harris and Simon McBurney make for excellent killjoys. An involving plot twist, already revealed by a TMI trailer, considerably ups the intrigue and threatens the romance. The picture never quite rises to the challenge of these complications, despite superb production design and costuming that give it a sheen worthy of The English Patient, yet another film reference. Pitt and Cotillard arent convincing as a couple, although she tries harder than he does. Theyre lost amidst the sandstorms and plane crashes that Zemeckis is so good at conjuring. Read more about: SHARE: INDIANAPOLISAn experimental treatment for Alzheimers failed again in a widely anticipated study, disappointing many who had hoped Eli Lilly had finally found a way to slow the progression of the mind-robbing disease. The drug did not work better than a placebo treatment in a study of 2,100 people with mild Alzheimers, the company announced Wednesday. Were incredibly saddened by the news, said Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimers Association, who was not involved in Lillys research. There was a lot of hope for this avenue, this approach. Alzheimers experts had modest expectations for the drug, called solanezumab. It had already failed in two large studies in people with mild-to-moderate forms of the disease. Combined results, however, suggested that the drug might work for those with the mildest symptoms. Lilly started another study, testing monthly infusions of the drug for 18 months in those patients. The drug binds to a protein called amyloid beta that builds up in the brains of Alzheimers patients. The drug clears the protein from the brain before it can clump together to form a sticky plaque between nerve cells. Researchers think the protein triggers the degenerative disease, which impairs memory and thought. Amyloid still plays some role, and its premature to abandon the notion of targeting it, said a specialist who has led many previous failed Alzheimers drug studies. When you get a result like this you have to question, is it the stage of the disease, is it the particular drug you are testing, or is it some combination. Or is the strategy wrong, said Dr. Stephen Salloway, neurology chief at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. We dont know the answer. Lillys drug is still being tested in two other major tests. One involves patients with a rare, inherited form of Alzheimers, and the other is a prevention trial of people who have no symptoms but have amyloid in their brain as seen on scans. At least 18 other drugs are in late-stage testing, including several similar to solanezumab. There are other approaches that we need to pursue, Carrillo said. We need to redouble our efforts. Scientists say the search for a better Alzheimers treatment presents several problems. They also believe changes in the brain of a person with Alzheimers begin many years before the patient shows symptoms. That means that by the time diagnosis happens, the brain may be essentially too damaged for potential treatments to work. Lilly has spent about $3 billion (U.S.) over the past 27 years on Alzheimers research. One of the drugmakers researchers, Dr. Eric Siemers, said the latest results were a bump in the road, and scientists are looking forward to learning more from the results of other potential treatments. Were continuing to go forward, its just not as fast as we would like, said Siemers. With more than 5 million people in the United States afflicted, Alzheimers is the most common form of dementia. Theres no known way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression. Current treatments on the market, like Aricept and Namenda, only temporarily ease symptoms such as memory loss, confusion and agitation. Alzheimers patients typically live an average of eight years after their symptoms become noticeable, during which the disease gradually erodes their memory and ability to think or perform simple tasks. Wall Street analysts had given Lillys drug relatively low odds of success. Even so, shares of Eli Lilly and Co. plunged nearly 12 per cent, or $9, to $67 Wednesday after results came out. Shares of other drugmakers researching Alzheimers treatments, like Biogen Inc., also sank in early trading. SHARE: OTTAWAThe federal government wants to keep vapour-based e-cigarettes out of the hands of children while ensuring smokers can access the devices to help mitigate the health risks of the tobacco habit, says Health Minister Jane Philpott. New legislation introduced Tuesday in the Senate aims to tackle 21st-century tobacco use by retooling the existing tobacco law as the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act and creating a new class for vapour-based products. But as questions persist about the health effects, vaping remains a double-edged sword of sorts for regulators, who find themselves trying to strike a delicate balance. We know that there is some evidence to suggest that the use of vaping products can be used as a harm reduction tool for people who are current smokers, Philpott said outside the Commons. At the same time they have shown to be an enticement for young people to take up smoking and become addicted to nicotine. Health Canada says products like e-cigarettes have been growing in popularity and its high time the government took steps to regulate their manufacture, sale, labelling and promotion, Philpott said. Unfortunately, up until now, there has not been federal legislation associated with vaping and it has been something that the provinces have asked for. The provinces and territories like to see a cohesive piece of legislation at the federal level to ensure there are regulations on access and promotion, she added. Data from the 2015 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey show that 26 per cent Canadian youth aged 15-19 reported trying an e-cigarette in 2015 up from 20 per cent in 2013. The proposed changes also support the governments plans to require plain packaging for tobacco products, said Philpott, who plans to host a national forum on tobacco control early next year. Rob Cunningham, a senior policy adviser at the Canadian Cancer Society, said the legislation follows on the heels of recommendations from a Commons health committee report issued in March 2015. Health Canadas tobacco control strategy, set to expire in March 2018, needs to be strengthened, Cunningham said. It includes this legislation, it includes strengthening the funding to have better programs but also includes further amendments to update the tobacco legislation that is very much out of date. In a statement, the Canadian Medical Association hailed the governments decision. The association has recommended a ban on the sale of all e-cigarettes to Canadians younger than the minimum age for tobacco consumption in their province or territory. SHARE: OTTAWAJustin Trudeau plans to discuss LGBTQ rights in a speech later this week at the summit of la Francophonie, where his audience will include countries that still discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or forbid homosexuality outright. The prime minister will raise the subject during Saturdays opening ceremony in Antananarivo, the capital city of the island nation Madagascar, which is hosting this weekends summit of the International Organization of la Francophonie. The global group of 80 governments and states from mainly French-speaking nations comprises many countries, including nearly a dozen in Africa, where sexual acts between same-sex couples are illegal. In others, including the host country of Madagascar, homosexuality is frowned upon or otherwise not tolerated. The trip begins Thursday with a stop in Monrovia, Liberia a West African country that was hit hard by the Ebola epidemic in recent years. It marks Trudeaus first visit to the continent since becoming prime minister last year. The Liberal government plans to use the trip to highlight a promise of renewed engagement with Africa on international development assistance. With 31 of the members of la Francophonie hailing from the African continent, including several with associate and observer status, the summit offers an ideal setting for such talks. The speech by Trudeau, who is leading the Canadian delegation and will be attending plenary sessions at the summit, will also address the global fight against climate change and the empowerment of women and girls a key international development priority for the Liberal government. As part of that focus on gender equality, Canada the second-largest contributor to la Francophonie is also putting forward a joint resolution with Benin on early and forced marriage. Forced marriage is a glaring example to work on for me, because it is an important element that limits the development of girls potential, said International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, who is also attending the summit. Western countries always need to avoid being seen as lecturing the developing world when it comes to social issues, said Pablo Idahosa, a professor of development and African studies at York University in Toronto. Thats where the youth and charisma of Trudeau could come in handy. I think he may have a certain amount of political capital as someone who might be willing to have initiatives in Africa that dont have a hard language around human rights, but gets in there around more softer issues, around engaging issues of youth and young women and in particular girls, Idahosa said. The empowerment of women and girls will be the main message during the trip to Liberia, where Trudeau will meet Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The first woman elected head of state in Africa, Johnson Sirleaf and other women in Liberia have been recognized for their role in securing and maintaining peace following a brutal civil conflict. Trudeau will also visit a local school and sit down with advocates of gender equality to discuss the role that women and girls can play in peace and security, both in Africa and around the world. Liberia, which is not part of la Francophonie, is another country where homosexual activity is illegal. When asked whether Trudeau plans to raise the issue with Johnson Sirleaf, one government official would only say that the prime minister raises human rights issues everywhere he goes. Read more about: SHARE: OTTAWAVeteran Ontario MP Charlie Angus is stepping down as the federal New Democrats caucus chair while he considers a run for the NDP leadership. Angus told reporters Wednesday he had not decided whether or not hell run for the leadership, suggesting hell make a decision sometime in early 2017. Im going to step aside, and take the time (to decide). This is going to be a very, very long race, theres a lot to consider, but Im very passionate about the renewal of our party, Angus said outside the House of Commons. I think we have a lot to offer to Canadians. So whether its as a candidate, or working on a team, Im looking forward to coming back in the new year with some decision. Angus is the second New Democrat MP to step away from their role in caucus to consider a leadership bid. B.C. MP Peter Julian stepped down as NDP house leader in October, and is widely expected to run. Other names are whispered about in NDP circles including Quebec MP Guy Caron and Manitoba MP Niki Ashton but nobody has yet officially tossed their hat in the ring. Angus said hed be able to bridge the divide in the NDP, evident at the partys Edmonton convention where Thomas Mulcair lost the confidence vote, between blue-collar union voters and the more academic, Toronto-based side of the party. Were a party of dreamers, and were a party of doers. Sometimes we butt up against each other, but we need the dreamers, we need the people who say lets dream big, and then we say how do we do it practically, Angus said. I think I have a foot in both camps. And I think thats what Jack (Layton) offered, he brought the dreamers together with the doers. And thats what were going to do. The New Democrats will choose a permanent leader to replace Mulcair in October 2017. RELATED: Opposition leadership races fail to interest public Read more about: SHARE: Montreal firefighters continue to battle a major blaze in an abandoned building in the central Plateau neighbourhood. Thick, black smoke was visible downtown today from the five-alarm fire on Parc Avenue, a popular commercial artery. The vacant three-storey building is considered unstable, forcing firefighters to fight the blaze from outside. Fire officials say the fire spread to a neighbouring building housing condominiums and a restaurant and they are working to limit the damage. There are no reports of injuries. More than 120 firefighters were on the scene and authorities are asking people to avoid the area. The first calls to emergency services came in just after 9 a.m. SHARE: John Kevin Connelly had just aced two exams at the University of Toronto. He was a thriving third-year pharmacy student. On the day before his death, he was making social arrangements a meet-up with his sister, plans with one of his best friends for the following day. Instead, on the morning of Dec. 9, 2001, Connellys body was discovered in the parking lot outside 15 Walmer Rd., where he lived in a third-floor bachelor apartment. Summoned by a 911 call, Toronto police arrived and quickly ruled Connelly had died by suicide by taking a running jump off the roof of the building. Its a conclusion his parents, John and Gloria Connelly, have fought ever since. Fifteen years since the death of their son, the Connellys are filing a $12.5 million lawsuit against the Toronto police, alleging detectives failed to properly investigate their sons death as a homicide. Instead, they allege police concealed, ignored or lost evidence in order to support the conclusion Connellys death was a suicide. In a statement of claim filed in Toronto earlier this year, the Connellys ask the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for a declaration that police should reinvestigate their sons death, this time as a homicide. This has moved beyond our son John and beyond us, Gloria Connelly told the Star in an interview from Ottawa on Wednesday. Now, its about accountability. Its about public safety. None of the allegations contained in the statement of claim have been proven in court. Toronto police spokesperson Mark Pugash said police have not yet filed a statement of defence. We will be defending the case, Pugash said. Since the day they were told of their sons death, the Connellys have questioned if police did enough to rule out homicide. The lawsuit, they say, is a last-resort effort following a 15-year odyssey to collect information and evidence surrounding their sons death through meetings with investigators and the coroners office, freedom of information requests, appeals to oversight bodies and more. Gradually, in a piecemeal manner, the couple claims to have collected sufficient evidence to show the bulk of the information police used to determine Connellys death was a suicide was incorrect. The statement of claim contains what the Connellys say are more than a dozen examples of police mistakes, loss of important evidence and more, foremost among them a significant discrepancy concerning where Connellys body was found. According to the statement of claim, police told the Connellys he was found approximately 35 feet from the base of the apartment building and inferred that the distance supported the theory of a running leap off the roof. But in 2006, the Connellys received materials from the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board indicating the distance had actually been 17.6 feet, half what they had originally been told. The difference is significant, the Connellys maintain, because it calls into question previous assumptions by Toronto police that John had taken a running leap off the roof. It also opens up the possibility that John was dropped off a balcony. The statement of claim also highlights what it alleges are other significant problems with the investigation, including: that police failed to thoroughly interview witnesses or obtain a list of the tenants in the building; investigators did not secure the apartment and contaminated it; police lost or destroyed evidence, including 911 calls; and police failed to properly fingerprint and photograph the apartment, leading to the improper treatment of a blood stained pillowcase found in Connellys room. It also alleges police concealed the fact that there had been a violent and noisy confrontation in Connellys apartment shortly before his death, and that they failed to investigate a neighbours report of two miserable looking men accessing Connellys apartment with their own keys in the days before his death. Cameron Fiske, the Connellys lawyer, said the family has suffered greatly as a result of a lack of a proper investigation into their sons death. There is a public need for this kind of lawsuit, Fiske said in an emailed statement Wednesday. I am confident that justice will prevail if we are provided with a full forum to present all of the evidence in court. John Connelly, Connellys father, said the family would have preferred to work collaboratively with police to prompt a re-investigation. But over the years, they reluctantly concluded a lawsuit was necessary to shine a light on what he says are the larger issues of oversight and accountability. We are always hopeful, he said. Every time we do this we always end up with more evidence and more information that always gets us closer to the truth. Wendy Gillis can be reached at wgillis@thestar.ca SHARE: CHARLOTTETOWN A 31-year-old school bus driver on Prince Edward Island has been accused of sexting with a minor. Stephen William MacLeod of Rose Valley has been charged with luring a child and invitation to sexual touching. The RCMP say the alleged victim is a 15-year-old girl. Sexting is a term commonly used to describe the exchange of sexually explicit photos, images, text messages, or e-mails by using a cellphone or other mobile device. MacLeod has been suspended from his employment. He is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Charlottetown on December 12. SHARE: VANCOUVERThe Vancouver Aquarium says despite recent challenges, as staff cope with the death of one beluga whale and the critical illness of another, some new residents of the aquarium are helping to raise spirits. In a tweet, aquarium officials say names have been selected for the two rescued Alaskan sea otter pups that arrived at the facility on Nov. 1. The male pup, found stranded in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, has been named Mak, after his rescue site. The female pup, found by the U.S. Coast Guard on a beach southwest of Anchorage has been named Kunik, which is the Inuktitut word for a traditional Inuit greeting, or kiss. Experts believe both pups were abandoned by their mothers and at less than six months of age are considered non-releasable and will require life-long care. Aquarium vets, meanwhile, are continuing round-the-clock care for 29-year-old beluga Aurora, who has developed the same symptoms exhibited by her daughter Qila, just before the 21-year-old whale died last week. SHARE: They will have a sense of it now, the jury. The oddity of whats unfolding before them at a first-degree murder trial. One by one they took their seats on Tuesday morning in what is always an arduous task when the stakes are this high, the charge this serious. And one by one they were repeatedly ushered out of the University Ave. courtroom so that the judge and lawyers could address business which jurists are forbidden to hear, matters that are more commonly settled in motions before a trial commences. Sitting not in the dock but at the defendants table is the accused: 40-year-old Xiu Jin Teng, accused of murdering her husband, Dong Huang, nearly five years ago in their Scarborough basement apartment. Thats a extraordinarily long time from arrest to trial, even for the glacial tempo of Canadian justice. At the defendants table, Teng, but without a defence lawyer sitting alongside, only a Mandarin interpreter. Though Teng, when she chooses to speak for herself, appears to have a reasonable command of English. She has pleaded not guilty. This trial might very well extend into 2017, at the plodding pace its going. Superior Court Judge Ian MacDonnell, by all indications, will need the patience of Job to get through it, a job he appears singularly suited to handle, as attested by the courtesy and forbearance he displayed Tuesday. Try as MacDonnell might to shield his jurys ears, he was not quite a match for the up-and-down popping Teng. Late morning, after court has heard from the first witness a crime scene draft technician whos presented a schematic of the basement apartment the jury had stepped out and just stepped back in. MacDonnell to Teng: Do you wish to ask questions? Meaning, of the witness, because to all outward appearance Teng is defending herself, with an amicus curiae friend of the court to assist the proceeding. Teng, her voice rising: I said dont ask me questions! I need to make one point clear. MacDonnell: No. Submissions are made in the absence of the jury. Do you wish to participate in the trial by asking any questions? Teng: It depends. If you do not give the context you are risking fooling the jury. MacDonnell: Please sit down. To Teng, the judge continues: I hope you wont be saying this constantly. To the jury, the judge warns: What youve just heard is not relevant to any decision you have to make. Later, after another Mandarin interpreter is sworn in, this one to translate for the next witness, the owner with her husband of the Scarborough house where Dong Huangs body was discovered in a storage room. Teng is once more on her feet, primed to launch another objection. MacDonnell asks her to sit down. Teng: I have a right to speak on my behalf. You are rejecting my constitutional right! All will be explained, in time, to the jurors and the public beyond those inside the packed courtroom. What was provided, in the roadmap opening statement presented by Crown attorney Joshua Levy, was a bare-bones outline of the evidence the prosecution expects to elicit in the coming weeks. It goes like this: Teng had been residing in the apartment with her husband and their 2-year-old daughter for only a month. On February 29, 2012, Xiaohong (Sharon) Gu went downstairs to collect the rent. Teng told Gu that her husband was in Hong Kong but would be back the following week. Gu looked around the unit, concerned by packed suitcases and boxes, suggesting the occupants may have been planning to move out without paying but she didnt ask Teng about it. Later that same day, while going up to the second floor, Gu heard the sound of a child crying. It was coming from the garage. Gu went into the garage, saw that Tengs daughter was in the front seat of her tenants SUV, improperly dressed for the cold temperature and howling. Teng had her arms loaded with items that she was placing in the trunk. Gu glanced in. Let Gu, from the witness stand, pick up the narrative: It was loaded with stuff. It seemed quite clear she was moving out. After Teng drove away, Gu discussed the situation with a neighbour who agreed to come take a look. They checked around the apartment, noticing the mess of things, the luggage, a mattress propped against the wall. Inspecting from room to room, they then looked inside the storage area, which wasnt locked. The neighbour saw what she thought might by a pair of feet sticking out from underneath a pile of sheets and empty boxes. She said nothing about her suspicion to Gu; just urged Gu to call her husband at work, get him to come home immediately. Upon his arrival, the three went back downstairs. It was just after theyd opened the storage room door that Teng arrived back home. My husband asked her, what is this? Pointing to the boxes. She said, this is just some of our stuff. We started taking the boxes down. And in the end we saw something, covering a person. Again, but with astonishment, Gus husband asked Teng: Whats this? She started crying. She said her husband died last week because of a heart attack. I said, you ought to tell us, why didnt you call 911? Why did you do this to him? She turned around to leave. She attempted to flee. My husband would not let her leave. So she went to her bedroom and made a call. Gus husband called police, who arrived within minutes. In the prosecutions opening address, Levy told the jury that, at autopsy, it was determined that cause of death was ligature strangulation. Bleach had been poured over the body. Green twine was tied around Dong Huangs neck. There were ligature marks around his wrists and ankles, bruising to the head, and a puncture wound on his arms. Toxicology tests showed Zopiclone an insomnia medication in his blood. Police would recover the following items from the apartment: a metal hand saw, plastic wrap, disposable gloves, a hydraulic jack, nails, a utility winch, rubber mats, cables with locks and a roll of green twine. A week earlier, Gu testified, shed been awakened around 5 a.m. by strange noises coming from the basement, which she could hear through the heating vents. I heard a male voice saying ahh . . . ahh . . . a painful voice. It was just before that time, Gu said, shed last seen Dong Huang alive. Levy had told the jury that Teng worked at London Life and was licensed to sell insurance. In her files, investigators would find a contract shed purchased on her husbands life some weeks earlier. In the event of her husbands death, (it would) entitle her to a total death benefit of just under $2 million. She also purchased life insurance on her own life. However, the beneficiary of those policies was not her husband but another individual. The trial continues. Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. SHARE: [November 22, 2016] India Enterprise Network LAN Equipment Market - Anticipated to Cross $ 2.5 Billion by the End of 2021 - Research and Markets Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "India Enterprise Network LAN Equipment Market - Forecast and Opportunities, 2011-2021" report to their offering. The India enterprise network LAN equipment market is anticipated to cross $ 2.5 Billion by the end of 2021. Switches dominated the country's enterprise network LAN equipment market during 2011-2015, and the segment is anticipated to maintain its dominance over the next five years as well. Surging bandwidth requirements, growing data security concerns and escalating adoption and integration of LAN network equipment in large business setups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are some of the major factors expected to aid the growth of India enterprise network LAN equipment market during 2016-2021. Moreover, increase in the number of data centre build-outs, booming Machine-to-Machine communication (M2M) market and expansion of Cloud networking are anticipated to further aid the enterprise network LAN equipment market in the country over the span of next five years. Furthermore,favourable government initiatives such as Digital India Programme, National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN), Bharat Net, Network of Spectrum (News - Alert) (NFS), etc., are expected to positively influence the India enterprise network LAN equipment market. Companies Mentioned: Cisco Systems (News - Alert) India Pvt. Ltd. D-Link India Limited Dell India Private Limited Hewlett Packard Enterprise India Pvt. Ltd Huawei Technologies India Pvt. Ltd IBM (News - Alert) India Private Limited Juniper Networks India Private Limited NETGEAR Technologies India Private Ltd Nokia (News - Alert) Solutions and Networks India Private Limited TP-Link India Private Limited Key Topics Covered: 1. Product Overview 2. Research Methodology 3. Analyst View 4. Global Enterprise Network LAN Equipment Market Overview 5. India Enterprise Network LAN Equipment Market Outlook 6. India Switches Market Outlook 7. India Routers Market Outlook 8. India Gateways Market Outlook 9. India Cables & Ethernet Market Outlook 10. India NIC (News - Alert) Adaptors Market Outlook 11. India Hubs Market Outlook 12. India Enterprise Network LAN Equipment Market Attractiveness Index 13. Market Dynamics 14. Market Trends & Developments 15. Policy & Regulatory Landscape 16. Value Chain Analysis 17. List of Major Distributors 18. India Economic Profile 19. Competitive Landscape 20. Strategic Recommendations For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/wnl7r3/india_enterprise View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122005864/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The men who recovered 16 dogs from a stolen van got a chance to meet the relieved owners face to face Tuesday. The relieved pet parents welcomed railway workers Joe Farrugia, Jaime Teran and Tom Reigh at Toronto police 14 Division. I just want to thank them for bringing the dogs home, said Sheila O'Tool, whose dog, Agnes, was among those in the van. To us you're very much heroes . . . You saw something and you said something and so many people don't. Around 11 a.m. Friday, a van belonging to Soulmutts dog daycare was stolen from outside a Fort York Blvd. condo while the driver went upstairs to pick up a dog. Soulmutts said its staff have two keys for each vehicle one for the driver to keep at all times and another to leave in the ignition, so the climate-control systems are running at all times. Farrugia, Teran and Reigh found the van in a parking lot on Queens Quay E. near Parliament St. that evening. All 16 dogs were in good health, police said. Farrugia said it was amazing to meet all the owners. I'm a dog owner myself. I know how it feels, he said. They're family. The three men said once they checked out the van and realized it was the one being sought by police, they called 911 and waited by the road to direct police. (Then) we started taking the dogs out, we found the leashes and we got water for them, said Farrugia Ling Chhor came with her West Highland Terrier Wesley to thank the trio of men. It means the world, Chhor said. I didn't think I would see this little guy again. She said she was glad the dogs probably did not know what was going on during the ordeal. And at least they weren't alone, Chhor added. They're all friends. They play together every day. Graham Henderson said he spent over eight hours on Friday searching on foot for his Shar-Pei/Old English Bulldog mix, Lily. She's my only roommate. I'm all she's got, he said. We left in such a hurry on Friday, I was disappointed we couldn't meet (the rescuers). After the initial commotion of dogs entering the room and misty-eyed thank yous being exchanged, O'Tool gave Henderson a hug. We're so lucky, she said. Then, as Lily jumped up to see Agnes, nestled in O'Tool's arms, the owners introduced themselves to each other. The dogs already know each other, O'Tool said. SHARE: Wayne Watsons seemingly losing bid to terminate child support payments for his disabled adult son took an unexpected turn in Brampton Court Tuesday. A lawyer who saw a Saturday Star story about single mother Robyn Coatess constitutional claim that Ontarios Family Law Act discriminates against disabled children, has offered to represent Watsons side of the case pro bono as a friend of the court so that it can proceed. I am here to assist with some of the law that will help you make the decision on the constitutional issue, lawyer Michael Tweyman told Justice William Sullivan. Sullivan, who said the issue is significant and important and needs to be resolved, agreed to Tweymans participation and set a date in March 2017 for a full hearing. Tweyman and Coatess lawyer Robert Shawyer litigated the constitutionality of child support under Ontario law in provincial superior court in 2012. Tweyman represented the fathers side in that case, but the judge ruled on the merits and made no decision on the constitutional question. Im a person who is passionate about the law and interested in important family law issues, Tweyman said in an interview. It seemed like no other side was going to be put forth and I thought it would be beneficial to the court to at least know the other legal side of the argument. Watson, who was planning to throw myself on the mercy of the court because he could no longer afford a lawyer in the case, said he was thankful for Tweymans involvement. Under Ontario law, adult children are eligible for child support only if they are in school full-time. Since Watsons son Joshua will be 22 next month and is no longer in school, the father says he is no longer required to pay. But if Watson and Coates had been married and divorced, it would have been another story. Under the federal Divorce Act, children with disabilities are eligible for child support into adulthood whether they are in school or not. As a result, Coates is questioning the constitutionality of Ontarios law. If children of divorced parents can claim support for both education and disability beyond age 18, then children born to parents who were never married should enjoy the same rights, she argues. Coates says she needs child support to help defray the costs of day programs for Joshua that can run as high as $1,400 a month. Adult children with disabilities are eligible for child support in every province except Ontario and Alberta regardless of the parents previous marital status and whether children are in school or not, said Shawyer who is representing Coates pro bono. Watson and Coates never lived together or married. But Watson has paid court-ordered child support since Joshua was 4 and never missed a payment. He paid $319 a month for almost 13 years until a court-order increased support to more than $1,000 a month. He currently pays about $800 a month. Coates says she tried to foster a relationship between Joshua and his father, but gave up when the boy was 6 due to Watsons resistance. Watson is married with two other children, ages 16 and 19. Although Tweyman has sympathy for single parents of disabled children of any age, he said he will argue that the legislature and not the courts should change child support provisions under Ontarios Family Law Act. The attorney generals office advised Coates and Watson last March that the province would not be intervening in the case. The ministry of the attorney general is always willing to consider proposals for reforms to Ontarios family laws, a ministry spokesman said in a statement. The ministry of community and social services provides funding and services designed to help adults 18 years or older with a developmental disability to participate in their communities, added Brendan Crawley. It also helps caregivers of an adult with a developmental disability take a break from their care giving responsibilities. SHARE: The chair of Peels police board says he does not recall making a female member of the force feel uncomfortable when he gave her a hug at an event last month. A media report last week was critical of Amrik Ahluwalias alleged behaviour at the function, even though the board says it is not aware of any formal complaint over the hug and its not clear what exactly the chair allegedly did to make the woman uncomfortable. Ahluwalia has remained silent, until now. My wife and I were at the Race against Racism event on Oct. 27, he said in an email to the Star Tuesday. During the event, my wife and I greeted many people who approached us both men and women. Sometimes that greeting was a handshake. Sometimes it was a friendly embrace which is quite common in our culture. Ahluwalia is a Punjabi-Canadian. He said a few days after the event he was made aware that a female employee of the force reportedly felt uncomfortable with a hug he had given her. My wife nor I do not recall anyone feeling uncomfortable. That being said, I have communicated my sincere regrets to this person if she felt uncomfortable in any way whatsoever. That certainly was not my intention. Paul Black, president of the Peel police union, was asked to detail what Ahluwalia allegedly did that made the female employee uncomfortable and if a formal complaint has been filed. He did not respond. Last week, according to an article in the Toronto Sun, Black said, There was no contrition but our member seems to be alright at this stage She is satisfied that she has received an apology, albeit weak, and wishes the matter be put to rest. While we might have taken a different view, the wishes of the member are paramount and we support her decision. Black was asked to explain what he meant when stating the police association might have taken a different view. He did not respond. Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, a member of the police board, who along with Ahluwalia, Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey and other members has been calling for sweeping changes to policing in Peel, was asked if this latest controversy is part of a pattern over the last year that has seen the boards relationship with the force deteriorate. As a board member I fully support Chair Ahluwalia and I am satisfied with his response, Crombie wrote in an email to the Star Tuesday. The community needs the Peel Police Board and our force to have a positive relationship as we work together to modernize policing in Peel. That is everyones primary goal and objective. That relationship has been strained, particularly with police chief Jennifer Evans after Ahluwalia and the board voted in June for a sweeping equity and diversity audit of the force. The move came after Crombie challenged Evans last year on the controversial practice of carding, known as street checks in Peel. Evans refused a board request, after a vote, to suspend the controversial practice after the forces own data, revealed by the Star last year, showed that black individuals were three times more likely to be stopped in a street check by Peel police than whites. On Friday the board grilled Evans at a board meeting for using a community survey with questionable methodology to claim there is overwhelming support for the force. Board members pointed out that a separate survey of the forces own staff showed less than half feel the force is being run properly. Evans was asked if the controversy over the hug could further damage the relationship between the force and the board that oversees it. As I have said repeatedly, I have and continue to be committed to working with our Police Services Board to ensure a safer community together, Evans wrote in an email to the Star Tuesday. Asked if she has been involved in the matter over the hug, a police spokesperson said because of policies to protect the confidentiality and integrity of members questions about the incident should be directed to the board. Police board executive director Robert Serpe said, The board has no knowledge of a formal complaint. Ranjit Khatkur, who has delegated to the board about the need for policing reforms and was a driving force behind the soon-to-be initiated equity audit, says shes concerned about this latest controversy. Look, the concerns of the member who felt uncomfortable about the hug are the priority. If she was in any way disturbed or hurt by this, her well being is the absolute priority, said the chair of the Peel Coalition Against Racialized Discrimination. What concerns me is the way the union has handled this. Without any formal complaint the union is clearly trying to discredit and harm the reputation of the chair. They also attacked him in June after he led the decision to get a comprehensive equity-diversity audit done. Read more about: SHARE: When fleeing for their lives from war-torn Syria, the last thing the Dallal family worried about was getting their eyes checked. Mohamad Dallal started wearing glasses at 5 for strabismus, or crossed eyes, and should have had surgery years ago to correct the problem. But in his familys four years as refugees in Jordan, the best the now 12-year-old boys parents could do before being resettled in Canada in February was to take him to costly eye exams and get him some glasses. When they learned about a free eye clinic near their new home in Brampton, they wasted no time registering Mohamad and everyone else in the family including his two sisters and two brothers. The family of seven, originally from Damascus, was among some 250 Syrian newcomers bused to the clinic at the Prism Eye Institute on Hurontario St., near Highway 407, filling all its 12 medical interview and eye exam rooms on a recent Sunday. We are very happy because we get the care that we didnt have, said Mohamads big sister, Nada, 16, after optometrist Stacey Chong examined her brothers eyes. Mohamad has strabismus. His vision is not bad, but his left eye is weaker. We need to follow up with a plan at Sick Kids Hospital to straighten his eye, explained Chong, adding that surgery would be recommended. The free clinic the brainchild of University of Toronto medical student Tarek Bin Yameen is a joint effort of Mes Amis, a volunteer group that helps Syrian newcomers settle, St. Michaels Hospital and dozens of opthamologists, optometrists, opticians and medical students from all over Greater Toronto. On this Sunday, some 80 volunteers, including 45 Arabic speakers serving as translators, ran the clinic out of the Prism Eye Institute, which not only provided the equipment and venue but also staff for administrative support. Dr. Ike Ahmed, medical director of the institute and head of eye surgery at the Trillium Health Centre, said more than half of the Syrians registered for the clinic were children, a number of whom were diagnosed with lazy eyes and cataracts. What we are most concerned about are the kids. If their visual problems are not picked up, it could be too late to treat them and the problems become permanent, said Ahmed, who jumped on the opportunity to host the clinic when approached by Bin Yameen through U of T professor Myrna Lichter. Bin Yameen said he came up with the idea after he learned of an eye condition suffered by a Syrian child from a family he helped resettle in Sudbury earlier this year. I grew up in Yemen during the civil war in 1994 and we lived in a refugee camp. We had a cholera outbreak and 40 people perished. I survived because I had my vaccination. When I see these kids in the clinic, it is very personal to me, said Bin Yameen, whose family came to Canada and settled in Brampton in 2001. Bin Yameen said about 40 per cent of the children they see at the clinic require glasses and some medical intervention with their eye problems. An earlier clinic in the summer identified four people with the rare retinitis pigmentosa an inherited, degenerative eye disease that could lead to blindness. Essam Aljundi, who arrived in Mississauga with his family in January via Lebanon, said its impossible to see a doctor when one is constantly moving from place to place for safety. Myself, my wife and our (six) children had not had an eye exam since we left our home in Nawa. Food was more important than eye care and anything else, said the 46-year-old, who was a pharmacist back home. We are grateful to Canada. We greatly appreciate all these volunteers support. Although the Syrian newcomers have their eye care covered by the federal and provincial governments, Julie Mahfouz Rezvani of Mes Amis said the language barrier has remained a huge hurdle for them to access health care. Unless something is totally broken, they are not going to look for help to fix it. We arrange the bus to pick them up but having Arabic-speaking translators here to help them is huge, noted Rezvani. We had someone calling from Hamilton saying his son had a bad eye problem. There were 11 people in the family, but all he was asking for was to have his son seen by an eye doctor here. Other eye clinics have been planned for the Kitchener area. Correction - November 24, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said retinitis pigmentosa is a treatable disease. In fact, there is no known cure for this inherited disease. SHARE: Bassel Mcleash lived a closeted life in Syria before fleeing in 2012 to Egypt where he later tested positive for HIV and lost his job and work permit. Middle Eastern countries are not the most gay-friendly places to be, said Mcleash, as he constantly feared being outed and thrown into jail. If people suspect you are gay, you can still end up being tortured. You lose all your social rights and the government wont even issue you a passport, said the 29-year-old. I was sick and relied on friends I met in Egypt. A lot of time, I was in psychological breakdown, crying because I didnt see any hope and light at the end of the tunnel. Fortunately, an American human rights activist he met in Cairo connected him with Toronto-based Rainbow Railroad in 2014. The volunteer group helps and rescues LGBTQ people facing physical violence and threats in other countries. With their help, Mcleash arrived in Toronto to start a new life in May under Ottawas refugee resettlement program and even marched in this years gay pride parade beside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Finding refuge for Mcleash is just the latest success story for Rainbow Railroad, which recently launched its 60in60 campaign to save 60 LGBTQ lives in 60 days. We currently have 60 active cases that require immediate help in finding pathways to safety for these people, said Kimahli Powell, Rainbow Railroads executive director. They come from all over the world where it is not safe for members of the LGBTQ community. Some of these places still criminalize homosexuality. The group, established in 2006, does not offer resettlement sponsorships to Canada for persecuted gays and lesbians. It runs on a triage approach by providing victims with social and financial support as well as information on routes to seek asylum and get people in danger to safety. Rainbow Railroad has set a target to raise $300,000 by December 31. So far, $143,000 has been raised, including $100,000 from the Elton John AIDS Foundation to provide direct travel costs for up to 20 LGBTQ people with HIV as well as proper medical treatment. Life is tough for some of these members of the LGBTQ community. A guy had acid thrown on him and still carries the scars. Others are homeless after theyre abandoned by their families, said Powell. Our volunteers have reviewed each case and picked the ones in the direst situation. In addition to raising money for the program, Powell said the campaign also hopes to create public awareness of the plight of LGBTQ members in other parts of the world more than 70 countries still criminalize same-sex relationships. Mcleash, who worked for an aviation company in Damascus, said he waited two years in Egypt before he was resettled to Canada, and felt fortunate to be given a new life. I got some help for my medications from an aid group. I got some dry food, but I was so sick that my friends had to feed me, Mcleash said. But there was (only) so much they could help. It was very hard on them too. The moral support from Rainbow Railroad is invaluable and its volunteers make him feel he is not alone, said Mcleash. I am a free person and can be who I am now. I carried the (rainbow) flag at the pride parade. I was the flag boy, he said proudly. I hope the 60in60 campaign is going to be a success. Rainbow Railroad helped save my life. I hope others would have the same opportunity for a new life like I did. Donations to the campaign can be made by credit card, cheque or Aeroplan miles through Rainbow Railroads website. SHARE: Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault fought back tears describing the toll the Sudbury byelection bribery case is taking on his family even though he is not a suspect. Opposition calls for Thibeaults resignation Tuesday were fuelled by comments from federal Crown Attorney Vern Brewer that he sought certain benefits, such as a cabinet posting, to run for Premier Kathleen Wynne in the 2015 race. Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said Brewers accusation outside court leaves an ethical cloud over Thibeault, who is not facing charges. Its still wrong to accept or seek a bribe, Brown maintained. The lawyer representing former Wynne deputy chief of staff Patricia Sorbara, one of two accused in the Election Act bribery case, said he is weighing the Crowns controversial statement. The possible impact of Mr. Brewers remarks will, of course, be evaluated but any response at this point would be premature, Brian Greenspan told the Star. Sorbara is charged with offering a job or appointment to Thibeault who left his post as a New Democrat MP in Ottawa to run for Wynne and to would-be Liberal candidate Andrew Olivier. Also charged is Sudbury funeral home owner and Liberal organizer Gerry Lougheed, facing one count of offering a job or post to Olivier to clear the way for Thibeault, who was Wynnes preferred candidate. Both Sorbara and Lougheed have denied any wrongdoing. Their next court date is Dec. 14. Thibeault, who was promoted to cabinet 17 months after his election as MPP, repeated assertions that he did not seek a ministry job or other consideration for leaving federal politics. He declared a $3,500 payment from the Liberal party as income replacement while running in the byelection. Other parties have made similar payouts. The comments yesterday from the Crown prosecutor were pretty disappointing and hurtful, the embattled energy minister said after the controversy dominated the Legislatures daily question period. But I will not be resigning, Thibeault told reporters, choking up and his voice breaking as he talked about his wife and two school-age children. To have your name slandered all over the place and your family has to deal with that? Thats extremely difficult. Brewer, who did not specify the alleged bribe, declined to comment Tuesday but confirmed Mr. Thibeault is not under investigation. Thibeaults lawyer Ian Smith called Brewers remarks disgraceful and ill-considered because they were made outside court during a prosecution, contrary to sub judice rules. The Crown has chosen to sully Mr. Thibeaults reputation without ever naming him as the target of its investigations, without ever charging him and, most importantly, knowing that he will have no trial where he could mount a proper defence. The unfairness of the situation is obvious and supremely frustrating. Thibeault said he is considering legal recourse. Deputy New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh said Thibeault should resign from cabinet to maintain confidence in the government. We have a federal prosecutor saying that, yes, they believe he received some special consideration to run as an MPP. That cries out for, at a minimum, stepping aside. With Wynne absent from Question Period, Thibeault was defended by Deputy Premier Deb Matthews, who said the right place to deal with these issues is in the court and tried to turn the tables on the opposition parties. She raised ethical questions about instances in which Conservative MPPs Laurie Scott and Garfield Dunlop got party jobs after stepping down so their party leaders could run in their ridings. She also castigated Browns chief of staff for a secret negotiation with a social conservative candidate Queenie Yu during the Sept. 1 byelection in Scarborough Rouge River over fears her anti-sex-education views would erode support for Tory hopeful and eventual winner Raymond Cho. If they want to throw mud, then they have to understand that they have to be prepared to answer some questions about their own activities, Matthews said later. All parties have conversations with candidates about running, about not running. SHARE: MUZAFFARABAD, PAKISTAN Artillery fire and shelling from India targeted several Pakistani villages and struck a passenger bus near the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday, killing 12 civilians and wounding more than a dozen others, the Pakistani military and officials said. Hours later, Pakistans military said three soldiers, including an army captain, were killed while responding to the Indian attack. It said seven Indian soldiers were also killed in retaliatory fire but there was no confirmation on the casualties from India. The deadly violence marks the latest escalation in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and claimed by both in its entirety. According to Deputy Commissioner Waheed Khan, an artillery shell hit a passenger bus in the scenic Neelum Valley in the Pakistani part of Kashmir, killing 10 people three died on the scene and seven later, at a hospital. Another two civilians died when a mortar shell hit their house in the Nakyal sector in Kotli district, said police official Waseem Khan. The shelling sent residents fleeing in panic, he said. At least 15 people were also wounded in the bus strike and elsewhere in Wednesdays attacks. Pakistani Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said the countrys Cabinet expressed grave concern over the latest escalation. Sardar Masood Khan, the president of the Pakistani-governed part of Kashmir, denounced Indias aggression in a statement and appealed to the international community to take notice of Indias ceasefire violations in Kashmir. He also urged the United Nations Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan, or UNMOGIP, to investigate these incidents and assign responsibility for these violations of ceasefire. Earlier, an army statement said Pakistani troops were firing back on Indian military positions. The statement also said that an ambulance, which had rushed the scene of the attack, was fired upon by India. Pakistani security officials said Wednesdays fire forced Pakistani villagers with their families to take to field bunkers, built years ago for such attacks. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the attacks with reporters. In India, army spokesman Col. Nitin Joshi said an intense exchange of fire was underway between the two sides. Wednesdays fire came a day after Indian army spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia said attackers mutilated the body of one soldier in the Machil sector in Indian-controlled Kashmir. He did not specify if the attack was carried out by Pakistani soldiers or rebels fighting since 1989 against Indian rule in the region. Reports of the soldiers mutilation have inflamed sentiments, which likely contributed to the retaliatory exchanges between Pakistan and India. Retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act, Col. Rajesh Kalia, another Indian army spokesman, said following Tuesdays attack. In the past, the Indian military has blamed a combination of the Pakistani armys border action team and militants for carrying out operations along the Line of Control, which separates the Pakistan- and India-controlled parts of Kashmir. Deadly exchanges in Kashmir have intensified in recent weeks. Tensions have escalated since militants attacked an Indian army base there in September. India said the militants were supported by Pakistan, charges denied by Islamabad. Both sides accuse the other of initiating the firing along the volatile boundary. So far this week, at least 18 people, civilians and soldiers, have been killed on both sides. Last week, Pakistani army claimed to have shot down a small Indian drone in Kashmir, a day after the Pakistani navy claimed it had intercepted Indian submarines entering the countrys territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. Two of the three wars between India and Pakistan since 1947 have been fought over their competing claims to Kashmir. Read more about: SHARE: THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDSPopulist anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders delivered a fiery closing statement Wednesday at his hate speech trial, slamming his prosecution as a charade, a disgrace for the Netherlands, a mockery for our society that threatens freedom of speech. Wilders, whose party is riding high in Dutch opinion polls, told a three-judge panel sitting in a heavily guarded courtroom on the outskirts of Amsterdam that, as an elected lawmaker, he must be able to talk about the mega-Moroccan problem in the Netherlands and would not be muzzled by what he branded a political trial. In an address that sounded as much like a campaign speech ahead of Dutch Parliamentary elections due in March as a legal defence, Wilders cast himself as part of a swelling global anti-establishment movement that already has manifested itself in the British vote to leave the European Union and Donald Trumps victory in the U.S. presidential election. Worldwide, a movement has started that is making short shrift of the politically correct doctrines of the elite and their subordinate media, Wilders said. Brexit proved it. The American election proved it. And, turning to upcoming elections and votes across Europe, he added that, It is about to be proven in Austria and Italy. Next year it will also be proven in France, Germany and, yes, also in the Netherlands. The politically charged prosecution centres on comments Wilders made before and after the Dutch municipal elections in 2014. At one meeting in a Hague cafe, he asked supporters whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands. That sparked a chant of Fewer! Fewer! Fewer! - to which he replied well take care of it. Prosecutors say that Wilders, who in the past has been acquitted at another hate speech trial for Islamophobic comments, overstepped the limits of free speech by specifically targeting Moroccans. But he insisted that the election night speech was in line with his Freedom Partys long-held policy ambitions of expelling criminals with Moroccan nationality, reining in immigration and encouraging voluntary repatriation. The court will deliver its verdict and sentence Dec. 9. Prosecutors have asked judges to convict Wilders and fine him 5,000 ($7,100 Canadian). Earlier Wednesday, prosecutor Wouter Bos urged judges to reject arguments put forward by Wilders lawyers that convicting the popular lawmaker would put the Netherlands on a slippery slope to totalitarianism. In the Netherlands there is no unlimited freedom of speech, Bos told the three-judge panel. We will not become a totalitarian state if you convict. Wilders, in turn, harked back to his countrys long history of free speech and tolerance as he called on judges to acquit him. Freedom of speech is our pride, he said. And that, precisely that, is at stake here, today. Read more about: SHARE: In the wake of Donald Trumps shock Nov. 8 electoral victory, attention fell on the extent to which voter opinions could have been shaped by an epidemic of fake news websites that masqueraded as legitimate media outlets. Their articles invented fluff with sensationalist headlines found the eyeballs of a huge number of (mostly right-wing) readers. Many fake stories proved more viral on social media than important articles from real sources. Now, it seems the threat of fake news is stalking the democratic process elsewhere. Germany will hold national elections at some point next year, with a far-right party poised to make considerable gains on the back of populist fears about immigration and Islam. The charged atmosphere of the moment prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who represents a centre-right political party, to caution against alarmist hysteria generated via social media. Something has changed as globalization has marched on, debate is taking place in a completely new media environment. Opinions arent formed the way they were 25 years ago, she said Wednesday while addressing Germanys Bundestag, or parliament. Today we have fake sites, bots, trolls things that regenerate themselves, reinforcing opinions with certain algorithms, and we have to learn to deal with them. Merkel indicated that she supported tougher measures to crack down on hate speech in its various forms and figure out new ways to regulate the complicated ecosystem of online information (and misinformation). I believe we should not underestimate what is happening in the context of the Internet and with digitalization; this is part of our reality, Merkel said. We have regulations that allow for our press freedom, including the requirement for due diligence from journalists. Today we have many that experience a media that is based on very different foundations and is much less regulated. The expansion of far-right Breitbart News, connected to Trump adviser Steve Bannon, into Germany ahead of the elections has raised concerns about the polarization of the political discourse in the country. Populism and political extremes are growing in Western democracies, Merkel warned. RELATED: Why do we fall for fake news? Read more about: SHARE: [November 22, 2016] Beaufort Memorial Using Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot to Destroy Pathogens That Can Cause Hospital-Acquired Infections In a continuing effort to improve patient safety, Beaufort Memorial Hospital has invested in a high-tech portable disinfection robot capable of wiping out deadly superbugs in just minutes. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122005899/en/ Beaufort Memorial Hospital has deployed "Violet," a high-tech portable disinfection robot capable of wiping out deadly superbugs in just minutes. The Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robot uses intense pulses of xenon UV light to quickly destroy antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA and C.diff before they can pose a threat to patient and employee safety. (Photo: Business Wire) Nicknamed Violet, the Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robot uss high-intensity pulses of ultraviolet (UV) light to provide Full Spectrum (News - Alert) disinfection, reducing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C.diff). "This is a powerful added weapon in our arsenal of cleaning agents to assist in preventing infections by destroying the microorganisms that cause them," said BMH Infection Control Manager Mary Scott. More than a dozen medical facilities, including the prestigious MD Anderson Cancer Center, have published peer-reviewed studies providing evidence of the robot's effectiveness. To date, Beaufort Memorial is the only hospital in the coastal region of South Carolina to employ the cutting-edge technology in its battle against superbugs. Worldwide, more than 400 hospitals, long-term acute care, outpatient surgery and skilled nursing facilities use Xenex's pulsed xenon UV light technology to destroy deadly superbugs before they harm patients and hospital employees. Although significant progress has been made in preventing some infection types, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) continue to be a major threat to patient safety nationwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1.7 million HAIs occur in U.S. hospitals each year, resulting in 99,000 deaths. BMH began using the robot late last month as part of its usual cleaning process. After a patient room has been wiped down with disinfectant, a trained environmental services technician wheels in the robot and sets it to work zapping germs in the bathroom and both sides of the hospital bed. The pulsed xenon lamps in the robot produce a flash of germicidal light in millisecond pulses, damaging the cell structure and stopping the DNA repair mechanism for most pathogens in less than five minutes. Initially, the hospital is targeting areas where patients are especially vulnerable to bacteria, including isolation rooms, equipment rooms and the OR. "Nurses and staff can put their cell phones, badges, stethoscopes and other personal items in the room to disinfect them as well," Scott said. "By controlling the germs in the worst places, we hope to reduce the bioburden in the entire hospital." View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122005899/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] PARIS They call him the French Margaret Thatcher, a staunch free-market advocate in a dogged crusade against economic stagnation. But Francois Fillonthe surprise victor in the first round of Frances centre-right presidential primaries is more than an economic conservative. When voters defied all poll predictions by picking Fillon over the other six contenders on the ballot, they backed a veteran politician and former prime minister with a strong social ideology that fits well in 2016s global shift to the right. Like Donald Trump, Fillon has made no secret of his fondness for Vladimir Putins Russia, arguing in favour of a Western coalition with Russia to fight Daesh (also known as ISIS). Also like Trump, a central component of his campaign has been antagonism to Muslims, Frances largest minority group. And like Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front, Frances own far-right populist party, Fillon appeals to those nostalgic for a white, Catholic France that they remember as devoid of immigrants and sexual minorities. In the early 1980s, he opposed decriminalizing homosexuality, and he has fought same-sex equality ever since. Although the former prime minister will face off next week against Alain Juppe, a centrist popular with the left, Fillon is now likely to be the conservative nominee and possibly Frances next president. In the general election next spring, he will go up against Le Pen, who has been steadily rising in the polls and whom many now fear Fillon may not be able to defeat come April. With a pitifully weak French left, some say the National Front will win in 2017 even if Le Pen fails at the ballot box: A Fillon victory, they insist, would represent the partys fringe ideology becoming the political mainstream. This view carries particular currency among French Muslims, Marwan Muhammad, the head of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, said in an interview. Most Muslims, he said, voted in the first round of the primaries to defeat former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who had been especially outspoken in his criticism of Islam as a security threat and an affront to Frances secular values. But Fillons quick and quiet ascent presents an obstacle that will be even more difficult to surmount. Each of the main contenders in this years primary race published books in the course of the campaign, an exercise typically meant to burnish candidates reputations and to convey the general outlines of their platforms. While the titles of Sarkozys and Juppes books were predictably general and vague, Fillons title was direct and specific: Vanquishing Islamic Totalitarianism. There is not a religious problem in France, Fillon told the Figaro newspaper in September, promoting the book. There is a problem linked to Islam. He is the most dangerous candidate among the Republicans, Muhammad said of Fillon, weighing him against the other candidates vying for the nomination of Frances main center-right party. Sarkozy says these things for show, but Francois Fillon actually thinks of them as a political program. When Sarkozy was president, Fillon was prime minister. And it is Fillon, Muhammad added, that many Muslims remember as the principal driver of legislation banning the full veil and against Muslim mothers wearing head scarves to their childrens schools. Worse for French Muslims, Muhammad said, is what Fillons surprising preliminary victory tells them about their fellow citizens apparent indifference to a growing Islamophobic sentiment across the political spectrum. There is one big element of unconsented racism here, I would say, he said. People will explain their choice as merely conservative for the economically tough candidate but its not like that. Basically they vote in favour of the bigotry in Fillons speech, but they would not admit it, because he looks reasonable, he sounds reasonable. In a presidential election focused largely on questions of national identity, Fillon cultivates the image of a conservative French Catholic. Married with five children, he lives in a 12th-century chateau 150 miles outside Paris. A marked dimension of this traditionalism has been an outspoken opposition to the alternative, especially in the form of same-sex rights of any kind. Like Trump, Fillon has said that he would not challenge Frances 2013 law permitting same-sex marriage although as prime minister he was among its most prominent critics before it passed. But other issues, such as adoption by same-sex couples, he views as fair game. I want to put parentage back on the line, he said during the campaign. Nobody can deny that a child always has a father and a mother. He also has said he would seek to limit medically assisted procreation strictly to heterosexual couples for medical reasons. French LGBT advocates see Fillon in much the same way that French Muslims do. Paradoxically, the former prime minister is one of the most conservative French politicians on the subject of the society, even more than Nicolas Sarkozy or Alain Juppe even more so than Marine Le Pen, said Frederic Martel, author of Global Gay, an investigation of how same-sex issues affect politics around the world. His opposition to marriage for all was not only strategic, like the rest of the right it was ideological. Fillon is the true right: He has the passion for the nation, the religious anchoring, the superstition of traditions, the exaltation of the family and perhaps also the hypocrisy and the self-hatred. As for the rest of his policies, Fillon is quick to advertise his neo-liberal economics, especially his belief in the need to cut some 500,000 public-sector jobs and to end Frances storied 35-hour workweek, a signature achievement of the French left. French voters will decide between Fillon and Juppe on Sunday in the final primary, and to the victor goes a significant chance of winning the French presidency. In the initial vote, Fillon beat Juppe by nearly 35 per cent. SHARE: Pop star Justin Bieber is gallivanting around Europe on his current tour. And while hes been across the pond, the young man has caused quite a ruckus. On Tuesday night, TMZ caught the star on video, acting in a less-than-charitable manner. It was shot in Barcelona, as Bieber rolled up to the concert venue where he was set to perform. The video began with voices of young women, speaking in Spanish, shouting, Here, Justin! The pop star sat in the back of the regal black car, window down, presumably bathing in both the cool Spanish breeze and the attention, when a mans arm shot wildly through the open window. With eager affection, it rubbed Biebers upper pectoral, clad in a white sweater. Quickly, the enthusiastic fans skyscraper-like coiffure came into view, as the car passed by the gaze of TMZs camera. The fan hung on for a moment, desperately clinging to the pop star, until Biebers arm shot through the open window like a Jack from a box. His fist struck the perhaps overly passionate fan across the jaw. Titillated squeals, all around. Then, then the fan paced for a bit, back and forth and back and forth, his mouth agape, blood staining his lips like satin lipstick. Its difficult to ascertain if he was angry, excited or some deeply confused mixture of the two emotions. He punched me, the fan yelled in exasperated Spanish, pantomiming a punch to the audience that had formed around him. I touched his face and he hit me. Justin felt threatened and reacted in the best way he thought possible, an unnamed source told Hollywood Life. He doesnt want to hurt his fans obviously but he thought the fan overstayed his welcome throwing his hand in his face and Justin had to protect himself. Neither Bieber nor his representatives, though, have offered an official statement about the incident as of early Wednesday morning. While the video may be surprising, its far from shocking. After all the Biebs has a history, as The Washington Post reported in its piece titled, DUI drag-racing, felony egging, Anne Frank: A short history of Justin Biebers year of troublemaking. The quick act of violence against a European fan from one of Canadas biggest pop stars came days after his name filled the tabloids along with a striking photos of his pearly washboard abs on which he recently had the words Son of God scrawled in black ink. One cant help but think of legendary rapper Nass famed ink across his own belly, reading Gods Son, when viewing the 22-year-olds new tattoo. Read more about: SHARE: A thunderstorm, one of several to strike southeastern Australia during this year's humid November spring, triggered a rash of asthma attacks across Melbourne, Victoria, on Monday. The deadly respiratory blitzkrieg left Australian families grieving in its wake. The asthma attacks during the storm claimed at least four confirmed victims: Twenty-year-old law student Hope Carnevali died while waiting for responders from Ambulance Victoria to arrive. Paramedics struggled to resuscitate 35-year-old Apollo Papadopoulos, who eventually succumbed to the respiratory attack. Omar Majoulled, 18, died two days before what would have been his high school graduation. A fourth victim, Clarence Leo, was reported deceased early Wednesday. Several more remained in Melbourne's intensive care units. The outbreak was severe even for those whose symptoms were mild under usual circumstances. "It felt like an elephant had his foot on my chest for about four hours," said David McGann, from the Melbourne suburb of Preston, to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. McGann said his asthma attacks were not normally worrisome, but during the storm they were crushing. By late Monday night, Melbourne pharmacies had depleted their stocks of bronchodilator medication. Emergency calls flooded in. Carnevali's relatives said they waited for more than a half an hour for an ambulance to arrive. "We would have taken her straight there, we wouldn't have waited," her uncle, John Carnevali, told Melbourne's 3AW Radio. Between 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday, Ambulance Victoria fielded about 1,900 calls, nearly six times the usual volume. "We essentially had a day's workload within five hours," said Ambulance Victoria executive director Mick Stephenson, in a statement. "This includes 200 cases for asthma, and we were seeing asthma in people who had not experienced breathing issues before." At their peak, 200 calls came within a span of 15 minutes. "That's a call every 4.5 seconds," Stephenson said. Ambulance Victoria tweeted, "High demand for ambulance for breathing issues due to weather. Only call 000 in an emergency & consider other options for minor complaints" Ambulance Victoria put 50 extra ambulances into service, and police and firefighters responded to two dozen calls as well. The state's Inspector General for Emergency Management announced it would review the spike in emergency demand and Ambulance Victoria's response. Since the first such events were recognized in the 1980s, there have been scattered reports of asthma attack outbreaks during thunderstorms around the globe, including Napoli, Italy, and Atlanta. The largest confirmed episode to date was in London in June 1994. Six hundred-forty Londoners visited emergency departments with complaints of asthma or respiratory problems, of which more than a hundred were hospitalized, according to a 2016 review published in the journal Clinical & Experimental Allergy. A 2000 case study of hospitalizations in Wagga Wagga, southern Australia, concluded that people with medical histories of rye grass and hay fever allergies had worsened asthma during October thunderstorms. Allergen experts posit that, during the spring season, storms increase pollen's ability to penetrate deep into the lungs. The storms concentrate pollen grains near the ground. There, the grains swell with so much water they rupture into tinier pieces, according to the prevailing hypothesis. Dispersed in the air, these particles form what is essentially a fine allergenic mist. If inhaled, the irritating matter winds up in bronchial crevasses normally too small for unbroken grains to enter. That hypothesis was consistent with observations from Monday's storm. Robin Ould, head of Asthma Foundation Victoria, told the BBC that the rye particle count on Monday was 102, more than twice the pollen level typically rated as high. "It's quite rare and we've seen two incidents of this kind this century in Melbourne," Ould told the BBC. Fungal spores, too, can exacerbate asthma during thunderstorms. "When it rains, it spores," as microbiologist Susan Kosisky told The Washington Post in 2014. To minimize the effects of thunderstorm asthma, which can be most severe during the first 20 to 30 minutes of the storm, it is recommended to stay indoors to limit exposure to pollen, as The Post reported. Keeping windows closed with a running air conditioner can filter air, and showering will remove particles as well. For those susceptible to asthma, carry a rescue inhaler. Respiratory disease scientists predict that thunderstorm asthma outbreaks are likely to happen with increased frequency, as an overall warmer globe brings about more severe weather. People who are "affected by pollen allergy, as well as subjects affected by seasonal rhinitis without asthma symptoms, should be alerted to the danger of being outdoors during a thunderstorm in the pollen season, as such events may be an important cause of severe exacerbation of asthma," concluded the team of Italian and French researchers in their 2016 clinical review of thunderstorm asthma. "Such a risk is likely to increase in relation to climate change and related extreme events." SHARE: The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States has provoked a mixed reaction among European Jews, said Pinchas Goldschmidt, chief rabbi of Moscow and the current president of the Conference of European Rabbis, the primary Orthodox rabbinical alliance in Europe. I think that, in general, European Jews look at the United States and the elections in the United States not so much as what happens to the United States but how those changes will affect Europe, and how those changes will affect the lives of the Jews in Europe, Goldschmidt said in a phone call from New York last week. On the other hand, Id say Israel is much more central to European Jews than to American Jews. Goldschmidts comments came during a wave of debates about what a Trump presidency means for the worlds Jewish community. While Trump has a close relationship with his Orthodox son-in-law and has spoken in strong pro-Israel terms, his campaign has frequently been linked with anti-Semitic fringes. Stephen K. Bannon, the former editor of the fiery anti-establishment website Breitbart News who left for Trumps campaign and will soon become a chief White House strategist, has been accused of making anti-Semitic comments. Perhaps more alarmingly, members of the alt-right community have openly praised Trump with messages clearly inflected with neo-Nazi rhetoric. Hail Trump! Richard Spencer, a prominent member of that movement, said during a recent event to celebrate the election. Goldschmidt, who was born in Zurich and became chief rabbi of Moscow in 1993, said there was a clear difference between Jews in Western Europe and Britain, who seemed worried about Trump, and those in Eastern Europe and Russia, who were more hopeful. The split was somewhat similar to one seen in the United States, he said. I think most of the Jews in the United States had voted for Clinton, and there were two distinctive groups who voted for Trump, the Orthodox Jews and the Russian-speaking Jews, he said. There have been rising reports of anti-Semitic incidents in Europe over the past few years, with thousands of Jews in Western Europe choosing to leave their homes and move to Israel. Goldschmidt said that the memories of the 20th century are still defining for many Jews in Europe, in contrast to Americans. One of the basic differences between European Jews and American Jews is American Jews feel very secure, saying what happened in Europe can never happen in America, he said. While Jews in Europe always keep their eyes open that one day, you might have to get out of here. Over recent years, the situation for Jews in Europe has become especially fraught, Goldschmidt said. I usually use a metaphor for the situation of Jews in Europe. A person standing on train tracks and in both directions trains are coming towards this person at great speed, he said. One train is the train of Islamic radicalism and terrorism which has created havoc in us. I am speaking of [the terror attacks in] Toulouse, Paris, Copenhagen, Brussels. And on the other side there is the reaction of old Europe against this onslaught of terrorism, Goldschmidt said. The radical right comes with these anti-immigration measures which are mainly directed at the Muslim immigrants, but we the Jews are the collateral damage. Goldschmidt said that despite similarities in the momentum of the far right in Europe, he said he still thinks that European parties, such as Frances National Front, had key differences compared with Trumps success. Those parties were founded by Nazi collaborators, to some extent, he said, noting that although some of them had now distanced themselves from anti-Semitism, they did not have close Jewish advisers or family such as Trump. But suggestions by Trumps team for potential policies targeting Muslim extremism such as a database of Muslim immigrants gave Goldschmidt pause. Here we are talking about registering American citizens based on their religious practices, he said. I dont even know if it is constitutional. I as a European do not want to tell Americans what to do and how to keep their country safe. However, any generalization based on religion I think goes against the core of American values, Goldschmidt said, before adding that Trumps proposals targeting Muslims were a result of how hard it has become to draw a line between radical Islam and mainstream Islam. We have to look to our Muslim colleagues to create this line, create this red line, in order that the Muslims do not suffer discrimination. Read more about: SHARE: The United Arab Emirates has decided to drop extramarital sex charges against a British woman who reported being raped in Dubai. The two men she accused of raping her have also been exonerated. A legal expert says the Dubai public prosecutor likely dismissed the rape case in the face of international condemnation that was spurred by media attention and not because of due process. Last month, a British woman visiting the UAE told authorities two British men raped her. Prosecutors promptly charged her with breaking Emirati laws that prohibit extramarital sex. Punishment for violating the laws includes prison time, flogging, deportation, and stoning to death. On Tuesday, following careful examination of all evidence, the Dubai prosecutors office dropped charges against the woman, identified as ZJM and also against the two men she accused of raping her. Prosecutors said they decided there was not enough evidence to press forward on charges after reviewing a video seized from one of the suspects cell phones. But Radha Stirling, a UAE criminal justice specialist who worked with the British womans family, said the rape case was dropped as a direct result of intensive media condemnation, and not because the legal system in Dubai performed a proper investigation into the allegations. The UAEs legal system has a heavy burden of proof for rape cases, including requiring a confession from the rapist and four adult male witnesses to corroborate the crime, according to the Independent. A 2014 Human Rights Watch study concluded the UAEs legal system favors defendants of abuse allegations, and puts particular risk on women migrants who are victimized. The UAEs economy relies heavily on foreign labor, including highly skilled workers from Europe and the United States, as well as poor service industry laborers from the Indian subcontinent. Immigrants make up roughly 85 per cent of the UAEs population, according to 2015 U.N. data. The large immigration workforce may make the government particularly sensitive to Western scrutiny; it is not the first time an alleged rape case landed the UAE in hot water. In 2013, Dubai officials pardoned a Norwegian woman who was sentenced to prison after reporting being raped when her case gained international notoriety. Rape victims who are UAE citizens have not uniformly had the same protections. In 2010, an Emirati woman was sentenced to a year in prison after she reported being gang raped. It is unacceptable that the only semi-reliable safeguard to prevent wrongful prosecution and punishment in the Emirates is the intervention of world opinion, said Stirling, head of the charity Detained in Dubai. RELATED: More World news stories on Thestar.com SHARE: Taxes are a short cut, a sweet deal. Tax-financed public schools fence off social chaos and educate against Trumps. Taxes pay for paved roads, dirt roads, emergency rooms, hand clinics in the waiting room gloomy patients surreptitiously count each others fingers and arms ambulances, booze rules, restaurant inspections, building codes, courtrooms, passports, gunless public spaces, tree planting, clearing sewer backups, autopsies you just try doing your dads autopsy, or your own treaties, airplane inspection, human rights, space travel, Great Lakes pilotage, statistics, patented medicines prices review, privacy, pensions, fish marketing, judging judges ... I could go on as Star editors are too polite to say This is boring but Ill end with ... libraries. On Saturday, I wrote about two columnists, Matthew Lau of the Financial Post and Christopher Bird of Torontoist, arguing about the efficiency of Toronto libraries. It now appears that Lau and Bird may both be right about their supposedly clashing stats, since they seem to be using different sets of numbers. But that is not what struck me after Laus email to me on this subject. Weve been talking taxes, and disagree on whats gravy. Lau was friendly and open, and I thanked him immediately for his courtesy. In this Trumpy world, I have grown used to emails that seem to come with bloodstains and the barking of dogs unchained. So that was weird. Heres another weird thing. Journalist David Frums Twitter feed has been a comfort to me in these dark days. He and Nobel economist Paul Krugman make me think the world is still twirling on a rod of sanity. Were all in this together. Trump hates taxation. I like it and wish we had more of it. When we each make small contributions, we do big things. Laus argument is that Torontos libraries are run inefficiently. My argument is that everything is run inefficiently but can still achieve greatness. This is why I am troubled by Mayor John Torys demand that every city department map out 2.6 per cent in cuts. He stands behind a ludicrous grocery-style sign, Saving You Money, at a podium that popped up on a Scarborough driveway as the snow fell. I want an oppositional sign. On the Wrong Things or maybe just Your Subway 2 Short. If you ride the TTC, you know it needs more money, not less. It is a truncated, dirty, slow system that creates a human caterpillar at rush hour, faces shoved into armpits, rear ends into what one desperately hopes is an umbrella handle. You raised fares for this misery? TTC head Andy Byford, poor man, was reduced to saying, My job is to make do with what I am given. Actually for what the TTC is given, 90 cents per rider, the lowest subsidy in North America, I think the TTC and its employees work miracles every day. What troubles me about Tory is his contributing to the demonization of taxation. Those signs dont help. Scarborough residents need more services, not fewer. Why boast about not giving it to them? Lau wrote that libraries were inefficient by their nature and unnecessary antiquated bricks-and-mortar citywide branches. But humans are inefficient and unnecessary. So is health care for anyone over 40. Why bother? People in their 90s should have the decency to expire quietly. They add no efficiency to the market. And those small-town Ontario schools that are closing so children will spend hours on a school bus headed for a distant central school? Its more efficient. But rural families hate it, and theyre right. Sometimes efficiency becomes such a misery that it turns into inefficiency. The Ontario Liberals will regret this. I note that they often bow to the market and do efficient things, like reducing therapy for kids with autism, and then backtrack after complaints. But families mysteriously feel intense inefficient love for their children. Theyre funny that way. Libraries have been my salvation, as have been my two children. Libraries gave me a free starter education, my parents paid for my inefficient English Lit degrees, and we paid for our childrens university education with spendy professors instead of cheap massive open online courses. How the market would laugh. But people love each other and their country, so they pay taxes to help other faceless humans. Market forces would allegedly sort this nonsense out, but I doubt it. Read more about: SHARE: Pages of newspaper ink are being spilled to highlight the risks in any of the UN peacekeeping missions Canada might be considering from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Mali to the Central African Republic. What has been missing from all the commentary and government pronouncements, though, is a coherent argument for why UN peacekeeping is a job worth the all-too-evident dangers. This is too bad because there are solid reasons for Canada to re-engage. While UN peacekeeping is no miracle cure and there are no guarantees of success, when done right and properly mandated and resourced, UN peacekeeping offers the best chance for a society emerging from violent conflict. Peacekeeping is the front end of a complex, long-term process of helping conflicting parties create the necessary conditions political, socio-economic, security for sustainable peace. At the centre of this effort is the peace process. Complex political problems always lie at the heart of violent conflict and require political solutions that are negotiated and agreed to by the parties. A capable security force will be essential in both the peace negotiation and implementation phases, but it is a supporting element of the overall mission nonetheless. As the Afghanistan debacle has so dramatically and tragically illustrated, no amount of military robustness and professionalism on the part of international military forces can make up for the lack of a credible peace process. The statistical evidence is also clear: looking at all past wars of the last quarter-century, only 15 per cent have ended decisively on the battlefield, and in these cases the rebels prevailed at least as often as the governments they fought. All the rest ultimately had to be settled at the negotiating table. Precisely because of the primacy of the peace process, todays multi-dimensional UN peace operations which involve military, police and civilian contingents are much more than military operations charged with providing a safe and secure environment. Their civilian components are mandated to facilitate the peace process, promote the rule of law, and support the establishment of legitimate and effective institutions of governance. Increasingly mandates, like that for MINUSMA in Mali, also include security assistance to the transitional government so it can reassert its authority nationwide. This military assistance is in concert with support for national political dialogue and reconciliation efforts. For a collective enterprise of this magnitude to succeed as UN peacekeeping does more often than not the international effort must be perceived as legitimate and impartial. And it must have the broadest possible international support within a coherent legal and operational framework. Only the UN Security Council can mandate such an operation and only the UN Organization can lead the mission if is to be internationally acceptable. Headed by a civilian in the role of Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG), with all the other components, including the military and police, reporting to him or her, the very structure of the UN peacekeeping mission reflects the centrality of the peace process. This stands in sharp contrast to NATO-led military missions, even where authorized by the UNSC to assist in stabilizing a conflict. NATO-led stability operations lack the perceived legitimacy and impartiality of UN-led operations precisely because their political and military leaders are seen to represent a very specific set of powerful countries and interests. Not only does this undermine coherence in the international effort; it also constitutes a gift to spoilers on the ground decrying alleged foreign occupation. An integrated mission under the overall authority of the SRSG also allows UN command and control to be decentralized to the operational level. This contrasts with the centralized, top-heavy and opaque command structure operating in NATO. Many current UN missions may have comprehensive mandates to build sustainable peace but they manifestly lack the professional forces and equipment to do the job. Thats a major concern. Re-engagement by Canada and other Western countries is therefore long overdue and welcome. This is why 10 leading civil society organizations in their submission to the Defence Policy Review, entitled A Shift to Sustainable Peace and Common Security, call on Canada to make UN peacekeeping a Canadian defence priority. But they also caution that specialized interdisciplinary peacekeeping training for Canadian forces, particularly commanders and their staff, is an indispensable precondition if there is to be effective Canadian engagement. Peggy Mason is President of the Rideau Institute and a former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament to the UN, with over 20 years of experience in peacekeeping training. Read more about: SHARE: Oil prices paused Wednesday after three consecutive days of gains as news from an OPEC meeting pointed to lingering differences among cartel members negotiating production cuts due to be delivered at the end of the month. West Texas Intermediate for delivery in January was unchanged Wednesday at $48.00, marginally below its Tuesday close. Brent crude for delivery in January traded at $49.06 Wednesday morning, down 6 cents, having touched lows of $48.84 earlier in the session. Proposals presented at an OPEC technical meeting on Tuesday called for both Iraq and Iran to agree production cuts as part of the oil producing group's wider plans to reduce output by about 5% to between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels per day, according to reports. That is at odds with the countries' long-held position that they should be exempt from the cuts. "As it stands today, the proposal pushes for production cuts from Iran and Iraq (albeit from potentially higher levels), both of whom have thus far argued for exemptions, whilst OPEC members want Russia to play a larger part in the deal and join in cuts," noted Goldman Sachs on Wednesday. "This should all be seen as negotiating tactics, but highlights that the deal is far from done." Iraq has claimed that the necessity of funding its fight with militants in the north of the country means it should be allowed to increase its production. Iran insists that it should be allowed to maintain or increase production to return to levels achieved before the imposition of sanctions on the country that were lifted in January. Iran and Iraq together account for just under a third of OPEC's output. Their exclusion from production cuts would heap much of the burden onto Saudi Arabia, which could balk at bearing the brunt of lost sales while regional rivals gain from the resulting price increase. Analysts have tipped oil prices to rise to nearly $55 a barrel if a deal can be agreed and warned of falls if the cuts fail to materialize. There has also been disagreement over the estimates of oil output from member countries. OPEC is seeking to impose its estimates based on "secondary sources," while countries have promoted their official production estimates, which tend to be higher. For example, OPEC is thought to be asking Iran to cut its output by about 4.5% from just under 4 million barrels per day of production, while Iran insists that it is producing 4.1 million to 4.2 million and that any reduction should start from that level, according to a Reuters report that cited unnamed sources. Iraq's oil minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi has insisted his nation should be allowed to maintain its September output of 4.7 million barrels per day. OPEC believes that the real production figure was less than 4.5 million barrels per day. OPEC's next official meeting is on Nov. 28,when members will speak with non-OPEC oil producers including Russia, the world's biggest oil producer. The official OPEC meeting, and deadline for the production cut agreement, is Nov. 30. The following companies are subsidiares of Emerson Electric: A.P.M. Automation Solutions Ltd., AE Valves, AGI Mexicana S.A. de C.V., ALCO CONTROLS spol. s.r.o., APM Automation Solutions, ASC Investments Inc., ASCO (Japan) Company Limited, ASCO L.P., ASCO Numatics (India) Private Limited, ASCO Numatics Holding Inc., ASCO SAS, ASCO Valve (Shanghai) Co. 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Ltd., Emerson Ventures Inc., Emerson Vulcan Holding LLC, Emerson Xi'an Engineering Center, Emersub 1 LLC, Emersub 10 LLC, Emersub 11 LLC, Emersub 12 LLC, Emersub 14 LLC, Emersub 15 LLC, Emersub 16 LLC, Emersub 3 LLC, Emersub 4 LLC, Emersub 5 LLC, Emersub 7 LLC, Emersub 8 LLC, Emersub 9 LLC, Emersub CII Inc., Emersub CV Inc., Emersub Italia S.R.L., Emersub LXXXIV Inc., Emersub LXXXVI Inc., Emersub Mexico Inc., Emersub Treasury Ireland Unlimited Company, Emersub XLVI Inc., Emersub XXXVI Inc., Emirates Techno Casting FZE, Emirates Techno Casting Holding Limited, Emirates Techno Casting LLC, Enardo, Endura-Greenlee Tools, Energy Solutions International (India) Private Limited, Energy Solutions International GP LLC, Energy Solutions International Ltd., Energy Solutions International SAS, Energy Solutions International Sub LLC, F-R Tecnologias de Flujo S.A. de C.V., FC QSF LLC, FMC Technologies, Fiberconn Assemblies Morocco Sarl, Fincor Holding LLC, Fire & Safety Group.Com Ltd., Fisher Controles de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Fisher Controls International LLC, Fisher Jeon Gas Equipment (Chengdu) Co. Ltd., Fisher Regulators (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Sanmar Limited, Fisher-Rosemount Systems Inc., Flow Control Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Flow Control Holding Verwaltungs GmbH, Flow Control US Holding Corporation, Francel SAS, Fromex S.A. de C.V., Fusite B.V., Fusite Corporation, Fusite Land Company, GSEG LLC, General Equipment and Manufacturing Company Inc., Generale de Robinetterie Industrielle et de Sytemes de Surete, GeoFields, GeoFields Inc., Greenex Ltd., Greenfield (UK) Limited, Greenlee, Greenlee Communications, Greenlee Tools Inc., Gulf Valve FZE, Gustav Klauke GmbH, H.T.E. Engineering Limited, HD Electric Company, HTE Engineering Services Limited, Hindle Cockburns Limited, Hiross India Private Limited, Hiter Industria e Comercia de Controles Termo-Hidraulicos Ltda., Humboldt Hermetic Motor Corp., Hytork International Ltd., I Solutions Inc., ICC Intelligent Platforms GmbH, ISE-MagTech, Industrial Controls Canada ULC, Industrial Group Metran JSC, Instrument & Valve Services Company, Intelligent Platforms LLC, Intellution, International Gas Distribution SA, Intrinsic Safety Equipment of Texas Inc., JCF Fluid Flow India Private Limited, JSC Metran-Export, Joucomatic S.A., K Controls Limited, Keystone Germany Holdings Corp., Keystone Valve (Korea) LLC, Keystone Valve (U.K.) Limited, Klauke, Klauke (Jiangsu) Electrical Connection Technology Co Ltd., Klauke France SARL, Klauke Handelsgesellschaft mbH, Klauke Iberia S.L., Klauke Polska Sp. z.o.o., Klauke Slovakia s.r.o., Klauke UK Ltd., Knurr, Liebert, Liebert Swindon Limited, Locus Solutions LLC, Locus Traxx Worldwide, Locus Traxx Worldwide Europe BVBA, MDC Technology Limited, MDC Technology Trustees Limited, METCO Services Limited, MYNAH Technologies, Management Resources Group Inc., Mecafrance (Deutschland) GmbH, Metallurgical Services Laboratories Limited, Metaserv Limited, Metco Services Venezuela C.A., Micro Motion Inc., Mobrey Group Limited, Motores Hermeticos del Sur S.A. de C.V., NetworkPower Ecuador S.A., Nippon Fisher Co. Ltd., Novel Environmental Technologies Ltd., Novel Extinguishing Agent Technology Ltd., Numatics Incorporated, Nutsteel DHC B.V., Nutsteel Industria Metalurgica Ltda, O.M.T. Officina Meccanica Tartarini S.r.l., Open Systems International, P I Components Corp., PT Emerson Solutions Indonesia, PT. Emerson Indonesia, PT. Paradigm Geophysical Indonesia, Pactrol Controls Limited, PakSense, PakSense Inc., Paradigm, Paradigm (UK) Holding Limited, Paradigm B.V., Paradigm France S.A., Paradigm Geophysical (India) Private Limited, Paradigm Geophysical (KL) Sdn. Bhd., Paradigm Geophysical (Nigeria) Limited, Paradigm Geophysical (U.K.) Limited, Paradigm Geophysical B.V., Paradigm Geophysical Corp., Paradigm Geophysical Italy SRL, Paradigm Geophysical LLC, Paradigm Geophysical Limited, Paradigm Geophysical Pty Ltd, Paradigm Geophysical S.A., Paradigm Geophysical Sdn. Bhd., Paradigm Geophysical Spain S.L., Paradigm Geophysical de Venezuela C.A., Paradigm Geophysical do Brasil Ltda., Paradigm Geoservices Canada Ltd., Paradigm Geotechnology (Egypt) S.A.E., Paradigm Kazakhstan LLP, Paradigm Middle East FZ-LLC, Paradigm Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Parex Industries Limited, Pentair Valves & Controls, Pentair Valves and Controls India Private Limited, Permasense, Permasense Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, Permasense Limited, ProSys, ProTeam Inc., Progea, RAC Technologies (Israel) Ltd., RIDGID Inc., RPP Europe GmbH, RPP LLC, Rey-Lam S. de R.L. de C.V., Ridge Tool (Australia) Pty. Ltd., Ridge Tool Company, Ridge Tool Europe NV, Ridge Tool GmbH, Ridge Tool GmbH & Co. OHG, Ridge Tool Manufacturing Company, Ridge Tool Pattern Company, Ridgid France SAS, Ridgid Italia S.R.L., Ridgid Online Inc., Ridgid Scandinavia A/S, Ridgid Werkzeuge AG, Rosemount China Inc., Rosemount Inc., Rosemount Measurement Limited, Rosemount Nuclear Instruments Inc., Rosemount Specialty Products LLC, Rosemount Tank Gauging India Pvt. Ltd., Rosemount Tank Gauging Middle East SPC, Rosemount Tank Gauging North America Inc., Rosemount Tank Radar AB, Rosemount Tank Radar Properties AB, Roxar, Roxar AS, Roxar Flow Measurement AS, Roxar Flow Measurement Sdn Bhd, Roxar Limited, Roxar Maximum Reservoir Performance W.L.L., Roxar Saudi Co., Roxar Services AS, Roxar Services OOO, Roxar Software Solutions AS, Roxar Technologies AS, Roxar Vietnam Company Ltd., Roxar de Venezuela C.A., Rutherfurd Acquisitions Limited, S.F.T. Group Ltd., SABO-Armaturen Service GmbH, Safety Systems UK Pte. Ltd., Sakhi-Raimondi Valve (India) Limited, Scroll Compressors LLC, Scroll Mexico LLC, Sempell GmbH, Shanghai Virgo Valves Technology Consulting Co. Ltd., Sherman + Reilly, Soluciones 0925 C.A., Spectra-Tek Holdings Limited, Spectra-Tek International Limited, Spectra-Tek UK Limited, Spectrex, Spectrex Inc., Spectronix Ltd., Spensall Engineering Limited, Steel Support Systems Limited, Stratos Lightwave, System Plast International B.V., System Plast Ltda, System Plast USA de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., TDM-avtomatizatsiya, TV&C GP Holding LLC, Taiwan Valve Co. Ltd., TechnipFMC, Termocontroles de Juarez S.A. de C.V., Tescom Corporation, Tescom Europe GmbH & Co. KG, Tescom Europe Management GmbH, The Automation Group Inc., The J.R. Clarkson Company LLC, Therm-O-Disc Europe B.V., Therm-O-Disc Incorporated, Thunderline Z Inc., TopWorx UK Limited, Tranmet Holdings B.V., Tranmet Holdings Limited, Verdant Environmental Technologies, Vilter Manufacturing LLC, Virgo Valves & Controls (ME) FZE, Virgo Valves and Controls Sdn Bhd, Von Arx AG, Vulsub 1 Limited, Vulsub Brasil Holding, Vulsub Brasil Ltda., Vulsub Chile SpA, Vulsub Gulf Holding Limited, Vulsub Holding III (Denmark) ApS, Vulsub Holding Ltd, Vulsub Holdings A LLC, Vulsub Holdings B LLC, Vulsub Holdings C LLC, Vulsub Holdings D LLC, Vulsub Italia S.r.l., Vulsub Middle East Holdings LLC, Vulsub Peru S.A.C., Vulsub Property Holding LLC, Vulsub Property Limited, Vulsub S.A., Vulsub South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Vulsub VZ C.A., Westinghouse Electric Pvt. Limited, Westlock Controls Limited, Westlock Equipamentos de Controle Ltda., Woodstock Land Company LLC, epro GmbH, iSolera Inc., iSolutions Private Limited, and intelliSAW. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: 2235158 Alberta Limited, A.J. Amer Agency, AHC Digital LLC, AIX Limited, AJG Coal LLC, AJG Financial Services LLC, AJG Meadows LLC, AJG North America ULC, AJG RCF LLC, AJGRMS of Louisiana LLC, ARM RE Ltda., AVIATION INSURANCE SERVICES, AVRECO, Ace IRM Insurance Broking Group, Acumus Holdings Limited, Acumus Interco Limited, Acumus Ltd, Adams & Associates International, Adaptive Marketing LLC, Adco General Corporation, Advanced Benefit Advisors, Aequus Trade Credit, Affinity Marketing Group, Ahrold Fay Rosenberg, Aires Consulting Group, Alesco Risk Management Services Limited, Alize Limited, Allied Claims Administration Inc., Alternative Market Specialists, Altman & Cronin Benefit Consultants, American Freedom Carriers Inc., American Security Services Corp., American Wholesalers Underwriting Ltd, Andrew-Anthony Insurance Agency, Anthony Hodges Consulting Limited, Antrobus Investments Limited, AquaSurance, Argentis, Argentis Financial Group Limited, Argentis Financial Management Limited, Argus Benefits, Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle, Artex (SAC) Limited, Artex Cedar Hill, Artex Corporate Services (Malta) Limited, Artex Corporate Services Limited, Artex Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Holdings (Malta) Limited, Artex Insurance (Guernsey) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance (Tennessee) PCCIC Inc., Artex Insurance Brokers (Malta) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance ICC Limited, Artex Intermediaries Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Guernsey) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (International) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Malta) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (UK) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions Inc., Arthur J Gallagher (Norway) Holdings AS, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AUS) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Illinois), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher (Aus) Pty Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Bermuda) Holding Partnership, Arthur J. Gallagher (Life Solutions) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (U.S.) LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Asesoria S.A.C., Arthur J. Gallagher Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher Brokerage & Risk Management Services LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Broking (NZ) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Financial Services Professionals Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Group Quebec ULC, Arthur J. Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Latin America LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Management (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Real Estate Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services (Hawaii) Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services of Utah Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher School Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Service Company LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Ltd, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, Atlantic Risk Management Corp., Atrex Insurance (Cayman) SPC Limited, Avantek Pty Ltd, Axe Insurance PCC Limited, BIS Insurance Services, Baker - Tillys employment benefits solutions, Ballard Benefit Works, Bankers Financial Benefits, Barmore Insurance Agency, Behnke & Co. Inc., Bellisle Pty Ltd, Belmont Associates Consultants, Belmont Insurance Holdings Limited, Belmont International, Belmont International Limited, Benefit Development Group, Benefit Management Group, BenefitLink Resource Group, Benefits Planning & Insurance Agency, Benefits Unlimited, Bennett & Shade Co., Bergvall Marine, Bergvall Marine A.S., Besselman & Little Agency, Big Savings Insurance Agency Inc., Blenheim Park Ltd, Blenheim Park Services Limited, Blue Holdings Pty Ltd, Blue Horizon Insurance Services, Blue Water Benefits, BluePeak Advisors, Blueleaf Consulting Pty Ltd., Bluewater Incorporated Cell Insurance Company, Bollinger Inc., Bollinger Insurance Services Inc., Bowen Miclette Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., Brendis & Brendis, Brim AB, Broker Benefit Services, Brokerage Professionals, Brown Hobbs & McMurray Insurance, Bultman/Bell Associates Inc., Burkwald & Associates, Burns-Fazzi Brock & Associates, Bushong Insurance Associates, C&B Consulting Group, CGM Gallagher Insruance Brokers (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, CJM Solutions Inc., CMA Solutions LLC, Cairnstone Financial, California Insurance Center, Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Capitol Benefits Group, Capsicum CRLA LLP, Capsicum Re Brasil Participacoes Ltda, Capsicum Re Latin America Corretora De Resseguros Ltda, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Bermuda Limited, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Miami Inc., Carefree Marketing Inc., Carpenter Cammack & Associates, Cashan & Co., Castle Insurance Associates, Centennial Insurance Agency, Charity First Insurance Services Inc., Charles Allen Agency, Charter Lakes Insurance Agency, Chris Schroeder Insurance, Christie-Phoenix, Cintran Claims Canada Limited, Classic Insurance Services, Cleaveland Insurance Group, Cohen & Lord Insurance Brokers, Cohn Financial Group, Coleman Group Holdings Limited, Coleman Holdings Limited, College and University Scholastic Excess Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Complete Benefit Alliance, Complete Financial Balance, Complete Financial Balance Pty Ltd, Consolidated Casualty Specialties LLC, Construction Risk Solutions, Contego Underwriting Limited, Contego Underwriting Ltd, Continental Excess & Surplus, Convergence Risk Services Ltd, Copper Mountain Assurance Inc., Cornwall & Stevens Co., Corporate Benefit Advisors, Corporate Life Consultants, Countrywide Accident Assistance Limited, Coverdell & Company Inc., Coverdell Canada Corporation, Cowles and Connell, Craig M. Ferguson & Co., Crist Elliott Machette Insurance Services, Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited, Davis-Poston & Associates, Denman Consulting Services, Detlefs Johnson & Partners, DiBrina Group, Dickinson & Associates, Discount Development Services L.L.C., Discovery Benefit Solutions, Dodson-Bateman & Co., Donald P. Pipino Co. Ltd., E. S. Susanin Inc., EHE Holdings LLC, EHS Holdings Limited, Elantis Premium Funding (NZ) Limited, Elantis Premium Funding Limited, Elite Benefits Insurance Marketing Services, Employee Benefits Analysis Corp., Employee Benefits of The Carolinas, Encore Insurance & Bonding, Everett James, Evolution Risk Services Limited, Evolution Technology Services Limited, Evolution Underwriting Group, Evolution Underwriting Group Limited, Evolution Underwriting Limited, Excel Insurance Services, FYI Direct Canada Corporation, FYI Direct LLC, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, Fenchurch Faris Limited, Fidelity Benefits & Insurance Services, Financial Profiles Inc., Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd, First Agency, First Iowa Insurance Agency, First Premium Inc., First Premium Insurance Group, Fish & Schulkamp, Fishermans Insurance Services, Foley Healthcare Limited, Fortress Financial Solutions Pty Ltd, Fortress Insurance LLC, Foundation Strategies, Fox Lawson & Associates, Franklin-Case Agency LLC, Fraser MacAndrew Ryan Limited, Friary Intermediate Limited, Fuller & O'Brien, G.S. Chapman & Associates Insurance Brokers, G.S. Levine Insurance Services, GBS (Australia) Holdings Pty Ltd, GBS Administrators Inc., GBS Insurance and Financial Services Inc., GBS Retirement Services Inc., GBS Specialty Markets LLC, GGB Finance 1 Limited, GGB Finance 2 Limited, GGB Finance 3 Limited, GGB Finance 4 Limited, GPL Assurance, GPL Assurance Inc., Gabor Insurance Services, Gale Smith & Co. Inc., Gallagher (Bermuda) Insurance Solutions Ltd., Gallagher - Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Gallagher Bassett Aires Inc., Gallagher Bassett Canada Inc., Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services Ltd., Gallagher Bassett International Ltd., Gallagher Bassett NZ Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. , Gallagher Bassett Services Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation Victoria Pty Ltd., Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services (Holdings) Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services Management Company Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Pty Ltd, Gallagher Benefits Consulting Limited, Gallagher Bomford Couch Wilson, Gallagher Burgess, Gallagher Canada Acquisition Corporation, Gallagher Caribbean Group Limited, Gallagher Clean Energy LLC, Gallagher Communications Limited, Gallagher Community Clinic RPG LLC, Gallagher Consulting Ltda, Gallagher Corporate Services LLC, Gallagher Coyle, Gallagher CyberRisk, Gallagher Energy Risk Services Inc., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Bermuda Company Limited, Gallagher Holdings Four (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Three (UK) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Kitts & Nevis) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Lucia) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Vincent) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited, Gallagher International Cash Management s.r.l., Gallagher International Holdings (US) Inc., Gallagher Investment Advisors LLC, Gallagher Inwest Group, Gallagher Koster, Gallagher Lambert Group, Gallagher Madison Risk & Insurance Services, Gallagher Mauritius Holdings, Gallagher Mississippi Brokerage LLC, Gallagher RE Colombia Ltda Corredores de Reaseguros SA, Gallagher Risk & Reward Limited, Gallagher Risk Group LLC, Gallagher Risk Placements Pty Ltd, Gallagher SKS, Gallagher Service Center LLP, Gallagher-Tarantino, Galtney Group, Game Day Insurance Inc., Gardner & White Corp., Gardner Marine Agency, Garza Long Group, Gatehouse Consulting Limited, Gault Armstrong Kemble Pty Ltd, Gault Armstrong SARL, Giles Group, Giles Holdings Limited, Giles Insurance Brokers, Gillis Ellis & Baker Inc., Goodman Insurance Agency, Grandy Pratt Co., Greenseed Alternative Mangaers Platform Ltd, Grossman & Associates, Group Benefits of Arkansas, Group Insurance Associates, Gruppo Marcucci, HLG Holdings Limited, HMG-PCMS Limited, HPF Investments LLC, HR Owen Insurance Services Limited, Hagan Newkirk Financial Services, Hagedorn & Company, Hardman & Howell Benefits, Harlequin Insurance PCC Limited, Hartstein Associates Inc., Healthcare Professionals Purchasing Group LLC, Healthcare Risk Solutions, Heath Lambert Group Ltd., Heath Lambert Limited, Heath Lambert Overseas Limited, Heiser Insurance Agency, Henderson Phillips Fine Arts Insurance, Herbruck Alder & Co., Heritage Insurance Brokers (CI) Limited, Hesse & Partner AG, Hesse Consulting, Hexagon ICC Limited, Hexagon Insurance PCC Limited, Hill Chesson & Woody, Hogan Insurance Services, Home & Travel Limited, Honour Point Limited, Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services USA Inc., Horseshoe ILS Services UK Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Advisors US LLC, Horseshoe Insurance Advisory Ltd., Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings US Inc., Horseshoe Management (Gibraltar) Limited, Horseshoe Management (Ireland) Ltd, Horseshoe Management Ltd., Horseshoe PCC Limited, Horseshoe Re Limited, Horseshoe Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Services (Pty) Ltd, Horton Insurance Agency, Housing Authorities Services Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Human Resource Management Systems, I-Protect Underwriting Pty Ltd, IBIS Advisors, IBS Reinsurance Singapore Pte Ltd, ILS Fund Services Ltd., ISG International, ITI Solutions, Igloo Insurance PCC Limited, Independent Benefit Services, Independent Fiduciary Services, Ink Underwriting Agencies Limited, InsSync Group Pty Ltd, Inspire Underwriting Limited, Instrat Insurance Brokers, Instrat Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Instrat Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Insurance Acquisitions Holdings Limited, Insurance Associates Inc., Insurance Dialogue Limited, Insurance Dialogue Ltd., Insurance Plans Agency, Insurance Plus Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Insurance Point, Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc., Insure My Villa Limited, Insure Pty Ltd, Integrated Healthcare Strategies, InterNational Insurance Group, InterPacific Underwriting Agencies, Intermountain Financial Benefits, Interstate Insurance Underwriters, JPGAC LLC, James F. Reda & Associates, James R. Weir Insurance Agency, Jenkins and Associates, Joe E. Martin Inc., John P. Woods Co. Inc., Jones Brown, Jones Brown Group Inc., Jones Brown Insurance Solutions Inc., Joseph Distel, Joseph James & Associates Insurance Agency, Just Landlords Insurance Services Ltd, KDC Associates, KRW Insurance Agency, Kahl Insurance Services, Kaler Carney Liffler & Co. Inc., Kane Group - Insurance Management Operations, Kelly Financial, Kent Kent & Tingle and RBS, Keyser Benefits Corp., Kingspark Enterprises Pty Ltd, L&R Benefits, LSG Insurance Partners, Learn About Money Limited, Lewis & Associates Insurance Brokers, Leystone Insurance & Financial, Life Plans Unlimited, Lincoln Financial Management, Longfellow Financial, Lucas Fettes Limited, Lucas Fettes and Partners Limited, Lutgert Insurance, MA Underwriting Pty Ltd, MDM Insurance Associates, MG Advanced Coal Technologies-1 LLC, MGA Insurance Services, MRS Holdings Ltd., Madison Scott & Associates, Managed Healthcare Solutions, Mannequin Insurance PCC Limited, Marchetti Robertson & Brickell Insurance, Marine Insurance Service, Martin Gordon & Jones Inc., McDowall Associates Human Resource Consultants, McIntyre Risk Management, McLean Insurance Agency, McNeary, McPherson Benefits Group, McRory & Co., Mecacem Insurance SPC Ltd, MedInsights Inc., Melton Insurance Associates, Memberworks Canada LLC, Merit Insurance, Metcom Excess, Metzler Bros. Insurance, Meyers-Reynolds & Associates, Mid America Group, Midwest Surety Services, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited, Mike Henry Insurance Funding Limited, Miller Buettner & Parrott, Miller-Harrison Insurance Services, Milne Alexander Pty Ltd, Minvielle & Chastanet Insurance Brokers, Monument Insurance (NZ) Limited, Monument Llc, Monument Premium Funding Limited, Mortgage Insurance Agency, Murphy Consultants, Mutual Insurance Services, NationAir Aviation Insurance, National Administration Co., National Ethics Association, National Transportation Adjusters, Nelson/Monarch Insurance Services, Nicoud Insurance Services, NiiS/Apex Group Holdings, Nonprofit Insurance Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Noraxis Capital Corp, Nordic Forsakring & Riskhantering AB, North Alabama Insurance, Nourse Insurance Brokers, O'Gorman & Young, OAMPS (UK) Limited, OAMPS Gault Armstrong Pty Ltd, OAMPS Limited, OAMPS Special Risks Ltd, Offshore Market Placements Limited, Optimum Talent, Orb Financial Services, Orb Financial Services Limited, Osprey Insurance Brokers Limited, Oval Group, Oval Healthcare Limited, Oval Insurance Broking Limited, Oval Limited, Oval Management Services Limited, Oxygen Insurance Managers, P2 Group, PEN Insurance Management Advisors Ltd, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, Pacific Insurance Agency, Palmer Atlantic Insurance, Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd, Palmer Atlantic Risk Services Ltd., Park Row Associates, Parkstar Enterprises Pty Ltd, Parmia Pty Ltd, PartnerSource, Pastel Holding (NZ) Company, Pastel Holdings Pty Limited, Pastel Purchaser (NZ) Limited, Pastel Purchaser Pty Limited, Pavey Group Holdings (UK) Limited, Pavey Group Holdings Limited, Pavey Group Limited, Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., Pen Underwriting Canada Limited, Pen Underwriting Group Pty. Ltd., Pen Underwriting Limited, Pen Underwriting Pty Ltd, Persing Dyckman & Toynbee Inc., Personal Advice Services Pty Ltd, Petty Burton Associates, Pointer Insurance Agency, Portmore Insurance Brokers (Wilshire) Limited, Portmore Insurance Brokers Limited, Potter-Holden & Co., Powell Insurance Agency, Premier Insurance Services Inc., Premier Risk Services, Premium Finance Corporation, Preston-Patterson, ProSource Financial, Professional Agents Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Professional Claims Managers, Proinova AB, Proinova Agency AB, Pronto California Agency LLC, Pronto California General Agency LLC, Pronto Florida Claims LLC, Pronto Florida General Agency LLC, Pronto Franchise LLC, Pronto General Agency Ltd, Pronto General Agency Management LLC, Pronto Holdco Inc., Pronto Holding California LLC, Pronto Holding Florida LLC, Pronto Insurance Agency of Laredo Inc., Pronto Premium Finance LLC, Property & Commercial Ltd., Property Insurance Initatives Limited, Property and Commercial Limited, Protected Insurance Company, Protection Plan Association Inc., Protek Group Limited, Providium Consulting Group, Ptarmigan Underwriting Agency Limited, Ptarmigan Underwriting UK Limited, Purple Bridge Claims Management Limited, Purple Bridge Finance Limited, Purple Bridge Group Limited, Purple Bridge Investments Limited, Purple Bridge Online Services Limited, Purple Bridge Publishing Limited, Quantum Underwriting Solutions Limited, Quillco 226 Limited, Quillco 227 Limited, R. L. Youngdahl & Associates, R.G. Speno Inc., R.W. Scobie, RA Rossborough (Guernsey) Ltd., RA Rossborough (Insurance Brokers) Ltd, REGENCY Group inc., RGA Referencing Limited, RGA Underwriting Limited, RIL Administrators (Guernsey) Ltd., RJ Dutton Inc., RSM Insurance Services Limited, Reassurance Holdings Inc., Rebholz Insurance Agency, Reid Manson Ltd., Reimbursement Services, Rentguard Limited, Reward Management Limited, Reynolds & Rodar Insurance Group, Riley & Associates, Rio 587 Limited, Rio 588 Limited, Risk & Reward Group, Risk Management Partners Limited, Risk Placement Services Inc., Risk Planners, Risk Services (NW) Limited, Risk Services (NW) Ltd., Risk Solutions Group Limited, Robert A. Schneider Agency, Robert Keith & Associates, Roberts & Roberts Insurance Service, Robinson-Adams Insurance, Rossborough Healthcare International Ltd, Rossborough Insurance (IOM) Ltd., Rossborough Insurance Services Ltd. (Jersey), S. A. Freerks & Associates, SEG Insurance Ltd, SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, SHILLING Ltd, SKANCO International, SMERI AB, SRS Underwriting Pty Ltd, Secure Enterprises Pty Ltd, Securitas Re, Sellers Group, Sentinel Indemnity LLC, Septagon Insurance PCC Limited, Shuford Insurance Agency, Sigma II Insurance Agency, Sinclair Billard and Weld Limited, Sobieski & Bradley, Solid Benefit Guidance, Spanjers Insurance Agency, Spataro Insurance Agency, Specialised Broking Associates, Specialty Risk, Stackhouse Poland, Stackhouse Poland Bidco Limited, Stackhouse Poland Group Limited, Stackhouse Poland Holdings Limited, Stackhouse Poland Midco Limited, Stackouse Poland Limited, Stanton Group, Stark Johnson & Stinson Inc., Steel Agency, Strata Solicitors Ltd, Strategic Health Plans Corp., Strathearn Insurance Brokers, Strathearn Insurance Brokers (Qld) Trading Trust, Strathern Insurance Group Pty Ltd, Strathern Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Strathern Unit Trust, Strong Financial Resources, Summit Insurance Group, Sunday and Associates, Sunderland Insurance Services, Super Advice Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Taylor Benefits, Texas Insurance Agency, Texas Insurance Managers, The BeneTex Group, The Buchholz Planning, The Chapman Group, The Commonwealth Consulting Group, The Daniels Group Inc., The EHE Group LLC, The EHE Insurance Agency LLC, The Eagle Insurance Agency LLC, The Eriksen Group, The Forker Company, The Gleason Agency, The Great Lakes Agency, The HR Group, The Hawk Agency, The Human Capital Group, The Lance Group, The Levitt/Kristan Co., The MW Bagnall Company, The Old Greenwich Consulting Group, The Parks Johnson Agency, The Plus Companies Inc., The Presidio Group, The Producers Choice, The Rains Group, The Splinter Group, The Titan Group, The Treiber Group, The Woodsmall Companies Inc., Title & Covenant Brokers Ltd., Title Investments Limited, Tom Sherwin Insurance Agency, Total Reward Group, Total Rewards Group (Holdings) Limited, Towle Agency, Transwestern, Tri-State General Insurance Agency, Triad Insurance Agency, Triad USA, Tribeca Strategic Advisors, Trinder & Norwood, Trip Mate, Trissel Graham & Toole, Tropp & Co., Tudor Risk Services, Tyloma Holdings Limited, Uni-Care Inc., Unison Inc., Universico Group, Unoccupied Direct Limited, V2V Holdings LLC, VEBA Service Group, Vasek Insurance Services Limited, Velo ACU LLC, Velo Holdings Inc., Verbag AG., Vertrue LLC, Victory Insurance Agency, Vincent L. Braband Insurance, Vital Benefits, Voluntary Benefits Solutions, W. E. Kingsley Co. Inc., WM. W. George & Associates, Walker Taylor Agency, Welling Associates, Wesfarmers Insurance - Insurance Brokerage Operations, Western Benefit Solutions, White & Company Insurance, Whitehaven Insurance Group, William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, William H. Connolly & Co., Williams Insurance Agency Inc., Williams-Manny Insurance Group, Winn & Company Insurance Brokers, Wischmeyer Benefit Partners, Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, Woods & Grooms, WorkCare Northwest, Worksite Communications, Y. S. Liedman & Associates, YOA Capsicum Reinsurance Broker Limited, Zenor Limited, Zuber Insurance Agency, and e3 Financial. Read More [November 23, 2016] Hormel Foods Distributes Annual Profit Sharing Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) today distributed its annual profit sharing of $17.5 million to eligible hourly and salaried employees during this 78th annual Thanksgiving Eve Day tradition. "For the eighth consecutive year, our company has achieved record earnings," said Jim Snee president and chief executive officer at Hormel Foods. "We are proud to share the success of our company with the inspired people of Hormel Foods. Our profit sharing program is unique in the industry, and we are happy to be able to celebrate our continued success with our hard working employees." The profit sharing program was started by Jay C. Hormel in 1938 and is voluntarily paid at the discretion of the company's Board of Directors. About Hormel Foods - Inspired People. Inspired Food. Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenues across 75 countries worldwide. Is brands include SKIPPY, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, Wholly Guacamole, Hormel Black Label and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the eighth year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. In 2016, the company celebrated its 125th anniversary and announced its new vision for the future - Inspired People. Inspired Food. - focusing on its legacy of innovation. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and http://2015csr.hormelfoods.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005099/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Telefonica, S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company's mobile and related services and products comprise mobile voice, value added, mobile data and Internet, wholesale, corporate, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services. Its fixed telecommunication services include PSTN lines; ISDN accesses; public telephone services; local, domestic, and international long-distance and fixed-to-mobile communications; corporate communications; supplementary value-added services; video telephony; intelligent network; and telephony information services, as well as leases and sells handset equipment. The company also provides Internet and broadband multimedia services comprising Internet service provider, portal and network, retail and wholesale broadband access, narrowband switched access, high-speed Internet through fibre to the home, and voice over Internet protocol services. In addition, it offers leased line, virtual private network, fibre optics, web hosting and application, outsourcing and consultancy, desktop, and system integration and professional services. Further, the company offers wholesale services for telecommunication operators, including domestic interconnection and international wholesale services; leased lines for other operators; and local loop leasing services, as well as bit stream services, wholesale line rental accesses, and leased ducts for other operators' fiber deployment. Additionally, it provides video/TV services; smart connectivity and services, and consumer IoT products; financial and other payment, security, cloud computing, advertising, big data, and digital telco experience services; virtual assistants; digital home platforms; and Movistar Home devices. It also offers online telemedicine, home insurance, music streaming, and consumer loan services. The company was incorporated in 1924 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Oxford Industries, Inc., an apparel company, designs, sources, markets, and distributes products of lifestyle and other brands worldwide. The company offers men's and women's sportswear and related products under the Tommy Bahama brand; women's and girl's dresses and sportswear, scarves, bags, jewelry, and belts, as well as footwear and children's apparel and swimwear under the Lilly Pulitzer brand; and men's shirts, pants, shorts, outerwear, ties, swimwear, footwear, and accessories, as well as women and youth products under the Southern Tide brand. It also designs, sources, markets, and distributes premium childrenswear, including bonnets, hats, apparel, swimwear, and accessories through thebeaufortbonnetcompany.com and wholesale specialty retailers; men's apparel, which include pants, shorts, and tops through duckhead.com and wholesale specialty retailers. In addition, the company licenses Tommy Bahama brand for various products, such as indoor and outdoor furniture, beach chairs, bedding and bath linens, fabrics, leather goods and gifts, headwear, hosiery, sleepwear, shampoo, toiletries, fragrances, cigar accessories, distilled spirits, and other products; Lilly Pulitzer for stationery and gift products, home furnishing products, and eyewear; and Southern Tide trademark for bed and bath product. Oxford Industries, Inc. offers products through its retail stores, department stores, specialty stores, multi-branded e-commerce retailers, off-price retailers, and other retailers, as well as e-commerce sites. As of January 29, 2022, it operated 186 brand-specific full-price retail stores; 21 Tommy Bahama food and beverage locations; and 35 Tommy Bahama outlet stores. Oxford Industries, Inc. was founded in 1942 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers a range of skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, cleansing devices, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools. The company also provides fragrance products in various forms comprising eau de parfum sprays and colognes, as well as lotions, powders, creams, candles, and soaps; and hair care products that include shampoos, conditioners, styling products, treatment, finishing sprays, and hair color products, as well as sells ancillary products and services. It offers its products under the Estee Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, MAC, Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin, Smashbox, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, GLAMGLOW, Kilian Paris, Too Faced, Dr. Jart+, DECIEM, and The Ordinary brands. The company sells its products through department stores, specialty-multi retailers, upscale perfumeries and pharmacies, and salons and spas; freestanding stores; its own and authorized retailer websites; third-party online malls; stores in airports; and duty-free shops. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in New York, New York. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California that provides various banking services to businesses and individuals. The company accepts various deposit instruments, including checking, savings, money market, time certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also offers range of lending products comprising commercial, commercial and residential real estate, real estate construction, agribusiness, and consumer loans, as well as equipment leases and credit card services; commercial products, including term loans, lines of credit and other working capital financing, and letters of credit; and financing products, such as automobile financing, home improvement, and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company provides various specialized services consisting of credit card programs for merchants, lockbox and other collection services, account reconciliation, investment sweep, online account access, and electronic funds transfers through domestic and international wire and automated clearinghouse; and online banking services. Further, it offers investment products, such as mutual funds and annuities. The company serves its customers through 29 full-service branches and 3 stand-alone automated teller machines in the mid Central Valley of California, including Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Stanislaus, and Merced counties, as well as the east region of the San Francisco Bay Area comprising Napa, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Lodi, California. The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases. It also provides credit cards and payments; real estate secured lending, auto finance, and consumer lending services; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, and advice to retail and institutional clients through direct investing, advice-based, and asset management businesses; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking products and services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to corporations, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,061 branches and 3,381 automated teller machines (ATMs) in Canada, and 1,148 stores and 2,701 ATMs in the United States, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. It has a strategic alliance with Canada Post Corporation. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. [November 23, 2016] Bovie Medical to Present at 28th Annual Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference Bovie Medical Corporation ("Bovie" or the "Company") (NYSE:BVX), a maker of medical devices and supplies and the developer of J-Plasma, a patented new surgical product, announced today that Robert L. Gershon, Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 28th Annual Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, November 29, 2016, at 12:50 p.m. ET at the Lotte New York Palace in New York. The presentation will be webcast live, and an archive recording will be available for 30 days. The link to the live webcast and archive will be accessible on Bovie Medical's website at http://www.boviemedical.com/investor_relations/ in the "Presentations" section. Investors attnding the conference may arrange a one-on-one meeting with Bovie Medical management by contacting Piper Jaffray. About Bovie Medical Corporation Bovie Medical Corporation is a leading maker of medical devices and supplies as well as the developer of J-Plasma, a patented new plasma-based surgical product for cutting and coagulation. J-Plasma utilizes a helium ionization process to produce a stable, focused beam of ionized gas that provides surgeons with greater precision, minimal invasiveness and an absence of conductive currents through the patient during surgery. Bovie Medical Corporation is also a leader in the manufacture of a range of electrosurgical products and technologies, marketed through both private labels and the Company's own well-respected brands (Bovie, Aaron, IDS and ICON) to distributors worldwide. The Company also leverages its expertise through original equipment manufacturing (OEM) agreements with other medical device manufacturers. For further information about the Company's current and new products, please refer to the Investor Relations section of Bovie Medical Corporation's website www.boviemed.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005109/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The Chemours Company provides performance chemicals in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. It operates through four segments: Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, Advanced Performance Materials, and Chemical Solutions. The Titanium Technologies segment provides TiO2 pigment under the Ti-Pure and BaiMax brands for delivering whiteness, brightness, opacity, and protection in various of applications, such as architectural and industrial coatings, flexible and rigid plastic packaging, polyvinylchloride, laminate papers used for furniture and building materials, coated paper, and coated paperboard used for packaging. The Thermal & Specialized Solutions segment offers of refrigerants, thermal management solutions, propellants, foam blowing agents, and specialty solvents. The Advanced Performance Materials segment products portfolio includes various industrial resins, specialty products, membranes, and coatings for consumer electronics, semiconductors, digital communications, transportation, energy, oil and gas, and medical, and others applications. The Chemical Solutions segment comprises a portfolio of industrial chemicals used as raw materials and catalysts for gold production, clean and disinfect, oil and gas, water treatment, electronics, and automotive applications. The company sells its products through direct and indirect channels, as well as through a network of resellers and distributors. The Chemours Company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. Kingsway Financial Services Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the extended warranty business services, asset management, and real estate businesses. The company operates through three segments: Extended Warranty, Leased Real Estate, and Kingsway Search Xcelerator. The Extended Warranty segment markets, sells, and administers vehicle service agreements and related products for new and used automobiles, motorcycles, and ATVs. This segment also sells new home warranty products, as well as offers uninsured warrant administration services to homebuilders and homeowners; markets and distributes warranty products to manufacturers, distributors, and installers of heating, ventilation and air conditioning, standby generator, commercial LED lighting, and commercial refrigeration equipment; and provides equipment breakdown and maintenance support services to companies. The Leased Real Estate segment owns a parcel of real property consisting of approximately 192 acres located in the State of Texas. The Kingsway Search Xcelerator offers outsourced finance and human resources consulting services, including operational accounting, such as bookkeeping, accounting, financial reporting, and analysis and strategic finance services; technical accounting comprising initial public offerings, SEC reporting, and international consolidation services; human resources, workforce management, and compliance support services; and advisory services. The company offers its products and services through credit unions, dealers, homebuilders, and consumers. Kingsway Financial Services Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Itasca, Illinois. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes high-performance coatings systems in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Transportation Coatings. The company offers water and solvent-borne products and systems to repair damaged vehicles for independent body shops, multi-shop operators, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) dealership body shops. It also provides functional and decorative liquid, and powder coatings used in various industrial applications, including architectural cladding and fittings, automotive coatings, general industrial, job coaters, energy solutions, HVAC, appliances, industrial wood, coil, and oil and gas pipelines; and coatings for building materials, cabinet, wood and luxury vinyl flooring, and furniture market under the Voltatex, AquaEC, Durapon, Hydropon, UNRIVALED, Tufcote, and Ceranamel for liquid coatings; and Alesta, Nap-Gard, Abcite, Teodur, and Plascoat brands for powder coatings. In addition, the company develops and supplies electrocoat, primer, the basecoat, and clearcoat products for OEMs of light and commercial vehicles; and coatings systems for various commercial applications, including HDT, bus, and rail under the Imron, Imron Elite, Centari, Rival, Corlar epoxy undercoats, and AquaEC brands. It also sells its product under the Audurra, Challenger, Chemophan, ColorNet, Cromax, Cromax Mosaic, Durapon 70, Duxone, Harmonized Coating Technologies, Imron ExcelPro, Lutophen, Nason, Spies Hecker, Standox, Stollaquid, Syntopal, Syrox, Raptor, U-POL, and Vermeera brand names. The company was formerly known as Axalta Coating Systems Bermuda Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. in August 2014. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. You may be among the hordes in search of holiday deals, but keep in mind that if youre spending, youre not saving. (Trevor Collens/AFP/Getty Images) If I cant stop you from the spending madness that is about to take place, at least be smart about it by using your smartphone to spend less. For years, Ive doled out tips on safe holiday spending: Set a budget. Make a list. And cut people loose if youre stretched financially. But the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales beckon. And try as you might, you simply cant resist. More than 40 percent of Americans about 137.4 million people, according to the National Retail Federation will shop in-store or online during the Thanksgiving weekend. So make a list. Dont make a list. Do a budget and then bust it. You are going to do what you want because youre grown and all the caution in the world is ignored because Madison Avenue has one message for the holiday season: Shop and save! You may even convince yourself that its your personal duty as an American citizen to contribute to the economy by shopping. Youll leave the dinner table on Thanksgiving to shop. Youll steal away hours from your employer to shop online next Monday, which is also a big shopping day. Its okay. I know you want to give gifts to show people how much they mean to you or out of obligation. So here are five tips to help during your holiday spending spree. Dont overload your smartphone with shopping apps. I was running out of space on my phone, and so some of my downloaded apps had to go. And the first to get the ax were the shopping-comparison ones. Turned out I didnt need them to take advantage of discount opportunities. When I find an item I want to buy, I type in the product data specific name, brand or model number and add the word coupon in my search. Up pops the latest pricing information, or Ill see deals on RetailMeNot.com or Groupon.com. Often the retailer has already done the work to match the lowest price out there. When I shop in-store, I pull up the browser on my smartphone, type in the product details and see what other retailers are offering, both in-store and online. I dont have to use any one specific app to shop. Whether on the move with my phone or at home using my laptop, I do a general search for deals. Take advantage of price matching. I love price matching. Its when retailers promise they will beat a competitors price for the same item. The key to getting the match is making sure you have the exact item. And be prepared to show the results of your price check. Even before I head to the store, Ill pull up the page with the price of the item, ready to make my case. Be prepared to negotiate. Some stores dont have an official price-matching policy. But I have at times shown a sales associate a competitors price on my phone and, upon consultation with a manager, Ive gotten the same deal. Build in time to surf the Internet while you shop in-store. Just before I go to checkout, Ill go through my cart and search online to double-check the pricing and to look for any coupons or deals I may have missed. Ive also found that even when I go to a store to buy a specific item, I may see something else I like better. Still, I take the time right there in the store to check online. If a salesperson is assisting me, I just ask for some time to do additional research. Stop thinking that a sale saves. Theres another reason to get rid of the shopping apps on your phone: You are constantly thinking about consuming. You set alerts. You are always comparing merchandise, sale ads, etc. Your willpower is eroded by too much information. Youre so concerned about missing a good deal that you end up spending a lot of time dashing around for discounts. You also spend more. Youve been conditioned that a coupon saves you money. Sales to you are like a light to a moth. But sales dont save. You never save when you spend. You just spend less, and even thats relative. The actual act of saving involves putting money into your bank account or keeping it there. If you dont remember anything else this holiday season, keep this in mind: Youre not saving if youre spending. Write Singletary at The Washington Post, 1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or michelle.singletary@washpost.com. To read more, go to wapo.st/michelle-singletary. [November 23, 2016] SC16 Breaks Exhibits and Workshop Attendance Records SC16, the 28th annual international conference of high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis, celebrated the contributions of researchers and scientists - from those just starting their careers to those whose contributions have made lasting impacts. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005142/en/ SC16 took place in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo: Business Wire) The conference drew more than 11,100 registered attendees and featured a technical program spanning six days. The exhibit hall featured 349 exhibitors from industry, academia and research organizations from around the world. "There has never been a more important time for high performance computing, networking and data analysis," said SC16 General Chair John West from the Texas Advanced Computing Center. "But it is also an acute time for growing our workforce and expanding diversity in the industry. SC16 was the perfect blend of research, technological advancement, career recognition and improving the ways in which we attract and retain that next generation of scientists." According to Trey Breckenridge, SC16 Exhibits Chair from Mississippi State University, the SC16 Exhibition was the largest in the history of the conference. The overall size of the exhibition was 150,000 net square feet (breaking the 2015 record of 141,430). The 349 industry and research-focused exhibits included 44 first-timers and 120 organizations from 25 countries outside the United States. During the conference, Salt Lake City also became the hub for the world's fastest computer network: SCinet, SC16's custom-built network which delivered 3.15 terabits per second in bandwidth. The network featured 56 miles of fiber deployed throughout the convention center and $32 million in loaned equipment. It was all made possible by 200 volunteers representing global organizations spanning academia, government and industry. For the third year, SC featured an opening "HPC Matters" plenary that this year focused on Precision Medicine, which examined what the future holds in this regard and how advances are only possible through the power of high performance computing and big data. Leading voices from the frontlines of clinical care, medical research, HPC system evolution, pharmaceutical R&D and public policy shared diverse perspectives on the future of precision medicine and how it will impact society. The Technical Program again offered the highest quality original HPC research. The SC workshops set a record with more than 2,500 attendees. There were 14 Best Paper Finalists and six Gordon Bell Finalists. These submissions represent the best of the best in a wide variety of research topics in HPC. Overall Stats on Tech Program Tracks: 81 Papers 12 Panels 138 Posters 37 Tutorials 37 Workshops 12 Invited Speakers 12 Doctoral Showcase Presentations 13 Emerging Technology Presentations 55 Birds-of-a-Feather Technical Awards "These awards are very important for the SC Conference Series. They celebrate the best and the brightest in high performance computing," said Satoshi Matsuoka, SC16 Awards Chair from Tokyo Institute of Technology. "These awards are not just plaques or certificates. They define excellence. They set the bar for the years to come and are powerful inspiration for both early career and senior researchers." Following is the list of Technical Program awards presented at SC16: Technical Papers: SC16 received 442 paper submissions, of which 81 were accepted (18.3 percent acceptance rate). Of those, 13 were selected as finalists for the Best Paper (six) and Best Student Paper (seven) awards. The Best Paper Award went to "Daino: A High-Level Framework for Parallel and Efficient AMR on GPUs" by Mohamed Wahib Attia and Naoya Maruyama, RIKEN; and Takayuki Aoki, Tokyo Institute of Technology. The Best Student Paper Award went to "Flexfly: Enabling a Reconfigurable Dragonfly Through Silicon Photonics" by Ke Wen, Payman Samadi, Sebastien Rumley, Christine P. Chen, Yiwen Shen, Meisam Bahadori, and Karen Bergman, Columbia University and Jeremiah Wilke, Sandia National Laboratories. ACM Gordon Bell Prize: The ACM Gordon Bell Prize is awarded for outstanding team achievement in high performance computing and tracks the progress of parallel computing. This year, the prize was awarded to a 12-member Chinese team for their research project, "10M-Core Scalable Fully-Implicit Solver for Nonhydrostatic Atmospheric Dynamics." The winning team presenteda solver (method for calculating) atmospheric dynamics. In the abstract of their presentation, the winning team writes, "On the road to the seamless weather-climate prediction, a major obstacle is the difficulty of dealing with various spatial and temporal scales. The atmosphere contains time-dependent multi-scale dynamics that support a variety of wave motions." To simulate the vast number of variables inherent in a weather system developing in the atmosphere, the winning group presents a highly scalable fully implicit solver for three-dimensional nonhydrostatic atmospheric simulations governed by fully compressible Euler equations. Euler equations are a set of equations frequently used to understand fluid dynamics (liquids and gasses in motion). Winning team members are Chao Yang, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Wei Xue, Weimin Zheng, Guangwen Yang, Ping Xu, and Haohuan Fu, Tsinghua University; Hongtao You, National Research Center of Parallel Computer Engineering and Technology; Xinliang Wang, Beijing Normal University; Yulong Ao and Fangfang Liu, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lin Gan, Tsinghua University; Lanning Wang, Beijing Normal University. Research Posters: This year, SC received 172 detailed poster submissions that went through a rigorous review process. In the end, 112 posters were accepted and five finalists were selected for the Best Poster Award. As part of its research poster activities, SC16 also hosted the ACM Student Research Competition for both undergraduate and graduate students. In all 63 submissions were received, 26 Student Research Competition posters were accepted - 14 in the graduate category and 12 in the undergraduate category. The Best Poster Award went to "A Fast Implicit Solver with Low Memory Footprint and High Scalability for Comprehensive Earthquake Simulation System" with Kohei Fujita from RIKEN as the lead author. The 2016 Undergraduate Student Research Award recipients were: First Place: "Touring Dataland? Automated Recommendations for the Big Data Traveler" by Willian Agnew and Michael Fischer, Advisors: Kyle Chard and Ian Foster. Second Place: "Analysis of Variable Selection Methods on Scientific Cluster Measurement Data" by Jonathan Wang, Advisors: Wucherl Yoo and Alex Sim. Third Place: "Discovering Energy Usage Patterns on Scientific Clusters" by Matthew Bae, Advisors: Wucherl Yoo, Alex Sim and Kesheng Wu. The 2016 Graduate Student Research Award recipients were: First Place: "Job Startup at Exascale: Challenges and Solutions" by Sourav Chakroborty, Advisor: Dhabaleswar K. Panda. Second Place: "Performance Modeling and Engineering with Kerncraft," by Julian Hammer, Advisors: Georg Hager and Gerhard Wellein. Third Place: "Design and Evaluation of Topology-Aware (News - Alert) Scatter and AllGather Algorithms for Dragonfly Networks" by Nathanael Cheriere, Advisor: Matthieu Dorier. Scientific Visualization and Data Analytics Showcase: The Scientific Visualization and Data Analytics Award featured six finalists. The award went to "Visualization and Analysis of Threats from Asteroid Ocean Impacts" with John Patchett as the lead author. SC16 Student Cluster Competition: The Student Cluster Competition returned for its 10th year. The competition which debuted at SC07 in Reno and has since been replicated in Europe, Asia and Africa, is a real-time, non-stop, 48-hour challenge in which teams of six undergraduates assemble a small cluster at SC16 and race to complete a real-world workload across a series of scientific applications, demonstrate knowledge of system architecture and application performance, and impress HPC industry judges. The students partner with vendors to design and build a cutting-edge cluster from commercially available components, not to exceed a 3120-watt power limit and work with application experts to tune and run the competition codes. For the first-time ever, the team that won top honors also won the award for achieving highest performance for the Linpack benchmark application. The team "SwanGeese" is from the University of Science and Technology of China. In traditional Chinese culture, the rare Swan Goose stands for teamwork, perseverance and bravery. This is the university's third appearance in the competition. Also, an ACM SIGHPC Certificate of Appreciation is presented to the authors of a recent SC paper to be used for the SC16 Student Cluster Competition Reproducibility Initiative. The selected paper was "A Parallel Connectivity Algorithm for de Bruijn Graphs in Metagenomic Applications" by Patrick Flick, Chirag Jain, Tony Pan and Srinivas Aluru from Georgia Institute of Technology (News - Alert). ACM/IEEE George Michael Memorial HPC Fellowship: The George Michael Memorial HPC Fellowship honors exceptional Ph.D. students. The first recipient is Johann Rudi from the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin for his project, "Extreme-Scale Implicit Solver for Nonlinear, Multiscale, and Heterogeneous Stokes Flow in the Earth's Mantle." The second recipient is Axel Huebl from Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf at the Technical University of Dresden for his project, "Scalable, Many-core Particle-in-cell Algorithms to Stimulate Next Generation Particle Accelerators and Corresponding Large-scale Data Analytics." Career Awards The SC Conference Series also serves as the venue for recognizing leaders in the HPC community for their contributions during their careers. Here are the career awards presented at SC16: IEEE (News - Alert)-CS Seymour Cray Computer Engineering Award: The IEEE-CS Seymour Cray Computer Engineering Award recognizes innovative contributions to high performance computing systems that best exemplify the creative spirit demonstrated by Seymour Cray. The 2016 IEEE-CS Seymour Cray Computer Engineering Award was presented to William J. Camp of Los Alamos National Laboratory "for visionary leadership of the Red Storm project, and for decades of leadership of the HPC community." Camp previously served as Intel's (News - Alert) Chief Supercomputing Architect and directed Intel's Exascale R&D efforts. ACM/IEEE-CS Ken Kennedy Award: Established in memory of Ken Kennedy, the founder of Rice University's nationally ranked computer science program and one of the world's foremost experts on high-performance computing, the ACM/IEEE-CS Ken Kennedy Award recognizes outstanding contributions to programmability or productivity in high-performance computing together with significant community service or mentoring contributions. The 2016 Ken Kennedy Award was presented to William D. Gropp "for highly influential contributions to the programmability of high-performance parallel and distributed computers, and extraordinary service to the profession." Gropp Is the Acting Director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and Director, Parallel Computing Institute, Thomas M. Siebel Chair in Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. IEEE-CS Sidney Fernbach Memorial Award: The IEEE-CS Sidney Fernbach Memorial Award is awarded for outstanding contributions in the application of high performance computers using innovative approaches. The 2016 IEEE-CS Sidney Fernbach Memorial Award was presented to Vipin Kumar "for foundational work on understanding scalability, and highly scalable algorithms for graph positioning, sparse linear systems and data mining." Kumar is a Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota. SC Conference Test of Time Award: The Supercomputing Conference Test of Time Award recognizes an outstanding paper that has appeared at the SC conference and has deeply influenced the HPC discipline. It is a mark of historical impact and recognition that the paper has changed HPC trends. The winning paper is "Automatically Tuned Linear Algebra Software" by Clint Whaley from University of Tennessee and Jack Dongarra from University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. IEEE TCSC Award for Excellence in Scalable Computing for Early Career Researchers: The IEEE TCHPC Award for Excellence in Scalable Computing for Early Career Researchers recognizes individuals who have made outstanding and potentially long-lasting contributions to the field within five years of receiving their Ph.D. The 2016 awards were presented to Kyle Chard, Computation Institute , University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory; Sunita Chandrassekaran, University of Delaware; and Seyong Lee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory. SC17 will be held next November 12-17 in Denver, Colorado. For more details, go to http://sc17.supercomputing.org/. About SC16 SC16, sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society and ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), offers a complete technical education program and exhibition to showcase the many ways high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis lead to advances in scientific discovery, research, education and commerce. This premier international conference includes a globally attended technical program, workshops, tutorials, a world-class exhibit area, demonstrations and opportunities for hands-on learning. For more information on SC16, visit: http://sc16.supercomputing.org. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161123005142/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The subset of novels devoted to an election is small but impressive: I think of Claude Farreres LElection Sentimentale, which riffs on a theme personal to the author: his 1935 election to the Academie Francaise despite objections that he was a hack. C.P. Snows The Masters makes heavy weather of an election to fill the vacant mastership of a college at Cambridge University. Edwin OConnors The Last Hurrah turns on an aging Boston mayors decision to seek one term too many. Tom Perrottas Election shows that a high school campaign for student-body president can be as vicious as any. Now comes Robert Harriss splendid Conclave, which centers on an election that, for the worlds 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, rivals the one that jolted the United States earlier this month: a papal election. We Americans chose a mere maker of earthly policy, but the Catholic cardinals will choose a new keeper of the Keys to the Kingdom. "Conclave," by Robert Harris (Knopf) When a papal vacancy arises, the electors Catholic cardinals under age 80 gather in Vatican City for a session governed by dramatic rituals. (For example, black smoke rising from a chimney means not yet, while white smoke means a pope has been chosen.) You need a two-thirds majority to win, at least in the early going; after 30 tries, a simple majority will do. But the cardinals are under pressure not to drag things out. The more ballots taken, the more divided the Church will appear. And the Church of Conclave is deeply divided, just like the one in real life. [Review: Martin Cruz Smiths Girl from Venice] At stake is control of a hierarchy grappling with such issues as the Churchs stances toward women and homosexuality. One prelate in Conclave, a Filipino who has become cardinal-archbishop of Baghdad, goes so far as to characterize the ideological rift of the past 60 years that is, since the Second Vatican Council as a great schism in the making. Far apart as they are, the two sides might concur with the sentiment voiced by one cardinal after being told that the late pope had doubts about God. Not about God! the cardinal replies. Never about God! What he had lost faith in was the Church. Harriss protagonist is Jacopo Lomeli, dean of the College of Cardinals and the man charged with running the election. Like Lomeli, the deceased pope was a liberal; the dean and his left-leaning brethren would like to see the Keys of St. Peter entrusted to one of their own, the Vaticans secretary of state. The conservatives are backing the patriarch of Venice, whose laundry-list of throwback reforms starts with re-prescribing the Latin Mass. A dozen or so other cardinals, along with a few nuns, play leading roles. Thats a lot of characters to conjure with in a mid-length book, but Harris keeps them all distinct. Since the cardinals deliberate in secret and tell no tales, Harris can give his imagination a long leash. Whos to say that some candidates dont troll for votes, even offering what look like bribes; that others arent hiding checkered pasts, which, if revealed, will plunge the Church into scandal; or that popes dont behave erratically from time to time? [Review: Robert Harriss Dictator] The aberrations of the late pontiff, a liberal in the mode of Pope Francis, came during his final days of life. He ordered one of the cardinals most likely to succeed him, a swaggering Canadian, to resign all his church offices. Odder still, the pope appears to have created a new cardinal in pectore i.e., secretly. (This can actually be done, but almost never is.) The outsider arrives in Vatican City unannounced and little-known, but his credentials are accepted. These two bombshells will have much to do with the storys denouement. Robert Harris (Jon Enoch) Harris has written thrillers (Fatherland, Enigma) and historical novels, notably his Cicero trilogy (Imperium, Conspirata and Dictator), which can hold its own with the best fiction written about ancient Rome. Conclave is a departure: suspenseful but not violent, steeped in religious history but taking place the day after tomorrow. Harris also sprinkles in some clerical gossip, such as the Canadian cardinals take on the fiasco surrounding the 1978 death of Pope John Paul I after only 33 days in office. Weve spent the last forty years trying to convince the world that he wasnt murdered, and all because nobody wanted to admit his body was discovered by a nun. A surprise result is almost de rigueur for an election novel, and Harris does not disappoint. Not only do the cardinals choose a dark horse, but the new pontiff guards an astonishing secret. Regardless of whether you have faith in God, the Church, or neither, Conclave will keep you richly entertained. Dennis Drabelle is a former contributing editor of Book World. Read more: The best mysteries and thrillers of 2016 "Pearl Harbor: Into the Arizona" (WETA and MPT at 9) PBS follows the first expedition into the sunken USS Arizona, revealing the devastation of the Pearl Harbor attack. Here, survivor Don Stratton, who appears in the one-hour documentary, observes the names of his fallen shipmates. (Story House Productions) Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X (CBS at 8) A lot of drama can happen in two hours. Queen Sugar (OWN at 10) Charley makes a guileful move in hopes of landing an investor. Premiere Little Weddings (Lifetime at 9) This three-week docuseries follows a family-run event-planning company geared toward people with dwarfism. DOCUMENTARIES Pearl Harbor USS Oklahoma: The Final Story (WETA at 8) PBS tells the story of this battleship, which capsized during the Pearl Harbor attack. Chicken People (CMT at 8) This two-hour documentary follows three people immersed in the world of champion chicken-show breeding. Special Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade 90th Celebration (NBC at 8) This one-hour special looks back at 90 years of the iconic annual tradition. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (ABC at 8) The Peanuts gang gathers for dinner in this annual Peanuts special The Hollywood Walk of Fame Honors (CW at 8) Actor Joe Mantegna and his daughter Gia host this two-hour tribute to memorable moments in Walk of Fame history. The special will include performances by Michael Bolton and the Beach Boys. SNL Thanksgiving (NBC at 9) The annual special highlights Turkey Day-themed skits from over the years. Revenge Body With Khloe Kardashian (E! at 9) Ahead of its January premiere, E! offers a sneak peek of this reality show, which finds the youngest Kardashian sister and a team of experts helping people get into shape, with their exes/enemies serving as motivation. Late Night Fallon (NBC at 11:34) Leslie Mann, Jonathan Groff, Machine Gun Kelly, Camila Cabello Colbert (CBS at 11:35) Danny DeVito, Max Greenfield, OK Go. Corden (CBS at 12:37) Dana Carvey, Miles Teller, Drop the Mic with Usain Bolt. Meyers (NBC at 12:37) Curtis 50 Cent Jackson, Katy Tur, K. Flay. Stephen K. Bannon, flanked by Donald Trumps campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, celebrate as Trump speaks during his victorious election-night rally in Manhattan. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) President-elect Donald Trumps chief White House strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, accepted $376,000 in pay over four years for working 30 hours a week at a tiny tax-exempt charity in Tallahassee while also serving as the hands-on executive chairman of Breitbart News Network. During the same four-year period, the charity paid about $1.3 million in salaries to two other journalists who said they put in 40 hours a week there while also working for the politically conservative news outlet, according to publicly available documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service. The salary payments are one part of a close relationship between the nonprofit Government Accountability Institute, a conservative investigative research organization, and for-profit Breitbart News. Under Bannons leadership, Breitbart has become the clarion of the alt-right, a term embraced by conservatives estranged from mainstream Republicans and decried by those on the left as racist and xenophobic. The news site has produced a torrent of incendiary articles about race, immigration, liberals and moderate Republicans. It has been one of the most prominent supporters of Trump and a leading critic of Hillary Clinton. Here's what you need to know about the man who went from Breitbart News chairman to Donald Trumps campaign CEO before his appointment as chief White House strategist and senior counselor. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) We think of ourselves as virulently anti-establishment, particularly anti- the permanent political class, Bannon told The Washington Post in January. Trumps selection of Bannon as a senior adviser has drawn widespread criticism from Democrats and others. The ties between the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) and Breitbart call into question the assertions the institute made in filings to the IRS that it is an independent, nonpartisan operation, according to philanthropic specialists and former IRS officials. Bannon launched the institute in 2012, shortly after taking the helm of Breitbart. He sought tax-exempt status from the IRS by describing the institute as an education group to help the United States and other countries maintain a higher quality of life through promotion of economic freedom, according to IRS filings. But from its inception, the institute has been closely tied through personnel and donations to a network of nonprofit organizations that have pushed a conservative agenda, in part through highly critical reports about Clinton and the Obama administration, according to IRS filings from multiple organizations. The institute received nearly $4 million in donations between 2012 and 2014 from two conservative charities Donors Trust and the Mercer Family Foundation. Under federal code, tax-exempt groups known as 501(c)3 public charities must not participate in, or intervene in [including the publishing or distributing of statements], any political campaign on behalf of [or in opposition to] any candidate for public office. Rob Reich, a political science professor at Stanford University who studies philanthropy, said the IRS regulations are poorly written and difficult to enforce. As a consequence, ideologically driven charities across the political spectrum are taking advantage of the agencys minimal oversight. The IRS is underfunded, understaffed and inept, he said. A spokeswoman for Bannon did not respond to questions for this article. GAI spokeswoman Sandy Schulz told The Post the institute is and always has been in total compliance with all 501(c)3 rules. She also said that the group has a bipartisan track record of working with top investigative units in media on award-winning reports. In addition to Breitbart, Schulz said the institute has worked with prominent mainstream media organizations, including The Washington Post. Post reporters have used the institute as a resource for investigative leads, but The Post has not published joint projects with the charity. But the charitys affiliation with conservative groups is clear in its IRS filings. The institutes board of directors included Rebekah Mercer, director of the conservative family charity, who has become an influential adviser to Bannon and Trump, disclosure forms show. Mercers father, Robert Mercer, a hedge fund billionaire, is a well-known conservative donor. Rebekah Mercer could not be reached for comment. Institute director Ron Robinson is the longtime president of Young Americas Foundation, a charity that is committed to ensuring that increasing numbers of young Americans understand and are inspired by the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values. Its motto: The Conservative Movement Starts Here. Robinson did not respond to a request for an interview. The institute is small, with typically 20 or fewer employees and interns, according to documents filed with the IRS and interviews with former institute workers who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they fear reprisal. But it paid its leaders well. They all work long hours, Schulz said. As the institutes co-founder and executive chairman, Bannon received $81,000 to $100,000 a year for working 30 hours a week from 2012 through 2015. At the same time, he oversaw Breitbart News as executive chairman from offices in Washington and Los Angeles. In 2011, Bannon joined Breitbarts board and ascended to the leadership position after the news sites eponymous owner, Andrew Breitbart, died of heart failure at 43 in 2012. Bannon immediately set about expanding Breitbarts reach and influence, openly touting its ideological mission. He had conference calls twice daily with reporters, with an emphasis on stories about immigration, refugees and crime that Bannon thought the mainstream media was ignoring. Bannon stepped down from the institute in August, spokeswoman Schulz said. The charitys financial disclosure documents are not available for 2016. She did not respond to questions about Bannon. The institutes communications strategist, Wynton Hall, a conservative writer and activist, received $600,000 in pay from 2012 through 2015. In its filings, the institute told the IRS that Hall worked 40 hours a week there. He has worked at Breitbart as a writer and social-media chief, and in 2013 was promoted to managing editor. Hall did not respond to a request for comment. In announcing Halls elevation to managing editor, Bannon described Breitbart at the time as an around-the-clock operation. Having a 24/7 editorial team focused on the site, coupled with senior editors generating content, allows us to continue Andrews legacy of waging fights that matter, Bannon said. The institutes president, secretary and treasurer is Peter Schweizer, a prominent conservative writer and at-large editor for Breitbart. He received $778,000 in salary from the institute for 2012 through 2015, the IRS filings show. The institute said Schweizer worked 40 hours a week. At the same time, he was researching and writing Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich, published by HarperCollins in April 2015. The paperback version of the book hit the New York Times bestseller list in August, during the final stretch of the presidential campaign. In the books acknowledgments, Schweizer cited the institute and said, I want to say a special thanks to those who have supported our research over the past couple of years, which has offended both Republicans and Democrats in Washington. Schweizer did not respond to a request for an interview but provided a statement through institute spokeswoman Schulz defending the organization as nonpartisan. The Government Accountability Institutes [GAI] track record investigating Republicans is clear and undeniable. Republicans like John Boehner, Spencer Bachus, Roy Blunt, Dennis Hastert, Ron Paul, Jeb Bush, Saxby Chambliss, Ander Crenshaw, Ray LaHood, Richard Lugar, Marco Rubio, Jerry Lewis, Bill Young, Dave Camp, Tom DeLay, and the National Republican Congressional Committee have all been the subjects of serious GAI reports and books, the statement said. As the NYT editorial board wrote, aside from Mr. Schweizer, the push to limit and disclose donations has come almost entirely from the left. The GAI pursues the facts, regardless of party. Schulz did not respond to questions about the financial and editorial links between the institute and Breitbart. The institute disclosed that it bought more than $200,000 in advertising at the Breitbart site from 2013 to 2015, IRS filings show. Breitbart and the institute continue to promote Clinton Cash. The charitys website includes an advertisement for the book, with links to another for-profit promotional website where visitors can buy it. Meticulously researched and scrupulously sourced, filled with headline-making revelations, Clinton Cash raises serious questions of judgment, of possible indebtedness to an array of foreign interests, and ultimately, of fitness for high public office, the promotional material says. The institutes vice president is a Tallahassee lawyer, Stuart Christmas. He said he worked work from 25 to 40 hours a week and accepted more than $480,000 in salary over four years. Christmas did not return repeated phones calls from The Post. In documents filed with charity regulators in New York, the institute listed an address that has also been used by Christmass law firm. In filings with federal regulators, the institute uses a post office box in Tallahassee as its address. The IRS has been exceedingly cautious about enforcing charity regulations relating to political activity since the 2013 disclosure that some IRS employees focused on tea party groups seeking tax-exempt status, triggering a fierce conservative backlash. Republican lawmakers launched investigations and publicly lambasted the IRS. Breitbart News was among the critics. Hall, the Government Accountability Institutes communications strategist, wrote a 2013 Breitbart article that described the enforcement effort as a scheme to target the tea party and conservative groups. In 2016, as the presidential campaign heated up, Schweizer and his institute colleagues focused less critical attention on Trump than Clinton. The institutes website displays no investigative reports on Trump this year but two on Clinton. One report released in the summer focused on the private email server that the Democratic presidential nominee used during her tenure as secretary of state and the deletion of thousands of her emails that she deemed private. Research by the Government Accountability Institute shows that Secretary Clintons email record contains anomalous patterns in her email history, the report says. Schweizer also showed a proclivity for criticizing Clinton over Trump in his articles for Breitbart. Before the election, he wrote one Breitbart piece about Trump, with the headline Donald Trumps Hypocrisies. Having written quite a bit on the question of hypocrisy, Schweizer wrote in February, I can say that there are often yawning gaps between what Trump criticizes others for and what he himself does. He wrote more than a dozen stories critical of Clinton, according to a search of the Breitbart website. Will the Clintons Finally Be Held Accountable for Their Corruption? Maybe, says the headline of a Schweizer story in Breitbart in January. Alice Crites and John Sullivan contributed to this report. The dining room at TapaBar. in Bethesda. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) (good) The restaurant on the corner of Norfolk and Fairmont avenues in Bethesda dares you not to check it out. Burnishing Woodmont Triangle since August, TapaBar catches the eyes of passersby with windows that show off an unrivaled interior. One wall hosts a garden of live greenery. Another collects woven bulls heads in red, white, blue and yellow. Even from the outside, the warm glow of the lights at the bar and the animated faces of diners make a compelling case for joining the party. TapaBar is the creation of brothers Alonso and Alvaro Roche, who own Bold Bite, the casual dispenser of burgers and salads next door (and in Union Station in Washington). The name of their new effort leaves no doubt about what to expect food-wise: a collection of Spanish small plates, most of them traditional. A 2003 graduate of LAcademie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Alonso Roche spent two years in Spain, where he worked as a line cook at Zaranda in Madrid, the recipient of a Michelin star six years ago before it closed (later resurfacing in Mallorca). The chef cures his own lomo (pork loin) and fuet (salami) and, in a tip of the hat to the cocktail of choice in Spain, highlights gin-and-tonics in multiple unusual flavors. The standout, El Chueca, involves an infusion of smoked paprika and garnishes of singed citrus in a generous, globe-shaped glass. Classic is the way to sail among the tapas. Lamb and pork meatballs are tender, light and luscious, draped with tomato sauce and enlivened with fresh mint, red onion and pine nuts. Of the potato dishes, tortilla Espanola demonstrates the art of simplicity. Sauteed potatoes layered with onion and egg add up to world-class comfort. Shrimp are lightly seasoned with hot dried chilies and served with soft cloves of garlic. More Italian than Spanish, thinly pounded chicken, lightly breaded and scattered with greens, nevertheless makes a nice addition to your butcher block table. Mushroom croquettes and garlic shrimp. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) Roasted cauliflower and piquillo puree. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) Good ingredients, minimally fussed over, translate to food you want to return for. A pause that refreshes between the richer dishes is a small bowl of pickled vegetables, including earthy beets and turmeric-stained cauliflower; this bite of something tangy makes possible the easy dispatch of, say, paprika-spiked pork sausages or mushroom croquettes, their thin shells giving way to a molten center of pureed mushrooms, bechamel and a whiff of truffle oil. Vegetarians have sufficient choices from which to compose a meal. But even carnivores find themselves competing for pan-roasted cauliflower offered with an emulsion of piquillo peppers, garlic, potatoes and cream, at once airy and rich. Take the advice of someone who hates being rushed and order no more than two dishes up front, then a few more as you finish them. The food flies out of the kitchen, and if you request your entire meal up front, youre likely to see everything descend on your table in about the time it takes to sing Feliz Navidad. Making matters worse, the food bearers simply watch while you attempt to clear landing strips for the arrivals. Otherwise, TapaBar is a comfortable and stylish place to graze. Pillows cushion the banquette in back, thick napkins feel like an upgrade and the handsome photographs of Rioja on the wall turn out to be from the owners sister in Madrid. (Credit for the overall look goes to Alvaro Roche, who studied design.) Drop by early on Thursday, and the action extends to live guitar music. People say were better than Jaleo, says a server, referencing the nearby Spanish eatery from the celebrated Jose Andres. Some people make that me beg to differ. TapaBars menu is haiku compared to Jaleos novel, owing perhaps to the kitchen that dinner-only TapaBar shares with lunch-only Bold Bite. More significantly, TapaBar produces more modest dishes. The patatas bravas are fine, for instance, but not so fascinating you cant surrender leftovers to your server. Dont skip the chocolate sauce with the churros. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) Dont skip the chocolate sauce with the churros. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) Lesson learned after three expeditions: The larger the plate, the smaller your expectations should be. Sliced rib-eye needs every bit of its shimmering salsa verde to make up for the lackluster flavor of the beef, and sliced tuna, also muted, gets bested by its border of pomegranate seeds, compressed apple and verjus (the pressed juice of unripened grapes). The rice-based dishes can be drags, too, especially the soupy seafood risotto. While the strapping entree crams in plenty of mussels, calamari and peas, the combination tastes flatly of saffron. For sure, the best part of the dish are the crisp croutons slathered with smoky aioli. More satisfying is rice stained black with squid ink and decorated with soft bands of calamari: ebony and ivory enhanced with a squeeze of lemon. Think tradition when ordering dessert. The finger-length, sugar-sprinkled churros are lovely by themselves, better after a swipe through chocolate sauce and better still in a restaurant that, even with its flaws, elevates the neighborhood dining scene in Bethesda. TapaBar Good 4901-A Fairmont Ave., Bethesda. 240-483-4004. tapabarbethesda.com. Open: Dinner Monday through Saturday. Prices: Tapas $5.50 to $15. Sound check: 73 decibels / Must speak with raised voice For stories, features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit WP Magazine. Follow the Magazine on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com. Anxo Cidery & Pintxos Bar in the Districts tiny Truxton Circle neighborhood serves a vast variety of ciders. Not far away is Uncle Chips cookies. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) Due east of Shaw in the District sits a lesser-known community that seems poised to transform into another hot spot: Truxton Circle. A small triangular neighborhood named for a roundabout demolished nearly 70 years ago, Truxton Circle is nestled within the borders of Florida Avenue and New Jersey Avenue NW, where the two thoroughfares meet Rhode Island and New York avenues. It is vastly residential, with tree-lined streets and picturesque rowhouses. And like the many other emerging pockets of Washington, the area has caught the eye of developers and house flippers. Its proximity to Shaw, Bloomingdale and Eckington makes it an easy add-on to any day in the District. Anxo Cidery & Pintxos Bar Among Truxton Circles newest additions is Anxo Cidery & Pintxos Bar, at 300 Florida Ave. NW. The Districts first cidery opened its doors over the summer and serves a variety of ciders by the glass, many of which are available by the bottle. The staff is knowledgeable and practical, offering a flight of the day of four ciders, as well as a boozy flight with ice cider and brandy. Anxo also has a selection of vermouth, sherry, beer, wine and cocktails. Its menu of pintxos (Basque tapas) features snacks such as cauliflower-stuffed piquillo (cauliflower puree, fried garlic and piquillo sauce) and chistorra montadito (chistorra sausage, padron pepper and aged manchego). The full dining menu includes dishes such as roasted quail, fried pig ears, a bone-in rib-eye and a cider-poached pulpo (octopus). Uncle Chips A few blocks from Anxo is Uncle Chips, 1514 North Capitol St. NW, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary of setting up shop in Truxton Circle this January. Owned by California transplant Shannon Boyle, Uncle Chips serves up its original chocolate chip cookie, as well as double chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and peanut butter cookies. (Pro tip: Grab one of the fliers on the front counter for a coupon for a free cookie with a purchase of an alcoholic beverage.) Vegans and gluten-free customers can try Boyles black bean brownie so popular that they often sell out. Alexander Litvinenko lies in a hospital bed in London, Nov. 20, 2006. Litvinenko died on Nov. 23, 2006, three weeks after he was poisoned in what friends said was a plot orchestrated by the Kremlin. (Natasja Weitsz/Getty Images) Nov. 20, 2006 It read like the plot of a John le Carre novel. Alexander Litvinenko, 43, began vomiting shortly after he had lunch on Nov. 1 with a man who gave him documents related to the recent killing of Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist who was a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russias policy in Chechnya. Politkovskaya had been fatally shot the previous month in Moscow. Litvinenko, a former KGB spy-turned-British intelligence agent and Putin critic, languished for several weeks in a London hospital, where he blamed Putin for his apparent poisoning. British authorities eventually figured out Litvinenko was poisoned with polonium-210, a radioactive isotope. Litvinenko, who died on Nov. 23, 2006, had unwittingly consumed it in some tea. In the ensuing months, police followed a trail of radioactive evidence all over London and identified two Russian nationals, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, as suspects. The men, who returned to Russia, denied the allegations. Russia later refused to extradite them to the United Kingdom. In January 2016, British authorities finally released a report that stopped short of definitively blaming Putin but said there was strong circumstantial evidence that the Russian State was responsible for Mr. Litvinenkos death. According to a Washington Post story on the findings, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said without apparent irony that the report could only further poison the atmosphere of our relations. Kevin Gover, 61, is the director of the Smithsonians National Museum of the American Indian. A member of the Pawnee tribe, he was born in Oklahoma. He and his wife, Anne Marie, live in Northern Virginia. Do you prefer being called Native American or American Indian? Im indifferent. [Laughs.] As a friend of mine says, theyre equally inaccurate, so you can use them interchangeably. What is accurate? What each tribal nation calls itself, whatever they choose to call themselves, then thats what they are first and foremost. An identity as a Native American is secondary to your tribal identity. And then your identity as an American is also part of your makeup. If you ask 10 Indians which they prefer, youll get at least five different answers. Theres so much that most Americans dont know about Native American history. Whats something we all should know? Just a basic civics lesson: That Indian tribes are governments. That they are part of the federalist system. Its not quite the system that was envisioned by the founders, which would have been much different and the tribes much more independent than they are. But certainly the existence of Indian tribes on a permanent basis was anticipated by the founders and the Constitution. Is there a question that Native Americans get tired of being asked? I think native people actually welcome questions and are very responsive. Its more that you meet somebody and they say, Are you Native American? And you say, Why, yes, I am. And they say, Well, you know, Im part ... whatever myself. Usually Cherokee. And quite often their ancestry includes some Native American royalty that doesnt exist. In a way, its off-putting. On the other hand, theyre trying to connect. Which is an interesting phenomenon that Americans somehow feel a need to show some native ancestry that demonstrates deeper roots than they might otherwise have. Indian leaders have talked about the pipeline protests at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota as a reawakening for tribes. Whats your sense of whats happening out there? Its something like that. Its not surprising, but what I cant explain is why this issue has caught fire and sort of unified Indian Country, because these kinds of things are going on all the time. Some insult or degradation of tribal property rights or tribal environmental interests are happening on an ongoing basis. But its quite a phenomenon. I havent seen something like this in many, many years. The reason the other tribes support them is they all have suffered some similar insult. How many tribes are there? There are 568 federally recognized tribes, and they range in size from a few dozen people to several hundred thousand people. I imagine you feel pressure to represent 568 different stories. How does that play out? When the museum first opened, we basically had 24 tribes represented. And each got to create their own little exhibit. One of the things that occurred to us was that were a national museum and so we really should try to tell national stories instead of smaller stories. And so thats the direction weve taken. Is the museum more for tribes or for visitors? In our actual spaces, here and in New York, it has to be for the visitors. We have other programs and projects that are more wide-ranging and really intended for the audience outside the museum. But inside the museum it has to be for the visitors who come, only a small percentage of whom are Native Americans. Now, were happy that when Native Americans do come to the museum, the overwhelming majority like what they see. If they didnt, we would have a real problem. But thats sort of preaching to the choir, and were trying to get to the congregation. The museum has been open 12 years. Are there any parts of its mission that you feel it hasnt met? The answer is yes. There are thousands of stories that remain untold that, over time, the museum can and will hopefully address. Our charter goes beyond the U.S. It goes to Canada, Mexico, Central America and South America. So there are thousands of communities out there that we havent reached and havent presented. So in one sense our work will never be done. Second, I think that what is expected of any museum will change over time. So what they did at the opening here was the right thing, which is to say, were still here and were diverse. Were not any one thing. And the museum delivered that message effectively. Now were looking at these national stories and thinking about how Americans learn and interpret history and how we might contribute to their doing that better. What were taught in school about Indians is mostly wrong. What we get from popular culture about Indians is almost entirely wrong. And so we shouldnt be surprised that people dont know very much thats true about Indians. So we think about what can we do about that. Whats the gravest threat for Native Americans today? Surely one of them, perhaps the largest, is the ignorance of the non-Native public about the Native American past and present. Because that leads to misunderstanding in evaluating contemporary issues. Take Standing Rock, for example. If you knew nothing about the history of the Sioux Nation, the United States, the Missouri River itself, you might well conclude, Well, look, everybody has to have a pipeline at some point, so why should they be any different? And that would be a perfectly rational point of view. But if you know what the history of the Sioux Nation is, you know that treaties were made with the Sioux Nation concerning these lands that no longer belong to the Sioux Nation. And you know that the development of the Missouri River for the past century has always, always involved taking of Indian land. They were building dams up and down the Missouri, and every Indian reservation along the way was flooded. Some of the best land was flooded, which only deepened their poverty and made it that much harder to climb out. So we should know that kind of history. We need to know that in order to know what equity is in this contemporary situation. It has almost become a cliche to ask Native Americans how they feel about the term Redskins. But is there any argument for the team using that name that you would accept? No. I experience that as a racist word. As an insult. As something thats meant to disparage people like me. And so, no, there is no acceptable use of that word. More Just Asking For stories, features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit WP Magazine. Follow the Magazine on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com. When I was 11 years old I teamed up with my cousin Margaret to enter a school traffic-safety contest. The challenge was to create a poster for a city-wide campaign. Margaret was a talented artist, so she did the illustration. I was a talented smart aleck, so I wrote the words. What we came up with was a stereotypical image of a wise old Chinese man with a Fu Manchu mustache. His hands were tucked away in the commodious sleeves of his stereotypically Chinese gold-brocaded robe. He was looking left and right. The slogan was: Confucius say, / Look both way! And yes, we won. We got congratulated, in person, by the mayor of New York. My point is, things have gotten a lot less lenient in our schools regarding matters of political correctness, particularly involving so-called cultural appropriation and/or perceived ethnic mockery. If some kids submitted our traffic-safety poster today, theyd be frog-marched to the principals office, lectured on norms of basic human decency, assigned to a political reeducation camp, etc. As a card-carrying knee-jerk liberal, I find myself on this issue and pretty much this issue alone at variance with most of my political peers. I am appalled at the modern sissification of discourse, the fragile-flower atmosphere, the coddling of sensibilities, particularly on college campuses. Alas, this has become a personal problem, because my lefty politics are the part of me that keeps me feeling young. It might be delusional, but at 65 it is all I have. And when I go off on this subject I dont find myself with a sympathetic audience, respectful in the presence of an esteemed elder; I see these young people making furtive eye contact with each other, the way one might do at the Thanksgiving table when old Uncle Edwin starts ranting about two boys kissing in the television set. But I do not yield, and this is worrisome territory. It makes me worry about our country. As vile as his overall message was, Donald Trump hit pay dirt when he ventured into this arena of political correctness. If Trump could get people like me reluctantly nodding their heads, he was on to something. How bad has it gotten? Its gotten so bad that it is sometimes no longer possible to tweeze ssatire from reality. Lets try an experiment, with a simple multiple-choice exam. Which two of the following four developments are actually true, and which two did I make up? This past Halloween, the University of Florida encouraged students to call a round-the-clock emergency mental-health hot line if they felt offended by someones costume. A language guide issued by the University of New Hampshire declared the word America to be offensive because its most common usage as a synonym for the United States culturally insults and marginalizes South Americans. The student newspaper at the University of California at Los Angeles apologized for an article associating tampon use with women, since some persons who menstruate identify as men, and some persons who do not menstruate identify as women. The University of Ottawa cancelled free yoga classes because of complaints that yoga is appropriating Indian traditions that have suffered under the cruel thumb of Western oppression. Okay, which two are real? Give up? I tricked you. They are all real. Sigh. For stories, features such as Date Lab, @Work Advice and more, visit WP Magazine. Follow the Magazine on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com. A polar bear emerges from a dip in the Beaufort Sea, on the northern coast of Alaska. At the village of Kaktovik, bears converge every fall, waiting for sea ice to form so they can head out and live adrift. (Jessica Matthews) Clouds roiled on the horizon, saturated and spitting as six of us waited in the sterile anteroom of the Northern Alaska Tour Companys aviation office in Fairbanks. A giant map of the state hung on the wall, and my gaze returned to it repeatedly. There we were, landlocked in Alaskas center. Further north, beyond the massive Yukon River valley, was Deadhorse, an oil town at the mouth of Prudhoe Bay. East of Deadhorse, cleaving to the landmass below it and perched on the blue Beaufort Sea, was our destination: Kaktovik, the only occupied village in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Here polar bears converge every fall, waiting for sea ice to form so they can head out and live adrift throughout the winter. Along with five friends, I was waiting for clearance to board a plane to Kaktovik and see polar bears up close. Ours was a day trip and tours on subsequent days were full, which meant that if we couldnt fly out of Fairbanks, we wouldnt get to Kaktovik. Autumn in Alaska is a volatile time of year, weather-wise. It can be sunny one day, snowy the next. In theory, thats part of the excitement. But waiting for our flight clearance, I was cursing the rain gods. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, polar bears have become a potent symbol of the impact of climate change. This is because they rely on sea ice for their survival they need it to hunt seals, their primary prey and climate change has contributed to the ices record low levels. A NASA researcher estimates that since 1979, more than 600,000 square miles of winter sea ice has melted away. Additionally, the ice that remains thinned by 65 percent between 1975 and 2012. As it has diminished, mortality among young and old polar bears has increased, and federal scientists have documented an overall population decline over the past 20 years. Polar bears traditionally congregate in and around Kaktovik, an Inupiat village of about 250 residents, while awaiting fall sea-ice formation. The bears are attracted to the village in part because of its annual bowhead whale hunt, allowed under native treaties. Residents may harvest up to three whales each year. Villagers rely on whale meat to subsist through the harsh winter, and they leave the blubber and other inedible (to humans) whale parts to satiate the hungry bruins. Counterintuitive as it may seem, the system has been working well for decades. Feed the predators and coexist. Its only in recent years that a tourism industry has cropped up around the practice, with people like me willing to travel above the Arctic Circle for the chance to visit this forlorn and distant place and see the bears in their native habitat. The Brooks Range, on the way to Alaskas far north, is one of the states most remote areas. (Jessica Matthews) Some environmentalists warn that global warming could destroy polar-bear habitats and ultimately lead to the species extinction. Its widely accepted that a loss of sea ice will force major adaptation upon the bears, and the population decline will probably continue. I hope we defy the gloomiest predictions, but I decided to take this fall trip in part because I wanted to see polar bears in the wild before it was too late. Just when I was beginning to wonder whether our trip would be canceled because of the quixotic Fairbanks weather, the rain stopped and tour company manager Matt Atkinson rushed my group to the tarmac. We hustled into the Piper Navajo Chieftain piloted by Heather Zulkanycz, buckled up, taxied to the runway and, after getting clearance from air-traffic control, took to the sky. Within minutes, civilization gave way to a lush and broad wilderness snaked with rivers. From cruising altitude, the muted colors of fall created a mosaic that mesmerized me until clouds descended and obliterated the view. After an hour of flying through fog, the gray broke to reveal an endless panorama of some of the steepest, most rugged mountains Id ever seen. The Brooks Range. For a moment, I forgot all about the bears and lost myself in this landscape, equal parts dazzling and intimidating. We refueled in Deadhorse and then flew another hour to Kaktovik, landing on the long, sandy strip that constitutes the Barter Island runway (I tried not to notice the ocean waves lapping at its edges.) Then Heather herded us into a waiting van and drove into town, a remarkably isolated outpost with buildings constructed of abandoned shipping containers. Kaktovik is the opposite of a tourist trap. There are no souvenir shops, no ice cream stands. This is a town with only a few dirt roads and very few cars. Locals drive four-wheelers. We saw a post office and a fire station, but no grocery store. We ate a quick lunch at a cafeteria-like restaurant and then met up with Vejborn Reitan, our local guide, and set out to see the bears. The first ones we saw were on the beach, en route from the airstrip to town. They were gathered around large chunks of blubber, refuse from a recently harvested whale. Three bears, their muzzles red with blood, ignored us as we slowed down to take a good look. But Vejborn moved us along. The locals are private about their traditions, reticent about discussing them and completely opposed to being photographed by outsiders. Polar bears engaged in ritualized play fighting in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Jessica Matthews) We tried to respect that, but it was hard. Seeing polar bears so close sent a jolt of energy through the van. We were mere feet from one of the biggest, fiercest animals in the world, and they were as oblivious to us as cows grazing in a field. Vejborn promised that wed see a lot more, and we quickly realized he was right. They were everywhere. Some loafed in the fresh air, others gnawed on large blocks of blubber. We saw very little separation of people and bears; there were no fences separating wildlife areas from residential ones. Vejborn ushered us onto a fishing boat and we set out on the ocean. Though high winds kept us close to shore, we saw even more bears. They were huge, with paws the size of a childs head, clearly visible through binoculars. But . . . they were also cute. Even bears with bloody muzzles that had been gorging themselves on whale leftovers looked sweet and innocent and cuddly easy to say with whitecaps and a boats hull between us. Add in the cubs, which were adorable, and my group of six was smitten. Our five-hour tour was more visual than it was educational. At least that was my initial reaction as an amateur naturalist, Ive been on more than my share of nature tours. I expected an impassioned lecture from our guide on bear biology and climate change, and I thought Id end the day armed with enough facts to feel like I could actually do something to help polar bears. (I realize the irony in this expectation; simply getting to Kaktovik burned significant amounts of fossil fuel, a major contributor to climate change.) But my time in Kaktovik left a much greater impression than a guides memorized spiel could have. A polar-bear tour group prepares to depart from Fairbanks for Kaktovik in a Piper Navajo Chieftain. (Jessica Matthews) As I stepped off the boat and onto the rocky shore, heart beating with the thrill of sharing the air, the world, really, with wild polar bears, I understood in a visceral way the intricate complexity of that world. I also saw clearly how insignificant I was in the big picture. This is one reason I travel to see how others live and to remind myself of my small role. My life couldnt be more different than those of the friendly residents of Kaktovik who waved as they passed us in 4x4s. Their weather is wind and rain, their skies gray and damp. And yet, despite their isolation, they are a vibrant community with traditions and a culture theyre not willing to exploit to appease the thousands of global tourists who flock to their village each fall. During my brief stay, I ate the tastiest chicken soup of my life, complete with talons in the broth, and stopped in at the eclectic Waldo Arms, one of two ramshackle (but very popular, especially among wildlife tourists and film crews) hotels in the village. I experienced the thrill of flying in a bush plane with an unflappable pilot who managed to land smoothly even as 20-knot crosswinds swept across our path. In other words, I spent a day in the life in a remote Alaskan village perched on what felt like the end of the Earth and saw with my own eyes the animal that has come to symbolize one of the greatest man-made threats of all time. Walker is a freelance writer and editor based in Boulder, Colo. More from Travel: A real Jurassic park lies underground at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center A ski trip for 3, with 1 grown-up: Actually, yes, it can be fun Now ski here: A users guide to U.S. resorts. [November 23, 2016] Hybrid Devices Market is Expected to Garner $30.92 Billion by 2022, Globally - Allied Market Research PORTLAND, Oregon and PUNE, India, November 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Hybrid Devices Market is likely to reach revenue of $30.92 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 25.6% from 2016 to 2022, according to new research published by Allied Market Research. Asia-Pacific is expected be the largest market for hybrid devices during the forecast period owing to the growth in personal use, educational institutions, and IT & telecom sectors. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140911/647229 ) The hybrid devices are categorized based on different types into convertible and detachable hybrid devices. Detachable devices constitute the highest market share due to their lightweight nature and convenience of use. Nonetheless, convertible devices are estimated to portray the fastest growth owing to multi-mode view and the availability of extra battery space in the device that increases battery life. Summary of the Hybrid Devices Market Report can be accessed on the website at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/hybrid-devices-market Devices with screen size 12 inch-15 inch are projected to dominate the market owing to their size and lighter weight. However, devices with screen size greater than 15 inches are expected to depict the fastest growth in the market pertaining to the superior space for better viewing capability. Asia-Pacific currently constitutes the highest market share in the global hybrid devices market on account of economic development in the region paired with increasing number of tch-savvy customers. LAMEA is expected to witness fastest growth over the forecast period, at a CAGR of 26.5% owing to the increasing number of internet users paired with the increasing acceptance of the hybrid devices in the educational institutions. Key findings of Hybrid Devices Market: Detachable hybrid devices market is expected to exhibit a remarkable growth during the forecast period, owing to the lighter weight as compared to convertible hybrid. Devices with screen size 12 inch-15 inch contribute the highest market share pertaining to the highly accepted size and light weight of the device as compared to the device above 15-inch screen size. Others segment, which comprises educational institutions, retail, healthcare, and government among others, depicts the strongest market for hybrid devices. Asia-Pacific region is expected to exhibit promising growth owing to the increasing adoption of hybrids by end users in the region. The market for hybrid devices comprises dominant players such as HP Development Company, L.P., Microsoft, Lenovo, and others. These market players primarily focus on the development of new features, launch of innovative products with exceptional variations, and adoption of R&D and acquisition as their key strategies to establish their position in the market. Read similar market research reports on Information, Infrastructure & Network Security at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/information-&-communication-technology-&-media/information-infrastructure-and-network-security-market-report About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: Rahul Thakur 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Direct: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1 (800) 792-5285 (U.S. & Canada) Fax: +1 (855) 550-5975 E-mail: [email protected] Website: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The State Department doesnt want to Grinch all over your holiday cheer. But the agency does have an important message for U.S. merrymakers bound for Europe this winter season. On Nov. 21, the department issued a Europe Travel Alert that urges U.S. citizens to exercise caution at holiday festivals, events, and outdoor markets. The threat: terrorist attacks. Credible information indicates the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Daesh), al-Qaeda, and their affiliates continue to plan terrorist attacks in Europe, with a focus on the upcoming holiday season and associated events, the post states. U.S. citizens should also be alert to the possibility that extremist sympathizers or self-radicalized extremists may conduct attacks during this period with little or no warning. Will Cocks, a spokesman with the departments Bureau of Consular Affairs, said the alert is not based on one specific threat but stems from a general heightened concern about terrorist activity. Nor is the department telling Americans to pull the pushpin on Europe. Were not telling people to avoid travel, he said, but to take this extra time to avoid the risks. [Preparing for Thanksgiving travel? Heres what to expect by rail, air or highway.] The alert reminds travelers to be extra vigilant and aware in a number of vulnerable environments, such as outdoor areas hosting special events like holiday markets and festivals, public transportation, tourist attractions, monuments, restaurants, hotels and places of worship, among other potential targets. In the foreign country, always be aware of your immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds when possible. Note quick exit escapes or routes. Also follow the instructions of local authorities, who are responsible for the safety of residents and visitors alike. Tune into local information and news sources. Be ready to adjust your travel plans and activities if necessary, and factor in extra time for additional screening. Cocks also encourages travelers to prepare for the unexpected. For example, compile a list of emergency numbers, such as the contact information for the U.S. embassy or consulate in your destination. To receive important updates, sign up for the departments Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) program. Before you head abroad, tell friends and family members how often you will check in with them and through which communication channels. In case of emergency, decide beforehand the best way to inform your loved ones that you are safe through a Facebook post, for instance, or an email blast. Unharmed Americans should relay the thumbs-up message to their loved ones, instead of family members contacting the embassy seeking your whereabouts. Cocks said this will allow the embassy staff to dedicate their efforts on people who need assistance. This will make everyone less nervous, he said. The department released similar advisories this summer and during last years holiday period. The travel alert expires Feb. 20. More from Travel: Still finding kicks on Route 66 That rescue dog doesnt need a home. He needs a flight companion to get there. 2016 holiday travel guide: When to drive, how to book and where to save Anne Arundel County The following incidents were reported by the Anne Arundel County police. For information, call 410-222-8050. BROOKLYN PARK AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Second Ave., 1:14 a.m. Nov. 13. Items were stolen from a motor vehicle. A Baltimore man, 18, and a Brooklyn man, 18, were charged with three counts of theft, and rogue and vagabond. GLEN BURNIE AREA HOMICIDES Sandsbury Ave., 200 block, 1:28 p.m. Nov. 12. A woman, 80, was killed by sharp-force trauma to her upper body at her home. A Glen Burnie man, 57, who is her son, was charged with first-degree murder. HANOVER AREA ROBBERIES Annapolis Rd., 2700 block, 10:11 a.m. Nov. 13. An armed male robbed a gas station and fled. Annapolis These were among incidents reported by the Annapolis Police Department. For information, call 410-268-9000. WEAPONS Frederick Douglass St., 1100 block, 10:54 p.m. Nov. 10. Officers responding to shots being fired found that a male youth, 17, had been shot. He was taken to a hospital with injuries that were nut life-threatening. Frederick Douglas St., 1100 block, 6:45 p.m. Nov. 11. An unloaded handgun was found in a field. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Boxwood Rd., 200 block, 4:30 p.m. Nov. 10 to 7:30 a.m. Nov. 11. Two snow blowers were stolen from a shed. Dorchester Dr., 5:30 p.m. Nov. 14 to noon Nov. 15. An ignition interlock device and credit cards were stolen from a vehicle. Eastern Ave. at Second St., 12:01 to 7 a.m. Nov. 2. A power washer and two pairs of sunglasses were stolen from a vehicle. Fairfax Rd., 1900 block, 10 p.m. Nov. 11 to 8:30 a.m. Nov. 12. A vehicle was entered; nothing was reported stolen. Fairfax Rd., 1900 block, 11 p.m. Nov. 11 to 10 a.m. Nov. 12. Two watches and a pair of shoes were stolen from a vehicle. Hoover St., 1100 block, 8 p.m. Nov. 11 to 8 a.m. Nov. 12. A briefcase, textbooks and USB drives were stolen from a vehicle. Hunting Wood Rd., 1400 block, 8:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 13. A handgun and jewelry were stolen from a residence. Lafayette Ave., 100 block, 6 p.m. Nov. 5 to 8 a.m. Nov. 6. Two wooden statues were stolen from a yard. Market St., 100 block, 9:30 p.m. Nov. 15 to 9:30 a.m. Nov. 16. Electronic devices, prescription medication and boxers of cards were stolen from a vehicle. McKendree Ave., 100 block, 7 a.m. Nov. 9 to 1 p.m. Nov. 13. A front door at a home was forced open; nothing was reported stolen. Merryman Rd., 400 block, 2:30 to 7 a.m. Nov. 12. A black 2004 Kawasaki ZX12 motorcycle was stolen. Muir Woods Ct., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 11. Jewelry and an iPad were stolen from a home. Muir Woods Ct., 6:15 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. Nov. 11. Jewelry and an iPad were stolen. Two male youths were charged with this burglary. Old Solomons Island Rd., 200 block, 9:50 to 9:55 a.m. Nov. 15. A bicycle was stolen from a bike rack. Rosecrest Dr., 1 p.m. Nov. 11. Two males who broke a window at a home fled when an alarm sounded. Two Annapolis males, 15 and 17, were also found to be in possession of stolen property from two more burglaries. Severn Ave., 100 block, 12:30 to 8 a.m. Nov. 14. A flashlight, cash and shotgun shells were stolen from a vehicle. Tyler Ave., 1100 block, 1 p.m. Nov. 11 to 11:50 a.m. Nov. 12. A laptop, meat, prescription medication and cash were stolen from a residence. Van Buren Dr., 1200 block, 7:45 to 8:15 p.m. Nov. 11. A basement door at a residence was forced open; nothing was reported stolen. Victor Pkwy., 5-10 a.m. Nov. 8. Cash was stolen from a home. MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Chinquapin Round Rd., 200 block, Nov. 10 to Nov. 11. A silver 2015 Honda Civic was stolen. Howard County These were among incidents reported by the Howard County Police Department. For information, call 410-313-2236. COLUMBIA AREA ROBBERIES Bird Song Pass, 10800 block, 8:34 p.m. Nov. 13. A male passenger in a taxi assaulted the driver, stole his wallet and fled. Centre Park Dr., 8800 block, 12:30 a.m. Nov. 13. Two armed males stole property from three other males, and fled. ASSAULTS Snowden River Pkwy., 8200 block, 10:30 p.m. Nov. 16. A male youth was assaulted as he left a fast-food restaurant. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Broken Land Pkwy., 6:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Nov. 9. Numerous vehicles were broken into at a Park & Ride lot. Clocktower Lane, 9500 block, 8:19 p.m. Nov. 14. Property was stolen from a home. Dobbin Rd., 6400 block, 4:33 a.m. Nov. 16. A front window at a business was broken; it was unknown whether anything was stolen. Dovecote Dr., 6500 block, Nov. 9. Pry marks were found on a rear basement door at a residence; entry was not gained. Gray Sea Way, 6300 block, Nov. 8 to Nov. 10. Two bicycles were stolen from a garage. Polished Stone, 9700 block, 10:30 a.m.-8:15 p.m. Nov. 16. Electronic devices and jewelry were stolen from a home. Roll Right Ct., 8800 block, 5:07 p.m. Nov. 16. Food was left at a house and a stove had been turned on; nothing was reported stolen. MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Canterbury Riding, 9100 block, 5:29 a.m. Nov. 15. A gold 1999 Toyota Corolla was stolen. Columbia 100 Pkwy., 8800 block, 10:45 a.m. Nov. 16. A white 2014 Mitsubishi was stolen. ELKRIDGE AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Deep Run Pkwy., 6600 block, Nov. 11 to Nov. 13. A window at a house was forced open; nothing was reported stolen. MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Dorsey Run Rd., 7100 block, 12:05 p.m. Nov. 16. A black 2008 Nissan Altima was stolen. Montgomery Rd., 7200 block, 12:39 p.m. Nov. 12. A 2009 Chevrolet Silverado was stolen. ELLICOTT CITY AREA ROBBERIES Town and Country Blvd., 9000 block, 7:33 p.m. Nov. 9. Two armed males stole cash from a male and fled. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Autumn Branch Lane, 3000 block, 11:30 a.m. to 2:51 p.m. Nov. 11. Property was stolen from a home. Town and Country Blvd., 8700 block, 4:56 p.m. Nov. 14. Cash was stolen from a home. MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Baltimore National Pike, 8400 block, 1:56 p.m. Nov. 10. A gray 2015 Infiniti Q50 was stolen. FULTON AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Scaggsville Rd., 11600 block, 7:30 a.m. Nov. 14. A middle school was broken into, and property was damaged. JESSUP AREA ROBBERIES Crestmount Rd., 7300 block, 1:16 a.m. Nov. 11. Two males assaulted a man and stole his wallet, cellphone and shoes. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Washington Blvd., 8800 block, Nov. 9 to 10. A cellphone was stolen from a business. LAUREL AREA MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Freestate Dr., 8800 block, 12:51 p.m. Nov. 15. A silver 2014 Toyota Tundra was stolen from a dealership. WEAPONS Washington Blvd., 10000 block, 1:02 a.m. Nov. 14. A man was found sitting in a vehicle with a handgun, drugs and drug paraphernalia. A Laurel man, 22, was charged with possession of a handgun, concealed dangerous weapon, use of a firearm in a felony, drug possession with intent to distribute and related charges. MOUNT AIRY AREA MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Shaffersville Rd., 1600 block, 6:18 a.m. Nov. 8. A black 2000 Jeep Cherokee was stolen. Shaffersville Rd., 1200 block, 4:16 p.m. Nov. 12. A green 2001 Yamaha Kodiac all-terrain vehicle was stolen. WEST FRIENDSHIP AREA ROBBERIES Frederick Rd., 12700 block, 9:07 p.m. Nov. 16. An armed male stole cash from a store and fled. WOODBINE AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Frederick Rd., 16400 block, 10:45 a.m. Nov. 13. An oven, a dishwasher and a vehicle were stolen. D.C. Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie said he will introduce emergency legislation to bar contributions to political action committees during non-election years in an effort to close what some view as a major campaign finance loophole before the start of 2017. Its important that we address the issue as soon as possible, before Jan. 1, McDuffie (D-Ward 5) said. Theres a lot of support for it from what weve seen from the public in general. McDuffie chairs the councils judiciary committee, which is considering five related campaign finance reform bills, some of which include a closure of the loophole. Those bills are unlikely to pass before the legislative period closes at the end of the year, according to legislative aides and activists, but McDuffies emergency bill would bypass many of the steps ordinarily required. He said Wednesday he is confident the council will approve it. The most comprehensive of the pending legislation is Attorney General Karl A. Racines bill, introduced by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) on his behalf, that would prohibit businesses and individuals from receiving contracts worth $100,000 or more from the District within two years of donating to a candidate or elected official. Racine said he plans to renew his push for campaign finance reform after the new council convenes in January. He said he expects support from Mendelson and council members Elissa Silverman (I-At Large), Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), Robert White (D-At Large) and newly elected Trayon White (D-Ward 8). Racines proposal to stop government officials from awarding contracts to donors is key, said Walter Smith, executive director of the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law & Justice. Thats a pretty strict rule, he said. And if it is effectively enforced, it should serve to advance what I think is the overall goal of all the bills put together, which is to not only limit the ability of high donors to essentially influence legislation or govern action on their behalf, but also to limit even the appearance of that happening. Since 2012, three D.C. Council members have pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges. Federal prosecutors also probed illegal campaign financing of Vincent C. Grays 2010 mayoral campaign, in which six of Grays former campaign aides pleaded guilty but Gray was never charged. Racine has also been accused of a conflict of interest. In February, John Falcicchio, chief of staff to D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, noted that the attorney general used donations from companies who did business with the city to pay off his campaign debt. Racine, the Districts first elected attorney general, has said he did not violate laws when collecting the money. Mirroring Racines legislation is a bill proposed by council member David Grosso (I-At Large) that would create a public financing system designed to encourage more people to run for office. Under the plan, called the Citizens Fair Elections Act, candidates who seek small campaign contributions defined as less than $100 and meet other requirements would receive matching public funds at a 5-to-1 rate. Its the one solution that doesnt just turn off the spigot of big money coming into our election, said Zach Weinstein of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). It also brings more people in and amplifies their voices. So its kind of a proactive solution; it doesnt just say heres a list of things you cant do when youre running for office in D.C. Weinstein is also the lead organizer with the D.C. Fair Elections coalition, a grass roots effort that comprises about 70 organizations that has gathered petition signatures about 3,000 by Weinsteins count from D.C. residents who support the bill. In May, PIRG released a study authored by Weinstein that found winning candidates for D.C. Council, mayor and attorney general during the 2012 and 2014 elections received less than 5 percent of their funds from D.C. residents who gave less than $100. Such residents were outnumbered sevenfold by contributions from residents donating more than $100. The study also found that under the Citizens Fair Elections Act, small donors those donating double-digit amounts would have accounted for 64 percent of fundraising for competitive candidates. Separate research compiled by Demos, a liberal public-policy organization, found that campaign contributions during the 2014 election disproportionately represented rich white donors: 59 percent of contributors to council campaigns earn more than $100,000 a year, compared with a quarter of D.C.s overall population. And about two-thirds of donors are white, while the citys white population is 37 percent. But, as D.C. Appleseeds pro bono partner Arent Fox LLP found in a study based on the mayoral and council primaries from 2006 to 2014, a public financing system would cost the District $15 million to $20 million per four-year election cycle. That represents a small fraction of the Districts overall $13 billion budget. In other jurisdictions that have increased participation by small donors, candidates who accept matching public funds are also barred from accepting bigger donations, said Smith, D.C. Appleseeds executive director. Last November, Maine voted to reward candidates with more funding if they raise a certain number of small contributions, strengthening the states Clean Elections Act. And on a more local level, Seattle passed an initiative to provide voters with democracy vouchers that they can donate to local candidates. The program the first such initiative in the nation also lowered contribution caps and, like Racines bill, barred companies from donating to city elections if they receive large contracts from the government. Betsy DeVos is hardly a household name, but the Michigan billionaire and conservative activist has quietly helped change the education landscape in many states, spending millions of dollars in a successful push to expand voucher programs that give families taxpayer dollars to pay for private and religious schools. Now DeVos is poised to spread her preference for vouchers nationwide. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named her as his nominee for education secretary, a pick that suggests he aims to follow through with campaign promises to expand the movement toward school choice including vouchers and charter schools in an effort to break up a public education system that he has called a government-run monopoly. Trumps pick has intensified what already was a polarized debate about school choice. Advocates for such choice see in the Trump administration an extraordinary opportunity to advance their cause on a national scale, whereas teachers unions and many Democrats fear an unprecedented and catastrophic attack on public schools, which they see as one of the nations bedrock civic institutions. [Pence accomplished in Indiana what Trump wants for national education] Jim DeMint, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, cheered DeVos on Wednesday, saying that the school choice movement will have a champion in the Education Department. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said that Trumps pick makes it loud and clear that his education policy will focus on privatizing, defunding and destroying public education in America. As a billionaire Republican power broker with no professional experience in schools, DeVos is an unconventional choice to lead the federal education bureaucracy. And while her views on choice are well known, it is unclear how she would lead a department with responsibilities that sprawl from administering student loans to enforcing civil rights in schools. [Trump could reverse Obamas actions on college sex assault, transgender rights] She has said little about Common Core, for example, and her ties to organizations that support the K-12 academic standards including as a board member of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, started by former Florida governor Jeb Bush raised concern for Trump supporters, who saw her nomination as a sign that the president-elect is wavering on his vehement opposition to the standards. From her Twitter account Wednesday, DeVos linked to a website where she wrote that she had initially believed in the standards but became disenchanted with them as they got turned into a federalized boondoggle. I am not a supporter period, she wrote. Many Republicans on Capitol Hill are hoping that DeVos will shrink the Education Departments role in public schools and leave more decisions to states and districts. Betsy DeVos is an excellent choice, said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, adding that he expects DeVos to stop the Obama administrations effort to turn the federal government into a national school board. Alexander led a recent bipartisan effort to pass the Every Student Succeeds Act, which shifted power to the states. President-elect Donald Trump has picked Betsy DeVos for education secretary. Here's what you need to know about the conservative activist and billionaire donor. (The Washington Post) Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member of the education committee, said she plans to scrutinize DeVoss record and ask her about her qualifications, priorities and plans. Murray also said she would press DeVos to explain given Trumps statements about immigrants, women, Muslims and other groups how she will ensure the safety and respect of all students, of all backgrounds, all across this country. DeVos, 58, grew up in Michigan, where her father, Edgar Prince, made a fortune supplying auto parts to manufacturers. Her brother is Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, one of the most profitable private security firms during the Iraq War. Blackwater came under scrutiny after its guards shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007. She graduated from Calvin College, a Christian liberal arts school in Grand Rapids, Mich., and married Dick DeVos Jr., an heir to the Amway direct-sales fortune. Together, they founded the Windquest Group, which invests in technology and manufacturing. They wield powerful influence in Michigan, where she is a former chair of the state GOP and he was the Republican nominee for governor in 2006. They also are major donors to GOP candidates and conservative causes nationwide. During the 2016 cycle, they gave nothing to Democrats and $2.7 million to Republican candidates and political action committees, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. The DeVoses also have donated millions of dollars to the arts and to Christian organizations. But they are perhaps most ardent about their support for school choice, leading a movement to promote vouchers and charter schools for years. [Kennedy Center gets $22.5 million gift from DeVos family] Betsy DeVos founded and serves as chairman of the American Federation of Children and its associated political arm, a platform she has used to support candidates who endorse vouchers and charter schools and to attack candidates who dont. Three decades ago, there were no state voucher programs. Now, according to the advocacy group EdChoice, about 400,000 children in 29 states are going to private schools with the help of public dollars. DeVos is working toward a scenario in which all parents, regardless of their Zip code, have had the opportunity to choose the best educational setting for their children, she told Philanthropy magazine in 2013. Trump has proposed redirecting $20 billion in federal spending toward a grant program for states to expand vouchers and charter schools. He has also said that he wants to use the bully pulpit of the presidency to persuade states to devote another $110 billion toward vouchers enough, he has said, for every child living in poverty to have a scholarship of $12,000 toward the school of his or her choice. Research on voucher programs shows mixed results. Several recent studies have found that voucher recipients math and reading test scores decline after they transfer from public to private schools. But other studies have found that voucher recipients are more likely to enroll in and complete college. Public school advocates fear that redirecting dollars from public to private schools not only weakens public education but also gives taxpayer support to institutions that dont have the same obligation to serve all students including those in need or who have learning disabilities. [Quality controls lacking for D.C. school voucher program] Vouchers also send money to religious schools, a fact that has provoked political resistance and legal challenges. Americans are always free to send their children to private schools and religious schools, but raiding the public treasury to subsidize private businesses and religious organizations runs against the public trust and the Constitution, said Rabbi Jack Moline, president of Interfaith Alliance, adding that Trumps nomination suggests he has little regard for . . . the constitutional principle of separation of church and state. But proponents say families should be allowed to choose where their children learn. We cannot rest as a nation until every kid gets a chance to attend a great school, Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.), chairman of the Congressional School Choice Caucus, said in a statement hailing DeVoss nomination. Trumps embrace of DeVos shows a willingness to look outside his circle of loyalists. DeVos donated money to Republican primary contenders Bush and Carly Fiorina before throwing her support behind Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.). She was never an enthusiastic Trump supporter, telling the Washington Examiner in March that she considered him an interloper who does not represent the Republican Party. She had warmer words for Trump on Wednesday. I am honored to work with the President-elect on his vision to make American education great again. The status quo in ed is not acceptable, DeVos tweeted. Together, we can work to make transformational change to ensure every student has the opportunity to fulfill his or her highest potential. THE DISTRICT Four charged in marijuana case D.C. police on Tuesday arrested four people and charged them with selling marijuana out of a second-floor storefront on Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park. Authorities said police seized 3.25 pounds of marijuana in a raid Tuesday. Arrest affidavits say police negotiated the purchase of $710 worth of marijuana in October through a website called leafedin.org, a networking site for the Districts pot community. It is legal to possess and cultivate small amounts of marijuana in the city. Police identified the suspects as Conner MacLeod Donahue, 24, of Woodbridge, Va.; Marvin Alphonzo Harvison, 42, of Southeast; Sidi Mohamed Chendid, 29, of Alexandria, Va.; and Gary Little, 29, of Northeast. All were charged with distribution of marijuana. Peter Hermann Man fatally shot in Southeast A man was killed by gunfire Tuesday night in Southeast Washington, D.C. police said. The shooting occurred about 8:40 p.m. in the 3300 block of 22nd Street SE. Police identified the victim as Marquette Tyler, 26, of Southeast. Peter Hermann MARYLAND Woman injured in house fire An elderly woman suffered critical injuries Wednesday during a house fire in Prince Georges County. Another woman was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries. She escaped on her own from the burning home. The elderly woman, who was disabled, was rescued by firefighters. The fire happened about 4 a.m. in the 6300 block of Sheridan Street in Riverdale Heights. Dana Hedgpeth Third arrest in death of student Authorities in Canada said they have arrested and charged a third suspect in the fatal beating of a Maryland man. Julian Jones, 26, who was a University of Baltimore student, was killed Nov. 5 in Toronto after a bachelor party for a friend. He was attacked by a group of people and killed outside a bar, police said. Police in Toronto said Monday that they charged Andrew C. OBrien, 28, with second-degree murder in Joness death. They had previously arrested and charged two other men Kamari Folkes, 24, and Kenneth Omorogbe, 25 in connection with the murder. The suspects are from Toronto. Dana Hedgpeth Community of Hope helped Maria McNair and Kelfa Taylor secure jobs. With them are Desmond, Ziyhir and Khalil. Once you have the kids, its not about you and what you want to do, Kelfa said. (John Kelly/The Washington Post) They first saw each other in 2012, outside the Forestville mall. Kelfa Taylor hadnt planned what exactly he was going to say to Maria McNair if she agreed to speak with him I was just gonna go, just think of something to keep her busy and maybe go out, he recalled with a chuckle recently but, as it happened, she wasnt interested in talking. Kelfa was more successful the next time he tried to strike up a conversation at the mall. He got Marias phone number, they texted and talked, they went on one date, then another. Eventually they became a couple, inseparable. More than a couple, actually. There was Marias young son, Desmond, and Kelfas son, Kamari. They found an apartment in Southeast Washington in 2013 and made plans to move in together. The weekend of the move, Kelfa got a call at the McDonalds that he managed. They said my son, he passed away, Kelfa said. Kamari had been beaten to death by the boyfriend of the 4-year-olds mother. Many tribulations would follow, lost jobs among them, but through it all one thing was constant: She was there with me, Kelfa said of Maria. She was there through everything. Through ups, downs, she was there. . . . It would have been easy for her just to leave me. She didnt do that. She stayed by my side. And so did Community of Hope, a charity that aids homeless families in the District and is a partner in The Washington Post Helping Hand. Kelfa and Maria are both 26 now. I met them at Community of Hopes main office in Southwest after they had gotten off work. Kelfa works at a restaurant in the Pentagon. Maria is a driver for a MetroAccess contractor. Desmond, 5, was busy coloring. So were Kelfa and Marias two boys: Ziyhir, 2, and Khalil, 19 months. After Kamaris death, the couple lived in a series of apartments, never too long in any one because money was so tight. Then, in 2015 they hit what Kelfa called rock bottom. I told Desmond that we were living in a hotel, Maria said. It was really the citys troubled family shelter at D.C. General. These boys would never leave my sight, Kelfa said. The family lived there for three months, and every day they were determined to figure out how to leave. Kelfa and Maria were able to secure a subsidized apartment through a District program called rapid rehousing. With their situation relatively stable, they started to plan for the future. Thats where Community of Hope came in. They both have always, from the very beginning, shown a deep commitment to increasing their income, said Sheldon Good, Community of Hopes employment and adult education team coordinator. Sheldon was among the Community of Hope counselors who met weekly with Maria and Kelfa to help them examine their options. Within two months, Maria had landed her job, following up on a tip Sheldon provided. In August, Kelfa started at his job. I sent him a lead, and he ran with it, Sheldon said. Kelfa is planning to go back to school in January for pharmacy studies. Long term, hed like to run his own business. I appreciate everything Sheldon has done, Maria said. I mentioned that most of the families I meet are headed by single mothers who struggle alone with their children. Its not going to work like that, Kelfa said. Its all about the kids. Once you have the kids, its not about you and what you want to do. Its not easy for Maria and Kelfa to talk about their time at the shelter. Its embarrassing, not how they see themselves. The only thing Im proud to say is that we did stand beside each other, Kelfa said. No matter what we went through, no matter what decisions we made, we made them together. We made it work. It takes two. Both have Thursday off work Paid, Kelfa happily pointed out and they know what theyll be doing. Turkey and macaroni, sweet potatoes, a couple other things, Maria said, listing the things shell cook. Theyll spend Thanksgiving the way they like it: as a family, together. Giving thanks and giving money Community of Hope is among the local nonprofit organizations The Washington Post has partnered with this holiday season. Said Sheldon, the charitys employment czar: People often come to me and say, I need you to help me find a job. I cant exactly do that. I can give you the resources and tools to do that. Your tax-deductible contribution can help provide those resources, help a parent find a job, help keep a family together. To give online, visit posthelpinghand.com. To donate by mail, make a check payable to Community of Hope and mail it to: Community of Hope, Attn: Helping Hand, 4 Atlantic St. SW, Washington, D.C., 20032. Twitter: @johnkelly For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/johnkelly. LOUDOUN COUNTY These were among incidents reported by the Loudoun County Sheriffs Office and the Leesburg, Middleburg and Purcellville police departments. For information, contact your police or sheriffs department. ASHBURN AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Benfold Sq., 42000 block, 10 p.m. Nov. 16 to 6:30 a.m. Nov. 17. Items were stolen from a vehicle entered by damaging a window. Boca Field Terr., 23000 block, 3 p.m. Nov. 15 to 11:30 a.m. Nov. 16. A gun was among items stolen from a vehicle. Maltese Falcon Sq., 44400 block, 10:05 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. Nov. 9. Jewelry was stolen from a home. VANDALISM Courtland Dr., 44000 block, 5:40 p.m. Nov. 14 to 8:25 a.m. Nov. 15. An office window was damaged. Redfield St., 42800 block, 6:45 a.m. Nov. 15. A vehicle window was damaged. Redfield St., 42900 block, 5:30 to 8:04 a.m. Nov. 15. Windows on two vehicles were damaged. Wintergrove Dr., 43100 block, 6:57 a.m. Nov. 15. A vehicle window was damaged. HAMILTON AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Aunt Lonas Lane, 16000 block, 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Nov. 16. Items were stolen from a vehicle entered by breaking a window. Hamilton Station Rd. and Washington and Old Dominion Trail, 4 to 5 p.m. Nov. 16. Items were stolen from a vehicle. LEESBURG AREA ASSAULTS Crestwood St., 500 block, 6:56 p.m. Nov. 15. A domestic assault was reported. Dry Mill Rd., 400 block, 9:37 a.m. Nov. 17. An assault was reported. Fort Evans Rd., unit block, 1:07 a.m. Nov. 11. A domestic assault was reported. Fort Evans Rd., 100 block, 11:23 a.m. Nov. 11. Assault threats were reported. Fort Evans Rd., 600 block, 10:55 p.m. Nov. 12. A domestic assault was reported. Heritage Way, unit block, 2:24 a.m. Nov. 11. An assault was reported. Market St. E., 300 block, 3:38 a.m. Nov. 11. An assault was reported. Plaza St., unit block, 10:04 a.m. Nov. 12. A domestic assault was reported. Vanderbilt Terr., 700 block, 11:01 a.m. Nov. 12. Assault threats were reported. Village Market Blvd., 1600 block, 4 p.m. Nov. 15. An assault was reported. Village Market Blvd., 1600 block, 4:01 p.m. Nov. 15. An assault was reported. Villagae Market Blvd., 1600 block, 4:02 p.m. Nov. 15. An assault was reported. Village Market Blvd., 1600 block, 4:03 p.m. Nov. 15. An assault was reported. PEEPING TOM INCIDENT Monroe St., unit block, 6:24 a.m. Nov. 12. A peeping Tom incident was reported. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Crosstrail Blvd., 100 block, 1:48 p.m. Nov. 13. Shoplifting was reported. Edwards Ferry Rd., 800 block, 10:07 p.m. Nov. 12. A theft was reported. Edwards Ferry Rd., 900 block, 3:07 p.m. Nov. 16. Shoplifting was reported. Fort Evans Rd., 200 block, 6:11 p.m. Nov. 13. A theft was reported. Fort Evans Rd., 100 block, 4:38 p.m. Nov. 15. A theft was reported. Lee Ave., 800 block, 7:03 p.m. Nov. 16. A theft was reported. Max Ct., 100 block, 8:42 p.m. Nov. 10. Fraud was reported. Meadows Lane, 200 block, 8:41 p.m. Nov. 14. Fraud was reported. Millbrook Terr., 300 block, 8:32 a.m. Nov. 12. Credit card fraud was reported. Monroe St., unit block, 2:30 p.m. Nov. 14. A theft was reported. MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Potomac Station Dr., 600 block, 2:55 a.m. Nov. 12. A vehicle was reported stolen. VANDALISM Coton Hall St., 19100 block, 9 to 10 p.m. Nov. 15. A vehicles window was damaged by a pellets from a BB-type gun. Red House Dr., 43000 block, 9:30 p.m. Nov. 15 to 4:45 a.m. Nov. 16. Windows of two vehicles were damaged by pellets from a BB-type gun. Red House Dr., 43600 block, 4 p.m. Nov. 15 to 5:13 a.m. Nov. 16. Windows on three vehicles were damaged. Vestal Gap Dr., 42000 block, 10:30 p.m. Nov. 15 to 9 a.m. Nov. 16. A vehicle window was hit with pellets from a BB-type gun. PURCELLVILLE AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Piggott House Pl., 37000 block, Oct. 28 to Oct. 29. Two political signs were stolen from a residence. VANDALISM Paxson Rd., 35000 block, 8 p.m. Nov. 15 to 8 a.m. Nov. 16. A mailbox was damaged. STERLING AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Cameron Ct. N., 200 block, noon Nov. 5 to noon Nov. 8. Documents were stolen from a vehicle. Commerce St., 100 block, 9 p.m. Nov. 14 to 8:45 a.m. Nov. 15. A wallet and other items were stolen from a vehicle entered by damaging a window. VANDALISM Sky Lane and Algonkian Pkwy., 12:35 p.m. Nov. 10. A deputy on patrol found graffiti, broken bottles and burned items under a bridge. Friday, Nov. 25 The Nutcracker Gainesville Ballet performs the holiday classic. 2 and 7 p.m., Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Cir., Manassas. 703-993-7759. hyltoncenter.org. $35; age 12 and younger $17. American Legion dinner The public is invited to dinner with a different special every week. Proceeds support local veterans and the community. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Woodbridge American Legion, 3640 Friendly Post Lane, Woodbridge. 703-494-4304. vapost364.org. $5-$15. Holiday tree lighting Additional attractions include carriage rides, balloon art and holiday carolers. Canned goods will be collected for Action in Community Through Service. 6-8 p.m. Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center, 14900 Potomac Town Pl., Woodbridge. 703-580-1559. stonebridgeptc.com. Free. Manassas Remembers 9/11 First-person accounts of the terrorist attacks from community members, first responders, eyewitnesses and victims. Through Sunday. Manassas Museum, 9101 Prince William St., Manassas. 703-257-8452. manassasmuseum.org. Free. Not for Glory: Manassas Veterans and the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan This exhibit, produced in partnership with the Freedom Museum, uses first-person narratives to tell the stories of local veterans who served in the countrys most recent conflicts. Through Feb. 19. Manassas Museum, 9101 Prince William St., Manassas. 703-368-1873. manassasmuseum.org. Free. Twists and Turns An exhibit of mixed media by Lauren Jacobs of Woodbridge and fused glass by David and Dale Barnes of Sterling. Through Dec. 5. Artists Undertaking, 309 Mill St., Occoquan. 703-494-0584. theartistsundertaking.com. Free. Saturday, Nov. 26 A Christmas Carol Rooftop Productions stages Charles Dickenss holiday classic. Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. Through Dec. 11. Candy Factory, Kellar Theater, 9419 Battle St., Manassas. center-for-the-arts.org. $20; seniors and students $18. The Nutcracker Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky star in Northern Virginia Ballets production. 2 and 6 p.m., Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Cir., Manassas. 703-993-7759. hyltoncenter.org. $35; seniors $25; age 17 and younger $20. Sunday, Nov. 27 Bird walk The guided tour will examine a variety of habitats. Dress for the weather, and bring binoculars and cameras. 8 a.m. Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area, 15020 Deepwood Lane, Nokesville. 703-499-4954. alliance@pwconserve.org. pwconserve.org. Free. Dale City farmers market 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Dale City Commuter Lot (behind Center Plaza Shopping Center), Dale Boulevard, Dale City. 703-670-7112 ext. 227. pwcparks.org. Bingo Proceeds support local veterans. Doors open at noon Sundays with games beginning at 2 p.m. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. Mondays with games beginning at 7:15 p.m. Woodbridge American Legion, 3640 Friendly Post Lane, Woodbridge. 703-494-4304. $15 minimum. Monday, Nov. 28 Job search network group Plus discussion of various topics related to the search process. 1-3 p.m. House of Mercy, 8170 Flannery Ct., Manassas. 703-659-1636. Free. Bingo Proceeds support Dale City Knights of Columbus activities and charities. Doors open at 6 p.m. with games beginning at 7:30 p.m. VFW Post 1503, 14631 Minnieville Rd., Dale City. 703-491-2378. $9 minimum. Cabin Branch Quilters meeting 7 p.m. Lake Ridge Baptist Church, 12450 Clipper Dr., Lake Ridge. 571-285-5405. cabinbranchquilters.org. Free. Prince William Art Society meeting David Tyson, artistic director of Weaver of Tales Theatre Co., presents a program, Masks of the Commedia dellArte. 7:30 p.m. Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr., Lake Ridge. 703-490-5363. princewilliamartsociety.org. Free. Wednesday, Nov. 30 Paintings by Debra Keirce The Ashburn resident paints miniature realistic pieces, smaller than 25 square inches. Artists reception 12:15-1:30 p.m. Through Dec. 21. Northern Virginia Community College, 6901 Sudley Rd., Manassas. 703-323-3000. nvcc.edu. Free. Lake Ridge Toastmasters Club Members 18 and older develop their public speaking and leadership skills. 7:30-9:15 p.m. Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr., Lake Ridge. 703-491-3020. contact-8913@toastmastersclubs.org. lakeridge.toastmastersclubs.org. $34-$64 membership fee. Swing Machine Big Band A concert of traditional and contemporary holiday songs performed with the Combined Prince William Chorus. 7:30 p.m. Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Cir., Manassas. 703-993-7759. hyltoncenter.org. $10. Compiled by Sarah Lane To submit an event Email: pwliving@washpost.com Fax: 703-392-1406 Details: Announcements are accepted on a space-available basis from public and nonprofit organizations only and must be received at least 14 days before the Thursday publication date. Include event name, dates, times, exact address, prices and a publishable contact phone number. A man was killed by gunfire Tuesday night in Southeast Washington, and another man was shot and wounded hours later and two blocks away, according to D.C. police. Authorities said they do not believe the two shootings in the Shipley Terrace neighborhood, near Suitland Parkway and Alabama Avenue, are related. The first shooting occurred about 8:40 p.m. in the 3300 block of 22nd Street SE. A police report says a man was found lying on a sidewalk unconscious and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police said the man was pronounced dead at an area hospital. He was identified as Marquette Tyler, 26, of Southeast. About 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, police said a man was shot and wounded in the 3300 block of 23rd Street SE., about a five-minute walk from the earlier shooting. The victims condition was not immediately available, but police said he was being treated at an area hospital. No arrests have been made in either shooting. A teenage boy who continued to be held in federal detention centers years after an immigration judge determined that he did not have to be deported will be returned to his mother under a ruling Tuesday by a federal judge in Alexandria. Judge James C. Cacheris of the Eastern District of Virginia chastised federal officials for depriving the boys mother, Dora Beltran, of a chance to make her case to get back her son after he ran away from their Texas home at the age of 14 and was detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents in December 2013. Now nearly 18, he was held at centers in five states, including Virginia, as his mother fought to bring him home. Cacheris found that the Office of Refugee Resettlement did not offer due process to Dora Beltran to challenge federal officials who continued to hold her son after they raised questions about her ability to supervise him and keep him safe. What care best suits the well-being of a child has not been, and likely cannot be, reduced to a formula capable of producing a ready answer, Cacheris wrote in his decision finding that the teenager should be released. That ORR undertook to make such a subjective judgment without any form of hearing . . . deprived [Beltran] of a meaningful opportunity to present her case. Dora Beltrans teenage son has been ordered released after years of being held in detention centers. A judge Tuesday said she should have been given a hearing to try to get her son home. (N/A/Family Photo) Because state courts generally handle child-custody cases and because the boy is soon to be an adult, Cacheris opted to order his release rather than set a new hearing on Beltrans challenge to the federal detention. As a minor, the boy was identified in court papers only by his initials. Since he was first picked up and deemed an unaccompanied minor, he has been shuttled to detention centers and his mother has seen him only once. [Locked up and in limbo: A mother fights for custody of her son] Cacheris called the process that ORR officials used to deny Beltran custody opaque. A home study that recommended separation, he added, did so in spite of, rather than due to, her capacity as a parent. She was given one opportunity to ask for reconsideration, which also was denied with only the briefest explanation that her son needed more structure than she could provide. Mark Weber, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday that the office is reviewing the judges order. We are gratified that the court recognized long-standing constitutional law that the government simply cannot interfere with the parent child relationship without due process, said Beltrans attorney, Susan Watson. She said both mother and son are exceedingly happy. Knowing the decision was coming, she said, Beltran had been too nervous to buy a turkey or plan on a Thanksgiving dinner. It is unclear whether her son, who is still in custody in California, will make it home in time for the holiday. Beltran and her family came to the border town of Rio Bravo, Tex., from Guatemala in 2005. Her son fell in with members of a drug cartel, who he said in a court filing pretended to befriend him. He was arrested for theft and assault, among other crimes, and was addicted to drugs, he said in a lengthy court filing. Beltran moved the family to Corpus Christi in 2013 in hopes of getting her son out of trouble. But he said that he ran back to Rio Bravo a few months later out of desperate addiction to heroin. Officials say the teen is the only minor being held in ORR custody despite having had his immigration proceedings terminated and a parent legally in the country who wants him back. Cacheris stressed the rarity of the situation in his decision, and he said it rings particularly hollow for ORR to have claimed the office would confront an administrative nightmare if it had to offer parents additional hearings. However, the judge also argued that the boys immigration status was immaterial. He deemed the ORR to be holding the teenager in child welfare custody, not immigration custody. That distinction is significant, because it means his ruling could be influential in cases involving minors who are at risk of deportation. D.C. police on Tuesday arrested four people and charged them with selling marijuana out of a second-floor storefront on Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park, near the vice presidents residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Northwest Washington. Authorities said police seized 3.25 pounds of marijuana in a raid on Tuesday. Arrest affidavits say police negotiated the purchase of $710 worth of marijuana in October through a website called leafedin.org, a networking site for the Districts pot community. According to the police affidavit, the web site also listed an address for the store in the 2300 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW, a commercial strip that includes a grocery store, dry cleaner, bagel shop and several chain restaurants. Police identified the suspects as: Conner MacLeod Donahue, 24, of Woodbridge, Va; Marvin Alphonzo Harvison, 42, of Southeast; Sidi Mohamed Chendid, 29, of Alexandria, Va.; and Gary Little, 29, of Northeast. All were charged with distribution of marijuana. As of November 2014, people in the District are allowed to possesses up to two ounces of marijuana, cultivate a small number of plants and give less than one ounce of the substance to another person. Interim D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said the investigation began with a complaint about the store. A U.S. District judge reaffirmed Tuesday that construction cannot begin on Marylands Purple Line until federal officials determine the impact Metros declining ridership could have on the light-rail line that will connect to the subway. Judge Richard J. Leon, however, backed off on part of his initial ruling in August, when he ordered the Federal Transit Administration to also reopen the projects entire federally approved environmental review when considering Metros potential impact. Updating that larger study could add months of further delay to the Purple Line project, which saw its October construction start put on hold after the August ruling. Leon said he would reverse himself on that point because he agreed with government lawyers who argued that federal transit officials, not a judge, have the expertise necessary to decide whether the estimated impact of Metros declining ridership warranted reopening the larger environmental study. [How a court ruling put $900 million for a Purple Line off limits] In reviewing his earlier decision, Leon said he once again noted the federal and state transit agencies seemingly cavalier attitude in dismissing any potential ridership impact by saying that the Purple Line will be operated separately from Metro. The seriousness of this deficiency is underscored by the size, scope and cost of this major infrastructure project, the judge wrote, referring to Maryland officials seeking $900 million in federal aid to cover nearly half of the 16-mile projects $2 billion construction cost. The Purple Line will be owned by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and operated as a slower light-rail line, separate from Metros heavy-rail system. But Maryland officials have long touted the Purple Line as providing a vital east-west link between the states four spokes of the Metro system in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties. About 27 percent of the Purple Lines ridership the line is now scheduled to begin carrying passengers in 2022 is projected to come from people transferring to and from Metro. Metro ridership has fallen 12 percent since 2010, with 100,000 fewer trips per day. [Developers are making billions off Metro. How that could help save it.] The MTA estimated the Purple Lines long-term ridership forecasts as part of a years-long environmental review to determine the projects costs and benefits before it decided to build a light-rail line over a less expensive bus option. MTA spokesman Ryan Nawrocki said the agency needed more time to review the late-afternoon ruling before commenting. A spokesman for the Justice Department, which represents the FTA, did not return an email seeking comment. Ajay Bhatt, president of the Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail advocacy group, one of three plaintiffs in the case, said he had not had a chance to read Leons latest decision. But he said he is eager to see the numbers that FTA cites to back up its previous statements that Metros declining ridership and safety problems would not have a significant effect on the Purple Lines long-term ridership. We want to see how they added one plus one and got five, Bhatt said. The judge said the FTA should assess Metros potential impacts as expeditiously as possible and report back to him on whether they warrant an updated environmental review. If the FTA determines that redoing the larger study isnt necessary, both sides can further argue whether the lawsuit should be dismissed based on the Metro ridership issue. TENNESSEE Bus driver charged in deaths of 5 children A school bus driver who authorities say was speeding along a narrow, winding road when he wrapped his vehicle around a tree was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide in the deaths of five children. The wreck Monday afternoon plunged the city of Chattanooga into mourning, with parents stricken by the news and people lining up to donate blood. Police said Johnthony Walker, 24, was driving well over the posted 30 mph limit when he lost control of the bus. He was jailed on $107,500 bail for a court appearance Nov. 29 on charges that also included reckless driving and reckless endangerment. Thirty-five Woodmore Elementary School students from kindergarten through fifth grade were aboard when the bus flipped onto its side and hit a tree. No other vehicle was involved. More than 20 children were taken to the hospital, police said. Twelve remained hospitalized Tuesday, six in intensive care, said Kirk Kelly, interim schools superintendent. Three of the children killed were in fourth grade, one was in first grade and another was in kindergarten, Kelly said. The driver was employed by an outside bus contractor, Durham School Services. Walker appeared to have no criminal record in Tennessee, state and local authorities said. Walker had an accident involving property damage in September, and his license was suspended for about a month in 2014 for failure to show proof of insurance, according to state commercial driver records. Associated Press TEXAS Suspected police killer married before arrest The man arrested in the fatal shooting of a San Antonio detective got married in the hours after the officer was killed, county records show. A copy of a marriage certificate obtained by the Associated Press shows that 31-year-old Otis Tyrone McKane married a woman Monday morning at the Bexar County Courthouse. He was arrested later that day. Investigators say 50-year-old Detective Benjamin Marconi was shot Sunday while sitting in his patrol car writing a traffic ticket. McKane was apprehended when his car was stopped on an interstate. He told reporters he was angry about a child-custody fight and lashed out at somebody who didnt deserve it. Associated Press MISSOURI Gun seller in wrongful-death case settles A pawnshop that sold a gun to a mentally ill Missouri woman who used it to fatally shoot her father settled Tuesday in a wrongful-death case for $2.2 million, which the plaintiffs lawyer said is the largest settlement since a 2005 federal law that shields gun manufacturers from most similar lawsuits. Jonathan Lowy, a lawyer with Washington-based Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence who is representing the womans mother, said before a Tuesday settlement hearing in Lexington, Mo., that the case could have a national impact and is significant following the enactment of a federal law barring some state-level actions against gun dealers after buyers use the weapons to harm others. Wellington, Mo., resident Janet Delana said her daughter, Colby Sue Weathers, bought a gun from Odessa Gun & Pawn in May 2012 and tried to kill herself. According to court records, Delana and her husband took that gun away from Weathers. Delana, a gun owner herself, said she asked the store in June not to sell a gun to Weathers, who is schizophrenic. Weathers bought a gun from the store two days later and within hours used it to fatally shoot her father and attempt suicide again. The state committed Weathers to a mental institution, and Delana filed a wrongful-death suit against the gun dealer. Lawyers for Odessa Gun & Pawn unsuccessfully tried to block the wrongful death case, arguing to the Missouri Supreme Court that the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was intended to prevent such lawsuits and potential chilling effects on commerce. Associated Press Judge who remarked on Trump taken off citizenship ceremony: A federal magistrate judge in San Antonio who told people at a citizenship swearing-in ceremony that they need to go to another country if they object to Donald Trumps presidency will no longer preside over such events. Orlando Garcia, the chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, said Tuesday that district judges on Monday agreed to bar Federal Magistrate Judge John Primomo from handling such proceedings. Primomo has said his words at Thursdays ceremony were meant to be unifying and respectful of the presidents office, not political. He added that he didnt vote for Trump. Associated Press COLOMBIA Government, FARC to sign revised peace deal Colombias government and leftist rebels say they will sign a modified peace agreement Thursday despite strong resistance from former president Alvaro Uribe. The signing ceremony promises to be a more subdued event than the heavily symbolic one attended by several heads of state in September in the colonial city of Cartagena. Reflecting the more somber mood in the country after the original deal was narrowly rejected by voters in a referendum, it will be held at the tiny Colon theater in downtown Bogota. The decision to sign the accord and submit it to Congress for approval was agreed to Tuesday by government peace negotiators and leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, during a day of closed-door meetings at a heavily guarded Roman Catholic retreat in Bogota. It followed a seven-hour meeting Monday night in which government negotiators tried to persuade Uribe and other skeptics to support the accord that would put an end to a half-century of fighting with the FARC. Ever since the original deals defeat at the polls, FARC and government negotiators have worked around the clock introducing some 50-plus changes to make it more acceptable to conservative Colombians who despise the FARC. Associated Press NIGERIA Boko Haram said to be overunning villages Boko Haram is overrunning villages near the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok, forcing hundreds to flee as the Islamist groups fighters loot and burn in the area where nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped in 2014, local leaders said Tuesday. Chibok is now under Boko Haram siege, the chairman of the Chibok local government area, Yaga Yarkawa, told journalists in Maiduguri, the birthplace of the extremist group, about 80 miles northeast of Chibok. The accounts of Boko Haram violence around Chibok, along with bombings in Maiduguri and attacks on army outposts, raise doubts about government claims that the seven-year-old Islamist insurgency is nearly defeated. Nine villages within 16 miles of Chibok have been razed in two weeks, Yarkawa said. Many of the villages are on the fringes of the Sambisa Forest, where security forces have been carrying out near-daily air bombardments and ground attacks in which they have freed thousands of Boko Haram captives. The forest was where Boko Haram initially took 276 schoolgirls kidnapped in Chibok in April 2014. The government last month negotiated the release of 21 of those girls. Another Chibok girl escaped captivity in May, and one was rescued this month. The government says it is conducting negotiations with Boko Haram for the release of the others. Associated Press LIBYA Authorities arrest wife of top militant leader Libyan authorities said Tuesday they have arrested a wife of the one-eyed militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a veteran al-Qaeda-linked figure once considered the most dangerous man in the Sahara. A Libyan anti-terrorism force said that one of Belmokhtars wives, Asma Kadousi, was arrested over the weekend with a female companion. It said she had recently given birth in the militant stronghold of Darna, in eastern Libya. The Algerian militant is among the most-wanted militants in the region, with a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. He is thought to have escaped a U.S. drone strike in eastern Libya last year. Belmokhtar led the January 2013 attack on Algerias Ain Amenas gas complex, in which at least 35 hostages, including three Americans, were killed. Associated Press Court overturns Morsis life sentence: An Egyptian court struck down a life sentence and ordered the retrial of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on charges of conspiring with foreign militant groups. The decision by the Court of Cassation comes more than a year after the sentence against Morsi, who hails from the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood. This is the second time he has won an appeal. Last week, the court overturned a death sentence against him in a separate case. Morsi was ousted by the military in 2013. From news services IN CHOOSING the superintendent of schools in Oakland, Calif., to take over as chancellor of the D.C. public school system, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) bypassed internal candidates groomed during the reforms of the past decade. It seems Ms. Bowser wanted to put her own stamp on education by bringing in someone unfettered to previous administrations and possessing fresh eyes and urgency. That, though, doesnt mean there will be a drastic change in direction, which is fortunate. The candidate she has selected appears by resume and reputation to have the same kind of forward-thinking passion for excellence that has helped make D.C. schools the fastest-improving urban school district in the country. Furthering and improving not undoing that reform will be his aim, said Antwan Wilson, who on Tuesday was announced as the mayors choice to permanently succeed chancellor Kaya Henderson. Mr. Wilson, 44, has headed up the 48,000-student Oakland Unified School District since 2014 and has 20 years of education experience, including as a teacher and principal. Before his role in Oakland, he served as assistant superintendent for postsecondary readiness at Denver Public Schools, where he was credited with dramatically slashing suspensions and boosting graduation rates. He was able to bring similar improvement in Oakland, but that city also proved a testing ground for his mettle. Sweeping plans for change, including school redesigns, support of charter schools and an inclusion policy for special-needs students, brought pushback from unions and parents who said he was moving too quickly. The African American executive was even accused of encouraging racial segregation, including by white critics. His response was firm: I am not going to stand by while someone who doesnt look like me accuses me of carrying out some form of Jim Crow, he famously said at one point. Born in poverty to a single mother, Mr. Wilson has a poignant personal story of having to move from school to school in search of a good education in order to graduate. If he comes to the District his appointment is subject to confirmation by the D.C. Council Mr. Wilson will take over a system that has made great strides but still faces seemingly intractable problems: how to close achievement gaps separating black and white students and the wealthy and the poor; how to improve middle schools that fail to attract families; how to make a difference in persistently low-performing, high-poverty schools. We look forward to hearing from Mr. Wilson and, more importantly, seeing what he can do. To President-elect Donald Trump, Breitbart News the racist, sexist and all-around offensive website once overseen by his campaign chairman and designated White House chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon is just a publication. Breitbarts editors and writers, Trump told the New York Times, cover stories like you cover stories. Granted, Trump said, they are certainly a much more conservative paper, to put it mildly, than the New York Times. But Breitbart really is a news organization thats become quite successful, and its got readers and it does cover subjects that are on the right, but it covers subjects on the left also. I mean its a pretty big, its a pretty big thing. And [Bannon] helped build it into a pretty successful news organization. Referring to Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Trump observed, I mean, I could say that Arthur is alt-right because they covered an alt-right story. No, no, no. The notion that Breitbart is just a publication, like the Times but just several notches to the right, is untrue and unacceptable. There are any number of conservative publications and websites that would fit that description. Breitbart is something different entirely. That Trump would put it in the same category exposes both his failure to understand the role of the media and his failure to recognize or to care about the offensiveness of what Breitbart, under the Bannon regime, represents. Here's what you need to know about the man who went from Breitbart News chairman to Donald Trump's campaign CEO before his appointment as chief White House strategist and senior counselor. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) Were going to hear the word normalize a lot during the Trump administration, and the risk is going to be exactly that: underreacting. Trump says and does so many outrageous things that it will be tempting for us to tire of calling them, and him, out. The job of opinion writers my job is to not let Trump define outrageousness down. So, Breitbart is racist. Two weeks after white supremacist Dylann Roof allegedly murdered nine African Americans at a Charleston, S.C., church after Trumps choice for U.N. ambassador, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, called for the Confederate battle flags removal from the statehouse grounds Breitbart ran an article under the headline Hoist it high and proud: The Confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage. The Confederacy, the article argued, was not a callous conspiracy to enforce slavery, but a patriotic and idealistic cause for which 490,000 men were killed, wounded or taken captive. Breitbart is anti-Semitic. Bill Kristol: Republican spoiler, renegade Jew, blared a May headline about the conservatives effort to launch a third-party candidate. A September article went out of its way to note the religious heritage of my colleague Anne Applebaum: Hell hath no fury like a Polish, Jewish, American elitist scorned. Breitbart is anti-Muslim. Former representative Tom Tancredo inveighed in a January piece on the site against an epidemic of sexual assault by immigrants in Europe, which he blamed on Islams rape culture that could be coming to a town near you all too soon. In July, anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller lamented the devastation that the Muslim migrant influx is bringing to American communities. Breitbart is misogynist. Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy was the headline on an article last December by one of the sites most offensive writers, Milo Yiannopoulos. And what should the pill be replaced with? Nothing. We need the kids if were to breed enough to keep the Muslim invaders at bay. The solution to online harassment is simple: women should log off, Yiannopoulos advised in July. Women, he suggested, could go back to bridge tournaments, or wellness workshops, or swapping apple crumble recipes, or whatever it is women do in their spare time. Breitbart is all-around offensive and irresponsible. As to offensive, consider last years Gabby Giffords, the gun control movements human shield. As to irresponsible, consider Junes Roger Stone: Huma Abedin Most Likely a Saudi Spy with Deep, Inarguable Connections to Global Terrorist Entity. That article about Hillary Clintons top aide stemmed from an interview that Stone, a Trump adviser, did with Bannon, not yet an official Trump adviser. Trump assured the Times that he condemns white supremacist Richard Spencers National Policy Institute, which greeted Trumps win with cheers of Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory! Breitbart has mildly described Spencer as one of the intellectuals of the alt-right movement and noted that his previous forum, alternativeright.com, was accused of racism. Accused of racism? This is a man who has advocated for creation of a white ethno-state on the North American continent. Breitbart isnt just a publication. Its a pestilence one whose repugnant views Trump has invited into his White House. Read more from Ruth Marcuss archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook. No, they aren't just pranksters and they arent an extension of European nationalism. This week, author Olivia Nuzzi tackles five myths around about the alt-right. (Adriana Usero/The Washington Post) No, they aren't just pranksters and they arent an extension of European nationalism. This week, author Olivia Nuzzi tackles five myths around about the alt-right. (Adriana Usero/The Washington Post) The phrase alt-right was conceived as a catchall for various unsavory subcommunities of the anti-establishment conservative right by Richard Spencer. The baby-faced white nationalist founded AlternativeRight.com in 2010 and now serves as president of the National Policy Institute, a Virginia-based think tank that cloaks extremist ideas in airy, academic language. For several years, the movement festered on the periphery of mainstream political discourse on message boards such as 4chan and 8chan, where its acerbic spirit and menacingly goofy aesthetic developed, partially through memes. Now, with the election of its God Emperor, Donald Trump, as president, the alt-right has become a subject of fascination and revulsion nationwide. Still, confusion about what exactly this group is and how it differs from other types of conservatism abounds. Here are the five most commonly repeated myths. Myth No. 1 1. The alt-right is different from regular neo-Nazism. This movement seems like something new in American politics. There are many things that separate the alternative right from old-school racist skinheads (to whom they are often idiotically compared), Allum Bokhari and alt-right icon Milo Yiannopoulos wrote in Breitbart in March , but one thing stands out above all else: intelligence. Hillary Clinton, too, seemed to imagine the alt-right as a fresh phenomenon, calling it an emerging racist ideology in an August speech. While the amorphous term alt-right can be helpful for characterizing a certain kind of young white nationalist whos technically savvy and culturally literate, as distinct from the unreconstructed racists and anti-Semites of yore, the distance is shorter than they would have you believe. At a National Policy Institute conference in Washington this month, excited members of the alt-right shouted: Hail our people! Hail victory!, and Tila Tequila, the Vietnamese American former reality-TV star whos been praising Hitler on Twitter for the past year, was photographed performing a Nazi salute with two young men. The alt-right is the same old hate, in other words, just with trendier packaging. Burying racist and anti-Semitic ideas in fancy language is nothing new, of course. David Duke, the former KKK grand wizard, shed his Klan robe for a suit and now calls himself a human rights activist . This is clearly about presenting a more salable front for the persuadable public. But if it salutes like a Nazi, you can safely call it one. Myth No. 2 2. The alt-right is a bunch of juvenile pranksters. A frequent theme among the movement is its insistence on needling the mainstream for giggles. The alt-right are just adolescent trolls who spout garbage for shock value, Fox News host Greg Gutfeld told his audience in late August. Meanwhile, NPR described members of the alt-right as those who, for fun and notoriety . . . like to troll, prank and provoke. But theres more here than cheeky irreverence. The alt-rights swift ascent occurred in part because its members bombarded journalists, particularly Jewish or nonwhite ones, with racist and anti-Semitic messages and imagery on social media, especially Twitter . There, they praised Hitler with a twinge of irony, the way hipsters drink PBR, and they corrupted the harmless meme Pepe the Frog by dressing him up as a Wehrmacht soldier. They told adversaries theyd be heading to the ovens . It was a real riot. The alt-right also exists offline. After Trumps win, reports of bias-based crimes have ticked up , and pro-Nazi, racist graffiti has begun appearing across the United States. Meanwhile, one of the movements purveyors now has the president-elects ear and will get his own dignified perch in the White House: Until recently, Steve Bannon was the chairman of Breitbart News, which he once proudly called the platform of the alt-right. Myth No. 3 3. The alt-right is rapidly gaining power and numbers. Time magazine called the alt-right a rising movement in mid-November, echoing the Week, which fretted over the rise of the alt-right in October. New York magazine reported in September that the movement was having a bit of a moment, the same month the Atlantic predicted that a Trump win would make the alt-right more powerful than it has ever been. The alt-right began online and mostly lives there, where its devotees post to message boards and troll cucks (milquetoast conservatives) and normies (people with conventional, mainstream views) with such frequency that it can seem as though theyre everywhere. But how many people constitute the movement is virtually unknowable. Its a loose and informal congregation: They dont have memberships, and the majority of those who self-identify do so through anonymous accounts. Easy to quantify, however, was the turnout at the National Policy Institutes recent event in Washington: 275 people, or roughly 3,300 fewer than attended a June convention in Reno, Nev., for people who enjoy, among other pursuits, dressing up in anthropomorphic animal suits . Alt-right didnt even win word of the year in the Oxford Dictionaries annual contest that prize went to post-truth. While the alt-right is real and visible, theres no reason to believe its a very vast group or one that will stick around for very long. Myth No. 4 4. Trump doesnt agree with what the alt-right stands for. Trumps spokesmen have gone to great lengths to distance him from the alt-right, with a recent statement from Bryan Lanza saying that President-elect Trump has continued to denounce racism of any kind and he was elected because he will be a leader for every American. On Tuesday, Trump told New York Times reporters and editors, I dont want to energize the [alt-right], and I disavow the group. But when Clinton delivered her speech about the alt-right in August, Trump responded not by disavowing the movement but by labeling her a bigot . And outside his post-election comments to the Times, Trump hasnt specifically addressed the alt-right. He has never asked its members to stop photoshopping Jewish journalists into gas chambers in his honor. Whats more, he has often seemed to wink in their direction by deploying their rhetoric, with his talk of opposing globalism, his repeated retweets of alt-right Twitter accounts and his use of imagery such as a Star of David illustration that originated on Nazi websites. Myth No. 5 5. The alt-right is just an extension of European nationalist movements. Nationalist movements are spreading globally, and the alt-right has fans and adherents at home and abroad. Yiannopoulos, one of the most visible faces of the brand, is British. Those posting online under the alt-right banner frequently purport to be from outside America. Bannon has sought to work with Marion Marechal-Le Pen, of Frances National Front, and, according to the Huffington Post, Richard Spencer dreams of nothing less than a white ethno-empire stretching across North America and Europe. An analysis in the Guardian said Spencers views have almost nothing to do with American political thought. The alt-right, in this telling, is not a movement of patriotic rubes but a meaningful part of a broader picture of Western populist revolt. Actually, the alt-right is a very American movement, and we have have plenty of historical precedent for fringe right-wing malcontents. When you add up our history of racial segregation, Know-Nothing nativism and right-wing populist movements, its not hard to see how todays alt-right has plenty to anchor itself to in the American story. It should come as no surprise that a prominent race-realist publication that tracks closely with alt-right ideology calls itself American Renaissance which echoes hopes of making America great again. Twitter: @OliviaNuzzi Five myths is a weekly feature challenging everything you think you know. You can check out previous myths, read more from Outlook or follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter. THERE WILL be limits to what President Obama can accomplish in foreign policy in his final months in office. He has already written off Syria, telling reporters Sunday he was not optimistic about the short-term prospects for stopping that devastating civil war. But in some areas, Mr. Obama not only will retain the capacity to act, but also will be compelled to address crises that cannot await the arrival of the next president. One of those is taking place in Congo. Having already endured one of the bloodiest civil wars in modern times, the huge African nation faces a fateful moment on Dec. 19. That is when President Joseph Kabila is due to step down after two terms in office, the limit set by the constitution. Mr. Kabila is refusing to yield power and instead is maneuvering to remain in office indefinitely. Last month he struck a deal with a sliver of the opposition postponing elections until 2018; when visiting representatives of the U.N. Security Council asked him whether he would leave then, he suggested that the constitution could be amended to allow a third term. Mr. Kabilas intransigence is wildly unpopular among Congos approximately 80 million people. A poll conducted between May and September showed that 81 percent opposed changing the constitution to allow an additional presidential term, and 74 percent said the president should leave office on Dec. 19. Close analysts of the country say an explosion of protest is probable if Mr. Kabila does not step down by that day. The government could send the army to clear the streets; that could lead to a splintering of security forces that are an amalgam of regional and ethnic factions. Mr. Kabila attempted to mollify the opposition with a national dialogue that led to the appointment of a new prime minister. But the most important opposition leaders rejected the process. Instead, they are supportive of a transition plan developed by civil society that calls for Mr. Kabila to step down by Dec. 19 and be replaced by the president of the Senate, a respected elder statesman, while new elections are organized. Mr. Kabila would be offered security guarantees. Whether the president can be induced to accept this safe exit may depend on how the most powerful people around him perceive their interests. That is where the lame-duck Obama administration could have an impact. It has already imposed sanctions on two senior security officials for their role in human rights abuses, a powerful measure because of the use senior Congolese figures make of foreign bank accounts and travel. Yet it has delayed targeting other top officials, raising hopes in Kinshasa that the election of Donald Trump has eliminated the risk to their foreign assets. A bipartisan group of House members is pressing the administration to move against those scheming to extend Mr. Kabilas rule, including Vice Prime Minister Evariste Boshab and intelligence chief Kalev Mutond. That could deter other top officials from backing the power grab or following orders to suppress protests. As Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) put it in a Nov. 15 speech, the pace and scope of sanctions need to match the urgency of the approaching electoral crisis. Mr. Obama can and should act now. President-elect Donald Trumps flirtation with Mitt Romney as a possible pick for secretary of state has injected a sliver of hope and change into an evolving administration that could use some. If ever there were a rarer pair think Doberman and Labradoodle I cant think of one. Then again, how better to present a bad-cop/good-cop dynamic to a dangerous and fragile world? If Trump is perceived as unstable and potentially volatile, Romney is the face of calm, a steady hand to help guide the next presidents foreign policies. Concerns about the two mens pointed exchanges during the campaign season would seem less important than whether Romney could do the presidents bidding renegotiating trade deals, for example when Trumps views are in direct conflict with his. Romney has been pro-open trade; Trump campaigned on either scrapping or reworking trade deals. Having known Romney for a decade or so, Im pretty sure hed accept the job if offered, which I base on my understanding of his profound sense of duty to country. While true that the former Massachusetts governor worked against Trump during the primaries, his personal values, including a humility rare in the political world, ultimately would prevail over self-regard. And though Trump called Romney a choker, hardly a recommendation for the person charged with negotiating the nations foreign interests, Trump is Trump, meaning that he moves easily from one position to another. And politics are politics. Things are said. Things are unsaid. After meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump's golf course in New Jersey, Mitt Romney described it as 'thorough and in-depth discussion' on areas of the world with particular significance to U.S. interests. Trump said the meeting 'went great'. (The Washington Post) Indeed, just Tuesday, top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway said that the president-elect wont pursue an investigation of Hillary Clinton, despite having vowed to put her in jail and presided over many a chant of lock her up. More than anything else, Trump is a pragmatist and a businessman. Operative question: What works? As he begins to organize his board of directors, otherwise known as the Cabinet, hes surely aware that Romney, of those rumored to be under consideration, would be most effective on the world stage. The pragmatist, by definition, is unemotional about such decisions. Romney may not be Trumps cup of tea on any number of fronts, including the impossibility of the two settling in for some locker room talk, but the presidency confers a broader view of the world, not to mention the burden of all that follows. What would not work is Rudy Giuliani. Not only does the man formerly known as Americas mayor act as though he may have plunged his finger into a live socket, but his outspokenness in defense of Trump has often seemed like the mad ranting of a man angry at the moon. We still love 9/11 Rudy, but that Rudy seems to be missing. Even if he were present, the fellow who performs best in a crisis isnt necessarily the one who performs best in preventing a crisis. By stark contrast, Romney would help relax tensions abroad as well as at home. He has international credibility and a sophisticated understanding of complex global relationships. Remember, it was Romney who, during his final debate with President Obama in 2012, pointed to Russia as our greatest geopolitical foe. Obama practically laughed him off the stage, but whos laughing now, not that Romney would gloat? Romney is also well-versed in areas of international finance and economics demonstrably superior to anyone else on Trumps list. The fact that Trump has admired Vladimir Putins strength as a leader and has indicated a preference for working with Russia to defeat the Islamic State isnt precisely in conflict with Romneys recognition of Putin and Russia as threats to our national interests. In fact, they can be seen as complementing each others perspectives with a balance of respect and caution informed by history. On China, Romney and Trump probably agree more than not. Again, during his own presidential run, Romney spoke often of clamping down on Chinas currency manipulation. He is also the son of George Romney who in addition to being governor of Michigan was president of American Motors Corp. and likely agrees with Trump that the United States needs to create incentives for businesses to invest more in American jobs. Further to Romneys qualifications, hes an experienced dealmaker, a skill Trump obviously admires. Super articulate and fluent in policy (as well as French, for what its worth), Romney is a cool thinker and, not insignificantly, a non-imbiber, also like Trump. Not least, he is by all accounts a thoroughly decent human being. A wise man would look no further. Read more from Kathleen Parkers archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook. It was a pathetic spectacle: TV news executives and anchors filing in to Trump Tower on Monday to be the president-elects whipping boys. Donald Trump had summoned them for a talk, but it turned out to be part tongue-lashing, part perp walk. The TV news people had foolishly agreed that the session was off the record, leaving Trump and his aides free to characterize the media representatives as groveling while Trump berated them as liars. Trump Eats Press, announced pro-Trump Breitbart News. The New York Post: Donald Trumps media summit was a f---ing firing squad. Drudge: Trump Slams Media Elite, Face to Face. President-elect Donald Trump held what senior adviser Kellyanne Conway called a reset meeting for members of the media at Trump Tower on Monday. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post) Trump singled out for abuse CNN the outlet that, with its endless live broadcasts of Trump speeches, did more than any other to win Trump the GOP nomination. Many outlets (though not The Post, happily) seem to expect and crave a return to business as usual after the election. They envision off-the-record chinwags with the new president. They expressed indignation when he ditched the press pool to go to dinner. Theyre begging him to hold a news conference and devouring the crumbs he tosses their way. And ominously, theyre taking to heart the criticism that the media were too tough on him, and talking about recalibrating their approach to him to regain public approval. Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, in a segment with me on MSNBC on Tuesday, said that the media is really overplaying its hand in its coverage of Trumps business conflicts of interest. I think the media is on thin ice with the American people, very thin ice, and that they ought to just . . . dial it back. My former editor Liz Spayd, now public editor at the New York Times, fretted that letters to the editor are at their highest level since 2001 and that many are venting about the Timess coverage, including the liberal tint. Trump, naturally, used this to further his campaign against the media, tweeting Tuesday that the failing Times just announced that complaints about them are at a 15 year high. I can fully understand that. Journalists need to recognize that were not going to win a popularity contest with Trump, and we shouldnt try. Trump is not going to be appeased by friendlier coverage. He campaigned against the media, and he will continue to use the media as a foil. His party controls Congress, and conservatives will soon control the Supreme Court. If he can discredit the media, hell remove another check to his power. Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, famously remarked that were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. Our 45th president would clearly prefer the former. He has shut out news organizations, including The Post, whose coverage he dislikes. He has threatened to restrict First Amendment press freedoms. Rather than cozying up to this new establishment, the media need to savor our traditional role as outsiders. Columbia Journalism Reviews top editor, Kyle Pope, with whom I worked two decades ago in the Wall Street Journals London bureau, has it right when he urges a return to journalisms oppositional roots; it has done reporters no good to think of themselves as part of the establishment or a megaphone for the conventional wisdom. We need to embrace, even relish, our legacy as malcontents and troublemakers. Pursuing public affection is a fools errand. The profession was never held in high public esteem. And the recent decline in approval is due entirely to Trumps daily bashing. A Gallup poll in September found a historic low for trust in the mass media: just 32 percent, down eight points from 2015. But Gallup speculated that this was a result of Trumps sharp criticisms of the press, noting that trust of the press among Republicans dropped to 18 points in a year. Was the press really hard on Trump? Thirty-nine percent of voters think so, according to a Pew Research Center poll this week. But looking at it another way, 59 percent thought the press was either too easy on Trump (27 percent) or fair (32 percent). There is much the press should do differently: Ditch the horse-race coverage, the discredited data journalism and the tendency among news reporters to express their opinions in social media. But for those who think the media could gain public support if we stop hassling Trump about his conflicts of interest, the rise of white supremacists alongside him (the president-elect admirably disavowed them Tuesday), the Trump Foundations self-dealing and the $25 million Trump University legal settlement too bad. Were not here to be popular. Twitter: @Milbank Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Nelson W. Cunningham has worked for Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and John Kerry, and he was an adviser to the Clinton-Kaine campaign. He is president and co-founder of McLarty Associates, an intern ational strategic advisory firm in Washington. The Democratic Party, reeling after its surprise loss Nov. 8, seems about to embark on a war for its very soul. The first battle of this war over the meaning of the election and the partys direction is the coming election for chair of the Democratic National Committee. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), an African American Muslim from deep-blue Minneapolis and the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus has quickly become the standard-bearer for the left. He garnered support from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and congressional leaders, and is promising a clear turn to the left. Howard Dean who won this contest as an insurgent in 2005 after another lost election is also running. This time, though, hes representing the establishment and the voice of experience. And there are others across the spectrum jumping in. This fight promises to be nasty and to embroil the party, too early, in a fight over policy direction. Should we turn inward or outward? Reject globalization or embrace it? Run as a party of inclusion or exclusion? Of trade or of walls? But we dont have to have that fight right now. There is a consensus choice, right under our noses, who could unite the party across its broad spectrum, who could speak to coastal elites and heartland stalwarts, whose popularity across all the Democratic demographics is sky-high. There is Joe Biden. Son of Scranton, Pa., former internationalist chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, champion of civil rights and womens rights, friend of cops and of Black Lives Matter protesters, supporter of the working man who commands the respect of chief executives, wildly popular vice president who was encouraged to run for president himself this time around Biden should be our immediate and consensus choice. Bidens bona fides for the office are not open to debate. (Full disclosure: I worked for him in the Senate.) That leaves two questions: After an election that many have called an election for change, is a 74-year-old career politician so tied to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton the right leader for the party? And second, would he accept? As for the meaning of the presidential election, it was not clearly a change election certainly not for Democrats. Hillary Clinton won the nomination as the heir to 24 years of center-left leadership by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. And in the general election, well she actually won the general election when it comes to actual votes. So as far as the actual voters are concerned, a narrow but clear plurality voted for Clintons continuity over Donald Trumps change. But how about the electoral college, and the impact of the battleground states? The fact that Trump swept almost all of them doesnt that mean we had a vote for change? That argument misses the exceedingly narrow circumstances that led to Trumps victory. In the three crucial states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan (total electoral votes: 46), Trump won by 1.2 percent or less by a total of just more than 107,000 votes combined. So was this a change election, or a vote for continuity with Obamas leadership? Its frankly just too early to tell, especially for Democrats and thats precisely why the Democratic Party should delay making this call until all the lessons have been learned. We need someone who can speak to all wings of the party, can lead us now with confidence and guide us through the parlous process of picking our direction. Again: Biden. So to the second question: Will he do it? We all know that Joe Biden is a man of duty and honor, who loves his country and his party. It has been more than a year since the loss of his son Beau, a tragedy that steered the vice president away from announcing his own run for the presidency. Why not honor his son, his party and his country by continuing his service? Instead of the metaphorical rocking chair on the beautiful, broad porch in Delaware why not get back out there on the hustings he loves, as a leader for a party in need of healing? What does Donald Trumps election mean for the Middle East? A group of prominent foreign ministers and policy experts gathered here last weekend to explore the elections implications for the worlds most volatile region. The gathering, known as the Sir Bani Yas forum, is hosted each year by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the UAEs foreign minister. Comments here werent attributable, so I cant identify the participants by name. But it included representatives from nearly every Arab country, as well as the United States, Europe, Russia, China and the United Nations. Change itself was welcomed by the Gulf Arabs, who grew to dislike many aspects of President Obamas Middle East policy. But so little is certain about Trumps positions that even those urging support cautioned that nobody knows where he stands. Given the president-elects sparse record, several speakers focused on his obvious personality traits. One argued that Trump is clearly a vain man, so flatter him as many world leaders have done in their contacts since Nov. 8. Another said that Trump is a volatile man, so dont corner him. A third said that hes transactional a self-proclaimed dealmaker so look for the deals that will serve the regions interests. Trumps rhetorical volleys against trade drew surprisingly little comment, given that the UAE is a symbol of globalization. Nor did his anti-Muslim remarks draw any rebuke. One prominent attendee said that at least Trump would be anti-Shiite (hard on Iran) as well as anti-Sunni, which he said Obama has been. Perhaps in these mercantile city-states, people doubt that Trump could reverse the momentum of diverse, multicultural global commerce even if he wanted to. The build-out is just moving too fast: At a backyard dinner in Dubai hosted by Afghan media mogul Saad Mohseni, I met young entrepreneurs investing in East African logistics networks, Saudi supermarkets, South Asian power grids and a raft of other projects. Two issues facing Trump garnered special focus at the Sir Bani Yas discussions. The Iran nuclear deal is the first conundrum. Throughout the campaign, Trump suggested that he would scrap the agreement or renegotiate it. But there was near-unanimity here that Trump should accept the agreement as a done deal and focus instead on curbing Irans aggressive behavior in the region. This consensus included even officials who had been among the agreements strident critics. Only someone who wants to send us into the unknown world would tear it up, said one prominent Gulf Arab official. Nobody is really against the deal, said another, after sharply criticizing the way it was negotiated. Many in this group expressed hope that Trump would be tougher in challenging Iranian provocations. Trump said during the campaign that if Iranian gunboats harassed U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf, he would blow them out of the water. Thats the kind of anti-Iran pushback the Gulf Arabs want to see (albeit with someone elses ships at risk). Trumps willingness to consider allying with Russia in Syria was the second big, overarching issue. Many Arab officials here backed the Syrian opposition against President Bashar al-Assad, so you might think that any hint that Trump would partner with Moscow would be anathema. But in the Middle East, political support tends to go with a winner, and Russia looks like the strong player in Syria these days. Representatives of the Syrian opposition spoke movingly of the human cost of Russias intervention and argued that the fall of Aleppo would mean permanent war. Russian speakers made some of the most provocative comments at the conference. Hillary Clintons intervention policies would have driven the United States toward an abyss and a kinetic collision in Syria, said one. Now, with Trump, we have at least taken a step back. Could a new U.S.-Russian dialogue which would draw in Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the other Middle East players stabilize this region and calm its fratricidal sectarian wars? Several speakers explored that possibility. A Gulf Arab suggested such a concert of nations, including the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus the regional powers. An American expert recalled the Madrid peacemaking conference in 1991, after the end of the Cold War. A Russian recalled the 1815 Congress of Vienna that brought peace to a fractured Europe. As Don Corleone convened the five families in The Godfather, so, too, might Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin gather the United States, Russia, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia. But experts warn against Yalta II a new Russian-American attempt to designate spheres of influence that would carve up the region. There were no answers here about life in the new world of Donald Trump, but so many intriguing questions. Read more from David Ignatiuss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) was nominated to be President-elect Donald Trumps ambassador to the United Nations. Heres what you need to know about the rising Republican star. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) was nominated to be President-elect Donald Trumps ambassador to the United Nations. Heres what you need to know about the rising Republican star. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haleys journey to the United Nations has struck members of both parties as unlikely: the appointment of a Republican with limited foreign policy experience to a Cabinet-level post. But through the prism of a career bursting with political diplomacy and ambition, it is a natural next step. Haley, 44, who President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday as his nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has long shuttled between her partys mainstream and its conservative base, maintaining ties to each wing even as she resists being labeled as tea party or establishment. And the daughter of Indian immigrants has consistently asserted herself as a voice for both the Republican future and its past traditions. These contradictory signals and blended alliances have made her an ascendant force as well as occasionally inscrutable. She is at once a favorite of the business elite and Mitt Romney and a populist-sounding, Sarah Palin-endorsed Southern executive. [As U.S. ambassador to U.N., Nikki Haley would face worlds most intractable conflicts] Haleys ability to translate those relationship skills and savvy to the U.N. will almost certainly be crucial in her success or failure in navigating the swirling spheres of influence at Turtle Bay. Not only will she need to explain Trump and his brash foreign policy to the world, but she will be tasked with keeping her place within the president-elects at times chaotic orbit and within a Republican Party that has cracks across it. Such a job demands studied knowledge of global politics and statecraft. It also demands nuance and steadiness amid tumult and criticism, which is where Haleys experience is telling. Her political profile so far is defined more by her steady responses to crisis and competing pressures than by a particular ideology. After the killing of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., last year, Haley made headlines for her calm and poise in the following days and spoke out against hate and racism in the country. She called for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the state Capitol and said that such symbols cause hurt and pain even if they are historic. [Haley signs bill removing Confederate flag from statehouse grounds] 1 of 35 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Heres a look at Trumps administration so far View Photos President-elect Donald Trump faces a challenge as he prepares for his move to the White House: selecting the men and women who will fill his administration. Caption The men and women the president-elect has selected for his Cabinet and White House team. Scott Gottlieb, nominee for commissioner of FDA President Trump is set to nominate Scott Gottlieb, a conservative physician and businessman with deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry, to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, a White House official said. Courtesy of American Enterprise Institute/via Reuters Wait 1 second to continue. On race, Haley said in a subsequent remarks at the National Press Club that black lives do matter and called her own party shameful in its outreach to minority groups. Before and after that tragedy, she was championed by party officials as a welcome and diverse face and she has called herself one of the those fit for a Benetton commercial. Yet she rarely if ever challenges the deeply conservative policy doctrines that have dominated the Republican Party for decades. Her relationship with Trump is an example of how she can shrug off lingering conflicts and calmly assert a new reality when necessary. Earlier this year, as Haley delivered the Republican response to President Obamas State of the Union, she warned viewers against the siren call of the angriest voices, which was widely seen as an indirect shot at Trump, and she endorsed a Trump rival, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Trump swiped back and called her weak on immigration. I feel very strong about illegal immigration, he told Fox News at the time. She doesnt. But days ago, Haley spoke warmly of her meeting with Trump and told reporters that she has actually always been his friend. To have all of these paths lead to the U.N. seems both odd and oddly understandable. Having already been elected twice as governor, serving alongside Trump offers Haley an opportunity to gain credibility as a global leader without being cast as a globalist or establishment Republican because she will be linked with Trump, who was elevated by the GOPs grass-roots activists. But shes not too close. If he struggles in office, Haley can say that she was serving her country, and its rare for a U.N. ambassador to be part of any scandal emerging at the White House. Haley also leaves herself positioned for a future run for national office or an elevation to secretary of state or another Cabinet position in the coming years, should there be a shake-up. This is how the governor operates, and it should come as no surprise. She saw as a 30-something state lawmaker an opening for an outsider and woman to win the governors office and she took it, winning as a tea-party darling in 2010. Palin campaigned for her and she was celebrated on the right. A year later, as her stock rose nationally, Haley endorsed Romney instead of going with a conservative favorite during the 2012 presidential race. She began to draw rave reviews from corporate leaders for the way she clashed with labor unions over business development projects in her state. But she never went full establishment and never veered too far to the center. When a Senate seat opened in 2012, she tapped then congressman Tim Scott, who is an arch-conservative and African American, underscoring her desire to cultivate a new bench of leaders without losing the partys hard-line base. When Trump roiled the GOP primaries, Haley was trusted by party leaders and encouraged to speak out against his style of politics, but she did so while rarely mentioning his name. It was a messy jumble of gestures, mostly subtle and confusing. Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference, Haley said. That is just not true. Often, the best thing we can do is turn down the volume. You might call it diplomatic. President-elect Donald Trump named Betsy DeVos as his nominee for education secretary. Here's what you need to know about the conservative activist and billionaire donor. (The Washington Post) President-elect Donald Trump named Betsy DeVos as his nominee for education secretary. Here's what you need to know about the conservative activist and billionaire donor. (The Washington Post) President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday selected two prominent Republican women for Cabinet-level positions, adding diversity to an inner circle that was already coming under fire for being composed mostly of white men. In a potentially controversial choice, Trump intends to nominate billionaire philanthropist Betsy DeVos for education secretary, turning to a conservative activist who has forcefully pushed for private school voucher programs. Her nomination is expected to face strong opposition from public school advocates, who oppose her efforts to funnel taxpayer dollars from public to private and religious schools. [Trump picks billionaire Betsy DeVos, school voucher advocate, as education secretary] Betsy DeVos is a brilliant and passionate education advocate, Trump said in a statement. Under her leadership we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families. Hours earlier, Trump had announced that he will fill the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations slot with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a rising Republican star and daughter of Indian immigrants who has virtually no foreign policy experience. Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) was nominated to be President-elect Donald Trump's ambassador to the United Nations. Here's what you need to know about the rising Republican star. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) Haleys nomination marked Trumps first female appointment to a Cabinet-level post after his initial selections, such as attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions and incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn, had been older white men. Though Trump was elected with strong support from white working-class voters, people familiar with the president-elects thinking said he wanted to announce both womens appointments before Thanksgiving to show that his Cabinet will be diverse. The decision to nominate DeVos, who met with Trump last weekend, was made in the past 48 hours, the people said. They added that DeVos benefited from strong support in the conservative movement and among conservative political donors. But DeVos immediately drew scathing opposition from the National Education Association, the nations largest teachers union. By nominating Betsy DeVos, the Trump administration has demonstrated just how out of touch it is with what works best for students, parents, educators and communities, NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia said in a statement. She has consistently pushed a corporate agenda to privatize, de-professionalize and impose cookie-cutter solutions to public education. DeVos tweeted that she is honored to work with the President-elect on his vision to make American education great again. The status quo in ed is not acceptable. DeVos whose husband, Dick DeVos Jr., is an heir to the Amway direct-sale fortune is a Michigan power broker and major donor to conservative causes and candidates around the country. Her brother is Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, one of the most profitable private security contractors during the Iraq War. DeVos and her family supported Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the GOP presidential primaries, and she was never an enthusiastic supporter of Trump. I still have reservations about him as a person, she told The Washington Post in July at the Republican National Convention, which she attended as a Michigan delegate. [Welcome to Washingtons new normal: One Trump drama after another] She has been closer to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who as governor of Indiana pushed to expand that states voucher program into the nations largest. She also has close ties to many Republicans in Washington, and her nomination was greeted with enthusiasm by GOP leaders on Capitol Hill. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate education committee and frequent critic of what he viewed as the Obama administrations federal overreach on education, called her an excellent choice. But others said her nomination heralded an intent by the Trump administration to dismantle the nations public schools by draining them of students and resources. Betsy DeVos is everything Donald Trump said is wrong in America: an ultra-wealthy heiress who uses her money to game the system and push a special-interest agenda that is opposed by the majority of voters, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. The Rev. Barry W. Lynn executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an organization that has long raised concerns about funneling tax dollars to religious schools called her nomination an insult to public education. Haley, also a former Trump critic, is generally considered a mainstream Republican, with views on military and national security matters that fall within the GOPs hawkish mainstream. Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country, Trump said in a statement. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage. Haley, who has accepted the offer, said she is honored that the president-elect has asked me to join his team and serve the country we love. Her words represented a sharp departure from the campaign, during which she also initially backed Rubio for the GOP nomination and lambasted Trump as everything a governor doesnt want in a president. [As U.S. ambassador to U.N., Nikki Haley would face worlds most intractable conflicts] Trump is considering another prominent former rival and mainstream Republican, 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney, for secretary of state, though some Trump advisers are reportedly pushing back against that and backing other candidates, such as former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. Haleys selection, also seen as an effort to reach out to establishment Republicans unsettled by Trumps surprise victory, came amid indications that he was slowing down transition planning to spend Thanksgiving with his family. The president-elect flew Tuesday night to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, where he will spend the holiday and weekend. Trump aides declined to provide details of his schedule over the next few days, saying in a conference call that Trumps family prefers keeping the holiday private. The aides said Trump planned to announce another Cabinet-level nominee later Wednesday but would not elaborate. One possibility is another former Trump rival, Ben Carson, who could be named secretary of housing and urban development. Carson tweeted Wednesday that an announcement is forthcoming about my role in helping to make America great again, though he declined to be more specific. Trump had tweeted Tuesday that he is seriously considering Carson for the HUD post. [Ben Carson is a candidate for HUD secretary, Trump says] Carson, who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination before backing him, told Fox News: It certainly is something that has been a long-term interest of mine, and Ill be thinking and praying about it seriously over the holiday. Haley, 44, who is serving her second term as governor, has worked on trade and labor issues and traveled abroad as governor, including to Europe. She is considered a novice in international affairs, but her home state senator, Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), appeared to be trying to buck up her foreign policy bona fides in a statement praising Haley on Wednesday. As Governor of South Carolina she has recruited and dealt with some of the largest international business firms in the world. Her husband was a member of the South Carolina National Guard who served a tour of duty in Afghanistan, Graham said. Governor Haley and her family fully understand what is at stake in the war against radical Islam. I know she will be a valuable ally to President-elect Trump. Haley, who met with Trump Thursday at Manhattans Trump Tower, grew up in a small South Carolina town and was elected governor in 2010 as a tea party reformer. But she has since been viewed as part of the GOP establishment. Haley is championed by party officials as a bright young leader and she has called herself one of the those fit for a Benetton commercial. Yet she rarely if ever challenges the deeply conservative policy doctrines that have dominated the GOP for decades. Business-friendly and establishment-friendly in recent years, she is a former state lawmaker who railed against cozy business relationships within government and did not always click with her partys leadership. Her breakout moment on the national stage came with her widely praised handling of last years slaying of a prominent minister and eight parishioners at a historic African American church in Charleston. Haley choked back tears at a news conference, saying the heart and soul of South Carolina was broken. She was at the forefront of the subsequent debate over whether the Confederate flag should still fly on statehouse grounds, insisting that the legislature remove it. After the flag came down, she told The Washington Post that she has two teenage children and that I just couldnt look them in the face and keep that flag up. [How U.S. presidents choose American ambassadors] For Trump, Haleys ability to build relationships with prominent wealthy donors and figures such as Romney while maintaining her credibility as a populist-sounding, Sarah Palin-endorsed executive of a southern state may be a revealing window into how she is up to the task of navigating the swirling spheres of influence in Turtle Bay If confirmed by the Senate, Haley would be replaced by South Carolina Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster, a top Trump ally. His ascension is seen inside of Trumps inner circle as a welcome consequence of her departure, the person said a way to promote them both. During the campaign, Haley was critical of some of Trumps proposals, such as his temporary ban on Muslims entry into the United States. When she gave the GOP response to President Obamas State of the Union address this year, Haley criticized the angriest voices within national politics and their siren call to voters, a line widely seen as a not-so-subtle shot at Trumps campaign. But when she visited Trump last week, Haley told reporters that she never disliked Trump despite her past comments. He was a friend and supporter before he ran for president, and was kind to me then. But when I see something I am uncomfortable with, I say it, she said. When we met, it was friends who had known each other before. A gay man with HIV stands in a clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. With the government's crackdown on the gay community, the man has been afraid to pick up his medicine for two weeks, in spite of the risks to his health. (Kevin Sieff/The Washington Post) East African nations have launched some of the worlds most vicious campaigns against gay men and women, outlawing same-sex liaisons and threatening punishments of years in jail. But in a move that has alarmed health workers, Tanzania is turning its anti-homosexual fury in a new direction targeting HIV/AIDS programs that have helped tame a disease that once ravaged the region. Last month, the minister of health announced that Tanzania will ban HIV/AIDS outreach projects aimed at gay men, pending a review. That forced the closure, at least temporarily, of U.S.-funded programs that provide testing, condoms and medical care to gays. About 30 percent of gay men in Tanzania are HIV-positive; now health workers say that figure could rise. Tanzanias actions appear to mark the first time that a country has suspended parts of the United States hugely successful foreign HIV/AIDS initiative in an attempt to crack down on the gay community. The U.S. PEPFAR campaign, backed by $65 billion since it was founded in 2003, has been credited with saving millions of lives. The ban comes after months of bitter speeches and threats from Tanzanian officials aimed at the gay community and at organizations treating its HIV/AIDS patients. This year, police raided two U.S.-funded HIV/AIDS organizations and seized confidential patient information and supplies, officials said. In September, the deputy minister of health, Hamisi Kigwangalla, accused HIV treatment organizations of promoting homosexuality. This gay woman Dar es Salaam has been active in Tanzania's LGBT community and is concerned about what the government's crackdown means for people in need of HIV/AIDS treatment. (Kevin Sieff/The Washington Post) Any attempt to commit unnatural offenses is illegal and severely punished by law, Kigwangalla said in the statement. People convicted of same-sex liaisons in Tanzania can be jailed for up to 30 years. The health minister, Ummy Mwalimu, explained in a statement last month that officials had suspended HIV/AIDS outreach programs for gay patients to review whether they promoted same-sex relationships. [The world spent $1 billion less on AIDS, jeopardizing decades of progress] The move has sent a shock wave through a community still grappling with the virus, even as modern medicine and treatment have dramatically improved victims chances of survival. In the short term, there are people who wont go to [health] service centers, and if they arent on antiretrovirals, what happens? Its a major concern, said Warren Naamara, a doctor who is the director of the U.N. program on HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, referring to the drugs that suppress the virus. U.S. aid program PEPFAR, or the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, launched by George W. Bush with bipartisan support, has become one of the most important U.S. assistance programs ever in Africa. Tanzania is an example of its success. Since 2002, the overall HIV/AIDS rate in the country has declined from 12 percent to 5 percent. The number of people receiving treatment has grown in the past five years from 289,000 to over 700,000. Other organizations, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, also have spent billions of dollars on HIV treatment on the continent. This gay man in Dar es Salaam, who for many years received condoms and medical attention through local outreach efforts, worries what will happen now that those programs have been suspended for the gay community. (Kevin Sieff/The Washington Post) But even as assistance programs have sharply reduced the death toll from AIDS, some countries in eastern Africa have been escalating their campaigns against homosexuality. In 2014, Ugandas parliament passed a law, later annulled, that imposed the death penalty on those found guilty of aggravated homosexuality. This year, a Kenyan high court ruled that anal tests aimed at determining peoples sexual orientation were legal. Even though Tanzanias penal code refers to homosexuality as a gross indecency, the government had long permitted organizations to help gay men who had AIDS or who were at risk of contracting it. But since John Magufuli was elected president last year, the governments tolerance on the issue has disintegrated. Although Magufuli has not said anything publicly about homosexuality, a number of his appointees have made harsh remarks. Critics of gay rights say this nation which has large numbers of Muslims and Christians must protect traditional values. In an August speech, Paul Makonda, the regional commissioner of Dar es Salaam, the capital, threatened to arrest people who were linked to gay men on social-networking sites. If theres a homosexual who has a Facebook account, or with an Instagram account, all those who follow him it is very clear that they are just as guilty as the homosexual, said Makonda, who is the equivalent of a governor. The government also banned the distribution of lubricants that help ensure that condoms do not tear. Condoms are considered highly effective in preventing HIV transmission. Fears of viral rebound The U.S. government has hired health organizations such as Jhpiego, which is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, to provide HIV tests, condoms and doctor referrals for gay men, sex workers and other vulnerable Tanzanians who are afraid to visit a public hospital. Those visits often take place in homes and informal community centers. The Jhpiego project was awarded $73 million over five years beginning in 2015. But such groups have had to cease their outreach efforts in gay communities. PEPFAR recognizes the importance of these key populations, said a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive situation in Tanzania. And in order to reach many of them, you have to go where they are. Without access to those vulnerable communities, it prolongs the epidemic in the end, the official said. U.S. officials said they are hopeful that the outreach programs will soon be restored, noting that the health minister has said the government is considering which HIV services would be appropriate for the gay community. But members of that community are pessimistic. Its clear that the government doesnt care whether we live or die, said one 22-year-old gay man who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of punishment. A 29-year-old gay man in Dar es Salaam who is HIV-positive said that he was diagnosed four years ago. Since then, antiretroviral drugs have helped him stay relatively healthy and health workers have provided him with condoms, lubricants and information about safe sex so he does not infect his partners. But now he had gone two weeks without medication. To get it, he would have to go to a public hospital, and he said he fears retribution. In this environment, its not safe to be a known gay man in the open, he said. Each week a patient is off his antiretroviral drugs, the virus grows more crippling what doctors call a viral rebound. These interruptions in treatment are very dangerous, said Naamara of the U.N. program, known as UNAIDS. Boris Dittrich, the advocacy director of Human Rights Watchs LGBT division, said that homophobic rhetoric from government officials will only drive already vulnerable populations underground. The government should reassure all Tanzanians they are protected from harm. Homosexuality is criminalized in at least 76 countries, and at least 33 of them are in Africa, according to the U.N. Free & Equal campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. In many African countries, homosexuality is seen as a Western phenomenon, imported by aid groups. The U.S. government has dissuaded political leaders from interfering with HIV/AIDS treatment, but American condemnation of anti-gay practices often has fallen on deaf ears. In Tanzania, the 29-year-old man recalled his first thought when he received his AIDS diagnosis: This is the end of me. But medical treatment subsequently restored his health. In recent weeks, however, he has returned to a sense of doom, he said. Under this pressure, what can we do now? Read more Everything you ever wanted to know about the U.S. foreign assistance budget They survived Boko Haram. Now millions in Nigeria face starvation. The incredible quest to find the African slave ships that sank in the Atlantic Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Pakistani villagers in Kashmir rebuild damaged homes on Monday near the line separating Pakistani- and Indian-controlled zones. (Roshan Mughal/AP) Heavy cross-border shelling in the disputed Kashmir region killed at least three Pakistani soldiers and seven Indian troops on Wednesday, Pakistans military said, in a sharp escalation of violence after a deadly ambush of three Indian soldiers. At least 10 civilians also were killed, witnesses said. Pakistans military announced the death toll of both Pakistani and Indian forces. There was no word from India on the casualty count. A senior official with Indias paramilitary border forces said at least two personnel were injured. The clashes were the latest in recent weeks along the heavily militarized border that divides Kashmir between Pakistan and India, and it raised the specter of more unrest between the two nuclear-armed rivals. Later Wednesday, the directors general of the two militaries held talks, but it was unclear whether it could help ease tensions. On Tuesday, the Indian army vowed that retribution will be heavy after three soldiers were ambushed and killed while on border patrol in the rugged Machil area on the Indian side of the border. The body of one of the soldiers was mutilated, military officials said. [Indias prime minister ran as tough-talking leader. Now he faces a test.] Condemn the cowardly and brutal killing of our soldiers, and mutilation of one of them. Salute these brave martyrs for their supreme sacrifice, Indias defense minister, Manohar Parrikar, said in a tweet. The Pakistani military said Wednesday that a heavy exchange of fire continued along the densely wooded and mountainous area that separates the Indian- and Pakistan-administered parts of Kashmir. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decried the continuing naked Indian aggression. Reports also indicated civilian deaths. Khawaja Basharat, 40, a truck driver in the Neelum Valley in Pakistan, said a mortar shell hit a bus, killing eight people and seriously wounding several. Basharat said he heard a loud boom and rushed to the area to help the injured. Two other civilians were killed in an area further south Wednesday, witnesses said, including a teenage girl. On the Indian-controlled side, Ghulam Ahmad Khan, 62, fled the border village of Gulud in late October after shelling killed his wife. He now lives with his daughter in Mendhar, a bit farther from the conflict area. We hope that the border firing stops and there are no more killings, he said. Relations between the two regional rivals have been tense since Pakistani militants attacked an Indian military outpost on Sept. 18, killing 19 Indian soldiers. Eleven days later, India responded with what it described as surgical strikes on about a half-dozen sites in Pakistan that India described as staging grounds for militants waiting to cross the border. It is unclear how many of the alleged militants were killed in those raids; Pakistan has said only that two of its soldiers died in the attack. Since then, cross-border skirmishes have become a near-daily occurrence in the contested area, with a dozen civilians and 17 security personnel estimated to have been killed in India and 30 civilians and 15 soldiers killed on the Pakistani side. Hundreds have been evacuated from villages in border areas, but many have remained behind to tend crops and livestock. Diplomatic relations have been frosty, although Pakistans foreign affairs adviser, Sartaj Aziz, is to attend a two-day regional conference in Amritsar, India, beginning Dec. 3. The two countries technically have a cease-fire agreement in place that dates to 2003, but officials said both sides regularly violate it. Iqbal reported from Peshawar, Pakistan. Ishfaq Naseem in Srinagar, India, contributed to this report. Read more Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Facebook's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, right, applauds for the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at a meeting at Great Hall of the People in Beijing in March. (Pool photo/Reuters) Facebook has built an internal tool for the Chinese market that would censor posts before they appear, the New York Times reported late Tuesday. The tool, which was tested internally but not commercially released, was intended to help Facebook get into China by complying with Chinese Internet censorship laws, the paper reported, citing unnamed current and former employees. On Tuesday, the company did not directly address questions as to whether it built the tool. We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country, Facebook spokeswoman Debbie Frost said in a statement. However, we have not made any decision on our approach to China. Our focus right now is on helping Chinese businesses and developers expand to new markets outside China by using our ad platform. Facebook is one of several U.S. companies looking for a way into Chinas vast but tightly regulated Internet market. There are more than twice as many people online in China as there are residents of the United States, but their online activities are controlled by an extensive system of censorship known as the Great Firewall. Carmen Chang, a longtime China expert and partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates said that the censoring tool was not surprising and that it could help Facebook make headway there. The Chinese market is so large and so critical to so many companies that they are all seeking ways to get in and are willing to comply with censorship, she said. Every little bit helps them in terms of their willingness to comply, but the big reasons China is blocking Facebook remain. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has made a huge push to be in the good graces of Chinese authorities over the past two years. He has learned rudimentary Chinese and tried to forge a relationship with President Xi Jinping. When Chinas former Internet czar, Lu Wei, toured Facebooks headquarters in 2014, Zuckerberg left a copy of Xis book The Governance of China on a desk in plain view of the cameras. Zuckerberg has also made repeated trips to China, becoming one of the most well-known executives to frequently visit the country. In March, he took a now-famous smog jog through Beijings Tiananmen Square, braving thick, gray smog for an apparent photo op. So far, that has earned him little by way of leeway. Facebook has been blocked in China since 2009. It runs its advertising businesses, which solicit ads from Chinese companies to run on Facebook, from Hong Kong. Facebook is nowhere close to doing business in China, said a person who is familiar with the companys dealings there but who was not authorized to speak about the subject. Googles search engine and Twitter are blocked in China. Google pulled out of China in 2010. Over the previous four years, the search giant had sparked criticism that it offered a censored version of its product in China. The company pulled out only after Gmail accounts of Chinese activists were hacked. U.S. technology companies that operate in China, including LinkedIn and Evernote, have made changes to their services to comply with censorship regulations. Tech companies, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, comply with local censorship laws and block content in many other countries. Each year, the companies publish annual transparency reports in which they enumerate the requests they receive from foreign governments to take down content. Rauhala reported from Beijing. Read more: Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news They call him the French Margaret Thatcher, a staunch free-market advocate in a dogged crusade against economic stagnation. But Francois Fillon the surprise victor in the first round of Frances center-right presidential primaries is more than an economic conservative. When voters defied all poll predictions by picking Fillon over the other six contenders on the ballot, they backed a veteran politician and former prime minister with a strong social ideology that fits well in 2016s global shift to the right. Like Donald Trump, Fillon has made no secret of his fondness for Vladimir Putins Russia, arguing in favor of a Western coalition with Russia to fight the Islamic State. Also like Trump, a central component of his campaign has been antagonism to Muslims, Frances largest minority group. And like Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front, Frances own far-right populist party, Fillon appeals to those nostalgic for a white, Catholic France that they remember as devoid of immigrants and sexual minorities. In the early 1980s, he opposed decriminalizing homosexuality, and he has fought same-sex equality ever since. [In the era of Brexit and Trump, Frances presidential front-runner starts to worry] Although the former prime minister will face off next week against Alain Juppe, a centrist popular with the left, Fillon is now likely to be the conservative nominee and possibly Frances next president. In the general election next spring, he would go up against Le Pen, who has been steadily rising in the polls and whom many fear Fillon might not be able to defeat come April. With a pitifully weak French left, some say the National Front will win in 2017 even if Le Pen fails at the ballot box: A Fillon victory, they insist, would represent the partys fringe ideology becoming the political mainstream. Former French prime minister Francois Fillon after a meeting with deputies in Paris. (Charles Platiau/Reuters) This view carries particular currency among French Muslims, Marwan Muhammad, the head of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, said in an interview. Most Muslims, he said, voted in the first round of the primaries to defeat former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who had been especially outspoken in his criticism of Islam as a security threat and an affront to Frances secular values. But Fillons quick and quiet ascent presents an obstacle that will be even more difficult to surmount. Each of the main contenders in this years primary race published books in the course of the campaign, an exercise typically meant to burnish candidates reputations and to convey the general outlines of their platforms. While the titles of Sarkozys and Juppes books were predictably general and vague, Fillons title was direct and specific: Vanquishing Islamic Totalitarianism. There is not a religious problem in France, Fillon told the Figaro newspaper in September, promoting the book. There is a problem linked to Islam. He is the most dangerous candidate among the Republicans, Muhammad said of Fillon, weighing him against the other candidates vying for the nomination of Frances main center-right party. Sarkozy says these things for show, but Francois Fillon actually thinks of them as a political program. During Sarkozys presidency, Fillon was prime minister. And it is Fillon, Muhammad added, whom many Muslims remember as the principal driver of legislation banning the full veil and against Muslim mothers wearing headscarves to their childrens schools. Worse for French Muslims, Muhammad said, is what Fillons surprising preliminary victory tells them about their fellow citizens apparent indifference to a growing Islamophobic sentiment across the political spectrum. There is one big element of unconsented racism here, I would say, he said. People will explain their choice as merely conservative for the economically tough candidate but its not like that. Basically they vote in favor of the bigotry in Fillons speech, but they would not admit it, because he looks reasonable, he sounds reasonable. [Europes leaders bid goodbye to Obama and look with unease at Trump era] In a presidential election focused largely on questions of national identity, Fillon cultivates the image of a conservative French Catholic. Married with five children, he lives in a 12th-century chateau 150 miles outside Paris. A marked dimension of this traditionalism has been an outspoken opposition to the alternative, especially in the form of same-sex rights of any kind. Like Trump, Fillon has said that he would not challenge Frances 2013 law permitting same-sex marriage although as prime minister he was among its most prominent critics before it passed. But other issues, such as adoption by same-sex couples, he views as fair game. I want to put parentage back on the line, he said in the campaign. Nobody can deny that a child always has a father and a mother. He also has said he would seek to limit medically assisted procreation strictly to heterosexual couples for medical reasons. French LGBT advocates see Fillon in much the same way that French Muslims do. Paradoxically, the former prime minister is one of the most conservative French politicians on the subject of the society, even more than Nicolas Sarkozy or Alain Juppe even more so than Marine Le Pen, said Frederic Martel, author of Global Gay, an investigation of how same-sex issues affect politics around the world. His opposition to marriage for all was not only strategic, like the rest of the right it was ideological. Fillon is the true right: He has the passion for the nation, the religious anchoring, the superstition of traditions, the exaltation of the family and perhaps also the hypocrisy and the self-hatred. As for the rest of his policies, Fillon is quick to advertise his neoliberal economics, especially his belief in the need to cut some 500,000 public-sector jobs and to end Frances storied 35-hour workweek, a signature achievement of the French left. French voters will decide between Fillon and Juppe on Sunday in the final primary, and to the victor goes a significant chance of winning the French presidency. In the initial vote, Fillon beat Juppe by nearly 35 percent. Read more Germanys Merkel will seek a fourth term, face populist tide Can Trumps win boost Frances far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen? How far right will Nicolas Sarkozy go to become Frances president again? Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news A firing contest is seen in this undated photo released by North Koreas Korean Central News Agency. (Kcna/via Reuters) Japan and South Korea signed a long-awaited intelligence pact Wednesday, agreeing to share information on threats from North Korea without having to use the United States as an intermediary. Washington had been urging its two closest allies in Asia to put aside their historical differences so they could cooperate against their common enemy in the region amid stepped-up missile and nuclear tests by the North. Even at this moment, North Koreas Kim Jong Un is obsessed with advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities, including a submarine-launched ballistic missile, South Koreas Defense Ministry said in a statement. The deal, which takes effect immediately, was signed six years to the day after North Korea shelled South Koreas Yeonpyeong Island near the countries western maritime border, killing four people. The pact, the General Security of Military Information Agreement, was initially to be signed in 2012 but was postponed because of opposition in South Korea, where memories of Japans colonial aggression remain strong. A South Korean protester scuffles with police on Wednesday during a rally against an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan on potential North Korean threats. (Ahn Young-Joon/AP) Some analysts feared that the deal could be delayed again because of the crisis engulfing South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is fighting for her political life amid allegations linking her to a corruption and influence-peddling scandal. [Prosecutors link South Korean president to corruption scandal] But Han Min-koo, the Souths defense minister, and Yasumasa Nagamine, Japans ambassador to South Korea, signed the deal in a ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday. The agreement will help restrain Pyongyangs nuclear and missile development programs, Moon Sang-gyun, spokesman for the Souths Defense Ministry, told reporters. In Japan, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said the deal was more important than ever as North Koreas nuclear and missile programs pose a new level of threat. Several of the missiles that North Korea has fired this year have landed in Japans air-defense-identification zone. The deal would augment allied deterrence and defense by giving both countries expeditious information about North Korean threats from each others sensors, said Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at the Heritage Foundation. But the accord is good for the United States as well, he said. It will also improve trilateral security cooperation, with the U.S. no longer having to play operator in the middle of phone calls between Seoul and Tokyo, Klingner said. These North Korean missile launches add up to something very troubling] The deal remains controversial in Seoul, where opposition parties are strongly against it and want the defense minister dismissed for signing it. It is also unpopular in Beijing, where Chinas Foreign Ministry criticized the deal Wednesday, saying that South Korea and Japan were locked in a Cold War mind-set. South Korea and Japan . . . have in effect forged a military alliance by signing the pact, strengthening the U.S.-led alliance and further upsetting the strategic balance in Northeast Asia, Lu Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the state-run Chinese newspaper Global Times. Beijing has become increasingly angry at Seouls stronger military cooperation with the United States after North Koreas nuclear and missile tests this year. These events helped Seoul overcome its previous reluctance to agree to host a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, commonly known as THAAD, to intercept North Korean missiles. President Xi Jinpings government in Beijing was infuriated by the decision, viewing it as a way for the United States to keep Chinas military in check. Klingner said Seoul and Tokyo should build on the deal by integrating the South Korean and Japanese programs to improve the likelihood of successfully intercepting North Korean missiles. Seouls refusal to do so due to historic strains with Japan is like a baseball coach telling his three outfielders not to communicate with each other, Klingner said. In baseball, the cost is greater likelihood of a dropped fly ball. In missile defense, the results can be disastrous. Read more: China is putting the squeeze on North Korea. But for how long? North Korea fires projectiles into sea after U.N. passes new sanctions Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) has been tapped to be President-elect Donald Trumps ambassador to the United Nations. Heres what you need to know about her. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) has been tapped to be President-elect Donald Trumps ambassador to the United Nations. Heres what you need to know about her. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is a daughter of Indian immigrants and has no experience in international affairs, has been chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a key forum for articulating and advancing U.S. foreign policy. Haley, 44, a former state lawmaker who has been governor for six years, has not served in the federal government before, and her overseas work has been limited to international trade missions on behalf of her state. But she would be considered a moderating voice among Trumps national security picks, and someone who would bring polished political and communications skills to the world body. [How U.S. presidents choose American ambassadors] It is unusual for an incoming administration to name a U.N. ambassador so early, especially before the nominee for secretary of state is decided. Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama did not name ambassadors until after their inaugurations. By naming Haley so quickly, Trump seems to be signaling that he considers the post an important podium for his foreign policy agenda. Haley, who has a compelling family story of immigration and success, is the first woman and the first minority to accept a nomination for a Cabinet-level position in the incoming administration; her taking up the position is dependent on Senate confirmation. While the secretary of state helps formulate U.S. foreign policy, the ambassador to the United Nations explains American positions and helps corral support for them among the 193 members of the General Assembly and in the Security Council, where the United States has veto power. In the latter role, the ambassador sometimes engages in acrimonious debate with the ambassador from Russia a country that also holds veto power. [Nikki Haley went from tea party star to a leader of the New South] Samantha Power, the current U.S. ambassador, was instrumental in cobbling together enough Security Council votes to pass harsh sanctions against North Korea after it conducted ballistic missile tests in pursuit of nuclear warheads. Power served on the National Security Council before becoming ambassador. But on other issues, in particular the civil war in Syria, the Security Council has been paralyzed by divisions between the United States and Russia. If confirmed, Haley would immediately face a host of pressing issues, including some of the most complicated and intractable global conflicts. Esther Brimmer, a George Washington University professor and fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Haleys early appointment could give her time to hit the ground running. I hope the administration recognizes the complexity of the issues that come before the U.N., she said. Everything on the plate is crucial and difficult. The U.S. ambassador has to work closely on those issues with its allies, as well as its adversaries. Perhaps the foremost crisis is the catastrophe in Syria. The Obama administration has expressed outrage but has not stopped Russian warplanes from helping Syrian forces conduct an air campaign against the rebel-held areas of Aleppo, which has a large civilian population. The Russian and Syrian bombing has prevented the delivery of humanitarian aid. U.N.-sponsored peace talks also have stalled in the absence of a cease-fire, as the civil war grinds on for a fifth year. 1 of 35 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Heres a look at Trumps administration so far View Photos President-elect Donald Trump faces a challenge as he prepares for his move to the White House: selecting the men and women who will fill his administration. Caption The men and women the president-elect has selected for his Cabinet and White House team. Scott Gottlieb, nominee for commissioner of FDA President Trump is set to nominate Scott Gottlieb, a conservative physician and businessman with deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry, to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, a White House official said. Courtesy of American Enterprise Institute/via Reuters Wait 1 second to continue. Haley would be tasked with the U.S. defense of Israel in an international body that some say has grown increasingly hostile to the Jewish state and exasperated with the inability of Israelis and Palestinians to reach a peace settlement. The United States usually vetoes resolutions critical of Israel that regularly come before the Security Council. The United Nations has an often unwieldy bureaucracy, and Trump has signaled that he would consider pressing for some cutbacks. Haley would figure prominently in any efforts to introduce changes. Haleys appointment drew praise from U.N. watchers who said her experience as a governor should help her in the demanding dealmaking required of a U.N. ambassador. Having served as a governor, she will be able to spot instances where the U.N. is seeking to curb the sovereign interests of our country, said Leonard Leo, former U.S. delegate to the U.N. Human Rights Commission. She is committed to human dignity and will be able to push back on U.N. agendas that elevate abortion over the real human and civil rights atrocities that occur in dictatorships around the world. And she will be a friend to Israel and our own national security interests. Peter Yeo, president of the Better World Campaign and a vice president of the nonprofit United Nations Foundation, noted that governors and other politicians have been among previous ambassadors. If you think what it takes to get something done at the U.N., it requires building a broad political coalition, he said. Governors have experience in doing that. Jim DeMint, a former Republican senator from South Carolina who now is president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, predicted that Haley would act with grace and wisdom. She will fight for reform and accountability at the United Nations while advancing American interests, he said in a statement. This choice signals President-elect Trump is willing to look past election disagreements and to surround himself with strong, serious leaders who will not be satisfied with the status quo. Haleys known foreign policy views adhere to the Republican mainstream. She was among 15 Republican governors who signed a letter to Obama last year opposing the Iran nuclear agreement, which was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council on which she could soon sit. As governor, Haley has led state delegations on international trips to drum up jobs for South Carolina. On one trip to Europe in 2011, her costly efforts drew criticism at home for not delivering new business despite the expense. During the week-long trip, Haley and more than two dozen others in her traveling party rang up $127,000 in expenses staying at five-star hotels and dining at fancy restaurants. Haley came to national prominence after a young white man was charged with killing nine African Americans at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston in 2015. In the aftermath, she was at the forefront of efforts to persuade state lawmakers to remove the Confederate battle flag from its prominent position on the grounds of the state capitol. Haley backed Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) in the Republican presidential primaries, and her selection shows an effort by Trump to reach beyond his circle of loyalists. Haley was harshly critical of Trumps campaign proposal to impose a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. Londoners celebrate the life of slain British parliament member Jo Cox in June. Extremist Thomas Mair was found guilty of the slaying on Nov. 23, 2016. (Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images) A man whose bookshelf was full of writings on white supremacy and Nazism was found guilty Wednesday of killing British lawmaker Jo Cox in an apparent political attack as the country headed toward its landmark vote on European Union membership. The shooting and stabbing in June stunned Britain and underscored the divisions over the E.U. referendum, which tipped in favor of groups including right-wing and nationalist factions seeking to leave the bloc. Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two young children, was a well-known campaigner for Britain to remain in the European Union and a passionate advocate for refugees. Wednesdays verdict against her attacker, Thomas Mair, 53, carried added international resonance as hate groups and others in the United States say they are energized by the presidential victory of Donald Trump and his America-first campaign rhetoric. During the trial, several witnesses told the jury that Mair shouted Britain first! as he fired three shots at her and stabbed her 15 times. Thomas Mair sentenced to a whole life-term. (Reuters) [Tears in Canada for Cox] Judge Alan Wilkie said in his sentencing remarks that the crime was so exceptional that he issued a whole life-term sentence, which effectively eliminates the chance for parole or early release. The judge said that the murder was done to further a political motive of violent white supremacism and exclusive nationalism most associated with Nazism and its modern forms. Mairs inspiration, the judge said, was not love of country but an admiration for Nazisism and similar anti-democratic, white supremacist creeds. Mair spoke only once in court, at his first hearing, when he said his name was death to traitors, freedom for Britain. He asked to speak Wednesday after the jury had delivered its verdict, but the judge refused his request. Sue Hemming, head of special crime and counterterrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, said Mair had offered no explanation for his actions. [Did a U.S. neo-Nazi group inspire the Cox slaying?] But, she added, the prosecution was able to demonstrate that, motivated by hate, his premeditated crimes were nothing less than acts of terrorism designed to advance his twisted ideology. Cox was killed June 16 outside a library in Birstall in northern England on her way to meet constituents. It was just after lunchtime in the quiet market town when Mair, a local resident, attacked. Cox shouted to her colleagues, Get away you two let him hurt me. Several people tried to intervene, including Bernard Kenny, 77, whom Mair stabbed in the stomach. When police searched Mairs home, they found a bookshelf with a wide collection of books about white supremacy and Nazi Germany. Speaking after the verdict, Coxs husband, Brendan, said that he felt only pity for Mair, adding that the murder was a political act and an act of terrorism. In an interview with the BBC, Coxs widower said that he asked friends to write down memories of his late wife, an energetic, determined woman who climbed mountains and lived on a boat. He said that he often reads the stories to his children in the evening. They love them, he said. They love the exciting ones, the dangerous ones, the adventurous ones, the funny ones. And theres lots and lots of stories. We have a lifetime of stories. Jo packed in 80 or 90 years into the 40 she lived. Three of the five Woodmore Elementary School students who were killed in Mondays bus crash in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have been identified, according to their family members and friends. Zyanna Harris, 10, Cordayja Jones, 9, and Zoie Nash, 9, were on the bus that crashed, turned on its side and wrapped around a tree, critically injuring several more students. The bus driver has since been charged with vehicular homicide. The three students have been described as sweet, lovable spirits. Zyanna liked to dance as did Zoie, the only girl in her family, who also played softball. Cordayja was always smiling. School officials have previously said three fourth-graders, a first-grader and a kindergartner were killed in the crash. There were 37 students on board, according to the BBC, NBC News and The Tennessean. Zyanna Harris A close family friend of Zyanna says that she was a sweet girl who was never involved in drama. She was into dancing, cheering, anything girly, 13-year-old Sireunya Eberhardt tells PEOPLE. She was loving and very kind to her brothers and sisters. She was a family person and very friendly. Quiet and always smiling is how Sireunya remembers Zyanna. If you needed anything, she says, Zyanna was there to help. If her little brother fell, shed pick him up and make sure he was okay. Sireunya, who is friends with Zyannas older sister, found out that she died around 1 a.m. Tuesday. I just burst into tears. I didnt know what to do. I just didnt believe it was true, she says. We wouldve never really thought this would happen so soon. She barely got her foot in life to get to experience everything. But shes in a better place. Zyannas family could not be reached (her mother was not ready to speak publicly), but her stepfather also confirmed her identity to WREG. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Cordayja Jones Cordayjas aunt tells PEOPLE the 9-year-old was among the dead. Story continues She didnt meet any strangers, Kellie Jones says. She was my niece, but she was also my baby, too. She was very special. She is missed by so many people. Kellie says Cordayjas mother and father have been hit hard by her death, understandably: Were trying to comfort each other. Were trying, Kellie says. Its hard. We find ourselves sitting back talking to her or reminiscing and then sometimes you just have to break down. I sat in my car last night and just broke down and screamed. Kellie says she learned about the crash Monday afternoon as she was getting off work, when a friend who works for the school called her. She learned Cordayja who went by Dayja had died as she drove to the scene. When I got to the hospital, I told , I wish you could just breath for me, Kellie says. I told her I loved her. Cordayjas cousin, LaFrederick Thirkill, took to Facebook to share the familys grief. Our family appreciates your sympathy during this tragic incident, he wrote. She was a sweet girl and will surely be missed. She was always smiling, very soft-spoken, Thirkill told the Times Free Press. My heart is truly broken for her and her mother. Whenever I was with her she was always on my phone, taking pictures, Kellie tells PEOPLE. I can go on my phone and if I want I can hear her voice and listen to her videos that she made. Thats all she did make videos. Im always going to hold onto that, my memories of her. Zoie Nash Zoies uncle Antwon McClain told the Times Free Press that the fourth-grader the only girl in a family of brothers loved playing softball, made good grades and was also on a dance team. Zoies mother confirmed her death to PEOPLE. Misti Forrest Nash describes Zoie a people person. She was one of six the only girl, Misti says. She couldnt do nothing, she said she could never have a boyfriend. They all looked out for her. Misti says that Zoies younger brother Zecheriah, with whom she was real close, was on the bus with her when it crashed. Though he was initially in the ICU, his condition has improved. They always take that bus home, Misti says. She says she learned of the crash while at work, when Zachariahs teacher called her. She didnt know Zoie had died until she got to the hospital. It seems like a dream, Misti says. It hasnt hit me yet. was so lovable, McClain, her uncle, told the Free Press. She had a great spirit. She was a great athlete. Bus Driver Charged and in Custody According to police, Johnthony Walker, 24, was driving the bus that crashed and is facing charges for vehicular homicide, reckless driving and reckless endangerment. Police allege he was speeding before losing control of the vehicle. Walker remains in custody and as of Monday morning had not entered a plea or retained an attorney. He is cooperating with investigators, according to multiple reports. Walkers mother, Gwenevere Cook, told CNN the crash was a horrible nightmare. I feel bad for my son, said Cook, who could not immediately be reached. And I am torn up for the family members. At a news conference Tuesday, officials at the Childrens Hospital at Erlanger said 12 students remained hospitalized there six critically. The officials described a chaotic scene after the crash, with many of the victims too young to provide basic information such as their parents names. Several students said their mothers names were mama. A vigil is planned for Tuesday night at the Woodmore Elementary. With reporting by MARLENE LENTHANG best adventure movies on netflix right now 20th Century Fox Last Updated: January 25th Man-eating creatures, harrowing tales of survival, sword-fighting action, supernatural beings: Netflix has a rich offering when it comes to adventure. With movies that run the gamut from medieval action to stories of human vs. nature, these films deliver the goods if a white-knuckle adventure is what kind of movie youre after. So grab some snacks and prepare for some cinematic excitement with the best adventure movies on Netflix right now, currently available to stream at your leisure. Related: The 15 Best Action Movies On Netflix Right Now Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) The trailer for Kevin Costners 1991 blockbuster doesnt include a single line of dialogue from Costner or any of the other actors, but thats okay. Theres plenty of sword fighting, crashing through stained glass windows and shooting flaming arrows, and thats really all an audience wants from Robin Hood anyway, right? The summer blockbuster dominated theaters when it came out and would go on to become the years second highest-grossing film after Terminator 2. Costner, Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater all turn in fine performances, but its Alan Rickmans dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham who is the true standout. The true feather in this Robins hat: Mel Brooks felt it was worthy of a spoof two years later with Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Add To Netflix Queue The African Queen (1951) The fact that African Queen holds a score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes an almost impossible feat should really be all proof one needs to add this adventure flick to their Netflix queue. Should you need a little more persuasion, though, the story of a gin-guzzling steamboat captain who offers a ride to a British missionary down the wild Ulanga River won Humphrey Bogart his only Oscar for Best Actor. Its the chemistry between Bogart and Katherine Hepburn that makes the movie a ride worth jumping aboard for. Add To Netflix Queue Alive (1993) Alive may not be the best movie to watch before setting off on a flight over the Andes. Based on a harrowing true story, it follows the members of a Uruguayan rugby team who survive a plane crash in the wilderness of the Andes and must resort to the most desperate of measures to make it out alive. Starring Ethan Hawke, the film is about survival, but also about the bond that forms between friends who find themselves in dire straits. Story continues Add To Netflix Queue The Naked Prey (1965) Way before Leonardo DiCaprio took home an Oscar for playing a historical figure fighting for his life in The Revenant, Cornel Wilde took on a similar task. The movie has barely any dialogue after the first 30 minutes, but theres no shortage of tension as the central character known only as Man (played by Wilde, who also directs) runs for his life. Based on the story of John Colter who was pursued by Blackfoot warriors in 1809 Wyoming, Naked Prey moves the story to the African savanna as Man is hunted by a band of warriors who seek revenge for an insult. The movie has some torture scenes that are disturbing even by todays standards, but the films soundtrack of African drums and wild filming locale wonderfully enhance the movies chase and combat scenes. Add To Netflix Queue Big Trouble In Little China (1986) If you havent yet watched John Carpenters bizarrely wonderful sci-fi adventure, stop what youre doing and add this to your Netflix Instant Watch queue. Part of a stretch when everything John Carpenter and Kurt Russell collaborted on became a cult hit, Big Trouble tells the story of a wisecracking truck driver who must battle centuries-old Chinese supernatural forces in San Franciscos Chinatown. The film pretty much ate it at the theater when it was released, but has since become a cult classic, and for good reason. Carpenter took the visual effects wizardry from The Thing and successfully transferred it to comedic use in Big Trouble. Ol Jack Burton would likely agree that you really cant go wrong with ordering some Chinese takeout and putting this classic on. Add To Netflix Queue The Way Back (2010) Director Peter Weirs drama of a group of men an unimaginable 4,000 miles of wilderness is an epic journey spotlighting the human drive to survive. Based on The Long Walk, a memoir by a Polish prisoner of war, The Way Back tells the story of a group of men who escape a Soviet Gulag in Siberia and quickly find themselves at the mercy of the elements. Crossing through freezing forests and barren deserts, the men take on a grueling test of endurance in their search for freedom. It features Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell and Ed Harris delivering strong performances, and the movie works as a fantastic showcase of exotic terrain in Bulgaria, Morocco, and India. Add To Netflix Queue The Princess Bride (1987) Adapted from William Goldmans novel, this Rob Reiner-directed gem takes the form of a bedtime story read by a grandfather (Peter Falk) to his grandson (Fred Savage). His tale concerns a modest farmhand (Cary Elwes) and his true love, Buttercup (Robin Wright), following him as he sets out to rescue Buttercup from an evil prince whos forcing her into marriage. If you havent seen the movie since childhood, it holds up just as well as you remembered. Add To Netflix Queue Pirates Of The Caribbean (2003) The Pirates franchise has been Disneys cash cow for 13 years now and its likely things will remain that way when the fifth film, Dead Men Tell No Tales, rolls out next May. Its not every day that a theme park ride successfully transitions into a billion dollar movie series, but Johnny Depps likeable Jack Sparrow and lots of swashbuckling action deliver the goods. The first film follows a young blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) who teams up with the disreputable Sparrow to rescue the damsel in distress (Keira Knightley) from a Jacks murderous first mate whos now in command of a ghost crew. Clocking in at a hefty 143 minutes, the film runs a little long, but theres enough high-flying action to move the story along without too much drag. Add To Netflix Queue Touching The Void (2003) With mountain climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates providing the narration, actors Brendan Mackey and Nicholas Aaron provide a reenactment of Simpson and Yates treacherous tale of a climbing expedition gone terribly wrong. The docudrama tells the story of Simpson and Yates 1985 near-fatal climbing disaster of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. Both experienced climbers, the two men make it to the mountains summit only to have Simpson break his leg on the way down. As far as docudramas go, few masterfully tackle their subject as well as Touching the Void, and the movie serves as both a gripping warning on the unforgiving power of nature and as an example of our primal will to survive. Add To Netflix Queue Jaws (1975) The granddaddy of summer blockbusters, Jaws set the standard for big budget thrillers and is still making ripples in the pop culture universe. From the movies instantly recognizable dunnn dunnn dunnn music to lines like were gonna need a bigger boat, Steven Spielbergs summer horror story expertly plays on viewers most basic of fears and led the way to movies like Jurassic Park and Sharknado. Based on Peter Benchleys novel of the same name, the Roy Scheider struggles to maintain order and put an end to the man-eating shark thats treating the vacationers of Amity Island like a buffet. All four of the Jaws movies are currently streaming on Netflix, but the original is really the only one truly worth biting into. DJ Justin 3LAU Blau Raises $200,000 for Pencils of Promise EDM DJ Justin 3LAU Blau celebrates reaching his goal for Pencils of Promise and is eager to surpass it by a significant amount details Quite the promise! After visiting a school in Guatemala built with money from charity Pencils of Promise, DJ Justin 3LAU Blau was inspired to raise $200,000 through his record label, BLUME, to build more schools around the world. See Who Made Us' List of Stars Who Care Pencils of Promise is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building schools, training teachers and funding scholarships to underserved communities. The charity has attracted attention from celebrities including Justin Bieber and Sophia Bush in the past, who have gone to Guatemala to build schools. The way BLUME works is every song thats streamed so far there have only been two, which have both been my songs Is It Love and Fire raises about a half of a cent, he explains to Us Weekly. Which it doesnt seem like that much, but when you multiply it by millions, and these songs are getting millions of plays, every million plays on Spotify raises about $4,000. Since hitting his goal, Blau is now committed to raising more money for Pencils of Promise before he starts expanding his fundraising to other charities. His next single, You Want More with YouTube star MAX, premieres on Friday, November 25, and plays on Spotify will continue to benefit PoP. PHOTOS: Hot Pics Max is super stoked about the charity component as well, the 25-year-old explains. When he heard the idea, he was like, I want to do this right now. While the money has yet to be put to action, Blau is excited to figure that out. In the beginning of 2017, we can start releasing information on where the schools are going to be built, and potentially where well do a trip with all the fans, he says. The DJ, who has shows on November 25 at Terminal 5 in NYC and November 26 at Hakkasan in Las Vegas that are part of his 3LAU Haus tour, has also been busy remixing songs by Krewella and Ariana Grande when hes not busy working on his original pieces. PHOTOS: Back-to-School Buzzzz-o-meter: Gift Guide Story continues Blaus inspiration for a recent remix of Grandes Into You came quickly. In the case of Ariana, it was an idea that I was sitting on, and I was like, Wait, these go together, and I love the Ariana vocal. So I literally put it together in a day, showed it to SIRIUS XM BPM, and they actually called the record label saying, You have to approve this now, because we want to start playing it tomorrow, he explains. Its doing really well, its really exciting. Related Content: On Little People, Big World, Matt Roloff returned from Los Angeles, where he had neck surgery, to find out that he was about to lose Camerino, an employee at the familys farm. I have bad news. For you and for me, Camerino said. Ive got to go to Mexico. While Matt was away, a lawyer told his ex-wife, Amy, that Camerino must be deported to Mexico. Of course, Matt was surprised to hear the news. He was also saddened to learn that Camerino would have to leave his family behind. And fans of the show took to Twitter to express their feelings. D wrote, Omg I just balled at Camerino having to be deported. I cant believe they just separate families like this and Kim Smith tweeted, Im bawling on this part. Why deport someone who isnt causing trouble but keep the ones that are? Such a sad time!!! Despite the surprising departure, there is still hope that Camerino will be able to return. As soon as I get to my feet, Ill do everything I can to change that, to bring you back, Matt said. This farm will not survive without you. Watch Little People feel the pressure to have grandchildren: Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Cynthia LuCiette, on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. President-elect Donald Trump told a meeting with top executives, columnists and reporters from The New York Times that they would be happy with his commitment to the First Amendment, amid concerns that his criticisms of the media during the campaign and attacks on the paper afterward will chill free speech. I think youll be happy, Trump told the gathering, according to a tweet from one of the reporters who was there, Maggie Haberman. Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that he was canceling the meeting because the ground rules for it had changed at the last moment. He complained that the publication continues to cover me inaccurately and with a nasty tone and called the Times failing. But a couple hours later, he announced that the meeting was back on. A Times spokeswoman said that they did not change the ground rules, but that Trumps team had sought to make the entire gathering off the record, which we refused to agree to. Instead, they stuck to the original plan for a small off the record session followed by a larger gathering with staffers. At the on-the-record session, Trump complained about the way he had been covered but also acknowledged the need for a reset. I have great respect for the New York Times. I have tremendous respect. I think I have been treated very rough, he said at the gathering according to other tweets. He said that he would like to improve his relationship with the Times because it would make the job I am doing much easier. On Monday, at Trump tower, he met with network anchors, news executives and correspondents and berated them for their coverage, according to sources. That session was off the record. At the Times meeting, which lasted 75 minutes, Trump also was asked about his campaign pledge to open up libel laws, making it easier for plaintiffs to sue. According to Mike Grynbaum, Trump said that someone told him after he made the comment, You know, you might be sued a lot more. I said, You know, I hadnt thought of that.' Story continues Trump also defended his choice of Steve Bannon to be his chief strategist, triggering criticism that he had selected someone who has moved Breitbart News to draw in readers with racist and anti-Semitic views. Trump said that if thought he was a racist, or alt-right he wouldnt even think about hiring him. Hes having a hard time of it, because its not him, Trump said. He also said that Breitbart News is just a publication that cover[s] stories like you cover stories. Trump also said that he disavowed a gathering over the weekend of white nationalists in Washington, where they praised the incoming president and even engaged in a Nazi salute. During the campaign, Trumps attorneys had threatened to sue the Times after it published stories quoting women who claimed that he had groped them. Although his legal team fired off a letter to the Times, they have yet to file suit. He said that he does read the Times, but unfortunately, I would live about 20 years longer if I didnt. Thomas Friedman, a New York Times columnist, asked Trump if he would back out of the Paris climate agreement. Trump said that he was looking at it very closely and had an open mind to it, but was also weighing the impact that climate change would have on U.S. companies and competitiveness, according to tweets from the session. Trump also attempted to dismiss criticisms that his business holdings posed conflict of interest questions. He said that the laws totally on my side, the president cant have a conflict of interest. But he also suggested that it would not be easy to sell off his holdings because much of his investments are in real estate. Instead, his children are going to be managing those businesses. Related stories CNN Apologizes for Inflammatory Graphic Donald Trump Abruptly Cancels, Then Resets, Meeting with New York Times Nathan Lane on Trump's 'Hamilton' Tweets: The Theater Should Also Be 'Angry and Unforgiving' Well, its here againBlack Friday! No doubt many of you have already been out to the local stores to wait in line for the next great deal! The deals are so amazing that we are willing to sacrifice so much just to participate once again in the shopping frenzy of Black Friday! We sacrifice our time, our money, and in some cases, our dignity without even hesitating. We know ahead of time what to expect: long lines, selfish people, overwhelmed staff and cashiers, crowded spaces, and the list goes on and on. Yet we still do it! We still go out! Why? Because weve decided its worth it! We may actually even enjoy it! Is there a lesson to learn here? Would you be called a Christian if you acted the same way that people do on Black Friday? It all depends on how you look at Black Friday. . . When was the last time you sacrificed some sleep, like we all do when shopping on Black Friday, to stay awake and spend extra time in prayer? When was the last time you purposely arose out of bed much earlier than normal to spend time with God in His Word and in prayer on behalf of someone else? One of the reasons that Black Friday is worth it to us is the joy that will be reflected on our childrens faces when they open some of those gifts, right? Do we really believe that prayer changes things and people? Cant we also pray with the same feeling of anticipation of good coming from our sacrificed time of prayer? God has promised so much, isnt it worth spending time in prayer to receive it? What better deal is there than the gift of eternal life? I believe when we pray for others to come to know Him as Lord and Savior, God begins to work in their lives and He will reveal Himself to others! Is that deal worth it to you? Is it worthy to sacrifice some sleep to see it begin to happen? This is what I mean by the term Black Friday Christians! Those who are willing to sacrifice in order to please God and benefit His kingdom. Another thing we sacrifice is our money when going out shopping on Black Friday. There are so many amazing deals that we end up spending way more than we probably even budgeted! We spend money we really dont have. One of the number one excuses given as to why Christians dont give money to the church or to other organizations that are advancing Gods Kingdom is that they dont have any extra to give. Yet, that doesnt seem to stop us from buying things that will eventually rust and be thrown out. What could happen if those of us who profess to be Christians become like those who sacrifice their money on Black Friday? Heres one example that I read lately: Did you know that there are approximately 3,000 kids in Illinois that need to be adopted? Do you know how many churches, not Christians, but churches there are in Illinois alone? There are over 13,000!! What if every church sponsored just one child being adopted? I also read that in every state across our nation there are way more churches than kids that need to be adopted! How many ways could our churches across our country advance Gods Kingdom just by sacrificing our money like those millions of people who do so on Black Friday? Is it worth it? If you are a Christian, you must decide! Are your time and money worth it? What regrets will we have when we stand before Jesus one day? When that time comes, I guarantee you, we all will wish we had sacrificed more. Its amazing to me how quickly we will sacrifice our dignity when it comes to shopping on this day. People arent afraid to push, run, speak up, strategize, etc. even if they arent normally outgoing individuals. They are on a mission! They drive crazy and maybe arent even apologetic about being called crazy by others who get in their way. Outside of being rude and mean, shouldnt we as Jesus followers be called crazy for the way we live in wholehearted devotion to Christ? Shouldnt we be attempting things for God and His Kingdom that could be called crazy? We shouldnt be afraid to run and speak up and strategize on how to accomplish what God is putting on our hearts to do. When we sacrifice our time, our money, and maybe even our dignity to hear from God and do what Hes leading us to do, we will live up to the phrase Black Friday Christians! Are you one? Will you be one? We have work to do, churchwhos in? putin gun Ten years ago today, Alexander Litvinenko died from radiation poisoning in a hospital bed in London. Litvinenko, a defector from the Russia's intelligence service the FSB, was a prominent critic of Putin and the Kremlin. He died from ingesting a dose of the radioactive material polonium-210, which a British inquiry in 2016 found was most likely a political assassination approved by the head of the FSB and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Litvinenko's death is one among a series of mysterious killings. Here are some of the other people Putin is suspected of assassinating: Mikhail Lesin The Washington DC medical examiner's office has confirmed that former Russian press minister Mikhail Lesin died of "blunt force trauma to the head." Lesin, who founded the English-language television network Russia Today (RT) was found dead in a Washington, DC, hotel room in November 2015. The Daily Beast reports that before his death, Lesin was considering making a deal with the FBI to protect himself from corruption charges. For years, Lesin had been at the heart of political life in Russia and would have known a lot about the inner workings of the rich and powerful. Anna Politkovskaya Anna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist who was critical of Putin. In her book "Putin's Russia," she accused Putin of turning his country into a police state. She was murdered by contract killers who shot her at point blank range in the lift outside her flat. Five men were convicted of her murder, but the judge found that it was a contract killing, with $150,000 paid by "a person unknown." Anna Politkovskaya Natalia Estemirova Natalia Estemirova was a journalist who sometimes worked with Politkovskaya. She specialized in uncovering human-rights abuses carried out by the Russian state in Chechnya. She was abducted from outside her home and later found in nearby woodland with gunshot wounds to her head. No one has been convicted of her murder. Story continues Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova Human-rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov represented Politkovskaya and other journalists who had been critical of Putin. He was shot by a masked gunman near the Kremlin. Journalist Anastasia Baburova, who was walking with him, was also shot when she tried to help him. Boris Nemtsov Boris Nemtsov Boris Nemtsov was a former deputy prime minister of Russia under Boris Yeltsin who went on to become a big critic of Putin accusing him of being in the pay of oligarchs. He was shot four times in the back just yards from the Kremlin as he walked home from a restaurant. Despite Putin taking "personal control" of the investigation into Nemtsov's murder, the killer has not been found. Boris Berezovsky Boris Berezovsky was a Russian oligarch who fled to Britain after he fell out with Putin. During his exile he threatened to bring down Putin by force. He was found dead at his Berkshire home in March 2013 in an apparent suicide, although an inquest into his death recorded an open verdict. Berezovsky was found dead inside a locked bathroom with a ligature around his neck. The coroner couldn't explain how he had died. The British police had on several occasions investigated alleged assassination attempts against him. Boris Berezovsky Paul Klebnikov Paul Klebnikov was the chief editor of the Russian edition of Forbes. He had written about corruption and dug into the lives of wealthy Russians. He was killed in a drive-by shooting in an apparent contract killing. Sergei Yushenkov Sergei Yushenkov was a Russian politician who was attempting to prove the Russian state was behind the bombing of an apartment block. He was killed in an assassination by a single shot to the chest just hours after his political organization, Liberal Russia, had been recognized by the Justice Ministry as a party. An original version of this post was written by Jeremy Wilson. NOW WATCH: The surprising economic reason drug cartel members get head-to-toe tattoos More From Business Insider In August, 10-year-old Caleb Schwab died while on the 168-foot-tall Verruckt water slide at Kansas Citys Schlitterbahn Waterpark. Local authorities confirmed Calebs cause of death was due to a fatal neck injury. There were two women in the boat with him at the time, neither related to Caleb. They suffered minor facial injuries and were treated at local hospitals. On Tuesday, three months since the incident, Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts issued a statement about the incident, announcing the demolition of Verruckt. All of us at Schlitterbahn have been heartbroken over the tragedy that occurred on Verruckt. In our 50 years of providing an environment for families and friends to gather, weve never experienced this kind of devastating event, the parks statement to PEOPLE read. The safety of our staff and our guests is our top priority. We are parents and grandparents ourselves and many of us have ridden Verruckt with our own children and grandchildren over the years it operated. Adding, Once the investigation is concluded and we are given permission by the court, Verruckt will be decommissioned closed permanently and the slide removed from the tower. In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy. Named the worlds tallest water slide by Guinness World Records in 2014, the Verruckt (German for crazy or insane) requires riders to be at least 54 inches tall to go down the slide in multi-person rafts that hold up to 550 pounds. Investigators continue to uncover exactly what happened to Caleb on the 17-story water slide. We continue to fully cooperate with investigative teams and work with the families, their attorneys and our staff impacted by this accident, the statement continued. As we move forward, we assure everyone who works for us and the community: we remain wholly committed to our Kansas City park and the original vision of Schlitterbahn providing a great place to work and an environment for families and friends to gather together. Story continues Verruckt was set to open in May 2014 but didnt start taking riders until July as early tests of the water slide showed that riders could fly off. We honestly dont know whats happened, Winter Prosapio, director of communications for Schlitterbahn told reporters in October, according to The Kansas City Star. Thats why a full investigation is necessary To be honest, this is not something weve experienced. The discovery of a pair of fossilized skulls from dome-headed dinosaurs is shedding light on how these bizarre creatures called pachycephalosaurs evolved, researchers say. Both of the skulls are relatively complete. One, discovered in the Kaiparowits Formation of Utah, dates to about 76.5 million years ago. The other, found in the Kirtland Formation of New Mexico, is about 73.5 million years old, the researchers said. The location of these skulls in the southern Mountain states indicates that pachycephalosaurids may have diversified in the south before they moved north and gave rise to the pachycephalosaur known as Stegoceras, said study lead researcher David Evans, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. [Dinosaur Detective: Find Out What You Really Know] Pachycephalosaurids (which means "thick-headed lizards") were bipedal, herbivorous and possibly head-butting dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous period (145.5 million to 65.5 million years ago). At that time, a vast seaway divided the eastern part of North America (called Appalachia) from the western part (called Laramidia). Most pachycephalosaurid fossils are found in northern Laramidia, such as modern-day Alberta and Montana, making the two newfound skulls in southern Laramidia rather remarkable discoveries, Evans said. "There have been some fragmentary specimens that have been found as far south as Texas, but having good quality material and relatively complete skulls has been a true rarity," Evans told Live Science. "The two new specimens really stand out in terms of their completeness, and this allows us to get a much better understanding of their anatomy and their relationships." Both of the pachycephalosaurids were small about the size of a German shepherd, but the Utah specimen was about 20 percent larger than the New Mexico one, Evans said. Story continues Bony bumps Despite their small differences in size, both had unique bony knobs on the back of the skull, which "is very different from what we've seen in other species before," Evans said. The different boney knobs suggested that they were two new genuses (also called genera) and species, Evans said. The pachycephalosaurids likely used these bony knobs as ornamentation as a way to distinguish between different species and to woo mates, Evans said. Perhaps these ornaments, much like the pachycephalosaurids' domed heads, grew larger as the creature matured, he said. Interestingly, a variety of dinosaur groups, including pachycephalosaurids, Tyrannosaurs and Ankylosaurs, moved north around 80 million years ago. It's unclear what caused this northward move, but one idea is that the seaway changed shape, expanding into swaths of land that dinosaurs once inhabited and causing them to leave behind their southern stomping grounds, Evans said. Perhaps one of the pachycephalosaurid populations in the south moved north, and eventually gave rise to Stegoceras, Evans said. In other words, the two new findings suggest that the "Stegoceras lineage may actually have originated in the southern part of North America, which is unexpected," Evans said. "It tells an interesting story about the evolution of this group that we didn't know before." The study, which has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, was presented Oct. 27 at the 2016 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in Salt Lake City. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations San Diego: Orjan F. Ellingvag/Getty Images While the nation is getting ready to digest massive amounts of turkey, the economic team at realtor.com has digested a ton of data from our site for November. And though were a few days from the end of the month, we can go out on a limb and say itll be yet another month of record-low levels of housing supply, strong demand, and (not coincidentally) record-high prices. The median list price looks to remain at $250,000 for a fourth straight month. Thats 9% higher than last year at this time, and sets a new record for November. After an eventful election, demand for real estate appears to be carrying momentum going into the holiday season, says Javier Vivas, manager of economic research for realtor.com. We expect that to be put to the test, as mortgage rates sky rocket to new highs. But the economic foundations remain strong and most forecasts expect growth as we enter the new year, which should keep waves of buyers intent on entering the market. Viewing activity on our site shows that theres still plenty of demand from buyers on the prowl for a home. But inventory of homes for sale is down 5% from October, and 11% compared with November 2015. Its that combo of low supply and high demand thats keeping prices high. And with only 363,000 new listings entering the market in November, the pickings will be even slimmer next month. Although homes are selling a wee bit slower these days, as is typical in fall, theyre still moving 1% faster than last November. Were projecting that homes for sale will have spent a median 82 days on market for November, three days slower than last month. We analyzed our data for the markets where homes are selling fastest and buyers show the most interest in listings to come up with our monthly list of the countrys 20 hottest real estate markets. This month, we saw a few new names: Billings, MT; Los Angeles, CA; and Oxnard, CA. Billings actually made it into the top 10 by vaulting up 42 spots. Note that these metro markets include some nearby cities. For example, when we say Los Angeles its actually Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Anaheim. But thats kind of a mouthful. Story continues As usual, California markets dominated the list, taking up 11 slots, including San Francisco at No. 1, but eight other states were represented: Texas, Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Montana. Check out the full list: The post The 20 Hottest U.S. Real Estate Markets for November 2016 appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Here comes Thanksgiving, the great American holiday that brings friends and family of all stripes -- and political affiliations -- together. This year, you can count on plenty of lively conversation over the turkey about our contentious and surprising presidential election. Forty-five percent of Americans predict politics will be a topic of conversation over Thanksgiving dinner, and more than half expect the discussion to be stressful. If youre looking for a way to avoid sparing with Uncle Joe over your presidential vote, try offering up one these 26 Turkey Day facts as a distraction. 1863: The year President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. Related: Best and Worst Things to Buy on Black Friday 1941: The year President Franklin Roosevelt signed a bill to officially schedule Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. 1621: Year of the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, between European settlers and the Wampanoag Indians. 6: Number of Pilgrim women and girls who prepared (and cleaned up) the first Thanksgiving feast. 80: The percentage of employers who give workers Thanksgiving and the following day off, with pay. 84: The percentage of employers who offer extra compensation for employees working on Thanksgiving. 48.7 million: The number of people who are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home, up almost 2 percent from last year and the highest since 2007. Related: The 20 Most Expensive Shopping Streets in the US 27.3 million: The number of passengers who are expected to fly over the Thanksgiving holiday. 370,000: The number of motorists experiencing a breakdown over the holiday, such as a flat tire, dead battery or lockout. $2.14: Average price of gasoline for this Thanksgiving. $49.87: The average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, down from $50.11 last year. 96: Percentage of Thanksgiving dinners that feature a turkey. 74: Percentage of Thanksgiving dinners with pumpkin pie. 46 million: Number of turkeys that are consumed on Thanksgiving, beating the amount consumed on Easter and Christmas combined. Story continues 16: The average weight, in pounds, of a turkey purchased for Thanksgiving. 3,000: Average number of calories for the Thanksgiving meal. Americans will consume 1,500 more calories on appetizers and drinks. Related: 15 Things That Will Cost More in 2017 1,730: Number of cooking fires on Thanksgiving in 2014. The holiday is the peak day for home cooking fires. 4: Number of towns in the U.S. with turkey in their names: Turkey Creek, Louisiana; Turkey, Texas; Turkey, North Carolina; and Turkey Creed, Arizona. 1924: Year of the first Macys parade, which was then called the Macys Christmas Parade. It was renamed in 1927. 174: Number of giant character balloons that have been in the parade since it first started. 16: Number of giant balloons in this years parade, along with 26 floats, 12 marching bands, 1,100 cheerleaders/dancers and more than 1,000 clowns. 8,000: Number of volunteers marching in the parade this year. 64: The height in feet of the tallest balloon in this years parade: The Elf on the Shelf. 77: The length in feet of the longest balloon in this years parade: The Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger. 3.5 million: Number of people who are expected to watch the parade in person, according to Macys. 50 million: Number of people expected to watch the event on television. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: The competition further widens skills gap. Banks and financial firms are finding it hard to woo potential talents as competition from overseas markets intensify, a survey from Robert Half revealed. According to the study, more than three in four, or 79% Chief Financial Officers are experiencing more competition from overseas when trying to attract skilled professionals, further intensifying the current skills gap. This is particularly evident on medium-sized companies, as 94% of CFOs within these organisations said competition from foreign markets for talent is increasing. Meanwhile, in terms of the scope of demand for skilled professionals sourced from overseas, more than four in 10 (44 per cent) CFOs say they intend to source at least 10 per cent of their workforce from foreign markets. Robert Half Singapore managing director Matthieu Imbert- Bouchard said the city-state has always been an attractive destination for foreign workers and expats. "Its global reputation for business excellence and innovation continues to attract skilled financial services professionals from the region. However, despite the effort to recruit more local talent, companies are forced to compete with foreign markets to mitigate the effects of the current skills shortage, Imbert-Bouchard noted. He argued that companies are forced to source candidates from foreign talent pools. "Despite how attractive the city-state is for foreign professionals, competition is high within the region for high-calibre candidates, particularly Hong Kong, and Singaporean companies are under increasing pressure to compete with these foreign markets, the managing director explained. Around 79% of CFOs attributed their inability to innovate because of the skills shortage. Companies need to adapt their staff attraction and retention policies to offset the impact of a skills shortage and keep their top performing employees. And while there is a strong focus for companies to source their staff locally, we are increasingly seeing Singaporean businesses offer attractive remuneration and expatriate packages to senior financial services candidates in order to persuade them to make the move to the city-state, Imbert- Bouchard stressed. More From Singapore Business Review Its that time of year again, when families across the country gather for a meal to give thanks for the blessings in their lives. In honor of this tradition, here are three celebrity families we want to spend Thanksgiving with: The Kardashian-Jenners: Instagram-worthy photos, a multicultural family spanning several generations, a transgender parent breaking barriers for the LGBT community, Kanyes opinionated pontifications, Tyga and Kylie, Blac Chyna and Rob plus Blac Chyna and Tyga previously hooking up before meeting Kylie and Rob well, its all very Shakespearean. Love em or hate em, theyre a close-knit bunch who fiercely support one another, which makes them one family we wanna hang out with on Thanksgiving. The Baldwins: Alec, Stephen, Hailey, and Ireland. Alec Baldwin portrayed President-elect Donald Trump on SNL and was a loyal supporter of Hillary Clinton. Conversely, Stephen Baldwin was fired from The Apprentice before Gary Busey (thats right, he lost to Gary Busey) and was a staunch supporter of the Trump campaign. Pit two siblings on opposite sides of the political spectrum, add in their respective supermodel daughters, Ireland and Hailey, and thats a dinner that we want to snag an invite to. The Obamas: The picture-perfect model of what every American family Thanksgiving should aspire to be. Pardoning a turkey, community service feeding the homeless, and Michelle Obama giving a profoundly moving dinner toast (break out the Kleenex!). Sign us up for a security clearance to spend the holidays with the first family of the United States! Speaking of the Baldwins, check out why Alec Baldwin shut down Donald Trump on Twitter: Thirty-one American writers signed an open letter addressed to U.S. President Barack Obama calling for the issue of a presidential pardon for National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden. The 33-year-old is wanted in the U.S. under the Espionage Act for leaking classified information. The group, which includes Neil Gaiman, Joshua Cohen, Joyce Carol Oates and Nicholson Baker, published the open letter in the New York Times Tuesday where it appeared as an advertisement. Having sworn an oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution, Snowden proceeded to do just that, by releasing the information hed uncovered to reputable institutions of our free press, in accordance with Jeffersons principle that wherever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government, the letter reads. We the people are now well informed, and yet the man who has risked his freedom in the interests of our better self-governance languishes in Russian exile, faced with the prospect of returning home to a trial deprived of a public interest defense, and so, in all likelihood, a cell. This, in our opinion, is exactly the type of circumstance for which the presidency has been invested with the pardon privilege, the authors wrote. Snowden, who has been living in exile in Moscow since 2013, revealed that the NSA had been spying on Americans using the mass surveillance programs the U.S. had set up after 9/11. President-elect Donald Trump in 2013 called Snowden a terrible traitor and hinted that he should be killed. The Trump administration is stepping up its efforts to arrest Snowden but the whistleblower defended his actions saying: I dont care. The reality here is that yes, Donald Trump has appointed a new director of the Central Intelligence Agency who uses me as a specific example to say that, look, dissidents should be put to death... It doesnt actually matter that much to me, because I believe in the decisions that Ive already made. Story continues The writers added: By pardoning Snowden and permitting him to return free to the country he loves, your administration would be sending a message to the future that America remains committed to democratic accountability, and that tomorrows innovations will not be allowed to bend or bow the Constitution, but will, instead, be made to conform to it, and to reinforce the rights that it bestows. Obama said in an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel that he cannot pardon Snowden as the 33-year-old hasnt gone before a court. "I can't pardon somebody who hasn't gone before a court and presented themselves, so that's not something that I would comment on at this point, Obama said. I think that Mr. Snowden raised some legitimate concerns. How he did it was something that did not follow the procedures and practices of our intelligence community. If everybody took the approach that I make my own decisions about these issues, then it would be very hard to have an organized government or any kind of national security system. Related Articles Weekdays -- Wellness screenings, immunizations, flu vaccines and all recommended vaccinations, STD testing, blood work - (cholesterol, hemoglobin, etc), Coles County Health Department, 825 18th St., Charleston. Call to make an appointment at 217-348-0530. -- Living with Diabetes, 2:30-3:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday in METS at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. For more information, call 217-238-4808 or 217-258-2199. -- Pulmonary Rehab, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. or 1:30 p.m. in METS at Sarah Bush Lincoln. For more information, call 217-238-4973. -- Walk-in Flu Immunization Clinics, 8-11:30 a.m., 1-3:30 p.m., Shelby County Health Department, 1700 W.S. Third St., Shelbyville. Call 217-774-9555. -- Heart health screenings, $95, or $190 for screens to detect peripheral vascular disease. To make an appointment, call 217-258-2238. Thursday -- Healthy Directions, 6:30 p.m. every Thursday in the Lumpkin Family Center for Health Education at Sarah Bush Lincoln. A six-month community weight-management program, which is supported in part by WomenConnected, a giving circle within Sarah Bush Lincoln. For more information, call 217-258-2199. Saturday -- Blood Drive, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Wal-Mart, 101 Dettro Dr., Mattoon. Monday -- Health Management Resources-Weight Management, 5:30-6:30 p.m., SBL Toledo Clinic, and SBL Center for Healthy Living, Mattoon; For more information, call 217-238-4774. -- Blood pressure screening, 11-11:30 a.m., Altamont Municipal Building, For more information contact 217-347-1529 or visit www.stanthonyshospital.org. -- Blood drive, 2-6 p.m., Ashmore Community Center, 211 S Illinois St., Ashmore. Tuesday -- Joint Replacement Class, 12:30-3 p.m., Lumpkin Family Center for Health Education, For more information, contact Cynthia Edwards, RN, at 217 238-3422. Nov. 30 -- Health Management Resources-Weight Management, 8:30-9:30 p.m., SBL Center for Healthy Living, Mattoon; For more information, call 217-238-4774. -- Breastfeeding support group, 5 p.m., HSHS St. Anthonys Womens Wellness Center at 900 West Temple Avenue, Suite 108. There is no charge to attend. For questions or more information about the Breastfeeding Support Group, contact Ashley Davis, RN, CLC, Nurse Navigator at St. Anthonys Womens Wellness Center at 217-347-1638 or visit www.stanthonyshospital.org. -- Blood drive, 1:30-6:30 p.m., Cumberland High School, Route 121, Toledo. -- Blood drive, 1-5 p.m., Eastern Illinois University, Lawson Hall, 2151 4th Street, Charleston. - By Bram de Haas Pershing Square, led by Bill Ackman ( Trades , Portfolio ), waged one of the most spectacular public activist campaigns against Herbalife (HLF) on the premise it is a pyramid scheme. In the recent earnings call Ackman reiterated some of the points he has made previously (and he made a lot of points) but also pointed out several important potential catalysts that each individually could impact the viability of the nutritional supplement MLM company: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver goes viral A Last Week Tonight show, presented by John Oliver which is about MLMs and spends a lot of time on Herbalife, is going viral. The YouTube video racked up 6.3 million views and one that's subtitled in Spanish (the Spanish-speaking community is an important demographic to Herbalife) racked up as much as 1.6 million views. If you read the Wall Street Journal or GuruFocus you are probably aware there are people who question the ethics of Herbalife's business model. However, and this is complete speculation on my part, they aren't too interested in the business opportunity Herbalife offers peddling high-priced nutritional shakes. When the legitimacy of the business opportunity offered is questioned in more mainstream media, that has a much better chance of actually spreading across the company's target demographic. It isn't as in depth as Ackman's infamous presentation, but that one reached something like 50,000 people (maybe a few more by now), and they were likely to be mostly investors. FTC measures take effect May 2017 We aren't quite there yet but the 31-page settlement agreement between the FTC and Herbalife will take effect in the first half of 2017. It is hard to imagine it will not affect the level of sales and profits Herbalife has demonstrated in the past, as it has important implications for the marketing strategies that can be used by distributors. Story continues CEO Michael Johnson stepping down Coincidentally, the 13-year CEO Michael Johnson will end his tenure in June 2017 right after these measures take effect. It is not a good sign when a CEO decides to quit while heading a company in turmoil. It is often followed by the new CEO putting out the dirty laundry on the first earnings call so that will be one to watch. Ackman pointed out on the Pershing call that Herbalife's business is reliant on a confidence game. Its top distributors (who put in a lot of work to keep their downlines going) need to believe the company is a reliable and stable partner. The long-time CEO quitting along with the business model being upended is not inspiring confidence. In addition Ackman argues it is a bad sign the company hired an insider (base pay $1 million) instead of an outside superstar CEO. Betting on Zero Betting on Zero is now mostly going around film festivals where predominantly well educated people watch artsy films. It's not a positive for Herbalife, but as long as sport superstars sign sponsorship agreements with the company it can probably offset the negative publicity. However Gunpowder Sky Distribution has bought the rights to distribute the documentary to theaters and plans to start doing so in early 2017. I haven't watched the movie but judging from the trailer there could be some mass market appeal: On a statistical basis Herbalife is fairly appealing. It trades at a forward Price-earnings (P/E) of 10x based on analyst estimates and at 10x EV/EBITDA. However, if Ackman is right about the above catalysts, revenue and profit could fall off quickly, makeing it important to do your qualitative work with this particular investment. So far, I've never bet on either side (long or short) but in the past four years it hasn't looked better for Ackman in the Herbalife vs. Ackman showdown. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Disclosure: No position. Start a free seven-day trial of Premium Membership to GuruFocus. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. The CS:GO competitors at IEM Oakland (IEM) By Tomi lurppis Kovanen The $300,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament at IEM Oakland was filled with drama and some impressive performances. Here are five takeaways. There is no clear pecking order in the upper echelon of CS:GO The previous seven offline CS:GO tournaments were won by seven different teams, a fact that, while overblown by fans and community figures, indicates there is no definitive pecking order at the top of Counter-Strike. However, that does not mean we are in some ultra-competitive new meta where there will no longer be any clear world number ones. Instead, I offer an entirely different explanation to why this is happening. All year long teams and players have been attending more tournaments than they should. Staying home for some as Virtus.pro have recently done, declining a last minute ESL Pro League Season 4 Finals spot and withdrawing from IEM Oakland is simply good business, as it allows you to decompress and debrief after tournaments and actually start fixing your mistakes in order to improve as a team. In 2016 there has been little time for that, but it is about to change, again. ELEAGUE will finish in about ten days time, and aside from the major qualifier in mid-December (and ECS Season 2 Finals a week before), there will be no other big events in 2016. Then teams will have over a month to start fresh and put in work to improve. I for one believe the ELEAGUE major in January will be the best event in a long time, and teams will look almost new by then. It has been a demanding year for everyone, but 2017 will kick off in the best possible way. And, well again find out whos who in CS:GO. Ninjas in Pyjamas at IEM Oakland (IEM) NiP still have magic Do you believe in magic? The Ninja squad of Patrik f0rest Lindberg HLTV.orgs MVP for IEM and Christopher GeT_RiGhT Alesund did it again. Their cumulative round score at IEM Oakland was only 171-163 (+8), despite winning 9 of 13 maps they played. Whats more, they won five of those games with a score of 16-13 or closer, while putting up mere single digit rounds in each of their four losses. They almost cut it as close as at ESL One Cologne 2014, where they won a major despite losing more rounds than they won. NiPs record in close games, at least in Oakland, is something to admire. It takes real character (and a hint of luck) to nab so many narrow victories. Story continues Furthermore, in the group stage NiP dropped Overpass against FaZe and Cobblestone versus SK Gaming, only to win the same maps in the playoffs. Call it randomness or give them credit for adjusting, but the results speak for themselves. Some expected NiP to finally drop off following the loss of their Legends status at ESL One Cologne in July, but despite pyths injury they still keep not only fighting for titles, but winning them. In three grand finals of +$250K events in 2016, NiP have been victorious three times, and both Oakland and DreamHack Masters Malmo featured a comeback from a 12-14 deficit on defense on Cobblestone to win it all. They will likely never see another 87-0 record, and might never win another major. But they are one of the all-time great teams, and continue proving to us they can still periodically get some big wins over the worlds best teams. Even large round robin results must be taken with a grain of salt While big round robin groups are incredibly fun to follow thanks to nonstop action on two streams for a couple of days during the group stage (players like them, too), theyre also more random due to matches being played in best-of-one and teams being affected by lack of preparation for each specific opponent. This is not necessarily criticism on the format, but rather a point on how to interpret such results in analysis. In the NBA, certain play styles wreak havoc in the regular season, but tend to get stopped in the playoffs when teams have a week or two to focus on watching film specifically for that team. Likewise, in CS:GO you cannot deep-dive prepare for each opponent in a six-team group. You will for each playoff series especially with a schedule as lax as that of IEM Oaklands. Finally, in series vetoes each team gets to play their second-best map at worst, whereas group stage games often end up in neutral maps, assuming similar-sized pools. Credit where credit is due wins are wins but assessing a teams ability based on results in the group stage isnt particularly helpful. Astralis at IEM Oakland (IEM) Both Astralis and FaZe surge after mutually beneficial trades Astralis benched their in-game leader of nearly two years, Finn karrigan Andersen, who shortly after was picked up by FaZe. Meanwhile, the Danish side recruited Lukas gla1ve Rossander who stood-in for Astralis at ESL One Cologne this past summer to become the teams new in-game leader. We have now seen both teams at two tournaments with the new rosters, and its safe to say that both benefitted from their roster changes. Astralis made their first top four at a +$250,000 tournament since early April, and FaZe have now made the playoffs multiple times after missing out on them for the first ten months or so of 2016. Some were quick to criticize Astralis for losing yet another semifinal to SK Gaming, and their veto tactic was arguably questionable. But they have had less than a month with gla1ve, and have already taken down SK, Na`Vi, Liquid, IMT and TyLoo, while so far only losing to G2 and SK. That is an impressive resume, and the teams third-wheel, Peter dupreeh Rasmussen, was quick to point out Astralis are happy with the results. Look for the Danes to continue improving, and dont be surprised if you see them regularly competing for titles after what feels like an eternity of disappointments. Playing SK on Train meets at least one definition of insanity If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, it is officially insane to test SK Gaming on Train. In 2016, SK (formerly known as Luminosity) boast a 25-2 record on the map, with losses against Na`Vi (at DreamHack Open Leipzig, in January) and G2 (at ESL Pro League Season 3 Finals, in May) as the only outliers. Among the 25 victories are 14 single-digit wins, i.e. when their opponents won fewer than ten rounds, and a total of 16 games against top ten or so teams. More impressively, in their last ten offline games on Train all of them after Fernando fer Alvarenga returned from his surgery SK boast a ridiculous 91-20 round score as counter-terrorists. That record includes two games versus Virtus.pro, G2 and Na`Vi, as well as games versus Astralis, NiP and Fnatic. How much tougher can it get? The win-rate of 82.0% puts them in historical territory, averaging 12.3 rounds on defense despite the random nature of pistol rounds, which has led to 0-5 and 0-4 starts, as well as a total of three pistol round losses in that sample. If challenging that is not the Counter-Strike equivalent of insanity, what is? Five more takeaways Semifinals curse lives on Duncan Thorin Shields wrote a column on the curse of skipping directly to the semifinals, and once more we saw Astralis and FaZe top their respective groups only to falter against a team that had gone through the round of six. There could be something to Thorins points. Cloud9s honeymoon could be over: Following the addition of Timothy autimatic Ta, Cloud9 made the top four at every tournament they attended. But now the streak is over, having gone out in groups after 17-19 and 14-16 defeats at the hands of FaZe and NiP. As I suggested in my column prior to IEM Oakland, it could be time for some growing pains. TyLoos 0-5 isnt a weak result: It might be easy to overlook the Chinese teams winless showing, especially given their weak play at iBUYPOWER Masters last week. But despite the issues I pointed out in a previous column, they had 17-19 and 14-16 losses versus Immortals and Na`Vi that could have changed everything. Consider it progress, and keep an eye on TyLoo going forward. Na`Vi need some serious work before the major: Na`Vis issues boil down to two things: leadership and the map pool. Fixing the first can fix the second, and Valve could actually inadvertently do some of the work for them. I wrote an in-depth analysis of Na`Vi after they were knocked out in the group stage of IEM Oakland. Nuke is finally getting adapted: In my key story lines article ahead of the event, I mentioned Nuke was picking up steam at Northern Arena the previous weekend. That trend continued in California, where Nuke was the map in 7/43 (16.3%) of all matches, not much above the average of 1/7 but far above recent months. You can reach Tomi on Twitter @lurppis_ Thanksgiving is here, and many families across America are feeling a little uncomfortable about gathering around the table this year, and its not because their pants might be a bit tighter after all that turkey and stuffing. Parents, children, siblings and in-laws are dealing with a post-election Trump-Clinton divide, and many are hoping to keep politics off the table. But what should you do if someone passes the turkey with a big helping of politics on side? Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric sat down with Gail Saltz, a psychiatrist and the host of the The Power of Different podcast, to get advice for families hoping to avoid a Thanksgiving throwdown. Remember that relationships matter more than being right Saltz says that being right might feel good in the moment, but these people are loved ones, there is a history, and these relationships matter more in the long run. Steer clear of known conflicts If you know discussing a particular topic is likely to spark a fight, its worth purposely avoiding it, Saltz explained. Its OK to say, Lets not go there right now, to move the conversation along without confrontation. Saltz also suggests coming up with a list of topics that are best to avoid, such as immigration or abortion, before turkey day so you are prepared if they come up. Agree to disagree Saltz emphasized that you dont have to convince others to change their views. If youre talking about politics and something comes up where youre really not going to agree with each other, its OK to say I hear you, you hear me. Think about seating If your family has a major Trump supporter and a major Clinton supporter, pay attention to where you seat them. Its wise not to seat them next to each other. Saltz suggested that dinner can take a while so its important to think about your groupings, think about peoples temperament, whos likely to explode and who is going to be in a totally different camp. Avoid having too much alcohol People like to celebrate the holidays with a few spirits but it can affect your judgment. Alcohol is a disinhibiter, and at the end of the day, someone who is trying to hold it together wont once theyve had a few drinks, Saltz explained. She suggests having apple cider instead of cocktails and limiting the wine served with dinner. Consider canceling your plans Saltz also told Couric that its OK to cancel your Thanksgiving plans altogether. If you feel its going to be a toxic situation, sit this one out. Its not worth destroying a long-term relationship over this one holiday. On the other hand, realize that when you cancel, youre making a statement, she said. And that means you are going to have to do a little repair after the holiday to try to keep the relationship going. Photo credit: Design by Mariel Tylerundefined From ELLE There is a rumor going around that First Lady Michelle Obama may not be living in the White House after January 20th. I don't want to contribute to the proliferation of fake news so I must caution that this is only a rumor. But there is some evidence that supports it. First, First Lady Michelle Obama's husband, President Barack Obama will, apparently, not be president after January 20th. This would lead one to believe that she will also not be first lady. I cannot confirm this, but it seems legit. Second, First Lady Michelle Obama has purchased a new home in DC and keeps talking about leaving with the pent up glee of someone who is about to retire and move to a Sandals resort but doesn't want to make her work friends feel weird about it. Still, she keeps giggling to herself at random moments. And every time the work crew goes out to happy hour she buys a daiquiri and asks if they can put an umbrella in it. Like, we get it. There is, however, evidence to the contrary. For instance, future First Lady Melania Trump has said that she won't be moving into the White House right away. So, there's probably space for Mrs. Obama to just hang out for a while. Do first lady things. Casually slay. What if they share the job? That'll work, right? If we've learned anything from the movie 9 to 5, it's that everyone benefits when people can share jobs. And also that sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigots never triumph in the end. So, the jury is still out on this whole "Michelle Obama isn't actually going to be first lady forever" rumor. Don't worry. But just in case there turns out to be some truth to these rumors, here's a step-by-step guide to processing all the feelings. Step One: Denial LOL this isn't happening. Michelle has always been our first lady and she always will be. She never goes away. She's like the Queen of England or packing peanuts. She will always be around. LOL. Everything is fine. I don't even know why I clicked on this article. Alright, back to the bunker. Story continues Step Two: Throw Shade At who? Everyone. Externalize your angst with some seismic eye-rolls and well timed zingers at Thanksgiving dinner. It probably won't make you feel better and might get you disinherited (and it's technically not "going high" as Michelle might say) but it does make for a pretty satisfying GIF. Baby steps. Step Three: Complete Breakdown Burst into tears when the barista asks you if you want a treat receipt. Sit alone on the subway and sing sad Beyonce songs. Hug strangers randomly and make them promise to never leave you. Whatever it takes to express yourself. Why do you think Kanye cancelled the rest of his Saint Pablo Tour? Michelle-related grief. None of us are immune. Step Four: Eat your feelings. In vegetables. This is your turning point. Or turnip point, actually. Who can say why Michelle Obama loves vegetables as much as she does, but what better way to honor her legacy than to dig into a head of cauliflower, seasoned with your tears? And some Lawry's. Step Five: Hydrate The first lady doesn't want you to be ashy. Step Six: Dance it out Crank up your favorite Stevie Wonder album, push the couch back to the wall, call up your best pal Shonda Rhimes and have an old school, Grey's Anatomy dance party. It will make you feel good. (And Mrs. Obama would like you to know it's also good cardio.) Step Seven: Appreciate We are living in an extraordinary moment in the country's history and we are so privileged to have shared the same planet as Michelle Obama. Technically, we've all breathed the same air that she has. One way to appreciate that is to fill mason jars will air, label them "Michelle Obama's breath" and save them all around your house. That's definitely not weird at all. Step Eight: Acceptance The rumors are true. We've got to let her go live her life. We should probably only call her once a week for a while. And definitely not after 7 p.m. But it'll be fine. And if we're ever feeling lost, we can just open one of those mason jars and breath the same air one more time. Follow R. Eric Thomas on Twitter. You Might Also Like This year, a group of brands is teaming up to make Black Friday about a whole lot more than going to the mall at the crack of dawn and trolling the Internet for ridiculous deals. Rather, female leaders in the fashion industry insist that post-holiday shopping can serve as a chance to take a stand in support of womens health. Led by New York-based company Apiece Apart, the #WomenTogether initiative is calling on companies helmed by women to donate 5 percent of their sales during the Thanksgiving shopping weekend (Nov. 25 to 28) to Planned Parenthood. As of Wednesday, Ace and Jig, Creatures of Comfort, Electric Feathers, Kathleen Whitaker, Jesse Kamm, Lauren Manoogian, Zero + Maria Cornejo, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Rachel Comey, and Ulla Johnson have all agreed to join up and write checks to the womens health organization. Planned Parenthood has become a political target when in fact Planned Parenthood saves lives, protects womens reproductive health, and fights for womens equality through her right to choose, Apiece Apart co-founder Laura Cramer tells Yahoo Style of her commitment to the reproductive and sexual health care provider. We are a part of an incredible community, Cramer continues. We aim to inspire, support, and connect. Now more than ever we must speak for what is right especially for our community. We are mothers, daughters, sisters, friends and we support Planned Parenthood and a womans right to choose. As business owners we are also uniquely aware of the balance a woman must strike with her career, her personal life, and her biology. It is unique to the female experience it is a beautiful thing but we must not take our rights and our liberties for granted. Story continues And Cramer is far from the only female entrepreneur in the fashion community who feels this way. For Lauren Manoogian, its personal. After quitting my job in order to have time to pursue my own line, I was bouncing around doing freelance work while trying to save every penny to invest in my business, and was left with no health insurance. I relied on Planned Parenthood for annual exams, contraception, and other health concerns, Manoogian, an independent designer, tells Yahoo Style. I think a lot of people focus so heavily on abortion services, and while I am pro-choice, they fail to recognize that Planned Parenthood is really a first line of defense in a womans overall health. The sliding-scale payment structure is so important, especially with the uncertain fate of universal health coverage. Manoogian adds, I think that in fashion we often publicly project fantasy and inspiration, but now is a time to deal with reality. There are real-life things at stake that affect womens lives and well-being. Behind the scenes, women who run their own businesses are so tough. Were used to dealing with high stakes and seemingly insurmountable obstacles on a daily basis. I hope going forward we collectively can apply some of the those skills, creativity, and motivation outwardly to issues beyond just making beautiful things. Explains designer Ulla Johnson to Yahoo Style, I have been a longtime supporter of Planned Parenthood and other pro-choice organizations, such as Emilys List and NARAL [Pro-Choice America]. I also have had the privilege of having a close connection to a number of other women-owned companies, fashion and otherwise. I feel that as fellow business owners we have sought a connectedness that has historically been anathema to the idea of business generally and fashion specifically as cutthroat and competitive in the extreme. I think we have seen that sharing our experiences, thoughts, initiatives, and struggles has only served to bolster ourselves as leaders and also the integrity of our business. Which is why, Johnson says, I think that in what to many of us feels like a singularly dark time, the desire to band together, find our collective political voice, and give freely of our time and resources can be seen as a silver lining. I know that charitable donations across the board to civil rights and advocacy groups are at record highs in the wake of the election, and that gives me great hope. I am proud and happy to participate in #WomenTogether and to continue to use our shared influence to fight for what we hold dear and true and preeminent in our lives. For designer Maria Cornejo of Zero + Maria Cornejo, showing support for Planned Parenthood is something that should extend well beyond the fashion community. She tells Yahoo Style, It doesnt matter if you are in fashion or not. As a mother, sister, friend and human, we must support each other and use our voices to support organizations that matter. Planned Parenthood provides a wide range of services for womens health, which a lot of women dont usually have access to because of their economic situation. I care more that people are able to have access to health care no matter their race, gender, or economic situation. That said, she notes that there is power in community and speaking out, which is what we are doing within our fashion community however, its necessary for everyone to speak out. We need to speak out so the progress thats been made to support women doesnt take a hundred steps back. Its about health care and making sure everyone has access to it as a basic human right. We are stronger together when we come together as women, and when we speak together, we are a stronger ally for causes we believe in. Cornejo adds that the Zero + Maria Cornejo flagship store in Nolita is located in front of Planned Parenthood New Yorks health center. We see the amount of shaming that goes on outside there, on a daily basis, which is really shocking, she says. Jewelry designer Kathleen Whitaker tells Yahoo Style that even before joining the #WomenTogether initiative, her brand had decided to donate 100 percent of proceeds on Black Friday to the Natural Resources Defense Council, and will run another similar campaign on the day after Christmas. She adds that when she learned of the #WomenTogether plan for Thanksgiving weekend sales, we jumped at the chance to join. A photo posted by kathleenwhitaker (@kathleenwhitaker) on Nov 19, 2016 at 6:56pm PST Whitaker notes that, the small business owner earns hard-won rewards on so many levels. But that gain is mostly material. We have an imperative now to use whatever voice we have however quiet or loud to support people, lands, shared resources which are now threatened with no end in sight. Designer Jesse Kamm echoes her peers. I know it is not polite to talk about politics and money in mixed company; however, we have entered a pivotal moment in history when we must speak up, and speak loudly, she says. So many of our liberties are suddenly under attack. Our environment is at risk, our civil rights are at risk, womens rights are at risk, our freedom of speech is at risk. Kamm is donating 20 percent of her Thanksgiving weekend sales to Planned Parenthood. And so, Kamm says of her involvement in #WomenTogether, at a time when my community is at a loss for words, I feel I must stand up and lead by example. We must work together in a positive way. We must unite. Donating proceeds to Planned Parenthood, the NRDC, the Trevor Project, and Standing Rock are just a few items on my long list of must-dos. The responsibility is not on me because I am a designer; the responsibility is on me because I am a human being. We all have a responsibility to do everything we can right now to stand up and fight for ourselves and our future generations. If we are not outraged, we are not paying attention. Or, as Cramer puts it, I look forward to when my children look back on this political discussion as archaic. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed every day. The man accused of killing a Texas cop on Sunday managed to tie the knot during the ensuing manhunt. Otis McKane, who cops say killed San Antonio Police Detective Benjamin Marconi in a Sunday evening ambush, married Christian Chanel Fields on Monday morning, News 4 San Antonio reports. Read: Suspected San Antonio Cop Killer Arrested, Says He Was Angry Over Custody Dispute: Report McKane was arrested and charged with capital murder at about 4 p.m. that same afternoon. The reasoning behind McKane's decision remains unclear. An SAPD spokesman told InsideEdition.com the department isn't making any guesses into what made him walk into a tightly monitored government building while on the lam. And Bexar County Criminal District Attorney Nico LaHood said McKane said spousal privilege will certainly not apply in this case. Normally couples must wait 72 hours after applying for a marriage license but a waiver was signed and the marriage ceremony was performed by Judge Walden Shelton. Shelton was not available for comment Wednesday morning. Before he was booked on the capital murder charge, McKane, 31, reportedly said he'd been angry over a child custody dispute at the time of the shooting. "Ive been through several custody battles, and I was upset at the situation I was in, and I lashed out at someone who didnt deserve it," McKane told reporters as he was escorted to a police car in handcuffs Monday night. "I just want to see my son." McKane reportedly blamed society for "not allowing me to see my son" when asked why he allegedly committed the murder. When asked if he had anything to say to his alleged victim's family, he said: "Sorry." Watch: Daughter Adorably Kisses Veteran Dad as He Struggles With Stutter to Read Story Marconi was inside his vehicle writing out a ticket during a stop in front of the city's police headquarters Sunday evening when cops say the suspect pulled up behind his cruiser, walked up to the window and fired two rounds into Marconi's window before fleeing. Story continues Marconi's family responded to the tragedy in a statement Tuesday: At this time, The Marconi Family would like to give thanks from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring of support, prayers, and love we have received. At this time, we would appreciate privacy to mourn the loss of a wonderful father, brother, grandfather, friend, and last but not least, a Peace Officer. Thank you to the San Antonio community and nation as a whole for your support." Watch: Police Sergeant Who Correctly Predicted He Would Be Shot While on Duty Dies Related Articles: Bonobos have a decidedly low-tech solution to farsightedness, scientists have found. Rather than donning glasses to bring objects that are near into sharper focus, aging bonobos just adjust their position, particularly when grooming their hairy pals. Researchers noted that when older bonobos groomed their neighbors, they sat back and extended their arms farther than younger bonobos did and they stretched their arms even more over time. In the new study, scientists identified this shift in position as an adjustment to compensate for deteriorating eyesight. [8 Humanlike Behaviors of Primates] Scientists had previously observed this behavior in wild bonobos, though no one had investigated it closely enough to interpret it, according to study co-author Heungjin Ryu, a researcher at the Primate Research institute of Kyoto University, in Japan. But when Ryu and other researchers witnessed this odd technique firsthand, they questioned what they might learn about the bonobos that were doing the long-reach grooming. Age-related farsightedness in humans also called presbyopia is a common vision disorder that develops when the eye's lens hardens and the muscles holding it weaken, making it harder for the eye to focus light on the retina, the National Eye Institute (NEI) explains. Not all older people are affected to the same degree, but anyone over the age of 35 is at risk for developing presbyopia, the NEI added. Two eyes good, four eyes bad The study authors examined photos of bonobos as they groomed each other, evaluating 14 wild bonobos that were between 11 and 45 years old; they compared grooming distances relative to the age and sex of the bonobos doing the grooming. Female bonobo "Fuku" (17 years old) grooming "Hoshi" (female: 32 years old). They discovered that older bonobos sat farther away from the body of the bonobo they were grooming. The bonobos began to exhibit signs of farsightedness at around the age of 40, Ryu said in a statement. For example, to focus for grooming, the 45-year-old male bonobo they named "Ten" the oldest in his group maintained a distance of 16 to 18 inches (40 to 45 centimeters) between his fingers and his eyes. Meanwhile, a 17-year-old female bonobo they called "Fuku" required a distance of only 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) between her fingers and eyes. Story continues Being farsighted would not only inhibit a bonobo's ability to easily groom a neighbor, it could also affect the bonobo's social standing in the group by making that bonobo a less popular choice as a grooming partner, the authors suggested. Few studies have shown how human aging compares to aging in other primates particularly in our closest relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees. These findings could shed light on how scientists understand aging in the human body, and how much of the deterioration that accompanies aging is part of our evolutionary heritage, rather than our modern habits. The findings were published online Nov. 7 in the journal Current Biology. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Toulouse (France) (AFP) - Aircraft maker Airbus is planning to cut 1,000 jobs or more in France and Germany as part of an ongoing restructuring programme, unions at its French headquarters said Wednesday. The payroll reduction could result in outright firings, they said, which would be a first for the company. In the past, Airbus has cut jobs by not replacing departing staff. The coming job cuts would mostly affect Airbus's operations in Suresnes, near Paris, and in Ottobrunn, near Munich, the unions said. Some jobs would also go in Marignane in the Marseille region. The CFTC union said in a statement that Airbus management had already flagged 780 job cuts. But the FO and CFE-CGC union added that an announcement of hundreds of further job cuts could come as early as Thursday. "I think it will end up being more than a thousand," FO secretary Jean-Marc Escourrou told AFP. An Airbus spokesman called the figures "speculation", adding the company would not make any further statement while negotiations with unions were ongoing. Airbus's restructuring project, called Gemini, aims to merge the company's commercial aircraft division Airbus SAS with the Airbus Group SAS into a new entity, Airbus Group, by the summer of 2017. Airbus currently employs close to 140,000 people worldwide, including subsidiaries, of whom 55,000 work directly for the Airbus aircraft division. The company has cut jobs before, notably in 2007 and 2008, but only through voluntary redundancies, retirement or redeployment within the company. Despite boasting an order book worth nearly 1 trillion euros ($1.05 trillion), good for 8 to 10 years of production, Airbus is running into headwinds, prompting the search for cost-cutting opportunities. Its helicopter division has been suffering from a weak market, the company has had to set aside nearly two billion euros of provisions to cover the cost of its military A400M model and its A380 flagship has been slow to take off commercially. The Mattoon Chamber received a grant from The Mattoon Chamber Charitable Corporation to increase awareness and welcome visitors to the community by placing over two dozen banners in the downtown business district in June of this year. Kurt Stretch and the Mattoon Parks and Recreation Department installed the historic banners along Broadway Avenue from 9th street to 19th street. They also installed seasonal banners from 7th street to 19th street on Charleston Avenue. We received a lot of positive feedback regarding the banners and decided to expand on the program. In October the week before homecoming, the Chamber worked with Eastern Illinois University to bring awareness to their contribution to the community and highlight their first place ranking as the best Regional University in Illinois and fifth place national ranking among all Regional Universities. They developed the blue and white banners that can be seen along Charleston Avenue. We need to give Kurt Stretch and the City of Mattoon kudos for getting the banners up in the pouring rain just before EIU's homecoming. The latest project developed by the Chamber was to try to get the community involved in the banner creation process. We decided to get in touch with Mattoon High School and see if they were interested in helping us with the project. Janahn Kolden is the art teacher at the high school and her students accepted the challenge of creating seasonal themed, winter banners. Miss Kolden's students came through with a great group of art work creations that exemplified the winter season. After a great deal of discussion of the merits of all the entries, the Chamber's Executive Committee agreed to award the winning entry to Trenton Patterson. Trenton Patterson is a sophomore at the high school and will be given $20 in Chamber Bucks for his winning submission. Kurt Stretch and the City of Mattoon offered to place the banners on display on Charleston Avenue in the next few weeks. The banners will remain in place until early spring and will be replaced by the "four season tree" image which represents activities that are available in Mattoon throughout the rest of the year. We look forward to working with Mattoon Tourism, the Arts Council and other organizations to showcase events happening in and around Mattoon throughout the year. We hope you enjoy the additions to the downtown roadways and want to bring interest and attention to visitors to our community. - By insider CEO of Alphabet Inc (GOOG) Lawrence Page sold 33,332 shares of GOOG on 11/21/2016 at an average price of $775.83 a share. The total sale was $25.9 million. Alphabet Inc through its subsidiary Google Inc is engaged in improving the ways people connect with information & products including Search, Android, YouTube, Apps, Maps & Ads. It also produces internet-connected home devices & provides internet services. Alphabet Inc has a market cap of $529.52 billion; its shares were traded at around $768.27 with a P/E ratio of 28.65 and P/S ratio of 6.48. Alphabet Inc had an annual average EBITDA growth of 22.00% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Alphabet Inc the business predictability rank of 3.5-star. CEO Recent Trades: CEO, 10% Owner Lawrence Page sold 33,332 shares of GOOG stock on 11/21/2016 at the average price of $775.83. The price of the stock has decreased by 0.97% since. CEO, Google Inc. Sundar Pichai sold 4,000 shares of GOOG stock on 11/16/2016 at the average price of $756.63. The price of the stock has increased by 1.54% since. CEO, Google Inc. Sundar Pichai sold 4,000 shares of GOOG stock on 11/02/2016 at the average price of $780.38. The price of the stock has decreased by 1.55% since. CEO, 10% Owner Lawrence Page sold 16,670 shares of GOOG stock on 10/28/2016 at the average price of $803.8. The price of the stock has decreased by 4.42% since. CEO, 10% Owner Lawrence Page sold 16,670 shares of GOOG stock on 10/28/2016 at the average price of $827.79. The price of the stock has decreased by 7.19% since. Directors and Officers Recent Trades: Director L John Doerr sold 14,828 shares of GOOG stock on 11/15/2016 at the average price of $758.66. The price of the stock has increased by 1.27% since. SVP, Corporate Development David C Drummond sold 2,000 shares of GOOG stock on 11/14/2016 at the average price of $763.68. The price of the stock has increased by 0.6% since. President, 10% Owner Sergey Brin sold 33,340 shares of GOOG stock on 11/04/2016 at the average price of $773.93. The price of the stock has decreased by 0.73% since. President, 10% Owner Sergey Brin sold 33,332 shares of GOOG stock on 11/03/2016 at the average price of $773.24. The price of the stock has decreased by 0.64% since. VP, Alphabet Corp. Controller James Grier Campbell sold 194 shares of GOOG stock on 11/02/2016 at the average price of $778.2. The price of the stock has decreased by 1.28% since. Story continues For the complete insider trading history of GOOG, click here .This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Amber Heard is being sued by the producers of troubled movie London Fields for $10 million, after they accused her of conspiring to sabotage the film. According to the suit, producers Chris Hanley and Jordan Gertner contend that Heard who plays femme fatale Nicola Six worked with director Matthew Cullen to try and cut some of the movies provocative sex scenes, Variety reports. The film, which is based on the 1989 dystopian Martin Amis novel of the same name, has been on hold since 2015 when a dispute between the director and producers reached boiling point at the Toronto Film Festival. Producers said that after Cullen took too long and went wildly over budget, they took the movie out of his hands and created their own final edit the version which was to premiere at the festival. But the movie was pulled from the docket. At the start of the festival Cullen sued the producers for fraud, who then later countersued. Heard and other actors from the film are alleged to have sided with the director, refusing to co-operate with postproduction requirements and conspiring to damage the movies prospects. Heards lawyer declined to comment, according to Variety. The film is a murder mystery with a difference in which the victim, a clairvoyant played by Heard, knows the day she will die, but not who will kill her. A select few critics got to see an early debut and the reception was scathing, with one review calling it a car crash of a movie. Heards former husband Johnny Depp had a cameo appearance in the film. [Variety] Donald Trump (Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images) The first post-election economic numbers are in, and were learning that US consumers are excited about Donald Trump. The initial reaction of consumers to Trumps victory was to express greater optimism about their personal finances as well as improved prospects for the national economy, said Richard Curtin, chief economist for the University of Michigans survey of consumers released Wednesday. The post-election gain in the Sentiment Index was +8.2 points above the November pre-election reading, pushing the index +6.6 points higher for the entire month above the October reading, Curtin added. The surveys headline sentiment reading came in at 93.8 for Novembers final reading, better than the 91.6 expected by Wall Street economists. The months preliminary reading hit 91.6, up from 87.2 in October. This reading also comes right on the edge of the all-important holiday shopping season. Analysts at Wells Fargo said earlier this week they expect holiday spending to rise 3.8% this year, more than than the 2.9% increase we saw a year ago. The post-election boost in optimism was widespread, with gains recorded among all income and age subgroups and across all regions of the country, Curtin said. The upsurge in favorable economic prospects is not surprising given Trumps populist policy views, and it was perhaps exaggerated by what most considered a surprising victory as well as by a widespread sense of relief that the election had finally ended. This reading marked the first consumer sentiment survey that captured reactions to the presidential election. In a note to clients out Tuesday, economists at Deutsche Bank argued that surveys like this one as well as business sentiment readings would carry more weight in the coming months. Wednesdays consumer survey adds to the confidence were seeing from the investor class, which has clearly cheered Trumps election. Stocks closed at record highs on Tuesday, with the Dow crossing the 19,000 threshold for the first time, extending their so-called Trump Rally. Story continues To be sure, no surge in economic expectations can long be sustained without actual improvements in economic conditions, Curtin added. Presidential honeymoons represent a period in which the promise of gains holds sway over actual economic conditions. Presidential honeymoons, however, can quickly end if they are unaccompanied by prospects that economic conditions will actually improve in the future. President-elect Trump appears to appreciate the importance of his first hundred days; the key issue is whether his economic policies will resonate with the nations consumers. Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland Read more from Myles here: Miami (AFP) - Amnesty International criticized the Jamaican authorities on Wednesday for a large number of unlawful killings carried out by police and their intimidation of victims' families. Jamaican police "have allegedly killed more than 3,000 people since 2000 -- mostly young men living in marginalized communities," the human rights group wrote in a new report. Law enforcement officials killed 92 people between January and October, Amnesty (AI) said in a statement. Police often manipulate crime scenes after the killings and intimidate victims' family members to discourage them from seeking justice for the deaths, it said. "Jamaica's shocking culture of fear and violence is allowing police officers to get away with hundreds of unlawful killings every year. Shocking injustice is the norm," AI Americas director Erika Guevara-Rosas said. "It is widely believed this is a strategy sanctioned by the state to get rid of criminals," the group said. The report, citing witnesses and victims' relatives, points to a "strong likelihood of the existence of individual police officers or even units tasked with carrying out extrajudicial executions on the orders of some governmental authorities or with its complicity or acquiescence." Although unlawful killings decreased by half between 2014 and 2015, "little progress has been made in addressing police impunity," AI said. Amnesty interviewed more than 50 relatives of 28 people believed to have been victims of unlawful police killings between 2003 and 2014. Most said they were dogged by steady police intimidation while pursuing justice for the victims, from psychological harassment to illegal detention and beatings. Jamaica, with a population of 2.7 million, recorded 43 murders per 100,000 in 2015, one of the world's highest rates. Eight percent were at the hands of the police. The average homicide rate in the United States is just under five per 100,000 people. The Caribbean island ranks fourth in the Americas in murder rates after Honduras, El Salvador and Venezuela. A team of researchers have, using the Hubble Space Telescope, captured a large population of ancient dwarf galaxies. Astronomers believe studying these structures, formed when the universe was between two and six billion years old, could provide vital clues to the birth and evolution of stars. Despite their importance, distant dwarf galaxies remain elusive, because they are extremely faint and beyond the reach of even the best telescopes. This means that the current picture of the early universe is not complete, the University of California, Riverside, whose researchers carried out the observations, said in a statement. In order to get a clearer picture of these galaxies, the researchers made use of a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. Gravity, as Einsteins theory of general relativity tells us, warps space-time. Occasionally, when the stars are aligned just right, this warping of the fabric of the universe results in a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, wherein the strong gravitational field of a foreground object acts as a lens that bends light from an object in the background and allows scientists to catch a glimpse of what might otherwise have remained invisible. In this particular case, a warp in space-time created by the Abell 1698 galaxy cluster located roughly 2.2 billion light-years from Earth was used as the gravitational lens. These dwarf galaxies are 10 to 100 times fainter than galaxies that have been previously observed during these periods of time. Though faint, these galaxies are far more numerous than their brighter counterparts, the University of California said in the statement. The abundance of dwarf galaxies in the early universe suggests these structures may have played a crucial role in reionization a period in the early universe triggered by the formation of the first stars. This is further attested to by the massive quantities of ultraviolet radiation produced by young, hot stars emitted by these galaxies. Story continues The researchers now hope to study these dwarf galaxies in further detail with the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2018. Related Articles DUBAI (Reuters) - Amnesty International accused pro-government Yemeni troops battling Houthi forces for control of the southwestern city of Taiz of harassing medical staff and putting fighters among the civilian population, in charges the authorities strongly denied. Civilians in Taiz, which had a pre-war population of 300,000, have been trapped by intense fighting, with dead bodies lying in the streets and hundreds of people wounded this week, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday. Amnesty, a London-based human rights watchdog, said that so-called Popular Committees - anti-Houthi local militias backed by exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government - had detained and threatened to kill medical staff in Taiz and deployed tanks outside hospitals. Popular Committee fighters hold most of Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, but are hemmed in by Houthi forces on three sides. "There is compelling evidence to suggest that anti-Houthi forces have waged a campaign of fear and intimidation against medical professionals in Taiz," said Philip Luther, research and advocacy director at Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa wing. "By positioning fighters and military positions near medical facilities they have compromised the safety of hospitals and flouted their obligation to protect civilians under international law." Deputy Human Rights Minister Nabeel Abdulhafeedh Majed said the report was biased and contained factual errors. He said pro-government "Resistance Forces" had no tanks in Taiz, adding that it was the Houthis who were besieging the city and terrorizing civilians. "Even if some isolated incidents of revenge by individuals in the Resistance had happened in the past, this is no longer the case," Majed told Reuters by telephone from Cairo. "The national army has brought matters under control and army officers now lead the resistance in a professional manner," he added. A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Houthis since March 2015 to restore the internationally recognized Hadi, who is living in exile in Saudi Arabia. The United Nations has also accused Houthi forces around Taiz of blocking humanitarian supply routes into the city, located some 205 km (123 miles) south of the capital Sanaa. Rights groups have accused both sides in Taiz of using rockets and mortars in populated residential areas. Landmines planted by Houthis in Taiz have caused numerous civilian casualties, according to Human Rights Watch. Amnesty said its researchers had interviewed 15 doctors and other hospital staff in Taiz who described how Popular Committee members had "regularly harassed, detained or even threatened to kill them over the past six months". The report cited at least three cases in which hospitals were closed after threats to staff, including an incident on Monday when fighters shut down the biggest public hospital apparently for providing emergency medical treatment to three injured Houthis. The report quoted the director of the hospital as saying fighters had set up positions and tanks around the compound, ignoring pleas from staff and local authorities not to do so. (Reporting by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Hugh Lawson) Parents in Chattanooga, Tenn., are still trying to make sense of the tragedy that struck their community Monday when a school bus with 35 children aboard struck a tree, killing five and injuring nearly two dozen more. The driver, Johnthony Walker, 24, was arrested and charged with five counts of vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment and reckless driving for the crash on the winding road. As the city mourns, chilling reports have emerged alleging that Walker asked the students, Are yall ready to die? before swerving off the road into a tree. Jasmine Mateen, the mother of three children aboard the bus, lost her 6-year-old daughter in the crash. She told CBS News what one of her other children had to say about the driver. My daughter said right before the bus flipped that he was speeding around the curve and asked them Are yall ready to die? Mateen said to CBS correspondent Mark Strassmann. Booking photo of Johnthony Walker, driver of the school bus. (Photo: Chattanooga Police Department) She also said she had complained about Walkers behavior many times since August, but nothing had been done to redress her grievances. The private bus company involved has had 36 crashes with injuries in Tennessee alone since 2014, the Tennessean newspaper reported. Authorities have not confirmed Mateens statements. Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher said at a press conference late Monday that the type of accident to which his department and others were responding is every public safety professionals worst nightmare. Slideshow: Deadly school bus crash in Chattanooga, Tenn. >>> As bad as it is for the police officers, firefighters and paramedics working that crash and that investigation, we cant even begin to imagine how much worse it is for the families, the friends, the loved ones of the victims. All of our hearts go out to them, he said. A school bus is carried away Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn, from the site where it crashed Monday, Nov. 21. (Photo: Mark Humphrey/AP) According to Fletcher, the Chattanooga Police Department received a call just after 3:30 p.m. asking it to respond to a school bus crash involving students from Woodmore Elementary School, ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. Story continues This is an absolute nightmare for this community, for this police department and for our partners in fire and EMS, Fletcher said. But I can assure you that the public safety professionals in Chattanooga are prepared and trained to make sure this is investigated thoroughly. He said a warrant had been issued to remove the black box from the bus and to remove the video evidence for inspection. Twenty-three students were taken to area hospitals, and 12 were still there as of Tuesday evening, with six in critical condition. Many of them were scared or too dazed to talk to us, Dr. Darvey Koller of the Childrens Hospital at Erlanger said at a Tuesday news conference. Police say Walker was driving well above the narrow roads 30 mph speed limit at the time of the crash. The incident has revived a debate about whether there should be a federal law requiring school buses to be equipped with seat belts. The world faces the prospect of more tension with China over trade, security and human rights after Xi Jinping awarded himself another five-year term as leader of the ruling Communist Party and called for self-reliance in technology, a stronger military and protection of core interests abroad. At a party congress, Xi gave no sign of plans to change the "zero-COVID strategy that has frustrated Chinas public and disrupted business and trade. He called for faster military development and announced no change in policies that strain relations with Washington and Asian neighbors. Xi is tightening control at home and trying to use Chinas economic heft to increase its influence abroad. Buenos Aires (AFP) - Argentina says it has agreed with Britain to discuss exhuming and identifying Argentines who were buried in the Falklands after being killed in the countries' 1982 war over the islands. Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra said Tuesday the two governments planned to meet in mid-December in Geneva along with representatives of the Red Cross. "The meeting will define a protocol for the exhumations" of 123 Argentine soldiers buried in a cemetery on East Falkland Island, known in Spanish as Isla Soledad, she said. Red Cross personnel have visited the site in the South Atlantic and carried out a preliminary evaluation, she said. Malcorra said her country has asked that an Argentine forensic expert be allowed to join in the Red Cross's preliminary investigations. Families of Argentine troops killed in the conflict have long demanded that their loved ones be identified. Britain and Argentina fought a brief war over the islands, known as Las Malvinas in Spanish, in 1982 after Argentine forces occupied them. The conflict killed 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British soldiers and three islanders. Argentina argues it inherited the windswept islands from Spain when it gained independence in the 19th century. But Britain says it has historically ruled them and that the 3,000 islanders have the right to self-determination. In a 2013 referendum, residents voted overwhelmingly to remain part of Britain. After years of testy relations under former leftist governments, Argentina has pursued a cautious rapprochement with Britain under current President Mauricio Macri. The countries agreed a series of deals in September covering oil, fishing, navigation and trade in and around the islands. Baghdad (AFP) - A Baghdad court has issued arrest warrants for two correspondents with a Saudi newspaper over a false news report accusing Iranian pilgrims of sexually harassing Iraqi women. A senior source in Iraq's judiciary told AFP Wednesday that the warrants, based on the penal code's article 372 on religious hate crimes, were issued against the Asharq al-Awsat daily's two Baghdad-based Iraqi journalists. The article, published on Sunday in the London-based pan-Arab newspaper, caused an uproar in Iraq, where the prime minister and several other prominent figures issued public condemnations. One of the two correspondents, Hamza Mustafa, denied any responsibility for the article and announced he was resigning in protest. Another journalist working for the newspaper in Baghdad, Maad Fayyad, in a statement obtained by AFP, said he had nothing to do with the controversial article. Ziad Ajili, from the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, issued a statement condemning the warrants as an "incitement to murder". The pair's whereabouts were unclear Wednesday. The article was published as Arbaeen, a Shiite Muslim pilgrimage that commemorates the 680 AD death of Imam Hussein and is one of the world's largest religious events, was peaking in the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala. It quoted a purported World Health Organization spokesman as saying that after last year's pilgrimage more than 169 Iraqi women became pregnant out of wedlock. The UN health agency vehemently denied making any such assertion. By Julie Steenhuysen and Amy Sawitta Lefevre CHICAGO/BANGKOK(Reuters) - Zika's rampage last year in Brazil caused an explosion of infections and inflicted a crippling neurological defect on thousands of babies an effect never seen in a mosquito-borne virus. It also presented a mystery: why had a virus that had been little more than a footnote in the annals of infectious diseases taken such a devastating turn in the Americas? How had Africa and Asia, where Zika had quietly circulated for decades, escaped with no reports of major outbreaks or serious complications? Scientists initially theorized that Zikas long tenure in Africa and Asia may have conferred widespread immunity. Or, perhaps older strains were less virulent than the one linked in Brazil to more than 2,100 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by arrested brain development. Now, amid outbreaks in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia, a much graver explanation is taking shape: perhaps the menace has been there all along but neurological complications simply escaped official notice. The question is driving several research teams, according to leading infectious disease experts and public health officials. The answer is immediately important for Asia, the region most affected by Zika after the Americas. Thailand has been hardest hit with more than 680 reported Zika infections this year, followed by Singapore with more than 450 and Vietnam with as many as 60. Much of the population lives in the so-called "dengue belt," where mosquito-borne diseases are prevalent. And vulnerable countries including Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan and Bangladesh - are ill-prepared to handle an outbreak with any serious consequences, experts said. Lacking evidence of varying degrees of virulence, public health officials have warned Asia leaders to prepare for the worst. The scientific community is following similar assumptions. "Zika is Zika until proven otherwise. We assume that all Zikas are equally dangerous," said Dr. Derek Gatherer, a biomedical expert at Lancaster University in Britain. WHICH ZIKA? The World Health Organization recognizes two major lineages of Zika. The first originated in Africa, where it was discovered in 1947 and has not been identified outside that continent. The Asian lineage includes strains that have been reported in Asia, the Western Pacific, Cabo Verde and, notably, the Americas, including Brazil. The Asian lineage was first isolated in the 1960s in mosquitoes in Malaysia. But some studies suggest the virus has been infecting people there since the 1950s. In the late 1970s, seven cases of human infection in Indonesia were reported. The first record of a widespread outbreak was in 2007 on Micronesia's Island of Yap. Experts began to suspect a link to birth defects during a 2013 outbreak in French Polynesia when doctors reported eight cases of microcephaly and 11 other cases of fetal malformation. In 2015, it hit Brazil, causing spikes in an array of neurological birth defects now called congenital Zika virus syndrome, as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological disorder that can lead to temporary paralysis. Viruses mutate rapidly, which can lead to strains that are more contagious and more virulent. Many researchers theorized early on that the devastation in Brazil was caused by an Asian strain that had mutated dramatically. That theory relies, among other things, on the absence of Zika-related microcephaly in Asia. So when Zika broke out in parts of Asia earlier this year, researchers were on the lookout. If researchers were to connect a case of microcephaly to an older Asian strain and not one that boomeranged back from Brazil -- it would debunk the early theory. It would mean Zika "did not mutate into a microcephaly-causing variant as it crossed the Pacific," Gatherer said. At least three microcephaly cases have been identified in Asia, but the verdict is still out. For two microcephaly cases in Thailand, public health officials could not determine whether the mothers had an older Asian strain of Zika or a newer one that returned from the Americas, said Dr Boris Pavlin, WHO's acting Zika incident manager at a recent briefing. In Vietnam, where there have been no reports of imported Zika infection, officials are investigating a third case of microcephaly. If it is linked to Zika, Pavlin said it would suggest the older strains there could cause microcephaly and, perhaps, Guillain-Barre. In Malaysia, where at least six cases of Zika infection have been reported, authorities have identified both an older Southeast Asian strain and one similar to the strain in the Americas, suggesting the possibility that strains from both regions could be circulating in some countries. The hunt is on in Africa as well. In Guinea-Bissau, five microcephaly cases are under investigation to determine whether the African lineage of Zika can cause microcephaly. It is a top research priority at WHO, said Dr Peter Salama, executive director of the agency's health emergencies program, in a press briefing Tuesday. "That is a critical question because it has real public health implication for African or Asian countries that already have Zika virus transmission," Salama said. "We are all following this extremely closely." HERD IMMUNITY Scientists also are trying to learn whether people in places where Zika is endemic are protected by "herd immunity." The phenomenon limits the spread of virus when enough of a population is inoculated against infection through vaccination, prior exposure or both. Experts believe Zika moved explosively in the Americas because there was no prior exposure. It's not clear how widely Zika has circulated in Africa and Asia, whether there could be pockets of natural immunity and, importantly, whether immunity to one strain would confer immunity to another. One recent review of studies suggests 15 to 40 percent of the population in some African and Asian countries may have been previously infected with Zika, said Alessandro Vespignani, a professor of health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston. That's far below the 80 percent population immunity one mosquito borne virus expert estimated in the journal Science would be necessary to block Zika. Researchers also believe it's possible that microcephaly went undetected in parts of Asia and Africa where birth defects weren't well tracked. That too, is under investigation, said Dr David Heymann, Chair of the WHO Emergency Committee, at a press briefing last week. "Now," he said, "countries are beginning to look back into their records to see on their registries what the levels of microcephaly have been." (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Amy Sawitta Lefevre in Bangkok; Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen and My Pham in Hanoi and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Lisa Girion) A large underground deposit of water ice has been discovered in the mid-northern hemisphere of Mars in a region known as Utopia Planitia. The deposit is larger in area than the state of New Mexico and the water it contains is about the same as that in Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes. The surface of Mars is too hot for any liquid water to remain there. While it is known that Mars was once rich in water, and NASA has also found in the past evidence of liquid water flowing intermittently on present-day Martian surface, no actual water has been found above ground. And while ice caps cover Martian poles, frozen water has not been found on the surface in latitudes away from the polar extremities. The water ice under Utopia Planitia is covered by a layer about 3 to 33 feet deep, protecting it from the fierce radiation that sweeps the surface. It was discovered using the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and varies between 260 feet to 560 feet in thickness. Its composition is 50 to 85 percent water ice, the rest being dust or larger rocky particles, according to a NASA press release Wednesday. Cassie Stuurman from the Institute for Geophysics at the University of Texas, Austin, and the lead author of a report in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, said: This deposit probably formed as snowfall accumulating into an ice sheet mixed with dust during a period in Mars history when the planet's axis was more tilted than it is today. The find, even though it accounts for less than 1 percent of all known water ice on Mars, is important because the deposit is close to the surface and in the mid-latitude plains, therefore being a potential source of liquid water for future human missions to our neighboring planet. The exact location of the deposit within Utopia Planitia a 2,050-mile wide basin is also significant. UtopiaPlanitia Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona Story continues This deposit is probably more accessible than most water ice on Mars, because it is at a relatively low latitude and it lies in a flat, smooth area where landing a spacecraft would be easier than at some of the other areas with buried ice, Jack Holt of the University of Texas, a co-author of the Utopia paper, said. In a blog post, Stuurman said: If our future missions are going to have astronauts, those astronauts are going to need something to drink. With these results, we see that Utopia Planitia is a great place for that provided you find a way to deal with all the radiation and dust storms. But important as the discovery is, it still brings us no closer to knowing if there is, or ever was, life on Mars. Had it been liquid water, it would have increased the likelihood manifolds but given the underground frozen water, it would preclude life as we know it, thereby limiting even how we search for life-forms we know nothing about. Related Articles The real estate markets of New York and Silicon Valley often grab headlines. However, Austin, Texas, now has the No. 1 emerging real estate market in the US, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Austin took the top spot in this years study titled Emerging Trends in Real Estate. It was followed by Dallas/Fort Worth, Portland (Oregon), Seattle, and Los Angeles in that order. Cities were scored on the basis of investment and development outlooks of 1,800 real estate investors and other professionals. Demographic trends were part of the reason Austin is the leading city on the list, according to Mitch Roschelle, partner at PwC responsible for the study. Millennials in United States are 30% of the overall U.S. population; in Austin, they are 35%, he said. Over the next 5 years, the millennial population is going to grow seven times faster than the millennial population in the rest of the country. Austin has a reputation for being a quirky oasis in Texas, drawing in youngsters from other parts of the state and the rest of the country. Texas capital city is also home to growth industries, such as science, technology, education, and medicine. You have the university system, you have other feeder schools that are down thereeveryone thinks of U.T. but there are other schoolsand theres a big medical system, Roschelle said. With an aging population, toolets not rule out theres another 30% of the population in Austin thats getting olderthe millennials are having kids. Theres demand for the health care system there and thats a big job creator. Another city Roschelle says investors should watch is Columbus, Ohio. They have a very robust suburban community with a strong suburban office environment there and young families, he said. If theres an employment base, people tend to stay there Kids from Ohio go to O.S.U.Ohio State Universityand then they decide to stay there. Story continues The PwC/ULI study also found several recent trends in the US real-estate market. Niche neighborhoods with economic diversity are attracting more workers and employers, labor shortages are causing higher construction costs, landlords are using their spaces for multiple uses, and the real estate market itself is becoming more transparent through digitization. Although Roschelle sees the current market cycle as being about 90 months old, he doesnt find investors particularly worried about a decline. With all the volatility around the world, people still like the asset class, he said. And smaller developers are becoming the mainstay of the industry. When you think about real estate development, you think of these behemoth organizationsthats actually not the case, Roschelle said. Ninety percent of the development is being done by these small local developers. And thats really the story of Austin and some of these cities. Thats a little bit of a sea change in real estate. Sydney (AFP) - Three Australian employees of billionaire James Packer's Crown Resorts have been formally arrested in China, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Wednesday, as Beijing cracks down on high-roller gambling promotions. Eighteen Crown staff, including the three Australians, were held in raids in October on suspicion they were organising gambling activities overseas for Chinese nationals. Gaming companies are not allowed explicitly to advertise gambling in China. "We have been formally advised that three Australians have been arrested on suspicion of gambling-related offences," Bishop told Sky News. She said consular officers visited the trio on Tuesday and they were in good health and being represented by lawyers. "There is... an overall anti-corruption agenda of (Chinese) President Xi Jinping and gambling is one of the areas of interest to them," she added. "We are subject to the laws of China, we are subject to the laws of the country that we are visiting or we are operating in." One of those being held is Jason O'Connor, the executive vice president of a Crown division called VIP International. There was no immediate comment from Crown. Packer last month said he was "deeply concerned" for the detained employees. Crown operates casinos across Australia and the world, including in Macau, where revenues have been hit hard by a Chinese corruption crackdown that has driven away many big-spenders. Graft is endemic in China and Xi launched a much-publicised anti-corruption drive after he came to power in 2012. MATTOON -- Since spring this year, city middle-schoolers have deliberated on books from a select list to charge other students and the community to read as part of the Read Across Mattoon program. This year, the Mattoon Reads Student Reading Committee of about 50 middle school students, the most yet to participate in the committee, selected The War That Saved My Life written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley as this year's choice for the program. The book is set in London during World War 2, and it's about a young girl named Ada who has a mangled foot. The story follows the girl as she deals with struggles associated with her deformity as well as the scrutiny faced by her mother. With her younger brother, Ada quickly escapes to countryside away from her mother in the turmoil and fear of the imminent war. The rest of the story takes readers on that journey with Ada as she escapes her mother. As with previous years, Ingrid Minger, Read Across Mattoon coordinator, said the committee is calling on everyone in the community to take part and read the book. She said it is important to increase reading and the discussion of book all around from the students to the adults. It is important for the kids to see that you are a lifelong reader, Minger said. I love to have the bridge from the students to the community to show them that it is a lifelong process to read and to learn. The titles books will be displayed and be available for free at certain locations, including LSC Communications, Brookstone Estates, Common Grounds, Consolidated Communications, Washington Savings Bank, First Mid-Illinois Bank, the Life Span Center, Land of Lincoln Credit Union, Mattoon Area Family YMCA, KC Summers, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, Williams Elementary School, Riddle Elementary School, Pagliaccis, Mattoon Chamber of Commerce, Mattoon High School, Villa Pizza, Downtown Diner and the middle school. The book was chosen by committee members based on numerous factors including its appeal as well as its length. One committee member, Rene Beltron, who vied for the title to be this years selection, said the story of Ada was just engrossing to read. I loved it so much, Beltron said. You just watch Ada kind of grow into a better character. She becomes happier and less depressed... You see her grow as a person. Beltron said there are many heart-wrenching moments throughout the story that make the reader want to cry. Read Across Mattoon is funded through grants and other donations throughout the community. Paris (AFP) - In the 1935 novel "It Can't Happen Here", an ignorant American demagogue called Buzz Windrip becomes president, promising to make a depressed and fearful country proud, rich and safe again. Eight decades later, the satirical piece of fiction by Sinclair Lewis has gained a new lease of life, becoming a bestseller online following Donald Trump's stunning victory in the US election. Observing Windrip at a presidential campaign event, a journalist describes him as "almost illiterate, a public liar easily detected, and in his 'ideas' almost idiotic". Written as virulent nationalism spread disastrously in Europe, and to a lesser extent in America, the book's revival reflects a surge of interest in one of the 20th century's darkest decades. The parallels between the current time and what one writer describes as the "Morbid Age" of the 1930s has led to a fierce debate between historians about how far the comparison can be taken. "We are facing a cataclysmic moment," renowned British writer and broadcaster Simon Schama warned following Trump's election, recalling that Hitler came to power via the ballot box in the 1930s. Antony Beevor, another best-selling heavyweight on European history, rebuked him. "It is too easy for alarmists to fall for the temptation of lazy historical parallels," he wrote. So, as the return of ultra-nationalism, xenophobia and anti-elitism spur Trump, anti-EU voters in Britain and a host of far-right parties in Europe, does history offer comfort or cause for concern? - First, the bad news - Some historians point to several striking parallels. The Great Depression of the 1930s, sparked by the Wall Street crash of 1929, has echoes of the global financial crisis caused by the sub-prime crash of 2008. Seething with anger at the financial and political elite, struggling or unemployed workers in the 1930s grew bitter and despondent and openly questioned the future for their children. Story continues Many blamed foreigners or Jews, became attached to an idealised past, and worried about the spread of their enemies, abroad and at home. In the 1930s, the threat was Communism, now it is radical Islam. The expansion of transatlantic shipping, air mail, radio, industrial mass production and Hollywood cinema gave a sense of time accelerating and the world closing in. French historian Pascal Blanchard, who has written a book on the period, calls the 30s "the start of globalisation" that generated many of the same cultural and economic anxieties visible today. Governments reacted by trying to protect their economies with tariffs and barriers, sparking an international trade war. On the other side of the world, a nationalistic Asian power with territorial ambitions added to concerns. It was Japan, which invaded the present-day Asian hegemon China in 1931. In Austria, where the far-right came within 31,000 votes of winning a presidential election in May this year and could still win in next month's re-run, a far-right chancellor came to power in 1932 and destroyed the country's democracy. As fascism spread, the decade was defined by Germany looking to avenge its humiliation after World War I. Could Vladimir Putin's Russia, pained by the decline of the Soviet Union, be the modern equivalent? - Not so fast... - Ian Kershaw, a world authority on the rise of Hitler, admitted to AFP that during his research for a new book on Europe from 1914-1949 some similarities "make the hair stand up on the back on your neck". "But I don't think we are returning to the dark ages of the 1930s because there are big differences as well as superficial similarities," Kershaw insisted. Chief among the differences is the role of Germany, now a beacon for liberal democracy, committed to peace and a lynchpin of the stabilising force that is the European Union, Kershaw says. The Europe of today, "admittedly flaky in parts when you look at Hungary and Poland", bears no comparison with the authoritarian states of 80 years ago. "Just look at the balance between military and social welfare spending of then and now," he added. Richard Overy, author of "The Morbid Age: Britain Between the Wars", agreed. "We live in a world of settled nations, there are no longer global colonial empires, and the West is richer than it has ever been," he told AFP. "There are no lingering resentments from the war, and mass politics has developed and stabilised everywhere. This is why historical parallels with the 1930s seem so misplaced." Nuclear weapons have also radically changed strategic thinking about war, while governments -- so far -- have avoided the pitfalls of protectionism. - 'The reactions are the same' - It's a debate that looks likely to linger. Blanchard, author of "The 1930s Are Back", stresses that he is not predicting another world war. But he believes his contemporaries are complacent and too optimistic about the strength of international institutions like the EU in the face of very familiar circumstances. "The periods are not the same, it's not the same thing. But the reactions are the same," he told AFP, referring to why people are angry and lashing out at "elites". "There's nothing new in the trigger, in the context or in the reasons why these people are taking power or why people are putting them in power," he said. Prominent Bangladeshi pro-opposition newspaper editor Mahmudur Rahman was released on Wednesday after spending more than three years in jail on charges of sedition and inciting religious tension. Rahman, 63, who faces charges in a multitude of cases from torching vehicles to a plot to kill the prime minister's son, was arrested in April 2013 in the wake of a nationwide crackdown on the opposition. "He was released today after he got bail in the last of his 78 cases," Rahman's lawyer Zainul Abedin Mesbah told AFP. Rahman was the editor of mass circulated Bengali daily Amar Desh, which was shut down by the government. He was accused of publishing false and derogatory information that incited religious tension in the Muslim-majority country after his daily published a series of reports accusing secular bloggers of Islamophobia. His release came some two months after another prominent pro-opposition magazine editor Shafik Rehman was also freed from jail. The 81-year-old British citizen was a former speechwriter for the main opposition leader -- the current premier's archrival -- and was released spending nearly five months in jail. By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission has proposed lengthening the period of time its own former leaders must wait before taking up new jobs, following public uproar over its last president going to work for Goldman Sachs. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU executive, said in a statement that he and his successors should have to wait three years after stepping down before being able to take up a new post without seeking special Commission approval. The existing code of conduct stipulates a "cooling off period" of 18 months. Commissioners other than the president - each nominated by an EU member state - would have to wait two years before being completely free to take other work. The issue came up when Juncker's predecessor Jose Manuel Barroso said just after Britain stunned the EU by voting to quit that he was joining U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs to advise it on the Brexit process. The former Portuguese premier had not needed Commission approval as his term ended 20 months earlier. "In the light of recent experience made with members of the previous Commission, I feel that our Code of Conduct should be tightened in order to set the highest ethical standard possible for possible cases of conflict of interest," Juncker said. Last month, the Commission's ethics panel, comprised of former senior figures in EU institutions, cleared Barroso of breaking rules but said he did not show the "considerate judgement" one would expect from someone of his stature. Juncker had been among those critics who said the move to a U.S. bank, associated in the minds of many Europeans with the failings of the global financial system, risked fuelling a view that the EU was dominated by an out-of-touch elite in league with international business. Defenders of Barroso and Goldman said many critics were voicing unreasonable prejudice. Barroso has robustly defended his own actions. EU ethics supervisor, European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, welcomed Juncker's proposal but repeated her view that, for some Commission roles, the risk of being seen not to have acted with integrity taking up new jobs, could last for very much longer. Story continues In Parliament, asked by Juncker to review his proposals to change the code of conduct for commissioners, Greens transparency spokesman Benedek Javor said it would be better to give all commissioners a three-year cooling off period. "The Commission's response to recent scandals has been poor, slow and selective," Javor said. "There won't be real trust until ... there is a clear process for policing and sanctioning violations of the ethics rules, including with fines." Another member of the EU executive arm, Germany's Guenther Oettinger, came under fire recently over trips he made to Budapest on a private jet belonging to a German businessman close to the Kremlin. He was also forced to apologise for offending China, gay people and French-speaking Belgians this month. The Commission was on the defensive again recently when a former antitrust and digital commissioner Neelie Kroes was identified in leaked Bahamas documents as having a role in an offshore business which she had failed to declare to the EU. (@macdonaldrtr; Editing by Louise Ireland) Tempur Sealy (TPX) develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes bedding products worldwide. The company provides mattresses, foundations, and adjustable bases, as well as other products comprising pillows, mattress covers, sheets, cushions, and various comfort products. It offers its products under the TEMPUR, Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, Sealy Posturepedic, Optimum, and Stearns & Foster brand names. The company was founded in 1989 in Lexington, Kentucky and currently employs over 7,000. Tempur Sealy is the Bear of the Day after falling to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). The company has a market cap of $3.5 Billion with a PE of 16. The stock has Zacks Style Scores of B in both Value and Growth and pays no dividend. While the Style Scores are decent, the company resides in an industry ranked 238 out of 265 (Bottom 10%) of the Zacks Industry Rank. A recent guidance cut has scarred off investors and the stock has been under severe pressure. Investors would be best off selling the stock and perhaps might find better opportunity on the short side. Slashing guidance On September 27th Tempur issued 2016 revenue guidance of -3% to -1% year over year. This implied revenue would be at $3.06-3.12 billion verse the $3.23 billion expected. The stock plummeted over 25% to test 2016 lows. CEO Scott Thompson had some comments on the quarter to try to calm investors: "While our net sales are below expectations, our operational initiatives are going well and are continuing to drive considerable margin expansion. The net impact of the revenue shortfall and our continued margin expansion is that we felt it was appropriate to lower the midpoint of our adjusted EBITDA guidance by 5%. The midpoint of this updated guidance implies an increase in adjusted EBITDA of approximately 12% and approximately 20% growth in adjusted earnings per share compared to 2015." While the stock has bounced off the lows since the company release earnings on October 27th, estimates dont look great for the long-term. Story continues Estimates revisions are headed lower Looking at companys revisions, investors can see how another move lower might happen. In just the last 60 days, estimates for 2016 have been taken 6% lower. While estimates for 2017 have been taken 7% lower. While there is a recent uptick, the overall trend is lower and the stock should follow the trend. A Better option Williams-Sonoma (WSM) is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) that might be seeing a turn around. The company is a specialty retailer of products for the home. The retail segment sells its products through its three retail concepts: Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Hold Everything. The company just saw its rank improve from Zacks Rank #4 to #3 after the company reported a 2-cent beat. Investors might want to be patient and wait for estimates to tick higher as they still are trending lower. Note: Want more articles from this author? Scroll up to the top of this article and click the FOLLOW AUTHOR button to get an email each time a new article is published. So Where Are the Profitable Trades? Be sure to short or avoid this Bear Stock of the Day. Now would you like to see Zacks' recommendations that have the best profit potential? Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all our private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises (we've called them with 80%+ accuracy). You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors. Click here for all Zacks trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report WILLIAMS-SONOMA (WSM): Free Stock Analysis Report TEMPUR SEALY (TPX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Photo credit: NBC DFW / AP Photo From Cosmopolitan A woman accused of killing a Kansas woman and stealing her baby said in a jailhouse interview that the woman had agreed to give her the child but backed out of the deal at the last moment. In a television interview in Spanish, Yesenia Sesmas told KUVN-TV of Dallas-Fort Worth that Laura Abarca-Nogueda had agreed to turn over her newborn daughter to her but reneged on the agreement. In the interview in the Dallas County jail, the 34-year-old Dallas woman admitted that she killed Abarca-Nogueda but said she did not mean to. She said she threatened Abarca-Nogueda with a gun when it discharged accidentally. Police in Wichita, Kansas, said Sesmas faked being pregnant for months and had been a longtime acquaintance of the 27-year-old mother, who was found dead Thursday at her home in Wichita. Sesmas was jailed in Dallas on a Kansas warrant, with first-degree murder and kidnapping charges pending, and Kansas authorities are seeking her extradition. The baby was reunited with family members in Kansas on Saturday. The infant, whose name is Sophia according to police and family members, was six days old when she was reported missing. Sesmas had known the baby's mother for years and had spent some time in Wichita before returning to Texas to live several months ago, Wichita police Lt. Todd Ojile said. She traveled to Wichita to kidnap the baby, he said. The FBI joined in the investigation with 25 agents working on the case, Ojile said. Late Friday night investigators identified a suspect, leading them to a house in Dallas where the baby was found unharmed after a SWAT team executed a search warrant at 4:30 a.m. Saturday. The baby was inside the home along with Sesmas. Also living there were Sesmas' boyfriend along with the suspect's son and niece. Police do not believe the others in the home were aware of the woman's plans, Ojile said. You Might Also Like smackdown-112216 Hey, Blue Team! Congratulations! We did it! Smackdown beat Raw in the mens traditional five-on-five elimination tag match at Survivor Series. That means the next time I see Brandon, I get to kick him in the balls. Now that the Survivor Series is behind us, we are on the very short road to TLC. Meaning everything is the same as before Survivor Series, but theres also ladders now! Eventually therell probably be tables and chairs as well. Conspicuous by his absence is The Undertaker. His return last week seemed like it could be a permanent one, but one week later and hes gone without a trace. He doesnt even materialize to thank the Survivor Series team members he threatened last week. I miss him already. Sharing is caring, and the best way you can show us you care is by sharing this column. If you like what you read, give The Best and Worst of Smackdown Live a share on your favorite social media platform (it doesnt help us when you print it out and give it to your friends). While youre at it, follow With Spandex on Twitter and like us on Facebook. And now without further ado, here is The Best and Worst of Smackdown Live for November 22nd, 2016. Worst: Ambrose and Ellsworth At some point in the last two months, Smackdown has turned into a wacky 80s buddy cop film. Dean Ambrose is your typical loose cannon bad cop who doesnt play by the rules; hes always cracking wise and getting into hijinks. His partner, James Ellsworth, is the scrappy rookie; hes not cut out to be a cop, but hes out to prove to everyone that he belongs in the force. Shane McMahons the Chief. And then you have AJ Styles, the best cop on the force. Hes straight-laced and plays by the rules, he doesnt care for the unorthodox tactics of Dean Ambrose, and he doesnt think Ellsworth is in his league. Now that I think about it, its more like Police Academy. At least thats the level of comedy we get from Ambrose throughout the night. This weeks Smackdown Live begins with Shane McMahon proving hes alive by coming down to the ring and talking Survivor Series. Hes joined by Dean Ambrose for reasons that arent entirely clear, followed by James Ellsworth who Shane is about to offer a Smackdown Live contract to when AJ Styles shows up to talk him out of it. Story continues Shane-O-Mac ends up throwing Ambrose out of the building and putting together yet another Styles/Ellsworth main event. This time its a ladder match with Ellsworths WWE contract on the line. You could probably figure out how that match would go before I even finished saying what the stipulation is. Ambrose is back before the segments over, and continues to show up throughout the show in various wacky situations and costumes. Like, giving people pizza or dressing up as The Mountie. If he doesnt end up showing up in the main event to cost Styles the match, Ill eat Deans big foam cowboy hat. Best: The Loser And The Cheater The Miz and Kalisto put on a really fun opening match this week. Theyre good opponents for each other. Just about anybody is a good opponent for The Miz, but theres not a lot of guys on Smackdown that can work well with Kalisto. It also feels fresh because we havent seen the matchup a million times. I believe Kalisto and The Miz have only wrestled each other two times this year, though theres really no way to be sure as Im too lazy to Google it. I also appreciate that they tried something different with the distraction finish in the way that they shot it and how it played out. Kalisto is on the top rope and takes a second to look around to make sure Corbins not around. The camera then whip pans over to look for Corbin, who then appears from the opposite direction. If youre gonna do the same finish over and over again, its nice that theyre at least attempting different ways to shoot it. After the match, Corbin hits Kalisto with End of Days, and Miz eats a surprise superkick on his way back to the locker room from Dolph Ziggler. Im assuming next week well get a tag match with Ziggler and Kalisto facing Corbin and The Miz. Ill take it. Best: Pu-Pu Platter The middle of Smackdown is a Tag Team Turmoil match. You start with two teams and as one is eliminated, another team comes out to challenge the winner. Its a sample platter of Smackdown Tag Team matches. You get a little Hype Bros/Ascension, a little Usos/American Alpha theres something for everybody. Its not as good of a match as I would have liked for it to be, as the pacing seemed to be a little off. But it kept me entertained and I like all these guys, so Im still giving it a best. It comes down to the mozzarella sticks vs. the loaded potato skins. American Alpha wins it and for about ten seconds were the number one contenders for the Tag Team Title when The Wyatt Family appears on the TitanTron to let Jordan and Gable know that to truly be the number one contenders, theyll have to go through the Wyatts next week. Ive seen a lot of people complaining about this invalidating the Tag Team Turmoil match, saying that now that American Alpha has to beat Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton next week, this weeks match didnt matter. But I just dont care. Jordan and Gable vs. Orton and Wyatt could be a great match. At the very least, its something we havent seen before. If this weeks match had to be pointless to make that one at least it was enjoyable. Best: Unorthodox Endings The best match on this weeks show was Becky Lynch vs. Natalya, but something very odd happened during this match. Or rather, didnt happen. Alexa Bliss was sitting in on commentary, yet she didnt get involved in the match. The match was able to have a clean finish when Becky reverses a Sharpshooter attempt into a Dis-Arm-Her. Its weird. Bliss didnt jump in the ring to attack Becky during the match. She didnt get up from behind the commentary table, jump up on the ring apron, and cause a distraction roll-up. There wasnt a moment where Becky and Nattie end up fighting on the outside in front of the announce table, where Bliss throws water at Becky, or Nattie throws Becky into Bliss. Did someone miss a cue? Was that page of the script accidentally left out? Instead, a good match had an actual ending followed by Bliss attacking Becky after the match. With the Tag Team Turmoil match, this marks two clean finishes in a row. Looks like WWE has a new streak on their hands. Worst: The Streak Is Over My Baron Corbin/Kane dream match is ruined by a Kalisto interference. Less than a minute into the match, Kalisto just runs down, jumps into the ring, and attacks Corbin. Its a real shame, as Ive been looking forward to this matchup. These one-minute matches that end in almost immediate interference are very strange to me. I dont understand why they do them. Who did they help? Do we really need to see Baron Corbin and Kalisto again tonight? They couldnt have put some sort of squash match here to put someone on TV and help get someone else over? Apollo Crews vs. Local Talent perhaps? Once the match is officially over, Kalisto grabs a chair and goes after Corbin with it. Its maybe the laziest way Ive seen to set up a chairs match. And thats really saying something, since most chairs matches are set up pretty lazily. I like both Baron Corbin and Kalisto a lot, but this is not the feud for either of these guys. I dont see how adding pieces of furniture is going to help it at all. Worst: Shark Jumped Hey, at least theyre not doing 50/50 booking anymore, right? The main event this week once again is James Ellsworth vs. AJ Styles. This time with a ladder! And I am officially over this whole thing. Each week this bit is starting to feel more tired, and theres no end in sight. Ellsworth winning not only means that he gets a WWE contract, he also gets a title shot at Styles. So this things dragging on at least through the end of the year. Ellsworth can be great when used sparingly and properly. The perfect example of this is The Survivor Series. But how many Ellsworth/Styles matches are we going to have to see? And I use the term match very loosely. Its like if Gilberg had wrestled Kurt Angle in four matches in two months on Sunday Night Heat. But AJ Styles continues to do a great job through all of it. Its pretty remarkable. Now that James Ellsworth is officially signed and is now a Smackdown Live Superstar, Im extremely curious to see what they end up doing with him once his storyline with Styles and Ambrose finally wraps up. Whos he going to wrestle? Im sure hell have a fun spot in the Royal Rumble. I could see him going over Curt Hawkins in a match at some point. Maybe a surprise victory against Jack Swagger. Or maybe his storyline with Ambrose and Styles will just never end. Its starting to feel like that already. Until next week, Im Justin Donaldson and I could totally see Vince putting the belt on Ellsworth. By Olivia Oran (Reuters) - Having spent billions of dollars on post-crisis U.S. financial industry reforms they once scorned, bankers are concerned the Trump administration, joined by a like-minded Congress, will scrap or significantly change the rules. To comply with a rule known as Dodd-Frank, which was enacted in 2010 following the financial crisis, big U.S banks hired tens of thousands of staffers, built new technology systems, hived off businesses, simplified corporate structures and doubled the amount of capital they hold. JPMorgan Chase & Co has said that in its mortgage business alone, employees spent 800,000 hours in compliance training in a single year. The industry went into these changes kicking and screaming. Banks lobbied hard against Dodd-Frank as it was being drafted, then cajoled regulators to go easy in defining and implementing precise rules. But now that the heavy lifting has been done and Dodd-Frank is largely in effect, the industry see a total elimination as more of a threat than a blessing. Dodd-Frank has largely made banks safer and the once-opaque derivatives market more transparent, banking executives said. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, and some important lawmakers in the incoming Republican Congress have pledged to dismantle the law and put a new one in place. It is not yet clear what the replacement would look like, but Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, has drafted a blueprint called The CHOICE Act. The proposal has a mix of things the industry largely supports, such as abolishing the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), but it also has some ideas Wall Street vehemently opposes, like ramping up capital requirements to a level that would likely force big banks to split apart. Proposed changes are also likely to run into stiff opposition from some congressional Democrats, particularly Senator Elizabeth Warren, architect of the CFPB. Story continues Big U.S. banks including JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley have seen big gains in their share prices since the Nov. 8 election, partly on expectations that regulators will soon have a much lighter touch. "There is scope for lower taxes, less regulation, and more growth," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report on Tuesday recommending big bank stocks. However, bankers, lawyers and consultants who spoke to Reuters said any big rollback in rulemaking could take several years to implement and may introduce more costs. "One of the dangers of dismantling regulation is that it will be costly and disruptive," said Mike Alix, a consultant at PwC who works with banks on regulatory matters. "By and large they've gotten themselves into shape and they're not looking to get out of shape." Industry sources said they are hoping it's possible to roll back some elements of Dodd-Frank that they view as too onerous or misguided, without scrapping the entire law. For instance, many would like to see the Volcker rule, which places restrictions on proprietary trading, go away. The rule was intended to prevent federally insured banks from placing speculative bets in the markets, and would be repealed as part of Hensarling's plan. Some banks are taking a second look at compliance initiatives until they gain further clarity on what will happen in Washington. At a conference this month, Bank of America Corp Chief Operating Officer Tom Montag said he is being "a little more cautious" about compliance spending. It is difficult to know whether it is worth spending another $30 million on Volcker rule compliance, he said, because doing so may be a waste of money but not doing so could leave the bank at risk if the rule is implemented as planned. "Even if Volcker doesn't go away, there are still questions about how tough the enforcement would be," said Mark Nuccio, who leads the bank regulatory practice at law firm Ropes & Gray LLP. "Banks are deciding they may take the foot off the gas pedal now and just see what happens." (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Jonathan Oatis) (Adds details on bank stock gains and analyst quote) By Olivia Oran Nov 23 (Reuters) - Having spent billions of dollars on post-crisis U.S. financial industry reforms they once scorned, bankers are concerned the Trump administration, joined by a like-minded Congress, will scrap or significantly change the rules. To comply with a rule known as Dodd-Frank, which was enacted in 2010 following the financial crisis, big U.S banks hired tens of thousands of staffers, built new technology systems, hived off businesses, simplified corporate structures and doubled the amount of capital they hold. JPMorgan Chase & Co has said that in its mortgage business alone, employees spent 800,000 hours in compliance training in a single year. The industry went into these changes kicking and screaming. Banks lobbied hard against Dodd-Frank as it was being drafted, then cajoled regulators to go easy in defining and implementing precise rules. But now that the heavy lifting has been done and Dodd-Frank is largely in effect, the industry see a total elimination as more of a threat than a blessing. Dodd-Frank has largely made banks safer and the once-opaque derivatives market more transparent, banking executives said. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, and some important lawmakers in the incoming Republican Congress have pledged to dismantle the law and put a new one in place. It is not yet clear what the replacement would look like, but Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, has drafted a blueprint called The CHOICE Act. The proposal has a mix of things the industry largely supports, such as abolishing the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), but it also has some ideas Wall Street vehemently opposes, like ramping up capital requirements to a level that would likely force big banks to split apart. Proposed changes are also likely to run into stiff opposition from some congressional Democrats, particularly Senator Elizabeth Warren, architect of the CFPB. Story continues Big U.S. banks including JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp , Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley have seen big gains in their share prices since the Nov. 8 election, partly on expectations that regulators will soon have a much lighter touch. "There is scope for lower taxes, less regulation, and more growth," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report on Tuesday recommending big bank stocks. However, bankers, lawyers and consultants who spoke to Reuters said any big rollback in rulemaking could take several years to implement and may introduce more costs. "One of the dangers of dismantling regulation is that it will be costly and disruptive," said Mike Alix, a consultant at PwC who works with banks on regulatory matters. "By and large they've gotten themselves into shape and they're not looking to get out of shape." Industry sources said they are hoping it's possible to roll back some elements of Dodd-Frank that they view as too onerous or misguided, without scrapping the entire law. For instance, many would like to see the Volcker rule, which places restrictions on proprietary trading, go away. The rule was intended to prevent federally insured banks from placing speculative bets in the markets, and would be repealed as part of Hensarling's plan. Some banks are taking a second look at compliance initiatives until they gain further clarity on what will happen in Washington. At a conference this month, Bank of America Corp Chief Operating Officer Tom Montag said he is being "a little more cautious" about compliance spending. It is difficult to know whether it is worth spending another $30 million on Volcker rule compliance, he said, because doing so may be a waste of money but not doing so could leave the bank at risk if the rule is implemented as planned. "Even if Volcker doesn't go away, there are still questions about how tough the enforcement would be," said Mark Nuccio, who leads the bank regulatory practice at law firm Ropes & Gray LLP. "Banks are deciding they may take the foot off the gas pedal now and just see what happens." (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Jonathan Oatis) Are you ready to USE your TALENTS to make the world a better place for Children? If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the worlds leading childrens rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote childrens survival, protection and development. The worlds largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. By Olivia Oran (Reuters) - Having spent billions of dollars on post-crisis U.S. financial industry reforms they once scorned, bankers are concerned the Trump administration, joined by a like-minded Congress, will scrap or significantly change the rules. To comply with a rule known as Dodd-Frank, which was enacted in 2010 following the financial crisis, big U.S banks hired tens of thousands of staffers, built new technology systems, hived off businesses, simplified corporate structures and doubled the amount of capital they hold. JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) has said that in its mortgage business alone, employees spent 800,000 hours in compliance training in a single year. The industry went into these changes kicking and screaming. Banks lobbied hard against Dodd-Frank as it was being drafted, then cajoled regulators to go easy in defining and implementing precise rules. But now that the heavy lifting has been done and Dodd-Frank is largely in effect, the industry see a total elimination as more of a threat than a blessing. Dodd-Frank has largely made banks safer and the once-opaque derivatives market more transparent, banking executives said. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, and some important lawmakers in the incoming Republican Congress have pledged to dismantle the law and put a new one in place. It is not yet clear what the replacement would look like, but Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, has drafted a blueprint called The CHOICE Act. The proposal has a mix of things the industry largely supports, such as abolishing the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), but it also has some ideas Wall Street vehemently opposes, like ramping up capital requirements to a level that would likely force big banks to split apart. Proposed changes are also likely to run into stiff opposition from some congressional Democrats, particularly Senator Elizabeth Warren, architect of the CFPB. Story continues Big U.S. banks including JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Citigroup Inc (C.N), Wells Fargo & Co (WF.N), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) have seen big gains in their share prices since the Nov. 8 election, partly on expectations that regulators will soon have a much lighter touch. "There is scope for lower taxes, less regulation, and more growth," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report on Tuesday recommending big bank stocks. However, bankers, lawyers and consultants who spoke to Reuters said any big rollback in rulemaking could take several years to implement and may introduce more costs. "One of the dangers of dismantling regulation is that it will be costly and disruptive," said Mike Alix, a consultant at PwC who works with banks on regulatory matters. "By and large they've gotten themselves into shape and they're not looking to get out of shape." Industry sources said they are hoping it's possible to roll back some elements of Dodd-Frank that they view as too onerous or misguided, without scrapping the entire law. For instance, many would like to see the Volcker rule, which places restrictions on proprietary trading, go away. The rule was intended to prevent federally insured banks from placing speculative bets in the markets, and would be repealed as part of Hensarling's plan. Some banks are taking a second look at compliance initiatives until they gain further clarity on what will happen in Washington. At a conference this month, Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) Chief Operating Officer Tom Montag said he is being "a little more cautious" about compliance spending. It is difficult to know whether it is worth spending another $30 million on Volcker rule compliance, he said, because doing so may be a waste of money but not doing so could leave the bank at risk if the rule is implemented as planned. "Even if Volcker doesn't go away, there are still questions about how tough the enforcement would be," said Mark Nuccio, who leads the bank regulatory practise at law firm Ropes & Gray LLP. "Banks are deciding they may take the foot off the gas pedal now and just see what happens." (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Jonathan Oatis) It could have been worse. This years Busan Intl. Film Festival was, at minimum, a qualified success. It took place after months of strife, with audience numbers down by a third compared to 2015. But from the point of view of Kang Soo-youn, the actress who found herself installed as festival director after an 18-month political feud caused the ousting of her predecessor, it was a miracle. The festival welcomed international guests, screened some 300 shorts and feature films, and sold more than 150,000 tickets. It even dodged a typhoon, which destroyed some temporary structures and forced more of the public events to relocate closer to Centum City and the Busan Cinema Center the citys boldest architectural statement. On the other hand, the streets and hotel lobbies of the Haeundae area, normally thronging with stars, fans, and executives, were eerily empty for much of the festivals duration. Similarly, there were holes in the Korean part of the programming and a significant number of no-show domestic visitors, as a partially observed boycott lingered. So, although the 21st edition is now completed, the work of rebuilding healthy relations with the Korean film industry still has a long way to go. Kang brightly suggests that the folks who continued to boycott and the festival management are really on the same side. She argues that the holdouts want the best for the festival and are determined to see that all of the proposed changes to the regulations really come into place. Two separate, but related, court cases involving the festivals co-founders, however, threaten to keep wounds from healing. Former festival director Lee Yong-kwan risks jail time for alleged mismanagement, while former head of the market Jay Jeon is charged with fraud relating to the manner in which BIFF raised its sponsorship cash. Their supporters and opponents of the Busan mayors intervention in the running of the festival say that the two men are being subjected to trumped-up charges, and that imprisonment of either would be an outrage. Story continues Film festivals in South Korea have long been political minefields. The countrys other top film events in Bucheon and Jeonju have both suffered politically initiated turmoil in the past. But the issues at BIFF go deeper than a spat between the mayor and the Busan festival organizers. Even if Lee and Jeon escape harsh punishment, levels of mistrust between political authorities and filmmakers are likely to remain high. Thats because the fundamental issue at the root of Busan festivals recent travails freedom of expression, which, for Busan festival means being able to screen films regardless of their political stance has not been settled. Kang concedes that the festival is not financially strong enough to be independent of the city and central governments but argues that this need not be a problem if the new rules are followed. But many in the industry are skeptical that the festival can have programming independence unless it stops taking government cash. Though the festival regulations have been revised to guarantee its freedom [of programming], the same problem can come back at any time if the city council undermines the BIFF again, on the grounds that it provides significant funding, said director-producer Kim Jho Gwang-soo at a panel discussion held during last months BIFF. In South Korea, freedom of expression has been increasingly curtailed over past eight years under the right-of-center government, not only for artists and but also for the press. During Lee Myung-baks presidency, South Korea sank to 69th place in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index, down from its previous 31st spot. Under the current Park Geun-hye regime, it has fallen to 70th the countrys historic low. Relations have been very tense between the media and the authorities under President Park, Reporters Without Borders said in its latest report. The government has displayed a growing inability to tolerate criticism and its meddling in the already polarized media threatens their independence. Only last month, members of parliament accused the Park government of operating a blacklist of some 9,000 political dissenters, including the countrys top filmmakers Park Chan-wook and Lee Chang-dong. Following that revelation, filmmaker Kim Ki-duk called for the state-owned Korean Film Council (Kofic) to explain its funding decisions for arthouse films. Kofic has also been accused by the local industry of abusing the film development fund, which is raised through a mandatory 3% levy on all cinema tickets. South Koreas central government has relocated Kofic and the Korea Media Ratings Board from Seoul to Busan. And the Busan region boasts a host of film industry assets. In addition to Asias leading film festival it has a proactive film commission, a new film school, and studios under construction. But a long history of conservative mayors, combined with the recent events, make the city an increasingly uncomfortable place for the film industrys private sector. Related stories CJ-CGV Wants to Keep Growing Its Chains Hong Kong Filmmakers Torn Between Local Freedom and the Mainland's Money Bona Film Group's Jeffrey Chan Sounds Off on Slow Film Sales On Monday afternoon, Misti Nash thought she heard the unimaginable when she got a call that her 8-year-old son, Zecheriah, was in the ICU after being injured in a deadly school bus crash in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Then Misti learned that her 9-year-old daughter, Zoie, was killed in the crash. It seems like a dream, Misti tells PEOPLE. It hasnt hit me yet. Zecheriah and Zoie, both students at Woodmore Elementary School, rode that bus every day and were very close, their mom says. Zoie was one of six siblings and the only girl in the family. She couldnt do anything, Misti says. She said she could never have a boyfriend. They all looked out for her. As Misti and her close-knit family mourn the lose of Zoie, who was quiet but also a people person who enjoyed life, Misti has been by Zecheriahs side watching him heal. Hes out of the ICU, she says, and hes going to be okay. She adds, Weve come together for this moment. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Zoie was one of five students killed in the bus crash Monday, after the vehicle ran off the road, turned on its side and wrapped around a tree. There were reportedly 37 kids on board. Police allege the bus driver, 24-year-old Johnthony Walker, was speeding and driving recklessly when he lost control of the vehicle. He is facing charges for vehicular homicide, reckless driving and reckless endangerment. Like Zoies family, the relatives of the other students killed or injured are grappling with their grief. It hurts me to see Zachariah like that, Misti says. Hes so innocent. The FBI has closed its abuse investigation on Brad Pitt with no charges. "In response to allegations made following a flight within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States which landed in Los Angeles carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation. No charges have been filed in this matter," the FBI said Tuesday in a statement. The investigation covered an alleged incident with Pitt and his son Maddox while flying to Los Angeles in September. The Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services also cleared Pitt of charges in its child services investigation, finding that Pitt was not abusive toward his son. Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September, citing irreconcilable differences, and her lawyer released a statement the following day saying she came to the decision "for the health of the family." The couple was married a little more than two years. The couple reached a custody agreement regarding their six children earlier this month, which calls for the children to remain in Jolie's custody, with Pitt to continue to receive "therapeutic visits" with his children. Jolie and Pitt married in August 2014 after a nearly 10-year relationship. The couple, together since 2005, made their engagement official in 2012. Earlier that year, Pitt told The Hollywood Reporter that he and Jolie did hope to get married, for the sake of their children. Pitt previously was married to Jennifer Aniston for five years. Jolie previously was married to Jonny Lee Miller and then Billy Bob Thornton. Pitt will next be seen in the Robert Zemeckis film Allied, which opens in theaters Wednesday. He also is a producer on The Lost City of Z, starring Charlie Hunnam, and is an executive producer on Moonlight, which just received six nominations for the 2017 Independent Spirit Awards. Read more: Custody Agreement Reached in Jolie-Pitt Divorce The FBI is closing its investigation into Brad Pitts incident with his son Maddox on the familys private jet in September. In response to allegations made following a flight within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States which landed in Los Angeles carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation. No charges have been filed in this matter, the FBI said in a statement to PEOPLE. Pitt was in Madrid, Spain today, where he and Marion Cotillard celebrated the premiere of their new WWII spy thriller Allied. RELATED: Brad Pitt Looks Amazing at the Red Carpet Premiere for Allied in London While the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) also concluded its investigation into the incident earlier this month with no findings of abuse, Pitt and Angelina Jolie remain in the midst of a complicated legal battle for custody of their six children. Pitt filed a response to Jolies divorce petition on Nov. 4 and asked to share joint physical and legal custody of Maddox, 15, Pax, 12, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and 8-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne. Jolie has requested sole physical custody, with visitation for Pitt. Per a temporary recommendation by DCFS, for the past several weeks, the children have been living with Jolie, with supervised visitation for Pitt. But Pitt has been very unhappy with the arrangement, a source recently told PEOPLE. He loves his kids and wants to spend more time with them. DailyFX.com - Talking Points: British Pound falls as UK Autumn Budget Statement looms ahead Eurozone PMIs may pass unnoticed on limited ECB policy impact November FOMC minutes likely moot with 2017 rates path eyed The British Pound traded broadly lower for a second day in a move that could reflect pre-positioning ahead of the UK Autumn Budget Statement due to be presented by Chancellor Hammond today. A downgrade of growth and public finances projections reflecting the cooling effect of the Brexit referendum and the new governments somewhat expansionary fiscal posture are likely. Mr Hammond seems to have relatively little room for lavish government outlays. Indeed, he has himself acknowledged that UK government debt is worryingly high. This suggests the markets may be readying for a scenario where an underwhelming fiscal effort beckons a more accommodative posture from the Bank of England as growth slows, pressuring Sterling. Novembers preliminary Eurozone PMI surveys seem unlikely to spark a meaningful response from the Euro considering their limited implications for near-term monetary policy. Firm numbers in line with recently upbeat regional news-flow probably mean little after comments from ECB President Mario Draghi implied that the central bank is essentially keeping the economy on life support. Minutes from Novembers FOMC meeting may likewise pass with little fanfare. Fed Funds futures already price in a 100 percent probability of a rate hike in December, so it appears that there is not much insight to be gleaned from the account of the sit-down. The 2017 rate hike path is now at the heart of speculation, and Fed officials themselves have intimately linked this to the on-coming fiscal policy pivot. The Australian Dollar outperformed in overnight trade as most Asian stocks advanced, offering support to the sentiment-sensitive currency. The likewise risk-geared New Zealand Dollar followed suit. Regional shares picked up on the lead set by another strong upward push on Wall Street, where the benchmark S&P 500 index advanced to a record high. Story continues See the schedule of upcoming webinars and join us LIVE to follow the financial markets! Asia Session GMT CCY EVENT ACT EXP PREV 0:00 AUD Skilled Vacancies (MoM) (OCT) -0.4% - -0.8% 0:30 AUD Construction Work Done (3Q) -4.9% -1.6% -3.1% 1:45 CNY MNI November Business Indicator 53.1 - 52.2 European Session GMT CCY EVENT EXP PREV IMPACT 8:00 EUR Markit France Mfg PMI (NOV P) 51.5 51.8 Low 8:00 EUR Markit France Services PMI (NOV P) 51.9 51.4 Low 8:00 EUR Markit France Composite PMI (NOV P) 51.9 51.6 Low 8:00 EUR Markit/BME Germany Mfg PMI (NOV P) 54.8 55.0 Medium 8:30 EUR Markit Germany Services PMI (NOV P) 54.0 54.2 Medium 8:30 EUR Markit/BME Germany Composite PMI (NOV P) 55.0 55.1 Medium 9:00 EUR Markit Eurozone Mfg PMI (NOV P) 53.3 53.5 Medium 9:00 EUR Markit Eurozone Services PMI (NOV P) 52.9 52.8 Medium 9:00 EUR Markit Eurozone Composite PMI (NOV P) 53.3 53.3 Medium 12:30 GBP UK Autumn Budget Statement - - High Critical Levels CCY Supp 3 Supp 2 Supp 1 Pivot Point Res 1 Res 2 Res 3 EUR/USD 1.0475 1.0549 1.0589 1.0623 1.0663 1.0697 1.0771 GBP/USD 1.2184 1.2312 1.2368 1.2440 1.2496 1.2568 1.2696 --- Written by Ilya Spivak, Currency Strategist for DailyFX.com To receive Ilya's analysis directly via email, please SIGN UP HERE Contact and follow Ilya on Twitter: @IlyaSpivak original source DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets. Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts from IG. C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. CHRW recently announced that its contract with Tesco has been renewed. Tesco is a renowned retailer of multinational grocery and general merchandise. The renewed and expanded contract is focused on increasing the distribution of Tescos vast range of products across Poland. Tesco Poland has over 400 stores across the country and serves around five million customers weekly. Deal Background C.H. Robinson has been associated with Tesco since 2011. It supported the Tesco Poland business by operating out of Tescos Gliwice Distribution Centre. The services provided as part of the outsource transport solution over the past five years is highly appreciated by Tesco as indicated by the contract extension. The new contract of expanding Tescos operations includes extension of the existing logistics partnership to C.H. Robinsons Gliwice, Poznan, and Teresin divisions. The decision was taken by Tesco following its move to synchronize its existing Eastern European operations model. Per the President of Europe, C.H. Robinson Jeroen Eijsink the companys main focus is on delivering quality and efficiency services to best serve its customers. Eijsink also mentioned that the company is positive on boosting its ties with Tesco. Matthew Rhind, CE Distribution Director of Tesco, mentioned that the company is confident that the partnership will meet its requirements and support its strategies. We are positive on C.H. Robinsons deal expansion with Tesco and expect it to further boost the companys international performance. CH ROBINSON WWD Price CH ROBINSON WWD Price | CH ROBINSON WWD Quote Zacks Rank C.H. Robinson carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). The company missed earnings estimates in the third quarter. Performance of Other Transport Companies Companies that beat earnings in the third quarter in the transportation sector include Norfolk Southern Corp. NSC, Canadian National Railways Company CNI and CSX Corp. CSX. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks' Top Investment Ideas for Long-Term Profit How would you like to see our best recommendations to help you find todays most promising long-term stocks? Starting now, you can look inside our portfolios featuring stocks under $10, income stocks, value investments and more. These picks, which have double and triple-digit profit potential, are rarely available to the public. But you can see them now. Click here >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CSX CORP (CSX): Free Stock Analysis Report CDN NATL RY CO (CNI): Free Stock Analysis Report NORFOLK SOUTHRN (NSC): Free Stock Analysis Report CH ROBINSON WWD (CHRW): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Call the Midwife is well on its way to becoming the next Downton Abbey. RELATEDCable/Streaming Renewal Scorecard 2016: Whats Coming Back? Whats Cancelled? Whats On the Bubble? The popular BBC One drama, which airs Stateside on PBS, has been renewed for Seasons 7, 8 and 9, with a Christmas special included in each, our sister site Deadline reports. For those unfamiliar with the scripted drama, it follows a dedicated team of midwives and nuns working at a convent in Londons East End in the 1950s and 60s. The show is based on real-life nurse Jennifer Worths best-selling trilogy of memoirs. Are you a Midwife fan? If so, what are your hopes for the series extended future? And if not, what do you have against adorable British nurses? Drop a comment with your thoughts below. Launch Gallery: Downton Abbey Series Finale Photos: Best Moments Related stories Secrets and Lies Recap: Family Feud Once Upon a Time Recap: One Crazy Twist After a Mother! The Vampire Chronicles: Anne Rice Eyes a TV Adaptation of 'Highest Quality' (PHNOM PENH, Cambodia) A special Cambodian court on Wednesday upheld the life sentences for the two most senior surviving members of the Khmer Rouge regime, which was responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million people. The court said the massive scale of the crimes showed the two mens complete lack of consideration for the lives of the Cambodians. The Supreme Court Chamber said the 2014 verdict by a U.N.-assisted Khmer Rouge tribunal was appropriate given the gravity of the crimes and roles of the two Khieu Samphan, the 85-year-old Khmer Rouge head of state, and Nuon Chea, the 90-year-old right-hand man to the communist groups late leader Pol Pot. It is a historic day for Cambodia. For the first time in 41 years someone in the national leadership has been held criminally responsible for the crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge regime, said tribunal spokesman Lars Olsen. The two who were sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity including extermination, enforced disappearances and political persecution sat impassively as the lengthy verdict was read out. They were detained in 2007 and started serving their sentences in 2014 inside the Khmer Rouge tribunals facility, where conditions are much better than ordinary Cambodian prison. They have access to radio and television. About 1.7 million people are estimated to have died from starvation, disease and execution due to the extremist policies of the communist Khmer Rouge when they held power from 1975 to 1979. The gravity of the crimes should be reflected in the sentence the crimes were not isolated events but occurred over an extended period of time, said Kong Srim, president of the Supreme Court Chamber. Given the significant role of the accused, the Supreme Court Chamber considers that the imposition of the life sentence for each of the accused is appropriate and therefore confirms the sentence imposed by the trial chamber, he said, as he wrapped up a two-hour reading of the verdict. Story continues He added that the massive scale of the crimes showed a complete lack of consideration for the ultimate fate of the Cambodian population, especially the most vulnerable group. Lawyers for Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea filed lengthy appeals against their verdicts by the Khmer Rouge tribunal formally called the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, which was set up in 2006. They had alleged a slew of legal and factual errors, as well as biases by the judges. They suggested that their clients were unfairly being singled out while the Cambodian government sought to block the tribunal from trying other suspects. I waited for this moment for 40 years. It has now arrived, said Seak Ny, a 64-year-old woman from the northwestern Pursat province whose husband died of starvation under the Khmer Rouge regime. She said the Khmer Rouge also killed her older brother and his five children when they found out he was a former soldier in the previous regime. Today I am happy because these people have received justice, she said, adding she came to attend the tribunal to see the faces of the Khmer Rouge leaders. The two defendants are also on trial in a second case where they are facing charges of genocide against ethnic minorities and foreigners, and implementing policies of rape and forced marriages. Originally all the charges were to have been part of one trial, but fears that they would die before proceedings could finish led to their case being broken into two parts, known as Case 002/01 and 002/02. Their two co-defendants, Ieng Sary, the third-ranking Khmer Rouge leader and its foreign minister, and his wife, Ieng Thirith, died during the first phase of their trial. There have been charges made against other suspects in what are known as Cases 003 and 004, but they remain in limbo because of a lack of cooperation from Prime Minister Hun Sens government. Hun Sen has threatened to shut down the tribunal if further cases are pursued. He has repeatedly said that if the tribunal targets more defendants, it could incite former Khmer Rouge members to start a civil war. Few people share his belief, since the Khmer Rouge became a spent force almost two decades ago. Hun Sen himself was a mid-level commander with the Khmer Rouge before defecting while the group was still in power, and several senior members of his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party share similar backgrounds. He helped cement his political control by making alliances with other former Khmer Rouge commanders. The tribunals operations have been complicated by its unusual hybrid nature, which pairs international and Cambodian jurists and works under complicated rules that have slowed progress. By Sylvain Andzongo YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Security forces in Cameroon arrested about 100 people during days of protests over alleged discrimination against minority English-speaking people, Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary and a senior security source said on Wednesday. Bakary said vandals who mingled with the demonstrators smashed shops in the northwestern town of Bamenda during the protests during which one person was killed. A second security source said the demonstrators also wanted independence for Cameroon's two English speaking regions and the departure of President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982 and is one of Africa's longest serving rulers. French is spoken in eight of Cameroon's 10 regions and English in the northwestern and southwestern regions. Bakary said reinforcements in Bamenda were helping security forces return the situation to normal. He said the protests posed no threat to Biya. "Unions were complaining of being a bit marginalized and said they were discriminated against because of the (English) language," Bakary told Reuters. "There are some politicians who are using the situation as a tool for leverage to pursue their own interests," he said, noting that the government was open to dialogue and ministers had met for talks to work out how to resolve the problem. Reuters television footage of Bamenda on Tuesday showed security forces scouring the streets for protesters, and several barricades and one avenue blocked by flames in the market area. A woman walking with two young children stopped in her tracks at the sound of a gunshot. It also showed residents fleeing as riot police and soldiers marched through almost deserted streets. It was not immediately possible to contact residents or union members - who had organized the protests - in the town. (Additional reporting by Matthew Mpoke Bigg in Accra; Editing by Louise Ireland) VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 / Canadian Zeolite Corp. (the "Company") (CNZ.V) (CNZCF) (ZEON.F) is pleased to announce it has reached a Supplier Agreement with Natural Ventures, a Puerto Rico based licensed grower and manufacturer of medical marijuana. Canadian Zeolite will now be working with Natural Ventures to enhance their growing production per square foot with zeolitic fertilizers and substrates. Natural Ventures is located near San Juan, Puerto Rico and has an indoor growing facility of 100,000 square feet. Currently there are over 60,000 registered medical marijuana patients in Puerto Rico and that number is expected to increase significantly in 2017. Natural Ventures CEO, Edgar Montero stated, "We are very excited to be implementing a natural Zeolitic fertilizer for our 2017 crop. With an expected increase in crop yield, we anticipate being able to fully service the increase in demand for our product in Puerto Rico and the other parts of the Caribbean market as they open." Canadian Zeolite CEO Ray Paquette stated, "We are extremely pleased to be supplying Natural Ventures of Puerto Rico. Plant nutritional needs vary between different species and zeolites are considered as good substrates for developing slow release fertilizers. Canadian Zeolite's natural zeolite is being developed as a value added and highly efficient soil-less substrate for growing a wide variety of plants including medical marijuana." On behalf of the Board of Directors "Ray Paquette" President & CEO 604.684.3301 www.canadianzeolite.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, the ability to complete contemplated work programs and the timing and amount of expenditures. Canadian Zeolite does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. SOURCE: Canadian Zeolite Corp. From the December 2016 issue Ive bought and sold plenty of cars in my life. Well, not a staggering number, really, but 35 or so. What is staggering is that Ive never sold one at a profit. Never. I think I become too fixated on the next car Ive lined up, and I screw the pooch. Not just the pooch but also a pack of gray wolves hiding behind the pooch. So, earlier this year, it was a shocker to get a letter from Lithia Toyota, in Missoula, Montana, in which it offered to buy my 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser for what I paid for it 18 months earlier. Do it, I told my wife, and youll have driven a car 18 months for free. She loves the funky FJ and declined. It turns out that, from roughly the start of the year, the FJ Cruiser has been commanding the highest resale value of any non-collectible car on the market. Some were selling for 90 percent of their original sticker prices. I think its partly because the FJ is among the last of the body-on-frame SUVs; partly because it looks like a Jeep that a pufferfish designed; partly because its halfway rare now that Toyota has ceased production after selling roughly 20,000 per year in the FJs one generation from 2007 to 2014. So, finally, after 49 years, I could have made money on a car. Ha. Thats like saying, I could make $200 buying a dishwasher priced $200 off. Of all the cars my father ownedat least 60, many collectiblehe made money on the sale of only one. And that was a 1941 Cadillac Series 62 convertible that I picked up for him from a collector in Iowa. He later said he turned a $5000 profit on the Iowa Caddy, not quite enough to pay for a months worth of Donald Trumps embossed toilet paper. In fact, heres a clearer indication of our resale failures. My dad gave me a 60s-era Volkswagen Beetle that served for more than 200,000 miles, at which point I upgraded to a Toyota Corolla. At the salesmans desk, my father asked about the trade-in value of the VW. The salesman sighed, then wrote a number on a piece of paper, which he folded in half and slid across the table. My father opened it, remained silent, then handed it to me. The note said, $33.53. Story continues Dont get mad, the salesman said. Not mad, my dad replied, as long as you tell me how you came up with the 53 cents. Oh, sure, Henns 275 GTB/C Speciale is rare, but its no LaFerrari Aperta. At the opposite end of the buy/sell spectrum is Floridas Swap Shop impresario, Preston Henn, 85, a former outright winner at the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours. For the past 50 years, Preston has collected Ferraristoo many to list, but among them an Enzo, an FXX, a 275 GTB/C Speciale (probably worth more than all his other Ferraris combined), and a LaFerrari. That last car is notable, because last July Henn attempted to buy a LaFerrari Spider (the Aperta). I guess you have to have the matched set. To ensure his place in line, Henn sent a letter to Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne, along with a $1 million down- payment check written out to Marchionne personally. Did he think Mr. M. was a salesman? Maranellos Enrico Galliera immediately returned the check with a note explaining that all the open-top LaFerraris had been sold, no more, kaput, end of story. But not for Henn. Henn claimed that Ferrari of North Americas agents and employees at some point said he was not qualified to purchase a LaFerrari Spider. Uh oh. The man blustered and bloviated himself into a big itchy hedgehog of litigation, suing Ferrari of North America for reputational injury and the mortification caused by declaring him to be not qualified. He demanded a jury trial and claimed damages of at least $75,000, about what he and Ferrari N.A. could conceivably spend annually on Christmas ornaments. Henns lawyer further scolded Ferrari, warning, What a shame to shun him now. So, two things. First, Henn hasnt experienced mortificationthe metallic taste of the real thinguntil he has waited in line at Peoples Market, trying to buy four bottles of Clos du Bois chardonnay, only to have his Visa card denied. Second, I stared for 10 minutes at the copy of Henns $1 million checkId never seen one beforewondering if his fingers cramped while signing it, and also wondering how long Marchionne toyed with the notion of cashing it. (Marchionnes brain: Seriously, how much trouble could I get into?) All of which demonstrates why Iwho would have cashed the check to buy my Clos du Bois and a Porsche 911 GT3 RSam not anywhere listed in the phonebook serving The Greater Ferrari Cosmos. And just as Id fully inflated my own hydrogen-filled blimp of righteous indignation, Henn voluntarily dropped the suit. So, there you go. Happy days are here again. Still, I think the moral here, as often uttered by my trial-lawyer father, is, We are judged by the size of our complaints. Dr. Ben Carson, a Republican presidential candidate who had given a lukewarm endorsement of Donald Trump during a tense campaign cycle, hinted Wednesday that he would accept a position within the president-elect's administration. He had previously confirmed he had received an offer to serve as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and perhaps other positions. "Well, our inner cities are in terrible shape. They definitely need some real attention," Carson told Fox News' Neil Cavuto on Tuesday. "There have been so many promises made over the last several decades and nothing has been done. So it's certainly something that has been a long-term interest of mine. And I will be thinking and praying about [the HUD position] seriously over the holiday." On Wednesday afternoon, Carson took to Facebook to confirm "serious discussions" with the Trump transition team. "Winning the presidential election was only the first step for those who love traditional America and do not wish to fundamentally change it," Carson wrote. "Now the hard work begins of restoring the values that made us great. We must bring back the compassion and the unity that empowers us and banish the divisiveness that weakens us. After serious discussions with the Trump transition team, I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly to making our inner cities great for everyone. We have much work to do in strengthening every aspect of our nation and ensuring that both our physical infrastructure and our spiritual infrastructure is solid. An announcement is forthcoming about my role in helping to make America great again." On Tuesday, Trump posted on Twitter that Carson is a candidate to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, describing Carson as "a greatly talented person who loves people." Carson's opinions about Trump have been uneven. In March, Carson said "there are two different Donald Trumps," and then reversed his position when challenged by reporters. "I dont think there are two Donald Trumps. I think there's one Donald Trump, but certainly, you have, look, all of this, and you have somebody else that sits and reads and thinks and I'm a thinker, and I have been a thinker," Carson would later say. Story continues Carson's initial comments suggested that Trump's volatile rally speeches didn't reveal how he would consider policy decisions. "First of all, Ive come to know Donald Trump over the last few years. Hes actually a very intelligent man who cares deeply about America," Carson said. "There are two different Donald Trumps. Theres the one you see on the stage and theres the one whos very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully." Trump said in March that he and Carson had "buried the hatchet." Carson, 65, previously served as the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1984 to 2013. He has never served in public office but was hired as a weekly opinion columnist in July 2013 by the Washington Times, a conservative newspaper. Carson was later hired as Fox News commentator and served in the position for over a year from October 2013 until November 2015. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 22, 2016 / Castle Peak Mining Ltd. (CAP.V) ("Castle Peak" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its Annual General and Special Meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting"), and provides a general corporate and exploration update. Results of the Meeting At the Meeting held on November 16, 2016, the shareholders of the Corporation elected the five directors nominated by management in the Corporation's Management Information Circular dated October 14, 2016. The ordinary resolutions to re-appoint the auditor, Davidson & Company, and to ratify and approve the amended stock option plan were both approved. Corporate and Exploration Update The Company continues to discuss partnership opportunities with respect to certain concessions and the high grade Apankrah Deposit, and review additional opportunities as they are presented. The Company's objective is to be active on the ground during the upcoming dry season. Technical Disclosure Castle Peak's technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Darren Lindsay, P.Geo., Castle Peak's President and CEO, who serves as a Qualified Person under the definition in National Instrument 43-101 ('NI 43-101'). About Castle Peak Castle Peak Mining Ltd. is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on advancing early stage gold projects. The Company holds a strategic land package in the Ashanti belt adjacent to several producing gold mines in Ghana, West Africa. The Ashanti belt is known as one of the most prolific gold belts in the world, putting Ghana as the second largest gold producer in Africa with past production of >150 million ounces. For additional information please visit www.castlepeakmining.com. On behalf of the Board of Castle Peak Mining Ltd.: "Darren Lindsay" President and Chief Executive Officer darrenl@castlepeakmining.com FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain 'forward-looking information' and 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of applicable securities laws including statements regarding the proposed consolidation and exploration results, anticipated gold recoveries and future exploration and development at the Akorade Project. Such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to vary materially from the anticipated results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements, including the ability of the Company to enter into strategic relationships and obtain regulatory approval; the outcome of due diligence investigations in connection with any strategic partnership; and those risk factors identified in the Company's Annual MD&A filed under the Company's SEDAR profile. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release. Except as required by applicable law, Castle Peak disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Story continues Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Castle Peak Mining Ltd. CBS The wait to find out the cast of CBS All Access Star Trek: Discovery has been agonizing for fans. Many assumed the lead would have been announced during the big 50th anniversary celebration earlier this year but that came and went without a peep. Finally, we know one actor involved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragons Michelle Yeoh! Producer Nicholas Meyer confirmed to ComingSoon.net her involvement saying I know Michelle Yeoh is in it. Its unclear at this point if Yeoh, whos more recently starred in Marco Polo, is the Number One theyve already teased. Theyve said Discovery would focus on a woman but that she wouldnt be the Captain of this new crew. Could the Captain also be a woman and be Yeoh? Oh god I hope so. The project itself has been on a bit of a bumpy road. No one was really expecting a new series anytime soon, what with the rebooted film universe taking the spotlight. But then CBS announced they were going to make one, only it was going to be available exclusively on their CBS All Access subscription streaming service (Bell Media in Canada and Netflix everyone else). While fans quarreled whether or not the price point of $5.99 per month ($9.99 for no commercials) was worth it, one big positive piece of the puzzle was Hannibal producer Bryan Fuller jumping on board as showrunner. After that we werent seeing much, besides a make-up test, and then the series was pushed back from January 2017 to May. That didnt look good. Then came the other shoe Fuller had to step down as showrunner to concentrate on his other duties on Starzs adaptation of Neil Gaimans American Gods and the reboot of Amazing Stories at NBC. Are you as hyped for Yeoh to star in Star Trek: Discovery as I am? (Via ComingSoon.net) VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 / Centurion Minerals Ltd. (CTN.V) ("Centurion", or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed initial testing of its gypsum processing pilot plant at the Ana Sofia project located in Santiago Del Estero, Argentina. Quarried gypsum rock is currently being processed in the crushing and screening facility and an initial output of finished product grading more than 85% gypsum is being prepared for transport to fertilizer distributors. The pilot plant has a process design capacity of 200 tonnes/day. Gypsum is quarried from near-surface, flat-lying beds within the sedimentary formation that extends throughout the Ana Sofia Property. The gypsum rock is fed into a hopper leading to primary and secondary crushers, and is simultaneously screened and sorted into final agri-gypsum products ready for market. The pilot plant produces a pellet-sized granular product and a powdered product (both of which contain a minimum 85% gypsum) that are packaged into one tonne tote bags and placed into the storage compound ready for sale. A sales agreement has been executed with a fertilizer distributor for up to 50,000 tonnes per annum at prices ranging from $80-$100/tonne. The distributor is responsible for transportation from the project site to market. Agricultural gypsum (calcium sulfate) is a valuable plant nutrient and plays a vital role in maintaining soil structure and nutrient balance in South American soils, allowing greater crop yields. Centurion CEO, Mr. David Tafel comments, "Start-up of the pilot plant facility provides an opportunity to fine-tune the material handling and crushing operations while we continue to expand our exploration efforts. Less than 15% of the Ana Sofa claim area has been explored to date. Our local management team is simultaneously implementing a sustainable marketing plan for finished agri-gypsum product." The Ana Sofia project comprises two mining concessions totaling 50 hectares (ha) in size within a larger (approximately 600 ha) exploration permit area. The Project is well situated within a region where several small producers are currently extracting agricultural gypsum and selling to fertilizer distributors and farmers. An initial inferred gypsum resource for the Project was announced recently (news release dated October 31, 2016), which comprised 1.47 million tonnes averaging 94.1% gypsum, using an 85% cut-off grade that is the minimum required gypsum content for commercial-quality agricultural gypsum products in Argentina. The resource estimate was based on trenching and test-pitting work completed by joint venture partner Demetra Minerals Inc. and Centurion in 2016 that focused on two near-surface gypsum layers located within one of the project's two mining concessions. The tonnage was calculated using blended density values based on the gypsum/clay content of individual samples and nominal densities for each of 2.35 kg/m3 and 1.65 kg/m3, respectively. Story continues Qualified Person The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Andrew J. Turner, B.Sc., P.Geol., who is the Company's Geological Consultant and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. ABOUT CENTURION Centurion Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian-based company with an international focus on the exploration and development of agri-mineral and precious mineral projects. For additional information on the Ana Sofia project and applications for agri-gypsum, visit our website: www.centurionminerals.com On Behalf of the Board, "David G. Tafel" President and CEO Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For Further Information, Contact: David Tafel President and CEO 604-484-2161 The Ana Sofia project has not been the subject of a feasibility study and as such there is no certainty that a potential mine will be realized or that the processing facility will be able to produce a commercially marketable product. There is a significant risk that any production from the project will not be profitable with these risks elevated by the absence of a compliant NI 43101 feasibility study. A mine production decision that is not based on a feasibility study demonstrating economic and technical viability does not provide adequate disclosure of the increased uncertainty and specific risks of failure associated with such a production decision. The work carried out to date is of a preliminary nature to assist in the determination as to whether the mineral product is suitable for sale and if there are markets for the mineral product. The Company has undertaken market research and studies to try to mitigate these risks. General risks inherent in the Project include the reliance on available data and assumptions and judgments used in the interpretation of such data, the speculative and uncertain nature of exploration and development costs, capital requirements and the ability to obtain financing, volatility of global and local economic climates, share price volatility, estimated price volatility, changes in equity markets, exchange rate fluctuations and other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry. There can be no assurance that a forwardlooking statement or information referenced herein will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forwardlooking statements or information. We undertake no obligation to reissue or update any forwardlooking statements or information except as required by law. The Ana Sofia mineral resource estimate is reported in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 and has been estimated using the CIM "Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines" dated November 23rd, 2003 and CIM "Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" dated May 10th, 2014. Due to the relatively wide spacing of the historical quarries and the 2016 test pits, which varies between 40 m and 300 m, the Ana Sofia 2 resource described herein is categorized entirely as an inferred mineral resource. Inferred Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There has been insufficient exploration to define the inferred resources as an indicated or measured mineral resource, however, it is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. There is no guarantee that any part of the mineral resources will be converted into a mineral reserve in the future. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by geology, environment, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issues. This news release contains forward looking statements concerning future operations of Centurion Minerals Ltd. (the "Company"). All forward-looking statements concerning the Company's future plans and operations, including management's assessment of the Company's project expectations or beliefs may be subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual performance and exploration and financial results may differ materially from any estimates or projections. Such statements include, among others: possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery rates; actual results of current exploration activities; actual results of reclamation activities; conclusions of future economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents and other risks of the mining industry; delays and other risks related to construction activities and operations; timing and receipt of regulatory approvals of operations; the ability of the Company and other relevant parties to satisfy regulatory requirements; the availability of financing for proposed transactions, programs and working capital requirements on reasonable terms; the ability of thirdparty service providers to deliver services on reasonable terms and in a timely manner; market conditions and general business, economic, competitive, political and social conditions. It is important to note that the information provided in this news release is preliminary in nature. There is no certainty that a potential mine will be realized. SOURCE: Centurion Minerals Ltd. Getty Image More bad news for hip-hop concertgoers. After Kanye West abruptly cancelled the last remaining 21 dates of his Saint Pablo tour, Chance The Rapper has reportedly done the same with his Magnificent Coloring World Tour. According to Ireland-based concert production company MCD, Chance nixed the last three remaining dates of the European leg of his world tour. Related Links: It is with regret that Chance the Rapper has to cancel the remainder of his European tour due to personal reasons. These are 2 shows at the Helix in Dublin and 1 show at the Apollo in Manchester. He sends his apologies for this and looks forward to returning to Europe in 2017. Refunds are available from point of purchase. Chano has yet to issue any official statement or tweet any updates confirming the cancellations, but the dates are no longer up on his official website. Kicked off two months ago in San Diego, Magnificent Coloring World Tour consisted of 37 shows, including 27 dates across North America and 10 dates in Europe. Obviously, the cancellation is a big deal following mentor Kanyes recent mental breakdown. Chance was just on BBC 1 Radio this week, sending prayers up to his big bro. In fact, Chance may have alluded cancelling his remaining dates to see Kanye when he said, I want to just extend this prayer and this love from all the way in Britain. We might come home early to see this. Happy Thanksgiving. Hopefully, all is well with him. Beirut (AFP) - Save the Children has hit out at the "moral outrage" of the mounting deaths and suffering of children in the battleground Syrian city of Aleppo, in a statement released Wednesday. The charity said medics across northwest Syria were looking to fortify hospitals after a wave of attacks in rebel-held east Aleppo left facilities struggling to care for injured children. Regime forces have been waging a ferocious assault on east Aleppo since November 15, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying more than 140 civilians have been killed, 19 of them children. The renewed fighting comes amid international concern for the fate of more than 250,000 civilians trapped in besieged rebel-held areas of the northern city. Save the Children also condemned a rebel attack on west Aleppo that killed at least eight children on Sunday. It said among those killed at the weekend was an education worker at a school it supports in east Aleppo who was found buried in rubble along with her baby son. Classes at 13 such schools in east Aleppo had been suspended as shelling intensified in recent days, said Save the Children. It said the deadly rebel attack on the school in the west of the city showed "there is no safe place for children in this conflict". "Children and aid workers are being bombarded by missiles whilst they are sitting at their desks in schools and seeking treatment in hospitals which are also under attack," said Sonia Khush, Syria director for Save the Children. "The very places they should feel safest have become deadly," she said. "It is a moral outrage that the death toll of Aleppo's children continues to grow and seems only set to get worse, whilst so little action is being taken to end the bombing and hold warring parties accountable for these attacks on civilians." Save the Children called for an internationally monitored ceasefire to bring humanitarian relief into east Aleppo and evacuate the sick and wounded Story continues It said the United Nations and opposition groups had already agreed on access for an aid convoy which could go ahead once all sides agree to a ceasefire. "Parties to the conflict must come together to agree an immediate ceasefire, and to evacuate civilian casualties and get life-saving aid into the area." UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura was rebuffed in Damascus on Sunday on a truce proposal that would allow the opposition to administer the city's east. Aleppo was once the country's economic powerhouse, but it has been ravaged by the brutal war across Syria that has killed 300,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011. (CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.) The injured children were so young and frightened that many couldnt spell their names. Some couldnt remember their birthdays or their parents names just Momma when asked. As survivors of a Chattanooga school bus crash began to arrive in the pediatric emergency room, Dr. Darvey Koller could see the devastation in their eyes. Many of them were scared or too dazed to talk to us, Koller said at a news conference Tuesday. Thirty-five children had been riding on a bus police said was traveling too fast Monday afternoon when it veered off a narrow, winding road and crashed into a tree on the way home from elementary school. Five children died in the crash. Twenty-three were taken to area hospitals, where 12 remained Tuesday evening six still in critical condition. The process of identifying the injured moved slowly, Koller said, and Childrens Hospital at Erlanger staff resorted to photographing each child for teachers to identify. The driver of the bus, 24-year-old Johnthony Walker, was arrested and charged with five counts of vehicular homicide. Police said Walker was driving well over the posted 30 mph limit when he lost control of the bus, which was not equipped with seat belts. He was jailed on $107,500 bail for a court appearance Nov. 29 on charges that also included reckless driving and reckless endangerment. It was not immediately known whether he had a lawyer. Reeling from the tragedy, Chattanoogans lined up to donate blood and created a memorial of flowers and stuffed toys at the crash scene. The most unnatural thing in the world is for a parent to mourn the loss of a child, Mayor Andy Berke said. There are no words that can bring comfort to a mother or a father. So today, the city is praying for these families. LaFrederick Thirkill remembered his 9-year-old cousin, Cordayja Jones, as a girly-girl, who liked dressing up and giving hugs. Story continues Thirkill is the principal at Orchard Knob Elementary, where Cordayja attended before changing schools to Woodmore Elementary. She was a polite little girl, he said. Even though he was her cousin, she called him Mr. Thirkill when she saw him in the hallways. She was always smiling, he said of the fourth grader. I remember her as just a kid who always smiles. I never saw her sad, never saw her mad. The kid that always smiled and shes leaning in to give me a hug. Very soft-spoken, but her actions were very kind and very gentle. At an evening prayer vigil Tuesday, a local church overflowed and gospel choir boomed out songs. Preachers spoke of grief, strength and faith. Children the same age as those who died got antsy in the capacity-filled lobby. Reality intruded, though, as an usher walked a tearful woman through the crowd. This woman needs a seat, he said. She lost her daughter. Parents used to sending their children off to school every day without incident struggled to cope with the news. Its real tough, said Dujuan Butchee, whose daughters, Jamya and Janesa, are eighth-graders who used to go to the same school as the youngsters killed in the wreck. Its tough on my kids because they know some of the victims as well. Butchee said it wasnt the first time he had heard about a bus speeding: I think it should wake up more bus drivers to be more cautious because youre dealing with a lot of kids lives. Three of the children killed were in fourth grade, one was in first grade and another in kindergarten, said Kirk Kelly, interim superintendent of Hamilton County schools. Their families were notified, but their names were not released. All the children aboard went to Woodmore Elementary School. As the National Transportation Safety Board investigation got underway, NTSB chairman Christopher Hart said the agency will look at such factors as the drivers actions, the condition of the bus and whether seat belts something the NTSB has been pushing for would have made a difference. Craig Harris, a parent of two children who had been on the bus, told ABCs Good Morning America that the bus driver sometimes drove too fast. There has been times where Ive seen him going a little faster than he probably should be going, Harris said. Walker had been in an accident in September. According to the police report, he was heading into a blind curve and hit an SUV when he crossed over into the oncoming lane to maneuver the bus around the bend. There were no children in the front rows of the bus and no reports of injuries, and the damage to both vehicles was considered minor. Previously, Walkers license had been suspended for about a month in 2014 for failure to show proof of insurance, according to state commercial driver records. He appeared to have no criminal record in Tennessee, authorities said. Hamilton County School District spokeswoman Amy Kutcher declined to say whether the district had received any complaints involving Walker, who was employed by an outside bus contractor, Durham School Services. She referred all questions about his performance and that of other Durham drivers to the company. Legally, there is no way that we could discipline someone who is not our employee, Kutcher said. Weve got 192 Durham bus drivers. Obviously, this is a bad one. Durham CEO David A. Duke issued a statement on Twitter saying the company was devastated by the accident and working with police and school officials to investigate. Company officials did not return calls and emails seeking comment. Based in Warrenville, Illinois, Durham operates about 13,700 vehicles across the U.S. and has nearly as many drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. It had a satisfactory safety rating from the agency in July 2015. The company has had 346 crashes over two years, including three resulting in deaths and 142 with injuries, federal figures show. During that period, it had 53 incidents involving unsafe driving violations. BEIJING (Reuters) - China is giving shelter to more than 3,000 people who have fled Myanmar after fighting between the government and rebels, and stray shells have fallen inside China causing minor damage but no deaths, the government and state media said on Tuesday. Four ethnic armed groups have attacked security forces in the north of Myanmar, dealing a major blow to leader Aung San Suu Kyi's top goal of reaching peace with ethnic minorities.[nL4N1DM1AF] Ten people, including policemen, government-supported militia fighters and civilians, were killed and 33 wounded in clashes since Oct. 20, according to Myanmar's Information Committee under the State Counsellor Office. The number of people seeking shelter at temporary refugee camps in Myanmar's Muse township had exceeded 3,300, it said. China, which has been alarmed by previous fighting along the porous border, has put its armed forces on high alert and called for all sides to exercise restraint. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said wounded people among the 3,000 Myanmar citizens have been taken to hospital. The refugees are in the southwestern province of Yunnan, which shares a long border with Myanmar. "We strongly hope that both sides involved in the clash exercise restraint," Geng told a daily briefing. He urged both sides to halt military action immediately, avoid escalation and take effective steps so that the border region returns to peace as soon as possible. "China is willing to keep playing a constructive role in Myanmar's internal peace process, in accordance with Myanmar's wishes," he added. China hopes those who have fled can return to Myanmar as soon as the fighting ends, Geng said. Stray shells have fallen in Wanding, an important border crossing, causing some minor damage, state television said. The Global Times newspaper also said a Chinese government building in Wanding had been lightly damaged. Only one Chinese resident had been wounded, and fighting on the Myanmar side had subsided, Geng said. The sudden escalation of fighting comes as the Myanmar government grapples with a conflict in northwestern Rakhine that has sent hundreds of Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh, posing a new challenge to Nobel peace prize winner Suu Kyi, who swept to power last year on promises of national reconciliation. Previous fighting along the border pushed thousands of people into China. China was infuriated last year when five Chinese people were killed after fighting spilled into its territory. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Aung Hla Tun in YANGON; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Paul Tait) Washington (AFP) - China will pay close attention to trade policies implemented by US President-elect Donald Trump, and will defend its rights in the World Trade Organization, a senior Chinese official said Wednesday. In a campaign punctuated by incendiary accusations, Trump promised to declare China a currency manipulator on his first day in office, and threatened to slap 45 percent punitive tariffs on Chinese imports to protect jobs. The Chinese official meeting in Washington, however, said the US has obligations as a member of the WTO. "Definitely we have paid close attention to the remarks made by Mr. Trump during his presidential campaign," China's Deputy International Trade Minister Zhang Xiangchen told reporters through a translator. "And we will also (be) closely observing what he will do after he takes office." But he seemed to cast doubt on whether Trump would follow through on his threats. "I think after Mr. Trump takes office he will be reminded that (the) United States should honor its obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization," Zhang said. When asked if China would retaliate, he said that "as a member of the WTO, China also has the right to ensure its rights." As for the currency issue, Zhang said economists and government officials agree China is not manipulating its currency, and "significant progress has been made" toward establishing a market-based exchange-rate regime. US and Chinese officials meeting this week for the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, a forum to promote trade and investment and resolve disputes, feel strongly that the bilateral trade relationship will continue to be important "no matter how the leadership changes," Zhang said. US Trade Representative Michael Froman told reporters following the final JCCT meeting of the Obama administration that the relationship with China is key, but acknowledged there are "headwinds around the world about the benefits of trade and skepticism on the US-China relationship in particular." Story continues He stressed that "the American public expects the relationship be based on a fair and level playing field, and greater reciprocity." Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker noted that 11.5 million Americans have jobs that depend on exports, making engagement with trading partners critical. She said there are differences with China that President Barack Obama's administration has fought to resolve. "What we work on is where we face an unlevel playing field." Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f28936%2fchrissy By now, anyone who tries to come for Chrissy Teigen should know the drillyou will be swiftly defanged, whether you're a mommy shamer or mock North West's fashion passion. Haters have spewed their unsolicited thoughts about the model left and right on social media. And while conducting a question and answer session about Thanksgiving, the trolls managed to sneak in a few inappropriate questions which she responded to in classic Teigen fashion. SEE ALSO: John Legend's new music video reminds us that we need more love One user named Alivia commented on Teigen's revealing number at the 2016 American Music Awards ("apologies to anyone harmed mentally or physically by my hooha," Teigen wront on Instagram in response to criticism of the dress). "Could've just wore pants," the user wrote, to which Teigen responded: "Well, Alivia, hindsight is 2020just like your mom who named you with an 'a' instead of an 'o.'" Then she apologized to Sean, who suggested to Teigen that a "lady doesn't speak like you do or dress that way." "Oh Sean, I wake up every day just wanting to please you," she responded. And to the user who found a way to comment about her body, Teigen had something to important say. "Only some dumbass on Twitter could find a way to work in some kind of shit-head comment about my ass into a Thanksgiving Q&A," she clapped back before sarcastically admitting she wish her ass weighed more than 22 pounds. And when Teigen was done answering those who asked her whether or not she fornicated with the holiday turkey, she delivered some solid advice when asked how to deal with haters: "Write them back so they delete their accounts," she said. "It happens every timelike clockwork, baby." If you happened to be one of those who Teigen called out, click here for a list of the nation's burn centers to visit this Thanksgiving season. BONUS: Selena Gomez makes triumphant return with this powerful speech at the AMAs Christina Riccis capelet at the International Emmy Awards is how a capelet is meant to be worn Who is this petite, coral-lipped, coy-as-anything vixen walking the red carpet? If you guessed Christina Ricci, you are right and way more attuned to what Wednesday Addams is doing these days than we are (the blonde bob threw us way off!). The notoriously goth and equally adorable (goth-dorable?) Ricci stunned as she attended the 44th International Emmy Awards in New York this Monday to support her show Z: The Beginning of Everything, which is set to release on Amazon in 2017. The series narrates the life of Zelda Fitzgerald as she falls for and has an affair with Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald, in whats sure to combine drama, history and insanely fancy 1900s costumes in a way that weve been desperately missing since our dear Downton Abbey left us in 2015 (RIP!). In present day, however, Ricci pulled together a look so fresh, were googling pieces of it to add to our holiday wishlists. Joking? Maybe. Check out the queen of black-on-black as she wows on the red carpet. Ricci arrived in this stunning, sheer black capelet (a piglet is a baby pig, so a capelet is a baby cape, duh) which gracefully fluttered at her shoulders over a matching, slightly iridescent LBD. 44th International Emmy Awards - Arrivals Christina kicked up a pair of gorgeous two-toned block-heels that are so totally 60s, save for some chic metal hardware at the toe. She paired the heels with some sheer black nylons and a detailed black clutch. It it aint broke, dont add color to it! (Easter egg: we love that shes got one naked thumb nail amidst an otherwise perfect black mani. Is this the nail she tries new shades on at the polish bar at Sephora? Is Christina Ricci just like us?!) 2016 International Emmy Awards The 90s it-girl lined her famous eyes in black pencil with a touch of lilac shadow to lighten her now golden complexion. Her lips were a glossy coral, and her brows a matching champagne shade to her temporary (maybe?) and downright lovely blonde. Christina is no rookie on the red carpet and knows to keep things simple. She stuck on a wrap bracelet and some dainty rings and left it at that. Like we said: shes a pro. The post Christina Riccis capelet at the International Emmy Awards is how a capelet is meant to be worn appeared first on HelloGiggles. Getty Image Lordy, if this isnt a sign of a pre-Thanksgiving news rut, Im not sure what else would qualify. But this is a head scratcher, for sure. The paparazzi caught Mark Cuban, the man who hoped to be Trumps spectre of doom, drinking either coffee or tea with Donald Trumps appointed Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. The latter fellow, of course, has prompted outrage as a future cabinet member, for Bannon is notorious for fanning anti-Semitic flames during his time at Breitbart. TMZ has the photo evidence, which features Bannon looking over at a camera like hes not thrilled about it. Meanwhile, Cubans rubbing his nose and not facing forward, so its hard to get a good read on his vibe. What sort of meeting is this, exactly? The billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner heavily criticized Trump throughout his campaign, but he and Bannon are not enemies, as this meeting confirms. As the New York Daily News notes, Cuban even called Bannon smarter than Trump and credited him with starting all of the rigged election fuss. Perhaps these bros are simply being friendly, although the timing is odd. One would think that theyd let the dust settle before hanging in public, but it also looks like these two didnt plan upon being photographed. Maybe its just a business thing, which would be the most logical explanation. Nikki Haley may have set her disgust for Trump aside to join Trumps cabinet, but theres just no way Cuban would come out as a newfound Trump supporter. However, he has emphasized how Trump deserves a chance to prove his mettle as president. (Via TMZ & New York Daily News) Comcast stock hit an all-time high Wednesday morning. But on a sleepy Thanksgiving Eve, why? Shares peaked at $69.92 before closing the day at $68.95, leaving the cable operator at a valuation of nearly $167 billion. The explanation within closest reach is a sudden uptick in stories about a blog post written in October by Mark Jamison, one of two advisors on President-elect Trumps transition team dealing with technology and the communications industry. Most of the original motivations for having an FCC have gone away, Jamison wrote. Telecommunications network providers and ISPs are rarely, if ever, monopolies. If there are instances where there are monopolies, it would seem overkill to have an entire federal agency dedicated to ex ante regulation of their services. He finished by stating that the FCC itself is unnecessary, though an independent agency is not. The implications, if Jamison or someone of like mind is selected to lead the FCC, are that businesses can expect increased deregulation including the death of net neutrality along with decreases in taxes. Comcast is in the right place at the right time in the Trump rally, MoffettNathanson senior analyst Craig Moffett told Variety. It is mostly domestic, pays relatively high taxes, and should benefit from deregulation. However, not all of Comcasts gains can be laid at the feet of a presidential administration thats promising big tax cuts for businesses and possibly massive deregulation of the communications industries. Comcast has been a strong performer in the last several quarters, adding video subscribers at a greater rate than most of its competitors, and losing them at a slower clip than the MVPD industry as a whole. For Comcast, Wednesdays high is more of a continuation of a general upward trend that began several years ago. More recently, the last three weeks have seen a fairly steady climb. Additionally, the rest of the telecommunications sector stocks arent performing quite in concert. Story continues AT&T has been climbing the last few weeks, which could be due to the impending launch of DirecTV Now as much as anything else AT&T controls two MVPDs in U-verse and DirecTV. Dish and Charter are jumping around from day to day; Dish making back some of what it lost at the end of last year, with Charter climbing slightly since the summer. Verizon is slightly up from a six-month low, but still well under its July high. Media stocks are similarly not holding to any sort of general pattern. Viacom was up but has come back down since last week. Disneys waters are muddied because of the upcoming releases of highly anticipated films Moana and Rogue One (tickets for which are already on sale in the UK) the price has been on a general increase after a big tumble at the end of last year. Time Warner has slowly been climbing, but since Nov. 14, rather than immediately after the election. Netflix had been on a bit of a slide after the election, but is still way up from before it released its Q3 results in October. CBS blew past a 52-week high on Tuesday, after mostly climbing for the last two months, but is settling back down. Fox grew after its Q3 results in early November and is mostly hovering around the same level, plus or minus a dollar. The factors that affect an individual stock price are myriad and ever-changing. For the most part, these fluctuations are more akin to quantum foam, at least at the current moment. Related stories Elton John's Publicist Denies Trump Adviser's Claim He'll Perform at Inauguration A Letter to the TV Industry: Keep Fighting the Good Fight Why Comcast Is Launching Dish's Sling TV Bundles on X1 Set-Tops At President Obama's birthday party in August, Common ran into director Ava DuVernay. He seized the opportunity to pitch his song "A Letter to the Free" for her documentary 13th by rapping the first verse into her ear. "She was listening, but with the president and the first lady standing 7 feet away, she was trying to pay attention to them, too," he laughs. You might think Common wouldn't need to pitch DuVernay at all in light of their most recent project together - he co-wrote Selma's "Glory," which scored the film's only Oscar win. But he had to prove himself again. " 'I don't want people to say we tried the same collaboration again,' " Common recalls DuVernay saying. "I was like, 'Ava, David Oyelowo's been in two of your films. ' After she sat with the song, she loved it. This film can change culture, especially when it's shown in places of education. My biggest desire is to be a part of work that has that kind of impact." The lyrics herald "America's moment to come to Jesus" - racially. Is that moment a little further off, post-election? "We're having a come-to-Jesus moment [now] because we've seen something happen that no one ever thought would. We've got to think about the complexities within our country. I'm not inhuman. I woke up the day after the election with a heavy heart. But I'm still a believer. It's what Frederick Douglass said: 'Without struggle, there is no progress.' " This story first appeared in a November standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Read more: Songwriter Roundtable: Justin Timberlake, Sting, Alicia Keys and More Hitmakers on Gender Bias, Trump's "Hitler-Level" Rhetoric and Fears of a "Divided States of America" Paris (AFP) - Countries who back the moderate Syrian opposition, including the United States and Gulf nations, will meet in Paris in early December, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Wednesday. Ayrault said he had invited "countries who are friends of Syrian democracy and of the democratic Syrian opposition" to the French capital. He said the international community "must stop averting its gaze" from the "terrible reality" of what was happening in Syria, especially in the besieged city of Aleppo. "It is urgent that we react," Ayrault added. The minister said the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Britain and Turkey would attend, as well as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Syrian pro-government forces are currently pushing into Aleppo as the regime attempts to recapture the entire city. Government forces have pounded the area with air strikes and barrel bombs as ground troops advance, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Maria Thereza Sombra may rely on Rio de Janeiro's police to keep her safe -- but in the grip of financial crisis they rely on the 82-year-old to supply them with toilet paper. Severe budget shortfalls in Brazil's recent Olympic host city have left police scrounging for equipment, fuel and even the most basic hygiene items. Hospitals are equally hard hit, compounding a deepening sense of insecurity in a city plagued by violent crime. Sombra said that ordinary citizens need to step in where the state is failing. "If the police have their hands tied what will happen to us?" she asked. "We have to help those who are defending us. Otherwise no one will be able to go out of their homes." A retired teacher and president of Rio's Flamengo neighborhood association, Sombra began helping police back in April when the city was already descending into a pre-Olympic financial abyss. However, what started off as a spontaneous initiative among Rio residents was enshrined this month in an official program called "Together with the Police." Security "is the responsibility of the state but it is the duty of all," the police department says. Sombra gets a list from Rio's 9th precinct. Then residents of the 35 condominiums belonging to the Flamengo association chip in. On a table in a meeting room, Sombra showed off a pile of toilet paper, cleaning products and stacks of office paper. But requests can get more complicated: after the police station itself was robbed, officers requested 12 security cameras. "For me, the most important thing is that we are doing something, even if it's small: to show love, respect and solidarity," she said. - Post-Olympic blues - Police, firefighters, hospital staff and other state employees have been in crisis since early this year. In June, Rio de Janeiro state, home to Brazil's second-biggest city, had to be bailed out by the federal government after declaring a "state of calamity." And in the run-up to the Olympics first responders mounted high-profile protests to demand payment of late salaries and overtime. Story continues The Olympics provided a brief respite with emergency funding filling the gaps, but since then the situation has regressed. In a state heavily reliant on oil-industry revenues, the slump in oil prices and a huge corruption scandal at state oil company Petrobras have hit hard. A $5.4 billion budget shortfall is predicted for 2016. "The Olympics had an effect, but not enough. The crisis was here before in Rio due to a breakdown in tax revenues, the high burden of paying salaries, and above all the oil prices," said Vilma Pinto, an economics professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. To try to get the budget back on the rails, conservative state Governor Luis Fernando Pezao recently unveiled a package of austerity reforms which have provoked angry street protests -- including by off-duty emergency workers. Pezao has warned that November salaries for public employees and pensions will be paid in seven installments and that the usual Christmas bonus is uncertain. Sombra and her neighbors say that they just have to keep trying to help in their modest way. "In reality, I'm paying my taxes twice," Sombra said. "I pay my obligatory taxes and now I'm paying again because of our bad leaders. But it's not the fault of the police." Nicosia (AFP) - Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said Wednesday he was determined to continue peace talks aimed at uniting the island, after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned against missing a "historic opportunity" for peace. The latest UN-brokered negotiations between Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci held in Switzerland this month ended on Tuesday with no agreement, with the two sides still far apart on the key issue of land-for-peace. "I want to assure that I am determined and ready to take the necessary steps to continue the dialogue," Anastasiades said in a televised address on Wednesday. "I am ready to continue the dialogue where it broke off," adding that he was in touch with EU leaders to keep the "door open" for talks. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the northern third of the island in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece. The much-heralded talks were supposed to produce a map of the internal boundaries of a future federation on the island to pave the way for a deal by early next year. But like the five days of discussions earlier this month, negotiations broke down, with each side blaming the other for the lack of progress. Ban said he will be in contact soon with the leaders to discuss the next steps with just five weeks to go before the UN chief hands over to Antonio Guterres to lead the world body. "The secretary-general urges the leaders to continue their efforts in line with their shared commitment to do their utmost in order to reach a settlement in 2016," said a statement from Ban's spokesman. "Especially in a region and in a world marked by increasing tension, they must not let this historic opportunity slip," he added. - Breakdown 'deeply regretted' - Cyprus is one of the world's longest-running geopolitical disputes and has been a key stumbling block in Turkey's EU accession bid. Story continues Turkish Cypriots made up just 18 percent of the island's population in 1974, but they currently control more than a third of its territory. It has always been agreed that some of the territory currently controlled by the Turkish Cypriots will be ceded to Greek-Cypriot control in any peace deal. Anastasiades said the talks broke down on the issue of territorial adjustments because the "Turkish Cypriot side didn't show the required flexibility despite our efforts." He said he "deeply regretted" the negative outcome in Switzerland but said he would not allow the opportunity to settle the four-decade-long crisis "to be lost". Anastasiades revealed that the two leaders were close on the percentage of territory to remain under Turkish Cypriot administration in a future federation, with Akinci suggesting 29.2 percent and the Greek Cypriots proposing 28.2 percent. But they remained far apart on how many Greek Cypriots should be able to return to homes they fled in 1974, with Akinci determined to minimise the number of Turkish Cypriots who would be displaced for a second time. Anastasiades and Akinci have been among the most outspoken proponents of a deal within their own communities, but they would still have to sell any agreement they reach to their respective voters. And here are five ways to avoid stress when travelling with kids. Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said he wants to strike a long-term deal with the city-state this year, playing down earlier comments that Singapore is looking to drop the iconic race. Get to know the details of the story here. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte has named its new CEO, 23-year veteran Lim Chow Kiat. He will assume the newly created CEO role on Jan. 1, and Jeffrey Jaensubhakij, 50, will replace him as group chief investment officer. Get to know the full story here. Travelling with kids could definitely be cumbersome to others. But here are five ways on how to be stress-free when travelling with your children. More From Singapore Business Review Paris (AFP) - Donald Trump's stay of execution for pulling the United States out of a landmark climate pact was welcomed Wednesday by diplomats and experts, even as they fretted about appointments and decisions yet to come. In a wide-ranging conversation with executives and journalists Tuesday from the New York Times, the president-elect said repeatedly that he had an "open mind" about the UN Paris Agreement and, more broadly, whether global warming was caused by human activity. "I think there is some connectivity," he said at the Times headquarters in Manhattan, according to the paper's own account. "I'm looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it." At the same time, Trump questioned the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, saying there are "lots of cases for different views." An international climate summit in Marrakesh tasked with implementing the first universal action plan for curbing global warming ended on Friday, shadowed by Trump's campaign promise to "cancel" the deal inked last December in the French capital. Ahead of his surprise win in the November 8 vote, the brash New York billionaire had also vowed to dismantle domestic regulations for curbing C02 emissions which, he claimed, put US companies at a competitive disadvantage. "It's good news that he's moving in the direction of thinking things through," said Laurence Tubiana, France's top climate negotiator and a main architect of the 196-nation Paris deal, which went into force earlier this month. "It is a more open and realistic position," she told AFP. "But the big question remains: what will US national policy be?" - Shoot the messenger - Under the Paris Agreement, the US has agreed to cut its CO2 pollution 26-28 percent by 2025, measured against 2005 levels. The Obama administration also promised some three billion dollars for a fund to help poor countries make their economies greener and cope with unavoidable climate impacts, such as heatwaves, droughts and storm surges. Story continues During the campaign, Trump said he would abandon those pledges. "It is one thing to say you are not going to pull out of the Paris Agreement," said veteran climate analyst Alden Meyer from the Washington-based Union of Concerned Scientists. "It is another to say you are no going to lift a finger to implement your commitments." As with other issues ranging from abortion to immigration, Trump in recent years has been all over the map on climate change. In November 2012 he famously tweeted that the "concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese" to undermine US industry. But in 2009 -- ahead of the Copenhagen climate summit -- Trump and dozens of top CEOs put their name to an open letter supporting Barack Obama's "effort to ensure meaningful and effective measures to control climate change." Whether Trump's new-found willingness to rethink campaign promises to quit the fight against global warming is sincere will show up in his appointments and policies, said Meyer. The choices made to head transitions at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, Meyer added, are not encouraging for those concerned about capping the rise in Earth's temperature. Nor is the decision to gut the budget for climate research at NASA, as reported Wednesday by The Guardian, citing a named source in the Trump transition team. "Nixing funding for NASA's Earth Science Division would confirm our worst fears about the attitude of the incoming administration to evidence: if you don't like what you are hearing, shoot the messenger," said Myles Allen, a top climate scientist at the University of Oxford in Britain. In the sit-down with the New York Times Tuesday, Trump was asked how he would react if countries -- retaliating against a US pullout from the Paris climate deal -- were to "slap tariffs on American goods." "They're in no position to do that to us, and that won't happen," Trump responded. "But I'm going to look into it." Yahoo Celebrity With the final season of "Dead to Me" dropping on Netflix on Nov. 17, Applegate said, "This is the first time anyones going to see me the way I am. I put on 40 pounds; I cant walk without a cane. I want people to know that I am very aware of all of that." Nov 23 (Reuters) - DHL, a unit of Deutsche Post AG , said on Wednesday that it expected some inbound and outbound shipments to the Americas to continue to be delayed until Thursday due to a strike by pilots at cargo airline ABX Air. Some 250 ABX Air pilots, who are represented by the Teamsters union, went on strike early Tuesday, affecting around 75 flights, mostly for Amazon.com Inc and DHL. A federal court ruling is expected later on Wednesday that will either reject or approve a request by ABX Air for a temporary restraining order against the strike. "We have put in place contingency plans to lessen the impact for customers. We are continuing to monitor the situation," DHL spokeswoman Bea Garcia said in an email to Reuters. (Reporting by Rachit Vats and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) (Reuters) - DHL, a unit of Deutsche Post AG , said on Wednesday that it expected some inbound and outbound shipments to the Americas to continue to be delayed until Thursday due to a strike by pilots at cargo airline ABX Air. Some 250 ABX Air pilots, who are represented by the Teamsters union, went on strike early Tuesday, affecting around 75 flights, mostly for Amazon.com Inc and DHL. A federal court ruling is expected later on Wednesday that will either reject or approve a request by ABX Air for a temporary restraining order against the strike. "We have put in place contingency plans to lessen the impact for customers. We are continuing to monitor the situation," DHL spokeswoman Bea Garcia said in an email to Reuters. (Reporting by Rachit Vats and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 / Discovery Harbour Resources Corp. (DHR.V) ("DHR" or the "Company") is very pleased to announce that it has entered into an Exploration License and Option To Purchase Agreement (the "Agreement or Option") with Genesis Gold Corporation ("GGC") to acquire a 100% interest in two gold projects in the State of Nevada, USA (the "Projects / Project or Properties / Property"). The Company has performed reviews and due diligence of thirty nine advanced base and precious metal projects during the second and third quarters of 2016. It has determined the best opportunities for success lie in the potential size and grades that are presented within the Caldera and Jersey Valley project areas. The Agreement between DHR and GGC was executed on November 18, 2016. The general terms of the Agreement are as follows: In order to keep this Agreement in good standing, DHR shall make advanced royalty payments to GGC as follows: Beginning with the payment due on the fifth Anniversary date, all annual payments will be adjusted at the rate of inflation shown in the U.S. Consumer Price Index ("CPI") using the CPI on the fourth Anniversary date as the basis for adjustment for the remainder of the Agreement term. All dollar values are stated in U.S. currency. As further consideration for granting the Option, DHR shall make additional payments as follows: During the term of the Option, DHR shall pay rentals for the unpatented mining claims to the Bureau of Land Management sufficient to keep the properties in good standing. Should DHR decide to terminate the Option on any part of the Property on or after 15 June of any year, DHR will be responsible for making rental payments in that year. Within 6 months of the date of signing of this Agreement, DHR will use its best efforts to issue to GGC 200,000 share purchase warrants at DHR's then current share price, plus CAD$0.05. Such issuance shall be subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange. GGC will grant DHR the exclusive and irrevocable option to purchase a 100% interest in one or both projects comprising the Property during the term of this Agreement. The total purchase price to be paid is three million dollars (US$3,000,000) for each project comprising the Property. Beginning with the fifth Anniversary date, the purchase price will also be adjusted at the rate of inflation shown in the CPI using the CPI on the fourth Anniversary date as the basis for adjustment for the remainder of the term. In addition to the purchase price, GGC shall retain, when the gold price is less than US$1600, a 2% net smelter return royalty, and where the gold price is equal to or more than US $1,600.00, a net smelter royalty of 3%. There are no work commitments. The Jersey Valley (Lander County, NV) and Caldera (Nye County, NV) projects were generated by Don Merrick and John Zimmerman of GGC, a private Utah company specializing in gold exploration in the Western United States (for more information on GGC, please see www.genesisgoldcorp.com). The central claim block at Caldera was first staked by Zsolt Rosta. Both projects are classified as epithermal gold systems, each occurring on the periphery of separate Tertiary-aged volcanoes. Historical, small-scale mining at both projects was primarily focused on gold-silver and base metals occurrences contained in veins with Bonanza-style gold and silver grades. Production figures have not been presented and are not available in researched literature for either of the projects. The Caldera Project is located approximately 23 miles (37 km) due west of the Round Mountain gold mine (Kinross Gold) and is located in the foothills of the Shoshone Range. Its location is nearly equidistant from the Round Mountain, Paradise Peak, Monte Cristo, Northumberland, Manhattan and Tonopah districts from which over 30 million ounces of gold has been collectively produced. Most of these deposits are classified as low sulfidation epithermal gold systems. In outcrop and from historical drilling, the gold mineralization at Caldera exhibits the same characteristics of low sulfidation systems. The Jersey Valley Project is located approximately 28 miles (45 km) southwest of the Phoenix Deposit (Newmont Mining - copper-gold porphyry) and 18 miles (28.9 km) southwest of the Cove-McCoy Deposits (Premier Gold Mines - gold-silver-copper-zinc-intrusive-related + epithermal), all in the Battle Mountain mining district. The project area is located in the Jersey Valley basin and in the lower portion of the foothills of the Fish Creek Mountains. Between the Phoenix and Cove-McCoy mines, over 500 million pounds of copper, 13 million ounces gold and 100 million ounces of silver have been produced. These deposits are classified as copper-gold porphyry, low and high sulfidation gold, gold skarn and silver-base metal manto styles of deposits. The Jersey Valley project exhibits these same styles of mineralization in outcrop and from historical exploration and drilling. It is important to note that the mineralization at the Cove-McCoy precious-base metal deposits, located just to the northeast of Jersey and as described above, is dated as *Tertiary in age (40Ma).Tertiary intrusive and extrusive lithologies are also present in the Company's Jersey Valley claims group. *("Geology of the Cove Mine, Lander County, Nevada, and a Genetic Model for the McCoy-Cove Magmatic-Hydrothermal System"; Marcus K. Johnston; May 2003; PhD Thesis; U of Reno). Both Jersey Valley and Caldera have NI 43-101 reports completed and will be made available on the DHR website as soon as practical. Good road access exists at both project areas. At Jersey Valley, a producing geothermal plant is resident within the boundaries of the claim block. Its presence allows for access to water as well as electricity but, more importantly, further indicates the still active nature of the gold and base metal producing system. Project Concepts Both Jersey Valley, and particularly Caldera, host strong epithermal gold mineralization exposed at surface, in shallow workings and in drill intercepts. These results support the likelihood that very significant gold mineralization will occur at depth, within and above the 'boiling zone' where circulating, low temperature groundwater aquifers interacted with magmatic heat, raising temperatures to allow gold to be deposited as veining, void fillings and as disseminated and stratabound mineralization in chemically favorable and structurally prepared host lithologies. Drilling at both Jersey Valley and Caldera has not been deep enough to test for this boiling zone-related mineralization. This will be the focus of the Company's exploration efforts. The scope of DHR's 2017 exploration program shall be subject to the Company's ability to raise additional capital. Michael J. Senn, a licensed professional geologist, is the Qualified Person for DHR as described in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this release. All results and data provided in this release have been extracted from NI 43-101 reports and data / reports furnished by GGC. Please direct questions to Discovery Harbour Resources at 1-435-655-1165. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DISCOVERY HARBOUR RESOURCES CORP. F. D. Hegner President Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" occur. Forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding expectations of management regarding the grant and exercise of the option to acquire a 100% interest in the property, the timing and payment of the option payments, the Company's plans and timing for exploration of the property and testing of samples collected during the proposed exploration program on the property, the approval of the option by the TSX Venture Exchange, and other activities the Company may see appropriate to advance the exploration on its projects. . Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements including, without limitation, the risks that the TSX Venture Exchange may not approve the grant and/or exercise of the option, the Company may not have the funds necessary to make its option payments pursuant to the Agreement, the proposed exploration program on the property may not be completed as and when expected or at all, such other risks as are customarily associated with mineral exploration activities, and such other factors beyond the control of the Company. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation, and does not intend, to update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information in this news release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR OVER THE UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES SOURCE: Discovery Harbour Resources Corp. OMAHA, NE / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 / DiVentures Scuba and Swim Centers, headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, has donated a whopping $5,000 to the Yutan, Nebraska dive team. DiVentures matched funds the Yutan dive team raised to purchase an 18-foot Rescue One Connector Boat. The boat has a 40-horsepower outboard jet drive, dive platform, Hummingbird Helix 10 side scanner sonar, and scene lighting. The rescue and recovery boat is an important and unique part of the Yutan fire department's Emergency Response Dive Team. "We use this boat to respond to ice rescue and underwater emergencies in five Nebraska counties to search for drowning victims, missing persons, weapons and other evidence," says Ed Hobza, of the Yutan Emergency Response Dive Team. Several months ago, the Yutan dive team approached DiVentures to ask if they'd be interested in donating toward the boat purchase. Owner Dean Hollis and General Manager Frank Wells suggested a dollar-for-dollar match up to $5,000. The Yutan dive team took them up on the challenge and recently fundraised a total of $8,500. With the DiVentures match, they yielded a total of $13,500 - more than enough to purchase the dive rescue boat the Yutan dive team needed. In the past, DiVentures has provided the Yutan dive team both service and equipment to support their community service efforts. DiVentures is a major proponent of public safety and able to work with their large vendor list to secure reduced pricing for local public safety dive teams. DiVentures is well known for their broad community support and outreach efforts. "We support all local Fire Department Water Rescue Programs. In fact, when we initially opened in Omaha in 2009 we donated a water rescue and recovery boat to the Omaha Fire Department," said Owner Dean Hollis. They've also matched grants in the past with a variety of other water safety and water rescue programs and provided in-water life support for local triathlons and events like the Polar Plunge. Story continues "Safety and confidence in the water environment is one of our core values," said General Manager Frank Wells. "We visit 35 schools a year to give water safety tips." A donation presentation will take place on Thursday, December 1st at 5:30 p.m. at the Yutan Fire Station. The Yutan dive team has already purchased the boat and is incorporating it into their rescue programs. About DiVentures DiVentures is all about safety and fun in the water. Our passion for aquatics is reflected in everything we do and our staff is dedicated to enhancing your experience on land and in the water. We are committed to unparalleled customer satisfaction and community involvement. Although we're always planning our next dive trip to the tropics, we are big advocates of the cities we live in. Contact: Christine Hughey chughey@diventures.net 402-933-6251 www.DiVentures.com SOURCE: DiVentures - By Ben Reynolds Brown-Forman (NYSE:BF.B)(NYSE:BF.B) may not be a household name, but there is a good chance many households have consumed one of the company's products. Its most famous brand is its flagship Jack Daniel's whiskey. Other popular brands include Herradura and El Jimador tequila and Finlandia vodka. Brown-Forman has a rich company history. In fact, this year marks the 150th anniversary of the Jack Daniel Distillery. Dr. Richard Snellgrove was indicted on November 16th for unlawfully prescribing drugs in connection with the death of 3 Doors Down guitarist Matthew Roberts. The musician died August 20th at age 38 from a prescription drug overdose in a West Bend, Wisconsin hotel before a scheduled performance at a charity event for veterans. According to Alabama news station WKRG, investigators filed a federal complaint, stating "Dr. Snellgrove prescribed Controlled Substances to Matthew Roberts for no legitimate medical purposes." In the filing, an unnamed subject described Dr. Snellgrove as a "celebrity junkie." The individual described the doctor's relationship with Roberts as "tight" and stated that the guitarist had appointments with him "after hours." The document alleges that Snellgrove "prescribed Controlled Substances not for a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice" from October 2010 through August 18th, 2016. Roberts had been a patient of Snellgrove's since at least 2004. The complaint also claims Snellgrove prescribed drugs to other people knowing they were intended for the musician. According to the medical examiner's report, Roberts' official cause of death was "multiple medication intoxication (Fentanyl, Hydrocodone and Alprazolam)." Snellgrove has been charged with "knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully distribut[ing] and dispens[ing]" Lorazepam, Hydorcodone, Methadone and Fentanyl to Roberts. After learning of his son's death, Darrell Roberts told CNN he worried that drug problems led to his son's passing. "I know he had prescription drug addiction," he said. "He suffered greatly from anxiety. I thought he had beaten it all." "There's no satisfaction in seeing a doctor arrested," Darrell told Fox 6 News upon learning of the arrest. "I don't have any bitterness, no anger, nothing like that towards the doctor, but I'm also aware this is a serious issue in the medical community all over the United States." Story continues Both the federal complaint and indictment are available online. Related Content: zeke-miller If you only read one thing: Donald Trump is venturing outside of his core group of supporters with his intent to nominate South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to the post of U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Haley was an early and vocal critic of the President-elect during the long GOP primary, endorsing Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. She reluctantly announced her intention to vote for Trump just weeks before Election Day. Haley, 44, a rising Republican star who became a household name after leading the effort to bring down the Confederate battle flag at the South Carolina state Capitol after last years Charleston church shooting. While she is light on traditional foreign policy experience, she has worked to bring both domestic and foreign businesses to her state, which drew admiration from Trump. The Indian-American second-term governor is the first woman and person of minority background to be announced for Trumps administration. She is also close to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a finalist to be Trumps Secretary of State. Trumps decision to reach out to the corners of his party that had previously rejected him is long-overdue, and is a signal that more traditional Republicans are likely to fill key places in his most unconventional administration. Even Democrats are breathing sighs of relief over the Haley selection, and finding themselves hopeful that Trump will go with Romney over former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the role of Americas chief diplomat. But Trump has proved to be difficult to predict before, and hes shown a penchant for placing opposing angels on his shoulders, so the Haley pick could well be counterbalanced by more unconventional choices. President-elect Trump continues to backtrack from some of his more controversial political statements, while signaling hes in no rush to sever ties with his business, the Trump Organization. In an interview with the New York Times, Trump tried to soften his positions on climate change and immigration, while backing away from his lock her up call regarding Hillary Clintoneven admitting that the Clinton Foundation, which he attacked daily on the campaign trail, does some good. Here are your must reads: Must Reads Trump, in Interview, Moderates Views but Defies Conventions Reverses on key promises and softens stances [New York Times] Nikki Haley Will Serve as Donald Trumps Ambassador to the United Nations First pick outside circle of advisors [TIME] 15 Trump Flip-Flops in 15 Days The president-elect has made changing his mind a way of life. Why would his young presidency be any different? [Politico] Donald Trump Raises Prospect of Keeping Ties to His Firms Trump indicated he was unlikely to fully disentangle himself from his businesses, raising questions about conflicts of interest [Wall Street Journal] Sound Off As far as the, you know, potential conflict of interests, though, I mean I know that from the standpoint, the law is totally on my side, meaning, the president cant have a conflict of interest. Trump to the New York Times on maintaining ties to his businesses while in office My inclination would be, for whatever power I have on the matter, is to say lets go forward. This has been looked at for so long. Ad nauseam. Lets go forward. And you know, you could also make the case that some good work was done in the foundation and they could have made mistakes, etc. etc. I think its time, I think its time for people to say lets go and solve some of the problems that we have, which are massive problems and, you know, I do think that theyve gone through a lot. Trump to the Times on dropping his call to prosecute former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Bits and Bites Trumps Business Partner Will Be Manilas Man in Washington [Bloomberg] See How Donald Trumps Proposed Term Limits Would Eliminate Half of Congress [TIME] President Obama Has Now Commuted More Than 1,000 Federal Sentences [TIME] President Obama Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Robert de Niro, Diana Ross and More [TIME] President Obama Pokes Fun at Michael Jordan Over Crying Meme and Space Jam [TIME] Donald Trump Offers Housing Secretary Position to Ben Carson [Associated Press] U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appears at Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., October 28, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday during an interview with The New York Times that Apple CEO Tim Cook and Microsoft founder Bill Gates had called him after the election to congratulate him on his victory. Trump said: "I was honored yesterday, I got a call from Bill Gates, great call, we had a great conversation, I got a call from Tim Cook at Apple, and I said, 'Tim, you know one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States, where instead of going to China, and going to Vietnam, and going to the places that you go to, you're making your product right here.' He said, 'I understand that.' I said: 'I think we'll create the incentives for you, and I think you're going to do it. We're going for a very large tax cut for corporations, which you'll be happy about.' But we're going for big tax cuts, we have to get rid of regulations, regulations are making it impossible. Whether you're liberal or conservative, I mean I could sit down and show you regulations that anybody would agree are ridiculous. It's gotten to be a free-for-all. And companies can't, they can't even start up, they can't expand, they're choking." Cook supported Hillary Clinton in the election, hosting a fundraiser for the Democratic candidate in August. Trump, several times during his campaign, threatened Apple specifically with taxes on imports from China, where Apple's products are manufactured. "I'm going to bring jobs back," Trump said in March. "I'm going to get Apple to start making their computers and their iPhones on our land, not in China. How does it help us when they make it in China?" After the election, Cook sent a memo to all US Apple employees that did not refer to Trump by name but did include some language about celebrating diversity, which was widely seen by observers in the tech industry as a rebuke to Trump's anti-immigration platform. Story continues Apple has yet to comment on Trump's remarks publicly. Microsoft declined to comment. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation did not immediately return a request for comment. NOW WATCH: An exercise scientist reveals how often and for how long you should work out to see real results More From Business Insider A senior adviser to Donald Trump said the new administration will cut back on what he described as politicized climate change research, indicating plans to eliminate funding for NASAs Earth science division. We see NASA in an exploration role, in deep space research, Bob Walker, Trumps top NASA adviser, told the Guardian. Earth-centric science is better placed at other agencies where it is their prime mission. My guess is that it would be difficult to stop all ongoing NASA programs, but future programs should definitely be placed with other agencies. I believe that climate research is necessary, but it has been heavily politicized, which has undermined a lot of the work that researchers have been doing. Mr. Trumps decisions will be based upon solid science, not politicized science. Walkers comments align with some of Trumps previous remarks on climate change. The president-elect has dismissed global warming as a myth created by Chinawhose officials have refuted that claim. But asked on Tuesday about his approach to climate change during his meeting with the New York Times, Trump said he is keeping an open mind. I have a very open mind, he said. And Im going to study a lot of the things that happened on it and were going to look at it very carefully. But I have an open mind. Trump said he thinks there is some connectivity between human activity and climate changean answer that differs from previous statements. His campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said in September that Trump believes that global warming is naturally occurring, not man-made. Walkers comments drew criticism from some scientists, as nearly all climate scientists agree that humans are contributing to climate change, and theyve advocated for urgent measures to address it. Kevin Trenberth, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told the Guardian that cutting NASAs Earth science research would be extremely short sighted. Information on planet Earth and its atmosphere and oceans is essential for our way of life, he said. Space research is a luxury, Earth observations are essential. Johnthony Walker, the driver in the Monday school bus crash that killed five students in Chattanooga, Tennessee, did not have drugs or alcohol in his system, according to a toxicology test by state officials. Chattanooga police Sgt. Austin Garrett announced the findings at a news conference on Wednesday. He said the criminal investigation of the bus crash continues, as authorities review audio and video evidence from the buss black box and other cameras on the vehicle. Walker, 24, has since been charged with vehicular homicide. Police say he has retained a public defender, but PEOPLE has not been able to reach his lawyer. He has not entered a plea. Sgt. Garrett said Wednesday that warrants have also been obtained for all data devices on the bus at the time of the crash. He also undercut some media reports that Walker menacingly addressed the students before the crash. No witnesses we have spoken with has that information or provided that directly to our investigators, Garrett said, but we have also not interviewed all witnesses yet. He urged anyone with information to come forward to police. While investigators have spoken to witnesses and collected evidence, Garrett said they have not yet interviewed the children who were on board the bus but will soon, with the involvement of experts and the kids parents. Garrett said police are still in the very early stages of the investigation, and that there is a great deal of physical and witness evidence to process. Three of the five Woodmore Elementary School students who were killed in the crash have been identified as Zyanna Harris, 10, Cordayja Jones, 9, and Zoie Nash, 9, according to their family members and friends. It seems like a dream, Zoies mother told PEOPLE. It hasnt hit me yet. She described her little girl as quiet but also a people person who enjoyed life. Cordayjas aunt told PEOPLE, She was always the happy person and never sad. She didnt meet any strangers. She was my niece but my baby, too. Story continues Police said 37 students were on board the bus when it crashed, according to multiple reports. In addition to the fatalities, several students were critically injured in the crash. Six remained hospitalized as of Friday morning. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Police allege Walker was speeding and driving recklessly when he lost control of the vehicle, according to an arrest warrant obtained by PEOPLE. It was Walkers second traffic collision while driving a school bus in as many months, according to state records. His license was previously suspended for more than a year for failure to show proof of insurance, beginning in March 2014, and it was reinstated on March 28, 2015, a Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security spokeswoman confirmed to PEOPLE. Walkers mother, Gwenevere Cook, told CNN the crash was a horrible nightmare. I feel bad for my son, said Cook, who PEOPLE has not been able to reach. And I am torn up for the family members. She echoed those comments when speaking to NBC News, saying, My heart of love is going out to all that were in harms way in this horrible accident of Gods will. I pray we all can get this some way without judging my son, Cook said. It happened. God dont make mistakes. We do. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f294616%2f61f6ceba567d4161b326ff2b44ccf702 Koalas are cute and cuddly, right? You gorgeous, naive reader, just how deeply wrong you are. The koala's vicious cousin, "drop bear" is totally a real thing and it will bite, kill and even embarrass you, if you get too close. The mythical creatures are widely regarded (at least in camp fire tales and articles such as this, designed to scare foreigners) to be the size of a small leopard. They drop from the camouflage of eucalyptus trees onto unsuspecting bushwalkers. It's about time such a formidable beast got naming rights to an Australian landmark. SEE ALSO: Koala attacks Australian woman walking her dogs Drop bears are so ingrained in the collective imagination of Australians keen to scare visitors, that even the Australia Museum has a web page devoted to them including the locations of vicious attacks. Now, to honour the terrifying critters, mayor of Tamworth in New South Wales has taken charge of an operation to afford drop bears the fear and respect they deserve; naming rights to a local lane. Drop Bear Lane. Mayor Col Murray told Mashable the council decided to honour the made-up, mythical creatures in a picturesque setting just outside of the town. "The habitat in this beautiful country area where this unknown road runs up along the creek with quite heavily timbered surrounds. It would be an ideal habitat for the drop bear to sustain," he said. Murray said it would still take a few months until it appears on the currently unmarked road. And when that day comes? "I'm sure there'll be significant celebration," he said. Maybe even some carnage. For more information on drop bears and how to survive drop bear attacks, visit the offical Drop Bear Protection Agency website here. BONUS: Koala shares spotlight with butterfly, teaches us lesson on how to deal with fame The Duchess of Cambridge hugged a fellow mom at an event for the sweetest reason Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, is giving us all the feels again, reminding us why we love her. She was at an awards event for the charity Place2Be Wellbeing in Schools, which raises funds and awareness for childrens mental health issues. The Duchess of Cambridge hugged a fellow mother, whose son suffers from autism, and it was so sweet. Ceri Knapton from Preston, Lancashire was in tears after her son Ethan opened up about his struggles with autism. And we are so glad that people are opening up about it. The Duchess of Cambridge lovingly put her arm around the emotional mother, and it was so sweet. The Duchess Of Cambridge Attends Place2Be Wellbeing In Schools Awards Ceri told MailOnline, The Duchess just leant over and said to me Ive got to give you a hug as a mum. I couldnt believe it, it was such a kind gesture. Aww, that sweet sentiment tugs at our heart strings! And Ceri needed the comfort, because she was tearful as her son Ethan talked about being bullied for his symptoms. The Duchess Of Cambridge Attends Place2Be Wellbeing In Schools Awards Ethan told Kate, It was a very difficult time but my diagnosis helped me to cope with what I was experiencing. Kate has long been a champion of mental health issues, and its so sweet to see her supporting this family. The Duchess Of Cambridge Attends Place2Be Wellbeing In Schools Awards Were so glad to see that kids struggling with mental health have found a champion in the Duchess. The Duchess Of Cambridge Attends Place2Be Wellbeing In Schools Awards They couldnt ask for a more compassionate and fabulous royal than Kate Middleton! The post The Duchess of Cambridge hugged a fellow mom at an event for the sweetest reason appeared first on HelloGiggles. A three ton, 65-foot-wide stained glass mural created in early 1980s for the East German secret police headquarters can be yours for $21.4 million. The art piece, which will be put for a sale at a temporary exhibition space in Miami next week, was discovered recently in a shipping container by art historian Thilo Holzmann, an art historian and dealer whose uncle bought it in 1990, the New York Times reported Tuesday. I knew about it all these years, but for all these years, I, like everyone else, was forgetting what was forgotten, Holzmann told the Times. The 10-foot-high glass wall was reportedly commissioned in 1979 by Erich Mielke, then the head of the Ministry of State Security, and was placed in a general purpose room in the agencys compound, which has now become the Stasi Museum. According to the Times, the art piece has the communist hammer and sickle symbol and is pigmented with precious metals, including 55 pounds of gold. Artist Richard Otfried Wilhelm was commissioned to make the mural. He was the chief master of glass for public works in the German Democratic Republic. He had titled his work Revolution: Frieden unserem Erdenrund (Revolution: Peace to the Whole World). After the demolition of the Berlin wall, the Stasi headquarters were shut down in 1990. Following this, the agencys belongings were sold through the Deutsche Reichsbahn, the state railroad company. [The mural] was a kind of custom to make stained glass memorial things in East Germany What struck me as odd is that it was in the Stasi headquarters and that there is no specific reference to the secret work, intelligence activities or the conspiracies which they indulged in, he said. That would make it more valuable, William Melching, an expert in German Cold War history at the University of Amsterdam, told the Times. Melching, however, questioned the price asked for the art. Maybe a couple of hundred thousand euros, but millions is a bit ridiculous, he told the Times. Story continues The art piece will go on sale next week at a temporary exhibition space in Miami and will coincide with the Art Basel Miami Beach contemporary art fair, slated to open on Dec. 1. Related Articles Cairo (AFP) - At a club in downtown Cairo, Ahmed Saleh pumps electronic beats from his laptop as Abdullah Miniawy chants to a cheering crowd, the duo part of a wave of new talent on Egypt's underground music scene. Emerging artists are creating an eclectic selection of hip-hop, dubstep, electronic and rock music, with some influenced by traditional Egyptian sounds. The movement began in the mid-2000s as musicians bypassed record labels to reach their listeners directly via the web. It was boosted by Egypt's 2011 uprising which toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. "This movement began finding an audience because it has become accessible on the internet, instead of the market being dominated by those who release CDs," says Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, a Cairo-born Palestinian musician who co-founded Ma3azef, an online Arab music magazine. From the second half of the 2000s, musicians have used websites such as SoundCloud, YouTube, and Facebook to publish and promote their music. That has challenged record labels' traditional gatekeeper role between artists and audiences. "This is the first time in Egypt, at least since the 1920s, where music really represents the people in a direct way, without any intermediary," says Mahmoud Refat, founder of record label 100Copies Music. - Working-class beats - The birth of Mahraganat music around the same period also reflected this shift in the industry. Emerging from working-class neighbourhoods, it became Egypt's most listened-to genre -- with little involvement from record companies. Using cheap or free software, young men began mixing traditional Egyptian music with electronic sounds, creating loud, eclectic beats. Meanwhile, artists began networking online, says musician Rami Abadir, who released his first official album with Canadian record label D.M.T. Records in May. "This didn't exist until 2009 or 2010, or it existed but on a very small scale," he says. Story continues The genre found a small but growing audience in a country where according to the United Nations, 40 percent of the population is between 10 and 20 years old. The 2011 revolution boosted the movement. "A lot of things took a push with what happened in 2011 and 2012 and the revolution," says Maurice Louca, composer of the acclaimed 2014 electronic album Benhayyi Al-Baghbaghan (Salute the Parrot). While most of the music was non-political, a security void made it easier to open spaces and organise festivals. "There was a very nice atmosphere where anyone who wanted to do anything, could just do it," says Abadir. Egypt's first free presidential election in 2012 brought to power Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted by the army a year later. Human rights groups have accused then-army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who went on to become President, of limiting freedom of expression. Venues like Vent, which opened in 2013, promoted new, experimental music. Many have since closed, but several still hold regular live sessions. While many musicians have second jobs to make a living, some have been able to go full-time and performed at home and abroad. Saleh has performed up to five times a month this year, including gigs with Alexandria-based psychedelic and electronic rock band Telepoetic. Louca has given 50 concerts overseas this year alone. - Broader tastes - As the artists diversified, so did listeners' tastes. Now, the audience "is receptive to this and waiting for new things... especially in Egypt," says Abu Ghazaleh. Some tracks by Egyptian hip-hop artists Abyusif and Ahmed Kamel have been played more than a quarter of a million times on SoundCloud. "Hip-hop in Egypt is like that. Its first and last place is the internet," says Refat, whose label caters to independent and Mahraganat musicians. That contrasts with the 1990s, when authorities cracked down on concerts and accused attendees of practising Satanism, according to Louca. "We felt like we were in an absolute desert," he says. While the scene centres around Cairo, other musicians in the region have flourished online. "We kind of found it staggering the amount of talent around, and a lot of people doing what we consider to be very high-quality music," says Abdel-Rahman Hussein, co-founder of Dandin, a Middle East music platform. Hip-hop artists from Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan have collaborated, while cross-genre projects have mushroomed in Beirut, says Ziad Nawfal, co-founder of the independent Lebanese label Ruptured. The wave of new music "expresses real things for the people," says Abu Ghazaleh. "This is what this music is doing, so it has no place to go but grow further." CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has unearthed a more than 7,000-year-old city and cemetery dating back to its First Dynasty in the southern province of Sohag, the Antiquities Ministry said on Wednesday. The find could be a boon for Egypt's ailing tourism industry, which has suffered endless setbacks since an uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 but remains a vital source of foreign currency. The city likely housed high-ranking officials and grave builders. Its discovery may yield new insights on Abydos, one of the oldest cities in Ancient Egypt, the ministry said in a statement. Experts say Abydos was Egypt's capital towards the end of the Predynastic Period and during the rule of the first four dynasties. The discovery was made 400 meters away from the temple of Seti I, a New Kingdom period memorial across the Nile from present day Luxor. Archaeologists have so far uncovered huts, pottery remains and iron tools as well as 15 huge graves, some of which were larger than the graves of kings in Abydos, the ministry said in a statement. "The size of the graves discovered in the cemetery is larger in some instances than royal graves in Abydos dating back to the First Dynasty, which proves the importance of the people buried there and their high social standing during this early era of ancient Egyptian history," the ministry said. Egypt's tourism industry has struggled to recover since the bombing of a Russian plane carrying 224 people from a Red Sea resort in October 2015. More than 14.7 million tourists visited Egypt in 2010, dropping to 9.8 million in 2011. In the first quarter of 2016 just 1.2 million tourists traveled to Egypt, down from 2.2 million a year earlier. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) Yahoo Singapore file photo A 66-year-old retiree was injured following a lift incident in Boon Lay, the latest in a series of similar incidents recently that have caused several injuries and one death. A Straits Times report said that Ng Poh Kim had boarded a lift last Tuesday (15 November) morning on the third storey of Block 207, Boon Lay Place. The lift suddenly plunged three storeys to the ground floor, leaving Ng with severe pain in her right leg. When she pressed the exit button, the lift shook, rose and opened its doors on the second storey. It was not the first time either Ng said that in August, she was riding the same lift when it also dropped suddenly from the third to the first storey. In response to Yahoo Singapores queries, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said investigations had revealed that the incident was down to an electronic fault. The limit switches (which ensure that the lift does not travel beyond the top or lowest floor) between the 1st and 2nd floor were faulty. The lift system detected this fault and caused the lift to initiate a safety stop between the 2nd and 1st storey until the lift re-levelled at the 2nd storey, said a BCA spokesman. As lift components such as limit switches are subject to wear and tear, such incidents can be minimised through replacement during regular maintenance of lift parts. The BCA has also instructed West Coast Town Council, which is responsible for the lifts maintenance, to work with the lift contractor and perform the necessary checks and rectifications to ensure that the issue is resolved. This is the latest in a series of lift incidents dating back to October 2015 Last month, part of the ceiling of a lift in Pasir Ris Drive 4 fell and hit a man, his elderly father and his son. In May, a 77-year-old man who was on a mobility scooter died after hitting his head when his device tipped over while he was exiting a lift, which was not level with the ground floor, in Pasir Ris St 21. In October 2015, an 85-year-old womans left hand was severed in a lift incident at Tah Ching Road in Jurong. Miami (AFP) - An experimental drug to fight Alzheimer's disease, called solanezumab, failed in a major clinical trial, the US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly said Wednesday, as experts called the results "disappointing." "Solanezumab did not meet the primary endpoint in the EXPEDITION 3 clinical trial, a phase 3 study of solanezumab in people with mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease," said a statement. Those treated with the drug "did not experience a statistically significant slowing in cognitive decline compared to patients treated with placebo." Eli Lilly said it will abandon attempts to get regulatory approval for the drug as a treatment for mild dementia. "The results of the solanezumab EXPEDITION 3 trial were not what we had hoped for and we are disappointed for the millions of people waiting for a potential disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer's disease," said John Lechleiter, the company's chief executive officer. Eli Lilly had said in July that intermediate results were promising. "After positive news last summer we had high hopes for this drug to become the first to slow down Alzheimer's disease," said Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society. "It's extremely disappointing to learn that it hasn't delivered a meaningful change for people living with dementia, when the need is clearly so great." Alzheimer's Research UK's David Reynolds said it has been nearly 15 years since a drug for Alzheimer's made it to market. "Sadly, over 99 percent of clinical trials for new Alzheimer's drugs have failed since then," he wrote in a blog post. "To be successful in clinical trials, new Alzheimer's drugs need to show benefits for memory and thinking that outweigh any effect of a placebo or 'dummy' treatment," he added. "Sadly, no drug has yet overcome this hurdle and solanezumab has also fallen short." Story continues None of the treatments available have been able to stop dementia. The World Health Organization says 36 million people worldwide suffer from dementia. The number of cases is expected to reach more than 65 million by 2030, and triple to 115 million by 2050. Ellen had the most hilarious response to receiving one of the last Medals of Freedom from President Obama The world witnessed the most star-studded mannequin challenge to date, which singlehandedly makes it the best one weve seen. Television host Ellen Degeneres led the White House challenge attempt, making her that much more awesome. Tracee Ellis Ross, Diana Ross, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Robert De Niro and Michael Jordan are just a few of the names that starred in social media epicness which leads us to our next question why were all of them in the same room? President Obama awarded 21 civilians at the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony yesterday for their significant contributions to making the world a better place. Ellen was one of many to receive the honor from our POTUS, but a series of unfortunate events almost made the media maven miss out! The comedian wasnt allowed to enter the White House initially, because she totally forgot her ID! They haven't let me in to the White House yet because I forgot my ID. #NotJoking#PresidentialMedalOfFreedom pic.twitter.com/sHocwqChKV Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) November 22, 2016 But she certainly brought the party with her once she was in the building! Check out the hilarious mannequin challenge, below! Definitely deserving, Ellen accepted the tearful award and had everyone on the sidelines welling up with emotion as well. Her contributions are centered around making the world a better place, one laugh at a time. Obama Honors 21 Americans With Presidential Medal Of Freedom Once the celebration ended Ellen was pushed back into reality, and hilariously remembered that she needed an ID to return home! .@POTUS Barack Obama just awarded me the #MedalofFreedom. I hope it serves as an ID. I have no idea how I'm getting home. pic.twitter.com/JSMf0sJqyF Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) November 22, 2016 Its just like the comedian to make a joke out of the most unfortunate events. And we totally appreciate her for it. The post Ellen had the most hilarious response to receiving one of the last Medals of Freedom from President Obama appeared first on HelloGiggles. What Were Following Decisions, Decisions: President-elect Donald Trump met with The New York Times today, after initially tweeting that hed canceled the meeting when the Times changed the terms. The terms had not been changed, however, and the meeting was back on once the misunderstanding was cleared up. What did change was Trumps mind: In the meeting he walked back the claims hed made on the campaign trail that torturing terrorism suspects is necessary, and followed up on an earlier announcement from his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway that he did not plan to pursue another investigation of Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile, his views on climate changewhich hes denied in the pastremained up in the air. Speaking of Campaign Claims: One of Trumps key promises from the race was that hed repeal the Affordable Care Act, and with both houses of Congress under Republican control, that may be well within his power. But one of the groups its most likely to hurt is the white working classironically, the demographic where Trump found some of his strongest support. Its already been well documented that one way Trump succeeded among these voters was by tapping into their worries about the economy. However, a new analysis adds an interesting detail: Trump voters are more likely to live in areas where technology is increasingly replacing the jobs that are mostly held by menwhile the fastest-growing American professions are dominated by women. Recommended: 'Hail Trump!': Video of White Nationalists Cheering the President-Elect Lets Make a Deal? As president, Trump will face two other major decisions when it comes to his dealings with Russia and North Korea. Though hes been heavily criticized for his apparent friendliness toward Vladimir Putin, it may indeed be possible for the U.S. to cooperate with Russia in a way thats mutually beneficialas long as Trump doesnt lose sight of his goals. A much more daring move, meanwhile, would be to negotiate directly with North Korea over its nuclear armaments, rather than follow previous administrations strategies of leaving such negotiations to China. And if he pursues that strategy, Trump could accomplish something huge. Story continues Snapshot Keeper Daouda Keita takes a pair of baby chimpanzees for a walk at the Chimpanzee Conservation Center in Guineas Haut Niger National Park on November 26, 2015. More photos here. (Dan Kitwood / Getty) Evening Read Megan Garber presents a handy bipartisan guide to fighting with your relatives: Try to be, on the big day, ready for anything. Its smart to prepare for Thanksgiving as if it were an [ extended debate / MMA match / exam that determines 80 percent of your final grade, even though you totally showed up to class week after week and it really seems like steady, reliable participation should count for more in the end ]. In many ways, after all, it is. So make sure that, long before the green bean casserole goes into the oven, youve made yourself an expert on [ the U.S. Constitution / the U.S. Electoral College / the best way to keep the governments hands off of Medicare ]. Or, if youre feeling especially [ confident / insecure ], you can also simply memorize some assorted soundbites and statistics to drop at random during the Thanksgiving meal. For example, do your relatives know that the Pope just endorsed Ivanka Trumps new line of boldly understated careerwear, whose pieces are currently available at [ Macys / Lord & Taylor / several fine retailers ]? Or that your chances of falling victim to [ Prius drivers / Roombas gone suddenly sentient / superstorms brought about by the irreversible effects of global climate change] have risen by 63 percent in the past two years alone? These things arent true, technically, but you saw them on [ Facebook / Twitter / Snapchat / Breitbart ], which means that, in another way, THEY ARE TOTALLY TRUE. Keep reading here, as Megan offers tips for things you can all agree on (e.g. that [ CNN / Fox News / The New York Times / The Atlantic ] is the worst). And for more Thanksgiving humor, check out Jim Hamblins annual answers to every possible Thanksgiving health question. Recommended: The Electoral College Was Meant to Stop Men Like Trump From Being President What Do You Know? 1. Nellie Bly, the journalist famous for circumnavigating the globe in 1889, is also known for inventing the modern ____________. Scroll down for the answer, or find it here. 2. Between 1980 and 2014, the number of science PhDs from underrepresented groups in the U.S. grew by ____________ timeswhile the number of assistant professors from those groups increased by only 2.6 times. Scroll down for the answer, or find it here. 3. During the Great Depression, an American atheist group lobbied to counter Thanksgiving with a holiday called ____________. Scroll down for the answer, or find it here. Reader Response Whats the best gift you ever received? I posed that question to Atlantic readers in the Disqus group known as TAD, and this was the most up-voted response: I was deployed to Iraq. I cant remember now if it was my first or second year long plus trip over there, but I came across a website for some people, Socks for Soldiers, who were making hand-knit socks and caps for the troops. I thought this was a nice notion myself, being an amateur knitter. I emailed and asked if they might send me a sock kit. I expected a few balls of yarn, a set of sock needles and a pattern. But I received a box full of sock yarn of a dozen different varieties, nearly 10 sets of needles, and multiple patterns. I still have a couple of yarn skeins as well as all the needles they sent. It was a lovely surprise and I got some joy out of creating something in a rather destructive environment, plus some odd looks and positive comments from people surprised to see knitting progressing in a dusty military camp. Read more here. Do you have a story of a gift youve cherishedone that surprised you, something that was exactly what you hoped for, or a gift thats come to mean much more than you could have known when you first received it? Wed like to hear from you: hello@theatlantic.com. Verbs Emoji street named, universe viewed, inspiration received, democracy worked. The Atlantic Daily is written by Rosa Inocencio Smith. To contact us, email hello@theatlantic.com. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. After eight years of President Obamas adversarial relationship with coal, many are hoping for a resurgence of the industry under President-elect Donald Trump. West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney weighed in on Trumps potential impact on the industry. Raney first discussed with the FOX Business Networks Neil Cavuto the impact of President Obamas policies on the coal industry. We have been targeted for the last eight years with a war on coal, literally. I mean, we have been under assault here. Everything thats occurred Neil has been administrative in nature its been regulations, its been rule, its been agency behavior, executive order. But, Raney was upbeat about the future of the industry after Trumps election victory. Were pleased that Donald Trump won the [the election] clearly because he came through here and certainly gave everyone a lot of hope that were going to see a different day as it regards to positive treatment of the coal industry. Raney was hopeful that Trump would curb the job losses in the industry largely due to federal government policies. Our miners, weve lost about 8,000 jobs over the last eight years right here in West Virginia. And of course you multiply that by somewhere between, five is a good number to use, and you can use more if youre close to the mining operations, but its very, very significant. And there is more hope here in West Virginia today than there has been for a long, long time. Raney then responded to concerns over Trump appearing to shift his tone over climate change and whether that may signal he wont be as friendly to coal as he claimed to be during the campaign. Well, it gives you some concern, but I mean, youve got to think that humans had something to do with this [climate change], but there is no reason at all to punish the coal miners and the people here in Appalachia as has been done over the last eight years. Related Articles BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - Africa-focused Australian mining company Equatorial Resources Ltd will aim to invest around $1.2 billion to develop its Badondo iron ore project in Republic of Congo, the company said. John Welborn, a non-executive director of Equatorial Resources and chief executive of its Congolese unit Congo Mining Exploration Ltd, met Prime Minister Clement Mouamba on Tuesday and submitted an application for a mining license. "The recent improvement in the price of iron ore makes Equatorial confident that it will find the necessary financing to develop the mine," the company said in a statement distributed late on Tuesday after the meeting. African mining, particularly large iron ore projects, has been hit hard by the global commodities crash. However, the S&P 1500 composite steel index has surged since the U.S. election, bolstered by U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's perceived support for the steel industry. Chinese iron ore futures are also rising amid news that production at steel mills in northern Hebei province will be curbed or even shut for as long as four months in an effort to combat pollution. Equatorial Resources estimates annual iron ore production of 40 million tonnes at the Badondo mine and its feasibility study foresees construction beginning next year, the statement said. Plans for the building of new infrastructure, including construction of a rail line and port to facilitate exports, must be finalised before the project can be developed, it said. (Reporting by Christian Elion; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Dale Hudson) IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces a class action lawsuit against Sanderson Farms, Inc. ("Sanderson Farms" or the "Company") (SAFM). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares between December 17, 2013 and October 6, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm in advance of the December 27, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline. If you purchased shares of Sanderson Farms during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang LLP, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com. There has been no class certification in this case yet. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Sanderson Farms made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose material information. On September 2, 2016, some media outlets reported the filing of an antitrust class action lawsuit against Sanderson Farms and some of its peers for conspiring to manipulate the price of broiler-chickens. Allegedly, in 2008, Sanderson Farms, along with Tyson Foods and several other companies, conspired by sharing proprietary data and reducing production to support prices. On October 4, 2016, a group of consumers filed an antitrust class action complaint against Sanderson Farms and several of its industry peers for violations of the Sherman Act. On October 7, 2016, Pivotal Research downgraded peer company Tyson Foods from "buy" to "sell," due to fears over the class action against the Company and its peers, which it called "powerfully convincing." When this information emerged to the public, the stock price of Sanderson Farms declined, causing investors harm. If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, at no charge, or if you have any questions regarding this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com. Story continues This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in certain jurisdictions. Contacts Joon M. Khang, Esq. Telephone: 949-419-3834 Facsimile: 949-225-4474 joon@khanglaw.com SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 22, 2016 / Lundin Law PC , a shareholder rights firm, announces a class action lawsuit against Adeptus Health Inc. ("Adeptus Health" or the "Company") (ADPT) on behalf of purchasers of Adeptus Health securities pursuant and/or traceable to the Companys secondary public offering (the "SPO") on or about July 31, 2015, or purchasers of common shares between April 23, 2015 and November 16, 2015, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors, who purchased or otherwise acquired shares during the SPO or the Class Period, are encouraged to contact the firm prior to the December 27, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline. To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here. You can also call Brian Lundin, Esquire, of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com. No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also choose to do nothing and be an absent class member. The complaint alleges that through the Class Period, Adeptus Health made material false and/or misleading information and/or failed to disclose: that the Company engaged in widespread predatory billing practices, particularly with respect to lower acuity level patients; that Adeptus Health's predatory billing practices subjected the Company to numerous known but undisclosed risks, such as financial risks, reputational risks, risks associated with improper financial reporting, civil or criminal sanctions, and even exclusion from federal and state healthcare programs; that the Company's financial statements were not prepared in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; that contrary to the Company's representations about its practice of referring lower acuity patients to urgent care facilities, Adeptus Health routinely treated lower acuity patients and excessively billed them for services; and that as a result of the above, Adeptus Health lacked a reasonable basis for its statements about its business and future financial prospects at all relevant times. On November 17, 2015, KUSA, an NBC-affiliated television station located in Denver, Colorado, aired an investigative report about the predatory billing practices at Adeptus Health's Colorado First Choice emergency rooms. When this information went public, the stock price of Adeptus Health fell, causing investors harm. Lundin Law PC was established by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding the rights of shareholders. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. Contact: Lundin Law PC Brian Lundin, Esq. Telephone: 888-713-1033 Facsimile: 888-713-1125 brian@lundinlawpc.com http://lundinlawpc.com/ SOURCE: Lundin Law PC ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that a vote by the European Parliament on whether to halt EU membership talks with Ankara "has no value in our eyes" and again accused Europe of siding with terrorist organizations. "We have made clear time and time again that we take care of European values more than many EU countries, but we could not see concrete support from Western friends ... None of the promises were kept," he told an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference in Istanbul. "There will be a meeting at the European Parliament tomorrow, and they will vote on EU talks with Turkey whatever the result, this vote has no value in our eyes." Leading members of the European Parliament on Tuesday called for a halt to EU membership talks with Turkey because of its broad purges in the wake of a failed July coup. More than 125,000 people - including soldiers, academics, judges, journalists and Kurdish leaders - have been detained or dismissed over their alleged backing for the putsch, in what opponents, rights groups and some Western allies say is an attempt to crush all dissent. Erdogan said on Tuesday the measures had significantly weakened the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose followers are accused of infiltrating state institutions over several decades and carrying out the coup attempt. Erdogan, and many Turks, were angered by the Western response to the putsch, viewing it as more concerned about the rights of the plotters than the gravity of the events themselves, in which more than 240 people were killed as rogue soldiers commandeered fighter jets and tanks. He has also repeatedly accused Europe of harboring members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state and is deemed a terrorist organization by the EU and United States. Erdogan is still seething over the presence of protesters sympathetic to the PKK near an EU-Turkey summit in Brussels in March, which he said at the time demonstrated the EU's "two-faced" behavior. "On one hand you declare the PKK a terrorist organization, on the other you have terrorists roaming freely in the streets of Brussels. What kind of sincerity is this?," he said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Daren Butler) BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is "aware and acting on" a report that Russian tankers had carried jet fuel to Syria through the bloc's waters despite it being banned, a source said on Wednesday. The EU banned any supply of jet fuel to Syria from its territory two years ago but an intelligence source with a government in the bloc told Reuters at least two Russian-flagged ships made deliveries via Cyprus. A separate shipping source familiar with the movements of the Russian-flagged vessels said the ships visited Cypriot and Greek ports before delivering fuel to Syria. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska) STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The planned EU-Canada free trade deal cleared a hurdle to its implementation next year when the European Parliament rejected a motion on Wednesday to ask the top European Union court to rule on its legality. The vote by lawmakers in the parliament is an indication they will also ultimately back the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) itself, allowing it partially to enter force early in 2017. The motion was brought by 89 members of parliament from the Greens and left-wing groupings, Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, along with 31 Social Democrats and two liberals. It was rejected by 419 to 258 votes. The group had wanted the court to assess whether the trade deal's proposed investor court system is compatible with EU laws. They argued it contravened provisions that companies should be treated like normal people in law and rules on the operation of national and EU courts. The court could have ruled that CETA breached EU law but even if it had not, it would have led to a delay to the implementation of up to two years. CETA supporters said that the parliament's own legal service had ruled that the 1,598-page CETA text was in line with EU rules. The investor court system, involving separate panels to decide on disputes between states and foreign investors, has been the focus of opposition to trade deals such as CETA. Critics say it gives multinationals the ability to dictate public policy, such as on the environment, labour or health. CETA has had a rocky ride since it was agreed in 2014. Seen by critics as the "little brother" of the planned EU-U.S. TTIP trade deal, it has been the subject of large protests and was only signed by the EU's 28 members after opposition from a region of Belgium. European Parliament assent would allow CETA to enter force provisionally, meaning import tariffs would be cut or removed. However, full implementation to include the contentious investment protection system would only happen after clearance by more than 40 national and regional parliaments. (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) By Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed new capital rules for banks on Wednesday in line with those agreed by global regulators but with several tweaks, in a sign of a growing fragmentation of financial rulebooks around the world. The EU's executive arm proposed adapting its rules on capital requirements and loss-absorbing buffers to agreements reached in the Basel Committee of global financial regulators, which oversees U.S., European and Japanese lenders. But instead of simply replicating the rules agreed with its international partners, the Commission proposed changes and some new provisions that may upset non-EU banks and regulators. After the 2007-2008 financial crisis, governments of major economies pledged to keep their banking rules closely harmonised. But that close alignment is starting to fray, with the EU trying to reduce the impact of the rules on economic growth and the region's beleaguered banking industry. "We have put forward new risk reduction proposals that build on the agreed global standards while taking into account the specificities of the European banking sector," said Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU commissioner on financial services. The move comes as the European Union is battling a new set of reforms expected to be adopted by the Basel Committee in the coming weeks on banks' models for calculating risk, which the EU thinks may favour U.S. banks. On Wednesday the European Parliament voted against the draft Basel proposals, adding their weight to concerns raised by France, Germany and the European Commission. In another sign of the fragmentation of global financial regulation, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has talked about possibly reviewing rules introduced after the financial crisis. "We expect our international partners to stick to globally-agreed standards," Dombrovskis told reporters when asked about the Trump's intentions. And in what could be an area of disagreement between the EU and other major economies, Brussels is proposing top U.S. or Asian banks to reorganise their operations in Europe to be better overseen by EU watchdogs - a move that is expected to increase financial stability but also costs for lenders. Story continues "The problems are that this new rule is inflexible, and looks like an aggressive reaction to developments in the U.S., at a moment when greater regulatory co-operation and convergence are seen as critically important in the market," said James Perry, financial regulation partner at law firm Ashurst. MEASURES PROPOSED The Commission has also proposed a new set of requirements for European banks aimed at keeping their lending in check and ensuring they have stable funding sources. Under the proposals, EU lenders would be required to hold a binding 3 percent leverage ratio. The measure will be integrated at a later stage with higher requirements for systemic banks, the Commission said in a note. Banks would also have to meet a Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) aimed at limiting excessive reliance on the type of short-term funding that was among the causes of the global financial crisis. Brussels is also proposing tighter capital requirements on banks' trading of shares, bonds or derivatives, because of their higher volatility. In a deviation from global rules, the Commission said the new rules will be phased in beyond the globally-agreed 2019 starting date. Brussels is also proposing several exceptions for the NSFR. European banks welcomed the Commission's proposals as they softened some global requirements. "This package is about implementing global standards and about re-calibrating provisions where evidence has established that the earlier regulatory response was heavy-handed," Wim Mijs, head of the European Banking Federation, said, praising the reduction of regulatory complexity sought by the proposals. As widely anticipated, new global rules to force systemic banks to hold sufficient capital buffers to absorb losses, the so-called Total loss absorbing capacity (TLAC), will be introduced in the EU legislation with tweaks to the EU's standard called Minimum Requirement for own funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL). In changing the rules governing MREL, the Commission also proposed tweaks to bail-in regulations which are aimed at reducing losses for taxpayers in case of a bank crisis, while hitting the lenders' creditors. With the aim of increasing the funding of the real economy, which is still struggling in some euro zone countries, the Commission also proposed lower requirements for bank lending to small companies and for infrastructure projects. The proposals made by the Commission need the approval of EU states and the European Parliament to become law. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Parliament called on the EU and its states to do more to counter Russian "disinformation and propaganda warfare" on Wednesday, drawing an angry response from President Vladimir Putin. A motion endorsing a committee report, which also called for more effort against attempts by Islamic State to radicalize Europeans, passed by 304 votes to 179. Members on the far left and far right were opposed; many in the center-left abstained. "The European Parliament ... expresses its strong criticism of Russian efforts to disrupt the EU integration process and deplores, in this respect, Russian backing of anti-EU forces in the EU with regard, in particular, to extreme-right parties, populist forces and movements that deny the basic values of liberal democracies," the 59-point motion read. With East-West relations in deep freeze since Moscow responded to an EU pact with Ukraine by annexing Crimea in 2014, the Parliament's report accused the Kremlin of funding media outlets that spread falsehoods and of sponsoring eurosceptic movements in Western Europe which are growing in strength. Putin said that after lecturing Russia on democracy Europe was now trying to silence dissenting opinions. He told reporters in Moscow: "We are observing a certain, quite obvious, degradation ... of how democracy is understood in Western society, in this particular case in the European Parliament." In Strasbourg, center-left lawmakers said they could not endorse the report because Russia was not alone in posing such threats and they objected to the way it appeared to be given an equivalent status to the non-state militants of Islamic State. Left-wingers denounced "neo-McCarthyism" that risked harming media freedom by treating suspect outlets as agents of Moscow and said the report could stoke confrontation with Russia. Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, speaking for Marine Le Pen's French National Front called the report "lying European propaganda". Le Pen, riding high in polls before April's presidential election, turned to a Russian bank to fund her anti-immigration, anti-EU party. Polls show her unlikely to win power. She said last week she would form a trio with Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that would be "good for world peace". The UK Independence Party and Italy's 5-Star eurosceptic movement also voted against the motion. James Carver for UKIP, whose success in the Brexit vote for Britain to leave the EU has raised concerns about the bloc's ability to confront Russia, said the report was "worryingly reminiscent of the Cold War". (Additional reporting by Denis Dyomkin in Moscow; Writing by Alastair Macdonald in Brussels; Editing by Toby Chopra) Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - The European Parliament on Wednesday urged the EU to fight back against "hostile propaganda" by the Kremlin, prompting a swift rebuke from Russian President Vladimir Putin. EU lawmakers approved a motion condemning outlets like television channel RT (previously Russia Today) and the news agency Sputnik for disseminating "absolutely fake" news, while accusing the Kremlin of backing anti-EU parties. They urged the European Union to boost its "tiny" nine-strong strategic communication force set up to counter disinformation when tensions grew with Russia amid the conflict in Ukraine. The MEPs said they were "seriously concerned by the rapid expansion of Kremlin-inspired activities in Europe, including disinformation and propaganda seeking to maintain or increase Russias influence to weaken and split the EU". The motion was approved by 304 votes to 179 -- with eurosceptic parties like Britain's UKIP and France's Front National voting against -- with 208 abstentions. Putin lashed out at the European Parliament for "trying to teach us democracy" while at the same time there was a "clear degradation... of the concept of democracy in Western society". "I certainly hope that common sense will prevail however, and we will not see any actual restrictions," he added. "As for our journalists who promoted this influential European body to take such decisions, judging by the situation, we can congratulate them on working so actively and with such talent and results." But in their hard-hitting resolution, the MEPs warned that the Kremlin was using a "wide range of tools and instruments" including think-tanks, television and "pseudo news agencies" to spread fake information. The resolution said since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 the Kremlin had stepped up efforts to "challenge democratic values, divide Europe, gather domestic support and create the perception of failed states in the EU's eastern neighbourhood". Story continues It added that the Russian government was also funding political parties in the EU and backing "anti-EU forces" like far-right parties and populist groups. The parliament also warned against propaganda from the Islamic State jihadist group, Al-Qaeda and other non-state actors. It urged EU nations to do more to counter efforts by IS and other groups to radicalise young people in Europe. Brussels (AFP) - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled plans Wednesday to tighten the code of conduct for former officials after a row over his predecessor Jose Manuel Barroso's role with Goldman Sachs. The "cooling-off" period during which they must inform Brussels if they take a new job would be extended from 18 months to three years for former commission presidents and to two years for former commissioners. "In the light of recent experience made with members of the previous commission, I feel that our code of conduct should be tightened in order to set the highest ethical standards possible for cases of conflict of interest," Juncker said in a statement. "For the future, I want notably to extend the cooling off period for former presidents to three years. Tighter rules are certainly not sufficient to bring about acceptable ethical behaviour in all cases, but they are an indispensable starting point." Ex-Portuguese premier Barroso headed the Commission, th e EU's powerful executive arm, from 2004 until 2014, emerging as a high-profile public figure with political and business connections worldwide. His decision to join US bank Goldman Sachs, widely blamed in Brussels for its role in the 2008 global crash, sparked uproar with French President Francois Hollande saying it was "unacceptable". An EU ethics committee last month cleared Barroso, who waited the compulsory 18 months, of breaching ethics rules but criticised his "judgment" for taking the Goldman job. Former Luxembourg premier Juncker himself said he was against Barroso taking the Goldman job, saying that there was "no problem for him to take a job in a private bank, but not that one". (ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon - see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets) Adds closing prices, detail) * STOXX Europe 600 index ends down 0.07 pct * Basic resources stocks among top gainers * UK housebuilders fall By Atul Prakash LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - European shares steadied on Wednesday, with basic resources companies underpinning the broader market following a rise in metals prices. The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended down 0.07 percent, after rising in the previous two sessions. The European basic resources index rose 1.3 percent after hitting its highest level since mid-2015 after base as precious metals prices advanced. Shares in BHP Billiton, and Rio Tinto rose 2.1 and 0.9 percent respectively. "Longer term, the 'New Trump' reality of higher growth through fiscal stimulus and infrastructure work certainly warrants higher commodities and stock prices," said Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis. "However, in the short run, miners, just like the overall market, are clearly ahead of themselves and a small period of consolidation would be healthy for the sector." The European mining sector has surged more than 12 percent this month alone, taking total gains for this year to 60 percent, on growing expectations that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to invest heavily in infrastructure projects will enhance demand for raw materials. UK Housebuilders were volatile after finance minister Philip Hammond unveiled plans to raise housing and infrastructure spending in the biggest economic update since Britain voted in June to leave the European Union. After initially surging on the spending plans, sectors shares tuned lower. Barratt Developments fell 1.9 percent, while Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey both dropped over 1.5 percent. Analysts said the early gain was not sustained as the extra funding had been anticipated. There was also a lack of detail about how the new housing would be delivered, and the sector was also caught up in poor global market sentiment. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f295787%2fdirtymop2 As Trump slowly fills out his cabinet, Clinton supporters and #NeverTrumpers alike are silently watching as the democracy they've always loved face plants in front of their very eyes. People who've never held elected office or who were best known for their leadership in the alt-right movement now have some of the most powerful jobs in the world. For millions of Americans, the appointments are jarring, leading them to believe that anyone anything would be better than these people. SEE ALSO: A rat holding a bunch of keys and other predictions I have for President Trump's cabinet Below is a list of everyday household items that would be conceivably more qualified and less dangerous for Trump's America than the people he's chosen. 1. For the position of HUD secretary: this vacuum cleaner Image: nikkytok/ap images Ben Carson appears to be Trump's top pick for Security of Housing and Urban Development. Carson, who ran for president, recently admitted that "he has no government experience, he's never run a federal agency." This vacuum cleaner has conceivably spent more time (picking up crumbs) in the Oval Office than Carson has, and at least it doesn't believe that pyramids were built to store grain. 2. For Attorney General: the sock I found on my living room floor Image: Michal Ludwiczak From the outside, the sock may not look like much. But at least it didn't receive an endorsement from former KKK member David Duke and never once called the NAACP "un-American." Vote sock for Attorney General! 3. For National Security Advisor: this adorable Beanie Baby Say what you will about Beanie Babies, but at least they didn't say that "Islamism" is a "vicious cancer" in the bodies of all Muslims that "has to be excised" like retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. This bear doesn't want to have a war with Iran it just wants to be cuddled while we're having a war with Iran. Go Beanie Baby Go! Story continues 4. For Chief White House Strategist: this roll of paper towels Image: photobalance/ap images Who do you want to direct federal policy: one of the prime leaders of the alt-right who wants to "bitch-slap the Republican Party," or these innocent rolls of paper towels, who just want to clean up your mess? 5. For Vice President: this beautiful Christmas wreath Image: wikimedia Millions of Americans would probably prefer to have this seasonal, affordable Christmas wreath for Vice President than a man who wanted to take away funding for AIDS research and supports conversion therapy for LGBTQ people. 6. For Chief of Staff: a Roomba Image: coffeekai/ap images For many, Roombas and Reince Preibus are basically the same thing: independently moving robots, except Roombas can at least play cool music sometimes. 7. For Director of the CIA: the pillow that you cry into every night Image: Africa Studio/ap images Who do you trust to hold your secrets: your soft pillow that you whisper all your secrets into, or Mike Pompeo, who appears to be super keen on reinstating waterboarding and other forms of torture? 8. For Secretary of Defense: this wooden door Image: koldunova/ap images This wooden door may be more likely to prevent terrorist attacks than a retired Marine general who once proudly exclaimed, "It's fun to shoot some people!" 9. For Secretary of Education: this lamp Image: destina/ap images Say what you will about lamps, but they shed more light into the world than Betsy DeVos, who some worry will destroy public schools. America, you decide. BONUS: President Obama brings Medal of Freedom winners to tears gifts-feature Universal/Abrams/RKO The holiday shopping season is here and if youve got a hardcore fan of movies or television (or both, of course), you probably need some gift ideas. Alternately, if you are a hardcore fan of movies or television, you might be in the market for some gift ideas to give others. Either way, weve got an abundance of items below that should appeal to every sort of cineaste and TV junkie. Specialty Streaming Service Subscriptions Uproxx Rumors of physical medias demise have been greatly exaggerated. Blu-rays still offer the optimum viewing experience in the HD era and, as several items below make clear, there are still great packages being put out that offer the sort of bonus features and total immersive experience that streaming just cant offer. (Plus, if you love, say, Indiana Jones, its awfully nice to have the entire series on a shelf somewhere.) That said, streaming has come a long way in terms of quality and there have been some intriguing new developments over the last few years. While Netflix has focused on television of late, letting its rights to many movies lapse, Amazon and Hulu have started to pick up the slack. Chances are you can browse and find a great movie on one service or another. But for some fans, thats not enough. Hence the rise of specialty services. Time will tell if streaming services focusing on a particular type of viewer will last, but for now, people have options if they want services that are laser-focused on their interests. Lets break down a few. Fandor: Online since 2011, Fandor caters to fans of independent and arthouse movies. That covers a lot of ground. Currently boasting over 6,000 titles, its library includes everything from silent classics to of-the-moment documentary shorts. Its a robust offering filled with hard-to-find oddities and left-of-the-multiplex favorites. And at $10 a month ($7.50 to yearly subscribers), its not a bad bargain, either. MUBI: MUBI covers some of the same territory as Fandor but it takes a different approach, treating the site as a rolling film festival. Every day it introduces a new film that will be available on the site for 30 days, usually lumping it in with some kind of theme. Right now, for instance, subscribers can watch a Johnnie To double feature, the classic French farce The Tall Blonde Man With One Black Shoe and Graceland, a thriller from the Phillippines. Its a bit like having a new movie chosen by an in-the-know friend every day. And with a gift subscription of $47.88, you can sort of be that in-the-know friend. Story continues Filmstruck: The big new player in this field, however, is the recently launched Filmstruck, a joint project by Turner Classic Movies and The Criterion Collection (a name synonymous with the classic film canon since the laserdisc era). Its been treated as the great streaming hope for serious film fans since it was announced earlier this year and so far its been living up to expectations, though the two-tiered membership can be confusing. Subscribers can sign up for the Filmstruck offerings or pay more to add the Criterion titles, which are numerous and include at least some of the bonus features found on Criterions Blu-rays and DVDs. The big question: How does it grow? Its not clear how often non-Criterion films will be added or how long theyll remain on the site. Still, its easy to navigate with some nifty curated areas and undeniably the best source for capital G great movies anywhere. Seeso and Brown Sugar: Or maybe the future is in really specialized sites. Seeso focuses squarely on comedy, offering new series while also trying to become the comedy lovers destination for classic comedy. Right now, if you want the full runs of Saturday Night Live, Kids in the Hall, and Monty Pythons Flying Circus, this is the place to go. The just-launched Brown Sugar has a different, even tighter focus: The blaxploitation films of the 1970s with pillars like Shaft, Super Fly, Dolemite, and Coffy. There are also oddities like the zombie revenge thriller Sugar Hill and Ralph Bakshis Coonskin. Like Seeso, its a mere $3.99 a month. Harry Potter And Game of Thrones-Themed Moleskine Notebooks Game of Thrones Moleskine HBO / Moleskine Chances are good you know a fan of Harry Potter and/or Game of Thrones. Chances are also good that they sometimes need to write stuff down. Whether penning a magic-filled novel set in faraway lands or just writing down a grocery list, one of these fantasy-themed notebooks is sure to make every thought a little more charged with possibility. Its A Wonderful Life: Platinum Anniversary Edition its-a-wonderful-life-3 Paramount A financial disappointment in its day, Frank Capras 1941 film Its A Wonderful Life became a Christmas classic in part due to a copyright glitch that made it cheap for television stations to run it virtually non-stop during the holiday season. Thats changed in recent years, and while theres something to be said for having a film this wonderful playing on a loop, it also means that we no longer have to experience it via TV ragged prints of wildly variable quality that were sometimes cut to shreds by local stations trying to squeeze it into a shortened time slot. This new Blu-ray edition offers little that hasnt been seen before but, hey, its Its A Wonderful Life. Why mess with it? Dekalog And Trilogia de Guillermo del Toro Dekalog Criterion One of the best Blu-ray sets released this year, maybe ever, Dekalog collects all 10 episodes of Krzysztof Kieslowskis 1989 series for Polish television. Each episode is themed, often loosely, around one of the Ten Commandments, and each dramatizes how they play out in a Poland nearing the end of the Cold War. Kieslowski had a handful of masterpieces ahead of him the Three Colors series and The Double Life of Veronique but this stands up to the best of them, a collection of compact, unforgettable films some wistful, some comic, some tragic that capture the full range of life. Or, for those looking at a similarly deluxe collection of a different sort of master, the Trilogia de Guillermo del Toro collects three of the directors most personal films: Cronos, The Devils Backbon, and Pans Labyrinth. Both typically retail for $99.99 but sale prices around $64.99 have been seen. Lone Wolf And Cub lone-wolf-and-cub Criterion Or, if you just want to watch a master swordsman and his toddler son traveling feudal Japan chopping off heads with the assistance of a weapons-equipped baby carriage, check out the years other great revival. Released between 1972 and 1974, these six films adapt a long-running manga into stylishly bold and bloody tales of adventures. The box set should set you back about $50. Shout! Factory Releases john carpenter the thing Scream Factory The Thing: Collectors Edition Village of the Damned: Collectors Edition Carrie: Collectors Edition Raising Cain: Collectors Edition Rabid Dead Ringers Its been a good year for new editions of great films from cult-favorite directors thanks in large part to Scream Factory, a company long in the habit of putting out the best versions possible of horror films, from the classic to the cheesy. The company has had a long relationship with John Carpenter that continued this year with new editions of The Thing, maybe the directors best film, and his Village of the Damned remake (which isnt his best film, but completists will want it). Scream did right by Brian De Palma this year, too, thanks to fine repackagings of Carrie and Raising Cain, the latter including a De Palma-approved cut that attempts to restore the directors original intentions. Finally, fans of David Cronenberg got both Rabid, a grimy early effort, and Dead Ringers, a masterful look at psychological decay starring Jeremy Irons as twin gynecologists. For anyone whose tastes run to the horrific, this year has brought a lot of options and all should run between $20 to $35. Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie Ralph McQuarrie Art Of Star Wars Abrams Star Wars would never have happened without George Lucas, but George Lucas has always been eager to admit its the product of many creators. One of the key visionaries was Ralph McQuarrie, who served as a conceptual artist on the original trilogy, creating striking paintings and character designs that would inspire the look of the final film, even if they got altered quite a bit along the way. To take in McQuarries original art is to step into an eerier, starker, even more fantastic alternate version of the Star Wars universe. McQuarrie, who died in 2012, has developed his own following over the years, and this deluxe, 800-page, two-volume is the most thorough collection of his Star Wars contributions to date. Its a big-ticket item, retailing for $250 (though, there have been some deep discounts), but its one that is sure to delight fans whove long recognized McQuarries work as a fantastic accomplishment in its own right. Mad Men And The Walt Disney Film Archives: The Animated Movies (1921 1968) Mad Men book Taschen Also hefty retailing for $200 are these two collections from Taschen. One is dedicated to Matthew Weiners landmark prestige TV series Mad Men, the other two the years in which Disneys animated output was overseen by the man himself, Walt Disney. If youve ever seen Taschens lovingly assembled film and TV books which include volumes dedicated to Stanley Kubrick, Taxi Driver, and other subjects its easy to imagine the care put into these. In other words, if youve got someone with an obsessive interest in either topic, theyre gong to want this. Additional Books sepinwallseitz-tvthebook-tpjpg-03bbac2d055e1d4d TV the Book: Two Experts Pick The Greatest TV Shows Of All Time The Oliver Stone Experience The Caped Crusade: Batman and The Rise of Nerd Culture Yes, recommending TV the Book means recommending the work of one our own, Uproxx TV critic Alan Sepinwall. But wed be on board with this expert guide to the best TV ever made anyway. Sepinwall and Vultures Matt Zoller Seitz offer sharp, informed takes on their picks for the 100 greatest shows of all time, from the undeniable top-of-the-canon classics to overlooked outlier classics like Veronica Mars and Wiseguy, with ample asides dealing offering opinions on everything from televisions best finales to the best TV houses. Working solo, Seitz also published The Oliver Stone Experience, a book-length interview with the often controversial director filled out with an array of archival material. Its in the vein of Seitzs two Wes Anderson books, The Wes Anderson Collection and The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel, but with a much more fiery interview subject. Finally, NPR contributor Glenn Weldon tackled a subject that cuts across comics, movies, and culture this year with his The Caped Crusade. Its a twin history of both the masked crimefighter and the culture around him, showing both where Batman comes from and how Batman fandom has predicted and embodied both the enthusiasm and the darker sides of fan culture. For a look at more must-have gifts this holiday season, take a look at our other guides. Stockholm (AFP) - Former executives with Swedish telecoms equipment giant Ericsson say the firm shelled out tens of millions of dollars in bribes between 1998 and 2001, the Swedish media reported Wednesday. A former executive named Liss-Olof Nenzell has handed the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents relating to the alleged kickbacks, Dagens Nyheter daily and Swedish public radio SR said. "Enormous sums were sent via Zurich from the company headquarters in Sweden to secret recipients around the world," Dagens Nyheter said, referring to what it called Nenzell's central role in the scheme. The newspaper said the biggest bribes included 1.4 billion kronor (140 million euros, $150 million), sent to bank accounts in Malaysia, and 763 million kronor sent to Poland, via the British offshore banking haven of Jersey. SR, meanwhile, said money was sent to politicians and senior civil servants to Costa Rica, including the then president, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, "at a time when Ericsson was vying for a major state contract in telecoms." Denying any wrongdoing, Ericsson said the radio documentary reported on a period when the company used commercial agents to a greater extent 15-20 years ago. "Ericsson has, just like many other companies that are active in the international market, used commercial agents," the spokeswoman told AFP. "This work approach can be attractive as it can be more cost effective than building a large local sales organisation," she said, adding that the group only has "a few agency agreements left" in countries where it's a requirement. SR said it had testimony from "several former top executives," who speaking on condition of anonymity "recounted how they were guilty of active corruption in securing contracts in a large number of countries." Since 2010, Swedish media has reported on allegations of systematic bribery in Ericsson, whose shares on Wednesday morning fell by 2.5 percent after the news broke out. Story continues Quoted by Dagens Nyheter, it said Wednesday it never found "any evidence that bribes were allegedly paid." In June, Ericsson said it was being investigated, including in the US, over what the Swedish press said was a case of alleged corruption in China, and in Greece. - Annus horribilis - Ericsson typically ranks first or second as the world's biggest vendor of telecoms equipment and services, if sales of mobile phone handset are excluded. But the latest accusations add to what is already a nightmare year for the giant, struggling especially with a slowdown in investment in mobile telephony. In April, Ericsson announced it would expand a nine-billion-kronor cost-cutting drive -- a programme that, according to the media, will end production in Sweden that dates back to 1876. In July, it ousted its seven-year CEO Hans Vesterberg, who struggled to fend off competition from rivals Nokia, Siemens and Alcatel-Lucent and gain ground in saturated and competitive markets such as Europe and North America. He has been replaced by Borje Ekholm -- a bet on continuity with a chief coming from its board of directors and main shareholder. Ekholm is set to take office on January 16. In October, Ericsson issued a profit warning and followed this with the announcement of a net loss of 233 million kronor in the third quarter as operators slowed investment in mobile networks. Laurie Hernandez can't stop smiling, and we can't blame her! The 16-year-old gymnast, who was crowned Dancing With the Stars' season 23 champion during the two-hour finals Tuesday night, was still beaming with joy while chatting with ET at The Grove following her win. WATCH: 'DWTS' Finalists Share Stories From 'Stressful' Last Week of Rehearsals, What They'll Miss Most "I'm just so excited I was able to have this opportunity," Hernandez, who was paired with dance pro Val Chmerkovskiy, told ET's Cameron Mathison. "Even beyond the show, I just feel like I really sprouted as a person and I've surrounded myself with so many amazing people that I can now call family so, that's cool." Hernandez continued to gush over her time on the show, and even compared winning a mirror ball trophy to winning a gold medal. "It almost feels the same," she explained. "I mean, it's like once you figure out that you've, you know, won something, for you, it's like a wave hits you. It was such an amazing experience, and I'm glad I was able to come here and witness it and be a part of this amazing journey." As for where she wants to put her shiny new trophy? Well, the New Jersey native already has some ideas. "Probably like in the middle of my house, as long as my mom's OK with it!" she exclaimed. ET also caught up with Chmerkovskiy following the finale, who was ecstatic to learn that his time with Hernandez hasn't come to an end just yet. It was revealed on the show that she'll be joining him on the Dancing With the Stars: Live! tour, which kicks off Dec. 16 in Reno, Nevada. "I get a chance to call Laurie Hernandez a friend of mine for a long time, and I'm going to be rooting for her for a really long time," he said. WATCH: 'Dancing With the Stars' Crowns Its Season 23 Champion, Laurie Hernandez! Hernandez chimed in, telling ET, "Yes! I still get to dance, and this show also made me realize how much I love dancing, so I'm glad I get to do more of it." Story continues To hear more highlights from the two-night finals, which placed James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess in second and Calvin Johnson and Lindsay Arnold in third, watch the video below. Related Articles Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are getting fans into the holiday spirit with their first duets album, Christmas Together, and they dished about the project to ET. "You always pick an album to play when you decorate the tree," Garth said, describing the vibe of their new project. "This year it's going to be Christmas Together." WATCH: Trisha Yearwood Praises Supportive Husband Garth Brooks While Preparing for 'The Passion' The first couple of country music will perform songs from the album for three ABC and Disney Channel holiday TV specials. The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration and The Disney Parks Magical Christmas Celebration will air on ABC on Nov. 24 and Dec. 25, respectively, while Disney Parks Presents: A Descending Magical Holiday Celebration airs on Disney Channel Nov. 25. "I love this guy and I love signing with him," Trisha said about working with her husband. "We had a lot of fun." The couple duet on many classic songs together including, "I'm Beginning to See the Light," "Marshmallow World" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Yearwood shines on "Santa Baby" and "Hard Candy Christmas," while Brooks takes on a heartwarming rendition of "Feliz Navidad." Garth and Trisha's first album collaboration currently has them at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and dashed to No. 2 on the Top Holiday Albums chart, which gives them plenty to be thankful this year. WATCH: Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks Reveal the Secret to Their Successful Marriage "My favorite tradition that she has is cooking and mine is eating," Garth joked about their holiday family traditions. "That's my job." Brooks' The Ultimate Collection is the best-selling album of the week according to BuzzAngle Music. The couple's holiday album, Christmas Together, is out now. Related Articles By Gayatri Suroyo and Eveline Danubrata JAKARTA (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google is expected to reach a tax settlement with the Indonesian government in the next few weeks, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Under the proposed settlement, Google will pay back taxes and fines, and the search giant will have to agree to a new calculation of profits made in the country, said one of the people, who declined to be named as the information was not public. If the settlement goes ahead, it could pave the way for more countries to aggressively pursue back taxes from internet companies like Google, analysts say. A tax office spokesman declined to comment. A Google spokesman also declined to comment. Most of the revenue generated by Google in Indonesia is booked at its Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, according to the tax office. A senior tax official said in September that Indonesia planned to pursue Google for five years of back taxes, and the company could face a bill of more than $400 million for 2015 alone if it were found to have avoided payments. "I think other countries that have a significant population will also try to chase Google for taxes," said Yustinus Prastowo, executive director of the Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis. Indonesia, which launched a tax amnesty scheme in July to lure back billions of dollars stashed abroad, is eager to ramp up its tax collection to narrow its budget deficit and fund an ambitious infrastructure programme. The country of 250 million people has a youthful demographic that is among the world's biggest users of social media like Facebook and Twitter. Senior executives from Google's Asia Pacific headquarters had met with Indonesian tax officials several times to negotiate its tax bill, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. In January, Google agreed to pay 130 million pounds ($185 million) in back taxes to settle a probe by Britain's tax authority, which had challenged the company's low tax returns for the years since 2005. Story continues Other governments around the world are also seeking to clamp down on what they see as egregious corporate tax avoidance. Thailand is studying plans to toughen tax collection rules for internet and technology firms, the head of the country's revenue department told Reuters in September. Australia announced a further crackdown on multinational tax avoidance in its annual budget in May, including the planned introduction of a UK-style diverted profits tax. (Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo and Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) By Gayatri Suroyo and Eveline Danubrata JAKARTA (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google is expected to reach a tax settlement with the Indonesian government in the next few weeks, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Under the proposed settlement, Google will pay back taxes and fines, and the search giant will have to agree to a new calculation of profits made in the country, said one of the people, who declined to be named as the information was not public. If the settlement goes ahead, it could pave the way for more countries to aggressively pursue back taxes from internet companies like Google, analysts say. A tax office spokesman declined to comment. A Google spokesman also declined to comment. Most of the revenue generated by Google in Indonesia is booked at its Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, according to the tax office. A senior tax official said in September that Indonesia planned to pursue Google for five years of back taxes, and the company could face a bill of more than $400 million for 2015 alone if it were found to have avoided payments. "I think other countries that have a significant population will also try to chase Google for taxes," said Yustinus Prastowo, executive director of the Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis. Indonesia, which launched a tax amnesty scheme in July to lure back billions of dollars stashed abroad, is eager to ramp up its tax collection to narrow its budget deficit and fund an ambitious infrastructure programme. The country of 250 million people has a youthful demographic that is among the world's biggest users of social media like Facebook and Twitter. Senior executives from Google's Asia Pacific headquarters had met with Indonesian tax officials several times to negotiate its tax bill, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. In January, Google agreed to pay 130 million pounds ($185 million) in back taxes to settle a probe by Britain's tax authority, which had challenged the company's low tax returns for the years since 2005. Other governments around the world are also seeking to clamp down on what they see as egregious corporate tax avoidance. Thailand is studying plans to toughen tax collection rules for internet and technology firms, the head of the country's revenue department told Reuters in September. Australia announced a further crackdown on multinational tax avoidance in its annual budget in May, including the planned introduction of a UK-style diverted profits tax. (Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo and Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Its only rock n roll history, but we still like it. The Rolling Stones dug deep into their archives to deliver an immersive, whirlwind tour through their storied, 50-year career. Their first major exhibit, aptly titled Exhibitionism, opened this month at a private gallery in New Yorks West Village. Curator Ileen Gallagher, a native New Yorker, said she did not want the exhibition to be organized chronologically because that implies a beginning, middle and end the band is keen on carrying on. Theres no end basically. So we thought the best way to present it, after giving visitors an introduction to the bands early years, was to organize the rest of the exhibit thematically, she said in an interview this week with Yahoo News. It allowed us to create environmental installations in each of the rooms. A re-creation of a Stones recording studio, complete with their original instruments. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) For instance, the exhibits team re-created a Stones recording studio with their original instruments for the section on recording, built a cinema for the portion on Stones films and formed a bona fide art gallery for the area on art and design, which includes a retrospective of their album covers, posters and set designs. This allowed us to move you into different environments as you were experiencing these different themes, Gallagher said. Slideshow: Rolling Stones Exhibitionism >>> This journey begins in London with a meticulous re-creation of the grungy flat on Edith Grove where Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones lived in 1962. A meticulous re-creation of the flat in Londons Chelsea neighborhood that Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones shared in 1962. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) According to Gallagher, no one had any good photographs of the interior of the flat. So they relied on Jagger, Richards and Charlie Watts memories of what it looked and felt like. The scenic designers got the apartment plans from the City of London and used items from that period to re-create it, she said. We set the apartment up and showed Mick and it had about 40 more beer bottles and a lot more cigarette butts than it has in it now. He said, We were bad, but we werent that bad, she laughed. Story continues Though it culminates in a 3D concert experience, the true gems of the collection are found in-between: more than 500 artifacts, including original instruments, handwritten lyrics, diaries and all sorts of other technology and paraphernalia. The guitar gallery brings together some of Keith, Ronnie and Micks prized instruments. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) They assembled a gallery of guitars Richards, Jagger and Ronnie Wood used on celebrated Stones records. Gallagher said her team worked closely with Richards and his guitar tech, Pierre de Beauport, who has extensive knowledge of all the instruments Richards has used. Together, they figured out which guitars would best represent Richards in the exhibition. As for Wood, she said, he still uses the guitars featured in the galley in concert, and there were a few they got back just days before the exhibit opened. A prominently displayed quote from Jagger welcomes visitors to the style section: The images you project are really important. Musicians always like to talk that its only about the music. It isnt, of course. Its about what you wear, what you look like, what your attitudes are all of these things. Gallagher, who ranks the style and art sections among her favorites, said the Stones have always managed to stay current through what they wore and how they were photographed or filmed. In the 60s, they aligned themselves with artists who were part of that zeitgeist, such as Jean-Luc Godard and Andy Warhol. But in the 70s and 80s, they collaborated with popular artists like Jeff Koons and Walton Ford. The artists who helped make the Stones cultural icons include filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard and Andy Warhol, whose lithographs of Mick Jagger are shown above. (Photo: Gordon Donovan/Yahoo News) I think this creates a very meaningful visual culture around the band thats part of them, Gallagher said. As expected, the Stones-approved exhibit does not delve into the bands scandals or controversies, public or private, instead keeping the focus on the bands music, story, style and delivery. Gallagher described the project as a collaboration with the Stones. Her team sent designs to the band and they provided feedback. Slideshow: Rolling Stones Exhibitionism >>> They certainly didnt micromanage, but we wanted their insight and perspective. Other than that, they really left us to do our job, she said. Exhibitionism was first staged in London before opening at Industria at 775 Washington Street in New York on Nov. 12. It will run through March 12, 2017. Facebook is developing censorship tools to suppress controversial content as a means to appease China's ruling Communist Party and re-enter the world's most populous country. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that a small team, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's blessing, is developing software that can censor posts from appearing in the feeds of people in a specified geographic area. The Times cites three current and former Facebook employees as saying that the tool was designed to get Facebook back into China where it has been blocked for a number of years. A number of American internet companies already operate under partial or full censorship in order to do business in China. Professional networking company LinkedIn courted controversy for allowing censorship of its Chinese platform. Apple has partially censored content on iTunes and iBooks, but has still had problems, most notably earlier this year when both platforms were shut down unexpectedly following orders from Beijing. Facebook already partially censors some content in a number of countries as a condition of operating in those territories. For example, the company blocks already posted content in Pakistan, Russia and Turkey at the behest of the governments of those countries. The Times reports that the new censorship tools take things further by blocking posts from ever reaching Chinese users' Facebook feeds. The Times report adds that Facebook would not be in control of what content would be censored, rather the company would allow a third party partner, almost inevitably a Chinese company, to become the information gatekeeper. Sources told the Times that the censorship tools may never be used or be enough to allow the company to enter China and was one of many different approaches Facebook was looking to use to enter the Middle Kingdom. However, the news that Facebook was developing such tools is likely to lead to a storm of criticism, not least because the strategy is somewhat at odds with the company's stated mission of making the world more connected and transparent. Facebook is still reeling from the fake news controversy that many felt had an influence on the U.S. elections. Zuckerberg's response to the criticism of the social network was initially prickly, downplaying the size and importance of fake news on Facebook. The company has since cracked down on fake news sites, prohibiting them from using its advertising network, which places ads on other people's web sites, with Zuckerberg pledging to filter out "misinformation." This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter. The Doctors examine a new procedure that is using fat from the dead to make your face come alive! Dr. Alexander Rivkin joins The Doctors to explain why hes using filler made from fat taken from cadavers. ER physician Dr. Travis Stork wonders who and why anyone would want dead fat in their body. He says it's a good option for people who might not have enough of their own fat to harvest for injection, or for someone who does not want to go through the process of collecting the fat. Watch: Butt Injections Threaten Models Life We use these kinds of human tissue products all the time, Dr. Rivkin says, explaining that it occurs in 2 million procedures annually in America. We know its safe and regulated very tightly by the FDA. We know its sterilized, its cleansed, its safe and it works, he continues, adding that the procedure is in its early stages and the effectiveness and effects on the body are still being studied and researched. He also notes that the goal of injecting the cadaveric tissue is to stimulate their own fat to grow. Plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon notes that cartilage from dead people is often used for nose jobs and dermis from dead people is used to help with breast reconstruction. Dermatologist Dr. Sonia Batra worries about passing possible infections with the use of cadaveric tissue, compared to the use of your own fat and Dr. Stork raises the issue that some people who donate their bodies for medical use might not want their fat to be used for vanity purposes. Watch: When Injections Go Wrong Where do you stand on this new type of filler? Would you be willing to use the fat of a dead person in your face? London (AFP) - A far-right extremist was on Wednesday sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release for murdering British MP Jo Cox a week before Britain's EU referendum in a "politically motivated" attack. Sentencing Thomas Mair, 53, to a rare "whole life term" punishment, judge Alan Wilkie told him: "Because she was a member of parliament your crime has an additional dimension that calls for particular punishment. "There is no doubt it was done to further a political motive. Your inspiration is not love of country, it is an admiration for Nazis and similar anti-democratic white supremacist creeds." The jury at London's central criminal court took just 90 minutes to convict Mair of killing the mother-of-two, who campaigned for Britain to stay in the European Union, as she arrived at a library to meet constituents on June 16. Mair showed no emotion as the verdicts and sentence were read out. The court heard earlier that Mair -- who refused to give evidence in his own defence -- shouted "Britain first" as he fired three shots at the lawmaker and stabbed her 15 times in Birstall, northern England. Asked to give his name at an earlier hearing, he said: "Death to traitors, freedom for Britain." Following the verdict, Cox's husband Brendan called the murder "a political act and an act of terrorism". "We hope the country will also take something from this," he told reporters outside court. "That those in politics, the media or in our own communities who seek to divide us will face an unassailable wall of British tolerance," he said. - 'Betrayal' of democracy - Sue Hemming, head of Counter Terrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, said Mair's actions were "nothing less than acts of terrorism designed to advance his twisted ideology." Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Cox's Labour Party, called the murder "an attack on democracy" that "robbed the world of an ambassador of kindness and compassion". Story continues Investigators found an extensive collection of books on German military history, the Holocaust and Nazi race theory and a statue of the eagle of Germany's Third Reich when they searched Mair's Birstall home. Mair had also accessed the Wikipedia page of "far right" online publication Occidental Observer and the Twitter and Wikipedia pages for Cox. The court heard that Mair had asked the question "Is a .22 round deadly enough to kill with one shot to a human head?" during one internet search, which refers to the size of a bullet. The killing of Cox, who had defended immigration and refugee rights, shocked Britain and led to a three-day suspension in campaigning ahead of Britain's June 23 vote to quit the EU. Judge Wilkie said Mair had betrayed "the quintessence of our country -- parliamentary democracy. "In the true meaning of the word she was a patriot," he added. "You affect to be a patriot." Cox's sister Kim admitted that the 10-day trial had been "particularly challenging" and that the family was "relieved that this process is over. "It has always been my belief that whilst we cannot always choose what happens to us, we can try to choose how we can respond," she said outside court. "I, for one, will not be beaten by what has happened and I know I am not alone." Mair denied Cox's murder, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon, but was found guilty on all counts. The judged refused Mair's request to address the court personally as Cox's family watched on. A 77-year-old local man, Bernard Carter-Kenny, was stabbed as he attempted to stop the attack. "What you did to me that Thursday afternoon not only threatened my life but changed me as a person and all those around me," said a statement read out on behalf of the pensioner. Los Angeles (AFP) - Brad Pitt has been cleared after a probe into allegations he mistreated one of his children in a mid-air altercation, the FBI said on Tuesday. The claims centered on an alleged incident with his 15-year-old son Maddox in September on a flight from France to Los Angeles. Pitt's wife Angelina Jolie claimed he had struck the boy. "In response to allegations made following a flight... carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation," the agency said in a statement. "No charges have been filed in this matter." The announcement marks Pitt's second vindication over the incident, two weeks after Los Angeles social workers cleared the 52-year-old of wrongdoing following interviews with the couple, their children and witnesses. Jolie, 41, filed for divorce in September, citing irreconcilable differences. She is seeking sole custody of their six children. Pitt, who won a best film Oscar for producing "12 Years a Slave" (2013), has been in contact with all six of the couple's children and is seeking joint legal and physical custody. The reunions were supervised by a therapist as part of the couple's temporary custody agreement -- mediated by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services -- which was recently extended. Under the agreement Jolie had physical custody of the children -- three of whom, including Maddox, are adopted -- at a rented LA house. The A-listers -- given the celebrity moniker "Brangelina" -- wed in France in August two years ago, but had been a couple since 2004. AFP reached out to Pitt's representative, who declined to comment. Brad Pitt is no longer under investigation for child abuse allegations. The FBI will no longer be investigating the Allied star's alleged Sept. 14 plane incident, the bureau told ET can confirm. WATCH: Brad Pitt Investigation Ends, 'No Proof' of Child Abuse Found "In response to allegations made following a flight within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States which landed in Los Angeles carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation," the FBI said in a statement to ET on Tuesday. "No charges have been filed in this matter." Earlier this month, ET confirmed that the 52-year-old actor had been cleared of child abuse allegations by the Department of Child and Family Services. WATCH: Inside Brad Pitt's Relationship With Son Maddox "He has the truth on his side," a source told ET regarding the allegations. A separate source told ET that the DCFS did not "find anything of any significance" in their investigation, adding that Pitt's monitored visits with the children were volunteered by the actor, because he decided it would be best for the kids. WATCH: Brad Pitt All Smiles at 'Allied' Premiere in China -- See the Pics! "His visits are monitored voluntarily because he has agreed to go out of his way for the kids," the source said. In a statement to ET at the time, Jolie also expressed relief that the investigation had concluded. "The job of the DCFS is to make sure the children are in a safe and secure situation," the statement read. "As we said earlier this week, childcare professionals encouraged a legal agreement accepted and signed by both sides that was in the best interest of the children. Angelina said from the beginning that she felt she had to take action for the health of the family and is relieved that after their 8-week involvement, the DCFS is now satisfied the safeguards are put in place that will allow the children to heal." Story continues WATCH: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: Everything We Know About the Status of Their Divorce Meanwhile, the exes are still working on their divorce terms as their filings dispute who will have custody of their six children. Watch the video below for the family's Thanksgiving plans. Related Articles A few weeks ago, the Student Loan Ranger outlined some recently published regulations that were created to address the spate of large institutions suddenly closing. The point of these new regulations was twofold: to ensure that defrauded borrowers can access relief and to create a kind of early warning system so that families and the federal government would know sooner whether a school might be having financial or other issues. We've previously focused on borrower relief; now let's discuss the other half of these new rules. [Learn how defrauded student loan borrowers will receive relief with new regulations.] The early warning system stands to help families decide not only which college to choose but also how much might be too much to borrow to attend. It also intends to ensure that if there is a problem at the institution, the school will be able to reimburse the federal taxpayers for any federal student loans that are discharged as a result of the school's failings. The rules do this by requiring schools to issue letters of credit -- or insurance -- or other financial protections payable to the Department of Education when certain events occur. These financial protections ensure that regardless of the institution's financial strength, the federal government has a good chance of being reimbursed if a large amount of eligible claims for discharge are received from the school's students or if the school closes entirely. Anytime these financial protections are required, the school will also be required to disclose that fact in all its advertisements, websites and likely via direct delivery to all of its current and potential students. Some of the events that could require a school to issue these disclosures include: A high percentage of students defaulting on their federal student loans. The school being sued by a state or federal agency and other types of pending litigation. The school's accrediting agency sending certain warnings or actions. Story continues The Securities and Exchange Commi ssion or an audit opinion putting the future of the school in doubt -- in the case of a publicly traded school. In addition to these triggers, for-profit schools, which have come under extra scrutiny because of the recent closings of giants Corinthian College and ITT Tech, will also be required to disclose if more than half of their recent alumni appear to have not been able to reduce the balance of their loans over the last several years. This disclosure alone could be invaluable to potential students or even currently enrolled students in determining college and debt level choices. [Read more about student loan information for ITT Tech students.] If you see such a notice, check out the average debt level of a school's students at sites such as the Department of Education's College Navigator and aim to stay below that level. A lso check the average starting salary in the field you are pursuing and bump it up against the average debt of attending your school of choice. Is that level of debt affordable at that starting salary? If the answer is no, it may be time to find an alternative , such as enrolling part time and working to keep borrowing to a minimum. The other reason to pay attention to these disclosures is to see if it might be an indication that the school is at risk of closing. A closed school in no way means a bad school -- sometimes schools just decide they've had a good run and it's time to close . But sometimes, as we saw with Corinthian, a school closes because of financial problems or issues with its educational programs. The problem arises when schools close and no other school is willing to accept that school's credits, often leaving students with debt and nothing to show for it. [Learn what to know about college closings and financial aid.] Some advocates of these rules fear the new administration will repeal them, especially those that appear to target the for-profit school industry. Even we of the Student Loan Ranger disagree about the chances of that happening. While it's too early to determine the next Congress' and new administration's priorities, the Student Loan Ranger thinks that changes to higher education won't be one of them. At the very least, these rules could be around at least long enough to be implemented and show their benefits before be coming a potential target . But we hope that doesn't happen -- these new disclosure and financial protection tools increase the transparency consumers need to make good choices in higher education while protecting student loan borrowers and federal taxpayers from fraudulent schools. Betsy Mayotte, director of consumer outreach and compliance for American Student Assistance, regularly advises consumers on planning and paying for college. Mayotte, who received a B.S. in business communications from Bentley College, responds to public inquiries via the advice resource "Just Ask" and is frequently quoted in traditional and social media on the topics of student loans and financial aid. Paris (AFP) - Female vervet monkeys manipulate males into fighting battles by lavishing attention on brave soldiers while giving noncombatants the cold shoulder, researchers said Wednesday. As in humans, it turns out, social incentives can be just as big a driver for male monkeys to go to war as the resources they stand to gain from fighting, whether it be territory or food. "Ours is the first study to demonstrate that any non-human species use manipulative tactics, such as punishment or rewards, to promote participation in intergroup fights," study co-author Jean Arseneau, a primate specialist of the University of Zurich, told AFP. Arseneau and a team studied four vervet monkey groups at a game reserve in South Africa for two years. They observed that after a skirmish with a rival gang, usually over food, females would groom males that had fought hardest, while snapping at those that abstained. When the next battle came along, both those singled out for attention and those aggressively shunned would participate more vigorously in combat, the researchers reported in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. "Thus, females appear to use grooming as a reward for participation and aggression as punishment for defection", said Arseneau. Vervet monkeys live in mixed-gender groups and both sexes take part in frequent battles with rival troupes. Only a handful fight each time. Males are larger than females and have longer canine teeth, making their presence valuable on the front lines. Success in battle ensures control over territory and food sources -- a key concern for females, who take care of the young. But why would males risk involvement in a potentially high-stakes battle just for a bit of female attention? It's all about sex, the researchers believe. "Receiving punishment" for not taking part in battles "could damage the... male's social relationship(s)" with females in the group, the researchers wrote. Story continues On the other hand, being rewarded could "potentially signal to other female group members that the... male is a valuable social partner", likely boosting "male mating success". In group animals, such as humans, a delicate balance must be maintained between participating in hunting or defence, which can be risky, and free-riding, which is less hazardous but can lead to social rejection. The riskiest group activity of all is warfare, and few animals other than humans and monkeys engage in it. The power of the photographic image and the woeful legacy of colonialism intersect in eerie ways in the stylishly shot supernatural thriller Interchange. A police murder procedural that segues into anthropomorphic hocus pocus, the mystery solving moves too leisurely compared with Korean or Hollywood genre films. However, Malaysian director Dain Iskander Said develops the storys ornithological motif with grotesque yet beautiful atmospherics. The films tasteful exoticism no doubt contributed to inclusion at such top festivals as Toronto, Locarno, and London before landing an opening slot at the Singapore film fest. Saids sophomore feature Bunohan: Return to Murder premiered at Toronto and won numerous awards back home. While the village-set crime noir was noted for its sinewy action, the writer-directors latest is considerably more ambitious in the way it explores the legacy of Malaysias colonial past on the countrys ultra-modern present within an entertaining genre framework, enhanced by some genuinely creative fantasy elements. Though his narrative technique is not as polished as his visual sense, Said could be a vital force in energizing Malaysian commercial cinema, saddled as it is with cheesy romances, provincial comedies, and tinpot horror movies. Adam (Iedl Putra), a former forensic photographer who quit after being freaked out by a grisly murder, bums around snooping into nearby high-rises through his cameras viewfinder from his balcony. When another body turns up, killed in exactly the same manner, Det. Azman (Shaheizy Sam), fondly called Man by his associates, drags Adam out of his hiatus to help him investigate. As the death toll mounts, shards of glass and feathers of hornbill (a rare bird from Borneo) are found at each crime scene. Adam identifies the shards as fragments of glass plates, used for photography in the 19th century before the invention of plastic film. He takes them to expert Uncle Heng (Chew Kin-wah) to have them developed, and discovers that they were negatives taken by Norwegian explorer Carl Lumholtz, who trekked through Borneos Central Kalimantan between 1913 and 17, recording the customs of the indigenous Dayaks, whose totem is the hornbill. From a book published by Lumholtz, Adam sees a striking resemblance between the murdered victims and members of the disappeared Tingang tribe. One tribeswoman is the spitting image of Iva (Prisia Nasution), the enigmatic neighbor Adam has been spying on and falling for. Story continues With obvious references to Rear Window, the screenplay by Said, his producer, and wife Nandita Solomon, Redza Minhat, and June Tan makes a provocative parallel between the lonely urbanites sexually tinted voyeurism with a more pernicious kind of cultural voyeurism represented by the white explorer, whose photography was believed by the Tingangs to steal their souls a disquieting allegory of how colonialists define the indigenous as an exotic other in the name of anthropology. It also questions the photographic image as a medium to immortalize its subjects. The films supernatural component is heightened by the appearance of Belian (Indonesian heartthrob Nicholas Suprata), a hooded figure with a beaky nose and claws in place of pinkies. Though the CG effects used to suggest his mutations are hit and miss, the creature design is strong, and his role in the film stands out forcefully especially in fight scenes against Man, which recall Constantines blend of fantasy and film noir, as well as the aerial shot that ends Birdman. Indonesian actress Nasution cuts a striking figure as the chic Iva while looking hypnotically strange in the black-and-white photographs, though the suspense surrounding her identity doesnt last till the finale. The same goes for much of the detective work, failing to generate much tension. Its commendable of Said not to overplay the ethnographic mysticism, though he doesnt delve deeply enough into the historical subtext of his fantasy plot, which implies that tradition and spiritualism are eroded rendered soul-less by colonialism and modern technology. How exactly the Tingangs souls are trapped in the past, and why this existence is more unbearable than death, is not convincingly explained, especially given the hipster lives Iva and other surviving tribespeople now lead. Performances by the distinctive-looking cast are charismatic and engaging, while production designer Zaharah Nakibullah and costume designer Akma Suryati deliver contributions well above mainstream Malaysian cinema, reinforced by a brooding score from Luka Kuncevic and sensuously-saturated images from DP Jordan Chaim, who frames Kuala Lumpurs concrete jungle in icily gleaming wide shots in clever counterpoint with the lush flora and fauna of the Borneo tropical forest. Related stories Film Review: 'A Wedding' Bel Powley Comedy 'Carrie Pilby' Sells to The Orchard Film Review: 'Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe' A single fossilized backbone is the first evidence on record that dolphins once swam around the waters of ancient Madagascar, scientists say. The fossil backbone, or vertebra, dates to between 5 million and 9 million years ago during the late Miocene epoch, and belongs to a previously unknown and still unnamed species of dolphin, the researchers said. "This exciting discovery marks the first fossil cetacean [a group including dolphins, whales and porpoises] from Madagascar," said study lead researcher Karen Samonds, an associate professor of biological sciences at Northern Illinois University. [The World's Biggest Beasts: Here and Gone] A side view of the ancient Malagasy dolphin vertebra. Ewan Fordyce Samonds found the fossilized vertebra on Nosy Makamby, a tiny island off the northwest coast of Madagascar, in 2010. It was ensconced in marine rock by the shore, and it dated to well after the time that Madagascar became an isolated island, Samonds said. "[The fossil] was a challenge to identify," Samonds told Live Science in an email. "When we discovered it, we could tell that it was a vertebra, and there were various characteristics about its shape that could tell us that we were looking at a mammal." But the researchers weren't certain what type of mammal it was. The vertebra was relatively long and slender, about 4 inches (10 centimeters) in length and about 2 inches (5.3 cm) wide, "which is unlike most terrestrial or land-dwelling mammals," Samonds said. Karen Samonds excavates the rare dolphin fossil. Courtesy of Karen Samonds After an anatomical analysis, the researchers determined that the vertebra had a robust neural spine, the triangular part of the vertebra that juts out. This remarkable feature indicated that the fossil likely belonged to a dolphin, a mammal that uses its long neural spines to help rhythmically bend its backbone as it swims, Samonds said. The vertebra's features are similar to those seen in modern river dolphins, including the Amazon River dolphin, or boto, (Inia geoffrensis) and the La Plata River dolphin, or franciscana, (Pontoporia blainvillei), she said. Story continues "The boto and franciscana are riverine or estuarine [estuaries occur where rivers flow into seas], while the Madagascar dolphin was marine," Samonds said. "However, boto and franciscana are the closest likely relatives to the fossil, suggesting that they and the Madagascar dolphin had a common ancestor in [the] western Atlantic region." It's difficult to say too much about the dolphin based on one fossil vertebra, but the creature likely measured between 5 and 6.5 feet (1.5 to 2 meters) in length, said study co-researcher Ewan Fordyce, a vertebrate paleobiologist at the Univeristy of Otago in New Zealand. Fordyce said that Madagascar is on his list of places to hunt for fossils; Samonds, on the other hand, has worked there for years, detailing other fossil Malagasy animals, including an ancient juvenile crocodylian detailed in the journal PeerJ and a Miocene-epoch shark described in the journal PLOS ONE. But despite these findings, it's unclear where most of the island's diverse fauna originated, she said. "One major impediment to our understanding has been the lack of a Cenozoic [65.5 million years ago to present] fossil record, the time period when many animal groups are thought to have arrived [in Madagascar]," Samonds said. "Our work is finally beginning to elucidate this unknown time period." Nosy Makamby, the tiny island off the northwest coast of Madagascar where Karen Samonds found the fossil. Karen Samonds Nowadays, several types of dolphins swim around Madagascar, including humpback dolphins and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, a nature conservancy organization in Madagascar. The study, which has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, was presented Oct. 28 at the 2016 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in Salt Lake City. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Revie Jane Schulz documented her fit pregnancy on her Instagram page, and when it came time to share photos of her post-baby body, the Australian fitness influencer decided to be honest with her 138k followers. Schulz, 25, readily admitted that embracing her mum bod has been a process. I like to be honest with my followers so that they know everybody has their demons and they are not alone, she tells PEOPLE. From speaking to my other mummy friends, so many of them felt the same or went through similar emotions post birth, she continues. Many said that they felt isolated and didnt want to seem vain when speaking about their bodies with a negative demeanor. It is so common to go through body image struggles post baby; the more we speak about it, the less alone women will feel and I think that is really important. Schulz says that looking back, she had unrealistic expectations about what her postpartum body would look like. I dont know what I was expecting, she says. Initially, I kept redirecting my focus to my precious newborn, but there comes a time where you must address these body issues. It was difficult to admit that I was struggling with body acceptance post baby, for many reasons, but especially because you dont want to seem ungrateful. WATCH: Chrissy Teigen: Im Not Exactly Comfortable Being Naked Post-Baby Yet The new mom has been embracing her changed figure through positive affirmations. Every day when I would look in the mirror, I would say something kind about my body instead of something negative, says Schulz. I changed my focus and perspective of my body from how it looked to what it created. I am a breastfeeding mama also, so after I shifted my thought process I found pride and empowerment in my body. I find a lot of self respect through physical exercise and that has really helped me mentally through these struggles. Schulz says sharing her journey with her followers has been fulfilling. By sharing my own personal struggles, it has helped women internationally cope with their own battles, she says. I feel united with women from New York, Dubai and Ireland, and receive heartwarming messages from them daily. I love sharing empowering messages with women. This week on The CWs The Flash a tremendous amount of stuff happened, so lets not waste any more time on a clever lede, shall we? PHOTOSArrowverse Crossover: Caitlin and Iris Meet Supergirl Picking up right where we left off, Barry was being pinned against the subway station ceiling by Savitar, the god of speed, while Wally had been turned into a tree? (More on that in a bit). Joe wrestles free from Alchemys acolytes and fires away at Savitar, even though only Barry can see the creature. Alchemy meanwhile scampers away, while Savitar takes Barry out for a run. And by a run, he means whirlwind, breakneck hop around town, stopping here and there only to whale on The Flash mercilessly, ultimately settling down at a waterfront lot for a full-on scuffle. Witnessing the melee, H.R. suggests to the team that 3 versus 1 might be better odds, so Cisco vibes open a portal through which he and Caitlin leap to the waterfront. There, Caitlin uses her frost powers to freeze up Savitar, who shortly thereafter breaks free and races off. RELATEDArrow-verse Crossover Scoop: Trust Issues! Ollies Fiancee! Steins Goof! Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco recovers from his mini-stroke, while H.R. points out that Savitar shares a name with the Hindu god of motion. As for Wally, Caitlin advises against springing him from his cocoon, lest he be mid-metamorphosis or something. Wanting to do something, Joe hauls Alchemys captured acolyte into the interrogation room, only to be warned, When my master rises, the human race will be judged, and you will not fair well. Joe is interrupted by Caitlin, who claims that Wally is up and around at S.T.A.R. Labs, so the detective runs off. Caitlin though was fibbing, and instead wants to confront the acolyte about how to find Alchemy. When Julian spies Barrys friend slipping away from the icy room, Caitlin takes the CSI hostage, forcing him to perform a glorified Google search? Story continues Thanks to H.R.s idea to rip a page from the Captain Cold playbook, Cisco tracks down Caitlin, and Barry speeds off to stop her from giving Julian anything more than a nasty frostbite. After KOing Julian (purely for privacy reasons), Barry offers to help Caitlin. Just like you helped your mother? Like you helped Wally, like you helped me? she taunts. Recounting how his Flashpointing has wreaked so much havoc, she says, Some things that you break cant be put back together. She then recounts how Dante was alive pre-Flashpoint, as a devastated Cisco listens in. When the cops arrive on the scene, Killer Frost jabs an icicle into The Flashs triceps surae, to keep him from following. Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco gives Barry a cold shoulder of his own, in the wake of the Dante bombshell though they agree to work together for the time being to find and help Caitlin. While Joe and H.R. team up to stake out one possible destination for Killer Frost, Cisco runs into her outside the other one (where she learns she is part of a glorious future with Savitar), and they get into an ice vs. vibe fight. The Flash arrives-slash-skids onto the scene, but manages to trip up Caitlin as well. That was cold, Flash, she purrs. But this is colder, and she lays a bone-chilling kiss on him. Cisco takes Frost out with a vibe, though, before Barry can freeze to death. VIDEOSArrowverse Crossover Promo Reveals Enemy Aliens, Deathstroke Thrown into the Pipeline, Killer Frost proves to be a real piece of work, full off cold piss and iced vinegar. Im broken, she declares, before launching into a list of Barrys semi-selfish acts, noting how only his happy ending seems to ever matter. Emotionally waylaid by the truths, Barry retreats, but Iris follows to offer counsel. Why didnt I just follow you inside the house, instead of racing back in time to save his mom, he laments. You were hurting, Iris reminds And that doesnt make you a bad person. It makes you human. Besides, who is to say Caitlin didnt have latent powers back then, or that Dante wouldnt have been in a car accident anyway. Everyone needs The Flash right now, she says. So be strong, I like I know you are. Just then, alas, an anxious Joe gets the idea to saw his son free, and once the cocoon explodes, Wally speeds off. In need of a biochemist to synch up Wallys mind and body, Barry frees Caitlin and then challenges her to kill him, there and in cold blood. When she cant bring herself to do it, Killer Frost thaws, and regular Caitlin thanks Barry with a warm hug. She then creates a neural compound which Barry injects Wally with over in Keystone, where he was visiting his childhood home. Later, Wally is doing laps at S.T.A.R. Labs, feeling awesome as a legit speedster. Cisco, though, is far from awesome, and admits to Barry that the BFFs might never be back to normal. When they get word that Julian has awoken at the hospital, Barry heads over to ask his boss not to name Caitlin as his attacker, insisting that being a meta isnt a binary, good or evil situation, that Caitlin is a good person. Julian agrees to keep mum but only if Barry resigns from the CCPD. After all, in the wake of the argument Barry just waged, Your moral compass is broken, Julian contends. Someone with a sense of right or wrong as flippant as the weather has no place in law enforcement. Agreeing to the terms, Barry goes to pack up his office, while Iris and Joe protest. But if the past months have shown Barry anything, he says, Its that Id up everything to keep you all safe, Caitlin, Wally and Cisco included. Then, in the episode-ending tag, Julian is awoken in his hospital bed (really, two overnights for a concussion?).. by Savitars voice. Only together can we bring about my return, the speed god says, as Julian returns to his lab and opens a drawer containing a certain robe and mask. Become my servant once more. Become Alchemy. What did you think of the episode Killer Frost? Related stories Arrow-verse Crossover Scoop: Future Barry's Message, 'Intimidated' Sara, a 'Really Wonderful' Coda and More Supergirl Video: A Thanksgiving Crasher Spoils Alex's Coming Out Speech New Arrow-verse Crossover Promo Highlights Alien Invasion, Oliver's Crisis and Some Super Introductions A flesh-and-blood figure of Barbie's beau Ken stood in a giant pink box on a Lausanne street on Wednesday to highlight dire working conditions in Chinese toy factories. Passers by were invited to pose for photographs next to the model dressed in a dark jacket worn over a white shirt with a stiff collar. Charity Solidar Switzerland set up the stunt to raise awareness about the conditions in factories in China. Solidar has also launched an online petition called "Fair Toys Now" in which American toy manufacturer Mattel, the maker of Barbie, is singled out and urged to "take responsibility for the working conditions in the supply chain". Solidar calls for an end to "80-hour work weeks" and the provision of "wages that are sufficient for a decent living". "This petition, which has already garnered 3,000 signatures, will be delivered on December 15 to Mattel's European headquarters in Amsterdam," Solidar spokesman Lionel Frei said. Last week, Solidar had pulled the same stunt with a flesh-and-blood Barbie in Zurich. Solidar claims that the doubling of salaries in China would result in a price increase of just two cents on a 30-euro toy sold in Europe. "More than half of the toys that arrive under a Christmas tree in Switzerland were made by factory employees working up to 11-hour days," Frei said. Solidar, which referred to an investigation by China Labor Watch, said factory workers can also be exposed to toxic solvents. The Fair Toys Now campaign will continue in Paris on December 7 with an event organised by ActionAid France. In an email sent to AFP, Mattel said it was "committed to ensuring that everyone making our toys and our products is treated fairly and with respect and is able to work in a safe and healthy environment." The company added: "Our practices in terms of work, health, safety and environment, as well as our monitoring procedures, reflect this commitment." Photo credit: Ford From Road & Track Americans have been complaining about a lack of turbocharged European Ford hatchbacks for decades, but now, they finally got them all. As a result, retail registrations of Ford's hot hatchbacks are up 21.3 percent year over year. Through September alone, Ford managed to sell 1674 Focus RSes, 8249 Focus STs and 3215 Fiesta STs. That's the opposite of the trend for other automakers: non-luxury, turbocharged small hatchbacks are down 21 percent year-over-year in the US, as people shift towards SUVs and crossovers. Of course, just to be on the safe side, Ford has also launched a brand new compact crossover called the Ecosport at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Photo credit: Ford You Might Also Like Anxious humanitarian organizations are worried that President-elect Donald Trump, who sharply questioned the value of foreign aid during his campaign, is poised to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. assistance for developing countries including programs promoting democracy, family planning, LGBT rights and efforts to address climate change. Aid workers say many of the plans will come under close scrutiny and possibly be scrapped altogether. But the future of the nearly $34 billion annual budget proposed for foreign assistance next year remains a mystery after a campaign in which Trump made contradictory and vague comments about the role of international aid programs. Reinforcing the uncertainty, Trumps transition team has so far failed to reach out to the U.S. Agency for International Development the government body that oversees the delivery of most foreign aid more than two weeks since the election. A USAID official told Foreign Policy that the aid agency has not been contacted by the office of the president-elect even though we have appointed a team of USAID career staff to ensure this is done smoothly. Ensuring an orderly transition is a top priority for USAID, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Incoming administrations typically have a team ready to take over at USAID with detailed policy plans and lists of prospective appointees. But so far there has been no sign of that kind of preparation from Trumps associates, administration officials said. The president-elects transition representatives did not respond to requests for comment. The United States is the biggest foreign aid donor in the world, representing about 24 percent of development assistance from major governments in 2014. Washingtons decisions on foreign assistance have a far-reaching effect that influences how much other other governments are willing to contribute to development projects around the world aimed at reducing poverty, promoting public health, bolstering stability, and countering terrorism. Story continues Aid groups hope Republicans in Congress will ultimately protect the $37.9 billion the Obama administration allocated to foreign assistance a fraction of the $4 trillion 2016 federal budget. But the silence from the Trump camp, which has yet to name a nominee for secretary of state, has unnerved some development experts who are waiting to see whether the next president will make good on some of his more strident America First rhetoric. As a candidate, Trump sent mixed messages on foreign assistance. He has said, albeit vaguely, that he broadly supports the idea of development aid. But hes also suggested its time to slash aid in favor of spending on priorities at home. In his June 2015 speech announcing his candidacy, Trump said the United States should stop sending foreign aid to countries that hate us and to spend the funds to invest in our infrastructure our tunnels, roads, bridges, and schools. In August, he said he would end our current strategy of nation-building abroad. However, in a foreign-policy address in April, Trump seemed to reverse himself. America, he said, will continue forever to play the role of peacemaker. We will always help save lives and indeed, humanity itself. We are a humanitarian nation. In an interview that month with Fox News, the former reality television star embraced the rationale for U.S. assistance over the past decade and a half. If we dont help countries facing disasters, Trump said then, bigger problems would be created. In that same appearance, he said the United States needed to continue to give aid to countries such as Pakistan because we dont want to see total instability there. For nations struggling with poverty, Trump said he would try to keep some of these countries going. He has criticized U.S. funding for efforts to combat climate change while saying the United States should invest in helping provide clean water to poor populations and fighting diseases such as malaria. Whatever Trumps intentions, aid experts said his transition team needed to make contact with USAID as soon as possible to set the agencys agenda and leadership for the next administration. Gayle Smith, the current USAID chief, is expected to step down, as is customary in a new administration. There are a tremendous amount of technical details that must be ironed out with the new team, said Ryan Greer, CEO of Vasa Strategies, a consultancy focusing on countering violent extremism abroad. He said U.S. national security and foreign-policy experts are eager to see the transition team move the process forward. Other development experts say theres time for Trump to get off on the right foot with the aid community. We think its not that unusual that transition officials havent met with USAID when you compare to past administrations, said Madeline Rose, senior policy advisor at Mercy Corps. Development organizations that receive funding and advise the U.S. government on foreign assistance had assumed and perhaps banked on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would win the election as polls predicted. But Trumps victory shocked aid groups and raised fears of a potential major disruption in funding levels and priorities for foreign assistance. John Simpkins, who was USAIDs general counsel until last month, told the Devex website that the future of family planning initiatives, LBGT support programs, and democracy promotion efforts could be jeopardized in a Trump administration. But other U.S. officials and experts said it was too early to make any firm predictions and that congressional Republicans would come to the rescue if necessary. They said the need to counter Islamist extremists and to prevent the outbreak of epidemics could temper any bid by the next administration to jettison major elements of the foreign-assistance budget. Some of the biggest champions of effective foreign assistance are key Republicans on Capitol Hill, said Peter Yeo, president of the Better World Campaign. Todd Moss, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, said evangelical Christians and other elements of the GOP have championed foreign aid, and he doesnt expect that to change under a Trump presidency. There is a longstanding Republican tradition of GOP support for certain areas of public health, Moss said. Capitol Hill has been pretty clear that they would like it to be more effective, but they see it as a critical tool for the U.S. around the world. Despite a deeply polarized and often dysfunctional atmosphere in Washington, lawmakers from both parties have managed to find common ground on foreign aid programs, said Liz Schrayer of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, which promotes international assistance. In the last 18 months, six pieces of bipartisan global development legislation have been passed, said Schrayer, including backing for water projects, electricity for African states, global food security initiatives, transparency in aid, and womens education efforts. There is real bipartisan support for global development, diplomacy, and foreign assistance, she said. During his time on the House Foreign Affairs committee, Vice President-elect Mike Pence pushed for U.S. programs to help stem the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. He said in 2008 that the United States had a moral obligation to lead the world in confronting the pandemics of HIV/AIDS. The Republican view of foreign aid has undergone a sea change since the 1990s, when members of the party voiced deep skepticism about international development assistance. The 9/11 attacks led conservative lawmakers to take a second look at aid as a tool of diplomacy and bolstering national security. Then-President George W. Bushs push to reform the way aid was delivered won converts inside the party. Republican lawmakers tend to support the view that foreign aid contributes to the national security of the United States, something Trump has made a top priority. The 2016 Republican convention platform says, International assistance is a critical tool for advancing Americas security and economic interests by preventing conflict, building stability, opening markets for private investment, and responding to suffering and need with the compassion that is at the heart of our countrys values. It specifically praises the Millennium Challenge Corp., created under Bush, to hand out aid when countries meet certain economic and political benchmarks. But the Republican Party platform also accuses the Obama administration of imposing a radical social agenda on some African countries, an apparent reference to support for LGBT rights and family planning programs. In 2014, about 20 percent of U.S. foreign assistance went to African nations. Even if Trump embraces a more bipartisan approach to foreign assistance, most aid experts and congressional staffers expect his administration will try to cut, or even eliminate, funding for a host of programs. They include efforts to combat climate change, which Trump has called a hoax orchestrated by China, and projects related to contraception, family planning, womens reproductive health, and LGBT communities. Some parts of Obamas legacy on foreign assistance enjoy bipartisan support and are likely to remain in place, including programs to help provide electricity to African countries and to alleviate hunger in developing nations. But given Trumps rhetoric as a candidate and the stance of Republican lawmakers, experts say funding for initiatives related to climate change probably will be on the chopping block under the next administration. The Obama administration has delivered $500 million as part of a promised U.S. contribution of $3 billion for a Green Climate Fund that is designed to pool funds from rich countries to help poorer states develop clean technologies and adapt to the effects of climate change. But a Trump administration could rescind that pledge. I think thats over, said Daniel Runde of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A withdrawal by Washington from the Green Climate Fund could have damaging influence on other governments, said Yeo, of the Better World Campaign. If the U.S. failed to contribute financially to these efforts, it could very well undermine the willingness of other countries to participate in the Paris climate agreement that was ratified earlier this month, he said. However, Trumps stance on climate change appeared to soften on Tuesday when he indicated to the New York Times that there was at least some connection between human activity and global warming. His comment was the latest in which the president-elect has appeared to renounce or pull back from more strident positions he adopted during the campaign, including a vow to build a wall along the Mexican border and to employ waterboarding against terror suspects. Apart from aid programs linked to climate change, Runde said its possible Trump will bring a renewed commitment to some important development problems. The development community should keep an open mind, because President-elect Trump could shift our assistance to respond better to a series of pressing issues that deserve more attention, he said, citing the global refugee crisis and efforts to prevent pandemics. Yeo said the most pressing problem facing the next head of USAID will be the unprecedented global refugee crisis triggered by the war in Syria. There are millions of refugees and displaced people still not getting the assistance they need, he said. As of September, the U.S. government has spent $4.5 billion since the start of the refugee crisis there in 2011. Much of that funding has gone directly to U.N. programs and not through USAID. Colum Lynch contributed to this article Photo credit: SPENCER PLATT/Getty Images Democrat Harold Ford Jr., a managing director at Morgan Stanley and former Tennessee congressman, is a contender for a Cabinet post, possibly transportation secretary, Politico reported Tuesday. Ford, who served in Congress for 10 years and whose father also represented Memphis, endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race but is friendly with President-elect Donald Trumps children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, and with Ivankas husband Jared Kushner, an associate told Politico. Ford has yet to meet with Trump but Politico quoted sources as saying feelers have been put out. "He's happy doing what he's doing," a source close to Ford told Politico. "If the president-elect called, then of course, he would listen carefully." Ford declined to answer questions about the possibility, saying he was on vacation. Ford considered jump-starting his political career but in 2010 decided against challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in the Democratic primary. Ford is a regular news analyst on MSNBC, something that could endear him to Trump, who is said to be keen on adding Democrats to his administration, Poltitico said. harold ford jr Photo: David Goldman/Getty Images Fords name joins ousted Florida Rep. John Mica, New Jersey Transportation Commissioner James Simpson and former National Trnasportation Safety Board Chairman Mike Rosenker as possible candidates to lead the Transportation Department. Fords father, Harold Ford Sr., told the Memphis Commercial Appeal he had not heard anything about an appointment. "You mean the Trump administration? I better get off the phone. I havent heard anything like that at all," he said. "Im traveling right now, getting ready to get on an airplane for the holiday." Ford represented Tennessees 9th Congressional District from 1997 to 2007 but gave up the seat to conduct an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate. Story continues Ford was just 4 years old when his father was sworn in as a freshman in the House. The youngster also raised his hand and declared, "This is what I want to be when I grow up," according to his official House biography. Ford established a reputation as a moderate, focusing on social and economic issues. He was born May 11, 1970, in Memphis as his father served in the state legislature. His mother, Dorothy, was a longtime employee of the Agriculture Department. Ford said his attendance at St. Albans School for Boys in Washington shaped his political philosophy. "For me, and for the other kids who were not white, it was a very heterogeneous place. I had to get along with everybody, Ford has said. That helped me later on when I was in situations where you had to say, Hey, let's all get together and try to figure this out.' " Before running for his fathers seat in 1996, Ford worked as a staff aide on the Senate Budget Committee and a special assistant at the Commerce Department. As a congressman, Ford departed from his fathers focus on minorities, stressing pragmatism and proposing legislation that enhanced the assets of working-class Americans. He also backed measures like private school vouchers and federal funding of faith-based charities, and supported Republican measures against gay marriage. Related Articles SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's environmental authorities on Wednesday cleared the way for the world's No. 4 iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group to extend operations at a key mine site for another 35 years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Western Australia State said it would recommend Fortescue's application to expand its Solomon mine, 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) north of Perth, to go ahead pending a two-week public appeal process. Fortescue said the expansion would allow for production to be sustained at current levels well into the future, and that there were no plans to increase annual output. "Fortescue began seeking regulatory approval for sustaining production at Solomon several years ago as a procedural measure to achieve the necessary permits for ongoing mining operations," a company spokesman said. "The company has no current plans to increase production." The Australian miner has set shipment guidance for fiscal 2017 at 165 million to 170 million tonnes, compared with 169.4 million tonnes in fiscal 2016. The expansion will require clearing 12,146 hectares of land on top of the 6,313 hectares cleared for the existing mine, according to the EPA. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Manolo Serapio Jr.) By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - France accused Syria and its allies on Wednesday of using political uncertainty in the United States to launch "total war" against rebel-held areas in the country and said states opposed to President Bashar al-Assad would meet in Paris soon. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is only inaugurated on Jan. 20 and the outgoing administration is not expected to take an active role in Syria so close to leaving office. European diplomats have expressed concern that Assad may feel emboldened by Trump's vow to build closer ties with Russia, Syria's ally. "Today one million people are besieged. Not just in Aleppo, but in Homs, Ghouta and Idlib, and that's the reality of the situation in Syria," Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters after a weekly cabinet session. He did not say what the planned meeting might achieve to tackle five years of conflict which have killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced half of Syria's population, but said protecting Syrian civilians was an urgent priority. "France is taking the initiative to confront this strategy of total war by the regime and its allies, who are taking advantage of the current uncertainty in the United States." A meeting of countries opposed to Assad, including the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, will take place in the coming days in Paris, Ayrault said. A diplomat said the ministerial talks would happen in early December. The U.N. Special Envoy for Syria also expressed concern on Tuesday that Assad could launch a new offensive to crush eastern Aleppo before Trump takes office. Intense bombardment of east Aleppo, including of hospitals, has left residents even more deprived of medicines, food and fuel in recent weeks. Accusing Syria and its Russian and Iranian backers of "cynicism", German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told parliament that the renewed strikes would merely add momentum to the cycle of violence. "Far too many people right now believe they can profit from the power vacuum after the U.S. elections and play the military card," he said. "We have to break through this logic. The talks on ceasefires and humanitarian aid must not stop during this period of transition in Washington." CHEMICAL WEAPONS A Western diplomat in Geneva also expressed concern over Trump's pledge to fight Islamic State alongside Russia. "Today with few exceptions we see Russia fighting the opposition, or rather civilians in besieged opposition areas, not Islamic State," he told Reuters. "If this is the fight Trump would want to join, it would destroy any prospects of a political solution." "But if it means Washington would get Russia to start seriously fighting Islamic State, rather than the opposition, that is good." France, a staunch backer of the anti-Assad opposition, is now actively pushing for a U.N. Security Council resolution to sanction Syria for the use of chemical weapons, Ayrault said. An inquiry by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has already found that government forces were responsible for three chlorine gas attacks and that Islamic State militants had used mustard gas. "It's been proved that the regime and Islamic State have used chemical weapons so we now need sanctions and that's the resolution we want at the U.N. The international community must stop turning a blind eye," Ayrault said. "We aren't going to sit and do nothing," he added. Russia has said the inquiry's findings cannot be used to take action at the Security Council and that the Syrian government, which denies using chemical weapons, should investigate the accusations. (Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey, Sabine Siebold in Berlinand Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Dominic Evans) PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande will not face an impeachment process over comments he made to two journalists that revealed French secret services had conducted four targeted killings on his orders, a parliamentary committee ruled on Wednesday. Earlier this month a conservative lawmaker, Pierre Lellouche, triggered a process to activate article 68 of France's constitution - that allows the National Assembly to impeach the president - on the grounds the Socialist leader had breached security protocols. A cross-party steering committee voted 13 to eight in favor of halting the impeachment call in its tracks, the leader of the National Assembly, Clause Bartolone, said in a short statement. There was no immediate reaction from the presidential Elysee palace. Few of Hollande's allies had expected the process to gain any traction. Even so, the comments, published in a book entitled 'A president Should Not Say that' unleashed a political storm within Hollande's ruling party six months ahead of a presidential election. Hollande, who is deeply unpopular among voters and has not yet declared whether he will run for a second term, still faces a separate judicial investigation into whether classified documents left lying on his desk in front of reporters constituted a breach of national security. [nL8N1DM4YX] (Reporting by Emile Picy and Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Ingrid Melander) Paris (AFP) - French presidential frontrunner Francois Fillon has known Russian leader Vladimir Putin through good times and bad -- and believes that dialogue, not threats, are key to handling the Kremlin strongman. Fillon, a conservative hoping to clinch the nomination of the Republicans party over the centrist Alain Juppe at the weekend, has taken an overtly dovish approach to Russia during campaigning that has won him praise in Moscow. On Wednesday, Putin praised the former French prime minister, who won the first round of the rightwing primary, as a "great professional" and "very principled person". "Mr Fillon, in my opinion, is very different from politicians in today's world," the Russian president said. The Frenchman's warm ties with Putin put him at odds with current Western policy at a time when relations with Russia are at one of their lowest ebbs since the Cold War. "The question is: must we continue to provoke the Russians, refusing dialogue with them and pushing them to be more and more violent, aggressive and less and less European?" he said in October. He believes the United States and Europe provoked Putin's "unstable and dangerous" regime by expanding their military and political influence in eastern Europe. He has also played down Russia's annexation of Crimea in Ukraine in 2014 and he condemns Western sanctions imposed on Moscow after the invasion. On Syria, he has resisted condemnation of Russian bombing in Aleppo in support of President Bashar al-Assad, whom he sees as a partner in defeating "Islamic totalitarianism". Juppe by contrast holds views broadly in line with current French policy: sanctions should stay in place, Assad must step down and, as well as the Russians, is committing war crimes in Syria. "We need to be much firmer and clearer with Russia," Juppe told the Ouest France newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday, accusing his opponent of "over-indulgence" of Putin. Story continues - Friend of Moscow? - After Donald Trump's stunning success in the United States, a victory for Fillon in Sunday's primary and next year's presidential election would represent another change in Western leadership welcomed in Russia. Fillon was hailed as a "friend of Moscow" in the Russian press following his surprise win in the first round of the Republicans primary last weekend when he scored 44 percent of the vote. "They do indeed maintain quite good relations," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday of Putin and Fillon, who were prime ministers together from 2008-2012. Since leaving office, the 62-year-old French social conservative, a devout Christian like Putin, has made at least three trips to Russia to attend conferences, often meeting the president. Fillon's concern for persecuted Christians in the Middle East is seen by some analysts as partly explaining his embrace of Russia's intervention in Syria. Thomas Gomart, director of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), says it is simplistic however to refer to Fillon as "pro-Putin". He says the self-professed Gaullist is proposing a traditional right-wing foreign policy of an independent France with ties to Moscow and Washington. "He is a Russophile, which he has expressed on several occasions on several policies," Gomart told AFP. If Fillon does clinch the nomination, polls show he is likely to face Marine Le Pen, the head of the far-right National Front (FN), in the second round of May's presidential vote. Le Pen believes Crimea should be recognised as part of Russia and also condemns Western sanctions. Her party has accepted financing from a Russian bank as well as numerous invitations to Moscow. - Limits of dialogue? - Bernard Kouchner, a foreign minister during Fillon's time as prime minister from 2007-2012, told AFP his former boss had a "friendship" with Putin and the two men used to enjoy jogging together. But Kouchner believes that dialogue has its limits -- a lesson he learned after helping manage a crisis sparked by Putin's first overseas military intervention in Europe. When Russian tanks rolled into the former Soviet republic of Georgia in 2008, then French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Kouchner took the lead in negotiating a deal to end the fighting. "We need to understand that he (Putin) doesn't keep his promises," Kouchner told AFP. "Yes, we spoke with them in Moscow, but he carried on and did not apply our deal at all." While Fillon was capable of being "courteous but firm" with Putin when they disagreed, Kouchner is critical of his willingness to overlook the danger of Russian nationalism. "He demonstrates every time a great understanding for Mr Putin that I find excessive," Kouchner told AFP. In the French foreign ministry, some officials are also perplexed. "To say as Fillon does that we need to talk to the Russians doesn't make sense," one member told AFP on condition of anonymity. "We speak to the Russians every day, every week." The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has come up with the updated list of globally systemically important banks (G-SIB). While the name and number of banks in the list remained the same, several banks categories were revised. Before going in to the details about the changes in categories, lets first understand what these categories are and why are these provided. Following the 2008 financial crisis, with an aim to improve accountability, the global regulators moved to increase capital levels across the financial sector and imposed surcharges on banks that are deemed to be systemically important to the financial system. There are 30 firms considered to be G-SIB and subject to additional capital requirements. Based on several parameters (including size, complexity, interconnection, cross-border activity and sustainability), regulators have classified these banks into five potential categories, with the banks in the highest category requiring to hold 3.5% capital surcharge above the minimum regulatory requirements. The lowest level G-SIB requires holding 1% additional capital. The surcharges for G-SIB began taking effect from 2016 and are reviewed every year. Notably, the changes announced this time will be required to be effective from Jan 2018. Citigroup, JPMorgan tops the G-SIB list Following the review, Citigroup Inc. C has joined its counterpart JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM the top of G-SIB list both requiring 2.5% capital surcharge. Notably, Citigroup already faces 3% additional capital requirement under the Fed rules. The company spokeswoman said, The G.S.I.B. measure announced this morning by the F.S.B. does not have an impact on any of Citis binding regulatory metrics. Additionally, Bank of America Corporation BAC and Wells Fargo & Company WFC, along with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China have been moved up from their categories assigned last year. While BofA is in the third category, facing 2% surcharge, Wells Fargo and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China require 1.5% additional capital. The strengthening of U.S. dollar against the British pound and several other currencies was largely responsible for the latest revision in rank for the U.S. banks. Further, the FSB lowered the surcharge required by Morgan Stanley MS, HSBC Holdings plc HSBC and Barclays PLC BCS. These three banks have been divesting risky and non-core operations, which is one of the reasons for lower level of surcharge required. HSBC (earlier topped the list, along with JPMorgan) now joins Deutsche Bank AG DB and BNP Paribas SA BNPQY, at the third category. Moreover, Barclays has been dropped to the category with 1.5% surcharge, while Morgan Stanley now requires 1% additional capital. Notably, there are no banks at the highest category, requiring 3.5% surcharge. The FSB stated the revision reflect the combined effects of data quality improvements, changes in underlying activity, and the use of supervisory judgment. Of the banks mentioned above, BofA and Morgan Stanley currently hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here. Zacks' Best Investment Ideas for Long-Term Profit Today you can gain access to long-term trades with double and triple-digit profit potential rarely available to the public. Starting now, you can look inside our stocks under $10, home run and value stock portfolios, plus more. Want a peek at this private information? Click here >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report JPMORGAN CHASE (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report WELLS FARGO-NEW (WFC): Free Stock Analysis Report CITIGROUP INC (C): Free Stock Analysis Report BANK OF AMER CP (BAC): Free Stock Analysis Report BARCLAY PLC-ADR (BCS): Free Stock Analysis Report DEUTSCHE BK AG (DB): Free Stock Analysis Report BNP PARIBAS-ADR (BNPQY): Free Stock Analysis Report MORGAN STANLEY (MS): Free Stock Analysis Report HSBC HOLDINGS (HSBC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Gabrielle Union recently shared with Harpers Bazaar that she used to be insecure about her skin color. (Photo: Getty Images) For women of color like Melodi Parker, a licensed professional counselor, the fact that actress Gabrielle Union shared in a recent Harpers Bazaar feature that she had felt insecure about her dark skin when she was growing up comes as no surprise. I didnt love my skin color. I didnt love my lips, Union revealed. I didnt love my nose. I didnt love my hair. I didnt love anything. I didnt love my body. Because no one was choosing me my self-esteem was determined by somebody choosing me. Over time, Union learned to embrace her skin color and live in her whole body, as Harpers Bazaar writer Rebecca Carroll put it. But that insecurity, Parker tells Yahoo Beauty, is a part of the black ethos, a shared narrative among black women everywhere many of whom, like Union, have wished at one point or another that their skin was a different color. I have a birthmark that is a shade lighter than the rest of my body, and when I was younger, I wished that it would extend all over me, Parker says. I had black dolls, but I refused to play with them, and I didnt want people blacker than me to touch me, even though I lived in a black neighborhood and went to a black church. It took me years to get over that and to feel empowered enough to love myself. Professionals like Parker and licensed psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser worry that in the current political climate including the aftermath of a racist post on social media from a West Virginia town official calling First Lady Michelle Obama an ape in heels skin-color insecurities among African-Americans and other minorities could heighten, thereby causing a new generation to doubt their looks and abilities. Many more clients are questioning the color of their skin and worrying about it because theyre worried about the future of the country and their personal futures, Kaiser tells Yahoo Beauty. But experts say it is possible to counter the tide of negativity. Although some of the ongoing rhetoric can be frightening and damaging, there are also many positive messages out there, so listen to them, suggests Parker. Her personal favorite: Black Girls Rock, founded by former DJ and model Beverly Bond. This is a powerful movement that brings to life different experiences, that shows us that dark or light, kinky-haired or straight-haired, we can make a difference, Parker says. Story continues Cori Broadus, Snoop Doggs daughter, has also shared positive and empowering messages for women of color on social media. She recently posted on her Instagram: I can finally say Im comfortable in my own skin, grew up despising the skin tone I was in because its been bashed on for so long & society has been putting in our heads that dark is ugly. For all you beautiful chocolate girls/ women out there youre BEAUTIFUL & dont let anyone tell you different. Senegalese model Khoudia Diop is another positive voice. The 19-year-old had been bullied over her dark skin, but she learned how to rise above it, even giving herself the nickname Melanin Goddess. At first I confronted the bullies, but eventually I learned to stay positive, tune out the negativity and love myself more each day, Diop told People. This helped tremendously. Others suggest giving it time, pointing out that with age comes greater self-confidence. When I was younger and growing up as one of the five black students in my elementary school, I definitely had a sense of wanting to belong, NiKita Wilson, a cosmetic chemist and founder of Skinects, tells Yahoo Beauty. As I grew older, I started to embrace who I was and didnt really desire to be anything but a strong black woman. This was especially important to me raising two beautiful black daughters who I refuse to feel less than because of their skin color. For some of his clients whose skin-color insecurities are deeply embedded, psychotherapist Aaron Skinner-Spain works to get to the source of the pain. Its important to identify triggers whether theyre remarks people make about skin color, hair texture or whatever and acknowledge that they make one feel devalued, Skinner-Spain says. Working back from there, you can find the things that then make a person feel valued. Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Galapagos NV GLPG announced that it has dosed the first patient in a phase III study DIVERSITY on filgotinib for the treatment of Crohns disease. This triggered a milestone payment worth $50 million from Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD. The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of once-daily filgotinib (100 mg and 200 mg), compared to placebo, in patients with moderately-to-severely active Crohns disease, including those who failed previous biological therapy. We remind investors that in Dec 2015, Galapagos signed a collaboration agreement with Gilead for the development and commercialization of filgotinib for inflammatory indications including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis. In Aug 2016, Gilead initiated a phase III program (FINCH) on filgotinib in RA. The FINCH program comprises three studies that will evaluate the safety and efficacy of once-daily filgotinib (100 mg and 200 mg) in patients from early stage to biologic-experienced. Moreover, Gilead expects to start a phase II/III study for the treatment of ulcerative colitis later in the quarter. Meanwhile, Galapagos continues to progress on its cystic fibrosis programs, with partner AbbVie Inc. ABBV conducting several phase I and II studies. Going forward, we expect investor focus to remain on further pipeline updates from the company. GALAPAGOS -ADR Price GALAPAGOS -ADR Price | GALAPAGOS -ADR Quote Currently, Galapagos carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Stock to Consider Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. VNDA is a better-ranked stock in the health care sector, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Vandas loss estimates narrowed from 68 cents per share to 56 cents for 2016 over the last 60 days, while its earnings estimates increased from 16 cents per share to 17 cents for 2017. The company posted a positive earnings surprise in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 56.65%. Its share price has surged 80% year to date. Zacks' Top Investment Ideas for Long-Term Profit How would you like to see our best recommendations to help you find todays most promising long-term stocks? Starting now, you can look inside our portfolios featuring stocks under $10, income stocks, value investments and more. These picks, which have double and triple-digit profit potential, are rarely available to the public. But you can see them now. Click here >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report GILEAD SCIENCES (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report VANDA PHARMACT (VNDA): Free Stock Analysis Report ABBVIE INC (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report GALAPAGOS -ADR (GLPG): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research General Motors Company GM has been permitted by U.S. auto safety regulators to delay the recall of a large number of trucks related to the Takata airbag explosion issue, to Aug 31, 2017. The recall of these vehicles was initially slated to begin on Dec 31, 2016. The company has been allowed more time to prove that these vehicles are safe, which would also help it from taking a large financial hit. This decision, which is unusual for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, allows General Motors to carry out long-term tests on the vehicles with the Takata airbag inflators, including trucks as well as SUVs. These inflators have caused 11 reported deaths in the U.S. and 16 globally. General Motors recalled 2.5 million vehicles in May but stated that its inflators were different from the ones used in vehicles that were involved in the deaths. Per the tests carried out, the Takata airbags contain a chemical that can deteriorate when continuously exposed to high temperatures and airborne moisture, which can make it burn quickly, blowing apart a metal canister and throwing shrapnel at drivers and passengers. General Motors claims that its inflators vents are bigger and have stronger steel caps than that of the inflators that have been linked to the deaths. Moreover, its trucks have solar-absorbing glass which allows the cabin temperatures to remain low, keeping the inflators cooler. The automaker filed a petition to delay the recall and carry out tests last week. The petition received approval on Nov 21. The testing could help the company prevent the recall of 6.8 million vehicles, which would cost about $870 million. Moreover, the delay pushes the timing of the recall into the administration of President-elect, Donald Trump, who has expressed his desire to remove unnecessary government regulations. While the costs of recalls are initially borne by automakers, the parts manufacturers compensate them eventually. However, Takata is currently under financial distress. The company is looking for a buyer, while it is plausible that its North American division will file for bankruptcy. This lowers the probability of reimbursing automakers including General Motors for the recalls. Story continues Safety advocates have called the decision a backroom deal that keeps the public in the dark. It has also been said that in the past, while some automakers vehicles were not recalled initially as they did not cause any problems, eventually they were recalled. Senator Bill Nelson also stated that when Ford F carried out tests on 1,900 Ranger inflators, no abnormality was detected. However, post the tests, a Ford Ranger pickups Takata inflator led to a death. He also said that a delay was a mistake, which would further encourage other automakers to ask for the same, putting car owners and drivers at risk. GENERAL MOTORS Price GENERAL MOTORS Price | GENERAL MOTORS Quote Zacks Rank General Motors currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other well-ranked companies in the auto space include Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. ALSN and America's Car-Mart Inc. CRMT, both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Allison Transmission has a long term growth rate of 11%. America's Car-Mart has a long-term growth rate of 45.54%. Zacks' Top Investment Ideas for Long-Term Profit How would you like to see our best recommendations to help you find todays most promising long-term stocks? Starting now, you can look inside our portfolios featuring stocks under $10, income stocks, value investments and more. These picks, which have double and triple-digit profit potential, are rarely available to the public. But you can see them now. Click here >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AMERICAS CAR-MT (CRMT): Free Stock Analysis Report FORD MOTOR CO (F): Free Stock Analysis Report GENERAL MOTORS (GM): Free Stock Analysis Report ALLISON TRANSMN (ALSN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Billionaire philanthropist George Soros has pledged $10 million to combat hate crimes in the wake of Donald Trumps election as President, the largest donation of its kind since a spike in attacks following the Nov. 8 poll. According to the New York Times, Soros said that the recent escalation in attacks against immigrants and minorities were caused by dark forces that have been awakened by the election. We must do something to push back against whats happening here, Soros, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary, told the Times in a telephone interview. There has reportedly been an uptick in private donations to organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood since the election. Soros will gift an initial $5 million in grants of up to $150,000 to community-based and civil-society organizations through his non-profit, Open Society Foundations, the Times reports. Funding will also be appropriated to groups that monitor and track hate crimes across the U.S., the Times reports. One such group, the Southern Poverty Law Center, says it has received more than 700 reports of harassment and possible hate crimes since polling day. Soros said the gift was not intended as a statement of political opposition to Trumps policies, but that he believed the President-elects disparaging rhetoric about Muslims, Mexicans, women and other groups were directly responsible for the recent rise of racially or otherwise socially charged episodes. Days after his election win, Trump said during an interview with CBS News 60 Minutes that he was saddened to hear reports that some of his supporters had attacked minorities, and called on them to stop it. Nonetheless, Trump has come under sustained criticism for not doing more to suppress the recent rise in tensions, as well as what appears to be his teams tacit acceptance of support from so-called alt-right white-supremacist groups. [NYT] George Takeis own history is a shameful part of Americas timeline and hes proudly embraced the role of storyteller to ensure that it never happens again. Takei, who recently penned a powerful essay for the Washington Post about being forced into a Japanese-American internment camp at age 5, says its his responsibility to speak out about the experience, especially amid concern over President-elect Donald Trumps proposed Muslim ban. Americans and yet, simply because we happened to look like the people that bombed Pearl Harbor, they put us in these barbed wire camps in the desert swamp of Arkansas, southern Arkansas, Takei tells PEOPLE. And I still remember the barbed wire fences and the tall sentry towers with the machine guns pointed down right at us. He adds, I was a child, so I was innocent to the things that were happening to us. But for my parents, it was a cataclysmic change in their lives. Everything they had worked for, all their lives, in the middle of their life, was taken away from them. And at gunpoint, we were put in these prison camps. The 79-year-old addressed the rhetoric from Trump and his growing administration regarding a Muslim-American registry in his essay last week, calling it dangerous talk and pointing specifically to comments made by Carl Higbie, co-chair of Great America PAC. Higbie told Megyn Kelly in an interview that the Japanese-American internment camps during WWII set a precedent for the proposed national registry words that Takei finds enraging. Takei says that the response to his essay on the subject has been overwhelmingly positive, which he finds heartening. It puts my faith back in America, he tells PEOPLE. He encourages those feeling confused or worried in the wake of Trumps election to take action, suggesting they, Get engaged in the democratic process. Cast informed votes. Be actively engaged in political campaigns, and later on, be activists and speak out on concerns from their vantage point. Story continues I am an optimist, despite the fact that I grew up in prison behind these barbed wire fences, he says. Here I am, today. So I urge these people that are concerned to actively engage and let people know that this kind of thing must not ever happen again. RELATED VIDEO: George Takei Remembers the Moment That Changed His Life Forever The Star Trek alum is doing his own part, by bringing broadway musical Allegiance which is based on his experiences in the internment camp to movie theaters across the country. A recording of the production will play in theaters on Dec. 13, with additional interviews with the Broadway cast (including Takei) and crew. While Takei hopes anyone and everyone will see the show, he particularly hopes American politicians join the audience. He says theyve invited elected officials on every level of government to attend a screening. We want these people that are making these policy decisions to know the importance of the role that they play, he says. And by this entertaining and engaging musical, which is also informative, we want them to be aware of the mistakes that have been made, which we must avoid at all costs. Allegiance hits theaters nationwide and in Canada on Dec. 13. Visit here to find a theater near you. BERLIN, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Germany expects the International Monetary Fund to stay on board in Greece's bailout programme to evaluate Athens' reform efforts, a Finance Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday. "Regarding the talks on the second review ... the talks are being held in a very constructive manner, the IMF is already on board and taking part on an operating basis," spokeswoman Friederike von Tiesenhausen told a regular news conference. Asked whether the German government expected the IMF to remain on board, she said: "Yes, of course." Von Tiesenhausen denied a media report that some euro zone finance ministers and IMF officials were planning to meet on Friday in Berlin to discuss Greece's bailout. She added that debt relief for Greece would not be considered until after the existing bailout programme is completed in 2018. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Paul Carrel) BERLIN/KIEV (Reuters) - Germany and France have invited Ukraine and Russia to meet in Minsk next week for four-way talks aimed at kick-starting peace talks on the crisis in eastern Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Wednesday. Steinmeier said he hoped the foreign ministers from all four countries could meet next Tuesday, weeks before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is due to take office. "Even if we don't manage to find the big solution for the crisis, talks like these are simply necessary to make sure the situation doesn't get out of control," Steinmeier told parliament. It remains unclear how Trump, who has promised to improve ties with Russia, will respond to continued fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists. Interfax Ukraine quoted Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin as saying he had spoken with Steinmeier about the possible meeting on Nov. 29. The four countries last met in the so-called 'Normandy Format' in October in an effort to kick-start implementation of the 2015 Minsk peace deal. European diplomats worry that Russia, emboldened by Trump's promise to reset Washington's ties with Moscow, could launch new offensives in Ukraine before Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20. A French official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said invitations to the new meeting on Ukraine had been sent but a date had not yet been agreed by all parties. The last Normandy Format meeting resulted in an agreement to extend a withdrawal of troops to four new areas in Ukraine's Donbass region. But monitors for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have said similar pledges to disengage elsewhere on the front line have not been honored. The conflict erupted in 2014 and has killed nearly 10,000 so far. Kiev and NATO accuse Russia of stoking the separatist movement and supporting the rebels with troops and weapons. The Kremlin denies these charges and accuses Ukraine of perpetuating the violence and violating the Minsk deal. European diplomats fear the situation could get worse if Washington aligns itself increasingly with Moscow. Trump has expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and threatened to abandon U.S. allies in Europe if they do not spend enough on defense. Most of the terms of the original Minsk agreement, including restoring control of Ukraine's eastern borders to Kiev and holding regional elections, have yet to be implemented. The OSCE reports ceasefire violations on a daily basis, including regular mortar- and gunfire. Since the start of November, 10 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and 56 wounded on the front line, according to Reuters calculations based on daily data from the Ukrainian military. (Reporting by Alessandra Prentice in Kiev, Andrea Shalal and Sabine Siebold in Berlin, and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Janet Lawrence) BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday threw her support behind efforts to fight the use of hate speech posted on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google's YouTube. Under a program that runs until March, German authorities are monitoring how many racist posts reported by users of social media sites are deleted within 24 hours. Justice Minister Heiko Maas has pledged to take legislative measures if the results are still unsatisfactory by then. "I support efforts by Justice Minister Heiko Maas and Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere to address hate speech, hate commentaries, devastating things that are incompatible with human dignity, and to do everything to prohibit it because it contradicts our values," Merkel said in a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament. (Reporting by Madeline Chambers and Paul Carrel; Writing by Sabine Siebold and Caroline Copley; Editing by Michelle Martin) Gilmore Girls is returning to TV via Netflix on Nov. 25, with four new 90-minute episodes titled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Variety spoke with the cast about their favorite Gilmore memories and what we can expect from the new episodes. Scott Patterson has been there from the beginning. Literally he appears within the first minute of the Gilmore Girls pilot. My first day I walked into the rear of the set of Lukes Diner and was watching the two girls having a scene in the diner, and it was a cold day, but it all just felt right, Patterson tells Variety. After I finished shooting that first scene I knew it was going to work. That tuning fork goes on in your soul. For the next seven seasons, that tuning fork hummed. Patterson was one of the earliest agitators for a revival. I just thought the fans got a little stiffed there at the end of the seventh season, he says. And I just know from my perspective, if I hang in there for seven years and I dont get the full monty, Im going to ask for a refund. Stepping back into Stars Hollow and Lukes skin after such a lengthy hiatus wasnt easy, though the impeccable set recreation helped. It took a little adjustment to get back into it, but you get there, Patterson says. Patterson is a little looser than Luke. The appeal of playing a character like Luke Danes, love of Lorelai Gilmores (Lauren Graham) life, was his throwback nature, for Patterson. Hes loyal, hes loving, and maybe one of his best qualities is that he doesnt change. Hes resistant to change, he says. He has this Gibraltar-ish sense of comfort he can give. Lorelai needs that stability in these new episodes, as she attempts to cope with the loss of her father. They are still together, theyre figuring out their next steps in life together, Patterson says. He is that rock for her. But there are many curves and twists in the road, and rocks falling from above, and no guardrails, and thousand-foot drops. Its treacherous sledding in these four episodes for old Luke-y. Story continues One thing that hasnt changed is Lukes aversion to new technology. Even in the age of the smart phone, the infamous no cell phones policy at Lukes Diner still stands I think its an even bigger sign, Patterson says. Related stories 'Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life': Kelly Bishop Talks Tackling Emily's Grief Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel on Why 'Gilmore Girls' Is Returning: 'The Whole Thing Was Unfinished!' Our Staff Picks: TV Shows to Watch the Week of Nov. 21, 2016 gg2 Monologues shmonologues. Scott Patterson had little difficulty executing Team Palladinos voluminous sermons in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Its daunting to look at those on the page and go, Uh-oh, I have to do that tomorrow,' the actor explained to me Friday at the Netflix revivals world premiere event. But the writing is so good. And the logic of the speeches is just so tight that it really isnt that difficult to memorize. You trust that Amys going to get you there with relative ease. RELATEDThe Gilmore Girls Revival Is Everything Ausiello Wanted It to Be (and So Much More) The quality of Amy and Dans four scripts elevated everyones work on A Year in the Life, declared Patterson. It feel like the old team got back together, and we still got it, he said. In fact, maybe were better than we ever were. I dont know if I did this kind of work [during the original series run from] 2000 to 2007. And maybe thats because of the freedom Amy and Dan had with writing 150-page scripts. It was fuller. It was longer. It was deeper. We could go places that we probably wanted to go in the series but couldnt go. Now we could go there. Watch my Patterson Q&A above and then check back in the coming hours and days for more from Stars Hollows elite as TVLines 18 Days of Gilmore scoop countdown continues. Related stories Gilmore Girls Revival: The 28 Best Quotes From Netflix's A Year in the Life Performer of the Week: Lauren Graham Gilmore Girls: Who Played Emily's Maid Berta? (Hint: It's Someone You Know) Gospel icon Shirley Caesar's remix of "Hold My Mule," featuring Albertina Walker and Milton Brunson, kicks onto Billboard's Hot Gospel Songs chart (dated Dec. 3) at No. 2, propelled by its No. 1 debut on Gospel Streaming Songs, as it surges by 7,510 percent to 821,000 U.S. streams in the week ending Nov. 17, according to Nielsen Music. The 79-year-old vocalist and pastor originally recorded the track in 1988. (Caesar first reached a Billboard chart in 1975.) Why the sudden surge in the song's popularity? In the tradition of recent social media memes (like the Mannequin Challenge) comes the #UNameIt Challenge, which started when DJ Suede The Remix God created an update of "Mule," with special focus on the line, "beans, greens, potatoes, tomatoes" among other food shout-outs, obviously timely just ahead of Thanksgiving. "Mule" gained greater traction when Chris Brown posted a video dancing to the song, inspiring further viral clips. While there's no telling how long the craze will last, Caesar has launched an online store selling #UNameIt Challenge merchandise. While Caesar says that she was "shocked to see [people in videos] dancing and boogie-ing" to the song, she's grateful for her reach: "The Lord is so good to me." "Mule" marks Caesar's highest-charting of four Hot Gospel Songs top 10s, besting the No. 3 "God Will Make a Way" in 2013. (The chart launched in 2005.) HOLIDAY 'CHEER' & MORE: On Top Christian Albums, a cappella group Home Free's Full of (Even More) Cheer, an update of the act's 2014 holiday album Full of Cheer, enters at No. 1, selling 13,000 in its first week. On Top Country Albums, it opens at No. 2, behind Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood's new holiday set Christmas Together (21,000). On Top Holiday Albums, Cheer starts at No. 5. The new Cheer adds two new songs: the traditional Gospel hymn "How Great Thou Art" and a studio version of "Colder Weather," a live version of which was released on the 2014 set. With its spiritual leanings, the new release gives the group its first appearance on Top Christian Albums. The original Cheer peaked at No. 12 on the Top Country Albums chart. Story continues Concurrently on Top Christian Albums, the first solo LP from Chris Quilala, Split the Sky, launches at No. 8 (3,000 copies sold). Quilala is the worship leader for Jesus Culture, the musical collective for Bethel Church in Redding, California. Jesus Culture has collected 10 Top Christian Albums appearances, including seven top 10s, starting with Come Away, which peaked at No. 10 in 2010. Unstoppable Love is the group's one No. 1 (so far), topping the June 21, 2014-dated chart. Top Christian Albums welcomes one other new top 10, and The Neal Morse Band's first, as The Similitude of a Dream begins at No. 10 (3,000). The outfit's 2015 set The Grand Experiment peaked at No. 38. Morse also charted two solo albums: Testimony Two (No. 46, 2011) and Momentum (No. 36, 2012). Madrid (AFP) - Veteran Spanish politician Rita Barbera, a prominent figure from Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party who was under investigation for alleged money laundering, died Wednesday at a Madrid hotel, emergency services said. An ambulance was called to the Villa Real hotel in front of parliament after Barbera, 68, a senator in Spain's upper house of parliament, fell ill, an emergency services spokesman said. "The medical team carried out cardiopulmonary resuscitation for over 30 minutes but finally were only able to confirm her death," the spokesman added. Barbera appeared for questioning on Monday at Spain's Supreme Court in connection with an investigation into an alleged irregular party financing scheme in the eastern city of Valencia, where she served as mayor for 24 years. She denied any wrongdoing. "I am an honourable person, I am not corrupt, neither economically nor morally," Barbera said in February, adding she felt "boundless pain" because of the suspicions raised about her. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who has praised Barbera in the past, said he was "greatly distressed" by her death. "She dedicated her life to the Popular Party," he added as he entered parliament. Barbera renounced her membership in the Popular Party in September after she was put under investigation. But said she would stay on in the Senate as an independent, a move which protected her from being tried by any tribunal lower than the Supreme Court. MPs from far-left party Unidos Podemos boycotted a minute of silence observed in parliament in honour of Barbera. "We are not going to take part in a tribute to someone whose path was marked by corruption," the party's leader, Pablo Iglesias, told reporters. The Obama administration is forcing refiners to use a record amount of biofuel next year, delivering a victory to Midwest farmers at the expense of oil companies that say they are struggling with the program's costs. Under quotas the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday, refiners must mix 19.28 billion gallons of renewable fuel into the U.S. gasoline and diesel supply next year, including up to 15 billion gallons of traditional, corn-based ethanol. The mandates are above levels the agency proposed in May and also above last year's requirements. For the first time, the targets match a 15 billion-gallon ceiling that Congress established for conventional renewable fuels in creating a program to boost their use 11 years ago. The 2017 quotas are certain to increase pressure on Congress and President-elect Donald Trump to overhaul the Renewable Fuel Standard. While Trump is unlikely to rescind the new targets now that they have been finalized, he may support efforts to overhaul it by Congress. The EPA's decision is a victory for biofuel backers and Midwest leaders who had argued that climbing gasoline demand justified hitting that 15 billion cap. Americans are on track to consume a record 144 billion gallons of gasoline this year, according to an October forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, said the move "will send a positive signal to investors." Oil companies blasted the move, arguing that the 2017 quotas push them beyond a "blend wall" where they are forced to mix a higher proportion of ethanol into fuel than the 10 percent level approved for use in all cars and trucks. Oil companies and industry trade groups had unsuccessfully lobbied the Obama administration to keep total ethanol levels at 9.7 percent of gasoline demand -- an amount that would provide a buffer below the conventional 10 percent blend while also accommodating sales of ethanol-free gasoline coveted by boaters. Frank Macchiarola, downstream group director at the American Petroleum Institute, said the EPA "has taken a step backwards with this final rule." There are few, if any, commoners who have enjoyed as close a relationship with the royal family as Princess Kates mom. Carole Middleton, the daughter of a trucking company employee-turned-builder dad and a shop clerk mom, occupies an unprecedented position in raising the next generation of royals namely, her two grandchildren: future king Prince George, 3, and his 18-month-old sister, Princess Charlotte. Industrious, warm and energetic, former flight attendant Carole, 61 who set up her hugely successful Party Pieces business with Michael, her husband of 36 years always showed the way to her three children (Kate, 34, Pippa, 33, and James, 29). She has encouraged her children and supported them and been there for them, and set a good work ethic for them, says Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty. Ive never known a family drawn into the royal family like the Middletons, a regular observer at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where Carole was spotted in the front seat of Queen Elizabeths Range Rover in September, tells PEOPLE in this weeks issue. (Interestingly, Carole and her husband Michael were guests at the castle rather than at Prince Charless Birkhall, where they have stayed before). While the men and and younger women (including Kate) stayed on for the shoot amid the heather on the grouse moors, Carole headed back to the castle with the Queen after lunch that day. At Royal Ascot in June, where the Middletons have been regular guests of the Queen, an observer adds, The Middleton parents really could be the people next door. They are lucky their daughter is going to be the future queen, but there are no delusions of grandeur. I think certainly Prince Philip appreciates that. Theres no doubt Prince William adores his in-laws, having first bonded with them during the years he was dating Kate. (Exhausted from training at Sandhurst Military Academy, he frequently would head to Bucklebury for a weekend respite.) Story continues For much more on Carole Middleton, pick this weeks issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands on Wednesday. Because of the circumstances of Williams childhood, the Queen has made a big effort to include the Middletons much more than she would have done otherwise, suggests Seward. She is recognizing they have a big role in the lives of her family and she is happy with that. As for Carole, who often takes George and Charlotte to the Bucklebury Farm Park, she can afford time to devote to her grandchildren which must be bliss for her, says Seward. Shell be taking time to read to them, play with them and do all the things you want a granny to do. Carole, who is currently helping younger daughter Pippa plan her wedding, is openly surprised and enjoying her situation but without any suggestion of lording it over anybody, adds royals writer Robert Lacey, consultant to the Netflix series The Crown. In terms of a non-royal, young and trendy granny theres been no one like her at all. He adds, In the past, Elizabeth had a Scottish nanny who was the daughter of a railway signalman and actually slept in her bedroom until she was a teenager. She would teach her the habit of unwrapping your presents carefully and then ironing and putting it back in a drawer so you could use it again. That sort of contact with ordinary life came through the servants in that generation and now its coming through Carole. ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece wants to conclude a crucial EU/IMF review of its bailout progress but cannot accept irrational demands on labour reforms or any extra austerity measures, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday. "The Greek government is fully consistent with what has been agreed and has proven that it has the political will to conclude the second bailout review, without meaningless delays," Tsipras told his Syriza party lawmakers. "But this does not mean that we could even enter discussions on irrational demands." Differences on fiscal targets, energy and labour reforms could be bridged if there is political will on all sides, Tsipras said, adding that an agreement could be reached by Dec. 5, when euro zone finance ministers meet in Brussels. Tsipras said that there was "political momentum, a window of opportunity" in the European Union to help Greece exit the debt crisis. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos and Renee Maltezou) (Adds quotes, background) By George Georgiopoulos and Renee Maltezou ATHENS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Greece wants to conclude its bailout review but cannot accept what it sees as irrational demands on labour reform or for extra austerity, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday, in his first speech to lawmakers after a cabinet reshuffle. Negotiations between Greece and its official creditors - the European Union and the International Monetary Fund - hit a snag this week due to differences on fiscal targets, energy and labour reforms in the country, where one in four is unemployed. "The Greek government is fully consistent with what was agreed and has proven it has the political will to conclude the second bailout review without meaningless delays," Tsipras told his Syriza party lawmakers. "But this does not mean we would discuss irrational demands." The mission chiefs overseeing Greece's bailout programme implementation left Athens on Tuesday. Government officials said talks would continue but the latest disagreements and a long-standing rift among the creditors on medium-term fiscal targets have clouded Greek hopes for a swift conclusion. Unpopular labour reforms, including collective bargaining, a mechanism to set the minimum wage and giving companies more freedom to lay off workers are the main sticking point in talks with lenders. Tsipras said differences could be bridged if there is political will on all sides, adding that an agreement could be reached by Dec. 5, when euro zone finance ministers will meet in Brussels. "It is realistic but also absolutely necessary to conclude the talks soon to secure at the scheduled Dec. 5 ... meeting the agreement needed on a political level in order to conclude the bailout review," he said. Tsipras said this would pave the way for talks on debt relief measures, not only in the short term but also in the medium and long term, which would allow Greece to lower primary surplus targets beyond 2018, when its bailout programme ends. Story continues Athens hopes that the conclusion of the review will also lead to its inclusion in the ECB's bond-buying programme early next year, which will help it to regain market access. "We are still in the middle but we will continue swimming to reach the other side of the shore to pull the country out of the crisis," Tsipras said. Despite pre-election pledges to end austerity, Tsipras signed up to a new international bailout in July last year, the country's third since the crisis began seven years ago. His popularity ratings have been dropping for months and his leftist party is trailing the conservative opposition. (Additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou in Athens and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara) By Lefteris Papadimas, Theodora Arvanitidou and Tsvetelia Tsolova PETRITSI, Bulgaria (Reuters) - Greek businessman Prokopis Makris believes moving to Bulgaria three years ago was the best decision he ever made. The accountant shut his failing furniture company in Greece and opened a business helping other entrepreneurs move to Bulgaria to escape a 29 percent tax rate, which has jumped since Athens adopted austerity as part of an international bailout. "We are bombarded with taxes in Greece, businesses are being annihilated," he says in his plush office overlooking the town square of Petritsi, a Bulgarian town about 12 km (seven miles) north of the border with Greece. The debt crises faced by Greece and several other European countries led to drastic spending cuts and tax increases to improve government finances. But the higher taxes punished businesses forcing many to shut or move to lower tax jurisdictions such as Bulgaria or Cyprus, helping those economies but undermining the recovery needed to balance the books at home. The number of Greek owned businesses based in Bulgaria, where the corporate tax rate is only 10 percent, has risen to 17,000 from 2,000 in 2010, when Greece had its first bailout, according to Bulgarian authorities. The Greek government is concerned. It plans a series of tax audits in cooperation with Bulgaria to determine if these business defections are merely changes of address designed to avoid tax rather than a physical relocation of operations. "Many Greek businesses in neighbouring countries may actually be most economically active in Greece," said George Pitsillis, head of Greece's Public Revenues Agency, adding that he suspected many firms were using Bulgarian shell companies. "They may soon be in the unpleasant position of paying tax in both countries, plus fines." Businesses relocated from Greece generate about 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) annually and employ an estimated 53,000 people, according to 2014 data from Greece's embassy in Sofia. Numbers are rising fast: 3,642 Greek businesses have been registered in Bulgaria so far this year, up from 3,262 for all of 2015, according to the Bulgarian Registry Agency. Story continues Bulgaria says it will share tax details with Greece to help the audits. A bilateral tax treaty says a company cannot be taxed in both countries and the tax domicile is determined by wherever its principal activity is located. "If needed, we will cooperate with the Greek tax authorities under the mechanisms for exchange of tax information between EU member states," Rosen Bachvarov, spokesman for Bulgarias national revenue agency, said when asked about the audits. "LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES" Six hundred kilometres (372 miles) north of Athens, the Greek-Bulgarian border is teeming with traffic. A ravine through mountains on the Greek side gives way to a sweeping valley where agriculture and vineyards are the mainstay of the local economy. At two small industrial parks 5 km inside Bulgaria, Greek signs are everywhere, advertising storage and office space. "There are dozens of Greek businesses just in this area alone, from transport companies to textile businesses and construction materials," said Yiorgos Kalaitzoglou who runs a logistics business out of one of the industrial parks where a sign reads, "Land of Opportunities". Three years ago, his business was stuttering in Greece. He moved to Bulgaria, leaving his wife and family in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city an hours drive away. "The taxman in Greece takes 70 to 90 percent of earnings, Greece simply doesnt let you live," the 50-year-old said as he walked through a warehouse stacked with ladders and paint tubs. It took him a few days to register his company in Bulgaria. Eighty percent of the goods he handles is imported from other European states and then exported to his customers in Greece. A sole trader, Kalaitzoglou now nets about 50,000 euros a year after paying the 10 percent corporate tax, a 5 percent tax on dividends and about 100 euros a month in pension contributions. HARD TIMES Serres, a town of just under 100,000 people on the frontier, has been hit by business flight. Membership of the Serres Chamber of Commerce and Industry has fallen to 10,000 from 17,000 pre-crisis as businesses have closed. Of the 7,000 that shut, 1000 went to Bulgaria, the chamber's president Christos Meglas said. The departures have contributed to a rise in unemployment to 29.1 percent in 2015 from 13.8 percent five years earlier. Per capita GDP has fallen 15 percent to 9,676 euros for the region, the second-lowest in Greece. It was 11,421 euros in 2008. "Serres is a living example of how the rich became poor ... we were one of the richest prefectures, now we are among the poorest," said Meglas. Textile industries have shut, and in recent years three of four major tomato processing plants have suspended activities. Vassilis Kampanis, president of the Greek Federation of Tax Advisers, says his office has been inundated by queries from Greeks seeking to change their tax domicile to Bulgaria. Tax cuts and a simpler system for establishing companies in Greece are the only way to lure businesses back, he said. Tax reductions appear unlikely. This year Greece approved only a raft of new tax and pension reforms under terms of its third bailout, worth up to 86 billion euros. In Petritsi, a pretty town of 31,000 residents, Greeks mingle at the Akropolis coffee shop which has two Greek flags hanging from a balcony. Vaggelis, the owner of the coffee shop who declined to give his last name, moved to Bulgaria after Greek authorities fined him 3,000 euros for being late in registering a worker. "In Greece its just take, take, take." But his face crumples when asked if he misses Greece. "I feel awful for living here. But I have children to support. Greece gave me no choice." ($1 = 0.9415 euros) (Writing By Michele Kambas; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Anna Willard) By Lefteris Papadimas, Theodora Arvanitidou and Tsvetelia Tsolova PETRITSI, Bulgaria (Reuters) - Greek businessman Prokopis Makris believes moving to Bulgaria three years ago was the best decision he ever made. The accountant shut his failing furniture company in Greece and opened a business helping other entrepreneurs move to Bulgaria to escape a 29 percent tax rate, which has jumped since Athens adopted austerity as part of an international bailout. "We are bombarded with taxes in Greece, businesses are being annihilated," he says in his plush office overlooking the town square of Petritsi, a Bulgarian town about 12 km (seven miles) north of the border with Greece. The debt crises faced by Greece and several other European countries led to drastic spending cuts and tax increases to improve government finances. But the higher taxes punished businesses forcing many to shut or move to lower tax jurisdictions such as Bulgaria or Cyprus, helping those economies but undermining the recovery needed to balance the books at home. The number of Greek owned businesses based in Bulgaria, where the corporate tax rate is only 10 percent, has risen to 17,000 from 2,000 in 2010, when Greece had its first bailout, according to Bulgarian authorities. The Greek government is concerned. It plans a series of tax audits in cooperation with Bulgaria to determine if these business defections are merely changes of address designed to avoid tax rather than a physical relocation of operations. "Many Greek businesses in neighboring countries may actually be most economically active in Greece," said George Pitsillis, head of Greece's Public Revenues Agency, adding that he suspected many firms were using Bulgarian shell companies. "They may soon be in the unpleasant position of paying tax in both countries, plus fines." Businesses relocated from Greece generate about 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) annually and employ an estimated 53,000 people, according to 2014 data from Greece's embassy in Sofia. Numbers are rising fast: 3,642 Greek businesses have been registered in Bulgaria so far this year, up from 3,262 for all of 2015, according to the Bulgarian Registry Agency. Bulgaria says it will share tax details with Greece to help the audits. A bilateral tax treaty says a company cannot be taxed in both countries and the tax domicile is determined by wherever its principal activity is located. "If needed, we will cooperate with the Greek tax authorities under the mechanisms for exchange of tax information between EU member states," Rosen Bachvarov, spokesman for Bulgarias national revenue agency, said when asked about the audits. "LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES" Six hundred kilometers (372 miles) north of Athens, the Greek-Bulgarian border is teeming with traffic. A ravine through mountains on the Greek side gives way to a sweeping valley where agriculture and vineyards are the mainstay of the local economy. At two small industrial parks 5 km inside Bulgaria, Greek signs are everywhere, advertising storage and office space. "There are dozens of Greek businesses just in this area alone, from transport companies to textile businesses and construction materials," said Yiorgos Kalaitzoglou who runs a logistics business out of one of the industrial parks where a sign reads, "Land of Opportunities". Three years ago, his business was stuttering in Greece. He moved to Bulgaria, leaving his wife and family in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city an hours drive away. "The taxman in Greece takes 70 to 90 percent of earnings, Greece simply doesnt let you live," the 50-year-old said as he walked through a warehouse stacked with ladders and paint tubs. It took him a few days to register his company in Bulgaria. Eighty percent of the goods he handles is imported from other European states and then exported to his customers in Greece. A sole trader, Kalaitzoglou now nets about 50,000 euros a year after paying the 10 percent corporate tax, a 5 percent tax on dividends and about 100 euros a month in pension contributions. HARD TIMES Serres, a town of just under 100,000 people on the frontier, has been hit by business flight. Membership of the Serres Chamber of Commerce and Industry has fallen to 10,000 from 17,000 pre-crisis as businesses have closed. Of the 7,000 that shut, 1000 went to Bulgaria, the chamber's president Christos Meglas said. The departures have contributed to a rise in unemployment to 29.1 percent in 2015 from 13.8 percent five years earlier. Per capita GDP has fallen 15 percent to 9,676 euros for the region, the second-lowest in Greece. It was 11,421 euros in 2008. "Serres is a living example of how the rich became poor ... we were one of the richest prefectures, now we are among the poorest," said Meglas. Textile industries have shut, and in recent years three of four major tomato processing plants have suspended activities. Vassilis Kampanis, president of the Greek Federation of Tax Advisers, says his office has been inundated by queries from Greeks seeking to change their tax domicile to Bulgaria. Tax cuts and a simpler system for establishing companies in Greece are the only way to lure businesses back, he said. Tax reductions appear unlikely. This year Greece approved only a raft of new tax and pension reforms under terms of its third bailout, worth up to 86 billion euros. In Petritsi, a pretty town of 31,000 residents, Greeks mingle at the Akropolis coffee shop which has two Greek flags hanging from a balcony. Vaggelis, the owner of the coffee shop who declined to give his last name, moved to Bulgaria after Greek authorities fined him 3,000 euros for being late in registering a worker. "In Greece its just take, take, take." But his face crumples when asked if he misses Greece. "I feel awful for living here. But I have children to support. Greece gave me no choice." (Writing By Michele Kambas; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Anna Willard) Greys Anatomy fans hoping to catch up with the doctors of Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital on Thursday after chowing down on turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and other Thanksgiving staples are in for serious disappointment. The ABC shows midseason winter finale titled You Havent Done Nothin left viewers with many unanswered questions last week. Greys Anatomy viewers will have to wait until Jan. 29, 2017 to learn whether Alex (Justin Chambers) is going to be punished for nearly killing a co-worker, Jo (Camilla Luddington) is skipping town and Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) is ending her marriage to Owen (Kevin McKidd). While we know Season 13, episode 10 will air at 8 p.m. EST on ABC, it is unclear what will take place. Greys Anatomy Photo: ABC When the show wrapped, Alex had finally been faced with the reality of what he did. Fearing that he may be sent to jail he took one final moment to apologize to Jo, not only for assaulting DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti), but for the things he called her. Alex reminded his former girlfriend that she is not trash, pleading with her not to let anyone treat her badly again. Jo interrupted, finally coming clean to Alex about her secret marriage and her real name. She told him that with her testimony needed in his case she may flee Seattle, which prompted him to come close to making a terrible decision. The pediatric surgeon revealed to Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), his closest friend and confidant, that he was planning to turn himself in and accept a plea deal. In doing so, he would face two years in jail. Alex hoped that pleading guilty would allow Jo to continue her life in Seattle. Meredith warned him against doing so, but it was not clear as episode 9 came to a close whether she had gotten through to him. Alex was last seen sitting in a state building before a woman believed to be the district attorney. He did not say anything to her before the credits rolled, shrouding his fate in mystery until the shows return. Story continues While the drama between Alex and DeLuca played a major role in episode 9 of Greys Anatomy as well as the episodes the proceeded the winter finale there was another major moment worth talking about. When the installment ended, Amelia was seen writing a note believed to be for her husband. In it, she plead with him not to blame himself before walking out of the house. This comes after the pair butted heads about having children and when they might begin trying in episode 7. During the finale Owen came clean to Riggs (Nathan Henderson) about having been unfaithful to his first wife, Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh). He then chronicled the demise of their marriage, seemingly paralleling it to the struggles he and Amelia were having at the time. Could this mean that the pair are through? Only time will tell. Related Articles Brandon Victor Dixon wasnt going to throw away his shot to speak his mind to the man leading Donald Trumps transition team. Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr in Hamilton: An American Musical, said he expected his message to Vice President-elect Mike Pence to reverberate in some way but did not expect it to reach the magnitude that it has. The attention, he said, was a testament to the fact that the message was powerful and needed. Our show is about the American Revolution. Its about our countrymen standing up to demand the protection of their rights, so it was wonderful to have the vice president-elect there to receive our story, to receive it from the wonderfully diverse group of men and women that we have telling it. And we really appreciate that he stayed and respectfully received what we had to say, Dixon said this week in an interview with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric. Dixon said he didnt consider anything he said to be provocative, so he was surprised when some people, including Trump, saw it that way. Citizens voicing their concerns to their elected officials, he said, is perfectly legitimate and not controversial, though tone and diction can be. Theres really no way to take the words that we said as controversial. Thats democracy, he said. But Trump was infuriated. In four tweets spanning two days last weekend, Trump repeatedly attacked the overrated musical and claimed that Dixon had harassed Pence. He twice demanded an apology from the cast of the show. But did he really harass Pence? After Friday nights performance, Dixon read a message from the show. He thanked Pence for attending and said the shows cast represented the diverse America that is alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights. He added that he hopes their show would inspire him to work on behalf of all Americans. Dixons speech was widely covered in the press, inspiring popular hashtags among conservatives and liberals alike. The Make America Great Again crowd denounced the message as inappropriate and called for a boycott of the show. Liberals said Trump had attacked freedom of speech, and they mocked the president-elect, whos no shrinking violet, for being thin-skinned. Story continues Despite Trumps loud complaints, Pence said he wasnt offended by Dixons words and praised the show. I want to assure people who were disappointed in the election results, people who are feeling anxious about this time in the life of our nation, that President-elect Donald Trump meant exactly what he said on election night, that he is going to be the president of all the people of the United States of America, he said Sunday on CBS Face the Nation. In Dixons conversation with Couric, the actor said the cast members emotions about Trumps victory were on the surface so soon after the election. They were surprised to learn just an hour and a half before showtime that Pence would be in attendance, and thought about what this meant for the show, he said. When we heard that he was coming, everybody just kind of thought about what it meant for them and what it meant for the show, he said. We met, and I read to the group what we were going to say at the end of the show. Everybody kind of had their reactions. Some people chimed in and wanted to make some adjustments. We all kind of combined our powers. A rare handwritten poem signed by Anne Frank when she was 12-years-old was auctioned Wednesday for $148,620 in the Netherlands, USA Today reported. The 8-line poem was written in 1942 shortly before Anne and her Jewish family were forced to seek hiding from German occupation in a secret Amsterdam canal house due to their faith. It was sold to an unidentified online bidder. The online buyer will receive a letter of authenticity from its seller, Anne former school friend Jacqueline Van Maarsen. The poem written for Van Maarsens late sister, Christiane, is addressed Dear Cri-Cri, Reuters reported Wednesday. The first four lines of the poem were copied from a Dutch magazine and encourage Christiane Van Maarsen to apply herself more in school. The second four lines, which may have come from Frank herself, expresses to her close friend that the best way to answer critics was to work harder and do a better job. In the accompanying authenticity note, Jacqueline Van Maarsen said she was selling her sister's poem because it hadnt been important to Christiane. She said she, too, was given a poem from Frank. I know that my sister was not as attached to this verse from Anne to her as I am to the verse Anne addressed to me, and that is the reason that I am now putting it up for sale, Van Maarsen said in the note. Anne Frank is one of over one million Jewish children who lost their lives during the Holocaust, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She is revered throughout the Jewish community for the publication of her diary "The Diary of a Young Girl," which portrays her life while hiding from Nazi officers during World War II. Her dairy, which has become one of the most important documents to emerge out of the Holocaust, describes the two years living in the apartment on top of a warehouse in Amsterdam before being betrayed and arrested by Germans on August 1944 and deported. RTX1HNH Photo: Reuters Story continues Anne died at the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp at age 15, weeks before it was liberated in 1945. Related Articles Abdulkafi Alhamdo crushes rice and mixes it with lentils to feed his 9-month-old daughter, Lamar, in their kitchen in eastern Aleppo. He serves the homemade formula made from the only food left in his home on a spoon to Lamar, whose teeth have only recently started to grow in. Alhamdo spends every day with his daughter and his wife, who has been sick for 15 days with a fever. As his wife's health has declined and her breastmilk dried up, Russian-led airstrikes brought a massive wave of explosions and reported chemical weapons warfare to the familys neighborhood this week in the latest military campaign in Syria's civil war. After four years of conflict, Alhamdo wonders how his daughter, who can barely digest his makeshift meals, will be able to grow or lead a normal life. "You cant imagine how badly in need people are for food, clean water, electricity, fuel, its unbelievable," said Alhamdo, a teacher in the war-stricken city who described to International Business Times this week what life had become for his family through voice recordings on the encrypted messaging service WhatsApp. "Hell itself would be paradise compared to Aleppo these days." As the Syrian war escalates, President Bashar Assad's regime has grown increasingly hostile to international organizations entering the country, blocking off most of Aleppo and making aid envoys over the Turkish border into the besieged city nearly impossible. Syrians bracing for a harsh winter with subzero degree temperatures are quickly running out of food, among other limited provisions. Meanwhile, Westerners say they are now resorting to using fake Syrian names, among other risksy tactics, to deliver aid to Aleppo's remaining 250,000 residents. For those who call Aleppo home, everyday life has gone from bleak to harrowing, even as some remain optimistic that the war could one day end, bringing peace and security back into their lives. Story continues RTSSF5T Photo: Reuters Lina Sergie Attar, a Syrian-American who was raised in Aleppo and co-founded the Karam Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on building a better future for Syria that sends relief to Aleppo, told IBT all humanitarian paths into her home city have been indefinitely shut down by Assad's regime. "Its extremely dangerous to perform humanitarian work as its illegal to do pretty much anything in Syria," said Attar, who has struggled to to deliver aid to Aleppo since the summer. "When we function in Western Aleppo, everything is completely underground, in secret. Everyone does their humanitarian work in secret because they're terrified of being detained or killed." The Karam Foundation saw several of the aid projects it has backed in Aleppo fall victim to the airstrikes in recent months. "Weve had a water well targeted by a Russian airstrike," Attar said. "A bakery we were supporting was destroyed. We had an infant formula milk center badly damaged more than once, and moved it around to three different locations. Now, there are no more milk centers in Aleppo." RTSSHBG Photo: Reuters Aleppo, one of the world's oldest and most historic cities, has been decimated by the Syrian government, rebel forces and an international coalition purporting to wipeout the presence of the Islamic State group in the region. Russia has played a major role in deploying airstrikes throughout the region since anti-government protests during the Arab Spring in 2011 erupted into a full blown civil war in Syria. But for Syrians on the ground, that battle seems less like a fight against ISIS, and more of a long term genocide targeting children and innocent civilians. Roughly 11 million Syrians have fled their homes since the conflict began. A United Nations envoy carrying food and aid to Aleppo was targeted in an airstrike reportedly backed by Russia in September, making it even more frightening for volunteers and citizens to go outside in search of shelter. Since then, attacks targeting civilian entities have been at an all-time high. Ahmad Aziz, programs officer for the Big Heart Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to providing impartial humanitarian for Syrians by partnering with the World Food Programme and multiple other NGOs, said his commitment to Aleppo hasn't stopped, even while facing his own crisis. Hes rationed just two months of food hes been able to store in his home. When that runs out, he's not sure what will come next. "Even if the air raids stopped, people dont have resources or options to get food. There are only three items remaining in all of the markets: radish, parsley and spinach," Aziz told IBT via WhatsApp. Aziz said his city needs its people to take care of each other through these darks times, even when they don't have the resources to take care of themselves. "We have a famous saying in Arabic: the shoemaker is barefoot, the tailor is naked and the carpenter's door is broken," Aziz said. RTSSF5R Photo: Reuters Alhamdo and others trapped in eastern Aleppo were at least able to find some essential supplies and food during the summer months through underground humanitarian aid. Now, his family is left lacking crucial, life-saving resources. "My sick wife, I couldnt find paracetamol, just a mere paracetamol, I couldnt find for her," he said. "The first time I tried to take her to a hospital, they couldnt take her because there were too many people. The second time, they refused to accept her for the same reason. The third time, all of the hospitals were targeted so I couldnt continue, I went back home." Still, several of the organizations working to put an end to the bloodshed in Syria remain hopeful. Those humanitarian agencies noted the international community should join their efforts by donating and reaching out to their local representatives. "Solutions have to be political," Omar Sawan, international programs relations manager for Islamic Relief USA, told IBT. "If people were to urge their governments to make serious attempts at resolving these problems, it would be more effective to providing relief to Syrians. Its a complex situation in Aleppo thats still unfolding, and threatens to expand. Reaching out to local politicians and asking them to support political resolutions to the conflict would be the best way to help Syrians in this moment." rtx2ua0u (1) Photo: Reuters Attar also stressed the need for a collective global response to the humanitarian crisis facing the region. "Whats happening in Syria right now is a blemish on our entire collective humanity," she said. "This is the largest humanitarian crisis of our lifetime. Aleppo has been destroyed by wars before and it will be rebuilt again. Youll never be able to extinguish Aleppo. The world really needs to think about their roles in helping the Syrian people or watching in silence." As for the Syrians remaining in Aleppo, the citys walled off borders hasn't stopped them from engaging with the worldwide web. Each day, residents share photos with journalists through Whatsapp and other encrypted messaging apps to avoid government surveillance. They watch international news reports, and have thoughts for global audiences watching the developments unfold online, as well as for the next president of the United States, billionaire Donald Trump. "For all who are listening now: Please forget your nationality. Forget your religion. Forget your political views. And remember your humanity," Alhamdo said Tuesday. "Those people who are now surrounded inside Aleppo, they are being killed every day with all kinds of weapons. They are dying because of fear, they are dying because of pain, they are dying because of hunger, they are dying because of diseases Just imagine if these people who are in hunger were your children. This is my message also for Trump." Related Articles Brad Pitt has obviously taken a keen interest in the milieu of the World War II film, having starred in Inglorious Basterds, Fury and now Allied. But while the previous two focused on the grimy battlefield relationships of men, the quieter Allied takes on the tussle of intimate partnership in times of war. This one is especially complicated since the couple met as spies posing as man and wife. Its fair to draw a line between 2005s Mr. and Mrs. Smith, in which Pitt and Angelina Jolie starred as a pair of married spies, and Allied, in which he stars with Marion Cotillard as a pair of married spies. With that context, and a seductive introduction in Casablanca, Morocco, one expects Allied, directed by Robert Zemeckis, to be a dose of sexy, dangerous, globe-trotting glamour. Pitt is Canadian intelligence officer Max Vatan, dispatched to Morocco to liaise with French resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour (Cotillard) in a plot to take out the Nazi ambassador. Acting as a pair of married Parisians, the duo discover real feelings for each other. I keep the emotions real, Marianne says of her successful undercover tactics. Soon the couple is in London, shacking up with their new baby while Max takes a desk job. Within a year, British intelligence is questioning Mariannes identity and asking Max to test his wife, leaving out false information to see if she passes it along. The gorgeous stars, sumptuous costuming and exotic period setting that were initially promised are a bit of a bait-and-switch from what Allied turns out to be. The movie is too sad and too dark to fulfill the fantasy that is laid out in the first part of the film, which is a nod to realism and nuance on the part of Zemeckis and screenwriter Steven Knight. But that doesnt make for a film thats necessarily any fun to watch. The muted palette, methodical plotting and concealed emotions make for a film that slowly simmers instead of reaching a roiling boil of drama. When you expect the film to pop, it narrowly averts any extremes or action. Part of this is due to the identification with Max as the main character Pitt plays him so steadily that hes stiff, and the performance is near wooden. There are a few compelling sequences. A mission behind enemy lines in France where Max flies to question a one-armed drunk about his wifes identity is suspenseful and exciting, but ends with a sense of dark violence and nihilism that wafts over the entire film like a fog. There are also a few baffling moments as well, such as their daughters birth outside on the streets of London during an air raid, which tests the suspension of disbelief. Lizzy Caplan is given truly short shrift (and an atrocious wig) in an all-too-underdeveloped role as Maxs lesbian sister. Theres a poignancy to the underlying themes about marital trust can you ever really know the entirety of the person that you marry? What makes a marriage that is founded on deceit? Is love more important than country? Zemeckis and Knight scale these large ideas down to a manageable story in Allied, but they dont draw out enough emotion to make it truly effective and emotionally wrenching, despite the rafts of sorrow in which its steeped. Ljubljana (AFP) - This is one phone call Ljubljana didn't want to miss: US President-elect Donald Trump and his Slovenian-born wife Melania rang the leaders of her home country for a brief chat on Wednesday. "Prime Minister Miro Cerar received this afternoon a call from the newly elected US president and the future first lady Melania Trump," the Slovenian premier's office said in a statement. Apart from congratulating Trump, 70, on his "exceptional success", the office said Cerar had "underlined that in Slovenia we are proud of the fact that the future first lady comes from our country". Cerar also spoke directly to Trump's 46-year-old wife, telling her: "We are proud of you and we look forward to meeting you. We wish you much success on your new path." Born Melanija Knavs in the small town of Sevnica, the former model has lived in New York for two decades. She met her future husband there in 1998 and became his third wife in 2005. A year later, she took US citizenship. In the course of Wednesday's phone conversation, the American president-elect enquired about how Slovenia was doing. "After a series of years of crisis, Slovenia is now in better shape," Cerar's office quoted the premier as replying. "We are modernising the state and making some progress that we will be glad to show you when you pay us a visit," he said. President Borut Pahor also got a chance to congratulate the Trumps and extend an invitation to visit Slovenia in a phone call on Wednesday. His office said the president had a "warm talk with the future first lady Melania Trump... and also transmitted her the best wishes of his partner Tanja Pecar". It remains to be seen whether a major investor protection known as the "fiduciary rule" will survive under President-elect Donald Trump. Nonetheless, you'll likely see some industry practices change around your IRA and 401(k) in the new year. While Trump has not directly addressed the regulation, a rule from the U.S. Department of Labor that would require financial advisors to provide advice in your best interest, his surrogates have. The Labor Department released the final version of its regulation in April 2016. It is the result of a multiyear project the agency took on in 2009. This is separate from the Securities and Exchange Commission's efforts toward developing a uniform fiduciary standard, which stems from the Dodd-Frank legislation enacted during the financial crisis and is considered one of President Barack Obama's signature efforts. The fiduciary rule, which would apply to individual retirement accounts as well as 401(k) rollovers, is scheduled to begin taking effect on April 10, 2017. Today, much of that is up in the air. Though Trump himself hasn't spoken about it, one of his key advisors said last month that the new president would likely repeal the rule. The measure's prospects have dimmed even further, now that Republicans hold a majority in both the House and Senate. House Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) spoke against the rule last Wednesday at the Exchequer Club in Washington, D.C. "The Trump administration, working with our Republican majority in Congress, should make sure this harmful, bureaucratic rule does not go into effect as planned in just five months," he noted in prepared remarks. "The two big questions are: Will the Trump administration repeal or replace the rule, and what's the timing?" said Bradford P. Campbell, counsel at Drinker Biddle in Washington, D.C., and a former assistant secretary of labor at the DOL. The new administration can issue an interim final or direct final rule that will push the April 10 deadline further. "They can quickly extend the effective date a year, give people time to figure out the compliance and how to deal with it," Campbell said. Story continues During that time, Trump's administration can also determine how it wants to proceed with the regulation, he said. "We may see some advisors make some changes, even if the rule doesn't go into effect on April 10," Campbell said. "Some are so far down the road, they'll continue with the decisions they've made," he said, "but not all of the changes they would've been forced to make." IRA account holders should be aware, said Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C. "It could be open season again on rollovers," she said. "If the rule is withdrawn, the default assumption should be that the recommendation will enrich the firm and not you." Plenty of IRA assets are on the line and would be subject to the regulation. See below. A Dallas federal court judge last Thursday began hearing oral arguments filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and others in a suit against the DOL to block the rule. Another case against the Department is pending in Kansas, where an insurance agency is also suing to throw out the regulation. "The next step is for those courts to issue rulings, and they can stay the applicability of the rule while the case proceeds," Campbell said. "But if there were a loss [for the DOL], would the Trump administration appeal?" A federal court judge in Washington, D.C., earlier this month decided in favor of the Labor Department in a lawsuit brought by the National Association for Fixed Annuities. If the DOL's rule is delayed or goes away, here's what will happen: Fees vs. commissions: In order to comply with the regulation, some firms have announced their advisors would get paid on a fee basis, as opposed to commissions, for advice on IRAs. Those changes may not stick. Commonwealth Financial, for instance, previously said it would migrate from commissions to asset-based fees for retirement business. Last week, however, the firm signaled it will revert to commissions if the rule doesn't come to fruition. "We will continue to carefully monitor the situation, and if the facts or circumstances change, we'll modify our stance accordingly," Commonwealth's spokeswoman Jacquelyn Marchand wrote in an email. Best interest contract: The fiduciary rule allows your advisor to continue receiving commissions under certain conditions. Your advisor and his or her firm will provide you with a "best interest contract," which will permit them to be paid this way as long as they provide advice in your best interest, avoid making misleading statements and receive reasonable compensation. Do not plan on seeing this additional paperwork if the rule is ultimately repealed. SEC fiduciary rule: Don't expect the Securities and Exchange Commission to release its own regulation any time soon, said Blaine Aikin, executive chairman of fi360, a fiduciary consultancy in Pittsburgh. SEC chairwoman Mary Jo White announced last Monday that she would leave the agency at the end of Obama's term. With that departure, the agency is down to two commissioners. "You need three commissioners to even act," said Aikin. "It doesn't look like the SEC will do anything with respect to its own fiduciary rule any time soon." You're on your own: On the retirement plan side, consumers have been watching fees fall. They've also seen plenty of lawsuits against employers for unreasonable expenses and fiduciary breach with respect to 401(k)s. See below for a chart of declining plan fees. Based on all of the publicity around fiduciary responsibility and declining costs for retirement plans, do investors know enough to seek advice that is in their best interests? "Most of the people you think are fiduciary advisors, aren't," said Roper. "People will have to do a lot of work on the front end to make sure the person they're dealing with is in fact a fiduciary." More From CNBC Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f294842%2fnifflers LONDON Three baby Nifflers have been born at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, and their muggle caretakers, bless them, seem to think they are actually echidnas. SEE ALSO: Quidditch is no longer only for Harry Potter fans Echidnas (also known as puggles) are a species of spiny anteater that are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity. In the wild, they are shy and elusive, making it difficult to observe their reproductive habits possibly because they're actually, definitely, the magical breed known as Nifflers and they do what they want. The baby "puggles" are the first batch to grace the zoo in almost 30 years, and actually hatched from their eggs back in August. However, the zoo waited until the little critters had developed before making the announcement public. Not convinced the puggles are actually Nifflers? Here, look at the evidence: This is the Niffler, as seen in Fantastic Beasts: And these critters are "Echidnas," better known as "puggles." A trio of baby puggles have finally been born at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia https://t.co/KmQD2xFT14 pic.twitter.com/frx5uQnMeq CNN (@CNN) November 21, 2016 See the resemblance? Real-life nifflers born in Australian zoo! >>https://t.co/QShSMiX0FN This look familiar to any Fantastic Beasts fans? #wmc5 pic.twitter.com/uZILCrtaXm WMC Action News 5 (@WMCActionNews5) November 21, 2016 Twitter seems to believe that "puggles" are the real deal. Seriously, I know there's a lot going on in the world right now, but why is no one talking about how nifflers are real? @jk_rowling https://t.co/5MpsUTgBnc Megan Feffer (@emeejeeayen) November 21, 2016 I don't know what you were talking about. I wasn't just scrolling through my feed, saw this photo, and shrieked "eep! Real life nifflers!" https://t.co/VoeLGWHWRU Lauryn Kotapish (@LKotapish) November 22, 2016 Although the mainstream muggle media insist the critters are just plain-old puggles. Puggles! Baby echidna are adorbs balls of squeaky, sleepy wriggles. https://t.co/tFiPbzfp1i pic.twitter.com/gVRTiNnJU3 Mika McKinnon (@mikamckinnon) November 19, 2016 But, Twitter citizen @GeorgeLouisCook knows better, and has drawn the logical conclusion from this exciting revelation. NIFFLERS ARE REAL AND I AM OFF TO BECOME A MAGIZOOLOGIST jingle george (@GeorgeLouisCook) November 22, 2016 Muggles, those puggles are not puggles they are unmistakably and undeniably, Nifflers. BONUS: Florida man hangs out with baby sharks and captures awesome footage Think of someone who's suffering from an eating disorder, and a female face probably comes to mind. Unfortunately, this is often true for health care professionals, too, which is why eating disorders among men often go unrecognized and untreated. Believe it or not, 25 percent of those who suffer from eating disorders are male, according to N.A.M.E.D., The National Association for Males with Eating Disorders. "In the last 10 years, we've seen a rapid increase in eating disorders in males," says Stuart Murray, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California--San Francisco, and director of N.A.M.E.D. "This has to do with more objectification of the male body, and unprecedented pressure for males to achieve a certain body type muscularity like The Rock [a.k.a., actor Dwayne Johnson]. For the first time ever, the rates of disordered eating practices in boys are now increasing faster than they are in girls." Different Genders, Different Patterns While members of both sexes experience anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating disorder, the manifestations of eating disorders in guys can be somewhat different than they are in those of the female persuasion. "One of the reasons this is so under-recognized in men is the expectation that [eating disorders] look the same in men and women, and that's not true," says Alison Field, a professor and chair of the department of epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. "An alarming number of young men are concerned with muscularity and are willing to do some potentially unhealthy things, such as taking steroids or using other muscle-building products, to achieve it -- I would argue that's the male equivalent of purging." Indeed, a study published in the August 2016 issue of the journal Pediatrics found that the most gender-conforming young women between ages 13 and 25 were found to have a 50 percent greater likelihood of using laxatives; by contrast, gender-conforming males in this age group had much higher odds than gender-nonconforming males of using muscle-building products. (An interesting exception to this pattern: A 2015 study in Developmental Psychology found that "sexual minority males" -- primarily, gay and bisexual males -- were more likely than completely heterosexual males to be preoccupied with the leanness of their bodies between ages 17 and 20.) Story continues [See: The Eating Disorder Spectrum -- From Pregorexia to Drunkorexia .] It's no secret that women with eating disorders tend to have a preoccupation with thinness. Meanwhile, men are often "fixated on muscularity and leanness -- which are pretty much mutually exclusive," Murray says. To try to achieve that look, guys with eating disorders often have very rigid eating patterns, with a focus on a high protein intake (they engage in "protein-counting" instead of "calorie-counting," Murray says) and the use of muscle-building supplements. "They are prone to high anxiety if they can't count their protein," Murray says. "They're not afraid of weight gain; they're more afraid of losing weight. A lot of [male] patients will weigh themselves every day so they can get enough protein for what they weigh that day." Many of them also engage in excessive or compulsive exercise, notes Dr. Casey Cottrill, an adolescent medicine physician at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. "They feel like it's something they have to do. Often it starts with them trying to get healthy and along the way it goes out of control and they become overly rigid and restrained about their eating and excessive about exercise." [See: How to Know If You're Exercising Too Much.] A Cascade of Harmful Consequences Aside from the potential risks associated with taking muscle-building supplements, which are unregulated, there are other health concerns that are unique to men. "I worry a lot about compulsive exercise because sometimes it makes their heart rate go very low," Cottrill says. Indeed, a 2016 study from the University of California--San Francisco found that signs of malnutrition (such as anemia) and health problems (such as slow heart rate) are common in young men with eating disorders. And because men tend to go longer without being diagnosed and treated, "males are at greater risk of cardiac failure and bone loss related to osteoporosis," Murray says. "They go further down the illness trajectory." Meanwhile, for guys, other harmful behaviors often go hand-in-hand with disordered eating or exercise habits. In a 2016 study, researchers from Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School examined symptom patterns of eating disorders among males ages 13 to 26 and found that those with high levels of concern about being super muscular have a higher incidence of binge drinking and drug use in the future; the same is true of guys who engage in binge-eating and purging behaviors. And yet their families and health care providers may overlook many of these harmful patterns. As a result, "a lot of guys get misdiagnosed and their eating disorders are more entrenched by the time they get to a specialty center [for treatment]," Murray says. "Our whole diagnostic system is set up to be female-centric -- we're not asking the right questions to identify males who are struggling with this." The first step is for family members, friends and health care providers to help identify males who are struggling with body image issues and disordered eating behavior, Field says. "You can't always look at someone and know whether they have an eating disorder because it's not visible; it's often hidden." By opening the discussion, it begins to pave the way for a guy to seek help. [See: What to Do or Say If Your Daughter Thinks She's Fat.] To make it easier for men to get into treatment, experts say the entire subject also needs to be de-stigmatized. In fact, many men with eating disorders feel a double sense of stigma about seeking help for what is largely perceived to be a female problem -- and this is a barrier to being diagnosed and treated, according to a 2015 study in The International Journal of Eating Disorders. That's unfortunate because effective one-on-one treatment is available for males, Field notes, and group therapy with just men can be particularly helpful. "The most important step to make," Murray says, "is to step into a clinician's office -- the earlier, the better." Stacey Colino is a freelance Health & Wellness reporter at U.S. News. An award-winning writer specializing in health, fitness, psychology and nutrition, her work has appeared in dozens of national magazines, including Prevention, Health, Newsweek, Women's Health, Parents, Family Circle and Real Simple. In addition, she is the co-author of "Disease-Proof: The Remarkable Truth About What Makes Us Well" with Dr. David Katz; "Strong Is the New Skinny" with Jennifer Cohen; and "Good Food -- Fast!" with Chef Jason Roberts. She is also a certified spinning and group exercise instructor. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at staceycolino@gmail.com. At the Chase bank in Hillary and Bill Clintons hometown of Chappaqua, New York, the spirited former president was holding court with a handful of locals. And he was pretty much talking about the how disappointed he and she were, how he feels she completely got railroaded by (FBI director) Comey, says Richard Zippy Zimmerman, a Chappaqua chiropractor who was part of the 15-minute conversation on Monday. He said he wished he didnt know Hillary so he could really go to town on the people persecuting her so he could really speak his mind, says Zimmerman. He felt he was held back because he couldnt defend her the way he wanted to defend her. This outpouring of sentiment for Hillary runs far beyond her husband in this hamlet north of New York City of some 1,400 residents, locals tell PEOPLE. Following the shock and the tears of her unexpected loss, locals mobilized. Signs were put up in lawns and roadway medians thanking Clinton for a decade of service. The board of directors of the Chappaqua Farmers Market made a 50-pound basket of locally-sourced goodies for Hillary: chicken pot pies, carrots, meats, cheeses, vegetables and yoghurt, says Emily Haft Bloom, of Chappaqua. Monday morning, the basket was dropped off at the secret service facility near the Clintons home. We got word through a connection to the family that she loved it, says Bloom, noting that Hillary received the basket that day, and asked for the names of the people who put it together so she could personally send them a thank you. The Saturday after the presidential election, a woman in her 60s drove three hours from her home in upstate Saratoga Springs to Chappaqua to deliver a large bouquet and note to Clinton. She discovered a sign in the window of Petticoat Lane, a womens boutique that Hillary Clinton frequents. We Love You Hillary, it said. Store owner Phyllis Jacobson welcomed the woman inside. She said I didnt know what to do with myself, I had to come to Chappaqua and figure out out a way to get her the flowers,' Jacobson says. Story continues That day, about a dozen other women would drop off notes and cards for Clinton. I was surprised how many people came in from all over, says Jacobson. I have so many people coming in crying, so upset. It was like group therapy. Jacobson contacted the Clintons assistant, Oscar Flores, to make arrangements for a delivery of the flowers and cards, which she made that night to the Clintons nearby home. Up a hill on Chappaqua main street, a brown basket holds over 200 letters for Clinton on the reception desk at the King Street Salon. Tuesday afternoon, hairdresser Carolyn Filancia-Vento, 56, and client Ann Styles Brochstein, 61, eagerly awaited the arrival of Flores to pick up the notes, one from as far away as Israel. Brochstein and pal Cynthia Ware Metcalf got the idea of having people write Clinton cards after we started getting messages from people asking how they could let her know they express their love and support and comfort to her, says Brochstein, who had organized a Facebook group and Twitter account in support of Clinton during her candidacy. Clintons longtime hairdresser, Santa Nikkels, tells PEOPLE shes seen Clinton but didnt want to share any details. We are very much in pain, she said, sadly. Word is that the Clintons will be staying in Chappaqua, and the couple is renovating a property adjacent to their home as a weekend getaway for Chelsea and her family, says Brochstein. Of Clintons future, Filancia-Vento believes Hillary will be on the lecture circuit. She also envisions Hillary grooming Chelsea to run for congresswoman Nita Loweys seat. I think its the next plausible thing, she says. Meanwhile, Brochstein sees Clinton vigorously advocating for improving the lives of women and children in need. You cant have the life she had and then retire from it, she says. On Sunday morning, Hillary was on the go with Bill, Chelsea and Chelseas family in the Savoy Bookshop and Cafe in Westerly, Rhode Island. Jayson Simmons of Westerly tells PEOPLE that he, his wife and their two young sons stopped at the bookstore after church and spent about 15 minutes in the childrens section, walking by a woman with her young daughter. I recall her saying, What do you think about this book, Charlotte? says Simmons, who had no idea at the time it was Chelsea and her daughter, Charlotte. Only when Simmons and his family walked upstairs did he realize with whom he had shared a book aisle. Simmons saw the back of Hillary Clinton walking into a waiting SUV as secret service agents held a door open for her. Bill, hanging back, posed for a picture with Katelynn and their children that Simmons snapped. He was very gracious, he told me they were in town to get away from things for a little bit, says Simmons, a history teacher. He was relaxed, comfortable, like a normal person youd have a cup of coffee with. As postmortems on the 2016 election continue to roll in, one particular piece of exit-poll data has surprised many commentators: given the chance to vote for Hillary Clinton, the first woman to be the presidential nominee for a major American political party, many women passed it up. As highlighted by the New York Times and CNN, the overall female vote was split between the candidates, with white women going for Donald Trump at more than 50%. The data suggest that one of the many things that pollsters got so wrong in predicting a victory for Clinton was that they assumed women would vote as a bloc. For example, Brent Budowsky in an article for the New York Observer predicted that women will vote en masse against Trump, after the Republican candidates sexist comments became the October surprise that dogged the Republican nominee during the final weeks of the campaign. Budowsky and many others were certain that the female turnout [would] soar on Election Day, handing the presidency to Clinton. But such predictions ignore historical precedent and indulge in what New York Times writer Amanda Hess has called The Dreamand the Mythof the Womens Vote. Hess article traces the idea of women as a voting bloc to the early days of the suffragist movement, when in 1870 Victoria Woodhull announced her candidacy for president even though the disenfranchisement of women would prevent her from voting for herself. The New York Herald gleefully championed her candidacy and womens suffrage, imagining that Woodhull would be poised to make history because women always take the part of each other. Susan B. Anthony concurred, echoing sentiments expressed in the 1850s that women were the nations moral compass and that with the franchise women would speak with one voice thus ridding the nation of its social evils. But, Woodhulls support among suffragists soon fractured due to a sex scandal. With her reputation sullied, she could not hope to secure the feminine vote. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Yet even amid the excitement over Woodhulls run, black female suffragist Frances E. W. Harperaware that the category of women as defined in American society was underscored by the politics of race and classrejected the notion of women as moral compass. She stated the point in an 1893 speech titled Womens Political Future: I am not sure that women are naturally so much better than men that they will clear the stream by the virtue of their womanhood. Historian Paula Giddings has noted in her classic book When and Where I Enter that during the struggle leading up to the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, which would grant black men the franchise, if only temporarily in practice, Harper rejected Anthonys arguments that black women should support the suffrage of white women over black men. White women all go for sex, letting race occupy a minor position, she wrote. Being Black means that every white, including every white working class woman, can discriminate against you. But there were also factions among white female suffragists. As historian Anne Boylan observed in her book Womens Rights in the United States, members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) disagreed about which women should be enfranchised and debated what should be the organizations political platform. Southern suffragist Belle Kearney of Mississippi argued in a speech before the NAWSA in 1903 that the goal of womens suffrage should be to maintain white supremacy stating, The enfranchisement of women would insure an immediate and durable white supremacy honestly attained. . . the enfranchisement of women would settle the race question in politics. Yet, many white elite southern women such as Mildred Rutherford of The United Daughters of the Confederacy opposed womens suffrage for fear that black women would gain the franchise; she also believed that men were better suited to legislate for women. Women not only varied in their support of womens suffrage, they have also varied in their support of female candidates. Kate Walberts New Yorker article Has Anything Changed for Female Politicians? notes the career of Montana Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin, who became the first woman elected to Congress in 1916. She was blamed for her male opponents suicide, on the idea that he lost the will to live once he learned he had been defeated by a woman. Although she had formerly served as secretary for the NAWSA, her political breakthrough was greeted with contempt from colleague Carrie Chapman Catt, NASWA President, who complained, the first woman in office should be an intellectualcertainly not a Westerner without a law degree. And perhaps the clearest example that women dont vote as a bloc came in 1984, when New York Congresswoman Geraldine Ferrarowho had a law degree, just as Catt hopedmade her historic run as Walter Mondales Vice President. The tickets only Electoral College votes came from the District of Columbia, with Ronald Reagan winning 54% of the national female vote. Catts elitism notwithstanding, Naomi Klein suggested something similar to her 1916 logic in a recent New York Times article, making the argument that Clintons defeat seems less to do with sexism and misogyny and more to do with the candidate herself. Her headlineTrump Defeated Clinton, Not Womenboth challenges the myth of Clinton as the embodiment of women and the idea of women as a monolith. Indeed, the dream of a woman president is surely not dead, but rather deferred. Let this election serve as a teachable moment for the nation and as a cautionary tale to the next woman nominee for president. The Long View Historians explain how the past informs the present Arica L. Coleman is the author of That the Blood Stay Pure: African Americans, Native Americans and the Predicament of Race and Identity in Virginia and chair of the Committee on the Status of African American, Latino/a, Asian American, and Native American (ALANA) Historians and ALANA Histories at the Organization of American Historians. For those who go gaga for gizmos, these gifts are as much fun to use as they are useful. Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the December 2016 issue of Consumer Reports magazine. Epson Expression Premium XP-830 Perfect for the home office, this versatile Epson Expression Premium XP-830 inkjet printer is speedy, spitting out 10 text pages per minute (at 5 cents per page). It has a touch-screen display and a document feeder for copying and scanning, and it lets you send paperless faxes with your PC. It also prints very good photos on glossy paper, as well as text pages or images from a mobile device using a WiFi connection. Brother MFC-J680DW This inkjet printer is a great gift for the family photographer. The Brother MFC-J680DW quickly prints very good photographs on glossy paper (only fair on plain paper) and has a separate tray for snapshot-sized photo paper. Its 1.3-inch touch-screen display lets you preview the images on a memory card reader. It also prints two-sided copies and has scan and fax functions and built-in WiFi networking. Yes, this Roomba costs maybe as much as your first used car, but the idea of never having to push a vacuum again is priceless for some. Our tests demonstrate its excellent cleaning capability on carpets and bare floors alike. This latest version also allows you to control it via an app on your smartphonenice for when you need to clean up in advance of unexpected visitors. Buy for $599.00 on Amazon Dyson V6 Absolute Once you get past the price, theres nothing you wont like about this new modelthe best stick vacuum weve ever tested. Dyson V8 Absolute aced our carpet and bare floor tests and picked up pet hair like a pro. Its also surprisingly quiet. We wouldnt blame you for stuffing the V8 into your own stocking. Just dont turn the thing on! Shark Rocket DeluxePro TruePet HV322 Battery-powered stick vacuums are convenient for quick cleanups, but to vacuum an entire home you need a corded model that will go the distance. This Shark is our current favorite. The Shark Rocket DeluxePro TruePet is one of the few recommended stick vacs that provides impressive suction on both carpets and bare floors. We also like that it converts easily to a hand vac, which you can carry far and wide, thanks to the generous 30-foot-long cord. Story continues eero Home WiFi System (Individual) Now you can give the gift of good WiFi all throughout anyones home. The three routers in this Eero Home WiFi System pack work in unison to create a mesh network that helps eliminate dead zones in the basement, backyard, and other nether reaches. The setup takes roughly 15 minutes, and the network can be managed via an app on your smartphone. Linksys AC2600 (EA8500) The reigning king of routers (at least in our labs), the Linksys AC2600 can admirably handle a legion of smartphones, laptops, and other internet-connected devices with ease in even very large homes. It also comes with automatic firmware updates, an admirably easy setup, and four Ethernet and two USB ports. Power users will appreciate its speed and many settings for optimizing their network. Apple Watch Series 2 (38mm) Aluminum case The old Apple Watch was aimed at keeping you connected. This new one has added some serious fitness tracker muscle. Its water-resistant to a depth of 50 meters and has built-in GPS to map your runs, and the heart-rate monitor and step tracking features are plenty accurate. The updated watchOS 3 operating system also lets you share workout data with family and friends. Samsung Gear S2 Classic Dont let the fancy facade fool you: This state-of-the-art Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch is water-resistant and loaded with functions, including GPS tracking, a heart-rate monitor and step counter, and the ability to make and receive telephone callsand even to pay for transactions at stores via Samsung Pay. The watch will work only with Android devices running Android 4.3 Jellybean or higher. Amazon Echo "I use my Echo wireless speaker most of all for Alexa, Amazon's voice-activated personal assistant. She tells me the weather, pleays my favorite music, orders household products online, and turns out the lights on command. My whole life is Alexafied, and my wife is as much of a fan as I am."Mike Gikas, Electronics Editor "The HTC Vive virtual reality headset tops my list. The two wireless controllers allow you to interact with objects such as a bow and arrow in VR games. But you need to be tethered to a powereful computer to use it. The Samsung Gear VR and the Merge VR Goggles, which both use a smartphone for processing power, are also good. The Gear works with Samsung phones and has a wheel to sharpen the focus; the Merge (Android and iOS phones) has a soft foam body and adjustable lenses for a better fit."Bernie Deitrick, Senior Product Tester Buy for $799.99 on Amazon Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8 (32GB) This 8-inch tablet has an excellent OLED display thats one of the best our testers have ever seen. Crisp and bright, it provides accurate colors, deeper blacks, and better viewing angles than most other tablets. Whats more, the Galaxy Tab has a fingerprint reader, a pre-installed file manager, an 8-megapixel camera (but no flash), 11 hours of battery life, and the ability to connect to USB storage devices. NVIDIA Shield K1 (16GB) This 8-inch tablet is an excellent performerespecially for gaming. What it lacks in all-day battery life the Nvidia Shield K1 more than makes up for with an excellent high-res display and expandable storage. Toss in plenty of processing power, a Mini-HDMI port, support for Nvidias line of gaming accessories, and access to Google Plays gaming library, and its a Borderlands 2 players dream machine. Asus ZenPad S 8.0 Z580C-B1 (32GB) A fantastic screen, fast performance, excellent touch response, and good battery life make the ZenPad S 8.0 Z580C-B1 tablet an easy choice even for demanding web surfers and gamers. With a sharp, 328ppi resolution display, this ZenPad is outstanding for watching videos, and its full access to the Google Docs app market provides a large and varied selection of apps. "In the first of our robot face-offs, we pitted Wonder Workshop's Dash against Sphero's BB-8, each $150. The BB-8 is cool. Its head floats like magic above its rolling-orb body. And its app-enabled functionality offers things like voice commands, recorded messages, and autonomous navigation. But the Dash is the better toy of the two, with five free educational apps that introduce programming skills for different age groups."Emilio Gonzalez, Appliance Tester Buy for $119.99 on Amazon More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright 2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S. Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and if you're having a hard time figuring out what to bring to Friendsgiving or to cook for your family's upcoming feast, fret not. We've asked fashion and beauty insiders to share their favorite recipes in celebration of the upcoming holiday. Here, Monique Lhuillier shares her cranberry margarita recipe. "I love margaritas!" said Monique Lhuillier, who celebrated 20 years in the fashion industry this year. "Cranberry margaritas are festive and this one is basically Thanksgiving in a glass." Read more: Hollywood Holidays: Celebrity Florist Eric Buterbaugh Bakes a Sweet Pumpkin Dessert for Thanksgiving Ingredients 2 cups silver tequila 1 1/3 cups cranberry juice 1 cup orange liqueur, such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice Method 1. Combine the tequila, cranberry juice, orange liqueur, lime juice and ice in a large pitcher, and stir. 2. Pour into glasses, or strain into margarita glasses (without ice). Read more: Hollywood Holidays: Chef Matthew Kenney Makes a Savory Vegan Pie for Thanksgiving Dinner Australia proved once again it is the undisputed king of spiders after a huntsman, endearingly named Hortense, and her 100 or so children moved into a mailbox in a Victoria home. Video from November 21, taken by North Bendigo woman Natasha Joyce, shows her opening her mailbox and finding a Holconia huntsman, which The Bendigo Advertiser reported as having lived there for six weeks. Over that time, the mother stood by the egg sac as hundreds of spiders began to hatch. The video shows Hortense and her swarm of children hanging around the egg sac; in the other corner of the mailbox, what appears to be a bull ant or wasp falls into the web and gets caught. Credit: YouTube/Natasha Joyce via Storyful Reykjavik (AFP) - Iceland's Left-Green movement said Wednesday it had failed in its bid to form a new coalition government, three weeks after snap elections triggered by the Panama Papers scandal. Allied with the anti-establishment Pirate Party, the Social Democrats and the Bright Future party, the Left-Green had been in talks since Sunday in a bid to forge a governing coalition with the centre-right Reform Party. "It is evident that not all the parties are convinced to continue these negotiations so I have decided to stop them and I don't think that there is ground to continue," Katrin Jakobsdottir, the leader of the Left-Green movement, the second largest party, told state broadcaster RUV. Jakobsdottir said she had informed the president of her decision. It was not yet known what would happen next. Asked if she would now return the power to form a government to the president, she replied: "I'm going to sleep on it." Pirates co-chairman, Birgitta Jonsdottir, had said prior to the start of the talks on Sunday that she was optimistic the five parties would reach consensus on major issues. "The people want very much to see improvement in both the work in the parliament and the image of the parliament", Jonsdottir said at the time. Since its independence in 1944, Iceland has only seen one centre-left government, which emerged from the 2009 election after the 2008 financial collapse. Led by the largest election winner Independence Party, the centre-right coalition failed to find common ground over a range of divisive issues including relations with the European Union, institutional reform and fishing. The October 29 snap vote, prompted by a massive tax scandal ensnaring several Icelandic officials, saw the Pirates become the third largest party with 10 seats. The Panama Papers, released in April, fuelled the resignation of former prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and prompted the snap vote. IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces a class action lawsuit against Xerox Corporation ("Xerox" or the "Company") (XRX). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares between April 23, 2012 and October 23, 2015 inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm in advance of the December 23, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline. If you purchased Xerox shares during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com. There has been no class certification in this case. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Xerox repeatedly touted its new software product, Health Enterprise, as an important growth area for the Company, which would operate at low cost and high profit margin. The Company's statements pertaining to the profitability and growth prospects of the Health Enterprise business were materially false and misleading because Xerox failed to disclose: that the Company's existing Health Enterprise projects were experiencing major delays and cost overruns; that Xerox would be unable to deliver Health Enterprise implementations at sustainable profits; and that as a result of the above, the Company's statements about its business, operations, and prospects lacked a reasonable basis. On October 26, 2015, Xerox released its third quarter 2015 financial results which were disappointing due to costs associated with the implementation of Health Enterprise and the termination of Health Enterprise contracts with the state agencies of California and Montana. When this information emerged to the public, the stock price of Xerox fell, causing investors harm. If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, at no charge to you, or if you have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com. Story continues This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions. Contacts Joon M. Khang, Esq. Telephone: 949-419-3834 Facsimile: 949-225-4474 joon@khanglaw.com SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP On Little People, Big World, Matt Roloff returned from Los Angeles where he had neck surgery, only to find out that he was about to lose Camerino, an employee at the family's farm. "I have bad news. For you and for me," Camerino said. "I've got to go to Mexico." While Matt was in Los Angeles for his surgery, his ex-wife Amy was informed by a lawyer that Camerino must be deported to Mexico. Of course, Matt was surprised to hear the news. He was also saddened to learn that Camerino would have to leave his family behind. And, fans of the show took to Twitter to express their feelings. D wrote, "Omg I just balled at Camerino having to be deported. I can't believe they just separate families like this" and Kim Smith tweeted, "I'm bawling on this part. Why deport someone who isn't causing trouble but keep the ones that are? Such a sad time!!!" Despite the surprising departure, there is still hope that one day soon Camerino will be able to return. "As soon as I get to my feet, I'll do everything I can to change that, to bring you back," Matt said. "This farm will not survive without you." LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 / Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces a class action lawsuit against Tenet Healthcare Corp. ("Tenet" or the "Company") (THC) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws between February 28, 2012 and October 3, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors, who purchased or otherwise acquired Tenet shares during the Class Period, are encouraged to contact the firm in advance of the December 6, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline. To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here. You can also call Brian Lundin, Esquire, of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com. No class has been certified in the above action. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also choose to do nothing and be an absent class member. The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Tenet made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: the Company illegally paid kickbacks to induce the referral of patients to Tenet's hospitals for labor and delivery; that Tenet defrauded the Georgia Medicaid program through this scheme; and that as a result of the above, statements about Tenet's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. On August 1, 2016, Tenet announced that it reached an agreement in principle with federal and state authorities that the Company would pay nearly $514 million to settle allegations that four Tenet hospitals in Georgia and South Carolina paid kickbacks for obstetric referrals. Under the settlement, two Tenet subsidiaries would plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate federal kickback laws. On October 3, 2016, Tenet issued a press release and filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, announcing that the Company finalized the agreement in principle announced on August 1, 2016. When this news was announced, the stock price of Tenet fell, causing investors harm. Story continues Lundin Law PC was established by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding the rights of shareholders. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. Contact: Lundin Law PC Brian Lundin, Esq. Telephone: 888-713-1033 Facsimile: 888-713-1125 brian@lundinlawpc.com http://lundinlawpc.com/ SOURCE: Lundin Law PC NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government on Wednesday offered a credit line to support millions of farmers who have been left short of cash to buy seeds and fertilisers for their winter crops after its decision to cancel 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dropped a bombshell on Nov. 8 by abolishing the bank notes as legal tender that accounted for 86 percent of cash in circulation. The move was aimed at cracking down on the shadow economy but has brought India's cash economy to a virtual standstill. It has also put in danger production of key commodities and hurt rural communities that were only just recovering after two years of drought. In the latest step, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), a state-run lender, will provide 210 billion rupees ($3.07 billion) in farm credit to help the sowing of winter crops such as wheat, a top finance ministry official told reporters. New Delhi also announced measures to boost digital transactions. Shaktikanta Das, economic affairs secretary, said the loan would be disbursed through farm cooperatives. "This measure will ensure a smooth flow of credit to farmers," Das said. "As and when, additional (credit) limits are required, NABARD will sanction it." The decision comes days after Modi's administration allowed farmers to purchase seeds with old 500 rupee banknotes from state-run outlets. More than 40 percent of small and marginal farmers get their credit from cooperative banks, Das said. ($1 = 68.4600 rupees) (Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Writing by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Douglas Busvine & Shri Navaratnam) Jakarta (AFP) - Indonesia has agreed to work with the Netherlands to investigate the mysterious disappearance of several World War II shipwrecks -- considered war graves -- from the bottom of the Java Sea, the Dutch prime minister said Wednesday. The recent discovery that at least six Dutch and British warships sunk in 1942 had disappeared from the seabed caused shock and dismay in Europe, and demands for answers. Investigators believe the military wrecks -- lost during the Battle of the Java Sea -- were removed by illegal scavengers looking for scrap metal, an effort that could have taken years. More than 900 Dutch and 250 Indo-Dutch sailors died during the battle in which the Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Indonesia initially refused to take the blame for the missing ships, saying it had not been asked to protect the wrecks and therefore was not responsible for them. But Jakarta has since agreed to cooperate with former colonial ruler The Netherlands in getting to the bottom of the mystery, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said following a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. "I would also like to thank Indonesia for its offer to cooperate after we learnt about the sad news on the shipwrecks," Rutte told reporters at the state palace. "We'll work together to find clarity of what happened and we will coordinate in the future." Salvaging operations are rife throughout Indonesia, varying from large commercial operations using cranes and platforms to smaller ventures shipping scrap to dealers along Indonesia's thousands of kilometres of coastline. Experts say it could have taken small-time scavengers years to pull apart the wrecks piece by piece, with crews using crude diving apparatus to search for valuable parts like the huge bronze propellers. - Cracking the case - Indonesia struggles to police its sprawling archipelago of more than 17,000 islands. Its vast waters are a hotspot for other criminal activity including people smuggling and illegal fishing. Story continues Amateur divers discovered the long-lost wrecks of three Dutch warships in 2002, 60 years after they were sunk in the major naval clash with Japanese forces. But an international expedition that sailed to the wreck site ahead of next year's 75th anniversary of the battle was shocked to discover the wrecks and others had gone. Indonesia's foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said there had been "a political commitment at the highest level" to crack the case and protect future sites. "Any antiquities disappearing from Indonesia is a concern to us all," he said, adding technical details such as who would lead the investigation would be settled soon. Australia has been working closely with Indonesia to protect HMAS Perth -- which sunk off Java in World War II, claiming hundreds of lives -- after discovering in 2013 that the warship was being plundered for brass. But such an arrangement did not exist between Indonesia and the Netherlands or Britain, Nasir said. Britain has expressed distress at the disappearance of its own three warships and asked Indonesia to "take appropriate action" to protect the sites from further disturbance. Naval warships and war graves are protected under international law that makes the desecration of such shipwrecks illegal. * Targets operating margin of 17 pct vs 15 pct previously * Automotive to be main growth driver - CEO * Fourth-quarter operating profit 280 mln euros (Adds CEO, CFO, analyst comment, background, updates shares,) By Harro Ten Wolde FRANKFURT, Nov 23 (Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon raised its medium-term profitability target on Wednesday, banking on strong growth in its automotive business as carmakers invest heavily on electric and self-driving vehicles. The increased operating margin target outweighed a cautious annual revenue forecast and Infineon shares traded 1.6 percent higher at 16.69 euros by 1100 GMT, having gained more than 20 percent this year. Automotive is fuelling merger deals in the chip sector. NXP Semiconductors, the largest supplier of chips to the industry, agreed to a $38 billion takeover by Qualcomm Inc last month, the biggest deal so far in the sector. Car makers including Volkswagen are rushing to develop electric and self-driving cars, pushed by tougher anti-pollution rules and the emergence of new competitors from the technology sector such Alphabet's Google. "Autonomous driving is one of the main drivers of our industry, an area where we play a key role," Chief Executive Reinhard Ploss said at the company's news conference in Munich. Infineon's chips activate car airbags, enable cruise control, manage power supplies and cut vehicle emissions. Infineon is the world's second largest semiconductor supplier to the automotive sector, with a market share of 10.4 percent according to Strategy Analytics, behind NXP which has 14.2 percent. Its automotive unit, which makes high-margin chips used by carmakers including Tesla and Hyundai as well as auto suppliers Continental and Bosch , will grow faster then the rest of the group, which is predicted to grow around 6 percent this year. As a result, the group's operating margin will likely hit around 17 percent in the 2017/18 fiscal year if market circumstances remain normal, Finance Chief Dominik Asam said. The previous forecast was for 15 percent. Story continues Infineon reported a 2 percent drop in operating profit, excluding special items, for the quarter ending Sept. 30 to 280 million euros ($298 million). That was slightly below the 285 million euro average forecast in a Reuters poll in which estimates ranged from 272-293 million euros. For its fiscal year ending in September 2017, Infineon said it expected revenue to rise some 6 percent with an operating margin of about 16 percent. A 6 percent rise would mean revenue of 6.86 billion euros, below the most pessimistic forecast in the Reuters poll. "The weaker-than-expected guide for 2017 reflects a weaker environment in security and PMM (power management) but doesn't affect our thesis, centred on autos and industrials," said Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu in a client note. Bernstein has an "Outperform" rating on the stock. ($1 = 0.9408 euros) (Editing by David Clarke/Keith Weir) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f28859%2fe7531901ce6b407facaa75c7b6fb5bc9 Often the only way to help a badly injured animal is to be put of it out of its misery. But you'd hope the person pulling the trigger would check to see if there are kids around first. Geez. According to News Corp, Australian police were called to the suburbs of Melbourne on Nov 21. and attempted to put a critically-injured kangaroo down with a rifle. The officer was filmed by local man Hash Tropoja shooting the animal just seconds before a small child rode past on his scooter, mere metres from the .22 calibre rifle's target. In the disturbing footage, a nearby fellow officer is heard telling his colleague "There's a kid coming, sir," right before the rifle-holder fired. The kangaroo was also shot in such a way that it's seen twitching and writhing graphically in a small pool of blood, as the child scoots past. Safe to say he's scarred for life, then. Tropoja says he filmed the incident because he was concerned that the officer did not take enough safety precautions before firing, telling the news outlet, "they could have blocked off cars and pedestrians from coming through the line of sight while the sergeant was taking the shot because the bullet ... definitely had the potential to ricochet off the concrete into any direction." A spokesperson for the Victoria Police addressed safety concerns by telling News Corp, "police conducted a risk assessment before the animal was euthanised, and three officers kept a look out for pedestrians and traffic ... All instances where a firearm is discharged by police are reviewed." The trailer for Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' is here, and it's stunning Watch: New Zealand sea bed lifted over 19 feet during earthquake Justin Bieber leaves a fan bloody after punching him from a moving car Bunny discovers the exhilarating joy of eating popcorn * Suicide bomber suspected of previous rocket attack * Young Afghan also known to be reformed Taliban militant * He gained trust of employers in NATO base, says family * Security and intelligence lapses may have been factor By Mirwais Harooni and Qiamuddin Shams BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Nov 24 (Reuters) - In the year before Qari Naib blew himself up on Nov. 12 inside a NATO base near Kabul killing four Americans, Afghan intelligence warned the U.S. military at least twice that a worker could be planning an attack, government and security officials said. The Afghan officials also said they repeatedly asked Western forces to share information about local employees at the vast Bagram air base in order to check for "suspicious people among them", but were refused. When asked about the information sharing, NATO spokesman Captain William Salvin said NATO forces "routinely partner with ANDSF (Afghan National Defence and Security Forces) on all elements of security, to include information sharing. "We maintain a strong, day-to-day working relationship with our Afghan counterparts but due to operational security we do not get into specifics about what is shared." According to Afghan authorities, the U.S. military was cooperating closely now. "After this attack, American forces have agreed to share that information about their Afghan workers with us," said Wahid Sediqqi, the governor's spokesman for Parwan province where the sprawling, heavily fortified base is located. Authorities subsequently discovered that Naib, a known Taliban militant before undergoing a government de-radicalisation programme, was using a fake name, Qari Enayat, at work. Many intelligence leads turn out to be false and it is not clear whether better coordination would have unearthed Naib's true intentions in time to prevent him killing two U.S. soldiers and two contractors and wounding at least 15 others, in one of the worst assaults on U.S. forces for years. But the first attack inside one of NATO's most secure bases has raised questions about Western forces' screening of local workers and about programmes designed to reintegrate insurgents into society. Story continues The insider attack has also further complicated operations in a country where the Afghan Taliban, al Qaeda and, more recently, a local offshoot of Islamic State, are inflicting heavy casualties and making more territory unsafe. Since the Bagram attack, the base has been in near-lockdown, with few Afghan workers now permitted inside. Only 200 of an estimated 3,000 Afghans are believed to be allowed to return to work for now, police in Bagram said. SUCCESS STORY Until Nov. 12, Naib would have been seen as a success story for Afghanistan, which has tried to turn militants away from the stubborn insurgency that is bent on toppling the government and ridding the country of foreign troops. "He was a former Taliban ... working inside the base for a long time, gained their trust, and based on that trust he carried out this attack," said Sediqqi. In early 2012, after signing up for the reintegration programme, Naib enrolled in a nine-month course at the Korean Vocational Training Center inside Bagram base, learning English, computer skills and how to fix cars. Like most students at the centre, Naib was offered a job straight away. After going through security checks, including finger prints and biometrics to make sure he was not involved in past crimes, Naib started working for Texas-based Fluor Corp as a car mechanic at the base, members of his family told Reuters on a recent visit to his modest home a short walk from the base. Fluor Corp. said he was hired by one of its subcontractors. "Fluor does not directly employ Afghans at Bagram," the company said. "Furthermore, screening and vetting of employees follows a process prescribed by the U.S. government. We follow this process and require our subcontractors to do the same." Naib, who was in his mid-20s, worked the night shift from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m., originally earning around 20,000 afghanis ($300) a month. In March, he received a pay rise bringing his monthly salary to 30,000, his mother, Gulalai, said. According to his family, his supervisor was "very happy" with Naib and trusted him, giving him food and drinks to take home to his parents and four siblings, whom he alone supported. On Nov. 11, the evening before the attack, Naib left the house for work at 4 p.m. as usual, and "a loud explosion" was heard the next morning, Gulalai recalled, speaking in her dead son's room. She also urged authorities to release his body so that he could be buried. U.S. and NATO officials are investigating how Naib was able to breach the base's rings of security, which include numerous checkpoints and body scanners. Afghan police have detained Naib's father and a cousin as part of their investigation into the attack. PREVIOUS SUSPECT The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility soon after the bombing, saying the assailant was one of their fighters and that they had been planning it for four months. A spokesman declined to discuss Naib's case further. It is not known why or when the soft-spoken mechanic rejoined the Taliban, or if he ever really left. Bagram base, protected by concrete barriers and barbed wire fences and home to around 14,000 coalition soldiers and contractors, has come under attack before, mainly from rockets launched by militants outside, but never from within. Five years ago, Naib had been a suspect in one of those rocket attacks, Afghan security officials said, forcing him to go into hiding for days to avoid arrest. But the authorities never found any evidence linking him to the crime, and his mother said he was innocent. "My son was an angel at heart. He was not guilty at all," Gulalai said. To clear his name and prevent future police harassment, village elders recommended that Naib join a reintegration programme that promised education and jobs. Around 11,000 militants have joined such schemes, but it is unclear how many remain peaceful. A U.S. government watchdog recently said the programmes had not led to a "significant diminishment of the military capacity of armed opposition." The government has documented 154 participants that have returned to fighting, but officials privately say the actual number is much higher. Some Afghans remain wary of American involvement in their country, and, while opposing militant violence, see foreign troops as a part of the problem, not a solution to it. "Even if he has blown himself up, he has killed and wounded Americans," said a relative of Naib, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. "He has not hurt any Afghans." ($1 = 66.8500 afghanis) (Additional reporting and writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Mike Collett-White) While many of us with celebrate Thanksgiving with turkey, stuffing and a stomach-stretching load of fixins, Thursday's food holiday has nothing to do with Thanksgiving. More on that in a minute. Here's a look at the food holidays for Nov. 23-29: Nov. 23: National Espresso Day -- Espresso is a brewing method in which a small amount of nearly boiling water is forced under pressure through finely ground coffee. Luigi Bezzera of Italy invented espresso in the early 20th century with his desire to speed up the time it took to make a cup of coffee. In the early 1940s, Achille Gaggia created a piston-based espresso machine that improved the taste by eliminating the burnt flavor. It takes approximately 42 coffee beans to make a single serving of espresso, according to Foodimentary.com. Nov. 24: National Sardine Day -- Yes. National Sardine Day falls on Thanksgiving this year. Related to herrings, these little silver fish are rich in nutrients including vitamins B2, B12 and D, niacin, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, iron, selenium, omega-3 fatty acids and protein. The name is believed to come from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, where there was an abundance of these fish, according to NationalDayCalendar.com. Nov. 25: National Parfait Day -- Parfait is the French word for "perfect." The original French recipe, published in 1869, described a coffee-flavored ice dessert constructed in tall and thin ice cream molds. In France, parfaits are served on decorated plates, rather than tall, thin glassware, according to Foodimentary.com. Nov. 26: National Cake Day -- Let us eat cake. In Roman times, eggs and butter were often added to basic bread to give it the cake-like texture. Honey was used as a sweetener. The cakewalk dance originated in African American communities in southern United States and was originally a competition in graceful walking, with cake awarded as a prize, according to Foodimentary.com. Nov. 27: National Bavarian Cream Pie Day -- Bavarian cream was originally a French (or German) cold dessert of egg custard stiffened with gelatin, mixed with whipped cream (sometimes with fruit puree or other flavors), then set in a mold or used as a filling for cakes and pastries. Nov. 28: National French Toast Day -- Despite its name, French toast was around long before France was a country. The earliest reference dates back to 4th century Rome, and it is believed to have been around long before that, according to Foodimentary.com. It is believed French toast was created by medieval European cooks who needed to use every bit of food they could find to feed their families. Nov. 29: National Chocolates Day -- Not to be confused with National Chocolate Day, of which there are three in every year. Chocolate comes from the Aztec word xocolatl which means bitter water. It is said that allowing chocolate to melt in your mouth produces the same or even stronger reactions as passionately kissing, according to Foodimentary.com. By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin BEIRUT (Reuters) - Extending U.S. sanctions on Iran for 10 years would breach the Iranian nuclear agreement, Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said on Wednesday, warning that Tehran would retaliate if the sanctions are approved. The U.S. House of Representatives re-authorized last week the Iran Sanctions Act, or ISA, for 10 years. The law was first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry and deter Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. The Iran measure will expire at the end of 2016 if it is not renewed. The House bill must still be passed by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama to become law. Iran and world powers concluded the nuclear agreement, also known as JCPOA, last year. It imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear program in return for easing sanctions that have badly hurt its economy. "The current U.S. government has breached the nuclear deal in many occasions," Khamenei said, addressing a gathering of members of the Revolutionary Guards, according to his website. "The latest is extension of sanctions for 10 years, that if it happens, would surely be against JCPOA, and the Islamic Republic would definitely react to it." The U.S. lawmakers passed the bill one week after Republican Donald Trump was elected U.S. president. Republicans in Congress unanimously opposed the agreement, along with about two dozen Democrats, and Trump has also criticized it. Lawmakers from both parties said they hoped bipartisan support for a tough line against Iran would continue under the new president. President-elect Trump once said during his campaign that he would "rip up" the agreement, drawing a harsh reaction from Khamenei, who said if that happens, Iran would "set fire" to the deal. The House of Representatives also passed a bill last week that would block the sale of commercial aircraft by Boeing and Airbus to Iran. The White House believes that the legislation would be a violation of the nuclear pact and has said Obama would veto the measure even if it did pass the Senate. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, editing by Larry King) Paris (AFP) - Iranian filmmaker Keywan Karimi, sentenced to 223 lashes and a year in jail for a film he made about graffiti, started his prison sentence in Tehran on Wednesday, his French producer said. Karimi, 31, a Sunni Muslim from Shiite Iran's Kurdish minority, ran into trouble with the powerful Revolutionary Guards over his documentary "Writing on the City". The film details the history of scrawlings on Tehran's walls dating back to the Islamic revolution of 1979, through to the opposition Green Movement of the contested 2009 presidential election. "The independent Iranian filmmaker Keywan Karimi on Wednesday began serving his one-year prison sentence in Evin prison," production company Les Films de l'Apres-Midi said in a statement, referring to a notorious Tehran jail. "He will also receive 223 lashes." Karimi spent 15 days in solitary confinement in 2013 when a trailer for the film was released on YouTube, accused of making "propaganda against the regime" and "insulting religious values". Since then several other charges were added including drinking alcohol, having extramarital affairs and making pornography, the filmmaker told AFP in a telephone interview in May, decrying the allegations as "ridiculous". He was sentenced to six years in prison in 2015 but after an international outcry in which acclaimed Iranian directors including Jafar Panahi and Mohsen Makhmalbaf rallied to his support, five years of the term were suspended. In May, during the Cannes film festival, more than 30 major European film organisations appealed to the Iranian government to grant him clemency. But the filmmaker told AFP the sentence was "final" and that he had no intention of leaving Iran, although he hoped the penalty would be delayed as long as possible. "I am not a political activist," Karimi told AFP. "I am not being sent to prison because I oppose the regime but because I am a filmmaker." He had added: "The fact that my artistic activity is seen as an act of political opposition says a lot about the situation in Iran." Karimi has made several short films including "Broken Border" (2012), a documentary about petrol smuggling, and premiered his first feature-length movie "Drum" at this year's Venice Film Festival. Iraqs Joint Operations Command reported advances by its troops and militias in several locations around Mosul on November 22. The forces, it said, advanced in the east Mosul neighborhoods of Intisar, Jadidat Moufti, Salam, Younis Sibawi and Falistin. Advances also reported in west Mosul. Iraqs Federal Police said that they captured six towns in south Mosul. Iraqi forces also said that Islamic States media minister, Ziad Kharoufa, was killed in an airstrike. Al-Mawsleya, an Iraqi news agency, shared footage showing the Iraqi forces advancing and capturing several towns in southeast Mosul. The first video is described as showing the recapture of Humaira, a town in southeast Mosul. The second video is described as showing operations in Sallamia, also in southeast Mosul Credit: YouTube/Al-Mawsleya via Storyful After Britains exit from the European Union (Brexit), Dublin, the Irish capital, planned on pulling financial jobs from London, the largest financial centre in EU. However, Ireland recently sent out signals to various large investment banking firms that it is hesitant to take over large trading operations from London. Irelands reluctance is related to the countrys painful legacy of a banking crash in 2008, and a subsequent international bailout. Though the country is one of the world's largest centers to settle transactions and host a growing financial technology industry, its population is less than five million, and its yearly economic output is only 10% of Britains. This is the reason Ireland became vulnerable to the disaster that struck in 2008. Until now, most of the large U.S, British and Swiss banks have conducted majority of their European markets operations in London. The U.S. banks include Citigroup Inc. C, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS, Bank of America Corporation BAC, Morgan Stanley MS and many others. These banks buy and sell foreign exchange, debt, equities and other financial instruments for their clients. These operations require large balance sheets and special talent. Post Brexit, as these banks are expected to lose their passporting rights, they are working out where to trade, how to clear European securities and conduct other activities controlled by the EU regulation. Adding to their worries, the central bank of Ireland indicated that if they want to conduct risky transactions in Ireland, which involve huge sums of money, they will have to encounter big hurdles to win regulatory approval for the same. One source at a large global investment bank said, "Ireland is being very realistic about what it can and what it wants to do." The source added, "If you've come from all the troubles Ireland has, you want to be very careful about taking on risks." "The central bank is open to engagement with any firm wishing to obtain an authorization," a spokeswoman for the Irish central bank said. Another banking source said, "Yes, Ireland want insurers, asset managers, back office functions ... but they don't want big balance sheet risk. They just don't want to take on that kind of risk and feel that they don't have the regulatory bandwidth to do that." Yet another source at a global investment bank said, "Our sense is that the appetite in Ireland is not that high for balance sheet banks." Thus, to conclude, it seems very unlikely that Dublin will become a major destination for the banks' riskiest business operations. Of the banks mentioned above, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Confidential: Zacks' Best Investment Ideas Would you like to see a hand-picked "all-star" selection of investment ideas from the man who heads up Zacks' trading and investing services? Steve Reitmeister knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click for his selected trades right now >>. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CITIGROUP INC (C): Free Stock Analysis Report BANK OF AMER CP (BAC): Free Stock Analysis Report MORGAN STANLEY (MS): Free Stock Analysis Report GOLDMAN SACHS (GS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Ori Lewis JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Jerusalem's municipality has proposed building 500 more housing units in an area of the city annexed by Israel after the 1967 Middle East war, a settlement monitoring group said on Wednesday. There was no immediate confirmation of the move by the Israeli government, but France condemned it. The proposal is the first since the election of Donald Trump, whom Israeli right-wingers expect to be more supportive of settlement building than Barack Obama's administration. Washington has been highly critical of Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Most countries view all Israeli settlements on occupied land that the Palestinians seek for their own state as illegal. The Palestinians, who want to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, say settlements are a fundamental obstacle to peace. The last U.S.-backed talks on statehood collapsed in 2014. In Wednesday's announcement, Jerusalem's municipal planning committee recommended to the regional planning committee that it proceed with plans to build the 500 homes in Ramat Shlomo, an urban settlement to the north of Jerusalem. The regional body initially proposed the plan in 2014 but never proceeded. The proposal came up again for discussion on Wednesday, said Betty Herschman, a spokeswoman for the Ir Amim advocacy group, which scrutinizes settlements. After Trump's election, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, a right-wing party leader who backs Israeli settlement building and opposes a Palestinian state, was quick to state his view that "the era of a Palestinian state is over." Jerusalem's mayor, Israeli businessman Nir Barkat, has also since reiterated his calls for expanded settlement building in Jerusalem, and Israel's parliament last week backed a bill to retroactively legalize settlement outposts built on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank. Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouthi said Jerusalem's move was "only the beginning of a very dangerous step" and called on Trump "to immediately tell Israel that (he) will not support this horrible violation of international law." Anticipating Wednesday's announcement, the French government issued a statement saying the move would isolate Palestinian areas "and prejudge the final status which can only come about through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians." France has proposed holding a peace conference between Israel and the Palestinians in Paris later this year, but Israel has rejected the idea and said it won't attend, saying only direct peace talks can bring about a peace deal. (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Writing by Ori Lewis; editing by Luke Baker and Raissa Kasolowsky) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel revived plans on Wednesday to build 500 new homes for Jewish settlers in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, an ominous sign for Palestinians wary of a Donald Trump presidency, an NGO said. "The political significance of this action is that it is the first plan to be promoted since the US elections," Betty Herschman from the Ir Amim NGO said. The plan for 500 housing units in Ramat Shlomo, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood in east Jerusalem of around 20,000, had been on hold since 2014, Ir Amim said. The Jerusalem municipality downplayed the significance of the new housing units, saying the plans were "not new and were approved years ago". Nevertheless, the announcement is likely to be interpreted by some as a first step in Israel expanding its settlements in the wake of Trump's upset election victory. Israeli right-wingers hailed his triumph as ushering in an administration far less critical of settlement expansion than that of outgoing President Barack Obama's. The president-elect's adviser on Israel, David Friedman, told AFP last month that he does not believe Trump sees Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as illegal. One Israeli minister said Trump's win meant "the era of a Palestinian state is over" while Meir Turjeman, chairman of the Jerusalem municipality planning committee, told public radio earlier in November that it meant suspended permits in east Jerusalem would be given the green light. He said the municipality intended to authorise thousands of housing units that had been frozen. - UN envoy warning - The international community considers all settlements illegal and sees them as one of the largest obstacles to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council on Wednesday that Israel's latest plan for new settlement homes in east Jerusalem were part of "increasingly worrying" developments and urged Israel to halt the construction. Story continues "The situation on the ground is changing steadily, dangerously, as proponents of Israeli settlement expansion feel emboldened, internal divisions among Palestinians flare up, and the prospect of a future Palestinian state comes under threat like never before," Mladenov said. Ahead of the Ramat Shlomo decision France said the planned constructions would be "illegal". "The unabated continuation of the settlement policy only serves to increase tensions on the ground and undermines the prospects for achieving a just and lasting peace," its foreign ministry said Tuesday. More than 200,000 Israelis now live in east Jerusalem, as part of a wider community of around 600,000 settlers in all the occupied Palestinian territories. The municipality did not respond Wednesday to the suggestion that the construction plans were related to events in the US. - Obama's final days - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government is considered the most right-wing in Israeli history, has so far been cautious in approving settlements. While many on the Israeli right are looking forward to Trump's inauguration in January, they are also wary of what Obama may do in his final days in office. Obama's administration has expressed mounting anger over Israeli settlement policy and speculation has grown that he could launch a final initiative before leaving. The UN Security Council is set to debate proposals for a draft resolution calling for a halt to settlement expansion in the Palestinian territories, with speculation Obama could break with recent US practice and support -- or at least not veto -- such a resolution before his term expires on January 20. Netanyahu last month expressed concern over any potential attempt but Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday seemed less concerned. Asked if he expected any surprises from Obama before his term ends, Lieberman said: "I don't think so." "It is clear we are in a transition period, it is clear today -- not only in Israel but in the world -- we are waiting for new policies, a new administration." Obama has had frosty personal relations with Netanyahu throughout his two-term presidency. The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office will be participating in the statewide campaign Click It or Ticket to promote awareness and increase the use of seat belts and child restraints. A high visibility safety checkpoint will be set up from 3-8 p.m. Wednesday on Nebraska 2 just West of 134th Street, a news release from the sheriff's office said. Vehicles will be selected in a systematic fashion and checked to make sure the safety equipment is working properly, all the proper documentation is in the vehicle and that all occupants are properly restrained, the release said. Following the checkpoint, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., deputies from the sheriff's office will continue the mobilization efforts through saturation patrol. Additional deputies, in marked patrol cars, will monitor traffic on an individual basis watching for traffic law violations, the release said. The Lincoln Police Department has also joined the enforcement, which has been going on since Nov. 21 and will continue until the 27th. Overtime for the additional deputies and officers working during the mobilization will be paid through a mini-grant funded by the Nebraska Department of Roads Highway Safety Office. Photo credit: undefined From Town & Country On November 22, 1963-53 years ago today-President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The following excerpts from Mrs. Kennedy and Me and Five Presidents reveal what really happened from someone who was there: Jackie's secret service agent Clint Hill. The First Lady's Final Goodbye Sunday, November 24 was the day the president's body would be taken to the U.S. Capitol to lie in state. That morning, I got an urgent message to return to the mansion. Mrs. Kennedy and her brother-in-law, Robert Kennedy, wanted to view the president's body one final time. I raced to the hallway outside the East Room, where General Godfrey McHugh was waiting with Mrs. Kennedy and the attorney general. After requesting the honor guard to turn around and move back from the casket, General McHugh carefully folded back the flag, and together we raised the lid of the casket. When I saw President Kennedy lying there, confined in that narrow casket, with his eyes closed so peacefully just like he was sleeping, it was all I could do to keep from breaking down. McHugh and I slowly moved back from the casket as Mrs. Kennedy and the president's brother walked over to view the man they had so loved. Weeping, Mrs. Kennedy turned to me, and asked if I would bring her a pair of scissors. I quickly found some in the drawer of the usher's office across the hall, and after placing them in her hands, I turned away to give her some privacy. With my back to the casket, I heard the sound of the scissors, beneath the painful cries, as she clipped a few locks of her husband's hair. Robert Kennedy gently closed the lid of the casket, grabbed Mrs. Kennedy's hand, and together they walked out of the East Room. General McHugh and I checked the casket to make sure it was securely closed, and out of habit, I looked at my watch to take note of the time-12:46. I had seen President Kennedy for the last time; the casket would never be opened again. Story continues Photo credit: undefined President Kennedy's casket was placed on an artillery carriage and led by a team of gray horses. Directly behind the caisson, Mrs. Kennedy rode with the children, the attorney general and President and Mrs. Johnson. We headed out the Northeast Gate of the White House, the procession moving slowly, at the pace of the marching horses, and as we turned onto Pennsylvania Avenue, thousands of people stood-ten and fifteen deep-on both sides of the wide street. From my position in the front passenger seat, I had a clear view of the tearful, anguished faces grieving the president they had loved. It was unlike any other motorcade I had ever been in before. There were no cheers or hollers, no clapping hands or waving banners; three hundred thousand people, dead silent. The only sounds you could hear-sounds that would remain forever in my memory-were the clip-clop of the horses' hooves and the repetitive cadence of the military corps' muffled drums, all the way to the Capitol. The only sounds you could hear-sounds that would remain forever in my memory-were the clip-clop of the horses' hooves and the repetitive cadence of the military corps' muffled drums, all the way to the Capitol. For 22 hours, President Kennedy's flag-draped casket stayed in the Rotunda. A tidal wave of people had come, queuing for hours on into the night, just to have a few seconds to pay their respects to their beloved president. By the time the doors finally closed on Monday morning, a quarter of a million people had filed past the casket. Photo credit: undefined Mrs. Kennedy was heavily involved in the funeral plans. One of the things she was insisting was to walk behind the caisson from the White House to St. Matthews, where the funeral Mass would take place, and then on to Arlington National Cemetery. With heads of state from countries all over the world planning to participate, we knew that if Mrs. Kennedy walked, they too would feel compelled to walk. To have every major world leader walking slowly through the streets of Washington DC was going to be a security nightmare. I tried to talk Mrs. Kennedy out of it, and ultimately, she agreed to compromise by walking just one segment of the procession-from the White House to St. Matthews. Agent Landis and I would be right alongside her, but I knew it would be the longest mile I'd ever walked. Excerpted from Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford by Clint Hill with Lisa McCubbin. Copyright 2016 by Hill McCubbin LLC. Reprinted by permission of Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. [contentlinks align="left" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="The%20Kennedy%20Family%20Code%20Names" customimages="" content="article.6116"] The Lighting of the Eternal Flame It was time to light the eternal flame. From the moment Mrs. Kennedy started planning this heartrending day, she had the idea of an eternal flame-just like the one at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris. She overcame the objections and negative attitudes of everyone who said it was too complicated a job to be done in time. I was proud of her fortitude and positive attitude, which enabled her to do it. The eternal flame was her triumph. She was handed a lighted torch and bent forward to ignite the flame. The fire danced as she passed the lighted torch to Bobby Kennedy who in turn handed it to Ted, each symbolically igniting the flame. The United States flag that had draped the casket was folded and presented to Mrs. Kennedy. Taps, the final ending to a military funeral, were played. The bugler, standing off to the side, started playing and the sound rolled through the hills surrounding Arlington National Cemetery. He was feeling the pressure of performing before thousands in person and millions on TV. He flubbed a note and recovered quickly. I felt sorry for him knowing he would never forget it, and the world had it recorded for posterity. Mrs. Kennedy thanked the military commander and we entered the waiting limousine and drove back to the White House. Photo credit: undefined The day was far from over. First there was a small reception in the upstairs yellow Oval Room, in the residence quarters, for a few special people: Charles De Gaulle, Prince Philip, Emperor Haile Selassie, Ireland's President Eamon de Valera. After offering her sincere thanks to these men, she went to the Red Room, where a larger reception was held for the scores of other foreign dignitaries. This involved a lot of people and I was concerned about her being able to stand the strain. If she felt it, she didn't show it. I thought this would certainly be the end for the day and she would go to the second floor living quarters and retire for the night. Instead, as the reception was winding down, she motioned to me. "Yes Mrs. Kennedy, what can I do for you?" "I may want to go back to Arlington later," she whispered. "I'll call and let you know." I was exhausted, and she hadn't slept any more than I had. How she could keep this up I didn't know. We needed to make arrangements with the superintendent's office at Arlington. This was to be completely private, and kept absolutely confidential. When Mrs. Kennedy finally went to the second floor, I went to the Map Room and more or less collapsed in my chair. Shortly before midnight, she called. "Yes Mrs. Kennedy," I answered. "Mr. Hill, Bobby and I want to go to Arlington now. We want to see the flame." "Certainly Mrs. Kennedy. I'll get the car." Photo credit: undefined I called Sgt. Watkins and he brought the car around. We took Mrs. Kennedy and Bobby to the cemetery, as Agent Paul Landis followed in another car. As we drove across Memorial Bridge, there straight ahead of us flickering on the hillside was the eternal flame. It was a moving, very emotional sight. We drove up to the site, and walked to the grave. Mrs. Kennedy had brought a small bouquet of flowers, and she placed them on the fresh earth. Mrs. Kennedy and Bobby knelt and prayed, then stood and looked back across the Potomac at the lights of the memorials. We all got back in the car, and returned to the White House. No press, no public, complete privacy. Just the way Mrs. Kennedy wanted it. Excerpted from Mrs. Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill. Copyright 2012 by Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin. Reprinted by permission of Gallery Books, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. [contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Stories" customtitles="Watch%20the%20Trailer%20for%20Natalie%20Portman's%20Jackie%20%7CJean%20Kennedy%20Smith%20Talks%20About%20Her%20Famous%20Family%7CYou%20Won't%20See%20Jackie's%20Pink%20Suit%20on%20Museum%20Display" customimages="||" content="article.8115|article.8009|article.8174"] You Might Also Like Indonesian police questioned the governor of the countrys capital for eight hours on Tuesday after he was named a suspect in a blasphemy case the week before. According to his lawyer, Basuki T. Purnama popularly known by his Chinese nickname Ahok answered 27 questions during the interrogation, the Jakarta Post reports. This questioning is repetitive of the previous interrogation, the lawyer, Sirra Prayuna, said, referring to hours of a closed-door interview that took place on Nov. 7. Ahok was accused of insulting Islam following a campaign speech he made in September that allegedly invoked a Quranic verse. His speech drew the ire of hard-line and ultraconservative Muslims who have argued that a non-Muslim should not hold a leadership position in Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country. Many religious moderates have defended Ahok, and the Christian governor has repeatedly apologized, saying he never intended to insult Islam or the Quran. His apology failed to appease the hard-line groups, however, and on Nov. 4, about 200,000 conservative Muslims protested in the streets of Jakarta demanding Ahok be prosecuted for blasphemy. The crowds also rallied against Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo, whose party endorses the governor in the upcoming gubernatorial election. With more protests planned, many in Jakarta see the action as an attempt to destabilize Jokowis government. As Ahok was being questioned, Jokowi issued what appeared to be a warning following a breakfast meeting with a coalition partner. The government is determined to prevent the growth of radicalism in this country, he said Tuesday, according to Reuters. In recent weeks Jokowi has sought to cool the flames and consolidate his power by meeting with leaders from mainstream Islamic groups and political parties including former presidential-election rival Prabowo Subianto and his partys chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri as well as military officials. Ahok assumed the capitals top job in 2014 after his boss Jokowi won the presidential election. His appointment was seen as a milestone for tolerance in the worlds most populous Muslim nation. Despite the ongoing blasphemy case, Ahok is still allowed to seek re-election. His two main competitors are Anies Baswedan, who is backed by the party of Prabowo, and Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the eldest son of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 / Jaxon Minerals Inc. (JAX.V) (FSE: 0U3) ("Jaxon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Van Silver Holdings Ltd. to acquire 35 contiguous property claims on the western boundary of its newly acquired Price Creek precious metal-rich, polymetallic property in north-central British Columbia, Canada. The claims are being acquired following a comprehensive and on-going review of historic data on the Price Creek property and surrounding area. "With the addition of this ground Jaxon will control more than 3,000 hectares representing the most prospective ground in this area." said Jason Cubitt, President of Jaxon. "This significantly expands our exploration potential, giving Jaxon access to multiple new high-grade gold and silver-bearing surface structures." On completion of the property acquisition, the vendor will be owed 300,000 shares of Jaxon and a 1% net smelter royalty. Price Creek is an advanced exploration (brownfield) opportunity that hosts widespread soil anomalies and surface showings up to 3,398 g/t Ag, 22.7 g/t Au and 22.29% Zn. This news release has been reviewed by Glen Macdonald, P.Geo. (a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101, Standards and Disclosure for Mineral Projects). About Jaxon Jaxon is a base and precious metals exploration company with a regional focus on western Canada. The company is currently advancing its optioned Price Creek Property in north-central British Columbia. The property has seen considerable historic exploration work and presents a VMS-style target with reported potential Eskay Creek / Equity Silver style mineralization. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Signed " Jason Cubitt " Jason Cubitt, President and Director For further information regarding Jaxon Minerals Inc., please contact Jason Cubitt at 604-608-0400, Toll free: 1-877-608-0007. This news release may contain forward-looking information, which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release may include, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither TSX Venture exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Jaxon Minerals Inc. ROBYN BECK/Getty Images Oscar winner Jeff Bridges recently cut $5 million more off the asking price of his luxurious estate in Montecito, CA. Its now available for $18.5 million. It was originally listed for $29.5 million. The Tuscan-style property is drop-dead gorgeous with mountain and ocean views. The main house is 9,500 square feet with lavish hallways, soaring and exposed wood-beam ceilings, and a private tower/study that opens to a rooftop terrace. Theres a master suite, three en suite bedrooms, an eat-in kitchen, and a four-car garage. The estate also includes a one-bedroom guest cottage, a two-bedroom caretakers cottage, and a swimming pool. The19.5-acre property also boasts a sculpted fountain, walking path, fruit orchard, and Italian cypress trees. A stately, iron gate rests between two pillars at the propertys entrance. Views of the Pacific Ocean realtor.com Music studio realtor.com The six-bedroom, 6.5-bath home quietly came on the market in July 2015 for $29.5 million. At the time, the actors wife, Susan Bridges, told The Wall Street Journal their daughters had moved out of the family home and they were ready to downsize. In September 2016, they reduced the price to $23.5 million. Jeff Bridges, who recently starred in the sleeper hit Hell or High Water, won the Oscar for best actor for his role as Otis Bad Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart. For more photos and details, check out the full listing. Homes for sale in Montecito Learn more about Montecito, CA The post Jeff Bridges Slashes $5M Off the Price of His Montecito Mansion appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Usually when you are saying you are just trying to make a truthful, quiet movie, studio marketers will run the other way. But Jeff Nichols, writer-director of Focus Features Loving, came to the DGA theater earlier this month for the all-day The Contenders Presented By Deadline to tell a packed audience of Oscar and key guild voters that is exactly the film he felt he had to make. The 1950s- and 60s -set story of Richard and Mildred Loving, who were jailed in Virginia because of their interracial marriage, holds great weight since it went all the way to the Supreme Court in 1967 and changed the ways states could deal with marriage rights and equality. But as Nichols says, the Lovings are quiet, simple people, and their story deserved that kind of dignified screen treatment. He also talks about casting this quintessential Southern story with an Australian actor in Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, an Ethiopian-born actress who grew up in Ireland. Check out our conversation above. Related stories Dev Patel On Why He Had To Be In 'Lion' Even Before It Had A Script - The Contenders Video Miles Teller & Aaron Eckhart On Biggest Sports Comeback Story Of Them All - The Contenders Video Mel Gibson On The Fierce Battle To Bring 'Hacksaw Ridge' To The Screen - The Contenders Video 23 Nov - Despite her loss at the recent International Emmy Awards, Jodi Sta. Maria is returning home to the Philippines with a renewed determination to do better. As reported on PEP News, the actress, who was nominated at the iEmmys for her role as Amor Powers in the remake of "Pangako Sa 'Yo", lost the award to German actress Christiane Paul ("Unterm Radar"). However, Sta. Maria stressed that she has cherished her time at the iEmmy's very much. She wrote online, "Attending and being nominated at the 44th International Emmy Awards is a memorable experience. Making new friends, sharing a glimpse of the Filipino hospitality to my fellow nominees, proudly speaking about the beauty of the Philippines and representing the country to 15 nations made it more meaningful and special." She also stated that the nomination will serve as inspiration for her to be more dedicated and passionate about her craft. Aside from Sta. Maria, Kapamilya series "Bridges of Love" was also nominated for Best Telenovela at the iEmmys, but lost to Brazilian telenovela, "Hidden Truths". (Photo source: instagram.com/iemmys) Joe Biden made a surprise appearance at a rally in his honor, continues to lift our spirits Even during the darkest times, we can always count on Vice President Joe Biden to bring a smile to our faces and not just because a series of hilarious memes have gone viral and provided some much-needed laughter during the painful election aftermath. In real life, Biden made a surprise appearance at a rally in his honor, and proved once again that we can always count on Uncle Joe to lift our spirits. On November 22nd, approximately two dozen people congregated around Bidens residence to express their appreciation for the beloved vice presidents service to our country over the past eight years but none of them expected a surprise visit from Uncle Joe himself. The small group was understandably ecstatic when Biden emerged from his motorcade to give an impromptu speech as his supporters cheered him on. It has been the honor of my life serving, I really mean that, he told his supporters. And, you know, look, theres still a lot more that has to be done President Obama Makes At Statement At White House After Presidential Election The Thank you, Uncle Joe rally was organized by Democrats who wanted to highlight the positive by honoring President Obama and Biden rather than focusing on the pain of Trumps victory. A lot of people are shocked and saddened by the election outcome, and I just felt like I needed something uplifting, Pamela Lessard told the Huffington Post. I knew this would be a happy event. "barack please don't leave me with them" "joe you're leaving when I leave" "oh right lmao love u" pic.twitter.com/gnQE3UdyS8 WSHH FANS (@WORIDSTARHIPH0P) September 27, 2016 The attendees received the best surprise possible when Biden himself appeared and, now that the video has gone viral, the rest of his supporters can experience the joy and gratitude, too. Its a reminder that, despite our disappointment and sadness about the 2016 elections outcome, we have been blessed by the service of one of the most amazing administrations in history. The post Joe Biden made a surprise appearance at a rally in his honor, continues to lift our spirits appeared first on HelloGiggles. A Lancaster County District Court judge sentenced a 30-year-old Lincoln man to prison for having 2 ounces of meth and a loaded gun in his car during a July traffic stop. Officers with the Lincoln Police Department on July 1 were sent to a convenience store at 5500 Superior St. after getting a tip that two people in a 2001 Dodge Stratus would have dealer quantities of drugs on them. The driver, Earl Hollings, and his passenger, Skylar Holliday, 25, told officers there was just a little marijuana in the car, but police said a large bag of methamphetamine was in plain view, according to a probable cause affidavit for arrest. Officers estimate the pair had 343 individual user quantities of meth, documents say. Hollings pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person last month. Judge John Colborn sentenced Hollings to a combined 10 to 20 years in prison with 144 days credit for time already served during a hearing Tuesday afternoon. Holliday is scheduled to be sentenced in December. Nearly 24 hours after Kanye West's hospitalization, new details are still coming to light. The 39-year-old rapper was hospitalized in Los Angeles on Monday after canceling the remaining dates of his Saint Pablo tour. WATCH: Kanye West Hospitalized After Cancelling U.S. Tour Dates, Bizarre Onstage Behavior Here's everything we've learned so far: 1. What happened to West? A source claims to ET that "Kanye had a mental breakdown," in large part due to his busy work schedule. "It was a combination of a lot of issues: stress, anxiety, paranoia. He just broke. I think a lot of people realized he couldn't do it all, even though he tried, and he just broke down." In addition to the rapper's recent tour cancellation and curious Instagram postings, the source says that "there have been signs recently of him just overwhelmed. He has a lot going on: multiple fashion lines, the tour, his business, being a father." Besides his own responsibilities, the source also adds that Kim Kardashian West's Paris robbery last month also "threw him for a big loop," while noting that "his mother [Donda West] passed away this time of year, so there is a lot going on right now. Kanye hasn't been himself for a while." EXCLUSIVE: John Legend Says Kanye West Has 'Been Through a Lot' After What Happened to Kim Kardashian "Before Paris, there were a lot of things Kanye committed to work-wise that he couldn't cancel," the source adds. "All he wanted to do was stay home with Kim and the kids, and he couldn't. He barely canceled anything, not realizing his family really needed him. He realized he couldn't do it all and just broke. He's in a bad place." "The guy just needs some rest," another source reveals, adding that the rapper is suffering from sleep deprivation and exhaustion. 2. Where was West and who was he with when he was taken to the hospital? A source confirms to ET that West was at personal trainer Harley Pasternak's home at the time, where he was "strongly convinced to go to the hospital for his own well-being and safety." "Harley and Kanye have been close for years," the source says, adding that Pasternak has accompanied West on many of his tours, though not for Saint Pablo. Story continues Happy bday @kanyewest ! The most creative human being on earth A photo posted by Harley Pasternak (@harleypasternak) on Jun 8, 2016 at 11:27am PDT WATCH: Janelle Monae, Emile Hirsch and More Celebs Offer Support for Kanye West Amid Hospitalization 3. Did West assault someone? Despite reports that West allegedly attempted to assault a staff member at Pasternak's gym before his hospitalization, a source close to West tells ET, "[There was] no assault, no fight." 4. Where is West now? A source tells ET that the "Fade" rapper is currently at UCLA Medical Center, where TMZ reports his personal physician, Dr. Michael Farzam, requested that West be transferred and put on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. WATCH: EXCLUSIVE: Kim Kardashian 'Terrified' After Kanye West's Hospitalization: He 'Hasn't Been Himself in a While' 5. Where was Kim Kardashian West and how did she react? ET's source says that West's wife was in New York City for a few hours on Monday before flying back to Los Angeles to be with her husband. Kim landed at around 10:30 p.m. and headed straight to UCLA Medical Center. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star was expected to make her first public appearance since her Paris robbery at the Angel Ball, a black-tie event honoring her late father, Robert Kardashian. "Kim was terrified," the source adds. "She was so scared when she heard the news and rushed to his side. There was no question about her staying in NYC. She had to be with him last night." Watch the video below for more. Related Articles It was a day of laughter and tears as Kate Middleton kicked off her Tuesday morning with a dinosaur tea party before ending the evening with an emotional embrace with a sobbing mom. And while the royals are certainly no strangers to tea parties, this was surely one of the most memorable that the Duchess of Cambridge has ever attended! WATCH: Prince William Admits He's 'Struggled' With Parenthood at Times The fun event at London's Natural History Museum was in honor of the landmark's famous Dippy the Diplodocus, who has stood guard at the entrance to the tourist hot spot for 40 years, but is now moving on. Wearing a floral dress by L.K Bennett, Prince William's wife jumped right into the festivities, which included painting dinosaur eggs and a mini fossil dig. "Does anyone like T-Rex?" Middleton asked the youngsters as they decorated their eggs. "The boys probably... George likes T-Rex. I think probably because it's the noisiest and scariest." "George absolutely loves dinosaurs," the Duchess later shared with a young girl sitting next to her during the arts and crafts session. "Dinosaurs and volcanoes!" Middleton also discussed her love for Jurassic Park with the kids, and questioned them about what they want to be when they grow up. LOOK: Kate Middleton Draws Princess Diana Comparisons in Remembrance Day Photo Getty Images Royal duties continued later in the day as the 34-year-old style icon attended the Place2Be Wellbeing in Schools Awards at Mansion House in London. Looking stunning in a flared, black Preen cocktail dress, Middleton attended the event as part of her role as a patron of the children's mental health organization, which provides support and training to schools to improve the emotional wellbeing of students. "As you all recognize through your support of Place2Be, even the luckiest people can face great challenges," the mother of two told the crowd. "No matter how invincible we seem on the surface, all of us need help from time to time." Story continues WATCH: Prince William and Kate Middleton Join the Queen at Remembrance Events Middleton was seen emotionally hugging Ceri Knapton, a mom who broke down in tears while her 13-year-old son, Ethan, talked to the royal about his battle with autism and Asperger's syndrome. While his teary-eyed mom watched on, the teen, who was nominated for the Young Person Champion Award, told Middleton about his experience being bullied at school because of his condition. "The Duchess just leaned over and said to me, 'I've got to give you a hug as a mom,'" Knapton told reporters. "I couldn't believe it. It was such a kind gesture.'" Getty Images Getty Images Tea parties and random hugs aren't the only surprises from Middleton. Check out the video below to see the royal stun fellow passengers while flying commercial. Related Articles Katy Mixon, the lead of American Housewife, is like her character, Katie a ball of energy. The sitcom, which just got a full-season pickup, hinges entirely on Mixons presence and charm, a wisecracking sarcastic mom on her last nerve (and wearing her last semi-clean sweater). But Mixon tells Variety, that energy is where the similarities end. While creator and executive producer Sarah Dunn based Katie on herself, Mixon isnt anything like Katie Otto. Mixon talked to Variety about what Katies going through, the importance of staying true to yourself, and what reception from housewives around the country has been to her firecracker role. Do you feel like you identify with Katie Otto? Katy Mixon: No. Im nothing like her. I couldnt be more opposite. I rock and roll in life in a completely different way. That is why I took it! I was looking to do something so very different than Ive ever done and right after Mike and Molly playing the Victoria role, and for six years in the Eastbound & Down role, I just jumped at the opportunity. I grew up in a family of nine, honey. I grew up with six girls and one boy, so my innate instinct of who I am Im the third oldest, and I helped raise all of my younger sisters. I just fall into that aspect that motherhood naturally. When I first read it, I literally was like, I love it! Then came all of the different flavors and levels and character traits of her. Katies feelings about her weight are a big part of her identity. I know. Shes so consumed with it. What is that like playing that character? Theres sort of a tragic element to her. I think youve got to find the humor in it, honey. Theres humor in literally being like, This is who I am. Im not a size 2. Im not a size 4. Im not even a size 8 or 10. Honestly, sweetheart, if I had the issues that Katie Otto had I couldnt play her. I would have to have a therapist on set with me. Who I am just couldnt be more opposite of what the character goes through. Ive never let the media dictate my identity. Im who I am. Ive been a size 4. Ive been a size 12. Ive been a size 8. Ive been a size 2, and I think what I Im a big fan of just celebrating who you are. There no other person like you in this world and for me thats powerful. That is the most powerful thing. Story continues Its interesting playing this kind of character thats self-deprecating. Im just not self-deprecating. I just find humor in it all, in the sense of like, yeah, its okay. I had a doughnut today and tomorrow Ill eat broccoli. Thats my M.O. Katie Otto really struggles. She thinks everyone is talking about her. She thinks everyone is against her and really shes against herself in some way. I think she is learning in each episode she tries and she fails and she gets back up on the horse to really accept herself. The thing is at the end of the day, she does. Shes a firecracker. She is a little bit of a walking contradiction, but thats what we all go through each day. It doesnt matter what gender you are, or it doesnt matter what other background you come from, everybody deals with insecurity. Everybody understands, for whatever reason, what its like to not fit in, or not do it right, or not be perfect. Thats why Im such a firm believer of the show. Its not just pertaining to housewives. Its pertaining to every single person in this world. Everybody deals with what its like not being excellent. Its going to be okay. Youve got to accept yourself where youre at and forgive yourself, and walk through the fire. Thats been my anthem with it, basically, of learning how to play this role. How has it been striking the balance between being aware of Katies weight and making fun of Katies weight? I just dont think about it, darling, to be honest with you. I think there is an aspect of it where its like, this is the role. This is the character that I signed up for, so if the Katie Otto character is struggling with her weight, shes struggling with her weight. I appreciate that the show depicts some of the sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle ways that the world reminds her of how shes deviated from a standard of beauty. Like the depiction of Westport, where all of the moms wear yoga pants. I know, and its so interesting, sweetheart, because personally for me, I think its awesome. If somebody is drinking green juices and doing that yoga, Im like, Go get it girl. Walk to the beat of your own drum. Who I am, I celebrate people. I love whatever makes them tick, that makes them tick. But Katie Otto, she is really is resentful of it. For whatever reason. She just wants everybody to not be fake but as much as she wants everybody to be real, shes having to come to grips with her getting real, and wheres all this stuff coming from in the mix of the comedy. Its wild. Housewife is a term that encapsulates a lot of choices and contradictions for women. How do you feel about it? Its so different for everyone. Im loving it, honey, being able to dive into this. Im 35 and I dont have children yet. I cant wait to have them. I grew up with a mommy that was like a hero. She was an unbelievable stay-at-home mom that raised 7 children, so in my eyes its just the most incredible job. Now its fascinating, because its going to be interesting whenever I have children. Its going to be an interesting situation, of being a working mommy one day. All of the Twitter feedback, the Facebook feedback, its been wild. Im not a real social media kind of girl, but Ive had to jump into it because of the situation and Im loving it. Everybodys like, Katie Ottos my spirit animal, and Ive got to meet Katie because shed be my best friend, she says it like it is. Theyre relating and its moms from all walks of life, from aspects of all the Westport mommies that have tweeted me and said, look, weve got our green juices to people in Arkansas, from people in Wichita, literally. Sarah Dunn was telling me that sometimes when youre on set, she has to go up to you and remind you that youd be tired and it would be hard and it wouldnt be fun anymore. Shes quite specific on her Katie Otto. Me, I like to add color. What do you feel like youve brought to Katie that maybe wasnt there before you got onto the show? I think what my main goal has been is I wanted her to be so relatable. I wanted her to in the midst of the sarcasm, in the midst of the cynicism, in the midst of the self-deprecation, shes got a big heart. Shes got a huge heart. There has to be a balance in the role of comedy and of humor, but youve got to have that heart. You see her realize shes wrong. You see her realize shes not wrong. Youve got to have moments of where you see the vulnerability of her. Related stories Lack of Cancellations This Season Leaves Slew of New TV Series in Limbo 'Dancing With the Stars' Reveals Season 23 Winner 'American Housewife' Creator Sarah Dunn on Living Life as the 'Second-Fattest Housewife in Westport' By Duncan Miriri NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's East African Portland Cement aims to sell land and shed 1,000 workers -- two thirds of its staff -- to cut debt and try to revive its fortunes after its market share plummeted, its chairman said. Portland, 52 percent owned by the state, was found technically insolvent in a November report by Kenya's auditor-general, because its liabilities outstripped assets. But board chairman Bill Lay told Reuters that Portland owned 15,000 acres of land near the capital Nairobi and said it was worth more than the 10 billion shillings ($98 million) needed to finance a turnaround for the company. "If we were able to extract all the value of our land assets we would be able to retire our debts, right size our workforce, pay our creditors and we would have cash in the bank," he said. The company reported a pretax profit of 3.7 billion shillings for its year to the end of June but that was mainly due to valuation gains on its assets like land. It lost 1.5 billion shillings from operations during the period. The earnings report was delayed for several weeks due to queries raised by the auditor general. Portland owes 6 billion shillings to local banks, as well as other debts that include a yen-denominated loan. Lay, a former General Motors executive who was appointed chairman three years ago, said the firm planned to spend 2 billion shillings on the voluntary early retirement of 1,000 workers once funds became available. "Portland has an excessive, bloated workforce," he said, adding only 500 workers would remain once that was completed. He said the government had expressed interest in using some of the land for other projects. "We have been talking to them about various options, like they give us an advance on the sale of the land," the chairman said. If land selling did not proceed, Portland could bring in a strategic investor to inject the required funds, Lay added. The firm, more than 40 percent owned by Swiss building materials manufacturer LafargeHolcim, has seen its market share plunge by half in the last three years, to just 12 percent, weighed down by high costs and nimbler rivals who have invested in new technology. Portland competes with Bamburi Cement, ARM Cement and three other firms. Its shares are down 54 percent this year to trade at 21 shillings each. ($1 = 101.7500 Kenyan shillings) (Editing by Edmund Blair, Helen Reid/Keith Weir) Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said Wednesday the United States potential extension of sanctions under a 20-year-old law could violate a landmark nuclear agreement between the two nations. He threatened stern reaction in response to an overwhelming vote by the House of Representatives last week to extend sanctions on Iran, Reuters reported Wednesday. Speaking to members of the Revolutionary Guard, Khamenei accused the U.S. of repeatedly breaking the deal struck in Vienna in July 2015 that would roll back Irans nuclear program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions. "The current U.S. government has breached the nuclear deal in many occasions," Khamenei said. "The latest is extension of sanctions for 10 years, that if it happens, would surely be against JCPOA, and the Islamic Republic would definitely react to it." JCPOA, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is a joint effort by the U.S., Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China over the best way to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. It calls for Iran to limit nuclear production for 10 years and comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency. The plan was opposed by Saudi Arabia and Israel. Khamenei was directly responding to the Houses vote last week to extend sanctions on Iran for 10 years under the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996. The House reached an overwhelming 419 to 1 conclusion, but the extension must still pass the Senate and get approval from President Barack Obama. Obamas administration has said he will veto the bill if it reaches his desk. Khamenei wasnt explicit about what Irans reaction might be, or what it could even do. He didnt name any other specific U.S. violation. However, his comments could re-ignite tensions between the two nations that the historic nuclear pact somewhat assuaged. The lifting of the sanctions has also proven beneficial to Irans economy, allowing its oil production to soar of late. Going forward, much of the tension over the nuclear deal will fall at the feet of President-elect Donald Trump, who often trashed it on the campaign trail. The Kardashians have left the Big Apple. Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, along with mom Kris Jenner, were snapped boarding a private plane from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on Tuesday after attending the Angel Ball in New York City on Monday night. Meanwhile, on the West Coast, Kim Kardashian West's husband, Kanye West, made headlines of his own when he was hospitalized in Los Angeles. INF WATCH: Khloe and Kourtney Step Out in Racy Sheer Dresses for the Angel Ball As ET previously reported, Kim was scheduled to make her first public appearance since being robbed at gunpoint in Paris at the Angel Ball, but canceled in order to be by her husband's side. "Kim was terrified," a source told ET. "She was so scared when she heard the news and rushed to be by his side. There was no question about her staying in NYC. She had to be with him." According to the source, Kim was only in NYC for a few hours before flying back to Los Angeles, where she then headed straight to the hospital to see Kanye. The source also confirmed reports that Kanye was at the home of his trainer and close friend, Harley Pasternak, on Monday afternoon, when he was convinced to go to the hospital for "his own well-being and safety." The source claims Kanye had a "mental breakdown," in large part due to his busy work schedule. "Kim was so excited to go to the Angel Ball," the source added about the black-tie event honoring her late father, Robert Kardashian Sr., and his humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to cancer research. "She got herself ready for [Monday] night to be her first public appearance. It's a cause that is so important to her and she wanted to be there for her family." WATCH: Kris Jenner Shares Updates on Kim Kardashian and Kanye West: 'One Step at a Time' Kim's mother and sisters carried on in her absence, with Kris taking the stage to accept an award on her late ex-husband's behalf. Story continues "One of the things he used to teach me and passed down to our children was about philanthropy and about giving and about doing it diligently, constantly, joyfully and generously," Kris shared of Robert Sr., who died of esophageal cancer in 2003. "He taught me and them that no matter what you do in life -- and he would have been very proud of us -- and what you make, you give back and you do it without saying a word." Kris went on to explain that the Kardashian family is often criticized for not giving back or not using their fame for good, but that they are very generous "often silently," and "for things that don't need a loud voice." "After hearing so many stories tonight and so many wonderful outcomes, I'm really glad that we can be a voice," Kris concluded. "Tonight what we do may be very small, but we intend on doing it year after year." On Tuesday morning, before boarding their private plane, Kris, Khloe and Kourtney made time for some business, attending a meeting with designer Tommy Hilfiger in his New York office. Hilfiger A photo posted by Khloe (@khloekardashian) on Nov 22, 2016 at 8:48am PST Meetings in NYC at @tommyhilfiger Wow what a view Tommy!!!! #stunning #conferenceroomwithaview #blessed #friendship @thomasjhilfiger #statueofliberty A photo posted by Kris Jenner (@krisjenner) on Nov 22, 2016 at 10:02am PST As it turns out, West's presence was not entirely absent from the Angel Ball. The rapper's heartfelt song, "Only One," played over a montage of Kardashian home video footage. For more from inside the event, watch below. WATCH: Robert Kardashian Sr. Tribute Event Included Reality Cameras and a Kanye West Song -- But No Kim Related Articles Kim Kardashian West is being the supportive shoulder for husband Kanye West to lean on following his hospitalization for exhaustion on Monday. Of course hes getting the support that he needs right now, a source close to West tells PEOPLE. Family and friends are around. Kim is being amazing. As are all of his friends and team and inner circle. The rapper, 39, was taken to UCLA Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation after acting erratically, reportedly at trainer Harley Pasternaks home. West was medically stable when he was taken to the hospital, an LAFD spokesman told PEOPLE. After news broke of Wests hospitalization on Monday evening, Kardashian West was spotted flying out of New York to head back to Los Angeles. The reality star, 36, was in the Big Apple to attend the Angel Ball, which would have been her first public appearance since the Paris heist on Oct. 3, when she was tied up, gagged, held at gunpoint and robbed of millions of dollars of jewelry in her No Address Hotel apartment. All those things contribute to his stress level, exhaustion and lack of sleep, the source close to West explains to PEOPLE about how Kims terrifying ordeal played a role in his breakdown. As for other causes of Wests exhaustion, an insider previously told PEOPLE that the Yeezy designer has been dealing with sleep deprivation due to his busy schedule and is totally wiped out from his Saint Pablo tour, which he recently canceled the remaining 21 dates. In addition, this November marks the ninth year since his mother, Donda, passed away. The anniversary of his moms death is an aspect of whats going on in that its added emotional stress, the source close to West adds. Wests mother died in November 2007 at the age of 58. His mother died in November, so this time of year always brings him a lot of pain. He keeps that pain internalized, but sometimes will talk about how hard this time of year is for him. He works through the pain every November, a separate source told PEOPLE recently. (Adds fund manager quote, details on holdings, background on opposition to deal) By Susan Taylor TORONTO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Kirkland Lake Gold Inc's largest shareholder, Van Eck Associates, on Wednesday reaffirmed its support for the Canadian miner's proposed takeover of Newmarket Gold Inc as a deadline passed for shareholder proxy votes to be cast. Toronto-based Kirkland Lake has offered to buy Newmarket, which operates mines and projects in Australia, in an all-stock transaction valued at about C$1 billion ($742 million). "We're supportive of the merger," Van Eck fund manager Joseph Foster told Reuters, while declining to specify how the fund voted. "It's just creating a very attractive gold vehicle for us." Van Eck Associates owned 19.83 million shares in Kirkland Lake, a 16.88 percent stake, as of Sept. 30, according to the latest Thomson Reuters data. It also held 23.07 million shares in Newmarket, or a 12.96 percent stake, as of Oct. 26, the data showed. Kirkland Lake and Newmarket shareholders had a midmorning deadline on Wednesday to vote their proxies on the transaction, with results expected on Friday morning.m Some shareholders and analysts have publicly stated the Newmarket takeover offers few cost-cutting or revenue-generating opportunities, given that the miners' assets are in different countries. And some investors argued that Kirkland Lake too hastily rejected three joint offers by Gold Fields Ltd and Silver Standard Resources to acquire Kirkland Lake. Kirkland Lake confirmed on Nov. 11 a Reuters report that Gold Fields and Silver Standard had made three joint bids for the midsize gold miner and recently sweetened their offer to about C$1.4 billion. The bidders' names and deal value were not previously disclosed. Kirkland said its legal advisers and financial advisers concluded the proposals were "not financially superior" to its plan to acquire Newmarket. Investor advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis have recommended to shareholders of Kirkland Lake and Newmarket that they vote for the deal. ($1 = 1.3477 Canadian dollars) (Additional reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vanccouver,; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Jonathan Oatis) The Lancaster County Attorney's Office is seeking to revoke probation for Sarah Piccolo, the former Lincoln Pius X student who attacked a high school classmate in 2013 and now is accused of starting a fire at a community college in Omaha. On Wednesday, the 19-year-old went to court for the first time on the motion. She was brought into a Lincoln courtroom shackled and in orange Douglas County jail clothes, her blue hair in pigtails, and quietly said "not guilty" when asked how she wished to plead to the alleged probation violation filed last week. The violation is based on Piccolo's Nov. 5 arrest in Omaha for first-degree arson on suspicion of intentionally starting a fire in a Metropolitan Community College bathroom. At the time, she was just seven months into a five-year probation for an unprovoked attack Oct. 7, 2013, on Pius X classmate Ellen Kopetzky, after Kopetzky walked into a school bathroom. Kopetzky was hospitalized with cuts to the side of her head and both hands, but recovered and returned to school about a week later. Piccolo, then 16, fled to Kansas, where she turned herself in to police the next day. Last week, Chief Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Bruce Prenda filed a motion to revoke her probation based on the new criminal allegation. At her arraignment Wednesday, Lancaster County District Judge Kevin McManaman asked Piccolo if she understood that she could be re-sentenced on the second-degree assault case if she is found to have violated her probation by violating the law. If a judge determines she did violate probation, she would be re-sentenced and could get up to 20 years in prison. By Susan Taylor TORONTO (Reuters) - Kirkland Lake Gold Inc's largest shareholder, Van Eck Associates, on Wednesday reaffirmed its support for the Canadian miner's proposed takeover of Newmarket Gold Inc as a deadline passed for shareholder proxy votes to be cast. Toronto-based Kirkland Lake has offered to buy Newmarket, which operates mines and projects in Australia, in an all-stock transaction valued at about C$1 billion ($742 million). "We're supportive of the merger," Van Eck fund manager Joseph Foster told Reuters, while declining to specify how the fund voted. "It's just creating a very attractive gold vehicle for us." Van Eck Associates owned 19.83 million shares in Kirkland Lake, a 16.88 percent stake, as of Sept. 30, according to the latest Thomson Reuters data. It also held 23.07 million shares in Newmarket, or a 12.96 percent stake, as of Oct. 26, the data showed. Kirkland Lake and Newmarket shareholders had a midmorning deadline on Wednesday to vote their proxies on the transaction, with results expected on Friday morning. Some shareholders and analysts have publicly stated the Newmarket takeover offers few cost-cutting or revenue-generating opportunities, given that the miners' assets are in different countries. And some investors argued that Kirkland Lake too hastily rejected three joint offers by Gold Fields Ltd and Silver Standard Resources to acquire Kirkland Lake. Kirkland Lake confirmed on Nov. 11 a Reuters report that Gold Fields and Silver Standard had made three joint bids for the midsize gold miner and recently sweetened their offer to about C$1.4 billion. The bidders' names and deal value were not previously disclosed. Kirkland said its legal advisers and financial advisers concluded the proposals were "not financially superior" to its plan to acquire Newmarket. Investor advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis have recommended to shareholders of Kirkland Lake and Newmarket that they vote for the deal. (Additional reporting by Nicole Mordant in Vanccouver,; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Jonathan Oatis) Every fall investors are cautioned about inheriting a tax bill by buying mutual funds about to make large year-end capital gains distributions. Buy afterward and you can avoid an ugly surprise. But all years are not created equal. Sometimes distributions are big; others, not so much. How's this year shaping up? Overall it won't be too bad, but "there are a handful of doozies," Christine Benz, director for personal finance at Morningstar, recently wrote in a report. [See: How to Max Out Your 401(k) in 2017.] So investors are wise to check with the fund company before buying. Many have already posted distribution estimates on their website. And if big distributions give you headaches at tax time, it could make sense to rejigger your portfolio to minimize the problem in the future. Many mutual funds pay dividends throughout the year, and lots of investors have them automatically reinvested in the fund. But the year-end payments can be especially large. They are the net profits the fund has realized from holdings sold during the year, and the government requires they be paid to investors by year-end. If your fund is in a tax-favored account like an IRA or 401(k), it's a non-event, because you don't pay taxes until you redeem shares to make withdrawals, which may be decades later. But if the fund is in a taxable account, the distribution is subject to long- or short-term capital gains tax, even if the payment is reinvested. Using a portion of the distribution to pay the tax means reinvesting less, and that hurts your compounding over the years. And sometimes the payments are whoppers that require the investor to come up with lots of cash to pay taxes the next April. Morningstar cites the Columbia Acorn USA fund (ticker: LAUAX), which says it expects to distribute $4.80 to $5 a share, or about 25 percent of its current share price of around $19.50. If you had $10,000 in the fund, you'd get about $2,500, and pay $375 in taxes, assuming a 15 percent long-term capital gains rate. Story continues At first glance big distributions look like a good thing, signifying the fund had a lot of money making holdings to sell. After all, who wouldn't want to receive $2,500 from a $10,000 investment? But it doesn't quite work that way. When the distribution is paid, the fund's share price drops by an equal amount because its assets are reduced. So a $20-per-share fund that pays $5 a share will become a $15-a-share fund, and investors will be no richer the day after the payout than the day before. In fact, the looming tax bill will make them poorer. That's why many advisors recommend postponing a fund purchase late in the year until after the payout if a big distribution is expected. The shares will be cheaper, you will get more of them for the same money, and you'll escape the tax bill. "The clients I find are really hit hard by year-end distributions are those facing alternative minimum tax," says Crystal Stranger, president of Honolulu-based tax advisory 1st Tax and author of several books on taxation. "In this case every dollar that adjusted gross income increases has a corresponding effect of reducing deductions, meaning that not only are you taxed on the income but it eats away at how much your home interest and miscellaneous deductions can reduce taxable income." [See: 7 of the Best Stocks to Buy for 2017.] Big distributions are not necessarily a sign of great fund management. These days, many funds are packed with profitable holdings simply because the stock market has been on a roll since 2009. That has also left funds with few money-losing investments to sell to offset gains. Finally, sales of profitable holdings are not always due to smart strategy. Morningstar notes that some funds now expecting big distributions had to sell holdings to raise cash for investors who were redeeming shares, often fleeing to buy other fund's deemed more tax efficient. Morningstar says "investors have been opting for exchange-traded funds and index funds while dumping actively managed options." These index-style investments tend to have smaller distributions because they merely track an underlying index and don't buy and sell in a hunt for hot stocks. Investment advisors are also becoming more diligent about steering investors away from high-fee funds and into index products, says Richard Spurgin, associate professor of finance at Clark University's Graduate School of Management in Worcester, Massachusetts. "What changed in 2016 for the mutual fund industry was the new requirement that advisors to retirement accounts act as fiduciaries," he says. "Sponsors of 401(k) and other retirement accounts responded to this new rule by kicking expensive funds off their platforms out of concern that high-cost funds might violate this standard. While these investors don't care about capital gain distributions since they don't pay taxes on (them), their investments are pooled with taxable investors who do care." Since those who leave the fund before the distribution do not receive it, the realized gains are concentrated among the investors who remain, making the per-share amounts even bigger, he adds. So what can you do to avoid unwelcome distributions? One way is to switch to index funds and ETFs. Not only are they more tax efficient, they tend to have lower management fees, and there's lots of data to show that most active managers fail to beat the indexers over time. ETFs are even more tax efficient than index funds because they don't have to sell holdings to meet redemptions. Instead, gains are reflected in the share price and generally not paid as cash, Stranger says. If you've found a fund you really must have and it tends to make big distributions, you could buy it in an IRA or 401(k) to avoid annual tax on those payouts. Or shop for "tax-managed" funds that make an extra effort to minimize distributions. They do things like scouring the portfolio for losers they can sell to offset gains on winners, or postponing sales of winners until 12 months have passed to get the long-term capital gains rate. Of course, it's impossible to know which funds will have big distributions in the future. But the odds favor those with large unrealized capital gains, or lots of buying and selling signified by higher portfolio turnover. That data is available from the fund company and on Morningstar. Also look for a figure called "potential capital gains exposure." [Read: Why Financial Advisors Are Missing the Boat.] Another tactic -- selling out of the fund before the distribution -- doesn't work very well, according to Morningstar. That's because the big gains are already reflected in the share price, and selling shares at a profit will trigger a tax bill, too. Jeff Brown spent nearly 40 years as a newspaper reporter, columnist and editor, including 20 years writing about investing, personal finance, the economy and financial markets. He spent 20 years at The Philadelphia Inquirer and has been freelancing since 2007. Every fall investors are cautioned about inheriting a tax bill by buying mutual funds about to make large year-end capital gains distributions. Buy afterward and you can avoid an ugly surprise. But all years are not created equal. Sometimes distributions are big; others, not so much. How's this year shaping up? Overall it won't be too bad, but "there are a handful of doozies," Christine Benz, director for personal finance at Morningstar, recently wrote in a report. [See: How to Max Out Your 401(k) in 2017.] So investors are wise to check with the fund company before buying. Many have already posted distribution estimates on their website. And if big distributions give you headaches at tax time, it could make sense to rejigger your portfolio to minimize the problem in the future. Many mutual funds pay dividends throughout the year, and lots of investors have them automatically reinvested in the fund. But the year-end payments can be especially large. They are the net profits the fund has realized from holdings sold during the year, and the government requires they be paid to investors by year-end. If your fund is in a tax-favored account like an IRA or 401(k), it's a non-event, because you don't pay taxes until you redeem shares to make withdrawals, which may be decades later. But if the fund is in a taxable account, the distribution is subject to long- or short-term capital gains tax, even if the payment is reinvested. Using a portion of the distribution to pay the tax means reinvesting less, and that hurts your compounding over the years. And sometimes the payments are whoppers that require the investor to come up with lots of cash to pay taxes the next April. Morningstar cites the Columbia Acorn USA fund (ticker: LAUAX), which says it expects to distribute $4.80 to $5 a share, or about 25 percent of its current share price of around $19.50. If you had $10,000 in the fund, you'd get about $2,500, and pay $375 in taxes, assuming a 15 percent long-term capital gains rate. Story continues At first glance big distributions look like a good thing, signifying the fund had a lot of money making holdings to sell. After all, who wouldn't want to receive $2,500 from a $10,000 investment? But it doesn't quite work that way. When the distribution is paid, the fund's share price drops by an equal amount because its assets are reduced. So a $20-per-share fund that pays $5 a share will become a $15-a-share fund, and investors will be no richer the day after the payout than the day before. In fact, the looming tax bill will make them poorer. That's why many advisors recommend postponing a fund purchase late in the year until after the payout if a big distribution is expected. The shares will be cheaper, you will get more of them for the same money, and you'll escape the tax bill. "The clients I find are really hit hard by year-end distributions are those facing alternative minimum tax," says Crystal Stranger, president of Honolulu-based tax advisory 1st Tax and author of several books on taxation. "In this case every dollar that adjusted gross income increases has a corresponding effect of reducing deductions, meaning that not only are you taxed on the income but it eats away at how much your home interest and miscellaneous deductions can reduce taxable income." [See: 7 of the Best Stocks to Buy for 2017.] Big distributions are not necessarily a sign of great fund management. These days, many funds are packed with profitable holdings simply because the stock market has been on a roll since 2009. That has also left funds with few money-losing investments to sell to offset gains. Finally, sales of profitable holdings are not always due to smart strategy. Morningstar notes that some funds now expecting big distributions had to sell holdings to raise cash for investors who were redeeming shares, often fleeing to buy other fund's deemed more tax efficient. Morningstar says "investors have been opting for exchange-traded funds and index funds while dumping actively managed options." These index-style investments tend to have smaller distributions because they merely track an underlying index and don't buy and sell in a hunt for hot stocks. Investment advisors are also becoming more diligent about steering investors away from high-fee funds and into index products, says Richard Spurgin, associate professor of finance at Clark University's Graduate School of Management in Worcester, Massachusetts. "What changed in 2016 for the mutual fund industry was the new requirement that advisors to retirement accounts act as fiduciaries," he says. "Sponsors of 401(k) and other retirement accounts responded to this new rule by kicking expensive funds off their platforms out of concern that high-cost funds might violate this standard. While these investors don't care about capital gain distributions since they don't pay taxes on (them), their investments are pooled with taxable investors who do care." Since those who leave the fund before the distribution do not receive it, the realized gains are concentrated among the investors who remain, making the per-share amounts even bigger, he adds. So what can you do to avoid unwelcome distributions? One way is to switch to index funds and ETFs. Not only are they more tax efficient, they tend to have lower management fees, and there's lots of data to show that most active managers fail to beat the indexers over time. ETFs are even more tax efficient than index funds because they don't have to sell holdings to meet redemptions. Instead, gains are reflected in the share price and generally not paid as cash, Stranger says. If you've found a fund you really must have and it tends to make big distributions, you could buy it in an IRA or 401(k) to avoid annual tax on those payouts. Or shop for "tax-managed" funds that make an extra effort to minimize distributions. They do things like scouring the portfolio for losers they can sell to offset gains on winners, or postponing sales of winners until 12 months have passed to get the long-term capital gains rate. Of course, it's impossible to know which funds will have big distributions in the future. But the odds favor those with large unrealized capital gains, or lots of buying and selling signified by higher portfolio turnover. That data is available from the fund company and on Morningstar. Also look for a figure called "potential capital gains exposure." [Read: Why Financial Advisors Are Missing the Boat.] Another tactic -- selling out of the fund before the distribution -- doesn't work very well, according to Morningstar. That's because the big gains are already reflected in the share price, and selling shares at a profit will trigger a tax bill, too. More From US News & World Report With high-profile lawsuits in New York City, San Francisco, Barcelona and Berlin, it's no secret that Airbnb has faced resistance from local governments across the globe. In October, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that imposes fines up to $7,500 for hosts who advertise illegal short-term rentals for multiple-unit dwellings for less than 30 days on alternative accommodation platforms, prompting Airbnb to file a lawsuit. Now, the state of New York has halted enforcing the new piece of legislation, as Airbnb and city regulators are striving to find a compromise on the recent restriction. [See: 10 Outrageous Fees Every Traveler Should Know About.] With tighter regulations and ever-shifting guidelines, chances are, if you're a prospective renter, you're concerned about current home-sharing restrictions and what they might mean for you. While some rules are clear-cut, others are complex and elusive, begging more questions: Is there a cap on the number of nights I can rent? Are there limits to the types of units I can rent? How can I ensure a comfortable experience using a peer-to-peer platform for the first time? To help you understand the current measures in place, U.S. News tapped industry experts to share their strategies for a safe and secure rental experience, along with tips for navigating the change -- and potential pushback -- ahead. Where Regulations Affect Hosts Hosts will face the greatest hurdles in light of the new restrictions, but it's important for travelers to understand how the brewing battle in top markets, including San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Florida, could impact their stay. In New York, the law would allow the city to fine people for advertising illegal short-term listings on Airbnb and similar alternative accommodation sites, but "this doesn't necessarily mean the people of New York will stop listing their properties for rent," explains Hank Freid, CEO of Impulsive Group, a New York-based hospitality company specializing in boutique hotels. "For travelers visiting New York who still prefer to stay in an Airbnb, they will not be penalized, only the property owner will face the penalty, as travelers really aren't at fault, so they will likely still have options as far as alternative accommodations," Freid adds. "The rules for home sharing vary city by city, sometimes block by block," explains Nick Papas, a spokesperson for Airbnb. In San Francisco, for instance, there's a proposed piece of legislation that would require hosts to register their homes and apartment units. Also, currently hosts can rent their homes for up to 90 days annually, but the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is fighting for a 60-day restriction for landlords. Other cities are following suit by imposing strict fines. "In Florida, the penalty varies between the municipalities but can range up to $30,000 for first-time offenders. In San Francisco, all hosts must register with the city or face fines of up to $1,000 per day," Freid explains. "Similar laws requiring property owners to register with the local municipalities are taking effect in cities across the U.S.," Freid adds. [Read: 6 Sneaky Travel Scams to Watch Out For.] While the long-term implications of the new rules are still shaking out, it's important to keep in mind that "Airbnb is working with local jurisdictions to ensure customers and their desired travel plans are not negatively impacted by new regulations," says Ravneet Bhandari, travel industry expert and CEO at hotel revenue management company LodgIQ. "In fact, laws being enacted are in many cases designed to specifically protect consumer safety, a responsible and logical approach, as well as important for the health of Airbnb as a company," Bhandari adds. As Papas puts it: "We are very eager to work with cities on clear, fair rules." How Travelers Are Impacted by the Rules The new rules prohibiting visitors from renting multiple-unit buildings in New York City for 30 days or less is not a major concern for travelers, says Josh King, chief legal officer with online legal marketplace Avvo. The only immediate concern for travelers is that a host could get cold feet and break their rental agreement, he says. "You run the risk as these regulations go into effect that hosts may decide or determine that they're violating the law," he explains, resulting in canceling your upcoming reservation. "Whether the unit is technically violating municipal or state regulation is not going to float to visitors," he adds. Freid echoes similar sentiments: "With the local laws that are taking effect, only the property owners are at fault and can be penalized, not the traveler." [See: 9 Ways to Travel Better.] How to Ensure a Safe and Smooth Experience Using the Platform Renters need to do their homework to maximize safety and ensure a satisfactory experience. "Travelers should do research before just booking," Freid says, suggesting Googling the owner, comparing reviews and analyzing the condition of the property. "Travelers must dedicate time and effort into knowing what they are renting by fully researching the property and its owner," he adds. Papas suggests reading reviews and talking to your hosts, and he specifically points out that the site's secure messaging tool is designed to optimize safety. Because guests can only leave reviews if they've stayed at a listing, they are authentic, he adds. King also recommends comparing user reviews and using filter options to ensure you select a safe neighborhood and a unit with security features that matter to you. Also, keep in mind, you can minimize risks by confirming the host's phone number, requesting references and reviewing social networks for verified users. You should also review the host's cancellation policy before you file a reservation request. Remember, policies vary from host to host, Papas explains. "Some hosts may decide that their unit is only available for a certain number of nights," he says. Finally, Papas recommends that prospective renters ask hosts about local rules or regulations or check out Airbnb's responsible hosting page for additional details. Liz Weiss is the Travel editor for Consumer Advice at U.S. News, where she writes and edits consumer-focused travel content that offers trip-planning inspiration and helps consumers make smarter travel decisions. She has been covering the travel industry for nearly five years at U.S. News & World Report. She also manages the En Route blog, and has been interviewed on a variety of outlets, including MarketWatch and Fortune. Prior to joining the Consumer Advice team, Liz oversaw the development and content creation for U.S. News Travel's Best Cruises, Best Travel Rewards and Best Vacations franchises. A native of Washington, D.C., she received a bachelor's degree from George Washington University. You can follow Liz on Twitter or email her at eweiss@usnews.com. Japan and South Korea on Wednesday signed an agreement to share defence intelligence about North Korea, despite protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul and strong criticism from China. South Korea's defence ministry said the accord was necessary in the face of growing military threats from Pyongyang, which has conducted two nuclear tests and more than 20 missile launches this year. "It is ready to conduct additional nuclear tests and missile launches at any time," the ministry said in a statement. "Since we can now utilise Japan's intelligence capability to effectively deal with North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile threats, it will enhance our security interests." Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement the military agreement would allow the two governments to "share information even more smoothly and swiftly". But China, already angry at South Korea's planned deployment of a US missile defence system, sharply criticised Seoul and Tokyo for what it termed a "cold war mentality". The agreement "will aggravate the situation in the Korean peninsula and bring new unsecure and unstable factors to Northeast Asia", said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a regular briefing in Beijing. "While conducting military cooperation, relevant countries should respect the security concerns of regional countries and do more things for peace and development, not the opposite." China says Seoul's earlier decision to deploy the THAAD missile defence system will increase the risk of military conflict in the region. Seoul and Tokyo currently use their mutual ally Washington as an intermediary when sharing military intelligence on Pyongyang, under a deal signed in 2014. The new intelligence-sharing agreement is also controversial in South Korea, where memories of Japan's harsh 1910-45 colonial rule still mar relations with Tokyo. South Korea and Japan were on the verge of signing an intelligence-sharing deal in June 2012, but Seoul backtracked at the last minute in response to a public outcry. Story continues Noting Tokyo's surveillance assets and geographic location, South Korea's defence ministry said the deal would be a "big help" in better analysing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes and collecting more intelligence about its submarine-launched ballistic missiles. North Korea has slammed the military pact, labelling it as "a dangerous act" that would further raise already-high tensions on the Korean peninsula and open a door to Japan's "re-invasion". The contentious issue comes as South Korean President Park Geun-Hye faces growing calls for her resignation over a widening corruption and influence-peddling scandal that has sparked huge street demonstrations. The deal has been fiercely opposed by South Korean opposition parties and activists, who point to Seoul's failure to seek public support and historical sensitivities. South Korea's main opposition party has called the deal "unpatriotic and humiliating" and threatened to impeach Defence Minister Han Min-Koo if the agreement was pushed through. By Ana Mano SAO PAULO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Kroton Educacional SA is considering disposing of Estacio Participacoes SA's entire distance-learning business to secure Brazilian antitrust approval for the country's largest education industry takeover, according to two people familiar with the plan. Estacio's distance-learning business, comprised of Uniseb and other brands, seems the best asset-sale option that does not compromise the goals of the Kroton-Estacio deal, the people said. Any eventual proposal will still have to be discussed in detail with antitrust watchdog Cade, they said. Selling the brands would deprive the combined company, thought to be the world's largest education firm by market value, of about 7 percent of Estacio's distance-learning revenue and approximately 100,000 students. Kroton and Estacio may also commit not to enroll new online students for a period if asset disposals alone do not suffice, the people noted. Belo Horizonte-based Kroton and Rio de Janeiro-based Estacio declined to comment, as did Cade, which is based in Brasilia. Both companies are seeking to show Cade that they are working effectively toward avoiding the excess market power they could win with their combination, said the people, who asked for anonymity to speak freely about the plan. Kroton's efforts comes as rivals, consumer advocate groups and regulators alike step up scrutiny of a combination that could create a giant with 10 times more enrolled students than its closest rival. In terms of online students, Kroton-Estacio could be up to 28 times bigger than the local unit of U.S. peer Laureate Education Inc. Kroton filed takeover approval documentation with Cade on Aug. 31. The watchdog has until about May to decide on the transaction. Shares of Kroton are up 63 percent this year, while those of Estacio are up 33 percent, reflecting investor confidence that the deal will win approval despite potential regulatory roadblocks. The sale of Estacio's online assets will also require approval from the Education Ministry because it entails a separation from Estacio's on-site business, the people said. Story continues Aside from competition concerns arising in the distance-learning segments, both Kroton and Estacio acknowledged excessive market concentration in 17 cities where they operate on-site colleges, the people said. Although Kroton and Estacio have not yet voluntarily proposed remedies to address issues in this specific segment, Cade may impose on-site segment disposals, the people noted, adding that such a scenario will force them to negotiate with Cade on a per-case basis. (Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal) If you're used to a big Thanksgiving celebration, you haven't seen anything yet. Read: Take a Look at One of America's Most Expensive Thanksgiving Dinners, Priced at $50,000 With the help of the Guinness Book of World Records, InsideEdition.com has compiled the most notable Thanksgiving-themed records that will certainly impress your relatives around the table this year. (Guinness) In November 2011, the largest gathering of people dressed as turkeys congregated in Dallas, Texas, at the 44th Annual Capital One Bank Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot. The final count of people clucking around was 661. The trot consists of a certified 5K run as well as an eight mile race. In order to qualify, the costume had to include a turkey beak, a turkey colored bodysuit with plumes on the back, and webbed turkey feet, according to Guinness website. (Guinness) The largest pumpkin pie weighed in at 3,699 pounds and was made by New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers at New Bremen Pumpkinfest in New Bremen, Ohio, in September 2010, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The pie measured 20 feet in diameter and the crust was made from 440 sheets of dough. It also contained canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin spice. (Guinness) On Thanksgiving, when someone from the family takes the knife to carve the bird, tell them about Paul Kelly. Kelly, of Great Britain, man holds the record for fastest time to carve a turkey at 3 minutes, 19.47 seconds. Kelly won the title in 2009 at Little Claydon Farm, in Essex, England. Kelly went head-to-head against local butcher David Harrison at an event to celebrate the 25th birthday of KellyBronze turkeys. Kelly also holds another Guinness World Record with a Thanksgiving theme. He is the fastest person in the world to pluck three turkeys. He clocked in at 11 minutes and 30.16 seconds, also at Little Claydon Farm in Essex in 2008. It was attempted as part of Gordon Ramsay's Cookalong and Paul went head to head against the foul-mouthed Hell's Kitchen chef himself, who plucked three turkeys in 11 minutes 31.78 seconds. Story continues The largest bottle of wine still stands proud at 13 feet 8.17 inches tall and 3 feet 11.63 inches in diameter and is filled with 817.34 gallons of vino. The bottle was achieved by Andre Vogel of Switzerland as it was measured in Lyssach, Switzerland, in October 2014. And who needs a bottle opener when you have Alain Dorotte. According to Guinness, the Frenchman opened 13 bottles of wine in 73 seconds to capture a world record in April 2001, and he still holds it today. (Guinness) If someone wants the heaviest squash for Thanksgiving, they need only look to the north. Read: Family Explains How to Deal With Political Conversations on Thanksgiving in Hilarious Viral Video The heaviest squash weighed 1,486.6 pounds and was grown by Joel Jarvis of Canada and weighed at the 2011 Port Elgin Pumpkinfest in Ontario, Canada. One of the most famous holiday events in the country is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The American institution, which takes place each year in New York City, is the world's largest inflatable parade. This year, the parade celebrates its 90th year and includes the inflatable characters Big Bird, Curious George, Spider-Man and Snoopy. Once in the sky, balloons can reach up to five stories about 60 feet into the air. In 1993, the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade heralded a watershed moment when Sonic the Hedgehog became the first videogame character to appear in the parade. But the debut did not go well, as strong winds blew the giant balloon into a lamppost and punctured it. However, he has been back every year since. The heaviest turkey ever recorded was living large at 86 pounds for a stag named Tyson. The giant gobbler was reared by Philip Cook of Leacroft Turkeys Ltd, in Peterborough, United Kingdom, and won the Heaviest Turkey competition in London in 1989. It has held the record ever since. According to Guinness, the large bird was auctioned for charity for a record 4,400, or $6,692. Watch: Grandma's Thanksgiving Invite Mistakenly Goes to Stranger, But Ends Up Uniting Two Families Related Articles: The first trailer for Sean Penn's controversial The Last Face has debuted, previewing the intense romance between Charlize Theron and Javier Bardem in war-torn Liberia. "I know that I will see you again," Bardem tells Theron after scenes of fiery turmoil and wounded locals. "I will look all over the desert, I will say your name, and I will see your face." Featuring a script by Erin Dignam, the African war drama stars Theron as the director of an international aid organization who embarks on a love affair with a stubborn and impulsive relief-aid doctor, played by Bardem. However, their mutual passion for the value of life is matched by the intensity of their opposing opinions on how to best solve the conflict that surrounds them, creating a seemingly insurmountable rift. Adele Exarchopoulos, Jean Reno and Jared Harris are part of the cast. When the film debuted earlier this year at Cannes, responses on social media were not kind. (THR's review called the film "a stunningly self-important but numbingly empty cocktail of romance and insulting refugee porn.") The actor-director told reporters afterward, "I stand behind the film as it is, and certainly everyone is entitled to their response." Read more: Cannes: Sean Penn Responds to 'Last Face' Critics Lincoln police are looking to arrest two Florida men accused of producing cloned credit cards to make purchases. Police were made aware of the case in June when a Seward County sheriff's deputy stopped Yasmany Monterrey, 29, and Mael Sanchez, 37, for a traffic violation. The men were arrested after the deputy discovered a stolen computer from Tampa, Florida, in their vehicle, according to arrest warrants. The deputy also found more than 90 gift cards in their vehicle, the warrant says. After investigating, police said that from May 23 to June 21, Monterrey and Sanchez made 40 purchases on cloned cards totaling $3,904.19. Locally, Lincoln police said there were 25 victims whose credit card information had been compromised involving 16 financial institutions. The victims had earlier used their cards on a gas pump at a Shell station at 1449 N. 56th St. and later reported to police that their accounts were charged for purchases at several Wal-Mart locations, the warrant says. Surveillance footage showed Monterrey and Sanchez making purchases at several of the locations reported, the warrant says. They were bonded out of the Seward County Jail on June 16. Leah Remini isnt letting up on her crusade against the Church of Scientology. In an upcoming appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the 46-year-old actress opens up about her stand against the Church and her new A&E docu-series about the organization, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. Were doing an eight-part series and A&E is very brave to do it and the people who are speaking are very brave to do it because theyre repercussions to speaking out, Remini tells DeGeneres. In the docu-series, which DeGeneres called bold and brave, Remini interviews former members of the Church, some of whom have alleged abuse by the organization, according to Variety. The docu-series also features former Scientology officials who work alongside Remini to explore the stories. I cant sit back I felt I had a responsibility to say, Im not going to allow you to bully these people who are very brave to come out and tell their stories, she told DeGeneres. And thats for executives, but there are just average parishioners like me who leave and speak out about what theyve experienced they lose their family. And so the Church goes after their family to shun their family Im very lucky that didnt happen to me. My family chose me. Since leaving the Church in 2013, Remini penned a book about her experience with the organization titled Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology. She said she received backlash as a result but, my story pales in comparison to what happened to other people, she told the host. How people are bullied into silence. She also claimed that she has been followed since she began speaking out about the Church. Remini has previously opened up to PEOPLE last year about her decision to leave the controversial Church, calling the change a rebirth. Ive been given a second chance at life and so has my family, she said. In a previous statement to PEOPLE, the Church of Scientology has said about Remini, As we said before, desperate for attention with an acting career stuck in a nearly decade-long tailspin, Leah Remini needs to move on with her life. Instead, she seeks publicity by maliciously spreading lies about the Church using the same handful of bitter zealots who were kicked out years ago for chronic dishonesty and corruption and whose false claims the Church refuted years ago, including through judicial decisions. Please see our full statement at www.scientologynews.org/leah-remini. Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath premieres Nov. 29 at 10 p.m. ET on A&E. At least theres this: Hillary Clinton has so far won the popular vote by 2 million If, after the last two weeks, you need a silver lining, think of this: Hillary Clintons lead in the popular vote has risen to over two million. As weve slowly climbed out of the fog that descended upon us November 9, when Donald Trump was named President Elect, weve been focusing our attention on the what now. Calling our representatives, attending protests, letting our voices be heard. And weve been watching the popular vote climb, that first had Clinton winning by thousands of votes, and now by more than two million. According to the Cook Political Report, the former secretary of state now has 64,223,958 votes to Trumps 62,206,395, as of Wednesday morning. This team has so much to be proud of. Whatever happens tonight, thank you for everything. A photo posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Nov 8, 2016 at 5:42pm PST Vanity Fair writes, Most of those votes are clustered in major urban areas in states that were a lock-in for Democrats New York and California chief among them and therefore did not affect the eventual electoral college outcome, which appeared as a minor landslide for the Republican. Scripture tells us: Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. A photo posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Nov 9, 2016 at 11:03am PST So, the silver lining is not to be found in any impact on the elections actual immediate outcome. Clintons lead, which will likely continue to grow in the coming weeks, is contributing to a spreading public recognition that the 228-year-old electoral college may be outdated and need either a hammer or an ax. Several Democrats, including California Senator Barabara Boxer, are calling for a constitutional amendment to eliminate the 228-year-old mechanism. So, look again for the silver lining: in the long-view, big-picture. A potential change to future elections that will make everyones votes carry equal weight. Wouldnt that be lovely? The post At least theres this: Hillary Clinton has so far won the popular vote by 2 million appeared first on HelloGiggles. Editors Note: This story originally ran on November 22, 2016. Dev Patels career started in his native United Kingdom, with a role on the hit teen drama Skins. But it was with Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyles Oscar-winning 2008 film, that he became a real star. Equally adept at drama and comedy, Patel went on to join the cast of Aaron Sorkins The Newsroom, as well as star alongside acting royalty in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel duology. This year, hes in The Man Who Knew Infinity alongside Jeremy Irons, and TWCs Lion, with Nicole Kidman. Lion is based on the true story of Saroo Brierley, a boy orphaned on the streets of Calcutta before being adopted by a loving Australian couple. Patel plays the older Saroo, whose quest to be reunited with his lost birth mother took years of searching. What went through your mind when you first heard Saroo Brierleys story? I read the script and I was blown away by Luke [Davies] writing, and I was a ball of tears by the end of it. I started to research Sarooarticles, and a couple of Google talks hed done. To be able to play a character well, youve got to love them first, and that was very easy for me because the story is so inspiring. Saroos story is sadly not uncommon in India. Did you feel a responsibility to get it right, for Indias huge number of street children? Yes, and Saroo is one of the lucky ones. Theres hundreds of thousands of children in India that are lost or homeless, and that dont have families. This is one of the stories of triumph, really. Not only did he get adopted to a beautiful, loving family, but also he was able, through his incredible brain and perseverance, to reconnect with his birth mother as well. Thats what makes it so incredible. Did you meet with Saroo? We met during production. When I first got the role, the first step was changing my look, the way I sound, the accent, all those kinds of things. The first thing I said to Garth [Davis, director] was, I dont look anything like him; what are we going to do? But he explained we werent doing some kind of imitation. We wanted to capture the essence of his struggle and his pain, and I had to embody that honestly. Story continues We finally met when we were filming in Tasmania. It was a nerve-wracking moment for me. I worried hed judge me or see right through me. But he was so warm and informative. What we spoke about was very microcosmic moments and feelings. How were you feeling when you were on that laptop, finding your home? What was coursing through your veins? I dont think he gets asked that stuff normally, but for me it was important to know. It must be almost impossible to imagine the depth of those emotions. For Saroo, even though he was surrounded by so much love, his journey was really personal, and actually very isolating. I went through the whole process while preparing the role. I traveled the trains from Calcutta to Bhopal, alone. I wrote diaries. I went to these orphanages and met children that were severely disabled, and kind of disregarded by their parents, and it was a real process of growing up and learning a lot about myself. Its been the most nourishing experience of my career. But for Saroo, he lived this realitythis incredible existence, with these wonderful adoptive parents supporting him. Slowly, this guilt started to creep in. He was a product of privilege and luck. And his mother and older brother could still have been on that train platform every single day, searching for him. That started to plague him, and he was consumed by trying to find his mother to let her know he was OK. Youve become practically a local in India now. But was Slumdog Millionaire your first experience of the country? Saroos journey is very close to my journey in discovering India. I can relate a lot to that feeling of going back as an alien, but with connections to it. I kind of unconsciously went to India as a child, to a part of Godhra for a family wedding, but I didnt really understand it at all. I discovered it when I did Slumdog. I was out there with Danny Boyle, experiencing this whole new side to this culture. And it had a massive effect on me. I grew up hiding from my heritage in a way, so I could fit in, and to avoid being bullied in school. I felt insecure about it. And now, having gone there and worked there so much, I have become completely enthralled by the culture and the country, and its become a real source of inspiration for me. Are you hopeful that the film sheds some light on children in India who perhaps werent as fortunate as Saroo? You know, Ive been there and seen so many children wandering the streets. There are almost too many to help, and it becomes almost suffocating. But when you go through an experience like I did on this movie, and you understand what its like for a child, thats really when it becomes something real to you. Its awful, whats happening, and Im hopeful this movie can initiate a conversation and shed light on these lost souls. The Weinstein Company and See-Saw Films are trying to figure out a way to give a financial boost to some of these charities, and were in the process of that. There are beautiful people in Indiaand you see them in our film, like Mrs. Sood, the woman that takes Saroo out of that home, and shes just a ball of warm, beautiful energy, who would die for her job. There are many people like that in India, that are trying to do great things for these children, and we hope we can bring people to them. Related stories There's Big Business In The 50+ Moviegoing Demo, Especially During Oscar Season: Study Long Road To Oscar: How Each Best Picture Nominee Got Here BAFTA Awards: The Complete Winners List London (AFP) - A British chef was on Wednesday found guilty of murdering four men he met on gay networking sites after plying them with a date-rape drug. Stephen Port, 41, lured the men back to his flat and either spiked their drinks or injected them with the drug GHB so he could have sex with them while they were unconscious, England's Old Bailey central criminal court in London heard. He dumped their bodies in or near a graveyard close to his home in Barking, east London, planting bottles of the drug on some of them and writing a fake suicide note for another in an attempt to cover up his crimes. Port gave no reaction as he was found guilty of the murders of Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, Jack Taylor, and Anthony Walgate, all in their 20s, after jurors deliberated for more than 28 hours. He was also convicted of a string of rapes and sexual assaults on other men who survived. Port could face life in prison when sentenced for 22 offences on Friday. London's Metropolitan Police has been strongly criticised for failing to link the crimes sooner. The murders took place between June 2014 and October 2015, The family of Taylor, who are planning legal action against the force, said: "We do believe Jack would still be here if they had done their job. "The police should be held accountable for Jack's death. We do understand it's not them who took Jack's life, but Stephen Port would have been stopped." The Independent Police Complaints Commission is conducting an inquiry into the handling of the case and 17 officers are facing investigation into possible misconduct. Commander Stuart Cundy, from the Met's specialist crime and operations command, said: "From the evidence we've heard at trial there were potential opportunities that were missed. The IPCC investigation will carefully consider those." The murders bore striking similarities, the court heard. Detective Chief Inspector Tim Duffield, who led the murder investigation, said: "Stephen Port is probably one of the most dangerous individuals I've encountered. Story continues "He's a voracious sexual predator who appears to have been fixated, nay obsessed, with surreptitiously drugging young, often vulnerable men for the exclusive purpose of rape." Jurors heard how Port was attracted to smaller, boyish-looking men whom he sought out on social networking sites such as Grindr. Evidence against him included internet searches for pornography involving young men being "raped" by older men and home-made videos of him enacting his drug rape fantasy. He also used the internet to buy a range of drugs, including poppers, Viagra, Meow Meow -- a synthetic stimulant -- and GHB and GBL, chemically similar substances which can induce euphoria but can also have strong sedative effects. How far weve come. Phyllida Lloyds all-female Shakespeares were dismissed as gimmicky (and worse) four years ago. Today, gender-blind casting is not the norm, but normalized: King Lear, Henry V, and Hamlet have all been played by women. Change has hoisted the change-maker, though, and Lloyds trilogy, set in a womens prison, is stuck with a framing device it no longer needs. As such, its concerns have grown from gender to justice. The Tempest, its final installment (now at the Donmar Warehouse and due at Brooklyns St. Anns Warehouse in January), reflects on the politics of imprisonment, and Harriet Walters wronged and world-weary Prospero becomes an exile with no hope of parole. The project was never simply gender-blind. Lloyds cast plays women playing men prisoners performing Shakespeare behind bars. We watch through layers and see his plays through their eyes their takes on conspiracy against Julius Caesar and on Henry IVs civil war, on powerful politicians and sidelined wives. Rather than goodies and baddies, they see rivalrous equals. Violence isnt immediately condemned, nor are heroes automatically esteemed. The moral complexity shoots up. This time around, those layers are muddied. The space is partly to blame. Rather than a prison serving as a theater, the Donmars new pop-up space is a theater dressed as a prison. Its stage is a scuffed gymnasium floor; rusted metal caging runs round the seats. The difference is fine, but fatal. Rather than prisoners playing Shakespeare, we see actors playing prisoners especially when The Tempest breaks its own rules. Adding high-tech elements to handmade props, Chloe Lamfords design gives up the conceit. If prisons had cash for disco balls and projectors, they mightnt be battling staff shortages and riots. Minor inconsistencies break the spell. Otherwise, its superbly thought through. Each play is introduced by an inmate, and each reflects the prison population. Julius Caesar chimes with victims of domestic violence, locked up for lashing out against the oppressors. In Henry IV, Clare Dunn plays a young addict playing Prince Hal, his Falstaff always on hand with a baggie. One looks back at the criminal act; the other at the process of change: retribution and rehabilitation. The Tempest looks forward to release, or its absence. It frames the prison system politically. Story continues Walters prisoner, Hannah, has made her presence felt throughout these plays. She has scolded her peers for going off script, and screamed at guards for shutting them down. Here, she finally introduces herself: a lifer, imprisoned for her part in a politically motivated robbery; a new mother who refused to recognize the courts authority. She shares with Prospero as sense of exile, banished by an establishment she sought to challenge. Intelligence has given her status inside, inmates that do her bidding, and she buries herself in books, the source of her strength. But to what end? No parole, no release. Society has done more than disenfranchised her. It has made her disappear. Perhaps she is proved right. The lords of Milan wash ashore in suits corrupt city slickers adjusting to island life/life inside. Changed into prison slacks, Jade Anoukas Ariel spins memories of their old lavish lifestyles fast cars and plush restaurants. Sophie Stantons simplistic Caliban plods round the island collecting plastic waste the offshoot of such lifestyles. Prison, by contrast, can be a shelter perhaps even a space for Gonzalos utopian commonwealth. As Sheila Atims gangly Ferdinand falls for Leah Harveys sunbeam Miranda, its proof that love remains possible, no matter how frugal the wedding. It is only dreams of the outside world of jet-set lifestyles and luxury brands that intrude. Detention is always an active decision. Freedom, too. Where Ariels is granted by Prospero, Calibans is not. Lloyd implies that our justice system is no less arbitrary, and no less prone to abuse or power play. Who stays, who goes who decides? Lloyds ending is particularly poignant. One by one, the women go free, each bidding Hannah farewell as they leave, thanking her, praising her, wishing her strength. Walter sits on her cell bed, alone, as Stantons uncomprehending inmate slowly waxes the floor. Both are kept in by the state, one deemed a danger, the other an inconvenience. Its a simple stage picture with a powerful point: Theater speaking up for the truly disenfranchised. Related stories Broadway Review: 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' With Liev Schreiber, Janet McTeer Off Broadway Review: Daniel Radcliffe in 'Privacy' Phyllida Lloyd Reveals Challenges of Bringing All-Female 'Taming of the Shrew' to Central Park Although Nebraska Democrats lost their only congressional seat in this month's election, their gains in the nonpartisan Legislature have built a legislative bulwark that assures "we're not going to turn into Kansas," Democratic State Chairman Vince Powers said Tuesday. "In an election cycle that could have been very difficult, Democrats gained three seats in the Legislature," he said. "The governor is going to have to work with state senators." And that should help protect Nebraskans from the kind of supply-side economic policies that led to big tax cuts in Kansas, creating huge budget gaps and an ongoing reduction in state programs and services, the outgoing Democratic chairman said. Education funding has taken a particular hit in Kansas. Democratic gains mean the 2017 Legislature will be composed of 15 Democrats, one independent and one Libertarian along with 32 senators who are Republicans. That arithmetic assures those Democrats and Sen. Ernie Chambers, the sole registered nonpartisan, could successfully block any legislative proposal by picking up the vote of a single Republican. It takes 33 votes to free a bill trapped by a filibuster. "It's all about checks and balances," Powers said. "I had been very concerned that we might have been down to nine or 10 Democrats in the Legislature at the end of my term as party chairman," Powers said during an interview in his Lincoln law office. The legislative results represent a win for the state, he said, and they provide "a base to move forward" in 2018 when Powers said there is a strong potential for additional Democratic gains in the Legislature. Powers will leave the party chairmanship on Dec. 17 when he will be succeeded by Jane Kleeb of Hastings, the founder and leader of Bold Nebraska. Powers was Democratic national committeeman for eight years before his four-year stint as state party chairman. "It's my time to go," Powers said. Kleeb, he said, "brings significant strengths to the task, including an understanding of how to use social media." While the Legislature in Nebraska is nonpartisan, Powers noted, election of state senators is a critical battleground for both parties. Gov. Pete Ricketts helped defeat "three reasonable incumbent Republicans" who had opposed portions of his agenda, Powers said, replacing them with senators who appear to be more conservative Republicans. Although Sarpy County provided the Republican votes that ousted Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford of Omaha in the 2nd Congressional District, Democrats won two legislative races in that heavily Republican county, Powers noted. "The Legislature was our focus," he said, along with providing support for Ashford in his own campaign. "It's important that the governor has to work with state senators," Powers said, rather than dominating them. "If you're a state senator in Nebraska, you are the most powerful state senator in America," he said. Only Nebraska has a one-house Legislature in which legislative power is shared by only 49 senators and bills can be passed with just 25 votes. Powers gave credit to Democratic state executive director Hadley Richters for the party's success in this year's legislative races. Looking ahead, Powers said 2018 will be the year to "drain the Capitol" in Lincoln from Republican rule after 20 years of GOP governors. The results have included "$57 million in fines" paid to the federal government by the Department of Health and Human Services and mismanagement of the Department of Correctional Services, including "letting criminals out of prison early," Powers said. Ricketts, who inherited those problems, plans to seek re-election in 2018 and Republican Sen. Deb Fischer is on course to be a candidate for a second term. Both are viewed as likely winners two years ahead of the election. "I think it's fair to say after this year's presidential election that no one knows," Powers suggested. "Anyone who says so-and-so can't win or so-and-so is a shoo-in really doesn't know. "What if (President-elect Donald) Trump's policies affect them negatively?" he asked. "What if the Affordable Care Act goes away? What if Medicare is privatized? What if Social Security is harmed?" - By Sangara Narayanan Alphabet's (GOOG)(GOOGL) Other Bets segment has been a point of discussion for a long time. For many years, what the company called 'moonshots' have mostly remained true to their name. As Alphabet continues its march towards becoming the world's largest company by market capitalization due to weakness in current leader Apple (AAPL), and helped by its own advertising revenues that have been growing by double digits, Alphabet's continuing search for revenues outside its advertising realm remains a pipedream. Traditional advertising still rules, giving digital more room to grow Alphabet, Google's parent company, is enjoying an extended period of growth despite counting its first $10 billion in 2006. Ten years later, with $75 billion in annual revenues and counting, Alphabet's core sales are looking good for another 10 years. The era of digital advertising is far from being over. We have seen tremendous growth in the last 10 years, but despite that growth, digital advertising is yet to become the medium of choice for all advertisers as traditional mass advertising mediums still holding plenty of sway. Take Netflix (NFLX) for example, the company once touted it would make cable companies obsolete and lead the charge in a shift towards an internet-based content delivery system. The company recently signed a deal with Comcast (CMCSA), allowing their product to become part of Comcast's bundle. Comcast reaches millions of users, and with Netflix facing an increasingly competitive and highly penetrated U.S. market, the company was left with no choice but to align with one of its long-time rivals. R3FE8UQTocc_UWR8HL4jpfjB-o62M18S2bb_FVFx The future is definitely digital, but that transformation might take years, if not decades, to become a reality. TV advertising seems to the biggest enemy for digital, as the growth for the latter in the past five years came at the cost of print media, which suffered horrible losses at the hands of digital advertising. Alphabet's own revenues have been growing at strong double-digit rates while a much younger and smaller competitor, Facebook (FB), has been hitting above 50% top-line growth for the past several quarters. Clearly, when you have two companies earning in the billions and are still capable of growing at such rates, you know that market has enough room to grow in the medium term. Story continues An analogy from Apple's current situation What Google will face down the road is very similar to the problem Apple is facing right now. From 2006 to 2014, Apple enjoyed strong growth as iPhone sales went from zero to above 200 million per year. But that was the period when the entire world was desperate for a smartphone, and only very few were able to get them. As penetration grew within Apple's target market, iPhone sales started to slow down. It is not a problem specific to Apple, but rather the entire smartphone industry. Their days of strong growth are over simply because penetration in developed markets has reached very high levels. It is now time for stable sales and incremental growth, no more. Google's window of opportunity Google has not reached that stage yet, and probably won't for the next five to 10 years. But if you turn that around and look at it in respect to Other Bets, Google has less than 10 years to show significant returns from this unit. xgWK2QngL3HuN-ZzQJIxXMpksBoA46MMtHDfEUXG Alphabet's ad dollars are looking good for now, but it cannot keep growing forever because once digital advertising becomes number one, the ceiling will be much closer than we anticipate. Following that will begin a period of stable growth, the same predicament that Apple is facing today. This is the reason why I think Alphabet finding alternative revenue streams, especially ones that are not linked to advertising, will be the key to their long-term growth. "So far, the only moonshots making any money for Alphabet are Nest, health care company Verily, and its high speed internet unit Fiber, which the company intends to invest lots more money into." - Fortune 18pnretsdYXfFpcriGtsMU7MJnZWChHvh81-w668 The investment angle They have had plenty of time, but so far nothing has come out of it. I still have high hopes for Google Fiber as it can add lot of layers and tremendous revenues to Alphabet's coffers, but, unfortunately, the capital-intensive segment never really took off under the Alphabet's software DNA. It is possible that they will soon make a breakthrough in wireless internet delivery, which could help creative a viable and high-growth segment for Google. Self-driving car technology may or may not work, but even if it does, Google will have Tesla and plenty of other car makers to think about in terms of competition. So, in reality, even Other Bets does not seems to have a great answer to Google's problem outside of Fiber. The sooner Alphabet is able to identify and nurture the right segment, the better it will be for the long term. For now, investors can enjoy the solid growth in ad revenues and watch as the stock possibly topples Apple from its long-held position at the top of the capital markets ecosystem. Disclosure: I have no positions in the stock mentioned above and no intention to initiate a position in the next 72 hours. Start a free 7-day trial of Premium Membership to GuruFocus. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. On a host of issues ranging from abortion, immigration and national defense to climate change, tax cuts and race relations, a majority of voters disagree with President-elect Donald Trump on how best to proceed, according to a national poll by Quinnipiac University released Wednesday. Related: Trump Is Starting to Sound Like the Backtracker in Chief Perhaps the sharpest divide between the Republican president-elect and voters is over immigration policy, the issue that helped catapult Trump to victory. Trump rallied his core supporters with fiery vows to deport millions of illegal immigrants, oppose measures allowing undocumented aliens to obtain legal status or a path to citizenship, and build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. But according to the Quinnipiac University findings, voters by a margin of 55 percent to 42 percent are opposed to building a wall along the southern border, notwithstanding Trumps boast that he would persuade the Mexican government to pay for it. Moreover, 60 percent of all voters are in favor of allowing illegal immigrants to remain in the country and be offered a path to citizenship, compared with just 25 percent who say they should simply be deported. The pollsters noted that the 60 percent share of voters in favor of a more humanitarian immigration policy was the largest percentage since Quinnipiac University first began asking that question four years ago. However, the polling results confirm once again a sharp partisan divide over this and other questions. Among Republican voters, only 38 percent agree that illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the U.S. and seek legal status, and only 20 percent of the Republicans surveyed are opposed to building a wall along the border. In similar fashion, voters take exception to Trumps opposition to Supreme Court rulings in support of abortion rights and his insistence that any Supreme Court nominees must be opposed to the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision upholding womens right to an abortion. Story continues Related: Trump Says Nobody but the Media Cares About Conflicts of Interest By 67 percent to 30 percent, voters said they agree with Roe v. Wade, although Democrats were far more supportive than Republicans. Fifty-one percent of voters said that in choosing nominees to the Supreme Court, Trump should consider only a nominees qualification, not his or her stand on abortion and other issues, while 40 percent said he should also take into account their stands on abortion. But again there is a partisan divide. Among Republicans who say a prospective Supreme Court justices views on abortion should be taken into account, 64 percent say that Trump should pick someone who opposes abortion. Among Democrats, 77 percent say Trump shouldnt pick a justice who opposes abortion, while 20 percent say he should. Two of President-elect Donald Trumps signature campaign mantras get a hearty thumbs down, Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a statement. Voters to Trump: No way on reversing Roe v. Wade and not a chance on building that wall. And though it drew cheers on the campaign trail, the fiery rhetoric about redirecting the path to citizenship in the U.S. back to the Mexican border is actually losing support, Malloy added. Related: Trump, on YouTube, Delivers a Message to the Public and the Media Among other revealing findings in the poll: * Voters say 57 to 38 percent that reducing taxes on the wealthy will not improve the economy and create more jobs. They also say, 67 percent to 29 percent, that Congress should not lower taxes for the wealthy. Trump is promoting a massive tax cut that would especially benefit the wealthiest Americans. He and his economic advisers contend that across-the-board tax cuts will spur the economy. * By a margin of 77 percent to 16 percent, voters say that Trump should defend all of Americas NATO allies, regardless of how much money they invest in defense and regional security. Trump at one point threatened to withhold assistance from NATO countries that dont devote an adequate share of their annual budgets to defense. * A total of 68 percent of American voters are very concerned or somewhat concerned about climate change and assert by a margin of 59 percent to 31 percent that Trump should not remove specific regulations intended to combat climate change. Trump once dismissed global warming as a hoax perpetrated by China and has threatened to withdraw the U.S. from participation in a new international climate change accord negotiated by the United States and nearly 200 other countries last year in Paris. However, he said during a meeting with New York Times editors and reporters on Tuesday that I have an open mind to it. Related: The Latest Republican Trick to Roll Back Obamas Rules * Americans oppose eliminating regulations on businesses and corporations, by a margin of 48 percent to 38 percent. Trump has promised a major initiative to reduce or eliminate government red tape. Seventy-seven percent of Democrats surveyed oppose elimination of government regulations, but only 21 percent of Republicans shared that sentiment. * Some 76 percent of voters say prejudice against minority groups is a very serious or somewhat serious problem in this country. Whats more, 43 percent are more concerned about discrimination and violence against minorities since Trump won election, compared to 17 percent who are less concerned. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Japan on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP ) , even as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said in a video message that his administration will pull out of the trade deal. The trade pact was a centerpiece of the Obama administration's "pivot" towards Asia and was meant to solidify the U.S.'s presence in what is considered by many American companies as the most economically dynamic part in the world. "I'm going to issue a notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country. Instead, we will negotiate fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores," said Trump. Trump's announcement came as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in Buenos Aires on Monday that the partnership would be "meaningless" without the U.S. On Tuesday, however, Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference in Tokyo that the country plans to lobby other signatories to the pact. He added that he had no comments on Trump's statement. A refusal by the U.S. to join the TPP would be a good opportunity for China to push its own deals such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), suggested He Weiwen, vice president of think tank Center for China and Globalization. "We have been spending efforts for years to get ( RCEP ) done by end of this year or next. It is an important pathway to the larger arrangement of the FTAAP (Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific)," he told CNBC's " Squawk Box " even as he stressed the important of consultation and stability between the U.S. and China. Beijing pushed the FTAAP in 2014 as a framework for liberalizing Pacific Rim trade and President Xi Jinping renewed calls for the pact over the weekend at the APEC CEO Summit in Peru. Even though RCEP's standards are lower than those of TPP's, that the U.S. was unable to get things done from one administration to the next meant "China is the only game in town" for Asian countries, said Ian Bremmer, president at Eurasia Group. Story continues China's efforts to push trade pacts coincide with other soft power initiatives aimed at cementing the country's economic influence, such as Xi's global One Belt, One Road infrastructure plan and the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. This meant that Communist China was now the flag-bearer for global free trade , as Xi indicated over the weekend in Peru. "This was not the shrinking violet 'oh we are too poor, we don't want to lead' (China). This was China saying the U.S. is abdicating and we are prepared to do more in terms of international trade, in terms of infrastructure, writing checks," said Bremmer, who was at the weekend APEC event. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. More From CNBC Tokyo Electric Power's (: ) (Tepco) Fukushima power plants were thrust back into the spotlight on Tuesday, after an earthquake hit the region, reviving memories of 2011's tragic nuclear disaster. A 7.4 magnitude quake shook the coast of Fukushima at about 6 a.m. local time, producing a tsunami with 3-meter high waves on the northern Pacific coast, Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. American quake monitoring agency USGS later downgraded the magnitude to 6.9, from its initial measure of 7.3, and tsunami warnings were lifted by 12.50 p.m. local time. Tuesday's quake was actually an aftershock of the 9.1 magnitude earthquake in 2011 that hit the same region, according to the JMA. Back then, the deadly quake and subsequent tsunami destroyed the cooling system at Tepco's Daiichi nuclear plant, resulting in a massive meltdown and the release of radioactive material that continues to contaminate the area . Following Tuesday's quake, Tepco's Daini plantseparate from the Daiichi unitsaid that a system designed to keep atomic fuel cool at one reactor was halted. But after around 90 minutes, Tepco announced that it had restarted the cooling system. Even when plants are shut, fuel needs to be kept cool to prevent overheating, which could lead to meltdown, as occurred in 2011. Experts were quick to praise the firm's quick technical response and communication. "Tecpco did much better this time than in 2011...As someone who is chairing their reform committee, I always want them to improve but they did well today," remarked Dale Klein, associate vice chancellor for research at the University of Texas System. For the past five years, all of Tepco's plants in Fukushima have remained shut since and no problems were announced at other plants on Tuesday. Lake Barrett, a nuclear engineer and former executive at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told CNBC's " Squawk Box " that Tuesday's quake couldn't inflict serious harm on any of Tepco's plants. Story continues "In the five years since those plants were operating, the amount of [generated] heat is very small, it's the same as a car engine. It would take a while to get to a serious situation and because there's plenty of time for the auxiliary power supply and pumps to add cooling water, there's no significant risk," he said. Tepco said on Tuesday that temperatures in Daini's nuclear fuel rod pool would take a full week [of heating] before reaching dangerous levels, local media reported. Tuesday's scare didn't last long but it was still enough to generate fear in a country still reeling from the 2011 disaster. "These events do reinforce the idea that there are issues with having nuclear power in Japan. So there could be another rise in the sentiment against nuclear power," said Takuji Okubo, principal and chief economist at Japan Macro Advisors. Social media commentators echoed the same sentiment. Last year, Kyushu Electric (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 9508.T-JP) became the first utility company to bring its nuclear reactors back online after new, post-disaster safety rules were implemented. This month, regulators cleared the way for the firm to restart two more reactors. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party wants Japan to return to nuclear power in order to lower electricity costs, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hoping for nuclear power to make up 22 percent of Japan's energy mix by 2030, versus more than a quarter before the 2011 tragedy. But the public remains opposed to the idea of active nuclear plants, according to opinion polls. And the victory of Ryuichi Yoneyama in Niigata's gubernatorial elections in October seemed to confirm that. Yoneyama's promise to ensure the prefecture's nuclear plantthe seven-reactor Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex, the world's biggest nuclear power stationwould remain closed helped the political outsider defeat the LDP-backed Tamio Mori, local media said. It remains to be seen if Tuesday's incident will derail Abe's nuclear hopes. "It all depends if the public views this as a glass half-full or half-empty situation. In terms of safety, Tepco demonstrated they were better prepared so that should give the public more confidence [in nuclear plants]," said Klein. There were still steps Abe could take to further reassure the public, he added. Nuclear plants store radioactive water in storage tanks so in order prevent any accidents in the face of future quakes, the government should undertake a controlled release of the contaminated water in a safe and environmentally sound manner, Klein said. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. The phone in the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Directorate of the police headquarters in Gaziantep, a southern Turkish city, rang at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2006. The caller did not provide a name, and records oddly do not indicate the persons gender. But the caller did offer a well-informed tip. Several Iranian nationals were traveling through Gaziantep to Kilis, a Turkish town on the Syrian border. The Iranians were using forged passports, the caller explained, and they were traveling in a vehicle with the license plate 79 M 0064. Gaziantep did not penetrate the global consciousness for five years, after the Syrian civil war began. At that point, the city became a hub for all manner of men and women drawn to catastrophes foreign jihadis, spies, journalists, and aid workers. For many jihadis traveling to join the Islamic State, Gaziantep is one of the last stops before they enter the caliphate. In 2006, however, the caliphate did not yet exist. There were fewer foreigners in Gaziantep then but one vehicle there had just attracted a lot of attention. The tip paid immediate dividends. On the evening of Oct. 16, at the southeast corner of Gaziantep University, police intercepted a vehicle with the license plate the tipster gave them. Inside were two men, a woman, and four children. The leader of the group introduced himself as an Iranian named Muhammet Reza Reanjbar Rezaei, which matched the name on the Iranian passport he provided. The forged passport used by Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi when he was arrested in Gaziantep. The Directorate of Foreigners in the Gaziantep Police Department found Rezaeis passport highly suspect. A Turkish entry stamp dated Nov. 1, 2005, matched computerized entry records, but there was no exit stamp and Rezaei claimed that his group had crossed into Turkey from Iran days earlier. Moreover, there were no computer records matching three other entry and exit stamps in the passport. Whoever provided the mysterious tip to the Police Department was on to something. Story continues The man calling himself Rezaei was given a lawyer, searched, and formally interviewed at 11 p.m. on Oct. 16. A search of the prisoners and their vehicle uncovered nearly $10,625, two cell phones, two SIM cards, and a headlamp. Most importantly, after being confronted with the inconsistencies in his passport, the man conceded that his name was not actually Muhammet Reza Reanjbar Rezaei. It was Abdulrahman bin Yar Muhammad. Moreover, he admitted that he was not actually Iranian: He had been born in Takhar, Afghanistan, and lived in Kabul with his wife and four children. Muhammad claimed that he was headed to Europe, where he intended to request political asylum. Per the Turkish police report, he claimed that he wanted to go to a country where [he could] get a better job, to get a better education for [his] children, and to have a better life. At the end of the conversation, he requested asylum in Turkey. But if he was headed to Europe, why was his vehicle stopped en route to Syria? Muhammad explained unpersuasively that he had planned to do some sightseeing during Ramadan before moving on to Europe. He said he had crossed into Turkey four days earlier through the Dogubeyazit border crossing with Iran and, after a brief respite in the Turkish lakeside town of Van, had arrived in Gaziantep the morning he was arrested. Notes from the deposition of his wife, Sonia, indicate that she was interviewed separately and told the same story. Muhammad was most adamant about the point that he did not want to go back to Afghanistan. If he could not stay in Turkey, he asked to be sent to Pakistan. He also apologized about the forged Iranian passport and explained that he had purchased it for $500 from criminals in Iran, who promised that it would be easier to use in Turkey than an Afghan one. The police arrest report of Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi. It is not clear how much the local Turkish police knew about Muhammads identity, but a different set of authorities, allegedly including the CIA, knew quite a bit. They knew that two Turkish al Qaeda operatives, Mehmet Yilmaz and Mehmed Resit-Isik, had traveled to Iran to help him and his family cross the border into Turkey. They knew that Yilmaz had fought in Afghanistan and may have provided assistance for a series of bombings in 2003 in Istanbul. They knew that another suspected al Qaeda operative, Mehmet Polat, had met Muhammad and his family in Gaziantep, and that he was the second man in the vehicle with the license plate 79 M 0064. Most importantly, they knew that the man arrested in Gaziantep was neither Muhammet Reza Reanjbar Rezaei nor Abdulrahman bin Yar Muhammad. And he was certainly not a refugee en route to Europe. In fact, the man in Gaziantep police custody was best known as Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, and he was on a desperate mission to reassert al Qaedas authority over its rebellious affiliate in Iraq. As Abd al-Hadi sat in police custody, he must have known that his mission had failed but it is unlikely that he knew just how badly. With his arrest, al Qaeda had just lost one of its most creative operatives on a bold mission to establish control over its rebellious Iraqi affiliate an organization that would eventually evolve into its bitter rival for supremacy of the jihadi movement. The real Iraqi passport of Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi. The Islamic States so-called caliphate would not be declared until 2014, but that is not when the group established an Islamic state. Indeed, just one day before Abd al-Hadis arrest, al Qaedas affiliate in Iraq announced the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Its mission was to govern territory and ultimately re-establish the caliphate. Al Qaedas leadership, hiding in the tribal lands of Pakistan far from Iraq, was not consulted. The announcement was therefore a deep challenge to al Qaedas authority and foreshadowed the violent, public divorce between the jihadi organization and what would become the Islamic State. This is the story of al Qaedas early relationship with the organization that would become the Islamic State, and the older jihadi organizations failed efforts to bend the upstart leaders to its authority. The falling out between the two groups took many twists and turns, but one of the most important occurred in October 2006, long before the Islamic State was a household name. Al Qaedas boldest effort to rein in its rebellious Iraqi ally, however, would end with one of its most senior commanders in a Gaziantep prison. Al Qaeda in Iraq and al Qaedas Iraqi Nashwan Abd al-Razzaq Abd al-Baqi arrived in Pakistan in the early 1990s, shortly after the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan. He was an ethnic Kurd from the Iraqi city of Mosul and had served in the Iraqi Army during the Iran-Iraq war. His kunya or nom de guerre varied in those years. Sometimes, he was called Abd al-Hadi al-Mosuli, sometimes it was Abd al-Hadi al-Ansari, but eventually he became best known as Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi. Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi Like many jihadis at the time, Abd al-Hadi lived in Pakistan as the civil war among former Afghan mujahideen factions raged in Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal. He seems to have crossed into Afghanistan for good in 1995 or 1996, as the Taliban seized control of much of the country. He quickly put his Iraqi military experience to work, becoming an early leader in the so-called Ansar Battalion, a military unit composed of foreigners who fought alongside the Taliban. After the 9/11 attacks, schematics of the Ansar Battalions structure, training procedures, and ideological guidance were discovered alongside Abd al-Hadis copy of an Iraqi Army manual he brought along from his previous life. Years later, some analysts argued that the Islamic States use of Iraqi military tactics was evidence that former Baathists were driving the groups operations. Perhaps. But Iraqi Army doctrine was ingrained in al Qaeda and jihadi military training years earlier not because Saddam Hussein was supporting these groups, but because the man who led al Qaedas conventional military efforts had defected to the jihadi group after a career in the Iraqi Army. By 1998, Abd al-Hadi was a rising star in al Qaeda. He managed the groups guesthouse in Kabul and was one of only six Arabs named interlocutors to the Talibans Arab Liaison Committee, which gave him the authority to intercede on behalf of Arabs in Afghanistan when they had a request of the Taliban government. He was also on a short list of foreigners included in the Bamiyan Group, which American investigators allege means he participated in the Talibans infamous operation to destroy the Bamiyan Buddhas in March 2001. In June 2001, he was one of only 10 members of al Qaedas consultative committee, an advisory body to Osama bin Laden. Following the 9/11 attacks and the Talibans fall, Abd al-Hadi was named al Qaedas commander for northern Afghanistan and seems to have been involved in foreign operations. Richard Reid, the shoe-bomber who tried to blow up a plane from Paris to Miami in December 2001, listed Abd al-Hadi as his second beneficiary in his handwritten will. The organizational chart of the Ansar Battalion, a military group in Afghanistan composed of foreigners who fought alongside the Taliban. Abd al-Hadi was one of the group's early leaders. Unsurprisingly considering his lineage, Abd al-Hadi also helped drive al Qaedas strategy toward Iraq. Before 9/11, he remained in touch with family and friends near Mosul, and the camp where many residents of his guesthouse trained included a so-called Kurds Camp, which suggests some Iraqi Kurds may have trained there. Abd al-Hadi also played a key, secondary role in al Qaedas embrace of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian godfather of the Islamic State. Abd al-Hadi fingered the Syrian jihadi Abu Musab al-Suri for trying to poach recruits from the al Qaeda guesthouse in Kabul and coordinated directly with senior al Qaeda operatives Sayf al-Adl and Abu Hafs al-Masri to develop a countervailing strategy. Among those efforts was a strategy to bolster Zarqawi, in part to limit support for al-Suri from jihadi recruits from the Levant. Abd al-Hadis ties were important when Zarqawi shifted his operation to Iraq from Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. Al Qaeda had helped Zarqawi establish a training camp in Afghanistan, but the young Jordanian did not swear allegiance to bin Laden while there. This complicated his negotiations with al Qaeda once he arrived in Iraq. In 2003 and 2004, Zarqawi communicated regularly with al Qaeda, requesting financial support and negotiating whether he would finally swear allegiance. Abd al-Hadi was promoted by al-Adl to command al Qaedas forces in northern Afghanistan after 9/11 and was often on the other end of Zarqawis communiques. Together with al-Adl, he served as one of the most important early al Qaeda interlocutors with Zarqawi in Iraq. A drawing by a jihadi volunteer in Afghanistan of the al-Faruq training camp north of Kabul, where many of the residents of Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi's guesthouse trained. Communicating between Iraq and South Asia was perilous. Geography and hostile intelligence services made travel risky, and electronic or telephonic communications could always be intercepted. Indeed, when Zarqawi requested financial support from al Qaeda in 2003, Abd al-Hadi balked, ostensibly out of concern that scarce financial resources would be seized in transit. Abd al-Hadi did eventually dispatch emissaries to negotiate with Zarqawi, the most successful of which was a Pakistani from Balochistan named Hassan Ghul. When Ghul and Zarqawi met in January 2004, Zarqawi bluntly explained that his strategy in Iraq was to incite a sectarian bloodletting. He would assassinate Shiite political and religious leaders until that sectarian war began. Ghul relayed news of that plan to Abd al-Hadi, who, according to summaries of the conversation published by the Senate Intelligence Committee, replied that he was opposed to any operations in Iraq that would promote bloodshed among Muslims. After Ghul was captured by Kurdish counterterrorism forces in 2004 on his way out of Iraq, he told CIA investigators that Abd al-Hadi counseled al-Zarqawi against undertaking such operations. Abd al-Hadis concerns were twofold. He objected to Zarqawis brutal and divisive strategic vision, but because of distance and communication failures did not have a clear picture of events in Iraq. It was hard to truly assess, let alone criticize, Zarqawis approach. Fortunately for Abd al-Hadi, there were many al Qaeda members eager to travel to Iraq to fight. The al Qaeda leader hoped that if he could embed trusted operatives on the ground, he would have a better picture of the operational environment and therefore more leverage over Zarqawi. So Abd al-Hadi ordered Ghul to broach this issue with Zarqawi, and develop a route for fighters to make the journey to Iraq. Zarqawi had a deep independent streak, so this was a sensitive subject, but he was open to the idea and even requested individuals with specific technical skills. Perhaps inspired by Zarqawis willingness to collaborate, Abd al-Hadi proposed something more radical: He would personally come to Iraq. But Zarqawis interest in new recruits did not extend to al Qaeda leaders more senior than he, even if they were actually Iraqi. Perhaps worried about an implicit challenge to his leadership, Zarqawi rebuffed the suggestion, explaining to Ghul, per the Senate Intelligence Committees report, that this was not a good idea, as operations in Iraq were far different than those Abd al-Hadi was conducting in Afghanistan. For the time being, Abd al-Hadi did not push the issue. Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi holds a machine gun in a video found by U.S. forces during raids on terror safe houses in Iraq. The outtakes from the video were used during a briefing by Gen. Rick Lynch, spokesman for the U.S. command, to poke fun at al-Zarqawi because he had trouble firing the gun. (Photo by U.S. Department of Defense via Getty Images) The Breaking Point Zarqawi finally swore allegiance to bin Laden in October 2004, but on his own terms. He was bending the knee, Zarqawi explained, only because his respected brothers in al Qaeda understood [his] strategy and their hearts opened to our approach. Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) was born, but the strategy of brutality and sectarianism that Abd al-Hadi warned against would continue. Al Qaedas effort to control Zarqawi continued as well. In a July 2005 letter, al Qaedas then second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, warned him not to alienate Iraqis and to avoid scenes of slaughter. Zarqawi was unimpressed. After U.S. Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte released a copy of the letter in September 2005, Zarqawis spokesman called it a fraud, arguing that it had no foundation except in the imagination of the politicians of the Black House and their slaves. The disconnect between al Qaeda and Zarqawi became a crisis in November 2005, when Zarqawis foot soldiers bombed three hotels in Amman, Jordan, killing more than 60 Jordanians. Al Qaedas leadership was furious. Policy must be dominant over militarism, wrote Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, an al Qaeda commander in Iran, to Zarqawi three days after the Amman bombing. He ordered Zarqawi to halt all operations outside Iraq. Atiyah reiterated Abd al-Hadis concern about al Qaedas ability to manage events in Iraq from afar, and was alarmed that Zarqawi apparently thought Zawahiris July letter was fraudulent. The document was authentic, he wrote, and represented the thoughts of the brothers, the sheikhs, and all of the intellectual and moral leadership here. He argued that improving coordination between al Qaeda and AQI was the groups highest priority. Preparing [the brothers] to be messengers between you and the leadership here, Atiyah explained, is more important than sending the brothers for some operations like the hotels in Amman. Zarqawi finally fell in line, partially. In January 2006, he established a coalition of Iraqi jihadi groups, the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC), which was designed to assuage some of al Qaedas concerns. The group named an Iraqi as emir, and Zarqawi reduced his public profile. But the MSC was still mostly window dressing. Most importantly, it did not include the second-largest jihadi group in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunnah, which has Kurdish roots and a mistrustful relationship with Zarqawi. Al Qaedas central leadership was eager to unify the jihadi movement but Zarqawi distrusted Ansar al-Sunnah, so they engaged Ansar al-Sunnahs leadership directly. On Jan. 26, 2006, Ayman al-Zawahiri wrote to Ansar al-Sunnah on behalf of al Qaedas Special Committee for Iraqi Affairs that the committee favored unification between AQI and Ansar al-Sunnah. More strikingly, it acknowledged that such a step was possible only after reforming the situation of AQI. Three days later, the committee sent another note urging that all the obstacles standing in the way [of unification] must be removed. One of those obstacles may have been Zarqawi himself. Al Qaeda quickly moved to resolve that problem: It reported to Ansar al-Sunnah that it had taken a step to improve the conditions needed for unification by sending an honorable brother and a virtuous sheikh to Iraq. Al Qaeda did not name its emissary, but noted you know him very well. There is little doubt that al Qaedas letter to the Kurdish leadership of Ansar al-Sunnah indicated that Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, the ethnic Kurd from Mosul, was headed home. In late 2003, Abd al-Hadi had asked Zarqawi whether he should travel to Iraq. Zarqawi said no. In January 2006, Zarqawi was not offered a veto. The leadership of AQI would change long before Abd al-Hadi made it anywhere near Iraq. Zarqawi was killed in June 2006 by a U.S. airstrike and was replaced by an Egyptian called Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir. Despite his long ties to al Qaeda, Abu Hamzah continued AQIs drift away from the central leadership. On Oct. 15, 2006, the Mujahideen Shura Council announced that all of its component groups were being dissolved and folded into a new jihadi government named the Islamic State of Iraq. Long before the Syrian civil war and the Islamic States rise to global prominence, the ISIs explicit goal was to govern and ultimately re-establish the caliphate. Al Qaedas leadership was blindsided. They had not been consulted about the declaration, and the ISI leadership failed to create unity among Iraqi jihadis by refusing to incorporate Ansar al-Sunnah, which remained wary of the ISI despite Zarqawis death. For a moment, al Qaedas leaders might have been heartened that Abd al-Hadi was nearing Iraqs border and might be able to sort things out. But that moment was brief; Abd al-Hadi was arrested in Gaziantep one day after the ISI was declared. With that arrest, al Qaedas boldest effort to finally control the jihadi movement in Iraq fizzled and the movement that Zarqawi birthed was moving further out of its orbit. The rest, as they say, is history. Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi is arraigned in a military commission at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on June 18, 2014. Hadi listened calmly as the charges were listed, and did not enter a plea during the half-hour session. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool) The Kurdistan Brigades According to the prominent Turkish journalist Rusen Cakir, the CIA was deeply involved in the surveillance and capture of Abd al-Hadi. A story Cakir published in November 2014 reported that Turkish al Qaeda members Yilmaz and Resit-Isik crossed into Iran to help Abd al-Hadi and his family across the border and then ushered him to Gaziantep for the final leg to the Syrian border. Abd al-Hadi was allegedly tracked electronically throughout this journey, but Turkish officials would apparently not arrest him based on such surveillance data. The anonymous tip to the Gaziantep police, which asserted that he was traveling on a fraudulent passport, allowed for him to be detained legally. It is easy to imagine the American officials angst as Turkey considered Abd al-Hadis asylum request. Abd al-Hadis lawyer, Osman Karahan, had a history of representing jihadis in Turkey and had been charged there with supporting terrorism himself. But the Americans need not have worried. Abd al-Hadis request for asylum was denied and, at 2 a.m. on Oct. 31, 2006, he was ushered on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Kabul. American officials were waiting for him when the plane landed. Today, Abd al-Hadi awaits trial at a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, where he is listed as one of 17 high-value detainees. In January 2010, the Guantanamo Review Task Force recommended him for prosecution and many of the raw documents cited in this article were declassified and released so they could be submitted as evidence in that prosecution. It remains unclear what Abd al-Hadi aimed to do if he made it to Iraq. He was senior enough to challenge implicitly or explicitly either Zarqawi or Abu Hamzah, but it is not clear if his mission was to seize control of the ISI or whether that groups leaders endorsed the journey. Perhaps he aimed to carry out a coup? Perhaps he aimed to build a better-behaved al Qaeda affiliate out of Ansar al-Sunnah? Perhaps he really would have just served an advisor? Or perhaps his arrival would have precipitated the sort of open warfare between jihadis that emerged years later in Syria. The nature of Abd al-Hadis mission raises as many questions as it provides answers, but his route toward Iraq tells us a great deal about al Qaedas logistics network in 2006. He did not try to cross directly into Iraq from either Iran or Turkey, but added at least two risky border crossings and detoured through hundreds of miles of Turkish and Syrian territory. His itinerary reflected a path ultimately trod by thousands of foreign fighters who joined AQI/ISI in 2006 and 2007, and that was made famous during the Syrian civil war. Abd al-Hadi was not the last al Qaeda commander to try to reach Iraq. After his capture, at least two other senior al Qaeda leaders Atiyah abd al-Rahman and Muhammad Khalil al-Hakaymah attempted similar journeys. For all the talk about digital communications, al Qaeda understood that it could not drive events in Iraq without putting trusted operatives on the ground. There are few details about their journeys, but both spent extensive time in Iran after 9/11 and likely would have traveled a similar route as Abd al-Hadi. Internal al Qaeda communications suggest they both ran into trouble, but it is not clear if al Qaedas Turkish network faltered (Abd al-Hadis driver in Gaziantep, Mehmet Polat, was killed in a shootout with Turkish police in early 2008) or if authorities in Iran restricted their movement. Despite the growing rift with the ISI, al Qaeda did have some loyalists in Iraq. Many jihadis from Ansar al-Sunnah remained aligned with al Qaeda for years, even though they never took the groups name. Meanwhile, Abd al-Hadis Turkish facilitators, Yilmaz and Resit-Isik, fled to Iraq, where they started a short-lived jihadi group known as the Kurdistan Brigades, which tried to bridge the growing divide between ISI and al Qaeda. The Kurdistan Brigades is the only group that publicly pledged allegiance to both bin Laden and the emir of ISI. That conciliation effort dissolved when Yilmaz and Resit-Isik were killed by U.S. troops in June 2007. Al Qaedas ability to move senior jihadi commanders to the battlefield improved after the Syrian civil war began. Numerous senior jihadis linked to al Qaeda have reached their destination, which says something about the aggressiveness of security services in Turkey and elsewhere. Collectively, these core al Qaeda representatives in Syria have become known as the Khorasan Group, a nod to their experience in Afghanistan. Following in Abd al-Hadis footsteps, these leaders initially tried to build bridges with the Islamic State, but ultimately condemned it in favor of more al Qaeda-friendly militants in Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham. Unlike during the Iraq war, when surrounding countries generally objected to the free movement of al Qaeda operatives, the members of the Khorasan Group were able to enter Syria relatively easily and build up local credibility due to their opposition to the Islamic State. Regardless, the Khorasan Group has not definitively reasserted al Qaedas authority over the Islamic State any more than Abd al-Hadi was able to. Proximity is important, but it is not everything. Indeed, al Qaedas success inserting senior commanders into Syria has helped it build close ties with many rebel groups, but the split with the Zarqawiists has escalated into full-fledged war with the Islamic State. Al Qaeda failed to understand that the movement Zarqawi created was fundamentally populist it was never looking for long-established leaders and authority figures. Whereas jihadi leaders have for decades rejected established political and religious hierarchies across the Middle East and beyond, the Zarqawiist movement is built to reject even the jihadi establishment. Abd al-Hadis mission to Iraq ended when he was arrested in Gaziantep, but al Qaedas campaign to seize back control of the global jihadi from the heirs of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi goes on. Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Manchester United will trigger an option to extend Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic's contract by a year, manager Jose Mourinho told a press conference on Wednesday. Ibrahimovic, 35, joined United from Paris Saint-Germain in July on a one-year contract with an option for an extra year. "The Zlatan situation is simple," Mourinho told reporters at Old Trafford ahead of United's Europa League meeting with Feyenoord on Thursday. "He has one plus one year in the club. We are happy with him. We are going to executive the option of a second season. After that he can do what he wants to because he is free." Ibrahimovic, appearing at the same press conference, said he would be happy to extend his contract if he is still enjoying life at the club. "I have a contract which says one plus one. I feel good, I feel fresh, in shape," he said. "If I feel like (I do) now, it will be a second year. I want to be realistic with myself. If I'm here I want to be able to perform, do what I can do and not waste time. As it is now, probably, yes." Mourinho previously spent a season working with Ibrahimovic at Inter Milan, where the pair won the 2008-09 Serie A title. "I think for the next one and a half years he is happy, he is committed and loving his career at Man United," Mourinho added. "This is a great and probably the last big challenge of his wonderful football career. It's perfect for him to be here for 18 months more and then he owns his decision of his future." Ibrahimovic, who has won 11 league titles in four countries, has scored eight goals in his 17 United appearances to date. The charismatic Swede went off the boil after scoring five goals in his first five games, but recently ended a six-game Premier League scoring drought with a brace in a 3-1 win at Swansea City. He missed United's 1-1 draw with Arsenal last Saturday through suspension. Ibrahimovic scored a record 62 goals in 116 appearances for Sweden before retiring from international football after his country's group-stage exit at Euro 2016. MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Hundreds of mariachi folk musicians filled the streets of Mexico City on Tuesday to celebrate and serenade the feast day of Cecilia, the patron saint of music. Clad in their traditional cropped jackets and wide sombreros, the mariachi guitarists, trumpeters and violinists played songs and marched in procession to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. For years, Mexico City's mariachis have gathered to honor Saint Cecilia's feast day on Nov 22. Cecilia was an early Roman martyr who is often represented in art by a harp. (Reporting by Reuters TV. Editing by Patrick Johnston) The European Space Agency's Mars probe crashed on the planet's surface as a result of a one-second technical glitch, the agency announced Thursday. Schiaparelli crashed while descending on the red planet Oct. 19. The ESA's investigation into the crash revealed that the probe thought it was closer to the surface of Mars than it was, causing its parachute and landing rockets to prematurely deploy at an altitude of 3.7 kilometers. The probe then fell to Mars and crashed on the surface. "This is still a very preliminary conclusion of our technical investigations," said David Parker, the ESA's Director of Human Spaceflight and Robot Exploration. "The full picture will be provided in early 2017 by the future report of an external independent inquiry board which is now being set up as requested by ESAs Director General under the chairmanship of ESA's Inspector General." RTX2PNLA Photo: Reuters Schiaparelli was an integral part of the ESAs ExoMars mission to learn more about the red planet. Designed to demonstrate entry, descent and landing, the probe was launched in March and attached to another mechanism called a Trace Gas Orbiter. Another ExoMars mission is planned for 2020. "But we will have learned much from Schiaparelli that will directly contribute to the second ExoMars mission being developed with our international partners for launch in 2020," said Parker. The attached Trace Gas Orbiter detached in the Mars atmosphere before Schiaparelli crashed and continues to function. The orbiter measures atmospheric conditions on the planet including the presence of cosmic rays, methane and neutrons. Instruments on Schiaparelli also transmitted information back to Earth before its crash. "ExoMars is extremely important for European science and exploration," said Roberto Battiston, president of Italy's ASI space agency. "Together with all participating states in the program, we will work towards the successful completion of the second ExoMars mission." Related Articles Four weeks after a grueling 27-hour surgery to separate conjoined twins who had lived their entire lives connected at the top of their heads, the parents of the 14-month-olds finally saw the bare head of one of their sons at the hospital in New York City. Its the most amazing thing. I just cant even believe it, Nicole McDonald, who stood beside her son Jadons bed when bandages were removed for the first time, said according to a Tuesday report from CNN. And look at his little hair. On top, its growing in! Jadon and his brother Anias, who is recovering at a slower pace, are on pace to have the fastest recovery for craniopagus surgery. The previous record was eight weeks. Read: The Curious Life Of Conjoined Twins Historically, this will be the fastest recovery, lead surgeon James Goodrich reportedly told the family recently. Goodrich, who considered stopping the surgery hours into the operation when he became concerned about the brains being intertwined, has performed the surgery seven times. When twins are born conjoined they generally share important organs. That can include sharing of the heart, liver, intestine or rectum but can also include sharing a brain or sharing a spine or pelvis. The first case of a successful separation of conjoined twins occurred in 2004 when Jade and Erin Buckles, who shared a liver, were separated in Maryland. Conjoined twin births even generally speaking and including other kinds of conjoined cases arent very common. They occur roughly once every 200,000 live births, according to the University of Maryland Medical School. Once born, their survival is not guaranteed: The rate of survival is between 5 percent and 25 percent. Between 40 and 60 percent of conjoined twins are born stillborn and around 35 percent survive for a single day. Story continues The case of Jadon and Anias is even rarer than even most conjoined twin births. Roughly 70 percent of all conjoined twins born are female. Related Articles MDU Resources Group, Inc., MDU announced its capital investment plans for the next five year period spanning from 2017 to 2021. The company aims to invest nearly $2.2 billion over the said time period, which is higher than its previous 5 year (2012-2016) expenditure of $2.16 billion. Focus on Regulated Business A major portion or 73.5% of the planned capital expenditure will be directed to strengthen its existing regulated operations. MDU Resources will invest $659 million in its Natural gas distribution, $582 million in its Electric business and $382 million in its Pipeline and midstream operations. Thanks to its regular investments in its regulated business, the company expects its electric and natural gas utility to grow its rate base nearly 4% annually over the next five years on a compound basis. The current growth projection is on a much larger base, as MDU Resources rate base has increased 11% compounded annually over the past five-year period. The company targeted to invest $1.84 billion or 84.7% of its planned capex for 2012 to 2016 time period in regulated business. MDU RESOURCES Price MDU RESOURCES Price | MDU RESOURCES Quote Why Invest in Regulated Business MDU Resources Group, after selling its exploration and production and refining businesses, emphasized on its regulated energy delivery and construction materials and services businesses. The primary reason behind investing in these businesses is that these provide opportunities for growth with a lower business risk. Details of the 5-year Capital Plan MDU Resources construction materials and services businesses investments are focused primarily on normal equipment and plant replacements and upgrades. The passage of the $305 billion, five-year highway bill for funding of transportation infrastructure projects will create more growth opportunity for this business. The utilitys five-year capital investment program includes construction of a 345-kilovolt transmission line from Ellendale, ND, to Big Stone City, SD, about 160 miles, which is expected to be completed in 2019. The company will also concentrate on Valley Expansion project, a 38-mile pipeline that will deliver natural gas supply to eastern North Dakota and far western Minnesota. Our View We believe the ongoing capital investments in its core operations will ensure higher returns and help the company to create long-term value for its shareholders. Zacks Rank & Key Picks MDU Resources currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the same space are ONE Gas, Inc. OGS, Southwest Gas Corporation SWX and Vectren Corporation VVC. All these stocks currently have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 for ONE Gas, Southwest Gas Corporation and Vectren Corporation moved up by 0.8%, 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively in the last 60 days. Zacks' Top Investment Ideas for Long-Term Profit How would you like to see our best recommendations to help you find todays most promising long-term stocks? Starting now, you can look inside our portfolios featuring stocks under $10, income stocks, value investments and more. These picks, which have double and triple-digit profit potential, are rarely available to the public. But you can see them now. Click here >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SOUTHWEST GAS (SWX): Free Stock Analysis Report MDU RESOURCES (MDU): Free Stock Analysis Report VECTREN CORP (VVC): Free Stock Analysis Report ONE GAS INC (OGS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany must increase defense spending towards 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, but downplayed expectations it would meet this target in the near future. "Our defense budget shows that we haven't reached the point where we should be if we talk about the expectations of our NATO partners," Merkel said in a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament. "I know we still have a pretty long way to go to reach NATO's 2 percent target for defense spending and I can't promise we will get there in near future. But the direction has to be clear (...) that we approach this target and implement it." (Reporting by Madeline Chambers and Paul Carrel; Writing by Sabine Siebold and Caroline Copley; Editing by Michelle Martin) WASHINGTON -- I'm afraid I missed the conference of white supremacists in Washington this weekend. I was hosting my daughter's bat mitzvah. But I have a pretty good picture of what happened, because luckily -- for me, if not for them -- several other journalists attended Saturday's gathering of alt-right leader Richard Spencer's National Policy Institute at the Ronald Reagan federal building. Attendees shouted "heil" and "Lugenpresse," a Nazi term that means "lying press." Some of the few hundred attendees applauded mention of the Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website. Reality TV personality Tila Tequila tweeted an image of herself and others giving a Nazi salute and the misspelled words "Seig heil!" White nationalists and counter-demonstrators clashed violently in the street outside the gathering in downtown Washington, and, as The Washington Post's John Woodrow Cox reported, inside and outside a family restaurant, Maggiano's, in northwest Washington. The scenes seemed as if from another time and another place, but in Donald Trump's America, they are here and now. And if Trump doesn't do something more forceful to disown his neo-Nazi hangers on, they will continue their brazen march into the mainstream. "We've crossed the Rubicon in terms of recognition," Spencer said, arguing that "America was, until this last generation, a white country designed for ourselves and our posterity. It is our creation, it is our inheritance, and it belongs to us." Politico quoted Spencer saying the alt-right was "a head without a body" and "the Trump movement was a body without a head." Now, "I think, moving forward, the alt-right can, as an intellectual vanguard, complete Trump." The Los Angeles Times quoted Spencer saying Trump's election was an "awakening" and that "we're not quite the establishment now, but I think we should start acting like it." The white nationalists are emboldened by Trump's selection of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Stephen K. Bannon to top jobs in his administration. Bannon, who boasted that the Breitbart News outlet he ran was "the platform for the alt-right," was praised lavishly by Spencer. And The Post's David Weigel quoted Spencer saying Sessions -- tapped to be attorney general -- is "eye-to-eye with us" on immigration. (Sessions has tried to restrict legal immigration.) Shortly after the election, Trump said his supporters who were harassing Muslims and Latinos should "stop it." But they aren't stopping. In the past few days, a city park in Brooklyn was defaced with swastikas and the message "Go Trump!" while an Arab American Uber driver in Queens filmed another driver shouting at him: "Trump is president so you can kiss your [expletive] visa goodbye, scumbag. They'll deport you soon." While the white nationalists were meeting in Washington and clashing with protesters, Trump was engaged in a Twitter fight with the cast of the Broadway musical "Hamilton." Trump demanded the actors apologize for urging Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who attended the show, "to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us." Rather than quarrel with that unobjectionable message, perhaps Trump could listen to the George Washington character in "Hamilton" sing "One Last Time": "Like the scripture says: Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree And no one shall make them afraid." This passage, from Micah 4:4, is in Washington's letter to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, in 1790. The rabbi recalled these words during my daughter's bat mitzvah this weekend. "Happily," Washington wrote, "the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support." Continued the first president: "May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants -- while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid." Please read Washington's words, Mr. President-elect, and repeat them to Richard Spencer and his ilk as you brush off the white nationalists riding on your coattails. There is room for cooperation on much of Trump's agenda. But cooperation is difficult, if not impossible, when a president gives sanction to bigotry. Glasgow (AFP) - Lionel Messi hit a brace as he returned to the Barcelona line-up to help book their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a comfortable 2-0 win at Celtic on Wednesday. Messi, who missed Saturdays goalless draw with Malaga due to illness, provided a fine finish to Neymars lofted pass to hand the Spanish champions a 24th-minute lead in Glasgow. The Barcelona captain, who grabbed a hat-trick in the 7-0 mauling in the reverse fixture in the Camp Nou, then converted a 56th-minute penalty won by Luis Suarez to see his side top Group C with 12 points from five games. Manchester Citys draw with Borussia Monchengladbach in the groups other match also sees the English side through and means Celtic cant pip the Germans to third spot due to their inferior head-to-head record. "It was quite a hard game and we expected Celtic to come out and make it difficult," said Barcelona manager Luis Enrique. "We were good at the back and we got better as the game went on. It was a very difficult group and it's great to finish first with a game to spare." Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers felt his side had improved significantly from their hammering in the Camp Nou, although their European adventures are over for another year. "I was proud of the team tonight. We looked like we played without any fear and we pressed the game well," Rodgers said. "If we take some of our chances then it might have been a different game but we showed a vast improvement, which is important." Apart from the injured Andres Iniesta, Barcelona named their strongest 11 as Suarez and Messi returned from suspension and illness respectively to form their formidable partnership with Neymar in the Barca attack. - Sublime Messi - Celtic didnt allow the visitors time on the ball as they pressed high up the pitch early on. However, Barcelona began to probe at the Celtic defence with Mikel Lustig looking particularly vulnerable to the runs of Jordi Alba and Neymar. Story continues The Brazilian was first to burst into the Celtic box and teed up Messi with a back-heel and the Argentines deflected shot had Craig Gordon scrambling across his line before it was cleared. Alba was then the provider as his cross from the left found Ivan Rakitic lurking in the box but the Croatian international sent his header bouncing into the turf and over the bar. Celtic failed to heed the warning signs and Barca soon had a deserved lead. Neymar, who learned earlier in the day that Spanish prosecutors were seeking a two-year jail sentence and 10-million-euro fine for his part in his allegedly fraudulent transfer to Barca, was given space to play a wonderful lofted pass to Messi, who crashed a sublime shot on the half-volley in off the near post. The hosts tried to respond and had their first shot on target in the 37th minute when Moussa Dembele stung the palms of Marc Andre ter Stegen with a fierce strike. Only a superb save from Gordon stopped Suarez from adding a second before the break as he blocked a point-blank header from the Uruguayan international with his body. Celtic lost Scott Sinclair to injury at the break but his replacement James Forrest created Celtics best opportunity when he picked out Dembele with a cross but the in-form French forward sent a tame header straight to ter Stegen. It was to prove costly as Barcelona doubled their advantage moments later. Suarez got on the wrong side of Emilio Izaguirre and the Celtic defender hauled him to the ground to earn a penalty that Messi sent straight down the middle to score his 502nd goal for the Catalan giants. Neymar was fortunate to escape with just a booking, which will see him miss the final group game, as he pushed Lustig to the turf after the players clashed, with the Brazilian international subbed moments later. A team of astronomers has discovered the faintest dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. Virgo 1, discovered using the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, has an absolute magnitude of -0.8 in the optical waveband two orders of magnitude less than the Andromeda galaxy. Absolute magnitude is the brightness of a celestial object as seen from a distance of 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years). Before the discovery of Virgo 1, the faintest dwarf satellite found was Segue 1, which has an absolute magnitude of -1.5. fig1e Photo: Tohoku University/National Astronomical Observation of Japan Scientists believe that studying the nature and composition of the dwarf galaxy, which lies at a distance of approximately 280,000 light-years from Earth and has a radius of roughly 124 light-years, may provide vital clues to what dark matter the mysterious substance that makes up 85 percent of the universes mass is. As of now, very little is known about dark matter except that it consists of particles that release high-frequency gamma rays when they annihilate each other. Although the hypothesized Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) is currently the leading candidate to explain the composition of dark matter, even the most powerful particle accelerators have so far failed to detect them. A longstanding puzzle scientists seeking to study this exotic matter face is the missing satellites problem, which relates to how dark matter assembles itself into structures known as dark halos. Our current theoretical models of galaxy formation suggest that a galaxy the size of Milky Way should be surrounded by hundreds of small dark matter halos, which, in turn, should lead to the formation of a comparable number of luminous satellite companions. However, so far, only 50 odd satellite galaxies to the Milky Way have been observed a number that falls short of the theoretical prediction. Story continues fig2e Photo: Tohoku University/National Astronomical Observation of Japan This discovery implies hundreds of faint dwarf satellites waiting to be discovered in the halo of the Milky Way, lead researcher Masashi Chiba from Tohoku University in Japan, said in a statement released Monday. How many satellites are indeed there and what properties they have, will give us an important clue of understanding how the Milky Way formed and how dark matter contributed to it. Related Articles Nov 23 (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based Mirae Asset Global Investments has launched its first sharia-compliant Asian equities fund, part of efforts to widen its client base and tap into demand from Islamic investors in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The launch adds momentum to the Islamic funds industry, which underwent a period of consolidation in recent years but is now attracting regional firms seeking to penetrate markets from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia. The Luxembourg-domiciled fund will be registered in selected counties while focusing on distribution with local partners, the firm said in a statement. "Islamic Asset Management is a growth area within the investments industry. Sharia compliant capabilities are in fact required in catering to certain markets and client segments." The firm is the asset management arm of South Korea's Mirae Asset Financial Group, it has a presence in 12 countries and manages over $100 billion in client assets. Earlier this month, Italian money manager Azimut Holding SpA said it would jointly manage its Islamic bonds fund with Maybank Asset Management Group to cater to growing demand for hard currency Islamic financial products. Japan's SBI Holdings and the Brunei government have also launched a sharia-compliant private equity fund focused on Southeast Asian companies, with a target size of $100 million. Islamic fund managers screen their portfolios according to religious guidelines such as bans on tobacco, alcohol and gambling, in much the same way as socially responsible funds. (Reporting by Bernardo Vizcaino; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Milan (AFP) - Napoli's Champions League last-16 hopes will be decided by a final group showdown away to Benfica after the Italians were held to a frustrating scoreless home draw by Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday. Napoli, who will need a draw in Portugal, were given extra incentive to seek their last 16 ticket when Benfica, despite racing to a 3-0 lead, were held to a 3-3 draw by Besiktas in Istanbul. But despite showing plenty of enterprise in a one-sided game at the San Paolo, Maurizio Sarri's men were forced to settle for a share of the spoils by a Kiev side that showed little interest in scoring goals of their own. Napoli's second draw in Group B leaves them on eight points, the same as Benfica, with Besiktas in third place at only one point adrift. "We weren't ourselves tonight," captain Marek Hamsik told Mediaset Premium. "It's a shame because a win would have made things a lot easier. But we're up near the top of the group and we'll go to Lisbon looking to qualify. "We know a point will be enough to see us through, but we won't be playing for a draw. More than anything, we have to play better than we did tonight." Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik's continued absence due to a knee injury meant Belgium midfielder Dries Mertens was pushed up to the main striker's role he has been deployed in for the last few weeks. But Mertens was one of several Napoli players to have left his scoring boots behind on a night of frustration that saw the hosts whistled and booed off. Only four minutes after kick-off Mertens was stopped by Artur Rudko when the Dynamo 'keeper came out to clear on the edge of the area. Napoli were finding space between the Dynamo lines but the pace of Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne was neutralised by their inability to finish. Rudko was off his line again just after the quarter-hour to thwart Mertens as he ran solo towards goal. Napoli's luck ran out in comical fashion when Insigne, who broke a seven-month goal drought with a brace at the weekend, tripped over his own feet after collecting Mertens' through ball. Story continues Before the interval Hamsik fired straight at the 'keeper and Insigne wasted another chance when he over-hit a chip for Jose Callejon when Hamsik was in a much better scoring position. Napoli continued to press but a timely sliding tackle from Yevhen Makarenko stopped Hamsik's daisycutter from reaching Callejon yards from goal seven minutes after the restart. Napoli went on the counter when Kalidou Koulibaly stole possession in midfield, but with Callejon completely free, Insigne shot straight at Rudko. Rudko did well two minutes later when Hamsik, from a corner, unleashed a snap shot that forced the 'keeper into a two-handed block. Sarri replaced Insigne with Manolo Gabbiadini, but despite the fresh legs he, too, failed to find the target. After hitting a long-distance free-kick in to the defensive wall, Gabbiadini disappointed further by shooting just wide of the far post after collecting Callejon's square ball. Sarri said: "We still wanted to win this match up until 10 or 15 minutes from the end, and it slipped away from us. "It's a shame because we could be qualified by now." If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, youre a princess. Thus does a Polynesian demigod chastise the daughter of a Pacific island chieftain who has maintained that she is nothing of the kind. Of course, for all intents and purposes, he is right and she is wrong. Chieftains daughter is merely princess by another name. But with this cunning wink, Disneys Moana inoculates itself against the charge that it is yet another of the studios unwoke princess movies. Better still are the substantive upgrades: The 16-year-old titular heroine is proportioned like an actual adolescent female, rather than a saucer-eyed, wasp-waisted Barbie. And you can scan the ocean horizon in every direction without spotting anything that remotely resembles a love interest. Such political advances, however, are secondary to the sheer virtuosity of Moana. The movie is an absolute delight, a lush, exuberant quest fable full of big musical numbers and featuring perhaps the most stunning visuals of any Disney film to date. Recommended: Condescend to Your Relatives: A Handy, Bipartisan Guide As the story opens, the chieftains daughter, Moana (played by young Hawaiian actress Aulii Cravalho), is perpetually vexed that her father (Temuera Morrison) will not allow her to venture beyond the reef encircling their island home of Motunui. But the island and the ocean around it are slowly dying, because long ago a capricious demigod named Maui (Dwayne Johnson) stoleand subsequently lostthe precious-stone heart of the fertile goddess Te Fiti. When the sea itself entrusts that heart to young Moana, she knows that she must set sail beyond the reef, find Maui, and with his help restore Te Fitis heart. Though the narrative is linear, there are inevitably perils to be met: a horde of pirate raiders that seems to have snuck in from Mad Max: Fury Road, except for the fact that they are allno, I wont spoil it; a treasure-hoarding monster crab (voiced by Jemaine Clement), who puts Smaug to shame; and the smoldering lava spirit Te Ka, who also has designs on the Heart of Te Fiti. Story continues Johnsons charming, witty vocal performance is perhaps Moanas greatest pleasure. But the principal obstacle for Moana to overcome is her demigod partner in adventure, Maui. Vain, selfish, and utterly uncommitted to her mission, he is also in the midst of a crisis of confidence, having lost his magical fishhook and with it most of his demigodliness. Once a a shapeshifter of uncanny ability, hes now hard pressed to turn himself into anything more impressive than a half-sharka transformation that is precisely as useful as it sounds. Indeed, even as Moanathe princess who defies her father to venture across the seacannot help but recall Ariel of The Little Mermaid, the problematic and polymorphous Maui bears a distinct resemblance to Aladdins genie. Nor does this intra-Disney cross-pollination seem entirely accidental: Back in the day, Moana directors Ron Clements and John Musker were also responsible for both Mermaid and Aladdin. And like Robin Williamss showstealing turn in the latter picture, Johnsons charming, witty vocal performance here is perhaps Moanas greatest pleasure. There is a particularly delicious irony in the fact that an actor who first arrived onscreen thanks largely to his physique (Johnson was formerly the professional wrestler known as The Rock) has now done the best work of his career without the use of it. Recommended: 'Hail Trump!': Video of White Nationalists Cheering the President-Elect Disney Animation is currently in the midst of one of its periodic streaks of greatnessthe first since the Mermaid-Aladdin-Lion King run in which Clements and Musker played such a central role twenty-odd years ago. But what is notable this time around is the sheer variety of the studios offerings, from the high-concept premise of Wreck-It Ralph to the classic virtues of Frozen to the Asian-inflected tenderness of Big Hero 6 to the ingenious mammalian noir of Zootopia. Moana definitely resides at the Frozen end of this cinematic spectrum, a conventional story featuring just enough innovation to feel current and relying principally on its dazzling execution. The musical numbers by Opetaia Foai, Mark Mancina, and (yes) Lin-Manuel Miranda may not be quite Hamiltonian, but they will soon be on your childrens lips and perhaps your own: the ensemble introduction Where You Are, Clements hilarious Shiny, and the anthemic How Far Ill Go which, for better and worse, may rival Frozens Let It Go in sheer catchiness. These serve as accompaniments to the films flat-out gorgeous CGI cinematographylush greens, sunlit golds, and a deep blue sea that doubles as a principal supporting character. Is Moana a princess movie? Sure it is. But its a great one. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Moana with Maui. (Photo: Disney) There are a lot of wonderful things in Disneys new animated film Moana: The lively animation, the loving depiction of Pacific Islands culture, the clever and catchy songs. But one of the most exciting things about Moana is what it doesnt have: a love interest for its title character. For a Disney princess movie, this is revolutionary. True, the character of Moana is not technically a princess. Shes the daughter of a chief from the fictional island of Motunui, and both the filmmakers and Disney have stated that the princess label does not apply. However, theres a clear lineage here from previous Disney heroines, and the movie plays openly with that idea. (If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, youre a princess, the character Maui tells Moana.) Like the princesses that preceded her, Moana has dreams, the aforementioned sidekicks, and plenty of obstacles to overcome on her way to a happy ending. Unlike them, her happily-ever-after isnt tied to romance. Related: Doctor Strange: Lets Hope Rachel McAdams Is the Last Great Actress to Play a Useless Superhero Girlfriend Think about what a dramatic departure this is. Ever since Snow White warbled Someday My Prince Will Come, love has been at the crux of every Disney princesss journey. Think of the final shots of Snow White (the happy couple riding away on a white horse), Sleeping Beauty (the happy couple dancing in the castle), and Cinderella (the happy couples wedding.) Beginning with 1989s The Little Mermaid, the princesses become more proactive about pursuing their own dreams Belle wants adventure in the great wide somewhere; Mulan wants to find out who I am inside; Tangleds Rapunzel wonders When will my life begin? But even then, love inevitably finds them. The one exception in the official princess pantheon is Braves Merida, whose plot involves rejecting three suitors picked by her parents. Frozen also subverts this trope to some extent; Elsa doesnt have a handsome prince and Anna ends up rejecting hers, though its pretty clear shell end up with kind-hearted Kristoff. Story continues Anna and Elsa in Frozen. (Photo: Disney) But Moana is the first Disney princess for whom romance simply never comes up. In the film, Moana must weigh the honor and responsibility of being her islands new chief against her desire to explore the surrounding seas. It would have been easy for Disney to sneak in a mention of future marriage or to highlight a boy from the village who could serve as a potential love interest for the inevitable straight-to-DVD sequels but it doesnt. Part of this is justified by Moanas age; the movie never pinpoints a number, but its clear from the character design and casting (voice actress Aulii Cravalho was 14 years old during production) that this is a slightly younger heroine than those of past Disney films. And theres definitely no sexual chemistry (thank demigod) between Moana and her wisecracking travel companion, Maui, voiced by 44-year-old Dwayne Johnson. Related: Watch the Beauty and the Beast Trailer: Plus Director Bill Condon on Reimagining the Fairy Tale According to the directors, Moana was always intended to be a princess movie without a prince. Right from the start, there never was a love story in this movie, co-director Ron Clements told Yahoo Movies at a press event earlier this month. We saw this as a True Grit kind of story about a young girl on a quest to save her world. Its really a heros journey. Co-director John Musker added that Disney executives never objected to this decision. Maybe thats because they realized that their young audience is changing. A marketing study by Hasbro, which took over the Disney princess toy line from Mattel last year, found that girls thought of their favorite princesses as superheroes, placing a high value on their skills and abilities. Sometimes they want a prince sometimes there is no need for a prince, a Hasbro exec told Bloomberg. In other words, princes havent gone away; they just dont need to be front-and-center in every story. And too often in Disney animated films, thats exactly where the prince ends up, saving the helpless heroine at her greatest moment of peril. No wonder girls are ready for a Disney princess who can save herself. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. (Disney) By eliminating a love interest, Moana solves some other problems as well. Last year, a widely publicized study by two linguists discovered that in Disney princess films since 1989, with the sole exception of Pixars Brave, women get significantly less speaking time than men. For example, female characters get just 29 percent of the total dialogue in Beauty and the Beast. In Frozen, women speak just 41 percent of the time, despite the film having two female leads. Moana seems determined to improve that ratio. By eliminating a romantic angle, the film makes space for a different, more female-centric story, about the relationship between Moana and her grandmother. (Moana also has a living mother a rarity in Disney animated films and an animal companion, the rooster Heihei, who simply makes noises instead of mansplaining her adventures). Related: Moanas Grandma Is Village Crazy Lady in This Clip From Disneys Latest Animated Feature (Exclusive) Another happy side effect of the decision is that the male lead actually gets a better storyline. The love interests in recent Disney princess films have often had an obnoxious sameness to their personalities: street-smart, arrogant, and flirtatious, men like Prince Naveen, Kristoff, and Flynn Rider seem like alumni of the same fairy-tale fraternity. (Prince Eric and Aladdin definitely went to their parties.) While Moanas hulking Polynesian demigod, Maui, shares some of these qualities, with the pressure to seduce the princess removed, he becomes a much richer character: a man struggling with the loss of his powers who must learn to redefine himself as a less flashy kind of hero. Its a much deeper journey than the usual boy-meets-girl arc that weve come to expect for the male leads in these films. Disney hasnt given up on love stories its just acknowledging that there are other kinds of stories worth telling. In nearly 80 years of Disney animated films, Moana is the first princess who gets to go on a heros journey without the faint sound of wedding bells chiming in the distance. With this film, Disney is giving young girls an entirely new kind of fairy tale one that acknowledges that falling in love is just one of lifes many adventures. Meet the voice of Moana: More than pumpkin pie: What is the actual story behind Thanksgiving? Even if Thanksgiving is your favorite holiday, part of you probably knows that this food-friendly celebrations origin isnt what you were necessarily taught in elementary school. Before you gather round the table, take some time to learn about the real story behind Thanksgiving from what really happened in colonial America to how it became the holiday that we celebrate today. Educating yourself on the topic will make you feel like you earned your turkey and pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving story that is often told is that the British colonists who landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts and the native Wampanoag tribe enjoyed a peaceful meal together. And thats why we get together today and give thanks. However, the history of Thanksgiving is not as simple as all that and even historians dont necessarily agree on all the details behind the holidays origin. To put your mind at relative ease, there really was a harvest feast between the Plymouth pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians in 1621, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The pilgrims had hunted for wildfowl and in one day, gathered enough to feast for about a week. Whether turkey was the main meat or not is up for discussion, but Encyclopedia Britannica and Smithsonian magazine agree that the first Thanksgiving meal most likely contained more goose and duck than turkey. As the approximately 50 pilgrims celebrated their bounty, about 90 of the Wampanoag Indians, led by their chief Massasoit, arrived at the colonists settlement and joined them for the feast. The Native Americans supplemented the meal with venison from hunting deer, and the two groups ate and socialized together for three days. We know these details thanks to a letter from Edward Winslow, a leader in the Plymouth colony, who was there. The first Thanksgiving was held in the autumn of 1621 and included 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians and lasted three days. pic.twitter.com/OIuMfn7LXG The Salvation Army (@SalvationArmySV) November 4, 2016 Encyclopedia Britannica states that this event led to a treaty between the two groups until King Philips War (also known as the Great Narragansett War) in 1675. This war occurred after the death of Massasoit, who had maintained peace with the colonists. Encyclopedia Britannica wrote: Story continues That state of affairs, though, deteriorated after his death as a result of tensions from the Europeans poor treatment of Native Americans, cultural encroachment, and increasing desire for land. Massasoits son, Metacom (called King Philip by the English), led the war, but was killed. The colonists displayed his head on a spear at Plymouth for years a vast change from the peaceful time the Native Americans had experienced with the colonists at that 1621 feast. #OTD King Philips War ends with the assassination of Metacom chief of the Wampanoag Indians https://t.co/eIQFpzxGzb pic.twitter.com/lcF3MAZQ3s Redwood Library (@RedwoodLibrary) August 12, 2016 As for that 1621 feast, as it was a secular event, the pilgrims wouldnt have called it a Thanksgiving. According to National Geographic, it wasnt until 1841 when a Boston publisher named Alexander Young printed Winslows letter and referred to the event as the First Thanksgiving that we started calling the 1621 feast that. A spokesperson for the living-history museum, Plimoth Plantation, told National Geographic that thanksgivings were actually fasts not feasts in the 17th century, so the name is a bit of a misnomer. Also, the Smithsonian Institute wrote that true, religious thanksgiving services were held in America long before the 1621 event. The name of the event being historically inaccurate is not actually the troubling aspect behind the history of Thanksgiving. Its the claim that another, more bloody thanksgiving, where hundreds of Native American were murdered, is what inspired our modern holiday. While this awful massacre did happen, with some digging, we discovered it may not actually have anything to do with Thanksgiving. Of course, that doesnt mean that Native Americans havent suffered tremendously due to colonization and its aftermath it just may mean that the history of Thanksgiving isnt as bad as you thought. First Thanksgiving What is this Thanksgiving massacre story? Well, it gets a bit tricky historically speaking but here goes. Multiple sources, including the Huffington Post, Daily Kos, and Philly Mag, have written about how our modern Thanksgiving could actually be referring to when British colonists murdered Native Americans during the Pequot Massacre in 1637. Philly Mag wrote that after the massacre, the Massachusetts Bay Governor William Bradford designated a day of thanksgiving kept in all the churches for our victories against the Pequots.' And the Daily Kos wrote that the Massachusetts Bay Governor claimed, A day of Thanksgiving, thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children. Yet, there are disparities between both of these accounts and they may not be historically accurate when it comes to their references to Thanksgiving. Yes, this awful massacre absolutely did happen. Encyclopedia Britannica states the Pequot War ended with the massacre of 400 Pequot Indians in less than one hour by Connecticut soldiers and Native American allies of the colonists, which included the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes. The war was particularly brutal and noted to be the first sustained conflict between Native Americans and Europeans in northeastern North America. English Colonists Massacre a Pequot Village http://t.co/vHsCPpS5er pic.twitter.com/sXLCn71Hvp New Historian (@New_Historian) May 25, 2015 However, whether or not this massacre is related to Thanksgiving is the debatable part. Philly Mag was inaccurate in claiming Bradford was the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony since he was actually the governor of the Plymouth Colony, on and off for 30 years. So, he wouldnt have been the one to state a thanksgiving after the massacre. And he has often been cited as being the governor of the Plymouth colony during the 1621 Thanksgiving, as The New York Times noted. For their 2015 miniseries Saints and Strangers about the real story of Thanksgiving (which was noted to not be as historically accurate as it claimed by the Indian Country Today Media Network), the National Geographic channel released a historical account of Thanksgiving, which stated that Bradford did proclaim a thanksgiving. Yet, it wasnt after the horrific Pequot War. According to Nathaniel Philbrick, the author of Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, two years after the 1621 Thanksgiving, Bradford did proclaim a day of thanksgiveing to pray in thanks after rains ended a ruinous summer drought that had nearly destroyed their crops. Also, a fun fact in this rather unfun topic, Mad Mens Vincent Kartheiser portrayed Bradford in the Nat Geo miniseries. Whos right? Well, former Chief Curator of the Plimoth Plantation Jeremy Bangs wrote for the History News Network that what is completely untrue is the idea that the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony participated in the 1637 Pequot massacre. So, does this mean that we are celebrating a massacre every fourth Thursday in November? Or, that debunking the myth about Thanksgiving is kind of a myth in itself? Well, we cant imagine it was the intention of one of the greatest presidents in Americas history to honor the slaying of hundreds of people. When Abraham Lincoln first proclaimed that Americans should celebrate Thanksgiving in 1863, it was to bring the nation together not divide them further during the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln 1809-65. 16th President of the United States 1861-65. From painting by Alonzo Chappel Regardless, if the first Thanksgiving was marred with tragedy, its important to be educated on the atrocities that have been committed on the people who lived in America long before the British colonists came. And how that still impacts the surviving Native Americans. While this information doesnt mean you shouldnt enjoy your Thanksgiving, the holiday is all about reflection. And one thing to be grateful for: That the 1621 feast that we do associate with Thanksgiving involved two different groups of people coming together in the name of a peaceful, food-filled gathering. The post More than pumpkin pie: What is the actual story behind Thanksgiving? appeared first on HelloGiggles. Tallin, Estonia One of the European Unions smallest member states, with a population of 1.3 million, is one of its most optimistic, too. Or, put another way, its one of the blocs least pessimistic countries. Only 4% of Estonians think their children will be financially worse off than themselves, according to a recent survey (pdf) by Intrum Justitia. Estonias response was much lower than the European average of 18%. Denmark and Slovakia were also relatively upbeat about the next generations prospects, with 9% and 10% agreeing to the statement respectively. When a different pollster asked Americans a similar question in January, 56% thought the next generation will be worse off financially. Although Estonians have faith in the fortunes of the next generation, many arent expecting an immediate improvement in the economy. Only 17% think the economy is getting better, which is slightly lower than the European average of 20%. By contrast, the Irish have the most confidence in their economy, with 34% thinking its getting better, followed by Netherlands (32%) and Switzerland (30%). The Greeks were the most pessimistic about the future of their country; 42% think their children will be financially worse off and only 5% think the economy is getting better. When asked about their personal finance, 68% of Greeks admitted they are sometimes unable to pay their debtsthe highest among all countries surveyed. The French are also downbeat. Only 13% think their countrys economy is getting better, while 33% expect their children to be financially worse off than their parents. Just over 21,000 people from 21 countries took part in the survey, conducted in September. As for Estonians, they may be feeling a little less optimistic since the survey was conducted. Conflicting views on how to improve the economy resulted in the government collapsing on Nov.9, after the prime minister lost a confidence vote in parliament. The countrys new prime minister, Juri Ratas, comes from party with links to Russia (paywall). Story continues Image by Carlo Mirante on Flickr, licensed under CC-BY-2.0 Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: By Kristen Haunss NEW YORK, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Palmer Square Capital Management, a US$3.7bn investment firm, has hired two for business development. Brad McClintock and Mike Daniel will focus on expanding the firm's investor outreach across its fund and separately managed account offerings, according to Chris Long, Palmer Square president, to whom they report. These are new positions. Palmer Square also hired corporate credit analyst Laird Boulden. McClintock previously worked at Scout Investments focused on institutional consultants, public and private plans, foundations and endowments, according to Long. Daniel previously worked at Midland Loan Services, where he focused on client service for its structured credit effort, Long said. Earlier this month Palmer Square, a unit of Montage Investments based in Mission Woods, Kansas, announced the addition of a new fund, the Palmer Square Ultra-Short Duration Investment Grade Fund (PSDSX), according to a November 16 news release. (Reporting by Kristen Haunss; Editing By Jon Methven) It looks like it's time for Nebraska farmers and ranchers to start sweating about President-elect Donald Trumps plans for the North American Free Trade Agreement. Is it destined to be tossed on the garbage heap with the proposed Trans-pacific Trade Partnership that more than 20 Nebraska agricultural groups supported? There no longer is any uncertainty about the fate of the TPP. In a short video posted online Monday the very first thing Trump said he would do when he is sworn in will be to pull America out of the TPP. Trump didnt mention NAFTA in the video, but renegotiating or withdrawing from the trade agreement is listed in his action plan for his first 100 days. By all accounts NAFTA has been a big plus for Nebraskas economic interests, boosting agricultural trade with Canada and Mexico. Trump, however, regularly trashed the 1994 agreement during the campaign, referring to it in one debate as one of the worst deals ever made of any kind signed by anybody. Canadian officials seemed worried about the prospect last week in a meeting with the Journal Star editorial board. Consul general Khawar Nasim came armed with data about the value to Nebraska of trade under NAFTA. Canada is Nebraskas #1 customer; 57,400 jobs in Nebraska depend on trade and investment with Canada, one brochure proclaimed. The free trade agreement is mutually beneficial to the beef industry in both states. In 2015 Canada exported $201 million worth of cattle to Nebraska, helping feedlots and processing plants operate at full capacity. In the same year Nebraska exported $131 million in beef to Canada. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in 2014 Nebraska exported $2.2 billion worth of merchandise to Canada, making it the biggest market for Nebraska products. Ranking second was Mexico, which imported $1.3 billion worth of merchandise from Nebraska. Rural America voted for Trump by wide margins, with Nebraska a prime example of his popularity in farm and ranch country. Yet its of some concern that when Trump tossed out the TPP, he didnt mention agriculture. Instead, Trump said he would negotiate bilateral trade agreements that bring jobs and industry back to American shores. Supposedly Nebraskan Charles Herbster, who owns an Angus breeding operation near Falls City, a farm equipment company in Kansas City, Mo., and a cattle breeding business in Northern Virginia, has Trumps ear as chair of the president-elects agricultural advisory committee. So far it doesnt seem that Herbster is having much impact in shaping policy in the Trump administration that would help the Cornhusker State. On the basis of what Trump has said and done so far in regard to agriculture, farm and ranch groups would be wise to prepare to defend NAFTA, the free trade agreement that has done so much for the states economy. Scores of Rohingya Muslims have been killed in a Myanmar army crackdown since early October, when sword-wielding assailants raided police posts in the remote marshlands bordering Bangladesh. The military struck back with ground clearances, most recently backed by helicopter gunships. Access to the conflict areas is heavily restricted, but witness testimony has seeped out alleging mass rapes, indiscriminate killings and the razing of entire Rohingya villages by Myanmar's security forces -- claims they deny. It is the latest chapter in the grim recent history of the Rohingya, a one million population reviled across Myanmar as illegal immigrants and denied citizenship. The following is a fact box on the Rohingya. - Who are they? - The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim ethnic group described by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities. Using a dialect similar to that spoken in Chittagong in southeast Bangladesh, the Sunni Muslims are loathed by many in majority Buddhist Myanmar who see them as illegal immigrants and call them "Bengali" - even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations. Most live in impoverished western Rakhine state, but are denied citizenship and smothered by restrictions on movement and work. The UN refugee agency says well over 120,000 have fled Rakhine since religious violence in 2012 -- an exodus that continues, despite the perils of the sea journey. Last year, thousands were stranded at sea after a well-worn trafficking route through Thailand collapsed after the discovery of scores of shallow graves on the Malaysia border. There are around 300,000 Rohingya living in Bangladesh's southern coastal district bordering Myanmar, the vast majority of whom have fled Myanmar in recent decades. Bangladesh recognises only a small portion as refugees and regularly turns back those trying to cross the border. - What's happening? - On October 9 armed men ambushed border posts killing nine policeman and escaping with guns. Story continues Security forces were sent in, vowing to repel the attacks. Nearly 30 civilians died in the ensuing clashes. That number has surged over the following weeks as troops clear remote villages. The government says the attacks amount to an insurgency. They accuse a previously unknown Pakistani Taliban-trained militant of leading the attacks and rallying hundreds of disgruntled Rohingya to his cause. It is hard to verify those claims, although videos of armed men have emerged appearing to back them up. Security operations are ongoing. The violence has revived calls from rights groups for Myanmar to recognise the Rohingya's rights to citizenship and end their persecution. - What's Suu Kyi doing about it? - Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been conspicuous for her near silence during the latest unrest. Speaking on a trip to Japan last month the Nobel Peace Prize laureate vowed a thorough investigation into the violence but shied away from criticising the military, who control all security matters. She is also hampered by the politically incendiary nature of the issue in Myanmar. The Rohingya are not officially recognised as an ethnic group, partly owing to a 1982 law stipulating that minorities must prove they lived in Myanmar prior to 1823 -- before the first Anglo-Burmese war -- to obtain nationality. A far-right extremist with an extensive collection of Nazi memorabilia has been found guilty of the June murder of British lawmaker Jo Cox, which took place during the countrys Brexit campaign, according to multiple reports. According to CNN, 53-year-old Thomas Mair was convicted of murder and of possessing a firearm and a dagger with intent to cause an offense and grievous bodily harm. Mair declined to take the stand during his trial, and The Telegraph reports that the jury reached its verdict in an hour and a half. NBC News reports Mair ambushed Cox, a 41-year-old supporter of Britains campaign to stay in the European Union, outside her constituency office in northern England, where he stabbed her 15 times and shot her three times. She died shortly afterwards despite the efforts of paramedics, according to CNN. The attack occurred one week before the European Union referendum. The Nazi sympathizer shouted Britain first during the attack, according to The Telegraph. Cox, a mother of two young children, was a strong supporter of Britains Remain campaign and was an advocate of immigrants, women and children. According to CNN, she yelled, Let him hurt me, dont let him hurt you, to bystanders of the attack. The Telegraph reports that Coxs parents, Jean and Gordon Leadbeater, nodded as the verdict was read. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Brendan Cox, the victims husband, told the court that Mair was cowardice personified, The Telegraph reports. The killing was in my view a political act and an act of terrorism. An act driven by hatred which has instead promoted an outpouring of love, he said in a statement. Mairs sentencing will be at a later date, CNN reports. Netflix is mad for the Medici. The streaming giant has picked up new Italian-set drama Medici: Masters of Florence for multiple international territories following its successful bow in Italy. Netflix will carry Medici in the U.K., Ireland, Canada and India, with the series to premiere Dec. 9, the day it also goes out domestically in the U.S. The eight-part drama, shot in English, stars Dustin Hoffman and Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden as members of the Medici family, the Italian bankers who turned a small family business into a financial empire and went on to fund the greatest artists of the Renaissance. Read more: MIPTV: Frank Spotnitz on New Drama 'Medici,' 'X-Files' Parallels Produced by Frank Spotnitz and Nicholas Meyer, Medici premiered in Italy earlier this year, where it smashed viewing records with an average of almost 7 million viewers and a 27 percent share for the series. The show also notched major numbers online, with more than 1.6 million views on RaiPlay, the VOD platform of Italian public broadcaster RAI. Produced by Lux Vide, Big Light Productions, Wild Bunch TV and RAI Fiction, Medici has already been greenlighted for a second season. Wild Bunch TV, which is handling worldwide sales for the series, said it had closed for more than 30 territories and expects to announce further deals in the coming weeks. Read more: Richard Madden on Playing a Medici, New Show 'Oasis' and Those 'Game of Thrones' Rumors (Q&A) gilmore girls review netflix One of the most beloved shows of the 2000s comes to life after 10 years off the air with Netflix's four-part revival "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," available to stream on Friday. Since it went off the air in 2007, "Gilmore Girls" reached cult status with a combination of the WB-turned-CW show's original fans yearning for more and new fans who discovered it later and binged their way through the seven seasons. I admit, I belong to the latter group. There's no telling how big that combined audience is now. Even if it isn't that big, bringing the show back could've only been made possible by a company like Netflix. It doesn't need high ratings it just needs new subscribers. That said, fans of the show are going to be delighted with this new revival. It's constructed to do just that. And everyone seems to have made their way back, even if for one scene, including the cast members who have gone on to stellar careers: Movie star Melissa McCarthy reprises her role as Lorelai's best friend, Sookie St. James; "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia is back as Luke's nephew and Rory's ex, Jess; "The Good Wife" star Matt Czuchry reprises his role as Rory's college boyfriend, Logan; and "How to Get Away With Murder's" Liza Weil returns as Rory's alpha-female frenemy, Paris. Not to mention, there's a host of cameos by some pretty big stars, which Netflix has made me and other critics promise not to reveal. Split into four 90-minute-ish episodes named after the four seasons, "A Year in the Life" brings Rory (Alexis Bledel) back to small, quirky Stars Hollow and reunites her with mom/best friend Lorelai (Lauren Graham) within seconds. That first hour of the show feels like a trippy fan dream as the two run around Stars Hollow and get reacquainted with the eccentric townsfolk who never left. gilmore girls review 2 netflix Story continues As the title suggests, this show has always really been about the Gilmore family girls and the ways that life brings them together and pulls them apart. In these new chapters, we see them once again in different stages of their lives. The funny thing is all three yes, don't forget the force that is Lorelai's mother, Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop) are struggling with romantic and career questions that are very specific to where they are in their lives. There is also a tear-inducing flashback to an event that affects all of them: the death of patriarch Richard Gilmore. The actor who played him, Edward Herrmann, died of brain cancer in 2014. Possibly the biggest problem with the miniseries is that there's very little story for pretty much the first episode. Things pick up going into episode two. But again, fans just want to see their favorite characters again and probably won't care about an extended tour of the show's world for an episode. It's the same reason there's a call for a new "Sex and the City" movie even if the past ones are pretty awful. The true joy for fans will be creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's return after leaving the show ahead of its final season. After all, it's her world and rapid dialogue that we fell in love with. She splits the the writing/directing of the miniseries with her producing partner and husband, Daniel Palladino, but she gets to start and finish the tale with "Winter" (episode one) and "Fall" (episode four) as it should be. And finally, fans will find out the last four words Amy Sherman-Palladino had always planned for the "Gilmore Girls" series finale and never got to use. We're interested to see if they live up to the fandom's built-up expectations. I suspect there will be some displeasure over it. Watch the trailer below: NOW WATCH: The 7 best TV shows on Netflix you've probably never heard of More From Business Insider A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday blocked the Obama administrations overtime rule. The directive, which was issued by the U.S. Department of Labor and would allow millions of Americans to qualify for overtime pay, was ruled unconstitutional. According to the White House, the new rule doubles the salary thresholdfrom $23,660 to $47,476 per yearunder which most salaried workers are guaranteed overtime. Nevadas Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who was part of the fight against the rule, joined the FOX Business Networks Cavuto: Coast to Coast to discuss the implications of the decision. The ruling was a great ruling for businesses and for states and for workers all across the country, he said. Its the type of rule that attorneys general continue to fight against. Rules that are outside the scope of what congressional authorities should have allowed [the] Department of Labor to do. So we think its a tremendous victory and were certainly hoping that this gives the Trump administration time to address this issue and give our businesses and our states some relief. Laxalt said the proposed law doesnt make sense, since salaries across the country differ from town to town. He also believes this overtime rule is one reason why Donald Trump was able to swing the Rust Belt and convince voters that he can get the American economy back on track. I can tell you this rule looks good in Washington when its designed, but its actual effect in states like Nevada and across the country means businesses cant hire new workers, Laxalt said. People that were previously working X are now converted to salary and they actually could lose money. And so this is the kind of policy that I think that the country rejected and they dont want Washington to fix these things. Related Articles By Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's parliament summoned the country's oil minister on Tuesday to clarify details of oil and gas infrastructure agreements worth $80 billion with Chinese companies and a $15 billion deal with India. Nigeria, which relies on crude sales for around 70 percent of its national income, is in recession for the first time in 25 years largely due to low global oil prices. The country's oil and gas infrastructure needs updating. Its four refineries have never reached full production due to poor maintenance, causing the OPEC member to rely on expensive imported fuel for 80 percent of its energy needs. Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu was in China in June for a roadshow aimed at raising investment. Nigeria's state oil company said memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth over $80 billion - to be spent on investments in energy infrastructure - were signed with Chinese companies. [nL8N19M2HO] On a trip to India last month, Kachikwu said a $15 billion cash-for-oil pact with that country was likely to be signed by the end of this year. The Senate, the upper house of parliament, passed a motion on "the need for a detailed explanation" of the deals and said Kachikwu would appear before a committee on petroleum upstream, gas and foreign affairs at a date to be arranged. "The essence of the motion was to ensure transparency in a matter that involves future investment in the oil and gas sector of the country," said Senate President Bukola Saraki. (Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Tom Heneghan) The flag of the United States is being flown upside down by veterans and video is taken and shared around the world in protest of the inhumane treatment of unarmed United States citizens at Standing Rock, North Dakota. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will accept the nomination to the post of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from President-elect Donald Trump, according to two sources familiar with Trumps presidential transition. Haley, the popular governor whose national stock rose after leading the response to the Charleston church shooting last year, is the first woman and the first Indian-American tapped by Trump for an administration post, and his first departure outside his inner circle of advisors. An official announcement is expected later Wednesday. Haley, 44, is midway through her second term as governor, where her state has seen widespread economic growth under her tenure. But her lack of traditional foreign policy experience is likely to draw scrutiny during Senate confirmation hearings. Haley is close with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, one of the leading contenders to be Trumps Secretary of State. Haley endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and then Texas Sen. Ted Cruz during the contentious Republican primaries, and was a frequent critic of Trumps rhetoric. She reluctantly announced her intent to vote for Trump just two weeks before Election Day, telling reporters, This is no longer a choice for me on personalities because Im not a fan of either one, what it is about is policy. According to a transition source, Haleys post will be of Cabinet-rank, a departure from the past two Republican administrations in which it was a sub-Cabinet-level post. Haleys nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. President-elect Donald Trump has offered the job of ambassador to the United Nations to South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. And Haley, a 44-year-old Republican who is serving in her second term as governor of the Palmetto State, has accepted it. Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country, Trump said in a statement released by his transition team Wednesday morning. She is also a proven dealmaker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage. Our country faces enormous challenges here at home and internationally, Haley said in a statement. And I am honored that the President-elect has asked me to join his team and serve the country we love as the next Ambassador to the United Nations. Haley, who met with Trump last week at Trump Tower in New York City, is the first woman and first nonwhite Cabinet-level official chosen to be part of Trumps incoming administration. She also represents the first vocal critic to be tapped by Trump. In January, Haley delivered the official Republican response to President Obamas State of the Union address and used part of it to warn viewers about the dangers of Trump. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks at a rally for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at Swamp Rabbit Crossfit in Greenville, S.C., in February. (Chris Keane/Reuters) During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices, Haley said. We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country. In response, Trump said Haley was very weak on illegal immigration and added that, despite her criticism, she certainly has no trouble asking me for campaign contributions. Over the years shes asked me for a hell of a lot of money in campaign contributions, Trump said on Fox News. So, you know, its sort of interesting to hear her. During the Republican primary, Haley endorsed Trumps GOP rival Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and trashed Trump on the campaign trail. Story continues While stumping with Rubio in February, Haley criticized Trumps initial refusal to condemn racists, like former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, who endorsed him. I will not stop until we fight a man who refuses to disavow the KKK, Haley said. That is not a part of our party. That is not who we want as president. We will not allow that in our country. Thats not who our Republican Party is. That is not who America is. Trump fired back on Twitter. The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley! he wrote. The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2016 She had a rather Southern response: And as recently as late October, Haley was voicing her concern about her partys presidential nominee. This is no longer a choice for me on personalities, because Im not a fan of either one, Haley said. What it is about is policy. And the best person based on the policies and dealing with things like Obamacare still is Donald Trump. She added: That doesnt mean its an easy vote, but it does mean that Im watching out for the people of South Carolina, and Im watching out for the people of this country, and thats who I will be voting for on Nov. 8. After meeting with Trump last week, though, Haley told reporters their public feud during the campaign was long forgotten. He was a friend and supporter before he ran for president, and was kind to me then. But when I see something I am uncomfortable with, I say it, Haley said. When we met, it was friends who had known each other before. By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A settlement between the U.S. Justice Department and Baltimore on reforming the city's troubled police department is unlikely before Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake leaves office next month, she said on Tuesday. Responding to a query from Maryland congressional lawmakers about progress in the settlement talks, Rawlings-Blake said the issues were complex and such accords can take months, if not years, to conclude. Baltimore, torn by rioting last year over the police-caused death of a black man, also has not received Justice Department drafts of its proposals, she said in a letter released by her office. "Thus, it is extremely unlikely that any agreement can be concluded during the current Administrations term," which ends on Dec. 5, she said. Mayor-elect Catherine Pugh and the new City Council also will need time to review the talks, Rawlings-Blake said. Settlement talks had been expected to conclude by Nov. 1. The Justice Department probe was launched after the 2015 death of a black man, Freddie Gray, from an injury in police custody. Gray's death sparked rioting in the largely African-American city and fueled the Black Lives Matter movement protesting police brutality against minorities. Six police officers accused in Gray's death were either acquitted or charges were dropped. A Justice Department report released in August found that the 2,600-member police department engaged in a pattern of conduct that violated the Constitution or federal law. The congressional letter was sent on Monday to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Rawlings-Blake and Pugh. It was signed by Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, Senator-elect Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Elijah Cummings, Dutch Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes, all Democrats. The lawmakers said they were hearing growing concern from constituents about delays in drafting the settlement. Rawlings-Blake said she had received the legislators' letter just after a three-hour meeting with Justice Department officials. A Justice Department spokesman said the lawmakers' letter was under review. Vanita Gupta, head of the department's civil rights division, said last month that both sides were working toward an accord as quickly as possible. (Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Dan Grebler) LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - A Heinz television advert showing people drumming a rhythm on its baked bean cans has been banned by British regulators on safety grounds. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that Heinz's "Can Song" advert should not be broadcast again in its current form after nine people complained that the ad encouraged unsafe practices or could be dangerous for children to copy. Over 1.6 million people viewed a version of the ad on YouTube. The ad showed families, workers and festivalgoers enjoying Heinz beans, a British mealtime staple, and using the tin cans to hammer out percussion sounds to accompany an original song. The ASA said there was a risk that viewers could cut themselves on used cans when trying to emulate the ad. Heinz, part of the Kraft Heinz Co, said it did not believe the ad posed any safety risk. It said videos featuring the "Can Song" on social media included instructions on preparing a can and taping the inside to avoid cuts. The ASA ruling comes after the end of the TV campaign, which ran for two months, said a Heinz spokesman in Britain. "Although we acknowledge the ASA decision, the TV campaign is over and we have no plans to run it again." (Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Keith Weir) Ivanka Trump Customers are calling for a boycott of Nordstrom following the retailer's refusal to ditch Ivanka Trump's brand. Nordstrom's social media pages have been flooded with shoppers threatening to boycott the retailer if it does not stop selling the president-elect's daughter's shoe, clothing, and handbag lines. "When I worked for this company, you were not afraid to take a stand on supporting the rights of the LBGT community. It made me proud to be called one of your team," one comment on Nordstrom's Facebook page reads. "I went home and bragged about it to all my family. Now I will no longer shop at your stores. By continuing to sell Ivanka Trump's brand you are making a stand. You are saying YES to sexism, racism and bigotry." Boycotting @Nordstrom & @HauteLook until they stop carrying hateful Trump. I deleted apps, unsubscribed & let them know why. #GrabYourWallet pic.twitter.com/0STy0CiOA8 Laura Voted (@SheWhoVotes) November 23, 2016 "I will no longer be a customer with your company because you do business with the Trump family. A family that supports toxic, sexist, homophobic, racist rhetoric," another post reads. "I thought your company had better standards, it is sad to see I was wrong." The so-called Grab Your Wallet movement has called for a boycott of Donald Trump's business empire and other companies that sell Trump products. In the days following Trump's presidential election, supporters of the movement circulated a spreadsheet listing companies that sell Trump products, including Amazon, Bloomingdales, and Macy's. Calls to boycott Nordstrom have grown loud enough that Nordstrom's co-president, Pete Nordstrom, sent an email to the company Tuesday night clarifying that the retailer planned to continue to sell Ivanka Trump's fashion lines, Fortune reported. Ivanka Trump Nordstrom Screenshot "We strive to be agnostic about politics and to treat all our customers with respect," Nordstrom wrote in the email. "Every single brand we offer is evaluated on their results if people dont buy it, we wont sell it." Nordstrom, the company, declined to comment beyond saying that its president's email "really speaks for itself." Ivanka Trump's business ventures have come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks. Critics say that Trump brands stand to profit from a Trump presidency, and therefore the president-elect should cut ties with his businesses to avoid any conflicts of interest. The president-elect has said he would put his three oldest children Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric in charge of his companies. But the three are also serving on the Trump's transition team. Last week, Ivanka attended a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Soon after the election, Ivanka's fashion company faced backlash for promoting an $10,800 bracelet she wore in a "60 Minutes" interview with the Trump family. No looking back! Shop our Tribeca Satchel at @LordandTaylor #WearITtoWork @fashion_jackson A photo posted by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Oct 28, 2016 at 9:09am PDT on Oct 28, 2016 at 9:09am PDT Ivanka Trump's fashion company did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment. On Monday, Ivanka Trump's fashion brand published a public letter saying it was separating Ivanka's personal social media channels from the brand's. However, there is no evidence that Ivanka will remove herself further from the fashion company. Ivanka is still in line to take control of the Trump Organization, along with her brothers. NOW WATCH: 7 things you shouldnt buy on Black Friday More From Business Insider Norway's third largest city, Trondheim, approved a resolution last week to boycott goods and services originating from Israeli settlements in Palestine, according to local publication Adresseavisen. The resolution is part of a global movement advocating to boycott, divest from and sanction Israeli settlements that are not recognized by international law. The resolution was reportedly drafted as a suggestion by local transport worker and activist Ole Roger Berg. Berg gathered 340 signatures along with his proposal, which also condemned the Israeli occupation of Palestine and policies that harm the sovereignty and livelihood of Palestinians. The resolution was supported by the Labor Party, the Socialist Party, the Green Party and the Red Party. It was opposed by the Conservatives, Progress Party, Pensioner's Party, Christian Democratic Party and Centre Party. "This is an illegal occupation. It is impossible to doubt it, and the U.N. has also said it in several resolutions. But in spite of U.N. resolutions and statements by the International Court in The Hague, Israel aggressively pursues its occupation policy. Illegal settlements have expanded, construction of the wall continues, and the Palestinians are subjected to daily harassment and face major obstacles in their lives. This is a policy that Trondheim cannot support," Permanent City Council Member Julie Instad Hole of the Labor Party said. A number of European cities, companies and universities have adopted measures restricting the use of goods and services from Israel's unrecognized settlements in recent years. Last year, the European Union required goods manufactured in Israeli settlements to be labeled with their place of origin. The Norwegian Labor Party attempted in 2014 to institute a nationwide boycott of Israeli settlement goods, but the proposal was defeated in parliament. Trondheim established a sister city relationship with the Israeli city of Petah Tikvah in 1975 and the Palestinian city of Ramallah in 2004. Related Articles OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's Supreme Court on Wednesday approved the extradition to Italy of an Islamist suspected of plotting attacks, leaving the final decision to the government on whether to hand him over. Mullah Krekar, the one-time leader of the Ansar al-Islam militant group, was arrested in November last year as part of a series of arrests across Europe, and Italian prosecutors later asked for his extradition. Italian authorities said at the time that at least 15 suspected members of a militant Islamist group were arrested in six European countries, accused of planning attacks in Europe and the Middle East. Krekar's attorney, Brynjar Meling, has said his client saw no grounds for the accusations and that it was "a rehash of old stuff". Krekar, who went to Norway as a refugee from Iraq in 1991, has been a thorn in the side of successive Norwegian governments. Though deemed a threat to national security, he was not deported to Iraq because authorities there could not guarantee he would not be executed. His arrest took place in prison, where he was already serving an 18-month sentence for making death threats against a Kurdish man and giving an interview in which he encouraged other people to commit criminal acts. His fate now lies with the cabinet of Prime Minister Erna Solberg, against whom Krekar was convicted of making death threats in 2012. She told reporters on Wednesday she had "no feelings" about the latest development in the case. "The justice system has treated the question about Mullah Krekar. This is not a political question," Solberg said. Justice Minister Anders Anundsen said in an emailed statement to Reuters: "I am happy that the judicial process of the case is concluded. It has taken a long time. The ministry will now, as fast as possible, decide whether the extradition request will be granted or not." Anundsen represents Norway's populist Progress Party, which has previously campaigned to expel Krekar and is one of two parties in the minority coalition government. (Reporting by Camilla Knudsen and Stine Jacobsen, writing by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) On the campaign trail, Donald Trump repeatedly vowed to roll back Dodd-Frank, the package of regulations aimed at preventing another financial crisis by placing new strictures on banks. And while that wasnt even in the Top Five of his crowd-pleasing lines, its one of the promises that he doesnt seem willing to let slide completely away. Related: Trump Is Starting to Sound Like the Backtracker in Chief The Trump transition team reaffirms on its website the goal of upending Dodd-Frank, which Republicans have opposed as too onerous and Trump has said hamstrings bank lending curtailing business creation and expansion. The transition team statement says in part: The Dodd-Frank economy does not work for working people. Bureaucratic red tape and Washington mandates are not the answer. The Financial Services Policy Implementation team will be working to dismantle the Dodd-Frank Act and replace it with new policies to encourage economic growth and job creation. Also, in the Republicans crosshairs is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was authorized by Dodd-Frank. But rolling back Dodd-Frank will meet stiff resistance from Democrats. Protectors of the CFPB especially Senator Elizabeth Warren, who first proposed the agency as a Harvard law professorare girding for a bruising battle. While the prospect of gutting Dodd-Frank is unlikely to happen, as Professor Steven Davidoff Solomon of UC Berkeley School of Law pointed out yesterday in a column in The New York Times, the GOP just doesnt have the votes in the Senate. Whats more, a wholesale repeal might be problematic for the banks, which have made major investments in compliance. Solomon did say there might be room for a compromise that would incorporate some of the changes proposed in the Financial Choice Act proposed by Representative Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the Financial Services Committee and a candidate for Treasury Secretary. One possibility: elimination of the Financial Stability Oversight Board, whose main job is to designate which big banks and insurance companies pose a systemic risk to the economy. Story continues Meantime, in the wake of Wells Fargo defrauding clients a scandal that surfaced just before the election -- the Office of the Controller of the Currency, which regulates national banks, is weighing tougher sanctions that could have an impact on executive pay and even leadership, Reuters reports. And the CFPB, The Wall Street Journal says, is rushing to put into place new rules that would make it easier for consumers to sue financial institutions. But even if scrutiny of big financial institutions is dialed back, it isnt going away and Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill may not be able to do much about it. Shutting down the Financial Stability Oversight Board, for example, might remove a U.S. regulator, but that doesnt mean no one will be keeping a close eye on which banks are too big to fail: There is already a global body with a similar role. In fact, on Monday the Switzerland-based Financial Stability Boardwhich is made up of central bankers and regulators from the largest economiesfound that Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America posed more of a risk to the world financial system this year than they did in 2015. And today the European Union was scheduled to propose new rules that would force US investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to have additional capital and liquidity in the EU so their subsidiaries can better withstand a crisis and be separately wound up if needed by European authorities, according to The Financial Times. Perhaps most important, Trump risks alienating some of the voters who put him in power if he bends to the wishes of the big banks. Related: Yellen Sends a Message to Trump: Hands Off Dodd-Frank Last week in a message on social media, Senator Warren said, Anyone in Congress GOP or Demwho votes to weaken the CFPB will declare loud and clear they represent giant banks, not working families." The Massachusetts firebrand could actually have an influential ally within Trumps inner circle. At a Vatican conference in 2014, Steve Bannon, Trumps controversial campaign chief who has been named White House chief strategist, said that not one criminal charge has ever been brought [against] any bank executive associated with 2008 crisis. And in fact, it gets worse. No bonuses and none of their equity was taken. So part of the prime drivers of the wealth that they took in the 15 years leading up to the [financial] crisis was not hit at all, and I think that's one of the fuels of this populist revolt that we're seeing . I think you need a real cleanup of the banks balance sheets. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: The price of adding a single full-time job under Nebraska's largest business tax incentive program ranges from $24,500 to a whopping $320,000, according to new review of the program. Job creation is a major goal of the decade-old Nebraska Advantage Act, which provides tax perks to companies that meet specific requirements. Another aim is bringing more financial investments to the state, including new businesses. Yet a review by the Legislative Audit Office showed just nine of 78 companies with Advantage Act projects as of 2014 were new to Nebraska. Those findings were included in an 80-page audit report released to the public Wednesday. "Maybe we didn't create the jobs that we thought, but we certainly invested in the state of Nebraska and infrastructure," said Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse, chairman of the Legislature's Performance Audit Committee, which oversees the audit office. The 78 incentivized companies as of 2014 had earned nearly $736 million in benefits through the Advantage Act, according to to the report. Nearly two-thirds of those benefits were tax credits on investments such as new construction, while 16 percent were credits on pay for new workers. Locally, companies have eyed Advantage Act benefits for major projects like Sandhills Publishing's planned 42,000-square-foot "Cyber Center," Zoetis' recent $60 million plant expansion and Monolith Materials' effort to make Lincoln its manufacturing headquarters. Incentives play a "key role in Nebraska's ability to grow its economy," said Barry Kennedy, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "We still think the Advantage Act is working well," he said. "Does it need to be reviewed? Of course it does." Renee Fry, executive director of the OpenSky Policy Institute think tank, said the report raises questions about whether tax dollars are being used as efficiently as possible. "This is especially true as we face a large budget shortfall that will make it difficult to maintain investments in schools, public safety and other state priorities," she said. Omaha Sen. Burke Harr said lawmakers need to decide: "What do we want the Advantage Act to be?" That might include limiting its scope or narrowing the window of time for businesses to receive incentives once a project is complete. "If you're still receiving Advantage Act money nine years later, it's no longer being used to pay for that project," Harr said. "It's just lining people's pockets." One overarching theme of the report and a frequent complaint by some lawmakers is lack of usable data on the incentives, and ways to measure it. Auditors were unable to answer key questions about the Advantage Act due to discrepancies in the way state agencies maintain data. And the law itself doesn't include any specific measures for assessing its performance. As a result, auditors said they were unable to make "'yes' or 'no' judgments" about whether the program works. In estimating the cost of each job created under the Advantage Act, auditors gave a wide range because some things were unclear including how many new positions should be attributed to the Advantage Act versus natural growth, and what share of the program's benefits were aimed at creating jobs versus other investments. "We'll have to do a lot of explaining about what that really means," Watermeier said. Other job growth measures offered mixed results. Incentivized companies saw higher-than-average growth in full-time workers in 10 of 15 industry sectors, and workers at those companies saw higher average wages in 12 of 15 sectors. And in seven sectors, incentivized companies also appeared to be doing better at bringing new people into the workforce hiring more workers who had previously filed for unemployment benefits. Data for all 78 companies wasn't available, but auditors estimated 68 of the incentivized businesses added a combined 2,968 full-time workers between 2008 and 2014, boosting their workforce by 11 percent. Auditors stressed that those numbers are estimates, however. Much of the data available from the state departments of Revenue and Labor lists full-time equivalents, which can include multiple part-time workers doing the work of a single full-time employee. "We don't know if they're actually hiring full-time people or not," Watermeier said. Mexico homicide Mazatlan Sinaloa body victim murder The number of homicide victims registered in Mexico in October was down slightly from the month before, with last month's 2,090 killings coming in below September's 2,189 and ending a three-month streak of record highs. But that 4.52% decline from September to October doesn't obscure a larger and more worrying trend in Mexico's deadly violence the country has seen a significant and sustained increase in homicides since last year. Through October 2015, Mexico had 15,466 homicide victims, but through the first 10 months of this year the country has recorded 18,839, a 21.8% increase. Mexico had 18,673 homicide victims through all of 2015, but 2016 is on pace to see more than 22,600 a level of bloodshed not seen since 2011, when battles between rival drug cartels raged throughout the the country. And while the September-October period saw homicides decrease, month-to-month variations dont hide the overall tendency, Alejandro Hope, a Mexican security analyst and former security official, told Noticieros Televisa. Homicide cases and victims in Mexico October 2016s 2,090 homicide victims were a 36% increase from October 2015's 1,528. Those 2,090 homicide victims are the third-most recorded in a single month since the government began releasing that statistic in 2014. October's number is also comparable to the number of homicide cases reported in 2011 and 2012, when drug-war violence wracked the country. At the state level, the pronounced upward trend in deadly violence is even more pronounced. Hope noted that in 2015, only four states in Mexico had more than 1,000 homicide victims Chihuahua, Guerrero, Jalisco, and Mexico state. But through 10 months this year, Hope said, six states have hit that mark the four above, plus Michoacan and Veracruz. Story continues And the year was on pace for nine or 10 ultimately reach that 1,000-victim mark, with Baja California, Guanajuato, and Sinaloa states already above 900 homicide victims through October this year. The sustained increases in deadly violence in many of those states is likely driven by organized-crime activity. (Mexico state has the most people of the country's 32 states, with a population about double the next largest, so its homicide numbers are usually among the highest in the country.) In north-central Chihuahua, which borders the US, increased fighting in the border city of Ciudad Juarez is thought to be related to weakness, perceived or real, within the long-dominant Sinaloa cartel, whose leader, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is currently in jail near the city facing extradition. Homicides in Ciudad Juarez 2013 Oct 2016 Reports indicate that the Sinaloa cartel in the Chihuahua area has seen some infighting and has been challenged by a resurgent Juarez cartel, from which Sinaloa wrested control of the city in a bloody war between 2008 and 2012. An a mid-level enforcer attached to the Juarez cartel told Mexican newspaper El Universal that the city was poised for another narco war. In southwest Mexico, the upward trend in killing is unmistakable, but who is doing it is less clear. In Michoacan, renewed fighting in areas like the Tierra Caliente, a hub of drug production where a state presence has long been absent, has pushed homicide levels up. Remnants of criminal groups like the Familia Michoacan and the Knights Templar cartel are believed to be present in Michoacan, fighting with each other as well as with local criminal groups, local self-defense forces, and local and state authorities. A state helicopter was shot down in Michoacan during a shootout between authorities and criminal groups in September. A similar situation has developed in Guerrero, south of Michoacan. Home to the once idyllic resort city of Acapulco, Guerrero has long been a major production area and transit zone for narcotics, and it's thought that local groups like Los Rojos and Guerreros Unidos are clashing (and sometimes cooperating) with large groups like the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels and with remnants of larger criminal groups like the Beltran Leyva Organization. "The organizations that are operating in the state are small. They have links, presumably to outside organizations, but the nature or those links, and exactly who they're linked to, is incredibly difficult to infer or to know," Chris Kyle, an anthropologist and professor at the University of Alabama-Birmingham who's done extensive research on Guerrero, told Business Insider. "I don't think anyone really confidently knows the relationships linking Guerrero's groups to outsiders," Kyle said. Acapulco Guerrero Mexico drug cartel criminal violence murder Other states have seen noticeable and worrying increases as well. In Colima, one of Mexico's smallest states, nestled between Jalisco and Michoacan on the Pacific coast, October's homicide-victim count was down from the month before, falling to 44 from 48 and bringing the year-to-date total to 485. Comparatively, however, Colima has seen a shocking rise in violence. It had only 189 homicide victims in 2015 and just 110 in 2014. Mexico's most violent states Colima's October 2015's homicide numbers pushed the state to a rate of 64.97 homicides per 100,000 people, nearly five times the national rate of 13.95. In the north-central state of San Luis Potosi, which was once the stalking ground of the ruthless Zetas cartel, October this year saw a 100% increase 48 homicide victims over September's 24. That pushed the state's year-to-date total to 270, exceeding in just 10 months the 2015 total of 257 and the 2014 total of 246. In Mexico's southeast, the state of Veracruz once governed by Javier Duarte, a member of the country's governing party who has gone into hiding since a bevy of corruption allegations began emerging earlier this year has seen a shocking increase in homicide victims. Through all of 2014, Veracruz recorded 569 homicides, jumping to 615 in 2015. But in the last half of 2016, Veracruz has seen some of the highest homicide numbers in the country, and the 1,224 homicide victims registered there so far this year are more than in 2014 and 2015 combined. Veracruz is a case that worries me a lot, Hope said. In northwest Mexico, violence also appears to have returned to the border city of Tijuana, which has long been a hotspot for cross-border smuggling tunnels running from that city's industrial area into San Diego, just a few hundred yards across the frontier. Homicides in Tijuana 2013 Oct. 2016 Its proximity to the US and the immense flow of traffic between the city has made Tijuana a prize for drug cartels, and the Sinaloa cartel muscled the Arellano Felix Organization out of control there in the late 2000s. But now, the ascendant Jalisco New Generation cartel has reportedly partnered with remnants of the AFO to wage a low-level war against members of the Sinaloa cartel in the city. The body count in the city has been steadily rising for many months, and in recent weeks, two narcomantas messages left by cartels, usually accompanied by gory decorations have appeared in the city, indicating the cartel fighting there is unlikely to recede any time soon. Homicide numbers coming out of Mexico have, for the last few months, revealed that deadly violence in many parts of the country is rising, in some places reaching or exceeding levels seen during the high points of cartel fighting a half-decade ago. But, more worryingly, there is reason to believe the numbers reported by state officials and released by the Mexican federal government do not tell the whole story. Tijuana crime scene Mexico A report by think tank Mexico Evalua released in November found that state governments appeared to be manipulating crime data, inflating the number of low-level crimes in order to make it seem there had been fewer high-level crimes. "All states have entered into a practice of manipulation, that consists of 'sub-reportage'; that is to say, that a state reports 100 homicides when in reality it had 283," said Jonathan Furzsyfer, coordinator for Mexico Evalua's Security Program. Under the administration of current President Enrique Pena Nieto, "the violence is probably even worse than what it was when Felipe Calderon took on the cartels" in the late 2000s, Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, told Business Insider. Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto protest "The issue here is that the Pena Nieto administration has been covering a lot of the homicides, and they have told the governors to not report all of the homicides that are taking place in their states," said Vigil, author of of "Metal Coffins: The Blood Alliance Cartel." "And the reason for that being that it's having a negative impact on tourism, but particularly in terms of foreign investment," he added. "Every governor, every state is skewing those numbers, and the violence has just gotten worse." NOW WATCH: These are the kind of profits Mexican drug cartels are making More From Business Insider Obama Turkey Pardon President Barack Obama on Wednesday pardoned his final turkeys, Tater and Tot, from the Thanksgiving table. Obama used the opportunity to thank the American people for their faith in him during his eight years in office, remind them that "we have a lot more in common than divides us," and make some pretty unbearable dad jokes. "I want to take a moment to recognize the brave turkeys who weren't so lucky, who didn't get to ride the gravy train to freedom, who met their fate with courage and sacrifice, and proved that they weren't chicken," Obama said. And with that, a child in attendance erupted into a loud, tearful shriek. "Ah, it's not that bad now, c'mon," Obama said jokingly. Watch the video: A child cries after Obama's turkey dad-joke. Obama: "Ah, it's not that bad now, c'mon." #WHTurkeyPardon https://t.co/0xcDsAKZHx CNN (@CNN) November 23, 2016 NOW WATCH: 'Yes we cran!': Watch Obama's best dad jokes from his final Thanksgiving turkey pardon More From Business Insider US President Barack Obama granted a pardon to two turkeys, Tater and Tot, on November 23, as part of the traditional Thanksgiving ceremony at the White House. Thanksgiving takes place on November 24. This was Obamas final Thanksgiving at the White House, though he joked that he would continue the tradition in his new home. No way Im cutting this habit cold turkey, he said. Credit: Facebook/The White House via Storyful Finally, we know President Obamas true legacy a sore loser who wants to prolong his successful eight-year run of dividing Americans. Notwithstanding that voters just handed the president a convincing rebuke, The New York Times reports that Obama wants to join the many leftist organizations organizing to fight Donald Trump. He told a group of activists with Organizing for Action that he would join their efforts quite soon -- once he again becomes a private citizen. In a recent interview with The New Yorker, he said he felt some responsibility to at least offer my counsel to Democrats working to resist Trump. Do Democrats want Obamas counsel? Given that he has presided over a disastrous eight years, it seems unlikely. But then the party of Hillary and Obama is not burdened with introspection. They have looked far and wide for the reasons that a political neophyte interrupted the coronation of Hillary Clinton and have settled on sexism, racism, fake news stories and the conservative media. It is the rare voice that timorously points out that maybe voters didnt want any more of what Democrats had to offer. Related: How Obama & Co. Has Made Americans Lose Faith in the Justice System To be fair, and despite the popular impression to the contrary, it is not unprecedented for a former president to criticize his successor. Carter lambasted Bush2, Eisenhower complained about JFKs domestic policies and Teddy Roosevelt called Taft a puzzlewit and fathead, laying to rest the notion that name-calling, too, is new to our age. But Obama will go down as the only president in history to spend eight years vociferously criticizing both his predecessor and his successor. According to Obama, nearly every problem facing the nation, even in the eighth year of his presidency, can be ascribed to George W. Bush. The remainder can be blamed on Donald Trump. That is quite the legacy. You have to wonder: has Obama ever considered that his partys resounding defeat in the 2016 election was a referendum on his policies? That, just as in 2010 and 2014, voters decided they didnt like Obamacare, the Iran deal, the sluggish economy, the liberal social agenda, the sluggish response to ISIS, the IRS scandal and his Justice Departments slip-shod investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private server? That maybe he was wrong on some issues? Story continues Whereas other presidents who have received a shellacking in midterm elections make adjustments or shake up their cabinets, Obama has never veered from the north star of his liberal righteousness. He never faltered in lauding Obamacare, skirting Congress, pushing amnesty for people who entered the country illegally, favoring Black Lives Matter, unilaterally imposing crushing environmental regulations and the numerous other unpopular policies that absorbed his attention. Related: From Obama on Down, Democrats Are Just Trolling Trump Now When the people smacked him hard in the off-year elections, he and his acolytes attributed his shortcomings on a failure of messaging; if only people understood Obamacare better, the White House argued, they would come around to its wondrousness. As premiums rose and doctor choices shrank, he still did not admit its imperfections. When it turned out the Iran deal was foisted on a suspicious public through a series of lies, Obama maintained its virtues, even as many Americans knew better. Obama has surrounded himself for eight years with people who tell him what he wants to hear that his every idea is excellent. People who deviate from the script, like former Lt. General Michael Flynn who sounded unpleasant alarms about the threat of ISIS, find themselves out the door in quick order. Military leaders, in particular, have been culled by this president who, according to former Defense Secretaries Robert Gates and Leon Panetta, did not respect his armed forces chiefs and in fact rarely met with them. Donald Trump has been criticized for saying he knows more than the Pentagon brass, and rightly so. But whereas that comment is typical Trump bravado, Obama apparently actually thinks he knows more than his generals and is not above telling them so. As Gates wrote in his memoir Duty, The controlling nature of the Obama White House and the staff took micromanagement and operational meddling to a new level. Not only did Obama not take the advice of his military chiefs, he never even met with them. At a recent Congressional hearing, four top military figures testifying on national security were asked whether they had voiced concerns to Obama. Each one said no, they had never met the man. Flynn, recently appointed incoming National Security Advisor head by Trump, was fired in 2012 when he dared to disagree with Obama. Even though he headed the Defense Intelligence Agency, he never had an interview with the president. Related: The Mideast Mess Obama Will Leave Behind The president is apparently unmoved by the gracious behavior of his predecessor George W. Bush, who rarely criticized President Obama despite the constant drubbing he received from his inexperienced successor. It is traditional that an outgoing president allows his successor some space; that apparently will not be Obama. He is so convinced that he is right, and that Trump is wrong even before the latter gets rolling that he will not disengage. Shame on Obama. This country needs to heal after one of the most vicious elections in our history. Obama should take some responsibility for the divisions that have opened under his leadership. He should call off the demonstrators, and especially those breaking windows and torching cars, and explain how a democracy works. The country did not get to this place by itself; it is Obamas policies that have angered voters and that lofted Trump to the Oval Office. It is time for Obama to leave the scene. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - A southwest Ohio man who admitted to having plotted to execute a U.S. military base employee and then attack a local police station in support of Islamic State was sentenced on Wednesday to 20 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Munir Abdulkader, 22, from the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester, had pleaded guilty on March 24 to attempted murder of a government employee, attempted material support of a foreign terrorist organization and illegal firearm possession. U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati imposed the prison term, and ordered that Abdulkader remain under supervision for life. Prosecutors had sought a 25-year prison term. A federal public defender representing Abdulkader did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Abdulkader, who became a U.S. citizen in 2006 and had been a student at Xavier University, had begun by July 2014 expressing support for the Islamic State on Twitter, including a desire for martyrdom, according to prosecutors. The defendant also communicated electronically with Junaid Hussain, an Islamic State member who encouraged him to conduct a violent attack in the United States, prosecutors said. Hussain was a British hacker who U.S. and European officials had regarded as a top computer expert for Islamic State in Syria and a supporter of "lone wolf" attacks, before he was killed in an August 2015 U.S. drone strike. Prosecutors said Abdulkader planned to murder the military official at home, videotape the killing so it could be used in Islamic State propaganda, and then use firearms and Molotov cocktails to attack a police station in the Cincinnati area. Abdulkader was arrested on May 21, 2015, the same day he acquired an AK-47 assault rifle, court papers show. The case is U.S. v. Abdulkader, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, No. 16-cr-00019. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr) The College of Charleston, in Charleston, South Carolina, is home to a large and well-respected program in historic preservation. Most students in the major, which grants a two-year undergraduate certificate and a masters degree, focus their studies on the traditional areas of fine art, architecture, and urban design. But starting this academic year, a new line of coursework is being developed by Barry Stiefel [pictured above], a 36-year-old Michigan native with family roots in the auto industry. Stiefel, with the cooperation of the Historic Vehicle Association (HVA) and the RPM Foundation, has instituted what he believes to be the worlds first academic program in the study of the automobile as historic artifact. There already is this industry teaching purist automotive preservation, said Stiefel, who holds a masters degree in urban planning from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in historic preservation from Tulane University. What were doing here is learning more about vehicles before we start doing interventions. Why is this particular vehicle importantdown to the VIN? What is its historical significance? What does it mean to us? Stiefels first class project is a group analysis of a 1920 Anderson Six convertible roadster. This is exactly the kind of investigative protocol that has been applied to notable buildings, landscapes, and neighborhoods since at least the 1960s, when the idea of conserving historic structures first took hold in the United States. Instead of simply restoring things to make them look new, preservation aims to uncover the specifics that surround the life and utilization of objects of historical significance and to create a sound and respectful treatment plan for their maintenance. A Fighting Cadillac Stiefel cited as an example a car affiliated with the National Historic Vehicle Register, which is a project of the HVA, the Department of the Interior, and the Library of Congress intended to archive historically significant vehicles. Story continues Think about the 1918 Cadillac U.S. 1257X, he said. As far as we know, its the one surviving vehicle from the American Expeditionary Forces used in Europe during World War I. Of course, its a bit rough around the edges, so you investigate and find that it has a hole in the engine block. Well, that hole was caused by a bullet, and that bullet was there because the car was on the front lines. If you hadnt gone to investigate that, you probably would have just repaired the hole, Stiefel said. We would argue that you should leave that hole because its a part of the history of that car. This type of conservation has been a difficult sell to judges at classic-car concours such as Pebble Beach or Amelia Island, among others. There, a premium often is placed on 110 percent restorations that strip a car of its originality and bring it up to a material standard that exceeds its condition when it left the factory. Pebble Beach and other concours now often feature a preservation class among their fields, but its hard to imagine one of those cars taking Best of Show honors. It also has been hard to integrate automobiles into the established world of historic preservation. The College of Charleston was not the first preservation program contacted by the Historic Vehicle Association, Stiefel said. The director remembered a quote from a very prestigious program he contacted before us, and their response was, If it moves, were not interested. Stiefels students are cataloging the Anderson Six and its individual history along with the history and legacy of the marque. Stiefel explained that this attitude comes not only from a bias against the apparent mundanity of mass-produced consumer goods like automobiles but from an intrinsic preference within the preservation movement for objects that remain in situ. Within the historic preservation of buildings, moving a building is considered a deadly sin, Stiefel said. And, in a certain sense, I agree with that. But we need to think about that more critically. No, buildings arent supposed to move. But cars are. Stiefel cited a relevant example. You can compare Fords Theatre in Washington, D.C., where Lincoln was assassinated, and the limousine in which Kennedy was assassinated. Both play very intriguing roles in history as the setting where a president was killed. Just because one was a car, that makes it ineligible? Preserving Local History Stiefels first class project is a group analysis of a 1920 Anderson Six convertible roadster, one of the few survivors of a boutique brand produced near the college in South Carolina. Anderson is relevant in part as one of a limited number of automotive factories to have existed in the agrarian South. Stiefels students are cataloging the vehicle and its individual history along with the history and legacy of the marque, skills they applied recently as guest judges at the recent Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance, which is also local to South Carolina. As an educator, Stiefel strongly believes that this type of rigorous analysis has universal professional applicability. Theres a whole slew of interdisciplinary studies this could tap into: vocational studies, engineering, chemistry, he said. Yet as someone with roots in the auto industry and in history, he also recognizes that the automobile is about to undergo a sea change as radical as any it has experiencedtoward alternative powertrains, shared ownership, and autonomy. And he wants the next generation to be prepared to recognize the significance of this change in context. I think historic preservation can offer answers to some of these questions about autonomous cars and the like, Stiefel said. Theres one case study about putting seatbelts into cars. Its not like we all just threw out our old cars and got new ones with seatbelts; we had them installed. Its similar to historic buildings. The building my office is in dates to 1851. The choice wasnt between using an outhouse and tearing down the building. I have modern plumbing. We have devised a way to integrate modern technology. Likewise, Stiefel says, contemporary or historic vehicles can be respectfully retrofitted with new features that improve safety, fuel efficiency, or even autonomy. The greenest building is the one that is already built, he says. We can learn to do that with cars, too, if we just give it a chance. Once Upon a Time alum Robbie Kay has landed a recurring role on Foxs significantly rejiggered Sleepy Hollow. PHOTOSSleepy Hollow: A First Look at Ichabod and His New Partner In the rebooted fourth season (premiering Friday, Jan. 6 at 9/8c), Ichabod (played by Tom Mison) will find himself relocated to Washington, D.C., where he will work with Homeland Security agent Diana (True Bloods Janina Gavankar) and a small team of researchers. RELATEDSleepy Hollows Tom Mison on That Porch Scene, Cranes New Partner and Life After Abbie Diana is a single mom to Molly (MasterChef Junior Season 2 contestant Oona Yaffe), a bright and poised 10-year-old. Per our sister site Deadline, Kay will play Logan MacDonald, a handsome Internet star loved by tween girls around the world Molly included. In addition to his run as Onces Peter Pan ne Malcolm, the English actors previous TV credits also include NBCs Heroes Reborn. RELATEDSleepy Hollow @ Comic Con: [Spoiler] to Return in Season 4 and More Scoop As previously announced, Rachel Melvin (Days of Our Lives), Jerry MacKinnon (Empire) and Jeremy Davies (Lost) also have joined the Sleepy Hollow Season 4 cast, while series regulars Jessica Camacho, Lance Gross and Nikki Reed are no longer with the series. Want more scoop on Sleepy Hollow, or for any other show? Email insideline@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matts Inside Line. Related stories Gotham Fall Finale Sneak Peek: Barbara Coughs Up a Bombshell for Nygma Lucifer Casts White Collar's Tim DeKay in Deadly Midseason Arc Scream Queens Recap: The Green Meanie Is Finally Unmasked An Omaha lawmaker plans to keep pushing to require seat belts in all Nebraska school buses. State Sen. Robert Hilkemann says he already intended to introduce a bill next year before a school bus carrying 35 elementary students Monday slammed into a tree in Chattanooga, Tennessee, killing a half-dozen children and injuring at least two dozen more. Nebraska lawmakers will consider Hilkemann's bill once they convene in January. "It's not a matter of if there will be another tragic school bus accident, but when," he said in a news release Tuesday. Lawmakers have tried four times since 2001 to pass bills adding seat belts to school buses. That year, a Seward bus carrying high school band members plunged from a bridge on West Dodge Road in Omaha and crashed into West Papillion Creek, killing three students and a parent. None of those proposals was successful. "The Legislature has failed to prioritize the increased need for the safety of students traveling on school buses," said Hilkemann, who sponsored the most recent attempt, in 2015. That bill, LB373, failed to advance from the Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunications Committee on a split vote. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has since come out in favor of requiring seat belts on school buses. The federal agency's previous suggestion that buses were safe without them had been cited by school districts across the country as a reason to avoid spending money to retrofit buses, at a cost of several thousand dollars per bus. Six states require seat belts in school buses: California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Texas. School transportation officials in Nebraska have questioned whether adding seat belts would make school buses safer, even suggesting they could make matters worse in some crashes. Bellevue Public Schools transportation director Rich Casey told lawmakers last year that seat belts could get in the way if students need to evacuate a bus quickly, like when a bus is on fire or stuck at a railroad crossing. Casey also questioned the potential cost of adding seat belts and the added responsibility for drivers to make sure dozens of students are properly buckled. "I would like to assure you that if there is a safer way of transporting students on school buses, I'd be first in line to promote and enforce it. However, I don't think the lap/shoulder belts is that answer." On Sunday (Nov. 20), actor Anthony Ramos wrapped his epic run in the smash Broadway show and Lin Manuel-Miranda's cultural juggernaut Hamilton. Since auditioning when the production was merely in its workshop phase, Ramos has enjoyed a front-row seat to theater history playing the dual roles of Philip Schuyler and Philip Hamilton, two characters that creator Miranda evolved and wrote with him in mind. As one of the last original cast members to leave the production (only Jasmine Cephas-Jones and Okieriete Onaodowan from the original line-up remain), Ramos is now off to star in the highly anticipated upcoming Netflix series She's Gotta Have It from Spike Lee. While the show made headlines this past weekend following actor Brandon Victor Dixon's message to vice president-elect Mike Pence, who saw the musical with his family on Friday (Nov. 18), Ramos, who spoke with Billboard before the incident, reminisces on Hamilton's stratospheric ascent into pop culture, the mood at the Richard Rodgers Theater post-election and meeting President Barack Obama. How does it feel to be wrapping up your time with Hamilton? A little surreal, but it feels great, man. I don't regret anything. You know when you leave things and sometimes you say to yourself, "Man, I wish I could have done more?" I don't feel that way. I feel like I've done everything I could, and it feels great. There's no better time for me to leave than now. I left it all out on stage at the Rogers theater and I'm ready to move on. It feels really good. Bittersweet, honestly. As one of the last remaining cast members, you've experienced others' final shows, including Lin-Manuel Miranda. What has it been like seeing everyone leave and a new cast takeover? It feels different when I'm on-stage now because being a part of the original company, you've built something with a group of people for an extended amount of time. When those people start to fall off and new people replace them to maintain it, it becomes less about the building and more about the maintenance. Story continues What I'm trying to say is that while I'm meeting new family, there's nothing like the family that you've actually built the thing with and were in the trenches with. The people that are closest to your heart are always the people who were with you when you had nothing. It's the people who were there when you were planting the seeds and they had their hands in the soil with you. We were all working for 400 dollars a week at the Public Theater and sharing a space downstairs together, so we grew to love each other. That dynamic for me as an original company member is special to me. There's still so much love in the building, but the vibe is different. Take me back to your very first show at the Public Theater. What was the mood like? At the time, did it feel special or just another gig? It's always been special, never just another gig. The only thing that was going through my mind [during that first curtain call] was, "Thank God I got through that shit. How did that happen just now?" I literally didn't even know where I was supposed to stand in some scenes but we got through it. The first thing I said was, "Thank you, Jesus" before we did the first bow. Describe your most memorable show. Wow, I have to think about this. I have two. One was the show we did for President Obama. We were all so excited. Getting to perform for the leader of the free world was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The energy in the room was different. You felt a presence. There was something unique about that night, to be on stage and let it all loose for the president. We got to perform this musical about revolution, immigrants, and our founders for the leader of our country. Afterwards he shook my hand and said, "Young man, you are extremely talented." I was like, "Dude. Wow, bro. Thank you." The other show was the matinee after the election. What was that like? The country was in an interesting place that afternoon. Obviously, there were a lot of emotions. Our company members have been pretty vocal about where we stood in this election. We had a meeting before the matinee and there were tears. We shared words and checked in with each other. There was a lot of anger and frustration. The one conclusion we came to was that you don't answer anger with more anger. You answer anger with love. You answer anger with selflessness. The answer to anger is always the opposite thing of anger. This election has sparked a new level of attentiveness and awareness not only in the United States, but in the world. What we were talking about was that we're blessed to do this show, and we can't take it for granted. People are coming to see this show for a little piece of hope, and we try to be aware that this isn't just a show. For the people coming into this theater each night, their lives are vulnerable, fragile and precious, and we have to handle with care. Not only of the people in the theater, but who we come in contact with in person and in life, period. We took all of that into that matinee, which became one of my most memorable performances. If you would have told me my most memorable performance would have happened two years into my run, I would have been like, "Yeah, right," but I'd say it was even more special than opening night. The audience is always a part of the show but the audience was never more a part of the show than that day. The most special moment for me in my entire Hamilton run was the moment I came downstage and turned to the three guys and sang, "Raise a glass to freedom, something they can never take away no matter what they tell you" and the audience roared at that line and clapped. That had never happened before. That right there was the moment I said, "Everything's going to be alright and we're all in this together, no matter who the president is, and we can never forget that." Unlike any other show, Hamilton has had the most incredible array of luminaries and icons coming to experience it. Beyond President Obama, who are some visitors who have stood out to you? Laurence Fishburne hugged me like he knew me forever. I remember when we were at the Public Theater, Busta Rhymes gave us a 30-minute speech about how our show motivated him and made him rethink what he wants his next album to be like. That was an incredible moment. And Marc Anthony! I'd blast his salsa albums with my mom. He gave me a huge hug and said, "Kid, I'm so proud of you." That moment was particularly special to me. I think those moments all stood out to me the most. You've accumulated quite a fanbase throughout your Hamilton's run and your life has completely changed since its debut. How does it feel to be in such rarefied air? It's a blessing to have people who love the art that you make and who are inspired by the art you create and are a part of. I really felt it when I started doing solo shows in New York. They'd sell out so quickly. That's when I realized that people were curious and excited about what I was doing, and it made me that much more motivated. Now that I have the ears of people, I want to make sure I can inspire and make material that hits folks on a personal level, and gets to the heart of what it is we go through on a day-to-day basis. Vulnerability can't be something I leave out. You're in the new Spike Lee show She's Gotta Have It, which is headed to Netflix. How did you land that role? Did Spike see you in Hamilton? Spike's been to the show like eight times. I'll never forget the first time he came. We came out for the curtain call and the lights came up on the audience and I see Spike pointing at me. [Cast member] Chris Jackson whispers in my ear, "That's you he's pointing at!" One day he leaves me a voicemail that goes, "Anthony, it's Spike. Spike Lee. Call me back." Really short and straight to the point. He called me in for a meeting to talk about this project he thought I was right for. It's the 30th anniversary of She's Gotta Have It and they're turning it into this Netflix series. I was like, "Wow." He's directing all ten episodes and it's truly a gift to get to work with a legend like that. Hamilton won a Grammy this year for Best Musical Theater Album and you accepted it while holding the Puerto Rican flag. What did that moment mean to you? That was lit. We were backstage [at the Richard Rodgers theater] and of course we didn't know if we were going to win. Lin-Manuel goes, "If we win, do you want to hold up this flag?" And I said, "Hell yeah, I want to hold up that flag!" Kendrick Lamar was performing and we're jamming backstage and we hear, "The Grammy for Best Musical Theater album Hamilton!" By the way, that part isn't usually even included in the regular broadcast. The fact that Broadway was highlighted that way was a win for the theater community. And when we won, I was hyped. I couldn't wait to pull that flag out. Broadway, for years, has been a predominantly Caucasian industry. That's just the way it's been for years and it's changing a little. So that was my and Lin's way of saying, Asians, Indians, African Americans, Jamaicans, whoever.. we're here. This is for all of us. And my white folk too. [Laughs] There's no cast that's more diverse than our cast on Broadway and I think every cast should look like that. Over 1,000 Iranian fighters have been killed in the Syrian war so far, Irans Tasnim news agency reported Tuesday, citing an official. The Syrian war, which began in 2011, has witnessed thousands of deaths and has displaced millions. Mohammad Ali Shahidi, who runs the Martyr Foundation, said, The number of martyred defenders of shrines has passed the number of 1,000. Shahidis Martyr Foundation provides assistance to families of troops who died fighting in conflicts. He did not provide further details. He said in August this year that at least 400 troops sent from Iran to fight alongside Syrian President Bashar Assads troops were killed in the multi-faceted war. Half of those troops were Afghan. The war in Syria began as a peaceful opposition movement to overthrow Assad and was inspired by the Arab Spring. It has since left over 300,000 dead. Over 4.8 million people have fled the country for Europe or neighboring Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. A Syrian monitoring group alleged Tuesday that rebel groups in Aleppo, once Syrias largest city, are holding the citys residents hostage to use as human shields. Repeated airstrikes over rebel-held eastern Aleppo has battered the city, killing scores. Hajj Mohammed al-Jasim told the Associated Press his uncles families have been attempting to leave the rebel-held portion of the city but were unsuccessful. Theyve wanted to cross for a while because the circumstances have become very difficult, he said. He added that his relatives who told al-Jasim that they would be fleeing the neighborhood during the day were advised by rebel groups to leave during the night instead. Then in the evening, [the rebels] began to fire at the crossing preventing them from leaving, al-Jasim said. There are about 50 families waiting to leave eastern Aleppo. The United Nations Under-Secretary-General For Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen OBrien said Monday, Humanitarian conditions in eastern Aleppo have gone from terrible to terrifying and now barely survivable by human beings Civilians are being isolated, starved, bombed and denied medical attention and humanitarian assistance in order to force them to submit or flee. Related Articles By Abu Arqam Naqash MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Indian shelling across the frontier into Pakistani-controlled Kashmir hit a bus, killing at least nine people, and three Pakistani soldiers were killed in cross-border firing, Pakistani officials said on Wednesday. India, in a statement, expressed grief at Pakistani civilian casualties but said: "Retaliatory firing by Indian troops has only been carried out targeting locations from where Pakistan has initiated ceasefire violations on Indian posts." Describing the bus incident, Pakistani police official Jamil Mir put the number of dead at nine. He told Reuters four bodies were taken to a nearby hospital and five were still trapped in the bus. Pakistan also said its military killed seven Indian soldiers on Wednesday. Following the incident, Pakistan said it had summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner, J.P. Singh. Pakistan's military media wing, ISPR, put the death toll from the bus shelling at seven, adding three Pakistani soldiers were killed "while responding to Indian unprovoked firing." ISPR said: "We reserve the right to respond at the place and time of our choosing." Lawat, where the bus was hit, is 100 km (60 miles) northeast of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-held Kashmir, in the upper belt of the Neelum Valley that straddles the de facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan. An Indian military spokesman said the Pakistani Army initiated "indiscriminate" firing on Wednesday on Indian Army posts in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nawshera sectors. Relations between nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India have been strained for several months, while cross-frontier shelling has intensified leading to the deaths of civilians and soldiers stationed along the disputed frontier. Kashmir lies at the heart of the tension. The countries have fought two of their three wars over the region since partition and independence from Britain in 1947. (Additional reporting and Writing by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Additional reporting by Tommy Wilkes in New Delhi; Editing by Janet Lawrence) A Pakistani anti-terror court sentenced five people to death Wednesday over the killing of a Christian couple who were lynched and burned in a kiln after being falsely accused of blasphemy. The deaths of Shahzad Masih and Shama Bibi caused outrage in Pakistan and saw other Christian families living near their home in Punjab flee the area in fear. The illiterate couple had been falsely accused of tossing out pages of the Koran along with the rubbish, desecrating the Muslim holy book. Blasphemy is legally punishable by death in the deeply conservative Muslim country, where even unproven accusations can stir violence. Critics say the laws are abused to wage personal vendettas, often against Christians. Witnesses described how an angry mob of hundreds of people set upon the couple near the town of Kot Radha Kishan in Punjab in 2014, attacking them and then throwing their bodies into a brick kiln. It is unclear whether they were still alive when tossed into the kiln. Riaz Anjum, the lawyer representing the couple's family, said a total of 103 people had been charged in the case. But the court in the eastern city of Lahore had acquitted 90, including the owner of the brick kiln. He had been accused of locking the couple up as they tried to flee for fear they would default on their debt to him. Apart from the five sentenced to hang, eight others were given two years' imprisonment. "The five people awarded the death sentence were involved in dragging, beating and burning the couple while the other eight played a supportive role according to the judgement," Anjum said. Senior prosecutor Khurram Khan confirmed the ruling. Police have traditionally been reluctant to clamp down on mob violence for fear of enraging Islamists, a fact not lost upon the relatives of the deceased. It was not clear when the death sentences would be carried out. After the attack it emerged that the couple had been falsely accused. Shahzad's father, a faith healer who used pages with inscriptions in many languages for his work, had died shortly before the incident. The family was burning documents that belonged to him. Vienna (AFP) - Two pandas conceived naturally and born at Vienna zoo, Fu Feng and Fu Ban, were officially baptised on Wednesday, 100 days after their birth. The twin cubs were absent from the ceremony attended by China's ambassador, however, with the male and female being kept away from the public's gaze until the end of the year. "The names bring good fortune and it is a special sign that the twins were born in the 45th year of the diplomatic relationship between the People's Republic of China and Austria," ambassador Li Xiaosi said. The name for the female, Fu Feng (Happy Phoenix), was chosen by the zoo while her brother's name, Fu Ban (Happy Companion), was selected by an online ballot of 12,000 people. It was decided not to name them before they were 100 days old since around half of newborn cubs die. Today they weigh five and six kilos (11 and 13 pounds) respectively, up from 100 grams at birth. Photo credit: (AIMEE BEE BROOKS) From LennyLetter I joined the Pantsuit Nation Facebook group early on, when its simple but brilliant purpose was to get as many women as possible to wear a pantsuit on Election Day in support of Hillary Clinton. In the weeks preceding the election, Pantsuit Nation became more than a modest call for a show of solidarity on a single day - it became a vibrant and uplifting community of millions of women and allies demonstrating their commitment to Hillary. It truly was a "safe space," something that seems increasingly rare on the Internet. It affirmed the hope, love, kindness, and support we all are capable of when we come together to fight for something we believe in. It elevated the values embodied in Hillary's campaign and proved that, indeed, we are stronger together. Almost immediately after joining I bought a pantsuit, in Democrat blue. I proudly wore that blue pantsuit on Election Night, when my mom and I took my four-month-old daughter (dressed in suffragette white) to the Javits Center in New York, hoping to celebrate the election of the first woman president. Since that soul-crushing evening, I've returned to Pantsuit Nation often, seeking the same comfort and inspiration as I did before. Photo credit: (PHOTO COURTESY OF AUTHOR) But a few days later, as I walked down the street in my affluent San Francisco neighborhood to drop off my dry-cleaning, I reflected on what an obvious privilege it is to even own a pantsuit, let alone to buy a new one for a special occasion. And I had an idea for something that would acknowledge that privilege and honor Hillary, too. Hillary spent her entire life fighting for children and families and for women's rights around the world. If there is any message she made front and center during her campaign, it's that we still have much work to do. In 2016, too many women still struggle to raise their families. They are disproportionately minimum-wage workers who juggle multiple jobs to make ends meet, and they still don't earn equal pay. The pay gap for women of color isn't just a gap, it's a canyon. Hillary understood that until women can achieve educational opportunities and reach financial independence, they cannot realize their full potential. Story continues As a way of honoring Hillary's public service - while recognizing the roads we still must travel, as well as the great service Pantsuit Nation has provided me in affirming the goodness, optimism, and generosity in all of us when we unite in common cause - I'm starting a Pantsuit Drive. If you wore a pantsuit on Election Day, or you have a new or gently used pantsuit at home that could be given to someone in need, please make a donation. These pantsuits will be given to organizations across the country that support poor and homeless women with job-interview preparation and employment opportunities. So many of us continue to strategize about how to move forward in ways that personify Hillary's selfless public service, personal fortitude, intelligence, and extraordinary resilience. The Pantsuit Drive is only one small act, but in a world that too often questions the true value of women and girls, it is an immediate and relatively easy action that will provide direct assistance to women who need it most. The economic empowerment of all women helps puts all of us on a path to achieving full equality. During her concession speech, Hillary expressed gratitude for Pantsuit Nation, while acknowledging that it was a "secret" effort. She then said, "I want everybody coming out from behind that, and make sure your voices are heard going forward." So let's do our part, both small and big, to come out and make our voices heard. If you would like to donate a pantsuit, please use the following mailing address: PANTSUIT DRIVE, P.O. BOX 170326, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117-0326. Meena Harris is a proud Democrat. You can usually find her misbehaving at @imanentrepreneurbitch. Paris Hilton dripping in jewels on the cover of Galore. (Photo: Galore magazine) Paris Hilton is one of the old guard of reality TV starlets. Though she is not as ubiquitous now as she was in the aughts (the Kardashian-Jenner crew seriously dethroned the hotel heiress in nonstop tabloid coverage,) Hilton has been keeping busy all these years DJing and expanding her several businesses, including her 21 fragrances, which have done more than $3 billion in sales. The now-iconic blond heiress and supremely busy businesswoman covers Galore magazine, in a pale pink spaghetti-strap number, an enormous blingy necklace, bedazzled sheer gloves, and, of course, a bit of fur for good measure. Hilton is pictured clutching a bottle of her Gold Rush fragrance, because if the lady knows anything, its how to push a product and stay true to her brand. And through the interview, she does just that. When asked her theme song, she answers Stars Are Blind, the reggae-inspired banger she released in 2006. What would she do as president? Throw a party and paint the White House pink, her signature hue. Her favorite of her fragrances? Gold Rush, which she mentions makes the perfect holiday gift. The best city to party in? Ibiza and the place to go is my Foam and Diamonds party at Amnesia. There is no place like it. Theres a reason the woman is making so much money from her business endeavors she knows exactly when and how to bring them up. In the interview, Hilton also reveals that she hasnt had plastic surgery. Im very proud that I am all natural and have never had anything done. I am very happy with myself, she told Galore. Still, Hilton says she doesnt knock other people for going under the knife. I dont judge others. People should do whatever makes them feel happy. Its just not something Ive ever wanted to do. Hilton may not be dominating the gossip columns, but shes still out here making money, wearing pink like a pro, partying it up, and staying true to many of the things that makes Paris Hilton the woman and the brand. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Milan (AFP) - Italy captain Sergio Parisse has been hit with a three-week disciplinary ban, ruling him out of this weekend's Test against Tonga, the Italian rugby federation (FIR) said on Wednesday. Parisse was sanctioned for an incident while playing with his French Top 14 club Stade Francais against Bordeaux on November 5. According to a short statement by the FIR, Parisse "has been suspended for three weeks by Top 14 disciplinary officials. The Italy captain will miss Saturday's Test against Tonga." Parisse, the first Italian to be nominated for the RIB World Player of the Year award, earned an Italian record 121st cap in last weekend's 20-18 win over South Africa in Florence. A replacement for Italy's No 8 will be announced on Thursday, added the FIR. BEATRICE -- When Beatrice City Council member Joe Billesbach arrived at Monday night's meeting he assumed his Salsa Warbird bicycle was secure on the bike rack of his vehicle. But when he left the meeting an hour later, it was gone. "Yesterday was one of the few times I didn't put a lock on it, but I was in a hurry," he said. He said he had reason not to worry. The meeting was held in the Beatrice Public Schools Administration Building with the police chief in attendance, and the council members were in session for less than an hour. It was during that hour that a perpetrator stole the bright neon yellow bicycle. The theft has been reported to the Beatrice Police Department and Billesbach has posted pictures of the bike on Facebook. He estimates with all the accessories the bike is worth around $2,500. "Hopefully it's not somebody retaliaiting over how I voted," he joked. A reward is being offered for its return. "Superman Returns" and "A Mighty Wind" actress Parker Posey has joined the cast of Netflix's 2018 episodic remake of "Lost in Space." Posey steps on board a production that has already secured Toby Stephens of "Black Sails" and Molly Parker of "House of Cards" in its lead roles. The series is based on the 1965-1968 classic about the Robinson family, space explorers, and other members of their crew. Posey is to play Dr. Smith, hapless antagonist of the original "Lost in Space." LIMA (Reuters) - Peru rebuked the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization on Wednesday for hiring former first lady Nadine Heredia as a Geneva-based director while she is a suspect in a money laundering inquiry. The South American country's Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement expressing its "displeasure and protest" over the appointment, which comes amid allegations by public prosecutors that Heredia and her husband, former president Ollanta Humala, took illicit funds from the government of Venezuela and Brazilian construction companies. "We see this as interference in a public investigation of enormous national sensitivity," Foreign Affairs Minister Ricardo Luna said on local broadcaster RPP. Earlier this year a judge barred Heredia from leaving Peru while her finances were probed, but prosecutors have yet to press charges against her or Humala in the high-profile case. Peru's objections come as current President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has sought to shore up his anti-corruption credentials after his adviser was ousted for appearing to plot corrupt acts in leaked audio and a deputy minister resigned after facing possible jail time in a separate graft case. The FAO defended its decision to hire Heredia as director of the agency's liaison office in Geneva, saying travel restrictions for her expired in October and to its knowledge were not extended. "The appointment of Ms Heredia was transparent applying ordinary competitive procedures and based on a rigorous selection process," the FAO said in a statement. "The case in Peru does not pose any impediments to her performing her new role." Heredia was a FAO special ambassador in 2013, tasked with promoting the consumption of quinoa, a protein-rich Andean seed grown by Quechua-speaking farmers in Peru and Bolivia. Heredia's lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Heredia has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has said she is cooperating fully with authorities. She has said the allegations of foul play are politically motivated. Heredia, the co-founder and president of Humala's Nationalist Party of Peru, was once widely seen as having a bright political future, possibly as president. But she faced constant criticism for playing an influential role in Humala's government, which left office in July with low approval ratings. Humala and Heredia rose to power on a left-leaning nationalist platform, but defended the country's longstanding pro-business policies while in office. Earlier this month a judge ordered Humala to deposit a bail bond to ensure he cooperates with the investigation after prosecutors said they have evidence to convict him of money laundering. He has denied the allegations. (Reporting By Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino; Editing by Alan Crosby) Peter Sumner, who played Lieutenant Pol Treidum, a security officer on the Death Star in the original Star Wars, has died after a long illness, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. He was 74. The lone Australian to appear in the George Lucas film, Sumner earned 60 a day for two days' work, or about $825 total today. In the 1977 movie, Treidum notices that two stormtroopers are not at their assigned stations and says into an intercom: "TK-421, why aren't you at your post? TK-421, do you copy?" Later, he's punched by Chewbacca and driven backward. That alone made him a favorite at sci-fi conventions and the recipient of thousands of letters from fans over the years. According to the Herald, Sumner was in England after traveling with his family when Star Wars was being cast. His agent in London told him that "this strange little American sci-fi movie" was looking for an actor to work for a couple of days, so Sumner reported to Elstree Studios. "I was absolutely amazed at the sets that had been built," Sumner told the newspaper in December. "On the first day, when the second or third assistant took me up to the control room set that I was working in, I was standing on the back wall when this man suddenly appeared at my side. "His glasses were crooked and he had an old white shirt and grey pants on. I thought he was an accountant of some sort. "We got talking - being Australian always interests people - and just as I was about to say, 'And who are you?' [a crewmember] came over and said, 'Mr. Lucas, we're ready.' That was my meeting with George Lucas." Sumner returned as Treidum in the 1999 Star Wars fan film The Dark Redemption. He's the only actor from the original to reprise his role. During his busy five-decade career, Sumner also appeared in Tony Richardson's Ned Kelly (1970), starring Mick Jagger; worked on the kids show Play School; and had regular roles on such series as Spyforce, Neighbours, Cluedo and Heartbreak High. Survivors include his wife Lynda and children Luke, Kate and Joanna. Read more: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2016 Peter Sumner as Lt. Pol Treidum, who felt the wrath of Chewbacca in 1977 classic (Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm) By Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter Peter Sumner, who played Lieutenant Pol Treidum, a security officer on the Death Star, in the original Star Wars, has died after a long illness, The Sidney Morning Herald reported. He was 74. The lone Australian to appear in the George Lucas film, Sumner earned 60 a day for two days work, or about $825 total today. In the 1977 movie, Treidum notices that two stormtroopers are not at their assigned stations and says into an intercom: TK-421, why arent you at your post? TK-421, do you copy? Later, hes punched by Chewbacca and driven backward. That alone made him a favorite at sci-fi conventions and the recipient of thousands of letters from fans over the years. According to the Herald, Sumner was in England after traveling with his family when Star Wars was being cast. His agent in London told him that this strange little American sci-fi movie was looking for an actor to work for a couple of days, so Sumner reported to Elstree Studios. I was absolutely amazed at the sets that had been built, Sumner told the newspaper in December. On the first day, when the second or third assistant took me up to the control room set that I was working in, I was standing on the back wall when this man suddenly appeared at my side. His glasses were crooked and he had an old white shirt and grey pants on. I thought he was an accountant of some sort. We got talking being Australian always interests people and just as I was about to say, And who are you? [a crewmember] came over and said, Mr. Lucas, were ready. That was my meeting with George Lucas. Related: Hollywoods Notable Deaths of 2016 Sumner returned as Treidum in the 1999 Star Wars fan film The Dark Redemption. Hes the only actor from the original to reprise his role. During his busy five-decade career, Sumner also appeared in Tony Richardsons Ned Kelly (1970), starring Mick Jagger; worked on the kids show Play School; and had regular roles on such series as Spyforce, Neighbours, Cluedo and Heartbreak High. Survivors include his wife Lynda and children Luke, Kate and Joanna. LONDON (Reuters) - Retired U.S. general David Petraeus indicated on Wednesday that he would serve in President-elect Donald Trump's administration if he was offered a job, according to an interview on Britain's BBC radio. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Petraeus, who resigned as CIA chief in 2012 after an extra-marital affair was revealed, was under consideration for the post of defense secretary. Asked if he would agree to serve in the Trump administration, Petraeus said: "I've been in a position before where a president has turned to me in the Oval Office in a difficult moment and .... said 'I'm asking you as your president and commander-in-chief to take command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan'. "The only response can be 'yes, Mr President'." Petraeus was a four-star general in the U.S. Army and oversaw international forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was later appointed as CIA director by President Barack Obama. Asked during his BBC interview if he thought Trump had the right temperament to be president, Petraeus said: "We're going to have to see. "I'm not someone who's had contact with him in the past. I don't know how he operates. It's interesting that those who have been talking to him have said he's a very personable, very hospitable, very gracious guy, full of questions and dialogue. "This is a guy who's done pretty well in life." Pressed further on the pressures of the office of U.S. president and whether he had confidence that Trump was capable of doing the job, Petraeus said: "I think so, yes. It's up to Americans not only to hope that that is the case, but if they can, endeavor to help him." (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and William Schomberg) Washington (AFP) - David Petraeus, the retired general who led the CIA until his resignation under a cloud in 2012, said Wednesday he would serve in President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet if asked. "The only response can be: 'yes, Mr President,'" he told BBC Radio 4's Today program. Petraeus, 64, has been mentioned as a possible contender for secretary of state. A celebrated general, he led the US surge in Iraq from 2006 to 2008, and was later pulled from his post as head of US Central Command to lead the NATO force in Afghanistan in 2010. He took over the CIA in mid-2011 after retiring from the military, but resigned in late 2012 after coming under investigation for giving his biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell, access to classified information. He eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information. Petraeus's legal troubles were reminiscent of those faced by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who was dogged during the campaign by an FBI investigation into her use of a private server to send email -- an issue Trump and his supporters relentlessly exploited with chants of "lock her up!" The FBI declined to file charges in Clinton's case. In the BBC interview, Petraeus was asked whether Trump had the temperament to be president. "It's up to Americans at this point in time not only to hope that that is the case, but if they can, endeavor to help him," he said. "If you're asked, you've got to serve -- put aside any reservations based on campaign rhetoric... and figure out what's best for the country." Philippine fishermen on Wednesday criticised President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to ban them from a rich South China Sea fishing ground, part of his efforts to ease tensions over disputed waters controlled by China. Duterte's aides said he had made a "unilateral" declaration to make the lagoon at Scarborough Shoal a protected marine sanctuary, after raising the issue during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a regional summit in Peru last weekend. It was not clear whether Xi supported the plan. The two neighbours both claim the shoal as part of their territory. But China took control of the ring of reefs just 230 kilometres (140 miles) from the main Philippine island of Luzon in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippine navy. "We fear that declaring it as a marine sanctuary would pave way for another fishing blockade," Fernando Hicap, chairman of fishermen support group Pamalakaya, said in a statement. "This time it will be our own law and government that will prohibit (Filipino fishermen), not China," he added. After taking control of the shoal in 2012, China banned Filipino fishermen from operating there. The ban was eased last month after Duterte visited Beijing to mend ties, with the Filipinos allowed to fish outside the lagoon. A spokesperson for Duterte told AFP on Wednesday his office would soon release an executive order on the new "no-fishing zone" for both Filipinos and Chinese fishermen. "This would be subject to friendly negotiations so we won't create friction with other claimants," said Ana Marie Banaag, presidential communications assistant secretary. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on Tuesday had no comment on Duterte's declaration but said Beijing had made "proper arrangements for fishing activities". However Filipino fishermen told AFP the Duterte plan would hurt their livelihood. "We are against that because it is inside the lagoon where there is more catch," said Charlito Maniago, village captain in Infanta, one of the main Scarborough Shoal fishing towns on Luzon. Story continues Maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal said Duterte's declaration favoured China since the Philippines could further lose access to the shoal. "China could just as easily accept the Philippine move and not act in return, because they derive the benefit anyway," Batongbacal said in a statement. Following a case brought by Duterte's predecessor Benigno Aquino three years ago, a UN-backed international tribunal in July declared the shoal a common fishing ground for surrounding nations. It also ruled that China's claim to most of the South China Sea was without legal basis, in a resounding legal victory for the Philippines. But Duterte, 71, pivoted his country's diplomacy away from traditional ally the United States and towards China. Soon after his ice-breaking trip to Beijing, Chinese vessels stationed at Scarborough allowed Filipino fishermen to fish outside the lagoon. MANILA (Reuters) - An anti-money laundering body in the Philippines has filed charges against five officials of RCBC bank and a former treasurer who "wilfully ignored" suspicious activity that led to tens of millions of dollars vanishing after a heist on Bangladesh's central bank. Unknown cyber criminals tried to steal nearly $1 billion from the Bangladesh Bank in February in what was one of the biggest bank heists ever. They succeeded in transferring some $81 million via an account at the New York Federal Reserve to four accounts in fake names at a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp in Manila. Most of the cash was quickly withdrawn and laundered through multiple channels. In a 97-page complaint to the justice ministry, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said former RCBC treasurer Raul Tan, three retail banking officials, and two workers at the branch where cash was withdrawn were guilty of money laundering because they should have noticed something was wrong and intervened immediately. Only about $15 million has been recovered and returned to Bangladesh, with a further $2.7 million frozen. The rest of the funds changed hands several times and vanished in the Philippines casino industry. No arrests have been made despite investigations by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Interpol, Bangladesh police and authorities in the Philippines. Tan resigned as the bank's treasurer in April. The AMLC complaint, seen by Reuters on Wednesday and filed on Nov. 18, covers three retail banking workers and two customer relations officers at the its Jupiter branch in Makati City. The complaint was based on evidence gathered from the bank. "Tan was in a position to order enhanced due diligence based on the red flags," it said. "Tan could have convened the anti-money laundering committee to act on these red flags," the AMLC said, adding Tan "wilfully ignored them and failed to conduct thorough investigation", as required by law and the bank's regulations. Story continues Tan's actions showed he had "knowledge that the funds transacted represented the proceeds of an unlawful activity", it said. RCBC in a statement said its own probe had found no official from the head office involved in the transaction, which was initiated and carried out by the Jupiter branch. "We welcome the charges as an opportunity to conclusively prove that our executives acted properly and had no knowledge or participation in any money laundering," CEO and president Gil Buenaventura said. Long-time RCBC client, casino owner and agent Kim Wong had admitted during a Philippines Senate inquiry that he received millions of the loot from two Chinese gamblers but did not know it was stolen. He denies involvement in the heist and has returned $15 million of around $35 million he said he received. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato and Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty and Kim Coghill) COLUMBUS Residents living near a Columbus park got an apology this week from some elected officials who voted to erect an 80-foot cellphone tower in their neighborhood. But thats not going to stop the project. More than a dozen people spoke against the plan to install a cellular communications tower in the northeast corner of Glur Park as a standing-room-only crowd listened from inside the Columbus City Council chambers on Monday. The discussion lasted for more than an hour as property owners and parents voiced their concerns about the aesthetic impact, potential health risks and effect on nearby property values. However, a final decision on the cell towers fate was likely sealed by the first speaker. City Attorney Neal Valorz told the crowd cell towers are allowed in Columbus, and a special-use permit isnt required in this case since its on city property. Reneging on the contract with Verizon Wireless, which was approved by the City Council in August, would open the city to a potential lawsuit, Valorz said. To complicate the matter even further, city officials say the Federal Communications Commission could push the project through if Verizon can successfully argue its needed to improve cellphone reception and data capacity in the area. If you want to have more control over where cellphone towers go, we need to start with our congressmen and our senators, because theyre the ones who gave the cellphone companies the power to dictate more where they go, Mayor Mike Moser said. Councilwoman Beth Augustine-Schulte apologized for her vote in support of the cell tower, saying she wouldnt want it across the street from her house. If I could go back and redo that vote, I would do it in a minute, she said, calling the result a misfortune. I think everybody up here, if they could, they would, she added. The problem, many of those in attendance argued, is they didnt know about the cell tower plan prior to its approval. Although the project was discussed at public park board and City Council meetings, residents from the neighborhood werent informed individually and nothing was posted in Glur Park. We simply would have liked to have known, Rex Hash, who lives near the park at 26th Avenue and 30th Street, told the council. Wade Johannes, a neighborhood resident whose family donated the land for the soon-to-be-developed Frontier Park on the citys eastern edge, said the city is taking advantage of a loophole and not being good stewards of the land by allowing a cell tower in Glur Park. I can only imagine how furious my aunts would be if they found out the land they had so generously given were to be used for a cellphone tower, he said. Just because no laws were broken does not mean this decision was right, he told the council. Elected officials vowed to look for ways to improve communication with residents on similar projects in the future, but that did little to appease those in attendance Monday night. The cell tower, which is designed to resemble an evergreen tree, will include a building that houses public restrooms and service equipment for the cell site. Verizon will cover the buildings construction costs, estimated at $240,000, then receive a $40,000 one-time payment from the city and $6,000 annual credit on its lease payment over 15 years. The companys yearly lease payment starts at $13,200 -- before the city credit -- with that amount increasing by 2 percent annually for up to 25 years. The infrastructure is planned for the parks northeast corner, but council members said theyd be open to contacting Verizon to see if it can be moved to the middle of the park. By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A sacked Turkish general, wanted in connection with a failed coup attempt in July, has told Reuters in an interview that the government's purge of top commanders and pilots is inflicting deep long-term damage on the second-biggest army in NATO. Mehmet Yalinalp, who was head of NATO's air command strategy in Germany at the time of the coup attempt, said he was fired a week later. He is one of hundreds of Turkish NATO officers to have been dismissed, some of whom have requested asylum in Europe. "The impact is disastrous," Yalinalp said of the crackdown since the July 15 putsch, in which he denies involvement. "The military is weakening. We are losing our personnel because they are taken into indefinite custody," he added, referring to officers held in prison awaiting trial. "It may take years, even decades to recover." Beyond his anger at the destruction of his career, Yalinalp said the purge had sapped morale, undermined competence and left the military without enough pilots to fly its F16 jets. Turkish officials roundly reject such suggestions. They say the military has become more loyal and effective with the removal of rogue officers, some of whom commandeered tanks, jets and helicopters in their attempt to seize power. Since the coup attempt, Turkey has launched a military incursion into Syria to clear Islamic State militants from its border, and stepped up its campaign against Kurdish militants in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. That is evidence, the officials say, that it is able to maintain its commitments to NATO and keep defending Turkey. "The activities of the Turkish Armed Forces inside and outside our borders are being carried out without a hitch, and operations are continuing without interruption," one senior Turkish official told Reuters. NATO, which condemned the coup attempt, considers Turkey a crucial ally in the war against Islamic State, strategically located between West and East and bordering both Syria and Iraq. Asked about the status of Yalinalp, a second senior security official said: "There is an arrest warrant for him. He will be detained if he enters the country." The official said the issuing of such a warrant meant that there was concrete evidence against the general, either based on the testimony of another suspect or from his usage of a smartphone messaging app believed by the authorities to have been used by the coup plotters. Yalinalp said he was never told specifically what the accusations against him are and disputes there is any evidence against him. PILOT SHORTAGE According to a decree published in Turkey's Official Gazette on Aug. 1, Yalinalp was reassigned to Ankara by the defense ministry along with 43 other generals. He said other officers who returned had been arrested. "Some of my old classmates are in custody now, generals who were on vacation at the time ... highly educated people," the 48-year-old said in an interview in Brussels. He is now applying to study for a doctorate in Germany. Yalinalp said that while the 5,000-or-so officers purged were a fraction of Turkey's almost 400,000-strong army, they were the best educated, on whose experience the military depended. Around 150 out of roughly 360 generals have been detained since the abortive coup. "It takes 25, 30 years to mature as a senior officer, to plan, to think and to act as a general. We can barely find enough talented people to fly our jets," he said. Turkey's 240 F16 jets now have only 200 pilots, he said. "That is very detrimental. If you cannot fly your aircraft you are going to be weak, you are going to be incompetent." He said soldiers still in service were receiving hate emails, suffering low morale and living in fear of arrest. The Turkish military does not disclose its combat pilot numbers, but the air force in September made a public appeal to hundreds of former airmen to return to its depleted ranks. A military source said this month the response had been "below expectations", but the defense ministry has launched a system to allow former combat pilots now in civil aviation to return on secondment. Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 125,000 state officials, from soldiers and police officers to tax inspectors and judges, since the July coup attempt, drawing condemnation from Western allies and rights groups and shaking confidence in the country's democratic credentials. President Tayyip Erdogan has rejected criticism of the purges, accusing the West of siding with coup plotters, and has suggested Turkey could become part of a security bloc dominated by NATO's Cold War foe Russia. "If the military mindset in Turkey changes, that might mean that the axis of the country shifts from West to East, away from the United States," Yalinalp said. 'HAVE YOU RESIGNED?' The general previously served as a senior squadron commander at the Akinci air base outside Ankara, a hub of the coup attempt. The air force played a major role in the abortive putsch, in which more than 240 people, most of them civilians, were killed. Yalinalp was also one of a small group of senior officers to win surprise promotion in 2014, becoming brigadier general, according to military records published in the Official Gazette. He was then posted to NATO's Ramstein air base in Germany. At least seven others in that group have been jailed pending trial on suspicion of playing key roles in the coup attempt, according to Turkish media. But Yalinalp said his career path is no evidence of wrongdoing. He said he was having dinner near Ramstein with British and American colleagues on the night of July 15. According to Yalinalp, the main evidence against him is a list of Turkish generals provided by coup plotters. He said his dismissal began with a call from a lower ranking officer asking him if he had resigned. Confused, he spoke to more senior generals investigating the events of July 15. "I told them I had nothing to do with the list, or with the coup plotters. I'm not a part of any group or illegal organization," Yalinalp said. He said the list made no sense. "There are generals on the list accused of supporting the coup who still work in the air force, they haven't been pursued," he said. Reuters could not independently verify this. Yalinalp said the detention of a general posted to the Turkish embassy in Washington convinced him not to return. The colleague, Brigadier General Yavuz Celik, accepted retirement and went back to Turkey but was soon arrested. Yalinalp doubted that generals of such experience would have been involved in the events of July 15. "If they were pulled into a coup attempt that was doomed to fail from the beginning, they would have refused it." (Additional reporting by Orhan Coskun in Ankara and Humeyra Pamuk in Istanbul; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Mark Trevelyan) Two women who had been protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline claim that a local sheriff and police chief unreasonably ordered them to leave a restaurant in Mandan, North Dakota, on November 21, after having beckoned the women over to talk. Speaking to Storyful, Liz George said she and her fellow diner Kana Newell wrote that they were on their way out of the Rice Bowl Chinese restaurant after a meal when the police officers, having noticed a WATER IS LIFE badge on Georges back, asked them to come over to talk. Chief Jason Ziegler of the Mandan Police Department and Sheriff Paul D Laney of Cass County can be identified in the footage here, shared by George on Facebook. She said one of the men asked them how long they would be in the area, to which she replied, as long as the pipeline is proceeding. One of the pair, she said, told her the pipeline construction would go ahead as planned. She said they asked him why he believed that, sparking a conversation about how the police and protesters are engaging with each other. She said one the police officers then told her that protesters blocking intersections, as some had done in Mandan that morning, would not win them local support. George said she and Newell tried to explain that it was intended as a statement in opposition to the polices use of tear gas and water cannon against protesters the night before, causing severe injuries to some. She said Sheriff Laney said he thought the physical attacks on the protesters needed to be done. George continued to say that she and Newell had tried to sit and talk constructively, with the aim of bridging gaps in communication between police and protesters. She told Storyful that they tried to explain their positions, answering questions from the police, but the sheriff and the police chief began speaking over them and getting aggressive. She said they were abruptly told the conversation was over, and ordered to leave the restaurant under threat of arrest. George told Storyful that she and Newell were short, women of color, and were not intimidating or being aggressive to the police. She said she was shaking and felt unsafe after leaving the restaurant, removing her WATER IS LIFE badge for fear of attracting aggression. Storyful spoke to a member of staff at the Rice Bowl restaurant, who said they had seen the two women approach the chief and the sheriff. They said the conversation seemed normal but that the women kept talking and harassing the police, who then asked the women to leave. Storyful is seeking to contact the Mandan Police Department for comment. According to local reports, police in Kuala Lumpur have deemed illegal the candlelight vigils that have been held in support of imprisoned reformist leader Maria Chin Abdullah. Demonstrators first gathered in Kuala Lumpurs Merdeka Square on Monday, November 21, and numbers increased the following evening, prompting the citys mayor to announce the nightly closure of the square. Demonstrators are calling for the release of Abdullah, chairwoman of a political reformist group known as Berish. Abdullah was arrested on November 18, a day before tens of thousands took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak. Credit: Instagram/xiiaoeinofficial via Storyful Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's attorney general on Wednesday ordered police to look into allegations of improper conduct by a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the planned purchase of submarines from Germany. Media reports have alleged a conflict of interest over the role played by the Netanyahu family lawyer, David Shimron, who also acts for the Israeli agent of Germany's ThyssenKrupp, which builds the Dolphin submarines. A justice ministry statement said that after police on Wednesday received new information, attorney general Avichai Mandelblit met senior officers, the state prosecutor and senior justice officials. "At the end of the discussion the attorney general decided to order an examination by the Israel police regarding various aspects related to the affair," it said. It gave no further details and did not indicate who might be the subjects. Such examinations have sometimes been a prelude to criminal investigations but can also lead police to conclude that no further action is justified. The allegations began with a report earlier this month by private Channel 10 television on Shimron's connections. Netanyahu, who maintains he was unaware his attorney also counselled the seller, defended the acquisition at Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting. "The principle that guides me is clear: Israel will be able to defend itself by itself against any enemy, in any field," he said. "The security of Israel requires the acquisition of submarines and the renewal of the submarine fleet. "These are strategic weapons systems that ensure the future, and I tell you, the very existence of the state of Israel for decades to come." The purchase has faced mounting calls for an investigation, especially in light of opposition from members of the armed forces command and some defence experts because of the high costs. Israel is reportedly negotiating to buy the three submarines at a combined price of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion), to replace the oldest vessels in its existing Dolphin fleet, which began entering service in 1999. Story continues The Jewish state already has five of the state-of-the-art German submarines, with a sixth due for delivery in 2017, Maariv newspaper said. Germany, in the form of military assistance, has so far covered a third of the costs of the submarines in the Israeli fleet. Foreign military sources say the Dolphins can be equipped with missiles armed with nuclear warheads. Israel is the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, refusing to confirm or deny that it has such weapons. Photo credit: (JIA SUNG) From LennyLetter I had a great-aunt named Lannie who made teas, poultices, and tinctures to treat her family. They were poor and living in the Appalachian Mountains and couldn't afford visits to the doctor unless it was a life-or-death emergency, and not always even then. So when my mom or one of her many siblings fell ill, my grandmother would write down the symptoms on a paper bag and send a healthy kid up to see Lannie. Lannie would go into her big barn, stocked with dried herbs and jars of roots that she'd grown and harvested herself, and select things she thought would help. She'd write down the instructions on the bag - what should be steeped and what should go under the bed for luck - and send the carefully bundled package with its courier to be delivered back to my grandmother. I first learned about Lannie after I asked my mother if I could use part of her big Virginia yard to grow some lemon balm and yarrow. "Just like Lannie," she said, her voice colored with the happiness that comes with seeing part of your own historical memory manifest in someone else. I'd been dabbling in tonics and herbs for the last few years, both as a way to formulate my own definition of wellness, and as an alternative treatment for the anxiety and stress that I've been experiencing in recent years in response to the heightening stakes and crises in the world. Nearly everything I've learned is self-taught, which is another way of saying - I'm no expert. I've taken a few herbalism classes, read a lot of books, and watched many traditional healers at work, but I still encourage everyone to interrogate and investigate remedies and tonics that appeal to them, rather than taking my word for it. The biggest lesson I've learned about herbal and holistic treatments and remedies is that some work for you and some won't. Every body is different, and we have to experiment with our own to figure out what we respond to and what we don't. But above all, this is meant to be fun and empowering and invigorating. All that said, here are a few of my favorite recipes, to treat, to heal, and to help you deal. Story continues Late Nite Lemon Balm I first tried lemon balm by adding some dried leaves that my mom grew to hot toddies. I liked the flavor, but noticed that afterward, I slept deep, deeper than I have in a long, long time. I finally looked it up in my herb encyclopedia and was pleased to find out that it's known to reduce anxiety and has a calming effect, making it ideal for a bedtime tonic. You can buy it online or find it in most health-food stores. Despite the name, it's a leafy bush and a member of the mint family, and is sometime listed as "Melissa." I like steeping a crushed handful in a large cup of just boiled water. I usually add some peppercorns for spice and an extra immunity boost - peppercorns are an Ayurvedic treatment for coughs and sore throats - and then I like to stir in some honey and some fresh sweet citrus (like kumquat or blood orange) to even out the taste. You can add a dash of bourbon if you like a little whiskey with your tea, like me and Beyonce's dad. It's a lovely tonic to sip before bed, when you're trying to decompress from the day and transition into a state conducive to a restful night's sleep. Power Up Tonic Over the summer, I became obsessed with rose hips. They're hard little fruits on wild rose bushes that grow in sandy areas, like beaches and dunes, and I first encountered them in gorgeous full bloom in the wild during a trip to Cape Cod. They're dense with vitamin C, making them extremely ideal as a preventive measure against winter colds. Plus, vitamin C is thought to reduce skin dryness, which is ideal for my entire aesthetic as well as for the cooler months. I collected mine in Cape Cod earlier this summer, but you can buy them in bulk online or find them at most tea and spice shops. Steep them like any other tea, and a good ratio to follow is one teaspoon per cup of water. You can drink it hot or iced. It's a sour-ish drink, with notes similar to hibiscus, so be sure to add a sweetener and fresh lemon for additional immunity. Ginger 'Tussin Ginger is my 'tussin - whenever I feel a cold coming on, or get queasy from menstrual cramps, or have an upset stomach from a bout of anxiety or depression, I haul out my big soup pot and make a batch of ginger tonic. It's the most restorative and healing thing I drink on a regular basis. Take two large ginger-root systems (grab a couple of palmfuls, and get organic if you can swing it). Peel and chop them and throw them in a soup pot. Add enough water to cover, plus a little more, and set to a low boil. Add a cinnamon stick, or some anise pods if you have any lying around. Cardamom pods work well here too. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until the liquid turns dark amber, and then allow to cool. Strain the ginger and various twigs, and discard the solids. Add a little raw honey or maple sugar to taste. Pour into mugs on a cold night. I keep a few jars of this in my fridge and have a couple of teaspoons every morning and at night until it's finished. Jenna lives in Brooklyn, and you can follow along with her herbtastic voyage by subscribing to her TinyLetter. Khidr Ilyas (Iraq) (AFP) - Father Charbel Issu stands before a shattered altar, spreads out his hands and begins leading a group of Kalashnikov-wielding militia fighters in prayer. "Our father who art in heaven," they chant. "Hallowed be thy name." On the wall in front of them, graffiti scrawled in black spray paint reads "Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest)". Iraqi fighters battling to oust the Islamic State group from Mosul recaptured the Catholic Mar Behnam monastery on Sunday, allowing its priests to return. Dating back to the fourth century AD, the Syriac Catholic monastery lies just 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of Iraq's second city which became a bastion of the jihadist group after it swept across northern Iraq in 2014. When they seized it in 2014, the jihadists sacked the monastery, smashing carvings off the wall, decapitating a statue of the Virgin Mary and leaving the building as an empty shell. The priests fled and most have not returned. "I am both happy and sad," Issu, a former director of the monastery, told AFP on his first visit back. "I'm happy to return to these holy places, to see this monastery where I spent a year and a half as superior. "At the same time, I'm sad to see it like this, in such bad condition, demolished. It hurts my heart," he said. In front of the main building, he peered down on the rubble covering the tombs of Mar Behnam -- a Syriac saint from whom the monastery gets its name -- and his sister Sara. In 2015, IS jihadists posted a video of themselves blowing up the tomb. Today, little remains. It was part of an IS campaign of destruction as it swept across the region. The jihadists trashed other faiths' places of worship and blew up ancient sites such as the Assyrian city of Nimrud and the Greco-Roman remains of Palmyra in neighbouring Syria. - Babylon Brigade - As it seized their areas, IS gave Christians three options: leave, pay a special tax or convert to Islam. Most decided to flee. Story continues Now, rebuilding the community will be tough, Issu said. "You should see their houses," he said. "Fifty percent of their houses have been torched." The attacks are the latest in a string of abuses against Iraq's Christian minority in recent years. Issu said reining in tensions between religions is a daunting task. "It will be very difficult," he said. "But we hope and hope." As he toured the monastery, the small, grey-haired priest was escorted by heavily armed fighters from a Christian militia, who wore crosses and bullet belts over their camouflage. They are part of the Babylon Brigade, a militia formed by Christians across Iraq to battle IS after it swept through the country. They were part of the contingent that took back the area around the monastery. The Brigade fights under the banner of the Popular Mobilisation forces, an umbrella for 40 mainly Shiite militias formed in a bid to counter the jihadists. They helped in the operation to wrest the monastery from the jihadists. They say they want to go on fighting until they have pushed IS out of all the Christian sites it holds in Iraq -- and even in Syria. "We are very sad to see all the destruction here but the happiness of the victory has overwhelmed us and we are so joyful to be standing here," said Colonel Dhafer Luis. "I hope that the Christians return to this area and I call on them to return," he said. "We have shown by our example that even though we are a small group we captured this place -- what you need is a faithful heart." President Barack Obama pardoned the last Thanksgiving turkey of his presidential term, granting freedom to Tot and his vice-turkey, Tater. It is my great privilege, well its my privilegeactually, lets just say its my jobto grant them clemency this afternoon, Obama said. As I do, I want to take a moment to recognize the brave turkeys who werent so lucky, who didnt get to ride the gravy train to freedom, who met their fate with courage and sacrifice and proved that they werent chicken, he continued, as a young child cried in the background. Its not that bad now, cmon, Obama joked. The President was joined by his two nephews, instead of his daughters, Malia and Sasha. This year, they had a scheduling conflict. Actually, they just couldnt take my jokes anymore, Obama said. Malia and Sasha are thankful, by the way, that this is my final presidential turkey pardon. What I havent told them yet is that we are going to do this every year from now on. No cameras, just us. Every year. No way Im cutting this habit cold turkey. Paris (AFP) - The battle for France's coveted right-wing presidential nomination has become a contest among two visions of French society: one traditionalist, the other more progressive, but both claiming the mantle of Pope Francis. Ahead of the second round of the US-style primary on Sunday, with the winner tipped to become France's next president, frontrunner Francois Fillon and his rival Alain Juppe traded barbs over abortion, gay marriage and the pontiff's teachings. Fillon, a devout Catholic father of five, surged from behind in the first round of the primary last Sunday to take the top spot on a platform of radical economic reforms and social conservatism. His supporters include some of the tens of thousands of people who demonstrated against a gay marriage bill in 2013. Fillon has ruled out revoking the law but pledged to amend it to prevent gay couples from being able to adopt children. The 62-year-old solicitor's son, who voted in 1982 against decriminalising homosexuality, has also said he personally disapproves of abortion but supports a landmark 1975 law making terminations legal. Juppe, a twice-married 71-year-old "agnostic Catholic" who like Fillon is a former prime minister, on Tuesday blasted his rival's "extremely traditionalist, not to say slightly retrograde view on the role of women, family and marriage". Fillon, he said, should "clarify his position" on abortion -- drawing a furious reaction from his opponent, who reiterated that he supported women's right to choose and accused his rival of hitting "below the belt". Desperate to make up ground on Fillon, who led the first round by 18 percentage points, Juppe also invoked Pope Francis -- a rare campaign reference in secular France. The Bordeaux mayor suggested his positions were closer than his rival's to those of the modernising pontiff. "You have to... keep in step with the times," he said. Story continues Fillon hit back at what he called the "ultra-grotesque" stereotyping of him as a "reactionary from the Middle Ages". "I make no apologies for having values," he told Europe 1 radio on Wednesday, declaring that on "most" of the subjects raised by Juppe "Pope Francis says the same thing as I do". - Catholic clout - In a primary campaign that has focused mainly on France's ailing economy, immigration and security after a wave of jihadist attacks, the sudden emphasis on societal issues reflects the importance of the Catholic vote. While practising Catholics make up only about 10 percent of the population, "they are far more likely to vote than average, which gives them more clout," Jerome Fourquet of Ifop pollsters told AFP, estimating that they make up 15 percent of the national electorate. Aware that their support could be key to winning the nomination, Juppe has balked at extending rights for gay couples beyond marriage to areas such as fertility treatment. Like Fillon, he opposes giving lesbians access to IVF and supports a continued ban on surrogacy -- one of the paths to parenthood taken by gay men. At the prestigious Stanislas Catholic school in central Paris, parents and teachers were divided on the candidates' merits. "I voted Fillon because of his positions on family and homosexuality," said Camille Roullier, a 38-year-old mother. Mathilde, a 31-year-old teacher who declined to give her surname, said she too supported the man from the north-central city of Le Mans because of his position on gay adoptions. But another of the teachers, Amedeo, 59, endorsed Juppe. "I'm for a 'live and let live' approach," he said. In an editorial, the leftist daily Liberation portrayed Fillon as the standard bearer of an "aggressive, activist, political Catholicism that mirrors political Islam". But the managing editor of La Vie, a Christian weekly, rejected the idea. "There is no political Catholicism in France and there never will be," Jean-Pierre Denis said, noting that a Christian Democrat candidate knocked out of the primary in the first round had mustered only 1.5 percent of the vote. President Harry S. Truman with a 35-pound Oregon Tom turkey President Harry S. Truman squints as he fingers the wattle of a 35-pound Tom turkey from Oregon as it is presented to him, in the White House Rose Garden on Nov. 18, 1952. The turkey, intended for the presidents last Thanksgiving in the White House, was made by representatives of the Poultry and Egg National Board and the National Turkey Federation. At right is Loren Johnson, of Corvallis, Ore., one of the group making the presentation. (Photo: Henry Griffin/AP) The presidential pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey has become an annual event, but the peace pact between the fowl and the White House is a relatively new thing. And in fact, a few presidents actually ate their guests! The first president to unofficially pardon a turkey was Abraham Lincoln, who instructed the White House to save a bird given to the president. Lincolns son had grown fond of the bird (and the president was a big animal lover). But Lincoln didnt start a tradition, and neither did President Harry S. Truman, who is often credited as the father of the presidential turkey pardon. (National Constitution Center) Heres a look back from Truman to Trump. See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Seward will be packed with action Saturday for those itching to whip out their best ugly Christmas sweaters and get into the holiday spirit. The Seward Christmas Festival will kick off with "Christmas in the Military" at the Nebraska National Guard Museum where cookies and hot cocoa will be provided. Santa Claus will come to town in a firetruck at 10 a.m. Live reindeer will make a visit, too, on the north side of the Seward County Courthouse. Kids can play reindeer games, get their faces painted, do balloon art and make reindeer food. Christmas carols will fill the air with performances by Marble Music students at the Seward Civic Center and "Caroling Around the Square" by St. John's Carolers -- both at 11 a.m. The daylong celebration continues with a Lego contest, an ugly sweater contest and horse and buggy rides. As the sun starts to set, the courthouse Christmas tree will be lit at 4:30 p.m. and a lighted parade will travel along Seward from from First to 14th Street. Winter Wonderland will be open following the parade. For a full schedule of events, contest registration forms and the chili cook-off entry form, visit www.sewardne.com. Nov 23 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines * Philip Hammond eyes housing sweetener in Autumn Statement. http://on.ft.com/2foWIp1 * Brussels considers Chapter 11-style bankruptcy regime. http://on.ft.com/2foWgXH * Committee probing BHS failure casts eyes over Green's yachts. http://on.ft.com/2foZJp8 Overview * Britain's finance minister will say on Wednesday that he is reducing a benefits squeeze for low-paid workers, but that fixing the public finances and improving productivity are the best ways to improve living standards. * Companies would be given more breathing space to restructure their debts in times of crisis under a European Union draft law unveiled on Tuesday, inspired by U.S. insolvency rules and aimed at avoiding bankruptcies and saving jobs. * Frank Field, the chair of the committee probing the collapse of BHS, has asked regulators whether it can see seize Philip Green's assets including his yachts. (Compiled by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft) Nov 23 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had no intention of pressing for an investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server or the financial operations of her family's foundation. http://nyti.ms/2gA67M8 - Facebook has developed software to suppress posts from appearing in people's news feeds in specific geographic areas, according to three current and former Facebook employees. The feature was created to help Facebook get into China, a market where the social network has been blocked. http://nyti.ms/2gA3iut - A federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction on Tuesday against an Obama administration regulation expanding by millions the number of workers who would be eligible for time-and-a-half overtime pay. The regulation was scheduled to take effect on Dec. 1. It would raise the salary limit below which workers automatically qualified for overtime pay to $47,476 from $23,660. http://nyti.ms/2gA5AKd - George Soros says he will commit $10 million from his personal foundation to combat a rise in hate crimes that he linked to the "incendiary rhetoric" of President-elect Donald Trump's campaign. He said he was "deeply troubled" by hundreds of reports of possible hate crimes since the election. http://nyti.ms/2gA6TJ6 (Compiled by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru) What a way to start the new year of 2017! Oriel Myrddin gallery, Carmarthen is set to host former Welsh artist of the year, John Abells works from the 14th of January to 11th of March, 2017. Lost Conquistadors and Other Works is an eclectic series of watercolour and woodcuts, all depicting the journey of a fleet of spanish soldiers (conquistadors), mythological characters and contemporary day to day. Having been kicked out of school as a child, John Abell led a life taking to the Cardiff streets or couch surfing whenever the opportunity arose. But, as Abell was seeking solace from his former drug addiction, his prefabricated woodcut entitled, Three Graces: The Floods Left Them was recognised at St Davids Hall in Cardiff. The entry would secure Abell the Welsh Artist of the Year prize, a far cry from the cold concrete floors of Cardiff. The fractured and intricate woodcut prints are synonymous with contemporary and mythological life. Having merged the two themes together, he has succeeded in creating a visual storybook. Contrary to the monochrome woodcut prints, Abells watercolour series is dominated by vivid Yellow and Blue tones, equivalent to that of Fauvism. MADRID (AP) -- Spanish prosecutors want to punish Neymar, his father, Barcelona, and the player's Brazilian club because of an investment group's claim that they concealed the value of the star's transfer fee. Prosecutors said on Wednesday they are seeking a two-year prison sentence and a $10.6 million fine for Neymar and his father on corruption charges, although they are not likely to face any jail time because in Spain sentences of less than two years for first offences are usually suspended. Prosecutors also want to punish former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell on corruption and fraud charges, which could lead to up to five years in prison and the same $10.6 million fine. The former president of Brazilian club Santos, Odilio Rodrigues, is facing a three-year prison sentence on fraud charges. They are all set to stand trial after a complaint brought by Brazilian investment group DIS, which was entitled to 40 percent of Neymar's transfer from Brazilian club Santos in 2013 but said it received a smaller compensation because part of the transfer fee was concealed. Prosecutors seek a fine of $8.9 million from Barcelona and $7.4 million from Santos. DIS has demanded a five-year prison sentence for Neymar and his parents, and an eight-year sentence for Rosell and current Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu. It also seeks a fine from Barcelona that could reach more than $200 million, and wants Neymar to be temporarily suspended from playing if found guilty. A judge this month accepted charges against Bartomeu, but prosecutors spared him on Wednesday, saying he did not directly participate in the negotiations related to Neymar's transfer. Prosecutors said Rosell, Rodrigues, Barcelona, and Santos must repay nearly $3.4 million to DIS. Prosecutors want a one-year prison sentence and a $10.6 million fine for Neymar's mother, who co-owns one of her husband's companies representing Neymar. Prosecutors want the company to pay a fine of $1.4 million. Story continues Neymar and his father, who acts as the player's agent, appeared in a Madrid court in February to defend themselves. All other parties being accused by prosecutors also have denied wrongdoing. In July, Barcelona midfielder Lionel Messi and his father were sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax fraud, but were not sent to jail. In June, Barcelona paid a fine of $5.8 million in a separate case after acknowledging to Spain's tax authorities it made ''an error in the fiscal planning of the player's transfer.'' Earlier this year, a National Court judge shelved the complaint made by the Brazilian investment fund, but the decision was appealed and a group of judges eventually ruled that there was enough evidence to keep the case open. Barcelona said the price of Neymar's transfer was 57.1 million euros ($60.6 million), with Santos receiving 17.1 million euros ($18.1 million). Prosecutors said the total amount paid by the Spanish club to Santos was 25.1 million euros ($26.6 million), meaning DIS would be entitled to an additional 3.2 million euros ($3.4 million). Prosecutors said the difference comes from payments made by Barcelona for the future acquisitions of other players, as well as partnerships for friendly matches between the clubs. DIS paid 5 million reals ($1.6 million) for its 40 percent of Neymar's rights in 2009. --- Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni Republicans and the U.S. Chamber are opposed to the measures, but backers of shareholder rights may have an advocate in Trump ally Carl Icahn. By Ronald Orol A Securities and Exchange Commission effort to rewrite the rules for proxy fights that pit dissident directors against incumbent boards is more likely than ever to die on the vine. Its doubtful that an agency chief under the incoming Trump administration will have any interest in adopting the rule, proposed in October, since its opposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and could increase the likelihood of proxy fights. Also like to be nonstarters are a proposal under consideration by the SEC and other regulators requiring big financial firm executives to wait much longer to cash out bonuses as well as one that gives the same institutions several years to claw back CEO pay connected to misconduct. A major effort driven by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats to set up a political spending disclosure rule also isnt expected to see the light of day in the Trump administration. I cant see why they would go forward with those, said Roel Campos, a former Democratic commissioner who overlapped at the agency with the Trump administrations adviser on the SEC, Paul Atkins. They will die or stay dead. The proxy fight proposal is designed to give shareholders more flexibility to choose between incumbent board members and dissident candidates that activists like Starboard Value LP or Elliott Management LLC often seek to install to help drive their M&A or operational change agendas. Currently, shareholders who dont go to company meetings can vote only for the director candidates offered on the activists proxy card or those on the companys card. They cant support only a few of each. The SECs proposed rule would require both the protagonist and the incumbent board to issue universal proxy cards giving shareholders the ability to pick and choose from all candidates. Some observers say the move would hurt activists because it would make it less likely their full slate would be elected. Others argue that it would offer them the opportunity to get at least some of their nominees onto a board. Story continues Bruce Goldfarb, founder of proxy solicitor Okapi Partners, agrees that the rule may never be adopted, given the almost guaranteed change in the composition of the commission. They have so many other things to do, and I dont think a Republican-led commission will consider it a priority, Goldfarb said. One of the two chief advocates for the universal proxy card and CEO-clawback rules, chairman Mary Jo White, has announced that she intends to leave the agency at the end of the Obama administration. One slim possibility is that White as one of her final acts as SEC chief moves to adopt a universal card rule in the period before she leaves the agency. That seems very unlikely, however, given that the proposals comment period expires on Jan. 9, only 11 days before President-elect Donald Trumps Jan. 20 inauguration. The comment period on the CEO salary-clawback rule ended in July, which suggests that White could more easily move on that measure. Nevertheless, the most likely outcome is for the proposals to be considered by the next SEC chairman. Atkins, Trumps SEC transition team leader, served as a Republican commissioner at the agency from 2002 to 2008. Hes probably best known for his fervent opposition to an effort by the agencys then-chairman, William Donaldson, to regulate hedge fund managers and increase mutual fund board independence. Critics argue that Atkins and the agency failed to tighten up regulations on large financial institutions in the buildup to the 2008 financial crisis. Ultimately, there will be a chair of the SEC that has a lot in common with Paul Atkins, a strong conservative that disfavors regulation and thinks the financial world is over-regulated, said Campos. I believe it is Paul Atkinss position to refuse. Atkins might recommend two other ex-Republican SEC commissioners in his stead, Kathleen Casey, a commissioner from 2006 to 2011, or Dan Gallagher, who left the agency in 2015. Both Casey and Gallagher work at Patomak Global Partners, a Washington-based regulatory consulting firm founded by Atkins. The agencys only remaining Republican commissioner, Michael Piwowar, may take an interim leadership role at the agency, observers say. Piwowar voted against introducing both the universal proxy card and clawback proposals. The proxy card measure, he said, would increase the likelihood of such fights at companies and distract management from oversight of the business. One caveat on the deregulatory front is Carl Icahn. The billionaire raider turned activist is a close Trump ally and is a strong advocate for a universal proxy card system, limits on CEO pay and shareholder rights. In October, Icahn said in a statement that the universal card measure would give shareholders greater freedom of choice and he hoped that powerful voices in opposition (read: US Chamber of Commerce) will not be successful in defeating it. However, the forces against both provisions may simply be too strong, with Atkins in charge of the SEC transition and Piwowar holding the fort at the agency. While Carl has a lot of influence with Trump and his team I just dont see how that influence will make its way throughout the SEC ranks, said Andrew Freedman, partner at Olshan Frome Wolosky. Pretests were reported in Port-au-Prince on November 21 after the PHTK party claimed victory in Haitis long-delayed presidential elections. PHTK claimed Jovenel Moise had won the countrys presidential election. Moise won a previous election in October 2015 that was later overturned due to allegations of fraud. The claim was rejected by the Fanmi Lavalas party, who said the election was won by their candidate, Maryse Narcisse. Protesters can be seen carrying Narcisse signs in this video of the protests. Protests were reported on the streets of Port-au-Prince, with Lavalas demonstrations close to the presidential palace. Haitis Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) cautioned that the official results had not yet been announced. Credit: Twitter/Etant Dupaint via Storyful PARIS (Reuters) - Paris St Germain were left "stunned" on Tuesday at a decision by British authorities to revoke the visa of their defender Serge Aurier, preventing him from playing in a Champions League match at Arsenal. The Ivorian will miss Wednesday's Group A game and PSG officials are furious that the decision to deny the 23-year-old a visa over a conviction for assault - a ruling the player is appealing against - was only relayed to them by British government officials on Tuesday afternoon. "Due to a sudden about-face by the British authorities, Serge Aurier has not been allowed to travel with Unai Emery's squad for the clash away to Arsenal," PSG said on their website (www.psg.fr). "Paris Saint-Germain is stunned by this incomprehensible situation that attacks the very integrity of the UEFA Champions League," the French champions added. "Paris Saint-Germain strongly regrets that the presumption of innocence has not influenced Britain's decision." Aurier was arrested in May and found guilty in September of assaulting a police officer outside a Paris nightclub after being stopped for a breath test. The Ivory Coast international, who denied the charge, was handed a two-month jail sentence but is appealing against the verdict. (Reporting by Ian Chadband, editing by Ed Osmond) PSEG Solar Source, a unit of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. PEG, or PSEG, has purchased a 6.6 megawatt-dc (MW dc) solar facility from BayWa r.e. Solar Projects for $12.2 million. About the Facility Located in Northampton County, NC, about 90 miles northeast of Raleigh, the PSEG Hemlock Solar Energy Center is currently under construction and scheduled to start commercial operations by 2016 end. It is situated on an area of 48 acres under a 35-year lease with a private landowner. The facility has a 15-year power purchase agreement with Virginia Electric and Power Co. a subsidiary of Dominion Resources D. The engineering, procurement and construction contractor of the facility is BayWa r.e. Once complete, it will operate the project for PSEG Solar Source. It will be powered by around 20,500 poly-crystalline Trina Solar Ltd. TSL panels with SMA inverters. About PSEG Solar Source PSEG Solar Source is a subsidiary of PSEG Power, a merchant power generation company which forms part of the PSEG family of companies. Currently, it has 20 utility-scale projects across 13 states. The company has 215 MW-dc in operation and 135 MW-dc under construction and scheduled begin operations by 2016 end. PSEG Solar Source has two other solar facilities in North Carolina the PSEG Turkey Creek Solar Center, which is under construction in Northampton County; and the PSEG Meadows Solar Center in Martin County, which commenced operations this June. PUBLIC SV ENTRP Price PUBLIC SV ENTRP Price | PUBLIC SV ENTRP Quote PSEGs Renewable Endeavors PSEG is focused on expanding its renewable assets. The company invests huge amounts in clean energy projects. Notably, PSEG Solar Source has plans to build solar projects in Colorado, North Carolina and Utah, thereby boosting its portfolio to reach 315 MW of clean, renewable energy, through 17 facilities in 12 states. The company plans to invest $215 million in solar and energy efficiency programs between 2016 and 2018. Scope of Renewable Energy Regulations pertaining to pollution control are becoming increasingly stringent, making it crucial for utilities to spend more on emission control infrastructure. Meanwhile, because of their clean-burning nature, investment in the renewable energy space could prove to be profitable over the long run. In particular, solar energy, which presently contributes to only 1% of the total electricity generation in the U.S., represents ample scope of improvement in the days to come. Zacks Rank & a Key Pick PSEG currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the same industry is Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. HE carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Hawaiian Electric witnessed a 1.7% rise in its stock price in the last five days. On an average, the company recorded a positive earnings surprise of 2.38% in the four trailing quarters. The Best Place to Start Your Stock Search Today, you are invited to download the full list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buy" stocks absolutely free of charge. Since 1988, Zacks Rank #1 stocks have nearly tripled the market, with average gains of +26% per year. Plus, you can access the list of portfolio-killing Zacks Rank #5 "Strong Sells" and other private research. See these stocks free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report HAWAIIAN ELEC (HE): Free Stock Analysis Report DOMINION RES VA (D): Free Stock Analysis Report PUBLIC SV ENTRP (PEG): Free Stock Analysis Report TRINA SOLAR LTD (TSL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Photo credit: (JULIETTE TOMA) From LennyLetter I had to resist the urge to wear one of my homemade Hamilton costumes to my interview with costume designer Ruth E. Carter. We were meeting to chat at San Diego Comic Con, and when I wasn't working I was running around dressed as a character from the Revolutionary Warera musical Hamilton, because that's just what you do at a comic-book convention. And because I wanted to impress her. But in the end, I kept it cool and denim casual, because the topics I wanted to discuss were a little too weighty for four sets of corsets. A frequent Spike Lee collaborator, Ruth designed a significant part of my childhood. Halle Berry's gold teeth and orange jumpsuit in B*A*P*S, the blond high-tops on the gangs in The Meteor Man, and that black trench coat that embodied the 1970s cool of Shaft in 2000 are all crystallized images, firmly embedded in my memories of growing up in the '90s and early aughts. As a black woman who loves vintage clothing, I find many of the looks she's created for black actresses aspirational. As a student of American history, her work has made it easier for me to paint a clear picture in my mind of my own past and how it directly relates to my present. Ruth has created costumes for nearly every type of protest, movement, and rebellion in black American history. She's dressed revolting and runaway slaves, anti-lynching leaders, civil-rights icons, and gun-control activists, just to name a few. This aspect of our work was made unfortunately more relevant by the timing of our chat - two weeks after the police shootings of two unarmed black men, Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. In the few minutes she had between panels, we chatted about how Black Lives Matter has influenced her thinking on her newest project, Ryan Coogler's Marvel film, Black Panther; the arc of protest fashion; and what clothing says about the movements who don it. Kendra James: Your costumes for Roots looked meticulously researched, especially in contrast to the generic loincloths and patchwork leathers from the '70s version. Is that informing your designs for Black Panther, where you're creating an aesthetic for the fictional African nation of Wakanda? Story continues Ruth Carter: I'm looking at the whole continent and a wide range of people, like the Masai and the Suri. It all becomes a part of the framework of Wakanda. Most people who read the comic books know Wakanda is a mountainous area; it's a secret place that's not necessarily trading and interacting with the rest of the world. They're a little bit more advanced in technology than other civilizations. We are creating that world, and trying to create a culture and pride that feels authentic to the specific location. KJ: Pop culture often forgets that Africa is a large, diverse continent, and it's often homogenized in Hollywood. Do you feel an extra weight of responsibility because of that? RC: Oh, yeah. I do. I felt it with Roots, and I feel it now with Black Panther. That authenticity is very important to me. With Wakanda, I'm sort of piecing together a puzzle. It's the puzzle that is our history. Black history didn't start with slavery or end with the civil-rights movement. I'm trying to put together that puzzle while considering everything that relates to us, including present stuff like the Black Lives Matter campaign. We're speaking to an international black culture that knows film, that's smart, that travels, that knows what's happening in the world. I want to respect that. I start designing by saying "Don't make it up." After the research, then I can make it up. KJ: You've costumed almost every type of protest and rebellion throughout the Black American experience. What kind of insight has that given you into the nature of how protest has evolved? RC: The dress codes are always unique to the protests, if they can be, and to adhere to the uniform has always been a large part of committing to the cause. For instance, in the '60s they wore the trench coats, and they padded themselves underneath, and part of the posture was to keep their hands in their pockets when they marched to show that they were nonviolent. I love that trench coat. The '70s was the Afro, even though that's not specifically clothing. Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud, right? The bigger your Afro, the badder you were. It's similar to what kids do when they sag their jeans today. It becomes a radical fashion, just like the zoot suit was back in the '40s. Now? We're a T-shirt culture. So you see a lot of message T-shirts in the Black Lives Matter movement. KJ: It's so interesting that the fact that wearing your hair the way it grows out of your head is a political statement. RC: Exactly! And then here's all of these really cool things that come into mainstream fashion, stemming from protest fashion. That meshing of the two helps calm the waters so that people that want to make a statement can wear it without their boss or their colleagues at work feeling like they're making too much of a statement, but they are still proclaiming their self, self-pride, pride in their culture, pride in their history, and taking a stance for justice. Sometimes it's not as obvious, but I think that Black women in the movement are starting to be a little bit more natural, a little bit more Afro-centric. We're taking the weaves out, we're getting out of the heels. KJ: Do you have a favorite look from your resume? RC: There is a costume I'll never forget from Malcolm X. We went to Egypt, and I put Denzel in the traditional Muslim garb and seeing him... well, I was right in the middle of the desert, feeling like I had really taken Malcolm's story full circle as we watched him go on that hajj to Mecca. Before Malcolm X, many people saw Malcolm and his movement as hateful, compared to MLK. I felt like we were helping people understand his whole movement and agenda with this movie, down to that costume. KJ: From the same era, I was looking at your work from Selma and marveling at the clothing on John Lewis and Diane Nash. Diane's clothing was so impeccably tailored, and she was perfectly put together. For that era of protest, that was part of the uniform you're talking about too - looking respectable at all times, to represent the face of the movement. Black Lives Matter has completely shifted that - we're not dealing in the appearance of respectability anymore. RC: There's always a part of black culture that is well groomed and they take pride in their appearance. The '60s were a time when everyone, black and white, wore suits, even when they were in protest. You see those pictures of Martin Luther King and the protest marches. People are dressed. KJ: What are your thoughts on Black Lives Matter - the movement and the aesthetic, if you think there is one? RC: Black Lives Matter is asking for basic rights. Those shouldn't be based on appearance! Many of the early Black Lives Matter tees were black, with big, bold, white letters on it. They were screaming at you. What we're seeing now is more like the Malcolm X side of protests, where we actually want to be a little bolder and not be conformists. And it's important that it has what some might see as a more "urban" look. We're past the era of dressing like the Fruit of Islam in bow ties and suits, where their physical presence meant nonthreatening. The dress code of this movement reflects the appearance of the black young men and women it's fighting to save. It's a casual, everyday look because the violence happening to us is unfortunately a casual, everyday thing. This interview has been condensed and edited. Kendra James (@KendraJames_) is a costume design enthusiast who enjoyed Chi-Raq more than popular opinion generally allows her to admit. The presidential pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey has become an annual event, but the peace pact between the fowl and the White House is a relatively new thing. And in fact, a few presidents actually ate their guests! The first president to unofficially pardon a turkey was Abraham Lincoln, who instructed the White House to save a bird given to the president. Lincolns son had grown fond of the bird (and the president was a big animal lover). But Lincoln didnt start a tradition, and neither did President Harry S. Truman, who is often credited as the father of the presidential turkey pardon. Since Lincolns time, there had been a steady parade of turkeys heading to the White House as the entree for the Presidents holiday dinner. Horace Vose of Rhode Island provided many of the birds, starting with President Grant and ending with President Wilson. Photos from Trumans administration show the President happily receiving a turkey as a gift from the Poultry and Egg National Board at a public event. President Dwight Eisenhower also was photographed receiving his bird from the turkey lobby. An article that later appeared in The Washington Post revealed the real reason the men were smiling: They served up their guests on Thanksgiving Day as the main course! In one image from Time magazine, Eisenhower is grinning widely as hes carving a very large turkey. John F. Kennedy then started a trend by publicly sparing a turkey given to the White House. He decided after receiving a bird on November 19, 1963, that it shouldnt stay as dinner. The turkey was wearing a sign that said, Good Eatin Mr. President. JFK spared the bird just three days before he was assassinated in Dallas. Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan were all photographed at turkey press conferences with their guests of honor. Its not 100 percent known if any of the birds survived their White House tourwithout being stuffed, dressed, and served on a platter. Reagan joked about pardoning a turkey during the days of the Iran-Contra affair, but the bird was already scheduled to live out its life at a zoo. Story continues It was President George H.W. Bush who made the turkey pardon official when he took office in 1989. Since then, turkeys across the United States have rejoiced, at least one day a year, as the leaders have spared a lucky bird from the Thanksgiving table. But the turkeys, who are bred to be eaten, have a very short life span. The National Turkey Federation, which raises birds for the presidential pardon ceremony, says a pardoned bird will be lucky to live two years after its saved by the President. Part of the confusion over the origin of the turkey pardon came from statements made by President Bill Clinton, who said the pardon as a tradition started with Lincoln and Truman. Its true Lincoln did a one-time turkey pardon, but Truman aficionados say theres little evidence the president spared his birds. Constitution Daily Thanksgiving Stories The Founding Fathers really didnt want the turkey as our national symbol Happy 226th birthday to Washingtons Thanksgiving proclamation! Who started Thanksgiving and other holiday trivia! Record rainfall in the south of France swelled the Ardeche River on November 22, as this footage shot near Sampzon in the Cevennes mountains show. News reports said that local rivers did not breach their banks, but they were nonetheless swollen with impressive amounts of fast-flowing water. According to the local tourist agency that filmed this footage, the water subsided by November 23, but more heavy rain was forecast. Credit: Vallontourisme.com via Storyful Retail REIT, Regency Centers Corporations REG Baa1 senior unsecured rating and Equity One, Inc.s EQY Baa2 senior unsecured rating have been affirmed by Moody's Investors Service. The move comes after the declaration that Regency will buy Equity One in an all-stock deal. Regencys rating outlook has been kept stable, while Equity Ones outlook has been revised to positive from stable. This transaction, which was revealed last week, would create a national portfolio of 429 properties, covering over 57 million square feet, including co-investment partnerships. Per the terms of the all-stock deal, each share of Equity One common stock would be converted into 0.45 shares of newly issued shares of Regency common stock. (Read more: Regency to House 429 Properties with $5B Equity One Buyout) According to the rating agency, the completion of the deal as proposed, would result in creating a shopping center focused REIT, with gross assets of $9.4 billion. The combined entity would have high quality assets, with modest leverage and solid fixed charge coverage metrics. On the other hand, gross asset base of Regency would grow by 70%, while there would be reasonable overlap in geographic concentrations, particularly in California and South Florida. Also, the proportion of grocery-anchored assets would reduce to 79% for the combined entity compared to 86% of Regencys standalone. Notably, rating affirmation reinstalls the companys creditworthiness in the market and is likely to boost investors confidence in the stock. To pay back Equity One's outstanding bank debt and financing merger transaction costs, the combined entity plans to issue $700 million of unsecured debt. In addition, as of Sep 30, 2016, Regency had full availability under its $800 million credit facility. REGENCY CTRS CP Price REGENCY CTRS CP Price | REGENCY CTRS CP Quote In Conclusion Regency has over 50 years of experience and has developed 223 shopping centers since 2000, marking an investment at completion of over $3 billion. On the other hand, Equity One has a solid portfolio and its retail occupancy, excluding developments and redevelopments, was 95.4% and included national, regional and local tenants as of Sep 30, 2016. Therefore, their merger would aid in creating a prominent grocery-anchored shopping center REIT, with enhanced concentration in higher density, in-fill metro areas. Moreover, the combined entity would enjoy greater diversity of high-quality tenants and include reputed grocers and retailers, like Publix, The Kroger Co. KR and Whole Foods Market, Inc. WFM. Regency currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The Best Place to Start Your Stock Search Today, you are invited to download the full list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buy" stocks absolutely free of charge. Since 1988, Zacks Rank #1 stocks have nearly tripled the market, with average gains of +26% per year. Plus, you can access the list of portfolio-killing Zacks Rank #5 "Strong Sells" and other private research. See these stocks free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report KROGER CO (KR): Free Stock Analysis Report REGENCY CTRS CP (REG): Free Stock Analysis Report EQUITY ONE INC (EQY): Free Stock Analysis Report WHOLE FOODS MKT (WFM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research A proposed class action settlement aimed at fixing millions of allegedly defective Remington rifles is "fatally flawed" and "a dysfunctional sham," critics say, addressing only a small number of guns while leaving millions more in the public's hands. In court filings, the critics, all of whom own various firearms covered under the settlement, are urging a federal judge to reject the deal. The tentative agreement reached nearly two years ago but still stalled in court covers some 7.5 million guns, including the popular Model 700 rifle and a dozen other firearms with similar designs. CNBC first reported in a 2010 documentary about allegations that for decades the company covered up a design defect that allows the guns to fire without the trigger being pulled. Lawsuits have linked the alleged defect to at least two-dozen deaths and hundreds of injuries. Remington has steadfastly denied the allegations, even though it has agreed to replace the triggers free of charge on most of the guns. Under language in the proposed settlement, the company continues to maintain that the guns are safe and free of defects. That provision of the deal is particularly irksome to critics, who say it is designed to convince owners not to submit their guns for repair, reducing the cost to Remington. Notices sent to gun owners thus far "not only downplayed the potential danger, but undermined any sense of urgency to take action and repair their rifle," according to an objection filed on behalf of Lewis Frost of Harahan, Louisiana, and Richard Denney of Norman, Oklahoma, who each own three Model 700 rifles. "Clearly, the not so subtle message is that 'your gun is safe; don't waste your time or part with your gun for purposes of this meritless defect claim by greedy lawyers'," the filing said. Attorneys for Remington and class action plaintiffs did not respond to emails seeking a comment. The plaintiffs' lawyers stand to collect $12.5 million in fees if the settlement is approved. Story continues The U.S. District Judge overseeing the class action case, Ortrie D. Smith of Kansas City, Missouri, has already expressed skepticism about the deal. Last December, hours after a CNBC follow-up investigation uncovered more internal Remington documents discussing the alleged defect, Smith ordered the parties to come up with a more effective plan to notify the public about the trigger replacement offer. In response, the parties added nationwide radio ads and a social media component to the campaign. As of August, before the enhanced push began, only about 6,500 claims out of 7.5 million guns had been filed, according to court filings. The parties have not provided any updates on the response rate since then. In an affidavit filed as part of Frost and Denney's objection, Philadelphia-based consultant Todd Hilsee an expert in class action claims notices argues that even with the enhanced campaign, 95 percent of the guns in question will not be repaired. Also criticizing the settlement his first formal objection to the deal is Richard Barber, a Montana man whose nine-year-old son was killed in 2000 when he says a Remington Model 700 fired unexpectedly during a family hunting trip. The Barber family reached a wrongful death settlement with Remington in 2002, and Barber initially served as a paid consultant to the plaintiffs in the class action case. But he said he resigned in 2014 after the plaintiffs joined Remington in asking Judge Smith to seal the very documents Barber had uncovered to bolster their case. "This alleged maneuver would render me and my research useless and would forever protect Remington's darkest secrets from ever being exposed," Barber wrote in a 40-page letter filed with the court on Friday. Smith ultimately denied the joint request for a so-called protective order. Last week, the advocacy group Public Justice published thousands of the documents in an online database. Of particular concern to Barber is a class of discontinued Remington guns that are also covered under the class action settlement but are ineligible for a trigger replacement. Some 250,000 of the guns are still on the market, including models 600, 660, Mohawk 600, and the XP-100 bolt-action pistol. Remington claims the guns, produced between 1962 and 1982, are too old to be retrofitted, and is instead offering owners a $12.50 product voucher. Barber said the provision ignores the fact that Remington previously recalled the guns in 1978 over the same safety issues, and remains obligated to fix them. He alleged Remington and the plaintiffs in the class action case deliberately hid that information from Judge Smith, and said Remington should face penalties as a result. "I am requesting this court to sanction Remington and its counsel for their willful disregard for the integrity of the courts generally and to attempt to defile your court to secure the proposed settlement by use of alleged fraudulent statements," Barber wrote. Remington and plaintiffs lawyers have not yet responded to Barber's allegations. The parties have until Jan. 17 to submit any proposed changes to the settlement agreement. Judge Smith has scheduled a hearing Feb. 14 to consider final approval. Customers interested in taking advantage of the trigger replacement offer can learn more about how to file a claim by visiting a special website run by a third-party claims administrator. The tentative settlement involves Remington Models 700, Seven, Sportsman 78, 673, 710, 715, 770, 600, 660, XP-100, 721, 722, and 725.\ CORRECTION This report has been updated to reflect that the Public Justice database includes many but not all of Remington's internal documents concerning allegedly defective guns. More From CNBC donald trump jr Donald Trump Jr. in October attended a roundtable conference on ending the Syrian civil war that was hosted by a French think tank favoring closer cooperation with Russia and Syrian President Bashar Assad, The Wall Street Journal's Jay Solomon reported on Wednesday. The conference, held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Paris, centered on urging the US and Russia to "reach accord on the issue of the Syrian crisis," according to Randa Kassis, a leader of a Syrian opposition group and wife of the think tank's founder. The countries' cooperation is more likely under President-elect Donald Trump, Kassis wrote on Facebook earlier this month. Kassis apparently told the state-sponsored Russian news agency Sputnik earlier this month that "Trump's team had realized that it was impossible to reach an agreement between Moscow and Washington" if the US continued to consider Russia an enemy. Trump Jr.'s presence at the meeting was not reported by Sputnik, but Kassis wrote in the Facebook post that she "succeeded to pass Trump, through the talks with his son, the idea of how we can cooperate together to reach the agreement between Russia and the United States on Syria." Trump Jr.'s attendance at a roundtable meeting with pro-Russian, Syrian-opposition elements was confirmed by Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump's senior advisers. "Don was addressing a roundtable in Paris, and [Kassis] was present for that talk and at a group dinner for 30 people," Conway told The Journal. "This event featured a number of opinion leaders from all over the world who were interested in the US elections." Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks as his son-in-law Jared Kushner (L), daughter Ivanka listen at a campaign event at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, New York, U.S., June 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo Donald Trump has often argued that the US should work more closely with Russia and its ally, Assad, to defeat ISIS in Syria. "I don't like Assad at all, but Assad is killing ISIS," Trump said in October during the second presidential debate. Story continues And in an interview with The Journal earlier this month, he indicated that he could pull back US support to Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime, saying "we have no idea" who the rebels really are. Assad, for his part, said in an interview last week that he considers Trump to be "a natural ally" in the fight against terrorism. aleppo syria bombing Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies do not distinguish between non-Islamist rebel groups and jihadist organizations such as ISIS and former Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al Nusra, however. Dozens of Syrian civilians have been killed in the past week by Russian airstrikes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo in a renewed offensive after a three-week halt to the air campaign. They are the kind of attacks that led US Secretary of State John Kerry to suspend negotiations with Russia over Syria's future last month, weeks after Russia launched a scorched-earth offensive on Aleppo that targeted hospitals, schools, and rescue workers. Both France and the US have called for a war-crimes investigation into Russian President Vladimir Putin's and Assad's actions in Syria. Russia has picked out members of the opposition who it would be willing to work with, but these include only rebel figures willing to accept a role for Assad in a political transition a condition deemed unacceptable by many, if not most, of Syria's opposition fighters. NOW WATCH: Watch the US Coast Guard seize a narco sub laden with $73 million worth of cocaine More From Business Insider trump President-elect Donald Trump won several states that had long been Democratic, like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, as well as swing states, like Ohio and Florida, on his way to a seemingly improbable electoral victory earlier this month. Chris Arnade, an independent journalist who has spent the past four years traveling the US to document the opioid crisis, was one of the few who weren't surprised. After traveling tens of thousands of miles in working-class communities along the Rust Belt and elsewhere, he found one constant. "Wherever I saw strong addiction and strong drug use," Arnade told Business Insider, he saw support for Trump. Official voting data has suggested a similar correlation. Since the November 8 election, Shannon Monnat, a rural sociologist and demographer at Pennsylvania State University, has dug into the results. She found that counties that voted more heavily for Trump than expected were closely correlated with counties that experienced high rates of death caused by drugs, alcohol, and suicide. Two other factors were strongly correlated with Trump "overperformance," Monnat found: the percentage of white voters in the county and its ranking on Monnat's "economic distress index." The index, which Monnat has used in her research for years, combines the percentages of people who are in poverty, unemployed, disabled, in single-parent families, living on public assistance, or living without health insurance. Monnat wasn't surprised by the correlation. "I expected to see it because when you think about the underlying factors that lead to overdose or suicide, it's depression, despair, distress, and anxiety," Monnat told Business Insider. "That was the message that Trump was appealing to. "People are literally dying," she added. "There was such a sense of hopelessness that it makes sense they would vote for massive change." shannon monnat Trump voter opioid That correlation surfaced across the US, not just in areas of heavy Trump support like Appalachia and the Rust Belt, Monnat said. Even in counties with high mortality rates relating to drugs, alcohol, and suicide that Trump lost, he overperformed relative to 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Story continues Historian Kathleen Frydl, who has closely followed the opioid crisis, noticed a similar phenomenon unfolding on election night. Traditionally blue counties that she knew to be hard hit by opioids were flipping to Trump. After "recovering from the shock," she began comparing the drug-overdose death rate with voter performance in critical states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. What she found was striking. Six of the nine Ohio counties that flipped from Democrat to Republican in 2016 logged overdose death rates far above the national rate of 14.7 people per 100,000. Nearly every Ohio county with an overdose death rate above 20 per 100,000 saw voting gains of 10% or more for Trump compared with Romney and/or drops of 10% or more for Hillary Clinton compared to President Barack Obama in 2012. Only Butler County, home to Miami University, and Hamilton County, the jurisdiction for Cincinnati, did not conform to this pattern. Twenty-nine of 33 Pennsylvania counties with overdose death rates above 20 per 100,000 conformed to the same pattern and/or flipped from Democrat to Republican entirely. (You can see Frydl's comparison of county vote totals and overdose death rates here.) The phenomenon led Frydl to dub such voters the "Oxy electorate." 'A sea of correlations' The Economist found similar voting trends, though it argued that combining life expectancy and public-health metrics, such as obesity, heavy drinking, and physical activity, was the most accurate predictor of Trump's outperformance of Romney. Even in the Ohio counties that The Economist pointed to as evidence of its analysis Knox and Jefferson the overdose death statistics bear out. Jefferson County, whose margin of victory for Trump was 30 percentage points higher than Romney's compared with 14 points for Knox, according to The Economist, had an overdose rate in 2015 of 28.8 per 100,000. Knox's was nearly half that, at 15.1 per 100,000. Renowned statistician Nate Silver, the editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight, argued on Twitter that education levels were still the most accurate predictor of Trump voting trends and that linking heroin deaths with voting was a "spurious correlation." Many analysts have pointed to percentage of non-college-educated white males as the leading predictor of Trump performance. Frydl said, however, that there was a "sea of correlations" uniting these communities across the US, noting overdose deaths rates, mortality rates, education levels, and race, among others. And while she said "correlation does not equal causation," the characteristics can help analysts understand why Trumps campaign had such appeal. Similarly, Monnat suggested that the rates of drug-, alcohol-, and suicide-driven mortality she looked into were not in and of themselves enough to explain why voters gravitated toward Trump. Rather, she said, they are "reflective of the structural problem." These are communities that feel "marginalized" and "left behind" by globalization and the larger economic structure that has taken place over the past several decades, Monnat said. These are communities that have lost high-paying manufacturing and mining jobs, have seen their downtowns gutted for Walmarts and big-box stores, and have seen low-wage service jobs fill in the employment gap. In these communities, it's not just about an economy that's failing them, Arnade said, but how the very structure of their communities has changed, for both rich and poor. Social networks have become "broken" and people feel "humiliated," he said. 'America does not seem great' west virginia hard times The coming of the opioid crisis in the Rust Belt and Appalachia felt a lot like the economic problems that preceded it something over which its residents had no control. People were unprepared for the opioid crisis and, "what's more, believed they had done nothing to deserve it," investigative journalist Sam Quinones wrote on his blog Monday. Quinones investigated the causes of the opioid crisis extensively in his 2015 book, "Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic." "The effects of opioid addiction ripple out far beyond addicts to affect entire communities," Quinones wrote, killing their "buoyancy of spirit" and leaving them open to the "foreboding that seemed to motivate many voters." In an interview with the Columbia Journalism Review, Arnade described the prototypical "white working class" community that he visited: Prestonsburg, Kentucky, a coal town of 3,500 residents, most of them white. Here's how he described its turn toward Trump: "There's a real strong sense of community, but the entire community is feeling humiliated. The whole town feels like it's suffering, and with the economic decline has come a large increase in the things that follow: addiction, breakup of families. The place feels very hurt." "And in comes Trump with a message of restoring pride partly through white identity that resonates there, because from Prestonsburg, Kentucky, America does not seem great." Trump's attack on immigration and globalization was the perfect "one-two punch" in a place like Prestonsburg, Arnade said. It "punches downward" by scapegoating others, like immigrants and minorities, and upward at what the working class views as a "rigged system" pushed by politicians with "fancy educations." But Arnade said it was too easy to vilify such voters as "racist and stupid," even if Trump's racial appeals may have resonated. Many Trump voters in those communities, he said, voted for Obama and were voting "to kick over the system." 'A social policy failure' Cincinnati heroin overdoses Frydl described the movement from economic decline to opioid crisis to Trump support as "a nested chain of causality," wherein the anchor is the loss of industry and economy in the Rust Belt and Appalachia. Frydl too saw the Trump win in such areas as a vote against the status quo in the same way that a vote for Obama was in 2008. In that way, she thinks Trump's upset is a "de facto" judgment on Obama's failure to be the "change agent" many thought they were voting for. "The people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the steel belt that voted for Trump were aware that the steel mills closed in 1983," she said. "They were aware of that in 2012 when they voted for Obama. There is something specific to the opioid crisis in the last four years that is a social policy failure that deserves to be treated as discrete." Frydl, who has written a history of the drug war in America, believes that the Obama administrations response to the opioid crisis signaled to many addiction-ravaged areas that "their suffering was not registering with the Democratic Party establishment." The administration's landmark bipartisan bill passed earlier this year to address the crisis, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, was seen as modest, at best. Attorney General Eric Holder failed to hold Purdue Pharma, widely considered to be the main source for opioid overprescribing in the 1990s and 2000s, or other pharmaceutical companies to account for their part in the crisis, Frydl said. And even as the government cracked down on legal prescription drugs, heroin from Mexico and synthetic opioids from China flooded in to meet demand. After decades of systemic economic decline and the government's failure to address the subsequent public-health crisis, Trump's outsider campaign was perfectly primed to capitalize on the so-called Oxy electorate's fears about foreign influence and loss of status. "I'm not sure why we didn't think it would impact the presidential election," Monnat said. "It's finally come to bear, and we're going to have to deal with the repercussions of that." NOW WATCH: Animated map reveals who would win the election if only certain demographics voted More From Business Insider - By Charles Sizemore Portfolio manager and researcher Dr. Wesley Gray is at it again, looking for ways to build that proverbial better mousetrap. I reviewed Gray's previous book, Quantitative Value, which he co-wrote with Tobias Carlisle, and found it to be "solid piece of research that combines the successful value investing framework of Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett with the analytical rigor seen in Jim O'Shaughnessy's What Works on Wall Street and Joel Greenblatt's The Little Book that Beats the Market." Now, Gray's follow-up book, Quantitative Momentum, aims to apply the same analytical rigor to momentum investing. Gray co-wrote Quantitative Momentum with Jack Vogel, with whom he published DIY Financial Advisor last year. That these gentlemen have managed to publish two well researched and highly-analytical books in back-to-back years is a feat in and of itself. But the book's biggest contribution to the growing field of research supporting momentum investing is its assertion that momentum and value investing are essentially "two sides of the same behavioral bias coin." As Gray and Vogel put it, value investing works because investors systematically overreact to bad news, pushing market prices below intrinsic value. Momentum investing works because investors systematically underreact to good news. So again, both are the products of investor biases. But if the value and momentum anomalies are rooted in well-observed biases, then why haven't smart investors arbitraged the outperformance away? After all, that is what the efficient market hypothesis would suggest. Gray and Vogel credit two factors: Limits to arbitrage Investor psychology Identifying irrational prices is relatively easy. But exploiting them can be tricky due to transactions costs, hence the practical limits of arbitrage. If the cost of exploiting a mispricing is greater than the mispricing itself, the asset can stay mispriced forever. And as for investor psychology, the problem here is best summed up with John Maynard Keynes' observation that "The market can still irrational longer than you can stay solvent." Irrational traders may create mispriced assets... but because those traders are irrational and erratic, it can be hard to systematically trade against them. As Gray and Vogel write, tongue in cheek, "Day traders mess up prices, and although these people are idiots, you don't know the extent of their idiocy, and you can't really time the strategy of an idiot anyway, so most smart people don't even try to take advantage of them." Furthermore, while value and momentum strategies have both proven to add significant alpha over the long term, they can massively underperform for years at a time, and professional money managers have careers to manage. As the authors point out, the legendary Julian Robertson (Trades, Portfolio) was essentially put out of business in the tech bubble of the late 1990s. As a value investor, Robertson shunned the glitzy growth names driving the market higher and massively underperformed as a result. His clients jumped ship... and buried him. Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) might have suffered the same fate had Berkshire Hathaway been a hedge fund or mutual fund rather than a holding company. So, fear of deviating too far from a "safe" benchmark like the S&P 500 prevents a lot of managers from exploiting value or momentum opportunities. But this also leaves them open for smaller or non-professional investors that don't face the same constraints. Momentum Investing Is Not Growth Investing Gray and Vogel also clarify something that, for a lot of investors, might be somewhat confusing. Momentum Investing is distinctly not growth investing. Growth investing is the opposite of value investing in that growth investors buy stocks that are expensive relative to their earnings, sales, book value or other fundamental criteria. Value investors, of course, buy stocks that are cheap relative to these same fundamental factors. Momentum investing is a different animal entirely. Momentum merely considers price movements relative to a stock's history and relative to other stocks. Business or economic fundamentals are not considered at all. It's pure price-based technical analysis. (This leads to other possibilities, such as combining value and momentum strategies. A stock can simultaneously be a value stock and a momentum stock if it is both cheap and showing high relative strength.) Gray and Vogel spend much of the rest of the book testing assorted momentum strategies, and while I will spare you the pages of data tables, suffice it to say that, sliced any number of ways, momentum strategies can add serious alpha. My compliments to Gray and Vogel. In a world in which exploitable alpha is harder and harder to find, Quantitative Momentumgives us new places to look. Charles Lewis Sizemore, CFA is the principal of Sizemore Capital Management, an investment firm based in Dallas, Texas. Disclaimer: This material is provided for informational purposes only, as of the date hereof, and is subject to change without notice. This material may not be suitable for all investors and is not intended to be an offer, or the solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any securities nor is it intended to be investment advice. You should speak to a financial advisor before attempting to implement any of the strategies discussed in this material. There is risk in any investment in traded securities, and all investment strategies discussed in this material have the possibility of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The author of the material or a related party will often have an interest in the securities discussed. Please see Full Disclaimer for a full disclaimer. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. LONDON (Reuters) - Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell Alcan Aluminium UK to two members of energy and metals group GFG Alliance for $410 million (331 million pounds) as part of an effort to bolster its balance sheet. GFG Alliance's Liberty House Group will own and develop the aluminium business while another GFG member SIMEC will operate a related hydroelectric power plant near Ben Nevis in Scotland, Britain's highest mountain. As part of a wave of asset sales across the mining industry, which is recovering from last year's commodities rout, Rio Tinto has agreed to more than $1.3 billion in divestments this year. Since 2013, the total value of divestments announced or completed is $5.3 billion. "This is a value-creating sale for Rio Tinto and represents another example of refining our portfolio to focus on our suite of tier one assets," Rio Tinto Aluminium Chief Executive Alf Barrios said. He said there had been significant interest in the assets, but SIMEC was "committed to continuing operations at the smelter and working with the community on further economic development". Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty House Group and of the GFG Alliance strategic board, said the deal fitted with its vision to develop a sustainable and competitive metals industry in Britain. Gupta, who has been seeking to buy steel assets from Tata Steel with pledges to maintain jobs and keep open operations that have been loss-making, said the deal was "a springboard for wider manufacturing growth". The agreement includes a payment on completion of 180 million pounds plus an additional payment of 150 million pounds not later than the end of February next year. Rio said it expected the deal to close in mid December. Analysts BMO Capital Markets said in a note the Scottish assets had very little value because of "low current margins" and the deal was positive for Rio, whose balance sheet remains the strongest of its peers. Its share price was flat after the deal, roughly in line with the wider sector. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis in London and Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by David Clarke and Alexandra Hudson) ROME Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will launch in the Middle East on the strength of closing out the upcoming Dubai Film Festival, which will also fete the actor Samuel L. Jackson and feature the international premiere of John Maddens political thriller Miss Sloane as its opener. The Dec. 7-14 festival, the worlds top Arabic cinema showcase, has a robust Hollywood component as well this year. Rogue One will be screened in Dubai one day ahead of its Dec. 15 theatrical release in the UAE, marking the hotly anticipated films only festival outing. The Lucasfilm/Disney juggernaut goes out in U.S. theaters on Dec. 16. Besides Jackson, who will make the trek to receive a lifetime achievement award and hold an onstage conversation, Dubai has also recruited Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs for an In Conversation event. Oscar-winning British director Asif Kapadia (Amy) is also scheduled to give a talk, as is Irish helmer Lenny Abrahamson, who was Oscar-nominated for Room. U.S. movies in the lineup include La La Land, Nocturnal Animals, Manchester by the Sea, and Will Smith-starrer Collateral Beauty. In line with the current trend of showing high-profile TV miniseries at festivals, an episode of HBOs Westworld will screen, followed by a conversation with two of the shows stars, Jeffrey Wright and Luke Hemsworth. Dubais core Arabian Nights section, featuring works by Arab and non-Arab directors that depict the Arab world, focuses on women this year, according to its programmer, Delphine Garde-Mroueh. Several of the titles portray Arab women from fresh angles, including French director Henri Barges dark comedy Nuts, about two bored upper-crust Beirut housewives who become addicted to gambling and descend into the citys sex, drugs, and gaming underbelly. In Lebanese director Sophie Boutros Solitaire, another dark comedy, the protagonist is haunted by the memory of her brother, who was killed by a Syrian bomb in Lebanons civil war, just as she is being pursued by a Syrian suitor for an arranged marriage. Story continues Islamic terrorism is present in Dutch director Mijke De Jongs timely Layla M, about the radicalization of a young Muslim woman from a Moroccan family in Amsterdam who moves to Syria to fight with Isis, only to realize she has no place in a new world dominated by men. The movie received positive notices in Toronto, but it will be interesting to see how it plays with Arab audiences. As is customary, Dubai has a significant Bollywood component, including the world premiere of Paris-set Hindi romancer Befikre, directed by Aditya Chopra. Production company Yash Raj Films is touting it as a progressive Indian take on modern love. Dubai fest Chairman Abdulhamid Juma has predicted that the racy pic will appeal not just to Dubais large Indian expat community but also to Arabs who have a strong affinity for Bollywood films. Riding the current virtual-reality craze, Dubai is launching an entire dedicated section this year called DIFFerent Reality in a specially equipped state-of-the-art venue where 10 VR films will screen. They including the world premiere of Lake Baikal: The Science and Spirituality of Extreme Water, a Russian-U.S. collaboration co-directed by Georgy Molodtsov and Michael Owen. Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux will come to the Dubai fest for the first time to present Lumiere! Inventing Cinema, a compilation of restored movies made by cinema pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumiere between 1895 and 1905. Besides running the Cannes fest, Fremaux also heads the Institut Lumiere in Lyon, which is dedicated to the work of the Lumiere brothers and to preserving the worlds film heritage. Related stories Asa Butterfield's 'Space Between Us' Release Date Moved to Next Year to Avoid 'Rogue One' Will Big End-of-Year Openings Push 2016 to a Box Office Record? 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' on Pace for Massive $130 Million Debut RACINE Azarian Wrecking has been evicted from the former Azarian Marina, and an attorney for Machinery Rows proposed developer has filed a complaint with police alleging trespassing. Local businessman Sam Azarian sold his former marina to Davenport, Iowa-based developer Rodney Blackwell, owner of Financial District Properties, who has proposed redeveloping 20 acres along the riverfront there. The Machinery Row project area includes two early 1900s former J.I. Case Co. factories, and Blackwell has proposed a mixture of residential and commercial areas within those buildings. Azarian previously had permission from Blackwell to stay on the property after selling it, but has stayed well beyond agreed-upon dates, according to Blackwells former and present lawyers. An earlier eviction action was started, then dismissed after Azarian agreed to leave, Blackwells previous attorney Jud Wyant who has since retired has said. But when Azarian did not leave, a second eviction action was filed against his company on Aug. 23. On Thursday, the Racine County Sheriffs Office had all items judged to be of any value moved off the premises and into storage by Eagle Movers, Blackwells present attorney in the matter, Kenosha-based Todd Terry, said Tuesday. Azarian can have those items if he pays the moving and storage expenses, Terry said. If they are left beyond a certain date, Eagle can sell them. I was out of that building when the Sheriffs Office took action, Azarian said in response Tuesday. Azarian also said Blackwells former project manager, Jim Bowman, told him he could stay on the property as long as he wanted if he was making progress in removing his possessions from the site. Bowman has not been involved in the Machinery Row endeavor for more than a year. Azarian said he also was slowed in leaving the site because he bought two different buildings for his company but failed to get the zoning he needed. Then, he said, he bought a building on Racines north side but had to evict several tenants. You know how hard it is to get five tenants out so you can move in? he said. Dumping alleged The situation apparently took a new turn Tuesday when, according to Terry, an eyewitness reported seeing an Azarian truck dump a load of fill on the property. We believe its trespassing, Terry said, and he filed a complaint the same day with the Racine Police Department. Asked if an employee of his did the dumping, Azarian replied, If they did, I dont know anything about it. What would he do if it was true? I will pick it up, he said. But Terry said there are other materials left behind by Azarian Wrecking that Blackwell will initially have to pay to have removed, including tires, waste oil and ceiling tiles. They left all the junk for us, Terry said, adding that Blackwell and he will pursue reimbursement from Azarian as part of the eviction action. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has not yet received an invitation to attend an OPEC meeting on Nov. 30, but will take part in expert-level consultations with the organization on November 28, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday. Asked if Russia had received an invitation to the Nov. 30 meeting, Novak told reporters: "After the consultations the situation will be more or less clear. For now it's premature to receive them (invitations) until the countries have conducted expert-level consultations." (Reporting by Oksana Kobzeva, Olesya Astakhova and Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Maria Kiselyova) By Vladimir Soldatkin and Oksana Kobzeva MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has yet to plan how to freeze oil production and there has been no agreement among its leading producers on output curbs, three senior industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday, just days before an OPEC meeting. Painstaking talks among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the world's other leading oil producers on how to restrict output have dragged on for almost a year without yielding any firm deal. In September, OPEC agreed to reduce production to between 32.5 million and 33.0 million barrels per day - an effort to prop up prices - from the organization's latest production estimates of 33.64 million bpd. The pact is expected to be firmed up on Nov. 30 when OPEC holds a regular semi-annual meeting in Vienna, while the group expects other oil producers, notably Russia, to join the freeze. However, Russia, whose production is dominated by several oil majors, is yet to find a solution on how to limit its output, which in October reached a post-Soviet high of 11.2 million bpd. [O/RUS1] "The freeze is technically possible, but first of all, the level of curbs should be defined and it should be clear which companies want to take part," a senior industry source, who is not authorized to talk publicly to the media, told Reuters. "The options (for a freeze) have been discussed," another source said. A meeting among experts from OPEC and some non-OPEC nations is scheduled for Nov. 28 in Vienna and expected to work out details ahead of the Nov. 30 OPEC gathering. A third source confirmed that discussions were ongoing. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has said an output freeze had been discussed with the Russian companies, while declining to give details. President Vladimir Putin said this month that Moscow was ready to freeze output. The first source said the Energy Ministry was talking to producers that account for about 80 percent of Russia's output and no concrete plan had yet emerged on how to cap production. An Energy Ministry spokeswoman did not immediately reply to a request seeking comment. Leading Russian oil companies, responsible for three quarters of output in the world's largest producer, say they will boost output next year after reaching record levels in recent months. And there is another caveat to the possible freeze arrangement. Igor Sechin, a long-standing Putin ally and head of the country's top oil producer, Rosneft, has long expressed doubt about OPEC's power to regulate markets and been skeptical about the deal. Moreover, Russia seems unlikely to stop commissioning new oilfields, crucial for sustaining its production. Russia has launched several key oilfields, including Lukoil's offshore Filanovsky field in the Caspian Sea, this year. The first source said there were no plans to curtail the introduction of other greenfields. (Additional reporting by Olesya Astakhova; Editing by Katya Golubkova and Dale Hudson) By Denis Dyomkin MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned senior officials on Wednesday he may fire them if they are found to be moonlighting as academics, which would mean they were not devoting all of their time to their main job. The warning, delivered in theatrical fashion at a televised meeting with leading scientists and officials, appeared to be part of a drive by Putin to show ordinary Russians, suffering in an economic slowdown, that he won't stand for corrupt or lazy officials. Wrapping up a meeting about state funding for science, Putin turned to the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yevgeny Fortov, and questioned him about the academy's election of senior officials as its members. "Why did you did this. Are they such great scientists that the Academy of Sciences cannot get by without them. And the second question: what should I do now?" A startled Fortov, sitting a few places away from Putin, responded that all those officials had permission from their bosses to run for the academy. "That's not the question. Are they such great scientists that they have to be academicians?" Putin asked again. When Fortov began explaining the officials had met the academy's criteria for election, Putin interrupted him too say: "Then they are great scientists." The president said he should let them go work in science because "it seems their scientific activity is much more important than carrying out some kind of routine administrative task within the executive branch." With that, he ended the meeting. Putin did not name any officials. The Academy of Sciences list of members includes at least one senior official, Sergei Glazyev, who is a presidential advisor with a background as an economist. Russia holds a presidential election in 2018 and the Kremlin candidate - widely expected to be Putin - will need to win over voters despite the tough economic situation. In the past few months, Putin has been taking an unusually tough line on errant bureaucrats. Several senior officials have been fired. Last week, prosecutors charged Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev with accepting a $2 million bribe. His lawyer said he denied the charges. Asked by reporters after Wednesday's meeting about what rank of public servants would be affected by his ruling about moonlighting officials, Putin declined to give details but said: "I want there to be some discipline" in state bodies. (Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Jack Stubbs and Tom Heneghan) For his final Thanksgiving turkey pardon, President Obama had his nephews by his side after first daughters Sasha and Malia apparently bailed on him. Austin and Aaron Robinson, the sons of Michelle Obamas brother, Craig, stood by their uncles side as he pardoned a turkey Tot. (Getty) Unlike Malia and Sasha, [Austin and Aaron] have not yet been turned cynical by Washington, Obama said. They still believe in bad puns, they still appreciate the grandeur of this occasion, they still have hope." During the eighth and final pardoning from the president, Obama spared the life of Tot, the Iowa born turkey, as well as Tater. (Getty) Prior to the pardoning, the White House asked fans on Twitter to vote for two turkeys Tater and Tot as to who will be spared in the ceremony. The turkeys will live out their days at Virginia Techs Animal and Poultry Sciences Department at Gobbler's Rest in Blacksburg, Virginia. The annual turkey pardon has been a White House tradition since 1947 when the chairman of the National Turkey Federation has presented a turkey to a U.S. president to spare their lives. Story continues Watch: For 22 Years, This Family Has Welcomed Strangers With Nowhere Else to Spend Thanksgiving Related Articles: BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Makers of scanners used in airports are testing new technology that could soon make taking liquids and laptops out of carry-on bags a thing of the past, speeding up security lines for passengers. Manufacturers such as Smiths Detection and L-3 Communications are developing and testing new scanners using computed tomography (CT) imaging, which produce more detailed images than a regular x-ray. Because liquids and electronic devices do not need to be removed with the new scanners, fewer trays of belongings and images of their contents are required, representatives of Smiths and L-3 told Reuters at a security conference in Brussels. Europe's airports spend 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) a year on security, according to airports association ACI Europe, which organized the conference. L-3, which already makes CT scanners for hold baggage, is currently trial ling its ClearScan scanner for hand baggage at airports in Amsterdam and Johannesburg, a marketing representative at the conference said. A spokeswoman for Schiphol airport in Amsterdam said the results of the test were good. Passengers still need to place liquids in a clear plastic bag, but the bag can remain in the luggage. "It leads to fewer rejections of checked hand luggage and therefore fewer additional checks," she told Reuters, adding that if the trial is completed successfully, Schiphol will use the scanners in all its 67 security lanes from 2017. Rival Smiths Detection is still in the development stage with its scanner and hopes to launch it at a trade fair in Munich in October next year. It said its scanner will have an advantage over rival CT models because the conveyor belt will move at the same speed as current scanners, whereas others are slower. In addition, the images take longer to analyze due to their level of detail, Cameron Mann, global market director for aviation at Smiths Detection told Reuters. The Schiphol spokeswoman confirmed that the new L-3 scanner was not faster than current devices, but said that overall the security process was quicker, because passengers did not need time to retrieve their bag, laptop and liquids. (This story corrects final par to say "not faster" rather than "not as fast") (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) The mother of the school bus driver charged in the fatal bus crash in Chattanooga, Tennessee which killed five elementary school students and critically injured several more says her son tried to help the children injured in what she termed a horrible accident. Gwenevere Cook told NBC News that her son, Johnthony Walker, called her moments after Mondays crash. She said he tried to pull children out of the wreckage after the bus slammed into a tree and flipped over, but there was blood everywhere. My heart of love is going out to all that were in harms way in this horrible accident of Gods will, she said. Although an arrest report obtained by PEOPLE alleges the 24-year-old driver was driving the school bus at a high rate of speed, well above the posted speed limit of 30 mph, Cook said she believes the crash was an accident. She shared that Walker has a 3-year-old child, and that Walker is also scarred by the crash. I pray we all can get this some way without judging my son, she said. It happened. God dont make mistakes. We do. Chattanooga police charged Walker with five counts of vehicular homicide Tuesday, as well as one count of reckless driving and one court of reckless endangerment. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. According to records obtained by PEOPLE, Mondays crash was Walkers second traffic collision while driving a school bus in as many months. On Sept. 20, Walker allegedly crossed the center line and sideswiped a vehicle that was traveling in the opposite direction, according to state records. The collision occurred when Walker allegedly failed to yield at a blind curve, resulting in $400 in damage, the records show. No one was injured in the crash, and it is unclear if there were any students on the bus at the time. The results of chemical testing showed Walker had no alcohol or drugs in his system. Story continues Walkers license was previously suspended for more than a year for failure to show proof of insurance, beginning in March 2014, and it was reinstated on March 28, 2015, a Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security spokeswoman confirmed to PEOPLE. Walker had no criminal history in Tennessee prior to his Monday arrest, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Three of the young victims who included three fourth-graders, a first-grader and a kindergartner have been identified by their families and friends. Zyanna Harris, 10, Cordayja Jones, 9, and Zoie Nash, 9, were killed. Walker is being held on bond of $107,500 and his first court appearance is Nov. 29 at 8:30 a.m., a Hamilton County Court official told PEOPLE, adding that he had not yet entered a plea or retained an attorney as of Tuesday afternoon. Sean Gunn plays Kirk, one of the most recognizable townspeople on Gilmore Girls, so it isnt surprising that Gunn has fans who talk to him about the show. However, it wasnt until Gilmore Girls was over that the actor realized just how popular the dramedy was and continues to be. Gunn told International Business Times that once he started doing sci-fi conventions, he realized that a revival like Netflixs Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life would be welcomed with open arms. In 2014, Gunn appeared in Marvels blockbuster hit Guardians of the Galaxy as Kraglin as well as the motion capture performer for Rocket the Raccoon (hell reprise the roles in the May 5 sequel). The experience led to several opportunities for him to appear at conventions across the country. Cons allow fans to interact with actors from their favorite projects, but it seems the people Gunn talks to arent bringing up Kraglin as much as theyre talking about Kirk. More people come up to me and talk to me about Gilmore Girls than anything else Ive done, including Guardians, Gunn explained during an interview with IBTimes. Theres a weird overlap Shows like that usually dont have the fanboys and fangirls the way that sci-fi and fantasy shows do, but Gilmore Girls does. Sean Gunn Guardians of the Galaxy Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney The two projects are vastly different. Guardians of the Galaxy is an intergalactic superhero adventure while Gilmore Girls is a dramedy about a young mother raising her daughter in a small, quirky town. Yet they somehow share a lot of viewers. After talking to so many interested Gilmore followers, the 42-year-old knew that there was an audience for a revival. I didnt quite understand for a little while just how loyal and rabid that fan base is for Gilmore Girls until I started to get out there and see people all over the country, Gunn admitted. And so, I had some idea that the demand was there. I knew that fans would really, really love it if we would be able to put it together ... I wasnt sure if it would ever really happen, but by the time it did, I was so happy. Story continues Gunn sounds thrilled to be back in Kirks shoes. His favorite part of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life was getting to read executive producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladinos scripts again. Its meticulously written, and I think of myself as a technician as much as a performer, he said. So to pick up those scripts again that are just beautifully crafted, and be able to jump back in, thats a gift and its a gift that any actor would want. Of course, he couldnt reveal any spoilers about the four-part series. He wouldnt even say much about that scene in the trailer with Kirk at Friday night dinner. However, he noted that audiences could expect the same loveable Stars Hollow weirdo in the new episodes. I would say that Kirk is still very much Kirk, Gunn said. I think maybe hes a little older, but I dont know. I think in Stars Hollow the more things change, the more they stay the same, and Kirk is no different. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life premieres Friday on Netflix. Gilmore Girls Kirk Photo: Netflix Related Articles Jennifer Tilly gave $500, just one of 660 concerned fans who donated to a GoFundMe campaign that aimed to raise $100,000 for Shelley Duvall, the quirky, Minnie Mouse-voiced star of films like Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and Robert Altman's Nashville and Popeye. Now Tilly will be getting her donation back - and be left wondering, no doubt, exactly what happened. The campaign was a direct response to a shocking and much-criticized Nov. 18 interview with Duvall by talk-show therapist Phil McGraw on his syndicated Dr. Phil. In it, the 67-year-old Duvall, practically unrecognizable from her doe-eyed younger self, demonstrated signs of severe psychosis accompanied by hallucinations. Appearing dazed and exhausted, she made erratic references to the Bermuda Triangle, yellow jacket wasps and a "no-kill policy" before eventually conceding, "I'm very sick. I need help." In the episode, McGraw does attempt to bring Duvall to a Los Angeles clinic for treatment; she refused care and medication and flew back home to Texas. McGraw goes on to explain that the show is keeping up with Duvall in Texas and attempting "alternative" treatment methods. The controversial episode has since disappeared from the Dr. Phil online episode guide. Stunned at what she characterized as the brazen exploitation of the woman her father once directed in what is now considered a masterpiece of modern horror, Stanley Kubrick's daughter, Vivian Kubrick, launched the GoFundMe in Duvall's name on Nov. 18, telling THR, "I just think she deserves a great deal more respect." (Her father, it's worth mentioning, famously subjected Duvall to very real psychological torture techniques to elicit the performance he was looking for in The Shining; they regularly left Duvall emotionally shattered, sobbing alone in a room for upwards of 12 hours at a time.) Vivian says she does not know Duvall personally and was not aware of the Dr. Phil appearance until she was alerted to a promo for it by Pixar director Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3). (Unkrich is writing a book about The Shining and has been in touch with Vivian for it.) "Neither Lee nor myself, had any idea how severe Shelley's state of health was until Lee texted me a link to the Dr. Phil trailer 2 nights ago. We were both horrified. That's when I fired off my 2 Tweets to Dr. Phil," Kubrick wrote in an update message on the GoFundMe page. She also referenced a "sad group of haters" who questioned her motives. Story continues But Kubrick abruptly pulled the plug Nov. 22. Many Twitter users and GoFundMe commenters are now questioning if Vivian's deep ties to the Church of Scientology, an organization that vilifies all forms of psychiatry and mental-health treatment, had something to do with it. Kubrick released a statement of explanation on Twitter. "I spoke today with Shelley's mother Bobbie," she wrote, who "explained that after her discussion with SAG-AFTRA and the fact that Shelley is on government benefits, they can't afford to accept any large donations at this time." But THR contacted several Hollywood labor experts who said Duvall's SAG-AFTRA benefits like pension and health insurance are not means-tested and therefore would be unaffected by the GoFundMe campaign. There are, however, emergency assistance programs from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and The Actors Fund that are only available to people in dire economic straits. (Duvall's current financial situation is unclear.) Kubrick goes on to say that GoFundMe "is presently refunding all your donations." The fundraising page disappeared from the site at approximated 12:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday, but was still accessible through Google Cache. Vivian Kubrick, 56, is one of two children born to the directing genius and Christiane Harlan, a young German actress he met on the set of 1957's Paths of Glory. While Kubrick had been married twice before, he and Harlan never tied the knot - though they stayed together 40 years until his death in 1999. The couple's first child together, Anya, was one year older than Vivian. When Anya died in 2009 of cancer, Vivian did not attend the funeral - this despite the fact that the pair were all but inseparable growing up. By then, however, Vivian had been deeply enmeshed in Scientology for well over a decade, according to family members who have spoken with the media. A talented musician and orchestrator, Vivian had composed the music to her father's Full Metal Jacket in 1987. Kubrick, who was grooming her to follow in his filmmaking footsteps, had wanted his daughter to compose the score to 1999's Eyes Wide Shut, too - but by then Vivian had begun the process of disconnection from her family. "At the last moment she said she wouldn't," Kubrick's widow Christiane told The Guardian in 2009, as noted by Scientology watchdog site The Underground Bunker. "They had a huge fight. He was very unhappy. He wrote her a 40-page letter trying to win her back. He begged her endlessly to come home from California. I'm glad he didn't live to see what happened." Kubrick died in March 1999, just months before the Tom Cruise-Nicole Kidman film opened. In 2010, Vivian's half-sister Katharina Kubrick told the Daily Beast that Vivian had cut off all communication to the family. Katharina went on to recount the time Vivian showed up to her father's 1999 funeral accompanied by a Scientology handler. "The person sat on a bed, saying nothing, while Vivian complained of back pain that she said had been caused 10,000 years ago," according to the report. When she failed to show up in 2009 to Anya's funeral, the family had all but lost hope. "She has completely changed as a person," Katharina said. "And it's just very sad. We're not allowed to contact her. Something happened to her. She has been changed forever." To the family's shock, after years of no contact with Vivian, someone spotted her in a video of a 2013 anti-government rally held in Dallas, her hometown, led by the conspiracy-obsessed conservative radio host Alex Jones. According to Hollywood Interrupted's Mark Ebner, Vivian was policing the GoFundMe page vigilantly since its Friday launch, "blocking anyone who simply asks if the money could possibly go to legitimate [psychiatric] health care" - practices which the organization has openly and aggressively derided as barbaric and corrupt since its founding in 1954. In Los Angeles, the church runs Psychiatry: An Industry of Death, a permanent museum devoted to the topic located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Ebner also points out that the GoFundMe page was listed as emanating from Clearwater, Fla., headquarters of the Church of Scientology. "That raised a red flag," Ebner tells THR. "I don't think Vivian even knew Shelley. It seems rather opportunistic to raise money for this very sick, if not psychotic woman, out of the spiritual mecca, Clearwater, for a woman she doesn't know. I knew there was no chance there would be any money earmarked for mental health. It's doctrine. The motives are disingenuous at best." THR made several attempts to question Vivian about her Scientology connections following its initial interview with her. She has not responded to any of them, nor has the Church of Scientology nor GoFundMe responded to a request to comment for this story. RACINE A Burlington man, convicted of sexually assaulting a boy last year, will spend the next four years of his life in prison. Teddy J. Stribling, 35, of the 600 block of Viewcrest Terrace, was charged last November with two counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child and one count of exposing genitals to a child. According to a criminal complaint, a boy younger than 16 told police that he awoke on Stiblings couch on Nov. 7, 2015, and Stribling tried several times to sexually assault him. Stribling pleaded no contest in August to a reduced charge of third-degree sexual assault of a child, with the remaining charge he faced for exposing his genitals to the minor dismissed but read into the record. On Monday, Racine County Judge Emily Mueller sentenced Stribling to four years in prison and another three years on extended supervision. He was also ordered to undergo required mental health and sex offender assessments and to register as a sex offender. MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's market regulator on Wednesday relaxed rules for so-called angel funds in a bid to boost more investments into the country's start-ups, in what has been a key initiative under Chairman U.K. Sinha. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) raised the total number of angel investors allowed to invest in a scheme to 200 from 49 and reduced the minimum investment amount to 2.5 million rupees ($36,411.04) from 5 million rupees. Angel investors will be allowed to invest up to 25 percent of their funds in overseas start-ups, SEBI said in a statement after a board meeting on Wednesday. The regulator allowed angel funds to invest in start-ups that were incorporated five years before the date of investment, compared with the previous limit of three years, and cut the lock-in period to one year from three years. Under Sinha, SEBI has taken steps to promote start-ups, including an initiative to create a separate listing market that has so far failed to gain much traction. SEBI also said listed companies owned by private equity (PE) firms have to seek shareholder approval before entering into performance-based compensation agreements with executives. The final rules were broadly unchanged from draft guidelines issued in September, when SEBI had expressed concerns about potential corporate governance issues at listed companies owned by PE funds. SEBI allowed foreign portfolio investors to invest in unlisted debt securities and securitised debt instruments as part of efforts to attract more flows into debt markets, in line with a recent announcement by the country's central bank. ($1 = 68.6605 rupees) (Reporting by Abhirup Roy; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) Despite fears Russia would use its electronic army to meddle with vote totals and install Donald Trump in the White House, the 2016 presidential election probably was not hacked. Even so, a group of computer science professors and lawyers are reportedly pushing Hillary Clintons failed campaign to call for audits in three key swing states that clinched the election for Trump: Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Late Tuesday, Gabriel Sherman of New York magazine reported the demand by Alex Halderman, a well-regarded election security expert, and John Bonifaz, a veteran Boston lawyer and activist, to push the Clinton campaign to seek recounts in the three states. Sherman reported that Halderman, a University of Michigan computer scientist, discovered that Clinton received 7 percent fewer votes in Wisconsin counties that used electronic voting machines instead of paper ballots. That discrepancy, Sherman wrote, might have been enough to swing the state for Clinton and could have been caused by computer attacks on the U.S. election. On Wednesday morning, Halderman accused Sherman of misinterpreting his findings and getting the numbers wrong. However, he did not rule out the possibility of a computer attack on the voting infrastructure and called for the vote to be audited. The only way to know whether a cyberattack changed the result is to closely examine the available physical evidence paper ballots and voting equipment in critical states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, Halderman wrote. Unfortunately, nobody is ever going to examine that evidence unless candidates in those states act now, in the next several days, to petition for recounts. This election season, American intelligence officials warned that Russian hackers targeted American political organizations with the intent interfere in U.S. elections. By hacking into computers belonging to the Democratic National Committee and the email account of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and then posting the stolen information online, hackers working on behalf of Moscow exercised a certain level of control over the news cycle and sparked scandal. DNC emails posted on WikiLeaks resulted in the resignation of party boss Debbie Wasserman Schultz and exposed an effort to undermine the candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Story continues The campaign against U.S. political organizations raised fears that Moscow would also target the American computerized voting system. But on Election Day officials discovered little evidence of outright vote tampering by hackers, and the vote was generally thought to have been clean. According to Sherman, Halderman and Bonifaz are pushing the Clinton camp to seek recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania ahead of deadlines to do so in all three states in coming days. But all involved in this putative effort to challenge the outcome of the Nov. 8 election are staying fairly quiet. In response to questions from Foreign Policy, Halderman emailed a link to his blog post but did not answer follow up questions and phone calls. Bonifaz did not return emails and phone calls. Spokespeople for the Clinton campaign did not answer questions about the extent of their work with Halderman and Bonifaz or whether they would pursue recounts in the three states. In order for Clinton to win, she would have to overturn the results in all three states. In the absence of any overt moves by the Clinton campaign to seek a recount, Green party candidate Jill Stein said Wednesday that she would challenge the outcome of the vote in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Stein is raising money to fund that effort and is asking contributors to kick in for a total of $2 million. While Halderman may have discovered a discrepancy in the Wisconsin vote a claim that data journalist Nate Silver views with intense skepticism its exact extent remains unclear. Michigan uses paper ballots across the state, a measure that makes the vote easier to audit and more difficult to hack. Wisconsin uses a mix of paper and computer voting machines. Pennsylvania uses a large number of computerized voting machines that experts have identified as potentially vulnerable to hacking. Ross Hein, an elections supervisor at the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said his state lacked the necessary information to determine whether the vote had been marred by irregularities. He said the state is nonetheless confident in the validity of the election outcome and that it will conduct its normal audit of voting machines. Wisconsin law allows the Clinton campaign to demand a recount. The deadline for doing so is Friday at 5 p.m. In a statement, the Pennsylvania Department of State said it was aware of the New York article and said state allows for an election outcome to be challenged in court within 20 days of the election. Fred Woodhams, a spokesperson for Michigans Department of State, told Foreign Policy that state law there allows for the losing candidate to challenge an election outcome. Doing so would cost the Clinton campaign about $120,000. It would have to file a recount request by next Wednesday, Nov. 30. Challenging the outcome of the vote in three states that before Election Day had been considered part of Clintons so-called firewall would represent an enormously controversial move. President Barack Obama has emphasized he wants to see a smooth transition, and any legal challenge to the vote would surely undermine that process. The Trump campaign did not return emailed questions about the recount push. Shermans story initially lit up social media with fears Russia might indeed have hacked the U.S. election. Yet it turned out to be yet another lesson on just how hard it is to check the validity of American election results in an era of outdated voting machines, rickety computer infrastructure, and policies that often makes it difficult to audit the vote. Election security experts in the United States would like to see more extensive auditing procedures put in place alongside voting machines that produce a strong paper trail. Pamela Smith, the president of Verified Voting, a non-profit focusing on election security, said the dust-up over Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania illustrated the need for strong post-election audits. The point of doing an audit is that you learn a lot about your voting system, she said. But the really key function is to ensure that the outcome was correct. SAVO PRELEVIC/AFP/Getty Images seth meyers donald trump late night nbc foreign business Seth Meyers dedicated Tuesday's "A Closer Look" segment on "Late Night" to the growing concerns over President-elect Donald Trump's foreign business ties. Previously, Meyers said that Trump has been able to distract Americans from the real news with his feud with the "Hamilton" cast. On Tuesday, Meyers said Trump's cabinet picks have the media "running wild with it." Meanwhile, Meyers pointed out, the president-elect never released his tax returns, has been able to bury the news that his DC hotel marketed itself to foreign diplomats, and has yet to make good on his promise to place his businesses in a blind trust. "Trump doesn't seem to be taking any steps to separate his business from his government work," the host said. He then brought up this week's reports that Trump used a diplomatic call with Argentina's president Mauricio Macri to push a stalled project in Buenos Aires. For the record, both Trump and Macri denied it happened. In a tweet on Monday, Trump accused the "crooked media" of over-blowing the fact that he has many international businesses. Prior to the election it was well known that I have interests in properties all over the world.Only the crooked media makes this a big deal! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2016 "Yeah, the crooked media has some kind of crooked hard-on for the crooked Constitution," Meyers said. "There aren't any laws prohibiting the president from running a business. But legal experts are warning that if Trump receives foreign money from his hotels or any other part of his company while he's president, not only could that be unethical, it can actually be a violation of a clause in the Constitution that prohibits public officials from accepting gifts from foreign powers." In a clip, one pundit said that the founders were so worried about bribes that they barred them in two places in the Constitution. In the case of impeachment, it specifically lists two high crimes: treason and bribery. Story continues "Treason and bribery, which incidentally were both majors at Trump University," Meyers quipped. "In the end, this should be a serious concern not just to Trump critics but to his supporters as well." Watch the segment of "A Closer Look" below: NOW WATCH: 'Were in a room of liars': Trump reportedly lashes out at the media in off-the-record meeting with top journalists More From Business Insider To open Singapore is a huge thing for us, says Malaysian director Dain Iskandar Said, whose Interchange opens the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) today. That is partly because the festival is run by young people and we like what they are doing. What is means for us as a company and for people expressing South East Asian culture is right up our alley, he said. What (the SGIFF organizers) are aiming for is not just Singapore, but also regional. We always try to engage with both the local and the regional. Interchange is part detective thriller, part shamanistic fantasy, and is inspired by real events a century ago when a Norwegian explorer travelled through central Borneo and took photographs of tribal women bathing in a river. The cast includes Malaysian TV personality Shaheizy Sam (Songlap), Indonesias Nicholas Saputra, rising star Iedil Putra and Indonesian actress Prisia Nasution (Sang Penari.) After debuting in 2007 with Dukun, Said shot to global prominence in 2011 with his debut feature Bunohan: Return to Murder. It had its international debut at Toronto and won a slew of awards around the world. Said is now planning Vektor as his next film. It is sci-fi with a human angle, says Said. It is not so much about technology, although scientific, technological and biological elements are there. Its not like spaceships and all that. Instead, you have the clash of values between the rational world and magic. When technology becomes highly developed, it becomes magic. The first draft of Vektor is done and will go through several more versions. Producer Nandita Solomon, also the producer of Interchange through their Apparat company, has secured partial equity financing and will look for the rest at global co-production markets. Interchange had its world premiere at Locarno in August and has since played several festivals including Toronto, London, Sitges and Vladivostok. France-based sales agents Reel Suspects closed a rights deal for Spain at Locarno with Luis Bellabas Film Buro Producciones Internacionales and has also licensed Switzerland (Preasens Film) and Taiwan (Deltamac). A number of further sales will be revealed at the European Film Market in Berlin 2017, Reel Suspects Matteo Lovadina said. XYZ Films is representing the film in North America. Story continues Related stories Singapore Media Festival Ushers in New Wave of Southeast Asian Cinema Singapore Plays Leading Role in Artistic and Financial Boom of Southeast Asian Films Singapore Festival Director Yuni Hadi: 'Films Tell Us Who We Are' Shantel VanSanten wants to reprise her role as police detective Patty Spivot on The Flash, and if she does, she doesn't want Barry (Grant Gustin) to be the reason. I would want to go back because I didnt need a man, VanSanten told Bustle. Thats every girls dream that we dont need a man to run back to. Maybe theres some kind of unfinished business or somebody who needs my help and I can go and be the one who solves something. You know, prove to him why he shouldve been honest with me and why he should miss me and not the other way around. Patty was last seen in Season 2, episode 11, titled The Reverse-Flash Returns. In the episode, Patty finally discovered that Barry is The Flash. Barry, however, distanced himself from Patty to protect her from Zoom (Teddy Sears) and other metahumans that might hurt her to get revenge on him. Unfortunately for Barry, his decision to cut his relationship with Patty led the detective to move to Midway City to continue her education as a crime scene investigator. In an interview with Monkeys Fighting Robots last September, VanSanten hinted that she might be returning to The Flash this season. There is a very strong possibility if everything works out, said the 31-year-old actress when asked whether fans are going to see Patty in Season 3. VanSanten left The Flash when she landed a series regular role on USA Networks action drama series Shooter. Although shes now committed to her new show, The Flash executive producer Andrew Kreisberg told TVLine last March that VanSanten could still return to the CW series. We have not seen the last of Patty, Kreisberg told the news outlet at the time. We very consciously did not kill her. Would you like to see VanSanten reprise her role as Patty this season? Tell us in the comments below! The Flash Season 3 airs every Tuesday, at 8 p.m. EST on The CW. Shantel VanSanten Photo: Reuters/Kevork Djansezian Related Articles IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 22, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces a class action lawsuit against Adeptus Health Inc. ("Adeptus" or the "Company") (ADPT). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's secondary public offering (the "SPO") on or about July 31, 2015, or purchasers of common shares between June 25, 2014 and November 1, 2016, inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm in advance of the December 27, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline. If you purchased shares of Adeptus during the SPO or Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com. There has been no class certification in this case. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member. The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Adeptus Health made material false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: that the Company engaged in widespread predatory billing practices, particularly with respect to lower acuity level patients; that Adeptus Health's predatory billing practices subjected the Company to numerous known but undisclosed risks, such as financial risks, reputational risks, risks associated with improper financial reporting, civil or criminal sanctions, and even exclusion from federal and state healthcare programs; that the Company's financial statements were not prepared in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; that contrary to the Company's representations about its practice of referring lower acuity patients to urgent care facilities, Adeptus Health routinely treated lower acuity patients and excessively billed them for services; and that as a result of the above, Adeptus Health lacked a reasonable basis for its statements about its business and future financial prospects at all relevant times. On November 17, 2015, an NBC-affiliated television station located in Denver, Colorado aired an investigative report about the predatory billing practices at the Company's Colorado First Choice emergency rooms. If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit at no charge to you, or if you have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com. This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions. Contacts Joon M. Khang, Esq. Telephone: 949-419-3834 Facsimile: 949-225-4474 joon@khanglaw.com SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP By Matt Scuffham TORONTO (Reuters) - Amaya Inc's former chief executive David Baazov said he still plans to buy the online gambling firm despite one of his apparent backers saying it had no involvement in the C$3.65 billion ($2.7 billion) bid. Shares of the company, which fell 6 percent on Tuesday and were down 1 percent earlier on Wednesday, rose 2.6 percent higher after Baazov issued a statement saying he was looking to obtain alternative funding. The status of Baazov's offer had been in doubt after the Globe and Mail newspaper published an interview with Kalini Lal, the CEO of Dubai-based investment firm KBC Aldini Capital, one of four international investors named by Baazov as his backers, in which Lal said his firm had not agreed to provide funds. Baazov said in the statement that he had been advised by representatives of KBC Aldini Capital that an equity commitment letter purported to be delivered to him on behalf of KBC was delivered without KBC's knowledge and confirmed KBC has not committed to provide financing. "Baazov intends to obtain replacement financing and still currently intends to acquire Amaya on the terms previously disclosed by him on November 14, 2016," the statement said. Baazov, who already owns about 17 percent of Amaya, said last week he was making an offer worth C$24 per share on behalf of a to-be-formed entity led by him and backed by four international investors, including KBC Aldini. In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Kalani Lal, KBC Aldini's CEO and founder, said: "I don't know who Amaya is. We have not given any commitment, nor have we had any discussions or any type of verbal communication." Lal said KBC Aldini had filed a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates Amaya in the United States. The SEC and Quebec's securities regulator, which regulates the firm in Canada, declined to comment. Amaya said in a statement after the market closed on Tuesday that it was continuing to "carefully assess" Baazov's proposal, including the information contained in the Globe and Mail report, and would make no further comment at this time. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jeffrey Benkoe and Bernard Orr) The moment you step foot into that country, you step into high danger. And with that, two Portuguese Jesuit priests are dispatched to feudal Japan in search of a missing missionary (played by Liam Neeson) and we get a first look at Martin Scorseses long-in-coming epic Silence, starring Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver. Paramount opens the film December 23. The trailer is thrilling, set to screaming violins, intense martial drumming and blasts of the religious imagery and violence all but perfected by Scorsese. There will be crucifixions. Garfield and Driver play the Jesuits seeking a missing mentor who may or may not have renounced his faith. Early in the trailer we see a beaten-down Neeson kneeling in subjugation to whom or what isnt quite clear and it isnt long before the Garfield and Driver characters are in equally bad shape. I pray but Im lost, says Garfields Rodrigues at the end, then adding the kicker that gives the film its title: Am I just praying to silence? Among the more memorable images: A dizzying overhead shot of three priests, in black of course, striding across a stone plaza, and later, ocean waves washing over crucified Japanese villagers. Tadanobu Asano, Yosuke Kubozuka, Ciaran Hinds, Shinya Tsukamoto and Issey Ogata also star. The screenplay is by Jay Cocks and Scorsese, based on Shusaku Endos novel. Earlier tonight, various websites jumped the Silence gun and posted a link to the trailer that Paramount quickly disabled before reviving it on its Twitter account. Read Deadlines new interview with Driver here. And earlier this month, Deadline reported that Silence will screen in Rome at the end of November to 400 Jesuit priests. The screening has been arranged courtesy of Rev. James J. Martin, S.J., a U.S.-based Jesuit adviser on the film. Amanda NDuka contributed to this report. I pray but I am lost. Am I just praying to silence? From #MartinScorsese comes #SilenceMovie, watch the official trailer now. pic.twitter.com/3y4DvzeCs1 Paramount Pictures (@ParamountPics) November 23, 2016 Story continues [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqrgxZLd_gE&w=605&h=340] Related stories Adam Driver's Awards-Season Route Ranges From 17th Century Japan To New Jersey: Q&A Irwin Winkler Set For Three-Day American Cinematheque Tribute Adam Driver On Balancing Tentpoles Like 'Star Wars' & Indie Pics Like 'Paterson' Paramount Pictures has released the official trailer for Martin Scorsese's new directorial religious project Silence'. The clip explores the dangers and challenges faced by Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, in the roles of two Christian missionaries searching for their mentor (Liam Neeson) in 17th century Japan. The screenplay, penned by Scorsese and Jay Cocks, is based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Japanese author Shusaku Endo. Earlier this week it was revealed that the film will effectively premiere at the Vatican, before hitting US theaters on December 23. To watch the trailer, see https://youtu.be/IqrgxZLd_gE Singaporean filmmaker Boo Junfeng considers 2016 a very good year. Following a standing ovation for his second feature Apprentice after it was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes Film Festival and winning the rising director award at the Busan Intl. Film Festivals Asia Star Awards in South Korea, the film was recently selected to represent Singapore in the foreign-language film race at the 89th Academy Awards. But Boo doesnt see the glory belonging just to his intense and critical drama about capital punishment in his home country. It also belongs, he says, to a new wave of Singaporean cinema. Many of these films will be screened at this years Singapore Media Festival, which runs Nov. 23-Dec.9. This wave of Singaporean filmmakers has certainly come a long way, says the filmmaker. It only began in the 1990s and then theres been a steady stream of filmmakers who started with making short films and getting themselves at international film festivals. And this eventually paves the way for a new wave of filmmaking. Films from the Southeast Asian country with 51 years of history and a population of 5.6 million have garnered more attention from around the world in recent years. Boos Apprentice is only one recent example. In 2013, family drama Ilo Ilo, directed by Anthony Chen, won Camera dOr, the first time for a Singaporean film to win an award at the at Cannes Film Festival. The film went on to became a major triumph in the fest circuit that year, winning the first feature Sutherland Award at the 57th British Film Institute London Film Festival and best film at Taiwans Golden Horse Film Awards. Additionally, young filmmaker Royston Tan won the Asian short-film trophy at Sapporo Intl. Short Film Festival for his Bunga Sayang in October, and Yong Mun Chees Badass is among the 29 projects shortlisted in this years Golden Horse Film Project Promotion. The outlook for Singaporean cinema looks promising. Story continues It is heartening to have the effort of our local film professionals recognized and to showcase the Singapore stories to the world, says Yuni Hadi, executive director of Singapore Intl. Film Festival and producer of Ilo Ilo. Hadi says increasing support from the government is one key factor. Data from the Info-communications Media Development Authority shows that as of June 30, $35.4 million has been approved to fund 93 creative projects, including 36 film projects. As a country, we are beginning to recognize the impact the arts can have socially and culturally, Hadi says. There has been greater support towards the local film industry by the government, with new opportunities to grow Singapore-made content. Apprentice is one of the beneficiaries. The film was made possible thanks to government funding, but it wasnt enough. Boo had to look for money elsewhere and ended up with money from four foreign territories Germany, France, Hong Kong and Qatar to back the 1 million ($1.08 million) project. The small local market saturated with foreign titles is one main reason why non-government film financing has been a challenge in Singapore, says the director. The idea of cinema among a general public is Hollywood, Boo says. We are an English-speaking country, but mainland Chinese, Korean and Hong Kong films are doing quite well here. Bollywood also finds a market here. But Apprentice might have set a new example for the financing of Singaporean films in the future. Boo says the fact that Hong Kong helmer and producer Pang Ho-cheung is coming on board as an executive producer has gotten the local industry interested. Im getting interesting questions from local commercial producers, he says. People are starting to look to our direction. Censorship in Singapore has been blamed as an obstacle to creativity in the country, but the fact that Apprentice, which takes a critical look at the countrys judicial system, is being backed by the government is seen as a positive sign. The film had a restrictive M18 rating. I hope it is a sign of progress, says Boo. But its very hard to make it definitive based on just one film. How much it continues to open up is waiting to be seen. Hadi says that filmmaking in Singapore is still young and she hopes that filmmakers can be allowed to explore all genres. But this wave of Singaporean cinema offers a different dimension to the city state that has long considered merely a financial hub. Films like Ilo Ilo and Apprentice represent a rise of social consciousness in filmmaking. Whats interesting is that the image of Singapore being a financial hub and being a wealthier country in the region isnt quite represented in the films we make, says Boo. Its a kind of soul searching, taking an honest look at the society. This honesty defines this new wave of filmmaking. Apprentice took me five years, he says. Hopefully I will get the next project done in three year Related stories Singapore Plays Leading Role in Artistic and Financial Boom of Southeast Asian Films Singapore Festival Director Yuni Hadi: 'Films Tell Us Who We Are' SGIFF: 'Interchange' Director Dain Said Revels in South East Asian Culture, Reveals 'Vektor' CALEDONIA A Racine man was charged Wednesday with allegedly stealing more than $775 worth of electronics merchandise from the Kmart store at 5141 Douglas Ave. According to the criminal complaint: Daniel J. Foxcroft, 38, of the 1100 block of Blake Avenue, had his DNA matched in connection to a shoplifting that occurred at aboyt 10:19 a.m. on Oct. 6. On the date of the shoplifting, a Kmart employee reportedly informed police that a person had taken a 43-inch Samsung LED TV, a 43-inch Seiki LCD TV and a 32-inch sound bar for total of $779.97. DNA was taken from the scene and sent to the state crime lab. Foxcroft's DNA was found in the sample. Foxcroft faces a felony charge for retail theft and a misdemeanor charge for bail jumping. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 8 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. Foxcroft remained in custody as of Wednesday at the Racine County Jail, online records showed. Well, that de-escalated quickly. After more than a year of loudly bragging about how his administration would torture suspected terrorists in U.S. custody, President-elect Donald Trump told a roomful of New York Times reporters that hes open to changing his mind. The admission came after one conversation with retired Marine Corps general James Mattis on Sunday, who Trump said hes seriously considering to head the Department of Defense. Trump added that when he asked Mattis for his views on torture, he was surprised the respected general didnt support it. The sudden flip-flop, FPs Paul McLeary notes, raises questions over the incoming presidents understanding of the militarys view of waterboarding and torture. Given Trumps query to Mattis about torture, its also worth asking if support for waterboarding has emerged as a litmus test for who the president-elect will nominate to be in his cabinet. All of Trumps picks so far for national security advisor, CIA director, and vice president have called for abusive interrogation techniques to be re-introduced to the U.S. governments counterterrorism toolbox. Which way the wind blows. Theres a very good chance Trump will change his mind again about waterboarding, of course, and top officials at the United Nations appear ready to oppose Washington on this and other human rights issues. FPs Colum Lynch recently sat down with the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Prince Zeid Raad al-Hussein, who revealed that he has informed his staff in the weeks following the U.S. election that they will have to serve as the front line in an international effort to check any excesses on the human rights front. We are going to speak up, another U.N. official told Foreign Policy. Itll be rough, but if [Trump] puts any of those ghastly campaign pledges into action we will condemn. There are reports out Wednesday that Trump has asked South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to be his ambassador to the U.N., and she has accepted. Haley has no real foreign policy experience, but is considered a rising Republican star. Story continues Moscow moving. While Washington works its way through the transition process, the rest of the world turns. Moscow has recently deployed anti-ship missiles to disputed islands just north of Japan that Moscow and Tokyo have been arguing over since the end of WWII. The mobile Bastion missile system has a range of about 190 miles, and has also been deployed in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Tokyo is not pleased. Meanwhile, NATO and Moscow are arguing over the recent Russian deployment of Bastion missiles to its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, along with nuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missiles and S-400 missile-defense systems. Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Tuesday that moving the missiles to Kaliningrad was necessary, given NATOs expansion. Russia is doing everything necessary to ensure its security in the face of expansion by Nato towards its borders. The alliance really is an aggressive bloc, therefore Russia must do everything it can, and in this case it has the sovereign right to take necessary measures across its whole territory. Interesting side note: American director Oliver Stone has made a documentary about Ukraine which recently aired on Russian television. The film blames the CIA and American intelligence as being behind the popular uprising in Kiev that deposed Russian-backed strongman Viktor Yanukovych. Russian tankers have been smuggling jet fuel to Syria, in violation of European Union sanctions, according to Reuters. At least two Russian-flagged ships made deliveries which contravene EU sanctions via Cyprus, an intelligence source with a European Union government told Reuters. There was a sharp increase in shipments in October, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Big boom. The Islamic State has been littering the caliphate with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and thats a huge problem for the non-governmental organizations and explosive ordnance disposal personnel trying to clean them up. Wired spoke to groups clearing IEDs in Syria and Iraq about the challenges of clearing IEDs. Islamic State fighters have been using the weapons differently than their predecessors: planting them like landmines and rigging out cities with booby-traps. Clearance personnel, unaccustomed to the different designs and traps to kill disposal teams, are fighting an uphill battle to decontaminate areas around the former caliphate. Good morning and as always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley PEOTUS President Obama is offering his successor Donald Trumps transition team a few words of advice beware of North Korea. The Wall Street Journal reports that Obama has emphasized to Trump transition personnel that the growth of North Koreas missile and nuclear warhead programs is placing the U.S. and its allies in East Asia at increasingly greater risk and that countering it should be a top priority for the next administration. White House officials are worried that a trade war with China along the lines Trump promised during the campaign could lead Beijing to cut off cooperation against North Korean weapons of mass destruction, making the problem worse. East Asia In another sign of the thaw in relations between Japan and South Korea, the two countries have finalized an intelligence sharing deal. The Japan Times reports that the General Security of Military Information Agreement will cover information like satellite imagery on North Korea, which has threatened both countries with its ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons. Tokyo and Seoul made another breakthrough in relations earlier this year when Japan agreed to compensate South Korean comfort women forced into prostitution during Japans occupation of Korea in the Second World War. Europe The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning for American tourists to be on guard for the possibility of terrorist attacks in public areas in France. CNN reports that the State Department pointed to credible information indicating Islamic State-linked attackers may target events in Europe during the holiday season. Officials are on edge about the potential for attacks following the arrest of a cell this week that had considered attacking the popular Christmas market in Strasbourg. Islamic State terrorists attacked numerous sites with active shooters and suicide bombs a year ago this month. Iran Israels ambassador to the United Nations says Iran has been smuggling weapons to the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah via commercial flights from Iran to Lebanon and Damascus. The Jerusalem Post reports that Ambassador Danny Danon sent a letter to the Security Council saying that Irans Mahan Air packs weapons, ammunition and missile technology to Hezbollah in suitcases and flies them to Hezbollah. Danon accused Hezbollah of having an underground stockpile of missiles larger than that of NATO countries. Policy A new policy from the Defense Department gives service members the ability to carry their own personal concealed weapons while working in U.S. government facilities, Military Times reports. The push to allow troops and military recruiters to be armed follows a series of attacks on military facilities, including the 2009 Fort Hood shooting carried out by Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, another attack on Fort Hood personnel in by Spc. Ivan Lopez-Lopez, and the 2015 attack on a recruitment center in Chattanooga Tennessee by Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez. Would-be concealed weapons carriers still have to receive approval from commanders in order to carry. The election of Donald Trump and the anti-Muslim rhetoric of his campaign has also unnerved many Muslim-Americans serving at the Pentagon and in the national security apparatus, the Daily Beasts Nancy Youssef writes. Navy The Navys $4 billion stealth destroyer just broke down while trying to cross the Panama Canal. USNI News reports that the USS Zumwalt, the Navys secretive sci-fi ship, had to be towed into U.S. Naval Station Rodman by tugs after it lost propulsion and took on seawater in its Advanced Induction Motors. Navy officials say it should take ten days to carry out needed repairs to get the Zumwalt moving again. Business of defense Defense contractors are pretty stoked about the upcoming Trump administration and the possibility that Congress may ditch budget caps on defense spending. The Baltimore Sun reports that its not just the election of Trump thats boosting Maryland-based defense companies hopes, but the arrival of a Republican Congress along with him. Besides getting rid of budget caps, contractors are also looking forward to the possibility of a return to a normal appropriations process rather than the existing pattern of smaller, short-term funding deals. Photo Credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images Long-time followers of mine in this bull market know that every quarter I go over the holdings of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies because they were one of the early quant houses that made algo trading so successful and popular. The founder, Jim Simons, was a mathematics professor in the 1970s who never thought about the markets much. He sort of stumbled into testing some theories on stocks, and the rest is history as he was pulled headlong into the markets and created a powerhouse with over $50 billion AUM (assets under management). And Simons made a point of not hiring MBAs, traders, or anyone with a background in finance. He only wanted physicists, engineers and other quantitative problem-solvers to come work for him and mine the data of markets to find unique correlations, patterns and new edges. What kind of data patterns and correlations are they after? Well, with 90 Ph.Ds. on staff, mostly math, science, and engineering types, we can only guess that they are sifting through mountains of fundamental, price, economic, weather, and consumer patterns, looking for those small anomalies between individual stocks and industries and other asset classes. Mining Data Others Ignore If its a popular, well-known correlation, they don't want anything to do with it. They hunt in the noise of tons of data for things that others can't see, or are not even looking for. This week, Matt Levine at Bloomberg View wrote briefly about Renaissance after colleague Katherine Burton published a full story on the company and its funds and practices for the December/January issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine. Here's how Levin opens his piece, quoting data from Burton's story... The big problem with Renaissance Technologies, the Long Island-based "pinnacle of quant investing" founded by Jim Simons, is that its Medallion fund makes too much money. Medallion was up 21 percent for the first six months of 2016. It was up 35.6 percent last year, 39.2 percent the year before, 46.9 percent the year before that. This keeps going. The last down year was 1989. The fund had a rough few days in August 2007, but ended the year up 85.9 percent. It has returned about 40 percent per year, on average, net of fees, since it started in 1988. Story continues Of course it can't keep compounding returns that way because of the size factor. What you can do well with a 5 billion dollars you can't necessarily as well, much less better, with 50 billion. And that's why they are forced to simply return profits to investors, who are primarily employees now since the fund was closed to new investors in 2005. Matt Levine's piece on Bloomberg View can be found here and the full Burton story is linked above. Can a Human Trader Copy Black Box Success? While the computer programs that work for Renaissance are still a big mystery -- like we don't know how many strategies just trade intra-day to make money -- it's safe to say that they create a lot of turnover in stocks, exploiting new patterns or "edges" in thousands of stocks. But doesn't that mean a lot of extra risk? What most people miss about the success of the algos and black box trading systems is that they run through markets with big size in thousands of stocks and instruments because the risk control is automated too. Its not like you or I trading 100 stocks at once and going crazy trying to keep track of the risk and profits. They program the computer models to seek and destroy profit opportunities and to manage the risks in real-time too so that they are never destroyed. So speed and continuous, instant access make the difference too, especially if the model is wrong about an opportunity. In that way, they take human emotion completely out of the decision-making equation. With that I want to introduce you to our guest today, who is like David to the Goliath Renaissance. Jeremy Mullin is a colleague of mine at Zacks where he starts with a simple quant model built on earnings momentum the Zacks Rank -- and then overlays his own suite of technical trading filters and what I will broadly call behavioral analysis because he pays attention to extreme moves in stocks that are often driven by algo trading that is exploiting investor fear and greed in the markets, which therefore sets up new opportunities for him. Jeremy has spent the last 13 years as an equity, futures and options trader. His main focus when trading stocks is high beta equities and earnings moves. He uses technical tools when entering and exiting trading setups, but also watches order flow to get a feel for market direction. Check out the Mind Over Money podcast, episode 4, to hear my interview with Jeremy. Kevin Cook is a Senior Stock Strategist with Zacks Investment Research where he runs the Tactical Trader service. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NETFLIX INC (NFLX): Free Stock Analysis Report PALO ALTO NETWK (PANW): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research It's not an official anniversary until you've declared your love on social media! Sofia Vergara did just that as she and her husband, Joe Manganiello, marked one year since their Florida wedding on Tuesday. The Modern Family star adorably shared a photo of her groom standing at the altar looking on as she made her way down the aisle. NEWS: Joe Manganiello Says He 'Loves' Married Life with Sofia Vergara She then threw in some Sinead O'Connor lyrics and declared "I love you" in Spanish to complete the post. "Happy First Anniversary love of my life," the 44-year-old Colombian beauty wrote. "Nothing compares to you. te amo. #thebreakerspalmbeach. I will never forget that face" Happy First Anniversary love of my life nothing compares to you.te amo.#thebreakerspalmbeach.I will never forget that face A photo posted by Sofia Vergara (@sofiavergara) on Nov 22, 2016 at 11:13am PST "Or this one!" she wrote on another snap, showing the cute couple strutting their stuff on the dance floor on their wedding day. Or this one! A photo posted by Sofia Vergara (@sofiavergara) on Nov 22, 2016 at 11:15am PST The tributes didn't stop there. Two further posts and many more heart emojis followed as the actress commemorated her special day on Instagram. #thebreakers2015 A photo posted by Sofia Vergara (@sofiavergara) on Nov 22, 2016 at 12:26pm PST #thebreakers2015 A photo posted by Sofia Vergara (@sofiavergara) on Nov 22, 2016 at 12:27pm PST NEWS: Sofia Vergara 'Wouldn't Mind Another Child' With New Husband Joe Manganiello Not to be outdone, Manganiello shared a stunning shot of the pair slow-dancing and wrote his caption in Spanish -- Vergara's native language. "Feliz primer aniversario al amor de mi vida!" the Magic Mike star wrote. The phrase translates to "Happy anniversary to the love of my life." Aw! Feliz primer aniversario al amor de mi vida! 11.22.15 A photo posted by Joe Manganiello (@joemanganiello) on Nov 22, 2016 at 12:33pm PST Congrats to the cute couple on their first year of married life! Find out how Manganiello reacted to his bride's reception dress in the video below. Story continues Related Articles Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara. (Photo: Getty Images) On Nov. 22, 2015, Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in Florida and because Vergara isnt one to stop the party, shes continuing to celebrate a year later. Our anniversary cake, she wrote beside a snapshot of what appears to be the most adorable confection in history. Our anniversary cake A photo posted by Sofia Vergara (@sofiavergara) on Nov 22, 2016 at 9:19pm PST The circular cake featured a bride and groom, clearly Sofia and Joe, decked out in full wedding regalia. The confectionary couple held hands and the bride lifted a beautiful bouquet above her head. As for the groom, he completed his look with a cigar (as you do). Both of them are barefoot and ready to dance across a flower-bedecked lawn. (Weve decided thats a lawn.) Though they were basically cartoons made of frosting, the figures weirdly captured the spirit of the couple. Related: See Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiellos Cutest Instagrams From Their First Year of Wedded Bliss Previously, the 44-year-old Modern Family star had taken to Instagram to post a tribute to her better half, whom she called the love of her life. Happy first Anniversary love of my life, she gushed, beside a stunning shot of her handsome husband. Nothing compares to you. Happy First Anniversary love of my life nothing compares to you.????????????????te amo.#thebreakerspalmbeach.I will never forget that face A photo posted by Sofia Vergara (@sofiavergara) on Nov 22, 2016 at 11:13am PST The 39-year-old Magic Mike star returned some of the love, posting his own sweet message on Instagram to his wife. Feliz primer aniversario al amor de mi vida! 11.22.15 A photo posted by Joe Manganiello (@joemanganiello) on Nov 22, 2016 at 12:33pm PST In case your Spanish isnt so good, that means, Happy anniversary to the love of my life. In other words, the feeling is mutual. Joe and Sofia got engaged in December 2014 after only six months of dating. It seems, however, that despite their short courtship, their union is going strong as evidenced by the smattering of sweet messages and their even sweeter anniversary cake! Solange just wore the most beautiful cropped coat, hello pastel #stylegoals Its no secret that Solange is an absolute QUEEN. Her artistic, poetic new album A Seat At The Table reached #1 on the Billboard charts, her performances are magical experiences in and of themselves, and shes not afraid to make a powerful statement about race relations in America. And boy does the woman know how to dress. Solange was most recently at Love On Louisiana hosted by Essence, a tribute to hometown heroes that celebrated the resilience of the Baton Rouge community with Tina Knowles-Lawson, Solange Knowles, and Kelly Rowland at the Baton Rouge River Center. Solange dressed for the important occasion in a pastel, pale purple cropped trench with a deeper purple cardigan underneath, and the ensemble has us feeling all sorts of #stylegoals. Take a look: Love On Louisiana: An Essence Hometown Heroes Tribute Celebrating The Resilience Of The Baton Rouge Community With Tina Knowles-Lawson, Solange Knowles And Kelly Rowland Here she is with fellow queen Kelly Rowland at the event and we cant get over how put together and casually cool they both look. Here she is (again, because we cant get enough) with a recipient of a Hometown Hero Award: Love On Louisiana: An Essence Hometown Heroes Tribute Celebrating The Resilience Of The Baton Rouge Community With Tina Knowles-Lawson, Solange Knowles And Kelly Rowland What a moment. Solange shared more details of the event on her Instagram: Me being in awe of the heros like teenagers Jeremiah, Jermain, and Levi Lewis who courageously helped rescue and rebuild after the Baton Rouge floods. Thank you for letting me be apart of #loveonlouisiana to let the world know that Baton Rouge is not forgotten, and that there is still a lot of work to do.... and to honor those who already did so much of it. Thank you to my wonderful mother and to Essence for the endless work you have done to uplift these extraordinary people. A photo posted by Solange (@saintrecords) on Nov 23, 2016 at 7:37am PST She wrote: Me being in awe of the heros like teenagers Jeremiah, Jermain, and Levi Lewis who courageously helped rescue and rebuild after the Baton Rouge floods. Thank you for letting me be apart of #loveonlouisiana to let the world know that Baton Rouge is not forgotten, and that there is still a lot of work to do. and to honor those who already did so much of it. Thank you to my wonderful mother and to Essence for the endless work you have done to uplift these extraordinary people. What an amazing group of human beings. The post Solange just wore the most beautiful cropped coat, hello pastel #stylegoals appeared first on HelloGiggles. Sony Pictures is turning back the clock to rehash one of its favorite legal arguments. The studio is defending a lawsuit that accuses it of ripping off the Spanish drama El Ministerio del Tiempo to create the NBC time-travel drama Timeless. Specifically, Onza Partners alleges it met with a partner at the Gersh Agency at an international television conference in April 2015 and secured help in packaging an American version of the show. Now, the Spanish producer is suing for copyright infringement and breach of implied contract. The copyright claims are fairly straightforward. A judge will have to decide whether allegations of appropriated expression are sufficiently similar enough to move the case past a motion to dismiss. On Wednesday, Sony, NBCU and other defendants called the judge's attention to the fact that time travel is a "well-established genre" while arguing that plaintiffs can't establish the two shows "embody anything more than generic similarities between two works in the time-travel genre." Onza contends that both works "center on a national government's secret efforts to utilize time travel to thwart undesired changes to past events," while the Timeless producers emphasize such differences as "no large number of potential enemy time travelers, no large number of agents who have lived in earlier periods of time, no special government department that existed (much less for more than 500 years to stop persons from traveling through time), no persons from the past traveling to the present and no methods of assisting the team while they are in the past." Then, there's the breach of implied contract claim. Onza alleges that it was understood by all parties when it got an agent involved, handed off a DVD for the purpose of introducing its proprietary television series format and began negotiating with Sony for the right to an American version that it was all conditioned upon an implied promise not to make use of the ideas underlying the format without a full and formal executed agreement. Story continues To rebut this, Sony returns to a lawsuit it faced over the 2012 film Premium Rush, which triggered a similar implied contract claim from author Joe Quirk for allegedly using his 1998 novel without compensation. In that case, a judge came to the conclusion that an author who widely publishes a book is similar to a man who blurts out an idea. This man can't have any expectation of bargaining for payment of that idea. Now, Sony is looking to extend this proposition to television, arguing that something widely disseminated to the public was in fact "blurted out." "Because Plaintiffs broadcast their Format to the world before allegedly making any contact or contract with Defendants, they cannot maintain an implied in fact claim for the use of ideas after broadcast," states the motion to dismiss (read here). Does the fact that the idea was blurted out in Spanish across the ocean matter? Only someone with a ship to the future can answer. The plaintiff is represented by attorney Devin McRae, the defendants by attorney Louis Petrich. As even a casual Star Wars fan knows, the character of Boba Fett made his first film appearance in 1980s The Empire Strikes Back. More devoted Star Wars nerds know that the masked bounty hunter was introduced to the world in a cartoon featurette from 1978s Star Wars Holiday Special. But according to the official Star Wars website, Boba Fett actually made his public debut even earlier, at a small California parade. Yes, a parade. Watch footage below that was recently recirculated. Related: Happy Life Day! Todays the Anniversary of the Amazingly Awful Star Wars Holiday Special Did you know that Boba Fett made his first appearance at the San Anselmo Parade on 24th Sept, 1978, before the Holiday Special?! pic.twitter.com/q8Z94Sb6ib Filmumentaries (@jamieswb) November 16, 2016 Wearing a prototype costume, Boba Fett marched alongside Darth Vader in the 1978 San Anselmo Country Fair Parade in California, which took place in September of that year. (The holiday special would air on television for the first and only time a month later.) The man playing Fett was Duwayne Dunham, assistant film editor on Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, who was chosen to wear the suit because it fit him better than it did the other Lucasfilm employees. In a 2014 interview on StarWars.com, Dunham spoke about that day, which was only covered by the local San Anselmo press. (At the time, the town was home to Lucasfilms headquarters.) Although fans werent yet familiar with the character, some parade-goers requested autographs, leaving Dunham temporarily flummoxed. I remember trying to shout through that mask [at Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz], Is it one T or two Ts? Dunham told the website. And him saying, I think its two!' Related: The Star Wars Cantina Scene: The Out-of-This-World Story Behind the Galaxys Favorite Dive Bar Understandably, Dunham felt personally invested in the character, and said that everyone at Lucasfilm was dismayed to learn about Fetts throwaway death in Jedi. We kinda mounted a protest saying You cant do that to Boba Fett! Hes deserving of more!' he said. But they threw him inand as you know, fans have never let him die. CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African president Jacob Zuma hit out at an anti-corruption watchdog investigation implicating him, telling parliament on Wednesday that the process had been "unfair" to him and that the probe was carried out "in a funny way". Zuma, who has denied any wrongdoing, also said the anti-graft watchdog could not prescribe setting up any judicial commission of inquiry. The Public Protector report, released on Nov. 2 and entitled "State of Capture", stopped short of reaching conclusive findings against the president, some of his ministers and heads of state-owned companies. It recommended that a judicial probe be conducted to make a determination on the allegations. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia) BURLINGTON A Burlington man was charged Wednesday for allegedly causing a crash while intoxicated on Nov. 9 that left a man trapped in his vehicle and resulted in serious injuries. According to the criminal complaint: Jacob J. Horsch, 27, of the 100 block of South Elmwood Avenue, allegedly ran a red light and then crashed into a car at the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and Browns Lake Drive (Highway W) at about 3:40 that Wednesday afternoon. Officers at the scene reportedly found the victim trapped in his vehicle that had severe drivers side damage, while Horschs vehicle had severe front end damage. Horsch initially told police that he had gone through a yellow light when the crash occurred. However, surveillance video and witness accounts reportedly indicated that Horsch ran a red light and crashed into the victims vehicle. According to to police, officers smelled intoxicants on Horsch, who allegedly admitted to drinking two Four Loko drinks about an hour prior to the crash while he was using medication he was prescribed to help with his withdrawals from alcohol, according to the complaint. Four Loko is a beverage that combines alcohol and caffeine. The victim reportedly suffered a broken pelvis, broken femur, broken collar bone and a lacerated liver as a result of the crash. Horsch faces two felony charges: injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle, and reckless driving causing great bodily harm. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 30 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. Horsch remained in custody as of Wednesday at the Racine County Jail, online records showed. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea and Japan signed a military intelligence pact on Wednesday to share sensitive information on the threat posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear activities, the South's defense ministry said. The South Korean government went ahead with the deal despite opposition from some political parties and a large section of the public, who remain bitter over Japan's actions during its colonial rule of Korea from 1910 until the end of World War Two. The signing of the General Security of Military Information Agreement had originally been expected in 2012, but South Korea postponed it due to the domestic opposition. The case for the neighbors to pool intelligence has increased, however, as North Korea has been testing different types of missiles at a faster rate, and claims it has the capability to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile. "Cooperation between Japan and South Korea is becoming more important than ever in the security sphere as North Korea's nuclear (development) and missiles pose a different level of threat from before," public broadcaster NHK quoted Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida as telling reporters in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan. "Signing of the pact has a very important significance." In Beijing, which is North Korea's most important supporter despite Chinese anger at its missile and nuclear tests, the foreign ministry said the agreement would add to tensions on the Korean peninsular. "This will add a new unsafe, unstable element for northeast Asia," ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing. South Korea's Defence Minister Han Min-koo and Japan's ambassador to the South, Yasumasa Nagamine, inked the agreement in Seoul, according to the South Korean defense ministry. A survey by Gallup Korea on Friday showed that 59 percent of 1,007 respondents opposed the agreement between the two countries. Many of protesters demanding President Park Geun-hye to resign over a influence-pedaling scandal also insisted Park withdraw the military information sharing agreement with Tokyo. A defense ministry official said South Korea now has deals with 33 countries, including the United States and Russia, on military intelligence sharing. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Tetsushi Kajimoto in Tokyo; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean prosecutors have raided the headquarters of the country's National Pension Service (NPS), the world's third-largest pension fund, the NPS said on Wednesday. An NPS spokeswoman confirmed prosecutors were searching the fund's offices, but declined to give details. Local media reports said earlier that prosecutors were probing any irregularities involving the fund's backing of Cheil Industries Inc's bid to acquire Samsung C&T Corp last year. Yonhap News Agency reported that prosecutors also raided the office of Samsung Group senior executive Choi Gee-sung. Samsung Group declined to comment on the matter. (Reporting by Joyce Lee and Ju-min Park; Editing by Richard Pullin) Southwest Airlines Co. LUV declared that its Appearance Technicians have ratified a four-year tentative deal with it. Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) represents over 200 technicians of the company. Notably, 88% percent of the total votes were in favor of the deal that take effect immediately. Southwest Airlines Vice President of Maintenance Operations mentioned that the new contract is favorable for both the Agreement Technicians and the company. The deal not only offers increased pay and benefits to employees but also maintains the companys long-term business plan. Recent Agreements Update Southwest Airlines has lately seen progress in a number of decisions on key employee agreements. Earlier this month, the companys pilots ratified a new agreement. Per the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association (SWAPA), the deal received approval from 84.26% of the voting pilots. Negotiations for this deal had started in 2012 and were guided by the National Mediation Board (NMB)since 2014. The ratified agreement will become amenable in Nov 2020. Southwest Airlines saw another tentative agreement being ratified in October. Represented by Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 556, the companys flight attendants voted in favor of the tentative deal outlined in Sep 2016. Per the Union, 53.86% of the voters were in favor of the deal. Employee contracts are an integral part for smooth functioning of the airline especially since it faces intense competition from peers such as JetBlue Airways Co. JBLU, American Airlines Group Inc. AAL and Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL. Zacks Rank Southwest Airlines carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks' Top Investment Ideas for Long-Term Profit How would you like to see our best recommendations to help you find todays most promising long-term stocks? Starting now, you can look inside our portfolios featuring stocks under $10, income stocks, value investments and more. These picks, which have double and triple-digit profit potential, are rarely available to the public. But you can see them now. Click here >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SOUTHWEST AIR (LUV): Free Stock Analysis Report JETBLUE AIRWAYS (JBLU): Free Stock Analysis Report DELTA AIR LINES (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report AMER AIRLINES (AAL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research NASA has selected SpaceX for the launch of a first-of-its-kind science satellite the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft. The launch, scheduled to take place in April 2021, will take place from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California using a Falcon 9 rocket, the space agency said in a statement released Wednesday. Designed to make the first-ever global survey of Earths surface water, in addition to high-resolution ocean measurements, the SWOT mission will collect detailed measurements of how water bodies on Earth change over time, NASA said. The satellite will survey at least 90 percent of the globe, studying Earth's lakes, rivers, reservoirs and oceans, at least twice every 21 days, aid in freshwater management around the world, to improve ocean circulation models and weather and climate predictions. The launch of the satellite, which will be jointly developed and managed by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, is expected to cost roughly $112 million. Were excited to carry this critical science payload into orbit for NASA, the nation, and the international community, Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, told SpaceNews. We appreciate NASAs partnership and confidence in SpaceX as a launch provider. In addition to the commercial resupply services contracts for delivery of cargo and crew to the International Space Station, SpaceX currently holds another NASA contract valued at approximately $87 million, awarded by the space agency in December 2014 for the launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite next year. NASA, on its part, is looking for ways to cut costs of its other space missions including its planned crewed missions to Mars by increasing partnerships with private companies such as SpaceX and the United Launch Alliance. This is something that is also likely to continue under Donald Trumps presidency, as Vice President-elect Mike Pence has vowed to promote increased cooperation with the commercial space industry. Story continues However, SpaceX is yet to resume launches since the Sept.1 explosion that destroyed one of its Falcon 9 rockets on the launch pad. CEO Elon Musk recently said the companys rocket launches will likely restart in mid-December. Related Articles Madrid (AFP) - Amnesty International on Wednesday accused the Spanish authorities of systematically obstructing probes into crimes committed during the 1936-9 civil war and Francisco Franco's subsequent dictatorship. Spain has yet to come to terms with this dark, recent past, which remains suppressed to this day for fear of reviving once-bloody divisions, despite growing calls to heal wounds. "Spain's problem is not the act of forgetting, it is obstruction so that the crimes committed during the civil war and Franco regime are never subject to probes, neither in or outside the country," said Amnesty Spain chief Esteban Beltran. Just over 40 years after the death of Franco, he told reporters that courts refuse to probe victims' complaints and allegations of torture, forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings. Sitting next to him, Antonio Narvaez, 83, said he was still searching for his father's body after he was killed in 1936, and also that of his mother, who was arrested and went missing that same year. Maria Servini, an Argentine judge, has opened a lawsuit to investigate rights violations during the war and dictatorship after alleged victims filed a complaint in her country. In 2014, she issued arrest and extradition warrants for 19 former Spanish officials, including ex-ministers of Franco, to face justice in Argentina for alleged crimes against humanity -- but Madrid rejected them. In an internal memo from September 30 seen by AFP, Spain's then attorney general explained why Madrid should not collaborate with judicial authorities in Argentina. "Even in the very improbable case that an official who is still alive and able to stand trial were identified, Spanish authorities could not authorise an extradition, as these are incidents that come under the remit of Spanish courts," wrote Consuelo Madrigal. She added that past incidents could not be prosecuted as they were too old and had been tacitly pardoned under an amnesty law approved in 1977 after Franco's death, as leaders tried to prevent score-settling, unite the country and steer it toward democracy. But Ignacio Jovtis, an Amnesty researcher, said "these arguments go completely against international law." According to Amnesty, the UN Human Rights Committee says amnesties that prevent those who committed rights violations from standing trial are incompatible with a country's duty to investigate serious crimes. By Jalil Ahmad Razayee HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - It is early morning in a saffron field outside the western Afghan city of Herat and dozens of women are harvesting the delicate purple flowers, working quickly to gather as many as they can before the sun gets too hot. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, selling for as much as $1,200-$1,800 a kilogram, and has long been seen as an alternative crop to opium poppies for poor farmers in a country struggling with the legacy of decades of war and lawlessness. So far, it has had little impact on the opium trade which the United Nations estimates is worth some $3 billion a year in Afghanistan, source of most of the world's opium, from which heroin is produced. Even so, the Afghan saffron industry has grown and is establishing a reputation for quality in a market still dominated by neighboring Iran, which accounts for almost 90 percent of global production. "There is a huge demand for Afghan saffron," said Bashir Ahmad Rashidi, head of the Ariana Saffron Company, which exports to countries from France to Turkey, India and the United States. Just as importantly, it offers work for women whose employment opportunities are otherwise limited. "We are very happy about saffron cultivation because it has paved the way for women to find jobs," said Khanum Rassoli, who leads a team picking flowers for Ariana Saffron. "...It's mostly women doing the harvesting and processing." Known to have been cultivated in what is now Afghanistan at least 2,000 years ago, saffron is well suited to the dry climate, heavily labor intensive but requiring little sophisticated machinery or capital. The harvest is a tricky operation that begins in October and lasts just three weeks before the flowers begin to die. Workers pick about 10 kg of flowers a day, earning some 25 afghani ($0.38) per kilo. BRIGHT SPOT Once the flowers are picked, tiny orange stigmas are separated by hand for drying with about 450,000 stigmas needed to produce just one kilogram of the sharp and fragrant spice, used for seasoning and coloring from southern Europe to South Asia. Afghanistan produces around four tons a year, a figure dwarfed by the more than 200 tons Iran produces, but it is a rare bright spot in an economy struggling to get to its feet. "Over the past two years, we've seen saffron having a good impact on the economy of families and our country," said Rashidi from his office in the ancient city of Herat. The industry was revived by refugees returning from Iran in the 1990s and much work has gone into establishing Afghan saffron as an international brand. However competition from Iran is fierce, reflecting the experience in other sectors where cheap imports pose a threat to the emergence of a strong local industry. "We can find Iranian saffron in Herat saffron markets and I hope those who import Iranian saffron into Afghanistan think about the quality of Afghan saffron compared to Iranian saffron," Rashidi said. The other challenge is opium, far and away Afghanistan's biggest export. Government programs and Western donors provide assistance but loosening the grip of drugs networks, including those run by Taliban militants, is a distant target. However the World Bank estimates more than 6,000 farmers in Herat already produce saffron and the latest U.N. figures indicate that opium cultivation decreased in both Herat and neighboring Farah province last year. Gul Ahmad, a farmer, said with more help, the industry will develop further. "Saffron is better than poppy because poppy cultivation caused negative impacts on society and the young generation," he said. "Saffron is a legal business and it produces a good income." (Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Nick Macfie) Spider-Man is using his powers to cheer up sick children in New York. Tom Holland, who portrays the web-slinging superhero in Marvel movie Spider-Man: Homecoming, has been frequently visiting children in hospitals to cheer them up and get their Spidey senses tingling. Holland, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon recently visited the New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Childrens Hospital on Tuesday to bring joy to young fans of the superhero. But little did Holland know that there are plenty of young Batman fans out there. In a video that the English actor posted on his Instagram account, the 20-year-old is seen donning his spandex suit and meeting a patient named Nicholas. Do you like Batman better than Spider-Man? Holland asked the kid. When he nods that hes a fan of the DC superhero, Holland says Ouch! The Spider-Man actor captioned the video, What a beautiful day at the @nyphospital. Thank you so much for having us and making this happen. Always love being back with the squad @Zendaya and @lifeisaloha. Hit play and watch the video below: A video posted by (@tomholland2013) on Nov 22, 2016 at 1:31pm PST Zendaya, who recently debunked rumors that she is playing Spidermans love interest Mary Jane Watson in the Marvel movie, also shared the video on her Instagram account. She captioned the video, I think we have worlds best real life Spider-Man....an absolutely beautiful day at @nyphospital with two of my favorite people @tomholland2013 @lifeisaloha. Tom Holland Photo: Reuters/Toby Melville Batalon, who plays a character named Ned Leeds, shared a photo of the visit at the childrens hospital that shows him, Holland and Zendaya posing with a sick child in a hospital bed. You all gave us a love more precious than diamonds @nyphospital @lollipoptheater thanks for helping us do this, he captioned the photo. Story continues A photo posted by Jacob Batalon (@lifeisaloha) on Nov 22, 2016 at 10:37pm PST Spider-Man: Homecoming swings into theatres on July 7, 2017. Related Articles As nominations were announced on Tuesday morning for the 32nd annual Film Independent Spirit Awards, Barry Jenkins' widely-celebrated Moonlight and Andrea Arnold's less-heralded American Honey, with six nominations each, grabbed the headlines. Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea also woke to a more-than-respectable showing, with five nominations. While those three films were nominated for the Spirit Awards' best feature prize, along with Pablo Larrain's Jackie and Michael Franco's Chronic, several other contenders failed to crack the top category - among them 20th Century Women, Hell or High Water and Loving. But to all the Oscar publicists who emailed me this morning - whether they were celebrating or despairing - I have a message: Take a chill pill. If history has shown us anything, it's that the Spirit Awards have very little bearing on the Oscars. I say this not to take anything away from Film Independent or its hallmark event, both of which are wonderful, but rather to remind people that Spirit Award nominations never have served as much of a barometer for Oscar nominations. While it's true that Spirit Awards noms offer a more accurate reflection of the feelings of the overall independent filmmaking community than the New York-based Gotham Awards, the taste of the independent filmmaking community itself is not particularly shared by the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Read more: Independent Spirit Awards: 'Moonlight,' 'American Honey' Score Leading 6 Nominations Each Spirit Award noms are chosen in November by a nominating committee comprised of several dozen people connected with the world of independent film (writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, actors, critics, casting directors, film festival programmers and other working film professionals). Oscar noms, meanwhile, are chosen in January by a group of some 7,000 people. Story continues True, the makeup of the Academy is slowly but surely changing - Academy CEO Dawn Hudson joined the organization from Film Independent, where she previously served as president, and during her tenure the Academy has stepped up its efforts to bring in a more diverse membership, including many from the indie film community. But I'd argue the vast majority of Academy members still possess loyalties or inclinations toward studio fare, having come up within the studio system. So while it certainly isn't a bad omen for, say, Jackie's Oscar prospects that it got a best feature Spirit Award nom, it's not necessarily a good omen either - any more than it is for American Honey and Chronic. 20th Century Women, Hell or High Water and Loving still stand an infinitely better shot at securing a best picture Oscar nom than those two, not necessarily because of quality (that's, of course, subjective), but because they are backed by full-fledged Oscar campaigns - meaning money and personnel - working around-the-clock to convince Academy members that they need to see them. Some indie titles dodged this sort of mishigas on Tuesday because they weren't quite indie enough, according to Film Independent's definition. La La Land, for instance, had a budget of around $30 million; the Spirit Awards look for things at or under $20 million. That also explains the absence of Nocturnal Animals. On the other hand, Lion and A Monster Calls, while meeting budget requirements, weren't principally made in America, so they were eligible only in the international film category, although neither got a nom there. Performers who did not make the list of Spirit nominees - like Loving's lead actor Joel Edgerton and Manchester by the Sea's supporting actress Michelle Williams - need not panic, either. Rightly or not, Spirit nominees David Harewood (Free in Deed) and Lily Gladstone (Certain Women), respectively, won't be taking their places at the Oscars. I also wouldn't focus on the absence of Moonlight's supporting performers Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris, since their movie's entire cast was feted with the special Robert Altman Award. That award is chosen by the same jury that selects the acting category nominees and in past years has only once elected to nominate an individual from an Altman Award-winning ensemble. But some of the "snubs" of true low-budget indie hopefuls are more significant - such as Paterson's Adam Driver. And the omission of some high-profile, massively acclaimed performances - like that of Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water - likely indicate voter confusion about categories. I suspect Bridges' absence has less to do with people not loving his work than not knowing which category it belongs in. While he's been pushed as a supporting performer for the Oscar, he was submitted for the Gotham Awards as a lead, simply because the Gothams don't have supporting categories, and he received a nom there because, I'm told, the jury felt that's the category in which he actually belongs. Spirit Award voters do have the option of both lead and supporting categories, and may have been split about where to put him, which suggests his backers need to either make it clearer that he's a supporting actor contender or re-evaluate that categorization - and fast. The only real way in which the Spirit Awards nominations influence anything that comes after them is in highlighting films and people who might not yet be on the radar of Academy members and, in so doing, motivate some of them to watch something they weren't previously inclined to check out. This year, the Spirit Award noms, coming on top of the Gotham Award noms, are most likely to have that effect on Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight, the indie darlings that some might have been putting off seeing because they are, undeniably, bleak. And perhaps a few more people also will pop in a screener of American Honey (including supporting actor Shia LaBeouf and supporting actress Riley Keough) and Other People, which got four (including lead actor Jesse Plemons and supporting actress Molly Shannon). And that's a good thing. The Spirit Awards winners will be revealed at a ceremony in Santa Monica on Feb. 25 - as always, the day before, you guessed it, the Oscars. Read more: Feinberg Forecast: Oscar Race Standings on the Eve of Thanksgiving RACINE COUNTY With the turkey almost ready to hit the oven, local fire departments want to make sure that trouble doesnt follow. Fire calls often pop up on holidays because of the increased cooking and traffic within homes, so departments are offering tips on how to have a fun and safe holiday. One of the main causes of holiday fires is citizens taking on the deep fryer, according to Racine Fire Department Division Chief Jeff Perkins. He said that though deep frying a turkey is not as popular as it once was, it can be very dangerous when done improperly. You must read and follow all safety instructions that come with a turkey deep fryer including using the proper type and amount of oil, making sure the turkey is completely thawed and putting the deep fryer on the ground and off of, and away from, any combustible surfaces like homes and wood decks, Perkins said. Those opting to cook with an oven are typically safer, but Caledonia Fire Department Lt. Tim St. Amand said steps need to be taken to ensure there are no safety concerns when using the oven for extended periods of time. If youre baking in an oven, make sure its been cleaned recently, St. Amand said. Make sure the oven doesnt catch on fire from built up grease and such. In addition to the turkey, various other dishes and treats will likely be served. With many appliances running at once, South Shore Fire Department Division Chief Mark Pierce said that the electrical output could cause problems. Cooking with an electric appliance like a slow roaster or oven and the coffee pot running, it can be easy to overload an electrical system, Pierce said. If youre popping your circuit breakers, you know you need to move something. Non-cooking safety Even outside of all of the holiday cooking, there are many dangers that lurk in a home. Though they provide a holiday mood and hide the fact that you slightly overcooked something, candles are one of the most common causes of holiday disasters. People like to light candles for ambiance, but you need to be careful with candles, Pierce said. Make sure you watch it and be sure to not forget to put it out once you are done. Perkins added that children should be watched because of the additional traffic and chaos in homes during holidays. Children can be curious about what is all going on, so make sure they stay at least 3 feet from the stove, even after you turn it off, and away from any hot foods, hot liquids, knives, candles, lighters and matches, Perkins said. Even electrical cords dangling over a counter or table ledge can be within reach of a curious child. If a fire does start in your home, it is important to get everyone out as quickly as possible and to shut the door to limit the oxygen that can build a fires flow path, St. Amand said. He added that it is also important to not try to fight the fire and let the fire department handle it. If you have a fire, make sure you get out, stay out, call 911 and shut your door on the way out, St. Amand said. Were here to keep people safe. Thanksgiving has a long tradition as a holiday in the United States but not without some controversy. Heres a look at some interesting facts, including the claimants to the first celebration and the President who sparked public outrage by trying to move the holidays date! FDR456 The national holiday did not begin with the Pilgrims. In 1777 the Continental Congress declared the first national day of Thanksgiving, following the American victory at Saratoga, which by historical consensus was a good day for the country. The holiday has many fathers, including the father of our country. George Washington became the first president to proclaim a Thanksgiving holiday, when in 1789 he set aside November 26, a Tuesday, as a day of thanksgiving for adoption of the U.S. Constitution, another good day for the country. The holiday also has a mother. Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of a popular 19th century womans magazine called Godeys Ladys Book, started a campaign in 1846 to make Thanksgiving a holiday celebrating harvests going back to the Pilgrims feast. So it did have something to do with the Pilgrims. And perhaps Thanksgiving partisans can agree that the tradition of celebrating the holiday on Thursday which became a custom throughout New England in the 17th century dates back to the early history of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, where post-harvest festivals were celebrated on the weekday regularly set aside as Lecture Day, a midweek church meeting where topical sermons were presented. But there are even earlier claimants to the first Thanksgiving on the North American continent. Some trace the first Thanksgiving to the ill-fated English settlement in Jamestown, Va., in 1607. Others say it was even earlier than that: celebrated in Florida in 1513 by Ponce de Leon, or by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, camping on the Palo Duro in Texas in 1541. Abraham Lincoln is also a father of Thanksgiving. Sarah Josepha Hales 19th century campaign for a Thanksgiving holiday culminated in the midst of the Civil War. In 1863 she got President Lincoln to proclaim a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on November 26, a Thursday that year. In his proclamation, Lincoln named the last Thursday in the month as the day to celebrate. Story continues Presidents meddle with tradition at their own risk. With a few exceptions, Lincolns precedent was followed by every subsequent president until 1939. That year Franklin D. Roosevelt, who thought the last Thursday was too close to Christmas, mandated the third Thursday in November instead. Controversy ensued. Many Americans, and some states, refused to recognize Roosevelts departure from tradition. For the next two years, he repeated the unpopular proclamation. But on November 26, 1941, he acknowledged defeat, agreeing to a joint resolution of Congress that specified the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day, where it has remained pinned to the calendar ever since. Even so, you dont have to be American to love Thanksgiving. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving, as well, although their version of the holiday falls on the second Monday in October, rather than the fourth Thursday in November. Japan, South Korea, Laos and Liberia are also among the nations of the world with Thanksgiving holidays. George Washington got it right. Washingtons first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation urged not hubris, but humility: that we may unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications beseeching [God] to pardon our national and other transgressions. Rather than being a source of division, perhaps the association of this holiday with Pilgrims and Indians is an opportunity for us to acknowledge both our achievements and our shortcomings. But Thanksgiving is primarily for rejoicing. So lets celebrate it in the spirit in which the Constitution, for which Washington urged us to give thanks, was written: That we are one people, however imperfect, constantly striving to perfect our evolving national union. Constitution Daily Thanksgiving Stories The Founding Fathers really didnt want the turkey as our national symbol Happy 226th birthday to Washingtons Thanksgiving proclamation! The real story behind the presidential turkey pardon Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa's political turmoil and weakening economy will come under the harsh spotlight of international credit ratings from this week amid predictions the country could lose its investment-level status. Moody's will release its updated grading on Friday, before Standard & Poor issues its key announcement a week later on December 2. S&P currently has South Africa -- the continent's most developed economy -- rated at the lowest investment grade, and a downgrade would put the country's bonds into so-called "junk" status. Moody's currently rates it one level higher than S&P. Any downgrade would trigger a further crisis of confidence among investors who have become increasingly wary of South Africa's economic prospects under President Jacob Zuma. The country has endured a year of political scandals and falling economic growth, set against record unemployment and huge social inequality more than two decades after the end of apartheid. The outcome of the ratings reviews is uncertain, but more than half of 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the S&P would downgrade South Africa to junk. Peter Montalto, Nomura bank analyst, however said S&P could freeze its rating until next year, while Moody's might cut it by one notch. "The agencies may want to see the outcome of the budget in February for specifics on revenue changes and also where growth is at the time," he said. "Many policy makers have been talking up the chances of ratings staying on hold in recent days." A rating downgrade could trigger a bout of bond selling by foreign investors. Some investment funds have rules that allow them to only hold bonds that have investment-grade ratings. A downgrade would also likely fuel fierce criticism of Zuma's leadership. - Political battle - South Africa's struggle to retain its investment-grade status has been at the centre of a political battle in recent months. Story continues Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who is widely feted by investors, has appeared to have only a fragile hold on his job in a clash with Zuma. Gordhan was due to appear in court earlier this month on graft charges that many analysts saw as an attempt by Zuma loyalists to oust him. The charges were dropped at the last minute, exposing deep tensions in the ruling ANC party as several ministers came out in his support. Gordhan was appointed only last year to calm panicked investors when Zuma sacked two finance ministers within four days. South Africa on Monday unveiled the proposed figure for its first minimum wage -- 3,500 zar ($242) a month -- in a move that could improve labour relations. Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said the issue was raised in meetings with the Fitch rating agency, which is also expected to issue its latest credit grading within two to three weeks. "They wanted to know what progress we are making and they wanted to hear about the minimum wage," Ramaphosa said. "By and large we had a good a meeting." But South Africa's dire economic situation was underlined on Tuesday with the release of figures showing the unemployment rate had risen to its highest in 13 years, at 27.1 percent. Growth is projected to slow to just 0.5 percent this year. "I don't think... that we are seeing enough being done," Christie Viljoen, an economist at KPMG in Cape Town, told Bloomberg. "It might be enough at the moment to avoid an immediate downgrade... but if it is avoided in December, its going to happen next year." In a meeting with New York Times reporters and executives on Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump delivered a stunning about-face on his long-time support for torturing terrorism suspects, and despite months of bragging that he would bring back waterboarding and a hell of a lot worse, he now says it might not be an effective tool. The change seems to have come after a meeting with retired Marine Corps general James Mattis on Sunday, who Trump said he is seriously considering to head the Department of Defense. The president-elect admitted that when he asked Mattis about waterboarding, he was surprised that the retired general rejected the idea. Mattis replied that he had never found abuse to be useful when dealing with detainees, Trump recounted to the newspaper. Instead, he advocated building a rapport with prisoners, something many in the intelligence community have been arguing for years is a more effective method of soliciting information. Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and Ill do better, Trump said Mattis told him. I was very impressed by that answer, Trump said. Torture, Trump concluded, is not going to make the kind of a difference that a lot of people are thinking. The admission raises questions over the incoming presidents understanding of the militarys view of waterboarding and torture, and if support for waterboarding had emerged as a litmus test for who the president-elect will nominate to be in his cabinet. All of Trumps cabinet picks so far for national security advisor, CIA director, and vice president have called for abusive interrogation techniques to be re-introduced to the U.S. governments counterterrorism toolbox. Trump has long extolled the need for waterboarding terrorist suspects while on the campaign trail and in presidential debates, saying earlier this year, I would absolutely authorize something beyond waterboarding and believe me, it will be effective. During a Republican primary debate in February, he added, I would bring back waterboarding and I would bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding. Story continues In some ways, Mattis has literally written the book on rejecting torture and abuse as a tool for gaining information and waging war. In September 2005, the then-three star general published a 34-page document while serving as the Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, called War Crimes. Mattis wrote that Marines do not torture or kill enemy prisoners of war or detainees. He followed that up in his introduction by stating, America is trusted by the world to do the right thing, and so must be the United States Marines. Following the rules, including the rules in warfare, must be a part of our warrior ethos. The application of honor, courage, and commitment in the conduct of military operations means: the honor to comply with the Laws of War, the courage to report all violations, and the commitment to discipline the violators. As the commander of the First Marine Division in southern Iraq in early 2003, Mattis wrote a letter to his Marines to engage your brain before you engage your weapon, and our fight is not with the Iraqi people, nor is it with members of the Iraqi army who choose to surrender. Trumps pick to be National Security Advisor, retired U.S. Army general Mike Flynn, has in recent months refused to rule out bringing back the use of waterboarding and other forms of torture for prisoners in American custody, despite a history of denouncing the tactics. In December 2014, Flynn said torturing prisoners exposes the United States to something that we I think history will look back on it and it wont be a pretty picture. Since joining the Trump campaign, however, his view has shifted. I am a believer in leaving as many options on the table right up until the last possible minute, he told Al Jazeera in May. He even left the door open to killing family members of suspected terrorists, as Trump has suggested. Flynn said he would have to see what the circumstances of that situation were before making a decision. In an interview with Politico just last month however, Flynn continued to express some misgivings. I would not want to return to enhanced techniques, he said. Having said that, if the nation was in grave danger from a terrorist attack involving weapons of mass destruction, and we had certain individuals in our custody with information that might avoid it, then I would probably OK enhanced interrogation techniques within certain limits. Trumps pick to be the next director of the CIA, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) has also defended the use of waterboarding. If the Trump administration did want to bring back waterboarding, it wouldnt be easy, and would face stiff resistance from the Pentagon and some lawmakers. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, testifying before a Senate panel earlier this year, flatly rejected bringing back so-called enhanced interrogation techniques. Congress has also rejected torture. In June 2015, the Senate voted 78-21 to adopt an amendment reaffirming the ban on prisoner abuse, while mandating that interrogation techniques should be guided by the Army and Marine Corps field manual, which does not include waterboarding. Photo Credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images Khartoum (AFP) - Sudanese security agents on Wednesday arrested four prominent leftist opposition figures, their alliance said, as authorities press a bid to crush protests sparked by fuel price hikes. The National Intelligence and Security Service has seized several opposition politicians in the past few weeks as part of the crackdown to prevent street protests as seen during deadly demonstrations in 2013. NISS arrested top leftist leaders Siddig Yousif, Tareq Abdelmajid, Mohamed Diaelddin and Munzier Abumali at its Khartoum office where they had been summoned on Wednesday, said the National Consensus Forces alliance. "When they reached the office of NISS today, they were informed that they were under arrest," it said in a statement. Family members of Yousif and Abumali confirmed their arrests to AFP. Sudan's opposition groups including the Communist Party, a member of the National Consensus Forces, had called for street protests against President Omar al-Bashir's government after the authorities hiked prices of petrol and diesel by about 30 percent this month. Groups of protesters have staged small rallies in parts of Khartoum and some other towns since then, but they were quickly dispersed by anti-riot police. Several protesters including women have been put on trial for staging rallies in the capital. Similar fuel subsidy cuts triggered the deadly unrest of 2013 which drew widespread international criticism. Rights groups say about 200 people were killed in that crackdown, but the government puts the death toll at less than 100. The government has been forced to progressively reduce fuel subsidies since 2011 when South Sudan seceded and took with it nearly three-quarters of the formerly united country's oil reserves. Government officials and leaders of the ruling National Congress Party were not immediately available for comment on the latest arrests. In the legal drama surrounding billionaire mogul Sumner Redstone, it seems that with each lawsuit settled, two more are filed. The latest battle is set in Manhattan and centers on a $3.75 million apartment in The Carlyle hotel, which Redstone had promised to his then longtime friend Manuela Herzer upon his death. A Jan. 8, 2015, agreement signed by Redstone and Herzer, which is attached to the complaint, says "to avoid probate and for other reasons of convenience" the two would be listed as joint tenants on the title. "Sumner is providing all of the consideration for the purchase of the Apartment and does not intend to make a current gift to Manuela," states the agreement. "Manuela acknowledges that notwithstanding that the Apartment is held in Sumner and Manuela's names as joint tenants with right of survivorship, until Sumner's death, the Apartment belongs exclusively to Sumner." After more than a year of court battles between Herzer and various members of the Redstone family, the patriarch is suing her - and The Carlyle itself - to make sure she doesn't get the property when he dies. According to the complaint filed Tuesday by attorneys Howard Elman and Judd Spray, Herzer is refusing to relinquish her rights to the apartment. Redstone is asking the court for a determination of ownership and wants The Carlyle to issue a new lease solely in his name. Alternatively, he's asking for an order to sell the apartment and divide the proceeds according to the equities. He argues, as he paid the purchase price, transaction costs and monthly maintenance payments, he's entitled to 100 percent of the proceeds from any sale. This comes on the heels of an elder abuse claim against both Herzer and Sydney Holland that seeks to reclaim $150 million worth of "gifts" Redstone had given to them. Herzer's attorney Ronald Richards sent The Hollywood Reporter a statement via email Wednesday morning, saying the title means they are both owners until one of them dies and likening the situation to that of asking a spouse to give up a home you bought together. Story continues "This decision was made many years ago when Sumner Redstone was competent and was in charge of his own decisions," Richards writes. "The letter she signed was for tax purposes only and has no legal effect whatsoever as to title. When Sumner Redstone was competent, he had his fleet of attorneys and accountants draft the title documents. She will never give her apartment back and he will never testify in court contrary to that position." Richards also says the action is a "poorly orchestrated" move by the mogul's daughter Shari Redstone - who is currently at the center of a $100 million spying lawsuit from Herzer. "Sumner Redstone continues to be victimized by his daughter and attorneys she employs," says Richards. "I am very confident we won't be seeing him participate in any aspect of this case. It is the modern-day Wizard of Oz." Redstone's attorneys sent THR a comment in response to Richards' statement Wednesday morning: "Sumner bought the apartment and it belongs to him. Period. Herzer agreed in writing that it would belong solely to Sumner until he dies, and that he did not intend to make a present gift to her. Unfortunately for her, New York law is clear that there was no enforceable gift and that Sumner is entitled to change his mind." Read more: Sumner Redstone Sues Ex-Companions for Elder Abuse to Reclaim $150M in Gifts As parents, Teen Mom 2 stars Chelsea DeBoer and Jenelle Evans couldnt help but sympathize with the families of the kids who were injured or killed in the recent Chattanooga bus crash. The reality stars took to social media to extend their prayers to the young students who were involved in the accident, as well as to their family and friends. Between the two MTV stars, DeBoer was the first to express her disbelief upon reading about the Chattanooga crash. In a tweet she posted on Tuesday, the soon-to-be mom of two wrote that the news story gave her chills and that she is sending her prayers to the families affected by the accident. Just a few hours later, Evans found out about the incident and took to Twitter, asking for prayers for the southeastern city in Tennessee. The expectant mom also called out the driver of the bus for being careless, knowing that the vehicle transports children. In a follow-up tweet, Evans got a bit emotional. The reality TV actress admitted how incident crushed her heart, adding that shes sorry for the parents of the kids who were killed in the bus crash. On Monday, Chattanooga citizens received disturbing news that a school bus from Woodmore Elementary School had crashed after its 24-year-old driver, identified as Johnthony K. Walker, recklessly sped and swerved during his drive in the afternoon, the New York Times reports. Authorities said that five students were killed four girls and a boy and 12 others were rushed to the hospital. Half of the 12 were in intensive care. Another 19 were reportedly treated at the hospital but were released afterwards. The National Safety Transportation Board are already reviewing what happened. The agencys chairman, Christopher Hart, told NBC News that among the materials they will be reviewing are footage from the video cameras of the bus and a data recorded. Story continues Teen Mom 2 Photo: MTV Related Articles HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese internet services giant Tencent Holdings Ltd and a group of seven investors have moved closer to launching a 1.5 billion yuan ($218 million) online life insurer in China, putting up funds and signing an agreement to form the venture. One of the investors, Munsun Capital Group Ltd, said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Wednesday it paid 210 million yuan for a 14 percent stake in HeTai Life Insurance Co, after signing HeTai's article of association with Tencent and other investors. Tencent invested through its Beijing BIZCOM Technology Co Ltd unit, with other shareholders in HeTai including CITIC Guoan Co Ltd and Beijing Easyhome Investment Holding Group Co, according to the filing. China's online finance industry has boomed in recent years, with players ranging from Tencent to e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and start-ups offering peer-to-peer lending, wealth management and online payments in a bid to prise business away from traditional banks and insurers. Tencent is also among backers of Chinese internet insurer Zhong An Online Property and Casualty Insurance, looking to go public in Hong Kong in a $2 billion deal. HeTai got the green light from Chinese regulators to start its business in July, and has up to one year to complete its "preparation of establishment", Munsun added in the filing. (Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) Bogota (AFP) - Colombia's government and FARC rebels signed a controversial revised peace accord to end their half-century conflict, set to be ratified in Congress despite bitter opposition. President Juan Manuel Santos and guerrilla leader Rodrigo "Timochenko" Londono signed the new deal with a pen made from a spent bullet, in a low-key ceremony in the capital Bogota. The original deal -- signed with great fanfare in September -- was rejected by voters in a referendum last month, a shock upset that sent negotiators back to the drawing board. The new plan bypasses a vote by the Colombian people, against bitter opposition from critics. They say the revisions are only cosmetic and will still grant impunity for war crimes committed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Santos, who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the conflict, said the new deal was better than the original. "It includes the hopes and observations of the vast majority of Colombians," he said after signing it. "We all know in our souls that the cost of the armed conflict is too high." - Fragile ceasefire - The deal was immediately sent to Congress, where it is expected to pass after being debated next week. Santos and his allies hold a majority in the legislature. The government and FARC both say they are under pressure for fear that their fragile ceasefire could break down. A recent wave of alleged assassinations in conflict zones has added to calls to seal a deal fast. But an aftermath of discord and uncertainty appears likely as opponents promised to keep resisting the peace plan, including with street protests. "The country has spoken. It has said, 'Yes to peace, but without impunity,'" said top opponent Alvaro Uribe, a conservative ex-president and senator. "What we have here remains total impunity," he told RCN television. Speaking later in the Senate, he called for another referendum on some of the contested "basic issues" in the deal. Story continues - Opposition objections - The government and FARC negotiators' redrafted version of the deal includes concessions from the rebels on issues such as reparations for victims. But Uribe complains it still ignores key demands, notably on punishing FARC leaders for the killings and kidnappings blamed on the group. Under the deal, the Marxist rebels would disarm and become a political party. The deal allows non-custodial sentences for convicted FARC members. Uribe and his allies demand tougher punishments and say rebel leaders guilty of war crimes should not be allowed to run for office before completing their sentences. A survey by pollster Datexco published on Wednesday found that 58 percent of people want more revisions to the deal. - Bypassing voters - Congress will open a live televised debate on the deal from next Tuesday. On the streets of Bogota, passerby Overnis Diaz welcomed the agreement. "We have lived through a war of more than 50 years. We want no more bloodshed," he said. But another local, Dayanna Gil, said: "It should be approved through a popular vote... We should all have a say." - Disarmament in months - Santos said that five days after the deal is approved, the FARC rebels will begin gathering in demobilization zones and will hand over their weapons to the United Nations within five months. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hailed Thursday's deal. "The violent incidents that have taken place recently in conflict-affected areas underscore the relevance of many of the commitments contained in the agreement and the urgency of putting them into effect," his spokesman said in a statement. The Colombian conflict has killed at least 260,000 people and displaced seven million since it erupted in 1964, according to the authorities. It has drawn in various left- and right-wing armed groups, state forces and gangs. Recent efforts by the government to start talks with the second-biggest rebel group, the leftist ELN, have failed due to disputes over hostages. A newly fashioned constitutional rule against partisan gerrymandering, emerging Monday in a federal court in Wisconsin, will be tested in the Supreme Court, state officials now plan. The split decision by a three-judge federal trial court struck down a 2011 plan giving Republicans a distinct advantage to elect members of the 99-seat state Assembly. courtfreize535 The majority of the special District Court in Madison ruled that the Assembly election maps will entrench the GOPs control of the legislative body throughout the years until the next Census is taken in 2020, when a new plan likely will be necessary. The majority strung together a series of comments over the years by Supreme Court Justices to construct the theory of party entrenchment: as a constitutional violation. Because the new districts will effectively keep Democrats in a minority status in the Assembly for the rest of the decade, the ruling said, Democratic voters will be deprived of their opportunity to elect legislators of their choice, to represent their interests, in violation of their constitutional right to join with voters of like political sentiments under the First Amendment and to legal equality under the Fourteenth Amendment. Under current federal law, special three-judge District Courts are assembled to decide redistricting challenges, and appeals from those courts decision go directly to the Supreme Court rather than first to a federal appeals court. Wisconsin Attorney General Brad D. Schimel said on Monday that the state will appeal. The case probably will reach the Court for action after there is a ninth Justice to fill the existing vacancy on the bench. The Supreme Court from time to time has shown some interest in the question of when too much partisanship has gone into drawing up new election maps, but it has never found a formula for answering that question. The Wisconsin ruling is the first to accept an answer suggested by lawyers and political experts. Story continues The dissenting judge argued that the redistricting process is inherently one for the politicians, not the courts, but that the new ruling is likely to force states to take away from their legislatures the duty to engage in redistricting, handing the task to non-partisan commissions. The ruling emerged in 159 pages 117 pages of writing, plus two pages of charts, for the majority, and 40 for the dissent. Senior Circuit Judge Kenneth F. Ripple, who normally sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, wrote for the majority, joined by Senior District Judge Barbara B. Crabb of Madison. Dissenting was Chief Judge William C. Griesbach of Green Bay. (Three judge federal trial courts usually have a Circuit judge and two District judges.) In a series of decisions dating back to 1973, the Supreme Court has been faced with claims that redistricting has grown so deeply partisan that it leads to one-party domination, creating a constitutional problem in equal representation. But, as the Wisconsin court noted Monday, there is no single opinion among those decisions that has attracted a majority of Justices. Some Justices have argued that the courts simply have no business judging the partisan nature of the redistricting process. Others have argued that partisan gerrymandering can be unconstitutional, but no majority has ever assembled around a manageable standard. The Wisconsin case, along with a case now moving along in a three-judge District Court in Baltimore, involving Marylands congressional redistricting, are being closely watched because those involve attempts to frame a constitutional formula. In both cases, the suggested formula by the challengers to new districting was to compare the districts drawn for election of the disfavored partys candidates with those drawn for the favored partys candidates, to see how big an advantage the overall map gives to the favored party. The difference results because, in the disfavored districts, that partys followers were either loaded into fewer districts to minimize their share statewide, or were scattered among districts dominated by the other partys voters to neutralize their power. If the two parties shares of election outcomes compare one-to-one, there is no partisan gerrymandering. But the larger the difference, distributing population to give the favored partys voters more electoral power that is, in a partisan gerrymander. The majority in the Wisconsin court did not base its ruling directly on that formula, although it did say that using that formula tends to bolster its main conclusion that there was, in fact and in law, a partisan gerrymander for Assembly seats under the 2011 Wisconsin map. The majority summarized its standard for judging partisanship as a three-step approach. First, a court looks at evidence of what the legislative sponsors of the maps intended, to see if there was a specific aim to place a severe impediment on the effectiveness of the votes of individual citizens on the basis of their political affiliation that is, the disfavored partys voters. Second, the court judges whether the resulting maps did have that effect on the disfavored partys followers. And, finally, the court decides whether that effect can be justified on the basis of some legitimate legislative grounds. In the end, the majority found that the 2011 Assembly maps failed at all three steps. The most important step, it appeared, was the first: the legislative leaders intent. That step is proven, the decision concluded, with evidence that the lawmakers managing the redistricting process had a specific intent to entrench [their] political party in power, which insulates that party and its followers in the legislature from having to be concerned about the interests of citizens of the out party. The majority said: Whatever gray may span the areas between acceptable and excessive [partisanship], an intent to entrench a political party in power signals an excessive injection of politics into the redistricting process that impinges on the representational rights of those associated with the party out of power. The court examined the outcome of the use of the 2011 plan in the 2012 and 2014 elections, and found that the Republican leaders got just what they had sought. In 2012, the GOPs candidates statewide drew 48.6 percent of the overall vote, but they won 60 of the 99 seats. In 2014, drawing 52 percent of the statewide vote, they won 63 of the 99 seats. Whether Wisconsin is becoming a more Republican-oriented state, which the legislative leaders had argued, the majority said that the 2011 maps have assured that the Democrats will be held to a minority in the Assembly through this decade. In dissent, Judge Griesbach argued that there can never be a partisan gerrymander unless the legislature, in drawing new maps, creates oddly shaped districts that violate the traditional principles of having compact, contiguous districts that respect political boundaries and zones of political interest. The 2011 map, he argued, was true to all of those principles, so that should be the end of any oversight by a court. Legendary journalist Lyle Denniston is Constitution Dailys Supreme Court correspondent. Denniston has written for us as a contributor since June 2011 and he has covered the Supreme Court since 1958. His work also appears on lyldenlawnews.com, where this story first appeared. Recent Stories on Constitution Daily Does the Constitution put limits on a presidents private business ties? Dont expect Electoral College drama on December 19 Explaining President Obamas outgoing pardon powers Something stirred in 9-year-old Chloe Gallegoss little heart when she saw a social media video of a thief stealing a tip jar at a Texas donut shop. So, she decided to right the wrong. Andy Chhong, longtime owner of Daylight Donuts in Alvin, Texas uploaded a video to Facebook of a tip jar thief caught in the act after hours. And it just didnt sit right with Chloe, a frequent Daylight Donuts customer. She vowed to replace Chhongs stolen bills with her own tooth fairy money. One of my employees realized that the money was empty in the tip jar and then we saw the video, Chhong tells PEOPLE. But Chhong never expected to receive a handwritten note from the young customer on the day he posted the video. Dear Donut Man, started the letter. My mom showed me the video of your money getting stolen. Im sorry that happened. This is my tooth fairy money. Sorry that happened, Chloe. Next to the childs scrawl note was $4. I took a picture of the note and I wrote to one of the guys that I know who creates discussion pages, shares Chhong, who moved from Massachusetts to Texas to open his shop in 2009. I texted the note to him and he found out the note was from his daughter! Gallegos father recognized his daughters handwriting and it turns out shes a big fan of Chhongs shop. I didnt know her by name, but Chloe likes my donut shop, she comes in 2 or 3 times a week, shares Chhong, saying that Gallego often stops in the morning before school with her mother. As a reward, the store owner says that hes decided to let Chloe have anything in the shopfor life. (And as long as hes the owner.) Chloes act of kindness even inspired Chhong not to press charges against the thief. I decided to give her a second chance, he says. Money doesnt mean anything. Its about love and caring, the donut shop owner reflects. I believe in second chances. The best way to show the world is to care for another. Were in this together. With reporting by CHRISTINE LEE A federal judge in Sherman, Texas, blocked a Labor Department rule that would have expanded overtime protections to more workers as of Dec. 1. U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the rule, which he said improperly creates a salary test to determine who is protected by the Fair Labor Standards Acts white collar exemption. The rule, challenged by business groups and 21 state attorneys general, would require employers to pay overtime to salaried workers earning less than $47,476 a year, more than double the current threshold of $23,660, which has not been updated since 2004. The ruling represents the fourth time in less than two years a federal judge has blocked one of President Barack Obamas initiatives nationwide, Bloomberg noted. Others involved shielding undocumented immigrants from deportation, providing bathroom access for transgender students and requiring federal contractors to disclose labor violations. The 20-page decision preserves the status quo while the court determines the departments authority to make the final rule as well as the final rules validity. It rejected a request by the federal government to limit the ruling to the 21 states that opposed it. If Congress intended the salary requirement to supplant the duties test, then Congress and not the department, should make that change, the judge said, adding that regional differences hadnt been taken into account nor considered the ability of smaller public and private entities to pay higher salaries. overtime Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images The states argued the Obama administration had usurped Congress prerogative to set minimum wages. The National Federation of Independent Business issued a statement praising the decision, saying it would give business owners breathing room, the Hill reported. The federation estimates nearly half of small businesses have at least one employee who would qualify for overtime under the new rule. Story continues Todays decision is an important win for all manufacturers in America halting what would have been a dramatic and devastating change in labor law that manufacturers could not afford, said Linda Kelly, general counsel for the National Association of Manufacturers. Related Articles When most Americans think of the first Thanksgiving, their minds probably turn to a semi-mythical 17th-century feast shared by pilgrims and Native Americans. Fewer may know that the modern version of a nation-wide Thanksgiving holiday didnt actually come about until the late 19th century. It was 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise, the culmination of a 36-year campaign started by so-called mother or godmother of Thanksgiving, Sarah Josepha Buell Halea magazine editor and writer who many say also wrote the poem that became the nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb. Born on a New Hampshire farm in 1788, Hale was known as the Lady Editor of Godeys Ladys Book, a periodical founded by the plump, benign publisher Louis Godey and [b]y far the most phenomenally successful of any magazine issued before the Civil War, as TIME put it in 1930. Under her leadership, the publication popularized white wedding dresses and Christmas trees, trends often credited to Britains Queen Victoria. In the magazines pages, Hale swore by the wrinkle-busting power of applying brown butcher paper soaked in apple vinegar to the forehead and described pigeons as about the only bird in New England worth cooking. TIME also characterized her as a crusader urging the admission of women to the practice of medicine, more thorough female education, foreign missions, while Fortunes columnist John Chamberlain wrote that she was annoyed by the menial position of pre-Civil War women and proceeded to put the flattering term domestic science into the language in the magazines A History of American Business. She even helped finance the all-female Vassar College, founded in 1861. But she did not believe in womens suffrage, nor did she believe that women could do all professions just as well as men. Rather, as a widow and mother of five children, she believed that a high-quality education was essential to preparing women for the most important vocation on earththat of the Christian mother in the nursery. Her lobbying effort to make Thanksgiving holiday can be traced back to a passage of her 1827 novel Northwood. We have too few holidays, she wrote. Thanksgiving like the Fourth of July should be a national festival observed by all the people as an exponent of our republican institutions. According to Melanie Kirkpatricks history of the occasion, Thanksgiving: The Holiday at the Heart of the American Experience, in addition to publishing editorials in Godeys Ladys Book, Hale would promote her campaign by publishing Thanksgiving-themed poems, tales of families happily dining together, and recipes for autumnal fare like roast turkey, pumpkin pie and sweet potato pudding, to make people hunger for a day when they could eat all of these delicious foods. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter She also launched a letter-writing campaign to members of Congress, governors and Presidents. President Zachary Taylor said around 1849 that it was up to the states to decide when and whether to declare a Thanksgiving holiday; in that period, such a holiday was often celebrated anywhere from September to December, depending on the place. Some politicians thought the day of public thanksgiving and prayer declared by George Washington in 1789 violated the separation of church and state. And some in the South saw Thanksgiving as another manifestation of intrusive, New England moralism, according to Ryan P. Jordans Church, State, and Race: The Discourse of American Religious Liberty, 1750-1900. Thats one reason why Virginia Governor Henry Wise said he would not support this theatrical national claptrap that is Thanksgiving. But, in a Sept. 28, 1863 letter to Lincoln, Hale argued the other side. She made the case that a National and fixed Union Festival should occur on the last Thursday of November, annually, because the last Thursday of November was when George Washington had declared the first national Thanksgiving in 1789. On Oct. 3, Lincoln issued the proclamation designating the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving, arguing in several newspaper editorials that, in the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, the American people should take some time for gratitude. Next, Hale turned her efforts to making Thanksgiving a law of the land through an act of Congressbut she passed away in 1879 at the age of 91. It would be more than 60 years until President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution, passed by Congress, which took into account years when there are five Thursdays in November and declared the fourth Thursday of the month a Federal Thanksgiving Day holiday. Between the long hours spent traveling, recovering from tryptophan-induced food comas and avoiding the subject of Trump at all costs, chances are you'll need a bit of "me-time" to maintain your sanity during this Thanksgiving holiday. And really, there's no better time than a long weekend to catch up on all the best movies, books, podcasts and more - especially now that the weather has finally turned chilly enough to justify staying indoors and rooted to your sofa. Read more: Trump Tower Retailers Face Dark Days During Holiday Shopping Season What to Watch: Jeremy Scott: The People's Designer The documentary about one of the fashion industry's most literally and figuratively colorful designers is now showing on Netflix. Get your fix of the Moschino creative director as the 2015 film takes you from his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, to Milan. The Crown If you've been secretly (or not so secretly) mourning the absence of Downton Abbey's beautiful Victorian costumes since the series finale in 2015, look no further than The Crown for your new fix of smart-looking English aristocrats. The series, which just debuted on Netflix, is brimming with beautiful garments, makeup and - best of all - tiaras. Gilmore Girls They're back! As if this series reboot needed any more hype, the fan-favorite mother-daughter duo from Stars Hollow is returning to the small screen with plenty of plot twists and turns, not to mention some new designer digs. Plus, we'll finally get an answer to the question of why in the world Emily Gilmore was seen wearing a T-shirt?! If worse comes to worst and you can't decide on a new series to start binge-watching or a movie to check off your ever-growing list, there's always Friends, the old standby. We highly recommend "The One With All the Thanksgivings" for some season-appropriate comic relief. Because Monica wearing a turkey on her head never gets old. Story continues What to Listen To: UnStyled Podcast by Refinery29 Refinery29 co-founder Christene Barberich hosts the media company's newest podcast, UnStyled. Every week, Barberich and her high-profile guests including Danielle Brooks, Leandra Medine and Stacy London tackle the subjects of life, work and love through the lens of fashion. What to Read: American Dreamer: My Life in Fashion and Business by Tommy Hilfiger At a time when America seems torn apart, retreat into Hilfiger's memoir about the American dream gone right. Don't you love it when stories have multimillion-dollar endings? Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty HBO's newest drama, Big Little Lies, had us hooked at the mere mention of the all-star cast - Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley and Zoe Kravitz included. But before the series, which we'll inevitably be glued to, premieres in 2017, we suggest giving the book by Moriarty a read. The New Garconne: How to Be a Modern Gentlewoman by Navaz Batliwalla If you're one of the millions of women inspired by #PantsuitNation, then The New Garconne: How to Be a Modern Gentlewoman, is your new must-have guide to taking your pantsuit style one step further. The "masculine-feminine aesthetic," embodied by the likes of Jenna Lyons, Lauren Hutton and Tilda Swinton, is broken down with visual guides to help you channel your inner gentlewoman. A photo posted by disneyrollergirl (@disneyrollergirl) on Nov 5, 2016 at 3:02am PDT What to Drink: You've likely got what to eat covered (and if you don't, Zac Posen, Eric Buterbaugh and Amanda Bacon are here to help), but what about drinks? For the colder weather, we recommend warm beverages of the spiked variety - from hot chocolate and whiskey to Terrine's recipe for Hot Buttered Coffee (below). You can thank us later. (Find more recipes here.) 7 oz hot French pressed coffee (at Terrine we use Four Barrel) 1.5 oz Hamilton Guyana Rum (an English-style demerara rum) 1 tbsp. butter batter* In a charged glass, put 1 heaping tablespoon of butter batter. Add hot French pressed coffee, followed by Hamilton Guyana Rum. Stir and serve with spoon in glass. *Butter batter is a mixture of butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Courtesy of Terrine By Aubrey Franchell The recent Dakota Access Pipeline battle has brought Native American groups into the national spotlight. Energy Transfer Partners is attempting to construct an underground pipeline to deliver crude oil from central North Dakota to Patoka, Ill. The pipeline will cross under the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, in North Dakota. Protectors of the land are concerned that an oil spill would contaminate the life-sustaining water throughout the region. I think the government needs to come in and take a stand and show they support the treaties that were signed years ago, says Isaac Herrera, a supporter of the protectors. Explainer: Whats behind the Dakota pipeline protests During Native American Heritage Month, Yahoo News is examining the rich and diverse history of Americas indigenous people. In Page, Ariz., Tomas, a Native American performing artist of both Navajo and Dutch heritage (featured in the video above) explains what it was like growing up as a child on a reservation in Shonto, Ariz., saying he was bullied for looking too white. He dealt with adversity by connecting more deeply to his Navajo roots. He now teaches Native American dances to kids in his tribe, helping them to connect to a tradition that is to some degree being forgotten by the current generation. In Santa Fe, N.M., Mayor Javier Gonzales explains why his city now celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day. Its important to use this opportunity to educate our children, to educate our visitors, even some of the older folks, on the important contributions of the Native American community, and then equally important to talk about how we are stronger when as multicultures we celebrate one another and we come together to celebrate each others strong existence. (Photo: Gene Page/AMC) SPOILER ALERT: The interview for the Go Getters episode of The Walking Dead contains storyline and character spoilers. Sasha fierce, indeed! While Hilltop leader Gregory remained safely behind the curtain of his second-floor bedroom window during Sundays attack by the Saviors, grieving Sasha and pregnant Maggie took charge and saved the community from an ever-increasing influx of walkers. Turns out it was a pretty awesome effort in real life too: Actress Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Sasha, was suffering from a nasty stomach illness that necessitated frequent tossing-her-cookies breaks while filming that action-packed sequence. Martin-Green, whose character is one of the few created specifically for the TV series, talked to Yahoo TV about how the once fragile Sasha has become one of the most resilient Alexandrians, where she thinks Sashas relationship with Abraham was headed before his demise, and what Sashas role is after losing so many loved ones. She also talks about that fun but challenging action sequence that ended with a trip to the ER, and hints at where Rick Grimes group will be in the December midseason finale. Yahoo TV: Lets run down everything Sasha has been through: She lost her love, Bob. She lost her beloved brother, Tyreese. Shes gone through all the grief, really the PTSD, of those losses, and she allows herself to become involved again then has to watch Abrahams horrible death. How is Sasha standing at this point? What in her has taken her to where she is now? Sonequa Martin-Green: I love that question, because I think its a very deep thing that has occurred in me, Sasha, that keeps me standing at this point. What I love about this story, and what I actually love about everything that Ive lost in this story, is that its sort of brought me out of my shell. I feel kind of like I went through this metamorphosis. It starts from the beginning of the zombie apocalypse [and goes] all the way up to losing Tyreese. That was the beginning of a new era for me, because I realized that I had been living a certain way the entire time, from the onset of the zombie apocalypse. I had been living in a way that actually closed me off to everyone, because I didnt want to take on the risk. It was this whole defense mechanism that I had built up around myself. After I lost Bob and Tyreese, I realized that there had to be a point to life, because otherwise there was no reason to live it. Thats when I really, really toyed with death and with suicide. What brought me out of that was realizing that life is meant to be lived and that life is meant to be spent with people, engaging with them. Story continues Whats so interesting about it is that the healing that I went through is what allowed me to open up to Abraham. Now that hes gone as well, I just find comfort and strength in a focused mission that I believe is right in line with this new person that I am, which is a mission that is sacrificial, that will save lives. (Photo: Gene Page/AMC) Overall, Sasha has put everything that has happened into a certain perspective and has just willed herself to go forward no matter what? Absolutely. Ive really been opened up to the value of life and what that really means in a way that is personal to me and in a way that results in action. Ive realized that just like Bob used to say, and Tyreese used to say, and my father used to say, there is a difference between living and surviving, and its to find unique people who will sacrifice for it. Ive been reborn in a sense. Ive sort of come to my purpose, which is to be this servant and to be this person who really does engage, who is strong enough to take on people and to let them into my heart, who can handle that risk and whos willing to give of myself for everyone else. And Sasha is now pushing Jesus to do that, when she says to him, What do you want this place to be? Shes really pushing him to become that kind of sacrificial person, and he seemed to be seeking that kind of encouragement. Yes, and I do love that, because it takes those people to really see you, to see where you are, and to offer a hand to pull you to your potential. Thats happened in so many different relationships on the show. Its certainly happened with a few people with me. I think thats such a gift that we give each other, especially in this world when the stakes are always so very high. I know that the person who serves the most is leader, because thats what the leader should do, be the biggest servant. Its really about trying to encourage him to step up to lead and trust himself and use his talent and his skills to actually make a difference. Its really about encouraging him that thats possible. How much of their strength do you think Sasha and Maggie are drawing from each other? They both seem kind of amazed about how resilient the other is. Oh, I think that in a lot of ways theyre the closest people to each other at this point. Theyve had such similar experiences for a long time now. You can go all the way back to them watching the sunrise together in Season 5, after they both lost their siblings. I think that they kind of keep their lost loved ones alive in each other. Its almost like Glenn is alive between the two of us, and Abraham stays alive between the two of us. I think theres also the female empowerment of it all. That is definitely a prevailing theme as well, just the sheer tenacity that women possess, especially in Maggies story. Shes pregnant, and shes still healing, and then shes also mourning the loss of a husband. Shes lost so much. She just finds a way to keep going. I think that in that way, we sort of are a mirror to each other. Because we can understand each others grief, and we also understand each others strength. The women have always been very powerful, but now we see Sasha and Maggie fresh on the heels of these horrific losses, and they dont just help save The Hilltop, they took charge when no one else would. Rosita is making moves in Alexandria. Tara is off on a mission. Enid is at The Hilltop to support Maggie and Sasha. Michonne is not simply accepting Ricks plan; shes figuring things out for herself. These are all just fierce women. Yes! I agree with you. Just like a lot of things in this show, its not told in a way that is aggressive or that is isolated. These women are just doing what needs to be done. Its not pinpointed as something that a womans doing or something that a woman normally wouldnt be able to do, but she can do it now. Its just a story. I love the idea of how this world is an equalizer. Everyone has the same fight. You either succeed in the fight or you dont. Were all on the same battlefield. I just think its so poignant in that way, because it is just an organic thing that happens, that these women are so tough. Its almost because its so organic that it is so empowering to see. That attack scene with the AMC Gremlin and the music Tom Payne said on Talking Dead that you were actually battling a pretty nasty flu kind of thing while you were filming the scene. I was. It was a stomach virus. It was so crazy! I think I was called to work in the afternoon, because it was mostly night. We had later call times that day than usual, but on the way down my husband [The Walking Dead co-star Kenric Green] drove me I was already feeling sick. Right before we pulled into base camp, I had to pull off and throw up. Then I just continued to throw up every 30 minutes for the rest of the day and night. It was awful, but I just dug deep and in a very weird way it almost became a personal challenge just to make it through the shooting day. I didnt want anything to be delayed. I didnt want anything to have to be rescheduled. We work under the gun so much on the show, and so I wanted to get through it. I would throw up, and then I would announce, Ive got about 15 minutes before I throw up again. Now I feel OK, lets get it done. It was hilarious. They were also very generous. They moved some things around so that I could kind of jam-pack all of my stuff so I could be done and get out of there. Then Kenric, he swooped me to the ER. Everybody was really giving and helpful and supportive, including Tom and Lauren [Cohen]. I think she held my back one time as the medic was holding out a bucket. They were definitely my family, as usual. By the end of the episode, Sasha has made this deal with Jesus for him to find Negans home. Shes sharpening her knife and channeling Abe by smoking his cigar. Safe to say shes working out a big picture plan? Yes. I think at this point, as much as I have changed, there are things that I still lean on. One of those things is my ability to calculate. I say way back in Season 4, I do the math, and I dont gamble. That is a strength of mine that has been kind of altered since Ive changed. Now I can use it for the greater good. I am doing the math and making sure that every step of my plan is well thought out so that it will be perfectly executed, because it is vital. You and Michael Cudlitz have such wonderful chemistry, and the Sasha/Abraham relationship promised to be so much fun. How has it been for you shooting the new season without Michael there, without Steven [Yeun] there? Thats the hardest part of the job, losing people, losing our show family members. We dont get to see each other at work in this particular story. Obviously the friendship will always be there, but sharing in this particular story in this particular moment in time, that comes to an end. Thats very, very sad, but because of the impact that Steven has had on the show and that Michael has had on the show, theres almost this feeling that they didnt leave. Thats been quite interesting. Then on the flip side of it, its very weird that theyre not there. Its the part of the job that we would rather not have to deal with. Do you wonder what would have happened with Sasha and Abraham as a couple? Yes! I actually think I know exactly what would have happened. I think that would have been it for the two of them. I think they would have gotten married. I think they would have eventually had children. I think it would have just been, This is it, as happily ever after as you can get in the zombie apocalypse. That was a life commitment that was made, at least from Abraham. He basically proposed on the porch, and I accepted. It was building to that, which makes it that much sadder. It does, and I keep going back to Season 6 and Always Accountable, when their relationship really began. Do you think Sasha knew she had feelings for him before he made that big move in the insurance office? I think at that point, it was apparent to me that he was me in a lot of ways. I had just come out of the dark. Here I was in the light on the other side, and then I see across to this person who seems to be in the same place that I was once in. For the first time, I was able to be that person that offers my hand and say, Im going to pull you to your potential. Then the beauty of our relationship is that that happened 100 percent. He even says, I like the way you call bullshit. He was impacted, and then it became reciprocal in that way. Its kind of like the warrior recognizes the warrior and the leader recognizes the leader; the kindred spirits unite in that way. I think at that moment in time, it was more just about recognizing this person being in the place that they were in, being outside of myself enough, finally. Being able to see someone else and being able to really look at them and see where they are, even be in a state of wanting to help. Even wanting to help takes engagement. He was kind of a test for me, in a lot of ways. He was an opportunity for me, also, in a lot of ways. OK, if this is the new person you are, how about this man right here? Are you going to open up to him? Then eventually saying yes to the relationship was the last step in my healing process. Its what solidified it for me. Its like, Yes, this is who I am, and this is who he is. This is who were going to be together. Sasha is one of the few characters on the show whos not in the comic book. Storylines are mixed around all the time, but theres not even that kind of rough road map for where she might be going in terms of source material. Do you wish that there were, or is it freeing that you dont have that for Sasha? I do find it freeing, actually. Obviously the source material is dynamite. I heard one person say that its like the highway, that the show takes detours and exits, but then gets back on the main highway. I do love that. But I do find it quite liberating that Im not in the comic. Anything is game. You dont have anything to even just compare your story to, because everyone has quite a different story in the show than their character does in the comic. You can still draw from it in some ways, but I think its cool to just be completely in imagination and just having whats on those written pages in the script to build my [character] on. Last question: What can you hint about where we will end up at midseason? Lets see, what can I hint? Like we were saying earlier, you see the women, and you see them being decisive and making these tough decisions about moving forward and deciding that theyre going to take on the mantle of rectifying this wrong. Everybodys journey with that, everybodys journey with what life looks like now, now that Negan is here, youll definitely start to see where all those paths are going to lead people. The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC. Jess Rotter Though hes had a long and storied career since, the first hit that Yusuf / Cat Stevens ever released was an ode to a household pet of a different kind. I Love My Dog came out in 1966, but it contains many of the sentiments that have grown exceedingly popular with gasp millennials! The song is predicated on the idea that dogs are more dependable than humans, and dont hurt us like other humans do. Plus, they ask very little. Its a sweet and slightly tongue-in-cheek track that appeared on his debut Matthew And Son and earned him a No. 28 slot on the UK chart. Which proved his point people really do love dogs. Fifty years later, Stevens has opted to remake the song via a direct-to-acetate recording process at Jack Whites Third Man Records Blue Room. It seems like the studio is appealing to musicians who maybe werent able to work with such incredible equipment when they first started out, but now have accumulated quite a following. Kudos to White, too, for continually seeking out talents like Stevens who deserve to be highlighted late in their careers. Hey, not many people get to work with a 1955 Scully lathe disc cutting machine in their lifetimes. Its not surprising Stevens and White teamed up for a special release given Whites recent appearance at Stevens Nashville date at The Ryman. Prior to joining him for Where Do The Children Play? White requested Stevens come down and record with him. The result is this new updated version of I Love My Dog which will be backed with Matthew and Son, his second-ever single and first true hit, which went to No. 2 in the UK. NPR shared the track today, and you can stream it below. Those familiar with Stevens later hits might not know about his early ode to our feline friends, so the remake might also serve as an introduction for some fans. Listen to I Love My Dog below and watch for the 7-inch out 11/25, just in time for Black Friday. Also check out the full, gorgeous hand-drawn artwork by Jess Rotter just below the track. Story continues Jess Rotter By Sarah Young LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in Thomas Cook rose 9 percent on Tuesday after it said it would grow in 2017, buoyed by future bookings and a turnaround plan for its German airline, and after it stuck to its pledge to pay its first dividend in five years. The British travel group remained profitable in 2016 despite disruption in Turkey, and said confidence in its future performance meant the board was recommending a dividend of 0.5 pence per share for the full-year 2016, keeping to guidance it gave last year. Its shares hit a six-month high of 80.1 pence, which analysts said was due to reassurance given by the company that it was on track to meet profit forecasts for the 12 months ended Sept. 30 2017. Profit is expected to grow 6 percent to 326 million pounds for the financial year ended Sept. 30 2017. That reassurance came after a series of bombings and a failed coup in Turkey this year forced Thomas Cook to make downgrades in 2016 as it was forced to switch its holiday programme into Spain, Portugal and Croatia instead. Despite those difficulties for the 12 months to Sept. 30, Thomas Cook posted underlying operating profit of 308 million pounds broadly flat on the 310 million pounds it made last year. That result was ahead of an analyst forecast of 296 million pounds, after its British and Scandinavian businesses performed more strongly than expected. The drop in demand for Turkish holidays in 2016 impacted Thomas Cook much more than its larger rival TUI Group as Thomas Cook was the market leader, taking many more customers there, particularly via its German airline Condor. Exposure to Turkey plus overcapacity in the German airline market, meant Condor dragged on Thomas Cook's profitability, and as such the company said it was implementing a turnaround plan to try to improve profits by focusing the airline away from short-haul flights to longer-haul flights. That plan would benefit group performance in the second half of the year, it said. Story continues For next year, Thomas Cook said bookings for the summer, when it makes all its profit, were ahead across all its markets. Thomas Cook, whose shares have slid 35 percent since the start of the year, looked like a buying opportunity following the results said some analysts. "Given the opportunity to improve the underlying performance (including Condor) and lower finance charges as expensive debt matures we see this rating as attractive, despite the obvious geo-political risk," Shore Capital analyst Greg Johnson said. Of the risks it faces, the company said that to date it has not been affected by Britain's vote to leave the EU, but militant attacks in parts of Europe, and ongoing security issues in Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt have all affected demand for holidays over the last year. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton and Alexandra Hudson) California is a traditionally blue state. At its epicenter lies Hollywood, where celebrities have vocally opposed Donald Trump since his nomination for president. Now the president-elect is receiving blowback in the form of mocking jokesabout his wife. And comedian Tim Allen has a problem with that. "It gets a little hypocritical to me that you can now bully people," Allen said Tuesday during an interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly. Allen's comments come in the wake of Saturday night's American Music Awards, where multiple celebrities used the platform to denounce Trump in various ways. Billie Joe Armstrong, of Green Day, led the singing of "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA." Model Gigi Hadid took to the stage to impersonate his wife, Melania Trump, mocking her foreign accent and her speech at the Republican National Convention. "I don't think it's appropriate in that venue, but I'm not a spokesman for Hollywood, I'm a comedian," said Allen, who stars in the sitcom "Last Man Standing." Hadid issued an apology for the jokes after many took to Twitter to protest her mocking Melania Trump's accent. Allen went on to say that he felt the criticism of Trump was mostly unfounded and cited Trump's waving of LGBT flags at some of his rallies. "Mostly what I'm finding is that there's no source material," he said. Allen told the Hollywood Reporter in a January interview that he'd be open to a Trump presidency. "I'm not opposed to anybody if their workload matches their bullshit load," he said. "When you watch the debates, on both sides you see clowns who say shit that ain't ever going to happen, but lately one party is the free shit party... That's how you rack up debt, and debt is killing us. Whatever party is going to get us out of debt is my party." Story continues SaveSave Related Articles Tom Holland dressed up as Spider-Man and brought Zendaya to visit children in a hospital and our hearts are melting We just got (another) sneak peek at Tom Hollands Spider-Man after he visited children in a New York hospital to lift their spirits. We already knew that Tom would be a spectacular Peter Parker, thanks to his awesome cameo in Captain America: Civil War. But seeing him willing to take on the character just to bring a smile to deserving childrens faces is making our hearts melt. Tom Holland and Zendaya visited New York-Presbyterian hospital together to bring extra happiness this Thanksgiving season. While Zendaya was just her normal (and totally badass) self, Tom opted to wear the full Spider-Man outfit. What a beautiful day at the @nyphospital. Thank you so much for having us and making this happen. Always love being back with the squad @Zendaya and @lifeisaloha. #poopoo @lollipoptheatrearts A video posted by (@tomholland2013) on Nov 22, 2016 at 1:31pm PST Everyone involved was clearly loving every minute of this experience. Tom (as Spider-Man) happily greets one little boy who seems delighted by his company in this video. Tom decides to take off his mask and reveal his true self, only to have the little boy tell him he prefers Batman in a pretty hilarious moment. To be fair, the boy was sporting a Batman shirt, so at least he was staying true to his choices. Despite their supposed differences, the two got along splendidly. Tom and Zendaya were joined by another Spider-Man: Homecoming star, Jacob Batalon. Together, they visited many other hospitalized kids. You all gave us a love more precious than diamonds @nyphospital @lollipoptheater thanks for helping us do this A photo posted by Jacob Batalon (@lifeisaloha) on Nov 22, 2016 at 10:37pm PST The event was orchestrated by Lollipop Theater, an organization dedicated to bringing movie magic to hospitalized children nationwide. It seems like Tom, Zendaya, Jacob and everyone else involved in making this movie magic a reality enjoyed themselves immensely. We still have to wait until July 7th of 2017 to see more of Tom as Spider-Man. But at least we know hes already practicing to be a superhero IRL. The post Tom Holland dressed up as Spider-Man and brought Zendaya to visit children in a hospital and our hearts are melting appeared first on HelloGiggles. ALISO VIEJO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 / Strategic financial planner Tony Amaradio and his wife, Carin, the co-authors of the inspirational book Faithful With Much, believe that there is a fundamental connection between spiritual fulfillment and the management of resources. The couple's innovative Faithful with Finances online workshops are designed to provide a Biblically derived education to Christians of all ages about budgeting, giving, and becoming a dedicated steward. By focusing on easy to understand concepts, creative, hands on activities, examples from the Scripture, and real life applications, participants learn vital skills that can be used in both their professional and everyday lives. Money Management Training classes, one of the many services offered by Faithful With Finances, are available for kids, teens, adults, and families. The youth course, Getting a Handle on Finances, is led by a relatable avatar, the Faithful Farmer, who guides the children through fun, interesting, and insightful themes that make connections between Biblical truths and the realities of dealing with funds on a daily basis. In-house child budgeting expert and creator of the Budgeting Project for Children, Cheryl Russell, believes that by introducing these concepts early, parents encourage a healthy relationship with money and an understanding of how to handle God's entrusted resources. Through practical applications and relatable circumstances, adolescents and young adults are taught techniques to form healthy spending and saving habits. The adult class concentrates on four main ideas: God owns everything, God will provide, the difference between serving and managing, and stewardship of His treasure. Each inclusive training module lasts seven days, and features an engaging mini series that walks the viewers through a modern interpretation of financial rules established in the Bible. The Amaradios also offer a Debt Killer guide, free budgeting system, and an intuitive scholarship program for those who cannot afford the program. While Carin acknowledges that not everyone can be reached, she is adamant that Faithful with Finances fulfills a necessary service and says, "At the very least, if our workshops cause you to pause and reflect on what God wants done with your resources, then we will have made a difference." Tony Amaradio, in agreement with his wife, included that, "Our goal is to inspire people to give, and not miss out on the opportunities God has blessed them with." Tony Amaradio is a financial expert, strategic philanthropist, and the head of two major companies, Select Portfolio Management, Inc. and Select Money Management, Inc. A graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Detroit, Amaradio achieved an impeccable reputation for establishing, planning, and managing assets early in his career that allowed him to found and become the Chief Strategist of two sizeable firms. In Southern California, where he was the host of the radio talk show, "Market Talk," for over two decades, Amaradio enjoys a large, loyal fan base and is an often sought after guest speaker nationally. Anthony Amaradio - Visionary & Strategic Philanthropist: http://anthonyamaradionews.com Tony Amaradio - crunchbase: https://www.crunchbase.com/person/tony-amaradio Erika - Faithful with Finances on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fwfinances/ Tony Amaradio - Select Portfolio Management, Inc. - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz0jAilnkPg Contact Information: TonyAmaradio.com contact@tonyamaradio.com SOURCE: Tony Amaradio trump romney handshake Some of President-elect Donald Trump's most loyal allies publicly cautioned him this week against selecting Mitt Romney as secretary of state. The allies Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, and Mike Huckabee all warned Trump about the possibility that Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, would not be loyal to him while serving in the nation's top diplomatic post. Hannity, who seemingly supports former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the post, said on his Fox News program Tuesday night that he "cannot understand" why Trump would consider Romney in light of the criticism he unleashed on Trump during the campaign. "The one speech in particular, it was brutal, eviscerating Donald Trump," Hannity said, referring to an anti-Trump speech Romney delivered during the primary season. "Why would anybody think about bringing this guy in, and how would you ever expect him to be loyal in light of how he acted?" he added. Gingrich agreed, suggesting on "Fox and Friends" on Wednesday that the former Massachusetts governor could go rogue if selected for the position. "Gov. Romney wanted to be president, not secretary of state, and you have to ask the question: When he goes overseas is he going to be the secretary of state for President Trump, or is he going to be Mitt Romney's own secretary of state?" Gingrich said. The former House speaker said "there are a lot of other people who are more qualified than Romney" who could serve as secretary of state. He hinted when talking with reporters at Trump Tower on Monday that he favors Giuliani over Romney for the position. Huckabee took things a step further, saying on "Fox and Friends" on Wednesday that Romney should have to go "to a microphone in a very public place and repudiate everything he said" about Trump during the election season. Otherwise, the former Arkansas governor said, "it would be a real insult to all those Donald Trump voters who worked really hard" and were loyal to him as a long-shot candidate. Story continues Romney met with Trump last weekend to discuss a possible appointment as secretary of state. CNN reported Tuesday night that Romney was seriously considering serving in such a capacity. Trump was also considering Giuliani for the position, but his nomination may face a more perilous road being confirmed by the Senate. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican, recently warned Trump against selecting him for the position. NOW WATCH: Animated map shows how drastically split different demographics are this election More From Business Insider This town in Finland wants to name streets after emojis and all we can say is ~heart eyes emoji~ In 2016 anything is possible! So we were not surprised to hear that a town in Finland wants to name streets after emojis. Specifically they would like to name their two roads Emoji and Meme streets. A town in southern Finland has put a proposal in to name two roads Emojikatu and Meemikatu streets aka Emoji and Meme streets in a new commercial zone in Lohja, just west of Helsinki. The names Emojikatu and Meemikatu are Finnish. We wanted something that speaks to modern times, Juha Anttila, an architect and town planner in Lohja, told Finnish media. We have almost run out of plant, tree and bird names in our area. can i have these emojis? pic.twitter.com/GetY8Cc8Mr Funny Texts (@AwesomePixs) November 14, 2016 Everyone wants to live on a Blueberry Street or a Silver Birch Street. There are more than 20 place names starting with Birch in the area. The towns planning committee has approved the proposal. Now all they need to do is ask residents for their opinions and if they do not object to renaming the area, the proposal will go into effect as of next year. This town is known for tapping into smartphone culture. In 2015, the foreign ministry created national emojis. Two of the emojis will be included in the Unicode Standard for all smartphone devices. We are very interested to see if they name the street names after emojis. Stranger things could happen! The post This town in Finland wants to name streets after emojis and all we can say is ~heart eyes emoji~ appeared first on HelloGiggles. By Aditi Shah NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp expects hybrid cars to make up 20 percent of its total vehicle sales in India by 2020 from less than 2 percent today, a senior company official told Reuters. Toyota, which already sells the Camry hybrid in India, plans to introduce hybrid technology in models like the Corolla and Prius sedans and could introduce it for sport-utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles, Akito Tachibana, managing director of Toyota's India business said on Wednesday. The Japanese carmaker also plans to work with its low-cost car-making division, Daihatsu, to develop clean fuel technology vehicles for emerging markets like India, Tachibana said, where affordability is an issue. The development costs of hybrid vehicles means they are out of reach for a vast majority of India's first-time car buyers, which then makes it difficult for carmakers to achieve the volumes needed to bring down the price. For instance, Toyota's Camry hybrid is priced starting at 3.3 million rupees ($47,932), about 15 times the price of a petrol variant of one of India's top-selling small cars. Toyota will work to increase the amount of components it sources from the Indian domestic market to bring down the overall cost of manufacturing hybrids, Tachibana said. Several Indian cities have high levels of air pollution partly caused by automobiles. Earlier this month, New Delhi shut schools, put construction projects on hold and advised people to stay indoors as part of an "emergency" plan to deal with dangerous levels of air pollution. Authorities in New Delhi also began revoking licenses for diesel vehicles more than 15 years old which could remove as many as 200,000 cars from the city's roads. Late last year, the country's top court banned the sale of large diesel cars in New Delhi. "We think that hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology is the best solution in India," Tachibana said, adding that this clean fuel technology is also needed to meet India's stricter emission and fuel efficiency norms starting in 2017. Story continues Toyota's sales in India rose about 3 percent in the first seven months of the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, compared with the same period a year ago, according to India's auto industry body the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. The number of Toyota vehicles sold for that period was 83,633, according to auto industry body data and Toyota's market share was 5 percent. Total passenger vehicle sales in India rose 11 percent over the same period to 1.77 million. (Reporting by Aditi Shah. Editing by Jane Merriman) He's a mercurial army general known for penning saccharine ballads and angry tirades against his critics. Now Thailand's junta chief has launched a new eye-catching project: trimming the waistlines of the kingdom's civil servants. Former army chief turned Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha ditched his fatigues for a tracksuit and trainers Wednesday as he led hundreds of bureaucrats in an mass exercise session. As music blasted out of loudspeakers he boxed, played volleyball and led an aerobics class, complete with star-jumps and squats, alongside hundreds of employees of Government House. The trim 62-year-old, who seized power in 2014, has ordered all civil servants to exercise every Wednesday afternoon following concerns that Thailand's famously laid back attitude to life has thickened their waistlines. Prayut revels in being macho, plain-speaking and unpredictable -- a demeanour that creates many amusing press appearances and is a gift to social media meme-makers. Highlights have included him kicking a muay thai boxer, throwing a banana at a cameraman, tickling a reporter's ear and riding a bike around Government House as his security detail jogged behind in the tropical heat. Each Friday night he delivers a nationally broadcast "bringing happiness back" speech in which he doles out advice to Thais -- anything from how to get foreigners to appreciate pungent durian fruit to the best Korean soap opera. He has also written two ballads since his coup emphasising love for the nation and what it means to be Thai. Thailand has been politically divided since the military launched a coup in 2006 that toppled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his elected government. Years of debilitating street protests and another coup in 2014 that toppled Yingluck Shinawatra -- Thaksin's sister -- followed. The Shinawatra clan is loved by Thailand's rural and urban poor. But they are loathed by Bangkok's middle classes and military elite, who say the family were corrupt. Story continues Prayut has vowed to bridge the country's divides but reconciliation seems far off. His critics see him as the most authoritarian ruler Thailand has had in a generation. Some have likened him to Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram, a Second World War-era dictator who famously issued decrees on how Thais should behave, including how long they should sleep for, how they should spend their days off and how they should dress. President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that the United States will quit the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal on his first day in the White House, in a video posted on YouTube. Calling the deal a potential disaster for our country, Trump, who has been vehemently against the ratification of the trade agreement, said he would negotiate fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back. The countrys exit from the TPP could spell doom for the deal and Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has warned that the partnership would be meaningless without active U.S. participation, just hours before the president-elect made the announcement. Here is all you need to know about this controversial trade agreement that was undertaken by President Barack Obama but has faced opposition within the country: What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership? The TPP is a controversial trade agreement that covers 12 countries bordering the Pacific Ocean the U.S., Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru. Negotiations closed in October 2015 and the formal agreement published in November 2015 looks at reducing trade barriers like eliminating certain tariffs for the signatories while setting standards for their economic dealings with each other, aimed at potentially creating a new single market, like the European Union. The deal also includes stricter labor and environmental rules along with legal protections for drug companies and higher copyright protection. How big is it? The deal covers almost 40 percent of the worlds economy as the 12 countries have a collective population of almost 800 million. This number is almost double of EUs market. However, for the agreement to materialize, all member states need to ratify, a move that will receive a severe blow if Trump goes through with his promise of pulling the U.S. out of the deal. Whats the controversy? President Obama has laid immense stress on trade deals but critics of such an agreement say the TPP lacks transparency and favors big businesses and other countries, compromising the U.S. national sovereignty and jobs. Story continues Trump and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, representing both sides of the political spectrum, have used the primary races in the 2016 election cycle to voice their reservations regarding the deal. Clinton, who was once for the TPP, also pulled her support during the primaries. Trade deals like these are being blamed for companies outsourcing jobs to other countries, with American workers losing out to countries with lower cost of labor. The full text of the agreement can be read here. Related Articles Brasilia (AFP) - Brazilian police on Wednesday used pepper spray to force back about 300 protesters from indigenous tribes, some armed with bows and arrows, from entering Congress. The tribal members, some bare-chested and many with traditional beads and feathers, were attempting to enter the lower house of Congress to protest austerity cuts and what they see as new threats to their land rights. A spokesman for the legislature told AFP that the protesters "managed to get past the police barrier in one of the annexes and so the legislature's police used gas to contain them." The Missionary Indigenous Council said police used "an excessive quantity of pepper spray" in pushing back demonstrators. On Tuesday, hundreds of indigenous people and traditional fishermen briefly had occupied the veranda outside the entrance to Brazil's presidential palace. The protesters included members of indigenous groups who want the government to officially recognize the borders of their ancestral lands, so that they can be protected against ever-encroaching farmers. They also protested laws that would give foreign buyers access to their lands. More than a dozen companies are racing to produce a vaccine against Zika virus, including one doing its research in Madison for now. Takeda, a Japanese drug company with U.S. operations in Deerfield, Illinois, is developing a Zika vaccine at its lab on Madisons West Side. The lab will move to Boston next year as part of a companywide consolidation. A year after a Zika outbreak in Brazil gained worldwide attention because many affected babies were born with small heads, or microcephaly, Zika has spread through most of the Western Hemisphere, including to Puerto Rico and the Miami area. The World Health Organization last week declared Zika an ongoing threat instead of an emergency, bolstering the need to combat the entrenched virus with measures such as vaccines, especially for women likely to become pregnant. Takeda is developing a Zika vaccine that uses an inactivated, or killed virus, said Hansi Dean, who heads up Takedas lab in Madison. The company selected the vaccines components in Madison and is working here on tests to determine if the vaccine is safe and effective in clinical trials, which are expected to start next year, Dean said. Other companies are using a weakened form of live virus or pieces of viral DNA in their vaccines, she said. Its not clear which type of vaccine might work best, but Dean said Takeda chose a killed virus largely because of safety. Its the safest approach for vaccinating women of childbearing age, she said. The federal governments Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority gave Takeda $19.8 million to develop the Zika vaccine. Takedas Madison lab, which has 23 people, also works on vaccines against influenza and dengue, a virus similar to Zika. Meanwhile, UW-Madison researchers continue to study Zika in rhesus macaque monkeys. Four monkey babies born to mothers infected with Zika during pregnancy had Zika virus in many types of tissue, and their heads may have been slightly smaller than normal, said David OConnor, a UW-Madison pathology professor. Finding the virus in tissues such as optic nerves, lungs, bone marrow and lymph nodes suggests Zika may cause a variety of health effects, OConnor said. In people too, microcephaly is just one of many consequences associated with Zika infection in pregnancy, he said. Zika, primarily caused by mosquito bites and spread from pregnant women to fetuses, can also be transmitted through sex. A mysterious case this summer in Utah in which a man who hadnt traveled to a Zika-infected area contracted the infection from his dying father led UW-Madison researchers to study the likelihood that the virus can spread through saliva. The scientists placed a large amount of the virus directly on monkeys tonsils, and the monkeys became infected. But when the researchers put saliva from infected monkeys in other monkeys eyes, nose or tonsils, those monkeys werent infected. By and large, most people would not have sufficient virus in their saliva to initiate infection, said Dawn Dudley, an associate scientist working with OConnor. Utah researchers said in September the Utah man likely contracted Zika from the tears or sweat of his father, who had an unusually high level of the virus in his blood. Donald Trump In his first address since his electoral victory speech, President-elect Donald Trump this week discussed which policies he planned to pursue immediately upon taking office. And the first issue mentioned in the more than 2-1/2-minute video was trade. "I'm going to issue a notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country," Trump said. "Instead, we will negotiate fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores." Throughout his campaign, Trump made opposition to free-trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership core to his message. He insisted he would make moves to renegotiate US trade deals as soon as he took office, aiming to bring offshore jobs back into the country. He took a hardline, protectionist stance, even going as far to say on the trail that TPP amounted to "the rape of our country." And even as the plan has faced early backlash from some in Trump's own party Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Tuesday that he was "disappointed" Trump intended to withdraw from the TPP Trump has plowed ahead in his unorthodox play to reshape the nation's trade policy. Trump's trade-related transition is being led by senior trade adviser and former Nucor CEO Dan DiMicco. A source told Business Insider that DiMicco was under consideration to be the next US trade representative the top trade official in the administration. The source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said Trump was also willing to consider tough-on-trade Democrats such as Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois for other administration posts, adding that his team was looking to go "five deep" with people who agree with Trump's platform. But it has proved difficult to find resumes that match. Dan DiMicco Story continues Last week, a trade memo from Trump's transition team was provided to CNN. It contained an outline for trade policy within a Trump administration's first 200 days, including killing the current TPP, renegotiating or withdrawing from NAFTA, stopping "unfair imports," ending "unfair trade practices," pursuing bilateral trade deals, and retaining and returning manufacturing jobs. That final bit focused on lowering the corporate tax rate and slashing regulations on businesses and the energy sector. "The Trump trade plan breaks with the globalist wings of both the Republican and Democratic parties," the document said. "The Trump administration will reverse decades of conciliatory trade policy. New trade agreements will be negotiated that provide for the interests of US workers and companies first." The plan provides benchmarks for Trump's first, 100th, and 200th days in office. They begin with an immediate overhaul of NAFTA, with his ordering the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission to form a study on the ramifications of withdrawal from the treaty and what would be required through legislation to do so. Trump would also instruct the US trade representative to notify Mexico and Canada of the administration's intention to propose amendments to the deal, which, as CNN reported, "could include measures on currency manipulation, lumber, country-of-origin labeling and environmental and safety standards." But an order was included that demanded such a report pay "extra consideration to the effects such a policy change may have on the middle class, manufacturing and service sector workers, and foreign direct investment into the United States." In addition, right off the bat, Trump would submit legislation related to currency manipulation and review if trading partners engage in "harmful" practices. On Day 100, Trump would target China, attempting a crackdown on the country through bilateral trade negotiations and by seeing whether it could be labeled a currency manipulator. On Day 200, Trump would consider formally withdrawing from NAFTA, though the memo acknowledges there could be negative consequences of doing so. donald trump Robert Shapiro, a professor in the Columbia University department of political science, told Business Insider that the memo showed "Trump is doing what he said he wanted to do." But what the memo does not outline, and what Shapiro said was "really very hard to say," is what actually produces a "better deal" for the US. "The pieces of it that he emphasized in the campaign are things that affected jobs in the US, and what primarily affected jobs in the US is manufacturing," he said. He continued: "The real importance of the agreement that have to do with labor, with the environment, he doesn't talk about. He's going to have to be held accountable for anything he renegotiates and has any effect on jobs. A lot of the calculations that go into jobs and where jobs go have more to do with markets and genuine comparative advantage ... it's not clear that he can make jobs come back depending on what he does in these agreements." The Columbia professor said there needed to be "more appreciation of facts and reality" on the subject, adding that the majority of jobs that went abroad may "have gone abroad anyway regardless of these agreements." And even doing a better deal with China to return manufacturing jobs would provide an uncertain result, Shapiro said, since "now, jobs are leaving China for other countries for the same reasons they left here." One message he thought was encouraging to see in the memo was the discussion of weighing the potential benefits and setbacks of some of the moves. "We haven't heard a good discussion about what the pros and cons are in terms of what are the consequences, in terms of what negative effects terminating the agreements would have," he said. "There is definitely no discussion of that at all." Sue Welch, the CEO of Bamboo Rose, a digital business-to-business marketplace for product and supply chain management, said the moves discussed in the memo, particularly regarding NAFTA, would crush the economy. "What about the other 14 to 15 million Americans dependent on NAFTA for their livelihood?" she said. "You have to balance." Welch said it would have a negative effect on labor in the US, would be damaging to the supply chains among the US, Canada, and Mexico, and would cause prices to rise across the board, particularly at giants such as Walmart. The entire blueprint, she said, would be "kind of a lose-lose situation." NOW WATCH: Trump will not pursue an investigation into Clintons private email server More From Business Insider Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f294336%2ftrumpatnyt President-elect Donald J. Trump has not been inaugurated yet, but he's already backtracking on some of his most high-profile campaign positions. The latest walk-back concerns global climate change: specificallys the agreement that world leaders recently put in place to rein in emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases. In an interview on Tuesday with senior reporters and editors of the New York Times, Trump said he has "an open mind" on whether to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Im looking at it very closely," he said. SEE ALSO: China may leave the U.S. behind on climate change due to Trump During the campaign, Trump was quite clear on this. During an energy policy speech on May 26, Trump said: Were going to cancel the Paris Climate Agreement and stop all payment of U.S. tax dollars to U.N. global warming programs." Tom Friedman asks if Trump will withdraw from climate change accords. Trump: Im looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it." Mike Grynbaum (@grynbaum) November 22, 2016 During U.N. climate talks that ended this week, China emerged as the new leader on the issue if the U.S. were to stop mobilizing international support for climate action, as it has under President Obama. The Paris Climate Agreement entered into force on Nov. 4, 2016, and sets a goal of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels through 2100. It also contains an even more stringent target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, through 2100 in order to limit climate impacts on small island countries and other vulnerable nations. In Trump's discussion with the Times, Trump said he is also keeping his mind open about whether global warming is mainly due to human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, or other causes. Story continues "I think there is some connectivity" between humans and climate change, Trump says. Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 22, 2016 Scientists, of course, settled this matter long ago, with the debate within the climate community now focused on just how severe the consequences of human-caused climate change will be, rather than whether the phenomenon exists in the first place. Through his personnel decisions, Trump has given every indication that he plans to gut environmental regulations and boost fossil fuel production, including coal, which is the most carbon intensive fuel source. The choice of longtime climate denier Myron Ebell to lead the transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, is just one example. Donald J. Trump and New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., right, during Mr. Trump's meeting with editors and reporters at The New York Times building on Tuesday. Image: APHiroko Masuike/The New York Times/AP Environmental groups are skeptical that Trump's statements on Tuesday represent much of a change. "Actions speak louder than words," said 350.org executive director Mary Boeve in a statement. "As long as Trump has a climate change denier like Myron Ebell running his transition team, you know this is all a bunch of empty rhetoric." "... Trump is going on about fantasies like clean coal and flip-flopping around on whether theres some connectivity between humans and climate change. The President-elect needs to get up to speed, and fast. Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club, pointed to Trump's shortlist for cabinet positions dealing with climate issues, such as oil tycoon Harold Hamm for Energy Secretary, as evidence there is not much of a shift taking place. "Were waiting for action, and Trump is kidding nobody on climate as he simultaneously stacks his transition team and cabinet with climate science deniers and the dirtiest hacks the fossil fuel industry can offer," Brune said. "Prove it, President-elect. The world is watching. Saudi Arabia just added another heavyweight to its already formidable team of lobbyists: former California Rep. Howard Buck McKeon. The longtime GOP lawmaker isnt any ordinary lobbyist. Between 2011 and 2015, he was the chair of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the Department of Defense and its multibillion dollar foreign-military sales program to Saudi Arabia. According to data from the Center for Responsive politics, McKeon was among the top five recipients of defense contractor money in the U.S. House of Representatives. On his registration form, McKeon indicated he would provide consulting and government relations counsel and that he would undertake specific advocacy requests with regard to legislative and public policy matters. He did not respond to an International Business Times request for comment. McKeon joins the Saudi lobby at a key moment. In September, Saudi Arabias army of lobbyists failed to defeat a bill that opened up the door for 9/11 victims to sue the Kingdom for its alleged connection to the attackers. Saudi is also under fire on Capitol Hill for alleged-human rights abuses in its two-year military campaign in Yemen, where U.S.-supplied Saudi planes have bombed hospitals, schools and key infrastructure. Over the summer, 64 lawmakers signed a letter decrying the sale of cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia, and in September, a bipartisan coalition nearly blocked a multi-billion dollar sale of tanks to the Kingdom. That company furnishing the tanks was General Dynamics, which has contributed over $100,000 to McKeon over the course of his career. By signing on as a Saudi lobbyist, McKeon will be lobbying his former colleagues to keep arming Saudi Arabia at a time of uncertainty for the US-Saudi alliance. The incoming Donald Trump administration has sent mixed messages: At times, President-elect Trump has hinted hed pull away from Saudi. The primary reason we are with Saudi Arabia is because we need the oil, he said in August. Now, we dont need the oil so much. But Trump has also suggested that he wouldnt object to Saudi Arabia acquiring nuclear weapons and has pledged to protect the Kingdom. Amid the transfer of power from Barack Obama to Trump, McKeon is expected to push for continuity in the U.S.-Saudi relationship. [His] years of experience on the House Armed Services Committee, including his last four as the head of the committee, would put him in a privileged position to push Congress to continue to allow arms sales to Saudi Arabia, said Seth Binder, program manager for Security Assistance Monitor, despite the growing concern over the increasing number of possible human rights violations committed by the Saudi-led coalition's bombing in Yemen. During his time in government, McKeon was a reliable ally of the Saudis and the defense industry. Security Assistance Monitor tracks U.S. foreign military assistance and its data shows that during McKeons tenure as head of the House Armed Services Committee, the Department of Defense approved over $10 billion in military sales to Saudi. McKeon played a lead role in overseeing the Department of Defenses arms agreements which are initiated by the executive branch, but can be blocked by Congress. While McKeon was chairman, sales to Saudi nearly doubled, as the Department of Defense signed off on massive tank, fighter aircraft, and munitions deals. McKeon received over $700,000 in campaign contributions from defense contractors over the course of his career including from companies that sell arms to Saudi Arabia. For example, McKeon collected nearly $200,000 from Lockheed Martin, which recently signed an $11.9 billion deal to sell combat ships to Saudi. Boeing, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman all sell arms to Saudi Arabia and contributed generously to McKeons campaigns. William Hartung, the director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy, called McKeon's move into lobbying, the military-industrial complex at its worst. Hiring the former head of the House Armed Services Committee to run interference for them makes sense from the Saudi perspective, he said. McKeon will be helping old friends like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, major campaign contributors of his who are profiting handsomely from the U.S.-Saudi weapons trade. The former congressman now runs his own lobbying firm the McKeon Group, which registered earlier this month to represent Saudi Arabia. McKeon will be working in a partnership with Democratic-aligned lobby shop the Glover Park Group, alongside 17 other firms and individuals the Kingdom has hired to guard its interests in D.C. Related Articles Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump said Tuesday his presidency would not be marred by conflicts of interest stemming from his business empire, but he was vague on what he would do to ensure this. The issue of Trump reconciling his White House duties while owning billions in assets around the world has been a key concern since he won the presidency on November 8. "In theory I could run my business perfectly and then run the country perfectly. There's never been a case like this," The New York Times quoted the real estate tycoon as saying in an interview. "I'd assumed that you'd have to set up some type of trust or whatever and you don't," Trump said. But he added, "I would like to do something" to separate his two areas of responsibility. Trump has said so far that he would have his children take over his business. American ethics law is lenient here: Trump is not required to give up his business portfolio. The Constitution does state that no one holding federal office can receive a gift or "emolument" from a foreign government. But this does not mean they cannot do business with private partners overseas. Trump said in the interview that in theory he can keep signing checks at his company but that he is "phasing that out now" and turning it over to his children. Trump also said a new hotel he owns in Washington is probably worth more now that he is president-elect. He said his brand is now "hotter." By Roberta Rampton NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was keeping an open mind on whether to pull out of a landmark international accord to fight climate change, in a softening of his stance toward global warming. Trump told the New York Times in an interview that he thinks there is "some connectivity" between human activity and global warming, despite previously describing climate change as a hoax. A source on Trump's transition team told Reuters earlier this month that the New York businessman was seeking quick ways to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change. But asked on Tuesday whether the United States would withdraw from the accord, the Republican said: Im looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it." A U.S. withdrawal from the pact, agreed to by almost 200 countries, would set back international efforts to limit rising temperatures that have been linked to the extinctions of animals and plants, heat waves, floods and rising sea levels. . Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, also said he was thinking about climate change and American competitiveness and "how much it will cost our companies, he said, according to a tweet by a Times reporter in the interview. Two people advising Trumps transition team on energy and environment issues said they were caught off guard by his remarks. A shift on global warming is the latest sign Trump might be backing away from some of his campaign rhetoric as life in the Oval Office approaches. Trump has said he might have to build a fence, rather than a wall, in some areas of the U.S.-Mexican border to stop illegal immigration, tweaking one of his signature campaign promises. Also in Tuesday's interview, he showed little appetite for pressing investigations of his Democratic rival in the presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton. I dont want to hurt the Clintons, I really dont. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways," he told reporters, editors and other newspaper officials at the Times headquarters in Manhattan. But Trump said "no" when asked if he would rule out investigating Clinton over her family's charitable foundation or her use of a private email server while she was U.S. secretary of state during President Barack Obama's first term. If Trump does abandon his campaign vow to appoint a special prosecutor for Clinton, it will be a reversal of a position he mentioned almost daily on the campaign trail, when he dubbed his rival "Crooked Hillary," and crowds at his rallies often chanted: "Lock her up." His comments to the Times about Clinton angered some of his strongest conservative supporters. Breitbart News, the outlet once led by Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, published a story on Tuesday under the headline, "Broken Promise: Trump 'Doesn't Wish to Pursue' Clinton email charges." The FBI investigated Clinton's email practices, concluding in July that her actions were careless but that there were no grounds for bringing charges. The Clinton Foundation charity has also been scrutinized for donations it received, but there has been no evidence that foreign donors obtained favors from the State Department while Clinton headed it. BUSINESSMAN AND PRESIDENT Trump, a real estate developer who has never held public office, brushed off fears over conflicts of interest between his job as president and his family's businesses. "The law's totally on my side, the president can't have a conflict of interest," he told the New York Times. My company's so unimportant to me relative to what I'm doing," Trump said. Conflict-of-interest rules for executive branch employees do not apply to the president, but Trump will be bound by bribery laws, disclosure requirements and a section of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits elected officials from taking gifts from foreign governments, according to Republican and Democratic ethics lawyers. "There may be specific laws that dont apply to the president, but the president is not above the law," said Richard Painter of the University of Minnesota, a former associate counsel to Republican President George W. Bush. "Do we really want to run our government where you have the president, the leader of the United States and the free world, saying: 'I'm going to do the bare minimum to squeak by?'" asked Norman Eisen, a former top ethics lawyer in Obama's White House. Trump's businesswoman daughter Ivanka joined her father's telephone call with Argentine President Mauricio Macri earlier this month and attended a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, raising questions of possible conflicts of interest. When asked whether House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans in Congress would consider his trillion-dollar infrastructure plan, Trump boasted he was popular with the party's leaders on Capitol Hill. Right now, theyre in love with me," he said. Since his Nov. 8 election victory, Trump has been meeting with prospective candidates for top positions in his administration. Ben Carson, a former Republican presidential hopeful who dropped out of the 2016 race and backed Trump, has been offered the post of secretary of housing and urban development, Carson spokesman Armstrong Williams said. Carson, a retired surgeon who met with Trump on Tuesday, will think about it over the Thanksgiving holiday, Williams said. Trump arrived in Florida on Tuesday evening to spend Thursday's holiday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. (Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus and Amy Tennery in New York; Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Steve Holland, Emily Stephenson and Valerie Volcovici in Washington; and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Writing by Alistair Bell and Eric Beech; Editing by Frances Kerry and Peter Cooney) The Donald Trump administration continues taking shape as he announced South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Read: Trump Lays Out First 100 Days in Office in New Video: My Plan Is to Put America First Haley supported Marco Rubio during the primary campaign before throwing her support to Trump. But there appears to be unrest within Trump's transition squad, as its members can't seem to come to a decision on secretary of state. Newt Gingrich is leading the charge for former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani among right wingers on the team, but moderates within the ranks are pushing for ex-Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Before leaving for his Thanksgiving break in Florida, the president-elect met with journalists and executives from The New York Times for an hour long interview. Earlier on Tuesday, he called the paper failing and canceled the interview. Hours later, he appeared to change his tune and attended a meeting with the company. I cancelled today's meeting with the failing @nytimes when the terms and conditions of the meeting were changed at the last moment. Not nice Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2016 Perhaps a new meeting will be set up with the @nytimes. In the meantime they continue to cover me inaccurately and with a nasty tone! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2016 The failing @nytimes just announced that complaints about them are at a 15 year high. I can fully understand that - but why announce? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2016 The meeting with the @nytimes is back on at 12:30 today. Look forward to it! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2016 Following the interview, he said: Thank you all, very much, its a great honor. I will say, The Times is, its a great, great American jewel. A world jewel. And I hope we can all get along. Were looking for the same thing, and I hope we can all get along well. Story continues Americans learned that Trump was softening his stance on several key issues in a series of tweets straight from The Times board room. When asked about an investigation into former rival Hillary Clinton, he said: I want to move forward, I dont want to move back. And I dont want to hurt the Clintons. I really dont." He added: "She went through a lot. And suffered greatly in many different ways. And I am not looking to hurt them at all. The campaign was vicious. They say it was the most vicious primary and the most vicious campaign. I guess, added together, it was definitely the most vicious; probably, I assume you sold a lot of newspapers. Read: 'Hamilton' Actor Says 'There is Nothing to Apologize For' Following His Remarks to Mike Pence When the conversation turned to his son-in-law Jared Kushner becoming part of his transition team and a possible conflict of interest, he said: The president of the United States is allowed to have whatever conflicts he wants he or she wants. But I dont want to go by that. Jareds a very smart guy. Hes a very good guy. The people that know him, hes a quality person and I think he can be very helpful. I would love to be able to be the one that made peace with Israel and the Palestinians. I would love that that would be such a great achievement. Because nobodys been able to do it. Watch: Sand of the Free: Giant Sanitation Trucks Redeployed as NYC's New Line of Defense on Thanksgiving Related Articles: Palm Beach (United States) (AFP) - US President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he intends to nominate Betsy DeVos, a wealthy Republican campaigner for alternatives to public schools, as his education secretary. DeVos is the second woman Trump has tapped to fill a cabinet position. He earlier named South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to be US ambassador to the United Nations. DeVos is a Republican megadonor from Michigan who has been active in promoting school choice, a movement that advocates the use of tax credits and vouchers to allow parents to opt out of the public school system. "Under her leadership we will reform the US education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families," Trump said. DeVos is chairman of the Windquest Group, an investment group with a clean energy focus; the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation; and the American Federation for Children, a group that describes itself as dedicated to "breaking down barriers to educational choice," particularly for low income families. She is the sister of Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater USA, a security firm whose operations in Iraq aroused controversy. Her father was the founder of an automobile parts supplier. Her husband's father Richard DeVos was ranked Number 88 on Forbes' list of US billionaires, with a fortune estimated to be worth $5.4 billion. Trump's views on education have been inconsistent, but during the campaign he promised a $20 billion dollar federal program to allow low income students to attend private or charter schools. "The status quo in education is not acceptable," DeVos said in a statement accepting the offer of the education secretary position. "Together, we can work to make transformational change that ensures every student in America has the opportunity to fulfill his or her highest potential." For four straight days after the presidential election, thousands of Chicagoans chanting "Not my president!" marched through the Loop, crossing the river to gather beneath the giant switchblade of the 98-story Trump Tower. Similar protests erupted in other big cities. (Elsewhere, those emboldened by Trump's victory carried out more than 200 assaults on ethnic and racial minorities, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.) But it was Chicago - President Obama's hometown, where 84 percent of voters picked Hillary Clinton - that was Donald Trump's go-to symbol for the inner city throughout his campaign, a place so violent and impoverished, he said, that the people "living in hell" had nothing to lose by electing him. Now we will find out. "I was woozy to see such a symbol of hatred be put into our nation's highest office," says rapper Vic Mensa, recalling election night. "Then, when I woke up the next morning, I realized that this had to happen because we've been pacified having Barack Obama in office." Rhymefest echoes that idea: "Maybe it's a good thing that the mask fell off - we know for sure that we live in a racist, sexist, xenophobic country." Trump's ascendance could spark new movements for change. "We see an opportunity to push radical and transformative demands," says Charlene Carruthers, the head of activist group BYP100. That could mean redirecting 40 percent of the Chicago operating budget now spent on policing to job creation or universal childcare instead. Still, "if Trump's policies follow his rhetoric, it could be a real issue for people in black and brown and poor communities here," says Chicago treasurer Kurt Summers. A repeal of Obamacare or cuts to Medicaid would hit a cash-strapped county hospital system that provides uncompensated care to the city's neediest. Chicago is a sanctuary city - officials here do not have to report undocumented immigrants to the feds. The Trump administration could withhold funding if Chicago doesn't comply with tougher enforcement. The troubled Chicago Police Department began to reckon with its past during the last year, as the Department of Justice launched a civil-rights investigation of the force that is ongoing. "Under Trump, the thought of meaningful DOJ oversight of the CPD is absolutely gone," says Craig Futterman, who runs a police accountability clinic at the University of Chicago Law School. Changes to the First Amendment could also affect how law enforcement whistleblowers report misconduct. And the feds can set standards on how departments report - or don't report - officer-involved shootings to the FBI and track complaints of police abuse. Amy Campanelli, the Cook County Public Defender, worries that messaging like a "war" on guns, crime or gangs might encourage racial bias in police officers. Will Howell, an expert on separation-of-powers issues at the University of Chicago, says, "A president has a platform like no one else, and we're going to be looking reflexively to Trump and what he says about things like the legacy of racism." Summers says some of the nonspecific proposals in Trump's "New Deal for Black America" theoretically align with the interests of communities he represents: infrastructure investment, more capital for minority businesses. He says he must fight for these things, whoever is president: "There will be a federal government on Jan. 20, and it will have a direct impact on the city, so I don't have the luxury of taking my ball and going home." Saving Chicago: Vic Mensa, Common, Jamila Woods & Other Activists Fighting for Their City | How Grammy Winner Rhymefest Sacrificed Fame to Help Chicago Kids | What Chicago Activism Sounds Like Today: A Playlist Primer This story originally appeared in the Nov. 26 issue of Billboard. President-elect Donald Trumps foreign policy plan for resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine in the Middle East may involve using the expertise of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, a new report suggests. I would love to be the one who made peace with Israel and the Palestinians, that would be such a great achievement, Trump said in an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday, according to a tweet from the publications Mike Grynbaum. Kushner, touted as the steering force behind Trumps campaign victory, is an orthodox Jew whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors. Trumps daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism when she married Kushner in 2009. jared kushner Photo: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri While he acted as a close advisor to Trumps campaign, Kushner helped rid the president-elect of anti-semitic allegations and grow support for the candidate among the powerful pro-Israel community, as well as establish stronger ties with the government of Israel. Kushner is reportedly also being considered for a significant role in Trumps administration as the president-elect gets ready to move to the White House in two months. A tweet by the Times Washington bureau chief, Elisabeth Bumiller showed that during a meeting with with the newspapers editorial staff on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Kushner may play an important role in brokering peace in the Middle East. The appointment of the real estate developer, who is reportedly worth $200 million, may raise eyebrows as Trump considers blurring the lines between his private life and presidential duties. The president-elect also came under the scanner for allowing his family to influence the discharge of his official duties after Ivanka was pictured attending a meeting between her father and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who became the first head of state to visit Trump. Related Articles President-elect Donald Trump Tuesday appeared to soften his position on climate change, conceding some connectivity between human activity and global warming. The international community has expressed concern Trump would pull the United States out of the Paris accord, which sets specific targets for reducing carbon emissions and was signed by more than 190 countries. Though the United States cannot pull out for four years, there are no enforcement mechanisms if countries violate its provisions although some signatories are discussing ways of punishing the U.S. if Trump pulls out. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon predicted Trump would change his views on climate change, which he has described as a Chinese hoax. Ban said market forces alone would convince the businessman-turned-politician of the wisdom of addressing the issue. "I think there is some connectivity. Some, something. It depends on how much," Trump said Tuesday during a meeting with the New York Times. During the campaign, Trump pledged to withdraw from the Paris agreement but hedged when pressed on the issue Tuesday, saying he is looking at it very closely and has an open mind. Much of Trumps campaign rhetoric railed against environmental regulations and the burden they present to U.S. businesses. Climate change activists worry Trump will roll back progress made in the last eight years. Among Trumps advisers is Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a climate change denier tasked with overseeing the Environmental Protection Agencys transition. He also is on the list of candidates to head the agency. Monday night, Trump outlined his initial objectives once taking office. Among them was eliminating two government regulations for each new rule proposed. Story continues I really do think there will be some kind of reversal of Obama-era policies, but there are legal, political, and practical constraints on how far the Trump administration can go, Jody Freeman, the director of Harvard Universitys environmental law and policy program, told the Daily Signal in an interview. Ebell told the Daily Signal he and his colleagues acknowledge carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and greenhouse gases will contribute to an increase in temperatures, but says the situation is not a crisis that requires drastic action. He said President Barack Obamas climate strategy will have a minimal impact on global warming but will threaten the economy. NASA data indicated October was the second hottest month on record with 2016 heading for the title of hottest year. "The disaster that Donald Trump represents for the climate cannot be understated," Jamie Henn, a spokesman for the environmental advocacy group 350.org, told CNN last week. "He is the only head of state in the world who is an all-out climate denier and he has the most radical, anti-environmental policies of anyone to ever assume the role of the presidency." Related Articles In one of his few on-the-record interactions with the news media since being elected president, Donald Trump sat for an hour on Tuesday with editors and reporters from The New York Times and took questions on a variety of topics. In the course of the interview, he reversed himself or backtracked on numerous subjects, but appears to have stood firm on his plan to retain his global business interests during his term, despite the appearance of conflicts of interest. Trumps meeting with the Times almost didnt happen. He tweeted early this morning that the newspaper had changed the agreed-upon ground rules and cancelled the interview. However, it appears that Trump was given bad information by his staff -- New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said sources named incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. The paper had not changed the terms of the agreements, and Trump finally turned up at the papers headquarters in the early afternoon. Related: Trump Says Nobody but the Media Cares About Conflicts of Interest Trump, who on Monday reportedly spent the better part of an hour complaining to televisions news anchors and executives about how they covered his campaign, also carped about the Times coverage during the interview, but apparently took only a few minutes at the beginning of the meeting to criticize the paper. During the course of the interview, which the Times live-blogged and which several reporters live-tweeted, Trump made a number of statements that will probably come as a surprise to many of his supporters. Perhaps the most surprising is that, after months of leading crowds in the chant Lock her up! Lock her up! at his campaign rallies, Trump said he actually has no interest in pursuing a criminal investigation of defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Its just not something that I feel very strongly about, he said when he was asked about it, adding that he thought prosecuting the woman who he repeatedly accused of running a criminal enterprise would be too divisive for the country. Story continues Trump, who has in the past referred to climate change as a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese to harm U.S. competitiveness, signaled some openness to working on the issue. Asked if he would withdraw the U.S. from the recent global climate agreement negotiated in Paris, he said, Im looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it. Related: Trump, on YouTube, Delivers a Message to the Public and the Media Trump also expressed openness to the possibility that global warming might be caused by human activity, though he said he wasnt sure of the size of the man-made change. He said that he would consider the costs of compliance with new climate regulations to U.S. businesses. Facing criticism for his campaigns association with the alt-right movement -- which is associated with white nationalism, anti-Semitism and racism -- Trump was asked about a gathering of white nationalists in Washington over the weekend. Among other things, the speakers praised Trump and his appointments, while offering Nazi salutes and declaring that the U.S. was founded for the white race. I disavow and condemn them, Trump said. However, at the same time, he defended his appointment of former Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon as chief White House strategist and senior advisor. Bannon, who once described the Breitbart website as the platform for the alt-right, has insisted that while he is an economic nationalist, he isnt a white nationalist. Related: 3 Reasons Trump Could Put Cruz on the Supreme Court Asked about Bannon, Trump said, If I thought he was a racist or alt-right or any of the things, the terms we could use, I wouldn't even think about hiring him. Trump supporters will likely also be surprised to learn that Trump appears to be developing an affinity for President Obama, whom he spent months savaging on the campaign trail. Obama, he said, has said very nice things about him. Trump repeated that a 90-minute meeting with Obama last week had been great and that I liked him a lot. Trump also backpedaled on an earlier promise to loosen libel laws in order to make it easier to sue the news media for stories he didnt like. The change may have come because someone in the campaign explained that libel law exists at the state level but not at the federal level, and therefore the president has no influence over it. However, Trump painted a different picture. Someone, he said, told him, You know, you might be sued a lot more. I said, You know, I hadnt thought of that." Related: The Latest Republican Trick to Roll Back Obamas Rules When he discussed his business holdings, Trumps claim that The law's totally on my side, the president can't have a conflict of interest, seemed to some observers on social media perilously close to Richard Nixons insistence that when the president does it, that means its not illegal. Trump is partially right, in that statutory conflict of interest laws do not apply to the president and vice president. However, both are still bound by the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bars public officials from accepting payments from foreign governments. Ethics experts say that it is the emoluments clause that Trump is most likely to run afoul of. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Donald Trump crammed a lot into his first video address as the president-electabout trade agreements, jobs, and visa programs. But his most important words were largely glossed over at the end: I will provide more updates in the coming days as we work together to Make America Great Again. Released directly on YouTube (GOOG, GOOGL) and Facebook (FB), Trumps video address again bypassed traditional media outletsand annoying (to him) press conferencesby using Silicon Valleys platforms to get his message directly to the public, as he did throughout his campaign on Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook. With that casual promise of more to come, his first Transition 2017 post was likely the subtle debut of Trump TV. While Trump does not have the free time to start his rumored cable-like TV network, theres no reason to think the president-elect has ditched the idea of Trump TV. With existing technological infrastructure already at hisand everybodysfingertips, he can be on everybodys wall and in everybodys pocket without even upgrading his Android (though he appears to have invested in a quality camera). And in addition to harnessing the voting bloc that won him the election, hell have a captive audience of people who did not vote for him. It may not be a real Fox News competitor, but its surely Trump TV. There is every indication that Trumps promise to keep these updates coming is sincere. He already indicated that he will keep tweeting as president. Its a great form of communication, he said on 60 Minutes. Facebook and Twitter and, I guess, Instagram, I have 28 million people. By the time hes sworn in, his unprecedented direct line to the general publicunprecedented because Barack Obama didnt have any interest in typing his own tweetswill be even bigger. Not relying on traditional media to make announcements means that Trumps network of social media accountsTwitter, Facebook video, YouTubecould become required viewing for all, if you dont want to wait for the news to percolate down to the news agencies. Thats already been a hallmark of the Trump campaign: his pick for vice president was announced on Twitter a day before the news conference. Story continues Having a direct line to the people also makes him more intelligible. Throughout the election, Trump benefited from social media and video coverage that allowed people to hear him in context, not read him. In written form, his idiosyncratic style, replete with repetition and gestures, challenged many transcribers. To some, this unexpected launch of Trump TV may seem like a version of an Orwellian state-sponsored media, a direct line from Number One to his subjects. The feed, needless to say, will be the musings of a politician without context, reporting, moderation, or opposing viewpoints. But existing in the framework of American society, First Amendment, and other Facebook and YouTube videos adjacent in newsfeeds, Trump TV wears the more familiar clothes of a politician on a soapbox than Big Brother. One thing Trump TV, so far, does not have in common with actual television is ad dollars, and so far, there is no indication that fits into his strategy, despite musings on the campaign trail that they should have paid him $5 million for a primary debate because of the tremendous ratings he brings. However, if he really wanted, Trump could probably monetize his audience by putting ads in front of these videos. The Constitution says the president shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and as White House Chief Digital Officer Jason Goldman wrote earlier this year, Youll notice that exactly how the President is supposed to share the State of the Union (SOTU) is left unspecified. This allowed Obama to use GIFs and Genius and other technology as his administration saw fit, like streaming the SOTU on Amazon (AMZN) (for free). Though it could stir up a backlashTrump making the public wait five seconds before being allowed to hit a skip button right now wouldnt be the most controversial thing hes done. An ad-sponsored State of the Union, of course, a logical extreme, seems unlikelythere are far more lucrative and subtle ways to a make money from a presidencybut a vibrant Trump delivering a steady stream of video addresses seems a foregone conclusion. The president-elect has already said he wants to continue his rallies, and The New York Times reported that his aides are trying to figure out how thats possible. This would be a way for Trump to talk directly to people and still maintain a busy schedule. He could speak to the camera, whether scripted or off-the-cuff, for a quick video on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, shot by an aide, similar to the brief videos hes done over the years from his desk at Trump tower. At this stage, its hard to see the future at all, of Trump or whatever form Trump TV might take. But one thing is clear: America will stay tuned. Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumerism, tech, and personal finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Read more: How will Carl Icahns post-election windfall trickle down to the economy? Trumps jobs plan faces a bigger challenge than China Yellen: Repealing Dodd-Frank would increase the risk of another financial crisis What Trumpcare will look like Donald Trump could leave consumers on their own News that Donald Trump settled several lawsuits brought by former students of his Trump University to the tune of $25 million got a bit buried in the social mediadriven news cycle by the story of Vice Presidentelect Mike Pence getting an impromptu lecture in a Broadway theater by the cast of the hit musical Hamilton. The president-elect, who didnt want to face trial while hes putting together his new administration, quietly settled the suitscovering about 6,000 students of the now-defunct, non-accredited real estate investment school whod alleged they were hoodwinkedwithout admitting any wrongdoing. Now, onto more Cabinet appointments! But the legal actions still shined a harsh spotlight onto the little known and controversial world of real estate investing gurus, seminars, and schools, all promising to help attendees get rich off real estate deals. Plenty of legit educational programs on buying and selling property for profit do, of course, exist. But they fight for attention against a rising tide of shady programs that are widely accused of preying on low-income participants through a variety of get-rich-quick schemes, delivered through costly seminars and training sessions. Theres been an uptick in the number of complaints about wealth building and real estate seminars received by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The council is the umbrella organization for the local and independent bureaus in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It received 101 complaints about wealth building and real estate seminars and training in 2015, compared with 78 in 2014, according to the councils most recent numbers. The group is aware of about 375 for-profit real estate educational companies currently operating in the U.S. and Canada. Most of these real estate gurus are just charlatans, says David Crook, author of The Wall Street Journal Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook. Story continues They peddle dreams to poor people. Trump University sign at a free introductory class for prospective students The Washington Post/Getty Images Whos signing up for these seminars and schools, anyhow? Real estate investment programs tend to attract immigrants, retirees, and minorities, says John T. Reed, who writes about real estate investment and has a website that rates real estate investment gurus. [The gurus] pick on people who are not skeptical and are uneducated and are more susceptible than the average person to high-pressure sales tactics, he says. Its deliberately designed to cause skeptical people or people who have experience in the industry not to sign up. In fact, security personnel at many programs will often throw out attendees who ask too-pointed questions about the instructors system, he says. The specifics differ, but heres how these programs usually work: Students are attracted by a free, heavily promoted introductory class (with free lunch) promising to enlighten outsiders on the secrets of cashing in on real estate, delivered by experts. It turns out to be a sales pitch for a paid seminar, where attendees learn a bit about real estate investment while being strongly pressured into signing up for additional, ever-pricier workshops and mentoring services. They are encouraged to bring new people into the seminars as well. This, in the biz, is known as upselling. The quality and effectiveness of the information delivered is a matter of debate and varies widely. Sometimes gurus will even urge pupils to sign up for bus tours to viewand even buysome of the experts own investment properties. Many of these are overpriced, Reed warns. Real estate is a great place to [make] money, says Reed, author of Aggressive Tax Avoidance for Real Estate Investors. But you would have to take high risks if youd like to make a lot of money fast. Its not advisable. The good news is that laws have been enacted allowing buyers to renege within three days on educational purchases they made in a hotel meeting room, restaurant, or convention centerexactly the places where most of these seminars are held. Reality stars fame doesnt always lead others to fortune President-elect Trump isnt the only reality TV star to get into the real estate investment self-help business and come under scrutiny. Theres also Armando Montelongos seminars. The star of Flip This House, a show that ran on A&E from 2005 through 2009, was sued earlier this year by more than 160 of his former students for allegedly pocketing thousands of dollars of their lifesavings for a real estate investing system they claimed didnt work. The Better Business Bureau, which chronicled complaints, has not accredited the business. In a statement, Armando Montelongo Companies dismissed the lawsuit, saying the plaintiffs are trying to make money the easy way by clogging up our legal system with a frivolous lawsuit. The students voluntarily withdrew the suit because it was filed in California instead of Texas, where Montelongo lives. They said they would refile in Texas. The price structure of the Montelongo program is fairly typical of this industry. Attendees are typically invited to a free seminar, and then encouraged to sign up for a three-day training session at nearly $1,500, according to the Better Business Bureaus website. After that, they may be urged to sign up for more education packages, at prices that often exceed $12,000. Author Robert Kiyosaki with his best-selling Rich Dad, Poor Dad richdad.com Another example of a wealth-building guru coming under fire is Robert Kiyosaki, author of the best-seller Rich Dad, Poor Dad, investor, and radio host. MarketWatch columnist Chuck Jaffe named Kiyosakis training program a Stupid Investment of the Week in 2007, saying that Kiyosakis world is full of platitudes, and is not so rich on specific advice. The Better Business Bureau said it had received a pattern of complaints that substance and/or availability of the programs did not meet the customers expectations compared to what was presented to them at the business seminars. Kiyosakis company officials also did not return requests for comment. Alternatives for education in real estate Pricey seminars arent the only way to learn about making money in real estate. Consider joining a local real estate investors club instead, says Reed. For example, the National Real Estate Investors Association, a Cincinnati-based group of about 40,000 independent home flippers, landlords, and investors around the country, offers a series of informative monthly meetings and educational programs. Members pay an annual fee of $150. The biggest thing that people come to our groups for is education and hand-holding, says the associations executive director, Rebecca McLean. She adds that many aspiring investors are spooked after seeing people lose money in the last housing bust. Shes seeing fewer scams since the bust nearly a decade ago. However, this time around, scam artists are appealing to more middle-class professionals who have the savings and credit to afford the seminars. With the right project in the right market, you can make that $25,000 [in seminar costs] back in just one deal, says McLean. [But] to assume youre going to pick up a property for $20,000, put $5,000 in it, and sell it for $100,000, thats just insanity. Those deals dont come around every day. She recommends that budding property owners get feedback from other local investors before parting with their lifesavings. Do your homework before signing up Potential students should evaluate these schools and gurus very carefully before signing up for anything, warn experts. That means looking very carefully at whether their mentor of choice has made their own money in the businessand whether that was the result of skill or just good luck. You dont need to pay $25,000 in education if you buy at the right time, says Dennis Cisterna, chief revenue officer of Denver-based Investability, an online marketplace for those looking for rental properties. In addition, there are ways to avoid being hustled. The Ripoff Report ripoffreport.com First, do some due diligence online: Search the name of the guru and business online along with the words rip off or scam, says Ed Magedson, founder of the RipOffReport.com, where consumers can report shady businesses. That should bring up negative reviews and lawsuits. And check the Better Business Bureaus website for complaints or legal actions. But just because a business got a bad review or a student complaint doesnt mean its necessarily crooked. Everybodys a critic, Magedson says. None of us could ever satisfy 100% of the people 100% of the time. Folks should look for money-back guarantees and cancellation policies before signing up. Take screen shots of that guarantee on the website (just in case the company later takes it down) and save the link to that page. They should also ask representatives about the rules for getting a refund before plunking any money down. But the written agreement will prevail over any spoken promises. And participants should pay by credit card, as they can later challenge charges if they fall victim to high-pressure sales tactics. Finally, aspiring millionaires need to adjust their expectations. Theres no program thats going to work the same way for everyone, says Magedson, adding that students may receive perfectly good readings that they dont understand. It may work well in Milwaukee, WI, but not work as well for somebody in Tulsa, OK. Not all markets are the same. The post Trump University Lawsuits Highlight Pitfalls of Real Estate Seminars appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. By Peter Eisler WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency with less support from black and Hispanic voters than any president in at least 40 years, a Reuters review of polling data shows, highlighting deep national divisions that have fueled incidents of racial and political confrontation. Trump was elected with 8 percent of the black vote, 28 percent of the Hispanic vote and 27 percent of the Asian-American vote, according to the Reuters/Ipsos Election Day poll. Among black voters, his showing was comparable to the 9 percent captured by George W. Bush in 2000 and Ronald Reagan in 1984. But Bush and Reagan both did far better with Hispanic voters, capturing 35 percent and 34 percent, respectively, according to exit polling data compiled by the non-partisan Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. And Trumps performance among Asian-Americans was the worst of any winning presidential candidate since tracking of that demographic began in 1992. The racial polarization behind Trumps victory has helped set the stage for tensions that have surfaced repeatedly since the election, in white supremacist victory celebrations, in anti-Trump protests and civil rights rallies, and in hundreds of racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic hate crimes documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which tracks extremist movements. The SPLC reports there were 701 incidents of hateful harassment and intimidation between the day following the Nov. 8 election and Nov. 16, with a spike in such incidents in the immediate wake of the vote. Signs point to an ongoing atmosphere of confrontation. The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a white separatist group that vilifies African-Americans, Jews and other minorities, plans an unusual Dec. 3 rally in North Carolina to celebrate Trumps victory. Left-wing and anarchist groups have called for organized protests to disrupt the president-elects Jan. 20 inauguration. And a Womens March on Washington, scheduled for the following day, is expected to draw hundreds of thousands to protest Trumps presidency. American politics became increasingly racialized through President Barack Obamas two terms, but there was an attempt across the board, across the parties, to keep those tensions under the surface, says Jamila Michener, an assistant professor of government at Cornell University. Trumps anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric brought those divisions to the fore; it activated people on the right, who felt empowered, and it activated people on the left, who saw it as a threat, she added. That dynamic was evident last week. When Vice President-elect Mike Pence attended the Broadway musical Hamilton in New York on Friday, the multi-ethnic cast closed with a statement expressing fears of a Trump presidency. A far different view was on display the next day as a crowd of about 275 people cheered Trumps election at a Washington conference of the National Policy Institute, a white nationalist group with a strong anti-Semitic beliefs. We willed Donald Trump into office; we made this dream our reality, NPI President Richard Spencer said. After outlining a vision of America as a white country designed for ourselves and our posterity, he closed with, Hail Trump! Hail our people! Hail victory! DIVISION BREEDS CONFRONTATION Though Trumps election victory was driven by white voters, his performance even among that group was not as strong as some of his predecessors. Reagan and George H.W. Bush both won the presidency with higher shares of the white vote than the 55 percent that Trump achieved. The historical voting patterns reflect decades of polarization in American politics, but the division surrounding Trump appears more profound, says Cas Mudde, an associate professor specializing in political extremism at the University of Georgia. These days, he adds, people say they dont want their children even to date someone from the other party. Indeed, voters opinions of those on the opposite side of the partisan divide have reached historic lows. Surveys by the Pew Research Center showed this year that majorities of both parties held very unfavorable views of the other party a first since the center first measured such sentiment in 1992. And the lions share of those people believe the opposing partys policies are so misguided that they threaten the nations well-being, the center found. That level of division has spurred activists on both sides of the political divide to take their activism in a more confrontational direction. In the wake of Trumps victory, protesters on the left took to the streets by the thousands in cities across the country, in some cases causing property damage. Much of the agitation was motivated by a belief that Trumps administration will foster racism and push the courts and other political institutions to disenfranchise minority voters, says James Anderson, editor of ItsGoingDown.Org, an anarchist website that has promoted mass demonstrations against Trumps presidency, including a call to disrupt his inauguration. Many on the left have come to distrust government institutions, embracing a breed of activism aimed at directly confronting what they see as condemnable political forces, Anderson says. The answer now is to organize, build power and autonomy and fight back. On the opposite end of the political spectrum, Trumps election is bringing new hope for right-wing activists who felt abandoned by the major parties. John Roberts, a top officer in the Ku Klux Klan affiliate planning the December rally to celebrate Trumps election, says the group is committed to non-violent demonstrations, but he sees Trumps election as likely to bring a new era of political conflict. And much of the strife, he says, will be centered around racial divisions. Once Trump officially takes office, there is going to be a boiling over at some point in time, Roberts says. Who knows when thats going to be, but its not going to be pretty. (Additional reporting by Chris Kahn in New York. Editing by Stuart Grudgings) Donald Trump's ascension to the presidency will likely mean a reversal of fortune for hospitals that have financially benefited from Obamacare and will present new risks to insurers already struggling to make money selling plans under the Affordable Care Act, experts say. But Trump's tendency to abruptly change his mind about policy goals and other things makes it difficult, if not impossible, to predict how extensive the financial fallout or windfall will be for either of those health-care sectors. Trump campaigned on a promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, the massive law that among other things has led to decreases in the nation's uninsured rate by increasing the number of people with coverage. It's far from clear how different a new system would be, particularly after the Republican-led Congress weighs in with its own proposals. "I have no idea what they're going to do," said Gary Claxton, vice president of the health-care policy research group Kaiser Family Foundation. "The bills that [GOP leaders in Congress] put out, while they had principles in them, I don't know that they were ever intended to be enacted." But Claxton said that based on what Trump and congressional Republicans have said, it's reasonable to expect "less coverage, or less generous coverage" for many people. "If you start with the hospitals, it seems unlikely that as many people will have coverage that is as generous as currently exists," Claxton said. "So that means that when they go to the hospitals, they'll have less money to pay with, or less insurance. So it seems unlikely this will be good for hospitals." Claxton also said that if Trump follows through on a promise to block-grant Medicaid funding to states as opposed to subsidizing that program for the poor based on a state's count of enrollees that could also lead to decreased revenue for hospitals. So could proposals to give states more flexibility in how they design their Medicaid benefits for enrollees, which could lead to revenue decreases for hospitals. Story continues Minda Wilson, a Los Angeles-based corporate attorney specializing in health care, agreed. "I think the hospitals are not going to do well, period," she said. The stock prices of big hospital companies, such as HCA (: ), Tenet Healthcare (THC), Universal Health Services (UHS), Community Health Systems (CYH) and HealthSouth (HLS), plunged after Trump's election. Wilson noted that under Obamacare, hospitals were already facing significant cuts to reimbursements for treating patients with Medicare, the federally operated system that provides health coverage to primarily senior citizens. A Trump administration could exacerbate that loss of income by cutting or even eliminating the tax credits that most customers of Obamacare marketplaces receive to help offset the cost of their monthly insurance premiums, she said. Such cuts would mean fewer paying customers for hospitals. "I think whether or not they [hospitals] do worse will depend on whether the government continues to subsidize the subsidies they agreed to pay," said Wilson, author of the recently published book "Urgent Care: Ten Cures for America's Ailing Healthcare System." Wilson also noted that while Trump has talked about a complete repeal of the ACA, it's not clear if some of the lesser-known parts of that law actually would be scrapped which also would have consequences for hospitals. One of those parts penalizes hospitals if Medicare patients who were treated for certain conditions, including heart attacks and pneumonia, end up being re-admitted to a hospital within 30 days of being released. It would be "a big loss" for hospitals financially if Trump's repeal of the ACA did not repeal that particular provision, Wilson said. The ACA has also authorized, and encouraged, the creation of so-called Accountable Care Organizations groups of hospitals and doctors that agree to coordinate medical treatment for Medicare patients in hope of both improving patient outcomes and getting a financial reward from the Medicare system for doing so. "There won't be Accountable Care Organizations if the ACA is [fully] repealed," Wilson said. Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates in Virginia, said it's true that hospitals "have a huge risk here" if Obamacare is repealed without any meaningful replacement, and the 25 million or so people who have gained health insurance since the law went into effect suddenly lost that coverage. Laszewski, who is an Obamacare opponent, said that would lead to hospitals dealing with many more uninsured people coming through their emergency rooms, and having to eat the costs of covering those nonpaying patients. But Laszewski doesn't foresee such a scenarios as likely. He does, however, see a big risk for insurance companies arising in the next several months when the next Congress begins work on effectively repealing Obamacare and coming up with a replacement. Republicans "face a huge crisis in keeping Obamacare's wheels on in 2018, and they need to address that," he said. There is "no doubt that they're going to defund Obamacare," which will "virtually repeal the law," Laszewski said. He expects the new Congress, when it cuts off funding for the ACA, to set a date some time in the future, likely Jan. 1, 2019, when that funding will actually stop. The sunset date means that funding would continue until then for Obamacare subsidies for customers of government-run insurance marketplaces, and for federal funding of Medicaid enrollees who became eligible for such coverage when their states agreed to loosen the sign-up rules for Medicaid. But then, Laszewski said, the question becomes what will replace Obamacare and how easy it will be to get such a replacement passed into law. That is a much harder question, he said, because while it takes just 51 votes in the Senate to defund Obamacare, it will take 60 votes to replace it because such bills require that supermajority. "You've got yourself a lengthy, controversial, complicated process to replace it, in which they will need Democratic support," Laszewski said. "You could have a scenario here where the Republicans defund Obamacare, and they're unable to get 60 votes," and Congress temporarily maintains funding for ACA programs by a series of continuing resolutions, he said. Both the uncertainty of what would replace Obamacare and the months it would take to pass that into law are what worry insurers and what could lead more of them to abandon the individual health plan market or risk booking bigger losses until a replacement is put into effect, he said. Those insurers would be faced with the prospect of not having in place a plan that would maintain the level of subsidies many of their customers have under Obamacare. Without such subsidies, many people, particularly healthy ones who cost insurers little or no money to cover, would exit the individual health plan marketplace. "Most insurance companies are losing money in Obamacare [plans] in 2016. You have to believe it's going to get worse in 2017," Laszewski said. "Sick people are going to stay on the [customers] rolls, but a lot of healthy people are going to say, 'I'm going to wait for an alternative'" under Trump. And within months of the Jan. 31 close of open enrollment for 2017 plans, starting in April, insurers will have to begin submitting their proposed prices for the 2018 coverage year. The fact that a replacement for Obamacare is not likely to be passed by then is leaving insurers "besides themselves" with anxiety, Laszewksi said. "They have to make a decision in the April time frame about whether they're going to participate or not," he said. "They're feeling enormous ... pressure right now. The smart business decision is not to participate in 2018," Laszewski said. "What insurance company executive would be crazy to stick around in 2018 as a favor to Republicans?" Kaiser's Claxton said that when a replacement plan is put into place, it is not clear if insurers' financial situation will improve in the individual health plan market. Given the fact that fewer people are likely to be insured in that market, "I think the revenues go down" for insurers, "but they may be more profitable," Claxton said. Claxton also said the elimination or loosening of ACA regulations on insurers, who before Obamacare could deny coverage or charge higher rates to sicker patients, could make it easier for insurers to make money on the individual plan market. That anticipation by investors of easier money might be part of the reason why the share prices of big insurers including Unitedhealth (UNH), Aetna (AET), Humana (HUM), Cigna (CI) and Anthem (ANTM) have surged on the heels of Trump's victory. The first three of those insurers had, earlier this year, revealed they would dramatically scale back their presence in Obamacare markets for 2017, citing losses on individual plans. Cigna before the election abandoned its intention to expand its presence in those markets in 2017. And Anthem had warned a week before the election that it could scale back its Obamacare plans in 2018 if results don't improve next year. But Claxton said that if there isn't any, or much government subsidization of lower-income customers for insurers insurance companies, it could make it harder to book a profit on individual plans. Claxton also sees a threat to insurers who are in the Medicaid managed care market. If Medicaid enrollment goes down under Trump, and if state funding for Medicaid programs decreases, that could negatively affect the bottom line of insurers in the Medicaid market. More From CNBC Washington (AFP) - South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for ambassador to the United Nations, was relatively unknown on the national stage until a mass shooting in her state vaulted her to prominence. The June 2015 massacre at a historic black church in Charleston laid bare some of the racial tensions that persist in South Carolina, which in 1860 became the first state to secede from the United States ahead of the Civil War. Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, spoke out forcefully against the shooting by a young white man and led efforts for the divisive Confederate flag to be pulled from the South Carolina state capitol. The removal of the flag was seen by some as a watershed moment for race relations in the state. If confirmed by the Senate, Haley, 44, would become one of only two women so far nominated for Trump's cabinet, alongside Republican megadonor Betsy DeVos who was picked Wednesday as education secretary. Raised as a Sikh, Haley is also the first minority figure in Trump's list of otherwise white-only top administration officials. Haley now identifies as Christian. Her appointment may go some way towards reassuring those alarmed by Trump's strident anti-immigrant campaign rhetoric, as well as his pick of a top advisor, Steve Bannon, who is admired by white supremacists. Haley was sharply critical of Trump during the election campaign and endorsed Florida Senator Marco Rubio during the Republican primary race before backing Senator Ted Cruz. While campaigning against Trump in the primaries, she called him out for his failure to repudiate the Ku Klux Klan. "I will not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party. That is not who we are," she declared. - Popular with the 'Tea Party' - Born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa in 1972 in Bamberg, South Carolina, Haley served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005-2011. Story continues After her election as governor, Haley stayed firmly on the right, displaying hostility to trade unions, taxes and gay marriage. In January, the Republican Party picked Haley to present its response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, when she attacked him over the economy and his signature health care law. As a child, Haley helped in her parents' clothing shop and assisted with the bookkeeping. She went on to get a degree in accounting. Popular among anti-tax "Tea Party" conservatives, Haley received an endorsement from former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and won the South Carolina governorship in 2010. She is currently the youngest governor in America and the second of Indian descent, after Louisiana's Bobby Jindal. Haley's prestigious posting at the United Nations is sure to draw ire from opponents, given that she has virtually zero foreign policy experience. But she received congratulations from the UN ambassadors of close US allies Britain and Israel. "She will bring to the UN a strong track record of achievement from South Carolina, and I know that the UK-US relationship will continue to go from strength to strength," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters. Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon hailed her as a "longstanding and true friend of Israel" who in South Carolina fought a pro-Palestinian movement that sought to target Israel with boycotts, divestment and sanctions. If confirmed, Haley would replace Samantha Power, who has served as the US ambassador to the UN since 2013. Haley is married to Michael Haley, an officer in the South Carolina National Guard and has two children. Following the rise of conservative populist movements in much of Europe and the United States, Turkey is reconsidering its long-term bid to join the European Union. Speaking to reporters this week, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the so-called Brexit vote alongside the rise of those conservative voices and an long-delayed application for access to the EU gives the country momentum to consider other options. Brexit can spread, such voices are heard from France and Italy. Under these circumstances, Turkey should feel calm. One should not say that the European Union is the only option. Why cant Turkey become a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Erdogan asled on a flight back from an official visit to Uzbekistan, Russia's Sputnik News reported Wednesday. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a military, economic and political alliance between China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan established in 2001 in Shanghai. The bloc was originally developed to fight against terrorist groups and drug trafficking from nearby Afghanistan. Turkeys interest in joining the cooperation appears to be reciprocated. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Monday Turkey has already been a dialogue partner with the group and has cooperated with the regional bloc for a while, according to Reuters. Turkey, a member of NATO, has been vying for a spot in the European community for a very long time. The country signed an agreement with the region in 1963 before submitting a formal application for entry into the EU -- which was founded in 1993 -- in 1987. Talks between Ankara and the EU officially started in 2005. Turkeys membership bid has been hobbled by European concerns about its commitment to democratic freedoms and officials have been particularly concerned lately with a crackdown on political opponents by the Erdogan administration after a failed coup attempt in July. Those conditions have led to some of the most fragmented negotiations between the EU and Turkey in the 11 years of negotiations. Related Articles Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that a European Parliament vote set to back a freeze of membership talks with Ankara over its relentless post-coup crackdown would have "no value". The non-binding vote set for this week threatens to escalate tensions between the European Union and Turkey, which reached new heights in the wake of the July 15 failed putsch. But EU member states, with the exception of Austria, are so far all in favour of keeping the talks on track despite alarm over the extent of the crackdown that has seen almost 37,000 placed under arrest. "I want to say in advance from here and address the whole world watching on their TV screens -- this vote has no value at all, no matter what result emerges," Erdogan told a meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul. "It is not possible for me to even digest the message that they want to deliver," he said. The European Parliament's main groups said Tuesday they will vote to freeze membership talks with Turkey because of the crackdown. Turkey and the EU had agreed to speed up membership talks after both sides reached a deal in March to curb migrant flows towards the European Union. But the process has stalled after the failed bid by a rogue group in the army to bring down the Turkish government. The mass arrests and job dismissals as well as measures against Turkish media in the ensuing crackdown triggered a sharp reaction from EU politicians and rights watchdogs. Erdogan however remained defiant, saying on Wednesday that: "Those hands raised up and down (in the parliament vote) will not interrupt this country's fight for its independence and future." He said the vote was an indicator of the fact that the EU took the side of "terror organisations." - 'Words not kept'- Turkey formally applied to become an EU member in 1987 and accession talks only began in 2005, even though Ankara's aspirations to become part of the bloc dates back to the 1960s. Story continues Erdogan lashed out at what he called "lack of concrete support" from the EU and added: "On the contrary, commitments made have never been fulfilled, words given have not been kept." The Turkish strongman urged Islamic countries to join their forces to end the West's "double standards" which meant any leader who dared raise criticism was labelled a dictator. "If we remain silent, they will keep rolling out the red carpet to tyrants whose hands are bloody... and stigmatising as a dictator those who criticise them," he added. Erdogan said if the West called someone a dictator, that meant "he is good in my eyes." He said Donald Trump was also being accused of being a dictator after his election as president, denouncing protests against his impending assumption of power. "They have started to call him a dictator. In different European countries, they got out on the street and started saying 'dictator'," he said. "I thought you were democrats? Isn't the ballot box democracy? Isn't respect for the result of the ballot box democracy? Why are you not respecting the result of the ballot box?" Following the cancellation of the remaining dates for the Saint Pablo Tour, reports surfaced that Kanye West had been hospitalized due to "temporary psychosis" from sleep deprivation. A bevy of musicians sent love to the rapper, including West's longtime collaborator Twista, who penned an encouraging letter to Kanye asking everyone to pray as he seeks treatment. "The music business is a very stressful business to be in. I been doing this for a very long time," the fellow Chicago native wrote in his letter. "Believe me when I say it takes a very strong minded person to go thru the daily shit that you have to go thru." Twista and Kanye collaborated on multiple songs, including the early 2000s hits "Overnight Celebrity" and "Slow Jamz." In his letter, Twista writes that artists are often pressured by the media and music industry to remain successful and "the more hotter you are the more money you make, the longer your career lasts." "Wanting help doesn't show weakness," he wrote. "It actually shows character and it lets people know you too are human and you too have feelings. No one is perfect when it comes down to living life in general, so this morning I pray for my homie. I pray that Kanye finds that one thing that money and fame can't buy. #APeaceofMind Chicago Loves you bro, Twista." Last year, Twista spoke with VladTV about his native Chicago and his relationship with Yeezy. "His ambition and where he saw his self and what he planned to do...he always had that vision," the fast rhymer recalled. "It was fun to see something that was only a vision come out of somebody's mouth. He was so sure of himself and confident and put the work ethic into it." By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A dual citizen of Iran and the United States was found guilty on Tuesday on charges that he tried to help acquire surface-to-air missiles and aircraft components for the government of Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. Reza Olangian, 56, was convicted by a federal jury in Manhattan on all four counts he faced, including conspiring to acquire and transfer anti-aircraft missiles, prosecutors said. Olangian faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 25 years and a maximum of life. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13. Lee Ginsberg, Olangian's lawyer, said the verdict "was very disappointing and we do plan to appeal." Olangian, who became a U.S. citizen in 1999, was arrested in Estonia in October 2012 and subsequently extradited to the United States following a sting operation orchestrated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Prosecutors said that in 2012, Olangian met in Ukraine with a DEA informant posing as a Russian weapons broker to arrange for the purchase of surface-to-air missiles and various military aircraft components. In recorded conversations and emails, Olangian described his plans to acquire the missiles and parts and smuggle them into Iran, for whose government he was purchasing them, from Afghanistan or from another neighboring country, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said Olangian negotiated a deal involving 10 missiles and dozens of aircraft parts, and during a video conference with the informant, stated that he ultimately wanted to acquire at least 200 missiles. The deal followed a failed effort by Olangian in 2007 to obtain about 100 missiles for Iran, prosecutors said. His goal throughout, they said, was to make a substantial profit selling the weapons. At trial, Ginsberg described Olangian as having been active in protests against the Iranian government during his U.S. college studies and said he had moved back to Iran when it appeared the country might become more democratic. Story continues But after the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2005, Olangian began engaging with people involved with selling weapons to get Iran to agree to buy them and expose the government "for what they were all about," Ginsberg said. "It was his desire to get the Iranian government on the hook on a contract, on a piece of paper, that would definitely show what they were trying to do," Ginsberg said in his opening statement. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler) By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A Cambodian Supreme Court chamber on Wednesday upheld a life sentence for two top cadres of the 1970s Khmer Rouge found guilty of crimes against humanity, a decision a U.N. envoy said sent a message to leaders in North Korea and elsewhere. Most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge 1975-79 "Killing Fields" regime died of starvation, torture, exhaustion or disease in labor camps or were bludgeoned to death during mass executions. A fifth of the population was killed. The UN-backed Supreme Court Chamber said Khmer Rouge "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, 90, and former President Khieu Samphan, 85, had been found guilty of crimes against humanity, murder, persecution on political grounds and other inhumane acts over the forced evacuation of the capital, Phnom Penh, after the fall of the city in 1975. "The Supreme Court Chamber affirms the sentence of life imprisonment imposed by the trial chamber on both Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan," judge Kong Srim said on Wednesday. "The Supreme Court orders that Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan remain in custody." David Scheffer, the U.N. Secretary-General's envoy to the tribunal, said that the judgment sent a message to leaders around the world. "What happened today in this courtroom ultimately can reach your domain," Scheffer told reporters at the court, naming Islamic State in Syria, among others. "I will just say in closing that perhaps the leadership of North Korea should take particular note of what occurred here today," Scheffer said. "...International justice isn't backing down, it is actually forging ahead." A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by name in connection with suspected human rights abuses, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations. Reclusive North Korea, which has carried out a string of nuclear and missile tests in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, regularly threatens to destroy South Korea and its main ally, the United States. The Cambodian trial chamber's first verdict and sentence in 2010 was life in jail for Kaing Guek Eav, alias "Duch", head of the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, where as many as 14,000 people were tortured and executed. Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan were both in court to hear the ruling. The two face separate charges of genocide in a second phase of the complex, ongoing trial. There were initially four defendants. Former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary died in 2012. His wife, Ieng Thirith, a former minister, died in 2015. The Cambodian government also welcomed the court judgment. "We express our hope that this trial and today's delivery of the final judgment brings some relief for your pain and suffering," Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said, addressing survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime. (Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Nick Macfie) Of his nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday called South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley a proven dealmaker who will be a great leader representing us on the world stage. But some global diplomats were slightly less diplomatic in trying to suss out her creds for the international arena. What do you make of the announcement that Nikki Haley might become new U.N. ambassador? one Western diplomat asked Foreign Policy in a text message Wednesday morning. I heard she hasnt really been a foreign policy figure in the past. She is a total novice, added another U.N.-based official. Its going to be interesting. Ill admit to a sense of relief when I heard her name but that is probably due to my total ignorance about her foreign policy views, said yet another senior U.N. official. Ignorance is bliss, in comparison to what we do know about some of the other candidates. Frances U.N. ambassador, Francois Delattre, spoke highly of Haley. Its not up to me of course to comment on the nomination, pending her confirmation by the Senate, the French diplomat told reporters after the announcement. What I can tell you is that in my previous position as Frances ambassador to Washingtonwe had a very good contact. She is a highly regarded, very respected professional. Haley, 44, has little foreign policy experience and no experience in the federal government. As governor, she brokered economic development deals with international companies and led seven overseas trade missions, according to the Post and Courier, which first reported her pending nomination. She is also a proven dealmaker, and we look to be making plenty of deals, Trump said in his announcement. In September 2015, Haley led a delegation on a nine-day visit to Gothenburg, Sweden, and to Munich and Frankfurt in Germany, to meet representatives from Volvo, BMW, and Mercedes Benz. BMW has a large plant in Spartanburg, S.C., and Volvo and Mercedes Benz have announced plans to build auto plants in the state. Story continues Haley said she was up to the U.N. job. Our country faces enormous challenges here at home and internationally, and I am honored that the president-elect has asked me to join his team and serve the country we love as the next ambassador to the United Nations, she said. The U.S. Senate would need to confirm Haley first. Top Democratic leaders initially indicated a willingness to hear the South Carolina governor out. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the former Democratic running mate for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, said Haleys executive experience as governor would serve her well at the U.N. But the hearing may not go smoothly. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) promised a thorough hearing for Haley. And in a dig at Trump and his open fondness for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Cardin said the next U.S. envoy would need to confront Russia. She will be the fifth woman to serve as the top American envoy to the United Nations: Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Madeleine Albright, Susan Rice, and Samantha Power have previously heading up the U.S. mission at Turtle Bay. In a break with previous Republican administrations dating back to the end of the Cold War, Haley will hold Cabinet rank. If Haley was Trumps top pick to be U.N. envoy, Trump wasnt her top pick for president. Haley initially endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in his presidential bid. After Rubio dropped out, Haley said she was praying for a win for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). When all other candidates dropped out of the race, Haley said she would vote for Trump even though she said she wasnt a fan. Haley will face a U.N. showdown over the president-elects controversial campaign trail proposals, such as mass deportation, bans on Muslims, and reintroducing waterboarding, as FP first reported. We are going to speak up, one U.N. official told Foreign Policy before Haleys announcement on Wednesday. Itll be rough, but if [Trump] puts any of those ghastly campaign pledges into action we will condemn. Richard Gowan, a U.N. expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said Haley will face an extremely tough learning curve, as she is likely to take office with major crises spiking in Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A huge amount of U.N. business still centers on African crises that Haley has probably never considered in depth, in contrast to Susan Rice and Samantha Power, Gowan said of President Barack Obamas two U.N. ambassadors. That said, at least she is not a perennially angry white dude. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley was one of the most vocal critics of Trumps controversial campaign promises on immigration. She will almost certainly ease fears about lacking diversity in Trumps administration, which so far has uniformly tapped white men for top presidential nominations and appointments. Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country, Trump said. She was widely lauded for her handling of a racially-motivated South Carolina church shooting last year and removing the Confederate flag from state grounds. Haleys appointment comes at a time when the president-elects White House picks, including his top strategist Steve Bannon, face their own controversies surrounding racism. Barbara Slavin, a journalist and Iran specialist at the Atlantic Council, praised Haleys appointment on Twitter as someone who smart, moderate, and opposed Trump in the primaries, good pick. But she has also faced criticism for supporting laws that suppress voter turnout, including by signing a May 2011 law requiring voters present government issued voter IDs to the polls. The American Civil Liberties Union appealed to a federal court in 2012 to block implementation of the law, which it claimed disenfranchised voters, especially poor black voters. Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images This story has been updated. By Andrea Shalal BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.N. Special Envoy for Syria on Tuesday said he was worried that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could launch a new offensive to crush eastern Aleppo before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20. Staffan De Mistura did not explain why he thought Syria might make such a move, but European diplomats have said Assad may feel emboldened by Trump's vow to build closer ties with Russia, and the current U.S. government is unlikely to strike back so close to leaving office. De Mistura joined German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in calling for an end to the bombardment of civilians in Syria and a political solution to the conflict. He said that moves by Syria to escalate the military conflict could have tragic consequences for 275,000 civilians still in the eastern part of Aleppo, and drew parallels to an 87-day siege of Vukovar, Croatia by Serbian forces in 1991. "I am very concerned about what can happen before Jan. 20," de Mistura told a group of Social Democratic lawmakers. "We are very concerned (about the possibility of Assad) ... taking over in a brutal aggressive way what is left of eastern Aleppo," he said. "It could be tragic. It could be a new Vukovar." De Mistura said little was known about Trump's Middle East policy, but there might be a chance of progress in ending the Syrian war if Trump stuck to his campaign pledge to fight Islamic State together with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia views Assad as a bulwark against Islamist militancy, while the Obama administration is pushing for his departure. Steinmeier cited talks about bringing relief supplies into Aleppo via Turkey, but gave no details and said there were no guarantees for the success of the effort. Rolf Muetzenich, a contender to replace Steinmeier if he is elected German president in February, said Syria and Russia were using the time before Trump's inauguration to step up their attacks on rebel-held areas in Syria. He said Trump's failure to articulate a clear agenda for the Middle East had created a "conceptual vacuum" that could lead to "further instability and even possible additional proxy wars" in the region, he said. He also warned that any move by Trump to dismantle the Iran nuclear deal struck under President Barack Obama in which Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief could exacerbate tensions in the region. (Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke and Sabine Siebold; Editing by Andrew Hay) PRAGUE (Reuters) - The United States and Russia have both requested the extradition of a Russian arrested in Prague and indicted in the U.S. for hacking computers of social media companies, the Czech justice ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry will review the requests for the extradition of Yevgeniy Nikulin, who a U.S. federal grand jury said had hacked into the U.S.-based social media companies LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring. The requests will then be referred to a Prague court, a spokeswoman said. If the court determines both requests are valid, the justice minister would make the extradition decision, she added. Czech police detained Nikulin in October in Prague, where he remains in custody. His arrest was carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. A federal grand jury in Oakland, California, indicted him on Oct. 21. LinkedIn Corp has said the arrest was related to a 2012 breach at the social networking company that might have compromised the credentials of 100 million users, prompting it to launch a massive password reset operation. Russia's foreign ministry has criticized the arrest, saying it showed Washington was mounting a global manhunt against Russian citizens. The U.S. government had accused Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations before the Nov. 8 presidential election. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a hacking scandal would not be in Russia's interests. (Reporting by Jason Hovet and Petra Vodstrcilova; Editing by Tom Heneghan) * UK borrowing forecast pushed up by 122 bln pounds * Britain cuts 2017 growth forecast to 1.4 pct from 2.2 pct * Hammond says preparing economy for Brexit * Brexit seen costing Britain 2.4 pct points of growth (Adds reaction, detail) By William Schomberg and David Milliken LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Britain has ramped up its borrowing outlook by much more than expected after forecasters said its vote to leave the European Union would hurt the economy, giving the government only a little room to ease looming pressure on households and firms. Finance minister Philip Hammond said June's referendum result made it "more urgent than ever" to invest in tackling Britain's long-term weaknesses, such as productivity growth that is among the slowest of rich nations. "Our task now is to prepare our economy to be resilient as we exit the EU and match-fit for the transition that will follow," Hammond told parliament on Wednesday to cheers from lawmakers in his ruling Conservative party. To prepare Britain for Brexit, Hammond adopted a less rigid approach than his predecessor George Osborne to bringing down the deficit as he announced a fund to invest 23 billion pounds ($29 billion) in rail, telecoms and housing infrastructure over the next five years. But he and Prime Minister Theresa May have little room to raise public spending in a big way or cut taxes to help the world's fifth-largest economy as it prepares to leave the EU. The government will need to borrow 122 billion pounds more over the next five years than it expected in March, about half of it reflecting the slowdown in growth that is likely to be caused by the Brexit vote, the official independent budget forecasters said. The debt office then announced the biggest mid-year increase in government debt issuance since the financial crisis, pushing up yields on gilts sharply. The economy has so far largely withstood the shock of the Brexit vote, wrong-footing the Bank of England - and almost all private economists - who expected a bigger immediate hit. Story continues But PM May plans to start formal divorce talks by the end of March, ushering in years of uncertainty for businesses over the future shape of Britain's relationship with the world's biggest trading bloc. Furthermore, the prospect of a sharp rise in inflation next year is expected to squeeze living standards. SLOWER GROWTH, MORE DEBT The budget forecasters said gross domestic product would grow 1.4 percent in 2017 and 1.7 percent in 2018, down from March's pre-referendum estimates of 2.2 and 2.1 percent. The Office for Budget Responsibility also said Brexit would lower trade flows, business investment and migration, cutting Britain's growth potential, although it said it remained in the dark about what kind of Brexit deal the government might seek. Brexit supporters questioned the credibility of the latest OBR report, especially the forecasts for 2017. Hammond set himself an easier target for the budget deficit, saying he was targeting a shortfall of less than 2 percent of GDP by 2020, excluding cyclical swings in the economy. Previously, the government had targeted a surplus in the overall budget by the end of the decade, an increasingly tough challenge that prompted former finance minister Osborne to announce an unpopular squeeze on spending. Hammond reserved himself some "fiscal headroom" to spend more if the economy takes a turn for the worse. But his overall message was not radically different from Osborne's as he promised to get rid of the overall budget deficit as quickly as possible in the next parliament starting in 2020. "Rumours of the death of austerity (are) greatly exaggerated," Osborne's former top adviser Rupert Harrison said. Looking further ahead, the government will invest 1.0-1.2 percent of GDP on economic infrastructure from 2020, up from 0.8 percent now, Hammond said. To soften the hit to living standards for poorer households, the government said it would raise the minimum wage, partly reverse planned cuts in benefits for low-earners and curb fees on renting property. Shares in leading estate agents tumbled after Britain said it would ban one-off tenant fees to try to bring down the cost of renting, the latest move to hit landlords. It will also extend a freeze on tax on vehicle fuel. To make up for some of the extra spending, the government announced the latest increase in a tax on insurance premiums. Torsten Bell, director of the Resolution Foundation think tank, said lower real earnings for workers and overall benefit cuts meant the poorest third of households face a fall in living standards by the end of the decade. "Despite increasing borrowing elsewhere, the Chancellor has left the big welfare cuts intact and chosen not to provide significant support for the just managing families that Theresa May has rightly said she is focused on," he said. ($1 = 0.8030 pounds) (Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Hugh Lawson) LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor Philip Hammond on Wednesday announced 390 million pounds of funding to boost the development of low emission vehicles and autonomous vehicles. Delivering his first budget statement to parliament, Hammond also announced support for electric vehicle infrastructure. "Reliable transport networks are essential to growth and productivity," he said, adding that the funding would "build on our competitive advantage in low emission vehicles and the development of connected autonomous vehicles". He also announced a 100 percent first-year capital allowance for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Last month, Japanese carmaker Nissan <7201.T> said it would build two new models in Britain despite the vote to quit the EU, giving Prime Minister Theresa May her most important corporate endorsement since the Brexit referendum in June. A Nissan spokesman said discussions were also ongoing between the firm and the government over how Britain could support and encourage the uptake of electric vehicles, a key area for the company. Just over 3 percent of cars sold in Britain last year were alternative fuel models - primarily plug-in hybrid and electric cars - but sales have risen 23 percent so far this year, with manufacturers seeking to attract buyers in an increasingly competitive market. The government is encouraging tech firms and carmakers to develop and test autonomous driving technology in Britain, aiming to build an industry to serve a worldwide market it says will be worth around 900 billion pounds by 2025. (Reporting by Costas Pitas and Kylie MacLellan, Editing by Paul Sandle) By James Davey LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's pensions regulator probably won't be able to demand payments from former BHS owner Philip Green to plug a hole in the collapsed retailer's pension fund until mid-2017 at the earliest, its boss said on Wednesday. Lesley Titcomb, chief executive of The Pensions Regulator, also told lawmakers that any demand could then be appealed through the courts, potentially adding months or even years, to the process. "Things are at a very, very early stage at the moment," she said during an appearance before a parliamentary committee. Billionaire Green sold the loss-making department store chain last year to Dominic Chappell, a serial bankrupt with no retail experience, for one pound ($1.2) with a pension fund deficit. The deficit had ballooned to 571 million pounds by the time BHS went into administration in April this year. If not filled, this will leave 20,000 BHS pensioners facing significant cuts to their income. BHS closed the last of its stores in August and 11,000 jobs were lost in total. Green had promised in June to "sort" the pensions issue but Titcomb said earlier this month that he had not made a comprehensive and credible offer, a claim Green disputes. She began enforcement action this month to seek redress on behalf of the BHS pension schemes by issuing "Warning Notices" to Green, his holding companies, Chappell and his vehicle Retail Acquisitions. Titcomb told parliament's Work and Pensions Committee on Wednesday that recipients of the warning notices had been given time to respond. When they do so the Pensions Regulator will then decide whether to take cases to its Determinations Panel. That panel, which operates at arm's length from the regulator's case teams, will make a final decision on whether the parties must fill the hole in the pension fund. "They (the panel) will set their own timetable as to when that hearing happens. That is unlikely to be, I would have thought, before the middle of next year," she said. Story continues "In the meantime our door remains open to any further offers." Confirmation by the Determinations Panel that the parties must pay would create a legally enforceable debt to the scheme. However, Titcomb said its decision could still be appealed to the Upper Tribunal. "The timetable then is completely out of our hands, the Upper Tribunal is part of the courts mechanisms," she said. On Tuesday Frank Field, the opposition Labour lawmaker who chairs the Work and Pensions Committee, wrote to Titcomb asking what powers she has to seize assets other than cash as part of any enforcement action, prompting media speculation the regulator could go after Green's properties and superyachts. Titcomb, however, was clear with lawmakers it would be up to the courts to pursue any debt. A spokesman for Green, whose Arcadia group owns a string of fashion chains including Topshop, declined to comment on Wednesday. Field has also written to Arcadia's board and the trustees of its pension fund, which is also in deficit, seeking information about its recovery plan. The regulator has also demanded information from Arcadia. (Editing by Susan Fenton) Ukraines Security Service (SBU) released footage showing the detention of two alleged military defectors in Crimea, near the Russia-Ukraine border. In a video released during a press conference on Tuesday, November 22, a number of men can be seen running towards the Russian flag while people closer to the Ukrainian flag chased them. The SBU said Ukrainian police on November 20 detained two former military members who betrayed Ukraine and joined the Russian army after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The pair, identified as Maksim Odintsov and Aleksandr Baranov by the Russian Defence Ministry, attempted to steal documents for reward, according to the SBU. The incident heightened tension between the two countries with Russia accusing Ukraine of abducting their military personnel. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the detention an illegitimate provocation, Russian News Agency TASS reported. Odintsov and Baranov could face up to 15 years in prison, according to SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak. Credit: YouTube/ (Security Service of Ukraine via Storyful) Kharkiv (Ukraine) (AFP) - A school teacher on Wednesday appeared in court in Ukraine after allegedly trying to sell a 13-year-old schoolgirl under her care for more than $10,000. Language teacher Galyna Kovalenko, 52, who has been charged with human trafficking, faces up to 15 years in jail if found guilty of targeting the girl who was a pupil at the state boarding school where she worked. Kovalenko denies the charges and says she has been set up. She was detained on Monday after allegedly being "caught red-handed as she took the girl from her boarding school, led her to the buyers and received money", Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on Facebook. The court in the eastern city of Kharkiv remanded her in custody for two months pending her trial. State boarding schools in Ukraine are usually in poor condition and the students come from underprivileged backgrounds. The teacher "had been working for nearly a year on this project to sell the 13-year-old girl", Avakov said. The court heard that the teacher was detained after police set up a sting operation. The minister said earlier in another Facebook post that "the buyer even asked about child's state of health, hinting at organ removal -- and she (Kovalenko) agreed to provide the girl's photos and medical record for an additional 1,000 hryvnias ($28 US dollars)". Before appearing in court on Wednesday, the teacher protested her innocence to journalists. "I do not admit guilt. Someone is trying to set me up," she said. United Nations (United States) (AFP) - A UN envoy warned Wednesday that the situation in the Middle East was changing "dangerously" as Israel builds new Jewish settlements and Palestinians remain divided. Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council that Israel's planned new settlements in east Jerusalem were part of "increasingly worrying" developments and urged Israel to halt the construction. "The situation on the ground is changing steadily, dangerously, as proponents of Israeli settlement expansion feel emboldened, internal divisions among Palestinians flare up, and the prospect of a future Palestinian state comes under threat like never before," Mladenov said. He spoke after Israel revived plans to build 500 new homes for Jewish settlers in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians hope to make the capital of their future independent state. The announcement was seen by some as sign that Israel planned to forge ahead with settlements in the wake of the US presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who is expected to be less critical of Israel than Barack Obama. The United Nations maintains that settlements are illegal and has repeatedly called on Israel to halt them, but UN officials have reported a surge in construction over the past months. Mladenov told the council that "inaction has a cost -- a cost measured in human lies and suffering" and took a veiled swipe at Israel by arguing that those who oppose a Palestinian state "offer no viable alternative." "The alternative is an open-ended occupation, a perpetual conflict which breeds anger among the people of Palestine and Israel, and feeds radicals across the Middle East torn by ethnic and religious strife," he said. Arab governments are discussing a proposed draft Security Council resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlements, even though a similar measure was vetoed by the United States in 2011. Security Council diplomats said such a measure could be adopted by the council next month if the United States, in the final weeks of Obama's administration, decides to refrain from using its veto. Mladenov again called on the Palestinians to unite under a single administration that would end the split between the militant Hamas, which controls Gaza, and Fatah in the West Bank. Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. 800px Epiphany_Eyewear Hundreds of people lined up off Venice Beach boardwalk on a sunny November morning to buy Snapchat's Spectacles from a bright yellow vending machine. It was the first day the $130 camera glasses went on sale, and many were there to see what all the buzz was about. Most of them worked or had friends in the tech industry. Some planned to resell the glasses at a hefty markup online. Erick Miller had a different reason to stand in line for Spectacles that morning. He helped invent them. The idea for Spectacles didn't come from the mind of Evan Spiegel, the visionary and reclusive 26-year-old CEO behind the newly renamed Snap Inc. The genesis of Spectacles dates back to Vergence Labs, a small Los Angeles startup that Spiegel quietly acquired for $15 million in early 2014. Vergence Labs was founded by Erick Miller and Jonathan Rodriguez in 2011. They made their own version of camera glasses called Epiphany Eyewear that, like Spectacles, could subtly record video with the press of a button. Business Insider's Alyson Shontell called the product "a much cooler, cheaper alternative to Google Glass" in 2014. glasses 5 1 The real plan Miller and Rodriguez had for Vergence was much loftier than video glasses. The scrappy startup wanted to create a crop of futuristic gadgets, from AI-enabled helmets to gesture-controlled drones, that would effectively give people "superpowers." And the company already had working if rudimentary prototypes when it was swallowed by Snap. Today, the acquisition of Vergence is just a footnote in the rise of Snap, whose upcoming $25 billion initial public offering is expected to be the largest internet debut in years. But Vergence's untold story provides a glimpse of what could be the blueprint for Snap's growing ambition to mesh wearable cameras, augmented reality technology, and social media into a new class of gadgets. Miller abruptly left Snap six months after joining as director of technology and declined to be interviewed for this story. The other members of Vergence's core team still work at Snap. Rodriguez calls himself the "architect" behind Spectacles on his LinkedIn profile. Story continues Snap declined to make any of its employees who work on Spectacles available for interviews. But Business Insider spoke with other former Vergence employees, early investors, and people close to the startup to get the inside story of the small team that's playing a crucial role in the future of Snap. Giving people superpowers Screen Shot 2016 11 22 at 10.28.38 AM During their time together at Vergence, Miller and Rodriguez's more than a dozen experiments included a helmet display that used facial recognition to identify people in the real world based on their Facebook profiles, and a drone that could be controlled with hand gestures. While he was a graduate student at UCLA, Miller imagined a fully immersive, futuristic headset with biometric sensors that would display information over the real world and "give people what would previously be called superpowers," according to an early interview. He ended up pouring his life savings into prototyping the product and attracting the attention of Rodriguez, a computer science major at Stanford whose senior thesis described "assembling an augmented reality computer with video screens and headphones as output, and inputs consisting of gaze tracking, EEG, finger tracking, and GPS." They pitched the idea to Stanford's prestigious StartX business incubator program in 2012 and were accepted. In the short video application they recorded, Rodriguez eagerly explained how they wanted to "redefine the future of face-to-face interaction." The only problem was that building expensive hardware was impossible for an early-stage startup with no funding. They realized they would have to scale back their ambitions in order to actually ship a product, and settled on a discrete, Ray-Ban-inspired pair of glasses that could record video and would start at $300. The duo managed to attract two important first hires in Peter Brook, a Facebook engineer who had worked on the social network's failed Facebook Home Android interface, and David Meisenholder, who had worked on camera glasses that Polaroid tried to sell in 2011 with the help of Lady Gaga. Screen Shot 2016 11 14 at 8.26.47 PM After they ran a Indiegogo campaign in 2012 that raised $70,000 for Epiphany Eyewear, Miller and Rodriguez landed a few prominent early investors. One of those investors was Quora cofounder and early Facebook employee Charlie Cheever. He told Business Insider that he invested in Vergence after meeting Rodriguez at a talk at Stanford. Rodriguez showed him multiple augmented reality demos, including a rig made of two iPhones that used cameras to overlay 3-D graphics in videos. "I could just tell that this was a really smart kid who was pushing the envelope," Cheever said. Miller managed to win over Adam Draper, who now runs Boost VC and is the son of prominent investor Tim Draper. In an interview, Draper recalled Miller showing up late to a 2012 dinner in Palo Alto he attended to hear pitches from other entrepreneurs. Draper had dreamed of building his own Iron Man suit, and when Miller enthusiastically shared his vision for an augmented reality future beginning with computer-equipped glasses, Draper was sold. Winning over Draper turned out to be instrumental in getting Vergence off the ground, especially given how little most Silicon Valley investors were interested in wearable computers at the time. "Erick was a very persistent CEO," Draper said. That included a relentless approach to pitching. Miller would walk around the exterior of Facebook's campus and try to catch Mark Zuckerberg walking between meetings or to his car, Draper recalled. "It was a very cool thing that they were doing, but no one was excited about the space," Draper said. "No one believed in it. No one was excited about this thing. Everyone was doing consumer mobile applications. Glasses with computer vision was not part of the story." Vergence drone project Spiegel swoops in Around the time it was acquired, Vergence's team of fewer than 10 people was working out of a small, crowded office in downtown Los Angeles across from the local police station. They would test the glasses out on the street by secretly recording off-duty cops. While the team was working on the software to power the glasses and trying to overcome manufacturing challenges, Miller asked Eli Calderon Morin to help form business partnerships and raise a Series A round of capital, Morin told Business Insider. Morin had worked at a string of tech startups, including Google-acquired AdMob, and had connections at venture capital firms like Sequoia and Accel. The two had met at a conference in San Francisco earlier that year. They brainstormed over Indian food below Vergence's office in the fall of 2013 to figure out how they could market Epiphany Eyewear and pitch the glasses to investors, according to Morin. "They were looking for someone to help them sell the stuff," he said in an interview. "Very few people saw the visionary potential of this product. Investors didn't. The team was super small. It was difficult." While the Vergence team had been developing Epiphany Eyewear, Google was beginning to promote Google Glass, a stamp-sized screen attached to eyeglass frames that displayed video and email and recorded video. Google Glass initially caused excitement among techies, but soon earned a reputation for being extremely geeky and creepy. Morin recalled how the team wanted to combat the Glass stigma. epiphany_eyewear_at_ny_fashion_week "Our products are simple and Google's is complicated. Ours is attainable, yet it's still aspirational," Miller told LA Weekly in early 2014. "And Google's is sort of out of reach and sort of disconnected with the average consumer." Positioning itself as the cool underdog to Google Glass failed to resonate with investors, and Vergence never raised its Series A. In early November 2013, Morin proposed they look at partnering with Snapchat, which was based in Los Angeles as well and popularizing video messaging. He said he discussed the idea with Miller over ice cream in Koreatown and gave a demo of how the app worked to the rest of the team the same day. "They had never used Snapchat before," Morin said. Once he showed them the app, Rodriguez remembered a connection he had to Spiegel the two lived on the same floor of their dorm during their freshman year at Stanford. Morin came into the office every other week as a business adviser and was never involved in conversations with Snapchat, but Spiegel clearly saw the potential. He quietly brought on most of the team, excluding Morin and a few others, four months later for $11 million in cash and $4 million in stock. The details of Vergence's acquisition were never supposed to be public, and they didn't leak until the hacking of Sony's email servers in November 2014 unearthed emails from Snap board member and Sony CEO Michael Lynton. Even Vergence's earliest investors were left in the dark about the acquisition. Cheever, who was the startup's first investor, said he received a phone call one day from Miller, who said nothing more than: "We sold the company. We can't tell you who. You'll get a check in the mail." "In hindsight, it's a little unusual," Cheever said. Evan Spiegel - Sun Valley Morin is currently seeking to settle contract disputes with Snap over equity compensation in Vergence he says he is owed. Emails and documents provided by Morin to Business Insider seem to show that Miller agreed to a contract in December 2013 that promised Morin 1% equity. The contract was never signed Morin said he lost contact with Miller after it was drafted, and didn't find out about the acquisition until the Sony leaks almost a year later. "As a startup person you do stuff based on trust and equity," he said. "I didn't get a penny out of all the time and effort I put into that." A Snap spokesman said he couldn't find record of receiving the demand letters Morin claimed to have sent through his lawyer, and declined to comment further. Morin wasn't the only one involved in Vergence to have disputes with Miller. Two early employees who didn't join Snap said Miller created an intense office environment and was prone to fits of anger. "I think for everyone who stayed, they had to do a lot of self-talk and convince themselves that they liked him or that he was doing what was best," said one early employee who spoke on condition of anonymity. "If you met him out and about you would like him, but under pressure and in closed quarters it was a real challenge." Miller left Snap after serving as its director of technology for six months and now runs a small VC firm in Los Angeles called Hyperseed Ventures. What Vergence says about the future of Snap snapchat snap spectacles The acquisition of Vergence was a foreshadowing of Snap's new identity as a "camera company." Rodriguez, Brook, Meisenholder, and a few other Vergence employees still work at Snap on the Spectacles team and Snap Labs, a secretive division working on other hardware and software products. Business Insider previously reported that Snap has looked at various types of wearable cameras in addition to Spectacles, including small clip-on video cameras, and it has had acquisition talks with several camera companies. Snap has hired hardware engineers from companies such as Apple, Nest, and GoPro. The first generation of Spectacles have only one camera for recording video, but Miller and Rodriguez had imagined a three-camera system that could overlay graphics onto the real world. "I think there's great potential in the displays we're researching to absolutely erase the lines between virtual reality and real reality," Rodriguez told Stanford's college newspaper in 2013. Snap has been aggressively experimenting with augmented reality in its app and patents. Early investors such as Draper predict that Vergence's small team will play a key role in whatever comes next. "They scaled back their vision to take their first step, and that was the step they got acquired on," he said. "It was the first step toward taking over the world." NOW WATCH: We got our hands on Snapchat's Spectacles here's what they're like More From Business Insider From now until Christmas, UPS (UPS) is in peak season. This year the international package-delivery company expects to deliver more than 700 million packages by the end of December, a 14 percent jump in deliveries compared to the same time last year. To meet U.S. demand, the Atlanta-based company expects to hire 95,000 part-time and seasonal workers. To save mileage and money along the way, UPS is relying more on big data and a tool it calls Orion. "At UPS, we always say we're an engineering company with technology we just happen to have planes and trucks as well," said Mark Wallace, senior vice president of global engineering and sustainability. How to best deliver the 18 million packages UPS ships daily is t he biggest question the company faces . Drivers of the company's signature package trucks make about 120 stops per day and face seemingly endless alternatives when it comes to the order in which they make deliveries. Now, using a combination of big-data analytics and algorithms, UPS is able to track packages closely enough to let customers know when to expect a package and guide drivers out on deliveries into choosing the best route. It's a challenge the company has faced after hitting snags in 2013 and 2014 as e-commerce holiday sales have skyrocketed. This year volume should peak. The National Retail Federation expects 2016 online holiday sales to increase between 6 percent and 8 percent. More from Net/Net: Silicon Valley cultivates life on family farm Legal issues for elite lawyers Pill-packing robots are on the rise The Orion computer platform, a 1,000-page-long algorithm more than a decade in the making, is the biggest piece of the puzzle. Developed by a team of 50 UPS engineers in Maryland, piloted through the end of last decade and launched in 2013, Orion stands for On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation. As a UPS delivery driver makes their rounds, Orion works in the background. considering up to 200,000 route possibilities before picking the most optimal path from one delivery stop to the next and reordering a driver's delivery schedule if necessary. Story continues "What Orion is doing is reducing miles for us," said Glenn Zaccara, a UPS spokesman. "The focus isn't so much on reducing the time to deliver but rather on reducing the number of times a package is touched by a human in our system, or the total amount of time that a package spends in our facilities." In this way, the information that flows with each package is as important as the package itself and helps not only drivers but customers. My Choice, launched by UPS in 2011, sends customers alerts on when to expect a package delivery. But if one of the 30 million UPS My Choice members uses the platform to change the time or location of their delivery, Orion will recalculate the driver's route to accommodate the change, and do so in less than 10 seconds. The growing reliance on data analysis by UPS follows a larger trend in the transportation industry, where telematics and analytics are of growing importance in fleet management. "Now companies can collect unstructured data, which was not economical to store, as well as historical data," said Gartner analyst Svetlana Sicular. "Now that you can store more data, you can see longer-term patterns. The goal of this is to make decisions more consistent." During peak season, consistency is key for UPS. In 2013, thanks to snow and a deluge of last-minute, online orders, an estimated 2 million packages went undelivered by Christmas by both UPS and FedEx (FDX), but a majority of those packages were in UPS's network. The problem was solved in 2014, but at a cost to UPS, which had to lower its profit forecast for the 2014 fiscal year. Even more pressing for UPS is the changing nature of the delivery business. The e-commerce market which surpassed $340 billion in 2015, according to the Commerce Department, and is on pace to equal or surpass that level this year ensures that more packages are delivered straight to customers' doorstep. This is a challenging evolution over the last 20 years for UPS and other delivery companies used to dropping off groups of packages at retailers. Orion is meant to cut costs and make more efficient use of time as drivers are being called upon to make more stops. So far UPS has spent $250 million this decade on Orion integration across the company's 55,000 U.S. delivery routes. When full Orion integration happens next year, UPS expects to save between $300 and $400 million per year thanks to the algorithm, according to the Wall Street Journal. In some ways, UPS saw these changes early on. Starting in the 1990s UPS began streamlining operations, first by installing GPS-tracking equipment on delivery trucks and replacing handwritten delivery slips with "smart labels," bar-coded slips that are scanned as much as five times as packages move from processing facilities to delivery trucks to the hands of the customer. Trillions of pieces of data are collected along the way, which inform the Orion algorithm. It also embraced telematics early. UPS package trucks are equipped with embedded sensors to check the health of the truck's battery and count how often a driver backs up during a workday. Backing up is a key metric for determining a driver's likelihood of getting into an auto accident; for drivers who back up too much, supervisors will work with them on driving strategies to reduce the number of times they go in reverse. How revolutionary Orion will be for UPS is what the company is assessing now. According to UPS, the algorithm is saving the company $300 million to $400 million annually by helping drivers shave between six and eight miles off their routes per day. UPS is still refining Orion to strike a balance between helping a driver find the best route and maintaining delivery consistency. A business used to receiving morning deliveries probably won't want late-afternoon deliveries because an algorithm told a driver to consider an alternate route. But as the company's data capabilities get more sophisticated, UPS will try to make the Orion algorithm more predictive. While Orion finds the best routes for drivers, it doesn't yet take into effect things like traffic conditions that can change at a moment's notice, nor does it offer turn-by-turn directions like a traditional GPS system. "The next versions of Orion, we'll go into a dynamic version that really will start to take into effect things that do happen to delay drivers potentially on the street," Wallace said. "That is going to be taking place over the coming years across the globe." Net/Net Takeaways UPS will deliver 700 million packages during this year's peak holiday season. Worldwide, the company delivers 18 million packages daily. Every delivery driver makes on average about 120 stops. The Orion algorithm optimizes driving routes by choosing the best route for each delivery driver to take, shaving off roughly six to eight miles of drive time per driver. So far, Orion has saved UPS 180 million miles and 10 million gallons of fuel. By 2017, UPS expects drivers along all 55,000 of its North American routes will be using Orion. More From CNBC United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The United States and China have agreed on a new raft of tougher UN sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang's fifth and biggest nuclear test, a Security Council diplomat said Wednesday. Although Russia has expressed reservations about the draft resolution, they should not stand in the way of a Security Council vote on the new package of punitive measures as early as next week, the diplomat said. The key provision of the proposed new sanctions would be a cap on North Korea's coal exports to China, Pyongyang's main trading partner and ally, that could deprive the communist hermit state of tens of millions of dollars in revenue. "The key thing is that China and the US have gotten to a position where they can agree on," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity. "The Russians are trying to hold it up, the Chinese are comfortable with it in terms of the content," he added. The diplomat described the proposed resolution as a "very meaty" document that would close loopholes from the measure the council adopted in March, the toughest sanctions yet imposed on North Korea. They would target coal exports, allowed under the previous measure for "livelihood purposes" if the revenue does not go toward financing Pyongyang's nuclear or ballistic missile programs. Chinese coal imports from North Korea have surged in recent months amid fears that the funds are helping bankroll Pyongyang's military programs prohibited under UN resolutions. New names of officials and entities linked to North Korea's ballistic and nuclear programs would be added to the UN sanctions blacklist, which provides for a global travel ban and an assets freeze. "It is high time for the Security Council to come together to tighten up the sanctions regime against DPRK, to impose additional measures," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said. The new measures would be introduced next week, he added. Story continues - Number one security threat - China and the United States have spent three months negotiating the latest measures, which would be the sixth set of UN sanctions imposed on North Korea since its first nuclear test in 2006. President Barack Obama reportedly told his successor Donald Trump that confronting the nuclear threat from North Korea represents the top US national security priority. The breakthrough on the new sanctions followed a meeting between Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping over the weekend during which the US president pressed for tougher measures against Pyongyang. North Korea carried out its fifth and biggest nuclear test on September 9, claiming it had made major strides in its efforts to fit a miniaturized warhead on a rocket that could reach the United States. The reclusive regime has carried out more than 20 missile tests this year, one of which reached Japanese-controlled waters after a launch in August. A 19-year-old man has been charged with murder after police allegedly found a picture on his phone they say shows a man digging his own grave before being killed, police confirm to PEOPLE. A statement from the Provo, Utah, police department alleges Raul Francisco Vidrio killed 22-year-old Wesley Dee Nay, who was reported missing in late August. Nays burned body was found in a shallow grave on Oct. 20 by a father and son who were out hunting coyotes, according to the statement. Vidrio was arrested less than a month later, according to the statement. He is being held on $500,000 bail. Vidrio has been charged with aggravated murder, abuse or desecration of a corpse, and obstruction of justice. He has yet to enter a plea to the charges and is due in court Dec. 1 for his arraignment. It was unclear Wednesday if Vidrio has an attorney. Police allege that Vidrio beat and stabbed Nay to death before burying his remains in a shallow grave. Before covering the body with dirt and leaves, Vidrio allegedly lined the grave with wood, poured gasoline on the corpse, and set it ablaze. A witness allegedly told detectives he saw both men together on Aug. 31, and had overheard Vidrio and talking with two other people about opening the door to hell, the Saint of the Dead, and some dark . Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. A warrant was obtained for Vidrios phone, and as investigators were searching its contents, they allegedly came across the image they say shows Nay digging what would become his own grave. In the photo, Nay can be seen wearing the same clothing he had on the last day he was seen alive, according to the statement. An autopsy of Nays remains showed he died from blunt force trauma and has been cut or stabbed with a sharp instrument, according to the statement. Police first arrested Vidrio on Sept. 1 after he was pulled over by officers for allegedly driving a stolen truck. A search of the truck turned up shovels, a pick, gas jugs and a large knife in a leather sheath. Vidrio allegedly confessed to owning one of the shovels found in the truck, according to the statement. Story continues Blood recovered from inside the sheath allegedly matched Nays DNA, the statement says. Provo, Utah, police continue to investigate the killing and say additional charges could be filed soon. The Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) is celebrating its 30-year anniversary with a program featuring Latin America as guest of honor and welcoming 650 writers from 44 countries. FIL is the second-largest book fair worldwide in terms of both publishers and visitors, attracting an international exhibitor list and drawing a large audience with its programs for adults and kids alike. For the 2016 edition, which begins November 26, Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa will take the stage in the opening of the literary program, which will honor the Peruvian author's 80th birthday. James Dashner, author of "Maze Runner," and George R.R. Martin ("A Song of Ice and Fire") are also set to take part. Two thousand publishers from 44 countries will present more than 600 new works, including Carlos Fuentes's posthumous novel "Aquiles o el guerrillero y el asesino," "El laberinto de los espiritus" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and the official biography of Cafe Tacuba, which will be launched by music journalist Enrique Blanc with the group present. The program devoted to guest of honor Latin America will feature more than 120 authors, while the Guest of Honor pavilion will celebrate the region's cultural diversity with a kaleidoscope design housing a library, an auditorium, an area for short films and a space dedicated to native languages. The festival's activities will extend beyond the walls of the fair, with outside events including a Latin American contemporary and modern art exposition at the University of Guadalajara's Museum of Arts and an Ibero-American folk art exhibit at the Regional Museum of Guadalajara. Not only an industry fair but a major public event, the FIL will offer 80 events for kids and will feature comics and e-books among more than 400,000 books in 23 languages. The fair runs November 26 - December 4. www.fil.com.mx/ingles By Corina Pons and Alexandra Ulmer CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition said on Wednesday talks with the government were "frozen" after officials failed to attend meetings, throwing cold water on Vatican-brokered attempts to bridge the country's deep political crisis. Though the formal talks, which began last month, appeared to have led to the release of a handful of detained activists, hopes for real rapprochement were always slim. The two sides are fundamentally at loggerheads, with the opposition seeking the ouster of Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, while authorities vow he will not leave office before his term ends in 2019. "The government, in an irresponsible manner, froze the dialogue process by not showing up to two technical meetings last night," opposition coalition leader Jesus Torrealba told Reuters. Opposition activists said authorities backed away after the National Assembly on Tuesday held a heated session in which they slammed Maduro over a drug scandal. Two nephews of Maduro's wife were found guilty this month on U.S. charges that they tried to carry out a multimillion-dollar drug deal to help their family stay in power. "The government is using the debate as an excuse," said two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, accusing authorities of not being committed to talks. "The government has not complied with any of its promises. They promised to free political prisoners; there are more than 100 imprisoned. They promised (to open) a humanitarian channel; not a single medicine has come in." Maduro acknowledged "difficulties" in the talks but said they were still on track. "The dialogue is advancing ... and by January, February or March, it will be strengthened," he told reporters. It was not clear if the opposition would resume a more militant agenda, which before the talks included protests and putting Maduro on trial before the National Assembly. International figures trying to facilitate dialogue, including Spain's ex-Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and U.S. diplomat Thomas Shannon, were shuttling between both sides. Dialogue had divided the diverse opposition coalition, with some activists feeling the government was duping the opposition to buy time. The situation in oil-rich Venezuela has worsened in the last months, with a recession leaving millions unable to find or afford food amid shortages and spiraling inflation. The opposition blames Maduro, who is unpopular, and has been vying to remove him via a recall referendum. The former bus driver and union leader, however, has said the opposition is seeking a coup against him and has vowed to end his term. (Additional reporting by Eyanir Chinea, Andrew Cawthorne and Girish Gupta; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Alistair Bell) For most of his life, ever since his first-grade teacher called out his name, former Army paratrooper Lance Lambert has feared only one thing: reading aloud. After years of struggling with a stutter, beginning with his first words as a toddler, nothing terrifies me more, the 29-year-old single father from Watauga, Texas, tells PEOPLE. Ive jumped out of airplanes and served two years in Iraq. But speaking and reading out loud is the most difficult thing Ive ever done. Still, that hasnt stopped Lambert from reading bedtime stories every night to his 6-year-old daughter, Avery. To show relatives what he faced every time he opened a book of Averys favorite fairy tales, he recorded himself reading Aladdin last month and posted it on his Facebook page. Touched by the video of Avery patiently helping her dad sound out the words from her bed, Lamberts family and friends all shared it, and within days, it went viral. Ive been overwhelmed by the supportive messages from people around the world, encouraging me to keep going, he says. They say that Ive given them courage. I find that so amazing and kind. Growing up with five siblings in Justin, Texas, Lambert always struggled to speak and was enrolled in speech therapy classes before he started grade school. I dont remember being teased to my face so much, he tells PEOPLE, speaking slowly to enunciate his s sounds, but I know that I was teased behind my back. As a boy, it was very hard. I was always mad and self-conscious about it and wondered, Why me? Thankfully, he says, he had good friends who stood up for him and saw him through the most difficult times. That helped a lot, says Lambert, to know I had people looking out for me. Still, whenever I was asked to read in class, I was deeply embarrassed. It was one big nightmare. After graduating from Northwest High School, Lambert joined the Army and was deployed twice to Iraq. When he returned home, although he was shy around women, he dated and eventually married. When the relationship failed after five years, he ultimately received custody of Avery and now devotes his days and nights to her, taking classes at a community college while shes at school. Story continues When Averys first-grade teacher told Lambert earlier this year that his daughter was falling behind in reading, I knew that we needed a plan of action, he says. I started having her write her school words for an hour a day, and then we started reading together every night, Lambert tells PEOPLE. Her teacher tells me that shes now making amazing progress, so were going to keep going. Its become a fun habit a great way to end our day. Averys favorite Aladdin story has a lot of s words, he says, so its definitely a challenge. But theres nothing I want more than to read to my kid. I feel very fortunate that I get to do it. His daughter certainly feels that way, too. In the video, Avery is seen kissing the back of her dads head at one point, and by the end of his story, shes in a deep sleep. Im so grateful that we have each other, says Lambert, and I want to do everything I can do give her a good life and teach her to never give up on her dreams, no matter what. Now taking a public speaking class at Terrance County College, Lambert isnt sure yet what he wants to do with the rest of his life. But I do know this, he tells PEOPLE. Whatever I end up doing, I want to offer my support to other people who stutter. I want to tell them, Dont trick yourself into not trying because youre afraid. Just get out there and do it. Its a beautiful world, so enjoy your life. You have nothing to be ashamed of. 23 Nov - It looks like Vice Ganda's "The Super Parental Guardians" is not the only film that will have an early release after being rejected from this year's Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). As reported on Coconuts Manila, Vic Sotto's tenth "Enteng Kabisote" film, entitled "Enteng Kabisote 10 and the Abangers", has also released its first trailer and announced its theatrical release recently. While it would have been released in late December as part of MMFF, the movie, directed by Marlon N. Rivera and Tony Y. Reyes, is set to be released on 10 December instead. It also marked the first time that an "Enteng Kabisote" film has been rejected by the festival. Another MMFF snub, "Mano Po 7: Tsinoy", which stars Richard Yap and Janella Salvador, will open in cinemas this 14 December. (Photo source: instagram.com/octoartsfilms) Vietnams National Assembly voted Tuesday to scrap the countrys nuclear program due to the Southeast Asian nations current economic conditions. The program included the construction of two multi-billion-dollar nuclear power plants with Russia and Japan. The government cited lower demand forecasts, rising costs and safety concerns as the reasons behind the scrapping of Vietnams first atomic energy project. The government added that the nation will make use of the cheaper renewable energy and power imports at its disposal and invest money in addressing infrastructure needs. The Vietnamese government highly appreciates the goodwill and support of the Russian and Japanese governments in the course of the preparations for projects. Vietnam assured Russia and Japan that they are key partners and will receive priority if Vietnam decides to build nuclear power plants in the future, and confirmed that canceling the project will not affect relations with Russia and Japan, the government reportedly said. In 2009, the legislature approved plans to build the two plants with the help of Russias Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation and a group of Japanese firms headed by Japan Atomic Power. The proposed plants, located in central Ninh Thuan province, would have a combined capacity of 4,000 megawatts. But the estimated investment required for the project had doubled over the years to nearly 400 trillion dong ($18 billion). Construction was scheduled to begin in 2014 but was delayed multiple times. We respect our customers position, and we are ready to provide the full support to Vietnam when the country continues the implementation of its national nuclear power program, Rosatom said. Vietnams decision to scrap its atomic energy project is a blow to the nuclear industry which has been suffering setback since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011. Environmental organization Greenpeace praised the decision to abandon the nuclear program, adding that it would have been a waste of money when renewable energy options were available. Story continues The project could also pose an environmental threat, and Vietnam cannot afford to risk another disaster after a toxic industrial leak triggered mass fish deaths earlier this year, Greenpeace Regional Campaign Coordinator Arif Fiyanto told Reuters. Related Articles The act of protesting is one of the most precious liberties Americans have. But protesting doesn't just happen in the streets. Throughout the years, voices of dissent have penetrated American culture via rock, hip-hop and folk music. By putting a message to music, one voice can resonate for millions. From Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan, 20th century protest music started out in the folk realm. On college campuses across America, the music of Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and many more fueled the resistance to the war in Vietnam. We also saw many artists come out in support of civil rights. Nina Simone, James Brown and Marvin Gaye all gave voice to black pride and concerns in their music. Now, with many calling out president-elect Trump's popularity among white supremacists and his racist campaign rhetoric in general, the United States might be seeing an uptick in protest music over the next four years. The topics of militarized police, the systematic treatment of minorities within the United States, and unequal distribution of wealth are already being showcased in songs. We've seen some performances that have left us in awe, and as America moves forward, artists like Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and Common are giving voice to the disenfranchised. Even if people don't always like what they see or hear, the power of song to bring about change and healing remains strong to this day. Let's run down some key protest songs throughout the decades. While not all of the artists below are American, they still hold messages that are applicable to our culture. And it's shocking how many of these songs are still relevant. The 1960s From the civil rights movement to the Vietnam War to the assassination of JFK, the 1960s were a very vocal time for American artists. College campuses and streets were places to hear these songs, but plenty of them were radio hits, too. Barry McGuire - "Eve of Destruction" Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come" Story continues Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth" James Brown - "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" Joan Baez - "We Shall Overcome" The 1970s The '70s had their fair share of problems as well. The end of the Vietnam War, Watergate, environmental concerns, and the Kent State shootings informed the nation's unrest. These songs were part of the culture that went against the status quo. Gil Scott-Heron - "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Ohio" Joni Mitchell - "Big Yellow Taxi" Helen Reddy - "I Am Woman" The Wailers - "Get Up, Stand Up" The 1980s The '80s painted many horrors in neon colors. The Reagan administration brought on the war on drugs, causing many poverty-ridden places to suffer further. This caused massive cries from the punk and rap community. As MTV started to gain steam, some of these songs were brought into American households otherwise removed from the ill effects of certain policies. N.W.A - "Fuck Tha Police" Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - "The Message" Bruce Springsteen - "Born in the U.S.A." The Clash - "Know Your Rights" Dead Kennedys - "Holiday In Cambodia" The Replacements - "Bastards of Young" The 1990s While nostalgia for the '90s is at an all time high, there were plenty of things in that decade that can't be viewed through a rose-tinted lens. The L.A. riots over police officers being acquitted in the beating of Rodney King and the Waco Standoff showed a darker side of America. These songs speak to American upheaval during that time. Rage Against the Machine - "Killing in the Name Of" Le Tigre - "Hot Topic" Main Source - "Just a Friendly Game of Baseball" KRS-One - "Sound of da Police" Mos Def - "Mathematics" The 2000s The 2000s brought international wars and terrorism to the forefront of the American consciousness. The War in Iraq, the Bush Administration's misinformation about WMDs, and economic unease inspired some artists to rally against the powers that be. Eminem - "Mosh" Lupe Fiasco - "American Terrorist" Green Day - "American Idiot" The Flaming Lips - "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)" Bright Eyes - "Road to Joy" The 2010s After a few quiet years, protest music is returning to prominence as police killings of unarmed black people and Trump's election light new fires of discontent. Here are a few protest anthems that come from our current times. Kendrick Lamar - "Alright" M.I.A. - "Born Free" D'Angelo and The Vanguard - "The Charade" Beyonce ft. Kendrick Lamar - "Freedom" Prince ft. Eryn Allen Kane - "Baltimore" YG & Nipsey Hussle - "FDT" Television personality Tila Tequila had her Twitter account suspended after she posted a picture of herself at the National Policy Institute gathering in Washington D.C. Saturday. She saluted the camera and captioned the photo, heig seil, which is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. But she wouldnt be welcomed at the table in Adolf Hitlers Nazi Germany. Tequila, 35, is not white. The Shot At Love reality star is of Vietnamese descent. Her parents emigrated from postwar Vietnam to Singapore. That's where she was born. They later moved to Houston, which is where the former queen of MySpace ultimately grew up. Tequila was perplexed about her identity as a teenager. I was really confused then, [because] at first I thought I was black, then I thought I was Hispanic and joined a cholo gang, she once told Import Tuner, a car magazine. Still, Tequila, whose real name is Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen, was at the white nationalist event. She was there to reportedly support her friend, American white nationalist Richard Spencer. Once a liberal, her views shifted after becoming a mother in 2014. I went full circle from the liberal stuff, and all thatI wouldn't want my daughter growing up in that, Tequila told The Daily Beast Saturday. In the early 2000s, Tequila was the most popular person on MySpace. Though it doesn't seem like much now, the star had more than 1.7 million friends. But it didn't last for long. Her popularity dwindled when the social media outlet died with the rise of Facebook. Now, Tequila is on the alt-right. I'm becoming more conservative ever since I became a mother, the former reality star said. I wouldn't want porn all over the internet [for instance]Law and order, I think that's very important to have. Most people are so used to being all about their 'freedom,' so they becomes these little crybabies. They can't live by laws and rules. Civilization needs to be civilized. Story continues Tequilas Twitter account has not been reinstated. Tila Tequila Photo: Reuters Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella Related Articles On Nov 22, 2016, we issued an updated research report on Visa Inc. V. This San Francisco, CA-based payment network giants latest quarterly results continued to depict strength in several areas, including solid revenue growth momentum. Visa closed fiscal 2016 (ended Sep 30) with robust performance despite a challenging revenue environment amid volatile oil and commodity prices, strong dollar and concerns over the economic slowdown in China. For fiscal 2016, adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.84 increased 8% year over year. Revenues grew 9% year over year to $15.1 billion. The company witnessed continued growth in service revenues, driven by higher nominal payments volume, while overall growth in processed transactions led to increased data processing revenues. Also, international transaction revenues climbed on the back of cross-border volume growth. Shares of Visa have gained around 3% in the past three months. VISA INC-A Price VISA INC-A Price | VISA INC-A Quote Looking into fiscal 2017, while Costco and USAA should drive payment growth in the U.S, cross-border growth rates will continue to recover with a stabilizing dollar. In addition, excluding Europe, process transactions are expected to shoot up. The company projects net revenue growth in the range of 1618%. Further, EPS is expected to grow in mid-teens digit from the adjusted earnings of fiscal 2016. Notably, the projection includes EPS accretion from the Visa Europe acquisition in the range of 23%. Currently, the company is focused on its several strategic growth initiatives, including global expansion of Visa Innovation Centers and its digital products Visa Checkout and Visa Token Service. Visa remains well poised for growth given its strong market position, solid global brand recognition and the current trend of shift toward electronic payments from paper-based forms. However, escalating client incentives continue to limit the companys profitability. Costs incurred under client incentives arrangements are accounted as reductions in the companys operating revenues. Client incentives increased 19% year over year and reflected 18.4% of gross revenue in fiscal 2016. For fiscal 2017, management expects client incentives as a percent of gross revenues in the range of 20.521.5%. Among others, the weakness in European economy remains a key concern. Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate edged down 1.2% to $3.27 per share for fiscal 2017 and 1.8% to $3.85 per share for fiscal 2018. Visa currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Stocks to Consider Compass Diversified Holdings LLC CODI: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 has moved up 1.4% to $1.43 per share for 2016 and 1.7% to $1.78 per share for 2017, in the last 30 days. The company sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. LPLA: Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year increased 10% to $2.03 per share and climbed 5.3% to $1.98 per share for 2017. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Vantiv, Inc. VNTV: Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year inched up 1.2% to $2.57 per share and went up 1% to $2.93 per share for 2017. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2. Zacks' Top Investment Ideas for Long-Term Profit How would you like to see our best recommendations to help you find todays most promising long-term stocks? Starting now, you can look inside our portfolios featuring stocks under $10, income stocks, value investments and more. These picks, which have double and triple-digit profit potential, are rarely available to the public. But you can see them now. Click here >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report COMPASS DIVERSF (CODI): Free Stock Analysis Report LPL FINL HLDGS (LPLA): Free Stock Analysis Report VISA INC-A (V): Free Stock Analysis Report VANTIV INC-A (VNTV): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. banking regulator is considering whether to harden sanctions against lenders that abuse their clients or violate banking laws, according to a draft plan, seen by Reuters, that was drawn up in the wake of a scandal at Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo in September agreed to pay $190 million to settle charges that bank employees opened as many as 2 million accounts without customers' knowledge. The fraud went on for at least five years, said the San Francisco-based bank that fired 5,300 employees involved. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency - the chief regulator for national banks - waived its right to curb executive payouts, screen new leadership and other controls at Wells Fargo following the scandal. But, according to a memo outlining the new policy, the agency expects tougher scrutiny on when to issue such exemptions in the future and senior officials should be involved in any decision. The memo said that officials with the agency should not waive sanctions "until appropriate OCC personnel have conducted a case-by-case evaluation about whether granting such relief is warranted." In recent years, other national lenders such as Bank of America and Citibank have been granted exemptions similar to those Wells Fargo received. Until a thorough, written policy is developed by the OCC, officials should refrain from granting relief from the toughest sanctions permitted, according to the memo dated November 18. An OCC spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. On Friday, the OCC voided the exemptions that it had originally granted Wells Fargo in a September settlement. (Reporting By Patrick Rucker; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. banking regulator is considering whether to harden sanctions against lenders that abuse their clients or violate banking laws, according to a draft plan, seen by Reuters, that was drawn up in the wake of a scandal at Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo in September agreed to pay $190 million to settle charges that bank employees opened as many as 2 million accounts without customers' knowledge. The fraud went on for at least five years, said the San Francisco-based bank that fired 5,300 employees involved. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency - the chief regulator for national banks - waived its right to curb executive payouts, screen new leadership and other controls at Wells Fargo following the scandal. But, according to a memo outlining the new policy, the agency expects tougher scrutiny on when to issue such exemptions in the future and senior officials should be involved in any decision. The memo said that officials with the agency should not waive sanctions "until appropriate OCC personnel have conducted a case-by-case evaluation about whether granting such relief is warranted." In recent years, other national lenders such as Bank of America and Citibank have been granted exemptions similar to those Wells Fargo received. Until a thorough, written policy is developed by the OCC, officials should refrain from granting relief from the toughest sanctions permitted, according to the memo dated November 18. An OCC spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. On Friday, the OCC voided the exemptions that it had originally granted Wells Fargo in a September settlement. (Reporting By Patrick Rucker; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Time to look ahead to next weeks episode of The Walking Dead. In the power vacuum left by Ricks huge retreat, Maggie and Carl have stepped up as worthy leaders who arent afraid to act. Now in every community, theres someone gunning for the throne Spencer in Alexandria; Dwight in the Sanctuary; Jesus, well, on Maggies behalf in the Hilltop; and next week it looks like pig farmer Richard wants to call the shots in the Kingdom. And if we had to guess how this plays out: Spencer, dead the moment he tries anything. Dwight switches sides, tries to double-cross Negan, ends up super, extra dead. Maggie and Jesus have almost pushed Gregory out of the way, but hell probably try to stab them in the back and fail miserably. Again. And were not too confident in Richards success. King Ezekiel has a tiger. And tiger trumps pig any day of the week. As for Carl and Jesus, we think well be left hanging on their fates in the next episode. These writers love to create needless drama by withholding information. Do we even have to bring up the Morgan backstory episode? Well also catch up with Tara and Heath next week. Remember them? Do you care? No? OK, well, theyll be doing stuff, dealing with the moral gray area when they murdered Saviors at that outpost last season. Still not interested? Alright. Well, well see you, and hopefully not too much of them, next week on Walking Dead Ahead. The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC. Check out our Walking Dead power rankings so far this season: Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below. By Elizabeth Dilts NEW YORK, Nov 22 (Reuters) - A group of lawyers representing insurance and securities brokerages have made a curious argument for why a federal court should kill a rule aimed at protecting retirement savers: It restricts Wall Street's First Amendment rights. In front of a packed federal courtroom in Dallas last week, plaintiffs attorneys fighting the Labor Department's fiduciary rule said it hinders free speech because it restricts what individuals selling retirement products will be able to say. The rule requires that brokers who give retirement advice act in their clients' best interest. The Labor Department, which regulates pension funds and other retirement income, devised the rule in order to protect retirement savers from receiving biased advice or being sold products they don't need. David Ogden, lawyer for the American Council of Life Insurers, argued in court that the rule would prevent simple sales pitches like, "Buy my product; it's a good product; here's what it will do for you." The insurance industry would be affected by the rule because insurers sell annuities. Big business has used similar tactics in cases related to product labeling, pharmaceutical sales and securities disclosures, with mixed success. Experts said the First Amendment argument may be persuasive in this case, which may eventually come before the Supreme Court, because the burdens of the rule will force even honest salespeople to limit what they say to clients. "Recent cases have made clear that the First Amendment provides broad protection for commercial speech that is truthful and non-misleading," said Floyd Abrams, a leading First Amendment rights lawyer with Cahill Gordon & Reindel, who successfully defended The New York Times in landmark litigation. "It's a close case." The fiduciary rule has been a contentious subject for nearly six years, and its release in April led Wall Street to quickly file several lawsuits to block its implementation. It is set to take effect in April next year. Story continues Regulators and consumer advocates have argued that the rule is important and necessary. Financial firms have countered that it is overly burdensome and expensive. Other lawsuits have largely relied on the notion that the Labor Department overreached in creating the rule. The Dallas plaintiffs also use those arguments, but are the only ones to mention First Amendment obstacles. Labor Department lawyers argued the fiduciary rule only governs conduct, not speech. Even if it did regulate speech, they said, it only covers misleading and conflicted statements, which are not protected by the First Amendment. U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn pressed the government on its position, saying the fiduciary rule appears to regulate more than just misleading speech. "They can recommend any products they like, as long as they're not recommending products that aren't in the investor's best interest," Labor Department defense attorney Emily Newton responded. The agency estimates bad advice will cost investors $95 billion over the next 10 years if the fiduciary rule is not implemented. The lead plaintiff's attorney in the case is Eugene Scalia, who has successfully argued for corporations and trade groups in other high-profile cases. Earlier this year he convinced a federal judge to strike down MetLife Inc's designation as a financial company that is "systemically important," which would subject it to tougher regulation. His father was the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative who often sided with big business in landmark cases that protected or created corporate rights. Lawyers said the outcome of the various fiduciary-rule proceedings is far from clear. If the judge in Dallas decides in Wall Street's favor, it could create a split among circuit courts. That might put the case on a path to the Supreme Court, which currently has a vacant seat. The court may or may not accept the case. Advisers to President-elect Donald Trump have indicated he will appoint a justice who wants to abolish the rule. (Reporting by Elizabeth Dilts; Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Leslie Adler) 53 homes built in two months Earthquake survivors of Gairibisauna and Mahadevsthan VDCs in Kavre who received construction materials as housing reconstruction aid instead of cash have constructed 53 three-room houses in the last two months. Fir Rahman and Wan Hanafi Su are the main cast of "Apprentice". 23 Nov Veteran Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su shared his experience of working in a Singaporean production for the first time in Boo Junfeng's film, "Apprentice". The 66-year-old actor along with co-star Fir Rahman and director Boo Junfeng was at GSC Mid Valley yesterday to promote the release of the movie in Malaysia, where the veteran actor was asked about the difference between working on a Malaysian and Singaporean project. "To be honest, I prefer not to compare, but if I said that the Singaporean team is very professional, it sounds very cliche, but that's the truth they really are!" said the actor. "That's what I get from my experience of working with them, and let's not even mention the Australian team, they're also very proficient," he added. According to Boo Junfeng, the movie was partially shot at several locations in Australia, especially the outdoor prison scenes. Wan Hanafi Su and director Boo Junfeng. "We needed to look for a prison and we couldn't find a location that was suitable or available in Singapore. We were hoping that the Pudu jail was somehow available, but it wasn't," Boo explained. "So we couldn't find a location anywhere in Southeast Asia as well, but in the end we found two locations in Australia, and I convinced the producers to let me take the team to Australia." Wan Hanafi Su also said that after meeting a former executioner in Singapore, his views on capital punishment had changed. "We always have the impression that a person who takes another person's life must not be a good person, but in reality, the former executioner that I met, he is a very nice guy. So I took his traits as a reference for my character," he said. The actor also added that before the filming of the movie, he spent his time around Geylang, mingling with the people there so that he can learn how to speak proper Singaporean Malay and English. "Apprentice" is a drama which touches on the issue of the capital punishment from the point of view of an executioner. The film stars Malaysian actor Wan Hanafi Su and Singaporean cast Fir Rahman and Mastura Ahmad. The film comes to cinemas in Malaysia 24 November 2016 onwards at selected GSC Cinemas. Rules Dont Apply director-star Warren Beatty, star Lily Collins, and costume designer Albert Wolsky discussed their collaborative process during a panel with Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Claudia Eller at Womens Wear Daily and Varietys second annual Stylemakers luncheon on Thursday at Quixote Studios in West Hollywood. We had worked together before [on Bugsy]. That is an tremendous advantage, Wolsky said. Warren is very trusting. I am very trusting of some people, Beatty quipped before saying that he believes in collaborating with people who know more than I do. Youre lucky if you get Albert to do a movie, he said about working with Wolsky again 25 years after their last film. Collins, who presented Wolsky with the events costume designer award, said she worked closely with the designer, who even incorporated some of her ideas. Everything was discussed, evolved, and changed until we got it right, Wolsky said. The important thing is the actor has to feel comfortable. If they feel awkward, its not good. The look informed a lot about her character, Collins said about her character Marla Mabrey, a naive starlet that Beattys Howard Hughes woos. I think as an actor, every time youre in your [characters] clothes it informs the character. Related stories Steve Mnuchin: Questions for the Would-Be Treasury Secretary and, Now, Actor Box Office: Disney's 'Moana' Sets Sail With Record-Breaking $2.6 Million on Tuesday Top Directors Banking on Nostalgia The first trailer for Martin Scorsese's much-anticipated religious period drama Silence dropped on Tuesday. The film, starring Liam Neeson, Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield, is set in 17th century Japan and follows two Jesuits priests in search of their mentor, who has lost his faith. Silence is based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Japanese author Shusaku Endo. Silence will have its premiere in the Vatican with several hundred Jesuits and Scorsese in attendance, although it is not known whether Pope Francis, himself a Jesuit, will be there. The film is set to bow in theaters Dec. 23. Read more: Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' to Premiere at Vatican Happy Thanksgiving! This week were just going to go ahead and be completely on the nose and recommend three movies centered around Thanksgiving that you can stream right now. Pieces of April (2003) Katie Holmes, pondering. (Photo: United Artists, courtesy of Everett Collection) Considering the political climate, chances are your Thanksgiving dinner is going to be an awkward one when the family all gathers together. But it might not be as uncomfortable as the one in this 2003 comedy. Starring Katie Holmes, its about a black sheep named April who invites her family to her apartment for the holiday. Also starring Derek Luke, Sean Hayes, and Patricia Clarkson, this might be the best movie ever named after a Three Dog Night song. Might be. Pieces of April is available on iTunes. Home for the Holidays (1995) Aughh! We forgot to mention Dylan McDermott is in it too. Tell your friends. (Photo: Paramount, courtesy of Everett Collection) Lets now head to the 90s and this Jodie Foster-directed classic. It stars Holly Hunter as a single mom who loses her job and is then faced with the possibility of spending Turkey Day alone and decides to go home. Also starring Steve Guttenberg and some lesser-known actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Anne Bancroft, this ones worth checking out. Home for the Holidays is available on YouTube. Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987) Hot take: These dudes are funny. (Photo: Paramount, courtesy of Everett Collection) And finally, this is not only a quintessential holiday film, its arguably the best road trip one too. Starring the late, great John Candy and another comedic legend, Steve Martin, this classic comedy is a story about an amiable but goofy salesman who tries to help a neurotic but ultimately well-meaning executive home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Directed and written by John Hughes, this movie got a nomination at the 1988 American Comedy Awards. Whoa! Planes, Trains, & Automobiles is available on Amazon. Carrie Fisher discusses the double standard for women in Star Wars: Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below. The devil has a date with an FBI Agent. Fox series Lucifer has cast White Collar actor Tim DeKay in a pivotal role. DeKay will appear in episodes 12 and 13 as Dr. Jacob Carlisle, a talented neuroscience professor, TVLine reports. The devil (Tom Ellis) will cross his path and the encounter will have deadly ramifications on someone the fallen angel cares about. Given that Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) is perhaps the only person Lucifer Morningstar cares deeply about on Earth, it seems like she will be the reason why he meets Dr. Carlisle. Second Chance Photo: Fox However, Lucifer has shown Chloe to be in grave danger several times during the course of its freshman and sophomore run. In fact, Season 2, episode 9 saw Lucifers mother Charlotte (Tricia Helfer) realize that Chloe is the one who makes Lucifer feel like he belongs on Earth. She is the reason he wants to stay in Los Angeles. Hence, she decided to simply eliminate his only reason why her son refuses to return to heaven: Kill Chloe. The final moments of the episode saw Chloe being stood up by the owner of Lux on a date and walking towards her car. As the detective fished for her car keys in her purse, Charlotte patiently waited to press a trigger that would detonate a bomb implanted in her car. Will mom pull the trigger? All signs seem to say she wont but given that Lucifer is slated to cross paths with a neuroscience professor, it does seem like Chloe will be imminent danger soon in Lucifer Season 2. DeKay has appeared in ABC series American Crime and Fox show Second Chance since his stint as an FBI Agent named Peter Burke. Lucifer received a full Season 2 order in October. Lucifer Season 2 airs Mondays at 9 p.m. EST on Fox. Related Articles By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A white nationalist leader seen in a video shouting "Hail Trump" while some attendees perform Nazi salutes at a weekend rally in Washington is scheduled to speak at Texas A&M University next month for an event not sanctioned by the school, officials said on Wednesday. Richard Spencer, leader of the National Policy Institute, was invited to speak by Preston Wiginton, a former student at the university, located in College Station, Texas, according to school newspaper The Battalion. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate speech, said Wiginton is a prominent white supremacist living part of the time in Russia. Texas A&M said its leaders find Spencer's views in direct conflict with the university's core values. "To be clear, Texas A&M University including faculty, staff, students and/or student groups - did not invite this speaker to our campus nor do we endorse his rhetoric in any way," Amy Smith, the university's senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer, said in a statement. The National Policy Institute, a think tank within the so-called alt-right movement, which includes neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites, held a gathering at the federally owned Ronald Reagan Building last Saturday. A video by The Atlantic taken inside the conference showed Spencer shouting, "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!" as some of the people in attendance lifted their arms in a Nazi salute. The alt-right movement came to the fore during the U.S. presidential election. President-elect Donald Trump has drawn criticism for naming Steve Bannon, former head of Breitbart News, a website linked to the alt-right, as his chief White House strategist. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Bill Rigby) We all know that Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year to travel: Google estimates airlines will see some 27.3 million passengers this year. And Christmas is no easier. But theres a lesser known, insider secret wed like to share: The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas are the best time all year to take a trip. The roads and skies are quiet between these two major travel holidays, making it more relaxing than usual to take a trip. Travelers will enjoy swift airport security lines, unoccupied roads, and ample seats at hotel swim-up bars. And they can take advantage of major discounts. Even airlines are apt to join in on the Cyber Monday deals: Airfare prediction app Hopper anticipates that the entire week following Thanksgiving could bring major savings. Airlines tend to launch a lot of fare sales the first week in December, Patrick Surry, Hoppers chief data scientist, told Travel + Leisure. Waikiki Beach, Hawaii. Surry says that, aside from the winter holidays, airlines are happy to discount seats to fill excess capacity in December. Demand during the fall season tends to be weak, other than [the] holidays...the addition of flash sales can make it the best opportunity to save during the year for flexible travel. Based on recent trends, Hopper suggests looking out for impressive prices to European and Caribbean destinations. Hotels are also are eager to attract over-stuffed, shopping-weary guests by cutting rates. At the Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa, for example, travelers can ditch the holiday stress in the Caribbean while saving 20 percent on rooms. At the Pacific Beach Hotel on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, travelers can save 40 percent off December stays by booking a tropical getaway by between Black Friday and December 2. Look out for more travel deals in the upcoming days and weeks, and consider tossing in just one more vacation before 2017. Related Articles Is Jony Ive no longer involved with Apples iPhone and Mac design departments? This is the question long-time Apple journalists Jason Snell and John Gruber answered this week after learning about what the Cupertino giants chief design officer is up to lately. Ive has always been at the forefront of the design aspects of Apples iPhones and Mac devices, but as of late Gruber believes that he is only involved with the continuous developing projects for the two product lines in spirit. Gruber even said Ive may only be spiritual leadership at this point. Unearthing what could probably be the reason or reasons for Ive to ditch his duties with the teams working on the iPhone and Mac lines, Snell and Gruber derived with a speculation that Ive is more invested in Apples Spaceship campus and store design lately. "I've heard that he has lately been checked out or not as directly involved with product design and that he's been largely focused on architecture," Gruber said on his The Talk Show podcast on Nov. 18. "And that maybe the other top-level executive who's been working the most with Ive is Angela Ahrendts." Gruber and Snell also claimed that its possible that Ive may have already assumed a Jobs-like role in the Cupertino tech giant, and he could be the one behind the ambitious Apple car project that was unfortunately scaled back. Both journalists also speculated that Apples $300 Designed by Apple in California photo book could have been decreed by Ive in order for him to showcase his contributions to the company. AppAdvice reports that the expensive picture book that documents Apples products for the last 20 years is seen by many as Ives overt effort amid his slow retirement from the tech giant. For some time now, many are speculating that Ive is already considering retiring from Apple, but the 49-year-old chief design officer has never confirmed this. AppleInsider also claims the coffee-table book is Ives swan-song because of his imminent departure from the company. However, when Ive introduced the photo book, he clearly pointed out the purpose behind its creation when he said, "This archive is intended to be a gentle gathering of many of the products the team has designed over the years. We hope it brings some understanding to how and why they exist, while serving as a resource for students of all design disciplines." Story continues Do you think Jony Ive is retiring soon? Sound off in the comments below. Related Articles Boudhanath Stupa reopens A year and a half after a colossal earthquake destroyed hundreds of treasured historic sites across Nepal, the country on Tuesday celebrated the restoration of the first major one to be rebuiltan iconic Buddhist monument topped in gold that towers above Kathmandu. A magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck yesterday off the coast of Fukushima, Japan, likely along the same fault that ruptured in 2011, unleashing a massive 9.0-magnitude temblor that triggered deadly tsunamis and caused widespread destruction. Over the course of its history, Japan has seen its share of shaking, but what makes this part of the world so susceptible to big earthquakes? The answer has to do with Japan's location. The island nation lies along the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an imaginary horseshoe-shaped zone that follows the rim of the Pacific Ocean, where many of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. In fact, 81 percent of the world's largest earthquakes happen in this active belt, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). [Image Gallery: This Millennium's Destructive Earthquakes] "The Earth's surface is broken up into about a dozen or so major chunks that are all moving around. Where they all interact at their edges, interesting things happen," Douglas Given, a geophysicist with the USGS in Pasadena, California, previously told Live Science. Within the Pacific Ring of Fire, several tectonic plates mash and collide. In what are known as subduction zones, one plate bends and slides underneath the other, causing the oceanic crust to sink into the Earth's mantle. "From Alaska down to Japan and the Philippines, all the way down around the western Pacific and then the boundary of the west coast of South America and central America are all big subduction zones," said Robert Smith, an emeritus professor of geophysics at the University of Utah. Japan itself sits atop a complex mosaic of tectonic plates that grind together and trigger deadly earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, Smith told Live Science. Yesterday's earthquake off the coast of Fukushima was centered about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of the epicenter of the 9.0-magnitude Tohoku quake that struck in March 2011. This means the magnitude-6.9 temblor could be an aftershock of the more-powerful 2011 quake, according to seismologists. Story continues "There's been a whole sequence [of aftershocks] since the 2011 earthquake," Smith said. "These enormously big earthquakes have aftershocks that can continue for tens to hundreds of years. It's very common." The 2011 earthquake released hundreds of years of pent-up stress within the subduction zone and triggered an enormous tsunami that inundated the coastal Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, eventually causing a level 7 nuclear meltdown. While yesterday's quake was not as powerful as the Tohoku temblor, the entire region is still at risk of big earthquakes. The Tohoku quake "was one of the biggest earthquakes we've recorded historically, but the fact is, the seismic hazard of the whole subduction zone is extremely high, so large earthquakes are more common there than other places," Smith said. Earlier this year, in April, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck the Kumamoto region in southern Japan, two days after a 6.2-magnitude temblor shook the same area. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations On Wednesday morning, hundreds of women in yellow T-shirts marched to the parliamentary building in Kuala Lumpur, demanding the release of activist Maria Chin Abdullah, who was arrested last Friday. They carried banners and placards that said: Women 4 Maria and Free Maria. The march marks the fifth day since Chin, chairperson of Bersih 2.0, a pro-democracy and anticorruption coalition group, was arrested last Friday, on the eve of a massive Bersih protest in the Malaysian capital. Along with Chin, Malaysian authorities also nabbed her Bersih colleague Mandeep Singh and at least nine other activists. All have been released, except Chin, the only one detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, or SOSMA, an antiterrorism law that allows detention for up to 28 days without trial. The 60-year-old activist who suffers from hypertension, high blood pressure and osteoarthritis is reportedly being held in solitary confinement in a cell without windows and with lights kept on around the clock. This amounts to torture, says a statement from the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality, a coalition of womens groups. Rights activists say Chins detention is unprecedented. Its the first time that a woman human-rights defender has been detained under SOSMA, Lee Wei San, program coordinator at the All Womens Action Society (AWAM), tells TIME. Bersih which means clean in Malay has vowed to hold a candlelight vigil every day until she is released. Hundreds of people have been flocking to the vigil each night, including former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Najib Razak, and his wife Siti Hasmah. The hashtags #BebasMaria (Free Maria) and #MansuhSOSMA (Repeal Sosma) are trending on Malaysian social media. Chin, who calls herself a feminist and a human-rights activist, has been part of Malaysian womens movement for three decades. She helped set up AWAM in 1985 after she returned from her studies in London. In 2005, she co-founded and became the executive director of Empower, a nongovernmental organization that encourages women and young people to participate in politics and to campaign for civil liberties, a position she held until late last year. This sort of work has earned much respect from Malaysias civil society, especially from women activists. Story continues She is amazing, Lee says about Chin. Through Empower, she got to know women political leaders and have good relations with women leaders in the opposition. Read more: Malaysia Braces for More Anti-Government Protests Chin was born in 1956 in the U.K., where her father was studying at that time, and later grew up in Malaysia. She converted to Islam when she married fellow activist Yunus Ali in 1993 they had met in the 1970s when he was exiled in London. We had a lot in common, especially over what was happening in the country. And he was interested in womens rights, which was quite rare then, Chin said about her late husband in an interview with Singapores Straits Times last year. In 1987, Yunus was arrested under the Internal Security Act the draconian law that was later replaced with SOSMA along with some 100 other dissidents. It became a catalyst for Chin to focus on activism, and she was grateful that her husband gave me that space for my involvement. (Yunus died of kidney failure in 2010.) She took the helm of Bersih 2.0 in 2013, when she was elected to succeed human-rights lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan now her legal adviser. Observers have pointed out that, unlike its first incarnation, whose leaders were primarily male and Muslim, the relaunched Bersih movement, which held its first rally in 2011, has been led by women unrelated to influential male politicians an unusual feat in Malaysia. Last weeks arrest wasnt Chins first in her capacity as Bersih leader. On Sept. 8, 2015, she and eight other activists were arrested and charged for taking part in an allegedly unlawful assembly in March. In the weeks leading to the Saturday rally, she, her sons and colleagues, including Ambiga, received death threats. Chin was unfazed, however. We want to make sure that the process towards that election is fair and what the people want, Chin told TIME on Nov. 16, two days before her arrest. Its a struggle that we have to go through. We will continue to list these demands, she added. At the end of the day, its the peoples power that will create change. Read more: Thousands of Malaysians March Against Government The scheduled protest on Saturday went ahead despite her arrest the previous night. Tens of thousands of yellow-clad protesters took to the streets in Kuala Lumpur, chanting Bersih and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Najib, whom they accuse of massive corruption. On Tuesday, her lawyer Ambiga, accompanied by Chins three sons, filed a habeas corpus application seeking her release. My mother is a very strong person, her second son Aziman Yunus said Monday, as quoted by the local media. If youre trying to break her will, no, you wont. With reporting by Nash Jenkins LONDON Workers at Topshops online distribution depot have announced plans to strike on Cyber Monday due to a dispute over their hourly wages. According to GMB Union, the workers claim for hourly wages of 8.45 pounds, or $10.40, as set by the U.K.s Living Wage Foundation, was rejected by the company. They are currently being paid the national minimum wage of 7.20 pounds, or $8.97 per hour. As a result, more than half of the 200 workers at the distribution center are planning to walk out of the factory during one of the years most critical trading days. The depot will need to handle online sales coming through on the day, as well as additional online transactions from the Black Friday period. The depot, which is located at Shirley, West Midlands, England, is operated by Spectrum for Arcadia, a division of the logistics company DHL. It handles online orders from Arcadia brands including Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Burton. Its a disgrace that Sir Philip Green, who holds the purse strings on this DHL contract, and has enriched himself on the backs of these loyal workers, is refusing to put a sensible offer on the table, said GMB organizer, David Warwick. The planned strike action is another blow for the embattled Green, who is coming under increasing pressure by British parliamentarians and Britains Pensions Regulator to fill the 350 million pounds, or $436 million, hole in the BHS pension fund. Green sold BHS for a nominal sum last year, and then watched it collapse, with the loss of thousands of jobs. He was the subject of a parliamentary grilling over the summer during which he apologized for the affair. Britains House of Commons wants him stripped of his knighthood, and earlier this week he faced calls by parliamentarians to seize his non-cash assets, including his new yacht, which is said to be worth 100 million pounds, or $125 million, to settle the pension problem. Story continues Earlier this month, Britains Pensions Regulator demanded that Green pay the 350 million pounds and has formally begun enforcement action on behalf of BHS pension schemes. Green has offered to pay some of that amount and said he is continuing to work with the regulator on a solution. Related stories BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund to Broaden Reach in 2017 First German Topshop/Topman Store Opens in Berlin's Galeria Kaufhof Former BHS Owner Chappell Arrested in Tax Evasion Probe The worlds largest barbecue pit arrived at a Salvation Army building in Galveston, Texas, on Tuesday, November 22, ahead of the charitable organizations Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday. According to a statement from the Salvation Army, the smoker, known as the Undisputable Cuz, is 76 feet long, and can cook up to four tons of meat at one time. The pit will be used to cook turkey on Thanksgiving, and the Salvation Army said it hoped to serve up to 1,000 people at the venue, and to deliver meals to up to 200 housebound people in Galveston County. In January 2015, USA Today reported that the 40-ton Undisputable Cuz was up for sale, at a price of $350,000. Credit: YouTube/Salvation Army Galveston via Storyful Of the dozens of superstars signed to WWE, none have a story quite like Eva Marie. She hasnt had much success inside the ring, but shes quickly becoming one of the companys biggest names outside of the world of professional wrestling. Eva, who goes by the name Natalie Eva Marie, got her start with WWE in 2013. Signing a contract after a WWE Diva Search, she soon joined the cast of Total Divas on the E! Network, doing so before even making an appearance on WWE TV. Three years later, Eva is a reality TV star, landing movie roles and selling her own line of clothes. Its certainly not unheard of for professional wrestlers to make the transition to movies. Dwayne The Rock Johnson is the biggest example, going from the No. 1 superstar in WWE to the No. 1 actor in Hollywood. John Cena is currently WWEs top star, and he appeared in movies Trainwreck and Sisters last year. Wrestlers like The Miz and Randy Orton have starred in movies produced by WWE. All of those wrestlers achieved success in WWE before branching out, however. While Eva is doing it a little bit differently, she still has the same end goal in mind. After a few months [in WWE] I was like OK, if I could emulate The Rocks career that would be fantastic to make a crossover like how hes done, Eva told International Business Times. I really want to take the Eva Marie Brand and do both [wrestling and movies] for as long as I can. Crossing over into the mainstream for a wrestler is easier said than done, though Eva is already making her dream a reality. After hiring the same manager and agent as The Rock, Eva has landed roles in two movies that will be released in 2017. Natalie Eva Marie Photo: Awesomeness FIlms Wrapped last month, Inconceivable will star Eva alongside Nicolas Cage, Gina Gershon, Nicky Whelan and Faye Dunaway. Wasting no time when production on the thriller ended, Eva headed straight to Vancouver where shes currently filming ACTION #1, playing a completely different kind of role: a bounty hunter. Story continues Im hired to go and bring back a comic by any means necessary, Eva told IBT. Its a different spin from the last character I played because the last character I played is a Plain Jane girl next door. Shes very much like a hippy chick, and then all of a sudden Im rocking a wife beater, leather jacket, cargo pants and shotgun on this set. Eva has even created her own clothing line, NEM Fashion, which launched this fall. I really wanted to create something that not only was affordable, but trendy and feels good, said Eva, who will donate a portion of the lines profits to her NEM Foundation, which promotes self-love and positive body image for women. I myself have gone through a lot of trials and tribulations with insecurity and body dysmorphia, and stuff like that. So creating a clothing line, its not just about the clothes and fashion. Of course, I love the quality and things of that nature, but its also about self-love and promoting that for young women. Between her filming schedule and a 30-day suspension for failing WWEs wellness policyshe reportedly failed a drug test in August after failing to notify WWE of her prescription on timeEva hasnt appeared on WWE TV since. However, she plans to make her return in the not-too-distant future, hoping to become one of the top female wrestlers on WWEs SmackDown Live. Evas quest to get back to WWE TV is featured in the new season of Total Divas, which aired its first Season 6 episode on Nov. 16. The new installment follows Eva, as well as several other female wrestlers, as they perform in WWE and prepare for the upcoming WWE Draft. On Total Divas youll see that emotion of not knowing, Eva said. Because I was able to compete in WrestleMania and then what? As she wraps up filming on her second film, there is no question regarding whats next for Eva. Shes heading back to WWE and is looking to prove that she has what it takes to become a top female wrestler. WWEs womens division has undergone a massive change in recent years, even since Eva got her contract with the company. Formerly referred to as Divas, much more emphasis was placed on their looks than their in-ring ability. Now, members of the womens division are simply called superstars, and their ability to put on quality matches has become the most important aspect of their profession. Wrestlers like Charlotte and Sasha Banks, who highlight the womens division on Monday Night Raw, are among the companys top in-ring performers, no matter their gender. They recently fought in the main event of a WWE pay-per-view, something that no females had ever done in the history of the company. Eva might not be able to do what the likes of Charlotte and Sasha can in the ring, but shes confident that she can hold her own against the best women WWE has to offer. You have to believe in yourself. Ive put in the work so I do think Im ready to come back and shake things up because I think the WWE Universe is tired of seeing something repeated, meaning some people possibly going against each other. Theres not one person like Eva Marie, and I definitely think that Ive shown that, and I think thatll be a huge dynamic when I come back. Natalie Eva Marie Photo: Eric Gea Related Articles Actor Joshua Jackson took a scuba diving tour recently, and he did not like what he saw. On National Geographics Years of Living Dangerously, the Dawsons Creek alum explores the one place on Earth where the impacts of climate change are most profound and yet practically invisible: the oceans. Wednesdays episode sees Jackson traveling to Australias Great Barrier Reef to look at the devastating impacts of ocean warming on the worlds largest reef system and the predicted impact of ocean acidification. He then travels to the Philippines where he looks at the impact of climate change in a place where hundreds of millions of people rely on healthy reefs for food, income and protection from storms. The picture isnt particular pretty there, either. Also Read: 'Years of Living Dangerously': David Letterman, Cecily Strong Save the Earth (Exclusive Videos) In just hours, a reef that took thousands of years to flourish and grow, was wiped out, Jackson narrates over some hard-to-watch underwater video. This particular set of coral was weakened by bleaching, which led to a single storm destroying the ecosystem. Watch the video above. Years of Living Dangerously airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on National Geographic. Related stories from TheWrap: 'Mars' Lifts Off Tonight on Nat Geo: Astronaut Compares Accuracy to 'The Martian,' 'Interstellar' Larry Wilmore Jokes About 'Highly Emotional' Black Funerals on Nat Geo's 'Explorer' (Exclusive Video) Nat Geo Unveils Upcoming Global Rebrand, 'Further' Tagline Leonardo DiCaprio's Climate Change Doc Could 'Change the World,' Nat Geo CEO Says Nat Geo Sets First 'Earth Week,' Pegged to Presidential Election (Exclusive) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f294871%2fgrass LONDON As a kid, did you ever fantasize about what it would be like if the entire world was a trampoline? Well, visitors to Sutton Park in St. Helens, Merseyside, UK got a glimpse of what that might look like, and it's bizarre. SEE ALSO: This underwater lake has been dubbed the 'Jacuzzi of Despair' A section of wobbly grass in the park took on a trampoline-like effect after recent heavy rain caused the ground to swell. Lauren Roberts captured video of the waterlogged earth rippling beneath the feet of a man and dog, and posted the strange sight to Facebook where it has since been shared almost 1,500 times. 50-year-old Roberts is quoted by SWNS TV as saying, "I just couldn't believe it at first, it just looks like a giant water bed, doesn't it?" Despite the obvious appeal of the bouncy grass, people have been warned not to approach the soggy ground as there may be a sink hole beneath the surface that could drop under the excessive weight of the water. Mashable has reached out to the Environment Agency for confirmation as to the cause of the unsteady earth, who have yet to respond officially. However, from speaking to various experts off the record, it appears to be the result of water under the soil similar to a quaking bog when vegetation grows over open water. Maybe that fantasy trampoline world wouldn't be so great after all... Still open to swimming pools filled with jello, though. BONUS: New Zealand's earthquake literally cracked the Earth open (Adds quotes, detail) LUSAKA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Zambia's copper production is expected to increase by 4 percent to 740,000 tonnes this year, the Chamber of Mines in Africa's second-largest producer of the metal said on Wednesday. A government forecast in February indicated Zambia's copper production will be around 700,000 tonnes this year and next year before rising to 1 million tonnes in 2018. However, the Zambia Chamber of Mines acting Chief Executive Officer Talent Ng'andwe said output will get a boost from a new mine by Canadian mining firm First Quantum Minerals. "The projected output for this year is not less than 740,000 tonnes of copper," Ng'andwe told Reuters. Zambia's 2016 copper production could have been much higher without a shortage of electricity in the southern African nation, which had forced some mines to cut output, he said. The Chamber of Mines' president Nathan Chishimba said in a statement that Zambia needed to change its tax regime to entice new and existing investors to the sector. Despite recent welcome changes to the mineral royalties tax, Zambia's overall effective mining tax rate remained among the highest in the world, Chishimba said. Mining companies operating in Zambia include Glencore , First Quantum Minerals, Vedanta Resources and Barrick Gold. (Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by James Macharia) CIAA drags ex-AIG Bhattarai to court on graft charge The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Tuesday filed a case at the Special Court against former Armed Police Forces AIG Rishav Dev Bhattarai on charge of corruption. WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's foreign minister Murray McCully said he discussed the disputed South China Sea with a "charming" Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during an informal meeting. McCully said the pair had a wide ranging discussion late on Tuesday but declined to comment on whether Duterte's controversial drugs crackdown was discussed. They spoke during Duterte's overnight stopover in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, on his way back from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. "He's a tough guy but he was warm, courteous and actually quite charming," McCully told the New Zealand Herald after the meeting. "He doesn't beat around the bush. He has got quite firm views and he expresses them, and very colorfully," he said. Police and vigilante groups have killed more than 2,400 people in the Philippines since Duterte vowed to crack down on drug dealers when he took office in June, attracting criticism from human rights watchdogs, the United States and the United Nations. The meeting in Auckland comes at a tense time for relations between the Philippines and the United States, its strongest Western ally. Duterte has made repeated threats and verbal tirades against the United States, a significant donor, and is making overtures to Russia and to China. Duterte lashed out at Western "bullying" and "hypocrisy" during his first meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Peru on Saturday and said, when it came to alliances, the United States could not be trusted. Adham Crichton, a spokesman for McCully, said on Wednesday there would be no further comment on the Auckland discussions because it was not a formal bilateral meeting. China is at odds with a number of its Asian neighbors, including the Philippines, over disputed claims in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Jane Wardell and Paul Tait) This year, Cyber Monday -- the year's biggest online shopping holiday -- is set to be larger than ever. Many major retailers are launching once-a-year sales that will kick off on Sunday and run through the entire week. Survey data from Offers.com found that Cyber Monday may even outshine fellow shopping holiday Black Friday in terms of popularity, with nearly 70 percent of consumers reporting plans to shop Cyber Monday sales compared to Black Friday's 66 percent. [See: 10 Tips for a Budget-Friendly Cyber Monday.] Shop Cyber Week sales, and you can hunt down every item on your list without once stepping out in the cold. Squeeze into your footie pajamas, grab your laptop or mobile device, and navigate over to these six spectacular Cyber Monday sales. 1. Wal-Mart Cyber Monday Sale Dates: Begins Nov. 25 at 12:01 a.m. EST Determined to lure shoppers away from online retailer Amazon.com, Wal-Mart is promising its "largest Cyber Monday assortment to date." Wal-Mart's Cyber Monday sale will kick off on Black Friday morning and run through Cyber Week. Wal-Mart will release its first series of Cyber deals at 12:01 a.m. on Friday and a second series at 12:01 a.m. on Monday. Highlights from Friday deals include: -- Samsung 60-inch HD Smart LED TV with an $80 gift card for $579. -- Google Home for $99 (regularly priced at $129). -- Black & Decker Robotic Vacuum for $196 (regularly priced at $299). -- Fujifilm Instax Mini 7S Instant Camera for $49 (regularly priced at $69.99). -- Promark P70 VR Drone for $99 (regularly priced at $148). Highlights from Monday deals include: -- Vizio 50-inch 4K Ultra HD SmartCast Smart LED TV for $379.99 (regularly priced at $528). -- "Call of Duty" Dragonfly Drone with Camera for $89 (regularly priced at $99.99). -- Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming Edition Laptop PC for $999.99 (regularly priced at $1,299.99). -- Prada sunglasses starting at $99.99. Wal-Mart will also offer free shipping on orders of $50 or more. Story continues [See: Your Ultimate Holiday Tipping Guide.] 2. Dell Cyber Monday Sale Dates: Begins Nov. 28 at 8 a.m. EST On Cyber Monday, Dell will release hourly doorbuster deals on laptops, TVs, gaming gear and other hot tech. Sale shoppers can expect to see savings of up to $1,300. Top deals include: -- An Inspiron 14 3000 for $129.99 (regularly priced at $249.99). -- Samsung 55-inch Curved 4K Ultra HD Smart TV for $1,009.99 (regularly priced at $2,399.99). -- Alienware Aurora for $999.99 (regularly priced at $1,249.99). -- XPS 13 Non-Touch for $949.99 (regularly priced at $1,099.99). 3. Macy's Cyber Monday Sale Dates: Nov. 27 -- Dec. 1 To celebrate Cyber Week, Macy's is treating online shoppers to 20 percent off any order. In addition to the sitewide discount, the department store is to offer "great deals" on men's and women's essentials, electronics and toys, and other gifts. During the sale, orders over $25 ship free. 4. Target Cyber Monday Sale Dates: Nov. 27 -- Nov. 28 Target has kept details of its Cyber Monday sale quiet, hinting only at a "surprise deal" to be revealed on Sunday and Monday. The sale is eagerly anticipated despite the mystery, as Target's last Cyber Monday sale included a coupon for 15 percent off sitewide. Target has already promised free shipping on all orders during the sale and throughout the holiday season. [See: 9 Ways to Save When Holiday Shopping With Credit Cards.] 5. Amazon Cyber Monday Sale Starts: Nov. 14 -- Dec. 22 Amazon has combined Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas sales into one massive savings event spanning 35 days. The sale will feature limited-time offers from more than a thousand Amazon sellers, with new deals dispatching as often as every five minutes. The best deals will be available during the notoriously popular shopping period running from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. On Cyber Monday, shoppers can expect one-of-a-kind deals on Amazon devices, HDTVs, home automation, toys and other hot items. Amazon Prime members receive early access to the deals, in addition to free two-day and same-day delivery on many products. 6. Overstock Cyber Monday Sale Dates: Nov. 27 -- Nov. 28 During its two-day Cyber Monday sale, Overstock is slashing its prices by up to 75 percent. The sale is to include "some of the most amazing online shopping promotions and giveaways of the year," including deep discounts on laptops, Android tablets, iPads and other electronics. Maria Lalonde honed her deal-hunting skills while traveling through South America and Southeast Asia, combing colorful local markets for unique finds. Her love of blogging and thirst for deals brought her to Offers.com, where she blogs about savings tips. The Catholic app, to give it its proper name, lets users search for the nearest confessional or Holy Mass For those Catholics itching to be absolved, a Scottish Archbishop may have just revolutionized the search for a confessional with a new smartphone and tablet app launched at the Vatican on Tuesday. The Catholic app, which has inevitably been dubbed Sindr by some media and online commentators, is expected to go live in early 2017, according to Vatican Radio. The idea was really inspired by the Holy Father himself, Edinburghs Archbishop Leo Cushley, who announced the launch, told Vatican Radio. He said to be imaginative about what to do for the Holy Year of Mercy. The app, which lets users search for the nearest Holy Mass, confessional or diocesanal statistics, reportedly uses technology by software firm Musemantik to guide the faithful from their current location to the nearest Catholic Church. I hope everyones going to use it, Cushley said, in hopes that the legacy of Pope Francis so-called Extraordinary Year of Jubilee, which just drew to a close, wont only be a spiritual one, it will also be a practical one. Thanks to all who took part in today's very successful launch of our new Mass & Confession finder app in Rome especially @viganoctv. pic.twitter.com/nAeq3hCgLd Archbishop Cushley (@leocushley) November 22, 2016 Cushley launched the app at St. Peters Basilica in Rome, calling it a smart bit of technology that could impact how the Catholic Church brings the mercy of God and the joy of the Gospel to our contemporary world. Lenovo is rumored to be working on the next version of the Miix 510 tablet, the Miix 520. New details about the upcoming device as well as unofficial renders have already leaked online, giving everyone an idea on what it's all about. The leaked renders show that the Lenovo Miix 520 looks pretty much like its predecessor. As expected, it still appears to rival the Microsoft Surface tablets by having a premium look and feel accompanied by an optional keyboard cover and a stylus. Like Microsofts Surface, the Miix 520 also has a fold-out stand which also carries over Lenovos signature Watch Band hinge design. Lenovo Miix 520 Photo: WinFuture As for specs, the Miix 520 will come with a 12.3-inch 1,920 x 1,200 resolution touchscreen display, according to the German site WinFuture.de the same site that was also responsible for leaking the unofficial renders. Lenovos upcoming tablet will have at least three variants equipped with Intels Kaby Lake processors. Other specs include a maximum of 16GB of DDR4 RAM, up to 1TB of storage and even a microSD card slot for additional external storage. The addition of the Intel Kaby Lake processor is probably the biggest selling point here. The Miix 510 is powered by last years 6th generation Intel Core i7 Skylake processor. Kaby Lake may not be a lot faster than Skylake, but it is better at managing power consumption and it also improves overall performance, as pointed out by The Verge. The Lenovo Miix 520 is also said to come with 10 hours of battery life on a single charge. Other rumored features include one USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, Dolby Advanced Audio certification, a fingerprint scanner, an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facing camera. All of the specs listed above arent official just yet with Lenovo keeping quiet on the tablets development, as pointed out by Ubergizmo. Lenovo Miix 520 Photo: WinFuture Story continues Theres no word yet on when the Miix 520 will be available, nor is there any information yet about its pricing. The Miix 510 currently starts at $599, so it wouldnt be too much of a surprise if Lenovo plays around that same price point. Related Articles Googles Pixel and Pixel XL are two of the best Android smartphones money can buy right now. Well, its essentially the same phone that comes in two distinct sizes, competing directly against the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and yes, both handsets are iPhone-grade expensive. The Pixels can be purchased directly from Google, or from Verizon, which is still the exclusive carrier for the Pixel phones in America. But if you want to buy the Pixel on the cheap, you really need to check out Verizons amazing Black Friday deal that covers both handsets. DEAL ALERT: Dont like these deals? Check out an even bigger Black Friday sale right here A 32GB Pixel will sell for just $240. Thats $10 per month for 24 months. If you want more storage, then youll have to pay $360 for the 128GB Pixel over the course of two years. The deal is valid on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. There is one caveat, of course. You will have to pay the full price for the phone and then youll receive the savings in bill credit over the course of your contract. That means youll have to stick it out with Big Red for two more years. Alternatively, the carrier will let you save $200 on any Android phone priced $400 or higher when you switch to Verizon and add a line to an existing account. The deal is valid November 24th through November 27th and includes the Pixel phones. Existing customers will only get to save $100 on the same deal. Verizon will have other deals in place for Google fans and Android users. The Google Home assistant will retail for $99 on Black Friday check out Verizons full press release below. Get the latest Google Pixel phones, Daydream virtual reality headset and now Google Home at Verizon NEW YORK Google Home lands in Verizon stores this Wednesday, joining the Pixel, Phone by Google, Google Live Cases and Daydream View from Google. From November 23 through November 28 as part of Verizons Black Friday weekend promotions, you can purchase Google Home for $99.99. If youre also looking to upgrade your phone, starting Thursday, get a new Pixel, Phone by Google for as little as $10 a month* through Black Friday or up to $200 off** a new Pixel, Phone by Google through Sunday, November 27. Google Home is a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Just start with, Ok Google and say a command. Enjoy music, get answers, manage everyday tasks, and control smart devices around the home. * Enjoy music: With a simple voice command, play music, podcasts, news, and radio from services like YouTube Music, Spotify and more. Enjoy even more compatible audio services by streaming directly from your Android or iPhone to Google Home from one of 100+ Chromecast-enabled apps. * Get answers from Google: Get the latest weather, traffic, finance, news, sports, local businesses, when you need them most. Ask for things like translations, calculations, nutrition information and unit conversions hands-free. Or search for other information youre curious about with the power of Google Search. * Manage everyday tasks: With your permission, Google Home can help you with things like your commute, flight information, and more. Plus its a whiz at setting alarms, starting timers, and adding items to your shopping list. * Control smart devices: Google Home connects with other smart home technologies found at Verizon, like the Nest Thermostat or Phillips Hue bulbs. You can also ask Google Home to stream videos to your TV with Chromecast. Theres a lot more you can do with Google Home; find out more on the features page. Get Google at Verizon Now with Google Home, Verizon is the place to get the latest from Google: * Pixel and Pixel XL: a pair of innovative new smartphones made by Google that take full advantage of Verizons 4G LTE network. And both phones come with unlimited storage for photos and videos at full resolution. You can get a new Pixel, Phone by Google 32 GB for $10 a month* or get the 128 GB Pixel for just $15 a month* from November 24 through November 25. Cant make it to Verizon on Black Friday? Save $200** on any Android smartphone priced $400 or higher when you switch to Verizon or add a line to an existing account from November 24 through November 27; current customers looking to upgrade can save $100**on any Android smartphone priced $400 or higher. * Daydream View: a virtual reality headset and motion controller for experiencing high-quality, immersive media, apps and games. * Google Live Cases: Look good while protecting the Pixel or Pixel XL. The Google Trends Live Case charts trending topics from Google Search and the Google Earth Live Case displays landscapes shot from space right on your phones screen. Verizon is the only wireless provider to offer Google Home. Google Home is available today online at http://www.verizonwireless.com for $129.99. For a limited time, when you buy Google Home youll get 6 months free of YouTube Red. Membership to YouTube Red gives you an awesome YouTube Music experience more songs, more versions and no ads just by using your voice. Learn how you can get your Google Home today *$649.99 device payment purchase required. Less $409.99 bill credit applied to account over 24 months. Credit begins within 2 3 bill cycles and ends when balance paid. 0% APR. Line must be active for 24 months to get full credit. ** Device payment purchase required. Story continues Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the Pixel XL is part of the deal. It is not. Trending right now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com Civil society urges government to announce local election date Civil society leaders have urged the government to announce the date for local elections by the end of November and also pass related bills in order to create an environment for holding the polls in April. Lei Jun, chairman and CEO of China's Xiaomi Inc., gives presentation. Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi has announced its plans to launch an all-new product at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 5, according to a report by Gordon Gottsegen for CNET. It will be the first time Xiaomi has been represented at CES, Gottsegen points out. CES is one of the worlds largest consumer electronics conferences. Xiaomi has previously launched products at other major conferences, such as when it released its Mi 5 phone at Mobile World Congress last winter. Hey Vegas! Will be at @CES for the first time launching an all-new product globally. Guesses? Place your bets now! https://t.co/kjAzE0hPO1 pic.twitter.com/NWx802raKJ Mi (@xiaomi) November 22, 2016 Based in Beijing, Xiaomi made its name selling electronics of all kinds including phones, fitness bands, electric bikes, robot vacuums and even a rice cooker at lower prices than its rivals, writes Gottsegen. While Xiaomi sells most of its goods throughout Asia, often through flash sales online, the company has been expanding its footprint into India, Brazil and even the US when it released the Mi Box set-top box this year. The Mi Box competes with Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, and Fire TV, a review by Sarah Perez of TechCrunch notes. Priced at only $69, and sporting features like integrated Google Cast and voice search, the 4K- and HDR-supporting device seems worth a look, Perez writes. But at the end of the day, Mi Box is still an Android TV player, and subject to limitations of that platform which are many. Perez gives the Mi Box a generally positive review because of its affordable price and user experience, but criticizes it for being linked to the Android TV platform, primarily because it is limited to the Google ecosystem. Story continues But the Mi Box is just one product in Xiaomis broad line of electronics. According to Xiaomis website, the company sold 61 million phones in 2014. Moving beyond Chinas market, the company has launched products in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Indonesia, and Brazil in effort to expand its footprint across the world to become a global brand. The company claims an overall mission of making quality technology accessible to everyone. Xiaomi was founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun, who believes that high-quality technology doesnt need to cost a fortune, reads the About Us page on the official Xiaomi website. We create remarkable hardware, software, and internet services for and with the help of our Mi fans. #xiaomi is a huge hit in India, but not everyone is happy https://t.co/q4rmWVVpB2 pic.twitter.com/Kfw2DK3Gx2 Android Authority (@AndroidAuth) November 21, 2016 Xiaomi has been rather withholding when it comes to disclosing exactly what the all-new product they plan to launch may be. Besides saying that the product will be all-new, the product could really be anything, Gottsegen writes. Maybe (and Im just throwing things out there) its a washing machine, a competitor to the Amazon Echo and Google Home speakers or maybe even a phone. Well be paying attention to rumors on this one. Both Google Home and Amazon Echo are smart speakers that respond to voice commands for everything from playing music to activating other smart devices. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has hosted CES annually in Las Vegas for the past 50 years. The International Consumer Electronics Show showcases more than 3,800 exhibiting companies, including manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware, content, technology delivery systems and more; a conference program with more than 300 conference sessions and more than 165K attendees from 150 countries, the CES website boasts. And because it is owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association formerly the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) the technology trade association representing the $287 billion U.S. consumer technology industry, it attracts the worlds business leaders and pioneering thinkers to a forum where the industrys most relevant issues are addressed. Whatever the new product may be, launching it at CES is bound to expand Xiaomis global name recognition and market share. [Featured Image by VCG/Getty Images] Xiaomi, Chinese Smartphone And Electronics Manufacturer, Announces Global Launch For CES is an article from: The Inquisitr News Colombian government and Farc to sign new peace deal Colombia's government says it will sign a new peace accord with Farc rebels on Thursday, after a previous deal was rejected in a referendum last month. Doctors defy MoH orders What comes as a defiance of an instruction from the Ministry of Health (MoH), doctors working at government hospitals have refused to attend to patients at the Outpatient Department till 5pm, saying the diktat came without proper review of the situation. Entrepreneurs demand three-day permits to tourists visiting CNP Tourism entrepreneurs of Sauraha have demanded the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation put in place a provision, under which tourists can visit Chitwan National Park for three days with a single ticket. FM sets off on weeklong Australia visit Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat left for Australia on Monday night in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties and explore avenues for cooperation. Four Dailekh VDCs protest restructuring proposal The residents of Gauri, Malika, Kalbhairab and Gamaudi VDCs in Dailekh district have obstructed Dailekh-Surkhet road after the technical committee of the Local Level Restructuring Committee proposed to divide the district into 11 local units. IBN launches financial literacy campaign Investment Board Nepal (IBN) has launched a financial literacy campaign in Sankhuwasabha district for locals receiving compensation payments from SJVN Arun III Hydropower Project. Implementation of constitution first condition: CJ Karki Chief Justice Sushila Karki has said implementing the Constitution of Nepal that carries features of inclusion and proportional representation through unity among all parties is the need of the day. Indian shelling 'kills nine on bus' in Pak-administered Kashmir Officials in Pakistan say at least nine people were killed when cross-border shelling from India hit a passenger bus in the disputed Kashmir region. Jhapa small tea farmers stage sit-in Small tea farmers from Jhapa on Tuesday launched a two-week sit-in protest at National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB) in New Baneshwor, Main oppn decides to go on offensive After a heated argument with the ruling coalition, the CPN-UML on Monday evening poured cold water on the prime ministers efforts to seek consensus on a constitution amendment proposal, and now it is warming up to go on the offensive. PM attends KU convocation after his party cadre was freed An All Nepal National Independent Student Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) activist, who had been arrested on vandalism charge, was released before Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal attended the 22nd Convocation of Kathmandu University (KU) on Tuesday. PM to split Province 5 to woo Madhesi forces In his latest bid to end the row over federal boundaries, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is planning to split Province 5 and put the idea on the table to see what the agitating Madhes-based parties think. Possible risk of Imja Glacial Lake outburst down The risk of a possible disaster from Imja Glacial Lake in Solukhumbu district has decreased with the Nepal Army succeeded in lowering its water level. Salt shortage rumours set off panic buying People have been rushing to stock up on salt following rumours of an imminent shortage. Shortage of essential medicines in Palpa Majority of the health posts in Palpa district have been reeling under shortage of essential medicines since November 12. People have complained that there is a shortage of emergency drugs in several health posts. Sri Lankan Ambassador calls on VP Pun Sri Lankan Ambassador to Nepal WS Perera paid a courtesy call on Vice-president Nanda Bahadur Pun at the latter's office in Bahadur Bhawan on Wednesday. Tibet Airlines likely to begin Nepal service Tibet Airlines has been eyeing the Nepal market, and the Lhasa-based carrier will be the fifth airline from the northern neighbour to serve Kathmandu if its plans should materialise. TRC gears up for probe into plaints The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has started soliciting suggestions and support from professionals from diverse fields for initiating investigation into the complaints received from conflict victims. Trump disavows 'alt-right' supporters Donald Trump has repudiated the fringe "alt-right" group that celebrated his election win with Nazi salutes. UML supporters stage protests in Banke, Bardiya, Dang districts CPN-UML supporters in Banke, Baridya and Dang districts on Tuesday took to the streets to protest against government plan to split Province 5 and separate hill districts from the province. The Best Little Floorhouse in Texas Your choice for flooring in Central Texas! Your flooring is more than just the surface you walk on it's an integral part of your home. With over 35 years of flooring experience, The Best Little Floorhouse in Texas has the resources and knowled - 1 2022 2 290,9 , 18% 2021 36,6% . Parliament has asked president to expedite the process appointing a state minister to fill the vacant position of minister for fisheries. During the formulation of the current cabinet, the president appointed Ruth Achieng as the minister of state for fisheries but she was allegedly blocked by NRM leaders from lango on ground that the president had appointed many opposition ministers from this sub region and her name was subsequently scrapped off the list. Now the speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaaga has asked the president to fill this gape, because the field has a lot of challenges which needs a specific person to address them. She explained that Parliament have a lot of capable members who can fill this position and bridge this gape. By Damali Mukhaye Kampala capital city authority has failed to secure the release of a mother of two who was brutally arrested by the authority enforcement team for operating illegally on the streets of Kampala and remanded to Luzira. Robinah Namugenyis video with her two toddlers who were being tortured and mishandled dragging them to a van that belongs to KCCA went viral on social media attracting attention of public. This prompted authority council who in turn instructed the Legal Committee to secure her immediate releaser because she was brutally handled, arrested and her merchandise taken. Now speaking to KFM, the chairperson of the legal committee Buruhani Byaruhanga says the committee could not do anything to secure her release because she was already convicted under her own plea. He explains that the only way they can help is for the husband to get a private lawyer to appeal otherwise, there is nothing the authority can do to reverse the courts ruling. The ministry of health has refuted allegations that there is continued loss of lives of babies at Kawempe hospital following the closure of Makerere University. The media has been awash with claims that 15 babies die each day at kawempe hospital due to closure of Makerere University. Addressing the media this afternoon at the Uganda media canter the state minister in charge of health and general duties Sarah Opendi said the ministry has since rearranged the work force at the facility especially in critical areas. She explains that since the month of November started 31 new borns have died with the deaths associated to prematurity and lack of oxygen compared to the month of October were 56 babies died. She says at the time of closure of Makerere University, there were 64 senior house officers at kawempe hospital and 56 at upper Mulago in pediatrics and these were being only trained under the supervision of specialists. She however admits that the withdrawal of senior health house officers at the facility has only created some gaps in service with the longer patient waiting in the outpatient department but this has not significantly affected the hospital Police has arrested two drug traffickers at Entebbe international airport both South African nationals. The two suspects are identified as Onyiya Golile Grace and Nkocosolwana Abagail. Onyiya Golile arrived at Entebbe on 16th November 2016 from Botswana aboard Ethiopian airlines and was arrested with 3786 grams of suspected cocaine worth an estimate amount of 259 million Uganda shillings. The second suspect Nkocosolwana Abagail arrived at Entebbe on 10th November 2016 from South Africa aboard South African airways and was arrested with 856 grams of suspected cocaine worth an estimated amount of 56 million Uganda shillings. The spokesperson Kampala metropolitan police Emiliano Kayima says they have sent samples to government analytical laboratories to confirm the field suspicion and once its done, they will take due course of the right charges. He however appeals to the minister of internal affairs to work upon the statutory instrument in the new law so that such criminals are given harsh punishments. The Parliamentary Local government Accounts Committee has ordered the arrest of three Mbarara municipality technocrats over signing fake tenders and misuse of public funds. The suspect have been identifies as Jackline Masambu the Principal Human Resource Officer , Richard Kerere the Principal Finance Officer and Edgar Atwiine Rwabutwagu the Senior Procurement. Currently this committee headed by Hon Reagan Okumu is in Mbarara for two days following the Auditors reports on the districts of Ankole and Kigezi sub regions. Okumu said that more are yet to be arrested including those involved in the Mbarara Taxi Park tender which was awarded for five years with no clear contract Sound: OKUMUeng. According to the Acting Town Clerk Masambu, the municipal council is supposed to collect at least three billions as revenue per year but they end up collecting about two billions due to lack of accountability . No Yes, a light case Yes, two or more light cases One serious case Two or more serious bouts Vote View Results We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form KENDALLVILLE The city will hire an environmental specialist to inspect the abandoned McCray Refrigerator Co. site for asbestos contamination. The Board of Public Works and Safety Tuesday morning approved the hiring of ACM Engineering & Environmental Services, of Fort Wayne, to conduct a limited, predemolition suspect asbestos survey of the 8.6-acre site on West Wayne Street, just west of North Main Street, for a maximum cost of $4,950. In a letter to Kendallvilles code enforcement officer, Michael Dials, vice president of operations for ACM, said certified and licensed asbestos inspectors will collect an estimated 90 samples from 50 different suspect materials identified during a site visit on Nov. 15. The company will analyze the samples. ACM will develop a final report summarizing identified asbestos-containing building materials and recommend a response related to the planned demolition, according to Dials. ACM also will provide all information required to develop the Indiana Department of Environmental Management notification of demolition and renovation operations. Remediation of the asbestos may be needed prior to the demolition, depending on where it is found on the site. Asbestos, a known carcinogen, often was used in the past to insulate commercial and industrial buildings. SWGP IN LLC, a building company registered in Delaware, has shown no interest in maintaining the property or paying taxes, according to City Attorney Doug Atz. No taxes have been paid since 2010. A total of $426,570 in back taxes and fees is owed on the property. Mayor Suzanne Handshoe describes the property as an eyesore and public-safety nuisance. Fire Chief Mike Riehm and Police Chief Rob Wiley told the City Council Nov. 15 about the public-safety and fire-hazard issues, and recommended the building come down as soon as possible. The City Council endorsed Handshoes plan to approach Noble County officials about transferring the tax certificate to the city so demolition can proceed. Handshoe plans to request the transfer at next weeks county Board of Commissioners meeting. She also plans to request financial support from the Kendallville Local Development Corp. for the demolition and rehabilitation of the property. INDIANAPOLIS Northwest Allen County School students in grades 3-8 saw an overall decrease in ISTEP+ scores taken in the spring. Overall, 65.9 percent of students passed both the English and math portions of the test, down from 69.7 percent last year. In English, the percent passing was 79.1 percent, down from 81.6 percent and in math, the percent passing was 72.7 percent, down from 76.5 percent. NACS Superintendent Chris Himsel wrote a letter to the NACS community following the release of the scores, noting that NACS fared well compared to other districts. He also remains steadfast in his belief that the information is not relevant to the district. Because the events that yielded these scores took place more than six months ago using a method that included a repeat of interruptions, errors, etc. which have become a normal part of the ISTEP process, Himsel wrote. Additionally, the results provide zero information about why students passed or why students did not pass. Therefore, the recently released data does not offer useful information designed to help us meet the individual learning needs of our students. Himself said the district uses NWEA test results, as well as its own evaluations from staff, to provide information that helps us create continuous improvement plans, and more importantly, helps us determine where your child is on the learning continuum in order to identify her/his learning needs so s/he remains on target to graduate and become a contributing member of our community. All four Allen County school districts experienced a decrease in the percentage of students who passed both English and math. East Allen County Schools experienced the smallest decline as 51.7 percent of students passed both compared with 52.4 percent the previous year. Fort Wayne Community Schools dropped from 43.8 percent to 41.4 percent and Southwest Allen County Schools dropped from 68.6 percent to 63.4 percent. Transitions are never easy, but I want to applaud the students, educators and families across the state who have worked tirelessly to shift to more rigorous college- and career-ready standards over the past two years, said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz. (The latest) results reflect Indianas focus on student progress towards more rigorous benchmarks for college and career readiness. However, it is important to remember that our students, schools and teachers are more than just a test score. I have spent the past four years working to get rid of inefficient and costly tests like ISTEP+. Indiana has finally taken the first steps to making that positive change for students, but we need to go further. It is not enough to simply rebrand our current pass-fail, expensive and inefficient assessment system. Indiana must instead take advantage of federal flexibility to move towards a streamlined, individualized, student-centered assessment that provides students, families and educators with quick and meaningful feedback about how a student is performing and how they have grown during a school year. Students, educators and families deserve nothing less. Himsels complete letter can be found on page 6. FORT WAYNE Carroll High School became a little kinder on Nov. 14, in celebration of World Kindness Day. The international holiday was Sunday Nov. 13, but Carrolls RAKtivists club wanted to make it a part of the school day Nov. 14 in order to impact more students. According to RandomActsofKindness.org, World Kindness Day is a global 24-hour celebration dedicated to paying-it-forward and focusing on the good, and Carroll High Schools RAKtivists club is doing just that. That morning, members of the RAKtivists club greeted students entering the school, passed out candy during first period and even hung posters on every teachers door with words of appreciation. The club also got the student body involved by encouraging everyone to fill out a RAKtag. A RAKtag is a sheet of paper in which someone writes a compliment to another person to tag them with. The idea is to pass the tag and the kindness along. The clubs theme for this years World Kindness Day was how can I serve you? which is a change from previous years celebrations. This year, the club members focused on being more intentional in the way they interact with fellow students. Instead of every member of the club lining up at the schools main entrance, only a few members stood by the doors, and the rest were placed sporadically throughout the school. RAKtivists student leader Liam Hickey greeted students in the hallway with candy and a smile. He believes their personal approach was better received this year. Quite a few people do love the overjoyous greeting and it makes them feel really good, Hickey said. For some people, its just not their style. (We) tried to approach and appeal to everyone as much as anyone can. We went the personal route to get to those people who dont feel quite as impassioned about the loudness in the morning. Carrolls celebration of World Kindness Day is all due to RAKtivists club sponsor and English teacher, Carrie Wisehart. Wisehart is a member of the RAKtivists organization which is a movement focused on random acts of kindness. This organization consists of over 4,000 kindness ambassadors all over the world, just like Wisehart. She started a branch of the larger organization herself at Carroll High School and it has been consistently growing ever since its start. Ive always done kindness curriculum within my teaching, Wisehart said. So when I saw that (the RAKtivists organization) said they wanted people who promote kindness and are leaders in their community, I said absolutely and I signed up. Wisehart is assisted by her 27 student leaders who are also dedicated to promoting kindness. They believe that a holiday such as World Kindness Day is important, especially in the high school setting. In a place that is usually littered with negative comments and stressful situations, Wisehart feels as if a day like this will promote a culture of kindness within Carroll High School, which is something the club is striving for. The idea ultimately is, what can we do to create this culture? Wisehart said. We have all of these things on us. Kids do, (teachers) do, so how can we create a culture where we feel uplifted rather than stepped on all the time? World Kindness Day is simply a step toward making Carroll, and the surrounding community, a kinder place. Hickey explains how a day such as this one can be beneficial, but only if you allow it to be. As long as youre aware that (World Kindness Day) is there, its your choice, Hickey said. You can choose to make it extremely impactful in your life, or you can choose to make it just another day, and Id encourage people to choose to not make it just another day. Tess Plazek is a senior at Carroll High School, interning with KPC Media Group. Each month, the Alzheimers Association offers family education programs across Wisconsin. These classes are designed to assist anyone who has questions about Alzheimers disease or related dementias. Pre-registration is encouraged. Please call 1-800-272-3900 to reserve a seat. Class details can be found at www.alz.org/gwwi. Here are the December program offerings for this area: Caregiver StressTake Care of Yourself. Caregivers will gain a better understanding of dementia, the changes, and how these changes may affect the caregiving journey. Learn about stress, how to identify it and initiate an action plan to lessen caregiver stress. Thursday, Dec. 8, from 1 to 3 p.m., La Crosse Public Library, 800 Main St., La Crosse; Friday, Dec 23, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Sparta Community Center, 1000 E. Montgomery St., Sparta; and Friday, Dec. 23, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Kupper-Ratsch Senior Center, 1002 Superior Ave., Tomah. The Impact of Dementia on Intimacy & Relationships. A workshop designed to assist family caregivers in understanding how dementia can affect expressions of intimacy and sexuality, and learn how to respond creatively and sensitively. Thursday, Dec, 8, from 10 a.m. to noon, La Crosse Public Library (auditorium), 800 Main St., La Crosse. All programs are free-of-charge and open to families, caregivers and the general community. Each program is presented by an Alzheimers Association staff member or trained community volunteer. These programs are made possible, in part, by funds raised through the Walk to End Alzheimers. For more information about Alzheimers disease and local services, visit www.alz.org/gwwi or call the Alzheimers Association 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900. House Speaker Kurt Daudt has re-appointed Rep. Greg Davids (R-Preston) as chairman of the Minnesota House Taxes Committee. I am so pleased Speaker Daudt has given me the honor of chairing the taxes committee once again, Davids said. I am ready to work hard for struggling lower and middle-class Minnesotans who are in desperate need of tax relief. Davids said his committee will oversee every tax program in the state and ensure that each is operating efficiently. As chairman of the taxes committee last session, Davids championed a proposal providing roughly $800 million in tax relief to hardworking Minnesotans, including small business owners, farmers, working families, and college students. The bill was approved by 89 percent of Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature, but was inexplicably vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton. Davids said crafting a similar proposal will be his top priority in 2017. Davids previously served as taxes chairman in 2011-12 and 2015-16. Doorbusters! Black Friday Savings! Cyber Monday! Special Buy! Holiday advertisements are full of breathless promotions of special sales and offers. But the devil is in the details. There are limitations and they tend to be relegated to the fine print: Quantities limited. No rain checks or substitutes. One day only. While supplies last. Additional discounts do not apply. After rebate. Limit one of each item per customer. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) asks shoppers to pay close attention to the sales stipulations in this seasons online and print ads. Ads set high expectations for holiday deals, but shoppers could walk away disappointed if they have not familiarized themselves with each retailers unique sales policies, said Frank Frassetto, division administrator for Trade and Consumer Protection. As you search fliers and online promotions, make it a habit to read and understand the fine print. Retailers hours of business, item quantities, and return policies can all differ from normal operation and have additional constraints during holiday special events. Some discounts are only offered in store while others may require the use of a retailers website or app. Other simple tips to remember when you are shopping for deals this holiday season include: Keep ads available and take note of any special prices while you shop online or in store. Some one day deals may require tickets that you receive at the front door of the store and these tickets may be limited. A stores price match policies may not apply to sale items listed in holiday ads. Make sure you understand return/refund/exchange policies before you buy. Retailers may have alternative policies in place for holiday sales, and online purchases may not necessarily be eligible for in-store returns. Keep your receipts. Remember to pick up or print off a gift receipt for the gift recipient. Be aware that clearance and open items may have different return policies or not be returnable at all. Wisconsin law requires stores to charge their lowest advertised price for a product and to refund any overcharge, so it is important for consumers to keep an eye on the prices at the register or in the online shopping cart. Special pricing may only apply to specific products, so be sure that you have the correct item and model name or number before you start to checkout. Speak up if you believe that an item did not register at its advertised price. If you are charged the wrong price on an item and the business will not correct the error, file a complaint with DATCPs Weights and Measures Bureau, visit datcp.wi.gov, send an e-mail to datcpweightsandmeasures@wi.gov or call 608-224-4942. The Houston County Historical Society will hold its annual Christmas open house in the new museum on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 4, from 1 to 4 p.m. Beautiful Christmas trees and decorations will be on display throughout the museum. Several area collections on display are Santas, courtesy of Luan Hammell of Caledonia; John Deere toys by Larry Van Gundy of Houston; and John Deere pedal tractors, courtesy of Leander Breeser of Eitzen. George Moe of Caledonia will demonstrate wood carving and Audrey Almo of Caledonia will entertain visitors with accordion music. A new display featuring a retrieved rail, maps and history of the Southern Minnesota Railroad is on view. Also, there are five cabinets of Minnesota Vikings memorabilia on loan by area Houston County residents. Children will be able to make a craft during their visit. After viewing displays, enjoy holiday treats, coffee and cider. All are invited to enjoy the free family oriented event. The Houston County Board of Commissioners approved a $30,000 revolving loan request for Lifestyle Enterprises, LLC in Caledonia. Courtney Bergey of the Community and Economic Associates (CEDA) brought the loan forward at the boards Nov. 15 meeting. The loan allows Lifestyle Enterprises to work with Gunderson Health System to provide the city of Caledonia a new physical therapy clinic. Lifestyle Enterprises will use the money to expand their building. Bergey also updated the board that CEDA has renewed the countys connection to 7 Rivers Alliance, something the county had let lapse in the past, and connected with the Rochester Area Builders, which has a free membership for counties. This is a great alliance (7 Rivers) to take advantage of and save us money. They are rolling out a lot of marketing things in the next year that are really exciting that we can be a part of, and taking advantage of that will save us a lot of money, she said. Financial update Finance director Carol Lapham gave the monthly financial update, where she informed the board that October was uneventful; it mostly consisted of receiving money and paying bills. She brought up the annual truth-in- taxation meeting, which will be at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12. Brace yourselves, there were areas with big increases and areas with decreases, shifts in values and shifts in levies, she said. We will put together a chart. The city of Caledonia residential went up, the city of Spring Grove went down, shifts in those values. In other news Human Resources Director Tess Arrick-Kruger brought forward the resignation of Mary Thompson, a public health nurse who worked for the county for 11 years. She was very honored in our county, across the state, actually, Commissioner Teresa Walter said. Human services hired a new social worker, Carolyn Olson, from case aide. She began work Nov. 21 at a rate of $23.73 an hour. Information services hired an IT support technician, Lucas Kuntz. He began work on Nov. 16 at a rate $23.73 an hour. Environmental services made Aaron Lacher full-time following a probationary position. He began work Nov. 23. Arrick-Kruger also brought forward an application for appointment format that the board of adjustment and planning commission has already approved for their use. She asked for approval so that the application could be placed on the website. ~ The Minnesota Historical and Cultural Grant Program awarded Houston County $76,220 to work on the historic courthouse and jail. The county received the entire amount it had requested, along with a $10,000 match the county committed to. The money will go toward fixing the roof, the historical entry into the building and windows at the county jail. It will also help the society with the documents and the engineering, and the architects documents needed to apply for the next round of grants. Its been a real learning experience on how this process goes, but we are moving forward, Arrick-Kruger said. I couldnt have done this without the community members who volunteered their time and went up to the historic society with me. ~ Justin Conway, in for highway engineer Brian Pogodzinski, also presented the last contract for the 2016 flood repairs. The engineers estimate came in at $47,078 and Van Gundys excavating costs were at $48,900. It has not been decided if the project will be finished by the end of this fall or next spring. ~ Public health director Mary Marchel brought forward the renewal of the CREST cooperative agreement, a two-year contract that makes Olmsted County the fiscal host for adult mental health initiatives; the Minnesota comprehensive adult mental health grant contract with the state of Minnesota, a two-year contract that provides adult mental health services not provided by CREST; and the agreement for provision of supplemental nutritional assistance program, another two-year contract based out of Wabasha County. All were approved. ~ Construction on Daley Creek Road in Yucatan Township is complete, at a total cost of $244,728. This is $2,944, or 1.2 percent, over the original estimate. The board approved the project completion. ~ Commissioner Dana Kjome informed the board that Semcac, which normally makes and serves food at Caledonias United Methodist Church, will be looking for a new location. The food will now be made in a Rushford kitchen. It was getting too expensive for the Methodist Church to provide the site, but they are in the midst of negotiating a new dining site, Kjome said. Those of us awakening from the long nightmare of white supremacy, male supremacy and human supremacy collectively known as the American dream need not despair, no matter how dark this election cycle has been. Mourn, yes. If you cant cry, go honor someone elses tears. Go listen to any mother who understands the gravity of what half of voters, including people I love, just did to our children and our land. And then, through those tears, gaze toward a place more powerful and empowering than electoral politics: Standing Rock, where something new is being born. If Donald Trump expresses the ideological cancer in which white males dominate social, environmental, economic and sexual experience, then Standing Rock expresses the antidote to this disease. When I traveled there with my wife and daughter the week before the election, we encountered what so many centuries of white supremacy has failed to kill, convert or colonize out of existence, and which might yet save so many wretches like me. On the banks of the Missouri, in the land of the Lakota and Dakota, our indigenous brothers and sisters showed us how leaders can stand in circles with people instead of on pedestals above people; how resistance to violent power structures can be rooted in prayer, respect and responsibility, not hate; how everyone two-spirits, veterans, rainbow people, the oppressed, and the privileged can unite; how the leadership of women need not be an aberration or accomplishment, but a given. We will remain blind to all of this if we read about Standing Rock through the usual filters with which we consume news, for what is happening there is not one thing nor anything common. It is a fight to protect the waters, yes, but it is also a fight for climate justice, to honor treaties, to take responsibility for the lives of our descendants, to heal intertribal wounds, to heal wounds between tribal and non-tribal peoples, to model a renewable energy path, to display how decentralized collectives can be extremely organized and effective. Things that have never happened are happening there. Prayers are being shared that have never been shared. People are praying together who have never prayed together. People who have never put their bodies on the line are engaging in nonviolent direct action. Of course, there is the other side of the story. The Dakota Access Pipeline, originally routed near majority white communities, was rerouted toward the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation due to risks to those white communities drinking water. All five nights we slept among the water protectors, an airplane buzzed the camps and high-powered construction lights shone into tents, disrupting sleep and increasing stress. Private security and police have attacked unarmed protesters with dogs, pepper spray and rubber bullets. Then on Election Day, Energy Transfer Partners, in blatant defiance of the regulatory process, not to mention treaties and the health of millions whose waters are threatened, announced it would begin drilling beneath Lake Oahe in two weeks. Trump, not surprisingly, stands to profit. We whites unhappy with a Ku Klux Klan-endorsed president have some soul-searching to do. As the shock of Trump fades and the systems of white supremacy continue to make our lives relatively easy as they would have under Clinton as well will we retreat into the meaningless postures and institutions that maintain our status quo existences? Or, awakened to the fact that our culture has always been and still remains a destroyer of peoples and lands, will we finally join the prayers and resistance efforts of those who have been battling white supremacy for centuries? My 3-year-old daughter put these questions more directly. Walking along the Missouri, a helicopter circling overhead, she asked, What does peace mean, Daddy? I looked across the river where the pipeline was being laid, where a militarized force was securing the desecration of waters, where thousands were camped to protect those waters, and I hesitated. I didnt know what to say. Thats a good question, I told her, one we need to pray about. There were tears in my eyes then and they keep returning. In these mournful days, its her question that calls me back to Standing Rock. A Black River Falls woman has been accused of animal neglect. According to the criminal complaint filed by the Jackson County District Attorneys office, Katherine R. Littlejohn, 49, housed 12 dogs in substandard conditions at a town of Adams residence. Police were first contacted June 22, when a neighbor reported that 10 dogs followed her home and were turned over to the local animal shelter. Five of the dogs were taken to a veterinarian for mange and worms, and police observed five other dogs with thin and missing fur. Police made three visits to the Littlejohn residence over the next three days and observed two puppies in poor health. They were removed from the residence, and a veterinarian described their condition as life-threatening. Littlejohn contacted the animal shelter June 27 to inquire about the dogs. According to the report, she told an animal control officer that she was treating the dogs with a medicated shampoo but couldnt identify the main ingredient. The report says she agreed to surrender 10 of the dogs but wanted to reclaim two of them. Littlejohn never returned to reclaim any of the dogs, according to the report. The report says both puppies have put on weight, regrown their fur and have become more active during their time at the shelter. Littlejohn is scheduled for a Dec. 5 court appearance. The Jackson County University of Wisconsin Extension and Together for Jackson County Kids are partnering up to offer a research-based stress management program to the public. The four-week program, called "Taking Care of You," offers practical strategies and experiences to help people manage life's challenges in heatlhy ways to allow people to take better care of themselves and improve their overall health. The program will explore topics through small group discussion, self-reflection and activities during two-hour classes once a week. The two sessions will meet at 5:15 p.m. Tuesdays, Nov. 29 through Dec. 20, Lunda Community Center, 405 State Hwy. 54, Black River Falls; and 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Nov. 30 through Dec. 21, Jackson County UW-Extension, 227 S. 11th St., Black River Falls. To register, call Lisa at 715-284-6012. Childcare is available at no charge for parents if requested at time of registration. Class is free; however, space is limited. Hunters head out to the woods again as the regular gun deer season begins on Nov. 19. Our deer hunting culture is a treasured part of our Wisconsin heritage, and a big contributor to the economy in many parts of rural Wisconsin. Its a great outdoor activity to share with family and friends as long as we remember to put safety first. First on the safe hunting checklist is firearms safety. 2015 was the deadliest hunting season in five years, with a total of 3 deer hunting fatalities. All of these tragedies occurred when hunters failed to observe some basic safety precautions. Always treat every gun as if it is loaded, and keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Keep your safety on until youre preparing your shot, and keep your finger out of the trigger guard until youre ready to shoot. Be absolutely certain that youre aiming at a deer youre entitled to harvest before you fire. You should also know that you have a safe backstop behind your target, in case you miss or the round passes through the animal. Most hunting firearms incidents are the result of not clearly identifying the target or not knowing whats behind it, so if youre not sure, dont fire. Its better to miss a shot than to cause a tragedy. The leading cause of injuries during hunting season, however, isnt firearms. Its the unsafe use of tree stands. This is another injury that is easy to prevent: eight out of ten hunters who are injured in falls from tree stands arent wearing a full-body harness. Just having a harness isnt enough, however you also have to wear it. A DNR survey showed that although two-thirds of hunters who hunted from stands owned a body harness, only a third actually wore them. Make sure the tree you select is sturdy enough to support your weight. Read the manufacturers instructions on your tree stand, and dont make modifications to the equipment. When youre climbing, keep three points of contact between you and the tree at all times (either two hands and a foot or a hand and two feet). Never climb with a weapon use a haul line to bring your unloaded gun up to the stand. Its also a good idea to let others know where youll be hunting, and keep your charged cell phone with you so you can call for help if you are injured. Its also important to keep safety in mind when you process your deer. To keep the meat in good condition, process your deer as soon as possible after you register it. Since this Senate district has seen a case of Chronic Wasting Disease discovered in Adams County last year, its wise to treat any deer you field dress or butcher as a potential source of CWD prions. Fortunately, the muscles that we eat as venison dont contain the prions that cause CWD. Deer taken from CWD surveillance areas can be tested for the disease by bringing the head to a DNR cooperator site. To prevent potentially contaminating the meat, avoid cutting into the brain or spinal cord except to remove the head, and use a special knife for that purpose. You could also choose to have your deer commercially processed; some processors can also have the deer tested for CWD. A list of DNR cooperators and information about CWD testing can be found at dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/registersample.html. There is a wealth of information on deer hunting safety, regulations, and tips for a successful hunt at the DNRs website, dnr.wi.gov. Safe hunting and good luck! The Electoral College is going to make a loser the president, and thats wrong On Dec. 19, the 10 members of the Electoral College from Wisconsin are expected to cast their votes for Donald Trump. But they will do something else. For the first time in the modern history of Wisconsin, the states electors will contribute to the election of a candidate who lost the popular vote for the presidency. Wisconsinites, no matter what their political persuasion, should be frustrated by this turn of events. The Capital Times opposed Trumps candidacy and will oppose his presidency whenever and wherever it threatens the American struggle for economic and social justice and peace. Opponents of our progressive ideals supported his candidacy and will support his presidency. But the issue is not Trump. The issue is a denial of democracy. When Americans voted on Nov. 8, they did not choose Donald Trump. They chose Hillary Clinton. By the weekend after the Nov. 8 election, Clintons lead had grown to almost 600,000 votes, and the Democratic advantage is expected to expand as the longest counts tend to be in West Coast states such as California, where Clinton is leading Trump by almost 2-1. Nate Cohn of The New York Times said Clinton could end up winning by 2 million votes and more than 1.5 percent of the total; others suggest the margin could go higher. Clintons winning margin is already greater than Richard Nixons in 1968. It is greater than John F. Kennedys in 1960. In fact, it is greater than the winning margin in more than 20 of the presidential elections that the United States has held since its founding. Of course, the elections of the distant past had smaller overall turnouts. But Kennedy and Nixon were elected in high-turnout elections in relatively recent times. And theres an even more recent election that offers an even more relevant comparison. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore beat Republican George W. Bush by 543,816 votes. At the time, that was the biggest ever popular-vote victory for someone who lost the presidency. But Hillary Clintons popular-vote victory over Donald Trump will be substantially greater. Trump is preparing to assume the presidency because he is expected to win the most votes in an Electoral College established at the founding of a country that distrusted democracy to such an extent that it did not allow women, people of color and poor people to cast ballots. This is the second time that a Republican loser has become president in less than 20 years. This is not what democracy looks like. Americans who object to Trump have every right to assemble and to speak in protest. They have every right to chant: Trump is not my president. And they have every right to petition for the redress of their grievances. The list of those grievances should include a systemic complaint. Presidential elections should be decided by the popular vote of the American people, not via a convoluted process that assigns the most powerful office in the United States, and arguably the world, to the loser in the balloting. If America aspires to be a democracy, no one should be happy with the fact that a centuries-old political structure established when elites fretted that democracy might threaten the institution of slavery constrains and warps the process by which presidents are chosen. Its time to do away with the Electoral College and put the voters in charge of choosing presidents, as they are in charge of choosing members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, governors, legislators, mayors and school board members. MINDORO This Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, marks the start of The Christmas Farms 25th season for cut-your-own Christmas trees. Owners Brad and Jill Miller expect the tree farm near Mindoro to be a busy place this weekend. The Christmas Farm usually sells more than 600 cut-your-own trees on the weekend after Thanksgiving. And it typically sells more than 1,000 trees over the three consecutive three-day weekends that its open each Christmas season. The tree farm will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from Nov. 25 to Dec. 11. There will be free horse-drawn wagon rides from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 25-27, Dec. 3-4 and Dec. 10-11. The 2016 growing season was an excellent one for Christmas trees, Brad Miller said, adding that customers will have thousands of beautiful trees to choose from. We had generous rains and they were spread across the entire growing season, Miller said. We didnt have a prolonged hot, dry spell. The Millers and manager Greg Britton oversee the business, which has more than 20,000 Christmas trees growing on more than 30 acres. Thats everything from 1-footers to 10-footers, Miller said. Each year, usually in April, the farm plants about 2,000 to 3,000 trees. I figure that about half of what we plant will be harvested, Miller said. The rest will be lost to weather, insects, fungal diseases and the fact that genetically not every tree will grow up to be a beautiful Christmas tree, he said. The tricky part is we have to plant a crop anticipating what the market will be seven or 10 years down the road, when the trees will be ready to harvest, Miller said. When he first began selling Christmas trees in the 1980s, long-needle trees such as Scotch pine and Norway pine were the biggest sellers. But since then, Miller said, short-needle trees have become the most popular varieties. Theyre more aromatic and have good needle retention, he said. And the needles are shorter and easier to deal with if you lose a few. Balsam firs have become The Christmas Farms biggest seller. The farm also has six other varieties for sale this season Fraser fir, Canaan fir, blue spruce, Black Hills spruce, white spruce and one long-needle variety, white pine. The Christmas Farms tree prices this year range from $10 for a white pine under 4 feet tall, up to $70 for Fraser fir and Canaan fir trees that are more than 10 feet tall. The tree farm also sells Christmas wreaths that it makes, along with balsam garland, tree stands, stand trays, tree removal bags and wreath door hangers. When customers arrive, they stop at the sales shed to get a saw, map and price list. Then they drive to an area on the farm that has the variety of tree theyre looking for. Miller grew up in West Salem. His parents, Marvin and Belle Miller, bought land near Mindoro and began growing Christmas trees on some of it. They did some choose-and-cut selling off the farm back in the 1970s, he said. He took over management of the farm around 1980. In 1985 his father passed away, and Brad and Jill became the farms owners. The Millers still live in Madison, where Brad was an architect for 40 years, mostly designing single-family homes, until he retired in 2006. But Brad, now 75, and his wife still own and are actively involved in The Christmas Farm. The Millers wholesaled Christmas trees to retailers from 1985 until about 2005, he said. They also sold some of their trees at their own retail Christmas tree lots in Madison one or two lots per year from 1991 to 1997. But Miller said he learned it was difficult to find a good location for their own tree lot, and he wasnt making much on the lots in Madison. He began offering cut-your-own trees at The Christmas Farm in 1992. I could see the future in the cut-your-own operation, he recalled. It was potentially more profitable and a lot less work. The tree farm has essentially been solely a cut-your-own operation since 2005, although Miller said he also offered pre-cut trees at the farm a couple years. Our customers dont seem to be interested in buying a pre-cut tree, Miller said. For the most part, theyre there for the experience of finding and cutting their own. We do offer assistance to people (such as elderly persons) who might find it difficult to cut their own. Most of the tree farms customers are from the greater La Crosse area, Miller said. Some come from places like Rochester (Minnesota) and central Wisconsin, but most live within 40 to 50 miles. The Millers farm has slightly more than 300 acres. Apart from more than 30 acres of Christmas trees, the Millers have stands of other kinds of trees that are managed for harvest for such uses as pulp wood, lumber products and utility poles. If he didn't do it, who would? That's why Dennis Loeffler no longer is a retired dentist. He quietly has worked in his retirement years fixing Lisa Tourville is unabashedly open about her affection for Dr. Mouhammed Kabbani, and her husband, Jeff, cuts her some slack when she professes her love for the La Crosse neurosurgeon. After all, Kabbani has worked wonders twice after Lisa suffered strokes, with much of the credit going to the fact that he was able to perform surgery quickly in both cases. Its huge, huge, huge, the 54-year-old Trempealeau woman said during a phone interview Monday. I love that man. Jeff acknowledged the love triangle, although he said, I tell her she can. The first stroke occurred five years ago, when Lisa was taken from the couples home in Trempealeau to Gundersen Health System in La Crosse via helicopter after a heart attack. After a pacemaker was implanted to correct her irregular heartbeat, a blood clot zapped the left side of her brain with a stroke. Fortunately, she still was at Gundersen, allowing Kabbani to respond quickly a key factor in treating strokes and complete a three-hour surgery to open the blocked vessels. The second a stroke on her right side took place Sept. 1, when she was at work at the Newport Group in La Crosse, about a half-mile from Gundersen. Co-workers who knew Lisas history recognized stroke signs and were able to call 911 to meet the urgent need for rapid treatment to prevent brain damage. They recognized something was wrong, Jeff said. They were on the ball and got her to the hospital. This time, Kabbani was able to open the vessels in a mere three minutes, a collapsing of time he attributes in part to an improvement in tools during the past five years. She really beat the odds, Kabbani said. Lisa is particularly grateful after the more recent episode, saying, Thank God for Dr. Kabbani. I had my grandbaby a week later. I was so afraid I would miss that baby Blake. Lisa Tourville could be the poster child for the medical dictum that the faster stroke victims receive treatment, the better their chances of reducing brain damage and recovering successfully. Husband Jeff emphasizes the point, noting that she experienced a delay in being able to communicate after the first stroke. Despite some initial arm and leg paralysis going in for the second time, Immediately after the opening, she was sitting up and hugging Dr. Kabbani, he said. Research, education to convey urgency The urgency message is being circulated more widely these days, courtesy of the efforts of Kabbani, clinical researcher Angela Smith and stroke coordinator Bethany Girtler. Area schools were invited to participate in a survey and study of strokes, but just the La Crosse, West Salem and La Crescent school districts chose to participate, Smith said. Smith went into elementary schools to conduct research and to teach students the basic facts about strokes and their treatment, finding even kindergartners surprisingly inquisitive, attentive and able to absorb the information, she said. Students are aware of events such as Jump Rope for the Heart, heart health topics and other education programs involving the old tickers but lacking in knowledge about strokes. Smith said she found during the survey process that many students have the common misconception that heart attacks and strokes are simply variations of heart ailments. The fact is that heart attacks are clots or other blockages in the heart muscle that kill the heart for lack of oxygen, while strokes are brain attacks resulting from clotting or bleeding. Both require treatment as quickly as possible to curtail permanent damage. We surveyed all elementary schools and found it a teachable time. There was a lot of really? said Smith, who added that students are given posters to hang at home to teach other family members and relatives. The brain is more sensitive, and there are 850,000 strokes a year, Kabbani said. Strokes are the fourth-most-common killer and No. 1 in disabling. The idea is, once you teach children, they will go home and teach their parents, and the education will spread, the neurosurgeon said. Although strokes typically hit older people, educating youths is important so they can recognize whether a grandparent, parent, babysitter or other caregiver is experiencing one, he said. Smith, who was able to teach middle and high school students with an online link, said the educational element includes an acronym to help people recognize signs of strokes and summon help. BEFAST acronym highlights symptoms The acronym, BEFAST, stands for balance, eyes, face, arms, speech and time. An onlooker, or even a victim, who notices problems with balance, focus, facial twitches, arm movement or speech should suspect a stroke, with the time element conveying the urgency of calling 911 to get an ambulance, she said. BEFAST is an expansion of the FAST acronym. We adopted BEFAST to cover more symptoms and try to educate the public, Kabbani said. Every minute counts, and the standard of care for the average ischemic stroke is to administer TPA (a clot-busting drug) in 3 to 4 hours, he said. The sooner, the less brain damage. The window for removing a clot surgically is six hours, he said, adding, You cant reverse a stroke, but you can limit the damage. Calling 911 to report a suspected stroke case is better than driving to a hospital, even if it is nearby, because paramedics can begin treatment and emergency personnel at the hospital can prepare, Kabbani said. On the other hand, if patients just walk into the hospital or relatives or friends take them, ER personnel have to triage the situation, Girtler said. We have treatments and protocols, she said. If they are outside of the window, we cant treat as aggressively. We still can ... but not as aggressively. The number of stroke patients increases every year, but the tally of those who arrive within the ideal treatment window has remained static, she said. Striving to get more to hospital sooner The goal of continuing education is to get more patients to the hospital sooner, she said. Part of Girtlers responsibility in connection with the research/education project is to go to businesses for teaching sessions, perhaps through lunch-and-learn sessions or other methods businesses might request, she said. While the common advice for someone having a heart attack is to take baby aspirin, that is one of the worst actions involving a stroke victim, Kabbani said, partly because a stroke can interfere with swallowing. About 80 percent of strokes result from clots in brain blood vessels, while 10 to 15 percent occur because of burst and bleeding vessels, he said. Aspirins blood-thinning effect worsens the bleed, he said. As Lisa Tourville continues to recover from her recent stroke, she and her husband remain thankful that she was able to receive treatment quickly, thwarting damage and speeding the return to normalcy. We were very lucky Dr. Kabbani was there, Jeff said, adding that he is grateful that she was not home alone and that her co-workers recognized the signs and the urgency. If shed have been home alone, she might have been there six to eight hours, he said. I know a couple of people who were alone for a long time and suffered a deficit, and their arm and leg never came back. The religious right thoroughly declared itself morally and ethically bankrupt with its support for Donald Trump. Trump vulgarly bragged about pressuring women for sex. He showed no compassion for the less fortunate. He lied about his charitable contributions, his support for the Iraq war and about President Obamas birth in the United States. He ripped students off with his phony university. He tacitly admitted to unethical income tax practices by refusing to release his income tax returns. He stiffed subcontractors when his businesses filed for bankruptcy. When U.S. banks would no longer lend him money, he snuggled with Russians and praised their dictatorial leader. Organized religion should have chastised him, but what did it do? Jerry Falwell Jr. said that Trump had lived his life in the spirit of Jesus. Thats just plain laughable. Ralph Reed, formerly of the Christian Coalition, dismissed Trumps vulgar comments as irrelevant because they were not made yesterday. Pat Robertson excused Trump, saying he was just trying to look macho. About 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for Trump. These are the same people who declared a national crisis when President Bill Clinton was seduced by an intern. Now they knowingly supported a man whose behavior was allegedly far worse. Could they possibly be more hypocritical? Morals and ethics have little to do with the religious rights political choices. During the 2016 presidential election they proved to the nation that they are nothing more than political gas bags who use religion to manipulate the public. The 2016 presidential election marks the fifth time in United States history that the Electoral College contradicted the results of the popular vote. As I write this, Clinton leads Trump by a staggering 1.6 million ballots. How does a system that has been created to ensure equal representation so blatantly discount a majority of the population and essentially ignore the commonwealth? Does majority rule play a role in our elections, or are we at the mercy of a select few to make decisions on our behalf? The United States closely resembles a constitutional republic and not a democracy. We vote for people to represent us in various branches of government. The Electoral College is no exception. When we go to our designated polling place, we are not casting a vote for president but rather for the electors each party has designated to represent them. Each state is allotted a number of electoral votes based on the population of that state, and the sum of every state plus the District of Columbia total 538 votes. The first candidate to reach 270 votes wins. In theory, this process ensures equal representation of the states so that higher populated areas are not speaking for individuals in more rural parts. In Wisconsin, we have 10 electors to represent each party. These individuals are selected by higher ranking representatives of each faction based on nothing more than the fact that they have displayed loyalty. These electors assemble on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December to submit their votes for president based on the overall opinion of their state. A complex but fair system in electing the leader of the free world, right? Not exactly. The argument for sustaining this outmoded institution is that it provides equal representation for smaller communities. This stale argument should have lost cogency years ago, considering the effective manner in which we hold senator and gubernatorial elections: statewide popular vote. Votes cast by both rural and urban voters convey the same power, and ultimately majority rule prevails. The only way to ensure fair representation is for all votes to carry the same weight regardless of geography. The 23rd Amendment affirms that each state is entitled to receive a minimum of three electoral votes, regardless of population. Since the total number of electoral votes must remain at 538, larger states lose representation, as their votes are given to smaller states. Because of the uneven distribution of votes by population, voters in higher populated states are grossly underrepresented. In Wyoming a less densely populated area one elector represents roughly 194,000 voters. This varies greatly from the approximately 715,000 voters represented by an electoral vote in California. A resident in Wyoming has roughly triple the voting power of a Californian. The equal representation argument, while fun in theory, is a mathematical fallacy. Since the election, there have been demands to dismantle the Electoral College. The idea that the system in its entirety will be overturned is almost unrealistic. However, in the conservative tradition of returning power to the states, there is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The voter compact would ensure that the winner of the popular vote wins the presidency. States participating in the compact award the winner of the popular vote their electoral votes. To date, the District of Columbia and 10 states Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois, Hawaii, Washington, Massachusetts, Vermont, California, Rhode Island, and New York have implemented this legislation, accounting for 165 electoral votes. Two states Pennsylvania and Michigan have legislation pending. The compact will only truly be effective when 270 electoral votes have been added to the agreement. If Pennsylvania and Michigan both pass legislation, only a handful of states totaling 69 electors would be needed to put the system back in the hands of the people. President-elect Donald Trump has described the Electoral College as being a disaster for democracy and has, in post-election interviews, maintained his disdain for the institution despite his Electoral College victory. This unpredictable system not only has the potential for chicanery, it actively encourages it. Use of the Electoral College holds no value in modern elections. It is a hindrance of popular opinion. True democracy is certainly not without its flaws, but it is unequivocally less defective than that of our present method. Huge numbers of Americans are dismayed and greatly concerned about the deteriorating condition of our country. They believe we are in financial and moral free fall and they fear for the future. These folks, who I believe are a majority, see our national debt approaching $20 trillion and cant understand how that can happen to the richest country in the world. They believe that a lot of this debt has been incurred because of welfare dollars going to many who they feel and often know are unworthy. They support help for the truly needy but reject their hard-earned tax dollars going to the greedy. A great deal of dissatisfaction comes from our involvement in seemingly endless wars and armed conflicts. Thousands of our great, young, strong men are killed and maimed and we dont win anymore. When we do get the upper hand, we negotiate ourselves into defeat and telegraph our plans for withdrawal so our enemy can fill the vacuum. When Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court in 1973, legalizing abortion, most thought it would be used only rarely and only with reason. The facts are that almost 60 million innocent babies have been murdered in the womb, and that number grows by thousands each day. Elective abortion has helped put us into a state of moral decay that threatens the future of our great nation. The Democratic Party nominees for president and vice president this year and other liberals want to use taxpayers dollars to pay for abortions, which would do nothing but increase the numbers even more. Police officers are being killed on a regular basis while doing their prescribed duties, and black men are killed, sometimes under suspicious circumstances. Many of our major cities are rife with gun violence and crime, and when stop-and-frisk is suggested, liberals go ballistic. Disaffected citizens see graft and corruption in the highest levels of our government and are greatly concerned. Money designated for relief in Haiti wound up in the pockets of friends of the Clinton Foundation. Foreign officials were granted access to the secretary of state after making large donations to the foundation. Radical Islamic terrorists are perpetrating violence and death all over the world and our president refuses to call them what they are. Many liberals want open borders, which would result in more terrorists coming into our country. The use of illegal drugs is an epidemic, and many of these drugs come across our border with Mexico. When a wall is suggested, liberals again go ballistic, with claims to be concerned. Poverty and unemployment are prevalent in inner cities, and the only solution liberals can come up with is more welfare. When quality school choice is suggested, liberals go, well, you know. We have a media which are largely, decidedly liberal. Many are little more than mouthpieces for the Democratic Party. How can voters get unbiased, factual information from clearly liberal-biased sources? The ability to practice religion as many wish is portrayed as being prejudiced. If this bedrock of our country is further compromised, we risk more polarization and strife. The failure of Obamacare, the phony War on Women, immigration reform and scandals surrounding Planned Parenthood are among other issues of great concern to many. This essay does not cover all the issues of concern but is a reminder of the concerns that many in our country share. The future of our society is in great danger and the greatest country in the world is in serious decline. Liberals believe that the only solution is to spend more borrowed money, hold your nose, close your eyes and hope for the best. The voters of our great country believe that Donald Trump shares their concerns and are relying on him to help solve them. Conservatives believe that we have been on an inexorable lurch toward becoming an oligarchy and they have rejected the philosophy that government knows best. They seriously want to make America great again. What President-elect Trump needs right now is the support and prayers of all Americans and a halt to the anarchical rioting, looting and denial by supporters of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein's campaign has notified the Wisconsin Elections Commission that it intends to request a recount of the states presidential vote. The notification follows days of speculation about potential manipulation of election results after Republican Donald Trump pulled off surprise wins over Democrat Hillary Clinton in several key states including Wisconsin. Michael Haas of the Wisconsin Elections Commission told the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism Wednesday that the Stein campaign plans to ask for a recount, although an official petition had not yet been submitted. Deadline to submit the petition is 5 p.m. Friday, Haas said. According to Steins website, the campaign hopes to raise $2.5 million for recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania where President-elect Trump won upset victories over Clinton, who continues to lead in the popular vote that is still being counted. Stein's campaign would have to pay the actual cost of the recount upfront since the margin is greater than .25 percent, said Reid Magney, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The recount itself would be done by the state. Dr. Michael White of La Crosse, the Green Partys state co-chairman, told the Center for Investigative Journalism that the goal of the recount would be to verify not only the winner of Wisconsins presidential contest but also the true number of votes case for Stein and her running mate, Ajamu Baraka. White said the Stein campaign decided to act because it appeared that Clintons campaign was not planning to ask for recounts. The effort also will help establish the Green Party as a third civil voice at the political table, he said. Here is a breakdown of the recount issue and how it could unfold in Wisconsin. Who started asking for a recount? Computer scientists, election lawyers, academics and activists are urging the Hillary Clinton campaign to call for a recount of the 2016 election results in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The margin of victory in each of the three states is narrow: Wisconsin shows Trump winning by 0.7 percent, Pennsylvania by 1.2 percent and Michigan by 0.3 percent. In all three states, Clinton led in the polls leading up to election day. One group held a conference call on Nov. 17 with members of the Clinton campaign to make their case. John Bonifaz, a prominent Boston-based voting rights attorney, and J. Alex Halderman, the director of the University of Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society, are part of the group. Another loose coalition that includes Barbara Simons, an adviser to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and an expert on electronic voting, is preparing a report listing its concerns. Other scholars have signed an open letter saying they are deeply troubled by reports of hacking by foreign powers apparently intent on influencing our November 2016 elections. What is behind these requests? Those looking at signs of voting irregularities believe its possible vote tabulating systems in these swing states were hacked. This is based on the circumstantial evidence of voting patterns, rather than any actual evidence of manipulation. What happened in Wisconsin? Clinton lost Wisconsin by 27,000 votes. The group showed that in counties that used electronic voting machines, rather than optical scanners and paper ballots, Clinton received 7 percent fewer votes. They believe this may have cost her 30,000 votes. In Wisconsin, the latest Marquette University Law School poll leading up to the election showed Clinton leading Trump by six percentage points. Magney said in an email to the Center for Investigative Journalism that any issues the Elections Commission has come across has been fixed. "We are unaware of any attempts to hack Wisconsin's voting equipment or the vote-tabulating process. Most all of the stuff were seeing on Twitter and other sites questioning the results is based on unofficial results which contain some errors that have been corrected by the county boards of canvass. For example, there were some issues with Election Night results from some towns in Outagamie County because poll workers added up the numbers incorrectly. Those have been fixed. Likewise, there was an issue in the city of Baraboo in Sauk County with one reporting unit being counted twice on Election Night, which made it seem like there were more votes than voters. Again, it was caught and corrected during the canvass process." He disputed the idea that disparities in exit polling versus actual results could mean that some votes were not counted. "These sorts of analysis that depend on comparing exit polls to unofficial or official election results are fraught with problems. People lie to exit pollsters. Their characterization of which counties use electronic voting equipment versus paper ballots is incorrect or incomplete," he said. Could a recount actually change the results of the election? It could, but it would be difficult. Wisconsin and Pennsylvania would both have to be overturned, and Clinton would have to claim victory in Michigan, which is still too close to call. This would change the current tally of Trumps 290 electoral votes to Clintons 232 to a Clinton victory at 278 electoral votes over Trumps 260. A candidate needs 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the presidency. Barry Burden, professor of political science at UW-Madison, said its unlikely a recount would overturn the election. He noted that the margin of victory in Wisconsin is almost 1 percentage point, which is beyond the range that a recount can typically affect. I dont think the recount is going to be viable, Burden said. I think if the Clinton campaign took a careful look at the data they would not call for a recount. How much time do campaigns have to call for a recount? Not much. The deadline to file for a recount is coming up soon for all three states. Wisconsins is Friday, Pennsylvanias is Monday and Michigans is Wednesday. Who is being blamed for the hacking? Foreign hackers have been referenced, as have the Russians, who previously hacked into voter registration databases. Are Wisconsin election officials concerned? Haas, of Wisconsin Elections Commission, said he has faith in the election results. Haas said the voting equipment, unlike the voting registration databases that were hacked earlier this year in Illinois and Arizona, is not connected to the internet. As far as the possibility of voting equipment or the results being tampered with, we always point out for that to happen, someone would need to have physical access not only to the voting equipment, but the locked storage unit in the voting equipment itself, Has said. It would not be an easy task for someone to try to tamper with election results. Burden noted that manipulating results in Wisconsin would require physically accessing hundreds of machines across the state and altering the results in a slight enough way that manipulation wouldnt be detected. Youd need a lot of activity spread out really unobtrusively, Burden said. That just seems very unlikely to me. Haas added that the equipment is tested and certified at the state level, and every voting machine in Wisconsin creates a paper audit trail. Haas explained that Wisconsin is currently going through its routine November election audit to ensure voting results are accurate. About 100 municipalities throughout the state are chosen randomly to recount their results and ensure the equipment is working properly. The audit will be done by Dec. 15, with results reported at an Elections Commission meeting early next year. What about Dane County? Scott McDonell, Dane County Clerk, was not surprised by the election results here. The results have done what youd expect them to do based on historical data, McDonell said. "I dont see anything here that would raise an alarm in Dane County. McDonell also called that the machines, which are not connected to the internet, extremely accurate. What tends to be inaccurate when people are counting, adding numbers together, the human error, McDonell said. Dane County will perform its audit next Tuesday, he said. I would encourage anybody who is worried about this you can come and watch the audit on Tuesday here at the City County Building and see for yourself. Its the same machines that all the big counties in Wisconsin are using, McDonell said. Burden was similarly confident in Wisconsin's election process. I would just reassure the public that the system that Wisconsin uses is really, not fool-proof, but high quality and one that we ought to have confidence in, Burden said. Dee J. Hall, of the Wisconsin Center for Journalism, contributed to this report. If you are female, single, never been married and between the ages of 13 and 18, applications are being accepted for the title of 2017 Miss Teen Houston County. Miss Teen Houston County will represent her county at the Miss Teen Minnesota pageant, which will be held at the Wellstone Center on April 29, 2017, in St. Paul. The young lady chosen as Miss Teen Houston County will become an ambassador from the Houston County area and will receive an official title and sash. The young lady chosen as Miss Teen Minnesota will receive a prize package and college scholarship totaling $30,000 and the chance to represent Minnesota at the 2017 Miss Teen International pageant in Charleston, W. Va, in July. The American Heart Associations Go for Red for Women is the official charity of the Miss Teen Minnesota Pageant. The reigning 2016 Miss Teen Minnesota is Kelly Brown of Inver Grove Heights. As Miss Teen Minnesota, Brown speaks out on See the PersonNot the Disability. Kellys two brothers were born with intellectual disabilities as a result of a blood disorder called thalassemia. One brother is higher functioning, but the other brother has difficulty communicating. Brown says it is hurtful and frustrating when she sees others only focus on their disabilities, which is what they have, but not who they are. By partnering with The Arc organization, it is her goal to protect of those with disabilities and support their inclusion and participation in the community. For more information, go to www.thearc.org. Teens will compete in personal interview, fitness wear, fun fashion wear and evening gown. There is no talent or swimsuit competition. Young teen ladies living in Houston County interested in applying should write for bio-form to: Miss Teen Minnesota International Pageant, P.O. Box 240537, Apple Valley, MN, 55124-0537. Broadway comes to Tomah next week. Tomah Middle School will perform The Lion King Jr., a condensed version of the Broadway musical based on the Disney movie of the same name for the schools annual musical production. Director Lisa McCormick said it has been a fun production to put on and that its a good story. Its the first time Ive ever taken on a Disney show. I was a little nervous about that because everybody knows the movie and knows the show, McCormick said. But the kids have really taken it on theyre familiar with it. So I think it was a little easier for them to get into character and enjoy what theyre doing. The musical, McCormick said, is just like the movie it follows Simba and his journey back home after his fathers death. Its filled with all the familiar characters Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu, Rafiki and Scar. The only difference between the TMS musical and the Broadway production is the scale and length, McCormick said. Its a 60-minute show, and all the songs are just ... shorter, we only sing a smaller section of the songs versus the full song that would be in the full Broadway musical, she said. There are some songs that are quite elaborate in the Broadway musical, and ours is just a scaled-back version of that. Lars Huber, who plays Simba, said his favorite part of the play is the costumes. A lot of effort (was put) into these ... they fit right in with the play, he said. All of the masks and costumes were donated by West Salem High School, McCormick said. They did the show last year, she said. Theyre so generous to donate all this to us to put our show on this year. For Madeline Adler, who plays Nala, the music is her favorite part. Its really interesting, she said. Its different from any other music because its African so it has cool beats and drums. Kendra Lene plays Zazu, whom she describes as a sassy bird. She enjoys how everything comes together. I like how its related to the Broadway musical, she said. She said the production is all kind of combined together (with the movie). Its very fun. Lene hopes the audience leaves with a better understanding of how the past can shape their lives. I hope that after watching this theyll understand that sometimes you have to face the past to become a better person, she said. You can always go back and say sorry. McCormick said the play has two purposes to entertain and bring awareness to the clean water problems in Africa. The play is part of the middle schools African water project, which seeks to raise awareness of the water situation in other countries here and to raise money to purchase a well in Uganda. The musical is a big part of the water project, (so is) the art department, McCormick said. (Theyre) going to have an art show before each of our performances, and well have that on display as well. So its very exciting. So far the middle school has raised over $10,000, McCormick said. We participated in the Wine Into Water event and Partnership Bank and Timberwood Bank both donated $5,000 so right there we got a well, which is just amazing, she said. Then ... our students (made) pottery and we raised over $2,000 for that, (and) a general auction and raised another $2,000. Dear reader, we're asking for your help to keep local reporting available for all today during our fall fundraiser. Your financial support keeps stories like this one free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. Start your day with LAist Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings. Subscribe By Jonah Rosenbaum In the wake of President-elect Trump's stunning electoral win, a rash of hate crimes have swept the nation, and Los Angeles has not been exempt from the emboldened wave of bigotry. Sure, we've seen some important questions upgraded from the backpages of The Onion to a CNN graphic near you (spoiler alert: yes, Jews are people!), but there have also been several tangible instances of hate crimes. A particularly disturbing incident involved a Muslim-American high school student in the San Fernando Valley who was told to that she was a "terrorist" and had her headscarf yanked off. The assault continued with the assailant informing her that "you shouldn't be wearing that, you towelhead. You're not American. This isn't what America stands for." This attack was one of several that prompted the Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis to submit a hate crime motion to the County Board of Supervisors, which was approved Tuesday. Solis's motion, which passed unanimously, will require various county departments to implement a list of recommendations to ensure the safety of its people amidst recent reported hate crimes. More specifically, the motion calls upon the Sheriffs department and other county law enforcement agencies to implement certain best practices identified by a countywide hate crime task force, and the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations (LACCHR) 2015 Hate Crime Report. Recommendations, according to a statement from Solis's office, "include acting swiftly to proactively contact communities likely to be targeted to reassure them of support, providing information on protection, and opening lines of communication to encourage reporting of hate crimes and incidents." According to the supervisor's office, acts of hate, harassment, and bullying have been reported throughout the county since the election. Per the text of the motion: Another incident involved an African American man who found a note slipped under his door telling him to go back to the plantation, and a physical education teacher at a South Los Angeles middle school who told his Latino students that their parents would be deported, leaving them to be placed in foster care. Other despicable acts have been aimed at female, religious affiliation, and LGBTQ community members. Hate crimes were already on the rise across L.A. County, as 2015 saw 483 such attacks which translated to a 24% increase, the largest since 2011. As President-elect Trump continues to fill his cabinet with what is fast becoming a Mount Rushmore of hatred, 2016 is looking like a safe bet to get a whole lot worse. Back in September when the county's 2015 Hate Crime Report was published, we asked Marshall Wongone of the report's principal authors and a Senior Intergroup Relations Specialist with the County Commission on Human Relationsif he thought the surge in hate was related to the rise of a certain candidate. Marshall told LAist at the time that there was no direct way of measuring the correlation, "but," he said, "it is possible. "And it would be commonsensical that the more people hear divisive rhetoric in the news on a daily basis, the more socially acceptable it becomes. People who share those kind of sentiments might feel emboldened, and like their intolerance is legitimized, because they hear people in the highest circles of power agreeing with them," he continued. "It seems that standing up for our people's constitutional rights is going to fall on the hands of state and local governments," Solis said in a statement. "Many families in our county are fearful and we have to assure them that we are here to protect their rights." Dear reader, we're asking for your help to keep local reporting available for all today during our fall fundraiser. Your financial support keeps stories like this one free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. Start your day with LAist Sign up for How To LA, delivered weekday mornings. Subscribe In the days following the election, thousands took to the streets of downtown to protest the election of Donald Trump. There were, certainly, a number of takeaways to be absorbed from the demonstrations. For the Los Angeles Police Protective League, however, the focus was on police staffing, or, in their opinion, a lack thereof. The LAPPL, a union of police officers, said in a recent statement that the protests showed that the LAPD is dangerously understaffed. "LAPD officers were completely overwhelmed by the number of protesters," wrote Craig Lally, president of the LAPPL. The statement noted that, on November 9, only three LAPD motorcycle units were dispatched to prevent "hundreds" of protestors from going onto the 101 freeway. One officer later told the LAPPL that a request for backup was not fulfilled until 30 minutes after the call. Then, on November 10, a plainclothes LAPD officer was "viciously beaten" while trying to arrest a suspect who was allegedly vandalizing the Police Administration Building. Lally said that only 3 plainclothes officers were assigned to guard the building that night. These statements were put in a letter that was sent on November 14 to L.A. City Controller Ron Galperin. The League is requesting that Galperin conduct an audit on the LAPD to ascertain the department's staffing situation. "Where are all the officers working? What are they assigned to? What is the true staffing level at any given point? This is not something that has been presented as a clear picture," Dustin DeRollo, a spokesperson with the LAPPL, told LAist. He says that, before the anti-Trump protests, the union was already hearing anecdotal evidence from officers who say that calls for assistance were not met in a timely fashion. The LAPPL also believes that, in the past years, police divisions have had trouble meeting their quota of "basic A cars," or patrol vehicles with two officers. As DeRollo explained to LAist, each police division, at any time, has a set number of basic A cars that are each assigned to a certain region of a neighborhood. The Hollywood Community Police Station, for instance, should have eight cars on patrol at all times. The LAPPL believes that the divisions have not been meeting those criteria. "I'm hearing from my cohorts that staffing [basic cars] just for routine patrol is problematic," retired LAPD Sergeant Cheryl Dorsey told LA Weekly. DeRollo also notes that the response time has increased for "priority two" calls, which aren't top priority calls but may still involve a dangerous element such a prowler who is caught peeping through a household's window. He says that the average response time, city-wide, is about 20 minutes for these cases, which is more than a two-minute increase over the past five years. The LAPPL says this may be the result of an understaffed police department. It's the anti-Trump protests, however, that has recently driven home the point for the LAPPL. According to the letter sent to Galperin, "the public and frontline deserve to know if LAPD is truly prepared to handle major events, whether it be a large-scale protest, a terrorist attack or even hosting the Olympics." The scope of the protests "created a demonstrable need for a larger police presence," said DeRollo. How many officers should a city have? That's a hard question to answer, as different variables come into play. They include the size of the city's population, and as well as the fact that, in L.A., there's more terrain to cover when you're going from one spot to the other. The magic number for L.A., it seems, has been 10,000 officers. As noted by LA Weekly, this was the number that former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had promised during his term. The figure was echoed in an announcement of the City's budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. According to city documents, one of the key goals in this years budget is to strengthen "our public safety workforce by hiring 525 police officers to reach our goal of 10,000." The city said that it is putting $14.8 million towards accomplishing this goal. L.A. has, apparently, been meeting those goals or, at least, has been close to meeting them. The LAPD says that, as of November, there are 9,885 sworn officers in its department. And the website Governing said in a review of 2012 statistics that L.A. has about 24.9 officers per 10,000 residents. This puts them above-average when it comes to staffing. By contrast, San Diego has 13.5 officers per 10,000, and Las Vegas has 20.9. DeRollo says that numbers can be misleading, however. Speaking on the LAPD's estimate of 9,885 sworn officers, DeRollo said that it may include officers who are off-duty because they're injured, or officers who are performing desk duties rather than going out on the field (the LAPPL, it should be noted, represents rank-and-file officers). And while the LAPD may be adding 525 officers this year, that doesn't take into account that 425 officers are retiring or leaving for other reasons, said DeRollo. "We should at least know, in general, what the resources we have, and where they're being allocated. We should also know where we're short," said DeRollo. "Nobody really has that information." We reached out to Mayor Eric Garcetti, Galperin's office and the LAPD but no one was immediately available to comment on the matter. The U.S. Thanksgiving holiday is symbolized by its traditional food, a large bird we call a turkey. But turkey is certainly not from Turkey. In fact, its English name is based on one big mistake. We could say it is a case of mistaken identity. Lets set the record straight. The word Turkey has meant the land of the Turks since ancient times. The word turkey as it refers to the bird first appeared in the English language in the mid-1500s. The misunderstanding over the word happened because of two similar-looking kinds of birds. There is an African bird called the guinea fowl. It has dark feathers with white spots and a patch of brown on the back of its neck. Portuguese traders brought the guinea fowl to Europe through North Africa. This foreign bird came to Europe through Turkish lands. So, the English thought of the bird as a Turkish chicken. When Europeans came to North America, they saw a bird that looked like the guinea fowl. This bird was native to the North American continent. Orin Hargraves is a lexicographer, someone who writes dictionaries. Hargraves explains what happened. Some Europeans saw an American turkey, thought that it was the guinea fowl, which at that time was called the turkey cock, and so gave it the same name." Hundreds of years later, we continue to call this North American bird turkey, even though it has no connection at all with the country Turkey, or even with Europe. But English is not the only language with interesting -- and even questionable -- names for this North American bird. The Turkish, for their part, call turkey hindi, the Turkish name for India. The reference to India probably comes from the old, wrong idea that the New World was in Eastern Asia. The French call it dinde, a name that also connects the bird to India. DInde means from India in the French language. Turkey has similar names in several other languages. So, what do they call this North American bird in India? Well, in the Hindi language, turkey is tarki. But wait, theres more. In Portuguese, the same bird is called Peru, after the South American nation. Thanks to our VOA Learning English Facebook friends, we have a few more names for turkey to share with you. The Vietnamese word for the bird is ga tay or western chicken. Our Facebook friend Nguyen Duc explains that local chicken is smaller than western chicken. A Facebook friend in Myanmar explained that the Burmese word for turkey is kyat sin. The name translates to elephant chicken in English. That animal looks like a big chicken, Zaw Myo Win explained. The Dari language name for the bird, "fel murgh" also translates to elephant chicken. Abdulla Kawer explained to us that here in Afghanistan this name represents the size of this delicious meal. He adds that he thinks the descriptive name elephant chicken is better than a country name. Im Ashley Thompson. Ashley Thompson wrote this report, based on an earlier Learning English report by Anna Matteo. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. How do you say 'turkey' in your language? Let us know in the comments section! ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story symbolize - v. to represent or express a particular idea or quality translate - v. to change words from one language into another language Japanese troops arrived in South Sudan this week to join a United Nations peacekeeping force. The troops are replacing a group of Japanese peacekeepers who served in the U.N. Mission in South Sudan. The main job for the 350 Japanese soldiers will be to help build roads or other infrastructure in the country. They are also under orders to use force if needed. The earlier Japanese peacekeepers were not permitted to use force. Last year, Japans government approved legislation to expand the duties of its military members deployed overseas. Under the measure, Japanese troops can use force to protect themselves and other civilians. They are permitted to act on calls for help from people working for U.N. agencies or aid groups. There are also plans to let the Japanese troops guard U.N. bases. Some bases have been attacked in South Sudans civil war. Military officials say all the Japanese troops will be in the country by the middle of December. It is the first time that Japanese peacekeeping forces will be permitted to use force while on duty since World War II. The violence in South Sudan started in December 2013. The clashes are between forces supporting President Salva Kiir and those loyal to former vice president Riek Machar. The two sides reached a peace deal in 2015. But fighting restarted in July when forces loyal to Machar launched an attack on the presidential palace in Juba, the capital. The fighting is largely happening along ethnic lines. Tens of thousands of people have been killed. The war has damaged South Sudans economy and created a humanitarian crisis. More than 2 million people have been displaced, and nearly 5 million are believed to be lacking necessary food. There are more than 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers in South Sudan. The U.N. mission there has faced criticism for failing to protect civilians. In July, two Chinese peacekeepers died and five others were wounded after their vehicle was attacked in Juba. Critics of Japans deployment say the move violates the country's anti-war constitution. Some fear the new powers permitting troops to use force could bring Japans military into overseas conflicts. But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has argued that the broader mandate gives Japan the ability to respond to growing regional threats. Abe spoke about the new duties of Japanese troops during an appearance with a parliamentary committee earlier this year. South Sudan cannot assure its peace and stability on its own and for that very reason, a U.N. peacekeeping operation is being conducted, he said. Abe added that the Japanese forces will be carrying out activities that only it can do in a tough environment. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn adapted this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on information from VOANews.com, the Associated Press and Reuters. George Grow was the editor. What do you think about Japan's decision to give its peacekeeping troops the ability to use force while on duty in South Sudan? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story mandate n. official order to do something infrastructure n. structures such as roads, ports and energy plants needed for society to operate regional adj. relating to a particular area of the world tough adj. difficult, not easily done President-elect Donald Trump is being urged not to withdraw the United States from the international nuclear agreement with Iran. Members of Trumps Republican Party and other opponents are saying it is better to keep the existing agreement and try to improve it. Trump strongly criticized the nuclear agreement during his presidential campaign. He called it a disaster and the worst deal ever negotiated. During a speech to a pro-Israel group in March, Trump said as president, he would seek to end the disastrous deal with Iran. However, Iran and U.S. allies in Europe have urged the new administration to honor the agreement. The deal was signed by Iran and six world powers in July 2015. It eased economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on Tehrans nuclear program. Iran has rejected calls to renegotiate the agreement. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged Trump last week to honor the deal, saying it was not an agreement "for one side to be able to scrap. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry took a lead role in negotiating the agreement and called it the good deal we had sought. But many Republicans in the U.S. Congress have been highly critical of it. The deal was created as a political commitment rather than a treaty. The United Nations Security Council resolution that approved it does not require its members to accept it. Legal experts say this means the new administration could simply take no action if it chooses to do so. Edward Swaine is a law professor at George Washington University and a former legal adviser to the U.S. State Department. He said the U.S. would not face any direct international legal consequences if it decided to pull out of the agreement. However, some opponents in Congress have changed earlier opinions that the agreement should be canceled. They are now calling for tighter sanctions on Iran and for the agreement to be strictly enforced. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said this week he does not think tearing up the agreement is the right thing to do. He told reporters Monday he thinks Washington should work with its allies to enforce the existing agreement without negotiating a new deal. To me the best route for the new president to handle this is to push back on the violations that are taking place today, Corker was quoted by the Times Free Press newspaper as saying. Corker said the nuclear deal made it possible for Iran to get back billions of dollars of money seized by the U.S. He added that over time, the agreement means Iran could end up in a much stronger position than they were in the beginning. The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a conservative research organization in Washington D.C., agrees. The group was an early supporter of a "stop the Iran nuclear deal" campaign and urged members of Congress to block the deal. However, the group now opposes canceling it. Orde Kittrie is a senior fellow at the foundation. He says if the U.S. withdrew from the deal, Iran would feel free to ignore the restrictions on its nuclear program. He said it would also be very hard to bring back sanctions if the agreement is renegotiated. Im Bryan Lynn. Masood Farivar reported this story for VOANews.com. Bryan Lynn adapted it for Learning English, with additional material from Reuters. was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story worst adj. the least useful, helpful or appropriate way sanctions n. restrictions imposed on a country as a way to try to get it to obey international laws scrap v. get rid of something consequences - n. actions that happen as a result of a set of conditions route - n. way of doing or achieving something foundation n. organization created and supported with money to help various causes President-elect Donald Trump says the United States will withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal on his first day in office. Trump promised to block the trade deal during his successful campaign for the presidency. In a short YouTube video Tuesday, Trump spoke about plans for his administration. Trump, a Republican businessman, takes office on January 20, 2017. What About the Other TPP Nations? Some questioned whether the other countries in the TPP would move ahead with the trade deal without the United States. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said all 11 nations want to go forward. Turnbull said more trade means better jobs, and better jobs and stronger economic growth in Australia. But Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe said the trade deal is meaningless without the United States. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, the United States is responsible for about 60 percent of economic production among the TPP countries. Last week, Abe was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump since he won the U.S. presidential election over Democrat Hillary Clinton. In his video speech, Trump said he would give notice of his intent to withdraw from the TPP deal on the first day of his administration. He also promised to negotiate fair, bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores. That means he would seek to reach trade deals with individual nations rather than groups of nations. Rajiv Biswas is chief economist for IHS Global in Singapore. He expects the other 11 TPP nations to negotiate other free-trade deals that will likely give more trade openings to China. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Trump should not rule out international trade deals during his presidency. The United States isnt an island, Key said. It cant just sit there and say its not going to trade with the rest of the world. Obama Says Trade Can Improve Lives President Barack Obama was in Lima, Peru recently for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group meeting. The meeting was part of his last scheduled foreign trip as president. Obama and other Pacific leaders said they continue to support free trade. Obama said free trade can improve the lives of billions of people around the world. But Obama spoke about the message of American voters during the November 8 presidential election. Trump ran on a promise to bring back American manufacturing jobs that he says were lost mainly because of unfair trade deals. Obama said there are benefits to free trade. But, he added that large corporations and the wealthy often seem to be playing by a different set of rules. The gaps between the rich and everyone else grow wider," Obama said. In September, John Kerry, Obamas secretary of state, spoke about the effects of not approving the Pacific trade deal. We take away from our ability to shape the course of events in a region that includes more than a quarter of the worlds population -- and where much of the history of the 21st century is going to be written, Kerry said. The countries that negotiated the TPP with the United States are: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. In his brief video speech Tuesday, Trump said he would direct the Labor Department to look into visa abuses. During the campaign, Trump said some companies use visas to bring foreign workers into the United States. He said this takes jobs away from American workers. Trump also promised to end regulations that he said hurt American energy production. In addition, Trump said he would ask American military officials to develop a plan to protect America from cyber-attacks and all other form of attacks. He did not speak about his campaign promises to build a big wall along the United States' southern border or to end President Obamas health care law -- often called Obamacare. Im Bruce Alpert. And I'm Ashley Thompson. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English based on reports from VOA, the Associated Press and Reuters. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story innovation - n. the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods intent - n. what you plan to do bilateral - adj. involving two groups or countries shore - n. the land along the edge of an area of water scheduled - adj. a plan to do something at a certain time gap - n. divisions between people cyber-attack - n. an attack by people who want to damage, destroy or get information from a computer system Sometimes, Mother Nature can be a turkey. Heavy rains could lead to minor flooding on Thanksgiving and Friday, and the Marys River in Benton County is a waterway of concern, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS issued a flood watch for northwest Oregon and southwest Washington on Wednesday morning. Creeks and smaller rivers throughout Linn and Benton counties could see a sharp increase in their levels and spill out onto fields, low-lying property and secondary roads. There also could be some minor urban flooding and ponding on roadways. It doesnt look like its going to be enough rain over a long period of time for the larger rivers to reach flood stage, said Amanda Bowen, a meteorologist with the NWS in Portland. Were not expecting the Willamette or the Columbia or anything like that to reach flood stage, she added. Residents with small rivers, creeks and streams near their properties may want to pay close attention to those on Thanksgiving and Friday, Bowen said. It doesnt take but more than an hour or two of heavy rain for a small creek to raise pretty sharply, she said. In general, we want people to be aware and use some extra caution. The watch covers all of Benton County and east to the Lebanon area. The Luckiamute River in Polk County also is an area of concern. In the Coast Range, 4 inches to 8 inches of rain are predicted on Wednesday night through Thursday night, according to the NWS forecast. Around an inch of rain or more is expected in the Willamette Valley, but communities closer to the Coast Range could see extra precipitation. Travelers headed east also should be prepared for wild weather. Several inches of snow are predicted for Cascade Mountain passes this week, with heavy flurries on Wednesday through Friday and lighter amounts on Saturday through at least Tuesday. The CGI technology used in the Baahubali franchise shot its first installment to success but it almost proved to be the Achilles heel for its upcoming sequel. Since the post production of these big-budget action films demand the involvement of hundreds of graphic designers, editors and other technical crew member, it is not easy to keep suspense under wraps. Baahubali 2 has been in the making even before the first film released and the filmmakers left the audience wanting for more at the end of the film. Since the climax of the prequel was a cliffhanger, the makers were trying their best to ensure that no stills or footage from the sequel gets leaked. However, a nine-minute action scene which is suspected to be a crucial part of the second film, got leaked online. The suspect behind the leak was traced to be a graphic designer of Annapurna Studios. After director SS Rajamouli filed a complaint at Jubilee Hills Police Station, the police arrested the designer in Vijaywada. The leaked footage was taken off the internet, but the damage had been done. Incidentally, stills of Baahubali 2 also leaked earlier this year even though mobile phones were banned on sets, as per a report by NDTV. Earlier this year, films like Udta Punjab and Parched also suffered the same fate as scenes from the films leaked prior to their release. Though these leaks increase the hype and excitement around the film, leaking footage of crucial scenes from a film is an unhealthy practice as it infringes upon the filmmakers copyright. Producer of Baahubali, Shobhu Yarlagadda took to Twitter to thank fans who alerted the makers about the release and those who did not share the leaked footage on social media. Sincere thanks to our fans who have alerted us very early and the local police and cyber crime division for their prompt response. /3 Shobu Yarlagadda (@Shobu_) November 22, 2016 We have many security features to deter precisely these kind of situations. However, film making is collaborative effort involving /4 Shobu Yarlagadda (@Shobu_) November 22, 2016 Television actor Aparna Tilak is all set to enter the Bigg Boss house as the first wild card entry of the show. After charming the audience with her acts in shows like Jeet and Left Right Left, Tilak will return to the small screen yet again, this time as a reality show contestant. The makers of Bigg Boss 10 adopted a new format in this season pitting the celebrity contestants against the commoners. However, DNA reports that the format is not gaining traction with the viewers who have been accustomed to the format on the last nine seasons. As a coping mechanism, the makers are planning to resort to the wild card entry trick. The first wild card entry of the show is none other than Aparna Talik, a familiar face on the television in the 90s, as per a report by Mid Day. She started her career with the comedy show Family Number One as a child artiste. Then her essaying of the role opposite Ankur Nayyar in Jeet shot her to fame. She went on to deliver arguably the most widely recognized performances of her career as Dr. Shalini in Left Right Left. She has also appeared in the show Koi Apna Sa. Apart from dominating the small screen, she has also had an appearance on the silver screen. She played an English professor in filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkars Footpath. She has been married to Dr. Amod, a badminton player. Tilak has stayed away from the small screen for years now. However, an offer as enticing as a Bigg Boss 10 contestant has lured her to return to the television. The former TV star is sure to add a new dimension to the Bigg Boss house and the audience eagerly awaits her arrival and consequent mingling with the present contestants. The biggest fear of most people doing transactions online is being cheated of the funds in their bank account by online thieves. To enable online transactions safe and secure, Zeta, a fintech company in the smart employee tax benefits space, has now launched, SuperCard, which it claims is the country's `most secure' payment system. It claims that the SuperCard is the first-of-its-kind with anti-fraud security measures like geo tagging and dynamic PIN for authenticating payments. Incidentally, this is the first time that Zeta has come with a product in the B-2-C (business to consumer) space. The SuperCard took around 3 months before it could be launched today. That it was launched when the country is in the throes of demonetisation is a 'sheer coincidence,' says Bhavin Turakhia, Co-Founder and CEO. Turakhia and his brother Divyank were in the news in August when their ad tech firm, Media.Net, was acquired for a whopping $900 million, by a Chinese consortium in the biggest ever all-cash deal. Regarding the SmartCard launch, Turakhia said that the plan was to 'marry the current fundamental approach with significantly increased security with the app.' Zeta is part of the US $250 million Directi Group co-founded by Bhavin and Divyank. Started in April 2015, Zeta is present in 9 cities. It began operations by launching cloud-based solutions for employee tax benefits and rewards space called Optima. The Optima range includes smart benefits such as meal vouchers, fuel and travel card, communications card, medical reimbursements, gadget card and gift vouchers. Though everyone has been gung-ho about demonetisation though the struggle to exchange annulled notes and deposit cash at banks have been herculean, Turakhia says the threat that looms large is safety and security with regard to online transactions. "While demonetisation is a great push for the transformation into a cashless economy, the threat of digital transactions falling prey to frauds can prove to be an impediment in the process. With India's digital payments industry expected to touch $500 billion by 2020 it is essential that card payment systems offer completely secure methods to safeguard users from all possible threats," says Turakhia. He claims that Zeta has developed a more secure and convenient payments system that addresses the current loopholes in the digital payments space. How does Zeta work First things first. You will have to download the Zeta app on your mobile phone from PlayStore. Once you have done that, you will need to generate your own PIN to make it functional. You can request for a plastic card from inside the app and enter your address. The card will be delivered to you in four days time. You can add money into the app by entering details of your existing credit, debit and net banking cards which eliminates the need to carry other online cards. SmartCard has three anti-fraud measures: SuperPIN: The SuperPIN replaces the static 4-digit PIN and SMS-based OTP (one time password) with a 6-digit SuperPIN that is generated on the app for every transaction. You can time the password for 2 seconds after which, it expires. The fear of the password being copied is thus eliminated. This is applicable for both online and in-store transactions. Location Shield: Through geo-tagging, Zeta tracks and matches the location of the transaction -- where the SuperCard has been used and where the SuperPIN has been generated. In case of a mismatch, the transaction is blocked there itself ensuring the card is never used without the knowledge of the user. So, if the card has been stolen or misplaced, the user needs to switch on the location shield which enables the card to be used only in a certain radius of the phone. For a fraud to take place, the card, the phone and the PIN number has to be stolen. Swipe2Pay: Users can authorise payments using a swipe action on the app to make payments online. This feature does away with the need to punch in an SMS-dependent OTP and provides added security to the user who need not key in any sensitive information, thereby safeguarding the transaction in case the mobile phone is compromised. Once you shop online, there will be no sms giving the OTP but instead the details of the transactions will go to the bank and simultaneously a pop up will appear on the app. The user right swipes it for payment. When a user uses SmartCard, Zeta will earn from every transaction done from the merchant. The company plans to come out with reward points to its users for every transaction done which can be claimed for gift vouchers. Additionally, Zeta has introduced the self-serve KYC feature, which enables users to upload a copy of their Aadhaar card allowing them to store up to Rs 1 lakh in their Zeta SuperCard, up from the existing limit of Rs 10,000. "In the last three years, top 50 banks in India lost almost Rs 485 crore through card frauds. This is the state of affairs when 90 percent of transactions in the country is non-digital until recently. When digital transactions rises exponentially, as it will with demonetisation underway and the thrust towards online transactions, the volume of transactions will increase and frauds could also increase in proportion," says Turakhia. Zeta, he hopes, will be able to assuage that fear in its users with its features. New Delhi: Amid the ongoing political outcry over demonetisation, the government today announced more steps to help farmers to meet their cash needs during the ongoing rabi season and directed banks to waive debit card transaction charges to encourage digital payment. To ensure quick and unhindered flow of credit and cash to farmers during the current rabi season to deal with ban of Rs 500/1,000 notes, the government has allowed Nabard to disburse Rs 21,000 crore through cooperative banks to farmers. Listing various measures taken by the government to incentivise digital transactions, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said the Railways has already waived service charges on online booking of tickets and telecom operators have agreed to make mobile banking services in feature phones free of cost till December 31. While government departments and PSUs have been asked to make electronic payment to contractors and its employees, the road transport ministry has asked automobile manufacturers to install digital RFID tag on all new vehicles to enable cashless payment at toll plazas and checkposts. Similarly, the government has doubled the monthly transaction limit through e-wallets to Rs 20,000. "All these measures are meant to promote digital penetration. It will also help farmers in the current rabi season to ensure a normal rabi crop on the back of good monsoon," he said. Das said: "Public sector banks, some of the private banks and some of the service providers that provide switching services have agreed to waive the service charges on the use of debit cards up to 31 December, 2016." As of now, Rupay debit cards have already waived the switching charges. Other debit cards that operate through international card network companies like Mastercard and Visa currently charge transaction charges. "The MDR (merchant discount rate) charges on use of debit cards, the charges being levied by banks and the switching charges will stand completely waived. So, there will be no charge on use of debit cards," he said, adding that banks will make announcement in this regard individually. With regard to the farm sector, Das said Nabard will disburse Rs 21,000 crore to District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) for onward lending to farmers through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies. Over 40 per cent small farmers get crop loans from cooperative institutions. Auto refresh feeds Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations are equal to piece of paper from tonight midnight (8 November 2016). "You have 50 days to return the old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 to your respective bank from 10 November 2016 to 30 December 2016. The banks, however, will have a cap on how much cash can be withdrawn Rs 10,000 daily and Rs 20,000 weekly." New Rs 2,000 note that will be soon issued New Rs 2,000 note that will be soon issued "And no one should blame me if I take tough decisions after the 30th. This money belongs to the countrys poor. No one has the right to loot this. This is my commitment. I am working with full force and will continue the effort," he had said. Apparently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a fair warning to all the black money hoarders in this interview with CNN-News18 in September this year. Replying to a question on if he intended to carry forward his tough line on curbing black money, Modi had urged those with undeclared wealth to take advantage of the disclosure scheme before the deadline of September 30 and return to into the mainstream. A lawyer by profession, Kamboj said that he understands the legal consequences of doing any such thing. "I know I can land up in big trouble if I do something so foolish. What Kejriwal is doing is nothing more than dirty politics. He will see what will happen to him in Punjab." There were various news reports about the probable introduction of new notes. What was new in that? Kamboj added. Rubbishing Kejriwal's claims, Kejriwal said: I had only written that new notes would soon be introduced. But nowhere I had talked about or even mentioned banning of the old notes. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged that BJP had informed its 'friends' beforehand about its decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, to help them fix their black money. Firstpost reporter Amitesh Singh spoke to Sanjeev Kamboj, co-convener of BJP's law and legal affairs department in Punjab, who had tweeted the picture of Rs 2,000 notes on 6 November. Only tweeted about new notes, not ban on Rs 500, Rs 1,000: BJP leader Sanjeev Kamboj tells Firstpost The step is being taken after it was observed that same people have been withdrawing money, again and again, misusing the facility and not giving a chance to others to exchange their money. The government has decided to use indelible ink to mark people who exchange cash over the counter in the banks. Indelible ink to be used to mark people who exchange cash in the banks: Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das Are you willing to give PM Modi 50 days to make good on his promise? "Government should allow old Rs 500 notes to remain in circulation along with the new notes. Also, Rs 100/50/10 notes must be made easily available. Rs 1,000 notes may be withdrawn when circulation improves by 30 December, or at your discretion. No need for anymore faltu, action-less announcements. Sometimes blunders lead to more more blunders," says the West Bengal Chief Minister. In a series of tweets on Friday, Mamata Banerjee said that there are ways that the government can restore normalcy and help people. "Such tax evasion activities can be made subject to income tax and penalty," ANI reported. The ministry added that thos who allow their accounts to be misused will be prosecuted."However, genuine people having their own household savings in cash and depositing the same will not be questioned," the ministry was quoted as saying by ANI. Announcing that small deposits made in banks of artisans, workers, housewives will not be questioned by Income Tax Department, the finance ministry said that there are reports that a few people were "using other's accounts to convert their black money into new denomination notes." The Opposition parties are not wrong this could have been planned better and the government is not giving us all the facts. The truth is the government did have a plan. Not for recalibration for which it has come under severe attack but for the preemptive calibration of ATMs. If this plan had run its course, it could have considerably smoothened the currency exchange at ATMs. But the plan ground to a halt even before it took off. But more on that later. And the answer is yes and no. An entire population of 1.25 billion is living in misery, craving something they already have: A strange contradiction of shortage in abundance. The only question that everyone is asking is: Did Prime Minister Narendra Modi send a country into war against black money without planning? "What is the difficulty? " the bench asked Rohatgi. The AG explained the situation by stating that after printing, the currency has to be moved to thousands of centres across the country and ATMs have to be re-calibrated. "There is no shortage of funds," he said. At the outset, the bench questioned the relief measures undertaken by the Centre by saying, "Last time you said there will be relief for people in the coming days but you have squeezed the exchange limit to Rs 2,000 only." "It's a political attempt in the court. I have seen your (Sibal's) press conference also. You are not appearing for a political party, but for an advocate. You are turning the apex court into a political platform," Rohatgi said. The Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi in his response, said there is no dispute, but the queues are getting shorter and even suggested that the Chief Justice of India can go out during lunch and himself look at the queue. "Kindly go in the lunch time," the AG told the bench and took objection to senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for a private party, for allegedly exaggerating the situation. "We have also come to know that corruption through new notes has already started. Such reports are surfacing in newspapers and especially on the social media," he said, claiming the goal of unearthing black money and weeding out fake currency notes will not be achieved. On the Centre's stand that demonetisation will check corruption, Akhilesh said cases of graft involving new currency notes are already making news in some parts of the country. Talking to reporters in Lucknow on Friday after presiding over a Cabinet meeting, Akhilesh Yadav said, "The meeting was of the opinion that farmers should get relaxation in use of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes...cooperative banks to which farmers are directly linked should get relaxation as money is not promptly reaching bank branches." SC made the remarks as Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi submitted that any matter relating to challenge to the demonetisation issue be heard by the apex court only. "Some measures are required. See the kind of problems people are facing. People have to go to the high court. If we shut them from going to the high court, how can we know the magnitude of the problem. People going to different courts indicates the magnitude of the problem," the bench said. "It is a serious issue which requires consideration," a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice A R Dave said, while asking the parties to be ready with data and other issues in writing. The apex court also refused Centre's request to put on hold petitions pending in various high courts challenging the decision to demonetise. Coming down heavily on the Narendra Modi government for not taking the issue seriously, the Supreme Court on Friday questioned the move to reduce the exchange limit of old notes from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,000. The apex court added that the situation was serious and there are possibilities of riots breaking out. "We are not against demonetisation. We are against the hardships being faced by poor people due to mismanagement in implementing this scheme," Ravat said, when he was detained and taken away by police. Those who have been detained include Vadodara Congress president Prashant Patel and General Secretary of Gujarat Congress Narendra Ravat. In Vadodara, at least 100 Congress workers were detained from different parts for trying to block the roads. While two Congress workers were detained for setting fire to tyres on Ahmedabad-Vadodara highway on the city outskirts, around 100 have been detained for blocking an internal city road at Dandiya Bazar area. Slamming the Centre over faulty implementation of the demonetisation drive, Mayawati said that the government has unleashed an Economic Emergency on the nation and the party does not care how people of the nation are suffering. Just like Samajwadi Party, BJP is digging its own grave before Uttar Pradesh elections: Mayawati He then said that India trusts its citizens who will make the country emerge successful after "this test of fire". "But I see your support. Despite so many attempts to dissuade you, you have understood this move for the welfare of this nation," said the Prime Minister. "The entire world is watching this move. Every economist is analysing this move. The world is watching whether 1.25 crore Indians, despite difficulties, will achieve success." "But for 70 years, we have been tolerating the disease of corruption and black money. The cure to that disease cannot be simple," he said. "When I had taken this decision, I had said that this is full of difficulties. And the implementation of this decision was also bound to be difficult. I knew about the kind of difficulties people would have to face," Modi said. "I knew that it will definitely take 50 days to come out of the effect [of demonetisation]," he added. "A lot of people have asked me to talk more about the currency ban," said the Prime Minister, as he began talking about demonetisation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday talked about the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on the radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' and appealed to the people of India to help him create a "less-cash society". Sources have told CNN-News18 that the central government has stepped up the printing of the new Rs 500 notes. The news channel also reported that the shortage in Rs 500 notes will be over by the end of December. Old Rs 500 notes at petrol pumps and for airline tickets will be accepted till 2 December as against 15 December announced earlier, reports PTI. Exactly a month ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced scrapping of high denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. On Thursday, Opposition parties and Members of Parliament protested outside the Parliament House. Modi said, "The government's decision has several gains for farmers, traders, labourers, who are the economic backbone of our nation. I always said that the government's measure will bring a degree of inconvenience but this short term pain will pave way for long term gains. No longer will the progress and prosperity of rural India be curtailed by corruption and black money. Our villages must get their due. We also have a historic opportunity to embrace increased cashless payments and integrate latest technology in economic transactions." In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government never denied that the demonetisation drive will not be inconvenient, but "this short term pain will pave way for long term gains." I always said that the Government's measure will bring a degree of inconvenience: Modi Slamming the government, West Bengal Chief Minister on her Facebook page slammed the move and said, "One month of harassment, pain, hopelessness, financial insecurity and utter chaos." Leading members of Opposition took to social media to speak on demonetisation. 8 December marks one month since the Modi government scrapped high-denomination notes and introduced the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes. The Opposition parties will meet with BJP leaders as well at around 12 pm on Thursday to discuss demonetisation. The Bharatiya Janata Party has announced that it will hold a party meet at 9.30 am on Thursday. According to CNN-News18, the party meet will discuss demonetisation and will be broadcast live. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the nation as well, the news channel said. PM said Congress had chance to clean the system in 1971, but it didnt | ANI 'It's a pity that this opposition party, who fought against the Congres both inside the Congress and outside the Congress are ready to work with Congress. Trinamool Congress, CPI (M) are with Congress. Even DMK who had taken talaq from Congress are rallying behind it. They don't even know what their leader is going to talk about. The congress regime was filled with scams. They will have to explain it to the people," he added. 'It's ironic to see that government is fighting corruption, and the opposition is opposing it. Many people are shaken because vested interests are shaken. They are trying to create panic in the public. And therefore, they are trying to tarnish Prime Minster's image,' Venkaiah Naidu said. It's ironic that parties which opposed Congress are now supporting it: Venkaiah Naidu Unlike Gandhi, who in a letter dated 24 August, 1974, to all chief ministers, sought selective action against bigger people that could be publicised to counter the perception in the public mind and in Parliament, Modi and his officers were well prepared in advance to scrutinise the shades of unaccounted stash in the country, even if that meant severe criticism of his government. Modi is not Indira Gandhi and 2016 is not 1974 when TA Pai, the then Union Minister for heavy industry told Gandhi: "Currency has no complexion and it is neither white nor black." (Declassified black money files of prime ministers office, no 37 (465)/74 PMS). When Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a televised address on 8 November, told the nation that the existing Rs 500 and 1,000 notes can no longer be used for transactions and they are now mere pieces of papers, he very well knew that a huge number of zero-balance accounts were going to witness sudden activity from the very next morning. Narendra Modi did what Indira suggested was not for her to do This means that these notes will not be acceptable for transactions from midnight onwards. The 500 and 1,000 rupee notes hoarded by anti-national and anti-social elements will become just worthless pieces of paper. To break the grip of corruption and black money, we have decided that the 500 rupee and 1,000 rupee currency notes presently in use will no longer be legal tender from midnight tonight, that is 8th November 2016. As (Narendra) Modi gets ready to address the nation on 31 December in a stock-taking speech, sober watchers of the game may find no nail-biting finish or clear winner. We might need to use something resembling the Duckworth-Lewis method that cricket scorers use when rains or disruptions mar a match. As time to submit demonetised notes comes to a close today, people queue up outside RBI offices across India The government is also planning to come out with an Ordinance making possession of old Rs 500/1,000 notes beyond a specified limit for numismatic purposes illegal and punishable. People, however, will still have time to exchange the currency notes at designated RBI counters till 31 March after giving valid reasons for not depositing defunct notes in their accounts by 30 December. The 50-day deadline to deposit the old Rs 500/1,000 notes in banks comes to an end today, but the cash crunch and queues before ATMs are likely to continue for some more time as currency printing presses have failed to meet the huge demand for new bills. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address the nation on Saturday after his self-imposed deadline of 50-days for the situation to return to normal ends. While some people are hoping for an extension in the deadline, the government maintained it had no plans to do so. The deadline to deposit old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in banks ends today. From next week onward, those still holding the scrapped currency can deposit it only with the Reserve Bank of India till 31 March, 2017. After 31 March, holding demonetised notes would be illegal and could invite hefty fines and even jail, according to an ordinance passed by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday. Post #DeMonetisation Govt. to roll out massive campaign. PM's address to the nation on Dec 31st will be beginning of this campaign: Sources PM Modi could launch massive campaign in his address on New Year Meanwhile, the RBI's image seems to have been dented significantly during the period. Post the announcement, the action mostly happened in Delhi and the central bank was relegated to the background. Moreover, the frequent rule changes, mostly dictated by the political bosses in Delhi, unfairly affected the central bank's image. The man who is complaining the most is the one who is affected and that is not the common man, believes Bijoor. He places Modis popularity on a ratio of 80:20 with 80 percent having welcomed the bold move of the PM. The common man is in the mood to forgive the prime minister as he realises that demonetisation is a big task that irritants like more than 60 policy flip-flops after the announcement of the scheme can be tolerated, says Harish Bijoor, chief executive officer of brand and business strategy firm Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. The brand Modi might have received a good boost after the demonetisation drive, however, the brand RBI, the monetary authority in charge of the Indian currency, may have taken a huge drubbing, brand experts told Firstpost's Sulekha Nair . The cash crunch in cities seems to be easing. Just for a lark i went to 5-10 different ATMs on diff days and all yielded cash Queues shorter (Cont) to deposit the same in any Issue Office of Reserve Bank or a currency chest on December 31, 2016 itself: RBI SBNs (Specified bank notes) cannot form part of banks cash balances from the close of business as on December 31, 2016: RBI Specified bank notes (SBNs) cannot form part of banks' cash balances from the close of business as on 31 December, 2016 to deposit the same in any Issue Office of Reserve Bank or a currency chest on 31 December, 2016 itself, RBI said. Bihar: Tattered demonetised notes of Rs 500 found by locals in Gopalganj. Police on the spot for further investigation #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/QmYMDbFRsF As time to submit demonetised notes comes to a close today, people queue up outside Reserve Bank of India's Kolkata branch #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/Ct3HHxhoMP Delhi: Today being the last day to submit demonetised notes, people seen queuing up outside RBI #DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/LjhkeRdacC As time to submit demonetised notes comes to a close today, people queue up outside RBI offices across India Fearing a jump in footfalls to deposit or withdraw cash following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and 1,000 banknotes, banks will remain open this Saturday and Sunday and its staff will do overtime till 9 pm for the next three days to clear the rush. Banks also announced a slew of measures, including extension of banking hours, doing away with ATM charges and expanding credit limits to handle the expected huge rush to tender now defunct Rs 500 and 1000 notes. Bankers have also been advised not to take additional leaves for the next one month, during which the government has asked holders of over 22 billion currency notes that are no longer legal tender, to deposit them in bank accounts. For public convenience, banks will remain open on coming Saturday and Sunday, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das tweeted. The Reserve Bank also came out with an order instructing all the banks to be open for business on the coming weekend, including Sunday. RBI also said ATMs will remain shut tomorrow as well. The nation's largest lender State Bank of India was among the first to announce an extension in banking hours, till 6 pm tomorrow and also said each of its branches will be having a dedicated 'exchange counter' to change the currency notes. ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar said the bank's branches will be open till 8 pm on Thursday and Friday. The bank also introduced a slew of relaxations on the electronic payments or withdrawals front. All charges pertaining to cash deposit into one's accounts will be waived till 30 November and the fees for transacting at ATMs will also be scrapped till 31 December, ICICI Bank said in a statement. It has also doubled the daily usage limit of debit cards for use at merchant ends as well as online transactions. Axis Bank has also waived cash handling charges, and done away with the five free transactions a month limit on its own ATMs and extended banking hours, its president Rajiv Anand told PTI. While making the announcement to discontinue Rs 500 and 1,000 banknotes yesterday, the government had also announced closure of bank branches and ATMs today. It also announced the launch of newer notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 from 10 November. People holding to the older notes will be very keen to do away with them and also get the newer series banknotes of higher denomination when the bank branches reopen tomorrow. ICICI Bank said it is ensuring that Rs 2000 and the existing notes of Rs 100 notes are available at its 'main branches' from tomorrow. It also announced an expansion of up to 20 per cent in the credit limits for 'worthy' customers using its credit cards. Anand said there is no need for the customers to panic and appealed them to defer their visits to branches, pointing out that there is a 50-day limit to change the older notes. Anand said the bank also expects a significant jump in alternate channels like the newly introduced UPI, points of sale terminals and mobile and online banking because of the RBI moves. Kotak Mahindra Bank joint managing director Dipak Gupta said apart from the cultural change in adopting digital faster, we should also see a surge in activation of new bank accounts. In the biggest-ever move to curb black money, and crime funding Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last night announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes would become illegal tenders from last midnight and massively curbed cash withdrawals through ATMs and from bank counters. "In order to meet the anticipated heavy demand from members of the public to conduct their banking transactions, it has been decided that banks shall remain open for public transactions on Saturday, 12 November, and Sunday, 13 November, 2016," RBI said in a statement. Banks are advised to keep all their branches open on 12 and 13 November, 2016, as regular working days for transacting all business, it said. RBI also asked banks to give due publicity to the availability of banking services on these days. As per the normal schedule, the coming Saturday being the second would have been an holiday, but keeping in view the expected rush at the branches, it was decided otherwise. It is, however, not clear whether post offices would be open or not on the weekend. There are about 1.25 lakh post offices across the country. At the same time, the government and RBI are yet to take a call on keeping banks open on Monday, 14 November, which is a holiday. There are about 149 scheduled commercial banks, including 56 regional rural banks, with branch network of about 1.30 lakh across the country. Besides, the cooperative banks have also been asked to take deposit and exchange the old with the new one. The first demonetisation happened under the British rule in 1946 and the first one after the Independence on 16-17 January, 1978 when the Morarji Desai government demonetised bank notes of Rs 1000, 5000 and 10,000 notes. The news triggered panic and people started queueing up at all ATMs or CDMs to either withdraw money or deposit Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. The banned Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes account for over 86 per cent of the total Rs 16.42 lakh crore value of bank notes in circulation as of 31 March, 2016, according to Reserve Bank's latest annual report. For convenience of customers, Financial Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal said banks will be working extra hours. Meanwhile, SBI said all branches will remain open tomorrow with extended business hours up to 6 pm. Kochhar said branch timings will be extended by two hours on 10-11 November and branches at prominent locations will remain open from 8 am to 8 pm. Many other banks like HSBC and PNB has also announced extension of working hours. Panaji: Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday announced four more candidates for upcoming Assembly elections in Goa, taking the number of contestants to 25. The list announced on Tuesday includes names of anti-Mopa airport activist Siddharth Karapurkar who will contest from Navelim constituency, currently represented by BJP-backed Independent MLA Avertano Furtado. Another AAP candidate is former Quepem municipal council chairperson Manuel Colaco who will be fielded from Quepem seat, currently held by Chandrakant Kavlekar of Congress. Journalist-turned-politician Pradeep Padgaonar will be in the fray as AAP nominee from Saligao constituency which is represented by incumbent Tourism Minister and BJP leader Dilip Parulekar. Also on the party's list is social activist Prakash Naik who will contest from Cumbharjua constituency, currently held by Congress' Pandurang Madkaikar. AAP had announced to contest all 40 seats in the coastal state, where elections are due next year. The central government's decision to demonetise higher-value currency notes has had an unlikely victim; sale of alcohol has been hit badly in the state of Maharashtra. Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) sales have dropped by 30 percent in the last two weeks, while sale and consumption of country liquor has gone up by 10 percent. State excise commissioner V Radha confirmed to Firstpost about there being a drop in the sale of IMFL. However, she added, revenues have still gone up over the April-October period. Rs 7,022 crore was collected in revenue from alcohol sale for the period between April and October 2016, while the figure for the corresponding period of 2015 was Rs 6,799 crores, she added. The annual revenue for 2015-16 was Rs 12,500 crore, and the target before March 2017 will be Rs 15,000 crore, Radha said. "In the last six months, we have seized goods worth Rs 19.83 crore, an increase of 21.56 percent compared to last year. Not only this, but we've also arrested 9,469 people in the six months between April and October for dealing with sale of illegal liquor, as against 7,303 people in the corresponding period for last year," Radha added. The revenue department, which collects data on a monthly basis, has analysed the information in the two weeks since 8 November, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made his announcement. It has discovered a 30 percent drop in sales of IMFL, but has noticed country liquor sales have gone up by 10 percent. "There is a cash crunch currently, since notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 aren't being used. People are saving money because of this, and are buying more country liquor as against IMFL. Sales of country liquor have gone up," confirmed state excise minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. The state government had already banned 850 country liquor stalls selling toddy or palm wine across Maharashtra. The state contributes about 20 percent of the country's IMFL consumption, and over 2,000 wine shops sell IMFL across Maharashtra. IMFL sales contribute to 45 percent of the state's alcohol consumption, while country liquor contributes 35 percent. We already banned 850 Tadi (Toddy or Palm Wine) shops in state, which is result that increased in the sale of Country liquor, he added. Maharashtra is around 20 percent contributor of IMFL of Country and more than 2000 shops of IMFL. IMFL sales in Maharashtra amount to 45 percent, while Country liquor contributes 35 percent, Bawankule said. The state excise department has also changed laws allowing storing and stocking alcohol at home. From the previous limit of 12 bottles of alcohol every month, it has now gone down to only two bottles at home. Social activist Anna Hazare, who has long been campaigning for alcohol prohibition, along with women's rights groups and NGOs, had made this demand. The state government officials have released a toll free number 18008333333, and and a WhatsApp number 8422001133, for complaints or information about sale and consumption of illegal alcohol. The Supreme Court has refused the Centre's request to stay note-ban related proceedings pending before various high courts, saying people may get "immediate relief" from them, on Wednesday. This comes after the apex court dubbed the post-demonetisation situation as 'serious', noting that people facing difficulties have the right to approach the courts. However, the news updates of day 14 since the demonetisation of higher Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes just provides further evidence for the Supreme Court's 'serious' stance. Rs 3.5 crore seized The Delhi police has seized over Rs 3.5 crore in high value demonetised currency notes from three people in north Delhi's Kashmiri Gate area. Police received a tip-off about three men carrying Rs 3.68 crore in a Honda City car and the special staff of north district detained them, said a senior police officer. Prima facie, it has been revealed that the three men allegedly used to charge 15-20 percent commission for depositing black money in different bank accounts, he said. One of the persons detained is a jeweller while the other is a chartered accountant and the third person is his assistant, the officer added. Police has passed on the information to I-T department. Rs 3.5 crore vanished An amount of Rs 3.5 crore in scrapped notes reportedly 'vanished' after it was seized by a Central Industrial Security Force (CSIF) personnel at Dimapur in Nagaland from a private plane, according to a report by The Times of India. When the local income tax staff was called to take further action, the CSIF personnel discovered that it was gone. The I-T officer alleged that it was with the CSIF personnel all along. The CSIF is not authorised to carry out arrests, and has reported the matter to IB and Central Board of Direct Taxes. Teen death An 18-year-old student allegedly committed suicide after "failing to withdraw money" from the bank for submitting his examination fees at in Mavai Buzurg village in Banda, police said. They said Suresh had been standing in queue for the past several days for withdrawing money to submit his examination fees but he could not succeed. Suresh's family members said he was a BSc second year student in Panchnehi Degree College and had to submit fees by Wednesday. On hearing of the suicide of the student, the villagers pelted the bank with stones in protest. Toll payment The government has asked automobile manufacturers to provide a digital identity tag in all new vehicles, including cars, to enable electronic payment at all toll plazas and ensure seamless movement at check posts. "As far as toll plazas are concerned, the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways is advising vehicle manufacturers that in all new vehicles, the manufacturers must provide Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) facility," Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters in New Delhi. The RFID tag will ensure that the electronic toll collection system will ensure that when vehicle pass the toll tax booths, they can pass without stopping at the toll booths. The toll amount is deducted from the RFID card. First fake note The first 'authentically' fake Rs 2,000 note has been found in Gujarat, according to an Economic Times report. While fake notes before this were photocopied versions, the new fake has all the features the Gandhi watermark next to the national emblem, and a false security thread. The note was accepted by a paan shop owner in Bodakdev, who wasn't immediately alarmed by the higher denomination note. Since the demonetisation move, he was used to receiving many customers, owing to a bank branch next to his store. Customers would throng to buy snacks and drinks from him while waiting in the line. With inputs from PTI Nawanshahr: A senior official with Union home ministry on Wednesday held a meeting with bankers, farmers, traders and businessmen here to seek suggestions for addressing the "problems" they were facing due to demonetisation of the old currency. Dalip Kumar, a Union Joint Secretary (Home Affairs), New Delhi, on Wednesday visited the town and held a meeting with different sections of the society. Locals including farmers and traders urged the official to convey to the Union government that the cap of Rs 50,000 fixed on withdrawal of money was quite insufficient and it needed to be raised on urgent basis to save trade and industry. The Joint Secretary reportedly assured them of conveying their concerns to the government. The Lead Bank Manager VK Sharma, apart from giving out the information concerning calibration of ATMs in the district, told the Secretary that new currency notes in the denomination of Rs 500 were yet to reach the district. Meanwhile, a group of Non Resident Indians (NRI) who were on Punjab visit claimed that they were adversely affected by the scrapping of old currency. Led by Rajpal Singh, NRIs who are settled in the US, Canada, the UK, and UAE said that they were clueless on how to exchange the scrapped Indian currency which is in their possession to cater to their day to day needs. They submitted a memorandum to the government through the local district administration here saying that every year in winter hordes of NRIs visit their motherland to meet their families, relatives and to attend marriages and such other social functions, besides visiting their religious shrines to pay obeisance. But this year they were facing grave problems due to the scrapping of high currency notes, Singh said. NRIs have urged the government to allow them the facility of withdrawing more cash from their accounts in view of their usually short stay in the country. The deputation also urged for setting up of separate counters in banks to deal with their problems. Rajpal Singh said in view of "hardships" triggered by non-availability of Indian currency while many NRIs have cut short their visit and returned to foreign countries, many others who were to visit India have started getting their tickets cancelled. He said the government must come up with a plan to ensure hassle-free exchange of Indian currency which the NRIs usually keep in their homes for emergency situations. The situation at the borders in Jammu and Kashmir seems to worsening with every passing day. On Tuesday, in a cross-Line of Control (LoC) attack by suspected Pakistani terrorists, three Indian soldiers were killed, with the body of one of them being mutilated in second such incident in less than a month, triggering outrage in this country. PTI reported that the ambush on army patrol took place in Machhil sector of Kashmir, following which the Indian army vowed heavy "retribution". "A counter-infiltration patrol party of Indian army was ambushed by terrorists ahead of the fencing along LoC in forest belt in Machhil sector in Kupwara district today," a senior Army officer said. #JKOps 3 soldiers killed in action on LC in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated, retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act @adgpi NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) November 22, 2016 A defence spokesman said heavy cross-Line of Control shelling was going on at four places in Machhil sector from 3.30 pm. "Around 1530 hour, heavy cross-LoC shelling has started from both sides at Dana Machhil, Ashni, Ringsar and Ringsar Payeen in Machhil sector of Kupwara district," he said. He did not give any further details. A report in Daily Mail also said that the terrorists were allegedly backed by the Pakistan Army because as soon as the encounter between the soldiers and terrorists began, the Pakistan Army posts from across the LoC also began firing in that direction to prevent the Indian Army from sending reinforcements. This is a second such incident where a jawan's body was mutilated in the same sector since 28 October. On that day, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, had crossed the LoC and killed an Indian army jawan and mutilated his body in the Macchil sector. One attacker was killed in that incident. In response to the beheading of the Indian soldier on Tuesday, India strongly protested to Pakistan when Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh, who was called in by Director General (South Asia and Saarc) Mohammad Faisal, conveyed that Pakistani troops were deliberately targeting the civilian areas, resulting in heavy casualties. News reports have also said that the Indian Army has begun counter operations and is targeting various Pakistani posts along the LoC. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also condemned the attack. Condemn the cowardly & brutal killing of our soldiers & mutilation of one of them. Salute these brave martyrs for their supreme sacrifice. Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) November 22, 2016 Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Kumar Singh also expressed anguish at the attack. Reacting strongly over the killings of soldiers, Singh termed it as a "cowardly act" and the incident reflected the "barbaric attitude" of the forces on the other side. On the other hand, Pakistan rejected the "Indian media reports" of the mutilation of the soldier's body and said it was just "a blatant attempt to malign Pakistan". M Nafees Zakaria, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan, also said that it was India which constantly violated the ceasefire. Pakistan strongly rejects the false & baseless Indian media reports reg the alleged mutilation of an Indian solider on the LoC -1/5 M. Nafees Zakaria (@ForeignOfficePk) November 22, 2016 These reports are a fabrication and a blatant attempt to malign Pakistan -2/5 M. Nafees Zakaria (@ForeignOfficePk) November 22, 2016 As a professional force,Pakistan army isn't involved in any such unethical &non-professional activity & neither supports any such action 3/5 M. Nafees Zakaria (@ForeignOfficePk) November 22, 2016 However, Pakistan is fully prepared and ready to respond to any misadventure across the LoC, WB or International Border -4/5 M. Nafees Zakaria (@ForeignOfficePk) November 22, 2016 Factually India constantly violates 2003 Ceasefire Understanding,targets civilians &tries 2 divert int'l attn from its atrocities in IoK 5/5 M. Nafees Zakaria (@ForeignOfficePk) November 22, 2016 The Indian Express also reported that terrorists saw a safe passage in Machhil because it was considered to be one of the 'shortest' and 'safest' infiltration routes into Kupwara across the LoC. The Macchil sector, which is situated at an altitude of over 6,500 feet, is marked by dense forests and weather and terrain which make it inhospitable. With inputs from PTI In his capacity as the visitor of Nalanda University (NU), President Pranab Mukherjee dissolved the university's governing board on Monday, reported The Wire. Furthermore, he also dismissed the Nalanda Mentors Group's decision to extend it's Vice-Chancellor Gopa Sabharwal's present term which ends on 24 November. On Saturday, NU had said that there will be no hiatus in the leadership of the university. "The chancellor and the governing board are grateful to Sabharwal for agreeing to act as interim vice-chancellor until a new vice-chancellor is in place," a press release from the university had said. The website quoted a source as saying, The president, in his capacity as the visitor of Nalanda University, has approved the constitution of the governing board of the university in accordance with section 7 of the Nalanda University Act, 2010. Arvind Sharma of McGill University, Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya and Lokesh Chandra, president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, were nominated by the government to the governing board under the three seats reserved for Renowned Academicians/Educationists. However, this decision also ends the nine-year-long association of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen who was also a member of the governing board. In February 2015, Sen had a sour exit as the chancellor of NU, a global university being set up under an act of Parliament in Bihars Rajgir district. He was miffed that the NDA government is in no hurry to extend his tenure. In a letter to the NU board, which is dominated by many international names, Sen had said, it is hard for me not to conclude that the government wants me the cease being the chancellor of NU after this July, and technically it has the power to do so. George Yeo, a former foreign minister of Singapore, replaced Amartya Sen as the chancellor last year. With inputs from IANS For the past several days, the Parliament has been stalled with the Opposition demanding the Prime Minister's presence in the House. For reasons best known to Narendra Modi, he has decided not to lend Opposition MPs an ear and has given them the cold shoulder. But he did not spare an opportunity to irk Congress and company when he addressed the Coldplay concert in Mumbai via video conference over the weekend. The inference is that Modi is telling the opposition: I don't care for your criticism of the demonetisation scheme. What he has done subsequently should anger the Opposition even more. Modi's move to conduct a nationwide opinion poll by asking citizens to respond to the ten questions he has asked, is his attempt to bypass the opposition MPs. He wants the 125 crore people of India or at least those with access to a smartphone, to rate his demonetisation strike. By doing so, he is indicating that he would much rather listen to the people directly. He is also telling the pollsters who are recording 87 percent approval ratings for his drive that he will put them out of business by conducting his own poll, with a larger sample size. It will also be seen as transparent as anyone taking the survey has to register on the Narendra Modi app and every user can take the survey only once. But what does this poll do to the institution of Parliament? The Narendra Modi app cuts through the parliamentary red tape and sends out the message that the prime minister treats the opposition with contempt. A point highlighted by this answer. Union minister of state for Heavy Industries, Babul Supriyo told TV cameras that when little kids (referring to ministers like him) can answer the Opposition questions, where is the need for "Daddy" to come. This to my mind, is not the right approach. Demonetisation is a serious enough issue for the prime minister to come to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and listen to the criticism and suggestions. Particularly when more than 70 people have died waiting in long queues in front of banks and ATMs and stampedes. Death is not a 'minor inconvenience'. It is incumbent on him to convince the MPs and through them, the nation that he has done the right thing. The Parliament after all, under the Constitution of India, is supreme and needs to debate the issue. No one for a moment doubts Modi's intentions. Arvind Kejriwal's over the top allegations don't stick. But even many of those who strongly supported the move on 8 November are now criticising the manner in which it has been implemented on the ground. This includes even people like Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, an NDA ally and one of the proponents of the demonetisation idea. Several economists are putting caveats on whether it will really achieve its goals. It is a bit much for Modi to expect the economics-illiterate Indian to understand the issue for him to give an informed response to the questionnaire. What Modi is doing is to emotionalise the issue when he asks whether you think "evil of corruption and black money needs to be fought and eliminated''. Of course, it has to be. Will anyone who has India's interest at heart, give an answer to the contrary? Modi has also brought politics into the picture by asking "Do you think some anti-corruption activists are now actually fighting in support of black money, corruption and terrorism?" It is evident the reference is to Kejriwal. Modi is wrapping the question in the tricolour and suggesting that those who oppose it are on the side of the corrupt and the terrorists. The prime minister also would be aware of an inherent flaw while using the Narendra Modi app to conduct the poll. While the MPs represent the voice of India from different states, the android app can be accessed only by smartphone users. According to a Cisco report, there are 24 crore smartphone users in India. The problem with it is that only 7 percent in the lower income category own a smartphone. This would mean the feedback with the prime minister would be skewed with users from 'smart' India responding and 'unsmart' Bharat almost going unheard. May be the prime minister wants to come armed with the results of the app poll to Parliament to tell his critics that the people of India are with him. Because if the result gives Modi's decision the thumbs up, it will prove that an app a day keeps the critics away. While the effects of demonetisation on urban India are immediately apparent to those with access to mainstream English media, its impact on rural lives is as yet unclear. We travelled in a north-by-north easterly direction from Mumbai to examine the depth of the impact. Firstpost sent out Apoorv Mishra, who was accompanied by his friends Tahir Alimansoor and Kush Shah, into rural Maharashtra with an iPhone, a couple of mics, a GoPro and no institutional monetary support they had borrowed money from friends and withdrawn all the cash permitted under prevalent restrictions. Their journey started in Mumbai, on a Kasara-bound train, where the passengers told them about their lives post demonetisation. Its a tale of hardship and struggle that only gets worse as you delve deeper. When they started out, they had no clear idea of where to go exactly. The idea was to visit a place in Maharashtra that truly fits the rural bill and Kasara just seemed like the natural choice. On the way, Mishra met a businessman who seemed surprisingly unconcerned about the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. After all, You only need money for travelling. You can use your debit card everywhere else, he said. I dont want money [cash], he said. A little old lady told them that she was completely unaffected. Those who have money need a bank, she said. As the group approached Kasara, however, peoples reactions started to change. Many reported that their business was dead. The lack of money and change has hit them hard. A young man said that he hadnt been able to drive his rickshaw for over a week, yet another said that he hadnt sold anything in days. All these tales are coming to us just on the train to Kasara. Watch the video to find out more about our quest to dig out how demonetisation impacted daily lives in rural India: Firstpost broadcasted Mishras road trip on our live blog, and our Facebook page, and is now releasing the videos in the form of a series of documentary shorts. Islamabad: Pakistan Army on Wednesday said that seven persons, including three of its soldiers, were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian troops on the LoC, taking the death toll in such incidents to 14 since last week. The clash occurred a day after India had warned of retribution after losing three soldiers due to firing by Pakistani troops. "Three Pakistani soldiers valiantly sacrificed their lives at the Line of Control while responding to Indian unprovoked firing," army said. Those killed were identified as Captain Taimoor Ali Khan, Havaldar Mushtaq Hussain and Lance Naik Ghulam Hussain. The statement also claimed that seven Indian troops were killed in retaliatory fire. In an earlier statement, the army said four civilians were killed as Indian troops targeted a passenger bus near Dhudnial in Neelam valley. However, media reports said that up to 10 civilians were killed today due to firing by Indian troops. Meanwhile, Pakistan yesterday rejected as "false" and "baseless" the charges that the body of an Indian soldier was mutilated by Pakistani soldiers in a cross LoC-attack. Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Nafees Zakaria in a series of tweets said the reports about the mutilation were aimed at maligning Pakistan. "Pakistan strongly rejects the false & baseless Indian media reports regarding the alleged mutilation of an Indian solider on the LoC. These reports are a fabrication and a blatant attempt to malign Pakistan," he had said. Zakaria said as a professional force, Pakistan Army isn't involved in any such "unethical & non-professional" activity. He had said the Pakistan Army never supported any such action. However, he said, Pakistan is fully prepared and ready to respond to any misadventure across the LoC, Working Boundary or the International Border. In the age of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bullet train, Bihar's Beguserai district's fascination with 'Ranthi express' was quite instructive, if not outright amusing. But what was Ranthi Express? Ranthi Express was a brand of country liquor, brewed locally by liquor barons with huge political connections. The brew was so strong that one would metaphorically 'drop dead' after consuming just one pouch of the liquor. The consumer would be as good or worst as a corpse for a few hours after. And herein lies the reason from where this brew derived its brand ranthi, in local parlance, refers to a stretcher used for carrying corpses. Until Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar dealt a deathly blow to Ranthi Express, by imposing a liquor ban in the state, it was a craze among the delinquent and unemployed youth. Thousands were hooked on to the promise that one pouch of this liquor would transport its consumers to a blissful netherworld, beyond pain and anxiety. Though bliss and netherworld may appear to be oxymoronic, Beguserai is a land of umpteen such paradoxes. This immensely fertile Gangetic plain of Bihar is now highly industrialised. It was called the Leningrad of Marxists till it fell to the saffron wave in the recent past. The rich and the poor co-exist amicably, as they have realised over the years that power does indeed flow through the barrel of the gun. But the people of this land have now been hit by two bans: On the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes and on liquor. The denizens of the netherworld found both the bans to be quite devastating. Liquor barons have shut their shops and breweries have been locked. The roadside vends have turned into tea shops. People are not seen roaming on the streets in an inebriated state anymore, a sight which was common in the district till the ban on liquor was enforced. Accidents have drastically reduced and street brawls are less in number, said Dr Hemant, who owns the Life line hospital in Barauni. The positive impact of the liquor ban is quite palpable in the district. But what about the currency ban? Raj Kumar Singh, who runs the KDM Hotel and an agency for the Enfield motorcycle (commonly known as bullet) points out that life was initially hit but is now returning to normalcy. Bihar is a low economy state where an informal economy does not allow the life to be disrupted substantially, he said. In hotels, the business is picking up pace after an initial decline. But buyers for bullet motorcycles have increased two-fold. The reason for that is not far to seek. In fact, those found in possession of excess cash rushed to the banks and deposited their money in substantial numbers in order to facilitate the purchase of the motorcycle. They are coming with drafts and cheques to buy bullets (a motorcycle that symbolises masculinity in the region). We expect to sell nearly 200 motorcycles this month, nearly double the sales of the previous month, Singh added. Similarly, in the low-economy rural areas of Beguserai, life has not come to a halt. People have found innovative jugaads (simple work-arounds) to run their economy. For instance, a large section of grocers and street vendors are still accepting the banned currency notes as most of them are confident that they would get the cash deposited in their accounts and get the money back when the situation normalises. The biggest worry in the region, however, comes from the farmers inability to purchase fertiliser and seeds for the Rabi crop. But in Ramdiri village, barely ten kilometers from the district headquarter, villagers do not seem unduly alarmed over being cashless in their routine life. In rural society, inter-dependence is so strong that we get support, they point out. Even micro-ATMs are functioning in the region, they claimed, giving an air of self-assurance that didn't appear to be contrived. Yet some are worried about the agriculture. If a situation of cash-crunch persists, it would hit the hard wheat sowing, a farmer said. Do they foresee a disaster following the demonetisation? Not at all, what we see in media is not reflected on the ground, they point out. However, a communist leader in the midst of the crowd rejected this optimism and pointed out that the move was ill-conceived and had caused misery for the poor. In this cacophony of a debate, local BJP MP Bhola Singh took the discourse to another level. While speaking with Firstpost, Singh, known for his loquaciousness, closed his eyes and compared the present ordeal with a mythological parable. You see Kunti sought a blessing from Lord Krishna to give her perpetual sorrow in order to remember God, he said. On being asked if Modi was Lord Krishna in his reference, he said, No he is not, but this pain is for the good of people. Singh is a known party-hopper who began his career as a communist and ended up in the BJP. Close to Ramdiri village lies Simaria, the birthplace of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, the famous bard who valiantly fought against the emergency and coined the phrase, singhasan khali karo ki janata aati hai (vacate the throne, lest the people will come). In this erstwhile bastion of communists, the bans on currency notes and liquor are hardly frowned upon. In Bhola Singhs hyperbole it is seen as a blessing in a curse. Prime Minister Narendra Modi deserves kudos for asking to make state-funding mandatory for elections and conduct simultaneous polls for assemblies and Parliament, as the next step to curb black money in the system. The kind of political will and courage Modi has exhibited in his fight against black money, most recently the demonetisation exercise and now the issue of state-funded polls, is tremendous. These are areas where most politicians feared to tread. The idea of state-funding was suggested by the PM in a recent all-party meeting last week. Surely, this is a great way to cleanse the political system from black money, which is essentially a child of political-corporate-nexus. But, that idea isnt due on the discussion table until self-cleansing ceremony is done by political parties themselves on their existing funding sources and the guilty is brought to book. There is none better than PM Modi and the ruling political party, the BJP, to initiate the process by disclosing own funding sources. Can Modi, who has embarked on a crusade against black money, show the political will to set the process rolling? If the PM himself initiates this process, this will leave other political parties, including principal opposition party Congress and Left, with no option but to follow suit and start on a clean slate to prepare for a transparent regime. As of now, Arvind Kejriwals Aaam Aaadmi party (AAP) is the only outfit which claims to have transparent process to accept donations. But, AAP is relatively a small fish in a big pond. The basis of making this point is that unless the current structure of political funding and answer to the questionwho owes whomis not answered in public, there is hardly any point of dreaming of a better tomorrow. Opaque political funding is the mother of all black money transactions in the country. It is based from this unholy give-and-take relation at different levels, all other unaccounted cash transactions involving a corporate, real estate mafia, mining dons, diamond merchants or jewelers is born and the common man is left to die in distress. The numbers According to a report compiled by NGO, Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) titled as an Analysis of Income and Expenditure of National Political Parties for FY- 2014-2015, based on the I-T returns filed by the parties, total income of political parties from unknown sources (income specified in the I-T Returns whose sources are unknown), for the financial year 2014-15 is Rs 685.36 crore, which is 54 percent of the total income of the parties. What are these unknown sources? These are income declared in the I-T returns but without giving source of income from donations below Rs 20,000. Such unknown sources include sale of coupons, relief fund, miscellaneous income, voluntary contributions, contribution from meetings/ morchas etc. The details of donors of such voluntary contributions are not available in the public domain, according to the ADR report. BJP has even greater reasons to take the lead in putting an end to this mystery funding. According to the same ADR report, a total of Rs 582.72 crores (55 percent of total donations) of the total donations to National Parties was collected during FY 2014-15 from donors whose details are not available in the public domain. BJP, which declared the highest total income and highest income from donations above Rs 20,000 amongst the national parties, had collected Rs 434.67 crores (50 percent of total donations) from donors whose details are unavailable. Of the national parties, BJP has shown the highest income amongst the national parties with a total income of Rs 970.43 crore during FY 2014-15. This forms 76.06 per cent of the total income of national parties put together during FY 2014-15. CPM declared the second highest income of Rs 123.92 crore which forms 9.71 percent of the total income of the national parties. CPI declared the least income of Rs 1.84 crore which forms a mere 0.14 percent of the total income of the national parties during the fiscal year 2014-15. The Congress party, the principal opposition, has not even submitted a copy of its audited report to the Election Commission for the fiscal year 2014-15 at the time of release of the ADR report, i.e 19 April. In short, there is significant opaqueness in the way funds reach political parties, and BJP is the highest beneficiary of that. This is not to say other political parties are better though. Once the political parties balance sheets are purged, there will be room for discussions on state-sponsored funding to elections. Here again, there are certain practical issues. Like this Firstpost column, it is difficult to ascertain the fund requirements of candidates individually and that of political parties. If there are no proper ways to address the problem, ultimately the taxpayer will be overburdened with paying for the poll extravaganza. But, it is an idea worth a trial. Demonetisation alone wont work Fundamentally, the crux of the black money problem lies in dubious financial transactions in real estate deals and other benami transactions that takes place with the blessings of politicians. Tackling this would require immense political will, which would be absent until the time political funding for elections (both for general election and local bodies) is made state-funded. The current demonetisation exercise will help address part of the problemthose holding unaccounted wealth in the form of cash will suffer a temporary jolt. But, as the new Rs 2,000, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes become freely available in the system, in no time the new stock of black money will start building up. The realtor will start asking black money in new currency notes, just like he used to ask for old Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes. As explained in earlier articles, corporate lobbies, especially in real estate, operate hand in glove with local politicians and this is the key reason why political-corporate nexus wouldnt die easily. The work to clean-up the economy from the ills of black money should thus begin with breaking the back of this give-and-take relationship. This can happen only if political funding is made state-funded. Modi has shown the courage to speak on the issue now, but he needs to set an example first cleansing his own party. Corporate funding It is not practical to put a blanket ban on corporate funding for political parties. Instead, the feasible way is to route the money through an independent, transparent body under the surveillance of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and investigative agencies. This is something SY Quraishi, former chief election commissioner of India, has pointed out in the past. State funding will free the parties from dependence on and clutches of the corporate houses who feel tempted to run the government by proxy. If necessary, Quraishi says, an Election Trust Fund could be created, to which corporations can make donations. The fund could be administered by an independent Trust or Election Commission. The allocation of funds will be based on the actual performance of parties, whose accounts will be audited by an independent auditor on the ECI approved panel or by CAG. The global experience shows that this system has worked in other countries. A study of Political Finance Regulations around the World by the International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm (2012), showed that this system is working well in over 70 countries, including most European countries (86 percent), Africa (71 percent), North and South America (63 percent) and Asia (58 percent). In September last year, Brazil banned corporate funding in elections. The short point here is: more than demonetisation, purging political parties from the practice of enjoying donations from unknown sources can be a much bigger move. PM Modi must begin this process from within his own party and make others fall in line. The cascading impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation move will affect every single person living in India as it could put the single biggest economic reform in the country, the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill, on the backburner for another financial year. Besides the inherent logistical and procedural difficulties in the already tight race against time to implement GST before 1 April, 2017, there are more valid political and economic reasons for the government to go slow with the bill. "The ruling dispensation and the nation cannot afford to enforce two massively 'disruptive' policies in roughly the same year," a well-place source told Firstpost. Because of immense pressure from within the BJP and the states ruled by the party, as well as other states ruled by rival or supportive parties, the Centre is likely to postpone the 25 November GST Council meeting. "Lack of consensus" could be cited as the official reason. Demonetisation has had its own disruptive impact on the economy and the society. Even as more than two weeks have passed since the implementation of the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the banks have only been able to retrieve about 10 percent of the demonetised notes. The situation with replacement of old notes with new legal tender continues to be grim. Though queues outside banks and ATMs have become thinner, they are still far too long. As per the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday, exchange of old notes and cash withdrawals amount to Rs 1.36 lakh crore as against an estimated total of Rs 14 lakh crore (less than 10 percent) worth of demonetised notes. On being asked how much of the new currency notes had been pumped into the system through commercial banks, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das avoided giving a clear response, saying that this question fell into the RBI's domain and that he wouldn't have the data. A senior official told Firstpost that, as per their estimates, it will take another 50-60 days to replenish about 50 percent of the cash that had gone out of circulation due to demonetisation. This means that by the time Modi's 'harsh period' ends on 30 December, the burden of cash crunch would ease but not end. Following the deadline, as the prime minister had said, more anti-corruption measures would be implemented, which again would cause disruption in the established order. It is important to note that the Finance Ministry would be the nodal agency for all these measures. The ministry is already charged with the task of preparing a combined annual and rail budget for 2017-18, apart from overseeing the implementation of GST. Sources said that chief ministers of some BJP ruled states have informally expressed their concerns to the prime minister and BJP president Amit Shah, saying that it would be too difficult on the ground to handle two disruptive policy decisions in the space of less than six months. The impact of both these issues would be cascading and lasting. Gujarat, a manufacturing state, for instance, which had initially opposed GST till Modi became the prime minister, has already seen protests from farmers and milk producers; the leadership there have their own apprehensions in implementing GST in the immediate aftermath of demonetisation. The government has promptly formulated a mechanism to address their concerns and demands. Another cause for concern in the ruling party circles is that Gujarat goes to polls next year. The combined shock of demonetisation and GST may be too much to bear for the state government and the party. From BJP's perspective, it simply cannot afford to lose Gujarat, that too because of the inherent follies of policy implementation by a Modi government at the Centre. It is no rocket science to understand that year one and year two of GST implementation would bring its own upheavals, before the system settles and popular goods begin to percolate. In September, President Pranab Mukherjee had given his assent to the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016, enabling the implementation of a nationwide GST. The GST Council, headed by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and constituting of state finance ministers, are deliberating upon a new tax regime. After a consensus is reached on the varied structures, Parliament has to pass relevant bills for Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) and Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) and all the states also have to pass the State Goods and Service Tax (SGST) bill. More so, the implementation and tax sharing mechanism would require setting up an adequate IT network for implementing and recording GST including registration, returns, payments and so on. It should be noted that the prime minister and the finance minister had taken personal initiatives and pushed hard to see to the passage of the 122 Constitutional amendment bill and the GST from both Houses of Parliament. 'One nation, one tax' was hailed as the single biggest economic reform bill since Independence. But then a demonetisation of this magnitude had not happened in India before either and was bound to take its toll. New Delhi: CPM on Wednesday became the first political party to join the legal battle in the Supreme Court against the Modi government's controversial demonestisation decision. The remarks made by the apex court on 18 November that demonetisation "may lead to riot-like situation" was reflected in the petition filed by the CPI(M) through its General Secretary Sitaram Yechury. Earlier, CPI national executive member Binoy Viswam, in his individual capacity, had moved the apex court challenging the constitutional validity of introducing Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 currency notes with Devanagari script in its design. The petition filed by CPM claimed that a riot-like situation has been created by demonetisation move and raised the issue of waiving of Rs 1.14 lakh crore of bad debts by government banks in last three years. "At the same time, loans worth lakhs of crores of rupees are still outstanding. The government has not made public the names of the beneficiaries of the waiver and the names of the big defaulters, both individuals and corporations," it said. "Demonetisation has created a riot-like situation in the country. The government should ensure that common people have immediate access to enough money to pay for their daily needs and health emergencies. The country has virtually come standstill," the plea filed through advocate PV Dinesh said. Seeking an apex court direction to the Centre to allow people to use old currency notes till 30 December or till adequate supply of new notes, the plea contended that much of economic transactions in India are cash-based due to the presence of agriculture as a major source of livelihood. The plea also sought a direction to the Centre to place on record the measures they have taken for supply of adequate currency notes in a time-bound manner. It said that if the government was targeting black money, it needed a more efficient and effective tax administration. "If black money is the target of attack, it then requires a multi-pronged approach towards a more efficient and effective tax administration that would help unearth such illegal activities. The soft approach of the government towards the big loan defaulters questions the very bonafides of the claim of the respondents," it said. Finding fault in the demonetisation move, the party said, "If it is the government's case that high-value denomination currency is used to hoard black money, then the decision to re-issue new Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes does not make sense. "Issuing even higher value Rs 2000 note is completely inexplicable and puzzling," it said, adding that in the last five years, Income Tax raids have found that only five-six per cent black money is kept in hard cash and those with sizeable amount find ways to protect themselves. "Those who have amassed sizable black money are equipped to find ways around demonetization by converting their existing cash to bullion, gold jewellery, real estate and foreign currencies through brokers and middle-men. In fact, organised middle-men and touts have already emerged to convert black money into white for a commission," it said. The government today announced a few more measures to help the farmers and consumers to deal with the prevailing cash crunch and the sudden digitisation of the economy. The government said Nabard and the RBI will take steps to make cash available to cooperative banks to help the farmers deal with the situation. The National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (Nabard) has also sanctioned Rs 21,000 crore limit to district central cooperative banks, said Shaktikanta Das, secretary, department of economic affairs, who has now almost become the government's face of demonetisation. Here are the key steps announced today: 1) Nabard has sanctioned Rs 21,000 crore limit to district central cooperative banks with an objective to ease the cash crunch in the rural areas, which has hit the agriculture sector hard. Banks, Nabard and RBI will make cash available to co-operative banks. According to him, as much as 40 percent of small and marginal farmers get credit from co-operative banks. Finance minister Arun Jaitley held meeting with Nabard and RBI and advised them to carry out whole chain of activities smoothly. 2) The government has set up 1.55 lakh point of sales machines for disbursing new currency in rural areas. 3) Public sector banks and select private sector banks have agreed to waive off the service charge levied on debit cards until 31 Decemeber. 4) Service charge on online ticket booking of railways has been waived off. 5) The government plans to install RFID tags on cars to facilitate cashless transactions at tolls. 6) More than 82,000 ATMs recalibrated already. All the ATMs will be serviced in a few days' time. 7) The RBI has introduced special dispensation for small merchants and doubled the limit of semi-closed prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) to Rs 20,000 to facilitate digital transactions. At 11 am, on Wednesday, when Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's rant against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for avoiding Parliament, not coming to either Houses to respond to the concerns raised by Congress and other Opposition parties over demonetisation was being played live, Modi was sitting quietly in Lok Sabha, observing the noisy protests against him and his demonetisation scheme. The prime minister's presence didn't make a difference in the usual disruptionist attitude of Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and some other Opposition parties. Congress members were in the Well, shouting slogans. After a while, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the House over the din. It is nobody's case that the prime minister should not speak in Parliament on an issue like demonetisation which directly impacts every Indian citizen, but even his harshest critic would agree that the prime minister can't be expected to speak on an issue as sensitive as this amid an unruly scene and sloganeering on the floor of the House. There is no reason to believe that the prime minister would not speak on the issue. It is not a subject where the government is on the defensive. After all, when Modi addressed the nation on 8 November at 8 pm announcing the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, he claimed total ownership of the move. During the announcement and subsequently when he urged citizens to "give next 50 days" and patiently bear the short-term hardships for the greater national good, he was banking on his credibility and goodwill, and hoping that people would respond positively to his call. He has spoken extensively at two public meetings Goa and Ghazipur and referred to it through a webcast at a rock concert in Mumbai. He is personally chairing review meetings. His method may be harsh, but he simply cannot afford to lose this war against corruption, black money hoarders, generators and circulators of fake currency, drug, hawala operatives and terror financing. The nation too can't afford to lose this war. To win this war, it is imperative that Modi continues to create a favourable public opinion or be on the right side of public opinion. He has to set the course of public opinion and respond to arguments of Opposition parties. Some of the arguments and charges made by political rivals are designed to mislead public opinion, confuse people, even create a sense of panic. Nobody would realise that more than Modi and senior colleagues in the government and the party. A senior functionary told Firstpost that Modi would speak at an opportune moment in Parliament. There is no reason why he would not speak, but Opposition is bent on disrupting the proceedings of the House and stay relevant before TV news cameras. Let the House function and then expect him to respond. During the height of the 2G scam controversy, former prime minister Manmohan Singh had recited an Urdu couplet to the gathered media outside Parliament, "Hazaaron jawabon se acchi hai meri khamoshi, na jaane kitne sawaalon ka aabru rakhe." (My silence that is better than a thousand answers, for I kept dignity of end number of questions). Perhaps Modi would do more than what his predecessor did. Modi is by far the most eloquent public speaker of Independent India and all his interventions in Parliament in the last two and half years have been very powerful. He has the capacity to silence his political rivals. Demonetisation is a subject of his own choice where he has put his personal credibility and some would say even political longevity at stake. There is no indication that he would not use a parliamentary platform to articulate his position and counter the charges of the Opposition. His last impassioned intervention was on GST during the Monsoon Session and had its own impact on the passage of the bill, as 122 Constitutional Amendment Bill from both Houses of the Parliament. But Modi waited for the right time, prepared the ground for his intervention and then made a forceful impact. In the ongoing demonetisation debate, on day one of Parliament Winter Session, when it appeared that the arguments made by Anand Sharma, Mayawati, Sharad Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav, Sitaram Yechury were making no impact and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was quite comfortable preparing his responses, what Congress, TMC, BSP did next were to disrupt the proceedings of the House on the pretext that the prime minister was not present to respond to the debate. The Congress demanded Joint Parliamentary probe, TMC wanted a roll back of demonetisation and voting after the debate, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Modi should keep sitting in both Houses of Parliament throughout the duration of the debate and respond with agreeing to constitute the JPC. It's a different matter that on most occasions Congress chooses to walk out of House when an assertive response comes from the government or Modi. Some BJP leaders recall that initially, Modi would be readily available for intervention in Parliament, but during the Winter Session of 2014, six months after he assumed office, his regret over Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's condemnable 'Ramjade versus Haramzade' remark on floor of the House had failed to mollify the Opposition. The Opposition parties had continued with their protests, staged a walkout, tied black cloths across their mouths. Since then, the prime minister and the ruling BJP have been slightly more cautious in rushing to Parliament to respond on a subject raised by the Opposition. Demonetisation is, of course, a different kind of issue. Rahul Gandhi and the other Opposition leaders, who stood in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament on Wednesday, may just be making yet another assumption about Modi. New Delhi: Lok Sabha witnessed a virtual washout for the fifth consecutive day on Wednesday as government and opposition parties continued to clash over the demonetisation issue and the rule under which a debate should take place on it, with the former ruling out any provision of voting in the discussion. Opposition members, including those from Congress, TMC, RJD, CPI(M) and BJD, besides SAD and Shiv Sena, both part of the ruling NDA, expressed their views in the House when it assembled at noon after one adjournment, with the Sena changing its stance on demonetisation and sparing the government of embarrassment by praising the move and supporting its stand that the debate will be held under Rule 193, which does not entail voting. Sena had been critical of the demonetisation move and its members even joined a TMC-led protest march to the President last week but softened their stand after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The House saw continued protests by Opposition members soon after it assembled for the day, with Congress and TMC MPs trooping into the Well, forcing its adjournment first till noon and later for the day. Speaking soon after the House was reconvened at noon, Mallikarjun Kharge (Cong) said they were ready for a discussion under Rule 56, which entails voting. "But a message has gone out that the opposition is not "But a message has gone out that the opposition is not ready for discussion. People are distressed, people are in pain and we want to discuss their problems. What we want is that the Prime Minister should be present here. You (Speaker) should allow us the adjournment motion," he said. Modi was present in the House briefly during Question Hour, during which only one question could be taken up amid the opposition's din which led to the first adjournment. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Kharge said it is being told outside Parliament that a few people are supporting black money. "But the fact is that ruling party is supporting black money and not allowing the discussion to take place in the House." Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the government is willing to discuss the issue any time and it may not be a short duration debate but could "go on for 1-2-3 days." "If the opposition offers any constructive suggestion, we will heed to it, implement it. We have launched a campaign against black money, fake currency and corruption and people of India are supporting Modi," Kumar said. Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) and Jithender Reddy (TRS), two parties which have not joined the Congress-led protests, favoured a quick resolution to the impasse so that Parliament can resume its proceedings and take up matters of public interests. BJD has demanded a discussion under Rule 193. Batting for discussion under a rule involving voting, Sudip Bandhopadhyay (TMC) wondered what was the harm in it as the government enjoys a "brute majority" in the Lok Sabha and will win in the eventuality of division of votes. Noting that over 300 opposition members from both the Houses had joined a protest in the Parliament Complex this morning, he urged Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to sit with the government and thrash out a solution. Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav (RJD) said the country was passing through a crisis. Anandrao Adsul (Sena) said his party has welcomed demonetisation as it was necessary to phase out old currency notes to remove fake currency, black money which were supporting terrorism. Referring to the relaxation for farmers announced by the government on Wednesday, he said it will help them a lot. The decision is being praised in the country as well as abroad, Prem Singh Chandumajra (SAD) said. Opposition parties then trooped into the Well raising slogans, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House for the day. Just about six days after the announcement of the demonetisation of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes, the Prime Minister once again raised the issues of state funding of elections and simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. Are these issues real, particularly in the current context? Lets take state funding first. To relate demonetisation to state funding of elections, after it has been related to the elimination of black money, corruption, terrorism, counterfeit currency, is really disingenuous. The first thing to clarify is that the expression state funding is misleading. What this really means is public funding because what is proposed to be given to political parties and candidates is the money that the public has provided to the state by way of taxes. State funding of elections has been part of the national discourse as far back as 1990, with a committee headed by a prominent Member of Parliament, Dinesh Goswami. However, the most prominent committee that is quoted often is the one headed by another prominent MP, Indrajit Gupta. This report was submitted in 1998. While mentions of the Indrajit Gupta Committee are always accompanied by its recommendation of partial state funding in kind, what is always, and not almost always, overlooked is the following which is contained in the opening paragraph of the conclusion of the same report. It says, Before concluding, the committee cannot help expressing its considered view that its recommendations being limited in nature and confined to only one of the aspects of the electoral reforms may bring about only some cosmetic changes in the electoral sphere. What is needed, however, is an immediate overhauling of the electoral process whereby elections are freed from evil influence of all vitiating factors, particularly, criminalisation of politics. It goes without saying that money power and muscle power go together to vitiate the electoral process and it is their combined effect which is sullying the purity of electoral contests and effecting free and fair elections. Meaningful electoral reforms in other spheres of electoral activity are also urgently needed (italics added). Despite the above observations of the Indrajit Gupta Committee focussing specifically on criminalisation of politics, all political parties continue to give tickets to people with criminal cases pending against them resulting in a situation that the number of MPs with criminal cases pending against them has increased from 125 in 2004, to 162 in 2009, and to 186 in 2014. The other issue with so-called state funding of elections is the quantum of funding required. If public money is to be provided to political parties and candidates for contesting elections, it is obviously necessary to know what amount of money to budget for this purpose. Getting even a reliable estimate of this amount seems to be completely impossible. The reasons for this impossibility are given below. It is now widely believed and accepted, even by politicians who have contested elections, that almost all candidates contesting elections to Parliament and State Assemblies lie about the expenditure they incur on their elections. And there is hard data on this aspect. All candidates contesting elections are required to submit a sworn affidavit detailing the expenditure they have incurred on their election. An analysis of the election expenditure affidavits of 6753 candidates in the 2009 Lok Sabha election revealed that only 4 candidates said that they had spent more than the limit for their election expenditure limit. Thirty candidates said that they had spent about 90-95 percent of the limit. 6719 out of 6753, 99.99 percent, of the candidates said that they had spent only 45-55 percent of the limit. Despite the above hard data, there is a constant clamour to increase the election expenditure limit. It should be clear from the above lack of clarity that it would be impossible to assess how much to budget for state funding of elections. Another source of confusion is the fact that while there is a limit specified for the expenditure that a candidate can incur on her/his election, there is no such limit on the amount that political parties can spend on elections. This adds to the uncertainty on how much to budget for. So much for state funding of elections! Now to simultaneous elections. First, elections to Parliament and State Assemblies do not happen simultaneously not because someone has so decreed or because the Election Commission enjoys spending public money. Elections happen in a staggered way because the Election Commission follows the Constitution of India. Articles 83(2) and 172(1) lay down the duration of the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies to be five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer. It is true that in the initial years of the republic, elections to Parliament and State Assemblies happened at the same time but over time, as the national polity evolved with changing conditions, and the Constitution was implemented in earnest by the Election Commission. The elections got out of phase, and that continues. Another cardinal principle of the Indian polity is that the Constitution gives the States a separate constitutional position. The States therefore have the right to have their elections as and when they fall due. The separate constitutional status is the hallmark of the federal character of the Indian Republic. Forcing States to have their elections whenever elections to the Lok Sabha are held is akin to surreptitiously altering the federal character into a unitary character. The last and the most disturbing factor involved in simultaneous elections is the fact that one of the major reasons for holding simultaneous elections is that it will reduce costs. What is disturbing about this is that this amounts to putting a price-tag on democracy. Elections are the primary technique of operationalising our representative democracy. Should we try to hold our elections in a way that it gives us the best and most representative people in the Parliament and State Assemblies or should we try to reduce the cost of elections to the minimum possible, thereby reducing elections to be a five-year ritual? If elimination of black money from the economy and society is the aim, then the only way to achieve it is to make the working of political parties democratic in their internal functioning and to make their financial affairs transparent. This is because it is the extensive use of black money in elections that abets and facilitates creation of black money in the country. Of course, demonetisation will, possibly, remove black money from Indian economy and society for once, but it will not stop the generation of black money. Generation of black money will not stop unless we change our methods of working in the government and business, which is not likely to happen despite all that is being said and done about the GST. Ironically, this is something that all political parties have been resisting with all their might. The latest episode that proves this is the blatant defiance of a decision of a full bench of the Central Information Commission (CIC) in June 2013 that six national parties (BJP, Congress, BSP, NCP, CPI, and CPI-M) are public authorities under the Right to Information Act. When the CIC was approached to get their own decision implemented, it failed to do so in March 2015. This matter has now been taken up with the Supreme Court. The first response that the Supreme Court received was from the Government of India, and ironically, once again, it said in its affidavit that political parties should not be under the RTI Act. It, therefore, seems clear that the current government, just like governments over the last 20 or so years, is not only not serious, but also seems to be very clear on the fact that political parties should continue to be completely non-transparent. It is therefore very difficult to believe that the government is serious about eliminating or even reducing black money in the country. The author is a former Professor, Dean, and Director In-charge of IIM Ahmedabad. Jammu: National Conference working president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said Kashmir is a "political issue" and needs a "political solution" for heralding lasting peace in the state. "For arriving at a solution, New Delhi must open channels of dialogue with all stakeholders," he said while addressing a public rally in Doda on Tuesday. Referring to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's claim that demonetisation had a positive impact on the Kashmir situation, Abdullah said, "Instead of continuing to invest in delusions and deflections, there is a need to understand real issues so that a solution can be worked out." About the "alarming" situation in Kashmir for the past over four months he said, "The issues involved are beyond economics or law and order. Therefore, New Delhi must take political initiatives for resolving these." Abdullah alleged the "contradictions and opportunism" of the ruling PDP-BJP alliance are at the root of the turmoil in the Valley. He claimed that NC has made a "sincere and honest bid" to end people's miseries and defuse the situation by meeting the President, the Prime Minister and the opposition leaders in the national capital. "We did not politicise the situation like the PDP did by creating obstacles in smooth functioning of the government from 1999 to 2002 and between 2008 and 2014," he claimed. Abdullah alleged that while in the opposition, Mehbooba Mufti "would not miss an opportunity" to exploit the pain and grief of the people. "Now, the Chief Minister is blaming one and allthe youth, the institutions, socio-religious organisationexcept for herself for the mess the state is in," he alleged. Abdullah claimed an unprecedented situation is prevailing across the state with development coming to a grinding halt and utility services lying almost defunct. He alleged that several projects launched during his tenure as the Chief Minister were either abandoned or put on the back-burner by the present dispensation. Had the power projects like Ratle, Keeru, Kwar, Kalnai, Pakaldule, Sawlakote been allowed to come up, these would have not only changed the economic scenario of the Chenab Valley region but the entire state as well, Abdullah said. The "failure" of the PDP-BJP alliance to fulfill its promises had led to a "political deficit" that has been one of the contributing factors to chaos, turmoil and uncertainty, he claimed. Cautioning people about the "divisive politics" that has penetrated into the socio-political fabric of the "pluralistic" state, Abdullah appealed to people to isolate such elements by maintaining time-tested unity, amity and tranquillity. The PDP-BJP combine "has reaped the dividends of polarisation and divisiveness" and therefore "they would continue to promote" such a drift for furthering their political agenda, the NC working president alleged. "In such a situation, National Conference has an added responsibility to keep the flag of inclusiveness aloft," he said. Auto refresh feeds "Most of the people eat food in dhabas when they eat outside. Can the government inform us about a dhaba in which a person carries card-swiping machine in his dhoti?" he said. "Many labourers became unemployed today...there are very long lines and crores of people in those lines. But it is not just that," he said. "Does the farmer own black money when he engages in transactions for seeds, fertilisers?" he said. "It is a reality that the farmer is an important part of the economy. That is why India does not have to beg," said a dramatic Anand Sharma in the Rajya Sabha. "What authority do the prime minister and finance minister have so that we have to beg you for our very own money?" thundered Anand Sharma. "You have created a condition in which you told a person that he can exchange Rs 4000...I marvel at your generosity," Anand Sharma said sarcastically in the Rajya Sabha. "After the Uri attack and surgical strikes, we posed various questions about the army....You said we cannot ask questions about the army," said Anand Sharma. "If you are the government, that doesn't mean India belongs to you. You have created such an environment that we cannot ask questions," he said. "If we ask questions, you start asking questions about our nationality," he added. "Who got the benefits of your decisions?" he said. "Your government is only for those people who are your friends. You hurt those people who question you." "If you are trying to give this impression to the country that India started fighting money laundering now, then the prime minister is living on a different planet," said Anand Sharma in Rajya Sabha. After this statement, the Congress MPs began shouting again. Note that Anand Sharma was not interrupted even once when he was talking in the Rajya Sabha. "But I think Anand Sharma does not know much about economics," he said. "If his claim of fight against black money is true, he would not have ignored the fact the entire country has welcomed this move by the Narendra Modi government," he added. "In the future, inflation will be controlled when more people pay taxes," he said. "The central government will also get more resources for the welfare of farmers, labourers, youth, women in the country." "Some people had suggested that this move should have been made public seven days before implementing it. But secrecy is most important in such issues," he said. "The government has taken many steps against corruption. Demonetisation was a historic step against corruption. This was also a warning to the corrupt that the black money they had was useless now," he said. "Finance Minister had informed the House only about the counterfeit money in the economy, not the money which some people have got through corruption," Goyal said in the Rajya Sabha. "Some people just seem to be unhappy that Prime Minister Modi has taken an important step against corruption and black money," he said. "When the government had just come to power in 2014, there was an atmosphere against corruption," Piyush Goyal said in Rajya Sabha. "This is a step after which a person will think twice before engaging in corruption," he said. "The poor labourers will benefit the most," he added. "Please do not hold views which the corrupt can use to free themselves," Goyal added. "You (Congress) talked about surgical strike. We did not mention it. This is good. You have given us a certificate that we conducted precise strikes against corruption," he said. "The country is ready to tolerate a few days of inconvenience," he said. "The entire country is with us," he added. "And even the Election Commission won't be able to notice when someone is carrying the Rs 2000 note in one's pocket," he said. "Several crore vegetables were just thrown away per day from markets," he said. "Who gave you the advice to come up with the Rs 2000 note? Go outside Delhi to the villages of India. Nobody will accept that note," he said. "The farmer is unable to buy fertiliser and seeds," said SP's Ram Gopal Yadav in Rajya Sabha. "Farmers are not able to sell potatoes now. Were these potatoes made using black money?" he said. Who gave you the advice to come up with the Rs 2000 note? SP asks govt in Rajya Sabha "Our party will move adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha," she said, adding that demonetisation was a dictatorial and draconian step by the government. "We told the President that he is the custodian of the Constitution. We told him to talk to the government," Mamata Banerjee said. "Today, people are not getting access to vegetables in the markets. Children are not getting milk. People are dying," she said. "Today, how did the non-performing assets increase in the last six months?" the Bengal chief minister said. "After cancelling notes, there were a lot of notes needed in banks for the huge demand," Mamata Banerjee said after meeting the President. "90 percent of blak money is in tax havens abroad," Yechury further said. "It's like the prime minister is killing the pond to kill the crocodiles, forgetting that the crocodiles can survive on land too." "But where is this black money? All estimates say 6 percent of this black money is in cash," he said. "Black money is in circulation, in real estate...gold imports have surged in the last few days." "We want black money controlled. We want it eliminated. The World Bank says that nearly 21 percent of the Indian economy is in the black economy," Yechury said. "If you stop these Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, you think corruption will stop? Now, corruption will double with the Rs 2000 notes," Yechury said. "After 26/11, we went on debating over a new law to combat terrorism. On many issues, we had agreed over how terror funding needed to stop," Yechury said. "We want to stop counterfeit money. Locate where this is happening. Punish them. We will all support this. But this is not the way to stop it," he said. "By this way, you are killing the poor," he said. "As Anand Sharma said, 0.02 percent of the cash is counterfeit. To take care of that, you needed to do this?" he added. "The point is that black money is not going to go away with this. Black money is not stock, it is a flow," Yechury said in the Rajya Sabha. "For the rest of India, it is Tarasta Bharat," he said. "People can't get their children treated at hospitals." "In our rural population, 80.8 percent of the rural population is not covered by the banks," he said. "What banking does the prime minister want us to go to? There is Shining India with e-wallets for them," he said. "Why are you agonising the Indian people?" Yechury said. "Agonising people is a way to tell people: I control your personal lives," he said, adding that this was a fascist move. "People will say this Tughlaqshahi," he said. "This does not meet the objectives of what the prime minister set out to do." "You have allowed banks to exchange notes. Bulk of Indians today are dealing with rural cooperative banks. You don't allow them to change notes...86 percent of the rural population is dependent on transactions from these banks," Yechury said. "Don't give this exemption to political parties to spend whatever they want," Yechury said. "If you're serious about stopping corruption, stop the supply side of corruption," he added. Laughing at Das, Patel said, "Are you kidding me? How can you allow your EAS to issue such statements. You are making a fool of yourself." Slamming the Narendra Modi government's handling of the issue, Patel gave example of Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, who during a press conference on Wednesday said: "The new currency notes, just as the old ones, will lose colour if rubbed with a piece of cloth wet because that's the nature of the dye used. If your note does not lose colour, it's one of the signs that it may be fake." "Abolishing black money is a move we all support, and BJP government's intention is great but you are asking people to be hungry for 50 days for a feast on the 51st day. Vo aadmi toh mar ayega, bhoj kya khayega (The person will die on the 51st day, what will he do with the feast)," says Patel. Rajya Sabha erupted after the comment. Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad interrupted Tiwari's speech and said that the statement, which was "atrocious", should not go in record. "No one speaks about the country's prime minister in such an atrocious way. It should not go in record,"Prasad urged the Chair. In a dramatised speech, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari from Uttar Pradesh compared prime minister to former dictators like Gaddafi, Adolf Hitler and Mussolini. "The seat that you (Narendra Modi) occupy, has been occupied by Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru, Shastri ji, Charan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But the way you are working, I am forced to say that it reminds me of dictators like Gaddafi, Hitler and Mussolini." "Modi government marched to victory in 2014 because the country was tired of scams and scandals. That was our poll promise. I request Congress to come out of the dilemma - are you in favour of the people who are hoarders and scamsters or you are in favour of a bold step that eradicates black money from the country. Narendra Modi is capable of taking very strong steps. Temporary pain for long term gain - is the buzz across India. One thing I want to assure - if your money is valid, nothing will happen to it." "You have got a chance to discuss important things on this platform so do not waste it by mud-slinging. When it comes to people and their hatred towards our PM (the way you claim), we saw their hatred in 2014 and we will see it in 2019," Naidu says to a thundering applause. Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu addresses Rajya Sabha and says that people across the nation are watching this Session and they are not interested in a history lesson. As expected, the Opposition targetted the Narendra Modi governmemnt over its "ill-preparedness" and "lack of empathy" for the general public. Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad at the end of day one requested the prime minister to appear in the House tomorrow and discuss the issue of demonetisation. While the Lok Sabha was adjourned earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha argued and debated on topics till 6 pm on Wednesday. Chairman of Upper House PJ Kurien announced that the House will resume the same discussion (on demonetisation) from 2 pm on Thursday. The first day of Winter Session went as expected, in fact it went better than expected. While the Union ministers and BJP MPs are demanding an apology from Leader of Opposition in the House Ghulam Nabi Azad for his Uri remark, Congress MPs are demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the demonetisation scheme. "The nation wants to know today," he added, reminding of a news anchor famous for shouting at the panellists on his show. "The Opposition has disappointed us and the country," he said. "I want the Congress to clarify on Azad's remark," he said. "Those who ruled over the country for 50 years and ruined the situation of the aam aadmi and those who did not let the Parliament function are now also on the same path," said Naidu. "The prime minister will respond if needed," he said. "They are not strong...they are not on the side of the truth, the people are not with them," Naidu further said. "The government is ready for a discussion. We don't know what has happened with the Congress. Suddenly, they took a U-turn," said Venkaiah Naidu. "There is a need to fix the railway infrastructure. Modiji talked about the bullet train. But there is no focus. How will the aam aadmi benefit and get safety?" said Rahul on the Patna-Indore Express tragedy. "This is one of the biggest economic decisions in India. But the prime minister had not thought about the impact," he said. "This is some other form of the prime minister," he added. "We are ready for a discussion. These days, why does the prime minister need to come to the Parliament? He is on a different level. He does not need to interact with his ministers," said Rahul sarcastically. "People are complaining of deals at the back of long lines to banks. So people are suffering huge losses," he said. "Only 15 or 20 friends of the prime minister will benefit from this move," he added. "People have told me that they are suffering a lot," said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi outside the Parliament on the issue of demonetisation. The Opposition members raised slogans, even as deputy chairman PJ Kurien threatened to adjourn the House. And... he did. The Rajya Sabha is adjourned till 12 pm. Rajya Sabh and Lok Sabha will resume in a while. Meanwhile, asking his countrymen to tell their views on demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted saying, "I want your first-hand view on the decision taken regarding currency notes. Take part in the survey on the NM App." Speaker of Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, quite hassled by the way the MPs were behaving, threatened to adjourn the House. "Kyun kar rahe ho?" asks Mahajan very politely as Opposition MPs raised slogans and asked for debate over demonetisation. The protesting MPs also demanded that Modi should come to the House and make a speech. The Lok Sabha is heading for another adjournment as the Opposition escalated their attack on the BJP government over the same issue of demonetisation. By the look of it, the Winter Session of Parliament till now has been a total washout with no constructive debate happening on the floor. After the ruckus got out of hand, a very calm Hamid Ansari stood up and adjourned the Upper House till 2 pm. Members could not keep it together even as the Rajya Sabha resumed proceedings at 12.32 pm. However, an unrelenting opposition continued to raise slogans. The Speaker again appealed to the opposition to participate in the debate saying that the disruption of proceedings would not resolve the problem. "I am really pained. If you are people's representatives, you should stand by them," she said. As pandemonium continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon after 20 minutes of proceedings. Ignoring the slogan shouting opposition members, Speaker allowed the Question Hour to continue amidst noise. When some opposition members tried to bring a placard, denouncing the demonetisation move, infront of Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, who was replying a question related to his Ministry, the Speaker tried to intervene and asked the MPs not to disturb the Minister. "This is not good. Everyone will be shown on TV, but don't disturb the Minister. If you want to discuss something, raise it before the government. People are in pain, tell the government. But this is not the way to highlight people's grievances," Mahajan said asking them to return to their seats. Samjawadi Party, NCP and RJD stood in the aisles in solidarity with the other opposition members. While AIADMK members were also on the aisles raising the issue of Tamil fishermen injured allegedly in firing by Sri Lankan Navy, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was seen busy in his seat in an intimate discussion with AAP MP from Punjab Harinder Singh Khalsa. Opposition disrupted the proceedings of the Lok Sabha for the fourth consecutive day demanding discussion on demonetisation on a rule which entails voting forcing Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House for about 50 minutes soon after it assembled. As soon as the House met, members of Congress, TMC, Left parties and AAP rushed to the Well of the House demanding discussions on the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 under Rule 56, that entails. As BJP members also created a ruckus, an angry Kurien snapped at them. "Why should treasury benches do this? Mr Minister, why should treasury benches to this," he asked Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. He told Azad that he was ready to accept his notice under rule 267 seeking suspension of business. "Mr Azad, I am ready to admit your notice under 267 if only there is order in the House." As they shouted slogans from the Well, Kurien said, "You cannot speak in the Well. Shouting in the Well is of no use. If you go back to your seats, I will give you time (to speak)." At this point, TMC members carrying placards of "Financial Emergency" trooped into the Well, with Congress members following suit. "He should come and listen to the pain people have faced because of his decision," Mayawati said. Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the opposition is ready for discussion on the issue but Prime Minister should come to the Rajya Sabha first. As he spoke, members of the BJP moved into the aisles raising slogans. No sooner were the listed papers laid on the table in Rajya Sabha, Sharad Yadav of JD(U) said the government should pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to kin of the 70 persons who lost their lives due to hardships caused by withdrawal of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. Naresh Agarwal (SP) and Mayawati (BSP) said Modi should be called before starting discussion on the demonetisation. "Today they want PM Modi to address Parliament, tomorrow they will be demand a JPC on the demonetisation issue. Trust me, the opposition is just shifting the goalpost. Why are they running away from a debate? Why do they just want prime minister to speak, is the finance minister not competent enough to reply to their questions," asks Prasad. Speaking to CNN-News18, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad attacked the Opposition on their demand of asking Prime Minister Modi to address the House of Parliament and in turn asked, "Why is the Opposition running away from debate?" "Government wants that there should be a long and elaborate discussion so that we can explain to this country the enormous benefits of this move," Singh said. "Congress and other opposition parties are on a self-destructing course." On the other hand, Jitendra Singh said that the Opposition was on a self-destruct course. "Let's keep Opposition and government out of this. Let's think of the people," he further said. "Almost 70 people have died. He must be crying for them. And I respect that," Congress leader Kapil Sibal told Times Now, clearly taking a dig at the prime minister and implying that he could not come to the Parliament because he was crying. Speaking to the media outside Parliament, Rahul alleged that the government and the prime minister are not allowing a debate in the House. "We have filed an adjournment motion in the House and we want Modi to discuss the issue with us," says Rahul Gandhi "Main poochna chahti hoon prime minister se ki agar unhone itna acha kaam kiya hai to vo ghabra kyu rahe hain? (I want to ask PM Modi that if he has taken a decision which is so good why is he scared?) I urge President to summon Modi and ask him to take measures to solve the problems faced by people post demonetisation move," Mayawati told the media after Lok Sabha got its first adjournment of the day. Alleging that it sends a wrong message if prime minister keeps shying away from a debate, BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday that a debate is a must because otherwise the BJP government looks like it has done something wrong. "Puri daal kali lag rahi hai." Proceedings was continuously disrupted as Opposition leaders raised loud slogans against the BJP government. Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu urges Speaker Sumitra Mahajan not to adjourn the Lower House. "The debate has begun, madam Speaker. Please let the debate happen. The world is watching what Congress and the Oppostion is doing inside the House," Naidu said. The protesting MPs, for the past half an hour, have continously made noise and tried to disrupt the Lok Sabha proceedings. Speaker Mahajan still holding solid ground. Opposition members are trying their best to disrupt the proceedings, but BJP MPs (MJ Akbar, Jitendra Singh) are holding their ground and not giving in to the awful noise that the protesting MPs are making. Samajwadi Party's Akshay Yadav tore paper and threw it at Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in the Lok Sabha. This is definitely a new low for Opposition parties in the Parliament. "I am very sorry that the RBI has been exposed to this kind of criticism which is fully justified," he added. "It is not good that every day, the banking system comes up with some modifications. That reflects very poorly on the prime minister's office," he said. "The national income can decline by about 2 percentage points...I feel that the prime minister must come up with some constructive proposal," said the former prime minister. "In my opinion, the way demonetisation has been implemented will hurt agriculture, small industries and the people in the informal sector," he said. "I want to know from the prime minister the names of countries where people have deposited their money in banks but are not allowed to withdraw it," he said. "What has been done can weaken and erode our people's confidence in the currency and banking system," said Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha. "I say so with all responsibility that we do not know what will be the full outcome," he said. "50 days is a short period but for those who are poor, even 50 days can bring about disastrous effects. About 60-65 people have lost their lives," he said. "Today, there are no two opinions in the country. It is important to take note of the grievances of the common people who have suffered," said Manmohan Singh. "I do not disagree with the objectives of taking steps against terroism and black money," said former prime minister Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House. "By the day, the damage to the economy is increasing. Today, reports have come which have said that in three sectors that are biggest in exports, 4 lakh people have lost their jobs in the last one week or so," Sitaram Yechury said. Addressing the Upper House, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said how can the prime minister say something like this? "How can the prime minister allege that Opposition parties are in favour of black money? This is wrong." Within minutes after the Rajya Sabha began today, the opposition members were up in arms protesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that those cirticising the government are not angry with the government's preparedness but the fact that they did not get time to prepare. Slamming the prime minister for his statements on black money hoarders and his veiled attack against the Opposition, the leaders of Congress and SP and BSP created ruckus in the Upper House and demanded that Modi should address the MPs and apologise for his remarks. "I'm sure many of us have read analysis of noted economist Lawrence Summers, former chief economist of the World Bank and advisor to Obama government who concludes that this exercise has "resulted in chaos and loss of trust" and "without new measures, is unlikely to have lasting benefits. Don't you think it is high time and right time to form a committee of our real experts and intellectuals like Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha, Subramanian Swamy and other top economists and intellectuals of our party and veteran Murli Manohar Joshi to help the government in this hour?" In a series of tweets on Friday, BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, reiterating his faith in PM Modi's intention, said, "However, I have serious concerns about the outcome, fallout and responses of the people of India and the almost united opposition in particular." Seventh day of Winter Session and looks like this week business will take a massive hit due to ongoing protests by the Opposition As Opposition din did not die down even after many requests by the Speaker, Mahajan adjourned the Lok Sabha till Monday (28 November) 11 am. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that a man Rakesh Singh tried to jump in the Lok Sabha off the audience gallery on Friday after the House was adjourned. "Security officials overpowered him and took him under custody and he has been let off with warning," Mahajan added. Taking the nation by surprise, the Prime Minister had on November 8 announced demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes with effect from midnight. Latching on to media reports, Yechury sought to pick holes in the November 8 decision as he noted that 29 crore out of the 30 crore Rupay card holders have never used their cards in a swipe machine. Referring to a report on surfacing of two variants of Rs 500 currency notes, the Marxist leader also took a dig at Modi, saying it was the "Prime Minister's way" of stopping circulation of fake currency. CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, dubbing him as 'Tughlaq' who had "gone missing" after issuing a farman (order). "Barely 20-25 percent of cash demand being met in Metros. Rural areas even worse. While Tughlaq goes missing after his firman," Yechury tweeted. Will government's wait-and-watch technique, as far as Opposition's protests are concerned, work out in their favour? Most political observers say no because the government does not have the luxury of time. Meanwhile, Opposition leaders are still not relenting with their demand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in Parliament. Opposition leaders met before Parliament session commences for the tenth day. However, the worry again is will the Opposition let the Parliament function? Winter Session will go on for 22 sittings - 50 percent of the sittings are already over - the Upper House and the Lok Sabha have still not been able to table crucial bills. "Why is the BJP government so stubborn? Why is the prime minister not coming to debate?" Mayawati asks. In Samba, security forces killed two militants early on Tuesday when a group of militants tried to sneak in from Pakistan through the International Border near a border outpost in this Jammu district. According to reports, the two militants were killed following a "heavy firing exchange" with the BSF. Even as terrorists infiltrated the International Border and attacked two - Nagrota and Samba - districts of Jammu and Kashmir, there was no talk of that in Parliament. The attack in Nagrota reportedly started around 5.30 am with militants firing at a field regiment camp located in the garrison town of Nagrota near the headquarter's of army's 16 corps in the state. Demonetisation has been the reason for Parliament washouts over ten days now since Winter Session began on 16 November. Interestingly, Parliament has not discussed anything else except note ban imposed by the Narendra Modi government since the Winter Session began. TMC leader slammed the BJP government for deploying Army in West Bengal. Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu told Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien that the deployment was a routine exercise and casting aspersions on the prime minister is not acceptable. Opposition: Modiji says he wants the poor to build their own homes, but what about those homes which are being broken? If one had to compare, Rajya Sabha gets adjourned way faster and sooner than the Lower House. Unrelenting Speaker Sumitra Mahajan continues to let MPs speak on different issues while a group of MPs continue to try to disrupt Lok Sabha. But since Winter Session has begun (16 November) members who are against the demonetisation drive have tried, and sometimes successfully, to stall Parliament. "These photos on the walls of the Rajya Sabha, from where emanates the power of democracy, often haunt me. It has been particularly difficult these last few days to get past those photos.Till 1 December (15th day since the commencement of the Winter Session) no business has been allowed to occur in the House except on the first day when a good debate took place in the Rajya Sabha over demonetisation. Regular disruptions, chaos and high-pitched slogan shouting have resulted in complete pandemonium in the House. The continuous ruckus usually leads to the suspension of the House proceedings and, sadly, it has become a regular feature. I ask myself: is this the only alternative left to us to address the genuine grievances of the public, the states and the nation?" "Today, the situation is that the withdrawals of the foreigners who come to India are being rationed," he said. "This has globally affected India's image," he added. "Demonetisation created a situation that 86 percent of the currency was invalidated. Now, after one month, tens of millions of Indians are standing in queues...It is wrong to give an impression that the Opposition is opposing the prime minister's crusade against black money," Sharma said. "The government has collective responsibility but the prime minister is the first among the equals," said Congress leader Anand Sharma in Rajya Sabha. "In the 2G debates, we have insisted that the prime minister participates in this discussions but there is no such practice in this House that the prime minister must be here to listen to each and every member," Jaitley said. "What is the stage we are in? Halfway through the debate, you interrupted the debate and are now raising concerns which have never been raised in the House," he told the Opposition. "In this case, we've repeatedly said that the prime minister is going to participate in the debate," Jaitley said. "It's obviously an important issue. The questions have to be answered," he said. "The government and the council of ministers fucntions on a collective responsibility. There is no such principle that a specific person has to answer." "We've gone through this exercise of having a major debate which is incomplete. We have spent seven hours on the debate under rule 167," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Rajya Sabha. When asked what does the Opposition want, Rahul said, "He should come and debate in Parliament and explain his decision," he said. Targetting the Prime Minister over the issue of note ban, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi slammed the BJP government saying that the decision to scrap high denomination currency was the biggest mistake ever. "It was a bold decision - that's what Modi ji says - but bold decisions are also foolish decisions. Demonetisation was a foolish decision. Our farmers, fishermen and the poor of the society are dying, our Prime Minister does not care for any of that. He (PM Modi) is laughing and having a nice time while the people of the country are suffering. The idea behind cashless economy is that a few people and corporates will get maximum benefits from these transactions. This has damaged the nation." Today, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched a full frontal attack on the prime minister and an united Opposition on Thursday observed Black Day to mark one month since the demonetisation scheme kicked in. 8 November was when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. It's been a month since then and the Opposition protests have gone on unabated - both in and outside Parliament. "It is a matter of shame that the government refused to pay tributes to the martyrs," Azad thundered, provoking the ruling party ministers and MPs, who began shouting as if Azad had just thrown something at them. He also said that by protesting in front of the Gandhi statue, the Opposition was the one which paid tributes to the deceased. "We have been saying for a long time that over 100 people have died because of demonetisation," said Ghulam Nabi Azad in Rajya Sabha. "But the government refused to pay tribute to the deceased," he added. President Pranab Mukherjee has accused the Opposition of "gagging majority" in both Houses of Parliament. "Debate, dissension and decision are necessary," Times Now quoted the President as saying. "The Parliament must not be disrupted...this is unacceptable." The Winter Session of Parliament began on 16 November. On 8 December, both the Houses Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha met for the 14th day but within minutes of commencing, both the Houses were adjourned. The deadlock over demonetisation has led to wastage of the Winter Session so far and considering that just one more week is left for the session to wrap up, there is little hope that the Houses will be able to pass, introduce or even debate the Bills that have been listed for consideration. Information and Broadcasting Minister Venakaiah Naidu also termed the 'dharna' by opposition leaders near the Gandhi statue in Parliament premises as a big 'tamasha' and an insult to the Father of the Nation. "Our opponents particularly the Congress I am told are observing a Black Day. I say what they are observing is a 'Black Money Support Day'," Naidu said. Hitting out at the Congress-led Opposition for observing a 'Black Day' against demonetisation decision, government on Thursday said they are actually observing a "Black Money Support Day". According to Times Now, the parliamentary panel has found Mann guilty of security breach after he filmed a video entering Parliament by crossing several security layers and posted it on social media. As if the logjam in Parliament for which President Pranab Mukherjee admonished both Houses was not embarrassing enough for the country, there is now a delegation of parliamentarians from Vietnam who are going to witness what happens in an Indian Parliament. "Govt running from debate, if they allow me to speak then you will see what an earthquake will come," says Rahul Gandhi. Keep in mind that Vietnamese Parliamentarians are in both the Houses to witness this scene. It's hard to decide at this point who is trying to stall Parliament. During zero hour in Lok Sabha, MPs in Lok Sabha kept raising ruckus while Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tries her best to keep the House in session. Rajya Sabha adjourned till 14 December On Friday as the count of members in the Upper House remained 21 despite calls from the Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien, the house was adjourned till Monday. The benches remained empty while BJP and Congress leaders sparred with each other blaming each other for the non-functioning government. According to an NDTV report Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu said that Prime Minister Modi will be present in Parliament for the three remaining days of the Session and can participate in proceedings for either of the House depending on the need. Congress is going to raise the issue of corruption charges against Kiren Rijiju. Rajya Sabha member and senior Congress leader, Anand Sharma has given notice under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha for discussion on corruption charges against Rijiju. "This is the first time that the government is scheming to make sure Parliament does not function. It usually is the job of Opposition to stand up and protest. However, this government is doing a pretty job of that and making sure that Parliament does not work and no one questions the ruling party's decision. Demonetisation has hurt a lot of people, but Modi government's arrogance is not allowing us to debate it in the House," a TMC member said. BJP was reacting to Congress vice-president's claim that he has information of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's alleged involvement in "personal corruption." Rahul was speaking a joint press briefing of the Opposition after the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day amid din created by Opposition. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar said that if Rahul Gandhi had any information, he could have revealed them twenty days ago, ""but till today he wasn't ready to make any earth-shattering revelations." Soon after Rajya Sabha passed the amended The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill (2014) and Kurien congratulated the members over a productive day, Anand Sharma raised the issue of Rijiju and his alleged involvement in the Rs 450-crore scam. Kurien tried to maintain calm in the House by saying, "Allegation without informing the Chair cannot be allowed." As Opposition members raised slogans and ruckus, Kurien said, "What can I do except adjourning. Both sides are indisciplined. The House is adourned till tomorrow (15 December) 11 am." It seemed like the members in the Upper House were just waiting to pass one single Bill this Winter Session. Soon after Kurien praised the members of the Upper House for being disciplined, ruckus over alleged corruption allegations on Kiren Rijiju took the House by storm again. Kurien: "I have given the floor to Leader of Opposition. That's the tradition. Let's follow it. Please sit down." Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi object to leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad speaking in the Upper House. Kurien asks BJP members to sit down. Amid slogans of "Agusta Agusta" , BJP leaders demanded to know what is the topic of discussion? "I have to adjourn.. what should I do?" asks Kurien. "This is for the first time in history of India that it's the ruling party that's not letting the House to function," says Azad. Sources said that it was also decided in the meeting to raise the plight of farmers and common people in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and demand a loan waiver for farmers. Representatives of Congress, Trinamool Congress, BSP, SP, JD-U, CPI, CPI-M, NCP, DMK and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) were present in today's meeting. Leaders of various parties said the entire opposition has decided to approach the President to "complain" against the ruling party for not allowing them to speak in Parliament. The leaders said they were elected representatives of the country and had every right to speak in Parliament and it was "unconstitutional" not to allow them to speak in both Houses. Sources said time is being sought from the President till Friday and all opposition parties were ready to raise the issue unitedly before him. Taking their protest on demonetisation to President Pranab Mukherjee's doorsteps, Opposition parties sought a meeting with the president to convey the problems caused by the measure to the common man and "over not being" allowed to speak in Parliament. At a meeting of the opposition held in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, representatives of various parties decided to raise with the President the problems of the common people, including the poor and farmers arising out of demonetisation. Advani also added that "had Atal ji been in Parliament today, he would have been upset." Senior BJP leader LK Advani told Home Minister Rajnath Singh to intervene and stop disruptions in both Houses of Parliament. Expressing his unhappiness, Advani allegedly said that he "feels like resigning". Opposition leaders are scheduled to meet the President and PM Modi to push for a way to break the deadlock. The BJPs Parliamentary Party meeting to discuss the strategy to counter the Oppositions charges against the government is currently underway. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the gathering. The last day of the Winter Session of Parliament is setup for a big tussle between the government and the Opposition as both try to break the deadlock. "Regular and continuous disruptions signify this session... The rules about displaying placards and shouting slogans were ignored by all sections of the house," Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari said in his closing statement before adjourning the house. The Rajya Sabha on Friday concluded its winter session after an emotional speech by the Chairman as the house was adjourned sine die. On the eve of Winter Session, two all-party meetings were convened, first by the ruling NDA and the other by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan. At the all-party meeting Modi requested all parties for cooperation in order to make Parliament session a fruitful one. "I hope that Winter Session will be fruitful. I expect that Winter Session will proceed in a positive way. I hope that Winter Session debate will strengthen democracy. I believe that to take the country ahead this Winter Session debate will be useful, " said Modi as Winter Session sets to begin. "If you will put their husbands in jail, who will provide for them, who will pay for their children," Azad asked as he reiterated that Congress leader Anad Sharma's suggestion to send it to Standing Committee should be taken into consideration. Ghulam Nabi Azad stood up as the bill was taken up for discussion and said that none of the parties are in opposition of the bill in essence. However, he said that the government's bill will "finish Muslim women" instead of saving them. He said that a committee should reflect the nature of the House, which the list of suggestions given by Sharma does not. Sharma's suggestion did not include names from the BJP. Jaitley said that the previous precedents show that any amendments or motions should be introduced with prior notice. He said that the Opposition's demand to send the bill to Select Committee was invalid. He also raised objection on the suggestion on members of Select Committee made by Anand Sharma. Kurien said that the Leader of the House is a very learned advocate himself and all points raised by him are of relevance. The rule he quotes that a prior notice should be given is also correct, he said. "However, the same rule adds that the Chairman has the power to admit such a motion and which is why I cannot overrule it. It is now admitted and hence is the property of the House, only members can amend it," Kurien said on Jaitley's objection over the Opposition motion seeking triple talaq bill be sent to Standing Committee. Roy, responding to Jaitley's objection that the Select Committee suggested by him did not reflect the nature of the House, Roy said that he had included members from all parties who were willing to send the bill to the Standing Committee. However, BJP members were not included because the government was not willing to send the bill to the committee. Roy added that if the BJP is interested in sending the Bill for further scrutiny, he has no objection to ammend the list to include its members too. Govt requests to take up GST bill first as Dy Chairman ruled Triple Talaq bill can't be taken for passage without first building consensus in House "If you will put their husbands in jail, who will provide for them, who will pay for their children," Azad asked as he reiterated that Congress leader Anad Sharma's suggestion to send it to Standing Committee should be taken into consideration. Ghulam Nabi Azad stood up as the bill was taken up for discussion and said that none of the parties are in opposition of the bill in essence. However, he said that the government's bill will "finish Muslim women" instead of saving them. He said that a committee should reflect the nature of the House, which the list of suggestions given by Sharma does not. Sharma's suggestion did not include names from the BJP. Jaitley said that the previous precedents show that any amendments or motions should be introduced with prior notice. He said that the Opposition's demand to send the bill to Select Committee was invalid. He also raised objection on the suggestion on members of Select Committee made by Anand Sharma. Kurien said that the Leader of the House is a very learned advocate himself and all points raised by him are of relevance. The rule he quotes that a prior notice should be given is also correct, he said. "However, the same rule adds that the Chairman has the power to admit such a motion and which is why I cannot overrule it. It is now admitted and hence is the property of the House, only members can amend it," Kurien said on Jaitley's objection over the Opposition motion seeking triple talaq bill be sent to Standing Committee. Roy, responding to Jaitley's objection that the Select Committee suggested by him did not reflect the nature of the House, Roy said that he had included members from all parties who were willing to send the bill to the Standing Committee. However, BJP members were not included because the government was not willing to send the bill to the committee. Roy added that if the BJP is interested in sending the Bill for further scrutiny, he has no objection to ammend the list to include its members too. Govt requests to take up GST bill first as Dy Chairman ruled Triple Talaq bill can't be taken for passage without first building consensus in House The Winter Session of Parliament opened on Wednesday with a united Opposition mounting an assault on the government over demonetisation, saying it had led to "economic anarchy" in the country. The opposition parties also demanded a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the alleged selective leak of information before the official announcement. While Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after paying tributes to nine leaders, including sitting TMC MP Renuka Sinha, the seven-hour-long debate in Rajya Sabha, however, remained inconclusive. The debate in Rajya Sabha continued till 6 pm on Wednesday before Deputy Chairman of the House PJ Kurien adjourned it till 11 am tomorrow. Kurien said that the discussion on demonetisation will be resumed on Thursday at 2 pm. "From 11am to 12 pm will be the Zero Hour and Question Hour will be from 12-1 pm," said Kurien. There were repeated demands by the opposition members that the Prime Minister should be present in the House to listen to the members. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said Modi, who did not come to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, should at least be present tomorrow and possibly intervene. The government rejected as baseless the opposition charge that there was "leakage" of the 8 November decision and said everyone was taken by surprise which is why there are "initial" problems. Joining ranks over the raging issue, parties like Congress, JD(U), RJD, SP, BSP, Trinamool Congress, Left and AIADMK slammed the government, particularly targeting PM Modi, for making Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes invalid and said the "ill-timed" and "ill-conceived" step had severely hit the common people, the farmers and the poor. During a discussion on demonetisation, which was taken up after suspension of all business in response to notices given by a host of opposition members, a scathing attack was made on the government which strongly defended the step as one taken in national interest and to end corruption and black money, which it linked to terror activities in the country. Here's a quick recap of what happened today Anand Sharma uses wit and humour to attack Modi Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma on Wednesday demanded a probe into "selective leakage" of the demonetisation move, which he termed a "Nadirshahi farman" (autocratic order). Initiating a debate after listed business was suspended to take up a discussion on the 8 November decision to withdraw old higher denomination currency, Sharma used wit and humour to attack Modi for being insensitive to problems caused to the common man. He asked Modi to state where he got Rs 23,000-24,000 crore, estimated by the International Money Watch Group, for his Lok Sabha elections. He also asked if cheque or credit card payments were made to organise his rally at Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh a few days ago. Alleging that the information on demonetisation was selectively leaked, he said, "Your BJP units have deposited crores (just before the 8 November decision)." Sharma also sought to know from the Prime Minister as to "who wants to kill him", referring to the Prime Minister's speech in Goa where he had said that with demonetisation resulting in "Looting of their 70 year corrupt earnings, they will destroy me, they can kill me". "There should have been an ordinance for demonetization. But no ordinance was brought. This is a Nadirshahi farman (autocratic order)," Sharma said. "The decision to demonetise high currency notes was leaked to a select few. Secrecy was not maintained on this issue. It was published in a Gujarati newspaper long back and even other newspapers wrote about it," said Sharma. "There should be a probe into the selective leakage of information," he said, asking: "What did the government do to prepare for effective implementation of the policy." He also sought to know from the government which law gave it the right to impose limits on withdrawing money from peoples' own accounts. "I condemn Prime Minister's statement in Goa for mocking the people who are standing in queues. He must apologise. Please explain who wants to kill you," said Sharma posing a question to Modi. Congress will not tolerate anyone planning to harm the Prime Minister of the country, he said. "An atmosphere has been created by the government where questioning them has become a parameter to decide one's nationalism," said Sharma. He sought to know from the Prime Minister as to from where the "15 thousand crore rupees spent on your mega election campaign come from". "Did you pay for your recent Ghazipur rally through credit card," Sharma said mocking the government for asking people to use plastic money for day-to-day expenses. Sharma also demanded that Modi must disclose the list of those names, who are holding black money in Swiss banks. "Government has a list of those holding black money in Swiss banks. We demand that the Prime Minister must tell who all are there in the list," said Sharma. He said the government should disclose how much money left India between March and September this year and how many people invested in bullion, bought gold or forex during this period. Sharma took a dig at the government for using the term "surgical strike" in the context of demonetization and the unplanned consequences of the move, saying, "Bina doctori padhe sab surgeon ban gaye (You became a surgeon without training or education)." Quoting media reports, Sharma said State Bank of India the country's largest lender knew of the decision way back in March and a Gujarati newspaper had in April published a report of the move to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. He demanded a probe into "how many people bought more than Rs 1 crore of foreign currency and bullion" since April. "This is a serious issue... you never kept secrecy (about the decision)," Sharma said. The "ill-timed" and "ill-conceived" move had unleashed "economic anarchy" in the country and benefited a few, he said, adding that to fight black money created by higher denomination currency, a bigger Rs 2,000 note has been brought which is similar to the paper on which 'churan' is sold and "shed colour" was brought. "Your government is insensitive," he said adding Modi was riding a bullet train in Japan when old, women and common man were queueing up at banks at 3 am in the morning to get currency to buy their daily needs. Sharma said Modi had in his Goa speech had stated that those standing in line at banks were those involved in 2G spectrum and coal scam as well as holding black money. "I condemn the Prime Minister for calling the poor standing in the queue for his Rs 4,000-4,500, black money holders and scamster," he said. Taking a dig at the Modi, he said someone who "changes clothes five times a day", has become Prime Minister and travels around the globe was "calling himself a sanyasi and tapasvi". Sharma demanded that the names of persons holding accounts in Swiss bank and those revealed in the Leichtenstein and HSBC lists should be made public. The names of bank loan defaulters above Rs 5,000 crore should also be made public. While the decision had put the common man to immense hardship by way of having to stand in long queues to lay hands on valid currency to meet daily needs, the information about demonetisation was selectively leaked to the "friends of BJP," Sharma alleged. The move had branded 86 percent of the currency in circulation black money and "everyone a criminal," he said adding when Modi announced the plan it was expected that adequate arrangements would be made for dispensing new notes. "The magnanimous prime minister allowed Rs 4,000 of old currency to be changed... what right does the Constitution give the government to place restrictions on withdrawal of ones hard-earned money," he asked, adding one has to "beg to be allowed to withdraw his own money." He said former RBI Governor IG Patel had written about the government's decision to demonetise currency in 1978 and it would be absurd to think that all ill-gotten money is kept in cash and not invested in real estate, billion, equities or foreign exchange. Moving towards cashless economy was fine but even the most developed economies of US or Europe have not achieved that objective yet. If they had, the US central bank would have stopped printing dollars, European Central Bank won't be printing Euros and UK central banks would have stopped printing pound sterling, he said. Stating that the government had in one stroke declared everyone a criminal, he said the government and the finance minister have stated that terrorists would have benefited if advance information on the decision was given. "Which terrorist goes to RBI with sack full of counterfeit currency to change." After withdrawing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, restrictions were placed even on foreign tourists who could not get their currency changed. The Congress leader said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had informed Parliament in August that fake currency was 0.02 percent of the total currency in circulation. "If 0.02 percent by government admission is counterfeit currency, how can that be made the base to remove 86 percent of currency in circulation," he said. An undeclared emergency has put common people in grave inconvenience, he said while crime money, ill-gotten wealth and that accrued through corruption or tax evasion is blackmoney, Prime Minister should answer if he considered money in the market, or in households, or with farmers, workers and employees was also blackmoney. "This question arises because a message has gone that Indian economy was run on blackmoney... you decide but don't brand the whole country," he said, adding whether the cash the farmers gets for his crop or the one he uses to buy seeds or fertilizer was blackmoney. He said the move had rendered millions of agriculture workers and labourers unemployed. Mayawati calls demonetisation ill-timed As the debate was in progress, BSP chief Mayawati demanded the presence of the Prime Minister in the House to hear out the Opposition parties and address their concerns. Mayawati questioned the government's preparedness for the demonetisation of high-value bank notes, accusing it of spending the last ten months on settling the black money of its people. Participating in a debate in Rajya Sabha on the demonetisation of high-denomination currency notes, she said: "The government has said that they spent ten months preparing for this decision. Ten months was a long time to prepare. If they were serious about it, they would have prepared well for all the problems that people are facing today." "What we are witnessing in India today would not have happened had they prepared," she added. Accusing the government of supporting those close to it in settling their ill-gotten wealth, Mayawati said: "In the last ten months, the BJP government has worked to help the party supporters and big businessmen to settle their black money. "If the government had spent ten months preparing for it, then why do they need another 50 days? There is something fishy." "Masses are in pain. The Prime Minister must be sleeping after taking pills. The move is without preparedness and people will punish BJP in 2019 during general elections. People of five states going for elections including Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab will punish BJP," she said, adding that the poor and the middle classes were the worst sufferers. "It is an immature decision taken in haste and the whole country feels that is an 'economic emergency'," she said adding that it was like a "Bharatbandi situation." Opposition demands Modi's presence in Rajya Sabha Mayawati said the House should request the Prime Minister to be present and answer the members' concerns. It is "a very serious issue", she said, adding she has been observing Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, appears "sad". Her demand was supported by Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, who said the PM must be present in the House to hear out the concerns of various parties. Earlier, Kurien said he had received as many as 13 notices under rule 267 for suspension of business to take up discussion on inconvience and hardships caused by demonetisation of currency. He said there was a general consensus for discussion and the government too was agreeable, so the list of business as notified stands completely suspended. Azad demanded that the prime minister should at least "hear out the feelings of six-seven main parties, otherwise there is a mismatch. The feelings of opposition members should be heard by PM. I demand that at least he hears them out and sit in the House at least today. We can wait for him to come." This was objected to by DP Tripathi (NCP), who said that as Leader of the Opposition he should not distinguish between the big and small parties. Ram Gopal Yadav (who was expelled from Samajwadi Party) joined Anand Sharma to allege that information on demonetisation was "leaked" and termed it as a scam while demanding a thorough probe into it. "A BJP leader in Punjab had tweeted on 5 November about the new Rs 2,000 note. How did this happen? This is an issue of concern. There is a scam in this. This should definitely be probed," he said, alleging further that 10 percent of the people have 90 per cent of wealth of the country and the remaining 90 per cent do not have anything. The common people, especially the poor and the housewives were put to great hardship through this move and if elections are held today they will teach this government a lesson, he said, adding that majority of women who saved money through household savings were upset with the move. "Elections are not fought with money power. You cannot win elections through money power. No one can win elections like that. Elections are won only by winning the hearts of people," he said. Demonetisation of high denomination currency has created big problems to common people and and law and order situation is being created with police being deployed outside banks to control the queue. "Do not hold elections now. If you meet and ask for votes from housewives in villages, they will beat you up with 'belan' and you will have to embalm your back with turmeric," he said, adding that you might lose elections if you hold early polls. Yadav said the entire House was against corrupt and drug money, but lamented that an impression is being created that those opposing this are against curbing black money which is erroneous. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, who also sought a JPC probe into the suspected leak, said the sudden move was akin to "jumping out of a moving train". He said unlike the rich, who the PM said were standing in queue, it was the poor, handicapped and old people who were doing so to get their hands on their hard earned money. He alleged that while loans worth Rs 7,000 crore was written off today by banks including Rs 1,200 crore of Vijay Mallya and said that the prime minister has made the honesty of the country to stand in queues. Yadav also took a dig at Jaitley saying he was sure that the Finance Minister was not part of the decision making on demonetisation, because had he been, Jaitley would have tipped him off. This remark left most members including Jaitley laughing. Yechury renames PM as "Modi Antoinette" CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said that of the 130 crore population in the country, only 2.6 crore have credit cards. He took a dig at Modi and narrated the infamous quote of Queen Marie Antoinette during the French revolution who had said that people can eat cakes when they don't have bread. "We have Modi Antoinette who says 'If you don't have paper, use plastic'". Yechury compared the Prime Minister with a Roman ruler. He said a Senator had remarked about this ruler that: "I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it's the sand of the Coliseum. He'll bring them death - and they will love him for it." Alleging that a BJP unit in Kolkata deposited Rs 1 crore in Indian's Bank Account on 8 November, he said "prove me if I am wrong." He added that Prime Minister was advertising for Paytm while talking about cashless economy. The CPM leader said 1/5th of the economy is black economy and people who kept black money invested it in real estate, gold etc. That is why the imports surged and stated that it was this PM only who had stated that 95 percent of the black money is stashed offshore and is in safe havens. "PM is cleaning a pond to kill crocodiles but big crocodiles have survived and only small fishes are dying." He also demanded that corporate funding of all political parties should stop and there should be a stystem of state funding for elections to which Kurien said "why don't you move a private members bill in this regard." Terming the demonetisation move as "Tughlaq shahi", he said the length of queues before banks and ATMs was ever increasing and asked why the government was agonising the people. He sought an investigation into the move, saying "let there be a joint parliamentary committee" for a proper probe. "We need to know the motive behind the move" as before every parliamentary session there is some gimmick which diverts attention from other major issues. With inputs from agencies New Delhi: Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday closed ranks to demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in the House to reply to the debate on hardships caused by his decision to ban old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, forcing adjournment of proceedings twice. The uproarious scenes led to the adjournment of the proceedings first till noon and then till 2pm. BSP leader Mayawati went to the extent of seeking an apology from Modi for speaking outside the House when Parliament is in session, while the Congress demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to go into the "sudden announcement" of demonetisation of 86 percent of the currency in circulation. While the BJP members too shouted slogans seeking resumption of discussion on the issue that started on 16 November, opposition members led by Congress and TMC trooped into the Well of the House raising slogans demanding that Prime Minister be called to the House, forcing Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien to adjourn the proceedings till 12 pm. Soon after obituary references and laying of the listed papers, Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said when the Prime Minister says the demonetisation decision was taken in national interest, why is no compensation being paid to over 75 people who died because of hardships caused by it. Naresh Agarwal (SP) said if Prime Minister does not have the time to come to the House, arrangements should be made for an online interface, an oblique reference to Modi using video conferencing to address events held in far-off places. Mayawati (BSP) sought the Chair's protection in getting Prime Minister to speak on the issue inside the House and not outside when the Parliament is in session. By speaking outside, he has "insulted" the House and breached its privilege, she alleged and added: "Prime Minister should be called to the House... he must apologise why he is speaking outside." Sitaram Yechury (CPM) said Modi was violating the Consitution by not answering questions in the institution (Parliament) he is accountable to. Anand Sharma (Cong) said even during financial emergency, Anand Sharma (Cong) said even during the financial emergency, the government cannot restrict citizens from accessing their own bank accounts like the way severe restrictions have been imposed on withdrawal from personal accounts after the 8 November decision. "He has created financial anarchy. Prime Minister must come" and answer questions on hardships caused, he said. Naresh Agarwal (SP) alleged that since even Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was not taken into confidence, he may not be able to reply to the debate on the issue. So the Chair should call Prime Minister to the House, he added. Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (TMC) said Prime Minister cannot make statements on policy decisions outside the House when Parliament is in session and went on to ask the Chair to give a ruling on Modi repeatedly speaking outside the House. Soon Congress members trooped into the Well, carrying placards saying "We want JPC on demonetisation". Kurien asked members to resume the debate started last week, suggesting that all points the Opposition has been raising can be mentioned there. "How do you know Prime Minister will or may not come... Start the discussion, Prime Minister may come," he said. But the members were unrelenting, forcing him to adjourn the proceedings till 12 pm. Soon after the House met at noon, Chairman Hamid Ansari asked members to allow the Question Hour to be taken up but a vociferous opposition created an uproar and rushed to the Well again raising slogans. Members of Congress, TMC, Left, DMK, NCP, SP and BSP demanded the presence of Prime Minister in the House and asked the Chairman to do so before the discussion on demonetisation was resumed. "Prime Minister should be called to the House, this is the sense of the House," said Naresh Agarwal (SP), with other members joining him to urge the Chairman to ask for the PM's presence. "Don't get into all this. Please allow the Question Hour to run. Let us get on with the Question Hour," Ansari said, with a resounding 'No' from the opposition benches. As pandemonium prevailed in the House amid opposition members shouting slogans in the Well, which was countered by some members of the treasury benches. The Chairman's pleas fell on deaf ears as opposition members continued with their uproar, forcing the Chairman to adjourn the House till 2 pm. The current session of Parliament is paralysed, thanks to the growing solidarity among the opposition parties to embarrass the Narendra Modi government over its decision to demonetise old notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500. And all of this in the name of the "common men" who have been forced to stand in long queues in front of banks and ATMs to exchange old notes and withdraw their own money". And yet, one is not exactly clear as to what does the opposition protests hope to gain by disrupting the proceedings in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. There is so much galimatias emanating from the opposition parties on the issue. While the Trinamul Congress and Aam Admi Party want total withdrawal of the government's decision, the rest of the opposition hasn't been very forthcoming on this demand. Janata Dal (U)s supreme leader and Bihar Chief minister, Nitish Kumar, has supported the Modi governments action, but in the Parliament, party leader Sharad Yadav is in full support of the Congress, Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party. In the Rajya Sabha, the Congress forced a general discussion on the subject on the opening day of the session itself, but the next day it changed its stance to join other opposition parties that no more debate would be allowed until the House passed a condolence "over the death of 70 people" because of the lack of cash, though none of the opposition leaders could reply to the Deputy Chairpersons query on the authenticity of the death-figure. On Tuesday, the opposition's goal in Rajya Sabha changed further to ensure the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House before the debate on the subject resumed. Interestingly, while the stalled debate on demonetisation is without any voting and censure in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress is demanding a debate on the same subject in the Lok Sabha with provisions for voting and censure. The opposition's tactics remind us of the proceedings in the 15th Lok Sabha (2009-2014). It may be noted that the 15th Lok Sabha was the least productive Lok Sabha ever as 40 percent of its total time was lost to disruptions. That time, the BJP was in opposition and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power. Now, the situation has reversed, but the trend continues. After 2014, the opposition, particularly the Congress, has stalled the 16th Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on several issues including the roles of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in helping fugitive businessman Lalit Modi, the alleged involvement of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan in recruitments-scam (popular known as the Vyapam scam), the controversial statements emanating from the ruling party members on communal and caste violence (Dadri-lynching and beef politics), the "vindictive policy" of the Modi government against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in the "National Herald case", the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill and now the issue of demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,00 notes. It is worth noting that when the Parliament is in session, it costs the national exchequer Rs 2.5 lakh every minute. I am not one of those to buy the argument that the Congress is doing exactly what the BJP did during the UPA regime. Two wrongs cannot make a right. And to accept that argument would be to imply that if tomorrow the Congress regains power, the BJP should be allowed to paralyse the Parliament. Also, it would mean that until and unless a party or a ruling coalition has a majority in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, nothing concrete will move forward in the country. Nothing can be more perverse than the argument like this. Maintaining discipline, decorum and dignity of the Parliament is of paramount importance for the Indian democracy. These principles mattered a lot in the initial years of the Indian Parliament. So much so that in February 1963, when during the Presidents address to a joint session of the Parliament some of the MPs heckled the speech for being in English instead of Hindi. One Rajya Sabha member even walked out. However, the next day, members cutting across party lines condemned the heckling and expressed their regrets in solidarity. In a letter to the Chief Ministers (18 February 1963), Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru described the incident as "the first of its kind in Parliament" and "most regrettable". He added, It is clear that this kind of thing has to be met effectively; otherwise the work of our Parliament and Assemblies would be made difficult and brought into disrepute. This is a vital matter and I hope the Parliament will set a good example which will be followed in the State Assemblies." I wonder whether Sonia Gandhi, who always points out the glorious "history" of the Congress and particularly of her family, should also be particular of what Nehru said and wrote. One also remembers how on a lesser misbehaviour by todays standards, the then Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Dr S Radhakrishnan had expunged certain portions of the speech of a member and had remarked (27 September 1955): We want to maintain the good name and dignity of this House. Every one of us is interested in that as much as I am. I do not want it to be said that sometimes these discussions suggest that we are not behaving like serious, responsible Members of Parliament but rather like irresponsible professional agitators. That impression even all members of this House to whatever side they may belong should avoid. We must be careful and preserve our good name and our dignity. That is what I am anxious about." Interestingly, one important aspect that needs to be noted here is the fact that the contentious debates between the government and opposition over the years have been mostly around areas pertaining to political and administrative spheres of the governance and not on economic and social issues such as reservations, nationalisation of banks and other properties. One may, of course, argue that there have been differences of views in the Parliament over globalisation and liberalisation of the economy. However, these differences have emerged essentially not out of conviction but out of political expediencies. We have a plethora of examples when opposition parties (BJP in the past too) attacked the government in Parliament for surrendering the economic sovereignty at the altar of globalisation, but their respective governments in various states do exactly the same. The overemphasis on politics in Indian Parliament could be attributed to the phenomenon of the promotion and consolidation of personalised and factional identities. We are today in an age of "agitational politics", whose characteristic feature is the decline of the Congress as a national party and the growth of regional and family-oriented parties whose leaders have been the products of what late political scientist Rajni Kothari called "secularisation of castes" and the rise of lower peasantry in various states. These parties have been the inevitable products of the expansion of Indias political base and the opening of political space for the marginalised sections of the society. Their leaders are not enthused by the so-called all-India outlook. So much so that except in a handful of states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where the Congress and BJP are the principal rivals, Indian politics has undergone complete regionalisation. In almost all the states, the regional players are as important, if not more than, as the two national parties. It is true that opposition in India has always been fragmented. But the difference between then and now is that there is no systematic constraint for the growth of the opposition. There is no more a system of one-party dominance (of the Congress) that helped the dominant party to develop a remarkable capacity to articulate opposition inputs. This, in turn, reflects in their parliamentary behaviours. If in the past "opposing the government" was the catchphrase, nowadays it's "obstructing the government by any means". An effective opposition, while opposing various acts of omission and commission of the government, acts responsibly and suggests remedies and alternatives. It is not the business of the opposition to oppose just for the sake of opposition. But that is precisely what one is witnessing these days. That being the case, is there a way out of the frequent parliamentary logjams? In my considered opinion, the presiding officers of the Parliament (Vice President and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha; Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha) must play a proactive role in taking the support of the Government and majority of the members to restore people's confidence in the Parliament. They have to exercise their power inherent in the Rules and Procedures of the Parliamentary Practices and take exemplary actions against the members who deliberately create disturbances in the functioning of the Parliament by ignoring or disobeying the chair. After all, in the past, members resorting to misconduct have been asked by the chair to withdraw from the House (The chair can "name" or request the sergeant-at-arms to remove the disturbing member) and in many cases, members have been suspended for misbehaviour. At present, more than the Speaker, it is the Chairman/Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha who must apply the existing rules strictly, because, more than the Lok Sabha, it is the Rajya Sabha that is bringing the legislative business of the country to a grinding halt. And that too when under the "Rules of Conduct and Parliamentary Etiquette of the Rajya Sabha, the House has the right to punish its members for their misconduct whether in the House or outside it. In cases of misconduct or contempt committed by its members, the House can impose a punishment in the form of admonition, reprimand, and withdrawal from the House, suspension from the service of the House, imprisonment and expulsion from the House." Maintaining their streak of not letting Parliament work for the sixth day, the Opposition made sure that Parliament proceedings were disrupted on Wednesday. Lok Sabha, which started business at 11 am, was adjourned for the day before 1 pm. After the first adjournment at 11.07 am, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi spoke to the media and said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi should come here, sit, debate and listen to us. We feel that this demonetisation is a scam and demand a joint parliament committee to look into it." Adding that people are not allowed to speak against the BJP government, Rahul said the Congress wanted the debate on demonetisation under an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha, but the "question is are we being allowed to speak." What PM has done is biggest impromptu financial experiment,he didn't discuss this with anyone;this isn't FM's decision but PM's-Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/8O5xq2T5Qd ANI (@ANI_news) November 23, 2016 Opposition parties is only demanding that PM should come and address the Parliament, why isn't he coming?: Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/9rnbFalSXC ANI (@ANI_news) November 23, 2016 Opposition parties is only demanding that PM should come and address the Parliament, why isn't he coming?: Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/9rnbFalSXC ANI (@ANI_news) November 23, 2016 Congress party wants the debate under adjournment motion, question is are we being allowed to speak?: Rahul Gandhi #Demonetisation pic.twitter.com/qMnigO4v6a ANI (@ANI_news) November 23, 2016 "What the prime minister has done is biggest impromptu financial experiment. Modi didn't discuss this with anyone. This is not even finance minister's decision but Modi's," Rahul added. Asking why Modi was not ready for a debate, Rahul said that it is the prime minister's job to address everyone's doubts and clear them. Lok Sabha witnessed unusual and quite a nasty ruckus when Congress and BJD MPs forced adjournment even after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan refused to entertain Opposition's demand of adjourning the Lower House. To the surprise of many, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has improved its voteshare drastically in Tripura, registering an increase of over 30 percent in Borjola and a six percent increase in Khowai constituencies, when the two went for Assembly bypolls this week. Though the ruling CPM won both seats, BJP's improved performance is an important development in the state. The tectonic shift in the voter base in favor of BJP comes at a time when the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is vehemently criticised by the opposition for its currency demonetisation policy. In the 2013 Assembly elections, BJP had merely managed an average voteshare of 1.87 percent. On the other hand, the CPM bagged 49 seats out of 60 in the state with an average vote share of 48.11 percent in the state. A total of 23,58,492 voters participated in the 2013 elections. Though the election commission has not uploaded its statistical report on its website following the bypolls, the numbers have already been counted by experts. As per the draft electoral roll published by the chief election officer in Tripura, there were 38,970 voters in Khowai, of which BJP bagged 2,528 votes. In Barjala a constituency, it BJP bagged 12,395 votes out of 39,154. The Sentinel, an English daily published from Guwahati, went on to declare BJP as the main anti-Left force in the state. Interestingly, the CPM's voteshare hasn't shown a declining trend; the BJP's increase in popularity has come at the cost of the Congress and Trinamool. "Khowai is the constituency from where the Left movement originated in Tripura. Borjola is like any other constituency in the state, so the spike was higher here," said Manas Pal, a senior journalist from the state, who went on to attribute the rise in voteshare to the anti-incumbency factor against the Left regime. "The CPM is ruling the state since 1993. So, anti-incumbency has always been here, despite the undiminished popularity of the chief minister Manik Sarkar," he said. Pal maintained that the anti-incumbency didn't have any outlet since there was no strong opposition in the state. But by playing a pivot role, by raising the issue of unemployment among the youth, the BJP has done its chances a huge favour. Furthermore, he said, the demonetisation move, which has caused much mud slinging among political parties, has actually worked in the saffron party's favour in the NorthEastern state. "Voters in Tripura are very politically conscious. During elections here, we normally have over 90 percent turnouts. People have clearly liked the demonetisation policy," Pal said. The contentious citizenship amendment bill, that proposes granting citizenship to Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh, has also led to the swelling of emotions in favour of the BJP. "The proposed amendment is likely to have a bigger impact in states like Assam and West Bengal, because of the large number of Hindu migrants there, it's an emotional issue in Tripura. Hence, it has big support," said Biplab Kumar Dey, president of the BJP's state chapter. Tripura is a Bengali-dominated state with 30 Assembly seats for the general category, 10 reserved for scheduled castes and 20 for scheduled tribes. The two constituencies which witnessed bypolls weren't reserved. The 20 seats reserved for tribals may play a decisive role in determining who forms the next government at the state. The BJP's future in the state, which is heading for elections in 2018, will depend on its strategy for these 20 tribal seats, experts say. The recent interview of Sonia Gandhi conducted by Rajdeep Sardesai was notable for two key takeaways: first, the dynastic air of imperious distance remained intact, kindling images from Faulkners The Sound and the Fury, the classic that powerfully documents the details of the last days of the downfall of a once-mighty aristocratic family. The second takeaway is more interesting. Perhaps for the first time since the fateful May of 2014 has Sonia Gandhi openly betrayed hints of nervousness. It's not what she actually said in that "vanilla script and candy floss questions" interview thats important but what she didnt say and what questions were not asked that merit examination. Indeed, its incredible how both Sonia and Rajdeep still continue to live in the illusion that she must still be treated with fawning reverence even after presiding over the most comprehensive, decade-long national loot under her watch, and, to borrow Natwar Singhs words, for reducing the Congress party to a rump of 44 seats. It's for this reason that the interview was criticised by many. But more devastatingly, just a day before the Sonia interview, the committed, lapsed-Marxist Ramachandra Guha in Hindustan Times said in so many words that the Congress "should perish for India to flourish." His disillusionment with the Congress culminated in the aforequoted piece given how just two months ago, in September, he had called for Rahul Gandhi to step down, get married and start a family as the only way to rescue whatever is left of the Congress: For a long time, I nostalgically thought the Congress could revive, but I am now increasingly sceptical. Outside the Congress echo chamber, there is a sense that the Gandhi family is useless. Rahul Gandhi is an object of ridicule and contempt by people Across the Indo-Gangetic plain, the Congress has become invisible. It is a lingering death, it is a terminal illness. Rahul Gandhi should retire from politics, get married and start a family. That will be good for him. That will be good for India also. Normally, this sort of vehement criticism from a long-time well-wisher shouldve had warning bells ringing in the party but as the Sonia interview the very next day showed, it's hard for them to let dynasty go: and so the interview was about what we already know Indira Gandhi and sacrifice and the rest. What was interesting though was what Sonia did not say how neither her nor the Congress had any idea on how to counter BJP or how the party did not know what to offer to the people of India. Also, consider the fact that it is the Aam Aadmi Party thats leading the charge against Narendra Modis demonetisation scheme, and also how Arvind Kejrwial decided to team up with Mamata Banerjee, and not Congress. The Delhi chief minister has made it very difficult for anyone to expect anything nuanced from him, but the Congress' stance has not really made any ground-breaking progress and Rahul Gandhi standing in an ATM queue with a posse of his security detail, was not one of them. More worrying tidings for the Congress have also begun to emanate from the East in the past month or so. First, it was news of Nitish Kumar opening "backchannel talks with the BJP for alliance in Bihar." Now, it is his open praise for the Prime Ministers demonetisation missile. The Congress which had bagged 22 seats in the recent Bihar polls piggybacking on the JD(U) and the RJD will suffer a further body blow if Nitish agrees to part ways with Lalu and go with the BJP. The recent bypolls held in six states and one Union Territory reflected the electoral popularity of BJP and the lack of it in Congress. The grand old party lost ground in all states except Puducherry. Results especially from Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh show the kind of phenomenal inroads that the BJP has made in the North East, all coming at the expense of the Congress. The September 2016 Pew survey report concludes that "a strong majority (81 percent) of Indians hold a favorable view of Modi, including 57 percent who have a very favorable opinion of him. A similar proportion of the public (80 percent) expresses a positive view of the BJP" while also noting the fact that a majority of backers of the rival Indian National Congress party (INC) express a positive view of Modi and the BJP. This writer recently spoke to a Congress Taluk functionary in Uttar Pradesh about Modi, demonetisation and allied topics. His response: "Modiji kisi ka sagah nahi hai ji. Desh ki bhalai ke liye woh kuch bhi karsakta hai ji. (Modi is noone's. For the welfare of the country he will do anything.)" This then is what the Congress is faced with. Today, it's truly a party that has outlived its utility for the nation and is largely surviving on the crutches of the sprawling ecosystem it has spawned by doling out pelf and patronage over the decades. It simply cannot attract merit and talent because as its record shows, these will be vetoed if they go against the received wisdom of that mysterious entity called the High Command. This seems to be the common strand in the recent slew of books written by diehard former Congress supporters and insiders including Sanjaya Baru, Natwar Singh and Margaret Alva. By Alastair Macdonald | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS The European Commission has proposed lengthening the period of time its own former leaders must wait before taking up new jobs, following public uproar over its last president going to work for Goldman Sachs. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU executive, said in a statement that he and his successors should have to wait three years after stepping down before being able to take up a new post without seeking special Commission approval.The existing code of conduct stipulates a "cooling off period" of 18 months. Commissioners other than the president - each nominated by an EU member state - would have to wait two years before being completely free to take other work.The issue came up when Juncker's predecessor Jose Manuel Barroso said just after Britain stunned the EU by voting to quit that he was joining U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs to advise it on the Brexit process. The former Portuguese premier had not needed Commission approval as his term ended 20 months earlier."In the light of recent experience made with members of the previous Commission, I feel that our Code of Conduct should be tightened in order to set the highest ethical standard possible for possible cases of conflict of interest," Juncker said. Last month, the Commission's ethics panel, comprised of former senior figures in EU institutions, cleared Barroso of breaking rules but said he did not show the "considerate judgment" one would expect from someone of his stature.Juncker had been among those critics who said the move to a U.S. bank, associated in the minds of many Europeans with the failings of the global financial system, risked fuelling a view that the EU was dominated by an out-of-touch elite in league with international business. Defenders of Barroso and Goldman said many critics were voicing unreasonable prejudice.Barroso has robustly defended his own actions. EU ethics supervisor, European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, welcomed Juncker's proposal but repeated her view that, for some Commission roles, the risk of being seen not to have acted with integrity taking up new jobs, could last for very much longer.In Parliament, asked by Juncker to review his proposals to change the code of conduct for commissioners, Greens transparency spokesman Benedek Javor said it would be better to give all commissioners a three-year cooling off period."The Commission's response to recent scandals has been poor, slow and selective," Javor said. "There won't be real trust until ... there is a clear process for policing and sanctioning violations of the ethics rules, including with fines." Another member of the EU executive arm, Germany's Guenther Oettinger, came under fire recently over trips he made to Budapest on a private jet belonging to a German businessman close to the Kremlin.He was also forced to apologize for offending China, gay people and French-speaking Belgians this month.The Commission was on the defensive again recently when a former antitrust and digital commissioner Neelie Kroes was identified in leaked Bahamas documents as having a role in an offshore business which she had failed to declare to the EU. (@macdonaldrtr; Editing by Louise Ireland) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Curtis Skinner Some of Donald Trump's strongest conservative supporters are voicing anger and disappointment at the president-elect's comments on Tuesday that he might back off his campaign pledge of pursuing a prosecution of former rival Hillary Clinton. Trump, in an interview with the New York Times, took a more compassionate tone toward the Democratic presidential nominee than during his campaign, when he talked about a possible criminal investigation of the opponent he dubbed "Crooked Hillary" if he won the White House. Chants of "Lock her up" echoed throughout his campaign rallies, with Trump supporters angrily alleging corruption related to her use of a private email server while secretary of state and to foreign contributions received by the Clinton Foundation charity."She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways, and I am not looking to hurt them at all. The campaign was vicious," Trump told the Times, adding that launching an investigation was "not something I feel very strongly about."Conservatives who had revelled in the possibility of a Clinton prosecution were not pleased. Breitbart News, the outlet once led by Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, published a story on Tuesday under the headline, "Broken Promise: Trump 'Doesn't Wish to Pursue' Clinton email charges."Writer and commentator Ann Coulter also balked at the news, tweeting: "Whoa! I thought we elected (Trump) president. Did we make him the FBI, & (U.S. Department of Justice)? His job is to pick those guys, not do their jobs." She added no president should block "investigators from doing their jobs."Radio personality Rush Limbaugh asked the 2 million people who like his Facebook page for reaction and received more than 2,000 responses, many of which were livid."Donald J. Trump, I am hearing that you will not be pursuing Hillary email scandal and pay-to-play. If that is the case, you just proved to me and America that laws are for the poor people. That Lady Justice is not blind. That you are no different than the swamp you want to drain. If true, you have just spit in my face and so many others," Facebook user Donald Marks wrote. Some Republicans have backed the shift, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a close Trump adviser, who told reporters on Tuesday that while he would have supported an investigation, Trump had to make a "tough choice.""There is a tradition in American politics that after you win an election, you sort of put things behind you," Giuliani told ABC News. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Cooney) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Beijing: Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said on Wednesday that he had "no worries" about US President-elect Donald Trump, and looked forward to meeting him a prospect which would anger Beijing. The Nobel laureate called the US "a leading nation of the free world" at a press conference during a visit to Mongolia, where he met with Buddhist worshippers despite strident demands from Beijing that he be barred from entering the country. "Sometimes I feel during election, the candidate has more freedom to express," he said in English in response to a question about the US elections. "Once they (are) elected, having the responsibility, then they have to planning their sort of vision, their works according (to) reality," he added. "So I have no worries." He said he had plans to visit the US next year and looked forward to meeting Trump then giggled. Beijing views the exiled Buddhist monk as a devious separatist who's bent on breaking apart China and consistently condemns foreign leaders who meet with him. Outgoing US President Barack Obama hosted the Dalai Lama at the White House for the fourth time in June, prompting sharp criticism from Beijing. Mongolia is home to devout Buddhists, whose religion is closely related to the Tibetan tradition, but the country is heavily dependent on trade with China, and Ulan Bator has tried to avoid angering its giant neighbour. The Mongolian monastery that organised his trip said the visit was purely religious and separate from political affairs. China hoped that the international community would "see through the anti-China and separatist nature of the Dalai Lama", foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told reporters Wednesday. "Instead of being in a temple to focus on practising Buddhism, he travels around the world to meet with other foreign leaders in order to try to undermine relations between China and those countries," he said. The Dalai Lama says he seeks more autonomy for Tibet rather than outright independence. His last visit to sparsely-populated Mongolia came in 2011, in the midst of a wave of self-immolations by Tibetans in China angry about what they saw as religious repression and growing domination by the country's majority Han ethnic group. PARIS Europe should impose tariffs on imports from countries that do not implement a global agreement for fighting climate change, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in an opinion piece published on Wednesday.Valls' position puts him at odds with Germany and the European Commission which rejected a call from former French president Nicolas Sarkozy for a tax on U.S. imports if a Trump administration quits the 2015 Paris Agreement.U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to pull out of the Paris Agreement for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from fossil fuels. Instead, he says he will push ahead and develop cheap coal, shale and oil. Valls wrote in Les Echos business newspaper that Europe should take action to prevent companies from moving to countries that spurn the Paris Agreement."If for that Europe needs to tax imports from countries that don't want to implement the Paris agreement, well then, let's do it," he wrote. French President Francois Hollande, who was the architect of the pact and whose term ends in May, has said that he would work with Trump and that the agreement was in the interest of the American people. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Toby Chopra) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. New York: The Committee to Protect Journalists honoured journalists from India, El Salvador, Turkey and Egypt on Tuesday with its annual International Press Freedom Awards for their commitment to a free press despite death threats, imprisonment and exile. CPJ executive director Joel Simon said threats against journalism are increasing around the world, including in the United States following the presidential election victory of Republican Donald Trump, who has branded mainstream media dishonest and who hasn't held a news conference since his election. "It's a very intimidating, hostile environment," Simon said before the ceremony. "Now, we're not going to compare it to some of the things we're going to see tonight, but certainly the climate's changed and the notion that we're here living in this First Amendment paradise defending the rights of our more vulnerable colleagues around the world, that gap has closed considerably." India's Malini Subramaniam, a contributor to the news website Scroll.In, has been harassed by police and members of a vigilante group for her critical coverage of human rights abuses in the Bastar area of Chhattisgarh state. She said the award was important to send a message to the government that it's being watched. "The importance is also to those journalists who are there, who feel that, OK, even if it is a small place like Bastar in Chhattisgarh the fact that this has come out in the international media, the fact that their situation has been understood, that itself is very good," Subramanian said. El Salvador's Oscar Martinez, co-founder of Sala Negra, the investigative unit of Central America's first online-only magazine, El Faro, also was honoured. Martinez was forced to flee El Salvador for three weeks after receiving death threats over an investigation into the killings of eight gang suspects by police. Turkey's Can Dundar, chief editor of the daily Cumhuriyet, was another honouree. He was arrested on 26 November, 2015, after publishing an article alleging the government intelligence service sought to send weapons to Syrian rebel groups. He was charged with disclosing state secrets, espionage and aiding a terrorist group and was sentenced to five years in prison. He remains free, after spending 92 days in jail, while his appeal is considered. Jailed Egyptian photographer Abou Zeid, known as Shawkan, was given an award in absentia. Zeid has been jailed since 14 August, 2013, on charges of weapons possession, illegal assembly, murder and attempted murder, the charges levied against hundreds of protesters in the clashes between Egyptian security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. He has denied all charges. CNN's Christiane Amanpour received the Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom. London: A Nazi fanatic and far-right extremist was today sentenced to life by a British court after he was found guilty of the "planned and pre-meditated murder" of Labour MP Jo Cox during the Brexit campaign. Thomas Mair, who believed in white supremacy and had Nazi material stocked in his home, repeatedly shot and stabbed Cox during the EU referendum campaign. Mair was convicted by a jury of murdering the 41-year-old mother-of-two outside her West Yorkshire constituency surgery on 16 June, a week before the UKs referendum in favour of Brexit on 23 June. The 53-year-old, dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, remained impassive as the verdicts were read out, after an hour of deliberations on Wednesday. The trial judge, Justice Wilkie, said the murder was carried out to "advance a political cause of violent white supremacism, associated with Nazism". "It is evident from your internet searches that your inspiration is not love of country, it is an admiration for Nazis and similar anti-democratic white supremacist creed," he told Mair. The judge said he had concluded the offence was so exceptional that it has to be marked with a whole life sentence, which means Mair can only be released by an exceptional order by the UKs home secretary. The killer had spent the weeks leading up to the murder researching far-right extremists including the Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik. He also read material on the murder of MP Ian Gow by the Irish Republican Army in 1990 as part of compiling a dossier on Cox, a campaigner for the Remain camp in the EU referendum. After the guilty verdict, Brendan Cox paid tribute to his wife and said the family had "no interest in the perpetrator." "We only feel pity for him we are here because we want to tell you about Jo. What she was and what she meant to us," he said. Cox is also survived by her two young children, aged five and three. Sue Hemming, head of special crime and counter terrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Mair has offered no explanation for his actions but the prosecution was able to demonstrate that, motivated by hate, his pre-meditated crimes were nothing less than acts of terrorism designed to advance his twisted ideology." Earlier, the murder trial had heard how Mair shouted "Britain first, this is for Britain" over Cox's body after shooting her three times and inflicting 15 stab wounds. "This was a cowardly attack. He shot her in the head, which was followed by a brutal assault with the dagger. Despite the element of surprise, he failed in his first attempt. Perhaps he underestimated her tenacity and courage," prosecutor Richard Whittam said in his closing speech. "The sheer barbarity of her murder and the utter cowardice of her murder bring the two extremities of humanity face to face," he added. WELLINGTON New Zealand's foreign minister Murray McCully said he discussed the disputed South China Sea with a "charming" Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during an informal meeting.McCully said the pair had a wide ranging discussion late on Tuesday but declined to comment on whether Duterte's controversial drugs crackdown was discussed.They spoke during Duterte's overnight stopover in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, on his way back from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. "He's a tough guy but he was warm, courteous and actually quite charming," McCully told the New Zealand Herald after the meeting. "He doesn't beat around the bush. He has got quite firm views and he expresses them, and very colourfully," he said. Police and vigilante groups have killed more than 2,400 people in the Philippines since Duterte vowed to crack down on drug dealers when he took office in June, attracting criticism from human rights watchdogs, the United States and the United Nations.The meeting in Auckland comes at a tense time for relations between the Philippines and the United States, its strongest Western ally. Duterte has made repeated threats and verbal tirades against the United States, a significant donor, and is making overtures to Russia and to China. Duterte lashed out at Western "bullying" and "hypocrisy" during his first meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Peru on Saturday and said, when it came to alliances, the United States could not be trusted.Adham Crichton, a spokesman for McCully, said on Wednesday there would be no further comment on the Auckland discussions because it was not a formal bilateral meeting. China is at odds with a number of its Asian neighbours, including the Philippines, over disputed claims in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Jane Wardell and Paul Tait) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON President Barack Obama has a new fan: Donald Trump.After lambasting Obama for months as a failed leader unfit to be president, the Republican president-elect found kinder words on Tuesday for the man he will succeed in the White House on Jan. 20"I didn't know if I'd like him. I probably thought that maybe I wouldnt, but I did. I really enjoyed him a lot," Trump said in an interview with the New York Times.Obama, a Democrat, met with Trump at the Oval Office on Nov. 10, two days after the presidential election. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said earlier on Tuesday the two had spoken again since then, citing Obama's commitment to a smooth transfer of power, but offered no other details. "I had a great meeting with President Obama," Trump told the Times. "I really liked him a lot."Obama, who had his own harsh words for Trump as he campaigned for Democrat Hillary Clinton, has made clear he would put the bitterness of the campaign aside to ensure a smooth transition of power and protect a pillar of American democracy. Trump told the newspaper that Obama talked to him about what he considered the country's biggest problems, one problem in particular that the president-elect did not mention, according to Twitter posts by Times reporters.Trump, who has vowed to undo a number of initiatives Obama holds dear, appeared conciliatory toward the president whose U.S. citizenship he had long questioned. "He said very nice things after the meeting and I said very nice things about him," Trump said of Obama, according to the Times. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Peter Cooney) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Islamabad: Pakistan's foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz has said that Pakistani missions abroad, including in India, are making efforts to reach out to the Indian people who are opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "extremism", the media reported on Wednesday. Aziz, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Foreign Policy Advisor, on Tuesday, conveyed this to the country's Senate, Dawn quoted him as saying. "Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies," Aziz said. Aziz also said Pakistan was doing its utmost to engage the international community, including its regional partners, to counter India's efforts to isolate Pakistan in the region. At the same time, Aziz stressed the need for a "positive response" from India in order to move forward. He said that while Pakistan always conveyed a desire to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, India had chosen to attach "conditions" to the talks, Dawn reported. He said Pakistan was supportive of all initiatives for peace and stability in the region and this was evident from its decision to participate in the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, despite the Saarc summit in Islamabad being cancelled because of India. Pakistan's nuclear doctrine, he said, was clearly spelt out and due restraint was being exercised. "Pakistan continues to exhibit maturity and statesmanship despite provocative statements by Indian leadership and the continued ceasefire violations across the LoC and working boundary having resulted in civilian casualties," he was quoted as saying. He also said that Pakistan's armed forces "only returned fire when fired upon". Aziz also conveyed that a high-level committee has been formulated to "counter India's propaganda campaign" on Kashmir. The committee, to be headed by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, consists of senior officials from Pakistan Defence, Interior and Information, ministries, the Military Operations Directorate, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB). The Ministry of Information Technology had also been asked to prepare a comprehensive strategy to highlight the Jammu and Kashmir dispute via social media. He also said the role of international lobbyists had become crucial in order to project the country's position and pursue foreign policy objectives and that Pakistani missions abroad were in close contact with the Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora. GENEVA One of Sudan's largest rebel groups, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), signed an accord on Wednesday with the United Nations to end the use of child soldiers, a U.N. representative said.There has been fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels in the southern regions of Kordofan and Blue Nile since 2011, when adjacent South Sudan declared independence. Conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when mainly non-Arab tribes took up arms against the Arab-led government based in the capital Khartoum.Talks to secure a lasting ceasefire in the three warring regions under a road map for peace collapsed earlier this year, less than a week after they began.SPLM-North chairman Malik Agar signed an action plan at a ceremony in Geneva outlining measures to end recruitment of children under the age of 18 and release those currently in the group's ranks. "SPLM-N is firmly committed to the protection of children in conflict and today's signing is a continuity of that commitment," Agar said following the ceremony.Neither Agar nor U.N. officials present at the ceremony provided figures on the number of child soldiers involved in the conflict. A U.N. statement said the group would be removed from a list of parties accused of child recruitment in its annual report on children and armed conflict upon completion of all steps agreed to in the action plan. U.N. officials said they signed a similar agreement with Khartoum in March 2016 and hoped to complete more with the country's other major rebel groups. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Alison Williams) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. KHARTOUM Sudan arrested four opposition leaders on Wednesday including veteran politician Sadiq Youssef as part of a crackdown on protests, the country's opposition coalition said.Khartoum has seen a series of small but rare protests over the past week amid rising prices and government austerity measures that have included price hikes on electricity and fuel as well as import restrictions.Sudan's economy has struggled since South Sudan seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country's oil output, a key source of foreign currency and government revenue.Youssef, one of the country's most recognisable politicians, is a leader of the National Consensus Forces, a political coalition that opposes Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Bashir, who took power in a 1989 coup, is accused of masterminding genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes during Sudan's Darfur conflict. He is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 2009. He denies wrongdoing. National Consensus Forces spokesman Mohammed Dia al-Din was also arrested, along with Manzar Abu al-Maali and Tareq Abdel Mageed from the opposition coalition. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Alison Williams) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Roberta Rampton | NEW YORK NEW YORK U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was keeping an open mind on whether to pull out of a landmark international accord to fight climate change, in a softening of his stance toward global warming.Trump told the New York Times in an interview that he thinks there is "some connectivity" between human activity and global warming, despite previously describing climate change as a hoax.A source on Trump's transition team told Reuters earlier this month that the New York businessman was seeking quick ways to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change. But asked on Tuesday whether the United States would withdraw from the accord, the Republican said: Im looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it." A U.S. withdrawal from the pact, agreed to by almost 200 countries, would set back international efforts to limit rising temperatures that have been linked to the extinctions of animals and plants, heat waves, floods and rising sea levels. .Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, also said he was thinking about climate change and American competitiveness and "how much it will cost our companies, he said, according to a tweet by a Times reporter in the interview.Two people advising Trumps transition team on energy and environment issues said they were caught off guard by his remarks. A shift on global warming is the latest sign Trump might be backing away from some of his campaign rhetoric as life in the Oval Office approaches.Trump has said he might have to build a fence, rather than a wall, in some areas of the U.S.-Mexican border to stop illegal immigration, tweaking one of his signature campaign promises. Also in Tuesday's interview, he showed little appetite for pressing investigations of his Democratic rival in the presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton.I dont want to hurt the Clintons, I really dont. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways," he told reporters, editors and other newspaper officials at the Times headquarters in Manhattan. But Trump said "no" when asked if he would rule out investigating Clinton over her family's charitable foundation or her use of a private email server while she was U.S. secretary of state during President Barack Obama's first term.If Trump does abandon his campaign vow to appoint a special prosecutor for Clinton, it will be a reversal of a position he mentioned almost daily on the campaign trail, when he dubbed his rival "Crooked Hillary," and crowds at his rallies often chanted: "Lock her up." The FBI investigated Clinton's email practices, concluding in July that her actions were careless but that there were no grounds for bringing charges. The Clinton Foundation charity has also been scrutinized for donations it received, but there has been no evidence that foreign donors obtained favours from the State Department while Clinton headed it.BUSINESSMAN AND PRESIDENT Trump, a real estate developer who has never held public office, brushed off fears over conflicts of interest between his job as president and his family's businesses. "The law's totally on my side, the president can't have a conflict of interest," he told the New York Times. My company's so unimportant to me relative to what I'm doing," Trump said.Trump's businesswoman daughter Ivanka joined her father's telephone call with Argentine President Mauricio Macri earlier this month and attended a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, raising questions of possible conflicts of interest.When asked whether House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans in Congress would consider his trillion-dollar infrastructure plan, Trump boasted he was popular with the party's leaders on Capitol Hill. Right now, theyre in love with me," he said. After lambasting Obama for months as a failed leader unfit to be president, the Republican president-elect found kinder words on Tuesday for the man he will succeed in the White House."I didn't know if I'd like him. I probably thought that maybe I wouldnt, but I did. I really enjoyed him a lot," Trump said in the Times interview. (Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus and Amy Tennery in New York, and Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey and Valerie Volcovici in Washington; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Frances Kerry and Peter Cooney) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. It appears that the media have a lot of opinions on US President-elect Donald Trump's opinion of them. If that isn't meta, perhaps nothing is. What happened was this: Trump on Tuesday cancelled his meeting with The New York Times, calling it a "failing" newspaper, alleging that it had changed the terms and conditions of his interview at the last minute. I cancelled today's meeting with the failing @nytimes when the terms and conditions of the meeting were changed at the last moment. Not nice Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2016 But he soon turned around and tweeted this: The meeting with the @nytimes is back on at 12:30 today. Look forward to it! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2016 The NYT, meanwhile, denied these allegations saying they "did not change the ground rules at all and made no attempt to". Donald Trump canceled today's meeting with The New York Times. NYT's response: https://t.co/ucRTTwezpG pic.twitter.com/MdBCKanmY0 The New York Times (@nytimes) November 22, 2016 Trump's office had gotten in touch with the NYT about making the interview private and going off the record, an offer which the media house declined. They then jointly came to the conclusion that the interview would consist of a "small off-the-record session" and "a larger on-the-record session with reporters and columnists". Post the 75-minute interview, Trump remarked that "The Times is a great, great American jewel," the newspaper itself quoted the President-elect as saying. It's not the first time that Trump has had a problem with "terms and conditions". Back in 2011, at Trump's Comedy Central Roast which saw celebrities like Lisa Lampanelli, Snoop Dogg and the ever permanent Jeff Ross poke fun at the business tycoon there was reportedly one topic that was "off-limits". His wealth, especially the lack thereof. It's not a one-off incident either: Anthony Jeselnik, one of the roasters, noted that in a conversation with late comedian Joan Rivers, Trump ruled out anything to do with his wealth. "Donald Trumps rule was, dont say I have less money than I say I do, Jeselnik said. Make fun of my kids, do whatever you want, just dont say I dont have that much money." If this seems to hit a level of ridiculousness, we haven't even barely scratched the surface Trump reportedly met with some members of the media (including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC) off-the-record at Trump Tower to discuss the "dishonest media" portrayal of him and complained that NBC used "unflattering" photos of him (read double chin). Trump slammed the media and asked for "fairness" in coverage. It can be summed up that Trump truly views the media as his main adversary the Joker to his Batman. It isn't enough that he is soon to become the President of the United States, his fixation over media portrayal of him has given him many a heartburn. Vox lists a number of his misgivings with the media: During the election, he reportedly paused an interview with the Washington Post five times to watch TV, he ridiculed newspaper reporters on his campaign, he repeatedly dubs the NYT as the "failing New York Times"... His feud with Megyn Kelly is only well-known. According to ABC News, which documented their back and forth, the duo's spat started last year during the first Republican presidential debate. Kelly directed a question at him, "You've called women you dont like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals." And Trump interrupted, "Only Rosie ODonnell," for which Kelly got back with, "For the record, it was way beyond Rosie ODonnell," and listed his derogatory remarks about women. Trump being Trump, responded with a non-answer: "I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct." Wow, @megynkelly really bombed tonight. People are going wild on twitter! Funny to watch. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2015 Later, at a debate on Fox News, Trump infamously suggested that Kelly was on her period, which he later corrected to blood coming out of her nose. Re Megyn Kelly quote: "you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever" (NOSE). Just got on w/thought Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 8, 2015 After all this, how is Trump going to put to rest his scruples against the media? Slate makes a similar argument in a piece titled 'Donald Trump Will Never Make Peace With the Media'. Jim Newell writes that "all that Trump can do is crush the media", because all Trump wants really is their respect. But if Trump does backtrack on the offensive after his win, it would go against his campaign, which primarily focused on him attacking the liberal media. But as David Remnick writes for The New Yorker, "This is who will be running the executive branch of the United States government for four years." American media will perhaps have to make their peace with it. GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here. China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) has been assigned the contract to build a bridge connecting the new reclamation project, known as the Macau New Urban Zones (Zone A), to the Macau Peninsula. The local government chose CHEC, according to a notice signed by the Chief Executive and published in the governments Official Gazette. The company will be paid MOP305 million for the project, with the final installment to be settled in 2018. According to the Transportation Infrastructure Office, the bridge will be approximately 400 meters long with six traffic lanes. It will connect the north of Zone A to the Rotunda de Amizade. Casino staff represent one-third of problematic gamblers The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) says that 33 percent of problematic gamblers who seek help from the IAS are employed within the gaming industry. IAS has reported that each year there are approximately 130 to 150 cases concerning casino employees. No notable increase has been registered in this year. In the first half of 2016, there were approximately 780 recorded cases of gamblers asking assistance from IAS. These people are mainly aged between 40 and 70 years old. Problematic teenage gamblers normally prefer to seek help from their friends and families, which means that gambling addiction cases within the youth population are less commonly registered. Grade repetition below fourth grade discarded The latest recommendation on the metric to evaluate Macaus students performance has suggested removing grade repetition for students in year levels below the fourth grade of primary school. According to the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ), the draft states that unless the students parents apply for the child to repeat a grade, the school can not require students to do so. The draft also points out that the repetition rate must be below 4 percent in fifth and sixth grades of primary schools, and must not exceed 8 percent in middle school. In primary school, fifth and sixth grade students would now be allowed to move to sixth grade and to graduate respectively if they fail only one subject. Rabbit lantern class next month Albergue SCM is to organize Traditional Chinese Lantern Workshop Part 18 (Advance) to be held between December 5 and 19. It will be co-organized by Circulo dos Amigos da Cultura de Macau and sponsored by the Macau Foundation. According to a statement from the organizers, a master in lantern marking has been invited to lead the program. Alfredo Ceynas will instruct participants on how to construct a traditional rabbit lantern. Albergue SCM has been holding workshops of lantern-making since 2010, providing a platform for the public to learn the traditional Chinese art and craft. The application period for the class is now open. Macao Tourism Data plus introduces new indicators The Macao Tourism Data plus (MTD plus), an online platform run by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), is now equipped with new statistical indicators for hotel industry figures. The three new indicators include: occupancy rate of operating hotel establishments, number of guests of operating hotel establishments and operating hotel establishments. Currently available in Chinese, Portuguese and English, MTD plus is equipped with an array of features including interactive data, tourism statistics tables, e-publications, distribution maps of visitor source markets as well as a tourism situation video. MGTO introduced MTD plus in late November 2015. Police investigating Huang Shans case The Judiciary Police (PJ) is cooperating with the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau in regard to former Macau junket promoter Huang Shan. Huang had fled Macau after having stolen HKD10 billion from gaming investors in 2014. The 40-year-old mainland resident from the Guizhou province was found earlier in Cambodia and is allegedly being held by some of his debtors in Vietnam. PJ Director Chau Wai Kuong said that the case is still under investigation. Because Huang Shan is not a Macau resident, his return to Macau requires time and further judiciary procedures. Zhuhai links traffic infractions and price of cars One car worth more than RMB1 million has more infractions recorded against it than the total infractions of those worth less than RMB100,000. According to a report by Jornal Va Kio, 60 percent of the cars worth less than RMB100,000 have infraction records. Regarding cars worth between RMB100,000 to RMB200,000 patacas, 85 percent have broken the citys transportation laws. The percentage with respect to cars sold from RMB200,000 to RMB300,000, RMB300,000 to RMB400,000, and from RMB400,000 to RMB500,000 is 70 percent, 90 percent and 94 percent, respectively. When compared, cars worth more than RMB 1 million have significantly more infractions. Observation deck completed at Small Taipa Hill The construction of the 180-degree observation deck at the Small Taipa Hill is finished. The Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT) is expecting the deck to be open to the public next month. According to a report by Macao Daily News, the deck will be opened at the beginning of next year at the latest. The public can access the deck by taking the stairs or the elevators at the Rotunda Leonel Sousa bus stop. Once they arrive at the deck, passengers will be able to see out over the southern region of the Macau Peninsula. An Australian police operation has seized more than 500 kilograms of the party drug MDMA in Sydney worth 60 million Australian dollars (USD44 million) and arrested two Chinese nationals, officials said yesterday. The men, aged 38 and 34, appeared in a Sydney court on Monday on drug importation charges. They were denied bail and face potential life prison sentences if convicted. The drug arrived in Sydney last month in a shipment of aluminum rollers. Australian Border Force officers examined the consignment and detected a crystalline substance concealed within the rollers. Police made a controlled deliver of the rollers to a Sydney warehouse last week and the men were arrested on Sunday. A group of Crown Resorts Ltd. employees detained in China since last month have been formally arrested for alleged gambling-related crimes, according to a lawyer, paving the way for them to be prosecuted as the government clamps down on foreign casinos that woo its citizens to gamble overseas. The employees were arrested last Friday and will be held for another two months for investigations, which could be extended as needed, according to Zhai Jian, a Shanghai-based lawyer who said his firm, Dacheng Law Offices, represents a group of Crown employees. Police will decide whether to prosecute the employees after the investigations conclude, he said. The arrests signal the government in Beijing is again focusing on overseas casino operators with marketing operations in China, after arresting South Korean gaming workers last year. The rare arrests involving foreign nationals employed by a major international company also highlight a shift in the Chinese authorities handling of overseas workers who flock to the worlds second-largest economy. In the old days, people would insist to me that the only risk was deportation. This is no longer the case, said Steve Dickinson, a lawyer at Seattle-based Harris Moure, which produces the China Law Blog and has advised companies in the gaming sector. Foreigners can expect to be treated exactly like Chinese nationals. In 2014, GlaxoSmithKline Plcs British country manager in charge of its China unit, Mark Reilly, was prosecuted along with other China-based executives in a high-profile bribery case that resulted in a 3 billion yuan (USD436 million) fine for the drug giant. Last year, prosecutors accused U.S.-based OSI Group Inc. of selling expired products to fast-food restaurants and sentenced ten employees to jail, including one Australian who was of Chinese origin. Zhai said he represents employee Alfread Gomez, who is of Malaysian nationality. On his LinkedIn profile, Gomez lists himself as a Crown senior vice-president in China. A China spokeswoman for Crown in Melbourne didnt respond to e-mailed questions about Zhais comments or Gomezs position with the company. Macau, a special administrative region, is the only Chinese city where casinos are legal. Elsewhere in the nation, its illegal to organize people to gamble, operate a casino or make a living from such activities. The punishment is no more than three years in jail. The arrests send a pointed message to the casino industry, said Richard Huang, a gaming analyst for Nomura International. The key message from the Chinese government is that it will take the policy on the gaming industry more seriously, said Huang. The law has always been there to forbid gambling marketing. Now the government is vigorously enforcing the regulation. The arrests havent affected business for casino operators in Macau, the worlds biggest gambling hub, so far, said Huang. Most casino operators rely on gaming promoters to bring in high-stakes players, and the industry in Macau has begun to shift away from those VIP players to attracting tourists and casual gamblers. Of the 18 Crown employees detained in mid-October, one a Chinese national who Crown said was a junior employee was released on bail earlier this month. All the detained employees who have not been released have been formally arrested, said Zhai, who declined to specify how many of those arrested his firm represents. Crowns shares plunged the most on record Oct. 17 on the news that its staff, including three Australians and a Malaysian, were detained in China. Among them was Crowns head of international high-roller operations Jason OConnor. The shares have since recouped those losses, and rose 3.1 percent to AUD11.49, the highest level in more than a month, by the close of trading yesterday. Australia is continuing to seek official confirmation of the status of the Crown employees within the Chinese legal system, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in e-mailed statement Monday, while Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said in a Bloomberg TV interview the country continues to offer consular support to the Crown detainees. Chinese authorities had warned Crown last year to halt its efforts to attract high rollers from the mainland to gamble overseas, a person familiar with the governments decision to detain the Australian companys employees said last month. Australian Financial Review reported Monday that three Australian employees of Crown Resorts, along with 13 other China-based employees of the company have been formally arrested. A fourth Australian, who is believed to work for a junket operator, was also arrested, the paper reported. Bloomberg China is caring for about 3,000 refugees who have entered its territory to escape fighting in Myanmar between the government and ethnic rebels, including some who have been injured, the foreign ministry said yesterday. China has offered proper settlement to those seeking shelter and hospital beds for those who need them, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters at a daily briefing. A coalition of ethnic rebel forces on Sunday attacked government outposts in Myanmars northern Shan State, which borders China. The state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported eight dead in the attacks on military outposts, police stations and a trade center in Muse and Kutkai Townships. Killed were one soldier, three policemen, a local militiaman and three civilians. The report blamed the Kachin Independence Army, the Taang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army for the attacks. Unlike other ethnic rebel groups, none of those have active ceasefire agreements with the government. Statements from some of the groups acknowledged launching the attacks. They said they were in response to earlier government offensives. The Kachin, based mainly in the northern state of the same name, have been in a mostly low-level state of war with the government since 2011. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army is a guerrilla force comprising members of the ethnic Chinese Kokang minority. The area has been insecure for decades, largely because the remoteness of Kachin and northern Shan state make them difficult to control, while their location along the border with China make them lucrative for trade, both legal and illegal. AP A top executive at German automaker Daimlers China operation has been fired after being accused of yelling insults about Chinese people and using pepper spray in a dispute over a parking spot. Rainer Gaertner, chief executive of Daimlers Chinese truck and bus division, was accused of starting an argument in an upscale Beijing neighborhood last week. A post that circulated on Chinese social media alleged that Gaertner said that he had lived in China for a year and that he believed all Chinese were bastards. The post alleged Gaertner, who was named CEO of Daimler Trucks and Buses China in July 2015, then used pepper spray to disperse onlookers who had confronted him. The alleged incident was covered by several state-run and domestic media outlets, and generated hundreds of angry responses online. Daimler issued a statement yesterday offering an apology for the incident, irrespective of any comments alleged to have been made. It called what happened detrimental to the standing of our company, unbecoming of a manager of our brand and prejudicial to our good name. The company said Gaertner and the other person involved had resolved the issue privately. China is the worlds biggest automotive market, and Chinese consumers and media are particularly sensitive to stories about alleged Western arrogance and the perception that outside companies take advantage of Chinese consumers, a feeling rooted in the history of imperial powers carving up China for their own interests. Calls for boycotts of particular companies or even entire countries circulate frequently online in response to perceived slights to Chinese dignity, and can sometimes have a notable effect on sales. One poster on the Chinese social network Weibo fired back with an insult directed at Germans, calling them arrogant to the bone. The poster said he hoped that executives like Gaertner would learn a lesson and go back in disgrace. AP The director-general of the Hengqin New Area Administrative Committee, Niu Jing, pledges that the park is not the only place Zhuhai has prepared within the scope of Guangdong-Macau cooperation. Niu Jing disclosed this information during yesterdays Guangdong-Macau Industrial Cooperation Park meeting of 2016. I have been saying that for years, that regarding Hengqins lands, besides the park there are other lands prepared for Macaus projects, said Niu. Sixteen of the first 33 investment projects of the Macau government, in 2014, with respect to Hengqin, specifically in the Guangdong-Macau Industrial Cooperation Park, have already been assigned lands in the Hengqin area. In fact, 12 of them have already initiated construction works, and are expected to be completed in two years. Currently, there are five square kilometers of land in Hengqin which are specifically prepared for the park to operate projects jointly organized by Macau and by Guangdong Province. Niu said that there are commercial buildings already built in Hengqin, not located in the park, which belong to Macau. The director-general said that the Hengqin government authority is currently holding discussions on several projects which will be located outside the park. As long as the projects are good, and as long as they can have the effect of pushing forward the diversification of Macaus industry, we are willing to provide land and resources, said Niu. Niu also said that Hengqin is looking for high-end projects, considering that such projects can save the land and be responsible to Macau. If Macaus projects need big pieces of land, we will supply them, said Niu. The director-general also voiced his opinion that Macau does not need to worry about having no lands in Hengqin, but should be concerned about spending enough time thinking about its projects. Everyone should spend more time thinking about how to make their projects run well, instead of thinking whether the land is still there. The lands will be there, for sure, guaranteed Niu. According to Niu, until the end of October of this year, 669 out of the 25,235 registered enterprises in Hengqin are Macau companies, representing an increase of 102.11 percent year on year. Another aspect revealed to the media by the Hengqin head concerns the topic of Macaus single-plated car entering Hengqin. Niu stated, of course, when asked whether the policy will be announced this year. The Prime Minister has already confirmed. We are all compelling [him] to push forward the work, said Niu. On November 17, Guangdongs Party Standing Committee organized a meeting to discuss the topic. We are closely discussing it with the Macau government. We must fulfill Prime Minister Li Keqiangs promise made in Macau, said Niu. Currently, both governments are working on the last stage of the projects, according to Niu. Julie Zhu Libyan authorities said yesterday that they have arrested a wife of the one-eyed militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, once considered the most dangerous man in the Sahara and a veteran al-Qaida-linked figure. A Libyan anti-terrorism force said that one of Belmokhtars wives, Asma Kadousi, was arrested over the weekend along with a female companion. It said she had recently given birth in the militant stronghold of Darna, in eastern Libya. It said Belmokhtar is believed to be in southern Libya. A witness told The Associated Press earlier this month that he had seen Belmokhtar in the southern town of Sabha, where a drone attack reportedly killed a militant leader linked to Belmokhtar, along with six others, last week. The witness asked not to be named for security concerns, and it was not possible to confirm the report. The Algerian militant, once a top figure in al-Qaidas North African affiliate, is one of the most-wanted militants in the region, with a USD5 million reward for information leading to his capture. He escaped a U.S. drone strike in eastern Libya last year. Belmokhtar led the January 2013 attack on Algerias Ain Amenas gas complex, in which at least 35 hostages, including three Americans, were killed. Believed to be 43 years old, he was dubbed the one-eyed sheikh after losing an eye in combat. He was later named the leader of the Morabitoon, an al-Qaida-linked group that operates in northern and western Africa, according to the Long War Journal, a blog that monitors jihadi groups. Libya has been plagued by chaos since the 2011 uprising, in which U.S. and European airstrikes helped rebels overthrow the longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Today much of the country is controlled by a patchwork of armed groups, some of which are allied to a U.N.-backed government based in the capital, Tripoli, and others allied to authorities based in the countrys far east. The U.N.-brokered government yesterday condemned the killing of a senior religious official who was abducted in Tripoli a month ago. It was not clear who killed Nader al-Omrani, but he was a member of a religious body that is strongly opposed to Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, who leads forces allied with the eastern government. AP This robbery failed before it began. The bank was closed. Austrian police have arrested a man who they say tried to rob a bank in Vienna but arrived too early. Police spokesman Patrick Maierhofer says the 45-year old suspect entered the bank foyer yesterday armed with a gas pistol and with a hood drawn over his head but 15 minutes before opening time. He says that passers-by alerted police after the man hid his weapon under newspapers and paced nervously as he waited for the main doors to open. The man wasnt identified in line with Austrian privacy laws. Police say his planned getaway vehicle was a stolen scooter. Political reform was, perhaps inadvertently, the issue that dominated yesterdays presentation of Sonia Chans offices action plan for 2017. The Secretary for Administration and Justice was confronted by lengthy and repeated interventions from pro-democrat lawmakers Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San. In her initial speech, Ms Chan said that the priority would be to prepare the next Legislative Assembly (AL) election, to be held in 2017, making sure that it is characterized by impartiality, justice, publicity and integrity. But this enumeration didnt seem to convince Ng Kuok Cheong, who claimed that residents expect universal suffrage and nothing was done in that regard. The political reform is stalled, he said. Ng ironized that society now is, harmonious and stable, hence the government should now advance with the reform, instead of waiting for more chaotic times. Au Kam San contested the official stance in Macau regarding political reform. The lawmaker disagreed with the governments claim that the reform needs to be promoted by Beijing. He noted that the Basic Law indicates that the MSAR government is entitled to present a report on reform to the NPC Permanent Committee. The government must drop the rubber stamp election, he said. Sonia Chan replied that changes to the way the Chief Executive is elected are not expected for now. We are not thinking about changing the law to elect the CE, but I believe that the Electoral College has been expanded, with more 100 members, she said. Chan noted that there has been some evolution in terms of the local political system since 2013, with amendments to the AL election law recently introduced. Once again, the opinion of the pro-democracy lawmakers contrasted with Sonia Chans view, with Au Kam San denying that there has been any development since 2012 regarding the democratic component of the AL. He added that the measure of implementing the so-called +2+2 formula (adding two directly elected and two indirectly elected lawmakers) did not contribute to promoting democracy in Macau. Questioned over the establishment of a municipal body holding no political power, the Secretary for Administration and Justice argued that the new body would serve the population and provide advice to the government. The new entity would have to be articulated with the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), said Chan, following speculation that IACM could be extinguished. More details will be unveiled during a public consultation that the government will try to launch this year. Ng Kuok Cheong recalled that he had previously questioned the Chief Executive over the municipal body role and had been told that a reply would be given in the second semester of this year. He said that the process seems to be moving very slow, with no significant developments. Ng also argued that the members of the future municipal body should be directly elected, which would lead to better management. Other topics discussed yesterday included the administrative revamp, with several lawmakers questioning Sonia Chan about the next steps to be taken. One of them was Chan Meng Kam, who said that the number of civil servants has been growing significantly since the establishment of the MSAR. Sonia Chan said that there are currently 32,800 civil servants and the number is expected to grow to 36,000. She justified the tendency mentioned by Chan Meng Kam as the result of Macaus fast development after the Handover, which necessitated the expansion of services. Now, the priorities are changing, she argued: The economy is stable and this is the opportunity to review the structure of public services and enhance administrative efficiency, she said, listing measures to achieve that, like reformulating careers, improving the moral of civil servants and ensuring upwards mobility. The administrative revamp will continue with 13 services, including the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), the Macau Economic Services (DSE), the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), the Transportation Infrastructure Office (GIT) and the Office for the Development of the Energy Sector (GDSE). Sonia Chan was the first to present her action plan following the chief executives delivery of the Policy Address last week. Lawmakers today will continue to discuss Ms Chans cabinet policies. Action pending court ruling The government was criticized for reported inaction in the Pearl Horizon case affecting thousands of pre-sales buyers. Sonia Chan denied such claims, saying that the government is following the case and an interdepartmental group has been created. However, we need to know about the courts ruling on the case, before that any stance would be unreal, she said. Easier payments Questioned about the implementation of the electronic government, Sonia Chan said that there are 70 booths currently operating, providing 23 different services to residents. The secretary said that a new function would be introduced soon, allowing residents to make payments related to government services. Taiwanese carrier TransAsia Airways Corp. decided to close down operations after two fatal crashes in the last two years pushed it into losses. After a board meeting early yesterday, the Taipei-based airline said in a statement that it wont be able to repay convertible bonds due Nov. 29, but will compensate affected customers in full. The carrier was losing as much as TWD300 million (USD9.4 million) a month, Chairman Vincent Lin told reporters in the city. Shareholders will vote on the decision on Jan. 11. We decided to dissolve the company when were still able to handle creditors, passengers and employees, Lin said. Its doubtful if we would be able to do it in six months. At the center of air-safety investigations by authorities for the disasters in 2014 and 2015 that killed a combined 91 passengers, the company has reported losses in each of the past seven quarters totaling TWD3.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The carrier is also being probed by regulators for alleged insider trading in the companys shares prior to disclosures that it was halting flights yesterday. Founded in 1951 as the islands first private airline, its shares started trading on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in late 2011. With a fleet of 16 aircraft, TransAsia flies to 27 destinations. The carrier had racked up TWD$17.1 billion of liabilities as of Sept. 30. TransAsia was not efficient enough to compete with low-cost carriers and stimulate new traffic and did not have enough bulk to be relevant for the corporate market, said Will Horton, a senior analyst at CAPA Centre for Aviation in Hong Kong. TransAsias absence will not be felt significantly. Trading in TransAsias shares was suspended starting Tuesday, according to a company filing. The firm has $75 million of convertible bonds due November 2018 and TWD180.4 million of outstanding local-currency convertible securities due in October 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. TransAsias stock slumped 7.1 percent to TWD5.20 on Monday before the suspension, with more than 10.7 million shares changing hands, giving the airline a market value of TWD3.95 billion. The Financial Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Justice late Monday said they had initiated a probe into insider trading, while the Taiwan stock exchange earlier said it would fine the company TWD1.5 million for breaching corporate disclosure rules. The islands Civil Aeronautics Administration said the airline should have gotten regulatory approval for the suspensions, which will affect 84 flights and about 5,000 customers. Taiwans cabinet has directed affected customers to seek assistance from its Consumer Protection Committee. Taiwans labor ministry said in a statement that the carrier must negotiate with the 1,735 workers it laid off to ensure their rights are protected and avoid disputes. In June this year, investigators examining the causes of the 2015 crash said the fatal accident involving a twin-engine ATR 72-600 aircraft could have been prevented had the crew correctly identified a malfunction and prioritized right actions to stabilize the flight path. The crash killed 43 people. Another in July 2014 claimed 48 lives. The companys shares have fallen about 56 percent since the first of the disasters, while the benchmark Taiex index dropped 3.8 percent over the same period. Creditors will monitor developments at the company, which has borrowed TWD11 billion in syndicated loans, Central News Agency reported, citing FSC Chairman Lee Ruey-tsang. We have not met your expectations and extend our apologies, Chief Executive Officer Liu Tung-ming said at a separate press conference in Taipei. Yu-Huay Sun, Debra Mao, Bloomberg Macau flights scrapped In June, TransAsia Airways made a formal announcement to indicate that they would suspend their entire Taiwan-Macau services, effective from the end of October. The local airport stated that the withdrawal was expected to be temporary and not have any significant impact on passengers. TransAsia expressed intention to resume the route in December, which was approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau. For now, Chinas leaders seem to be discounting U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps threats to punish them for allegedly unfair trade practices. The fact is that if they were to let their currency float freely, the yuan would probably decline, undercutting U.S. exports. And if Trump did impose 45 percent tariffs on Chinese imports as hes vowed, China has plenty of ways to retaliate. The ensuing trade war could well hurt the U.S. more than China. That doesnt mean a Trump administration should simply accept the status quo in trade relations with China, though. A tougher stand could be good for both sides. China remains one of the worlds most closed major economies. According to the World Bank, the U.S. maintains an average tariff on goods from most favored nations of only 3.4 percent. Chinas average is 9.9 percent higher than Russia, South Africa, Myanmar and Colombia. Even more important than outright tariffs are the barriers China maintains against foreign direct investment. Foreign companies are blocked from a wide range of seemingly innocuous industries. This has naturally prompted a backlash against Chinese companies, which have heeded the governments urgings to seek out their own mergers and acquisitions abroad. In the last year, outward direct investment from China grew 53 percent to USD134 billion. Critics not just in the U.S. but Australia, the U.K. and Germany have begun asking why Chinese companies should be allowed to invest in their farmland, nuclear power plants and technology companies when their own firms would have trouble doing the same in China. Even if Chinas ventures into Hollywood dont pose a national security threat, the fact that the country only allows 34 foreign films onto its screens every year betrays obvious hypocrisy. China could easily end up paying a price for this widening asymmetry. A President Trump wouldnt even need to levy devastating and possibly counter-productive tariffs on Chinese goods. He could simply work to ensure the U.S. government scrutinizes deals involving Chinese buyers much more closely and slowly; acquisition targets would quickly look elsewhere for buyers. Chinese firms looking to graduate from low value-added, copycat manufacturing desperately need the kind of talent and technology global mergers can provide. Without it, they face a much steeper and more prolonged climb up the value chain. Arguably, China would be wiser to head off international concerns now, before the U.S., U.K. and European nations start closing off their own markets. If lowering barriers to investment would entail some loss of control, it would also unquestionably further Chinas own goals. As Chinese leaders from Deng Xiaoping on down have recognized, foreign companies provide not just badly needed capital but management and competitive pressures that result in greater efficiency all around. This may sound hopelessly idealistic. But there are historical parallels. During the Reagan administration, a similar backlash built up against Japan. The White House wouldve found plenty of political support for retaliating against what many Americans (including Donald Trump) saw as unfair Japanese trade and investment policies. Instead, President Reagan pushed Japan to accept a variety of voluntary export restraints. This in turn prompted Japanese firms, looking for ways evade the restrictions, to set up U.S. subsidiaries, thus creating American jobs. Reagan made sure the Japanese understood he could always levy stronger protectionist measures if needed, so it was in their interest to make a deal. The parallels arent exact. Japan is a strong U.S. ally that relies for its security on the U.S. military umbrella; its leaders have more reason to compromise than Chinas do. At the same time, Chinese reformers are well aware that their economy stands to benefit from opening up its markets. These changes are politically difficult in China, which is why they havent taken place yet. In that sense, Trump could be doing the Chinese a favor by raising the specter of an outright trade war. As his counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping, likes to say, theres a win-win solution here if both sides are wise enough to see it. Christopher Balding JAPANs Meteorological Agency says the earthquake that struck yesterday off Fukushima was an aftershock of the massive 2011 quake. Northeastern Japan was jolted by a magnitude-7.4 earthquake. But nothing fell from the shelves. More on p12 HONG KONG Police launched yesterday a citywide hunt for a gang of robbers after they escaped with 81 gold bars worth about HKD22.68 million in a 20-second daylight hold-up yesterday, SCMP reported. Another 177 gold bars worth about 50 million were left at the crime scene in Fanling. The robbers struck on a street when a man was unloading bags of gold bars from a delivery van onto a trolley. Its the biggest bullion heist in five years. HONG KONG The Walt Disney Co. and Hong Kong are launching a USD1.4 billion expansion of the southern Chinese citys Disneyland resort that includes the companys first themed areas based on the movie Frozen and Marvel superhero characters. CHINA A top executive at German automaker Daimlers China operation is fired after being accused of yelling insults about Chinese people and using pepper spray in a dispute over a parking spot. VIETNAMs government says the legislature has endorsed its decision to scrap plans to build the countrys first two nuclear power plants. The announcement of the endorsement said cheaper renewable energy and power imports were available and that investment should be made in more urgent infrastructure needs. NORTH KOREA Hundreds of capitalistic markets, each with thousands of stalls, form the glue that holds North Koreas socialist planned economy together, say defectors who sold medicinal herbs, skinny jeans, TV sets, foreign drama CDs and other goods there to make a living. If North Korea shuts down the markets, it will collapse. NEPAL A year and a half after a colossal earthquake destroyed hundreds of treasured historic sites across this mountain nation, Nepal celebrates the restoration of the first major one to be rebuilt an iconic Buddhist monument topped in gold that towers above Kathmandu. ASIA-TRUMP President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership but other Pacific Rim leaders are vowing to push market-opening efforts they say are vital for growth. The possible decline of the 12-nation TPP could give a boost to alternative initiatives including one promoted by China in which the United States is not taking part. IRELAND Government statisticians say Irelands unemployment rate has fallen to an eight-year low of 7.5 percent, a level last seen before a banking crisis wrecked the property-driven Celtic Tiger economy. The Central Statistics Office says joblessness fell to 7.5 percent in October from 7.7 percent the previous month as the number of people with jobs also rose 2.9 percent to an eight-year high topping 2 million. TWIN FALLS Classics are classics for a reason, but if you want to mix up your Thanksgiving table this year, there are plenty of offbeat options. One of Kirt Martin's favorite alternative Thanksgiving side dish recipes comes from his grandmother. She taught him the recipe for spoon bread about 60 years ago. Ive done it many times in the restaurant, said Martin, who is chef at Snake River Grill in Hagerman said. Its simple to do. Richard Berger, executive chef for Canyon Crest Dining & Event Center in Twin Falls, recommends a sweet potato gratin. It was originally a venison dish in French cuisine, he said, but as the years have gone on, people have tried to do it different. Here are eight recipes from chefs around the region for non-traditional Thanksgiving side dishes. Sweet Potato Gratin Courtesy of Richard Berger, executive chef at Canyon Crest Dining & Event Center in Twin Falls Ingredients 8 pounds of thinly-sliced sweet potatoes 3 quarts of heavy cream Salt and pepper to taste cup of shaved Parmesan cup of brown sugar 1 tablespoon of a pumpkin pie spice Directions In a 10 x 10 pan, place paper-thin slices of sweet potatoes and toss in all the other ingredients. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for two hours at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, take the foil off and cover with a cup of a ground mix of parsley and bread crumbs. Then bake for another 20 minutes. Caramelized Onion and Olive Focaccia Courtesy of John Seagro, executive chef for Cactus Petes Resort Casino in Jackpot, Nev. Yield: 8-10 servings Ingredients 2 tsp. active dry yeast 1 cup water 1 Tbsp. sugar 4 cups flour 2 Tbsp. salt 1/2 cup olive oil 2 large onions, thinly sliced 4 cloves garlic, sliced 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves Procedure 1. In a small bowl, bloom the yeast by combining the yeast with the warm water and sugar. Allow to sit and watch for the top to foam. This tells you it is ready. 2. Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and turn on to low speed. Slowly pour the flour into the mixer along with the salt. Follow by drizzling in the olive oil until the dough starts to come together. Increase the speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and shiny. 3. Pour out the dough onto a work surface and form into a ball. Place the dough in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Rub the oil over the dough until the entire surface is well coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm area. Allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size. 4. While the dough is resting, prepare the topping by slicing the onions, garlic and olives. In a large saute pan, heat a few tablespoons of butter and add the onions. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes until they have softened and turned a deep brown. 5. Coat a sheet pan with olive oil and a little cornmeal for the bottom crust. Take the dough out of the bowl and stretch it out into a rectangular shape about the size of your sheet pan. Lay the dough on the sheet tray and stretch to fit. Cover with plastic and allow to rest for another 15 minutes. 6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the plastic wrap and use your fingertips create a dimple pattern on the top of the dough. Coat the top of the dough with more oil and evenly spread out the caramelized onions, garlic, olives and thyme. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to rest before cutting, and enjoy. Hearty Escarole, Barley and Parmesan Soup Courtesy of John Seagro, executive chef for Cactus Petes Resort Casino in Jackpot, Nev. Ingredients 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup) 1 large carrot, finely diced (about 1 cup) 2 medium stalks of celery, finely diced (about 1 cup) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon) 1 large head escarole, chopped into 1-inch pieces 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1/2 cup parled barley 1 1/2 quarts low sodium store-bought or homemade vegetable or chicken stock 2 bay leaves 4-inch chunk Parmesan rind 2 teaspoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional) Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves Parmesan cheese, for serving Directions Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned (about four minutes). Add rosemary and garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant (about one minute). Add escarole and cook, stirring occasionally until wilted (about five minutes). Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring frequently until liquid has evaporated and mixture begins to sizzle (about five minutes longer). Add barley and cook, stirring until coated with oil, about one minute. Stir in broth. Add bay leaves, Parmesan rind, soy sauce and fish sauce (if using), and bring to a boil. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook, stirring occasionally until barley is softened and soup has absorbed flavor from Parmesan and bay leaves (about 25 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley. Serve, drizzling with olive oil and sprinkling with Parmesan. Pumpkin Shrimp Curry Courtesy of John Seagro, executive chef for Cactus Petes Resort Casino in Jackpot, Nev. Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup sliced onion 1 tablespoon minced ginger 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 chopped plum tomato 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree 2 cups vegetable broth 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 cup roasted butternut squash, diced 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice Steamed jasmine rice Cilantro Lime zest Fried shallots Directions Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and ginger; saute until soft (about eight minutes). Add garlic; cook for one minute. Stir in plum tomato and pumpkin puree; cook, stirring frequently, until pumpkin is golden brown (about 10 minutes). Add vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry powder and cayenne pepper; simmer for 20 minutes. Add butternut squash, shrimp and lime juice. Simmer until shrimp are cooked and squash is warm. Serve with steamed rice. Top with cilantro, lime zest and fried shallots. Grams' Spoon Bread Courtesy of Kirt Martin, chef at Snake River Grill in Hagerman Yield: 8 servings Preparation time: 45 minutes Ingredients 2 tablespoons butter 1-1/2 cups sweet Spanish onion, 1/4 inch slices 17 oz. corn muffin mix (2 pkg. Jiffy) 2 each large eggs, beaten 1/3 cup milk or as needed, 1 cup cream style corn 1 tablespoon dry dill weed or 1/4 cup fresh 1 cup sour cream 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated (optional) Directions Slice onions in half, then slice the halves into 1/4 inch slices. Saute in butter until translucent. Combine muffin mix, egg and milk. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan or casserole dish. Evenly distribute the sour cream in spoonfuls across the top of the batter, then evenly top with the dill, sauteed onions and cream corn. If you would like, add one cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Take two butter knives and cut across the batter to combine a bit do not over mix. There should be a surprise in every bite. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. This is a very easy dish to make and goes well as a side to any main dish. As a child, my grandmother would make this for me as one of my all-time favorites. Kelly's Frog Eye Salad Courtesy of Kirt Martin, chef at Snake River Grill in Hagerman Yield: 10 servings Preparation time: 30 minutes Ingredients 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoon flour 1/2 tsp. sea or kosher salt 2 cups pineapple juice 2 each eggs, beaten 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 lb. box Acini di Pepe Pasta, cooked, chilled 3 cans crushed pineapple in juice 3 small cans Mandarin oranges, drained 16 oz. Cool Whip Directions Cook the Acini de Pepe according to package directions. When done, rinse under cold water in a strainer, drain well and let cool. In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the pineapple juice, sugar, flower, salt and egg. Cook and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let cool. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chilled pasta and chilled thickened mixture. Gently fold in mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, pineapple tidbits, marsh mellows and coconut. Fold in the whip cream. Refrigerate until serving. Bacon Cheese Nibbles Appetizer Courtesy of Kirt Martin, chef at Snake River Grill in Hagerman Yield: 8 servings Preparation time: 45 minutes Ingredients 20 each Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed but still cold 1/4 cup butter, melted 1/2 tsp. pizza seasoning 6 pieces bacon, fried and crumbled 1/3 cup black olives, sliced 1/3 cup Spanish onion, chopped 1-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, to top dress 1 cup marinara sauce, to dip Directions Pour butter into a 9"x 13" pan or 12" deep dish pizza pan. Cut each roll into 3 pieces; roll the pieces in the butter and arrange evenly in the pan. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning, Mozzarella cheese, crumbled bacon, sliced black olives and chopped onion. Mix the ingredients with the dinner rolls. Top with the grated cheese the last five minutes of baking. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap. Let rise until double in size. Remove wrap. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Pull the rolls apart and dip into the marinara sauce and enjoy. Butternut Squash Gratin Courtesy of Kirt Martin, chef at Snake River Grill in Hagerman Yield: 6 servings Preparation time: 1 hour Ingredients 2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, 1/4 inch sliced 1/2 cup of Half & Half 1/2 tsp. garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped 3/4 tsp. sea or kosher salt, divided 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper 3/4 cup Spanish onion, chopped 1/3 cup Monterey jack cheese, grated 1 tablespoon green onion, thinly sliced Cooking spray 2 tablespoon butter, melted 1/2 cup Panko 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, de vided Directions Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, combine the Half & Half, garlic, parsley, half of the Parmesan cheese, Monterrey Jack cheese, and half of the salt and pepper. Add the squash and toss to coat. Spray a 8 x 8 casserole baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer squash mixture to the casserole dish and set aside. In a medium microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the Panko, remaining Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Spread the topping over the squash, cover with foil and bake 45 to 60 minutes. (Check with a knife for desired done-ness.) Uncover and broil six to eight minutes to brown the topping. (Watch carefully because it browns quickly!) BURLEY Theres a new key figure in south-central Idahos winter recreation. Darlene Bridges started work in May as recreation program manager for the Sawtooth National Forests Minidoka Ranger District. She replaced David Ashby, who left the Burley-based job in early March for a national forest post in Logan, Utah. But shes also managing the duties of a vacant position last held by winter recreation specialist Roger Anderson, who left in January for a national forest job in Wisdom, Mont. Without a snow ranger on staff this winter, Bridges will be the one handling daily management of Pomerelle and Magic Mountain ski area permits and working with volunteers from High Desert Nordic Association on the grooming of cross-country ski trails around Rock Creek. Anderson also wrote a weekly report on snow conditions for the Times-News a task that Ashby took over last winter. Now, Bridges is the face of winter recreation in the South Hills and the Albion Mountains. I have been working diligently with the ski resorts, snowmobile grooming committees, cross-country ski groups and other recreational groups, Bridges said. I expect we will have a great winter season on the district once we get a little snow. Bridges said shes collaborating with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation and the Mount Harrison Snowmobile Club to build a new warming shelter and toilet facility for snowmobilers in the Sublett area probably next summer. Dennis Pettygrove, president of High Desert Nordic, met Bridges when she helped the cross-country ski club set up its hut in early November. My impression was all positive. I think shes got a good view and meets people well, very personable, Pettygrove said Nov. 17, preparing to meet with her the next day about arrangements for storing the clubs snowmobile and trail groomer in a Forest Service garage. The daughter of a longtime Forest Service employee, Bridges grew up in northwestern Montana and started her federal career as a seasonal park ranger in Oregon and Washington. After she graduated in 2009 with a bachelors degree in environmental studies from Boise State University, she worked seasonally for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and for the Bureau of Land Management in Shoshone. She worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Warsaw, Ohio, as a natural resource specialist but missed the West, so she moved to Hill Air Force Base in northern Utah to work for the military as an environmental protection specialist. Her Burley job isnt just about snow, of course. Bridges handles other recreation on the Minidoka district: trails for ATVs, motorcycles, mountain bikes, horseback riders and hikers; developed and dispersed camping; cabins; organizational camps; and communication sites. Bridges worked with volunteer groups this summer on installing new horse corals at Twin Lakes, upgrading fences at Bear Gulch and building two new footbridges on the Eagle Trail. Also this summer, the Minidoka district upgraded Lake Cleveland Campground with new picnic tables and fire rings; more replacements are still to come there. I have many plans to upgrade additional campgrounds within the Howell Canyon area, Rock Creek region and even into Raft River in northern Utah, Bridges said. The district will upgrade faded, damaged or vandalized signs and bulletin boards throughout the forest, she said, and shes developing plans for summer trail maintenance. Bridges said she wants the public to know something about her dedication: I worked very hard to get into this position to work for the public and their outdoor recreational interests and desires. ... This is our public land, and I hope to see every one of you recreating throughout the year while I am working and while I am out recreating myself. TWIN FALLS A San Diego man arrested last month in Twin Falls with nearly two pounds of methamphetamine in his trunk was under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency and Ada County Sheriffs Office at the time of his arrest. Jose Anthony Mouw, 44, was charged Oct. 11 in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court with felony counts of trafficking in methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance, but the local charges have since been dropped, and Mouw was indicted by a federal grand jury on counts of distribution of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. DEA agents and Ada County detectives began investigating Mouw in September after learning he was trafficking methamphetamine from San Diego to Boise, court documents said. That same month, an undercover officer met Mouw outside a Boise store, but no deal was made because Mouw was running low on his supply. Mouw indicated that he was, in fact, travelling from California to Idaho with methamphetamine on a regular basis for distribution purposes, a DEA agent wrote in a criminal complaint. On Sept. 26, Mouw met with the undercover officer again and sold two ounces of methamphetamine for $1,000, which the DEA agent described as a very high price. During the controlled buy, Mouw had a revolver on his seat and asked if the (undercover officer) could get weapons for him. In early October, Mouw told the undercover officer hed be in Boise on the Oct. 6 or 7, court documents said. But when the officer tried calling Mouw again on Oct. 7, he couldnt reach him. Thats because Twin Falls police arrested Mouw on Oct. 7 thanks to an off-duty sergeant who noticed his strange behavior and called on-duty officers to make a traffic stop. During that stop, Twin Falls police found evidence of drug trafficking in Mouws car before discovering 1.76 pounds of methamphetamine in his trunk. The drugs were found in black packages stuffed inside a bag and wrapped with cedar branches in an attempt to mask their scent. Twin Falls prosecutors said Mouw has a long criminal history dating back to the early 90s with at least half a dozen convictions for various drug sale crimes. Mouw faces up to 40 years in federal prison on the two charges in the indictment. He was set to be arraigned Tuesday in U.S. District Court. TWIN FALLS Idaho Power wants to raise rates 3.1 percent next year because of depreciation of its assets, and legal parties have until Dec. 5 to intervene. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission set the deadline for intervention but will likely not open public comment period until mid-December, commission spokesman Gene Fadness said. Idaho Power has requested the increase largely because its Valmy coal plant in Nevada will expire sooner than anticipated, the company stated. If approved, the new rates would take effect June 1, increasing the monthly bill of an average residential customer by $3.08. Idaho Power and Nevada Energy, co-owners of the Valmy plant, want to shut down the two-unit plant by 2025, six years earlier than the planned retirement of Unit 1 and 10 years earlier than the planned retirement of Unit 2, the commission said in a statement. The coal plant near Winnemucca, Nev., consists of two units that generate up to 284 megawatts. The company says a decrease in market prices for electricity has made the Valmy plant uneconomical to operate except during peak times of extremely cold or hot weather. The average price Idaho Power and its customers received for off-system sales was $22.71 per megawatt five years ago and that price is now $8.76 per megawatt. Meanwhile, Idaho Power has had to make significant investments in maintenance, repair and environmental compliance of the plant. A portion of the requested increase was from a separate application in which Idaho Power updated the depreciation of its other assets. His wishes were unconventional, just as the man himself was, so in 2013 the family held a community 90th birthday celebration for him in place of a funeral. With this in mind, please go to Parke's Magic Valley Funeral Home website www.magicvalleyfuneralhome.com to see the video recording of this event, to read and leave comments, and to view an extended obituary. TWIN FALLS St. Lukes plans to hire at least 100 new doctors, physicians assistants and nurse practitioners over the next five years for its facilities in Twin Falls, Jerome and Ketchum. The plan would mean a massive hiring surge for St. Lukes and a boon for the local economy, since doctors are well-paid, tend to buy houses and spend more than median-income workers. But it will be a tall task for the health care network: St. Lukes hired about the same number of providers in the region over the past 10 years. To put it another way, St. Lukes will have to double its hiring pace. Fueling the demand for more doctors is a growing population and more need for specialty treatment to improve health care across the region. Its mirroring the growth of the region, said Debbie Kytle, an east region administrator overseeing physician services and population health. Were looking at many different specialties, as well as surgical and medical sub-specialties including internal medicine, primary care, general surgery, vascular surgery and more than 30 other specialties. St. Lukes said plans for the new hires came after an internal needs assessment that predicted ongoing growth for the Magic Valley. Earlier this month St. Lukes opened its Magic Valley Surgery Center in Twin Falls, partly because operating rooms were becoming hard to come by at St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center. As part of the 100 new hires, 30 will fill looming vacancies due to retirements, while about 70 will fill new positions based on upcoming health needs of the population, Kytle said. The needs across the Magic Valley are nuanced, Kytle said, and St. Lukes will hire with those details in mind. Twin has a much older population than Jerome, where there are lots of young people, Kytle said. The Wood River area has a transient population because of tourism. We have to hire the right providers and the right mix of providers. Last year, Dr. Brian Fortuin, chairman of St. Lukes east region physician leadership council, said the treatment of patients in the Magic Valley is dramatically better now than 10 years ago, and the facilities continue to expand earlier this month, St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center in Twin Falls opened a new five room surgery center east of the main hospital. With the new upcoming hires, Kytle said, treatment in the region should only continue to improve. Making so many new hires will be especially difficult in the face of a growing shortage of physicians across the country. A report released earlier this year by the Association of American Medical Colleges found that physician demand continues to grow faster than supply, leading to a projected total physician shortfall of between 61,700 and 94,700 physicians by 2025. That means St. Lukes has to find ways to be competitive and creative when it comes to hiring. To that end, Kytle said, St. Lukes has a dedicated recruitment team that specializes in reaching out to young doctors, nurse practitioners, physicians assistants and other providers to woo them to the Magic Valley. The sales pitch centers on two things the community and the company. Southern Idaho has so much to offer, Kytle said. Were looking for people who want to come to a place thats safe, growing, family-friendly and has four seasons and outdoor activities. St. Lukes also tries to get young medical residents to complete their training here practicing family medicine in rural areas. Were working on getting medical students and residents here, she said, because theres great evidence that as they train in a community, they tend to stay. The other big selling point, aside from the community, is St. Lukes itself, Kytle said. The hospital system is trying to take innovative and collaborative approaches to medicine. Were surrounding our physicians with a team of nurses, therapists, care coordinators and others who help the physician take care of more people in a team-based model, Kytle said. Were utilizing others to the top of their licenses. The formal hiring plan will likely be finalized near the end of the year as St. Lukes determines exactly which providers will be retiring in the next half decade, Kytle said. And as the population and its health needs continue to change, the plan may be adjusted accordingly. TWIN FALLS Twin Falls County soon could have its own flag. Dan Carter, president of the Twin Falls County Gold Buckle Club, and his brother, Sheriff Tom Carter, have taken on a project to create a county flag, and they need the publics help. Dan Carter is responsible for the openings of the county rodeo, where the Mounted Color Guard carries the U.S. and Idaho flags into the arena while the national anthem plays in the background. I noticed there was no county flag in the rodeo openings. he said. I got looking into it and realized there was no Twin Falls County flag. While county flags are uncommon in Idaho, Twin Falls is the only county in the Magic Valley without one, said Lori Stewart, sheriffs office spokeswoman. Dan Carter plans to form a committee to work on the project and hopes the community will join in by submitting designs. He plans to set up a Facebook page soon to get the ball rolling. A flag should reflect the history and the spirit of our county, a home we are proud of, he said. The chosen design will be presented to the county commissioners for approval. This is the perfect time to bring our community together by honoring our heritage and our home, Tom Carter said in a statement. I am proud to be a part of this historical project. This appeared in the Lewiston Tribune: About a dozen years ago, Thomas Frank titled his book Whats the Matter with Kansas? to describe a group of people voting against their own economic self-interests. Why stop with Kansas? Among Idahos deepest pockets of support for Republican Donald Trump were the states agricultural counties. For instance, Trump got better than 60 percent of the vote in Bonneville, Bingham, Canyon, Jerome, Twin Falls and Nez Perce counties. In Jefferson and Gooding counties, Trumps margin exceeded 70 percent. Only the wheat farmers of the Palouse showed any reticence. Hillary Clinton carried Latah County with about 44 percent, compared to 40 percent for Trump. Why would anybody who works within an agricultural economy vote for a candidate who wants to send away their labor and drive up the price of their goods on the foreign markets? Do they think hes putting them on? Trump has never disavowed his pledge to deport more than 11 million undocumented workers. Even if he sticks with the latest plan to throw out only about 3 million criminals, what does that mean? Someone with a drunken driving conviction? Possession of pot? Shoplifting? Either way, a mass deportation would be ruinous to Idaho agriculture. For whatever reason the works too demanding or its inconvenient to relocate Idahoans wont take many of those jobs. Undocumented immigrants fill the void. As the Idaho Statesmans Bill Dentzer noted last week, one of every four people working in Idaho agriculture is undocumented. Send them away and labor-intensive operations such as Idahos dairy industry face a choice. A few with the resources might invest in robotics. The rest either downscale or relocate where the labor is across the border much like fruits, vegetables and organic producers already have. In other words, either you import your agricultural workers or you import your food. You choose. No part of southern Idaho will emerge unscathed. About half of the dairy industry is in the Magic Valley; the rest is split between the Treasure Valley and the upper Snake River region. Deportation also means tough times for the states fruit and onion producers and its potato packing houses. Idahos agricultural counties also picked a president who has called the North American Free Trade Agreement the worst trade deal in history and has vowed to change it or scrap it. But NAFTA has been good for Idaho. Tearing down trade barriers has produced year after year of record trade between Idaho, Canada and Mexico. Last year, Idahos exports to Mexico totaled $264 million and nearly 72 percent of that was agricultural related. The same year, Idahos exports to Canada reached nearly $1 billion including mining, ag products, fertilizers and semiconductors. If you have any doubts how Trumps plans for NAFTA would diminish Idahos prosperity, heres one clue: In the past year, the rising dollar slashed Idahos ag exports by almost 23 percent. Ag exports with Canada were down 19 percent. The slippage with Mexico was about 0.5 percent. In a state where agriculture accounts for 14 percent of its jobs and 16 percent of its gross domestic product, the pain will be felt far and wide. So why would Idaho farmers, ranchers and the people whose livelihoods depend on them vote for Trump? Whats the matter with them? Special To The Washington Post The election of Donald Trump and Republican majorities in both houses have terrified environmentalists and climate campaigners, who have declared that the next four years will be a disaster. Fear is understandable. We have much to learn about the new administrations plans. But perhaps surprisingly, what little we know offers some cause for hope. It should not need to be restated in 2016 that climate change is real and mostly man-made. It is hard to know whether Trump will acknowledge this. He has called global warming a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese, but stated that this was a joke; he denied the existence of climate change during the campaign, but supported global warming action as recently as 2009. What really matters is not rhetoric but policy. So far, we know that President Trump will drop the Paris climate change treaty. This is far from the world-ending event that some suggest and offers an opportunity for a smarter approach. Even ardent supporters acknowledge that the Paris treaty by itself will do little to rein in global warming. The United Nations estimates that if every country were to make every single promised carbon cut between 2016 and 2030 to the fullest extent and there was no cheating, carbon dioxide emissions would still only be cut by one-hundredth of what is needed to keep temperature rises below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius). The Paris treatys 2016-2030 pledges would reduce temperature rises around 0.09 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. If maintained throughout the rest of the century, temperature rises would be cut by 0.31 degrees Fahrenheit. At the same time, these promises will be costly. Trying to cut carbon dioxide, even with an efficient tax, makes cheap energy more expensive and this slows economic growth. My calculations using the best peer-reviewed economic models show the cost of the Paris promises through slower gross domestic product growth from higher energy costs would reach $1 trillion to $2 trillion every year from 2030. U.S. vows alone to cut greenhouse-gas emissions 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 would reduce GDP by more than $150 billion annually. So Trumps promise to dump Paris will matter very little to temperature rises, and it will stop the pursuit of an expensive dead end. However, Paris was a well-meaning if flawed attempt to address a genuine global issue. With no international climate policies at all, it is probable that we would see a temperature rise of perhaps 7 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. The United States needs to find a smarter solution. Climate economists have found that green energy R&D investment would be a much more efficient approach. This is very much in line with Trumps campaign promise of investment in research and development across the broad landscape of academia and with its suggestion that we could develop energy sources and power production that alleviates the need for dependence on fossil fuels. This investment in U.S. ingenuity could help innovate the price of green energy down below fossil fuels. Only then will we truly be able to stop climate change. Statements by Trumps campaign also indicate that the next administration will create a global development and aid policy that recognizes that climate is one problem among many. Asked about global warming, the campaign responded, Perhaps the best use of our limited financial resources should be in dealing with making sure that every person in the world has clean water. Perhaps we should focus on eliminating lingering diseases around the world like malaria. Perhaps we should focus on efforts to increase food production to keep pace with an ever-growing world population. This would be a big change. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development analyzed almost all aid from the United States and other rich nations and found that about one-third is climate-related aid. This is immoral when 2 billion people suffer from malnutrition, 700 million live in extreme poverty and 2.4 billion are without clean drinking water and sanitation. These problems can be tackled effectively today, helping many more people more dramatically than climate aid could. Despite its length, and for all of its heat and bluster, the election campaign left many unanswered questions and understandable concerns about the president-elects positions on climate change, aid and development. But, surprisingly, there is now an opportunity. To seize it, the Trump administration needs to go beyond just dumping the ineffective Paris agreement, to an innovation-based green energy approach that will harness U.S. ingenuity. Far from being a disaster, such a policy could mean a real solution to climate change and help the worlds worst-off more effectively. The protests of the Nubians for their right to return on their lands that are being sold or offered by the Egyptian government to investors and military high ranking officials are seriously gaining momentum. Nubian rights lawyer Mohamed Azmy warned that Prime Minister Sherif Ismails statement on Tuesday is not an answer to their demands. The government is not going to pacify us by saying that we have priority in the sale of land that is ours in the first place lamenting that what the government is doing through this company is strictly business. To end the protest that began earlier this week, Prime Minister Ismail stated that priority in the sale of land of the affected areas will be given to the Nubians but that was strongly rejected. They argued that it is their ancestral land that has been guaranteed by the 2014 Egyptian constitution. Article 236 disposes that the state shall work to implement projects to return the residents of Nubia to their original territories and develop such territories within 10 years, as regulated by law. However, a Presidential decree in 2014 declared some parts of their lands as an exclusive military zone while another one in 2016 designated 922 feddans state-owned land to the private New Toshka development project. President al-Sisi was hoping to boost the economy of the country through projects that are to be implemented in these lands. The Nubians are demanding the government to make a U-turn on its decision and work towards implementing Article 236 to end the standoff. Azmy stated that there are two scenarios in front of us; either we end the strike and wait until the prime minister addresses our demands or we continue the strike and escalate. Negotiations have been going at a slow pace with the Nubians claiming that they have often been subdued for public interest since 1902 when the Aswan Low Dam submerged some of their villages upon completion. We have made it clear time and time again that we take care of European values more than many EU countries, but we could not see concrete support from Western friends None of the promises were kept, President Erdogan stressed during a conference of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul. The Turkish president seemed not to be amazed by the resolution supported by leading members of the EP as he pointed out that whatever the result, this vote has no value in our eyes. His remarks came as members of the European Parliament (EP) prepare to vote on halting membership talks with Turkey to the EU. Gianni Pitella, leader of the Progressive Alliance of the Socialists and Democrats party, claimed that among the reasons to have prompted the call for the suspension of the talks is due to the severe steps that Ankara has undertaken in the aftermath of the failed 15 July coup detat and authorities keep neglecting and undermining democracy and rule of law in the process. The vote will take place at a plenary session but it is not binding. Turkey has often accused EU of supporting terrorist organizations that pose a threat to its security. It had ignored calls from the EU member states to ease its clampdown on alleged suspects that is still ongoing and has affected all public sectors and some private enterprises. Relations between the EU and Turkey have been rough over the past years and President Erdogan has often threatened that he would open the doors for the Syrian refugees to Europe. Nine countries showed support for Moroccos territorial integrity by withdrawing from the Arab-African summit held in Equatorial Guineas capital Malabo in protest over the presence of the flag of the Polisario separatists. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Yemen and Somalia in addition to Morocco decided to leave the summit in protest over the presence of the flag of the Algerian-based RASD entity. The withdrawal of Morocco along with the other Arab countries from the summit was out of respect for the principles and achievements of Arab-African action, on top of which the principle of safeguarding the territorial integrity of Arab and African states and that participation in such a summit is open only to UN member states, Moroccos foreign ministry explained in a statement. The withdrawal was dictated by the concern to uphold the principles of international law, notably the respect for the sovereignty of states, said the statement, adding that hoisting the flag of a separatist entity is prejudicial to joint Arab-African action. The withdrawing countries remain attached to African-Arab partnership and aware of the security and stability challenges facing the continent and the need to join efforts in order to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Arab and African peoples in full sovereignty of their national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the statement went on to say. The Moroccan foreign ministry recalls that the second Arab-African summit in Syrte in 2010 and the third in Kuwait in 2013 have stressed the respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states as one of the foundations of Arab-African partnership. Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank. The African Union Commission (AU) on Tuesday said five aspirants of the blocs Chairperson Position will face off in a debate at the Unions headquarters in Ethiopias capital, Addis Ababa on December 9. According to the incumbent Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the debate is meant to transform the union by giving the broad African public an opportunity to be informed and participate in the work of the commission. The five candidates for the top position of the continental bloc include Chads foreign minister Moussa Faki Mahamat, Botswanas foreign minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, Equatorial Guineas foreign minister Agapito Mba Mokuy, Kenyas foreign minister Amina Mohamed and Senegals Bathily Abdoulaye who is the special UN envoy for Central Africa. The elections will be held during the 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government from January 30 to 31 in Addis Ababa. The AU Commission comprises the chairperson, deputy chairperson and eight commissioners responsible for peace and security; political affairs; trade and industry; infrastructure and energy; social affairs; rural economy and agriculture; human resources, science and technology; and economic affairs. In the last AU Commission chairperson elections, Dr. Dlamini-Zuma defeated Gabonese diplomat Jean Ping Gabon after a closely contested poll that saw several rounds of voting failing to provide an ultimate winner. Police in Benin on Monday confirmed the seizure of 54 kilogrammes of cocaine from Brazil. The consignment was hidden in a container in the port of Cotonou., the public prosecutor said on Tuesday. There was a sack containing 48 pellets of a suspect product, which was seized on Monday, Lawani Badirou told a news conference in Cotonou. Tests revealed that this was cocaine, he said. In late October, maritime police in the West African nation discovered has seized about 18 kg of cocaine in the same port. The seizure was one of the largest drug recoveries by the authorities at Benins ports of entry. Authorities have arrested a prominent businessman and politician, Sebastien Ajavon in connection with the seizure. Ajavon, who is also one of Benins richest businessmen, came third in a presidential election in March. Detained more than a week, he denied charges of transporting and trafficking illegal drugs when he appeared before the tribunal. He was later released. Note that Benin and some other West African countries have gained the notoriety for about a decade of being a major transit point for cocaine grown in Latin America on its way to Europe. Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara on Tuesday said Ivory Coast will not follow the decision of Burundi, South Africa and the Gambia to leave the international court (ICC). The Ivorian president who was speaking in France after meeting with French president Francois Hollande at the Elysee palace said: These are sovereign decisions, but the Ivory Coast will not leave the ICC. In his words, most countries share this belief. Its about fighting impunity, its in our interest. We must begin with justice on a national level, and then if possible at a regional and continental level, but its not the case today on a continental level. So the International Criminal Court does its work and often, by the way, at the request of African countries, the African authorities Ouattara further noted. Ivory Coast former president Laurent Gbagbo and one of his ministers are in trial at The Hague based Court facing four charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, and persecution in his role in the disputed elections in the West African nation of Ivory Coast in 2010-2011. The unrest claims the lives of over 3,000 citizens which Gbagbo the then sitting President allegedly refused to hand over power and ordered his loyal forces to resist his ouster after his rival Alassane Ouattara was declared a winner in a second round of voting. The Nigeria-based Islamist militants carried out raids in neighbouring Cameroon killing about 6 soldiers, local media Cameroonweb reported on Wednesday. Between yesterday and today there were three attacks: in Darak, in Diguina and a thwarted kamikaze strike in the (camp), said a senior army source who asked not to be named, referring to three places in the Far North Region of Cameroon. On Monday, a young women armed with explosives attempted to enter a military post for soldiers adjacent to a camp for thousands of people displaced by the militant group. In the third incident, militants set fire to houses in the village of Diguina, the sources said. The terrorist group, which is seeking to impose strict Islamic sharia law in Nigerias mainly-Muslim north, has killed at least 20,000 people and left more than 2.6 million homeless in its six-year insurgency. A regional offensive last year drove the fighters from most of their traditional strongholds, denying them their dream of an Islamic emirate in northeastern Nigeria. An 8,700-strong regional force of troops from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria is seeking to finish the job. In Cameroon, nearly 10,000 of its troops are deployed against Boko Haram. The armys Rapid Intervention Brigade (BIR) consists of its most professional and best-equipped soldiers, and patrols a high-risk 400km stretch of the border with Nigeria. The US military backs them with equipment, training and intelligence gathered from American drones flown out of a base in the town of Garoua. A small US military camp was reportedly seen inside another BIR base in nearby Maroua. Everyday creative activity may lead to an "upward spiral" of increased wellbeing and creativity in young adults, new research from New Zealand's University of Otago suggests. In their study, Department of Psychology researchers asked 658 university students to keep a daily diary of their experiences and emotional states over 13 days. After analysing the diaries the researchers, led by Dr Tamlin Conner, found a pattern of the participants feeling more enthusiasm and higher "flourishing" than usual following days when they were more creative. Flourishing is a psychological concept that can be described as increasing positive growth in oneself. While the current study did not specifically ask the university students to record the nature of their creative activity, the researchers had collected such information informally in an earlier study. They found that the most common examples reported were songwriting; creative writing (poetry, short fiction); knitting and crochet; making new recipes; painting, drawing, and sketching; graphic and digital design; and musical performance. Dr Conner says she and her team wanted to find out if engaging in everyday creative acts makes people feel better emotionally. "There is growing recognition in psychology research that creativity is associated with emotional functioning. However, most of this work focuses on how emotions benefit or hamper creativity, not whether creativity benefits or hampers emotional wellbeing," Dr Conner says. The researchers found that "positive affect" (PA) - which encompasses feelings such as pleasurable engagement, happiness, joy, excitement, and enthusiasm - on a particular day did not predict next-day creative activity. "Our earlier research found that PA appears to increase creativity during the same day, but our latest findings show that there is no cross-day effect. Rather, it is creative activity on the previous day that predicts wellbeing the next," she says. Even when controlling for next-day creative activity, the previous day's creativity significantly predicted energised PA and flourishing. Dr Conner and her co-authors write that: "this finding suggests a particular kind of upward spiral for wellbeing and creativity - engaging in creative behavior leads to increases in wellbeing the next day, and this increased wellbeing is likely to facilitate creative activity on the same day. They conclude that "overall, these findings support the emerging emphasis on everyday creativity as a means of cultivating positive psychological functioning". More information: Tamlin S. Conner et al, Everyday creative activity as a path to flourishing, The Journal of Positive Psychology (2016). Tamlin S. Conner et al, Everyday creative activity as a path to flourishing,(2016). DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2016.1257049 A world-first innovative device that can measure pelvic floor muscle changes in women is being developed at the University of Auckland. The device, called the FemFit, is the focus of research into pelvic floor muscle function and dysfunction in women and how this relates to childbirth, urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. These studies are led by Research Fellow, Dr Jenny Kruger from the Pelvic Floor Research Group at the University's Auckland Bioengineering Institute. "There is unequivocal evidence that damage to the muscles of the pelvic floor (for example, during childbirth) doubles the risk of women developing pelvic floor dysfunction later in life," says Dr Kruger. "Those disorders typically manifest as urinary incontinence (leakage) or pelvic organ prolapse," she says. "Although we don't yet know how to fix the muscle damage there are some things that women can do to perhaps help prevent or treat the symptoms. "For instance leakage affects one in four women during their lifetime," says Dr Kruger. "Research has shown that pelvic floor muscle training is an effective first line treatment for leakage and mild prolapse. "The problem is that women often don't know how to perform pelvic floor muscle exercises correctly, (unless they go to a pelvic floor physio), and even then they often don't stick to doing them." Dr Kruger says they developed a prototype instrument (the FemFit) which is a slim, compliant silicone-based pressure sensor array for pelvic floor research. "The FemFit is an intra-vaginal device that can essentially be 'worn' during everyday activities or during activities or exercise that provoke leakage," she says. "Imagine you have just had your first baby and you used to be able to go the gym or run prior to birth, but now every time you run or exercise (or even just pick baby up, sneeze, cough or laugh) you leak urine," says Dr Kruger. "The aim of the FemFit is to look at what is happening to both abdominal pressure and pelvic floor muscle activation pressures during times leakage occurs, and by knowing that we could develop, a custom exercise programme for each woman, to fix their particular problem." It will also have the potential to help with adherence, (similar to the Fit Bit community) so it can generate reminders and also be part of an online community. Recently the group collaborated with Professor Chantale Dumoulin from the University of Montreal in Canada to run a clinical study to validate the FemFit. The study will look at the vaginal pressure profiles in continent and incontinent women, and determine if these change after three months of pelvic floor muscle training. "We are also exploring the usefulness of the FemFit for clinicians who are performing prolapse surgery, and whether this is useful pre and post-surgery (as a measure of surgical success)," says Dr Kruger. The group is also researching the use of novel techniques (such as instrumentation development) and computer modelling with the aim of developing risk prediction models to help identify women who are more likely to suffer pelvic floor muscle damage during vaginal delivery. "We know there are statistical associations between certain things like age, size of baby, ethnicity, how long you are pushing for during labour, and if you needed an instrumental delivery," says Dr Kruger. "But these are only one part of the picture. "What we don't know is how the damage occurs (or the mechanisms of second stage), so by using bioengineering principals we are building up a better picture of the 'how'," she says. "We suspect that how the pelvic floor muscles change during pregnancy - how stretchy they become - is likely to influence the outcomes." Researchers in the group have developed a prototype bio-instrument that is able to quantity the muscle stiffness and this metric might be useful in developing these risk prediction models. "We have also developed some highly sophisticated computational models of childbirth, which although are not ready yet for the clinic have the potential to help inform caregivers of potential risk by simulating the delivery and seeing what happens," says Dr Kruger. "Of course this will never negate clinical judgement, but our aim is to provide another valid tool in the tool box to help prevent pelvic floor muscle damage." Tiffany Kimbrough, M.D. As winter approaches and outside temperatures drop, illnesses usually begin to increase. This is especially true in children and one of the most common and contagious childhood illness is hand, foot and mouth disease. Tiffany Kimbrough, M.D., assistant professor of general pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, answered questions about this virus and how to prevent children from contracting it. What is hand, foot and mouth disease? A common viral illness that usually affects infants and children younger than five years old. It is well-known for causing blisters throughout the body and mouth. How is it contracted? Are there certain times of the year when it's more prevalent? Hand, foot and mouth disease is spread through saliva, mucous from the nose, fluid from the blisters and stool. It is contracted by being in close contact with another person, breathing the same airdue to coughing and sneezingtouching contaminated objects and surfaces or touching dirty diapers/stool and then touching your mouth without handwashing. All of these reasons are why hand, foot and mouth disease is so prevalent in daycares. It is most commonly seen in summer and early fall. What are the symptoms? How can you tell if your child has hand, foot and mouth disease? Symptoms usually start off as fever, sore throat, decreased energy and decreased appetite. A few days later, bumps can show up in the mouth or on the arms and legs. The bumps in the mouth may turn into blisters and ulcers on the back of the throat and on the insides of the cheeks and lips. They are very painful and make it difficult to eat and drink. The rash on the body can involve the palms, soles of the feet, buttocks, and diaper area and may progress to blisters as well. Because viruses behave differently in different people, there can be some variation in symptoms from one child to the next. Approximately how long do symptoms last? Symptoms are generally present for three to four days total. There are few complications from the disease with the exception of dehydration since it hurts to eat and drink. Parents should monitor how their child is eating and drinking and how many wet diapers or trips to the bathroom he or she is making. If it has been longer than eight hours between diapers/urination, parents should call their doctor. Are there any treatments or ways to keep a child with hand, foot and mouth disease comfortable? Avoid spicy or acidic foods like fruit juices or tomato saucethese will make the blisters hurt more. Cold liquids like Pedialyte, popsicles and ice cream are better options. Soft foods like puddings and jello might also be easier to swallow. Over the counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can be used as well. For questions about whether these are appropriate for your child, parents should call their health care provider. Aspirin should always be avoided in children. Also check with a health care provider before trying any other mouth-soothing therapies. Are there ways to prevent or lower the risk of contracting hand, foot and mouth disease? The best method is good handwashing and staying away from others if you or your child are ill. Clean and disinfect surfaces that may come in contact with children's mouths or stool. Children are the most contagious during the first week of the illness and should not return to daycare until the skin lesions have healed. Can adults contract this virus as well? Hand, foot and mouth disease most commonly affects infants and children younger than five to seven years old. However, children, adolescents and adults can be impacted as well. Adults will often have no symptoms, but can spread the virus to others. Occasionally, adults will have symptoms as well, but are usually milder than in children. The international community needs to stand up for medical neutrality in war zones, and mandate the UN Security Council to act in the face of persistent and blatant breaches of the Geneva Convention, urge global health experts in an editorial in the online journal BMJ Global Health. Some 196 countries ratified the International Humanitarian Law, which specifically promotes medical neutrality and protection of medical services for people in war zones, as set out in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.Breaches of the law, which was modified in 1977 and 2005 to strengthen it further, are regarded as war crimes, because of their impact on civilians and medical staff who have a duty of care to those wounded in war-torn countries. "But over the years, war crimes have persisted with little or no definitive action by the international community to stem the tide," insist the authors, Drs Soumitra Bhuyan, School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Ikenna Ebuenyi, King's College London and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Jay Bhatt, The Health Research and Educational Trust, Chicago. The inaction dates back to the 1970s in Mozambigue, and is still evident today in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and South Sudan, they point out. And the destruction of healthcare facilities around the world shows no sign of abating. In 2015-16, 600 such attacks were recorded228 of them in Syria alonekilling1000 people and injuring more than 1500 others. According to data from the World Health Organization, 113 healthcare facilities in 17 countries were attacked in the first 6 months of the 2016 alone. And as of the first week of October, every hospital in eastern Aleppo in Syria has been hit at least once, with one of the main trauma hospitals hit four times within a 5-day period. Since the war in Syria started, 654 doctors and nurses have lost their lives. The impact of these attacks is "enormous," say the authors, outlining the psychological trauma for the survivors and the erosion of preventive healthcare, such as vaccinations and infectious disease control. "The [International Humanitarian Law] is explicit and provides for the protection of patients, health facilities, health personnel and patients in times of war as long as they are not directly involved in hostilities," they write. "The international community needs to rise to the occasion and match action with words by mandating the United Nations Security Council to provide protection for health facilities in war zones and enter into dialogue with government and warring groups to respect the principles of medical neutrality in conflict areas," they urge. This means that the Council and governments of all nations need to develop some form of punishment that would deter aggressors from further breaches of the legislation and educate armed forces personnel to respect medical neutrality and the Geneva Convention, they say. More information: Editorial: Persisting trend in the breach of medical neutrality: a wake-up call to the international community, Editorial: Persisting trend in the breach of medical neutrality: a wake-up call to the international community, DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2016-000109 Credit: University of Nottingham Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) could offer a new non-invasive test for liver damage that could transform the care of patients with cirrhosis, say experts in Nottingham. In a paper published in the Journal of Hepatology, the researchers from The University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust have demonstrated that MRI can be successfully used to estimate the pressure in the circulation of the liver. Cirrhosis - scarring of the liver caused by long-term damage - kills 4,000 people in the UK every year 700 people with the condition need a liver transplant to survive. The accumulation of this scarring can prevent the blood from flowing effectively within the liver and the resulting build-up of pressure in liver circulation leads to the formation of varicose veins in the oesophagus and stomach, as well as an accumulation of fluid in the body. The condition can be life-threatening for patients a rupture to one of these veins can be potentially fatal. Doctors currently measure this pressure by passing a long catheter through the jugular vein in the neck into the liver. This highly invasive and expensive test carries a small but significant risk of complications and is only available at specialist liver centres. The team led by Professors Guruprasad Aithal and Susan Francis, and based at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Digestive Diseases Biomedical Research Unit, have developed the use of an MRI scan to assess high blood pressure in the liver circulation, the degree of liver scarring and changes in the liver blood flow. The technique is patient-friendly and can be performed using standard MRI scanners widely available across the NHS. Professor Aithal said: "These scans can be done as outpatients, to pre-empt potential consequence of high blood pressure in liver circulation so that treatment can be instituted ahead of time. "It can also help us to monitor whether treatment is effective. This MR technique has the potential to transform care of patients with liver cirrhosis and accelerate the discovery and development of new treatments." More information: Naaventhan Palaniyappan et al. Non-invasive assessment of portal hypertension using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging, Journal of Hepatology (2016). Naaventhan Palaniyappan et al. Non-invasive assessment of portal hypertension using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging,(2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2016.07.021 Prion fibers. Credit: AJC1 via flickr For the first time, scientists have isolated a mutated prion protein that can multiply in the lab but not in living animals, according to a PLOS Pathogens study. The mutant prion provides new insights into the mechanisms that make prions infectious, says co-author Ilaria Vanni of the Department of Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, and colleagues. Prions are cellular proteins that have become mis-folded and can trigger other proteins to mis-fold, aggregate into dense protein structures, and cause brain damage. Prions are responsible for several infectious fatal neurodegenerative disorders, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and "mad cow disease" in cattle. Previous research has shown that, under certain conditions, prion strains can mutatechange their conformation. In the new study, Vanni's team induced the emergence of a prion mutant while working with highly diluted natural prions obtained from sheep suffering from a prion disease called scrapie. Like other prions, the mutant scrapie prion was able to multiply in the lab outside of an animal, in vitro. However, when the researchers infected bank voles with the mutant protein, none of the voles showed signs of disease. In contrast, the natural, un-mutated form of the prion was able to successfully infect bank voles. The mutant prion's inability to infect voles may be due to its missing a stretch of amino acids that is present in the un-mutated form. The researchers hypothesize that this region is essential for animal infection, but not for in vitro multiplication. Future studies could build on this finding to pinpoint key prion features that affect infectivity, improving understanding of these deadly proteins. "By investigating the in vitro evolution of prion populations derived from natural scrapie," the authors explain, "we found that the cloud of conformational variants also includes 'defective' variants which are unable to self-sustain in vivo. The existence of natural conformational variants able to self-replicate in vitro but not in vivo will hopefully contribute to find out the molecular mechanisms allowing misfolded prion protein conformers to become deadly prions." More information: Vanni I, Migliore S, Cosseddu GM, Di Bari a11111 MA, Pirisinu L, D'Agostino C, et al. (2016) Isolation of a Defective Prion Mutant from Natural Scrapie. PLoS Pathog 12(11): e1006016. Journal information: PLoS Pathogens Vanni I, Migliore S, Cosseddu GM, Di Bari a11111 MA, Pirisinu L, D'Agostino C, et al. (2016) Isolation of a Defective Prion Mutant from Natural Scrapie.12(11): e1006016. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006016 President against female circumcision By Messenger Staff Georgias President Giorgi Margvelashvili has spoken out against alleged incidents of female circumcision in some villages of the eastern Kakheti region, among the Muslim Kist populated territory .The President has urged Georgias law enforcers to immediately investigate the incidents related by Georgian media that circumcision is still carried out in some villages of Georgia and if confirmed, prevent the crime.Margvelashvili believes female circumcision is a blatant violation of human rights that must not take place.We would like to respond to the terrible facts some media outlets have reported concerning the holding of these rituals in three villages of the Kakheti region.The President is concerned about these abhorrent activities. Human rights protection has always been of special importance for the President. Therefore, we declare that these incidents must be investigated and this crime should be prevented immediately, Eka Mishveladze, the Presidents Press Speaker said.We stress that we respect all ethnical traditions if they are not against Georgias legislation and internationally recognized human rights, Mishveladze said.Such incidents must be quickly addressed, as such barbarism does not belong to the 21st century.The main motivation named for circumcision by the locals of the three villages was that such women were faithful to their husbands, as circumcision helps to prevent sexual arousal in women.Representatives of the Muslim community say their holy books never mention circumcision and this is just a custom of some groups of people, especially in Africa.The circumcision generally takes place when a child is little, but it also may be done to an adult.In most cases, the victim is unable to resist and protect her rights, which is why the involvement of relevant bodies is absolutely necessary.Now as Georgia is closer integrated with the circle of the civilized developed community it should secure the rights of all the members of its population and the state should take care of that. The News in Brief UNM Names Nominees for Legislative Positions The United National Movement (UNM) opposition party has re-nominated Davit Bakradze, who was number one on the UNMs party list, as the leader of the parliamentary minority group. Sergi Kapanadze, a former deputy foreign minister who was elected through the UNMs party list in the October 8 parliamentary elections, will become Parliaments Vice Speaker. The UNM faction will be chaired by Nika Melia, the UNMs chief of campaign and a mayoral candidate in the 2014 local elections in Tbilisi. The UNM party, which will take 27 seats in the new Parliament, has decided to form a minority group, but it has yet to decide whether the party will set up more than one inter-parliamentary faction. The ruling Georgian Dream Democratic Georgia party, which will have a 115 seat supermajority in the new Parliament, has not made a final decision on the number of factions. The third party, the Alliance of Patriots, will take six seats in the new Parliament and set up one faction. It is unknown so far when President Margvelashvili will set the date of an inaugural session of the newly elected Parliament, which should be convened no later than November 19. Money transfers to Georgia up 14% in October year-on-year The flow of money into Georgia grew by 14 percent in October, according to the latest monthly report by the National Bank. The money flow into the country was USD 102.5 million, USD 12.6 million more than in October 2015. 91.9 percent of transfers came from 13 countries. Russia is on top of the list accounting for USD 34.6 million, followed by the United States USD 11.6 million, Greece USD 11.3 million, Italy USD 10.2 million and Turkey USD 8.7 million. Other significant origin countries are Israel, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and France. In October 2016, 17.8 million USD was transferred out of Georgia, as compared to 15.1 million USD in October 2015. (DF watch) Saakashvili says some leaders of the United National Movement are self-proclaimed According to Mikheil Saakashvili, some self-proclaimed leaders of the National Movement do not believe that the National Movement had achievements. I am not going to make active decisions in the party in the near future. This is not my function, but I want to say that our activists seem to be more proud of our achievements than the small group of the self-proclaimed leaders. I think they dont believe any more that we have achieved anything. They are talking about this in a modest way, Saakashvili told Rustavi 2 TV. According to him, there were mistakes, but a lot of other stories about failings in the party were complete nonsense. We decided not to respond to it, we were shy to talk about our achievements. However, a simple question is: do people live in Georgia better in 2016 than in 2012? This topic should have been used during the elections. The opposition was talking about only 45 000 jobs instead of saying how the government destroyed the country, - Saakashvili said. (IPN) Tbilisi budget 2017: Public transport is priority Development of the public transport fleet in Georgias capital Tbilisi will be the top priority and challenge for the Tbilisi City Hall next year. In this direction the 2017 budget for Tbilisi City Hall allocated the largest chunk of funds, exceeding over 62 million GEL (about $25 million/23 million*), while the total budget will be over 800 million GEL (about $322 million/300 million*). Tbilisi City Hall has started overhauling and modernising the public bus fleet in the capital city this year already in order to reduce vehilce emissions and curbing rising pollution levels caused by old, deteriorating buses. The first blue buses, which run on compressed natural gas (CNG), appeared on Tbilisi's streets in September thanks to an agreement between leading international provider of commercial vehicles, the Man Truck and Bus AG Company. The agreement said that in the next months, 143 new buses will be added to Tbilisi's public transport service. Meanwhile, Tbilisi City Hall planned to reduce the administrative costs by 16.1 million GEL (about $6.44 million/6 million*) next year, meaning that less money will be spent on fuel, repair works and purchasing different technologies. Plans for the 2017 budget for Tbilisi City Hall also included developing roads and maintaining the historic districts of the city as well as building more kindergartens, and transforming Tbilisi into a greener and more ecologically-friendly city. Tbilisi Mayor announced the draft budget for 2017 had been already sent to the Tbilisi Council, which will be approved by the end of this year. (Agenda.ge) Lily Gladstone has been nominated for best supporting female in the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards, according to a Tuesday announcement. Gladstone, a Missoula resident and Montana native, stars in "Certain Women," director Kelly Reichardt's film about the lives of three women in contemporary Montana. Gladstone appears in the final third of the film as a lonely ranch hand who's pulled into the orbit of a lawyer, played by Kristen Stewart, who comes to town to teach a night class. The film and her performance have earned positive and often glowing reviews since its premiere at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Reichardt, whose previous films include "Meek's Cutoff" and "Night Moves," was nominated for best director. She adapted the screenplay for "Certain Women" from short stories in Helena native Maile Meloy's collection, "Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It." The film, which also features Kalispell-born actress Michelle Williams and Laura Dern, was shot in the Livingston area. The Independent Spirit awards will be announced on Feb. 25. The other nominees in Gladstone's category are Edwina Findley ("Free in Deed"), Paulina Garcia ("Little Men"), Riley Keough ("American Honey"), and Molly Shannon ("Other People"). Last year's winner was Mya Taylor, who played a hooker in "Tangerine," a comedy shot entirely on iPhones with specialty lenses. Other recent winners are Patricia Arquette ("Boyhood"), Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave") and Helena Hunt ("The Sessions"). Gladstone has also been nominated for the breakthrough actor award at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, which will be announced on Monday, Nov. 28, at a ceremony in New York. Previous winners include Taylor, Ellen Page, Amy Adams and Michelle Rodriguez. Film Independent produces the L.A. Film Festival in addition to running development programs for independent filmmakers. The West Central Montana Avalanche Center, an organization that reports on snow and weather conditions during the winter and spring, has announced major staff changes for the coming season. Steve Karkanen the director of the center since 2006, has officially announced his retirement. Travis Craft will assume leadership responsibilities, and Logan King will assist him in providing avalanche advisories and education opportunities. Both have several years of avalanche forecasting and professional ski patrol experience in western Montana. Regular advisories begin in mid-December and are posted on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings from mid-December through March. Special updates are posted as needed during periods of high avalanche danger. The updates and advisories can be found at missoulaavalanche.org, where you can sign up for regular email or social media notification. The WCMAC also has a Missoula Avalanche Facebook page and an avalanche info hotline at 549-4488 or 1-800-281-1030. Ive been doing this for a long time, Karkanen said. The guys are more than prepped to take it on, and Travis and Logan have been doing great work with forecasting and education the past two years. Karkanen started with the Lolo National Forest as an avalanche specialist in the late 1990s and also worked as a professional ski patroller. He will remain involved with the center in an advisory capacity. Over the years, hes noticed dramatic technological advancements that have allowed huge increases in the number of backcountry skiers and snowboarders. There has been a definite increase in the number of folks going into the backcountry, he said. The gear is a lot better than it was. Technology increases every single year it seems like. Now were starting to see, with the advent of better cellular technology, access to really good snowpack and weather information with these devices. He said that with greater advantages comes greater responsibility. You have to know how to use the proper gear to deal with whatever eventually goes wrong, and how to deal with equipment breakdowns or self-rescue, he said. A minor injury in the backcountry can become an epic problem if you arent prepared with the proper equipment and knowledge. The WCMAC operates under a Cost Share Agreement with the Lolo National Forest to provide avalanche safety information for frequently accessed locations on Forest Service (public) land on the Bitterroot, Lolo and Clearwater National Forests. The West Central Montana Avalanche Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, assists the center with fund raising activities and provides education opportunities. Josh Tapp, also a long time ski patroller and first responder, has been hired by the foundation as the education coordinator for the 2016-2017 season. For questions about avalanche conditions or education events, please email info@missoulaavalanche.org or call 530-9766. The center has no dedicated office staff, so callers are asked to leave a detailed message. The center will typically respond to messages within a few days. A Lolo woman was released on her own recognizance after being arrested and charged with driving drunk with a 14-year-old child who also allegedly was intoxicated in the vehicle. In addition to facing a misdemeanor for driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.09 just over the legal limit  Kansas Darlene Killgore, 33, is also charged with endangering the welfare of children and drug paraphernalia possession, in addition to other traffic offenses. According to a court affidavit, Killgore was pulled over on Highway 93 in Lolo around 1 a.m. Tuesday because a deputy saw that the light on her license plate was out. Another deputy spoke with a 14-year-old female passenger, who said Killgore had been supervising her that evening. The girl provided a breath sample of a 0.132 BAC. In court Tuesday, both the deputy county attorney and public defense attorney agreed that Killgore could be released on her own recognizance with drug and alcohol monitoring. Justice of the Peace Landee Holloway also imposed a $2,000 bail on top of the monitoring. University of Montana President Royce Engstrom is giving up the chance of $500,000 in deferred compensation. "Given the financial challenges at UM, it would be inappropriate of me to request such an action," Engstrom said Wednesday in an email. When Engstrom and Montana State University President Waded Cruzado took their campus leadership posts in 2010, the Montana University System salaries were low compared to those in surrounding states, according to the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. Deputy Commissioner of Communications Kevin McRae said the difference was around $60,000 a year. To offer competitive compensation without having to fund a higher salary up front, the Montana Board of Regents agreed the presidents each would qualify for $500,000 in deferred compensation after five years' service. The presidents would receive annual $50,000 installments paid from age 65 to 75, according to the Commissioner's Office. Last November, the Montana Board of Regents agreed to another $500,000 in deferred compensation for MSU's Cruzado with a similar service requirement. The renewal took place roughly five years after she was hired to lead the Bozeman campus. At the time, McRae said that failing to renew the compensation was akin to a pay cut, and he anticipated a similar conversation would take place regarding Engstrom in 2016. Last fall, Engstrom hit five years in the job and qualified for the initial $500,000. This month, the regents held their last scheduled meeting of the calendar year, and the agenda item for a second $500,000 in deferred compensation for Engstrom did not come up. McRae said Engstrom has not brought up the matter to the Commissioner's Office, as Cruzado did. Engstrom's contract for the 2016 fiscal year was $303,145. In January, the regents approved a $6,093 raise for him, but the president said he would donate it to a leadership scholarship. "I am totally committed to this exciting future that we have before us," Engstrom said at the time. Commissioner Clayton Christian said deferred compensation is sometimes referred to as a bonus, but it's actually money that allows the Montana University System to pay a competitive salary to its campus administrators. The institution pays less money in the present, but the employee gets some pay later. Anyone surprised by the nationwide defeat of the Dems in the 2016 election shouldnt be. In part, it was the result of the conservative reaction to the reform gains of the 1960s and early 1970s by corporate-funded think tanks; a bevy of their expert consultants everywhere, not just Fox News; ubiquitous talk (i.e. hate) radio, and reactionary political operatives like Karl Rove, Roger Ailes and Frank Luntz. Instead of pointing to the ulterior motives of these ideologues and fighting back, the Dems leadership caved, disowned the term liberal, and opted for the more conservative progressive. This was indicative of a 40-year retreat from the New Deal legacy of corporate regulation and a political alliance with factory workers, unions, small shopkeepers and small farmers. The party now consisting of New (i.e.: corporate) Democrats instead opted for the alleged efficiencies of corporate concentration, deregulation and free-rnarket economics as the surest paths to prosperity, employment and party funding. Its base shifted to that of affluent, college-educated whites, identity groups feminists, racial and cultural minorities, and environmentalists based, in part, on the mistaken belief that the party had irretrievably lost its white, working-class base. In doing so, the party unnecessarily lost much of its former working-class and lower-middle-class base and its soul. This support was always there, as Barack Obama demonstrated in 2008 and in 2012 and Bernie Sanders did in 2016. But the clueless Democratic National Committee ignored these successes and used every means to support Hillary Clinton and undermine Sanders, who rediscovered the small-donor base the DNC had so long ignored. In nominating Clinton, the party lost a significant portion of this populist vote, which either did not vote, or voted for Trump. In this context, Clintons and the DNCs 2016 debacle was no ones fault but their own. William A. Babcock, Missoula America hasnt seen Democrats this mad since the Republicans freed their slaves. Donald Trump hasnt even taken office yet and youre blaming him for being worse off than you were eight years and $10 trillion ago. Help me explain the $1.2 million in debt that my kids were each born with to them. How do you explain to a property owner who worked 20 years to pay for a piece of land that they now have to pay $20,000 in permits to build a home? How can you expect anything for free, when your neighbor has to work for free each year till March 25, to pay his fair share? The American taxpayers are paying for so much free that the government is borrowing $2 out of every $3 it spends from foreign banks and foreign governments; explain that to your kids. Explain to them where free comes from its not Barack Obama, its not the government and its not the mail. Explain to your kids how its corporations big and small, businesses big and small and entrepreneurs busting their backs to pay for every entitlement and every free thing you take for granted. Explain to your kids how evil corporations, regardless of how much you tax them, dont pay one thin dime in taxes, consumers pay every penny of the corporations' taxes. Explain to your kids how a marine taking pictures of himself at work goes to prison while your corrupt-to-the-core candidate Hillary Clinton walks free. Explain to your kids the burden of the $10 trillion in debt the last eight years has cost us. $10 trillion is enough money to buy south America, instead we borrowed $10 trillion to give you all free. Explain why youre rioting over Trump instead of the guy thats responsible. John Ployhar, Potomac BUTTE - For Alonzo Willis of Butte, being sprayed by a water cannon in subfreezing temperatures wasn't the worst part of a Sunday night confrontation at Standing Rock. It was seeing a woman severely injured. He said he and Butte friend Isaiah Other Bull were close to protester Sophia Wilansky when she was injured in a confrontation with police. After the water-spraying, the crowd had thinned out to fewer than a dozen people. Two of them -- including Wilansky -- were near a barricade on the highway. "They weren't past the barricade -- not past the barbed wire or anything," Willis said. "They were just standing there." "One of the guys got hit with a rubber bullet. The girl (Wilansky) got hit by a rubber bullet and she fell," said Willis, 23. "And then they shot a percussion grenade and it got her in the arm." Law-enforcement at the scene denied using grenades, and said the Wilansky may have been hurt by a propane tank being used as a weapon by the protesters. But Wilansky, Willis, Other Bull and other eyewitnesses dispute that account. "It hit her and it just went 'Boom!' It blew her down," Willis said. He said he and two others "ran over there as fast as we could ... she was screaming, 'My arm is gone!' He said the police were firing tear gas canisters while she was down. "When we'd gone through action training, they were saying when someone gets hurt, it's usually best to just leave them, but we knew it was her arm and we had to get her out of there," he said. "We just picked her up. We ran until we found a car" and put her in it. "That's when I first really saw her arm. You could see bone and blood." Other Bull was also nearby, and his account matches Willis'. "They shot her with a rubber bullet and she fell. She was trying to get up and run back and that's when they threw that grenade at her. Big old wound. All open. As big as a hand." Willis said he saw men get out of a giant armored vehicle labeled Stutsman County (N.D.). "They were laughing. One of them said something like 'That was a beautiful shot.' "We couldn't believe it was the police saying it. They didn't act like professionals at all. They acted like they were in a different country and they were in a war. "They kept saying, 'Put that phone down.' They don't want people documenting." Afterward, both Willis and Other Bull said the event had changed them. Other Bull, 23, lives in both Butte and on the Cheyenne reservation in Lame Deer. His mother, Michaelynn Hawk of Butte, belongs to the Crow nation and is executive director of the Indian People's Action. The grandson of a chief, Other Bull refers to himself as "a traditional" and says "you can feel" the spiritual energy at the camp, where "it's all about trust." But he says "Seeing what the cops can do ... it's hard to trust them now. They do what they want and get away with it." "The camping was great," Willis, an Arapaho, said. "We were all like one big family, a community. ... we were all there to save Mother Earth. Everyone was there just to help each other. But he said seeing Wilansky hurt "made me really not understand how humans can do that to each other. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy BILLINGS - A Facebook comment targeting American Indians sparked controversy across the state Monday. Ryan Carter, 39, posted a photo of a gun and a comment threatening American Indians on Sunday after he read an article about the pipeline standoff in North Dakota on property bordering the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. "Indians! Come at me! There is still a law in Montana, if more than three of you do, it's considered a war party and I can defend myself!" he posted. Carter's Facebook page stated that he worked at Tire-Rama, and at least one reader of Carter's post responded by listing the telephone numbers of three Billings-area Tire-Rama shops and saying, "Let's make this person famous." Carter and Tire-Rama received threats on Monday. The incident was similar to one in Missoula a week earlier, in which a Nissan Hyundai employee's "vulgar" posts about unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton caused a furor. The employee lost his job. Tire-Rama Sales and Marketing Manager Glen Korf said Carter was employed by the company more than a year ago, but worked less than three months. Montana tribes are important customers for Tire-Rama, Korf said, which has contracts with tribes for the repair and supply of government vehicle tires. "The racist remarks, threatening remarks, those aren't remarks shared by Tire-Rama," Korf said. The company responded to more than 20 angry calls from people as far away as Spokane and Texas, Korf said. Tribal representatives from Browning also contacted the company. In a conversation with The Billings Gazette, Carter apologized for anger being directed at the company. He said he had just gotten his wisdom teeth pulled and was still under the influence of anesthesia when he made the comments. Carter said he does believe protests should be peaceful, and only meant that people have a right to defend themselves against violence. He apologized to American Indians and to anyone taking offense to his comment. "The tribes have their right to stand up for their water," Carter said. "I really was not clear in the head." The police contacted Carter on Monday to ensure he had deleted the post, which he had. Carter wasn't sure where he got the idea Montana law stated three Indians together was a war party. Montana Department of Justice Spokesperson Eric Sell said he is not aware of any such law. There may be antiquated laws on the books, Sell said, but the state Legislature attempts to repeal them when they're discovered. Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, said he does not have specific examples of Montana state laws that discriminate against Indians. But there are certain state landmarks and monuments that could better reflect Indian history in the state, he said. He pointed to a proposed law that was killed in draft during the 2013 Legislature that requested state agencies remove the term "half breed" from signage and geological features in Montana. The history of Montana does not take into account the viewpoints of Native Americans, Windy Boy said. He said when he travels the state, he sometimes stops to read the signs posted at historic sites. Most do not reflect the history of the tribes. "The ones memorializing wars between Indians and the U.S. government call the wars the U.S.-won victories," Windy Boy said. "And the ones the Indians won, massacres. One word really changes the whole dynamic." The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has proposed a bill to repeal obsolete laws relating to Indians. Some of the outdated laws include the banning of federal funds going to Indian tribes holding white hostages and the banning of federal funds going to "Indians while they are under the influence of any description of intoxicating liquor." The bill, called the Respect Act, was proposed by Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota. Laws discriminating against American Indians began to concern Rounds while he was governor of South Dakota. The bill still needs to be voted on by the Senate. It is symbolic in nature, but still worth doing, Rounds said. Some things shouldnt be found in federal law, Rounds said. He called the bill a small step forward, but an important one. BILLINGS - Two drug dealers serving life terms in federal prison for trafficking meth in Billings had their sentences shortened by President Barack Obama, who granted clemency this week to 79 people. Victor Robert Nava Sr., 70, who was sentenced in 2002 to two life terms for convictions on conspiracy and five other drug counts involving methamphetamine and painkillers, had his sentenced shortened to 22 years with 10 years of supervised release, court records said. And Lamar Webster, 48, who was from Hayward, Calif., and sentenced in 2009 to life for his conviction on conspiracy to traffic large amounts of meth in the Billings area, had his sentence reduced to 20 years, court records said. In announcing the commuted sentences Tuesday, Obama said he had determined that the 79 people were serving harsh sentences under outdated laws. The adjustments were the latest of more than 1,000 Obama has issued during his presidency. All of the sentences he shortened on Tuesday were for drug-related, low-level offenses, the Associated Press reported. Nava was 55 when now-retired Senior U.S. District Judge Jack Shanstrom sentenced him to the mandatory life terms. The judge told Nava he could show him no compassion and said he had led his family in a corrupt life of crime. The life terms were mandatory because of the quantity of drugs involved and Navas criminal record. The federal Bureau of Prisons lists Nava as having a release date of July 16, 2020. He is incarcerated at the Bureaus medical center in Springfield, Mo. Retired Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Seykora, who prosecuted Nava, at sentencing called him the Godfather of a local drug network and the scourge of Billings. Seykora said Nava controlled and directed as many as 20 people in his drug dealings and had co-conspirators steal items like food stamps so he could feed his family. Nava denied ever having been involved in drugs with family members. A jury convicted Nava of conspiracy and five other counts for activities that ran from 1997 to 1999. A search by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents of Navas home and two storage lockers found more than 3 pounds of marijuana, 1 pounds of meth, four guns, including one that had been stolen, and a pill bottle containing hydrocodone, morphine and codeine tablets. Webster was 40 when now-retired U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull sentenced him to a mandatory life sentence. A jury convicted him of conspiracy to distribute meth, possession with intent to distribute and money laundering charges. The conspiracy ran from 2003 to 2004 and led to convictions of a number of Billings residents, including some who testified against Webster. Webster was held responsible for 16 pounds of meth and qualified for a life sentence because of previous drug convictions. He also was designated a career offender. Webster is serving his sentence at a federal prison in Tucson, Ariz. Montana Cannabis Industry Association attorney Jim Goetz filed a request in Broadwater County District Court on Tuesday seeking the immediate implementation of medical marijuana reform Initiative 182, and the restoration of access to thousands of patients otherwise cut off until June 30. Goetz's complaint contends the implementation date of June 30 is a scrivener's error, and that voters passed I-182 under the belief it would be implemented immediately, not eight months later. In the complaint, Goetz claims the date couldn't have been the intention of the bill's drafters, citing years of litigation against specific provisions of Senate Bill 423 that cut off 93 percent of patients from their medicine. I-182, approved by voters earlier this month, was drafted to combat the issue. According to Goetz, the scrivener's or clerical error was the result of the renumbering of provisions in I-182 in drafts between advocates and the state, which ended with the erroneous inclusion of a June 30 removal date for the three-patient limit. The complaint specifically asks the judge to issue a writ requiring the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services immediately begin issuing registry identification cards. It also seeks an injunction preventing DPHHS from delaying in doing so. And, it asks the judge to declare the June 30 implementation date a scrivener's error, enacting I-182 in full immediately. The respondent in the matter is the state health agency, but Goetz told The Montana Standard he doesn't believe DPHHS will oppose the measure. The health agency advocated earlier this year against the three-patient limit that I-182 removes. "DPHHS is in the process of thoroughly reviewing today's court filing," health department spokesman Jon Ebelt said in an email to the Standard. "Until that legal review is complete, it would be premature to comment further. The department understands how important this issue is to thousands of Montanans, and will work as quickly as possible to file an appropriate response with the courts," Ebelt said. With legislators lining up to reform or repeal I-182 on Jan. 2, Goetz hopes to have access to patients restored through the courts before the session begins. "It should be significantly before that," Goetz said, "before the middle of December hopefully." If the court denies Goetz' request, he could appeal to the Montana Supreme Court. Three medical marijuana patients, a provider and an advocacy group also plan to ask a district judge to block the state from enforcing the three-patient cap on pot providers until the law is repealed. Montanans Ensuring Access to Natural Medicine and the other plaintiffs on Tuesday released a draft update to a lawsuit filed in September. They are asking Lewis and Clark County District Judge James Reynolds to prevent enforcement of the three-patient limit until July 1. Attorney Bruce Fredrickson says he expects the amended lawsuit to be filed within days. Among the plaintiffs are medical marijuana patients Jason Brandle of Helena, Rory Gordon of Bozeman and Melody Brown of Great Falls, and registered medical marijuana provider Brad Russell of Helena. The Associated Press contributed to this report. LIVINGSTON (AP) Park County officials say a 37-year-old Wilsall man who died during a hunting trip last week may have been killed when his rifle discharged as he tried to cross a fence. Gavin Peck was found dead late on Nov. 15 near his vehicle northeast of Wilsall, several hours after he was reported missing. Sheriff Scott Hamilton says the coroner will likely release Peck's cause of death after the state crime lab completes testing on the rifle. About 30 medical health professionals shared their visions for the upcoming Montana Legislature during a forum Tuesday in Butte. Among the proposals set forth are common issues across the state so far: Mental health, suicide prevention, tobacco use prevention and upholding Medicaid expansion otherwise known as the Montana HELP Act. I think some of the legislators appreciate hearing the issues, said Erin McGowan, consultant for Alliance for a Healthy Montana, which sponsored the forum at the Butte Justice Center. The alliance polled its member organizations to learn which issues should take priority at the upcoming 2017 Legislature, slated to start Jan. 2, the 65th session to convene. Host Karen Sullivan, Butte-Silver Bow health director, echoed many of the same concerns, plus work force, rapid rehousing and the high meth problems in the county that need attention. The coalition also wants to promote community assisted living, with the option of staying home; paid family medical leave; palliative care approaches for those with serious medical issues; and supporting Montana seniors and family caregivers. Kristin Page-Nei of the American Cancer Society Action Network in Billings said one priority is to push for a bill to prevent teens from using electronic tanning beds, which she said can increase melanoma risk by 59 percent if used before age 35. Local legislator, Sen. Jon Sesso, D-Butte, and BSB Chief Executive-elect Dave Palmer attended. Several other local legislators were unable to attend due to their day jobs, said Sullivan. Sesso suggested the alliance submit its comprehensive proposals to all legislators so they can digest the wealth of information. The Butte forum was part of a statewide tour that will end in December, said McGowan, who also does community-based consulting for the Association of Montana Health Officials and the Community Corrections Association. The forums have been very well attended, added McGowan, who scurried to Missoula for the sixth. Next week she hits Hamilton, Conrad, Billings and Miles City. A motivated group of young people from Dillon's Montana Youth Challenge Academy chipped in Monday to help get groceries home for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Billings Food Bank began distributing supplies for more than 2,000 Thanksgiving dinners Monday. The demand ahead of the holiday means more food and more volunteer help is needed. While food drives and initiatives from Billings businesses and organizations provided all the fixings for citywide feasts, 10 cadets volunteered at the Billings Food Bank for four hours during their only trip home. Montana Youth Challenge is one of 32 academies across the country affiliated with the National Guard. Although described as quasi-military, the academy does not require any commitment to military service and is not used as a recruiting tool. The cadets who volunteered are enrolled in the 22-week residency program based in Dillon. Cadets are at-risk youth ages 16 to 18 who may have fallen behind in school or need help with self-confidence and discipline. Their help couldnt have come at a better time, said Sheryle Shandy, Billings Food Banks executive director. Shandy said on the busiest days of the year the food bank serves 300 to 400 people. But ahead of Thanksgiving it will distribute groceries to about 2,200 people. Well see about 700 people a day through Wednesday, she said. Whats really helpful is to have kids who can lift, help people to their car and bring the cart back. Raquel Hernandez is a 16-year-old cadet from Billings who helped food bank patrons get groceries to their cars on Monday. She plans on returning to high school after MYC graduation and wants to join the United States Air Force after receiving her diploma. Hernandez said she didnt notice changes in herself since starting the program in July, but in the past month others have started to comment on her transformation. She earned a home pass for the week of Thanksgiving, and it will be her first exposure to an old environment since July. People are all the same here, and Ive changed a lot, she said. I have more motivation than I did before the program. Hernandez said she was happy to work at the Billings Food Bank for the day. She found gratification in thinking of others and serving her community. This is the first official Montana Youth Challenge Academy service project to take place in Billings despite a large number of cadets hailing from Yellowstone County, said Michelle Nelson, MYC post-residential supervisor. In addition to physical and academic challenges, the program requires cadets complete 40 hours of community service. Most cadets volunteer even more, averaging 53 hours. The community of Dillon loves us. They really do because we do a ton of community service, Nelson said. The cadets are also required to find placement after graduating with their high school equivalency certificate. That means either returning to high school to receive a diploma, applying to college, getting a job or joining the military. Cadets use volunteer experiences to build their work skills and their resumes to help in their transition. So many folks dont know this program exists as a resource if they need a different form of education, and its free, Nelson said. An additional 1,000 meals are being prepared this week at the food bank by Chefs and Cooks of Montana and ladies enrolled in the culinary program at Passages Womens Prerelease Program. The food will be served on Thanksgiving Day at Montana Rescue Mission. Hopefully, someday my contribution to peace Will help just a bit to turn the tide And perhaps I can tell my children six And later on their own children That at least in the future they need not be silent When they are asked, "Where was your mother, when?" Faculty and grad students at my university are being targeted by right-wing groups who publicize their names and contact information because these faculty and students have criticized racist and sexist acts on campus. The Women's Studies department in particular has been attacked in the state newspaper for the crime of offering supplies to students who were participating in a protest against Donald Trump. The president of our university just sent out an email giving staff and students information about what to do if they are attacked. Numerous students have reported being harassed, spat upon, told they'd be deported, etc.The right wing detests many segments of academia. The basic idea of women's studies programs, ethnic studies programs, queer studies programs, etc. are anathema to them, but right-wing vitriol is not limited to the humanities ask a climate scientist what life is like these days.These trends are not new, but they are emboldened and concentrated by the success of Donald Trump and the nazis klansmen , and various troglodytes associated with him. Hate crimes are on the rise . The media, trapped in the ideology of false equivalence, terrified of losing access to people in power, besotted by celebrity, makes white supremacists look likemodels and ends up running headlines questioning if Jews are people . Things will only get worse.The chilling effect is already strong.Within the last few days, I've heard from a number of academics (some with tenure) who say they are being very careful. They're changing their social media habits (in some cases, deleting their social media accounts altogether), making themselves less accessible, being careful not to show any political partiality around their students. They need their jobs, after all. They have bills to pay, kids to support, lives to live. Just yesterday, one of my friends was called in to a meeting with a dean to discuss a Tweet from her personal account, a Tweet I had to read three times before I could figure out what in it might ever be construed as "misrepresenting the university". She's got tenure, at least, so she might be safe for now. For now.This is not to say that anti-Trump or left-leaning faculty ought to be celebrated as always correct and perfect. They're as capable of being incoherent, punitive, and authoritarian in their views as Trump is, and a few of the things some of my friends and colleagues said are things I completely disagree with. But they're human beings at a highly anxious moment expressing their views. They're not sending hate mail or harassing people, yet now they are targets of hate and harassment campaigns and many have pulled back, hidden, or deleted whatever they could of their public presence. These are wonderful people, teachers, and scholars. We need to hear their voices. We need them not to be strangled by fear. But they're scared.Most teaching faculty in the U.S. don't have tenure, and tenure is often weak. The neoliberalization of academia has seen to that, and there's little reason to believe things will get better. The Wisconsin model is one the Republicans hope to make national, and with control of all levels of federal government and a majority of state governments, that goal is within their reach.The series of moral panics that have been spreading through academia and spreading even more in the discourse around and about academia is effective in its work, and it is especially effective now in the Age of Trump. "Political correctness" is a powerful term within the discourse, one that the right-wing uses skillfully to stifle dissent and to create a new common sense that is more favorable to the right's perspective. State universities like mine are especially vulnerable to the interference of politicians, even though at this point we get so little funding from the state that the term barely applies anymore. The triumph of the right wingers means institutions susceptible to political pressure will adapt to the new rulers.Moves toward fascism may seem inimical to academia, but they're not at all. Universities can adapt I don't have any original or even particularly insightful answers to this stuff. I've been reading lots of Stuart Hall Audre Lorde , and Victor Klemperer . I sent money to organizations committed to standing against Trump and fascism. I'm matching my publisher's fundraiser for the ACLU. I'm addingto the readings in my First-Year Composition course in the spring. I stuck a pink triangle pin on my backpack; I hadn't done so for many years , but it feels important now to be visible.I've got a lot less to lose than many of my friends and colleagues. (I'm a white male for one thing. White supremacist patriarchy lets us get away with more.) I'll protest, I'll speak out, I'll risk what I can see my way to risk.Back in the good olde days of George W. Bush, I was a columnist for a local newspaper. My assignment was to be the resident left-winger. My first column ran just before the attacks of September 11, 2001. In March of 2002, I began a column with the sentence, "If George W. Bush really wants to clean up politics in this country, the best thing he could do would be to resign." I was a young teacher at a private high school, and readers of the newspaper called the headmaster to try to get me fired. He liked me and had no desire to fire me. He encouraged people who called him to give me a call (my phone number was public), since, he told them, I'm a reasonable guy. "Not one of them would," he said to me a week or so later. "They're cowards. And good for you for speaking up. You and I don't agree about everything, but so what? Why would I ever want to have a teacher here who wasn't truthful to himself? Write what you need to write." A couple readers wrote relatively polite letters to the editor denouncing me for my lack of patriotism. (Now they'd just send an email in ALL CAPS and filled with abusive epithets and maybe a couple death threats for good measure. Those were simpler days...)I kept at it for a while, and indeed eventually got a few phone calls, and now and then somebody wrote to the school to complain about a person with such unpatriotic and subversive ideas teaching the young and impressionable children, and once a deacon came to the school to speak with me between classes because he thought I needed God. I didn't mind. (Heck, I was happy to know folks were reading what I wrote!) People were mostly polite, and expressing disagreement is good citizenship. I wasn't especially attached to writing those columns; it was just something that seemed like it needed doing, and I didn't have many other writing opportunities at the time. Eventually, I gave it up for blogging.I don't think my words changed anybody's minds, I don't think I particularly helped anybody through writing those columns, and I am certain that I could have done more, risked more, donated more, written more. But I look back on it all now with some pride, because lots of people who later said they didn't support the catastrophic U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan really did at the time. It's easy to forget now how much cultural pressure there was after 9/11 to toe the line, to keep your radical ideas to yourself, to not make waves, not buck the trends or upset the ship of state. People said we had to support the President even if we didn't agree with him. People said we needed to be united, even if it meant being united around murder, destruction, and hatred. Some of us disagreed, and the proof of my own stand remains in the pages of theof Plymouth, NH fifteen years ago.There are many forces in my life right now saying it would be prudent for me not to associate my own name with seemingly radical beliefs or actions. I don't agree. I will not support Donald Trump or his minions. I will continue to compare them to Hitler and the Nazis as long as their actions and words continue to evoke fascism . I will continue to advocate for an academia that seeks ways to shed the neoliberalism that has so corrupted the academic mission, and I will stand with students and faculty and staff who are marginalized, oppressed, precarious. Solidarity forever.I will do my damnednest not to risk collaboration with oppression. As an American citizen, it's impossible not to have some complicity in the wars and weaponry our taxes pay for, or in the many ways our lifestyles destroy the biosphere, or well, the list of atrocities we contribute to is long, and the whole country was founded on the sins of genocide and slavery, sins still repercussing at the present moment. I know this. I'm not seeking to hide the double/triple/infinite binds except to say there are some things we do not need to go along with, even as deep in the swamp of complicity as we may be.It's important to pay attention to attacks and to chilling effects, important to make your own position known, to try hard not to collaborate with a regime of repression. We do what we can, and protect what we must. Some people can only resist quietly. Others will put their lives on the line. What matters is the resistance.What matters is being able to stand tall and answer honorably when the future asks , "Where were you, when...?" Bing Predicts winner: Bills (78 percent) Opening line: BUF -6.5 Kickoff time: 1:00 p.m. EST The Jaguars' struggles continued in their Week 11 loss to Detroit, as their losing streak climbed to five games. Jacksonville ranks 27th in points per game (19.3) and 25th in points allowed per game (26.5). The Bills lead the league in rushing offense, so expect a big day for Buffalo's ground game, especially if LeSean McCoy is able to return from his dislocated thumb. MUSCATINE, Iowa A Tipton woman has been charged with failing to yield upon entering through a highway following an accident involving a semi truck and a car on Nov. 9. Ann Kofron, 77, of Tipton, was operating a white 1995 Oldsmobile traveling southbound on Highway 61 when it collided with a semi truck traveling westbound on Highway 61. Kofron was attempting to turn south on Highway 61 when the accident occurred, according to the Muscatine Police Department. Antero Niskanen, 56, of Zion, Illinois, was operating the semi truck, according to the Police Department. Officials say Kofron was transported by Muscatine ambulance to UnityPoint Health Trinity Muscatine with non-life-threatening injuries. Kofron has been charged with failure to yield upon entering a highway, according to online court records. The Muscatine Police Department and Muscatine Fire Department responded to the scene. Emily Wenger of the Muscatine Journal MUSCATINE, Iowa The Muscatine Community YMCA will host Breakfast with Santa from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Muscatine Y, 1823 Logan St. The event will include a light breakfast, crafts, and stories. Children are welcome to visit with Santa Clause about their Christmas wish list. Tickets are $2 per person, and are on sale at the Muscatine Y's business desk. For more information contact Mel and 563-263-9996 or visit www.muscatiney.org. MUSCATINE, Iowa A group of Monsanto employees who are part of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) outreach team partnered with the Musser Public Library's Skeleton Key Adventure Club to provide children with hands-on STEM learning Tuesday night. The experiments were part of the Skeleton Key Adventure Club the library hosts from 6:30-7:30 p.m. once per month from September through April for 7-12-year-olds. Children's Librarian Betty Collins said the program has been going for about six years. "And it's always hands-on science, not completely of course there are some things tonight they won't do themselves but they still get to participate in it," Collins said. Students in the club have done dissection, made robots from toothbrushes, and other projects. They also receive a skeleton key for each event they attend. Nine-year-old Isabella Lemaster had eight keys on her lanyard, with several more at home that would not fit. Dissection, she said, is one of her favorite things to do at the events. "It's just fun," she said. Last month, Collins said, students dissected sea cucumbers and stingrays. The evening began with students chanting "Skeleton Key Adventure Club," getting progressively more quiet, preparing them to listen as the lessons began. Chris Boar, an assistant plant manager at Monsanto who also works with community outreach and organizing, she said, her "team of mad scientists." "Any time that we can help out with this kind of activity it's fun for us as well," she said. Jake Daufeldt, also with Monsanto, began the first experiment. First, he asked students to identify the four letters in "STEM" and what they stand for, and said practicing creativity, though reading and art, can help someone become a good engineer. "I encourage you guys to keep reading, since you're at the library make sure you stop and look through some books too," Daufeldt said. "Because one good way to be an engineer is to be very creative." He held a barrel, which students said looked like a drum, and taught students about air pressure by drumming on one end, and forcing air out the opening in the other end. "Oh, wow," students said as the air knocked several plastic cups over. Monsanto employees also taught students about dry ice, and showed them a bubbling reaction using hydrogen peroxide. A Van de Graaff generator made students giggle as their hair stood on end. Marla Kurriger, who brought her two children to the event, said she appreciates the educational programming at the library. "I just think our library offers great programs," Kurriger said. "I can't say enough good about it." Her son, 10-year-old Drew, agreed. "Usually we attend every one we can attend," he said. Kurriger's daughter, seven-year-old Eva, said she always has fun at the events. The family said they know how hard the library staff, like Collins work to make the events possible. "It's amazing," Eva said. MUSCATINE, Iowa It is 9 a.m. on a Monday morning and three Muscatine High students diligently pack snacks into 190 paper bags. The whole operation lasts two class periodsabout two hours. They work as an assembly line, adding an item to the bag and passing it along. Senior student Katie Hanssen drops a cup of applesauce into each bag. She passes the bag to Sophomore Isaac Banuelos, who adds another snack to the bag before he seals and deposit it in one of several plastic boxes. Their paraeducator Chairty Erwyn gives instructions and helps them pack the bags. We just help bag it every week, we get the stock and we put it away and the kids individually count however many items we need per week and then we just bag them as we need them, Erwyn said. The high school students are helping with Bags of Blessingsa program of Faith United Church of Christ. The program began in 2010 as a youth group project, said church secretary Pat Mundell. It initially ran out of Madison Elementary, but this year, it was transferred to the high school. As they help others, the students learn valuable skills. It helps them count, Erwyn said. [It] gives them communication skills, teaches them customer service skills [and] gets them ready to get a job someday. Laura Koch, who teaches the class, said students get to work on their social skills as well. Bags of Blessings gives us the opportunity to practice our work skills before we go out into the community for work placements, Koch said. When the boxes are full, other special education students from Jeff Schmelzers class will help distribute the boxes to some of Muscatines elementary schools, where students who need extra food on the weekend can enjoy them. I take three of my [physically] strongest students to take all this and deliver them to the elementary school so that they can distribute them, he said. Schmelzer, a work experience coordinator at the high school, also has students who help bring in the donated food for the students to sort pack. Over the years, the program has grown. What initially began as a program that feeds 30 elementary school students has now grown six-fold, though the numbers fluctuate slightly from week to week. Donations for the program comes from the community, Mundell said. And the program fills a growing need in the community. According a 2014 report by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, one in five children in Muscatine County live in poverty. Since the program runs on donations, Mundell said, the churchs resources are limited, so they chose to target one of Muscatines most vulnerable groupselementary-aged children. The reason we started with elementary school kids is because we felt that middle school and high school kids could find a way to a meal site someplace, she said, adding that as they get older they become more self-sufficient and find other ways to get food. Mundell credits the success of Bags of Blessings to the communitys support and involvement. The numbers [of children who need extra food] are growing and the community has always been very supportive and were very thankful for that, she said. MUSCATINE, Iowa - The Rivers Edge Gallery (216 W 3rd Street) in Muscatine will host the Michigan-based roots duo Red Tail Ring in concert on Friday, Dec. 2. Tickets to the show are $25, doors open at 6:30 p.m., and music begins at 7:30 p.m. Laurel Premo and Michael Beauchamp of Red Tail Ring share a raw blend of original folk music and interpretations of old ballads and dance tunes from the southeast mountains. The band is fresh off their fourth full-length studio release, Fall Away Blues. Featuring new songwriting fused with old-time and country blues sounds and themes. The album tackles topical subjects such as gun violence and environmentalism as well as age-old questions of place and love. With guitar, banjo, fiddle and mandolin, along with close harmony singing, Red Tail Ring doesnt just pay homage to vintage folk and roots music: The Kalamazoo duo breathes new life into it, channeling the power and charm of seminal material into its own original songs. John Sinkevics, LocalSpins.com Over seven years of touring, Red Tail Ring has performed their brand of acoustic roots all over the United States, and in Denmark, Germany and Sweden, to name a few, while appearing at the most notable festivals and venues Michigan has to offer, such as the Wheatland Music Festival, Blissfest, the Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival, Ten Pound Fiddle, and The Ark. For Red Tail Ring info, music, and upcoming shows visit www.redtailring.com. MUSCATINE, Iowa Walnut Park Baptist Church, 215 Colorado St., Muscatine, will host a community blood drive from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 13. The drive will be held in the Fellowship Center. Donors from the community are welcome to give blood at this drive. All donors must bring Photo ID. To donate, please contact the Church Office at 563-264-2818 or email: secretary@walnutparkbaptistchurch.com with your preferred donation time. Donors may also visit www.bloodcenterimpact.org and use code 3220 to locate the drive and schedule their own appointment. Locally, Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) is the exclusive provider of blood products to patients at UnityPoint Health Muscatine. MVRBC also serves patients at hospitals in the Quad Cities, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Washington and Burlington. Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] The Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services recently published the National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper, which was met with controversy. Mention of open access networks is made throughout the policy, using the following definition: Open Access in a network context refers to a scenario where wholesale access is provided to electronic communications network infrastructure or services on terms that are reasonable, effective, transparent and non-discriminatory. The policy goes on to define what is meant by effective, transparent, and non-discriminatory. It also gives broad technical definitions, but without noting how certain network technologies might be limited in the types of open access they can support. The Fibre-to-the-Home Council Africa said it already has a definitions document that describes the various kinds of open access implementations on fibre networks. It was developed by all the FTTH Councils as a global initiative and had all 550 global members provide inputs to address the various terms, said the FTTH Council Africa. In South Africa, all the major operators contributed to this. The definitions are detailed below. Open Access Packet Multiple retail service providers may use the FTTH network on an equable base by connecting at a packet layer interface and compete to offer their services to end users. This packet layer interface may be implemented on layer 2 (Ethernet) or 3 (IP). This is sometimes referred to as a type of Bitstream Open Access. Open Access Layer 2 Multiple retail service providers may use the FTTH network on an equable base by connecting at a layer 2 Ethernet interface from optical line termination (OLT) or an aggregation point and compete to offer their services to end users. This is sometimes referred to as a type of Bitstream Open Access. Open Access Layer 3 Multiple retail service providers may use the FTTH network on an equable base by connecting at a layer 3 IP or Multiprotocol Label Switching interface from OLT or an aggregation point and compete to offer their services to end users. Open Access Wavelength/Lambda Multiple retail or wholesale service providers may use the FTTH network on an equable base by connecting at a wavelength layer interface and compete to offer their services. Open Access Fibre Multiple retail or wholesale service providers may use the infrastructure by connecting at a physical layer (dark fibre) interface and compete to offer their services. Open Access Duct/Dark Air Multiple retail or wholesale service providers may share the use of infrastructure by drawing or blowing their fibre cables through the shared ducts and compete to offer their services. Open Access Flexibility point The concentration point where multiple retail or service providers may connect via their feeder cables and access layer 1 feeder fibre connectivity to each household. This concentration or flexibility point may be located at the building or cabinet. Multilayer Open Access Open access on multiple layers can be implemented in the same network, such as on a dark fibre level and on a bitstream level. Through the thick fog of our own galaxy, astronomers have spotted an ultimate prize: one of the largest-known structures in the Universe, reports Science Alert. The Cape Town team discovered a previously-unknown major concentration of galaxies in the constellation Vela, which they have dubbed the Vela supercluster. Observations in 2012 with the refurbished spectrograph of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) confirmed that eight new clusters reside within the Vela area. Subsequent spectroscopic observations with the Anglo-Australian Telescope in Australia provided thousands of galaxy redshifts and revealed the vast extent of this new structure. Prof Renee Kraan-Korteweg from the University of Cape Town, who led this study and has been investigating this region for more than a decade, said: I could not believe such a major structure would pop up so prominently, when she and her colleagues analysed the spectra of the new survey. There is still much for the team to do however further follow-up observations are needed to unveil the full extent, mass, and influence of the Vela supercluster. Now read: Jeremy Clarkson and friends announce new social network BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Donald Trump's election is bringing to the fore a strain of race-based politics once so far out of the mainstream few had even heard of it. With an ideology that's a mix of racism, white nationalism and old-fashioned populism, the "alt-right" has burst into the collective consciousness since members showed up at the Republican National Convention to celebrate Trump's nomination last summer. When one of its leaders, Richard Spencer, gave a speech in Washington last Saturday at an alt-right conference attended by a couple of hundred people, The Atlantic was there with a video camera that captured the Nazi-style salutes of people in his audience. "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!" Spencer said to cheers that were shown in video snippets that have since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times online. What does Spencer mean by "our people"? Whites. Spencer directs the National Policy Institute, which describes itself as "dedicated to the heritage, identity and future of people of European descent in the United States and around the world." It is Spencer who is widely credited with coming up with the term "alt-right," or "alternative-right," about eight years go. While members of the movement are getting more attention than ever, the head of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism said Tuesday there is not much new in its message. "The hatred and bigotry that is at the core of alt-right ideology has not changed," center director Oren Segal said in an interview conducted by private messaging. "What has changed is the name, their packaging and the stated belief that they have a champion in the highest office." Richard Cohen, president of the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks hate groups, said the alt-right is "a rebranding of white nationalism." Cohen called it "the energy behind the avalanche of racist and anti-Semitic harassment that plagued social media platforms for the entire presidential campaign." Cohen's comments came in a statement about Trump's decision to fill his chief strategist slot with Steve Bannon, who formerly ran Breitbart News, a website popular with members of the alt-right. Indeed, much of the alt-right exists online only, for all practical purposes. While the Ku Klux Klan or neo-Nazis might have public rallies, people associated with the alt-right are more likely to spread their beliefs in online forums or on social media like Twitter. They tend more toward memes than marches; subjects can include criticism of Jews and claims that white Americans are under attack by minority groups. Trump aides and advisers have tried to distance him from the beliefs of the alt-right. In a meeting Tuesday with editors and reporters of The New York Times, Trump said of the alt-right: "I don't want to energize the group, and I disavow the group." But members of the alt-right, including Spencer, are vocal in their support of the Republican president-elect. In an interview with The Associated Press in Cleveland, where members of the alt-right obtained credentials to attend the Republican National Convention, Spencer painted himself and Trump as people who think alike. "Do you think it's a coincidence that everybody like me loves Trump and supports him?" he said. As the holiday season begins, an array of programs in Napa County is poised to bring aid to children, underprivileged families, veterans and service members abroad. Opportunities abound for individuals, businesses and organizations to enhance the holiday for those who are struggling or who could use a dose of cheer. Here are some of the ways to help others: Toys for Tots and the Napa County Holiday Assistance Program Organizers of Napa Countys annual Toys for Tots effort are seeking thousands of toys in the coming weeks the heart of an annual drive to provide food and gifts for underprivileged families in December. Napans can contribute toys at one of 120 drop-off boxes around the county, as well as at the four stations of the Napa Fire Department: 930 Seminary St., 1501 Park Ave., 2000 Trower Ave. and 251 Gasser Drive. Donations will be accepted through Dec. 9. Families who registered for the program in October will receive their gifts Dec. 16 or 17 and are entitled to one large and one small toy per child, plus a family gift and one or more boxes of non-perishable foods. The Holiday Assistance Program is run by a coalition that includes Toys for Tots, the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, the Napa Food Bank, Queen of the Valley Medical Center, American Canyon, Calistoga and Yountville Family Services, and various churches, charities and volunteers in Napa County. For information on toy drop-off sites or to offer volunteer services, contact Valerie Aguirre at 707-266-4586 or valnmike2@gmail.com. Donations by check for toy donations can be sent to Toys for Tots at 1128B Foster Road, Napa, 94558. Those who would like to volunteer for the program can register through volunteer.cvnl.org, where candidates also can view the available dates, times and tasks. CHiPs for Kids toy drive The California Highway Patrol is garnering donated toys across Napa County for its annual CHiPs for Kids program. Donors can drop off new and unwrapped toys at the CHPs Napa bureau at 975 Golden Gate Drive between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Locations for other drop-off bins, about 15 in Napa County and two in Sonoma County, will be announced in the coming days, according to CHP Officer Marc Renspurger. In addition, the highway patrol will host three toy collection drives: - Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Fosters Freeze, 1995 W. Imola Ave., Napa (with the Napa Valley Cruisers club) - Dec. 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wal-Mart, 7011 Main St., American Canyon - Dec. 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wal-Mart, 681 Lincoln Ave., Napa Monetary donations to the CHP toy drive will be accepted at the collection drives, as well as at the CHPs Napa office. All donated toys should be new, not gift-wrapped and still in their original packaging. Items resembling firearms, knives or other weapons will be rejected. For more information on CHiPs for Kids, contact Renspurger at 707-253-4906 or mrenspurger@chp.ca.gov. Operation: With Love from Home During its 10th holiday season in Napa, Operation: With Love from Home is seeking donations for 1,000 care packages for troops abroad and people to help pack them. I feel like its become a part of our community, like we have pretty good support, said organizer Liz Alessio about the program, which began several years into the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Its continuing to remind people that were still doing this, and we still rely on their support to make this possible. Volunteers with the program have set out drop-off baskets throughout Napa for people to donate goods for gift items that will be shipped to U.S. service members abroad in time for Christmas. Products in especially heavy demand include thermal clothing, travel-size toothbrushes and toothpaste, coffee, tea and drink mixes in one-use packets, food items including canned tuna, peanut butter, jerky and nuts, AA and AAA batteries, razors, cough drops, cotton swabs and hand sanitizer, Alessio said. Donation bins will remain open through Dec. 5, and a list of locations is available at opwithlove.org. Businesses wishing to help collect one particular type of item are encouraged to contact the program to stage their own donation efforts in partnership. Those wishing to offer their time are invited to volunteer at two package-sorting events the first on Tuesday and the second on Dec. 6 at the Napa Senior Center, 1500 Jefferson St. Each gathering runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Volunteers also can help assemble the gift boxes at a packing bee at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 10 at CrossWalk Community Church, 2590 First St. in Napa. The care packages, which also will contain greeting cards handmade by students from Napa County schools, will be shipped abroad afterward. Operation: With Love from Home also is accepting cash donations to pay for postage at $13.45 per box. To volunteer with the program or for information on donations, contact Alessio at 707-363-0043 or info@opwithlove.org. Napa Elks food collection for homeless veterans Napa Elks No. 832 is taking food donations to support the Vallejo Veterans Resource Center, which helps homeless and at-risk former service members living in Napa, Solano and Lake counties. Gifts of non-perishable food items can be left at the Napa Elks lodge at 2840 Soscol Ave. Once a week, donations are taken to the resource center, a nonprofit that is based on Mare Island and supports re-housing efforts for veterans and their families. The food program will continue after the Christmas holiday season. The Resource Center currently donates about seven boxes a month and typically includes foodstuffs such as canned tuna, vegetables and fruits, as well as peanut butter, coffee, crackers, toothpaste and toothbrushes, and dog food for pet owners, according to Shontay Rand, a case manager at the Vallejo nonprofit. For more information on donating, contact Sandy Silveira at the Elks lodge at 707-255-4522. Adopt a Family (Napa, St. Helena and Calistoga) Adopt a Family, a Christmas-season partnership of Grace Episcopal Church and local family service agencies, is seeking donations of gift cards and money to support its gift basket program for underprivileged families. About 60 needy households register for adoption each October and receive toys, clothing and household goods in December, according to organizer Shirley Swanson. The program includes members of Grace Episcopal as well as the Cope Family Center in Napa and the UpValley Family Centers, which serve St. Helena and Calistoga. Donations of funds, and of gift cards from Target and Safeway, can be mailed to program co-sponsor Grace Episcopal Church at 1314 Spring St., St. Helena, 94574, or to Swanson at 3204 Villa Lane, Napa, 94558. Mailings must be postmarked by Dec. 8, and donors should write Adopt a Family on the memo lines of their checks. Volunteers are scheduled to deliver gift packages to local families on Dec. 16, with the contents based on each familys number of children and their ages. For more information on donating or volunteering, those in Napa can contact Swanson at 530-320-1833 or sswanson@foothill.net, and those in St. Helena and Calistoga can contact Martha Meals at 707-967-8050. The OneJustice group and the Napa County Public Defender's Office will stage a free legal clinic to help residents clear their criminal records. The event will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 1 at CrossWalk Community Church, 2590 First St. in Napa. At the clinic, visitors will meet one-on-one with volunteer attorneys to screen their records for possible criminal record expungements and sentence reductions under Proposition 47. Volunteers also will assist eligible clients to complete court petitions, also without charge. Spaces at the event are limited. To make an appointment and learn what documents to bring to the forum, call 415-534-5878. ST. HELENA As the results came in on Election Night, the mood at the St. Helena phone bank in support of Hillary Clinton faded from jovial to anxious to dejected. At least one young woman was in tears. Two weeks later, in a county where Clinton got more than twice as many votes as Donald Trump, people who worked on Clintons campaign are still coming to grips with the reality of a Trump presidency. On the Friday after the election, about 40 people attended a silent candlelight vigil at the labyrinth outside Grace Episcopal Church. Last Friday, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, addressed about 170 Clinton supporters at Hall Wines, pointing out Democratic successes farther down the ballot and encouraging volunteers not to lose heart. Anna Chouteau and Alexandra Boeving Allen said Thompsons pep talk helped them focus on how to move forward without losing the momentum they built while working an after-hours phone bank at Hall Wines. This felt like a repudiation of our core values, said Boeving Allen. But we have to keep organizing. We cant have a funeral for the next two years until the midterms. A Clinton volunteer in Napa recruited Chouteau and Anna Schram to organize a phone bank aimed at getting out the vote in swing states. The phone bank started out at one night a week in September and intensified as the election approached. As many as 27 people at a time showed up at Hall to work the phones, and on one Sunday the Napa and St. Helena phone banks combined to make 10,000 phone calls. Within a short period of time, even if it was just from 5:30 to 8 once a week, we could make a difference, said Chouteau. Each day, the Clinton campaign would tell the phone bank to concentrate on a particular state. Volunteers spent a lot of time calling Nevada, where they encouraged residents to vote for Clinton and for Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat running for Harry Reids old Senate seat. (Clinton ended up winning Nevada, and Cortez Masto won the Senate seat.) The calls went out to voters who were on the Democratic Partys list of registered Democrats, so there werent too many encounters with Trump supporters. But responses were still varied. You would get everything from Ive been getting so many calls please dont call me again to Yes, Im a strong supporter to Youre an idiot to Thank you for the work youre doing how can I help? said Chouteau. There was a whole spectrum. Some people had the notion that their personal vote didnt matter, and we tried to correct that, Boeving Allen said. Chouteau worked on scripts for the callers to use and helped with logistics. Sometimes someone would flag me down and say theyd called a 90-year-old woman who really wants to vote but cant get to the polls, Chouteau said. Id get on my phone and figure out how to get her a ride. Toward the end of Election Day, volunteers started to head home, fully expecting a Clinton victory. However, PBS election coverage was being projected onto the wall of the phone bank, and the news was shocking. Then someone got a text from a son in New York saying the New York Times just predicted that Trump was going to win, Chouteau remembered. At first there was disbelief, so I pulled it up on my phone. Horror and disbelief, said Boeving Allen. I was gutted. I still am. Community organizers like Chouteau and Boeving Allen are trying to put the election behind them and concentrate on the future. Both plan to attend the Million Woman March on Jan. 21. The candlelight vigil was one attempt to build community solidarity at the local level, they said. We have a group thats going to get together in the next few weeks and figure out which issues and candidates we want to support, especially in the midterm election, Chouteau said. As a child psychologist, Boeving Allen wants to help kids and families heal from whats been a traumatizing election cycle. Im hearing about kids who live here and go to our schools who are afraid of being deported, she said. I really believe that love and kindness and goodness will win, she added. Fear begets hate speech, so what can we do as humans and parents to mitigate that fear? During the presidential campaign, many foreign ambassadors quietly warned that a Donald Trump presidency would be a disaster. Its easy to see why. As Robert Kagan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Clinton supporter, put it in a column over the weekend, Trumps victory marks the end of America as the anchor of a liberal international order. This was certainly how the president-elect campaigned. On the trail, Trump shattered the bipartisan foreign policy consensus on issues ranging from the NATO alliance to the prohibition of torture. He mused about a nuclear Japan and boasted that he knew more than the generals. So one might expect that after Trumps victory, U.S. allies and adversaries would begin exploring new relationships in a post-American world. Its early days, but this is not yet apparent. Instead, Americas friends and foes are exploring whether Trump is a man with whom they can do business someone they can meet halfway. On the adversary side, the clearest example is Russia. The Kremlin has signaled its open to a new relationship with the U.S. under Trump, even as it increases the pace of its bombardment of Aleppo in Syria. The Chinese are also sending out feelers now to Trump to see whether they can get along with a man who has railed for years about Chinas predations against the U.S. economy. One former senior Republican defense officials told me that last week former Chinese foreign policy officials had a dinner with a group of Republican former officials, where the Chinese side said Beijing wanted a constructive relationship with Trump and would be open to new kinds of military-to-military cooperation. This message stands in contrast to the Chinese readout of the phone call between Trump and President Xi Jinping. As Bloomberg reported last week, Xi reminded Trump that Republican presidents had pressed his country to tackle climate change and that this was not a Chinese-invented hoax, as the president-elect has tweeted. The account of the dinner does, however, track with what many observers are seeing from foreign governments since Trump won the election. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the executive committee for the Trump transition, told me there has been a Trump effect in this respect. The Trump effect is visible in NATO, the alliance that was forged in 1949 to contain the Soviet Union and remains a bulwark against Vladimir Putins Russia. For years, the U.S. has prodded its European allies to pay their fair share 2 percent of gross national product for defense in the trans-Atlantic alliance. But despite these pleas, the big European states continued to cut their military budgets, even though newer members like the Baltic countries did pay their share. There are signs this may be changing. As a candidate, Trump complained about NATO countries failing to make good on their financial commitments to the alliance. On the sidelines this weekend of the Halifax International Security Forum, Rose Gottemoeller, the new deputy secretary general for NATO, told me: Frankly during the campaign, we in Brussels welcomed the Trump team and President-elect Trumps insistence on this point because it has caused a lot of allies to sit up and take notice. When it comes to NATO, there is a hope at least from some that Trump will also clarify his understanding of the obligations of the NATO charter, particularly Article 5, the treatys mutual-defense clause. The language of Article 5 is not an automatic trigger. It says that each member will take such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area, if it is invoked. This ambiguity has led past U.S. presidents to be more precise. For example in 2014, Obama traveled to Estonia and said the small Baltic states independence will always be guaranteed by the strongest military alliance the world has ever known. Trump told the New York Times in July that U.S. defense of NATO states should be contingent on whether the country shouldered its fair share of the defense burden. It remains to be seen whether Trump will reassure NATO and other allies when he is president. But so far, many conservative foreign policy elites who were critical of Trumps approach in the campaign have become willing to give the next president a chance. Elliott Abrams, a former deputy national security adviser under George W. Bush who supported Marco Rubio, and later Ted Cruz, in the primaries this year, said that recalibration from allies and adversaries could be an opportunity. This uncertainty is good, he said. To some extent this is the Nixon effect, making people think you are unpredictable. Of course, the uncertainty makes our allies very nervous at the same time. Michael Rubin, who worked in the Pentagon under George W. Bush, said: Trump is going to interpret the world through the lens of American national interests, rather than broader international altruism. He may have been right that a lack of predictability can work in the favor of the United States. Kori Schake, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution who also served in the Bush administration, also sees an opening for positive developments with a new Trump foreign policy. I think its incumbent for those of us who have supported policies with values at their center to acknowledge they have had little effect on countries like Erdogans Turkey or Putins Russia, she said. Maybe the possibility exists for more productive relationships with them, and that those more productive relationships neednt necessarily signal the collapse of the liberal international order. Skeptics would say this is a long shot. One of Trumps campaign slogans was America First, an echo of the isolationists who opposed Americas entrance into World War II before Pearl Harbor. Then again, it was a long shot that Trump would win this months election. Americas allies were wrong about that. Now they hope the next presidents foreign policy will not be the one he promised. Eli Lake is a Bloomberg View columnist who writes about politics and foreign affairs. Should a Texas developer be allowed to chop down thousands of trees to build a massive luxury vineyard in the lushly forested mountains near the city of Napa? That question confronts the Napa County Board of Supervisors as the board hears an appeal of the project brought by conservationists and community groups. Supervisors should change course and reject this harmful proposal, which threatens Napa Valley's forests, water and endangered wildlife. Known as Walt Ranch, the vineyard development will strip approximately 15,000 trees from the mountains near Atlas Peak. Destroying these trees will hurt state efforts to fight climate change by resulting in a net increase of approximately 100,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The forests this project will cut down are also habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife, including the California red-legged frog and valley elderberry longhorn beetle, as well as an endangered wildflower called the Contra Costa goldfields. Water is another huge concern. Walt Ranch will extract up to 70 million gallons of water from the underlying basin each year. The projects intensive groundwater extraction is likely to impact the wells of the neighboring Circle Oaks Community, which has depended solely upon well water for decades. Yet county officials aren't even requiring the developer to curb its groundwater pumping in the event that the Circle Oaks Community can no longer obtain water from its wells. In a letter to the county, the city of Napa expressed concern that the project would cause significant adverse impacts to the public water supply. The developer, Texas-based Hall Brambletree Associates, has maintained throughout the environmental review for the project that there is plenty of water in the basin for everyone. But the developer has refused to disclose drilling data for existing wells on Walt Ranch, despite repeated requests from the public. That disclosure failure is just one of many gaps in the environmental review for this massive development. From the impacts of 20 miles of roads and fencing on habitat connectivity and wildlife movement to the danger of pesticides contaminating Napas water supply, the analysis has ignored key issues and repeatedly left the public in the dark. In what may be the most troubling omission, the environmental review documents contain no concrete plan to ensure that pesticides used in the vineyard do not flow into Milliken Reservoir. This reservoir is a critical water source for 86,000 people and receives water from Milliken Creek, which flows through the project area. The city of Napa has warned that its current water treatment facility cannot remove pesticides. Upgrading the treatment plant would cost $20 million. Pesticide runoff could also harm vulnerable aquatic wildlife, including the red legged frogs living in the creeks running through the Walt Ranch property. Let's be clear: The environmental costs of this project far outweigh any public benefit claimed by the developers. The people of Napa should not be required to sacrifice so much so that a Texas-based company can profit from a luxury vineyard development. In the coming weeks, the Board of Supervisors will decide on this development, which could have a dramatic effect on Napa Valley's future. Community and environmental groups will be speaking out about the risks of the project and the inadequate environmental review done so far. We hope supervisors will take a stand against deforestation rather than bend over backward to appease out-of-state developers. J.P. Rose Oakland Rose is an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity's Urban Wildlands Program. SANTA ROSA A clearly distraught Healdsburg man was charged Tuesday afternoon with the drowning death of his daughter in a churchs baptismal pool Sunday. Gerardo Mendoza Ordaz, 42, was charged in Sonoma County Superior Court with murder, felony assault on a child causing death and a misdemeanor charge of willful infliction of emotional distress on his 9-year-old son, who apparently witnessed the drowning at St. John the Baptist Church in Healdsburg. Judge Arthur Wick suspended criminal proceedings and ordered a mental health examination of the defendant. A hearing on the doctors report is scheduled for Monday. Ordaz was arrested after he was found naked and yelling for help in a back parking lot of the Healdsburg Police Department near the church around 8:30 p.m. Sunday. He was carrying his daughter, identified today as Maria Jose Ordaz-Chavarria, whose clothes were still wet, according to Healdsburg police. Ordazs partially clothed 9-year-old son was with his father and sister, and the charge of inflicting emotional distress applies to the young boy. Family members left immediately after Tuesday afternoons brief hearing. Ordaz said he and the children were at the church before they went to the Police Department about 75 yards away, according to police. Neither Healdsburg police nor Deputy District Attorney Jason Riehl would disclose anything Ordaz might have told police about the drowning. Ordaz cried, squirmed in the seat of a wheelchair and uttered in Spanish as he looked toward his family in the back of the courtroom. He is being held under no bail in Sonoma County Jail and is represented by the Sonoma County Public Defenders Office. Public Defender Kathleen Pozzi said the judges order for a doctors exam was definitely appropriate based on what she knew about the tragic incident. Ordaz lived in unincorporated Sonoma County near Healdsburg with four children and their mother. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday (23 November 2016) for talks on how NATO continues to adapt to a changed security environment. The Secretary General thanked the United Kingdom for its enduring commitment to NATO and its leadership on defence spending. In their talks, Prime Minister May and the Secretary General underlined the importance of the transatlantic bond. Mr. Stoltenberg noted that the UK is leading by example on defence spending, investing over 2% of GDP on defence. He also highlighted the UKs significant contributions to NATO missions and its commitment to deploy a battlegroup to Estonia next year, as part of the Alliances enhanced multinational forward presence. During his visit to the UK, the Secretary General also met with Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, and delivered a keynote speech at Oxford University. Addressing students on Thursday (24 November) at the Oxford Union, one of the worlds oldest debating societies, Mr. Stoltenberg explained how NATO adapts to meet new challenges, keeping all Allies safe. For nearly 70 years, he noted, NATO has helped to preserve the peace in Europe, bringing to bear the strength and unity of North America and Europe. (As delivered) Good afternoon and Dobar Dan. And Prime Minister Vucic, dear Aleksandar, welcome to NATO HQ, its really good to see you again. We just had an excellent meeting of the North Atlantic Council and this is the first time ever a Serbian Prime Minister meets the North Atlantic Council and I think that just shows how we are now moving forward together on the path of strengthening the partnership and the cooperation between NATO and Serbia. And I am personally very proud of my bonds and my friendship with you and with Serbia, and therefore I really appreciate to have you here today and also the opportunity we had this morning to have a breakfast together and to address a wide range of issues and the common challenges we face, Serbia and NATO. And Serbia is at the heart of the Balkan region, which is at the heart of Europe. And Serbia contributes in many different ways to regional stability and international stability. And Serbia is an exporter of stability. And therefore I really welcome your many different efforts. I welcome the reforms you are implanting at home, we are impressed by the strong economic growth and the strength of the Serbian economy. We welcome your personal engagement in taking the dialogue with Pristina forward and also the way Serbia has addressed and played a key role in addressing the refugee and migrant crisis. And we also welcome the fact that Serbia contributes with troops and peace-keeping missions in Cyprus, in Lebanon and in Africa. So Serbia is an integral part of the European family. We share the same values. Human rights, democracy and the rule of law. And therefore I really appreciate that we have this opportunity to address also common challenges. I strongly believe in the potential of NATO-Serbia cooperation. We can remember the past, but look to the future. As I said when I visited Belgrade, the purpose and the aim of the NATO air campaign back in 1999 was to protect civilians, and we did so. The loss of innocent lives was a tragedy and I deeply regret it. Today, we face common security challenges. We are working together in many different ways. And I welcome the pragmatic cooperation we are developing between NATO and Serbia. The Individual Partnership Action Plan that we agreed last year is an important tool. The NATO Trust Fund is important, its up and running, and we help dispose dangerous ammunition. We also work together when it comes to training peacekeepers and Im glad that NATO has been able to train Serbian troops during peace-keeping operations or missions. And I also welcome the cooperation we have in many other different areas. We fully respect the neutrality of Serbia, thats your sovereign national decision but based on that full respect of your neutrality we welcome that we are able to strengthen our cooperation. We also support the efforts of Serbia to move towards the EU. And we think thats good for Serbia, its good for the EU and its good for NATO, stability and cooperation in Europe. So once again thank you for spending time with us, thank you so much for hosting me in Belgrade last year and thank you for spending time with all the 28 nations and Montenegro in the North Atlantic Council. So Aleksandar, please, you have the floor. Q: Marina Maksimovic, Serbian News Agency. For Secretary General you stated that NATO and Serbia share the common challenges, can you name them little bit concrete? What those challenges are and are there some common actions in place already and for the Prime Minister INTERPRETER: Since we discussed challenges within security have you discussed security situation in Kosovo and Metohija here and the role that NATO has in providing peace and securing Serbian minority in Kosovo and Metohija here? JENS STOLTENBERG (NATO Secretary General): Serbia and NATO face the same security challenges because Serbia is at the heart of Europe and we share the same neighbourhood. We see all the instability and the violence to the south, North Africa, Iraq, Syria and the consequences also for Europe with terrorism with instability and, not least, challenges related to the returning foreign fighters and we also, of course face together, the consequences of the migrant and the refugee crisis and we are addressing them together in different ways. We work together when it comes to the migrant and refugee crisis and Id like to commend Prime Minister Vucic and Serbia for what they have done to address this challenge, which is important for the whole of Europe. We also work, for instance, to stabilize our neighbourhood in different ways. Serbia is contributing with the troops for different peacekeeping operations and missions. NATO helped train Serbian peacekeepers and Serbia is present in Lebanon and Cyprus and in Africa with peacekeepers, thats of course important for Serbia but its also important for Europe and the whole of NATO, and we also work together on other issues and we strengthen our bi-lateral cooperation through, what we call, the individual partnership action plan. So, we also discussed today the possibility of also working even closer with Serbia in, for instance, training forces or Iraqi soldiers that can contribute to the fight against ISIL. Its too early to say if were going to be able to do so, but at least thats one of the issues that is on the agenda. So, Serbia is an exporter of stability and Serbia is a close partner of NATO. Based on that, of course we respect the neutrality and sovereign decisions of Serbia, but as a sovereign neutral nation, we speak and we talk and we cooperate with Serbia in a very good way. ALEKSANDER VUCIC (Prime Minister, Republic of Serbia): [Speaks in Serbian - Interpreted] Yes, we discussed of course about the KFORs role in Kosovo and it is of great importance to us, and we asked both today as well, as we did many times before, we asked Mr. Stoltenberg and all the Ambassadors and representatives of countries here in the NATO for stay of KFOR for remaining, remain of KFOR troops in Kosovo because we have some letters of guarantees for the North of Kosovo. But our people south of the river, Ibar in south and central Kosovo, and Metohija here, mostly realize on KFOR and this story about little Dimitri from Laplasela (sic), is actually about the story who can they who they can rely on, theres no Serbian armed forces or Serbian police ever since 1999, so they rely on KFOR, and we are very grateful for that Mr. Stoltenberg and I mentioned that many times. So, we dont have any problems with that and dont forget that, if there hadnt been for their certain guarantees, it would be difficult (sic) come to the process agreement, so our relation is quite clear and I would particularly like to underline the relationship towards the preserving of cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo and Metohija here. Our monasteries, our churches, something that is a value not only for Serbia and for Serbs but also for the UNESCO and for all the nations in the globe, once again I would like to thank them for that. MODERATOR: Sunday Times. Q: Thank you. Bojan Pancevski, the Sunday Times. Question for both the Prime Minister and the Secretary General. [Speaks in Serbian - Interpreted] Prime Minister, State Prosecutor published names of some Russian cities and saying (sic) Montenegro who allegedly as, Montenegro government says, tried to some sort of a coup after the elections. Is it known who those people are? They were named by the Prosecutor so whether they were deported from Belgrade or they left by themselves? Are you concerned that there might have been a Russian engineered attempt to overthrow the government in Montenegro because of of a push to stop the country from joining NATO next year as planned? Thank you. ALEKSANDER VUCIC: [Speaks in Serbian - Interpreted] Serbia has done its job responsibly, professionally. Serbia delivered all the evidence and all the important data it had it actually reached. Serbia actually brought the person to the Justice and actually delivered the person who gave the most of the information for everything it was preparing for Montenegro. I wouldnt go into further details, this was not an easy situation for us because, even for me personally, because the first moment I reacted differently but you know I dont even think of participating in any way even in staying quiet regarding commitment of the most severe offenses. I believe that honourable people should not do that. We acted responsibly as a State, as a country. Embassys Radulovic Montenegro Ambassador said that today and that kind of cooperation with the Prosecutors office and other authorities of Montenegro will be continued so Serbia is not, and will never be, a place where some criminal offense will be prepared for other countries. JENS STOLTENBERG: Every nation has the right to decide its own path including what kind of security arrangements or alliances it wants to be part of, so NATO fully respect Serbia and other nations that do not strive for a NATO membership, but of course Montenegro which has, through democratic processes, decided that it wants to be part of NATO, 28 NATO allies have welcomed Montenegro. We signed the Accession Treaty and now, more and more of our Parliaments are, are ratifying the Treaty, so Montenegro is on the path to become a full member very soon. They are already participating in our meetings and this is of course an issue which has to be decided by Montenegro and the 28 members of the alliance. No one else has the right to intervene or to try to interfere in the decision making process of the 28 allies and Montenegro. Its up to us to decide and we have decided to invite Montenegro. So any interference into that process is something we do not accept, and of course, any interference into elections in any nation, sovereign nation, is absolutely unacceptable and therefore, I welcome the open investigation, both in Montenegro and in Serbia, related to the attempted interference and coup which we have seen taking place in Montenegro but its not for me to judge, thats for the investigation to find out the facts and then to hold those behind responsible. We have seen that Montenegro had strengthened has strengthened its security institutions, its democratic institutions as part of its reform process towards NATO membership, I welcome that and I look forward to welcoming Montenegro as a full member in the alliance very soon. Let me also then just add that I also very much appreciate the cooperation we saw between KFOR and Serbia in saving the life of the young child which was brought from Kosovo to Belgrade for medical treatment and Im also glad to hear that condition, the babys condition is stable. I think this just illustrates the importance of KFOR, the way we work, and also the importance of the close cooperation between KFOR and Serbia in saving a life of, the life of a young child. MODERATOR: Thank you very much. This concludes this press point. Thank you. Russia has offered Egypt sophisticated weaponry and electronic warfare (EW) and communications systems for equipping the Egyptian Mistral amphibious assault ships. The talks are in progress, Vladimir Kozhin, assistant to the Russian president for military-technical cooperation, has told TASS. Russia has offered Egypt sophisticated weaponry and electronic warfare (EW) and communications systems for equipping the Egyptian Mistral amphibious assault ships. The talks are in progress, Vladimir Kozhin, assistant to the Russian president for military-technical cooperation, has told TASS. 23:43 Her hair tied into pigtails by matching pink ribbons, seven-year-old Bana Alabed inspects the rubble in her home town of Aleppo, before walking to face the camera. "I am sad. It's so bad," she tells her audience in English in a clip posted on Twitter. She is later seen holding a banner reading: "Stand with Aleppo. Please stop the bombing and end the siege." The video is the latest the young girl has shared with her nearly 94,000 Twitter followers depicting life in the war-torn Syrian city. Her account gives a poignant human face to a nearly six-year conflict pitting President Bashar al-Assad against rebels seeking to oust him, in which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions forced from their homes. On her Twitter account, which is managed by her mother, Alabed shares pictures of the city's bombed buildings and of herself at home. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] NEW DELHI: Software major Adobe on Wednesday released new scanning functionality in Adobe Acrobat Reader mobile for iOS and Android smartphones and tablet users. With the new scanning component directly into the Reader mobile app, users now have the ability to snap a picture of anything and turn that 'scan' into a signable, shareable, storable and secure PDF for free. Recently, Adobe unveiled Adobe Sensei, a new framework and set of intelligent services built into the Adobe Cloud Platform for improving customer experiences. "Leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning capabilities in Adobe Sensei, our engineers at Adobe India have played an instrumental role in developing the all new mobile Scan feature innovation in Acrobat Reader," said Shanmugh Natarajan, Executive Director & VP (Products), Adobe India. It uses features like PDF boundary detection, perspective correction and enhanced text sharpness -" making scanning from paper to PDF on mobile faster and easier than ever before," Natarajan added. More than 300 million people are using the free Acrobat Reader mobile app to view, annotate, send and save PDFs at home and in the office. "The release of the new Scan feature in Acrobat Reader mobile is the latest example of how Document Cloud uses sophisticated technology to make the lives of our customers easier and more productive," added Kulmeet Bawa, Managing Director, Adobe South Asia. With the "Scan" feature, people can capture multiple scans of forms, receipts, contracts, post-its, whiteboards, and more and turn them into storable and shareable PDFs. Read Also: You Can Now Find Nearby Wi-Fi With Facebook IBM Unveils New Platform To Build, Manage IoT Solutions Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected on Wednesday to discuss the crucial issues, like selection of the new army chief and Indias "aggression" along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border, with his cabinet members, ARY News reported. The army on Monday put to rest all speculations about possible extension of tenure to army chief General Raheel Sharif as it announced that he has begun his farewell visits ahead of his retirement on November 29. Analysts believe that the government's pick should be one who will have a major influence on the country's often strained relationships with the US and nuclear rival India. Contenders this year include Lt. Gen Javed Iqbal Ramday, Lt. Gen Zubair Hayat, Lt. Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad and Lt. General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The Prime Minister had named the then Lt. Gen. Raheel Sharif, brother of a war hero, on November 27, 2013, to take charge of the world's sixth largest army from General Ashfaq Kayani. Some official circles are of the view that Nawaz Sharif will consult Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan before finalising any names for the slots as Khan is said to have cordial relations with security establishment. The cabinet meeting will also discuss the heightened hostilities between Pakistan and India and the eastern neighbour's "repeated violations" of ceasefire agreement on the LoC. --IANS ahm/vt ( 238 Words) 2016-11-23-14:02:40 (IANS) Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday called the demonetisation a scam as opposition MPs staged a protest outside Parliament over the issue. Gandhi also said the opposition wanted a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the issue. "We feel this decision is a scam. The Prime Minister had informed his close friends about this before the announcement. We want a JPC to probe this," Gandhi said during a protest with 12 other opposition parties. "What the Prime Minister has done is the world's biggest impromptu financial experiment. "He (Modi) can go to a pop concert and speak, but 200 MPs of opposition are standing here demanding his presence," he said. Members from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, Janata Dal-United, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and DMK protested outside Parliament. Gandhi said even Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was not aware of the decision, but added that many industrialists and BJP members were in the know of the note ban decision in advance. "PM did not ask anyone, not even Finance Minister or the Chief Economic Adviser, before taking this decision. But there were many in party (BJP) and many industrialists, who were aware. Big deposits were made in banks before this decision," he said. The opposition members held placards with slogans like "Not a surgical strike, carpet bombing on common people", "Demonetisation of hard earned money", "Save poor people" and "Stop persecution of common people". Speaking after the Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon, Gandhi said the government was scared of s debate under adjournment motion. "There were at least 200 MPs standing outside who want to speak in debate on demonetisation. We want to speak... Government is afraid of allowing us a debate under adjournment motion." Both houses of Parliament have seen repeated adjournments since the beginning of winter session on November 16 over the issue demonetisation that has triggered a cash chaos in the country. In the Lok Sabha, opposition members want a debate under adjournment motion which entails voting. In the Rajya Sabha, which started a debate on demonetisation on the first day, the opposition is seeking the presence of the Prime Minister in the house. --IANS ao/mr ( 380 Words) 2016-11-23-15:08:18 (IANS) There was heated exchange of words between the opposition and the ruling party members, which prompted the Chair to loudly scold the treasury benches for creating ruckus in the house. "I am seeing for the first time treasury benches behaving like this," Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien said and threatened action against the MPs who were creating ruckus in the house. A riled Kurien also scolded Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for apparently questioning the Chair's authority to allow an opposition member to speak. The opposition members came near the Chairman's podium and started shouting slogans. The treasury members too loudly raised slogans in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Amid pandemonium, the house was adjourned for the day. --IANS mak/pgh/vt ( 154 Words) 2016-11-23-16:02:24 (IANS) Payworld, one of India's largest assisted wallets, has come to rescue to several small businesses across semi-urban and rural areas through their Payworld mPOS ( Mobile Point of sale). These mPOS are giving means to move the digital way by allowing merchants to accept debit and credit cards in this present cash crunch scenario. The scenario where small retailers and wholesale traders are hit the most the deployment of these Payworld mPOS can give them a new lease of life by providing them a facility of accepting of payment from customers by swiping of their any bank debit/credit. Payworld associate with State Bank of India and HDFC bank to operate these mPOS. These mPOS machines also allow cash out upto Rs 2,000 as per RBI guidelines. The low cost strategy is compelling enough for retailers to deploy these mPOS machines. Payworld mPOS involve no extra space & heavy infrastructure for operating the facility. The retailer will use Payworld App in Smart Phone and connect the card reader device with the help of bluetooth . All he has to do is to swipe the walk in customer's debit/credit card. "We are seeing a behavioral change in merchants and over the past few days, we have witnessed a sharp increase in demand for Payworld mPOS machines at small and medium merchant outlets specially in smaller cities. We believe that we are hitting the right cord by deploying these mPOS machines which will give assurance to small retailers of not getting their business hampered during present cash crunch" says Praveen Dhabhai,COO. (ANI) Looks like Robert De Niro just lent an emotional hand to Ellen DeGeneres, who could not stop tears from welling up as President Barack Obama presented her with the 'Presidential Medal Of Freedom' at the White House recently. The 58-year-old comedienne was still crying as she returned to her seat next to fellow recipient Robert De Niro and the Oscar-winning actor kindly gave her a comforting hug, reports the Daily Mail. At first, the 73-year-old actor put a reassuring arm around 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' host who appeared grateful for the support. Then as she leaned into him, he planted a sweet kiss on the side of her head. The special moment was all caught on camera during the special event that also saw medals presented to Tom Hanks, Diana Ross, Michael Jordan and Bruce Springsteen among others. Humorously, DeGeneres had initially been denied entry to the White House because she forgot to take her ID with her. She posted a snap to social media showing herself waiting on a bench wearing a maroon plaid suit, black shirt and white-soled sneakers. "They haven't let me in to the White House yet because I forgot my ID. #NotJoking #PresidentialMedalOfFreedom," she captioned the Instagram post. DeGeneres was also joined at the event by her wife Portia De Rossi, who was dressed in a white top and black skirt with pumps. Alongside an Instagram photo of the couple inside the White House later, the caption reads, "@BarackObama just awarded me the Medal of Freedom. I hope it serves as an ID. I have no idea how I'm getting home." DeGeneres used the same platform to share a video of the A-listers present there, pulling off a perfect mannequin challenge. (ANI) The FBI is no longer investigating the 52-year-old actor regarding his involvement in an alleged incident with a child aboard a private plane on September 15, reports E! Online. A statement released by an FBI spokesperson reads, "In response to allegations made following a flight within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States which landed in Los Angeles carrying Mr. Brad Pitt and his children, the FBI has conducted a review of the circumstances and will not pursue further investigation." Adding, "No charges have been filed in this matter." Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt citing 'irreconcilable differences' and sought custody the former couple's all six children. Accordingly, the kids will remain with their mother while continuing "therapeutic visits" with their father. At this point, Pitt has seen his children twice since. Both A-listers recently made their way back into the spotlight after the very public split. While Jolie appeared in a video for the 'International Criminal Court' in support of a recent policy regarding children, Pitt hit the red carpet for his latest film 'Allied' with co-star Marion Cotillard. (ANI) A study published in Wound Repair and Regeneration, has found that the chronic wounds heal faster if a patient has never received opioids drugs. Chronic wounds are those that fails to heal after three months of appropriate wound care. They cause considerable pain, affecting patient well-being and quality of life, and significantly impact their mortality. The study by George Washington University (GW) researcher Victoria Shanmugam, M.D. suggests that opioid exposure is associated with reduced likelihood of healing in patients with chronic wounds. While there is a strong correlation, whether this is a causal relationship will require further research. "Opioid analgestics are commonly prescribed to patients with chronic wounds, but until now, little to no research had been done to determine the relationship between opioid treatment and wound healing," said Shanmugam, associate professor of medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. "It seems that exposing patients to opioids may impact ultimate wound outcome. More work needs to be done to understand this finding and the possible mechanisms driving it. We look forward to continuing this research, which may lead to faster healing and improved patient outcomes," he added. Shanmugam and her research team studied 450 subjects enrolled in the WE-HEALbiorepository. Data was collected using baseline characteristics, such as pain score, longitudinal opioid exposure, and total wound surface area. Opioid dose was found to be significantly associated with total wound surface area. "Finding ways to improve healing of chronic wounds will have an enormous effect on patients and the healthcare system," said Shanmugam.(ANI) SBI branch manager Mahendar Kumar told ANI, "The law and order situation in the district has completely disrupted after the demonetisation move. The situation has become worse as the farmers, who were standing in queues for the exchange of currency, are being lathi charged by police, who were deployed for their safety." "The farmers were standing in queues, and the police resorted to lathi charge, which led to stampede, injuring three people," he added. Police officials remained tight-lipped in the matter so far. Meanwhile, a case has been registered against home guard Gulab Yadav. (ANI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress will stage a 'dharna' at Jantar Mantar here at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday against the Centre's demonetisation move. Simultaneous protests would also be held across West Bengal. The TMC has appealed to NGOs, charitable organisations, political parties, student groups, civil society representatives and others to join the protest against this "financial emergency". Banerjee on Tuesday accused the Centre of snatching away the "white money" from the people of the nation, instead of doing its job and bringing back the "black money" stashed in Swiss banks abroad. "The TMC will protest against demonetisation. Our party extends support to the united opposition. We will request all the political parties and will appeal to all the farmers and the shopkeepers to protest. The BJP will get befitting reply from the people. They won't be able to get any vote this time. They were supposed to bring back black money from Swiss bank, instead they snatched the white money from the common people," she added. Mamata further asserted that this is a fight of the people and they should win. "This is a fight of the people and we need to make them win. If anybody wants to join us, I will welcome them. We will continue the protest till the matter is solved. The people will get justice. From tomorrow we will launch a nation-wide political movement," she asserted. The Lok Sabha earlier today witnessed tumultuous scenes as a united opposition stuck to its demand to discuss the demonetisation issue under rules entailing voting. Opposition members belonging to the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Samajwadi Party trooped into the well of the House raising slogans against the government. Amid the din, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon. Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya with the opposition demanding the Prime Minister's presence in the House and payment of compensation to those who died of trauma while queuing up before banks and ATMs following demonetisation of high value currency notes. The House was adjourned twice till noon as Opposition repeatedly trooped into the well. (ANI) The President conveyed his views to Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, who called on him at the Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday. Welcoming the Princess to India, President Mukherjee said India looks upon her as a special friend. The President expressed his condolences on the sad demise of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and said the latter will be remembered fondly for his compassion, foresight and commitment to the welfare of his people. The Princess warmly reciprocated the President's words and thanked him for his condolences. She said the former King had a special place in his heart for India. Pranab Mukherjee congratulated the visiting on receiving the first World Sanskrit Award. He said that India lauds her efforts to promote Sanskrit language and her keen interest in Indian literature, art and culture. (ANI) Taking a jibe at the opposition parties protesting against the government's demonetisation move, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Paresh Rawal on Tuesday said only those people are coming into the well of the House whose money is there in well. "Only those come into the well of the House whose money is in the well," Rawal told ANI. Both the Houses were adjourned till tomorrow as uproar continued over the demonetisation issue with the opposition adamant on its demand for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in the Parliament. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati demanded that the Prime Minister should attend the House to listen to the discussion on the issue. Asserting that 90 percent of the people of the country are suffering due to the government's sudden move, she said that the present situation looked like financial emergency and demanded that the deceased should be adequately compensated. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad said, the opposition is ready for discussion provided the Prime Minister is present in the House. Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's emotional address to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers here today over demonetisation, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today questioned the former asking him what objection did he have in coming to the Parliament and facing the opposition. "Why can't the Prime Minister just come to the Parliament? He can speak on the television, at pop concerts but not in the Parliament?" he told the media here following an adjourned session. Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi asserted that the demonetisation of high value currency is just a beginning of his government's deep and continuous struggle against black money. Addressing the BJP parliamentary party meeting, the Prime Minister said that the decision is in the interest of poor and middle class, adding that his government is dedicated to eradicate the evils of black money and corruption which have affected people in the last 70 years. (ANI) Alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "deliberate attempt" of abstaining from either of the Houses despite his presence in the Parliament Complex amounts to an "utter contempt" of Parliament, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday said they are examining a possibility of moving a contempt notice against him for refusing to be answerable to Parliament. Noting that when Parliament is in session, the Prime Minister everyday goes on speaking outside, but not inside Parliament, he said this amounts to contempt of Parliament. "If the Prime Minister refuses to be answerable to Parliament; if he can give public speeches everyday but does not come to Parliament to speak; he is in the Parliament Complex, but doesn't come to either of the Houses. This is an utter contempt of Parliament and we are examining a possibility of moving a contempt notice against the Prime Minister for refusing to be answerable to Parliament," said CPI general secretary holding a press conference. "Our point is," he said, "the discussion that began in the Rajya Sabha was a discussion on the announcement made by the Prime Minister on the withdrawal (demonetisation) of Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 notes. So, when there is a discussion on the announcement made by the Prime Minister, he should be available to hear the discussion and respond, and that he is not doing." "If the House is not functioning, singularly the blame is on the Prime Minister and his arrogance of not wanting to face Parliament," said Yechury, adding that if the Prime Minister refuses to be answerable to Parliament, then there is actually complete constitutional breakdown and that is what is happening. "In our constitutional scheme of things, people are supreme in terms of sovereignty and that sovereignty is exercised by making the government accountable to Parliament and the parliamentarians being accountable to the people and that is how "we the people" is exercised. Secondly, it is a normal practice in the parliamentary democracy and a practice that we have followed in India all along. "If the Prime Minister makes an announcement outside Parliament, before Parliament meets, it is incumbent on the Prime Minister that on the opening day of Parliament to come to both Houses and explain the decision, but it is not done," said Yechury. "We are consulting all the opposition parties on it (moving a contempt notice). We want to do it unitedly and jointly with the opposition parties. But we consider that this merits absolute considerations," he said. "And secondly, we are also examining that after the President of India summons Parliament, can the Prime Minister or executive make a policy announcement outside Parliament? According to us, they should not. But that is happening," he added. Proceedings in both Houses were disrupted for the fourth day today on the demonetisation issue, with both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha being adjourned for the day. Opposition and treasury bench members traded charges on demonetisation. As soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day, leader of the opposition Mallikarjun Kharge demanded suspension of the question hour to take up discussion on demonetisation, which was rejected by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Opposition members, including Congress, TMC, NCP and SP trooped into the well of the House shouting slogans. Amid the din, the Speaker tried to conduct the Question Hour. Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth Kumar said the government is ready for holding discussion and pleaded with the Opposition members to go back to their seats. The Rajya Sabha witnessed noisy scenes with the Opposition demanding Prime Minister Modi's presence in the House and payment of compensation to those who reportedly died of trauma, while queuing up before banks and ATMs following demonetisation of high value currency notes. The House witnessed four adjournments in the pre-lunch session. Members of the Congress Party repeatedly trooped into the well, displaying placards. Chairman Mohd Hamid Ansari adjourned the House for the day as the pandemonium continued. (ANI) Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam appealed to the nation that register a case against Prime Minister Narendra Modi under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code for the death of 70 people across the country. Nirupam told ANI, "For the past two weeks, the entire nation, especially Mumbai, local people are suffering a lot, after demonetisation. The people are facing a lot of trouble and to support them, from today the Mumbai Congress has started the discussion on demonetisation. And through this medium, I would like to appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that this demonetisation scheme was launched hastily without thinking about the pros and cons on the public." "About 70 people have died post the announcement of demonetisation and the Prime Minister is answerable for all these deaths. A case should be lodged against Prime Minister Modi under Section 302 of the IPC for the murder of these 70 people," he added. Nirupam requested the Centre, "To increase the supply of new currency notes as the government has failed to provide new currency to almost 86 percent of population in the country." Many incidents have been reported, where a farmer from Raigarh, Chhattisgarh committed suicide as he was upset over not being able to exchange Rs 3,000, which he was supposed to send to his stranded children in Tamil Nadu. A 69-year-old man collapsed and died of heart attack after waiting in a queue to exchange currency notes outside a bank in Limbdi, Gujarat. Too chaotic scenes and long queues were seen outside banks and ATMs across the country as people rushed to withdraw or exchange notes to pay their every day bills. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the nation to share their suggestions for his 26th 'Mann ki Baat' programme this Friday. "Have suggestions for this month's #MannKiBaat? Share them now. http://nm-4.com/z8ly ," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The people can also give a missed call on 1922 and follow the link received in SMS to directly give their suggestions to the Prime Minister. (ANI) Coming down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's emotional speech to the BJP lawmakers on demonetisation, the Congress on Tuesday said the former can't fool the nation by shedding crocodile tears, adding that he needs to start dealing with governance and stop selling dreams. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told ANI it is high time that the Prime Minister must answer to the concerns of the nation post demonetisation. "The Prime Minister mocks at people of India in Japan. The Prime Minister makes fun of people whose daughters are getting married in Japan. From a chaiwala in Rajasthan, to a headmaster in Cooch Behar, all have died waiting in lines to withdraw money for their daughter's marriage," Surjewala said. "Now, the Prime Minister by shedding crocodile tears cannot fool this country. Modi ji needs to start dealing with governance. He should stop only selling dreams," he added. Surjewala asserted that platitudes and resorting to imponderables, rhetoric and sloganeering, jingoism and self back slapping is not the way forward. "The people of this country want simple answers to simple questions. 70 people have died in thirteen days on account of demonetisation decision. Will the Prime Minister apologise to those families as also to 125 crore people of India? You have withdrawn currency worth about 15-16 lakh crore. 2,300 crore notes will take seven months to print. Why did you not print in advance new notes before taking such a drastic decision of demonetisation?" he added. The Congress spokesperson further stated that Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley regrettably do not even know when the Rabi sowing season begins. "They are giving lectures today that Rabi season is about to begin. For heaven's sake, Prime Minister and Jaitley ji you must know Rabi season started 25 days ago. The sowing season is about to get over. A country where the Prime Minister and Finance Minister do not even know when is the wheat crop grown, how will that country tackle this crisis and how will agri-economy prosper?" he added. "As the entire country is up in arms on account of the abject failure in implementing demonetisation on the ground, there is a cozy club of back slapping and praising each other which is a handful of people like Arun Jaitley and Narendra Modi and some of their crony capitalists. But this country will not be run by them," Surjewala stated. "Has Finance Minister ever gone to a field and understood the problem of a common agriculturist? I want to ask Arun Jaitley have you ever seen a farm labourer except payment in cheque or swiping debit cards? The truth is we have a Finance Minister who has no comprehension or knowledge about the diversity of this country. He only sits in air-conditioned rooms and in a make-believe world and give sermons to people of this country just like Modi j," he added. Escalating his attack, Surjewala said both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister should come down from the high pedestal that they are sitting on and should really start understanding as to how the common Indian is suffering irreparably on account of economic emergency heaped upon them by unwitting decision of demonetisation. "It is like putting the cart before the horse. Modi ji if you needed suggestions on demonetisation 70 people would not have died. If you had taken valid suggestions on demonetisation, you would have gone to Dr. Manmohan Singh who did demonetisation, withdrew every 500 and 1,000 rupee note before 2005 and made sure that 3,61,000 crore of black money was taken off the ground but nobody even came to know about it," he added. Asserting that the Modi government is devising escape routes as now it has realized that it can neither go back nor go forward on demonetisation, Surjewala said escapism will not do rather real governance is the only solution. Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi asserted that the demonetization of high value currency is just a beginning of his government's deep and continuous struggle against black money. Addressing the BJP parliamentary party meeting here, the Prime Minister said the decision is in the interest of poor and middle class, adding that his government is dedicated to eradicate the evils of black money and corruption which have affected people in the last 70 years. (ANI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that an all-party delegation from the state will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on November 24th in Delhi, over the prevailing corporate bank crisis. Meanwhile, the Kerala Assembly, which held a special session to discuss the turbulent situation in the state's co-operative sector in the wake of Centre's demonetisation scheme, passed a resolution stating that union government should withdraw the restrictions on cooperative banks. The resolution states that like commercial banks, co-operative banks should also be given permission to conduct transactions. Chief Minister Vijayan assured said that people who have deposited their money in co-operative banks need not get worried, guaranteeing that not even a single penny will be lost. Vijayan has made his stand on demonetisation quite clear, as on several occasions he has voiced out against the Centre saying that the radical scheme has "inconvenienced" people across the country as no "adequate" backup arrangements were made. Asserting that people were suffering across the nation because of lack of planning by the government, the Chief Minister has emphasised that his government is not against curbing black money but was against the steps which cause hardship to common people. Last week, Vijayan and his cabinet colleague Finance Minister Thomas Issac called on Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi and conveyed to him the difficult situation on account of spiking of high value currencies. (ANI) Commuters often face problems while making payments over lower denomination, thus making it inconvenient for commuter and driver. With the advent of demonetisation leading to limited cash in hand and an indefinite crunch in sight, most people are rushing to cashless transactions. Go for A Ride Day encourages you to get out into the world - hop on your bike, into your car, and go on a trip. Don't worry too much about where you're going, just enjoy the journey. On the occasion of International Ride Day, here are four apps that offer you a ride without cash. Jugnoo: Ever since Jugnoo launched the auto rickshaw aggregation service in 2015, Jugnoo has championed the cause of 'Digital India' by promoting use of digital wallets for cashless transactions across the cities that's it operates in. Apart from digital wallets, Jugnoo also recently announced that it would be introducing UPI (Unified Payment Interface) as an initiative to uphold the cashless economy of country. Earlier this year, the company took another step in this direction via a very innovative move of empowering auto-rickshaw drivers to recharge the customers' Paytm wallet to address the issue of returning change after completing the ride. Further supporting the cause, Jugnoo is also planning to tie-up with Payment banks, a new model of banks conceptualized by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) last year that enable transfer of money through a mobile phone. Orahi: Orahi a car pooling application has always promoted digital wallet for transaction across the cities they operate in. Orahi realized that people, especially in India, were not comfortable with the idea of handing over cash for day to day travel, unlike in the UK and Canada. To deal with this, Orahi built its own wallet system for registered members. Passengers and car-owners have a wallet mechanism with Orahi, either through credit card, debit card or Net banking. Revv- With the advent of the recent government announcement on Demonetization, travelling has become quite gruesome for people. In such times, Revv comes across as a saviour for your day-to-day travel needs. With the option of payment through one's Paytm mobile wallet, it gives users the advantage of going cashless while travelling. Being the perfect companion for point-to-point travel, Revv offers the comfort and privacy of one's own car. To top it all, users have the option to pay via a trusted partner, Paytm. Travelyaari: Travelyaari, the paradigm-changing online bus booking platform, has announced a tie-up with Paytm and Reliance Jio, for offline payment integration. The platform, which offers solutions to both travellers as well as bus operators, is bringing cash-free payments to all its customers at select inter-city offline counters. At present, 2000 operators across 10000 branches are on board at Travelyaari. Customers can pay for their tickets using either of the mobile wallets and avail of several cashback incentives. (ANI) Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday accused the opposition parties of creating unwarranted ruckus in Parliament and alleged that those opposing the demonetisation drive don't have anything concrete against the move. Prasad said that people, who are avoiding the debate on demonetisation, are those running away from truth. "We expect the opposition to participate in the debate. But I would like to ask that we did have a debate on the 16th, it went on for the whole day. But it was stalled why? After that all started speaking, Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke, Anand Sharma spoke, Mayawati spoke, Sitaram Yechury spoke but the next day the debate did not take place," said Prasad. "They started asking for the Prime Minister, they began demanding for a JPC. I would like to assert that they don't have any statement to make, they don't have answers and that is why they are running away from a debate," he added. The Union Minister further said avoiding debate means avoiding the truth. "I would like to appeal to the opposition to debate on any topic in Parliament. We are ready to answer all questions. We are ready to face criticism," he added. The Lok Sabha earlier today witnessed tumultuous scenes as a united opposition stuck to its demand to discuss the demonetisation issue under rules entailing voting. As soon as the House assembled, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge reiterated that the Question Hour should be suspended to start the discussion. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, however, did not allow the suspension. Opposition members belonging to the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Samajwadi Party trooped into the well of the House raising slogans against the government. Amid the din, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon. Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya with the opposition demanding the Prime Minister's presence in the House and payment of compensation to those who died of trauma while queuing up before banks and ATMs following demonetisation of high value currency notes. The House was adjourned twice till noon as Opposition repeatedly trooped into the well. Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi asserted that the demonetization of high value currency is just a beginning of his government's deep and continuous struggle against black money. Addressing the BJP parliamentary party meeting here, the Prime Minister said the decision is in the interest of poor and middle class, adding that his government is dedicated to eradicate the evils of black money and corruption which have affected people in the last 70 years. (ANI) ''Yes a flight from Leh in Ladakh region landed today at Srinagar airport following improvement in the visibility as sun was also out,'' an official of the airport told UNI. He said after cloudy weather during the night, sun came out this morning, improving visibility. The Indian Airlines flight took off from Leh and landed here safely, he said. He said other flights from New Delhi, Chandigrah and Jammu will also operate now as visibility is still good. All incoming and outgoing flights were cancelled from Srinagar airport due to very poor visibility on November 18. However, two flights operated on November 19 after visibility improved briefly before going down again. Meanwhile, the passengers, who were scheduled to travel to different destinations from Srinagar airport when the flights were cancelled, alleged that airfare has witnessed a major jump. However, some passengers had travelled by road to Jammu.UNI BAS SV SB 1051 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-1034683.Xml He said that some miscreants pelted stones on a trailer and a truck at Botingoo Bijbehara in Anantnag resulting in injuries to three people, including three-year-old Sarika Jan last night. Aqib Ahmad Dar, a resident of Maisuma, and Zahoor Ahmad Dar of Bandipora were also injured in the incident. The injured were shifted to District Hospital Anantnag, wherefrom the toddler was referred to S K Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura for further treatment. A case has been registered and a manhunt launched to nab the culprits.UNI BAS SB 1107 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-1034706.Xml Continuing their tirade against the ongoing demonetisation drive, a united opposition on Wednesday demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in Parliament so that he explains the rationale behind initiating such a decision. Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia while protesting against the banning of high denomination notes said those questioning the Centre are declared anti-national. "If anybody questions this government then either he is declared anti-national or is dubbed dubious. We all are against black money and corruption but the way this government has launched the demonetisation drive the common man is suffering. 70 lives have been claimed so far post demonetisation, is it a small thing? We want adjournment under rule 56 and we want prime minsters attendance in the Parliament," Scindia said. Echoing similar sentiments, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D.Raja demanded the Prime Minister to face the opposition in the floor of the House and debate on the issue. "The first demand is that the Prime Minister should come to Parliament as he announced the decision. When he is speaking on the very issue outside the Parliament, why can't he come and speak on the same issue on the floor of the House? Let there be a JPC," said Raja. The Opposition parties on Wednesday put up a united front against the Centre over demonetisation, as they formed a giant human chain outside the Parliament chanting slogans and carrying placards, fervently demanding Prime Minister Modi's presence in the House. The chain began from the entrance of the Parliament near the media stand and stretched across the Mahatma Gandhi statue. "The nation is standing in line and we are doing just that here," Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien, Janata Dal (United)'s Sharad Yadav and DMK's Kanimozhi were among the almost 200 opposition MPs gathered in Parliament premises. "Not a surgical strike, but carpet bombing on people", "Stop the persecution of common people" and "Save poor people" were some of the slogans on the placards held by the leaders. Meanwhile, senior Union Ministers including Rajnath Singh and Ananth Kumar are holding a meeting in Venkaiah Naidu's chamber to decide the government's strategy in Parliament. (ANI) During a ceasefire violation by Pakistan on LoC in Kupwara region of the Kashmir valley, three Indian soldiers were martyred. They have been identified as Gunner Manoj K Kushwah and Riflemen Prabhu Singh and Shashank K Singh. Kushawaha and Shashank Singh were natives of Ghazipur. The bodies are expected to be brought here by this evening. People of nearby areas were visiting inconsolable families to pay their last respect. However, authorities are also having a tough time managing as ruling Samajwadi Party is launching its election campaign through a public rally in the district today which will be addressed by party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. Several political leaders have rushed to the villages of these martyrs besides media. Shashank Singh was the native of Kasimabad police station area while Manoj was of Birno area. Manju, wife of Manoj (29) of Budhupur village, said her husband was due to come on leave next month. Eldest of the three brothers and father of two infants, Manoj had visited his native village in September. On the other hand, Shashank(25)was the youngest of three brothers, native Nasuriddin village. Shashank's elder brother Himanshu is also in the Army while another brother is a farmer. UNI MB SV SB 1251 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1034762.Xml Mr Reddy along with a group of farmers staged a protest in front ofthe main gate of SVS and raised slogans against the Siddaramaiah ledgovernment for poor drought relief work. Mr Reddy told newsmen that farmers will bring withered crop ofChilli, Onion and cotton besides other agricultural produce tohighlight the plight of farmers. He said a large number of farmers were suffering due to droughtsituation and crop loss, but the government had not come to theirrescue. He demanded Minimum support Price (MSP) to the farmerscrops like onion, chilly, and cotton. Former Chief Minister and JD(S) State President H D Kumaraswamycame to the protest place and pacified Mr Reddy and asked him tohand over the dry crops to police officials. He said the ruling Congress government had totally failed toprotect farmers.UNI HVN CNR CS 1332 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-1034954.Xml : In one of Lenovo India's largest dealsfor convertible laptops in the higher education space, the companysupplied 6,000 units of ThinkPad Yoga 460 to Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneswar. KIIT's collaboration with the Legendary ThinkPad spans over sevenyears. ThinkPad Yoga 460 convertible laptop takes portability to thenext level for students who are looking for powerful and reliablehybrid computing devices for their classroom sessions and onlinetests, according to a release from lenovo here today. Lenovo devices are used for impart education, enable studentcollaboration, and to track/monitor attendance and usage ofeducational aids offered by schools and colleges. Lenovo said itsobjective was to provide students access to tough devices thatcombine speed, good battery life, quality audio, a clear display anda fast-response customer support. Apart from PCs, Lenovo alsoprovides a host of student accessories like solar powered chargers,student-backpacks, and projector-coupled devices which of late havegained a lot of momentum across rural India.UNI CNR RSS1420 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0287-1035065.Xml The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court has issued notices to the central government, the state government and RBI for banning districts cooperative banks (DCBs) from accepting old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs1000. A PIL was filed by a member of Dhule Zilla Parishad Kiran Patil through Advocate PM Shah against the decision of RBI. The central government advocate told the court that it had submitted a petition in the SC requesting it to club all such petitions and hear them simultaneously. The hearing will be held today in Supreme Court and here on November 24. After the decision of demonetisation of Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes, a time limit of December 30 was allotted to exchange the old notes. The government and private banks have been permitted to exchange these notes, but the DCBs banks have been refrained from doing so. The government on November 9 had issued ordered to DCB's to exchange old note in view of most of the farmers are having account sin these banks. Again the government issued a corrigendum on November 11 in which the DCBs were stopped from exchanging old notes but permitted to accept these notes. Later, the RBI even prohibited the acceptance of these notes. Due to the RBI decision many account holders farmers in the state suffered which the PIL in the HC has challenged. Additional Solicitor General Sanjeev Deshpande represented the central government, Adv Srikant Udawant argued behalf of RBI and Amarjit Singh Girase defended the state government.UNI VKB NV PY SNU 1600 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-1035132.Xml In ferrous metals,Copper Heavy and Copper utensil rose by Rs 200each per quintal while brass utensil and Al,uminium utensil rose by Rs 500 and Rs 100 respectively per quinta.However, Brass Cutting remained unchanged on moderate demand, traders said In non-ferrous Copper wire bar and Lead Ingot rose by Rs 300 each and Aluminium Ingot by Rs 100 per quintal While Zinc Slab, Tin salb and Nickel cathode ,remained unchanged on moderate demand. trader addded Ferrous Metals (per quintal):Copper heavy - Rs 39,500, Copper utensils 36,700 Brass utensils 29,500 , Brass cuttings - Rs 30,500 andAluminium utensils - Rs 11,700.Non-ferrous Metals (per quintal):Copper wire bars - Rs 43,000 Aluminium ingots - Rs 14,300, Zinc slab - Rs 22,700, Lead ingots - Rs 15,400, Tin slabs- Rs 1,650 and Nickel cathode - Rs 870. UNI JS NP1734 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-1035529.Xml Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said 'disarrayed and opportunist' people like former BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu were good for nothing in public life. Interacting with the mediapersons on the sidelines of sangat darshan programme in Lambi assembly segment here, Mr Badal, when asked to comment on the probability of former BJP MP joining the Congress, said Mr Sidhu was non-decisive in joining any party due to his vested interests. However, he said people who have no stand on any issue were bound to go in the political oblivion. Bdal said people of the state have strong disliking for the opportunists and defectors, who back-stab their mother party for the sake of personal interests. Replying to another query, the Chief Minister said only those people were revolting against Akali Dal, who have been denied tickets by the party. He said the ticket distribution has been done purely on merit. On another query, he said anyone was free to contest election against anybody in the state during forthcoming assembly polls. However, he said that one thing was crystal clear that the security deposits of Lok Sabha MP and Aam Aadmi Party leader Bhagwant Mann would be forfeited, if he contested against Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal from Jalalabaad assembly segment. MORE UNI DB PY SNU 1700 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-1035209.Xml Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee(BPCC) president and state human resources development minister Ashok Choudhary led the protest march from the Kargil Chowk near the historic Gandhi maidan to Jay Prakash roundabout here during which congress workers also burnt the effigies of the Prime Minister. Mr Choudhary while addressing party leaders and workers said the decision announced by the Prime Minister has triggered "financial anarchy" and common people and farmers were the worst hit the decision aimed at bolstering his image. He alleged a "big scam" behind demonetisation, saying it was a "ploy" to transfer the savings of the poor to the rich, which has brought the entire country "to a standstill". People are going through "unbearable difficulties" due to the "complete unpreparedness" in the implementation of the decision. State party spokesman Binod Kumar Singh yadav said that party workers led by legislators and senior party leaders also took out protest march in all the district headquarters town highlighting the hardships being faced by people in withdrawing change and exchanging old currency notes. UNI IS AKM 1752 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-1035625.Xml The princess landed at the Advanced Landing Ground in Upper Shillong. Soon after her arrival, Princess Sirindhorn visited the Sacred Groves in Mawphlang. She interacted with the elders of the village, who briefed her about the sacred groves. Chief Minister Mukul Sangma is host an early dinner for the state guest at Hotel Pinewood before she leaves for Sohra(Cherrapunjee), the wettest place on earth. The Princess will staying in Sohra overnight and would visit Nohkalikai waterfall and other tourists spots, chief secretary K.S.Kropha said. Two presidential suits has been prepared at Polo Orchid Resort in Sohra and special equipment have been transshipped to the resort to ensure fast and better internet connectivity. Princess Sirindhorn, who was conferred the first 'World Sanskrit Award' yesterday for her contribution towards promotion of the language, will visit Mawlynnong village, which is often described as "Asia's Cleanest Village" and Dawki village bordering the Indo-Bangla border. On the concluding day of her visit to the abode of clouds, Princess Sirindhorn will visit premier North Eastern Hill University and Don Bosco Centre for Indigenous Cultures (DBCIC), the second largest museum in Asia. UNI RRK AKM 1758 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-1035637.Xml Due to liquidity crunch, there is serious shortage of money especially the small denomination notes, however, in 10 to15 days the situation will improve as more money will be made available in all denominations, the Additional Secretary, GoI, MMKutty assured. Kutty called on Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu here, today to discuss on impact of demonetisation in the state, an official release informed. Kutty urged the state government to spread awareness on demonetisation especially in remote areas of the state. Words must reach every individual to deposit their old notes by December 30 or they may exchange old notes at designated offices of the RBI by March 31, 2017. As people have now started to visit banks in large number, Kutty advised the state government to use the opportunity to open more banks and ATMs in the state, especially in all sub-divisional level to bring more people under the bank coverage. To spread awareness on demonetisation, the CM informed that all deputy commissioners will be instructed to relay a 15-minute radio talk in every local dialect for 3 to 4 days. Also he called for an outreach programme to be organised by the respective deputy commissioners. Informing on the current situation in the state in the aftermath of demonetisation, Khandu said despite the rush in banks and ATMs, there has been no law and order problems reported. He also informing on frauds likely to take place on account of tribal people being exempted from taxes, he expressed concern that people from outside the state could use their bank accounts to deposit money in huge amount. So he urged the income tax department to trace all such accounts that deviates from its normal account history and pattern. To cover more number of people under banking services, chief secretary Ms Shakuntala Gamlin, suggested that ASHA workers in remote villages can be deputed to work as banking correspondence by opening customer service point (CSP). Also fair price shops, shopkeepers, village heads and political interpreters can be encouraged to work as banking correspondence,Ashish Kundra, Commissioner (Finance) added. Further to ensure no financial hurdles in development works, the chief secretary said an interim arrangement be made to allow cash flow for labour payment engaged in construction activities who are mostly the daily wage workers.UNI PB AKM 1825 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-1035717.Xml The Border Security Force has seized five kg of heroin from the area near the Chountra Border Out Post in Gurdaspur sector on the Indo-Pak international border. The value of the seized heroin is Rs 25 crore in the international market. Keeping in view the vulnerability of border due to heightened activities of smugglers and anti-national elements, BSF Inspector General Anil Paliwal said the frontier issued operational guidelines to all the sectors and battalions under Punjab Frontier for further strengthening the border domination and to remain extra alert. He asked troops to check activities of anti-national elements on Punjab border with Pakistan. Accordingly, DIG Sector BSF Gurdaspur directed field commanders to maintain extra vigil on border to thwart the attempts of anti-national elements. Tactical operations are being mounted to foil the attempts of the smugglers. The DIG said on the midnight last night at 0005 hrs, BSF troops observed suspicious movement of two persons near International Border ahead of Border Security Fence in the area of responsibility of Border Out Post Chountra, Ex-170 Battalion BSF, Sector Gurdaspur. BSF troops challenged them to stop, but the smugglers continued with their aggressive posture. To stop their misadventure further, troops opened fire. However, the smugglers managed to escape taking cover of thick vegetation, undulating ground and darkness. During search of the area, BSF troops recovered five packets (approx five kgs) of contraband suspected to be heroin, lying near Border Security Fence.UNI XC JS PY AE 1817 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-1035486.Xml Army today paid rich tributes to three soldiers who were martyred in action on the Line of Control (LoC) in Machil Sector in the frontier district of Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir. Body of one of the soldiers was mutilated by the enemy and Army has vowed heavy retribution for the cowardly act. Mortal remains of the martyrs were flown from Machil to headquarters of 15 Corps at Badami Bagh Cantonment, where homage was paid to them. Senior Army officers and other ranks also joined to pay floral tributes to martyrs. The mortal remains of martyrs will be flown to their native places for the last rites.UNI ABS PY SNU 1749 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-1035518.Xml Nalanda University Vice-Chancellor Gopa Sabharwal has been refused extension of duty for another one year in accordance with the Nalanda University Act, 2010. Official sources told UNI that President Pranab Mukherjee while cancelling the extension of Ms Sabharwal, whose term ends tomorrow, has also dissolved the Nalanda Mentor's Group to pave the way for a new governing board to be headed by the Chancellor. She had earlier been asked to continue as interim vice-chancellor until her term ends and her replacement was found, the sources said, adding the senior most dean will discharge the duties of the Vice-Chancellor after Ms Sabharwal quits office tomorrow. The new governing board will be headed by Nalanda University Chancellor George Yeo and have the Vice-Chancellor and representatives of India, China, Australia, Laos and Thailand on it. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, who had quit as chancellor in 2015, and academic and Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sugata Bose are no longer part of the Board. Nalanda University, located in Rajgir in Nalanda district, began its first academic session on September 1, 2014 with 15 students, including five women. It was initially the Bihar government's initiative to rebuild the renowned ancient seat of learning. The president had in August last attended the maiden convocation ceremony of the university and awarded degress to 12 students of the first batch. He had also launched the ground-breaking ceremony for construction of the sprawling university campus at Rajgir in Nalanda.UNI IS AD2003 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0108-1035979.Xml IT major Wipro today said the Indian Information Technology industry requires a structured and sustainable approach for cyber security to prevent cyber attacks. Addressing a knowledge seminar on "Cyber Security" being organised by the Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTAPCCI), as part of its centenary year events here, Seshu Venkat, Global Head, Virtual Desk, Wipro, said that securing critical data has various ways like identification of critical application data, identifying infrastructure hosting critical data and applications, defending critical infrastructure, continuously monitor and diagnose environment, and securing information on multiple devices. India is facing cyber security threats on a larger scale. The country is the 7th Largest Economy on GDP Nominal scale and 3rd largest on GDP PPP Scale. India is home to 56 of the world's 2000 largest and most powerful public companies, according to the Forbes's annual list, which is topped by the US, with its share of 579 companies. With cyber attacks, the industry faces data loss, data manipulation, impersonation and losing denial of service attack problems, Mr Venkat added. FTAPCCI president Ravindra Modi said that cyber crime has been affecting individuals, as well as organisations in the country and the world over. There have been several instances of systems getting hacked in both private and public sectors, which calls for an urgent need to contain this crime and secure the country from it, he said and adding that the Cyber Security is on the path towards gaining increasing prominence as we move towards a technology driven future. Currently, the size of the industry is estimated to be USD 100 Billion, and is projected to grow to USD 170 billion by 2020. Ensuring a safe cyberspace is of paramount importance to Telangana, whose growth story is driven primarily by Information and Communication Technology, one of the critical sectors that rides on and resides in the cyberspace. Hyderabad, which is home to the top five technology firms in the world, is next only to Bangalore in terms of IT exports and contributes to more than 10 per cent of the total IT exports of the country, he added.UNI KNR PS RJ 1942 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-1035844.Xml The Government today said the Chinese authorities had announced blocking of Xiabuqu river in Xigaze in Tibet as a part of the Lalho multiple hydro project, but India has conveyed its views and concerns to them at the highest levels. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen VK Singh (Retd) said India has urged China to ensure that the interests of downstream states were not harmed by any activities in upstream areas in Tibet. According to information available, the proposed reservoir is designed to store up to 295 million cubic meters of water to irrigate about 30,000 hectares of farmland. The project also proposes to have two power stations with a combined generation capacity of 42 MW. The Minister said there was no water treaty between India and China but the government took up the matter on the sidelines of the eighth BRICS summit that took place in Goa recently. During the bilateral talks with the Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed various issues of mutual interest and concerns, replied Gen Singh. The Minister added that both the sides agreed to make efforts to strengthen the closer development partnership on the basis of mutual sensitivity to each others' concern, interests and aspirations. UNI MKS AE SNU 1957 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-1035924.Xml Even after showing an united face during the inauguration of Lucknow-Agra expressway on November 21, the differences within Samajwadi family was witnessed today when Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav skipped the party's rally here to launch the campaign of the party. The rally in the eastern UP district, was addressed by party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, a significant event for the party to kick start the party's campaign for the state Assembly elections. East UP is considered auspicious in Samajwadi lexicon. The earlier rally planned at Azamgarh in east UP, on October 6 was cancelled due to the feud in the first family of the ruling party. The rally was organised by the Quami Ekta Dal (QED) leader Afzal Ansari, elder brother of the mafia don Mukhtar Ansari. The QED has since merged with the Samajwadi Party. However the rally served as a political launching pad for Aditya Yadav , son of Shiv Pal Singh Yadav, who addressed the meeting. Aditya is presently the chairman of Pradeshik Cooperative Federation. SP sources said though chief minister had grudgingly accepted the merger of the QED, he has conveyed his deep distaste for the people with criminal and shady back ground by staying away from the Ghazipur rally.Mulayam Singh Yadav addressing the rally not only defended the merger of QED saying the party will reap rich electoral dividends in coming Assembly election, -- he also defended the venue of the rally Ghazipur saying ``Ram Manohar Lohia had laid the foundation of the Socialist Party in Ghazipur 50 years ago which later developed into anti Congress movement''. The conspicuous absence of the chief minister from the politically significant event has cast a shadow over the `unity 'in the first family of the ruling party. SP is struggling hard to keep its house in order and put up a united face before the elections. The party had succeeded in the endeavour on November 5 where all the family members except Ram Gopal Yadav were present during the silver jubilee foundation programme of the party. Later, on November 21, during the inauguration of the Lucknow Agra expressway, situation further improved as Ram Gopal Yadav was also present on the occasion. State SP president Shivpal Yadav locked in a bitter feud with his cousin Ram Gopal Yadav had touched his feets. However, the decision of the chief minister to stay away from the rally has given a big jolt to the unity efforts in the party and the first family. Along with the CM, his supporters including Ram Gopal Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav and none of the youth leaders were present in the rally. SP had first announced the merger of the QED with itself in June last. Akhilesh Yadav had vehemently opposed the move and had even sacked a senior minister Balram Yadav, who had brokered the deal. The party had referred the matter to the parliamentary board of the party which decided to roll back the decision of merger. In October state SP president announced that the party supremo has approved the merger of the QED with the SP. He had then also announced that the SP will hold a big rally in Ghazipur. The rally convener Om Prakash Singh had claimed that all the members of the family including chief minister and Ram Gopal Yadav will attend the rally. Om Prakash Singh was dismissed from the cabinet on October 23 last due to his proximity with the state SP president Shivpal Yadav.UNI MB ADG 2000 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-1035937.Xml The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today asked banks to freeze the accounts of Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), an NGO, owned by Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. Sources in NIA said all the banks, where Naik's and his organisation's accounts were in operation, have been directed to freeze those with immediate effect. NIA had registered a case against Zakir Naik and his NGO under Section 153-A of IPC for promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony and various other Sections of the anti-terror law and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Following this, the investigating agency conducted searches at a number of offices in Mumbai and other parts of the country and seized its bank account details and other vital information against the organisation. During NIA investigation, it was revealed that the IRF had allegedly paid Rs 80,000 to one ISIS recruit Abu Anas, an engineer by profession and a resident of Tonk in Rajasthan, in October 2015. The sources further claimed that the money was given to Anas to carry out terror strike, ahead of the Republic Day. He was among 16 people, who were arrested at that time, for their ISIS connections. Earlier, NIA had also written to the Union Home Ministry to ban the website run by the IRF and as well as suspending its online activities, which included videos of speeches on social networking sites, the sources said.UNI MKS RJ 2100 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-1036009.Xml The Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) today demanded a change in the education policy, so that accessible quality education could be provided for everyone. The demand was raised, during a Hunkar rally here in the state capital. Besides, they announced that ABVP would not hesitate in supporting the change of power in the state, for the betterment of students. Mr Ambekar said ABVP will bring change in the country by Hunkar rally. He said the rally is like surgical strike against the corrupt and commercialised education system. Students from Kashmir to Kanyakumari will join this rally. Talking about demonetisation, Mr Ambekar said the decision of demonetisation of bigger denomination notes is just the beginning of the change. He said though commoners are facing some difficulties, but in long term, it will be beneficial for all. ABVP General Secretary Vinay Bidrey said that though politicians were claiming that UP was developing from past many years, but many sectors, including education, were deprived of development. UP neither has sufficient number of educational institute, nor better arrangement of study for the youth, he added.UNI JDM MB RJ 2005 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1035585.Xml Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia today said the series of concrete decisions taken by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue were a slap on the face of the anti-Punjab forces led by the Congress which was responsible for mooting the proposal to construct the canal and constructing the same. Addressing the farmers here, he said, "Indira Gandhi forced Congress chief ministers including Giani Zail Singh and Darbara Singh to implement her decision to construct the SYL. Then Patiala MP Amarinder Singh not only welcomed Indira Gandhi when she came to this village to start construction of the canal but also was at hand with silver spade to assist her in striking a death knell to the farm economy of Punjab". The Minister asked the farmers themselves to evaluate the various betrayals of the Congress on the SYL and also exposed the betrayal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the issue. He shared the affidavit filed by AAP on the SYL issue in favour of Haryana in the Supreme Court with the people. "This affidavit is the reason why Arvind Kejriwal, who cannot resist from commenting about everything under the sun, has not opened his mouth on the SYL canal. He is keeping quiet because he knows he has betrayed Punjab and Punjabis," Mr Majithia said. He said while the Congress and AAP had worked against Punjab and its people by favouring transfer of water to Haryana, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had even shed blood through agitations to thwart Punjab's waters from going to Haryana in 1982. "Our stand remains the same. We will never allow construction of the SYL canal", he said. The Minister handed over ownership documents for the land that was acquired for the construction of the SYL canal to the farmers at a simple ceremony here. He said deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had directed him to inform all land owners that they will be given Rs 10,000 per acre by way of diesel expenses to level land which had been transferred to their possession.UNI DB PY 2049 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-1035890.Xml Senior Congress leader Prof Saifuddin Soz today alleged that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju have never cared about the ongoing unrest in Kashmir. Mr Rijiju has been following his senior Mr Parrikar on the Kashmir situation and both the gentlemen have never cared to sift facts from fiction, Prof Soz said in a statement this afternoon. He said both these Ministers have tried to leave other colleagues behind in providing 'negative inputs' towards the strife in Kashmir, which has continued to be a 'law and order problem' for them. ''While people like me have never approved of stone pelting as a right method of showing resistance to a situation of repression, Mr Parrikar and Mr Rijiju's assertion that the stone throwing stopped due to Demonetisation is a white lie. Even the Hurriyat leadership had openly disapproved of stone pelting by the youngsters,'' he added. If these Ministers had cared to obtain information even from the military intelligence, they would know that throughout the state of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in Kashmir, there were no long queues around the Banks and ATMs and people generally stayed unruffled, the Congress leader claimed. He said people of Kashmir, however, feel deeply concerned for the common people in many parts in India, who have expressed details of the inconveniences they have suffered, due to Demonetisation. These Ministers are so obsessed with their design of thinking that they stand on their toes to seek credit for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, mostly undeserved, he added.UNI ABS PY RJ 1952 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-1035410.Xml Two students of DAV Public School, Amritsar were killed while two others seriously injured as their collided head on with a bus coming from opposite side on Jalandhar-Phagwara highway, near Best Price Mall here this afternoon..It is said that four students of the Amritsar school along with the Principal of the school had come to attend the two-day event 'Academic Exposition" organised by the Lovely Professional University. After the conclusion of the morning session of the event, all the four students decided to return to Amritsar. The student driving the car lost control over the steering due to rash driving and jumped over the central verge of the four laning Jalandhar-Delhi national highway and struck in full force against a state-owned bus, resulting in instant killing of two students and injuries to two others. The car was smashed badly while the front portion of the bus also got damaged. Both the injured had been admitted in a private hospital at Rama Mandi. Condition of one of the students is said to be critical. UNI XC JS RJ 2156 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-1035931.Xml Haryana Minister of State for Cooperation Manish Kumar Grover has suspended Cooperative Bank General Manager Krishan Kumar Kundu with immediate effect for not being present in the meeting convened by him. A meeting was convened to take stock of situation after the central government's decision of demonetisation of old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 and to review the financial condition of the bank. Even after getting message from Deputy-Registrar, Cooperation Department to attend the meeting, Krishan Kumar Kundu did not attend the meeting though he was present in the bank. The Minister took this action against Krishan Kumar Kundu because of the indiscipline shown by him.UNI DB PY BL2123 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-1035950.Xml ''This morning on the LoC at around 0945 hrs, Pakistan violated the ceasefire at LoC in BG Sector of Rajouri,'' an official Spokesperson here said. He said that two BSF personnel sustained minor injuries. Meanwhile, a Defence spokesperson said that Pakistani Army initiated indiscriminate CFV from 0900 hrs this morning on Indian Army posts along the Line of Control (LoC ) at Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Naoshera sector. ''The Indian Army posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply," he said. Police sources, however, said that one Abdul Majid of village Nambla in Keri Sector got injured due to mortar shelling and he was rushed to the district hospital. ''In view of the escalated tension along the border, all government and private schools will remain closed in Mendhar Sub-Division of Poonch district and all the exams have also been postponed,'' an order issued by the district administration said. UNI VBH RJ ADG 2227 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-1036125.Xml The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) today decided to organise massive agitation across the State, in protest against the inconvenience caused to the public due to the improper implementation of demonitisation of high value currency notes by the BJP Government at the Centre.Talking to reporters after chairing the meeting of TPCC office bearers at Gandhi Bhavan here, TPCC President N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that as per the directives of All India Congress Committee (AICC) to organise a nationwide protest, the TPCC would organise statewide protest against demonetisation on November 28.He said all sections of the society were badly hit due to unplanned move of demonitisation. Traders, farmers, housewives, daily wage earners, businessmen, middle and poor classes were facing innumerable problems due to cash crunch.He said people were forced to stand in long queues to withdraw their own hard-earn money. He wondered how Prime Minister Narendra Modi was maintaining smile on his face after pushing over 100 crore people into utter chaos.Reddy reminded that Narendra Modi had promised to bring back black money stashed in foreign countries within 100 days after coming to power. He also promised to deposit Rs. 15 lakh in accounts of all Indian citizens. However, he said even after 912 days, the Modi Government was unable to bring back a single rupee from the foreign countries. Instead, through unplanned demonitisation move, he limited the access of all citizens to their accounts and hard-earned money.The TPCC Chief also sought to know as to what transpired in the recent meeting held at delhi between Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and the Prime Minister and how it would benefit people of Telangana. He also alleged that the Chief Minister was trying to cover up his economic failures under demonitisation move. He said Telangana State was already deep into debts much before the demonitisation move and KCR now found a new excuse to delay clearance of crop loans, fee reimbursement and other dues.He also slammed the Chief Minister over his new posh bungalow which was constructed by wasting over Rs. 40 crore of public money. The Chief Minister will move to his dream house tomorrow.Accusing KCR of wasting public money to satisfy his 'Vasthu' beliefs, he said such wastage was not permissible in a socialist and democratic country like India.MLA DK Aruna, ex-Union Minister Balrak Naik, ex-minister D Sridhar Babu and other senior leaders were also present in the press conference.UNI KNR RJ BL2327 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-1036117.Xml National Conference working president Omar Abdullah today said that people of Kashmir will not sacrifice their sons for Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes. Questioning the claims of normalcy dawning after demonetisation, Mr Abdullah said the people of Kashmir would not sacrifice their sons for Rs 500 or Rs 1000 notes. ''There has been a widespread discontent among the people, which needs to be addressed by solving the political issues of Kashmir'', he said while addressing a public meeting in Bhaderwah town of Doda district. Taking dig at demonetisation, he said that while poor have been made to stand in queues for hours, crores of invalid currency notes were being carried in a car of BJP minister in Jammu, according to newspaper reports. ''Rs 2000 notes of new currency were found in the possession of two slain militants in Bandipora yesterday'', he added. Mr Abdullah said that the state is facing grave challenge from divisive forces that were working overtime to generate hatred among religious communities and drift between the three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. ''There are political forces that are engaged in furthering communal and caste politics, which is against the essence of pluralistic state like Jammu and Kashmir'', he said and urged the party cadres to stand against them for safeguarding the single entity and secular foundations of the state. Mr Abdullah referred to the polarising politics of the PDP and BJP saying while the former contested 2014 elections in Kashmir by instilling fear among people about the Sangh Parivar and later based its electoral plank on getting rid of Abdullah and Mufti dynasties. ''Mr Narendra Modi vowed during electioneering in the state to free J&K from Abdullahs and Muftis but took no time in allying with PDP after the poll results came out'', he said and decried the opportunistic politics of the two parties. The former Chief Minister expressed anguish over large scale devastation and destruction in Kashmir Valley during over past four months and said while 90 youngsters got killed, hundreds were blinded and thousands injured. ''And the irony is that some people in the Centre are under the delusion of youngsters getting killed for Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes'', he added. Mr Abdullah also dwelt on various subjects like implementation of Food Safety Act, which was opposed by his government, abandonment of key power projects in the Chenab Valley taken up during his tenure as Chief Minister and development coming to standstill due to Kashmir turmoil. He said the rations to rationees below poverty line category has been raised from Rs 5 to Rs 10 per kilogram while the BPL list is being drastically reviewed. ''The people of the state are suffering on all fronts as there is no visibility of government on the ground,'' said the NC leader.UNI VBH ADG 2312 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-1036122.Xml Even as district and block Congress leaders today took to the streets across state, launching protests outside cooperative and other banks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation policy, Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh questioned the impact of the move on terror funding. Referring to the reported seizure of new Rs 2000 notes on a terrorist killed in Bandipora on Monday, Capt Amarinder said the recovery of the new notes from the body of the slain terrorist had completely nailed Modi's lies on demonetisation. The PPCC chief, who has issued directions to all district and block presidents of the party to come out on the streets in protest against Modi's demonetisation move, lashed out at the Prime Minister for putting the people of the country to extreme hardship on the pretext of putting an end to terror funding from across the border. "So how has demonetisation stopped terror funding, if terrorists are entering from across the border with new notes, which even the people of India are finding difficult to procure," he asked Modi. Meanwhile, Punjab Congress workers across all districts, led by the respective district presidents, launched protest demonstrations in the state today. Shouting anti-Modi and anti-demonetisation slogans against the move, the Congress workers, also joined by MLAs and block presidents, went around various banks, especially the cooperative banks in the remote areas. Protest marches were held in every district with the party workers and leaders going through the bazaars in each district, demanding immediate withdrawal of the scheme.UNI DB ADG 2251 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-1035711.Xml The findings by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was published in an online issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The Golgi apparatus, often referred to as a cellular "post office" for its ability to package proteins into vesicles for transportation to other sites within or outside the cell, may offer a new therapeutic approach for preventing metastasis. Think of vesicles as miniature mail trucks composed of a fatty shell filled with secretory liquids that travel from the Golgi to destinations within the cell where their contents are put to use. The Golgi can appear as a compacted membranous "stack" near the cell's nucleus or as a dispersed system of interconnected membranes. Vesicles can "bud" from the Golgi in either form. "Our findings show that certain proteins in the Golgi that control Golgi compaction may actually promote vesicle budding and transport and enhance the tumor cell's ability to metastasize" said Jonathan Kurie, M.D., professor of Thoracic Head and Neck Medical Oncology. "These findings highlight the potential utility of targeting certain cellular processes in the Golgi," he added. According to Kurie, tumor cells gain their metastatic ability through a Golgi-related process driving the budding and transport of secretory vesicles. Unknown before this study was whether Golgi compaction was responsible for vesicular trafficking leading to metastasis. The study shows that Golgi compaction is associated with EMT or epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, a process that allows a cell to detach and move away from its neighbors during wound healing and other normal processes and is thought to play a role in cancer cell migration. Using lung adenocarcinoma cell lines isolated from mice and patients, Kurie's team found that EMT depends on a Golgi protein called PAQR11 for successful tumor cell migration and metastasis in lung cancers. "We concluded that, through PAQR11, tumor cells can hijack a normal Golgi compaction process in order to gain metastatic ability," saidKurie.(ANI) The Nangarhar police said that the security forces confiscated a suicide bombing vest and various other types of explosives from the house of the detained militant, reports the Khaama Press. The police said that the detained Taliban expert has been identified as Ghulam Akbar who is originally a resident of Rodat distrit of Nangarhar. The official statement said that Akbar was previously wounded in a premature explosion and resumed his operations to manufacture improvised explosive devices after he recovered. He is currently in the custody of the security forces and an investigation is underway. The Taliban has not commented regarding the report so far. The Taliban militants and insurgents belong to other militant groups frequently use homemade improvised explosive devices to target the security forces and government officials and employees. (ANI) After Hamid Khan distanced himself from representing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) for litigation of the Panama Papers case in the Supreme Court, the party's legal team and some members are in a state of disarray as they are reluctant to give that role to Babar Awan. According to a source, PTI chief Imran Khan is interested in nominating Awan as the main counsel, but he is facing immense resistance from many of his close aides, including his legal team, reports the Express Tribune. According to sources, the PTI's legal team members - comprising Hamid Khan, Ahmad Awais and Naeem Bukhari - have refused to accept Awan as their captain in the Panama leaks case. An influential group of PTI leaders is also expressing reservations over his entry as the lead counsel. They are afraid that Awan may overshadow the senior party members as he did during the previous government of the Pakistan People Party (PPP) whose most senior leaders had to take the back seat after Awan developed close ties with former president Asif Zardari. A senior PTI leader said Awan might be a competent lawyer but his sour relationship with the bench is something that goes against him. "We want a lawyer who should have good reputation both with the bench and the bar." The top court had suspended the practicing licence of Awan for allegedly uttering derogatory words against the court. A senior PTI leader said names of senior lawyers - Aitzaz Ahsan, Farogh Nasim and Anwar Mansoor Khan - are also under discussion but they are facing difficulty in selecting a suitable lawyer to lead the legal team in Panama leaks case due to different reasons. (ANI) Iraqi security forces have recaptured six villages in southeast and north of the city of Mosul, while Special Forces continued heavy clashes with the Islamic State (IS) militants in the eastern part of the city. On Monday, the army's 9th armored Division managed to free the three villages of al-Salamiyah, al-Hmeirah and Twajnah al-Jadida, which are located some 20 km southeast of Mosul, after sporadic clashes with IS militants, said a statement from the Joint Operations Command (JOC). In north of Mosul, the army's 16th Division and allied Sunni paramilitary units freed the villages of al-Abbasiyah, Ortta-Kharab and al-Salam, the JOC statement said. The security forces have been fighting to push deeper into the eastern side of the city, locally known as left bank of the Tigris River, but met resistance of the militants, who are fighting in small groups. The troops and explosive experts also defuse dozens of booby-traps planted earlier by the extremist militants in the freed districts, it said. After more than a month of military operations against IS militants inside Mosul, almost 65,000 civilians have fled their homes, reports Xinhua. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on October 17 announced a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city. Since then, the Iraqi security forces have inched to the eastern fringes of Mosul and made progress on other routes around the city. Early in the month, hundreds of the CTS commandos and Iraqi army made a significant progress at the eastern side of Mosul and managed to recapture more than 10 districts out of about 60 districts on both sides of the city. Mosul, some 400 km north of Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under the IS control since June 2014. (ANI) "Many people would like to see @Nigel_Farage represent Great Britain as their Ambassador to the United States. He would do a great job!" Trump tweeted Tuesday. However, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May's office blocked the idea saying the position was filled, reports the CNN. "There is no vacancy. We already have an excellent ambassador to the US," said the Downing Street spokesman. It is unheard of in recent years for any US official to make such a suggestion to an ally. Trump and Farage have praised each other for their shared ideas on border controls, protectionist trade policies and for upending the political establishments on both sides of the Atlantic. Farage endorsed Trump at a rally in Mississippi in August and the latter made frequent references to Brexit throughout the campaign, saying it demonstrated the wish for change among voters frustrated with establishment politics. Trump has been complimentary of Farage for spearheading the movement for Britain to leave the European Union. Farage also had a meeting with Trump after he won the election, congratulating him three days after his election at Trump Tower in New York. This courtesy call was described by one of aides of the President-elect as a "very productive" meeting. (ANI) She said the armed forces of Bangladesh which originated from the War of Liberation are the pride of the nation. Hasina made these remarks at Bangladesh Armed Forces Day reception yesterday, reports the Dhaka Tribune. The prime minister said that her party has worked for the development of the armed forces and welfare of its members whenever it came to power. Hasina congratulated the members of the armed forces on the occasion and asked them to be imbued with the ideals and spirit of the Armed Forces Day to work together for the nation. (ANI) Zika's rampage last year in Brazil caused an explosion of infections and inflicted a crippling neurological defect on thousands of babies - an effect never seen in a mosquito-borne virus.It also presented a mystery: why had a virus that had been little more than a footnote in the annals of infectious diseases taken such a devastating turn in the Americas? How had Africa and Asia, where Zika had quietly circulated for decades, escaped with no reports of major outbreaks or serious complications?Scientists initially theorized that Zika's long tenure in Africa and Asia may have conferred widespread immunity. Or, perhaps older strains were less virulent than the one linked in Brazil to more than 2,100 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by arrested brain development.Now, amid outbreaks in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia, a much graver explanation is taking shape: perhaps the menace has been there all along but neurological complications simply escaped official notice.The question is driving several research teams, according to leading infectious disease experts and public health officials.The answer is immediately important for Asia, the region most affected by Zika after the Americas. Thailand has been hardest hit with more than 680 reported Zika infections this year, followed by Singapore with more than 450 and Vietnam with as many as 60.Much of the population lives in the so-called "dengue belt," where mosquito-borne diseases are prevalent. And vulnerable countries - including Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan and Bangladesh - are ill-prepared to handle an outbreak with any serious consequences, experts said.Lacking evidence of varying degrees of virulence, public health officials have warned Asia leaders to prepare for the worst. The scientific community is following similar assumptions."Zika is Zika until proven otherwise. We assume that all Zikas are equally dangerous," said Dr. Derek Gatherer, a biomedical expert at Lancaster University in Britain.WHICH ZIKA?The World Health Organization recognizes two major lineages of Zika. The first originated in Africa, where it was discovered in 1947 and has not been identified outside that continent. The Asian lineage includes strains that have been reported in Asia, the Western Pacific, Cabo Verde and, notably, the Americas, including Brazil.The Asian lineage was first isolated in the 1960s in mosquitoes in Malaysia. But some studies suggest the virus has been infecting people there since the 1950s. In the late 1970s, seven cases of human infection in Indonesia were reported.The first record of a widespread outbreak was in 2007 on Micronesia's Island of Yap.Experts began to suspect a link to birth defects during a 2013 outbreak in French Polynesia when doctors reported eight cases of microcephaly and 11 other cases of fetal malformation.In 2015, it hit Brazil, causing spikes in an array of neurological birth defects now called congenital Zika virus syndrome, as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological disorder that can lead to temporary paralysis.Viruses mutate rapidly, which can lead to strains that are more contagious and more virulent. Many researchers theorized early on that the devastation in Brazil was caused by an Asian strain that had mutated dramatically.That theory relies, among other things, on the absence of Zika-related microcephaly in Asia. So when Zika broke out in parts of Asia earlier this year, researchers were on the lookout.If researchers were to connect a case of microcephaly to an older Asian strain - and not one that boomeranged back from Brazil -- it would debunk the early theory. It would mean Zika "did not mutate into a microcephaly-causing variant as it crossed the Pacific," Gatherer said.At least three microcephaly cases have been identified in Asia, but the verdict is still out.For two microcephaly cases in Thailand, public health officials could not determine whether the mothers had an older Asian strain of Zika or a newer one that returned from the Americas, said Dr Boris Pavlin, WHO's acting Zika incident manager at a recent briefing.In Vietnam, where there have been no reports of imported Zika infection, officials are investigating a third case of microcephaly. If it is linked to Zika, Pavlin said it would suggest the older strains there could cause microcephaly and, perhaps, Guillain-Barre.In Malaysia, where at least six cases of Zika infection have been reported, authorities have identified both an older Southeast Asian strain and one similar to the strain in the Americas, suggesting the possibility that strains from both regions could be circulating in some countries.The hunt is on in Africa as well. In Guinea-Bissau, five microcephaly cases are under investigation to determine whether the African lineage of Zika can cause microcephaly.It is a top research priority at WHO, said Dr Peter Salama, executive director of the agency's health emergencies program, in a press briefing Tuesday."That is a critical question because it has real public health implication for African or Asian countries that already have Zika virus transmission," Salama said. "We are all following this extremely closely."HERD IMMUNITYScientists also are trying to learn whether people in places where Zika is endemic are protected by "herd immunity." The phenomenon limits the spread of virus when enough of a population is inoculated against infection through vaccination, prior exposure or both.Experts believe Zika moved explosively in the Americas because there was no prior exposure. It's not clear how widely Zika has circulated in Africa and Asia, whether there could be pockets of natural immunity - and, importantly, whether immunity to one strain would confer immunity to another.One recent review of studies suggests 15 to 40 percent of the population in some African and Asian countries may have been previously infected with Zika, said Alessandro Vespignani, a professor of health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston.That's far below the 80 percent population immunity one mosquito borne virus expert estimated in the journal Science would be necessary to block Zika.Researchers also believe it's possible that microcephaly went undetected in parts of Asia and Africa where birth defects weren't well tracked.That too, is under investigation, said Dr David Heymann, Chair of the WHO Emergency Committee, at a press briefing last week."Now," he said, "countries are beginning to look back into their records to see on their registries what the levels of microcephaly REUTERS CJ PR1040 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1034699.Xml New Zealand's foreign minister Murray McCully said he discussed the disputed South China Sea with a "charming" Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during an informal meeting.McCully said the pair had a wide ranging discussion late yesterday but declined to comment on whether Duterte's controversial drugs crackdown was discussed.They spoke during Duterte's overnight stopover in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, on his way back from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru."He's a tough guy but he was warm, courteous and actually quite charming," McCully told the New Zealand Herald after the meeting."He doesn't beat around the bush. He has got quite firm views and he expresses them, and very colourfully," he said.Police and vigilante groups have killed more than 2,400 people in the Philippines since Duterte vowed to crack down on drug dealers when he took office in June, attracting criticism from human rights watchdogs, the United States and the United Nations.The meeting in Auckland comes at a tense time for relations between the Philippines and the United States, its strongest Western ally. Duterte has made repeated threats and verbal tirades against the United States, a significant donor, and is making overtures to Russia and to China.Duterte lashed out at Western "bullying" and "hypocrisy" during his first meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Peru on Saturday and said, when it came to alliances, the United States could not be trusted.Adham Crichton, a spokesman for McCully, said on Wednesday there would be no further comment on the Auckland discussions because it was not a formal bilateral meeting.China is at odds with a number of its Asian neighbours, including the Philippines, over disputed claims in the South China Sea, through which 5 trillion dollar in ship-borne trade passes every year.REUTERS SDR 0614 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1034619.Xml The UN Special Envoy for Syria said he was worried that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could launch a new offensive to crush eastern Aleppo before US President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.Staffan De Mistura did not explain why he thought Syria might make such a move, but European diplomats have said Assad may feel emboldened by Trump's vow to build closer ties with Russia, and the current US government is unlikely to strike back so close to leaving office.De Mistura joined German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in calling for an end to the bombardment of civilians in Syria and a political solution to the conflict.He said that moves by Syria to escalate the military conflict could have tragic consequences for 275,000 civilians still in the eastern part of Aleppo, and drew parallels to an 87-day siege of Vukovar, Croatia by Serbian forces in 1991."I am very concerned about what can happen before Jan. 20," de Mistura told a group of Social Democratic lawmakers. "We are very concerned (about the possibility of Assad) ... taking over in a brutal aggressive way what is left of eastern Aleppo," he said. "It could be tragic. It could be a new Vukovar."De Mistura said little was known about Trump's Middle East policy, but there might be a chance of progress in ending the Syrian war if Trump stuck to his campaign pledge to fight Islamic State together with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Russia views Assad as a bulwark against Islamist militancy, while the Obama administration is pushing for his departure.Steinmeier cited talks about bringing relief supplies into Aleppo via Turkey, but gave no details and said there were no guarantees for the success of the effort.Rolf Muetzenich, a contender to replace Steinmeier if he is elected German president in February, said Syria and Russia were using the time before Trump's inauguration to step up their attacks on rebel-held areas in Syria.He said Trump's failure to articulate a clear agenda for the Middle East had created a "conceptual vacuum" that could lead to "further instability and even possible additional proxy wars" in the region, he said.He also warned that any move by Trump to dismantle the Iran nuclear deal struck under President Barack Obama in which Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief could exacerbate tensions in the region. REUTERS SDR 0658 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1034624.Xml Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal plans to split Province 5 of the country which currently has 13 districts to woo Madhes-based parties. However, the country's main opposition the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), also known as CPN-UML has already objected to this plan. Close aides of the prime minister have said that concerns of both Madhesi and Tharu communities will be addressed through this proposal. A demand for another province along the plains, besides Province 2, without Hill districts is being made by the Madhes-based parties whereas Tharus want a Tharuhat province. The Kathmandu Post quoted sources, as saying," Prime Minister Dahal is set to discuss the idea with Madhesi leaders at an "official meeting" between him and Madhesi leaders at Baluwatar on Wednesday. The government hopes to give final shape to the draft after consultation with the Madhesi parties as it is planning to register a constitution amendment proposal in Parliament later this week. A Maoist leader close to Dahal said, "The prime minister has proposed to integrate Hill districts of Province 5 into Province 4 and Province 6. He prepared the proposal after consultation with some senior Madhesi leaders." According to Dahal, province 5 consisting of Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Kaplivastu, Dang, Banke and Bardiya could largely address the concerns of agitating parties. Dahal's proposal calls for merging seven hill districts of Province 5 with Province 4 and Province 6. Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party Chairman Mahanta Thakur has said that a comment would only be made by him after he gets to see the proposal. "Initially, they were saying that there will be some changes in boundaries of Provinces 4, 5 and 6. Now, they are saying only Province 5 will be divided. There still is some confusion," said Thakur. "We have been informed that the proposal will address our concerns over four contentious issues-federal boundaries, representation in the Upper House, citizenship and working language of provinces," he added. However, some senior Madhesi leaders including Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav have threatened to disown the constitution amendment bill if it fails to address all the demands of the agitating parties in its entirety. "We will not accept the constitution until our 26-point demand is addressed," said Yadav. "The government must act as per the commitment the Maoist Centre and the Congress made in the three-point agreement signed before the formation of this government," he added. (ANI) A UN peace plan for Yemen seeks to deprive the country's armed Houthi movement of its missile arsenal which Yemeni security sources say includes scores and maybe even hundreds of Soviet-era ballistic missiles pointed at their foes in Saudi Arabia.But whether the Iran-allied group will abandon the missiles hidden in mountainous ravines which have given them regional clout despite 20 months of punishing war is an open question.The group possesses Scud missiles, shorter-range Tochka and anti-ship missiles, and unguided Grad and Katyusha rockets, the security sources told Reuters. It has even manufactured smaller home-made rockets with names like "Volcano" and "Steadfast".Retaining them could fortify the Houthis in a permanently armed enclave like fellow Iran-allied groups Hamas and Hezbollah - deepening the regional power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran and unnerving key shipping lanes such as the Gulf of Aden through which most of the world's oil is transported.Western and regional powers have long worried that complex internal rivalries and an active al Qaeda branch could push Yemen toward chaos - fears which largely materialised last year.A Saudi-led military coalition has staged thousands of air strikes on the Houthis since the group toppled the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and fanned out across the country in March 2015.While Iran has strongly denied aiding the Houthis, Saudi concerns that the Houthis are the proxies of their regional arch-rival sparked their intervention.FATE OF PLAN IN DOUBTThe conflict has now killed 10,000 people while hunger and disease stalk the country which even before the war was awash with guns and plagued by poverty.But the Houthis may feel ceding Yemen's most powerful weapons to neutral officers and becoming a political party as envisioned by the U.N. plan may leave them vulnerable to attack."When the Houthis seized (the capital) Sanaa, they assumed total control of state institutions, key posts in the army and all the missiles," a senior Yemeni security official said, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity."Relinquishing the security apparatus will be the most important step toward what the country needs most - putting the state back together," the official added.A 48-hour ceasefire aimed at paving the way for peace talks and a unity government expired on Monday, the latest in a series of failed truces which leave the fate of the U.N. plan in doubt.Saudi-led bombings have repeatedly struck underground missile silos, sending mushroom clouds exploding over Sanaa.Early in the war, the coalition said it had destroyed 80 percent of the country's stockpile of 300 ballistic missiles.Yet the Houthis have managed to launch dozens of them at pro-government forces inside Yemen and at Saudi Arabia throughout the war, including just outside the holy city of Mecca some 600km (370 miles) north of the country.While Scuds are notoriously inaccurate and most appear to have been shot down by Saudi Patriot missiles acquired from the United States, the projectiles have unnerved Gulf Arab states.SEIZED FROM ARMY STORESSeized by the Houthis from army stores after their takeover, Yemen's missiles were amassed over the course of decades in legal acquisitions from the Soviet Union and North Korea.The Houthis have upgraded some missiles to maximise their range, and their technical savvy in local manufacture of smaller rockets and several deadly launches may suggest foreign help, military analysts say.A Tochka ballistic missile attack last September killed more than 60 Emirati, Saudi and Bahraini troops outside the central city of Marib and another killed the Saudi intelligence chief for Yemen and a senior Emirati officer in the southwest.Speaking to Reuters, an anti-Houthi tribal commander said his scouts spotted what they said were members of the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah aiding the Marib strike."My men reported spotting the missile launcher accompanied by several cars carrying Hezbollah advisers - we referred the information to the coalition but we got no response," the commander said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, said it lacked evidence of a Hezbollah link to those attacks but believed the Houthis receive their help."We have information that there are Lebanese working with the (Houthi) militias belonging to Hezbollah ... We know they are there, we know they help them renew and maintain the missiles," Asseri told Reuters.Yemeni, Western and Iranian officials told Reuters that Iran has stepped up transfers of missiles and other weapons to the group in recent months.Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman, a spokesman for Yemen's pro-Houthi military, denied in a statement this month that their forces had ever received Iranian aid.Iran and Hezbollah have also strongly denied aiding them.GATE OF TEARSHouthi missiles have also rattled shipping passing through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, Arabic for "Gate of Tears", on the Red Sea. The group fired a conventional ship missile at an Emirati military craft on Oct. 1 and a ballistic missile a week later at pro-government forces on tiny Mayun Island sitting astride the 25.6-km-wide (16-mile) waterway's narrowest point.The United States bombed radar stations along the Houthi-controlled coast after it said a U.S. warship in the strait was unsuccessfully attacked by several land-to-sea missiles - an accusation the Houthis denied."It's an extremely worrying sign, and the technology used from small speed boats to the missiles shows imitation, at the very least, of naval patterns Iran has used in the Gulf," said one diplomat, who declined to be identified.But expanding of the conflict seaward may seek to convince Saudi Arabia and its ally the United States that the Houthis refuse to cede their still-dominant political position inside Yemen despite the drawn-out and bloody conflict."It appears to be their way of saying, 'look over here, we're capable of internationalising this conflict - take our position seriously,'" another diplomat said.POWER STRUGGLEA peace plan hammered out by the United Nations has exiled Hadi effectively resigning in exchange for the Houthis quitting main cities and handing over arms to neutral army units.While Hadi fiercely opposes the scheme, diplomats and Yemeni officials say his coalition backers have tired of the stalemated conflict and could accept his exit, if it removed the Houthi military threat to their borders.The Houthis have accepted the U.N. deal, which would allow its seasoned fighters to retain their light weapons, something that could allow them to retain power in national politics."The Houthis have sought out guarantees that they won't face a sudden attack from within Yemen and that they will retain a major political role," a Yemeni diplomatic source told Reuters.A Houthi official suggested its refusal to demobilise was a patriotic resistance to foreign plots and guaranteed order."It is important to note here the conspiracy against the missile forces in Yemen," Hamid Rizq wrote on the group's news website al-Masira last month. "(There has been) an American conspiracy to dismantle the Yemeni army through so-called 'restructuring' ... to pave the way for the spread of chaos.Reuters CJ PR1251 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-1034918.Xml Balochistan, the largest and resource-rich province of Pakistan, has been facing the worst human rights crisis where the Baloch are being suppressed. In the worst form of oppression, military operations are being carried out against the civilians. Since July 26, Wahid Baloch, the 52-year-old Baloch activist, has been missing from Karachi. Wahid is among many other Baloch activists who have been picked up by intelligence sleuths for demanding justice and freedom. The whereabouts of these Baloch missing persons is unknown. Several of them were killed and their mutilated bodies were found dumped in isolated places across Balochistan. According to the Voice for Baloch Missing persons, an NGO, state authorities have admitted arrest of more than 12,000 people by Law Enforcement Agencies in the last one and a half years in Balochistan. The disappeared people have not been brought before any judicial body as yet. Baloch Diaspora has been raising the issue of state-run terror in Balochistan by holding events across Europe, Canada and the U.S. Recently in Brussels, France-based Baloch Voice Association raised the grim situation in Balochistan and demanded international intervention. Munir Mengal, the president of France based Baloch Voice Association said, "Look, how this Islamic state of Pakistan is suppressing us and how they are looting us and why they are killing our loved ones and who are they and for what purpose? They are sacrificing their lives and this thing we have mentioned in the declaration asking the organizations particularly the Red Cross that the Baloch prisoners should be declared as `prisoners of war'. We are in a state of war with a country which has occupied our land and killing our people. So, announce our prisoners as prisoners of war". Claudia Heidelbery, who recently formed an NGO in london called `Friends of Balochistan' said, "I see the situation in Balochistan because of the CPEC corridor, the contract between China and Pakistan. China wants Pakistan to secure the CPEC corridor and it gives Pakistan all options to strengthen the atrocities just to secure the corridor and also to exploit the natural resources of Balochistan". The atrocities on Baloch people have increased after Islamabad and Beijing signed a multi-billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The people in Balochistan, who are championing the cause of the Free Balochistan Movement, are opposing the project which they say will lead to exploitation of their resources. (ANI) The Government of Nepal today decided to present the Constituent amendment bill in Parliament over the next few days after meeting with leaders of the Madhesi Morcha. Prime Minister and CPN Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was given the responsibility to move ahead with the Constitution Amendment proposal during a meeting held with the leaders of ruling parties and the Madhesi Morcha this morning, reports The Himalayan Times. A meeting was held earlier on November 21 to resolve the differences over the purported amendment of Constitution amongst the top leaders of the three major political parties-Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN Maoist Centre but failed to make any headway after the UML stuck to its stance against the amendment proposal. A proposal to go for elections after amending the Constitution was floated by Dahal at the meeting however could not make any solid decision after the UML leaders questioned the essence of the purported amendment. (ANI) The United States and Russia have requested the extradition of a Russian man arrested in the Czech Republic and indicted in the United States for hacking computers belonging to LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring, the Czech news agency CTK reported today.The Czech Justice Ministry will examine both requests for the extradition of Yevgeniy Nikulin before referring them to a Prague court, CTK reported, citing a ministry spokeswoman.The ministry could not be immediately reached for comment. REUTERS AKC VP1532 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1035197.Xml Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi has said US surveillance drones are flying over the Tunisian-Libyan border to ward of attacks by Islamic State, after lawmakers called on his government to clarify US reports on such a mission.In Tunisia, any US military presence on its soil is a sensitive topic. Opponents say it would be a breach of sovereignty. Last month US government sources said US surveillance drones had begun flying into Libya from a Tunisian air base.But Essebsi, in a television interview broadcast late on Tuesday, said the measure was needed to avoid cross-border attacks by militants such as an Islamic State assault on the Tunisian town of Ben Guerdan in March.The drones being used were unarmed, Essebsi said, and in a repeat of previous denials, added there was no US base in Tunisia.Asked if US drones were flying missions at the border, Essebsi told local channel Elhiwar Ettounsi, "Yes, and it was at our request.""Our agreement with the US was to share intelligence information," he said. He did not say whether the drones were flying across Libyan territory.Islamic State exploited the chaos of post-uprising Libya to establish a foothold there, using it as a base for attacks Tunisia and Egypt. The perpetrators of several militant attacks in Tunisia in the past two years were trained in Libya.The United States is fighting the group's Libyan arm with air strikes launched from its ships in the Mediterranean and armed drones launched from Sicily.Washington's use of armed drones against militants in countries such as Yemen and Pakistan has been criticised for its toll on civilians, and some opponents question its legality under international law.Essebsi said there was a fear of attacks from abroad."We do not have clear information, and we should act instead of waiting until another Ben Guerdan," he said.Dozens of Islamic State fighters stormed through the Tunisian town of Ben Guerdan near the Libyan border in March, attacking army and police posts.Tunisian forces repelled the attack, but at least 53 people were killed in the raid, including civilians.Essebsi said the surveillance drones would be given to Tunisia after training conducted by 70 US soldiers. He did not say how many drones were being used or how long the training would last. REUTERS AKC BD1734 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1035545.Xml China's leading mining company Aluminium Corporation of China has reached a preliminary agreement with Peru's government to expand the Toromocho copper mine, China's biggest overseas copper project. China's state industry supervisor SASAC, which announced the agreement in a statement today, did not give details of the expansion plan for the Chinese-owned mine. The mine began operation in 2013 and produced 31,407 tonnes of copper and 5,500 tonnes of zinc in the first quarter of this year, but has also faced problems concerning environmental contamination and strikes by workers demanding higher wages. China's President Xi Jinping signed a series of other cooperation agreements with Peru during his visit last week.REUTERS AKC BL1931 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1035893.Xml Iranian-backed Shi'ite paramilitaries said today they had linked up with Kurdish peshmerga forces west of Mosul, a move they said completed the encircling of the Islamic State-held city and nearby town of Tal Afar. Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, a prominent leader of the Shi'ite coalition known as Hashid Shaabi or Popular Mobilisation units, said his forces had reached a junction where Kurdish forces were deployed in Sinjar, west of Mosul and Tal Afar, close to Syria. Islamic State remains in control of the 60 km (40 mile) road between Mosul and Tal Afar, he said in comments published on the Popular Mobilisation website. "This is what we are dealing with now," Mohandes said, implying that the Iranian-trained militias will try to separate Mosul from Tal Afar. REUTERS AKC BL1938 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-1035911.Xml Israel asked Greece and Croatia today for planes to help fight forest fires that have raged across the country for the past two days, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.A lack of rain combined with very dry air and strong easterly winds have spread forest fires throughout central and northern Israel. Scores of homes have been damaged or destroyed but no deaths or serious injuries have been reported.Local weather forecasters said the tinder-dry conditions and strong winds appeared set to continue for several days with little chance of rain.A statement from Netanyahu's office said that the Greek and Croatian prime ministers, Alexis Tsipras and Andrej Plenkovic, "responded immediately" to his request "and promised to send firefighting aircraft as soon as possible".In 2010, a major forest fire in northern Israel in similar weather conditions that raged for several days killed 42 people, prompting reform of firefighting services and the establishment of an airborne firefighting squadron.Police have not yet said whether any of the fires were set deliberately. REUTERS SDR BL2338 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-1036168.Xml Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 24th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru, Nov. 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- A new China-proposed approach to Asia-Pacific economic development has the potential to support the sustainable and robust growth of the regional economy and help the wider global economic recovery. On Nov. 20, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru, the fourth time he has attended the meeting during his presidency, explaining the concepts of reform and innovation, openness and inclusiveness, connectivity, and win-win cooperation. In the midst of a global economy downturn, reform and innovation are being heralded as the solution to lackluster economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. In his keynote speech at the APEC CEO summit on Nov. 19, Xi told the 21 APEC member economies that reform and innovation should be developed, as they are powerful internal driving force. According to Zhong Feiteng, a research fellow on Asia-Pacific and global strategy from the Chinese Academy of Social Science (CASS), Chinese innovation is inspiring for many Asia-Pacific economies. The APEC member economies should innovate on business model and science and technology, and enhance innovation ability on emerging industries like Internet economy and green economy, to upgrade the economic structure, said Liu Chenyang, director of the APEC research center in Tianjin-based Nankai University. While reform and innovation aim to unlock internal economic growth impetus, openness and inclusiveness will create a favorable external environment for Asia-Pacific economies. In his APEC speeches, President Xi has repeatedly called for an integrated and open regional economy, which has long been a key support for Asia-Pacific economic growth but is currently threatened by the emergence of trade protectionism and fragmented regional trade arrangements. Acting as an institutional mechanism to guarantee an open regional economy, a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) process was launched at the 2014 APEC meeting in Beijing. A report on the FTAAP was approved by economic leaders this year in Lima. Only through openness and inclusiveness can the economies in the region get rid of unilateralism, bridge the gaps of differences, build up consensus, and, thus, develop jointly, said Liu from Nankai University. Another essential base for regional joint development lies in the connectivity and cooperation within the region, which are yet not fully exploited due to uneven economic development. At the Beijing APEC meeting, a Connectivity Blueprint for 2015-2025, which promised tangible action on physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity, was adopted, while China also suggested the establishment of Asia-Pacific Partnership to deepen regional economic, business and cultural cooperation. As a goal of regional cooperation, balanced and win-win development is also an important international political concept championed by the Chinese government, according to Zhong from CASS. Through various proposals, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund, China has been playing a positive role in creating shared interests for regional economies along with its own development. Since the Belt and Road Initiative was released in 2013, Chinese companies had built 52 economic and trade cooperation zones in the Belt and Road countries, generating tax revenue of 900 million U.S. dollars and nearly 70,000 jobs for these countries, by July this year. "To build a community of common interests, responsibility and destiny based on innovation, openness and connectivity, and thus realize balanced and win-win development -- this is a life picture of Chinese Dream and Asia-Pacific Dream," said Gao Fei, a professor from Beijing-based China Foreign Affairs University. HANOI, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese border guards detained three Thai people and one Lao citizen when they were transporting over 30kg of heroin from Laos to Vietnam, local border guards said Tuesday. The four people aged 22, 32, 34 and 43 were detained on Monday evening and then were handed over to Lao police, said the Border Guard of Vietnams central Nghe An province. The detainees said they colluded with some Lao and Vietnamese people to the Golden Triangle to buy cakes of heroin, transport them to Laos and then bring them to Vietnam to sell. SOFIA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The resignation of Bulgarian government last week and the looming political instability could slow the country's economic growth to 2.0 percent in 2017, an expert said here on Tuesday. According to the latest forecasts of the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance, the country's growth will be between 2.5 percent and 3.0 percent, Desislava Nikolova, chief economist at the Institute for Market Economics (IME), told a press conference. "But what must be borne in mind is that these forecasts were made before the resignation of the government," Nikolova said. When Bulgarian governments resigned and early parliamentary elections were held in 2013 and 2014, the political instability pulled down the growth, she said. The instability affected mostly the investment environment and led to the postponement of large investment projects, both public and private, Nikolova said. Furthermore, the Bulgarian economy would be affected in 2017 by international negative factors such as Brexit, the expected increase in energy prices and the ongoing appreciation of the euro, Nikolova said. Growth of around 2.0 percent in 2017 is a realistic forecast for Bulgaria, she concluded. Bulgaria's economy grew by 3.0 percent, 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent in 2015, 2014 and 2013 respectively. CAIRO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Egypt condemned on Tuesday the suicide bomb attack on a mosque in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul that left 32 people dead and several others wounded, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest inside Baqir-ul-Ulum Mosque on Monday in Kabul while Shiite Muslims were holding a religious procession at the site. The Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. "Egypt stresses solidarity with the Afghan government and people against the phenomenon of terrorism that targets development and stability around the world," Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in the statement. Egypt has been suffering a rising wave of anti-government terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of police and military men since the military ousted former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests. Since then, most of the attacks in Egypt were claimed by the a Sinai-based group loyal to the IS, while the post-Morsi administration declared "a war against terrorism," led by former military chief and current President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi. PARIS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China UnionPay, said Tuesday it had signed an accord with France's largest hotel group, Louvre Hotels Group, regarding the use of UnionPay cards to facilitate Chinese visitors. Under the agreement, 23 hotels in the French capital managed by the Louvre group and which are the most visited by Chinese tourists will accept payment via UnionPay card from Nov. 22, a move which "will substantially improve tourists' payment experiences at the local hotels," the Chinese company said in a statement. "The acceptance scope will be further expanded to 500 franchised hotels in France" and "will serve as a good model for other European hotels," it added. UnionPay is making great efforts to improve its acceptance network and services in France together with its partners, according to Ge Huayong, chairman of China UnionPay. "We will promote further cooperation with Louvre Hotels Group to cover its stores worldwide, in order to provide more convenient and high-quality services to cardholders, as well as to bring more customers to the group's hotels, and thus realize a win-win result," Ge said. For his turn, Pierre-Frederic Roulot, president of Louvre Hotels Group, called the deal "a strategic cooperation," which will allow the group to improve its service quality, especially for Chinese tourists. Louvre Hotels Group owns six major hotel brands, including Campanile, Kyriad, Golden Tulip and Royal Tulip. It has more than 1,100 hotels across 51 countries and regions. In France, cardholders are able to pay with UnionPay cards at 110,000 merchants, including department stores, duty-free stores, airport stores, brand stores, restaurants, and hotels. According to official data, China was France's biggest tourist market in 2015, with 2.2 million visitors numbered over the period. RIYADH, Nov. 22, (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday a fresh projectile attack from Yemen killed a man and injured seven others in the Saudi city Najran, Saudi Press Agency reported. The attack targeted a shopping mall in the border town by Houthi militias, the report said. The Saudi civil defense confirmed that the deceased was a Yemeni national, while the seven injured are Saudi residents. The attack took place after Saudi Arabia announced on Monday the end of the ceasefire in Yemen for the violations committed by Houthi militias in Yemen and the borders with Saudi Arabia. Thousands of civilians from both sides have lost their lives and got injured in clashes since the beginning of war in Yemen between the Saudi-led coalition and Houthis. HARARE, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese telecoms firm Huawei Technologies on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) for the establishment of an information and communications technology (ICT) training and practicing center at the country's oldest institution of higher learning. The university's vice chancellor Levi Nyagura and Huawei Technologies Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd managing director Yang Jiangtao, signed the agreement on behalf of their institutions. Nyagura said the UZ-Huawei telecommunications project would help students acquire cutting-edge ICT and telecommunications knowledge and enhance their practical capabilities. The project will also be a vehicle for the transfer of technology from China to Zimbabwe and would help to strengthen Zimbabwe's technological base, Nyagura said. "This ICT training and practice center will be used to cultivate ICT talents and help ICT students to improve hands-on practical skills," Nyagura said. "We particularly hope that the center will evolve into a regional center of excellence in ICT which will not only serve Zimbabwe, but the member nations of SADC, as students from the region will also join in the training programs," he added. Nyagura said the university would in 2017 launch a degree program in Electronics and Telecommunications Technology which it will run in partnership with Huawei. "I earnestly hope and desire that this partnership forged by Huawei and UZ will benefit students by providing them with lifelong knowledge in ICT that will match industry requirements and transform them into world class graduates and professionals," he said. Huawei Technologies Zimbabwe managing director Yang Jiangtao said the partnership, the first of its kind, is aimed at enhancing ICT skills development and help economic development in Zimbabwe. "Human resource is the most valuable thing here and by developing ICT talent we will make great contribution to the Zimbabwean society," Yang said. PRETORIA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The South African Department of Home Affairs said Tuesday that they are withdrawing the charges against the U.S. musician Dante Smith Bey and banning him from visiting the country. Bey, also known as Mos Def, was arrested when he tried to leave the country using the World Government of World Citizens passport, which South Africa does not recognize as a valid passport. He was arrested and charged for violating immigration laws. While briefing the media in Pretoria, Mkuseli Apleni, Home Affairs Director-General, said after his arrest he wrote a letter to the Department of Home Affairs apologizing for his actions. "The department is satisfied with the apology, and has agreed in principle for him to depart from South Africa on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2016. Based on his apology and the confirmation that he will depart on Tuesday, using a valid passport, the department will withdraw the charges against him, on Friday, in his absence," Apleni said. Bey apologized to the government and acknowledged that the passport he wanted to use is not valid in the country. He also apologized for violating immigration laws. He had in the past been a frequent traveler to South Africa using his U.S. passport. Apleni said, "Mr. Smith Bey has applied for and will be travelling out of the republic on a U.S. passport. For his conduct, Mr. Smith Bey will be declared an undesirable person, by the Home Affairs. He will therefore not qualify for a port of entry visa or admission to the republic." He said while foreigners are welcome in the country, they should adhere to the laws of the land. WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Trump Foundation has admitted that it had violated a ban on "self-dealing" in a report to the Internal Revenue Service(IRS), local media reported Tuesday. In its tax filings for 2015, the foundation said it had transferred "income or assets to a disqualified person," which according to regulations, may mean the president-elect, his family members, or his businesses. The filing was posted online by tracking site Guidestar. The tax filing also said "self-dealing" was also practiced in previous years. U.S. law dictates that charitable organizations may not use its funds to help the organization's founder, their business or their family members. The consequence of such actions include penalties. Kellyanne Conway, a top aide to Trump, said Monday that she is "very confident" that Trump is not breaking any laws. Nevertheless, Trump is seen eager to put any legal or financial disputes behind him to avoid risking his tenure. Trump agreed on Friday to settle a protracted law suit in which his Trump University, a for-profit education institution, was sued for fraud, paying 25 million U.S. dollars in compensation and penalty. MAPUTO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Death toll in the fuel tanker explosion in Central Tete province, Mozambique, continues rising, with 4 more deaths reported in the last 24 hours that include a pregnant woman, Mozambican health authorities said on Tuesday. There are currently more than 60 patients under medical treatment and the health authorities said that four in critical conditions were just submitted to surgeries to avoid complications. Health authorities said that the patients are struggling with high temperatures in the treatment process. Tete province, particular the district of Moatize where the incident occurred, is the hottest of the country, with temperature hitting a minimum of 37 degrees Celsius since the day of tragedy. On Tuesday, temperatures rose to 42 degrees Celsius. "To minimize the suffering of the patients, some people and institutions donated 38 unities of air-conditioners which have been installed at the infirmary where the victims were admitted." said Veronica de Deus from the provincial hospital. The victims of the explosion have been isolated to avoid from contracting infections due to their critical conditions as treatments continue in Tete. Nationwide solidarity initiatives continue to help minimizing pain of the victims and their relatives. In northern Cabo Delgado province, people are voluntarily donating blood to help the victims. VIENNA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The situation with jihadists in Austria is at present not to be underestimated, the head of the country's intelligence service said in an interview on Tuesday. Speaking on the Oe1 Morgenjournal radio program, Director of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution Peter Gridling warned that the situation is "by far not as quiet as one sometimes perhaps assumes." There are presently some 150 people in the country with potential ties to terror. Nearly 300 persons have left the country to take part in Jihadist fighting, while a further 50 were prevented from doing so. Terrorism is also a major threat to Austria, Gridling stated. HARARE, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- More than 4,500 children in Zimbabwe dropped out of school to get married this year, despite a court ruling that no person should marry before reaching 18 years. Primary and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora told the state-controlled Herald newspaper Tuesday that 3,650 girls and 251 boys had dropped out of secondary school between January and November this year. Another 305 girls and 13 boys had dropped out of primary school to start their own families, he added. Some of the children who opt out of school for marriage would have started school at older ages. In Zimbabwe, children generally enrol for primary school at the age of five or six, but many in rural and farming communities start late. The Zimbabwe Multiple Indicator Monitoring Survey said 21 percent of children, mostly girls, are married before the age of 18, largely because of poverty and cultural and religious practices. Dokora said the government needed to strengthen awareness campaigns against child marriages and dissuade especially girls from entering into early marriages. "We are going in full-bloodied campaigns within our school systems to discourage children, their parents and guardians from encouraging early marriages," he said. The El Nino induced drought of 2015/16 has made the situation worse in some rural areas where if parents run out of livestock to sell for subsistence, they trade off their children in early marriages. TEHRAN, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that the United States neither intends nor can uproot Islamic States (IS) militants in the region, Tehran Times daily reported. Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting Slovenian President Borut Pahor. The U.S. anti-IS campaign has been a failure, he said, adding that "they act in such a way that this problem would remain unresolved in Iraq or Syria." The Iranian top leader also referred to numerous potentialities of expansion of cooperation between Iran and Slovenia, expressing hope that the mutual talks would lead to closer ties in the future. The Slovenian president, for his part, said he had held very good talks with senior Iranian officials and expressed his country's keenness to deepen relations with Iran in all fields. Pahor arrived at the capital Tehran on Monday for a formal visit heading a trade delegation. UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Over one month into Mosul military operations, more than 68,000 Iraqis are currently displaced from Mosul and adjacent districts, a UN spokesman said here Tuesday, citing the International Organization for Migration (IOM). "Over the past four days, the agency says, total displacement has increased by more than 8,300 individuals," Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here. "As fighting is progressing inside the city limits of Mosul, more individuals have been displaced from inside the sub-district of Mosul." The majority of the displaced are from Mosul district, and almost 98 percent of the displaced are currently residing within the Ninewa governorate, the spokesman added. On Oct. 17, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi forces, announced the start of a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city, in a bid to liberate the northern city, the last major Islamic State (IS) stronghold in Iraq. Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. CAIRO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian and Chinese officials signed on Tuesday a cooperation protocol granting Egyptian grapes access to the Chinese market, an official source from the Chinese embassy in Cairo told Xinhua. The protocol was signed by officials from Egypt's Ministry of Agriculture and China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in the capital Cairo. The signing ceremony was attended by Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Essam Fayed and Chinese Ambassador to Cairo Song Aiguo, as well as several other Egyptian and Chinese officials. The Egyptian minister told the signing ceremony that the agreement is a good step to bolster joint cooperation between the two countries especially in the agricultural field, stressing that China's experience in several fields is a model to be followed by other countries. The bilateral trade volume between Egypt and China has increased from 6.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2011 to 12.9 billion in 2015 despite Egypt's economic recession over the past five years. Egypt and China enjoy growing bilateral relations and both have been celebrating 2016 as the 60th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations, with the leaders of the two countries and high-profile delegations at all levels have been meeting frequently over the past couple of years. UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Carlos Humberto Loitey of Uruguay as the military adviser for peacekeeping operations. Lieutenant General Loitey succeeds Lieutenant General Maqsood Ahmed of Pakistan, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here, adding that the secretary-general is very grateful for Ahmed's tireless efforts, hard work and dedication to strengthen the effectiveness and performance of UN military components operating in increasingly challenging and complex peacekeeping environments. Loitey brings with him more than 40 years of military experience. In his long and distinguished career, Loitey has held a number of senior appointments, including as defence attache at the Uruguayan Embassy in Washington, D.C., director general of the Uruguayan Army Branches and Services Military Institute, as well as director general of the National Support System for Peacekeeping Operations in Uruguay. He has also served for more than five years in several peacekeeping operations, most recently in the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad. A graduate of the Army Command and War College, Loitey was born in 1957. He is married and has two children. UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- An inter-agency UN-Red Cross-Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy has managed to reach Rastan city in northern rural Homs to deliver food, water and other supplies to local people in the area, a UN spokesman said here on Tuesday. "This is the first cross-line inter-agency convoy in November and the fourth inter-agency delivery to the area this year," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing. Rastan, about 20 km north of Homs, was last reached on July 27. "While we welcome the convoy to Rastan today, it is worrying that no inter-agency convoy had been able to deploy until this late in November," Dujarric said. "The result is that we are once again unlikely to reach more than a small portion of those for whom we receive formal approval to access -- due to deliberate restrictions, needless administrative hurdles as well as insecurity." He said the UN would continue to call for safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access to all in need in Syria, particularly those living in hard-to-reach and besieged areas. Rastan is the third largest city in the Homs province with a population of a bit more than 100,000. The rebel-held countryside of the central province has been under severe siege along with constant aerial bombing. The Sirian civil war broke out five years ago after the anti-government protests escalated into an armed conflic, with more than 250,000 people being killed and millions fleeing their homes to escape the war. UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The UN Integrated Multifaceted Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) stepped up patrols and called for an immediate end to violence after the clashes that broke out on Monday in Bria town, a press release said here Tuesday. According to the press release, the clashes broke out between armed elements of the Front populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique (FPRC) and the Union pour la paix en Centrafrique (UPC). About 5,000 displaced civilians as well as local authorities and humanitarian organizations have taken refuge in MINUSCA's premises in the town, and the UN mission said in the press release that the armed groups will be held accountable for the violence, particularly against civilian populations. The UN mission also warned the rival groups against attacks on its personnel, facilities and those it protects, underscoring that "any hostile act will have an appropriate response." On Monday, the MINUSCA base was targeted by RPF elements before peacekeepers fired back and drove them from off. One UN peacekeeper was slightly injured in the attack, the mission said. (MINUSCA) has taken robust measures to protect civilians and peacekeepers are patrolling Bria town to reassure the population and protect the displaced (persons) sites, the news release said, adding that the UN mission is pursuing mediation efforts together with local and religious authorities. UN agencies are planning a humanitarian response. Clashes between the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition and anti-Balaka militia, which are mostly Christian, plunged the country into civil conflict in 2013. Despite significant progress and successful elections, the Ccentral African Republic has remained in the grip of instability and sporadic unrest. More than 13,000 UN staff are currently based in the country as part of MINUSCA. WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Ministry of Defense on Tuesday confirmed that a senior al Qaeda leader was killed in a U.S. air strike near Sarmada, Syria, last week. Abu Afghan Al-Masri, an Egyptian who joined al Qaeda in Afghanistan and later moved to Syria, died on Nov. 18, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters. "He had ties to terrorist groups operating throughout Southwest Asia including groups responsible for attacking U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and those plotting to attack the West," said Cook. The United States has carried out sporadic strikes in the past against veteran al-Qaeda members who migrated to northwestern Syria from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Earlier this month, U.S. President Obama ordered the Pentagon to deploy more drones and intelligence assets against an al-Qaeda-linked military group in Syria, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra and now called Jabhat Fatah al-Sham -- or Front for the Conquest of Syria. The move highlights Obama's concern that it is turning parts of Syria into a new base of operations for al-Qaeda on Europe's southern doorstep, local media says. During his campaign, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would be even more aggressive in going after extreme militants than Obama. BRUSSELS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Royal Library of Belgium, one of Brussels' main cultural landmarks, hosted a Chinese cultural talk on Monday, highlighting the interactions and exchanges between Chinese and European arts from the perspective of maritime culture. Dr. Zhang Qing, head of the Research and Planning Department of the National Art Museum of China, introduced the intricate relationship between the development of arts in China and the maritime explorations led by China, which led up to economic progress but also influenced greatly exchanges in artistic achievements between the East and the West. "Two thousand years ago, the Maritime Silk Road made it possible to exchange art and do business with the outside world. Especially since Zheng He's Voyage, China has been learning from others and developing various art forms," Zhang said. Comparing China's culture with marine civilizations, Zhang said "as we explore the essence of Chinese art and maritime culture, we are in fact exploring their history and realities, which provide us a unique perspective to understand how the Chinese and European cultures influence each other." Monica Urian de Sousa, program manager at the Directorate General Education and Culture of the European Commission, said: "From the perspective of the Maritime Silk Road, we can not only witness the abundance of Chinese art, but understand it is a valuable treasure of the whole world." "Chinese Culture Talk" is a lecture program initiated by the Chinese Ministry of Culture. The talks have been happening all around the world since 2015, aiming to introduce Chinese culture to the world. Tourists take photos at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, March 28, 2015. Tourists enjoy the scenery as the spring flowers blossom in Paris. (Xinhua/Chen Xiaowei) PARIS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- French President Francois Hollande officially presented France's bid for the World Expo 2025 on Tuesday in a letter to the Secretary General of the International Exhibition Bureau Vincente G. Loscertales. The theme France has chosen for the 2025 Expo is "The knowledge to be shared, the planet to be protected", according to Hollande. "It is a matter of improving our models of development in the fields of health, education, culture and the environment in the continuation of the mobilization which brought in December 2015 the Paris agreement on climate change," he explained. Hollande said the core of this exhibition will be located in Ile-de-France, and in addition to existing public transport, a new 200-km-long express railway network will be set up, enabling greater Paris to be improved in 2024. At the same time, a direct link between Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport and the Gare de l'Est station in the center of the city will be put into operation, he added. "France has a special relationship with universal exhibitions. Those of the 19th century -- by their ambitions of all forms of progress, economic, social, cultural and scientific -- have left a legacy that forever marks their memories, and proves once again, the commitment of our country to the universal," the French president noted. He said the candidature is that of the whole France, adding that several French metropolises have already expressed their wish to organize thematic forums. LISBON, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a joint effort from the international community in protecting citizens from terrorism, during a conference at the Portuguese Military University here on Tuesday. "We must confront terrorism in a firm way and with one only voice," he said at the conference on safety and terrorism during his two-day visit to Portugal, adding that "if we don't act now, the situation will become more complicated." He also said it was important to think about the root causes of terrorism and the international community had to up its efforts to protect citizens. Portuguese Defence Minister Azeredo Lopes said Portugal supported Egypt's efforts to fight terrorism and the armed forces were a "fundamental instrument of external policy" in this domain. Earlier on Tuesday, Al-Sisi met with business people to enhance cooperation in several fields including technology and renewable energy. On Monday, he met with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa. Al-Sisi's official trip to Portugal marks 24 years since an Egyptian president last visited Portugal. MADRID, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Argentina has deep historical ties with Spain and has also traded with China for about 50 years. Since the 1990s, these ties have improved by leaps and bounds, said Argentina's Ambassador to Spain Federico Ramon Puerta. In an interview with Xinhua, Puerta said China is a very qualified player. The ambassador stressed the importance of cooperation with China. Puerta said that Argentina is experiencing a very interesting time of opening and reinsertion in the world, and believed that the country is on the right track, "seeking to have more friends and fewer conflicts." Noting the role of Spain in the relationship between China and Latin America, he said that "it is impossible to analyze Latin America without analyzing Spain. In fact, more than Latin America, we have to talk about Iberoamerica." "Iberoamerica is a cultural reality of 500 years, but it is an economic reality too," he explained. Puerta believed China has been a central actor, adding that there should be a three-fold analysis of Argentina, Spain and China. Puerta also stressed that the economy needs to grow to solve social issues. "The Chinese model has one path; the Argentine model will have another. But we are always talking about economic growth, something essential fundamental for any country," he said. by Han Qian PARIS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Paris-Ile-de-France region must go to attract Chinese tourists, according to Francois Navarro, general director of the Regional Tourism Committee (CRT) Paris-Ile-de-France. Paris-Ile-de-France, also known as the Parisian Region, is one of the 18 regions in France. In an interviewed with Xinhua, Navarro said after a record year of 2015 which saw 1.2 million Chinese tourists welcomed in Paris--Ile--de--France, the region suffered a decline by 20 percent in attendance over the first nine months of 2016. One of the main reasons for the decline is the fear of Chinese tourists about the security situation in France, he explained. The attractiveness of Paris--Ile--de--France which is one of the most popular destinations of Chinese tourists compared to the rest of France, is at stake following the 2015 attacks. "The attacks are not only the explanation for this drop in attendance observed in 2016, of course they have a great impact, but security issue, especially pickpockets, as well as cleanliness, are also aspects on which we must do better,"said Navarro. Several measures have been taken by the CRT Paris--Ile--de--France, including a visit to the Paris police headquarters at the request of Chinese tour operators in partnership with the French authorities. "We organize visits to the video surveillance centers of police stations in Paris, which allows to reassure the Chinese clientele they see the surveillance device deployed,"said Navarro. In the difficult context, on Nov. 7 last year, the French government announced a support plan with approximately 42 million euros (44.6 million U.S. dollars), of which 15 million euros would be dedicated to strengthening the safety of tourists, especially in Paris--Ile--de--France. The CRT Paris--Ile--de--France will also benefit in part from a national promotion and communication plan with 10 million euros. In addition, six measures were announced by Valerie Pecresse, president of Paris--Ile--de--France, on Oct. 30, to revitalize regional tourism with the implementation of "tourism volunteers", the CityPass, the site "Welcome to Paris Region"; the creation of mobile police stations to allow a faster filing of complaint in case of being stolen; the improvement of the reception in foreign languages and a promotion campaign of unprecedented scale. Asked about the profile of Chinese tourists, Navarro explained that individual travel has been a booming phenomenon in the past five to six years. A number of 63.3 percent of Chinese tourists coming to Paris--Ile--de--France region in 2016 travelled individually, said the latest study of the CRT Paris--Ile--de--France. "These new customers are younger, more independent and prefer authentic trips to Paris by going to typical French restaurants and experiencing the French lifestyle,"analyzed Navarro. The lending of a pocket wifi box on arrival at the airport and the creation of a CRT Paris--Ile--de--France account on Wechat,a popular messenger app in China, are also among the measures put in place by CRT Paris--Ile--de--France to attract more Chinese tourists. For Navarro, efforts must also be made to improve images."Images of streets, also of transport, which are not always easy to access for tourists," he said. Navarro told Xinhua that he will go to two major cities in China in late November, "We hope to attract 5 million Chinese tourists in 10 years, five times more than in 2015." (1 euro = 1.06 U.S. dollars) MILAN, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Three female councilors of Italy's second largest party 5-Star Movement (M5S) protested Tuesday by hanging their clothes during a debate on gender equality at the Regional Council of Lombardy in Milan. According to local media, the three M5S representatives hang their clothes in the hall of the assembly. They were protesting against the remarks made by the leader of Italy's right-wing party Northern League, Massimiliano Romeo, during a discussion on the approval of new rules on gender equality in the boards of companies from Lombardy, one of the 20 regions and the richest region in Italy. "Salary disparity between men and women does not depend on law, but from the fact that when companies require overtime, men answer 'yes', while many women say no because they prefer to stay at home and look after children," Romeo told the local assembly and media. The comments sparked protest by the opposition representatives and the session was suspended. After that the three female M5S regional councilors hang briefly their clothes on a line in the assembly. "We, the women, we have to stay at home and look after children," they said ironically to their Northern League colleagues. Finally president of the Regional Council of Lombardy Raffaele Cattaneo had to ask the removal of the clothes. Vegetable grows indoor in the AeroFarms in New Jersey, the United States, Dec. 17, 2015. AeroFarms is a mission-driven company setting a new standard for controlled urban agriculture to address the global food crisis by building and operating indoor farms in cities. AeroFarms uses a patented technology that can grow food indoors without sun or soil, using 95%less water than in the field. (Xinhua/Wang Lei) WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Officials from China and United States on Tuesday hailed the two countries' agriculture cooperation and pledged to strengthen the partnership. Agriculture is one of the earliest, most productive and potential areas for Sino-U.S. cooperation, said Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang at the China-U.S. Agriculture and Food Seminar held during the 27th Session of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). "In the past 15 years since China joined the World Trade Organization, bilateral agricultural trade volume witnessed an average annual growth of 17 percent, reaching 32.1 billion US dollars last year," said Wang. The agricultural cooperation between China and the United States has made fruitful achievements in trade and investment, technology exchange and personnel training, and has made important contributions to the development of Sino-U.S. relationship, he said. "The growth of food and agriculture trade between our nations is impressive," said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. "From 2000 to 2015, U.S. agriculture exports to China increased eleven-fold, and China's agriculture exports to the United States grew seven-fold," said Froman, adding "China has been one of our top export markets for our food and agriculture exports for some time." "The United States remained committed to partnering with China to achieve our mutual goals of protecting human health and food safety while facilitating and expanding trade,"said Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Wang said agriculture is becoming one of the fastest growing areas of investment in China as the country is transforming its agricultural development through structural reforms in order to meet the upgrading needs of Chinese consumers. China and the United States can strengthen cooperation in agricultural technology and management, "Internet plus agriculture" and co-development of third-country markets, said Wang. China welcomes U.S. agricultural enterprises to invest in China and the entry of U.S. high-quality and safe agricultural products and food into Chinese market,he said. China hopes that the U.S. will create a favorable environment for the export of China's poultry and aquatic products to the United States, said Wang. Wang also said it was "inevitable" for China and the United States to have some differences in agricultural cooperation because of two countries' different conditions. He said China and the United States should expand the agricultural cooperation pie with mutual efforts on deepening agricultural scientific and technological cooperation, promoting agricultural investment and cooperation, as well as expanding agricultural trade and innovating agricultural cooperation model. COPENHAGEN, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- A man and a woman were hit by gunfire on Tuesday night outside a restaurant in the northern outskirt of Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, local media reported. The incident occurred around 7 p.m. local time outside restaurant Sticks N'Sushi in Lyngby district, Danish news agency Ritzau cited police sources as saying. The injured are a 22-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman, both of whom are now in stable conditions, according to North Zealand Police spokesman Henrik Suhr. Police are now looking for a man of about 30 years old who fled the scene on a small white car after the shooting. The motivation behind the shooting is not yet known, and there is no information to indicate whether the shooting may be gang-related, according to the police. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (L) speaks during the second presidential debate with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Washington University in St. Louis, the United States, on Oct. 9, 2016. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's administration will not further probe into his former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton over her private email server use, a top aide to Trump said Tuesday. The new administration will also not open any investigation into foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation when Clinton was secretary of state in the Barak Obama administration, said the top aide. On the campaign trail, Trump, the then Republican presidential nominee, vowed to launch further investigation of Clinton once he wins the White House. "If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation," Trump told Clinton at the second presidential debate in early October. "Look, I think he's thinking of many different things as he prepares to become the President of the United States, and things that sound like the campaign are not among them," Trump's former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said in an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "I think when the President-elect, who's also the head of your party, tells you before he's even inaugurated that he doesn't wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message, tone, and content" to fellow Republicans, said Conway. Trump said in an interview with CBS after the election that prosecuting Clinton would not be a priority. "I don't want to hurt them", he said of the Clinton family. "They're good people." VALLETTA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Data published Tuesday by Jobsplus, Malta's unemployment agency, indicated that last month the number of persons registering for work stood at 3,166 compared to 4,916 in October 2015. The figures indicated that this decrease was recorded among all age groups. Furthermore, when compared to October last year, registrants for work decreased irrespective of how long they had been registering, with the largest decrease recorded being among persons who had been registering for over one year. A total of 18.4 percent of males and 33 percent of females on the unemployment register sought occupations as clerical support workers, the largest share by desired occupation. ROME, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Tuesday the victory of a "No" vote on a Dec. 4 referendum on his government's constitutional reform law would be a "blessing" to a political class who has no intention of relinquishing its privileges. "A 'No' victory would be a gigantic free pass for generations of future politicians, who will be allowed to keep the status quo and continue with their back-room deals and sordid little coalitions, just so they can survive," Renzi said. "A 'No' win would be a blessing for them," he added. "But if we win, the country ... will emerge from the quick-sands of bureaucracy that have choked its development thus far." The young reformist premier has been touring Italy from South to North in a bid to attract undecided voters from both the left and the right side of the political spectrum. Renzi, who took office in February 2014 and turns 42 in January, repeated earlier in the day that he intends to quit if a majority of the Italian people reject his landmark reform come Dec. 4. He also rebuffed a comment from the leader of the opposition 5-Star Movement (M5S), Beppe Grillo, who accused the premier's center-left Democratic Party (PD) of flailing about "like a wounded sow". "Would it have made any difference to him if we were a healthy sow?" Renzi quipped. He went on to urge voters not to be fooled and to "read the (referendum) question". On Dec. 4, Italians will be called to answer "yes" or "no" on a question that reads: "Do you approve a constitutional law concerning the scrapping of the bicameral system (of parliament), reducing the number of MPs, containing the operating costs of public institutions, abolishing the National Council on Economy and Labor (CNEL), and amending Title V of the Constitution Part II?" Title V concerns local government and Italy's 100 provinces, which the reform would abolish because they are redundant and expensive. The CNEL has 64 councillors and a president. Most importantly, the reform would reduce the Senate from 315 to 100 members and do away with the equal powers between the Upper and Lower Houses of parliament. Italy's current system has been held responsible for Italy's notorious tendency to political gridlock. VALLETTA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Eurobarometer's latest poll, commissioned by the European Parliament in contrast with growing negative sentiments towards the EU, stated that 84 percent of Maltese believe membership in the EU is beneficial. Furthermore 88 percent of Maltese believe that what brings EU citizens together is more important than what separates them. Countries varied widely in their responses, from 74 percent in Ireland to only 31 percent in Greece. The poll however shows that the EU support indicator has on the whole remained quite stable since 2009. Europeans felt that democracy and freedom are the key values that comprise the European identity, less so in relation to the euro and the eurozone. However nearly one in two Europeans felt that would reinforce their sense of being a European citizen would be a harmonised social welfare system. Whilst 68 percent of Maltese said they had heard about the European Parliament (EP) in the media, only 43 percent considered themselves informed about its activities. Furthermore, a significant 69 percent of the Maltese would like to see the EP play a more important role. On a less positive note Europeans feel that on a national level their voices count less and less, and they do not have a positive view of the future, both in the EU and in their own country. However the figures are more positive in Malta with 35 percent having a positive image of the EP and 50 percent a neutral one. SANTIATO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- China and Chile agreed here Tuesday to start negotiation on upgrading their Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The announcement was made during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the Latin American nation. According to a joint statement issued after Xi's meeting with his Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet, the two heads of state spoke highly of the results achieved over the past ten years since their bilateral FTA went into effect. The two countries signed their FTA in 2005. Bilateral trade volume has grown fourfold since the FTA went into effect in 2006. China is now Chile's largest trading partner, its largest export destination and the largest buyer of its copper products. Currently, Chile is China's second largest source of wine imports, with bottled wine exports to China up by 46 percent in 2015. The two countries have signed a number of quarantine agreements on cherries, blueberries and avocados. China has become an important market for Chilean cherries, blueberries, apples, grapes and a variety of seafood such as salmon. Chinese products with good quality and competitive prices are also popular among Chilean consumers. Chinese-made cars have taken up a considerable share of the Chilean auto market. Wu Baiyi, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China and Chile enjoy huge potential for cooperation in such areas as medicine, health services, bio-technology and tourism, noting that these sectors are not covered by the current FTA. Chile wants more investment from China and hopes to have broader access to the vast Chinese market, Wu said. BERLIN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Pilots of Germany's largest airline company Lufthansa will extend their strike to Thursday, local media reported Tuesday quoting Germany's pilots union. The pilots planed a walkout on Wednesday due to the failure of salary negotiation before, which is anticipated to affect all its flights out of Germany that day. Lufthansa requested an injunction on Tuesday to stop the industrial action but was rejected later by the court. The union announced the extension late Tuesday. SYDNEY, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Australian dollar has consolidated around the 74 U.S. cent handle overnight following a speech from Christopher Kent,assistant governor and chief economist of the Reserve Bank of Australia. At the Asian open on Wednesday, the Australian dollar was trading at 73.98 U.S. cents, marginally lower from the 74.02 U.S. cent close on Tuesday. By 10:17 local time (AEDT), the unit had edged back to 74.03 U.S. cents. Though the greenback recovered from its selloff overnight, the Australian dollar was supported by gains in key commodities and Kent's reiteration the downturn in mining investment is 80 percent complete. The turnaround in Australia's terms of trade will also provide support to nominal growth. "While Kent warned there will be some spare capacity in the labor market for some time, he noted the RBA liaison suggests there may be some wage pressure emerging," senior currency strategist of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Elias Haddad said. Overall, the speech underpins the view the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will keep the official cash rate at the record low 1.5 percent over 2017, which is supportive of the Australian dollar, Haddad said. MELBOURNE, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Australia should introduce a "sugar tax" on sweetened drink, a report by one of the nation's most respected policy institutes said. The report, released by Melbourne's Grattan Institute on Wednesday, recommended the implementation of an excise tax of 30 US cents for every 100 grams of sugar in a beverage as part of the fight against obesity. Hal Swerissen and Stephen Duckett, the co-authors of the report, said the tax would apply to non-alcoholic water-based beverages that contain added sugar and would raise 370 million US dollars per year. Economic modelling included in the report suggested that it would also prompt a 15 per cent reduction in the consumption of sugary drinks as people switched to water and other drinks not affected by the tax. "We recognise that a tax on sugary drinks is not a silver bulletsolution to the obesity epidemic - that would require numerous interventions at an individual and population-wide level," the report said. "But it will address these third-party costs of obesity by reducing sugar intake from sugar-sweetened beverages." The Grattan Institute estimated that approximately 10 per cent of Australia's obesity could be attributed to the sugary beverages. "But it is important to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages because most contain no nutritional benefit, they are consumed heavily by children, and Australia's added-sugar intake is already high," the report said. "Consumers could easily avoid the tax by switching to healthier drinks, such as water or artificially-sweetened beverages." The report suggested that people eat more unhealthy food than they would if the costs of obesity were incorporated into the price of their food. "This suggests food with excessive calories and poor nutritional value are underpriced," it said. "This results in higher health and welfare costs than otherwise and a cost transfer from obese people to non-obese taxpayers." Michael Gannon, head of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), in November strongly recommended a sugar tax be introduced. Consultancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) in 2012 estimated that obesity was costing Australia 6.3 billion US dollars through medical bills and lost productivity. MELBOURNE, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Small live crustaceans will be flown from Antarctica to Australia for the first time as part of an ambitious climate change research project. The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) will fly 10,000 krill from Casey Station, one of three permanent bases in Antarctica, to its Australian research headquarters on the island state of Tasmania. Robb Clifton, operations manager of the AAD, said it would be the first time such an attempt was made. "We've never flown live krill to Australia," he said. "We're confident that we're thinking through the issues and planning well - of course the proof will be in the pudding when we try it." Clifton said the flight, which is four and a half hours, involved significant logistical challenges. "We've got to make sure we oxygenate the water enough before the krill fly, and then (put in place) some thermal sheets and barriers to make sure that the water doesn't freeze on the journey up to the runway and on the way home," he told the Australain Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Wednesday. Rob King, a marine biologist with the AAD, said bringing the krill to Australia means complex research projects that were not possible in Antarctica could be completed. King said the initial focus would be studying the impact of climate change on krill eggs. "We can take the animals from the environment and bring them almost instantaneously to a high-tech laboratory so that gives us much more opportunity to run powerful research on live animals," King said. King said the project would open the door to international researchers to travel to Tasmania to study live krill. "People can literally fly in from anywhere in the world and do research for maybe a week on live Antarctic krill and then head back to their research organisations," he said. The flight is scheduled to take place in early December but is dependent on the weather. LAGOS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's apex bank on Tuesday endorsed the crackdown on parallel market traders by the officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) across the country. The foreign exchange regulation in the country forbids trafficking in currency, Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor told reporters at the end of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja, the nation's capital. He said the DSS had the rights to enforce the law and make sure that currency hawkers are forced out of the "illegal trade." The apex bank chief, who said it was demeaning for traders to hawk currency on the streets, urged the traders to legitimize their business by applying for Bureau De Change (BDC) licence. Officials of the DSS had raided the parallel markets in Lagos, Abuja and Onitsha over alleged arbitrary sale of forex. The raid, which worsened U.S. dollar scarcity at its wake, had forced the naira to settle at 465 naira to one dollar. Meanwhile, the Senate said it will reject a proposal to punish people for keeping foreign currency for more than 30 days. "We are surprised at a recommendation by the Nigerian Law Reform Commission for a review of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Act in order to empower the Central Bank of Nigeria to jail people for up to two years or fine them for 20 percent of the amount of the foreign currency held in their possession for more than 30 days," said Aliyu Abdullahi, the Senate spokesperson. Abdullahi described the measure as disruptive and counterproductive and will undermine many of the reform efforts already underway in the legislature and by government ministries intended to boost investor confidence. According to him, the Senate would never pass such a punitive and regressive proposal. He said a market-oriented exchange rate policy is the best recipe for guiding the operations of the foreign exchange market which would ensure the supremacy of market mechanisms in efficiently allocating the scarce forex resources. CANBERRA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Australia risks facing a "social time bomb" unless it can quickly process up to 30,000 asylum seekers on bridging visas, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday. The refugee agency's Volker Turk has warned the Australian government that the deteriorating physical and mental health of those on bridging visas (those in the community but are not afforded the benefits of being an Australian citizen) would only be worsened by further delaying the process. It is estimated that 30,000 people, who arrived in Australia by boat during the previous Labor government, are still on bridging visas, and Turk told Fairfax Media that it was "very urgent" the government do something to avoid widespread discontent. "It's a social time bomb if you don't address it, and it is something that is utterly avoidable," he said. "In any country in the world, if you have the resources, you can actually process cases in a fair and efficient procedure." Turk said case studies of those currently not fully integrated into the community have shown many asylum seekers suffering high levels of anxiety about their futures, poor mental and physical health and growing discontent. "We are really looking at finding a solution for everyone because people have been in a very difficult situation in detention for prolonged periods of time with massive impact on their health, especially on their mental health," Turk said. According to Fairfax Media, 10 asylum seekers on bridging visas have taken their lives in the last two years, while it has been revealed a man who set himself on fire at a bank in Melbourne last week was also on the visa. Professor Nicholas Procter from the University of South Australia said the government needed to act quickly to break the stigma of "lethal hopelessness" among the asylum seeker community. "There are increasing reports of many people within the asylum-seeker community being at advanced stages of feeling mentally trapped, figuratively boxed in, especially hopeless and helpless," he told Fairfax Media. Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao (L) and South African Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa jointly preside over the sixth plenary session of the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission in Cape Town, South Africa, Nov. 22, 2016. The two countries agreed on Tuesday to enhance cooperation in politics, economy and trade. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan) CAPE TOWN, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- China and South Africa agreed here on Tuesday to enhance cooperation in five key areas including politics, economy and trade as well as people-to-people exchanges. The agreement was reached at the sixth plenary session of the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission, which was jointly presided over by Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. The five areas were determined in line with the important consensuses reached between the heads of state of the two countries, the China-South Africa 5-10 Year Framework on Cooperation, as well as the outcome of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Johannesburg, said a statement issued after the meeting. Firstly, China and South Africa agreed to strengthen political mutual trust by maintaining the sound momentum of high-level exchanges and continuing to support and coordinate with each other on issues regarding core interests and major concerns for both countries, said the statement. Secondly, the two countries agreed to deepen pragmatic cooperation in areas including infrastructure construction, the development of special economic zones and industrial parks, equipment manufacturing, industrial production, marine economy, energy and resources development, finance, investment and trade facilitation, among others, the statement said. Both countries will make concerted efforts to achieve tangible progress in mutually-agreed major projects for win-win cooperation, it added. Thirdly, China and South Africa will enrich and expand people-to-people exchanges by launching the China-South Africa High-Level People-to-People Exchange Mechanism at an early date, and strengthening communication and cooperation in such areas as human resources development, education, tourism, media and youth, according to the statement Fourthly, the two countries agreed to enhance coordination and collaboration on international and regional affairs by maintaining close communication on major issues including global economic and financial governance, climate change, cyber security, anti-terrorism and countering transnational organized crimes, as well as human rights, the statement said. Last but not least, both countries agreed to fully leverage their role as co-chairs of the FOCAC and push forward the comprehensive and effective implementation of the outcome of the FOCAC Johannesburg summit held in December 2015. The statement said that the China-South Africa comprehensive strategic partnership is enjoying a strong growth momentum and has entered the best period in history. "There is a solid foundation and broad prospects for bilateral cooperation. China and South Africa should further strengthen the alignment of development strategies and take concrete steps to promote cooperation in key areas so as to bring more benefits to the two peoples," the statement said. Since its establishment in 2000, the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission has played an active role in facilitating bilateral cooperation in important areas. CANBERRA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Wednesday that Chinese tourists are playing a vital role in helping Australia hit its 2020 tourism targets. Speaking at the 16th Annual Tourism and Transport Forum Leadership Summit, Turnbull acknowledged the tourism industry's banner year, commending the sector for welcoming a record number of tourists in 2015-16. "Just this month, the ABS released some figures which showed that we have, for the first time, welcomed more than 8 million international visitors to Australia over the last year," he said. "That comes just 18 months after we passed 7 million annual visitors. Before that, it took more than six years for visitor numbers to climb from 5 to 6 million." Turnbull attributed the ever-growing number of Chinese tourists for the sector's success, adding that attracting more tourists to Australia was playing an important flow-on role in boosting the economy through trade and exports. "We know that tourism builds personal links to our country and it encourages further trade and investment. Chinese visitors, for example, are more likely to buy Australian products and services after visiting," Turnbull told the forum. "When I have been down in Tasmania, which has really benefited from the China export story, again and again I met people running family businesses who would say that the order they got had come because Chinese tourists had visited, had sampled it and gone home and said 'Gosh, maybe we can share this with some of our friends and customers in China'." Turnbull said it was crucial over the next few years to entice more Chinese tourists, particularly after both countries agree 2017 would be the "Australia-China Year of Tourism." He said the government was also exploring new measures to make it easier for Chinese tourists to obtain longer-lasting visas for their visit. "China is already our No. 1 market by value and it is about to become our No. 1 market by volume," Turnbull said. "China, as I note has such a significant portion of the market, will only continue to grow, particularly with (the upcoming) Australia-China Year of Tourism. "We are working to improve the competitiveness of the Australian visa system, including by trialing 10-year multiple entry visitor visas for China." Turnbull said Australia was well on track to meet the government's Tourism 2020 target, which aims to double overnight visitor expenditure from 52 billion U.S. dollars in 2009 to between 85 and 105 billion U.S. dollars by 2020. TURIN, Italy, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of students marched Tuesday in Turin, northern Italy, to remember a 17-year-old killed eight years ago in the collapse of his classroom, calling for more security in schools nationwide. The march was held on the "National Day for the Safety in schools" that falls on Nov. 22, designated last year by the Italian Education Ministry to remember all victims of school accidents. In 2008, Vito Scafidi was in a room of his high school Darwin in Rivoli, near Turin, where he lost his life due to a structural failure of the building. On the streets of Turin, many people carried boards with the names of school victims, in an effort to highlight the importance of safety in educational institutions. On the same day in Rome, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Education Minister Stefania Giannini signed a Memorandum of Understanding with representatives of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Italian bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti for the EIB to provide 530 million euros (563 million U.S. dollars) for securing schools in Italy. "This is not only a day of commemoration. It also aims to raise awareness among the youth of many activities that schools are doing and will do every year to deal with emergencies," Giannini said. SANTIAGO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- China and Chile agreed on Tuesday to lift bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership as Chinese President Xi Jinping paid his first state visit to the Latin American country. In his talks with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Xi compared China and Chile to true friends who could touch each other's heart from the other end of the world, and commended Chile for taking the lead amongst Latin American countries in developing ties with China. Chile was the first country to establish diplomatic ties with China in South America, as well as the first Latin American country to sign a bilateral accord with China on the latter's accession to the World Trade Organization, and to recognize China's status as a market economy. It was also the first Latin American country that signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with China. Two-way trade amounted to 31.8 billion U.S. dollars last year, nearly five times as much as in 2005 when the FTA was signed. China's first RMB clearing bank in Latin America was opened in Chile in June this year, setting up a platform to upgrade financial cooperation between China, Chile and the rest of Latin America. Citing a high level of mutual political trust between the two countries, their mutually beneficial and win-win economies, and increasingly closer multilateral cooperation, the Chinese president said China-Chile ties have entered a new era of maturity and stability. He said both countries are in a key phase of development, and are dedicated to seeking further development through deepening reforms. From this new starting point of bilateral ties, Xi said, they should actively strive forward to ensure that China-Chile relations could continue to spearhead China's ties with Latin American countries. China is willing to work with Chile to improve the top-level design for bilateral ties, improve their FTA, broaden investment cooperation, strengthen sci-tech and innovation cooperation, lay a solid foundation of public support, and lift their strategic coordination, he said, adding that the Chinese side supports its enterprises in seeking a spot in Chile's infrastructure and clean energy industries. He also noted that tourism cooperation between China and Chile is conducive to people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries, and urged the two sides to enhance communication and coordination within multilateral institutions. For her part, Bachelet welcomed Xi's visit to Chile, saying the country will further cement friendly ties with China, and expand political dialogues as well as trade and economic links. Chile, she said, is willing to take the elevation of bilateral ties as an opportunity to deepen cooperation with China in various areas, while breaking new grounds for cooperation. An upgrade of the FTA between Chile and China will give trade and economic cooperation between the two countries a strong boost, she said, adding that Chile welcomes Chinese enterprises to increase their investment in the Latin American country. The Chilean president stated that her country is willing to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as soon as possible, and to conduct closer coordination and cooperation with China on international affairs. By Raimundo Urrechaga HAVANA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Latin American news outlets should increase ties with their Chinese counterparts to spread unbiased information about each side and reach consensus on media strategies to promote development, said Pelayo Terry, director of Cuba's state-run newspaper Granma. "News published by Western mainstream media about China is biased because it's a socialist country. With greater media cooperation with the region we can publish true information about the Chinese reality as well as their economic and development achievements," Terry told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday before he went to Chile to participate in a China-Latin America media summit. Terry said it is vital to increase cooperation in this field despite the political diversity in the region and the fact that hundreds of news outlets in the continent are owned by private companies. "We must promote cooperation so that greater information about Latin America is published in Chinese media despite the geographical distance," he said, adding that new technologies and social media can also bring information from China to the region. The Cuban journalist believed the media event in Chile will bolster media cooperation between China and Latin America, and serve as an important platform for exchanges. The summit, organized by the State Council Information Office of China and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), is the first event of this type ever held between both regions. Terry said there's an increasing interest in the region about China and particularly the Cuban people are "eager" to receive information about Beijing's "great economic and social development." He said that due to similar political systems and a traditional friendship, the Cubans are very interested in learning how China carries out its reform and opening up. Havana has undertaken a similar process and needs an "update" of China's social and economic model, Terry added. "Cubans look up to China because of its success over the last 25 years while maintaining a socialist system," he said. Therefore, added the director, information and news stories from China are "well received" by Cubans because of their keen interest in the happenings in China. "For our newspaper's readership, there's always a great acceptance anytime we publish information about China, therefore increasing media collaboration can lead us to think about several cooperation schemes," he said. He proposed creating a Chinese web edition of Granma which can help an increasing number of Chinese speaking business people and tourists that travel to the island. It can also help them understand the nation's reality as well as other news regarding the region, said the director. He made a similar cooperation proposal for other news media outlets in the continent, saying costs would be low because new technologies can bring each side closer. He also emphasized the importance of increasing information about Latin America and the Caribbean in China and the Asian continent. THIMPHU, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The National Council (Upper House) of Bhutan rejected a regional traffic agreement between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) over concerns for environmental pollution and security threat. Twenty of the 25-member National Council cast ballots. Only two voted in favor of the agreement while 13 members voted against it and five abstained. Leaders of the four countries signed the BBIN bloc in June 2015 in Bhutan's capital Thimphu. The agreement would be operational only when all four member countries ratify it. Bangladesh, India and Nepal have already approved it. The pact if ratified by Bhutan would allow free flow of passengers, personal and cargo vehicular traffic among the four countries. Groups of local people including internet users, truckers and taxi drivers have opposed the pact, and criticized the government for inking the agreement. After attempting twice, the pact passed the National Assembly (Lower House) of Bhutan during the summer parliament session, with majority of the ruling party members voting for the deal. YANGON, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of 3,000 people are seeking shelter in the Muse Chamber of Commerce in Muse following the outbreak of armed clashes last weekend in Myanmar northern state. The refugees, including local people, workers from across the country, some government employees, drivers and travelers staying in Muse, fled to the chamber office by all means of transport, according to local media Wednesday. Helped by Muse social associations, red cross and health staff, the refugees are being partly moved to some monasteries and schools in the border town. Due to the armed conflicts, which have lasted for three consecutive days, border gates, banks, shops, clinics, company offices, trading centers, warehouses and resident houses have been closed, said the media. Military conflicts broke out in border area of northern Myanmar's Shan state early Sunday morning with an alliance of three non-ceasefire signatory ethnic armed groups launching simultaneous and surprise attacks on government's military outposts and police stations in Muse and Kutkai townships as well as a border trade zone in Muse. The three armed groups are Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Kokang's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). Their attacks targeted government military outposts and police stations in as many areas as in Muse, Kutkai, Monekoe, Kyukoke, Phangsai, Pangsang, Manken and Kyinsankyawk (Honang). RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian Federal Police arrested Tuesday 15 people as part of a major operation against child pornography. The operation, launched against a child pornography network, was carried out in 16 states. Some 300 police officers participated in the operation, said the police. A total of 67 people were suspected of taking part in the child pornography network, sharing photographs and videos of sexual activities involving minors. The Federal Police has been investigating the users of a so-called "deep web" underground internet for several years. In 2014, the police carried out the first large operation targeting its users. The Tuesday operation was a continuation of the investigations. BOGOTA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have announced they will sign a revised peace agreement on Thursday, local media reported Tuesday. The signing ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. local time (1300 GMT) at Bogota's Colon Theater, the Caracol news network reported, adding the two sides agreed that the Congress will be tasked with implementing the agreement. The text of the new agreement will be presented to the Congress on Wednesday "to explain to lawmakers the changes made to the original draft," the report said. The initial peace agreement was rejected by a slight margin in an Oct. 2 referendum vote, after the conservative opposition led by former hardline President Alvaro Uribe said it did not go far enough to hold the rebels accountable for past crimes. The vote sent both sides back to the negotiating table, with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos insisting a new deal be ready as quickly as possible to maintain the momentum of the negotiations, which lasted nearly four years. Santos' government says the new treaty takes into account the opposition's concerns. But in response to Tuesday's news, the opposition camp called for "civic resistance" to scuttle the deal. Vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission Xu Qiliang meets with visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Zhenhua) BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission Xu Qiliang met with visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu here on Wednesday. Bilateral military cooperation has deepened with positive achievements in recent years, Xu said, stressing that military-to-military relations are an important part of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries. Xu said China is willing to promote exchange and cooperation with Russia so that the military-to-military relationship will be pushed to a new high. Shoigu said Russia attaches great importance to developing the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries. Russia will strengthen exchange and cooperation with the Chinese military in various fields so that the two nations can continue to play a positive role in maintaining regional and global peace and stability, the Russian defense minister added. WELLINGTON, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand troops have taken the year-long training program of a new batch of about 300 officer cadets in Afghanistan, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said Wednesday. The officer cadets, including 30 women, had recently started training at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA) in Kabul, Major General Tim Gall, the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said in a statement. "Our training support for the Afghan National Army contributes to Afghanistan's efforts to build a capable and professional force. It also demonstrates our commitment to a stable future for Afghanistan," said Gall. "Since the ANAOA was founded four years ago, New Zealand has joined the United Kingdom and other defence partners in helping develop Afghanistan's future military leaders." Lieutenant Colonel Julian Sewell, the NZDF Senior National Officer in Afghanistan, said NZDF members had helped mentor about 2,000 officer cadets, including 55 women, in the past three years. Last month, 342 officer cadets completed the rigorous training program, Sewell said in the statement. "About 70 percent of the latest ANAOA graduates will undergo infantry training before they deploy to frontline units," Sewell said. The NZDF had five mentors at the ANAOA and three support personnel at the Qargha Force Protection Company. The ANAOA program trained the cadets on counter-insurgency tactics, English language, war studies, signals, and leadership and communication skills. The ANAOA, at Qargha just outside Kabul, forms part of the NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces and institutions. In June, the New Zealand government extended its military presence in Afghanistan for two years to June 2018 and approved the deployment of two additional mentors, raising the total NZDF contingent to 10. The mission was originally scheduled to run to the end of 2014, but in April last year the government extended it to the end of this year. Although women had served in the academy in the past, officer training was made available to them only recently, as part of the Afghan government's plan to increase the number of female soldiers and officers to 10 percent of the total force. In April 2013, New Zealand troops left Afghanistan's Bamyan Province, where they maintained a camp and ran the provincial reconstruction team for 10 years. KABUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan security forces have killed one dozen militants in the latest operations, the country's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. "Afghan army, police and personnel of intelligence agency carried out several cleanup and military operations within the past 24 hours, killing 12 armed militants and wounding 23 others," the ministry said in a statement. The joint forces also found and seized weapons during the raids launched in 11 of the country's 34 provinces, the statement said, without adding if there were any casualties on the side of the security forces. In one operation, eight militants had been killed and 13 others wounded after security forces cleared areas on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah city, capital of southern Helmand province, according to the statement. Helmand, notorious for poppy growing and militancy, has been the scene of heavy clashes between security forces and militants over the past months. The Afghan security forces have stepped up security operations against militants recently as the militants have been attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions ahead of winter in the mountainous country. The Taliban insurgent group, which has been waging an insurgency of more than one decade, has yet to make comments. SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Civic group activists in South Korea held a protest rally on Wednesday against the signing of a military intelligence pact with Japan in front of Seoul's defense ministry headquarters. South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Yasumasa Nagamine on Wednesday held a signing ceremony for the accord, dubbed General Security of the Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), in the headquarters. Scores of protesters held a press conference, holding high a variety of placards and posters reading "Stop GSOMIA," "Stop treacherous accord" and "Park Geun-hye, immediately step down without doing anything." One grey-haired man was holding a poster that describes Minister Han as traitor. Some posters read "Arrest the criminal suspect" to refer to President Park Geun-hye, and others asked not to forget the colonial history. President Park is grappling with a scandal involving her longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil who has been indicted for abuse of power and extortion. Park was identified as an accomplice to Choi, becoming the country's first sitting president to be investigated as a suspect. The signing came less than a month after Seoul and Tokyo resumed talks earlier this month about the deal to directly exchange military intelligence on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear and missile programs. Observers say President Park had hurriedly pushed the pact as part of efforts to find a breakthrough by regaining support from conservative voters sensitive to security issues. According to a Gallup Korea poll released last week, almost two-thirds of respondents objected to the military accord with Japan unrepentant of its past brutalities during the 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. About 30 percent still responded positively to the pact as they obscurely believe that more military information would help defend South Korea from the DPRK's nuclear and missile threats. The demonstrators in front of the defense ministry headquarters said the South Korea-Japan military pact will support Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ambition to exercise a right to collective self-defense given that Abe moved to rearm his country in recent years. They said it is a very serious problem for South Korea to strengthen military cooperation with Japan, which has denied its history of aggression, stressing that South Korea was one of the biggest victims from the militaristic Japan. The participants in the protest are affiliated with diverse advocacy groups to block the deployment of a U.S. missile shield in South Korea, to force President Park to resign, to oppose the bilateral military pact with Japan and to nullify an agreement between Seoul and Tokyo on "comfort women." South Korea and Japan reached a "final and irreversible" agreement in December last year on comfort women, or Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops before and during the Pacific War. South Korean victims have opposed the agreement. The advocacy groups said the signing of the military pact and the July decision to install one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in southeast South Korea are aimed at expanding the U.S. missile defense strategy to the South Korean territory. It will obviously escalate military tensions and arms race in Northeast Asia, giving birth to a new Cold War in the region, they worried. Seoul and Washington agreed in July to deploy the THAAD in South Korea by the end of next year. U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander has recently expected the deployment to be made possible as early as July next year. RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's federal and state governments announced on Tuesday that they have reached a fiscal balance deal designed to restore fiscal discipline in the South America's biggest economy. The deal was agreed upon earlier in the day after a meeting held in Brazil's capital Brasilia, which gathered President Michel Temer and several governors and ministers. It is expected to be fully concluded by next week. Under the deal, the federal government will give the states a larger share of the repatriated funds collected in the past few months. In return, the states will be committed to making a fiscal adjustment in their accounts, which include an increase in the social security contribution of public servants - a measure which has caused uproar and protests after being announced by Rio de Janeiro state. The repatriation of funds was a move taken by the federal government to collect income taxes. People and companies who had money abroad undeclared to the Federal Revenues Secretariat were allowed to repatriate the funds by paying a fine and income tax, through which they can avoid being sued for tax evasion and capital flight. The deadline for the repatriation was the beginning of November. The Brazilian government has managed to collect 46.8 billion reals (14 billion U.S. dollars) in income tax and fines with an idea to give the money to state administrations before the end of the year. The money will not be enough to solve states' financial problems, but will help states make the "transition to the new fiscal regime," Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said. ISLAMABAD, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani army said Wednesday that at least four civilians were killed and seven others were injured by Indian troops in a latest cross Line of Control (LoC) firing in the disputed Kashmir region. "Indian troops targeted a civil bus near the LoC in Neelam valley. Four embraced shahadat (martyred) while seven were injured," an army statement said. Police officials in the area have been quoted as saying that at least nine people were killed and 15 others were wounded in the firing. Jamil Mir, superintendent of police, in Neelum Valley of the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, told the media that the bus was heading to Muzaffarabad, the capital of the valley. Pakistan summoned an Indian diplomat on Tuesday over the cross-LoC attack, according to the foreign ministry. Escalation between Pakistan and India along the LoC and the working boundary has been seen since suspected militants attacked an army base in the Indian-controlled Kashmir in September. The attack had killed 19 soldiers. Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire along the LoC and working boundary in 2003. However, firing exchanges do take place time to time and the cross-LoC firing and shelling has increased in recent days. Both countries accused each other for the ceasefire violations. Pakistan and India have fought three wars, two over Kashmir, since their independence in 1947 from the British colonial rule. HOUSTON, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were seriously hurt on Tuesday in a blaze that broke out at the ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Company spokesman Todd Spitler said that the four injured workers are being treated and a spokesman for the East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Medical Services confirmed that the victims, injured by isobutane, a flammable gas similar to propane, were in critical condition. Police hazardous materials personnel were rushed to the scene and air monitoring is being conducted after the incident. The company, one of the largest in the country, confirmed that the fire was put out at about 4 p.m. local time on Tuesday afternoon (2200 GMT). They would begin an investigation to find the cause of the fire, according to the local daily The Times-Picayune. Chinese President Xi Jinping(3rd L F) attends a welcoming ceremony held by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (2nd L F) in Santiago, capital of Chile, Nov. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) SANTIAGO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- China and Chile agreed on Tuesday to lift bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership as Chinese President Xi Jinping paid his first state visit to the Latin American country. In his talks with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, Xi compared China and Chile to true friends who could touch each other's heart from the other end of the world, and commended Chile for taking the lead amongst Latin American countries in developing ties with China. Chile was the first country to establish diplomatic ties with China in South America, as well as the first Latin American country to sign a bilateral accord with China on the latter's accession to the World Trade Organization, and to recognize China's status as a market economy. It was also the first Latin American country that signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with China. Two-way trade amounted to 31.8 billion U.S. dollars last year, nearly five times as much as in 2005 when the FTA was signed. China's first RMB clearing bank in Latin America was opened in Chile in June this year, setting up a platform to upgrade financial cooperation between China, Chile and the rest of Latin America. Citing a high level of mutual political trust between the two countries, their mutually beneficial and win-win economies, and increasingly closer multilateral cooperation, the Chinese president said China-Chile ties have entered a new era of maturity and stability. He said both countries are in a key phase of development, and are dedicated to seeking further development through deepening reforms. From this new starting point of bilateral ties, Xi said, they should actively strive forward to ensure that China-Chile relations could continue to spearhead China's ties with Latin American countries. China is willing to work with Chile to improve the top-level design for bilateral ties, improve their FTA, broaden investment cooperation, strengthen sci-tech and innovation cooperation, lay a solid foundation of public support, and lift their strategic coordination, he said, adding that the Chinese side supports its enterprises in seeking a spot in Chile's infrastructure and clean energy industries. He also noted that tourism cooperation between China and Chile is conducive to people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries, and urged the two sides to enhance communication and coordination within multilateral institutions. For her part, Bachelet welcomed Xi's visit to Chile, saying the country will further cement friendly ties with China, and expand political dialogues as well as trade and economic links. Chile, she said, is willing to take the elevation of bilateral ties as an opportunity to deepen cooperation with China in various areas, while breaking new grounds for cooperation. An upgrade of the FTA between Chile and China will give trade and economic cooperation between the two countries a strong boost, she said, adding that Chile welcomes Chinese enterprises to increase their investment in the Latin American country. The Chilean president stated that her country is willing to join the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as soon as possible, and to conduct closer coordination and cooperation with China on international affairs. A joint statement issued after the talks between the two presidents affirmed the elevation of China-Chile ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The two countries also agreed to start talks on an upgrade of their FTA as soon as possible, it added. According to the joint statement, the two heads of state spoke highly of the accomplishments achieved over the past 10 years since the FTA of the two sides went into effect, adding that they will instruct relevant departments of the two countries to commence the upgrade talks as soon as possible, so as to further deepen and strengthen bilateral economic and trade ties. Currently, Chile is China's second largest source of wine imports, with bottled wine exports to China up 46 percent in 2015. The two countries have signed a number of quarantine agreements on cherries, blueberries and avocados. China has become an important market for Chilean cherries, blueberries, apples, grapes and a variety of seafood such as salmon. Chinese products with good quality and competitive prices are also popular among Chilean consumers. Chinese-made cars have taken up a considerable share of the Chilean auto market. Meanwhile, the joint statement said the two countries also agreed to intensify high-level contacts, as well as exchanges between their governments, legislative organs and political parties and at local levels. They will firmly support each other over the choices of their respective development path and major issues concerning their interests, it said. In particular, the Chilean side reiterated its one-China policy, and pledged support for peaceful development of cross-Taiwan-Strait ties and for China's reunification. The statement acknowledged the guiding role of a joint action plan signed by the Chinese and Chilean governments in 2015 on bilateral exchanges and cooperation. The two sides agreed to strengthen the docking of their development strategies, expand cooperation in such fields as mining, agriculture, manufacturing, information communication, infrastructure, clean energy, and small and medium-sized enterprises, so as to boost industrial integration, increase their economic competitiveness, realize complementarity of their advantages, and achieve reciprocal and win-win results, it said. China and Chile will, the statement said, deepen financial cooperation and take full advantage of their currency swap agreements, the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) quota, and the RMB clearing arrangement in Chile, so as to drive bilateral trade and investment. Both sides agreed to take events like the China-Latin America cultural exchange year and the Chile week as opportunities to expand cooperation in such areas as culture, education, antarctic survey, astronomy, earthquake response and disaster mitigation, facilitate an early establishment of the center for Chinese culture in Chile, and expand personnel exchanges and tourism cooperation. The two nations also agreed to maintain close coordination in global economic governance, climate change, ocean conservancy and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, deepen the China-Latin America comprehensive cooperative partnership, and strengthen dialogues and cooperation between China and the Pacific Alliance. Meanwhile, they agreed to jointly push forward the construction of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, enhance regional connectivity, build up open economies, so as to make greater contributions to world stability and prosperity, according to the joint statement. After their talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation agreements on trade and economy, agriculture, quality control, culture, education, e-commerce, information communication and finance. Xi also laid a wreath at the Bernardo O'Higgins monument in Santiago on Tuesday afternoon. Chile is the last stop of Xi's three-nation Latin America tour which has already taken the Chinese president to Ecuador and Peru. He also attended the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, the capital of Peru. BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- An Argentine Spanish language learning program for Chinese speakers marked its 10th anniversary here on Tuesday. As an initiative of the University Language Center (CUI) in the capital Buenos Aires, the program was established to promote closer cultural ties between the Argentine and Chinese people. At a commemorative event at the CUI's headquarters, the director general of the language center, Roberto Villarruel, told Xinhua: "We are celebrating the program's 10th anniversary (and) we are very pleased, because when we started it, it was quite a challenge." "I saw the potential it had, the potential for growth the Spanish language was going to have in China," said Villarruel, who made a trip to China a decade ago. Since then, the program has drawn Chinese students who "have completed their university degrees here and have stayed on to work. Others returned to China or went to other countries with their degrees, and are working in culture or arts," said Villarruel. "We have learned about the new needs and demands of students in China... because we are interested in seeing the expansion of ties between our countries, of bilateral exchange," he added. Today, "Argentina is in China's sightline, and China is in Argentina's sightline, and it is an honor to accompany this development" in bilateral ties, he said. The CUI also helps to teach personnel of Chinese companies with operations in Argentina, such as ICBC, Huawei and Sinopec, said Villarruel, adding "diversification is very important." Zhai Peng, 20, has studied at the CUI for eight months to improve his job prospects. During this time, he has also discovered he likes many things about Argentina. "I like Argentina a lot: the landscapes, the food -- like pizza, barbecues and choripan (a popular sausage sandwich) -- and the discos," said Zhai, smiling. "In addition, the teachers are really nice," he added. "I want to stay in Argentina and look for work at one of the Chinese companies." Currently, 50 Chinese students are enrolled in the program, whose annual average is 70 to 80 students. The program has taught more than 1,000 students so far. HANOI, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade has forecast an 8-percent rise in industrial production in 2017, the same growth rate as in 2016. In a report on the direction and solutions for the industrial sector next year, the ministry said these calculations are based on research reports on global economic growth in 2017, announced by international organizations till date, according to local Sai Gon Giai Phong (Sai Gon Liberation) online newspaper on Wednesday. It also forecast a 6-7 percent increase in exports in 2017. The proportion of trade deficit against Vietnam's total trade turnover will be maintained at less than 5 percent. Meanwhile, the total revenue from retail sales of goods and services is expected to rise by around 10 percent next year, said the ministry. The country is expected to produce 99 billion kWh of electricity in 2017, up 12.7 percent against this year. In 2017, the oil and gas sector is expected to exploit around 14.8 million tons of crude oil, down 12.9 percent year-on-year while the output of gas will rise by 10.8 percent to 11.3 billion cubic meters. At the same time, output of the coal industry is expected to remain unchanged at 38.3 million tons in 2017. However, this sector, as well as the engineering industry, will be affected because of low global price, said the ministry. Among the heavy industries, the steel sector is expected to have an output of 5.6 million tons of raw steel, up 16.6 percent, while that of rolled steel is forecast to rise 18 percent to 5.84 million tons. The textile-garment and footwear industries are also expected to have more opportunities in 2017, as a number of new free trade agreements will take effect, said the ministry, while expressing its concern that domestic small and medium-sized firms will face more challenges at the same time. It is expected that as many as 342 million pairs of footwear will be produced in 2017, up 5.8 percent year-on-year, with localization rate of 60-65 percent. Fierce competition has also been forecast for the beer-alcohol-beverage industry due to the presence of more foreign brands in the country, said the ministry. Next year, Vietnam is estimated to produce 3.92 billion liters of beer, up 8.2 percent against 2016. UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said here Tuesday that China supports the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in enhancing its dialogue with the United Nations as well as other international and regional organizations. Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, made the remarks at a high-level meeting on cooperation between the SCO and the UN in face of challenges and threats. Liu said strengthened cooperation between the two organizations is conducive to the goals of maintaining world peace, promoting development and furthering international cooperation. The SCO, which was founded in 2001, is a Eurasian political, economic and security organization. It was given observer status in the UN General Assembly three years after its inception. In 2010, the SCO signed with the UN a joint declaration on cooperation. On Monday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution which acknowledges that strengthening cooperation between the UN and the SCO is of crucial importance. Liu said China hopes the two organizations can seize this opportunity to further enhance cooperation and coordination to jointly contribute to world peace and development. "China stands ready to work with the rest of SCO membership to implement consensus reached by our leaders, better leverage the organization's advantages and jointly address risks and challenges to make our organization an effective platform through which member states can promote common development and pursue common security," said Liu. China is supportive of the SCO's extensive outreach at the international level to forge a new type of international relations centering on cooperation for win-win results and build a community of shared future for mankind, he added. BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday extended condolences to his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee over a recent train accident in northern India that killed at least 146 people and injured more than 200 others. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, and in his own name, Xi expressed his deep condolences to the victims of the disaster, as well as sympathy to the families of the victims and the wounded. The deadly train derailment occurred in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh on early Sunday. Over 500 passengers were on board the train when the accident occurred. Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with a Taiwan lawmakers delegation, led by Yao Eng-chi, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo) BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng on Wednesday emphasized the need to oppose "Taiwan independence". Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks when meeting with a Taiwan lawmakers delegation, led by Yao Eng-chi. Yu said that mainland political advisors and Taiwan lawmakers have cooperated on cross-Strait communication and peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. The island's current authorities refused to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus and disagree that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China, gravely threatening the development of cross-Strait relations, Yu said. He stressed the adherence to the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle and firmly opposing "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and their activities. Yu called on compatriots from both sides to increase communication and strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Yu also expressed his hope for an improved exchange mechanism and more exchanges between young people from both sides of the Strait. BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday sent his condolences to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a train derailment accident in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh which killed at least 146 people. In his condolence message, Li said he was shocked to hear that a train derailed in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, causing major casualties. On behalf of the Chinese government, he offered his deepest condolences to the victims and their families. ISTANBUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his country will not recognize the result of an upcoming European vote on freezing negotiations with Turkey over its accession to the European Union. "There will be a meeting at the European Parliament tomorrow, and they will vote on EU talks with Turkey," Erdogan said at a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation held in Istanbul. "I'm saying this in advance: this vote has no value for us, whatever the result is," he added. European parliamentarians on Tuesday called on the European Commission to impose a temporary freeze on accession talks with Turkey. The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, is expected to vote on an advisory resolution on Thursday. EU nations have been criticizing Turkey over what they called "disproportionately repressive measures" adopted in the wake of a failed military coup in July, in which 246 people were killed. More than 100,000 people have been suspended or dismissed in the ensuing crackdown, in which dozens of media outlets have been shuttered. Ankara, for its part, has been critical of the EU over its stance toward the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is recognized as a terror group as well by the bloc and the United States, and an organization led by the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen who is accused of orchestrating the failed coup. Turkey applied to join the EU in 1987 and started the accession talks in 2005. ISLAMABAD, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani army said that at least seven civilians were killed by Indian troops and several others were injured in a cross Line of Control (LoC) firing in the disputed Kashmir region on Wednesday. "Indian troops targeted a civil bus near the LoC in Neelum valley. Seven embraced shahadat (martyred)," an army statement said. "Indians also fired on the ambulance which went for evacuation," it said. Police officials in the area have also confirmed the death toll while 15 others were wounded in the Indian firing on the bus. Jamil Mir, superintendent of police in Neelum Valley of the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, told the media that the bus was heading to Muzaffarabad, the capital of the valley. There has been escalation along the LoC, the de facto border, between the two countries in the disputed Kashmir region, since suspected militants killed 19 soldiers in the Indian-controlled Kashmir in September. The Indian military blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group for the attack saying Pakistan was behind the attack, but Islamabad rejected the charges and suggested independent investigation. Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire in 2003, however, firing exchanges do take place time to time and the cross-LoC firing has increased in recent days. Both countries accuse each other of the 2003 ceasefire violations. Pakistani army said on Monday that Indian firing killed at least four Pakistani nationals and injured 10 others in different sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan summoned an Indian diplomat on Tuesday over the Nov. 21 cross-LoC attack, the foreign ministry said. Pakistani Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz told the Senate on Tuesday that his country is ready to resume meaningful dialogue with India to resolve all outstanding issues including the dispute of Kashmir through comprehensive and composite talks. Pakistan and Indian have fought three wars, two over Kashmir, since their independence in 1947 from the British colonial rule. Indonesian President Joko Widodo (R) shakes hands with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 23, 2016. Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday held talks with visiting Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, discussing bilateral ties and ways to further expand cooperation in trade, investment, water management and maritime infrastructure. (Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.) JAKARTA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday held talks with visiting Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, discussing bilateral ties and ways to further expand cooperation in trade, investment, water management and maritime infrastructure. During the official visit to Indonesia, the Netherlands premier was accompanied by several ministers and around 200 Dutch businessmen who are expected to build up partnership with Indonesian counterparts. After their bilateral talks, Widodo and Rutte witnessed signings of several Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) documents between Dutch delegation and their Indonesian counterparts. "It shows great trust and commitments from Dutch government and private sector to further enhance cooperation with Indonesia," President Widodo said in a joint press conference held after the signing ceremony. The president said relations between Indonesia and the Netherlands has been very close and continues to improve. Rutte said Indonesia is one of the Netherlands strategic partners with two-way trade reaching 3.2 billion euro (3.4 billion U.S. dollars) last year. "I expect that we can further explore more cooperation as there are many potentialities from the partnership that we can work on," Rutte said. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 7th Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" in Hamburg, Germany, on Nov. 23, 2016. The 7th Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" opened here on Wednesday, drawing senior officials, entrepreneurs and leading scholars from China and the European Union (EU) to discuss key issues on China-Europe economic relations. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi) HAMBURG, Germany, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The 7th Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" opened here Wednesday to address opportunities and challenges in economic relations between China and the European Union. The biennial event, initiated by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in 2004, serves as a major platform for comprehensive dialogue between China and Europe to enhance mutual understanding and improve economic relations. Through keynote speeches and panel discussions, the two-day meeting focuses on current issues facing the Chinese and European economies, as well as bilateral trade and investments. China's Vice Premier Wang Yang speaks at a luncheon hosted by the China General Chamber of Commerce USA and the U.S. National Governors Association, in Washington D.C., the United States, Nov. 22, 2016. China's Vice Premier Wang Yang said Tuesday he is optimistic about the prospects of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation despite a change in the U.S. government early next year. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's Vice Premier Wang Yang said Tuesday he is optimistic about the prospects of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation despite a change in the U.S. government early next year. "Although there will be a change in the U.S. government, the passion of the U.S. business community for economic cooperation with China has remained unchanged," Wang said at a luncheon here hosted by the China General Chamber of Commerce USA and the U.S. National Governors Association. As the business community is the "fundamental driving force" of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation, Wang said there's every reason to believe that the future of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is "promising." Bilateral trade between China and the United States has grown at an average annual rate of over 7 percent over the past eight years amid a slowdown in global trade, bringing huge benefits to the two countries, he said, noting that China has become the largest trade partner of the United States. U.S. exports to China have supported almost one million jobs at home while the rapid increase in Chinese investments in the United States helped create an extra nearly 10,000 jobs, Wang said, believing that a pattern featuring economic interdependence for China-U.S. economic and trade relations is emerging. "It is expected that in the next five years, China's total imports will reach 8 trillion U.S. dollars, total foreign investment in China will reach 600 billion dollars, total outbound investments will reach 750 billion dollars, and the Chinese will make over 700 million outbound visits," said the Chinese vice premier. All these will bring huge business opportunities to companies of all countries, including the United States, he added. As long as the two sides stay committed to the principles of non-confrontation, non-conflict, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, Wang said China-U.S. relations and bilateral economic cooperation will surely reach a new peak level, benefiting China and U.S. businesses and peoples further. "As two major responsible countries, cooperation is the only correct choice for China and the United States," he said. Wang made the remarks just one day before the opening ceremony of the 27th session of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). Launched in 1983, the JCCT was the first high-level economic dialogue mechanism between China and the United States. It plays an important role in China-U.S. economic cooperation and in addressing related frictions. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during a ceremony for veterans and relatives of victims in Ankara on October 27, 2016. (AFP PHOTO) ISTANBUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his country will not recognize the result of an upcoming European vote on freezing negotiations with Turkey over its accession to the European Union. "There will be a meeting at the European Parliament tomorrow, and they will vote on EU talks with Turkey," Erdogan said at a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation held in Istanbul. "I'm saying this in advance: this vote has no value for us, whatever the result is," he added. European parliamentarians on Tuesday called on the European Commission to impose a temporary freeze on accession talks with Turkey. The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, is expected to vote on an advisory resolution on Thursday. EU nations have been criticizing Turkey over what they called "disproportionately repressive measures" adopted in the wake of a failed military coup in July, in which 246 people were killed. More than 100,000 people have been suspended or dismissed in the ensuing crackdown, in which dozens of media outlets have been shuttered. Ankara, for its part, has been critical of the EU over its stance toward the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is recognized as a terror group as well by the bloc and the United States, and an organization led by the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen who is accused of orchestrating the failed coup. Turkey applied to join the EU in 1987 and started the accession talks in 2005. BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian foreign affairs and trade minister Peter Szijjarto will visit China next Wednesday to discuss cooperation and promote bilateral ties. He will attend the annual consultations between the two countries' foreign ministers and the first Belt and Road working group meeting between China and Hungary, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang announced Wednesday in Beijing. MANILA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines on Wednesday marked the seventh anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, the worst incident of electoral violence in the country's recent history. Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar said that "justice remains elusive" to the victims and their loved ones, seven years after the massacre that took place on Nov. 23, 2009. "The nation thus feels a sense of outrage by the turtle-paced grind of the judicial process," Andanar said. Altogether 58 people, 32 of whom journalists, were murdered by the Ampatuan family on a hilltop in Salman village, Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province seven years ago. While some of the suspects have been detained, the court has yet to come up with a verdict. Andanar said protecting journalists and ending the impunity of killings "require serious action and cooperation of all." The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said that Nov. 23, 2009 was a day that would forever live in infamy, not only for the Philippine media community but also for the body politic. The International Federation of Journalists early this year tagged the Philippines as the second most dangerous country for journalists with 143 deaths since 1990, after to Iraq. SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A political heavyweight of the ruling Saenuri Party in South Korea on Wednesday demanded President Park Geun-hye be impeached, saying he will take the lead in the impeachment within his party. Kim Moo-sung, former Saenuri Party chairman who is seen as one of presidential hopefuls in the governing bloc, told an emergency press briefing that he will not run for presidency in next year's presidential election to take responsibility for the national chaos under the Park Geun-hye administration. Kim said President Park betrayed people and the Saenuri Party and severely violated the constitution, noting that the president in violation of the constitution must be impeached. He vowed to take the lead in putting forward the impeachment motion within his party. To pass the impeachment bill through the 300-seat National Assembly, at least two-thirds of the parliamentary seat is required to vote for it. Then, over six justices of the nine-member constitutional court must endorse it to impeach a sitting president. It would be a political challenge to opposition parties as well as the non-President Park faction of the ruling party, including Kim, because the whole procedure may take months and cause division. Three main opposition parties already launched preparations for the impeachment. As the governing party holds almost 128 parliamentary seats, the opposition bloc is required to gain support from at least 30 Saenuri lawmakers. Given that two of the constitutional court justices end their tenure early next year, the impeachment bill should gain approval from six of the remaining seven justices. The division inside the Saenuri Party is getting severe. Eight former lawmakers of the ruling party seceded from their party on Wednesday after the Saenuri governor of the Gyeonggi province and one three-term lawmaker bolted from the embattled party. Non-President Park faction members of the Saenuri Party have demanded all of the party leadership, composed of pro-Park members, immediately step down. Related: S.Korean prosecutors request face-to-face questioning of president by next week SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korean prosecutors have requested a face-to-face questioning of President Park Geun-hye by next week after identifying the president as an accomplice to Choi Soon-sil, Park's longtime friend indicted for multiple crimes. An official at the special investigate unit of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office told a press briefing that a notice was sent to the president's counsel to request Park's face-to-face interrogation as late as next Tuesday, according to local media reports. Full story S.Koreans oppose "treacherous" signing of military pact with Japan SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Civic group activists in South Korea held a protest rally on Wednesday against the signing of a military intelligence pact with Japan in front of Seoul's defense ministry headquarters. South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Yasumasa Nagamine on Wednesday held a signing ceremony for the accord, dubbed General Security of the Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), in the headquarters. Full story S. Korean prosecutors raid Samsung headquarters on bribery allegation SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korean prosecutors raided the headquarters of Samsung Group, the country's largest conglomerate, Wednesday on bribery allegations. SANAA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Twelve Yemenis were killed and six others were wounded by the Saudi-led airstrikes in the northwest province of Hajja on Wednesday, residents and officials said. Residents said passengers travelling in a pickup car were targeted as they headed toward a local public market to shop in the district of Hayran. State Saba news agency reported that the victims were hit in the Akawah area, saying "it was the latest in a series of barbaric airstrikes targeting civilians by the U.S.-backed Saudi air aggression." Saba cited local residents "as demanding loudly from the international community to move to stop such violations against Yemeni people." Saudi Arabia, which led a mostly Arab countries' military coalition, intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 via an air campaign. The campaign is attempting to restore to power expelled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, whom Houthi rebels exiled to the Saudi capital of Riyadh in 2014. Thousands of airstrikes failed to restore Hadi or defeat the Houthis, yet killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children and women, and displaced over three million Yemenis. SANTIAGO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Latin American media leaders have praised Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at a summit for Chinese and Latin American media executives held here Tuesday, saying they are optimistic about the prospects of China-Latin America media cooperation. While affirming media exchanges are an important part of the overall China-Latin America relationship, Xi urged Chinese and Latin American media outlets to work together to speak up on important issues concerning world peace and development, help boost pragmatic cooperation between China and Latin America and learn from each other to take bilateral media cooperation to a higher level. Xi's attendance at the media summit after he participated in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, showed that he was very optimistic about the prospects for China-Latin America media cooperation, said Miguel Winazki, chief editor of Argentina's Clarin newspaper. Clarin will deepen cooperation with the Chinese media, Winazki added. Xi's speech at the media summit was very encouraging, said Olman Manzano, who is in charge of the website of Honduras' La Tribuna newspaper, adding that he totally agrees with Xi's judgment on a bright future for China-Latin America media cooperation. He said that deepening cooperation between bilateral media bodies will promote economic and cultural exchanges between China and Latin America. China is a great country and under Xi's leadership, China and Latin America are building a community of shared destiny, Manzano said. "Just like President Xi said, more and more Latin America media professionals should go to China so that Latin American people can know a real and vivid China through the eyes of the media and can experience the development vitality and prosperity of the world's second-largest economy," he said. Xi, in his speech, said that China will invite a number of Latin American journalists to work and study in China and train 500 media staff for Latin American and Caribbean nations. For Nohelia Gonzalez, editor-in-chief of Nicaragua's La Prensa newspaper, who had flown a dozen hours to attend the media summit, listening to Xi's speech in person was a hard-won experience for a mainstream media outlet in the Central American country. "Nicaragua is still a poverty-stricken country. We have a lot to learn from China whether in the media or economic development," Gonzalez said. She hoped that Chinese and Latin American media outlets can learn from each other to further China-Latin America pragmatic cooperation. Mauricio Madrigal, head of Nicaragua's Canal 10 Television network, said that Nicaraguan people know little about China due to the great distance between the two countries. Therefore, as a media professional, he said, he bears great responsibility to let his compatriots know more about China. Madrigal said he will use his cameras as a bridge for China-Latin America cultural exchanges, helping Nicaraguan people better understand China and making the two peoples real friends. Alejandro Ramos, president of Notimex, the official Mexican news agency, told Xinhua that the media is exerting growing global influence with the emergence of the Internet and social media. The media is playing an increasingly important role in promoting mutual understanding and benefits as well as enhancing people-to-people, economic and trade exchanges between nations, Ramos said. Against such a backdrop, colleagues of Chinese and Latin American media outlets are telling stories of inter-state friendship and cooperation via different media platforms, he said. "Xi's speech at the media summit gives us confidence. Cooperation between China and Latin American countries such as Mexico always sticks to the principle of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. We have reasons to believe that China-Latin America ties have entered the best period in history," Ramos said. Carlos Benavides, deputy chief editor of Mexico's El Universal newspaper, agreed with Ramos. "The media is a bridge for China and Latin America to strengthen mutual understanding and friendship," he said. Sergio Andres Gomez Cepeda, chief editor of Colombia's La Vanguardia newspaper, called for creating new space for China-Latin America cooperation. "For Latin America, we expect China-Latin America cooperation will produce more new opportunities, not only in trade, but also in the media," he said. BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Since the 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing, China has continuously highlighted global governance at such different international occasions as the Hangzhou G20 summit in September and the just-concluded APEC summit in Lima. China's proposals, initiatives and contributions are injecting fresh vigor into global governance. LEADING ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION At the APEC CEO summit in Lima, Chinese President Xi Jinping renewed his call for pushing forward the building of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), saying it "is a strategic initiative critical for the long-term prosperity of the Asia-Pacific." "We should firmly pursue the FTAAP as an institutional mechanism for ensuring an open economy in the Asia-Pacific," he told global business leaders, emphasizing "openness is the lifeblood of the Asia-Pacific economy." The FTAAP process was launched at the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing with the endorsement of a roadmap. A "collective strategic study" was subsequently conducted, as agreed by the APEC members, and the result should be reported to the economic leaders by the end of 2016. Under the current international situation, Xi's initiative is of great significance. Over the past few years, the world economy has been trapped in a weak recovery, insufficient growth momentum, and sluggish trade and investment. What is alarming is that economic globalization is being buffeted by a strong headwind coming from developed countries such as the United States and European countries, as protectionism is on the rise. However, Xi showed the world the Asia-Pacific region's confidence in economic globalization, saying "the commitment of the Asia-Pacific to economic globalization is unchanged and its confidence undiminished." Xi's resolution was warmly received by observers. The British Financial Times commented on its website that China, as an advocate of free trade and open economy in the Asia-Pacific, is playing a leading role in global trade. CHINA'S INNOVATIVE PRACTICE With the changing times, the global economic governance system must reflect the profound changes in the global economic landscape, and the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries should be raised. Over the past years, China, as the largest developing country, has always adhered to speaking for developing countries and strengthened unity and cooperation with them. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China is sharing development opportunities with countries along the routes. Moreover, China has created a precedent in establishing multilateral financial institutions among developing countries through founding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS New Development Bank. Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan's inclusion into the Special Drawing Rights basket of the International Monetary Fund has raised the international status of developing countries' currencies. China has also broadened cooperation channels with developing countries by strengthening the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and establishing the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum. At the G20 summit in Hangzhou, Xi emphasized the concept of equality, openness, cooperation and sharing in global economic governance, leaving a deep imprint in the history of the G20 and making the G20 a major platform for global economic governance. In addition to contributions to global economic governance, China has played an active role in dealing with global challenges and hot issues. China is willing to work with the international community for the common welfare of all people, to uphold the concept of cyberspace sovereignty and to make the global cyberspace governance system fairer and more reasonable. China's actions include the establishment of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to help the world eliminate poverty, and a 20-billion-yuan (about 3-billion-U.S.-dollar) China South-South Climate Cooperation Fund to help other developing countries combat climate change. At the Paris Climate Change Conference last year, China, as a responsible power, steered the direction of negotiations and made significant contributions to reaching an agreement. The Stuttgarter Zeitung, a German daily, spoke highly of China's contributions to sustainable development, saying China's development model is now to be taken seriously and that the model is likely to be part of the solution to global issues. WHY IS CHINA ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING IN GLOBAL GOVERNANCE REFORM? China's proactive participation in the global governance reform goes back to Oct. 12, 2015, when Xi said at a study session of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee that strengthening global governance and reforming the global governance system represent the general trend. This is the first time that China explicitly set forth the concept of global governance. As Xi put it, reform is about "laying down rules for the international order and international mechanisms" and "deciding in which direction the world will head." "It is not simply a case of competing for the high ground of economic development, but what roles and functions nations will play in the long-term systemic arrangement of the international order," Xi said. For centuries, powerful countries divided the world and competed for profit and power through war and colonization, but that has been replaced in today's world by rules and mechanisms to balance different interests. "Unjust and improper arrangements in the global governance system" need to be reformed, and new connotations need to be introduced. China has brought up global governance featuring mutual consultation, efforts and sharing. Xi said China should defend its own interests as well as the common interests of developing countries, and focus not only on its needs as it develops, but also on the expectations the international community places on China. China has always been an active participant, constructor and contributor to the current international system, and will continue to be a participant, promoter and leader in the global governance reform, which does not overturn but innovates and improves the current system. The Chinese president has stressed "resolutely safeguarding" the international order and a system centered on the United Nations (UN) Charter principles, as well as "safeguarding and consolidating" the benefits that resulted from the victory in WWII. YANGON, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of 10 persons have been killed and 33 others injured in armed clashes which broke out between the government forces and a combined forces of three ethnic armed groups in Myanmar's northern Shan state in the weekend, according to an updated casualties figures of the Information Committee of the State Counselor's Office Wednesday. The 10 dead include two soldiers, three policemen and four civilians, while the 33 injured include nine policemen, two service personnel and 22 civilians. There have been four temporary relief camps opened in Muse, where 3,000 refugees are being accommodated, the committee said. Military conflicts broke out in border area of northern Myanmar's Shan state early Sunday morning with an alliance of three non-ceasefire signatory ethnic armed groups launching simultaneous and surprising attacks on government's military outposts and police stations in Muse and Kutkai townships as well as a border trade zone in Muse. The three armed groups are Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Kokang's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). Their attacks targeted government military outposts and police stations in areas of Muse, Kutkai, Monekoe, Kyukoke, Phangsai, Pangsang, Manken and Kyinsankyawk (Honang) Due to the continued clashes and widespread explosions over the last three days, border gates, banks, shops, clinics, company offices, trading centers, warehouse and residential houses in Muse have been all closed. An actress performs "Drunken Beauty", a classic Traditional Beijing Opera rendition, in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, Nov.20, 2016. (Xinhua/Jiang Xintong) ABUJA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Colorful Chinese costumes and props, romantic storyline occationed with acrobatics and action scenes have offered a rare close touch on the Chinese culture to many Nigerians. On Sunday night, a large auditorium in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, was filled to its brim when a group of Chinese artists staged a Peking Opera performance. The performance, sponsored by the China Cultural Center in Nigeria, was organized to draw curtains on the celebrations of 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Nigeria. "Beijing Opera is the cultural essence of China. So, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two countries, we want our Nigerian friends to experience China more in Abuja and Nigeria," said Zhou Pingjian, Chinese ambassador in Nigeria. Peking Opera, with a history of more than 200 years, has won worldwide fame and retains its uniqueness with a fusion of singing, dancing, acting, fighting and reading. The two-hour show presented classic works from "Divergence" to "The Drunken Beauty" to "Jingwu", winning wows and thunderous cheers from the audience. The envoy said in 45 years, Sino-Nigerian relations has brought real benefits to people of the two countries, adding the relations could go even higher through cultural exchanges. Oluwadamilola Ayankunbi, a student of the National Open University of Nigeria, said she was most enthralled by the comedic roles in one of the plays performed Sunday night. Ayankunbi said the colorful plays, songs and acts of Chinese martial in the evening's performance gave her a wonderful chance to further learn about the long history of China, its people and culture. "I've seen opera performances in other places but this Beijing Opera is a unique one. I will forever cherish the moment and look forward to seeing more of this elsewhere, either in China or anywhere across the globe," she said. Mesmerized by the performance, a larger part of the audience jumped onto the stage at the end of the show to take pictures with the Chinese artistes. JAKARTA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Anti-terror squad of Indonesian national police on Wednesday arrested an alleged member of IS group in West Java province, police spokesman said. The militant was believed to operate under the coordination of high-profile IS leader for Southeast Asia region, Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian man who leads terrorist operation from Syria, National Police Spokesman Inspector General Boy Rafly Amar said. The militant was arrested at his hideout in Girimulya village of Majalengka district, the spokesman said. During the raid at his hideout, the police seized a number of explosive materials. Indonesian security authority is closely watching the movement of more than 50 militants who were just backed home after joining IS in Iraq and Syria, police said. The IS members have conducted a series small-scale suicide bombing attacks in Indonesia in recent months, targeting churches, westerners and their facility, and police, leaving scores of casualties. RAMALLAH, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned "the continuation of Israeli field executions" against the Palestinian people. In an emailed press statement, the ministry said "the hideous crime" in which a Palestinian man was killed Tuesday at the Qalandiya military checkpoint, north of Jerusalem, represents "translation of the directives... which give soldiers the green light to open fire on Palestinians." The ministry decried what was described as an international silence over "this and other Israeli crimes," urging an "awakening of conscience and morality toward those crimes and violations" against Palestinians. It also called on specialized humanitarian and legal organizations to document those "crimes" and take them to national and international tribunals to punish the "criminals and the killers" and those behind them. On Tuesday morning, Jihad Khalil, a 48-year-old father of three from a northern West Bank village, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers at the Qalandiya checkpoint. Khalil was accused of attempting to stab an Israeli soldier. He was the third Palestinian killed by Israeli forces in November. The other two were killed east of Ramallah and near eastern Gaza Strip respectively. Since October last year, violence, amid growing tension between Israel and the Palestinians, has left 342 Palestinians and 42 Israelis killed, according to official figures. HAMBURG, Germany, Nov. 23 (Xinhua)-- The 7th Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" opened here on Wednesday, drawing senior officials, entrepreneurs and leading scholars from China and the European Union (EU) to discuss key issues on China-Europe economic relations. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in his opening speech that China is of special importance to Germany as well as to the whole of Europe, adding that the two countries have built a very successful partnership in the last four decades. He said Germany continues to be China's most important partner in Europe and has opted for political cooperation with China over recent decades. "Cooperation, rather than confrontation, should characterize the relationships between countries, even when their political and economic systems differ," said Schroeder, who was also the honorary chairman of the conference this year. In today's world, there is no country that can master all these new challenges alone, he said. "This is why we must intensify the strategic partnership with China in all areas, in politics and culture, as well as in economy and civil society." The summit scheduled for Nov. 23 and 24 in the northern German city of Hamburg will deliver discussions, keynote speeches and panel meetings focusing on such topics as the fallout from the Brexit, China's economic transition, the Belt and Road Initiative and boosting efficiency in industrial manufacturing. Initiated by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in 2004, the biennial summit serves as an important platform for discussing China-EU economic cooperation. YANGON, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has allowed local securities companies to purchase government treasury bonds, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar (SECM) Wednesday. Five local securities companies, which operate at Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) have been granted and another five are waiting to be granted. The minimum paid-up capital of a securities company is 15 billion kyats (over 11 million U.S. dollars) and the company had to submit 10 percent of which to SECM as a deposit. Myanmar changed the policy that the country's government treasury bonds were only sold to the individuals and corporate bodies, to attract more money to fill the government's budget. The Central Bank of Myanmar has started the treasury bonds auctions to banks since September this year. Not only granted banks which opened accounts at the central bank but also individuals and corporate bodies are allowed to participate in the auction. Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar, U Set Aung, told the parliament in August that 60 percent of the government's internal debt in this fiscal year was planned to be solved through treasury bond and bill sales. As a developing country, Myanmar is always encountering budget deficit and the country has to take both external and internal debt in order to meet the vital needs. According to the current expenditure budget of the country, budget deficit in 2016-17 fiscal year reached 3,992 billion kyats (3.36 billion U.S. dollars). Myanmar owes a total of 8.742 billion U.S. dollars of foreign debt, U Maung Maung Win, Deputy Minister for Planning and Finance told the House of Representatives in August. SHANGHAI, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- With no direct air routes, a Chinese must endure at least a 25 hour journey, making a stopover in America or Canada, to reach Chile. Good things are Chinese consumers now can eat fresh cherries of the Latin American country, that may have still been on the tree barely 30 hours ago, thanks to direct flights reserved for the flourishing import and export of goods between the two countries. A total of 90 chartered flights, all reserved for fruits, will be operating between Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, and Chile, from Nov. 6 and the end of December. The imported fruits, topping 10,000 tonnes, will be distributed from Zhengzhou to other places in China. Chilean fresh food, such as cherries, blueberries and salmon have become a mainstay of trade between Chile and China in recent years. Over 98 percent of blueberry imports in China come from Chile, and Chilean cherries accounted for 76.9 percent of such imports in China. "Fresh fruits, salmon and king crab are the most popular Chilean produce in China," said Wu Yuanfeng, president of China Chile Central, which sells Chilean food in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. "The cycle of seasons in Chile and China are exactly opposite; cherries harvested in Chile are perfect for the strong demand during China's Spring Festival," Wu said. Pictures of Chilean cherries are put on prominent display at most Chinese e-commerce sites that deliver such produce. In the 2016 export season, 100,000 tonnes of Chilean cherries are expected to be sold to China. A consumer in Shanghai can buy a good bottle of red wine from Chile for only 200 yuan (about 29 U.S. dollars). "Chile has become the second largest wine exporter to Shanghai this year," said Li Chunxi, manager of an international trading company in Shanghai. Aside from Shanghai, Chile is actually China's second largest source of wine imports, with bottled wine imports increasing 46 percent from a year ago. Demand for Chilean food in China is still on the rise. China Chile Central opened its first branch in central China's Hunan Province this month, and there are plans to open more branches in inland areas. While Chilean produce is enjoying growing popularity in China, quality Chinese products are also popular with Chilean consumers. Chinese-made cars have taken up a considerable share of the Chilean auto market, and China Chile Central are aiding photovoltaic enterprises in east China's Jiangsu Province to explore the Chilean market. China and Chile have agreed to start negotiations on upgrading their current Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was the first free trade agreement between China and Latin American countries. Bilateral trade has rocketed four-fold since the FTA came into force in 2006. China is now Chile's largest trading partner. "As China becomes the world's second largest economy, Chile hopes to attract more Chinese investment, especially in areas such as infrastructure, energy and agriculture," Wu said. JAKARTA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will increase export of crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivative products to Russia and Eastern European countries, the Indonesian palm oil grower association said Wednesday. Demand for CPO remains high in Russia and Eastern European countries, with Russia alone consuming more than 1 million tons a year, according to Kanya Lakhmi Sidarta, treasurer of the association. Indonesia's export to Russia is far short of that demand, leaving a large room for growth, he said, adding he expects export of CPO to Russia this year reaching 700,000 tons. Indonesia is the world's largest producer of palm oil, followed by Malaysia. BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday urged Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to respect the security concerns of countries in the region when conducting military cooperation. Officials from Japan and ROK signed the General Security of the Military Information Agreement on Wednesday in Seoul, ROK, which will allow the direct exchange of intelligence on nuclear and missile programs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the move would exacerbate hostility on the Korean Peninsula. Calling the pact a result of "cold war mentality," Geng said, "it will further aggravate hostility and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and add new insecurity and instability in Northeast Asia." It is against the trend of peaceful development of the times and the common interests of countries in the region, he said. Given the complicated and sensitive situation on the Korean Peninsula, relevant countries should respect the security concerns of countries in the region and contribute more to peace and development, rather than the opposite, the spokesperson added. Photo taken on Nov. 21, 2016 shows a worker preparing for the maiden flight of China Eastern Airlines, in Callao, Peru. The Boeing 777 aircraft landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 3:40 p.m. Wednesday, the first direct-cargo flight between China and Peru. Operated by China Eastern Airlines, the aircraft flew over 18,000 km from the airport in Callao. An airline official said the air cargo route was launched to meet the increase in trade between China and Peru. (Xinhua/Luis Camacho) SHANGHAI, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Boeing 777 aircraft carrying mangos and blueberries landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 3:40 p.m. Wednesday, the first direct-cargo flight between China and Peru. Operated by China Eastern Airlines, the aircraft flew over 18,000 km from the airport in Lima. An airline official said the air cargo route was launched to meet the increase in trade between China and Peru. Cargo between Asia and South America is normally transported via the United States. According to China Eastern Air Logistics, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, the number of direct cargo flights carrying South American agricultural products has rocketed from two in 2013 to 70 this year. Total cargo volume increased from 220 to 6,500 tonnes. SHENZHEN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The graft trial of Wang Shuaiting, former executive of China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong Ltd., began Wednesday in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. Wang stands accused of accepting bribes and embezzling public funds. The prosecution allege that Wang took advantage of his high-profile management positions at China Resources Power Holdings Co., Ltd (CR Power) during the 2003-2013 period to give certain organizations and individuals a hand up in investment, personnel appointment and promotion. Wang was indicted to have accepted bribes worth over 40 million yuan (5.8 million U.S. dollars). During the 2006-2011 period, Wang allegedly embezzled funds worth over 7 million yuan, according to the indictment. Wang pleaded guilty. The ruling will be announced at a later date. LONDON, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Former British chief secretary of the Treasury and home office minister Liam Byrne has called on Britain and China for greater cooperation regarding the China-initiated Belt and Road Initiative to reach win-win. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua this week, Byrne, now a labor Member of Parliament, said that the momentum of globalization can come from Europe and China working together, therefore Europe and China working together to build the Belt and Road will become one of the most important initiatives for driving forward globalization over the next 10 years. The Belt and Road Initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road initiative proposed by China in 2013. The initiative brings together countries in Asia, Europe and even Africa via overland and maritime networks. Byrne published this week a new book proposing the new Silk Road as a new zone of cooperation. "Britain and Europe lack a win-win vision for our relationship with the Middle East for the next 10 years," he said, adding that they have friends in the Middle East but no grand vision to build a flourishing Middle East. The book, entitled "Black Flag Down" is the third book from Byrne, who served at the British Treasury in the government of Gordon Brown, and echoes of his first book 'Turning to Face the East' published in 2013, in which he examined Britain's old-fashioned attitude towards China. "Middle East countries need help diversifying their economies and need help in trading goods other than oil," Byrne said. "Now China has presented in 2013 a bold vision of an economic integration in Eurasia with the new Silk Road but Europe now needs to match that ambition." Byrne's keenness for greater cooperation between China and Britain was evident from his 2013 book, but the latest geopolitical developments seem to have given him a sense of urgency. For Byrne the benefits for China and Britain are plain to see: both will win if they cooperate on the new Silk Road, and he sees the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as an example of the path to follow for developing Belt and Road Initiative. Britain's embrace of the AIIB saw it become one of the first developed world nations to sign up to the China-proposed bank, and this sort of infrastructure investment framework could be replicated in other cooperative engagements along the Silk Road as the initiative rolls out in the coming years, according to Byrne. "We know that there are great riches in the countries that lie on the Silk Road, we know that trade is underdeveloped there -- so this will become a very important economic zone but growth will not happen on its own," the politician said. "These 60 or so countries will need help from abroad to build infrastructure, foster people to people links, spreading good practice in education, encouraging enterprise, these will be the keys to unlocking change in that area and growing East-West trade." Byrne's call for greater cooperation comes against the background of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, and its future need to build new trading relations across the world. "We must not let Brexit affect the golden era," said Byrne. "We must use it as an inspiration to work harder. If you think that innovation is the biggest win-win between Britain and China it should not be affected, but as we increase research and development we need to put more effort into science and collaboration innovation between Britain and China." In the field of business, Byrne praised the British drinks firm Diageo, a global giant in the alcoholic retail business. Diageo has been investing in the strong Chinese drink baijiu this decade and the result, said Byrne, was that the expertize in brand and in globalization at the British company had pushed a Chinese brand into a global marketplace. "British companies make great partners," said Byrne. "The challenge for British capitalists for 500 years is 'how do you build a big company from a small island?' " he said. "We have had to work globally for five centuries, so we are very good at going global. We are very good at brand and we are very good at innovation and these are exactly the things that Chinese firms need as they go global," Byrne noted. "Go to a duty-free worldwide now and you see some great Chinese brands," he added. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang listens to work report at Shanghai E&P International Inc in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 22, 2016. Li inspected the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone on Nov. 21 and 22. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) SHANGHAI, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Premier Li Keqiang said China will create a better investment and operation environment for foreign businesses. China will continue its opening up policies, and those policies for attracting foreign investment will remain unchanged, Li said during an inspection of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone on Monday and Tuesday. China not only has a huge market, but is also rich in human resources, Li stressed. Although China's per capita natural resource level is below the global average, unlimited development space can be created on the back of the combination of imagination and creativity from hundreds of millions of talents together with global market demand and innovation resources at home and abroad, he said. China welcomes more foreign investors to establish businesses in the country and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, Li added. YANGON, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday urged the armed groups in conflict to join the government's peace process by signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord (NCA). Suu Kyi, as the capacity of chairperson of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center, made the call in an announcement issued on the situation of current conflicts in northern Shan state. She said she was saddened and disappointed by the current clashes in the northern part of the country. She extended sympathy and condolence to victims who had lost their lives and been wounded. She asked the armed groups to work together with the civil society to find ways and means to strengthen the monitoring mechanism that would ensure non-violation of ceasefire agreement and to strive and work toward a peace goal and take part on equal terms in the upcoming 21st Century Panglong Conference to be held in February 2017. Military conflicts broke out in the border area of northern Myanmar's Shan state early Sunday morning with an alliance of three non-ceasefire signatory ethnic armed groups launching simultaneous and surprising attacks on government's military outposts and police stations in Muse and Kutkai townships as well as a border trade zone in Muse. The three armed groups are Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Kokang's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). MOSCOW, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Mending the soured relations between Russia and the United States under the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump will not be a "quick and easy" process, the Kremlin said Wednesday. Relations have nearly hit "rock bottom" during the Obama Administration, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. While Moscow expects to resume dialogue with Washington, the spokesman added it will be a "difficult and definitely not a quick process." Earlier this month, in their first telephone conversation after Trump's victory in the election, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the U.S. President-elect agreed to make joint efforts to normalize their current battered ties. BUDAPEST, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Albanian Minister of European Integration Klajda Gjosha on Wednesday urged the European Union to accelerate its enlargement process. When addressing a news conference here on Wednesday following a meeting between the two officials, Szijjarto said that speeding up enlargement could enable the EU to overcome many difficulties and that inclusion of the West Balkans would make the EU stronger. Given the EU's current difficulties, Szijjarto said, it would be a bad choice for the European Union to circle its wagons. Instead, it needs to speed up the enlargement process to prevent itself from weakening and becoming less competitive. Treating the West Balkans as a gray area is irrational and needs to end, Szijjarto added. "The more of us we are, the stronger we are," he said, adding that the West Balkans were significant economic and trading partners. As of next February, said Szijjarto, a member of his staff would begin working in the Albanian Ministry of European Integration, to assist the Albanian government with the integration process. On her part, Gjosha said that the opportunity to join the European Union was a historical opportunity that her country could not afford to let go wrong. Albania is counting on Hungary's help, she added. She said her country had high hopes regarding the Hungarian expert. Given that Hungary has already gone through the integration process, Gjosha said, a Hungarian expert is certain to have useful experience enabling Albania to prevent mistakes. Gjosha added that Albania and Hungary had close and traditionally good bilateral relations, which were reflected in their economic cooperation. HAMBURG, Germany, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The seventh "Hamburg Summit: China Meets Europe" opened here Wednesday to address opportunities and challenges in economic relations between China and Europe. The summit is a biennial high-level conference on Sino-European economic relations. The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce initiated the first "Hamburg Summit" in 2004 to set up a platform for an open dialogue between China and Europe to promote mutual understanding and improve economic relations. The conference brings together leaders from politics, business and academia and has an international reputation as the most relevant Sino-European economic forum. As a tradition, two prizes are awarded as part of the summit: the China-Europe Friendship Award and the China-Europe Sustainability Award. The seventh summit, held at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in downtown Hamburg, will last two days with an expected participation of at least 500 people. Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong is expected to address the closing session on Thursday as the guest of honor of the conference. Through keynote speeches and panel discussions, the two-day meeting focuses on issues such as the internationalization of China's renminbi, industrial transformation in a digital world, and China's Belt and Road Initiative. MANILA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine military said Wednesday two major joint exercises with U.S. troops will be scrapped and there will be 258 joint military exercises, including small ones, between the two sides next year. The two scrapped war games are the Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) and Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT), two naval exercises that includes territorial defense trainings, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Gen. Ricardo Visaya told reporters. Visaya said the U.S. officials respected the AFP's proposal to reduce the exercises based on the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte after talking with U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris on Tuesday in their annual Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board in Manila. "There will only be about 258 (exercises) I think. Previously, there are about 260 plus so there is a reduction of around five," said Visaya. Visaya also said the exercises will be focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), counter-terrorism and engineering civic actions. "So that will be in line with the pronouncement and the guidance of our president to the AFP," said VIsaya. Asked about the defense department's earlier proposal that they want the exercises reduced from 13 to about six or seven, AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the 258 exercises that Visaya mentioned include the small ones which involve a few soldiers on both sides. "They may be referring to the big exercises," said Padilla, referring to the 13 exercises mentioned by the Philippine defense department. "You must understand that even if two or three Americans are coming over to talk with 15 of us, to teach them, that is still part of the list," said Padilla. Padilla said the famous Balikatan exercises will be retained. "It will continue but the focus of the Balikatan will be HADR or response to disasters," Padilla added. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with his US counterpart Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou on September 5, 2016. (AFP File Photo) MOSCOW, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Mending the soured relations between Russia and the United States under the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump will not be a "quick and easy" process, the Kremlin said Wednesday. Relations have nearly hit "rock bottom" during the Obama Administration, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. While Moscow expects to resume dialogue with Washington, the spokesman added it will be a "difficult and definitely not a quick process." Earlier this month, in their first telephone conversation after Trump's victory in the election, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the U.S. President-elect agreed to make joint efforts to normalize their current battered ties. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 7th Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" in Hamburg, Germany, on Nov. 23, 2016. The 7th Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" opened here on Wednesday, drawing senior officials, entrepreneurs and leading scholars from China and the European Union (EU) to discuss key issues on China-Europe economic relations. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi) HAMBURG, Germany, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The 7th Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" opened here on Wednesday, drawing senior officials, entrepreneurs and leading scholars from China and the European Union (EU) to discuss key issues on China-Europe economic relations. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in his opening speech that China is of special importance to Germany as well as to the whole of Europe, adding that the two countries have built a very successful partnership in the last four decades. He said Germany continues to be China's most important partner in Europe and has opted for political cooperation with China over recent decades. "Cooperation, rather than confrontation, should characterize the relationships between countries, even when their political and economic systems differ," said Schroeder, who was also the honorary chairman of the conference this year. In today's world, there is no country that can master all these new challenges alone, he said. "This is why we must intensify the strategic partnership with China in all areas, in politics and culture, as well as in economy and civil society." The summit scheduled for Nov. 23 and 24 in the northern German city of Hamburg will include discussions, keynote speeches and panel meetings focusing on such topics as the fallout from the Brexit, China's economic transition, the Belt and Road Initiative and boosting efficiency in industrial manufacturing. In his speech, Fritz Horst Melsheimer, president of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, called for an investment treaty between the EU and China as soon as possible within the next year in order to put bilateral economic relations swiftly onto a more solid legal basis. "China has to master a tremendous economic transformation to make this growth more sustainable," he said, "at the same time, economic stagnation in many European countries and United Kingdom's vote for Brexit both shake and shape our bilateral economic relations." Eye-to-eye exchange and open discussions were therefore particularly important, he added. Initiated by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in 2004, the biennial summit serves as an important platform for discussing China-EU economic cooperation. MOSCOW, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Kremlin said on Wednesday it hoped that the deployment of missile systems in the disputed Southern Kuril Islands in the Pacific would not affect Moscow's negotiations with Tokyo. "This should in no way harm the fast trends that there have developed in our relations with Tokyo in terms of thorough preparations for president Putin's forthcoming visit to Japan and the continuing contacts over ways of advancing bilateral relations," TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. Russian media have reported that Moscow had deployed Bastion and Bal coastal defense missile systems on the islands of Kunashir and Iturup, close to the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Earlier in the day, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida was quoted as saying by the Kyodo news agency that Tokyo was considering "appropriate measures" in response. Russia and Japan have not signed a peace treaty formalizing the end of World War II due to a territory row over four small islands in the Pacific -- the Southern Kurils, as Russia calls them, and what the Japanese call the Northern Territories. The decades-old territorial dispute has hindered diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. Bilateral ties appeared to begin to improve after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Putin in the Russian city of Sochi in May. In September, the two leaders held a three-hour meeting on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, during which they reached an agreement for Putin to visit to Japan in December. CAIRO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Petroleum Ministry announced the discovery of a new natural gas well in the country's western desert, reported the state-owned MENA news agency on Wednesday. The output is expected to produce 20 million cubic feet per day. Following development, it is expected to hit 60 million cubic feet per day, MENA cited a report by Badr El Din Petroleum Company (BAPETCO). The report, received on Wednesday by Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tareq al-Molla, said that the discovery influenced Royal Dutch Shell to dig nine exploratory wells in 2017. In August, Royal Dutch Shell announced new natural gas discoveries in a concession area in the northern Alam El Shawish in Egypt's western desert. The initial quantities discovered were estimated at around half a trillion cubic feet of gas with more potential reserves. The discovery could produce between 10 to 15 percent of the total production of BAPETCO, which is a joint venture acting on behalf of the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Shell in production operations. Once an energy exporter, Egypt has become a net importer in recent years, pressed by decreased production and increased consumption. Egypt's domestic gas production currently stands at around 4.35 billion cubic feet per day compared with around 5.2 billion in consumption, said the oil minister. However, Egypt is recovering as a gas exporter soon after the recent discoveries across the country. Furthermore, Italian oil company Eni said its Nooros field in Egypt's Nile Delta, currently producing 900 million cubic feet of gas per day, will exceed 1 billion cubic feet per day in the first quarter of 2017. Eni's large Mediterranean gas field Zohr, discovered in August 2015 with estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, is expected to start production in 2017 with about 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day. JERUSALEM, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Jerusalem municipality on Wednesday advanced a plan to build 500 housing units in Ramat Shlomo, a neighborhood settlement in East Jerusalem, the first such move since the U.S. elections. The decision revives a plan that was initially approved in 2014 but later stalled amidst international criticism. Under the plan, Ramat Shlomo, a mostly ultra-Orthodox settlement, would be expanded northeast. Ir Amim, a Jerusalem-based human rights group, said in a statement that the construction is expected to "further encroach on Palestinian Beit Hanina, while linking to expansion of neighboring Ramot to the west." Ramot is another Jewish settlement neighborhood of Jerusalem. Israel seized East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it, claiming the territory part of its "undividable" capital. The land is part of the occupied territory, with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where the Palestinians wish to establish their future state with Jerusalem as its capital. SINGAPORE, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Wednesday called on business leaders to paly a greater role in the new development era in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The call was made at the Responsible Business Forum for Sustainable Development co-organized here by UNDP and Global Initiatives. Themed on "Innovation and Collaboration to Deliver the Global Goals", the 5th Responsible Business Forum (RBF) convened over 750 business leaders, senior government officials, UN agencies and NGOs in the city state. Singapore's Minister for Development and Second Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong gave an urgent call for action for governments, businesses, and consumers in the Asia Pacific to come together to tackle the SDG in his opening remarks. Wong cited that this had been a year of surprises and upheavals but that forums such as RBF were important for bringing governments, businesses together to align on goals and that good progress was being made in this regard. "It's not only about Corporation Social Responsibility and donating millions of dollars. All of us have the moral obligation, it's about aligning business outcomes with the SDG -- my appeal before this forum -- businesses must do their part," said Wong. Echoed with Wong's words, Haoliang Xu, UN assistant secretary-general and UNDP director for the Asia-Pacific, noted that the new development era presents unprecedented challenges and called for unprecedented solutions to ensure stability and sustainability. "All sectors of society -- private and public, international and domestic -- must join together to address challenges that affect the wellbeing of us all. Our role is to combine decades of experience with ideas and resources from new partners," said Xu. Mark Cliffe, chief economist of ING Group, said new technologies promise to help catalyze the business contribution to the delivery on the SDG, and governments also have an important role in facilitating and incentivizing business action. The forum provides opportunities to examine each of the SDG in depth with case studies and insights from businesses, governments, UN agencies and international experts. Over 50 leading corporate brands present their business cases for SDG integration during the forum. WUHAN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Peng Qiongxian, a Communist Party of China (CPC) village chief, sneaked his son's family on to a list of households entitled to poverty relief funds thinking the anti-corruption watchdog would never find it. But he was wrong. A cluster of new databases set up earlier this year by disciplinary authorities in Shiyan City, central China's Hubei Province, put paid to Peng's underhand behavior. Analysts also found that three other "poverty-stricken households" in Yueriwan, Peng's village, had used fake documents to obtain the status. "Lax supervision prevents good policies from benefiting those in need," said Hu Chaowen, head of Shiyan CPC commission for discipline inspection. China has the ambitious goal of lifting 55.75 million rural residents out of poverty by 2020. To achieve this, public funds have been allocated to provide living allowances, medical aid, and housing renovation subsidies. A five-year campaign to eliminate corruption in poverty relief was launched this year to address the growing number of officials implicated in the misuse or embezzlement of funds. Prosecutors investigated 658 officials responsible for poverty alleviation in the first five months of 2016, an increase of 53.7 percent year-on-year, according to statistics from the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Investigations by the procuratorate revealed that local-level officials were most likely to be involved in bribery, embezzlement, speculation and dereliction of duty. The databases hold information on those responsible for poverty relief funds since 2014 and their background information, including family, as well as house and vehicle ownership. Previously, data was neither unified or available to all governmental organs. The databases allow disciplinary staff to check whether funds were assigned to qualified receivers. There are also regulations in place that bans the relatives of governmental workers, or those who own an urban house or a car, from being classed as "those in need." So far, the databases have helped uncover thousands of violations. In Shiyan, a village committee returned over 6,000 yuan (870 U.S. dollars) in embezzled funds, which should have gone to villagers, to the state coffers. Following the footsteps of Shiyan, other regions in Hubei have also rolled out their own systems to supervise poverty relief funds. "'Big data' helps us find a way to strictly govern the Party, as our top leadership requires us to do," Hu said. HAMBURG, Germany, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The 7th Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" opened here on Wednesday, drawing senior officials, entrepreneurs and leading scholars from China and the European Union (EU) to discuss key issues on China-Europe economic relations. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in his opening speech that China is of special importance to Germany as well as to the whole of Europe, adding that the two countries have built a very successful partnership in the last four decades. He said Germany continues to be China's most important partner in Europe and has opted for political cooperation with China in recent decades. "Cooperation, rather than confrontation, should characterize the relationships between countries, even when their political and economic systems differ," said Schroeder, who was also the honorary chairman of the conference this year. In today's world, there is no country that can master all these new challenges alone, he said. "This is why we must intensify the strategic partnership with China in all areas, in politics and culture, as well as in economy and civil society." The summit scheduled for Nov. 23 and 24 in the northern German city of Hamburg will include discussions, keynote speeches and panel meetings focusing on such topics as the fallout from the Brexit, China's economic transition, the Belt and Road Initiative and boosting efficiency in industrial manufacturing. In his speech, Fritz Horst Melsheimer, president of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, called for an investment treaty between the EU and China as soon as possible within the next year in order to put bilateral economic relations swiftly onto a more solid legal basis. "China has to master a tremendous economic transformation to make this growth more sustainable," he said, "at the same time, economic stagnation in many European countries and United Kingdom's vote for Brexit both shake and shape our bilateral economic relations." Eye-to-eye exchange and open discussions were therefore particularly important, he added. Despite the backdrop of a sluggish global economic recovery, China-EU economic and trade relations have been deepened through the concerted efforts of both sides, said Li Yizhong, Chairman of the China Federation of Industrial Economics in his opening speech. Li said, as two pillars of the global economy, China-EU cooperation great potential to bring out the best in both sides. Despite a downturn in global trade, Europe sees services as an important driving force for economic growth in a post-crisis era, said Zhao Zhongyi, executive vice president of the China Association for Trade in Services, adding that China and Europe have great potential for cooperation in this field. Initiated by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in 2004, the biennial summit serves as an important platform for discussing China-EU economic cooperation. ABUJA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of 128 Nigerian policemen died on duty in the past three months, the country's Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris said Wednesday. The police personnel died while preventing attacks or ensuring law and order in various parts of the West African country, Idris said in a statement to Xinhua. The police chief cited recent killings by bandits in the northwestern state of Zamfara, the southeastern state of Anambra, and in Okrika waterways in the oil-rich Rivers State as "disturbing cases in point." He said efforts have been intensified to halt the trend of killing. Russia has deployed the Bastion and Bal coastal defense missile systems in the disputed Southern Kuril Islands recently. (Sputnik File Photo) MOSCOW, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Kremlin said on Wednesday it hoped that the deployment of missile systems in the disputed Southern Kuril Islands in the Pacific would not affect Moscow's negotiations with Tokyo. "This should in no way harm the fast trends that there have developed in our relations with Tokyo in terms of thorough preparations for president Putin's forthcoming visit to Japan and the continuing contacts over ways of advancing bilateral relations," TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. Russian media have reported that Moscow had deployed Bastion and Bal coastal defense missile systems on the islands of Kunashir and Iturup, close to the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Earlier in the day, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida was quoted as saying by the Kyodo news agency that Tokyo was considering "appropriate measures" in response. Russia and Japan have not signed a peace treaty formalizing the end of World War II due to a territory row over four small islands in the Pacific -- the Southern Kurils, as Russia calls them, and what the Japanese call the Northern Territories. The decades-old territorial dispute has hindered diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries. Bilateral ties appeared to begin to improve after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Putin in the Russian city of Sochi in May. In September, the two leaders held a three-hour meeting on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, during which they reached an agreement for Putin to visit to Japan in December. Emily Jiang (d), a Spanish-language ex-student at the University Language Center (CUI), danced with her partner Raul Palladino (i) during the CUI tenth anniversary event in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Nov. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala) BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- An Argentine Spanish language learning program for Chinese speakers marked its 10th anniversary here on Tuesday. As an initiative of the University Language Center (CUI) in the capital Buenos Aires, the program was established to promote closer cultural ties between the Argentine and Chinese people. At a commemorative event at the CUI's headquarters, the director general of the language center, Roberto Villarruel, told Xinhua: "We are celebrating the program's 10th anniversary (and) we are very pleased, because when we started it, it was quite a challenge." "I saw the potential it had, the potential for growth the Spanish language was going to have in China," said Villarruel, who made a trip to China a decade ago. Since then, the program has drawn Chinese students who "have completed their university degrees here and have stayed on to work. Others returned to China or went to other countries with their degrees, and are working in culture or arts," said Villarruel. "We have learned about the new needs and demands of students in China... because we are interested in seeing the expansion of ties between our countries, of bilateral exchange," he added. Students of Spanish language at the University Language Center (CUI), participate in the event for the tenth anniversary of CUI, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala) Today, "Argentina is in China's sightline, and China is in Argentina's sightline, and it is an honor to accompany this development" in bilateral ties, he said. The CUI also helps to teach personnel of Chinese companies with operations in Argentina, such as ICBC, Huawei and Sinopec, said Villarruel, adding "diversification is very important." Zhai Peng, 20, has studied at the CUI for eight months to improve his job prospects. During this time, he has also discovered he likes many things about Argentina. "I like Argentina a lot: the landscapes, the food -- like pizza, barbecues and choripan (a popular sausage sandwich) -- and the discos," said Zhai, smiling. "In addition, the teachers are really nice," he added. "I want to stay in Argentina and look for work at one of the Chinese companies." Currently, 50 Chinese students are enrolled in the program, whose annual average is 70 to 80 students. The program has taught more than 1,000 students so far. Highlights of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Chile Xinhua Weibo Facebook Twitter Reddit Diigo Delicious Digg Linkedin MySpace Sina Weibo Kaixin Renren Q-zone Tencent Weibo Sohu Weibo NetEase Weibo Source: Xinhua | 2016-11-23 23:10:07 | Editor: huaxia Chinese President Xi Jinping (C F) and his wife Peng Liyuan (3rd R) arrive in Santiago for a state visit to Chile Nov. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) SANTIAGO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the Chilean capital of Santiago Tuesday afternoon for a state visit to the Latin American country. Chile is the third leg of Xi's three-nation Latin America tour, which has already taken him to Ecuador and Peru. In Peru, Xi also attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting. According to a written speech upon arrival, Xi hailed Chile as an important country in Latin America, saying that Chile, the first South American nation to have established diplomatic relationship with the People's Republic of China, has made a string of "firsts" in developing relations with China. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 46 years ago, the two sides have deepened their political mutual trust, and nurtured a fruitful all-round cooperation and exchanges, said the Chinese leader, adding that bilateral cooperation is facing an even broader prospect for development. Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd L F) attends a welcoming ceremony held by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (2nd L F) in Santiago, capital of Chile, Nov. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Wang Ye) "My visit this time is to strengthen traditional friendship, deepen mutually-beneficial cooperation and boost common development," he said, adding that he expects to join the Chilean leaders during the trip to blueprint the future development of China-Chile ties. "I believe that this visit will surely promote China-Chile relations to a new level so that the peoples of the two nations can enjoy more benefits," he said. Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) holds talks with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in Santiago, capital of Chile, Nov. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) In his talks with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, China and Chile agreed to lift bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Citing a high level of mutual political trust between the two countries, their mutually beneficial and win-win economies, and increasingly closer multilateral cooperation, the Chinese president said China-Chile ties have entered a new era of maturity and stability. He said both countries are in a key phase of development, and are dedicated to seeking further development through deepening reforms. From this new starting point of bilateral ties, Xi said, they should actively strive forward to ensure that China-Chile relations could continue to spearhead China's ties with Latin American countries. China is willing to work with Chile to improve the top-level design for bilateral ties, improve their FTA, broaden investment cooperation, strengthen sci-tech and innovation cooperation, lay a solid foundation of public support, and lift their strategic coordination, he said, adding that the Chinese side supports its enterprises in seeking a spot in Chile's infrastructure and clean energy industries. He also noted that tourism cooperation between China and Chile is conducive to people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries, and urged the two sides to enhance communication and coordination within multilateral institutions. For her part, Bachelet welcomed Xi's visit to Chile, saying the country will further cement friendly ties with China, and expand political dialogues as well as trade and economic links. Chinese President Xi Jinping (1st R) holds talks with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (3rd L) in Santiago, capital of Chile, Nov. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) A joint statement issued after the talks between the two presidents affirmed the elevation of China-Chile ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The two countries also agreed to start talks on an upgrade of their FTA as soon as possible, it added. According to the joint statement, the two heads of state spoke highly of the accomplishments achieved over the past 10 years since the FTA of the two sides went into effect, adding that they will instruct relevant departments of the two countries to commence the upgrade talks as soon as possible, so as to further deepen and strengthen bilateral economic and trade ties. Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd L) and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (3rd R) witness the signing of cooperation agreements on trade and economy, agriculture, quality control, culture, education, e-commerce, information communication and finance, after their talks in Santiago, capital of Chile, Nov. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) After their talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation agreements on trade and economy, agriculture, quality control, culture, education, e-commerce, information communication and finance. Chinese President Xi Jinping lays a wreath at the Bernardo O'Higgins Monument in Santiago, capital of Chile, Nov. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) Xi also laid a wreath at the Bernardo O'Higgins monument in Santiago on Tuesday afternoon. Chile is the last stop of Xi's three-nation Latin America tour which has already taken the Chinese president to Ecuador and Peru. He also attended the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, the capital of Peru. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at a summit of Chinese and Latin American media executives in Santiago, capital of Chile, Nov. 22, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) While delivering a speech at a summit of Chinese and Latin American media executives, Xi urged Chinese and Latin American media agencies to jointly expand their influence and introduce to the world a more realistic image of China and Latin America. Media exchanges constitute an important part of the China-Latin America relationship, and Chinese and Latin American media agencies can do a lot in carrying on and advancing the friendship between their peoples, Xi said. The Chinese president noted that Chinese and Latin American media agencies should jointly speak up on major issues such as world peace and development. He said media agencies should also help boost pragmatic cooperation between China and Latin America, enhance the enthusiasm for and confidence in bilateral cooperation, and promote innovative cooperation models. Xi's journey to Chile has drawn attention from media around the world. Fox News described that Xi's made a brief official visit to Chile with a full agenda, saying that the visit takes place as China intensifies its political, economic and trade relations with Latin America. The report, titled "Xi sets up strategic alliance with Chile," focused on the signing of a dozen agreements between delegations of both countries, especially the memorandum of understanding to begin negotiations that will deepen the free trade agreement (FTA) signed between China and Chile ten years ago. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) said in its report that Chile vowed Tuesday to strengthen trade with China in the face of protectionist threats from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump as it prepared to host the Asian giant's President Xi Jinping, and Reuters directly quoted Xi's words in a column of Chile's national newspaper El Mercurio as reporting that Chile and China should work together to facilitate free trade and business ties in areas such as mining, agriculture, infrastructure, telecommunications, clean energy and IT. Social media users also responded warmly toward the Chinese president's visit to Chile, with Facebook user "Hardinata Nata" saying "That sounds great ... China bring peace all around the world." Another Facebook user "Bj Liu" commented that "Well done President Xi Jinping, keep on with your good job, make this world peaceful and prosperous, strengthening relationship through(out) the world." Enditem Xinhua Weibo Facebook Twitter Reddit Diigo Delicious Digg Linkedin MySpace Sina Weibo Kaixin Renren Q-zone Tencent Weibo Sohu Weibo NetEase Weibo Back to Top Close LUSAKA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Zambian President Edgar Lungu has held talks with his South Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir on the security situation of the world's youngest nation, his office said on Wednesday. The two leaders held the talks on the sidelines of the 4th Africa-Arab Summit currently underway in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, according to a statement released by his office. According to presidential spokesperson Amos Chanda, Lungu assured his South Sudan counterpart of Zambia's unflinching support towards peace building in that country. The Zambian leader wanted violence to end in South Sudan and that his administration supports efforts of leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia who have taken a tough stance against those instigating violence in that country. The presidential spokesperson added that the Zambian leader will be raising the issue of South Sudan at the next African Union (AU) summit. The Zambian leader also met a delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and discussed issues of deepening trade and investment, the statement added. CAPE TOWN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Reviews by rating agencies are important for South Africa, but "our problem is we are politicizing a downgrade," President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday. A rating review "encourages us to improve, reignite growth and improve global competitiveness," Zuma said while answering questions in Parliament. The problem with South Africans is that they're "politicizing" the decision that ratings agencies are about to make on the country's sovereign credit rating, said Zuma. Zuma was making a final appearance for the year in Parliament to answer tough questions on issues including the government's plans to stave off economic decline, funding for higher education and the state of capture report about Zuma's links with the Indian Gupta family which allegedly meddled in South Africa's politics. The president was speaking as international rating agencies -- Moody's, Fitch and Standard & Poor-- will decide shortly whether to retain South Africa's sovereign credit rating, or to downgrade it. Rating reviews will promote the interests of the country and tell people good opportunities that they must exploit, said Zuma. Zuma said the only issue is that other countries don't politicize ratings agencies. But for South Africans, "We tend to politicize the gradings," the president said. "We pick and choose what we think ratings agencies will talk about." He said the government's efforts to introduce labour market reforms are a positive step towards staving off sovereign credit ratings downgrades. There have been worries that South Africa will be given junk status due to many outstanding issues facing the country. The current rank assigned by Moody's is two notches above sub-investment grade (with a negative outlook). Fellow agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's both rank South Africa just one notch above junk status. Zuma said a number of countries had been downgraded earlier this year, including the UK, Russia and Brazil. "I'm sure some of you here have heard for the first time that all these countries -- big and small -- have been downgraded," Zuma said. "But here we make a big issue of it even though the ratings agencies haven't even arrived yet," he said. HANOI, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The International Conference on Vietnamese Studies 2016 will be held here from Dec. 15-18, with participation of leading scientists, experts and policy makers from all over the world, its organizers said Wednesday. At the conference themed "Sustainable Development in the Context of Global Change," the delegates from many countries, including the United States, France, Japan and Malaysia, will focus their presentations and discussions on Vietnam's foreign relations, international cooperation and integration, cultural resources, education, training and human resource development, technology and knowledge transfer, and economy and livelihood. The conference will be hosted by Hanoi-based Vietnam National University in coordination with many ministries and academic institutions. GUIYANG, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Gong Weiying, 41, has just had an operation on her left kidney in a private hospital in southwest China's Guizhou Province. She had never dreamed of such a thing because her family live in abject poverty. Gong from Miaoba Village, Wuchuan Gelao and Miao Autonomous County, suffered severe hydronephrosis and ureteral calculus. Her 20-year-old daughter was disabled in a traffic accident. With an annual family income of no more than 20,000 yuan (2,900 U.S. dollars), she could only spare 2,000 yuan on medical treatment. Had she not had the operation, her left kidney would have lost all function in six months, said Liao Lei, deputy director of the first surgical department of Shenghui Hospital. "The hospital has made it easy for me and the procedure cost much less than I expected. Otherwise, I would have given up and let it go," she said. When the hospital learned Gong's difficulties, she was offered a micro-invasive procedure that only cost 3,000 yuan. The hospital helped her raised the 1,000 yuan shortfall. Shenghui Hospital is the largest private hospital in the province. The non-profit hospital is a center for the treatment of severe and difficult diseases, attracting patients from as far away as Chongqing. China still has over 55 million rural people living in poverty. The 2016-2020 Five-Year Plan sets the target of reducing that number to zero by 2020, through a targeted action program. By analyzing the local economic and social conditions, the government supports private companies, individuals, NGOs and even the military in carrying out relief plans. As part of the program, Wuchuan County government offered grants and subsidies to Shenghui Hospital, helping with financing, land acquisition and recruitment of personnel, according to hospital president Fang Bo. The hospital now spends 50,000 to 100,000 yuan each year helping local families in need. "In the case of patients like Gong Weiying, we simply reduce their costs," said Fang. Since it opened to the public in June, Shenghui has helped three patients with serious ailments save about 90,000 yuan. Another 20 have had their medical expenses cut by a total of 20,000 yuan. To reach more rural people, the hospital organizes medical teams to visit villages and provide regular free clinics. It also built two helicopter pads on the top of the building for emergency rescue. Candidates from poor families are also favored in staff recruitment, with the hospital providing jobs for 68 people from poor households. The hospital also helps local farmers, providing 30,000 yuan to help buy supplies last spring, and buying their produce. It will provide grants of 200,000 yuan each year to help the poor students pursue higher education. Jiang Xiaodong is one such student. He entered Chongqing Medical University in September, but his mother's illness used up all the family savings and Jiang was close to giving up college. Shenghui Hospital agreed to give Jiang a bursary of 5,000 yuan each year until he graduates and his future is now secure. BRUSSELS, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Officials of four key European agencies dealing with security and defense met on Wednesday to discuss cooperative opportunities in the field of cyber security, the European Defence Agency (EDA) said in a press release. The executive directors of the European Union(EU) agency for network and information security, Europol's European cybercrime center, the EU institutions' permanent computer emergency response team and the EDA attended the meeting at the EDA premises. In his opening remarks, EDA chief executive Jorge Domecq recalled that the EU cyber defence policy framework, adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council in 2014, explicitly encouraged the four agencies to enhance their cooperation. "In the spirit of the EU Global Strategy and its implementation plan on security and defence, EU entities need to think cross-sectoral. We need to joint forces where appropriate in order to anticipate the security challenges and adapt to Member States' expectations," Domecq stated. The aim of the meeting was not yet to agree on a list of concrete projects to work on but to brainstorm and discuss possible options for future cooperation, according to the press release. A joint task force was set up to further discuss ideas exchanged at the meeting. It will provide a report by spring 2017 on concrete recommendations for cooperation projects. PHNOM PENH, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said in a statement on Wednesday that a road project in Myanmar and a proposed dam in Thailand, along with tiger farms and poaching, are a major threat to the survival of wild tigers across the Greater Mekong region. WFF cited a new report on roads and other infrastructure in tiger habitats as saying that the Dawei road project across Myanmar's Dawna Tenasserim Landscape and a proposed dam within Mae Wong National Park in Thailand are among the key challenges to the survival of the big cats. Released at the halfway point of an ambitious global effort to double the number of wild tigers between 2010 and 2022, the report highlighted the unprecedented threat posed by a vast network of planned infrastructure across the continent. "Tigers are an important part of the cultural and natural heritage of each country in the Greater Mekong region, but unless drastic action is taken to secure them, their future here is uncertain at best due to multiple threats," said WWF Greater Mekong Conservation Director Teak Seng. "As we hit the halfway point in our global effort to double tiger numbers, the urgency is increasing to act decisively or risk extinction of this majestic species from the region," he said. Tigers are functionally extinct from Cambodia and Vietnam, and have largely disappeared from Laos, the statement said. "In Myanmar, numbers are unknown but appear to be declining," it said. "Thailand is the best hope for tigers in the region, but numbers are low, with fewer than 200 remaining, and part of their habitat would be destroyed if a proposed dam is built within Mae Wong National Park." ISLAMABAD, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Wednesday summoned an Indian envoy over the cross Line of Control (LoC) firing that killed seven bus passengers and three soldiers. Director General at the Foreign Ministry Mohammad Faisal conveyed strong condemnation to Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh over the "unprovoked ceasefire violations" on Wednesday by Indian forces along the LoC in Dhudnial sector. The Pakistani official said the Indian troops "intentionally targeted a civilian bus," resulting in martyrdom of 7 innocent civilians and injuries to several others. He stated that the "deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas, villages, the ambulances and the civilian transport is deplorable and below human dignity." Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire in 2003 along the LoC and working boundary. The director general urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire understanding, investigate the continued incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit, stop targeting the villages and civilians and maintain peace on the LoC. PARIS, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- An Asian collector paid 523,800 euros (551,620 U.S. dollars) on Tuesday for a section of the Eiffel Tower's spiral staircase, Artcurial auction house said. Composed of 14 steps, the 2.6-meter high section once linked the second and third storeys of the Paris landmark "French Iron Lady" built in 1889. The section of the staircase that Gustave Eiffel climbed to inaugurate the monument was removed in 1983 when elevators were installed. The staircase was cut into 24 sections, with their length ranging from two to nine meters. One of them has since been preserved on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower and three others have been donated to the museums of Orsay, La Villette and the Iron Story in Nancy. On Dec. 1, 1983, the remaining 20 sections were first auctioned. The different sections are displayed at "prestigious locations around the world," with one piece in Foundation Yoishii in Yamanashi, Japan and another near the Statue of Liberty in New York, according to the auction room. The piece sold on Tuesday numbered 13. "The auction battle on the phone and in the room, and then the exceptional result of this Eiffel Tower's staircase shows the deep attachment of international collectors to French culture and an interest that is as strong as ever for the most emblematic monument in Paris and our country," said Francois Trajan, deputy chairman of Artcurial. ROME, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Italian police arrested 45 people in an operation to break up a drug trafficking ring operating in the northern city of Milan, local media reported on Wednesday. All those arrested were charged with international drug trafficking, and were Italian nationals and citizens of South American countries, according to ANSA news agency. The ring is believed to have trafficked cocaine from Peru and The Netherlands hidden in the seams of bags and transported on flights, while marijuana was illegally imported from Albania, police told a press conference on Wednesday. The South American nationals were allegedly in charge of shipping and selling the drugs in some northern districts of Milan while the Italians are thought to have been responsible for carrying out trade in several towns north of the major city. All of the arrests were carried by the Milan Flying Squad on Tuesday, and was the result of a three-year investigation launched in Nov. 2013. In the first phase of the operation, police arrested 19 people and seized 580 kg of marijuana, over 33 kg of cocaine, some six kg of hashish, plus 18,000 euros (about 19,000 U.S. dollars) in cash. A further arrest of an Italian national linked to the drug trafficking ring, and the seizure of eight kg of cocaine were carried out in June 2014, police added. This was the second major international drug trafficking operation carried out in Italy in the last few weeks. On Nov. 10, Italian police arrested 15 people suspected of smuggling drugs from Colombia to Spain, and then into Italy, and laundering the profits. This drug-trafficking organization allegedly involved Italians, Colombians, and Guatemalan citizens. The drug trade was based in Rome, according to investigators. Three Italian nationals were accused of being the ringleaders. The latest part of this operation was conducted by Italian police's Central Operational Office (SCO) and Finance Unit in cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan held talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Beijing Wednesday. The Chinese and Russian armed forces have successfully engaged in exchanges and cooperation concerning high-profile visits, joint drills,training and special techniques, said Chang. The two armed forces have elevated strategic mutual trust and traditional friendship and safeguarded their common interests, he said. Chang said China was willing to continue to develop military-to-military relations with Russia. Sergei Shoigu said the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries had hit a new high. Russia is willing to strengthen pragmatic military cooperation with China in various areas and, with China, safeguard world peace and stability, the Russian defense minister said. File photo taken on August 15, 2016 shows Eric Aniva looking on while appearing at the Magistrate Court in Nsanje. Eric Aniva, an HIV-positive Malawian man who said he slept with at least 100 girls and women in traditional cleansing rituals was to be sentenced on November 22 after being convicted of "engaging in harmful practices". He was prosecuted on the orders of President Peter Mutharika after publicly speaking about his role as a "hyena" in a BBC documentary. (AFP/ELDSON CHAGARA) NSANJE, Malawi, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The sentencing of a Malawian man on Tuesday to two years in jail for performing "sexual cleansing" to widows and underage girls has received mixed reactions from Malawians. Eric Aniva, 45, was arrested on July 25 following President Peter Mutharika's directive after the man revealed that he had had sex with over 100 young girls and bereaved widows at a fee in the name of cultural cleansing. Aniva, known as a 'hyena,' also admitted to BBC prior to his arrest that he is HIV positive. In some parts of Malawi, men known as hyenas offer paid sex service for newly bereaved widows and young girls to fend off bad luck. A local magistrate court in the southern district of Nsanje, where Aniva hails from, found the man guilty of engaging in and attempting to engage in "harmful practices." File photo taken on August 15, 2016 shows Eric Aniva arriving at the Magistrate Court in Nsanje. Eric Aniva, an HIV-positive Malawian man who said he slept with at least 100 girls and women in traditional cleansing rituals was to be sentenced on November 22 after being convicted of "engaging in harmful practices." He was prosecuted on the orders of President Peter Mutharika after publicly speaking about his role as a "hyena" in a BBC documentary. (AFP/ELDSON CHAGARA) His sentencing has however triggered mixed reactions from Malawians through the social and local media monitored by Xinhua, with some saying he deserved a stiffer penalty. "It's really a mockery to justice; the maximum sentence for defilement is 14 years imprisonment and what Aniva did to the young girls within the 100 victims is tantamount to defilement and he ought to have been punished severely," wrote a Malawian journalist, Pat Botha, on the social media. Another woman told a local radio that the fact that Aniva had confessed to have been HIV positive and that he had slept with over 100 young girls and women without any protection justified the need for a stiffer penalty. "Think of how many young girls and women he has put to the risk of contracting the virus? And how many people have Aniva's clients exposed to the risk of contracting the virus? It is a total chaos: he has put the whole village under a curse," she said. However, Aniva is not without sympathizers who think the man is just a victim of circumstances and that he did not deserve to be punished for indulging in what is culturally acceptable in his community. "It is a deep-rooted cultural practice that cannot be taken away from the people by sending men to jail," said Sifa Velosi on a WhatsApp group debate. "Men like Aniva, 'hyenas' as we call them, are in every village among the Sena people and they are hired to perform sexual cleansing to widows and newly initiated girls -- it is custom and it has never been an issue until now," he said. Another respondent on the WhatsApp group, a teacher based in the capital, Lilongwe, pointed out that Aniva's conviction would only succeed in making the practice more secretive and lucrative as 'hyenas' would charge an extra penny for the risk. In July, President Mutharika emphasized in a statement that while the country must promote positive cultural values and socialization of children, harmful cultural and traditional practices shall never be accepted. DUBLIN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Central Bank of Ireland said on Wednesday the ceiling on the loan to value ratio for all first-time home buyers will be set at 90 percent. This is a shift from the current requirement, which puts the ceiling at 90 percent for loans up to 220,000 euros(232,000 U.S. dollars) but at 80 percent for the balance of loans above 220,000 euros, it said. This means that first time buyers will be able to borrow up to 90 percent of a value of a home, with a requirement for a 10 percent minimum deposit, it added. But the 20 percent minimum deposit requirement continues to apply to second and subsequent buyers, according to the central bank. Meanwhile, the structure of the proportionate loan to value allowances is amended, it said. On Wednesday, the Irish central bank announced the outcome of the review of the mortgage measures, following an extensive consultation and evaluation process. The mortgage measures were introduced in February 2015 to enhance the resilience of both borrowers and the banking sector. According to the central bank, five percent of the value of new lending to first time home buyers will be allowed above the 90 percent loan to value limit and 20 percent of the value of new lending to second and subsequent buyers for primary residences will be allowed above the 80 percent loan to value limit. This replaces the current requirement which allows 15 percent of total lending for primary dwellings above the loan to value limits. The current two-month valuation period will be extended to four months in recognition of the fact that a portion of house sales can take longer than the average three months to conclude, it said. Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 24th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru, Nov. 20, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) SANTIAGO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping left the Chilean capital of Santiago Wednesday morning after wrapping up his state visits to Ecuador, Peru and Chile, and attendance at the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru. It was the third and fourth time for Xi, respectively, to visit Latin America and attend the APEC meeting since his taking office in 2013, through which analysts see a bigger role of China in regional and global affairs. COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS During his week-long trip, President Xi held talks with his Ecuadorian counterpart Rafael Correa and Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet, and they decided to lift China's relationship with Ecuador and Chile respectively to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Xi also met his Peruvian counterpart Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and they agreed to further enhance the comprehensive strategic partnership of the two countries, which was established in 2013. Although there is no clear definition of the "comprehensive strategic partnership," it is usually regarded the highest level in China's diplomatic intimacy with other countries. Political willingness and the need for economic cooperation are often two pillars, among others, of the partnership, said Zhang Lili, a professor with China Foreign Affairs University. Ecuador is an important country in Latin America, said Xi, on the first visit by a Chinese president to Ecuador over the past 36 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations. Echoing Xi, Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa believed that China, as the world's second-largest economy with a high speed of growth, can play a very important role in bolstering Ecuador's development, especially against the backdrop of low oil prices. Since President Correa came into power in 2007, Ecuador has focused on deepening ties with China. The Ecuadorian president's first official trip to Beijing took place in the same year. In 2015, on Correa's second China visit, he and Xi agreed to elevate the bilateral ties to the level of strategic partnership, only one year before the upgrade to the latest level. Economic cooperation grew fast as well. Despite the long distance, China has become Ecuador's third largest trading partner, with two-way trade reaching 4.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, quadrupling in just 10 years. And Ecuador is now a major destination for Chinese investment and financing in Latin America. Chinese investment and financing in Ecuador has exceeded 10 billion dollars, supporting hundreds of projects including major infrastructure projects such as the Coca Codo Sinclair hydropower plant, seven other hydropower plants and a dozen of highways. On Thursday, President Correa himself went to the Quito airport to welcome the Chinese president. On Friday, Correa saw Xi off at the airport. Situations may vary in Peru and Chile, but the willingness for cooperation is alike. Peruvian President Kuczynski visited China in September this year, only six weeks after his inauguration, and two months before Xi's visit to Peru. During Xi's visit to Chile, China and the Latin American country decided to initiate negotiations on upgrading their free trade agreement (FTA) as soon as possible. The two countries signed their FTA in 2005. Bilateral trade volume has grown four-fold since the FTA went into effect in 2006. China is now Chile's largest trading partner, its largest export destination and the largest buyer of its copper products. On Tuesday, Chilean President Bachelet also expressed her country's intention of joining the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. "The elevation of the bilateral relationships shows the growing willingness for bilateral cooperation between China and these countries,"said Wu Hongying, director of the Latin America office of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations. CHINA-LATAM COMMUNITY OF COMMON DESTINY While addressing the Peruvian Congress on Monday, Xi called on China and Latin American countries to strengthen dialogue on global issues and boost cooperation on domestic development, in a bid to better build their community of common destiny on a new starting point in history. The natural sense of recognition to each other and the shared sense of mission have made us look at our relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective, Xi said, noting that China and Latin American countries can understand and support each other on core interests and major concerns. Xi proposed that China and Latin America and the Caribbean hold high the banner of peaceful development and cooperation, seek synergy between their development strategies, speed up and upgrade practical cooperation and bring benefits to both peoples. Xi noted that China will firmly support Latin American countries in seeking development paths suited to their national conditions, gaining greater strength and prosperity through unity, and playing a bigger role in regional and international affairs. The Chinese president also announced that in the next three years, China will increase the number of training opportunities of various kinds for Latin America and the Caribbean to 10,000. On Tuesday, Xi, accompanied by his Chilean counterpart Bachelet, attended a summit of Chinese and Latin American media executives in Santiago, at which he urged Chinese and Latin American media agencies to jointly expand their influence and introduce to the world a more realistic image of China and Latin America. "It was the third time that President Xi has set foot in Latin America since 2013, which shows how much attention he pays to the ties between China and Latin America," Wu said. From May 31 to June 6, 2013, Xi made state visits to Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Mexico. In July 2014, Xi paid state visits to Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba. Moreover, a forum between China and Latin America was established to steer the overall cooperation between China and the region. The first ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum was then held in Beijing in January 2015, marking the start of a new era that features all-round cooperation between the two sides. In 2015, the trade volume between China and Latin America reached 236.5 billion dollars, up more than 20-fold during the past decade, according to Chinese official statistics. In 2016, China-Latin America relations have moved forward with the setup of new platforms such as the China-Latin America cultural exchange year and the forum of China-Latin America cooperation between local governments. Currently, China is the second-largest trade partner and third-largest investment source country of Latin America, while Latin America is China's seventh-largest trade partner, and important overseas investment destination. ADVOCACY FOR FREE TRADE AREA OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC At the APEC CEO summit in Lima, President Xi renewed his call for pushing forward the building of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), saying it is a strategic initiative critical for the long-term prosperity of the Asia-Pacific. "We should firmly pursue the FTAAP as an institutional mechanism for ensuring an open economy in the Asia-Pacific," he told global business leaders, emphasizing openness is the lifeblood of the Asia-Pacific economy. The FTAAP process was launched at the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Beijing with the endorsement of a roadmap. A "collective strategic study" was subsequently conducted, as agreed by the APEC members, and the result should be reported to the economic leaders by the end of 2016. Once established, the FTAAP, the largest free trade area in the world,can unleash much greater economic vigor than other regional trade arrangements and add an estimated 2.4 trillion U.S. dollars of output to the global economy. "We have an obligation to continue the core agenda. Perhaps the first issue is the adoption of the collective strategic study, which was required by the Beijing Roadmap," Raul Salazar, APEC affairs director at the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, told Xinhua in Lima. Economic globalization, open economy, regional inter-connectivity, and reform and innovation were key words of Xi's speech, which was encouraging under the current international situation. As protectionism and isolationism are on the rise in Europe and North America, China's leadership grows stronger, providing commercial openness, cooperation and multilateralism, the leading Chilean newspaper El Mercurio said in its editorial release on Tuesday. With the future of the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) dims under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the alternative Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) occupied the center stage at the APEC meeting in Peru. The 16-member RCEP, composed of the 10 member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, missed its negotiation deadline last year, but with the uncertainty of TPP, RCEP has regained attention at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. Analysts believe that the RCEP will become the main path toward the final realization of a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific. "We must energize trade and investment to drive growth, make free trade arrangements more open and inclusive and uphold the multilateral trading regime," said the Chinese president. Xi's proposal was echoed by other APEC leaders, as they reaffirmed their commitment that the FTAAP should be built upon ongoing regional undertakings, and through possible pathways including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. "We reiterate our commitment to the eventual realization of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific as a major instrument to further deepen APEC's regional economic integration agenda," reads the declaration after the Economic Leaders' Meeting. "That China's push for FTAAP has won positive response from APEC members shows China's special role in the region, which will also help increase the region's part in global recovery," said Wu, the Chinese scholar. Honorary Chairman of the Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (2nd L) and Li Yizhong (1st L), chairman of China Federation of Industrial Economics, pose for a photograph after the awarding ceremony of the China-Europe Friendship Award during the seventh Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" in Hamburg, northern Germany, on Nov. 23, 2016. The seventh Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" opened here on Wednesday, drawing senior officials, entrepreneurs and leading scholars from China and the European Union (EU) to discuss the most important issues in Sino-European economic relations. (Xinihua/Shan Yuqi) HAMBURG, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The seventh Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" opened here on Wednesday, drawing senior officials, entrepreneurs and leading scholars from China and the European Union (EU) to discuss the most important issues in Sino-European economic relations. About 550 participants from China and Europe gathered at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday to exchange views through 10 panel discussions and keynote speeches. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in his opening speech that China was of special importance to Germany as well as to the whole of Europe, adding that China and Germany had built a very successful partnership in the last four decades. He said Germany continued to be China's most important partner in Europe, with Germany opting for political cooperation with China over recent decades. "Cooperation, rather than confrontation, should characterize the relationships between countries, even when their political and economic systems differ," said Schroeder, who was made honorary chairman of the conference this year and received the China-Europe Friendship Award on Wednesday in recognition of his outstanding achievements in cultivating relations with China. In today's world, there is no country that can master all these new challenges alone, he noted. "This is why we must intensify the strategic partnership with China in all areas, in politics and culture, as well as in the economy and civil society." In his speech, Fritz Horst Melsheimer, president of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, called for an investment treaty between the EU and China as soon as possible within the next year in order to put bilateral economic relations swiftly onto a more solid legal basis. "China has to master a tremendous economic transformation to make this growth more sustainable," he said, "at the same time, economic stagnation in many European countries and Britain's vote for Brexit both shake and shape our bilateral economic relations." Exchange and open discussions were therefore particularly important, he added. Despite sluggish global economic recovery and deep adjustment, China-EU economic and trade relations have deepened through concerted efforts by both sides, said Li Yizhong, chairman of China Federation of Industrial Economics in his opening speech. Li said, as the two pillars of the global economy, China-EU cooperation has a solid foundation and great potential to bring out the best in each other. Against the backdrop of global trade downturn, Europe sees service trade as an important driving force to economic growth in the post-crisis era, said Zhao Zhongyi, executive vice president of China Association of Trade in Services (CATIS), adding that as the most important trade partner to each other, China and Europe have great cooperation potential in service trade. The summit, which is scheduled for Nov. 23 and 24 this year, will deliver discussions, keynote speeches and panel meetings focusing on various topics, such as the fallout from Brexit, China's economic transition, the Belt and Road Initiative, and boosting efficiency in industrial manufacturing. Initiated by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in 2004, the biennial summit serves as an important platform for discussing China-EU economic cooperation. A photo taken on Nov. 21, 2016 shows Federico Ramon Puerta, Argentina's Ambassador to Spain, during an interview with Xinhua. (Xinhua) MADRID, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Argentina has deep historical ties with Spain and has also traded with China for about 50 years. Since the 1990s, these ties have improved by leaps and bounds, said Argentina's Ambassador to Spain Federico Ramon Puerta. In an interview with Xinhua, Puerta said China is a very qualified player. The ambassador stressed the importance of cooperation with China. Puerta said that Argentina is experiencing a very interesting time of opening and reinsertion in the world, and believed that the country is on the right track, "seeking to have more friends and fewer conflicts." Noting the role of Spain in the relationship between China and Latin America, he said that "it is impossible to analyze Latin America without analyzing Spain. In fact, more than Latin America, we have to talk about Iberoamerica." "Iberoamerica is a cultural reality of 500 years, but it is an economic reality too," he explained. Puerta believed China has been a central actor, adding that there should be a three-fold analysis of Argentina, Spain and China. Puerta also stressed that the economy needs to grow to solve social issues. "The Chinese model has one path; the Argentine model will have another. But we are always talking about economic growth, something essential fundamental for any country," he said. Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang (C), U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker (L) and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman pose for a photograph at the 27th Session of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, on Nov. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States on Wednesday kicked off an annual high-level dialogue to seek more cooperation between the world's two largest economies, aiming to pave the way for a smooth transition of bilateral ties amid the U.S. presidential change. "Firstly, we have to properly manage the differences, ensuring a smooth transition of China-U.S. economic and trade relations to the next U.S. administration," Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said at the opening plenary session of the 27th Session of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), the last high-level economic dialogue between the two countries under the Obama administration. Wang said China will consider reasonable concerns of the United States, and that China also hopes the U.S. will fulfill its obligations under the Article 15 of the Protocol on China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), important provisions regarding China's market economy status in anti-dumping cases. Secondly, the two sides have to expand areas of cooperation and yield more deliverables in the areas of two-way investment, digital economy and food safety, laying a solid foundation for China-U.S. economic and trade relations over the next year and a longer period, the Chinese vice premier said. Thirdly, he called on the two sides to further strengthen the outcomes of the JCCT and highlight the JCCT's role in bilateral economic cooperation, showing a new type of China-U.S. major country relations with the principles of non-confrontation, non-conflict, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said the JCCT has "focused on areas ripe for collaboration" and promoted more trade and commerce between the two countries over the past three years. The JCCT has sparked the creation of the China-U.S. Year of Tourism 2016 and facilitated a U.S. trade mission of 12 healthcare companies to Beijing and Chongqing, China, last month, Pritzker said. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman emphasized the need to keep the U.S.-China relations "on an even keel" amid strong headwinds of populism and protectionism around the world. "Our two governments have less than two months to reinforce and fortify this relationship, so that it can endure through the uncharted waters that lay ahead," Froman said. The JCCT gives the two sides a concrete opportunity to make progress in economic cooperation and address differences between the two major trade partners, he added. Launched in 1983, the JCCT was the first high-level economic dialogue mechanism between China and the U.S., and plays an important role in China-U.S. economic cooperation and addressing economic and trade frictions. TEHRAN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran plans to purchase more fighter jets to boost the country's air defense capabilities, a senior Iranian army commander said on Wednesday. Talks are underway on the purchase of new aircrafts, Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, the second-in-command of the Iranian Army, was quoted by Press TV as saying. Pourdastan did not provide details as to what type of aircraft or from which country the fighter jets would be purchased. In the meantime, the fighter jets of Iran's Air Force "have been overhauled and are ready to defend the country and counter any threats," the commander added. Earlier this month, Iran held an international aviation exhibition in the southern Kish Island to display the latest developments in the aircraft and aviation industry. Iran deployed its MiG-29 and home-made Saeqeh fighter jets to Kish Island in addition to other types of warplanes, including F-4, F-14 and F-1. Major international aircraft manufacturers, including Airbus, as well as spare parts manufacturing companies attended the show. Furthermore, both the Russian Knights Acrojet team and the Latvian Baltic Bees team displayed their capabilities during the air-show. KHARTOUM, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Posters will be put on different means of transportation in Sudan to promote the community initiative of Hospital for Free Treatment of Children's Cancer (7979), which is entering its second phase aiming at involving all the Sudanese community to contribute to the project. Launched by Sudan's Bital Balad Charity Society, the initiative helps manage the deteriorating health reality and lack of a specialized hospital for treatment of children with cancer in Sudan. Having received wide response, organizations and citizens actively contributed to the construction of the hospital, situated in the capital Khartoum, and are gearing up to provide it with necessary equipments and specialists. "This is a great initiative that Sudan really needs to serve our children," said Hussein Omer Abu Reem, chairman of the sub-committee of transportation means in Khartoum locality, who confirmed the "posters plan." "The idea of the hospital emerged from the urgent need for such a project. It is the first hospital of its kind in Sudan," said Laila Mohamed Ali, chair of Bital Balad Charity Society. The chair thanked "all the popular sectors which support us in this humanitarian project," referring to the project as it entered the second phase. Figures show that the number of children with cancer in Sudan is estimated at about 450,000, which alert the public of the instant need to provide treatment for the infected children. The children's cancer hospital is launched in Bahry locality, north of Khartoum, said Hassan Mohamed Hassan, commissioner of Bahry locality, promising to provide the necessary support for the hospital. He added that some of the children travel to neighboring countries, such as Egypt, to receive treatment due to lack of specialized children cancer hospital in Sudan, and "such a hospital could reduce the cost of treatment abroad." The hospital tends to make use of similar successful experiences from hospitals like 57357 children's cancer hospital in Egypt, a team of it visited the patron of the Sudanese initiative few days ago. The hospital is a six-story building with an integrated surgery complex, intensive care and emergency rooms. It is set to receive 300 cases daily, and would be constructed in three phases, according to Bital Balad charity society. TEHRAN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A recent letter by Israel to the United Nations which accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism in Lebanon is baseless, Press TV quoted Iran's ambassador to the UN as saying on Wednesday. "The letter, once again, contains a flurry of baseless and unsubstantiated accusations that are leveled against my country without, as usual, a shred of evidence," Iran's ambassador to the UN Gholam Hossein Dehghani said. In a letter to the UN on Tuesday, Israel accused the Islamic republic of flouting UN Security Council resolutions and sponsoring terrorism by smuggling of weapons to Lebanon's Hezbollah on board commercial flights. The Israeli accusation of Iran's violation of Security Council resolutions "is equally baseless and this time amusing too, as it amounts to an innovative in bulk leveling of accusations against a UN member state," Dehghani said. "At least, a regime that has brazenly flouted all UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions about the lands it criminally occupies is not in a position to broach such a claim against other nations," he said. Israel has for long been involved in terrorizing and indiscriminately targeting the Palestinian civilians, he added, including women and children, in their own land and in terrorist targeted killings and assassinating individuals in many parts of the world. General view of Giza pyramid complex on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, October 29, 2016. Picture taken October 29, 2016. (Reuters photo) CAIRO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Tourism Ministry welcomed as "positive" the decision of the U.S. Department of State to consider Egypt among the safe countries for travel and tourism, the ministry said in a press statement Wednesday. The U.S. Department of State published a map on Tuesday highlighting in green the safe countries for travel and tourism, which included the most populous Arab country. "The decision is a message of reassurance regarding the Egyptian tourist sites and an invitation for tourists to visit Egypt," Egyptian Tourism Minister Yehia Rashed said in the statement. He also stressed the importance of the decision for improving the mental image about Egypt as a tourist destination. Egypt's tourism industry suffered over the past five years of political instability and relevant security issues that followed the ouster of two heads of state after mass protests. It further worsened after a Russian plane crash in Sinai that killed over 200 Russians in October 2015, an Italian student's ambiguous death in Cairo in February and a tragic EgyptAir flight crash in May that killed all 66 passengers onboard, including 15 French. Employing about four million people, the tourism sector is one of Egypt's main sources of national income and foreign currency, bringing the country about 13 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 alone. The Egyptian tourism minister said last week that about four million tourists visited Egypt since the start of 2016, compared to 14.7 million tourists who visited the country in 2010. A Ghadr-F missile is displayed next to a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a war exhibition to commemorate the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war at Baharestan square, south of Tehran on September 26, 2016. (AFP/Xinhua) TEHRAN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that if the United States renews the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), the Islamic republic will "definitely" react. "So far, the incumbent U.S. government has committed several violations with regard to the nuclear agreement," Khamenei said, adding that "the most recent violation is the 10-year extension of the sanctions" by the U.S. House of Representatives. "If these sanctions are executed, this will surely constitute a violation of the JCPOA (Iran's nuclear deal) and they (the U.S. officials) should know that the Islamic republic will definitely react to it," he was quoted as saying by Press TV. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted for the extension of the ISA for another 10 years. To become a law, the bill has still to be endorsed by the Senate and to be signed by the U.S. president. The ISA was first adopted in 1996 to sanction Iran over its controversial nuclear program. Khamenei's remarks came one day after Iranian lawmakers in a statement deplored the vote, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. The Iranian lawmakers are "fully monitoring the behavior of the U.S. senators and the Congress, and urge the government to take reciprocal and serious measures on (the violation of) the nuclear deal," read the statement. "The parliament is fully ready to defend the Islamic revolution's achievements in the civilian nuclear industry in Iran and national honor," the statement was cited as reading. On Tuesday, Iranian Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani also warned Washington of Tehran's retaliatory measures against any violation of last year's nuclear deal with the world powers. In the meantime, Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said Tuesday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to undertake Washington's obligations pertaining to last year's nuclear deal, Fars reported. "I imagine when the U.S. president practically takes the country's leadership, he will take actions on the basis of the realities as the nuclear deal is not an issue between the two countries to allow the other side to defy its undertakings, and we believe that there will be no problem," Salehi of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) was quoted as saying. "It is an international issue and we think that we will not face so many problems," Salehi said. "The Islamic Republic of Iran acts upon its commitments under the nuclear deal and we expect the other side to act upon its undertakings as well," he added. On Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry said the incoming administration of the U.S. president-elect is unlikely to break the Iranian nuclear deal harm the interests of the United States. "It is still soon to judge what is going to come about," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said, adding that he believes there is enough rationality within the U.S. society to prevent potential acts from endangering U.S. and international interests. He also said Iran would prepare contingency plans for any possible scenario. However, the White House said on Tuesday that U.S. President Barack Obama would not sign any bill in his final months in office that would undermine the Iran nuclear deal. "We certainly are not going to, however, sign a piece of legislation that would undermine the ability of the international community to continue to successfully implement the international agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a daily briefing. Iran and six world major countries -- the U.S., Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany -- reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue in July 2015 that puts Iran on the path of sanctions relief but more strict limits on its nuclear program. The deal sets limits on Iran's nuclear activities as it will take Tehran at least one year to produce enough fissile materials for producing a nuclear weapon, and allows regular inspections of the facilities inside Iran. In return, the U.S. and the European Union will suspend nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran, with the lifting of all past UN Security Council sanction resolutions. Many members of the U.S. Congress had expressed deep concern over the deal, warning that Tehran could evade inspections and use the money from sanction relief to destabilize the region. DHAKA, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Eating a meal for 1 taka in Bangladesh's capital city of Dhaka would have been unimaginable even a decade ago and by today's standards a meal for less than 1 U.S. dollar (80 taka) in the city can't be found even from a street vendor. But thanks to an organization called the Bidyanondo Foundation, a meal for just 1 taka is available daily for underprivileged children. The Bidyanondo Foundation's policy is to charge 1 taka so as not to be viewed as giving handouts to the children, and for the children's part, paying the money, as little as it is, is a matter of pride and allows them not to view themselves negatively as beggars. Thanks to the foundation's generosity, hundreds of impoverished children in the capital and in other places in the country can regularly receive a decent, nutritional meal for next to nothing. The organization is headed by Founder and Chairman, Kishor Kumar Das, who currently works for Google in Puru. His technical prowess has been injected into the foundation for it to also provide a myriad of other charitable solutions to the underprivileged. These include virtual educational solutions for poor students who can utilize digital technology to help free themselves from the shackles of poverty and fight on an equal footing with the more fortunate to gain employment, having received pre-career education and guidance provided by the altruistic foundation. As for the 1 taka mission, dozens of volunteers at the foundation prepare and pack around 750 food parcels daily to be distributed to the children, who, would quite likely otherwise not be able to get a decent meal. At a Bidyanondo center in Dhaka's downtown area of Mirpur, dozens of volunteers were busy removing the shells from hard boiled eggs. Sultana Jannat Shikha, one of the regular volunteers told Xinhua that everyone was working there of their own volition and putting in a hard graft purely for the benefit and wellbeing of the children, for whom their efforts, from cooking to distribution, are an essential daily lifeline. Shikha said the volunteers are delighted to be able to feed so many children, while helping them maintain their self-esteem by accepting their one taka notes or coins. In addition, the children lining up for food are also given liquid soap to clean their hands with and keep the conditions sanitary, which is also paramount to their overall health. Shikha told Xinhua that the foundation, which has been operational for the past five months, overall, acts as an important educational provider for the children, focusing on their welfare and enhancing their future opportunities. The foundation serves to give hundreds of street children somewhere safe to go on daily basis and receive a nutritional meal as well as other lifestyle and educational support from the volunteers. "The fact that they are handing over 1 taka, helps us to help the children maintain their self-esteem and dignity and it also helps lift their confidence," Shikha explained of the unique system. "Since June this year we have been feeding children in places in Dhaka, with our projects partly funded by private donations given by people who have forgone the expenses of birthday celebrations and presents, to give the money to the foundation for our cause(s)," added Shikha. Volunteers provide fruits and sweetmeats when someone donates their birthday celebration money, which is an extra treat for the kids, Shikha said. A young child named Brishti visits the outreach location in the city everyday and told Xinhua the food was really good and the volunteers kind and encouraging. Shakil another regular, said that fresh fruit like an apple or an orange is always gratefully received. "The food is really tasty," beamed Jasim who studies at a school in Tongi, on the outskirts of the capital. "Today we even had an apple and sweetmeat with our regular meal and it only cost 1 taka." The Bidyanondo Foundation wants to work towards expanding its project activities not only in Bangladesh but all around the the world, with a vision that one day in the future "no child will go hungry." PARIS, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese delegates on Wednesday presented preparations of the 2019 International Horticultural Exhibition in Beijing to the 160th general assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions here. As the 2016 Antalya International Horticultural Exposition in Turkey wound down on Oct. 30, the Exhibition has entered "Beijing time," officials said. Scheduled between April 29 and Oct. 7, the 2019 Horticultural Expo is organized under the theme "Live Green, Live Better" and will be held in Yanqing district in Beijing. The expo aims to demonstrate people's common desire for a green lifestyle and help humankind adapt to, respect and integrate into nature. Wang Jinzhen, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said the event will be an opportunity for Chinese horticultural sector to strengthen cooperation with professionals from different countries as well as to promote exchanges in innovation, culture and tourism. Organizers are expecting over 16 million visitors and hope to attract 100 countries and international organizations as well as 100 non-official participants. Bureau International des Expositions is an intergovernmental organization in charge of overseeing and regulating all international exhibitions that last more than three weeks and are of non-commercial nature. Workers produce "Dongfanghong" tractors in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, Aug. 15, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang) VIENNA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Global industry needs to continue embracing a green approach and not repeat old ways, Li Yong, the chief of UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) told Xinhua in an interview. On the occasion of UNIDO's 50th anniversary, Director General Li Yong said his focus was promoting the industrialization of developing countries to achieve goals set in the UN 2030 development agenda. "Now the new mandate of UNIDO is inclusive and sustainable industrial development. This is a very important mandate because industrial development is our focus based on the past 50 years' of experience. We would like to move ahead with inclusive and sustainable industrial development," he said. After Li took office at UNIDO, the agenda for inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) was declared in a conference in Lima, Peru as the mandate for the organization in end-2013. Compared to traditional industrialization which could lead to environment issues, the ISID not only focuses on industrial development but also on both the social sector and environment. Li noted the inclusive industrial development would benefit social development, creating more jobs and giving people more opportunities. "Let women, young people have opportunity; let different countries have the opportunity to develop industry -- that is a very important concept," the UNIDO chief said. In some developing states like African countries, only industrial development could create enough jobs for young people. "Of course, we will not repeat footprints in history related to environmental issues such as pollution. Now we should have green industry, use resources more effectively, renewable energies, and produce more with less materials. Those are important concepts for us," he said. "I think that 50 years of UNIDO has contributed a lot to the industrial development in member countries like India and China," he said, citing 400 projects covering a wide range from agro-industry to manufacturing. Li strongly believes renewable energy will be very important and possibly replace other energies in the long run. "One day, fewer people will use oil and coal, and use more clean energies. I think this kind of technology will be utilized by both group of countries -- developed nations and developing nations -- when the price and technology becomes common," he said. In collaboration with member states, UNIDO has started to build renewable energy and energy efficiency centers, he said. The fact that UNIDO's mandate has been incorporated into the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals promotes sustainable industrial development and innovation, Li said. The UN adopted a resolution for the period 2016-2025 as the third industrial development decade for Africa, requesting UNIDO to take the lead to support African countries to achieve their agenda 2063 for the transformation for their industrialization. This is a clear message that UNIDO's mandate is strongly supported by the international community, Li said. "Operationally, we try to create a big impact through our new operations. We call it the program for country partnership (PCP) to help countries with industrial development strategy," the UNIDO chief said. UNIDO is currently working in Ethiopia, Peru and Senegal as pilot states for the program. Li said international development institutions such as the World Bank, African Development Bank and European Investment Bank were interested in working with UNIDO to promote PCP in member states. After the 2008 financial crisis, the international community re-recognized the importance of industrialization, he added. "More and more countries recognize the importance of industrial development, because no country has become an advanced industrialized nation without going through the industrialization process," Li said. After 30 years of fast growth, China's role is changing -- from receiving support to contributing more to the international community. China's experiences are being shared by other developing countries to boost their industry. Li said UNIDO could be a platform to enlarge this support to member states. "I think China's role has been really increasing. I've seen China now become one of the major players in the international development agenda. So, I am very happy that China gives UNIDO more and more support," he said. Founded in 1966, UNIDO is a specialized agency of UN to promote and accelerate the industrialization of developing countries. A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter walks in the tunnel once used by the Islamic State (IS) militants at the Bashiqa frontline northeast of Mosul in northern Iraq, Nov. 22, 2016. Supported by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Iraqi troops kicked off operations last month to take back Mosul. The military operations slowed down as the IS militants used the civilians as human shields. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood) MOSUL, Iraq, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi security forces and allied paramilitary units, known as Hashd Shaabi, on Wednesday completely encircled the city of Mosul, while the troops continued operations to clear the Islamic State (IS) militants in and out of Mosul after more than a month since a major offensive was launched, the Iraqi military said. The predominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units advanced to west of the IS-held town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, recapturing six villages and seizing the main road between Tal Afar and nearby town of Sinjar, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC). The latest advance allowed the Hashd Shaabi units to cut off the IS supply routes from the west side of Mosul, and enabling both the paramilitary units and other Iraqi and Kurdish security forces to entirely isolate and surround the city Mosul, preventing IS militants from moving outside Mosul, the statement said. The paramilitary units started their advance on Tuesday morning when they moved to encircle the town of Tal Afar, preparing for the next stage to free it from the IS militants. The units' presence in the whole area in west of Mosul would also enable them to secure the border areas between Iraq and neighboring Syria and would cut off the IS supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the capital of IS self-declared caliphate. On Nov. 16, the paramilitary troops recaptured a strategic airbase near the town of Tal Afar, which also located some 80 km from the border with Syria. Tal Afar, held by the IS since June 2014, has majority of both Sunni and Shiite Turkoman people, as well as other minorities of Kurds and Arabs. The advance of the pre-dominantly Shiite paramilitary units in the ethnically mixed region, where Sunni Muslims form a majority, could spark sectarian tension with Sunni Arabs and neighboring Sunni state of Turkey. The advance to Tal Afar is part of a massive offensive to dislodge the IS extremist militants from the city of Mosul, which represents their last major stronghold in Iraq. In southeast of Mosul, the army's 9th armored Division continued their advance toward Mosul and recaptured four villages, the statement added. In eastern Mosul, the commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) fought fierce clashes with the IS militants as they have been trying to push deeper into the eastern side of the city, locally known as left bank of the Tigris River. The CTS commandos cleared many buildings of the residential compound in Khadraa district in eastern Mosul after sporadic clashes with IS militants, according to the JOC statement. However, the CTS forces have met stubborn resistance from the extremist militants, who are fighting in small groups and move quickly. The extremist groups frequently infiltrated behind the advanced CTS forces using tunnels or sneaking through dozens of houses and buildings. After more than a month of military operations against IS militants in Mosul, almost 68,550 civilians have fled their homes and the number went up every day, according to latest report by the Unites Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Oct. 17 announced a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city. Since then, the Iraqi security forces have inched to the eastern fringes of Mosul and made progress on other routes around the city. Early in the month, hundreds of the CTS commandos and Iraqi army made a significant progress at the eastern side of Mosul and managed to recapture some 10 districts out of about 60 districts on both sides of the city. Mosul, some 400 km north of Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under the IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. MOGADISHU, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) on Wednesday killed at least 11 Al-Shabaab militants during a heavy fighting at Gof-Gadud village near Baidoa town in southern Somalia. Special Police Commissioner for Southwest State in Somalia Mohamed Isak Hassan told reporters that the joint forces overpowered the insurgents during the fight resulting in the killing of the militants. "Al-Shabaab fighters' dream of capturing the area was dashed when 11 of their fighters were killed on the spot and several others were injured. We lost three soldiers and two others sustained injuries, SNA and Southwest State forces fought with the militants here," Hassan said. The commissioner said the SNA and African Union troops will intensify attacks against the militants until they are flushed out of the Horn of African nation. However, Al-Shabaab also claimed victory over the latest clashes with Somali government and Southwest State forces, saying they killed three government soldiers. Independent sources say there were more casualties on Somali forces during the battle and some of the injured were rushed to the hospitals in Baidoa town. The latest attacks come amid tight security in Somalia due to the ongoing indirect elections which enter final round next week with the election of speaker and president. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 7th Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" in Hamburg, Germany, on Nov. 23, 2016. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi) HAMBURG, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The seventh Hamburg Summit "China Meets Europe" opened here on Wednesday, drawing senior officials, entrepreneurs and leading scholars from China and the European Union (EU) to discuss the most important issues in Sino-European economic relations. About 550 participants from China and Europe gathered at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday to exchange views through 10 panel discussions and keynote speeches. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in his opening speech that China was of special importance to Germany as well as to the whole of Europe, adding that China and Germany had built a very successful partnership in the last four decades. He said Germany continued to be China's most important partner in Europe, with Germany opting for political cooperation with China over recent decades. "Cooperation, rather than confrontation, should characterize the relationships between countries, even when their political and economic systems differ," said Schroeder, who was made honorary chairman of the conference this year and received the China-Europe Friendship Award on Wednesday in recognition of his outstanding achievements in cultivating relations with China. In today's world, there is no country that can master all these new challenges alone, he noted. "This is why we must intensify the strategic partnership with China in all areas, in politics and culture, as well as in the economy and civil society." In his speech, Fritz Horst Melsheimer, president of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, called for an investment treaty between the EU and China as soon as possible within the next year in order to put bilateral economic relations swiftly onto a more solid legal basis. "China has to master a tremendous economic transformation to make this growth more sustainable," he said, "at the same time, economic stagnation in many European countries and Britain's vote for Brexit both shake and shape our bilateral economic relations." Exchange and open discussions were therefore particularly important, he added. Despite sluggish global economic recovery and deep adjustment, China-EU economic and trade relations have deepened through concerted efforts by both sides, said Li Yizhong, chairman of China Federation of Industrial Economics in his opening speech. Li said, as the two pillars of the global economy, China-EU cooperation has a solid foundation and great potential to bring out the best in each other. Against the backdrop of global trade downturn, Europe sees service trade as an important driving force to economic growth in the post-crisis era, said Zhao Zhongyi, executive vice president of China Association of Trade in Services (CATIS), adding that as the most important trade partner to each other, China and Europe have great cooperation potential in service trade. The summit, which is scheduled for Nov. 23 and 24 this year, will deliver discussions, keynote speeches and panel meetings focusing on various topics, such as the fallout from Brexit, China's economic transition, the Belt and Road Initiative, and boosting efficiency in industrial manufacturing. Initiated by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in 2004, the biennial summit serves as an important platform for discussing China-EU economic cooperation. BAGHDAD, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Six people were killed and 21 wounded in four bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Wednesday evening, a police source said. A booby-trapped car detonated at a crowded popular market in Ur district in northeastern Baghdad, leaving five people killed and eight others wounded, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The blast destroyed several nearby shops and many stall, along with damaging several nearby cars, the source said. A second car bomb ripped through a commercial area in Mashtal district in eastern Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding 10 others, along with damaging several nearby buildings and civilian cars, the source added. Separately, three policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb went off near their vehicle in Jamia district in western Baghdad, the source said. Another blast occurred when a sticky bomb attached to a civilian car detonated in Baiyaa district in southern Baghdad, destroying the car and caused no human casualty, he added. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, is responsible for such suicide attacks targeting crowded areas, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq. Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 1,792 Iraqis and wounded 1,358 others in October across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said. Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S., which invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003. By Zhang Maorong, researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations; cartoon drawn by Chi Ying Chinese President Xi Jinping held a state visit to Peru, a country dubbed the Andean Eagle on Monday. Xi and his Peruvian counterpart, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski held talks. Xi also delivered a speech at the Peruvian Congress titled, Working together to build a better future for China-Latin American relations, drawing a blueprint for better cooperation, and opening up a new start for China-LatAm cooperation. The speech is deemed a milestone in the history of Sino-LaAm relations. Since he took office in 2013, President Xi has made three visits to Latin America and promoted the establishment of a comprehensive cooperative partnership and the founding of the Sino-Latin American Forum. This reflects China-LatAm overall cooperation and bilateral cooperation have entered into a new stage and pursue common development. Standing on a new historical starting point, Xi, in his speech, put forward a four-point proposal to enrich China-LatAm relations, which would push the building of a China-LatAm community of common destiny to a new height, and chart new course for their strategic and pragmatic cooperation. Benefiting from the alignment of development strategies and deepening cooperation, the China-Latin America community of common destiny is expected to sail on a voyage with stability and prosperity that benefit the peoples of China and Latin America. China-LatAm relations will set a new model for South-South cooperation. ( The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Panview or CCTV.com. ) (Source: CNTV.cn) Clear communication critical Brown made the comments on Monday while addressing some of the business clients of JMMB Bank Trinidad and Tobago Limited at a panel discussion at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Audrey Jeffers Highway, Port of Spain. The event was organised to discuss ways of fostering positive relationships between the bank and its business clients in the current economic downturn. He said there are challenging times ahead as the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is on the decline and there have been reports of rising unemployment and consumer sensitivity which he said could lead to lower revenues for businesses, and lower profitability and reduced margins. Brown added that businesses go through cycles of upturns and downturns and said that business people should not overact either in good or bad times and firms caught in a downturn should do their best to make it to the next upturn. He said that the impact on the financial sector during this period of downturn should be limited because of the positive balance sheets in the banking sector. In response to a question, panellist, Devati Mooleedhar, described as a senior banking executive with more than twenty years of financial experience in corporate, investment and commercial banking, said that when the bank meets with a business client it would like to see a proper business plan and some indication that the client has clearly thought out why he/she is in business and in the particular sector. She said the bank should come away with a clear idea of the business strength in the market and what value the company can add to its customers. Responding to a question from one of the banks clients, she said that within recent times the cost of getting money for lending had increased but lending rates had not gone up because of the extent of liquidity in the system. She added that the bank anticipates that rates will increase because of the global financial climate, but while domestic rates were expected to rise it had not happened because of the excess liquidity in the system. Another of the panellists, Gary Les Kallicharan, Managing Director of K.V. Investments, a property holding company based in San Fernando, as well as Managing Director of Pegasus Services Limited, a security company, said an economic downturn does not mean total doom and gloom. He said his company made its single biggest real estate investment in the eighties during a recession; opened its mall in a recession and the second time it took a major loan was at the beginning of this recession. So its not a situation where you have to worry about investing. What you have to look at is really and truly the way you manage it. What the business community looks for from the banking sector in the times when you go for a loan, is what they can provide, what you need to give to them and things like that. That is the relationship at that point in time and you are looking for a relationship and be truthful to the bank because they are the ones who have to give you a facility. In this environment what you need to do is to restructure and look to the banking sector to provide a shoulder basically. Jury trial for human trafficking Whilst in the Eastman case the crime involved the alleged exploitation of women, the case involving Guness pertains to the alleged exploitation of a Guyanese man, aged 21. Guness son, Vishaal, 22, was charged with two counts of occasional bodily harm to the alleged victim. Another man, Suresh Samaroo, was also charged with occasioning actual bodily harm to the alleged victim. The father and son and Samaroo had been before Senior Magistrate Armina Deonarinesingh in the Siparia Magistrates Court on the charges which were laid indictably. The magistrate had been conducting a Preliminary Inquiry into the charges which allege that the acts had been committed on September 14, 2013. The charges contend that on that date, Guness recruited the Guyanese national into Trinidad or transported or harboured him for the purpose of his exploitation. He also was charged with occasioning actual bodily harm to the alleged victim between October 1, and October 25, 2013. The charges were laid by Police Constable Nicole Andrews of the Counter Trafficking Unit. State attorney Sarah De Silva, prosecuted the matter. The assault charge against Guness, his son and Samaroo, were also prosecuted indictably by De Silva. Attorney Ravi Rajcoomar represented the three and made legal submissions to the magistrate. On Monday, Deonarinesingh delivered a written ruling in which she found that a prima facie case had been made out by the prosecution. She committed the three to stand trial before a judge and jury. The magistrate granted Guness bail in the sum of $150,000 and Vishaal and Samaroo bail amounting to $60,000 each. Accused committed for choking robbery victim Boatswain, 39, was yesterday told, upon his committal by Senior Magistrate Margaret Alert in the San Fernando Magistrates Court, that he is to avoid contact with the victim, Mawasi Williams, 26, as he awaits his trial. Alert had been conducting a preliminary inquiry since 2014 on two charges against Boatswain namely larceny of a gold chain and attempting to choke. The maximum sentence for the latter charge, if found guilty, 15 years in jail. It was in 2007 when Boatswain, of Gasparillo, was first charged with the offence of robbery with aggravation, in which he was alleged to have attacked Williams, also of Gasparillo, at her home on May 24. As a result of the attack, Williams is paralysed from the waist down. She is unable to use her hands as well. The State, however, dropped that charge and replaced it with a new charge under the Offences Against the Persons Act, that Boatswain attempted to choke, strangle or suffocate with intent to enable himself to rob Williams. The charges were laid by Corporal Narine Bisnath of the Southern Division Task Force. The inquiry continued before Alert in which State Attorney, Sarah De Silva, called ten witnesses including Williams who is a mother of one. Doctors Robin Sinanan, Ravindra Narine and Robert Naidike also testified for the Prosecution. Yesterday, the case was called during the afternoon session and, following submissions by De Silva and Boatswains attorney Cedric Neptune, Alert informed the defendant that a prima facie case had been made out against him. Alert granted him fresh bail in the sum of $100,000. Autopsy performed on slain teen Speaking to pathologist Valeri Alexandrov yesterday, Newsday was told that the teenaged boy was shot with bullets which travelled at a high velocity, and may have fragmented upon entry of the young mans body. The fragments then exited the body through what is called satellite wounds. But one of the wounds counted by Alexandrov was determined to be a defensive wound. According to the pathologist, one of the bullets passed through Ramsahais forearm, then hit him in the upper body. Newsday was also told that when he was shot, he was facing his killers. Ramshai was killed on Friday by police. According to reports, officers who were on an anti-crime exercise responded to a report that a man was seen with a gun at Pasea Extension, Tunapuna. Officers responded, and allegedly saw Ramsahai, 15, running to a wall in a bid to escape. Officers gave chase, but during the pursuit, it is alleged that the teenager fired gunshots in the direction of the police. Officers returned fire, and shot Ramsahai several times about the body before he fell to the floor dead. Police investigators later found a 9mm pistol at the scene of the shooting. Newsday understands Ramsahai was recently released from the St Michaels Home for Boys. Investigators told Newsday in an earlier report that the teenager had a rap sheet of 13 offences, which included rape, robbery and firearm offences. While police claim there was a shootout between police and the teen, relatives insist he was trying to surrender when he was shot dead. While the evidence provided by the autopsy sheds new light on the incident, head of the the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), David West, yesterday said that more evidence is needed to further pursue an investigation into the matter. The PCA yesterday sent a release indicating that it has not yet received any complaint from family members of the slain teen, but have advised that persons with relevant information can contact the authority at Tower D of the International Waterfront Centre, Wrightson Road. Regarding the police shooting of Josiah Ramsahai, the PCA has initiated an investigation and we ask that Ms Ramsahai come into the PCA office to provide information relevant to the investigation. the PCA release read. Persons interested in providing information to the PCA can call their offices at 800-2722 or 627- 4383. 16-year-old Ste Madeleine girl missing Mungroo was last seen dressed in her school uniform - a white shirt, brown skirt, brown tie, white shoes, black socks and carrying a red and white polka dot schoolbag. In the bag she had a pair of black and white tights and black polo jersey for an aerobics class. A weeping Ramdath recalled, She was all excited for school that morning as she was going to do aerobics. Ramdath said because of the crime situation, every morning she ensures that she puts the teenager safely into a maxi taxi and on afternoons she waits out the road for her to take her home. A missing person report has since been made at the Ste Madeleine Police Station. Mungroo is said to be brown in complexion, 5 4 tall and wears a hairstyle with bangs. Anyone with information can contact the Ste Madeleine police or the nearest police station. Caps gun bandit robs pharmacist The Fyzabad man was a passenger in the PH car at about 7.30 pm when he asked the driver to stop at Apollo Pharmacy located on High Street in Princes Town to allow him to purchase an item. He told the driver and other passengers to wait for him as he would not be long. Unknowing to the driver and passenger, the 34-year-old man went into the pharmacy and announced a hold-up using a caps gun. The frightened pharmacist handed over a quantity of cash and the thief ran back to the waiting car which then drove off, unaware of what had transpired. A report was made to the Princes Town police and a party of officers which included PCS Ramkissoon, Ali and Mitchell responded. The getaway car (PH car) was spotted near the police station and as the lawmen tried to intercept it, the suspect jumped out of the vehicle and ran off. The officers exited their vehicle and arrested him a short distance away. A search was carried out and a quantity of cash and a caps gun were found on the suspect. He was taken into custody and is expected to appear in the Princes Town magistrates court once charges are laid. The PH driver was interviewed and his story corroborated by the other passengers, and he was released. Police say the suspect served several prison terms in the past for robberies and narcotics possession. Flamenco for a good cause Her fight with the disease led to the development of the The Mt Hope Renal Youth Group. The group is one of the recipients of this years funding from the seventh annual Christmas Concert hosted by the Embassy of Spain. Each year the charity event is aimed at a particular cause, with some of its past recipients being the Heroes Foundation, Corpus Christi College, National Organ Donor Programme and the Social Integration of Person with Disabilities. As its founder and president Williams expressed deep gratitude to Spanish Ambassador, Jose Maria Lopez de Turiso, and the Embassy for not only funding the cause but in highlighting an issue she believes needs to be further promoted in TT. Huellas, this years concert would feature renowned composer, flautist and saxophonist, Jorge Pardo whose musical amalgam of jazz and flamenco has brought him widespread international acclaim. Flamenco Dancer Nelida Tirado would also feature at the concert to be held at Queens Hall from 6.30 pm to 8pm tomorrow. Williams group along with the Kidney Recipients Support Group of Trinidad and Tobago (KRSGOTT) are the recipients of this years funding raised from the concert. For both groups, the funding would aid in their educational drive as well as assistance for their members such as post-operation medications Williams while fighting her own battle against renal failure started the group in 2012. I wanted the youth to know that life with renal failure isnt a death sentence, she said. When she first found out, Williams said, she thought she could simply take a pill and feel better. There were many firsts Williams wanted to accomplish, like own her own restaurant, but was unable to because of the disease. The constant dialysis done three times per week has also hindered Williams from getting a job. The 23-member group has now become one of 19 as some of its members lost their fight against renal failure. The embassys Christmas Concert and funding has Williams, super excited and very thankful to the Spanish Ambassador and the Spanish Embassy. Similarly, president of KRSGOTT , Asgar Ali said the funding would go a long way in educating the wider TT public on the need for organ donation. He said, in a phone interview with Newsday that organ donation education was something the wider public needed to work on. Organ donation, he said, could provide its recipient with a, second life. Ali said the groupss funding would be used toward educating more about organ donation and getting people to consider organ donation in a more positive light. The 150-member group was founded in 2009 by 16 members who felt moved to create and foster awareness of kidney disease by providing voluntary services through outreach programmes and counselling. For the Spanish Ambassador the charity event is also aimed at raising awareness of the need for the promotion of organ donation and transplantation in TT . He said in Spain there was possibly one of the best systems of organ donation in the world. We feel we can be of some assistance here, he said. Spanish energy company, Repsol, he said, provided assistance to the Ministry of Health as well, in order to create the capacity for organ donation and transplantation in TT . What we want to create is awareness. Because most of the people here, like anywhere else in the world, they are not really aware of the magnitude of the problem when you are connected to a machine for four hours a day to a dialysis machine. That is a difficult way of living. That is why we decided to promote this cause, his excellency said. The concert is sponsored by Platinum Sponsor Repsol, Gold Sponsor Heartbeat 103.5FM, Silver sponsors Acciona, Amadeus an international IT company; Hyatt Regency Trinidad; Ezentis and Global Exchange; and Bronze Sponsors are Angostura, Tatil and the Ministry of Community Development Culture and the Arts. Tickets are priced at $150 general admission, $250 VIP and $500 VVIP. The Macallans 1824 Master Series is here The premium whiskies, sold exclusively at Solera on Grey street are - Reflexion, No6 and M. They cost TT $7,500, TT $21,850 and TT $34,500 respectively. The 1824 Masters Series, showcases our unique mastery of wood, says Cabassa, who conducted training workshops and private tastings of The Macallans other expressions Amber, Sienna, Ruby and The Rare Cask on November 10 at the Old Havana Cigar Lounge and on the 11 at Solera which distributes and carries the product. The quality of the companys exceptional oak casks is the single greatest contributor to the outstanding quality, natural colours and distinctive aromas and flavours of The Macallan range, said a media release. They control the whole journey from forest to cask for both their Spanish and American oak sherry seasoned casks. They import more than 80 percent of all new sherry seasoned oak casks from Spain and invest more than ?16 million in their products each year. Only The Macallan has access to the finest and scarcest casks in the industry. We are honoured to have been asked to carry three of their unique product here in Trinidad says Ricardo Bideshi, senior manager marketing at Angostura and manager of Solera. Cabassa has trained bartenders, servers and bar managers in spirits and beverage knowledge, bar management and the art of mixing cocktails in over 70 cities in 38 countries around the world. With more than 15 years of experience in the education of distilled spirits, the art of mixology and whiskies, Cabassa is recognised internationally as a whisky expert and master bartender. Cabassa is The Macallan brand ambassador for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Montrose Vedic students in limbo...again Garcia had however pointed out the Centre would only be made available once approval was granted by Social Development and Family Services Minister Cherrie- Ann Crichlow-Cockburn. Parents were however informed that the centre had been deemed unsuitable as the building did not have statutory approval for use as a school. Parents Teachers Association (PTA) president Larry Dilchan, yesterday said the Education Ministrys chief executive officer Heeralal Seecharan, together with other school supervisors, advised us that the enrichment centre is no longer an option...that the building did not have statutory approval and that the Social Development Ministry was not willing to release the building for such use. So we are now looking for a short term option for housing the school. We dont have any as yet confirmed. Its back to square one, he said, adding the process of investigating a mysterious rash outbreak among students would be expedited so they would not have to seek alternative accommodations. Asked about the mood of parents following yesterdays meeting, Dilchan said, parents were very disappointed, peoples hopes were raised after the Ministers visit and they are now disappointed and despondent because we are left still trying to find a place for the children in the short term. It appears we will not have any school for the rest for the week, Dilchan said, adding that the Ministry had once again suggested the old Couva West government secondary school to temporarily house the students. Ramdeen: Do away with PPP scheme However, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Randall Mitchell told Newsday that Ramdeen was trying to confuse the population about an expression of interest that was sent out by the HDC via public advertisement inviting interests from entities across Trinidad and Tobago to be a part of the HDCs PPP housing initiative. The UNC has not brought any idea with respect to its local government intentions, he said, and this is just a distraction from our reform initiative. At a press conference held yesterday at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of- Spain, Ramdeen claimed there was collusion between HDC Land Coordinator Deborah Cheesman and director of Media 21 Limited, John Afoon on expressions of interest in the $8 billion PPP HDC housing project. Within 24 hours of yesterdays press conference, he said, he was taking purported documents and e-mails exchanged between Cheesman and Afoon, to the Commissioner of Police, Director of Public Prosecutions and the Integrity Commission. Ramdeem shared copies of the documents with the media. Mitchell said he had not seen them but, he said, As part of a responsible government with interest in transparency and accountability in governance affairs, if there was anything untoward in any document, I would investigate. Claiming that Cheesmans employment should be terminated forthwith, Ramdeen said that she needs to explain whether or not the e-mails shared were hers or not and whether the documents were authentic or not. Asked whether the documents were public documents, he said, they would be made public now. Cheeesmans curriculum vitae, he said, implicated her as she described herself in the introduction as having Excellent contacts within the Government and good working relationship with the business community. Ramdeen said that Cheesmans substantive post as land coordinator, attracted a salary of $23,000 but since the PNM took office, the board approved an enhanced salary of $51,000 a month along with an SUV and a driver. Mitchell and HDC Chairman Newman George, he said, need to come forward and explain to people of TT how someone sitting to evaluate the bids in this project was sending emails to a bidder and the bidder comes out at number one. Calling on the Prime Minister to scrap the PPP project - which was meant to jumpstart the economy - before it becomes a feeding trough, he said, the project represents a tainted evaluation bid process by the HDC. On Cheesman and Media 21, Mitchell said that Media 21 and Deborah Cheesman were not a part of the tenders evaluation committee for the only HDCs PPP project, the Mount Hope Mahogany Court project, that is now on stream. Olivierre working for PNM victory They are happy with the increased attention, she said, adding, well naturally you will meet constituents who are a bit concerned and disappointed. But once I explain to them that this is really affording me a better opportunity to pay closer attention to their needs and Im now getting time to start interacting with schools in the area, Im making the most of the opportunity. Olivierre continued: It has been great for me. I have started having two constituency days per week, so on Tuesdays I am at the main office in La Brea and on Thursdays I am at the sub office at Rancho Quemado. So the backlog of constituents that have been waiting to see me, that has been significantly cleared up. So I do have a lot more time to focus on the needs of the constituency and I can have a greater hands on approach in matters related to the constituency. And regarding the Local Government election, she said the party is actively seeking to not only regain control of the Otaheite / Rousillac electoral district but also retake the Siparia Regional Corporation which had been won by the Peoples Partnership Administration in the 2013 poll. There are actually four electoral districts within the La Brea Constituency that are part of the Siparia Regional Corporation and, of the four electoral districts, the PNM previously controlled three of them. We intend to control all four of them by November 29, Olivierre said, adding, I am on the campaign trail with some of the candidates and will be spending this entire week at least walking with each candidate every day. Not worthwhile, said Finance Minister who imposed 1978 note ban United States,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Will demonetisation, touted as a measure against black money, corruption and terror financing, successfully meet the objectives set for it by the Narendra Modi government? Not really, if you listen to the man who imposed the earlier demonetisation in 1978. Contending that there was no chance of ending black money "until we destroy the conditions which encourage it", eminent bureaucrat-turned-politician, H.M. Patel, who was Finance Minister in the Janata Party government, said that demonetisation only ended in inflicting "a great deal of hardship on a great many innocent people". He termed the process "not worthwhile", a few years before he went on to impose demonetisation on the instructions of then Prime Minister Morarji Desai. In an article in the October 1972 issue of Gujarati periodical "Nireekshak", Patel listed three contributing factors -- igh tax rates, controls and corruption -- to the growth of undisclosed money. He said that unless these were addressed, there was "little point in grappling with shadows". On January 16, 1978, the Morarji Desai-led government demonetised the Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 currency notes which were largely held by the rich. An Ordinance was issued and the announcement made through All India Radio's 9 am news bulletin. "Most people who have black money and who are involved in such operations rarely keep their ill-gotten gains in cash. They will have converted much of it into assets or even into white money. Only a small percentage of the total amount of what might have initially been black money is likely to exist in cash," Patel wrote. Despite such strong views, why he did not object to the demonetisation is not clear. In his autobiography, the then Reserve Bank of India Governor I.G. Patel says he remonstrated with the Finance Minister when the latter told him of the decision by saying that most people in possession of black money rarely kept their ill-gotten gains in the form of currency for long. "Thinking that black money is stashed away under mattresses or suitcases is naive," I.G. Patel wrote. But I.G. Patel does not record what H.M. Patel's reaction to his statement was. Eminent economist and former Union Minister Y.K. Alagh, then in the Planning Commisssion, recalls I.G. Patel telling Prime Minister Desai in Gujarati that it would not work as black money was held in land, gold and dollars and not in currency, while H.M. Patel, who was also present, only smiled away. In his article in "Nireekshak", H.M. Patel said that demonetisation does not work had become more and more evident from the results of raids carried out during the past few years. "Not much cash was found during those searches, though some amount of evidence may have been found indicative of the existence on the premises of black money at some time and of its translation into assets or white money," he wrote. "This is perhaps the conclusive reason why demonetisation is not considered to be worthwhile. More so as demonetisation can be carried out only at heavy cost. After inflicting severe hardship on the vast majority of people, those who have indulged in black-market operations are unlikely to be found hoarding large sums of money in cash," wrote Patel. Decades later, the situation was no different. A Finance Ministry White Paper in 2012 showed that for the period 2006-2012, cash seized during searches and seizures ranged from 3.75 to 7.3 per cent of total undisclosed income for those cases. Despite his perspicacious words, wisdom seem to have eluded the Finance Minister when the time came to impose demonetisation. An Indian Civil Service officer, Patel rose to become Cabinet Secretary before turning 40, served as Partition Secretary and then went on to hold high posts in independent India, including Principal Secretary, Finance, before resigning from service after his name came up in a scam. He subsequently joined politics, was Leader of Opposition during the Emergency and Finance and Home Minister in the Janata Party government. Citing the country's huge volumes of cash transactions, he noted in the article that agriculture is not subject to income tax and "demonetised notes declared by farmers, large, medium and even small, will have to be accepted without question. Farmers may well help holders of black money to escape the net of 'demonetisers'". The situation is no different now in Modi's demonetisation. Noting that "a little thought should convince those who demand demonetisation so vociferously that it would not achieve anything, not even uncover hoards of black money or prevent its re-emergence", Patel said: "All that it would do for certain would be to inflict a great deal of hardship on a great many innocent people and to increase corruption immensely." It was Spanish-American philosopher, George Santayana, who said that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The pain, though -- then as now -- is left to be borne by the common man. (Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@gmail.com) --IANS vd/hs/sac PSG stunned by cancellation of defender's visa to UK France,Sports,Football, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Paris, Nov 23 (IANS) Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have said they were stunned by the "incomprehensible situation" after British authorities suddenly revoked defender Serge Aurier's visa. The Cote d'Ivoire international has not been allowed to travel with the Paris Saint-Germain squad for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League clash away to Arsenal due to "a sudden about-face by the British authorities", according to the Parisian club, reports Xinhua. It was because of Aurier's September conviction for assaulting a police officer outside a Paris nightclub. The 23-year-old was sentenced to two months for the assault. He has filed an appeal against the decision. PSG said the club had argued several times against the decision and were further strongly angered that the final decision of the British authorities was only communicated at the eleventh hour. "Paris Saint-Germain considers this extremely tardive response as a flagrant lack of respect for the Club, given that its player could have been training with the team just hours later at Emirates Stadium," the club said. "On several occasions, UEFA has also transmitted its total support of Paris Saint-Germain to the British authorities regarding this case, in order to preserve the integrity of its competitions." Arsenal and PSG are leading Group A standings on 10 points ahead of Wednesday's match, while Basel and Ludogorets Razgrad just earned 1 point each from four games. --IANS ajb/mr OnePlus 3T smartphone in India soon Delhi,National,Technology,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) After the success of its OnePlus 3 this year, Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus will soon launch a new flagship device OnePlus 3T in India. "Getting the OnePlus 3T to India has been a top priority for us and we are delighted to announce that we are all set to release the OnePlus 3T in India shortly! The next big question on everyone's mind would be the announcement of the launch date," the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Meanwhile, fans can play a "Truth or Dare" where they can choose to either "ask the company anything" or challenge it to an "adventurous dare". "We'll put out a Facebook 'Truth or Dare' poll, allowing our fans to determine how we should reveal the big date, which you all have awaited eagerly and in doing so will make history for being a community which truly owns its brand and not the other way around," the company added. The launch date is expected to be announced soon. --IANS sku/na/bg Ravi Babu makes public appearance with piglet Andhra Pradesh,Cinema/Showbiz,Southern Cinema, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Hyderabad, Nov 23 (IANS) Actor-filmmaker Ravi Babu on Tuesday made a public appearance with a piglet here, much to the surprise of the general public. He had come to withdraw cash from a bank. The piglet plays the central character in his upcoming Telugu film, "Adhugo". "Wherever I go these days, I take the piglet along. I can't leave him at home because there's nobody to take care. I had to withdraw cash from the bank, so I decided to take the piglet with me. Although people were a little surprised to see it, nobody made a fuss out of it," Ravi Babu told IANS. The film is currently in its post-production stage. "I raised a few piglets in my friend's farm for the film. While most of the film was shot with live piglet, we did use animatronics to shoot some important sequences. It's the first time an Indian film has used a piglet," he said. The film is produced by Suresh Babu. --IANS hp/nv/bg James Corden to present Grammy Awards United States,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Los Angeles, Nov 23 (IANS) British actor and comedian James Corden, who hosts "The Late Late Show", will host the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. The star of "The Late Late Show", which broadcasts the yearly music awards show, Corden will take over Grammy-hosting duties from hip-hop artist and "NCIS: Los Angeles" star LL Cool J, who departs after a five-year run, reports variety.com. Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" segment on "The Late Late Show" has featured some of music's biggest stars, including Adele, Stevie Wonder, Lady Gaga, Elton John and Justin Bieber. "Thanks to 'Carpool Karaoke', we've all been on some incredible rides with James, and The Recording Academy couldn't be more excited to welcome his passion and enthusiasm for music, both as an entertainer and a fan, to the Grammy stage on February 12," said Recording Academy President and CEO Neil Portnow. "He's got big shoes to fill after the magnificent run we had with LL Cool J, but James Corden is a commanding, dynamic showman who, we believe, is perfect to host the Grammy Awards," Portnow added. Corden said: "I am truly honoured to be hosting The Grammys next year. It's the biggest, most prestigious award show in music and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of such an incredible night." Corden earned stellar reviews for his work hosting the Tony Awards in June. His "Late Late Show," which he joined as host in 2015, earned an Emmy Award in September for outstanding interactive programme. The Grammys are set to be broadcast live from Staples Center here on February 12. --IANS sug/nv/bg Chandrababu Naidu knew about demonetization, says Jagan Andhra Pradesh,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Hyderabad, Nov 23 (IANS) YSR Congress Party chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, popularly called Jagan, on Wednesday alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had prior information about the Centre's move to scrap high value currency notes. Talking to reporters in Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh, he said the decision to spike Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes was leaked to some selected persons, including Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is a partner in the ruling coalition at the Centre. Jagan, who is Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh assembly, said Chandrababu Naidu sold shares of his dairy company Heritage Foods three days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation. YSR Congres Party leader Chandrababu Naidu's October 22 letter to the Prime Minister, seeking scrapping of high-value notes, also proves that the information was leaked to him. Jagan claimed that the leak gave the TDP president a month's time to make the required adjustments but the people were left to fend for themselves. Jagan said the government should have consulted the opposition and a cross section of people before taking the key decision. He said while demonetisation may be the right decision to curb black money, lack of proper implementation was causing severe hardships to people. --IANS ms/vgu/vt Indian American Nikki Haley to be Trump's UN envoy? United States,Politics,Diaspora, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Washington, Nov 23 (IANS) Well-known Indian American Nikki Haley, Governor of South Carolina state, has accepted President-elect Donald Trump's offer to serve as US ambassador to the UN in the coming administration, the Washington Post has reported. The planned decision marks Trump's first female appointment to a Cabinet-level post. An official spoke on the condition of anonymity to the Post as the decision has not yet been announced by Trump's transition team. Haley, 44, who is a daughter of Indian immigrants and is serving her second term, has worked on trade and labour issues as governor but has little diplomatic experience. However, her stance on issues related to US military and national security align with the GOP's hawkish mainstream, the daily said. President-elect Trump met Haley last week at Trump Tower in New York as part of the round of meetings for key administration posts. Haley is expected to be paired with Mitt Romney, an ally and a leading candidate to become secretary of state. The pair were critical of Trump's several stances during the 2016 campaign, which included a proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. The GOP administration is likely banking on Haley's strong communication and problem-solving skills, required for the US representative at the United Nations in New York. If confirmed, Haley would be replaced by South Carolina's Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster, who is a top Trump ally. --IANS soni/rn SC hauls up government for dragging feet on Lokpal Delhi,National,Immigration/Law/Rights,Politics, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday hauled up the government for not amending the Lokpal Act to recognise the leader of the single largest opposition party in Parliament as the leader of the opposition. "For last two and a half year there is no leader of opposition. This position is likely to continue for next two-and-a-half years. There would be no leader in opposition. Will you allow the law to become redundant just because there is no leader of opposition?" asked the bench of Chief Justice T.S Thakur, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice L. Nageswara Rao. Noting the manner government was dragging its feet in amending the Lokpal law for recognising the leader of the largest opposition group as the leader of opposition for constituting a Search Committee, the bench said: "This is an institution intended to bring probity in public life, then this institution must work. We will not allow the situation where the institution is rendered redundant." As Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi resisted suggestion from senior counsel Shanti Bhushan telling the court that the matter could not be left to the political parties and the court should step in, Chief Justice Thakur said: "The law was notified in January 2014 and now we will be in January 2017." He told the government: "What you are doing in other enactments, you are not doing in it (Lokpal)." Shanti Bhushan appeared for the the petitioner NGO Common Cause that has challenged the Rules for setting up the Lokpal Search Committee. Attorney General Rohatgi opposed the suggestion by Bhushan that the judiciary should pass a direction to Parliament to pass the amendment saying it would amount to judicial legislation. "We have introduced the amendment to the Lokpal Act. Judiciary can't direct Parliament. It would amount to judicial legislation," he said. At this Chief Justice Thakur said: "You are committed to Lokpal and you also say that the leader of the single largest party should be recognised as leader of opposition. You should welcome any judgment by the court saying the leader of the single largest party would be treated as the leader of the opposition (for the purpose of the Lokpal Act)." As Attorney General showed his reluctance to accept the suggestion, the bench said: "It would mean court can't give any direction, you will not legislate, how can it be done Mr AG?" The court pulled up the government in the course of hearing of a petition by Common Cause challenging the Lokpal Search Committee Rules coming in the way of setting up a committee for the last two years. --IANS pk/mr Rahul calls demonetisation a scam, wants JPC Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday called the demonetisation a scam as opposition MPs staged a protest outside Parliament over the issue. Gandhi also said the opposition wanted a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the issue. "We feel this decision is a scam. The Prime Minister had informed his close friends about this before the announcement. We want a JPC to probe this," Gandhi said during a protest with 12 other opposition parties. "What the Prime Minister has done is the world's biggest impromptu financial experiment. "He (Modi) can go to a pop concert and speak, but 200 MPs of opposition are standing here demanding his presence," he said. Members from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, Janata Dal-United, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and DMK protested outside Parliament. Gandhi said even Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was not aware of the decision, but added that many industrialists and BJP members were in the know of the note ban decision in advance. "PM did not ask anyone, not even Finance Minister or the Chief Economic Adviser, before taking this decision. But there were many in party (BJP) and many industrialists, who were aware. Big deposits were made in banks before this decision," he said. The opposition members held placards with slogans like "Not a surgical strike, carpet bombing on common people", "Demonetisation of hard earned money", "Save poor people" and "Stop persecution of common people". Speaking after the Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon, Gandhi said the government was scared of s debate under adjournment motion. "There were at least 200 MPs standing outside who want to speak in debate on demonetisation. We want to speak... Government is afraid of allowing us a debate under adjournment motion." Both houses of Parliament have seen repeated adjournments since the beginning of winter session on November 16 over the issue demonetisation that has triggered a cash chaos in the country. In the Lok Sabha, opposition members want a debate under adjournment motion which entails voting. In the Rajya Sabha, which started a debate on demonetisation on the first day, the opposition is seeking the presence of the Prime Minister in the house. --IANS ao/mr PM Modi aiming for cashless economy: Naidu Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aiming for a cashless economy and would not roll back the demonetisation move. "The government is committed to fight against corruption. This is also a fight against those who have not declared their black money. Modiji gave them time to declare their assets, but they didn't. The fight against them will continue," said Naidu, at a rally. "The Prime Minister first tried to bring back black money from foreign countries, now he is trying to unearth black money from within country," added Naidu. Naidu further said: "Modiji aims at a cashless economy where you don't have to pay anything to anyone in person," added Naidu. He also said the Prime Minister aims to bring JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile) soon. "There won't be a need to meet people after that," said Naidu. Hitting out at the opposition, Naidu said: "I am surprised at the manner in which the opposition is coming together, but what is their strength? The country is with us." "Modiji is not the kind of person who will roll back the demonetisation policy," added Naidu. --IANS sid/rn Amarinder hands over resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Delhi,National,Politics, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) Senior Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday handed over to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan his resignation from the Lok Sabha membership to protest over the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue. Amarinder's resignation is valid from November 11, the date on which he sent his resignation through email to the Speaker. The Congress leader was representing Amritsar constituency in Punjab in the 16th Lok Sabha. He was also Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party in the lower house. On November 10, Amarinder announced his resignation from the lower house of Parliament in protest what he termed "injustice" done to Punjab by the Supreme Court ruling on a Presidential Reference on sharing of waters with Haryana. The Supreme Court had on November 10 held as "unconstitutional" the 2004 law passed by the Punjab assembly which was intended to deny Haryana its share in the river waters through the SYL. The Congress leader met the Speaker at her office in Parliament House here in the afternoon to submit his resignation on the requisite pro forma. "He told the Speaker he had quit his Lok Sabha membership in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict on the SYL issue, as a mark of solidarity with Punjab's people who were seriously impacted by the judgment," a press statement from Amarinder's office said. Amarinder is the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President. All 42 Congress legislators in Punjab too had announced en masse resignations from the assembly on the SYL verdict issue. --IANS sid/tsb/vt Rajya Sabha adjourned over demonetisation Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) The Rajya Sabha was on Wednesday adjourned for the day amid the opposition's protest over the issue of demonetisation. There was heated exchange of words between the opposition and the ruling party members, which prompted the Chair to loudly scold the treasury benches for creating ruckus in the house. "I am seeing for the first time treasury benches behaving like this," Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien said and threatened action against the MPs who were creating ruckus in the house. A riled Kurien also scolded Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for apparently questioning the Chair's authority to allow an opposition member to speak. The opposition members came near the Chairman's podium and started shouting slogans. The treasury members too loudly raised slogans in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Amid pandemonium, the house was adjourned for the day. --IANS mak/pgh/vt Vatican unveils new papal fund-raising website Holy See (vatican City State),International, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Vatican City, Nov 23 (IANS/AKI) The Vatican has launched a website that gives Catholics a new way to donate to the Popes annual charitable collection for the poor known as "Peters Pence," it said on Tuesday. "The faithful everywhere will be able to better appreciate the importance of their offerings and to donate online to the Holy See's works of mercy, Christian charity, peace and assistance," the Vatican said. Catholics are invited to make "Peter's Pence" donations to the pope's charitable works each year on June 29, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, in a traditional sign of solidarity. The new www.peterspence.va website is currently available in English, Italian and Spanish and contains reflections from Pope Francis, the Vatican stated. --IANS/AKI sku/ Hillary Clinton urged to call for recount of 2016 US election vote United States,Politics, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New York, Nov 23 (IANS) Experts are urging US democratic Hillary Clinton's campaign to call for a recount the 2016 presidential election votes in key battleground states, in case the results could have been skewed by foreign hackers, media reported. The developments follow Clinton's surprise defeat to Republican Donald Trump in the November 8 vote in which Trump won 290 electoral college votes to Clinton's 232, and come after US intelligence authorities released public assessment that Russian hackers were behind intrusions into regional electoral computer systems and the theft of emails from Democratic officials before the election. The experts are preparing to deliver a report detailing concerns to congressional committee chairs and federal authorities early next week, the Guardian reported on Wednesday. The document, which is currently 18 pages long, focuses on concerns about the results in the US states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. "I'm interested in verifying the vote," said Barbara Simons, an adviser to the US election assistance commission and expert on electronic voting. "We need to have post-election ballot audits." Simons is understood to have contributed analysis to the effort but declined to characterise the precise nature of her involvement. A second group of analysts, led by the National Voting Rights Institute founder John Bonifaz and Professor Alex Halderman, the director of the University of Michigan's center for computer security and society, is also taking part in the push for a review, and has been in contact with Simons. Bonifaz declined to speak on the record. Having consistently Trump in public opinion polls for months preceding election day in all three midwestern states, Clinton narrowly lost Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and may yet lose Michigan, where a final result has still not been declared. Dozens of professors specialising in cybersecurity, defence, and elections have in the past two days signed an open letter to congressional leaders stating that they are "deeply troubled" by previous reports of foreign interference, and requesting swift action by lawmakers. "Our country needs a thorough, public congressional investigation into the role that foreign powers played in the months leading up to November," the academics said in their letter, while noting they did not mean to "question the outcome" of the election itself. Senior congressmen including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland have already called for deeper inquiries into the full extent of Russia's interference with the election campaign. New York magazine reported that the activists held a conference call on November 17 with Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and campaign general counsel Marc Elias to make their case. Several senior Democrats are said to be intensely reluctant to suggest there were irregularities in the result because Clinton and her team criticised Trump so sharply during the campaign for claiming that the election would be "rigged" against him, the Guardian reported. The Clinton camp is running out of time to challenge the election. According to one of the activists, the deadline in Wisconsin to file for a recount is Friday; in Pennsylvania, it's Monday; and Michigan is next Wednesday. A spokesman for the department for homeland security, however, did not respond to requests for comment. --IANS sm/rn PM scared of facing Parliament: Kejriwal Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged he is scared of facing Parliament on the issue of demonetisation. He also appealed to President Pranab Mukherjee to direct Modi to attend Parliament. "The President should direct the Prime Minister to attend the Parliament. This is the first prime minister who is so scared of facing the Parliament," Kejriwal tweeted. The opposition has been demanding Modi's participation in the Parliament debate over the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. Parliament has been unable to function due to monetary chaos. --IANS vv/pgh/vt Anna Faris fined for mistreatment of dog United States,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Los Angeles, Nov 23 (IANS) Anna Faris owes an animal shelter $5,000 for breaking a signed adoption agreement ... according to the shelter, which says her Chihuahua was found homeless and in bad shape. Kinder4Rescue owner Laurel Kinder tells tmz.com that Faris signed a contract when she adopted the dog, named Pete, 4 years ago agreeing to pay the fine if she ever turned it over to a new owner. The rule was created so they could always keep track of where the animal ends up. The North Hollywood shelter says it got a call Friday from a nearby vet saying someone had found Pete emaciated, wandering the street. When the vet ran his microchip, Kinder4Rescue and Faris' names came up. Faris hasn't answered the shelter's calls. According to sources connected to Faris and Chris Pratt that the couple is out of state, but they've gotten wind that Pete was found, and intend to make arrangements for the dog to be brought home. We were also told they had found a "nice family home" for Pete. It's unclear if that new home was temporary or permanent. --IANS nv/ Russian wants legal action against former Soviet leader Stalin United Kingdom,Immigration/Law/Rights, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS London, Nov 23 (IANS) A Russian man, whose grandfather was executed after being falsely accused of spying, is taking posthumous action against former Russian leader Josef Stalin, a media report said. Denis Karagodin holds Stalin and nearly 20 others responsible for his grandfather's death, The Dailymail reported. The 34-year-old's grandfather, Stepan Ivanovich Karagodin, was shot in the Siberian city of Tomsk after being arrested in December 1937, the report said. Stepan Ivanovich Karagodin was convicted on trumped up charges of being a Japanese spy. He was shot seven weeks later but it took half a century for his family to hear he had been falsely accused of spying against his motherland and shot. His grandosn said he was finishing a job started by his ancestors in seeking to establish the truth about his great grandfather's fate, and it led to the discovery in usually secret archives that he was shot dead by NKVD executioner Nikolay Ivanovich Zyryanov. He has since been in touch with the executioner's descendants and received an emotional letter from Zyryanov's granddaughter begging for forgiveness, the report said. Karagodin has accepted her moving apology but intends to launch a posthumous legal claim against Stalin and 20-plus others who he holds as responsible for murdering his ancestor. --IANS sku/ Syrian army asks rebels to allow civilians leave Aleppo Syrian Arab Republic,International, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Damascus, Nov 23 (IANS) The Syrian army on Tuesday renewed calls on the rebels to allow the civilians to leave rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo, according to state news agency SANA. Citing a statement, Xinhua reported that the general-command of the Syrian army urged the rebels in eastern Aleppo to allow the civilians who want to leave rebel-held areas to evacuate and to open the warehouses of food for the civilians in that area. The army stressed that the Syrian government allows the evacuation of the wounded and ill out of eastern Aleppo toward the government-controlled part, west of Aleppo, through passageways the government has previously identified. This comes amid news that the civilians in eastern Aleppo have recently attacked warehouses containing food stuffs under the rebel control as a result of the tough situation in eastern Aleppo. Activists also said that all hospitals in rebel-held areas in Aleppo city have been rendered out of service as a result of the intense shelling by the government forces. Meanwhile, the Syrian army urged the civilians to cooperate with them and avoid venturing out in the streets and to stay away from the rebel positions. The statement also encouraged the rebels to take the chance of the presidential pardon by laying down their weapons and surrendering themselves in exchange for an amnesty. According to a source, Syrian aircrafts dropped leaflets on eastern Aleppo on Tuesday, urging the rebels to surrender. --IANS sku/ CPI-M Kerala Minister shielding murder accused staffer: Congress Kerala,National,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 23 (IANS) The Congress party in Kerala has accused State Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma of behaving irresponsibly by defending one of her staff members who was arrested by the CBI in a murder case. Maxin was arrested on Tuesday along with CPI-M's Kollam district committee member K. Babu Panikkar and party youth leader Riyaz, for the April 2010 murder case of local Congress leader Ramabhadran, who was hacked to death by a group of people at his house in front of his family members. Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday, Amma said that an arrest does not mean he is guilty and hence will not be removed. Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala expressed surprise at her defence and said that through this statement she has proved that she is not fit to hold the post of Minister. "Her statement shows that she is shielding her staff member who has been arrested and sent to judicial custody. It's shocking to hear that she is allowing him to continue as a staffer," said Chennithala. The local police first conducted a probe, which was later handed over to the Crime Branch. But the victim's wife was unhappy with the slow progress in the probe and hence approached the Kerala High Court to seek a CBI probe. At first, the CBI refused to take up the probe, but later took it up following a directive from the court. Reacting to the CBI's actions, Communist Party of India-Marxist Kollam District Secretary K.N. Balagopal said that involving the CBI was politically motivated. "We will deal with the case legally and will tell people how the CBI is being misused," said Balagopal. Meanwhile, the CBI, which is expecting to arrest a few more persons, has now called in another senior CPI-M leader S. Jayamohan, who is also Chairman of the state-owned Kerala Cashew Development Corporation. Kollam district in Kerala is the stronghold of the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) which won all the 11 assembly seats in the district. --IANS sg/vgu/dg Din over demonetisation: RS adjourned yet again Delhi,National,Politics, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) The Rajya Sabha was on Wednesday adjourned for the day amid the opposition's protest over the issue of demonetisation. There were heated exchanges between the opposition and the ruling party members in the post-lunch meeting of the House, which prompted the chair to loudly scold the treasury benches for creating a ruckus in the Rajya Sabha. "For the first time I am seeing treasury benches behaving like this," Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien, who was presiding over the House, said and threatened action against the MPs creating a ruckus in the House. A riled Kurien also scolded Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi for apparently questioning the chair's authority to allow an opposition member to speak. As the House reassembled at 2 p.m., the opposition members persisted with their demand to call Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the House. Kurien said that although it is the right of the members to ask for a minister's presence whose ministry's matter is being discussed in the House, the chair cannot ask the Prime Minister to come to the House as there is "no such convention". "My request is to start the discussion (on demonetisation). Why do you assume the Prime Minister would not come to the House?" Kurien said. Earlier, the House began at 11 a.m. with obituary references to former parliamentarians Ram Naresh Yadav and M.G.K. Menon, and Carnatic musician M. Balamuralikrishna. After that a few ministers laid the papers on the table, but Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury protested that the papers being laid by the ministers had not been circulated among the members. "What are the papers that ministers are laying? Those (the papers) have not been circulated," Yechury pointed out. Some other MPs also supported his stand. The Deputy Chairman then said: "If that is true, it would be looked into." Soon after, Sharad Yadav of Janata Dal-United and Bahujan Samajwadi Party supremo Mayawati raised the demonetisation issue. While Yadav demanded compensation for the families of those who have died post demonetisation, Mayawati demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in the House. "People are dying...there is hullabaloo all around in the country. The Prime Minister should answer inside the House not outside," Mayawati said as she urged the chair to call the Prime Minister to the House. Mayawati was joined by Yechury, who said that the government is answerable to Parliament and the Prime Minister "abdicating his responsibility" of being answerable to Parliament is "violating the very Constitution on whose oath he has become the Prime Minister". Congress' Anand Sharma said it is illegal to deny people access to their own money and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created financial anarchy in the country. Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy sought a ruling from the chair as to whether the Prime Minister can make a statement on a policy decision outside Parliament when the House is in session. As the opposition became noisy, the House was first adjourned until 12 noon and then until 2 p.m. --IANS mak/nir/bg US warns of terror strikes at Christmas markets in Europe United States,Terrorism,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Washington, Nov 23 (IANS) The US has warned its citizens that Europe is at a "heightened risk of terror attacks" at its Christmas markets and other seasonal holiday events. The US State Department said it had "credible information" that the Islamic State (IS) and Al Qaeda were planning attacks and focusing on the "upcoming holiday season", reported the Telegraph. It warned American travellers to exercise caution at "holiday festivals, events and outdoor markets". The travel warning was issued as the US military said it expected IS to resort to more traditional terrorist attacks. "We don't think they are going to become an organisation that no longer presents a danger once Raqqa and Mosul are taken away," said Col John Dorrian, the spokesman for the US-led coalition against IS. "What they are going to do is devolve into the type of terror organisation that we've known they were all along and continue to try to do external operations and try to motivate lone wolf attackers." The State Department warning was released a week after the one-year anniversary of the 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people across the French capital. It does not mention any specific countries as being particularly at risk but notes that 2015 saw attacks in Belgium, France, Germany, and Turkey. --IANS in/ Opposition fails to stop passage of land amendment bill in Jharkhand Bihar,National,Politics,Immigration/Law/Rights, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Ranchi, Nov 23 (IANS) The Jharkhand assembly on Wednesday passed without discussion an amending bill to two land Acts which were formulated to protect the rights of the tribal and indigenous people. Land and Revenue Minister Amar Bawri tabled the amendment bill in the house around 2 p.m. amid uproar by the opposition members. The passing of the amendment comes despite reported assurance on the issue by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and stiff protests by the opposition in the state. A total of eight bills, including on the amendment to the Chotanagur Tenancy Act and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act, were tabled even as the opposition shouted slogans. All eight bills were passed without discussion within a few minutes by voice vote. Bharatiya Janata Party sources said the amendment bill was tabled and passed in a hurry to avoid embarrassment as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's alliance partner, the All Jharkhand Students Union, and even some ruling party leaders could have spoken against it. Several amendments have been made in different sections of both the Acts, which were formulated during the British rule to protect the land rights of the tribal and 'moolwasis' or indigenous people. After these amendments, agricultural land can now be used for non-agricultural purpose. Earlier, the AJSU had reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi that while addressing an assembly election rally in Dumka in December 2014, he had assured that no amendment will be made in the land laws. Modi had reiterated his stand while speaking at a programme of the tribal people in New Delhi last month. Chief Minister Raghubar Das was adamant on amending the land laws, which was opposed by majority of tribal legislators. "Injustice has been done to the tribals. Their land will be acquired and tribal people will become alien in their own state," senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader and legislator Stephen Marandi said. Opposing the amendment bill, AJSU legislator Vikas Munda said they will move the courts on the issue which, he said, was not in favour of the tribals. Former Chief Minister and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik President Babulal Marandi said the amendments have been brought to help industrial houses. "This will not help the tribal people." Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has justified the amendment and said it will help the tribal people. --IANS ns/tsb/dg Government trying to break Parliament logjam: Minister Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) The government is reaching out to the opposition to ensure Parliament's functioning to hold a debate on demonetisation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said on Wednesday. "We are talking to the opposition and trying to break the logjam. We want both the houses to discuss the issue," the minister said. He, however, said that the government did not want the debate to take place under an adjournment motion. "Adjournment motion means censuring something. Is there a question of censuring this crusade against black money? We feel no, and they (opposition) also feel no," Ananth Kumar told reporters here. "What they (opposition leaders) are telling us is that they are not against the fight against corruption, (but) they are against the manner of implementation. If there is a voting on the issue, the message will go out that the house is divided," he said. "We must send a unanimous message to the country and the world." The minister rued that the winter session which started on November 16 has been wasted so far over the November 8 demonetisation decision of the Centre. "What are the opposition parties doing by holding up discussion (in Parliament)? They are not achieving anything. Because what is to be achieved is for speedy and smooth transition to the new economy. Everybody knows and appreciates the fact that the new economy will be more efficient and pro-poor," he said. Ananth Kumar said: "I appeal to the opposition -- please see the writing on the wall. Understand the huge signal given by the people of India. They (opposition) are holding up the house on technical grounds, and not serving the cause of the people," the minister added. The issue of demonetisation has led to repeated adjournments in both houses of Parliament since November 17. The Lok Sabha did not function on the first day of the winter session due to the death of a sitting member, while the Rajya Sabha took up the debate on demonetisation. Since November 17, opposition members in the Lok Sabha have been insisting on a debate under an adjournment motion, that entails voting after the debate. In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition has been insisting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in the upper house during the debate on demonetisation. --IANS ao/tsb/ Government arrogant, failed to apologise for demonetisation deaths: Congress Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) The Congress on Wednesday accused the government of arrogance and said it had failed to apologise for the deaths of people following the November 8 demonetisation of high denomination currency notes. "The government is so arrogant that it is not ready to acknowledge and express regrets over the deaths of persons in the wake of demonetisation. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his position has become important," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said. He said the government had not even acknowledged the "deaths of nearly 70 persons due to demonetisation". "Even though 70 people have died due to the decision, Modi is not ready to address Parliament." He wondered why Modi did not hold consultations before deciding on demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Surjewala said: "Even a fortnight after the demonetisation, there is no money in the banks in rural and urban areas in the country. There is no money in the automated teller machines. The government has issued 23 guidelines in the past 13 days." "The farmers, businessmen, traders, small businessmen, labourers and daily wage earners have been hit badly because of demonetisation," the Congress leader added. He said the entire opposition is united against the demonetisation decision and will participate in the Aakrosh Diwas protest on November 28. "All opposition parties are together in Parliament. Everyone has unitedly decided to organise the people's movement -- Aakrosh Diwas -- on November 28. The entire opposition is united on this movement," Surjewala said. "Congress leaders and workers will take out rallies to protest so as to expose the anti-people government," he added. --IANS sid/tsb/bg Opposition unites against PM at Parliament's Gandhi statue Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) A united opposition on Wednesday upped the ante against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's continued silence and absence inside the house despite growing demands for him to speak on the demonetisation issue. Thirteen opposition parties, baring the Left and the Aam Aadmi Party, protested at Parliament's Gandhi Statue demanding answers on demonetisation. Among the protestors were leaders from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the BSP. Although the Left did not join the protest, it said that it would mount a separate protest later in the day. CPI leader D. Raja told the media that "approaching the President is the final option" if Modi did not respond to questions from the opposition. "Seventy people have lost their lives. Is this a small matter," Jyotiraditya Scindia of the Congress said. --IANS vn/in/ahm/vm Pakistan lobbying with Indians against Modi's 'extremism': Aziz Pakistan,Indo-Pak/Pakistan,Politics,Diplomacy, Wed, 23 Nov 2016 IANS Islamabad, Nov 23 (IANS) Pakistan's foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz has said that Pakistani missions abroad, including in India, are making efforts to reach out to the Indian people who are opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "extremism", the media reported on Wednesday. Aziz, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Foreign Policy Advisor, on Tuesday conveyed this to the country's Senate, Dawn quoted him as saying. "Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies," Aziz said. Aziz also said Pakistan was doing its utmost to engage the international community, including its regional partners, to counter India's efforts to isolate Pakistan in the region. At the same time, Aziz stressed the need for a "positive response" from India in order to move forward. He said that while Pakistan always conveyed a desire to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, India had chosen to attach "conditions" to the talks, Dawn reported. He said Pakistan was supportive of all initiatives for peace and stability in the region and this was evident from its decision to participate in the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, despite the Saarc summit in Islamabad being cancelled because of India. Pakistan's nuclear doctrine, he said, was clearly spelt out and due restraint was being exercised. "Pakistan continues to exhibit maturity and statesmanship despite provocative statements by Indian leadership and the continued ceasefire violations across the LoC and working boundary having resulted in civilian casualties," he was quoted as saying. He also said that Pakistan's armed forces "only returned fire when fired upon". Aziz also conveyed that a high-level committee has been formulated to "counter India's propaganda campaign" on Kashmir. The committee, to be headed by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, consists of senior officials from Pakistan Defence, Interior and Information, ministries, the Military Operations Directorate, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB). The Ministry of Information Technology had also been asked to prepare a comprehensive strategy to highlight the Jammu and Kashmir dispute via social media. He also said the role of international lobbyists had become crucial in order to project the country's position and pursue foreign policy objectives and that Pakistani missions abroad were in close contact with the Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora. --IANS ahm/rn Iraqi troops, paramilitary forces entirely encircle Mosul Burkina Faso,Defence/Security,Terrorism, Thu, 24 Nov 2016 IANS Mosul, Nov 24 (IANS) The Iraqi security forces and allied paramilitary units, known as Hashd Shaabi, on Wednesday completely encircled the city of Mosul, while the troops continued operations to clear the Islamic State (IS) militants in and out of Mosul over a month after a major offensive was launched, the Iraqi military said. The predominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units advanced to west of the IS-held town of Tal Afar, some 70 km west of Mosul, recapturing six villages and seizing the main road between Tal Afar and nearby town of Sinjar, Xinhua news agency quoted a statement issued by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) as saying. The latest advance allowed the Hashd Shaabi units to cut off the IS supply routes from the west side of Mosul, and enabling both the paramilitary units and other Iraqi and Kurdish security forces to entirely isolate and surround the city of Mosul, the statement said. The paramilitary units started their advance on Tuesday morning when they moved to encircle the town of Tal Afar, preparing for the next stage to free it from the IS militants. The units' presence in the whole area in west of Mosul would also enable them to secure the border areas between Iraq and neighbouring Syria and would cut off the IS supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the capital of IS self-declared caliphate. In southeast of Mosul, the army's 9th armoured Division continued their advance toward Mosul and recaptured four villages, the statement added. In eastern Mosul, the commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) fought fierce clashes with the IS militants as they have been trying to push deeper into the eastern side of the city, locally known as left bank of the Tigris River. The CTS commandos cleared many buildings of the residential compound in Khadraa district in eastern Mosul after sporadic clashes with IS militants, according to the JOC statement. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on October 17 announced a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city. Since then, the Iraqi security forces have inched to the eastern fringes of Mosul and made progress on other routes around the city. Mosul, some 400 km north of Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under the IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. --IANS lok/ ARTICLE V IS DELIBERATELY VAGUE By Don Fotheringham November 23, 2016 NewsWithViews.com There seems to be needless concern over Article V, the amending clause of the U.S. Constitution. Both friend and foe of the Constitution complain that, while the Founding Fathers gave the people a way to initiate the convention process, they dropped the ball by failing to establish procedures and regulations for the convention itself. Was the omission of regulations a mistake? No. Article V is wisely, purposely, and deliberately vague. Those who complain that our founders left Article V strangely incomplete, fail to understand the most fundamental principle of a free and sovereign people. Constitutional conventions are the government-making systems of free citizens. Conventions are sovereign assemblies. They comprise all power, including the power to establish the agenda, the rules, the regulations, the ratifying method, and all procedures by which the people might create, modify, or abolish their government. The convention system is the concentration of sovereign power by which "WE THE PEOPLE.[did] ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Why does Article V lack instructions for future conventions? because no sitting convention can dictate to the next convention. The 1787 Convention could not make regulations for the next convention because the next convention would be just a sovereign as the first Convention just as free to make its own rules as was the Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. For that reason Article V is purposely, deliberately, and brilliantly vague. The following is found in the Records of the Federal Convention of 1787: Mr. Madison did not see why Congress would not be as much bound to propose amendments applied for by two-thirds of the States as to call a Convention on the like application. He saw no objection however against providing a Convention for the purpose of amendments, except only that difficulties might arise as to the form, the quorum, and etc. which in Constitutional regulations ought to be as much as possible avoided. (author's emphasis) Why, despite foreseeable difficulties, should constitutional regulations be avoided? because, as we have already noted, today's convention cannot establish procedures for tomorrow's convention. For that reason Article V requires the state legislatures only to apply, only to initiate the convention process. Article V provides no instructions regarding the form, the quorum, or regulations regarding the control of the convention which the state is simply asking Congress to call. The reason for this is simple: State legislatures have only the statutory power granted by their state constitutions; they have no structural authority, no government-making power. As a general rule, when one principle is understood, it casts a little light on related principles. For example: State legislatures are not greater than their creators. This principle was affirmed during the 1787 Convention while the deputies were considering resolutions on who should ratify the new plan. The record states: Col. Mason considered a reference of the plan to the authority of the people as one of the most important and essential of the Resolutions. The Legislatures have no power to ratify it. They are the mere creatures of the State Constitutions, and cannot be greater than their creators. Whither then must we resort? To the people with whom all power remains that has not been given up in the Constitutions derived from them. It was of great moment he observed that this doctrine should be cherished as the basis of free Government. During that same discussion (July 23) James Madison made a similar observation: Mr. Madison thought it clear that the Legislatures were incompetent to the proposed changes. These changes would make essential inroads on the State constitutions, and it would be a novel and dangerous doctrine that a Legislature could change the constitution under which it held its existence. The basis of free government is that neither the legislature nor the Congress can determine the power and scope of the Constitution to which they owe their existence. A system under which lawmakers determine the limits of their power is the definition of a dictatorship. The doctrine that legislatures were not qualified to legislate changes in the constitutions under which they serve, was well-established at the founding of our country. Today's state legislators who seek to bring about a "limited" convention ignore the fact that during the first 100 years of American history all state applications for a convention were brilliantly vague purposely absent even the subject for which the convention had been called. A constitutional convention is not "simply an extension of the state legislature." This widely asserted idea is a corruption of the authority of a free and sovereign people. Only the people have government-making and government-modifying authority. A state legislator has only the powers delegated to him by his state constitution, which most assuredly excludes the power to regulate a constitutional convention, or make rules for a "convention of states," or to run an "Article V convention," or to exercise structural authority in any form or under any pretext. A state's application for a convention that does anything more than initiate the convention process, as required by Article V, amounts to a usurpation of the authority of the people who alone have power to set the terms and determine the scope of their convention. Government is nothing more than the creature and cannot be greater than its creator. Most current applications for a convention contain rules, regulations, and limitations on the purpose and scope of the requested convention. The "limitation language" in these bills is calculated to allay the very real concerns of state legislators who have been reluctant to support the uncharted road to a modern convention. In addition to illegal (completely unenforceable) limitations contained in the state resolutions, the convention lobby is pushing "delegate responsibility" bills that impose severe penalties on convention delegates who might stray into constitutional changes not specifically authorized by the state's resolution. It would be hard to find a more serious violation of the doctrine of civilian sovereignty than is found in such bills. Convention limitation bills, in any form, constitute the "novel and dangerous doctrine" of which James Madison has spoken. It is a curious thing that after 227 years the convention lobby has "just discovered" that state legislatures have an amazing array of powers unknown to America's Founding Fathers. And it is equally curious that the convention lobby ignores the authority of a sovereign people which in 1787 was "cherished as the basis of free government." Please, click on "Mass E-mailing" below and send this article to all your friends . 2016 Don Fotheringham - All Rights Reserved Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, sixteen-year-old Don Fotheringham enlisted in the Marine Corps and fought in the Pacific islands. After the war he was alarmed by U.S. foreign policy that gave the communists much of what our military had fought for. So Don enrolled at the University of Utah, thinking he could correct such problems with an education in Political Science. What a disappointment. Even the professors upheld America's pro-communist policy! Fotheringham's chance to stand up for America came in 1958 when Robert Welch formed the John Birch Society. Don spent 22 years on the staff of the JBS, serving as its constitutional advisor. In 1983, when the U.S. was on the verge of a new constitutional convention, Don was assigned to organize the opposition and block this terribly rash movement. During that time and since his retirement (Don will soon be 90) he has testified in 32 state legislative hearings blocking new legislation and repealing existing resolutions that apply for a convention. His success in reversing these measures has been exceptional. Don Fotheringham is author of the well-researched book, The President Makers (available at amazon.com). He lectures widely, writes for freedomfirstsociety.org, and serves on its Board of Directors. E-Mail: donfothz@scinternet.net As we head into the Thanksgiving weekend, New York City can be thankful for 11 newly designated landmarks. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted on 11 of the 12 calendared sites in Midtown East. The LPCs Greater East Midtown Initiative has sought to preserve a neighborhood undergoing constant change. In fact, it was just over one month ago that ground was broken for the new supertall commercial tower, One Vanderbilt, across Vanderbilt Avenue from Grand Central Terminal. In fact, this entire process was organized around the construction of Grand Central Terminal, and thats how well present these designations, for which public hearings were held on July 19 and September 13. From the era before Grand Central Terminal, the first is the former Minnie E. Young Residence at 19 East 54th Street. The four-story structure was designed by the firm of Hiss & Weekes and built between 1899 and 1900. It was commissioned for Young, a widow of a successful banker, and reflected the upper class. It has since been converted to commercial use, with the Interaudi Bank occupying the storefront. The former Martin Erdmann Residence at 57 East 55th Street was constructed as a private residence between 1908 and 1909. Designed by the firm Taylor & Levi, its style is English Renaissance Revival, according to the LPC, and features an all-limestone facade with Tudor-style windows. Since 1957, it has been home to the Friars Club. From the Grand Central Terminal City era, the first was the building at 18 East 41st Street. The 21-story, neo-Gothic style office building was designed by George and Edward Blum and constructed between 1912 and 1914. It features a tripartite facade in glazed terra cotta. The former Hampton Shops Building at 18-20 East 50th Street is an 11-story structure built between 1915 and 1916. Its design, by Rouse & Goldstone and Joseph L. Steinman, features terra cotta resembling granite, meant to complement St. Patricks Cathedral, which sits across the street. The Hampton Shops furniture company declared bankruptcy in 1937. The building was then sub-divided and has served a variety of commercial purposes. 50 Vanderbilt Avenue is a 22-story building constructed for use as the Yale Club of New York City. It was built between 1913 and 1915 and designed by architect James Gamble Rogers, who designed many structures on Yale Universitys campus in New Haven, Conn. In fact, the club was placed on Vanderbilt Avenue because it is right across the street from Grand Central Terminal, and the New Haven Line, now part of the Metro-North Railroad. The 24-story-tall Pershing Square Building at 125 Park Avenue was designed by John Sloan, along with the firm of York & Sawyer, and built between 1921 and 1923. The site had been formerly been occupied by the Grand Union Hotel. It was the last tall building constructed without the setbacks mandated by law following the construction of the Equitable Building in the Financial District. It features large arched windows in the base along with more arched windows near the top. It was key to the functioning of the entire mass transit concept for Grand Central, as it helped connect different subway lines. It also features special subway entrances and direct access to the train terminal. Representatives of the buildings owner had said designation would prevent necessary transit improvements. On Tuesday, LPC Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan said the designation report will note the buildings significance when it comes to transportation and that the commission will work with the necessary parties to allow for improvements when the time comes. The Graybar Building, located at 420 Lexington Avenue, was designed by Sloan & Robertson and built between 1925 and 1927. The 30-story structure is clad in brick and limestone, with amazing Art Deco features including multiple setbacks. The 34-story-tall former Shelton Hotel at 525 Lexington Avenue was designed by Arthur Loomis Harmon and built between 1922 and 1924. Its an early example of a skyscraper residential building. It was later the Halloran House Hotel and is now the New York Marriott East Side. Up next was the former Beverly Hotel (now the Benjamin Hotel), located at 125 East 50th Street. The 30-story building was designed by Emery Roth with Sylvan Bien and built in 1926. The Hotel Lexington, located at 511 Lexington Avenue, is 26 stories tall, plus two pyramidal towers. It was designed by the firm of Schultze & Weaver and built between 1928 and 1929. Finally, there was the 22-story building at 400 Madison Avenue. It was built between 1928 and 1929 and its neo-Gothic style design, by H. Craig Severance, features cream-colored terra cotta meant to reflect sunlight. Now, what about the 12th item? That is the former Citicorp Center at 601 Lexington Avenue, now known by its address. The complex includes the 59-story, 915-foot-tall office building with the slanted roof perched above supercolumns, a six-story retail building, and St. Peters Lutheran Church. The design was by Hugh Stubbins & Associates, with Emery Roth & Sons. Construction took place between 1973 and 1978, making it the only item from the post-Grand Central Terminal era. No vote was held because the LPC is continuing to do research for the designation report. A vote is expected by the end of the year. Subscribe to the YIMBY newsletter for weekly updates on New Yorks top projects Like YIMBY on Facebook, too! Subscribe to YIMBYs daily e-mail Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates Like YIMBY on Facebook Follow YIMBYs Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews Share Nokia (News - Alert)'s come a long way over the years, going from the king of cell phones to a force to be reckoned with in networking and service operations. Now, it's gained a little extra edge in the network market thanks to new recognition from Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert), which recently honored Nokia's Passive Optical LAN (POL) solution with its 2016 European Local Area Network New Product Innovation Award. Frost & Sullivan bestowed the honor on Nokia's POL for several reasons, reports note; not only is it a more cost-effective means to set up LAN systems, but it also offers benefits in security, reliability, energy and space savings and even access to unlimited bandwidth. When compared to standard copper-based Ethernet LAN operations, the Nokia POL can deliver over 50 percent savings against the alternatives. Built around the 7360 ISAM FX, and able to support a wide array of end-user devices along with advanced management systems, the Nokia POL can offer Gigabit speeds to its users, which can upgrade it to 20 times the capacity using the cables and access nodes currently in place. It gets better from there, though, as Nokia's POL offers the 5571 POL Command Center (PCC), which allows the system to be better managed from one centralized operation. The PCC is designed to be intuitive and includes a wide variety of management tools from pro-active monitoring and troubleshooting systems to fault reporting and auto-activation systems. Priya Sharma, research analyst with Frost & Sullivan, offered further comment on the win, saying Nokia's POL solution provides military-grade security and data encryption. And as optical fibers are resistant to electromagnetic interference, POL is ideal for use in sensitive environments such as hospitals, where cameras and machines can interrupt data transmission....Significantly, the Ethernet-based LAN lasts nearly five to seven years, whereas the POL solution lasts at least 50 years, translating to greater lifetime cost savings. There's a lot of reason to recognize the Nokia POL system, ranging from its versatility to its power in the field. It's hard to find a system that's both able to come in on just about any system currently in place and deliver value for the overall operation, and the Nokia POL succeeds on both fronts. Throw in what the Nokia POL can do as a whole, and it's easy to see why many would be considering this one as an option to augment internal networking. With all these points going for it, why wouldn't Frost & Sullivan be in a rush to recommend it with awards? Nokia's POL solution is a powerhouse in the market, and given Nokia's sheer amount of successes thus far, the company clearly has some bragging rights to exercise. If it were in doubt, just look at the latest accolade from Frost & Sullivan for proof. Edited by Alicia Young I used to be one of those parents who took a second look at their kids bags of candy theyd gotten Halloween night and think, Wait a minute. Is that a full-size Butterfingers bar? Why would a kid need that much candy in one serving? Id either then ask if they really wanted that item or I We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Nine Arab countries, including Morocco, have pulled out from the 4th Arab-African Summit in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), in protest against the participation of the so-called self-proclaimed SADR in the event. The countries that withdrew from the summit in solidarity with Morocco are Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, Jordan, Yemen and Somalia. Others are also expected to follow suit according to Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All these countries back Morocco in conformity with the principles of international law including the respect of sovereignty of countries and their territorial integrity, says a press release issued by the Moroccan Foreign Affairs ministry. While reiterating its high esteem for the brotherly African country of Equatorial Guinea, Morocco recalls the shared commitments made by Arab and African countries during the 2nd and 3rd Arab-African summits held respectively in Libya in 2010 and Kuwait in 2013. During these summits, Arab and African countries agreed that only UN member countries should be allowed to participate in the Arab-African summits, adds the press release, deploring the violation of the commitments made. According to some analysts, the withdrawal of Morocco and its powerful Arab Gulf Countries has weakened the gathering which some countries used to undermine Moroccan sovereignty and territorial integrity but their plot blew up in the face. They forgot that North African Kingdom is one of the strategic partners of the Arab rich Gulf monarchies. These countries support Moroccan territorial integrity and back its sovereignty over Sahara, hailing autonomy plan for the Moroccan Sahara. Last April, Morocco and GCC convened in Riyadh their 1st summit meeting, a historical event that ushered in a new era in partnership between Rabat and the six-member powerful regional economic bloc, sharing common geostrategic, economic, and religious interests. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said he supports the Syrian military, a position at odds with his countrys Gulf donators like Saudi Arabia. The former army chief, who has overseen a warming of ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assads main backer Russia, made the comments during an interview aired Tuesday with Portuguese broadcaster RTP. Our priority is to support national armies, for example in Libya to assert control over Libyan territories and deal with extremist elements. The same with Syria and Iraq, he said, responding to a question on whether Egypt would contemplate a UN peacekeeping role in Syria. Asked by the interviewer whether he meant the Syrian military, he responded: Yes. Al-Sisi, who overthrew the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi, has cracked down on Islamists and is battling a deadly jihadist insurgency. His government had been supported by billions of dollars in aid from Saudi Arabia, but ties appear to have cooled between the two countries amid disagreements over Syria. Saudi Arabia backs rebels trying to oust Assad, while Russia and Iran are supporting him militarily. Saudi Arabia suspended oil shipments to Egypt in October, a move announced after Cairo backed a Russian-drafted resolution on Syria in the UN Security Council, angering Riyadh. During the same interview, al-Sisi explained that he has full support of majority of Egyptians to drive an economy reform regardless of the consequences on the country. King Mohammed VI and Madagascars President Hery Rajaonarimampianina launched, in the Malagasy city of Antsirabe, the construction works of a hospital for mothers and children and a vocational training centre for a total cost of 220 million Dirhams, funded by Mohammed VI Foundation for Sustainable Development. The projects were launched on the occasion of King Mohammed VIs visit to Antsirabe, the city where his grandfather late King Mohammed V and the royal family were exiled by the French colonial authorities in 1954. Part of south-south cooperation, the new hospital will be built over a surface area of 50,000 square meters for a total cost of 160 million dirhams. The hospital will be ready in March 2019 and will offer healthcare to women and children. The new facility, having a 70 bed capacity, will help reduce maternal and infant mortality. The vocational training centre, worth 60 million dirhams, will stretch over 25,000 square meters and can accommodate up to 1000 student. The centre, to be delivered in October 2018, will offer training in fields relating to civil engineering, tourism, hotel industry and catering. These projects are part of the momentum witnessed in Moroccan-Malagasy relations with the signing of 22 cooperation agreements between the two countries two days ago in Antananarivo during the Kings current visit to Madagascar. This visit is the second leg in a second phase of an African tour that previously took the King to Ethiopia. The agreements aim at strengthening the legislative framework governing bilateral cooperation in terms of river preservation, agriculture, finance, culture, employment, renewable energies and vocational training. Ben Carson is not in over his head. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Ben Carson has demonstrated the ability to do two things at a world-class level: perform surgical operations, and run lucrative scams. By his own admission, he is patently unqualified to run a federal agency. Nonetheless, he has accepted the job as secretary of Housing and Urban Development, a policy field in which he has no experience or expertise. One might think that this background makes Carson uniquely unsuited for the role of HUD secretary. But from another, more cynical perspective, he is absolutely perfect for the job. HUD is traditionally a magnet for scandal under Republican administrations, for two reasons. First, its mission of providing affordable housing for the urban poor is marginal, at best, to the core Republican agenda. (Jack Kemp, George H. W. Bushs HUD secretary, is a rare exception of an activist Republican HUD secretary.) Second, the agencys program structure lends itself naturally to profiteering. HUD works closely with private developers to build affordable housing. Without careful oversight, the agency can easily become a slush fund to distribute sweetheart contracts to the administrations buddies. Samuel Pierce, Ronald Reagans HUD secretary, turned the agency into a slush fund for cronies. Reagans HUD regularly handed out loans and grants on the basis of political contacts. Moderate Republican Representative Chris Shays denounced one pair of profiteers for running a dirty, smelly, slimy business. Ultimately, a slew of Reagan-era HUD officials were convicted, including three assistant secretaries, for such crimes as accepting illegal loans, obstructing justice, and illegal gratuities. George W. Bushs housing secretary, Alphonso Jackson, resigned in 2008 after a series of scandals. These included sweetheart deals and inflated salaries for his friends, threats against whistleblowers, instructing his staff to steer contracts to Bush supporters, and even stating publicly that he once denied an otherwise suitable contract because the bidder criticized Bush. Why should I reward someone who doesnt like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? said Jackson. Logic says they dont get the contract. Thats the way I believe. Jackson faced investigations by HUDs inspector general, the Department of Justice and the FBI, none of which resulted in a conviction. There is an additional risk factor in Trumps administration. The president is planning to continue to run his business empire in office, without disclosing his income. And so Carson, a man with no experience in government but extensive experience in the field of bilking, and a proven loyalist of Donald Trump, will apparently oversee an agency whose mission lends itself to corruption. If Trumps priority was to ensure the most effective and efficient use of every housing dollar, Carson would make a very strange choice. But that may not be Trumps priority at all. Sorry, guys. Photo: Shahar Azran/WireImage While the election of a new Democratic National Committee chair in March is shaping up to be a battle over the direction of the party, in recent days some argued that it doesnt have to be that way. In a Washington Post op-ed published Tuesday, Nelson W. Cunningham an adviser to the Clinton campaign who has worked with Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, and John Kerry said there is another option: There is a consensus choice, right under our noses, who could unite the party across its broad spectrum, who could speak to coastal elites and heartland stalwarts, whose popularity across all the Democratic demographics is sky-high. There is Joe Biden. Or not. A few hours later, the vice-president quashed calls to have him lead the Democrats under the Trump administration. The vice president is not interested in being DNC chair, but he intends to remain deeply involved in helping shape the direction of the Democratic Party moving forward, said his spokeswoman, Kate Bedingfield. A few days after the election, it looked like Democrats had already settled on a fresh face to lead the party: Congressman Keith Ellison. Ellison was one of the first members of Congress to endorse Bernie Sanders for president, and with the Vermont senator rallying support for the Minnesota representative, he quickly picked up endorsements from Senator Elizabeth Warren, outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, and his likely successor, Senator Chuck Schumer. But last week, some began expressing doubts about Ellison, saying that while they think highly of him, it may be smarter to select someone who can work full-time as party chair. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz stepped down from the position in July after emails hacked by WikiLeaks showed her criticizing Sanders, but she was a controversial figure even before that. As Politico reported last weekend: Wasserman Schultz drew criticism in party circles for how she handled the two demanding roles, and Democrats privately grumbled that she sought to leverage her position as party chairman to give her congressional donors plum spots at DNC fundraisers with President Barack Obama and solicited DNC donors for contributions to her campaign. Two other top contenders for the job, former Vermont governor Howard Dean and South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Jaime Harrison, said they would make the DNC their primary focus. Sanders dismissed the criticism, saying plenty of previous DNC chairs have been full-time public officials. I dont believe it was being raised when Debbie took the job. And I think this is just a way for Keiths opponents I mean, the usual line is, We love Keith, hes great, but, and thats the but. So I think this is a way for his opponents to try to criticize him and end up supporting somebody else, he said. Indeed, its likely the concerns about Ellison had less to do with his time commitments than with the attempt to move the party to the left, which Ellison represents. As New Yorks Ed Kilgore put it, Ellisons candidacy looks a lot like a continuation of Bernie Sanderss presidential campaign, combined with a house-cleaning aimed at removing Clinton supporters, scornfully dismissed as corporate shills. Democrats close to President Obama arent thrilled about that prospect, and now theyre looking for an alternative to Ellison. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that some in Obamas circle had hoped that Biden would take the job, but other prospects include Labor Secretary Tom Perez and former governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan. In the last week, Perez was spotted meeting with Biden, Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, and David Simas, Obamas political director. Others have reservations about Ellison that have nothing to do with rehashing the Sanders-Clinton primary fight. Ellison, who is Muslim, defended Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in the 90s and has been critical of Israel. Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Anti-Defamation League, said Ellison is an important ally in the fight against anti-Semitism but hes taken positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on which we strongly differ and that concern us. In light of that controversy, some believe Perez, who is the son of Dominican immigrants, may be a better foil to the Trump administration. Sources say hes interested and hell be looking for a job soon. Photo: The Washington Post/The Washington Post/Getty Images The election of Donald Trump is poised to ruin many Thanksgiving dinners across America, but the president-elect is trying to make things better. If you confine dinner-table discussion to his latest cabinet pick, you wont have to spend the meal arguing with your uncle over whether Trump is building a team of racists. South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has accepted Trumps offer to be his ambassador to the United Nations, sources tell the Post and Courier and the Washington Post. The move is expected to be announced on Wednesday. Like several other rumored Trump picks, Haleys qualifications for the job are thin. She worked on trade and labor issues during her six years as governor, but her foreign-policy experience is confined to eight trips to foreign nations to discuss economic-development opportunities in her state. The Post and Courier says the Trump administration probably wants Haley as the U.S. representative at the U.N. owing to her strong communication and problem-solving skills. Her selection will also quiet concerns about the lack of diversity in Trumps cabinet and not just because shes the daughter of Indian immigrants. Trump took some flak because his first five cabinet picks were white men (though, as the Washington Examiner pointed out, the first four people President-elect Obama named were also white). The far bigger issue is that several of those white men on Trumps team are fringe figures who have been accused of racism, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism. Haley, on the other hand, won praise from Republicans and Democrats for her handling of the apparently racially motivated massacre at a Charleston church, which revived the decades-old battle over flying the Confederate flag on Statehouse grounds. She persuaded state lawmakers to take down the flag, at one point describing the racism she was subjected to as a child. The selection of the rising Republican star will also calm members of the partys Establishment particularly if shes paired with her ally Mitt Romney as secretary of State. According to The Wall Street Journal, the 2012 presidential nominee is Trumps top pick for the job, but some in his camp are still pushing for Rudy Giuliani, who has been loyal to the mogul. Like Romney, Haley spoke out against Trump during the campaign. She delivered the GOPs official State of the Union response in January, which was widely seen as a rebuke of Trump. During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation, she said. She then endorsed Marco Rubio, prompting Trump to tweet: The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2016 Haley ultimately voted for Trump based on his policy positions, though she said she was not a fan of him or Hillary Clinton, called the election embarrassing for both parties, and said, This election has turned my stomach upside down. After the election, Haley said she was giddy that Republicans had won control of the White House and Congress. However, while speaking at the Federalist Societys National Lawyers Convention on Friday, she lectured her own party, saying it needed to conduct an autopsy on how they won, and to emphasize that the GOP is a party that will offer opportunities to all citizens, regardless of their race, gender or where they are born and raised. Haley knew Trump before the election he donated $5,000 to a political group supporting her in 2012 and she said their meeting last week wasnt awkward. He was a friend and supporter before he ran for president, and was kind to me then, she said. But when I see something I am uncomfortable with, I say it. Photo: Annie Otzen/Getty Images In March 1988, residents of the small town of Stuart, Florida, were gripped by what can only be described as mass hysteria. Law enforcement officers had discovered a secret satanic cult being run out of the local Montessori preschool. There were tales of dark hooded figures, bizarre blood ceremonies, and the ritualistic rape of children. Evidence for this secret cult of child molesters came from none other than the children themselvesa decade later. Many of these remembered acts were so hideous, so barbaric, that the victims had buried the memories deep within their psyche, uncovering them only under intensive hypnosis. After hours of these sessions, psychologists and law enforcement officers were able to retrieve long-buried memories of bizarre ceremonies, torture, and the worst sexual violations imaginable. Psychologists flooded into town to uncover more debauchery and interview and save these innocent children. It got to be the kind of thing where every other storefront in the town had a new child psychologist, said resident Carol MacMillan. I mean, it was a cottage industry for recovered memories. The more psychologists and law enforcement dug down, the more instances of ritual abuse they turned up. Pretty soon, they had collected more than 60 testimonies of horrendous torture and sexual deviance. The community went ballistic. Some residents attended town meetings armed with handguns, hunting for satanists, while others planted listening devices in classrooms and searched for mass graves on the school grounds. It was like Salem all over again, one parent recalled. As a result of the childrens testimony, police arrested James Toward, the owner of the preschool, and his office manager. Then they investigated Towards wife, who also worked at the school. The case against her was weaker than the case against her husband, so the lawyers and psychologists reached out to a new round of kids to find new details that might implicate her. Among them was Carol MacMillans daughter, an anxious little blond girl named Kristin Grace Erickson. Erickson was 12 years old at the time she was hypnotized. She understood from the doctors and other adults in town that her preschool teacher and his colleagues had done some terrible thingsand could do more if people didnt do something to help. She trusted the doctors who brought her into an interview room, put her under hypnosis, and began asking questions. You cant make people do something against their will under hypnosis, but a subject can become highly suggestible. Erickson recalls that a psychologist started asking probing questions about her experience at the preschool when she was a toddler. Initially, she had pleasant memories of the place, with its caring staff and occasional campfire sleepover. But after a few sessions, she began remembering bizarre rituals and being placed on a table where she was probed by cult members. I said that I saw a snake get killed and sliced down the side and that we had to drink its blood. And that there were people in hoods around a fire, she says. The psychologist seemed pleased and pushed for more details, especially about Towards wife. After the session was over, Erickson felt odd. She knew that by telling these people what had happened she was protecting other children who might be in danger. But she wasnt sure that what she had said was completely true. The memory felt funny, like a lie. So she timidly suggested to the psychologist that she might have made the whole thing up. No, she remembers him saying, thats just what it feels like. It really happened. For the next 15 years or so, Erickson lived with the knowledge that she had been molested by a satanic cult masquerading as a Montessori preschool. Then, while living in San Francisco in her 20s, she decided to experiment with a sensory-deprivation tanka chamber half filled with tepid water and impervious to sound or light. Crawl into one and you feel as if you are floating silently in the blackest space. For decades, people have used this extreme sort of quiet blackness as a sort of forced meditation. At first she felt nothing but silence and boredom. But in the last few minutes, Erickson had an epiphany. She realized that something from her childhood hypnosis therapy was haunting her, and that she needed to come to terms with it. Soon afterward, she looked up Alan Tesson, one of the psychologists involved in the case, and was shocked to learn that 10 years after the investigations, he had been sued for implanting false memories in one of his patients. What the hell is a false memory, she wondered? A memory thats not true is called a lie. What Erickson didnt know was that her case had occurred in the middle of the so-called Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 90s. A 1992 FBI report noted during this period, hundreds of victims alleging that thousands of offenders are abusing and even murdering tens of thousands of people as part of organized satanic cultsand there is little or no corroborative evidence. Today, scientists understand that what caused a nationwide panic and the imprisonment of dozens of people wasnt a conspiracy of pedophiles but an interesting glitch in the human mind: specifically, how we create memories. * * * You might assume that when you take in the world around you, your eyes and ears act like video cameras and tape recorders. That what you are seeing and hearing is what is: a park bench looking out over a wooded hillside, the furniture in your living room, the words on this page. But in reality, your eyes and ears are taking light and sound and turning them into electrical signals to the brain, which then has to construct a version of what is being seen that makes sense. To do that, your brain has to make assumptions and take shortcuts, and it sometimes makes mistakes. Optical illusions, blind spots, and hallucinations all demonstrate how your brain can misinterpret what its seeingto potentially very confusing and dangerous ends. Brain injuries like visual agnosia, an impairment popularized by Oliver Sacks in his book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, can cause a person with perfect eyesight to be unable to recognize the objects he sees. And even if your brain works perfectly, a talented magician can fool you simply by toying with your attention and expectation. Just as vision is not a simple camera, memories arent like the flash drives collecting dust in the corner of a drawer somewhere. Like sight, memory is an integrated constructive process that is constantly refining itselfrebuilding, restructuring, and finding shortcuts. And, just as optical illusions do, your memory can play tricks on you. It helps to know a little about how memory works. Broadly speaking, your memories are created in three stages: encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. Encoding happens just as an event is occurringthat moment when you find yourself paying attention to something. All day, every day, your brain is taking all the sights, smells, and sounds around you, making sense of them, and storing them in your short-term memory: I am putting my keys in the green dish by the door; that bird on the tree looks like a black-capped chickadee; I think I smell something burningthese are all observations that your brain turns into memories. Any one of them could become part of a memory that you will carry for the rest of your life, depending on the next stage. Consolidation is the transfer from short-term to long-term memory over the course of hours, weeks, or even years. Its a complicated and somewhat mysterious process whereby certain synapses (the gaps between brain cells) become sensitive, and several neurons begin firing in concert. Repetition of information certainly helps, as do stress hormones (which is why we remember stressful situations so vividly) and deep sleep (many scientists think dreaming is connected to consolidation). Think of it as a mental filing system. At the end of the day, your mind sifts through all the memories its made that day (where my keys were before I left the house; whether that was a chickadee or a nuthatch), and moves only the important ones (my moronic roommate accidentally lit the kitchen on fire) into longterm memory. The last step in creating memories is retrievalthat moment when you actually remember something. But wait, you might say, retrieving a memory is completely different from creating one. After all, you are just going through your metaphorical filing cabinet and pulling out a photo, right? No. Memory isnt static like photos. Its more like reassembling a picture from jigsaw pieces or making a photocopy of a picture and then looking at it. The point is that memory retrieval is its own sort of creation. And each time you make a copy, it looks a little differenta little more blurry and faded. So eventually you have to take a permanent marker and fill in some of the edges to make it appear sharper. Simply put, a false memory is an error in one of these steps. And once that error occurs, its almost impossible to correct. Take, for instance, a classic study by the legendary psychologist and memory expert Ulric Neisser. The morning after the explosion of NASAs space shuttle Challenger in 1986, Neisser took a poll of where his students were when they first heard about it. Almost three years later he ran the poll again; almost all the answers had changed in some way. Several people had even placed themselves in totally different circumstances and refused to believe that the accounts they had written two years before were correct. This in itself is startling and a little disconcerting. But most of the memory changes seemed to follow a pattern that made them (a) more dramatic and (b) more in line with a coherent narrative. This is at least in part the result of the so-called flashbulb memory effect, in which red-letter events such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Challenger explosion, and the attacks of 9/11 tend to be retold many timesand with each telling, become slightly different. To navigate the world the brain needs memories to know what it should and shouldnt do. Daniel Schacter, a psychologist and the author of the seminal The Seven Sins of Memory and many other acclaimed books on the subject, says the brain uses the past to imagine what will happen in the future. From his Harvard office overlooking Boston, he explains that in many ways, the brain treats the future and the past the same way. For instance, imagining the future and remembering the past use many of the same networks and occupy similar real estate in the brain. As we age and our recollection of the past fades, so, too, does our ability to imagine the future with any degree of detail. Memory really is the version we told most recently, Schacter says. That functionflexible use of the past to think about the futureis something that may make memory error prone. In The Seven Sins of Memory, Schacter points out that our brains memory weaknesses actually derive from their strengths. Strong emotion helps create memories that are easy to access later, but those same memories can develop into phobias or even debilitating PTSD. That same ability to use the past to predict the future can cause occasional errors in memories of the past. This is not the same as forgetting, Schacter says. When you forget something, you know youve forgotten it. But with a false memory, you may not even realize whats happened unless you come across evidence that your memory is wrong. Its not really our fault, I suppose; its just that we are accustomed to accepting what our memory tells us. Schacter is careful to clarify that memory and imagination are not the same thing. But he says they definitely hang together. Thus its not hard to see how a person in a state of deep, suggestible relaxation might let his imagination go, and then interpret what he sees as a true memory. And indeed, one of Schacters seven sins is suggestibility. * * * Daniel Schacter was one of the first scientists to look seriously at the nature of false memories, but the person who brought them into the global spotlight was University of California, Irvine, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus. Her research over the past three and a half decades has upended everything we thought we knew about this phenomenon. After graduating from Stanford in 1974, Loftus began working for the U.S. Department of Transportation, examining eyewitness accounts of accidents. She noticed that when estimating the speed of cars involved in crashes, witnesses answered differently depending on how the question was phrased. The highest estimates went to those trying to guess the speeds of two cars that smashed into each other. Second highest were for cars that hit each other, and the lowest were for the ones that made contact with each other. Loftus began to wonder how deep this memory contamination, as she calls it, goes. In the mid-1970s, this led to one of her most famous sets of experiments. People viewed slides of a red Datsun passing a stop sign and then smacking a pedestrian. The experimenters asked the subjects a number of questions, some of which are a little misleading, like, Did another car pass the red Datsun while it was stopped at the yield sign? The subject thinks for a moment and then says to herself, No, I definitely didnt see any other cars next to that yield sign. And voila, the sign has changed in their minds. You see, as the subjects are trying to make sense of what is happening in front of them, they are falling back on the frameworks in their brains, built over the course of their whole lives. And it turns out that sometimes the observed reality is more fluid than the preconceived story. Was that a yield sign? Yeah, yeahI think it was. Many people think of memory as some kind of video, one that you can simply rewind to see what happened. Its a nice idea, but such hidden memories, if they exist, are extremely rare. More often, when you try to go back in time, your mind simply fills in the blanks with something that seems right, given the story its trying to construct. We all have memories like thisthings were sure about and that we can see with our eyes closedthat just arent true. After her traffic accident research, Loftus began focusing all her attention on this kind of corrupted memory. Over the years, she has managed to implant dozens of scenarios from peoples childhoods that never actually happened. In one, she convinced a healthy segment of her subjects that they had once gotten lost in a mall as a child and their parents had been panicked until a kindly man in a jean jacket found them and returned them. To get the memory to stick, she used all her suggestive prowess (as with the yield sign), and added a new element by bringing in trusted family members to testify to the accuracy of the lost-kid narrative. Within weeks, about a quarter of her subjects remembered the event as real. Once the memory was created, of course, people began filling in details of their own (Oh yeah, he had boots and a shiny belt buckle!). When critics suggested that perhaps Loftus had uncovered an actual memory of getting lost in a mall (apparently guys wearing jean jackets have saved hundreds of kids in malls over the years), she took up the challenge. She implanted memories in people that they had gone to Disneyland to meet Bugs Bunny. They posed for photos, shook his hand, some even got a lollipop. Except that Bugs doesnt live in Disneyland. Hes the property of Disneys archrival, Warner Bros. Its kind of like remembering having seen the pope perform morning prayers at the Great Mosque of Algiers. No matter how bizarre or alien the scenario seems, its never so strange that you cannot convince someone it actually happened. We are almost at the point of having a recipe for how to do this, Loftus says. A first step involves trying to make people feel something is plausible. In questionable therapy, people are told that many, many people have repressed memories and that you need to uncover them to feel better. That is a plausibility-enhancing message. The second step, she says, is to create a sense of recollection. Once people believe something could have happened to them or that it did happen, they may not have any kind of feeling of recollection. Then you engage them in imagination exercises where you put sensory details into this belief. And it starts to be experienced as a recollection. Thats where the jean jacket and the image of Bugs Bunny come in. At the same time that Loftus was conducting these tests, she began actively working as an expert witness and consultant in criminal court cases. Her testimony cast doubt on eyewitness reports, especially those that came about through hypnosis. She convinced dozens of juries that what one person thought had happened might not have been real. Loftus found that false memories were littered across law enforcement, and that there are numerous ways a memory can be pushed on a witness. For instance, if you show a witness a string of black-and-white mug shots, plus one high school graduation picture in color, its possible to create a memory around the color picture, just because its different. Or if you show someone a lineup of mug shots and then take just one of those photos and put it into a different grouping, the witness can recognize that person and implant them into the crime scene. In the cases Loftus consulted on, some of the clients were guilty for example, Ted Bundy and Martha Stewartand some were not. But over time, the notion that some memories might not be real (especially fantastical ones unearthed by hypnosis) took hold in academia and the courtroom. The debates that ensued between those who thought memories could be repressed by trauma and those who thought that most repressed memories were false or induced are known today as the memory wars. Eventually a certain pattern started forming in many inexplicable stories of abuse. An adult sees a therapist for anxiety or depression or maybe an eating disorder. Looking for a silver bullet to explain the problem, the therapist suggests hypnosis. (Sadly, good hypnosis instruction is hard to find, and plenty of places will teach you just enough to be dangerous. Responsible hypnotists like David Patterson take years to perfect their craft, learning to avoid specific words that might bias the subject or accidentally implant ideas.) Although repressed memories certainly could exist in theory (and indeed dissociative amnesia, its technical name, is still listed in the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), they are difficult to study in the laboratory, and some experts assert that they dont exist at all. There are very few documented examples of repressed memories. Loftus says there is simply no evidence that people can create amnesia through sheer terror, and that all the examples compiled in the 1990s could be explained in other ways. Often, she says, they are just false memories. Richard McNally, who has co-written books with Schacter, is equally skeptical that a person can somehow eradicate traumatic memories and then discover them again years later. He has a simpler explanation, though: Maybe they just forgot. Very small kids might not even understand whats happening to them at the time. Only if they somehow remember the experience as an adult would they realizeand be traumatized bywhat has been done to them. For Kristin Grace Erickson, the realization that her childhood abuse had been a combination of overreaching psychologists and her overactive imagination was a bittersweet revelation. And the more she thought about it, the more she realized the similarities with events she had seen on television. I had seen enough satanic moviesChildren of the Corn, whateverthat I knew the kind of imagery they were looking for, she says. Erickson remembers that she was trying to be helpful and that she believed her parents and the doctors unconditionally. Plus, she says, she enjoyed the attention. Its a similar story given by numerous child witnesses who have since recanted. Some have discovered their memories to be false; others knew they were lying from the beginning but just wanted to make the adults happy. In one case from 1992, a detective asked a child witness if a defendant, the childs grandfather, had poured anything on her while abusing her. The child answered no. He asked again, this time asking if it had been a liquid. Again, no. Then the interviewer asked whether the defendant had poured oil or ketchup on her, and the child responded, Ketchup. Despite a lack of physical evidence, the defendant, Bruce Perkins, was convicted and is still in prison today, steadfastly maintaining his innocence. In another example almost too spectacular to believe, a woman who was hypnotized for depression and weight issues became convinced she had participated in the murder of her sister as part of her parents satanic practices. Her sister, however, had died several years before the woman was even born. The memories had risen from her childhood curiosity with a dead sister shed never met. Its not clear how many innocent people are currently in prison because of false-memory testimony, but every year counties and states occasionally quietly release supposed child molesters who have spent decades in prison based on the testimony of hypnotized children. Erickson says that she was a troubled and anxious child, and the story that she had been molested in preschool gave her parents something to pin it on. As an adult, shes had difficult relationships with men, and when her brother had a baby, she didnt trust herself around her nephew for fear that somehow she would snap and suddenly become a child molester herself. Although she no longer believes she was abused in ritualistic fashion, she still has trouble trusting people and taking things at face value. After all, when you are told at 12 that you were abused by satanists and then realize at 25 that you werent, its hard to know whats real. To make matters worse, many false memories possess a kernel of truth, hidden under layers of invention. For instance, Erickson says that she vaguely remembers a campout at the preschool with tents and sleeping bags and a huge campfire, built by James Toward, the schools owner. (Though one might argue having small kids camp out in a preschool playground is a little odd and maybe created an opportunity for parents to mistrust the school.) When she woke the next morning, she remembers that someone said a snake had ventured too close to the kids and that Toward had killed it. She never saw the snake but it was all very exciting at the time. These memories, she now thinks, were the seeds of an invented satanic ceremony around a fire with children drinking snake blood. Trying to ease her guilt over her role in Towards conviction, Erickson led an effort to get him released from prison. In the process she learned that he had been found guilty of statutory rape. He may not have probed children as a part of satanic rituals, but investigators did find hed paid two underage boys in a poor, largely minority neighborhood for sex. (And although tens of millions of dollars went to the victims of supposed ritual abuse, not a penny went to the two kids Toward had actually abused.) Erickson stopped her campaign. Eventually, Towardwho was born in Europewas quietly released from prison under the condition that he leave the United States forever. Excerpted from Suggestible You: The Curious Science of Your Brains Ability to Deceive, Transform, and Heal by Erik Vance, published on November 8th, 2016 by National Geographic Partners, LLC. Photo: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images In an effort to breach the Great Firewall of China, the New York Times reports Facebook has been developing software to suppress posts from appearing in peoples news feeds in specific geographic areas. The social network has been unavailable in the country since 2009. This is not unprecedented. Companies like Google have censored search results shown to Chinese users, and most major tech companies usually comply with government requests to block content. According to the Times: Facebook does not intend to suppress the posts itself. Instead, it would offer the software to enable a third party in this case, most likely a partner Chinese company to monitor popular stories and topics that bubble up as users share them across the social network, the people said. Facebooks partner would then have full control to decide whether those posts should show up in users feeds. That Facebook is hoping to reenter China is no surprise. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been cultivating relationships with diplomats and politicians, including president Xi Jinping, for a long time. Zuckerbergs attitude is apparently that he would rather be a tool for partial conversation rather than nothing at all. Still, employees have expressed concern internally over the tool, which has not been deployed and may never see the light of day. Its code is available to engineers at the company. Several of the employees working on the tool left over the summer. [ Spoiler (click to open) ] Baal-Zebub/Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies. * Who is the Sentinel? He's the General of the Devil's army, his right hand man; he's a master of insects andThe Sentinel and the Devil lost their rebellion against God and the Devil was tossed down and jailed in a hell that was created to be a prison for these fallen angels.* Cotton's got a plan to escape, he has everything he needs to kill Brown Jenkins. Cotton not only read every book about witchcraft, he wrote most of them. He's exulted, he's free.* You wonder if they're going to kill Mary, but they end up stripping her of her powers, which works by control of the elements. It's not just her powers ripped from her, but the part of her that had that power is taken away from her. Oil prices moved back up closer to $50 per barrel on the sudden surge in optimism surrounding an OPEC deal. With the meeting just days away, everybody is playing ball and sticking to the script, and the odds of an agreement have improved markedly compared to a few weeks ago. Iraq offered three proposals to OPEC members, showing a renewed willingness to negotiate after weeks of disputing production data and demanding an exemption from the proposed cuts. Details of the proposal were kept quiet, but Iraqi officials sounded cooperative in an emailed statement. Iraqs legitimate demands should not be perceived as an obstacle to reaching a new agreement to freeze production, Iraqi oil minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said, according to Bloomberg. Iraq is optimistic about reaching a fair agreement that would take into consideration everyones interests and that puts an end to the glut. Officials from Iran, Nigeria and even Russia also offered positive words about the prospects of an accord. Oil prices shot up by more than 4 percent on Monday on the news. Oil has rallied once again in recent days after dropping into the low-$40s per barrel. Now back up close to the $50 per barrel threshold, OPEC has once again succeeded in jaw-boning the oil market. Goldman Sachs hiked its oil price forecast this week by a substantial amount. The investment bank expects oil prices to average $55 per barrel in the first half of 2017, up sharply from the previous estimate of $45 to $50. The bank is now tactically bullish on oil. With greater confidence that the global oil market can finally shift into deficit later next year, we now believe that there is a strong rationale for low-cost producers to deliver a swift production cut to normalize inventories, Goldman analysts wrote in a research note this week. In fact, Goldman Sachs sees prices rising across a range of commodities next year. Related: Oil Prices Move Higher As OPEC Optimism Increases The optimism has not trickled over into the oil futures market, at least not yet. Hedge funds and other money managers have stepped up their short bets on crude oil ahead of the OPEC meeting, covering against a steep downfall in prices should OPEC fail to come to terms. While the short positions on oil were notable, trading volume in general is way up. Bloomberg notes that as of mid-November, oil price volatility was at a seven month high. Bets on oil futures reached 1.47 million contracts for the week ending on November 15, the largest trading volume in nearly a decade. But since mid-November, oil prices have increased, suggesting that some oil traders are closing out short positions, which could be because sentiment around the chances of an OPEC deal have improved. Further gains are possible as shorts are closed out. At the same time, John Kemp of Reuters notes that the oil futures curve still does not look very good. The market is still in a state of contango, in which front month contracts are cheaper than oil futures further out. That is a sign that the markets still expect the glut of supply to continue. In fact, the difference between front month oil contracts and delivery six month out are actually wider than they were back in September when OPEC reached the Algiers agreement, which suggests an even gloomier outlook than two months ago. In short, an OPEC agreement might spark a short-term rally, but unless they agree to real and sustained cuts, the poor fundamentals could ensure the price increases are temporary. Related: Can OPEC Get It Right At Long Last? That last point is also key. OPEC may agree to something, but the details matter. OPEC is now producing at least 236,000 barrels per day (as of October) more than they were in September. That means that instead of needing to cut between 200,000 and 700,000 barrels per day in order to reach the stated goal of bringing output down into the range of 32.5-33.0 mb/d, OPEC will now need to make even sharper cuts somewhere on the order of 600,000 to 1.1 mb/d. On top of that, the latest reports suggest that OPEC is discussing a six month agreement rather than one that would last a year. The idea is that it would require less of a sacrifice for OPEC members, particularly for Iraq and Iran who are still holding out. Of course, if OPEC cuts for six months and then the agreement expires, the effort will produce very little in the way of balancing the market. Finally, assuming OPEC does the unthinkable and actually agrees to substantive and sustained cuts in output, they will likely succeed in pushing up oil prices. But that then merely throws a lifeline to U.S. shale, which could come back to life if oil prices move closer to, say, $60 per barrel. Even today, with prices below $50 per barrel, the rig count has been climbing for half a year, and now stands at 588 rigs as of last week, up almost 200 rigs from May. Gains in the rig count will only pick up pace of OPEC agrees to cut its output. By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Russias long planned pivot east found itself unexpectedly wrong-footed in early 2014, following the Crimean referendum and subsequent western rebuke. The global collapse of oil prices and that of the ruble later that same year further eroded Russias leverage in Asia. Fast forward to the present and weve seen substantially more bark than bite. That said, the fundamentals have not changed, and with increasing uncertainty in the U.S. Russian sights are still firmly set on the east as it seeks long-term energy investment and political relevance. Previously, those goals largely started and ended with China, and in that regard the pivot has been a marginal success to date, though hamstrung by substantial reluctance on both sides. The much heralded $400 billion gas deal between the two countries is still on, but Gazprom has cut spending on the Power of Siberia pipeline and initial deliveries are expected to be lower than originally planned. Chinas commitment to Russias Yamal LNG is promising and will allow the project to move forward fully financed, but Russian companies have not seen the show of solidarity that was anticipated amid western sanctions. In fact, no Russian company has raised debt or equity on Chinese capital markets in the last two years. Further and perhaps with the realization that oil and gas from Russias Far East has nowhere else to go Chinese equity investments in upstream oil and gas activities in those critical regions has been slow to develop. As the pivot evolves however, Chinas position while still central gives way to the field. Indeed, India and Southeast Asia are rapidly growing, hydrocarbon poor, and politically receptive to Russias advances. Russia and India in particular have had a constructive arms relationship for several decades, but Moscow has yet to leverage that into a significant energy bond, until recently. With energy currently at the forefront of strategic talks between the two nations, a Russia-India energy bridge is gaining traction. Early discussions for the bridge have been far from humble, and include piped gas trade and substantial nuclear expansion. Related: Putin Is Ready To Join An OPEC Freeze To be clear, any pipeline between the two nations is as unlikely as it would be long. Gazprom and Russia frankly arent in a position to overinvest in land-based transport infrastructure, whether thats through the resurrection and extension of the Altai pipeline, or via an extension of the Power of Siberia project. Still, other avenues for cooperation are quite viable, and have been prosperous in the early stages. Capitalizing on already strong nuclear ties, Russias Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation recently opened a regional office in Mumbai to facilitate project expansion in India and Southeast Asia. At Kudankulam nuclear power plant, Russia and Indias largest energy project, construction is ready to begin on the third and fourth reactors and an agreement is nearing completion on an additional two units. New sites for as many as six reactors across the country are forthcoming. Within Russias borders, India remains active as an upstream investor. In October, Indias ONGC Videsh purchased an additional 11 percent stake in Russias Vankor oil fields, bringing their share up to 26 percent. Indian companies have now invested $5.5 billion in Russias east Siberian fields. Rosnefts purchase of Essar Oils Vadinar refinery and roughly 2,700 filling stations in cooperation with Transfigura and United Capital Partners is the clear highlight of Russias push into emerging markets. The move challenges Middle Eastern exporters, secures Russias equity crude supply in Venezuela, and provides significant inroads for further market penetration in what is forecast to be the fastest-growing oil consuming nation in the world. Related: Oil Slips After API Gasoline Inventory Build, Minor Crude Draw As the pivot develops, the number of interesting subplots in the Asia Pacific region and at home have grown too great to count. Russias nuclear and LNG courtships of the likes of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand to name a few are something to watch. As is Russia and Japans ongoing territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands. Relations between the two countries are warming and a resolution may only be an energy deal or two away. And back in Russia, the partial privatization of Rosneft and the Asian buyers that it hopes to attract deserves more scrutiny following the detainment of Russias Minister of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukaev on allegations of corruption in Rosnefts acquisition of Bashneft, which itself was seized by the state from oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenko in late 2014. As China demonstrates its willingness to wait, Russia is still seeking to define what has been a meandering, hardly predictable, though moderately successful path east. By Colin Chilcoat of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Oil prices have been rallying this week on hopes of a supply cut from OPEC. But even without a rise in the global price, news this week suggests things are looking up for producers especially those in Americas prolific shale plays. With buyers in one unexpected part of the world stepping up to buy a big batch of exported U.S. shale oil. South Korea. Platts reported Monday that South Korean refiner GS Caltex has purchased a million barrels of U.S. crude for delivery this December. With the supply slated to come from producers in the Eagle Ford play of south Texas. The purchase is particularly significant given that Caltex already bought a previous batch of 1 million barrels of Eagle Ford oil. Which was bought in July, and reportedly delivered to Caltexs Korean refining facilities this past weekend. The fact that the refiner is now going ahead with a second purchase is encouraging. Suggesting that the company likes what it sees in the crude it has received which officials said is being used to blend with heavier crudes before the refining process. All of this is of course possible because of the lifting of the U.S. crude export ban late in 2015. With these shipments representing a toe in the water for refiners in the key Asian market, testing how Americas shale oil may fit in the overall global refining picture. Related: Is Iraq Coming Back To The OPEC Deal? Given the apparent success here, this could be a prelude to more U.S. oil heading for Asia. With Caltex officials saying they are eager to diversify their crude imports away from their former go-to suppliers in the Middle East. All of which is good news for U.S. producers. Which could see local prices lifted if imports continue to grow especially for plays like the Eagle Ford, which are optimally positioned for exports through the Gulf Coast. Watch for more deals coming for U.S. crude and for overall figures on exports, from sources like the Energy Information Administration. Heres to shipping it. By Dave Forest More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Four officers from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were killed yesterday by unidentified gunmen while on duty guarding an oil and gas facility operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company. The nature of the facility remained undisclosed. The NSCDC personnel were dispatched to the facility following a warning that an attack on the pipeline was being prepared. The local commandant of the NSCDC told media that she had sent a request to the Joint Military Task Force in the Niger Delta to provide reinforcements, but the attack came before help arrived. Initially, according to the spokesperson for the NSCDC for Rivers, Michael Oguntuase, the corps officers thought that the gunmen, in full military gear, were the reinforcement from the JMTF. It was only after they opened fire that they realized they were militants. This is the latest entry in a long list of attacks on Nigerian oil and gas infrastructure, despite a ceasefire agreed by the federal government and the Niger Delta Avengers, the most active among the many militant groups in the region. The NDA itself broke the ceasefire before its 60 days were up, claiming the presence of the military in the Delta aggravated the situation and only incited the local rebels to more violence. Related: Mexico To Reap $2.9 Billion In Profits From Oil Price Hedges In 2016 Just last week, a bombing of the Trans-Forcados pipeline, just two days after force majeure was lifted from it, incapacitated the facility yet again. This will directly affect total Nigerian crude production, which was in the process of recovering: Forcados transports 150,000-200,000 bpd to an export terminal on the coast. In late October, the NDA bombed the Escravos pipeline, warning the company to not try and repair it. The country, which is fighting a deep recession as a result of the oil price crash and production woes, has been exempted from the OPEC production cut negotiations due to the loss of market share. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A 12-million-barrel glut of North Sea oil is about to be partially slimmed down thanks to new tanker bookings bound for Asia. According to Bloomberg, about half a million barrels a day could leave the crowded North Sea over an 11-day period, providing some near-term breathing space for oil traders and producers. Tanker bookings were made by Shell and trading firm Mercuria Energy Group, both for superlarge vessels that can load up to two million barrels of crude. Statoil, Bloomberg said, had also booked a tanker, provisionally, to be loaded by December 5. The North Sea became a floating storage hub for crude oil earlier this year, as space on land ran out and demand consistently failed to keep up with production. As the Financial Times reported at the end of July, there were 14 million barrels of oil stored off the UK shore, an amount equal to over two weeks of the countrys total production of crude. This fact weighed on Brent prices much more palpably than EIAs weekly reports affect West Texas Intermediate, and less than a month later, the 14 million barrels in excess supply were trimmed down some, thanks to the discount price and to the renewed demand from local refineries, where an earlier strike had aggravated the storage situation. Related: Russia Is Finally Making Headway In Its Pivot East At that time, there was renewed interest from Asian buyers, just like today, who were eager to take advantage of the low Brent prices. China has been the focus of attention when it comes to Asian oil markets, as it is the worlds second-largest consumer of the commodity. Ever since prices plunged to multi-year lows, China has been filling its strategic crude reserves, keeping analysts and observers guessing how much oil it had accumulated. Back in June, Bloomberg suggested that the fun may be over, and Chinas storages were full, but judging by the latest news from the North Sea, it may well have some more tanks to fill. In December, North Sea fields are expected to produce 2.1 million barrels of oil to be loaded on tankers, some for export and some for storage. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: SolarCity, now officially part of Tesla, is powering a tiny island in American Samoa with only solar energy, SolarCity said in a blog post on Tuesday. The island of Tau, home to around 600 residents, is some 4,000 miles off the West Coast of the United States and has been using diesel generators for power up till now. SolarCity and Tesla have developed a microgrid of 1.4 megawatts of solar generation capacity and 6 megawatt hours of battery storage courtesy of 60 Tesla Powerpacks. The solar power and battery-storage enabled microgrid is capable of meeting almost 100 percent of the islands power demand from renewable sources, SolarCity said. The project financed by the American Samoa Economic Development Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Interior - is planned to replace the use of more than 109,500 gallons of diesel annually, and cut costs for fuel and transportation. The system consists of 5,328 solar panels and can ensure that the island remains powered for 3 full days without sun, SolarCitys presentation says. A few weeks before the vote on the Tesla-SolarCity merger was scheduled, Elon Musk unveiled one of his latest ideas: solar roofs along with the Powerwall 2.0. Musk plans to make roofs entirely out of solar panels instead of installing them on top of buildings afterward. Musk hopes to power homes in the day with his solar roofs and then charge Tesla cars at night, all using the Powerwall 2.0. Musks vision isnt to simply redesign one or two houses; he aims to transform every house and likely abandon the conventional power grid. SolarCity boasting of powering a tiny remote sunny island is one thing. Another thing is whether Musks visions and technologies for the mass market will see the light of day. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Bodegon, the fine dining restaurant at the new Hotel Madrid, made its debut on Tuesday evening at 600 S. 6th St. And it might be something of what you would expect. But, maybe not. If you expect fine dining, you'll find it. The restaurant is elegant and well-appointed, entrees are composed and thoughtful, and service is on par with what you'd expect from a fine dining experience. However, there's a distinctly un-stuffy vibe about Bodegon, making the restaurant a comfortable place for both special occasions and everyday outings. The same is true for the restaurant's cuisine, which may at first glance appear very similar to other restaurants of a similar calibre. However, as you dine, you'll begin to discover in both ingredients and creative flourishes the spirit of Spain. After entering the building on 6th Street, youll make your way through Hotel Madrids bar, Vermuteria 600, where you can enjoy a pre-dinner tipple including a glass of house-made vermouth before checking in at the hostess station near the end of the bar. As youre escorted to your table, youll pass through a doorway flanked by a bull-fighting suit on the right and the entrance to La Cava, the restaurants wine cellar, on the left. Wooden tables with granite inlays are surrounded by tastefully mismatched chairs and adorned with place-settings and candles. Chandeliers featuring antlers hang from the ceiling and tastefully displayed bull-fighting garb dons the otherwise stark white walls. Meanwhile, an open kitchen flanks the east end of the dining room, offering diners a view of the culinary action. Bodegons menu offers a variety of starters including cheese and charcuterie boards ($21/29), roasted bone marrow with seasonal accompaniments ($19) and dishes including octopus with balsamic vinegar, orange and fennel ($22). A generously portioned seasonal salad, easily shared by two or more diners, features grilled acorn squash and fennel over peppery greens with pumpkin seeds, pomegranate and vinaigrette ($15). Meanwhile, flavorful dry-aged and lightly smoked carpaccio is served with rich duck yolk, Manchego, truffle and slightly spicy guindilla peppers ($24). Diners can enjoy individual entrees including dishes like pasta with pork cheek, lobster cream and artichoke ($28), confit chicken with persimmon, gnocchi and brussels sprouts ($29), and sea bass with squash tortellini, saffron tomato broth, manila clams and asparagus ($41). A la carte wet- and dry-aged steaks are priced $42-65. However, there are also options for sharing. Acorn fed Bellota pork tenderloin ($112), rack of lamb ($65), Skuna Bay salmon ($62) and larger cuts of in-house dry-aged beef, including a 32-ounce ribeye ($95), 24 ounce T-bone ($76) and 28-ounce tomahawk steaks ($88). You'll also find cochinillo asado (whole suckling pig) available with a 48-hour notice for $620. Sides, which are priced $9-12, include whipped and domino potatoes, sweet potato croquetas, artichokes, mushrooms and cippolini onions along with risotto, gnocchi and fresh bread. Sauces, including veal demiglace, sherry reduction and bone marrow butter are also available for $7 each. In fact, it's not difficult to pull together an impressive spread for a table of two or more. Meanwhile, a vegetarian menu includes pumpkin risotto with brussels sprouts, cippolini onions and artichokes ($17), squash tagliatelle with sage, white asparagus and goat cheese cream ($18), whole roasted cauliflower with cranberries and saffron buerre blanc ($21), and eggplant paella with romesco and Tetilla cheese ($23). Desserts include a Galacian almond tart with dulce de leche, apple crumble and goat cheese ice cream ($13). Meanwhile, torrijas (a Spanish dessert similar to French toast) arrive swathed in dark chocolate and served with traditional Spanish turron (almond nougat) and creme-bruleed bananas ($13). After dinner beverages include dessert wines, digestifs (including amaro, absinthe, fernet, cynar and chartreuse), along with coffee, tea and espresso. There's even a bit of charm in receiving your bill at the end of the night. After all, it will come tucked into a tome by Ernest Hemingway. Bodegon is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m. Vermuteria 600 will observe the same kitchen hours, but will offer bar service until close. Reservations can be made by visiting the Hotel Madrid web site. From Paul Craig Roberts Website Did Donald Trump win the election because he is a racist and misogynist and so are the American people? No. That's BS from the Oligarchs' well-paid whores in the media, "liberal progressive" activist groups, think tanks and universities. Did Trump win because he stole the election? More BS. The Oligarchs controlled the voting machines. They failed to steal the election, because the people outsmarted them and told the pollsters that they were voting for Hillary. This led to the presstitutes' propaganda that Hillary was the certain winner, and the Oligarchs believed their own propaganda and didn't believe it necessary to make certain of their victory. Trump won the presidency because he spoke directly and truthfully to the American people, telling them what what they knew to be true and had never before heard from any politician: "Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American people. The establishment has trillions of dollars at stake in this election. Those who control the levers of power in Washington and the global special interests they partner with, don't have your good in mind. The political establishment that is trying to stop us is the same group responsible for our disastrous trade deals, massive illegal immigration and economic and foreign policies that have bled our country dry. "It's a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations and political entities. The only thing that can stop this corrupt machine is you. The only force strong enough to save our country is us. The only people brave enough to vote out this corrupt establishment is you, the American people." Trump did not promise voters a bunch of handouts. He didn't say he would fix this and that. He said that only the American people could fix our broken country and identified himself as an agent of the people. The people won the election, but the Oligarchy is still there, as powerful as ever. They have already launched their attack using their whores in the media and liberal progressive groups in attempts to delegitimize Trump with protests, petitions, and endlessly false news reports. George Soros, using the money he made by his attack on the British currency, will pay thousands of protesters to attempt to disrupt the inauguration. What about Trump's government? As Trump discovered, finding appointees who are not part of the Oligarchy's economic and foreign policy establishment is very difficult. Washington is not a home for critics and dissidents. Consider Pat Buchanan, for example. As a White House official in two administrations and a two-time presidential candidate, he is experienced, but Washington has marginalized him. Moreover, even if there were a stable of outsiders, they would be eaten alive by the insiders. Trump will have to take insiders. But he has to pick insiders who are to some extent their own person. General Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser is not a bad pick. Flynn is the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency who advised the Obama regime against employing ISIS against Syria. Flynn has publicly stated on television that the appearance of ISIS in Syria was a "willful decision" of the Obama regime. In other words, ISIS is Washington's agent, which is why the Obama regime has protected ISIS. Trump's chief of staff (Priebus) and chief strategist (Bannon) are reasonable choices. Sessions (Attorney General) and Pompeo (CIA) are disturbing appointments based on their media-created reputations. But in the US where there is no honest media, we don't know the truth of the reputations. Nevertheless, if Sessions does support torture, he is disqualified as attorney general, because the Constitution prohibits torture. The US cannot afford yet another attorney general who does not support the US Constitution. If Pompeo actually is so poorly informed that he opposed the Iran settlement, he is not fit to be CIA director. The CIA itself said that Iran had no nuclear weapons program, and with Russia's help the matter was resolved. Does Trump want a CIA director who neoconservatives could use to restart the conflict? The views of Sessions and Pompeo could be products of the time and not visceral. Regardless, Trump is a strong and willful person. If Trump wants peace with the Russians and Chinese, appointees who get in the way will be fired. So let's see what a Trump government does before we damn it. Presstitute reports of extreme neoconservative John Bolton and former US attorney and NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani being candidates for Secretary of State do not seem credible. If Trump intends to get along with Putin, how can he do that if his Secretary of State wants war with Russia? Trump should find an experienced diplomat who negotiated with the Soviets. Richard Burt, who had a major role in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, is the sort of person it would make sense to consider. Another sensible candidate would be Jack Matlock, Reagan's Ambassador to the Soviet Union. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). George Levi's images of the Sand Creek Massacre as ledger art are in this video produced by Colorado PBS. As we ponder whether there will be any kind of just resolution in North Dakota with the Pipeline issue, and as we await any news about the 21 year old woman who was hit with a projectile and may have to have her arm amputated after being helicoptered to Minneapolis, I am honored to present this article sent to me by one of my best Native Artists, George Curtis Levi, Southern Cheyenne. George has done so much ledger art, lecturing, and videotaping on this grim subject that Smithsonian's Native magazine gave him and his cousin a 14 page spread not long ago. Here are two of his images: One Colorado Morning, exhibited at the Clark County Historical Museum: click here see also: click here This one depicts Captain Soule, who stands out as one of the few honorable men in those times: click here This is the massacre on November 29, 1864, that really makes Custer with his egregious genocide seem like an altar boy when compared to Colonel John Chivington of the Sand Creek, a Methodist minister who declared once that his religion was killing Indians. Colorado's Governor Evans, after the outcry in his own legislature, had to step down, and we think something similar should occur with North Dakota's Governor Dalrymple, even if he is NOT prosecuted by the next administration's Department of Justice. Google George Curtis Levi and Sand Creek Massacre to read that moving story, and there is a whole chapter on it in that great historical classic, BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE. In one of its better moments, even the New York Times managed to publish an opinion/editorial on Sand Creek a few years ago by Ned Blackhawk, a professor of history and American studies at Yale and the coordinator of the Yale Group for the Study of Native America, is the author of "Violence Over the Land: Indians and Empires in the Early American West: click here Thank you so much for sending this to me, George Levi, just in time for people to think about over Thanksgiving. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). The other night I watched a documentary, "Zero Days", about Stuxnet and cyberwarfare. It made it abundantly clear that the clumsy attempt at cyberwarfare against Iran (somewhat like using exploding cigars to try to assassinate Castro) has had many negative effects and has made us and the rest of the world much more vulnerable to cyberwarfare with destructive and, perhaps, deadly consequences for civilian populations. Stuxnet was the creation of the US and Israeli intelligence services. Apparently without US knowledge the Israelis modified it to be more aggressive and destructive and released it upon the nuclear industry of Iran. It is a program that takes on a life of its own and, once released, cannot be controlled or stopped. The goal was to create havoc and be destructive of the Iranian centrifuges used in the nuclear industry. It did some damage and created some havoc; however, it was released and spread across the world like a deadly and contagious disease. Although it was supposed to be such a covert operation that it could never be traced back to either the US or Israel, it quickly was. And, although there is still official denial (no one in the government is allowed to speak of it without risk of harsh penalties), it is clear that it is more like an open secret. It is somewhat like the Israelis insisting there has never been any official decision to expand settlements into the occupied territories. Besides Stuxnet showing the world how to develop a cyber weapon that can be physically destructive and making nearly every phase of modern life vulnerable to such attacks, it set a new standard for cyber behavior. If the US can do this to another nation, then anyone can also do this to the US or any other country of its choosing. It is much like when we made torture OK for us to use, we made it OK for anyone else to use against us or anyone else. We continue to give up more and more of the moral high ground in service of the Security State and their desire for absolute knowledge and control of every contingency. More specifically, although we slowed down the Iranian nuclear program, they quickly recovered and moved forward more effectively. The recent agreement has contained the potential directions that development can go. (I do think it is ironic that Israel, a nuclear power, is so adamant about how disruptive another nuclear power in the region might be. It sounds a little like the US not wanting Russia to have the bomb after WWII--not wanting anyone to be able to challenge their overarching power.) The other element is that taking out and destroying a part of a nation's industry or infrastructure is the equivalent to bombing it. Although it is done electronically rather than with bombs it is very much like an attack... an act of war. If anyone did that to the US we would be likely to see it as an act of war and retaliate with an overt act of war. The deepest issue, and the reason that these people on the documentary are risking speaking out, is that we... the citizens of this nation... are not aware of what is happening in our name and on our dime. In particular we are unaware of the vulnerability to our infrastructure that is the consequence of these actions. The documentary's point being that we cannot begin to find an international protocol to contain and control cyberwarfare if everything about it is secret and not open to public discussion and involvement. To resolve any problem, you must first acknowledge the problem, understand the problem and then explore potential solutions. This cannot be accomplished within the halls of a self-serving secret intelligence and security structure. We are not allowed to have an open discussion of what has potential deadly consequences for all of us, much less talking to others who might pose a similar threat for us. It is like the Dr. Frankenstein story--someone has the arrogance of power--the hubris--to overstep and create something powerful and wonderful in its own way, but which takes on a life of its own and steps away from its creator (supposed master) to say I am now independent and will decide my life for myself--you are not the boss of me. The iconic story is instructive about how overreach can have the unintended consequence of a monster we cannot control and who may turn on us. It does not work with our kids, who move away and have lives of their own. It did not happen when we rebuilt Germany or Japan after the war. It did not happen with our man, Saddam Hussein, in Iraq, or our attempts at puppet governments in Iraq later or Afghanistan. It did not even work with the Tea Party here at home. We need an open discussion of how to stop creating these monsters to serve our purposes, only to find that they take on a life of their own and become powerful and independent beings in themselves. To hide behind secrecy and the security state to avoid dealing with a very real issue of consequence is its own kind of arrogance and hubris. The thinking behind it all is that internally they will be able to manipulate the issue and engineer some solution and our involvement will only be distracting to this important work. "Trust us, we will fix this." It is about not being willing to take responsibility for their actions, not to be accountable. It is the height of arrogance and cowardice and we are all left totally vulnerable because of it. From Our Future In a democracy We the People pitch in and build public infrastructure that We the People all get to use equally. So when people talk about our country's infrastructure, they usually mean our public roads, bridges, mass transit, water and sewer systems. All of these are good for all of us and our economy. We share in the investment and we share in the return on that investment. Likewise, when people think of infrastructure projects, they think of government projects hiring people, purchasing supplies and building or maintaining something. They think of lots of good, union jobs with good benefits and lots of good, local American construction companies and American suppliers getting contracts. This is what Republicans have obstructed since they got enough votes in the senate to obstruct with. A few examples: -- 2011, Republicans filibuster Obama infrastructure bill -- 2013, Bipartisan Transportation and Housing Bill Filibustered -- 2015, $478B Infrastructure Bill Blocked by Senate GOP Public Dollars, Private Profits So now Donald Trump is proposing a "$1 trillion infrastructure plan." Sounds great, right? Yum, infrastructure. The Hill has the story, in "Five things to know about Trump's infrastructure plan:" "A 10-page white paper posted on Trump's campaign website last month makes private financing the cornerstone of his infrastructure plan. "The proposal would offer $137 billion in federal tax credits to private investors who want to back transportation projects, which the blueprint says would unleash up to $1 trillion worth of infrastructure investment over 10 years." Trump's plan does not call for public investment in public infrastructure, nor does it call for hiring local construction companies using American suppliers and creating jobs for American union workers. Trump's plan is for the government to spend money giving tax breaks to giant, multinational corporations and calling it infrastructure investment. Any actual infrastructure investment that does occur will bring a return on that investment of taxpayer money to a few 1%-ers and not to We the People. Ronald A. Klain oversaw the team implementing Obama's 2009 American Recovery and Renewal Act, known as the "Stimulus." Klain wrote an op-ed appearing in the Washington Post, titled "Trump's big infrastructure plan? It's a trap." Klain explained that the plan isn't even really even about infrastructure: "First, Trump's plan is not really an infrastructure plan. It's a tax-cut plan for utility-industry and construction-sector investors, and a massive corporate welfare plan for contractors. The Trump plan doesn't directly fund new roads, bridges, water systems or airports, as did Hillary Clinton's 2016 infrastructure proposal. Instead, Trump's plan provides tax breaks to private-sector investors who back profitable construction projects. These projects (such as electrical grid modernization or energy pipeline expansion) might already be planned or even underway. There's no requirement that the tax breaks be used for incremental or otherwise expanded construction efforts; they could all go just to fatten the pockets of investors in previously planned projects." And the jobs? Nope: Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Following are a series of vignettes apropos to the conclusion of the recent presidential elections. Some things never change. Leslie Stahl Ms. Stahl, born to a wealthy Massachusetts family and a princess of privilege herself, promoted the liberal narrative that people feared for their safety with the election of Mr. Trump. She pointed to a small group of protestors outside of Trump Tower expressing their outrage that their candidate, Hillary Clinton, lost, When Mr. Trump suggested that among the protestors were professional agitators and Clinton supporters, Ms. Stahl, without a single fact at her disposal, scoffed at the notion. With the number of plastic surgeries apparently immobilizing her lower face, Ms. Stahl carried on with a litany of accusations about Trump supporters confronting the protestors without ever mentioning the acts of intimidation and violence by anti-Trump protestors, including the recent violence and destruction in Portland. Ms. Stahl, who has been romantically linked to Bob Woodward, Sen. Bob Dole and former Vice-president Al Gore, suffered overwhelming criticism for her conduct of the interview with Mr. Trump and appeared the following day on a CBSN show where, in an attempt to suck up from her biased interview, she expressed positive reactions to Mr. Trump, particularly with regard to his leadership abilities. Most of the comments about Ms. Stahl, whether accurate or not, are completely irrelevant to the interview she conducted with Mr. and Mrs. Trump. However, it is an abject lesson in how the media, including Ms. Stahl, spin a story to favor or cast aspersions on the persons interviewed. It is usually an unsubstantiated criticism of the person rather than his/her policies. It is how they interject their own points of view while pretending to be seeking answers. Ms. Stahl would serve us all better if she focused on all the facts instead of selecting the few with which she agrees, and ignoring those that would differ from the narrative proffered by her in unison with the rest of the mainstream media. Sen. John McCain I had originally planned on creating a pool for people to bet on how long after Donald Trumps election it would take for Sen. John McCain (RINO-AZ) to stab him in the back publicly. But before I could put pen to paper, Mr. McCain had already struck. He, along with his Mini-Me, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) rebuked Mr. Trump for expressing his desire to try to find a way to improve relations with Russia after four years of backsliding and idle threats by President Barack Obama. According to Politico: Sen. John McCain on Tuesday blasted any attempt to play nice with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging the new Trump administration to stand on the side of those fighting tyranny and not with a former KGB agent who has plunged his country into tyranny. The broadside from the chairman of the Armed Services Committee that must confirm Donald Trumps nominee for Defense secretary came after recent statements from Trump and Putin that they are looking forward to better relations. Normally such advice by members of the President-elects own party is given privately and in response to specific proposals that the President-elect has suggested. But thats not good enough for Mr. McCain who has made his fame by being the first to rush to the microphones to criticize other members of his party. Mr. Trump was declared the winner early on Wednesday, November 9 after nearly fifteen months of campaigning. It took Mr. McCain less than a week to stab him in the back. Look, Mr. McCain is a war-hero and that makes him . . . well, a war hero. And Mr. McCain is proof positive that you can be a war hero and a jerk at the same time. Sen. Harry Reid Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) took his parting shot at Republicans generally and Mr. Trump in particular. It contained the normal sop accusing Mr. Trump of being racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, and xenophobic and a meat eater. Okay, I made up the last line but it probably has as much credibility as Mr. Reids accusations. Mr. Reid has had a long history of these outrageous comments and he usually issues them from the well of the United States Senate where he is immune from the libel and slander laws of the country. So outrageous has his conduct been that most of the members of the Senate issued a collective sigh of relieve at his departure: Dont let the door hit you in the a** on your way out. Politico noted a particularly hard dissent from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WVa), a recently elected deputy leader for the Democrat minority: West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin sharply criticized his own party leader on Friday evening, calling Senate Minority Leader Harry Reids reaction to Donald Trumps election an absolute embarrassment to the Senate as an institution, our Democratic party, and the nation. Manchin is one of the chambers most conservative Democrats and must convince hundreds of thousands of Trump voters to reelect him in 2018. The outgoing Democratic leader, however, is one of Trumps most persistent critics and has spoken out against Trump on the Senate floor repeatedly this year. On Friday Reid called Trump a sexual predator who lost the popular vote, perhaps the harshest reaction to Trumps victory uttered by a congressional Democratic this week. Manchin said that Reids remarks were wrong! and immediately moved to distance himself from the Democratic leader. Though Manchin voted against Reid as party leader in 2014, Manchins criticisms of Reid were usually more mild than Fridays remarks. I want to be very clear, he does not speak for me. As difficult as it is for anyone to lose an election, the American people have spoken and Donald Trump is our President-elect. Senator Reids words needlessly feed the very divisiveness that is tearing this country apart, Manchin said. We are Americans first, not Democrats or Republicans first. Unfortunately, there are some who forget that at times like these it is wrong to put party and politics above our country. Mr. Reid should be banned from swimming in Lake Tahoe for fear that he will leave a ring of scum. Carly Fiorina There has been a long list of Republican notables visiting Mr. Trump since his election, including those with whom he exchanged some pretty nasty comments. I may have missed it but I have not seen Carly Fiorina amongst those mentioned. If he has not reached out to Ms. Fiorina he is missing a good bet. Ms. Fiorina is smart, accomplished and up for the toughest tasks. She would make an excellent Secretary of Commerce. In the outreach he might start with a private apology for his remarks about her personal appearance. If he has reached out and Ms. Fiorina has rebuffed him, she is selling her country short because they could use her considerable talents. The MQM in Doldrums 23 November, 2016 By Asif Haroon Raja Related News Govt finalises draft of national security policy: Nisar Govt okays targeted action in Karachi Related Articles Horde of Enemies surrounding Pakistan By By Asif Haroon Raja Dirty role of International NGOs in Pakistan By By Asif Haroon Raja Related Speakout More on this View All Govt determined to transform Pakistan into truly democratic society: Rasheed Govt finalises draft of national security policy: Nisar Govt okays targeted action in Karachi Karachi violence: 10 more killed Int'l aid can help Pakistan be anchor of stability: FoDP Pakistan's existence not jeopardised at all: FM Qureshi Pakistani state is not going to collapse, says Zardari Related News Poll Are you in support of amending the law to raise the strength of the Supreme Court to 27 from 17? MQMs fascism The MQM under Altaf Hussain reigned supreme in urban Sindh from 1988 till March 2013. It expanded its political power by introducing the cultures of dead bodies filled in sacks, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, torture cells, target killings, no-go areas and strikes to paralyze the city. Despite its policy of fascism, terrorism, blackmailing tactics and imperiousness, and turning the city of lights into darkness, it was cajoled and supported by the two mainstream parties and the establishment owing to policy of reconciliation and political expediency. Ironically, it was also supported by intelligence agencies of India, Britain and USA for the achievement of their vested interests. The ruling parties didnt object to the illegal system adopted by Altaf to remote control his party with the help of International Secretariat after he fled to London in May 1992. He is in exile for the last 24 years, but he hasnt visited Pakistan even once. He has maintained his communications with his followers on phone and video clips. No restrictions were imposed on his inflammatory speeches which he made for 20 years, or any eyebrows were raised when he delivered a highly objectionable speech in New Delhi in 2003. His anti-Pakistan speeches in March and July 2016 in which he ridiculed the Army and Rangers and sought the help of RAW, India and the UN were also overlooked. His dreary speeches inciting violence were tolerated till as late as August 22, 2016. Even now the Federal and Sindh governments have taken a soft approach. Although operations were launched in Karachi in 1992 and 1995-6 to deal with criminal elements within the MQM, those were called off inconclusively and their sins pardoned. The MQM was politically strengthened by Gen Musharraf during his nine years rule, which enabled the party to strengthen its foundations at grass roots levels in urban centres of Sindh and gain control over 80% of the port city. The MQM leadership grieved of socio-politico-economic grievances whether in power or out of power as a policy, which it had adopted at the time of formation of APSMO in 1978 and had become the basis for its birth in 1984. It used coercive methods and black mailing tactics to make the Sindh or Federal Government to accept its legal and illegal demands. Consequent to its non-cooperative attitude, it always fell out with the senior coalition partner much before expiry of the tenure. Its unrelenting malevolence forced all the political parties in opposition under the umbrella of All Pakistan Democratic Movement (APDM) to declare in 2007 that power will not be shared with the MQM in future. But the PPP under Zardari after coming to power in March 2008 made it a coalition partner, both in the Centre and in Sindh since both were beneficiaries of the infamous NRO. It is now no more a secret that the US and UK were the architects of NRO to bring Benazir Bhutto to power. The NRO cleansed the top leadership of PPP involved in mega corruption and also 8000 activists and leaders of MQM involved in heinous crimes. The PPP and MQM are liberal parties but unnatural partners; yet they tolerated each other for next five years despite MQM soaking Karachi in blood by its high spate of target killings, extortion, kidnappings, land grabbing and other crimes. The reason behind tolerating each other was that both were heavily involved in financial terrorism and corruption and their patrons wanted the two to stay together to bleed Pakistans economy. The MQMs decline The MQMs woes began after the murder of Dr. Imran Farooq in London on September 16, 2010 which most people believed was the handiwork of Altaf and his henchmen. The reason was that Imran had developed differences with Altaf and was secretly forming his own party comprising of likeminded MQM leaders. Scotland Yard started pursuing the case, which scared the MQM leaders based in London. Another development which added to the woes of MQM was the raids of Metropolitan Police on Altafs house and MQM Secretariat offices in London on December 7, 2012 and seizure of 500,000 pounds sterling in cash along with handwritten lists of arm and explosives. Case of money laundering was initiated and it was determined that MQM was linked with India and was regularly receiving funds from RAW to destabilize Karachi. These confessions were made to the London Police by London based MQM leaders Muhammad Anwar, Tariq Mir and Sarfaraz Merchant, who was the middle man arranging funds through Dubai. Rigorous election campaigning of PTI in Karachi in 2013 upset Altaf so much that he incited his supporters in Karachi to resort to violence against PTI workers. PTIs senior worker Dr. Zahra was gunned down by MQM target killers in May 2013. Later on, the killers and facilitators Kaleem, Rashid (alias Master), Zahid Abbas Zaidi and Irfan (alias Lamba) were arrested. Complaints were lodged with Metropolitan Police London by tens of thousands of Pakistanis living in Pakistan and in UK to rein in Altaf. Although the MQM won 52 seats in urban Sindh and 24 seats in the Centre in May 2013 elections, but for the first time both the PML-N and PPP refused to share power with it in the Federal and Sindh governments because of its fascist policies, intransigence and willful destabilization of Karachi. Yet another event which went against the MQM was Rangers operation which started in September 2013 to deal with all criminal elements and restore peace in troubled Karachi. Although it was even-handed and intelligence driven, within six months the MQM realized that the noose was tightening around its neck and it started raising objections that the operation was MQM focused. Reason was that majority of the arrested criminals belonged to the MQM. Arrest of two MQM criminals, Tahir and Junaid, by SSP Rao Anwar in April 30 2015 uncovered MQM-RAW connection. Junaid, is brother of Javed Langra, who was sector in-charge Lines Area Karachi in 1992 and had fled to India as a result of Army operation. Javed was made the chief handler of all MQM activists sent for training to India via Bangkok at a camp in Dera Dun. Rather than grilling MQM leaders, who shed tears of innocence, Rao was lambasted and sacked. Naeem (alias Fire brigade wala) gave full details of training in India to Bennet Jones. Arrested Saulat Mirza who was later sentenced to death on May 12, 2015 and over 600 hardened criminals of MQM laid bare the gory details of Rabita Committees in Karachi and in London, Tanzeemi Committee, Labor Division, sector/unit commanders, and Khidmat Khalq, how they would use the target killers, extortionists and mafias to strike terror, foment ethnicity and sectarianism, amass wealth and gain monopoly over the port city. Raids on Nine Zero on March 11, 2015 and on July 16, 2015 exposed many more details about MQMs criminal activities including the horrific Baldia Town factory incident in 2012. 250 workers were burnt to death by MQM goons because the factory owner showed his inability to pay Rs. 20 crore extortion money. Qaimkhani, Hammad Siddiqui, sector in-charge Rehman, alias Bhola, were involved in it. Those who had engineered May 12, 2007 massacre of political workers welcoming former chief justice Iftikhar in Karachi also came to light. The then Home Minister Waseem Akhtar, now Mayor Karachi, was named. Arrest of Kalbushan Yadav in March 2016 and his disclosure that he was operating RAW network in Baluchistan and Karachi and was linked with BLA and MQM reconfirmed MQM connection with RAW. MQM-RAW connection was also exposed by BBC documentary, noted columnist Bennet Jones and Daily Ummat newspaper. Sealing of Nine Zero, break up of militant structure by the Rangers and demolition of sector/unit offices, has weakened the authority and monopoly of MQM. This loss of power was witnessed when the businessmen refused to shut their shops on the call of MQM. Rangers and Army is eulogized for restoring peace in Karachi and the MQM reproached. Altafs health started to deteriorate on account of mounting tension and multiple diseases and he is now chair borne and desires to shift to USA. Dissection of MQM and its ramifications These factors together with much publicized option of minus-Altaf formula impelled Dubai based Mustafa Kamal (MK) (once a blue eyed boy of Altaf and anointed as Mayor of Karachi during Gen Musharraf tenure) and strong-arm Anis Qaimkhani to rebel against Altaf and announce a new political party, Pakistan Sar-Zamin Party (PSP) with new flag and election symbol in March 2016. Several MPAs of MQM in Sindh Assembly joined MK. MK broke off ties with Altaf and London Secretariat and revealed details of Altafs psychopathic frame of mind, stating that he derived sadistic pleasure humiliating MQM leaders and in killing people particularly his opponents or those who defied him or those who became popular within MQM. He further added that Altaf assigned targets to the target killers in Karachi and South Africa directly. He also disclosed that M. Anwar (Indian national) in a meeting in Dubai in 2012 confessed of London Secretariat connection with RAW since 1989, and that the then Interior Minister Rahman Malik was present. MK tried to give an impression that he had the backing of establishment and enticed others to join him and get absolved of all criminal cases. Most of the notorious target killers and sector/unit commanders joined him, but after the arrest of Qaimkhani, they had second thoughts and some joined Farooq Sattar (FS) led group. MK kept urging the ones in power to ban MQM because of its connection with RAW and anti-state activities. Successes achieved by the Rangers in reining in MQM terrorism flabbergasted Altaf and on several occasions he lost his sense of balance while delivering his boring and incomprehensible speeches on phone. He crossed all limits on August 22, 2016 by chanting slogans against Pakistan and inciting his followers to attack TV stations and security forces. His loyalists instantly obeyed his instructions. This speech dug the last nail in his coffin. A strict ban was imposed on his speeches. This event gave birth to another faction of MQM under FS named as MQM (Pakistan). Currently the MQM is divided into four factions; MQM (Pakistan) under FS which has been duly registered as a political party with ECP with election symbol Kite. Important leaders in his setup are Khwaja Izharul Hassan, Waseem Akhtar (Mayor) and Faisal Sabzwari along with majority of MQM workers. PSP has been joined by Raza Haroon, Qaimkhani, Anis Advocate, Asif Husnain, Waseem Aftab and some second tier MQM leaders. The London group comprise of Nusrat Nadim, M. Anwar, Tariq Mir, Mustafa Azizabadi, Wasey Jalil. Its recently formed Rabita Committee in Karachi has been grounded after the arrest of its leaders Dr. Zafar Arif, Kanwar Khalid Yunus, Amjadullah and Ishaq. MQM Haqiqi under Afaq Ahmed is also there, but has almost become a non-entity and sooner than later it will join one of the two Karachi based MQM factions. FS groups Izharul Hassan tried to convince Gen Musharraf, currently based in Dubai, to help in reuniting the FS group and PSP and take over as the head of united party. However, his proposal was politely rejected by Musharraf. He knew that 30-40% members of FS group are still loyal to Altaf, while 25% are fence sitters and are seeing how the wind blows. Musharraf was informed that his takeover will benefit MQM London and PSP since it will not be well received by the organizers and loyalists of Altaf in FS group and as such FS group will be a loser in next elections in 2018. Fearful of the unification scheme under Musharraf which will mark the end of Altaf politics, London group started poisoning the ears of the fence sitters in FS group that its leadership was planning to eliminate Altaf from politics and bring in an outsider. Their propaganda had an impact on the targeted audience. Gen Musharraf is himself in a weak position. He had proceeded to Dubai on medical grounds but under a deal that he will not return as long as PML-N is in power. He is otherwise implicated in several court cases including a case of high treason and his two properties have been confiscated on account of failing to present himself in the court. He therefore took a wise decision to stay out of MQM politics. People in general are viewing the different factions with skepticism; some saying all are chips of the same block and are employing tactics to buy time and reunite after the termination of Rangers operation, or change of military leadership. Factionalized MQM has certainly divided the Mohajir vote bank and faded the charisma of Altaf about whom it was stated till recent that there will be no MQM without him. He has remained unchallenged leader of MQM, but his success was owing to his policy of terrorization, media glorification, playing of ethnic card, and above all patronage of MI-6, CIA, Mossad and RAW who behold him as a strategic asset. It was owing to their benefaction that he was set free in money laundering case which was an open and shut case. Likewise, Dr. Imran murder case has remained unsolved despite Pakistan giving access to the real murderers and facilitators (Mohsin Ali, Kashif Kamran, Muazam, Shameem). He is also not being charged for fueling violence in Karachi. The British government has given preference to Altaf over Pakistan. Crown Prosecution directed Scotland Yard that the money laundering case was closed and will not be further processed nor any action taken. This is unprecedented and speak of mala fide intentions since a case is never permanently closed. A linkage of handwritten list of arms is being drawn with the seizure of a huge arms cache from Nine Zero premises last month. Pressured by USA, Britain compromised the high reputation of its premier institutions to save Altaf and please India. Conviction of Altaf and five co-accused would have established RAWs involvement in Pakistan. The MQM is in a quandary because of internal rift and power struggle between the three warring factions and none in Pakistan coming to its rescue. The Karachi based factions under FS and MK are desperately vying to take the place of Altaf but none has his magnetism for the disadvantaged Urdu speaking class, which is feeling orphaned without him. Like in the case of Donald Trump, they ignore all his negative aspects and want him to remain their lifelong leader since he had given them identity and strength to effectively deal with other ethnic communities and to control Karachi. The crisis have become grave with little hope of reconciliation and reunification. Possibility of reintegration of MQM London can be safely ruled out since Altaf has burnt his boats after his incendiary speech on August 22. Although he is terminally sick and can hardly move, his patrons who have invested a lot on him will keep extracting juice out of him till they find a suitable replacement. Sindh Assembly passed a resolution on September 20, 2016 which was moved by MQM (Pakistan) declaring Altaf a traitor and seeking his trial under Article VI. He is neither acceptable to the political parties in power and in opposition, or to the military, or the public, nor other two factions. However, the possibility of unification of FS and MK factions cannot be altogether ruled out, although there is again the problem of clash of personality between the two leaders. MK group had a good chance to attract as many MQM leaders and activists up till August 22, but it couldnt. Muhajir voters were still confident of Altafs resurgence. Emergence of FS group has become a handicap for MK group. Although, it is trying hard to woo as many prominent figures from FS group but so far his efforts have not borne fruit. MK blame former Governor Sindh Ishratul Ebad, who remained in this chair for 14 years, for stopping MQM leaders from joining him. Release of Qaimkhani and Mayor-elect Wasim Akhtar, both implicated in dozens of cases are setbacks for London group, but are a morale booster for both MK and FS groups. Latter will gain more political benefits. The two rival factions intend to display their political power by holding rallies. While MK will hold a public meeting in Hyderabad on November 25, FS who has carried out intra-party elections and got himself elected as a convener will hold a meeting on December 25. MK is confident of winning Muhajir vote since he claims to have gained influence over the lower level organizational structure. Both are vying for the support of Establishment which has so far remained neutral. While the FS and MK led groups have so far not clashed with each other, the former is heading for a possible punch-up with MQM London which is exerting extreme pressure on it to rejoin Altaf or else resign from Assemblies since it had won seats on the tickets awarded by Altaf. None in FS group has obliged and has taken firm steps to completely detach itself from Altaf group. Taking advantage of the divides in the MQM and their infighting and demoralization, other political parties have stepped up their efforts to capture as many Muhajir votes. The vacuum fillers in line are PPP, PTI and JI. They are hoping for revision in delimitation in Karachi undertaken by MQM during Gen Musharraf rule to correct the anomalies. People of Karachi are more interested in peace and security than in fractious factions of MQM. They have more trust and confidence in the Rangers and the Army and want the Rangers not to terminate the operation till the achievement of conclusive results. Endnote: Why are MK and FS banking on MQM leaders and activists with criminal records and hands drenched in blood of thousands of innocent people? Why cant they start with a clean slate by inducting fresh blood from within the 2 crore Urdu speaking community? I am fearing another NRO-2 to cleanse the target killers, kidnappers, extortionists and Mafias under the policy of national reconciliation and hoping that the reincarnated MQM will refrain from militancy in future. Havent we suffered enough from the ill-effects of NRO-1? The writer is defence analyst, columnist, author of 5 books, Vice Chairman Thinkers Forum Group, DG Measac Research Centre. asifharoonraja@gmail.com High officials to make doable and sustainable India-Kashmir policy: Sartaj Aziz ISLAMABAD: A high-level committee, consisting of senior officials from the ministries of defence, interior and information, the Military Operations Directorate, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), has been formed to formulate a doable and sustainable India-Kashmir policy, Sartaj Aziz told the Senate on Tuesday. Speaking about the status of the implementation of policy guidelines, given by a Senate committee of the whole house, the prime ministers adviser on foreign affairs said the committee was headed by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and could co-opt other members if required. Although the Senate had originally recommended the formation of a task force including chairpersons of the defence and foreign affairs committees from both houses of parliament Mr Aziz said the committee would regularly brief the two committees. He said that a committee, chaired by the information secretary, had been formed to prepare fact sheets, counter Indias propaganda campaign and design a media strategy to continuously highlight the Kashmiri freedom struggle. This committee also includes representatives from the ministries of defence, foreign affairs and information technology, as well as members of the Military Operations Directorate, ISI and IB. Mr Aziz said that the Ministry of Information Technology had been asked to prepare a comprehensive strategy to highlight the Jammu and Kashmir dispute via social media. He added that steps were being taken to highlight Indian interference in Pakistans internal affairs, as well as its support for subversive activities and human rights violations in held Kashmir. Mr Aziz referred to the dossier on Indias interference in Pakistan, presented to the UN secretary general by the prime minister in September, saying: This dossier has been shared with other key countries and international organisations. Another dossier on the activities of Kulbhushan Jadhav will also be finalised in the near future. He admitted that the role of international lobbyists had become crucial in order to project the countrys position and pursue foreign policy objectives and said that Pakistani missions abroad were also in close contact with the Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora. He claimed that steps were already being taken to reach out to segments of the Indian public that were opposed to Narendra Modis extremism, saying: Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies, he remarked. Talking about measures to counter Indias efforts to isolate Pakistan in the region, Mr Aziz said Pakistan was doing its utmost to engage the international community, including regional partners. He said Pakistan was supportive of all initiatives for peace and stability in the region, adding that this commitment to regional peace and stability was evident from the decision to participate in the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, despite the postponement of Saarc summit in Islamabad because of India. Pakistans nuclear doctrine, he said, was clearly spelt out and due restraint was being exercised. Pakistan continues to exhibit maturity and statesmanship despite provocative statements by Indian leadership and the continued ceasefire violations across the LoC and working boundary having resulted in civilian casualties. He was at pains to point out that Pakistans armed forces only returned fire when fired upon. He said it was for parliament to decide whether a separate committee on national security should be constituted. The adviser on foreign affairs stressed the need for a positive response from India in order to move forward. He said that while Pakistan always conveyed a desire to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, India had chosen to attach conditions to the talks. While reiterating Pakistans respect for the ceasefire arrangements of 2003, he said there had been over 300 ceasefire violations by India this year. The Foreign Office on Tuesday also summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh to condemn the unprovoked ceasefire violations on Nov 21, 2016 which resulted in the deaths of four innocent civilians and injuries to 10 others. He also condemned an Indian naval submarines violation of Pakistans maritime boundaries on Nov 14 and urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire understanding and the UNs law of the sea. The Indian diplomat was summoned by Dr Mohammad Faisal, Director General South Asia and SAARC at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who stated that deliberately targeting civilian-populated areas was deplorable. From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As... As an increasing number of devicesfrom cars to light bulbs to kitchen appliancesconnect with computer networks, experts are raising concerns about privacy and security. Just this fall, attackers used compromised home devices, including security cameras and DVRs, to bombard an internet infrastructure company with traffic, slowing internet access for much of the U.S. East Coast. To address these concerns, an organization of academics and industry leaders released a report today that provides guidance on how to build security and privacy protections into the emerging internet of things (IoT). The report emphasizes several recommendations for internet-connected devices, ranging from improved procedures for updating software on those devices to ensuring that those devices can continue to function if internet access is disrupted. Instead of targeting the device manufacturers, the report's editors hope their suggestions will resonate with policymakers who are contemplating the appropriate role of government in regulating the internet of things. "The report is aimed at influencing policy bodieslegislative committees, commissions, the Federal Trade Commission, the White House," said Nick Feamster, a computer science professor at Princeton University and the acting director of Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy, who is one of the report's lead editors. "We hope, of course, that the IoT industry reads it too." The report was issued by the Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group, a nonprofit organization that encompasses industry and academic members. It is not the first group to take up the issue of internet of things security and privacy. The Federal Trade Commission, for instance, released a report last year focused on consumer security and privacy risks associated with the internet of things. But the new report offers a unique viewpoint on some of the threats and challenges posed by the internet of things because its focus is on broadband network management, rather than device security. Also, many of the group's member organizations are internet service providers; the report's second co-editor is Comcast Vice President Jason Livingood. Accordingly, the new report considers the risks of the internet of things from the perspective of network management, and the authors discuss how networking technologies can be leveraged to protect users. "It's definitely an ISP (internet service provider) problem as well as a consumer and a device manufacturer problem," Feamster said. "When we talk about insecure IoT devices, we can talk about securing the devices, but we can also take a complementary view and say, 'Let's assume the devices may be difficult to secure and it may be difficult to follow these recommendationsmaybe there's a role for in-home networking technology to basically firewall or segment to protect these devices from each other or from the rest of the internet.'" The report emphasizes the importance of segmenting home networks so the devices connected to the network cannot easily be used to compromise each other. "Many home networks do not, by default, isolate different parts of the network from each other, the report points out. Making it harder for devices on a home network to talk to each other may help mitigate the impacts of any individual device's security weaknesses. "A lot of the discussions that have happened so far have been fairly general, so we tried to come up with some more specific things that people can focus on," Livingood said. "I also think it could serve as a little bit of a call to action to the IoT device manufacturers to try to figure out how they can band together and try to develop some kind of certification programs for security." Even some of the more familiar recommendations in the advisory group's reportfor instance, making it easier to update software that runs on devicesmay be less straightforward than they initially seem, Feamster said. "Some of these recommendations sound obvious but it's not so obvious that they should go one way or another," he explained. "Take secure over-the-network software updates _ and the ability to update credentials on a devicethose sound like basically good ideas. But there's obviously a cost to doing that: what do you do about that when the cost of the device is 99 cents, so the cost of updating it may exceed the cost of deploying it?" In other words, deciding whether or not it should be possible to distribute software updates and security patches to devices such as security cameras or thermostats may depend on the cost of the device and the cost of software updates. So the report, while it recommends making it possible to update devices in general, also points out that, "in some cases, replacing a device entirely may be an alternative to software updates. Certain IoT devices may be so inexpensive that updating software may be impractical or not cost-effective." Another scenario the authors consider is what happens to internet-of-things devices in the event of an internet outage. The report makes recommendations for how these devices should respond to interruptions to network connectivity. Specifically, the report recommends that "an IoT device should be able to perform its primary function or functions (e.g., a light switch or a thermostat should continue to function with manual controls), even if it is not connected to the internet because internet connectivity may be disrupted due to causes ranging from accidental misconfiguration or intentional attack." Membership in the Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group includes industry leaders such as Google, Cisco, AT&T and Disney, as well as community organizations such as the Center for Democracy & Technology, and Public Knowledge. Researchers from Princeton, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Oregon and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology contributed to the report. Prof. Susan Levine speaks Nov. 17 at a conference on math fluency in young children. A number of UChicago scholars who study math learning spoke at the conference, which was hosted by the Universitys Science of Learning Center. Credit: University of Chicago The words "enjoy" and "math" often aren't used together by parents: In many homes, the subject instead is associated with anxiety, stress and trepidation. At a recent two-day conference on math fluency in young children, Susan Levine, the Rebecca Anne Boylan Professor in Education and Society, challenged more than 100 attendees to find ways to support parents of young children to integrate math into their daily lives, make the subject engaging and prepare their children to succeed in mathematics before they start school. "Parents too often avoid engaging their children in mathematical thinking and convey their negative attitudes to their children, and a cycle of math phobia becomes self-perpetuating," said Levine, the inaugural director of the University's Science of Learning Center. "People do what they enjoy, so we have to make math enjoyable for children and parents." The center focuses on not only the cognitive, but also the affective and cultural dimensions of learning: how emotions, self-conceptions, mindsets and stereotypes shape the learning process. "The Science of Learning Center is designed not just to ask about the building blocks of learning but also to impact what happens in the classroom and at home," said Sian Beilock, UChicago executive vice provost and the Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology, who spoke at the conference and has conducted research on math anxiety. Variations in parents' use of "math talk" in the home environment (how frequently they talk about number and spatial concepts) are contributing to what Levine described as a "math input gap" that leaves some children at a disadvantage as they enter kindergarten. A 2010 study by Levine and her colleagues showed a 60-fold difference in the parents' use of number words with preschool childrena difference associated with family socioeconomic status, with socioeconomically advantaged children hearing many more such words prior to entering kindergarten. These differences contribute to persistent disparities in achievement between more and less advantaged children and thereby to social inequality more generally, given the strong connections between educational achievement and success later in life. "We need to level the playing field," Levine said, because research shows that kindergarten students behind in math tend to stay behind later. The Science of Learning Center sponsored the Nov. 17-18 conference in downtown Chicago, which was funded by the Overdeck Family Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Robert C. McCormick Foundation and the Simons Foundation. It brought together UChicago scholars and other academics, policymakers, teachers, authors, software developers, and business and nonprofit executives. Participants shared knowledge about ways to build family math fluency, identified areas where further research is needed and designed the early features of a campaign to increase family math fluency. Participants aim to launch a national campaign similar to efforts already underway to promote early literacy, such as Reach Out and Read, which distributes books to young children and gives literacy advice to parents. Such a campaign might involve helping parents support children's mathematical development by integrating practices such as counting and labeling, grouping, comparing, measuring, and recognizing patterns in daily routines such as cooking, getting dressed, shopping, cleaning and setting the table. The Science of Learning Center, which launched last year, is working to make math a priority in homes in many ways, such as studying the effectiveness of apps parents play with their children and developing and testing the effectiveness of different kinds of children's books, puzzles, games and other toys for supporting children's mathematical development. Overall, the center is developing ways to help parents understand the value of a strong foundation in mathwhether or not they envision their children as future mathematicians. The center is working with UChicago's Urban Education Institute, the Chicago Public Schools and early-childhood education programs such as Head Start. "The key is that what we learn about what works in the classroom informs policy and practice," Beilock said. "Even after kids start school, the anxieties and attitudes, culture and stereotypes they experience at home continue to be very important." At the conference, several speakers noted that cultural attitudes in the United States often work against math fluency in young children. "How we feel about math as a nation is not great," Beilock said. "People in most nations are anxious about math to some extent, but in the United States this anxiety tends to be socially acceptable." While Americans are loath to admit they are illiterate, many freely admit that they are innumerate, or unable to do or understand basic math, Levine added. "In other countries, math fluency is prized whereas here there's almost a club of people who are willing to say, 'I got a D in math,' or 'Math makes my brain hurt.'" The center is working to change such attitudes by turning research into tools that can be used by teachers, parents, students and others in Chicago and beyond. "The center is not just about research," said Lisa Rosen, executive director of the center. "It's about building a dynamic reciprocal relationship between research and practice so that the tools we develop will be useful for advancing learning." Former executives with Swedish telecoms equipment giant Ericsson say the firm shelled out tens of millions of dollars in bribes between 1998 and 2001, the Swedish media reported Wednesday. A former executive named Liss-Olof Nenzell has handed the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents relating to the alleged kickbacks, Dagens Nyheter daily and Swedish public radio SR said. "Enormous sums were sent via Zurich from the company headquarters in Sweden to secret recipients around the world," Dagens Nyheter said, referring to what it called Nenzell's central role in the scheme. The newspaper said the biggest bribes included 1.4 billion kronor (140 million euros, $150 million), sent to bank accounts in Malaysia, and 763 million kronor sent to Poland, via the British offshore banking haven of Jersey. SR, meanwhile, said money was sent to politicians and senior civil servants to Costa Rica, including the then president, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, "at a time when Ericsson was vying for a major state contract in telecoms." Denying any wrongdoing, Ericsson said the radio documentary reported on a period when the company used commercial agents to a greater extent 15-20 years ago. "Ericsson has, just like many other companies that are active in the international market, used commercial agents," the spokeswoman told AFP. "This work approach can be attractive as it can be more cost effective than building a large local sales organisation," she said, adding that the group only has "a few agency agreements left" in countries where it's a requirement. SR said it had testimony from "several former top executives," who speaking on condition of anonymity "recounted how they were guilty of active corruption in securing contracts in a large number of countries." Since 2010, Swedish media has reported on allegations of systematic bribery in Ericsson, whose shares on Wednesday morning fell by 2.5 percent after the news broke out. Quoted by Dagens Nyheter, it said Wednesday it never found "any evidence that bribes were allegedly paid." In June, Ericsson said it was being investigated, including in the US, over what the Swedish press said was a case of alleged corruption in China, and in Greece. Annus horribilis Ericsson typically ranks first or second as the world's biggest vendor of telecoms equipment and services, if sales of mobile phone handset are excluded. But the latest accusations add to what is already a nightmare year for the giant, struggling especially with a slowdown in investment in mobile telephony. In April, Ericsson announced it would expand a nine-billion-kronor cost-cutting drivea programme that, according to the media, will end production in Sweden that dates back to 1876. In July, it ousted its seven-year CEO Hans Vesterberg, who struggled to fend off competition from rivals Nokia, Siemens and Alcatel-Lucent and gain ground in saturated and competitive markets such as Europe and North America. He has been replaced by Borje Ekholma bet on continuity with a chief coming from its board of directors and main shareholder. Ekholm is set to take office on January 16. In October, Ericsson issued a profit warning and followed this with the announcement of a net loss of 233 million kronor in the third quarter as operators slowed investment in mobile networks. 2016 AFP A naturally occurring predatory bacterium is able to work with the immune system to clear multi-drug resistant Shigella infections in zebrafish, according to a study published today in Current Biology. It is the first time the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus has been successfully used as an injected anti-bacterial therapy and represents an important step in the fight against drug-resistant infections, or 'superbugs'. Shigella infection is responsible for over 160 million illnesses and over 1 million deaths every year - and is a common cause of 'travellers' diarrhoea.' Cases of drug-resistant Shigella are also on the rise as, although the diarrhoea usually clears up without treatment, antibiotics are often used even in mild cases to stop the diarrhoea faster. Resistance to antibiotics has prompted a team of researchers from Imperial College London and Nottingham University to look to the natural environment for creative solutions to this problem. To investigate Bdellovibrio's ability to control drug resistant Gram-negative infections, researchers injected zebrafish larvae with a lethal dose of Shigella flexneri strain M90T, resistant to both streptomycin and carbenicillin antibiotics. Bdellovibrio was then injected into the larvae's infection site, and a decrease in the number of Shigella was seen. In the absence of Bdellovibrio, zebrafish were unable to control the replication of Shigella and levels of the bacteria rose. Wellcome Research Career Development Fellow Dr Serge Mostowy, co-lead author from Imperial College London said: "This study really shows what a unique and interesting bacterium Bdellovibrio is as it presents this amazing natural synergy with the immune system and persists just long enough to kill prey bacteria before being naturally cleared. It's an important milestone in research into the use of a living antibiotic that could be used in animals and humans." Bdellovibrio can invade and kill a range of Gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, in the natural environment. Previous research has shown that it can reduce pathogen numbers in the stomach of chickens when taken as an oral therapy, but there is growing need to develop therapies to target infections in wounds and organs. Successful use of Bdellovibrio highlights its potential uses in tackling a range of drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections that can develop in hospital patients. Professor Liz Sockett, co-lead author from The University of Nottingham said: "This has been a truly ground-breaking collaboration that shows therapeutic Bdellovibrio in action inside the translucent living zebrafish. The predatory action of the Bdellovibrio breaks the Shigella-pathogen cells and this stimulates the white blood cells; redoubling their 'efforts' against the pathogen and leading to increased survival of the zebrafish 'patients'." Remarkably, Bdellovibrio is also able to reduce pathogen load in immunocompromised zebrafish larvae that have been depleted of white blood cells. However, survival is significantly greater in immune-competent zebrafish, showing that Bdellovibrio's maximum therapeutic benefit comes from its ability to work cooperatively with the host's own immune system. Dr Michael Chew, Science Portfolio Advisor at Wellcome said: "It may be unusual to use a bacterium to get rid of another, but in the light of the looming threat from drug resistant infections the potential of beneficial bacteria-animal interactions should not be overlooked. We are increasingly relying on last line antibiotics, and this innovative study demonstrates how predatory bacteria could be an important additional tool to drugs in the fight against resistance." More information: 'Injections of predatory bacteria work alongside host immune cells to treat Shigella infections in zebrafish larvae' Current Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.09.067 Journal information: Current Biology Credit: University of Queensland People experiencing homelessness who reject being defined 'homeless' not only reduce stigma associated with the label but are also more likely to increase their feeling of self-worth. The burden of perceiving yourself as 'homeless' has been detailed in research conducted by The University of Queensland and the Salvation Army. UQ School of Psychology researcher Professor Jolanda Jetten and her collaborators found most people who sought help from The Salvation Army for accommodation improved their situation quickly. "At our first follow-up, within the first three months, 82 per cent of clients of The Salvation Army reported an improvement in general life, 61 per cent reported better mental health and 57 per cent were in stable or transitional housing," Professor Jetten said. "People who felt a sense of belonging at The Salvation Army had greater uptake of services and felt more supported. "The extent providers and clients worked together to enhance a sense of belonging for example through group and community activities - which was important in breaking the cycle of homelessness. "Overall 74 per cent of people reported positive general experiences at The Salvation Army." Researcher and PhD student Zoe Walter discovered those who used homeless services but refused to perceive themselves as 'homeless' often fared better. "While 55 per cent using homeless services provided by The Salvation Army categorised themselves as 'homeless', 31 per cent rejected that notion," Ms Walter said. "Meanwhile 14 per cent were ambivalent or unsure whether they would classify themselves as 'homeless'. "Those who rejected the label of 'homeless' reported higher well-being, were less likely to report feeling negative, and thought of themselves as more resilient." The Salvation Army's Queensland Accommodation and Housing manager Chris Deighton said The Salvation Army was proud of its longstanding relationship with The University of Queensland. "We have already incorporated the research findings into our service delivery," Mr Deighton said. "Our belief is that people can experience significant adversity in life but are not defined by those experiences. "Not seeing someone as 'homeless' reduces the stigma associated with homelessness, increases their self-worth and has an obvious overflow to their outcomes in life." A new study by an economics professor at the University of Arkansas could explain one mechanism driving polling errors in the presidential election: Voters show an increasing disparity between who they are and are not willing to publicly support. The results of the study revealed that voters claiming to ally with Clinton were more averse to explicitly expressing support for Trump than Trump voters were to explicitly expressing support for Clinton. "After two similarly designed studies one statewide and one national we're beginning to think that polling methodologies exaggerate differences in voter preferences," said Andy Brownback, assistant professor of economics in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. "By this, we mean that if you ask voters directly, they appear to be vocal and explicit in their agreement with their chosen candidate. But, when asked in a way that can hide an individual's preferences, voters reveal that they are less dedicated to their chosen candidate." Following a survey of only Arkansas voters which revealed that divided feelings toward Republican candidate Donald Trump were exaggerated by standard polling Brownback and economics graduate student Aaron Novotny sampled about 1,000 subjects from across the nation online, via Amazon's Mechanical Turk website. The only requirement was that the respondents be 18 or older and American citizens. The researchers randomly assigned half of the respondents to evaluate their feelings toward Hillary Clinton and half to evaluate their feelings toward Donald Trump. They presented each respondent with four statements. I think small businesses are important for the economy. I agree with George H.W. Bush's foreign policy. I think the threat of global warming is exaggerated. I prefer presidential candidates who oppose the NRA. Then, 250 of the 1,000 respondents were asked: I often find myself agreeing with Hillary Clinton. Another 250 were asked: I often find myself agreeing with Donald Trump. This group of 500 respondents were then asked to provide the total number of statements they agreed with, without specifying which statements they agreed with. Researchers then calculated the average number agreed to for each group. After providing the number of statements they agreed with from the first four statements, the other 500 respondents were then asked to respond directlyyes or noto the final question, "Do you often find yourself agreeing with [Hillary Clinton/Donald Trump]?" Like the first group, 250 of these respondents answered this question about Clinton and 250 answered it about Trump. "We do this to understand how the observability of an answer affects the statements made," Brownback said. "This is a mechanism to elicit preferences that people may be hesitant to reveal explicitly." Though 51 percent of the voter base may have felt aligned with Clinton, their statements of support for her and opposition to Trump may have been overstated, said Brownback. He and Novotny found that if supporters and detractors of a given candidate are asked directly, their views of that candidate differed by about 85 percentage points. If their responses were elicited indirectly, however, their views differed only by about 57 percentage points. "If we interpret the more privately elicited preferences as indicative of true feelings and likely voting," said Brownback, "this would directly represent an overstatement of support for Clinton from explicit polling." Ability Pharmaceuticals Initiates Phase 2 Combination Trial with ABTL0812 as First-Line Therapy in Patients with Endometrial or Squamous Lung Cancer Details Category: Small Molecules Published on Wednesday, 23 November 2016 09:03 Hits: 1672 ABTL0812 is administered in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO, Barcelona) and Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO, Barcelona) lead the study, which includes other centers in Spain and France BARCELONA, Spain I November 22, 2016 I The biopharmaceutical company AbilityPharma announced the initiation of the first Phase 2 Trial with its targeted drug candidate ABTL0812 as first-line therapy to evaluate its efficacy and safety combined with paclitaxel and carboplatin in 80 patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer or squamous lung cancer. The study is initially being conducted in Barcelona at Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) and Institut Catala d'Oncologia (ICO) by Dr. Ana Oaknin and Dr. Ernest Nadal as principal investigators for endometrial cancer and lung cancer respectively. Dr. Jordi Rodon (VHIO) is the coordinating investigator. Additional sites in France and Spain will be added over the next 6 months. "ABTL0812 has shown to be extremely safe in patients during the Phase 1b with initial efficacy and high activity on biomarkers", said Dr. Carles Domenech, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of AbilityPharma. "Additionally, the high efficacy observed in combination in preclinical models make us expect good results in the Phase 2". About ABTL0812 ABTL0812 causes cell death by autophagy through the overexpression of TRIB3, an endogenous Akt regulator. It is a first in class fully differentiated oral targeted anticancer compound inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway without being a direct kinase inhibitor. Its unique mechanism of action was published at Clinical Cancer Research in 2015. In the phase 1/1b clinical trial (29 patients), ABTL0812 showed the best safety and tolerability compared to other inhibitors of the pathway; without dose-limiting toxicities. The efficacy was comparable to the best PI3K/Akt/mTOR inhibitors; remarkably 2 patients had extremely long disease stabilizations (14 and 18 months). About Ability Pharmaceuticals AbilityPharma (http://www.abilitypharma.com), a fast grower in the Catalan and Spanish biopharmaceutical sector, is focusing on creating the future of oncology by developing innovative therapies to address unmet medical needs. Current shareholders include its founders, private investor and the VCs Inveready and SODENA, and has financial support from ACCIO, CDTI, ENISA and MINECO In April 2016, AbilityPharma signed a territorial license agreement with SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Inc to develop and market ABTL0812 in Greater China. SOURCE: Ability Pharmaceuticals While Donald Trump's critics warn America's next president could use the Oval Office to profit his family and friends, letters uncovered in the personal papers of a former vice president suggest the presidency has been used for personal profit in the past. Vice President George H.W. Bush was just months away from being sworn in as president when he wrote a personal letter to the King of Saudi Arabia endorsing a business trip to the kingdom by former Vice President Spiro Agnew. Lead Stories has exclusively obtained the Bush letter to King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud -- then the world's second wealthiest person -- which Agnew hand delivered to the king in August 1988. It is just one in a trove of historical documents obtained by collector Gregg Schneider in a purchase from Agnew's heirs. (See the full letter below.) "I want to pass my warm greetings to you through former Vice President Spiro Agnew," Bush wrote. "His visit to the Kingdom is a wonderful opportunity for him to renew old friendships and to discuss regional political issues in these trying times." Despite having been forced from office in a bribery and kickback scandal in 1973, Agnew remained in contact with Bush and even gave him political advice during the 1988 presidential race. (Lead Stories will soon publish another exclusive story detailing that relationship based on previously unseen documents.) Along with the plug for Agnew's business trip, Bush used the disgraced vice president as the conduit for a message to the Saudi king about the "common interests" of the United States and Saudi Arabia. (Lead Stories will also publish a story about Agnew's strong anti-Israel beliefs and how he used his anti-Zionist positions for profit in the middle east.) Also Read: History Uncovered: Secret Letter Shows FBI Director Using Leaks To Target Political Opponent Read the full Bush letter below "My 1986 trip to Saudi Arabia left lasting impressions on me about Saudi Arabia's people, its leadership, and its strategic importance," Bush wrote. "I know America and Saudi Arabia share many common interests in the region and I believe we need to walk into the future together." "Here's why. I see hopeful, yet trying, times ahead. Iran's acceptance of UN Resolution 598 is a hopeful sign for the future, but together we must be ever vigilant and prepared. I assure you the US will continue a strong naval presence in the region so long as a threat persists to the US, Saudi Arabia and our friends. UN Resolution 598 called for a ceasefire between Iran and Iraq after several years of war. It brought a brief period of peace in the region that ended when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, leading to the U.S-led coalition's defeat of Iraq's army and liberation of Kuwait. Saudi Arabia was President Bush's key ally in the war. The Bush letter delivered by Agnew also made it clear that the U.S. wanted it's close relationship to Saudi Arabia to be "special" and transcend other middle eastern issues. "I firmly believe that the Gulf region has its own dynamics, its own context, its own set of interests and issues, and is largely separated from other Middle Eastern concerns. I would like to work closely with you to further our shared goals in the region. I want a solid and very special US-Saudi Arabian relationship, and I would like that relationship to be built upon our shared statesmanship, personal friendship, and trust. "I look forward to our continued close relations and pursuing our mutual goal of peace and friendship - together. Agnew, apparently knowing the historic significance of the letter, kept the original for himself. It remained a secret until the current owner shared it and a treasure trove of Agnew's personal papers with Lead Stories. Read the full letter Michael Goot night and weekend editor Follow Michael Goot Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The hyperbole regarding the potential consequences of Donald Trumps election as president continues. The Alliance for Quality Education on Wednesday protested in front of the home of Eva Moskowitz, CEO of the Success Academy charter school in New York City, for her association with Trump. The president-elect had reportedly reached out to Moskowitz for a potential position as U.S. Secretary of Education. She declined the offer, but on Friday had invited his daughter Ivanka Trump into her school, which has 96 percent African-American and Latino students. Moskowitz praised Trumps education agenda. The alliance said Moskowitz comments and the Trump appearance signal the beginning of a blossoming alliance with the president-elect known for his racist, sexist, Islamaphobic, and xenophobic remarks. The organization said Trump is appointing white supremacists and other known racists to his cabinet and called on Moskowitz to denounce Trump. This isnt just political rhetoric. Trump has directly threatened the livelihood of entire communities represented in all New York City Schools, said Zakiyah Ansari, advocacy director of the Alliance for Quality Education, in a news release. By inviting a physical representation of this threat into a school, Moskowitz has compromised the safety of her students. This is bigger than personal political ambitions and Moskowitz should have considered that before welcoming Trump and the isms associated with his campaign into her school. Fatima Geidi, a former Success Academy parent, had this to say: When we as parents entrust our children to a school, we fully expect that teachers and administrators will do everything they can to protect our children from hurt, said Fatima Geidi, former Success Academy parent, in a news release. Either Eva Moskowitz does not understand how traumatic Donald Trump's election has been for her students of color, for her Muslim students, her immigrant students or she does not care. Both are unacceptable. The state is investigating a raise in hate crimes since the election. Those engaged in those crimes should be punished. However, this exaggeration that Trump poses a physical threat to students safety, needs to stop. Its time to take a deep breath and take a step back. This is the latest in a series of posts about the 1916 presidential election between Democratic incumbent Woodrow Wilson and Republican challenger Charles Evans Hughes, a Glens Falls native. Part 5 from the 1921 book Woodrow Wilson As I Knew Him by Joseph P. Tumulty, published by Doubleday, Page and Company. Tumulty was secretary to Wilson. The first returns coming into the campaign executive offices at Asbury Park, N.J. in mid-afternoon were from a fishing village in Massachusetts, where Wilson had a slight gain above his 1912 vote. The happenings of Election Day, 1916, will long linger in my memory, Tumulty wrote. Early returns from Colorado and Kansas continued to show gains for Wilson. Those of us who were interested in the Presidents cause were made jubilant by those early returns, Tumulty wrote. Every indication, though imperfect, up to seven oclock on the night of the election, forecasted the Presidents re-election. Jubilation turned to gloom. Then, quickly, the tide turned against us in the most unusual way, Tumulty wrote. Between seven and nine oclock the returns slowly came in from the East and Middle West that undeniably showed a drift away from us. A group of reporters led by a New York World reporter notified Tumulty around 9:30 p.m. The World was calling the election for Hughes. The expression in the mens faces told me that a crisis was at hand. To me the blow was stunning, for The New York World had been one of our staunchest supporters throughout the whole campaign. Tumulty told the reporters the campaign would not concede at that point. Wilson was philosophical about the news of his apparent defeat. Laughingly he said, Well Tumulty, it begins to look as if we have been badly licked. To be continued Click here to read more Election Night recollections. Click here to read the most recent previous post in the series. GRANVILLE Robert Vanderminden Sr. wakes up every day at 4 a.m. and lies in bed for an hour before setting his feet on the floor. The 89-year-old patriarch of the Telescope Casual Furniture family celebrated his 65th year at the business in September and says he spends that hour in bed thinking. I dream of what were going to do that day, said Vanderminden. He thinks about his plan for the day, ideas for the business and how to solve problems. Seems like such a good time to do it. Legally blind from macular degeneration, which leaves him with only peripheral vision, Vanderminden still spends five days a week walking a mile to work, attending design meetings and working on the production floor. And he doesnt plan to stop. I want to work til its no longer fun, he said, adding later, If you want to be in business any amount of time, it damn well better be fun, or you cant keep it up. Working hard and having fun seem to be the secret of Vandermindens success in both life and business. At 14, he started working in the sawmill stacking lumber, making only 21.5 cents per hour. I thought it was pretty good at the time, he shrugged. He moved up to the machine shop when he was 16, welding and making storage racks. After a short stint in the Coast Guard, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to study mechanical engineering, and by the time he graduated in 1951, he had already redesigned the companys wood furniture line. Over the next several decades, he changed the company over from wood to aluminum furniture, designed a slot system for the businesss popular Director Chair, invented a slotted tubing system that revolutionized the industry, developed a five-person production line to build chairs, fought off competition from China and raised three daughters and two sons. Hes the third generation of Vandermindens to run the booming furniture business, which started in New York City in 1903 and moved to Granville in 1921. Vanderminden took it over from his father, who took it over from his father. My father was a very smart man and very dedicated, he said, and he knew how to get good people. He always said, If you really want to find a place with good people, look to the women. His daughter Kathy Juckett, now the CEO, said whenever her father faced pressure, he used his ingenuity to find ways to keep the business going and keep people employed. Hed say, Failures not an option. Lets go, Juckett said. He instilled in all the children a work ethic that valued hard work, perseverance, performance and making the very best quality product. But the family only worked five days a week. The weekends were reserved for fun. They joked that they would show up to church on Sundays dressed in their brightly colored ski clothes, and as soon as the last Amen was uttered, the family headed to Killington to ski the rest of the day. Four of his children, one nephew and four grandchildren now work for the company, which boasts around 250 employees and nearly 300 in the summer. His great-grandson works in the summers. We stayed true to ourselves and true to our values and true to how we were raised, Juckett said. And were still here. During an appreciation ceremony at the business Nov. 2 celebrating Vandermindens 65 years at Telescope, he told his employees to try to have as much fun on the job as they can get away with. Until he figures out when hes had enough fun and decides to retire, hes going to keep walking to work every day and finding new ways to make the business successful. Hes still working on furniture designs to make them easier to build and improve their quality. Another problem will come up today that hasnt been solved, Vanderminden said, prompting his daughter to add, You always call them opportunities. QUEENSBURY A fourth Connecticut resident has been arrested in connection with a ring of thieves that has been cashing of fake business checks at local banks and businesses. Arthur D. Thompson, 57, of Hartford, Connecticut, was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny for allegedly cashing a fake check for more than $1,000 in Queensbury in the fall of 2015, according to State Police. Thompson is believed to be part of a group from Connecticut that was recruited to cash fake checks that were made to appear as if they came from local businesses of government entities, State Police said. Some of the suspects were homeless people that were driven to the Warren and Washington counties as well as other parts of the state by ringleaders to try to cash checks, police said. Thompson was located by State Police in Hartford Correctional Facility, arraigned in Queensbury and returned to jail in Connecticut. FORT EDWARD Prosecutors are trying to determine whether the near-fatal injuries suffered by a Fort Edward girl in September should result in the states weightiest assault charge instead of a count that accuses her alleged abuser of recklessly injuring her. The case against Marissa Bickford-Rice was adjourned Tuesday as Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan said his office is awaiting a review of medical records to determine whether a charge as weighty as first-degree assault is warranted for the injuries suffered by her stepdaughter, 4-year-old Kaiden Starr Rice. Jordan said he hopes to get an answer in the coming weeks. He said there have been plea discussions with Bickford-Rices lawyer, but a full medical review is needed to determine whether a first-degree assault charge is viable. That count can bring up to 25 years in state prison, compared to the 7-year sentence possible for the pending charge of reckless assault of a child. Authorities are also looking into whether some injuries that appeared to pre-date the near-fatal head injury can be linked to Bickford-Rice, who is married to Kaidens father. Police said he was not involved in her injuries and has cooperated with investigators. Kaidens grandmother, Tammie Waite, said Kaiden has continued to recover, but because of her head injury, has the abilities of a 1-year-old as she learns to walk, talk and feed herself again. She suffered a stroke after her skull was fractured, and has limited use of the right side of her body. She also suffered a broken collarbone and arm during the attack. Washington County sheriffs officers said Bickford-Rice told investigators she threw the girl, causing her to hit her head on a hard floor at their Lower Wright Street home on Sept. 21. Kaiden was knocked unconscious and critically hurt, spending nearly three weeks in Albany Medical Center before being released to a rehabilitation center. Kaiden, who loved ones nicknamed Tiny, has not been able to give details about how she was injured, and doctors have said she will likely never recover that memory because of her head injury, Waite said. Waite said Kaidens family hopes that prosecutors pursue a first-degree assault charge, as she believes Bickford-Rice meant to hurt Kaiden and had been violent toward her before. Kaiden told her numerous times before the day she was hospitalized that Bickford-Rice hit her on the floor and that she did not want to live with her, Waite said. She would become sad and cry when being returned to the Fort Edward home from visits with her mother, Waite said. Waite said she contacted Washington County Child Protective Services about the allegations of abuse, but Kaiden would not disclose them to others and there were no apparent injuries, so the reports were considered unfounded, she said. Its awful, because there were no bruises and Kaiden would never say it to anyone but us, I think because she knew she was safe with us, Waite said. Bickford-Rice, 22, is being held in Washington County Jail, pending further court action. Her lawyer, Washington County Public Defender Michael Mercure, could not be reached on Wednesday. FORT EDWARD A Glens Falls man was jailed Monday for allegedly going into his ex-girlfriend's home and heavily vandalizing it earlier this week, police said. Adam J. Bannister, 26, was arrested Monday afternoon after an incident at the woman's home on McCrea Street, according to Fort Edward Police. He allegedly caused more than $1,000 in damage inside the home, violating an order of protection the woman has in place, police said. He was charged with second-degree burglary, first-degree criminal contempt and second-degree criminal mischief, all felonies, and misdemeanor menacing, police records show. Bannister, who has a history of prior domestic abuse arrests involving the woman, was arraigned and sent to Washington County Jail for lack of bail. Fort Edward Police Sgt. Dean Watkins made the arrest, assisted by the Washington County Sheriff's Office. QUEENSBURY Supervisor John Strough and 3rd Ward Councilman Doug Irish clashed Monday in a lengthy debate over switching the towns legal representation to a firm headed by the vice chairman of the Queensbury Republican Committee. Strough, a Democrat, accused Irish, a Republican, of political cronyism or pay to play, and Irish accused Strough of acting like a child. The Town Board voted 3-2 to hire FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth of Glens Falls as the towns law firm for 2017, replacing Miller, Mannix, Schachner & Hafner of Glens Falls, the towns longtime law firm. John Aspland, vice chairman of the Queensbury Republican Committee, is managing partner of FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth. Firtzgerald Morris Baker Firth offered to represent the town on regular town government and planning issues at cost of $160 an hour, with a maximum annual charge of $120,000. Miller, Mannix, Schachner & Hafner had proposed an hourly rate of $190, with a maximum annual charge of $190,000. Strough and 1st Ward Councilman Anthony Metivier, a Republican, voted against hiring the new firm. Irish, 2nd Ward Councilman Brian Clements and 4th Ward Councilman William VanNess, all Republicans, voted to hire the new firm. Supporters said it would reduce town expenses and bring a new perspective to the towns legal representation. When I ran for this office, I took an oath to be tax savvy and watch the spending, said VanNess, who also is Queensbury Republican chairman. Strough said he asked department heads to do performance reviews of the current firm, and all of them reported that Miller, Mannix, Schachner & Hafner did a commendable job. Not everything is the cost, he said. Strough, the only Democrat on the board, said at least three lawyers in FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth serve on the Warren County Republican Committee, and the firm has contributed to Republican political candidates and committees. Aspland, the managing partner, represented Irish in an election dispute with Irishs Democratic opponent in 2015, Strough said. I think they have to make up their mind if they want to be a political organization or a law firm, he said. FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth has contributed $900 to Warren County Republican Committee since 2007, and Aspland personally has contributed $175, according to state Board of Elections records. The firm also contributed to several local Republican candidates in recent election cycles. Strough said Miller, Mannix, Schachner & Hafner has a policy of not allowing its lawyers to serve on political committees or make political contributions. Irish said the political affiliation of lawyers in FtizGerald Morris Baker Firth has no connection will their legal representation. I think theyre allied with the client, whatever their political affiliations are, he said. Irish accused Strough, who is running for re-election next year, of electioneering and said the board should have debated the hiring in closed session, not in public. I think it was poor judgment for John to bring this out in the public like he has, said Irish, who also is running for re-election next year. VanNess, who received a $200 campaign contribution from FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth in 2015, said his vote to hire the firm was not politically motivated. I owe nobody for this position except myself, he said. Strough said town Assessor Teri Ross is concerned about changing law firms when the town has 30 assessment lawsuits in process. Clements said he spoke specifically with the new firm about the volume of assessment cases pending. They estimate approximately 40 hours one week to come up to speed on the 30 cases we have, Clements said. Metivier, who voted against hiring the new firm, said he recognizes the potential cost savings, but is concerned, because the proposals the board used to make its decision date from two years ago. FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth has changed staff since then, and its unclear if the firm still has the same level of experience in municipal law, he said. Metivier said Irish just asked a couple of days ago that the resolution be added to the agenda for Mondays meeting, with no advance discussion at a Town Board public workshop meeting, which is the customary process. Tonight is uncomfortable for me, he said. Im not saying this is life and death here, but I would just like to see a peaceful transfer of legal services here, said Clements, who voted in support of hiring the new firm. After the meeting, Hafner, a principal of the firm being replaced, said his firm has really enjoyed working for the town. We have worked for the town since 1996, and we have been very honored to have worked for them that long, he said. Aspland, contacted Tuesday, said there was an open bidding process. They put out an RFP over a year ago, and we interviewed, he said. Aspland said he wouldnt dispute Stroughs allegations of political favoritism, because he wasnt at the Town Board meetings to hear them directly. Hes entitled to his opinion, I guess, Aspland said. QUEENSBURY The race for Warren County Family Court judge officially concluded on Wednesday, as Republican Ted Wilsons lead held up following the counting of absentee ballots. Wilson had declared victory on Election Night after receiving 13,778 machine votes compared with 12,401 for Democrat Rob Smith. But Smith did not officially concede because he was waiting for more than 3,000 absentee ballots to be counted. When all the votes were counted, Wilson finished with 15,351 votes. Smiths final total was 13,934. Wilson said Wednesday he was a little anxious when he realized there were a large number of absentee ballots to be counted. Its nice to know its official. Im ready to go. Im excited, he said. Wilson credited his election to hard work by all the people on his campaign, himself included, to get his message out. Wilson works as the court attorney for state Supreme Court Justice Stan Pritzker. Wilsons first day on the job will be Jan. 3, 2017, since Jan. 2 falls on a Monday and is being observed as the New Years Day federal holiday. Wilson said he has some people in mind for his court attorney position but nothing ready to announce yet. Wilson will succeed J. Timothy Breen, who died last January from cancer. Smith, who is the court attorney for Warren County Judge John Hall, said he was honored to have the opportunity to run and is pleased with his campaign. He is also grateful for the new friends he made. Im certainly disappointed about the outcome but extremely proud for putting myself out there and taking a chance to be a candidate again, he said. Smith ran unsuccessfully last year for a newly created judgeship in Family Court, losing to Paulette Kershko. The race for the Supreme Court seat in the Fourth Judicial District is still not decided, according to the state Board of Elections. Mark Powers, who ran on the Democratic and Conservative Party lines, received 160,479 machine votes, compared with 159,064 for Republican Timothy Lawliss. Powers sought to impound the ballots, which delayed counting in some counties. The Fourth Judicial District covers Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, St. Lawrence, Warren and Washington counties. Some of the counties are still processing ballots. Powers has been Family Court judge in Schenectady County for the past 11 years and an acting Supreme Court justice since 2004. Lawliss is a Clinton County Family Court judge and an acting Supreme Court justice, handling a variety of matrimonial, prisoner litigation and civil lawsuits in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties. Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether Read more Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagicFormer Smiths frontman Morrissey is challenging a major automobile manufacturer to offer vegan leather interiors. In a letter to General Motors CEO Mary T. Barra, the longtime anti-animal cruelty activist suggests the company should offer the option of vegan leather, including steering wheels and gearshift, on GMs Volt and Bolt models, which he notes are being marketed to eco-conscious buyers. In his letter, Morrissey cites a recent video from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals decrying the treatment of animals that supply leather to GM and other car companies. He says cows are branded on the face, electro-shocked, and beaten before they're slaughtered to become leather interiors. Morrissey also notes the environmental impact of leather manufacturing, saying 51% of global greenhouse-gas emissions are caused by animal agriculture and the runoff from toxic chemicals used to treat animal skins poisons vital waterways. Ever the polite Englishman, Morrissey ends his letter by saying, Entirely vegan options would only broaden [the cars] appeal. I look forward to your reply. Morrissey, who performs Wednesday night in Royal Oak, Michigan, near GMs home base of Detroit, is a longtime vegan and member of PETA. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East He made this statement following Shatta Wales recent rant on Twitter. Shatta Wale, during his rant, alleged that Obour is not serving the purpose of the musicians union thus he should resign. Shatta Wale started his rant by asking Obour to resign and also discussed the frustrations of musicians about how Obour had misused funds of the union. Reacting to the rant, Hammer of The Last 2 said the MUSIGA President is a great leader, not a fighter adding that Ghanaian musicians need a fighter to lead them. Hammer tweeted; Hammer and Shatta Wale are not the only musicians who have issues with Obuor-led administration. Rapper D-Black is another musician who has expressed his disappointment in the president. Led by its Chancellor, Rev. Dr Abbeam Ampomah Danso, management of the school presented assorted items ranging from food to clothing to the residents. The teeming residents were overly excited as they gathered at the premises of the institution to collect their donations in a brief ceremony, which is one of many organised by the management of the University. His Abbeam Group of Companies has built various projects in the community to ease the development of the area and its people. Theres Abbeam Health Center, which has the requisite, standardised and modernised facilities and equipment - provides health care for people in the whole Kasoa District and beyond. It provides 24 hour quality services in antenatal, postnatal, general care, circumcision and other related medical issues. Theres also the establishment of the Abbeam Institute of Technology Institute, which is a registered foreign tertiary Institution, which is also duly registered by the National Accreditation Board of Ghana and affiliated to internationally recognised Institutions. Situated at Kasoa-Obom in Ghana, the Institute offers programs in Media, Communication Studies, Business Administration, Computer Science & Management, Health & Social Science, Human Resource Management, Project Management, and Accounting & Finance. I dont vote because I dont want to. But the fact that I dont vote does not mean I dont know who I want as president. I know who should be the president from all indications, ie, campaign messages, economic situation, infrastructural developments (or the overhyped ones) etc. But, I still dont vote, because somehow, someway, I expect my preferred candidate to win without my votes. I belong to a growing number of 18-to-30-year-olds who will identify themselves as likely voters this December. Our collective willingness to stand in line for hours outside polling stations in order to vote for the candidate we deem fit is far less than the next member of this group would suspect. Millennials have the most stake in how our country precedes. So to what degree will we engage in and be activated by politics now? We all think everyone else is going to vote for that candidate that we believe must win, we think our no-votes wont matter. After all, how could the Ghanaian electorates view of that right candidate be so different from ours? Shaken to the core Up until a week ago, I was so convinced that at least 70 percent of the electoral populace would revolt against all that John Mahama stood for and vote for another person during the 2016 general elections. But I spent a day at the inauguration of the newly constructed Kwame Nkrumah Interchange and this belief was shaken to the core. Beyond the usual chaotic din of the JM Toaso, JM Tusu, and onaapo chants, there was something else at that rally something I thought the NDC had lost a lot of level-headed individuals who genuinely believed that the incumbent John Dramani Mahama was the better choice for Ghanaian come Dec. 7th. And a good number of my friends are part of these people. Having grown up on almost the same set of principles, sharing the same values and ethics over the years, I couldnt understand what drove them to think that John Mahama was the president to maintain for Ghanas continued development. I met people at the launch of the Circle Interchange, whose support for Mahama is not based on gifts, promises or whatsoever, but a clear and definite conviction that John Dramani Mahama is indeed the best person to lead Ghana for another four years. I wanted to exclaim and condemn them, but after speaking with some, I realized that there is this thing that both people who think Mahama should be maintained and those who dont have in common: A sense of profound confusion about how the other side cannot understand their perspective. Political divisions between us are greater than they ever have been, and are still getting worse by the day. And for the first time in my life, I was forced to go back on something I was so adamantly convinced about that Nana Addo would easily win this election. Mahamas fan base scares me. It makes me think of political illiteracy where political ignorance leads to bad politicians and corrupted multinational companies running a nation. Political illiteracy is the last thing a democracy like ours needs. Democracy postulates enlightenment and is, by and large, a blessing, and illiteracy, which implies ignorance, is a menace. Democracy assumes that there is a high degree of political consciousness, a fair degree of education and intelligence, a continuous interest in public affairs and a full, abiding realization of the duties responsibilities of true citizenship. No less important, there is tolerance dissent and a willingness to accept the verdict of the majority. For all these qualities literacy is indispensable; where there is illiteracy the conditions for the success of a democratic set-up do not exist. Where there is no discussion, no free exchange of views and expression, there is no real democracy. I have had several discussions with an NDC foot soldier who works with me. He argues the pros of John Dramani Mahama and highlight the cons of Nana Addo Dankwa at the least invitation. On the NPP's change message, he agreed that NPP was doing its best to paint Mahama black in places such as Accra, Tdi and Kumasi, but it didnt bother him much as the NPP messages was not reaching the hinterlands. He bluntly agreed that the NPPs message was clear and directed at the intellectual elites, people who didnt have to look too close before they could tell that Mahama was not towing the path a good president should. But he also reminded me that a good percentage of Ghanas 15.8million voters do not belong to these set of intellectual elites that the NPP message will get to. And according to him, these people did not give half a shit about whether the NDC government was blowing off millions of state-money on schemes like SADA, Mahama receiving bribery in the form of a Ford Expeditions et al. And it made sense. What the hinterlands think I had traveled to some remote areas in Ghana and it seemed the anti-John Mahama rhetoric was non-existent or in some cases ineffective. But this didnt bother me. The voting patterns in Ghana have made me learnt that, the party that the wins G. Accra and Central Regions is the party that wins Ghana. Nana Addo had, earlier this year, charged the NPP leadership and supporters to focus on winning Accra as the way to win the elections, and even though famed pollster, Ben Ephson disagrees, I think Nanas assertion is a clear reflection of the state of Ghana voters. So it is up to you and I. We must shift the balance, we must not sit on the fence, it is that same apathy towards the US election that led to the announcing of Donald Trump as the president-elect. THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court's prosecutor said her investigations into alleged war crimes would not be impacted by the plans of three African countries to withdraw from the court and she would keep going after the perpetrators of atrocities. Fatou Bensouda said her office would press ahead with the preliminary investigation in Burundi and her work had the support of more than 120 other member states. To date, all but one of the court's 10 investigations have been in Africa and its five convicted suspects are from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Mali. The ICC rejects allegations of bias against African nations, arguing many of the cases were brought by African governments themselves and that it has 10 preliminary inquiries or investigations into alleged atrocities in Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, Iraq, the Palestinian Territories and Ukraine. Bensouda, a Gambian former justice minister, said the court began its work in 2002 with overwhelming African support and that African countries had requested the ICC's intervention. "Even if one country decides to withdraw from the ICC, this I believe, for the continent, speaking as an African, is a setback for the continent and this is also a regression for the continent," she said. Russia, which is not a member of the court but signed its founding Rome Statute, said this month it would remove its signature and the Philippines is considering withdrawing its membership. 'DON'T LOOK AWAY' Bensouda countered concerns of a mass departure of member states and said all other states had renewed their commitment to the court, which has a mandate to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The ICC is a court of last resort, only intervening in member countries when national jurisdictions are unable or unwilling to prosecute mass atrocities. Bensouda launched a preliminary investigation in Burundi in April after political violence killed hundreds of people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee abroad. "We will continue to do our work with respect to what we have started in Burundi," she said, saying its obligations under the Rome Statute remained until the one-year notification period ended. If, during that time, prosecutors determine that crimes must be formally investigated, Burundi would be obligated to cooperate with the court, she said. In the Philippines, which joined the court in 2011, the prosecutor warned in October that the extrajudicial killing of thousands of alleged drug users and dealers could constitute crimes that fall under her jurisdiction. The allegations are not the subject of a preliminary investigation, the first legal step toward a prosecution. "It is important as prosecutor of the ICC to raise concerns," she said. "It is also important that I don't look away because this is exactly why this court was established." Shatta Wales seemingly intransigent rant raised three major issues that he thought were the flaws of Obour his team of MUSIGA executives. According to the award-winning musician, Obour cares less about the welfare of aged musicians; he misuses the unions funds, and is a disappointment to the youth. He even went as far as to accuse him of being a gold digger, ultimately calling on him to resign from his post. We all know Shatta Wale to be a brand that thrives on controversy, but do you think there was some substance to his tantrums? Well, MUSIGA is a union just like any other union in the country but the reason behind its ability to attract such interest and attention is because it is the umbrella group that unites all musicians in Ghana - and music is one of the nations biggest businesses. One thing people get wrong all the time is the fact that they dont know the difference between a state owned organisation and private owned organisation. MUSIGA falls under the privately owned organisation category, therefore its activities are exclusive to its members and partners. This means one has to be a member of the union to enjoy its benefits and have full access or be able to interfere in its business. Even though the union has branches across the country, some musicians have failed to join and yet complain about the hardships musicians face in the country. They have no idea how the union runs its affairs, they dont attend meetings or even contribute to the development of the organisation, and yet, they keep bashing its president and executives. In my assessment as a journalist working within the industry, I think MUSIGA under Obour has been good if not better than that of his predecessors. His strategic policies and long-term plans have brought nothing but progress to the union. His achievements are everywhere but some industry players swear they cannot see. On this note, I would like to highlight some of the achievements of the Obour-led MUSIGA administration. Welfare Fund for Aging Musicians (AMWeF) On Friday August 9, 2013, MUSIGA launched its flagship Welfare Fund for Aging Musicians (AMWeF) to register and organize members of MUSIGA who are 60 years and above, for a common purpose with regards to their welfare. One of its aims is to register and establish a database of musicians who have become incapacitated during their musical lives and to register all targeted beneficiaries with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Also, it assists musicians financially or in kind during severe illnesses or death as well as compiles their musical works to market them in order to generate funds for their own benefits. Contribution to Ghana GDP Obour has led efforts to conduct extensive and in-depth research into the music industry's financial strength as well as its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Ghana. MUSIGA partnership with Midland Savings and Loans Midland Savings and Loans has made loans easily accessible to musicians through its partnership with MUSIGA. The Musicians Union of Ghana in collaboration with Midland Savings and Loans have approved hundreds of loans to musicians. Apart from that, they have sponsored the union in many other ways. Since 2014, Midland has been giving car prizes to some category winners of the Ghana Music Awards. Currently, Midland offers GHC 10,000 to winner of MUSIGA Peace Song Contest. Ghana Music Week Ghana Music Week, a forum for Ghanaian musicians to interact with other musicians, present their music and create new works, was launched on Tuesday February 17, 2004. Since Obour took charge of MUSIGA, he has commendably livened and expanded it, so much so that it is now observed in two international countries namely US and UK. Australia, Nigeria and China are the next countries to be added to the roster. MUSIGA Grand Ball The MUSIGA Grand Ball is an annual event founded by Obour. It brings together captains of industry, state officials and other leaders of society on a night of wining and dining with some of the finest musicians in the land. The event also offers huge networking opportunities to participants. Copyright protection Obour played a pivotal role in improving the copyright protection issues of musicians through the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO). MUSIGA Academy. This is the latest initiative by Obour-led administration, launched only last weekend. Organizers of the MUSIGA Academy based at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) have been tasked to develop and enhance the capacities of those in the industry to better engage partners such as business people, legal professionals and entities in the value chain to create economic opportunities that generate financial and allied resources aimed at national development. With all these achievements and more, do you think Shatta Wale and his colleagues have a case against Obour? READ ALSO: Kumasi tanker accident But Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Drivers Union, George Nyaunu said tanker operators would only abide by any maintenance mechanism that government would outline, but not a ban. If NPA is ready to replace our old cars with new ones, we will appreciate that. If they are only ready to negotiate with a bank or a company that will give us new trucks, so when they call you and ask, Mr. Mensah how many trucks do you have and I say three old trucks and they say come we have new ones to replace them for you, we will clap for them. But if they cant do that, then they should allow us to use the old ones with good maintenance and works, he told Accra-based Citi FM. According to the Jordan Times this decision was made after about thirty Ghanaian domestic helpers from Ghana tested HIV positive. The spokesperson of the Jordananian Ministry of Health Hatem Azrui, said they had to preserve the health of their citizens first. He also added that the test was done in the first seven months of 2016. READ ALSO: Catholic Church to deploy 2000 observers on Election Day Those were tested in Ghana before coming to Jordan. They brought health certificates with them proving that they are free from HIV and other diseases, but we conducted our own tests to make sure. We are in the process of looking into accrediting some certified labs in Ghana to conduct the required tests for domestic helpers wishing to come to Jordan, he added. READ ALSO: Ghana to launch Justice for children Policy today He said due to the current situation they will continue to screen all domestic helpers who have been brought to Jordan to work. A report by Sisterhood is global suggests that the largest number of domestic helpers in Jordan are from the Philippines (15,636), followed by Sri Lankana (3,742) and then Indonesia (1,233). According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the 1-District-1-Factory will ensure that each district in the North will be its own growth pole and area of wealth creation, so that in every area there is an activity ongoing which will engage them and improve their living circumstances. The NPP flagbearer made this known on Tuesday, November 22, 2016, when he addressed a mammoth rally of tens and tens of thousands of people at the NPPs Northern Regional Rally, at the Tamale Jubilee Park. Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that the NPPs policy for the Northern Region will be hinged on improving agriculture in the Northern Region, with agro-industrial business being the predominant business in the region, which will create thousands of jobs for the young people of the region. This, he added, will mean that it is no longer going to be necessary for young men and women of the North to go down the South to look for non-existent jobs. We are going to help create jobs right here for the people so that they can stay right here in the North and make their life here. That is why we are going to implement the 1-District-1-Factory policy. Outlining some of the other policies for the development of the region, Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment towards the establishment of the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP), which will see every constituency receiving the equivalent of $1 million every year to deal with problems of sanitation, roads, electricity and other infrastructural needs of the constituency. The NHIS, which he said has collapsed under the leadership of President Mahama, will receive new life and strength under an Akufo-Addo government, so we can provide healthcare that is affordable and accessible for all Ghanaians. In this regard, Nana Akufo-Addo pledged to restore the nursing training allowances in full when he wins the December 7 elections. The Free SHS policy, he added, will be effectively implemented because we are determined to secure the future of our country. This policy, in addition, will reduce the financial burden of parents who want to provide their children with a good education. Apart from education of the children, we are going to revive, in full, adult education so that adults who did not have the opportunity to go to school will also benefit from knowledge and education. We want to have a nation where everybody can improve on their lives and circumstances. That is what we are fighting for, and that is why we are going to restore the allowances for teacher trainees, he added. Nana Akufo-Addo assured the tens of thousands gathered that the NPP has the men and women with the capacity, imagination and competence to bring into fruition all the plans he has espoused for the region. He was speaking when he held a meeting with members of the clergy in Accra. Some of the churches present at the meeting include the Council of Independent Churches (CIC), Aglow International, Full Gospel Men's Fellowship, the SDA, National Catholic Secretariat , Anglican Diocese among others. Debrah said there are many issues that must be addressed instead of insulting opponents when people mount the campaign platform. The NDC would invest its energies on how the good people of Ghana would have money in their pockets, roof over their heads and how to get three square meals a day, and not on irrelevant arguments and insults." He indicated that politics is the exchange of ideas and not fighting, thus the need to express our views in the spirit of peace and understanding and not be hostile towards one another. Debrah is on a five-day campaign tour in the Greater Accra region to share the NDCs plans for the next four years with electorates in the region. This follows similar tour by Julius Debrah and his team to the Upper West, Brong Ahafo, Volta, Eastern and the Ashanti regions. According to Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John, a former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), government is financing its campaign with funds generated through several dubious contracts awarded via sole sourcing to NDC cronies. Addressing the press, Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie accused the NDC of bloating the cost of projects, citing the cost of construction of boreholes by Animax Drilling Company of Ghana at GH18,000 instead of GH12,000. He added that, "Corruption and thievery have characterized this John Mahama-led government over the yearsat a time nurses and teachers have not been paid, several people do not have jobs to make ends meet, the government has given out $300 million to a bogus company to import materials to be given to National Security to man the elections." "At a time nurses and teachers have not been paid, several people do not have jobs to do to make ends meet, the government has given out $300 million to a bogus company to import materials to be given to National Security to man the elections." Below is his full statement: Ladies and gentlemen, I have decided, in my capacity as a concerned citizen of Wonuo, in Ghana, to hold this press conference because I am worried about the path that President John Dramani Mahama and his friends and family are taking this country on. If we allow it to continue a day beyond January 7, 2017, there will be no future for Ghana. It would probably take us another generation to recover. Just this morning, I saw some research work done by Nana Attobrah and his Danquah Institute that estimates that some GH12 billion worth of contracts secured under sole sourcing since 2010 had their costs inflated by 65%. What this means is that Ghana could have saved as much as GH7.8 billion in public funds, equivalent to $2 billion in todays deflated currency. Before I go on to my other main case on how Mahama is killing Ghana, let me make this important point. My point is this: President Mahama is dangerous to our country. He is killing us softly with a lethal potion of his charm offensive and offensive corruption. Typically, what would cost GH100 to do Mahama would do it for GH400. Let me break it down in another way. What it means is that with the amount of money John Mahama and his NDC has spent, Ghana should have developed at least four times faster. If running a country is all about taxing, borrowing, spending and stealing then every graduate from Nsawam Medium Security is more than qualified to be President. President Mahamas own Finance Minister is worried about how Ghana will find money to honour the GH60 billion in interest payments due for the next three years, starting 2017. What we know is that more than half of the GH112 billion which the country now owes is made up of corrupt deals, pure and simple. If we keep President Mahama in office for another four years I might be forced to leave my farm in Wonuo and seek economic refugee status elsewhere. But, I am too old and love my country too much. Unfortunately, I wont be alone in being forced to consider migrating. The good news is that I have no intention to leave Ghana. So we must all do what we can to make sure Mahama gives us no reason to want to leave and that means kicking him out with our thumb. Tens of thousands of graduates without jobs do not want to leave Ghana to be economic refugees or illegal immigrants anywhere. But, if things continue like this dumsor would return; public sector workers would be sacked; hospitals would have no medicines; nurses and teachers would not be paid; our roads would get worse. What would even be worse is that I do not think Ghana would be able to control the anger of the hungry youth who see no hope in their future. We need to urgently give them hope. The truth is that Mahama is a threat to the peace and security of our nation. He is threat not only because he is a tribalist, but more so because he kills hope. Corruption kills and if corruption kills then the man whose greedy hands are constantly on the trigger of corruption must be stopped to stop corruption killing Ghana. Without Mahama, Ghana can do four times better. With Mahama Ghana is spending four times more than what is needed to develop. Another four years of Mahama would make us four times poorer. If his government can be this corrupt, reckless, uncaring and incompetent when he knew he would be facing re-election in 2016, then just imagine what he would be if given a final term where he would not have to worry about re-election. I fear for Ghana. I fear for Wonuo. The issue of sole-sourcing where contract figures are often over-bloated has been topical, particularly under the current NDC administration. Under normal circumstances, government contracts, per the procurement law, are supposed to be taken through open tender process and subjected to value for money audit before execution. But under the current Mahama government, this laid-down procedure has always been shoved aside and contracts awarded without recourse to due diligence. These contracts often go to friends and family members who often do not even have the requisite know-how to carry through with the job. This has resulted in instances where contracts have been awarded and abandoned, midway, and because these awardees happen to be friends and family members of His Royal Highness Dramani, no efforts are made to hold them to account. Ladies and gentlemen of the press. I want you to just focus on one such contract by a public institution that is meant to regulate and give consumers protection and you will see the culture of impunity that has overwhelmed Ghana under Mahama. Now, construction of a borehole, as a matter of fact, should not qualify as an emergency to be offered on a sole-sourcing basis. Again, the price-tag for a mechanized bore-hole, according to players in the industry, should not be more than GH18,000, irrespective of the area or location. To drill a mechanized borehole ranges between GH12,000 and GH18,000 anywhere in Ghana on the open market. As matter of fact, a company like Animax Drilling Company of Ghana, quotes a mechanized bore-hole within the Greater Accra Region at Ghc14,000, and a maximum of GH18,000 is quoted for same in any part of the country, irrespective of area, location and soil make-up. It is in the light of this that a Public Utility Regulatory Commission letter dated 6th October,2016, requesting for a single-sourced procurement approval for PURCS pro-poor water project shows the danger that our cash is in under Mahama. In the said letter, it is stated the commission is seeking approval to single-source contractors to construct bore-holes in selected deprived communities. The letter continues, the commission seeks to proceed with phase II of the pro-poor water project which shall cover all ten [10] regions of the country and consist a total of five hundred [500] bore-holes to be drilled and mechanized. The letter continues the total cost of the project for the 500 bore-holes is GH30m. And, no matter where the borehole is being dug, the rate per unit is quoted at GH60,000. This, ladies and gentlemen, is four times, the market rate. Going by the maximum Animax quotation of GH18,000 per borehole in the remotest part of the country, the 500 bore-holes would have amounted to GH9m and not GH30m. So, in all, the contract offered on sole-sourcing by PURC, has been bloated by at least GH21m. We beg you as we meet with you today [Wednesday], we are not hiding the fact that we are asking you to talk to your congregations to vote to for our president and our parliamentary candidates, Prof Ahwoi said at a meeting with the clergy in Accra on Wednesday. The choice is very clear; it is between peace and violence. It is a choice between unity and division. It is a choice between nationhood and ethnicity. We beg you, listen to our message. Convey our message to your congregation. We have rebranded ourselves. We have especially through Professor Mills, succeeded by President Mahama, completely turned the NDC around the times have changed so the NDC has changed with it. The times have changed; our governance pattern has changed with the times, Prof Ahwoi said. On his part, Julius Debrah, the Chief of Staff urged members of the NDC to desist from activities that will lead to trouble, hooliganism and things like that. He was responding to questions at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)'s Town Hall Presidential Debate held in Accra on Tuesday. He said his government will give benefits to unemployed people because they pose a threat to the nation. What we are saying is that we will come out with unemployment benefits because with this high level of unemployed graduates in the country it is a national threat. Before we give you unemployment benefits, it will go for those above 25 years, we have to re-orient you into a particular kind of profession. And sometimes if you go to the university and learn Spanish, there are no Spanish jobs in Ghana. And so we can re-orient you within the agric sector. Even you can go and rear grasscutter which can fetch you money. By so doing, it will help you to improve yourself whiles you try to educate yourself, he added. Ghana is currently facing a challenge of youth employment to the extent that an association has been formed by unemployed graduates in the country. In addressing the situation JOY mentioned that if he wins the elections his party will reorient the unemployed youth to venture into other businesses. The IEA debate was organised so the presidential candidates share their vision for the country on various sectors. Even though the expectation was that all seven presidential aspirants would take part only three actually showed up for the event. The chief was speaking when the Vice President Kwesi Amissah Arthur called on him during his tour to the Central region. Neenyi Aworshie Tetteh Odupong explained that he was making the request because he felt the interchange will be the best legacy to leave his subjects after over 50 years of his reign. He said the Circle interchange in Accra and therefore can be claimed by the Gas and their chiefs; hence the appeal for the Kasoa interchange to be named after him since it is in his jurisdiction. The Vice President promised the chief that he will convey his appeal to the appropriate stakeholders for consideration. He also encouraged them to vote for the NDC to continue developing Kasoa and Ghana in general. Nana Akufo-Addo, however, condemned the politics of tribalism and ethnicity being waged continuously by President John Mahama in his campaign in the North, with some days to the conduct of the December 7 elections. President Mahama while campaigning at Lawra in the Upper West Region, said the NPP will not allow Dr. Bawumia to be their flagbearer because the party is largely not in support of northerners taking up such positions. Sometimes I feel sad when I see some of our northern brothers running and also doing this. They will use you and dump you. Let anything happen today and let our brother Bawumia say he is standing for president in NPP. They will never give it to him I can assure you, he added. I fought Acheampongs Union Government. Acheampong was an Ashanti, but it didnt make any difference to me. I thought the Union Government was a bad idea and I opposed it. I opposed PNDC under Rawlings, who is Ewe, because I thought military government is not good for Ghana. I am tribal blind, I am colour blind. It is Ghana which is my interest, he added. See also: He assured the gathering that the new Ghana under his leadership will be one of a united Ghana, where all the people of Ghana will be together as one indissoluble link. We dont want a situation where tribe is set tribe, North is set against South. That is the politics of yesterday. That is the politics of reaction. We are moving forward into a new destiny, a destiny which has a united Ghana being able to afford a good standard of living for all Ghanaians. We are going to build a new civilization, a new Ghanaian civilization which is going to be the light of Africa and the wonder of the world. The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the PURC Nana Yaa Gyantuah said in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM that they had the permission of of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to sole source the projects. I am saying that the PPA has approved it, she added. She said the cost involved was because the project entailed a lot more processes for it to be done well. You have to do geophysical studies, chemical analysis of the water, that is in the ground because it is going to a whole community, she added. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of stealing from the state resources to fund its campaign. According to a former General Secretary of the NPP, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John, government is financing its campaign with funds generated through several dubious contracts awarded via sole sourcing to NDC cronies. Addressing the press, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie accused the NDC of bloating the cost of construction of boreholes by Animax Drilling Company of Ghana at GH18,000 instead of GH12,000. READ ALSO: Here is why unemployed graduates must vote for JOY But Nana Yaa Gyantuah explained that the integrated water systems have more components than the mechanized boreholes thus the price. What they are talking about is the normal mechanized borehole without lines. If there is anyone out there who thinks that an integrated water system will cost less [GHc18,000] we dont have a problem the people should come. According to the Office of the Secretary-Generals Envoy on Youth (OSGEY) the Not Too Young To Run campaign will be run as an open source global campaign, designed to draw attention to the widespread age discrimination in running for public office. It will provide a platform with resources and content which may be utilized for nationally specific efforts. According to the campaign, 73 percent of countries worldwide have age-barriers to those who can run for elected office although they can vote for those same offices. Fifty-one percent of the worlds population is under 30 but only two percent of parliamentarians worldwide are under 30. Ecuador, Finland, Norway and Sweden are the only countries that have more than 10 percent of their MPs under 30. "If you're not too young to get married, to serve in the army, to vote, then you're not too young to run, says Zeina Hilal of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The campaign, started in Nigeria by Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement, is calling for the removal of age barriers steeped in the constitution. The campaigners want the age limit of the president reduced to 30 and the House of Representatives, down to 25 years. In Ghana, while the age limit to become a Member of Parliament is 21, the presidency is etched at 40. Those who decide to run for office face numerous challenges. When 22 year old Francisca Oteng-Mensah was elected the NPPs parliamentary candidate for Kwabre East Constituency, she was described by the head of Department of Political Science at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr Richard Amoako Baah as too young and inexperienced for the task. Despite the numerous advantages to having younger leaders, including policies which reflect contemporary thinking and aspiration, there are significant barriers even if age limits are lowered. In earlier reports, eyewitnesses said Egbegbe went to a certain Keelcech Innovations Store, took some iPhone 7 and iPhone 6 plus mobile phones, told the sales girl he was coming, and then crossed to enter his car. Following this, the producer was beaten by a mob and taken to the police station. Egbegbe released a statement denying this, his publicist also denied the allegations. According to her, "Seun Egbegbe was at Keelcech shop, located at no 9, medical road, ikeja, to purchase some phones. After making his order from the shop sales rep & walking towards his car to pay up the balance of the phones, the sales rep claimed he's bolting away with the phones which was never true. Before Seun Egbegbe could say a word to the angry mob around, he was attacked and lynched with no explanation." ALSO READ: Seun Egbegbe speaks on alleged theft In a state of confusion, Pulse paid a visit to the hubbub of Lagos where Seun Egbegbe was portrayed by merchants as a notorious thief who uses charms on people before stealing. Eye witnesses say Egbegbe has been doing that in computer village for a long time now. A store keeper revealed Egbegbe pretended to be ready for payment at 10:00am that said day after the phones were delivered to him only for him to go into the waiting jeep before the sales girl screamed for help. The noise attracted shopkeepers who gave Egbegbe a hot chase and eventually caught up with him before he could find his way out of computer village. He was beaten by the angry mob before the police whisked him away. ALSO READ: Seun Egbegbe denies prostrating for actress An eye witness said, "Just last week Friday, November 18, 2016, Egbegbe walked into a shop and stole 2million naira worth of goods. He was successful." How he was able to walk away with all that is, however, unclear. Traders at Ikeja revealed to Pulse Egbegbe targets new phone shops in the area in the early hours of the morning before other shop owners begin to open. ALSO READ: Movie producer threatens Toyin Aimakhu again According to them, he uses charms to conceal the evil acts and even asks for receipt of purchase in every robbery. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! ALSO READ: Comedian to run for presidency in 2019 According to Seyi Law, himself and his friend were attacked after his car broke down at Apongbon and his friend was stabbed multiple time by the hoodlums in their bid to extort them of their valuables. He shared a photo of hands bloodied from injuries sustained during the attack, assumed to be those of his friends. On the post, he wrote, God is indeed God of all. "Let me just thank God for seeing me through all the challenges of the past month. Friends have not been able to get through to me due to the tedious schedules and happenings. "Finally, today I thought I was going home and having tomorrow all to myself to rest and catch up with friends only to have my car break down at Apongbon and some hoodlums attacked stabbing my friend in multiple places just because they wanted phones and money. "What would have become of me today? I am so grateful to God Almighty. They escaped before Police arrived, but I asked myself if people had come to our rescue and descended on the hoodlums wouldnt people say SEYILAW was involved in jungle justice? Hmmmmm. Ka sa ma dupe. "Thanks to the ever active Lagos Police PRO, SP Dolapo Badmos, @opetodolapo and all those that responded to my calls. God bless you. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! The event which held at the second floor of the Mansard Place, VI, Lagos on Tuesday, November 22, 2016 kicked off with a welcome address by Segun Obagbemi, Head, Communications/Public Affairs at GE West Africa. Jay Ireland, CEO and President of GE Africa gave the opening remarks while Mr Abdul Ahmed Mustapha, Permanent Secretary at the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment gave his address afterwards. Mustapha said the Lagos State government is working with schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US to help develop an educational curriculum for Lagos State for the advancement of entrepreneurship. Co-located with the GE Lagos offices in Victoria Island, the Lagos Garage will offer a year-round series of skills training programs focused on building the next generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs. Participants will be trained to use the latest in advanced manufacturing technologies; 3D printers, CNC mills, and laser cutters in the first-ever fabrication lab in Nigeria. ALSO READ: GE relaunches skills training program for entrepreneurs in Lagos They will also learn how to apply the core principles of design thinking, product development, finance, marketing, sales, and customer acquisition in real-time to their ventures. Innovation and technology are fundamental for Africa to better compete in a global frame work said President & CEO, GE Nigeria, Dr. Lazarus Angbazo. Innovation needs to be tailored to the specificities of local needs. GE is pleased to encourage innovation in Nigeria and support SME development through skills-building initiatives such as these. GE is proud to launch the Lagos Garage, a hub that is dedicated to accelerating the impact of some of Nigerias most promising entrepreneurs. We have set up a learning environment that is different from the traditional. We are combining both the classroom and the real-world providing hands-on training in advanced manufacturing said Patricia Obozuwa, Director of Communications & Public Affairs for GE Africa. The information was contained in a statement issued by the Force spokesman, Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Don Awunah, where he said that the suspects have undergone internal disciplinary measures and punished according to the gravity of their offences, Punch reports. ALSO READ: Police arrest former FRSC officer for murder of ex colleague The suspects have been identified as: ASP Yuguda Abba, Sgt. Habila Sarki, Diphen Nimmyel, Sgt.Yasan Danda, Sgt. Abbas Mailalle, Sgt. Bwanason Tanko, Sgt. Donan James, CPL. Idris Salisu and CPL. Zakari Kofi. Awunah said that the arrest, interrogation and subsequent confession of the suspects has also led to the arrest of 19 other suspects as well as the recovery of arms and ammunition. According to a report by pmexpress, the incident occurred at their residence on Olu Abiodun street, Ijegun, Lagos. It was reported that the two women used to be very close and knew each other's secrets until their relationship collapsed. The two began having troubles after Zainabs husband, Azeez, was informed that his wife has two children for two different men outside wedlock. Zainab was said to have gotten angry after her husband confronted her with the allegation and evidence. Zainab reportedly suspected her ex-friend and neighbour, the 30-year-old Adedoyin as the informant. The two were said to have engaged in a fight that left Adedoyin stabbed in the face by the angered Zainab. The matter was reported at Isheri Oshun division and Zainab was arrested. Zainab has been arraigned before a Magistrates court sitting in Ejigbo for breach of peace, assault occasioning harm. She pleaded guilty and begged for leniency. The presiding Magistrate, A. A. Fashola, ordered her to be remanded in prison custody. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP, Fatai Owoseni, made the disclosure on Monday, November 22, telling newsmen that the arrests were made following reports from residents of Sixth Avenue in FESTAC Town, Daily Post reports. Owoseni said that the use of the weapons would have been disastrous. While displaying the weapons before newsmen, he said, After the discovery, the police arrested Warrant Officer (WO) Longinus Madu, who is attached to 353 Field Artillery and another over the incident. Based on credible information, police operatives including operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS stormed Sixth Avenue in Festac and recovered two AK47 rifles, 24 AK47 rifle magazines and a Brownie pistol magazine. An alarming number of 951 7.62mm live ammunition, 110 7.65mm live ammunition, a mask, vehicle number-plates and charms were also recovered. The command is working hard to trace how the arms and ammunition got to the area and to ensure that whoever is connected with that discovery is brought to justice. This is a classic example of police-community partnership. The police in that community have gained the confidence of the public that was why they offered information that led to the recovery. The destruction the weapons would have done if the criminals succeeded in their aim would have been disastrous, the CP stated. "My name is Rita, a 32-year-old married woman with two kids. I have been married for eight years now but I am presently done with this marriage. Though my family and friends have advised that I give my husband, , another chance so that I do not become a single mother, I have decided to move on because of what he did. You would not believe that I caught Sunny having sex with my own younger sister, , on our matrimonial bed. If that is not enough to leave him, I don't what is. I knew that Sunny had severally cheated on me with different women but since I had never caught him at it, I just played the fool and behaved as if I did not know, after all, what the eyes does not see, the heart should not grieve about. But never in my wildest dream would I have expected that he would do it with my own sister and the pain is so much that if I continue to live with him, I may end up killing him. It happened that I travelled to Abuja on official assignment and had to call Daphne to come and stay in the house to take care of my children. That was not the first time I had invited her over anytime I travelled but little did I know that I was inviting trouble into my home. Daphne, at 26, had always been the black sheep of the family with no meaningful relationship at her age but how would I have known that she would extend her body to my husband. I was supposed to come back to Lagos on a Saturday but on Thursday, my boss called that I should come back to the office as there was an emergency that needed my attention urgently. I had to quickly call the airline and rescheduled my flight back and flew into Lagos earlier than expected. I had some things I had bought for my kids and husband as well as Daphne, so I had to go home to drop them before going to the office. I saw no point in calling Sunny as I felt he would be in the office at that time, so I took an airport taxi home. The first sign of trouble was when I saw Sunny's car in the compound but I thought he had decided to go with their staff bus, something he did once in a while. When I opened the door and saw the whole place scattered, I made a mental note to let Daphne know she should have cleaned up the place. I dragged my bags to the bedroom with the intention of just dumping them and dashing back to the office with the taxi that brought me. But as I was making my way to the bedroom, I heard some sounds that froze me to a spot. They were the unmistakable sounds of a couple making love. In that moment, it flashed into my head that Sunny had brought a woman home to have sex. Without thinking twice, I barged into the unlocked bedroom and lo and behold, there were my husband and my own sister on our bed, having sex. My screams must have brought them back to earth as I faintly saw them rush for their clothes. I passed out and only became conscious in the hospital. It has been three weeks since I witnessed the abomination and I am currently staying with a friend while contemplating what to do. Sunny and my family members have been begging me but how would I live with the knowledge that my husband and my sister had sex on my matrimonial bed? Rita." The teaser for the day was: How Nigeria voted: That would be the end of the marriage - 37% I would forgive him and continue with my marriage - 15% I would forgive them but my sister would never enter my house again - 48% MyZimbabwe reports that the woman whose husband died of the dreaded disease, was nabbed by residents in the Kenzamba Business Centre, Makonde District of the country and the duo have arraigned in court for engaging in an incestuous relationship. The middle-aged woman from the Madzudzo Village and her son were allegedly caught in the act on November 17, 2016, by a neighbour who noticed some strange behaviour with them as they were often seen sneaking into their house and closing the door behind them. On the day they were caught, it was gathered, they had once again gone into their room and locked the door. But when they would not come out after a long time, the neighbour sneaked to the window to peep in and saw the two of them having sex. The neighbour then informed others who went to the house and busted them. Al-Makura made the appeal when he received the Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, at the Government House, Lafia. He added that water is critical to human sustenance, that is why my administration keyed into water supply projects to improve standard of living of the people of the state. It is in view of this that I am also calling on the Federal Government to declare state of emergency on water supply, considering its importance to societal development. He said that the challenges of water supply, especially at the Mararaba, Karu and Masaka axis bordering the Federal Capital Territory would be addressed through such declaration. He called for collaboration between the Federal Government, FCT Administration and the Nasarawa State Government toward the development of the Uke River into a massive water works like the Usuma dam water scheme in Bwari, FCT. He said such cooperation would go a long way in boosting efforts aimed at tackling the challenges of water supply along the Keffi-Abuja axis. Earlier, the minister had told Al-Makura that he was in the state to inaugurate the Graduate Youths Agricultural Empowerment Scheme aimed at turning young graduates into agriculture entrepreneurs. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, on Wednesday, November 23, said there is no way the government can meet the unions demand for earned allowance running into N284 billion in a recession. Ngige stated this after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The minister said the government has conceded to the union the right to exclude endowment funds that accrued to universities from the Treasury Single Account. ALSO READ: Ngige urges unemployed Nigerians to register for Social Intervention Scheme But he said this does not mean that university councils will not have right to audit such an account. Ngige said: "The other aspect of it is the earned allowance. The earned allowance is the only one that is not sorted out now because everybody knows and agrees that we are in recession. "If we are in a recession and you are asking us to pay you N284bn, nobody will pay it because the money is not there." Fashola said the companies are not being truthful about the outstanding debts allegedly owed them by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA). In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, November 22, by Mr Hakeem Bello, the Special Adviser, Communications to the minister, he warned DISCOs to desist from the act. Fashola was reacting to the advertorial placed by the Association of Electricity Distributing Companies (AEDC) on the debt owed DisCos by MDAs. Fashola said government will not succumb to blackmail and will only pay verified debts. Fashola also advised the DisCos to pursue the debt issue in their capacities as Discos and not under the aegis of any association. He said that although the constitution guarantees freedom of association, the privatisation that results in the transfer of the distribution assets of power was not held between the Federal Government and any association. ALSO READ: Fashola inaugurates 330KV power switching station in Akwa Ibom According to the minster, the DisCos have so far failed to provide details of such debts for verification. Fashola said: "Let me say without any equivocation that government will not succumb to the blackmail, at least not the Federal Government of Nigeria." He said that government has provided an online platform where it requested all the DisCos to submit details of their debts to that platform for government to verify it. "I think that advert should have told Nigerians how many DisCos have complied with that instruction. That advert should also have told Nigerians how much was owed and to which DisCo. "So while I respect the rights of association, indeed our constitution allows freedom of association. "But the Nigeria government will not pay its debts estimated to be about N100 Billion under the aegis of an association. "That is not how to resolve debts, every DisCo knows how much power it supplied. "Debts are not calculated by estimates. It is either N100 billion or less than N100 billion but not an estimate," the minister said. Sagay said the move by the lawmakers is a psychological attack on the helmsman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He also revealed that the EFCC under the leadership of Magu, has recovered more money in the history of the anti-graft agencys establishment. Sagay said This will not stop the fight against corruption. An acting chairman is a chairman whose position has not been approved by the Senate but he is still the chairman. He has all the powers of the chairman. So, they can delay it but all it amounts to is a psychological war. As an acting chairman if you are worried, it can affect you psychologically but this will have no effect on the anti-corruption war because it doesnt stop his power. He said the EFCC under the current administration, has secured 145 convictions, adding that the delay in Magus confirmation will not slow down the good work the agency is doing. Sagay also added that It will not improve their situation if they dont confirm him. In this country there are very few statesmen. What we have are people that are seeking their personal welfare; people who do not have the interest of the country at heart but are just there to get what they can get for themselves. This is nothing but pettiness. Let them continue to act as they want but Nigerians should be observant and should note the names of those trying to frustrate the anti-corruption war and ensure that they are not re-elected. You will recall that the Presidency earlier sent a letter to the Senate requesting that Magu be confirmed as the EFCC Chairman on June 17, 2016. Senators on Tuesday, November 22, 2106, frowned at the practice and called on the Minister of Justice, state Attorney Generals and the Police to arrest and prosecute those involved. According to Vanguard, the lawmakers also asked the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to ensure the speedy passage of the anti-jungle justice bill. The Senate also called on the Nigerian police to stand up to its responsibilities and protect Nigerians. Speaking on the on the issue, Senator Shehu Sani said Nigerians have resorted to jungle justice because they do not trust the police. According to the Senator who passed the motion, Gbenga Ashafa,The Senate is distressed by the rising cases of jungle justice by mobs that have arrogated to themselves the power to condemn others to death and execute judgement without recourse to the law courts in different parts of Nigeria. The Senate is worried about this trend, especially the case of a young man recently lynched in Orile area of Lagos State for stealing. Horrified that these rising barbaric acts are in most cases, perpetrated with a crowd of people watching unperturbed is most disheartening as each act dehumanizes us as a race. Furious that this is happening and continues to become more alarming everyday in these considerable hard conditions our people are passing through. Disgusted that this is not the first time in the country that mobs have engaged in jungle justice. Some of the instances of jungle justice are still fresh in our memories. We can never forget when four young boys, Ugonna Obuzor, Toku Lloyd, Chiadika Biringa, and Tekena Elkanah, all students of the University of Port Harcourt were lynched in 2012 after they were falsely accused of being thieves at Aluu, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Also speaking on the issue, Senator Ali Ndume said The case of a 7- year-old at Orile, Lagos, has gone viral and that is why myself and the mover of the motion said we should ask the police to confirm or deny because sometimes social media messages can be faulty. We have had several times leaders being stripped naked in the public by mob. We really need to standup to this and condemn it and, in fact, move further to do something, otherwise we are going to have a society where everybody that is strong enough or have the number can take the law into their hands. This case is very serious and this Senate is not for standing up occasions like this and I urge my colleagues to support this very simple, straight forward motion. We must look at doing something about the disorderliness and the mob action that is so recurrent in our society these days. He made this known during a public event organised by an Igbo cultural society known as Otu suwakwa Igbo headed by former Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Prof. Pita Ejioforon. The governor said this is my contribution toward preventing the Igbo language from going into extinction. Obiano expressed dismay at the failure of parents to teach their children the Igbo language and culture. He added that henceforth, pupils in the state would wear Igbo traditional attire to school every Wednesday. According to him, folklore will be taught to primary school children every Wednesday evening. The governor said that the Igbo folklore he learnt while growing up had helped in shaping his behaviour and guided his relationship with other people till date. He said Igbo folklore is powerful in building morals and values. I cant forget my late primary school teacher and the way he used Igbo folklore to teach us great lessons. Even as a governor, those stories about the tortoise and other animals still guide my life. He assured the Igbo cultural society that the state government would strengthen the law that would make it mandatory for all to communicate in Igbo language and wear traditional attire on Wednesdays. Former National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, described language and religion as the true identities of a people. He said we should not allow Igbo language to die as predicted. For me, I have Igbo odour and I smell Igbo; my red cap is my joy as an Igbo man. ALSO READ:Peter Obi in war of words with Governor Obiano According to Punch, an eyewitness revealed that the issue started when policemen attached to the Ogbere Onilanta police station, stopped the hunters. The eyewitness also said The hunters were going for a meeting when they were stopped by the policemen for reckless driving. One of them came down and assaulted a policeman, which resulted in an argument. Suddenly, there were shootings and after a while, one of the hunters fell and was arrested while others fled the scene, leaving behind one of the cars they came with. Speaking on the incident, the spokesman of the Oyo police command, Adekunle Ajisebutu said those who attacked the policemen were suspected armed robbers. Ajisebutu said Some suspected armed robbers, later identified as Agbekoya militants, in three vehicles, attacked policemen on stop-and-search mission at Ogbere and attempted to snatch a rifle from the police. The armed bandits were repelled. The hoodlums fled only to regroup and launched a deadly attack on the Ogbere Police Station, advancing to the armoury, while shooting their way in. The police again repelled their attack and in the process, one of the hoodlums was fatally injured. Meanwhile, the National Publicity Secretary of the Agbekoya Farmers Association, Chief Olatunji Bamidele, said those who attacked the policemen are not its members. He also said These are fake people who are not registered as our members. We have been fighting this trend for a long time and we have reported the existence of such groups like Agbekoya Solidarity Movement and Reformed Agbekoya Group to the police. They claim to be sympathisers of the late Agbekoya leader, Tafa Adeoye, but they are fraudsters. They use the platform to cause mayhem. The real group is Agbekoya Farmers Association of Nigeria, which is duly registered. The NSCDC agents were killed while guarding a facility belonging to the Nigerian subsidiary of Italian group, Eni in Port Harcourt, the state capital. The (security) operatives had engaged the gunmen in a fierce gun battle on realising that the intruders were not military men, Rivers NSCDC spokesman, Michael Oguntuase told AFP. The incident was also confirmed by a community leader in the area. Dressed in camouflage, they came in a speed boat at about 6:40pm on Monday, exchanged gunfire with the operatives, leading to the death of four, he said. ALSO READ: Niger Delta militants divided over talks with FG The attack is yet to be confirmed by security authorities or claimed by any militant group. Obasanjo stated this on Wednesday, November 23 while speaking at the first Akintola Williams Annual Lecture in Lagos. He said it is uncharitable for Buharis administration needs to evolve policies that will take Nigeria out of the current economic recession. He said: "The blanket adverse comments or castigation of all democratic administrations from 1999 by the present administration is uncharitable, fussy and uninstructive. "Politics apart, I strongly believe that there is a distinction between the three previous administrations that it would be unfair to lump them all together. I understand President Buharis frustration on the state of the economy inherited by him. It was the same reason and situation that brought about the cry for change, otherwise, there would be no need for change if it was all nice and rosy. "No administration can or should be comfortable with the excruciating pain of debilitating and crushing economy. Businesses are closing, jobs are being lost and people are suffering. "I know that President Buhari has always expressed concern for the plight of the common people but that concern must be translated to workable and result-oriented socio-economic policy and programme that will turn the economy around at the shortest time possible. "We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect things to change." The former president also criticised Buhari's plans to take about $30 billion loan. He said: "I am sure that such a comprehensive policy and programme (that will move Nigeria forward) will not support borrowing US$30 billion in less than three years. It will give us the short-, medium- and long-term picture. "Adhocry is not the answer but cold, hard headed planning that evinces confidence and trust is the answer. Economy neither obeys orders nor does it work according to wishes. It must be worked upon with all factors considered and most stakeholders involved. "The investors, domestic and foreign, are no fools and they know what is going on with the management of the economy including the foreign exchange and they are not amused. The Central Bank must be restored to its independence and integrity. We must be careful and watchful of the danger of shortermism. "Short-term may be the enemy of medium- and long-term. We must also make allowance for the lessons that most of us in democratic dispensation have learned and which the present administration seems to be just learning." Justice Ibrahim Saulaawa, who led two other Justices in a unanimous decision held that the Federal High Court erred in its Oct.14 ruling. Justice Okon Abang had in that ruling substituted Jegedes name with Jimoh Ibrahim as the governorship candidate of the party. Saulaawa said the law forbade the trial court or any other court from denying interested parties fair hearing. He also held that the court equally erred when it ordered INEC to remove the name of the appellant from its nomination register. The Judge said Ibrahim who benefited from that 'strange order' was never a party in the suit. "Justice Okon Abang should know that the Constitution and the Electoral Act empower only the national leadership of political parties to nominate political candidates. The trial judge on his own, without allowing parties to present their arguments went ahead to deliver that ruling. There is no gainsaying that the extant appeal is meritorious and therefore allowed, he said The judge said: "Consequently, the Oct. 14 judgment ruling of the trial court is hereby set aside and the appellant. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the appellate court on Nov.10 granted Jegede leave to appeal the decision of the Federal High Court Abuja. On which group is the authentic leader of the party, Justice George Mbaba described the process that led to the June 29 judgment as a 'fraud'. Mbaba said the trial court breached Section 36(1) of the Constitution by denying the Ahmed Makarfi Caretaker committee right of fair hearing. The judge therefore held that the judgment of the lower court delivered on June 29 remained void and a nullity. NAN reports that judgment had affirmed the Sheriff-faction of the PDP as the authentic leadership of the party. With this development, all actions taken by the Sheriff-faction, including the selection of Jimoh Ibrahim as candidate of the party remain illegal and with no effect, he said. In his earlier submission, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), counsel to Jegede and the Ahmed Makarfi-faction had prayed the court to set aside the ruling of the lower court, adding that it was given in bad light. Olanipekun had also said the court should order the reinstatement of his client as the authentic candidate of the party to contest the election. According to him, Jegede is the candidate that emerged from the partys primary conducted in Akure. He had argued further that Ibrahims name was submitted and immediately recognised by INEC following the ruling of the lower court. "My Lords I want the court to take judicial notice of the fact that my client was affected by a decision of trial court even though he was not enlisted as a party. All our attempts for him to be joined as an interested party failed at that level, leaving us with no option but to approach this court, he said. Also, Olanipekun had urged the court to reinstate the Makarfi-led Caretaker committee as the authentic leadership of the party. He said the lower court erred in law when it held that Sheriff, the former Acting National Chairman of the party remained the authentic leader. According to him, Sheriff should not have claimed such position following the decision of the National Working Committee (NEC) of the party to set the caretaker committee. Olanipekun submitted that Sheriffs tenure as the leader of the party had expired, adding that he could not have had the right to conduct the Ondo PDP governorship primary. However, Mr Beloulisa Nwofor (SAN), counsel to Biyi Poroye, Chairman of the Ondo State Chapter of PDP and eight others, told the court that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal. He had announced to the court that the Nov. 10 ruling that gave leave of the court to Jegede to appeal the nomination of Ibrahim was appealed against at the Supreme Court. He submitted that the panel should refrain from further action on the matter, adding that doing the contrary would amount to the violation of the constitution, the rules of the court as well as the oath of judicial office. The Supreme Court on Nov.22 dismissed the interlocutory motion filed by Nwofor on behalf of his clients. Justice Walter Onnoghen, the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria went on to restore the jurisdiction to the Court of Appeal to determine all appeals arising from the PDP leadership dispute. The apex court held that all 12 out of the 14 motions and appeals brought by Sheriff-faction were frivolous as they were not supported by the records of the court of appeal. The apex court further held that it decision to dismiss those appeals was predicated on the fact that all issues raised therein were not proved. NAN reports that Sheriff-faction of the party had asked the apex court to set aside the proceedings of the special panel. It also urged the court to invoke its power to disband the panel following allegation of disregard to hierarchy of court leveled against the three justices. The appeal court had on Oct. 18, suspended its judgment pending the decision of the apex court. Nwofor, later filed an alternative objections on Olanipekuns submissions, adding that the appellants breached the rules guiding filing of appeals. He argued that the appellants ought not to have been allowed to appeal judgment out of time. Nwofor argued that the appellants were interlopers, adding that they were not parties in the matter at the trial court. He said they also approached the court after three months of the delivery of the judgment. Mr Godswill Mrakpo, counsel to Sheriff-faction of the PDP, had aligned with arguments canvassed by Nwofor, as according to him, proceedings by the panel after notice of stay is served should remain null and void. The presiding judge, however, insisted that the extant appeals earlier argued by Olanipekun sufficed. Sheriff, Makarfi, Obi and Jegede were the parties in the matter. The Executive of PDP South West Zone and Ondo State Executive members of the party were also listed as parties. Speaking to newsmen after the courts session, Jegede said the development would help to nurture the countrys fragile democracy. THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER Senate queries Kachikwu over $115b oil, gas deal The Senate yesterday resolved to invite the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, to explain three oil and gas related deals worth $115 billion he signed with China and India on behalf of Nigeria. Recession: Its up to you, CBN tells government The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday admitted that its monetary policy tool has run out of options and that the economy could only get the needed support from effective implementation of fiscal policies. Supreme Court dismisses Sheriffs appeal on Ondo polls The Supreme Court has dismissed applications filed by the Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State. The application sought to stay all proceedings at the Appeal Court concerning the governorship candidate of the party in the state, pending determination by the apex court. THE NATION NEWSPAPER 11 die as police, hunters clash in Ibadan Eleven people reportedly died yesterday in Ogbere Onilanta in Ona- Ara Local Government of Oyo State as policemen and hunters clashed. Ondo: Police deploy 26,000 as AD alleges rigging plot The Police will unleash a massive security cordon around Ondo State from Friday 24 hours to the governorship election and on Election Day. Recession: CBN advises Fed Govt to settle domestic debts After resolving to retain all key monetary policy indices, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged the Federal Government to settle its domestic debts. THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER Frozen $15.5m: Court rejects Patiences application to restrain EFCC A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday rejected an application by the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, seeking to bar the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from tampering with a sum of $15.591 frozen in four Skye Bank accounts. FGs huge debts crippling financial system CBN The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday called on the Federal Government to urgently evaluate the level of its domestic indebtedness and develop a framework for settling these debts. Deliver your judgment on Jegedes case, SCourt orders Acourt The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the Justice Ibrahim Saulawa panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which is handling the various cases relating to the dispute over the Peoples Democratic Partys governorship ticket in the forthcoming election in Ondo State, the nod to continue with its proceedings. THIS DAY NEWSPAPER Again, Emefiele Urges FG to Pay Contractor Debts to Stimulate Economy For the umpteenth time, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday prevailed on the federal government to quickly assess the extent of its indebtedness to local contractors and develop a framework for securitising the debts in order to settle its outstanding domestic contractual obligations across the economy. Saraki: I Made 95% of My Wealth Before Politics Senate President Bukola Saraki has told the BBC Hausa service that he acquired 95 per cent of his wealth before he entered politics. Ondo PDP Candidacy: SCourt Orders Appeal Court to Determine All Appeals Lawyers for the claimants are demanding action from Shell to clean up oil spills that have devastated their Niger Delta communities for decades. But Royal Dutch Shell lawyer Peter Goldsmith told High Court of England and Wales judge Peter Fraser that the cases concerned "fundamentally Nigerian issues", and shouldn't be heard in London. "The claims raise issues of Nigerian common law, customary law and legislation," he said during the first day of the three-day hearing. "The events are said to have occurred in Nigeria and the alleged physical damage is all said to be found in Nigeria." Goldsmith said the case was aimed at "procuring an 'anchor defendant'" to establish the High Court's jurisdiction over SPDC, opening the door for further claims. Daniel Leader from legal firm Leigh Day, which is representing the claimants, said oil spills from Shell's pipelines had "blighted the lives of the thousands of Nigerians who live in Ogale and Bille" communities. "It is clear to the claimants that Royal Dutch Shell is ultimately responsible for failing to ensure that its Nigerian subsidiary operates without causing environmental devastation," he said in a statement. "At the moment these communities have no choice -- they have to take them to court to get them to act." King Emere Godwin Bebe Okpabi of the Ogale community told AFP his community had no option but to seek a ruling in London. "Shell is Nigeria and Nigeria is Shell," he said. "You can never, never defeat Shell in a Nigerian court. The truth is that the Nigerian legal system is corrupt." Punch correspondent, Umar Muhammed and Rabiu Omaku, a reporter with the Universal Reporters, an online platform, were asked on Tuesday, November 23, 2016 to stop reporting activities of the Nasarawa state government. Reports say Governor Al-makura was not comfortable with the way the two journalists reported the alleged killing of some labour leaders by policemen during a protest in the state. According to Punch, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Ahmed Tukur, had earlier exchanged words with Muhammed. The recent ban on the two journalists, allegedly brings to five, the number of reporters who have been black-listed by the Nasarawa state government. The Chairman of the Correspondents Chapel in the state, Mr. Suleiman Abubakar, announced to journalists that Muhammed and Omaku have been banned by the Nasarawa state government, reports say. Abubakar said The Special Adviser to Governor Al-Makura has stated that the two of you (Muhammed and Omaku) have been banned for life from covering government house and government activities in the state. He said he was acting on the directive of his boss, Umaru Al-Makura. The organization also said that it is working with the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to increase food and nutrition services to 1.8 million people in Borno and Yobe States. In Nigeria, our colleagues from the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF are rolling out a rapid response mechanism to deliver food, health and nutrition services in difficult-to-reach areas in Borno and Yobe States, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, said at a press briefing in New York on Tuesday, November 22. The two states are worst affected by hunger and malnutrition in northeastern Nigeria. This is part of WFPs larger response plan to gradually scale up to reach 1.8 million people with urgent food and nutrition support throughout 2017. Without urgent support, hunger will only deepen. Since August, the number of people needing urgent food assistance has increased from about 1 million to 1.8 million in Borno and Yobe States, he added. The anticipated movie which will screen at the Vatican stars Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson and Adam Driver. Screenplay by Scorsese and Jay Cocks, the movie is based on the book "Silence" by Shusaku Endo, and is produced by Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Randall Emmett, Barbara Defina, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, and Irwin Winkler. ALSO READ:undefined The movie also stars Tadanobu Asano, Issey Ogata, Ciaran Hinds, Yosuke Kubozuka, and Yoshi Oida. About movie: Two Jesuit Portuguese Catholic priests face violent persecution when they travel to Japan to seek out their mentor and spread the teachings of Christianity. ALSO READ: undefined The movie will screen at the Vatican on November 29 to an audience including several Jesuit priests. It has not been confirmed if Pope Francis, a Jesuit, will be in attendance. With the December 23 release, "Silence" opens two days after the anticipated sci-fi drama "Passengers," and video game adaptation "Assassin's Creed." The Presidency spoke out after a former associate of Buhari, Buba Galadima said that the president would be abandoned by the people in 2019. It is very unfortunate and shameless that a government that is yet to do anything is already talking of 2019, Mohammed said according to Vanguard. It is very unfortunate that a party like APC that is fast becoming moribund is already talking of 2019 when they have nothing to show for the four years Nigerians gave them. This development shows they are power-hungry, hypocritical and corruption-ridden. This entire 2019 discussion is ridiculous. I believe a government that has performed will rely on its performance before being considered for another four years in office. We are not even in the middle of the four-year term given to them and they are already talking of 2019. This is an unfortunate development and it shows the ineptitude of the government. For a man that has led us into the worst recession ever and has got nothing to show Nigerians since he assumed office to be talking of 2019, shows how shameless the government can be, he added. Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, who responded to Galadimas comments, insisted that Buhari still has goodwill with the people of Nigeria. ALSO READ:Sokoto residents beg Goodluck Jonathan to come back as President He said We are going to win. There is no grammar about that. Is anybody saying no? The PDP has been here for 14 years and how can somebody come here yesterday and come and overtake us. This is coming as the Supreme Court threw out a suit stopping the Appeal Court from hearing the PDP governorship candidacy case. The businessman turned politician said his name will be on the ballot paper on election day, November 26, 2016. He said It is not possible for my name to be removed for this election, it is not possible. Nobody can remove it, it is there and it will be there until Saturday. According to Premium Times, Ibrahim said the Supreme Court judgement is a welcome development, adding that it still does not stop him from standing for the election. He said Has the court changed my name? If you bring a matter before the Supreme Court and the court says you should go back to the appeal court to hear the case how does that affect me? The Appeal Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday invalidated Ibrahim's candidacy and declared Eyitayo Jegede as the rightful candidate of the party for the election. In a statement issued after the appeal court verdict on Wednesday, Ibrahim said he will get justice at the apex court, adding that the incumbent Governor of the state, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, will succeed in planting Jegede as his successor. "We shall get justice at the Supreme Court and if PDP wins Saturday election, we shall have our four-year mandate to rule Ondo State," Ibrahim said. ALSO READ: I will be Governor Jimoh Ibrahim Eyitayo Jegede and Jimoh Ibrahim are both PDP members; but a High Court had declared Ibrahim the authentic candidate for the governorship contest. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) thereafter affixed Ibrahim's name on the ballot. Jegede's camp has since been up in arms since the ruling from Justice Okon Abang of an Abuja High Court. Both candidates have been campaigning independently on the platform of the same party; each staking a claim. "Mark my words, we will contest and win this election. Let me tell you, this is not about Eyitayo Jegede alone, it is about the people of Ondo State, this is about good governance in our state, this is about continuation and improvement on the good things we have been enjoying in our state", Jegede said recently. Im in this business to reclaim my mandate and Im serious about it. ALSO READ: Raise a hand if you know who authentic PDP candidate is When the panel of the court of Appeal hearing the case was adjourned indefinitely, the Supreme Court overruled the lower court and ordered that the case be decided expeditiously, given that it is a pre-election matter. Businessman Ibrahim says he's unfazed by the development. We are going to win. There is no grammar about that", said Ibrahim who is being backed by the Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the PDP. "It is not possible for my name to be removed for this election, it is not possible. Nobody can remove it, it is there and it will be there until Saturday. "If you bring a matter before the Supreme Court and the court says you should go back to the appeal court to hear the case, how does that affect me? However, a ruling from the Appeal Court which is underway at the time of writing, should help resolve the bickering between the Eyitayo and Jegede factions of the PDP. Our correspondent in Ondo reports that the Appeal Court ruling has been postponed thrice in four hours. Ahmed Makarfi who leads the Jegede faction of the PDP is in court alongside other chieftains of the PDP on his side of the divide. The Ondo governorship election holds on Saturday, November 26, 2016. The Inspector-General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, disclosed this on Tuesday, November 22, in Akure, the state capital. Speaking in a meeting with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and representatives of the political parties in the state, Idris said the force is in control of the security of lives and properties during and after the polls. He said: "Twenty-six thousand police officers will be deployed in the state, and five officers will be at each polling unit during the election. "Also, 20 gunboats will be deployed in the water ways to ensure maximum security along the riverine areas while three helicopters will be patrolling at each of the three senatorial districts of the state." According to the IG, three commissioners of police will also be on ground in the state for special operations during the election. ALSO READ: Protesters invade INEC office ahead of Ondo Election [PHOTOS] Idris issued a stern warning to security agents who fail to attach their name tags to their uniforms, saying anyone who disobeys the order will be arrested and brought to justice. He also warned that all security personnel must remain at their designated posts throughout the process. 26,000 personnel, three helicopters, 12 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and 20 gunboats will also be deployed for use during the polls. Idris disclosed this on Tuesday, November 22, during a stakeholders meeting in Akure, the state capital. We will dominate areas especially the waterways together with the Navy. We are going to support the deployment along the major ways with 20 gun boats. We are going to ensure we have security along the waterways, the police IG said. We are going to use dogs and horses especially to protect the INEC headquarters. We are going to reinforce the police officers with three helicopters to cover each senatorial district. We are bringing 300 vehicles to assist us in patrolling the state. Purely for this election, we are going to deploy a commissioner of police for each senatorial district and the whole operation is going to be coordinated by Deputy Inspector General Police of Operation. Each of the police officer for the election will carry a tag. So if we see you outside with police or military uniform in an area that you are not supposed to be even as a serving police officer or a serving military, you are going to be arrested and be dealt with. ALSO READ: 17 parties tell INEC to postpone Ondo election We cannot do it alone because security is the responsibility of all, he added. Mr Gboyega Adeoye, who spoke on behalf of the group, made the call in Lagos on Tuesday while speaking to journalists after an emergency meeting of its members. Adeoye said the groups stance was hinged on the sensitivity of the election and the setting of precedence in Edo, where election was postponed for two weeks to avert breakdown of law and order. The need for the shifting of the poll becomes imperative in view of the intra party battles that characterised the contest, which left no ample time for candidates to sell their manifestoes to the electorate. The electorate will have so much to lose under the present arrangement as there is no clear cut promise from the candidates to galvanise a principled stance among the voters, he said. He said that not less than 20 political parties had already signified their interests in having the election postponed, adding that this, raised suspicion of a stiff reaction should the election umpire go ahead with its plan. He said, We are all aware of what happened during the last INEC conducted election in Edo State, where election was said to have been postponed as a result of perceived security threat. It beats one hollow that the same INEC has kept silent on the Ondo election up till now. The silence, to us in ORM, is evil and should be discouraged. Those with sense of history should know the sensitivity of Ondo State and its, kind of politics. Ondo State is strategic and very sensitive when it comes to responses to political issues. This is why the INEC must tread with caution and do the needful in this case. With the case between Jimoh Ibrahim and Eyitayo Jegede of the PDP still in court, none of the three major parties in the race has had enough time to sell itself to the electorate, he said. ALSO READ:17 parties tell INEC to postpone Ondo election The VC made the disclosure on Wednesday, November 23, during a visit from members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Nasarawa State Council, Punch reports. ALSO READ: VC pleads with ASUU to end strike Mainoma, however, stated that the proposal made by the management was still subject to approval by the varsity's governing council and the State Government. According to Mainoma, the increment became necessary due to the shortcomings in the subventions from the state government and the ever dwindling sources of funding. He explained that the monthly allocation from the state government stood at N129m, while the institutions salary wage bill is N229m, which leaves the management the burden of raising N100m monthly from other sources to augment what is given. Maitama says that upon the approval of the proposal, the tuition increment would only affect the new intakes for the 2016/2017 academic session. Punch reports that the VC also announced the school resumption set for January 2, 2017, instead of the prior stated date of November 27. He explained that the postponement of the resumption date was to allow the senate of the university to meet and approve the results from the last examination. ALSO READ: Assembly committee visits schools to address fallen standard of education The event kicked off with a welcome address by Segun Obagbemi, Head, Communications/Public Affairs at GE West Africa. Jay Ireland, CEO and President of GE Africa gave the opening remarks. In his speech, Ireland said GE's Lagos Garage is aimed at skills building and empowerment of small and medium size businesses and entrepreneurs. Ireland also added that, following the launch of the Lagos Garage, the GE Garages concept will be expanding to Kenya as its next launch point. The GE boss also revealed that GE currently does over $4 billion in business on the African continent and employs over 2,700 people. Mr Abdul Ahmed Mustapha, Permanent Secretary at the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, took the floor next to give an address. Mustapha said the Lagos State government is working with schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US to help develop an educational curriculum for Lagos State for the advancement of entrepreneurship. Mustapha also stated that the Lagos State government wants to centre its plans to boost entrepreneurship in the state around Yaba, adding that the state is working on setting up co-working spaces and incubation spaces. ALSO READ: GE relaunches skills training program for entrepreneurs in Lagos Highlighting the Lagos State government's desire to work with private sector stakeholders, Mustapha said the government was ready to provide land for use, as long as it aligned with the government's vision for Lagos State. After Mustapha's speech, Obagbemi brought on the DNMT/LED dancers for a short performance that thrilled the audience. Proceeding with the agenda, Lazarus Angbazo, CEO and President at GE Nigeria took the floor to moderate a panel on "Skills in Nigeria." Members of the panel included the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Abdul Ahmed Mustapha; Keturah Ovio, Founder of Qeturah, and Simeon Ononobi, founder of SimplePay and MyAds. At the end of the session, the GE Africa and GE Nigeria management team as well as Abdul Ahmed Mustapha were called upon to officially launch the GE Lagos Garage. Guests were then invited to experience the Garage which had several 3D printers, CNC Mills, a VR station that demoes GE's advancements in underwater exploration, amongst others. He had been asked about speculation that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was arranging to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reportedly on December 4. Tzanakopoulos said that during a phonecall with Erdogan on Friday, Tsipras "expressed desire for a bilateral meeting" but added that no specific date had been set. "After yesterday's (breakdown in talks) we will see what happens," the spokesman said. The much-heralded talks in the Swiss resort of Mont Pelerin between Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci were supposed to produce a map of the internal boundaries of a future federation and pave the way for broader talks aimed at reaching a deal by early next year. But like the five days of negotiations earlier in November, the two-day session broke up in the early hours of Tuesday without progress, and with each side blaming the other. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the northern third of the island in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece. Owing to agreements that led to the island's independence in 1960, Britain, Greece and Turkey have guarantor powers in Cyprus. The Greek Cypriots and Athens want to scrap this arrangement, while the Turkish Cypriots are reluctant to do so. A Greek diplomatic source this week said Athens wants the guarantee issue resolved before it joins multi-party talks on Cyprus. "Greece has agreed to join multi-party talks, provided there is a prior agreement between Greece and Turkey on the issue of guarantees and security," the source said. The demonstrators, many wearing tribal outfits, sang, danced and beat drums under the long veranda roof outside the sleek Palacio do Planalto building where President Michel Temer has his offices. Police with batons and Tasers blocked off the entrance. The protesters included members of indigenous groups who want the government to officially recognize the borders of their ancestral lands, so that they can be protected against ever-encroaching farmers. They also protested laws that would give foreign buyers access to their lands. "Our father who art in heaven," they chant. "Hallowed be thy name." On the wall in front of them, graffiti scrawled in black spray paint reads "Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest)". Iraqi fighters battling to oust the Islamic State group from Mosul captured the Catholic Mar Benham monastery on Sunday, allowing its priests to return. Dating back to the fourth century AD, the Syriac Catholic monastery lies just 30 kilometres south of Iraq's second city which became a bastion of the jihadist group which swept across northern Iraq in 2014. When they seized it in 2014, the jihadists sacked the monastery, smashing carvings off the wall, decapitating a statue of the Virgin Mary and leaving the building as an empty shell. The priests fled and most have not returned. "I am both happy and sad," Issu, a former director of the monastery, told AFP on his first visit back. "I'm happy to return to these holy places, to see this monastery where I spent a year and a half as superior. "At the same time, I'm sad to see it like this, in such bad condition, demolished. It hurts my heart," he said. In front of the main building, he peered down on the rubble covering the tombs of Mar Benham -- a Syriac saint from whom the monastery gets its name -- and his sister Sara. In 2015, IS jihadists posted a video of themselves blowing up the tomb. Today, little remains. It was part of an IS campaign of destruction as it swept across the region. The jihadists trashed other faiths' places of worship and blew up ancient sites such as the Assyrian city of Nimrud and the Greco-Roman remains of Palmyra in neighbouring Syria. Babylon Brigade As it seized their areas, IS gave Christians three options: leave, pay a special tax or convert to Islam. Most decided to flee. Now, rebuilding the community will be tough, Issu said. "You should see their houses," he said. "Fifty percent of their houses have been torched." The attacks are the latest in a string of abuses against Iraq's Christian minority in recent years. Issu said reining in tensions between religions is a daunting task. "It will be very difficult," he said. "But we hope and hope." As he toured the monastery, the small, grey-haired priest was escorted by heavily armed fighters from a Christian militia, who wore crosses and bullet belts over their camouflage. They are part of the Babylon Brigade, a militia formed by Christians across Iraq to battle IS after it swept through the country. jpegMpeg4-1280x720They were part of the contingent that took back the area around the monastery. The Brigade fights under the banner of the Popular Mobilisation forces, an umbrella for 40 mainly Shiite militias formed in a bid to counter the jihadists. They helped in the operation to wrest the monastery from the jihadists. They say they want to go on fighting until they have pushed IS out of all the Christian sites it holds in Iraq -- and even in Syria. "We are very sad to see all the destruction here but the happiness of the victory has overwhelmed us and we are so joyful to be standing here," said Colonel Dhafer Luis. "I hope that the Christians return to this area and I call on them to return," he said. Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi repelled an attack by Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies on the western outskirts of Taez city, the officials said. The attack that began late Monday targeted the Al-Dhabab area, which provides pro-Hadi forces with their only access to the flashpoint city of 300,000 people that is surrounded by insurgents. Warplanes from the Saudi-led Arab coalition took part in operations to repel the attack, officials said. Military officials also reported heavy artillery fire in an eastern suburb of Taez as pro-Hadi forces pressed a campaign to wrest back control of a presidential palace, police headquarters and an air defence base from the Huthis. In northwest Yemen, fighting around the coastal town of Midi cost the lives of 18 rebels and four soldiers, a loyalist commander on the ground, Abdel Ghani Chebli, told AFP. Rebel sniper fire on Monday night killed three soldiers as the Huthis tried to advance on Midi's harbour, which is controlled by pro-Hadi forces. In the Saudi border town of Najran, a Yemeni civilian was killed and seven other non-Saudis were wounded by rebel shelling from Yemen, the Saudi civil defence said. Cross-border fire from Yemen has killed dozens of people in Saudi Arabia since March 2015. The coalition and the rebels have traded blame over violations of the ceasefire which came into effect on Saturday after US Secretary of State John Kerry intervened. It was the latest international attempt to end Yemen's 20-month conflict, which the United Nations says has killed more than 7,000 people and wounded nearly 37,000. The Huthis overran the capital Sanaa and other parts of the impoverished country in September 2014, prompting the coalition to intervene six months later in support of Hadi. In the southern city of Aden, an airport security officer, Colonel Abdel Rahim Samahi, was gunned down outside his home in an attack, a security official said Tuesday. The Islamic State group said it killed Samahi, the US-based SITE Intelligence Group reported. With the situation in Libya "deteriorating," Fatou Bensouda said "my office is planning to make Libya a priority in investigations" in the coming year. "One of the areas I intend to look into is the issue of the migrants, and the fact that we see hundreds of thousands of migrants being trafficked across from Libya, coming into Europe," she said. She was speaking in an interview with AFP in the ICC's new permanent home on the outskirts of The Hague, just as Italy was on the verge of a record number of migrant arrivals for the year. Asked if such trafficking could be considered "a crime against humanity," Bensouda replied: "It could be, depending on what evidence we find." "We are still continuing with our investigations in Libya. We are receiving a lot of information with regards to the crimes that are being committed." 'Women, children bear brunt of crimes' Italian officials said on Tuesday at least eight people had died and an unknown number were missing in a new series of boat disasters in the Mediterranean. Some 1,400 people had been saved in a dozen separate operations between Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon, the Italian coastguard said. The rescues will take the number of migrants to have arrived in Italy by sea this year to almost 170,000, just short of the previous record set in 2014. "The crimes are just many. And unfortunately it is the civilians... the women and children who are bearing the brunt of those crimes," Bensouda said. Although Libya is not a party to the Rome Statute which underpins the ICC, the UN Security Council unanimously mandated the tribunal to investigate abuses in the country in February 2011. It was then still under the rule of longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi, who was killed months later by rebels in a NATO-backed uprising. An arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity is still outstanding for his son, Seif al-Islam, said to be behind bars in Zintan, a town southwest of Tripoli that opposes the unity government based in the capital. The new unity government in Tripoli still faces dogged resistance from jihadist holdouts, who seized on the chaos unleashed since 2011. Bensouda's attempt to have the ICC warrant served on the battalion commander in charge in Zintan, to compel him to turn over Islam to the court, was Monday turned down by the trial chamber in The Hague. Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg TM 500MB 4G LTE Data Unlimited Talk & Text to Mexico and Canada, just $10 more a month A better value than Straight Talk Wireless and Verizon Prepaid Plus, youll Never Run Out of Data with unlimited 1X on U.S. Cellulars network. Things we want you to know: Full applicable data speeds apply for the high-speed allotment defined by your Simple Connect Prepaid Plan and data speeds shall be slowed to 1X thereafter for the remainder of the billing cycle. No High-Speed Data applies for Basic Phone Plans. Up to 400MB of your data usage/month/line may be used while roaming. $10 Unlimited Talk & Text to Mexico and Canada: Simple Connect Prepaid Plan required, plus $10 available funds over plan cost before due date. Unlimited calling to Mexico and Canada only applies to calls placed from U.S. Cellulars licensed market areas. Roaming calls may incur additional charges based on rates and availability of local wireless carrier. Other restrictions and limitations may apply. Offers valid at participating locations only and cannot be combined. See store or uscellular.com for details. 4G LTE not available in all areas. See uscellular.com/4G for complete coverage details. 4G LTE service may be provided through King Street Wireless, a partner of U.S. Cellular. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Limited-time offer. 2016 U.S. Cellular Isabel Bloom opens its new studio showroom Friday in a renovated historic building snuggled between downtown Davenport and the Village of East Davenport, where the company's namesake first brought the cement sculptures to life. Just like when the now late Isabel Bloom worked her craft, the new flagship showroom at 736 Federal Street brings all the company's operations under one roof again and allows visitors to witness the process. Isabel Bloom's longtime retail store in the village closed last week to move one mile west into the new facility. "I know people might be sad or upset we're moving from the village, but when they step inside here they'll understand why," co-owner and sculptor Donna Young said on a tour earlier this week. The move enables Isabel Bloom to be more efficient by having all of its production processes together from mold making to mixing, casting and finishing as well as in the same location as sales, offices, shipping and a relocated Tour Center. As her employees have joked, "this is world headquarters for Isabel Bloom," she said. The new studio showroom is located in the Gordon-Van Tine Building, just off River Drive. Formerly known as Harborview, the building already housed Isabel Bloom's production and offices. Now after a complete renovation by the building's new owners, developer Joe Erenberger and Y & J Properties, Isabel Bloom occupies nearly three floors of one of the buildings in the three-building complex. Young said the company has long wanted to consolidate all its operations under one roof. "Ideally, we would have liked to do it in the Village (of East Davenport), but there wasn't an ideal spot to do it," she said. Not only was there not an appropriate building but parking was an issue. "We have 35 people who need to park, customers, trucks delivering (bags of) cement." Fortunately, when the new developers bought the buildings, she said they came to Isabel Bloom and asked "what it would take to keep you here?" The company's plan for a retail showroom fit in perfectly with their redevelopment plans, she said. While the company will miss the Village of East Davenport's festivals, she said Erenberger's plans "are going to develop an area all our own here. It's going to need its own identity," Young added. Young, who was Isabel Bloom's protege, has owned the company for the past five years with Cathie Nevins and Bill Barrett. Isabel Bloom also has stores in Moline, LeClaire, Davenport's NorthPark Mall and Valley West Mall in Des Moines. One of the features of the new showroom is the over-sized windows that look down from the retail store to the production floor, allowing customers to watch artisans handcrafting the iconic cement sculptures. The new showroom also houses the relocated tour center, a meeting room where visitors can gather for meetings or small receptions before touring the production facility. The tour includes a video highlighting Isabel Bloom's life. Young said the company plans to expand its tour activities. "We hope to become a popular tourist destination, where people will have the opportunity to take guided tours of the handcrafted process developed by Isabel Bloom herself. The free tours will resume "when the dust settles," she said. The showroom will include a historic display of sculpture designs and photographs of Isabel Bloom as well as artworks by her artist husband, John Bloom. Isabel Bloom died in 2001, the year before John died. To remain operational through the more than seven months of construction, Young said various departments had to relocate within the building. "They're all very excited to move back, they've put up with a lot of dust and noise," she said. The renovation was completed by Green Star Construction, owned by Troy and Tina Stender of Wheatland, Iowa. They estimated the job enlisted the work of about 60 construction workers. "It was an enjoyable job," said Troy Stender. "We got to turn something from a building that was in its down slope in life and bring it back up to a something usable, something prosperous." A couple more months? The senator from Iowa may demand a draining of the VA swamp by then. In the four months since U.S. lawmakers demanded an investigation into the suicide of Davenport veteran Brandon Ketchum, nothing has happened. At least, nothing has come out of the VA's Office of the Inspector General. But four months to the day that Brandon was told there was no room at the inn at the VA in Iowa City, another Iowa veteran, Curtis Gearhart, 32, took his own life. The 32-year-old combat veteran from Ankeny could not withstand the five- to six-week wait for treatment at the VA in Des Moines. He, like Brandon, knew he was in trouble. Gearheart died Nov. 7. On July 7, Ketchum left Iowa City in frustration. He returned to the Quad-Cities, wrote a Facebook post about being rejected by the VA and, sometime early the next day, shot himself. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is making it her personal mission to find out what's going on at the VA. In a letter last week to Inspector General Michael J. Missal, Ernst wrote, "I cannot begin to describe my continued frustration, disappointment, and sadness that I must again write to you demanding answers about the loss of yet another promising, young Iowa veteran." The Office of the Inspector General has acknowledged receiving the letter, Ernst's people said Tuesday, but the VA has not come up with a timeline to deliver answers about what happened and what is being done to prevent more desperate Iowa soldiers from being turned away. Now, sources say, the VA is saying it could be a couple more months. It's not as if the inspector general's office has been doing nothing. In the time that has passed since Ernst, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, and another senator from Wisconsin (Brandon's home state) asked Missal to find out what happened on Brandon's last visit, the office has released the findings of at least six other, unrelated investigations. Even so, at question here is what happened on July 7. That's one day. It was part of one day, actually. The VA medical documents I acquired through an open records request more than two months ago seemed to me to give a clear-cut accounting: Brandon was struggling emotionally, and he acknowledged as much to medical staff at the VA. He had attempted suicide in the past, which his psychiatrist knew. He asked the doctor to admit him to the psychiatric unit, saying he knew he would start using heroin that very day if he didn't get help. The doctor's reply was, "that unit is currently full." Certainly, there are details to sort out, people to interview. But Ketchum's family members say no one from the Office of the Inspector General has even contacted them. Some folks from the VA spoke with his brother, combat veteran Brad Ketchum, in August. But nothing since. Early this week, Ernst didn't have to say she was frustrated. It showed: "The VAs failure to take seriously Mr. Ketchums request to be admitted for inpatient services is heartbreaking, frustrating, and entirely unacceptable. More than four months have gone by and we need answers immediately. Our veterans deserve far better than a failed VA system that allows our veterans seeking help to slip through the cracks. Loebsack chimed in Tuesday: "Like many others, I have been awaiting the results of the final report looking into what happened to Sgt Ketchum during his final days. While time is needed to ensure all the facts are correct, Sgt Ketchum's family and the community also need closure. That is why I have personally pushed the VA Secretary to make this case a priority. The public deserves to know the answers and the report must be completed in a timely manner." I would quarrel that "timely manner" has come and gone. Ernst clearly is running out of patience, telling the Office of the Inspector General last week, "I expect to see a response before the end of the year." Of course, she demanded a response last time. She specifically asked for a timeline, and she didn't get one. I've said it before: Maybe the VA is overwhelmed? Maybe they simply cannot keep up? Officials at the VA and Inspector General must surely be at some crisis level to repeatedly ignore members of the U.S. Congress, who hold considerable power over their agency. It benefits no one to delay an investigation or to put off announcing the results of one. If they had an explanation, they sure would share it. Instead, it appears the VA in Iowa is once again turning away a veteran. This time, it's Sen. Ernst. The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a registered sex offender serving seven life sentences plus 50 years in connection with a sexual abuse investigation at a Davenport trailer park. In a written decision released Wednesday, the court affirmed convictions of three counts of second-degree sexual abuse against Melvin T. Lucier, 56, of Davenport. Lucier was found guilty during a bench trial in November 2015 of sexually abusing a girl younger than 12 multiple times between May 2010 and March 2014. He also was found guilty in three other sex abuse cases. The convictions in those cases are still on appeal. On appeal, Lucier challenged the district courts determination that the girl, who was 11 at the time of the trial, was competent to testify and that the sufficiency of the evidence supported the courts findings of guilt. After finding the girl competent to testify, the court described the childs contact with Lucier and in diagrams identified the parts of her body he touched, as well as the parts of his body he used to touch hers, according to the appeals court opinion. Lucier argued in his appeal that the overall testimony and the line of the questioning of the girl was rather vague and confusing as to which part of (Luciers) body made contact with what part of (the girls) body and on what date and how often. The appeals court rejected the argument and said that the girls testimony, together with her identifications of the body parts involved, amounted to substantial evidence in support of the district courts findings. According to police reports, the investigation began in August 2011, when a Davenport parent came forward to claim that Lucier and James E. Faler sexually abused his three children, ages 2, 4 and 6. The two lived at Lot 19 at the Patriot Mobile Home Trailer Park, 4847 W. Kimberly Road, Davenport. Faler, 50, was arrested in May 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky, after police discovered he was in violation of sex offender registry requirements. Police also discovered sexually explicit material of several young boys at the trailer in Davenport. Faler was sentenced to life plus 50 years in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of a child in U.S. District Court, Davenport. Lucier was arrested in March 2014. The following month, Scott County Sheriff's deputies led a sweep of the trailer park with help from Davenport police, U.S. Marshals, Iowa Department of Human Services and the Iowa Department of Corrections. Two other sex offenders and five women were arrested and later sentenced to prison in the case. They include: Thomas E. Jenkins, 26, who pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree sex abuse and was sentenced in Scott County District Court to 50 years in prison. On Wednesday, the appeals court upheld his sentence. David L. Conger, 52, was sentenced in Scott County to 15 years in prison on two counts of failure to comply with sex offender registry and one count of second-degree theft. Sherry A. Oats, 51, was sentenced to 13 years in prison on five counts of child endangerment. Sarah M. McConnell, 36, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on two counts child endangerment. Jenni M. Jenkins, 31, sentenced to six years in prison on three counts child endangerment. Jessica L. Epping, 31, was sentenced to two years of probation on one count of child endangerment. Her probation was later revoked and the original two-year prison sentence was imposed. Andrea L. Rodden, 35, was sentenced to two years in prison on one count of child endangerment. The case against the sixth woman, Shaneka M. Posey, 25, was dismissed in February after three psychologists determined that she was unfit to stand trial and that competency likely could not be restored. "We are grateful for the diligent work on this case by the Scott County Sheriff's Office, detectives Thomas Leonard and Rachelle Kunde, and cooperation and hard work by the Iowa Department of Human Services and all the foster families and others who assisted the child victims through the legal process that led to these convictions and sentences," Scott County Attorney Mike Walton said Wednesday in response to the appeals court findings in Lucier's and Jenkins' cases. A registered sex offender has pleaded guilty to threatening to post sexually explicit images of a Bettendorf woman online if she did not give him money or have sex with him. Bradley Richard Williams, 31, of La Porte City, Iowa, filed a written plea in Scott County District Court to first-degree harassment, an aggravated misdemeanor. He faces up to two years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 5. The plea is open, meaning prosecutors can make any recommendation at sentencing. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a felony extortion charge at sentencing. District Court Judge Henry Latham accepted Williams plea Wednesday. An arrest affidavit filed by Bettendorf Police in 2014 states that between late September 2013 and February 2014, Williams threatened to upload the images of the woman if she did not pay him money and engage in sex with him or another person causing fear of ridicule in the victim that her parents and/or anyone else she knew might view such pictures that the defendant placed on the Internet. In 2014, Williams entered an Alford plea in Black Hawk County to extortion charge in connection with the same Bettendorf victim and was sentenced to up to five years in prison. He also was sentenced to a concurrent two-year sentence on a sex offender registry violation. He pleaded guilty to a third-degree sex abuse charge in Winneshiek County in 2005 and was given a deferred judgment. The deferred judgment was revoked two years later for a probation violation. In June, the Iowa Attorney Generals Office is seeking to commit Williams to treatment under the states sexually violent predator statutes. --Tara Becker After eight years as chair of the Scott County Republican Party, Judy Davidson will not seek another term. Davidson said she will remain on the Iowa GOP State Central Committee but will turn over day-to-day operations of the county party to a successor, who is expected to be chosen in late January. County chairs serve two-year terms. In an interview Tuesday, Davidson said the chair's duties are many and, especially during election years, they take up more than a 40 hours a week -- quite a commitment for an unpaid position. "I want to be able to go on a vacation," Davidson said with a laugh, adding she wants to volunteer in other parts of the community, not just in the political realm. Davidson concedes she does, in fact, take vacations. But, often, they're working breaks that still involve checking email and responding to concerns. At home, she said, it is not unusual to rise at 2 a.m. to deal with a party matter. Davidson, who likes to chart party progress by citing arcane voting and registration statistics, is known to dwell on details. Since taking the reins in 2009, she has led a party that has strengthened its organization and profile. Its fall fundraising dinner, named after Ronald Reagan, is a must-attend for elected officials across the state and frequently draws hundreds of guests and top-flight political names. Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio and, most recently, Vice President-elect Mike Pence have been guests at the dinner. In the interview, Davidson praised volunteers and core staffers, who also are unpaid, for working together to help the lift the county party. On the heels of a successful election cycle for the GOP in general, Davidson said this week, the local party is stronger financially, as well as organizationally. Nearly all of its precinct posts are filled. The county party also has narrowed the Scott County Democrats' registration edge from roughly 8,500 in 2008 to 4,400 currently. Iowa's larger counties are often a challenge for Republicans, and Scott County is no different. The county's Statehouse delegation is mixed. Also, Scott County hasn't voted for a Republican for president in decades. And even with Donald Trump's victory across Iowa, Hillary Clinton won Scott County (something Davidson said will continue to gnaw at her). Still, it was only by about 1,200 votes, far less than the 12,000-vote win President Obama scored here four years ago. Jeff Kaufmann, the Iowa GOP chair, said that of the state's larger counties, Scott County presents more opportunities for Republicans than others. "A large part of that has been enhanced because of Judy Davidson," he said. He noted that he appointed Davidson to lead a panel to review its caucus procedures, as well as party rules extending from the caucuses to the conventions. Davidson thought about stepping down four years ago, but stayed on after Gov. Terry Branstad asked her. She and other party leaders faced down a challenge from insurgents in 2013, a reflection of the split in the state party at the time. Davidson declined Tuesday to say who might be interested in running to replace her as county party chair in January. A nominations committee, which will report to the party's central committee, is taking nominations for chair and other executive positions through Dec. 20. The group will then make recommendations to the central committee, though anybody can place their name in nomination at the central committee meeting, which will be Jan. 30. DES MOINES The state has proposed no wage increase over the next two years and a rain check on health insurance to workers represented by Iowas largest public employee union, leading the unions top official to declare the governor is trying to hurt those public employees. The state made its collective bargaining counteroffer Wednesday to leaders of AFSCME Council 61, which represents 18,500 public employees who work in education, corrections and mental health care, among others. The union had proposed wage increases of 2.25 percent in 2017, two increases totaling 4.25 percent in 2018, and a 2 percent increase in 2019. The state countered with a proposal of flat wages over the next two years. The state also, as it did earlier this week with its proposal to the state patrol union, removed the section on health insurance, saying coverage would be provided as determined by the state. It is a signal the state expects state legislators and the governor, all under Republican control for the first time in 20 years, to change the states collective bargaining laws in the coming legislative session. I dont know what theyre going to do. I have an indication that what theyre going to do is do something with health insurance, said Danny Homan, president of AFSCME Council 61. They dont want to let (public employees) have a seat at the table to determine what their health insurance benefits are. ... They want to put that out as the Iowa Legislature and the governor of this state deem appropriate. Homan said he fears the state will pass legislation that would strip public employees of their ability to bargain for their health insurance, then implement coverage that is cheapest to the state. This is a clear indication to me that this governor is going to try and hurt the people that work for the state and provide necessary and needed services, much like he has done with Medicaid privatization, Homan said. In response, a spokesman for Gov. Terry Branstad said the governor is committed to quality health care for public employees. But as the governor indicated earlier this week, we want to explore how we can better provide health care across the state in a more patient-centered way that is financially sustainable for the Iowa taxpayers who make that health care possible, Branstad spokesman Ben Hammes said in an emailed statement. State Department of Administrative Services director Janet Phipps, who presented the counteroffer to the union on Wednesday, said she thinks state legislators and the governor may develop a master contract for public employees. I would assume (they are) going to have discussions during the Legislature, Phipps said. "(The department will) leave that up to them as far as policy decisions are concerned." The unions proposal would cost the state an additional $111 million, the department has estimated. If the two sides cannot agree to terms, the proposals go to an independent arbitrator. The new contracts begin July 1. In addition to his concern about health insurance, Homan said he was disappointed the state offered no wage increases after it offered 1 percent increases each of the next two years to the state police. He also expressed concern with the states proposal to tie annual step increases in pay to performance evaluations, which he said places wage increases into an unfairly subjective process. It probably wont be a pleasant Thanksgiving, because now I get to try and figure out where we go from here on this, Homan said. But we will go somewhere. I just find it unfortunate. MUSCATINE, Iowa The Knights of Columbus began delivery of 68 Thanksgiving meals around Muscatine Wednesday morning. Jim Weigand, who has been organizing the event for several years, said almost $2,600 for the project was raised during the annual beef and noodle dinner, plus a couple thousand from individual donations. "That's going to help pay for Hy-Vee making all the dinners, plus the plates and napkins and all that stuff," he said. Weigand began giving Thanksgiving meals to those in need around 15 years ago, with his wife, Carolyn. The Knights of Columbus became involved, he said, eight or nine years ago. The Knights met at Hy-Vee in the morning and loaded the pre-made meals into the backs of their cars. They began driving door to door delivering the boxes of food, working from a list compiled from suggestions from Ss. Mary and Mathias Catholic Church, to which the Knights of Columbus belong, the police department, the school, and other people and locations. The Grand KnightJoe Keitel, the leader of the group, said they enjoy the opportunity to help families and organizations throughout the Muscatine community. "I just think it's good to, especially in the spirit of Thanksgiving, to be appreciative of all the blessings that we have and then to share that with those that have had less fortunate times," Keitel said. The Muscatine Center for Social Action and Pearl City Outreach were also given meals by the group. The Knights split into two teams, and one team, Keitel, Jim Groulx, and Eric Blair, first stopped at an apartment. After climbing the stairs knocking on the door, Keitel carried the box of food into the room. "That's a lot!" a child exclaimed. "Happy Thanksgiving, God bless!" the three Knights called as they left. They next went to deliver food for Archie Symmonds and his family. Symmonds said in light of recent health issues he has experienced, the meal would be very helpful. "I'm very appreciative," he said. He was very surprised to be chosen to receive a meal, he said, but he knew what it could mean to a family. "I'm glad they do stuff like that," Symmonds said. Weigand will soon pass the reigns to Blair and his family, but he said he has been happy to be able to continue helping families have food for the holiday. He said 24 years ago, during Thanksgiving week, he was in the hospital, but he is now celebrating 24 years cancer-free. "I'm so gratified that my Lord let me stay here to do this project," he said. COLUMBUS JUNCTION, Iowa - A generally positive, but potentially troubling forecast on the financial health of the Columbus School District was presented to the school board Monday by Superintendent Gary Benda. The best news was the district was continuing to show a positive spending authority after several years of being in the hole. Benda said with expected additional spending authority from open-enrolled out and English Second Language (ESL) student spending, the spending authority should be around $250,000 in the black. Coupled with the positive spending authority, Benda also presented the board with information on two proposals for cutting energy costs at the school. The proposals, one for installing solar panels at the school and another for replacing heating and air conditioning controls, both promised significant savings for the district. Benda said the solar panel proposal could save the district over 50 per cent of its annual energy bill of around $200,000 according to information presented by representatives of Precision Energy Services, West Burlington, during a recent meeting. Thats a pretty good shot, he told the board, adding a major concern was the estimated $1.9 million installation cost. He said school districts are not eligible for federal energy tax credits that could cut that cost, but if the school was able to find a business partner that could cover a loan, the business could receive the credits. Wed pay off the rest of the loan through PPEL (Physical Plant and Equipment Levy), Benda said. Another proposal would not offer as great of savings, but carried a smaller price tag. Benda said under that plan, EPM, Inc., Fulton, Mo., would replace all of the schools climate controls with its own equipment. The company provided a range of costs from $370,000 to $538,000, depending on replacement numbers and other factors. The company projected savings over a three to eight period of between $67,400 and $112,400. Benda said he was just providing information now, but wondered if the board wanted to pursue either idea. He said a work session could be scheduled for the board to meet with either group or others. Board president Sandy Martin, who said she had attended a different meeting where solar energy had been discussed, said she was interested in looking into the schools options. I was impressed and would really like to have them come, she said. Board member Eric Totemeier was not so sure. I think we have to be really careful with this, he said. Board member Dave Duncan urged Benda to develop a set of parameters so everyone contacted would provide similar information. Benda said he would make the necessary arrangements. Meanwhile, transportation director Tyler Hinkhouse also offered two proposals that could generate savings through a bus routing software program. Hinkhouse recommended a program provided by Traversal, address unavailable. Benda said if the software program was able to identify more efficient routes the district would save money. Not all the financials reports promised savings, however, and Benda cautioned trouble could be brewing for the schools. He said a report from a meeting of school lobbyists indicated this falls election gives Republicans full control of state government. He said the lobbyists were predicting that could affect allowable growth, school sales tax and other issues. In other action, the board agreed to re-organize its special education bus route and conduct a 30-day trial to see if it could potentially save money. Mark Twain said, "If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed." Never was this more true than the coverage of this years presidential election, but we must not forget the tainted and biased news reporting by our cable and network news. One newspaper had 20 reporters assigned to looking up dirt on Donald Trump. With the Hillary Clintons scandals, it would have been a never-ending supply of stories for their paper, but they decided to try to deceive their readers instead. How can every major newspaper around the country except for one, support Hillary Clinton? We had a couple of news organizations apologize for their biased reporting, but the American people and our military deserves to hear more apologies and explanations. The media giving the Clintons another pass for a lifetime of scandals and corruption is a disgrace. How can they say they support our troops when wanting Clinton as commander and chief? It's time for our media to stand up and demand the Clinton Foundation is properly investigated and the wealth accumulated by the Clintons' activity be taken away. Millions of Americans got the truth about the Clintons and the Democratic National Committee from social media, but they, too, must realize just because they read something, doesn't mean it's true. The cesspool in Washington will be cleaned up, but we need accurate reporting from our media and their support. Don Erbst Sr. Davenport After hearing Quad-City Times Opinion Editor Jon Alexander on the radio with Don Wooten a few Saturdays ago, I felt that Id like to write about something that Ive noticed since I moved into the Quad-City area about three years ago. Im a retired science teacher, and very worried about how were going to be impacted by global warming. I dont know why it happens, but I often notice people in their vehicles idling. I walk the city on weekends, and regularly pass vehicles running for no apparent reason. If you have a few minutes to review this link, visit https://thinkprogress.org/here-are-six-reasons-not-to-give-up-hope-351fb935a965#.qkxsybd95, youll note that U.S. progress on reducing CO2 begins at the local level. Personally, Id like to see all drive-up windows banned at fast food places and at pharmacies. At a minimum, people need to be educated on the needless generation of carbon dioxide by cars idling. As an additional note, I often see parents lined up at Bettendorf High School or at Hoover Elementary School, idling while waiting. Of course, they're generating carbon monoxide, as well as carbon dioxide and this is certainly not healthy for young lungs. In my old Chicago suburban neighborhoods, there were many signs at local schools proclaiming, Children Trying to Breathe, Please Dont Idle. What a good idea. I believe that with some education, we could impact the problem without needing taking major steps. Glenn Kalin Bettendorf U.S. Senate(WASHINGTON) -- President Obamas Justice Department has been unabashed in its use of federal resources to sue state and local governments over alleged discrimination, even hosting press conferences to announce lawsuits against the city of Ferguson, Missouri, for racially-motivated policing practices and against North Carolina for its so-called bathroom bill targeting transgender individuals. But Donald Trumps nominee to become the next attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, may think twice before bringing such cases. In the past, he has urged caution in how the Justice Department brings its tremendous resources to bear in court. It is a power that ought not to be abused, Sessions warned a top Justice Department official in 2002. Just because someone says it's [a matter of] civil rights, maybe they haven't done their homework. Maybe they haven't studied the facts or researched the laws quite enough. During a Senate hearing reviewing the departments Civil Rights Division, Sessions expressed particular concern over legal action taken by the Clinton administrations Justice Department years earlier. He questioned the wisdom of a Civil Rights Division lawsuit in 1999 that forced a North Carolina high school to drop its Native American mascot, and he cited a failed federal lawsuit a year earlier that accused the city of Torrance, California, of discriminating against minorities applying for jobs as police officers and firefighters. The Civil Rights Division persisted, sued, and a federal judge found the suits so unfounded and frivolous that she ordered the government to cover Torrance's legal fees of approximately $2 million, Sessions said in the May 2002 hearing. You should be aggressive, you should not allow and tolerate racial discrimination in America, but at the same time you want to be professional and balanced. Under Attorney General Eric Holder and then Loretta Lynch, the Obama Justice Department has used fact-driven investigations and legal action to drive real reform, one department official recently said. Most notably, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit in February against the city of Ferguson, looking to overhaul clear racial disparities in its policing, as a Civil Rights Division report put it. A month later, Ferguson agreed to a series of reforms, including the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee implementation of the agreement, known as a consent decree. In all, Obamas Civil Rights Division has opened 23 investigations into law enforcement agencies and is currently enforcing 19 agreements with police departments. Sessions has recognized that within every department there are some officers who subtly, if not otherwise, are biased in the way they go about enforcing the law, and he has said its vital that such bias be addressed. In fact, he told a Justice Department official during the 2002 hearing that the Civil Rights Division has played an important role in delivering on this promise [of equality] by enforcing Congress' civil rights laws in housing, employment and in the voting booth. Sessions said the Civil Rights Division's efforts "made civil rights a reality for poor minorities in the South and around the country," but since then he has said little about using federal law to protect the civil rights of those discriminated against based on their sexual orientation, gender or disability. For years he opposed the Matthew Shepard Act -- which expanded the definition of hate crimes to include such discrimination. Earlier this year, when the Justice Department was publicly criticizing North Carolina for its law banning people from using bathrooms that dont match the gender indicated on their birth certificates, Sessions was relatively quiet on the matter. But Trump weighed in publicly, telling Fox News that the federal government should not be involved. In 2002, Sessions said there must be a consideration of balance in the cases the Justice Department brings, and he expressed concerns over several lawsuits from the Clinton era, including a case out of his home state of Alabama. In that case, the Justice Department unsuccessfully claimed that a white politician was elected in a predominantly black district of Dallas County only because more than 50 white voters were improperly moved into the voting region, according to The Montgomery Advertiser, a local newspaper. [We] lack the power to remedy the damage done to race relations in Dallas County by the unfounded accusations of purposeful discrimination made by the Department of Justice," Sessions quoted the court as saying in its ruling. Race, meanwhile, was at the core of a controversy years later over why the Obama Justice Department decided to abandon charges against members of the New Black Panther Party, who allegedly intimidated voters outside of a polling station in Philadelphia on Election Day 2008. Department attorneys had decided the evidence was not strong enough to warrant continued prosecution, but Sessions accused the Justice Department of playing politics and failing to ensure that guilty parties did not disenfranchise other voters in the future, as he put it during an April 2010 Senate hearing. The departments own inspector general later exonerated the Obama Justice Department, saying the legal and factual reasons that prompted the cases dismissal were well-considered, and there was no evidence that the case was abandoned for improper political reasons. Holder came into the Justice Department promising to reinvigorate a department that had been rocked by a series of political scandals under the Bush administration, including what the inspector general found was inappropriate hiring practices based on politics within the Civil Rights Division. The division also suffered what many critics considered a desertion of its traditional mission to protect minorities, no longer prioritizing cases that targeted discrimination of black men and women. But Sessions has rejected that sentiment, telling lawmakers in April 2010, I don't think it's fair to say the previous administration shut down civil rights enforcement. And the Justice Departments inspector general seemed to agree three years later, saying a review of Civil Rights Division cases during the Bush administration found insufficient evidence to conclude that improper racial or political considerations affected Division leadership's enforcement decisions. A representative for Sessions declined to comment for this article, and others did not respond to emails seeking comment. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. CANNON BALL, N.D. | Bismarck Mayor Mike Seminary made a request on Tuesday of out-of-state visitors who are in the state to protest against the Dakota Access pipeline: Go home for the holiday. At a news conference Tuesday at the city building in downtown Bismarck, Seminary said their voices against the pipeline had been heard over the past 100 days and that it is time to go home. The mayor also disputed claims by protesters that Bismarck officials had a hand in choosing the pipeline route. He emphasized that no Bismarck officials or city staff had at any time engaged in conversations about the preferred route of the pipeline. "Bismarck has never been involved in that discussion. Not one policy maker, not one department head, not one city employee has ever been involved in a discussion with regards to a route north of Bismarck .... So move on from that subject. You are wrong and you are creating issues," he said. The protesters want to block construction of a $3.8 billion pipeline that would carry oil from the North Dakota oil fields to Illinois, crossing Native American lands and the Missouri River in the process. Kirsten Kelsch, an organizer of five demonstrations held at the state Capitol and downtown Bismarck, countered that a lot of work needs to be done to stop the pipeline's completion. "For the most part, we're not going anywhere until we can see we put a halt to the the digging," Keslch said. "No one will stop as long as they intend to continue digging .... People are really passionate about this, and it's not going to change until the pipeline is stopped." Seminary thanked Bismarck residents for their patience during the legal protests as well as when protesters crossed the line to "civil disobedience." He then addressed the protesters. "We all know what your concerns are. We've heard them. Your messages have been well-delivered. They have been loud and profound. You can't be more productive than you have been. It's time to go home. It's time to go home to your family and loved ones and celebrate what's important to you. That's what we are going to be doing here," he said. "When this passes, and it eventually will, we likely will have damaged relationships we must focus on that we must repair. You will be somewhere else," he told protesters of what he described as a historic event in Bismarck. He said, according to area law enforcement reports, there have been about 500 arrests related to the DAPL protests. "Most of you don't live here, which means most of you don't care what's left when you leave," he said. The holiday season will make everyone thankful for the gifts of the city and thankful for the message the protesters have given, according to Seminary. During the press conference, Police Chief Dan Donlin assured residents that the police department is fully staffed to protect the city. "We make sure that is our No. 1 priority. After that is when we provide our support resources into Morton County," said Donlin, who advised businesses to have a lockdown plan ready. Law enforcement will allow First Amendment rights to freedom of speech but will react to criminal activity, he said. Alan Aker will remain on the Meade County Commission. In recent weeks, Aker has been criticized for not attending commission meetings. He said he did not attend because he was afraid his fellow commissioners would censure him upon his reinstatement to the board. He said he would try, but wasn't sure he would attend all of the meetings remaining during his term, which runs through the first of January. The commission did not take up the issue of Aker's resignation at its meeting Wednesday. Commission Chairman Galen Niederwerder said he could find nothing in South Dakota law or case law that set a precedent concerning the issue of a commissioner's resignation. He said he contacted the Meade County state's attorney's office for some direction. The state's attorney's office replied: "There are no legal grounds for the board of commissioners to request the resignation of a board member. The only grounds for removal are misconduct, malfeasance, nonfeasance, crimes in office, drunkenness, gross incompetence, corruption, theft, oppression or gross partiality." Niederwerder said the commission could not turn to a code of ethics for direction because one has never been adopted. For those reasons, Niederwerder said he would decline to hear the meeting agenda item. "I see no statutory or legal basis to allow for a request of resignation," he said. He did ask other board members if they would like to overrule his action. There was no motion. "I don't object to what was done," Aker said during a break in the meeting Wednesday. "I did have requests not to resign." Responding to the severe shortage of lawyers in many small Nebraska communities, Chadron State College is offering students who are interested in practicing law in a rural area of the state full tuition undergraduate scholarships and provisional acceptance to the University of Nebraska College of Law through a program developed in collaboration with UNL and the Nebraska State Bar Association. CSC is joining Wayne State College and the University of Nebraska at Kearney in the new Rural Law Opportunities Program (RLOP), which will enroll its first group of prospective small-town lawyers in the fall of 2017. Each of the schools will provide full tuition scholarships for up to five students a year who meet admissions criteria and have an interest in a legal career, and will accept as many as 10 alternates to the program. In addition to the scholarships, RLOP participants will be provided with mentoring, NU law school visits and Law School Admission Test (LSAT) preparation services. CSC students in the program dont have to choose a Legal Studies major, but must complete requirements for a minor in Legal Studies. Participants will also participate in a legal internship as part of the program. Upon graduation they will be guaranteed a seat in the NU College of Law, provided they maintain a 3.5 grade point average and meet a minimum LSAT score. Impetus for developing the RLOP came from the Nebraska State Bar Association, which says that 11 of Nebraskas 93 counties have no lawyers at all, and 20 others have three or fewer attorneys. A majority of those underserved counties are in the Chadron State College service region of western Nebraska. The lack of legal assistance in rural areas means residents have limited access to the court system for resolving disputes, and must travel long distances for even basic services such as drawing up wills and contracts or conducting real estate transactions. The shortage means that for many Nebraskans there is no local access to the legal advice and protections afforded those in more populous areas, said Jim Margetts, Dean of Essential Studies and Liberal Arts at CSC. Many other states are also experiencing shortages of lawyers in rural areas, and at least eight have rural lawyer support programs, according to an article in law.com. But Nebraskas RLOP, patterned after the successful Rural Health Opportunities Program that CSC pioneered with the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1990, is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, said Margetts. CSC already has an active Justice Studies program, with focus areas that include pre-law, law enforcement, corrections, juvenile justice, forensics and para-legal studies. Margetts said RLOP will strengthen the Justice Studies program. It will attract additional high-caliber potential students to CSC from within our service region, he said. The program is also an example of how institutions of higher education across the state can work together to benefit all Nebraskans, Margetts said. Information about applying for the Rural Law Opportunities Program is available by contacting CSC director of admissions, Erin Heide, at 308-432-6263, cscadmissions@csc.edu, or on the web at csc.edu/rlop. Note: This version corrects the name of the LSAT. We apologize for the error. HOT SPRINGS A light agenda for the Hot Springs School Board at its Nov. 14 meeting was highlighted by a number of presentations by various groups, including the Hot Springs Student Council and the FFA class. The Student Council reported on its recent Veterans Day Program, which was held the previous Thursday in Case Auditorium. School board members praised the students on the success of the event, which honors area military veterans, and said that it is one of the best programs around. The FFA class was represented by instructor Tanna White and a trio of students Myca Cantrell, Kaylen Stearns and MeKenzie Cope who presented a slideshow featuring their recent attendance at the National Convention in Fair Oaks, Ind. The Hot Springs FFA program is in just its second year at the school, and first-year instructor Tanna White said they have 16 students who qualified to attend this years state competition. Classes involved in FFA, she said, include Animal Science, Leadership and Intro to Ag. Cantrell, Stearns and Cope attended the National Convention which featured a total of 58,000 FFA members from across the country by traveling with fellow South Dakota FFA members in a South Dakota Bus. The three students said the main highlights of the trip was meeting and getting to know other FFA members and also attending workshops which covered topics like #AGvocate, Pre-Veterinary training, Healthy Horses and career planning. Superintendent Kevin Coles asked each of the students why being a part of FFA was important to them, and each mentioned how either their parents or older siblings had been a part of FFA and how much they liked following in their familys footsteps. Each student also pointed out how FFA has helped them, not only learn more about agricultural topics, but also in other areas of their development. Cantrell, who is the FFA President at HSHS, said she recently earned a third place in a public speaking competition in FFA and how it has helped her be more confident. Following their presentation, White shared with the audience a grant she is pursuing that would allow the FFA members to build and grow plants in a greenhouse, which they hope to share with the community by providing plants that can be donated to community members or used for planting in the downtown street corner pods. Covered under the Consent Agenda discussion of the meeting, the Personnel Actions that were approved featured several changes in staffing including the resignation of current Business Manager Lori Libra, who stepped down to take the open K-12 Tech/Data position, which was vacated by Deana Castro who resigned earlier in the school. Libra however will remain in her capacity as Business Manager until that position is filled. Also listed on the Personnel Actions document was the transition of a pair of employees from a previously salaried position to a new hourly position. This was done as a result of a new federal law requiring exempt employees to meet new standards of compensation, in order to remain salaried. Maintenance/Custodial Manager Terry Fleharty and Transportation Manager Paul Libra will now both be hourly employees of the school, instead of being on an annual salary. This change then prompted further discussion by Supt. Coles and other school board members on the importance of ensuring employees do not work beyond the 40 hours per week to avoid additional overtime pay. A related agenda item under New Business rescinded a previous board action to pay $25.00 per hour for snow removal. Supt. Coles pointed out that this action was needing to be rescinded because the $25 would be less than what either Fleharty or Libra would be paid if the snow removal was being done as part of their time-and-a-half hourly pay, under their new employment status. Pennington County Commissioner George Ferebee is scheduled to go on trial today on a charge of violating a county zoning ordinance almost two years after he first received word he needed to comply with a septic system regulation. Even so, after all that time and numerous court proceedings, Ferebee faces few consequences if convicted. Prosecutors say he will not face jail time or a fine of more than $200 if convicted. Ferebees trial, at the Pennington County Courthouse, is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. today and is expected to last through the afternoon. The state said it is not clear whether Judge Eric Strawn will make a judgment in court at the end of the trial, or if he will issue a written decision afterward. On Monday, a state judge denied Ferebees motion to dismiss the charge, according to the South Dakota Attorney Generals Office, which is prosecuting the case. Ferebee had earlier argued that the nature of his land holding, in rural Hill City, exempted it from an ordinance that requires septic systems to be pumped, inspected and issued permits regularly. The case is classified as quasi civil-criminal, and the trial will follow criminal procedures. Instead of a jury trial, the prosecutor asked for a trial before a judge. In this situation, a jail sentence actual or suspended is out of the picture, according to documents filed in court. This is not the type of case that typically results in the imposition of jail time, and our attorney didnt see any reason to ask for jail in Mr. Ferebees case, said Sara Rabern, press officer at the Attorney Generals Office. Its a benefit to Mr. Ferebee that he is not at risk for any jail time. The commissioner is also not at risk of paying a huge fine. In an earlier order, Strawn said that if Ferebee is convicted, the court will not impose a fine exceeding $200. He cited two state legal precedents. Rabern said the order was based on Strawns understanding of the maximum fine allowed in such a case. According to the Pennington County Zoning Ordinance, a zoning violation is punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 and/or no more than 30 days in jail. Each day the violation occurs is considered a separate violation, and the date of the first violation is the date the property owner first received notice of it. In Ferebees case, the county sent his first notice on Feb. 18, 2015, according to court documents. Ferebee acquired his Hill City property in 1986 and applied to build a septic system the following year. The county's existing septic system regulation was issued in 2010. DEADWOOD | The group that owns Deadwood Mountain Grand said Tuesday night that it would reassess its plan to build a $35 million condo-hotel project in this mile-high tourism town. The decision came in light of two highly critical reports issued by the city and state historic preservation offices in the past four days. Appearing before the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission, DMG Managing Partner Marc Oswald of Nashville, Tenn., said that in light of the two staff reports he had just received, it was only prudent that the consortium withdraw its application, reassess its plans and return with a revised application for The Chalets at Deadwood Mountain Grand, possibly as soon as January. Initial plans for the project called for 103 one- and two-bedroom units to be built in 10 four-story structures on a steep hillside known as McGovern Hill, adjacent to the existing DMG. The Holiday Inn resort features a hotel, casino, restaurant and concert venue capable of hosting more than 2,000 people. But the scope and scale of the neighboring multimillion-dollar condo-hotel project triggered a backlash from some area residents, who believed it would dominate the National Historic Landmarks viewshed now primarily occupied by ponderosa pines. In recent days, the plan also came under the scrutiny of municipal and state offices charged with maintaining the historical integrity of the former gold mining camp-turned-tourist town. The proposed new construction is not compatible with the historic character of the setting, said a 49-page staff report issued late Friday by the Deadwood Historic Preservation Office. It is staffs opinion the proposed work and changes, as submitted, does encroach upon, damage or destroy the character of Deadwood and, therefore, does have an adverse effect on the historic character of the State and National Register Historic Districts and the Deadwood National Historic Landmark District. Perhaps there is a way to design the building to fit in this area of the district better, the report added. However, as stated previously, it is not the responsibility of this office to bring forth design alternatives. On Monday, the South Dakota Historic Preservation Office issued a report that echoed Deadwoods account and said the development as proposed did not adhere to the secretary of the interiors or the National Park Services guidelines for building or rehabilitating structures in historic districts. Under this proposal, the historic setting of McGovern Hill is substantially changed, the state said. Also, important views and significant visual relationships within the district are negatively impacted. Alleviating this impact is a challenge given the scale of the proposal versus the historical setting of this part of the district. Deadwood was first recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1961 under the Historic Sites Act. In 1985, the boundaries were formally established with the National Park Service as a National Register District consisting of everything within the city limits of Deadwood. According to the park service, Deadwood technically has two historic districts the National Historic Landmark district and the National Register District, each with the same boundaries. In addition, the state has proclaimed Deadwood a State Registered Historic District. After Tuesday nights meeting, DMG CEO Robert Ekman said the companys management group and its design team had not yet had the opportunity to fully evaluate either the city's or the state's reports. Once it has, Ekman said he expected the group to return with a revised application for consideration by the Deadwood commission, perhaps in January. CANNON BALL, N.D. | Law enforcement officials are investigating an explosion that took place Monday at the Backwater Bridge during the ongoing protest against the Dakota Access pipeline, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol. Officers reported hearing an explosion around 3 a.m. during Dakota Access pipeline protest activity on Monday. Officers on scene said two males and a female were near a remaining burned vehicle, left from a Oct. 27 clash between opponents of the crude oil pipeline and law enforcement, on the north side of Backwater Bridge. Police ordered them to come out and then fired bean bags and sponge rounds in attempt to drive them away from barricades. Officers then reported more people approaching the area, one of them rolling multiple silver cylinder objects toward the burned vehicle. It was at this time an explosion occurred and several protesters ran to the area, pulled a female from under the burned vehicle and fled the scene. Investigators found one-pound propane cylinders, including one that appeared to be intentionally punctured, as well as large rocks and glass jars consistent with the design of Molotov cocktails. Highway Patrol released photos of "improvised explosive devices" found near Backwater Bridge, including small propane tanks, slingshots and rocks. Meanwhile, the father of a 21-year-old woman from New York says his daughter was seriously injured while protesting the pipeline. Wayne Wilansky says 21-year-old Sophia Wilansky is having a second surgery on a damaged arm at a Minneapolis hospital and might lose the arm. He says his daughter told him she saw a law enforcement officer throw an object at her that exploded. Wilansky was injured during a clash late Sunday near the camp along the pipeline route in southern North Dakota where protesters have gathered for months. The Morton County Sheriff's Office has said authorities didn't use any concussion grenades and suggested an explosion heard during the skirmish might have been caused by small propane tanks that authorities said protesters had rigged to explode. The trial of George Ferebee, a Pennington County Commissioner, who is being charged with violating a county zoning ordinance, was canceled at the last minute Wednesday after Ferebee agreed to comply with the regulation. The trial was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. today. The prosecutor told the Seventh Circuit Court at around 11:15 a.m. that Pennington County has agreed to dismiss Ferebees charge if he complies with its septic system ordinance within 90 days. There are two options open to Ferebee, said Assistant Attorney General Chad Callahan. He can work for exemption from the ordinance by moving his septic system to a lot that is at least 40 acres. Or, he can have the system pumped, inspected and certified and pay the corresponding costs. The septic system is located in Ferebees land holding in rural Hill City. The presiding judge, Eric Strawn, said that if Ferebee fails to comply with the agreement, his trial will proceed as soon as one can be scheduled. PIERRE | Just as President-elect Donald Trump hopes to build a wall around America's southern border, so too do South Dakota officials want to build a security wall around the state Capitol building. The commission that oversees the Capitol complex gave approval Tuesday to the concept to improve security at the state's center of government. A wall with a stone or concrete base would be installed around the north side between the semi-circular parking area and the four triangles of lawn. The new barrier would replace the chest-high hedge now in place. Theres several dead spots. Its definitely coming out, Leah Svendsen said about the hedge. Raised beds and concrete or stone benches also are in consideration to protect the side entrances to the east and west wings. Svendsen said the Bureau of Administration doesnt have funding yet for the wall and is looking into applying for a federal Homeland Security grant. If Homeland Security funding isnt obtained, a wrought iron fence could be installed instead, she said. This would be a first start, Jeff Holden, commissioner of administration, told members of the Capitol Complex Restoration and Beautification Commission. He said the goal is to deter vehicles from driving up to the building and that other security improvements would be needed for further protection. The Dolly-Reed Plazas hedge along Wells Avenue also would be removed and replaced by wrought-iron barriers that previously were inside the Capitol, Svendsen said. The commission gave approval 5-0 to proceed with the projects. Russia to seek Trust Bank ex-owners extradition from Ukraine MOSCOW, November 23 (RAPSI) Russia will seek the extradition from Ukraine of former Trust Bank owner Ilya Yurov, who was arrested in absentia on embezzlement charges, Prosecutor Generals Office reported Wednesday. The Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB) for Ukraine informed Prosecutor Generals Office that Yurov had been arrested at Boryspil International airport outside Kiev, Ukraine, the statement reads. In late December 2014, the Central Bank of Russia said it would provide Trust Bank with up to 30 billion roubles ($530 million) to stop it going bankrupt. At the time the bank was placed under temporary supervision of the Deposit Insurance Agency it was on the list of top 30 Russian banks. The financial rehabilitation of Trust Bank was led by FC Otkritie Bank, part of Otkritie Holding JSC. As a result, Trust Bank now operates as a subsidiary of Otkritie Holding. On December 17, 2015, Moscow's Tverskoy District Court issued an arrest warrant in absentia for Yurov and two other former owners of the bank, Nikolay Fetisov and Sergey Belyaev, implicated in a large scale embezzlement case. As reported earlier, they allegedly concluded sham credit contracts with companies registered in Cyprus and then transferred funds to accounts controlled by Trust Bank ex-owners. In February 2016, Trust Bank lodged a lawsuit with the London High Court seeking $830 million in damages from its Yurov, Fetisov and Belyaev. The claim was filed following a court decision to freeze assets belonging to ex-shareholders. The ruling was delivered on the grounds that companies connected with the defendants obtained credits amounting to $1 billion providing security worth nearly $150 million, according to the statement of Otkritie Holding. These loans were serviced prior to reorganization of Trust Bank in 2014. Before lodging of the claim, in January, Trust Bank turned to the London High Court seeking to freeze accounts of ex-owners and suspend a deal stipulating free divestment of assets priced at $100 million, Otkritie Holdings press service said. In May, Yurov sought for reversal of the assets freeze. However, this motion was dismissed. Convicted "Crossbow Coup" plotter to go on trial for alleged calls to terrorism MOSCOW, November 23 (RAPSI) Retired Russian military intelligence colonel Vladimir Kvachkov, who was convicted for attempted instigation of an armed riot, will stand trial on charges of making public calls for terrorism, the prosecutors office of Republic of Mordovia announced on its website on Wednesday. The republics Deputy Prosecutor Alexey Berezin has approved an indictment in the case, the statement reads. The case has been forwarded to a military court for consideration. In March, a new criminal case was opened against Kvachkov over pushing for terrorist activities or justifying terrorism. According to case papers, Kvachkov, who is serving his sentence in a Mordovias prison, made a video appeal via his cellphone in 2015. Investigators believe that other inmates sent the video to email of persons at large. These people later posted it on the Internet. Experts found that the video contained linguistic and psychological elements of inciting the public to violent coup and acts of violence against Russian authorities, the statement reads. Kvachkov could face up to 7 years in prison if found guilty. Kvachkov, who was acquitted of charges in the attempted murder of former UES CEO Anatoly Chubais in 2005, was found guilty on February 8, 2013, of organizing an armed coup and was sentenced to 13 years in prison and one year of custodial restraint. Later, the Supreme Court mitigated the sentence to eight years in a high security prison. Kvachkov is thought to have masterminded plans to oust the government with a small group of followers. Kvachkov has denied all charges but during the trial defended the right of Russian citizens to hold an uprising." A career military officer, Kvachkov commanded a Special Forces unit in Afghanistan in 1983. In 1984, after sustaining a head injury, he was awarded the prestigious Order of the Red Star and later received the Order of Courage. Assets of Russian ex-lawmaker worth about $116 mln frozen in U.S. MOSCOW, November 23 (RAPSI) The United States District Court for the Central District of California ordered to freeze the assets of Ashot Yegiazaryan, a former Russia's State Duma lawmaker, worth almost $116 million. In November 2014, the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) ordered Yegiazaryan and Kalken Holdings Ltd. under his control to pay $84 million plus interest to businessman Vitaly Smagin, who said his shares in a company that owned and operated a shopping center in central Moscow had been stolen. Yegiazaryan first challenged the award in Londons High Court. He claimed among other issues that a 2008 partnership agreement with Smagin that included an arbitration clause was invalid. Yegiazaryan further alleged that he did not sign the 2008 agreement, but rather that his signature was forged. In July 2015, Londons High Court dismissed the complaint which had been lodged by Yegiazaryan. He appealed contesting only the effectiveness of the arbitration clause. The appeal was scheduled to be heard and decided in May. However, due to a significant backlog in the Court of Appeal, it is more likely to be heard later this year, court records show. Meanwhile, Smagin seeks the recognition and enforcement of the arbitration award in the United States, where Yegiazaryan resides. In December of 2014, he filed a complaint with the California District Court. In early February, he moved the court for issuance of a summary judgment noting that Yegiazaryan had avoided payment of the award for over a year concealing his assets in jurisdictions worldwide. The California District Court ruled in March the LCIA award to be recognized and enforced. Yegiazaryan was ordered to pay over $92.5 million. He later appealed the ruling. In the meantime, assets of Yegiazaryan were frozen by the Los Angeles Superior Court. The court decision included $188 million placed in a trust managed by a Lichtenstein trustee, the court records show. After failing to persuade the Los Angeles court to stay the freeze, which was to terminate in mid-October, Smagin filed an application for emergency injunctive relief with the California District Court. The application was granted. Otherwise, judge Manuel Real said in his ruling, Smagin would be left without protection from Mr. Yegiazaryans duplicity. POLSON Anglers have caught 437,258 lake trout out of Flathead Lake in the 14 years of Mack Days fishing tournaments. But probably only one of them has landed a bride. When Missoula chiropractor Chris Moore decided to propose to his girlfriend, Amanda Ormsby, last weekend, he decided to make the request a memorable one. Amanda loves fishing, which is part of why I chose to do it this way, Moore says. Moore cooked up his surprise and, with the help of his buddy, Brandon Bretz, set about pulling it off last Sunday, during the final day of Fall Mack Days. Moore and Bretz usually get in several days of fishing during Mack Days tournaments, but have been so busy this fall that theyd only been able to make it out for half a day, back on opening day on Sept. 23. I called Bretz and said, Hey, we need to go fishing, and told him why, Moore says. He liked it, and I knew I was going to need some help to pull it off. They climbed in Bretzs boat, headed out, and waited until there was a lull in the fishing, Moore says. That provided the excuse for one of them to announce that Maybe we should switch it up, and put on a flat fish. The two men had Ormsby take over driving the boat while they retreated to the stern to tie on a No. 7 flat fish lure to use trolling. They also attached the small engagement ring box to the line while Ormsby was busy driving the boat, dropped the line in the water, let it out, and put the rod in a downrigger. We set it on the clip as light as we could, Moore says, so the pressure of the water would kick it off and make it look like a fish was on. Bretz took over driving duties. It took some doing to fake the bite, but when it happened, We yelled at Amanda to get the rod, Moore says. It didnt take her long to realize something wasnt right as she reeled in the line Its not fighting, Ormsby noted and Moore edged closer to look. What is on it? he asked as the lure neared the surface, grabbing the line and lifting the ring box out of the water. What is that? A smile spread across his face, giving away what was about to happen. As he got down on one knee, the box in hand, a surprised Ormsby said, Are you serious? Are you serious? And then the marriage proposal hit a serious snag. Moore opened the box. It was empty. Whatd you do? Bretz asked Moore. Its not in there, he replied, his eyes darting around the floor of the boat. Oh, God, Ormsby said. I was wondering if he was dumb enough to put a ring in a box and drop it into Flathead Lake, Ormsby said later. Im glad hes not. Moore angrily flung the empty box on the floor and turned away, but couldnt hold the grin off his face very long. In the space of about two seconds he had pulled another engagement ring box out of his back pocket, headed back down on one knee while saying, Just kidding will you marry me? This box had the ring in it. Amandas face was so funny, Moore says. After I knew I had her fooled, I pulled the ring out of my back pocket. I was shocked. Speechless, says Ormsby, who works for Home Instead Senior Care in Missoula. The two have known each other for about 2 years, a relationship that initially began as a friendship according to Moore, the owner of Western Montana Spine and Injury Clinic. They had discussed marriage, he says, but Ormsby had no idea a proposal was coming her way Sunday much less one that emerged from the depths of Flathead Lake. Oh, and her answer? She said yes. Even without the ring, I would have said yes, Ormsby says. Literacy Bitterroot has moved across the street with the Human Resource Council to 303 N. Third in Hamilton. The signs are not yet in place and the remodel is not complete, but executive director Dixie Stark and the teachers at Literacy Bitterroot are changing the lives of their students by providing education, guidance and help in completing the necessary paperwork. Literacy Bitterroot teaches adults who are reading below a 12th grade level to improve their skills in reading, writing and math. The goal is high school graduation achieved with passing a High School Equivalency Test (HiSET) that replaced the General Educational Development (GED) in Montana. In March, Literacy Bitterroot will have served students for 26 years. They typically have 150 to 200 students and 45 to 65 graduates each year. Stark said when she started with the program she worked part-time. It had all volunteer teachers and they only worked with adults who could not read. Right now most of our teachers and tutors are paid, Stark said. We are serving people from those who cant read to those who are preparing to enter college. Stark said the biggest change is that five years ago when a student learned enough to get their diploma they just shook their hand and said good luck. Now we are strongly encouraged or even required to help those people transition to college or the work place, which is what we wanted to do all along, she said. We are helping people get through high school so they can move on with their lives. Stark said Literacy Bitterroot has a broader mission and an exciting program. It used to be that unless you were a drop out from high school you couldnt come here, she said. Now we can take anybody that needs to brush up on their math or writing classes for college. Last year the Literacy Bitterroot helped students through their math program, saving them $1,500 in college tuition. We have had several students who have been able to skip the first three developmental math classes, Stark said. We have had more students skipping at least one. The Literacy Bitterroot services are free and teach math and writing classes in their new location and at the Bitterroot College, Corvallis High School, Darby Community Public Library and Stevensville High School. For math classes they use EdReady Montana, delivered through the Montana Digital Academy, and an onsite instructor. These are online courses with an instructor that I pay for because if they get stuck they have someone to help them, Stark said. The advantage is work can be done on any computer with internet access, especially if a students job requires travel. EdReady math starts in pre algebra and goes to algebra or we put them into a HiSET prep course that has algebra and geometry in it, Stark said. If they already have basic math skills, we can put them in a higher math class. Students who know they want to take a college math class later can preview it free now with Literacy Bitterroot. Then when they take that class at college they know the gist of it, Stark said. I think this is really exciting. Stark said she works with a broad variety of people, including some who struggle. Maybe theyve had a traumatic brain injury, cant drive at night, or have forgotten the math they did know, she said. Maybe they just didnt get to finish high school or maybe they did finish but dont have the skills they need right now to go for the career they want. To get into Literacy Bitterroot the students take three steps: orientation, taking the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) and enrolling in Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) class. Stark helps students who want to go into a certain career field practice reading for the HiSET using the material in their field. Our goal is to help track the students desires and to integrate into instruction pieces that will help them meet their goal, Stark said. We are trying to initiate career conversations at intake instead of exit. Its a major change for our program. Stark said math is the greatest need for her students to be prepared for college. We still call ourselves the literacy program but we could easily be called the numeracy program, she said. The need for math seems to be growing more rapidly among our student population more than our need for other subjects. More than half our students need remediation in math. Stark said some students need more than one year to meet their goal and she is proud of them for staying the course. That shows persistence and that we are providing a valuable service, she said. We like to say adults vote with their feet, if they dont like what they are getting they leave. Literacy Bitterroot offers one on one tutoring, help determining career choices, the opportunity to take tests needed for Job Service and extra education to pass state certifications and licensing. Often the people struggling with the licensing tests are the ones that work best with their hands, Stark said. They are hands-on learners. They learn how to cut hair or fix a truck or weld and they are really good at that but they struggle with the test. Those people need to come to us earlier, or later. They need to come to us, we want to help them. Stark said that local donations provide 20 to 30 percent of the budget for Literacy Bitterroot. Without them there would be no program, she said. For every dollar that is given privately we leverage $4 or $5 from outside the community. We need the match locally for federal and state funds or we could not pull in the foundation grants because they need to show we are providing a service that makes sense for our community. Find out more about Literacy Bitterroot, 303 North Third Street, Suite A, in Hamilton, by calling 406-363-2900 or by visiting online literacybitterroot.org. The generous community in the Bitterroot Valley is providing food boxes and hot meals for families this Thanksgiving holiday. The Norton family is hosting a hot Thanksgiving meal for a donation, 2-5 p.m., at the Victor Senior Citizens Center, at the corner of 5th Ave. and Blake Street. If you have money, put it in, if not come eat anyway, said cook Betty Norton. Norton family grandkids started this about five years ago. We didnt do it last year due to the total kitchen remodel. Norton said their family celebrates Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday, which made it possible for them to host the community dinner. The grandkids decided to do an outreach for everyone that doesnt have a place to go, she said. The first year we had 50-60 people and it has grown. Anyone that walks in the door is fed, until the food runs out anyway. Norton has been the cook for Council on Aging and the Victor Senior Center for 16 years. She will be cooking five turkeys, three hams, yams, green bean casserole and all the stuff that goes with it, she said. Norton said she has plenty of help from her four grandchildren, six great grandchildren and local volunteers. The senior center donated the turkeys and hams and this event serves as a fundraiser for the center. As people enter, they can donate to help cover the costs. Norton said the amount varies from $1 to $100. She would appreciate people bringing a dessert or a salad to share. Its a great community and this is a wonderful thing for people that dont have anywhere to go, Norton said. Well serve buffet style so people can help themselves. Im not waiting on you. In Hamilton, the Grace Lutheran Church is hosting a community dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Thanksgiving. No charge, but donations are accepted. Pastor Verne Sandersfeld said the dinner is a tradition. Weve done this for over 20 years, he said. Everyone is welcome to come. We gladly welcome others to come serve or clean up. We have the food covered for this year, but if people would like to help that would be great. Sandersfeld said the parishioners are baking 10 hams and 10 turkeys. He said many church members attend the Thanksgiving dinner that is open to everyone who has no place to go or just wants company. Part-time secretary Linda McCurdy said, The dinner is an interesting mix of people and a lot of fun. When my husband and I came last year, we had nowhere to go, she said. We came and worked with cooking and serving. Some people eat with us and take a box for a friend. Its a cool thing and a way to help people out when its a time that is not nice to be alone. Grace Lutheran Church will deliver meals if someone cannot attend but would like a meal. Call (406) 363-1924 by Nov. 23 with a name, address and phone number. People who attend can take a go-box to a neighbor or friend. This dinner is especially great if people cant be with their families, Sandersfeld said. We hope people see the love of God in our service. Hes been good to us, thats why we do it. Grace Lutheran Church is located at 275 Hattie Lane, accessible by Daly Lane. In the Bitterroot Valley, businesses and organizations are delivering boxes to people who have signed up for food. The Salvation Army coordinated boxes of food and is presently taking applications for Toys for Tots for kids age 1 to 17 years, call 406-210-1453. BILLINGS It was another record year for removal of lake trout from Yellowstone Lake about 366,000 of the nonnative trout were netted and killed in an effort to restore the fisherys native Yellowstone cutthroat trout. The population size structure is continuing to show signs of collapse, said Todd Koel, Yellowstone fisheries supervisor. There are fewer large fish and small fish. Whats more, the Park Service may have found a new way to recycle those dead fish that would mean even fewer lake trout in the ecosystem using the lake trout carcasses to smother their progeny. In test plots in the lake, as well as a Bozeman laboratory, dumping the dead fish on lake trout eggs killed all of the embryos in about two weeks. The mechanism we dont know exactly, Koel said. But all of that stuff that causes decay bacteria and fungus along with no oxygen resulted in 100 percent mortality. It didnt matter how deep the eggs were. The lake trout spawn in the last two weeks of September, so the window to apply the dead fish to the spawning sites which can be as large as about 1.5 acres is fairly small. Although netting typically continues into October, the shorter days, colder weather and difficult conditions can mean a lessened take. Its a narrow window, Koel said. Historic slide Last years lake trout take was 315,000 fish. In the last five years the intensive netting program, which this year utilized three crews on four contract boats and two National Park Service boats, has killed about 1.5 million lake trout. Intensive efforts to remove the fish began in 2012, although the program has been around since the mid-1990s. Lake trout were first detected in the water in 1994. Prior to the lake trouts illegal introduction into Yellowstone Lake, the water body was a stronghold for the Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Slowly the natives are making a comeback, signaled by more cutthroat spawning in the lakes tributaries, like Little Thumb Creek which attracted grizzly and black bears that fed on the fish. On Clear Creek, a one-time cutthroat spawning haven, acoustic monitors counted 750 fish, up from the 500 to 600 fish counted in 2008. Reports from anglers in the remote Thorofare region of the park also noted more and bigger cutthroat trout, Koel said. Thats got to be where most of the pulses of fish were seeing in our monitoring are coming from the upper Yellowstone in the Thorofare and maybe in the Yellowstone River down in the Hayden Valley, he said. Experimenting Dumping fish on carcasses is the latest attempt to find a way to kill lake trout eggs. Experiments with electrified mats to zap the eggs proved ineffective in Yellowstones clear waters, which didnt conduct electricity well, Koel said. Rotenone, a toxin, was considered but the eggs had to be bathed in a solution of the chemical for 12 hours an impossible length of time under natural conditions. Other methods tried and disproved were salting the eggs and suction dredging. Thats why this carcass work is so exciting, Koel said. We have that material out there already. Its not introducing anything foreign. So it has all kinds of attractive attributes. Part of the issue is how many carcasses does it take to cover a spawning area. So far, the Park Service has identified about 12 spawning sites around the 132 square-mile lake using tagged Judas fish. Scuba divers and a remotely operated vehicle have helped to narrow down the parameters of the spawning sites, Koel said. This isnt over yet, he said. There are a lot of challenges to implementing this on a larger scale. Tibetas exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama addresses those gathered at Buyant Ukhaa sport palace in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, November 20, 2016. Photo: REUTERS ULAANBAATAR: Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said Wednesday he has no worries about Donald Trumps election as US president, adding that he expects the businessman will align his future policies with global realities. The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winners remarks were his most extensive yet regarding the election of the real estate tycoon and reality television star who has called for putting Americas concerns first and shown little interest in Washingtons traditional espousal of global democracy and social justice. Commenting at the conclusion of a four-day visit to Mongolia, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism said he looks forward to seeing Trump at some point following the Jan. 20 inauguration. Such meetings usually draw protests from Beijing, which accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to split Tibet from China. The 81-year-old monk said he has always regarded the US as the leader of the free world and wasnt concerned about remarks made by Trump during the election campaign. Some of those comments have been cited as offensive to Muslims, Hispanics and other US minority groups. I feel during the election, the candidate has more freedom to express. Now once they (are) elected, having the responsibility, then they have to carry their cooperation, their work, according (to) reality, he told reporters in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. So I have no worries. Tenzin Dhardon Sharling, spokeswoman for the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, said she was not aware of any plans for a meeting between the Dalai Lama and Trump. She said the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan exile community have enjoyed good relations with successive US presidents and expected that to continue under a Trump administration. His holiness has always put great hope in the US as a champion of democracy. He hopes for continued support from the new president and his government, she said in a telephone interview. China had demanded Mongolia scrap his visit for the sake of the general picture of a sound and steady development of bilateral ties. Mongolias fragile economy is heavily dependent on China, and the countries are in discussions of a $1.2 billion Chinese loan to help pull it out of a recession. Mongolian television station Eagle TVs website reported that China has delayed talks on the loan and on cooperation in mining, apparently in response to the visit by the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959. Mongolias Foreign Ministry said it had not received any notice, while Chinas Foreign Ministry offered no confirmation but demanded Mongolia take measures to eliminate the negative impact of the visit. The incorrect actions of the Mongolian side regarding the Dalais visit harmed the political foundations of China-Mongolian relations and caused a negative impact on the development of the bilateral relations, spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters at a daily briefing. In his comments in Ulaanbaatar, the Dalai Lama said his visit to the landlocked, primarily Buddhist nation had no political purpose and that he had not publicly advocated independence for Tibet since 1974. The Dalai Lama has long called for Tibet to remain under Chinese rule, but with greater political participation by Tibetans and stronger protections for its traditional Buddhist culture. China says Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, although many Tibetans say they were effectively an independent country for much of that time. Asked to comment on climate change which Trump has denounced as a hoax the Dalai Lama said he was heartened by the turn to alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power. I think we must now concentrate on these things. I dont know whether we can reduce cars or not. People everywhere busy, busy. I dont know if it will be possible, he said. Referencing past efforts to minimise damage to the ozone layer, the Dalai Lama said that raised the chances of similar cooperation on climate change. So that gives us hope, there is possibility, he said. While the US has in the past called on China to respect civil liberties in Tibet, Trump has praised authoritarian rulers such as Russias Vladimir Putin who have been strongly criticised by human rights groups. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Trump in a phone call and the countrys state media have welcomed his election as harkening a less confrontational policy toward China. Those outlets have also applauded Trumps announcement that he would abandon a US-led free trade agreement in Asia that had excluded China. However, Trump has also accused Beijing of unfair trade practices and pledged to bulk-up the US military, leaving questions as to his ultimate approach to relations with the worlds second-largest economy. BHAKTAPUR, Nov 23: The Bhaktapur-based Human Organ Transplant Center has performed a successful heart surgery for the first time in the history of its establishment. A team comprising senior heart surgeons Dr Mohandev Bhandari, Dr Sampurnaman Tuladhar, Dr Prem Raj Baidhya, cardiologist Dr Kartikesh Kumar Thakur, anaesthesiologist Dr Sandeep Bhandari and some other foreign doctors was involved in the successful heart operation on a patient from the eastern Sankhuwasabha district last Thursday. At a press meet organized by the center here today, centre Chief Dr Pukarchandra Shrestha said the centre achieved a noticeable progress in the heart treatment in less than a month of the starting of the service. The center is the sole health facility in Bhaktapur providing the heart treatment services and has started the heart surgery as the fourth government facility in the country. We plan to start the transplant of the cardiac valve and liver in near future, he said on the occasion. RSS Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong Kathmandu, Nepal: Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong has said that efforts would be made for President Xis early visit to Nepal. Chinese Ambassador has made the commitment during the meeting with various leaders in Nepal. Newly arrived Chinese Ambassador Yu has intensified meetings with Nepalese authorities. During the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home affairs Bimalendra Nidhi, she had reiterated her commitment stating that she will make maximum effort to make Chinese President Xis early visit to Nepal. During the meeting, she had also said that a study is being carried out to resume the Tatopani border point. The only main border point between Nepal and China remained close since the devastating earthquake on April 25, 2015 triggering huge loss. KATHMANDU, Nov 23: The government is all set to table the constitution amendment proposal at the Legislature-Parliament within the next three days. A meeting held among the ruling partners, the Madhesi Front and the Federal Alliance this morning agreed on the matter. An agreement has been reached to table a proposal for amending the country's main law by incorporating the issues pertaining to the boundary of provinces, proportional representation in the National Assembly, citizenship and other technical ones. Talking to media after the meeting, Secretary of the major ruling party CPN (Maoist Centre) Barshaman Pun confirmed the meeting understanding to introduce the statute amendment proposal to the House within the next three days. There was an understanding in the meeting that the government would table an amendment proposal regarding the constitution at the parliament being based on the discussions held in the meeting, he said. Likewise, commenting over meeting, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ramesh Lekhak said the meeting with the dissenting parties ended into a very positive note with the agreement on tabling an amendment proposal very soon. "The tri-party meeting went through discussions in a very cordial manner and ended positively. It has created trust on public sphere that the country would head towards the election soon with seeing a greater-acceptability of the constitution." Although, the Alliance has also given a positive comment on the meeting outcome, it has remarked that it would support the constitution implementation process by presenting their some differing views as the 'note of dissent'. Terai-Madhes Democratic Party's senior Vice-Chair Hridayesh Tripathi shared that his party has accepted the agreement on registering the constitution amendment proposal in the parliament. "The government presenting at least the constitution amendment proposal in the House is a positive move. The proposal will be registered on four different issues," asserted Tripathi, expressing his confidence that their concerned would be addressed through amendment. Maoist Centre Secretary Pun said consultations with the opposition political parties would be held on constitution amendment only after tabling the amendment proposal in the Parliament. The structure of federalism will be based on the model of seven provinces presented by the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML in the course of state restructuring of the country under the federal setup. Nawalpur and Parasi of Nawalparasi district will remain intact while Rolpa and Rukum districts that were earlier proposed to be under province no. 6 will be integrated into province-5 as per the new proposal on the state restructuring floated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Likewise, other districts like Gulmi, Palpa, Argakhanchi and Pyuthan will be incorporated into either province-4 or 6. The meeting was attended by PM Dahal, who is also Chairman of the Maoist Centre, President of government coalition partner Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba and top leaders of coalition partners in the government. RSS Kathmandu, Nepal: The Nepali Congress, the largest party in the parliament and the oldest democratic party of the country, has decided to take initiations to persuade the political parties particularly the main opposition CPN UML and the agitating Madhes based parties over the issue of constitution amendment. The Nepali Congress, which is also a coalition partner of the incumbent CPN Maoist Center led government, has made decision in the mean time when the main opposition CPN UML has stand against the constitution amendment proposal. A meeting of Nepali Congress senior leaders held on Tuesday decided to hold serious talks with main opposition CPN-UML and Madhes-based parties. It is said that bilateral and trilateral talks will be held likely from Wednesday. Though the government allies- Nepali Congress and CPN Maoist Center- had already made commitment to address the genuine concerns raised by the agitating Madhes based parties by amending in the constitution, the CPN UML has been clinching on the stand that there is no need and justification to amend the constitution. However, interesting fact is that political parties have been wrangling over the issue instead of constitution amendment proposal. Neither the government nor any political parties have made public the constitution amendment proposal. An Ultralight aircraft is seen flying near Mt Machhapuchhre. Photo: Avia Club Nepal Pokhara, Nepal: An Ultra light aircraft met with an accident at Bamdi in Chapakot VDC of Kaski district in western Nepal leaving one dead and another injured critically on Wednesday. According to the police the deceased has been identified as pilot Alexandr Maximov, who was a Russian national with passport number 5N05695819. He had breathed his last during the course of treatment at the Gandaki Medical College. He had been working with the Avia Club Nepal, which operates the Ultra light aircraft in Pokhara. Though the reason behind the accident is not revealed yet, it is said that the accident had occurred soon after the flight takeoff. The injured person is identified as Canadian national Jillene Marie Volker, 27, who was on an adventure flight. He has been receiving treatment at Gandaki Medical College. It is said that his is serious in condition. An error occurred while processing your request. The page you are looking for on this website is unavailable, has moved, or does not exist. Please visit collinsaerospace.com to find the product or service you are looking for. Free Software Movement of India (fsmi.in) Press release 22 November 2016 The District Magistrate of Indore has issued an order a Order/2956/RADM/2016, Indore/Date 14/11/2016 under Section 144 a banning any criticism on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc., on exchange of old currency that is aobjectionablea or can acause incitementa . The order is attached here. This, in effect, is a blanket ban on any criticism of the Government on its failure to provide sufficient new notes for the old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes that it has demonetised. Clearly, having failed to remonetise the economy and putting the common man to immense hardship, the government now wants to clamp down on all criticism on its failures. The use of Section 144 for censorship of social media also goes far beyond what the Supreme Court has held in its various judgements. The Supreme Court, in Madhu Limaye and Anr v. Ved Murti and Ors. ((1970) 3 SCC 746), held that the use of Section 144 is justified only for prevention of public disturbance or violence, and urgency as the only ground for using this section. The state and central governments have been using Section 144 arbitrarily in shutting down the internet and going far beyond what its powers are under Section 144. It has now extended such powers, earlier used only for banning public assembly, to now attacking peoples rights of Freedom of Speech, guaranteed under the Section 19. It shows the desperation of the Central and the Madhya Pradesh governments that having failed in the elementary task of providing money to the people for conducting their day to day lives, they are resorting to such draconian measures to stifle all legitimate criticism. The Free Software Movement of India demands that this Order of the District Magistrate be immediately withdrawn and the Madhya Pradesh government issue an apology to the people for this action. Yours Sincerely sd/- Kiran Chandra Yarlagadda General Secretary Free Software Movement of India Sy. No. 91, Beside AALIM, Greenlands colony, Gachibowli XRoads, Sherilingampally, Rangareddy Dt., Hyderabad Pin: 500032 Ph: +919490098011 Sometimes ghosts are visible, sometimes invisible, and sometimes 'ghosts' are the emptiness, the palpable void left behind. And the latter can be the most frightening and sad of all. In Russudan Gluridze's feature film House of Others, the ghosts are both the living who inhabit an almost deserted village, and the void that follows them as they attempt to live some sort of life out of almost nothing. It is a remarkably assured directorial debut, one that creeps into the soul as much as it saddens the heart. Astamur (Zurab Magalashvili) and Liza (Olga Dykhovichnaya) arrive in an almost deserted village with their two children, to take over a house abandoned by a family forced out by the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. Their only neighbours are Ira (Salome Demuria), her sister Azida (Ia Sukhitashvili) and her teenage niece Nata (Ekaterine Japaridze). Liza tries to make a home of their strange house, while Astamur is still haunted by his memories of the war. Ira, a militant-like personality, makes it clear that the new family's presence is unwelcome, even as Nata and Astamur's young son Leo become friends. The landscape's beauty and loneliness is evident in part by the longing lens of cinematographer Gorka Gomez Andreu; he and Glurisze; the only stand-out colour is green (the piece of hope, trees that will bear fruit and earn an income for the new family), while everything else is washed out shades of beige and grey. With this landscape comes an emptiness of sound, a lack of birdsong, animals, human voices, anything to distract from the memories of the war. But this place is almost a limbo: not a purgatory for those to pay for their sins, but neither is it hell. It reads as a series of almost-still paintings, a dream atmosphere in which the sleeper cannot wake. Ira takes to watching the neighbours through binoculars and flexing her power through her gun; Astamur wanders the fields in a vain effort to release his emotional pain; and Nata and Leo try to find their childhood through simple play. But all these feel like distractions from what seems like the end of the world. But this is no explosive end to the world; these people are the leftovers, those who somehow survived for what feels like nothing. The film is loosely based on Gluridze's own experiences as a child, and somewhat taken from that recollection, in that little detail is given as to the context of the specific time and place. But this is mostly irrelevant; all is allegory and allusion, with every movement made and word spoken having deep consequences and meaning. Literal truth is useless at this point, as nothing can make up for the sins of the past. Ira and her family are the living ghosts of this place, reminders of who had to flee; Astamur and his family might become ghosts if they cannot escape. Mirrors and windows give the feeling of the characters are part of a melancholic theatre play, perhaps characters in search of an author, one who also went missing in the war, never to return, leaving them bereft of an end to their story. In communicating so much pain and longing that cannot easily be expressed, Gluridze creates a deeply haunting film, one that meanders a foggy, poetic path that likely has no end. The world may not look at Dar Salim quite the same way ever again. Though you may not know his name you certainly know Salim's face if you've been paying any attention at all to Danish cinema over the past decade as the versatile actor has been on an incredible run over the past decade, establishing himself not only as the region's leading go-to option when they need an actor of Middle Eastern descent but one of the area's most reliable supporting actors, period, regardless of the origin of the character. With key parts in high profile series such as Borgen and The Bridge through to high profile films such as A Hijacking and A War you can't really take a run through recent Danish film without tripping over Salim at some point. And it's pretty much always a good thing when you find him. Hell, he even had a pretty significant - albeit hard to recognize, given that he had hair - part on Game Of Thrones. But the thing with Salim is that he has, until this point, pretty much always been cast in supporting parts only and never given the chance to carry a lead. That changes with Darkland (Underverden). Salim plays a wealthy, successful doctor who has left his working class origins behind until his younger brother is killed in gang related violence. Finding no help from the police who see little beyond the race of his slain brother the surviving doctor dives into an dark odyssey of vigilante justice. We shared the first teaser for Fenar Ahmad's feature back when it came out and were already quite impressed by that. But that first teaser has now been followed by a full trailer and, well, damn. This is slick, stylish, edgy stuff of the highest order. Ahmad is clearly a significant talent behind the camera while Salim delivers a compelling physical presence. This simply looks great. Check it out below. Noem My Skollie (Call Me Thief) is Daryn Joshua's emphatic debut and Dann-jacques Mouton's breakout performance, but the heart of this year's South African Oscar submission belongs to its writer, John Fredericks, on whose life growing up in the townships around Cape Town, and in the infamous Pollsmoor Prison, the story is based. Though the autobiographical threads contribute an undeniable gravitas, the film's success ultimately rests on the phenomenal performances of Austin Rose and Dann-jacques Mouton, who play the fictional protagonist AB during two periods of his life. In youth, the filmmakers turned to Rose, a remarkable new talent who handles some of the story's most difficult material with a stoic maturity that belies his age. In adulthood, AB is played by Mouton, who has now delivered two of the most riveting South African performances in as many years, following his role in last year's Abraham (the final film from South Africa's most celebrated director, Jans Rautenbach, who passed away earlier this month, aged 80). AB has a gift for storytelling, from a young age, but an assault of the worst kind compels him to form a gang with his young friends, the better to protect each other. Eventually AB finds himself in jail, and at the whim of the notorious Numbers gangs. There he uses his story-telling talents to evade the worst of prisons prices, and the otherwise inevitable - and irrevocable - indoctrination into Numbers society. A word of caution: its a tough film at times. Like, Cannes tough, though not quite Irreversible, if you get my drift. The film does not shy from reality, and reality within Pollsmoor Prison, and indeed outside it, can be difficult to watch. Frankly, Noem My Skollie's widespread popularity with local audiences is surprising given some of the content, but the fact that Fredericks is still around to write and tell his story promises a cushion of hope, which does help to soften some of the crueler blows. Only two* prior productions from South Africa have garnered Oscar attention for Best Foreign Language Film; its been some time since I last saw either Yesterday (nominated) or Tsotsi (won), but I think Noem My Skollie is at least as good as its predecessors. It remains to be seen whether the Academy deems the film worthy of a nomination, but I personally deem it worthy of your attention. *(Yes, District 9 was a South African film, in that it was the brainchild of a South African, shot in South Africa, and starring South Africans, but it was a joint SA/USA/NZ/CA production galvanized by Peter Jackson, and shot, edited, and scored by Canadians. It was also mostly in English, so not eligible for the Foreign Language Film category.) If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). Coordinating quake rescue in Ecuador was a dire task and the ECU911 emergency monitoring system helped coordinate some of those efforts. Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke highly of the contributions the ECU911 emergency monitoring system made, which was designed and constructed by Beijing Global Safety Technology Co Ltd, an affiliate of Tsinghua Holdings Co Ltd. "The public safety service system constructed and supported by the Chinese enterprise played an important role in the quake rescue of Ecuador," Xi said in a signed article published on Nov 16, one day before his state visit to Ecuador from Nov 17-18. A 7.8-magnitude quake, which struck the northern Pacific coast of Ecuador, caused heavy loss of life and property damage. The ECU911, covering the entire country of Ecuador, was constructed with Beijing Global Safety Technology Co Ltd's accumulated experience in public safety, the scientific strength of Tsinghua University and the efforts of nearly 300 people involved in its research and development. "I am happy to know that the public safety emergency monitoring system, as a command center, handled a great deal of information and helped save a number of lives in the quake rescue," Xi said in the article. Exported by China National Electronics Import and Export Corp and designed and built by Beijing Global Safety Technology Co Ltd, ECU911 has 16 command centers connecting Ecuador's various security and disaster relief agencies, including police forces, transportation, fire departments, paramedic units and the Red Cross, as well as increases reaction speed to emergencies via a single telephone number, 911. Since the launch of ECU911, the crime rate in Ecuador has fallen by nearly 30 percent, said Wang Yulin, Chinese ambassador to Ecuador. The project has drawn great attention and earned international plaudits. After project completion, Beijing Global Safety helped train more than 2,000 operators. Beijing Global Safety Technology Co Ltd is the first public safety emergency response enterprise listed on the A-share market in China. It has about 200 software copyrights and patents and possesses independent intellectual property rights in public safety and emergency devices. Global Safety's emergency platform software and equipment are already installed in 80 percent of China's cities, provinces and regions. "Trump will not pursue charges against Clinton, aide says" | Main | "Four predictions about President Trumps Supreme Court" ... that seem somewhat iffy November 22, 2016 Prez Obama grants 79 move commutations, taking his total over 1000 for his administration As reported in this new Washington Post article, headlined "Obama grants 79 more commutations to federal inmates, pushing the total past 1,000," the outgoing President has decided to make some clemency news before turning torward Turkey Day festivities. Here are the basics from the start of this article: President Obama granted commutations to another 79 federal drug offenders Tuesday, pushing the number of inmates he has granted clemency past 1,000. Obamas historic number of commutations was announced as administration officials are moving quickly to rule on all the pending clemency applications from inmates before the end of the year. The Trump administration is not expected to keep in place Obamas initiative to provide relief to nonviolent drug offenders. The Presidents gracious act of mercy today with his latest round of commutations is encouraging, said Brittany Byrd, a Texas attorney who has represented several inmates who have received clemency since Obamas initiative began in 2014. He is taking historic steps under his groundbreaking clemency initiative to show the power of mercy and belief in redemption. Three hundred and forty two men and women were set to die in prison. The President literally saved their lives. The White House and the Justice Department were criticized by sentencing reform advocates earlier this year for moving too slowly in granting commutations to inmates serving harsh sentences who met the criteria for clemency. The administration has greatly picked up the pace, but advocates still want them to move faster before time runs out. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, we say, thanks, but please hurry, said Kevin Ring, vice president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. We know there are thousands more who received outdated and excessive mandatory sentences and we think they all deserve to have their petitions considered before the president leaves office. Petitioners are starting to get anxious because they know the president is, in prison parlance, a short-timer. On a press call this afternoon (which is available here), Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates delivered remarks that included these sentiments: As of this morning, President Obama has granted clemency to over 1,000 men and women who were incarcerated under outdated sentencing laws. The number 1,000 is significant, but its important to remember that this is more than a statistic. There are 1,000 lives behind that number, 1,000 people who had been sentenced under unnecessarily harsh and outdated sentencing laws that sent them to prison for 20, 30, 40 years, even life, for nonviolent drug offenses. It's part of my job to review the petitions for each of these individuals, and I've been struck by the common threads woven through many of them lack of access to education or real economic opportunity, absence of parents, drug addiction, hopelessness. But in these petitions I've also seen something else remarkable introspection, a real sense of responsibility for their conduct, and a dogged determination not to repeat the mistakes of the past and to ensure that they, and especially their children, chart another path. The President has given these 1,000 individuals that opportunity. And while we are a nation of laws, and those who violate those laws must be held accountable, we are also a nation of second chances. The mission of the Justice Department not only supports but demands that we do everything in our power to ensure that our criminal justice system operates fairly. In this case, that means reducing disproportionate sentences imposed under out-of-date laws. And we are privileged to serve a President who has not only taken on this responsibility himself, but who has given us the chance to fulfill our core charge to seek justice.... And a lot of work has gone into the clemency initiative to get us to this historic announcement today. Since the initiative was announced in 2014, thousands of petitions have been submitted and reviewed by the hard working attorneys in the Office of the Pardon Attorney, my office, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, and the White House to identify nonviolent drug offenders whose sentences would be significantly lower if they were sentenced today. While we are proud of the progress weve made so far, as I have said before, our work is still not done. We will continue to make recommendations on clemency applications until the end of the Administration, fulfilling the goals we set more than two and a half years ago when we launched the clemency initiative. November 22, 2016 at 05:39 PM | Permalink Comments President Obama up to his fowl clemency tricks again! ;) https://www.facebook.com/vanityfairmagazine/videos/10154257650242572/ Posted by: Bryan | Nov 23, 2016 9:53:17 AM https://verdict.justia.com/2016/11/23/pardon-turkeys-lessons-human-morality More turkey pardons! Posted by: Joe | Nov 23, 2016 11:47:08 AM Took a minute, but I came to understand the pun in the image. Posted by: ohwilleke | Nov 23, 2016 4:08:24 PM Obama has not been deterred by this story from March, 2016. Obama released dealer killed his ex-girlfriend, then her two children to prevent their identifying him. http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2016/03/crack-dealer-freed-early-under-obama-plan-murders-woman-2-kids/ Posted by: David Behar | Nov 23, 2016 10:13:52 PM David, your comment is ignorant because the Callahan case has nothing to do with clemency. Posted by: Doug B. | Nov 28, 2016 8:54:09 AM Post a comment At the absolute earliest, the Christmas season typically starts toward the middle of dessert at Thanksgiving. But Jane Lynch, three-time Emmy and Golden Globe winner, declares that the holiday season starts now, and who are we to argue? The Christmas spirit is strong with Lynch, and that's driven her to record a new album, A Swingin' Little Christmas! featuring Kate Flannery, Tim Davis, and the The Tony Guerrero Quintet. Hence the early start to the holidays: As Lynch jokes to SFist, "I want people to buy the album, and I just declared it Christmas time, so I hope they'll start buying it now." Lynch, who was raised near Chicago and trained at Second City and Steppenwolf Theatre, is known for her TV appearances, perhaps most prominently as Sue Sylvester in Glee, Amy in Angel From Hell, and as host of Hollywood Game Night. Her film credits include memorable appearances in the works of Christopher Guest, from Best in Show through the recent Mascots, and in 2013 she made her Broadway debut in Annie as Miss Hannigan. Lynch will perform selections from her new album at Feinsteins at the Nikko on December 8, 9, and 10 fully in the swing of the Christmas season. Tickets for that are available now starting at $90. As on the album, Lynch will be accompanied by the Tony Guerrero Quintet as well as Davis, the arranger for Glee, and Flannery, known for her performance as Meredith Palmer on The Office. In anticipation and in celebration of the newly announced start to the Christmas season SFist interviewed Lynch below. SFist: You joked that it's Christmas already, but when does this whole thing really start for you? Jane Lynch: WelI, I think, because you don't want to get sick of it, I always try to hold off before December 1 before I start incorporating Christmas into my life. You don't want to saturate it. And when does it end? January 1st? February? Lynch: Oh I stop right after Christmas. As a kid I was a big Christmas lover, I would love when we would put up the tree, I was in charge of the ambiance. I loved that feeling of Christmas. So it's still that way now? Lynch: Well, some years as a child, I wouldn't get the spirit, and I'd get so sad. And in my adult years, I'm in California, and we don't celebrate it as much here. I don't go to malls, so I don't see all the decorations. But when I go home to Chicago... Chicago is a Christmas town, the Christmas spirit there is welcomed in my heart. I love the same rituals in my family: We eat the same food, the same people come over. You told Bon Appetit that you celebrate with McDonald's food is that so? Lynch: As a kid, I remember sticking my nose in the bag and smelling those fries... and that was Christmas. What other traditions were there? Lynch: We also had particular albums: Firestone released a Christmas album every year with big singing stars of the era, the more popular stars, not the rock stars, with all these different carols. That's very much what we modeled our album, A Swingin' Little Christmas! after. We've got our own standards and our own takes, you'll recognize them. At home, that's what we would do play the same stuff all over again. One of the great things about Christmas, especially growing up, were the specials the animated specials, the musical specials, and we always looked forward to that. We're definitely harkening back to that. We're kind of retro to begin with, we play music of the early '50s and '60s, and this is gonna have the same kind of corny comedy too, and musically, if I may say so myself, it's just gorgeous. What are some of your favorite cuts rom the album? Lynch: "We Three Kings" has beautiful harmony and beautiful backup I really like the tight three part harmony we do. There's also "Up on the Housetop," a really jazzy, sweet version of it thanks to Tim Davis, our vocal arranger who also arranged everything on Glee. There's a gorgeous a cappella version of "Coventry Carol," Kate Flannery sings it. It's a lot minor chords, it's very dramatic, it's one of the most beautiful things. So, at the show, we're basically performing the album. Setting aside the holidays for a moment, I wanted to ask about Mascots. How was making that movie: Did you enjoy working with anyone new, or seeing the usual Christopher Guest cohort? Lynch: I got to work with Ed Begley Jr. it was the first time he and I had scenes together in these movies. He was so funny and so smart, so the idea that his character had [spoiler] a micropenis... that was so funny, and I didn't know that until we were shooting. And just to be back with everybody, it was really lovely. What else are you working on, other than spreading holiday magic? Lynch: Tomorrow I start shooting what will be a two-episode arc on Criminal Minds. I'm coming back to it it's what I did it before Glee. And where can people find the album? Lynch: Go on iTunes, listen to a sample. It's also on janelynchchristmas.com, amazon.com, and the Home Shopping Network. Jane Lynch appears at Feinsteins at the Nikko on December 8, 9, and 10, with tickets available now and starting at $90. Previously: Jane Lynch Brings New Christmas Cabaret To Feinstein's At The Nikko In December Meal-delivery startup Munchery has been in the news a lot lately, predominately for a host of reasons unlikely to please its many investors and employees think millions of dollars in losses per month and an ongoing effort to replace CEO Tri Tran. However, the company finally had a moment of good news yesterday when it announced it had landed on a new CEO. But that reprieve was to be a temporary one, as the hire was quickly overshadowed by a report from Bloomberg that for almost two years roughly 16 percent of the food produced at Munchery's San Francisco kitchen went unsold and employees within the company are crying foul. We first learned last month that Munchery was looking to replace then-CEO Tran. His tenure at the company has coincided with allegations of questionable food safety practices, neighbor complaints, and code violations, and it was perhaps hoped that a new CEO could address these problems while making the company profitable. The new CEO, James Beriker, was previously CEO of job site Simply Hired, and in a statement promised to grow the company. "[Munchery's] unique end-to-end model, integrating the complex chain of customer acquisition, food production and delivery, and bolstered by having direct relationships with customers, will provide ongoing opportunities to learn and refine the value proposition and drive margin expansion as we grow the business," said Beriker. "Tri, Conrad and team have built a robust platform and I'm honored to lead the company through this next growth phase." Beriker's sunny corporate-speak belies what may be a more troubled reality, however, as Bloomberg tells us that Munchery is aggressively pressuring cooks to lower costs and spending huge amounts of money on marketing all the while consistently overproducing food in hopes of being ready for an ever around-the-corner onslaught of new customers. Between September 2014 and July 2016 alone the SF kitchen reportedly made roughly 653,400 extra dishes that, according to employees, ended up being tossed or donated. That number comes from leaked internal documents obtained by the publication, and is higher than the standard restaurant food waste of approximately 4 to 10 percent. Munchery, for its part, denies that it wastes food. "Munchery doesnt waste food," a spokesperson said in a statement to the Business Times. "Anything not sold is donated at the end of each day to organizations that deliver them to the homeless and other residents in need. We take deep pride in this." Meanwhile, former Munchery's Chief Customer Experience Officer Pascal Rigo told Bloomberg that things at the company aren't really as rosy as executives present to investors and employees. "It was very difficult to be part of a company [where] I felt some members of the executive team were not telling the entire story to employees or investors," he said. "I'm very surprised that some statements from some large investors or members of the executive team are not challenged by anyone, including the press," he added. "Being a private company does not force you to show your actual numbers, but I do not believe that it is a ticket to embellish them either." This sentiment was echoed by current employees who wished to remain anonymous, suggesting that Beriker has his work cut out for him. However, if he can't make the company profitable, it may soon go the way of one-time competitor SpoonRocket rendering the entire conversation around food waste and employee satisfaction moot. Previously: Munchery, Still Losing Millions Of Dollars A Month, Seeks New CEO Famed author Jack London was many things in his 40 years of life: a war correspondent, an oyster pirate, a sailor, and a photographer. It is that last bit which the New York Times focuses on as it looks back at a rarely seen collection of his photographs recently published in a book titled "Jack London: The Paths Men Take." The pictures cover his days in London, Hawaii, Japan, China, Korea, and San Francisco immediately after the 1906 earthquake. It is the SF batch that will likely resonate most with residents of the Bay Area, as they depict a city devastated by the earthquake and resulting fires. London was born in San Francisco, but lived by Lake Merritt at the time of the quake. He was hired by Colliers to take pictures of the wreckage, and his photographs and descriptions of the scenes he encountered are enough to send chills down the spine of anyone anxiously awaiting the next big one. Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed, London wrote of the quake. San Francisco is gone. Nothing remains of it but memories and a fringe of dwelling-houses on its outskirts. He even traveled to Santa Rosa, and captured on film the destruction he found. Photo of Santa Rosa, 1906, by Jack London. Courtesy of California State Parks via New York Times. His great-granddaughter, Tarnel Abbott, told the Times that the harsh reality shown in London's pics reminds her of the present day. Its so reminiscent of what we see today," she observed. "There are so many homeless people sleeping on our streets. London later moved to Sonoma County's Glen Ellen, where he lived until his death 100 years ago today in 1916. Related: San Francisco's 1906 Earthquake, Now In Color An early morning collision between a driver and a pedestrian sent the latter to the hospital and the former fleeing from the San Francisco intersection where the crash occurred. According to the San Francisco Police Department, it was 1:30 a.m. when a 58-year-old man attempted to cross at the intersection of Sutter and Larkin Streets. That's when, police say, the driver of a black Mercedes struck the victim, leaving him with "head injuries and pain to nose and mouth." That intersection, as you can see above, is regulated by a four-way traffic signal. Citing the ongoing investigation, police did not provide information on which party was crossing on the signal, or if the motorist was turning when they struck the victim. According to SFPD spokesperson Officer Carlos Manfredi, "the most important thing a driver can do" following a crash is "remain on the scene...by failing to do that, you turn a collision into a hit-and-run." And that's what happened here, as police say that the driver in this case fled the scene, and remains at large as of publication time. The victim, police say, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the crash. He was transported to San Francsico General Hospital, where he remains as of Wednesday morning. Towards the middle of Moana, Disney's latest non-Pixar animated release, the demi-god Maui calls the heroine "princess." Moana corrects him, telling him she's not a princess, she's the daughter of the chief. "You're wearing a dress and you have an animal sidekick. You're a princess," replies Maui. He has a point. Granted, the dress she wears doesn't sparkle in any way, and her animal sidekick is a mentally challenged chicken that doesn't talk, but in many ways she resemble a Disney princess: she's beautiful, with long flowing hair; she's rebellious; and while she may not be "royalty," she's heir to the top position in her village. (Some say chief, others say princess.) So, yes. Disney could be accused of creating just another Disney princess. But it's Moana's differences from those previous princesses that are key. For one, she's not white. Yes, Disney has given us Princesses of Color in the past, but let's face it, the majority of them have been alt-right approved. (Not to mention that the most popular animated Disney movie of all time, Frozen, was so white, I'm surprised you could even see the princesses against all that snow.) For another, there is no love interest. There's no prince destined for Moana's hand, and while she does spend the majority of the movie with a beefy demi-god, their relationship is strictly platonic. Her reward is a successful quest, not a happily-wedded-after. Moana is steeped in cultural folklore, mainly from the South Pacific islands, and is set during the time when those Polynesian natives were the explorers and settlers, long before the west arrived. The movie opens with a grandmother telling a group of children about Maui, the demi-god who created the islands, in a nice bit of animation that resembles Polynesian tattoos. (Maui's animated tattoos become a running gag later on in the movie as well.) Moana (Auli'i Cravalho, a Hawaiian native making her screen debut) lives on the island of Motunui, where ever since she was a (really, really cute) baby, she's been drawn to the sea. Her father, Chief Tui Waialiki (Temuera Morrison), is convinced any attempts to venture past the island's reef will be met with doom. But as their island begins to lose its fish and its crops, Moana believes their only hope is to leave the island, and, following the lead of her grandmother's stories, find Maui and force him to return the stolen heart of Te Fiti. It makes a little more sense in the movie, though really, it's just a story device to get Moana and Maui together. And once they are together, the film hits its stride. The Rock gives Maui just the right amount of bravado : he's a jerk, but a lovable one. Because this is not a Pixar movie, it means the movie breaks for songs, and even Maui gets one, the amusing and pretty catchy You're Welcome, which, along with the rest of the film's songs, has lyrics written by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. Of course, Moana gets a ballad as well (How Far I'll Go), but I'm not sure it's going to become a song parents learn to hate as much as Let It Go, mainly because I don't think it's going to be as big of a hit, regardless of the presence of that word "go" in there. (A better song comes care of Jemaine Clement, who makes an appearance as a Bowie-esque giant crab in love with Shiny things.) The majority of the movie follows Moana and Maui on their ocean voyage, as Moana learns to become an ocean navigator, on the way to saving the world. And refreshingly, once Maui gets past the princess jokes, he learns to treat her as an equal, and not as a helpless maiden. In fact, there's not a lot that's girly about Moana. On every step of her journey, her gender is never an impediment, and is rarely brought into play. Now, I don't know if that's because the movie was written by eight people, only one of whom is a woman, or because it was directed by four dudes, or if it was actually by conscious design. And it doesn't really matter. By giving us a heroine that acts the way heroes always have, perhaps Disney has finally given us a "princess" movie that can cross that mythical gender divide. Most slacker San Franciscans still have Thanksgiving food shopping to do, and many of us who were time-wrecked by the short holiday week still havent even started the big grocery pilgrimage. With this in mind, SFist has used Google Maps Popular Times feature which was just updated to show real-time data on crowd size at individual stores to rank San Franciscos popular grocery chains by their crowdsourced wait times. Googles creepy but insanely useful trove of public, real-time user location data gives us vastly more insight than SFists last stab at this Thanksgiving exercise. (You can get even more current real-time data in Google Maps). But there are still some flaws in this feature as a crowd-size assessment tool. Google claims the feature helps you avoid the wait and see the busiest times, but length of visit does not necessarily correlate with busiest times. Additionally, this list ranks the stores by the grocery chains San Francisco averages, not individual store visit times. But this Google Maps data is still outrageously detailed and allows us to rank San Francisco grocery store wait times from the most commendably short to the most infuriatingly long. 1. Bi-Rite Market (15-minute average visit) Bi-Rite Market wins the top spot on this listicle because of their amazingly fast 15-minute average visit time. Their stores are efficiently laid-out and the staff seems to genuinely enjoy doing their jobs. Of course the Bi-Rite delivery is also available via Instacart, and Instacart delivers from pretty much all of stores listed below. Image: Google Maps 2. Mollie Stones (16.7-minute average visit) Mollie Stones also scores well as a fast out-the-door proposition, with 15-minute visits at its 18th Street and Portola Street locations, and 20-minute visits at California Street to produce the impressively fast average store visit of 16.7 minutes. Image: Google Maps 3. Trader Joes (19.2-min average visit) Some TJs are more crowded than others. The quickest visits register at the Stonestown Galleria and Bay Street locations (15 minutes), with Ninth Street and Hyde Street visits slightly longer (20 minutes), and Masonic Avenue visits the most lengthy (25 minutes), which pretty much jibes with any normal day at these stores. Image: Google Maps 4. Safeway (19.6-minute average visit) The one Safeway on Monterey Boulevard averaged 15-minute visits, skewing Safeways average slightly downward. All the other Safeways in San Francisco averaged 20-minute visits. Image: Google Maps 5. TIE- Andronicos and Grocery Outlet Bargain Market (20-minute average visit) Andronicos scores well with relatively short visits! Enjoy Andronicos while it lasts, theyre getting bought up by Safeway. Image: Google Maps Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, whose fabulous radio jingle is forever going through my head, also scores a respectable 20-minute average visit. Image: Google Maps 6. Whole Foods (21.7-minute average visit) Whole Foods is very nice. but places in the lower half of this listicle with 25-minute visits at the California, Rhode Island, and Ocean Street locations and 20-minute visits at the Market Street, Fourth Street, 24th Street, and Stanyan Street locations. Image: Google Maps 7. Rainbow Grocery (30-minute average visit) Poor Rainbow Grocery really gets screwed by the algorithm here. The place registers 15-45-minute visits via Google Maps' calculation, which is quite a range! That may be likely a sign of their customers lengthy contemplations choosing groceries and discussing herbal supplements rather than actual long wait line times. Image: Google Maps 8. Foods Co (30-minute average visit) Foods Co, which sells delightfully horrifying groceries at bargain basement prices, is all over the map with average visits of 20-45 minutes at their Folsom Street location and 25-minute visits at their way-down-Third-Street Visitacion Valley shop. Related: Hooray! Local Dungeness Crab Will Be Ready For Picking Come Thanksgiving In Hollywood, if nowhere else in the cosmos, aliens descend from the ramps of their saucers, addressing onlookers in English. Perhaps the extra-terrestrial intruders listened intently to NPR as they drew their plans against us; if they are humanoids, they might even have enrolled an advance guard in English-as-a-second-language classes. Why do screenwriters imagine that intelligent aliens, if such beings are found to exist, think or communicate in ways easily comprehensible to us? Arrival is intriguing for taking a different approach. Loosely derived from a short story by Ted Chiang, Arrival concerns the abrupt appearance of 12 alien shells in widely scattered places around the world. To contend with the one that lands in Montana, no-nonsense Col. Weber (Forest Whitaker) flies by helicopter to the home of linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams). Known for her facility with human languages as well as her grasp of their social function, she is packed onto the chopper and tasked with talking to aliens whose manner of speaking, as heard in recordings, is a little like songs of the great whales. Arrival makes good use of its modest budget. That alien shell resembles a giant gurken sliced in half and stood on end; its almost a negative space against the foggy overcast horizon. The aliens themselves are shadowy octopoids obscured in the murky atmosphere of their craft. Despite the brusque impatience of Col. Weber, Banks makes progress, not so much in understanding their spoken language but their written words, which materialize like ink jets from their tentacles and hang in the air as oddly curled shapes, each representing an idea, not unlike hieroglyphics. As she continues her interstellar meeting of minds with the help of a theoretical physicist (Jeremy Renner), the outside world grows hostile. The stock market tumbles in the face of uncertainty; the president declares martial lawbut thats not enough for the porcine Rush Limbaugh-like radio talker who riles up the masses with his anti-government message of fear. A blurry photo of the aliens goes viral and triggers panic; like many things that go viral, the context is lacking. Meanwhile, across the world, Chinas military leader, the implacable Gen. Shang, is massing his forces for an assault on the shell that landed near Shanghai. Arrivals performances are flat and the screenplay is burdened by a dreary subplot about Banks dead daughter that ultimately become meaningful but could have been better handled. Its not a perfect film but its an interesting one, thoughtful on a subject that seldom finds its way into the heart of Hollywood, linguistics, and raising questions about the nature of time and its relation to reality. Arrival Amy Adams Jeremy Renner Directed by Denis Villeneuve Rated PG-13 Expand Image via Thai-namite Facebook From Spanish fine dining in a new hotel to a public food court in a building housing student apartments, new dining options catering to every taste opened this month. Plus, a soul food spot serves meals family style and a Thai staple adds a new location. The Tandem Expand Image via The Tandem Facebook 1848 W. Fond du Lac Ave. 414-885-1919 tandemmke.com $-$$ Owner Caitlin Cullen, who previously cooked at Bavette la Boucherie, hopes her restaurant in the Triangle North district will bridge neighborhoods on the near North Side by revitalizing the century-old building that once served as a community hub as the Wally Schmidt Tavern. The full-service lunch and dinner restaurant is housed on street level, while the upper floors will serve as office space. The menu reflects the diversity of the neighborhood with an emphasis on soul food, plus vegetarian options, Thai, Latin American and even a Detroit twist thanks to Cullens upbringing near there. A family-style dining special is offered each night, including udon noodle soup ($38), lamb tagine ($47-50) and a whole chicken ($26) that can be prepared roasted in Dominican style, Georgia fried or spicy Memphis fried ($36 if youd like to add three sides). Lunch options skew toward sandwiches like hot dogs three ways ($9), Cubano ($10) and a beet Reuben ($8). Bodegon Expand Image via hotelmadridmke.com 600 S. Sixth St. 414-488-9146 hotelmadridmke.com/restaurante $$$$ The sister restaurant to Movida, Bodegon opened as a Spanish fine dining spot in Walkers Point. Its located in the Hotel Madrid, a two-suite inn that will be open for guests soon. The word bodegon means home cooking restaurant and implies a rustic touch on the menu. Steaks, mostly from Neys Big Sky, are the dinner focus, like the 32-ounce bone-in ribeye ($95) thats dry aged in house. An octopus appetizer ($22) features balsamic vinegar, orange and fennel for a light starter. For a large party, order the whole sucking pig ($620) in advance if you really want to impress. Bodegon also features a chefs table to watch the open kitchen in action and a wine cellar underground. Expect a well-curated wine list, cocktails that feature homemade ingredients and molecular gastronomy components, and sangria and vermouth on tap. Thai-namite Expand Image via Thai-namite Facebook 8725 W. North Ave. facebook.com/thainamitetosa 414-837-6281 $-$$ Thai-namite expanded to Wauwatosa, opening in the former City Market space. This is the third location for the Thai restaurant, with the original location on Brady Street and an outpost in the Milwaukee Public Market. The menu is the same as on Brady Street with a focus on Thai curries, stir frys and fresh sushi. Thai-namite curry ($12) is mussaman style with chunks of beef, potatoes and carrots braised in a rich coconut milk-based curry. Thai-American favorite volcano chicken ($14) features a crispy deep-fried chicken breast sliced atop a bed of vegetables and served on a hot skillet. The sushi portion of the menu includes nigiri, sashimi and maki, along with sushi bar entrees ($16-$25) that come with miso soup and an assortment of sushi. A childrens menu and a full bar are available. Eleven25 Food Court 1125 N. Ninth St. live-eleven25.com A new food court has opened in the student apartments at Eleven25 at Pabst. The newly renovated building houses students from Marquette, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Milwaukee Area Technical College and UW-Milwaukee in the former Pabst bottling building. The food court, which includes five counter service restaurants, is open to the public. The restaurants are: Gouda Girls: This is the first permanent spot for the popular grilled cheese food truck. The menu has many of the trucks favorites, such as the triple ($4.25), a grilled cheese with Gouda, Colby jack and Havarti. New mac n cheese bowls and breakfast items are also available. $. 414-630-8360 Meat on the Street: Also the first permanent location for this food truck, Meat on the Street is well known for their skewers of grilled Filipino meats. Get them with a side of stir-fried rice noodles called pancit, or on top of a binakol bowl ($7) with chicken, coconut broth and rice. $. 414-477-6717 Huan Xi Express: An outpost of their location on Murray Avenue, the menu at the express location is much smaller. Diners can choose from about 15 entrees and pair them with sides such as eggrolls and soup. $. 414-226-1000 Upper Crust: Primarily a pizza spot like their location on Hampton Avenue, Upper Crust will offer delivery late night on the weekends. In addition to pizza, theyre adding gyros and fish fry to their menu. $. 414-204-8889 Tokyo Express: As its name suggests, the quick-service counter serves a variety of Asian American dishes and sushi. $. 414-226-1000 Black Husky started with a life changing Two Hearted Ale, co-owner and head brewer Tim Eichinger recalls, with a glint in his eye reminiscent of light bouncing off a mostly empty beer bottle. Before having that particular beer, hoppy but balanced with a strong malt backbone, Eichinger was a German beer drinker through and through. His home-brewed beer reflected the qualities of German alesminimal hops, pleasant, clean, crisp. Wanting to make beer that featured more of the bitter, tropical, floral qualities often associated with hops, Eichinger began to ramp up the hop amounts in his beers. Friends who tried his homebrews insisted they could be sold; he took his beers to small beer festivals, where they were a huge hit; he began distributing, first up north in Pembine, then down to Milwaukee a bit, where stores and bars would quickly sell out of the bottles and kegs brought to them by Eichingers wife, Toni. Eichinger tells the story of Black Huskys asymptotic rise in popularity with wonder: It just kept growing bigger and bigger, and it just got a life of its own. The most recent chapter in Black Huskys life comes with a shiny new brewpub in Riverwest (909 E. Locust St.) in the space formerly occupied by Manyo Motors. The Riverwest neighborhoodpunk and hippie and activist and family-friendly as it isis an odd but welcome fit for the brewery. The Eichingers value the neighborhoods diversity and eclectic nature and have had nothing but positive responses from Riverwesterners. They also close the brewery fairly early9 p.m. on weeknights and 10 p.m. on the weekendsto allow patrons from outside the neighborhood to wander over to excellent nearby bars such as Riverwest Public House or Klingers East. Additionally, they dont serve food at the pub and have no plans to; instead, they have a wide variety of menus from eateries around the neighborhood and encourage folks to bring in food to chow down on while they enjoy a couple beers in the no-frills space that features a hand-built bar made from white cedar and a circular picture of Howlertheir spokesdog and one of the many pooches the dog-loving Eichingers have taken in over the years. Though Howler has passed away, patrons may spot their dog Smokey in the bar on occasion, though he mostly hangs out in their office with Toni. Though the ambiance of the pub is excellent, they could serve them out of an unadorned shed for all I care: The beers there are so damn good. Their Sproose IPA, brewed with spruce tips, is juicy and piney, and at 8.6% ABV, packs a nice punch. Not all are hoppy: Their Octoberfest has a classic bready flavor, and their Barley Wine is rich, full and a tad sweet. Their best-known beer, the Black Husky Pale Ale, which sits at a hefty-for-the-style 7.2% ABV, is fantastic: Slightly bitter in the finish, but not overwhelmingly so, with a perfect mouthfeel and a lovely floral bouquet. Its the kind of hoppy beer that turns people on to hoppy beers, and its not hard to imagine their Pale Ale inspiring the next generation of home brewers, just as Bells Two Hearted Ale once snagged the attention of the Eichingers. Beth Lewinski and Richard Laguna never imagined that moonlighting as a part of the local ComedySportz improv troupe would lead to a career in helping to solve murdersor in helping to commit them. But after performing for a group of people looking to bring the national Dinner Detective franchise to Milwaukee, thats just what theyve been doing most Saturday nights at the Doubletree Hotel, 611 W. Wisconsin Ave. Recently, Lewinski and Laguna sat down with Off the Cuff to talk about acting over dinner and how to solve a murder. You both come from an improv background. How is performing in a murder mystery show different from that? What are some of the unique challenges? R.L.: Definitely you have to follow a structured story, you need to get from the beginning to the end and make it clear for the audience so they know whats going on. You dont want it to be a complete mystery. Pun totally intended. B.L.: And this is true of any script you do more than once, but you need to make the stuff that is planned look as off the cuff as the stuff that isnt. You want the audience to have a good time, but you dont want to make it obvious. Keeping it fresh thats a good challenge. RL: Oh yeah. BL: If were doing a script for a year, we want to make sure were doing the same quality of show for that first audience as the 20th and 30th. Stay on top of the news of the day Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays. SIGN UP What makes for a good show? RL: You definitely need an audience that is willing to have fun, to really try to solve the mystery and to get into it. Theres always the too cool for this type person that was dragged there. And then theres the overzealous, nows my time to be funny guy. If you can find something right in the middle, if they just want to figure it out and have fun and dont mind being put a little bit on the spot, that makes for a great show right there. BL: Yeah, just if they are enthusiastic and they want to be there. Its fun when we get people who were brought there and they dont know what this is. If we have a couple of people who are surprised by what they are at, thats always fun. Any hints on how to solve a dinnertime murder? B.L.: Listen. R.L.: Listen. Pay attention and youll get there. I dont think any of them are impossible to solve or too hard for the average person. BL: Yeah, just listen and have fun. But also, dont worry too much about it. Just have fun. For more information on the Milwaukee Dinner Detective show, visit thedinnerdetective.com/milwaukee. Along with many other disturbing things Donald Trumps election showed us about our country, Wisconsin and the nation are finally getting to see exactly who Paul Ryan really is. There was Ryan standing before television cameras gushing with delight over the election of a president hed previously called the textbook definition of a racist. Its surprising it took so long to expose the true character of a politician whos been in Congress for 17 years, continually moving into ever more visible national roles. But particularly over the past year, Ryan bobbed and weaved back and forth between supporting and condemning the Republican Partys appalling presidential nominee on almost a weekly basis, depending on which position he thought would benefit him most politically. Ryan had risen to speaker of the House, the highest position in Congress, by pretending he didnt want the job. Please, please, dont throw me into that briar patch! But Ryans relationship with the Trump campaign was more complicated. He couldnt figure out whether to suck up to the unsavory Trump in case the Republican nominee won or to distance himself so if Trump crashed and burned, as many expected, Ryan would be positioned to become the partys next nominee. So Ryan did both. Constantly. Ryan initially said he would support Trump if he won the nomination. But when Trump actually secured enough votes, Ryan made a show of withholding support, saying he needed proof Trump could clean up his act and stop saying so many divisive, offensive things right out loud. That lasted four weeks. Trumps bigoted rhetoric didnt become any less vile, but a month later Ryan said hed vote for him anyway. But Ryan continued to condemn Trumps campaign, especially his racist attack on the Mexican heritage of the judge presiding over a Trump University fraud trial, his unconstitutional proposal for a religious ban on Muslims entering the U.S. and his tasteless denunciation of the grieving Muslim parents of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. Friends of the Shepherd Help support Milwaukee's locally owned free weekly newspaper. LEARN MORE Then when Trump was caught on audiotape bragging about grabbing the genitals of women without their consent, Ryans moral repulsion appeared to have finally passed the breaking point. Ryan said he could no longer defend Trump or campaign with him. Then a week before the election Ryan revealed hed cast an early ballot for Trump. And there was Ryan last week exuberantly celebrating the dawn of a new era of unified Republican government under the man hed found so morally repugnant. It feels really good to say that, actually. Despite Ryans moral flip-flops, the House Republicans unanimously supported him for speaker for the 2017-18 term. Its amazing how many twists and turns an ambitious, shape-shifting politician can make to hang onto power if his character is malleable enough. Ryan More Extreme Than Trump Obviously Ryan has to be elected speaker by the full Congress in January. Ryan is not Trumps favorite person and the incoming president is justifiably famous for remembering anyone who has slighted him in the past and then exacting his revenge. However, Ryan will be elected speaker whether Trump likes it or not since he has the support of the Republican members of Congress, who are the majority. Another ominous sign, Trumps top White House political strategist is the sleazy Steve Bannon, who formerly ran a racist, anti-Semitic, white supremacist website called Breitbart News. And Bannon despises Ryan. Breitbart News regularly attacked Ryan as soft on immigration and pro-trade. During the campaign, it published stories suggesting Ryans anti-Trump machinations were intentionally designed to throw the election to Clinton. But anyone who starts feeling too sorry for Ryan should realize that, believe it or not, some of Trumps strongest policy disagreements with Ryan are because Trump takes a much more humane approach than Ryan to protecting government programs that benefit the American people. Responding to Ryans criticisms, Trump said the reason the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan ticket lost by a landslide in 2012 was Ryans extreme right-wing House budgets that threatened to destroy Social Security and Medicare. Trump repeatedly vowed during the campaign not to cut those programs. No one really knows whether to believe anything Trump says. His campaign was a constant stream of wild, unconstitutional or impossible-to-achieve promises, many of which hes already reversed or allowed to disappear into the ether. But another major Trump promise that makes sense coming from a developer is his proposal for a massive government program to rebuild the nations deteriorating infrastructure and create millions of jobs. Ryan has always been an implacable foe of large government programs. He favors slashing all federal spending and returning the money to Americas wealthiest taxpayers in enormous tax cuts. Its not hard to predict who would win a major policy showdown between President Trump and Speaker Ryan. Ryan is probably just beginning his humiliating political reinvention of himself in Trumps image. Ryan is fortunate his friend and fellow Wisconsinite Reince Priebus has become Trumps chief of staff. Reince is just the expert to instruct Ryan in the fine art of bootlicking. In a stunning, historic 2-1 decision, on Monday a panel of federal judges struck down Wisconsins legislative map because it is so gerrymandered to benefit Republicans its unconstitutional. The three-judge panel consisted of two judges appointed by Republican presidents and one appointed by a Democratic president. The states current map, drawn in secret by Republican legislators in 2011, is so skewed to help the GOP that even when Democrats win more votes for legislative seats, they remain deep in the minority. And that, the judges concluded, is unconstitutional. We find that Act 43 [the Republicans legislative redistricting bill] was intended to burden the representational rights of Democratic voters throughout the decennial period by impeding their ability to translate their votes into legislative seats, wrote U.S. Appeals Court Judge Kenneth Ripple. Moreover, as demonstrated by the results of the 2012 and 2014 elections, among other evidence, we conclude that Act 43 has had its intended effect. Finally, we find that the discriminatory effect is not explained by the political geography of Wisconsin nor is it justified by a legitimate state interest. Consequently, Act 43 constitutes an unconstitutional political gerrymander. The 12 Democrats who filed the suit cited experts who developed an objective standard for measuring political gerrymandering, which the judges accepted for the first time. That groundbreaking standard can now be used to test gerrymandering in other states as well. Sachin Chheda, director of the bipartisan Fair Elections Project, called the decision a huge victory for democracy and noted that its the first time in modern history a legislative map has been struck down because its been gerrymandered to benefit one party. Milwaukee attorney Peter Earle, who represented the Democratic plaintiffs, said in a statement: This decision will finally give voters in Wisconsin the power they deserve to shape their democracy. Now a fairer system will be created here in Wisconsin so all voters, not just a select few, will be able to have their voices heard. The parties now have 30 days to come up with possible remedies. If the state appeals, it goes directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. President-elect Donald Trump launched his campaign with an unprecedented attack on our nations immigrants. Since then, hes danced around many issues but one thing he remains fixated on is deporting undocumented immigrants and preventing new ones from entering the country via his wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and other programs. And any hope that the reality of his immigration promises would temper his actions was thwarted when he reaffirmed his commitment to deport up to 3 million undocumented immigrants and named xenophobic, anti-immigrant advisors to his administration. Top policy strategist Steve Bannon is an ally to white nationalists whose appointment was praised by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Trumps choice for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, has a long history of being hostile to non-whites, so much so he lost a federal judgeship confirmation in the 1980s over his beliefs. Immigration advisor Kris Kobach, Kansas secretary of state, created the blueprint for a Muslim registry while working for the Department of Justice during the George W. Bush administration. The long shadow of fear that Trump has created is so destructive, said UW-Milwaukee Professor Rachel Ida Buff, an expert on immigration. Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, told the Shepherd Trumps anti-immigrant agenda is of grave concern and should be taken seriously. I think when you appoint white nationalists to your administration and politicians who dont represent civil rights or workers rights, I think you can say he is serious and I think he can get it done, Neumann-Ortiz said. Theres no question that we are going to see it. Some of the attacks will come sooner than others. Whats at Stake? Although President Barack Obama aggressively deported undocumented immigrants, he did roll back some of Bushs post 9-11 programs and offer new relief for undocumented immigrants and their children. Now, however, Trump could erase Obamas protections and impose new penalties on undocumented residents, including: i Making county jails part of the deportation machinery: Bush created the Secure Communities Program in 2008, which required local jails to share inmates fingerprints with federal immigration authorities. That led to a spike in deportations. The immigrants rights movement vigorously opposed it not only because it led to the deportation of immigrants for sometimes very minor infractions, but because it forced local law enforcement to take on federal immigration responsibilities. Obama ended the program in 2014 and replaced it with the more flexible Priority Enforcement Program. Neumann-Ortiz said she is concerned Trump will go back to the Bush program. Friends of the Shepherd Help support Milwaukee's locally owned free weekly newspaper. LEARN MORE The machinery is there, she said. It really creates an opening for racist rogue law enforcement to play an immigration-enforcement role. i Ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): Obamas executive action created the DACA program for more than 700,000 young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as minors. Those who qualify can register with the government to gain temporary protection from deportation and a two-year renewable work visa. More than 90 college and university presidents have called on Trump to continue DACA. Hes said he would end it. i Ending Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA): This is another Obama executive action from 2014 but its been halted thanks to a lawsuit filed by a number of Republican governors, including Gov. Scott Walker. The suit blocked the program and the U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 on it earlier this year, so its still on hold. DAPA would allow an estimated 5 million undocumented parents of U.S. citizens or lawful residents to be temporarily protected from deportation. Trump has promised to kill off DAPA via executive action. i Rejecting refugees: Trump has called for suspending the Syrian refugee program, which resettles those whose lives have been threatened by the ongoing war there. We know that in a situation of crisis in the Mediterranean, where people are dying to get out of situations that are complex and internationally created, and certainly theres U.S. involvement, that Trump has been articulating for a year and a half that we would accept no refugees on the grounds of trumped-up Islamophobic lies, Buff said. i A Muslim registry and ban: Trump advisor Kobach has said the president-elect might revive a Bush-era database of 80,000 immigrants from 24 Muslim-majority countries plus North Koreaaa database Kobach had a hand in creating. Obama removed the 25 countries from the list but the program is still in place. Trumps pick for chief of staff, Reince Priebus, told CNN on Sunday that Trump would look at barring immigrants from countries involved in terrorism and not reject immigrants based on religion. i Withholding funds from sanctuary cities: Trump is also toying with withholding billions in federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities, or local communities that do not comply with federal immigration enforcement. Some of these cities include New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. Whether the City of Milwaukee or Milwaukee County are sanctuary cities is open to debate. To me, sanctuary means you should be able to live and operate as you would normally without having to worry about [your status], and you do have to worry about that in Milwaukee County, said Milwaukee County Supervisor Peggy Romo West. Wisconsin Republicans tried passing an anti-sanctuary city bill this past year and its sponsors alleged that Madison, Racine and Milwaukee County were sanctuaries. But testimony from the Milwaukee County executives office claimed that the county wasnt a sanctuary, despite having an ordinance that requests the sheriff not to cooperate with immigration officers unless an immigrant detained in jail is suspected of committing a major crime. Sheriff David Clarke has refused to hand over uncensored jail documents to prove he is not cooperating with immigration officials, the subject of litigation brought by Voces de la Frontera now pending before the state Supreme Court. The Milwaukee Police Departments policy states it shall not routinely inquire into the immigration status of persons encountered during police operations. During the legislative debate, city officials stated this policy doesnt make Milwaukee a sanctuary city. Voces de la Fronteras Neumann-Ortiz urged immigrants and their allies to organize and push back on Trumps anti-immigrant policies. The organization is holding a forum at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26, at the groups Milwaukee offices, at 1027 S. Fifth St. For more information, call 414-828-2692 or go to vdlf.org. Fifteen years ago, Cincinnati looked a bit like Milwaukee today: Some neighborhoods were plagued with high crime, police-community relations were tense, and a riot erupted after a police officer shot and killed yet another African American man. But Cincinnatis approach to policing changed after the 2011 riot. Officers learned how to solve problems with the help of residents instead of taking a zero-tolerance approach to crime. Now, Cincinnatis police reform is seen as a national model that can be adopted, or adapted, by cities such as Milwaukee. Three Cincinnati leadersformer police officer and ex-police union president Kathy Harrell, civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein and community activist Iris Roley of Cincinnati Black United Frontcame to Milwaukee to offer their insights at a recent forum sponsored by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Press Club. When youre somewhere and youre feeling as though your voice is not being heard, lives are not being respected, resources dont come your way into your community, you get what we got in Cincinnati in 2001, Roley told the Milwaukee audience. It was a culmination of all of those things, not just bad policing or bad community-police relationships. Its all of those things. So dont just look to fix your police department, look to fix multiple things. The Cincinnati experts were brought to Milwaukee by the Community Coalition for Quality Policing, a local group of more than 20 advocacy, faith and service organizations, with the help of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. Community Collaboration Cincinnati didnt just decide voluntarily to reform its policing strategy. The U.S. Department of Justice forced them to do so to settle some outstanding lawsuits brought by community members. In response, the city embarked on a long, detailed information-gathering process that tried to capture what needed to change, and then find a way to implement the reforms. The result was the federal collaborative agreement struck in August 2002 between the Cincinnati Black United Front and the ACLU of Ohio with the City of Cincinnati and the Fraternal Order of Police, Cincinnatis police union. Central to the changes is the focus on community-oriented problem-solving policing, which is one form of police work that seeks resolution of troublesome circumstances in the community. These troublesome circumstances are framed as problems to solve, the agreement states. Problem solving is a technique where you dont commit to using arrests as your primary mode for addressing crime and disorder, Gerhardstein explained in Milwaukee. Rather, you look at your repeat perpetrators, repeat victims and repeat locations, if youve got a location, a hotspot. Rather than jump out and arrest everyone in sight, you might want to change the lighting. You might want to bring together all of the people who have a stake in that locationtenants, property owners and others who have a stake in itand say, What do you think we ought to do with it? Friends of the Shepherd Help support Milwaukee's locally owned free weekly newspaper. LEARN MORE He said the aim was to reduce arrests as well, even if that wasnt an explicit goal in the final agreement. You cannot talk to black people who come from a history of oppression by police in our country and the use of police for oppressive purposes and say that were going to police just the way weve always done it, Gerhardstein said. The agreement also established an independent Citizen Complaint Authority to investigate serious interventions by police officers, including shots fired, deaths in custody and major uses of force. The agreement wasnt fully embraced in the early years, but the reforms took hold after city leadersand the plans monitordemanded it. Eventually, the city saw dramatic declines in violent crime, police use of force incidents, misdemeanor arrests, citizen complaints and citizen injuries during police encounters, according to statistics cited by The Atlantic. The city closed down an 800-bed jail as well, Gerhardstein told the Milwaukee crowd, not only because it was uninhabitable but because it wasnt needed. The Cincinnati Police Department has become more transparent. Gerhardstein noted that the city usually releases video from officer-involved shootings within 24 hours, even when the footage is ambiguous or unclear. In contrast, in Wisconsin videos are usually not released until an investigation is complete and charges are brought or the officer is cleared. This process can drag out for months. For example, the footage from the Sylville Smith shooting in August has not been released; the video of Dontre Hamiltons shooting was released eight months after his death. [Correction: There was no video of Hamilton's death, so no video evidence was released in December 2014 with the materials gathered during the investigation into his death.] Former Cincinnati police union chief Harrell said the police were initially resistant but grew to adopt the reforms. Training and job descriptions changed to focus on problem-solving efforts. She said many officers wanted to change but didnt know how to advocate for it. A lot of the changes that occurred in the police department were needed and they made our jobs easier, Harrell said. Activist Roley said the collaboration allowed community groups to learn more about the officers viewpoints and, in addition, not to rely solely on law enforcement to transform communities. What we figured out in Cincinnati in 15 years is that it is more than just policing, Roley said. There are other systems that play into this. Will Milwaukee Make Changes? The Cincinnati leaders said in the forum that they had not met with Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn, but they had made a special presentation for the citys Fire and Police Commission (FPC). The all-appointee FPCnot the elected Milwaukee Common Councilsets policy for and has oversight of the Milwaukee police and fire departments. FPC Chair Steven DeVougas told the Shepherd he thought the Cincinnati presentation was very interesting and intriguing. I think that as things change we should always be leaders and choose change instead of having change forced upon us, DeVougas said. Im looking forward to learning more about it, and different approaches, and seeing how we can start to heal police-community relations and hopefully make Milwaukee a safer and greater place. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said the MPD is using problem-oriented policing techniques but said improved communications with the community were welcome. He noted the MPD is working through a collaborative review of the department with the U.S. Department of Justice, the results of which should be released by the end of the year. The review includes an assessment of MPDs community oriented policing practices, as well as its use of force, stop and search practices and transparency. I took it as a compliment that they felt we had in place an administration that was willing to reform from within, Barrett said. As for the MPD, spokesman Sgt. Timothy Gauerke emailed the Shepherd, MPD has been using problem-oriented policing concepts for several decades and will continue to do so. Additionally, the Milwaukee Police Department has won national awards for problem-oriented policing efforts. Milwaukee Police Association President Mike Crivello said he is open to working with the community to address their concerns, although any local reforms havent been defined. Its very important to me that the community understands that the membership that I am so blessed to have an opportunity to leadthe police officers, the forensic investigators and the detectivesthat the community truly understands that these professionals want to come to work and to affect life for the positive, Crivello said. They want to do good things. And the way we get to do good things is I think when we have that great community relationship. But R.L. McNeely, a member of the Community Coalition for Quality Policing, said the departments entire culture needs to change from the traditional policing model to problem-oriented policing. Traditional policing, despite efforts to have here and there contact between beat cops and residents, its still the warrior mentality most of the time, McNeely told the Shepherd. Its one that looks upon people as suspects first and people second. He said his organization would like to see Milwaukee use the lessons of Cincinnati to adopt new policing strategies that meet the needs of Milwaukee. The key is to involve the leadership of the mayor and the Common Council as well as the authority of the Fire and Police Commission, McNeely said. He stressed that the Cincinnati experience shows that reforms can benefit police officers as well as the community. We are not looking upon the police as the enemy, McNeely said. We are looking upon the police as folks who risk their persons on behalf of public safety. One of the great things about what happens with community policing or problem solving is that it improves their job satisfaction, it improves their morale. Its a win-win for everybody. Next week, look for a roundtable discussion of police reform with members of the Community Coalition for Quality Policing. As a company grows to employ hundreds, and even thousands of people, it becomes continually harder for frontline employees ideas to reach management. This disconnect can become frustrating and lead to employees becoming disengaged which, in some companies, affects 50% of employees and can cost $2,200 per disengaged employee per year according to a study conducted by ADP. Ideawake, an enterprise software company founded in 2013 under the name Inventalator by Milwaukeean Coby Skonord, hopes to reengage employees through a fun, easy to use idea-management platform. I believe that some of the best ideas for improving efficiency and growth come from the employees executing strategy on a daily basis, Skonord says. The problem is that collecting, evaluating and taking action on all that feedback is tough, and thats where Ideawake comes in. The program displays an engaging, game-like interface for employees to contribute ideas to the companies they work for. A manager using Ideawake will post a topic they want ideas on, give a start and end date of the challenge period, pick the best ideas, and can award prizes to the participants who submitted those ideas. Ideawake finished a round of pilot testing in September, and is now in talks with several local, regional and national companies. While Ideawake is quickly growing, and has raised over $750,000 from investors since its launch, it has not always been such a slam-dunk to investors. Skonord recounts the story of having to meet with an investor eight times before he finally agreed to put any money into the company. This resolve and ability to not take no for an answer is essential for any entrepreneur in Skonords mind. Friends of the Shepherd Help support Milwaukee's locally owned free weekly newspaper. LEARN MORE Along with running Ideawake, Skonord mentors other area entrepreneurs, and his company hosted an event during the inaugural Milwaukee Startup Week called Startup Co-Lab. To Skonord, mentorship amongst entrepreneurs is essential because of the many pitfalls and mistakes that can be made. He talks about the mentors hes had in his career, and how theyve kept him from many mistakes, though he assures me hes made plenty along the way himself. Though there are many skeptics of Milwaukees entrepreneurship credentials, citing low Kauffman Index rankings and a lack of local funding options, Skonord has an optimistic view of Milwaukees startup community. He cites a number of successful companies springing up all over the city, but concedes that there needs to be a stronger effort to connect entrepreneurs with one another. He sees Milwaukee eventually becoming a hub for startups, though it will take some time, and thinks that the inaugural Milwaukee Startup Week, which ran from Nov. 1-6, is a great start to giving Milwaukee entrepreneurs a unifying voice. Though he may not admit it, Skonord and his team at Ideawake are becoming leaders in the local startup scene, if for no other reason than the winning example they set for others. When asked about this role in the community, he showcased his humble personality saying, I believe in leadership by how you can impact others, and if you measure it that way, were doing okay. because some people in the world dont have fresh water or food. Alison A. 2016 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 32, No. 50 I am thankful for my mom, dad, and sis because they love me. In the 1600s, the Wampanoag Nation had about Shaelee B. seventy thousand people living in 67 villages. This map shows some of them. The large print I am thankful for fresh water to drink shows the Wampanoag name of a village. The because its healthy for us and some small print gives the modern name. kids dont have water. Nathan B. hen the I am thankful for my family because Pilgrims M A S S A C H U S E T T S arrived at what is they are really nice to me and my PAMET now Plymouth, Truro TITICUT Massachusetts, PATUXET sisters play with me. Kayser B. Bridgewater Plymouth they met native I am thankful for my house because I peoples who had NAMASKET Middleborough lived in the area COHANNET dont want to sleep outside or on the Taunton for thousands of years. Their name, ground. Colin B. AGAWAM NAUSET Wampanoag, SEEKONK Wareham Wellfleet ASSONET MANOMET I am thankful for my dog and my means People of MATTAPUSIT Bourne Swansea the First Light. APTUXCET family because they care for me. This name was POKANOKET POCASSET chosen because CUMMAQUID Brody B. MANNAMOYIK Fall River Bristol Barnstable they lived on the Chatham MASHPEE ACUSHNET I am thankful for food and a good east coast and R H O D E New Bedford they received the I S L A N D family because my family takes care light of dawn AQUIDNEK before anyone to of me and I need food to survive. SAKONNET the west. Little Compton Daniel D. A T L A N T I C NAUSHON O C E A N I am thankful for God and Jesus CAPOWAK because Jesus died on the cross for Marthas Vineyard Can you find the CHAPPAQUIDDIK region shown on me and God made our world. Joe AQUINNAH Gay Head the map at right D. on a U.S. map? NANTUCKET I am thankful for being alive because Standards Link: History: Students understand the reasons that Americans celebrate certain holidays. if I wasnt alive I wouldnt be able to do all the things that I can. Sophie F. Celebrations of thanksgiving in North America This trouble-making turkey has taken some words out did not _______ with the Pilgrims at __________ I am thankful for my family because of these paragraphs. Can in 1621. Gratefulness was (and is) a very they help me clean my room. Katlynn you find where each word important part of ________________ life. belongs? F. The Wampanoag have held ___________ to give I am thankful for my mother, father, thanks since ____________ times. And, not just for a good _____________. The Wampanoag my sisters, and my cat because give thanks for the birth of a child and other theyre nice and kind to me and my good fortune. In fact, giving thanks was the Give each person at __________ reason for Wampanoag celebrations. your Thanksgiving cat kills the bugs in the basement. feast a page of the Dylan F. newspaper. See who In November of 1620, exploring colonists found corn buried in the ground. can find each of I am thankful for a warm bed to sleep They called corn Indian wheat. Here are two viewpoints on this same event: the following in in because I can get to sleep on time. his or her paper: An odd number Jackson G. The arrival of colonists The word from Europe was seen thanks I am thankful for having a mom and differently by different Something to groups of people. The dad that care for me. Carter H. be thankful for Wampanoag were A delicious food I am thankful for a great teacher cautious and unsure about A Thanksgiving these new people. The because she helps me learn. Maxon event colonists were relieved to A good place be done with their long H. to visit voyage, but afraid of I am thankful for my friends and what might lie ahead. Standards Link: Research: Use the newspaper to Standards Link: History: Students understand the history of how communities in North locate information. family because they make me smile. 2003 Plimoth Plantation, Inc. America varied long ago. Miley K. I am thankful for my mom and dad I am thankful for my dog because he Byckey F. This year has been a year of because they love me. Dylan M. cheers me up when I am sad. many changes, difficult times I am thankful for my kitten. I am thankful for my parents, a nice and celebrations. This week our Xander Irelynd H. home, and living in Iowa. Im also Kid Scoop readers were asked to I am thankful for warm clothes I am thankful for my Aunt Kim. thankful for the Army because they share their own ideas about being because they keep me warm and Serenity R. thankful. fight for us. Devin M. safe. I am thankful for my big sister. I am thankful for my house and my Sophia Ms. Jungers kindergarten class at Nam N. family because they keep me safe, I am thankful for my big sister I am thankful for my mom, dad, and Hunt has some special thoughts. and Im also thankful for Jesus and because she is nice and she makes Tristen. I am thankful God. Ella O. me laugh. I am thankful for my mom and dad. Devlian I am thankful for a great teacher Zoey I am thankful for my brother, mom, Levi C. because she is nice and makes work I am thankful for my family because and sister. I am thankful for my mom and dad. easier for me. Isabella P. they are nice. Raul P. Schadae H. I am thankful for my family because Micah I am thankful for mom, dad, brother. I am thankful for my little brother. they love me. Rachel P. I am thankful for my friends because Aimar O. Lyna C. I am thankful for my pet rabbit they play with me. I am thankful for my mom. Mrs. Olson-Wassels First Grade because she is super cuddly and Marshall Bentley T. Students at Perry Creek Understand nice. I am thankful for my brother. Mrs. Paulsens Third Grade Students Annika R. Being Thankful Carden H. at Woodbury Central Appreciate I am thankful for water because it I am thankful for my puppy. Aby R. I am thankful for my mom and baby is healthy for you and because you Their Lives I am thankful for food, its good and brother. I am thankful for food and water cannot live without it. Avery shoes to keep my feet warm. Based on map developed by Nanepashemet for the Plimoth Plantation Wampanoag Program. Recreated with permission of Plimoth Plantation, Inc. Livy S. I am thankful for my family because they love me . Genna W. Mrs. Felts 3rd Grade MMCRURemsen Elementary class is thankful for family and friends. I am thankful for food, water, land, and the sun! Kamden B. I am thankful for the Pilgrims making Thanksgiving! Kaidin B. I am thankful for my family and friends! Florice D. I am thankful for everyone! Lauren G. I am thankful for food because it makes us healthy! Mason H. I am thankful for my family! Lana J. I am thankful for food, so I am not hungry! Max S. I am thankful for friends! Brianna S. I am thankful for Thanksgiving because we get to be with family! Tom Jo S. I am thankful for having my dog, Cooper! Hunter S. I am thankful for food! Tessa W. I am thankful for the world! Sadie Y. Mrs. Mitchells Lawton-Bronson Third Grade Students are thankful in many waysan Alphabet Thanksgiving! Apples Bananas Corn Donuts Eating Fall Giving Horses Iowa Cole W. Just be thankful Kisses Love More love New days Opinions Peace Quail Reading Payton L. Seats Teeth Universe Vets Water X-rays Yams Zebras Jimmy G. BEST DRESSED TURKEY I am thankful for Rexy Boy. I am thankful for the food I eat. I am thankful for my warm sweater. I am thankful for Alise. I am thankful for my dad. I am thankful for my mom. Ava B. Ticker: AGN CAGR: 140.64% Revenue in 2015: $15,071,000,000 Revenue in 2013: $2,602,500,000 Industry: Medical-Generic Drugs Note: Actavis PLC acquired Allergan Inc. in 2015 and changed its name to Allergan PLC. The 2013 revenue figure is for Allergan. Allergan PLC reported weaker revenue figures in 2016, after losing patent exclusivity on its Alzheimer's drug. Pfizer also dropped plans to buy Allergan in April 2016. Vegetarians seldom to never get the star treatment at a holiday meal. They are the second-class feasters, pushed to a side, while the talk about turkey carries on endlessly. Every now and then they would be asked if the buttery mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, roasted Brussels sprouts or pecan-studded sweet potato casserole is to their liking, and then the conversation would return to the preparation of the bird like thats the only thing man has accomplished since inventing the wheel. Before anyone starts justifying that the spuds and verdant-hued vegetables should appease the non-meat eaters, think about it: They are sides, and nothing more than delicious sides, people. So how about switching things up this year? Make the growing number of vegetarians in your family and on your guest list feel special by serving a vegetarian main dish and keep the bland butterball of a bird to the side by tossing it in a wild rice-cranberry salad. By main dish, I am not talking about Tofurkey that terrible faux meat play on turkey with a rubbery texture and insipid taste but instead a stellar vegetarian one that will have everyone going gaga. Something that is a treat to look at and to eat, a conversation starter and immensely satisfying but wont leave anyone groaning in pain. Granted, the Native Americans didnt greet the Pilgrims with kale or pomegranates, but I can guarantee that both camps will approve of the rustic and comforting kale slab pie. Packed with plenty of kale and perfumed with dill and mint, its earthy in flavor and style and sits on a layer of cornmeal. Creamy feta and grated mozzarella cheeses soften the kales rough textures while red pepper flakes cut the greens bitterness by lending some heat. Pomegranate seeds not only brighten the slab pies appearance for a photo-op but also add a slight sweetness. Even the health freaks will have a good word about the pie, as kale after all is the king of nutrient greens and is loaded with antioxidants. If kale isnt your greens of preference, you can always make a spinach or Swiss chard version. Because its a slab pie, it can feed many more hungry mouths than the average round pie, and you dont have to deal with the mess or fuss of trying to crimp the edges or weave a lattice on top. Slab pies usually call for a jellyroll pan, but you dont even need that here; just go with any large rectangular baking pan you have in your kitchen. The pie is the perfect team player and can be made hours before serving, so it wont have to compete for space with the sweet potato casserole in the oven. All it needs is to be warmed at a low temperature in the oven along with the other sides about a half-hour before the meal. After the grand meal, not only will you have the vegetarians saying thanks earnestly but also the kitchen cleanup crew for there wont be anything left to put away. A great make-ahead breakfast casserole is the perfect back-pocket recipe for when youre hosting overnight guests. Do all the work the night before, then pop it in the oven the next morning for a decadent and special occasion-worthy meal. Your guests will love that you went the extra mile to make them feel special, and no one has to know how easy it was to prepare! I like to think of this recipe as a choose your own adventure breakfast casserole. Keep in mind a few key ratios, but substitute ingredients based on what you have or what youre craving. SIOUX CITY | Shoppers at the Southern Hills Mall can grab a free caffeine rush over Black Friday thanks to a partnership between two local companies. The Java Hub Jr. food truck is teaming up with Qneo, a locally developed app that provides discounts to local businesses, to offer free coffee and discounted lattes to shoppers at the mall starting 4:30 p.m. Thursday and again starting 5 a.m. Friday. The truck will park at the mall, 4400 Sergeant Road, by entrance near the Carmike Southern Hills 12 theater. People visiting the mall can receive coupons for the free drink and discounted latte with a free download of the Qneo app. The truck will be set up "for as long as crowds are drinking coffee," according to a Qneo news release. Java Hub Jr. participated at the Sioux City Farmers Market and Food Truck Fridays this summer. SIOUX CITY | For more than two years, the two large, orange steel support structures stood in the Missouri River as a last reminder of Sioux City's former riverboat casino. Soon, there will be no visual reminders left. Workers bearing torches on a barge spent a rainy Tuesday morning cutting and removing the tripod-shaped moorings that once secured an upstream barge that deflected floating ice and other debris away from bumping into the Argosy Sioux City floating casino. "It is nice to see that area shaping up a little bit," said Sioux City Parks and Recreation Director Matt Salvatore, whose office is working on plans to revitalize the riverfront area that once was the site of riverboat gambling. The Argosy was floated away down the river in October 2014, nearly three months after state regulators shut it down due to the loss of the floating casino's gaming license. It was replaced two days later by Woodbury County's first land-based casino, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. A barge full of other former Argosy structures left Sioux City in November 2014, but the moorings remained. Mike's Inc., the Illinois company that bought the Argosy and its structures, had received two one-year extensions from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove the moorings. The company had until the end of December to remove them, said Matt Wray, a project manager with the corps' regulatory office in Omaha. "We're just glad they're getting them removed," Wray said Tuesday. City attorney Nicole DuBois said she had recently emailed the company, seeking a status update on the moorings' removal. News of their removal Tuesday was a surprise, she said. "We've been monitoring it because it's a couple years past," DuBois said. "We've just been waiting." The moorings are being cut off well below the water's surface to prevent them from interfering with boating. Their presence hadn't hindered any riverfront redevelopment plans, Salvatore said, because final decisions have yet to be made and construction still is a couple years away. "It really hasn't been an issue," Salvatore said. "It hasn't been any hindrance to us whatsoever." Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy STORM LAKE, Iowa | A Storm Lake man is facing multiple charges after police say he sexually abused a girl multiple times five years ago while she was 5 years old. Storm Lake Police charged 47-year-old Guadalupe Madrigal Marin Tuesday evening with two counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of dissemination of obscene materials to a minor. He was booked into the Buena Vista County Jail on $25,000 bond. According to a Storm Lake Police news release, police took a report Nov. 17 in reference to the sexual assault of a small girl. Police were advised that a 10-year-old female said she had been sexually assaulted by an adult male. The release said upon investigation, police determined that five years ago, Madrigal had shown her pornographic material and sexually assaulted her on two separate occasions between June 2011 and March 2012 at a Storm Lake residence. Police took Madrigal into custody around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday. Assisting with the investigation were the Sexual Assault Response Team, the Mercy Child Advocacy Center and the Iowa Department of Human Services. SIOUX CITY | Siouxlanders can expect a few raindrops switching to snowflakes during the evening hours on Thanksgiving Day, but most of the holiday weekend looks to be dry, warm and mild. According to the National Weather Service, Thursday's high will be 40 degrees. Conditions will be mostly cloudy throughout the day, with a 60 percent chance of rainfall moving in during the late afternoon and night hours. Jeff Chapman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, said as temperatures cool later in the day, precipitation could transition to a wet snow. "It's not looking like there will be any accumulation," he said. Thursday's low will be 28 degrees, with skies clearing by Friday morning. Good news for Black Friday shoppers: Friday is looking to be sunny and 47 degrees. Chapman said warm temperatures will continue into Saturday, with temperatures likely eclipsing 50 degrees. Sunday will be partly sunny and 51, with clouds moving in later in the day and a 60 percent chance of rain. Sunday's low will be around 34. Those making a late trip back Sunday night shouldn't worry about running into snow in the area, Chapman said. "We'll be in such a warm reading at that point in time that it will be rain as the precipitation," Chapman said. "The only chance would be by Monday the possibility that it would be a little bit of snow would try to brush into the area." SIOUX CITY | With the prior provider dropping service and in the quest to find a cost-effective successor, the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors has picked Advanced Correctional Healthcare to provide medical care to county jail inmates. Two businesses sought to land the duties, and on Tuesday the county supervisors approved Advanced Correctional Healthcare to deliver care in the Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center jail, at 407 Seventh St. The new services will begin by late January, since Mercy Medical Center-Sioux City is ending medical service to the jail inmates. The supervisors vetted the firms and the word back on Advanced Correctional Healthcare was "all glowing reports," County Human Resources Department Director Ed Gilliland said. "I feel good about this," County Supervisor Mark Monson said. The contract is set at $998,387 for a year. The county is five months into a current fiscal year budget with $841,000 set for jail health costs, so county Finance Director Dennis Butler said expenses through June 2017 could exceed the budgeted amount. County officials have been concerned over rising medical care costs the last few years.The $1 million mark in jail medical expenses was reached in the fiscal year that ended June 2016. The supervisors in October heard proposals by Advanced Correctional Healthcare and Midwest Correctional Medical Group. Officials from the two firms gave estimates for the first year of service. The quote from Midwest Correctional Medical Group was $1.3 million. Correctional facilities are required to pay for medical services if inmates dont have insurance. Woodbury County Jail Administrator Lt. Lynette Phillips previously said the jail functions as a de facto hospital, a place where people who rarely get medical attention are treated. Advanced Correctional Healthcare was founded in 2002 and provides services in 281 facilities in 17 states. The Woodbury County facility will be the 16th entity in Iowa using services of ACH, which will have a team of health professionals to address issues with inmates. NEW PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION In other business, the supervisors gave final approval to a new partial property tax exemption for people who add equipment or buildings to livestock facilities. Woodbury County Rural Economic Development Department Director David Gleiser in recent meetings explained the graduated tax exemption would run up to five years. Gleiser has not estimated the number of units that could be built by people seeking to take the property tax exemption, but said the new tool will encourage growth within the county's agriculture sector. Iowa Code 427-B provides a partial tax exemption for the new construction of varying pieces such as improvements to cattle facilities, which is something other Iowa counties and cities have offered. The proposed exemption would be 75 percent of new property taxes in the first year. The exemption amount would drop by 15 percent in each of the subsequent four years, running from 60 percent in the second year to 15 percent in the fifth and final year. Speaking in Greece on his valedictory trip to Europe as president, Barack Obama struck a familiar theme: "(W)e are going to have to guard against a rise in a crude form of nationalism, or ethnic identity, or tribalism that is built around an 'us' and a 'them' ... "(T)he future of humanity and the future of the world is going to be defined by what we have in common, as opposed to those things that separate us and ultimately lead us into conflict." That the world's great celebrant of "diversity" envisions an even more multicultural, multiethnic, multiracial America and Europe is not news. This dream has animated his presidency. But in this day of Brexit and president-elect Donald Trump new questions arise. Is Obama's vision a utopian myth? Have leaders like him and Angela Merkel lost touch with reality? Are not they the ones who belong to yesterday, not tomorrow? "Crude nationalism," as Obama said, did mark that "bloodiest" of centuries, the 20th. But nationalism has also proven to be among mankind's most powerful, beneficial and enduring forces. You cannot wish it away. To do that is to deny history, human nature and the transparent evidence of one's own eyes. A sense of nationhood -- "I am not a Virginian, but an American," said Patrick Henry -- ignited our revolution. Nationalism tore apart the "evil empire" of Ronald Reagan's depiction, liberating Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, Romanians and Bulgarians, and breaking apart the Soviet Union into 15 nations. Was that so terrible for mankind? Nationalism brought down the Berlin Wall and led to reunification of the German people after 45 years of separation and Cold War. President George H.W. Bush may have railed against "suicidal nationalism" in Kiev in 1991. But Ukrainians ignored him and voted to secede. Now the Russified minorities of the southeast and the Crimea wish to secede from Ukraine and rejoin the Mother Country. This is the way of the world. Out of the carcass of Yugoslavia came Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo. As nationalism called into existence Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, it impelled South Ossetians and Abkhazians to secede from Georgia. Was it not a sense of peoplehood, of nationhood, that drove the Jews to create Israel in 1948, which today insists that it be recognized as "a Jewish State"? All over the world, regimes are marshaling the mighty force of ethnonationalism to strengthen and sustain themselves. With economic troubles looming, Xi Jinping is stirring up Chinese nationalism by territorial disputes with neighbors -- to hold together a people who have ceased to believe in the secularist faith of Marxism-Leninism. With Communism dead, Vladimir Putin invokes the greatness and glory of the Russian past and seeks to revive the Orthodox faith. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan invokes nationalism, Attaturk, the Ottoman Empire, and the Islamic faith of his people, against the Kurds, who dream of a new nation carved out of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. "So my vision ... may not always win the day in the short run," Obama said in Greece, "but I am confident it will win the day in the long run. Because societies which are able to unify ourselves around values and ideals and character and how we treat each other, and cooperation and innovation, ultimately are going to be more successful than societies that don't." What is wrong with this statement? It is a utilitarian argument that does not touch the heart. It sounds like a commune, a cooperative, a corporation, as much as it does a country. Moreover, not only most of the world, but even the American people seem to be moving the other way. Indeed, what values and ideals do we Americans hold in common when Obama spoke in Germany of "darker forces" opposing his trade policies, and Hillary Clinton calls Trump supporters "racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic ... bigots." Did not the Democrats just run "an us and a them" campaign? Less and less do we Americans seem to be one country and one people. More and more do we seem to be separating along religious, racial, cultural, political, ideological, social and economic lines. If a more multicultural, multiethnic America produces greater unity and comity, why have American politics become so poisonous? Trump's victory is due in part to his stand for securing the U.S. border against foreigners walking in. Merkel is in trouble in Germany because she brought in almost a million Muslim refugees from Syria. The nationalist parties that have arisen across Europe are propelled by hostility to more immigration from the Third World. Outside the cosmopolitan elites of Europe and North America, where in the West is the enthusiasm Obama detects for a greater diversity of races, tribes, religions, cultures and beliefs? "Who owns the future?" is ever the question. In 2008, Obama talked of Middle Pennsylvanians as poor losers clinging to their bibles, bigotries and guns as they passed from the scene. Yet, now, it's looking like it may be Obama's world headed for the proverbial ash heap of history. SIOUX CITY | As the biggest travel days of the year near, local officials are giving thanks to a 35 percent increase in passenger traffic this year at Sioux Gateway Airport. From Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, the number of people boarding flights at the Sioux City airport totaled 29,343, up 35 percent from the same period last year, airport officials said. Local leaders attribute much of the increase to the success of the new daily flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport that American Airlines added May 5. Were excited to see our market respond to this new service so quickly," Darrell Jesse, president of the Sioux Gateway Airport Board, said in a news release. "Travelers are using the convenient daily flight to Dallas/Fort Worth to connect to the west and southeast as well as to visit the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area. Occupancy rates on the 50-seat regional jets flying to and from Texas have routinely topped 80 percent. Jesse said the new hub has complemented American's two daily flights to Chicago International Airport, which have reported similar load factors. With positive feedback from the addition of a Dallas-Fort Worth flight, airport officials recently told the Sioux City Council they hope to add more flights as early as next year. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is typically the busiest time for travel in the nation's airports. DES MOINES | A state-mandated summer reading program for Iowas struggling third-graders that already has been moved back to 2018 may see further delays or a new approach altogether once Gov. Terry Branstad and the new GOP legislative majority set their funding priorities, Iowas education chief said Tuesday. Ryan Wise, director of the state Department of Education, presented a fiscal 2018 budget request to boost his agencys existing state funding by $13.96 million and, while there was new money to fund the Iowa Reading Research Center and a literacy early warning system, the request did not address implementation of a new intensive statewide literacy law slated to take effect in mid-2018. I think that will certainly be a point of conversation in the Legislature of when is the right time to have that requirement in there and then how are schools supported in that effort, Wise told reporters after spelling out specifics of his departments strategic plans to Gov. Terry Branstad. I think we would certainly look for next year as potentially the year to ask for an additional request. Last session the Legislature agreed to push back the reading program requirement from its 2017 scheduled launch to the summer of 2018 because the roughly $14 million needed to properly support its implementation was not available in a tight budget year. Branstad, who did not include funding for the reading program in his previous budget plan, has indicated he expects another challenging budget year again during the 2017 legislative session due to sluggish farm prices that are negatively impacting revenue growth. During a fall tour of a reading program in Urbandale, Branstad said he was concerned current state revenue growth may not be strong enough to support a statewide summer reading initiative designed to make sure third-graders meet proficiency standards that are a key educational building block. The governor also said he wanted to review results from a pilot project this past summer than studied best practices. At Tuesdays budget hearing, Wise pointed to progress in implementing universal screening and literacy progress monitoring program that assessed more that 235,000 students in the pre-kindergarten through sixth grade range. More than 80 percent of kindergarten-through-third grade students were receiving weekly progress monitoring, he added, noting that about 68 percent of students in the K-3 group performed above literacy benchmarks compared to 64 percent earlier in the school year an increase of 6,000 more children. I would say a 4 percent growth in the course of a year is progress. Certainly, we can always improve and strive for more, said Wise, who conceded the 32 percent who did not perform above benchmark represented about 48,000 students. Clearly, we know that there is a lot of work ahead and were focused on ensuring that every single student in Iowa does read well, particularly by the end of third grade so that theyre able to access the more rigorous course work ahead of them and opportunities beyond high school, the DOE chief said. We know there is a tremendous sense of urgency, both in terms of the percentage of students who arent reading proficiently and the gaps that exist between groups of students. At the same time, Wise said it was impossible to predict if implementation of the intensive summer reading program would be pushed back again. Last month, the Iowa Department of Education released a report that showed an overall decline in scores for students in grades three through eight and high school juniors on the Iowa Assessments. On average, 23.5 percent of all students did not meet state standards in reading, while about 20.6 percent failed to meet math standards a decline of about 1 percent from the previous year. USA November 23, 2016 Joanna Misnik Just about everybody is using the slogan Dont mourn, organize good solidarity with the martyr for the working class, Joe Hill. But it seems particularly apposite after the recent Trump election in the USA. International Viewpont interviewed Joanna Misnik, leading activist in Solidarity, about the election, the reaction and prospects for long-term organizing. International Viewpont (IV): What are your first thoughts on the election outcome? Joanna Misnik (JM): The U.S. just elected a new leader of the free world. Both he and his opponent Hillary Clinton ran their entire campaigns with persistently high rates on disapproval from the public. Fully 12 million people who voted for Trump stated they had an unfavorable attitude toward him. But the South Carolina Klu Klux Klan held a gala celebration and Marine Le Pen, leader of the right-wing National Front in France, jumped for joy. The Republican Party that Trump overwhelmed when he got the nomination despite his egomania and racist, anti-immigrant, misogynistic utterances will now realign to become much more of an undiluted white nationalist, xenophobic, fundamentalist Christian bastion. The Democratic Party appears to have collapsed, at least temporarily. A new breed of carpetbaggers are consolidating their grip on the government racists of all stripes, right to life zealots, climate deniers, Muslim haters, anti-LGBTQ crusaders, trade union busters, anti-immigrant wall builders, creationists, and defenders of the European white race. Unexpected though it was, from the morning of November 9 we live in a vastly different and dangerous political world. IV: How do you explain the result? JM: By now hundreds of analytical articles are available about why Hillary Clinton lost the election when all the pollsters and the mainstream U.S. media had already pronounced her the winner. The discussion turns in part around to what degree and why the U.S. white working class (called white, no-college by the media) was the culprit in bringing her down. The discussion is correctly littered with comparisons to Brexit. A strange piece of the answer can be found in the battle between artificial intelligence and industrial workers thrown on the neoliberal scrap heap. The Clinton campaign relied heavily on an algorithm named Ada (after Ada, Countess of Lovelace), a pioneering 19th Century female mathematician. Ada spat out some 400,000 simulations per day that determined where the Clinton campaign would spend time and deploy resources. But Ada cannot calculate feelings and emotions, so she never calculated anything that would question the safety of the Blue Maginot Line, the assumption that the Rust Belt states of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were secure for Democrats. Besides, Democrats needed to go after new, middle class constituencies that traditionally voted Republican; who cared if a few white workers slipped away through the cracks. Clintons loss in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin gave Trump the electoral vote, though not the popular vote. Many of these white workers had voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012, challenging the notion that racism was the sole or main impetus. Yes, backward and nativist attitudes toward race, gender, sexuality, immigrants and Muslims played a role in capturing votes for Trump despite the negative attitudes toward him and his personal character. But in the main this white working class vote, particularly where Trump triumphed in the Rust Belt, was a clear rejection of the Democrats and the damage that neoliberal policies had brought to these industrial communities. It was a rejection of a party and a candidate that did not offer any relief, but supported NAFTA and trade agreements that steal our jobs and didnt care about them. Since the election, a number of reporters have gone back to hard-hit Ohio and Michigan cities. Time after time, the workers interviewed do not voice great respect for Trump. But they expect him to make America great again as he promised by bringing the lost jobs back to their communities. Most interviewed said they expected these changes in six months to a year at the most. Those expectations, combined with Trumps tax breaks for the rich, abolishing Obamacare potentially without a replacement, and the attacks on Social Security and Medicare that many Republicans are itching for will likely cause real tensions between the new President and the working class victims of neoliberalism who gave him their grudging support. IV: Can you explain the Electoral College? JM: This is a peculiar institution. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than 1.5 million, yet Trump is the winner via the Electoral College system, scoring 290 electoral votes to Clintons 232. The U.S. president is not directly elected by whomever gets more individual votes, as Hillary Clinton has just done. Many explain it by saying the Founding Fathers were fearful that, in the period before the establishment of political parties, the unwashed and poorly educated voters would make unwise decisions. However, the Electoral College is an undemocratic vestige of slavery and the influence of the Southern slaveholders on national government in the foundational period of the U.S. Direct election of the President by white property-owning men eligible to vote in that era would have greatly advantaged the North with its larger population of eligible voters and reduced influence of the Southern ruling class. So the Electoral College was written into the Constitution. Each state is allocated a number of electors based on the number of representatives it has in Congress. Congressional representation is based on the total population of a given state. And in 1787 Southern planters had already won the right to count each slave as three-fifths of a person in order to attain greater representation in the Congress. This is the archaic system, birthed by slavery and institutional racism, that remains in place today. African-Americans right to be fully counted came as a result of the civil rights movement, which won the 1965 Voting Rights Act aimed at protecting their right to vote. In this recent election, with many of the protections of that Act removed by the Supreme Court, the right of Black people to vote came under threat through identification requirements, removal from the voting rolls, and the shutting down of 800 polling places in order to make voting inaccessible to poor voters with little to no transportation. Out on the streets in the anti-Trump protests, signs demanding an end to the Electoral College system in favor of direct election are cropping up. IV: Its new to see demonstrations throughout the country the day after a presidential election. How did they come about, who called them, are they mainly youth or also workers, can they help bring together different protest movements? JM: The spontaneous anti-Trump outpouring of tens of thousands just after the elections was inspiring, and protests are still being organized. Young people once again, through social media, were the main organizers of these actions. Thousands of high school and college students in city after city walked out of their classrooms to march against Trumps agenda. The very young people who were so numerous on the streets were in part a post-Bernie generation, coming into political action for the first time. Demonstrators included the whole gamut of social movement activists, particularly Black Lives Matter, Latin@s demanding immigration justice against Trumps plan for an initial 3 million deportations, and women taking the first steps to defend abortion rights against renewed Republican assault. The demonstrations make the immediate statement that Trump and his right-wing cronies will face resistance, that the left is not hiding or cowed, let alone defeated. As has been the case since Occupy, these actions were not led by any particular organization or coalition. Despite efforts by some revolutionary groups to claim them, they are again the product of social media outreach by all kinds of individuals and groups. Already Facebook is being loaded with different actions for January 20, the day Trump is sworn in as President. The Brooklyn, NY Chapter of the National Womens Liberation movement has monthly meetings usually attended by a couple dozen women. Just after Trumps victory, so many people said they were going on Facebook that they booked into a nearby stadium. Thousands of women flooded this meeting, overflowing even the stadium. The January 21st Million Women March in Washington also typifies how things move along. Facebook pages are being launched state by state by organizers. The March will be a success, but no actual named and ongoing organization or coalition is bringing it about. IV: Whats the attitude of the trade-union movement? JM: Most of organized labour is missing in action from the early efforts to build resistance. For decades the labour movement has seen itself as a loyal junior partner of the Democratic Party, even as the Partys neoliberalism has landed severe blows on working people. With only 11% of workers organized into unions, the labour movement is increasingly vulnerable to the inevitable attacks from a right-wing Trump regime. And the movement is not at all prepared to meet this very serious challenge. Republican administrations in 26 states have managed to pass anti-union-right to work legislation. With a Republican majority in both houses of Congress and a Trump presidency, it is likely that a Republican bill to rid the private sector of effective unions the National Right to Work Act will pass through. New appointments to government bodies dealing with labour rights will yield similar steps backward. When a right-wing voting majority is secured on the Supreme Court, an avalanche of cases challenging the right to unionize may well appear. Escalating privatization of public services on the state and federal levels could gut the public sector union movement. A far-reaching political transformation is needed if the union movement is to survive the coming storm. Only 51% of union households voted for Clinton, the lowest percentage for a Democrat since 1980, the year of the Reagan Democrat. Tens of thousands of union workers who voted for Obama in the past went over to Trump in this election. The popularity of Bernie Sanders anti-corporate, social democratic program among working people, including the unions that formed Labor for Bernie, point the way forward to the political renewal labour needs to mobilize for the fights ahead. Another attempt to influence or renew a neoliberal Democratic Party that has already shoved unions to the side of the road will only make a dead strategy more deadly. Hope lies in contestation with the 1% by the 99% and solidarity in action with the social movements under attack an injury to one is an injury to all. IV: How have the turnabouts of Sanders been seen? What is the evolution of those that were in his campaign? Can we imagine a convergence of youth movements like BLM, a sector on the labour movement posing the question of a new party, a labour party as was discussed in the 1930s? JM: The response demonstrations have modeled solidarity and defiance. But the fight against Trump and the right wing in government is a longer-term process that requires something beyond Facebook networking. That would be the role of a third, left political party or pre-party formation in the U.S., or even a reinvigorated trade union movement. The power of the social movements, which are not presently bastions of strength, would be enhanced by a unified left front. Bernie Sanders army of supporters, many young, was basically dispersed when he honored his pledge to work for Clintons election. But the Bernie revolt was and remains the real revolution in U.S. politics. The blocked social mobility of youth, especially from working class and immigrant backgrounds, is a volatile socio-political reality that wont go away. Many are out in the streets right now. Far fewer milllenials voted for Clinton than voted for Obama. Millenial disaffection from the two capitalist parties helped boost the tally for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein to over one million votes. In just a few days after the Trump victory, the Democratic Socialists of America, (thats what Google brings up when asked to find democratic socialism in order to connect with Bernie Sanders ideas) reportedly received nearly 2,000 applications for membership. The prospects for a third national political party emerging in the U.S. in the near or medium term are not great. Class for itself consciousness is really very low and millennial distrust of parties and other institutions is high. This idea has more traction after the dismal defeat of Clinton and the neoliberal Democratic Party, but the small and splintered revolutionary left cannot bring this party into being by patiently explaining it. Real social forces must converge in action to create such a party. Moreover, so-called progressives and liberals are putting a new twist on the argument for remaining in the Democratic Party. They agree that a brand new political party is needed, that the Democrats as they are now are finished so lets turn the Democratic Party into that new party. This is the same old cynical game. U.S. progressives know full well that the Democratic Party is not a party in any real sense, but a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. capital interests. Unlike the British Labour Party, for example, it has no real chapters, no rank and file membership decision-making structures in which to stage a revolt. On the municipal level, however, local independent political campaigns and candidates can be initiated by the small revolutionary left in combination with social movements, unions, Green Party activists and local leaders. Pioneering models for this type of local independent politics include the Richmond Progressive Alliance, which has wrested control of the city council of this California town from the domination of the Chevron Oil Company, 8th largest corporation in the world. A national network of scattered municipal efforts at new politics outside the two parties would help legitimate the building of a new political voice for working people. LeftElect is that network of the rebels against the duopoly. The second LeftElect national conference will be held in Chicago in March 2017. National collaboration to grow independent political efforts is more of a start than weve had in decades. James Edward Wilson, Jr., 85, of La Plata passed away on November 21 after a 27-year battle with cancer. Born in Belfast, Maine on May 27, 1931 Jim attended Belfast High School and later the University of Maine, where he received his degree in chemical engineering. Following graduation in 1953 he worked for Dupont Chamber Works in Wilmington, Delaware. He entered the U.S.Army in 1954, serving at the U.S. Army Radio Receiving Station in La Plata. In 1956, he took a position at the Naval Propellant Plant at Indian Head, later becoming Director of Research and Development there. During this period he received his Masters from George Washington University. He joined the Committee on Science and Astronautics in the House of Representatives in 1963 where he served as Technical Consultant and Staff Director for the Space Science and Application Subcommittee. It was an exciting period in his life with space exploration in full swing. Following 16 years on "The Hill" he and a friend formed the Wilson and Moore Corporation, a consulting firm which later became Wilson Consulting, Inc. where he worked at home for several years. He was a member of the first elected Charles County School Board where he served for eight years. He was also a former member of the La Plata Lions Club and the Rotary Club. As a voracious reader and with an acute memory for all that he read, Jim was a fount of information for his family and will be so missed for his love of them and for his knowledge and advice. He leaves his wife, Ann Courtenay Mitchell Wilson; two children, James Edward Wilson III, wife Mirdza, and Virginia Turner Fonvielle, husband Christopher Fonvielle; and four granddaughters, Jane Wilson McGee, husband Michael McGee, Eileen Virginia Wilson, Holly Jenifer Wilson and Rachel Courtenay Fonvielle. A service will be held on Saturday, November 26 at 10 a.m. at Christ Episcopal Church in La Plata. There will be a private burial of his ashes at Mount Rest Cemetery. Any memorial donations may be made to Christ Episcopal Church, La Plata, and Hospice of Charles County. Arrangements are being made at Echols-Arehart Funeral Home in La Plata. James Phillip Nelson, age 40. In November 2015, Nelson had his commercial license permanently revoked. A St. Mary's County man, whose commercial license was revoked for oyster harvesting violations in 2015, and another waterman were charged Wednesday after they were seen taking oysters from a closed area.James Phillip Nelson, 40, and Melanie Ann Wheeler, 38, both of California, were hand-scraping for oysters in an area of the Jones Shore bar that is designated for hand tongs only. Officers determined that the two were well inside the marked boundary.They were issued Potomac River Fisheries Commission citations and are required to appear in St. Mary's County District Court Feb. 2.In November 2015, Nelson had his commercial license permanently revoked by a St. Mary's County District Court judge after he was convicted of harvesting oysters from a polluted area and keeping oysters that were between 28 and 48 percent undersized, a second offense on both counts.He was fined $3,750, with $2,000 of it suspended, and was ordered to pay court costs. He also was sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation on each of the three charges.Nelson has a history of poaching convictions dating back to the mid-1990s involving illegal crabbing, oyster harvesting and hunting.A Lusby waterman was cited for having two bushels containing undersized oysters aboard his boat when he was checked Wednesday by officers near Solomons Island in Calvert County.Milburn Alexander Buckler III, 59, received two citations, each of which carries a pre-payable fine of $155. If he chooses to plead not guilty, Buckler has been given a court appearance date of Feb. 13. LEONARDTOWN, Md. (Nov. 23, 2016)A 44 year-old Leonardtown woman recently pled guilty to a 4th degree sex offense and 2nd degree assault in connection with a sexual relationship with a male juvenile. Local police began investigating Kimberly Ann Lashley on September 9 after receiving reports of the relationship. Information received by the Sheriff's Office suggested Lashley was actively involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with a male juvenile who was residing with Lashley in the Leonardtown area. The investigation conducted by Detective Corporal Robert Merritt revealed evidence of a sexual relationship between the juvenile and Lashley, beginning in the summer of 2016 and continuing through the onset of the investigation. Detective Merritt also discovered that during the summer months of 2016, Lashley hosted numerous parties where alcohol was available to several juveniles in attendance and witnesses stated Lashley purchased alcohol for the juveniles. Witnesses also reported that on several occasions, Lashley consumed alcohol with them at her home. Lashley was charged with her sexual relationship with the male victim, and she pled guilty to one count of a Fourth Degree Sex Offense and one count of a Second Degree Assault on November 11, 2016, during an appearance in front of St. Mary's County Circuit Court Judge Karen Abrams. Lashley's sentencing has been deferred pending the completion of a Pre-Sentence Investigation. Detectives from the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division, with the assistance of the Special Operations Division, conducted the investigation. PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at so.md/expungeme. (Nov. 23, 2016)The Prince Frederick Barrack of the Maryland State Police (MSP) today released the following incident and arrest reports.CONCEALED WEAPON, POSSESSION OF OXYCODONE: On 11/16/2016 at 11:05 am, Trooper First Class Lewis stopped a vehicle on Rt. 4 near Doris Dr. in Owings for traffic violations. The odor of burnt marijuana was emitting from inside the vehicle. A probable cause search revealed brass knuckles and oxycodone. Brandon J. Jones, 27 of Huntingtown was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and possession of oxycodone. He was incarcerated at the Calvert County Detention Center.THEFT FROM VEHICLE: On 11/17/2016 at 9:18 pm, Corporal Wiesemann recieved a report for a reported theft from a vehicle in the 1000 block of Claggett Rd. in Sunderland. The victim reported the rear Maryland vehicle registration plate (04453TT) had been stolen from his tow truck. The information on the missing plate has been entered into NCIC. Investigation continues.Tamara L. George, 42, of Stafford, Va., arrested on 11/16/2016 @ 12:58 am by TFC N. RuckerOrrin Ozuna, 54, of St. Leonard, arrested on 11/17/2016 @ 10:20 pm by TPR. R. BackusRobert W. Cooper, 61, of Lusby, arrested on 11/17/2016 @ 10:51 pm by CPL. B. WiesemannSteven J. Harbaugh, 54, of Lusby, arrested on 11/18/2016 @ 06:34 pm by CPL. B. WiesemannRicardo Gomez-Guevara, 40, of Hyattsville, arrested on 11/18/2016 @ 06:45 pm by TPR. R. BackusCasey L. Whitlock, 24, of North Beach, arrested on 11/19/2016 @ 01:50 am by TFC J. WarrickEdward G. Moore, 51, of Dunkirk, arrested on 11/20/2016 @ 08:17 pm by TFC K. Rowe As Manhattan Transfer warbled in the song by Ben Oakland and Milton Drake, I love coffee, I love tea I love the java jive and it loves me Coffee and tea and the java and me A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup (boy!) Americans love our coffee, according to the Harvard School of Health, Americans drink an average of a quart of coffee a day with nearly one third of that consumption coming after breakfast. The amount of coffee we drink has remained fairly constant since the 1950s, however the way we consume it has changed. Nearly 70 percent of people get their coffee from outside the home, and nearly a third of those people get their coffee from premium coffee outlets. Its a $40 billion industry; just take one look at the Starbucks on 26th for proof of that. Ive often wondered if the folks go there for the coffee or the eye candy. Whatever the reason, theres seldom a parking space in the lot. If youd like an alternative to that corporate cup of Joe, check out these locally owned operations. Switchbox 3446 NE 12TH Ave., Oakland Park 888-849-7269 SwitchBoxCoffee.com This small batch, specialty coffee roaster is housed in an attractively designed space near the Oakland Park Post Office. It specializes in smaller, single origin micro-lots of seasonal, current crop coffees. To say they are serious about the enjoyment and production of coffee would be an understatement. There are some pastries and snacks, but the focus is on java so much so that they dont even list a food menu on their website or Facebook page. Theres not much foot traffic around this space, making it a destination location. Open Monday - Friday 6:30 a.m. - 6 p.m., Saturday - Sunday 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. Warsaw 815 NE 13th St., Ft Lauderdale 954-990-4189 WarsawCoffee.com This is the place that started the hipster coffee movement in Fort Lauderdale (and the rejuvenation of 13th Street). Its so popular that theyve had to expand the parking lot. (Psst! You can also park in the Pride Factory lot across the street.) On any given day it looks like the break room of a gay porn shoot but thats not the reason I go there, honestly! Owners Scott Ojeda and Blaise McMackin care about preserving quality joe from seed to sip. The large room can get noisy at times (how about adding some soft surfaces to muffle the noise, guys?). Breakfast plates and sandwiches run $5-$8; salads and sandwiches average $12. All pastries are baked in-house and theres a drive-thru window. Warsaw also serves more than 20 wine varietals and 25 craft beers, and on week days from 4-7 p.m., happy hour prices are in effect which means $3 off house wines; $2 off all beer. Open Monday-Saturday 7 a.m. 10 p.m. and Sundays 7 a.m. 5 p.m. The Alchemist 2430 NE 13th Ave., Wilton Manors 954-673-4614 TheAlchemist.Cafe.com It may be hard to find, but The Alchemist is worth the search. (Its tucked away on a side street behind what used to be Old Florida Seafood House.) In some ways its a throwback to the 1970s, but with a hipster vibe. Despite the ingestion of caffeine, the atmosphere is laid-back and relaxed. The seating is entirely outdoors, which can be problematic if the weather doesnt cooperate. The Alchemist uses a proprietary brewing process and pure water to produce its coffee, and you can taste the difference at first sip. The menu options include open-faced sandwiches called "Slicers," priced at $7. Egg dishes run about $6 and salads are available for $9. In addition to standard pastries, Alchemist offers a number of gluten free desserts. Open 8 a.m. 3 p.m. daily. The Alchemists location makes parking difficult, and there are rumors that the city wants to take over the property for the new commuter rail station, but we'll have to wait to see. Java Boys 2230 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors 954-564-8828 Call it the anti-hipster coffeehouse. The comfy spot features a few loungey chairs and a bank of tables along one wall, as well as a few tables outside. Service can be friendly or surly depending on the day, and mood of the staff. No matter the mood behind the counter, Java Boys welcomes customers to hang out, work, play games, socialize and even watch the occasional movie screening. It also serves as a place for business meetings and a gathering place for a number of groups (its hosted speed dating, biker Sundays, the Deaf Alliance group and Latinos Salud). Breakfast items are in the $4-6 range, sandwiches $7-9. There are also quiche, assorted pastries, cookies and to-die-for empanadas. Best of all, its open from early morning (7 a.m. daily) until late at night (Sunday Thursday until 11 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays till midnight.) The South Florida AIDS Network (SFAN) is the networking and advisory body for the Florida-Department of Health, Ryan White Care (FL-DOH-RWC) grant in Broward County. Its monthly meetings are open to the public. The November SFAN meeting focused on four issues: A report from the Florida HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Planning Network (FCPN) ADAP eligibility 2017 ACA Marketplace Insurance, and The new antiretroviral, Odefsey. Kim Saiswick, SFANs delegate to FCPN, reported on the statewide FCPN meeting. This meeting draws FL-DOH-RWC workers, HIV service providers, advocates, and top FL-DOH management. Dr. Jeffrey Beal, FL-DOH HIV Section, described Floridas aggressive new "Test and Treat" policy. This policy would link the newly HIV diagnosed to antiretroviral treatment (ART). Dr. Beals preference would be linkage within 24 hours. While Beal stressed this policys voluntary nature, he wants people to have this option. Beal would like this program to go live throughout Florida by Dec. 31. In most of Florida, this would involve calling the County Health Department Clinics to obtain ART. Miami-Dade and Broward, however, lack County Health Department Clinics, but have the highest HIV caseloads in Florida. Joshua Rodriguez and Justin Bell, FL-DOH-RWC, explained that in Broward, a legal issue blocks this program. Florida buys antiretrovirals (ARVs) at reduced rates. The law that allows reduced-rate purchases also restricts who can prescribe them. Only a FL-DOH doctor can do so. According to Rodriguez, no current FL-DOH-RWC physician can prescribe these ARVs. These already purchased ARVs will remain out-of-reach, pending this legal issues outcome. Miami-Dade County has joined with Jackson Memorial Hospital to resolve this issue. This collaboration allows people who test positive to start treatment within seven days. After the meeting, Robert LaMendola of FL-DOH said that FL-DOH-Broward would work with DOH HIV/AIDS Section and community partners towards the goal of implementing the Test and Treat initiative. Justin Bell, FL-DOH-RWC, reported that the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) will serve more people. ADAP will now cover premiums for people diagnosed with HIV and with incomes between 100 and 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Bell also reported on RWC and ACA Marketplace plans. United Health Care (UHC) will withdraw from the Marketplace on Dec. 31. RWC clients with UHC plans will have to pick a new plan. ADAP will soon disclose which ACA Marketplace plans RWC will support. If people select a non-supported plan, RWC will be unable to pay their premiums. In order to avoid gaps in coverage, RWC clients will have to select a plan by Dec.15. People wanting help with ACA enrollment have three options: their RWC case managers; ACA Navigators (954-561-9681 ext. 1342); or 3) the Health Insurance Continuation Program (954-566-1417). Ed Duda of Gilead discussed a new Gilead ARV, Odefsey. This has a version of tenofovir, less likely to result in bone and kidney problems in people older than 50. Next SFAN Meeting: Friday, December 2, 2016, at 10 a.m., the Holy Cross Healthplex, 1000 NE 56th Street, Ft. Lauderdale. Newcomers are encouraged to attend. Announcements The Florida HIV Needs Assessment Survey will be open until Jan. 3. People can complete this anonymous survey online at www.floridaneeds.org or on paper, available at County Health Departments. World AIDS Day Walk of No Shame Keeping the Promise, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Dec. 1, starts at 545 NW 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, and ends at Esplanade Park, 400 SW 2nd Street. Keyshia Cole performs. For more information on Odefsey, please visit bit.ly/2epaOaS. Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza. Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres. Inside BEAM NASA Just five months into its two-year demonstration mission on the International Space Station, the first human-rated expandable habitat in low-Earth orbit is already returning valuable information about expandable technology performance and operations in space. Developed through a public-private partnership between NASA and Bigelow Aerospace, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) launched to the station April 8, 2016, in the trunk of the Dragon capsule during the eighth SpaceX Commercial Resupply Service mission. In late May, with careful instructions from the ground, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams conducted the manual expansion of the module through a series of seconds-long valve openings that allowed space station air to enter and expand BEAM. After BEAM was fully expanded with low pressure, air tanks inside the BEAM were opened with an automated controller to fully pressurize BEAM to match station pressure. From its packed to expanded configurations, the module nearly doubled in length and increased by 40 percent in diameter. This capability to increase a spacecrafts useable internal volume after launch offers a potentially significant advantage for mission planners who seek to reduce cargo volume, maximize payload space and efficiently package structures inside a launch vehicle fairing. During and after expansion, sensors inside the BEAM recorded overall structural and thermal performance. Once it was confirmed that the module was maintaining pressure with no leaks during the week following deployment, Williams commenced the beginning of BEAMs two-year demonstration when he entered the module for the first time on June 6, 2016. He entered again on June 7 and 8, outfitting the interior with additional sensors and air ventilation ducts and taking surface and air samples to test for microbes. Steve Munday, BEAM Manager at NASAs Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, notes that the module and its sensors have performed as expected for the most part. Through the NASA sensor suites on board, our teams on the ground, and astronaut support on station, were gaining extremely valuable data about the performance of expandable structures and habitats in space, he says. The NASA sensor suites inside BEAM help analyze module performance as it orbits Earth attached to a port on the space stations Tranquility Node. Bulkhead accelerometers measured structural dynamics during deployment, wireless thermal sensors help assess the insulation performance of the fabric shell layers and metallic bulkheads, active and passive dosimeters measure radiation penetration, and Distributed Impact Detection System (DIDS) sensors detect and locate any space debris impacts on the BEAM exterior. But like any advanced technology demonstration, the BEAM has offered a few surprises. Thats why we test, to learn and explore new technology, asserts Munday. In fact, the successful expansion on May 28 was the second attempt. During the first attempt on May 26, the BEAMs fabric layers expanded more slowly than was predicted by deployment models on the ground, perhaps partially due to being tightly packed for more than a year awaiting launch on SpaceX CRS-8. NASA and Bigelow Aerospace teams halted the deployment to closely compare the predictive deployment models pressure limits with actual readings to ensure that continuing expansion would pose no risk to the station or crew. On May 27, astronauts released pressure from BEAM to help the stiff fabric layers relax after the initial resistance. After reconfirming that the BEAM deployment operation posed no risk to the space station or its crew, the team restarted BEAM expansion on May 28, successfully reaching the fully expanded and pressurized configuration after about seven hours. Thermal engineers at JSC found that BEAM was warmer than predicted, particularly in the packed configuration immediately prior to deployment. Munday suggests it could be due to less contact between the folded layers, providing more heat insulation than we expected. Warmer is better than cooler for BEAM, which has no active thermal control and relies upon air exchange with the station. A colder-than-expected BEAM would have increased the risk of condensation, so we were pleased when Jeff first opened the hatch and found the interior to be bone dry, says Munday. BEAM is the first of its kind, so were learning as we go and this data will improve our structural and thermal models and analyses going forward. Space station crew members entered the BEAM twice more in September to reinforce instruments that had loosened since installation, reboot a sensor data-relay laptop that had crashed, take additional samples for return to Earth, and perform tests inside the module to help engineers on the ground better define the structural characteristics of BEAM. NASA Astronaut Kate Rubins entered the BEAM on Sept. 5 to replace the DIDS battery packs after it was determined that drained batteries were disrupting wireless communications with the sensors. Ground operators remotely reconfigured DIDS power settings to a more efficient mode, preventing further disruptions. On Sept. 29, she entered again to conduct a series of modal tests to assess how the structure responds to impacts that cause vibrations and the structures ability to dampen the vibrations. NASA and Bigelow Aerospace are pleased to report that, overall, BEAM is operating as expected and continues to produce valuable data. Structural engineers at NASA JSC confirmed that BEAM deployment loads upon the space station were very small, and continue to analyze the modules structural data for comparison with ground tests and models. Researchers at NASAs Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, have found no evidence of large debris impacts in the DIDS data to dategood news for any spacecraft. And radiation researchers at JSC have found that the dosage due to Galactic Cosmic Rays in BEAM is similar to other space station modules, and continue to analyze local trapped radiation particles, particularly from the South Atlantic Anomaly, to help determine additional shielding requirements for long-duration exploration missions. The space station is the worlds primary platform for testing and validating deep space capabilities. The two-year BEAM mission on ISS provides us with an early opportunity to understand how expandable habitats perform in space, says Munday. Were extraordinarily fortunate to have the the space station and its crew to help demonstrate and assess BEAM technology for use in future exploration missions. The BEAM demonstration is a public-private partnership managed by NASAs Advanced Exploration Systems Division (AES). AES is pioneering innovative approaches and public-private partnerships to rapidly develop prototype systems, advance key capabilities, and validate operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. Although the BEAM represents an early demonstration of deep space habitation capabilities, AES is also pursuing deep space habitation development with industry partners through contracts issued under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) Broad Agency Announcement. Under NextSTEP, four companies (Bigelow Aerospace, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Orbital ATK) have recently completed cislunar habitation concept studies, and all four plus Sierra Nevada Corporation, are proceeding toward contract negotiations to develop full-size ground prototypes of cislunar habitats. A sixth team led by NanoRacks was selected to complete an additional study on the repurposing of upper stages of rockets into habitats. Upstate New York is escape, where city folk run (skip and jump) to trip the light fantastic. The city of Kingston, a former capital of New York State no less, is a recent favorite for such New Yorkers. The stories of arrival are all different, but there is a beautiful golden thread somewhere which continues to shepherd creatives, emblazoned ones, and seekers of a better life; all just a hop north of New York City. The citys downtown district, dubbed The Rondout, is where the store Clove & Creek settled near enough to the historic waterfront. The Clove & Creek story, albeit sort of romantic, has exactly that leaving-the-big-city-for-some-of-the-time thread. The idea came about over a best-friends weekend in the Catskillsover a bottle of bourbon, says Scott Neild, co-owner of Clove & Creek. We started doing pop-ups around Delaware County; the idea quickly took root and we were able to open a brick-and-mortar store. Neild, with his best friend and the other half of the business, Michael Cook, knew the second they visited the areawe had found a place to start and call home, Neild explains. Clove is a Dutch word that means ravine, and the area was actually first settled by those extra-explorative scouts. Youll see many street names and areas named Clove and so to complete the pastoral scene in our heads, we added Creek, says Neild. The Hudson Valley and Catskills is an area of mountaintops and creeks and river valleys, and Kill is the Dutch word for creek, as it happens. Little did we know when we started that we would inhabit a neighborhood home to the Rondout Creek, an important shipping and docking channel that today is home to recreational kayakers and boaters. From the beginning, they wanted a place that both enriched and created communitya retail experience inspired by what they call the incredible wilderness and the many artisans who live and work in the area. An actual urban environmentyes, outside of New York, Neild smiles. For them the sweet part is a 10-minute drive in any direction takes one to the serene Hudson River or the majestic Catskill Mountains. And there are similarly compelling attractions even closer-by. Were sandwiched between two of our favorite shops, a wine shop and a flower shop: Kingston Wine Company and Hops Petunia, shares Neild. Heading down the street toward the water is Brunette wine bar. We knew with businesses like these, and many others, that there was already a foundation for a business like ours to grow. And coffee is one of the biggest strands for the design duo. From the outset, the other businesses on the block were asking if we were going to serve coffee because of the lack of good coffee in the neighborhood, says Neild. Of course, we were happy to oblige. For Neild and Cook, the coffee program, even more than the beautiful objects they sell, has been the real point of entry into conversation and community with their neighbors. People up here know good food and drinkthey are now so happy to be able to also get a great tasting cup of coffee, says Neild. Michael and I both spent many years in restaurants and I was lucky enough to work with Table on Ten and was trained as a barista at Irving Farm, shares Neild. Oh, and Michael practically lives off coffee. So it was a natural element of the idea from the beginning. And for a small business, with just the two of them working there, they rely heavily on the advice and guidance of their coffee purveyor, Brooklyn-based Parlor Coffee. During the summer, we offered Parlor Coffees Prospect blend, says Neild. For them that was the perfect cup for summerwith its sweet, bright expression and its current components of Kenya Mutitu and Guatemala Chimaltenango. Now that the weathers turned, we are offering Wallabouta cozier, richer cup from Peru Sandia Valley and Colombia Los Naranjos, Neild says. And their setup, so simple yet so perfect, is without adornment, a Mahlkonig Kenia grinder, a BUNN drip machine, a Hario scale, dripper, and glass carafe. All of our coffee is served in eco-friendly to-go containers, says Neild. Often people order coffee and then do a little shopping in the store. Or they take it to the twenty-foot bench in front of the store, or they take it with them to the water or Kingston Point Lighthouse, a short walk away. And besides the pantry, the objects, and the coffee, the two owners are often chatting about the evolution of their creationWere also flirting with the idea of occasionally offering cowboy coffee, made over open flame, as a nod to the many campers and boaters that come through the area. And so if theyre not hanging at Cooks cabin in the woods (where his fiance is, too), they spend most of the week to come supply coffee (and comeliness) to the city of Kingston. If you ask locals about the coffee boys, they smile and share their gratitude for bringing the good coffee upstate. And as Neild and Cook say, the store responds to and is a reflection of the community. No one could possibly ask for much more, not even their from-the-cow fresh milk in their coffee. Daniel Scheffler is a Sprudge staff writer at large. His work has appeared in T Magazine, Travel And Leisure, Monocle, Playboy, New York Magazine, The New York Times, and Butt. Read more Daniel Scheffler on Sprudge. Photos by Christian Harder. Portrait of the owners by Emma Tuccillo. Barn Girl pulled the pocket into the final turn and wore down the leader, Mistress Valentine, in the lane to capture Tuesdays $15,500 Filly & Mare Winners Over $10,000 Life Handicap Trot at The Meadows. The 6-5 favourite, Barn Girl took the early lead for Aaron Merriman but released Mistress Valentine past the quarter to stalk from the pocket. She was the stronger mare in the stretch, downing Mistress Valentine by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:54.2. Manhattan Miss shot the Lightning Lane for show. Bill Bercury trains Barn Girl, a four-year-old daughter of Cash Hall-Turquoise Sweetie who now boasts $325,396 in career earnings, for Renee Bercury. Tony Hall, Jim Pantaleano and trainer Dirk Simpson each enjoyed a triple on the 13-race card. (The Meadows) It was a driving finish for the freshman pacing fillies in Tuesdays $100,000 final of the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund at Dover Downs, and when the dust settled it was Logans Girl coming out on a top in what turned out to be a hard-fought battle. Ross Wolfenden got away third from Post 2 with Logans Girl, who watched Shes No Spinster power to the lead through an opening quarter in :27.3. Wolfenden pushed the button on Logans Girl in the second quarter, and she responded by making a snap move to the top. She cruised past the half in :56.2 before being chased by Lunar Phase to the three-quarter marker in 1:25.2. Logans Girl put away that foe before coming under heavy pressure from a number of challengers from the backfield. She used a :29.3 closing panel to prevail by three-quarters of a length over Magicinthemoonlite in 1:55. The show dough went to race favourite Spanish Dream, whose late rally fell short by the same margin. Jim King, Jr. trains the daughter of Roddys Bags Again-All Italian for Joann Looney King of Harrington, DE. The victory improved the fillys record to 7-0-2 from nine trips postward and then lions share of the loot lifted her cash stash to $140,250. Diva Demands captured the $20,000 DSBF Consolation for driver Corey Callahan. The filly made a bold move on the way to the half, and after clearing to the top she proceeded to lead the field past the three-quarter pole in 1:26.4. Her :31.1 closing speed earned her the win by a pair of lengths over Lillisbagsrpacked in 1:58. Odds-on favourite KJ Dale settled for third. Sent off at odds of 7-1, the daughter of Roddys Bags Again-Me In The Spotlite she her maiden status in what was the seventh start of her career. Shes stashed away more than $15,000 to date for owner/trainer George Leager of Sudlersville, MD. The Tuesday card also featured the $20,000 Fillies & Mares Open Handicap for pacers. Allan Davis put the pedal to the metal with Empress Deo right from the word Go, and after slicing out splits of :27, :56.3 and 1:24.2 she used a :28.1 closing panel to prevail by three-quarters of a length over Elliesjet N in 1:52.3. Miss Me Yet rallied to finish third. Pounded down to even-money status, the Wayne Givens-trained daughter of Rocknroll Hanover-Little Miss K won for the fourth time this season and for the 19th time in her career. The five-year-old is owned by Legacy Racing of De Inc of Seaford, DE. She recently surpassed $300,000 in career earnings. The unusual pairing of Standardbred racing and stained glass has resulted in not one, but two mainstream news stories in the past few days. The question that is begging to be asked is why? The first article, by The Independent, provides the significant back story on a stained glass piece, entitled P-Town Race. The piece had adorned a four-foot by six-foot area near the entrance of the Pleasanton Hotel, located in Pleasanton (also known as P-Town), California. The Pleasanton racetrack is regarded as the oldest continually operating track in California, and, according to the article, is the oldest one-mile racetrack in America (six years older than Saratoga). In the early 1980s, Margene Rivara was commissioned to create a local historical piece for the Pleasanton Hotel, and what she came up with was the P-Town Race piece, which features the use of a rare opalescence grained red-brown glass from Oregon. At one time, Rivara had been considered one of the 10 best stained-glass artists in the United States, and the piece was held in high esteem by people that know the level of craftsmanship that it possessed. The Pleasanton Hotel changed hands over the years and was ultimately closed at the end of 2008. Some of the items went to auction, including the P-Town Race piece, which went to Sothebys for auction on January 14, 2009. Without Rivara knowing, her brother, David Gerton, was successful in purchasing the P-Town Race after what has been described as an aggressive bidding battle via phone. He had to spend $10,000 to win the bidding and another $2,200 to get it packaged up and sent to storage. The piece sat in storage in Oregon until money could be raised to bring the P-Town Race back to Pleasanton. An anonymous $2,000 donation allowed the transportation to happen. Its a gorgeous piece, and Margene is a fantastic artist, Gerton has told the East Bay Times. When I found out it was going to auction, I thought that was (expletive), and I was going to see what I could do to get it. A few days after the auction, I thought about it and wondered if he had bid on it, Rivara said. His only response was, It was too rich for my blood, even though he ultimately told his sister that he had bought it. To bring the story full circle, the P-Town Race has been reinstalled in the spot where it sat for so many years, which is now called the Pleasanton Hotels Handles Gastropub. (With files from The Independent and the East Bay Times) Judicial Watch Asks Federal Court to Find Government Misconduct in Clinton Email Scandal, Force Release of Documents Contact: Jill Farrell, Judicial Watch, 202-646-5172 WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ -- Judicial Watch announced today that it has asked a federal court to reject the State Department's secrecy claims over certain Clinton email-related document on the grounds that the documents relate to government misconduct. Judicial Watch argues the agency should release 30 emails currently being withheld under various "deliberative process," "attorney client," and "attorney work product" privileges. The lawsuit was originally filed in May 2015, and seeks "all emails sent or received by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in her official capacity as secretary of State, as well as all emails by other State Department employees to Secretary Clinton regarding her non-'state.gov' email address." (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:15-cv-00687)). Judicial Watch argues that Clinton's email practices at the State Department constitute misconduct: The U.S. federal government has produced two State Department Inspector General reports and a report following an FBI investigation, which collectively support the conclusion that, at a minimum, the unofficial server arrangement was misconduct even if it was not a prosecutable violation of criminal law or one that will necessarily result in civil liability. Secretary Clinton herself has called the unofficial server arrangement a 'mistake' The State Department's descriptions of the documents show that the department may have misled the public about the Clinton email scandal: The Vaughn [withholding index] description of these records appears to show, at least in part, a public relations campaign orchestrated by Defendant to create a false equivalence between Secretary Clinton's unofficial server and the records management practices of former Secretaries Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Madeline Albright. No one believes that Madeline Albright used an unofficial server located at her residence for government communications. Nor did Colin Powell hold 30,000 government records in his possession for two years after he left the State Department. Accordingly, it would appear that one purpose of the withheld discussions in this case was to manage the public messaging about government misconduct so as to mislead the public about its severity. Judicial Watch asks to the court to reject the State Department's efforts to shield documents under the "deliberative process privilege," among other asserted privileges, in order to protect the confidentiality of internal deliberations: In this Circuit, the government misconduct exception to the deliberative process privilege applies in two circumstances. First, the "deliberative process privilege disappears altogether when there is any reason to believe government misconduct occurred." And second, "where there is reason to believe the documents sought may shed light on government misconduct, the privilege is routinely denied on the grounds that shielding internal government deliberations in this context does not serve the public's interest in honest, effective government." Both exceptions apply to the 30 documents in question here, for the reasons already elaborated. A hearing in this case is scheduled for Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 10 a.m. ET in courtroom 19 of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The hearing will be held before Judge James E. Boasberg: MORE: www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-asks-federal-court-find-government-misconduct-clinton-email-scandal-force-release-documents Beste Stan, Het is bijna zover, na maanden voorbereiding kijk ik er erg naar uit om het tweede pianoconcert van Brahms te spelen met het S... Editor's note: This is the first in a series of reports China Daily will publish in the coming weeks focusing on efforts to raise living standards in the country's rural areas, especially among members of the nation's ethnic groups. Profound changes have occurred in Moudao, once a deserted town, since the local government brought in real estate tourism developers as part of a poverty relief campaign that made full use of the town's natural advantages: a high rate of green coverage and cool temperatures during summer. Before the tourism push began in 2011, Moudao's people could hardly harvest enough to eat from the limited farmland, which supported only potatoes and corn. Back then, few people were to be seen on the 3.5-meter-wide road in the mountain-encompassed town, according to Qin Taixiang, a local writer who has chronicled the town's development for many years. "The average per capita cultivated land in my village, Yaocai, is less than 1 mu (0.07 hectare). People think their lives are good if they have enough potatoes to eat. Almost 80 percent of the adults left town temporarily, and the terrible conditions prompted more than 10 households to relocate to other areas permanently," said the 56-year-old resident of the town, which is in the Enshi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture of Hubei province. The large number of villagers who left resulted in Moudao being nicknamed "the biggest source of migrant workers in Hubei", and Wang Houjun, the mayor, said half of the 70,000 residents were once employed in other cities and towns nationwide. But much has changed. "Now the road has been widened to 12 meters, it's common to see traffic jams in summer when the tourists arrive. Many families have moved into new houses and bought cars," said Qin, who has written several books and articles about his hometown. Mayor Wang said developers have now invested 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in the town, which has boosted living standards for many residents. "Last year, the average per capita income jumped to 9,636 yuan from about 3,000 yuan in 2011. In the eight villages near the town's downtown, including Yaocai, the average household savings of the 10,000 residents have reached 732,000 yuan as a result of flourishing real estate tourism," he said. Chongqing University of Technology has now invested in a 1 billion yuan project that includes a hotel, apartments and an international center for academic exchanges. Developers According to Wang, the local government realized the potential of real estate tourism in 2011, when they saw people from the Wanzhou district of nearby Chongqing help to fund construction of houses for their relatives in the town. The houses also provided the outsiders with a place to escape the heat during Chongqing's baking summers. "From August to November 2011, we went to Wanzhou to encourage further investment and signed contracts with 35 companies to develop real estate tourism," he said. During summer, the temperature in Moudao rarely exceeds 20 C, almost half the average temperature in Wanzhou, about 70 kilometers away. That's because the town stands 1,400 meters above sea level, and about 70 percent of the area is covered by trees, which results in high levels of negative ions (thought to promote feelings of harmony and happiness), according to developers. Chongqing resident Ji Songling bought an apartment in Moudao in 2012. "Temperatures are low and we enjoy the picturesque scenery and fresh air. It's cheap to buy an apartment here. We spend at least two months in Moudao during summer," the 48-year-old said. Luo Shirong, owner of the Xiadu hotel, who made a small fortune from the development of real estate in the town, said the local government's preferential policies mean developers only have to pay for the land covered by buildings they construct. They also have free use of the mountains and forests as backdrops for their projects, factors that developers find very attractive. According to Liang Feng, general manager of the Linhaiyuntian development, construction work has finished on 15 percent of the 5,500 apartments that will eventually cover more than 133 hectares, and more than half of them have been bought by people from 14 provinces and regions. The average price of an apartment in the project is 4,500 yuan per square meter, higher than in many county-level cities. Liang said that in addition to the natural environment, Moudao is sparsely populated and its advantageous location, close to a number of cities with rail and air links, makes it perfect for the development of real estate tourism: "The advantages are unparalleled and the town is full of potential." Coming Back The arrival of the developers and tourists has seen locals returning to Moudao, ridding the town of its reputation as a factory for migrant workers. Yang Min was just 14 when she headed to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, where she worked more than 10 hours a day in a shoe factory, earning 1,000 yuan a month. After more than a decade away, she and her husband returned last year and opened a barbershop. "East or West, home is best! My hometown is certainly better than anywhere else for me. No matter how long I stayed away, I had to come back to be with my parents and son," Yang said, adding that the scale of the town's development potential made her more determined to return. Since the barbershop opened in May 2, the average business volume has reached 2,000 yuan a day, in contrast to a shop the couple owned in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, where daily takings ranged from several hundred yuan to more than 1,000. Xiong Chuntao was delighted and relieved when her youngest son returned to Moudao after 23 years. "I was too lonely and troubled by mental anxiety because I missed my two sons. Once, I didn't have any contact with them for more than two years. I didn't eat regularly and felt low every day. My mental anxiety evaporated completely after my younger son returned last year," said the 81-year-old. Her son, now 63, can easily make 150 yuan a day through casual work. With tourists crowding in, the senior has started a vegetable retail business: "My vegetables are very popular. People say they like them because we don't use chemical fertilizers. Before, if we had more vegetables than we could eat, we used them to feed the pigs." Zhang Yuanjun's wife has a heart condition and his father is paralyzed, so like Xiong, he sells vegetables in the town. "No matter what you plant on your farmland now, it can be changed into money because the tourists like all sorts of vegetables," said the 40-year-old, who plans to start a chicken farm next year to cash in on a rise in the price of locally raised birds. Chicken meat has jumped to 15 yuan a kilogram, from less than 10 yuan in 2011, before the developers were brought in. The local government has spent more than 1.7 million yuan to build a market where 300 of the more than 500 booths are set aside for farmers such as Xiong and Zhang, who are not charged for use of the facilities. Wang, the mayor, said locals have opened more than 3,000 businesses, including hotels and restaurants, and more than 30,000 jobs have been created. The improved employment opportunities have seen many former residents return to the town, and statistics supplied by the Moudao Primary School show that the proportion of left-behind children at the school has fallen to 17.4% from 47.5% in 2014. Hope rises While residents of the eight villages near Moudao's downtown have become rich, hopes are rising that people in the town's other 48 villages will also benefit from tourism. Chen Jianping, the town's Party secretary, said 3,558 families are still living below the annual poverty line - 3,000 yuan per person - and the central government has set a goal of eradicating poverty and realizing moderate prosperity by 2020. "The most common topic among my classmates is where your parents are and when they will return," said 11-year-old Li Xinyu, who boards at the primary school because her home village is far from the downtown. Moudao's development has raised her hopes that her parents will return soon. "My parents said they work outside so that they can make enough money to build a big house. I don't want a big house; I just want to have them back," Li said, tearfully. Tan Denghong was 9 when his mother left their poverty-stricken family and never returned. Three years later, to escape the deprivation in his village Tan traveled to Guangdong province to look for work. The then 12-year-old was hired by a duck farmer on condition he accepted a monthly wage of just 300 yuan, half that of an adult worker. In 2008, Tan returned to Moudao, and until the construction of a new home last year, he, his wife and two children lived in a simple house below an overhanging rock. The couple now makes a living by raising goats, but they have to leave their daughter with the neighbors when business calls. "Tourism is the only way to develop this place, but we still have few opportunities in my village (more than 20 km from the downtown). To be honest, I am expecting a lot from the development of local tourism," the 38-year-old said. Chen, the Party secretary, believes that eventually every resident will benefit from Moudao's development. "Tourism will create many more opportunities and all the villagers may become wealthy together," he said. "We will upgrade and promote tourism in the town and make it work better to relieve poverty by involving more people in the industry. While encouraging companies to give jobs to people from poverty-stricken families, we will also improve the social security system to ensure that all the families will be free from poverty by 2019." The upper portion of Spirit Lake Memorial Highway leading to Johnston Ridge and a view into Mount St. Helens crater will close for the winter starting Thursday, state highway officials announced. Crews with the Washington State Department of Transportation will close the highway, also known as State Route 504, east of milepost 45 near Coldwater Lake. The highway closes yearly around this time to allow crews to do important maintenance work on and along the roadway. The annual closure accomplishes two goals, WSDOT Maintenance Supervisor Clark Sexton said in a press release. First, this stretch of highway gets a lot of rain, ice and snow that may not be safe for drivers. Second, our crews are able to do work such as clearing downed trees and removing debris from ditches and culverts, which helps protect the overall integrity of the roadway. The closure includes the portion of road that leads to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, which also closes for the winter. The lower portion of SR 504 up to Coldwater Lake will remain open as weather conditions allow. WSDOT will reopen the full stretch of SR 504 in the spring once it has been determined that the threat of significant snowfall has passed. On Wednesday night, the Cowlitz County Coroners Office began its autopsy on the Woodland homicide victim. Around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, police recovered the body of a 63-year-old man in a burning home at 2145 Dahlia St. in Woodland. Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office considered his death a homicide and said the fire was set intentionally. Though Coroner Tim Davidson said he believes he knows who the victim is, he declined to release the identity Wednesday night because he was waiting to check fingerprints. He said hed gotten visual confirmation from family members and photographs matched the victim. Davidson said his office took possession of the body late Tuesday. Neighbors report that it was the homes owner. Davidson and Cowlitz County Chief Criminal Deputy Charlie Rosenzweig declined to describe the condition of the body. Rosenzweig said authorities are close to finishing processing the crime scene. Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory scientists are assisting with the on-scene investigation. Rosenzweig said police have interviewed several people of interest but havent identified a suspect. Rosenzweig encouraged anyone who has information about the homicide to call Cowlitz County Sgt. Brad Thurman at 360-577-3092. The public also can leave anonymous tips by using the smartphone app tip411. Tipsters can download the CCSOTip app or text a tip to 847411 and begin their message with CCSOtip. Woodland police and the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office are investigating the death of a 63-year-old Woodland man as a homicide after his body was found inside a burning house at 2145 Dahlia St., according to authorities. Firefighters were called to the home at 4:30 Tuesday morning when a passerby saw flames coming from the door of the house. Crews put the fire out quickly, discovered the body inside and tried to revive the man. The Portland Bomb Squad was called in to confirm that the house was not booby-trapped. Chief Criminal Deputy Charlie Rosenzweig said the fire hadnt progressed much by the time authorities arrived. The sheriffs office has been in contact with the homeowners family and believe they know the identity of the victim, but Rosenzweig said official identification will come later from the coroners office. We havent even begun to do what we need to do to say were confident that we know who it is. Its not a matter of any reluctance. We dont have the ability to say just yet, Rosenzweig said. As of early Tuesday evening, the body hadnt been removed from the house, he said. Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory scientists are assisting on scene with the investigation. Rosenzweig said the fire was set intentionally. He declined to offer many details such as where the fire started or where the body was located inside the house because the investigation is still in the early stages. Neighbor Connie Kingrey said the owner of the home lived alone and matched the police description of the victim. She said she didnt know the man very well, but said he was quiet and kind. Around Christmas time, hed make Chex mix for neighbors and distribute fish hed caught. Kingrey said he was disabled. He recycled cans for money, and occasionally shed give him cans to help out. She came outside her house around 4:30 a.m. to feed her cat and saw an ambulance and firetruck. He has a few friends in the neighborhood, Kingrey said. He seemed to be friendly with everyone. I cant imagine why anyone would want to kill him. ... People are really sad, especially those who were close to him. Neighbor Jeff Record was a good friend of the home owner, whom he described as kind and helpful. He also suspected the owner was the homicide victim. Record said the man was a former construction worker and roofer who moved from Moses Lake to the Woodland house 15 years ago. Record said the neighborhood, mostly filled with families with children, is quiet with the exception of the house at 2145 Dahlia St. where the homicide occurred. Record said it was broken into four times in the last three years. Five months ago, a blue, mid-1980s Dodge truck drove by the house a few times and even parked in the driveway before driving off. Record worries now that the driver may have something to do with Tuesdays homicide. It was out of place. I just kind of passed it off as just random, Record said of the truck. Record suspected the killer knew the victim well. Record said the homeowner was an avid fisherman who was at the Lewis River fish hatchery regularly. The man would wake at 3 a.m., fish and be back by 9 a.m. regularly. He would tie weights to fishing wire early in the morning or late at night and sell them for money out of the back of his truck. Somebody that knew him learned his routine, because I knew his routine, Record said. I cant even wrap my head around it. Im still distraught. Rosenzweig said authorities are pursuing leads but dont have a suspect.If the public has any information regarding this incident, the sheriffs office asks that they call Sgt. Brad Thurman at 360-577-3092. Scientists at the US space agency NASA are all set to test the latest set of fire experiments in order to improve the safety of spacecraft as well as astronauts in space. NASA has collaborated with other international space agencies to develop deep space habitation capabilities in low-Earth orbit. NASA will initiate the second Spacecraft Fire Safety experiment (Saffire-II) which is a fire experiment with nine material swatches that will be ignited in a cargo ship as it orbits Earth. Saffire-II is the second in a series of three fire safety experiments, and builds on the data captured during Saffire-I with an expanded test portfolio of new materials. Saffire-II launched on OA-5 in October 2016. The nine samples in the experiment kit aboard the Cygnus cargo vehicle include a cotton-fiberglass blend, Nomex, and the same acrylic glass that is used for spacecraft windows. After the spacecraft departs the station, and before its destructive reentry to Earth, mission controllers on the ground will remotely ignite the samples. Saffire-II mission updates will be added below as data and imagery are returned from the orbiting Cygnus vehicle. 8:04 p.m.: Samples 1-6 have been ignited and weve captured more than 106,000 images. Samples 1-4 were a silicon material at different thicknesses. Samples 5 and 6 were the same cotton-fiberglass blend that was burned on Saffire-I; one was at the same flow speed as Saffire-I and the other was at the flow speed planned for Saffire-III. Samples 7-9 up next! The images will be downlinked to Orbital ATK overnight and transferred to researchers at NASA-GRC for analysis tomorrow. Initial images will be released as they are available. 7:14 p.m.: Weve received confirmation that the first Saffire-II test sample has been ignited. 6:04 p.m.: Orbital ATK has confirmed that the Saffire-II experiment is powered and we are receiving telemetry. We remain on track for a 7:00 p.m. sample ignition. 8:22 a.m.: Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency commanded the International Space Stations Candadarm2 robotic arm to release the Cygnus spacecraft. tech2 News Staff ASUS has announced the launch of the flagship ultrabook Zenbook 3 in India starting today. The company detailed that the flagship Ultrabook will go on sale starting November 27, 2016. It will be available in three exclusive colours ranging from Royal Blue, Rose Gold and Quartz Grey. Zenbook 3 is incredibly sleek at 11.9mm chassis weighing 910 grammes. The device is constructed using an aerospace-grade aluminium alloy which gives it its sleekness and lightweight design. The use of aluminium has enabled the company to craft the ZenBook 3 in an elegant signature style with a premium spun-metal finish. It is available in various configurations with the most basic configuration of Intel i5 processor with 8GB RAM and 512GB hard drive amounting to Rs 1,13,990. The Intel Core i7 variant along with 8GB RAM and 512GB solid state hard drive with an SATA3 port amounting to Rs 1,23,990 with the most premium Intel Core i7 equipped ZenBook 3 along with 16GB RAM, 512GB solid state hard drive along with PCIE G3x4. All the Ultrabooks will come powered by Windows 10 64-bit edition along with 12.5-inch Full HD LED-Backlit Ultra-Slim display with 300nits of brightness. The display provides a 16:9 aspect ration along with 72% NTSC colour gamut. The display also offers an 82 percent screen-to-body ratio for the maximum display size while maintaining and decreasing the bezel size. ZenBook 3 will sport Intel HD Graphics along with a VGA front fixed camera and integrated fingerprint sensor with 'Windows Hello' support. The company has announced the addition of 1 USB 3.1 Type-C port with Harmon Kardon audio. The company claims that the UltraBook will provide up to 9 hours of battery life along with Fast charging support to charge the device up to 60 percent in just 49 minutes. Aditya Madanapalle The International Telecommunications Union has released the annual Measuring the Information Society Report for 2016. The flagship annual report is recognised as the world's most impartial and reliable repository of data and analysis of the state of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development. The ICT Development Index (IDI) rankings compare the state of ICT development across countries. South Korea has topped the IDI ranking for the second year in a row. India has fallen three places in the ranking, from 135 in 2015 to 138 in 2016. The value of the IDI index itself has improved, from 2.50 to 2.69. The IDI index has three sub indices for access, usage and skills. In terms of access, India has moved ahead by one point, and ranks 139 in 2016 as against 140 in 2015. Even in the use sub index, India has moved up to 142 in 2016 from 143 in 2015. In the skills sub index, India has seen no change, and is ranked 122 among member countries for both 2016 and 2015. In the Asia Pacific region, India is ranked at 26, behind countries such as Fiji, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Samoa, but ahead of countries such as Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The lowest ranked nation in the region is Afghanistan. Zero rated schemes have been banned in several European countries, Chile, Japan, Egypt apart from India. However, the report shows that zero rated schemes are among the cheapest and most popular ways to access the internet, albeit in a restricted manner. Free Basics by Facebook is available in 40 countries worldwide. The study shows that broadband access in India has become cheaper compared to last year, but the data caps are among the most restrictive in the world. India is among the countries where a large percentage of the population still does not own a mobile phone. In Bangladesh, Indonesia, India and Pakistan, over forty percent of the population does not own a mobile phone. The youngest (5-14 years) and oldest (>74 years) are the demographics that are most likely not to have access to a mobile device. There is also a significant gender gap in mobile phone ownership, and a disproportionate portion of women in developing countries use someone else's mobile phones. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh show the biggest differences between usage and ownership, where men are twice as likely to own mobile phones than women. A lack of mobile ownership is seen more in the lower income category, and among those who are not educated. People in rural regions are more likely to not own a mobile phone. The main barrier to mobile ownership is affordability. This means that over forty percent of the population in India cannot afford even a basic feature phone. The findings go to show that universal mobile phone adoption has not been achieved yet, and policy makers are directed towards taking measures to encourage mobile adoption. The report contains a comparison of mobile phone usage vs mobile phone ownership in some countries where such data is available. Where the differences are small, such as Morocco, very few people use someone else's mobile phone or sim card. In Kenya or Myanmar, these differences are moderate. This means that in India, around half of mobile phone users do so through a sim card or handset owned by someone else. Here is an age wise breakdown of ownership and usage in India: The 2016 report has some data for 2015, that is compared to the data from 2014. Fixed line telephone subscriptions have gone down in India, and now only two people in a hundred have a landline. Mobile phone subscriptions, amount of available bandwidth, computers in households, and access to an internet connection have all seen increase in India. The percentage of users on the internet has gone up in 2015 to 26 percent of the population, from 21 percent in 2014. Fixed line broadband services saw a marginal increase in adoption. Mobile broadband subscriptions in India almost doubled with 10 people in a 100 having access to mobile internet in 2015, as against 6 in a hundred in 2014. For improving the index, India will need to improve internet access to the underserved. There is also a need to change the definition of the minimum broadband speed, and relax the FUP levels, which are among the most restrictive in the world. Efforts should be taken to promote the use of mobile phones in rural areas, and a lot more women need access to their own mobile phones. tech2 News Staff Samsung J3 (2017) version was spotted on the benchmarking website GFXBench giving us an idea about the specifications of the smartphone. J3 (2017) is expected to launch soon across multiple markets targeting the lower segment of the smartphone market. This is the second time the device has been spotted on the benchmarking website after being spotted on Geekbench last month as reported by GSMArena. According to the reports, J3 (2017) has cleared both FCC as well as TENAA along with the SIG certification. The smartphone is expected to pack a 5-inch Full HD display while being powered by Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 clocked at 1.4GHz with Adreno 308 GPU. J3 (2017) will sport 2GB of RAM and run Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 out of the box. The model number to denote the device is SM-J327, and benchmark page hints that the device will offer 16GB internal storage. Samsung has added an 8MP camera module on the back with the capability to shoot Full HD videos along with a 5MP camera module on the front for selfies. The benchmark points out that the front camera will sport a 2MP sensor, while the rear camera a 5MP unit. The Samsung J3 is expected to offer LTE support along with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS, FM Radio and microUSB v2.0 and 3.5mm headphone jack as connectivity options. Mille Park is going to be smokeless tobacco free. The Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reports city council members in Milwaukee overwhelmingly voted to ban smokeless tobacco products at Miller Park. So, no dip, chew, or tinned tobacco products will be allowed in the venue, and all sporting arenas throughout the city. For those who plan on violating the ban, prepare to be given a $100-$250 ban. We fully support this initiative, and want to set an example for all Brewers fans in understanding the dangers of smokeless tobacco, the Brewers said in an statement. Chewing tobacco has long been an unfortunate part of MLB. Multiple cities have banned the product at stadiums, much to the chagrin of players. The Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, and San Francisco Giants are all playing in stadiums that have banned smokeless tobacco. In DC, city officials were also making to pass a ban. The negative health effects associated with smokeless tobacco are unquestionably the biggest reasons for the ban. Multiple MLB players quit the substance after learning about the death of Tony Gwynn, who passed away from oral cancer after decades of using smokeless tobacco. Both Chris Sale and Stephen Strasburg quit using chew upon learning about Gwynns death. Theres not much downside to the ban. Smokeless tobacco can cause serious long-term health problems and isnt something players should want young fans to emulate. It will be a while, but eventually, the substance should be banned across MLB. Theres no advantage to allowing its use. [Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel] Californians may vote on 'Calexit' in 2018 California students protest trump presidency. Business Insider : In 2018, the issue of whether California should secede from the union could come to a head. Yes California Independence Campaign, a fringe political group that calls for the state to become an independent nation, filed a proposed ballot measure with the Attorney General's Office on November 21, The Sacramento Bee reports. If it garners the half a million signatures required to appear on the 2018 gubernatorial ballot, the measure would strike language from the state constitution that would help clear a path to secession. Still, a state holds no right to secede under federal law. Californians would need to pass an amendment to the US Constitution, which requires the blessings of the other 49 states. The measure would also survey voters on whether a "Calexit" is something that interests them. If a clear majority declares their support for a Brexit-style departure, the state would hold a special election in March 2019 asking voters again if they want California to secede. In a recent interview with Business Insider, Louis Marinelli, president of Yes California, described the plans as a "double opt-in" process. Far-fetched as it may sound, Calexit started gathering steam as Californians came to terms with a Donald Trump presidency on November 9. The campaign became a nationwide social media trend in a matter of hours, but has since fizzled. The movement initially found an impressive backer in Shervin Pishevar, a well-known angel investor. He took to Twitter on election night urging California to become its own nation and offering to bankroll a secession campaign. Pishevar has since walked back those claims. Yes California isn't giving up hope. It knows first-hand the challenges that lie ahead. In 2015, Marinelli paid $200 each to get nine initiatives related to secession on a statewide ballot, according to The Los Angeles Times. None garnered the nearly 400,000 signatures necessary to appear on the ballot. So Marinelli and his followers were forced to start over. The difference this time is that Trump is headed to the White House, Marinelli said. "I think that we've seen - in my lifetime - a gradual, but steady deterioration of the system and the health of the republic, basically. I think that at one point or another, it's going to crumble," Marinelli said. "I think a lot of Californians just came to that realization." Marinelli warns that if the American public could vote a controversial nominee such as Trump into office, the presidential candidates who follow will push the envelope again. Russian tankers defy EU ban to smuggle jet fuel to Syria More than 1,000 fighters from Iran killed in war Iran has provided military and political backing to President Bashar Al Assad in Syria\'s civil war. Reuters, London : Russian tankers have smuggled jet fuel to Syria through EU waters, bolstering military supplies to a war-torn country where Moscow is carrying out air strikes in support of the government, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. At least two Russian-flagged ships made deliveries - which contravene EU sanctions - via Cyprus, an intelligence source with a European Union government told Reuters. There was a sharp increase in shipments in October, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. A separate shipping source familiar with the movements of the Russian-flagged vessels said the ships visited Cypriot and Greek ports before delivering fuel to Syria. The Russian defence and transport ministries did not initially respond to requests for comment. The defence ministry later said EU sanctions on fuel supplies to Syria could not be applied to the Russian air group in that country. A spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs and security policy said the implementation of EU restrictions lay with member states. "We trust that competent authorities are complying with their obligation to ensure respect of the restrictive measures in place and to pursue any circumvention attempts," she added. Greece's foreign ministry referred questions to the shipping ministry, which was not immediately available to comment. The Cypriot government said its authorities had not approved the docking of any Russian tankers carrying jet fuel bound for Syria. "We would welcome any information that may be provided to us on any activity that contravenes U.N. or EU restrictive measures," the Cypriot foreign ministry added. Meanwhile, an Iranian semi-official news agency is quoting an official as saying that more than 1,000 fighters sent from Iran have been killed in the Syrian war so far. Start Up Fest-2016 at DIU Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Daffodil International University along with other distinguished guests visits the different stalls of \"Start Up Fest-2016 held at the university campus on Monday. Campus Report : Kauffman Foundation, USA is celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week-2016 in 160 countries this year where 20,000 partner organizations will organize 35,000 events all over the world and around 10 million people will participate at the event all together. As a partnering University of Kauffman Foundation, USA, Department of Entrepreneurship (DE) of Daffodil International University (DIU) in association with Career Development Center (CDC) & Bangladesh Venture Capital organized the "Start Up Fest-2016" to mark the Global Entrepreneurship Week-2016 in Bangladesh on Monday at DIU Auditorium. Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, BoT, Daffodil International University was present at program as Chief Guest. Sohael Chowdhury, Country Host of Global Entrepreneurship Week Bangladesh, Nazir Alam, CEO, Future Leaders Limited, UK, Asish Thakur, Executive Director, Glocal Private Limited, Nepal, Francis Dilip Vasant, Senior Consultant, ILO, Abdul Wadud, Principal, SCITI, Ferdous Ahmed, CEO, SIYB Bangladesh, ILO, Rubina Hussain Farouq, Director, Institute of Hotel Management and Hospitality Limited, Ayman Sadiq, CEO, 10 Minutes School and Mohammad Adnan, CEO, Durbin Labs will be present as panel guests and will deliver their valuable speech on entrepreneurship development. Prof Rafiqul Islam, Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics, DIU presided over the opening session of the fest. A total of 40 startup companies were participating at the Startup Fest-2016 & they were showcasing their products and services. Jamuna Bank gets new DMD Economic Reporter : Mirza Elias Uddin Ahmed has recently been promoted to the post of Additional Managing Director of Jamuna Bank Limited, said a press release. Prior to his joining the post, he was the Deputy Managing Director of the same Bank for 3 years. Elias obtained his Master's Degree in Management from the University of Dhaka. He started his banking career in 1985 with National Bank Limited then he served Prime Bank Ltd. Thereafter he joined Mercantile Bank Limited. He joined the Jamuna Bank Limited as SAVP in 2001. Arifin Shuvo, Nusrat Faria`s Premi O Premi in December Sheikh Arif Bulbon : Shooting of noted director Zakir Hossain Raju directed movie Premi O Premi was wrapped up on Wednesday night in Chittagong. Its shooting was wrapped up through a scene of Nusrat Faria. Director informed that shooting, dubbing, background music, etc of the movie have been finished. Only Nusrat Farias portion was incomplete which has been finished last night. This part will be added later. Now Nusrat Faria and Arifin Shuvo are fully prepared for releasing of their movie. Abdullah Zahir Babu wrote story of the play. Zakir Hossain Raju has orgnaised its story. While sharing his feelings to work in this movie hero Arifin Shuvo told this correspondent, I can say that I have worked in this movie cordially and sincerely. It can be said die -hearted acting. Raju Sir has assisted me a lot. Viewers will give their judgment after watching the movie. Heroine Nusrat Faria shared her feelings by this way, Already viewers have positively accepted the song Premi O Premi. I got huge appreciation for my gate-up and expressions of dance. For this reason, I am very much optimistic about the film. I have dreamt for the movie only for Raju Sir. I hope viewers will go to the cinema halls to watch the movie. Director Raju informed that within December the movie will be released. Now Arifin Shuvo is engaged with shooting of Dipankar Dipans movie Dhaka Attack. Mahiya Mahi is acting against him in the film. One killed in road accident near JU JU Correspondent : A person was killed and three others were severely injured including a JU admission seeker in a road accident in front of Prantik gate of Jahangirnagar University (JU) adjoining to Dhaka-Aricha highway yesterday. The deceased was identified as Md. Arman Hossain (48), a van driver hailed from Hatosh Horipur village, Kumarkhli thana in Kushtia district. He was residing at the nearby Kurgaon village and pulled van to earn livelihood, confirmed Hafizur Rahman, uncle-in-law of the deceased. Eye witness said, a passenger bus of Gulisthan-Dhamrai route knocked him down from his van while he was trying to cross the Dhaka-Archa highway at the Prantik gate area of JU campus. Another three including an admission seeker and his elder brothers were also injured as they were trying to get into the bus. Later, all injured were rushed to the JU medical centre where doctor announced Arman as dead. On duty doctor Birendra Kumar said, 'We found Arman dead and we sent other three injured to Savar Enam Medical after primary treatment. Police seized the vehicle but its driver managed to flee the scene, said the acting official of Ashulia Thana Rejaul Karim. New Port at Sitakunda-Mirsarai coastal belt soon: CPA Chairman Sarwaruddin, Ctg Bureau : Chairman of Chittagong Port Authority Rear Admiral Md. Khaled Iqbal said a sea port of medium size will be built in between Sitakunda and Mirsarai coastal belt very shortly. He informed that the feasibility study of the port already completed in the meantime. He disclosed it while exchanging views with the journalists at Fazlur Rahman Munishi Auditorium(Port Auditorium) in port area yesterday afternoon . Port chairman also discussed the progress of the port and its future planning with the journalists. CPA chairman also told that present govt has taken programs for building 10 specialised economic zone across the country and out of these, 3 SEZ will be located at Anowara, Mirsarai in Chittagong and Feni which are very nearer to Chittagong Port. He said economic feasibility study for the proposed port will be done in second phase. After implementation of the proposed port , the SEZ will get better support , he added. He further informed that this port will be a part of the Dhaka-Chittagong-Coxbazar economic corridor planning. Meanwhile, CPA chairman depicted the present scenario of the port including ship congestions, container congestions,container handling and explained the reasons of ship congestions some days ago. He said at present the port has no congestions and a number of measures taken to ease the ship handing in inner and outer berths. He also informed that port handling equipments of Tk.1200 crores will be procured immediately for increasing the container handling. He also apprised about the NOC for the proposed Bay Terminal at Patenga from the Department of Environment now under process. He said an agreement with German Port construction firm viz. Hamburg Company will be give for feasibility study will be signed in this week which will take about 9 months to complete the study. About complications in undergoing port activities due to irregularities and corruptions as questioned by the journalists, CPA chairman told that if any corruptions, irregularities are traced , authority will take necessary actions against the concerned . He also disclosed to the journos thatCPA will incur about 28000 to 30,000 crores of taka in next five years for the development of the existing port aimed at global competitions of marine trade. A multimedia projections presented before the journos of present ongoing activities and future plannings of the port, sources said. The multimedia projections mentioned during the fiscal of 2014-15 18.67 lakh TEUs containers and in 2015-16 21.89 lakh TEUs containers were handled in this port and gradually the handlings of containers will go up accordingly. Sources said at present 300 CCTV installed within the port areas and more 500 CCTV will be installed in phases next for update monitoring of the port activities. Among others, Member(Admn&Planning) Md.Zafar Alam, Member(Eng)Commodore Zulfikar Aziz, Member(Finance) Kamrul Amin, Director(Transport) Golam Sarwar, Chief Engineer Nazmul Hoque, Director(Admn) Sadeka Begum, Secretary Omar Faruk, Deputy Secretary Azizul Mowla were present on the occasion. Member(Admn & Plan) presented the power point projection in the views exchanging with the media personalities. A head teacher beaten again : We see no discipline anywhere NEWS report on Wednesday said that a local union parishad member and his goons assaulted the head teacher of a high school in Boraigram upazila passing shock waves to local people. He is now at a critical condition treated in a local hospital with multiple injuries in head, legs and arms. A leader of Natore district unit of Awami League carried the attack to show that he is above the law. It appears that ruling party men are indiscriminately attacking and assaulting people all over the country. Nobody is having the courage to oppose them fearing reprisal. Such crime is spreading taking advantage of the impunity enjoyed by ruling party men at all levels. We must say the government must restraint its unruly elements. It is the responsibility of senior party leaders and they can't ignore it when the entire party is blamed for it. In a civilized society it can't go unchecked. The head teacher of Panchbaria High School at Nagar union Mr Mizanur Rahman was on his way to the school on Tuesday. The UP member accompanied by a group of 10 to 12 party men attacked him retaliating the head teacher's refusal to falsely certify him as the guardian of a student so that he can be elected on the school's managing committee. Since he refused to become party to the wrongdoings, he came under attacks to suffer fatal injuries. It is highly regrettable that despite we have specific laws to deal with such crime; law enforcers' reluctance to apply it works as an indirect encouragement to such criminals to do more such crimes. We know that a ruling party coalition lawmaker from Narayangonj physically assaulted head teacher of a local high school last year. The picture of the harassment went viral in social media causing uproar throughout the country for exemplary punishment to the lawmaker and those who were behind it. But a government committee subsequently found no undue involvement of the lawmaker and he was exonerated from any responsibility. The head teacher was rather seriously concerned about his safety and stopped going to school. It is no more secret that the UP member had beaten another schoolteacher last year but law enforcers had ignored it. If he were stopped at that point, renewed attacks on another teacher would not have happened. There is no doubt his criminal activities have crossed all limits largely because he is a ruling party man and police don't want to disturb him. We know any case involving the party man will disappear at some point and the big question is who will file the case to fall victim to his attack again. But anarchy is only gripping the nation and there must be an end to it. Recovery of Dutch envoy`s artifacts welcome : Easy arrest is confusing STEALING of handbag of Netherlands Ambassador to Bangladesh Leoni Margaretha Cuelenaere from the Faculty of Fine Arts building of Dhaka University where she was attending a function on Monday. Question arises as to how a thief can penetrate the high security gathering and why the security lapse was so pronounced. We are however relieved to see that our police have been able to recover the bag in shortest possible time yesterday and nothing was lost from the bag. This is a surprise. Police have arrested two people in this connection as per senior DMP officials while recovering the bag from Shonir Akhra in the city's eastern gate. The thief was initially identified from TV footage that showed a young man was lifting it when the ambassador left her seat to inaugurate the programme. A case was filed with Shahbagh police station hours after the incident took place. It is quite appreciable that police were amazingly fast to capture the thieves in record time and recovering the handbag with all items intact including notepad, ipad and such other artifacts. But the stealing itself raises some serious issues about the security coverage to our foreign dignitaries. While it can be said that the security forces acted with efficiency on post facto basis the point remains how a common thief could have access to the area where the ambassador remained in the first place. Checking for bombs and sharp weapons was acceptable but there should have been a security cordon around the immediate vicinity to prevent such mishaps. It is entirely possible that if we look at the situation in a different angle that an intruder with malafide intentions could have gotten access to the area. In that case the consequences would have been more grave as the result would perhaps been far more serious if someone would have intended actual bodily harm to the ambassador. Thankfully such an incident was averted but the need for continued vigilance remains to ensure future threats are averted. Whatever the scenario there is no alternative for the law enforcers to maintain constant vigil and remain alert to possible threats from malefactors. Easy arrest is no assurance that the guilty ones have been found. The way of securing confession by torture in police custody is making justice system more unjust. KSA wants to hire 1000 BD doctors Saudi Arabia wants to hire 1,000 medical specialists from Bangladesh after a gap of ten years. The kingdom informed government officials about its decision earlier this week, Golam Masih, Dhaka's ambassador at Riyadh, told bdnews24.com. The Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment ministry have been informed about the plan. "The employment opportunity for Bangladeshi doctors and specialists was created after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Saudi Arabia in June. "This opportunity was denied to Bangladesh for the last 10 years," said Ambassador Masih. BNP sends letter to President Staff Reporter : The BNP on Wednesday sent a letter to President Abdul Hamid seeking an appointment for the party Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia to discuss about forming of a fresh Election Commission. A BNP delegation conveyed the letter to Bangabhaban at 4:30pm. BNP Assistant Office Secretaries Belal Ahmed and Munir Hossain and Assistant Publicity Secretary Asadul Karim Shahin were in the team. Earlier on the day, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said in a press briefing at party's Naya Paltan office that they would submit the letter to President's Office in the afternoon. "We hope that the President will take initiatives to resolve the present political crises. We are optimistic about the meeting," Mirza Fakhrul said. He said that, the BNP chief Khaleda Zia's Personal Secretary talked to President's Military Secretary over cell phone on Sunday requesting time for meeting with the President. But there was no response from the President's Office, he said. "So we decided to send a letter to President's house", he said. Mirza Fakhrul said, "The BNP has respect for democracy. We want deployment of Army at Narayangonj during the city corporation polls with judicial power. There is no room to spread illusion about the demand for Army deployment on the polls day. There is no similarity between Martial law and Army deployment. BNP Standing Committee Members Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Mirza Abbas, Dr. Abdul Moeen Khan, Gayeshar Chandra Roy, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Senior Joint-General Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi were present in the briefing. Take steps to stop massacre of Rohingyas Staff Reporter : The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday urged the United Nations to take initiative to stop massacre of Rohingya people in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. The call was given from a human chain organised in front of the Bar Bhaban on the day in protest against the mass killing, rape and violation of human rights in Myanmar. The SCBA President Advocate Yousuf Hussain Humayun said, "Those who often speak of humanity are silent today. We hope that the United Nations (UN) will come forward to save the Rohingya Muslims. If it fails, we will be constrained to consider the UN as a teethless tiger, adding that the people of Bangladesh are united on common issue like upholding humanity". The Bar president said that the lawyers would meet the country representative of the UN in Bangladesh to talk about Rohingya issue. Bar Secretary Barrister A M Mahbub Uddin Khokan said, "The people of Bangladesh are very shocked at the underway brutality on Rohingya Muslims. We condemn the barbarism." The Supreme Court Bar will arrange another human chain programme on November 27. Advocate Zainul Abedin, former President of the bar, wondered how the Rohingya people were being tortured and killed in Myanmar in violation of humanity. He said that they would protest the killing, raping and violation of human rights in a larger scale and proposed to send a delegation team to the UN office in Bangladesh to express concerns over the oppression of Rohingya people. Advocate S M Rezaul Karim, former secretary of the Bar, said that the atrocities on the Rohingya people reminded the world of the days of barbarism of medieval age. The world has to raise voice to solve the problem immediately. Advocate Fahima Nasreen Munni, Vice President of the Bar, said that the Border of Bangladesh should be opened for the Rohingya people. She advocated for withdrawal of the noble peace prize given to Aung San Suu Kyi, the State Counsellor of Myanmar, for her silence to the massacre. Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal said that they must put pressure on the international community to stop massacre of the innocent people in Myanmar.. Advocate Fazley Rabbi Mia, Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament, Advocate A B M Nurul Islam, Advocate Taimur Alam Khandaker and Barrister Badruddoza Badal were also present at the human chain program. Trump keeping `open mind` on pulling out of climate accord Reuters, New York : U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was keeping an open mind on whether to pull out of a landmark international accord to fight climate change, in a softening of his stance toward global warming. Trump told the New York Times in an interview that he thinks there is "some connectivity" between human activity and global warming, despite previously describing climate change as a hoax. A source on Trump's transition team told Reuters earlier this month that the New York businessman was seeking quick ways to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change. But asked on Tuesday whether the United States would withdraw from the accord, the Republican said: "I'm looking at it very closely. I have an open mind to it." A U.S. withdrawal from the pact, agreed to by almost 200 countries, would set back international efforts to limit rising temperatures that have been linked to the extinctions of animals and plants, heat waves, floods and rising sea levels. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, also said he was thinking about climate change and American competitiveness and "how much it will cost our companies," he said, according to a tweet by a Times reporter in the interview. Two people advising Trump's transition team on energy and environment issues said they were caught off guard by his remarks. A shift on global warming is the latest sign Trump might be backing away from some of his campaign rhetoric as life in the Oval Office approaches. Trump has said he might have to build a fence, rather than a wall, in some areas of the U.S.-Mexican border to stop illegal immigration, tweaking one of his signature campaign promises. Also in Tuesday's interview, he showed little appetite for pressing investigations of his Democratic rival in the presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton. "I don't want to hurt the Clintons, I really don't. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways," he told reporters, editors and other newspaper officials at the Times headquarters in Manhattan. President-elect Donald Trump reacts to a crowd gathered in the lobby of the New York Times building. Trump, who has never previously held public office, was quick to bristle at unflattering news coverage during the campaign, even as he remained accessible to certain reporters, including several from the Times. But Trump said "no" when asked if he would rule out investigating Clinton over her family's charitable foundation or her use of a private email server while she was U.S. secretary of state during President Barack Obama's first term. If Trump does abandon his campaign vow to appoint a special prosecutor for Clinton, it will be a reversal of a position he mentioned almost daily on the campaign trail, when he dubbed his rival "Crooked Hillary," and crowds at his rallies often chanted: "Lock her up." His comments to the Times about Clinton angered some of his strongest conservative supporters. Breitbart News, the outlet once led by Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, published a story on Tuesday under the headline, "Broken Promise: Trump 'Doesn't Wish to Pursue' Clinton email charges." The FBI investigated Clinton's email practices, concluding in July that her actions were careless but that there were no grounds for bringing charges. The Clinton Foundation charity has also been scrutinized for donations it received, but there has been no evidence that foreign donors obtained favors from the State Department while Clinton headed it. Trump, a real estate developer who has never held public office, brushed off fears over conflicts of interest between his job as president and his family's businesses. "The law's totally on my side, the president can't have a conflict of interest," he told the New York Times. My company's so unimportant to me relative to what I'm doing," Trump said. Conflict-of-interest rules for executive branch employees do not apply to the president, but Trump will be bound by bribery laws, disclosure requirements and a section of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits elected officials from taking gifts from foreign governments, according to Republican and Democratic ethics lawyers. "There may be specific laws that don't apply to the president, but the president is not above the law," said Richard Painter of the University of Minnesota, a former associate counsel to Republican President George W. Bush. "Do we really want to run our government where you have the president, the leader of the United States and the free world, saying: 'I'm going to do the bare minimum to squeak by?'" asked Norman Eisen, a former top ethics lawyer in Obama's White House. Trump's businesswoman daughter Ivanka joined her father's telephone call with Argentine President Mauricio Macri earlier this month and attended a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, raising questions of possible conflicts of interest. When asked whether House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans in Congress would consider his trillion-dollar infrastructure plan, Trump boasted he was popular with the party's leaders on Capitol Hill. "Right now, they're in love with me," he said. Since his Nov. 8 election victory, Trump has been meeting with prospective candidates for top positions in his administration. Ben Carson, a former Republican presidential hopeful who dropped out of the 2016 race and backed Trump, has been offered the post of secretary of housing and urban development, Carson spokesman Armstrong Williams said. Carson, a retired surgeon who met with Trump on Tuesday, will think about it over the Thanksgiving holiday, Williams said. Trump arrived in Florida on Tuesday evening to spend Thursday's holiday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. Dutch envoy`s stolen handbag found: 2 held DB police arrested two youths on Wednesday in connection with the theft of Dutch Ambassador\'s handbag along with passport and mobile sets from DU Art Faculty\'s photo exhibitions on Monday. Staff Reporter : The much-talked handbag of Netherlands (Dutch) Ambassador Leoni Margaretha Cuelenaere during, which was stolen an inaugural ceremony at Fine Arts Faculty of Dhaka University campus on Monday, was recovered from the city's Jatrabari area. The members of detective branch (DB) of Police in a drive recovered the stolen handbag with all belongings on Wednesday afternoon. They also arrested the thief Rubel and his cohort Shams, said Masudur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. DB DC (South) Mashrukur Rahman Khaled confirmed the recovery of the bag with all belongings. The contents of the handbag, which included valuables and documents, her iPad, an iPhone, bunch of keys of the flat, and bank documents, were recovered, the DB official said. Meanwhile, Ambassador Leoni Margaretha Cuelenaere expressed her profound appreciation for the swift response by Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in recovering her handbag, which was stolen during a programme on Dhaka University campus on Monday. On Wednesday, the Embassy of Netherlands in Bangladesh's Facebook page carried a photograph of the envoy shaking hands with the DMP's Deputy Commissioner (Diplomatic Zone) Jashim Uddin. In the post, the ambassador was particularly grateful for the recovery, as the bag contained some important documents and two cell phones. According to TV footage, it was seen that the bag was being stolen by a youngman when the ambassador left her seat to inaugurate the programme. 200 gates to greet Bodi Staff Reporter : Supporters of Abdur Rahman Bodi, MP of Cox's Bazar-4 Constituency, have arranged a royal reception for him installing 200 gates in the area. Bodi is likely to arrive in Cox's Bazar today after he got bail in a graft case. Principal Hamidul Haque Chowdhury, Awami League President of Ukhia Upazila, said that Bodi would arrive in Cox's Bazar at 11 am today. Then he would go to Ukhia with a motor convoy. He would be given a worm reception in the play ground of Ukhia Govrnment High School. Ukhia Upazila Jubo League Secretary Imam Hossain said that they have set up 200 gates to welcome their MP Abdur Rabman Bodi. Earlier, On November 2, Dhaka Special Judge's Court-3 sentenced Bodi to three years' in prison for concealing and deliberately submitting false wealth statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission in March 2014. After hearing an appeal the High Court on November 16 granted bail to Bodi for six months in the case. Supreme Court on November 20 upheld the High Court order. Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed 'no order' on a petition filed by the ACC challenging the High Court order that granted bail. Mission to get back $30m more High-level BB team to visit Manila Nov 26 A high-level government delegation, headed by Law Minister, will visit Philippines by the end of November seeking to bring back $30 million more of the $81 million Bangladesh Bank's stolen fund from the country. "The delegation which will also comprise the central bank governor, will visit Manila on November 26 to accelerate the process of getting back the $30 stolen fund which remains frozen in Philippines," Debaprosad Debnath, General Manager of Bangladesh Bank's (BB) Financial Intelligence Unit, told The New Nation on Wednesday. He added," Their mission is to find out the ways of getting back the frozen fund within shortest possible time". During their visit to Manila, the delegation will meet high-ups of the Philippines government, Central Bank, Department of Justice and Anti-Money Laundering Council. Bangladesh delegation is also expected to meet the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to seek his cooperation in returning the fund and directive to track down the heist fund that is still traceless in the country, according to Debaprosad Debnath. The Philippine authorities so far traced over $40 million out of the $81 million BB's stolen fund and the rest is still traceless. Earlier, President Duterte gave the assurance that $81 million stolen by cyber criminals from the account of BB in New York Fed and funneled through bank accounts in Manila would be returned to Bangladesh. Unknown cyber criminals tried to steal nearly $1 billion from the Bangladesh Bank account between Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four private accounts at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation RCBC in Manila. The Philippines authorities recently handed over the $15.25 million recovered from the total heisted fund to Bangladesh authorities after a Manila Court adjudged that BB was the rightful owner of the fund. The fund was surrendered by casino boss Kim Wong and his Eastern Hawaii Leisure Company. "We are confident of recovering rest of the amount as we have already secured a positive commitment from the Philippines authorities," said Debaprosad Debnath. He said legal process is also on to get back the money. The government earlier formed a high-powered taskforce to expedite recover of BB's $81 million heist fund from the Philippines. At the same time, it is also pursuing the issue evolving the diplomatic channels. John Gomes, Bangladesh's Ambassador to the Philippines is mediating the process of retrieving the BB's heist fund. Remain alert about internal, external threat Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina raising flags of nine units of 11 Infantry Brigade under 17th Infantry Division of the Bangladesh Army at Jalalabad Cantonment in Sylhet on Wednesday. UNB, Sylhet : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday asked the Bangladesh Army to always remain ready to face any threat both from internal or external sources to protect the sacred constitution and sovereignty of the motherland. "To protect the sacred constitution and sovereignty of the motherland, you'll have to remain always ready to face any threat from internal or external sources being united," she said. The Prime Minister said this while addressing the flag-raising ceremony of nine units, including the newly-established headquarters of 11 Infantry Brigade, under 17 Infantry Division of the Bangladesh Army at Jalalabad Cantonment. She raised the flags of the nine units under the 17 Infantry Division. Sheikh expressed her firm belief that each and every member of this newly formed brigade and units wound work shoulder to shoulder to boost the strength of this division imbued with patriotism. "Considering the overall security of the country, formation of a special force at brigade level is under the active consideration of the government," she said. Terming Bangladesh Army as the asset of this country as well as a symbol of confidence and trust of people, Hasina said, "That's why to attain the standard of professionalism, you all have to be skilled professionally, and have honest and gracious adopting the spirit of social and religious values," she said. She also asked the army personnel to perform their duties sincerely keeping the confidence in higher leadership, mutual trust, empathy, brotherhood, dutifulness, responsibility and above all maintaining the discipline. The Prime Minister said in the current tenure of the government the training, arms, equipment and manpower of Bangladesh Army has been upgraded in an unprecedented manner. She said, state of the art modern tanks, cannons, missile system, anti-tank missiles as well as fighter planes and helicopters in army aviation have added new dimension to the army. Besides, Hasina said, huge changes have been made in the organisational structure of the army. A composite brigade has been formed for the construction of related infrastructure of Padma Bridge and its security, she added. Hasina mentioned that work has stared to constitute a riverine brigade in Mithamoin and said the government has given approval in principle to formation of an infantry division at Lebukhali Cantonment near the Payra River in between Barisal and Patuakhali districts. The Prime Minister said her government established a new infantry division and a number of brigades as part of strengthening the defence system and development and expansion of army after assuming of office for the second term. She said the government has constructed mess-houses for the accommodation of soldiers of all ranks as well as built SM Barrack for them. Earlier, the Prime Minister took salute from a smartly turned out contingent of the 17 Infantry Division of Army. Illegal crossover from Myanmar being resisted Over 200 detained along border by security forces A Rohingya Muslim man and his son cry after being caught by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) while illegally crossing at a border check point in Cox\'s Bazar, Bangladesh. Internet photo Staff Reporter Border security forces have beefed up patrols along with Myanmar border after reports of Rohingaya Muslims crossing into Bangladesh to escape Myanmar army crackdown in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Wednesday deployed two platoon additional forces to intensify patrols along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border with an aim to check the illegal crossover by Rohingaya people from Myanmar. Besides, extra coastguard ships have been deployed on the Naf River to stop migrants coming in by boat, officials said. More than 2,000 have crossed the border in recent weeks despite heavy security on both sides following the army crackdown on Rohingya, a Muslim minority group whom Myanmar does not recognise as citizens, according to media reports. Rohingaya Muslims have reportedly crossed the border using darkness to evade detection by border security forces. They are fleeing from Myanmar where there are reports the military is carrying out genocide, burning villages and raping women. "The BGB have intensified patrols since the violence flared in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine. They have stopped nearly a thousand Rohingya at the border over the past three days," said Brigadier General Khandaker Farid Hasan, Chief of BGB's South-East Command. He said, "The government has taken the 'zero tolerance policy' regarding the entry of illegal migrants from Myanmar. The BGB is conscious about the policy and working round the clock to prevent attempts of illegal cross over." Khandaker Farid Hasan came up with the statement at a media briefing in Cox's Bazar on Wednesday. Prior to the briefing, the BGB's South-East Command held a flag meeting with Myanmar's Border Guard Police (BGP) at the BGB's guest house in Cox's Bazar. Brigadier General Khandaker Farid Hasan led the BGB while BGP's Joint Director General Brigadier General Thora Sen Luin in the meeting. "It was a pre-scheduled meeting. It was not arranged for discussing the ongoing violence in Myanmar," said Farid Hasan, adding, "But the of illegal cross over by Rohingayas in Bangladesh and violence in Myanmar were discussed at the meeting." BGB raised the Rohingaya issue at the meeting and expressed concerned over the illegal crossover of Myanmar's nations into Bangladesh. In reply, BGP authorities assured their support to us in this regard saying that it is a temporary problem which would be solved soon. Reading the ongoing violence in Myanmar, the BGP delegation told the meeting that the army was conducting a combing operation that launched to clean up the terror roots in western Rakhine state in the country. At the meeting, both the sides also decided to conduct joint drives along with the Bangladesh-Myanmar borders to curb the incidents of illegal migration, smuggling and other border crimes, reports our corresponded stationed in Cox's Bazar. Meanwhile, the BGB on Wednesday arrested 115 Rohingayas who tried to enter Bangladesh illegally crossing the Naf River. Police in their separate raids also arrested four suspected brokers and detained 76 Rohingya Muslims from Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas of Cox's Bazar on Wednesday. Acting on a tipped off, a police team arrested two brokers-Sarwar, a Rohingya national and Shawkat-from Balukhali area of the upazila in the morning, said officer-in-charge of Ukhiya police station Abul Khayer. Another police team conducted a drive at Zadimora village along the Naf River in the morning and arrested two alleged brokers-Osman, 30, and Shah Alam, 27, and eight Rohingya men, said officer-in-charge of Teknaf police station Abdul Mazid. He said Osman and Shah Alam were wanted in a number of cases, including that of drug and human trafficking, reports UNB news agency. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has expressed deep concern at the continued deteriorating situation in the Rakhine State of Myanmar due to the ongoing actions by the Myanmar Armed Forces causing dire consequences to people and its implications for Bangladesh. Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh Myo Myint Than was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the afternoon to meet Ambassador Kamrul Ahsan, Secretary (Bilateral & Consular), who conveyed the government's concern. I-49 Connector open house set for Nov. 30 at Progressive Community Outreach Center and update on new airport terminal will be held the following day at Bell Helicopter. On Wednesday, Nov. 30 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Lafayette Connector Partners and Louisiana DOTD will host a public open house for the I-49 Lafayette Connector on at Progressive Community Outreach Center (125 Gallian Street, Lafayette). The focus will be the recent technical evaluations of the two main design concepts, and the 23 Potential Design Modifications along the Connector corridor. The open house will feature a looping power point presentation and stations where individuals can get details on the project, so you wont need to stay for the entire time block. Comments from the public will be captured for the official record. You can review the information on the project website in advance of the open house here. The pertinent files to review are for the Community Working Group Meeting #9 10-27-16, and CWG Meeting #10 11-3-16. A day later, on Dec. 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., One Acadiana will host a community update on Lafayette Regional Airports new terminal at Bell Helicopter (101 Jet Ranger X Dr.). The event is free and open to the public. You can register your attendance here. Photos by Robin May Pending an unlikely-to-succeed appeal to the states highest court, Dr. Pat Cooper and the Lafayette Parish School System have finally parted ways. Cooper was fired on Nov. 5, 2014 during a hearing at which the Lafayette Parish School Board found merit in four of five charges leveled against him following a lengthy investigation and months of rancor between Cooper and several board members, voting to terminate his three-year contract with one year remaining. Two weeks later, Cooper appealed his firing before District Court Judge Patrick Michot in Lafayette, who found merit in only one of the charges against the erstwhile school system administrator: that his unilateral decision to offer higher pay to five hand-selected principals he sought to run the parishs most low-performing schools without school board approval violated policy and was grounds for termination. Cooper had argued that he hadnt increased the daily pay of the five principals, but rather had merely offered them a greater number of days annually from which they drew a paycheck. Both the board and Michot didnt buy the argument, noting that the increased pay whether attributed to a higher salary or a greater number of paid days per year affected the school systems annual budget over which the school board has authority. Cooper appealed to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, arguing that Judge Michot misapplied Act 1, the 2012 state law that transferred a great deal of school system administrative authority from school boards to superintendents. The appeals court, while noting that the passage of Act 1 turned the relationship between school boards and their superintendents on its head, nonetheless upheld Michots earlier ruling that the school board was within its rights in terminating Cooper. We find that while a superintendent now has expanded power in the operation of school systems, that power is not absolute and is specifically limited by other provisions of Act 1, appellate Judge Jimmie C. Peters writes for the majority. (Judge John E. Conery dissented among the three-judge panel.) Thus, while a superintendent may fix salaries, his or her actions cannot violate the salary schedules set up as part of the policy making obligations of a school board. More from the decision: In reaching this conclusion, we find, as obviously did the School Board, that Dr. Cooper was aware of the particulars of the School Board policy as set forth in the Salary Schedule for paying principals, he intentionally violated that policy, and he failed to call his actions to the attention of the School Board until they became an issue. While the superintendent does have expanded powers under Act 1, those powers come with the responsibility of ensuring that the use of those powers do not adversely affect other areas of importance as in this case, the School System budget. The 3rd Circuit also agreed to assess all attorney fees for both the district-court and appellate cases incurred by the Lafayette Parish School Board to Cooper, meaning hes now on the hook for at the very least tens of thousands of dollars beyond what he owes his own legal team. President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States generally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only about 5% of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. Should the US ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war? You voted: The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now. Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market. 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Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness. Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful. If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it. You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly. Summary What did you think? In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India. The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future. As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values. However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health. If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. CARBONDALE One individual was found dead after police and firefighters responded to a fire at a home in Carbondale on Wednesday morning, according to a news release by the City of Carbondale. The Carbondale Fire Department responded to the structure fire at 700 W. Freeman St. at 4:50 a.m. Wednesday. Carbondale Police and Murphysboro Fire were called in for assistance. Authorities found the home heavily engulfed in flames. Firefighters located a deceased victim while doing a primary search of the building. The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the Carbondale Fire Department, the Carbondale Police Department and Illinois State Police. MARION Community members gathered Tuesday at Mackies Pizza to listen to panelists discuss issues of race and police relations. Organized by Marion Commissioner and Carterville police officer Angelo Hightower, the panel was comprised of a diverse group of community leaders including: The Rev. John Holst of Zion United Church of Christ; Heather Reno, Carterville Police Chief; Marion Assistant Police Chief Tina Morrow; reporters Stephanie Esters and Molly Parker of The Southern Illinoisan; Tiffini Clarissa Spicer, a Marion community advocate; and Williamson County States Attorney Brandon Zanotti. Hightower asked the panel questions ranging from the definition of privilege, to life experiences as a minority in America, to whether there is a disconnect between law enforcement and minorities locally and nationally. Spicer talked of her memories asking her father why kids treated her differently in her mostly white school. On the playground is where I learned, Spicer recalled. The first time race came up at school she remembered going to her father to ask what was wrong with her. She said he gave her support and confidence to return to school, but these experiences began to multiply. Hightower asked Holst if he could comment on what defines white privilege. Holst explained there are two forms of prejudice to consider the subtle and the overt. He said he can ask for a Band-Aid and expect the bandage to match the color of his skin, and he can go to a hotel and expect the shampoo to be appropriate for his hair. Holst also said because he and his family are white, he does not explain to them how to handle law enforcement. I will never have to tell my blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter about being pulled over, Holst said. He added that as a white man, he believes other white men have to come to terms with the privilege they were born with. The panel also addressed the issues of police-community relations, particularly in minority communities. Reno said it is important for police to realize they deal with the bad far more than they do the good, and they should not lump any particular group as more or less suspect than another. However, she added she wished everyone knew that while people may be scared when dealing with police, often the fear is mutual. Zanotti, Reno and Morrow all said they needed to open a dialogue at the community level. Both sides being scared together just exacerbates [things], Morrow said. She added that there are small things officers can do to help show a different side of law enforcement. She said holding a baby during a domestic call was a good example. The conversation pivoted to the medias responsibility in trying to heal the disconnect between the community and the police. Parker said while news outlets do the best they can, it is easy to fall into easy narratives of us versus them, and all should work hard to break out of these chosen molds. She said the media needs to get more depth in their stories and in their sourcing. When reporting on minority groups, Parker said it is incredibly important to report the bad with the good. Esters said finding nontension stories is part of responsible community journalism. While it is up to journalists to report these stores, Esters called on the community to bring them to the medias attention. Everyone in the room agreed that a mutual dialogue needs to be established for things to get better. Parker said in her time driving to and from Cairo, it is obvious that poverty is a common tie between white and black in Southern Illinois. She said poor mothers, black or white, have the same concerns for their children. Seventy-eight-year-old Lloyd Summers addressed the room at the end of the discussion, and said he is tired of not speaking up. Im tired of not being who I really am, Summers said. He told the group of a moment last year he was particularly not proud of. During a doctor's appointment a friend and his wife sat behind him and began talking about the presidential election and tried bringing him into their talk. This, quote, friend of mine, leaned over and said We dont need another darkie in the White House, Summers said. I just kind of clammed up ... I didnt say anything and I should have. He said later he plans to speak his mind in the future. Not to cause a stir, but to stand for what he believes in. I think thats a powerful statement he made, Hightower said, adding that he was heartened by Summers words. He said hearing that, he considered the panel to be a success. If you can change one heart, then you have accomplished your goal, he said. Summers said there was one thing about the panel that disappointed him. I just wish there were more people here that had experienced discrimination, Summers said. I wish they were here so I can get to know them better. A Murphysboro man was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to robbery, according to a Wednesday news release from Michael Carr, Jackson County States Attorney. Brandon A. Bodeker, 20, was sentenced to three years in state prison. The release states that on Aug. 15, officers with the Murphysboro Police Department were dispatched to a business in the 400 block of Walnut Street in Murphysboro because of an injured individual being discovered on the sidewalk. Upon arrival, officers located the victim and noted he was suffering from a cut to his head that was actively bleeding. During the investigation, officers obtained video surveillance which recorded the events leading to the victims injuries. Upon reviewing that surveillance video, officers observed Bodeker grab the victim by the head and neck. The defendant then threw the victim to the ground, causing him to strike his head on the concrete sidewalk. The defendant then took property from the victims person and fled the area. Officers were able to quickly locate the defendant and arrest him. The Southern HARRISBURG In 1621, colonists at Plymouth, Massachusetts, gathered for a feast and gave thanks for their bountiful harvest. They invited Wampanoag Indians shared in the feast, and that feast is commonly considered the predecessor of our modern Thanksgiving holiday. Fifth graders in Benjie Willseys class at East Side Intermediate School in Harrisburg know a little about feasting at Thanksgiving. Each year, Willsey and her students invite members of the community to a Thanksgiving feast in the tradition of that first celebration. Just before the annual feast on Monday, the students talked about their reasons for being thankful and their favorite parts of the holiday. Im thankful for my school and that I have Mrs. Willsey for my teacher because everyone doesnt get a nice teacher, Caleb Nelson said. Jaylynn Renfroe and Laynie Kleinfeldt also are thankful for their teacher. The class was thankful that they were about to join their guests for a Thanksgiving feast at the Harris-Pruett Building. Tidus Cox, Jourdon Dowdy, Makayla Ewing, Triton Kielhorn, Alexis Lind and Becca McIntosh are thankful for their families. Im thankful that Trump won the election because now my stepdad can continue to work as a coal miner, Harley McCabe said. Justin Haney and Dontavias Wilson are thankful for their friends. Jensen Naas is thankful for mans best friend, his dog. Tessa Harrison is thankful for her home. Chaiselyne Capps is thankful for her school. Im thankful that I get to go to school, Frankie Nicholes said, emphasizing get. When her classmates chuckled, she reminded them that some children do not get to attend school. Students Aidan Seiner and Mark Miller are thankful for food and water. Melita McCabe is thankful for Jesus. Im thankful for my church because I get to serve people, Briley Karnes said. Jameson Gibbs, Paige Potts and Brandyn Roe are thankful for the freedom that comes with living in the United States. Im thankful for us being alive right now, James Ewing said. Im thankful for 35 good years in education and that Im retiring after this year, said Brandon Henshaw, principal of the intermediate school. Michael Gauch, superintendent of Harrisburg Community Unit School District 3, is thankful for his family, the Harrisburg community and the school district. My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is seeing family I dont get to see all the time, Triton said. PINCKNEYVILLE The remains of a Korean War veteran are finally coming home to Pinckneyville for burial, 66 years after 19-year-old Army Cpl. Vernon Douglas Presswood was reported missing in action in North Korea. Presswood will be buried Dec. 3 in his hometown, according to a news release issued on Tuesday from the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Phyllis McGee, his sister, also of Pinckneyville, said the news publicly released on Thanksgiving eve makes this holiday season bittersweet. Shes glad hes coming home for a proper burial, but its also a heavy reminder of the sibling who has been missing at the dinner table for countless holidays since 1950. It brought back a lot of old memories and things that Ive had to think about that I hadnt thought about for years, McGee said Wednesday. I didnt think I would ever hear from them. she said of government officials charged with identifying missing soldiers. Its been so long. I just praise God and give him all the glory." McGee said the family never held funeral services for Presswood family and friends called him Doug because they could never be entirely certain of what became of him. He was reported missing in 1950, and the U.S. Army declared him deceased in 1953. Memorial services for Presswood will be held at the Beaucoup Baptist Church in Pinckneyville, and burial will follow at the Mueller Hill Cemetery. He will be buried in a family plot next to loved ones who preceded him in death, including his parents, McGee said. His remains are scheduled to be flown home via commercial flight on Nov. 29 to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Presswood will be buried with full military honors, according to Staff Sgt. Kristen Duus, spokeswoman for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. In late November 1950, Presswood was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was among approximately 2,500 U.S. and 700 Korean soldiers assembled into the 31st Regimental Combat Team, which was deployed east of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when it was engaged by overwhelming numbers of Chinese forces, according to the Department of Defenses news release regarding Presswood. By Dec. 6, the U.S. Army evacuated about 1,500 wounded service members; the remaining soldiers had been either captured or killed in enemy territory. Because Presswood could not be accounted for by his unit at the end of the battle, he was reported missing in action as of Dec. 2, 1950. Presswood's name did not appear on any prisoner of war lists and no repatriated Americans were able to provide any information concerning Presswood as a prisoner of war. Due to the prolonged lack of evidence, the U.S. Army declared him deceased as of Dec. 31, 1953, the release stated. Bringing Presswood home has been a long process. Although the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service hoped to recover American remains that remained north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone after the war, administrative details between the United Nations Command and North Korea complicated recovery efforts, the department stated. An agreement was made and in September and October 1954, in what was known as Operation Glory, American remains were returned. However, Presswood's remains were not included and he was declared non-recoverable. Forty-seven years later, there was another breakthrough. During the 25th Joint Recovery Operation in 2001, recovery teams conducted operations on the eastern bank of the Chosin Reservoir, Changjin County, North Korea, based on information provided by two Korean witnesses. The site was approximately one kilometer from the 31st RCT's defensive perimeter. During the excavation, the recovery team recovered possible human remains of at least seven individuals, the department reported. One of them would later prove to be Presswood, but it would take another 15 years to identify him. To identify Presswoods remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial and anthropological evidence, including chest radiograph comparison, as well as DNA analysis, the department reported. The evidence included mitochondrial and DNA, which matched his sister and nephew, who had voluntarily provided samples as part of the recovery efforts. McGee said Presswood was the middle sibling of three. The eldest sibling, Melvin Dean Presswood, died in 1993. McGee, who is 84, was the youngest, and separated in age from her brother by only 14 months. The two grew up close to one another, she said. McGee said she has many great memories of her childhood riding around Perry County in the Ford Model A the siblings shared. McGee described her brother as a full of life guy. He never, ever met a stranger, she said. When he met you, he knew you. You were a friend of his. He was loved by everybody because he was so friendly and joyous. McGee said families that have lost a loved one in service are tied together by tragic bonds that are difficult for those who have never suffered such a loss to understand. It is so sad that our young men have to go over there and be killed, she said. She said her heart goes out to the family of Tyler Iubelt, whose funeral services were held in Du Quoin on Wednesday. Iubelt, 20, of Tamaroa, was killed by a suicide bomber inside Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan on Nov. 12. The Taliban claimed responsibility. Though different battles, generations apart, and casualties separated by 66 years, the two Perry County men both were about the same age when they died at war. It is so sad that our young men have to go over there and be killed I feel for those people. I pray for them. I pray they will be OK, she said of Iubelts family. Of her brother, McGee said she thanks God his remains are finally coming home, as this has been a long overdue homecoming for a soldier and loved one lost at war. But the news also brings with it fresh grief, she said. I missed him for years and years and years and years, McGee said. And now, Im missing him all over again." SPRINGFIELD Illinois is trying to open job opportunities for people with criminal records by making changes to paperwork for professional licenses. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced Monday it has made the process more welcoming. The department is using less formal legal language in cover letters. And the department is making it clear to applicants with criminal convictions that prospects are good for getting a license. State officials say fewer than 1 percent of applicants with a criminal conviction are denied licensure. Earlier this year, Illinois began allowing prisoners nearing their release or parole dates to meet with a licensing board by video conference after they've completed coursework for barbering and cosmetology. Last month, the first ex-offender a Cairo man received a cosmetology license under the streamlined inmate licensure program. The Associated Press NAIROBI - The Kenyan government said Tuesday that it will partner with private investors to roll out new training and mentorship program for youth aspiring to work in the hospitality sector. Cabinet Secretary for Tourism Najib Balala said that skills development will be key to reinventing the tourism industry that currently contributes 12 percent to Kenya's GDP. "The country requires a critical mass of trained and motivated personnel to work in the rapidly evolving hospitality industry. We still have a skills gap in a sector that has attracted huge foreign direct investments lately," Balala said. He spoke in Nairobi during a review of the impact of a training and mentorship program for high school students keen on pursuing careers in the tourism sector. Kenya's ministry of tourism has partnered with the Global Travel and Tourism Partnership (GTTP) regional office to train and expose young adults to vast opportunities in hospitality industry. Balala said Kenya aims to become a training hub for professionals in tourism sector through establishment of additional learning facilities alongside curriculum reforms. "The second largest tertiary institution for training workers in the hospitality sector will be completed soon. Several public universities have also rolled out courses in tourism and travel to help meet a growing demand," said Balala. He disclosed that three major international hotel brands will soon open branches in Nairobi thanks to availability of abundant skilled workforce alongside improved investment climate. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. By Azernews By Amina Nazarli Residents and guests of Baku will be able to enjoy Italian dishes, salads and desserts the whole week as part of the first World Week of Italian cuisine. Italian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Giampaolo Cutillo said that within a week, about three hundred events will take place all over the world, where people will be able to plunge into the atmosphere of the Italian way of life, listening to the Italian music and tasting Italian goodies. The Week aims to promote Italian traditions, food and culture throughout the world. People around the world will gather around the Italian tables during the Week. "Baku will also host five events until Saturday, November 26," he told Trend. "Visitors of Italian restaurants will be able to get acquainted with traditional kitchens of Turin, Sicily, Milan and other Italian cities." The diplomat also noted that in recent months, Azerbaijan and Italy carried out a number of cultural activities. "Recently Baku hosted the Week of Italian Fashion, Week of the Italian language, and other several events, in particular those relating to education in Italy. We try to carry out as much work as possible. There are good conditions for this. Relations between the two countries are friendly and good," said the ambassador. Being one of Azerbaijan's major partners in Europe, Italy has been Azerbaijan's number one trade partner for the last eight years. It is the largest importer of Azerbaijani goods. Currently, about 45 Italian companies are operating in Azerbaijan in insurance, banking, trade, and other areas. Italy has become the biggest trade partner of Azerbaijan in importing crude oil and oil products and mainly exports pipes for the oil sector, tobacco, leather and furniture to Azerbaijan. Baku and Rome are strategic partners in the energy sector. Italy, whose scanty natural resources traditionally make the country dependent on import has been a key partner for Baku. Since 1999, Italy has begun to receive a large part of Azerbaijani oil exported through the Baku - Supsa pipeline and then through the Baku - Ceyhan. This made Italy the number one partner for Azerbaijan and this position is maintained until today. By Azertac Baku has hosted a meeting between experts on civil and military cooperation of the defense ministries of Azerbaijan and Italy. The meeting was held under the "Plan of bilateral military cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Italy for 2016-2017". The experts exchanged experience on civil and military cooperation. By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 15 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported on November 23. The Azerbaijani army positions located on nameless heights, Farakhli, Gushchu Ayrim and Kamarli villages of Azerbaijans Gazakh district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located in Shavarshavan, Voskevan and Dovekh villages of the Noyemberyan district of Armenia. The Azerbaijani army positions were shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Chilaburt village of the Tartar district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, as well as on nameless heights of the Goranboy, Tartar, Khojavand, Jabrayil districts. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. By Azernews By Amina Nazarli The United States together with other OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries must intensify efforts to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This statement was made by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov as he met the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Bridget Brink, in Baku on November 22. The foreign minister informed Brink about the negotiation process to resolve the conflict and stressed inadmissibility of the status quo. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations, however, Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Touching upon the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the U.S, both sides expressed satisfaction with the cooperation in economy, energy, peacekeeping operations and fighting international terrorism. Brink said the U.S. attaches great importance to cooperation with Azerbaijan and appreciates the countrys contribution in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism. Brink, talking to reporters, stressed that Azerbaijan and the U.S. continue to work together on counterterrorism and transnational threats. I am here today to reaffirm our longstanding commitment to independent, stable, prosperous, democratic Azerbaijan, she said. We discussed how we can build on the progress we have made in bilateral relations. On security issues we continue to work together on counterterrorism and transnational threats. With regard to economic and energy issues, we affirm our commitment to Azerbaijans economic growth. The U.S. official further said that her country reiterates appreciation for the important role that Azerbaijan plays in the EUs energy security. Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the U.S. official said that there is no military solution to the conflict, adding that the U.S. remains committed to working with the sides of the conflict to mediate a comprehensive settlement. We appreciate Ambassador James Warlicks service as OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair, she added commenting on Warlicks resignation. Brink said she has no information on who will become the next OSCE MG U.S. co-chair. I dont have a name to announce at this moment, she said. As part of the visit, Brink was earlier received by President Ilham Aliyev, who expressed hope that successful cooperation between the two countries would be continued with the new administration of the U.S.. They had a broad exchange of views over the current state and prospects of relations between Azerbaijan and the U.S. The solution to the long-lasting Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was also discussed during the meeting. Abu Dhabi general services company Musanada said work was progressing well on the 62-km-long Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway and it would be open to motorists by the end of next year. The project, being executed by Musanada in co-operation with the Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport, is one of the most important land transport initiatives in the UAE capital. A strategic project, it will contribute to achieving the objectives of Abu Dhabi Plan towards enhancing the quality of infrastructure and strengthening the economic development of the emirate in particular, and the state in general, the company said in a statement. The highway, which is an extension of Sheikh bin Zayed Road (E311), will connect Seih Shuaib area at the Abu Dhabi border and Dubai with the Sweihan interchange. There will be four lanes in each direction, and the highway is being built in two construction packages, said the statement. As a strategic artery, it can absorb additional traffic during peak hours. The new road also provides access to Abu Dhabi city and its international airport, and also to Yas and Saadiyat islands, it added.-TradeArabia News Service DC Pro Engineering UAE, a renowned sustainability leader in the field of Green Building MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) designs in the region, has returned to the regions largest construction event, The Big 5, to create awareness on adoption of tri-generation within the global district cooling industry. Addressing an audience of construction professionals during a session entitled Architecture & MEP Services: Significance of MEP - What's Next For District Cooling?, DC Pros chief executive George Berbari, urged the industry to consider a renewable and more sustainable future. "The growth of Dubai has created an increasing demand for district cooling services across the emirate, becoming one of the biggest markets within the region," stated Berbari. "Dubais reliance on precious resources provides an opportunity to develop a more sustainable method for the industry that not only saves money, but also addresses the current stagnating District Cooling technology through innovative designs," he noted. Tri-Generation not only utilises waste products which would otherwise be discarded, but generates increased efficiencies from around 40 per cent to more than 80 per cent, thereby reducing primary energy use which saves money and preserves the environment, stated Berbari. In addition to utilising natural gas, tri-Generation can effectively run on diesel fuel, bio fuel, bio methane and ethanol, removing reliance on natural resources. Where the technology excels is in its recovery of heat from the exhaust or jacket of a generator, turbine, which is then used for heating or is converted into cooling energy via absorption chillers. While there are success stories of its use in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, the GCC region currently provides 150,000 ton of installed capacity from tri-generation and distributed generation, representing only three per cent of GCC district cooling market, said the top official. "Despite the benefits, tri-generation and renewables are completely ignored by the district cooling industry. Dubai is at a position where it can make a difference and lead the region in developing such technology that can drive district cooling into the future, Berbari added.-TradeArabia News Service More than 13,000 construction industry professionals attended The Big 5, the largest building industry event in the Middle East, on its opening day, said the organiser, dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa. On the second day of the event, the Excellence in Construction Summit unveiled current and future trends of the construction sector in Dubai, the GCC region and beyond. Organised with the strategic support of the Dubai Economic Council (DEC), the summit gathered over 500 industry leaders. Hani Rashid Al Hamli, the secretary general of the DEC, delivered a keynote speech on the construction industry in the current global economic framework. Dubai is currently witnessing a new momentum of growth, thanks to the critical initiatives launched by Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, stated Al Hamli. Several crucial plans are being developed to make that vision a reality; construction will be a key element of this strategy. Dubai Plan 2021, Expo Dubai 2020, and the massive number of projects launched by the Government will definitely strengthen the contribution of the construction sector to Dubais economic growth, he added. On the third day (November 23), The Big 5 put sustainability in the spotlight. A panel of industry experts will be announcing the winner of the eight edition of the Gaia Awards. At The Big 5 this year, visitors can also source thousands of innovative products that effectively integrate green, sustainable, energy efficient features. In many countries, moving towards zero ozone depletion is the environmental priority but looking to the future, the air conditioning industry must also work towards lowering the carbon footprint of air conditioning use, looking at both efficiency improvement as well as refrigerant GWP, Stuart Corr, Commercial Director of exhibitor Mexichem, said. The UK-based BRE Global launched a dedicated resource for the delivery of Breeam, the internationally recognised measure of sustainability for master planning, infrastructure and built environment, at the event. Hempel Paints, a global supplier of marine, protective and decorative coatings, plans to move its entire production unit in Saudi Arabia to its new plant in Jeddahs second industrial city as part of a strategy aimed at meeting the needs of its Saudi customers. Inaugurated two years ago, the factory in Jeddah is Hempels first 100 per cent water-based production factory in the Middle East, the largest in the region, and the second largest in the world. The strategic move coincides with the centennial anniversary of the inception of Hempel Group. Unveiling the plan, Ahmed Abdul Aziz, the sales and marketing director at Hempel Paints Middle East, said the move is in line with the market developments and its commitment to meet customer needs and requirements. "We completely understand that Saudi Arabia, in line with its Vision for 2030, will witness dynamic developments across all aspects, particularly the construction sector, which is the largest in the region," remarked Abdul Aziz. "Plans are under way to build 40,000 hotel rooms by 2018 in Riyadh and Jeddah and 120 hotels by 2020 in the kingdom," he stated. According to Raden bin Saafaq Al Dweish, the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Committee of the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce Industry, around 1.5 million residential units are in demand in the market. Commenting on Hempel Paints current annual production and 2017 expansion plans, Abdul Aziz said: Built on 15,000 sq m, the factory has production lines with manufacturing capacity of 32 million litres a year. The plan is to increase the maximum capacity to around 40 million litres annually. As for Hempels market share, Abdul Aziz said the paints and coatings market has a great growth potential, with an estimated value of SR3 billion ($799 million) a year. According to him, the company is aiming to double its market share in the kingdom. "Our market share is expected to grow in the next five years due to the companys commitment to providing its customers with best quality products and services," he noted. Hempel has been present in the kingdom for more than 45 years, controlling a considerable market share and maintaining strong market positioning thanks to its technologically-advanced paints available at its showrooms located strategically in the kingdom, said Abdul Aziz. Its decorative paints are widely used by homeowners, architects, and construction companies. Armed with over 100 years of paint expertise, the company produces a wide range of interior, exterior and floor coatings solutions, he added.-TradeArabia News Service The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with The National Transport and Logistics Company (SNTL) in Morocco, said a report. The MoU comes as a milestone under the umbrella of Arab-Africa Trade Bridge Program that aims to promote the trade between the two regions, added the Saudi Gazette report. ITFC will seek through this agreement to mobilise funds for mounting a study for the development of logistics platforms in a number of Sub-Saharan African countries to facilitate trade and investment between these countries, Morocco, and other Arab states, it said. The signing ceremony took place during the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco. The event was held under the auspices of Dr Bandar Hajjar, president of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDBG). The agreement was signed by Eng Hani Salem Sonbol, chief executive officer of ITFC, and Mohamed Ben Ouda, chief executive officer of SNTL, in the presence of senior representatives from both entities, added the report. Bahrain-based Silah Gulf, a leading customer experience solutions provider, won top honours at Bentleys Year in Infrastructure Conference, which was held in London, UK, recently. Silahs Jarek Koziewicz received an award for Opening New Horizons in Training, which recognised him for bringing Bentleys authorised training services into Bahrain, said a statement from the company. The award was handed over by George Church, senior vice president, Partners Channel of Bentley Systems, it said. The event is a global gathering of leading executives in the world of infrastructure design, construction, and operations. Each year, Bentley Systems sponsors this premier event and recognises award-winning Be Inspired projects from users in the world of infrastructure design, construction and operations. The Year in Infrastructure presentations explore the intersection of technology trends and business drivers, and how emerging next practices are shaping the future and value of infrastructure delivery. On the win, Ricardo Langwieder- Goerner, chief executive of Silah Gulf, said: "We are honoured to be recognised at this prestigious event and by such a reputed company as Bentley Systems." We are constantly scouting for innovative solutions which we can pass on to our clients. We are very proud to add this important accolade to our customer experience solutions portfolio, he added. TradeArabia News Service The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) has launched a key initiative 'Island Wedding', that positions the kingdom as a prime wedding destination, at the ongoing Jewellery Arabia 2016 expo in Manama. The kingdom's new wedding identity, Island Wedding, has been designed by a group of international experts from the wedding sector in order to showcase the kingdoms main offering as a wedding destination. The objective is to offer newlyweds a variety of options in terms of hosting unforgettable celebrations and spending their honeymoon at the best hotels and resorts in Bahrainm, said a statement from BTEA. Unveiling the new identity at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, Dr Ali Follad, the advisor at BTEA, said: "The launch of the identity Island Wedding comes in line with the Authoritys effort in promoting the kingdom as a wedding destination and attracting couples to host their weddings in the kingdom." "We have a robust hospitality sector that is appealing to many couples looking for a destination wedding," he noted. The Island Wedding logo has been inspired by an engagement ring and the lines on the diamond portrayed in the logo represent the services and products offered by the kingdom. A dedicated website along with social media channels has also been launched. The BTEA is out in force at this year's Jewellery Arabia featuring 14 exhibitors representing various five-star hotels and a few wedding planners including Lala Bella, IQ Art, Jandal Group, and Leaves. The participating hotels include ART Rotana, Amwaj Islands, Gulf Hotel, Crown Plaza, Sofitel Bahrain, Ritz-Carlton Bahrain, Al Areen Palace, Sheraton Hotel, Movenpick Hotel, Diplomat Radisson, and Intercontinental Regency Hotel.-TradeArabia News Service Global Islamic economy growth through innovation was the highlight of the International Innovative Platform for Islamic Economic Products 2016, hosted by the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (Dafza) and the International Centre of Islamic Economy. The event, which kicked off on November 22 and concluded today at the Dafza Business Center, aimed to support the on-going development of innovative products and further inspire creative ideas to ensure growth in the global Islamic economy. Attracting high regional and international interest, the two-day event showcased the latest innovations in Islamic economics and featured experts, innovators, and decision-makers from various government entities and economic and financial institutions. During the event, specialists shared their knowledge in turning innovation-based initiatives into a main driver of Islamic economic growth. The International Innovative Platform for Islamic Economic Products 2016 is in accordance with the goals of UAE Innovation Week 2016, a national initiative designed to encourage investments in innovation. Innovation has become a major part of the UAEs integrated government system, socio-cultural environment, and public policies. The event saw the participation of renowned keynote speakers, which included Dr. Mohammed Al Zarouni, director General of Dafza; Dr. Abdulrahman Bin Saleh Al-Atram, president of the International Center of Islamic Economy FZE; and Abdulla Al Awar, CEO of Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC). Titled Presenting Products, the sessions on the first day highlighted the latest leading innovations in Awqaf Sukuk and Preference Shares and Sukuk and have been graced by economic experts. They were composed of Dr. Said Bouheraoua, senior researcher at International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance; Tayeb Al Rais, secretary general of the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation; Husain Benyounis, secretary general of Awqaf New Zealand; Jack Nichols, managing associate in Linklaters International Governance and Development Practices; Prof. Mohammed Al Suhabani, Professor at SABIC chair for Islamic Financial Markets Studies at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University; Prof. Dr. Osaid Mohammed Kilani, Global Head of Shar'iah at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank; Dr. Nader Naifar, Associate Professor of Finance at Al Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University; and Ayman Al-Ateeqi, a partner in a Venture Capital Fund. Two workshops on Awqaf Sukuk and Preference Shares and Sukuk were held on the second day titled Implementation, Finance Opportunities and Planning and Advantages, Challenges Establishing and Structuring, respectively. Dr. Al Zarouni said that the second edition sustained the first editions remarkable success. The event is an important platform to explore new and innovative products designed to drive the Islamic economic system. He pointed out that Dafza, along with the International Centre of Islamic Economy, remains committed to the directives of the countrys wise leaders in terms of promoting innovation, science and knowledge, as well as accelerating Dubais transformation into a global capital of Islamic economy. He added: Through our global platform, we hope to encourage investments in creative ideas designed to support the development of local financial and banking services and products according to Sharia law. The event has reinforced cooperation, integration and coordination between the public and private sectors. Additionally, we reaffirm our keenness to contribute to the national efforts to put Dubai and the UAE on the global Islamic economic map. This is under the support and wise guidance of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, who aims to make the Islamic economy a vital contributor to the countrys economic diversification policy in preparation for a sustainable, innovative, and knowledge-driven post-oil era. For his part, Dr. Abdulrahman Al Atram, said: "The events highly successful first edition has made the International Innovative Platform for Islamic Economics Products a fundamental pillar of innovation. It has become an integrated methodology to bring the Islamic economy to the next level of growth and prosperity by using innovation as a tool to overcome obstacles in the face of building an integrated and sustainable economy. We are happy to partner again with Dafza, one of the worlds most innovative free zones, to create an interactive communication platform for decision-makers, government officials, and executives of economic and financial institutions. Both sides aim to develop a specific mechanism to inspire innovators to develop new ideas and create unique products and services, enable the global economy to keep up with the rapid global changes, and contribute to the ambitious national development goals. We are determined to push forward the countrys global leadership in developing initiatives and applications designed for the global Islamic economy, he added. Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, said: Innovation in Islamic economics is the driving force behind more efficient economic transactions between people and between different systems. Today, the International Innovative Platform for Islamic Economy Products is regarded as a leading platform for reinforcing confidence in the ability of Islamic economics to carry out its mission, which has become a persistent need among many people around the globe. In envisioning the provision of a decent life for all based on the principles of justice and equality, the Islamic economy has proven that it is capable of developing, expanding and achieving its development goals, as long as the parties involved intensify their efforts to foster a culture of innovation in all respective sectors. The Islamic economy has become a fertile ground for the growth of creative and responsible ideas more than any other type of economy, due to its ability to produce promising opportunities through its various sectors, including production, the digital economy, and the halal banking, arts, designing and tourism. Participants were also introduced to Awqaf Sukuk, a product developed based on an innovative and highly professional philosophy that is consistent with the human development approach and Sharia regulations. The new product is considered an integrated approach to promote Awqaf and other social projects. The concept of Awqaf Sukuk is aimed towards collecting funds from issuance, which may be permanent or temporary cash waqf. The product Awqaf Sukuk is structured in accordance with the requirements of social and developmental projects and the requirements of financial market authorities. The product supports the ongoing efforts to address the growing need to innovate and develop new financial tools in the Awqaf market, in compliance with international financial market standards. During the event, participants were also familiarized with the Preference Shares and Sukuk product, which complies with Islamic Sharia law and is developed to help attract new investors who have different preferences or expectations on revenues and risks, in comparison with ordinary shareholders. The product does not impair the rights of ordinary shareholders when it comes to revenues or control of the company in comparison with issuance of new ordinary shares, but it rather aims to achieve the target revenue rate with lesser risks by increasing investor engagement in company profits until company profit reaches a level of which it can achieve target rate and then their engagement percentage decreases respectively. The International Innovative Platform for Islamic Economics Products 2016 is sponsored by the National Bonds and supported by Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), SABIC Chair for Islamic Financial Markets Studies, Awqaf New Zealand and ISRA Consultancy. The headquarters of the International Centre of Islamic Economy is located at Dafza, as part of a strategic partnership to develop and promote products and services specific to Islamic economy and contribute to the efforts of helping make Dubai the Capital of Islamic Economy. The first edition of the International Innovative Platform for Islamic Economic Products attracted more than 300 leading economic and financial experts, decision-makers, and government officials, all of whom developed a set of mechanisms to ensure that creative ideas would help drive growth in the global Islamic economy. - TradeArabia News Service Two Iraqi boys play as Iraqi army forces from the ninth armoured brigade take up position during a military operation in the al-Intisar district, southeast of Mosul, Iraq on November 22. Two Iraqi boys play as Iraqi army forces from the ninth armoured brigade take up position during a military operation in the al-Intisar district, southeast of Mosul, Iraq on November 22. The Iraqi forces took full control over the neighbourhoods of Intisar, Jadidat mufti, Salam, Younis Sabawi, and Palestine, while they continue clearing roads and buildings in those areas from bombs, an Iraqi officer said. At least 62,000 people were forced to flee from Mosul, after tens of thousands of Iraqi forces launched a huge offensive on Mosul on October 17 to recapture the city from the control of Islamic state group that occupied it since July 2014. EPA/Ahmed Jalil UAE's Etihad Airways has announced an expanded codeshare agreement with Hong Kong Airlines, to give travellers enhanced connections between Australasia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America. The two airlines have obtained regulatory approval to codeshare on nine additional routes, bringing the total number of services in their codeshare agreement to 14. Under the expanded codeshare agreement, Hong Kong Airlines has placed its HX code on Etihad Airways flights between Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the UAE, and a number of the most-visited cities in Europe and North America, including Paris, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Manchester, Milan, Munich, New York and Zurich. Etihad Airways has placed its EY code on Hong Kong Airlines scheduled flights between Hong Kong and Auckland, the thriving multi-cultural tourism hub of New Zealand. Kevin Knight, chief strategy and planning officer at Etihad Aviation Group, said: Our codeshare agreement with Hong Kong Airlines was initiated in 2014 with a primary focus on enhanced connectivity between Asia and the Middle East. Ever since then, we have continuously reviewed opportunities to provide improved offerings and greater access to our customers in Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi and beyond. The expanded codeshare will drive commercial opportunities for both airlines, and more importantly unleash the true benefits of the partnership by offering business and leisure travellers enhanced connections and a more frequent service between Australasia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America. Li Dianchun, chief commercial officer of Hong Kong Airlines, said: We are glad to strengthen the partnership with Etihad Airways through a codeshare expansion. There is an increasingly strong demand in Asia for travel to the GCC region, Europe and the Americas. On the other hand, the visitors from the GCC region and even Europe will also enjoy convenient connections via Hong Kong to Auckland, one of the most popular destinations in the southern hemisphere. We have no doubt the enhanced connectivity will provide a wider range of choices while experiencing the world-class services and products offered by both airlines. Etihad Airways and Hong Kong Airlines initiated their codeshare agreement in December 2014, allowing Etihad Airways to place its EY code on Hong Kong Airlines flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok, and on flights between Hong Kong and Okinawa, while Hong Kong Airlines placed its HX code on Etihad Airways service between Abu Dhabi and Bangkok. The codeshare partnership was expanded in June 2015 with HX code on Etihad Airways Madrid and Hong Kong services. Etihad Airways will increase the frequency of its Madrid service from four flights a week to daily from June 1, 2017, with Hong Kong Airlines also codesharing on the additional flight. - TradeArabia News Service The Obama administration has approved the export of more than Airbus 100 jetliners to Iran, despite a move by US lawmakers for a clamp on such transactions, a report said. The export license, granted by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, and clears Airbus to deliver more than $20 billion in jets to Iran Air, the countrys flag carrier, reported the Wall Street Journal. In a landmark deal, Iran Air and Airbus in January agreed on the potential sale of up to 118 jetliners. While Airbus in September won US government approval to deliver 17 planes to Iran Air, Boeing also received approval to sell planes to the carrier. The Obama administrated has been working to strengthen the accord, including by granting more export licenses for business to sell in Iran. The effort is unrelated to Trumps election victory, US officials were quoted as saying in the report. Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche, aluxurious hotle in the UAE capital, has welcomed Gari Abdel as its new chef de cuisine. Chef Abdel will work closely with the hotels executive chef, Kim Gates, to promote the recently introduced menu at [email protected]O. New Grills @ ChillO menu offer tapas, and comfort food such as pastas, sliders, burgers menu, etc. For dinner, chef Abdel recommends premium American Angus beef cuts, cooked over charcoal, fresh grilled seafood dishes as well as signature slow cooked Beef Cheek dish. Abdel has a solid experience in French gastronomy. In 2015 at Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa, he represented Gout de France an international festival celebrated in 150 countries at selected restaurants by a committee, chaired by Alain Ducasse. Chef Abdel was part of pre-opening teams for Sofitel properties in Abu Dhabi, Manama, & Jeddah. He began his culinary career at Pavillon des Boulevard in Bordeaux, France and has worked with two Michelin star chefs: Frederic Simonin and Gilles Choukroun. Although perfection is not of this world, there are people like chef Gari, who take pleasure in always trying to achieve it through dedication & passion. Gari Abdel has a natural talent of turning culinary skills into an art form and is an exciting addition to the team highlighted Gates. Gastronomy, which is one of Sofitels brand pillars, is all about a generous blending of French cuisine with local flavors which produce unforgettable taste sensations. Chef Garis food will definitely delight our guests, said Nael El-Wary, general manager of Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche. Gastronomy Francaise embodies Sofitels commitment, inspired by French cuisine, to bring the cooking traditions and practices of France to life at Sofitel in Abu Dhabi. Sofitels interpretation of French national cuisine centers around four key pillars, each with strong links to France's signature dining culture: boulangerie (bakery) bread and croissant, pastry, cheese and grape. - TradeArabia News Service Kuwait Airways has launched direct flights to Bangkok, Rome, Paris and Manila as part of its new schedule of timings, frequency increases and rise in number of destinations, said a report. The new schedule, which has been applied across the carriers network of 36 destinations, is part of Kuwait Airways five-year transformation strategy to overhaul its operations, commercial and service offerings to passengers and travel partners, said a report in Kuwait Times. The strategy includes the adoption of a dynamic new livery and the addition of 10 new Boeing 777-300ERs to its fleet. The first aircraft is expected to arrive in December, it added. To celebrate the 45th UAE National Day, Dubai Outlet Mall will turn into a colourful canvas by displaying an array of artworks by various artists. The event, held under the theme of Happiness With No Boundaries, will bring together, and celebrate, various artists and art forms. The works of these artists will be on display in Dubai Outlet Mall from November 24, 2016 to December 10, 2016. Students from schools and universities, professional and amateur artists will also showcase their incredible talent. The theme of the festival is extremely special to us. We look up to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his vision for UAE and Dubai and wish to resonate the same into our innovative ideas. We have created this event as a platform for all the artists looking for an outlet for their artistic passion. We are pleased to organise a festival of this scale for artists and lovers of art and to bring a spectacular visual treat to everyone visiting the mall. The event is aimed at spreading happiness through expressions of art across all age groups, nationalities and among professional and amateur artists, with no boundaries. said Vishal Mahajan, director, Dubai Outlet Mall. The festival will feature unique art pieces made using various art forms including pottery, sculpture, canvas painting, recycled art, sand art and murals amongst others. The festival will also have live feet painting, live caricature show and live painting in UAE flag colors. There will also be doodle artists who will turn canvases, shirts and shoes into funky artworks. A photo-booth will also be set up for visitors to click fun pictures. The event will feature live sessions with the artists where the mall goers can ask questions and get exclusive tips from them. Universities and schools will also form a huge part of the entire festival. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) art booth at the mall will display artworks made by students of various schools in the UAE. Students from across different branches of Amity University will also be participating and paintings and artworks by special needs children will be highlighted in the mall. Dubai Outlet Mall has already geared up for the event with university students painting part of the malls exterior walls with different designs and colours. The festival will also feature paintings done by special needs children. The event will give mall goers a visual spectacle while also offering great discounts on top brands. A shopper can easily avail 30 to 90 per cent discounts on branded products ranging from clothes, shoes, lingerie, sportswear and sporting goods, watches, sunglasses and toys, every single day of the year. Located at Dubailand Dubai Al Ain Road (Route 66) near the Dubai Bypass Road interchange, the Mall is open seven days a week; between 10 am and 10 pm from Saturday to Wednesday, and between 10 am to 12 midnight from Thursday to Friday. - TradeArabia News Service A local group of Boy Scouts was praised at a Casper City Council meeting last week for helping to restock the free life jacket loaners provided at stations along the North Platte River in Casper. Scout Pack 167, led by Cub Master Eric Nelson, raised money and restocked the five life jacket stations along the river. Their support and dedication and hard work contributed to saving so many lives, Mayor Daniel Sandoval told the group of boys, who also led the council in reciting the pledge of allegiance. The loaner stations were installed in the spring of 2015 and Sandoval said that life jackets lost or borrowed and never returned had dropped from 30 percent during the first summer to just 5 percent this year. Casper Fire Chief Ken King emphasized the importance of community groups assisting in maintaining and restocking the stations. Any service groups out there that would like to volunteer next summer, wed like you, King said. Its a lot of life jackets. Councilman Charlie Powell praised King for his involvement in river safety measures. He really pulled this all together, Powell said. He basically took this whole project on and made those life jackets available. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was also credited with supporting the life jacket program. The stations were installed by the Respect Our River committee following several drowning deaths in the river, especially the death of 11-year-old Alex Cressy in August of 2014. Cressy was the 13th person to drown in North Platte River within Caspers city limits since 1990. Since the life jacket loaner stations were installed, there have been no drownings in this area, Sandoval said. She knows he served with honor in Vietnam. She knows he loved cooking and Bruce Springsteen. She knows he died lonely in Casper. But thats about all Natrona County Coroner Connie Jacobson knows for certain about Stephen Carl Reiman, a 63-year-old homeless Navy veteran who died Thursday at Wyoming Medical Center. Her office has looked for a friend or a family member to claim Reiman. They havent found anyone. The other thing Jacobson knows is that Reiman needs to be buried with respect. And that he shouldnt be alone. Reiman came to Wyoming from a Southern California community for homeless veterans. He served in the Navy from 1971 to 1975, his last post aboard the U.S.S. Long Beach. Reiman had previously told a VA doctor that he had struggled with PTSD, depression and alcoholism, Jacobson said. Those symptoms worsened when Reimans only son died in combat in Iraq, Jacobson said, and Reiman became incapable of working. He depended on the VA for housing, income and health care. Its not clear why Reiman traveled the 1,250 miles to Sheridan with just one backpack full of Bruce Springsteen CDs, a laptop, an iPod, two identification cards, a copy of his birth certificate and his Navy discharge papers. He also had Springsteens memoir, Born to Run, in his pack, his most recent page marked with the books dust cover. It appeared that Reiman was looking to build a life in Wyoming, that perhaps he had connections here. He had a Wyoming identification card that was issued in 2007, but otherwise there are no clues as to why he ended up in a Sheridan motel. But before he could build a life here, he was whisked in an ambulance from the motel to Memorial Hospital in Sheridan. He was later transferred to the Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, where he died of an illness on Thursday. Nobody visited him in the hospital. Jacobsons office has spent three days searching for a family member or close friend for Reiman. The staff searched medical records, police databases and called Veterans Affairs officials in both states. Staff members put together a list of the dozens of phone numbers they called looking for someone who could claim Reiman as their own. Reiman had a cell phone and a laptop, but it appears he only used them for business, like communicating with his bank or the VA. There was no personal correspondence, no letters, no notes. It seems he lived a very lonely life, Jacobson said. Jacobson has found family members for many dead people in her years in the coroners office. Usually it takes a day or two to find someone, but shes hit a wall in Reimans case. You dont ever want to look back and think you couldve done more, she said. But weve gone as far as we can. Asking for answers At this point, Jacobson needs someone with information to come forward with a new kernel of information shes exhausted her regular resources. My main job when someone dies is to find information for the family, she said. This time Im asking for answers. Its the first time in her decades of work in the coroners office that Jacobson has not been able to find family for a veteran, though she said its not uncommon elsewhere. A funeral with military honors will be held for Reiman at 10 a.m. Nov. 29 at the Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery in Evansville. Every year, the cemetery hosts a handful of funerals for veterans whom nobody claimed as family, the cemeterys interim director said. The ceremonies are brief. Theres a rifle salute and a short prayer. A trumpeter or a trombonist will play taps. Then the veteran is laid to rest beneath a simple granite headstone. Jacobson doesnt know how many people, if any at all, will come to Reimans funeral outside those who will be a part of the service. She and her staff will be there. Members of the Natrona County Veterans Council will be there. Jacobson hopes people from the community will join them. At least someone, even if they are strangers, will mark his passing. But who will miss the old sailor who loved Springsteen? Nobody will stand in front of the large stained glass window in the cemetery chapel and tell his stories. Nobody will recount old memories with a tearful smile. Usually during a military burial, the veterans flag is passed on to a grieving spouse or parent. In Reimans case, theres no clear recipient. Jacobson hadnt thought of that. Maybe the flag will join the rest of Reimans possessions, locked away in evidence. Maybe someday someone will come forth and claim the flag. Maybe someday someone will claim the memory of a man who died alone and far from home. Wyoming fourth- and eighth-graders are still outpacing the national average in science education, according to 2015 test results. The national average score for both grade levels was 153. A sample of Wyoming fourth-graders beat that score by eight points, or about 5 percent, and performed better than 35 states and jurisdictions. Wyoming eighth-graders topped the average by seven points, or about 4.5 percent, and ranked higher than 29 states and jurisdictions. That continues a trend from at least 2009 of Wyoming students being ahead of the curve for science learning. State Department of Education spokeswoman Kari Eakins said nearly 4,300 Wyoming students were sampled. The samples were taken nationally between January and March 2015. The testing, which is known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is typically administered every four years. But its dependent on congressional funding, so the gap between testing years can be flexible. For instance, eighth-graders were tested in 2009, 2011 and 2015. Eakins said the department is happy with the results, but that they also revealed areas where some students were lagging. Were obviously pleased that were doing better than the national average, but the data does show us some areas where we can do better, she said. Were hopeful that the implementation of the new science standards can help with that. Specifically, the data showed a gap between Hispanic and white students in eighth grade and a larger gap between Native American and white students in fourth grade. In fourth grade, the difference between white and American Indian students is 31 points, a gap that has grown since 2009. The white students beat out the national average by 13 points. Native American students lagged behind that mark by 20. Eakins said the state hopes the new science standards, approved by Gov. Matt Mead last week, will lift all students, including Native Americans and Hispanics, who trailed white eighth-graders by 17 points. We believe these standards are a big step up, so hopefully driving up the standards will help students, she said. Asked how the standards will help, Eakins pointed to the cross-cutting concepts in the new benchmarks. Cross-cutting brings other areas of learning, like engineering, math or the arts, into science education. It helps science come alive for students, she said. They can see how things relate to each other. The old science standards, approved in 2003, were given an F by the Fordham Institute in 2012 for being vague, sketchy and abbreviated. That makes the fact that students outpaced the national average all the more remarkable. At the end of the day, we have Wyoming educators who are going to do the best for their students, Eakins said. No women will lead committees in the Wyoming Legislature for the next two years. Committees are groups of lawmakers who study broad topics from minerals to transportation to health and vet bills related to the topics. Legislative leaders announced committee memberships on Monday for the 2017 and 2018 sessions. The 2017 session begins Jan. 10. GOP leaders choose committee chairmen. Two women currently head committees but both are leaving the Legislature at the end of this term. Marian Orr, a longtime lobbyist in Cheyenne, said that there arent really many women lawmakers with the years of experience necessary to lead committees. When other opportunities and obligations demand either women not run again for public service or are unfortunately defeated, theres no backup, said Orr, who was recently elected the first female mayor of Cheyenne. We need more females to run for public office, period. Most rank-and-file lawmakers serve on at least two committees. However, this year, Senate leadership assigned Republican Anthony Bouchard of Cheyenne to just one committee. Bouchard has directed a gun rights organization, Wyoming Gun Owners, that is further to the right than the National Rifle Association. As a lobbyist, Bouchard antagonized many Republicans and Democrats for not supporting open carry in schools and other positions many consider extremist. Since Bouchard is not assigned to a second committee, Sen. Drew Perkins of Casper has a seat on one. Perkins next year will be the second-ranking Republican in the Senate. It is unusual for the Senate majority floor leader to serve on a committee, since the leadership job requires long hours. House committees Judiciary: Rep. Dan Kirkbride, chairman; Reps. Mark Baker, Bo Biteman, Mark Jennings, Jared Olsen, Charles Pelkey, Bill Pownall, Tim Salazar, Nathan Winters Appropriations: Bob Nicholas, chairman; Donald Burkhart, Lloyd Larsen, Andy Schwartz, Albert Sommers, Tom Walters, Sue Wilson Revenue: Michael Madden, chairman; Cathy Connolly, JoAnn Dayton, Dan Furphy, Timothy Hallinan, Mark Kinner, Dan Laursen, Jerry Obermueller, Jerry Paxton Education: David Northrup, chairman; Debbie Bovee, Landon Brown, Jamie Flitner, John Freeman, Hans Hunt, Mark Kinner, Jerry Paxton, Garry Piiparinen Agriculture: Robert McKim, chairman; Stan Blake, Aaron Clausen, Chuck Gray, Bill Haley, Bill Henderson, Hans Hunt, Dan Laursen, Cheri Steinmetz Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources: Jim Allen, chairman; Scott Clem, Jamie Flitner, John Freeman, Mike Gierau, Bill Haley, Marti Halverson, Kendell Kroeker, Cheri Steinmetz Corporations Elections and Political Subdivisions: Dan Zwonitzer, chairman; Jim Blackburn, Jim Byrd, Roy Edwards, Danny Eyre, Dan Furphy, Tyler Lindholm, Lars Lone, Patrick Sweeney Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs: John Eklund, chairman; Jim Blackburn, Stan Blake, Landon Brown, Scott Court, Tom Crank, Roy Edwards, Bunky Loucks, Garry Piiparinen Minerals, Business and Economic Development: Mike Greear, chairman; Jim Byrd, Aaron Clausen, Tom Crank, Danny Eyre, Chuck Gray, Bill Henderson, Tyler Lindholm, Bunky Loucks Labor, Health and Social Services: Eric Barlow, chairman; Scott Clem, JoAnn Dayton, Mike Gierau, Timothy Hallinan, Marti Halverson, Kendell Kroeker, Lars Lone, Patrick Sweeney Senate committees Judiciary: Leland Christensen, chairman; Wyatt Agar, Liisa Anselmi-Dalton, Dave Kinskey, Tara Nethercott Appropriations: Bruce Burns, chairman; Dan Dockstader, Ogden Driskill, John Hastert, Bill Landen Revenue: R. Ray Peterson, chairman; Cale Case, Affie Ellis, Dave Kinskey, Jeff Wasserburger Education: Hank Coe, chairman; Affie Ellis, Stephan Pappas, Chris Rothfuss, Jeff Wasserburger Agriculture: Larry Hicks, chairman; Paul Barnard, Fred Emerich, Curt Meier, Glenn Moniz Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources: Fred Emerich, chairman; Liisa Anselmi-Dalton, Paul Barnard, Brian Boner, Glenn Moniz Corporations Elections and Political Subdivisions: Cale Case, chairman; Larry Hicks, Tara Nethercott, Stephan Pappas, Charles Scott Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs: Curt Meier, chairman; Wyatt Agar, James Lee Anderson, Fred Baldwin, Leland Christensen Minerals, Business and Economic Development: Michael Von Flatern, chairman; James Lee Anderson, Hank Coe, Drew Perkins, Chris Rothfuss Labor, Health and Social Services: Charles Scott, chairman; Fred Baldwin, Brian Boner, Anthony Bouchard, R. Ray Peterson Wyomings unemployment rate dropped for the third month in a row, even though the states overall employment picture still lags behind last year. The Equality States seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent in October, down from a revised 5.4 percent in September. The national unemployment rate is 4.7 percent. Senior Economist David Bullard said it is still too early to tell if the recent improvements indicate a longer trend, while noting the uptick correlated with an increase in oil and gas activity. The employment and unemployment numbers that were seeing are very consistent with the rig count, which kind of hit a low point of seven in June, and then has steadily increased (it is currently 17). So, its consistent with at least that economic indicator, Bullard said. Unemployment rates fell in Campbell, Natrona, Fremont and Converse counties, though Natrona and Campbell counties still had the highest unemployment rates in the state at 6.3 percent. Albany County had the lowest rate at 2.8 percent, with Niobrara at 2.9 percent. Most of the rest of the state saw little change in their unemployment figures, except Park and Teton counties, which experienced a normal downturn between the summer and winter tourist seasons. Meanwhile, employment went up by 0.6 percent, with 1,813 more people working in October than in September. There was also employment growth in the federal government, health care and social assistance sectors, according to a Federal Reserve report. Bullard observed the latest figures are still depressed from last year. Whats clear is the situation is worse than a year ago, Bullard said. So, unemployment increased in 2016 until June and July, and then it has decreased in August, September and October. So, things are better than they were in June and July, but worse than they were a year ago. The state unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in October of 2015, and since then the labor force has declined by 3,602 workers, with almost 6,000 fewer people employed than in 2015. The downturn in the states economy following the mineral bust is reflected in other areas as well. At a statewide average of $23.61 an hour, Wyomings nominal personal income shrank 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2016, compared with the previous year. Unemployment insurance claims also remain above the national average. Home prices have continued to rise, however, going up 2.7 percent in the second quarter of 2016 compared with a year ago. Developers are apparently beginning to shift their focus, as the number of building permits for single-family residences decreased by 15.1 percent statewide, while multi-family dwelling permits rose by 12.9 percent, according to the Federal Reserve report. Laramie County leads the way in home-building applications, followed by Teton and Natrona counties. CHEYENNE Ridesharing service Uber is seeking to move into Wyoming one of just a handful of states left in which the service does not exist. But first, Wyoming law will need to be changed to allow ridesharing services to operate. Uber and other similar services, legally known as transportation network companies, use smartphone apps to connect passengers with drivers. Drivers use their own vehicles and are paid for the ride, with Uber receiving a commission. The entire transaction is cashless, with the app charging the ride to a preloaded credit card or payment method. Brian Gebhardt of Uber and Mike Morris of Farmers Insurance told members of the Wyoming Legislatures Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Interim Committee on Tuesday that they plan to work with lawmakers to legalize ridesharing services in Wyoming. Gebhardt, who is Ubers general manager for its Frontier States Division, said once the Legislature does so, Uber could begin quickly. He said the company typically will launch shortly after the regulatory framework is in place. Gebhardt said the service has been well-received in neighboring states like Montana and Idaho, which both legalized ridesharing services last year. No bill has yet been introduced in Wyoming, but Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, said a bill draft could become available next week. Itd be nice that it shows up, he said of Uber. When the committee was asked if any members had used Uber, about half raised their hands. Currently, Uber is available in more than 500 cities worldwide, including in Front Range cities in Colorado. It operates in at least one city in every state except Wyoming, Alaska and South Dakota. Uber previously operated in Alaska but stopped in 2015 after it had to pay almost $78,000 to the state Department of Labor in a dispute over workers compensation, the Alaska Dispatch News reported. Uber is not allowed to return to Alaska until state law is changed to allow rideshare companies or an agreement is reached with the Department of Labor, the newspaper reported. South Dakota lawmakers passed legislation allowing Uber earlier this year, though service has not started. Depending on local and state laws, Uber may operate in individual cities or throughout an entire state. Uber and other ridesharing services have been controversial due to issues like licensing, insurance, passenger safety and employment, including that Uber treats drivers as independent contractors. However, Uber and other ridesharing services are popular among passengers, who, in some cases, are able to locate Uber drivers easier than taxi services and for a cheaper fare. In some places, Uber has simply started operating without prior approval, setting up court challenges or regulatory enforcement. In other areas, like West Virginia earlier this year, Uber worked with lawmakers to make legal changes in advance. If one needed more evidence of the steep decay in academia, Donald Trumps victory provided it. Lets begin by examining the responses to his win, not only among our wet-behind-the-ears college students, many of whom act like kindergartners, but also among college professors and administrators. The University of Michigans distressed students were provided with Play-Doh and coloring books as they sought comfort and distraction. A University of Michigan professor postponed an exam after many students complained about their serious stress over the election results. Cornell University held a campuswide cry-in, with officials handing out tissues and hot chocolate. One Cornell student said, Im looking into flights back to Bangladesh right now so I can remove myself before Trump repatriates me. The College Fix reported that a dorm at the University of Pennsylvania ... hosted a post-election Breathing Space for students stressed out by election results that included cuddling with cats and a puppy, coloring and crafting, and snacks such as tea and chocolate. The University of Kansas reminded its stressed-out students that therapy dogs, a regular campus feature, were available. An economics professor at Yale University made his midterm exam optional in response to many heartfelt notes from students who are in shock over the election returns. At Columbia University and its sister college, Barnard, students petitioned their professors to cancel classes and postpone exams because they were fearful for their lives and they couldnt take an exam while crying. Barnards president did not entirely cave, but she said, We are, however, leaving decisions regarding individual classes, exams, and assignments to the discretion of our faculty. She added, The Barnard faculty is well aware that you may be struggling, and they are here for you. At Yale, it was reported that the Trump victory (left) students reeling. Students exhibited teary eyes, bowed heads and cries of disbelief and had the opportunity to participate in a postelection group primal scream to express their frustration productively. Whether you are a liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, you should be disturbed and frightened for the future of our nation based on the response of so many of our young people to an election outcome. We should also be disturbed by college administrators and professors who sanction the coddling of our youth. Heres my question to you: Does a person even belong in college if he cannot handle or tolerate differing opinions? My answer is no. What lies at the heart of multiculturalism, diversity and political correctness is an intolerance for different opinions. At Brown University, some students claim that freedom of speech does not confer the right to express opinions they find distasteful. A while back, a Harvard University student organization representing womens interests advised law students that they should not feel pressured to attend or participate in class sessions that focus on the law of sexual violence if they feel that it might be traumatic. Such students will be useless to rape victims and dont belong in law school. In a previous column, I cited an article on News Forum For Lawyers titled Study Finds College Students Remarkably Incompetent, which referenced an American Institutes for Research study that revealed that over 75 percent of two-year college students and 50 percent of four-year college students were incapable of completing everyday tasks. About 20 percent of four-year college students demonstrated only basic mathematical ability, while a steeper 30 percent of two-year college students could not progress past elementary arithmetic. NBC News reported that Fortune 500 companies spend about $3 billion annually to train employees in basic English. Many of todays college students are not only academically incompetent but emotionally so, as well, and do not belong in college. These college snowflakes and their professors see themselves as our betters and morally superior to ordinary people. George Orwell was absolutely right when he said, There are notions so foolish that only an intellectual will believe them. PHOENIX The states high court wont force a phone company to pay for $2 million in losses suffered by US Airways because of a mistake that shut down the airlines reservations systems and affected 1,360 flights nationwide. In a brief order Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld the findings of the state Court of Appeals that the only thing Qwest Communications now Century Link owes to the airline is the cost of services it did not get. And that, the court concluded, is $586. The court action affects more than US Airways, now merged with American Airlines. It essentially sets a legal precedent that could preclude other businesses and individuals from recovering their utility-caused losses. At issue is a 2009 project to construct carports in a parking lot next to the airlines data center in Tempe. The company hired Arizona Blue Stake, a centralized operation to find underground utilities, to locate and mark underground cables and power lines. Blue Stake, in turn, notified Qwest, as owner of cable in the area; Qwest then hired ELM Locating & Utility Services to find the cable. According to court records, ELM could not find the cable because Qwests maps were inaccurate. But instead of notifying the phone company, ELM marked the ground with a no conflict notation, giving the construction company the go-ahead to start digging. It did and promptly severed the Qwest cable carrying data from other telecommunications providers to the airlines data center for four hours. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Arthur Anderson found that Qwest had an obligation to the airline not to sever the cable. But he said the damages are limited to that $586 in accordance with the companys publicly filed tariffs, essentially a list of charges, rules, regulations and practices. The airline appealed, saying the phone company and ELM should be held liable for the damages they cause. But in a unanimous opinion the one the Supreme Court refused to disturb Wednesday the state Court of Appeals pointed out that Qwests tariffs specifically limited its liability for damages to situations of willful misconduct. Potentially more significant, the appellate judges rejected the contention by the airline that the phone company cannot legally limit its own liability. Attorneys for the airline noted the Arizona Constitution says the right of action to recover damages for injuries shall never be abrogated, and the amount recovered shall not be subject to any statutory limitation. But appellate Judge Maurice Portley said that provision protects only a right to sue that existed at the time the constitution was adopted in 1912. With a handful of exceptions, the several dozen speakers who addressed the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday spoke in opposition to agribusiness giant Monsantos plans to come to Pima County. Opponents, many of whom were holding yellow signs that read Say no to Monsanto, were hoping that the board would shoot down the deal, something several officials said the county has no power to do. They didnt get that, but the supervisors did unanimously decide to delay consideration of a property-tax plan with Monsanto until February. The board also agreed to establish an agricultural science advisory commission to address some concerns raised by the speakers, many of which centered on what they called potential health impacts of Monsantos plans to use genetically modified seeds in a 7-acre greenhouse. It would be built on a 155-acre parcel near Marana. Supervisor Ramon Valadez proposed the delay. I will tell you that youve raised a number of questions, he told the crowd. A number of questions that deserve answers. Supervisor Ally Miller agreed, adding later that we all have unanswered questions. Supervisor Richard Elias requested that public hearings on Monsantos plans be held in all five districts represented by the board before the measure comes back for a vote. Its a good opportunity to address some of the issues brought up by many of the commenters, George Gough, Monsanto government affairs director, said after the vote. Were excited to be in dialogue, company spokeswoman Christi Dixon later said. Were trying to engage differently and more openly. What the supervisors will consider in February is whether to support Monsantos application for foreign-trade-zone status, which would substantially reduce its property tax burden over the next 10 years. In exchange for receiving that support, the company would commit to spending at least $90 million on the development and hiring at least 50 people at an average salary of roughly $44,000. A foreign-trade-zone designation would drop the propertys assessment ratio from 15 percent to 5 percent. The annual difference in property taxes paid to the county after $96 million in development would be around $370,000 lower with the FTZ rate, documents show. The U.S. Commerce Department, not the county, approves FTZ applications. The property tax reductions are established by state law, according to a memo from County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry to the board. Criticism of providing the Fortune 500 company with those tax breaks was one of the most common themes during the lengthy public comment session. Marana is a poor farming community, speaker Wendy Wiener said, echoing many others. Why dont we give them tax breaks? In an October memo to Miller, Huckelberry pointed out that if the land were to remain undeveloped, it would bring in roughly $20,000 in all property taxes, but $11 million if the development proceeds, even with the FTZ designation. Additionally, the companys move is estimated to bring roughly $284 million in economic impacts between 2016 and 2025, according to Sun Corridor Inc., an economic development agency. Citing those benefits, as well as what he described as Monsantos demonstrated history of innovation, Tucson Metro Chamber CEO Michael Varney was one of a handful to speak in support of approval. After placing what he said was genetically modified cotton on the table, Jack Mann, head of the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation in Pima County, lent his voice in support as well, saying the greenhouse presents an opportunity to try to develop and improve our production. We need to be able to grow and be able to provide food, he added. Steve Christy, who was elected to the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 8 and will have taken over District 4 Supervisor Ray Carrolls seat by the February meeting, said he was supportive of slowing the process down, providing forums to air concerns and allowing for public hearings. Through that process, if everything goes satisfactorily, at this point I would be inclined to vote for the designated foreign trade zone, Christy said in an interview Tuesday. Dan Contorno, chief financial officer of the Marana Unified School District, said he and other officials are excited about some of the educational benefits this facility will bring to our community. The districts board recently approved an arrangement with Monsanto in which the company will give a one-time donation of $500,000 to a foundation affiliated with the district and pay a smaller annual property tax bill. The deal would save the company roughly $3.4 million over 10 years. Monsanto has already purchased 155 acres near Marana, at the intersection of Twin Peaks and Sanders roads. The company had intended to break ground on the 7-acre corn-growing greenhouse before the end of 2016, according to Huckelberrys memo. However, company spokeswoman Dixon said it was too early to tell how the Tuesday vote will affect the timeline. The proceedings were far more emotional than at typical board meetings, with several speakers crying while addressing the board. Another, who would not provide her name to the Star, addressed Carroll directly, shouting: Look at me! Im speaking to you! She went on to say she would personally participate in civil disobedience to block the project, citing ongoing clashes surrounding the North Dakota Access Pipeline as an example. Seven-year-old Katie Fox told the board that she opposes the project because of her love for bees, adding: I dont like Monsanto because it kills bees, seeming to reference the claim of critics that some agricultural chemicals may be linked to the phenomenon of hive collapse. Her mother, Carrie Fox, and 10-year-old brother Gabriel Fox also spoke in opposition to Monsanto. Like many others, Carrie Fox expressed concern about the secrecy surrounding the countys negotiations with Monsanto and about potential environmental damage. In his Nov. 22 memo to the board, Huckelberry wrote that the county has not identified any negative air quality, water quality, water supply, transportation capacity, or natural resource impacts from the development of the facility. Before moving to delay the vote, Valadez suggested that the tax deal would be the only way for county residents to keep informed about Monsantos activities. Huckelberry told the board that the county has no power to regulate agricultural activities and is not in a position to stop Monsantos plans. He also said that two proposed commissions, including the one activated Tuesday, along with a memorandum of understanding with Monsanto are the best approach to basically obtain information about the companys local activities. Supervisor Sharon Bronson asked Huckelberry if Monsanto could build without our permission, which he confirmed. Huckelberry added that without the support of the county in its FTZ application, the company likely would not sign the memorandum with the county, which sets the terms for public sharing of information about Monsantos activities. It would be a black box, Bronson said. International high school students many of them from war-torn countries can teach us a thing or two about gratitude. Thats what Joan Fox, an English-language development teacher at Amphitheater High School, realized when she asked students in her emergent writing class to write letters to Mayor Jonathan Rothschild at the end of last school year. She gave them some guidelines maybe share their background, what they like about life in Tucson and what could be better. It was the second year she had given the assignment. What struck me was how the concerns, complaints and dreams of the immigrants and refugees were identical to folks who have lived in the city for decades, Rothschild writes in an email. And how over and over they expressed their thanks for being in Tucson and how they each wanted to work hard, get as much education as possible, and make their new country an even better place. The refugee and immigrant students in the class came from around the world and many barely spoke English when they started the school year. By the end of the year, Fox had them writing letters to their mayor. Their progress is just miraculous, and it doesnt matter where they come from or what they start with, says Fox, who is on medical leave. Theyre all so intent on learning the language, and I have never seen people who love America more. Theyre so grateful to be here, and they see what we have with new eyes. Their gratitude and their love and their innocence, despite everything, is beautiful. Fox sent almost two dozen student letters, written in April and May, to Rothschild this year. Heres what some of her students had to say. Letters may be edited for clarity. Help India! By Arif Khan for TwoCircles.net November and December are the busiest months of the year for weddings: an atmosphere of festivities full of delicious food and mouth-watering sweets. I confess, I am a sucker for Indian sweets. A festive occasion is never complete in India without the king of sweets the Laddoo. Support TwoCircles For the past two weeks, however, the entire nation has been celebrating a totally different occasion: the festival of honesty as declared by the Minister of State for Power. Of course, citizens have resonated this call with full enthusiasm and good spirit by coming out on the streets all day long and most times continuing throughout the nights. It is commendable, one call and the entire nation responded men & women alike putting their differences of caste, colour, creed, religion, or region aside. People are out on streets with a resolve: Eradicate corruption from its roots; flash out all the black money and wipe-out 0.025% of counterfeit currency that has wounded our gun-clad soldiers being hit by the unarmed but paid terrorists hurling stones at them, a thought which is rather un- pellet-able but we are told it is true! Apparently, our soldiers are having nightmares and are unable to protect themselves; they need help of the mighty civilians to protect them from stones being hurled at them by the terrorist funded through counterfeit currency. There is a firm belief that this nation will soon be free of any terrorism: No counterfeit currency = No terrorism. After all, it is the thread of Nationalism that has been binding the mighty civilians, out to fix the nation at any cost: it is in the interest of the Nation. Shame, the rich and elite of the society are playing bit of a spoiled sport and dont want to participate in the festivities: bit of a damp squib! Hey; cant make everyone happy. As I write, the festivities are continuing and there seems to be no imminent end in sight in fact, no one can guess when will this jubilation end. For me it evokes similar feelings as people had during the diamond jubilee celebration of Queen Elizabeth in London. Everyone has been looking forward to the event and have even taken the time off the work, flashing out their hard-earned money ready to spend lavishly. Fun & frolics is all around and people cant seem to get enough of it. They keep coming out of their houses every morning (of course only those who return home), some prefer to stay out during the nights just like the sleep-overs or pyjama parties, we used to have during the school days. Eid and Diwali are no more as interesting and do not command same turn-out. Regrettably, we are unbale to bring you any live images of the event due to a Total Media Ban. The entire event has been defined by an infamous reporter as Baaghon Mein Bahaar Hai Such mega festivals hardly go by without an unsavoury incident or two. Unfortunately, the festival authorities did report some minor medical incidents that were very efficiently taken care of and that too free of charge by very understanding and compassionate medical professionals at the local hospitals. The Emergency Service Index (ESI) a triage tool for an emergency department care had labelled the incidences as either: Minor Inconvenience due to loss of only 70+ (circa) lives & still rising including children; or Temporary Pain Kadak Chai for elderly collapsing due to exhaustion or cardiac arrest and they were ready to rest in peace. I suppose any collateral damage is acceptable it is good for the Nation. Peculiarly,the entire festive event still has no Laddoos to be seen! Try and do anything good, you will always find some critics and trolls who will neither do any good nor can see anyone doing good. It is but obvious, there have been complaints and allegations that people are out to serve their own self-interest since demonetisation of 86% of the currency has rendered their hard-earned worthless. Hence, people are out only to either exchange their cash savings or withdraw money from their bank accounts. Hard to believe. Anyway, demonetisation reminds me of sheep who cheered when their leader promised them a blanket each until one of the sheep asked; where will the wool come from? The cheering was rather short lived! Impact of the Festival of Honesty 70+ Deaths in first 14 days and rising; 11 Bankers dead; Ordinary poor and homeless starving to death; Men, women, young, old, pensioners and disabled standing in long queues for the past ten days; They are humiliated and forced to beg for their own hard-earned money to be exchanged; Small traders have lost their daily business; Daily labourers have no jobs and those lucky to find cant be paid due no liquidity; Virtually impossible for small cash based traders to manage without liquidity; Planned weddings must be either cancelled or postponed; Farmers struggling to find money to buy new seeds for new crop; Created new black marketers/touts busy converting black money to white outside the banks; One would expect the rich and elite of the society to be rattled but they are nowhere to be seen; Yes, it is true that the Nation is going through the labour pains but it is an unwanted and unplanned pregnancy with no certainty of a safe delivery. Surprisingly, all this has happened and continuing with almost no end in sight. In the past, Indians have resorted to violent protest to show their displeasure. However, on this occasion there has been no violent protest or vandalism. An amazing display of patience and understanding. Old habits die hard! Behaviours do not change overnight so, how does one explain this remarkable display of endurance by the public? May be the Indian public has matured or is it that the role of the pro-government paid Trolls has reversed on this occasion? Instead of creating trouble, perhaps this time their mandate is to ensure that there is no trouble. Nobody dares to criticize demonetisation. Any resentment among public is mooted out through intimidation. Any anger or backlash does not translate into a violent protest. Ensure that only positive aspects are reported by the media or.! Neither people can criticise the demonetisation policy nor can complain about the inconveniences and problems that they are facing, whilst standing in the long queues day and night. On the contrary, they must also keep chanting the mantra: it is only a temporary inconvenience but it is good for the nation Except for very few, the entire Public, Traders; Farmers; Media and Politicians are completely MuM! One simple explanation offered to the critics is that there a majority public support (internet opinion polls) for the demonetisation policy. Does it mean it is also the right decision? Even Hitler enjoyed majority support of the Germans (victims of Nazi propaganda of Nationalism). A Lie doesnt become Truth, Wrong doesnt become Right, And Evil doesnt become Good; Just because it is Accepted by a Majority Rick Warren An atmosphere, where the media is expected to be pro-government or face broadcasting ban, social media abuse and hostilities during their field reporting is extremely intimidating for an honest press, let alone for the poor public. If national media can be threatened by the motor-bike mounted pro-government Trolls, in an open public place whilst the cameras are rolling then what are the chances of a weaker section of the society speaking up or voicing their concerns? A large section of the media has been reduced to mere mouthpiece of the government. Politicians and their parties are the primary source of corruption, their survival hinges upon the donations of black money and BJP leads the pack of all parties. Do the people expect corrupt politicians to eradicate corruption? Corruption is in our DNA! It cannot be removed by an eight minutes speech. It is a slow change over generations that requires social awakening, education, changed attitudes, good characters and above all social justice. People have to change themselves first! During these dark hours, only a statement from honourable Supreme Court has come as a breath of fresh air, when the Apex Court observed There are difficulties. You cant dispute that. We will have riots on the streets In the meantime, the Con is On. HAAKIM-E-WAQT UTAR AAYA HAI ADAKARI PAR LOG MAJBOOR HAIN ZAALIM KI TARAFDARI PAR Arif Khan is a UK-based management graduate and a Chartered Accountant practicing as a Corporate Financier Help India! By TCN News A signature campaign has been started by the Kuwait Tamil Islamic Committee (K-Tic) with Federation of All Kuwait Tamil Islamic Associations with thousands of Indian Muslims, including non-Muslims in Kuwait. Support TwoCircles All fellow associations followed the same signature declaration form circulated on behalf of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) opposing the Uniform Civil Code. The Constitution of India has provided complete freedom to the followers of all faiths to practice their own religion. We therefore do not accept Uniform Civil Code in any forms of addition / deletion or modifications. We are with All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) to save and protect Shariath law, states the declaration. We are fully satisfied with the commands of Islamic laws, especially on Islamic orders related to nikah, talaq (divorce) khula, fusqh and virasat (heritage). We are fully satisfied with and strongly deny the possibility of any type of change in them, it said. Maulana Khaleel Ahmed Baaqavee, General Secretary of Kuwait Tamil Islamic Committee (K-Tic) and Khateeb of the K-Tic Tamil Masjid in Khaithan, Kuwait said the signatures of thousands of individuals, including women, has been collected and sent to the AIMPLB for presentation in the Supreme Court. In the light of a campaign by 5,000 signatures, we are going to produce signatures of all the Ummah supporting triple talaq. The triple talaq is a statement of the Holy Quran. They are part of the rules from Allah, Maulana Khaleel Ahmed Baaqavee said. The forms were distributed at all the areas during Friday holidays. Responding to appeals by Kuwait Tamil Islamic associations, people took home the forms, signed them along with family members and submitted them to the respective associations. Each form can be signed by seven adult family members along with their names and addresses. The filled-in and signed forms were forwarded to AIMPLB, which propose to submit them to the President and the Law Commission. AIMPLB, the apex body of Indian Muslims comprising organizations representing all schools of Islamic thought, has taken up the signature campaign while boycotting the questionnaire sent by the Law Commission. The questionnaire circulated by the law commission had 16 questions that seems to an indication for acceptance of a uniform civil code. It argues that the questionnaire is heavily loaded in favor of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) trying to push or implement forcibly on citizens. Editor's note: The story of a 33-year-old female obstetrician from Beijing volunteering in Afghanistan and Pakistan has gone viral. Three years ago, Jiang Li resigned from Peking University People's Hospital and applied to work for global humanitarian-aid organization Doctors Without Borders, or MSF. During her three-month stay in Afghanistan, she has assisted with thousands of births without a single case of maternal death. This is as a huge success as Afghanistan has an extremely high maternal mortality ratio, 20 times higher than that in China. So, let's take a closer look at Jiang's story in Afghan and express our gratitude to the great obstetrician. Jiang Li works in the maternity section in Afghanistans border province of Khost which provides free medical care for pregnant women. In 2013, Jiang was one of the only two doctors helping with deliveries. [Photo/Sina Weibo] When the RNIB magazine came through the door I came across an article advertising a fundraising trip to Iceland. I thought, "I have to fundraise for that." It said in the article that I had to raise 2500 for the charity. I first heard of the RNIB when I was on a trip to Windermere with Action for Blind a similar charity that helps people with sight loss. I thought, "well these charities are helping me I can help them in return." The trip to Iceland not only offered me a chance to help the Understanding what sight loss means The trip to Iceland not only offered me a chance to help the charity it also meant that I could see an amazing country. The trip also provided an opportunity to meet other people who are like me. You see I went to a mainstream school and there weren't many people that had sight problems. Sometimes people struggled to relate to my sight problem. This trip offered a chance to be among people who understood what living with sight loss really means. My Trip to Iceland I was nervous at first as I didn't know anyone and it was a new adventure. This was the first time the charity had done a trek like this and I don't think anyone knew what to expect. We met our guides Tom, Selma and Bryn but even with their wealth of experience this was a new trek for them too. The first day was a challenge as we walked up and down slippery stiles covered in green moss. We joined hands to help other over brooks as our guide seemed obsessed with streams. Tom proceeded to take us over at least three streams but he did aid us over slippery rocks to get us to the other side. Day 2 - different challenges The second day was met with different challenges. We dealt with gale-force winds and soaking wet rain. By the time I got to the tepid warm natural spring I thought I might as well go in as I was soaked through already. Well I thought to myself that I may never get this opportunity again so I may as well grab it. On the last day we were transferred to a hotel in Reykjavik. We had a last night evening meal at a local restaurant. The day after we explored the town and went to the church which was very beautiful. That was the day we left Reykjavik behind. Iceland is a beautiful destination which is well known for its ecotourism. The Iceland Tourism Website offers many interesting tips and adventures for those wishing to visit this amazing country. Dubai is one of the richest and most glamorous cities in the World and in the Gulf, attracting millions of tourists and a top location for expats due to its tax laws and beauty. And although situated in a very complex region, with two ongoing wars in it's neighbouring nations Iraq and Syria, residents and visitors enjoy much safety and peace in Dubai, largely due to its strong counterterrorism forces and highly skilled professionals, such as Tito Abassi. The professionals behind it Tito, a multilingual Italian-Arab, is the head of an MEA security organization, catering specifically to heads of state, regional sheikhs and international personalities visiting the gulf. The company has contracts with embassies and the Emirati government. His investigative nature, combined with a military and counter-Terrorism background makes him one of the best personal security experts in the region. Much of his work is coordinated with the government. The Emirates is a politically stable nation and an ally of the U.S and UK, also known as a leader in counter-terrorism operations tackling extremism in the region and abroad. UAE fought alongside U.S marines in Afghanistan and often joins American forces in other operations. Pledge to fight terrorism In 2010 UAE signed a pledge to fight terrorism at the global counter-terrorism forum (GCTF) held in New York, and in 2013 launched a plan to set up an "international centre of excellence for countering violent extremism", in Hedayah. During a meeting with UN representatives, UAE's ambassador to the united nations, Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, said "Since its establishment, the UAE has been in the forefront of states that adopted a comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism and extremism through three main dimensions: legislative, religiously and culturally, and via media and social work". Females role in society and security The country is also keen on equality, encouraging females to take a role in society, as we witnessed recently when images of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, emerged strolling alongside her all female protection squad, made of Muslim females security professionals while visiting the UAE. The females were handpicked from the UAEs presidential guard. A recent report carried out by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has revealed that the UAE is the third safest place in the world, with Qatar and Finland, ranked second and first respectively. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday that he will visit the U.S. to meet the new president-elect Donald trump. He told reporters during his visit to Mongolia "I think there are some problems to go to United States, so I will go to see the new president" and "I have no worries about Trump" according to the Associated Press. China alerted Mongolia that his visit could cause backlashes China had previously taken actions against Mongolia for receiving the religious leader in 2002, by briefly closing its border and canceling flights from Beijing in 2006. This past week the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs urged Mongolia to deny him a visit for the sake of a sound and steady bilateral ties. Yet, Mongolians and the Dalai Lama defied the Chinese threats and continued with the religious leader's scheduled meeting, held at the Gandantegchenlin monastery, where he preached to thousands of Mongolians Buddhists. Could be Dalai Lama's last tour Mongolian followers of Dalai Lama, said that this could be his last visit, citing the age of their spiritual leader (he is now 81 years old), some people travelled across the country to see him.The dispute between Tibetans and China started in 1950. when Chinese troops were sent to Tibet in order to develop the area. They accuse the Chinese government of trying to replace their spiritual leader with a communist approved alternative. India accepted a large ammount of Tibetans and the former Tibetan government is currently exiled there. Since than, their leader has travelled the world advocating more autonomy for his homeland, in a non-violent form, hoping to gain international support and preaching Budhism. He is no stranger to the United States, and has visited the U.S many times before, meeting with President Obama and past presidents throughout the years. China usually protest those visits urging governments worldwide to avoid interference on China's internal affairs. Trump's meeting with the Dalai Lama will probably not be any different, and cause suspicions in China, which continues to view him as a dangerous separatist. Deploying UC Now Enables a Mobile and Productive Workforce Equipped for Tomorrow Share Tweet By Donna Wenk Senior Vice President of Channel Sales, Broadview Networks By Donna WenkSenior Vice President of Channel Sales, Broadview Networks Understanding the essential communication needs of an organization allows business leaders and channel partners to select the right communications system. Organizations need to support their employees with optimal connectivity to be able to reach others in a seconds notice, and also be able to update information, access files and send and receive what they need in real-time to keep moving forward with a customer-centric viewpoint. Now, more than ever, businesses are realizing that standard business phone systems can no longer keep up with the mobile and flexible communication needs of the workforce today, says Nick Iagovino, Vice President of Sales and Business Development of IT4 Group, Inc., a strategic IT consulting and advisory firm. This presents an opportunity for channel partners to share with their clients how staying connected through cloud-based applications is easy, inexpensive and efficient, and support them in making the switch to cloud-based communication systems. Attracting 100,000 visitors each year, the Independence Seaport Museum is a 10,000-square-foot museum in Philadelphia that encompasses two floors of exhibit spaces documenting the maritime history of the Greater Delaware Valley, a working boat shop and concert and rental spaces. The museums employees spend a majority of their time with customers on tours, in classes or out on the water. Shortly after reviewing its communication strategy with Nick, the museum realized the limitations presented by their antiquated business phone system did not offer the true mobility and flexibility they needed. Seeing first-hand how the museum staff struggled to stay connected and were too frequently unavailable as they traveled throughout the museum, a cloud-based communication system that transforms a mobile device into a mobile workstation was needed. They referred the museum to Broadview Networks, a provider of 100 percent cloud-based unified communications (UC) services, in order to foster an intelligent migration to the cloud. The new cloud-based phone system offered cost-effective capabilities, like company-wide chat from any device, audio, Web and video conferencing, file sharing and more, offering increased convenience, improved processes and easier internal collaborations. A recent report from Global Market Insights shows that the UC market size was $34.8 billion in 2015, and revenue estimates will likely increase to more than $95 billion by 2023. This impressive projected growth presents an opportunity for channel partners to help organizations battling budget constraints, limited in-house IT staff and outdated communications systems realize the benefits in transitioning their telephony solutions to the cloud. In order to help their clients stay ahead of the technology curve, channel partners should ask them the following questions to determine if their business phone system is in fact no longer supporting their business communication needs, and to help determine that it is time to make the switch to a cloud-based unified communication system. Does your business phone system enable a mobile workforce? The days of waiting for a call on a desk phone are long gone. To address mobile employee requirements, businesses are looking for the best UC systems that give employees access to a rapidly growing list of coveted features such as chat, audio, video and Web conferencing that facilitate greater collaboration from anywhere; presence features to see when co-workers are available in a meeting, with customers or out of the office; hot-desking to transfer desk calls to a mobile device and softphones for PC and smartphones, where calls can be made or received on any device using your business number. The ability to make business happen wherever you are and on whatever device is definitely important for ensuring everyone is on the same page, and allows projects to move forward, no matter the locations involved. Does your business phone system increase employee productivity? Keeping employees connected keeps them productive. When remaining connected becomes a challenge, time is lost. When looking for a provider and solution, business leaders should seek providers that offer an intuitive solution that includes ongoing maintenance and upgrades, adding value to the investment. With a cloud-based UC solution, employee production gains an instant boost, but not all cloud systems can support flexible access. Choose a UC system that is housed 100 percent in the cloud and built so that each user is equipped with the UC features they need and that follow the user to whichever device they choose to use without the need for IT staff to make changes to the device itself. This level of flexible access to UC tools improves productivity, encourages collaboration and increases mobility. Does your business phone system support future technologies? Many legacy phone systems are not flexible enough to stay modern. From the Apple (News - Alert) Watch and wearable technologies to the latest CRM applications such as Salesforce, companies need to adapt to an ever-changing landscape. Given the acceleration of product development cycles, its not a matter of simply adapting to new technology developments, but being prepared for the next technology changes. The technology that employees are experiencing outside of work will naturally influence them to desire the same technology at the office, says Nick. UC combines the functionality that we all like and take for granted in our personal lives, and places it in a business setting with the added benefit of businesses maintaining control, and gathering and analyzing data to ensure continual improved processes. Offering key advantages provided by the best cloud UC system allow the channel to completely and effectively support their clients. Change can be difficult, but ultimately it is worth it for businesses to embrace change when it leads to improved communication, enterprise mobility and an overall better experience for employees and customers alike. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Article comments powered by Disqus Article comments powered by Edited by Alicia Young The Pitbull continues to be targeted by many because of its reputation that is most often the result of uneducated and careless owners. As the most misunderstood breed of dog, many areas place a ban on the ownership of these animals due to a hand full of issues. Such is the case in Miami where there is a Pitbull ban. Efforts are being made to reverse the ban. Miami-Dade Commissioner wants to end 30-year Pitbull ban Back in 1989, a young girl was attacked by a Pitbull dog, setting off a national crackdown against this dog breed. A ban was then implemented in Miami-Dade, stirring up a battle among other Pitbull owners and animal activists. The Commissioner stated that it did not matter whether it was a German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Doberman pincher or a Pitbull. If the animal is not raised correctly, any breed can be dangerous. Although he implemented a ban against the dog in Miami, he is now trying to reverse that ban. The argument with him, other activists and locals is that the ban was blaming the breed as a whole for any wrong doings and attacks instead of the owners for the hostile behavior. Misconceptions about the Pitbull Pitbull dogs are often bred and trained to fight, leading to their bad reputation. The ban of the breed is to restrict the Pitbull as a whole to prevent attacks, saying that all Pitbulls are dangerous and will attack. A pediatric surgeon believes that Pitbulls and children do not mix well even though years ago they were known as the nanny dog. It is again a reflection of the pet owner and not the breed. On a presidential level, the White House has also commented on the breed, saying that it is often a waste of public resources. Studies over the years, however, argues that dog bites and attacks span all breeds of dog and needs to be handled in a comprehensive manner without singling out one or two dog breeds. This process can result in a false sense of success while ignoring the real scope of the problem, which is protecting the community as a whole. Focusing on one breed and Pitbull restrictions leave fewer resources and time to pursue dangerous dogs. The 13 members of the County Commission have the authority to vote against the existing law and reverse the current Pitbull ban. It is not the animal but the owners that need to be responsible for their dogs, no matter the breed. Xu Chen, president and CEO of Bank of China USA and chairman of China General Chamber of Commerce-USA, makes a speech at a lucheon hosted by CGCC in Washington on Tuesday. Vice-Premier Wang Yang (second from right, at table) and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg attend the luncheon. LI GE / CHINA DAILY Vice-Premier Wang Yang visits top officials in DC Senior Chinese and US officials applauded the huge success and potential in bilateral cooperation in agriculture, trade and investment. In a China-US agriculture and food seminar on Tuesday morning, Vice-Premier Wang Yang said that the potential for agriculture cooperation is huge between China, the world's largest agriculture producer, consumer and importer, and the United States, the world's top agriculture giant and the largest agriculture exporter. "The two sides are natural partners for agriculture cooperation and the potential is enormous," said Wang. US Trade Representative Michael Froman, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and some 200 government and corporate representatives from the food and drug sectors attended the talk, titled Advancing Mutual Goals in Food Safety. Wang was leading a Chinese delegation in Washington to attend the 27th session of the China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). Wang noted that agricultural cooperation is one of the earliest and the most fruitful areas of cooperation between the two countries and also one of the areas with the greatest potential. Agricultural cooperation has reaped rich fruits in trade and investment, technical exchange and human resources, making vital contribution to the China-US relations, he said. In the last 15 years since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), agricultural trade between the two countries has grown at an average annual rate of 17 percent to reach $32.1 billion. He said China has been pushing forward supply-side reform to modernize its agriculture development and meet the growing needs of its people. According to the vice-premier, agriculture is one of the areas in China with the fastest-growing investment. "China and the US can strengthen their cooperation in agricultural technology, management, internet and farming and exploring the third country market," he said. He said China welcomes more US agriculture businesses to invest in China, as well as more high-quality and safe US agricultural products and foods into the Chinese market. He also hoped that the US side will create a good environment for the exports of Chinese poultry, aquatic products and other farm products into the US market. Wang said the two countries are bound to have differences in agricultural cooperation due to their respective national and agricultural conditions. He said the two sides should show more mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual tolerance, deepen their agricultural technology cooperation, promote agricultural investment, expand agricultural trade, innovate in ways of agricultural cooperation and develop converging interests to expand the agricultural cooperation. Froman described the growth in food and agriculture trade between the two nations as "impressive". From 2000 to 2015, US agriculture exports to China increased 11-fold, and China's agriculture exports to the US grew seven-fold. "China has been one of our top export markets for our food and agriculture exports for some time," he said. "The one thing we know is that where there is an emerging middle class, there is increased demand for more protein, better nutrition and safe food and all of that spells more US agriculture exports to China," Froman said. "I want to applaud China for making food safety a policy priority," said Vilsack, praising the forum for discussing the two countries' complementary roles in ensuring food safety. On Tuesday, Wang, Froman and US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker attended a seminar on digital economy and a business roundtable with government, business and academic representatives. At a luncheon hosted by the China General Chamber of Commerce (USA), Wang painted a rosy picture for bilateral trade and investment, citing the forecast for China in the next five years: $8 trillion in imports, $600 billion in inbound foreign direct investment (FDI), $750 billion in outbound FDI and 700 million trips overseas by Chinese tourists. "This will provide huge opportunities for businesses in various countries, including the US," he said. Wang cited China's decision to negotiate a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with the US based on a negative list and an increasingly shortened negative list as proof of China's willingness to open up further. He also cited statistics regarding the crackdown on the violations of intellectual property rights as proof that the business environment has improved with more norms and rules. Wang told the audience that China has also taken in the views of various sides, including US companies and institutions, in formulating its laws such as in cyber security, foreign NGO management and innovation policies. The original draft of the foreign NGO law restricts the number of their representative office in China to one, but it was lifted after considering the views of other sides, including the US side, according to Wang. "Facts have proven that China's policies and laws have become more transparent, and the business climate has become friendlier," he said. Wang said China is willing to work with the US side to achieve more practical cooperation at the JCCT to ensure a smooth transition of China-US economic and trade relations at a time when the US is experiencing a government transition. "(It is) also to lay a solid foundation for the next phase of China-US economic and trade relations," he said. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com Chinese direct investment in the US has come a long way since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During the first 20 years after the establishment of Sino-US diplomatic relations in 1979, Chinese investment in the US was almost negligible compared to US investment in China, according to Zhao Zhenge, general representative of the China Council of Promotion for International Trade (CPPIT) USA. "But in recent years, there has been considerable attention to a new wave of Chinese direct investment entering the United States." Zhao spoke as Chinese delegates to the Sino-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) gathered at the Business Dialogue on Investment in America conference on Monday in Washington. "China is entering a new era emphasizing the role of foreign trade," Zhao said. "We hope to serve as a window or a platform to establish the business ties between the two countries." CPPIT, along with the China Chamber of International Commerce and Greater Washington China Investment Center, hosted the conference to provide information about US regulations, law enforcement, investment risks and offered a few case studies for potential investors to think through before putting their money into the US market. The direct Chinese investment in the US exceeded the US investment in China for the first time in 2015. By the end of 2015, Chinese investment has reached $46.6 billion and created more than 100,000 jobs in the US, Zhao said. "And according to the forecast, Chinese investment in the US will exceed $30 billion in 2016," he said. "More and more Chinese companies are now looking forward to making investment here in the US, including the delegation we have here with us today." Case studies of Tranlin Inc, known as Vastly in the US market, and JD.com were presented during the second panel, themed Success Stories and Outlook. Tranlin Inc, a paper-manufacturing company based in East Chinas Shandong province, broke ground on its first US operation, a $2 billion plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia, last year. The company plans to employ about 2,000 people by the end of 2020. "We came up with our internationalization strategy after more than a half years research and decided to make the US our first overseas stop," said Jerry Peng, CEO of Vastly. "The logic is simple: The US is the worlds largest consumer market. Its a better choice in terms of both market size and profit margin." The lower energy and land costs in the US also appeal to Chinese investors, especially for a manufacturing company like Vastly, Peng said. "I believe Select USA is not only about coming to the US to invest, but also about selecting US products and services and bringing them back to China," said Jianrong Ma, global vice-president of JD.com. Ma said the company hopes to open a channel for US brands to enter the Chinese market, he said. "Business activities between the United States and China, the two largest economies in the world, influence trade patterns and economic activity across the globe and constitute a major component of global activity," Zhao said. "The US is a rather big country," said US Department of Commerce SelectUSA Program Officer John McKiel, "which makes the investment environment complicated for the investors especially foreign investors". "We are here to help you understand the US before making any investments here. Since the laws, regulations and policies vary from state to state, we offer you representatives specialized in different states whom you may contact," he said. Yuan Yuan in Washington contributed to the story. Joseph Cruz explains the philosophy of I Ching. MAY ZHOU / CHINA DAILY It's said that you can find a chifa restaurant on every corner in Peru. And if chifa is not included in a restaurant's name, more often than not, you will still see it on the menu. According to one all-knowing wiki, there are more than 9,000 chifa joints in Lima alone. Chifa is a culinary tradition based on Chinese Cantonese elements fused with traditional Peruvian ingredients. A mixture of fried rice with vegetables, Chinese onions, eggs, and meat, it's cooked quickly on a high flame, often in a wok with soy sauce and oil. The influence came from about 100,000 Cantonese coolies who immigrated to Peru in the late 1800s. Almost all male, they intermarried with Peruvian women. To acknowledge their offspring's Chinese blood, they were given the special name of tusang native born Chinese which is not exactly accurate because tusangs carry Peruvian blood too. Like chifa, the Chinese DNA brought by the 10,000 Chinese has spread far and wide in Peru. Anyone in Lima will tell you that a sizable portion of the population carries some Chinese blood, though "nobody knows exactly how many, some say 10 percent, some say as high as 25 percent," said Carsten Korch, publisher of the English-language news outlet Peru This Week. With the overwhelming presence of chifa and an untold presence of Chinese DNA in the Peruvian population, it's no surprise to find in Lima one Joseph Cruz, a Peruvian devoid of any Chinese blood but who runs a business primarily based on his passion for Chinese culture. Through his Tian Long Tan Center (which means Heavenly Dragon Pond in Chinese), Cruz provides consultation services in oracles, astrology and rites of the I Ching, the ancient divination text and the oldest of the Chinese classics. Over the past 10 years, the center has become a place for the dissemination of the I Ching and other aspects of the Chinese culture. With his extensive knowledge of ancient China, Cruz teaches the philosophy of the I Ching as well as Chinese calligraphy and martial arts. As the chairman of the Peru I Ching Association, Cruz translated the Chinese text of the I Ching into Spanish in 2013. "This translation is better than those done years ago because new discoveries in archaeology have shed new light on the meaning of the text," said Cruz. "I enjoyed watching Chinese kung fu movies a lot in the 1970s when I was in my teens," Cruz said. "Most of the movies were from Hong Kong. I fell in love with martial arts and I began to learn it from Chinese in Chinatown." Close interaction with the Chinese community led Cruz to read Dao De Jing, a Chinese classic of philosophy. "I fell in love with Chinese philosophy and wanted to read more, but few works were available in Spanish," he said. "I realized that I had to learn Chinese to study and truly understand Chinese philosophy." Cruz bought a Chinese textbook published by Beijing Language Institute and started to teach himself Chinese. In 1983, he started taking Cantonese lessons at a local Chinese school and became well versed in Cantonese over the next three years. In the late 1980s, immigrants from the Chinese mainland began arriving in Peru. Mandarin became available, and Cruz eagerly joined those classes too. "It only took me four months to learn how to speak Mandarin," he said. "It was easy because I could already read the Chinese words." Beginning in 1993, Cruz started to work for a couple of Chinese companies in Lima, including Shougang. Always looking to improve his Chinese, Cruz asked a Chinese colleague to tutor him in Chinese writing. Now, Cruz can not only express himself very well in Chinese, he even writes poetry in Chinese classic style. Cruz is also interested in the ancient Incans of southern Peru and said that he has found a lot of similarities between the Chinese and Incan cultures. "Both are closed cultures, both are conservative and both burned bones in ancient rituals that were found in both China and Peru going back 5,000 years," said Cruz. "The fascinating similar details between the two cultures have hooked me on Chinese culture all these years." mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com File photo shows Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton greet one another as they take the stage for their first debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, US, September 26, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] WASHINGTON - US President-elect Donald Trump's administration will not further probe into his former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton over her private email server use, a top aide to Trump said Tuesday. The new administration will also not open any investigation into foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation when Clinton was secretary of state in the Barak Obama administration, said the top aide. On the campaign trail, Trump, the then Republican presidential nominee, vowed to launch further investigation of Clinton once he wins the White House. "If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation," Trump told Clinton at the second presidential debate in early October. "Look, I think he's thinking of many different things as he prepares to become the President of the United States, and things that sound like the campaign are not among them," Trump's former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said in an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "I think when the President-elect, who's also the head of your party, tells you before he's even inaugurated that he doesn't wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message, tone, and content" to fellow Republicans, said Conway. Trump said in an interview with CBS after the election that prosecuting Clinton would not be a priority. "I don't want to hurt them", he said of the Clinton family. "They're good people." Republic of Korea media protest the decision to bar photographs, as Japanese ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine enters to attend the intelligence deal signing ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday. AFP / YONHAP The Republic of Korea and Japan signed a long-delayed agreement on sharing military intelligence on Wednesday, despite public opposition in Seoul, ensuring the free exchange of information among the two countries and their ally the United States. Experts said the move, together with other recent activities by Seoul, reflects a spreading Cold War mentality that could heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula and test Seoul's relationship with Beijing, since the sharing of intelligence could relate to China. The General Security of Military Information Agreement, signed on Wednesday, allows the ROK and Japan to directly share information about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea without first going through US intelligence. Seoul and Tokyo currently use Washington as an intermediary when sharing military intelligence on Pyongyang under a deal signed in 2014. The signing came less than a month after discussions resumed on Oct 27, following a suspension of four years due to public opposition in the ROK. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang criticized the agreement at a daily news conference on Wednesday. "Related countries' adherence to the Cold War mentality and strengthened military intelligence cooperation will aggravate antagonism and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula," Geng said, adding that this will bring more insecurity and uncertainty to Northeast Asia. The DPRK has slammed the military pact, calling it "a dangerous act" that would further raise tensions on the peninsula and open a door to Japan's "re-invasion", Agence France-Presse reported. Su Hao, a professor of Asia-Pacific studies at China Foreign Affairs University, said, "There will be a growing risk of military confrontation in the region, which is advocated by a Cold War mentality." Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said the pact was signed at a time when the ROK government needs something to distract the public from ROK President Park Geun-hye's scandal involving a close adviser. The intelligence deal could also cover information the ROK detects through the anti-missile system that the US plans to deploy in the ROK, Da said. Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Loading... Checking your browser before accessing the website. This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. Please wait a few seconds. HA NOI The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has mapped out next years development plan for the industrial sector and forecast an 8 per cent rise in industrial production, against this year. In its report on the direction and solutions for the industrial sector, the ministry has also forecast a 6-7 per cent increase in exports in 2017. The proportion of trade deficit against total trade turnover will be maintained at less than 5 per cent. The total revenue from retail sales of goods and services is also expected to rise by around 10 per cent next year. The ministry said its calculations are based on research reports on global economic growth in 2017, announced by international organisations to date. Global economic growth is expected to rise next year, depending on the movements of financial, crude oil and securities markets as well as volatility in some countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) have forecast that the world economy will rise by 3.5 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively in 2017, against 3.2 per cent and 2.9 per cent in 2016. For Viet Nams power industry, the ministry has forecast that the industry will produce 99 billion kWh of electricity and will have to buy an additional 179.8 billion kWh in 2017, up roughly by 13 per cent against this year. According to the ministry, after gaining a significant growth in the mining and lighting industries over the past few years, 2017 will be negative for them. The oil and gas sector is expected to exploit only around 14.8 million tonnes of crude oil next year, down 12.9 per cent against this year. However, the output of gas will rise by 10.8 per cent to 11.3 billion cu m. The output of the coal industry is expected to remain unchanged at 38.3 million tonnes in 2017. However, this sector, as well as the engineering industry, will be affected because of low prices globally. Among the heavy industries, the steel sector is expected to have an output of 5.6 million tonnes of unprocessed steel, up 16.6 per cent, while rolled steel is forecast to rise by 18 per cent to 5.84 million tonnes. Forecast for the fertiliser industry is optimistic, with there being enough output to meet not just domestic demands but also for exports. The output of urea fertiliser will inch up by 2.2 per cent to 2.01 million tonnes, while NPK fertiliser will rise 2.4 per cent to 2.67 million tonnes. The textile-garment and footwear industries are also expected to have more opportunities in 2017, as a number of new free trade agreements will take effect. The ministry is, however, concerned that domestic small- and medium-sized firms will face more challenges at the same time. Fierce competition has also been forecast for the beer-alcohol-beverage industry owing to the presence of more foreign brands in the country. The industrys output next year is estimated to be 3.92 billion litres, up 8.2 per cent against 2016. - VNS BUENOS AIRES - An Argentine Spanish language learning program for Chinese speakers marked its 10th anniversary here on Tuesday. As an initiative of the University Language Center (CUI) in the capital Buenos Aires, the program was established to promote closer cultural ties between the Argentine and Chinese people. At a commemorative event at the CUI's headquarters, the director general of the language center, Roberto Villarruel, said: "We are celebrating the program's 10th anniversary (and) we are very pleased, because when we started it, it was quite a challenge." "I saw the potential it had, the potential for growth the Spanish language was going to have in China," said Villarruel, who made a trip to China a decade ago. Since then, the program has drawn Chinese students who "have completed their university degrees here and have stayed on to work. Others returned to China or went to other countries with their degrees, and are working in culture or arts," said Villarruel. "We have learned about the new needs and demands of students in China... because we are interested in seeing the expansion of ties between our countries, of bilateral exchange," he added. Today, "Argentina is in China's sightline, and China is in Argentina's sightline, and it is an honor to accompany this development" in bilateral ties, he said. The CUI also helps to teach personnel of Chinese companies with operations in Argentina, such as ICBC, Huawei and Sinopec, said Villarruel, adding "diversification is very important." Zhai Peng, 20, has studied at the CUI for eight months to improve his job prospects. During this time, he has also discovered he likes many things about Argentina. "I like Argentina a lot: the landscapes, the food -- like pizza, barbecues and choripan (a popular sausage sandwich) -- and the discos," said Zhai, smiling. "In addition, the teachers are really nice," he added. "I want to stay in Argentina and look for work at one of the Chinese companies." Currently, 50 Chinese students are enrolled in the program, whose annual average is 70 to 80 students. The program has taught more than 1,000 students so far. Efforts to decrease the trade deficit with China is an important policy and one of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)s chief concerns. Photo dantri.com.vn HA NOI Efforts to decrease the trade deficit with China is an important policy and one of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)s chief concerns, in addition to increasing exports to this market, says Industry and Trade Deputy Minister o Thang Hai. The chronic trade deficit with China has long troubled Viet Nams economy, though the dependence on Chinese imports is hard to avoid for a rising economy like Viet Nams. According to the General Department of Customs, China is still the largest exporter to Viet Nam, accounting for US$40.24 billion in the last 10 months, though the total has decreased by 1.4 per cent compared to the same period last year. Vietnamese exports to China have been facing many challenges as China is in an economic downturn. But despite Chinas many trade barriers against Vietnamese products, in the past 10 months of 2016, Viet Nams exports to China accounted for 12 per cent of the countrys total. Viet Nams main imports from China focus on manufacturing products, with machinery, equipment, accessories, steel, phones and phone accessories, textile materials, leather, chemicals and vehicles, each worth around $1 billion. Nonetheless, under pressure of the rule of the origins of goods, Vietnamese supporting industries are expected to increase production, enabling the countrys export potential to grow and imports to decline. This would reduce the trade deficit towards a better trade balance between the two countries. Furthermore, Vietnamese authorities are urged to impose stricter quality control on imported Chinese materials. Experts noted that if more free trade agreements (FTA) go into effect, Vietnamese exporters will have to pay more attention to the origins of goods to avoid importing materials from China if they wish to take advantage of said FTAs in preferential tax treatment and to avoid technical barrier and dumping cases. Businesses are moving away from Chinese imports by diversifying imports from other markets, especially from South Korea since implementation of the Viet Nam-South Korean FTA on December 12, 2015. Imports from South Korea constitute 18 per cent of total imports as of October 2016, having increased 10.8 per cent since last year. South Korea is now the second largest exporter to Viet Nam, with a total export turnover of $26 billion, an increase of $2.7 billion, or 11.8 per cent, compared to the same period in 2015. Due to a 10-per cent tax on Vietnamese petrol, the amount of imported petrol from South Korea to Viet Nam has increased to 1.34 million litres, equal to $633 million. Japan and Thailands exports to Viet Nam are also on the rise, at $12.2 billion and $6.9 billion, respectively, in the first 10 months of 2016. Imports from the US accounted for $6.86 billion. The MOIT asserted based on these figures that Viet Nam would slowly utilise the signed commitments and FTAs with these countries, to gain freer markets and reduced import tax levels and shrink its dependence on Chinese imports. VNS HA NOI - The first ever Vietnam Hardware and Hand Tools Expo 2016 will be held at the HCM City from November 30 to December 3 this year at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) in HCM City. Vinexad is organising this first and only specialised International Exhibition on Hardware and Hand tools with the aim of opening more opportunities for Vietnamese people and give them access to advanced and handy products, said Nguyen Khac Luan, its general director. The exhibition will focus on both manufacturing and introducing these products in daily life. Luan said many Vietnamese and international manufacturers and distributors have evinced a keen interest in the upcoming event as they want to showcase products for both home improvement and support industries in the Vietnamese market. He said the growing support industry in Viet Nam has played an important role in the supply chain as well as the global value chain. Companies and large-scale foreign corporations have established manufacturing and assembly plants in Viet Nam as businesses want to cut transport costs and risks. This also creates opportunities for local spare parts suppliers. The exhibition will focus on four main sectors: Tools - DIY (Do It Yourself) and Building Hardware - Fasteners - Securities, Locks and Fittings, along with special commercial programmes and seminars aimed at promoting and developing products. These seminars will be organised within the framework of the exhibition. The expo will act as a platform for cooperation and exchange between buyers and sellers, and will give them direct access to advanced technologies and products. Besides, it will also provide an opportunity for an overview of the Vietnam hardware and hand tools industry for local enterprises, said Luan. The Vietnam Association of Mechanical Industry (VAMI) is supporting the expo, offering professional counselling in the run up to the event. As of date, 152 enterprises from 17 countries and territories have confirmed participation in the Vietnam Hardware and Hand Tools Expo. These countries are: Italy, Japan, the USA, Singapore, China, Germany, Korea, Taiwan, India, Holland, Australia, Viet Nam and so on. Among the brands that will participate are Bosch, Makita, Greenlee, Vogel, Hazet, Endres Tools, Sherman and Reilly, Betex, Loxeal, Homedepot and Pilosio Asia. The expo will be spread over an area of 4,000 sq.m. During the exhibition, an industrial seminar on Integrating the Supply Chains of Support Industries and Product Marketing and Sales will be organised. At this seminar, experts and business leaders will exchange views on the current situation and outlook for the Vietnamese support industry and the prospects for integrated development as well as marketing and sales solutions. -- VNS HA NOI - Viet Nam exported nearly 10,000 tonnes of fresh fruit to difficult markets such as the United States, Canada, South Korea and Japan in the first 10 months of this year. This export volume doubled figures from the whole of last year. According to director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developments Plant Protection Department Hoang Trung, some 5,100 tonnes of dragon fruit and 1,550 tonnes of mango were shipped to these countries. The United States led the import of Vietnamese fruit, with 2,600 tonnes of dragon fruit and 1,200 tonnes of mango, followed by Japan, Canada and South Korea. The country exported nearly 2.1 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables, making a turnover of some US$2 billion during the period. Meanwhile, it imported nearly 420,000 tonnes of fresh fruit. Trung said his department was conducting an experimental project on exterminating fly disease on red dragon fruit, following the requirements of Japan. Japan will officially open its doors to the Vietnamese fruit by early 2017. Viet Nam expects to increase its exports to Australia and Taiwan in the future, after the two markets begin allowing businesses to import Vietnamese fresh mango and dragon fruit, respectively, this year. VNS HA NOI Shares rallied for a third succession session on Wednesday, driven by consumer goods producer Masan Groups dividend payment plan, while financial-banking stocks continued to perform well. The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange edged up 0.2 per cent to close at 683.16 points, marking a three-day increase of 1.5 per cent. The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange rose 0.5 per cent to end at 81.4 points, up 1 per cent after three sessions. Consumer goods producer Masan Group (MSN) was the major focus of the market yesterday with strong increases in both trading volume and price as the company planned to pay dividends for the first time in the last six years, BIDV Securities Corp (BSC) wrote in its report. Masan Group said the company would propose shareholders approve a plan to pay a 30 per cent dividend in cash, or VN3,000 per share, for 2015-16 performances, including an advance payment for this year. The news boosted MSN by 6.7 per cent with more than 2.15 million of the companys shares being traded. MSN has jumped 10 per cent in the last seven sessions. The banking-finance sector remained positive. Among the nine listed banks, Vietcombank (VCB), MBBank (MBB) and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) advanced between 0.4 per cent and 1 per cent. MBBank has sold nearly 49 per cent of its ownership in MCredit to the Japan-based bank Shinsei, making MCredit a joint venture that will operate next year. MCredit was renamed from a River Finance JSC after MBBank acquired the finance services provider in March 2016. The deal should add considerable process and product expertise to MBBanks consumer finance arm, HCM Securities Corp (HSC) said in a note. Consumer finance is the fastest growing segment in Viet Nams banking industry and attracted a lot of interest and competition, HSC said, adding the deal would help MBBank win some market share and gain an edge over competitors. Faros Construction Corp (ROS) reversed its fall in the early trading to end up 1 per cent on speculations that it would be added into the investment fund FTSE ETFs portfolio in the fourth-quarter review. On the opposite side, energy stocks retreated as oil prices fell in Asian trading after Iran and Iraq, two large members of OPEC, left markets uncertain whether they would join OPEC and other producers to resolve the current global glut. Dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM) suffered from foreign selling and stepped back 1.2 per cent after rising 2.5 per cent in the previous two trading days. Market trading liquidity increased from Tuesday with more than 152 million shares being exchanged worth nearly VN2.89 trillion (US$128.4 million). VNS Big State-owned enterprises (SOEs) that recently listed or are preparing to list on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) have attracted a lot of investor attention. Ta Thanh Binh, Director of Securities Market Development Department under the State Securities Commission, speaks to Viet Nam News about the new regulation on obligatory listing for equitised SOEs and its impact on the market. Circular No 115/2016/TT-BTC, effective from November 1, requires SOEs to list stocks on the UPCoM within 20 days after the payment due date of their share sale. Why is this? This regulation that forces equitised enterprises to list shares on the centralised securities market is not new. In 2014, the Prime Minister issued Decision 51 requiring SOEs to list and trade shares in the centralised market after equitisation. However, many companies have not followed this regulation. There are two reasons for this. First, the old regulation did not specify an accurate timetable for how long after equitisation enterprises must list. Thus, many enterprises have relied on this loophole to put off listing. When asked, they say they are preparing to list. The lack of punitive sanctions against these enterprises that drag their heels makes things worse. The new regulation indicates that SOEs must include listing registration documents into their equitisation procedures to prepare for share registration at Vietnam Securities Depository Centre and trading on the UPCoM. Regulators expect the new regulation will force enterprises to equitise and list on the stock market. How will this affect enterprises? How will it benefit investors? SOEs will be under pressure in terms of time. They will not be able to delay their listing anymore. For investors, this is good news, especially for foreign investors. Previously, many auctions of SOEs failed due to lack of investor interest. Foreign investors hesitated to bid because they worried about the listing delays. The new regulation will ease their concerns and pull more investors to buy stakes in SOEs. Many big corporations have yet to list shares after several years of equitisation, such as Petrolimex, Vinatex and Vietnam Airlines. What are their reasons? There are objective and subjective reasons. On the objective side, the current law lacks strict regulations on the specific time for listing and strong punitive sanctions. Subjectively, some speculate that it may be in the companys own interest to not list or for private reasons, such as concerns about being transparent, stock dilution or ownership dispersion. What are the current sanctions against enterprises who delay listing? In the past, there were no specific punishments for such infringements. However, according to the latest information that I have received, the Government has signed Decree No 145 replacing Decree No 108 which provides sanctioning of administrative violations on the stock market. In the new decree, in addition to elevating the level of sanctions for common violations in the market, it also contains provisions to punish enterprises that do not comply with the law on listing shares in the centralised market within the regulated time. There are also instructions and guidance on State management for ministries and governing bodies of the State-owned enterprises. If these enterprises continue to postpone their listing, there will be separate penalties for business leaders including administrative sanctions. VNS Ali Larijani HA NOI Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani will pay an official visit to Viet Nam from Thursday to Sunday at the invitation of National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the NAs External Relations Committee announced yesterday. Viet Nam and Iran set up diplomatic ties on August 4, 1973. In recent years political, economic, trade, cultural, educational, scientific and technological ties have expanded. In 2015, two-way trade between the two countries reached US$107 million, with Viet Nams exports accounting for 72 per cent. VNS Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives the Interior Ministry of Mozambique Basilio Monteiro in Ha Noi yesterday . VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat HA NOI Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday praised the outcome of anti-crime co-operation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the Interior Ministry of Mozambique. Receiving visiting Interior Minister Basilio Monteiro in Ha Noi yesterday, he said: Co-operation in security will be an important foundation and a favourable condition for the two countries to facilitate investment and economic partnership. Phuc noted that the two countries have enjoyed sound traditional relations and Viet Nam wishes to boost ties in many sectors. He lauded the co-operation between Mozambiques Interior Ministry and the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security in personnel training and co-operation, noting that it had helped prevent and fight hi-tech crimes, drug crimes and wildlife trafficking. Monteiro told the PM that officials in his ministry had made valuable gains in the exchange of experiences in ensuring national security and fighting crime with the Ministry of Public Security. The ministries have agreed to further co-operate in many areas including judicial assistance in criminal cases, ensuring national security and tackling traffic violations, he said. They have also agreed on legal grounds to facilitate the stay of people and businesses of their citizens in either country, he added. VNS ROME President Tran ai Quang and his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella yesterday reiterated their determination to effectively deepen the Viet Nam-Italy strategic partnership. In talks held in Rome, the two leaders agreed to increase the exchange of delegations and meetings at all levels, follow up on the 2017-2018 action plan to materialise the bilateral strategic partnership, and maintain exchanges between the two countries Parties and peoples. They also agreed to prioritise economic co-operation and raise bilateral trade to US$6 billion during the 2017-2018 period. Both sides will work to increase Italys investment in Viet Nam while creating optimal conditions for Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products to access the Italian market, the two leaders said. New orientations will be set for development co-operation, focusing on vocational training, environmental protection, water resources management and flood forecasting. Collaboration in culture, education and training as well as tourism will be enhanced. Scientific and technological affiliations will be accorded priority in the coming years, both leaders agreed. The Italian President pledged to continue assisting Viet Nam in preserving relic sites and to offer more scholarships to Vietnamese students. The Presidents agreed to work with each other for the early opening of a direct air route between the two countries and share experiences in implementing public-private partnership (PPP) projects in logistics, shipbuilding, railways and infrastructure. On national defence and security, they said the exchange of information and experience in fighting crime will be stepped up, as will collaboration in training, relief operations, bomb and mine clearance, defence industry development, and UN peace-keeping missions. Viet Nam and Italy will also strengthen their co-ordination at multilateral forums like the United Nations, ASEAN, European Union, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and UNESCO. The two leaders promised to support each other in promoting relations between Italy and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as between Viet Nam and the EU, with particular attention paid to projects, programmes and initiatives on climate change responses and green growth. They also stressed the significance of maintaining peace, stability, and navigation and aviation safety and freedom, holding that disputes in the East Sea should be addressed by peaceful measures on the basis of respecting international law, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, fully realising the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and early agreement on a Code of Conduct in the East Sea. President Quang said Viet Nam always attaches importance to developing friendship and multi-dimensional co-operation with Italy. President Mattarella described Quangs visit as a milestone in the bilateral strategic partnership set up in 2013. The two leaders later co-chaired a press conference to announce the outcomes of their talks. Earlier, on Monday (Italian time), President Quang visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy. Vietnam and Italy established diplomatic ties on March 23, 1973. Italy was the first Western European nation to back the enhancement of co-operation between Viet Nam and the EU at major international forums, as well as the normalisation of relations between Viet Nam and international financial, trade and monetary organisations in the 1990s. Trade between the two countries has increased every year, reaching US$4.3 billion in 2015. Italy ranks 31 out of 112 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam with 77 projects valued at $360 million, mostly in processing, manufacturing, leather and footwear, construction, lavatory equipment and steel processing. The Italian Government has listed Viet Nam as one of ten newly-emerging markets to prioritise trade and investment ties with. The two countries have also set up a joint committee on economic co-operation. Italy began providing official development assistance for Viet Nam in the 1990s, in areas like water supply and sewage, environmental protection, human resources development, health care and institution building. VNS SIEM REAP Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia, today for the 9th Summit of Cambodia-Laos-Viet Nam Development Triangle Area (CLV 9) at the invitation of his Cambodian counterpart Samdech Techo Hun Sen. The Vietnamese PM was welcomed at Siem Reap international airport by leaders of the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of Cambodia, along with representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy and Consulate General in Battambang. Since its establishment 17 years ago, the triangle areas co-operation mechanism has been strengthened ceaselessly, contributing to enhancing links, ensuring security and political stability, and promoting poverty reduction and socio-economic development in the three countries. The co-operation among Cambodia , Laos and Viet Nam has been expanded across fields, from security-diplomacy, transport, industry, trade, and investment to agriculture and environmental protection. At the CLV8 in Vientiane , Laos , in 2014, the parties supported Viet Nam s proposal to enlarge the mechanism through fostering connectivity of the three economies instead of only 13 border provinces, and pushing cooperation in the terms of telecommunications, electricity, tourism and banking. PM Phuc is scheduled to meet his Cambodian and Lao counterparts Samdech Techo Hun Sen, and Thongloun Sisoulith, and take part in the CLV9 in the afternoon of the same day. The summit is expected to issue a joint statement on connectivity of the three economies, among others. A list of 15 priority projects will also be tabled for discussion. VNS SIEM REAP The ninth Summit of the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Area (CLV 9) has reiterated the countries resolve to cooperate for sustainable and inclusive development in the Development Triangle Area. The summit in Siem Reap, Cambodia, yesterday brought together Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Reviewing CLV collaboration over the past two years since the eighth meeting in Vientiane, the PMs applauded the achievements in key areas such as security, national defence, trade-investment, agriculture, and transport and tourism, which they said contributed to promoting socio-economic development and ensuring peace and stability in the area. They re-affirmed their commitment to forging CLV co-operation on the basis of time-honoured friendship, good and mutually beneficial neighbourliness, solidarity and mutual understanding between the countries. The leaders displayed their resolve to work closely with each other and team up with other ASEAN nations in materialising the ASEAN Vision 2025. They agreed to increase the connectivity of the three economies in both soft and hard infrastructure as well as people-to-people exchanges. They assigned the joint co-ordination committee to complete the action plan on connectivity of Cambodian, Lao and Vietnamese economies to 2030. The committee was also tasked with planning tourism development in the area. The agricultural ministries of the three countries were asked to partner with each other in building a plan on developing the rubber industry. The leaders affirmed their strong commitment to environmental protection, sustainable management and use of natural resources, including water and forest resources, and consented to implement programmes on co-operation in hydrometeorology, climate change response and water resource management. Joint efforts will also be made in bomb and mine clearance and the fight against drug smuggling, human trafficking, terrorism and cross-border crime. The leaders called for more active participation of the business community and development partners in CLV projects, and agreed to enhance their co-ordination with Mekong Sub-region cooperation mechanisms. PM Phuc called on Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam to build a stable and open legal framework that facilitates the cross-border circulation of goods, services and labourers as well as investment in the CLV Development Triangle Area. He called for joint efforts in ensuring security and political stability, and environmental protection. The countries should coordinate with each other in realising the Sustainable Developments Goals by 2030, seeking long-term solutions to the sustainable use of natural resources, especially their shared water resources, and attracting resources from development partners and international financial organisations, he urged. PM Phuc also presented Viet Nams proposals for co-operation in the time ahead, including the building of mechanisms facilitating the free movement of vehicles registered in provinces inside the triangle area, the application of the one-stop-shop customs model at the Moc Bai-Ba Vet international border gate in 2017, and regular dialogue mechanisms between Governmental offices of the three countries and businesses. Viet Nam will offer more vocational training scholarships to Cambodia and Laos, and increase the value of scholarships granted to Cambodian and Laos students, he promised. The Vietnamese Government leader called on the other two countries to join the Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses and, together with Viet Nam, consider participating in the Convention on the Protection and Use of Trans-boundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention). PM Phuc expressed his hope the three Governments will team up with each other to set forth a programme on official development assistance (ODA) mobilisation and another programme on joint investment and trade promotion. Viet Nams Viettel telecom group will invest in modernising the telecom networks in the three countries using 4G technology and help with the formation of their e-Governments, he said. In this regard, Cambodian PM Hun Sen suggested Viettel support the establishment of video links for the PMs and agencies of the three countries in an effort to make it easier for their exchange. PM Hun Sen spoke highly of the effective CLV cooperation, which helped each country maintain political stability, effectively prevent and fight crime, develop infrastructure, tourism and agriculture. He noted that the parties have promptly addressed arising problems and promoted trade. Both Hun Sen and his Lao counterpart underscored the need for the countries to enhance their multi-faceted co-operation to reach higher economic growth and maintain security and friendship in the Development Triangle Area. At the end of the summit, the PMs signed the CLV 9 joint statement and passed a list of 15 priority projects calling for investment in the development triangle area. The leaders also witnessed the signing of an agreement on trade promotion and facilitation in the CLV Development Triangle Area. The tenth CLV Summit will be held in Viet Nam in 2018. VNS ROME Viet Nam expects that its friendship and multifaceted co-operation with Italy will develop more practically and effectively for the interests of both nations, President Tran ai Quang has said. At a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Rome yesterday, President Quang stressed that Viet Nam highly values Italys position in the region and the world at large. For his part, PM Renzi said Italy also appreciates Viet Nams role and position in the region and the global arena. Host and guest highlighted the great efforts made by Vietnamese and Italian ministries and agencies in realising cooperation agreements and projects, helping to develop the bilateral relationship in a more comprehensive and sustainable way. They agreed to increase the exchange of high-ranking delegations and meetings between Vietnamese and Italian ministries, agencies and localities, while effectively deploying dialogue and co-operation mechanisms in politics, economy, defence and science-technology, along with action programmes on collaboration in culture, education and training. The leaders consented to raise two-way trade to US$6 billion in the next two years and create optimal conditions for Italian businesses to invest in the fields of mechanical manufacturing, new materials, nano- and bio-technologies, energy, food and timber processing, garments-textiles and leather footwear. They affirmed that the Vietnam-Italy Business Forum, which was held the same day, will contribute to boosting economic, trade and investment links between the two countries. The leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, and agreed to continue their coordination and reciprocal support at multilateral institutions such as the UN, ASEAN, EU, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and UNESCO. Italy backs Viet Nams efforts to strengthen its all-round co-operation with the EU. In turn, Viet Nam stands ready to act a bridge to connect Italy with other ASEAN nations as well as the Asia-Pacific region. The leaders emphasised the need to address disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means on the basis of respecting international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, soon finalising a Code of Conduct in the East Sea, and ensuring freedom of navigation and aviation in the sea. At the end of their meeting, the two leaders witnessed the exchange of co-operation documents signed during President Quangs visit to Italy. Earlier, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter hosted a farewell ceremony for President Tran ai Quang and his spouse who then left Rome for Milan and the Lombardia region in northern Italy. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam and Australia agreed to improve cooperation in the agricultural sector during their first high-level dialogue on agricultural policies in Ha Noi on Tuesday. Le Quoc Doanh, deputy minister of agriculture and rural development, said agriculture plays an important role in Viet Nams socio-economic development, contributing to about 20 per cent of the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2015, Viet Nam shipped agricultural products worth US$500 million to Australia and imported agricultural products of the same value. However, both nations have not fully exploited their own potential, Doanh said. Viet Nam wants Australia to facilitate the export of products from Vietnamese enterprises to Australia as well as continue sharing its experience in policymaking to promote bilateral trade in agricultural products, the deputy minister said. Doanh said Australia is an important partner in agricultural development. The two countries have co-operated to implement programmes such as clean water in rural areas and response to climate change, especially in vulnerable areas such as the Mekong Delta and in many coastal regions. The dialogue is an opportunity for both countries to settle policy obstacles, improve market access for each others agricultural products and discuss ways to boost product quality, said David Parker, deputy secretary of Australias department of agriculture and water resources. Australia and Viet Nam have collaborated to improve agricultural policies and livelihood and for human resource development in the agricultural sector and in rural areas, he said. Viet Nam exported $17 million worth of fruits and vegetables to Australia in the first nine months of 2016 and imported $35 million worth of the same from Australia. The country is Australias 15th trading partner, while Australia is Viet Nams 8th. Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown rapidly, from $32.3 million in 1990 to $5.1 billion in 2013 and $6 billion in 2014. VNS HCM CITY You can probably recall, with some tangible discomfort, the last time you felt a strong urge to urinate. Imagine that urge nonstop. Welcome to overactive bladder syndrome (OAB), a syndrome that can bring you on the verge of mental breakdown. N.T.A, 23, has been in the throes of OAB for almost two years. She has gone to many clinics and been diagnosed with a whole range of diseases and received treatments accordingly, yet, her condition has failed to improve. Recently, she went to Binh Dan Hospital and was told that her condition didnt respond to medicine, and surgery was indicated. Life altered The condition started back in the beginning of last year, when she felt a sharp abdomenal pain as well as a constant need to urinate and an equal inability to pass urine. She soon found herself in emergency care. Local doctors said she had a urinary tract infection and prescribed some drugs which made her able to urinate again. But after the prescription ended, the frequency of the need to urinate increased abnormally, up to 30-40 times a day. Totally devastated, she decided to take a leave from university since she was unable to go to school. By last August, I felt the need to urinate a hundred times a day. The need arose every 10-15 minutes. In merely one year, I lost more than 6kg from stress and hopelessness, she said. I went to Binh Dan hospital, where doctors said my condition is called overactive bladder syndrome. The drugs I took only reduced the times I need to urinate back to 25-30 times a day. And then the doctors tried injecting drugs directly into my bladder, she added. 16 per cent of the population affected According to Dr. Huynh oan Phuong Mai, from Binh Dan Hospitals Department of Female urology, the patient is a prime example of OAB syndrome wherein bladder dysfunction causes a frequent, sudden and unstoppable need to urinate. The adult bladder volumes max capacity reaches about 350-500ml, however, in those who suffer from OAB, just a small amount of urine in the bladder will trigger the need to go to the bathroom which will not otherwise. Mai said that surveys conducted in the U.S. and European countries revealed that about 16 per cent of the population are affected on some level. In Viet Nam, according to a survey done by Viet Nam Urology & Nephrology Association (VUNA) in 2014, the rate is roughly the same. While the syndrome itself doesnt pose any direct risk for the patients health, it intrudes in their work, daily activities and social lives. Its embarrassing, not many are willing to talk about it. The patients will likely suffer from stress, sleep disorder, heightened anxiety and depression, which will likely exacerbate the situation. According to Mai, doctors need to do detailed screenings, examinations and imagings in order to find the exact causes for repeated urge to urinate and incontinence (leakage of urine). Many diseases feature the same sets of symptoms, like urinary tract infections, benign prostatic hyperplasia (in males), neurogenic bladders, prolapsed bladders (in females), urinary tract obstructions, bladder stones or tumors, among others. In these cases, proper medicines will be administered. If, however, no apparent causes were found, then the diagnosis is idiopathic overactive bladder. According to Mai, patients need behavioral and lifestyle changes, quitting smoking, caffeine, tea, sodas to lessen bladder contractions. Kegel exercises, bladder-holding practices, perineal massages to help restore normal contractions are also recommended. If these measures fail, second and third-line treatment will be available. Prescription of oral medicines for 4-6 weeks will help to relieve the symptoms proving effective for 80 per cent of patients. Medicines can also be injected directly to the bladders wall to relax its muscles, improve capacity. Surgery is amenable to cases where repeated medicine injections still dont prove any success, the patients bladder will be removed and replaced with a new one (neobladder) that is grown out of a piece of patients own intestine. VNS ALEPPO, Syria Syrian pro-government forces pushed deeper into rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Tuesday, forcing civilians to flee to southern neighbourhoods to escape the onslaught as the regime pressed an assault to recapture the entire city. Recapturing east Aleppo would be the governments biggest victory yet in Syrias five-year conflict and deal a potentially decisive blow to the opposition. The city was once the countrys economic powerhouse, but it has been ravaged by the war that has killed 300,000 people since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011. Military aircraft dropped leaflets over east Aleppo, urging rebels to distribute food to civilians, leave the area and allow residents to do so too. Government forces pounded the area with air strikes and barrel bombs as ground troops advanced in the key eastern district of Masaken Hanano, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A week into the latest round of fighting for the city, the regime controls around a third of the district, the Observatory said. The area has been shelled heavily during the war, and many residents had already fled, but the latest fighting prompted even the last holdouts to leave. Milad Shahabi, a member of the local council, said that residents were fleeing to southern parts of the opposition-controlled east. Masaken Hanano was the first Aleppo district to fall to rebels in 2012, and it is strategically vital. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said that if regime forces manage to take the district they will be able to "cut off the northern parts of rebel-held Aleppo from the rest of the opposition-held districts". Trapped civilians At least 143 civilians, including 19 children, have been killed in the citys east since the latest assault began on November 15, according to the Britain-based monitor. Another 16 civilians, including 10 children, have been killed in rebel fire on government-controlled western Aleppo, it said. It added that residents of eastern districts had suffered from "suffocation" after four barrel bomb attacks and that medical officials suspected a chlorine gas attack. The Organisation for the Prohibition for Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that the regimes key backer Russia had offered it "samples" relating to an alleged chemical attack in Aleppo. The global watchdog tasked with destroying chemical weapons is probing more than 20 reports of the alleged use of toxic arms in Syria since August. Government troops, backed by Lebanons Shiite Hezbollah group and Russian and Iranian forces, are battling rebels on several fronts inside opposition-held districts. Irans veterans affairs office said that more than 1,000 combatants sent from Iran to fight in support of President Bashar al-Assad had been killed in the conflict. Tehran has sent military advisers, as well as fighters recruited from Afghanistan and Pakistan, to work with Assads forces. The renewed fighting comes amid international concern for the fate of more than 250,000 civilians trapped in besieged rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Despite searing international criticism, there is little sign that the government advance will be halted. Now its too late For the past four years, Aleppo has been divided between the government-controlled west and rebel-held east, which has been sealed off from the outside world since the army surrounded it in mid-July. No food aid has entered since then, and locals suffer severe shortages of food, fuel, electricity and water. Rebels have tried several times to break the siege, without success. The UNs aid chief Stephen OBrien on Monday slammed the use of sieges in Aleppo and elsewhere. In remarks to the Security Council, he said nearly one million Syrians were living under blockade. Emile Hokayem, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said there was very little the world could now do to prevent the whole city falling to pro-regime forces. "You cant send weaponry in any more, all the supply roads are cut, and you wont intervene from the air because of the costs and the risks," he said. "There was a time to do something about Aleppo... but now its too late." Russia, meanwhile, accused the UNs Syria envoy of torpedoing a Security Council resolution to revive peace talks between the regime and opposition. "The United Nations in the form of its special representative Staffan de Mistura has been sabotaging the resolution for more than six months," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. The resolution calls for "holding inclusive Syrian talks without preconditions", he said. And in Washington, the Pentagon said a US drone strike had killed a senior Al-Qaeda leader in northwestern Syria. The November 18 strike near Sarmada targeted Abu Afghan al-Masri, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said. "He had ties to terrorist groups operating throughout Southwest Asia, including groups responsible for attacking US and coalition forces in Afghanistan and those plotting to attack the West," Cook said. AFP The world is increasingly connected through not only smart phones and email, but new and hungry gadgets, such as webcams, sensors, and monitors, which demand an ever-larger slice of the bandwidth pie. Ali R. Butt, professor in the Department of Computer Science in Virginia Techs College of Engineering, was recently awarded a $516,000 grant to examine how to keep those gadgets from depleting the cloud computing bandwidth that the internet currently depends on. We are now just beginning to experience living super-interconnected lives, said Butt. Imagine five or 10 years from now when we will live in smart houses that use all kinds of sensors to monitor your safety, adjust the cooling or heating, and many other little devices and things that are only beginning to be used. These things require valuable computing abilities and information on the cloud to work properly and be useful." Butt, who also holds a courtesy appointment in electrical and computer engineering, is the principal investigator on the collaborative research project. He is partnering with Muhammad Shahzad, assistant professor of computer science from North Carolina State University, to design new techniques for massive data management and processing in the cloud, as well as study the actual nodes computers use to transfer information. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation. Butt will also enlist graduate students from the department to augment the research team: Jamal Khan from Islamabad, Pakistan; Arnab Pau from Habra, India; and Luna Xu from Shanghai, China. "What we want to do with this grant is to figure out a way to, instead of deluging the cloud with every bit of information from millions and millions of devices, divert only the necessary information to the cloud through an intermediary device that will put less strain on the main network, said Butt. This type of tiered processing in the network has been dubbed fog computing by some in the industry, such as router giant CISCO Systems, due to the placement of new computing ability in between the devices and the actual cloud computing data centers. Currently, gadgets that utilize sensors to interact with other gadgets process over 10 billion cloud transactions per day on a network dubbed the Internet of Things (IoT). The concept is relatively new and is just beginning to be defined in the field of computer science. Butt will mimic bandwidth loads from gadgets by using small networks of inexpensive Raspberry Pis, components that are tiny computers costing about $35 each, and were used in the award-winning interactive art project SeeMore, collaboratively produced with the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology. The project aims to undertake the fundamental task of collecting and detailing fine-grained monitoring of the robustness and usage statistics of the rapidly growing IoT. Fine-grained monitoring requires that the IoT service providers have to acquire, transport, store, and process exponentially increasing amount of data that must be managed or monitored. The bandwidth necessary to run a George Jetson-style house on an IoT network will be increasingly taxed according to Butt.So, it may not be the canine companionship of Astro that ends up being mans best friend in an increasingly connected world. Reliability may come to be defined as the fast processing and regular amount of bandwidth available to a population that depends on gadgets to do everything from brewing the morning coffee to monitoring critical health issues. Written by Amy Loeffler WATERLOO Landscaping for the University Avenue reconstruction in Cedar Falls and a Korean War exhibit at the Grout Museum district were big winners of gaming grants approved by the Black Hawk County Gaming Association on Monday. The nonprofit organization that holds the Iowa Casino Hotel Waterloos gaming license gives out 5.75 percent of the casinos adjusted gross revenues to nonprofit and public projects. The association awarded $450,000 to the city of Cedar Falls for the University Avenue reconstruction now underway, including pedestrian and bicycle safety and accessibility improvements. Plantings, sitting benches, bus shelters, sidewalk-trail connections, bike racks, brick pavers and trash cans are all part of the landscaping improvements, said Stephanie Houk Sheetz, interim Cedar Falls community development director. The landscaping grant applies to the entire length of the project, which is being done over several years. City officials estimate the total landscaping cost at $1.5 million. Sheetz said the city applies for grants wherever possible to defray costs. Were happy we were successful with this one, she said. The city also received a federal grant about a year ago for safety improvements in the vicinity of University Avenue and Cedar Heights Drive. The gaming association also awarded $210,000 to the Grout for a Korean War history exhibit. It will be open through July 2017, and major elements will be incorporated into the permanent Korean War exhibit within the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum. The project also is being funded by $500,000 from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. The Grout hopes the Korean War project will be as successful as the similar Vietnam project, said Cyd McHone, the Grout districts director of development and marketing. We will be using these funds to expand our veterans oral history project to include more Korean War veterans from all over the state, McHone said. The Grout video-records veterans telling their stories for a permanent record. Grout Veterans Project Coordinator Bob Neymeyer said the exhibit will honor the roughly 540 Iowans who died in that war. The Gaming Association also awarded the following grants: $17,669 to Friends of Fontana Park for a winter bird wildlife display building at Fontana Park & Interpretive Nature Center near Hazleton in Buchanan County. $12,000 to Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy Center of Waterloo for a program called Refugee Empowered Access to Community Health, a program to train interpreters in the health care system so they can better aid Burmese refugees. $3,781 to the city of Hudson for a fire department boiler system. WATERLOO Local police are warning shoppers to use extra caution when removing money from ATMs. Ahead of the Black Friday shopping event, authorities in Waterloo and Cedar Falls discovered skimming devices had been placed on ATMs in both cities. This time of the year, be careful of what you put your card into, said Capt. David Mohlis with the Waterloo Police Department. Thieves place skimmers over the card slots of ATMS, and the devices are designed to capture information from the cards magnetic strip. After a day or so, the thieves retrieve the skimmer and download its data. Mohlis said he didnt know if the devices used in Waterloo and Cedar Falls are capable of also recording the PIN number when it is entered. Earlier this month, Cedar Falls police received numerous calls about fraudulent charges on credit cards. Investigators determined the victims had used the same ATM and eventually retrieved video showing a suspect installing a skimmer on the ATM at Farmers State Bank, 515 Main St., Cedar Falls. Police said the device was placed around 11 a.m. on Nov. 13 and removed at 5:21 p.m. that same day. Cedar Falls police released surveillance video footage of the suspect. Waterloo police received similar fraudulent charge complaints, and they traced the activity of the ATM at Farmers State Bank, 224 W. Sixth St., Mohlis said. That device was installed at 6 a.m. Nov. 12 and retrieved at 5:17 p.m. on Nov. 13. We are starting to get multiple reports from people that money was taken out of their accounts, Mohlis said Wednesday. Mohlis cautioned residents to review their ATM and credit card statements for suspicious activity. He also said shoppers should take a second look at the card slot when they go to an ATM. He said the skimmers are designed to look like part of the machine but actually sit a little higher on the ATM compared to the normal card slot. He said a skimmer might also appear to be a loose card-reading slot. It looks like if you pull on that thing, it will probably pull out, Mohlis said. He said the suspect in the Cedar Falls incident appears to be a different person from the Waterloo incident. Anyone with is asked to call the Waterloo Police Department at 319-291-4340, the Cedar Falls Police Department at 319-273-8612 or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at 855-300-TIPS (8477). Tips may also be left at WWW.CVCRIMESTOP.COM Tips may also be sent with TipSoft or by texting the word CEDAR plus the information to CRIMES (274637). WATERLOO A Waterloo native has pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the December 2012 slaying of a Des Moines resident in a case that has been lingering on the court docket for almost four years. Orlando Deon Moore Jr., now 30, entered his guilty plea to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and an added charge of first-degree robbery in the shooting death of Anthony Gardner in Waterloo. Moore originally was charged with first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life prison sentence without the possibility of parole under Iowa law. Voluntary manslaughter has a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison with no mandatory minimum, and first-degree robbery carries up to 25 years in prison with 17 and a half years before parole. Under the plea agreement, Moore will be given consecutive sentences for a total of up to 35 years in prison with a 17-and-a-half year minimum. Sentencing will be at a later date. Moore wont be given credit for the almost four years he has spent in jail awaiting the outcome of his case, prosecutors said. Under Iowa law, voluntary manslaughter denotes taking a life as the result of sudden, violent and irresistible passion resulting from serious provocation. The robbery charge was added because Gardner, 26, was shot during an argument over money, said Black Hawk County Attorney Brian Williams. According to court records, Moore and Gardner were involved in an argument on Albany Street on Dec. 22, 2012. Moments after the argument, about 2:40 a.m., witnesses reported hearing gunfire, and authorities found Gardner on the porch of 343 Albany St. He died at the scene. Police pulled over Moore a few blocks from the scene. Moores prior record includes a March 2005 incident where he allegedly shot a parked vehicle. CEDAR FALLS The Iowa Board of Regents will have a busy couple of days on the University of Northern Iowa campus the first week of December, which will culminate in the selection of a new president for the Cedar Falls university. The Board of Regents will meet on the UNI campus Dec. 5 and 6. The meeting will combine its regularly scheduled end-of-year meeting with finalist interviews for the four UNI presidential contenders. The presidential search committee will meet for what should be the final time Dec. 5. It will assess the candidate visits from the week before and then will discuss the finalists with the Regents. The regents board will conduct its own interviews with the finalists Dec. 6. Each interview will be in closed session and each is expected to be 90 minutes. Two will be conducted in the morning, and two will be conducted in the afternoon; the board will then assess the candidates and announce its selection. The board is tentatively scheduled to announce its selection around 4:30 p.m. Dec. 6, but the members may discuss the finalists for longer. The presidential search committee held its first meeting in August after UNIs 10th president Bill Ruud announced in May he took a job as president at a small liberal arts college in Ohio. He left in July, and UNI Provost Jim Wohlpart has been serving as interim president since. During the two-day meeting the board also will set the tuition rates for the 2017-2018 school year. The board is considering a 2 percent increase in undergraduate tuition rates. Annual tuition for a full-time resident student would increase $142 to $7,240 at UNI and Iowa State University. The increase would boost costs to $7,270 at the University of Iowa. The board heard from students during its October meeting. They laid out a concern with how the three public universities treat out-of-state students differently. UNI student body president Hunter Flesch said a survey done by Northern Iowa student government showed support for the idea of predictability in tuition levels each year. But students were much less receptive when it came to the proposed 2 percent tuition increase for next year. The majority said they would not support the increase because costs get more and more every year, he said at the October meeting. The board also will vote on fees during its December meeting. The proposed mandatory fee increases vary by university. At UNI, they would grow by $32 or 2.64 percent to $1,243. Room and board would bring the estimated total to attend UNI for resident students to $20,192, or 1.5 percent more than the current year. WATERLOO A 30-year-old senior assisted living facility is closing its doors. Officials at Ridgeway Place, which has operated in the south end of the former Schoitz Hospital building at Kimball and Ridgeway avenues since the mid-1980s, told residents and staff Tuesday the facility will close in February. About 74 residents live there. Its a very, very sad day, a tragedy for all the men and women, 74 residents, said Carolana Magsamen of Waterloo, whose uncle lives at Ridgeway Place. She attended the meeting of residents and family members where the closing was announced. Some residents were crying, she said. The operators of Ridgeway Place indicated they will help residents find alternative housing Our primary concern is our residents well being, a statement from Ridgeway Place said. In an effort to provide ongoing support and information regarding the relocation process for residents of Ridgeway Place, we will host an open house where residents and family members may meet with representatives of other assisted living and continuum-of-care communities, gather materials and receive a detailed summary of the transition process. The owners of Ridgeway Place declined comment beyond the statement. Magsamen said officials at the meeting stated operation of the facility is no longer viable, and they were unable to find an entity to take it over. They were very, very sorry, Magsamen said. She said residents and family members were told Ridgeway Place will host a pair of open houses at which information on living arrangements at other facilities will be presented. At least one senior living organization, Western Home Communities of Cedar Falls, said it is already receiving inquiries from family members of Ridgeway Place residents. Western Home Communities spokeswoman Linda Bowman said her organization would do whatever it could to assist Ridgeway Place residents, indicating at-home care in private homes may be one option. Thats a lot of people looking for new homes on a pretty short time line, Bowman said. Our hearts go out to them and their situation. And its a tough time of year before the holidays and the onset of winter. Donna Harvey, director of the Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging, headquartered in the same building as Ridgeway Place, said her staff will be available to assist residents and family members. She said they can stop at agency offices or call (866) 468-7887. The closing statement was issued by Franciscan Ministries of Wheaton, Ill., which leases the 70,000 square foot Ridgeway Place from the building owner, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Iowa, which operates Covenant Medical Center, Sartori Memorial Hospital in Cedar Falls and Mercy Hospital in Oelwein. Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Iowa was acquired by Mercy Health Network of Des Moines May 1. Both entities Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and Franciscan Ministries were, until recently, operated by the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters of Wheaton, Ill. In an October 2015 press release, the Wheaton Franciscan Sisters announced plans to transfer all Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and Franciscan Ministries entities to other organizations in 2016. Magsamen said Ridgeway Place residents and family members were told Tuesday those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful regarding Ridgeway Place. Magsamen said she is just beginning to look for alternative arrangements for her uncle. She encouraged Ridgeway Place residents and family members to share information about other housing arrangements. Residents were told the closing date was Feb. 14. Q: If the winner of the presidential election is incapacitated or dies between Nov. 8 and taking the oath of office on Inauguration Day, who would become president then? A: Heres an explanation from the U.S. National Archives: If a candidate dies or becomes incapacitated between the general election and the meeting of electors, under federal law, the electors pledged to the deceased candidate may vote for the candidate of their choice at the meeting of electors. Individual states may pass laws on the subject, but no federal law proscribes how electors must vote when a candidate dies or becomes incapacitated. ... As to a candidate who dies or becomes incapacitated between the meeting of electors and the counting of electoral votes in Congress, the Constitution is silent on whether this candidate meets the definition of president-elect or vice president-elect. If the candidate with a majority of the electoral votes is considered president-elect, even before the counting of electoral votes in Congress, Section 3 of the 20th Amendment applies, stating that the vice president-elect will become president if the president-elect dies or becomes incapacitated. If a winning presidential candidate dies or becomes incapacitated between the counting of electoral votes in Congress and the inauguration, the vice president-elect will become president. Q: Are the Cedar Valley Memories books in yet? A: They will be ready in early December. Q: How long is the Great Wall of China? How long was the Berlin Wall? How long is the U.S.-Mexico border? A: The whole of the Great Wall, built during different dynasties, and including natural barriers like rivers or hills, was about 13,170 miles, according to Chinas Administration of Cultural Relics. The Berlin Wall followed a 96-mile zig-zag path. The U.S. has about 1,990 miles of border with Mexico. Q: Who owns the Progressive Insurance Co.? A: It was started in 1937 by Joseph Lewis and Jack Green, became a corporation in the 1960s, and became a publicly held and traded company in 1987. Q: Several of us senior citizens are getting calls from someone saying they are from the U.S. Treasury and if we dont send them money, the FBI is going to arrest us. Who do we report this to? A: Report it to the Treasury at OIGCounsel@oig.treas.gov or call (800) 359-3898. Q: About the oil pipeline being put through Iowa: After the pipeline has been installed, can the farmer continue to farm over it? A: Yes. But many farmers report yields are never the same over the affected land. Q: Did JonBenet Ramseys parents ever take a lie detector test when their daughter was murdered? A: They took two tests, according to a Denver Post report. The results of one were inconclusive, the results of the second said they were telling the truth. By West Kentucky Star Staff Nov. 22, 2016 | 09:32 AM | PADUCAH, KY Three people were injured in a collision Tuesday morning that left a Paducah Area Transit System bus on its side at a busy Paducah intersection.Witnesses told Paducah Police the bus, driven by 82-year-old Vernon E. Gary of Paducah, was going south on 21st Street and ran a red light at Kentucky Avenue. The bus was hit broadside by a westbound car driven by 39-year-old Carrie J. Rains of Benton.The bus flipped onto its passenger side and began sliding, striking a car driven by 26-year-old Samantha Smith, who was waiting in the northbound turn lane on 21st Street. She confirmed to police that north/south traffic on Kentucky Avenue had a red light.The impact of the collision pushed Smiths car into a vehicle driven by 74-year-old Joseph Humm, who was stopped beside Smith at the traffic light.Gary was taken by Mercy Ambulance to Lourdes Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Rains and a passenger on the bus, 36-year-old Katie Harris of Paducah, were taken to Baptist Health Paducah for treatment of their injuries.Original Story:A PATS bus has been involved in a crash at 21st and Kentucky Avenue in Paducah.Paducah Police confirms to West Kentucky Star that there were injuries involved in the four vehicle crash (Original information from Paducah Police indicated that only three vehicles were involved, but they updated their information).Several people were reportedly on the bus during the crash, which was flipped over on its side due to the crash. 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consisting of 2+1 Idebureau, Opland Landskabsarkitekter, Dansk Energi Management & Esbensen and DRIAS Radgivende ingenirer, appointed as winner of the competition for the new Skamlingsbanken visitor centre in southern Denmark. Skamlingsbanken is one of the highest points in the region and has formed the backdrop for some of the most important speeches in Danish history. The ambition is to re-establish this unique historic spot and distinctive ice age landscape as a popular public gathering point. The 113 m high Skamlingsbanken hill gently slopes towards the Little Belt strait and has formed a natural stage for important speeches throughout recent Danish history. Therefore, the architecture competition is about uniting the presence of history with a unique and characteristic landscape in a new visitor centre. ''In our proposal, the centre becomes an integrate part of the landscape'', explains Carsten Primdahl, architect and founding partner at CEBRA, and continues: ''Landscape and exhibition melt together in an architecture that frames, stages and articulates the natural surroundings, and where the visitor experiences a both contemplative and sensuous connection to the area and its history.'' An essential element of the winning proposal consists in the overall exhibition concept ''Nature and voices that unify'', which communicates the forces of nature and speech. Visitors will listen to the voices of advocates for the Danish language, front-runners of the feminist movement and the atmosphere of victory after the ending of WWII. Or they can go through a shitstorm, mimic body language and share opinions on current topics. In this way, the exhibition will communicate the historic events of Skamlingsbanken based on applicable contemporary perspectives and debate socially relevant subjects at the same time. The new visitor centre will function as an architectural gateway that gathers and communicates a variety of visitor experiences. It forms a natural starting point for hikes in the area, from where visitors are guided into the landscape or can turn to the exhibition, the cafe, or the teaching facilities inside the centre. The experiences and knowledge are spread continuously from the building and outwards in the form of a series of destinations, which are placed along a varied route through the scenic landscape. Project Facts Client: Kolding Kommune Location: Sjlund, Kolding, DK Construction: 2017- Size: 500 m2 Architect: CEBRA architecture Landscape: Opland Exhibition concept: 2+1 Idebureau Engineer: Dansk Energi Management & Esbensen og DRIAS Radgivende Ingenirer All images CEBRA > via CEBRA Who doesnt love a good owl? There are few families of birds where despite a cosmopolitan distribution Im always so pleased to see any species of the family. owls arent rare, but they are seldom easy. I can spend months in some locations without seeing a single one, in fact in 10 years in New Zealand although I hear them on a monthly basis I have seen them precisely 3, yes three, times. Can you see them? I did! So imagine my delight to seeing a pair of African Scops-owls on the side of the road on a recent trip to Botswana. And I spotted them, not the guide, a near-first. This was only the second time I had ever seen this species in all my time on the continent. The species is a common one, found from the Gambia to Somalia and from the Sudan to South Africa. But they are hard to see, as you can see from my photographs. Owl number one is sleeping. Note the huge ear tufts Owl number two has opened its eyes a tiny bit, but the pair didnt mind us as we watched them and were still roosting over the busy road several hours later as we went home Such a great sighting If you liked this post and want to see more great images of birds make sure to check out 10,000 Clicks, our big (and growing) page of galleries here at 10,000 Birds. NOTE: Ive been informed these may be Southern White-faced Owls by someone who knows birds better than I do. So, uh, theyre an owl, and Id listen to them about their identity. The death of 4 year old Aaliyah Smith is raising some welfare concerns. This afternoon Lucas County Children Services explained its role in the protecting the toddler. The executive director says they've been involved with the suspect in this case for three years. She has an open case with the agency. Her four kids were taken from her because of abuse. The agency explained why they had no clue she was watching this child. "Once again we find ourselves mourning the senseless death of a child. A death that we suspect maybe related our communities heroin addiction," said Lucas County Children Services executive director Robin Reese. Reese says Bridgett White was not supposed to be caring for 4 year old Aaliyah Smith or any kids. She says that's because White's not fit to be a mom or caregiver. White's four kids were taken from her by the agency because of drug abuse and neglect. "All of them are in some kind of placement. Some are in the legal custody and one is in foster care. Our records say no children live in that home and that's why we are shocked any children were in her care. We are stunned," said Reese. They were stunned when they received a call from police. According to a court document White claimed she was the sole caregiver for the toddler. She admitted to grabbing the victim to punish her during a tantrum then she told police she blacked out and can't remember what happened due to drug abuse. The coroner says the little girl's body has multiple blunt force trauma injuries. Reese says Aaliyah was in the legal custody of a relative. How does legal custody work? "It's up to the legal custodian whether as to whether a child can go and stay with somebody. I can't comment too much on that because we are in the middle of an investigation," said Reese. "Do social workers check in with that legal guardian to see how that child is doing." asked reporter Alexis Means. "No once legal custody is given we close our case," said Reese. Reese says White did have supervised visitation with one of her kids periodically at the agency. White was working to gain custody again. Reese says on three occasions a social worker attempted to visit white, but she never answered the door. "We have not be able to get in her home for a couple of months, but we have seen here at visitation with her own child," said Reese. White is being held in the Lucas county jail on a one million dollar bond. The agency is also conducting its own independent investigation. Nov 23, 2016 | By Benedict A 3D printing facility for fabricating machine guns has been discovered during a series of drug-related raids across Australias Gold Coast. Police found a secret lab where computers, a 3D printer, and drill presses were being used to make automatic submachine guns. Authorities have been warning us for some time that the threat of 3D printed weaponry is real. Using custom-made or downloaded CAD files, potential criminals now have the opportunity to fabricate their own weaponry with a 3D printer, with police unable to track the creation or distribution of firearms made in this manner. But while the warnings have been loud and clear, much of the talk around 3D printed weaponry has been speculation, with law enforcers unable to demonstrate the extent to which additive manufacturing is being exploited to create 3D printed guns. In Australia, however, fresh evidence has shed new light on the murky underground world of 3D printed weaponry. Last Friday, a series of successful drug raids in Queenslands Gold Coast showed that the 3D printed arms trade is very much alive in Eastern Australia, with police discovering four homemade weapons, described as Uzi-like submachine guns, at a secret 3D printing facility. During the series of raids, the search team also discovered narcotics production equipment and drugs, including cannabis, GHB, and steroids. Two men, aged 30 and 33, are assisting police with their investigations into the 3D printing facility. While a discovery of four 3D printed weapons may not sound hugely significant, reports suggest that the 3D printing facility, located in the Nerang suburb of the Gold Coast, was of a highly sophisticated nature. According to police, the production facility itself was comprised of computers, a 3D printer, and drill presses, while other items to be found at the site included the four 3D printed automatic submachine guns, silencers, ammunition, a replica handgun, a .45 calibre pistol, other weapon-making equipment, and a pill press. Although it is not yet clear whether the 3D printed submachine guns are as effective as traditionally built weapons of a similar type, the discovery of the secret 3D printing facility has given authorities some cause for alarm. The weapons seized are yet to be tested, Det Supt Jon Wacker reported. However, weapons of this type have the capacity to fire hundreds of rounds of ammunition a minute. In the wrong hands they present a significant threat to the public. Perhaps most alarmingly, first appearances suggest that the 3D printed submachine guns have already been fired. "These firearms still have to undergo ballistic examination by our Queensland Ballistic Unit, Wacker said. "However, on site there is evidence to suggest these firearms have been discharged. Reassuringly, Queensland police believe that the raids will now signal the end of a complex drugs and weapons trafficking network spanning the Gold Coast. According to Wacker, carrying out the raids on Friday may also have helped to prevent the widespread distribution of narcotics to young students in the city, who are currently celebrating the end of the school year. Five people have been charged with drug offenses and two others arrested. Posted in 3D Printing Technology Maybe you also like: 3DGunsAreBS wrote at 8/5/2018 6:07:26 PM:There is no such thing as a 3D printed gun. Some gun parts can be made this way but only those seeing the least stress, and then even those are subject to sudden failures. 3D printed gun parts are also more expensive than real gun parts, inferior in every way. No one has managed to make a complete firearm out of 3D printed gun parts. They can make non working models and replicas, essentially toys. But all the critical parts must be made of steel, never plastic. It is far easier for criminals to follow traditional routes to getting guns than it is for them to waste loads of money and time on this 3D Gun hoax.boyd the destroyer wrote at 12/1/2016 3:05:25 AM:look up boyds advanced weapons technology e book on indigogo for bad ass 3d printed ar15Steve C. wrote at 11/29/2016 5:55:38 PM:If these were 3d printed where is your expert? Where is the proof. Just cause you found a 3d printer there does not mean it was used to make a complete gun. Laser centering is the only way to make metal parts and its super expensive. Get a clue and report correctly and stop trying to scare the public!Matt Chadsey wrote at 11/24/2016 9:52:14 PM:Picture clearly shows a sheet metal and rivet construction sub gun with the only possible 3d printed parts shown being the magazine well and the pistol grip! The pistol is clearly machined steel as evidenced by the worn areas of the finish showing metal underneath. What gives? I know this is a summary of a news article, I would hope that the editors could engage in some more analysis and critical thinking!John Browning wrote at 11/24/2016 1:03:00 PM:The submachine guns pictured are from a DIY book titled 'Expedient Homemade Firearms' written by British pro gun activist PA Luty in 1997. Many of these designs, made from steel box section tubing have been seized in Australia over the past few years. They need almost no tools to construct and are designed to be made by anyone with a drill and a hacksaw. https://homemadeguns.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/p-a-luty-expedient-submachine-gun-examples/yru wrote at 11/24/2016 12:44:28 AM:Ban the drill presses and 3D printers! And common sense.Shrubbery Gump wrote at 11/23/2016 8:38:03 PM:More gun BS, the machine gun isn't printed !!! Doh, lets see, metal barrel, metal receiver, metal trigger parts. Yeah ALL 3D printed. I suppose if a nuclear lab has a 3D printer, then by token the whole facility is 3D printed. Will you STOP this idiot gun fantasy reporting. A lathe and drill are easier to obtain and operate than a 3D printer, but guess they are only used to make ice creams...... Piss poor journalism again...... Nov 23, 2016 | By Julia Divergent 3D, the company which brought us the first 3D printed supercar, Blade, has just become a new contender in the world of custom motorcycles. Meet the Dagger: the bold new superbike with a 3D printed chassis, unveiled last week at the annual LA Auto Show. Built on a custom frame using 3D printed nodes with carbon tubing, the Dagger recalls the same technology that formed the basis of Divergent 3Ds earlier 3D printed supercars. Company CEO Kevin Czinger boasts that the unique carbon fiber structure is 50% lighter than traditional motorcycle parts, meaning a safer, sturdier frame for the road. A huge leap from the original Kawasaki welded tube frame, The Dagger features a cross-over X and an extra thin rear arm that runs down to the bottom of the 200-plus horsepower Kawasaki H2 engine. Currently, Divergent 3D is focusing its 3D printing resources mainly on the frame: the tank, swingarm, and trellis frame are entirely 3D printed, but the motor is straight from the original Kawasaki H2 supercharged sportbike. The Dagger marks a key shift for Divergent 3Ds strategy: expansion into two-wheeled territory. Up until now, we knew Divergent 3D best for the Blade, a 3D printed supercar unveiled last summer. Since then, the San Francisco-based company has joined forces with larger auto manufacturers like the French PSA group, with the aim of bringing 3D printing to the automotive world. We did it just to show we can do a very wide range of very cool vehicles, Czinger explained of the new superbike release. The partnership with PSA group is to bring about standard vehicles built on our technology in the next few years. Not the first motorcycle to employ 3D printing in its manufacturing process, the Dagger joins the likes of Airbus 3D printed APWORKS Light Rider and the Energetica Ego, but marks Divergent 3Ds first foray into the world of superbikes. The shift in strategy may be more important for Divergent 3D than the Dagger model itself, which currently lacks fenders, bodywork, dash, headlights, and other road gear. Still, the 3D printing startup is keen to show how far its manufacturing platform has come. Czinger told media that the Dagger shows Divergent 3Ds manufacturing process has potentially limitless applications: "we have a front end where we can develop a vehicle within a wide range, from a motorcycle to a truck. According to Czinger, Its a platform that will allow you to design, manufacture and assemble a wide range of vehicles. Blade 3D printed supercar Ultimately, Czinger hopes to revolutionize the road by creating a more diverse automotive landscape. Key to this is the more easily accessible supply chain afforded by the 3D printing process, which opens the door for smaller companies to contend with major manufacturers. "The ultimate vision is years from now, because of lowered costs, were going to go from tens of car companies globally to thousands using this platform," he said. As a potential new industry standard, Divergent 3Ds printing process shows how creative and diverse and divergent you can be if you have the tools and a low cost way to build cool stuff." Expect a lot more of that creative engineering in the months and years to come. 3D printed chassis parts on display Photos from Divergent Technologies Inc. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Nov 23, 2016 | By Julia Just in time for the holidays, German confection company Katjes launches the Katjes Magic Candy Factory, the worlds first 3D printer for gummy candy, this week across UK shopping centres and online. Earlier this year, we saw Katjes partner with Uruguayan 3D printing software company Sur 3D to create their own software for 3D printing Katjes gummies. Previously available only in Berlin, Dubai, Dublin, and the US, the Katjes Magic Candy Factory lands in England, Wales, and Scotland starting this Thursday. Candy lovers will be able to 3D print edible shapes, messages, hand-drawn designs, and even selfies in one of eight gummy flavours of their choosing. The unique sweets will be printed on the spot, in front of customers tantalized eyes, in under five minutes. Promptly ushering in a new era of 3D printed edibles, the Katjes Magic Candy Factory is the first food safe 3D printer on the market. Ingredients are combined to create a special quick drying gummy substance, which solidifies once printed from the FDM-style 3D printer. Flavours currently include black currant, lemon, strawberry, and green apple. The confectioned 3D prints cost about 10 a pop. Katjes Managing director Melissa Snelgrove is confident that the unique interactive experience will dazzle shoppers of all stripes. Snelgrove invented and developed the Katjes Magic Candy Factory specifically for the widest market possible: the 3D printed gummies are vegan, allergen free, gluten free, gelatine free, and Halal and Kosher friendly. The sweets are also all made with natural colours and flavours from real fruit and vegetable extracts, Snelgrove told press, so candy lovers of all persuasions can enjoy the custom-made treats. Celebrities like Heidi Klum, Elijah Wood, and Tom Hiddleston are quickly catching on to the tasty trend. According to the Katjes website, this is just the beginning, with plans to expand across Canada and the Middle East soon. Bastian Fassin, Managing Director of Katjes German division, has also said that wherever the Magic Candy Factory goes, there will be a favourite candy to suit any palate: Today we are in Berlin, and it will be the Brandenburg Gate in mango flavour. Tomorrow were in London, and it will be the Buckingham Palace in strawberry cream, and then we are in Manhattan and it probably will be donut flavour and the Brooklyn Bridge! Look for the official launch of Katjes Magic Candy Factory at the St. Davids Centre in Cardiff on Friday, December 2nd. Posted in 3D Printing Events Maybe you also like: R wrote at 11/25/2016 5:15:17 PM:Not the world's first, a place in New York City has had this for a long time. https://www.dylanscandybar.com/personalized-candy/3d-candy-printing.htmlI.AM.Magic wrote at 11/24/2016 8:48:34 AM:make kids fatter !! yay Elizabeth Zerofsky at Harper's Magazine: Resentment toward career politicians is potent and perhaps even more deeply rooted in France than it is in the United States. Functionaries are a class defined and regulated by laws of the state, i.e., themselves. Only 8 percent of French citizens say they trust political parties, and 88 percent believe the political class doesnt care about people like them. I can feel so much anger in the country, Vincent Martigny, a political scientist at the Ecole Polytechnique who recently published a book on the discourse of French national identity, told me. There is rejection of all sorts of traditional authority. People think establishment figures are all lying. And there is a rejection of some forms of political realityall sorts of dodgy websites that part of the electorate believe are saying more true things than traditional media. President Hollandes Socialist government is the most unpopular administration of the postwar era; one columnist recently joked about sending Hollande to prison for mediocrity. Among the mainstream-right party, Les Republicains, the lineup for the presidential election opens like a high-school yearbook of the establishment: Alain Juppe, a former Prime Minister and current mayor of Bordeaux, is expected to win the primary. He is seen as a moderate and a unifierthe likely next presidentand has been in politics for several decades, yet he presents himself as a new figure, especially to young voters who dont recall his time in national government during the Nineties. (Its mad but true, Martigny said.) In the last few days, Juppes challenger Francois Fillon, another former Prime Minister, has climbed in the polls. And on Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron, a thirty-eight-year-old former economy minister, announced his candidacy as an independent; while he offers a young, modernizing, and optimistic voice, he will have a hard time distancing himself from his classically establishment background. Juppes main competitor is the former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been running such a stridently nationalist campaign that Jean-Marie Le Pen recently declared him to the right of his daughter. more here. Giles Harvey in The New Yorker: Like TVGoHome, Black Mirror is powered by an engine of speculative dread. As an anthology show, it is made up of stand-alone episodes, each featuring its own fictional world and cast of characters. Some episodes use existing technologies as the basis for their nightmare scenarios. What if an Anonymous-style group of hacktivists began blackmailing members of the public with unsavory snippets of their Internet browsing history? What if a popular cartoon character, controlled by an actor at the helm of a live-motion-capture system, successfully ran for Parliament on an anti-establishment platform? Others entertain unsettling day-after-tomorrow hypotheses. What if people had a microchip embedded in their necks that recorded their lives and allowed them to replay memories at will? What if there was a software program that enabled a bereaved person to communicate with a lost loved one by creating an avatar using the deceaseds digital footprint? The show, which first aired in Britain, on Channel 4, in 2011, became an international hit, with licensing rights sold in more than ninety territories. In 2014, Netflix acquired exclusive U.S. streaming rights for the first two seasons. Last year, Brooker and his longtime collaborator Annabel Jones signed a contract with Netflix to make twelve new episodes. (The deal was reportedly worth forty million dollars.) Black Mirror answers to a mood of global unease about the breakneck pace of technological development; Brookers audience already knows what it is like to witness the sudden arrival of the futureor, as he put it in his weekly column for the Guardian, to recognize how nuts-deep into the future we already are. Last month, on the day the third season was released, a cyberattack crashed several popular Web sites, including Spotify, Reddit, and Netflix. On Twitter, Stephen King described Black Mirror as terrifying, funny, intelligent. Its like The Twilight Zone , only rated R. Zadie Smith considers it one of the best things to appear on British TV in decades. Its the ultimate commentary on shit television by virtue of being head and shoulders above everything else, she wrote in an e-mail. It reminds me of TVGoHome in that its formed out of a sort of exquisite rage, but its also so terrifically and fully imaginedthe speculative fiction element is sublime. More here. Your guide to the tastiest foodie happenings going down this week. Bon appetit! Babu Ji Opens on Valencia Babu Ji, the Indian restaurant from husband-and-wife duo Jessi and Jennifer Singh, opened its doors on Valencia street earlier this week. The restaurant, which has two other locations (the original in Australia and one in New York), brings a modern, playful twist to Indian dishes with menu items such as Colonel Tso's Cauliflower, an Indo-Chinese style cauliflower dish with tomato chili sauce, sesame and onion seed, and chives and the Unauthentic Butter Chicken marinated in yogurt, tomato, ginger and garlic with a fenugreek curry. Yum. // Closed Tuesdays, 280 Valencia St (Mission). babujisf.com Red Dog's New Winter Menu Chef Lauren Kiino of Red Dog Restaurant in SoMa has rolled out a new winter menu. New standouts include the Jerk Spiced Salt Spring Mussels with coconut-jalapeno fry bread, roasted honeynut squash and ricotta tortellini with hazelnuts, spinach, and sage brown butter, and the Clifford-free Red Dog Cioppino with local seafood, tomato broth, grilled bread and uni butter. Comfort food at its finest here. // Open Daily, 303 2nd St (SoMa). reddogrestaurant.com Fine & Rare's 3RD Annual Crab Feast What better way to celebrate Dungeness season than with Fine & Rare's 3rd Annual Crab Feast? Get your claws on unlimited crab, salad, garlic noodles, bread, and bottomless beer or mimosas. If this sounds too good to be true, it absolutely isn't. That is, unless tickets sell out, which they will. All proceeds will be donated to the Golden Gate Salmon association. // Saturday, December 3rd, 555 Golden Gate Ave (Civic Center). Get tickets here. [instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BMuvlz6BrhN/?taken-by=masonpacific&hl=en expand=1] Mason Pacific Starts Brunch Mason Pacific launched brunch last week. Chef Max is giving some delicious reasons to get out of bed on the weekends, including a sourdough waffle with maple and bacon, smoked trouth with crispy potato and braised leeks, NY strip steak and eggs, and of course, an avocado toast. Another brunch option is always welcome in San Francisco. // 10am-2pm, Saturday and Sundays, 1358 Mason St (Nob Hill). Masonpacific.com New Chef in at Salt House Chef Evan Gotanda is now at the helm of Salt House in SoMa. Gotanda, who is of Japanese descent and grew up in Los Angeles, has worked for some of the best chefs around the world, including Kyle Connaughton and Ludo Lefebvre. New menu item highlights include a Emmer & Co heritage chicken with stuffing, quince, pomegranates, yams, and brussel sprouts, and a foie gras creme brulee with huckleberry shrub, figs, spices nuts, and falafel bread, which sounds insanely delicious. // Open daily, 545 Mission St (SoMa), salthousesf.com Civil Eats Celebration Join a cornucopia of chefs, farmers, and food makers as they pay tribute to almost eight years of Civil Eats' independent food journalism. Civil Eats, which won publication of the year in 2014 from the James Beard Foundation, enlists over 100 contributors to help shine light on the American food system, publishing stories daily. Alice Waters will speak at the benefit, and you'll have an opportunity to hear from Editor-in-Chief Naomi Starkman. // 6:30pm-9:30pm, Tuesday November 29, 969 Market St (Mid-Market). Get tickets here. Auditor's offices do plenty of preparation before Election Day Chairman's Address to Shareholders Brisbane, Nov 23, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Orocobre Limited ( ASX:ORE ) ( TSE:ORL ) ( OROCF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to provide the Chairman's Address to Shareholders at Annual General Meeting 2016. Our focus in recent years has been to build successful projects. We are now embarking on the journey to build a world leading lithium and chemicals company. To get there, your board and the senior management team is maintaining a radar like focus on the following key success factors: - Ensuring that we deliver on the promise and potential of Olaroz. - Developing our borax resources to become a meaningful and reliable contributor. - Living by the principals of shared value, through the pillars of education, health, sustainability and employment so that we are respected as a vital member of the Jujuy, Salta and Argentine communities. - Continuing to invest in our people and their culture of integrity, transparency, problem solving, commitment and sustainability. These are the foundation stones by which we will continue to build our Company. I am pleased to report that we finished FY16 in a strong position with many significant achievements. Through sheer hard work and innovation, our team at Olaroz led by Cristian Saavedra has brought to market the first new lithium brine production facility in approximately 20 years. Many of you here today have shared that journey with us and know the many challenges that we have faced and overcome. With the knowledge and experience accumulated along the way, we are confident we can expand Olaroz to a possible 42,500 tonnes per annum, with potential commissioning as early as late 2018. Much has been written about the growing demand for lithium and the supply response, some informed, much not. We developed our view of the market some time ago and remain confident that the fundamentals for lithium remain strong, underpinned by growing demand for electric vehicles, power storage and mobile devices. We estimate that supply will not be so readily available and that the supply response will be slower and more expensive than anticipated. Experienced observers of commodity markets recognise these characteristics and we do not believe lithium will be different. Incumbent producers are clearly advantaged and this augurs well for Orocobre. Whilst Olaroz had made significant progress and enjoyed buoyant market conditions, our borax business continued to face tough market conditions in South America, particularly in Brazil, with intense competition from the world's two major producers of borax products. Collectively this has kept prices at cyclical lows. As shareholders would expect the Borax management team led by Ivan Gomez, responded by implementing significant operating and structural improvements, restoring margin in the second half, but more importantly developing a pathway to grow and expand our operations and realise the undeniable value of our resources. We are seeing some indications that pricing for borax products may be recovering from the low point in the cycle. With our production expansion plans, cost reduction targets and competitive advantages in local markets we are well positioned when economic conditions and market prices recover. In the year, we raised additional equity capital twice. Now with our current funding and Olaroz performance, we intend to fund any further expansion from the combination of operating cash flow and the potential divestment of low priority assets. In particular, over the next few years we should see Olaroz repay loans and bank guarantees to Orocobre. These funds will support Orocobre in achieving our growth aspirations and the ability to pursue the opportunities that buoyant markets always provide. In the absence of any other opportunities we have no plans or need to raise further capital. I would like to thank the shareholders who have supported us through the capital raising processes that allowed us to debottleneck our Olaroz operations and continue to ramp up production. We will work hard over the next few years to repay the confidence you have placed in us. We are planning the next stages of growth for our company with confidence and the experience of already operating in Argentina. The Macri Administratio n has laid the groundwork for the economic revival of Argentina through several reforms including floating the Peso, reduction of export duties and import restrictions, and the removal of capital transfer restrictions. For Orocobre, this has made our operations more competitive and should expedite the delivery and lower the cost of our planned expansion. I mentioned earlier that part of our philosophy is to live by the principals of shared value. We are proud of the contribution we make to the communities in which we operate, and we take our responsibilities seriously. Our businesses in Argentina employ over 500 people directly and we further support our communities by purchasing locally and employing local contractors and services. We are confident that we create sustainable operations through our actions in the areas of health, safety, environmental management and social inclusiveness. However, we recognise we can improve our communication of these activities. To rectify this, we have commenced a project to overhaul our reporting on these areas over the next 12 months. I look forward to keeping you updated on this. Most AGM addresses consider the issue of executive remuneration. There has been much written this year about soft targets, short term incentive rewards for average performance and the disconnect between shareholder and executive return. The boards' expectations of Orocobre executives are demanding with extensive periods required away from home and family and many anti-social hours. Our remuneration structure must respond to these demands. That said we apply a simple philosophy at Orocobre. In disappointing, below par or low growth years': bonuses will be hard to find. However, in years of achievement, pleasing shareholder returns and growing profits and cash flows we will be generous in the rewards earned by our executives. In this way, we seek to retain absolute alignment between shareholder and executive returns. James Calaway retired as Chairman of Orocobre in July. He made an enormous contribution to Orocobre through his vision, passion and leadership. There is no doubt that following James as Chairman means there are big shoes to fill. In paying tribute to James, I would also like to welcome Leanne Heywood to your board. Leanne joined Orocobre only recently after a career with Rio Tinto characterised by real "hands on" experience of mine site operations and major commodity markets. About Orocobre Limited Orocobre Limited is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange ( ASX:ORE) ( TSE:ORL) (OTCMKTS:OROCF), and is building a substantial Argentine based industrial chemicals company through its portfolio of lithium, potash and boron assets. In partnership with Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) and JEMSE, Orocobre has built and is now operating the world's first commercial, brine-based lithium operation constructed in approximately 20 years. In 2018 Orocobre announced the Stage 2 Expansion of its flagship Olaroz Lithium Facility in Argentina. The Stage 2 Expansion will add 25,000 tpa of lithium carbonate production capacity, taking full production and capacity to 42,500 tpa of lithium carbonate for sale to industrial, technical and battery markets, positioning Orocobre as one of the world's largest and lowest cost lithium chemicals producers. Additionally, Orocobre and Toyota Tsusho Corporation have commenced construction of the 10,000 tpa lithium hydroxide plant in Naraha, Japan. The construction of the Naraha Lithium Hydroxide Plant will further cement Orocobre's position as a global lithium chemicals producer operating at the bottom quartile of the lithium cost curve. This new hydroxide plant will be the first of its kind in Japan and will provide Orocobre product diversification suitable for different battery technologies and the potential for significant margin growth on our primary lithium carbonate being converted to battery grade lithium hydroxide. Company Presentation Brisbane, Nov 23, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Orocobre Limited ( ASX:ORE ) ( TSE:ORL ) ( OROCF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to provide the company's Annual General Meeting Presentation held on 23 November 2016. SUMMARY - Olaroz operating revenue of US$33.5M for September quarter 2016 - Gross cash margin of US$5,755/tonne - Operating cash cost US$3,579/tonne - Sales de Jujuy S.A. self funded a US$12.8M principal and interest payment for the Mizuho project loan during the September quarter - Production forecast for FY2017 is >15,000 tonnes - Expansion studies on track for target of 35,000 - 42,500 tonnes total production - Borax Argentina September quarter production up 29% quarter on quarter ARGENTINA - REFORMS - THIRD LARGEST ECONOMY IN LATIN AMERICA, MEMBER OF G20 -- Pro-business Macri Administration is delivering changes that will allow the Argentinian economy to grow - FLOAT OF CURRENCY -- Ends the artificially high exchange rate, Argentinian peso (ARS) has devalued by ~50% against the USD since 18 December 2015 - CAPITAL TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS REMOVED -- Allows free flow of capital in and out of the country - REMOVAL OF EXPORT DUTY -- On most agricultural and industrial products including lithium carbonate, refined and mineral boron products - REMOVAL OF IMPORT CONTROLS -- Allows easier and quicker international sourcing of materials and equipment OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OLAROZ PRODUCTION AND GUIDANCE KEY INDICATORS (100% basis) - 2016 FY production of 6,903 tonnes - September quarter production of 3,013 tonnes, with 1,125 tonnes in month of September - Low operating cash cost in September quarter of US$3,579/t - September quarter sales revenue of US$33.5M, gross cash margin of US$5,755/t - December quarter production is forecast to be 3,500 - 4,000 tonnes, FY2017 forecast of >15,000 tonnes - Forecast operating cash cost (FY18) < US$2,500/t - Q4 2016 FOB anticipated pricing net of logistics and commissions ~US$10,000 OLAROZ OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS COMPLETED - Boiler capacity increase - Centrifuges and polishing filters - Heat exchangers - Acid wash circuit/parallel pipes - Flocculant dosing and settling ponds - Cooling in purification circuit - CO2 injection points and diffusor design - Cyclone bank and thickener throughput (currently underway) OPERATIONAL OPTIMISATION - Operational practice - Logistics - Reagent usage - Recovery BORAX OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE IMPROVING - Cash flow positive despite difficult market conditions - The key Brazilian market is showing signs of improvement in volume and price - Tincalayu plant upgrade completed on time and materially on budget in April 2016 - Full production rate now achieved after relocation of the borax decahydrate plant to Tincalayu - Scoping Study underway to expand production from 30,000 tpa to 100-120,000 tpa borax decahydrate equivalent at Tincalayu and 40,000tpa of boric acid. Early indications demonstrate a high level of capital efficiency. SUMMARY - Olaroz is a profitable, low cost, high margin producer - Significant cash to be returned to Orocobre from loans/SBLC - Production volume growth continues - Lithium chemical market to remain in deficit - Olaroz expansion study lifts total production to 35,000 - 42,500 tonnes - Tincalayu expansion study to realize the potential of Borax Argentina SA To view the presentation, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/QYUI4Y88 About Orocobre Limited Orocobre Limited is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange ( ASX:ORE) ( TSE:ORL) (OTCMKTS:OROCF), and is building a substantial Argentine based industrial chemicals company through its portfolio of lithium, potash and boron assets. In partnership with Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) and JEMSE, Orocobre has built and is now operating the world's first commercial, brine-based lithium operation constructed in approximately 20 years. In 2018 Orocobre announced the Stage 2 Expansion of its flagship Olaroz Lithium Facility in Argentina. The Stage 2 Expansion will add 25,000 tpa of lithium carbonate production capacity, taking full production and capacity to 42,500 tpa of lithium carbonate for sale to industrial, technical and battery markets, positioning Orocobre as one of the world's largest and lowest cost lithium chemicals producers. Additionally, Orocobre and Toyota Tsusho Corporation have commenced construction of the 10,000 tpa lithium hydroxide plant in Naraha, Japan. The construction of the Naraha Lithium Hydroxide Plant will further cement Orocobre's position as a global lithium chemicals producer operating at the bottom quartile of the lithium cost curve. This new hydroxide plant will be the first of its kind in Japan and will provide Orocobre product diversification suitable for different battery technologies and the potential for significant margin growth on our primary lithium carbonate being converted to battery grade lithium hydroxide. Isaac Plains Site Visit Brisbane, Nov 23, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Stanmore Coal Limited ( ASX:SMR ) is pleased to provide the press release regarding Isaac Plains Site Visit. STANMORE COAL - COMPANY OVERVIEW The business at a glance: - Independent coal company with focus on coking coal - Isaac Plains operational with ramp-up achieved -- 1-2Mtpa sales opportunity (FY17 1.25Mt) -- December 2016 quarter SSCC settled at USD 130 per tonne -- Mining, port and rail contracts in place -- Mid-range of international coking coal cost curve - Isaac Plains represents the Company's platform asset -- Circa $350m of replacement-cost assets -- Dragline, CHPP, conveyors, train load out and other infrastructure 100% owned -- Approvals in place for up to 4.0Mtpa ROM -- Primarily coking coal with secondary thermal coal for export - Multiple acquisition targets and internal projects for Stanmore to capitalise on -- Grow internal production and operational capability -- Focus on coal quality, reliability and creating value where others can't or won't DEVELOPMENT HISTORY - THE HISTORY OF ISAAC PLAINS - Located near Moranbah in the heart of the Bowen Basin, 172 km from Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) via Goonyella rail line - Commenced production in 2006 as a truck shovel operation - 4.0Mtpa run of mine (ROM) production approvals currently in place - Dragline operations commenced in 2011/2012 following the purchase of a Bucyrus BE1370 - Coal Handling and Prep Plant (CHPP) designed with a nameplate capacity of 500tph, with adjoining product stockpile, conveyors, train load-out facility, rail loop - Sold into major steel mills primarily in Japan and Korea, producing a semi-hard and semi-soft coal product - Placed on care and maintenance late 2014 SITE OPERATIONS - CONTRACTING STRUCTURE PRINCIPAL CONTRACT OVERVIEW - Head Contractor paid on a rolled-up rate basis a, which requires assumption of certain efficiency and operational risks -- Waste rate ($/bcm) covering blasting and all overburden removal. Golding operate and maintain Stanmore's dragline (maintenance sub-contracted to G&S Engineering) as part of their overburden operations -- Coal mining rate ($/bcm) covering mining and transport to the CHPP utilising Golding mining fleet -- Processing rate ($/feed t) covering operation of the CHPP and TLO - Sub-contractors engaged for specific work requirements with direct reporting lines to Golding DRAGLINE - STANMORE OWNED - Dragline purchased in 2006. Relocated to site in 2008 and originally refurbished and recommissioned 2011 - Contractor is responsible for planning and carrying out minor maintenance of the dragline. All maintenance activities are based on a plan developed jointly between Golding and Stanmore - The dragline for the project to date has been operating at +16 million bcm per annum COAL HANDLING & PROCESSING PLANT - STANMORE OWNED - Designed nameplate feed capacity of 500tph - "Dry" Rejects (i.e. no tailings dam) - System uses: -- A 2 Stage Dense Medium Cyclone -- Jamieson Cell technology -- Teetered Bed Separation - Overall CHPP performance and throughput has improved over time given capital investment and learnings from the plant STRONGER PRICING OUTLOOK - CONTINUED STRENGTH IN COKING COAL MARKET - Contracted December quarter reflecting trend in spot market -- Hard coking coal USD200 (up USD107.50 from Sep QTR) -- Semi soft coking coal USD130 (up USD56 from Sep QTR) -- Thermal coal USD94.75 (up USD30.15) - Coking and thermal spot markets continue to remain tight - hard coking over USD300/t, semi-soft coking coal over USD140/t and thermal coal USD100/t - Low coal prices for a number of years have led to significant underinvestment - lack of development assets and lead time for new production suggests limited supply response to higher pricing To view tables and figures, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/L330P0J3 About Stanmore Coal Limited Stanmore Coal (ASX:SMR) is an operating coal mining company with a number of additional prospective coal projects and mining assets within Queensland's Bowen and Surat Basins. Stanmore Coal owns 100% of the Isaac Plains Coal Mine and the adjoining Isaac Plains East Project and is focused on the creation of shareholder value via the efficient operation of Isaac Plains and identification of further local development opportunities. Stanmore continues to progress its prospective high quality thermal coal assets in the Northern Surat Basin which will prove to be valuable as the demand for high quality, low impurity thermal coal grows at a global level. Stanmores focus is on the prime coal bearing regions of the east coast of Australia. Top 100 firmDixon Hughes Goodman (DHG) recently announced a new partnership withFAARM.org- a non-profit organization that brings portable solar lanterns to those in need - andRestoringTouch Inc.- a non-profit "dedicated to improving lives with practical acts of compassion" - in order to bring solar-powered lights to Hopi and Zuni tribal people of Arizona and New Mexico. The partnership coincides with Native American Heritage month, held annually in November. There are so many daily luxuries we take for granted, such as turning on a light to read, to cook or to simply have a conversation in our homes," said Tricia Wilson, DHG Foundation president, per a statement. "Many of us think that just because we live in the United States having electric light is a given, but it isnt. Millions of people live off the grid or with intermittent electricity. They rely on dirty fuels that poison the air and the people around them. We are proud to partner with FAARM and RestoringTouch Inc. to make an impact on the health and well-being of the Hopi and Zuni people while honoring our DHG values and Native American Heritage Month. The donated solar lights,SolarPuffs, offer anaffordable, long-lasting light source made of recycled materials. "We are thrilled to be working with Dixon Hughes Goodman, FAARM and Solight Design on such a worthy mission to bring much-needed clean, sustainable light to tribal families," stated Jack Lankhorst, CEO of RestoringTouch, Inc. "The Hopi and Zuni children need light to do their nightly homework, and theSolarPuffswill allow them to do so without breathing toxic kerosene fumes. Each year, approximately two million children die from kerosene fumes and fires. No one needs to live like that, not in America, not anywhere. The Hopi and the Zuni are traditional people who live very close to the earth; these lights are perfect for their families and we could all take a lesson from these tribes. For more on Dixon Hughes Goodman, head to the firm'ssite here. (Bloomberg) Vinci SA fell victim to a fake release claiming the French builder had fired its finance chief amid accounting irregularities, prompting the stock to plunge before the company denied the report. Bloomberg News was among the few news organizations to report from the false statement. We are a victim of a hoax, spokesman Paul-Alexis Bouquet said on Tuesday, denying that the Paris-based company had released any statement. Although the companys website hadnt been hacked, technically speaking, fake statements had been sent in the companys name, he said. Investors were caught off guard after the publication of a release saying that Vinci had discovered an accounting error and had fired Chief Financial Officer Christian Labeyrie. The shares plunged 18 percent, the most in more than 17 years, before Bouquet said the report was false. Vinci will file a complaint about the incident, the spokesman said. Vinci recovered to end the day 3.8 percent lower at 58.80 euros. The Tax Court has allowed the entire amounts of $4 million and $7.3 million paid to sons of the founders of a concrete contracting business deductible as reasonable compensation. In the case of H.W. Johnson, Inc., T.C. Memo 2016-95, the court also ruled a payment of $500,000 to a company controlled by the brothers was ordinary and necessary to compensate their company for securing a concrete supply at preferential prices. Compensation must be reasonable to be deductible under section 162 of the Tax Code. The Ninth Circuit, which would hear an appeal on this case, applies five factors to determine the reasonableness of compensation: (1) the employees role in the company; (2) a comparison of compensation paid by similar companies for similar services; (3) the character and condition of the company; (4) potential conflicts of interest; and (5) the internal consistency of compensation arrangements. After weighing these factors, the Tax Court concluded in May that the amounts paid to the sons, Bruce and Donald, were reasonable and deductible under section 162. During 2003 and 2004, Bruce and Donald together managed all aspects of their parents business, H.W. Johnson, Inc., which was one of the largest curb, gutter, and sidewalk contractors in Arizona. Operations were split into two geographical divisions, eastern and western, with each brother managing a divisions operations. Bruce and Donald each supervised more than 100 employees in their respective divisions, including superintendents and foremen, and worked 10 to 12 hours a day, five to six days a week. They were at the job sites daily and regularly operated equipment while there. The brothers were readily available if problems at a jobsite arose and were known in the local industry for their responsive and hands-on management style. The Tax Court found that Bruce and Donald were integral to H.W. Johnsons success during the years at issue. Under their management, H.W. Johnsons annual contract revenue increased dramatically, from approximately $4 million in 1993 to over $38 million in 2004. Therefore, the court concluded, the compensation they received was reasonable, and deductible under section 162. Angola, South Sudan deepen trade ties with mining protocol The government of Angola has entered into a mining agreement with South Sudan to deepen exploration and trade between the two countries in the areas of training, laboratory, negotiation of mining contracts and policy. These areas could be converted into a protocol that could be signed shortly between the two ministries, said the Angolan Minister of Geology and Mining, Francisco Queiroz, at the end of a meeting with South Sudanese counterpart Gabriel Thokuj Deng. The Angolan official said it is a cooperation that could be very advantageous for Angola, since South Sudan is a country rich in minerals and could be an investment opportunity for Angolan companies that want to expand their investment area. He said that the investment could also be advantageous for Sudan because Angola has a long experience in mining, as an example the National Geology Plan (PLANAGEO). "We have a model of exploration of natural resources that was the basis of the reconstruction of the country, it is a model of success and we can convey ideas about it", he said. Even without protocol, said the minister, South Sudanese technicians will be able to come to Angola so as to work with Angolans and get trained in various areas. Meanwhile, South Sudanese minister Gabriel Thokuj Deng said that Angola was the first country chosen by his government to visit and gain experience in mining. Our meeting was based on our need to learn and gain experience with Angola, he said. "This meeting laid the foundations that will allow us to briefly sign a protocol of cooperation between the two ministries. We have instructions for the two technical teams to start working immediately so that the agreement is implemented as soon as possible", he said. The South Sudanese official is paying a four-day working visit to Luanda since Monday. In the country, the South Sudanese delegation will exchange experiences in the framework of the strategy of the Angolan government for the Geology and Mining sector, visit the headquarters of the Catoca Mining Society in Luanda, to learn about its functioning and the Geongol laboratory. www.mgm.gov.ao mpmisouthsudan.org Anand Halve, Co-founder, Chlorophyll, breathed his last today morning. The ad industry veteran had donned several hats brand and marketing consultant, culture follower, author, poet, teacher, student, #musafir. Kiran Khalap, MD and Co-founder, Chlorophyll, took to Twitter to share the news of Halves untimely death. Khalap wrote: The chlorophyll community grieves the untimely death of its cofounder, father of brand planning in India & friend to millions: Anand Halve. Here is how the industry reacted to the news: An IIMA post-graduate, Halve co-founded Chlorophyll, a brand consultancy, along with Khalap in the year 1999. Prior to this, he was with Enterprise Nexus Communications and also had a brief stint at Lintas. Halve has also authored books like Planning for Power Advertising (2005), AdKatha: The Story of Indian Advertising (co-authored, 2011) and Darwin's Brands: Adapting for success (2012). Over 300 million women in India daily undergo psychological trauma of having to defecate in open fields. The film titled Khushboo throws light on this disturbing fact by showing a frighteningly painful story based on a real incident that had happened in Jharkhand. Set in a rural town, on a wet, rainy dawn, the film shows a man putting his daughter to sleep. In the background, we hear the voice of the young daughter tell her father how he used to give her everything that she ever asked for, except for one thing that she had asked for as she grew older. She had begged and pleaded for it. She even gave up food. But the father refused to fulfill her wish, saying that he was saving money for her marriage. As the fathers gentle patting turns into repeated thumps, we realize all is not well. The girls voice finally says that while her father had put her to sleep always, this one time, she was going to sleep by herself. As we see the suicide note that she had left behind, we realize that the father had actually lost his mind and was patting his dead daughter all along. The father breaks down finally and starts crying bitterly while still thumping the shoulder of his dead daughter. As the camera pulls up we see the noose hanging from the fan and a lullaby begins to emerge in the sound of rain. To the haunting melody in the background, we learn that the girl Khushboo committed suicide because her father did not build a toilet in the house. We also learn how over 300 million women in India are going through similar trauma every single morning of their lives. The film directs the audience to visit the ProjectHers.com website and sign a petition that will influence the government to create a new law: If you have a house, you must have a toilet. The film ends with the logo of Project Hers that shows the typical sign on womens loos with a noose sign. Speaking about the film and the project, Titus Upputuru, the writer and director behind the film, says, That a girl gave up her life because she did not have an access to a toilet was unbelievable. We went online and found many other cases where women give up their lives. Thats when we began this petition through Project Hers. While I know there is a lot of education that the government is doing about how everyone should use a toilet, the fact is about 60% of Indias population does not have an access to toilet facilities. This film and Project Hers attempts to address this issue. Head of Office: Harjot Narang Planning: Narayan Devanathan, Paroma Ganguly and Anupriya Prakash Writer/Director: Titus Upputuru Creative/Design team: Neharika Awal, Auryndom Bose, Chinmoy Bhowmik, Nitin Gupta, Vandana Pant, Deepali Aggrwal Agency Producer: Dawa Lama Producer: Abhishek Notani Production House: Chrome Pictures Music: Arjuna Harjai Director of Photography: G Srinivas Reddy Digital Agency: WebChutney Digital Team: Tanvi Jain, Adhir Anand DSP BlackRock Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd, one of the premier asset management companies in India, today announced the launch of its new multi-platform investor education campaign Aap thoda karoge, bahut aage badhoge. Conceptualized by ad agency Publicis Capital, the ad campaign aims at encouraging people to spend time to take informed investment decisions and empower themselves with the right knowledge or guidance to do so. The campaign uses humor to bring out how people typically behave and showcases their thought processes to cleverly bring out a simple insight. Practicality, a common-sense approach and the effort that one puts in even without thinking much to handle simple, everyday situations, if applied to learning about investing as well, can result in a truly prosperous life. This multi-platform ad campaign is part of a comprehensive and innovative investor education initiative comprising of a combination of traditional and modern media including outdoor, television, digital and social and will be released in a phased manner. DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund will utilize the audio-visual ad format with a range of five films along with a still-advertisement format for outdoor and digital media to urge people to make a small start today, by learning about investing and mutual funds. The ad campaign directs the audience to visit the AMCs new gamified investor education portal, dspblackrock.com/learn to start learning and also brings out the role of investment advisors. DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund this week also launched its new investor education portal, dspblackrock.com/learn. This platform will use an innovative gamified approach to enable investors to learn various aspects of personal finance in a way that is relevant and engaging, in a self-timed and self-guided manner. This responsive and device agnostic platform works across desktop, tablet and mobile devices seamlessly. Ms. Aditi Kothari Desai, Head - Sales, E-Business and Marketing at DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund, said, As a digital-focused asset management firm, DSP BlackRock is committed to helping the maximum number of Indians become smarter investors by helping them make better informed decisions about their money and investing. This is why we launched our new investor education portal recently and welcome the addition of this learning portal to our considerable portfolio of websites, including our new corporate website dspblackrock.com and the B2B and B2C transactional websites, dspblackrock.com/ifaxpress and dspblackrock.com/invest. Now, the first step even before the actual education process is to build awareness regarding the need to think about investing and subsequently devote appropriate time and attention to this activity. Our hard hitting advertisements across various topics will help our audience think about the need for investing and about mutual funds and hopefully inspire them to make a start today. Mr. Abhik Sanyal, Head - Consumer Marketing at DSP BlackRock, said, Aap thoda karoge, bahut aage badhoge, or #aagebadho, is based on the simple insight that we all have the drive and ambition to do something big, but its misdirected at times towards frivolous activities. When done right and channelized correctly, the same effort, the same small steps taken today can propel one towards incredible prosperity tomorrow. Our slice-of-life advertisements are only the first part of the puzzle though. While this campaign will help people identify the need to think about investing, our new investor education portal dspblackrock.com/learn will help the user continue the journey towards becoming smarter investors, so that when they speak with an investment advisor, they would already have some amount of knowledge. Agency Credits for the Investor Education Campaign Advertising Agency: Publicis Capital Creative Team: Dheeraj Renganath, Natwar Singh, Swasti Ray & Namrata Patnaik Client Servicing: Hemant Misra, Suraj Pombra, Anish Raghu, Garima Mundra Films Team: Jignesh Maru, Pooja Talwar Production House: Native Films Director (film): Jaydeep Sarkar Producer: Prithvi Luthra, Surashmi Basu, Radhika Puri Media Agency: Motivator (Television), Milestone Brandcom (Outdoor), VML (Digital) Below are the TVC links for the ad- Campaign for your kind perusal- Mobile/ Mutual Funds: https://youtu.be/9h4Nm68wHAc Holiday/ Retirement: https://youtu.be/OyA6zEBTqmY Shoes/ Diversification: https://youtu.be/T6MxfRHh4AY Dance/ SIP: https://youtu.be/0ANaFR1_fnU Dating/ Financial Advisors: https://youtu.be/dV9zdzHNnbg Relationships transform when we spend time with our loved ones especially while traveling. Mastercard values and understands the transformative power of travel and believes that they can create enduring moments that bring out the best in us. #TravelTransforms is a new multimedia campaign by Mastercard in partnership with Yash Raj Films (YRF) that is aimed at rewarding travel enthusiasts and their loved ones with Priceless Surprises. As part of the campaign, Mastercard will invite people to share stories on how travel has transformed their lives and relationships. One lucky winner will win a three nights and four days curated stay in Paris. The last day for participating in the contest is 30th November 2016. The campaign was kicked off on Facebook featuring the star cast of next YRF release Befikre - Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor. The multi-media campaign will run across TV, cinema screens, and will have a very strong focus on digital. Mastercard is also planning to run Virtual Reality promotions for the campaign. Today, Indian consumer is fast evolving, seeking new travel and lifestyle experiences. The campaign is in continuation to a series of initiatives that will take Mastercards Priceless Surprises platform to a whole new level. We want to bring the best of experiences and delight for our cardholders that money cannot buy. By surprising them through rediscovery of themselves or their loved ones through travel is one such measure, said Parag Bhatnagar, Vice President, Marketing, South Asia, Mastercard. We are delighted to partner with Yash Raj Films and their upcoming movie Befikre as it seamlessly integrates with our philosophy of travel transforms he added. I am extremely excited to be a part of the campaign as it aptly captures those unexpected priceless moments that become special in our lives. I also firmly believe that travel does transform us in very many different ways and the campaign reiterates the same, said Vaani Kapoor, the female lead for the film Befikre who stars in the campaign video. Ranveer Singh, the male lead in Befikre who also stars in the video along with Vani Kapoor remarked, I am an avid traveler and completely recommend it to everyone. It helps you discover yourself and others around you anew. I loved every moment of being a part of this campaign. Speaking on the campaign Prasoon Joshi, CEO of McCann World Group India and Chairman, said The very purpose of this campaign was to delve deep into the various benefits of travel and how it makes a difference to our lives and relationships alike. It forthrightly brings out that aspect of travel which has been less explored - the ability to transform and bring out aspects of our personalities that we ourselves rarely know. That is the most intriguing and interesting bit of the concept. Travel has always been one of Mastercards key focus areas and the company continually works with travel, tourism and retail partners to bring unique privileges and memorable travel experiences for its customers. According to Mastercards Global Destination Cities Index, global cross-border travel and spending continues to grow at a faster pace than world GDP. With an increasing number of Indians traveling overseas for business and leisure, there is tremendous opportunity to drive cross border spends and ensure in India. As the leading technology company in the global payments space, Mastercard is committed to ensure that we offer safe and convenient payment options to our cardholders. Link to the campaign film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PfMNUK3zGI Airbus Helicopters has delivered the first three of the 11 AS565 MBe Panther helicopters to Indonesia, ahead of contract schedule. This follows the contract signature in late 2014 with PT Dirgantara Indonesia for 11 AS565 MBe helicopters. The delivery of the remaining helicopters will run through to 2018. We are excited to witness the handover of the first three AS565 MBe helicopters to our partner today, said Janick Blanc, Head of the Panther programme at Airbus Helicopters. The AS565 MBe has been developed using state-of-the-art processes and this enhanced variant of the Panther will benefit from an increased maximum take-off weight at 4,500kg. This will provide increased mission capabilities, specifically for the anti-submarine warfare missions these rotorcraft are expected to perform, he added. Under the agreement, Airbus Helicopters will supply the AS565 MBe helicopters to its Indonesia industrial partner PT Dirgantara Indonesia, who will reassemble and outfit these rotorcraft in-country, acting as the design authority. This will notably cover the installation of the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) suite which includes a dipping sonar and torpedo launch systems, allowing the Indonesian Navy to carry out its most demanding missions. This Indonesian MBe Panther programme is the latest of a long-standing relationship between Airbus Helicopters and PT Dirgantara Indonesia, who celebrated their 40 years of strategic partnership earlier this month. The two companies have delivered more than 190 helicopters together, through joint programmes over the last four decades. We have been working with Airbus Helicopters on numerous projects for many years by now, and this milestone today further illustrates the commitment both companies have towards this programme, said Budi Santoso, CEO and President of PT Dirgantara Indonesia. We look forward to receiving these green helicopters in Bandung, as we ready to start the installation of the mission equipment, and the subsequent qualification and certification of our future anti-submarine warfare helicopters, he added. WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Members of the media are invited to take part in a Q&A session with Gabon's former Deputy Prime Minister and Attorney General, Dr. Seraphin Moundounga, on the August 2016 presidential election dispute that prompted his resignation and threatens to undo the longstanding legacy of peace in the Central African nation. When: Monday, November 28, 2016 12:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. Where: The National Press Club, First Amendment Room 529 14th Street, NW, 13th Floor Washington, DC 20045 Who: Dr. Seraphin Moundounga, Former Deputy Prime Minister & Attorney General of Gabon. A former high-ranking government official and member of parliament of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party, Dr. Moundounga abruptly resigned from his cabinet position in the wake of a brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators and unprecedented Human rights' violations early September 2016. The protests were sparked by Pres. Ali Bongo's refusal to concede defeat following the August 31, 2016 presidential election. Dr. Moundounga had to flee the country because of an attempt on his life and multiple death threats. Lunch will be served. To attend, please RSVP by emailing: jcnzamba@gmail.com or gouaf@yahoo.fr. 404.274.3880 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gaamco-presents-qa-on-gabons-disputed-election-with-former-deputy-prime-minister-and-attorney-general-of-gabon-300368167.html SOURCE Gabonese-American Council on Human Rights and Good Governance With enterprise adoption of its platform for creating and managing digital experiences rising, Liferay establishes its base of operations in the region DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Liferay, Inc., which makes software for enterprises, today announced its first official presence in the Middle East with the opening of a regional office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The decision follows years of growing sales and enterprise implementations in the region of Liferay's platform, which helps companies create digital experiences across devices and channels. Liferay is marking the opening of the office with a series of events addressing key trends in customer experience and omnichannel solutions in Riyadh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi on Dec. 5, 6 and 7, respectively. Registration for the launch events is now open at: discover.liferay.com/middleeast. The Middle East has proved to be an important customer base for Liferay, with a significant uptick in interest and adoption of digital technologies occurring in the last five years. Studies such as the McKinsey Middle East Index have found that the region features one of the fastest growing digitally enabled consumer bases, with 100 percent smartphone penetration and more than 70 percent social media adoption. And yet, many private and public sector organizations in the region have struggled to keep pace with digital opportunities. These factors present a regional landscape primed to benefit from the Liferay Digital Experience Platform (DXP), software for creating, managing and delivering digital experiences in context across devices. Because of its nature as a flexible, open source technology able to provide advanced capabilities with a rapid time to market, Liferay is particularly well positioned to help companies take advantage of digital innovations in a quick and agile fashion. The Dubai office will be managed by Moussalam Dalati, who joins Liferay to head continued growth in the region as General Manager for the Middle East. He is tasked with supporting businesses in their digital transformation fueled by Liferay's highly regarded enterprise software. Dalati brings over 15 years of experience in software strategy, sales and technical expertise. Previously, Dalati helped major financial institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) transform and grow their digital operations by adopting leading solutions in the capital markets business. "The opening of Liferay's Dubai office demonstrates our commitment to helping businesses in the Middle East gain ground in digital transformation initiatives," Dalati said. "As a privately owned company with a long-term strategic vision, Liferay has wisely recognized the rich potential for future growth in this region. We're prepared to meet the expanding needs that Middle Eastern enterprises and government organizations have for delivering positive, personal and connected digital experiences to their customers." Liferay will mark the opening of the Dubai office with events in Riyadh on Dec. 5, Dubai on Dec. 6 and Abu Dhabi on Dec. 7. Attendees will meet and hear from General Manager Moussalam Dalati and Liferay CEO Bryan Cheung on the trends impacting digital business growth and transformation in the Middle East today. Sign up to attend by visiting: discover.liferay.com/middleeast. Learn more about Liferay at liferay.com. About Liferay Liferay makes software that helps companies create digital experiences on web, mobile, and connected devices. Our platform is open source, which makes it more reliable, innovative and secure. We try to leave a positive mark on the world through business and technology. Companies such as Adidas, Carrefour, Cisco Systems, Danone, Fujitsu, Lufthansa Flight Training, Siemens, Societe Generale and the United Nations use Liferay. Visit us at www.liferay.com. PR CONTACT: Edmund Dueck edmund.dueck@liferay.com WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 15, 2016, Siegfried Maybank Leadership Program held its "Create Your Future" event at the University of Delaware. More than 400 people were in attendance, including nearly 350 students from local middle schools and high schools. Siegfried Maybank Leadership Program was co-founded by Rob Siegfried, founder and CEO of The Siegfried Group, LLP, and Anthuan Maybank, an Olympic gold medalist, educator, and motivational speaker. Their mutual goal was to create a unique program that focuses on helping youth build their individual leadership, enrich their lives, and inspire healthy change in their local communities. As part of the day's schedule of events, both Siegfried and Maybank spoke to the students, their teachers and mentors, University of Delaware leadership, and others in attendance. Siegfried shared his professional and personal journey, while explaining the importance of developing character ethic to build a successful life. "Leadership and success start with you," he said. "If you want to be successful, you need to continue developing your character ethic. Be more thoughtful, ambitious, inspired, respectful, grateful, responsible, and committed." Maybank, who won an Olympic gold medal for the 4x400 men's meter relay, encouraged students to never give up and embrace competition as the greatest opportunity for success. "Every choice leads to a consequence," he said, "which defines a person's characteristics of leadership. We already have a community that portrays intelligence, confidence, courage, and integrity to be our future leaders. All we need to do is maintain the characteristics that will grow and thrive throughout the community, leading to their success." During lunch, attendees discussed the character ethics of great leaders throughout history and carefully considered how they could use these leaders as inspiration to begin developing their own leadership capabilities. Guest speaker EJ Carrion, CEO of Student Success Agency and best-selling author of "Accelerate Your Success," closed out the inspiring day on an enthusiastic note. "You live in a time where you can actually be who you want to be," he said. "It's amazing. You just have to be willing to jump and assemble the parachute on the way down." The event was sponsored by and hosted in collaboration with The Siegfried Group, LLP, Champion Body Strength Training, Junior Achievement of Delaware, and the University of Delaware's Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship. Students from the following schools attended the event: Caesar Rodney High School; Concord High School; Early College High School; Garnet Valley High School; Howard High School of Technology; McKean High School; MOT Charter High School; Nativity Prep; Newark Charter; Newark High School; Rising Sun High School; Serviam Girls Academy; Smyrna High School; St. Ann School; Sussex Central High School; William Penn High School; and Design-Lab School. For more information about Siegfried Maybank Leadership Program, please visit siegfriedmaybank.com. About The Siegfried Group, LLP The Siegfried Group, LLP (Siegfried) is a leading, national CPA firm that helps executives with Effective Leadership and Successful Execution, through leadership advisory and talent delivery services, to better ensure that our clients are "Doing the Right Things, Right." We help People become better Leaders to exponentially improve their Lives. Contact: Karen Campbell (408) 209-2545 kcampbell@siegfriedgroup.com Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161123/442437 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161123/442438 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161123/442439 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/siegfried-maybank-leadership-program-brings-local-youth-together-to-build-individual-leadership-300368043.html SOURCE The Siegfried Group, LLP NEW YORK, November 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Expanding automotive fleet size, rising automobile exports, coupled with increasing government towards infrastructural development to drive Taiwan tire market through 2021 According to TechSci Research report, "Taiwan Tire Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", tire market in Taiwan is forecast to surpass $1.2 Billion by 2021, owing growing automobile production to cater domestic as well as foreign market, coupled with favourable tax policies, and expanding automobile fleet size in the country. Presence of major automobile manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, Nissan, China Motor Corporation, Ford, etc., in the country are also fueling demand for automobiles in the country. Automobile sales in Taiwan exhibited a CAGR of 0.13% during 2011-2015, as sales of automobiles increased from 925 thousand units in 2011 to 930 thousand units in 2015. Moreover, these automobile manufacturers cater to domestic market as well as international market, which is further expected to further drive demand for tires in Taiwan in the coming years. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/663730 ) Browse 11 market data Tables and 19 Figures spread through 107 Pages and an in-depth TOC on "Taiwan Tire Market" https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/taiwan-tire-market-forecast-opportunities/843.html In Taiwan tire market two-wheeler tire segment accounted for highest market share in 2015, and the segment by over the past few years, and the segment is further expected to continueit's dominance in the market in the coming years as well, owing to expanding two-wheeler fleet size and rising sale of two-wheelers in Taiwan. Moreover, two-wheeler sales increased from 639 thousand units in 2011 to 667 thousand units in 2015. Furthermore, northern region was the highest demand generating region for tires within the country, and the regions dominance is further anticipated to continue in the coming years, on account of presence of prominent cities like Taipei City, New Taipei City, Yilan County, Taoyuan County, Hsinchu County, Miaoli County, Keelung City and Hsinchu City in the region. Download Sample Report https://www.techsciresearch.com/sample-report.aspx?cid=843 Customers can also request for 10% free customization on this report. "Taiwan is undergoing a major infrastructure transformation with number of construction projects in pipeline, owing to growing developmental activities being undertaken in energy, communication, transport, water, health and housing sectors across the country. Moreover, demand for tires in Taiwan grew at a stagnant pace over the past few years, owing to growing vehicle fleet size in the country. Furthermore, rising number of automobile exports to neighbouring countries, coupled with growing customer inclination towards purchasing two-wheelers to drive Taiwan tire market during the forecast period.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm. "Taiwan Tire Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", has evaluated the future growth potential of Taiwan tire market and provides statistics and information on market size, structure and future market growth. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities in Taiwan tire market. Browse Related Reports Sri Lanka Tire Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2021 http://www.techsciresearch.com/report/sri-lanka-tire-market-forecast-and-opportunities-2021/654.html Serbia Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021 http://www.techsciresearch.com/report/serbia-tire-market-forecast-opportunities-2021/633.html Latvia Tire Market Forecast and Opportunities, 2021 http://www.techsciresearch.com/report/latvia-tire-market-forecast-and-opportunities-2021/643.html About TechSci Research TechSci Research is a leading global market research firm publishing premium market research reports. Serving 700 global clients with more than 600 premium market research studies, TechSci Research is serving clients across 11 different industrial verticals. TechSci Research specializes in research based consulting assignments in high growth and emerging markets, leading technologies and niche applications. Our workforce of more than 100 fulltime Analysts and Consultants employing innovative research solutions and tracking global and country specific high growth markets helps TechSci clients to lead rather than follow market trends. Contact Mr. Ken Mathews 708 Third Avenue, Manhattan, NY, New York - 10017 Tel: +1-646-360-1656 Email: sales@techsciresearch.com Connect with us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/TechSciResearch Connect with us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/techsci-research Training ISR warriors faster, smarter through mobile apps There are roughly 12,000 intelligence professionals assigned to 25th Air Force, 70 percent have less than five years of military service, and most of those Airmen are millennials; multi-taskers who thrive on high-tech, mobile and innovative training methods. The educators of the 25th AF, Air Force Cryptologic Office (AFCO), in partnership with Air Education and Training Command, have discovered these newest intelligence warfighters require 24/7 access to fast-paced, highly agile training solutions. Through iOS, Android and Windows applications, training specialists are employing innovative technology to simplify complex topics so the Air Force will be in front of technology, not behind it, said Frank von Heiland, of the 25th AF, AFCOs Intelligence Force Management and Training Division. This generation of Airmen live and work on the go. Advances in technology, innovation and creative thinking offer an opportunity to revolutionize how we educate, train and develop our Airmen, von Heiland said. The 25th AF has taken a competency- and proficiency-based approach to education and training. Our new, interactive multimedia instruction combines state-of-the-art presentation technology with graphics, text, voice, video, sound effects and animation to create effective, engaging learning experiences. The 25th AFs intelligence training vision is to focus on people, relationships and innovation. Addressing the needs of todays and tomorrows Airmen is paramount, von Heiland reiterated. We are partnering and collaborating across the intelligence community and major commands within the military to deliver advanced technology to those who need it, in any environment. Training developers are also focusing on more portable learning in response to frequent deployments, strains on the resources of both time and personnel, as well as, the availability of sophisticated technological capabilities. Mobile Applications and Games for Intelligent Courseware (MAGIC) is a 25th AF-sponsored innovative training program designed with the most current technology to make the learning process more engaging and enjoyable for todays Airmen. The applications are unclassified and present difficult-to-learn and highly technical concepts utilizing interactive applications. These applications are designed to be used on mobile devices and personal computers, making training accessible anytime and anywhere. Unlike paper training materials, the apps can be updated at any time. The purpose of these apps and games is to provide an easily accessible, multimedia presentation on materials relevant to analysts since the apps can be downloaded to an Airmans phone and can be utilized at any time, analysts are able to learn on the go, von Heiland said. The creation of app-based, mobile training benefits ISR specialists across the board. According to von Heiland, mobile training will increase comprehension and retention, allow course lengths to be shortened and will create more capable intelligence technicians at a lower cost. Currently, 17 new intelligence training apps are being used in the classroom at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas. Surveys indicate students favor the applications, and instructors are seeing higher test scores. Beyond mobile apps, the training team also employs virtual reality gaming as a training tool, allowing trainees to see and feel like they are in an aircraft or on the battlefield. The team developed a series of aircraft and a city environment for Airmen to explore while achieving knowledge, skills and abilities objectives. Virtual reality allows users to see all aspects of the training they are completing in a realistic, hands-on application. Using virtual reality can build muscle memory and teach trainees to pick up on visual cues, von Heiland said. Trainers are also using virtual reality for emergency training on the aircraft, which is often difficult to teach with a book in a classroom. By changing how 25th AF delivers education and training to intelligence professionals, von Heiland said they are better preparing Airmen to meet the advancing ISR capabilities in future warfare. Through new technology, the Air Force hopes to draw more young Airmen into intelligence fields. We want to teach ISR Airmen in a medium they understand and embrace, von Heiland said. The current and future generations of Airmen are natives of the information environment. In order to have the best intelligence force in the world, we must continue to develop and integrate cutting-edge learning environments and technologies that will transform how they learn their trade. The AGE unit at Travis works as a single meshed unit, combining the 60th and 349th MXSs active duty, Reservists and civilian mechanics. AGE mechanics are the best mechanics in the Air Force, said Willson, explaining the career field. A lot of the equipment Im fixing now is the same equipment I used daily as a jet engine mechanic. I didnt respect it as much then, but I have a lot of respect for it now. The Airmen deal with electronics, fuel systems, air conditioning units; and they work with the systems from start to finish. They are required to have a wide array of skills, working with troubleshooting, schematics, wiring diagrams, hydraulic schematics, flow charts and more. Civilians, air reserve technicians, active duty and traditional Reservists all work together, side by side, on maintaining around 500 pieces of more than 50 different types of equipment here, Young explained. In his travels to other installations, the Citizen Airman said he hasnt seen anything like what they have at Travis and has noticed the positive effect of the total force integration in action. Most bases have so much work stacked up that they have to set deadlines for when pieces need to be done, explained Willson. Here, we dont have deadlines, he continued. Because of the experience of the ARTs and civilians, combined with the active duty Airmen, we have the knowledge to fix things. Everyone learns from each other. We eliminate the need for deadlines. Young said the amount of knowledge brought to the table is invaluable. Our human capital is more than 100 years of experience, its fantastic, he reiterated. New Airmen are able to work side by side with seasoned mechanics at Travis and glean from their years of knowledge on the equipment here, Young exclaimed. You cant put a price on that, he continued. Willson was a 20-year aircraft engine mechanic before he transitioned into the AGE career field. The work they do here is amazing, he said. Willson recalled being blown away his first day in the AGE shop. The first thing I saw when I walked in was all of the equipment that needed to get done that week, he described. I thought, There is no way they are going to get this all done. It was during a phase inspection. I had no idea what AGE entailed before. I just abused the equipment, gave it to them, and got it back as if brand new. The two chiefs explained how both the active and the Reserve units bring strengths to the table. The Reservists and the civilians are my statics and stability for the workforce, Young said. I rely on them for a lot. If you really want to be a true master craftsman in your trade, you have to be at one place at least a decade. With active duty, I can lose someone for a deployment or PCS at any time. However, the stability the Reservists and civilians bring, can also lead to stagnation, Willson explained. Its easy to keep doing things the same way because thats the way its always been done, he said. Thats where we really need the active duty. The active duty Airmen bring in a fresh perspective to the way the shop runs, said Young. When someone comes in from another unit, they can bring in a new way of thinking from another base to keep things fresh. When youre the new eyes, its easy to see ways to improve, he added. Ive learned a lot from the integration of this shop. This is my first time working in an integrated shop. Ive learned so much more about the total force concept here. Here you experience it. Young and Willson teach their troops to think as a singular unit. What makes or breaks an AGE shop is the top and middle management, Willson said. I tell them, Think of this like a family business, what would you do to make this successful? We dont divide, we work together and make sure we get along. Young reiterated with the family concept. We are a family, he said. We all do the same job. We all barbeque together. A couple of the ARTs are our grill sergeants. They are very good at it. The diversity of the work force is what makes the AGE shop at Travis so strong, Young continued. Knowing where each puzzle piece fits, knowing we all complete the same job This is the reality of our Air Force we need Reserves, we need civilians, we need active duty, he said. Morocco and China wants to build a new city in northern of Morocco Morocco is working on a $10 billion project with the Chinese group Haite to develop an industrial city that will host some 300,000 locals. The project envisions a large Chinese-style industrial park on the edge of the Mediterranean, built on about 2,500 acres with room to expand up to nearly 5,000 acres. Moroccos King Mohammed VI has been personally involved in the improvement in Moroccan-Chinese ties that preceded the deal. The King met with president Xi of China during an official visit to Beijing early this year, which led to the signing of a strategic partnership. The park is expected to include both industrial sites and apartment towers. The site will host 300,000 Moroccan employees many of whom will live on site. The plan draws a lot from Chinese development strategy. Chinas reform and opening of the 1980s began special economic zones like Shenzhen in southeastern China, slowly opening the Chinese economy to outside investment. The city-project will be built near Tangiers, Moroccos fifth-largest city, which remains economically backward. Other countries in Africa have tried to copy the Chinese development model, but Moroccos strong infrastructure, its transparent legal framework organizing foreign investments, and its proximity to Europe are extra incentives for Chinese investors. Morocco is just 9 miles across the straits of Gibraltar from Spain. Morocco has made significant improvements to its infrastructure to attract investment. The national highway network grew from 100 kilometers in 1999 to 1,772 kilometers in 2016. Morocco also plans to open Africas first high-speed rail line between Tangiers and Kenitra by 2018. The railroad is expected to reduce the travel time from Casablanca, Moroccos largest city, to Tangiers from nearly five hours to a little more than two. The Chinese looked very carefully at Morocco before they began making such large investments and picked a location to invest, infrastructure was one factor in the investment, Mohamed Boussaid, Moroccos minister of economy and finance said in an interview with the American Media Institute in October. They looked at what Boeing, Peugeot, Ford and other companies were doing before they made their move. According to the Moroccan expert professor el Mostafa Rezrazi, these projects will be very beneficial to both parties, since Morocco has decided to turn east and south and to generate a new multi partnership, and then china is working on its reconstruction of its presence in china based on the chain approach. So both countries will find their interest. The King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, accompanied by Prince Moulay Ismail, visited, on Wednesday, the Antsirabe Mosque which the sovereign re-named after his grandfather late king Mohammed V. The King Visits Antsirabe Mosque Which Sovereign Re-named Mohammed V Mosque On this occasion, the King unveiled the commemorative plate re-naming the Antsirabe Mosque as Mohammed V Mosque, which was renovated pursuant to the sovereigns instructions. Afterwards, the King performed Tahiyatul Masjid prayer at the mosque and donated a consignment of the holy Quran to the president of the committee in charge of managing the Hanafi-Sunni mosque Issack Hassim. The Quran copies, published by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Holy Quran Publication, will be distributed in the different mosques of Madagascar. At the end of this visit, Abdelhak Lamrini, historiographer of the Kingdom, offered HM the King two pictures of late king Mohammed V giving the Friday lecture at the said mosque. The second picture of this album brings together late king Mohammed V, who was leading the Friday prayer, and prince Moulay Hassan who was crown prince back then. For his part, president of the mosque management committee offered HM the King an album of three pictures of the royal family inside the mosque. Pakistani officials said on Wednesday the death toll from shelling by India of a passenger bus and villages along the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir has risen to 11. Waheed Khan, a local official, said an artillery shell hit the bus in the Neelum Valley on Wednesday, killing nine people. The entire Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan, is now a hot zone with firing at Poonch, Rajouri, Kel and Machil, said the army, indicating that a localized response is not enough after repeated incidents. On Tuesday, a soldier was beheaded and two others killed by Pakistani commandos who crossed over at Machil. Just three weeks ago, another soldier was beheaded not far from the spot. Retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act, the army said in a statement. Pakistan committed ceasefire violations in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nowshera sectors of Kashmir. Pakistani army says troops are firing back on Indian military positions. Pakistans military media wing, ISPR, said in a statement that seven people were killed and seven wounded. Lawat is 100 km (60 miles) northeast of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani occupied Kashmir, in the upper belt of Neelum Valley. Tensions in Kashmir have escalated recently with deadly exchanges. Relations between Pakistan and India have been strained for several months, while cross-frontier shelling has intensified leading to deaths of civilians and soldiers stationed along the Line of Control. This is the second time in less than a month that the body of an Indian soldier was mutilated along the LoC. Just three weeks earlier, Sepoy Mandeep Singh was beheaded by militants near the same area. Reports state that one of the militants was killed by the soldiers, but the other one fled back to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The army had reacted angrily to the killings. Body of one soldier mutilated, retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act, it tweeted on Tuesday. India also lodged a protest with Pakistan when the foreign office in Islamabad summoned deputy high commissioner JP Singh on Tuesday to condemn unprovoked ceasefire violations. [dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Supreme Court refused to stay proceedings in cases filed in high courts and lower courts against the demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes. A bench said the petitions in the various courts highlight the different inconveniences highlighted in the various cases filed across the country, maybe some relief can be had by these people. The Supreme Court had refused to shut its door to the frantic and affected public. The court allowed cash-starved co-operative banks to approach their respective High Courts for succour. The Centre, however, maintained that the demonetisation policy, an exercise meant to weed out black money and cripple terror funding, is a success. The Attorney General (AG) said queues in front of banks and ATMs have thinned and normalcy would be restored in the next 20 days. The court also asked whether farmers are able to buy seeds at the peak of the rabi season. The AG informed that alternate arrangements have been made, special teams sent to all the states and the situation will be monitored on an hourly basis. However, reality is totally different. The Supreme Court issued notice to all petitioners on a Centres plea to transfer the demonetisation cases in various courts to either the apex court or a high court, and not to spread it in entire countrys courts. The court will hear in this aspect on December 2. Meanwhile, opposition leaders unitedly marched against demonetization. Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal United, and four lawmakers of the Samajwadi Party, including actor turned politician Jaya Bachchan were present at Mamata Banerjees protest held at Delhis Jantar Mantar. Two hundred opposition lawmakers walked in a single line in the parliament complex on Wednesday morning to show their solidarity with the people queuing outside banks. West Bengal CM, in the second edition of her street protests in Delhi over the governments currency ban, challenged BJP to perform in forthcoming elections win and show. She has vowed to take her protests to other cities, including Varanasi, Narendra Modis parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where elections will be held soon. She has however linked her partys sweep of by-elections in West Bengal to what she called a peoples revolt against the notes ban. The ruling BJP says its excellent performance in three states in the by-elections is a signal that people support PM Modis tough reform despite the hardships it has caused to them because they believe it holds long term benefits for them and punishes the corrupt. Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress (TMC) is a part of a united opposition offensive over the ban on Rs. 500 and 1000 notes in parliament. The opposition parties have disrupted parliament since the winter session began, demanding that the Prime Minister explain the notes ban in the Rajya Sabha. The opposition parties say they will now take their protest countrywide on November 28, coming Monday, giving separate calls for demonstrations and marches. On the same day, the Congress plans to protest in districts and state capitals against what it calls the failure of the government in giving people access to their own money. It will also hold protests in front of banks. At the protest, Rahul Gandhi described the demonetisation as the worlds biggest impromptu financial experiment and said a united opposition is firm on their demand for a joint parliamentary committee investigation into what he alleges was a selective leak about the demonetisation announcement. Biggest corrupts are out for everyone to see. If these 200 MPs worked for their people to ease this tension, they would have been called as National heroes. Opposition MPs from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress, DMK and Left parties participated in the protest. In parliament, they have united to attack the government, disrupting proceedings in both houses as they demanded that the Prime Minister should explain the notes ban in the Rajya Sabha. They have also demanded a vote at the end of a debate on the notes ban in the Lok Sabha. The government has rejected both demands. The Prime Minister was in the Lok Sabha, but the opposition forced an adjournment of the house because their demand for a discussion with a vote was not met. Two weeks of queues and cashless ATMs, Modi wants to assess the mood of the people, directly from them. He sought a rating of demonetisation in a 10-step survey, calling it Jan Jan Ki Baat. Within hours of the PM seeking citizens feedback on the most burning issue on his Narendra Modi (NaMo) application, there were around 10,000 retweets and over 23,000 likes on his Twitter handle. However people from the rural and urban areas who stood in the queues couldnt go online to mention their grievances online. Finally, the PM has asked for ideas and insights after the country has experienced the after-effects of demonetisation. He also wants the app followers who have taken the dipstick survey to inspire friends and family to do the same. To get a 360 degree view of the big ban that has put the nation in queue for two weeks now, I hope the chaos ends somewhere and people can resume their normal routine, else as opposition challenged, BJP will face tough time ahead. (Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com) A London-based British Muslim couple has been jailed for over four years for funding their nephew who was fighting in Syria for the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group. Mohammed and Nazimabee Golamaully, originally from Mauritius, had pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey court to transferring 219 pounds to Zafirr Golamaully, who had travelled from his home in Mauritius to join ISIS. Om Tuesday, Indian-origin Judge Anuja Dhir at the Old Bailey jailed Mohammed for two years and three months and Nazimabee for 22 months. She said Mohammed Golamaully, employed as a hospital executive, was a dedicated extremist at the time, and his wife had acted under his instructions. Its a worrying feature of this case that an intelligent and well respected family man who was regarded as a good neighbour, compassionate work colleague, and loving parent could behave in this way and hold the views you undoubtedly have, she told him. Nazimabee, a law-abiding former IT consultant who was born in London, made the payment. Prosecutors had told the court that before leaving Mauritius, Zafirr had spoken to his uncle on a messaging app asking for help to deceive his parents. He agreed not to tell Zafirrs parents and their money transfer was only discovered during a police investigation into a worldwide network of terrorism funding. In March 2014 Zafirr said: Told them (parents) Im going to get nursing training and that I wont be available for next two weeks. Mohammed Golamaully, 48, replied: The story of two weeks training sounds plausible prior to undertaking humanitarian aid. Soon afterwards Zafirr was in Syria, fighting with ISIS, and attracting attention under the online alias Abu Hud, using social media to offer detailed instructions to others who wanted to travel to Syria. He told his uncle: They taught us military stances, formations and weapons. The pair then discussed how to transfer money. In another exchange, Zafirr said he might be going into battle soon in eastern Syria. His uncle reassured him that he would not say a word to his parents. At the same time Mohammed Golamaully was having secret chats with Zafirrs sister Lubnaa, telling his niece to revolutionise the Islamic concept amongst our close relatives. He told her that a speech by the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was a beautiful speech and very well worded. A Bihar-based businessman, travelling alone in a chartered jet, was apprehended on Tuesday at the airport in Dimapur for allegedly carrying Rs. 3.5 crore in demonetised currency; however the seized currency went missing in just a matter of hours whereas police seized 500 of new Rs. 2000 denomination notes from a family in Ahmedabad. In one of the biggest seizure of its kind post the demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes the a Bihar-based businessman, travelling alone in a chartered jet, was apprehended at the airport in Nagaland for allegedly carrying Rs. 3.5 crore in demonetised currency. Officials had apprehended a man identified as Amarjit Kumar Singh, who had booked the chartered flight from Hisar in Haryana. The cash was seized by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel at Dimapur after a tip-off from the Intelligence Bureau and the local income tax staff was called for further action on the unaccounted wealth. However, much to their shock, the cash was nowhere to be found. The local I-T officer has reportedly claimed that the cash had been lying with the security personnel all along and that he had nothing to do with the entire incident. Whereas in Ahmedabad, a family drew the attention of police after they withdrew Rs. 12.4 lakhs, mostly in newly-introduced Rs. 2000 denomination notes, despite restrictions on cash withdrawal limit. The family claimed that they had withdrawn the cash from different bank accounts for wedding expenses. However, police seized the money when the family members failed to prove that the money was meant for a marriage ceremony. Officials said they are looking to loosen restrictions on wedding spending. After the government abolished the old 500- and 1,000-rupee notes, families were allowed to withdraw 2.5 lakhs in cash (either the grooms or the brides family). To make payments in cash, it had to be proven that the recipient- a vendor like a caterer, for example- does not have a bank account. WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2016 - Federal officials and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper last week tried to put an end to a longstanding dispute by announcing the cancellation of 25 oil and gas leases in Colorados White River National Forest. But the company holding many of the leases promises to challenge the decision in court. The decision, which may have allayed some concerns of environmental groups and community organizers about potential development in the forests Thompson Divide, was announced on Nov. 17 by Hickenlooper, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Neil Kornze. This resolution strikes the right balance by protecting one of Colorados most spectacular places and important watersheds, and ensuring that any future development is done responsibly and held to high standards, Jewel said. The Thompson Divide encompasses some 221,500 acres of federal land on the eastern fringe of the natural gas-rich Piceance Basin. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the formation holds 66 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the second-largest assessment of potential shale and tight gas resources that the agency has ever conducted. This is a resolution that protects the beautiful environment of the Thompson Divide, that acknowledges the investments companies have made in the area and lets people get back to business, says Hickenlooper. He says the decision reflects the hard work of local governments, industry, engaged residents and federal partners to reach a balanced solution. Hickenlooper has previously described the area as Colorados crown jewel. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who introduced the Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Act in 2013 in response to bipartisan requests from Colorado communities and local governments, notes that ranchers, sportsmen, outdoor enthusiasts and elected officials who live in the areas communities feel that speculative leases in the Divide jeopardize their local economies. Todays announcement is a significant step towards addressing those concerns, says Bennet. BLM analyzed some 65 oil and gas leases, located primarily on lands managed by the White River National Forest. The Department of the Interior (DOI) says the Record of Decision (ROD) puts in place appropriate environmental protections for the pristine portion of Colorados Western Slope. The ROD addresses deficiencies in the original environmental analyses and the process used to support the initial issuance of oil and gas leases in the region, DOI says. In addition to the cancellation of the leases in the Thompson Divide area, BLM says it will apply new stipulations and conditions that are consistent with recent Forest Service decisions on the remaining leases that are not currently producing oil or gas. DOI says it will make no adjustments, or only minor adjustments to the leases that are currently producing oil and gas. None of the 25 leases being canceled are producing, Interior says, and amount to less than half of 1 percent of the active leases on public lands in Colorado. Meanwhile, DOI notes that the vast majority of the lands in the Thompson Divide area are used for agriculture, sporting, recreation or are undeveloped open space. But SG Interests, which holds 18 of the 25 leases, comprising over 21,000 acres in the prolific Piceance Basin, says the cancellation amounts to a violation of the law by taking private property rights and/or a breach of the lease contracts. In a statement to Agri-Pulse, the company says it intends to seek relief in the courts. And, SG contends, BLM will find it difficult to defend its actions. Documents obtained through FOIA (the Freedom of Information Act) clearly show that the retroactive NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) the BLM used to cancel SGs leases was a predetermined political decision from the Obama administration taking orders from environmental groups, SG said in a statement. SG contends that all 65 of the leases subject to the retroactive NEPA suffer from the same administrative error consisting of BLM not formally adopting the original Forest Service leasing level under NEPA. SG believes that all 65 of these leases are valid and that none should have been canceled. Not an Agri-Pulse subscriber? Get our Daily Harvest email and Daybreak audio Monday through Friday mornings, a 16-page newsletter on Wednesdays, and access to premium content on our ag and rural policy website. Sign up for your four-week free trial Agri-Pulse subscription. However, the company says that if a court finds that all of the leases were improperly issued, then all of the leases should have been canceled. By canceling some of the leases and allowing others to stand, the BLM is acting in and arbitrary and capricious manner, SG says. SG still owns lease rights in the Wolf Creek Storage Unit, which covers 9,200 acres of federal leases next to the leases that were canceled. Since the Wolf Creek leases were not subject to the retroactive NEPA, SG says it will proceed to develop these leases. SG has faith that the new Trump administration will re-establish confidence in government lease contracts, the company says. It is our hope that the new administration will realize that without the sanctity of a federal contract and the rule of law, federal minerals will not be developed by the private sector. BLM also announced that it had formally adopted the Forest Services 2014 White River National Forest Oil and Gas Final EIS analysis for use in its leasing decision on the White River National Forest going forward. The Forest Service has identified the majority of the Divide area as closed to leasing. Bennet says he will continue to work with community members and industry to determine whether a legislative compromise can permanently protect the Divide and provide market-based compensation for those who have just had their leases canceled. BLM has also issued a ROD fully adopting the terms of the 2014 Settlement Agreement that resolved litigation surrounding the Roan Plateau Resource Management Plan. The Interior Department says the action represents the final step in the landmark settlement announced almost two years ago that brought together local, state, industry, sportsmen and conservation leaders. BLMs Record of Decision closes the area on top of the plateau to future leasing where some 17 oil and gas leases were previously canceled. In areas that remain open to leasing, BLM says that development will be subject to the terms and conditions to ensure safe and responsible development. #30 For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 2016 The Environmental Protection Agency gave a lift to the renewable fuels industry by finalizing biofuel usage mandates for 2017 higher than originally proposed. The agency is requiring19.28 billion gallons of total renewable fuel to be blended with conventional fuel under the renewable volume obligation (RVO). That includes 15 billion gallons of conventional corn ethanol, a 200-million gallon increase from EPAs May proposal and the same level set as the annual target in the 2007 energy law. The May proposal called for total usage of 18.8 billion gallons with the potential for 14.8 billion gallons of corn ethanol. EPAs final rule, released today, also requires usage of 2 billion gallons of biodiesel, up from 1.9 billion this year, and 311 million gallons of cellulosic biofuels. There is a total requirement for 4.28 billion gallons in advanced biofuels, which includes biodiesel, cellulosic biofuels and other biofuels that have 50-percent lower carbon emissions than conventional fuels, including sugarcane ethanol produced in Brazil. The final RVO for advanced biofuel is 280 million gallons higher than what the agency proposed in May. In addition, the EPA also set an RVO for biodiesel in 2018 of 2.1 billion gallons. The other mandates for 2018 will be determined later. The mandated levels are significantly higher than have been achieved in the past and will drive significant growth in renewable fuel use beyond what would occur in the absence of the requirements, the agency said in the final rule. The final volume requirements for both advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel recognize the ability of the market to respond to the standards we set, thereby accomplishing the goals of the statute to increase renewable fuel use. The higher mandates are based in part on the agencys expectation that motorists will increase their use of higher ethanol blends. EPA estimates that the E85 supply, fuel that contains about 85 percent ethanol, will increase by 40 percent in 2017 to 275 million gallons. The agency says use of E15 could reach 728 million gallons in 2017. Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, praised EPAs final decision. We can all be thankful EPA has raised the conventional biofuel requirement to the 15 billion gallon level required by the statute, he said. The move will send a positive signal to investors, rippling throughout our economy and environment. By signaling its commitment to a growing biofuels market, the agency will stimulate new interest in cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels, drive investment in infrastructure to accommodate E15 and higher ethanol blends, and make a further dent in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. RFA and other groups representing corn growers and the ethanol industry filed a lawsuit against EPAs use of so-calle waiver authority in the 2016 RVOs to set the usage targets below the levels set by Congress in the 2007 energy law. EPA had argued that inadequate infrastructure was preventing the expansion of higher blends of ethanol. However, in the final rule for 2017, the agency said it believed all of the congressional targets could be reached with the exception of cellulosic biofuels. Under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which created the Renewable Fuel Standard and the corresponding annual RVOs, the administration was to mandate usage of 24 billion gallons in biofuels in 2017 with the potential for at least 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol. However, gasoline consumption declined after the law was passed, and usage of ethanol blends higher than E10 has lagged. Like what you see here? Agri-Pulse subscribers get our Daily Harvest email and Daybreak audio Monday through Friday mornings, a 16-page newsletter on Wednesdays, and access to premium content on our ag and rural policy website. Sign up for your four-week free trial Agri-Pulse subscription. This announcement is the final RVO determination under the Obama administration, but it could spark a new debate about the RFS as Donald Trump moves into the White House next year. The president-elect signaled support for the RFS during the presidential campaign, but the adviser leading the transition at EPA, Myron Ebell, has been critical of the mandates. The chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, Lamar Smith of Texas, today called on Trump to work with Congress to reform the RFS, which is under the jurisdiction of the Energy and Commerce Committee. More unrealistic mandates wont benefit the environment or lead to innovation in biofuels technology, Smith said. The American Petroleum Institute criticized EPAs final rule as a step backward. We are disappointed that EPA has taken a step backwards with this final rule, said Frank Macchiarola, APIs downstream group director. The RFS mandate is a bad deal for the American consumer. Todays announcement only serves to reinforce the need for Congress to repeal or significantly reform the RFS. Democrats and Republicans agree this program is a failure. Mike Brown, president of the National Chicken Council, called the RFS a runaway train. He said the 15-billion-gallon level target for conventional ethanol in the 2007 law was cap intended to prevent grain from being diverted from feed and food needs. American chicken producers are only one drought, flood or freeze away from another crisis. The RFS has cost our industry $59 billion more in feed costs since it was implemented. But Wesley Spurlock, president of the National Corn Growers Association, said that EPAs move would be welcomed by grain producers. This is critical for farmers facing difficult economic times, as well as for consumers who care about clean air, affordable fuel choices, and lowering our dependence on foreign oil, he said. (Updated at 2 p.m.) #30 For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com Aiken, SC (29801) Today Some sun this morning with increasing clouds this afternoon. High 76F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear skies. Low 53F. Winds light and variable. Eight Legendary Ancient Libraries Part of a clay tablet, Neo-Assyrian. Even before there were bound books, there were libraries. In cities across the world, these temples of knowledge served not only as storehouses for clay tablets and scrolls, but also as centers of culture and learning. Below, get the facts on eight of the most magnificent libraries of the ancient world. The Library of Ashurbanipal The world's oldest known library was founded sometime in the 7th century B.C. for the "royal contemplation" of the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal. Located in Nineveh in modern day Iraq, the site included a trove of some 30,000 cuneiform tablets organized according to subject matter. Most of its titles were archival documents, religious incantations and scholarly texts, but it also housed several works of literature including the 4,000-year-old "Epic of Gilgamesh." The book-loving Ashurbanipal compiled much of his library by looting works from Babylonia and the other territories he conquered. Archaeologists later stumbled upon its ruins in the mid-19th century, and the majority of its contents are now kept in the British Museum in London. Interestingly, even though Ashurbanipal acquired many of his tablets through plunder, he seems to have been particularly worried about theft. An inscription in one of the texts warns that if anyone steals its tablets, the gods will "cast him down" and "erase his name, his seed, in the land." The Library of Alexandria The Burning of the Library of Alexandria, 1876. Private Collection. ( Fine Art Images/Getty Images) Following Alexander the Great's death in 323 B.C., control of Egypt fell to his former general Ptolemy I Soter, who sought to establish a center of learning in the city of Alexandria. The result was the Library of Alexandria, which eventually became the intellectual jewel of the ancient world. Little is known about the site's physical layout, but at its peak it may have included over 500,000 papyrus scrolls containing works of literature and texts on history, law, mathematics and science. The library and its associated research institute attracted scholars from around the Mediterranean, many of whom lived on site and drew government stipends while they conducted research and copied its contents. At different times, the likes of Strabo, Euclid and Archimedes were among the academics on site. The great library's demise is traditionally dated to 48 B.C., when it supposedly burned after Julius Caesar accidentally set fire to Alexandria's harbor during a battle against the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy XIII. But while the blaze may have damaged the library, most historians now believe that it continued to exist in some form for several more centuries. Some scholars argue that it finally met its end in 270 A.D. during the reign of the Roman emperor Aurelian, while others believe that it came even later during the fourth century. The Library of Pergamum Reconstruction of Pergamon. ( De Agostini/Getty Images) Constructed in the third century B.C. by members of the Attalid dynasty, the Library of Pergamum, located in what is now Turkey, was once home to a treasure-trove of some 200,000 scrolls. It was housed in a temple complex devoted to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, and is believed to have comprised four rooms--three for the library's contents and another that served as a meeting space for banquets and academic conferences. According to the ancient chronicler Pliny the Elder, the Library of Pergamum eventually became so famous that it was considered to be in "keen competition" with the Library of Alexandria. Both sites sought to amass the most complete collections of texts, and they developed rival schools of thought and criticism. There is even a legend that Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty halted shipments of papyrus to Pergamum in the hope of slowing its growth. As a result, the city may have later become a leading production center for parchment paper. The Villa of the Papyri The long-buried Villa of the Papyri opened to the public almost 2000 years after it was submerged in volcanic mud in Herculaneum. ( Eric VANDEVILLE/Getty Images) While it wasn't largest library of antiquity, the so-called "Villa of the Papyri" is the only one whose collection has survived to the present day. Its roughly 1,800 scrolls were located in the Roman city of Herculaneum in a villa that was most likely built by Julius Caesar's father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus. When nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D., the library was buried--and exquisitely preserved--under a 90-foot layer of volcanic material. Its blackened, carbonized scrolls weren't rediscovered until the 18th century, and modern researchers have since used everything from multispectral imaging to x-rays to try to read them. Much of the catalogue has yet to be deciphered, but studies have already revealed that the library contains several texts by an Epicurean philosopher and poet named Philodemus. The Libraries of Trajan's Forum Trajan's Forum. ( John Harper/Getty Images) Sometime around 112 A.D., the Emperor Trajan completed construction on a sprawling, multi-use building complex in the heart of the city of Rome. This Forum boasted plazas, markets and religious temples, but it also included one of the Roman Empire's most famous libraries. The site was technically two separate structures--one for works in Latin, and one for works in Greek. The rooms sat on opposite sides of a portico that housed Trajan's Column, a large monument built to honor the Emperor's military successes. Both sections were elegantly crafted from concrete, marble and granite, and they included large central reading chambers and two levels of bookshelf-lined alcoves containing an estimated 20,000 scrolls. Historians are unsure of when Trajan's dual library ceased to exist, but it was still being mentioned in writing as late as the fifth century A.D., which suggests that it stood for at least 300 years. The Library of Celsus Library of Celsus. There were over two-dozen major libraries in the city of Rome during the imperial era, but the capital wasn't the only place that housed dazzling collections of literature. Sometime around 120 A.D., the son of the Roman consul Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus completed a memorial library to his father in the city of Ephesus (modern day Turkey). The building's ornate facade still stands today and features a marble stairway and columns as well as four statues representing Wisdom, Virtue, Intelligence and Knowledge. Its interior, meanwhile, consisted of a rectangular chamber and a series of small niches containing bookcases. The library may have held some 12,000 scrolls, but it most striking feature was no doubt Celsus himself, who was buried inside in an ornamental sarcophagus. The Imperial Library of Constantinople The Theodosian city walls originally built in the 5th century during reign of Theodosius II. ( Ken Welsh/Getty Images) Long after the Western Roman Empire had gone into decline, classical Greek and Roman thought continued to flourish in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The city's Imperial Library first came into existence in the fourth century A.D. under Constantine the Great, but it remained relatively small until the fifth century, when its collection grew to a staggering 120,000 scrolls and codices. The size of the Imperial Library continued to wax and wane for the next several centuries due to neglect and frequent fires, and it later suffered a devastating blow after a Crusader army sacked Constantinople in 1204. Nevertheless, its scribes and scholars are now credited with preserving countless pieces of ancient Greek and Roman literature by making parchment copies of deteriorating papyrus scrolls. The House of Wisdom Portrait of Razi polymath, physician and alchemist in his laboratory in Bagdad, Iraq. ( Leemage/Getty Images) The Iraqi city of Baghdad was once one of the world's centers of learning and culture, and perhaps no institution was more integral to its development that the House of Wisdom. First established in the early ninth century A.D. during the reign of the Abbasids, the site was centered around an enormous library stocked with Persian, Indian and Greek manuscripts on mathematics, astronomy, science, medicine and philosophy. The books served as a natural draw for the Middle East's top scholars, who flocked to the House of Wisdom to study its texts and translate them into Arabic. Their ranks included the mathematician al-Khawarizmi, one of the fathers of algebra, as well as the polymath thinker al-Kindi, often called "the Philosopher of the Arabs." The House of Wisdom stood as the Islamic world's intellectual nerve center for several hundred years, but it later met a grisly end in 1258, when the Mongols sacked Baghdad. According to legend, so many books were tossed into the River Tigris that its waters turned black from ink. Assyrian Forces Retake Ancient Monastery From ISIS, Vow to Rebuild Fighters with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) stormed the Saint Behnam monastery in 2014, located 30 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Mosul. ( AP) After ousting IS militants from towns near Mosul, Iraq, Christian militias have reported of the devastation the group left behind, including the destruction of precious icons and ancient texts in the 4th-century monastery of Mar Behnam. According to the Jerusalem Post, Iraq's largest monastery, located in the Christian-dominated town of Bakhdida, just 20 miles southeast of Mosul, was turned into a headquarters for ISIS police - those responsible for handing out draconian punishments to those who didn't adhere to the group's particular brand of Islam. After overtaking the monastery, militants used explosives to destroy part of the ancient building, removed the site's crosses, and turned the monk's bedrooms into jail cells. Carvings in Syriac, the language spoken by Jesus, were scraped off the walls, and any mention of Behnam - the son of a repentant Assyrian king who built the monastery after killing both his children because they converted to Christianity - was removed. Islamic State also graffiti covers the monastery's walls, including the group's motto: "Remaining and expanding." "Their fundamental goal was to destroy Christian history and civilization in the Nineveh plains," Duraid Elias, commander of the Babylon Brigades, a Christian militia that helped retake the site, told Reuters during a visit on Monday. Mar Behnam monastery was captured by ISIS in July of 2015 along with vast swathes of northern Iraq. At the time, the group issued an ultimatum to Christians: Convert to Islam, pay a hefty tax, or die. Those who lived in the ancient building were subsequently forced to leave and flee to nearby Christian villages. "You have no place here anymore, you have to leave immediately," the militants were quoted as telling the monastery's residents by a member of the Syriac clergy. Over the weekend, the Christian soldiers - all members of the Baghdad-backed Babylon Brigades - re-erected crosses and the recapture of Bar Behnam was celebrated widely on social media. Elias, the commander, said his unit had fought alongside the Iraqi army to retake the monastery and the surrounding village. He emphasized that his men - all part of a population of Arab Christians across the Middle East - are determined to rebuild their cities. "We are proving to the world that Christians are not weak. We are stronger than they imagined," said Elias. He added that his men have destroyed several homes belonging to IS fighters - and they will keep going. "There are others. We are going one by one: for every Christian house they blew up, we blow up a house next to it," he said from atop the monastery, pointing out one such pair of buildings. "This is war. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Iraqi Assyrians Ask: Where Were Our Kurdish Protectors When ISIS Came? Christian refugees from Mosul who now live in camps in Levo Iraq hold a prayer session for the thousands of fellow Christians who have had to flee Mosul from the terror group the Islamic State. The UN estimates that 50,000 Christians are now internally displaced. One question that still angers many of the Christians who fled northern Iraq as jihadists from Islamic State (IS) advanced on their towns and villages is, "Where were the Kurdish forces?" Kurdish Peshmerga forces had taken over positions abandoned by Iraqi army forces who had retreated in June 2014 as IS approached Mosul. After the fall of the northern city, the Kurdistan Regional Government took charge of all disputed territories to which both they and the embattled Arab-led government in Baghdad laid claim. These included the towns and villages in the Nineveh Plain that were home to large numbers of Christians and that had taken in Christians fleeing from Mosul. However in early August 2014, when jihadists reached the villages and towns around Mosul and began forcing all non-Sunnis from them, Christians reported that the Peshmerga they depended on had disappeared. Bahija, 65, now a refugee in Jordan, told World Watch Monitor that the Kurdish fighters stationed near her family home in Tel Qaif told her they would not leave them. She said that because of what they had told her, she went to bed as usual and was woken up the following morning by seven or eight IS jihadists shouting "Allahu akbar" ("Allah is the greatest") and banging on her door. She said the Peshmerga had left at 21.30 the evening before. The IS members ransacked the house while her ill, elderly father lay in bed upstairs. A woman from Mosul who initially fled to Qaraqosh before seeking refuge in Jordan also questioned the actions of the Peshmerga. The woman, who did not wish to be named, told World Watch Monitor: "The Kurds were not there the night IS came; they handed Christians to IS on a plate." A priest from the Assyrian Church of the East, Fr. Yusuf Binjamin, accused the Kurds of deliberately misleading the Christians, which he said followed an historic pattern begun a century ago when a Kurdish Sheikh tricked an Assyrian Patriarch, having him murdered moments after the pair had signed an alliance. "They told me not evacuate families, that nothing would happen," the priest said. He added: "Until now the Kurds have been bothering us and threatening us." He said that for the past century Kurds had been trying to make Assyrians, Iraqi Christians, leave or sell their land. One Christian refugee offered an explanation for the Kurds abandoning their protection of Christian villages -- to ensure that IS could not cross the border into the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, which has become a safe-haven for displaced Iraqis. "I heard that because Daesh [IS] was coming to Qaraqosh, Peshmerga closed the roads so that Daesh could not come to Erbil [the Kurdish capital]," Bassam said in a statement to the religious freedom charity ADF International. Conspiracy theories flourish where there is poor access to impartial media and weak law enforcement. Even if the Kurds were simply shoring up their own positions after seeing IS's capabilities in Mosul, rather than tricking the Christians, the lack of clear information has only compounded the conviction articulated by some Christians refugees that there they are no longer safe within Iraq. Iraqi Priest Vows to Keep Church Alive Despite Believers' Fear of Returning Home An Iraqi priest has vowed to maintain the hope that Christianity will once again flourish in his country despite his people's current state of helplessness and fears of returning home after the Islamic State (ISIS) wreaked havoc in the region in the last two years. In an interview with PBS Newshour days after ISIS was driven out of the town of Batnaya, Assyrian Church leader Father Emanuel Youkhana described how the militants had burned their holy books and desecrated their church. Although they are happy that the church still stands, their hearts are weeping for what the jihadists did to the house of worship. Youkhana is concerned that the Christian towns will be occupied by non-Christians after ISIS militants are driven away. He said Shiite Muslim troops are attempting to intimidate believers in some towns, so he is relying on Christian militias to protect their land. Several Christian towns have already been liberated from the clutches of ISIS, but Fr. Youkhana predicts that it will be difficult to ensure that Christianity flourishes once again in the region. Nevertheless, the Iraqi priest vowed not to give up that hope. "It's a challenging question to keep the Christian Church alive here. And we can. We can. We will never, never give up," Fr. Youkhana told PBS. "We might be helpless, but we are never hopeless." Meanwhile, Christians returning to the town of Keramlis after it was liberated wept and gasped as they saw the extent of the damage that ISIS inflicted upon their small church. They saw that the statue of the Virgin Mary had been decapitated and their prayer benches have been burned, The Associated Press reports. Some of the Keramlis residents had returned to attend a prayer service and inspect their homes. They were overcome with emotion when they heard the church bell toll for the first time since ISIS occupied their town two years ago. Like Fr. Youkhana, despite the tears, some of them are also hopeful that the Christians will be able to rebuild their lives in their hometown. ISIS Torches Sacred Texts and Smashes Virgin Mary Sculptures in Iraq Monastery The Mar Behnam monastery is seen after the town was recaptured from Islamic State in Ali Rash, southeast Mosul. ( Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani) Christian militias liberating towns near the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul have found devastation in the 4th-century monastery of Mar Behnam. The site is Iraq's largest monastery, and where the militant group destroyed precious icons and burned collections of irreplaceable texts. The militant group, which made a rapid advance across northern Iraq in the summer of 2014, turned the monastery on the outskirts of Mosul into a headquarters for its Hisba - or morality police - which handed out corporal punishments for transgressions as minor as for men shaving their beards. The monk's bedrooms were additionally turned into jail cells. The building itself, which contained inscriptions hundreds of years old, has been gutted. Carvings in Syriac, the language spoken by Jesus, had been scraped off the walls. Crosses in the building were removed and any mention of King Benham, the Assyrian King who built the monastery, was removed. "Their fundamental goal was to destroy Christian history and civilisation in the Nineveh plains," Duraid Elias, commander of Christian militia Babylon Brigades, told Reuters. The Islamic State has ruled with terror and impunity throughout its two-year rule over Mosul and surrounding areas. Minorities bore the brunt of the militant group's hard-line Islamist ideology. Christians in Isis territories were ordered to pay a punitive tax, convert to Islam, or face execution. The majority eventually fled towards the autonomous Kurdish region, including a few dozen monks who left Mar Behnam with only the clothes on their backs, Reuters reported. The Christian Babylon Brigades is backed by Baghdad and is one of the many armed groups to have been incorporated into the Iraqi security forces following the rise of the Islamic State. These popular mobilisation forces are usually drawn from local Shia populations and, the Babylon brigades fly the flags of the Muslim group as well as carrying crosses. Mosul itself has in the past had a large Christian population. As many as 100,000 troops aligned with the Iraqi government are now in the process of driving Islamic State from the city of Mosul. As the assault continues its sixth week, Iraqi Special Forces are moving to take another neighbourhood in the eastern sector of Mosul but are meeting stiff resistance from Islamic State militants, Associated Press reported. The US-led coalition continues to provide airstrikes and other support to forces on the ground. Onward Christian Soldiers: Waging Holy War on Islamic State in Iraq A fighter from the Kataeb Babylon wears a Biblical image in his vest. ( Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters) A band of Iraqi Christian militia known as the Babylon Brigades are helping to reclaim the area around Mosul from Islamic State (Isis/Daesh). These Christian fighters are driven by a desire to keep their community alive after Isis threatened to destroy it for good. Duraid Elias, their commander, told Reuters: "We are proving to the world that Christians are not weak. We are stronger than they imagined." Elias said his forces were demolishing homes thought to belong to Islamic State fighters, to keep them from ever returning. "This is war," he said. "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." The heavily armed men of the Babylon Brigades wear an assortment of military uniforms. Some sport black headbands declaring their devotion to Jesus or the Virgin Mary, or religious icons to their bulletproof vests. The bands of Christian fighters travel across the desert in pickup trucks bearing large wooden crosses. The Babylon Brigades helped to reclaim a fourth century monastery near Mosul from Islamic State. The jihadists at the Mar Behnam monastery had burned a collection of books about Christian theology, scraped off inscriptions written in Syriac -- the language apparently used by Jesus -- and demolished sculptures of the Virgin Mary and the monastery's patron saint. Islamic State graffiti covers the monastery's walls, including the group's motto: "Remaining and expanding". Another scrawl includes the date Dec. 24, 2014 -- one of two Christmases the jihadists spent in control of the site. They removed the site's crosses and tried to erase any mention of Behnam, the son of an Assyrian king who, according to popular legend, built the monastery as penance for killing both his children after they converted to Christianity. Christian fighters travel in a pickup truck in Ali Rash, southeast of Mosul. ( Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters) Elias told Reuters that the jihadists had converted Mar Behnam, Iraq's largest monastery, into a headquarters for the Hisba -- a moral authority that enforced strict rules against such things as smoking, men shaving their beards and women baring their faces in public. A sitting room had been turned into a medical clinic, and the monks' bedrooms were used to hold transgressors. A remote corner of the complex was filled with dozens of satellite dishes the commander said had been confiscated from residents nearby. "Their fundamental goal was to destroy Christian history and civilisation in the Nineveh plains," Elias said. The Nineveh plains, north and east of Mosul, are a mosaic of ethnic and religious communities with roots dating back to ancient Mesopotamia. The Sunni Muslim hardliners of Isis have targeted the adherents and religious sites of those minority groups across the area, which it seized in 2014. At the time, the group issued an ultimatum to Christians: pay a tax, convert to Islam, or die by the sword. Most fled toward the autonomous Kurdish region, including a few dozen monks who left Mar Behnam with only the clothes on their backs. The battle for Mosul, launched five weeks ago, is turning into the largest military campaign in more than a decade of conflict in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The gates of the Mar Behnam monastery in Ali Rash after the town was recaptured from Islamic State. ( Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters) The Iraqi military estimates around 5,000 Islamic State fighters are in Mosul. A 100,000-strong coalition of Iraqi government forces, Kurdish fighters and Shi'ite paramilitary units is surrounding the city. Mosul's capture would be a major step towards dismantling the caliphate, and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, believed to have withdrawn to a remote area near the Syrian border, has told his fighters to stay and fight to the end. Burned theology books litter the floor at the Mar Behnam monastery. ( Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters) People look at graffiti daubed by Islamic State militants inside the Mar Behnam monastery in Ali Rash. ( Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters) A Christian fighter from Kataeb Babylon walks past graffiti on a wall at the Mar Behnam monastery. ( Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters) A man photographs defaced images and graffiti inside the Mar Behnam monastery. ( Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters) Etihad Cargo, the freight division of UAE flag-carrier Etihad Airways, has flown a total of 72 racehorses on a single flight between London and Kuwait. Flying out of the UK at the end of the European racing season, the horses were flown to the warmer climes of the Middle East, where they will spend the winter training and in further racing. The equine cargo, said by Etihad to be worth no less than 36m (US$45m), was flown from London Stansted International Airport to Kuwait City on board one of the cargo carriers Boeing 777 freighters. The B777F also has seating for up to nine grooms to ensure the horses have a safe and as stress-free journey as possible. In this case, six professional grooms handled the horses during loading, on board the flight and on arrival in Kuwait. The horses flew in 24 stalls with non-slip floors, each of which holds three horses. The IATA-approved stalls were loaded into the temperature-controlled cargo hold of the aircraft in a careful process which took more than six hours. David Kerr, senior vice president of Etihad Cargo, observed: Safety is the most important thing for our equine customers, which is why it is imperative we offer a safe and reliable service on all of our shipments. The Middle East has strong ties to these magnificent creatures dating back thousands of years and, to this day, they are arguably the most precious cargo we carry. In 2016 alone Etihad Cargo has been entrusted to transport more than 1,200 horses, with several more large shipments scheduled before the end of the year. Conan Busby, head of cargo for Manchester Airports Group (MAG), owner of London Stansted Airport, added: Stansted is the UKs number one airport for horse travel and handles many specialist flights every year. Many of the horses taking part in this years Olympic Games and the Queens 90th Birthday celebrations passed through Stansteds dedicated equine facility. Etihad Cargo operates a fleet of nine freighters five B777Fs and four Airbus 330Fs which can be configured to carry up to 75 and 30 horses respectively. Earlier this month (November), the freight carrier confirmed that it had launched two new B777F services into Abu Dhabi from the UK: from East Midlands and from Stansted airports. Kerr noted: We have responded to our customers demand for freighter capacity out of Europe, and our freighter fleet gives us the flexibility of deploying capacity when and where it is required. Share this story Brussels Airport handled 46,603 tons of cargo in October, up by 6.5% on the figure for the same month of 2015. Cargo carried on the main deck of full freighters was up by 28.8% year on year to reach 17,119 tons. The gateways operating authority, Brussels Airport Company, noted that freighter operations undertaken by Singapore, Qatar and Ethiopian Airlines had driven this growth. However, bellyhold cargo through the airport was down by 4.5% year on year to 11,606 tons and integrator traffic was down by 2.4% to 17,878 tons. The latter can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that the month of October included five weekends, and on weekends there fewer express shipments than on weekdays. With regard to the decline in bellyhold volumes, Brussels Airport Company said that this was largely due to the departure of Indian carrier Jet Airways to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in March this year. However, the decrease resulting from Jets departure was partly compensated for by a growth in lower deck airfreight volumes on both Brussels Airlines and United Airlines. The strong overall growth of airfreight volumes in October added to a similarly successful September. However, over the course of the January October period, total cargo traffic was down by 2.3% year on year to 399,554 tons. The number of dedicated cargo flights increased by 2.9% in October compared to the same month of 2015. Late last week, Brussels Airport Company chief executive Arnaud Feist laid out the gateways long-term strategy in the form of a programme called Strategic Vision 2040. The plan calls for further investment in the airports cargo handling infrastructure. Share this story November 23, 2016 After the United States issued a second license to Airbus to sell 106 planes to Iran on Nov. 21, the French aircraft manufacturer once again made headlines in Iranian media on Nov. 23. The US governments green light to the agreement is a result of the nuclear deal, which lifted nuclear-related sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program. On Sept. 21, Airbus announced that an application to sell 17 airplanes to Iran was approved by the US Department of Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Although Airbus is based in France, it must obtain OFAC approval to sell planes to Iran because at least 10% of the components used to build the planes are made in the United States. Airbus first application for a license to sell passenger jets was for the jets Iran most urgently needs. Tehran is determined to breathe new life into its aging fleet. On the same day, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing received authorization by OFAC to sell 109 passenger jets to national carrier Iran Air. On Nov. 23, Shahrvand daily ran the article 106 Airbus [jets] on the way to Iran, which reported the new development to boost trade between Western companies and Iran. Despite the attempts by the US House to revoke the permission [to sell aircraft to Iran], a delegation from Airbus is now in Tehran to finalize the deal between Iran and the aviation company, wrote Shahrvand. Meanwhile, business daily Abrar-e Eqtesadi said that Iran had reached an agreement with an international leasing company to facilitate the purchase of 77 Airbus planes. According to the daily, Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, the deputy for international affairs at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, announced, The final contract to buy 112 Airbus [jets] is ready to be signed. Iran provisionally agreed to purchase 118 Airbus jets in January. This figure dropped to 112 after an order for six smaller Airbus jets was discarded over delays in OFAC licensing of the sale. The final number of plane deliveries may be around a hundred, given that Iran says it may not proceed with its option to purchase a dozen A380s, the worlds largest jetliner. The news about reaching a financing deal with a foreign leasing company is a breakthrough in efforts by Iranian companies to ink contracts with a major international firm. One of the main obstacles keeping international banks and business away from Iran is the ongoing hassle of transferring money to and from Iran due to remaining Western sanctions. Iranian officials have not disclosed the name of the leasing company, but industry sources have previously said that Iran has asked United Arab Emirates company Dubai Aerospace for assistance with financing the purchase of the first 17 Airbus jets. If Airbus had changed its mind about signing an agreement with Iran, it would not have sent a delegation to Tehran, Fakhrieh Kashan said. With the incoming US administration, there might be a possibility that Boeing accepts the pressures to revoke its agreement with Iran. By contrast, Europeans have showed that they have different stances. On Nov. 23, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced objection to the US House's recent vote to renew the Iran Sanctions Act. The current US government has committed several violations of the nuclear agreement. The most recent [violation] is the 10-year extension of the sanctions, he said. If these sanctions are extended, [the United States] should know that the Islamic Republic will definitely react to it. In the United States, opponents of aircraft deals with Iran point out that the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Iran Air in 2011 for allegedly using passenger and cargo planes to transport military-related equipment to countries such as Lebanon and Syria. The claim was raised again on Nov. 22 by Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon. On Nov. 23, Iranian Ambassador to the UN Gholamali Khoshroo denied Danons claims in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. I find it quite ridiculous and hypocritical that the representative of a regime that has deprived Palestinian people from their basic human rights for several decades accuses Iran every once in a while of violating international law. November 23, 2016 One of the biggest problems Iran has faced in the aftermath of the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions is its lack of access to the greenback, as dollar transactions would require the involvement of American banks. Tehran said this has also affected non-dollar business and trade dealings. Given that most international trade is conducted in US dollars, Iran has even experienced some issues with accessing its own foreign exchange reserves and revenues generated by oil sales. Referring to the latter, Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Valiollah Seif told The Guardian May 20, If we want to exchange Omani rials to euros, we dont need dollars, but the system is designed in a way that it [Omani rial] has to be changed to dollars first, then euros. They should find a way for us to resolve this issue. After extended wrangling, the US government last month finally gave Iran limited access to dollars. On Oct. 7, the Treasury amended its Lifting of Sanctions Guidance (Guidance) by incorporating a series of new questions and answers (Q&A), including some directly relating to the lifting of financial and banking-related sanctions. The revised Guidance allows for dollar dealings with Iran through foreign banking institutions as long as those transactions do not enter the US financial system. The Treasury also did away with the outright ban on foreign transactions with Iranian companies that are likely run by individuals who are subject to US sanctions. The move came amid increasing criticism by Iranian officials that obstacles restricting trade with Iran are still in place despite the July 14, 2015, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The limited lifting of sanctions for Iran to trade in dollars came after several meetings between senior Iranian and US officials. For instance, on April 14, Seif met with US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. Of note, on the same day, US House Speaker Paul Ryan expressed opposition to any move to give Iran access to the US dollar. But what does this new Guidance refer to? Are foreign financial institutions including financial subsidiaries of US companies acting outside the United States now allowed to open accounts for Iranian natural and legal persons to conduct financial transactions in dollars? In the revised Q&A, two Iranian entities the CBI and the National Iranian Oil Company are referred to, and a question is included on whether trade with these two entities is allowed. The answer is yes, and it stipulates that foreign financial institutions and financial subsidiaries of US companies can open bank accounts for Iranians and provide them with services in dollars. It continues that this opportunity has been given to both Iranians and persons who reside in Iran, and also persons who are included in Executive Order 13599 and Section 560.211 of the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations. The answer continues that such transactions and accounts must not make American banks and financial institutions provide services to Iran, directly or indirectly, or block Iranian properties. The Treasurys revised Q&A also addresses transactions involving Iranian institutions and persons who have remained on the Specially Designed Nationals List. It states that persons and institutions on the list cannot benefit from the new dollar guidelines as they are subject to remaining US non-nuclear sanctions. Furthermore, another question addresses the issue of whether US financial institutions can open accounts for non-American financial institutions that have maintained their relationships with Iranian banks and financial institutions that are not on sanctions lists. In this respect, the Treasury Departments answer is again yes, and it is stated that US financial institutions can have economic and trade relationships with non-American financial institutions that have kept their relationship with nonsanctioned Iranian institutions. Needless to say, the greenback still plays a major role in international trade. Oil and gas transactions are particularly conducted in dollars. In this vein, there are still long-standing US sanctions in place that prohibit American, Asian and European banks from doing business with Iran in dollars. If Iran, for instance, wants to retrieve its oil sales to India in euros instead of rupees to buy European goods, this process first involves exchanging rupees for dollars and also dollars for euros. Another advantage of this new Guidance for Iran is that it can keep its foreign reserves in dollars. Commenting on the US Treasurys revised Guidance, CBI official Mohammad Ali Karimi told Al-Monitor, The new Q&A clearly allows non-US financial institutions and banks to have correspondent banking relationships with US banks while they maintain their ties with the Iranian banks that are not subject to US sanctions. Nevertheless, it stipulates that earlier [previous] US sanctions remain and non-US banks cannot transfer money and assets through US banks on behalf of Iran. He added, On the other hand, to prevent US banks from blocking Irans assets [according to Executive Order 13599 and earlier sanctions] necessary precautions should be taken so that Iranian funds and assets cannot be transferred through US banks. However, it matters that non-US banks can have trade with Iranian banks without the fear of losing relationships with US banks. Thats a good point that can reconnect the Iranian banking system with the world. The election of Donald Trump as the president of the United States has raised concerns about the future of the implementation of the nuclear deal. While campaigning, Trump declared that if elected, he would rip up the nuclear deal, while on the other hand, also stating that he would police that contract so tough they [Iran] dont have a chance. Although it is still unclear which exact approach Trump will adopt let alone how and with the help of which mechanisms he wants to police the nuclear deal it is hard to see a continuation of President Barack Obamas efforts to fulfill US obligations under the landmark accord. Indeed, given the explicit opposition to the nuclear deal, one can expect future obstacles in the way of implementation of the deal. Thus, it can be expected that efforts to help cement the implementation of the JCPOA, such as the Treasury Departments revised Guidance, will continue to be made in the coming months. November 22, 2016 Heated debate continues in Iran over the Guardian Council the arbiter of candidates qualified to run in parliamentary elections which appears to be seeking the power to determine who can continue serving in the legislature by supervising members throughout their time in office. Controversy first erupted in late March after the council disqualified Minoo Khaleghi, a Reformist politician from Esfahan, although she had been deemed qualified to run and had won a seat in the Feb. 26 parliamentary elections. Khaleghis Guardian Council approval was reportedly annulled after photos of her without a headscarf appeared on the internet. Her case has since turned into a source of conflict between the Guardian Council and the Interior Ministry, which contends that parliament, not the council, should be making such decisions. Khaleghi is not the first elected official to be disqualified by the council after election. In 2012, Kazem Salimi and Ali Akbar Matin both had their Guardian Council approvals annulled for unknown reasons two days after entering the ninth parliament (2012-16). Fresh debate erupted over the issue after Guardian Council spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodaei on Oct. 25 commented on the general election guidelines announced by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Oct. 15. Referring to Article 13 of the guidelines which calls for working out a mechanism for candidates to perform their duties in the best way possible, observe their oath of allegiance and prevent financial, ethical, and economic abuses Kadkhodaei announced that the Guardian Council can continue its supervision of lawmakers during their entire time in office. In response, critics argued that the guidelines make no reference to supervision but are aimed at helping ensure that candidates perform their duties well, abide by what they have sworn to uphold and prevent financial abuse, while at the same time urging necessary measures if evidence arises that necessitates disqualification. Guardian Council members have also pointed to Article 11 of the guidelines, which refers to the Guardian Councils supervision over processes, dimensions and stages of presidential, parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, asserting that it means they can monitor candidates at all stages of every election, including after the actual polling. These differing interpretations of Articles 11 and 13 have become a major source of disagreement between the Guardian Council on the one hand and President Hassan Rouhani's administration and several prominent lawmakers on the other. In an interview with Irans state broadcaster Oct. 22, Kadkhodaei said, According to the [supreme] leaders general election guidelines, this councils powers extend to even after parliamentarians credentials have been approved and [thus] during their whole time as lawmakers. He added, Based on the Guardian Councils mandated supervision, this monitoring is seen to span a period of four years. However, what has been practiced until now is to monitor candidates up to the point where their credentials are approved. But now, Article 13 stresses a more comprehensive role [for the Guardian Council] and the need to supervise members of parliament so that they perform their duties well. [These are] points that the [current] election law does not cover. However, Article 13 of the general election guidelines emphasizes this and the need for the continued supervision of [elected] candidates qualifications and performance. The debate entered a new phase after additional, controversial remarks Oct. 25 by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the chairman of the Guardian Council, speaking at a quarterly meeting of the heads of offices overseeing provincial elections. Parliament passed a self-supervisory directive, but has it ever taken any measures toward its implementation? Jannati asked rhetorically. Supervision of members of parliament must not be ceremonial. If a parliamentarian enters parliament, and it then becomes clear that he lacks qualifications or has lost his qualifications and misused his power and position, should action not be taken to bring his term to an end? Jannatis remarks were met with different reactions from lawmakers. In an interview with the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) on Oct. 26, outspoken Deputy Speaker Ali Motahari said, If this supervision is to extend to lawmakers remarks, and if any comments that dont agree with our views are presented as remarks against national security leading to the disqualification of that candidate it will not comply with Articles 84 and 86 of the constitution, since according to these two articles a member of parliament has the right to comment on all domestic and foreign matters and cannot be prosecuted or seized for comments expressed in parliament. Clearly, if the [Guardian Councils] supervision extends to remarks made by members of parliament, it will take away their liberty and independence and we will end up with ingratiating and compliant lawmakers. Meanwhile, Reformist member of parliament Mohammad-Reza Tabesh said that Kadkhodaei's and Jannatis remarks lack any legal basis. Tabesh told ISNA on Oct. 26, If there is to be another entity other than the [current parliamentary] self-supervisory committee to oversee parliamentarians during their term, and this mechanism is changed, it should go through legal channels and be ratified by parliament. Articles 84 and 86 of the constitution prescribe immunity for members of parliament, giving them the right to comment on all issues and this is officially recognized in the law overseeing parliamentarians conduct and is not open to discussion. Following Motaharis comments, Principlist members of parliament also began to criticize the Guardian Councils argument for an extended supervisory role. Even Mahmoud Bahmani, central bank governor under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who now serves as a member of parliament, said Oct. 26, Parliament is a collective of 290 people, and it is certainly unbefitting for a group of five to 10 individuals to supervise this assembly. Three days later, on Oct. 29, Motahari further commented on the issue, saying, If the Guardian Council supervises parliament, it should be supervised by another supervisor itself and this would lead to circularity. Meanwhile, in a weekly briefing on the same day, Guardian Council spokesman Kadkhodaei responded to parliamentarians' criticism, stating, My comments were not clearly presented in the media. Some friends have added things to my remarks. Two points are evident in Article 13 of the [supreme leaders] communication. One is supervision of the performance of lawmakers, and the other is monitoring so that they continue to maintain the criteria to remain in parliament. In relation to both of these points, it is up to the legislature to decide on the [supervisory] body. I have made no interpretations and did not say whether the Guardian Council wants to do this. Despite Kadkhodaeis remarks, the dispute continues over the type of role the Guardian Council should play in relation to parliament. November 22, 2016 On Nov. 15, before the so-called Muezzin Law, which states that the noise level of the muezzins loudspeakers needs to be limited, was presented at a preliminary reading in the Knesset, the chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Yahadut HaTorah Party, Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman, blocked the advancement of the controversial bill. The appeal he submitted regarding the decision of the ministerial committee on legislation, which authorized the bill, was based on the fear that the bill would silence not only the muezzins but also the Sabbath sirens that sound off in ultra-Orthodox population centers every Friday evening to announce the beginning of the Sabbath. The ministers appeal received warm responses from the Joint List of predominantly Arab parties. The chairman of the party, Knesset member Ayman Odeh, said in response, I thank Minister Litzman for submitting the appeal and blocking the reading of the bill, and I truly believe that today a significant step was taken in the cooperation of the disadvantaged in our society. Joint List Knesset member Ahmed Tibi also praised the ultra-Orthodox and said that in the past, when Yesh Atid Chair Yair Lapid raised the draft law for enlisting the ultra-Orthodox, there were those who pressured Tibi to vote for it. But the ultra-Orthodox explained to him that this is their most sensitive issue, and thus he decided to abstain. Now, he says, the ultra-Orthodox are returning the favor. An internet survey conducted on the ultra-Orthodox Kikar Hashabbat website showed that 42% support the blocking of the Muezzin Law, as opposed to 57% who oppose the blocking of the law. In conversations Al-Monitor conducted with the ultra-Orthodox, it seems that opinions are indeed divided on Litzmans move. Yehudah Fisher, a resident of the settlement Beitar Illit, which neighbors the Arab villages of Husan, Batir and Wadi Fuchin, is angry about the blocking of the law. The sounds of the muezzin are a serious environmental nuisance that we hear loudly five days a week, including at 4 a.m. for several minutes, he told Al-Monitor. The Sabbath siren sounds once a week, in the afternoon, for a few seconds. Im willing to give up the Sabbath siren, which I think is unnecessary as it is, to silence the noise of the muezzin. On the other side, Yisrael Weingarten, also a resident of Beitar Illit, supports Litzman and understands the concern of the Muslims. Ive lived in Beitar Illit for 15 years, he told Al-Monitor. At a certain point, I stopped hearing the muezzin. Not because it stopped, but I developed selective hearing. Whoever tells you it wakes him up is lying. At first it did wake me, but then you get used to it. Weingarten said he is concerned about the impact on the Sabbath siren. [Defense Minister Avigdor] Liberman has said that we have to silence the Sabbath siren, and the moment theres a law you never know how far it would go. The Sabbath siren is very important. Many people work until the last moment before the Sabbath and dont pay attention to when exactly the sun starts to set. The siren announces that the Sabbath is starting and you have to stop working. According to him, the muezzin is not a nuisance but part of life in the region. Whoever lives here has to take it into consideration, he added. They [those objecting to the muezzin call to prayer] bring examples from Europe, but that isnt right. In Europe, the Arabs came there and its the right of the natives to protect their customs. But we live here together; I was born here just as a Muslim was born here. I cant silence him and he cant silence me. Today, whoever is different is considered a nuisance. Thats the reason I think for many Israelis the ultra-Orthodox are a nuisance and the Arabs are a nuisance. But what can you do? You cant make everyone be like you. Then, on Nov. 20, Liztman said that he would agree to back the law if the Sabbath siren is excluded from it. In response, Tibi clarified that the Arabs would appeal to the High Court if a distinction is made that would discriminate against the muezzin calls as opposed to the Sabbath siren. Knesset member Issawi Frej of the Meretz Party expressed disappointment at the ultra-Orthodox inclination to support the law if it doesnt hurt the Sabbath siren. I thought that finally, theres a righteous man in Sodom, the ultra-Orthodox Minister Litzman, but he folded and Im very sorry about that, Frej told Al-Monitor. Now the burden of proof is on the ultra-Orthodox, to show that they are truly interested in cooperation with the Arabs. According to Frej, the Arab Knesset members have always sought cooperation with the ultra-Orthodox. The problem of the ultra-Orthodox is that they are too concerned with party discipline and benefits, and think only about their interests to the exclusion of anyone else, he said. Theoretically, nothing makes more sense than cooperation between the ultra-Orthodox and the Arabs. Theres no difference between Judaism and Islam they are both monotheistic religions. A religious person is a religious person and it doesnt matter what his religion is. The problem is that the ultra-Orthodox do not have the courage necessary to do so. Apparently it is too complicated [for them], because they get close and back away every time. Im sorry that the Arab parties have no partner in the Knesset; everyone is united against them. Odeh agrees with Frej, saying, I think all the disadvantaged groups in society have to find a way to work together. We have much in common with the ultra-Orthodox. The Arabs and the ultra-Orthodox have lived here as neighbors long before the founding of the state and did not hurt each other. We are not meant to be enemies. In many respects there is an overlap between our communal culture and their communal culture, and it is possible to cooperate. A source from Yahadut HaTorah told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, There is a lot of individual cooperation between Arab and ultra-Orthodox Knesset members that isnt known. There is a real personal friendship between some." The source added, Theres also a lot of understanding between the two sides because they both know about the complexity of religious and national commitments. On the other hand, there is a public relations problem today [vis-a-vis Israeli society] with publicly cooperating with the Arab parties especially now that they are one body [the Joint List regroups several Arab parties] and contain super-extreme elements within the Joint List. It does not look good. Not to the Israeli public in general and not to the ultra-Orthodox public. So we are very careful about it on the public level, but beneath the surface cooperation is very positive and productive. November 23, 2016 Shalom, ladies and gentlemen. Weve decided that we can dialogue directly, and Im glad I was given an opportunity to address you personally. This was the opening line of Maj. Gen. Yoav (Poli) Mordechai, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), in his first live video chat with Palestinians on the Facebook page Al-Monsiq (Arabic for The Coordinator). The Facebook page was set up in March 2015 to improve communications between residents of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on issues under COGATs purview, both relating to individual matters and to those of the Palestinian public in general. Mordechai is involved with the daily routine of more than 2.5 million Palestinians in the [Hamas-controlled] Gaza Strip and West Bank. In mid-November, Al-Monsiqs 80,000 Palestinian followers were asked to send in questions for Mordechai. Surprisingly, all those who did, including residents of the Gaza Strip who are banned by Hamas from direct contact with Israelis, identified themselves by name in seeking solutions to their many problems. Gaza has been under siege since 2007, and the West Bank is experiencing a severe economic downturn. So as not to anger the Palestinian authorities tasked with conveying residents appeals to Israel, Mordechai explained that relations with the Palestinian Authority (PA) are excellent, and occasionally even heaped praise on the PA and its coordination with Israel. Throughout the 30-minute chat, hundreds of participants reacted with likes and openly addressed the security, diplomatic and economic situation; some even wrote their impressions of the personality of Mordechai, who spoke to them in Arabic. One of the main messages Mordechai sought to deliver was that if you are asked to pay someone for an exit permit [from Gaza or the West Bank] to Israel, dont pay. Tough economic times and many Palestinians growing needs to seek a livelihood in Israel have spawned a flourishing industry of fake documentation and extortion by middlemen who charge poverty-stricken Palestinians high fees for obtaining entry permits. Mordechai told the participants that he had received a complaint from the PA to the effect that Israeli employers or their representatives are trading in permits to Israel. The general said that a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee had been established to find ways to put a stop to the extortion. But he did not provide a solution for those who would be shunted to the end of the line if they heed his advice and refuse to pay the exorbitant fees to the middlemen. I am happy to report that the number of Palestinians working in Israel these days is the highest since the year 2000 [when the second intifada broke out]. Some 75,000 permits have been granted, he said. Mordechai even added that Israel has an additional quota of 10,000 permits that can be issued immediately, and urged the Facebook users to apply through the PA. Abu Yasser of the Palestinian Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip asked why Gazans are not allowed to work in Israel. Mordechai responded that prior to the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June 2007 some 120,000 Gazans worked in Israel. However, this is incorrect. When the second intifada broke out, Israel imposed strict limitations on the number of work permits, granting 5,000 at most. When Hamas ousted Fatah from Gaza and took control, Israel canceled all permits. Mordechai promised Gazans that a pilot program was being conducted to examine the renewal of work permits of those who once worked in Israel. Another question that came up repeatedly was why Israel had toughened conditions for traders in Gaza seeking transit permits to do business in Israel and the West Bank. On Oct. 5, Al-Monitor reported that Israel had confiscated hundreds of such permits from Palestinians, who complained that their businesses were about to collapse as a result, and that this was an additional, almost fatal blow to Gazas already dying economy. Mordechai explained that it had come to Israels attention that some Gaza traders had been recruited by Hamas and had passed on sensitive information in regard to what they had seen in Israel. He named one such businessman, Mohammed Younes Moustafa, who admitted to having been recruited by Hamas, saying, Hamas exploits the fact that traders go to Israel. It stops them on their way to the Erez crossing and demands that they pass on information. Had it not been for this, we would not have prevented major traders from doing business with their Israeli colleagues. Fadi, a Gaza resident, complained that Israel had stopped the mail service to the Gaza Strip. Hamas used the mail service to smuggle weapons to terror groups and even cameras meant for installation on drones, Mordechai claimed, but did not give specific information. Nonetheless, he promised that if an official letter is received from the PA or an international organization willing to assume responsibility and promise that the mail would not serve as a contraband channel, the service would be renewed. Mordechai tried to explain to the participants the difference between Israels attitude toward Gaza which it no longer controls and the West Bank, praising the PA without mentioning its chairman, President Mahmoud Abbas. The economic and humanitarian situation is much improved [in the West Bank], not just compared to Gaza, but also in comparison with the Arab states around us in the Middle East, Mordechai said. I am glad to have had the opportunity to talk with you from Tel Aviv, were Mordechai's parting words. Not all the residents were satisfied with the answers he gave to their many complaints, but one participant conceded that this is the best coordinator Israel could have assigned to the post. Another Gaza resident suggested that if Israel is willing to conduct direct contacts with residents in Gaza, the next one would best be conducted face to face over a cup of coffee in Tel Aviv. November 22, 2016 WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump said Nov. 22 that we have to end the Syrian war, but he did not think the United States should be involved in nation building. Trump also said that he would love to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict, and thought his son-in-law Jared Kushner could help. We have to end that craziness thats going on in Syria, Trump said during a 75-minute, on-the-record meeting with reporters and editors at The New York Times headquarters on Nov. 22, according to tweets of the meeting posted by Times staff. We have to solve that problem, Trump said of Syria, adding, however, that he has a different view than everybody else. Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence met Nov. 21 with Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a veteran and fierce critic of US efforts to support rebels fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Gabbard, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and an early supporter of the presidential candidacy of Bernie Sanders, said she urged Trump in their meeting not to pursue a Syria no-fly zone or an escalation to overthrow the Assad regime, but to instead focus on fighting the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda. "President-elect Trump asked me to meet with him about our current policies regarding Syria, our fight against terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and [IS], as well as other foreign policy challenges we face, Gabbard said in a statement after the meeting. I felt it important to take the opportunity to meet with the president-elect now before the drumbeats of war that neocons have been beating drag us into an escalation of the war to overthrow the Syrian government, Gabbard said. I shared with him my grave concerns that escalating the war in Syria by implementing a so-called no-fly/safe zone would be disastrous for the Syrian people, our country and the world, Gabbard said. It would lead to more death and suffering, exacerbate the refugee crisis, strengthen [IS] and al-Qaeda, and bring us into a direct conflict with Russia, which could result in a nuclear war. They also discussed veterans affairs, Gabbard said, adding, I saw firsthand the cost of war and the lives lost due to the interventionist warmongering policies our country has pursued for far too long. Trump, speaking to The New York Times on Nov. 22, suggested he shared Gabbards opposition to US military intervention in wars of choice. "I don't think we should be a nation builder," Trump said in response to a question from columnist Tom Friedman on what he thought should be the US role in the world. Regarding possible national security appointments, Trump said he was seriously considering nominating James Mattis, a former Marine Corps general and Central Command commander, to be his secretary of defense. Mattis, who was eased out as Centcom commander in 2013, would require a congressional waiver to take the post due to a statute that requires that the secretary of defense be a civilian who has been out of uniform for at least seven years. But John McCain, R-Ariz., the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, indicated he would be highly supportive of the pick. I am pleased that the president-elect found Gen. Jim Mattis as impressive as I have in the many years I have had the privilege of knowing him," McCain said in a Nov. 21 statement. Trump told the Times that he asked Mattis in their Nov. 19 meeting what he thought of waterboarding and was surprised to learn that Mattis opposed it, the Times reported. Trump was less generous about the prospect of bringing into his administration Republican politicians who had criticized his candidacy and character throughout the tumultuous campaign. Outgoing Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., who narrowly lost her Senate re-election bid and who has also served as a member of the Armed Services Committee, would love a job in the administration, Trump said, but Trump told her No thank you, he said. Trump did speak warmly of one person who had sharply criticized him during the 2016 campaign: the president he will succeed, Barack Obama. "I had a great meeting with President Obama," Trump said of his Nov. 10 meeting with Obama at the White House. I really liked him a lot." I didn't know if Id like him, Trump added about Obama, whom he had not met before. I probably thought that maybe I wouldnt, but I did. I really enjoyed him a lot." He did tell me what he thought were the biggest problems, in particular one problem," Trump said, but declined to say what that was. A New Yorker report on an off-the-record Nov. 21 meeting between Trump and TV news executives and hosts suggested that problem might be North Korea. The one topic that seemed to elicit real seriousness from Trump, now that he has been briefed by intelligence officials, attendees said, is the situation in North Korea, The New Yorkers David Remnick wrote. Obama and Trump have spoken by phone at least twice since their White House meeting, Trump reportedly told the TV news executives Nov. 21. White House spokesman Josh Earnest confirmed to reporters Nov. 22 that they have spoken by phone at least once. Trump said Nov. 22 that he would love to be the one to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict, but he did not indicate how much of a priority that would be for his administration. Trump suggested that Kushner, the president-elect's 35-year-old son-in-law who played a key role advising Trump on his campaign, would probably not take a formal post in his administration, but could help make peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I would love to be the one who made peace with Israel and the Palestinians, Trump said. That would be such a great achievement. November 23, 2016 It seemed too good to be true: First there came the shelving of a controversial bill that would have given amnesty to child rapists who married their victims. Then today, Nov. 23, two prominent prisoners of conscience were reported to have been cleared of terror charges, inspiring hope that they would be set free. It later emerged that the trials of novelist Asli Erdogan and translator Necmiye Alpay over purported links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party will continue and that they would remain in jail. Despite the setback, the moves have sparked speculation that domestic and external pressure still have some effect in President Recep Tayyip Erdogans New Turkey. More critically, they suggest that Erdogan himself retains his instinct for pulling back from the brink when need be. The scrapping of the child rape measure followed a public uproar marked by days of widespread protests. Even Islamists joined the barrage of criticism of what many said would give pedophiles a free pass. Then in a surprise development, Erdogan called for further debate on the proposal just hours before the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would have passed it in the parliament on Nov. 22. Turkeys justice minister, who championed the bill, did a prompt volte-face, declaring, The matter is closed. The mass circulation newspaper Hurriyet cheered the news, announcing that common sense prevailed in front-page headlines. The opposition publication Sozcu wryly observed that the government had not heeded the people but the palace instead, meaning Erdogan. The affair was reminiscent of when Erdogan in 2004 sought to criminalize adultery but dropped the idea after a flurry of rebukes from the European Union. It had unfolded just as Turkey was seeking to begin talks for full membership of the bloc, which it duly did the following year. Erdogan, who was prime minister at the time, was credited for letting pragmatism prevail. Might it have triumphed again? The shelving of the bill pardoning child rapists came shortly before the European Parliament was expected to vote to freeze talks to bring Turkey into the EU. The Nov. 24 vote by the Strasbourg-based body was to be advisory, not binding. But it would nonetheless help cement the increasingly prevalent view that Turkish EU membership is a pipe dream, with potential ill effects for Turkeys wobbly economy. Turkeys accelerated descent into authoritarianism in the wake of the July coup attempt has sparked calls for the membership talks to be suspended. Kati Piri, the European Parliaments rapporteur for Turkey who is spearheading that campaign, told the BBC, "We do not think there is enough credibility to continue the talks on EU membership under the current circumstances. We cannot go on as if nothing has happened." Piri was referring, among other things, to the gargantuan purges that have left over 100,000 people jobless and stripped them of any right to appeal. About 36,000 have been jailed on flimsily supported charges that they partook in the coup that was allegedly masterminded by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. On Nov. 22, Turkey sacked a further 15,000 state employees, including soldiers and midwives, and arrested prominent Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk. Erdogan has responded to the European Parliament with classic defiance. He said the vote has no value and has threatened to hold a popular referendum on whether to ax the EU-Turkey talks. He is also talking about joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the security bloc dominated by Russia, China and Central Asian countries. But most analysts dismiss such outbursts as posturing. The EU remains Turkey's top trading partner and Erdogan knows that he owes his continued popularity above all to the AKP's economic performance. Where Piri and Erdogan agree is that the EU is brazenly hypocritical in its dealings with Turkey. It is no secret that the EUS decision to open new negotiation chapters with Turkey just as the country is backsliding on democratic reforms was calculated to secure Ankaras cooperation in keeping millions of Syrian and other refugees from making their way to Europe. It is precisely such double standards that Piri and like-minded deputies in the European Parliament say they want to redress by suspending talks with Turkey. When Turkey has become the worlds largest jail for journalists, with 10 members of parliament in prison, I cannot tell EU citizens or Turkish citizens that this is an honest process, Piri told the leftist daily Cumhuriyet in a recent interview. November 22, 2016 President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revived his pet topic of joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in place of the European Union. His call comes at a time when Turkeys ties with the West are at an all-time low because of Ankaras refusal to meet Western standards of democracy, veering toward authoritarian rule instead. Europe, in turn, is reluctant to clamp down on political supporters or alleged members of the so-called Fethullah Gulen Terror Organization, the group accused by Ankara of planning the failed coup on July 15. The same reluctance is seen with regard to political supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), despite the fact that the EU has also listed the PKK as a terrorist organization. [Turkey] shouldnt say 'Im for the EU no matter what.' For example, why shouldnt Turkey be part of the Shanghai 5, Erdogan said to reporters while flying back from a visit to Uzbekistan over the weekend. He was referring to the SCO by an alternative name. Erdogan said he had broached the subject with Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan. If Turkey takes its place in the Shanghai 5, this will enable it to act with greater ease, Erdogan said. There were cautiously encouraging, albeit qualified, responses from Russia and China to Erdogan. Speaking diplomatically, Aleksey Pushkov, the chairman of the Dumas Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a Tweet, Membership in the SCO would be a logical step for Erdogan because unlike the EU, SCO members are totally independent. Pushkov added, however, that the SCO is different than the EU, which it couldnt replace. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said they attached great importance to Turkey's wish to strengthen its ties with the SCO. "We are willing, together with other members of the [SCO] and in accordance with the rules of its legal documents, to seriously study [Erdogans call] on the basis of consensus consultation," Geng said. Erdogans desire to join the SCO dates back to 2013, when he first joked as he himself put it at the time about the subject with Putin, asking Russia to help Turkey join this organization so that Ankara could end its engagement with the EU. His approach to the subject since then, however, suggests he is not joking. Meanwhile, the apparent dialogue of the deaf between Turkey and the EU has resulted in calls in Europe to end EU membership talks with Ankara and calls in Turkey also supported by Erdogan for a final decision to be made regarding Ankaras EU membership bid, and even to hold a referendum if necessary. Turkey is currently a dialogue partner of the SCO, which is dominated by Russia and China. The other members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan are currently undergoing accession processes. Iran also wants to join. The SCO is defined as a Eurasian political, economic and military organization. Joining it would mean a radical change of sides for Turkey. If it were to happen, it would also have serious regional and global ramifications, since Ankara would most probably have to not only give up on its EU bid, but also its NATO membership. None of the SCO members, except prospective member India and to a lesser extent Pakistan, are true democracies. They are mostly governed by one-man-rule, authoritarian systems. Critics claim this is what attracts Erdogan, since there is no criticism from the SCO about the state of democracy and human rights in Turkey. Erdogan supporters nevertheless appear uncertain about his call to join the SCO. Resul Tosun, an Islamist commentator for the pro-government daily Star, says Erdogans call is a response to Westerners in a language they understand, showing them that Turkey has alternatives. Of course we know very well that the United States, the EU and the SCO are not friends of Turkey in the true sense of the word, Tosun said in his column, indicating in this way that there are limits to what Ankara can expect from the Eurasian grouping. Ahmet Tasgetiren, another Islamist commentator who also writes for Star, is more forthright. He points out that Erdogan brings this topic up whenever Turkeys ties with the West are undergoing turbulence. When looked at it in this context, the presidents call appears as a reaction to the fact that expectations from the West are not being fulfilled, Tasgetiren argued in his column. Despite being an Erdogan supporter, he felt the need to question this strategy, asking if there wasnt a better way other than talking about Turkeys SCO membership to convince Europe of Turkeys vital role for the West. Tasgetiren said Ankaras ties with countries like Russia and Iran are prone to blowing hot and cold, and asked what Turkey would do if the SCO opted for policies that Turkey cant accept. What concerns Islamists is that the SCO is a defense organization that is also committed to combating Islamic fundamentalism. Ankara and Moscow are already at odds over the fate of Crimean Tatars and Russias policies toward other Muslim communities within its borders. Ankara and Beijing, for their parts, are at odds over the fate of the Uighurs, a Muslim and ethnically Turkic minority in Chinas autonomous Xinjiang province who complain of Chinese repression. Ankara remains largely silent on these issues for the sake of its pragmatic ties with Russia and China. Appearing to support Russian and Chinese pressures on its Muslim minorities or ever remaining silent especially in the event of serious uprisings among these minorities however, would seriously agitate Erdogans Islamist support base. Retired Ambassador Unal Cevikoz, who as a NATO officer opened the alliances Information Office in Moscow in 1994 and who currently has a column in daily Hurriyet, remains skeptical about SCO membership for Turkey. This organization has not exactly been welcoming for Turkey. Iran, which also wants membership, has been given observer status, while Turkey is only a dialogue partner, which is a lesser status, Cevikoz told Al-Monitor. Cevikoz also believes that Erdogans call for SCO membership is designed to express dissatisfaction with the West. He added, however, that this leaves Turkey looking unpredictable and untrustworthy in the eyes of its Western allies. Cevikoz said the SCO cannot be an alternative to NATO and adds that joining it would also place Turkey in a lesser league of nations since none of the SCOs present members are true democracies. The government remains largely silent over Erdogans call, which some argue reflects unease over this proposal. Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus employed a cautious tone during his regular press conference Nov. 21. He said developing ties with the SCO did not mean that Turkey would have to end its ties with other countries. Kurtulmus was of course aware that Turkey was hosting NATOs annual Parliamentary Assembly in Istanbul as he was speaking. Much was said during the assembly, which was also attended by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, about Turkeys pivotal role in the Western alliance. If Erdogan, who also addressed NATOs Parliamentary Assembly, truly dreams of seeing Turkey in the SCO, this looks more likely to remain a pipe dream due to the sheer force of circumstances. November 22, 2016 Ahmet Turk is a man with posture. He appears to be the embodiment of nobility and dignity. His noble personality comes with his feudal background; he is the scion of a Kurdish landlord and tribal chiefs in a vast land along Turkeys frontier. While his dignity gives the impression that it comes from within rather than its being part of his Kurdish aristocratic ancestry, the combination of both creates a very charismatic leader. Even his surname, in a sense, makes him unique and a center of attraction. Turk is an ironic surname for a Kurd who dedicated his life for Kurdish rights in his struggle against the Turkish state. Still, it also suggests that the destiny of the Kurds is inseparable from that of the Turks in Turkey. With his growing age he is 75 and his ever-graying hair, mustache and eyebrows, Turk has earned the image of a wise man. Yet he has not taken care of his body as well as he could have; he is a very heavy and incurable chain smoker despite having health problems that have included surgery. For him, lighting cigarettes one after the other is a form of comfort. It is a kind of a necessary relief from the permanent tension that has been his fate his entire life. He was the oldest and longest-serving Kurdish politician in the Turkish parliament. He was first elected in 1973, from a center-right Turkish party. He was elected from Mardin six times, has been involved in Turkish social-democrat politics and from the mid-1990s on he emerged as the fatherly figure on the Kurdish political scene. He has been the chairman of a number of Kurdish political parties they were banned one after another until 2011. That is the last time he was elected to parliament. In 2015, he left Ankara politics to serve Mardin as its mayor. He was removed from office a week ago by the national government as part of the crackdown that began following the failed coup attempt in July. On Nov. 21, he was detained and not allowed to meet his lawyers for five consecutive days. During a long conversation in Mardin in 2009, on a terrace of a hotel overlooking the seemingly infinitely stretching northern Mesopotamian plains toward Syria, he recalled his memories of the intense torture he was subjected to in the notorious Diyarbakir prison during military rule. He was as serene as ever. I could not control myself and interrupted, crying at him, Are you out of your mind? What are you doing now? He looked at me with puzzled eyes, What do you mean? I told him, Listening to your saga of almost 30 years ago, I cannot understand it. For a person like you who has undergone such things, you either had to take the mountains or you had to leave politics forever and opt to become an obedient non-person. But you are still active in politics despite the pressures, insults and threats. He just lowered his eyes and continued his stories about the Diyarbakir prison with his characteristic calm voice. He has so long been a household name in Turkey participating in the legitimate political sphere and legal political institutions as a voice of reason for ending the violence in regard to the Kurdish question that his detention shocked the widest segments of society. Hurriyet columnist Ahmet Hakan described Turk as the most peaceful, most inclusive, most anti-violence, most moderate and wisest figure of the Kurdish political movement, and the one most likely to compromise. His detention will not help but to increase our hopelessness and pessimism further, Hakan added. Hopelessness and pessimism in regard to what? The answer is in regard to resolution of the Kurdish conflict through peaceful, political means; that is, through negotiations. A conservative pen considered to be Islamist could not help but ask in a newly launched website: Ahmet Turk is detained. Fine. But with whom will you talk to resolve the Kurdish problem? The article was accompanied by a photo of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Turk from the year 2009; that encounter had symbolized the Kurdish opening when the Erdogan government had started an initiative to resolve the Kurdish issue. The detention of a larger-than-life figure such as Turk is precisely the manifestation of Erdogan and his governments choice that Turkey is no longer interested in resolving its Kurdish issue through negotiations with the Kurdish political movement. The detention of Turk is a dramatic link in the chain of moves that began with the arrests of the co-mayors of the Kurdish political and cultural center Diyarbakir and reached very dangerous magnitudes with the arrest of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtas and 10 deputies of the party that constitutes the third-largest bloc in the Turkish parliament. The nearly 50 remaining deputies have been removed from parliament and are not involved in legislative activities. Mardin HDP Deputy Mithat Sancar claimed that Demirtas' life is in danger. Demirtas has been moved to Edirne prison, in Turkey's westernmost town on the border with Bulgaria. This also is where most of the Islamic State suspects are imprisoned. The detention of Turk is not only a final link in the chain of the crackdown on Kurdish political figures, it is a further insult to injury for the Kurds. A Kurdish civil rights activist from Diyarbakir, Nurcan Baysal, wrote that Turk represents many things simultaneously for the Kurds. Above all, he represents the memory of the Kurds of the history of their struggles. To detain him is to detain the Kurdish peoples long history [struggling] for their rights, she concluded. The symbolism of Turks detention is the display of the determination of the Erdogan regime in Turkey to end the demands represented by the Kurdish political movement, once and for all. The Kurdish political movement is a rubric used to define the political spectrum ranging from the Kurdish insurgency represented by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to those elected representatives of the Kurds in the Turkish polity. An example of this is the arrest of Demirtas, arguably the most shining and popular young political figure in Turkey who had competed against Erdogan in the presidential elections in 2014 and who led a pro-Kurdish party past the 10% threshold that allowed it to be seated in parliament in the general elections of 2015. Detaining Turk, the most veteran and peace-loving Kurdish political figure, is tantamount if a comparison can be made to the Irish question to totally wiping out Sinn Fein in terms of negotiations, and only facing off with the PKK (or, as it was in the Irish case, facing only the Irish Republican Army). This has a dimension related to Syria as well. A few days ago, a deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party who wanted to remain anonymous told me that there is a strong commitment to see the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People's Protection Units (YPG) wiped out on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey. Turkeys Kurdish political movement is closely related to the PYD and YPG in Syria. They interact. And while Turkeys government is suppressing its own Kurds, it also is seeking to crush the PYD, which the government sees as a Syrian extension of Turkeys Kurdish movement. Especially now, following the detention of Turk, reviving the peace process with the Kurds in Turkey is no more than a pipe dream. Turks detention perhaps even means that Turkeys Kurdish question has entered into the gravest episode in its long history. November 23, 2016 The world is a rough place these days for Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Economic and political problems and domestic unrest in addition to serious security threats in Syria and Iraq are causing major headaches for the Turkish leader and his government. But there is some positive news for Erdogan and the AKP. Donald Trumps election raised hopes in Turkey that Pennsylvania-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen would be extradited to Ankara when the new American commander-in-chief takes office on Jan. 20. Turks from across the political spectrum accuse Gulen and his followers which they label the Fethullah Gulen Terror Organization, or FETO of masterminding the failed coup attempt in July. They expect Washington to take steps against the Gulenist network. Trumps choice for national security adviser, retired US Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who lobbied on behalf of the Turkish government prior to the elections, bodes well for Ankara. On the day of the election, Flynn wrote an article in which he compared Gulen to Osama bin Laden and called upon the United States to not provide him safe haven. Turkey has already scored some points against Gulen on the international scene. In September, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq seized Gulenist schools on its territory and sold them. In October, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) listed Gulen and his network as a terror group. The GCC and OIC designations are especially important because the latter represents the worlds 57 Muslim states. In late July, pro-AKP media outlets had claimed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a GCC member, had cooperated with Gulenists in the failed coup along with former Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan. The decisions by two of the Muslim worlds most influential groups are an important victory for Ankara. But the situation is far from ideal for Erdogan and the AKP government. When President-elect Donald Trump moves into the White House in January, just like his predecessor, Barack Obama, he may not be able to circumvent cumbersome US laws and regulations for extradition and just hand Gulen over to Erdogan. At any rate, Gulen could leave the United States before risking a confrontation with the Trump administration and take up residence in a country that does not have an extradition treaty with Turkey. The pro-AKP daily newspaper Sabah already has gamed that scenario, suggesting three countries that stand out as possible new homes for Gulen. The first is Belgium, which has a history of harboring armed groups that target Turkey. Canada is another alternative because of its proximity to Pennsylvania. Brazil is a potential destination because, Sabah claims, the Brazilian Senates recent impeachment coup against former President Dilma Rousseff makes it an ideal choice for Gulenists. Hamidullah Ozturk, Gulens imam who allegedly organized the groups networks within the Turkish armed forces, apparently went to Brazil two years ago and is facilitating his masters possible move to the South American country. If Gulen does move to a third country over which Turkey lacks influence, what options would Ankara have? For example, could Egypt, which has had poor relations with Turkey since its own coup in July 2013, host Gulen? After all, in the wake of Turkeys failed coup, a member of the Egyptian parliament had suggested that Cairo should offer Gulen asylum. An Egyptian researcher based in Washington who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity ruled out that possibility. He said the idea to give Gulen asylum in Egypt has no policy substance at all. I honestly think it was motivated by pettiness hit back at Erdogan for the sake of hitting back at Erdogan. The Egyptian state hates all Islamists and yet [the parliament member who raised the idea] wants to give Gulen, an Islamist, asylum? Another reason Gulen would find Egypt inhospitable is that Cairos main regional supporters, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, would hesitate to offend Ankara. But even if Egypt does not grant Gulen asylum, there are over 190 countries in the world, and less than 20 of them (aside from European Union members) have extradition agreements with Turkey. If Gulen were to move to a country that does not extradite criminals and suspected criminals to Ankara, does Turkeys National Intelligence Organization (MIT), judiciary, Foreign Ministry, police and armed forces have the wherewithal to pursue and bring him and his followers to justice? Erhan Canikoglu, a retired MIT operative who writes extensively on intelligence and espionage matters for his website IntelTurk, is skeptical. For one, he thinks Gulen and his network are in the service of US and other Western intelligence agencies. Canikoglu told Al-Monitor, I dont think it would be easy [for the West] to give up on [Gulen]. Letting Gulen leave the United States means he could be captured like [Abdullah] Ocalan and brought to Turkey. That would mean Gulens schools around the world will cease to offer advantages [to the West]. (MIT apprehended Kurdistan Workers Party leader Ocalan in Kenya in 1999 with US and Israeli assistance. He remains in prison.) He added that even if Gulen were to leave the United States, world intelligence agencies, through their own means or by cooperating with each other, could determine which country Gulen would go and do everything they can to catch him. Would Turkish intelligence be among them? Canikoglu thinks it would take a new cadre and a change of leadership in MIT and a consistent focus on Gulen to deliver the exiled cleric to justice. It probably would take several years and tens (if not hundreds) of millions of dollars to train a critical mass of new experts and direct more senior MIT personnel to lead those younger operatives in Gulens case. And without the contribution of other agencies, especially ministries like defense, interior, foreign affairs and justice, Turkeys attempts to bring Gulen home will have limited impact. In other words, if Turkey really wants to capture Gulen or at least disrupt and degrade his network, it needs to step up its legal, diplomatic and intelligence game. A big part of that process will involve halting the ongoing pursuit of occasional sympathizers inside Turkey who maybe once donated to Gulens network or bought a few of his books. The same goes for academics and intellectuals who had only tenuous ties to Gulenists and no longer cooperate with Pennsylvanias most famous resident. In short, if Turkey wants to succeed against Gulen abroad, it needs to rebuild its domestic strength, because domestic peace is the greatest foreign policy weapon. And that strength will come only if Erdogan and his AKP end their crackdown on their opponents and build a more inclusive political system in Turkey. November 23, 2016 Ever since coming to power in November 2002, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won all elections he contested, almost always by increasing his popular support. In terms of achievement, however, Erdogans image and policies have not followed a steady trend. While his first decade in power was marked by reformist policies, the past five years have seen an ever-strengthening tilt toward authoritarianism. As a result, the same fundamental question has kept popping up: How does Erdogan manage to sustain his popular support and electoral success while facing so many accusations of authoritarianism and projecting such a nondemocratic image? Ankaras authoritarian policies have clearly peaked in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt. The record of the past four months is plain as day. The clampdown on Kurdish politicians and the liberal opposition proceeding along with the purge of putschists, the suspension of freedoms, the drive to establish a political hegemony over the state and the arbitrariness in the justice system have all reached unprecedented levels, coupled with a security-centered approach on the Kurdish question, a hard-line regional posture marked by military interventions and an increasingly fragile economy. So is Erdogans popular support going down this time? According to public opinion polls, not only has he not suffered any decline in support, but he has seen his power and popularity increase. Metropolls October survey found that voter support for Erdogans Justice and Development Party (AKP) has reached 53%, a 3.5 point increase from the 49.5% vote the party won in the last general elections a year ago. Another respected polling company, A&G, puts the AKPs voter support at 55%. Erdogans personal popularity has also risen. His approval rate has increased 10 points from the pre-putsch period, keeping above 50% in the past four months, according to Metropoll. What to make of this paradox? How does the authoritarian climate go hand in hand with rising support for those responsible for it? Two major factors could explain the paradox. The first, no doubt, stems from the historical function and class transformation that Erdogan represents as the only conservative politician who has succeeded in upending the Kemalist republican model. Thanks to Erdogan, pious social groups and religious values, alienated by the founding republican model, moved to the center of the political system. The conservative segments of Turkish society became equal to secular groups in terms of cultural rights, economic power and political representation. This shift represents the realization of a century-old aspiration for equality and lies right at the heart of the conservative Turks perception of democracy. In addition, Erdogan succeeded in consolidating this shift by building a new middle class. Drawing on favorable economic conditions, he expanded Turkeys middle class from 21% of the population in 2002 to 41% in 2011. In sum, thanks to Erdogan, the social segments he represents managed to jump over two major crossbars an achievement that constitutes the essence of his ongoing political spell. Moreover, Erdogans policies had a positive effect on the country as a whole. Turkish law became more democratic in line with the European Unions Copenhagen criteria and the scope of freedoms expanded. As Turkeys conservatives waged a struggle against the modernist political establishment in the 2003-2011 period, civil demands, which constituted part of their agenda, came to the fore and blended with libertarian principles in the political zeitgeist of the time. The pious social segments, in particular, came into contact with universal values and market economy rules and underwent a transformation process by partially adopting them. The second factor behind the ongoing support for Erdogan stems from a social wave of nationalism and introversion that has grown stronger under the impact of political turbulence in recent years. Starting in 2013, the liberal trend among Turkish conservatives began to weaken, giving way to an anti-liberal one. As the Arab Spring fell flat at the expense of Islamic movements and the confrontation between Islam and the West toughened, apprehension of the West and its values flared up in Turkey. Simultaneously, a wave of violence hit the country. In the past year alone, 17 bomb attacks claimed the lives of nearly 300 civilians. On the Kurdish problem, the collapse of the settlement process eroded faith in political dialogue, and the Syrian war began to increasingly bear on domestic politics via the Syrian Kurds and the Islamic State. As an immediate result of those developments, the atmosphere of democratic politics gave way to a security-focused sentiment and a surge of power. Thus, another underlying feature of the Turkish right a rapport for power, obedience and order came to the fore and began to gain dominance. This, too, is backed by the findings of opinion polls. According to the A&G survey, for instance, 91% of Turks back the governments anti-terror policies, even though they involve human rights violations and oppressive measures such as the arrest of Kurdish politicians. The same survey finds that 64% approve the ongoing crackdown on followers of Fethullah Gulen, the accused mastermind of the attempted coup, even though it has been marked by injustices and a growing arbitrariness on the part of the authorities, with more than 100,000 people removed from public service and more than 30,000 put behind bars. In terms of foreign policy and surging nationalism, the Metropoll survey offers some striking findings as well. Asked whether Turkey has any rights over Mosul, 54% of the respondents reply in the affirmative. Support for Turkeys continued military presence in Bashiqa near Mosul and military intervention in Syria is 55% in both instances. The tensions on Turkeys political scene are mirrored by anxiety and distress in society. Global liberal winds had once fueled democratization and class transformation in Turkey. Today, an anti-liberal political and social wave is on the rise, marked most notably by the trends in Poland and Hungary, the British vote to leave the European Union and Donald Trumps victory in the US presidential polls. Turkey is both influenced by and contributing to this wave. The politicians desire for hegemony and the societys demand for stability are moving fast toward a paternalistic order. And this is what makes Erdogans rise unstoppable. Its not just Erdogans but Turkeys paradox. best-buy-black-thursday-675940c531e8e8a4.jpg Waiting outside Best Buy in Mobile extends close to the entrance of neighboring Sam's Club. (file) Here are the top stories in business on AL.com for Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. Follow all of Alabama's business news here anytime. Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales are only days away but as we've seen, not all deals are created equal. The U.S. Treasury's State Small Business Credit Initiative's annual report named an Alabama bank among its largest lenders. The Birmingham Crossplex development can do better than a Comfort Inn, the Jefferson County Millennial Democrats gathered Tuesday to say. Anyone looking for some extra cash this holiday season might be tempted to join a "Blessing Loom," the latest money-making scheme spreading through Facebook. But you need to be careful before you send in your money. A builder who won a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city of Birmingham in 2015, accused the leadership of the Birmingham Construction Industry Authority on Tuesday of corruption. null Disney describes Moana as "an adventurous, tenacious and compassionate 16-year-old who sails out on a daring mission to save her people. Along the way, she discovers the one thing she's always sought: her own identity." ((c)2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.) (DISNEY) Disney is calling families to theaters this Thanksgiving weekend with its latest animated feature, "Moana," and an animator from Mobile had a big hand in the project and the look of its titular heroine. Disney describes Moana as an adventurous South Pacific teenager "who is inspired to leave the safety and security of her island on a daring journey to save her people," with help from the mighty demigod Maui. Whether she ranks with Anna and Elsa of "Frozen" remains to be seen, though some are already saying that the new movie's song "How Far I'll Go" is the next "Let It Go." Malcon Pierce, a Disney animator whose credits include work on "Tangled," "Frozen," "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Moana," is shown in a photo taken during a 2009 visit home in Mobile, Ala. (G.M. Andrews/Press-Register file) Moana was brought to life by a team that included animation supervisor Malcon Pierce, a native of the Mobile area whose big-league animation career started with 2009's "Ice Age 3." He also worked on "Open Season 2" at the start of his career. In a 2009 Press-Register interview, Pierce said that seeing his name as the "Ice Age 3" credits rolled was a thrill. "I'd always wanted to see it happen, and it happened a lot sooner than I thought it would, you know?" After his fast start in the industry, it wasn't immediately clear what his next step would be. He came back to south Alabama, where he'd attended Spanish Fort Elementary, St. Mary's Middle School, McGill-Toolen Catholic High School and eventually Davidson High School. He visited his mother, Mary Pierce, and made a side trip to do a little job-hunting at the Siggraph convention in New Orleans. Disney looked at his animation reel and told him they were interested, but didn't think he was quite ready yet, he said. So he moved back to Montreal and resumed his studies at the online Animation Mentor program. But soon, Disney called. They wanted him to work on "Tangled," a "Rapunzel" retelling released in 2010. Pierce was off to Burbank for the long haul, followed by longtime girlfriend Keely Tate; the two have since married. Since then, he hasn't had much time to look back. "After 'Tangled' I rolled on to 'Wreck-It Ralph,'" he said. That came out in 2012. He was a supervising animator on 2013's "Frozen" and an animator on 2014's "Big Hero 6." For "Moana," he was an animation supervisor, and part of the job involved designing the title character. Animation has come a long way from the days when artists would develop characters via sketches. As Pierce describes it, the usual approach now is that a team of animators will tackle a specific character and develop it facet by facet: Its look, its expressions, its movements. "We have this very organic process," he said. "We're all sort of hashing things out, to get the character up and running." This pre-production stage is a far cry from being put at a desk to draw frames for a scene in which every detail already has been decided, and Pierce said he loves it. "Everybody gets to have a lot of ownership," he said. "We spent a lot of time early on thinking of Moana not as a character but as a sculpture," Pierce said. Maybe that sounds a little weird, since the very word "animation" is about motion. But characters are, in a sense, 3-D models inside a computer. "I really wanted to have the character feel extremely believable," Pierce said. "We would look at the same expression from every angle." He spent time thinking about how a 16-year-old would act, and trying to bring that spontaneity and rambunctiousness to the character. From descriptions of the plot, it sounds like Moana needs it: She goes on a seafaring quest with Maui to find a couple of magic artifacts, and her other ally is a doofus comic-relief rooster. But Pierce said the story really is about identity. "This movie is about Moana trying to figure out who she is," despite a lot of outside pressure, he said. The work seems to have borne fruit. In an enthusiastic review, Variety says that Moana is revealed to be "one of Disney's most remarkable heroines yet: Rather than waiting for her prince (or whomever) to come, Moana takes control of her own destiny ... As princess movies go, this one broadens the studio's horizons." As for him, he said the big lesson of his quest so far is that you need to keep your inspiration fresh. "I think for me, that is something I've discovered only in the past few years ... What's helped me the most is to me sure you're inspired by the right thing," he said. "For me it's an elusive thing I'm trying to hunt down. It evolves with you." There could be a "Let It Go"-style song in that thought. But for now, Pierce is more about the images. And he's proud of the ones in "Moana." "It's just beautiful," he said, and he thinks viewers will enjoy escaping from real-world winter into the film's sunny Pacific setting. "I do feel like it's the most beautiful film we've ever made," he said. Meanwhile, he's got his next assignment. "I just rolled on to 'Wreck-It Ralph 2' a couple of weeks ago," he said. "We're pedal to the metal getting that up to speed." Disney's "Moana" was scheduled to open nationwide on Wednesday, Nov. 23. It is rated PG and runs 1:43. Pilgrims at Thanksgiving.png People often think of the Pilgrims at this time of year, imagining them as people wearing funny buckled hats carrying blunderbuss muzzle rifles. The religious refugees have been romanticized throughout American history as the founders of Thanksgiving. (US Library of Congress/Jean Gerome Leon Ferris)) People often think of the Pilgrims at Thanksgiving, imagining them as people wearing funny buckled hats and carrying blunderbuss muzzle rifles. But who were the Pilgrims? The Pilgrims were devout Christians who fled Europe seeking religious freedom. They were Calvinists who wanted to be distinct from the state Church of England. The 1559 Act of Uniformity made it a crime not to attend services with official Church of England congregations. Some Separatist leaders were even executed for sedition in 1593. So the Pilgrims left England, first for Holland, then for the New World. Headed for Virginia, they went off course and landed and settled in what would become known as New England. The Mayflower pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in 1620 after a difficult voyage, then met with hardships in their first winter. They held a ceremony of Thanksgiving in the fall of 1621. The Native Americans they celebrated with did not share their religious views, but joined in celebrating a successful harvest with plentiful food to survive the winter. Thanksgiving, from its very beginning in America, has been an interfaith holiday about faith, food and gratitude to God. "I think it's become the most inclusive holiday we have," said Temple Emanu-El Rabbi Jonathan Miller. "When a person is sitting down for Thanksgiving, there is a sense that this is our land, this is where we belong. It makes a declaration: We're here, and we belong. It's really a celebration of home." Aboard the Mayflower on the way to Plymouth Rock, the 44 religious dissenters separated themselves from the 66 English adventurers on the trip. They called themselves "saints" and the others "strangers." Of the 110 passengers, fewer than 50 survived a harsh winter and were alive in the fall of 1621. By then, they had all been humbled by burying friends and relying on the natives, who helped them find enough food to live. The distinction between saints and strangers faded. They dropped their holier-than-thou attitude toward the other Mayflower passengers. They all became known as pilgrims. They cared less about converting the natives to Christianity, and more about thanking them for their assistance. "It is a great form of unity," said the Rev. Ed Hurley, pastor of South Highland Presbyterian Church. "All faiths have a sense of thanksgiving as part of their theology. If you go back to the Pilgrims inviting the Indians, they were reaching out across the divide, expressing gratitude." That story makes Thanksgiving a truly American holiday, appreciated by people of all faiths. "It's one of the enduring narratives of America's founding," said Ann Berry, executive director of the Pilgrim Society, which was founded in 1820 to commemorate the memory of the Mayflower pilgrims who arrived at Plymouth Rock in 1620. "In the fall of 1621, they had a harvest feast," Berry said. "It's the foundation of this holiday we're about to celebrate. Over the centuries, it has become a very American tradition that has been shaped by a lot of other things in our history." During the 1500s, the Puritans had tried to abolish Christmas and Easter and other feast days of the Roman Catholic Church, but began proclaiming days of "thanksgiving." That first American Thanksgiving in 1621 was probably in late September or early October, to reflect on surviving their first winter. Some of the older traditions reasserted themselves at the first Thanksgiving, with games and feasting, he said. The pilgrims were firing off their weapons. That may have summoned the natives, who had a treaty to help protect them, Berry said. "If they heard pilgrims shooting guns, they may have thought they needed assistance," Berry said. "King Massasoit of the Wampanoag tribe came with 90 men. They went out and killed five deer, which was part of the feast." The Wampanoag tribe outnumbered the pilgrims, about 90 to 50. The natives may have seen it as a diplomatic gathering, affirming their association with the new tribe of Englishmen. Edward Winslow wrote in 1622, "Our harvest being gotten in, our men went fowling." Four pilgrims went out to shoot ducks or other birds, possibly turkeys. Plymouth Colony Gov. William Bradford wrote later that there was a "great store of wild turkeys." There was also cod, bass and other fish, Berry said. There was probably more venison and fish than turkey. Though that first Thanksgiving was more of a harvest feast, at some point the very devout Pilgrims would have offered a prayer. In the later 1600s and early 1700s, they began calling a day of Thanksgiving on a regular basis, later in the year, usually the first week in December. They were not harvesting anything at that time of year, but they were visiting and exchanging gifts. After the Civil War ended, President Abraham Lincoln declared a day of Thanksgiving that evolved into the modern observance. A no-questions-asked gun buyback at two Birmingham public housing communities led to the surrender of 30 weapons, the majority of them in working order. The Housing Authority of the Birmingham District on Saturday held the voluntary gun buybacks at Morton Simpson Village in the Kingston neighborhood and Marks Village in the Gate City neighborhood, both scenes of gun violence in the past. Authorities offered up to $50 per gun, and took in 26 working handguns and long guns as well as four guns no longer in working condition: a Marlin Bolt-Action 12-Gauge shotgun, a Springfield 20-gauge shotgun, a .22 short single shot bolt action rifle and a .32-caliber 6-shot revolver. They said they deemed the initiative a success. The gun buybacks were open to both housing authority residents and the overall community. The Birmingham Police Department partnered with HABD and disposed of the firearms in the no-questions-asked transactions. "I was struck when I spoke to one man who came with his wife and child to turn in some guns. They came before we officially opened the doors. I asked him why, and he said, 'This is for my family,'" said HABD President and CEO Michael Lundy. "We all have a role to play in making our streets, neighborhoods and cities safe for our children, and this was just one step." The buyback events are part of beefed-up efforts by the housing authority to address violence in the communities. Earlier this month - on Nov. 3 - a public safety town hall meeting was held in Birmingham's Morton Simpson Village in the Kingston community as authorities continue to try to enhance crime-fighting efforts in the city's public housing communities. A similar event was held last month at Marks Village in the Gate City community after two women and two men were shot, one of them fatally, on Sept. 11. Bobby Clayton, 20, died shortly after arriving at UAB Hospital. The shooting happened at 8:15 p.m. that Sunday, about an hour after the 1st Annual Stop the Violence Gate City Peace Day. The event was held in the Gate City's Lewis Park, about four blocks from where the shooting happened. Following that shooting, Lundy submitted an eight-point plan to the housing authority board which included hiring a director of public safety, increasing patrols, hosting the town hall meetings, working closer with police, holding gun buy-back program and establishing a community watch. As part of that, he said he would seek some form of a gun ban. HABD will also work with the police to begin greater enforcement of the city curfew for juveniles. New signs will soon be erected around the community to reflect the curfew enforcement. Lundy said there is no single solution and each initiative works to support the other. "In addition to collecting the firearms, the buyback was also a chance for us all to become more immersed in the communities we serve, talk to residents, and make a pronounced statement of support for public safety," Lundy said. A builder, who won a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city of Birmingham in 2015, accused the leadership of the Birmingham Construction Industry Authority on Tuesday of corruption. Chris Woods, owner of C.W. Woods Contracting Services Inc., said BCIA Executive Director Michael Bell and Associate Director David Merrida came into his office in early 2012 and told him he was going to be replaced on city projects if he didn't "pay to play." Michael Bell is the brother of Birmingham Mayor William Bell. "I couldn't take this and I said, 'What is the real deal with this?' And David and Mike sitting there together said, well I need to pay them in order to play," Woods said. Woods made the public allegations during Tuesday morning's Birmingham City Council meeting. He asked city officials to remove Bell and Merrida from their posts. "I recommend that you look into this and take action," Woods told the councilors and city staff. Messages seeking comment from the Birmingham Construction Industry Authority and the Birmingham mayor's office were not immediately returned after the meeting. Woods claimed Bell and Merrida had a "personal vendetta" against him and that "they didn't like him." He said both men told him he would be replaced on the city projects he was currently working on and taken off the list for future projects at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport because of their dislike for him. When asked about the allegations by AL.com, Woods said the Birmingham Construction Industry Authority tracks minority participation in city construction projects and doesn't have the power to fire contractors. "They shouldn't have that kind of influence," he said. Woods, in his public comments, did not make any allegations about the mayor's office. Woods said he spoke out on Tuesday in order "prevent this from happening again." Last month, the city of Birmingham paid a $2.58 million judgement to C.W. Woods Contracting. The company won a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city in September 2015. Woods claimed he was wrongfully fired in August 2012 and wasn't paid for three construction projects he was hired to complete by former Mayor Larry Langford. The work included the city's West Police Precinct, the Fountain Heights Recreation Center and the Negro Southern League Museum. In September 2015, a Jefferson County jury awarded damages totaling $3.5 million to Woods after a weeklong civil trial. In January, Circuit Judge Jim Hughey III reduced the judgment by $1 million after finding the jury made several mistakes calculating pre-judgment interest on several construction contracts and made other legal errors in calculating damages. The Birmingham Construction Industry Authority was created about 25 years ago as part of a settlement in a reverse race discrimination lawsuit by the Associated General Contractors trade group over a minority set-aside program established by then-Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington. Phillip Louis Chance, an inmate who once was at the center of a highly publicized tug of war between Alabama and Michigan and a symbol for the treatment of juveniles in Alabama's justice system, died Nov. 8. At age 15 Chance was charged with murder in Alabama, later convicted, and placed in an adult prison. He escaped in 1981 to his home in Michigan where for 15 years governors in that state granted him asylum - one believing Chance had been railroaded as a young black man in a small southern town. Chance settled down in Detroit and began raising a family during that time. A federal court in 1996 ordered him back to Alabama to continue serving his sentence. Three years later he was granted parole, but then-Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman stepped in and had the parole board revoke that decision. "My father spent the majority of his life in the Alabama prison system as a political prisoner," one of Chance's daughters, Jade Chance, posted on her Facebook page the day of her father's death. "He fought for his freedom for almost 40 years. My father set himself free & made his transition this morning." Chance, 59, died at a Montgomery hospital of congestive heart failure, according to Alabama Department of Corrections Public Information Officer Bob Horton. Chance had been serving his sentence at Kilby Correctional Facility before his death. Controversy at every step At each step of his life since he was a teen, including his last dying months, Chance was seemingly at the center of controversy everywhere he turned. Chance was from Michigan and had come to visit relatives in Choctaw County Alabama in November 1972. He was 15 at the time. During that visit Walter Drinkard, an 81-year-old Choctaw County gas station owner was stabbed with a screwdriver and robbed of $204. Drinkard died. Chance, his brother, and a cousin were charged with murder and all three were convicted. Chance cooperated with the investigation, pointing the finger at his cousin as the person who stabbed Drinkard. He said he was outside with his older brother in the car oblivious to what their cousin was doing. Chance later showed law enforcement where cash, checks and papers had been hidden. But Chance said in an interview 23 years ago that he pleaded guilty to murder on the advice of his lawyer who told him he didn't stand a chance because Choctaw County residents wanted his head for the death of a white man. He said his lawyer told him he might get early parole if he pleaded guilty. Chance gave conflicting statements about his involvement in Drinkard's death. But one official with the Detroit chapter of the NAACP later said the teenaged Chance was bullied into make a false statement. Chance, after his conviction at age 16 was placed in an adult prison. But in 1981, days after he was denied his first chance at parole, Chance walked away from a prison work program and fled to his home in Michigan. That's when Chance's case went national. In 1982, Chance was granted asylum by then-Michigan Gov. William, who said the Alabama legal system treated Chance unfairly when it convicted him at age 15. Chance settled in Detroit, bought a house, married and had two daughters. The asylum set off a 14-year fight between Alabama and Michigan over whether Chance should be extradicted back to Alabama to continue serving his sentence. In all, three Michigan governors provided asylum. Chance became an issue when U.S. Senator Jeff Session was running for the office of Alabama Attorney General in 1994. Then Alabama A.G. had accused Sessions of "bungling" the effort to get Chance extradited back to Alabama when Sessions was U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama when Chance first fled to Michigan. Sessions called the claim "baseless" and "irresponsible." Sessions defeated Evans in that race. A federal appeals court ended the controversy in May 1996 when it ruled Michigan's governor couldn't refuse Alabama's extradition request. One of those judges, Nathaniel Jones, expressed distress about returning Chance to a "prison system with a wretched history and, even more distressing, a present demeanor violative of international standards on the treatment of all prisoners," according to a statement Monday on the the Equal Justice Initiative website. Alabama at that time had brought back chain gangs and was using the hitching post to punish prisoners, the EJI noted. Both of those practices have since been abandoned. Jones also had compared Chance to Haywood Patterson, one of the "Scottsboro Boys" who in the 1930s were wrongfully convicted in the rape of a white woman in Jackson County, Alabama. In the "Scottsboro Boys" case Patterson also was granted asylum by Michigan's governor, Jones wrote. In 1999 Chance had his first chance at parole. The parole board granted his request, but then Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman blocked it. Since then Chance has been denied parole on multiple occasions. Alabama's parole board on April 12 again denied him parole after family of the victim and an Alabama Attorney General official spoke out against it. His family asked the board to let him go on a compassionate release because of his failing health. The family also sought a pardon from President Barack Obama. The EJI stated on its website that the department of corrections also refused to allow Chance to be furloughed where his daughters could take care of him in his last few months. A prison spokesman said Chance wasn't denied a compassionate release. "Inmate interstate medical furloughs are not authorized by the state furlough law since the person would remain under the Department of Corrections jurisdiction," Horton stated in another email to AL.com on Tuesday. "If an inmate is granted a medical furlough, by law the ADOC is responsible for supervising the inmate and evaluating their medical condition throughout their sentence. The ADOC assisted Chance with his medical release application and never denied his medical furlough." Horton said the issue was Chance's inability to find a qualified in-state sponsor who would accept the responsibility for his care. Acting as his own lawyer, Chance was still trying to seek a reduction in his sentence this year, according to court filings. "This petitioner has served excessive confinement, when taken into account that many inmates have been so doing pursuant to (Alabama law) and have ended their sentences starting after the petitioner, and ending before the petitioner for similar and even more heinous crimes of murder," Chance wrote. Huntsville drug bust More than $77,000 worth of cocaine, crack, ecstasy, molly, MDMA and marijuana was seized when a Huntsville woman was arrested. More than $77,000 worth of cocaine, crack, ecstasy, molly, MDMA and marijuana was seized when a Huntsville woman was arrested. Sarena Cawthorn Sarena Cawthorn, 33, faces two drug trafficking charges and two possession charges, Huntsville police said. Cawthorn was arrested after police seized the drugs this past weekend during searches on the 500 block of Nance Road, Lt. Stacy Bates said. The drugs seized included: 432 grams of cocaine 48 grams of crack cocaine, 584 ecstasy tablets 277 grams of molly 363 Xanax bars 13 grams of marijuana 455 grams of MDMA. The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected, Bates said. Cawthorn was being held in the Madison County Jail with bail set at $204,500. An Alabama man accused of torturing and killing 22 kittens he obtained from Craigslist is set for trial next week. Ronald Fraser Golden, 51, of Athens, would name the kittens before throwing them to the floor, breaking their necks or stomping them to death because he was "angry at the world," Athens police Chief Floyd Johnson said when the suspect was arrested more than three years ago. Golden since has been indicted on 22 counts of first-degree cruelty to a cat. Each count of the Class C felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Golden's case is one of 237 on the Limestone County Circuit Court plea docket this week. As of Tuesday morning, the case still hadn't been called, District Attorney Brian Jones told AL.com. Jones told The Decatur Decatur Daily even if the case is called, he doesn't expect a plea deal will be reached. Golden's trial is set to begin with jury selection Monday at 9 a.m. It's the seventh date that's been set in the case. It's possible the trial will be postponed again, The Daily reported, because two rape trials also on are next week's docket. A September trial date was postponed by Circuit Judge James Woodruff pending completion of a mental evaluation. Golden has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. In June, Woodruff ordered the evaluation after defense attorney Lucas Beaty claimed in court records that Golden had a history of mental illness that sent him to the hospital multiple times -- both voluntarily and involuntarily. "At and around the time of the alleged offenses, Mr. Golden was experiencing intermittent fits of rage and delusion caused by his mental illness and/or an adverse reaction to the medication for the same," Beaty wrote in court records. Investigators have said Golden admitted to killing the kittens in the "cat room" of his Bullington Road home. He threw them against the floor, stomped on them and would "wring their necks," Johnson previously told AL.com. Blood was found splattered on the walls of his house and the bodies of five dead cats were found on his property, according to investigators. Police began investigating when a neighbor reported finding four dead cats in her yard during the September 2013. Golden reportedly said he would get rid of the kittens' bodies by throwing them over his fence and into the brush on his neighbors' property. drought farm Cracked earth on bed of farm pond dried up from drought in Jackson County, Alabama. (Bob Gathany/bgathany@AL.com) Farmers suffering losses because of the drought received good news this week when the USDA extended the state's normal grazing period to Dec. 31. That widens the window for farmers to be eligible for federal benefits because of the drought. The Alabama Farmers Federation reported on its website Tuesday about the extension of the grazing period. It was also greeted with appreciation by U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby. "Alabama's drought has been devastating to many across the state, including our farmers," Shelby said on his Facebook page. "I was pleased that the USDA recently approved an extension of Alabama's 'normal grazing period' for the Livestock Forage Program to give assistance to our farmers during this challenging time. "I remain committed to working with local, state, and federal partners on ways that we can help Alabamians as the drought continues." According to the Alabama Farmers Federation, the extension will provide more time for farmers to qualify for assistance through the Livestock Forage Program. Eligibility for benefits is determined, in part, by the U.S. Drought Monitor and drought conditions in south Alabama have so far been less detrimental than in the central and northern parts of the state. However, the drought is not expected to diminish in the coming weeks and conditions are expected to further deteriorate in the southern part of the state. "As the drought worsens, this extra time to qualify will be important to farmers in counties that have not yet been deemed eligible for assistance based on the Drought Monitor," Mitt Walker, director of National Legislative Programs for the Federation, said in the farmers federation report. "We are also working with FSA and our congressional offices to expedite payments to farmers." Federation president Jimmy Parnell commended work by Shelby and U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt for being instrumental in the extension of the normal grazing period, thanking them for "going the extra mile to make sure we help as many farmers as we can during this devastating drought." Click here to read the full report from the Alabama Farmers Federation. Michael Sentance State Superintendent Michael Sentance said it may be time to rethink Alabama's use of paddling in public schools. Sentance's statement came in response to U.S. Education Secretary John King's letter urging state education officials and policymakers to ban corporal punishment in schools. In a written statement to AL.com, Sentance said, "In the state of Alabama, corporal punishment is a decision that is made by local school boards and I respect their authority to make that decision. However, a growing amount of research-based evidence suggests there is no correlation between the use of corporal punishment and increased student achievement. There are multiple ways to positively impact student behavior - it may be time to consider alternatives." Sentance said a conference will be held in the spring to address school culture and climate issues, including "bullying of students and discipline without paddling." He said the conference will highlight best practices and successful stories of productive discipline methods. A spokesperson for Governor Robert Bentley told AL.com "as the President of the State Board of Education, the Governor believes that this is an issue that needs to be addressed by local school officials." Alabama state law specifically allows corporal punishment in schools as long as a school board's policy spells out when and how it can be used. Twenty-eight states and Washington, D.C. ban corporal punishment in schools. Alabama has the third highest paddling rate in the nation, as nearly 19,000 students were paddled in 107 Alabama school districts in 2013-2014, according to the most recent federal statistics. More than 110,000 students were paddled nationwide in the 2013-2014 school year. Craig Kelley, a school board member in Hoover, said he plans to talk with local lawmakers to encourage them to introduce a bill banning paddling statewide. Hoover, like a number of other systems in Alabama, does not allow corporal punishment. Kelley said he has read the research and is "convinced paddling is not good for kids." Sally Smith, executive director of the Alabama Association of School Boards, said her organization has discouraged the use of corporal punishment for decades, urging school boards to ensure fair student codes of conduct are in place. "While there has definitely been a sweeping trend nationwide to move away from corporal punishment in schools," said Smith, "we recognize that this is an issue that ultimately rests with local and state officials, who do have the authority to have these policies and who are charged with ensuring that they are reasonably and equitably administered." Smith said parents generally can opt out of corporal punishment policies by telling school officials not to paddle their students. Amir Whitaker of the Southern Poverty Law Center said a more thoughtful approach is for schools to make parents opt in, meaning that paddling is not allowed unless a parent specifically gives their OK. Though the National Education Association supports a full ban on corporal punishment, the Alabama Education Association has only said they do not promote it, acknowledging it is permissible under Alabama law but also that it is controversial. AEA President Sheila Remington, in a statement to AL.com, said, "AEA encourages all educators to use caution and to be aware of and adhere to their local school board policy if choosing to utilize this controversial form of student discipline." Kelley doesn't need further convincing saying, "I have learned a lot about corporal punishment. It does not appear to accomplish what it is supposed to and it possibly makes kids more aggressive." Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange will run for the Senate to succeed Jeff Sessions, according to reports. Strange told the Weekly Standard he is not seeking to be be appointed to fill the Senate vacancy created by Sessions, president-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.S. Attorney General. He will, however, run in the midterm special election that will likely be held in 2018. If Gov. Robert Bentley appointed him to replace Sessions, however, Strange said he would accept the post. "I think this is the right thing for me to do," Strange told the Weekly Standard, pointing to similarities between his views and Sessions' on immigration and energy policy. Messages left with Strange's office have not been returned as of publication. Strange is the latest Alabama lawmaker to put his name into consideration to replace Alabama's junior Senator. U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt, Mike Rogers and Mo Brooks and State Sens. Del Marsh and Arthur Orr all said they would either seek the nomination or serve if asked. Bentley will appoint Sessions' successor, who will serve until a special election is held. The appointment process could be tricky, however, as Strange recently asked a house House panel deciding if Bentley should be impeached over his relationship with a former staffer to delay its hearings. Strange indicated his office is conducting a related investigation but has not confirmed the nature of its work. Last week, Strange congratulated Sessions while also hinting at his future plans. "Senator Sessions is a credit to our state and to our nation, and I know that he will make us all proud in his new role where he will be a champion for the rule of law," Strange said. "There will be a time to decide who will try to fill those shoes, but that is for another day. Today is about Jeff Sessions, the legacy he leaves behind, and the good work for our country we know he is yet to achieve." A graduate of Tulane University, Strange, 63, has served as the state's Attorney General since 2011, starting his most recent term in 2014. Earlier this month, Strange took over as chairman of the powerful Republican Attorneys General Association. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped two-term South Carolina governor Nikki Haley as his Ambassador to the United Nations. The move is the most dramatic in a series of seemingly conciliatory efforts by Trump to reach out to his past critics. The cabinet-level post requires Senate confirmation. Haley, 44, said she has accepted the offer. "This month's elections have brought exciting changes to America," Haley said in a statement, adding she accepted the position based on a "sense of duty." "When the President believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation's standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed," she added. Haley will remain as South Carolina governor until her confirmation. If confirmed by the Senate, she will replace Obama-appointee Samantha Power. The appointment signals an apparent truce between Trump and Haley, who had appeared with Sen. Marco Rubio and endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz during the Republican primary. Following criticism directed at Trump during the race, the president-elect referred to her as "weak" and said "the people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley." After his nomination, Haley signaled she would reluctantly vote for Trump. After his election, however, she said she was excited about the possibilities of a Republican Trump administration. "I'm just giddy, and if you talk to any of the governors here, we are so excited at the possibility and the opportunities that are going to be here," she said. Haley was elected governor of South Carolina in 2010, becoming both the first female and Indian-American to fill the role. She was reportedly among the candidates under consideration as a running mate for GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012, a post that eventually went to Paul Ryan. Haley's national profile grew after the June 2015 shootings of nine African American worshipers at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The governor said the acts by shooter Dylann Roof should be considered a hate crime and that prosecutors would seek the death penalty in the case. Haley later ordered the Confederate flag to be removed from the State Capitol after a photo showed Roof wearing the emblem on a jacket. Her actions led to several other Southern states removing the flag from government property. Thanksgiving Day is coming up and if you haven't decided how to prepare your turkey for the big day, it's not too late. Here are some methods that you can do outdoors. There are benefits to cooking your turkey outdoors. First, it frees up space in the oven for important dishes like, pies, stuffing, three bean casserole and other tasty items. Roasting a turkey takes several hours to cook and a big bird takes up lots of space in the oven. So, folks roast the turkey first and it sits around while other dishes are baked, leaving the turkey dry. To me, there is nothing worse than the dry white meat of a warmed up turkey. Another benefit of cooking the bird outside is ... getting outside. I love just being outdoors. It also allows you to pay more attention to the task at hand. So here are four recipes to prepare your Thanksgiving turkey outdoors! This is one of my favorite methods to prepare a turkey. It's a "low and slow" method that requires several hours. I smoke the turkey with either hickory or apple wood between 225-250deg to an internal temperature of 170deg. Usually cooking time translates to 30-40 minutes per pound. A smoked turkey offers incredibly moist white meat and a wonderful smokiness. The link above offers the full recipe with photo gallery and video. Deep fried turkey is a quick, delicious way to prepare your bird. The best thing about a deep fried turkey is the crispy skin and extremely tender, juicy white meat. I heat the peanut oil to 375deg and fry the bird for 3 1/2 minutes per pound to an internal temperature of 170deg. You can deep fry a thawed turkey in about an hour depending on size. Never deep fry a frozen turkey! For the full recipe and important safety tips, click on the link above. This recipe is cajan crawfish boil meets Thanksgiving turkey. I spent many years in Louisiana feasting on crawfish and crab. I had heard about some folks down there preparing turkey like this and had to try it. I'm glad I did! I use the same pot that I use for crawfish boils. Just throw in the spices, bring the water to a boil lower the turkey into the pot. You can add corn and red potatoes half way through the process. I boiled the turkey to an internal temperature of 188deg and it was perfect! When to turkey reaches the proper internal temperature, allow it to soak for 20 minutes to absorb more spice. See the full recipe and video by clicking the link above. AL.com reporter Connor Sheets and I cooked a "trash can turkey" last year in a 55 gallon trash barrel! It's pretty easy to do, just don't used a galvanized can. We spread aluminum foil on the ground, hung the turkey on a stick covered it with the barrel and lit about 50 pounds of charcoal around the barrel. The turkey roasted in the barrel and was done in 1 hour and 50 minutes! Check out the recipe and video at the link above. Never try to deep fry and frozen turkey or this could happen. The Springville Fire Department demonstrates what can happen when a partially frozen turkey is placed in a pot of boiling hot oil. This could be catastrophic. Most fires on Thanksgiving Day are caused by oil and cooking fires. This video demonstrates the hazard. The video illustrates just how fast an oil fire can erupt and become uncontrollable. I hope these recipes give you some new ideas on how to prepare your bird this Thanksgiving. Be safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Betsy DeVos In this Nov. 19, 2016 file photo, President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence and Betsy DeVos pose for photographs at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J. Trump has chosen charter school advocate DeVos as Education Secretary in his administration. (AP Photo) (Carolyn Kaster) President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced plans to nominate school choice advocate and philanthropist Betsy DeVos as the next secretary of education. DeVos had this to say on Twitter: I am honored to work with the President-elect on his vision to make American education great again. The status quo in ed is not acceptable. Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVos) November 23, 2016 Together, we can work to make transformational change to ensure every student has the opportunity to fulfill his or her highest potential. Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVos) November 23, 2016 In 2010, DeVos, a Michigan native, founded and currently chairs the American Federation for Children, a national nonprofit supporting many types of school choice. John F. Kirtley, vice chairman of the American Federation for Children said in a statement: "We applaud President-elect Donald Trump for choosing and placing his trust in Betsy DeVos to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Education. For more than 20 years, Betsy has fought relentlessly for the right of every child - especially disadvantaged children - to receive a quality education of their parents' choice. We are confident Betsy will take the same passion, commitment and leadership she's shown in the school choice movement to the helm of the U.S. Department of Education." The federation's Alabama affiliate, the Alabama Federation for Children, has advocated successfully for tax credit scholarships and public charter schools, but was unsuccessful last year in their efforts to bring education savings accounts to Alabama. Alabama director Ryan Cantrell said this about DeVos' appointment on Twitter: Excited @BetsyDeVos was selected as Secretary of Education. We need an ed system focused on students rather than adults and bureaucracies. Ryan Cantrell (@RyankCantrell) November 23, 2016 In stark contrast, National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia was quick to denounce Trump's choice: Nominating Betsy DeVos shows just how out of touch @realdonaldtrump is with what works best for students, parents, educators & communities. Lily Eskelsen Garcia (@Lily_NEA) November 23, 2016 Other school choice advocates, including Jeb Bush, continued the praise for DeVos: Betsy DeVos is an outstanding pick for Secretary of Education. I look forward to her bold leadership at the USDOE.https://t.co/PioGyTQe4t Jeb Bush (@JebBush) November 23, 2016 Alabama state superintendent Michael Sentance said in an emailed statement, "We are looking forward to working with the new Administration and learning more about their plans to help us improve the public schools in Alabama." Some initial reports claimed DeVos did not oppose the Common Core State Standards, but DeVos quickly tweeted a link to her web site where she makes clear she does not support the controversial national academic standards. The 74million, an education news web site whose founder former CNN anchor Campbell Brown sits on the American Federation for Children's board, reported DeVos wants to raise academic standards, but not via the Common Core standards. They also report DeVos is a "Republican party stalwart" whose family contributed $44 million to support Michigan's Republican Party since 1997. Chalkbeat reports "DeVos family foundations reported lifetime charitable giving of more than $1.2 billion earlier this year to institutions ranging from hospitals to arts organizations," but that financial influence will be difficult to wield as education secretary. Chalkbeat said DeVos' work to keep regulations to a minimum and privatize public charter schools in Michigan has been blamed for the poor performance of charters. On the school choice front, the Washington Post recently reported Pence accomplished in Indiana what Trump hopes to implement with his $20 billion voucher plan. The 74million reports DeVos and Vice President-elect Mike Pence "go way back," with DeVos' organization working with Pence to expand school choice in Indiana during Pence's time as Governor. "DeVos has said she counts the state as one of AFC's successes," they report. 3 DOORS DOWN Matthew Roberts works the guitar during 3 Doors Down's performance Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011 during BayFest in downtown Mobile. Roberts died Aug. 20 of a drug overdose. An Alabama doctor was indicted earlier this month in Roberts' death. (AL.com file photo) The Department of Justice has indicted a doctor from Fairhope, Alabama in connection to the death of former Three Doors Down lead guitarist Matthew Roberts. Roberts, who was a Spanish Fort resident prior to his death on Aug. 20, was found dead in West Bend, Wisconsin. A police investigation determined the cause of death was a prescription drug overdose. The Department of Justice has indicted Dr. Richard Snellgrove from Fairhope, Alabama in connection to the death of former Three Doors Down lead guitarist Matthew Roberts. (Photo via: Eastern Shore Internal Medicine) Dr. Richard Snellgrove of Fairhope was given a six count indictment on Nov. 16, 2016 for illegal drug distribution in the death of 38-year-old Roberts, according to a release from the Department of Justice. Court documents showed that on Oct. 21 Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration Michael Burk testified that Roberts had been one of Snellgrove's patients since at least 2004. Over the course of time, Roberts received numerous prescriptions for a variety of opioids from Dr. Snellgrove. Burk said that the illegal prescriptions given to Roberts included fentanyl, oxymorphone, oxycodone and hydrocodone as well as prescriptions for several different benzodiazepines. The documents said that an individual whose name is redacted in the files was not a patient of Dr. Snellgrove, but received prescriptions from him. Those prescriptions were picked up from the individual by Roberts. The unnamed individual began seeing Dr. Snellgrove as a patient in February of 2006 but quit seeing him after one year. The individual was aware that on at least one occasion Dr. Snellgrove wrote a prescription for a controlled substance for Roberts in the individuals name. Prior to Roberts' death, a series of text messages were exchanged between Roberts and Dr. Snellgrove on Aug. 17 between 1:43 p.m. and 1:50 p.m. The messages read as follows: Roberts: Hey doc, I'm having the honor of playing a show for the Air Force in Milwaukee on Saturday night and fly out on Friday am. Is it ok for me to visit you first thing in the am around 7:30ish or would you rather me come in late in the evening in Spanish Fort? I heard your office in Spanish Fort turned out really nice btw. Snellgrove: Come to Spanish Fort and see, Roberts: Cool would love to. What time suits you best? Snellgrove: 6:30 Roberts: Golden! Thanks doc. The following day Roberts went to Dr. Snellgrove's office and received two prescriptions. The first was for a 30-day supply of 50 mcg transdermal fentanyl patches and the second was for a 30-day supply of 10/325 mg Norco pills. Next, Roberts went to the Rite Aid pharmacy across the street from Dr. Snellgrove's office to fill the prescription. A worker at the store was able to fill the prescription for 75 Norco pills, but the store was out of the 50 mcg fentanyl patches. The worker became wary of Roberts after he asked for 75 mcg fentanyl patches instead and called who investigators believed to be Dr. Snellgrove in front of the worker for another prescription of the stronger fentanyl patches. The worker lied and told Roberts they were out of those as well. Approximately 25 minutes later, Roberts went to a CVS pharmacy in Daphne about 3 miles away. This time instead of presenting the store worker with a 50 mcg prescription for 10 fentanyl patches, he had a 75 mcg prescription signed by Dr. Snellgrove. CVS had it in stock and filled the prescription. Cellphone records showed that at the time Roberts was in Rite Aid he made a phone call to Dr. Snellgrove's cell phone at 7:17 p.m. Roberts' medical file obtained during the execution of a search warrant on Oct. 12 shows that Dr. Snellgrove printed out a prescription for 75 mcg fentanyl patches for Roberts at 7:25 p.m. At 7:31 p.m. a time-stamped receipt shows Roberts paid for the Norco prescription at Rite Aid then made a call to Dr. Snellgrove's cell phone at 7:43 p.m. At 7:53 p.m a time-stamped receipt shows Roberts had the prescription filled for 10 75 mcg fentanyl patches at CVS. All of these transactions had taken place after 7:00 p.m. when the Eastern Shore Internal Medicine clinic ran by Dr. Snellgrove is typically closed for business. The court documents showed that Roberts and another individual left Spanish Fort on August 19 to fly to Wisconsin. Roberts was asked to be a guest guitarist for a local Wisconsin band called 'NIX' during a veterans benefit concert to be held on Saturday, Aug. 20 in Milwaukee. Roberts ate dinner and practiced with the band until about 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Members of the band were interviewed and said that Roberts exhibited some signs of possibly being under the influence, but no one saw him ingest any drugs or alcohol while in their presence. Another unnamed person in the court documents told police that when they arrived at the hotel just after 1:30 a.m., Roberts demeanor got noticeably worse and was believed to be intoxicated or high at the time. A hotel clerk who interacted with Roberts when he went to get a new key card for his room said he appeared disoriented and said, "I'm sorry, I'm delirious." The clerk had to direct Roberts back to the elevators afterward. Around 6:55 a.m. Saturday morning a hotel guest found Roberts on the floor in the hallway and alerted hotel security. Police were soon dispatched to the scene where he was pronounced dead. A black backpack and a guitar case laid in the hall next to Roberts when police found him. Roberts' right hand was in his right pants pocket. Police said he had a pale and yellowish tone to his skin and some liquid discharge on his mouth. Police believed he had been dead for several hours. Police photographed a 75 mcg fentanyl patch on Roberts' right side, as well as the adhesive that appeared to be the remnants of another patch on his back. Two prescription pill bottles with alprazolam were located in the main pouch of the backpack found next to his body. The individual who traveled with Roberts from Spanish Fort to Wisconsin told police that he may have overdosed on medication. The individual explained that Roberts had been addicted to prescription medication for several years. He said Roberts attended a rehabilitation program in Arizona to get off prescription medication, but that he later relapsed. The individual believed Roberts had put on a fentanayl patch on while they were driving from the hotel. An autopsy revealed that Roberts lungs were heavy and contained fluid, which is consistent with death caused by an opiate overdose. Three days after Roberts' death, a Wisconsin medical examiner contacted Dr. Snellgrove as part of the investigation into his death. Dr. Snellgrove indicated that he was prescribing fentanyl to Matthew for arthritis in his playing hand that caused him chronic pain. Dr. Snellgrove allegedly told the medical examiner that Roberts had just begun recording a new album a month earlier. He said he was prescribing Roberts fentanyl patches only until the recording was finished. Back in 2001, an article in the Press-Register spotlighted Dr. Snellgrove as the "rock-n-roll" doctor. Music legend Jimmy Buffett even paid his office a visit one day, according to the article. An excerpt from the story stated: His practice, Eastern Shore Internal Medicine, is the kind of place where porcelain busts of Elvis Presley are almost as common as cotton swabs on wooden sticks. Over the years, patients and friends have showered Snellgrove and his family with velvet Elvis paintings, Elvis wall clocks with swiveling hips, even refrigerator magnets featuring the king of rock 'n' roll as a dress-up doll. It's likely that Elvis won't ever leave this building. According to the Eastern Shore Internal Medicine website, Dr. Snellgrove has worked at the facility located at 341 Greeno Road in Fairhope for more than 20 years. It was business as usual at his office Wednesday morning as patients waited in the office lobby to be seen. Worker's in the office declined to comment and forwarded all questions to his attorney Art Powell. Powell is based in Mobile and his office confirmed that he is representing Dr. Snellgrove in the case. Powell was not available to comment on the matter at this time. A retired astronaut, who is charged with reckless murder after a Tuscaloosa County crash killed two young girls, is allowed to keep his Alabama driver's license. A judge ordered on Friday that James Donald Halsell Jr., 60, may keep his driver's license with some restrictions. Halsell is not allowed to consume alcohol, illegal drugs, or medicines that he does not have a prescription for. The former space shuttle commander will be under community corrections and tested for alcohol and drugs twice a week. Also, Halsell will have an ignition interlock device on his vehicle, which must be operable at all times. The ignition interlock device must be paid for by Halsell and approved by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Prosecutors agreed in September to let Halsell drive while the case was pending, but changed their position after learning Halsell had been on probation for causing a drunken driving crash in California in 2014. Halsell, of Huntsville, was arrested after the preliminary investigation of the June 6 crash showed that alcohol and speed were factors in the crash. The crash happened on U.S. 82 near the 65 mile marker, 10 miles east of Tuscaloosa, said Senior Trooper Reginal King. Niomi Deona James, 11, and Jayla Latrice Parler, 13, were passengers in a 2015 Ford Fiesta driven by their father. The Fiesta was struck by a 2015 Chrysler 300, driven by Halsell. Tuscaloosa County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Cross said a deposition that Halsell was on his way to pick up his son in Louisiana, when he crashed into the back of the Fiesta, pushing it across the median and causing it to flip twice. Neither young girl was wearing a seat belt and they were ejected from the vehicle. Niomi was pronounced dead on the scene, and Jayla was taken to DCH Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. Their father, Pernell Deon James, and his friend Shontel Latriva Cutts were injured. Halsell was indicted in the case in September. Troopers, according to the deposition, searched Halsell's Motel 6 room, where they found an empty bottle of wine and an empty 10-pack of sleeping pills. The suspect told investigators he didn't remember the crash, and also asked to see the victim's bodies. One witness, according to the deposition, told troopers, "Halsell's speech was slurred, eyes were dilated, clothes disheveled and he was unstable on his feet and smelled of alcohol,'' court records showed. Halsell, a Louisiana native, received multiple awards during his time with NASA. An F-4 pilot qualified in conventional and nuclear weapons deliveries, Halsell served as manager of Shuttle Launch Integration at Kennedy Space Center. After the Columbia space shuttle accident, Halsell led NASA's Space Shuttle Return-to-Flight Planning Team. He then served as the Assistant Director for Aircraft Operations, Flight Crew Operations Directorate. The highly-decorated astronaut retired from the Air Force in July 2004, and retired from NASA in November 2006 to accept a position with ATK Launch Systems. Decisions, decisions. Wouldn't it be great if there was some kind of system where the people of Alabama could pick a leader to make tough choices for them? We could let him, you know, govern the direction of the state and take responsibility for it. We could call that person a governor? Oh wait. Alabama has one of those. He just doesn't want to make decisions. Or take responsibility. I know, I know. You get what you pay for. Gov. Robert Bentley this week took a break from proclaiming that "the people really love me and don't care about that other stuff" to focus on the one thing that makes him matter again in this his Great State of Irrelevance. Who should he knight as U.S. Senator after the ascension of Jeff Sessions to U.S. attorney general? Bentley could appoint himself, of course, and be done with all the haters back home. Except he can't. Because that pesky Alabama Constitution insists that is would be illegal. He could appoint Attorney General Luther Strange, which would give the governor the same personal satisfaction as poking himself in the eye with a rusty knitting needle, but it could get him out of a jam. If he appoints Strange to the Senate, there's a chance -- just a chance - the AG's investigation of the whole Bentley/Rebekah Mason affair goes the way of the governor's credibility. Far, far away. But that's a problem, too. Because everybody everywhere would know he appointed Strange in a blatant attempt to save his soft old hind end. And even those Alabamians who love him and don't care about that other stuff have only so much patience. So he dithers and doubts, putters and pouts. What is a governor to do? Where's he to turn after his trusted adviser is turned away? Everybody who's anybody wants that senate seat. And the one thing Bentley knows is that whatever he does, more of them will be peeved than pleased. So the governor did what strong leaders would never do. He passed the buck like it burned him. Bentley - and this seems like satire but it isn't -- turned to the free online survey site SurveyMonkey to ask Alabama Republicans what he should do. As the governor said in a statement: Gov. Robert Bentley "I am seeking the input of the Republican Party because it is important that I begin this selection process with a qualified pool of conservative candidates who can carry out the agenda of President-elect Trump." He imagines, I imagine, that they forget how the governor said a month ago that he couldn't support Trump at all. But maybe I'm wrong about this whole thing. Maybe Alabama would be far better off it Bentley had hired SurveyMonkey as his chief political adviser from the start. Bentley would certainly be better off, and so would Mason and the state. Should I offend Jewish people on my first day in office? Survey says: What are you kidding me? Should I flip like a short order cook on every political issue and flop like Fosbury on every important decision? Survey says: No. Should I risk my family and my reputation for the thrill of whispering sweet and suggestive nothings to my political adviser. Survey says: If you have to ask you have failed already. And finally, would Alabama voters be better off if they'd elected a survey monkey for a governor? And the survey says: All signs point to ... yes. Do refugees have a choice in Israels continued policy of transferring African arrivals to third countries? Kampala, Uganda The sky was still an inky black when the flight from Cairo touched down at Entebbe Airport near Kampala, the capital of Uganda, one morning in mid-January, the fluorescent glow spilling from the small terminal providing the only source of light. It had been 15 hours since Musgun Gebar left Tel Aviv, and the journey staggered him in its brevity. Four years earlier, when he had travelled the other way from Eritrea in East Africa to Israel he had done so on foot, a punishing journey across the Sahara and the Sinai that took more than a month. Kidnappers stalked the route, food was scarce, and half of the people with whom he had travelled didnt survive. But this time, he simply sat down in a small cushioned seat and waited, snapping selfies and eating salty meals from aluminum tins until, suddenly, he had arrived. Gebar had no visa to enter Uganda. He wasnt carrying an invitation letter or an application form. In fact, he didnt even have a passport. Though he had crossed many borders in his life, he had never done it through the official channel of queues and customs officials and dated stamps. He only carried $3,500 in clean, hundred dollar bills in his wallet, a temporary travel document called a laissez passer, and a creased letter from the Israeli government. Passengers are asked to follow instructions and regulations to ensure a safe and pleasant departure from Israel, it read, with a signature from the Voluntary Departures Unit. From friends who had come before him, Gebar already knew what would happen next. The man emerged as he stepped inside the terminal, wordlessly ushering him and the nine other Eritreans on the flight away from the passport control line. Without a glance from the border patrol officers, he led them around the queue, to the baggage claim where their luggage awaited, and then out of the airports sliding-glass doors. In the car park, a van waited to drive them to a hotel. After that, they were on their own. No choice Human rights organisations have reported that over the past three years this scene has played out hundreds of times in Uganda and neighbouring Rwanda, where more than 3,000 Sudanese and Eritrean asylum seekers from Israel have been voluntarily resettled as of 2015. Often, those who were resettled dispute whether they truly had a choice. Gebar, for instance, says that he was being held in an immigration detention camp in the Negev Desert called Holot, when, he claims, officials there informed him that he had three options. If he liked, he could stay indefinitely in the camp. A second option was to go back to Eritrea, the country he had fled five years before. Or, he could agree to take $3,500 and depart for a third country of the Israeli governments choosing. Gebar didnt hesitate. He took the third option. Andie Lambe, executive director of the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI), an NGO that has conducted extensive research into the departure of East African refugees from Israel, also questions just how much choice these refugees have. What does it mean when an unknown third country is someones best option? he asks. To me that says they never really had a choice at all. Media reports suggest that the three countries have cut a secret, high-level deal in which the African states accept refugees in return for arms, military training and other aid from Israel. The countries involved have given conflicting responses, however, on their involvement. Sabine Haddad, Israeli population and immigration authority spokeswoman, told Al Jazeera that Israel does have an agreement with two African countries which she did not name for the relocation of unwanted asylum seekers. She did not offer a response regarding the weapons exchange part of the agreement. OPINION: Uganda: Doing Israels dirty work Both Uganda and Rwanda, on the other hand, deny they have signed any agreement with Israel. Furthermore, neither country has afforded refugee status to any refugees arriving from Israel. Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told Al Jazeera earlier this year that the reports of a deal were a rumour circulated by Israeli intelligence. I have disputed that we have received these individuals, he said. No rights Like others around the world, refugees leaving Israel for Rwanda and Uganda find themselves in a precarious position. Their lives straddle two countries, and movement either forwards or backward is nearly impossible. READ MORE: Desperate Journeys Tedros Abrahe, an Eritrean midwife who also left Israel under the voluntary departures programme earlier this year, says he is just waiting to be a legal refugee somewhere. Like most of the estimated 5,000 Eritreans who flee their country each month, Abrahe first left home in 2011 to escape the countrys mandatory and indefinite national service programme. After a brief stay in Sudan, he paid smugglers $3,000 to take him to Israel, where he figured opportunities would be better and life easier. But when he arrived, he found that his Eritrean midwifery qualifications were not recognised in Israel, and that the only work available to him as an asylum seeker was an under-the-table job cleaning the kitchen of a Tel Aviv shawarma restaurant. Israel did not consider him a refugee. Rather, like nearly all of the approximately 42,000 Eritrean and Sudanese refugees in Israel, he was labelled an infiltrator a label previously used to categorise Palestinians entering Israel. The only status Abrahe was allowed was a permit granting him temporary reprieve from being deported, which, he says, he had to renew in person every 60 days. This system, says Anat Ovadia-Rosner, a spokeswoman for Israeli NGO Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, puts people in a perpetual limbo, without the right to healthcare, to welfare services, to anything that might help them build a permanent life here. She thinks that the whole structure is meant to make peoples lives miserable, so eventually, perhaps, they wont want to stay any more. Between 2009 and 2016, Israel granted official refugee status to 0.07 percent of all its Sudanese and Eritrean asylum seekers a total of four people. When, in late 2015, Abrahe went to refresh his Israeli permit, he was informed that it would not be renewed. Instead, he says, he was told that he had 30 days to either report to an immigration detention centre or leave the country for Eritrea or a location of the governments choosing. Believing that he would not be safe in Eritrea, Abrahe chose the latter option. By the time he boarded a flight for East Africa in January 2016, thousands of Eritrean and Sudanese refugees had already followed the same path. According to Interior Minister Gilad Erdan, the voluntary resettlement plan had encourage[d] infiltrators to leave the borders of the state of Israel honourably and safely. But just how safe is it really? According to research by Hotline and IRRI in Rwanda, most of the refugees who arrive in Rwanda are immediately smuggled over the border to Uganda. Abrahe says that he spent just two days in the country waiting in a house near Kigali under an armed guard before being forcibly taken to Kampala. Those arriving in Uganda are not afforded any further rights. Ugandas Department of Refugees says there is no deal to accept refugees coming from Israel. Douglas Asiimwe, the departments principal protection officer, told Al Jazeera that any refugees arriving from Israel were assessed on the individual merits of their cases. They shouldnt need Ugandas protection, he explained, because they werent coming from a war zone, but from a safe country that had promised under international law to uphold the rights of refugees. Haddad, the Israeli population and immigration spokeswoman, insists that Israel ensures that the process of relocation is conducted according to the agreements and in line with international law. In her statement to Al Jazeera, she wrote: Israel makes certain that the refugees are accorded all relevant rights in accordance with the agreements, including receiving the appropriate permits and papers. But NGOs and human rights lawyers who have reviewed the refugees cases in both Israel and Uganda say that Israels official line on the subject is not true. In late 2015, a coalition of NGOs and human rights lawyers challenged the legality of Israels third-country deportations before the Israeli Supreme Court. But a decision is still pending and Israels voluntary departures continue. READ MORE: Eritreans escape to torturous Sinai No jobs Even without legal status, life in Kampala was initially a marked improvement over Israel for both Gebar and Abrahe. Ugandans were more welcoming than Israelis, they said, and the two melted easily into the citys large Eritrean population. Abrahe had spent some of the money the Israeli government gave him on an iPhone, which he used to send smiling selfies to family and friends in Eritrea, Israel, and Europe. But the $3,500 wouldnt last forever, and there were few jobs to be had in Uganda, even for someone with medical training like Abrahe. By September, both men had run out of money and were living on handouts from friends and family. Time just passes itself, Gebar said. You just sit home all day waiting, doing nothing. In late October, however, Abrahe decided that he couldnt wait any longer. He borrowed a passport from a Ugandan friend and flew to Turkey. From there, he made the dangerous journey by boat to Greece, where he is now living in a refugee camp. Its better to take a risk than to live this way for my whole life, he says. This year, I want to be a legal person somewhere. Ryan Lenora Brown was a fellow of the International Womens Media Foundation in Uganda. A total of 2.4 million people in northeastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger have been displaced by the rise of Boko Haram. Since December 2014, communities around Lake Chad have been fleeing the sound of gunfire, the sight of their houses in flames and the memory of loved ones murdered by the Boko Haram fighters. In Nigeria, some have been displaced within their country, while others have been forced to seek refuge across the lake in neighbouring states. More than 7,000 Nigerian refugees have landed on the Chadian side of the lake, where they are living in the Dar Es Salam camp, just outside the town of Bagasola. Chad, along with the other provinces that border the lake, has seen its economy take a hit, because the closure of borders has resulted in a slowdown in trade, herding, farming and fishing. Environmental tolls due to climate change have also affected communities surrounding Lake Chad, including the refugee population. Desertification, deforestation, intruding vegetation, soil salinity and drought are all suffocating livelihoods and aggravating poverty, making Lake Chad a fertile ground for Boko Haram recruitment. Today, at nearly a twentieth of its size back in the 1960s, Lake Chad continues to shrink as invasive plant species grow, covering nearly half of the lakes surface. This undesired vegetation grows on the lakes floor during dry seasons, and when water levels rise following rainfall, it deprives surrounding communities, including refugees, of access to the lakes open waters. Due to vulnerability of this environment and threat of rainfall fluctuations, livelihood programmes are a priority for the humanitarian organisations. So far, the United Nations refugee agency has helped 150 households with fishing boats and material. Beneficiaries make an average of $10 a week, which contributes towards sustaining their families. The programme, however, covers only 8 percent of Nigerian refugees in Chad. More funding is needed to include more fishermen, farmers, herders and traders from both the refugee and local communities. The ugly lava of the American political culture is now spewing out of its inner guts for the whole world to see. The Rage of White, Christian America: that phrase has now become the mantra of the disheartened liberals in America trying to figure out what has befallen them with the fair and square defeat of their favourite Hillary Clinton, and the victory of a blatant tax-evading, white-supremacist sex-offender as the next president of the United States. The argument runs like this: Between Barack Obamas 2008 election and 2016, America has transformed from being a majority white Christian nation (54 percent) to a minority white Christian nation (43 percent). But on election day, paradoxically, this anxious minority swarmed to the polls to elect as president the candidate who promised to make America great again and warned that he was its last chance to turn back the tide of cultural and economic change. As everything else that is now coming out of the mournful and vindicate US liberals, this line of argument is only partially true and to the degree that the equally white American liberalism keeps repeating this mantra it is deluding itself, and wishes to pull just one factor in Donald Trumps victory to cover up other equally important factors. Black and Latino men and women did not vote for Hillary Clinton as much as these white liberal prognosticators had hoped and falsely forecasted. So the assumption that the white working class handed this victory to Trump at once racializes and demonizes the working class, which has all but disappeared from the Democratic Party radar. Multiple factors For people at the receiving end of institutional, systemic, and historically entrenched racism in the United States (Native-Americans, African-Americans, Latinos, Jews, and now Muslims, etc), they need no preaching from the liberal flank of the self-same elitist constituency that there is systematic racism in the US. No doubt a significant component of Trumps supporters is indeed racist misogynist xenophobes. There is also little doubt that Trump himself is a white supremacist incarnate, having just appointed two notorious Zionists: the alleged anti-Semite Steve Bannon and Islamophobic conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney as his chief consigliere at the white House. But no single explanation can exhaust the meaning of Trumps cataclysmic electoral success. The Democratic Party apparatchiks and their liberal punditry are categorically disqualified to pull one comfortable security blanket over their anger for having lost this election. Suppose you are fed up with this militant, cheating, conniving, corrupt, arrogance that thinks it owns the world and the US together. Suppose you are not a racist bigot, but just disgusted with this liberal arrogance. What then? Well, you have a deeply corrupt system on one side and a monkey wrench called Trump on the other. What would you do? by Trumps liberal detractors such as Michael Moore now keep repeating that a very slight popular vote differential between himself and Hillary means that people are not really for him and its all the fault of the Electoral College system. This is self-delusional, militant liberalism failing to face facts. Trump did not invent the Electoral College system, and Michael Moore would not have raised it if his favourite liberal imperialist Hillary Clinton had won the election. The vociferous protest against the election of Trump by militant liberals is predicated on the fact that they do not wish to be quiet for a minute and consider a little self-inspection for the flawed, warmongering Wall Street candidate they had put forward as his rival. The critical task facing the rest of us is entirely against the grain of the self-delusional recriminations of the defeated liberals. OPINION: Trump Tribe Portrait of the New Americans For us no single explanation will suffice in understanding what calamity has happened in this election. This is a calamity of colossal proportions both in and out of the US and it therefore needs a sustained, careful, and above all multifaceted set of explanations. These explanations are necessary not to incriminate or to find fault, but to level the field so we can see the path ahead more clearly. Clinton was a weak and flawed candidate; Trump tapped into an ideologically bankrupt white supremacist constituency; the liberal elite systematically insulted the intelligence of American voters by disregarding Clintons flaws and laser beaming on the easy task of Trumps atrocities. All these factors are valid but not sufficient. Can we perhaps think of some additional, not alternative, explanations? Could Trumps spectacular electoral victory particularly in the three crucial states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin also be read as a twisted subversive banter in which a significant segment of the US population sought to throw a monkey wrench into an elitist liberal system they legitimately despise? Whats a monkey wrench? People dont get to choose what twisted turns their anger and frustrations assume. What other choice did the legitimate grievances of the poor, the disenfranchised, the denigrated, the humiliated and the ignored Americans have other than Trump? Oh yes, of course they did have a legitimate, honest, principled and learned statesman who offered a decent way out? Bernie Sanders was his name. But what did the corrupt leadership of the Democratic Party and their respective allies in the dominant liberal media do to Sanders? How many rings did Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the head of the Democratic National Convention, her successor Donna Brazile and even Barack Obama himself draw around Sanders? They scandalised, ridiculed, dismissed, and publicly sabotaged his campaign and chased even his most humble proposals out of the DNC platform committee. Well the Democratic Party and their liberal propaganda machinery got what they wanted. They crowned their beloved Clinton perhaps the most despised politician in recent US history and they placed their well-oiled propaganda machinery, from the New York Times and Washington Post to CNN, at her disposal. In 16 hours, the Washington Post ran 16 pieces against Sanders. The New York Times systematic anti-Bernie Sanders biases have also been documented, including slyly editing an article to smear Sanders. OPINION: To some, ignorance is bliss Suppose you are fed up with this militant, cheating, conniving, corrupt, arrogance that thinks it owns the world and the US together. Suppose you are not a racist bigot, but just disgusted with this liberal arrogance. What then? Well, you have a deeply corrupt system on one side and a monkey wrench called Trump on the other. What would you do? Do you remember when an Iraqi journalist threw his dirty shoe at George W Bush? At the time born-again anthropologists were coming up with all sorts of nonsensical explanations about the significance of such a display of Arab culture, and at the time I wrote, sometimes a shoe is just a shoe, and the only thing you have to throw at a cruel fate. In the same way, sometimes a Trump is all you have at your disposal to throw at a rotten system. Whoever threw this monkey wrench, whatever the cause of this calamity, and however we may interpret the culprits, the ugly, vicious, rude, illiterate and barbaric lava of the American political culture is now spewing out of its inner guts for the whole world to see. And neither the imperial feminism of Hillary Clinton as the distinguished American feminist Zillah Eisenstein has aptly termed it nor the Rudolph Valentino sunglass-cool militarism of Zionist-in-Chief Barack Obama is any longer offering a lovely liberal camouflage for that vulgarity. Hamid Dabashi is Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policies. The scandal is a lesson for S Korea, which has maintained a close connection between political and corporate interests. J Berkshire Miller is the director of the Council on International Policy. While the world is still fixated on the aftermath of the surprising election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, there is a political storm brewing in East Asia involving one of Washingtons most important allies South Korea. Park Geun-hye, South Koreas embattled president, is just barely clinging on to office as her administration has come under intense criticism for its alleged collusion with a controversial outside adviser, Choi Soon-sil, who has been inappropriately close the leader. This has led many in South Korea to accuse the president of having a shamanistic relationship with a non-sanctioned consigliere. The accusations against Park have grown over the past few weeks as the revelations of Chois dealings have gradually become more widely known. Some of the main charges levied against Park which she adamantly denies are: providing Choi access to classified government materials and allowing her friend to meddle into the appointment of high-level officials and influence key policy decisions. Park even consulted with Choi before giving key presidential speeches, it was reported. Adding to this toxic brew is the recent revelations that Choi may also have contorted her seemingly Rasputin-like bond with Park to secure lucrative donations from large Korean chaebol or domestic conglomerates to a couple of her foundations. The involvement of key chaebol such as Samsung and Hyundai has deepened the roots of the political crisis and ushered calls in South Korea for a complete clean-up after decades of a corrupt political-business nexus in the country. It has been alleged that Korean chaebol gave almost $65m in donations to Chois foundations to secure influence for their special interests in the Blue House. The net has now fallen down on some of Koreas most prestigious companies, with Samsungs offices being raided earlier this month and calls for investigations into Hyundai. South Korea has erupted in protest at the scandal and accused Park of corruption and breaching the trust of the nation. Choi-gate has been amplified due to the digital age and has tarnished Seoul's reputation and brand overseas, especially as the crisis expands to envelope more high-profile Korean companies. by In recent weeks, protesters have poured into the streets of Seoul demanding the resignation of the tainted leader. Indeed, earlier this month, hundreds of thousands protesters gathered in the capital to call for Parks dismissal. Her public approval ratings have plummeted and are now functionally non-existent at 5 percent. The opposition parties have since mobilised and threatened to impeach Park, who has a remaining 15 months left in her term as president. Her formal rival and future presidential hopeful, Moon Jae-In, has even suggested: She deserves to be arrested. Scenarios ahead How will this drama continue to unfold in South Korea? Despite the strong calls from Koreas opposition parties to remove Park, the ruling Saenuri Party appears to be doing little to excise her as a result of the scandal. This clouds the possibility that Park would imminently resign due to public or political pressure. Park is surely concerned about the legal vulnerabilities that she would expose herself to if she left the Blue House voluntarily. As long as she remains president, she remains immune to prosecution on charges of corruption. Perhaps the larger reason at least for ruling party is the lack of a suitable replacement to fill the void in the event of Parks abrupt resignation. In Parks own party, she dismissed the Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn earlier this month in the midst of the scandal and has yet to have his replacement, Kim Byong-joon, formally confirmed to the role. If Park were to resign, an election would be held within 60 days an impossible timeframe to identify a suitable replacement candidate for the ruling party. While the Saenuri Party may try to coax United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to serve as its next leader, there are no clear indications that the worlds top diplomat soon to leave his post at the UN is willing to enter the political fray at this fractured juncture. Similarly, any drive to impeach Park would require two-thirds support from the Korean national assembly. The opposition parties currently fall short of that mark and would require significant defections from the Saenuri Party to follow through on the impeachment threat. OPINION: Chinas failed South Korea embrace Park has thus far avoided mass defections inside the party, but that could change if the crisis deepens and the ruling party feels it has run out of options. The domestic scandal is a torturous lesson for South Korea, which has for years maintained an altogether too-close connection between political and corporate interests. Choi-gate has also been amplified due to the digital age and has tarnished Seouls reputation overseas, especially as the crisis expands to envelope more high-profile Korean companies. It will take a period of much-needed house cleaning and detoxification before South Korean politics can recover. J Berkshire Miller is the director of the Council on International Policy and is a fellow on East Asia for the EastWest Institute. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. The Kurdistan Regional Government has changed course, declaring its commitment to Baghdad to retreat from territory that Kurdish forces have taken from ISIL. On November 16, Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraqs autonomous Kurdish region, said in a press conference that his soldiers would not retreat from the land liberated with their blood from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant group, also known as ISIL or ISIS. There will be no negotiations about the territories liberated by Peshmerga before the Mosul offensive, Barzani declared. This is a new chapter. ISIS is on the path to defeat. Peshmerga shed their blood to free Kurdistans land and end the suffering of our people. But the Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, later retracted Barazani remarks, saying that his comments, originally made in Kurdish, were taken out of context and mistranslated. Nevertheless, Barzanis comments revived long-standing fears among many Iraqis that the countrys Kurds are using the Mosul battle to seize land to incorporate into a future independent state. Last September, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi asked Barzani not to exploit the war on ISIL to expand the Kurds territory. READ MORE: KRG Mosul victory depends on ISIL fighters morale A former Iraqi army officer, who preferred not to be named because he lives in Iraqs Kurdish region, told Al Jazeera that Kurdish fighters, known as Peshmerga, were taking advantage of the fight against ISIL to fulfil ambitions of statehood. In Kirkuk, for example, the Kurds are annoyed that some of the Arabs that were [in] brought by the former regime are growing in numbers, the officer said, adding that Kurdish forces have destroyed homes belonging to Arabs under the pretext that their inhabitants support ISIL. They dont target a house or two of those who are members or supporting ISIL they wipe out the whole village, he said. The United States, which is leading an international coalition against ISIL, reportedly played a pivotal role in convincing Baghdad and Erbil to reach an agreement about the future of Mosul and surrounding areas before the start of the operation to retake the city, according to Hamid Mualla, a leading member of the Shia National Alliance and a spokesman for the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. The parties to the agreement were said to have included the US, the Iraqi government, Shia militias known collectively as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), and the Kurdish regional government. The by Mohammed interests and plans.] In late September, Barzani visited Baghdad on the invitation of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. It was agreed that the battle for Mosul will be a clean battle, Mualla told Al Jazeera. Compromises were reached the border of Mosul must remain as it was before it fell to Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ISIL] without infringing upon the unity of the province any future arrangement must have the consent of the people of Mosul, Mualla said. It was also agreed in the meeting that only Iraqi government forces and the PMF would be allowed to enter and pass through the KRGs territory en route to ISIL-controlled areas in the Nineveh plains, according to an Iraqi source who asked not be identified for security reasons. The Peshmerga, in return, would be allowed to remain in disputed territories, that is the territories they captured from ISIL after June 2014, until a referendum on self-determination is held in those areas. However, the Peshmerga were asked to retreat from territories captured during the recent Mosul military offensive. Meanwhile, the US has denied it played such a role. The United States cant give rights to Iraq land to anyone, according to a statement issued by the US militarys Combined Joint Task Force in Iraq sent to Al Jazeera. The US embassy in Baghdad said in a statement sent to Al Jazeera that the US encourages cooperation between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government to address the countrys security situation and resolve any outstanding issues. The issue of disputed territories is thorny and complex, dating from before the rule of Saddam Hussein, and has made relations between Baghdad and Erbil uneasy over the past decade. The two main Iraqi Kurdish parties the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Masoud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), headed by Jalal Talabani have annexed large swaths of land they say are a part of Iraqi Kurdistan, without the consent of the central government in Baghdad. Iraqs constitution, adopted in 2005, stipulates that a referendum be held on the fate of the oil-rich, ethnically diverse city of Kirkuk and other disputed areas in northern Iraq. But the referendum has still not been held, causing more tension and on occasion bringing the country to the brink of a new war. When ISIL overran Mosul in June 2014, Kurdish security forces moved in to take land it considers to be Kurdish territory, then cut it off by digging trenches. The Kurds are not stupid. I dont think theyll concede and give up the land, says Mohammed al-Azdee, an Iraqi political analyst at the University of Bridgeport, in the US. Theyve lost over 1,200 fighters, killed and wounded, not for the love of Baghdad but for their [own] interests and plans. READ MORE: Arab-Yazidi reconciliation begins at Iraqs IDP camps Meanwhile, concerns have arisen about the abuse of Arab civilians in areas captured by Kurdish forces. Human Rights Watch recently issued an alarming report suggesting that the Peshmerga may have committed war crimes, finding a pattern of apparently unlawful demolitions of buildings and homes, and in many cases entire villages, between September 2014 and May 2016 carried out in Kirkuk and Nineveh governorates. Jabar Yawar, the secretary-general and spokesman for the ministry of Peshmerga affairs, denied the accusations blaming ISIL or people close to it who provide false information to the media and rights groups. We do not cleanse Arab areas, why should we do this? Yawar told Al Jazeera. There is no policy to cleanse any ethnicity in the region. We have over 1.5 million in the Kurdish region, and a quarter of Erbils population is now Arab. Hundreds of Arabs own businesses here. Kurdish officials insisted that there was a strategic intention to destroy houses in recaptured areas due to the large number of improvised explosive devices found there. The political atmosphere in Iraq is tense and divisions are bitter, even among groups currently allied with one another. Analysts warn that the tensions between the KRG and Baghdad, as well as infighting among Iraqi Kurds, could fuel a proxy war between regional powers. There is [a] dire crisis between the KDP and PUK. The latter has strong relations with Iran and opposes the split from Iraq, said al-Azdee. The KDP and Barzani have good relations with Turkey now there is a scenario that involves creating a new region made of Arabs and Kurds created on the new land seized from the Nineveh plains. Turkey wants that region as a buffer between Baghdad and Iran, he explained. Even if ISILs remaining territory in Iraq is retaken in the coming months, many challenges lie ahead for the country. The Kurdish quest for independence, sectarian strife and the settling of old scores all could trigger continued fighting. Reconciliation happens with the enemy, with people who you oppose Why did some people support Daesh and help it [gain] a foothold in the first place? asked al-Azdee. That needs to be solved. Follow Omar Al Saleh on Twitter @AJEOmar Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan were part of regime responsible for the deaths of up to two million Cambodians. Cambodias UN-backed court upheld life sentences for two top former Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity, a verdict welcomed by survivors of the brutal regime. Brother Number Two Nuon Chea, 90, and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan, 85, were the first top leaders to be jailed in 2014, belonging to a regime responsible for the deaths of up to two million Cambodians from 1975 to 1979. The duo appealed their convictions, accusing the court of a string of errors and the judges of failing to remain impartial due to their personal experiences under the regime. But in a lengthy ruling on Wednesday, after months of hearings, the bench upheld the bulk of the convictions and the jail terms, but accepted some legal errors had been made in the initial trial. Most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields regime died of starvation, torture, exhaustion or disease in labour camps or were bludgeoned to death during mass executions. A fifth of the population was killed. READ MORE: Key facts on the Khmer Rouge The UN-backed Supreme Court Chamber convicted Chea and Samphan of crimes against humanity, murder, persecution on political grounds and other inhumane acts over the forced evacuation of the capital, Phnom Penh, after the fall of the city in 1975. The Supreme Court Chamber affirms the sentence of life imprisonment imposed by the trial chamber on both Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, judge Kong Srim said. The Supreme Court orders that Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan remain in custody. Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan sat impassively as the decision was read out. I am so happy with the convictions, Chhun Leap, 74, who lost around 50 relatives during the Khmer Rouge years, told AFP news agency after leaving the courtroom. They are monsters and this is their fate. Message for the leaders David Scheffer, the UN Secretary-Generals envoy to the tribunal, said that the judgment sent a message to leaders around the world. What happened today in this courtroom ultimately can reach your domain, Scheffer told reporters at the court. I will just say that, perhaps the leadership of North Korea should take particular note of what occurred here today, Scheffer said. International justice isnt backing down, it is actually forging ahead. The Cambodian government also welcomed the court judgment. We express our hope that this trial and todays delivery of the final judgment brings some relief for your pain and suffering, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said, addressing survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime. New negotiated deal to be signed on Thursday will be submitted to Congress rather than put to popular vote. Colombias government will sign a new peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, after a previous deal was rejected in a referendum last month. President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC chief Rodrigo Londono are to sign the agreement in Bogotas Colon Theatre on Thursday at 11am (1600 GMT), a statement released by government peace negotiators said. The agreement is then expected to be approved by the countrys Congress, where the ruling centre-right coalition National Unity has a majority. The FARC and government negotiators introduced some 50-plus changes to the original accord that failed to convince voters. We have the unique opportunity to close this painful chapter in our history that has bereaved and afflicted millions of Colombians for half a century. by President Santos , But opposition groups say it still does not go far enough in punishing rebels for human rights abuses. Santos chief rival, ex-president Alvaro Uribe, has rejected even the revised deal. Uribe has insisted, for instance, that FARC leaders should not be allowed to run for office while still serving sentences for atrocities. Whether the entire [current] text is voted on, or just the issues that have been sensitive and where there has been no agreement, we ought to do it by national referendum, Uribe said. Political analyst Jorge Restrepo said it would be better if there were a consensus in Colombia on the new accord. But that is almost impossible to achieve given the demands of Uribes party, Restrepo said. The deal is aimed at ending more than 50 years of civil war, in which more than 220,000 people have been killed. In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday, Santos said: We have the unique opportunity to close this painful chapter in our history that has bereaved and afflicted millions of Colombians for half a century. The original deal was signed two months ago in a ceremony before world leaders but it was rejected in a referendum on 2 October. Societe Generale partners with American Express with eyes on customers in eight African countries French multinational banking and financial services company Societe Generale has signed a merchant acquiring partnership with American Express in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where the bank operates. These countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Madagascar and Senegal. The agreement involves both online sales and POS payments through electronic payment terminals. This means that any retailer wishing to accept payments from American Express Card members can now sign a contract with Societe Generale. This is an opportunity for the Societe Generale Group to be more competitive and to grow its presence in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its subsidiaries can also expand their POS service offering through secure multi-network acquiring, according to Societe Generale. Societe Generale des Banques en Cote dIvoire (SGBCI), Societe Generales subsidiary in Ivory Coast, is the first to offer the service in the region, before it is rolled out in the seven other countries before the end of 2016. This will enable the Group to strengthen its unique positioning as a universal bank combining the advantages of a strong local presence with the expertise of a major international bank. Commenting on the partnership, Alexandre Maymat, Head of the Africa region at Societe Generale, said: We are pleased to enter into this agreement to offer merchants in West Africa the ability to accept American Express. It will allow us to better serve our clients as well as acquiring new corporate customers, and it will also strengthen the banks footprint in the region. Andrew Stewart, Vice President and General Manager, Bank Partnerships, at American Express said: We are delighted to partner with Societe Generale, one of the top international banks operating in Africa, to expand the scope and reach of the American Express brand. This new partnership will grow our merchant network in Sub-Saharan Africa, and will benefit American Express Cardmembers in Africa, as well as those visiting the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa has high potential for economic growth, and this new partnership presents a number of unique and exciting growth opportunities. www.societegenerale.fr www.americanexpress.com Bill set to pass in parliament outlawing face coverings in government buildings and health and education settings. Dutch politicians on Wednesday debated a limited ban on face-covering headwear worn by some Muslim women that would outlaw veils in places such as schools, hospitals and on public transportation. Only a few hundred Muslim women in the Netherlands wear concealing full-face coverings, but successive governments have still sought to ban the garments, following the example of other European countries such as France and Belgium. Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk said the Dutch proposal did not go as far as the complete bans in those countries. He called the legislation religion-neutral, but conceded the debate about people wearing veils on Dutch streets had played a major role in the proposal. Plasterk said in a free country such as the Netherlands people should be allowed to appear in public with their faces covered, if they want to, but in government buildings and in health and education settings such as hospitals and schools people need to be able to look each other in the face. It was not immediately clear when politicians would vote on the issue. If the legislation passes parliaments lower house as expected, it must also be approved by the Senate before becoming law. A small group of people wearing full-face veils watched the debate from the public gallery. Independent politician Jacques Monasch called the veil a symbol of oppression of women and objected to the presence of face-covered spectators in the gallery. One opponent of the legislation, Fatma Koser Kaya of the centrist D66 party, said the law was unnecessary because many institutions in the Netherlands already have independent authority to stop women wearing veils and headscarves in certain situations. What are we banning today? she asked. This is symbolic lawmaking because, in practice, it already happens. Egyptian leader says his priority is to support national armies, noting a solution must be political in Syria. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says he supports the Syrian military a position at odds with his countrys Gulf benefactors such as Saudi Arabia. The former army chief, who has overseen a warming of ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assads main backer Russia, made the comments during an interview aired on Tuesday with Portuguese broadcaster RTP. Our priority is to support national armies, for example in Libya to assert control over Libyan territories and deal with extremist elements. The same with Syria and Iraq, he said, responding to a question on whether Egypt would contemplate a United Nations peacekeeping role in Syria. Asked by the interviewer whether he meant the Syrian military, he responded: Yes. READ MORE: Sisis fridge and Egypts frosty economy The government of Sisi, who was elected in 2014 almost a year after overthrowing president Mohamed Morsi, had been supported by billions of dollars in aid from Saudi Arabia. But ties appear to have cooled between the two countries amid disagreements over Syria. Saudi Arabia backs rebels trying to oust Assad, while Russia and Iran are supporting him militarily. The kingdom suspended oil shipments to Egypt in October, a move announced after Cairo backed a Russian-drafted resolution on Syria in the UN Security Council, angering Riyadh. Sisis plan In his interview, Sisi maintained Egypts broad position on resolving the Syrian conflict, saying the solution must be political. Our stance in Egypt is to respect the will of the Syrian people, and that a political solution to the Syrian crisis is the most suitable way, and to seriously deal with terrorist groups and disarm them, he said. Sisi, who has praised Donald Trump, also said a plan floated by the US president-elect to have a database for Muslims was understandable. Yes, he said when asked whether he felt concerned by such rhetoric. But every country tries to provide security and stability for its citizen, and we understand that. Families attempt to escape besieged east Aleppo but forced back by attacks as government forces continue to advance. Dozens of civilians tried to flee rebel-held east Aleppo but were forced to retreat by gunfire, as the Syrian army and its allied militias on Wednesday pressed on with an offensive to recapture the whole city. The government last week resumed its push to retake the east, where more than 250,000 civilians have been trapped under siege for months, with dwindling food and fuel supplies. Recapturing the area would give President Bashar al-Assads government perhaps its most important victory yet in the conflict, which has killed an estimated 400,000 people since it began in March 2011. Several families attempted to smuggle themselves out of the besieged section of the city overnight on Tuesday, paying smugglers to take them from the Bustan al-Pasha neighbourhood into the Kurdish-held Sheikh Maqsoud area, before heading into the rebel-held Aleppo countryside. Two or three families paid smugglers and were attempting to cross when clashes and gunfire broke out and forced them back, Aleppo-based journalist Zouhir al-Shimale told Al Jazeera. READ MORE: Syria launches new commando force as war heats up Syrias government accuses rebels of using residents as human shields and preventing them from leaving. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of civilians tried to flee but were stopped from escaping because of fighting. But when the civilians tried to cross to the other side, gunfire broke out, Syrian Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP news agency. Hostage rumours On Tuesday, the Syrian army issued a statement accusing rebels of holding civilians as hostages. Permit those citizens who want to do so to leave, stop using them as hostages and human shields, clear the mines from the crossings identified by the state, it said. Rebel groups deny they are preventing civilians from leaving and accused the government of spreading rumours. This has nothing to do with reality, said Yasser al-Youssef, from the political office of the Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group. The regime is spreading rumours to try to undermine the resolve of the rebels and those who support them in Aleppo. READ MORE: Fears grow in east Aleppo as government forces close in The Syrian army backed by allied forces from Iran, Russia, and Lebanese group Hezbollah launched a renewed assault on east Aleppo on November 15. The offensive has killed at least 143 civilians in the citys east, among them 19 children, and more than 375 in all of Aleppo province. Rebel fire has killed 16 civilians in the government-held west, including 10 children. After days of heavy bombardment, pro-government troops now control half of the strategic Masaken Hanano district in the northeast of the city, the Syrian Observatory said. Capturing it would give the army line-of-fire control over several other parts of the east and effectively divide it in two. Moral outrage The renewed bloodshed has stoked international concern, though there has been little sign so far of a plan to halt it. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Wednesday that backers of Syrias moderate opposition would meet in Paris in early December to discuss the situation. He urged the international community to stop averting its gaze from the terrible reality of the conflict. Save the Children called for an internationally monitored ceasefire to allow aid into east Aleppo and the evacuation of sick and wounded civilians. It is a moral outrage that the death toll of Aleppos children continues to grow and seems only set to get worse, whilst so little action is being taken to end the bombing and hold warring parties accountable, the charitys Syria director, Sonia Khush, said. The latest government offensive has hit hospitals and rescue centres, and forced schools to close. Passenger bus comes under attack by Indian soldiers in the Kashmir region, Pakistani army says, killing nine on board. At least nine civilians were killed, and nine injured, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir when an Indian artillery shell hit a passsenger bus in the disputed region on Wednesday, Pakistani officials said. The passenger bus was attacked by Indian shelling at 8:30 in the morning [03:30 GMT], resulting in the death of nine people onboard, Deputy Police Commissioner of the Neelum Valley Sardar Abdul Waheed told Al Jazeera. The ambulance heading to the site came under attack as well, and locals arranged transportation for those injured, taking them to the hospital in private cars. According to the police, the bus was heading towards Muzaffarabad from Kel when it came under attack. The injured and death toll may increase, we are still waiting for the heavy shelling to stop in order to start rescues, We are not able to pick up injured or other person from the area, Waheed told Al Jazeera. Waheed said that heavy shelling occured in the Neelum, Punch and Kotlia districts. OPINION: Kashmir and the myth of indivisible India We were coming from Shadara to Muzafarabad. When we got to the Nawal sector there was firing from Indian [checkpoints], the the bus driver, Gulfham Ahmed told Al Jazeera from his hospital bed. First the small firing and then the rocket launcher hit [the vehicle] and passengers were injured. I accelrated as fast as I could away from them. As soon as I could I pulled the vehicle over and people pulled us out. Indian officials did not comment on the deaths, but a military spokesperson said the Pakistan army initiated indiscriminate firing on Wednesday morning on Indian army posts in the Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nawshera sectors. Muzamal Brandy, who was driving behind the bus when it came under fire, said a rain of bullets hit the vehicle before a rocket slammed into it. The bus kept moving it didnt stop. We saw people dead inside the bus, he said. The incident comes a day after India said three of its soldiers had been killed by Pakistani troops and threatened retribution. Pakistan and India have been trading fire recently in the Himalayan region, which is divided between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and claimed by both in its entirety. Tension has escalated since September, when armed fighters attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir, killing 19 Indian solidiers. The countries have fought two of their three wars over the region since partition and independence from Britain in 1947. Additional reporting by Aurangzeb Saifullah. Palestinian leaders say Israels settlement movement is emboldened by the election of Donald Trump in the US. Israel has announced plans to move forward with the construction of 500 homes for Jewish settlers in occupied East Jerusalem, the first such move since the US presidential election. This morning, the local planning and building committee made the decision to advance [plans] for 500 units in Ramat Shlomo, the Ir Amim anti-settlement NGO said, referring to an ultra-Orthodox Jewish settlement near the Palestinian neighbourhood of Shuafat. The plans had been on hold since 2014, Ir Amin said. The Jerusalem municipality said the plans in question are not new and were approved years ago. More than 200,000 Israeli settlers now live in communities in East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied along with the rest of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and parts of Egypt and Syria since the 1967 war. More than half-a-million Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. They are considered illegal by international law. Speaking to Israels Channel Two last week, Meir Turgeman, the vice mayor of Jerusalem, said: There are a lot more plans, and I intend to use the US transition period to get them approved. Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, described the announcement as a very serious strategic and dangerous decision. This wouldnt have happened if it wasnt for the failure and silence of the international community, Barghouti told Al Jazeera. READ MORE: Palestinian Bedouins live the Nakba every day Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organizations executive committee, also condemned the move. It is time that the US, the European Union, and all states that claim commitment to the two-state solution adopt concrete steps and measures to prevent the completion of these dangerous plans and to impose sanctions on Israel before it draws the whole region into further violence, extremism, and instability, she said, as reported by the local Maan News Agency. The Trump effect Though the US president-elect has said he would love to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, many feel his election will embolden Israels far-right and the settlement movement it supports. Reporting from East Jerusalem, Al Jazeeras Bernard Smith noted the move comes in the waning weeks of the Obama administration. This is a decision only so far taken at the municipality level, he said. It hasnt reached the prime ministers office yet. But if theres very significant international outrage, then maybe the prime minister could freeze this extension to try and avoid Israel being criticised internationally further. Between 2009 and 2014, settlements were expanded by at least 23 percent. Israels hard-line right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has time and again vowed to continue settlement expansion. In March 2015, the day before Israelis re-elected him, Netanyahu promised to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state under his watch. According to Barghouti, the electoral victory of Trump has already heartened Israels far-right settlement movement. The real policy of the Israeli government is definitely to destroy the very last opportunity to build a Palestinian state and kill the so-called two state solution, he said. Statements made by Trump, who has claimed all of Jerusalem as part of Israel, and his political allies are support for nothing short of violating international law, Barghouti added. Refugees say controversial wall is an attempt to further restrict their presence in the camp. The Lebanese army has paused construction of a controversial security wall being built around the countrys largest Palestinian refugee camp, Ain al-Hilweh, near the southern port city of Sidon. While it is unclear whether construction will continue, a military spokesman told Al Jazeera that the army would release a statement in the coming days to clarify the reasons behind the decision to build the wall. The wall, which would be lined with watch towers, began to take shape on Sunday. The decision to execute was taken by Lebanese authorities, who initially cited security measures, in coordination with Palestinian factions that run the camps. All the factions met up with the Lebanese brigadier general and decided that this is the best decision for the sake of protecting the camp. We all agreed, Subhi Abu Arab, a top Fatah security chief in Lebanon, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday. While the camp is already blocked off with metal fences and Lebanese army checkpoints, officials said the wall was necessary to control entry of radical armed groups who are fuelling violence within the camps. Regular clashes between various factions have continuously put civilian refugee lives at risk. Last year, factional fighting displaced thousands and injured tens of residents. READ MORE: Deadly clashes hit Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon But more than 70,000 Palestinians live inside the camp, many of whom have criticised the wall as Lebanons latest act of discrimination against them. Residents inside the camp are comparing it with Israels Separation Wall in and around the occupied Palestinian West Bank. It resembles the wall that the Zionists built in Palestine. by Hala, a refugee at Ain al-Hilweh I see this as a very racist wall. The [Lebanese] state believes it is protecting itself from wanted individuals by doing this, which shows that they see every resident of the camp as a terrorist or an Islamist, 26-year-old Hala, a refugee living in the camp, told Al Jazeera. Just because some people are committing crimes, theyve punished us all. It resembles the wall that the Zionists built in Palestine, added Hala. Although construction was said to have been undertaken with the consent of the local Palestinian factions, the Hamas movement in Lebanon strongly condemned it in a statement released on Tuesday. The construction of this isolation wall is an unacceptable step that threatens the future of Palestinian refugees and compounds their suffering. Constant violence within Ain al-Hilweh camp spurred the formation of the Palestinian Joint Security Forces in 2014 a security apparatus meant to crackdown on hardline groups affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Qaeda. But clashes continue to occur, even between factions within the joint forces. While such groups continue to operate there, some residents believe the states real aim is to pressure refugees into leaving. Yousif Rabeh, an activist living in Ain al-Hilweh, says that the Lebanese army knowingly allows such groups to enter through the checkpoints. The Lebanese soldiers at the checkpoints are aware of every single person that enters and exits the camp. They know that such groups are entering and they allow them to, Rabeh told Al Jazeera. Now theyre taking it to a new level. This is how the Lebanese government treats us. They want to keep tightening the noose on our camps. The goal is to purge this country from Palestinian refugees. There are approximately 450,000 registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, making up 10 percent of the Lebanese population, according to the United Nations. About half of the refugees live in 12 camps run by the UN relief agency across the country. All of the camps suffer from acute poverty, overcrowding and poor infrastructure. While they do hold residency in Lebanon, most of the Palestinian refugees and their descendants were not given Lebanese passports after they fled following the creation of Israel in 1948. They have restricted rights such as being barred from working in some 20 professions. Ain al-Hilwehs residents were also joined by at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the past five years, many of whom are double refugees originally Palestinians whose families fled to Syria in 1948. The influx has only made matters worse for those inside the camp. If the wall impedes movement yet more, civilians may not be able to get out of harms way with clashes occurring frequently within the camp. From day one, Lebanon has been dealing with us as numbers and as a security concern they have never even tried to treat us as humans, or with any humanity, said Rabeh. The Palestinian is an obstacle to them. They want to get rid of us. Abu Arab said that the wall will cover the western part of the camp, but its planned route is yet to be seen. READ MORE: Palestinians desperate to flee Lebanon refugee camp Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source at the UN told Al Jazeera: The only thing we can say is that we are closely monitoring the situation and are waiting for discussions with the authorities to assess the plan. We have concerns, especially if the plan is to close the camp from all sides. Following the official decision to begin construction, Rabeh said the camps residents immediately came out in protest against the project and the compliance of the Palestinian parties. The factions should be representing the people and consulting them on what should be done, but the Lebanese [authorities] said the decision was not up for negotiation. Explaining the factions position, Abu Arab said on Tuesday: This is Lebanons land and they make these decisions. It is our host country and it is not in our best interest to oppose this. Nonetheless, the refugees believe they will be the ones to bear the consequences. All the camps are under threat, Ziad Mekdadi, a resident of Lebanons Baddawi camp in the north, told Al Jazeera. I think the [Lebanese] state is slowly increasing restrictions on us all, he said, adding that there are fears of Ain al-Hilweh becoming the next Nahr el-Bared a camp destroyed by the conflict between the Lebanese army and armed groups in 2007. We are afraid of losing the camp, said Rabeh, also alluding to Nahr el-Bared. I have never considered myself a part of this country. I consider myself a part of this camp to us, Ain al-Hilweh, represents the right of return. With additional reporting from Kareem Chehayeb. Shia fighters take main route linking Tal Afar to Sinjar, blocking ISILs crucial supply route from Mosul into Raqqa. ISILs last supply line from Mosul to Syria has been severed by Iraqi-led forces, leaving the armed groups stronghold completely isolated. Shia Muslim paramilitary forces, known as Hashed al-Shaabi, captured the road linking Tal Afar to Sinjar west of Mosul on Wednesday and linked up with Kurdish forces there, security officials say. Hashed forces have cut off the Tal Afar-Sinjar road, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, a senior commander, said on social media. A Kurdish security official told AFP news agency that the Shia militia had linked up with other anti-ISIL forces, including Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters, in three villages in the area. READ MORE Battle for Mosul Who controls what Also on Wednesday, an air strike by the US-led coalition disabled the fourth bridge over the Tigris river in Mosul, leaving the city with a single functioning connection and further disrupting ISILs supply lines. Aamaq news agency, ISILs media arm, and a top Iraqi commander in Mosul reported the air strike, which took place before dawn. It was the second to target a Mosul bridge this week and the fourth since shortly before the launch of the offensive to retake the city. Iraqi forces kicked off the operation backed by US-led air strikes on October 17 to retake the countrys second-largest city, where ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed a caliphate in 2014. Troops have already entered the city from the east, Kurdish Peshmerga and other forces are also closing in from the north and south and only the west had remained open. The latest development will make it long and dangerous for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, known as ISIL or ISIS, if it attempts to move fighters and equipment between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the last two bastions of their crumbling caliphate. Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have fled Tal Afar as the paramilitary force closed in on the town. The exodus from Tal Afar, 60km west of Mosul, is causing concern among humanitarian organisations as some of the fleeing civilians are heading deeper into ISIL territory, where aid cannot be sent to them, provincial officials said. About 3,000 families have left the town, with about half heading southwest towards Syria, and half northward into Kurdish-held territory, said Nuraldin Qablan, a Tal Afar representative in the Nineveh provincial council, now based in the Kurdish capital, Erbil. We ask Kurdish authorities to open a safe passage for them, he told Reuters news agency. People are fleeing due to the Hashids advance, there are great fears among the civilians. READ MORE: Battle for Mosul: ISILs innocent victims Iraqi military estimates put the number of ISIL fighters in Mosul at 5,000-6,000, facing a 100,000-strong coalition of Iraqi government units, Peshmerga fighters, and Shia militias. Mosuls capture is seen as crucial towards dismantling the caliphate. Baghdadi is believed to have withdrawn to a remote area near the Syrian border, and told ISIL fighters there can be no retreat. A Mosul resident said air strikes have intensified on the western part of the city, which is divided by the Tigris running through its centre. The strikes targeted an industrial area where ISIL is believed to be making booby traps and transforming vehicles into car bombs, he said. ISIL fighters are dug in among more than a million civilians as a defence tactic to hamper the air strikes. They are moving around the city through tunnels, ploughing suicide vehicle bombs into advancing troops and hitting them with sniper and mortar fire. The thinker figure capping an 18-cm jug was found in a Middle Bronze Age grave alongside other funerary offerings. A unique 3,800-year-old figurine showing a seated person, apparently deep in thought, has been unveiled in Israel. Israel Antiquities Authority said on Wednesday that the figure wearing a hat and with its chin resting on its hand was discovered recently in excavations at Yehud, east of Tel Aviv. It caps an 18cm jug and was found in a grave alongside other funerary offerings including daggers, arrowheads, and an axe head. Such a unique ceramic vessel, which is the first weve found, within the context of the grave, can indicate that an important person was buried there, Gilad Itach, the authoritys excavation director, told AFP news agency. The findings date from the Middle Bronze Age, also known as the Canaanite period, but it is impossible to say who the creators of the objects and the person buried at the site were since they left no writing, Itach added. He said the subjects sex was not completely clear, but it was probably male. The level of precision and attention to detail in creating this almost 4,000-year-old sculpture is extremely impressive, Itach said. One can see that the face of the figure seems to be resting on its hand as if in a state of reflection. Outspoken president has shown no qualms about confronting conglomerates that dominate the Philippines economy. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says he is taking steps to open up the economy to new players and foreign investors particularly in the power, energy and telecoms sectors to share its wealth and limit corruption and protectionism. He spoke on Wednesday after his arrival home from a summit in Peru of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the leaders of which issued a joint statement committing to fight all forms of protectionism. Duterte, Trump and Philippine-US relations The outspoken former mayor has shown no qualms about confronting oligarchs and conglomerates who dominate the Philippine economy, which is growing at one of the worlds fastest rates, buoyed by consumption and remittances. The only way to make this country move faster to benefit the poor is really to open up communications, the air waves and the entire energy sector, Duterte told a news conference in his home city of Davao. Or else, you can count on your fingers the power players of this country. I would not say that they are the elite. He added: I would like just to send this strong message: its about time that we share the money of the entire country and to move faster, make competition open to all. Investors in the Philippines have complained often of regulations that can restrict foreign investment in various areas, among them telecoms and utilities. Numerous sectors of the economy are dominated by local tycoons, with foreigners absent in many areas. The only way for deliverance of this country is to remove it from clutches of the few people who hold the power and money, Duterte said. His comments suggest he intends to follow through on threats to stamp out protectionism, having warned the telecoms duopoly of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co and Globe Telecom to shape up, or face new competition. Philippines: Duterte tells Obama to go to hell Philippine mobile internet and voice services are ranked among Asias slowest and most intermittent. We are finalising our plans to open up the information and communications technology industry to new players in order to promote competitiveness and quality of service, Duterte said in a prepared statement. We are now also looking into regulatory requirements and institutional arrangements to hasten the entry of new players into the power industry and energy sectors. Duterte further said he had received assurances from his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that the implementation of a series of investment deals agreed in October would be accelerated. Incoming US president could appoint son-in-law to broker a deal between the two parties after taking over. US President-elect Donald Trump has said he would love to reach a peace deal between Israel and Palestine, adding that he would appoint his son-in-law as a Middle East envoy and help broker a deal after he takes charge at the White House. While Trump said both sides would have to give up something during the negotiations to reach an acceptable deal, he promised that he would exercise the US veto 100 percent of the time at the Security Council. I would love to be the one who made peace with Israel and the Palestinians, that would be such a great achievement, Trump told the New York Times on Tuesday. A lot of people tell me, really great people tell me, that its impossible, you cant do it. I disagree. I think you can make peace. It is not the first time Trump has expressed his desire to reach an agreement between the two parties. In March, speaking at the annual convention for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a notorious pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington, DC, Trump blasted the United Nations for what he said was its attempt to impose an agreement between Israel and Palestine. Palestinians and their allies have repeatedly called on the UN to step in and force Israel to cease its settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, which they say is the first hindrance to serious negotiations. OPINION: In Gaza, we arent mourning Clintons loss Critics have suggested that the role the US has played in the past as neutral broker was a betrayal of the apparent preference the country has given Israel over the Palestinians, primarily with regards to military aid and intelligence sharing. Trump reaffirmed these sentiments during his AIPAC speech, saying that the Palestinians must come to the [negotiating] table knowing that the bond between the US and Israel is absolutely, totally unbreakable and that there is no moral equivalency between both sides. Several right-wing Israeli leaders celebrated Trumps victory earlier this month, including Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who said the era of a Palestinian state is over. A new Middle East envoy? A New York Times reporter tweeted that Trump also suggested that his son-in-law Jared Kushner could help broker the deal. Kushner, who is married to Trumps daughter Ivanka, is an observant Orthodox Jew and the grandson of Holocaust survivors and is a strong advocate for Israel. According to Trump, Kushner could be very helpful in brokering an agreement between Israel and Palestine. Kushner has recently come into the spotlight as one of the most notable figures of the Trump electoral campaign. According to a recent Forbes profile, Kushner is uniquely position[ed] to be a power broker of the highest order for at least four years. Trump has repeatedly made his desire known to appoint Kushner to a cabinet position but anti-nepotism laws in the US seemingly stand in the way. However, Trump says he should be able to designate Kushner as his special envoy to a region he knows. Pro-government forces accused of operating among civilians in bloody battle for Taiz and harassing medical staff. An air strike by an Arab coalition battling Yemeni rebels killed 12 civilians in the northwest of the country on Wednesday, rebel media and witnesses said. Six others were wounded in the raid that targeted a vehicle in Hiran, in Hajja province, reported the sabanews website that is controlled by Shia Houthi rebels. Witnesses said the victims were on their way to a market. No immediate response to the reports came from the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed rebels. Violence in Yemen has increased since a 48-hour ceasefire ended on Monday. The Arab coalition fighting in support of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadis government has come under repeated criticism over civilian casualties during its operations in Yemen. It admitted in October to killing 140 people in an air strike on a funeral in the capital Sanaa, blaming the deaths on incorrect information. More than 40 people were killed in clashes on Tuesday between the rebels and government forces across the country. The Houthis overran the capital and other parts of the impoverished country in September 2014, prompting the Arab coalition to intervene six months later in support of Hadi. The United Nations says that more than 7,000 people have been killed and nearly 37,000 wounded in Yemen since March 2015. Fear and intimidation in Taiz Amnesty International on Wednesday accused pro-government Yemeni forces fighting Houthi rebels for control of the southwestern city of Taiz of harassing medical staff and endangering civilians by stationing combatants among them. Civilians in Taiz, which had a prewar population of 300,000, have been trapped by intense fighting with bodies lying in the streets and hundreds of people wounded this week, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday. READ MORE: Yemen No ceasefire deal with Houthis Amnesty, a London-based human rights watchdog, said so-called Popular Committees anti-Houthi militias backed by Hadis government in exile had detained and threatened to kill medical staff in Taiz. Popular Committee fighters hold most of Taiz, Yemens third-largest city, but are hemmed in by the rebels on three sides. There is compelling evidence to suggest that anti-Houthi forces have waged a campaign of fear and intimidation against medical professionals in Taiz, said Philip Luther, research and advocacy director at Amnestys Middle East and North Africa wing. By positioning fighters and military positions near medical facilities they have compromised the safety of hospitals and flouted their obligation to protect civilians under international law. Officials from Hadis government said they were studying the Amnesty report and would respond. Thomas Mair found guilty of killing opposition Labour MP Jo Cox in run up to referendum on UKs membership of the EU. A British court has found a far-right activist guilty of killing British MP Jo Cox in the run-up to Junes referendum on the countrys membership of the EU. Thomas Mair shot and stabbed the Labour Party politician in her constituency office in Birstall near the northern city of Leeds. It took a jury at Londons Old Bailey on Wednesday just under an hour to find Mair guilty of the murder. The judge presiding over the case said the attack encompassed the definition of terrorism and was done to advance the political cause of violent white supremacism. Mair was given a life sentence for the killing and an assault on another man who came to the MPs defence. In a statement on his Twitter account, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn called the attack an assault on democracy. The single biggest tribute we can pay to Jo and her life will be to confront those who wish to promote the hatred and division that led to her murder, Corbyn said. EU campaign Cox was killed just a week before Britons voted to leave the European Union in a campaign that was marred by anti-immigration and refugee rhetoric. The Labour MP was an campaigner for Syrian refugees and supported attempts to give child refugees sanctuary in the UK. Those children have been exposed to things no child should ever witness, and I know I would risk life and limb to get my two precious babies out of that hellhole, Cox told MPs during a debate in parliament just months before she was slain. Her killer was a decades-long supporter of far-right causes, and was associated with neo-Nazi groups in the United States and South Africa, as well as the United Kingdom. Witnesses recalled Mair shouting Britain first during the attack. The murder was the first assasination of a British MP since the IRAs killing of Conservative Party MP Ian Gow in 1990. Not an anomaly Northampton Universitys Paul Jackson, an expert on far-right activism, said it was wrong to consider the attack anomalous. This was not anomalous, but actually highly typical of far-right, solo-actor attacks. Jackson said. Mair was radicalised by sustained engagement with an extreme culture, but for various reasons then took upon himself to act. There are patterns to extreme-right violence, and so care should be taken to write this off as merely an anomaly. Jackson said that the British government had not taken the threat from the far-right seriously enough, but Mairs conviction could change that. Currently, the government simply does not focus enough efforts on tackling the extreme right, and often figures within policing and Prevent have a limited knowledge base too, Jackson said. There are some who buck this trend, but overall the security risks posed by the extreme right are simply not taken seriously enough, or given the attention they need, he added. Hopefully one impact of this case will lead to a rethink. English News Chinese firms eye more investments in Latin America Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 23 Novembre 2016 In 2015, China surpassed the US as the continent's largest foreign investor and top destination for exports. Chinese foreign direct investment in non-financial sectors in Latin America rose to $21.45 billion last year, up 67.1 percent from the previous year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). By Huang Ge Source: Peoples Daily and Global Times Chinese companies are optimistic about investing in Latin America despite competition, and experts said the continent will likely benefit from growing Chinese investments. President Xi Jinping began a week-long visit to Latin America on Thursday, which has raised expectations from both sides of stronger economic and trade ties between China and Latin America. In 2015, China surpassed the US as the continent's largest foreign investor and top destination for exports. Chinese foreign direct investment in non-financial sectors in Latin America rose to $21.45 billion last year, up 67.1 percent from the previous year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). During that period, the China Development Bank and China Export-Import Bank, two State-backed policy banks, offered loans worth $29 billion to the continent, more than the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank combined. Chinese capital primarily goes into such industries in Latin America like business services, finance, wholesale and retail, mining, transportation, warehousing and postal services, said Liu Jianying, an associate research fellow at MOFCOM's Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. However, "Chinese investment in the region is unevenly distributed, and the market coverage is relatively low," Liu said. Competitive edge The US is turning its back on Latin America while China strengthens its economic ties with the continent, foreign media claimed. US President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to walk away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the North American Free Trade Agreement, as well as to sharply raise tariffs on Mexico-made products. Indeed, Trump has brought uncertainties to US economic relations with Latin America, but China's plan to increase investments in Latin-America will not be affected by the TPP's status, said Sang Baichuan, director of the Institute of International Business at the University of International Business and Economics. Chinese investments in Latin America will not touch the "US investment cheese" in the continent, Liu said, but will help improve the continent's investment environment. "Compared to its global rivals in Europe and Japan, whose investments in the continent mainly go to high-end equipment manufacturing and services, China's competitive edge has gradually grown in labor-intensive manufacturing, infrastructure and capital-intensive sectors," Sang said. "China has the advantage in labor, capital and foreign reserves, and some of its technologies have gained world recognition, helping the country pursue growth in Latin-American markets," he noted. Risks remain In 2015, President Xi pledged to increase bilateral trade between China and Latin America to $500 billion and Chinese investment to $250 billion by 2025. China will further deepen trade and economic cooperation with Latin America in the coming decade, and will focus on industries like energy, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, technological innovation and information technology, experts said. "The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is seeking a close cooperation with the Peruvian government in the energy sector, especially in oil field development, pipeline construction and the use of natural gas," Chen Jintao, deputy general manager of CNPC's Latin-American branch, told the Global Times. CNPC looks forward to more investment opportunities in Peru's petroleum industry after Xi's visit, Chen said. Whether in traditional industries or new sectors, Chinese investment in Latin America will take on various forms in the future, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, engineering procurement, construction and public-private partnerships, said Liu. But experts said Chinese companies should be cautious as investment risks remain. Labor disputes are common in the continent and it is quite hard for foreigners to acquire a work visa, Liu said, noting that Chinese firms should work out a plan to reduce risks before pumping in money there. "Chinese firms also need to learn to adapt to the rules and laws in Latin America. They should also exert efforts to balance conflicting local interest groups," said Sang. Dans la meme rubrique : < > Trunk market springs up in Chinese cities Communist of China always maintains vitality More robots entering people's daily life Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) English News Commentary: Asia-Pacific should resort to openness for prosperity Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 23 Novembre 2016 In the declaration issued in Lima this November, China and other Asia-Pacific partners reiterated their determination to establish the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), and defined it as an important tool to further the Asia-Pacific economic integration agenda. By Zhong Sheng from Peoples Daily After China successfully concluded the Hangzhou G20 Summit two months ago, the world may be concerned about what strategy China would adopt to further the process of economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region. On November 20, Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the concerns in Lima by listing four commitments. In an important speech titled Forge Ahead into the Future for Progress and Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific delivered by Xi at the 24th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, he called on the Asia-Pacific members to stay committed to taking economic globalization forward, increasing openness in the Asia-Pacific economy, breaking bottlenecks in regional connectivity, and blazing new trails in reform and innovation. In the context of threats to economic globalization, sluggish international trade and investment and rising protectionism, Xis declaration of faith and determination is of great importance. History has proven that protectionism will get nowhere, Xi stressed the importance of openness to development. The cooperation will not be successful without the spirit of partnership or the determination to seek common development. During the G20 Summit held in September, China and global partners reached consensus to adopt a package of policies and actions for strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth based on the principles of vision, integration, openness and inclusiveness. In the declaration issued in Lima this November, China and other Asia-Pacific partners reiterated their determination to establish the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), and defined it as an important tool to further the Asia-Pacific economic integration agenda. Since anti-globalization sentiment in Western countries triggered concerns over the future of the world economy and free trade, some Western media started to ponder on who will finally lead the global trade. At present, the global economic governance is in great need of a real solution since the traditional policies are becoming outdated but the new driving forces are yet to replace the old ones. The idea of four commitments proposed by Xi represents a determination to translate the blueprint into reality as well as the perseverance to march on without being interrupted by temporary difficulties. In the Lima meetings, Juan Raffo, chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Council, felt distinctly about the emotional changes the participants changed their pessimistic attitudes into optimism for future free trade and quality economic growth after two days of interactions in the meetings. Some said that such changes are owed to Chinas faith and confidence. Public goods with Chinese characteristics, such as the Belt and Road initiative, Silk Road Fund, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, New Development Bank, and global free trade network, have raised hopes for the future development of the world economy. It is always a wise move to adapt to real situations. It is a trend for Asia-Pacific to deepen partnership, and pursue win-win cooperation and prosperity through openness and connectivity. New challenges also mean new opportunities for its members to forge ahead. APEC is the pioneer, leader and trailblazer for the economic cooperation in Asia-Pacific region and the world, while China is the active participant and contributor in APEC. The world is waiting for partners in Asia-Pacific region to make effective moves, drive the regional development, further their cooperation, and push the world toward an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive economy, thus creating a better future for all the people. Dans la meme rubrique : < > Trunk market springs up in Chinese cities Communist of China always maintains vitality More robots entering people's daily life Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) Ever since its creation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been the focus of heated controversy, with banks and politicians alike calling for cutbacks in its authority if not the agency's outright elimination. The threats to the agency's future became far more real on Nov. 8, with the victory of Donald Trump, and Republican control of both chambers of Congress, setting the stage for the GOP to turn back many of the CFPB's policies. Trump has spoken of repealing the Dodd-Frank Act, which created the consumer bureau. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (rumored to be a possible Treasury secretary pick in the Trump administration) has proposed to substantially weaken the CFPB in the Financial Choice Act. The bill would reduce the bureau's rulemaking authority including by repealing all guidance on auto lending, requiring a cost-benefit analysis of all proposed rules, giving Congress direct oversight of its budget and replacing the current single-director leadership structure with a five-person commission. But let's take a step back amid all this fury. When analyzed objectively, the bureau has a rather modest mission, making it hard to see what all the fuss is about. The mission of the CFPB is to ensure that markets are truly safe, fair and free. Among its goals is the elimination of fraudulent, unfair, deceptive and discriminatory practices. For example, the bureau has established a seemingly straightforward (yet controversial) standard for mortgage lenders to assess a borrower's "ability to repay." This is similar to the standard set forth in a proposal on short-term, small-dollar lending. The financial services industry has railed against such a principle, yet all it seeks is for lenders to make sure borrowers have the resources to pay back a loan. This has traditionally been viewed as simply sound underwriting a "best practice." Research for my forthcoming book about the CFPB included interviews with over 50 current and previous agency staff. Among them, there was no uniform call to break up large financial institutions, nationalize any bank or create any kind of alternative to traditional, market-based, for-profit, private institutions. Their suggestions for further reforms included better and broader consumer education, better clarification of rules and the simplification of certain forms and procedures. But all comments were guided by a desire to make markets work better. Despite the modesty of this mission, the drumbeat to defang if not defund the CFPB is now louder than ever. One question we asked our respondents was if and how the CFPB should respond if criticism of the agency were to become even more threatening. The scenario, which we laid out before the election but ended up being prescient, was of an administration getting elected that is less friendly to strong consumer protection policy and practice than the Obama White House. The basic response, from CFPB Director Richard Cordray on down, was that the best thing for the CFPB would be to focus on doing their jobs they were asked to do as effectively as they could. Maybe this reflected naivete on the part of CFPB staffers. An alternative strategy might have been to anticipate the attacks and develop a strategy for responding. Maybe. But what the actual responses suggested was that the CFPB has been driven, right from the start, not by ideology but simply to do its job. And that job was and is, again, to make markets work better to enable informed consumers to be treated fairly and effectively so they can get the credit they deserve and financial institutions can operate in a stable and profitable manner, without fear of bubbles and system-threatening crises. The 2008 financial crisis revealed that markets do not always work that way. Truly transparent markets that our respondents envisioned can ameliorate the costs of economic catastrophes. It is still too early to know whether a Trump administration means the CFPB will truly be defanged. Perhaps the fury stoked by Trump's victory similar to the fury that often accompanies the beginning of a new administration will settle down. If so, perhaps all parties can focus on the goal of supporting the basic mission of the CFPB: to assure free and fair markets. Gregory D. Squires is a professor of sociology and of public policy and public administration at George Washington University. As American businesses struggle to comprehend the implications of the November election earthquake, one consistent theme has been an expectation that federal regulatory action, at least over time, will decrease across the board. But as the political tectonic plates force federal regulatory agencies to retreat, they also create a void of power that certain state regulators and attorneys general are likely to fill. The impending transition from the Obama administration to the Trump White House is widely expected to result in an easing up of regulatory and enforcement action by federal agencies. Since the financial crisis, federal regulators, largely under Democratic control, have taken an increasingly hard line policing financial markets, consumer financial products, environmental matters and more. The rise of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Securities and Exchange Commission's and Justice Department's focus on holding individuals accountable for financial wrongdoing, are prime examples of this movement. Federal regulators have used rulemaking and enforcement to advance the Obama administration's policy goals, ranging from the legalistic (e.g., fiduciary obligations for investment advisers) to the complex (e.g., oversight of dark pools) to the dramatic (e.g., regulation of carbon dioxide as a pollutant), all accomplished without relying on new legislation. With the executive branch and both houses of Congress under Republican control, federal regulators will almost certainly return to a role of far less activism. While part of this shift will be attributable to differences on substantive policies, much of it owes to a difference in the philosophy of governing. Progressives and Democrats historically have viewed federal agencies as effective tools to implement policy goals through both rulemaking and enforcement, particularly if new legislation is not feasible. By contrast, conservatives and Republicans regard the federal regulatory state with a healthy dose of suspicion. While this era of activism by federal agencies may be waning, at least for now, in its place certain state regulators and attorneys general are poised to rise up and fill any void. New York, as a prime example, commands a veritable armada of regulatory agencies dedicated to financial services, health care, insurance, antitrust, the environment, labor, consumer affairs you name it. The New York State Department of Financial Services, in particular, has fashioned itself as a mini-version of the CFPB. Each agency has the power to shape businesses through policy, rules and regulations, and enforcement, either on its own or in concert with the state attorney general's office and other state agencies. The New York attorney general's office itself boasts a fleet of divisions and bureaus covering financial crimes, Medicaid fraud, civil rights, environmental protection, health care, antitrust, consumer frauds and investor protection, to name a few. Over the past eight years, these bureaus' efforts while impressive have often been overlooked compared with the more high-profile federal agencies. While the primary impact of state regulatory and enforcement actions is felt by businesses operating within their state's jurisdiction, the effects ultimately can ripple far beyond the state's territory. Complying with regulatory requirements of large states like New York and California often leads to enterprisewide compliance, given economies of scale in many industries. Also, many foreign companies particularly financial services and technology companies call either New York or California home. This return to state-centric regulation would be a reprise of roles played during the prior Republican administration. In the 2000s, former New York Attorney General (and then Gov.) Eliot Spitzer rose to prominence most famously using New York state's Martin Act to prosecute securities fraud, but in other areas as well. Spitzer's aggressive prosecution stood out: advancing Democratic policy objectives through enforcement and regulatory tools rather than legislation. As other states may pursue similar initiatives simultaneously, an obvious downside could be a 50-state patchwork of inconsistent rules in certain areas of the law. The pendulum is likely to swing once again in the direction of state regulation and enforcement, and away from active federal prosecution. Mary Jo White's recent announcement that she will step down as chair of the SEC is just the beginning of what will be a sea change across federal agencies. Just as Spitzer did in his day, many state regulators and enforcement officials are eagerly waiting to fill the void. Eric Dinallo is a former superintendent of insurance for New York State and currently a partner in the financial institutions group for Debevoise & Plimpton. From 1999 to 2003, he worked in the state's Office of the Attorney General under Eliot Spitzer. The latest network buzz-phrase, "software-defined network" has been bandied about a great deal in techie circles lately. We asked Dan Pitt, executive director at the Open Networking Foundation in San Francisco, to explain to us what this new evolution in network technology is and where it might make sense for banks. What is a software-defined network? Software-defined networking is a disruptive technology that is making networks programmable by ordinary programmers using ordinary software running on ordinary operating systems in ordinary servers. With SDN, the introduction of new features becomes less manual, less prone to error and faster to implement. The OpenFlow standard - a communications protocol that allows the path of network packets through a network of switches to be determined by software running on multiple routers - provides the fundamental foundation for a software-defined network by giving a remote, logically centralized controller with a global view of the network and a consistent, system-wide programming interface the power to modify the behavior of network devices through a well-defined "forwarding instruction set." Instead of having each switch and router determine paths through the network independently based only on a destination address, the controller determines the optimal path for each flow based on a multitude of criteria determined by the network operator or user, and it conveys this information to the switches and routers using the OpenFlow protocol. What can it do that a regular network can't do? Software-defined networking and OpenFlow create the ability to program the network using ordinary software as rapidly and in as customized a fashion as you wish, meaning enterprises no longer have to rely on a vendor for updates. These new programmable networks enable new initiatives through flexibility, agility and virtualization, and the introduction of new features becomes less manual, less prone to error and faster to implement. Additionally, OpenFlow-based SDN lowers operating expenses and has fewer errors because of the reduction in manual configuration. It enables virtualization of the network and therefore the integration of the network with computing and storage so the entire IT operation can be governed more sleekly with a single suite of tools. This allows for better alignment of the network - and all of IT - to directly meet business objectives. Can high performance be achieved in a software-defined network? Using SDN, customers can determine and effect their own performance criteria of the network. Moreover, the independence of control and forwarding with SDN allows the technologies for each to develop independently and allows network operators to adopt new, high-performance technologies without requiring changes to the software and control investments they have already made. OpenFlow-based SDN fosters network virtualization and enables network operation to be governed by the user's requirements for security, policy, access control, load balancing, traffic engineering, and energy management as well as performance. Can an existing network be made software-defined or is this only for new installations? Yes it can, and we are seeing it coexist already. Numerous organizations introduce OpenFlow capability one device at a time into an existing network with convenient, logical separation of traffic and control. Ironically, OpenFlow-based SDN emerged from the Clean Slate Internet Design research program but does not require starting with a clean slate or with forklift upgrades. What do Cisco, Juniper and the other traditional network providers think of this? We cannot speak for any of our members. Cisco and Juniper are active member companies within the Foundation, and all members are seeing that their customers welcome open networking and network programmability, and are asking for standards-based approaches. BOTTOMLINE Your next network upgrade may include software-defined components. As we begin to wind down to the end of Hassan Rouhanis term as president of the regime in Iran, it is time to take a look back at the past four years. We all remember how the West joyfully welcomed his election -- read selection -- as a change of gear in Iran aimed at moderation. However, what the world witnessed ever since has been anything but. An atrocious rise in executions, continued public punishments and an escalating trend of oppression has been Rouhanis report card during his tenure. With a new administration coming into town, Washington must make it crystal clear to Tehran that human rights violations will no longer be tolerated. Unprecedented executions Despite pledging to hold the key to Irans problems, Rouhani has failed to provide even an iota of the freedoms the Iranian people crave and deserve. His record has revealed an unrelenting loyalty to the regime establishment in regards to social oppression and continued crackdowns. Iran sent 18 to the gallows last week alone, according to official reports. As the international community continued its policy of appeasement, Rouhani and the entire regime used this opportunity to launch an execution rampage. Over 2,500 people have been sent to the gallows ever since Rouhani came to power, shattering all records held by this regime itself in over two decades. In 2015 alone, Iran was executing an individual every eight hours, as reported by Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, former United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Iran. Vast social crackdown Rouhanis commitment to regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the ruling elite has rendered a wide-ranging, escalating crackdown. In addition to the executions mentioned above, state-sponsored social oppression has resulted in horrific scenes of public hangings, floggings, and even limb amputations. The prisons are overwhelmed with inmates, leading to intolerable and inhumane conditions. Political prisoners, specifically, are subject to horrendous treatment by the authorities. Renowned human rights organization Amnesty International has recently issued an Urgent Action call expressing major concerns over the case of Maryam Akbari Monfared, a Green Movement organizer still in prison two years after her family put up her bail. And this is merely a single example of the dreadful results of Rouhanis domestic policies. The regime, with the West unfortunately falling in line, had claimed that the Iranian nation welcomed Rouhanis presidency with open arms. While such assertions were politically motivated from the very beginning, the ordinary Iranian has been the first to pay the price of such a failed engagement policy. A call for justice The Iranian population is extremely fond of the Internet and millions are actively using social media. Despite its vast censorship efforts, the regime has failed to completely firewall the entire globe from the clever and highly motivated Iranian netizen. Various clips, images, and stories from inside Iran are leaking to the outside world as we speak, revealing ever more the regimes atrocities. One significant case involves the exposure of a controversial sound file shedding light on a private meeting between the late Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri and the main officials involved in the horrendous 1988 summer massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners across Iran. Montazeri was the successor to Iranian regime founder, mullah Ruhollah Khomeini, set aside by Khomeini himself considering his opposing perspectives. This disclosure sent shockwaves amongst the Iranian people from all walks of life, and throughout the globe. As a result a global movement is demanding accountability from those responsible for the horrific massacre of thousands of innocent political prisoners. The victims of this carnage included members and supporters of the main Iranian opposition entity, Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran, and other dissident groups and minorities. The PMOI, more commonly known as the MEK in the West, has also been the focus of a lobbying campaign launched by Iran. Tehrans mullahs are terrified of MEK supporters such as former New York City mayor and ambassador John Bolton being considered for senior cabinet posts in a Donald Trump White House. Conclusion The entire regime in Iran, including the so-called hardliners and moderates, are shifting gear for the upcoming presidential elections in June 2017. Members of the Rouhani faction have described U.S. President Barack Obamas tenure as a golden era. This signals how Tehran took full advantage of Obamas rapprochement as a green light to escalate executions and further implement social crackdown. With a new administration set to take the reins in Washington, the opportunity has arrived for America to raise the issue of Irans human rights violations. Such outrageous crimes have no place in the 21st century, and all eyes are on U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. Supporting the call to hold all senior Iranian regime officials involved in the 1988 massacre accountable for their crimes is a good start. I enjoy telling people: No worries, Ill man-up and take care of it, as the reactions I get plainly expose their politics and character. If they are the sort of person who thinks man-up is sexist, homophobic, and misogynistic, as the mainstream media often claims today, theyll grimace. They will even, if Im lucky, tell me why they think so. (I say lucky because there is nothing as amusing as hearing a person who self-identifies as being liberal and open-minded trying to explain why you shouldnt buck their status quo with a competing view.) The liberal/progressive belief is that manly declarations should be censored, banned, and expunged from our minds for being insulting to women and, perhaps, also to those effeminized men among us. (I am, of course, using liberal/progressive as it is defined by politics today, not by the dictionary definitions of those words, as the dictionary definitions are about challenging the status quo.) This politically correct censorship is at the basis of why manliness is in crisis. If being manly is akin to sexism and worse, men should then be something else, but the cabal of Hollywood, academia, and the mainstream media havent given men anything else to be. They are simply told not to be men. They are guilty from birth and so should just shut up. This empty view actually can be traced back to Rebel Without a Cause, the 1955 classic movie starring James Dean. In the movie Dean keeps asking his father what does it mean to be a man? but his father doesnt know. Dean is given no answers. He keeps slouching and looking at the ground and playing the lost young man brilliantly, but no one gives him any answers. Now, well over a half-century later, this is still where liberal Hollywood, academia, and the mainstream media have left the question. They are very concerned about women and womens rights, but they are not inquisitive at all about what makes men -- and therefore with what they have been attacking. Theyve torn down many of the ideals young men used to aspire to and replaced them with nothing -- well, nothing other than that they shouldnt aspire to be men. With mens ideals gone, todays youth have often been left lost without real role models or archetypes, outside of Hollywoods cartoonish action heroes, to emulate. And the Left hasnt stopped there. In attempts to further neuter males they now accuse men of man-splaining, man-spreading and of macho micro-aggressions in the workplace. They paint with a broad brush by claiming all men are guilty of sexism; if not on purpose, then unconsciously. To them a gentleman is a chauvinist by definition. This is contradictory, of course, as how can a man who is so weak that he must put down the opposite sex to prop up his own ego be manly? So, with all of that in mind, the first thing that blasts away all of these attacks on manliness is refusing to be their victim. The man who stands up in the rubble of a natural or manmade disaster and stubbornly starts to build is a man indeed. A man who, despite injury, selflessly helps others after a car wreck or during a battle, is a man to respect. A man who, given a pink slip, nevertheless smiles and calmly tells the poor soul in human resources not to worry and thanks them for everything, is a man in control of himself. Such a person decides, despite it all, to be the hero, not a victim. Such a man (or a woman, as we are talking about character, not chromosomes here) has the air of being undefeatable even in defeat. They have, as Ernest Hemingway once said, grace under pressure. This is hard to do, as these days just about everyone is a victim except the old-school mans man, as he doesnt give a damn what others think of him. In fiction he is Ayn Rands protagonist Howard Roark in The Fountainhead (or, for that matter, Rands heroine Dagny Taggart in Atlas Shrugged), as he doesnt define himself by others -- the very idea of defining himself in comparison to others is out of character for him. This simple, guiltless trait explains why some hate the mans man, as he doesnt accept their authority or better judgment and that is very vexing to someone who wants control. It is why some grimace when I tell them Ill man-up and handle it. Maybe this is even why many of the feminists of this age, instead of wanting to be a new ideal, have decided what they really want is to be men. Only they cant be -- they are women. (If only the feminists would define a new ideal not by politics, but by character traits, no matter the chromosomes, theyd get somewhere.) After refusing to be the victim comes understanding as towhat builds character. This begins with chasing a hero, an ideal in an age that doesnt trust ideals. This is, as Joseph Campbell articulated, the heros journey. As you chase your hero, you must understand him. You must realize that today weve let the sophisticate slay the man in full -- or at least banish him from polite society. The well-rounded man used to be an ideal, now you are only supposed to be the tame, sophisticated dude, as if you can be a gentleman without being a man of action. That formula doesnt work. That concoction makes hipsters, boy-men and cads, not men. What makes men, as it turns out, is the pursuit of an ideal into something real. From the ancients to today the formula for what makes men has been bottled into rites of passage designed to make people of character a society, institution, tribe and so on can count on in good times and bad. Examples include the places we all agree build character -- boot camp, seminary school, a quality karate dojo. The best part is that once you know the formula, you can use it in whatever chapter of your life story you are now in to become all you want to be. Frank Miniter's just-released book This Will Make a Man of You -- One Mans Search for Hemingway and Manhood in a Changing World provides the formula for what makes men. Editor's note: unbeknownst to us at the time of publication, the author is a registered foreign agent of the Azerbaijan government. Recently, Azerbaijan celebrated 25 years of independence from Soviet rule. Arguably Eurasias most Western-friendly and secular Muslim-majority nation, Azerbaijan has long fought another battle, one that the election of Donald Trump may shift: the occupation of its Nagorno-Karabakh region by Armenia. As the international community often does, a multilateral body was established to solve the problem following a bloody war from 1988 to 1992. For decades, the OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia, France, and the U.S., has produced no demonstrable gains. Successive U.S. presidents have paid lip service to the Minsk Group and pleaded for time. The election of Donald Trump may be a game changer. During the election, Armenian-American organizations, playing identity politics, waged a spiteful campaign against Trump, with continuous online attacks and the copious spread of misinformation. Parenthetically, Armenian-American organizations endorsed Bernie Sanders against Hillary Clinton. If anything, this shows ethnic lobbyists to be out of touch and perhaps even irrelevant. Note the defeat of ardently pro-Armenian and anti-Trump Republican Senator Mark Kirk, a co-chair of the Armenian Caucus, Congressman Bob Dold of Illinois, or of the Nevada Senate hopeful Joe Heck in Nevada. President-elect Trump, owing nothing to the Armenian-American lobby, yet on record as having positive views vis a vis Azerbaijan, may take his characteristically pragmatic, national interest-based approach to Nagorno-Karabakh and move the conflict to finality. Azerbaijan, located in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia, has been a steadfast strategic partner of the U.S. since its independence and represents exactly the kind of a secular, pragmatic, and modern partner America needs. Azerbaijan has generally tacked toward the West, although, as with so many nations, some wavering occurred during the current U.S. administration. However, Azerbaijan has continued building oil and gas pipelines that flow to Europe and Western markets. In addition, Azerbaijan continues to support the U.S. in international fora and has become a close and, some may say, indispensable ally of Israel. As Azerbaijan declared its independence, Armenia annexed NagornoKarabakh and adjacent districts with Russias support and Irans tacit approval. Wholesale murder, torture, rape and ethnic cleansing was the order of the day and nearly one million citizens of Azerbaijan became internally displaced persons as a result. Oddly, Armenia claims the right of self-determination, however, they make this claim after they occupied and ethnically cleansed all Azerbaijanis from the region. What about the self-determination of the thousands of Azerbaijanis murdered and the 1 million waiting to go home? In fact, given that even the Armenians in NagornoKarabakh live under the occupation by Armenias military, they can hardly claim self-determination. This is why a peaceful resolution is needed soon to address the needs and aspirations of both the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno-Karabakh. Self-determination was originally determined as a human right by the UN in order to protect citizens from colonial rule and has been perverted by Armenia. This is no different than the approach frequently used by Germany in 1930s to occupy the Sudetenland and even annex Austria. The prominence of self-determination in the post WWII and post-colonial world emerged to prevent the type of occupation Armenian now maintains. Armenia clearly oppressed Azerbaijanis. Thus, according to the U.N.s own definition, Armenias actions are contrary to world peace. Furthermore, when describing self-determination, the U.N. discusses the rights of all peoples to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Again, Azerbaijanis were denied. Of note, in the final decree of this resolution, the U.N. resolves that all states respect a peoples sovereign rights and their territorial integrity. Both of these rights have been violated by Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijanis were not allowed to govern themselves, and thus their sovereignty was denied. Similarly, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is violated by occupation. The principal of territorial integrity, under international law, proscribes secessionist movements or border changes promoted by one state over another. This violation of territorial integrity is recognized widely, including by NATO, the UN, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and all UN member nations. It is appalling that Armenia continues to use the argument of self-determination to occupy this region. In order to comply with the decrees and resolutions of the UN, and to cease human rights violations, Armenia must immediately stop its occupation of Azerbaijan and allow Nagorno-Karabakhs hundreds of thousands displaced people to finally return to their homes in peace with their neighbors. Although much will be on the new presidents plate, President Trump should strongly consider putting his weight behind solving this longstanding conflict that promises to cause his administration significant issues if not addressed -- lest we forget the violent flare-up of hostilities last April. Another such conflagration promises to escalate into a region war with the involvement of Russia, Iran, Turkey and others. Jason Katz is the principal of TSG, LLC, a strategic communications and political consultancy, specializing in the foreign policy and international relations spaces. For nearly a decade, he served as the Director of Governmental Relations and Public Affairs for the American Jewish Committee, based in Los Angeles. In response to Donald's Trump's election, leftists are pushing a ballot measure in California which would lead to California withdrawing from the United States. As Mark Levin frequently says, "The left never gives up, whether it wins or loses an election!" "Should California become a free, sovereign, and independent country?" The question could appear on a statewide ballot in 2018 if a group of secessionists has its way. Marcus Evans, the vice president of Yes California, filed a proposed ballot measure with the Attorney General's Office on Monday that would appear on the November 2018 gubernatorial ballot. If voters approve the measure, it would establish a special election in March 2019 to ask voters again if they want California to become an independent country, Yes California wrote in a ballot measure filing. More than half of the registered voters in the state must participate in the special election and at least 55 percent must vote "yes" for the proposal to move forward, according to information submitted by the group. If voters approve the measure, "the governor shall carry and shepherd an application for the newly independent Republic of California to join the United Nations," they say. Evans said the group filed the ballot proposal in response to an uptick in support in a deep-blue state following the election of Donald Trump. You may think, what does it matter? California can't unilaterally decide to withdraw from the Union. But you forget, there are two legal standards: one for conservatives and one for liberals. Conservatives are prosecuted if they choose to disregard laws or even regulations or court decisions on marriage being redefined to include same-sex couples, letting boys in girls' bathrooms, or voter ID nullification. But liberals are held to a very different standard. They create sanctuary cities in defiance of federal law without consequence. They also legalize narcotics, first timidly for "medical" use, then boldly for "recreational" use, despite prohibitions in federal law, and for decades they have suffered absolutely no penalty for it. Given that, is it really impossible to see how California could unilaterally withdraw from the United States if liberals decide that it is in their best interest to do so? And what a gift it would be for the rest of the country! California currently has 55 electoral votes. Candidates need 270 to become president. Without California, Democrats would have to swing states deep in Republican territory. California has 53 congressmen, 39 of whom are liberals (40 if you count Kevin McCarthy). In a House of Representatives with 382 members, can you imagine the difficulty liberals would have getting a majority if they had to climb out of a net deficit of 39 members? That would make the departure of the two Democratic senators merely icing on the cake! If California were no longer part of America, large clusters of illegal aliens there would not be Americans, either. A larger percentage of the country would speak English as their first language. After barricading the highways, the natural rugged terrain of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona would help keep Californians out of our country. As for the few regular Americans who live in California, not much would change. As I've written above, California ignores any federal laws it does not like anyway. The only difference is that through its disassociation with the United States, it would not be able to impose its views on the other 49 states. What do you think? Would you be sad to lose California? Most of the major population centers Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, even Orange County are leftist now. The only relatively conservative part of the state is in parts of the Central Valley, and up north, but even the northern region is filled with tweakers. So what's to lose? Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com. Obama delivered his pearls of wisdom in Peru, to a conference for the doomed Trans-Pacific Partnership. Great choice of venue, sir. As for how Trump should dispose of his companies, "Obama says his assets were significantly smaller than those of previous presidents and presidents-elect, including Donald Trump." My, how modest the man is. Next I suppose he'll channel Hillary ("we came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt"). Oh, wait the Obamas have already bought "an 8,200-square-foot home in the Kalorama neighborhood in Washington, D.C. ... [a] 9-bedroom mansion with 8.5 baths." No one is saying how much they paid, but the last time it changed hands, the asking price was $5.3 million. Just a fixer-upper. I wonder if the Kalorama neighborhood is in an Urban Enterprise Zone. How's Obama going to stay close to the "community" if he's living among a lot of ahem, if he's living in a non-diverse neighborhood? The Obamas still have their bungalow in Chicago, now valued at $2 million. And it looks as though they're buying another house in Rancho Mirage, California. So they'll have shelter over their heads. And he'll be pulling down $200,000 plus expenses per year, walk-around money 'til his cash flow improves with book contracts and speaking engagements. In a wonderful coincidence, last May, Obama asked for and received an 18% increase in funding to be spent on retired presidents. Helping others while helping yourself makes you feel tingly all over. "He says he told Trump that he would be well-served by a strong White House counsel who could set rules." Obama actually had an ethics lawyer? Who knew? Yes, here are two former chief White House ethics lawyers giving Trump advice on how to set up his blind trust. The post of ethics lawyer in the Obama administration must have been one of the easiest gigs going, because he surely gave no counsel on setting up Fast and Furious, emailing Hillary from Obama's private Gmail account, prosecuting the New Black Panthers for voter intimidation, loosing the IRS on Tea Party groups, ruling with pen and phone... Well, strictly speaking, the last was a question of not ethics, but constitutionality, and Obama would have had no need for advice on that, being a constitutional scholar himself. "In bringing up his successor Donald Trump, Obama reminded the summit that he hasn't had any scandals." Why is he telling this to foreign heads of state? Wouldn't a meeting to flog the Trans-Pacific Partnership be about trade, not his virtues? But it's always and only about Obama. Besides, the claim is risible on its face. The abbreviated list above does not constitute scandals? Why, because there was no special prosecutor to deem them such? "But he decided that to avoid questions about conflict of interest, it was best not to just meet the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law." When did Obama ever care about the letter of the law, much less its spirit? See ruling with phone and pen above. In case you were wondering, we haven't seen the last of him: As an American citizen who cares deeply about our country, if there are issues that have less to do with the specifics of some legislative proposal or battle or go to core questions about our values and ideals, and if I think that it's necessary or helpful for me to defend those ideals, I'll examine it when it comes. "As an American citizen": say what? "Who cares deeply about our country": snort, chuckle, guffaw. "Values and ideals": as in belittling anyone who does not cling to his values? As in ruling with phone and pen, justified because his ideals are oh, so superior? In short, he'll be in our face 24/7. Please, Obama, just go live in your mansions when you're not giving speeches for half a million a pop. At least then we won't have to listen to what you say, as I'm sure your private speeches will be carefully guarded secrets (see Hillary's speeches to Wall Street). Henry Percy is the nom de guerre of a writer in Arizona. He may be reached at saler.50d[at]gmail.com. Beyond desperation, beyond reason or logic, and beyond belief, a group of "academics" and election law lawyers have created a study that purports to show that the vote in three swing states was stolen perhaps with the help of Russia. The "analysis" reveals that Clinton received 7% fewer votes in areas where electronic voting machines were used as compared to those areas where paper ballots were employed. The stunningly stupid conclusion? The electronic machines were hacked maybe by Russia and the vote count was "manipulated." New York Magazine: Hillary Clinton is being urged by a group of prominent computer scientists and election lawyers to call for a recount in three swing states won by Donald Trump, New York has learned. The group, which includes voting-rights attorney John Bonifaz and J. Alex Halderman, the director of the University of Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society, believes theyve found persuasive evidence that results in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania may have been manipulated or hacked. The group is so far not speaking on the record about their findings and is focused on lobbying the Clinton team in private. Last Thursday, the activists held a conference call with Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and campaign general counsel Marc Elias to make their case, according to a source briefed on the call. The academics presented findings showing that in Wisconsin, Clinton received 7 percent fewer votes in counties that relied on electronic-voting machines compared with counties that used optical scanners and paper ballots. Based on this statistical analysis, Clinton may have been denied as many as 30,000 votes; she lost Wisconsin by 27,000. While its important to note the group has not found proof of hacking or manipulation, they are arguing to the campaign that the suspicious pattern merits an independent review especially in light of the fact that the Obama White House has accused the Russian government of hacking the Democratic National Committee. According to current tallies, Trump has won 290 Electoral College votes to Clintons 232, with Michigans 16 votes not apportioned because the race there is still too close to call. It would take overturning the results in both Wisconsin (10 Electoral College votes) and Pennsylvania (20 votes), in addition to winning Michigans 16, for Clinton to win the Electoral College. There is also the complicating factor of faithless electors, or members of the Electoral College who do not vote according to the popular vote in their states. At least six electoral voters have said they would not vote for Trump, despite the fact that he won their states. Generally speaking, electronic machines can usually be found in urban areas, while paper ballots are used predominantly in rural areas. The significance of that is so obvious you have to wonder about the I.Q. of these computer "scientists." Trump did better than Romney in urban areas, drawing white voters away from Hillary Clinton. Even if that doesn't explain the entire discrepancy, reduced turnout could account for the rest. Bottom line: It is more than a leap of faith to accept the conclusions in the report it is a flight of fantasy. The entire scenario depends on proving that the voting machines were hacked a forensic audit that the Justice Department will almost certainly refuse to do. Hillary supporters were fond of portraying Trump and his supporters as wallowing in conspiracy theories. The "Russia hacked the voting machines" theory is getting close to birther territory. But this is only one of several Hail Mary passes by Clinton supporters, who are also interested in overturning the election results in the Electoral College. Good luck with that one, guys. Not prosecuting Hillary would be a prime example of misplaced mercy. Mercy is for those who have made a mistake and admit to it, not for those who continue to lie about their actions and claim that their crimes were perfectly legal. So long as high-ranking Democrats know they can violate the law with impunity, Trump will never be able to drain the swamp. There's nothing Banana republic-related about prosecuting the powerful for their crimes. In fact, it's in Banana republics where the powerful aren't prosecuted. More importantly, the Democratic Party has been waging war using lawfare baseless criminal charges and civil suits against Republicans for quite some time now. A wide spectrum of Republicans have been prosecuted based on charges with absolutely no merit due to the fascist nature of many Democrat D.A.s. In 1993, Democrats proved how sexist they were by indicting Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison for destroying Christmas cards you'd think liberals would like that. The charges were dropped when the Democrat D.A. said he couldn't prosecute. In 2014, a Democrat D.A. indicted Governor Rick Perry for exercising his authority as governor. That's right: the Democrats say a Republican politician doing what they don't like is criminal. In 2013, a Democrat D.A. in Wisconsin had police conduct raids in the middle of the night on the homes of people whose only alleged crime was exercising their First Amendment rights. When the whole case was thrown out, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said: "[T]he special prosecutor's legal theory is unsupported in either reason or law." In 2016, Kamala Harris, Democrat A.G. in California, raided the apartment of the man whose undercover journalism exposed Planned Parenthood's selling of baby parts. Given that using her legal reasoning, 60 Minutes and an untold number of media giants are all criminals, it's clear that she was more motivated by the tens of thousands of dollars she received from Planned Parenthood than the law. These are just a small sampling of the many cases where Democrats prosecute Republicans for doing things that are legal. See here for more. There are no similar cases where Republicans persecute Democrats, though there are cases where Democrats have actually been convicted for their crimes. Given that Democrats have shown themselves to be fascists who have no concern about the law and who are willing to prosecute people they know are innocent, extending mercy to their titular leader, Hillary, so that she can "heal" is the height of folly. We cannot end corruption in D.C. if Democrats, the party of corruption, know that they aren't bound by the same laws as all other Americans have to follow. If Trump lets Hillary walk but then prosecutes her stooges and flunkies, that will be proof positive that America is no longer a country based on laws, but has become a Banana republic, where who you are determines which laws you have to follow. A key reason why Trump was elected was because the people wanted an end to the double standard. They wanted Democrats, and politicians in general, to be as afraid of breaking the law as they are. If Trump's actions clearly say Hillary is above the law, he'll be saying he agrees that some Americans are more equal than others. As a former #NeverTrump, I should point out that it's possible that Trump is actually being clever here. By saying he won't appoint a special prosecutor, he comes across as civil and a unifier to the left-wing loons, and he makes it harder for the media to portray him as a monster. But the president telling the attorney general what he should, or shouldn't, investigate is something the media condemn because of its connection to Nixon. Hence, if Trump is saying he won't appoint a special prosecutor, that in no way means that Jeff Sessions can't or won't continue investigations into criminal activity by Hillary. In fact, if the media attack Trump for that, they'll have to admit they believe that the president should be able to determine who should be investigated. Now they would make that claim, but it will make their hypocrisy abundantly clear, since they are on record as virulently having opposed it in the past. Hillary needs to be prosecuted not out of revenge, but out of love of the rule of law, which says everyone has to obey the law, no matter how powerful or wealthy they are. If we lose that truth, we will take one more step toward serfdom for all Americans except those part of the Democrat posse. You can read more of Tom's rants at his blog, Conversations about the obvious, and feel free to follow him on Twitter. Donald Trump has called for UKIP's interim leader, Nigel Farage, to become the British ambassador to the United States. Trump said: Many people would like to see Nigel Farage represent Great Britain as their Ambassador to the United States. He would do a great job! Personally, I don't think that would be a good move on Farage's part. It would be a step down, even though Farage would be ambassador to the world's most powerful country besides which it may tie him too closely to the current British Conservative government, which, again, I don't think would be such a good thing. I say this because Farage and UKIP have very little in common with today's Conservative Party, and most Tories don't have much respect for Farage and UKIP. In any case, since Trump won the election, perhaps he and other sympathetic Americans should be helping Farage and UKIP, not the other way around. (Then again, it can be argued that Farage helping Trump is an indirect way of Farage helping Great Britain.) If Farage did become the British ambassador to the U.S., he'd be the most senior diplomat in Washington. Yet, from that position, I'd guess that he'd have little chance to do the political things he'd like to do. Farage was flattered by the idea of becoming an ambassador. Despite being flattered, he doesn't want the job. As Farage himself said: I dont think I will be the ambassadorial type. Whatever talents or flaws I have got I dont think diplomacy is at the top of my list of skills. So it's not a surprise that the British government has said there's no vacancy anyway. The current ambassador, Sir Kim Dorroch, sent a memo to Downing Street that said he and other U.K. diplomats are well placed to deal with Trump's presidency and everything that flows from it. In addition to that, a government official said the U.K. government has excellent ambassadors to the US. In view of Sir Kim's words, Farage said that it is obvious that the current ambassador to the United States should resign. Why? Because this man, in Farage's words, is part of the old regime. Yes, an old regime that has enthused about the European Union; encouraged mass immigration; banned American and Dutch dissidents (e.g., Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, and Geert Wilders); allowed Muslim ghettos, halal slaughter, and sharia law to mushroom; and so on. Moreover, according to Sky News, Farage went on to say: [Sir Kims] world view, and the world view of the Trump team are going to be diametrically opposed and I would have thought it would be sensible to put someone there who was likely to get on with Team Trump. Nonetheless, Farage has said that he'd love to help deal with Team Trump, though not as an ambassador. Indeed, he likes the idea of being the U.K.s and U.S.'s go-between. Thats why he said the British prime ministers stance against such a position is nonsense. Not only that: Theresa May should put petty personal differences aside. Farage has also said that some of the British politicians whove been "openly abusive about Trump are now pretend[ing] to be his friend. Farage went on to say: It is career politics at its worst and it is now getting in the way of the national interest. I have said since the now famous photograph with Donald Trump 10 days ago that I would do anything to help our national interest and to help cement ties with the incoming Anglophile administration. I have known several of the Trump team for years and I am in a good position with the president-elect's support to help. The world has changed and it's time that Downing Street did too. Finally, American readers may also recall that Farage already campaigned with Trump in Mississippi (last August), when thousands of Americans turned up to listen to Trump speak. At the time Trump described Farage as the man behind Brexit. Trump also predicted that the U.S. election would be Brexit plus plus plus. Over the past couple of days, we've seen several police officers shot in the line of duty. Two of those incidents, one in San Antonio (in which the officer was killed) and one in St. Louis (in which the officer survived), were clearly unprovoked "ambush"-style attacks, not precipitated by any interaction between the cop and the shooter and with no connection between the cop and his attacker. The first thing I happened to notice about the way these two incidents have been reported is that the race or ethnicity of the officer involved was not deemed an important part of the story. In the San Antonio murder (for it was, clearly, a murder), the victim's photo was shown, and one could easily surmise from that photo that the cop was white. In the St. Louis attempted murder (for it was, clearly, an attempted murder), the victim's name has not been furnished in any of the accounts I have seen thus far, but it's probably not too big a leap to presume (absent any indication to the contrary) that the cop shot is also white. In both cases, the perpetrator has been identified as "African-American." In San Antonio, a black suspect is in custody, and in St. Louis, the perpetrator, also black, was subsequently shot and killed by police. But the respective races of the perps and their victims have hardly been shouted from the rooftops certainly not the way race would figure and has figured in any story in which the police did the shooting. When the cops do the shooting and the person shot is anything but white, the narrative is straight out of the Ministry of Propaganda mainstream media playbook: cops are, like American society at large, inherently, intrinsically racist, and they go out each and every day looking for minorities, particularly blacks, to shoot for no reason whatsoever. We can expect the MSM to hammer that meme ad nauseam. But when the shoe is on the other foot, does the propagandist press advance an equivalent narrative? Are any talking heads speculating whether there's an agenda by blacks to murder cops? It's similar to the way Islamic terrorism is reported. When the perpetrator of a mass killing remains unnamed in the news reports, it's a good bet that when the name is eventually revealed, it'll be "Mohammed" or something similar. And it's also a pretty good bet that the murderous actions will not be tied to Islam, to jihad, or to anything in the Most Holy Quran. Rather, we'll be told that "authorities are still trying to understand what may have motivated" the perp, who "had been dealing with personal mental/emotional issues." So don't expect anyone in the MSM to connect these cowardly ambushes (only the most recent, but hardly the only ones) to the violent rhetoric of Black Lives Matter or to those marching and chanting "Pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon!" As in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes story "Silver Blaze" (sometimes known as "The Case of the Dog that Didn't Bark"), a news story can often reveal important information by what it doesn't say, and the narrative it doesn't employ. Or perhaps the MSM-approved narrative in these recent shootings is "Cops who happen to be white are shot (for reasons which remain a mystery) by suspects who happen to be black." "If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your [Hillary Clinton's] situation." This is what Donald Trump said last month. Now he says the exact opposite, that he is not going to prosecute her. "I don't want to hurt the Clintons, I really don't,'' Mr. Trump said during a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times. "She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways, and I am not looking to hurt them at all. Some Trump voters will feel betrayed, thinking Trump walked back a very, very explicit and recent campaign promise. Others will not be concerned, feeling that Clinton is old news and small potatoes given the important tasks Trump has to focus on. Neither side will convince the other. Instead, I want to talk about the awful message this sends to the bureaucracy in Washington. We know that liberals have been entrenched into the bureaucracy by eight years of Obama. Many of these bureaucrats will be eager to see Trump fail. Their primary means of sabotage will be through leaks to the media leaks of Trump's intended plans to torpedo them, as well as leaks of Trump's current operations in an effort to discredit them. Maybe they will leak details about Trump's plans to fight ISIS, or Trump's plan to deal with illegal immigrants, or a whole host of other policies he might be considering. Leaking government information is a crime. But if leakers see that Trump does not prosecute one of the biggest abusers of government privacy laws, security laws, and conflict of interest laws namely, Hillary Clinton they may feel that they too are immune from harm and may feel free to act. Worse yet, this sends a troubling message to future Democratic administration where even worse abuses are rampant. When the Democrats retake the White House someday, and they will, they will merrily pick up where they left off, politicizing the Justice Department, IRS, and FBI, using these arms of the government to persecute citizens. If Trump showed them that he would hold misdeeds committed in past administrations to account, that might give future bureaucrats a second thought about violating the law. But with Trump "letting bygones be bygones," a future Democratic administration could again violate the law without a second thought. That's why I think Trump's decision not to prosecute such a prominent example of corruption is troubling and sends the wrong message to Washington, D.C. Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com. The Clinton-Trump election, and aftermath, has taken all of the oxygen out of the room. Yet there are some interesting things happening in the country, from the GOP rout of state legislatures to a move for California to secede. To be honest, I am not calling for California to leave. However, there are some really good signs that the Golden State and the other 49 are literally two ships going in different directions. Let's look at election night: 1) Mr. Trump won with 290 Electoral votes with Michigan's 16 votes still up in the air. It will probably go to Mr. Trump, closing the books at 306-232. 2) In California, Mrs. Clinton beat Mr. Trump by 2.5 million votes. Take California out of the picture, and Mr. Trump wins the popular vote, and this big "blue" mark is not on the map. So beyond election the 2016 results, the Golden State and the other 49 have indeed been traveling in different directions for some time. In other words, the 2010 and 2014 GOP landslides did not reach California, either. The people who want California to secede make a good point: Supporters of a plan for California to secede from the union took their first formal step Monday morning, submitting a proposed ballot measure to the state attorney generals office in the hopes of a statewide vote as soon as 2018. Marcus Ruiz Evans, the vice president and co-founder of Yes California, said his group had been planning to wait for a later election, but the presidential election of Donald Trump sped up the timeline. Were doing it now because of all of the overwhelming attention, Evans said. The Yes California group has been around for more than two years, Evans said. It is based around California taxpayers paying more money to the federal government than the state receives in spending, that Californians are culturally different from the rest of the country, and that national media and organizations routinely criticize Californians for being out of step with the rest of the U.S. California is different, as anyone with a liberal friend in out there will attest. It is not the "Pleasant Valley Sunday" that The Monkees sang about years ago. It is now a state that tolerates illegal immigration, defends sanctuary cities, has cities going bankrupt, faces serious finance issues over public-sector pensions, and leads the nation in people going east i.e., the middle class who can't afford to live there anymore! Will California secede? Probably not. Nevertheless, people in California should reflect on what they are doing that makes them so different. I don't think we've ever had a state that so looks different from the Union as today's California. P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. HTC has released a HTC Desire-branded, mid-range device into the Taiwan market, the HTC Desire 650. This device uses a new design arrangement, whereby the rear of the device consists of half a plain rubber material and the other hand a sculptured design in HTC language. HTCs website explains that this double back selection of materials makes the device easier to grip for customers. This represents something of a departure for many of HTCs mid-range and flagship devices and although it may mark the device out to be a lower to mid-range handset, it should make for a practical real world experience. Otherwise, on the face of it the new Desire 650 has a typical mid-range specification. Its powered by an unnamed quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset and this comes with support for Category 4 LTE networking. The chipset is backed up by 2GB of RAM and the device comes with 16GB of local storage plus a MicroSD card slot thats compatible with cards of up to 2TB in size. HTC have provided a 5.0-inch, 720p resolution display, protected by Corning Gorilla glass. Around the back, theres a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel unit on the front for video calling and selfies. The operating system is Android 6.0 Marshmallow under HTCs Sense user interface, and the battery is slightly small sounding at 2,200mAh, but HTCs benchmark states that a full charge can provide up to 17.5 hours of talk time over a 3G network. For the audio lovers out there, the Desire 650 has been certified for high-resolution sound. However, theres no sign of the device being hardened to the elements with dust and waterproofing to go with the double back design. However, HTC are making something of the software features of the device, which includes a night mode for using the device in the evening. This night mode adjusts the colors of the screen to warm the tone, which is easier on the eyes and reduces fatigue. The Desire 650 also comes with HTCs theming software, introduced a couple of years ago and allows customers to quickly and easily change the arrangement and layout of their device. And finally, the HTC Desire 650s software includes HTCs memory boosting technology, Boost+ and Smart Boost. These features are designed to remove and reduce junk files from internal storage and significant improve system performance. At this time we dont know when the device may be released elsewhere or the likely price, but we will keep you updated. Many tech companies have been having legal issues around the world in the last couple of years, and were talking major legal issues here, concerning antitrust lawsuits and tax evasion cases. Apple has been all over the news in the last couple of months, and the same goes for Google as well. Back in September, the Mountain View giant has been accused of tax evasion in Indonesia, and the government launched an official investigation. Since then, we really didnt hear much about the case, but it seems like an agreement could be reached soon, read on. According to a report by Reuters, Google is expected to reach a tax settlement with the Indonesian government soon. Based on the available info, the agreement will be reached in the next few weeks, says Reuters, and is basing this report on info which was provided by familiar sources. It seems like Google is ready to pay quite a bit of cash to Indonesia, both pay back taxes and fines, and in addition to that, the company will agree to a new calculation of profits in Indonesia. Following this info, the source contacted a tax office spokesman who refused to comment, same goes for Googles spokesman, so it seems like well have to wait a bit longer for an official confirmation. Now, to give you some more info about this case. Back in September, a senior tax official said that Indonesia is suing Google for tax evasion in the last five years, while he also added that Google could be fined for more than $400 million for 2015 alone, so you can imagine how much would the company have to pay for all five years. It seems like the Indonesian government and Google were able to reach some sort of an agreement, at least if the source is to be believed, so were expecting Google to pay back less than expected, but thats still a lot of money. This lawsuit occurred because most of Googles revenue generated in Indonesia is booked at the companys Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, which means Indonesia did not receive their fair share of tax money, or at least it seems that way. Stay tuned, well report back as soon as we get some official info. Samsung Australia has confirmed that there is still a dedicated Spotify application coming to the Gear S3 smartwatch. The news on the official music streaming application for the Gear S3 was a response to a comment on Facebook, more specifically the Facebook page of Samsung Australia, and they state that the app should be expected by Gear S3 owners sometime in mid-December. For those that own the Gear S3 and are actually rather excited about the possibility to stream Spotify music from the Gear S3, the downside here is that there is no actual date mentioned, so there are no exacts, just a simple, general window of time. That said, since Spotify does require a data connection to work, users will need to have their Gear S3 connected to a WiFi connection in order to stream, or have the Gear S3 model that has 4G LTE integration. The good news is that the Spotify app will also reportedly allow for playlists so that music can be played locally without a connection to the internet, and this should be useful to Spotify users who may not have the Gear S3 4G LTE model. Also worth noting is that the music will have to be playing through a pair of Bluetooth headphones that are connected to the watch. Beyond mentioning that the app should be expected by Gear S3 owners in the middle of next month, theres no indication that the app will launch outside of Australia, as Samsung Australia could have simply been referring to the launch of the official Gear S3 Spotify app in their own country. However, it is entirely possible that Samsung and Spotify could be planning a global launch of the music app so all customers will get access to it at the same time. Mid-December could be anywhere between December 13th and December 20th really, so theres a period of about a week where it could launch, but as the end of November is already in sight, the wait for Spotify on the Gear S3 shouldnt be a long one at this point, although it was stated that the apps was merely expected to launch in mid-December, so it could still be further out. Holiday season is upon us, and Samsungs marketing team is naturally working hard on producing some high-quality ads to prompt us to consider purchasing the companys products when we embark on our annual holiday shopping spree. Earlier this week, the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer debuted its first holiday-themed ad which claimed Samsung Galaxy products arent just a gift, but a possibility for our loved ones to experience new and memorable things. Today, the largest phone maker in the world published its second video ad in this aptly themed series. Unlike the one mentioned above, the new piece of promotional material solely focuses on the Gear VR headset as Samsung is encouraging consumers to unwrap the feels. More specifically, the 60-second ad showcases several families exchanging Christmas gifts. Coincidentally, all of them end up being the Gear VR headset. While the ad shows no VR footage, it does feature a couple of scenes of people using the Gear VR and being quite thrilled with it. As revealed at the end of this promotional piece, Samsung isnt using it to advertise the Gear VR per se, but the fact that everyone who buys the Galaxy S7 or the Galaxy S7 Edge is still eligible for a free Gear VR unit until next Monday, November 28th. Given how this virtual reality headset is regularly priced at $99.99, that certainly isnt a bad deal. This promotion was originally announced back when the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge hit the market in early 2016, and even though it was also available in countries outside of the US, the holiday variant of this deal is currently only confirmed for residents of the United States. All in all, it remains to be seen how Samsung will fare over this holiday season, traditionally one of the most profitable periods for consumer electronics manufacturers. The Galaxy Note 7 fiasco certainly didnt help the company win any new hearts, but were yet to see whether its core customer base will remain loyal to the largest phone maker in the world despite that ordeal. While were waiting for more information on the matter, check out Samsungs latest holiday ad below. Samsungs last quarter of 2016 will likely be remembered more for scandal than earnings. Starting with the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco and the less-than-ideal manner in which the company handled it, the largest smartphone maker in the world is currently in the midst of a massive corruption scandal which shook the South Korean public. For the uninitiated, the South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her close confidante Choi Soon-sil have been accused of involvement in some shady dealings and using political power for personal gain. So, where does Samsung fit into all of this? As South Korean prosecutors believe, the Seoul-based conglomerate provided financial backing to Ms. Chois daughter, Chung Yu-ra in exchange for illegal assistance over certain business dealings. Thats why the companys offices were raided earlier this month, and its also the reason why Samsungs Executive President Chang Choong-ki was questioned by the Supreme Prosecutors Office last week. Well, the drama continued today, as Reuters is reporting that the Samsung Groups offices were raided by the South Korean government officials once again. The latest raid was also connected to the companys alleged links to Choi Soon-sil and Chung Yu-ra. In addition to Samsung, Seoul also paid a visit to the National Pension Service (NPS), the largest pension fund in the country, following allegations that NPS approval of the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries was illegally influenced by Ms. Choi. The controversial consolidation was finalized last year and was already a subject of another investigation on insider trading. As the third largest pension fund in the world and a former major shareholder of Cheil Industries, NPS was one of the key parties involved in the contentious acquisition. Both Samsung and NPS representatives confirmed South Korean prosecutors raided their offices earlier today, but theyd refused to elaborate on the situation. This investigation also marks the first time in the South Korean history when an acting president was called to be interrogated over a criminal case. However, President Park refused the request through her lawyer and is still adamant at completing her presidential term which ends in early 2018, despite the opposition pressuring her to resign. As the Supreme Prosecutors Office is more than interested in wrapping up its investigation while President Park is still in power, more information should follow soon. In the meantime, check out the images of todays raid on Samsung offices and Ms. Chois arrival to the Korean prosecutors office in the gallery below. Samsung sells a number of different smartphone families across the world. The two flagship lines, the Samsung Galaxy S and the Galaxy Note, tend to attract most of the headlines because these are the most heavily promoted of Samsungs portfolio, even if in 2016 the Galaxy Note 7 received a lot of negative interest and coverage associated with the battery exploding in the device. In addition to these high end, flagship grade devices, Samsung also sell a number of other models such as the lower end Galaxy J-series and the metal-design, mid-range Galaxy A-series. We are seeing an increasing number of rumours and leaks surrounding Samsungs 2017 portfolio of Galaxy-branded Android powered smartphones, including either snippets of information about the devices or their availability. Todays story surrounds the list of Samsung devices listed as supporting the latest Samsung smartwatch, the Samsung Gear S3, as released by Samsung Austria. This list shows that the Samsung Gear S3 will be supported by the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) models, but the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) is not showing. On the face of it, this is perhaps not too big a surprise because the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) model was not released into Europe, but before we read too much into this we do need to consider that Samsung have not officially released information on any of the 2017 portfolio of Galaxy A devices. The website appears to confirm the existence of the 2017 variants of the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5, but it may be that the Galaxy A7 (2017) is being prepared for a European release, but has not been included on the list through an error on Samsungs part. As for the Galaxy A7 (2017)s rumoured specification, it appears that this model is based around the Samsung Exynos 7870 chipset backed up by 3 GB of RAM with a choice of 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage. The display is reckoned to be a 5.5-inch or 5.7-inch, 1080p resolution unit and may well be an AMOLED panel. Its expected that the Galaxy A7 (2017) model will use a 16MP rear camera together with a 16MP front facing unit. However, we do need to remind readers that these specifications have not been confirmed by Samsung, nor has availability, release dates, colours or pricing. We will keep you posted. With the Galaxy Note 7 all but gone and forgotten, its up to other names in the industry to make the noise as we close out 2016, and with LG dragging their feet promoting the LG V20, its fallen on Google and OnePlus. One has been pushing value, while the other has been pushing overall experience and fit and finish. With the new OnePlus 3T now available to match the new Pixel line, theres a little more choice for those looking for a new smartphone this Fall, and many of them will be discounted on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, too. 10. LeEco Le Pro3 Advertisement When we take a look at the spec sheet, complete with 5.7-inch display, Snapdragon 821 and 4GB of RAM, it might be confusing to see the Le Pro3 in this spot in our list. Sadly, though, the arrival of LeEco in the US isnt quite going to play. With flash sales that not only confuse the US buyer, but outright annoy them, LeEco has some catching up to do. With software that leaves a lot to be desired, and might not ever be update to Android 7.0 Nougat let alone Android 7.1 the Le Pro3 is a device that might not be as good a prospect as it originally seemed on paper. Still, the low, low price tag of just $400 is eye-catching and niceties such as a fingerprint sensor do help sell the phone, but there are better overall options out there. 09. Sony Xperia X Performance Advertisement The Xperia X line of devices has been an interesting line for Sony since it launched earlier this year during Mobile World Congress 2016, and while its still unclear just what Sony is up to, the Xperia X Performance is an excellent device nonetheless. With an excellent 23-megapixel camera around the back, as well as a Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM, all in a 5.0-inch package, it makes a great case for a smaller smartphone in todays market. Perfect for those that are either familiar with Sony devices, or those just looking for something on the smaller side of things, the Xperia X Performance is well worth looking into, and it looks the part, too. It is, however, a shame that its as expensive as it is, considering that there are devices out there from OnePlus offering better specs for similar prices. 08. HTC 10 Advertisement The HTC 10 is a great smartphone. Theres no way of getting around that, it looks good, it feels well-made, it has great specs and it has a decent camera. Its a great smartphone, but its a great smartphone by last years standards, in all but the processor that keeps the HTC 10 going. The Snapdragon 820 on the inside of the HTC 10 is a great performer and it will ensure speedy performance no matter what youre doing, but it ultimately cant compete with the likes of the Galaxy S7 Edge, and the OnePlus 3T, even at the sort of prices that HTC is calling a discount during these Black Friday sales. 07. LG G5 Advertisement The LG G5 might not have started the trend of modular devices, as its arguable this part of the G5 is the reason the device didnt capture the right sort of market that it should have, but it did set a trend where dual camera setups were concerned. HTC have dabbled with these in the past, and Huawei are trying to make it their own, but LG were first with this in 2016, and while the rest of the device is just okay by 2016 standards, theres a lot on offer elsewhere, with the G5 offering a good selection of features overall, but failing to live up to its modular promise that so many were looking forward to. 06. Google Nexus 6P Advertisement Now that both the Nexus 6P as well as the new Pixel are available, its difficult to recommend the Nexus 6P, that is, of course, until the price makes itself apparent, as the Nexus 6P is much cheaper than the majority of options out there. Sure, it might be over a year old at this point, but with a Snapdragon 810 as well as 4GB of RAM, a good-looking 5.7-inch AMOLED display and a similar camera to that in the Pixel line, the Nexus 6P is still an excellent phone to own. Especially when we consider that its likely to get Android 8.0 or whatever it ends up being called while others on this list might struggle to make it to that point. 05. Lenovo Moto Z Force Advertisement Where the LG G5 failed, its easy to say that the Moto Z Force succeeds. There are countless different models of the Moto Z available, but the Moto Z Force is definitely the best of the bunch. With a better camera, better battery life and so on, its really the pinnacle of the Moto Z line. More and more Moto Mods are becoming available, and the whole line has just gotten something of a discount for Black Friday, too. All of which makes the Moto Z Force one hell of a smartphone. Its the sort of device that will look good, run well and offer users something more than theyd normally get from their smartphone. Its perhaps a little on the pricier side of things, but its been discounted for Black Friday, making it a little more affordable. 04. OnePlus 3T Advertisement Is the above a shot of the OnePlus 3 or the OnePlus 3T? Well, itd be hard to say, and we wont say either way, which is perhaps the point. The only difference with the OnePlus 3T is that theres now a Snapdragon 821 under-the-hood as opposed to the Snapdragon 820 that the original launched with. Some will be annoyed by all of this, but in reality, this is what OnePlus is all about; moving quickly, failing fast, and keeping as little stock around as possible. Dead stock is dead weight, and supporting a processor that perhaps Qualcomm no longer wants to ship for much longer is as good as dead stock for OnePlus. Regardless, OnePlus have vowed treat their pair of flagship devices as one and the same, but right now its all a lot of promises without much substance. Of course, the fact that the OnePlus 3T is so cheap makes it difficult to even dislike OnePlus in this sort of situation. 03. Google Pixel The Google Pixel is the smaller smartphone of the pair that Google announced back in October, and while its easy to dismiss the pair as expensive Nexus devices, theyre so much more than that. The Pixel, that is the 5.0-inch version here, is easily the best smartphone that falls under 5.5-inches in size, and it really does go to show that a smartphone doesnt have to big in order to be good. With the same Snapdragon 821 and 4GB of RAM as its bigger brother, the Pixel has all the right Googley boxes ticked, and its the sort of device that will appeal to old Nexus users, as well as those looking for a simple, easy to live with experience in a package that doesnt feel like a house brick. 02. LG V20 The LG V20 is the sort of device that the South Korean firm should really be making a lot more noise about. The V20 is packed to the gills with all kinds of features and tricks. With a Quad DAC and some amazing recording abilities both in terms of sound as well as video, the LG V20 works wonderfully to giver users the sort of tools that the Galaxy Note 7 should have. It goes beyond that, however, and gives users a number of different reasons to be interested in such a device, thanks to a removable battery, an excellent dual camera setup and an endless list of additions and little tweaks here and there make the V20 one of the best smartphones to be released in 2016, its just a shame that LG arent making more noise about it than this. 01. Google Pixel XL & Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge The Pixel XL and Galaxy S7 Edge share so much in common its tough to draw a line between them, the Galaxy S7 Edge has all the bells and whistles that you could wish for, while the Pixel XL is all about refinement, about making sure that the user has a great experience, regardless of whether or not they need a few extra features thats what the Play Store is for. The Galaxy S7 Edge has a great camera, but then the Pixel XL has a better camera. The Galaxy S7 Edge has a great-looking design and a gorgeous display, but then the Pixel XL has better battery life. For every plus theres a minus here, and as Android users, we should be happy that we have such a tough choice to make, as choice is what defines Android and makes the platform as strong as it is today. South Africa hires management firm Bain & Company to save countrys airlines As South Africa looks to making inroads in turning around the dwindling fortunes of its airline sector, it has hired Boston based Bain & Company to advise on the strategy and corporate structure of the countrys three loss-making state-run airlines to improve the benefit to the state from owning the carriers. Bainwas awarded the contract as part of a joint venture with a South African company, Abacus Advisory, according to a posting on the National Treasurys website. The contract was awarded in October for a three-month period, a spokesman for the Treasury said in emailed comments on Monday. South Africas government is seeking advice on the corporate structure of South African Airways and South African Express, which could lead to the sale of a minority stake in the airlines and the disposal of assets that arent central to their businesses, according to a separate invitation-to-bid document. The state is also seeking advice on how to improve their financial performances, reduce risk and develop a well-co-ordinated strategy, the document shows. Both SAA and SA Express are surviving on state debt guarantees at a time when the government is trying to rein in spending and raise revenue amid slowing economic growth. The cabinet approved a new board for Johannesburg-based SAA on August 31 to overhaul management of the airline, which hasnt made an annual profit since 2011. The carrier said last month it presented a corporate plan to the government that indicated a return to profit in 2021. Ratings agencies, including S&P Global Ratings, which is due to deliver revised assessments on South Africas debt in the next two weeks, have identified the countrys state-owned companies as a risk to the fiscus. Reforms of government companies is one of the items that Fitch Ratings wanted to be briefed about in a visit to South Africa last week, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said following the meetings. www.bain.com Madeleine McCann is a 21-year-old Swedish woman with Aspergers called Embla Madeleine McCann: a look at reporting on the missing child. The Mirror (page 21): MADDIE LIVING ROUGH IN ITALY IS SWEDISH STUDENT. Madeleine McCann was taken to Sweden, enrolled at university there before absconding to live rough in Italy? No. Tracey Kandohla tells us that Embla Jauhojarvi has been identified after claims she could have been Madeleine McCann. Madeleine McCann vanished in 2007. She was 4. Embla Jauhojarvi is 21. The Mirror says photos of Embla, who suffers from Aspergers syndrome, look a bit like mock-ups of how Madeleine McCann might look were she 21-years-old and living rough on the streets of Rome. Who on earth thought Embla could be the missing child? The Mirror notes: The Official Find Madeleine Campaign on Facebook, endorsed by parents Kate and Gerry McCann, alerted the Met Police. The story goes that Embla told Italian police her name was Maria and she was English. Italian police said the girl was too old to be Madeleine. Embla is 21. She is a woman. She is not a girl. Daily Star (Page 6): Hopes Dashed After Webs Maddie Claim Andrew James says Embla was said to resemble Madeleine McCann. She doesnt. But she does have the same distinctive blemish in her eye as Madeleine. To recap: Embla is white and one of her eyes looks a bit like of the missing childs eyes. Say Rome police: There has speculation but Madeleine would be 13 now and this is much older. Its not her. As we look up the Italian for No shit, Sherlock, the Express has more. Daily Express (Page 21): Who is the mysterious MARIA'? Well, you could find out by reading the Mails tory of two days ago: EXCLUSIVE: Thats my girl! Swedish father reveals the mystery English-speaking homeless girl of Rome is his daughter, 21, who suffers from Aspergers and vanished six months ago. Or you could read Dominic Midgley, who pulls on his gumshoes and writes on the woman sleeping rough in Rome: She could not be fingerprinted because she had committed no crime but she was photographed. She stares out of the pictures with dull blue eyes that betray a resigned acceptance of her plight rather than active unhappiness As Midgley reads minds, we learn that Embla is daughter to Tahvo Jauhojarvi, the owner of a gym equipment company in Stockholm. Mystery solved! Daily Mail and Sun: nothing. We all want to see a happy ending to the story of Madeleine McCanns vanishing. But, as ever, the tabloids are going with sensation over facts. How does this help? Paul Sorene Posted: 23rd, November 2016 | In: Madeleine McCann, Reviews, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink Kanye West: linking poor mental health to violence is dangerous Kanye West is troubled. So says the Daily Mirrors front page. West, aka Mr Kim Kardashian, has been taken to hospital in cuffs for safety. He is reportedly on suicide watchafter suffering a psychotic breakdown. Police reports are cited. Wests doctor Michael Farzam placed the rapper in a 5150 psychiatric hold'. A what? Hollywood Life explains: The California Welfare and Institutions Code has a Section 5150, which authorizes a physician or qualified officer to involuntarily confine (in Kanyes case, hospitalize) an individual who is thought to have a mental disorder that renders them a danger to him or herself or others. TMZ says West is undergoing psychiatric evaluation. People says hes in the hospital for sleep deprivation. Sad, indeed, that what looks like a personal crisis should be front-page news. Mental health is not something to treat lightly. Which brings us to the Sun, which thunders on its cover: PSYCHOTIC KANYE IN ASSAULT. Over pages 8 and 9 we read of Kanye West apparent nervous breakdown. He is OUT OF CONTROL. There are claims he attacked a staff member in a gym. Kanye was taken to hospital for his own health and safety. Having linked failing mental health with alleged acts of violence, we get to the speculation. Friends of Kim claimed the strain of their marriage may have led to his breakdown. These friends says Kim and Kanye have been bickering constantly. Maybe having pals like that drove him over the edge? Of course, what all papers mean to say is that mental health is no joking matter. We wish Kanye West well. Karen Strike Posted: 23rd, November 2016 | In: Celebrities Comment | TrackBack | Permalink (ANSA) - Rio de Janeiro, November 23 - Brazilian investigators have identified several suspects in the strangling murder of Italian citizen Pamela Canzonieri, police spokesperson Alberto Maraux told ANSA on Wednesday. He declined to release further details so as not to hamper the ongoing investigation. Canzonieri, 39, was found dead last Thursday in her home in the seaside village of Morro de Sao Paolo on Tinhare island after police received an anonymous tip. She had been strangled manually and there were no signs of a break-in, investigators said. The native of the Sicilian city of Ragusa had spent the last five southern hemisphere summers on the tourist-haven island, where she rented a house and supported herself by waitressing. The victim's remains are expected to be flown back to Italy on Friday. Ragusa prosecutors have launched a murder probe in the case, allowing Italian investigators to conduct their own inquiry. Also on Wednesday, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni commented on claims by the victim's family that they felt authorities had abandoned them. "We've been working with Brazilian authorities, and top foreign office diplomats have been in constant contact with the (victim's) family in Ragusa," Gentiloni told reporters. (by Cristiana Missori) - Samos - After the migrant emergency in the summer of 2015, the Greek island of Samos is trying to turn the page and seeking to attract tourists again. The dropping number of visitors is undeniable: ''out of some 135,000 visitors last year, 120,000'' were registered in 2016 - a 16% drop, said Mayor Michalis Angelopoulos who was in Rome last night for an event to promote the island, organized by the Greek tourism agency in Italy at the residence of the ambassador to Italy, Themistoklis Demiris. The eighth island of Greece, located just 1 km from the Turkish coast, the homeland of Pitagoras and Epicurus ''hosts at the moment some 2,500 migrants - between hot spots, small homes and tents - from Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria'', said Angelopoulos. Today things are going better, he confirmed, after the agreement between the European Union and Turkey the landings have almost entirely stopped. ''From October 10 until November 21, 938 migrants have reached the island''. Over the past few months, he explained, ''the island has carried out many efforts to safeguard the economy, 85% of which is based on tourism'', attracted by the beautiful beaches, the sun, food, wines and nature, but most of all by its 3,000 years of history with several archeological areas, including some listed as UNESCO world heritage sites since 1992. Over the past year and a half, the island has been able to welcome migrants and refugees and cohabit with them. ''For the moment, we have not registered incidents or episodes of racism between residents and migrants'', said the mayor. ''We are trying to seek a balance between these realities. And I don't think there is any danger for tourists or students of the Aegean University - some 2,000 - who permanently reside on the island''. What is certain, he added, is that Samos is not able to support all these migrants at its best. ''For this reason we have asked for families and children who need economic, psychological and healthcare support to be transferred to Athens by December - overall 500 people''. A necessity, he noted, is a ''special status preserving islands like Samos or Sicily. Together with the mayors of Lampedusa, Calais and many other areas of Turkey we are cooperating and bringing forward our issues also in Europe, he said. Promoting the island, a candidate as European culture capital in 2012, ''is a national and moral duty'', said Ambassador Demiris, ''for all it did in welcoming'' migrants. (ANSAmed) OPEC: decision on oil-production cuts postponed to Nov. 30 No agreement on cut production (ANSAmed) - ROME, NOVEMBER 23 - OPEC members last night in Vienna did not reach a deal regarding the involvement of Iran and Iraq in a plan to cut production to reduce excess output, Bloomberg reports, citing sources close to the talks. The sources said that everything has been postponed to a formal meeting of the oil cartel on November 30. (ANSAmed) (ANSAmed) - Rome, November 23 - A conference in Lecce will on November 25-26 assess the socio-economic future of southern Italy within the national, European and Mediterranean context and in light of possible national and international scenarios. 'Il Mezzogiorno nello Spazio Euro-Mediterraneo' ('The Italian South within the Euro-Mediterranean') is sponsored by the Associazione Guido Dorso and the Osservatorio Banche-Imprese di Economia e Finanza. Promoters of the conference say that the political agenda of the next few years must take into consideration southern Italy and Euro-Mediterranean area as important factors for growth and job creation, able as they are to increase trade in goods and services in Europe and the world. To this end, they say, stabilization of the Mediterranean area is a priority. (ANSAmed). ROME - Aleppo and Mosul are experiencing the' 'worst sieges of the post-WWII era, with thousands of children trapped'', Andrea Iacomini, the spokesman for the Italian branch of UNICEF. He stressed that massacres of civilians were continuing in Syria and Iraq. The slow advance of troops into more densely populated areas of Mosul, he said, was increasing risks for the most vulnerable, especially children. In recent days a truck loaded with explosives blew up outside of a home, killing 2 children and injuring 6 others. At least 52 children have been killed or injured between October and November, he said, while some 54,000 people have been displaced, including 25,000 under age 18. ''What is happening in Iraq in unacceptable,'' Iacomini continued. He added that ''civilians do not seem to be allowed a truce in Syria. The airstrikes of the past week have destroyed everything that was left of Aleppo, leaving 250,000 people including 100,000 children without treatment and worsening the humanitarian crisis.'' Some 60 civilians have been killed in recent days including seven children on Sunday alone, international 'Children's Day', which marks the anniversary of the signing of the UN convention by the same countries that continue to bomb the children. ''The sieges underway in Aleppo and especially in Mosul are unprecedented since WWII. UNICEF continues to work to alleviate the suffering of civilians but we can do nothing against world impotence, which prevents this massacre from being stopped,'' he said. . Egypt: sources, rights activist not allowed to leave country She works for Al Nadeem center for abuse victims (ANSAmed) - CAIRO, NOVEMBER 23 - A well-known Egyptian human rights activist has not been allowed to leave the country, according to Cairo airport sources. Airport authorities in Cairo prevented Aida Seif el Dawla from leaving Egypt. The activist was due to travel to Tunisia where she was scheduled to attend a conference. The woman is listed among people who have been forbidden to leave the country by judicial authorities. El Dawla works at the al Nadeem center for the rehabilitation of the victims of violence. (ANSAmed) Turkey: new air raids against Kurdish PKK in northern Iraq 'Rebel refugees in Zap region destroyed' (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, NOVEMBER 23 - Turkish jets on Tuesday carried out new air raids against Kurdish PKK targets in northern Iraq, destroying several rebel hiding places, the Turkish army said in a statement. The statement added that bombings targeted the Zap region and were carried out based on intelligence concerning the presence of PKK targets. (ANSAmed) Turkey to release 2 intellectuals risking life sentences Writer and philologist on trial for 'pro-PKK propaganda' (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, NOVEMBER 23 - A Turkish court on Wednesday ruled to release the writer Asli Erdogan and the philologist Necmiye Alpay. They had been detained for 97 and 85 days, respectively, on charges of ''terrorist propaganda'' and support for the PKK for having written for the pro-Kurdish daily Ozgur Gundem. The newspaper was among the over 170 media shut down after the July 15 failed coup. The announcement was made by one of the women's lawyers, who said that the release is expected to be tonight. The charges remain in place for the two Turkish intellectuals and the prosecution has asked for a life sentence for both as well as for the others who worked for the newspaper. The next hearing is scheduled for December 29. Alpay turns 70 on Wednesday. (ANSAmed). ISTANBUL - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that ''no matter the outcome, this vote'' tomorrow of the European Parliament on halting adhesion talks between the EU and Turkey ''has no value for us''. Speaking from Istanbul, he once again criticized the EU over its alleged support for ''terrorists'' from the network of Fethullah Gulen and the Kurdish PKK. ''We have clarified over and over again that we care for European values much more than many EU countries but we have not seen concrete support from Western countries'', added Erdogan, claiming that, ''none of the promises'' made to Turkey have been maintained. Over the past few months, Ankara has also repeatedly criticized a halt to the liberalization of visas for its citizens, which according to Brussels cannot be granted without changing current Turkish anti-terror legislation. Tunisia: lawyers announce strike against draft budget Protest against fiscal measures for them (ANSAmed) -TUNIS, NOVEMBER 23 - Tunisia's national lawyers' guild has announced a general strike starting Wednesday in tribunals across the country to protest against tax measures in the 2017 budget currently under discussion in the one-chamber Bardo parliament, according to a statement signed by the guild's president Ameur Mehrezi. The statement said that the strike will continue until further notice. The decision to strike was taken after ''negative developments on the fiscal issues concerning lawyers'', according to the statement. Tunisian attorneys believe the government's decision to impose a tax on lawyers, as well as other professional categories, was adopted without asking for an opinion. In particular, the measure introduced in the budget bill, imposes an 18% VAT on the bills of accountants, lawyers, financial consultants, notaries, judicial officers and architects. (ANSAmed) Turkey 'not just Erdogan' says pro-EU opposition 'Economy integrated with the West', problems if talks frozen (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, NOVEMBER 23 - The spokesperson for the largest opposition party in Turkey stressed Wednesday that the EU should ''understand that Turkey is bigger than Erdogan''. ''It is a country that is integrated with the West. We hope that the EU will take this into consideration when making its decision,'' CHP spokesperson Selin Sayek Boke said on the possible freezing of Turkey's EU accession talks. ''Our economy is integrated with the EU. We have a 48% importation rate from the EU. We export half the goods we produce to the EU. If we turn away from Europe and towards the Shanghai Five'' - China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, as suggested in recent days by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan - ''towards whom we export only 21%, we will have problems,'' Boke added. (ANSAmed). Samos island seeks tourism relaunch after migrants' crisis Mayor, situation improved with 2,500 migrants, -16% visitors (by Cristiana Missori) (ANSAmed) - ROME, NOVEMBER 23 - After the migrant emergency in the summer of 2015, the Greek island of Samos is trying to turn the page and seeking to attract tourists again. The dropping number of visitors is undeniable: ''out of some 135,000 visitors last year, 120,000'' were registered in 2016 - a 16% drop, said Mayor Michalis Angelopoulos who was in Rome last night for an event to promote the island, organized by the Greek tourism agency in Italy at the residence of the ambassador to Italy, Themistoklis Demiris. The eighth island of Greece, located just 1 km from the Turkish coast, the homeland of Pitagoras and Epicurus ''hosts at the moment some 2,500 migrants - between hot spots, small homes and tents - from Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria'', said Angelopoulos. Today things are going better, he confirmed, after the agreement between the European Union and Turkey the landings have almost entirely stopped. ''From October 10 until November 21, 938 migrants have reached the island''. Over the past few months, he explained, ''the island has carried out many efforts to safeguard the economy, 85% of which is based on tourism'', attracted by the beautiful beaches, the sun, food, wines and nature, but most of all by its 3,000 years of history with several archeological areas, including some listed as UNESCO world heritage sites since 1992. Over the past year and a half, the island has been able to welcome migrants and refugees and cohabit with them. ''For the moment, we have not registered incidents or episodes of racism between residents and migrants'', said the mayor. ''We are trying to seek a balance between these realities. And I don't think there is any danger for tourists or students of the Aegean University - some 2,000 - who permanently reside on the island''. What is certain, he added, is that Samos is not able to support all these migrants at its best. ''For this reason we have asked for families and children who need economic, psychological and healthcare support to be transferred to Athens by December - overall 500 people''. A necessity, he noted, is a ''special status preserving islands like Samos or Sicily. Together with the mayors of Lampedusa, Calais and many other areas of Turkey we are cooperating and bringing forward our issues also in Europe, he said. Promoting the island, a candidate as European culture capital in 2012, ''is a national and moral duty'', said Ambassador Demiris, ''for all it did in welcoming'' migrants. (ANSAmed) If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan on November 22 received Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, press service of the Ministry told Armenpress. Welcoming the guest, Suren Karayan said the Ministry will be consistent with the implementation of agreements reached earlier with Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan. The Armenian Minister said the export of goods to third countries can become good direction for the development of industry for the two states. In his turn Russian Minister Denis Manturov expressed gratitude to the Armenian Minister for the invitation, as well as for the assistance on organizing Anticounterfeiting 2016 Forum in Armenia. Denis Manturov also spoke about the export opportunities to the third countries and in this context attached importance to ensuring necessary conditions for the businessmen. By his proposal the sides agreed to develop a roadmap for the joint projects of small and medium enterprises. At the end of the meeting Suren Karayan presented and gave his Russian partner Armenian production Armphone phone as a gift. Later the guests visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. Russian Minister Denis Manturov left a note in the Commemoration Book of the Genocide Museum-Institute. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The overpopulation issue in Armenias correctional facilities is solved, Deputy Justice Minister Suren Krmoyan told ARMENPRESS. He says conditions are present to provide the defined 4 square meter space to each incarcerated person. Legislative restrictions on separate confinement created some problems until March of 2016. Krmoyan said the issue has been solved and there is no overpopulation issue in any correctional facility of the country. According to the deputy minister, on December 15 of 2015, 4 new blocks were commissioned in the Armavir correctional facility. Due to his the facility can now house 1200. Prior to this it was defined for a maximum of 400. In addition, on February 16 of 2016, changes were made in the 2012 February 28 order of the justice minister, which resulted in expanding the capacity of Armavir correctional facility by 5 times, from 40 to 200, and an incarceration facility was introduced in Hrazdan facility, with a capacity of 80, he said. According to the law, the space for incarcerated individuals cannot be less than four square meters for each person. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of Armenia Vahan Martirosyan and Regional Head of Microsoft for CIS countries Konstantin Nazarov visited Microsoft Innovation Center Armenia on November 23. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of Armenia, the Minister toured in the center accompanied by Konstantin Nazarov, familiarized himself with the ongoing activities of the center. Located in the premises of the National Polytechnic University of Armenia, 60-70% students of the center are from the Polytechnic University, who, after graduation, are able to find a job in the IT sector or establish their own start-ups. Currently, over 250 students attend the center. Director of Microsoft Innovation Center Armenia Artashes Vardanyan informed that during the last 3 years 35 start-ups were involved in Microsoft Accelerator project, while working upon their projects. Receiving a total of 2 million USD financial aid, they managed to bring their products to a final form and attract investors, Vardanyan said. The Minister hailed the activities of the center and hoped that this new educational model will be a success and become large-scale, which will help to reduce unemployment and further foster the development of the IT sector in Armenia. The center has trained over 5000 students during the 4 years of its activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico is providing free access to its network of 33 state parks on the Friday after Thanksgiving as encouragement for families to friends to spend time outdoors. New Mexico State Parks announced Monday announced that it would waive fees on a day that many people otherwise spend shopping in anticipation of year-end holidays. States including California, Colorado and Minnesota are holding free Black Friday programs for their state park systems. Facilities in New Mexico span from Pancho Villa State Park near the Mexico border to high-altitude lakes and canyons near the Colorado state line. New Mexico State Parks is encouraging people to share their outdoor experiences on social media through the hashtag #NMTrueParkFriday. The online store, which Arunga described as Amazon for Africa, with fewer payment options, has now sold a thousand books in Kenya and beyonda relative handful, but, to Williams, a meaningful start. In order to support a full-time employee, he said, the store only needs to sell fifty books a day. And if that happens it could serve as a proof of concept for literary entrepreneurship in the developing world. Philippines: Government Considers Mandatory Disaster Coverage The Philippines government is considering a mandatory household and business insurance cover against natural disasters. While some individuals take out policies against natural threats, the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) state that a mandatory scheme allows for the significant amount of funds required to meet the large claims that are likely to be made. The developments come in the context of the Philippines being prone to natural disasters like typhoons and flooding. The Super Typhoon Haiyan, three years ago, cost the economy around US$ 14 billion, out of which only US$ 2 billion was covered by insurance. A study by international insurer Lloyds City Risk Index 2015-25 showed that around half of Manilas GDP of US$ 201 billion is at risk of being lost due to a natural calamity without any insurance coverage. The proposal is backed by private sector insurers as well as the World Bank. If passed, the bill would boost the insurance industry. Cambodia: Tax amendments to Take Effect in January 2017 Cambodia has finalized the 2017 Law on Financial Management, which will take effect on January 1, 2017. The law on tax deals with minimum tax, salary, tax on profit, and branch office and dividend distributions. We take a quick look at some of these. Minimum Tax: As per the draft, the government has abolished the 1 percent monthly pre-payment of Tax on Profit (ToP) and Annual Minimum Tax for taxpayers that qualify. The Minimum Tax is exempted for companies that have proper accounting records with external audits by reputable agencies. Salary: The first two tiers of the monthly tax on salary rates will have their ceilings raised. Presently, employees earning a salary of up to US$ 200 do not have to pay tax, this will now be raised to US$ 250. Similarly, employees that earn a salary of up to US$ 312 are currently taxed at 5 percent, this will be raised to US$ 375. Branch Office and Dividend Distributions: Any remittance from income sourced in Cambodia made by a companys branch office to its overseas headquarters will be subject to either a 20 or 30 percent ToP or subject to withholding tax of 14 percent if the income is generated by a non-resident through a permanent establishment in Cambodia. Dividend distribution in a taxable year is subject to Additional Tax on Dividend Distribution (ATDD) on the difference between ToP payable and the actual ToP paid. In addition, as per the new law, stock dividends will be excluded in the definition of dividends. Singapore: Government Signs Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Laos Singapore has signed an Agreement of Double Taxation Avoidance (DTA) with Laos, which came into effect on November 11. The agreement provides clarity on tax issues and eliminates double taxation on cross-border transactions between the two countries. Among the different rules, interest that is gained in one country and paid to the residents of another country may be taxed in that country. However, the interest may also be taxed in the country where interest is generated according to its laws. Nevertheless, the tax charged cannot exceed 5 percent of the gross amount of interest in the country where the resident belongs. The agreement also provides for the reduction or exemption of tax on certain types of income. Any tax that will be charged will be assessed from January 1, 2017 despite the agreement already coming into effect. About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email asean@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Annual Audit and Compliance in ASEAN For the first issue of our ASEAN Briefing Magazine, we look at the different audit and compliance regulations of five of the main economies in ASEAN. We firstly focus on the accounting standards, filing processes, and requirements for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. We then provide similar information on Singapore, and offer a closer examination of the city-states generous audit exemptions for small-and-medium sized enterprises. The Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Impact on Asian Markets The United States backed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) includes six Asian economies Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, while Indonesia has expressed a keen willingness to join. However, the agreements potential impact will affect many others, not least of all China. In this issue of Asia Briefing magazine, we examine where the TPP agreement stands right now, look at the potential impact of the participating nations, as well as examine how it will affect Asian economies that have not been included. An Introduction to Tax Treaties Throughout Asia In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we take a look at the various types of trade and tax treaties that exist between Asian nations. These include bilateral investment treaties, double tax treaties and free trade agreements all of which directly affect businesses operating in Asia. Centre wont initiate action on Rs 1 deposits. As of June 30, 2016, NPA accounts above Rs 50 crore were 2,071 with outstanding amount of Rs 3,88,919 crore, minister of state for finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. (Representational Image) New Delhi: There are as many as 2,071 industrialists whose loan accounts with an exposure of Rs 3.89 lakh crore have turned into NPAs, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. All these industrialists had taken loan of Rs 50 crore or more. As of June 30, 2016, NPA accounts above Rs 50 crore were 2,071 with outstanding amount of Rs 3,88,919 crore, minister of state for finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. In terms of instructions of RBI, every bank has to have its own recovery policy, including the manner and procedure of write-offs, he said. Loans are written off after appropriate provisions have been made to take advantage of tax benefits and capital optimisation, he said. In respect of technical write-offs, RBI has permitted write-offs at the head office level while recovery efforts are still continued at the branch level, he added. In reply to another question, Mr Gangwar said the government has not ordered any enquiry against any bank for allegedly depositing Rs 1 in large number of Jan Dhan accounts purportedly to minimise zero balance account. As many has 25.45 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) accounts have been opened till November 2. With a view to increasing banking penetration and promoting financial inclusion and with the main objective of covering all households with at least one bank account per household across the country, PMJDY was formally launched on August 28, 2014. To another question, Mr Gangwar said NITI Aayog has not moved any proposal to create a bad bank to hold the stresses and non-productive assets and loan recovery of banks. Bank unions are adamant on their demand for the former's resignations as well as lockdown of the apex bank. New Delhi: Holding RBI Governor Urjit Patel responsible for ineffective handling of the crisis post the demonetisation drive, All India Bank Employees Association vice-president Vishwas Utagi on Wednesday said that bank unions are adamant on their demand for the former's resignations as well as lockdown of the apex bank. Questioning the failure of the RBI as the regulatory system, Utagi said that Patel, who hasn't uttered a word till now, should resign with immediate effect. "Since two weeks, the bank employees are working from eight in the morning till midnight including weekends. Still, there are truckloads of work to do. There has been absolutely no cooperation from the RBI's side," Utagi told ANI. "It added to the mess by banning cooperative banks from exchanging old notes or accepting deposits," he added. Citing the present situation as a clear mess, Utagi further said that there have been in total ten lakh employees at various banks who are working in and out in a situation where there are inadequate cash counting machines, fake notes detection machines and manpower security personnel. The All India Bank Employees Association vice-president's assertion come as a united opposition is cornering the government in Parliament and demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain the rationale behind imposing such a decision. Bajrang Dal members protested the setting up of a statue in Agra claiming to be illegal and tried to break it. While Ali is just a few years in the industry, Judi Dench is a veteran in Hollywood films. Ali Fazal is starring opposite Hollywood star Judi Dench in the interantional film Victoria and Abdul and the pair had shot for the film in London, Scotland and Delhi. However, a recent shoot in Agra was disrupted when right-wing activists created chaos on the sets. A statue of Queen Victoria was erected for one of the scenes in Mehtab Bagh and Bajrang Dal members protested it as they claimed that the statue was erected illegally. The activists were keen on bringing down the statue but police intervention helped in averting the situation, reported Mid Day. Ali says, "Our shoot was stalled for over three hours, as 50 angry men were running in all directions. The workers were adamant to break the statue, but the police intervened, just in time." Fortunately, Dench was not required for the particular sequence in Agra. The film is based on Shrabani Basus book Victoria and Abdul: The True Story of the Queens Closet Confidant and is being directed by Stephen Frears. The digital series is based on the popular book, The Book of Strange New Things, written by Michel Faber. Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone have made Bollywood famous with their international projects like Quantico and xXx: Return of Xander Cage. But an actor, who had featured in popular Hollywood films before these actresses was Anil Kapoor, with a popular role in Slumdog Millionaire, following it up with Tom Cruises Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and lending his voice for Family Guy. The actor is all set to go international again, this time for a digital series based on the popular book, The Book of Strange New Things, written by Michel Faber. Incidentally, Kapoor had refused to be part of the project when he was offered it the first time as he was busy with the shoot of his own television series 24 and his son Harshvardhan was gearing up for his debut at that time. However, the makers were keen to wait for Kapoor and the actor later shot for the pilot of the series in South Africa this October. Kapoor will essay the role of authoritarian Vikram Danesh in the project who is the leader of the planet Oasis in space and meets the protagonist, an English priest, when he is sent to space. Pak troops also savagely mutilated one of the bodies on Tuesday in Machhil sector along the LoC. Since the surgical strikes by India on terrorist launch pads along the Line of Control on September 29, there have been over 280 incidents of firing and shelling in Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: Representational Image) Srinagar: Army on Wednesday launched a counter offensive against Pakistan along the LoC, a day after three Indian soldiers were killed, with body of one of them being mutilated in a cross-LoC attack. The offensive comes hours after the Indian Army vowed "heavy retribution" to the attack on its soldiers. Brigadier, Northern Command, S Gotra said India Army launched a counter offensive along the LoC in retaliation to Tuesday's offensive in Machhil sector of Kashmir. Indian Army posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply, Defence PRO Manish Mehta said. Pakistan Army also fired at Indian posts along the LoC in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nowshera sectors. In the cross-LoC attack by suspected Pakistani terrorists, three Indian soldiers were on Tuesday killed, with body of one of them being mutilated. The ambush on the army patrol took place in Machhil sector of Kashmir, following which the Indian Army vowed heavy "retribution". The Northern Command spokesman had Tuesday tweeted, "3 soldiers killed in action on LoC (Line of Control) in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated." He said the "retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act." This is the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier in the same sector since October 28. On that day, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, had crossed the Line of Control and killed an Indian army jawan and mutilated his body in Macchil sector. One attacker was killed in that incident. The man was declared dead by his family after he married a Maharashtrian Dalit woman in Mumbai, where he worked as cook for Nana Patekar. New Delhi: A man, who was allegedly declared dead by his family members after a bitter domestic dispute, has come forward to donate his kidney to Sushma Swaraj so that she can, in return, help him get a certificate to prove he is alive. The Union Minister was admitted to AIIMS last week because of kidney failure. According to a report in India Today, Santosh Moorat Singh, a native of Varanasi, is a dead man on paper for the past 10 years. He hopes to get a certificate of a living human being in return of his kidney to Swaraj. Singh, who worked as a cook for actor Nana Patekar, was declared dead by his family members after he married a Maharashtrian Dalit woman in Mumbai in 2003. He was thrown out of the house when he went to Varanasi to visit his family, which later performed his last rites, Singh said. "After being turned away, I went back to Mumbai. Six months later, I went back to Mumbai. Six months later I found out that my last rites were performed and a death certificate was issued. It's been a futile struggle ever since to prove to the authorities that I am still alive. All documents that could prove me right were destroyed too," Singh alleged. "I returned to my village and sought help from police but nobody came forward. When I went to the lawyers, they asked for money which I did not have. I approached the President, the Prime Minister and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, petitioning them earnestly. But so far no one has come to my rescue," he added. Singh has been protesting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi for the past four years to seek a certificate that would declare him a living human being. Now, he hopes "one of our finest political leaders, Sushma Swaraj, would notice the so called dead man's plight." The accused confessed that he had abducted the minor, raped her and then dumped her in a pit near Sarai Rohilla railway station New Delhi: A three-and-a-half-year-old girl was abducted, raped and dumped into a pit by a man after he presumed her to be dead in north Delhi's Sarai Rohilla area, police said on Tuesday. Birbal (35), was arrested on the intervening night of November 21 and 22 after the victim's elder sister told police that she had seen a man giving chocolate to her, they said. When the accused was arrested, he was in a highly inebriated state. On becoming a little sober around 6 am on Tuesday, he confessed that he had abducted the minor, raped her and then dumped her in a pit near Sarai Rohilla railway station on thinking that she had died, a police officer said. He was taken to the spot in the morning where the girl was found lying motionless in the pit. She was rushed to Bara Hindu Rao hospital and her condition is stated to be out of danger, police said. Birbal even strangulated the kid before dumping her into the pit but she survived, a senior police officer said. Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal visited the girl's family at the hospital. "3.5 year old girl raped by 35 year old in Sarai Rohilla. He attempted her murder, was left unconscious in bushes. Critical, m visiting her," Maliwal tweeted before visiting the girl. The girl was playing with her elder sister near her house in Anand Parbat when the accused reportedly offered them chocolate. He then diverted the elder sister's attention and took the victim away and allegedly raped her. "The girl was missing since 7 PM yesterday. Her parents and neighbours searched for her for two hours before informing the police," a senior police officer said. A case under sections 363 (kidnapping), 307 (attempt to murder), 376 (rape) of IPC and other relevant sections of the POCSO has been registered against the accused, the officer said. A four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted on Sunday before she was killed in northwest Delhi's Keshavpuram area. Death ends Yadavs plan to pen bare-all book to defend self. File photo of Veteran Congress leader Ram Naresh Yadav who passed away at SGPGI Lucknow on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. (Photo: PTI) Bhopal: Former Madhya Pradesh governor Ram Naresh Yadav has been robbed of an opportunity to come clean on charges of his involvement in the infamous Vyapam scam, following his demise on Tuesday. Veteran Congress leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yadav passed away at SGPGI Lucknow after a prolonged illness. I will cover the issue of Vyapam scam in my next memoir, Mr Yadav had indicated while releasing his first autobiography in Hindi, Meri Kahani (My Story), in February this year. The memoir primarily dwelt on his days as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. He demitted office of governor on September 7, 2016. His half-a-decade stint as governor of MP, which started on August 26, 2011, had been marred by the Vyapam scam involving corruption in admissions in medical colleges in MP and recruitments in various state government jobs. The period had also witnessed tragic death of his son Sailesh (52), also an accused in the Vyapam scam, in mysterious circumstances in his residence in Lucknow in 2015. The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh had been accused of using his influence to recruit some forest guards. The special task force (STF), appointed to probe the matter earlier, filed a FIR against him in this connection. Yadav served as chief minister from 1977 to 1979 with the Janata Party. He later joined the Congress and served as governor from 2011. He was deprived of a chance to prove his innocence, before and after his death. As a governor, he could not put his side of his story on the issue and his death has denied him the opportunity to come clean by though his memoir, Sachidananad Choubey, an academician, observed. India told the Pakistani DGMO to prevent his troops from indulging in 'nefarious acts' across the border. Pakistan asked for the talks after India unleashed a fierce fire assault on Wednesday across the Line of Control in retaliation for Tuesday's mutilations of Indian soldiers by Pakistan. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: A day after India accused Pakistan of beheading a soldier in Kashmir and killing two others, Pakistan requested that the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries speak to one another, a request that was granted by India. According to a report in NDTV, Pakistan asked for the talks after India unleashed a fierce fire assault on Wednesday across the Line of Control in retaliation for Tuesday's mutilations of Indian soldiers by Pakistan. An army spokesperson said that India told the Pakistani DGMO over the hotline to prevent his troops from indulging in 'nefarious acts' across the border. In turn, the Pakistani DGMO spoke about civilian casualties from Indian firing across the LoC. Separately, Pakistan has conveyed to India that its Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will be attending the Heart of Asia (HoA) conference in Amritsar on December 3 and 4. "We have received an official confirmation from Pakistan that Aziz would be attending the HoA conference on Afghanistan," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said today. The conference, which will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, will see participation of over 40 countries. However, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday termed as "naked aggression" the "unprovoked firing" by India across the LoC that resulted in the death of four civilians and three soldiers and said India has failed to comprehend the gravity of the situation. He said no responsible state can permit targeting innocent civilians in general and ambulances carrying the injured in particular. In September, after an army camp in Uri in Kashmir was attacked, leaving 19 soldiers dead, India conducted surgical strikes across the LoC, destroying several terrorist launch pads. However, Pakistan denies that the strikes ever took place, claiming that just 2 Pakistani soldiers were killed. The Navy is critically short of submarines, with 14 operational platforms, including one nuclear attack submarine leased from Russia. New Delhi: India should look much beyond the planned 24 submarines under a 30-year plan and embark on building many more such underwater vessels, Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Tuesday. Referring to the countrys existing 30-year submarine construction plan that aims to build 24 nuclear and conventional vessels by 2030, Mr Parrikar called for a rethink and said India needed a long-term plan till 2050 as many more submarines needed to be built. The minister, speaking at a Ficci event here, drew a comparison of the submarine construction programmes in other countries and said Russia has built 595 submarines till date while the US has constructed 285 submarines. While ruing the indigenisation content on the Scorpene projects, Mr Parrikar said the underwater platforms built under the aegis of Advanced Technology Vessel Project (ATVP) had achieved an indigenisation content of more than 70 per cent. The Navy is critically short of submarines, with 14 operational platforms, including one nuclear attack submarine leased from Russia. But with regular maintenance and high turnaround times the actual availability is much less. Indigenisation in Scorpenes is not up to the mark, but in the advanced technology vessel (ATV) programme (nuclear submarines) it is over 70 per cent, he said. After coming to power in June 2014, the BJP-led NDA government has cleared more than Rs 2 lakh crore worth of defence acquisitions and has plans to top Rs 3 lakh crore by the March 2017. The minister also declared that the Request for Proposal for the much awaited P75(I) program, under which six more conventional submarines are to be built with the help of private sector will be under the Strategic Partnership (SP) Model. The P75(I) project will be fast-tracked after gaining the requisite approvals. The defence minister rued the fact that unlike the ongoing nuclear submarine project, the indigenisation on the Scorpene projects is very low (30-40 per cent). The government had earlier refused a united Oppositions demand that the PM address the Rajya Sabha, where the NDA is in a minority. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the Rajya Sabha on Thursday in an attempt to pacify Opposition parties which have held up Parliament proceedings over the last five days, demanding that the PM address the Upper House on demonetisation. In a bid to break the logjam, government on Wednesday reached out to the Opposition with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar holding talks with Congress and TMC leaders. Kumar and some other leaders in the government will continue deliberations with floor leaders of various political parties on Thursday. "Nothing has been achieved by holding up the Parliament proceedings. Everybody feels that there should be action against black money. The opposition parties apprehensions are about only implementation of demonetisation, we have been saying that we are ready to listen to their concerns. "I have again requested them to start discussion where they can express their view points on this issue, which government will listen and consider," Kumar said. The government's action comes in the backdrop of continued stalling of both the Houses of Parliament by the Opposition which is demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence and participation in the debate on demonetisation. Kumar added that he has requested political parties to see the "writing on the wall" and start discussion on the issue. "I requested them that they can themselves see that public is in favour of this move. Rather than holding up the proceedings, it should be allowed to run smoothly," he added. According to sources, Kumar spoke to several leaders on Wednesday, including Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge and TMC's Sudeep Bandopadhyay besides some others. Earlier Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had called a meeting of leaders of different political parties to break the impasse after she was again forced to adjourn the House for the day. BJD, TRS and YSR congress are ready for a debate under rule 193, which the government prefers as it does not entail voting. The government is also confident of Shiv Sena also coming on the board, they added. They said several BJP leaders besides Kumar will meet floor leaders of various political parties tomorrow in their bid to end the logjam. The government is hopeful about ending the impasse in the next few days, sources said. Counsel for the Election Commission submitted that the HC had rendered the findings against the two companies without even hearing them. New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that both the BJP and the Congress had not violated the provisions of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act in receiving donations from companies towards political funding. Counsel for the Centre made this submission before a three-judge bench of Justices J.S. Khehar, Arun Mishra and A.M. Kanwilkar during the hearing of the two appeals filed by BJP and Congress against a Delhi HC verdict asking the Centre and the Election Commission to take appropriate action for allegedly accepting foreign funds in violation of the law. Supporting both the parties, the Centres counsel said in view of the amendments made to the FCRA Act, the contributions received will not come under the ambit of violations. The counsel said subsequent to the HC verdict notices were sent to the parties seeking their explanation and it was found that contributions received were not foreign contributions within the meaning of the FCRA and hence no action was called for. Counsel for the Election Commission submitted that the HC had rendered the findings against the two companies without even hearing them. Acting on a public interest petition, the High Court had held that both the Congress and BJP flouted the norms of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act and directed the Union Home Ministry and the EC to relook and reappraise the receipts of the political parties to identify foreign donations and take action. Referring to the donations received by the two parties from Vedanta and its subsidiaries Sterlite and Sesa, the High Court had said are a foreign source as contemplated under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976. Prima facie the acts of the respondents (Congress and BJP) inter se, clearly fall foul of the ban imposed under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act as the donations accepted by the political parties from Sterlite and Sesa accrue from foreign sources within the meaning of law. On Tuesday senior counsel Mohan Parasaran, appearing for Congress contended that the contributions received from companies which are subsidiaries of Indian companies would not be deemed to be contributions from a foreign sources even though they are foreign companies. Counsel said since the Union government had amended the provisions in 2010 with retrospective effect, donations received during 2007 to 2009 will not come under foreign funding. Justice Khehar told the counsel that in view of the amendments to the law with retrospective effect, the appeals had become infructuous. We will dismiss the appeals and leave open the question of law, Justice Khehar said. Counsel sought time to seek instructions and the bench posted the matter for further hearing on November 29. Counsel Pranav Sachdeva, appearing for Association for Democratic Rights on whose petition the High Court had passed the order said both the Congress and BJP flouted the norms of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act and the HC had clearly stated that the amendments will not have retrospective effect for the 1976 FCRA Act. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also cited Congress' poor show in by-poll results to attack Rahul Gandhi New Delhi: Hitting back at Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for describing demonetisation as an impromptu experiment, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said he has neither understood the importance of the decision nor done his homework. She wondered how can Prime Minister Narendra Modi be blamed for taking an impromptu decision and at the same time leaking the information to others. "I am not sure if he (Gandhi) has really looked into what is meant by the exercise the government has done ...So this kind of remark saying that it is impromptu, itself shows that not much home work has been done by the Congress Vice- President," she told PTI in an interview. Slamming Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government is eager to hear his "scholarly" arguments on demonetisation as it wants to know the Congress vice president's stand on the issue of black money. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also cited Congress' poor show in by-poll results, which were announced on Tuesday, to attack its vice president. Taking a dig at the opposition parties' protest in the morning, Prasad said instead of forming human chain outside the Parliament they should produce a "chain of speakers" inside and start a debate as the government has been ready for a discussion from the first day of the Winter Session. "The government is very keen to hear Rahul Gandhi's scholarly arguments. Rajya Sabha witnessed a debate on November 17 and Congress leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma besides BSP's Mayawati spoke. What happened now that they are running away from a debate. They realise that the country is not appreciating their arguments," he said. Asking Gandhi to show pragmatism, Prasad said the Congress leader should consider where his party is heading under him. In the by-polls, Congress did not get enough votes in some seats to save its deposit, he said. Referring to Gandhi's demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi be present in Parliament during the debate, he said as somebody coming from a family whose members have been in power for 50 years he should know how government is run. "At times it is good to be pragmatic," the Law Minister said. Sitharaman said that the move to withdraw high denomination currency helps in making the economy "cleaner" and make transactions more formal and transparent. "There are so many dimensions to it. It is a very big step of this nature," she added. The minister said that had there been no preparations, then how Rs 2,000 note came into the market a day after the announcement of the demonetisation. "It was available in many parts, not adequately I agree. Could that have happened if there was no preparations by the government," she said, adding this was not an impromptu or a knee-jerk decision. "They are making all kinds of statements but there is nothing substantial," she said. Gandhi has described the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes as the world's "biggest impromptu financial experiment". "Prime Minister can give lectures to pop concert where 'naach gaana' is going on. 200 MPs are saying they want to tell the nation why he took this decision. PM does not want to come to Parliament. Why is PM afraid of going inside? He is obviously anxious about something," Gandhi said. Opposition MPs including those of Congress, SP, BSP, TMC, DMK, CPI, CPI(M) among others were outside Parliament near Gandhi Statue protesting the demonetisation. India mounts assault across LoC to avenge jawans beheading. Indian Border Security Force soldiers travel on a truck to be deputed for night patrol duty along the India-Pakistan international border in Ranbir Singh Pura, about 25 kilometers from Jammu. (Photo: AP) Srinagar: The Army launched on Wednesday a massive counter-offensive against Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, a day after three Indian soldiers were killed and one of the bodies was mutilated. Pakistans authorities said three of its soldiers and 10 others were killed in firing from the Indian side. They also said seven Indian soldiers were killed in retaliation, a claim the Indian Army strongly refuted. Intense exchanges of artillery fire between the facing troops have caused panic in bordering areas in the state. At many places, people have started fleeing to safety. Defence sources said India retaliated with full force to Tuesdays incursion and brutality in Machhal sector of Kupwara district by targeting Pakistans military posts in several sectors from Gurez in the Valley to Jammus Rajouri district with artillery fire and machine guns. The Army also responded strongly and befittingly to renewed firing and shelling from across the de facto border in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nowshera sectors of Poonch and Rajouri districts, officials said. Authorities in Islamabad said that three Pakistani soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indias troops near the LoC on Wednesday. The media wing of Pakistans Army identified them as Captain Taimoor Ali Khan, Havaldar Mushtaq Hussain and Lance Naik Ghulam Hussain. Government officials in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, said that Indian troops targeted a passenger bus in Lawat near the LoC, killing nine people and injuring 11 others. They also said that in a separate incident of Indian shelling in Nakyal and Tatta Pani areas close to the de facto border, one person was killed and seven others injured. The BSF said in Jammu that two of its jawans were injured in the latest ceasefire violation by Pakistani along the LoC in Rajouri district on Wednesday. A report from Jammu said that the BSF jawans were injured when a mortar shell landed on their post. The Army said that its offensive is a direct message to Pakistan that mutilation of its soldiers is not acceptable and Indias response will be quick and massive. The Army had vowed on Tuesday heavy retribution after the Machhal incident by saying retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act. Rifleman Prabhu Singh was beheaded in a cross-LoC attack by the members of Pakistans Border Action Team. The other slain jawans are Grenadier Manoj Kumar and Rifleman Shashank Kumar Singh. All three belonged to the Armys Rashtriya Rifles and were in their mid-twenties, a defence spokesman here said. The gory incident was second of its kind in the same sector in less than a month. On October 29, infiltrating militants had mutilated the body of 30-year-old Sepoy Mandeep Singh, who was killed in a brief firefight. Meanwhile, Union home minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security situation in the country. During an hour-long meeting, the minister was briefed about the incident in Machhal. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other top officials attended the meeting. Tension between the two South Asian neighbours and fatal border skirmishes involving the facing troops rose after 19 Indian soldiers were killed in a deadly terror attack on an Army base in Uri in September 18, prompting India to launch a global diplomatic offensive, and carry out anti-terror surgical strikes across the LoC. The active hostilities have claimed scores of civilian lives. Reports said that hundreds of families have been fleeing homes and relocating to safer places to escape border skirmishes. Local political groups and human rights activists have expressed concern over increasing civilian casualties. Railway ministry had already announced that train tickets booked through the IRCTC website will not attract service charge till Dec. 31. The civil aviation ministry had also announced that there would be no parking charges at airports across India till November 28. (Representational image) New Delhi: Under pressure to ease the liquidity crunch, the Centre on Wednesday announced a series of new measures to help farmers get more cash in the ongoing rabi sowing season and waived off transaction charges on debit cards in order to encourage cashless transactions across the country. To promote greater use of debit cards, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das said the public sector banks and some private banks had decided to waive transaction charges till December 31. Telecom operators have already waived transaction charges for SMS-based banking called USSD to enable financial transactions through feature phones till the end of December. To promote greater usage of payments through e-wallets, the RBI has decided to increase the monthly transaction limit for individuals from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. Similar enhancements have also been announced by the RBI for merchants, said Mr Das. The railway ministry had already announced on Tuesday that train tickets booked through the IRCTC website will not attract service charge till December 31. Rs 20 is levied as service tax on sleeper and Rs 40 on AC classes for booking tickets through IRCTC. This would facilitate and encourage passengers to buy e-tickets instead of across-the-counter purchases through cash, said Mr Das. The daily average number of passengers buying e-tickets online is 58 per cent, and across-the-counter purchase in cash is 42 per cent of the total sale of tickets. The civil aviation ministry had also announced that there would be no parking charges at airports across India till November 28. Mr Das said Nabard will provide Rs 21,000 crores in loans to district central cooperative banks (DCCBs for rabi agricultural operations. This will enable the DCCBs to disburse crop loans to farmers through the network of Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS). In India, around 40 per cent of small and marginal farmers avail loans through cooperative banks, and this move will benefit them, said Mr Das. The government has already raised the cash withdrawal limit for farmers to Rs 25,000 per week and allowed them to buy seeds through old Rs 500 notes from government undertakings. Mr Das said all government organisations and public sector undertakings have been advised to use only digital payment methods to make payments to contractors and employees. At the point of disbursing payments, it will be necessary for the them to provide the option of payments through cards, Internet banking, unified payment interface, cards and Aadhar-enabled payment systems. Mr Das said a lot of time was spent by vehicles at all the checkposts and toll plazas. While GST will address the problem at checkposts, certain measures are necessary for ease of payment at toll plazas on the national highways. The road transport and highways ministry is therefore advising automobile manufacturers to provide ETC-compliant RFID in all new vehicles, the economic affairs secretary added. The babies were smuggled to other states inside card board boxes meant for biscuit packaging, police said. hree babies, kept inside biscuit boxes were recovered from the spot, police said, adding that several documents and papers were also seized from the place. (Photo: Representational Image) Kolkata: The West Bengal CID on Tuesday claimed to have busted an international child trafficking racket and arrested eights persons, including two women, for their alleged involvement with it. Acting on a tip-off, the CID conducted a raid on Tuesday at Baduria in North 24 Parganas district and arrested two women Najma Bibi, Utpala Byapari, a quack Amirul Biswas, owner of a local nursing home Asadur Jaman, one NGO activist Satyajit Sinha, a clinic-owner Bakbul Baidya and a lawyer Prabhat Sarkar along with his associate Jhantu Biswas. The six were arrested for their alleged involvement in the trafficking racket, a senior officer of the CID said. Three babies, kept inside biscuit boxes were recovered from the spot, he said, adding that several documents and papers were also seized from the place. Police were also looking for a doctor formerly associated with the RG Kar hospital and another local physician from Baduria for their alleged role into the business, he added. "We had an information about this child trafficking racket where doctors are involved. This gang was targetting women who used to come there mainly to abort," the officer said. Also couples coming to the nursing home for deliveries were told that the baby was born dead. "Then the accused persons used to win over sympathy of the couples and convince them that there was no need to take the dead babies with them. And there are cases when they had paid the women sums ranging between Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 to take away the unwanted baby," the officer said. As per the prima facie probe, Najma Bidi, wife of Makbul Baidya running a local clinic was the main trafficker while the other woman Utpala Byapari used to be the mediator between the NGO and the nursing home. The babies were smuggled to other states inside card board boxes meant for biscuit packaging, the officer said. "A male child used to fetch them Rs two lakh while for a female child the rate was Rs one lakh. This business was operating for past three years and the demand for the babies were from Delhi, Bihar and Mumbai and even overseas," the official added. The minister said no incident of FICN being injected into the country has been reported after demonetisation. New currency notes of Rs 2000 denomination recovered from militants killed in Bandipora District of North Kashmir on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: The demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes has badly hit the terror funding, stone-pelters in Jammu and Kashmir and the smuggling of fake Indian currency notes into the country, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. The minister said no incident of FICN being injected into the country has been reported after Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement of demonetisation. There has been big impact on FICN. Terror funding was also badly hit due to demonetisation while there is complete halt in paying money to the stone-pelters in Kashmir, Mr Kiren Rijiju, minister of state for home, said during Question Hour amid noisy protests by Opposition members demanding an adjournment motion entailing voting. Claiming that separatists in Jammu and Kashmir have a nexus with disruptive elements across the country with some of them maintaining touch with militant leaders based in Pakistan, Mr Rijiju said: Inputs indicate the existence of nexus/collusion of disrupting elements sponsored by neighbouring country and separatists in Kashmir. They have also been believed to be receiving instructions and financial support from Pakistan establishment for such adverse activities, he said, adding that the government had inputs that some of the separatists go abroad and indulge in anti-India activities and action has been initiated against such people. The conference will take place at a time when external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj is battling renal failure. New Delhi: Pakistan on Wednesday finally informed India that its Prime Ministers advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz will be attending the Heart of Asia (HoA) conference in Amritsar on December 3 and 4. This is being seen as the first signs of political engagement between the two countries at senior political levels amid the intense military pressure that Pakistan is facing which indicates that Islamabad may be trying to open communication channels with New Delhi. The conference will take place at a time when external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj is battling renal failure. With reports that the conference will be addressed by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, it is also unclear if Aziz will meet Modi or any other top Cabinet minister for a bilateral meeting during his visit amid speculation that such a bilateral meeting may take place. We have received an official confirmation from Pakistan that Sartaj Aziz will be attending the HoA conference, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. Her act impressed even the other customers waiting in the queues who applauded her for her efforts. This video, which was uploaded by an SBI employee on November 20, shows the polite woman going to each bank employees desk and gifting them a rose. (Credit: Facebook) The demonetisation of high value currency notes in India has put bank employees at financial institutions under tremendous strain as they work hard to make sure ordinary citizens have access to the new banknotes issued by the government. So, an old lady in Lucknow decided to thank them for their efforts by presenting roses to workers at her local bank. This video, which was uploaded by an SBI employee on November 20, shows the polite woman going to each bank employees desk and gifting them a rose. She also thanked them for working extra hours so that people are able to transition in a smoother way. Her act impressed even the other customers waiting in the queues who applauded her for her efforts. An artist and agriculturist, Vinod George gave up his cubicle job to embrace his passion for travelling. He is an artist, art curator, agriculturist and traveller. Vinod George, a native of Koothattukulam, spends his time indulging in any of these activities. He has no regrets about quitting his job seven years ago to redesign his life like this. He does farming in the land close to his home to meet his daily expenses. And when wanderlust in him pops up, he takes his bike and goes for a trip. His passion for travelling didnt sprout overnight. It has been with him since childhood. My fathers brother was in the army. His postings were in the north. When I was in high school, I would go there alone during summer vacation. My family would drop me at the railway station. That was the beginning, recalls Vinod. His passion grew with him. In college, he started going for small rides on the bike. Meanwhile, although he did a course in business management, he turned to art later. I started working as a graphic designer in Bengaluru, Malaysia, Chennai and Singapore. But, I was uncomfortable with the life in cubicles and eventually quit my job. I went straight to Nagaland after leaving the office instead of coming home, he smiles. He did a few small rides after that. The extensive ride was in 2014. It was an all-India ride in 85 days. The trip began from Koothattukulam and crossing states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Punjab, finally reached Leh. I stayed in Srinagar for some days and took a route on the other side of the country (outside the country too) for the return journey. I took the Himachal-Bhutan-North East-Calcutta route, says Vinod. I prefer staying in tents during the trip. In cities, I usually stay in dargahs and gurudwaras. During his pan-India journey, he crossed Srinagar during the flood time. I was unaware of that. It was from the Army personnel on the India-China border, with whom I stayed for a few days, I came to know about the situation. I couldnt reach my family over the phone. And, they got panicked. Also, in Bhutan, I stayed inside a cave in a valley at night. It was freezing. That was quite an experience, says Vinod, who is now travelling to Manipur on his bike to attend the Forest Conservation programme there. He tries to explore the culture and art of each place during journeys. After the Manipur trip, Vinod is planning to do a bicycle ride through five countries Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. The AAP government has identified 300 schools where such clinics will be set up. New Delhi: Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said that lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung has almost agreed to the city governments proposal of building mohalla clinics in schools. Mr Sisodia, who met Mr Jung, said that he has conveyed to the L-G the importance these clinics would have in terms of primary healthcare in the national capital. Mr Jung had earlier returned a file pertaining to the governments proposal citing certain clauses of the Delhi School Education Act under which school premises can only be used for academic purposes. I told him how important these clinics would be for the children of Delhi. There cannot be a better model for providing healthcare. Lets see whether we get the approval or not. He has almost agreed, since he initially thought such facilities would come up in private schools as well which is not the case, the deputy chief minister said. The AAP government has identified 300 schools where such clinics will be set up, as part of its three-tier public health roadmap with the other two being polyclinics and hospitals. During the meeting, Mr Sisodia also raised the standoff over the appointment of directors in power distribution companies. Mr Jung had earlier turned down the names of a few power experts and chartered accountants recommended by the government, departing from the practice of nominating higher officials in the administration. We told him that the chief secretaries and principal secretaries sitting on the board of private companies is not right in principle as they have to take decisions pertaining to these companies later. The issue will be discussed again, Mr Sisodia said. Earlier, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had urged Mr Jung to invite him and power minister Satyender Jain for a discussion to resolve the issue. On Thursday, there will be rallies across the districts while the following day will see rallies at the block-level. Kolkata: Elated by Trinamul Congress massive victory in the Lok Sabha and Assembly bypolls in the state, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said the election result was peoples revolt against Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation. The people have revolted and voted against demonetisation. In a democracy, people vent their anger through votes. BJP should take lessons from this mandate, Ms Banerjee said at Nabanna before leaving for the airport to catch a flight to Delhi. The CM is working to unite opposition parties against the Centres anti-people policies. Let there be a storm of public protest against the Hitleri decision which has caused immense miseries to the common people, she said. Talking to reporters at the airport, she said she would stage a dharna in Delhi and appealed to other parties to take to the streets in protest. Trinamul Congress will hit the streets from Tuesday. I will join a dharna at Jantar Mantar. While I will be in Delhi, our party will launch a protest movement in Kolkata. On Thursday, there will be rallies across the districts while the following day will see rallies at the block-level, she said, and appealed to the cultural, literary, agricultural and business sector, including hawkers, to join the movement against demonetisation. These people should also come forward to lodge their protest as the issue (of demonetisation) concerns everyone, she added. Asked whether other parties will join her, she said, If any party wants to come, they are welcome. In Parliament, we are all working together. Continuing her tirade against Mr Modi, Ms Banerjee alleged that the PM is snatching away white money from the common people. He should recover black money from the offshore accounts. But he is instead harassing the common people and snatching their white money, she said. Ms Banerjee also alleged that the Prime Minister is constantly intimidating other political parties who are raising their voice against demonetisation. A Prime Minister should be sober, impartial and should not exercise any bias. Can a Prime Minister intimidate others? she asked. The CM also appealed to NGOs, charitable organisations, student organisations, representatives of the civil society and others to register their protest through her twitter page. On Monday night, Ms Banerjee had posted on her twitter account that 68 lives had been lost since the announcement on November 8. She also provided a link to a list of those deceased, three of whom belong to West Bengal while Uttar Pradesh saw maximum deaths with as many as 18 people. He also asked the court that why he had not filed it earlier. Singh further submitted that his petition should not be entertained. Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday argued before the Bombay high court that NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal could not claim that he was detained illegally as he was produced at a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court the very next day after his arrest in March. A division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Bhujbal, who alleged that ED had arrested him illegally. Earlier Bhujbals lawyer had withdrawn a petition that had challenged section 19 and 45 of the PMLA, which are related to arrest and not granting bail to accused. On Tuesday, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh argued, Bhujbal was arrested in March. After eight months have passed he has filed a habeas corpus petition now. He also asked the court that why he had not filed it earlier. Singh further submitted that his petition should not be entertained. Bhujbals lawyer Vikram Choudhary pleaded that there was a violation of Article 21 as well as 22 of the Constitution of India and, therefore, the arrest of Bhujbal by the ED is illegal As per the Lalita Kumari case, a first information report (FIR) is required to be registered for conducting any legitimate investigations, but the ED did not file any FIR. It registered an enforcement case investigation report (ECIR), which is not a public document like an FIR. The ECIR in this case has not yet been produced before the special court, said Mr Choudhary. When any agency has to arrest a person, it should first probe the matter, then arrest the person and then file an FIR; but in this case, the ED registered an ECIR in June 2015 and arrested Bhujbal only in March 2016, he added. After joining, an employee undergoes a sputum test to check if he or she is suffering from Tuberculosis. The BMC continues to claim that prevention and control of TB among healthcare workers has been its priority. Mumbai: Four ward boys on probation at Sewri Tuberculosis (TB) Hospital have been diagnosed with multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB, taking the number of employees diagnosed with the disease since beginning of this year to 10 and the number of staff including doctors and nurses diagnosed with it since 2011 to 52. However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which runs the hospital, continues to claim that prevention and control of TB and deaths due to TB among healthcare workers has been its priority. Workers at the hospital who have contracted TB belong to the age group of 49 to 58 years and most of them have been diagnosed with MDR TB. Fear of contracting TB has led many workers to refuse jobs at the hospital, causing a continuous shortage of staff. One of the ward boys being treated at the same hospital said, We have been taking treatment for TB. We did not know that serving here for a good cause would result in us contracting the disease. Another ward boy also being treated at the hospital said, Its not only him; there are many people like me working at the hospital who have contracted TB. This is a serious issue and should not be neglected. We are all on probation and have not got any facilities from the civic body. Meanwhile, Dr Jagdish Keni, medical superintendent at the hospital, highlighting saftety measures for employess, said, Every three months, there is a compulsory check-up for workers. People found to have tuberculosis are sent on special leave and treatment is provided for free. We are providing necessary treatment to all employees as per instructions. We are conducting regular check-ups. The government is providing masks to the workers. Special leave for treatment is being granted, he said. The move, which will be announced later on Wednesday, comes as Trump advisers are seeking to diversify his ranks. US President-elect Donald Trump and Indian-American Nikki Haley, the Governor of South Carolina. (Photo: AP) Washington: South Carolina's Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley has accepted President-elect Donald Trump's offer to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations, a leading American newspaper reported on Wednesday. The move, which will be announced later on Wednesday, comes as Trump advisers are seeking to diversify his ranks and marks his first female appointment to a cabinet-level post, The Washington Post reported. Trump's plan to offer the job to 44-year-old Haley, a rising Republican star and daughter of Indian immigrants, was first reported by the Post and Courier. "The move, expected Wednesday, continues the steep political rise of the daughter of Indian immigrants that started six years ago when the Bamberg native was elected as South Carolina's first female and minority governor," the leading newspaper of South Carolina had said. Haley, who is serving her second term, has worked on trade and labour issues as governor but brings little foreign policy experience. Her views on various US military and national security matters usually fall within the Republican Party's hawkish mainstream. Trump met with Haley last Thursday at Trump Tower in New York as part of the round of meetings the president-elect has held. The Post and Courier noted that Haley has taken at least eight trips abroad since taking office in 2011, including visits to Germany. If chosen, Haley, would be the first woman and minority to join Trump's administration and would replace Samantha Power as the next US Ambassador to the UN, the Wall Street Journal reported. She would also be the first ever Indian-American Cabinet rank official in any administration. The Cabinet position would require confirmation by the Senate. Reports also said that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Haley ally, is said to be Trump's likely choice for secretary of state, a position Haley was previously speculated for last week. "The planned nomination to the cabinet-level post, confirmed by multiple sources with knowledge of the decision, is likely to raise questions about Haley?s qualifications for a major foreign policy role since she has little diplomatic experience as state lawmaker and governor," the daily said. Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, was a vocal critic of the real estate mogul on the campaign trail. She later voted for Trump, lamenting that she was "not a fan" of either candidate. Born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa, Haley is the first minority and female governor of South Carolina, a deeply conservative state with a long history of racial strife. As the youngest governor in the US and only the second Indian-American to serve at the helm of a US state, she has been characterised as a rising star within the Republican Party. Galaxy S7 is available in White, Gold, Silver, Pink Gold and Onyx Black with a matte finish. Samsung is planning to launch a glossy black variant of its Galaxy S7 smartphone next month, according to Korean newspaper Korean Herald. According to the report, the smartphone giant is likely introducing a new colour variant for the nine-month-old Galaxy S7 to compete with the Apple latest iPhone releasesJet Black and Matte Black iPhone 7 models. Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall had hit the companys profit hard. The company mentioned that the total cost of recall could be at least $5.3 billion. Korean Herald claims that the new Galaxy S7 variant would serve as an asset to Samsung to overcome the sale loss it experienced following the discontinuation of Note 7. At present, Galaxy S7 is available in White, Gold, Silver, Pink Gold and Onyx Black with a matte finish. The new Jet Black is expected to be smoother than the old Onyx Black variant. Ramdev said he will invest billions of rupees in Nepal for producing Ayurvedic products that would eventually generate employment. Kathmandu: Yoga guru Ramdev on Wednesday said he will invest billions of rupees in Nepal to create 20,000 jobs in the country as he jointly inaugurated a new venture to produce organic medicine and other items. Ramdev, who arrived in Kathmandu on a week-long visit on Tuesday, inaugurated the new factory of his Patanjali Ayurveda Grama Udyog with Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari in Bara district in southern Nepal. The factory which was established with an initial capital investment of Rs 1.5 billion will be upgraded to Rs 5 billion in future and will produce organic medicine and other products, Ramdev said during an interaction with officials and members of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Ramdev said he will invest billions of rupees in Nepal for producing Ayurvedic products that would eventually generate employment for 20,000 Nepalese youths. Ramdev, who was accompanied by his close aid Acharya Balkrishna, also flew to Bara district in southern Nepal, where he will conduct a five-day yoga camp, according to sources close to Patanjali Yoga Ashram of Nepal. President Bhandrai, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, ministers, leaders and members of the business community are among others who have been invited to attend the function in Birgunj. Thousands of yoga enthusiasts from Nepal and India have assembled in Birgunj are have been preparing for a month for the event. Pakistan said seven Indian soldiers were also killed in retaliatory fire but there was no confirmation from India. Waheed Khan, a local official, says an artillery shell hit the bus in the Neelum Valley on Wednesday, killing nine people. (Photo: Representational Image) Muzaffarabad: Artillery fire and shelling from India targeted several villages and struck a passenger bus in PoK on Wednesday, killing 12 civilians and wounding more than a dozen others, the Pakistani military and officials said. Hours later, Pakistan's military said three soldiers, including an army captain, were killed while responding to the Indian attack. It said seven Indian soldiers were also "killed in retaliatory fire" but there was no confirmation on the casualties from India. According to Deputy Commissioner Waheed Khan, an artillery shell hit a passenger bus in the scenic Neelum Valley in the Pakistani part of Kashmir, killing 10 people - three died on the scene and seven later, at a hospital. Another two civilians died when a mortar shell hit their house in the Nakyal sector in Kotli district, said police official Waseem Khan. The shelling sent residents fleeing in panic, he said. At least 15 people were also wounded in the bus strike and elsewhere in Wednesday's attacks. Sardar Masood Khan, the president of the Pakistani-governed part of Kashmir, denounced "India's aggression" in a statement and appealed to the international community to take notice of India's cease-fire violations in Kashmir. He also urged the United Nations Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan, or UNMOGIP, to "investigate these incidents and assign responsibility for these violations of ceasefire." Earlier, an army statement said Pakistani troops were firing back on Indian military positions. The statement also said that an ambulance, which had rushed the scene of the attack, was fired upon by India. Pakistani security officials said Wednesday's fire forced Pakistani villagers with their families to take to field bunkers, built years ago for such attacks. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak. In India, army spokesman Col. Nitin Joshi said an intense exchange of fire was underway between the two sides. Wednesday's escalation came a day after an Indian army spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia said the attackers mutilated the body of one soldier in the Machil sector near LoC. He did not specify if the attack was carried out by Pakistani soldiers or rebels fighting since 1989 against Indian rule in the region. Reports of the soldier's mutilation have inflamed sentiments, which likely contributed to the retaliatory exchanges. In the past, the Indian military has blamed a combination of the Pakistani army's border action team and militants for carrying out operations along the Line of Control. Deadly exchanges of fire in LoC have intensified in recent weeks. Tensions have escalated since militants attacked an Indian army base in Kashmir in September. India said the militants were supported by Pakistan, charges denied by Islamabad. Both sides accuse the other of initiating the firing along the volatile boundary. So far this week, at least 18 people, civilians and soldiers, have been killed on both sides. Last week, Pakistani army claimed to have shot down a small Indian drone in PoK, a day after the Pakistani navy claimed it had intercepted Indian submarines entering the country's territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. Aziz also said that to counter India's 'propaganda campaign' on Kashmir, a media strategy was being designed. Islamabad: Pakistan has set up a high-level committee to formulate "a doable and sustainable" policy to highlight the Kashmir issue globally and is reaching out to Indians who are opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "extremist policies", according to a media report today. The move was announced by Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in Senate on Tuesday, according to Dawn newspaper. The committee will consist of senior officials from the ministries of defence, interior and information, Military Operations Directorate, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB). Speaking about the status of the implementation of policy guidelines, Aziz said the committee was headed by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and could co-opt other members if required. Aziz said that another committee, chaired by the information secretary, had been formed to prepare fact sheets "to counter India's propaganda campaign and design a media strategy to continuously highlight the Kashmiri freedom struggle". This committee also includes representatives from the ministries of defence, foreign affairs and information technology, as well as members of the Military Operations Directorate, ISI and IB. Aziz said that the Ministry of Information Technology had been asked to prepare a comprehensive strategy to highlight the Kashmir issue via social media. He said that "steps were being taken to highlight Indian interference in Pakistan's internal affairs, as well as its support for subversive activities and human rights violations in held Kashmir", the report said. Aziz said that steps were already being taken to reach out to segments of the Indian public that were opposed to Modi's extremist policies. "Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies," he remarked. Talking about measures to counter India's efforts to isolate Pakistan in the region, Aziz said Pakistan was doing its utmost to engage the international community, including regional partners. He said Pakistan was supportive of all initiatives for peace and stability in the region, adding that this commitment to regional peace and stability was evident from the decision to participate in the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, despite the postponement of SAARC summit in Islamabad because of India. Pakistan's nuclear doctrine, he said, was clearly spelt out and due restraint was being exercised. "Pakistan continues to exhibit maturity and statesmanship despite provocative statements by Indian leadership and the continued ceasefire violations across the LoC and working boundary having resulted in civilian casualties," he said. He said there was a need for a positive response from India to move forward. He said that while Pakistan always conveyed a desire to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, India had chosen to attach conditions to the talks. The briefing was held in the backdrop of the recent meeting of the NSG held in Vienna on November 11. India has secured the backing of the US and majority of the NSG members based on its non-proliferation record. (Photo: AP) Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday briefed a select group of ambassadors from the countries within the Nuclear Suppliers Group, seeking their support for its membership of the elite nuclear club. Pakistan's Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi briefed the ambassadors, the Foreign Office said in a statement. The briefing was held in the backdrop of the recent meeting of the NSG held in Vienna on November 11 that deliberated upon the membership applications filed by two non-NPT countries, it said. The ambassadors invited to the briefing belong to the group of like-minded countries within the NSG, which stand for a non-discriminatory, criteria-based approach on the extension of membership to countries which are not signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), it said. The Special Assistant appreciated the principled stance taken by these countries on an issue which carried great significance for the global non-proliferation efforts, as well as for strategic stability in South Asia, the statement said. He expressed hope that these countries will stand firm and resist any attempts to create yet another exemption on the membership issue that would deal a blow to the credibility of the Group. Fatemi also highlighted Pakistan?s strong credentials for the NSG membership which include extensive measures in the domain of export controls and nuclear safety and security as well as Pakistan's strong commitment to the objective of non-proliferation. by Sumon Corraya Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Hundreds of Christians and Muslims took to the streets in Dhaka demonstrating against the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar. Yesterday, protesters gathered in front of the National Press Club, and criticized the decision of the Bangladesh government to tighten border controls and to refuse hospitality to persecuted Muslims fleeing Myanmar, victims of a genocide. Protesters are complaining about the silence on the part of the major international institutions - in particular the United Nations - on the new wave of repression that hit the Muslim minority. The Rohingyas (just over a million people) are from Bangladesh and Myanmar does not recognize their citizenship. The members of this ethnic group live in refugee camps in several parts of the country and recently the European Parliament has sided in their defense, speaking of "systematic repression." Secretary General of the Islamic group Khalaphot Muslish, Ahymed Abdul Kader, says: "The Burmese government are horrifically oppressing our Muslim brothers and sisters. It is a genocide and ethnic repression. They are innocent. The UN and the whole world should protest against the killing of Rohingya ". The Muslim leader also criticizes the choice of Dhaka to reject the refugees who flock to the border. In recent days, the Border and the coastal Guard blocked at least 400 people. Minister of the Interior, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, said that agents were instructed to prevent any illegal immigration, because the "migration of Rohingyas is an unpleasant issue for Bangladesh". Kader makes an appeal: "I humbly ask the government to accept refugees, and save their lives. All people are entitled to live safely, we cannot accept these killings. " The Islamic leader also denounced the oppression of Santal Christians and attempts to confiscate their lands. Msgr. Gervas Rozario, president of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, believes that the Myanmar police are "persecuting Muslims in the name of fighting terrorism. But the government is responsible for a crime against humanity. " The Bishop of Rajshahi condemns "the persecution. They have no right to kill and expel the Rohingya ". At the same time, the government of Bangladesh "should ensure the security of minorities. All people, including those of different faith, have the right to live together in this country in a peaceful manner. " by P. Samir Youssef In a letter Fr. Samir Youssef describes the situation of refugees, exiled from their home for more than two years. They are closely following the offensive to retake Mosul, although their homes and churches "are for the most part" burned or destroyed. With the arrival of winter there is a serve lack of heating oil, clothes, food and money to pay for their childrens school bus. An appeal to continue to support the AsiaNews campaign. Amadiya (AsiaNews) "An atmosphere of expectation" permeates Mosuls refugees as they wait to see how the battle against the Islamic State (IS) will end. Iraqi troops "are advancing" and the plain "is almost entirely liberated," although "the churches are largely burned" and "many houses destroyed." This is what Fr. Samir Youssef, pastor of the diocese of Amadiya (Kurdistan), writes in a letter sent to AsiaNews. His parish hosts 3,500 displaced families Christians, Muslims, Yazidis who fled their homes and their lands to escape the jihadists. The priest has been on the frontline in helping these people since the summer of 2014, when the emergency began. With this letter we want to relaunch the campaign "Adopt a Christian from Mosul" as we approach Christmas. "Just as with the earthquakes in Italy" says the priest, "we too will need to rebuild and put everything back in place." Since the offensive was launched on 17 October by the army and Kurdish Peshmerga a new front has opened up in the emergency: that of people fleeing from the areas liberated from the jihadist presence, with "very touching stories, that bring people to tears, about how the civilian population was treated, especially women". Speaking of refugees, Fr. Samir says that "without the help of AsiaNews and other friends, the situation could become very difficult indeed." The local Church responds almost entirely to the needs not only of Christians, but also of the Yazidi and Muslim refugees. Women and children are forced to wear "the only clothes they have" which are from "last year." And then there is the cost of tickets and passes to ensure the transportation of children to school. Finally, oil for heating. Many needs which the priest is struggling to meet so these people can cope "until this crisis is over. Your help in the campaign "Adopt a Christian from Mosul" is more essential than ever to ensure the survival of refugees. Here, the words of Fr. Samir: Dear Fr. Bernardo Cervellera, dear readers of AsiaNews, First of all, I pray to the Lord that you are well. I wanted to write you to for some time to express my sympathy for the pain caused by the recent earthquakes [in central Italy] we followed the news reports closely even here [Iraqi Kurdistan], and they shocked us. We were really very concerned. Thank God the second, devastating quake caused no casualties although many homes have collapsed and the Basilica of St. Benedict in Norcia. However, we are confident that everything will be rebuilt: the Italian people are strong and love life, and comes together in times of crisis. For our part, we are living in great expectation, waiting to discover how the battles against the Islamic State (IS) will end. The Iraqi troops are advancing and are now close to the city of Mosul. The Nineveh Plain is almost entirely liberated, but unfortunately the churches are largely burned and many houses were destroyed. Even here, as for you with the earthquake, it will take a lot of work to rebuild and replace everything. The IS militiamen built many tunnels under the houses. Very upsetting stories emerge from the people from areas liberated from the jihadists near Mosul, it would make you cry to hear how the civilian population was treated, especially women. How so many people were killed, decapitated. How in every neighborhood a house was converted by the militiamen into a prison where the women were sex slaves of the militiamen. Several mass graves have been discovered, and in one of these the bodies of about 200 people were found. Among them were women and children. Only the Lord knows what else the Daesh jihadists did [Arabic acronym for the IS] in the city of Mosul. As for our refugees, I have to admit that without the help of AsiaNews and other friends, the situation is likely to become very difficult indeed. Christian families and Yazidis who are among us depend almost exclusively on the help of the local Church. We have many children in our care, and we have to send them to school. As happened in the previous year there are buses that take them to school, and we, as a Church, pay the cost of tickets and passes. All this, however, is dependent on the arrival of aid. Here, in Iraqi Kurdistan, the winter has already begun and many children and many women use the same, clothing as last year, the only clothes they have. Two weeks ago we bought some second hand clothes, but not enough for everyone and even the shoes are lacking. And then the kerosene for heating, essential to combat the cold that no humanitarian organization or government has yet offered. And the urgency is beginning to be felt. Lately the government has forced many NGOs to help people fleeing Mosul because of the war. Recently opened three new camps for Muslim refugees who fled in recent weeks. For more than three months 225 Yazidi families living here in Enishke did not receive food stamps or food supplies. We try every week to buy quantities of rice, oil, and distribute them. Without speaking of the families who, each month, need cash; my parish also pays rents of many houses that have been home to refugee families for over two years. Here every pastor has assumed this responsibility and we try as much as possible to help these people until this crisis is over. Dear father, dear readers of AsiaNews, I put all of these needs in your hands. I pray the Lord may help us and to help all of you to move forward, with everything going on around you. As soon as I can, hopefully in February, I will come to you in Italy. Fr. Samir Youssef by Marta Allevato A meeting with Card. Koch at Danilovsky Monastery in Moscow. Rebuilding churches and returning the religious life of Syria to normal. Unite the two anti-terrorism coalitions fighting in the Middle East. The Pope donates some relics of St. Francis of Assisi. A reception in the presence of Putin closes the celebrations for the birthday of the Orthodox Patriarch. Moscow (AsiaNews) - Three days of high-level meetings and celebrations concluded festivities yesterday, November 22 for the 70th anniversary of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill. The last event was a reception in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Belarusian Alexander Lukashenko. But one of the most significant events was the meeting between the Patriarch and Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who arrived in Moscow among the distinguished guests. The Orthodox Primate met him at his residence at the Danilovsky Monastery. In bilateral, in the presence of the newly appointed apostolic nuncio Msgr. Celestino Migliore, Kirill renewed the hope for further cooperation with the Holy See to restore peace in Syria. "We will continue to work with the Catholic Church of Rome, with its representatives, to do everything possible to end the suffering of the people and bring people to a peaceful life," he said. "I hope that the war will end soon and the issue of the reconstruction of Syria addressed," he said, noting that for Christians "it is also important that the churches are reconstructed and people can return to normal religious life." The Patriarch also denounced the inefficiency of the fight against terrorism, carried out in divided way: "There are two coalitions against terrorism, but only coordinated action to achieve concrete goals, can really defeat terrorism." For his birthday, the Orthodox primate received some relics of St Francis of Assisi from the Pope with a message of greeting. "Thanking you once again for the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov - wrote the Pope, according to reports from the Patriarchate of Moscow it pleases me to offer a part of the relics of St. Francis of Assisi, my heavenly protector." "May these two wonderful saints - added the pontiff - intercede for us with God so that we may work in a more cohesive way to achieve peace and complete unity. For I pray to Jesus". Putin also had a gift: an amber mosaic that represents the Holy Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius. "Over the past seven years (of the patriarchate), we have not created a perfect symphony, but we have built a support structure that helps gradually, brick by brick, to build the structure of a symphonic collaboration of the Church, the faithful people and the State, "said Kirill turning to the Russian state leaders present at the reception and recalling the Byzantine ideal of the relationship between church and state, the so-called 'symphony'. Putin also admitted a few days earlier that he does not always agree with the Patriarch but appreciate s his contribution to the dialogue between ethnic groups and religions in Russia. "May the Lord bless all our countries, all Rus' history, of which I am patriarch, all Slavic brothers, who now live in independent states, but who are nourished by a common historical source, sanctified in the waters of the Dnieper ", Kirill concluded his speech, with implicit reference to Ukraine, the cradle of ancient Rus' and Russian Orthodox Christianity, and whose representatives were not present yesterday in Moscow. The judges reject appeal filed by the lawyers of Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, convicted of crimes against humanity. Both will face a second trial for genocide. Rejected the requests related to procedural flaws and lack of impartiality of the first instance. Tribunal President: life imprisonment "is a just punishment." Phnom Penh (AsiaNews / Agencies) - This morning the United Nations sponsored tribunal - that judges crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the 70s - has confirmed the life sentence given at first instance against Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan. The two leaders of the bloody Maoist movement, which in less than a decade killed a quarter of the population (about two million people), are guilty of crimes against humanity. Both face a second trial for genocide. Nuon Chea, 90, better known as "Brother Number Two" and right-hand man of Pol Pot, is considered the ideologue of the regime. 85 year old Khieu Samphan, who held the post of head of state, represented the public face. According to the indictment, they developed the movement's policy and were accomplices in the brutalities committed over the years - from 1975 to 1979 - in power. The confirmation on appeal of life imprisonment is a severe blow to the hopes nourished so far by the two senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge. Both appealed against the first instance verdict, accusing the court of procedural errors and lack of impartiality of the judges, some of whom would have suffered the violence of the regime firsthand. After months of hearings, this morning the court issued the ruling on appeal, confirming the sentences of life imprisonment, while recognizing some procedural irregularities occurred in the past. For the president of the tribunal Kong Srim the two defendants have shown "a complete lack of concern" about the fate of the Cambodian population. He also defined the scope of their crimes "impressive". "Life imprisonment - concluded the judge - is the right sentence for both accused." The Special Court of Cambodia (known by the acronym ECCC) is a mixed court, made up of local and international judges, which has its headquarters outside the capital Phnom Penh. It combines elements of Cambodian and international law. In the past it has been the subject of controversy on charges of corruption, inefficiencies and delays in the processes and decisions, as evidenced by the story of "Comrade Duch". The (few) convictions of these years are seen as a feeble attempt to heal the wounds inflicted by the bloody Maoist movement and restore justice to the victims. However, critics point out that the UN Court struck only part of the symbols of the regime, but did not ensure true justice to the Cambodian people. Pol Pot died in 1998 due to illness and was never subject to trials or indictments for the atrocities committed under his command. In addition, many of the old officials of the second floor and old cadres of the Maoist movement are still free today and in many cases hold leading roles in the government. "They are a sign that we want to know God, Jesus, and the mystery of his love for us better and more deeply " but "doubts must also be overcome." Lack of education is a source of discrimination and thus of injustice . "The Church, over the centuries, has felt the need to engage in education because her mission of evangelization entails the commitment to restore dignity to the poor". Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Even the Pope has doubts about the faith, "many ... of course, we all sometimes have doubts." But "doubts in matters of faith, in a positive sense, are a sign that we want to know God, Jesus, and the mystery of his love for us better and more deeply ", however, doubts must also be overcome." Pope Francis spoke today about doubts in matters of faith at the general audience, dedicated, again, to the spiritual works of mercy, and in particular "two actions strongly linked to one another, counselling the doubtful, and teaching the ignorant." Eight thousand people were present in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. Francis, spoke of teaching and how a lack of education is a source of discrimination and injustice. He also recalled the Church's commitment to education. "The reflection on the spiritual works of mercy - his words - now encompasses two actions strongly linked to one another, counselling the doubtful, and teaching the ignorant so they may know. The word ignorant is too strong, no? But it means those who do not know something, and who you have to teach. They are works that can be carried forward on a simple dimension, familiar to everyone, and - especially the second, that of teaching - on a more, organized institutional level. Take, for example, how many children still suffer from illiteracy: this is incomprehensible that in a world where the technical, scientific progress, has reached so far, there are illiterate children. This is incomprehensible. It is an injustice. How many children suffer from lack of education. It is a great condition of injustice that affects the very dignity of the person. The uneducated then easily becomes prey to exploitation and various forms of social unrest. " "The Church, over the centuries, has felt the need to engage in education because her mission of evangelization entails the commitment to restore dignity to the poorest. The first example of a ''school was founded right here in Rome by St. Justin, in the second century so that Christians could know Sacred Scripture better, up to St. Joseph Calasanz, who opened the first free schools in Europe, we have a long list of saints who at various times brought education to the most disadvantaged, knowing that through this way they could overcome poverty and discrimination. How many Christians, lay people, consecrated brothers and sisters, priests who have given their lives in education, in the education of children and youth. This is great! I invite you to pay homage to them with a big round of applause! [Applause of the faithful] These educational pioneers had fully understood the work of mercy, and lived to transform society itself. Through a simple work and few structures they were able to restore dignity to so many people! And the education they gave was often oriented to work. Think of Don Bosco, Saint John Bosco. Just think of Don Bosco who with those street children, with the oratory and then with schools, offices, preparing them for jobs ... It is thus that many different professional schools have arisen, preparing for work while educating also to human and Christian values. Education, therefore, is really a peculiar form of evangelization. " "The more people are educated the more they acquire those certainties and awareness, that we all need in life. A good education teaches us the critical method, which also includes some forms of doubt, useful to pose questions and verify the results achieved, with a view to greater knowledge. But the work of mercy to counsel the doubters does not regard this type of doubt. Being merciful to doubters means soothing the pain and the suffering that comes from fear and distress that are consequences of doubt. It is therefore an act of true love which extends support to a person in their moment of weakness caused by uncertainty. I think someone might ask me: 'Father, I have many doubts about faith, what should I do? Do you never have any doubts? '. Eh ..., I have so many, eh! I have so many ... Of course, we all sometimes have doubts! The doubts in matters of faith, in a positive sense, are a sign that we want to know to God, Jesus, and the mystery of his love for us better and closer. 'But I have this doubt ... I am searching, studying, looking or asking for advice, how can I ...'. These doubts are growing ... It good to question our faith, because this way we are led to a deeper level. Doubts, however, must also be overcome. This is why it is important to listen to the Word of God, and understand what the Bible teaches us. Catechesis is important and helps us in this, in which the proclamation of faith comes to meet us into the reality of personal and community life. And there, at the same time, another equally important aid is to live the faith as much as possible. We should not make the faith an abstract theory where doubts multiply. Rather we should make our life, faith. We must try to practice it in the service of others, especially the neediest. So many doubts vanish, because we feel the presence of God and the truth of the Gospel love that, without our merit, dwells in us, and we share with others. " "As you can see, dear brothers and sisters, these two works of mercy are not far from our lives. Each of us can engage in living them to put the word of the Lord into practice when he says that the mystery of God is revealed not by the wise and intelligent, but the small (cf. Lk 10:21; Mt 11,25- 26). Therefore, the most profound teaching that we are called to transmit and the surest certainty out of doubt, is the love of God with which we have been loved (cf. 1 Jn 4:10). A great love, free and given forever. But, God never takes His love back, never! It goes on and on, it remains, is given for ever ... this love and we have the responsibility to bear witness to it offering mercy to our brothers and sisters". Francis met with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang. The meeting stressed the constant search for the most appropriate tools to advance bilateral relations as well as The collaboration between Church and State in various domains of local society. Vatican City (AsiaNews) Pope Francis met with the President of Vietnam, Tran Dai Quang, in a private audience on Wednesday, a statement from the Holy See Press Office announced. "During the cordial talks, the good relations between the Holy See and Vietnam were mentioned, supported by a common spirit of dialogue and the constant search for the most appropriate tools to advance them. The collaboration between Church and State in various domains of local society was highlighted. The Vietnamese president also met with Secretary of State Card Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Mgr Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States. This is not the first time that a Vietnamese president visits the Vatican. On 9 December, Pope Benedict XVI met with then President Nguyen Minh Triet. On that occasion, a Vatican statement noted that it was the first visit by a Vietnamese head of state to the Vatican, The communique read, The Holy See expressed its pleasure at the visit, a significant stage in the progress of bilateral relations with Vietnam, and expressed the hope that outstanding questions may be resolved as soon as possible. What is more, The cordial discussions provided an opportunity to touch upon certain themes concerning co-operation between Church and State. Todays visit comes after the Vietnamese parliament approved a new Law on beliefs and religions. Francis met in the small room in the Paul VI Hall with participants in a colloquium organised by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation. Vatican City (AsiaNews) Pope Francis before todays general audience spoke to participants of a colloquium organised by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation. In the meeting held in the small room next to the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father thanked them for their show of good will towards dialogue and expressed his appreciation for the visit. He also mentioned his great joy" when he met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in the Vatican, last 26 January. He also said that he had "very good impression" of the culture of this country when he met, always at the Vatican, Iran's vice president, Ms. Shahindokht Molaverdi, on 12 February 12 2015. "This impressed me positively, a lot, and I was satisfied. I like to see you here today, as well as this important dialogue. I ask you not to forget to pray for me, because I need prayers. Thank you for your good will towards dialogue, of coming closer, of brotherhood. May the Lord bless you. " Interreligious dialogue, seen as a way to fight the fundamentalist ideology by involving leaders of all faiths, was recently at the centre of the fourth Christian-Muslim Summit, held in Tehran from 6 to 9 November. The theme of the 2016 summit was "To respect and preserve human dignity, setting the stage for peace and global security." Prominent Christians (Catholic, Anglican, Protestant) and Muslims (Sunni and Shia) from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nigeria, the United States, the Vatican and Hong Kong attended the seminar, which was held previously in Washington (2010), Beirut (2011) and the Vatican (2014). by Su Kaiyi Born into a poor family, the famous composer has been Catholic since childhood. John Wu, who later became a cardinal in Hong Kong, was her parish priest. She blends classical and Aboriginal music, which is very useful for prayer. A cappella music is riding a new wave in Asia. Taipei (AsiaNews) Ms Su Kaiyi ( ), born in Taipei, has devoted herself to music since childhood. Now she has become an authority in Asian sacred music and among professional composers. At present, she works in the Commission for Liturgy - Church music section - of the Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference. Her parents were the first Catholics in her family. She spoke to AsiaNews about her story and mission in music. My mom met a Catholic priest and she converted. She had five children, but the family was poor because my dad got sick and died when I was three. My two older brothers got sick too and died very young. I studied in Catholic schools and my siblings and I were raised by the parish community because we were so poor and without a father. My older brother is the one who has definitely suffered the most our situation of poverty and constant adaptation. I am the fifth child; so for me things were not so hard because my older brothers always cared for me. Since childhood we took part in parish activities. We grew up with the parish priest and the families of the parish. My pastor was Father John Wu ( ). We are his adopted "children"; without him, our family would have had no future. He then went to Hong Kong and became cardinal. He died in September 2002. It was not easy. My mom was always busy at seasonal jobs, and had little time for us. I eventually began to study music. I liked music; I liked to do something different from my relatives. Because I was her daughter and my mum loved music but had not been able to realise her dream, I did it for her. This is another reason for my choice. Later, my interest turned towards sacred music, which led me to participate in many music competitions, fortunately with excellent results, which allowed me to make myself known. I must thank my teachers, who always inspired and supported me in my artistic growth. They realised that I had an interest in sacred music and encouraged me to cultivate this passion. Catholic schools have helped me Since I work for the Bishops' Conference and I have always been involved in Church life (and I am not married), many people naturally wonder whether I would become a nun. I thought about it, but I have concluded that it is not my vocation. Life took me elsewhere. The nuns and the men religious do a great job, and have an opportunity to network and develop a broad mission by integrating many people. But that's not my calling. I became the first person from the music academy of secondary school, and I followed that path by giving all of myself to this artistic mission. My musical pieces have come out little by little, in collaboration with various houses and with my friends in the music academy. For my parish priest, Fr John Wu, my first works provided great satisfaction. Along with him, Belgian missionary Fathers were the most influential in my life, especially Fr Willy Ollevier ( ) whom I met when he was still a seminarian. There were also two musician Fathers of considerable talent, who have shaped my training. If I have to thank institutions or people, I would definitely begin with the schools that trained me during my adolescence. Playing music and composing it are something very inspiring, and I owe to them the chance to follow this path. As for me and my classmates, school allowed us to express ourselves. The language of religion and art are very intense. I also believe that Catholic schools have something extra. I do not know if it was our Catholic education or other factors, the fact is that our friends grew up healthy physically and spiritually. Music was our inspiration. The people who educated us inspired great values in us. I eventually went to Vienna to study at the Universitat fur Musik und darstellende Kunst, even though my teachers wanted me to go to the United States. But I stuck to my plan, and I have never regretted it. In Austria, I developed my musical sensibility and for me it was the best choice, because that training set the structure on which I grew even more, artistically and religiously. The music in the liturgy As for our current work in the commission of the Bishops Conference, we know there is a lot to do. As usual there are few resources, but we can do a great deal despite limits. There is really a lot of people working together and there is a great room for improvement and great openness for renewal. You have to know how to get around: sometimes the ways of proceeding of the Catholic Church and those of developing artistic production are different. It is not always easy to communicate, but there are great talents that we can use and advertise. Taiwan has plenty of musicians, and many great talents in sacred music. We also have a great tradition in Aboriginal music, which fits very well with religious hymn. We also published a book that has had great resonance among Catholics, but especially among Evangelicals, where a large number of young talents are nurtured. Despite the rigidity of some liturgical structures, there are many possibilities for artistic adaptation even in the Catholic community. When I was studying in Austria, I realised that there were two approaches. The first starts with a liturgical sensitivity whilst the second is linked to the canonical structure. The liturgical sensibility is very adaptable and careful about emotions. I am very emotional, and I can easily cry, moved by the compositions of young musicians. Currently, there is this special wave of a cappella music in Taiwan. In my opinion, it is a very important movement, not only for those who already belong to the Christian community, but also for those who want to come closer to it. Although the Catholic Church often moves slowly, it possesses artistic forms that reach deep into people's feelings. In the rest of Asia, there is movement towards and interest in a cappella music. I think it's a great blessing and a great opportunity. Christmas inspiration As for my compositions, my first two works are connected to Christmas. The first composition of 1988 is a Meditation on the Nativity ( ), and the second, completed in 1997, relates the birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, entitled Composition about Christmas ( ). They are repeatedly performed in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and this shows that music is a great tool for community and evangelisation. Holy Family Parish in Taipei has a large network of artists and a capacity for "artistic marketing". It is coming up with things appreciated for community building. Working with the artists in Taiwans Hakka and Aboriginal communities is another example. There are rich liturgies in different languages, and many people working in this mission. For this, we must be grateful. Things seem obvious but they are not. Many details are important; for example, does the Ave Maria make sense in various translations? Here we see the strength of artistic language. Here is just one small example. In one famous traditional liturgical piece of music we sing, "Mariati we ask . . .". From a grammatical point of view, we expect a direct object. This is followed by a musical passage that breaks the sentence and we no longer understand the meaning. The musical tempo and the grammatical structure diverge. But this is also the sense of music and art, which sometimes go beyond logical structures, and we understand the connection only in a broader context. What is my future? I think my future will be in writing music. I have always believed in this mission. Although it is often not easy, art makes me feel God is always on our side. I want to strengthen our marketing channels. Working on the inside, I am aware of the needs of the Church, and I believe in this mission. I would say that 'for me every day is Sunday': I live in a world linked to liturgy and music that develop within it. First of all, I talk to God and thank him. I believe that without his blessing we could not go anywhere. (Xin Yage contributed to this article) The new legislation was approved by 85% of lawmakers. It will come into effect on 1st January 2017. Since it was first proposed in April 2015, the bill was redrafted seven times. The Catholic Church and human rights activists have stressed that it still violates religious freedom and could lead to social unrest. Hanoi (AsiaNews/EDA) Vietnams National Assembly passed a new Law on the beliefs and religions. The final vote took place on 18 November. After going through seven drafts, 417 members out of 439 (84.7 per cent) voted in favour of the new legislation, which is set to come into force on 1st January 2017. For now, religious groups have not commented the laws adoption. The latter includes nine sections and 68 articles. However, several official newspapers, like Nhan Dan (The People), presented the law in great detail but without expressing critical commentaries. According to some journalists, several lawmakers deem as "useless and irrelevant" a number of articles dealing with religious activities involving foreign nationals. Since it was founded, the Vietnamese Communist Party has published several texts expressing its views on how to regulate religion. The first publications were mimeographed leaflets written by the Workers Party (when it was still illegal). The first official regulation dates back to 1956 and was signed by Ho Chi Minh. A facade of liberalism was followed by the policy of oppression that characterised the attitude of the Party towards religion, in particular Catholicism. The second major regulation was Decree 297/CP of 1977. Signed by the Prime Minister of the time, it served as the basis of legislation on religions for a long time. A series of lesser decrees followed until 2004 when the Ordinance on Beliefs and Religions was adopted. The fact that this regulation was approved by parliament gave it greater legitimacy to what existed previously, at least superficially. The process that led to newest piece of legislation began on 22 April 2015 when the Office of Religious Affairs sent a copy of the fourth version of the hitherto unknown draft bill to religious groups. In the following weeks, Caodaist and Catholic leaders strongly criticised the proposal, describing it as a form of imprisonment of religions. Still the National Assembly decided to go ahead. The bill resurfaced last August, when a new version was sent to religious communities, who were given less than two weeks to submit any suggestions for change. In a lengthy letter, the Bishops' Conference highlighted the progress the bill contained as well as its drawbacks. Under the new law, the Catholic Church will be recognised as a legal entity and will be able to open educational institutions; at the same time however, the State does not provide for building new churches and maintains stifling rules on religious activities. According to several human rights activists, the law still contains too many violations of religious freedom and is likely to lead to more social unrest. Photo caption: Show me the money. (EPA/Jagadeesh NV) By Devjyot Ghoshal, Special to The Post Nearly two weeks later, India is still deeply divided over Narendra Modis radical move to pull out the Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes from circulation. The inconvenience and pain of demonetisation have been evident: People have died in long queues outside banks, the informal economy is at a near standstill, and money is in short supply. Much of this is a manifestation of shoddy implementation and questions are being raised over what all this is worth. The governments argument has been straightforward: By taking two of Indias biggest currency denominations out of circulation, it hopes to be able to clamp down on black money, thereby curbing corruption, improving tax compliance, and choking terror-funding. Yet, even one of the worlds leading authorities on demonetisation isnt quite sure of how Modis massive gamble will play out. Kenneth Rogoff, professor of public policy and economics at Harvard University, whose 2016 book The Curse of Cash makes a case for partly phasing out paper money, explained in a blogpost late last week: Will Modis plan work? Despite apparent huge holes in the planning (for example, the new notes India is printing are a different size and do not fit the ATM machines), many economists feel it could still have large positive effects in the long-run, shaking up the corruption, tax evasion, and crime that has long crippled the country. But the long-run gains depend on implementation, and it could take years to know how history will view this unprecedented move. The short run costs are unfolding, but the long-run effects on India may well prove more than worth them, but it is very hard to know for sure at this stage. Rogoffs main thesis in The Curse of Cashsomewhat mirroring the Modi governments argumentis that much of the physical currency in a country, particularly high denomination notes, is held in the underground economy, which fuels tax evasion and crimes of all kinds. However, there are key differences between Rogoffs proposals and the process underway in India. For one, his plan isnt aimed at developing countries like India where a massive proportion of people do not have proper access to the formal banking system. Neither is Rogoff a votary of phasing out notes overnight, which is how India went about it. First, I argue for a very gradual phase-out, in which citizens would have up to seven years to exchange their currency, but with the exchange made less convenient over time. This is the standard approach in currency exchanges, he wrote. Second, Rogoff added, my approach eliminates large notes entirely. Instead of eliminating the large notes, India is exchanging them for new ones, and also introducing a larger, 2000-rupee note, which is also being given in exchange for the old notes. Nonetheless, even replacing them has benefits similar to entirely eliminating large denomination notes. Anyone turning in large amounts of cash still becomes very vulnerable to legal and tax authorities. Indeed, that is Modis idea, Rogoff explained. And criminals have to worry that if the government has done this once, it can do it again, making large notes less desirable and less liquid. Devjyot Ghoshal (@devjyotghoshal) is a roving editor with Quartz India, our partnership with Scroll. Prior to joining in 2014, he spent a year at the Columbia Journalism School as a Fulbright scholar. He cut his teeth with Business Standard, an Indian financial daily, in its Delhi, Kolkata, and Singapore offices, where he worked as a staff reporter and Southeast Asia correspondent. This piece was originally appeared in Quartz (qz.com). See http://qz.com/842168/kenneth-rogoff-harvard-economist-and-global-expert-on-demonetisation-has-no-idea-how-it-will-play-out-in-india/ What Does Your Girlfriend's Expensive Gift Mean? So She Bought You An Expensive Gift - Here's What It Really Means The Dating Nerd is a shadowy figure whose whereabouts and identifying details remain unknown. What we do know is that he is really, really good at dating. He's been on more dates than you can shake a lengthy bar tab at, and he's here to help the average guy step his dating game up a notch - or several. Need his help? Email [email protected]. The Question Hi Dating Nerd, My girlfriend bought me a watch. Its super nice, but I dont know what this means and I feel under pressure to do something in return. What do I do? - A lucky boyfriend The Answer Well, clearly, the first thing you do is humblebrag about it on the Internet by writing an open letter to an advice column about your shiny new luxury timekeeping device. Dear Dating Nerd, what do I do about the fact that my hot girlfriend just put a thousand bucks worth of finely tuned Swiss bling on my wrist? Very concerned about the fact that this might mean Im a great boyfriend / amazing in the sack, RSVP. But seriously, its a fair question that is, unless the watch was purchased by your girlfriends personal assistant, who constantly struggles to hear your girlfriends words over the sound of a money faucet loudly spewing money all over the place. If buying you a gift doesnt represent any particular financial effort, giving it to you probably isnt a form of significant personal effort. Enjoy making out with your expensively exfoliated partners face without stress. Lets assume, however, that your girlfriend is not Lindsay Lohan, desperately purchasing affection with the remains of a massive fortune. Lets assume that buying you a watch was a significant dent in her checking account that it represents hours of labor, during which she dutifully suffered idiots so she could get the sweet sweet ducats she spent on you. Well, then, heres what you shouldnt do. Firstly, dont immediately Google the watch, find out exactly how much it cost, then buy her a necklace of equivalent price. First of all, she didnt buy you a watch so she could earn credits at the Guilty Boyfriend Store. Secondly, unless youre a woman, you basically need a supercomputer to calculate the subtleties of taste involved in buying womens jewelry. Whatever you buy her, shell either think its tacky or not tacky enough. You will screw this up. Secondly, do consider what her motives are. And, honestly, this seems obvious. Probably she bought you that watch because she likes you a lot, or flat-out loves you, and she thinks, or hopes, that your relationship is real. By real, I dont mean physically manifest or most likely continuing until next week. What I mean is, are you bullshitting? Is your plan stay together until someone better comes along? Are you constantly having ambiguous Facebook conversations with attractive female acquaintances? Are you in this, to the point where you would take a bullet, or, worse, take a baby shower? Dont feel bad if the answer to that last question is no. For most people, in most relationships, the answer is no. Most people are dating out of convenience just kind of clinging onto someone pretty who provides better company than a mirror or a Twitter feed. And theres nothing wrong with that. Were social animals. But do feel bad if youre getting increasingly clear signs that shes telling her mom that shes really found someone great this time, that youre not like all the other guys, when you are, in fact, exactly like the other guys when you like having her around okay, but you will absolutely leave her for a shot at cuter or younger at the very first opportunity. A gift like this is a sign that those meaningful mom conversations are taking place. Its not a legally binding contract its not explicitly a test but it is a strong signal that shes Into It, that shes Chosen You. See, the great thing about money is that you cant fake it. If youre a reasonably confident person, you can fake affection, at the cost of the modest caloric output required to give a back rub. Giving thoughtful compliments only requires a modicum of brainpower. Making a woman handmade pasta is a lovely gesture, but shes probably dimly aware that youve pulled this exact move on someone before. But you cant pretend buy somebody their favorite Premier Cru burgundy, or pretend book them a flight to Peru. This isnt a make-believe gesture so, in her mind, this isnt a make-believe relationship. If you agree with her, congratulations. Im glad youre on the same page. The first thing you should do is Instagram the fuck out of your new timepiece. Seriously. The most touching compliment you can give someone youre dating in this age where every single person is constantly projecting their sexual viability with social media is being a total dork about your relationship in public as much as possible. Im talking nauseating couple selfies, status updates about how lucky you are, whatever. Maybe you dont treasure this idea maybe your social media brand is unsentimental status updates about how society is falling apart, combined with occasional YouTube videos of Radiohead. I dont care. This isnt for you, its for her. Then, just treat your relationship like anything you really care about. Take pains. Actually listen when she talks. Dont whine if youre horny but shes not in the mood. And while, again, you shouldnt immediately buy her a random present just to prove that you, too, can operate a credit card, you also shouldnt rule out buying her gifts as well. If youre passing by a florist and she says something about how she loves their bouquets, shes dropping a hint, stupid. If, however, you are bullshitting, take this watch as a warning. Get out now. And give her the watch back. Dont offer to give her the watch back mail it back to her, in a nice box, with an apology. Because if you dont break up now, you might find yourself breaking up with her at your sisters wedding, or after Thanksgiving dinner, or on the night of her birthday, which shes spending alone with you at one of your favorite restaurants because theres nobody shed rather hang out with. That would be sad. I assume that youre better than that. So is she. Experts Reveal Why Some Women Are Louder Than Others During Sex Trending News: Loud Moaning In Bed Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means Long Story Short Researchers have explored why some women make more noise than others during sex and have revealed ulterior motives for cries of apparent ecstasy. Long Story We all think we know what good sex sounds like, and its a cacophony of moans and shrieks of uncontrollable euphoria. Or at least thats what Hollywood has taught us to believe. But in reality, there may be quite a different reason why some women make a lot of noise during sex. Its not so much that youre a love god, its more that she wants you to feel like one. In a 2011 study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior by Gayle Brewer of University of Central Lancashire and Colin Hendrie of the University of Leeds, 71 women between 18 and 38 were quizzed about the noises they make in the bedroom. It emerged that 66% of women made sounds to speed up their partners climax (so, effectively through boredom) while a whopping 87% admitted their screams of passion were an attempt to boost their partners self-esteem. The study of "copulatory vocalization," to use its technical name, has suggested that women making noise during sex is either for the benefit of their partners or due to a conscious or unconscious pressure from the images they see on TV. In fact, rather than being a sign youre hitting all the right places, moaning may indicate that youre doing quite the opposite. Kristen Mark, a sexuality researcher at Indiana University, told CNN: Were bombarded with images through mainstream media that tell us moaning is associated with orgasm and sexual pleasure. So it would be a fairly wise faking strategy to moan since men already tend to associate moaning with orgasm. Alas, the field of copulatory vocalization studies doesnt get the funding it deserves, so theres still a lot to learn about the phenomenon, but experts have stressed that if men need to hear cries of pleasure to feel comfortable, so do women. So even if both of you are putting on an Oscar-worthy (or at least porn-worthy) performance, faking it may be the best option. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question Is there really a way to tell if she's faking? Drop This Fact A recent study by Cosmopolitan found that only 57% of women usually have orgasms with their partner and 67% of women have faked an orgasm. 7-Eleven calls on ABC to share its cash back evidence Convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, has requested the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to share information that it has reported in new allegations of wage underpayments by a 7-Eleven franchisee. Earlier this week, the ABC reported that a franchised Brisbane 7-Eleven was paying its employees the correct minimum wage but then asking the employees to return up the half of their pay, claiming they could not afford to pay the full rate. 7-Eleven has since responded to the payback allegations saying it is appalled and has requested the ABC provide information to help 7-Eleven internal investigations on the matter. Chief Executive Officer of 7-Eleven Australia, Angus McKay, said there should be no doubt 7-Eleven has a zero tolerance of wage fraud. We have aggressively investigated the claims since they were shared with us last week, McKay said. If they are proven, we will act upon any illegal Franchisee activity, up to and including termination of their Franchise Agreement. Until they are proven or otherwise, it is unfair to jump to conclusions, he said. 7-Eleven said the former employee involved in the ABC investigation has declined several invitations to come forward and discuss the matter with 7-Eleven. 7-Eleven also said no staff members have raised concerns about the store before or during their own investigation. The convenience chain has been under pressure since September 2015 when an ABC-Fairfax investigation alleged widespread employee underpayment across its franchised stores. Official investigation and payback efforts have been occurring since then with a new Chief Executive Officer (Angus McKay) being appointed in March 2016. Related articles 7-Eleven wage repayment program launched 7-Eleven Australias new CEO announced Can 7-Eleven revive itself with a new franchise model? 7-Eleven Chairman and CEO quit, convenience chain counter walk-outs 7-Eleven responds to employee underpayment claims The A2 Milk Companys transformational 12 months pays off The A2 Milk Company this week announced it has already brought in AUD $148 million of revenue for the first four months of its 2017 financial year. This is an increase of 96 per cent on the first four months of its 2016 financial year. Reflecting on the success of the A2 Milk Company at its Annual General Meeting held in Australia this week, Chairman David Hearn said the past year has ben truly transformational for The A2 Milk Company. Transformation is often an overused word, but in this case it represents quite possibly an understatement, Hearn said. The past 12 months have seen quantum shifts in market presence, in consumer awareness, in revenues and, ultimately, in earnings. And its worth noting that if we go back only two years ago the Company today bears little resemblance to the business then, he said. A2 Milk Company goes far beyond Australia Hearn said the A2 Milk Company began its 2016 financial year mainly focusing on the Australian market. He said although its position as an infant formula producer was encouraging, the company was still in an undeveloped position. A year later things have changed dramatically for the A2 Milk Company. For the A2 Milk Companys 2016 financial year, its infant formula group revenue was NZ $214.4 million. This is a significant jump on the NZ $41.7 million revenue infant formula brought in for the A2 Milk Company in its 2015 financial year. During the companys 2016 financial year, infant formula accounted for 61 per cent of the A2 Milk Companys group revenue. The A2 Milk Company attributes the growing success of its infant formula in China to the established reputation of the A2 brand in Australia and a growing awareness of the possible benefits of consuming dairy products only with the A2 protein. The outstanding progress of the business over the past year has also transformed our financial position, with earnings and cash flow considerably in excess of our expectations at the start of the year, Hearn said at the annual meeting. As foreshadowed, provided that these positive trends continue and also provided that there is no need for substantial additional capital expenditure, the Board currently expects to adopt a dividend policy following the competition of this financial year, he said. Related articles A2 Milk Company and Synlait enter into new infant formula deal A2 Milk jump in profit forecast Infant formula driving record results for A2 Milk Company A2 Milk Company chases after Chinese baby formula boom A2 Milk rejects takeover by Freedom Foods and Dean Foods consortium Top 7 reasons why Australia rejects imported foods at the border Stuart Grant speaking at FoodLegal's symposium in Sydney this week. The Assistant Director of Australias Imported Food section, Mr Stuart Grant, has revealed why many food imports are being rejected. Mr Grant, from the Federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, was speaking to a large food industry audience in Sydney yesterday at a symposium for imports and exports organised by FoodLegal, which is an Australian law firm which specialises in food product compliance and food industry laws. Mr Grant broke down the following areas of non-compliance with Australian laws that resulted in imported food being denied entry into Australia. Labelling issues (71.8 percent) This is by far the largest area of non-compliance. The most common issues are labels that omit importer details, nutrition information, a complete ingredients list, a lot code, or an origin declaration. Labelling requirements are set out in the Australian New Zealand Food Standards Code (ANZFSC). Microbiological issues (8.8 percent) Food rejected under this category has been tested for microbiological contaminants including E. coli, salmonella, listeria monocytogenes, and bacillus cereus. Food contaminants (7.8 percent) These foods have been tested for, and were found to contain traces of, contaminants. The most common contaminants include iodine in seaweed, hydrocyanic acid in cassava chips, and aflatoxins in nuts. Composition label assessment (5.2 percent) Food in this category has been rejected because the label of the food indicates that the product contains additives or ingredients that are not permitted under the ANZFSC. Presence of unsafe chemicals (4.3 percent) Food can be tested upon entry to Australia for the presence of dangerous chemicals such as certain pesticides, fluoroquinolones, and chemicals that are prohibited under the fruit and vegetable residue screen. Composition analytical (1.4 percent) These foods have undergone analytical testing, which has found issues with the composition of the food including the presence of allergens, adulteration or moisture. BSE certificate (0.7 percent) Food containing beef must be accompanied by a Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) certificate which recognises that the food complies with Australias BSE policy. Food in this category has been rejected because a BSE certificate has not been produced. The above figures were based on a six-month period of inspections from July 2015 December 2015 by the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. Of the food inspected during this time, 98.6 percent was compliant with Australian laws and standards. TPP downfall will hit Australian sugar US President-Elect, Donald Trump, has announced America will leave the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on day one of his presidency. As part of a video released yesterday by Trump, he described the TPP as a potential disaster for the USA. Instead of America being a part of the TPP, Trump said he will negotiate fair and bilateral trade deals which bring jobs and industry back on American shores. One of the bilateral trade deals currently being discussed will be with the United Kingdom. Multiple times throughout his election campaign, Trump said America would be leaving the TPP if he was elected. The TPP international fair trade agreement, between 12 countries, including Australia, was finalised in October 2015 after negotiations began in 2010. One of the sticking points of TPP involving Australia was Australias access to the US large sugar market, with the Australian sugar industry pushing hard to export more Australian sugar into America. The outcome of those negotiations of the proposed TPP was that Australia would have been allowed to export an extra 65, 000 tonnes of sugar into the US annually. Related articles Australian agribusiness export concern on Trump election Australias entry into Trans Pacific Partnership and what it means for the food industry Trump brand damage concern: Donald Trump lesson exposed Updated FSANZ Safe Food Australia guide now available Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has released the third edition of Safe Food Australia. Safe Food Australia is a guide to the food safety standards in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. FSANZ Chief Executive Officer, Steve McCutcheon, said Safe Food Australia is used by government agencies responsible for enforcing food standards. Businesses may also find it offers guidance that will help them to comply with the standards. The new edition includes updated evidence and information to address current food safety issues and trends. It also provides new guidance for mobile, temporary and home-based vendors, McCutcheon said. It is now available as a searchable online document to help readers quickly and easily access the information they are looking for, he said. Related articles FSANZ releases plain language allergen labelling report FSANZ calls for submissions on chemical migration from food packaging FSANZ launches template for food recall plans FSANZ releases nanotechnology reports LINK to FSANZ Safe Food Australia Guide Free newsletter Subscribe to our FREE newsletter service and well keep you up-to-date with the latest breaking news, cutting edge opinion, and expert analysis affecting both your business and the industry as whole. Please enter your email address below and click on Sign Up for daily newsletters from Australasian Lawyer. By Tama Leaver, Associate Professor in Internet Studies, Curtin University Facebook screenshot The accidental death of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and millions of other Facebook users is a timely reminder of what happens to our online content once we do pass away. Earlier this month, Zuckerbergs Facebook profile displayed a banner which read: We hope the people who love Mark will find comfort in the things others share to remember and celebrate his life. Similar banners populated profiles across the social network. After a few hours of users finding family members, friends and themselves(!) unexpectedly declared dead, Facebook realised its widespread error. It resurrected those effected, and shelved the offending posthumous pronouncements. For many of the 1.8-billion users of the popular social media platform, it was a powerful reminder that Facebook is an increasingly vast digital graveyard. Its also a reminder for all social media users to consider how they want their profiles, presences and photos managed after they pass away. The legal uncertainty of digital assets Your material goods are usually dealt with by an executor after you pass away. But what about your digital assets media profiles, photos, videos, messages and other media? Most national laws do not specifically address digital material. As most social networks and online platforms are headquartered in the US, they tend to have terms of use which fiercely protect the rights of individual users, even after they have died. Requests to access the accounts of deceased loved ones, even by their executors, are routinely denied on privacy grounds. While most social networks, including Facebook, explicitly state you cannot let another person know or log in with your password, for a time leaving a list of your passwords for your executor seemed the only easy way to allow someone to clean up and curate your digital presence after death. Five years ago, as the question of death on social media started to gain interest, this legal uncertainty led to an explosion of startups and services that offered solutions from storing passwords for loved ones, to leaving messages and material to be sent posthumously. But as with so many startups, many of these services have stagnated or disappeared altogether. Dealing with death mkhmarketing/Flickr Public tussles with grieving parents and loved ones over access to deceased accounts have led most big social media platforms to develop their own processes for dealing with digital death. Facebook now allows users to designate a legacy contact who, after your death, can change certain elements of a memorialised account. This includes managing new friend requests, changing profile pictures and pinning a notification post about your death. But neither a legacy contact, nor anyone else, can delete older material from your profile. That remains visible forever to whoever could see it before you die. The only other option is to leave specific instructions for your legacy contact to delete your profile in its entirety. Instagram, owned by Facebook, allows family members to request deletion or (by default) locks the account into a memorialised state. This respects existing privacy settings and prevents anyone logging into that account or changing it in the future. Twitter will allow verified family members to request the deletion of a deceased persons account. It will never allow anyone to access it posthumously. LinkedIn is very similar to Twitter and also allows family members to request the deletion of an account. Googles approach to death is decidedly more complicated, with most posthumous options being managed by the not very well known Google Inactive Account Manager. This tool allows a Google user assign the data from specific Google tools (such as Gmail, YouTube and Google Photos) to either be deleted or sent to a specific contact person after a specified period of inactivity. The minimum period of inactivity that a user can assign is three months, with a warning one month before the specified actions take place. But as anyone who has ever managed an estate would know, three months is an absurdly long time to wait to access important information, including essential documents that might be stored in Gmail or Google Drive. If, like most people, the user did not have the Inactive Account Manager turned on, Google requires a court order issued in the United States before it will consider any other requests for data or deletion of a deceased persons account. Planning for your digital death The advice (above) is for just a few of the more popular social media platforms. There are many more online places where people will have accounts and profiles that may also need to be dealt with after a persons death. Currently, the laws in Australia and globally have not kept pace with the rapid digitisation of assets, media and identities. Just as its very difficult to legally pass on a Kindle library or iTunes music collection, the question of what happens to digital assets on social media is unclear to most people. As platforms make tools available, it is important to take note and activate these where they meet (even partially) user needs. Equally, wills and estates should have specific instructions about how digital material photos, videos, messages, posts and memories should ideally be managed. With any luck the law will catch up by the time these wills get read. Tama Leaver receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Originally published in The Conversation. The majority of people in Australia feel they belong in the country and see it as a land of opportunity where hard works brings a better life, according to the largest annual study of its kind.However, the Mapping Social Cohesion report that tracks attitudes on issues including immigration, multiculturalism, discrimination and politics, suggest those born abroad may be experiencing more negativity. Overall 91% feel they belong in Australia, 85% reckon they've had a happy year, 79% see Australia as a land of opportunity, 72% are satisfied with their financial position and 42% are confident their lives will be even better in three or four years' time.Report author, Professor Andrew Markus of Monash University pointed out that while Australia is overall a stable and cohesive society, some indicators show a negative trend. For example, reports of discrimination have risen sharply to the highest level recorded since the Scanlon Foundation began the study nine years ago.Indeed, one in five non-Anglo Australians born abroad reported discrimination in 2016. They spoke of verbal and sometimes physical abuse. Most encountered such behaviour only once or twice a year but for some it was a weekly occurrence. The place of discrimination for a third of the victims was the workplace where they felt themselves being denied jobs or promotion because of their background.And the 2016 survey also showed Australian neighbourhoods become a little less welcoming to people from different national or ethnic groups. Markus believes this is linked to a notable change in the numbers concerned about becoming victims of crime, up from 26% in 2015 to 36% in 2016.However, the study challenges the view that a negative attitudes toward Muslims is increasing as indicated by a recent survey. The new data show there has been no significant shift in negative opinion towards Muslims, which remains in the range of 22% to 25%.Support for multiculturalism has also remained high. The 2016 report shows that 83% agree that multiculturalism has been good for Australia. 'There is a positive view of multiculturalism. Most people see multiculturalism as a two way process of change, involving adaptation from Australian born and migrants,' said Markus.Although the study did not ask specifically about Muslim immigration, it did look at sentiment and a quarter of those surveyed said they had negative feelings towards Muslims, while 14.1% had 'strong' negative feelings, up from 11.3%. Just over 30% had positive or strongly positive feelings and about 40% were indifferent.Markus acknowledged that while anti-Muslim sentiment was relatively high at a time when fears over terrorism and national security had increased, there had been no statistically significant shift in negative opinion towards Muslims over the course of the six surveys.The research found that biggest predictor of acceptance of immigration and cultural diversity is age, followed by the level of completed education and financial status. Strong rejection of immigration and cultural diversity was around 7% among those aged 18 to 44 years and 4% among those with a Bachelor or higher level qualification, compared with 22% of those over 65 years of age and 22% of those whose highest level of education is up to Year 11.Overall support for multiculturalism remains high at 83%, and the strongest positive association of multiculturalism is with its contribution to economic development. Just 34% considered that the immigration intake was too high, the lowest recorded in the Scanlon Foundation surveys. Hi guys, Could you please share your processing time of family sponsored visitor visa (Subclass 600)? I have posted their applications (my parents and my grandmom) on 17th October and received email acknowledgement on 24th. Phone call received from the case officer requesting for medical check up for my grandmom on 28th. As my grandmom was diagnosed with colon cancer and had surgery before, the doctor decided to have a second check up on the following Tuesday. and her medical record was translated and submitted on 16th Nov. No updates since then. I have tried ringing them and emailing them. Still no response. I am really concerned about if they can come this time... I have a show next Saturday. I really do hope they can make it and watch my performing.. Anyone can suggest what i can do to reach the case officer? Thanks! The Chetak will feature a retro-modern design; could be powered by a single-cylinder air-cooled DTS-i motor. After a somewhat unsuccessful attempt at making a dent in the Indian scooter market, way back in 2007 with the Kristal DTS-i, Bajaj seems ready to make a comeback to this space. Now rumours about this have been around for the last few years, but if you remember well, it was our resident bike guru, Rishad, who first reported that the Pune-based two-wheeler giant will be bringing back its Chetak brand. You can read about it here Well, seems he was right on the money with this one, as some new images have surfaced on the internet which seem to confirm that Bajajs new scooter will be here very soon and will indeed sport the Chetak moniker. But why get back to scooters, you may ask? Well, looking at the state of the Indian two-wheeler market, its amply clear that scooters are pretty much ruling the roost, or rather its just one scooter, the Honda Activa, that has been outselling all other two-wheelers in the country for a major chunk of this year. With just one manufacturer, and indeed just one model dominating this space, this certainly leaves room for other manufacturers to make a grasp at a piece of the pie here. And lets not forget manufacturers like Vespa and Aprilia that have proven that there actually does exist a niche for specialised, premium scooters. Some years back, Rajiv Bajaj himself had commented that the company will be looking at getting back into the scooter space when the time is right. Well, its the perfect time we say. So what do we know about this scooter? As of yet, not much. If the images are to be taken literally, then it looks like this new Chetak will be a mash-up of modern and classic, with distinctly new-age scooter lines up front, with a curvy aft section and sculpted seat reminiscent of retro scooters, namely the Vespa. From what we can understand, this will be a contemporary scooter, with modern-day suspension components, brakes and engine. The image, however, represents a drum brake setup with trailing-link suspension at the front. Were a bit surprised that Bajaj, known for top-notch tech even in its commuter bikes, doesn't seem to have offered telescopic front forks and disc brakes. But at the end of the day, the company could offer these components as options, and in any case, it looks like Bajaj might be targeting the premium retro-modern segment much in the same way as Vespa does. At this stage, there is absolutely no word on the engine, but it would be a fair estimate to put its cubic capacity roughly between 125-150cc. We dont expect this engine to really break the mould in this segment, and guess that itll be an air-cooled, single-cylinder mill running a carburettor setup, but this motor could feature the companys patented DTS-i tech. And while the Chetak of the past always featured a manual gearbox, this one should be equipped with a variomatic transmission, just like most modern-day scooters. At this stage, its a little too early to say when the scooter will be launched or at what price. However, from what we understand, the launch might happen sometime as early as 2017 and knowing Bajaj, it's sure to undercut its competition when it comes to pricing. A 1.2-litre 75hp diesel will replace the 71hp 1.1-litre unit on the Grand i10 and Xcent; expected to be launched in February and March 2017. Hyundai has been testing the Grand i10 facelift in India for some time now, with the current model being in the market for over three years now. Pictures of test mules have surfaced on the internet showing a car with the front, doors and tailgate covered, sporting new alloy wheels. Hyundai is expected to launch the facelift here in February 2017. A major mechanical change for the diesel Grand i10 will be a more powerful 1.2-litre engine. This motor is already found under the hood of the model sold internationally. It delivers 75hp and 171Nm instead of the current 1.1-litre diesels 71hp and 160Nm. The Grand i10 update is expected to feature styling similar to that of the European-spec Grand i10, with a wider front lower grille and new bumpers, minor tweaks to the headlamps along with a refreshed rear. A new bumper and tweaks to the tailgate are also expected. The interiors could also be in line with the European-spec model's, with top trims getting a touchscreen infotainment system along with improved equipment levels. The front seats are also expected to be new with the current one-piece units being replaced with ones with adjustable headrests. The Grand i10 is a competitor to the likes of the Maruti Swift, but hasnt quite been able to match its main rivals success in the market though it has closed the gap in sales recently. When launched, the updated Grand i10 will take on the likes of the Ford Figo, Maruti Swift and Fiat Punto Evo. Hyundai is also working on a facelift for the Xcent compact sedan with a launch expected in March 2017. The refreshed Xcent will also get the 1.2-litre diesel engine. We have long left the age where the church and religion were the pillars of a community. Laws and rules govern every place in this world, and nobody needs a priest or a pope to tell them that it is wrong to disrespect or harm somebody. We have laws for that, because the whole divine punishment thing took too long to work, and nobody knows if it did operate at all.We came across a news story regarding custom license plates, and we cannot help but feel outraged and amused at the same time. This is the story of a fellow named Bennie Hart, who wanted to use a license plate combination that reads IM GOD.Mr. Hart has employed this combination while living in Ohio, but he sadly found that he cannot do the same in Kentucky . Bennies license plate IM GOD was his for 12 years in Ohio , and it even read One Nation Under God below his custom selection of letters.He was displeased to find that it was refused in Kentucky. The basis for the rejection was that the combination might distract other drivers, and that it is in bad taste. What about donks, then?Bennie Hart did not take No for an answer here, and filed a lawsuit against the officials of the state that were responsible for the decision. According to the BBC , civil liberties campaigners have taken up his case against transportation secretary Greg Thomas.The motives of the suit are that the refusal hinders Mr. Harts right of free speech, which is assumed to be secured by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution We took the time to browse through Kentuckys license plate configurator, and the IAMGOD combination was not forbidden in the system. On the contrary, we found that the system was rather unrestricted except for a few words that we are not going to place in this article.If you must know, Mr. Hart is an atheist, and he wanted the combination that reads IAM GOD because it shows peoples inability of disproving anyones claim to being God. We respect his choice and stand by this endeavor just because it is a fun thing to do against unreasonably conservative religious government officials. EV Of course, everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but when yours can have a dramatic impact on the future of billions of people - some of whom might not have even been born yet - then you can't just add IMHO after everything you say and pretend like everything's alright.People have long suspected that Trump's views don't so much stem from his beliefs, but a very carefully constructed agenda. But who would go through all the trouble of trying to silence the voices that are blowing the whistle on climate change?Needless to say, those who would benefit if the status-quo remained unchanged: the oil industry. You could say that it's all a conspiracy theory put together by liberal sore losers, but Trump's recent nominations for key energy- and environment-related positions come to support this idea.Naturally, a man like Elon Musk who runs three major businesses, two of which go head-on against the companies dealing with fossil fuels, could not escape this people's attention. And that's how a website called "Stop Elon From Failing Again" got created, where somebody's publishing unsigned articles that spread misinformation about Tesla, electric vehicles , and solar energy.That "someone," according to Electrek , is public relations specialist and Trump supporter, Laura Ingraham. She is the National Chairman of the "Citizens for the Republic" group, a movement started during Ronald Reagen's administration that, after a long hiatus, was relaunched last year by Ingraham."We are challenging not just Elon, but the entire culture of corporations making billions of dollars off of the American people for almost zero return to the consumer," reads the description on the website that, in spite of this sentence, only has Elon Musk's name in its title. "CEOs like Musk are taking advantage of Americans, and it is our intention to end their free ride."It all sounds noble - a bit Robin Hoodish even - if only it weren't completely wrong. The group bases its argumentation on the alleged $4.9 billion of tax payer's money that Tesla defrauded in the form of subsidies, grants, and "other favors." Themaker has cleared the air over these accusations long ago, but that doesn't mean they can't still be used to raise anger among the less informed citizens. At the same time, the website completely ignores the fact that fossil fuels-related industries have been some of the most heavily subsidized, with a historical cumulative total of $446.96 billion in 2010.While a direct connection between Trump's administration and this website will never be established, it's becoming increasingly obvious that U.S. electric car makers are facing a hard struggle , and only the stronger will be able to survive. Ironically enough, it looks like Tesla finds itself in the best possible position. The German corporation did not specify the name or function of the white-collar employee that was discharged from the organization. Moreover, the automaker did not specify what led to the dismissal, preferring to explain it was a regrettable matter.Since we are in the 21st Century and the Internet is vast enough for everyone, the story has surfaced earlier this week without any official confirmation. It is claimed that the Daimler executive or manager (the persons function has not been officially revealed) had gotten into a feud with a Chinese person over a parking spot.Chinese media outlets pointed their mouse cursors at Mr. Rainer Gartner , who is the President and Chief Executive of Daimler Trucks and Buses division, NY Times reports. It is unclear whether Mr. Gartner was the one that was ousted from the company, or if someone else was mistaken for their boss in the entire scandal.The same sources in China say that the executive had been living in the country for about a year, and that the scandal involved some xenophobic slurs against Chinese people. Other reports claim that the Daimler employee even deployed pepper spray against their ad-hoc debate partner or some bystanders, but that is also something that has not been determined.The reported feud took place in the Shunyi District of Beijing, and the Daimler employees Mercedes-Benz had apparently seized the parking space of someone that was reversing into the same spot. It is unclear who was right in this entire situation, because witness reports from these cases tend to be biased, and we have no video proof of the turn of events.However, if the story is entirely accurate, it is crude to steal someone elses parking spot when they are reversing into it. Regardless, that happens every day, but it usually ends with a nasty look towards the individual.Using xenophobic slurs, or any other insult related to someones gender, ethnicity, education, or whatever characteristic is among the miserable things you could do, except for the use of violence (pepper spray, guns, or melee attacks included).Next time you get angry because of another drivers actions, just remember Daimlers employee and think you might get fired because of a parking spot. Paris : il gare sa Porsche sur une place de taxi, les demineurs la font exploser https://t.co/SM2O3wF5o2 Le Parisien (@le_Parisien) November 23, 2016 The tabloid released a story on this poor Zuffenhausen machine yesterday, with the title talking about sappers detonating an illegally-parked 911 in the country's capital city.According to the said newspaper, Olivier, the 25-year-old driver of the Porsche, had parked the Carrera S in a spot reserved for taxis. Apparently, the man was rushing to get to a club on the Saint-German Boulevard, on Thursday night when he made the poor choice. The unfortunate parking job saw the Porsche being left there overnight, as the man decided to take a taxi on his way back home.The police noticed the sportscar and, considering it a possible threat, contacted the leasing company that owns the Porsche, finally reaching Olivier over the phone.Nevertheless, the man explains that, by the time he got to the car on Friday, the luggage compartment had already been destroyed - the sappers reportedly opened the trunk on Friday, around noon.Olivier has now turned to a lawyer, planning to seek legal action against the authorities, while the police declined to comment on the matter.Multiple reports released earlier this month talk about the French authorities extending the country's state of emergency that were imposed after last year's terrorist attacks in Paris, which saw Islamic State (IS) attackers killing 130 people across the city.Unfortunately, terrorism doesn't seem to be the only reason for 911s getting trashed over in France. We'll remind you that, back in May, a 996-generation Carrera 4S was torched during a labor protest. Judging by the sportscar's cabin being devoured by the fire, it appeared that rioters had thrown a flammable cocktail inside the Porsche. This year marked the first full year that the American Car Rental Association (ACRA) retained a federal government relations lobbyist. ACRA set a high bar in 2015 by securing the enactment of federal car rental recall legislation as part of the 2015 federal highway bill. In 2016, ACRA continued to serve its members well in the area of government relations on Capitol Hill. Here are some examples: Provided members with guidance on compliance with the new federal car rental recall statute. Pressed for federal legislation to curb discriminatory car rental taxes, including an innovative approach to the issue as part of the FAA reauthorization legislation that moved through Congress last year. Took a leadership role among trade associations involved with the Section 1031/Like-Kind Exchange Coalition by meeting with 35 congressional offices on the importance of LKE to the car rental industry and to the American economy overall. Initiated a federal political action committee ACRA PAC to support ACRAs broad federal government relations profile. ACRA raised over $18,000 for the PAC to date in 2016 and distributed campaign contributions to federal legislators who are in a position to support ACRAs primary federal public policy goals. Filed comments with the Department of Labor, raising concerns with that agencys proposal to change its regulations with respect to overtime and the classification of employees as exempt. Initiated discussions with the Department of Homeland Security on ways that ACRA and DHS could cooperate on security issues without sacrificing consumer private protections. Started an education campaign for the nations airports on peer-to-peer car rental companies through presentations to the American Association of Airport Executives and the Airports Council International North America, as well as bringing the issue to the attention of federal legislators and staffers on Capitol Hill during ACRAs September fly-in. Tripled the number of ACRA members attending the 2016 ACRA Government Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. in September. This conference included a meeting with representatives of the nations automobile manufacturers to discuss public policy areas where the organizations should work together as well as meetings with federal legislators and their staff that highlighted ACRAs concerns with car rental excise taxes, LKE, and peer-to-peer car rentals. In the States In 2016, ACRA was active in a number of states on public policy matters. Here are some highlights: California: The industry made progress in reforming the main law governing our practices, Civil Code 1936. We had success in streamlining the chapter, eliminating duplicative statutes, and clarifying what contract items are taxable. There is more work to be done here, but its a great start. Florida: The industry continues to successfully push back against any legislative effort to create expanded liability for rental car companies in certain rental situations. These attempts are aimed at eliminating, or at least minimizing, the federal Graves Amendment, which ended the antiquated doctrine of vicarious liability. Colorado: Over the last several years, there has been legislation backed strongly by the insurance industry that would eliminate the effects of the Koenig court decision on loss of use. So far, our industry has successfully blocked any legislation from passing. Louisiana and South Carolina: In both states this year, the industry successfully prevailed on passing legislation regarding vehicle licensing fees (VLF). In Louisiana, a bill passed and was signed into law that would govern how those fees are calculated and disclosed. In South Carolina, the legislature increased the mandatory surcharge that allows the industry to recoup registration and licensing costs. Michigan: The industry continues to support eliminating or changing the states no-fault insurance regime. While no compromise deal has been struck, the industry has introduced legislation that would eliminate the no-fault requirement in certain circumstances. New York: The industry blocked legislation that would have exempted peer-to-peer rental car companies from various rental car regulations and taxes. Our belief is that if those taxes and regulations are going to be removed or modified, they should be removed or modified for all industry business, not just a select few. Sioux City, Iowa: The industry thwarted a proposed $3 per day rental car tax in Sioux Citys city council. It was suggested that the tax be used for economic development purposes. After talking to other stakeholders and council members, the proposal was ultimately withdrawn. The famed Capitol rotunda was one stop on the meeting schedule. The rotunda had just reopened after renovations. The American Car Rental Association (ACRA) convened its third annual Day on the Hill on Sept. 21 in Washington, D.C. to meet with congressmen and senators and their staffs. The goal was to educate legislators on issues affecting the car rental industry. This years event drew 32 ACRA members and associate members from across the U.S. Sharon Faulkner, executive director of ACRA, organized the event, while ACRAs lobbyist Gregory Scott arranged the meetings with legislators and their staffs. The event kicked off on Tuesday with an ACRA board meeting and general session. The meetings were followed by a reception sponsored by ACRA PAC, the associations new federal political action committee, for Congressman Rodney Davis (R IL-13). ACRA PAC, the associations new political action committee, held a reception for Congressman Rodney Davis (R IL-13) at Gordon Biersch Brewery. Davis (left) has proposed an ACRA-supported amendment to federal law with similar language to the End Discriminatory State Taxes for Automobile Renters Act. The amendment would permit discriminatory excise taxes on airport car rental transactions if the revenue from the taxes would be used to reinvest in the airport. On Wednesday, participants were split into five groups to traverse multiple House and Senate office buildings, armed with talking points on issues directly affecting car rental operations such as like-kind exchange, excise taxes, and peer-to-peer regulation. Excise Taxes ACRA supports bills HR 1528 and S 1164, both termed the End Discriminatory State Taxes for Automobile Renters Act. The bills would enact federal legislation to provide car rental customers with the same federal protection from discriminatory state and local taxes that customers of the bus, airline, motor freight, rail, and maritime industries currently enjoy. The bills propose that these existing taxes would be grandfathered, while state and local governments would also be free to impose non-discriminatory taxes such as income, sales, or property taxes. The West delegation visited the offices of U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) (right of flag). Chaffetz explained the importance of face-to-face interaction to understand the issues. He said peer-to-peer issues would likely be taken up by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The ACRA groups reminded legislators that these taxes are by definition discriminatory and place an undue burden on interstate commerce, which Congress, not state or local governments, has the sole right to regulate. These taxes also disproportionately affect poor Americans, not big businesses. Further, half of all car rentals in the nation are local, undermining the claim by local politicians that only out-of-towners pay car rental excise taxes. While being rented locally, these rentals often include interstate travel. Peer to Peer Peer-to-peer networks in the travel industry, including Airbnb and Uber, use web-based platforms to use privately owned assets in commercial transactions. This sharing economy has also reached car rental, with companies such as Turo and Getaround renting privately-owned vehicles to the public. While the traditional car rental industry is regulated to ensure consumer safety, pricing disclosures, and accessibility, peer-to-peer car rental companies have claimed that they are governed by the nations communications laws rather than federal and local safety and commerce laws. The ACRA delegation conveyed that it is not opposed to these new business models and welcomes innovative competition. However, ACRA believes that peer-to-peer car rental companies should comply with laws and regulations that promote those safeguards, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, insurance mandates, and federal law that grounds rental vehicles with open safety recalls. Like-Kind Exchange A like-kind exchange (LKE) is a tax strategy that allows companies to swap an investment asset such as a rental car with another and defer the tax on the proceeds until the property is sold for cash. Gordon Reel and Sharon Faulkner present Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) (right) with one of two ACRA Legislator of the Year Awards. Thune, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, incorporated the car rental recall amendment into the Highway Bill during the committee process. Sen. Thune also worked with ACRA to ensure the provision remained in the final bill that ultimately passed and was signed into law, Reel said. The ACRA groups learned from the meetings that there is no imminent legislation affecting LKE. However, it may become part of the larger conversation on tax reform, which started with former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camps 2014 tax reform proposal that purported to make the tax code simpler and lower the top marginal corporate tax rate to 25%. The ACRA groups goal was to show lawmakers the benefits of LKE as an engine for business investment. As the car rental industry buys 1.2 million cars a year and uses LKE for many of these transactions, its an important tool for the industry. If LKE is eliminated, some estimates put the static savings at $48 billion. But the dynamic negative impact on gross domestic product (GDP) could be as much as 4% because it would restrain a companys cash flow and its ability to reinvest in the business. Making a Difference This years meetings saw attendance more than triple from the previous year of 10 participants, up from four in the first. Were grateful that car rental operators are seeing the importance of getting involved, said Faulkner. The meetings impacted legislators, but they also made a difference with attendees. Gary Macdonald, president of Midway Auto Group in Los Angeles, remarked on the energy created by being in the nations government buildings and interacting with legislative staffs. I was impressed by the high level of competence of the staffers we encountered, and how organized the process is as compared to the general assessment that our government is a mess, he said. Sharon Faulkner (left) and Gordon Reel, assistant vice president of government and public affairs at Enterprise Holdings, present Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) with one of two ACRA Legislator of the Year Awards. Senator McCaskill was a leader in the process that produced the compromise between the consumer groups and the rental car industry on the ACRA-supported Safe Rental Car Act, said Reel. People we met last year remembered us, and taking the time to meet with them in person on a regular basis speaks volumes about how serious we are in having an active role in government, said Sharky Laguana, owner of van rental company Bandago. This is an investment that will pay huge dividends across all tiers both majors and independents in our industry. Its also just plain fun and fascinating to do! As a small independent operator, I felt that our voice and concerns were heard by both ACRA and, subsequently, by the staffs of the legislators we met during our few days in Washington D.C., said Nima Mobasser, vice president of Los Angeles-based State Van Rental. Realizing that the various government representatives genuinely care about our industry and our needs, regardless of the company size, was both surprising and encouraging. Q: I read a news article recently about proposed legislation in my state that would have a really negative impact on my car rental company and on other companies in the industry. What should I do to get involved? Nima Mobasser, State Van Rental, Los Angeles A: There are three rules in government affairs applied to just about any interaction with a governmental agency: No. 1: Legislators respond best to their constituents. No. 2: Find allies. Are you alone in your concerns? No. 3: Develop relationships with your local, state, and federal legislators now not later when there is a crisis. Q: How do I find my local, state, and federal representatives? A: Thanks to the internet, you can find this information out fairly easily. Simply search for the government websites and then input your address to find your specific elected representatives. Once youve identified them, call or email the office. Identify yourself as a constituent and as a businessperson with 40 (or 4,000) employees and mention you have concerns about the proposed legislation. Ask for your elected representatives help in understanding the legislation and communicating your concerns to the bill. Ask the representatives to engage on your behalf to modify the bill and to address your concerns, if possible. Your elected representatives want your support and want your vote in the next election. So, you the constituent have the swat with the legislator. Heres a real-life example. K.C. Baack, chief financial officer of an Atlanta-based Budget licensee, has operations in Utah so he attended a meeting with the staff of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Hatch is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over discriminatory car rental taxes and like-kind exchanges. Q: How do I find potential allies to see if others have the same concern? A: Ask your legislative contact who is backing the proposed legislation and the allies of those proponents. Is the legislation really aimed at your company, or was it poorly drafted to have unintended consequences? Determine whether others in the car rental industry share your concerns. Contact the American Car Rental Association (ACRA) to determine whether ACRA can connect you with others in the industry who would share your concerns. As we all know, in multiple cities around the country, car rental customers are targets for excessive taxation to fund civic projects. There was an effort earlier this year to impose a rental tax in Sioux City, Iowa to subsidize an economic development project. The car rental industry joined together and worked with business partners, including airport officials, to prevent that proposal from moving forward. Q: How do I develop relationships with local, state, and federal lawmakers? A: As mentioned above, identifying your elected representatives is the first step. Then proactively reach out to them and schedule a meeting. They will want to know who you are. You can also get involved in a local chamber of commerce or another civic group. Public officials are frequent guest speakers or panelists on various topics. Attending meetings of these groups allows you to introduce yourself to your representatives. Its always good to establish a relationship before you need to reach out on a legislative matter. Just as in business, would you rather make a cold call or a warm call? ACRA can often help you get started. The recent ACRA fly-in to Washington, D.C. was a great opportunity for ACRA members to establish relationships with their members of Congress. Three months from now, or maybe even a year, ACRA may ask one or more of these attendees to reach back out to these members with a specific ask perhaps to co-sponsor a bill ACRA is supporting. Having a pre-established relationship and a foundation for understanding the industry makes that ask much easier to make with a better chance of success. In sum, these three basic government affairs rules can be followed and applied to virtually any legislative or regulatory threat or opportunity your company faces at any level of government. Please know that this is a major reason ACRA exists. So again, if you havent joined ACRA, consider joining today. The "West" delegation enters the offices of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the House of Representatives. Everyone wears fine suits in Washington, D.C., even in 80% humidity and faulty air conditioning, and they stride everywhere with purpose, and theyre all so engaging and very smart. Walking past the Supreme Court from the Cannon House building to the Hart, onto our next round of meetings alongside a hundred similar groups, I chafed at the notion that our political system is broken. Id say our system works quite well, thank you. Of course, this was my first time participating in the American Car Rental Associations (ACRA) day of meetings on Capitol Hill with members of both the House and Senate and their staffers. Perhaps after a few more of these, Id get just a bit jaded. But as an American participating in the very process we learn about in school its hard not to be in awe and a little bit humbled. Our purpose was to, as ACRAs lobbyist Greg Scott puts it, Build relationships and make friends before you need them. We were plain folks looking to convey how certain issues would affect our business lives. We learned. We made our points. It was a successful day. And they listened. Certainly, its their job to listen, but they made a point to express the importance of this forum. I give you my card for a reason, said Rep. Nancy Pelosis tax adviser. We dont like to vote with our eyes closed. Our talking points on this day centered on peer-to-peer issues, car rental excise taxes, and like-kind exchanges (LKE). Regarding peer-to-peer, I felt like we were treading new ground in terms of education on the model itself, which would set the stage for later policy decisions concerning an even playing field regarding regulation for all players. When it came to discriminatory excise taxes, we explained the undue burden these taxes place on car rental customers and how Congress has the right to regulate excise taxes as interstate commerce. We looked to gain momentum and more co-sponsors on bipartisan legislation in both the House and Senate. Discussions on LKE at least the ones in our group took on greater detail. There is no eminent legislation affecting LKE; however, it is becoming part of the larger conversation on tax reform, especially for those looking to make the tax code simpler and lower the corporate tax rate to 25%. With that in mind, a lot of tax provisions that benefit a limited number of taxpayers (or loopholes in the minds of some reformers) would be on the table. While we see LKE not as a loophole but as an engine for business reinvestment, it still has a dollar sign attached to it when trying to balance a budget. Ive been in rooms late at night when youre trying to pay for something and everything is on the menu, said Pelosis adviser. Our delegation members made sure to state that the car rental industry buys 1.2 million cars a year, or 1 in every 10 sold. However, the real impact came twofold: First, Sharky Laguana, owner of van renter Bandago, explained how his small company (and thousands like him) wouldnt benefit from a 25% corporate tax rate anyway. Then K.C. Baack, a member of the Budget Atlanta franchise, chimed in. He said that after the company owners bought the franchise, they were able to grow the fleet by close to four times in just a few years. We simply could not have done that without the benefit of LKE, Baack said. These statements, delivered in person by constituents running small businesses, magnify the power of statistics tenfold. This is the democratic process. This is why we do this. We [lobbyists] are not the important ones in these situations, Scott told us in between meetings. You are. Grace Bay Car Rentals in Turks and Caicos picked a 1.5-acre piece of land in a strategic location for its storm parking lot. The lot is complete with fencing, security systems, and water storage wells for heavy rains. Photo courtesy of Grace Bay Car Rentals. When a hurricane is imminent, how do rental car operators prepare? Preparation procedures can include evacuating staff members, relocating unrented vehicles, and getting the facility ready. My main goal is to keep my people safe and with their families and to minimize the damage of our stores and vehicles, said Cameron Bethmann, general manager of Carls Van Rentals, which has multiple rental locations throughout Florida. We talked to several car rental operators who have put their natural disaster plans into action for Hurricane Matthew or other hurricanes in the past. Prepare Facility Some car rental operators, especially in the Caribbean, face hurricane threats on a regular basis. Todd Foss, owner of Grace Bay Car Rentals in Turks and Caicos, first prepares his companys main rental facility as a shelter for its employees and their families. This means stocking up on water and supplies, including raincoats and flashlights. I provide our facility as a shelter just in case staff members dont feel comfortable waiting out the hurricane in their own homes, said Foss. Preparation also includes making sure the hurricane shutters are up at all of the facilities, computers are unplugged and bagged, and generators are filled with fuel, according to Foss. Additionally, Grace Bay distributes an emergency list with all of its employees phone numbers. Once all the facility preparation is complete, we buy a bunch of wine and hunker down until the storm passes, said Foss. For Leisure Car Rental on the island of St. Maarten, at the first sign of an approaching storm, the first to-do item is to take down the company signs. In the past, replacing signs after a storm has cost us thousands of dollars, said Jimmy Fitzpatrick, general manager at Leisure Car Rental. Next employees check to make sure there are no loose or old tree limbs that need to be removed. The facilitys trees are usually trimmed regularly, but its part of the protocol to double check before a storm, according to Fitzpatrick. Then all of the facilitys glass windows and doors are secured. To make sure the generators at each store are running properly, Bethmann instructs employees to start up the generators and run them for a bit beforehand. That way, if we dont have power after the storm passes, we will know if the generators will work, he said. Contact Customers As part of its customer service, Grace Bay Car Rentals staff notifies each customer on how to prepare for the storm. This includes not driving the vehicles during the storm and avoiding large flooded areas after the storm, according to Foss. In an effort to minimize client losses, Leisure Car Rental tries to give its customers the opportunity to return the rental car before the storm hits. Then the customers can come back and pick up the vehicles after the storm passes. Unfortunately, over the past few years, less than 5% of our clients have turned in their rental car before the storm, said Fitzpatrick. Carlos Dolabellas rental staff will go directly to the customer during a storm to get the vehicle. We contact all of our customers and offer to collect the rentals while the storm is in effect, said Dolabella, co-founder of First Class Rent A Car, a luxury rental company based in Miami. They dont have to come to our office; we will go wherever they are to collect the cars. During hurricanes, Miami-based First Class Rent A Car stores its luxury rental vehicles at its on-site warehouse. Photo courtesy of First Class Rent A Car. With five of its Florida stores in the path of Hurricane Matthew, Carls Van Rentals called all of their customers who had rentals out and were scheduled to be returned during the storm. We asked these customers if they could return the vehicles early, said Bethmann. If they couldnt, we told them to keep the vehicles longer at no charge. Then we contacted customers who were scheduled to pick up vehicles to see if they could get them early or pick them up after the storm at no charge. Prior to Hurricane Matthew, Fox Rent A Car kept in touch with its customers through a social media group. We put information about our store closures and when we anticipated the re-openings, said Kelly Grahaat, Foxs regional director for the East Coast. Fox closed its three Florida locations once each airport was shut down. Relocate Vehicles Where do operators store the unrented vehicles? How can they protect these valuable assets during a hurricane? Some operators have specific lots to park their unrented vehicles. Two years ago, Grace Bay Car Rentals picked a 1.5-acre piece of land in a strategic location and built a storm parking lot. This lot is complete with fencing, security systems, and water storage wells for heavy rains. Before we created our storm parking lot, we used to spread vehicles out in groups of 30 or 40 around various locations and resorts to lessen the risk of a single location being flooded or badly damaged, said Foss. When moving vehicles to its off-airport lots, Fox Rent A Car makes sure that anything prone to getting blown down is either taken down or tied down. We secure the lot, de-key the vehicles, and park the shuttle buses around the entrances and exits, said Grahaat. To minimize the damage from flying debris, Bethmann had each location group all the vehicles together as close as possible and surround them with the oldest units. The vehicles were parked away from big trees, signs, or power lines. If we did experience damage, hopefully it will be on the older units and only a few of them versus a bunch of vehicles damaged, said Bethmann. I also had each location park the cargo vans across the front of the stores to protect the glass windows from flying objects. When moving unrented vehicles, Fitzpatrick looks to park them on higher ground as far as possible from the ocean. If the company cant find secure parking for all of its vehicles, the remaining cars in the lot are parked close together. That way, the wind wont blow between them, says Fitzpatrick. Speed Luxury Car Rental and First Class Rent A Car, Miami-based luxury rental companies, both have a warehouse to keep their fleets protected during a hurricane. Our warehouse is located at our rental companys office, said Dolabella. In 1992, the warehouse protected our cars when Hurricane Andrew hit Miami. Avis Budget Group has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Didi Chuxing, a mobile transportation platform, to provide Didi Chuxing's over 300 million registered users with access to Avis Car Rental and Budget Car Rental vehicles when traveling in approximately 175 countries. Through this partnership, Avis Budget Group and Didi Chuxing will coordinate product, technology, and local marketing resources to provide Didi Chuxing's registered users traveling outbound from China with car rental service right from Didi Chuxing's mobile application, according to the company. Registered users will be able to book Avis and Budget rentals at airports and neighborhood locations around the globe. "Internationalization is a clear mission for Didi, said FU Qiang, senior vice president of Didi Chuxing and general manager for Didi Car Rental. The partnership with Avis Budget is a key step in Didi's broader initiative to go global as we continue to explore the frontier of innovation with our growing data capacities. Together, we will provide quality local travel experiences across the world for China's fast-expanding outbound traveler community. We also look forward to building a more connected global mobility network that builds greater momentum for growth on a spirit of openness and sharing." "Like Avis Budget Group, Didi Chuxing is committed to providing its customers with innovative solutions to make travel as stress-free as possible, said Mark Servodidio, president, International, Avis Budget Group. This is even more valuable when traveling internationally. This strategic alliance gives us the opportunity to demonstrate Avis' world-renowned premium service and the great value of Budget to Didi Chuxing's substantial user base." Photo via Flickr/Atomic Taco Avis Car Rental has announced that Avis Lebanon has been honored as Licensee of the Year in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. The Avis Lebanon team received their accolade at the 2016 Avis Licensee Awards event held in South Africa. This year's award recipients for outstanding achievement are Avis Iceland and Avis Russia for sustained growth in their respective countries. The annual Licensee Awards recognize licensee partners that have demonstrated growth in annual financial performance (measured against their local country economic conditions), excellence in customer service, and alignment with the brand's initiatives. The "best of the best" is honored as Licensee of the Year, with recognition for achievement and innovation given to two additional licensees in the region. "We rely on our licensees to represent our brand admirably in countries around the world," said David B. Wyshner, president and chief financial officer, Avis Budget Group. "Avis Lebanon has been a proud champion of the brand in that country for more than 50 years and has captured significant share in the nation's airports." "The Licensee of the Year honor is one that we are proud to receive," said Raja Kurban, president and owner of Avis Lebanon. "We hold the Avis brand in high regard and are pleased to provide travelers in Lebanon with the highest levels of customer service." The Avis Lebanon licensee has been family-owned and operated for 55 years, offering a selection of vehicles, including luxury models by Ranger Rover, Jaguar, and BMW. Photo courtesy of Hertz Global Holdings Hertz Europe Limited, part of Hertz Global Holdings, is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards loyalty program in Europe. Its offering members who reside in the region the chance to win exclusive anniversary prizes when they book and complete a qualifying rental. Additionally, all Gold Plus Rewards members can now earn and redeem points at more locations globally, with new participating countries including Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. One lucky winner will receive 500,000 points, enough to enjoy more than 555 award rental days at any participating location globally, according to Hertz. Additional prizes include 5,000 points for five winners, each enough for more than one reward rental week; five upgrades to Five Star and five to President Circle; and five vehicle upgrades for members to use on their next rental. Qualifying rentals must be booked between Nov. 16th and Dec. 15th, 2016 and completed by Dec. 15th with a minimum rental car period of two days and maximum rental for 28 days. Specific terms and conditions apply. During the last five years, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members in Europe earned approximately 1,500,000,000 Gold Plus Rewards points equivalent to 22,000,000 rewards rental days for use in participating countries, according to Hertz. Earned points can be used toward rental days and other optional services. Points do not expire as long as the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards member has either earned or redeemed points through rental activity in the prior 24 months. Hertz Gold Plus Rewards is free to join and available to sign up in more than 70 countries. This year, the program's points rewards scheme has been opened to Gold Plus Rewards members residing in China, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, and Sweden. All countries where points can now be redeemed include: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, and participating U.S. Territories. Cover Story Bookmark + The police raid of a car rental company in Detroit leads to questions on how insurance fraud investigations and prosecutions are funded and the motivations driving the players on all sides. The Canadian government may plug holes in its air defense capability with an interim purchase of 18 F/A-18 Super Hornets from Boeing. At a news conference on Tuesday, the countrys Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said the acquisition would keep its fighter capability at an acceptable level while Canada launches a full-scale open competition for replacement of the existing fleet of 77 tired first- and second-generation F-18 Hornets. Canada originally bought 138 of the fighters from McDonnell-Douglas in the early 1980s and theyve been upgraded over that time, but are nearing the end of their operational lives. Canada routinely has trouble keeping enough Hornets airworthy to meet its own air defense needs and its commitment to the North American Air and Space Command (NORAD). Replacing the well-worn fighters has been a major political issue in Canada for almost two decades and the recent election of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau punctuated that controversy with his 2015 campaign promise to end Canadas participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Canada has covered its minimum commitments to remain a partner in the multinational JSF program but it has delayed pulling the trigger on its purchase of 65 of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft. Despite Trudeaus campaign promise, the F-35 appears to be a contender in Canadas new fighter replacement plan. The government will launch, in its current mandate, a wide-open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18 fleet, Sajjan told the news conference. The Eagle Flying Museum, in Fort Worth, Texas, is holding a raffle with a refurbished Cessna 150J as the grand prize. The funds raised will be used to help local kids restore a classic Boeing Stearman, a project made possible by Build A Plane. This is a remarkably innovative approach to funding the restoration of an aircraft, Lyn Freeman, executive director of Build A Plane, told AVweb.And what a cool airplane! The raffle ends on Dec. 24, when the winner will be selected. No more than 3,500 tickets will be sold. The 150 has fresh paint, a new interior, an upgraded VFR panel with Garmins new G5 attitude indicator and a recently overhauled engine, according to the museum website. Second prize is a Lightspeed Zulu 2 ANR headset, and third prize is a test-prep course from King Schools. Build A Plane has been in operation for 14 years, and will place its 300th airplane into a high school early next year, Freeman said. The nonprofit program brings students together with donated airplanes in need of restoration, to help young people learn about aviation while gaining useful skills and knowledge. The raffle tickets are $50 each, or three for $140, and can be purchased online. The Cessna 150 would be the best Christmas present ever, the website says, for someone who wants to learn to fly. 23 November 2016 10:51 (UTC+04:00) The Armenian armed units shattered ceasefire with Azerbaijan a total of 15 times throughout the day, Azerbaijan`s Defense Ministry reported on November 23. The Armenian armed forces, stationed in Armenia`s Shavarshavan, Voskevan and Dovekh villages in Noyemberyan region subjected to fire the positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces located in Farahli, Gushchu Ayrim, Kamarli villages and nameless hills in Gazakh region. The ceasefire was also violated in Chilaburt village in Tartar region, Kuropatkino village in Khojavand region, as well as nameless hills in Goranboy, Tartar, Khojavand and Jabrayil regions. Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 15:21 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova A Committee was established in Azerbaijan to protect the rights of Azerbaijani citizens Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev , who were taken hostage by Armenian militaries in the occupied Azerbaijani territory. The composition of the Committee consists of 80 members, while elect- chairman is Alovsat Agalarov. The Committee appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Russian Embassy in Azerbaijan asking them to assist in the liberation of the hostages kept in Armenian captivity. The two citizens of Azerbaijan were taken hostage by the Armenian armed forces in July 2014 while visiting their native places and graves of loved ones in the occupied Azerbaijani Kalbajar region. Moreover, Armenian forces killed the third Azerbaijani citizen, Hasan Hasanov. Later, Guliyev and Asgarov were judged illegally by the unrecognized courts of a separatist regime in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. Following an expedited judicial process" in December 2015, Asgarov was sentenced to life imprisonment and Guliyev to 22 years. Azerbaijan, whose over 4,000 citizens were taken captive, hostage, or went missing as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh war, has repeatedly declared its readiness to begin negotiations with Armenia. Azerbaijans State Committee on Affairs of Refugees and IDPs, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons and other agencies have repeatedly urged international organizations, including the ICRC, to assist in the release of Guliyev and Asgarov, whilst the problem remains actual yet. But the Armenian side remained deaf, ignoring all calls and violating the international rules and norms was subjecting the hostages to various tortures. Armenian aggression against its neighboring country resulted in the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijans internationally recognized territories. The large-scale hostilities resulted in the death of over 20,000 Azerbaijanis while over 4,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis were taken captive, hostage, or went missing as a result of the war. The majority of those captured during the hostilities are children, elderly people, and women. -- Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 13:27 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova BM Morrison law firm and KPMG international audit company will be involved in the liquidation process of the recently closed Bank Standard. BM Morison will act as a legal advisor, while KPMG is expected to be engaged in the compliance assessment of the assets and liabilities, as well as off -balance liabilities. A special meeting with the participation of the head of Financial Market Supervisory Body (FMSB) Rufat Aslanli, heads of the Deposit Insurance Fund (ADIF), KPMG and BM Morrison was held to discuss the plan on the liquidation of the Bank. Aslanli, addressing the meeting said the international companies were involved in the process to provide transparence of the process and depositor protection. He mentioned that the liquidation process was launched on October 1, 2016. The insured depositors of the bank have already received over 90 percent of compensations, while uninsured deposits and financial means of other creditors will be paid after realization of the liquid assets. ADIF, which acts as a liquidator has so far paid compensations worth nearly 420.27 million manats ($ 245.82 million) to the depositors of the Bank, while the volume of the insured deposits stands at 460 million manats ($ 269.06 million) Bank Standard was declared bankrupt according to the decision, dated October 4, 2016, of the countrys Baku Administrative-Economical Court No1, while the license was revoked by the decision of the FMSB. The mortgage portfolio of the Bank was transferred to Muganbank. The bank was one of the major private commercial banks in Azerbaijan. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 16:34 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova A passenger train will start running between Azerbaijans Nakhchivan and Irans Mashhad before late November,said Javid Gurbanov, head of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY). He made the remark while talking to reporters in Baku on November 23, Trend reported. The launch of the railway communication is expected to promote further development of tourism between the two countries. The tickets will be put up for sale in Azerbaijan and Iran. No information about the ticket cost was revealed yet, while the train is expected to run twice a week. The project is envisaged within the framework of the agreement between the governments of Azerbaijan and Islamic Republic of Iran on the coordination of railways of the two countries, which was signed by Iranian Minister of Transportation Abbas Akhoundi and Azerbaijans Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev during President Ilham Aliyevs Tehran visit on February 23. Being located in the in the northeast of Iran, Mashhad is considered to be the second most populous city in Iran. The transport connections between Nakhchivan and other countries , except Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran ,is possible only by means of air transport. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 18:22 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova The economy of Azerbaijan has so far managed to attract nearly $1.1 billion by means of investment tenders. Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Property Issues Rafig Jalilov said that the investments allowed to increase the volumes of local production by 1.5 billion manats ($ 0.87 biilion). Addressing the conference held within the International exhibition on real estate and investments in Baku on November 23, he said that nearly 47,000 state facilities were privatized and 1,600 joint-stock companies were created in Azerbaijan until 2016, while some 250,000 people became owners of the shares in the state-owned facilities. He further said that the privatization of Azerbaijans large state enterprises, including state oil company SOCAR, requires time. It is necessary to be consistent in such issues, since this [the privatization of large enterprises] touches the issues of Azerbaijans economic independence," Jalilov told reporters. As for the claim that strategic facilities are not privatized in Azerbaijan, he noted that the ore-dressing and processing enterprise in Dashkasan and Ganja automobile plant, which are quite large enterprises, have already been put for privatization. The privatization process is designed to attract both foreign and local investors, as well as improve the business environment of Azerbaijan. The next auction, which is scheduled for December 20 will put up for sale some 84 enterprises and properties, including 23 joint stock companies, 26 small enterprises and properties, 32 of unused non-residential areas and 3 vehicles. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 17:55 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund (ADIF) has so far paid compensations worth over 708.399 million manats ($414.487 million) to depositors of the recently closed Dekabank, Kredobank, Zaminbank, Parabank, Caucasus Development Bank, AtraBank, Bank of Azerbaijan, Ganjabank, Texnikabank and Bank Standard. Banks Volume of paid compensations (million manats/ million USD) Volume of the insured deposits (million manats/ million USD) Bank Standard 421.669 ($ 246.720 ) 460($269.01) Zaminbank 52.306 ($ 30.604 ) 60($ 35.10) Dekabank 3.021 ($1.767) 5.59($3.27) Kredobank 27.192($ 15.910) 30.21($ 17.67) Caucasus Development Bank 1.926($ 1.126) 2($1.17) Atrabank 14.218 ($ 8.319) 14.55($ 8.51) Bank of Azerbaijan 24.147($ 14.128) 24.2($14.15) Gandjabank 0.975 ($ 0.570) 1($0.58) Texnikabank 120.081 ($ 70.259) 122.6($ 71.73) Parabank 42.862($ 25.078) 43.79($25.62) Acceptance of applications from insured depositors of DekaBank, KredoBank, Zaminbank and Parabank began on August 1, 2016 and the payment of compensations has been carried out since that day. Compensations to the depositors of Caucasus Development Bank and AtraBank are being paid starting from August 23.Payments are being carried out at the branches the banks. Depositors of Caucasus Development Bank receive compensations at the banks main office.Payment of compensations to insured depositors of Bank of Azerbaijan has been carried out since January 29, 2016 at branches of Muganbank and Rabitabank, and since September 8 at ADIFs office. Clients of Ganjabank receive compensations since February 4 at the branches of Rabitabank, Unibank and Kapital Bank. ADIF launched payment of compensations to depositors of Texnikabank on February 12. Payment of compensations to the insured depositors of Bank Standard started October 11, 2016 at the banks main office and its branches in the regions of Azerbaijan and will continue for one year. The licenses of all the banks were revoked in 2016, as their assets were not classified in line with the law, and they didnt create adequate reserves and their aggregate capital did not meet the minimum requirements. Some 32 banks are currently implementing their activities in the country. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 16:04 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli Residents and guests of Baku will be able to enjoy Italian dishes, salads and desserts the whole week as part of the first World Week of Italian cuisine. Italian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Giampaolo Cutillo said that within a week, about three hundred events will take place all over the world, where people will be able to plunge into the atmosphere of the Italian way of life, listening to the Italian music and tasting Italian goodies. The Week aims to promote Italian traditions, food and culture throughout the world. People around the world will gather around the Italian tables during the Week. "Baku will also host five events until Saturday, November 26," he told Trend. "Visitors of Italian restaurants will be able to get acquainted with traditional kitchens of Turin, Sicily, Milan and other Italian cities." The diplomat also noted that in recent months, Azerbaijan and Italy carried out a number of cultural activities. "Recently Baku hosted the Week of Italian Fashion, Week of the Italian language, and other several events, in particular those relating to education in Italy. We try to carry out as much work as possible. There are good conditions for this. Relations between the two countries are friendly and good," said the ambassador. Being one of Azerbaijan's major partners in Europe, Italy has been Azerbaijan's number one trade partner for the last eight years. It is the largest importer of Azerbaijani goods. Currently, about 45 Italian companies are operating in Azerbaijan in insurance, banking, trade, and other areas. Italy has become the biggest trade partner of Azerbaijan in importing crude oil and oil products and mainly exports pipes for the oil sector, tobacco, leather and furniture to Azerbaijan. Baku and Rome are strategic partners in the energy sector. Italy, whose scanty natural resources traditionally make the country dependent on import has been a key partner for Baku. Since 1999, Italy has begun to receive a large part of Azerbaijani oil exported through the Baku - Supsa pipeline and then through the Baku - Ceyhan. This made Italy the number one partner for Azerbaijan and this position is maintained until today. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 17:55 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijan Fashion Week continues to captivate all fashion lovers. The four-day show features a dazzling program with participation of foreign and Azerbaijani designers, who continue to conquer the fashion industry. The organizing committee of Azerbaijan Fashion Week announced winners of the contest held together with the Instituto Europeo di Design among young talents. The competition "NOICONS" was held in three categories: FASHION DESIGN, FASHION ILLUSTRATION and FASHION RETAIL STORE. Jamila Aliyeva became the winner in Fashion Illustration category, while Senem Salakhli ranked first in the category for the best fashion design. Nigar Verdiyeva bwon in Fashion Retail Store category. The winners were awarded certificates for summer classes. Moreover, they will join training in one of the most prestigious specialized universities Instituto Europeo di Design in Italy. Later, the winners of last season - Aysel sadiqov and Narmin Hamidli presented their capsule collections, which they created after trainings at design school in Italy. Azerbaijan Fashion Week is held twice a year in November and May. More than 60 designers from Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, France and Spain participated in last three seasons. The main purpose of the Week is to popularize growing fashion industry in Azerbaijan and give an opportunity to young and talented designers to show their work to the world. It's a place that gathers local and international buyers, press and fashion critics together. Media partners of the event are Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az, Azernews.az --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 10:43 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova Turkish Ambassador to Baku Erkan Ozoral has stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a problem not only for Azerbaijan, but also for Turkey. "The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved soon. Turkey and Azerbaijan will continue to cooperate on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement", he told reporters on November 22. Ankara backs Baku on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement and advocates a solution to this problem in the framework of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. Turkey has repeatedly voiced its desire to contribute to peace and stability in the region. The soonest settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, of course, could lead to normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations, which have considerably deteriorated due to Armenia's so-called genocide claims against Turkey and occupation of Azerbaijani territories. That was the very reason due to which the Turkish-Armenian border is closed since early 1990s. Turkey has repeatedly stressed that the Ankara-Yerevan normalization of ties is impossible without the liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts. The ambassador further stressed that Azerbaijan and Turkey provide the necessary support to each other in the fight against terrorism. Turkey is grateful to Azerbaijan for its support in the fight against terrorism, the ambassador added. Turkey became the first state to recognize the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991. The diplomatic relations were established on 14 January 1992 and the Consulate General in Baku was upgraded to Embassy level. --- Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 11:21 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova Baku has removed another foreigner from its list of undesirable persons following an official appeal. A Japanese citizen, an employee of the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, Hitoshi Omae has been removed from the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys list of undesirable people, who illegally visited the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia, the Ministry told Trend on November 23. Hitoshi Omae has appealed to the Foreign Ministry with a request to exclude his name from the list. In his letter, the journalist mentioned that he was unaware that it is illegal to visit the occupied territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia without notifying the Azerbaijani side, expressed his regret and noted that his articles regarding the visit meet interests of no side. Omae expressed his respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. Moreover, Omae voiced intention to visit Azerbaijan in order to deliver to the Japanese society more accurate and objective information about Azerbaijan, as well as the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. After considering the Japanese journalists appeal, his name was excluded from the list of undesirable people. Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions pay special attention to the illegal activity in the occupied areas of Azerbaijan. The work is constantly carried out to prevent such illegal actions. Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia are considered illegal, and any individuals paying such visits are included in the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's "black list". Baku has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats of unauthorized visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling them contradictory to international law. The ministry reminds constantly all nationals of foreign countries wishing to travel to Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan that due to the occupation by Armenian armed forces that these areas are temporarily out of the control of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh territory was turned into a battlefield and zone of aggravated tensions after Armenia sent its troops to occupy Azerbaijan's lands. As a result, 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory stands under military occupation. For the past two decades, and despite calls from the international community, Armenia has refused to withdraw its troops and retreat within its national borders. --- Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 13:23 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office, Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade met with Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II in Moscow. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the Caucasian Muslims Office told Trend on November 23. Pashazade and Karekin II expressed intention to continue such meetings through intermediaries. During his Moscow visit, Pashazade earlier met with the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and expressed his gratitude to Russian Orthodox Church for its efforts on the peaceful solution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In turn, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia said that thanks to the joint efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Caucasian Muslims Board - the highest spiritual and administrative authority of Muslim countries in the Trans-Caucasian region, we could prevent the radicalization of the conflict and to make sure that it didnt inflict serious wounds on the body of people who live there and suffer. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts. --- Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 16:50 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated that Turkey is against the occupation of part of the internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan by Armenia. Turkey is against the Azerbaijani territories occupation by Armenia, Erdogan told reporters on November 23, Aksam newspaper reported. Erdogan said that the occupation wont bring any positive results and Armenia must leave Azerbaijans occupied territories as soon as possible. The Turkish president emphasized that the occupied territories of Azerbaijan must be returned to their rightful owners. Azerbaijanis are the rightful owners of these lands and they must return to their lands, said Erdogan adding that the U.S., Russia, and France must fulfill their commitments soon. Ankara closely supports Baku on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement and advocates a solution to this problem in the framework of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. Turkey has repeatedly voiced its desire to contribute to peace and stability in the region. The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Currently, it is co-chaired by the Russian Federation, the U.S. and France. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts. --- Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 09:54 (UTC+04:00) A new print edition of the AZERNEWS online newspaper was released on November 23 The new edition includes articles about: President: cooperation with Total has a very good history; Austria ready to support peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict; Port of Baku to complete first stage of construction until late 2017; Azerbaijan not to reduce social expenses next year, etc AZERNEWS is an associate member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). The online newspaper is available at www.azernews.az. 23 November 2016 10:16 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova A delegation led by Chair of the European Conservatives Group at PACE Ian Liddell-Grainger has visited Azerbaijan`s Parliament, Azertac reported. Members of the delegation had a meeting with speaker of the Parliament Ogtay Asadov, who hailed relations between Azerbaijan and the European Conservatives Group. He lauded the Group`s delicate approach to Azerbaijan-related issues, noting that Azerbaijan is interested in closer relations with PACE. Asadov pointed to cooperation between Azerbaijani and British MPs at PACE and hailed their constant support for Azerbaijan`s fair position. Speaker Asadov also spoke about global energy projects carried out by Azerbaijan, saying they will change the energy map of Europe. He also touched upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, reminding that influential international organizations, including the UN Security Council, European Parliament and Council of Europe adopted resolutions on unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani lands, but Armenia continues to ignore these documents and keep these territories under occupation. Liddell-Grainger, in turn, hailed active participation of the Azerbaijani delegation at PACE. He emphasized the importance of developing cooperation in future. The Chair of the European Conservatives Group said they will do their utmost to support Azerbaijans position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Later the same day the European Conservatives Group delegation met with members of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE. Chair of the Azerbaijani delegation, MP Samad Seyidov noted the importance of the visit of the European Conservatives Group delegation to Azerbaijan. He emphasized that Azerbaijan and PACE have always advocated the same values and that representatives of the European Conservatives Group have always supported Azerbaijans position. Liddell-Grainger noted the importance of developing relations between the European Conservatives Group and Azerbaijan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 11:05 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli The United States together with other OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries must intensify efforts to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This statement was made by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov as he met the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Bridget Brink, in Baku on November 22. The foreign minister informed Brink about the negotiation process to resolve the conflict and stressed inadmissibility of the status quo. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations, however, Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Touching upon the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the U.S, both sides expressed satisfaction with the cooperation in economy, energy, peacekeeping operations and fighting international terrorism. Brink said the U.S. attaches great importance to cooperation with Azerbaijan and appreciates the countrys contribution in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism. Brink, talking to reporters, stressed that Azerbaijan and the U.S. continue to work together on counterterrorism and transnational threats. I am here today to reaffirm our longstanding commitment to independent, stable, prosperous, democratic Azerbaijan, she said. We discussed how we can build on the progress we have made in bilateral relations. On security issues we continue to work together on counterterrorism and transnational threats. With regard to economic and energy issues, we affirm our commitment to Azerbaijans economic growth. The U.S. official further said that her country reiterates appreciation for the important role that Azerbaijan plays in the EUs energy security. Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the U.S. official said that there is no military solution to the conflict, adding that the U.S. remains committed to working with the sides of the conflict to mediate a comprehensive settlement. We appreciate Ambassador James Warlicks service as OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair, she added commenting on Warlicks resignation. Brink said she has no information on who will become the next OSCE MG U.S. co-chair. I dont have a name to announce at this moment, she said. As part of the visit, Brink was earlier received by President Ilham Aliyev, who expressed hope that successful cooperation between the two countries would be continued with the new administration of the U.S.. They had a broad exchange of views over the current state and prospects of relations between Azerbaijan and the U.S. The solution to the long-lasting Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was also discussed during the meeting. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 14:02 (UTC+04:00) Representatives of Azerbaijans State Custom Committee and Georgian Revenue Service attended a bilateral training on sensitization of EU standards in risk management and risk analyses of Sanitary and Phytosanitary controls at Border Crossing Points on November 21-23. The training was held in Baku under the project of Support to the Development of Red Bridge border crossing points between Azerbaijan and Georgia. The joint project is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and is funded by the European Union (EU), UNDP reported. Overall, 25 officials representing main border crossing points of Azerbaijan s Tovuz, Astara, Khachmaz, Balakan, Bilasuvar BCPs and Georgias Gardabani and Kazbegi BCPs participated at three days training in Baku. Deputy Director on Phytosanitary issues of Border Control Department of Food and Veterinary Service of Latvia, Ms. Kristina Romanova was invited as an international expert to conduct the training. She delivered lectures on EU standards of Phytosanitary import control system, risk analysis of imported animals, food and plants as well as working procedures for risk assessment. Ms. Ramanova highlighted the importance of sanitary and phytosanitary improvement of control procedures at border crossing points between Azerbaijan and Georgia. International experts will provide number of trainings and workshops for Azerbaijan SCC and Georgian RS inspectors within the framework of this project. I hope this training will also improve the works in the field of SPS checks, risk analyses and food safety at border crossing points. she said. In the framework of the training, the participants visited the Central Laboratory of Azerbaijans State Customs Committee to learn working procedure of the Committee on sanitary and phytosanitary control. UNDP Strategic Partnership Advisor, Mezahir Efendiyev stressed the importance of the training to harmonize both countries custom control systems and improve their existing cooperation in this field. Its very important to develop closer cooperation, trade facilitation and data exchange between the Azerbaijan State Customs Committee and Georgian Revenue Service especially in the area of SPS control at BCPs he said. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to facilitation of the movement of goods across border between Georgia and Azerbaijan. At the same time, it is important to maintain secure borders through enhancement of bilateral and multilateral co-operation between the target countries and EU Member States. The Project supports institutional development and capacity-building of the Georgian RS and SCC of Azerbaijan, including building capacity to carry out SPS controls and exchange of information as appropriate. It is also expected to improve their operational capacities through provision of better infrastructure and modern technology. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 13:17 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Doubts over the possibility of the oil cut deal regained its dominance in the energy market as worries about internal disputes within OPEC strengthened following the technical conference in Vienna. Oil turned negative in volatile trade on November 23 on worries that certain countries were not ready to cut the oil output, which would be the group's first supply-limiting deal since 2008. International Brent crude oil futures slipped 8 cents to $49.04 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude recorded a decrease of 8 cents and stood at $47.95 OPEC officials tried to draw up the details of an agreement to cut output before a formal meeting during the second assembly of the High-Level Committee. OPEC experts were reported to make some progress on the first day of a two-day meeting, but uncertainty coming from of Iran, Iraq and Indonesia about the level of their participation bolstered problematical character of the deal. The cartel will debate an oil output cut of 4.0-4.5 percent for all of its members except Libya and Nigeria next week, while the cut is expected to bring OPEC's current output down by more than 1.2 million bpd. While a ceiling for overall OPEC production is expected to be agreed in the anticipated meeting, it is still unclear whether quotas would be set per each member state. While the market is still suffering greatly from supply glut and seeking to bring production into line with consumption, any deal is expected to initially be applied over six months and then reviewed. Moreover, even if the deal is reached, the oil market may remain oversupplied, should there is a renewed rise in oil production in the US, where drilling activity has been rising sharply. The volume of petroleum import from OPEC countries averaged at 3.422 million barrels per day in the first eight months of 2016, as compared to averagely 2.816 million barrels per day in the same period in 2015, according to the Monthly Energy Review of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Petroleum import from non-OPEC countries averaged 6.662 million barrels per day in therepoerted period, as compared to averagely 6.720 million barrels per day in the same period in 2015. Oil production from countries outside the OPEC currently represents about 60 percent of world oil output. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 14:52 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova As the next presidential election in Turkmenistan nears, the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda accelerates the preparation process. Ashgabat hosted the meeting of the Central Commission on November 22, which revealed that as many as 2,578 polling stations have been created, including for those living abroad. Some 39 polling stations have been set up at the diplomatic missions of Turkmenistan abroad. The Commission stated that the main aim is to do everything for the forthcoming election to be held at the highest organizational level, in strict compliance with the electoral laws of Turkmenistan and international law. The election is scheduled for February 12, 2017, in accordance with a decree the Parliament adopted during its 16th session on October 15. Acting President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is believed to be the front-runner in the race, having been openly supported by state media and top-ranking officials. Three parties for the first time will get involved in the presidential election scheduled for 2017 in Turkmenistan. In addition to the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan, the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Agrarian Party may participate in the presidential election. According to Article 69, A citizen of Turkmenistan, born in Turkmenistan, not younger than 40 years, who speaks the national language, has been living constantly in Turkmenistan for the past 15 years, can be elected as President of Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan is a presidential republic, whereby the President of the country is both head of the state and head of the government. The country has a multi-party system. Current Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was twice elected to this high post. During the last election in February 2012, he gained support of 97.4 percent of voters. --- Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 15:00 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova Iran has established correspondent relationships with 230 foreign banks since January 16, following the implementation of the nuclear deal. Vice-Governor of Irans Central Bank Gholamali Kamyab told Mehr that the Iranian banks launched letters of credit in the amount of $17 billion in the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (started from March 20). In addition, Iran's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance reported that the Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI), upon expansion of its cross-border activities, has begun brokerage relations with numerous banks around the world. The latest status of EDB (Export Development Bank of Iran) reveals that brokerage ties have been formed with a total of 64 banks in 20 European countries, 36 banks in 17 Asian states, four banks in Africa as well as one bank in Latin America. The P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the UK, the US as well as Germany) reached a historic deal with Iran last year to curb the Islamic Republics nuclear program in return for lifting the nuclear-related sanctions. The JCPOA came into force in January, removing nuclear-relations sanctions against Iran in exchange for Tehran putting certain restrictions on its nuclear activities. In the same month, the European Union and the US formally announced the lifting of economic embargoes against Iran after the IAEA verified Tehrans compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal. However, the Islamic Republic complains that it still does not have access to global financial markets. Many international banks still shy away from financing trade deals and processing transactions for fear of US penalties. --- Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 November 2016 16:10 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova Tehran and Moscow have agreed on a draft memorandum of understanding which envisages facilitation of visa issuance for group tours. The draft document was prepared by Ali Chegini, Director General for consular affairs of Irans Foreign Ministry and his Russian counterpart Yevgeny Ivanov in Tehran on the sidelines of the fifth session of the Iranian-Russian commission for consular collaboration, ISNA news agency reported on November 23. The two sides also called for further talks for boosting consular relations. Earlier this year, the two countries put into legal effect an intergovernmental agreement on simpler rules for trips to Russia and Iran by certain categories of Russian and Iranian citizens, including businessmen, culture figures, researchers, teachers, students, and tourists. Ivanov in an interview with Tasnim news agency voiced hope that the draft will be finalized for signing within four months. He further said Russia had issued 80,000 visas for Iranian citizens during the first 10 months of 2016, which indicates a 100-percent increase year-on-year. Both Iran and Russia enjoy big tourism potential and the two countries can take advantage of that, Ivanov said, adding it is planned that group tours from Iran, including 5-50 people, will be permitted to stay in Russia without a visa for 15 days. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani signed a deal that eased bilateral visa rules during Putins visit to Tehran in 2015. This document aims to ease the two countries' citizens' travel and eases the conditions for exchange of trade and technological delegations between the two countries. The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $1.5 billion in July, while the figure is expected to double by March 2017. --- Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Bakersfield, CA (93308) Today Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 61F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Cloudy with periods of light rain. Low 47F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Based on advertised prices, a tank of gas at two new Beaumont gas station/convenience stores could run you about $140. Fuel signs at the soon-to-open Shell and Valero stations display a price of $8.88 a gallon - to make sure the bulbs work and to discourage would-be customers. Darrell Roberson, waiting for a pump to activate at a Chevron station on the north side of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway alongside Interstate 10, considered supply and demand - even at realistic prices. "I don't know where you'd put some more," he said of gas stations. Number of US convenience stores (as of Dec. 31, 2015) Year: Number of stores 2015: 154,195 2014: 152,794 2013: 151,282 2012: 149,220 2011: 148,126 2010: 146,341 2009: 144,541 2008: 144,875 2007: 146,294 2006: 140,655 2005: 138,205 2004: 130,659 2003: 132,424 US retail outlet counts Convenience stores: 154,195 Dugstores: 41,969 Superettes/supermarkets/supercenter: 51,055 Dollar stores: 27,378 Source: National Association of Convenience Stores See More Collapse Tri-Con Inc., which distributes Shell, Exxon, Mobil and Chevron-Texaco, operates nearly two dozen fuel stops and convenience store-restaurants. One of its newest is at the corner of MLK Parkway and East Cardinal Drive, south of Lamar University. Tri-Con acquired the property from the company that owns the Fast Lane stops, demolished what was there, including a fleet-fueling station adjacent to the corner, and left it vacant for a few years. Construction began in late March, and the store might open by Thanksgiving, said Tri-Con operations manager Ron Nicklas. Tri-Con also has another under construction at Washington Boulevard and Interstate 10. Fuel stop-convenience stores are big business in Texas, which has more of the combination stops than any other state. The convenience retailing industry has almost doubled in the last three decades. At the end of 1985, the national store count was 90,900 stores. At the end of the 1995, the store count was 101,100 stores, and 10 years later, it was 140,665 stores, the National Association of Convenience Stores reported. In the previous 10 years, the count rose by about 15,000 to 154,000. Ten percent of those are in Texas. >> Click through the slideshow above to see the top 10 states in America for convenience stores "Everything here has a reason for being," Nicklas said at the Shell store at MLK and Cardinal. "Shell likes things a certain way." One of the requirements is easy access for a variety of vehicles. A large pickup pulling a long trailer maneuvered into a pump, and its driver climbed out, looked at the price on the sign and threw his hands wide in shock. When he learned the station wasn't open yet, he laughed and left, easily driving his rig back out. The new stores also have a restaurant chain presence in them. One of the company's fuel-convenience stops on Saba Lane in Port Neches has a mural theme on its walls featuring Port Neches-Groves Indians, Nicklas said, and the new one at MLK and Cardinal is Lamar University-themed. The cost to build a store runs around $2 million or more these days, Nicklas said. A high-performing store should expect to sell 2 million gallons a year, and the MLK and Cardinal Drive store should be in the mid- to high-performance range, Nicklas said. Gasoline-convenience stores come and some of them actually go. At 4715 Calder Ave., an older store closed and Goodwill Industries bought the location to use as a drop-off, said Chris Boone, city of Beaumont planning director. No guideline exists for telling when a market might be saturated with fuel-convenience stops, Boone said. "In the 1950s, there was probably one car per household," Boone said. "Now, there are more people, more cars, more driving and more daily trips." DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/dwallach This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate If the topic of outsourcing the Beaumont city attorney's office ever comes back to City Council, it will only be as the result of a voter initiative to place the issue on a future city ballot. After a work session Tuesday on the subject, Mayor Becky Ames said she considers the matter closed. "This won't come back again unless a majority (of council) wants it to," she said. Ward 2 Councilman Mike Getz said he wanted council to consider whether eliminating the city attorney's office would save money. Doing so would require voters to approve a change in the city charter in a municipal election. The next election is in May. Getz began pursing the issue earlier this month after council gave a pay raise to City Attorney Tyrone Cooper, bringing his annual compensation to about $190,000 from about $153,000. Cooper has worked in the city attorneys' office for 37 years. The office also employs eight others, including a first assistant attorney, a senior assistant attorney, a liability administrator who helps settle claims, an administrative assistant, a legal assistant, a police legal counsel, a city prosecutor and a municipal court administrator. City Manager Kyle Hayes said the city attorney's office costs between $1.1 million to $1.2 million per year. "The city is a $250 million entity," Hayes said. The city has 11 operating departments and 35 divisions and 1,300 employees. Two of the departments - the police and fire departments - are covered by contracts, which the city attorney's office negotiates, he said. Department heads continually seek legal advice from the city attorney's office, and Cooper said the office is available for any of the city's 1,300 employees in connection with their jobs. "I'd be at a loss if they were outsourced," Ames said. "I don't see how it would work. If you called an outsourced lawyer, you'd be charged in 15-minute increments." The city attorney's office has one client only, and that is the city, Cooper said. Ward 3 Councilman Audwin Samuel asked Getz if he intended to put other departments up for a vote to see if the city can cut its budget. "I don't think we should look at just one department," Samuel said. Getz said other cities that are of similar size to Beaumont are able to spend less for their legal work than Beaumont, which Cooper disputed because he said Getz's figures did not include settlements for legal claims. Getz defended his position by saying if it's financially prudent and practical, council should consider it. "Just because we've done one thing for a very long time doesn't mean it's the best way or the right way," Getz said. Most council members who spoke on the topic did not support a possible outsourcing of the city attorney's office. DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/dwallach Before being ushered into a police cruiser Monday night, the man suspected of killing SAPD Det. Benjamin Marconi said he didn't know the 20-year police veteran before he allegedly shot him twice in the head Sunday. Otis Tyrone McKane, 31, was arrested and charged with capital murder Monday. McKane said he "lashed out at somebody who didn't deserve it" on Sunday due to an ongoing custody battle over his son. Marconi pulled over a driver Sunday around 11:45 a.m. to issue a traffic citation. During the traffic stop, a black Mitsubishi Galant pulled up behind Marconi's cruiser and police say McKane got out and fired two shots through Marconi's window, killing him. AUSTIN Gov. Greg Abbott released his latest tax return Tuesday, showing he and his wife Cecilia paid no federal taxes in 2015 on income totaling just under $120,000. With standard deductions and exemptions, the Abbotts reduced their taxable income to just $4,922, according to the filing, which left them with no federal tax bill for year. They are due a refund of $27,059. See Abbott's full return online The Republican governor has released copies of his personal tax returns dating back to 2011, a practice he started while campaigning for the state's highest office in 2013. He has pledged to voluntarily release his tax returns for as long as he serves as governor. "Governor Abbott is fulfilling his pledge to Texans and continues to believe his financial dealings should not be shielded from the public," spokesman Matt Hirsch said. The 2015 tax filing was the first time that the Abbotts effectively paid no federal income tax in the years of tax releases the governor has made public. Abbott and his wife Cecilia reported total income of $134,000 in 2014 and paid $104 in federal income taxes that year. The Abbotts respectively paid $28,743, $18,098 and about $14,000 in federal taxes in 2011, 2012 and 2013, while reporting income in those years of about $200,000. The Abbotts earned a total of $119,819 in total income from the governor's state salary in 2015. They claimed more than $101,000 in deductions, largely stemming from property taxes, mortgage interest and charitable contributions. The Abbotts also claimed another $12,000 in deductions. In his return, the governor listed $42,544 paid last year in property taxes for a multi-million dollar West Austin home that was sold in May of 2015 and $13,125 in charitable contributions. The governor also paid $1,490 in general sale taxes The tax documents disclosed by Abbott on Tuesday give only a broad glimpse into his finances. Abbott has received millions of dollars from a settlement following his 1984 accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He currently receives more than $170,000 annually and also gets a six-figure lump-sum payment every three years. That money is nontaxable and not reported on the governor's tax forms. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate After years of enduring rust-colored tap water and months of back and forth over state permits, Bridge City finally has the green light to test its $1.4 million water filtration system - a system at least one environmentalist fears could worsen the problem. City Manager Jerry Jones said the city received a letter on Monday from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approving a 120-day pilot study program for the filters. Jones said the city will begin setting up the filtration system this month at two well sites and expects it will be running by Jan. 1. City Council voted a year ago to purchase the filters, designed to remove the excess iron and manganese that have been present in the city's water supply for at least a decade. The two chemical components are linked to the water's brown color and foul smell. The color of the city's water has been a long-running problem, but "it's gotten worse in the last year or so," Jones said. The state put the brakes on the new filtration system in September after the TCEQ discovered a city contractor had not secured permits for the project. The issue has since been resolved, Jones said. Environmental investigator Bob Bowcock, of the Claremont, California-based Integrated Resource Management Inc., said the city's new filtration system could be problematic because it contains bromides, a chemical compound that can create trihalomethanes when mixed with chlorine, which is the main chemical used in the new filtration system. If consumed in high amounts, trihalomethanes can cause liver and kidney damage, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bowcock said he has been working with the city since September to resolve the issue. He said the filtration system is not the best choice to correct the problem and he is "cautiously optimistic" it will work. "If you don't understand the complete balance of chemistry, you're going to make the situation worse," Bowcock said. In July, Bridge City officials sent a letter to 3,400 of the city's water customers alerting them that the TCEQ had found an elevated level of trihalomethanes in the city's water. In September, TCEQ said the trihalomethanes had returned to a normal level. City officials have maintained that the city's water is safe to drink. Bridge City resident Ryan Myers said his water isn't discolored, but he still doesn't drink it. He said he drinks bottled water and has started buying it for his dog after he heard about the problems with the city's water. "I don't want to take any chances," Myers said. NKrebs@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/natalie_krebs Pennsylvania-based Mylan Pharmaceuticals' attorney sent a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying the company will not testify at a Senate hearing on Nov. 30, 2016, according to STAT. Here are five takeaways: 1. In the letter, the attorney said Mylan will not appear for three reasons, with the first reason listed as the "stated focus of the hearing." 2. Mylan also refuses to testify because the case is a pending matter and the Department of Justice and CMS previously stated they are not sending officials to testify. 3. In a statement, Sen. Grassley wrote, "The Obama Administration is dodging accountability for an expensive problem, and now a company is following its bad example...Ironically, the company was eager to talk about this problem a few weeks ago in a press release to investors but not before the United States Senate. It's a shame government agencies and the company are ducking accountability under a voluntary process." 4. A Senate Judiciary Committee spokesperson said the committee may reschedule the hearing and the committee has subpoenaed other witnesses. Sen. Grassley called the hearing following a CMS report stating Mylan overcharged Medicaid for EpiPen over a several-year time span. Various legislators have questioned CMS following the reports for how closely it monitored Medicaid rebates. 5. In September, Sen. Grassley, alongside Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch saying Mylan "may have knowingly misclassified EpiPens." Sen. Grassley also penned a separate letter probing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White as to whether the agency was investigating if Mylan misled investors. He wrote, "If Mylan's purpose of the press release was to increase stock prices at the risk of misleading investors, it is exactly this set of facts and circumstances that the SEC should monitor." More articles on coding & billing: CNN: President-elect Trump's Social Security advisor called for privatized Medicare: 3 notes DOJ, Anthem-Cigna attorneys make opening arguments in day 1 of antitrust trial 5 key thoughts 11 common coding mistakes in ASCs & how your center can prevent them Maintaining independence in the competitive healthcare industry will likely continue to challenge many surgery centers and providers. Omaha-based Advanced Surgery Center has faced some difficulty in the largely hospital-dominated marketplace. In Omaha, many hospitals own ASCs and hospitals often contract with the region's leading payers, noted Maggie Summerfelt, administrator of Advanced Surgery Center. The hospitals form unique contracts with these payers, with some contracts requiring that the insurance companies only send their employees to certain locations for procedures, which often do not include freestanding ASCs. Therefore, Advanced Surgery Center is placed under a tier system with some payers and may not be reimbursed at the same level as the hospitals. While affiliation with a larger organization does come with perks, such as access to resources, independent surgery centers also have many benefits, including the ability to make decisions without navigating layers of bureaucracy. "We are able to make decisions quickly. Our doctors can make complaints, talk to our staff and we can have it fixed by the next time they come in for a procedure," said Ms. Summerfelt. "Hospital-owned ASCs will have three meetings to accomplish something. If something needs to be changed, we can change it. We have very high physician satisfaction." With the ability to accomplish goals quickly, the center has maintained a satisfied staff as well as patients. Since Advanced Surgery Center opened its doors in February 2006, the center has retained more than 50 percent of its staff. The center's staff members work closely with one another, with Ms. Summerfelt noting that staff members are "like a family." The surgery center has remained viable despite hospitals' dominating presence in large part due to affiliation with ASC associations. The organizations can educate ASC personnel about the latest updates in the healthcare industry to ensure they are in line with recent regulations and standards. Oftentimes, Ms. Summerfelt explained 100 percent physician-owned centers isolate themselves and do not take an active role in regional or national ASC associations. Advanced Surgery Center is affiliated with Nebraska Association of Independent Ambulatory Centers and Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, and Ms. Summerfelt serves on ASCA's governmental affairs committee. "You can't live in a box. You have to put yourself out there and be part of an organization that gives you information," she said. "A lot of physician-owned centers stay in their own nook and forget to stay involved, which gets them in trouble." After identifying the Guanylate Cyclase C enzyme in the early 1990s, Scott Waldman, MD, and Adam Snook, MD, are set to take a vaccine that targets the enzyme to destroy metastatic tumors to a phase II trial in 2017. Here's what you should know. 1. Dr. Waldman and Dr. Snook are both professors at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and Dr. Waldman is the chair of the department of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics. They reported the enzyme has been "shown to be highly accurate for detecting the spread and predicting recurrence of colorectal cancer." The duo's vaccine instructs the immune system to stop metastatic tumor cells and destroy them. 2. Dr. Waldman said the preliminary findings on the vaccine "mean we have the potential to limit the aggressive nature of this disease and prevent metastases." 3. Exton, Pa.-based Targeted Diagnostics & Therapeutics holds the rights to the drug and has supported the work in Dr. Waldman's lab. 4. After 15 years of research and several lab and animal-based studies, Dr. Waldman's new drug application was approved by the FDA in 2013. His phase I trial tested the safety and tolerability of the drug in stage I and II cancer patients. It was safe and well-tolerated. 5. Dr. Waldman recently secured funding for a phase II trial. It's set to take place in 2017, pending FDA approval. It will assess the vaccine's effectiveness with intent of commercializing the vaccine. The trial will take two years. 6. If the trial can show efficacy, the physicians will seek Orphan Drug Status to "fast-track" it to the market. More articles on gastroenterology/endoscopy: Outreach to cirrhosis patients increases likelihood of liver cancer screening: 3 study insights GI leader to know: Dr. Muhammad Ali of Gastroenterology Consultants of San Antonio AGA urges members to petition Congress over FY17 funding bill: 4 thoughts The following hospitals announced plans in the last week to expand, upgrade or renovate their facilities. 1. Medical City Dallas to build Women's Hospital Medical City Dallas unveiled plans to build Women's Hospital, which will provide specialized healthcare for a comprehensive range of women's services in a $125 million, state-of-the-art facility. 2. New Orleans VA hospital opens after 2-year delay City, state and federal officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 18, to mark the long-awaited opening of the Veterans Affairs hospital in New Orleans, according to The Times-Picayune. 3. UC San Diego Health opens Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla UC San Diego Health on Nov. 20 opened Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla, Calif., a nearly $1 billion, 10-story medical center equipped with enhanced amenities for patients and expanded clinical capabilities, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. 4. Freeman Neosho breaks ground on hospital expansion Freeman Neosho (Mo.) Hospital held a ground breaking ceremony Nov. 17 to kick off expansion efforts on its main campus, reports The Joplin Globe. 5. Dartmouth-Hitchcock pulls trigger on $5M land deal for new clinic prior to layoffs Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock closed a $5 million land deal before announcing major layoffs two months ago, according to a New Hampshire Union Leader report. 6. Acadia Healthcare, Greenville Health System embark on $64M psychiatric hospital Greenville (S.C.) Health System and Franklin, Tenn.-based Acadia Healthcare will open a $64 million psychiatric hospital in Greenville to expand mental healthcare and substance abuse treatments, reports Greenville Online. 7. Children's National Health System to build medical research hub at former Walter Reed Army Medical Center Washington, D.C.-based Children's National Health System will acquire ownership Thursday of nearly 12 acres of the former 110-acre Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus in Bethesda, Md., according to the Washington Business Journal. Here are the top 11 gifts, pledges and bequests from individuals to hospitals or health organizations within the past year. The Chronicle of Philanthropy maintains a database of recent gifts of $1 million or more made by individuals to charitable institutions. Please note several gifts are of equal value, meaning more than 11 are listed. Giving figures are based on donations announced to date by the donors or their beneficiaries. In cases of bequests, most of the figures are estimates because the wills have not been settled. This list contains gifts ordered under "Health" and "Medical Research" by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. *Editor's note: This list was revised Nov. 23 at 11:15 a.m. CT to include The Marcus Foundation's gift to Piedmont Healthcare, which was not included in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. It was also revised Dec. 1 at 9:00 a.m. to include Ernest Tschannen's gift to UC Davis Health System, which was not included in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. 1. $75 million to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (New York City) Donor: The Steven and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation. Mr. Cohen founded SAC Capital Advisors, a hedge fund. Details: The donation will fund a new hospital, named after the couple, for prenatal and postnatal care. 1. $75 million to Piedmont Healthcare (Atlanta) Donor: The Marcus Foundation. Bernie Marcus is cofounder of The Home Depot. Details: The gift, the second largest gift ever made to a U.S. community hospital, will establish the Marcus Heart and Vascular Center. 2. $50 million to the Stamford (Conn.) Hospital Foundation Donor: Kingsley and Kenyon Gillespie. Mr. Kingsley Gillespie owned a Stamford, Conn., area radio station and was the publisher of two newspapers, the Stamford Advocate and the Greenwich Times. Upon his death in 1984, he left his estate to his son Kenyon, who, before his death in 2015, increased the Gillespie family's assets through investments. Details: The $50 million is part of a $100 million bequest will go toward the Stamford Hospital Foundation. MIT, the Rotary Club of Stamford (Conn.), First Presbyterian Church of Stamford (Conn.), Setauket (N.Y.) Presbyterian Church and Stony Brook, N.Y.-based Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages will each receive approximately $10 million. 3. $38.5 million to UC Davis Health System Donor: Ernest Tschannen. Mr. Tschannen, a 91-year-old Switzerland native, is a real estate investor. He first underwent eye surgery at UC Davis Health System in 2000. Details: Mr. Tschannen's gift is the largest from an individual in UC Davis' history. It will support the UC Davis Eye Center and the Center for Vision Wellness. 4. $25 million to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Donor: Brian and Aileen Roberts and family. Mr. Roberts, chairman of Comcast, is a former member of the hospital's board of directors. Details: The gift will fund pediatric genetics research and development. 4. $25 million to the Jupiter (Fla.) Medical Center Foundation Donor: Anonymous Details: The gift, which is the largest in the foundation's history, is going toward a new cancer institute. 5. $20 million to Rochester (N.Y.) Regional Health Donor: Rob Sands, CEO of Constellation Brands, a beer, wine and spirits company. Details: The gift will fund the Sands-ConstellationCenter for Critical Care, a 7-story building expected to open in 2020. 5. $20 million to the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub (San Francisco) Donor: Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn, and his wife, Michelle Yee. Details: The pledge will support research among scholars from Stanford (Calif.) University, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, San Francisco. 5. $20 million to the Intermountain Foundation (Salt Lake City) Donor: Kem Gardner, founder of the Gardner Company, a real estate firm. Mr. Gardner is chairman of the Intermountain Foundation's board. Details: The pledge will be used to build the Intermountain Transformation Center, which will be home to institutes that train medical and healthcare professionals. 6. $16 million to Riddle Hospital (Media, Pa.) Donor: John Bancker Gribbel. In 1947, Mr. Gribbel died at age 63. He and his family were patients of the former Media Hospital and of Charles Schoff, MD, who founded the hospital in 1909. Dr. Schoff also cared for Samuel Riddle, a businessman and racehorse owner. When Mr. Riddle died in 1951, he stipulated part of his estate to build a better hospital which opened in 1963 as Riddle Hospital. Details: The donation is from a trust established by Mr. Gribbel's will. It will be used to form an endowment supporting patient care. 7. $15 million to Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, Ohio) Donor: Ann Wolfe, the widow of John Wolfe, former publisher of the Columbus Dispatch. Mr. Wolfe died in June 2016. Details: The gift go toward research imaging capabilities and support for endowed chair opportunities. 8. $10.75 million to the University of Michigan Depression Center (Ann Arbor) Donor: Kenneth and Frances Eisenberg. Mr. Eisenberg serves as chairman and CEO of Kenwal Steel Corporation. Details: The gift will expand research endeavors on depression and potential treatments. It will also endow a professorship, future research programs and awards for early-career leaders and strong leadership in the field. 9. $10 million to the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center (Baltimore) Donor: The Steven and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation. Mr. Cohen founded SAC Capital Advisors, a hedge fund. Details: The gift will enable the center to conduct research on Lyme disease and develop new treatments. It will be divided among three research teams led by John Aucott, MD, Ying Zhang, MD, and Brian Schwartz, MD. 9. $10 million to the American Cancer Society (Atlanta) Donor: Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation. Mr. Schulze is the founder of Best Buy. Details: This is a challenge gift, a noncontingent gift through which other donors are also challenged to support the same organization. It will go toward the development of a new cancer treatment center in Houston. 9. $10 million to Nantucket (Mass.) Cottage Hospital Donor: Bruce and Elisabeth Percelay. Mr. Percelay is founder and chairman of the real estate firm Mount Vernon Company. The couple's two children were born at the hospital. Details: The donation will go toward Nantucket Cottage Hospital's capital campaign, including campus redesigns and on-campus housing for medical staff. 9. $10 million to the Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center (Peoria, Ill.) Donor: William Shepard, founder of brokerage company Shepard International and co-owner of investment firm Jump Trading. Details: The gift will enable Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center to expand its library of 3D-printed hearts. 9. $10 million for the BRCA Foundation (San Francisco) Donor: Evan Goldberg, cofounder of NetSuite, which makes business management software. Details: The gift creates the foundation, a collaboration between UCSF, Stanford and Harvard. The BRCA Foundation strives to accelerate research into cancers caused by the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Individuals who have inherited mutations of the genes are at increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers. 9. $10 million to Rady Children's Hospital (San Diego) Donor: The Joseph Clayes III Charitable Trust. Prior to his death in 2007, Mr. Clayes was a real estate investor and avocado farmer. Details: The bequest will create the Joseph Clayes III Research Center for Neuro-Oncology and Genomics. It will also support a chair in neuro-oncology research, a neuro-oncology research fund, a neuro-oncology research fellowship and education fund. All of them will be named after Mr. Clayes. 9. $10 million to the Children's Medical Center Foundation (Dallas) Donor: The Pogue Family Foundation. Mack and Jean Pogue are the cofounders of Lincoln Property, a Dallas-based commercial real estate management company. Details: The Children's Medical Center Foundation will use the gift to recruit and retain pediatric cancer researchers for the Children's Medical Center Research at Dallas-based UT Southwestern. This gift is twice as much the Pogue Family Foundation's previous gifts to the foundation in 2001 ($3 million) and 2008 ($5 million). 9. $10 million to the Rehabilitation Institution of Chicago Donor: The Harris Family Foundation, which is overseen by King and Caryn Harris. Mr. Harris serves as chairman of Chicago-based Harris Holdings, a private investment firm. Details: The gift will create the Center for Engineering in Neurorehabilitation, which will provide therapy for individuals who have had strokes, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries or other neurological or neuromuscular disorders. 9. $10 million to Mayo Clinic Jacksonville (Fla.) Donor: John and Carolyn Sonnentag. They made the donation to honor Mr. Sonnentag's surgeon, Robert E. Wharen Jr., MD. Details: The donation will establish the John H. and Carolyn O. Sonnentag Fund for Neurosurgery Residency in Florida, which will endow programs to educate neurosurgery residents at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. 9. $10 million to Children's of Mississippi (Jackson) Donor: Joe F. Sanderson Jr. and Kathy Sanderson. Mr. Sanderson serves as CEO of Sanderson Farms, a poultry company. Details: The $10 million pledge, which will be paid over five years, will benefit Children's of Mississippi's capital campaign, which the Sandersons chair. 9. $10 million to the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund (Eugene, Ore.) Donor: Philip H. and Penelope Knight. Mr. Knight is the cofounder of Nike. Details: The pledge will support the David B. Frohnmayer Scientific Research Fund, which is a fund within the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund. The pledge will accelerate the pace of clinical trials, gene therapies, drug testing and other treatments for individuals with Fanconi anemia. 10. $7 million to Holy Cross Hospital (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) Donor: Phil Smith, founder of Phil Smith Automotive Group, which operates auto dealerships in North Carolina and Florida. Details: The partial challenge gift will enable HolyCrossHospital to expand neurological care, especially for patients with Lou Gehrig's disease. A portion of the gift $2 million will match other donations made to the program. 11. $5 million to Rochester (N.Y.) Regional Health Donor: The Riedman Foundation. John Riedman serves as chairman of the Riedman Corporation and as a director of Brown & Brown Insurance. He is a longtime Rochester General Hospital and Rochester Regional Health board member. Details: The gift will fund a new patient facility at Rochester General, construction of which was set to begin in November. The $26 million, 76,000-square foot facility is named The Riedman Health Center in recognition of the gift. 11. $5 million to the Jupiter (Fla.) Medical Center Foundation Donor: Peter O. and Missy Crisp. Mr. Crisp is the former managing partner of Venrock Associates, a venture capital firm. Details: The gift will fund a new cancer institute. Coupled with the $25 million anonymous gift Jupiter Medical Center Foundation secured this year, the foundation raised more than half of the $50 million necessary to build the institute. 11. $5 million to the Queen of the Valley Medical Center Foundation (Napa, Calif.) Donor: Ron and Betty Profili, co-owners of Bay Heritage Financial Corp., a real estate investment and development company. Mr. Profili serves on the foundation's board of trustees. Details: In recognition of the Profilis' pledge, the Queen of the Valley Medical Center Foundation named its imaging center the Profili Imaging Center. 11. $5 million to MorseLife West Health System (West Palm Beach, Fla.) Donor: Stephen A. and Petra Levin. Mr. Levin serves as chairman of Gold Coast Beverage Distributors. Details: The gift will help build a 300,000-square-foot independent living residence for senior citizens, which is expected to open in 2017. The facility will be called the Stephen and Petra Levin Tower in honor of the donors. 11. $5 million to Peconic Bay Medical Center (Riverhead, N.Y.) Donor: The John and Elaine Kanas Family Foundation. Mr. Kanas served as CEO of North Fork Bancorporation before it was sold to Capital One in 2006. Details: The donation, which is among the largest in the medical center's history, will establish the first comprehensive cardiac care program on eastern Long Island. In addition, the care program is part of Peconic Bay Medical Center's $60 million project to construct a new critical care tower. The top three vendors hospitals use to attest to the meaningful use program are Cerner, Meditech and Epic, according to June 2016 ONC data. Here are 21 hospitals and health systems that posted job listings seeking EHR and IT expertise for these systems in the past two weeks. Note: This is not an exhaustive list. Job listings were compiled from job seeker websites. Cerner 1. Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (Ann Arbor, Mich.): Seeks a patient services assistant 2. Sinai Hospital (Baltimore): Seeks a health information document specialist 3. Rogers Memorial Hospital (Appleton, Wis.): Seeks an intake coordinator 4. Bloomington Hospital (Indianapolis): Seeks a precertification assistant 5. Mount Sinai Hospital Center (New York City): Seeks a surgical scheduling coordinator 6. Mercy Health (Grand Rapids, Mich.): Seeks a data/systems analyst 7. Virginia Hospital Center (Arlington): Seeks a systems analyst document manager Meditech 1. Winchester (Mass.) Hospital: Seeks a patient registrar 2. Lahey Clinic (Burlington, Mass.): Seeks a patient access agent 3. Porter Medical Center (Middlebury, Vt.): Seeks a medical technologist 4. Marietta (Ohio) Memorial Hospital: Seeks a patient care technician 5. Lewis-Gale Medical Center (Salem, Va.): Seeks an emergency department technician 6. Saint Vincent Hospital (Worcester, Mass.): Seeks a medical records retrieval tech 7. Henrico Doctors Hospital (Richmond, Va.): Seeks an OR scheduler Epic 1. Mount Sinai Medical Center (Miami Beach, Fla.): Seeks an IT systems trainer 2. University of Colorado Health (Denver): Seeks an Epic ClinDoc analyst 3. Palos Community Hospital (Palos Heights, Ill.): Seeks a computer operator 4. NorthShore University HealthSystem (Evanston, Ill.): Seeks a patient access trainer 5. Northwestern Medicine (Chicago): Seeks an application support analyst 6. Kaiser Permanente (Greenwood Village, Colo. campus): Seeks an application coordinator 7. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles): Seeks an implementation specialist Fergus Fall, Minn.-based Lake Region Healthcare CEO Larry Schulz plans to retire in May 2017, ending a 40-year administrative career in healthcare. Here are five things to know: 1. LRH named Mr. Schulz as head of the health system December 2008. 2. During his tenure as CEO, LRH opened a cancer center and a walk-in clinic. 3. He also oversaw the organization through its integration with the Fergus Falls Medical Group, Barnesville (Minn.) Area Clinic and Elbow Lake, Minn.-based Prairie Ridge Hospital and Health Services. 4. Prior to joining LRH, Mr. Schulz served as senior vice president of operations for Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives. 5. He has served as the chair of professional organizations, including the Minnesota Hospital Association and American Hospital Association Section for Small or Rural Hospitals. The House of Representatives asked the federal court of appeals for the D.C. circuit to temporarily pause a congressional lawsuit challenging the legality of the ACA's subsidy program, a move that could speed the GOP's dismantling of the federal exchanges, reports Politico. By pausing the litigation, the court would give President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration time to decide whether it wants to defend the financing mechanism of the ACA subsidy program. In lieu of federal subsidies, health insurance companies would be legally allowed to terminate their ACA health plans immediately, possibly affecting millions of Americans. "In light of public statements by the president-elect and his campaign, there is at least a significant possibility of a meaningful change in policy in the new administration that could either obviate the need for resolution of this appeal or affect the nature and scope of the issues presented for review," House representatives said in their request to the court. On Nov. 18, former podiatrist Frederick Weintraub was sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegally selling prescriptions of Oxycodone in Rock Island County, N.Y. Dr. Weintraub pled guilty to one count of distributing an illegal controlled substance on Aug. 5. According to The Record, Dr. Weintraub's New Jersey state medical license was revoked in December 2015 after he continued to practice medicine in the state even though his license was suspended in 2012 over multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. Dr. Weintraub was charged with one count of criminal sexual contact in 2012 after he allegedly groped and fondled the breast of a patient. Those charges were ultimately dismissed. From November 2015 to January 2016, Dr. Weintraub sold at least seven opioid prescriptions to someone who was cooperating with law enforcement, charging $500 to $700 per prescription. The sales took place in his car in the parking lot of a Rock Island hotel. "Illegally diverted prescription opiates feed the vicious cycle of addiction and abuse that is devastating too many of our communities," said Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "As a doctor, Frederick Weintraub was supposed to care for the health of his patients, not help fuel the country's most acute health crisis." More articles on legal and regulatory issues: Arizona CPA accused of defrauding physicians MD Anderson sues Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong over rights to Cancer Moonshot: 3 things to know Physician claims innocence after admitting he administered unnecessary chemotherapy to patients The top executives from Anthem and Cigna testified to defend their proposed $54 billion combination from a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reports. Here are four things to know. 1. Cigna CEO David Cordani took the stand for the first time since the trial began Nov. 21 in Washington, D.C. Mr. Cordani spoke about what the companies' possible integration would look like, saying joining the two organizations would be complicated and the deal is complex. 2. DOJ attorneys questioned Mr. Cordani about Cigna's innovation efforts, to which the CEO said the Bloomfield, Conn.-based insurer operates under a value-based model instead of a fee-for-service model. While the DOJ argues Indianapolis-based Anthem's acquisition of Cigna would hinder this innovation, Anthem said Cigna's innovation is why it is looking to purchase the company. Under Anthem lawyer questioning, Mr. Cordani said Cigna looks to spread its innovation efforts to more customers, which he said would benefit physicians and hospitals and "was the objective on day one," according to the report. 3. When lawyers questioned Mr. Cordani and Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish about the relationship between the two companies as each accused the other in September of breaching their agreement the executives asked the courtroom be closed due to the confidential material they planned to discuss. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson allowed the courtroom to be closed for several hours, during which Mr. Swedish gave most of his Tuesday testimony. The CEO also took the witness stand Nov. 21 to defend the deal. 4. Seven news organizations reporting on the trial, including The Wall Street Journal, sent a letter to Judge Jackson questioning the decision to keep the information from public view. When the courtroom reopened, Judge Jackson addressed the letter and said while she preferred open proceedings, some business information and details about third parties needed to be guarded in the trial. The judge asked Anthem and Cigna to file decisions about whether to release court transcripts from the closed session by Monday. Voters in Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota this month approved initiatives legalizing the medical use of marijuana. A total of 28 states already or will soon permit medical use of the drug, while eight states have approved it for recreational use, according to The New York Times. As more physicians in these states write prescriptions for marijuana, questions on whether health insurers should cover expenses for the drug have risen to the forefront. A primary aspect of the quandary is that scientific evidence is lacking on the benefits of marijuana or the dozens of cannabinoids found in the plant, according to the report. Typically, health insurers limit coverage of marijuana-related drugs for FDA-approved uses. The FDA has only approved a synthetic version of a cannabinoid and a similar drug for a narrow range of uses, including treatment of nausea in chemotherapy patients or to stimulate the appetites of patients with AIDS. However, state medical marijuana laws permit physicians to prescribe marijuana for patients with "debilitating" conditions, which could include glaucoma, cancer and chronic pain, according to the report. Patients usually pay for the drug out of pocket and several states have exempted workplace compensation insurers from covering the costs of medical marijuana. However, as a result of recent court rulings in New Mexico, workplace insurers must cover marijuana-based treatments if they are recommended by a physician, according to the report. Similar rulings have been issued out of courts in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Michigan. The Congress of Neurological Surgeons has entered into a partnership with Oxford University Press. Here are five highlights: 1. Effective January 2017, Oxford University Press will publish Neurosurgery and Operative Neurosurgery. 2. CNS selected Oxford University Press because of the company's "outstanding reputation, established partnerships and extensive experience co-publishing other scientific journals," according to the press release. 3. CNS President Alan M. Scarrow, MD, commented Oxford University Press has the ability to leverage digital technology combined with a "rich research heritage." 4. Neurosurgery and Operative Neurosurgery will serve as a complement to Neurosurgery, featuring operative procedures, anatomy, instrumentation, devices and technology. 5. Nelson M. Oyesiku, MD, serves as editor-in-chief of Neurosurgery and Operative Neurosurgery. To continue following the latest news and information for Bedfordshire and surrounding areas, simply enter your full postcode below The Catholic Church in Rwanda on Sunday apologised for its role in the 1994 genocide, in which over 8 lakh people were killed. The church acknowledged that its members planned, aided and executed the genocide. The apology coincides with the ending of the holy year of mercy which was declared by Pope Francis to encourage forgiveness in the church. Actor Sam Neill with a bottle of his Two Paddocks Pinot Noir during a visit to Northern Ireland A Co Antrim shop chain owner was left star-struck when Hollywood actor Sam Neill tweeted a picture of him to his 101,000 followers. Mr Neill, who was born in Omagh, also runs wine business Two Paddocks in his adopted home of New Zealand. While he shot to public consciousness playing Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, more recently he has starred in hit TV series Peaky Blinders and feature film Hunt for the Wilderpeople. He met Kilrea businessman Kenny Bradley, who stocks his wines, a few months ago at his home in New Zealand, where Mr Neill keeps a collection of animals including a bull called James Nesbitt. Mr Bradley owns seven Spar shops and petrol forecourts in Co Antrim and Co Londonderry and is currently developing Northern Ireland's second Applegreen service station near Ballymena. Having a go at the Northern Ireland dialect, Mr Neill tweeted: "Your man Kenny @HomeDelWine at Kenny's Spar, Highfield, Magherafelt NI has your Xmas necessities well covered. Rejoice #NornIron delivers!" Mr Bradley said: "Sam Neill's vineyards really are an art - everything is done with passion. "I really believe the Two Paddocks' Pinot Noir is the very best wine to pair with your turkey this Christmas, so I wanted to make a Christmas display with the Two Paddocks wines. "So I sent a number of pictures of what I planned to do over to Two Paddocks. "And a girl got back to us saying that she had passed the pictures on to Sam and that he really loved them and was for tweeting them. At the time we took it at face value and thought 'yeah right'. But it's been amazing - the messages haven't stopped flooding in." Northern Ireland must triple investment in research and development and increase venture capital funding in its knowledge economy because growth is now beginning to slow. That's according to Steve Orr, director of Connect at Catalyst Inc, who was speaking at the launch of the Knowledge Economy Index. But Noel McKenna, chief executive of cyber security company Titan IC, said: "Northern Ireland has the opportunity to create its own Silicon Valley for cyber-security in Belfast". However, the province is "struggling" to get enough top people for cyber-security roles, according to Stephen Wray, director of cyber risk services at Deloitte Digital. He said there was "zero per cent unemployment" in the sector. Almost 40,000 people are now employed in the so-called knowledge economy here, boasting 5bn in sales each year, according to the latest report. Professor John McCanny said he was concerned that smaller numbers of people here were studying PhDs. "It worries me on a number of fronts," he said. And Mr Orr said "our education system was designed in the Victorian age" and "needs to be modernised". He said there must be a "primary focus on indigenous companies" first, alongside foreign direct investment. But he warned the growth was "running out of puff". He said that if spending slowed or investment staggered "it is only going to get worse". Mr Orr said investment here must increase by around 10% to ensure growth continues. And to do that he said Northern Ireland needed to triple its research and development spend to 1.5bn, as well as increase venture capital lending to 90m. "We aren't going to be Cambridge or Oxford, but we are snapping at their heels," he said. Meanwhile, there will be doubts over funding following the vote for Brexit, according to David Crozier, head of strategic partnerships and engagement at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's University. "There's always a risk... but on the opportunity side, if you look at the recent UK cyber-security strategy which has been published, the UK Government is doubling its investment," it said. "Also on the plus side, the sectors that are covered by the knowledge economy, every one of those sectors requires cyber-security." Ian Sheppard, Bank of Ireland's regional director for Northern Ireland, said one key to success for companies was to ensure they had access to markets outside the region. Also addressing those gathered at the launch, Economy Minister Simon Hamilton praised our technology and innovation, and said it was "gaining a well-deserved reputation as a region where technology firms are thriving". The knowledge economy includes firms involved in pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, software, electronics, aerospace and financial technology. Firms in Northern Ireland contribute 30% of the total exports, while 70% of its sales are based outside the EU, according to the new report. Mr Hamilton said: "It is very encouraging to see that we are experiencing record numbers of new knowledge economy companies being established and more people than ever employed in the sector." The report shows that Northern Ireland is performing strongly in a number of areas. That includes the number of new start-ups, the number of venture capitalist deals, and innovation. However, it says areas which could still be improved include the overall level of investment, the number of publicly listed companies in the province and the volume of science and technology graduates. The Knowledge Economy Index predicts that as many as 160,000 roles - including indirect jobs - will be created here by 2030. Engineering giant Rolls-Royce has been named the best company in Britain to work for Engineering giant Rolls-Royce has been named the best company in Britain to work for. Other firms in the top 10 include Nike, John Lewis and HMV - with companies offering career progression, flexible working and perks dominating a list compiled by job site Indeed, based on employees' reviews. The top firms are well known for treating workers well, such as sharing profits or paying for professional exams. Bill Richards, managing director of Indeed, said: "While the need to earn a salary is the imperative that makes us go to work, it's far from the only criteria we judge work on. "Benefits and workplace flexibility play an important role in workplace happiness, but they're not the key determinants of what makes an organisation great. For most employees, feeling valued, a positive company culture and quality management matter more. "Having fun, feeling like you're having an impact and seeing that impact extend beyond the company to the world - those are the things that make a workplace really special." Daniel Perkins, global employer brand manager at Rolls-Royce, said: "At Rolls-Royce, we recognise that our people are our power. "We employ over 23,000 people in the UK across a huge variety of roles, functions and business areas. "This includes over 1,000 apprentices and graduates and we work to create an environment where every employee can reach their full potential, encouraging diversity, engagement and development." The top 10 - in order - was made up of Rolls-Royce, Nike, John Lewis, HMV, Kumon, Marriott Vacations, KPMG, Siemens AG, GAME and GlaxoSmithKline. Thomas Cook's profits fell but the pound's tumble against the euro and moves to shift from Turkey to alternative destinations helped limit the blow Travel giant Thomas Cook laid bare the impact of a "difficult year for tourism" as it posted a fall in profits after being hit by European terror attacks and political instability in Turkey. The group said underlying profits dropped to 308 million in the year to September 30 from 310 million a year earlier as it was forced to switch from popular sun-seeker destination Turkey, while demand in Belgium was knocked by the Brussels terrorist atrocity . But the pound's tumble against the euro since the Brexit vote and moves to shift from Turkey to alternative destinations helped limit the blow. It said underlying profits tumbled 41% on a like-for-like basis and with the currency boost stripped out. Bottom-line pre-tax profits were 47% lower on a like-for-like basis, at 42 million. Peter Fankhauser, chief executive of Thomas Cook, said: "In what's been a difficult year for tourism, I'm pleased with the progress that we've made at Thomas Cook. "The early actions we took to shift our holiday programme into the Western Mediterranean and long-haul, together with the benefits of a stronger euro, helped us to maintain revenue at group level." He said the group remains cautious over the year ahead. " We've had an encouraging start to bookings for summer 2017 in our key markets, but it is early days," added Mr Fankhauser. Thomas Cook said current winter bookings are 2% higher than a year earlier, or 5% ahead with the impact of Turkey stripped out. In the UK, bookings are also 2% higher or 4% up excluding Turkey, with average selling prices up 1%. Early-bird demand has already driven bookings higher across the group for next summer, with UK bookings up 2% thanks to strong demand for holidays in Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Mexico and the Caribbean. It is also taking steps to turn around trading in its German airline arm Condor, which it hopes will bear fruit in the second half of the current financial year. Geopolitical turmoil has been an ongoing concern for travel firms like Thomas Cook, which last year suffered from major cancellations in the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in Tunisia, Egypt and Paris. Thomas Cook lowered its full-year earnings guidance to around 300 million when it released third-quarter figures back in July, having previously projected profits of between 310 million and 335 million. The company is now investing in a new raft of own-brand hotels to "attract a new generation who might have thought a package holiday wasn't for them". It recently announced it will open 14 sites across countries including Croatia, Spain, Italy and Cyprus over the next two years. Shares in Thomas Cook lifted more than 7% as it cheered investors by resuming its dividend payout after a five-year break, despite falling annual profits. Mr Fankhauser said aside from the boost from the weaker pound, he had yet to see "any noticeable impact" from the Brexit hit on trading. He also made a plea ahead of the Autumn Statement for the Government to cut air passenger duty (APD) on flights for UK passengers. He said: "APD is by far the highest in Europe and among the highest in the world. "If the Government wants to help families, they should make it cheaper for them to enjoy a hard-earned holiday." Around 7,000 Northern Ireland homes are set to face higher rates bills in a revamp that will raise millions of pounds for the Executive. Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir insisted the shake-up will increase fairness and ensure the burden is more "broadly shouldered" - but was warned it will "cause trouble". The province's councils will also be able to raise up to 10m by striking their own non-domestic rates in future - breaking the historic link with the overall rates system. Read More And he plans a new scheme for small businesses, particularly in the retail and hospitality sector, which would become eligible for a rates discount averaging 40%. In the biggest single change, the current cap on rateable house values is to be removed under the proposals set out by Mr O Muilleoir in the Assembly yesterday. At present a house with a rateable value of more than 400,000 is still assessed at the 400,000 level. In future, rates would also apply to the portion above 400,000, raising 4.5m for Executive coffers. Other measures, including an end to the discount for early payments and the introduction of rates bills for charity shops, would bring the total up to over 16m for the Executive every year - "money that will help deliver the Executive's Programme for Government for all our citizens", he said. Read More "The application of the 400,000 cap means that those in houses with a higher value pay proportionately less than those in middle or lower value homes," the Sinn Fein minister told MLAs. "This to me is inherently unfair. Take Bill Gates's house - I know that many people would like to take the house of Bill Gates - he pays $1m a year in property tax on his $100m Washington home. If he lived here, the rates on that home would be less than $5,000 a year." But the DUP chair of the Assembly finance committee, Emma Little Pengelly, said the rates cap proposal would "create concern" and asked the minister to explain his proposals in greater detail at a future committee session. Her party colleague Jim Wells also warned the cap will "cause trouble". Read More The minister responded: "We need to nail our colours to the mast on the removal of the cap. We are either for it or against it." Alliance MLA Stephen Farry accused Sinn Fein of performing a u-turn on the issue of a rates cap. Mr O Muilleoir replied: "I thought that it was really important to stop faffing around and to try to focus on actions that will result in better outcomes for our people." He went on: "Taken together, these measures will actually lead to a revenue gain for the Executive and for our councils. "Current estimates are up to 16m a year, recurring, for the Executive. "Councils stand to gain up to 10m a year and this will help them deliver better outcomes in terms of local services, as well as their new role in place shaping, building communities and economic development." The proposed small business rate relief scheme, likely to run for three years, would give up to 40% support to 13,000 businesses, including shops in provincial towns which previously missed out. But around 10,000 properties, such as offices located above shops, will still not be eligible. On the vexed issue of introducing rates to charity shops, Mr O Muilleoir said the important issue was to "get the balance right". "Charity shops help to bring people into our high streets or small towns, in particular when times are tough, so we need to make sure we don't upset the healthy retail mix that exists in many areas," he said. "I am all in favour of continuing to single out charity shops on the high street for favourable treatment, but I do think there is a case for limiting their growth. We cannot have our high streets just made up of charity shops." He also proposed two pilot schemes to regenerate deprived areas of east and west Belfast, to be called business empowerment zones. These will begin in the lower Newtownards and lower Falls Roads and will provide special rates relief to encourage business and investment. Mr O Muilleoir said: "Having worked extensively in both areas, I know that the will is there to transform these key arterial roads". If successful, similar schemes may be trialled in a rural area. Stephen Kelly, chief executive of Manufacturing NI, said: "Everyone paying something, more regular revaluations, more flexibility for councils and business rates and securing reliefs which will help economic development, are principles which we have called for." Amber Heard stars in London Fields as a femme fatale, while Billy Bob Thornton is Samson Young, a terminally ill writer Amber Heard is being sued for 10 million dollars (8 million) for alleged breach of contract over her latest film London Fields. The actress and former wife of Johnny Depp is accused of conspiring with director Mathew Cullen to edit out nude scenes and failing to promote the film, which is based on the celebrated 1989 novel by Martin Amis. The movie was supposed to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last year but was pulled and remains without a distributor. In a lawsuit filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, producers Nicola Six Limited accuse Heard of a "concerted campaign of disinformation" which has left the film "in limbo". The lawsuit states: "While the inherent tension between actors and directors (on the one hand) and producers (on the other) is nothing new in Hollywood, the unauthorised and unlawful acts of Heard, Cullen, and others - most notably, their campaign to damage plaintiff, the picture, and the picture's investors - are perhaps unprecedented. "Indeed, as a result of their misconduct, which continues to this day, the very promising picture remains in limbo, hijacked and placed under a cloud by Heard, Cullen, and others." The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal cases surrounding the film adaptation of London Fields. Director Cullen has sued the film's producers for fraud, claiming they hijacked the final cut of the movie. The producers later counter-sued, accusing Cullen of breach of contract. London Fields stars Billy Bob Thornton as Samson Young, a terminally ill writer, and Heard as a femme fatale involved in a love triangle. Depp makes a cameo in the film amid claims earlier this year that he falsely accused Heard of having an affair with Thornton. During their high-profile divorce, Heard accused the Pirates Of The Caribbean star of writing the name of Thornton in blood on their bathroom wall. Scottish bands Travis and Del Amitri have joined forces to release a Christmas charity single. Travis have given a festive makeover to Del Amitri's hit Nothing Ever Happens, with all proceeds from its sale going to Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus (SBH) Scotland. The single, which will be available for download pre-order from iTunes on Thursday, features sleigh bells alongside Fran Healy's vocals. The track will also feature on an album of Del Amitri covers, developed by the band's fan base and featuring a host of famous Scottish musicians and song-writers. Ricky Ross, Julie Fowlis and Tom McRae have all provided songs for the album Pasted Beyond Recognition, named after lyrics from Del Amitri song Surface Of The Moon. Healy said: "Nothing Ever Happens is a perfect song which is as relevant today as it was when it was written. I feel honoured to have been allowed to give it a shot. "It's never going to be as good as the original but it's a decent effort. We hope it helps sell the CD." The album will be officially launched at a celebration of music on December 17 at Oran Mor in Glasgow, hosted by Hardeep Singh Kohli. All proceeds from the event and album sales will also be donated to SBH Scotland. Deborah Roe, director of fundraising for SBH Scotland, said: " As a charity that is almost solely self-funded, the money and awareness raised will make a huge difference to the lives of those across Scotland affected by these lifelong, complex conditions. "The launch gig will be the perfect end to our 50th anniversary celebrations." Pasted Beyond Recognition is also available for pre-release digital download on iTunes and a limited run of 500 CDs can be pre-ordered at www.sbhscotland.org.uk/del-amitri-cd. Eyes on: models wearing MAC make-up and (below right) the MAC Glitter in Red It was the surprise beauty hit on the AW16 catwalks and, now that Christmas is only just around the corner, it's time to let loose the shimmer. Make sure you stand out with Katie Wright's shining guide . There were gasps of surprise when the first model exited at the Burberry AW16 show. "Is that... glitter?" we wondered collectively, shocked that the storied house would unleash such a frivolous look on the catwalk. And it didn't stop there. There was dazzle-dust on the Paris and Milan runways too, as even brands like Vetements, known for the cool restraint of its models' make-up, caught the glitter bug. And with festive fun-times on the horizon, now's the perfect time to get in on the sparkly action. Here are five ways to shine with the grown-up glitter trend. Falling like golden tears onto models' razor-sharp cheekbones, Burberry's take on glitter is more punky than princessy. Recreate the look by patting a smoky matte shadow above and below the eyes, then use a liquid highlighter pen to create a dewy surface for Burberry Shimmer Dust to cling to. Don't worry if the two sides don't match exactly - that's all part of the appeal. Fresh Glow Highlighting Luminous Pen in Nude Radiance 01, 25 (www.burberry.com) Burberry Shimmer Dust in Gold Glitter 01, 20 (www.burberry.com) Inspired in part by The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the fierce eye make-up look at Charlotte Olympia combined bleached brows, masses of black liner and a flurry of red glitter. To make it more wearable, just stick with the glitter, using MAC Mixing Medium Eyeliner across your eyelids to stick the ruby red particles in place. Finish with a pale shimmery lip gloss to really let your eyes do the talking. MAC Mixing Medium Eyeliner, 13 (www.maccosmetics.co.uk) MAC Glitter in Red, 16 (www.maccosmetics.co.uk) "A girl who has been out dancing all night in LA" is how make-up legend Val Garland described the Fausto Puglisi look, which explains the smudged black eyeliner and artfully scattered glitter. Use a black kohl pencil and start the line in the middle underneath your eye, extending into a rough V at the corner, then use Too Faced Glitter Glue to blend the pencil out slightly then pat on your silver glitter - if you struggle with fingers, a small, clean eyeshadow brush will help position the dust. Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue Eye Primer, 15.30 (www.debenhams.com) NYX Face & Body Glitter in Silver, 5.50 (www.boots.com) Matte skin and clean lips were contrasted with a flash of glistening purple eyeliner at Vetements, which was created using mixing medium (a liquid, gel or cream solvent) and loose glitter. There is a cheat's way, however, which won't leave you covered in shining specks for days (or weeks) after. Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner is easy to paint on precisely and comes in seven beautifully bright shades. Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in ACDC, 14 (www.houseoffraser.co.uk) To create the "rock 'n' roll eyes" at Emanuel Ungaro, Garland added yellow-gold glitter to a base of dark green eyeshadow, creating a shimmering lime green effect. Sounds a bit out-there, but it's actually really flattering, especially on dark eyes, and can easily be achieved with just a finger-smudge of shadow, a slick of glitter glue and golden flecks encrusted close to the inner-eye then dabbed outwards. MAC Eye Shadow in Humid, 13 (www.maccosmetics.co.uk) Barry M Fine Glitter Dust in Yellow Gold, 4.59 (www.barrym.com) The aunt of a young man who was seriously injured in a car accident in Magherafelt has launched a fundraising campaign in aid of her nephew, whose parents are both dead. Michael McCloskey (20) and friend Jason Bateson were seriously injured in a collision in the Co Londonderry town on November 13. Their BMW car crashed into an electricity pole in Kings Street before bursting into flames. The men were pulled from the wreckage by passers-by. Michael, who remains in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, sustained major lung damage, a broken neck with spinal cord damage, and various other broken bones and burns, his family said. Jason, who is from Toomebridge and also in his 20s, is stable and is currently being treated in the hospital's burns unit, the Belfast Trust said. Mr McCloskey's aunt Linda Murray (49) has now started an online campaign to raise 8,000 to help Michael's family with accommodation close to the hospital and to help pay for his rehabilitation. His three sisters Ursula, Tracy and Emma have kept a vigil by his bedside since the accident. The siblings, all in their 20s, have been like mother figures to Michael since the death of their parents, Linda said. "Tragically, the four of them lost their father Timmy seven years ago," she told the Belfast Telegraph. "Then three years ago their mother Paula - my sister - fell ill with pneumonia and developed septicaemia and died within 24 hours. It was a complete tragedy. "At that stage Michael was only 17, so the girls then had to take responsibility for him. "I am the next of kin from our side of the family, so I look out for them. That's why I started the campaign, because none of us can work at the moment. Never mind the fact that they are always suffering from the fact that they have lost their mother and father. "Now this has happened and he's their baby brother, who they have mothered for the last three years. "They're just devastated." Since his admission to hospital Michael has had two infections, and last Friday had an operation on his lower neck. "His MRI shows no bleeding on the brain, so thankfully he's very alert that way - thank God," she said. The family are hoping that Michael will soon be able to breathe on his own. Donations have flooded in since Linda started the fundraising page, and by yesterday afternoon the family had raised more than 5,000. "I'm totally overwhelmed by the response, it's been amazing," she said. "Everyone has been fantastic and it's been much appreciated by the girls. "For now, the family are taking it one step at a time. "We're praying to God that he gets out of the intensive care unit and will reach that milestone - that he's alive and well." To donate to the appeal, visit justgiving.com and search for 'Linda Murray' in the crowdfunding pages. With 1,280 women here diagnosed with breast cancer - which claims the lives of 300 - a mammogram that takes just minutes to conduct could turn out to be a lifesaver. Action Cancer is the only charity in the UK and Ireland to offer free breast screening to asymptomatic women aged between 40 and 49 and over 70 - those who fall outside the health service's screening age range of 50 to 70. The free screening is on offer at Action Cancer House in Belfast and on board the charity's Big Bus, supported by SuperValu NI and its independent retailers, which travels to 235 sites in Northern Ireland every year. For every 1,000 women screened by Action Cancer, an average of six cancers are detected. The charity's digital mammography equipment can detect cancer in its early stages, when treatment can be more successful. The vast majority of women who go for screening will receive clear results and will be given peace of mind. Mine was caught early... a routine screening may have been too late Jacqueline Scott, who works part-time as an administrative assistant, lives in Moneyreagh with her 13-year-old son, Alexander. Jacqueline's breast cancer was detected by Action Cancer's breast screening service in November 2014, when she was 48. Now cancer-free, she says: 'I had always been aware of Action Cancer's breast screening service for women in their 40s and over the age of 70, but had never gone. I have supported the local Action Cancer Moneyreagh and District fundraising group through events such as fashion shows and BBQs and had thought of booking onto the Big Bus a few times, but with life being so busy, I never got round to it. One day in October 2014, however, I was off work and sat down to watch This Morning. Elizabeth Hurley was being interviewed by Phillip Scofield and Amanda Holden. Liz was talking about how she buys mammograms for her girlfriends in their 40s as birthday gifts and about the importance of breast cancer awareness and early detection. That got me thinking that I really shouldn't take any chances with my health any longer. Breast cancer was on my mind as a colleague had just returned to work after going through chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, having found a lump - she was 54. Action Cancer's breast service is free here for women my age - in their 40s - before the health service screening, which begins at 50. That was when I realised I had to stop making excuses and just go and get checked out. Having booked an appointment, I went along to Action Cancer House in south Belfast. I didn't find the screening (process) sore, it was just slightly uncomfortable. The radiographer was lovely and I was in and out of the building in 20 minutes. A week later, though, I received a letter indicating that the screening had detected something. My follow-up appointment was at the Ulster Hospital on December 1 and I took my mum along for support. The consultant performed a physical examination, but couldn't find anything. Then I had to have a mammogram, ultrasound and a biopsy. As the morning wore on, other patients had gone home, but my tests continued and I became increasingly concerned that I was going to receive bad news. And my worst fears were confirmed when I was taken into a side room and told that I had breast cancer. The tests had found a small tumour in the right breast sized about 10 or 11mm. While I was told I needed to have surgery, any further treatment could only be determined after my operation and my lymph nodes were tested. This would reveal if the cancer had spread. Mum and I left the hospital totally shell-shocked at the news. When I went back to work, I told my family and colleagues about my cancer diagnosis, but not my friends. Christmas was coming and I didn't want to spoil it for them, though when they eventually did find out they were annoyed at me for hiding my diagnosis. Lots of negative thoughts went through my head - was this the last Christmas I would have with my son Alexander? In January, I told Alexander that mummy was going in for an operation on her breast. Later on I went into his room and he had been on his iPad googling. He turned to me and said, 'Mummy, do you have breast cancer?' I found this extremely difficult and upsetting. On January 21, I had a quadrantectomy on my right breast and my lymph nodes were tested. Thankfully, the tests came back clear, which was the best news. I did need treatment, though, so I began 15 sessions of radiotherapy at the City Hospital in Belfast in March for three weeks, after which time I would be on Tamoxifen for five years. I took two weeks off work for the operation and recovery, but then went back to my job during the radiotherapy treatment. I had built up in my head that I would require chemotherapy, so I was relieved when I didn't have to go through with it. After more checks and assessments, though, I can confirm that I am now cancer-free and doing well. Since my cancer diagnosis I've encouraged friends to go for screening at Action Cancer and am now an ambassador for the charity to get women in their 40s and over the age of 70 to come forward. My message is this: Don't bury your head in the sand. Nobody wants to have breast cancer, but don't let that put you off getting screened. For the majority of people it's reassurance that everything is okay. In Northern Ireland we are in a privileged position, having access to this service for free, so you should avail of it. Prioritise your health, if not for yourself, then for your family." I was told I was very fortunate to have caught the cancer so early. Had I waited to be called for routine screening, it might have been too late for me. Early detection saves lives - thank you, Action Cancer, for saving mine. Baz was my rock and I just dont know what Id have done without him Amanda Higginbottom (46), a systems clerk, lives with her partner Baz in Finaghy. Amandas breast cancer was detected on board Action Cancers Big Bus in Antrim in July last year. She says: In 2012 my employer Tesco first arranged for the Big Bus to come to the Distribution Centre in Antrim, where I work. I was 42 and had never had a mammogram before. I was a little nervous stepping on board the Big Bus, but the procedure was very quick and only mildly uncomfortable. I was relieved to receive the all-clear following my first visit. The Big Bus returned to my work again in July last year, when I was 45. I was happy to go for a second mammogram. I knew what to expect and I had no lumps or bumps and nothing to be concerned about or so I thought. Within a few weeks, all my colleagues received letters saying that their screenings were fine, but mine said that something had been detected and I needed a follow-up examination. Even though I was the only one at work who received a letter of this nature, I tried to stay positive. I knew that there could be many reasons why I had been forwarded on for further investigation it wasnt necessarily cancer so I tried not to fear the worst, but it did play on my mind. I brought Baz with me to the appointment at the City Hospital in Belfast. While there I had to have a series of tests and a physical examination of my right breast (where nothing could be found), more X-rays from different angles, an ultrasound and some biopsies. Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer in the right breast ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and, in addition, cancer cells were found in the lymph nodes. I was shocked by the diagnosis you never expect cancer to happen to you, its something that happens to other people. When I broke the news to my family and my friends, I didnt think that I was talking about me, but someone else. It was a very surreal experience. Baz was my rock and I dont know what I would have done without him. Whatever this diagnosis throws at me, we agreed to deal with it together. On August 28 I had an operation to remove the DCIS, and 18 lymph nodes were taken away and tested, with two coming back as being cancerous. Unfortunately this operation did not manage to get a clear margin around the area of DCIS and as a result I had two options to either have some more tissue around the area taken away or opt to remove the right breast completely with a mastectomy. I chose to have a mastectomy because I felt it was the safest option as the cancer wasnt a specific lump but scattered cells. I thought there would always be a fear that something would be lurking underneath preparing to raise its head, so I decided it was best to get it all removed. I had a mastectomy on October 5 and was offered reconstructive surgery to take place during the same operation, but I declined. I had broken my back a few years before in a horse riding accident and I didnt want to weaken my core any further by having muscle removed from elsewhere in the body. I also knew that reconstruction would delay any further treatment required. I wanted to face this cancer battle head-on and get through it as soon as I could. After an appointment with my oncologist at the end of October, it was determined that I should have six sessions of chemotherapy and 15 sessions of radiotherapy. They give you every scenario of what can happen to you with the chemo, with the universal one being fatigue in reality this was the least of my symptoms, but I think I probably experienced everything else. My initial anti-sickness medication didnt work and I was throwing up every half hour. I also developed a heart flutter and had to go to A&E. I got a horrible taste in my mouth and felt as though I had a full body flu. I developed severe rashes on my hands and feet and my shoulder-length blonde hair came out in clumps. Chemo takes its toll on your body and impacts you both physically and emotionally. It really was horrendous, but I had Baz by my side every step of the way, which helped me to be strong and get through it. It was a massive relief once the chemo was over. Thankfully, I found the radiotherapy much easier to deal with. It was tiring running up and down to the hospital every day for treatment, but I was grateful not to experience any of the other side-effects. In September of this year I was told that after the treatment I was cancer-free. Now I need Herceptin injections every three weeks, the side-effects of which include joint pain and generally feeling exhausted. I do a very good impression of a 90-year-old with severe arthritis when I stand up and sit down. Other than that, Im getting slowly but surely back to my normal self. My mind is ahead of my body and I want to do more than Im actually capable of and thats what Im struggling with at the minute. I have recently started back to work on a phased return and feel like I am beginning to get my life back. I didnt know before that the screening was available in Belfast and even if I had, its probably not something I would have bothered to do. It was the very fact that the Big Bus came to me, right to my place of work that I went for an appointment. I was 45 when my breast cancer was detected. If I had waited until I was 50, Im convinced it would have been too late for me. For women aged 40-49 and 70 plus, please go and get screened with Action Cancer. Dont rely on self-checking your breasts. While this is important, mammograms detect things long before there is anything to feel. Be proactive and book yourself a free mammogram, either on board the Big Bus when its next in your area or at Action Cancer House in Belfast. If I hadnt stepped on the Big Bus, my outcome could have been very different. Symptoms that can spell danger The first symptom of breast cancer most women notice is a lump or an area of thickened tissue in their breast. Most lumps (90%) are not cancerous, but it is always best to have them checked by your doctor. See your GP if you notice any of the following: A planning application for a massive pig farm in Newtownabbey that will house 15,000 animals has been approved - despite vocal protests from local residents. The application for the operation on Rea Hill Road in Newtownabbey was made by farmer Derek Hall, who had originally suggested a facility that could accommodate 30,000 animals. Furious opponents filled the chamber and protested outside, with some residents confronting councillors who supported the farm. Among those who had objected to the plan were Queen guitarist and animal welfare campaigner Brian May, and actors Martin Shaw and Jenny Seagrove. The charity Animal Aid had also claimed that up to 17,000 pigs would be kept in cramped conditions. At a planning committee meeting of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council last night, nine members voted in favour, with two DUP members voting against. Ulster Unionist Roderick Swann, who backed the proposal, said: "I'm a farmer myself who supports the agri-industry and I was quite satisfied that all the necessary welfare issues were addressed. "The planning case officer and all the consultees were quite happy with everything that was proposed." Asked if he understood the strong opposition, Mr Swann said: "I can and I can't. There was an awful lot of 'not in my back yard', with lots of emails flying through. "But these people are all farm quality assured, the pigs are well looked after. To get a quality assurance accreditation is very tight." As well as animal welfare issues, protesters said they were concerned over excessive noise and smell. "I myself was in Germany to see the system and I can tell you I was standing six inches from the external wall and could only smell wood. I also put my ear to the wall an only heard an odd snort," he said. Mr Swann said he wanted celebrity activists such as Mr May not to interfere. "I would say simply keep your nose out of it. I'm a farmer myself for 50 years and I understand farming," he said. "A lot of these animal rights folks, they're entitled to their opinion, but I think they're on the wrong track sometimes. This will be the most modern pig farm, not a factory, not only in Ireland but also Great Britain." The DUP's John Smyth and party colleague Thomas Hogg cast the only opposing votes. "My objections were that I felt the experts weren't always right," said Mr Smyth. "I was undecided till tonight when I heard the arguments for and against. "Bringing such a large development of slurry to the side of a hill I think is going to be dangerous for the future. Also, I have concerns how it will be produced year after year. I have grave concerns. "I wouldn't like it on my front door, and a lot of people are concerned. It will definitely smell. People say it will be odour free, but there's no such thing as an odour free system. There are animal welfare concerns." Mr Smyth added that a judicial review was possible but was sceptical as "ordinary people don't have the type of money for that". A petition with more than 45,000 signatures calling for reform of the abortion law has been delivered to Stormont. Presented by Green Party MLA Clare Bailey, the Amnesty International petition calls for the decriminalisation of abortion and for terminations to be available in cases of rape, incest or severe and fatal foetal impairment. Under the current law, women can only obtain an abortion here if their life or their health is in serious danger. It comes just days after Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament that she would explore the possibility that Northern Irish women could access abortions free of charge through NHS Scotland. Speaking ahead of her appearance at the Assembly, Ms Bailey said: "Northern Ireland's abortion laws are in breach of minimum human rights standards; they have been found to be so by the courts. Everyone is well aware of this, and therefore it is a shameful indictment on the Assembly that I even have to bring this petition forward. "More than 45,000 people have put their name to this petition. Over 70% of people in Northern Ireland want to see abortion laws changed. Despite this overwhelming endorsement of change, when the issue was then brought before the Assembly in February, just 59 MLAs blocked even the most minimal of reforms. "People who stand in the way of change on this issue are out of line with public opinion, and they are out of line with human rights. "I welcome Nicola Sturgeon's intervention, but also hope that her response is ultimately unnecessary, and that we can change the laws here so that women do not need to travel in order to access healthcare." But Mark Baillie, policy officer for Christian lobby group CARE Northern Ireland, said he doubted the petition's legitimacy. He said: "This petition is less than robust. Because the petition does not ask you for an address or postcode, it makes it possible for people to sign the petition more than once under a fake name and, more worryingly, there is no requirement for the signature to be from Northern Ireland. "This obviously causes significant problems as Amnesty are attempting to persuade members of the Northern Ireland Assembly to overhaul the current laws on abortion in Northern Ireland. "Assembly members should be aware of the fact that there is no way to verify that the 45,000 names are indeed legitimate or that they have any connection to Northern Ireland." The number of people referred for professional help because they are confused about whether they are male or female has rocketed by 1,600% in a decade. More than 200 referrals to gender identity services were made in Northern Ireland last year - up from just 13 in 2006. They range from children to pensioners, figures released by the Department of Health reveal. Separate statistics show that dozens of people under the age of 18 have contacted a specialist service, Knowing Our Identity, in the last two years. Campaigner Ellen Murray, who changed gender in 2013, said a shift in attitude meant more people felt able to talk about gender issues. "There has been a change in societal attitude, which I think has helped more people come forward for help," she said. "It's so important the people get the support they need and can access services in a timely manner." Official figures show almost 1,500 referrals to the regional identity service between 2006 and 2016. The 13 referrals in 2006 had soared to 229 in 2015. Two children between the ages of five and 15, and 32 people over the age of 65, accessed the regional identity service during this period. Additionally, there have been 135 referrals to the Knowing Our Identity service between 2014 and 2016. It supports children and young people under the age of 18 who are experiencing difficulties in the development of their gender identity. The service provides young trans and gender-variant people - those who don't conform to a particular gender - with counselling, family and peer support, and mental health support services. Patients can also access hormonal treatments from age 15 and up, subject to assessment. Northern Ireland's identity service is provided by the Belfast Health Trust at Brackenburn Clinic on the outskirts of east Belfast. Staff at the unit work with patients who have gender incongruence, where a person does not agree with the gender they were given at birth. The service provides adults in Northern Ireland with assessment, psychological support and onward referral, where appropriate, for hormone replacement therapy and surgery. Green Party MLA Clare Bailey, who obtained the figures, said they represented only a small number of people struggling with gender identity. She said: "The significant increase in the number of people seeking statutory support is a welcome sign, but likely to only be the tip of the iceberg. "Trans advocacy and support groups have been clear in their articulation that it is time for a review of the Gender Identity Recognition Act of 2004 and its subsequent provisions. "When the Gender Recognition Act was introduced, it was a long overdue but welcome step forward. "Over a decade later it is clear from the consensus among trans organisations across the UK that it is time for it to be updated." Ms Murray, who chairs Gender Jam NI, a transgender charity, also warned that children struggling with identity are waiting up to nine months to see a doctor. She said the delay in getting an appointment is causing additional suffering. "I think gender identity services are moving in the right direction, but if we don't address the capacity issues we are going to have real problems," she added. Ms Murray said if young people can't access hormone blockers and decide at a later stage that they are transgender, then they have to go through much more invasive surgery, such as having breasts removed. "These are hormones that are available to other young patients for other medical conditions and they don't have to go through the same psychological assessments to access them," she added. Health Minister Michelle O'Neill said the figures show there is a clear need for services for people with gender identity issues. "It is also vital to have appropriate access to regional specialist services when this is required," she said. The interchange would allow non-stop traffic flow between the Westlink (pictured), M2 and M3 with a new bridge and underpasses Stormont ministers have been urged to use the Chancellor's 250 million infrastructure boost to deliver an under-threat motorway link across the region's busiest traffic bottleneck. Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard has warned that a question mark hangs over the long awaited 130 million York Street interchange project in Belfast due to a potential loss of key European funding as a consequence of Brexit. The interchange would allow for the non-stop flow of traffic between the Westlink, M2 and M3 with the construction of a new bridge and associated underpasses. In the autumn statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced extra capital funds for the devolved administrations, with Northern Ireland to receive an additional 250 million over four years. With the Stormont Executive able to decide where to spend the cash, the announcement was met by calls from business organisations to proceed with the York Street build. It was originally envisaged that around 40% of the construction costs would be sourced from the European Union. However, Mr Hazzard has claimed the UK's vote to leave the EU has cast serious doubt over that money. While the Treasury has vowed to cover any EU funding shortfalls for projects signed off before Brexit, the next round of funding applications relevant to the York Street project does not open until 2018, so there is uncertainty whether it would be rubber-stamped before the UK exits the Union. Ann McGregor, chief executive of Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the Autumn Statement money should be used to deliver the project. "One of the key infrastructure projects in which investment must be made is the York Street Interchange," she said. "Road schemes such as this will do much to ease congestion on heavily trafficked roads in the region which will help businesses to move products and goods more efficiently and in the process reduce costs." The Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association (NIIRTA) echoed the call. Chief executive Glyn Roberts said: "NIIRTA welcomes the additional 250 million for investment in our infrastructure and would urge the Executive to make the York Street Interchange a top priority for funding." Stormont's budget for next year is set to be announced in December. Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir said the Chancellor had responded to demands from the devolved administrations for a capital stimulus. However, he said the statement also represented the UK Government's continuing commitment to a "self-defeating austerity agenda". "I am glad that the Chancellor has listened to calls from the Devolved Administration Finance Ministers, who together represent 10 million people, to provide a capital stimulus," said Mr O Muilleoir. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire said: "I strongly welcome the Chancellor's Autumn Statement today which takes forward this Government's commitment to build an economy that works for everyone, in Northern Ireland and the whole of our United Kingdom. "Northern Ireland will benefit from over 250 million infrastructure capital funding which will enable the Executive to invest in key infrastructure projects to support future growth." Mr Hammond also confirmed the UK-wide rate of corporation tax will fall to 17% by 2020. That move will have implications for the Stormont Executive's economic flagship policy of reducing its devolved tax rate on business profits to 12.5% by 2018. Mr O Muilleoir said: "The Executive supports a corporation tax rate of 12.5% to encourage business growth and create tens of thousands of jobs. "Now we have clarity on the British Government's plans, we can move into intensive negotiations on the practical outworkings of this derogation." An Ulster Unionist peer has said he is delighted that his Bill for compensation for victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism successfully passed through the House of Lords. Lord Empey said his Asset Freezing (Compensation) Bill - which aims to free up the 9.5bn of Libyan assets frozen in London linked to former dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime - had passed its third reading. "While we accept that these assets have been frozen by the United Nations and the European Union, we are deeply disappointed that the UK Government have at no stage made any representation to either institution, so that these assets can be freed up to use as just compensation for victims," said Sir Reg. Scores of IRA bombs in the 1980s and 1990s used Semtex supplied by Gaddafi. US victims of the Lockerbie bomb were paid compensation by Libya, but UK citizens suing the country have so far received nothing. The Government has already indicated its reluctance to make Sir Reg's Bill law. Sir Reg said Treasury lawyers have indicated that freeing up the assets is not possible, despite the absence of any legal precedent stating that this is the case. In June, Conservative peer Viscount Younger of Leckie said accessing the frozen Libyan assets would be a breach of human rights laws. "I first wrote to the then Prime Minister Tony Blair about this issue in 2002, and have never received a substantive response," Sir Reg said. In October, Sir Reg said he was left horrified after hearing evidence from former foreign secretary Jack Straw, which he said suggested the victims of Libya-sponsored IRA terrorism "were expendable". Sir Reg said yesterday: "From Jack Straw's recent appearance in front of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, it is obvious that victims of Gaddafi-sponsored terrorism were left high and dry as the Blair Government negotiated with Libya. It is the support group's intention to do everything in our power to use the parliamentary process to finally resolve this glaring injustice for the victims of Libyan terrorism." A 56-year-old man has been charged with three counts of attempted voyeurism at an Armagh leisure centre A 56-year-old man has been charged with three counts of attempted voyeurism at an Armagh leisure centre. John Kerr of Derryfubble Road, Dungannon, is accused of attempting to observe unknown persons for the purposes of engaging in a private act of sexual gratification. The offences are alleged to have occurred on September 26, 29 and 30 at the Orchard Leisure Centre. A police officer told Armagh Magistrates Court the charges could be connected. Kerr was remanded on continuing bail and is to return to court next month. Police were called in by staff on Friday, September 30. They had observed a man acting suspiciously in the changing area. He had been noted on two previous days and staff moved swiftly when he appeared on the third occasion, leading to an arrest. Police confirmed they returned to the leisure centre the day after the detection to interview witnesses and secure CCTV evidence. The Stormont Executive appears to lack confidence in dealing with victims' issues, the Victims Commissioner has said. Outlining concerns over the absence of a specific reference to victims in the draft programme for government (PfG), Judith Thompson also warned that failure to address the legacy of the past was having a toxic impact. She said: "(I am) deeply, deeply disappointed. It feels as if there is not a confidence in government that this is doable. "It reads as if there is not a measure in there (PfG) in case we can't do it and I don't think we have an option." The commissioner was giving evidence to the Executive Scrutiny Committee at Stormont alongside two new members of the Victims and Survivors' Forum. She said: "Failure to address legacy has a toxic impact. "If you have groups of people within different communities who believe that truth or acknowledgement, or in some cases justice, is being withheld from them as a consequence of investigations which have not happened or whose results have not been shared, that undermines policing, for example, despite the extent to which our police service has changed through reform." Although there was a broad welcome for the Executive's new outcomes-focused approach to policy, Ms Thompson said the blueprint was "too general" with "insufficient" recognition of victims' needs around truth and justice issues, mental health, trauma and trans-generational issues. She also described the lack of a specific target for victims as a missed opportunity. "If we are to have safe communities, if we are to care for those in need and if we are going to have high-quality public services then we need to address victims and survivors issues ," the commissioner added. "The absence of a way of showing how those measures impact within the programme for government would be a terribly missed opportunity and it would be far worse than that from victims and survivors' point of view." Meanwhile, Sarah Malone, whose father, a Catholic RUC man, was murdered in 1987, said victims felt "under-recognised". She said: "It has already been too long. There have been too many people who have experienced a great deal of hurt and loss of their nearest and dearest or their quality of life or both and there is a level of frustration there that legacy issues seem to be airbrushed to an extent. "In terms of the outcome-based approach, one of the key aspects of that is care which we felt includes care for victims and survivors because we are a section of society as well and feel that we are perhaps under-recognised at the moment." West Belfast man Paul Crawford, who lost his father, aunt and cousin and survived an attack on his own life, said it was important that structures proposed under the 2014 Stormont House Agreement to tackle mental health and well-being were put in place. Lawyers for the Birmingham pub bombings families have dropped a threat to boycott the inquests. Solicitors representing some of the relatives of the 21 people killed in the deadly double blasts will go before coroner Peter Thornton QC when he gets the hearings under way next Monday. The families had previously warned of a boycott, saying their seats at the hearing could have been left empty over a continuing row about legal funding. Belfast-based KRW Law claims it is being "blocked" and "bounced into an agreement" by the Government because of how existing funding rules governing the families' legal representation at the forthcoming inquests are being applied. The firm, representing eight of the bereaved families, has been acting free of charge for two years. During that time, the relatives won a complex legal bid to have fresh inquests into the deaths of those killed in IRA explosions at The Mulberry Bush and the Tavern In The Town on November 21 1974. The lawyers have said they cannot continue to work pro bono with preliminary legal hearings looming on November 28. The families' legal team have claimed they are facing the prospect of sifting through thousands of pieces of evidence stretching back decades during months of hearings, while the Government agencies and police in the case can rely on taxpayer-funded barristers. West Midlands Police have already set aside 1 million to cover their legal costs, which the relatives have claimed shows an unequal approach. Julie Hambleton, who heads the Justice4the21 campaign group and lost her sister Maxine in the terrorist attacks, claims the Government has treated the families "like second-class citizens". The families wanted a Hillsborough inquests-type model of funding for the hearings. But the Government rejected that approach, and encouraged the families to apply through the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) instead. However, an issue has arisen because the relatives' lawyers are a Northern Ireland-based firm and the coroner's court sits in a different legal jurisdiction - England and Wales. The Government has said it is "committed to continuing to work with the families" to solve the problem. The suggested solution has been for KRW to become the agent for Liverpool-based firm Broudie Jackson Canter, which acted for some of the Hillsborough stadium disaster relatives and represent one of the pub bombings' families. But the Belfast-based solicitors have said neither law firm thinks that solution is feasible because of the sheer volume of work already invested in their clients. Christopher Stanley, from KRW, also pointed to what he sees as a precedent which saw legal aid funding for English lawyers to bring a successful Northern Irish civil case, over the 1998 Omagh bombing. Speaking to BBC Radio WM, he said: "There's law and regulations in place. "We respect them because we have to work within their rules, but we cannot comply with them - therefore we're blocked." Mr Stanley went on: "So, we're being bounced into an agreement." He confirmed their lawyers would be appear next Monday "to put these arguments to the coroner". However, he added that the law firm was exploring "kicking down the door" by setting up an office in England to see if it could secure a legal aid agreement directly. A Government spokeswoman: "Our deepest sympathies remain with all those affected by the horrific pub bombings in Birmingham in 1974. "The Legal Aid Agency has set out how the matter can be taken forward and has committed to continuing to work with the families to ensure this reaches a satisfactory conclusion." Little has been done to help vulnerable prisoners or tackle drug abuse at Northern Ireland's only high security jail, inspectors have found. The review by the Criminal Justice Inspectorate (CJI) has raised significant concerns over support for inmates suffering mental health difficulties and the availability of illegal and prescription drugs at Maghaberry Prison. Chief Inspector Brendan McGuigan said: "While the inspection team welcome the progress that has been made and the momentum to deliver change at Maghaberry which has built up since May 2015, I reiterate our view that significant risks remain, particularly around prisoner safety, which have the potential to drag the prison back to where it was 18 months ago." The review comes in the wake of two suspected suicides at the Co Antrim facility over recent weeks. Prison chiefs were also heavily criticised in a damning Ombudsman report after an inmate blinded himself during an extreme episode of self-harm in the prison two years ago. Mr McGuigan said: "Inspectors found that while mental health support and assistance provided to new prisoners has improved since January 2016, there was still no overall safer joint custody strategy in place to comprehensively address safety issues, for those who were vulnerable. "This is a serious omission which was impeding work in tackling vulnerability." A death in custody action plan was not being monitored to ensure that adequate support was provided to those at risk to suicide or self-harm, it was also found. Although Maghaberry's drug problem has been well documented, inspectors noted no significant progress in dealing with the issue. Mr McGuigan added: " The high level of prescription drug availability and use by prisoners remains a significant concern, especially given the volume of divertible medication held by prisoners themselves, which can result in vulnerable prisoners being bullied by others to hand over their medication. "There were also problems in accessing addiction services and no coordinated, recovery-based approach to addressing the significant substance misuse issues which exist within the prison population." Last week medics from the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, which provides healthcare in prisons, cautioned that further episodes of extreme self harm could not be ruled out because up to 60 mind-altering substances were being abused. Maghaberry houses almost 1,000 prisoners, including around 50 with loyalist and republican paramilitary affiliations who are held in separated accommodation. Dissident republicans have issued death threats against prison staff in recent years and in 2012 long-serving officer David Black was shot dead by dissidents as he drove to work. Last May, a joint assessment by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the CJI said it was a prison in crisis; among the worst in the UK. The most recent review was not designed to replicate the 2015 full inspection but aimed to assess progress on nine recommendations. The inspection team, which comprised experienced officers from Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons in England and Wales, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority and the Education and Training Inspectorate, carried out their three-day review of Maghaberry in early September. Among the more positive outcomes inspectors noted an appetite for change with managers now located within the houses for which they were responsible, resulting in a more hands-on management style. They also said a more dynamic approach to security had been adopted with staff routinely supervising association areas within Maghaberry. Mr McGuigan said: "At the time of the visit in September the prison was more settled and calm. Prisoners were experiencing a more predictable routine, focused around a core day where prisoners attended work, education or other activities and where fewer lockdowns and regime restrictions occurred. "Maghaberry continues to be a complex prison operating in a difficult environment, so we must be realistic in terms how quickly the change required and work undertaken to modernise Maghaberry, can be achieved." On Monday, the Justice and Health Ministers launched a joint review into how vulnerable prisoners are monitored. In a statement, the South Eastern HSC Trust said it had considered and welcomed the findings. The Trust said: "RQIA noted a continuing momentum and enthusiasm with improvements across a range of healthcare services, but also that more work needs to be done. "The inspectors noted specifically that mental health services had improved since January 2016, with access targets being met or exceeded as a result of a new pre-assessment clinic and crisis response service. "The inspectors highlighted the challenges associated with the abuse of drugs at Maghaberry and the impact on vulnerable prisoners and prisoners with mental health needs. "As a result, we have asked the Health and Social Care Board to lead on a review of the commissioning model of healthcare services in prisons. "The review will be undertaken in partnership with the Northern Ireland Prison Service and SET in considering and agreeing joint actions to be taken to help deliver better healthcare outcomes for prisoners in the context of the evolving needs of a changing prisoner population. "The inspectors note that sustainable and cultural change takes time, but were encouraged at the motivation of the senior healthcare team to drive quality improvement." Nama made an "eejit" out of internationally renowned deal-brokers involved in the controversial 1.2 billion sale of its Northern Ireland property loans, a parliamentary committee has been told. Patrick Long, a managing director at financial advisers Lazard, led an outside team asked by the Republic's toxic assets agency to manage the sale of its so-called Project Eagle portfolio, bought by US investors Cerberus in April 2014. Before a parliamentary committee in Dublin probing the controversial transaction, Mr Long said Nama did not tell him another US company Pimco, a leading bidder, pulled out weeks earlier because it was asked for a fixer payment of 16 million for three parties behind the scenes. The money was to be shared equally by Belfast businessman Frank Cushnahan, US law firm Brown Rudnick and Ian Coulter, a managing partner of Belfast solicitors Tughans, Pimco previously told the committee. Mr Cushnahan was formerly a Nama adviser on Northern Ireland, on the recommendation of the Democratic Unionists. All parties have denied any wrongdoing. Cross-examining Mr Long, Sinn Fein deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said Lazard seems to have "spectacularly lacked insights" in the entire affair and "therefore your judgments were compromised." "They kept you in the dark," she told Mr Long. "Do you know the expression eejit? A patsy? They made an eejit of you." Mr Long responded: "I don't think it is my place to be angry with Nama or second guess why they didn't inform us about the circumstances of Pimco's withdrawal." But he added if Lazard had been fully informed then its advice would have been different. "It is our client's prerogative what they tell us and don't tell us," he told the hearing. "It is up to Nama, and I have acknowledged our advice would have been different if we were aware of those precise circumstances. "We gave the best advice we could with the knowledge we had at the time." Nama paid Lazard 4.32 million for getting the sale over the line, in a no deal, no pay basis. Mr Long agreed it was unusual there was no open tender for the job from a State agency. "There were quite a lot of unusual features," he said, pointing out there was only one round of bidding, there were few bidders involved for what was the largest property deal in Northern Ireland's history and it was over a relatively short time frame. Mr Long also told the Public Accounts Committee in Dublin that one of the first things Nama told Lazard was for the need to keep the sale "confidential". "They viewed this transaction as politically sensitive," he said. He told the committee he was surprised to learn Brown Rudnick, Tughans and Mr Cushnahan were working together as far back as April 2013. Asked was he concerned about that, he replied : "Sure, given Mr Cushnahan's role in the Niac (Nama's Northern Ireland advisory committee), sure." Mr Long said he was further concerned about Mr Cushnahan's relationship with debtors whose property loans were in the portfolio being sold. Brown Rudnick and Tughans also advised Cerberus on the successful deal. Mr Long said the process was competitive and that he had seen no evidence the property portfolio could have been sold for a higher price at the time. The Republic's spending watchdog has said Nama lost taxpayers up to 190 million on the Project Eagle sale. The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) said the agency undervalued loans associated with the 800 properties in the portfolio. Bail was denied following the hearing. A bomb discovered in an attic had been stored there following a failed bid to kill police in Co Armagh, the High Court heard. Prosecutors claimed a grouping styling itself the New IRA unsuccessfully deployed the improvised explosive device (IED) in the Craigavon area in August. It was also alleged that a camera used to film wildlife was secreted at the home of a retired police officer and another strategic location as part of terrorist information gathering. Details were disclosed on Wednesday as bail was refused to one of four men accused of involvement in the plot. Ciaran Magee, 24, from Lake Street in Lurgan, Co Armagh, is charged with preparation of terrorist acts, namely targeting a former member of the security forces. He was arrested after the IED was seized during raids in the town in September. Opposing his release, a Crown lawyer said the investigation relates to the alleged possession and deployment of an improvised explosive device in Craigavon by a dissident republican group known as the New Irish Republican Army. He claimed the faction's intention was to kill PSNI officers. A surveillance operation was launched after police received information on August 7 that four men were involved in terror-related activity, the court heard. It allegedly showed Magee's association with his three co-accused on dates up to his detention on September 21. Inquiries led to the recovery of an IED being stored in the roof space of an unoccupied property at Woodville Avenue in Lurgan. The device had been returned there following its unsuccessful deployment against police at a private residential area in Tullygally, Craigavon on August 31, according to the prosecution. Magee and his co-accused allegedly placed the camera on the Annaghone Road in Stewartstown sometime between September 4-8. Mr Justice Stephens was told the route is regularly used by both on and off-duty police officers. Around a week later the recording equipment was taken to the home of a retired officer in Magheralin. "Police are in no doubt the camera was being used to target the ex-officer," prosecution counsel said. It was retrieved by suspected members of the gang on September 20, the court heard. Following his detention Magee remained silent during five days of interviews. He provided a statement claiming to have been at home with his father, girlfriend and flatmate on the day the camera was retrieved. His barrister attacked the strength of the case against him, describing it as weak and circumstantial. No fingerprints or forensic evidence links Magee to the camera, the court heard. It was also stressed that nothing was put to him about any alleged involvement with the IED. But denying bail, Mr Justice Stephens cited the risk of any potential further offences. He sad: "The context of this case is what I consider a prima facie case against the applicant that he was involved in a determined attempt with others who were dedicated towards terrorist activities." The Orange Order has described a series of re-appointments to the Parades Commission by the Secretary of State as nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. A spokesman said the institution notes with deep frustration the announcement by James Brokenshire that he would phase in a new process of staggered appointments to the Parades Commission over the next three years. In the meantime, the Conservative MP announced that five commissioners would serve a further term in office of up to three years. Mr Brokenshire said they would be reviewed in a years time to take account of his new strategy for individual appointments. The Order said: While the commissioners have over the years made some illogical, stupid and unjust decisions, including rewarding dissident violence; their reappointment amounts to nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The real problem is the legislative framework they operate within. Mr Brokenshires statement offers no hope that the current debacle will be replaced with fair and equitable legislation. It ignores the wishes of the leadership of unionism, all of whom have stated that the current legislation is not fit for purpose, underscoring that politics has failed the Orange family in respect of creating a level playing field for parading. Last month, parades dominated the first formal talks at Stormont House between senior Orangemen and Mr Brokenshire since the MP assumed his role earlier this year. The Orange leadership urged the Secretary of State to grasp the opportunity offered by the recent resolution of the parades dispute in north Belfast. Permission for the contentious procession past the nationalist Ardoyne area was granted after a historic deal between the loyal orders and nationalist residents group the Crumlin Ardoyne Residents Association. The recent resolutions to parades were in spite of the Parades Commission, not because of them. Indeed, their existence hindered solutions, yesterdays statement from Schomberg House said. Sadly, like his predecessors, Mr Brokenshire, was not only unresponsive to what he heard, but has introduced a three-year plan for appointments to the commission, indicating in his plans it is here to stay. In a public challenge to the Secretary of State, we would ask him to name one government appointed body in the United Kingdom which is less accountable than the Parades Commission? It is a body, which lacks transparency, and whose decisions cannot be challenged in court. Mr Brokenshire said he welcomed the recent reduction in tensions around parades which is due to the efforts of so many on all sides. I continue to believe that wherever possible, disputes over individual parades are best settled by local dialogue and accommodation, he added. I want to ensure there is a measure of continuity over the coming years at the same time as being able to refresh the membership of the commission. I have reappointed the existing commissioners for up to three years, but I expect to discuss individual appointment periods with each of them in a years time as I seek to phase in new members. This will enable me to move to a system of staggered appointments in future years. Former Prime Minister David Cameron was legally entitled to rule out a public inquiry into the murder of Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane after taking office, the Court of Appeal heard Wednesday. Senior judges were told a "shifting public interest kaleidoscope" of costs and the passage of time gave him the right to reconsider pledges made by a previous Labour administration. The murdered solicitor's widow, Geraldine Finucane, is seeking to overturn a finding that Mr Cameron acted lawfully in refusing to hold a public inquiry into the killing. Mr Finucane was gunned down by loyalist paramilitaries at his north Belfast home in February 1989. His family have campaigned for a full examination of alleged security force collusion with the killers. In 2011 Mr Cameron decided against ordering a public inquiry, and instead commissioned QC Sir Desmond de Silva to review all documents relating to the case and produce a narrative of what happened. Sir Desmond's report confirmed agents of the state were involved in the murder and that it should have been prevented. Read more Read More However, it concluded there had been no overarching state conspiracy. The Finucane family rejected the findings as a whitewash and accused the government of unlawfully reneging on previous commitments. Expand Close Pat Finucane was murdered in 1989 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pat Finucane was murdered in 1989 Pledges to set up such a tribunal, based on the recommendation of retired Canadian judge Peter Cory, were made by a former Labour government in 2004 and reaffirmed in the following years, it was contended. Last year a High Court judge held that Mrs Finucane had received a clear and unambiguous promise of an inquiry. But he backed the Government's case that other public interest issues, including political developments in Northern Ireland and the potential financial pressures of a costly inquiry, were enough to frustrate her expectation. Despite throwing out Mrs Finucane's legal bid to force the authorities to publicly examine her husband's killing, the judge also said the State has not fully met its human rights obligation to investigate. Appealing that verdict, counsel for the family claimed the case was about an abuse of power. It was claimed that the solicitor was the victim of an army-run death squad normally associated with Latin American dictatorships. Read more Read More His murder was due to covert, state-sponsored terrorism and represents a "horror story" for the British Government, the court heard previously. The 500 page de Silva report, which highlighted the connection of law enforcement elements to the murder conspiracy, was said to contain only five pages on the role of the Government. No responsibility has been attached to any government minister or official, and no charges have been brought against any police officers, soldiers or security service personnel, according to the Finucanes' case. Counsel for the Government, James Eadie QC, responded today that for any change of policy to be unlawful it must be so unfair as to amount to an abuse of process. He pointed out that any promise to hold a public inquiry stemmed from proposals first raised at the Weston Park political negotiations in 2001. Arguing that no commitment was given to the form or process of any such tribunal, the barrister insisted it was not an open-ended pledge. He questioned whether it could be maintained 10 years later, following changes in government, policy and fiscal positions. "The money appears to have run out," Mr Eadie explained. Setting out reasons for the change of view, he said: "Very considerable time had elapsed by the time the decision ultimate had to be taken." Lord Justice Gillen, Mr Justice Deeny and Mr Justice Horner were also given details of the family's resistance to an inquiry set up under legislation which put restrictions on disclosure. "All of that wrangling led to enormous delays, with all of the accompanying shifting of the public interest kaleidoscope," Mr Eadie said. "By 2010 there's been a change of government and they are constitutionally and legally entitled to review a decision (taken) by a previous administration. "The public interest features had moved on." Asked at one point by Lord Justice Gillen what the government's position would be if Mrs Finucane indicated now that she would accept the inquiry format, he replied: "The answer I'm pretty certain would be no. "Time has moved on, de Silva has happened and the world has changed." The appeal continues. The planned cut in corporation tax has generated a strong interest from overseas investors, according to the head of Invest Northern Ireland (NI). Alastair Hamilton said t he move to reduce the rate from the UK-wide 20% to 12.5% in 2018 had boosted the region's attractiveness. He also played down the effect of global uncertainty, adding that arrangements in Northern Ireland were "future-proofed". Mr Hamilton said: "We have got that rate and date and that is a critical piece for us to get out there and sell it." Executive ministers intend to cut the corporation rate from the UK-wide 20% to 12.5% in 2018 after securing the devolution of tax setting power from Westminster. The rationale was to give Northern Ireland a competitive advantage when it came to attracting foreign direct investment. The rate is due to come into line with the 12.5% currently in operation in the Republic of Ireland. However, since the agreement to devolve corporation tax powers, there have been reports the UK Government could respond to a hard Brexit by reducing the nationwide rate to as low as 10%. President-elect Donald Trump is also set to lower the rate in the US. In evidence to the economy scrutiny committee, Mr Hamilton added : "We have been very proactive. "Our foot is not off the pedal irrespective of what is happening in the wider global environment. We are out there at the present moment in time. "We attended a major tax conference on the west coast of the United States; presented our tax proposition and out of that there is a lot of interest in what we are doing. "The UK is still a very large market for companies internationally and therefore even on a UK trading basis it makes sense for some of those firms to be here and to have an operation that serves the UK market." Meanwhile, MLAs were also told of the "strong performance" over the past five years with 3 billion worth of job-related investment - 590 million of which was in research and development. Some 87 new international investors have also set up shop in Northern Ireland and it is the only UK region to experience growth in exports over the past year. Committee chairman Conor Murphy described the figures as "impressive". It was also revealed that Invest NI plans to expand its trade presence to 10 new locations such as Australia, Asia and South America. Health Minister Michelle ONeill MLA, Professor Rory OConnor and Deirdre Toner, Executive Director of Samaritans at the launch of charitys annual report at Stormont It has been heartbreaking to see the number of suicides in Northern Ireland more than double over the last 20 years, a leading researcher has said. Professor Rory O'Connor yesterday called for suicide prevention to be made a national priority in the province. The suicide researcher and academic from Northern Ireland was speaking as the Samaritans launched the charity's annual Impact Report at Stormont. "In the mid-1990s when I started researching suicide in Belfast, about 150 people died by suicide each year in Northern Ireland," Mr O'Connor said. "It is heartbreaking to see the number of deaths more than double since, to 318 in 2015. "Suicide prevention has to be a national priority. "So much more needs to be done to prevent suicide, the number one killer of young and middle-aged men in the UK." Mr O'Connor also launched the latest International Handbook of Suicide Prevention, which he edited with Jane Pirkis, University of Melbourne. "I am particularly pleased to launch the Handbook in Northern Ireland, as it is the most comprehensive handbook yet on suicide prevention, containing the latest evidence from 110 of the world's leading experts, about what works to prevent suicide," said Mr O'Connor. Eighteen people a day die by suicide in the UK and Ireland but, according to a Samaritans survey, one in six people (17.3%) see it as a taboo subject. The charity is calling for more openness about suicide, in order to prevent people taking their own lives. Deirdre Toner, Samaritans Executive Director for Ireland, said: "People who are struggling can feel isolated and alone. "They often want to talk about their suicidal feelings, but don't know how to, or fear they will be judged. "Talking through your feelings with someone else can make all the difference." "More than 6,000 people die by suicide every year in the UK alone. If you are less well off, and male, you are at greater risk of suicide. When you bottle things up, you can start to feel trapped. "Talking things through can help you find a way forward. "It's not always about fixing a problem - sometimes it's simply about sharing it. Samaritans' volunteers will always listen and never judge." A requirement for tiering should have been identified in the energy system, said a director at Cambridge Economic Policy Associates Stormont's failure to regularly review tariffs paid under a botched renewable energy scheme was the main reason for its budget-busting demise, an economist has told MLAs. A director at Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA), which advised on the controversial Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), denied its failure to flag up the need to taper off subsidy pay-outs was a major factor in the scheme's overspend of hundreds of millions of pounds. The consultants were paid almost 70,000 to mathematically model the RHI during its development stages in 2011/12. Mark Cockburn, a director at CEPA, told the Assembly's Public Accounts Committee the requirement for tiering the tariff rate was deemed not necessary in its first report to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI, now the Department of Economy) in 2011. However, he said when CEPA was asked by DETI to look again at elements of the scheme six months later, in response to a public consultation, circumstances had changed and a requirement for tiering should have been identified. "We missed it," he said. The economist added: "The need for tiering was not identified within the 2012 report and we have accepted that." The RHI encouraged the installation of costly eco-friendly heating systems by paying a tariff per kilowatt of heat burned over a 20-year period. However, unlike in the rest of the UK, in Northern Ireland no cap or payment tier system was placed on the money that could be claimed in proportion to the size of boiler and the hours it was operated. That effectively enabled a business to burn unnecessary heat 24/7 just to make money. Thousands signed up to the scheme - a deluge that ultimately forced its closure, but not before Stormont had been left exposed to a huge overspend. Overall, more than 1 billion of public money will be paid by 2036 to Northern Ireland-based businesses which signed up to the scheme. Mr Cockburn conceded the lack of tiering was a factor but he said the main reason for the overspend was Stormont's inability to close it down quickly when problems emerged and a failure to regularly review the tariff level. He highlighted that CEPA made a recommendation to DETI to keep a close watch on the operation of the scheme. "If our recommendations had been followed and the scheme had been reviewed there would not have been any loss," he told committee members. He added: "Our recommendation was very much things need to be monitored, things need to be kept on top of, there needed to be a review - that clearly didn't happen." Mr Cockburn said schemes need to be adapted because people find ways to "game" them. He noted that the GB tariff started out higher than the Northern Ireland rate but it was gradually reduced upon review, while the NI rate was left untouched for too long. "As with all of these schemes they all have to be reviewed - if you just leave them people will find ways of gaming them, of exploiting value from them," he said. DUP committee member Trevor Clarke accused Mr Cockburn of trying to shift the blame. "There is gaming in all of these schemes but if the tiering had been there the incentive for doing it would have been less," he said. Mr Clarke added: "I think you are under-estimating the role that your organisation had played and the opportunity that was missed and you are underplaying that entirely and trying to shift the blame. "I think if tiering had been there we wouldn't be sitting in the situation we are today." Mr Cockburn rejected the claim. Cathal McCall wants the Northern Ireland Assembly to "engage fully" with academics on the implications of Brexit Academics have expressed disappointment that the Stormont Executive has not called on their expertise to examine the implications of Brexit. Cathal McCall, a professor in European politics at Queen's University Belfast, said he was still awaiting an invitation from Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire to discuss the fallout from the UK's vote to leave the European Union. He said: "We hope that the Northern Ireland Assembly does start to engage fully with academics, the business community and the NGOs (non-governmental organisations) as well because it is a vitally important issue." Prof McCall was giving evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee at Westminster, which is conducting an inquiry into the future of the land border with the Republic of Ireland. He said: "I am very disappointed. "I have commended this House for having the previous session and now you are having another one. The House of Lords has had one, the European Committee there even came over to Parliament Buildings to hold a session so that we could attend, which was very gratifying." He said he had received invitations from private sector companies keen to find out how they could be affected by border changes. "Private sector actors are contacting us inviting us to their palatial establishments to talk about the implications because for them they are caught in a state of flux, particularly multinationals, in terms of wanting to develop their outposts in Belfast, Strabane and Londonderry," he added. Independent MP Lady Sylvia Hermon said the concerns were unlikely to go unnoticed by officials. She said: "Since the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has said publicly he is very keen to meet businessmen and all the rest, I am sure it will not go unnoticed from this committee that there is a desire among academics and Queen's and elsewhere to meet." There was also discussion around the potential for special status or bespoke arrangements for Northern Ireland. Professor Dagmar Schiek, professor of EU law at Queen's, who plans to discuss Brexit with representatives from the German government, said there was an awareness the border was a "sensitive" issue. However, she cautioned that achieving special status would not be easy. "This will be a very difficult feat to achieve. But a special status which tries to avoid the substantive borders should at least be looked at. It's worthwhile to do this." A treasure trove of items from some of the most important moments in Northern Ireland's history remain locked away in a Co Antrim storage facility. The artefacts - which were presented to the Northern Ireland Parliament and later the Assembly - include the table upon which the Act of Union was signed in 1800, the Speakers' state robes, a gilded throne, silver maces, a special Union flag which was presented to the former Northern Ireland Parliament in memory of Senator James Baillie and a framed letter from the Duke of Edinburgh. The extent of the volume of items which remain in storage has come to light following Assembly questions by TUV leader Jim Allister. Mr Allister asked about a number of specific items, including the Union flag and letter from the Duke of Edinburgh, as well as a collection of a bottle, goblets and saucers in blue pottery. He asked whether they were still in the ownership of the Assembly, and if so, why they were not on display. The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission confirmed the items are all in a specialist storage facility in Dunmurry. The situation has not changed from a similar Assembly Question which was asked by DUP MLA Adrian McQuillan in 2010. Revelations then sparked public debate over why the items were not on display. Some of the most historic items include the mahogany table on which the Royal Assent to the Act of Union was signed and two jardinieres reputedly made from the timbers of the ship the Mountjoy, which famously breached the boom on the river Foyle during the siege of Londonderry in 1689. Other more recent items in the Assembly's collection in storage include a selection of fire damaged items recovered from the Parliament Buildings fire in January 1995. There are also a number of stranger items held in storage by the Assembly Commission. These include a cigar lighter which was presented to Stormont by the Royal College Of Nursing in 1960 and a silver egg timer with the crest of Northern Ireland on it. Some of the items are out on loan, such as a portrait of former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Basil Brooke to the Viscount Brookeborough, and a portrait of Queen Lydia de Burgh to Hillsborough Castle. Meanwhile, a number of famous artworks adorn the walls of Stormont, including a portrait of the late Ian Paisley. Earlier this year Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir revealed that the Northern Ireland Civil Service Art collection numbers more than 1,400 works - and are mostly kept in storage. He said then he wanted to see the art displayed in public buildings such as hospitals. He said: "I am determined to ensure the collection is more accessible and can be viewed by a wider audience. I wish to understand its cultural importance and ensure it is preserved for future generations. I am considering refreshing the collection in a way that will help support emerging local artists." Mr O Muilleoir was responding to an Assembly Question asked by Sinn Fein MLA Oliver McMullan. A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said it was hoped historical items could be more widely displayed. "The minister has brought together local experts to ensure the government's art collection is enjoyed by as wide an audience as possible. They will present their findings to the minister shortly." The firm that advised Nama on the sale of its Northern Ireland loan book was treated like an "eejit" and a "patsy" prior to the 1.2bn sale, the Republic's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has heard. Lazard, a key player in the Project Eagle sale, was "kept in the dark" over details that were potentially highly significant to the sale. Sinn Fein TD Mary Lou McDonald made the allegations at a parliamentary committee meeting in Dublin probing the controversial transaction. Lazard's managing director Patrick Long accepted he and his staff were not informed of key details in relation to the transaction. These include the fact that another bidder, Pimco, pulled out of the bidding process after being asked to provide a fixer payment of 16m for three parties involved in the deal. The money was to be shared by Belfast businessman Frank Cushnahan, US law firm Brown Rudnick and Ian Coulter, a managing partner of Belfast solicitors firm Tughans, Pimco previously told the committee. Mr Cushnahan was formerly a Nama adviser on Northern Ireland on the recommendation of the DUP. Brown Rudnick and Tughans also advised Cerberus on the successful deal. All parties have denied any wrongdoing. Ms McDonald claimed Mr Long and his firm "spectacularly lacked insights" as advisers. "Do you know the expression eejit? Nama made an eejit of you, a patsy," she said. Mr Long said: "We gave the best advice we could with the knowledge we had at the time." Northern Ireland has almost 400,000 people living in relative poverty, the Assembly has heard. A joint Ulster Unionist and SDLP motion warned just over a fifth of people (22%) are in relative poverty - many of them children and senior citizens. Communities Minister Paul Givan said the most recent poverty figures showed 395,100 people are living in relative poverty before housing costs are taken into account. The UUP's Jenny Palmer said the overall figure was larger than any settlement in Northern Ireland except for Belfast. "It is nearly five Bangors, around seven Omaghs and more than triple Lisburn," she said. Mr Givan said there were plans to change the approach to the problem, and he would bring Stormont's first ever social strategy to the Executive in the coming weeks. "It will identify those in poverty and outline specific interventions to support them. It will also identify those at greatest risk of social exclusion," he added. Northern Ireland has a unique case in Brexit negotiations. After Brexit occurs Northern Ireland will have a common land border with the EU. We are also coming out of a period of great political instability and what we have must be preserved and supported. Our economy is now reliant on cross-border trade, with 37% of Northern Ireland-exported goods going to the Republic of Ireland. People also cross the border daily to work, for education, health care, shopping and for leisure. We enter the Brexit negotiations with enormous legacy challenges, and an annual subvention of 9bn per annum from Westminster. Since the referendum UK gilt yields have fallen to significant lows, causing major problems for pension schemes in Northern Ireland companies and organisations. The drop in sterling, while creating opportunities for some sectors, has increased the cost of imports. Northern Ireland universities already report being excluded from collaborative projects with EU universities, while the status of EU migrants is unclear, many feeling unwelcome and planning to leave. After the vote, the Ulster Unionist Party established a Brexit Advisory Panel, which I serve as chair, with representatives from business, academia, the community and voluntary sector, farming and agri-food, manufacturing and construction, among others. The panel is politically independent, with members' participation not indicative of support for the Ulster Unionist Party, nor are its recommendations binding on the party. After months of meetings the panel have published a paper which sets out our views and recommendations. It has been distributed to Northern Ireland political parties, to relevant interest groups, and those with influence in the European Union. Underpinning our work has been a strong feeling that there has been a lack of co-operation, with no one clearly articulating the collective voice of Northern Ireland. Across all members of the panel there was clear appreciation that Northern Ireland has distinct bespoke needs, which must be heard in London, Dublin, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Brussels and in non-EU countries. The paper sets out five key red lines which must not be crossed: Free movement of goods, capital, services and persons between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; no immigration or Customs controls on the border, or between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. l No tariffs or quotas on any goods - including on agricultural goods - traded with the EU. The UK should remain a member of the EU's Single Market and the EU Customs Union. l No restrictions should be imposed on the ability of businesses and organisations in Northern Ireland to recruit internationally the best people and also no restrictions on the recruitment of staff and students to our universities and colleges. l EU Peace funds have been vital for developing cross-community relations and must be continued or be replaced by equivalent amounts. l Northern Ireland needs a significant financial stimulus to address its longer term economic and infrastructure requirements, which are now required even more because of Brexit. Ken Brundle is chair of the Ulster Unionists' Brexit Advisory Panel A 4kg bag of cyanide and one of the main ingredients in Agent Orange were among items of hazardous waste brought by Irish farmers to a safe disposal collection. An elderly farmer in Roscommon turned up at a hazardous waste disposal site with enough cyanide to "wipe out" the county. The farmer had the hazardous waste for the past 45 years and had originally bought it to get rid of rabbits. Environmental officer Suzanne Dempsey told Shannonside radio that this would have been common practice. "The farmer had previously sought advice on how to dispose of it safely," she said. "The toxic expert on the day said the amount was enough to wipe out most of the county." Farmers also brought one of the main ingredients in Agent Orange, a deadly chemical weapon used in the Vietnam War. The Republic's Environmental Protection Agency is running a series of hazardous waste disposal collection events. Amber Rudd argued at the High Court that revealing secret documents at the inquest would damage the public interest Home Secretary Amber Rudd has won a High Court order preventing the disclosure of "sensitive material" at the pending inquest into the death of Russian fraud whistleblower Alexander Perepilichnyy. But a judge also raised the question whether a public inquiry into the death is needed. Mr Perepilichnyy, 44, died after collapsing while running near his Surrey home in November 2012. Financial firm Hermitage Capital Management has previously claimed that Mr Perepilichnyy could have been deliberately killed for helping it uncover a multimillion-pound fraud involving Russian officials. The businessman's death was originally attributed to natural causes but traces of a chemical that can be found in the poisonous plant Gelsemium elegans were later found in his stomach. The Home Secretary argued at London's High Court that revealing secret documents at the inquest - which will have to decide whether Mr Perepilichnyy died of natural causes or was unlawfully killed - would damage the public interest. Mr Justice Cranston, sitting in London, said he had "no hesitation" in finding the balance came down in favour of non-disclosure and ruled the Home Secretary was entitled to a public-interest immunity (PII) certificate. The judge said there were no cogent reasons for rejecting the Home Secretary's view "that there would be real and significant damage to national security from disclosure". The inquest proceedings are before Richard Travers, senior coroner for Surrey, and a full hearing is due in March and is expected to last three to four weeks. The judge said Mr Travers' position is now "untenable" because he does not have the necessary security clearance to see the sensitive material covered by the PII ruling. The judge said: "It is for the chief coroner to arrange a replacement who is able to view the sensitive material and continue the inquest." The new coroner would need to keep the PII question under review - and also consider "whether a public inquiry is needed". The PII ruling means that all members of the public and members of Mr Perepilichnyy's family, or family lawyers without the necessary security clearance, will be denied access to a whole raft of documents. A pre-inquest hearing was told that before his death Mr Perepilichnyy was helping Hermitage uncover a 230 million US dollar (150 million) Russian money laundering operation. That hearing was told he could have been the victim of a ''reprisal killing'' in Britain linked to the deaths of Alexander Litvinenko and lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, whose 2009 death in a Russian prison prompted claims he was beaten and then denied medical treatment. Hermitage's lawyer Henrietta Hill QC claimed Mr Perepilichnyy had been on an underworld ''hit list'' and had received death threats. There was a ''clear parallel'' between his death and that of Mr Magnitsky, who also worked for London-based Hermitage and died in prison in 2009, she said. At the High Court, Mr Justice Cranston described how the inquest first opened before Surrey Coroner's Court in April 2014 and had suffered a series of delays. There had been 12 pre-inquest reviews, which had drawn keen media interest, and the gathering of about 5,000 pages of documents, plus submissions and correspondence with the interested parties. Those parties included Mr Perepilichnyy's widow, Tatiana Perepilichnaya, as well as Hermitage Capital, the Chief Constable of Surrey Police and Legal and General Assurance Society. The judge said: "A ccording to information provided by Mr Perepilichnyy to Swiss prosecutors before his death, Hermitage was used by senior Russian officials to perpetrate a multi-million dollar tax fraud against the Russian Treasury and Hermitage. "Legal and General's interest is that it issued a substantial life insurance policy to Mr Perepilichnyy shortly before his death. "Both Hermitage and Legal and General have suggested that Mr Perepilichnyy might have been murdered, possibly by agents of the Russian State." During the course of his investigations, coroner Mr Travers had required both the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary " to produce material which he considered might be relevant. "Material was produced but some of it was sensitive. The coroner does not have security clearance to view this material. "Consequently, he decided that he was not in a position to decide the Secretary of S tate's application that it not be publicly disclosed and ordered the Secretary of State to make an application for public interest immunity (PII) to the High Court." The judge said Peter Skelton QC was instructed to act as counsel to the inquest because he had "developed vetting security clearance" (DV), the highest level of clearance, which allowed access to sensitive material and attendance at any "closed" hearings at the inquest. The judge explained that senior coroners were not by virtue of their office regarded as DV cleared - unlike High Court judges and circuit judges. After ruling that a new coroner would have to be appointed with the appropriate security clearance, the judge rejected arguments that that could lead to further delay. He said: "The new coroner will have the assistance of Mr Skelton, as counsel to the inquest, who has seen all the evidence including the sensitive material." Black Friday will take place on 25 November this year. Imported from the United States, the UK is bracing itself yet again for another shopping spree. Retailers are set to slash prices to kick-start the Christmas shopping season. Tesco, Argos and Currys have already gone live with huge Black Friday promotions. Last year, UK shoppers cracked the 1bn sales mark for the first time ever and experts are predicting a similar result this year. Twenty-seven per cent of adults across the country are expected to purchase over the weekend period. Asda has banned Black Friday for a second year in a row, amid fears of in-store violence. Ironically the company, owned by US retail giant, Walmart famously brought the Black Friday to the attention of British retailers. Such fears haven't yet affected other retailers' plans however. Black Friday store opening times Currys PC World have launched a 10-day "Black Tag" sale event starting from the 22 November to the 1st December, featuring over 3,500 discounted items. Stores will open at 6am. Tesco is already offering online and in-store bargains. The majority of stores will open at 5am. For all local times click here. Sainsbury's have announced that reward card holders will benefit with a quadruple in Nectar points over the Black Friday period, from November 25 until Monday November 28. The majority of stores open at 7am. To check your local store's opening time click here. Argos could not wait for Friday, and have already released huge discounts on electrical products. It will continue its sale for 13 days ending on Wednesday 30 November. For opening times click here. Two stories from the news in recent days have touched me deeply. One concerns the Sunday Times journalist AA Gill, a boy for whom I would not previously have had a lot of time. Gill is a posh bloke who writes travel and food reviews for the paper. He's a great writer but I've always had the impression he's a bit up his own aspic. Anyway in his food column at the weekend he revealed that he has cancer. "An embarrassment of cancer", is how he puts it, throwing in a little foodie terminology for emphasis - "the Full English". It does sound bad, but Gill comes across as impressively philosophical about this dire hand that fate has dealt him: "I don't feel that I have been cheated of anything." (His doctor has told him, he says, that all men react the same way to diagnosis, they are always stoical.) He does not like the term "fighting cancer". It seems to infer that people who die from the disease do not fight hard enough. His quiet, calm valour is moving and commendable and enviable. I certainly would not have such courage. There is hardly a family in the land whose lives have not been touched by cancer at some point. Just this week a dear friend of ours died from it. To the last he too was heroically accepting, thinking only of the adored wife he leaves behind. My sister died from cancer when she was just turned 17. I was 18 at the time. She'd had to have her leg amputated at 16. But she seemed to be doing fine. My parents had taken her for a check-up to Altnagelvin Hospital. The doctor did some checks, told her everything was looking great. Going out the door she assured him that she felt just grand "if it wasn't for this oul' stiffness in my back". The doctor paused. "I think we'll do another quick X-ray..." It was in her lungs. No other death in my lifetime has marked me so much as hers. I think all the time of what she might have been and what she was denied. I agree with Mr Gill on the "fighting" front. If tears and prayers were medicine she'd be here still. My mother tried everything. A Catholic friend brought her water from Lourdes. My Church of Ireland mother gratefully accepted it. People were so good. But there was no miracle. And so to that other story that touched me so much this week. The report from the courts about the case of the 14-year-old girl whose body had been transported to the airport, en route to a cryonics facility in America, in the back of someone's van. The little girl's decision to have her body frozen in the hope that at some point in the future scientists will have the technology to bring her back to life has, heartbreakingly, divided her own parents. Her father disagreed with her plans. But to the girl it was "a chance to be cured and woken up, even in hundreds of years' time". The court report highlights the gaps in UK law in regard to what many might see as a controversial if not quack science. A business that profits from that most human instinct - the desire to prolong life, our own or the lives of those we love. To me it just seems crackpot and cynical. And the cryonic option isn't cheap - somewhere in the region of 50,000. But who could fault a little girl for clinging to the dream of a future resurrection, a chance to live the life of which she'd been cheated? It will come to us all, of course. Those two great certainties, as the man put it. Death and taxes. Or as Freddie more melodically summed it up: "Who wants to live forever? "It's all decided for us. "This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us." Long road to Brexit will put years on us all Brexit means Brexit, said Theresa May. Although this week it transpires that what she actually meant by a quick Brexit is that we might still be in the EU years from now. Politicians, eh? Mrs May has informed business leaders that she wants to avoid a cliff edge in other words a sudden drop out of Europe. Instead, were apparently going to be going cannily enough down this particular slippery slope. Not a hard Brexit or a soft Brexit then. But a gently-braking Brexit. Book burnings next for ban-happy students? Well done to students at London City University, who have passed a motion banning several national newspapers from campus. Some victory there for freedom of speech. Apparently, the handful of concerned readers who passed the motion feel that the papers in question promote fascism and racial tension and hatred. No mention of the Kardashians, who are even more heavily promoted by at least one of these publications. Next up for censure, presumably, books. A few bonfires should do it. Trucks carrying essential supplies are stranded at the border of Manipur, India, Nov. 22, 2016. More than three weeks have passed since Bishnupriya Devi, a resident of the northeast Indian state of Manipur, has been able to purchase kerosene, an essential commodity used to light cooking stoves in rural households. Devi is among some 2.7 million people in Manipur who are struggling to go about their daily lives because of an acute shortage of food, fuel and medicinal supplies resulting from an indefinite economic blockade imposed by a tribal body since Oct. 31. Ive been going door-to-door begging for some kerosene so I can cook for my family. Sometimes I get lucky. Other times, we are forced to fill our stomachs with raw food, Devi, who lives in the suburbs of Imphal, the states capital, told BenarNews. The United Naga Council (UNC) an umbrella group representing over 35 Naga tribes scattered across the northeastern states of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh has blocked arterial highways leading to Manipur to protest the state governments decision to turn two tribe-dominated areas into full-fledged revenue districts. On Monday, the blockade saw its first instance of violence when suspected UNC supporters torched a goods-laden truck headed for Imphal on the outskirts of Manipur. The governments move to turn Sadar Hills and Jiriban sub-divisions into districts of Manipur is a conspiracy to snatch away ancestral land owned by members of the Naga tribe, the UNC said. If Sadar Hills and Jiriban are turned into districts, the government will set up administrative offices there after snatching away land rightfully owned by Nagas, a UNC member told BenarNews on condition of anonymity. The Naga indigenous people in Manipur want an alternative arrangement. We want to be treated as a separate entity and want a separate administration, he said. The nearly 2.1 million-strong indigenous Nagas, some 625,000 of whom live in Manipur, have opposed any arbitrary bifurcation and division of their land for decades. The outlawed National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), a Christian extremist group, has been waging an armed rebellion against the Indian government since 1980, demanding the establishment of a sovereign state separate from India. Activists of the United Naga Council (UNC) block a highway leading to Manipur, India, Nov. 22, 2016. [Courtesy of Sonam Tassaduq] Humanitarian crisis The UNC-imposed economic blockade has left nearly 2,000 trucks transporting essential supplies to Manipur stranded on the state borders, which have been blocked by group activists. As of Wednesday, the blockade had resulted in a loss of about 700 million rupees to the Manipur government, according to the states taxation department. The situation is fast turning into a humanitarian crisis, according to residents. A liter of petrol, which is otherwise priced at about 67 rupees ($1), is now selling in the black market for 300 rupees ($4). Essential commodities like rice, potatoes and medicines are no longer available in the market, N. Satyajeet, a journalist from Imphal, told BenarNews. Manipur Chief Secretary Oinam Nabakishore said the states stockpile of petrol and diesel had run out on Nov. 10, adding that nearly 200 oil tankers were stranded on the border with Assam. He said a shortage of paramilitary personnel in the region prevented state police from removing protesters from the borders. We are trying our best to escort the stranded trucks to Imphal. We have requested intervention from New Delhi to help lift the blockade, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi told BenarNews. New Delhi indifferent? Sources in the state government said a delegation from Manipur met with Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday, but no concrete solution emerged from the meeting. Singh told the delegates that New Delhi had no authority to intervene since Ibobi had not submitted a clear proposal for assistance required from the central government, sources said. If there was a concrete proposal from the state government, New Delhi would provide all necessary assistance, Singh said, according to sources. Noacha Singh, a Manipur-based documentary filmmaker, said successive governments in New Delhi always ignored issues plaguing northeast India and the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was only following suit. Instead of waiting for paperwork, the central government should pay attention to our plight and try to come up with solutions to end this crisis, he told BenarNews. About a year ago, Modi had said he had come up with a historic framework to resolve Naga issues. That framework has yet to be revealed, Sanjoy Hazarika, a well-known expert in affairs related to northeast India, told BenarNews. This is also the reason tribes in the region are fueling unrest. They are using strikes and blockades to attract New Delhis attention so they can press for their demands, Hazarika said. Police questioned Jakarta Gov. Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama for nine hours on Tuesday during his first interrogation since being named a blasphemy suspect, while Indonesias president said his government was determined to stop radicalism in the worlds most populous Muslim country. Ahok, who is running for re-election in February, was formally named a suspect last week for alleged anti-Muslim comments he made in September, which led to mass protests demanding his prosecution. An anti-Ahok protest drew some 100,000 demonstrators to central Jakarta on Nov. 4, but it disintegrated into violence at the end, as an angry crowd attacked police barricades, set fires and looted stores. The violence was the worst in Jakarta since riots in 1998, during which Indonesias ethnic Chinese minority was targeted. Ahok, a Christian, is Jakartas first ethnic Chinese governor. He is the former deputy of Joko Jokowi Widodo and succeeded him as governor, when Jokowi became president two years ago. The polices decision to name Ahok a blasphemy suspect, however, has not diminished calls by conservative Muslim groups demanding his arrest. Some of these are calling for another mass protest against the governor that is expected to take place in Jakarta on Dec. 2 Ahok is accused of blasphemous speech a violation of Indonesian law for telling attendees at a campaign event that people might fool them into not voting for him by using the Qurans Surah Al-Maida Verse 51 which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from having non-Muslim leaders. On Tuesday, Ahok lawyer Sirra Prayuna said investigators asked 27 questions, many of which were similar to those asked before his client was named a suspect. This is actually only to get more detailed information from the previous investigation to make the case more clear, he said. If prosecuted and convicted, Ahok would face up to five years and six years in prison, respectively, for violating Indonesias blasphemy and electronic communications laws. A video of Ahoks controversial comments, for which he has apologized, went viral on social media. Speaking to reporters at National Police Headquarters in Jakarta, spokesman Senior Commander Rikwanto on Tuesday urged all parties to respect the investigation into the Ahok case. We already agreed to no intervention from any party. Please trust the police that this case will go to court. So, please no more requests for police to do this or that, Rikwanto said. No room for radicalism Meanwhile, Jokowi called for maintaining national unity and countering radical ideology from growing in multi-religious and multi-ethnic Indonesia. What is very important is that government is determined, I repeat, the government is determined with all of its power to prevent the growth of radicalism in our country, Indonesia, Jokowi told reporters at the Jakarta State Palace, after two days of meetings with political leaders. Jokowi has reached out to Muslim religious leaders, top military and police in an effort to calm the nation following the Nov. 4 rally attended by 100,000 people in Jakarta that started peacefully but turned violent in the evening. His comments followed a weekend rally in which thousands of people marched in the streets of Jakarta, in a counter-protest to the anti-Ahok rallies. Demonstrators called for upholding the nations diversity and unity that are among its core values. Another anti-Ahok rally planned Elsewhere, two conservative groups, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the National Movement to Protect the MUI Fatwa (GNPF MUI), announced plans for another rally on Dec. 2 to demand Ahoks arrest. Both groups organized the Nov. 4 rally and a non-violent rally on Oct. 14. Since Ahok has not been arrested, the GNPF MUI will stage Aksi Bela Islam III (The Third Act to Defend Islam) on Dec. 2, FPI spokesman Munarman said, according to Antara, Indonesias national news agency. The organization had planned a rally on Friday as well, although police officials are unsure if it will be held, according to the Jakarta Globe. Organizers expect the Dec. 2 rally featuring a massive group Friday prayer in Jakartas two main streets to be twice as large as the Nov. 4 rally. National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian questioned the motives of holding another rally because, he said, police had proceeded appropriately in the Ahok case. Tito referred to the proposed rally as potential treason. There have been hidden attempts by some groups who want to get into the House of Representatives and attempt to control the Parliament. For us, the police and military, this is a clear violation of law, CNN Indonesia quoted him as saying earlier this week. Munarman of the FPI said police overreacted. There are those who want to disturb the demonstration, Munarman told BenarNews, calling the planned rally nothing more than a peaceful demonstration filled with prayer. There is no act of treason, he said. Saiful Muthohir alias Abu Gar gestures after being sentenced to nine years in prison at East Jakarta District Court, Nov. 23, 2016. An Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced a man to nine years in prison for providing cash and a firearm to one of the men who mounted a terror attack claimed by the so-called Islamic State in central Jakarta in January. Saiful Muthohir, alias Abu Gar, 43, is the fourth man sent to prison thus far in connection with the attack, which left eight dead, including four perpetrators, and at least 24 people injured. In late December [2015], the defendant met Muhammad Ali in Srengseng, West Jakarta, to give him operation money in the amount of 70 million rupiah ($5,171), head judge Eris Sudjarwanto said while delivering the ruling in court. Muhammad Ali, 40, was one of four men who attacked a coffee shop near international embassies and the iconic National Monument (Monas) with explosives and guns at mid-morning on Jan. 14, 2016. The judge said the cash handed over by Abu Gar was provided by Iwan Darmawan, also known as Rois, a man who is on death row for his role in the 2004 bombing at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta that killed 11 people. In March, then-Jakarta Police Chief Tito Karnavian revealed that the Australian Embassy bomber was a local coordinator of the Jakarta 2016 attack, together with another convicted terrorist, Aman Abdurrahman, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported at the time. Both men are incarcerated at Nusakambangan Prison. Abu Gar also passed instructions to Ali Rois to pick up a firearm at Serang, Banten, that was later found at the scene of the attack, the court heard. So the elements of conspiring, attempting or assisting a terrorist act are legally fulfilled, Eris said. The native of Cilacap, Central Java, was arrested on Feb. 19, 2016 in Malang, East Java. After hearing the sentence, Abu Gar, clad in a green shirt and blue cap, said simply, I accept it. Second conviction Three other men have already been sentenced in the attack: Dodi Suridi alias Ibnu Arsad, 23, Ali Makhmudin alias Lulu, 41, and Ali Hamka alias Abu Ibrahim, 48. Dodi and Lulu were sentenced to 10 and eight years, respectively, for making bomb containers, while Ali Hamka was given a four-year sentence for facilitating acquisition of weapons for the attack from an illegal arms dealer in Sumedang, West Java. Wednesdays sentence marked the second time Abu Gar has been placed behind bars. In 2005, he was sentenced to nine years in jail for sheltering a perpetrator and hiding information about an attack on a police station in Loki, Ambon, that killed five police officers. But Abu Gar served only six years of that sentence. At the same courthouse on Wednesday, three men found guilty of participating in a militant training in Cipanas, West Java, in November 2015 were each sentenced to three years in prison. Abu Gar instructed participants in bomb-making at that training, according to Eris, the judge. The men Ahmad Rido, 40, Romlan alias Romli, 40, and Rudi Hadianto, 37 were also arrested in Malang, East Java in February. Ahmad Rido, left, Romlan alias Romli, and Rudi Hadianto listen to their sentence in East Jakarta District Court, Nov. 23, 2016. (Arie Firdaus/BenarNews) SAN NARCISO, Calif. -- Chuck E. Cheeses is a chain of pizza restaurants and arcades that have become popular locations for childrens birt... ein Google-Unternehmen Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen mochten wir verstehen, wie unsere Dienste verwendet werden, und die Qualitat dieser Dienste verbessern. neue Dienste zu entwickeln und zu verbessern Werbung auszuliefern und ihre Wirkung zu messen personalisierte Inhalte anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen personalisierte Werbung anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen Wenn Sie Alle ablehnen auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies nicht fur diese zusatzlichen Zwecke. 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For Immediate Release, November 23, 2016 Contact: Rita Beving, Clean Water Action, (214) 557-2271 Wendy Park, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 844-7138, wpark@biologicaldiversity.org Cyrus Reed, Sierra Club, Lone Star Chapter, (512) 740-4086 BLM Urged to Remove 3,100 Acres of Texas Public Lands from Oil and Gas Lease Auction Fracking Could Trigger Earthquakes, Threaten Water Supplies for Corpus Christi, Brenham DALLAS Environmental groups today called on the Bureau of Land Management to remove over 3,100 acres from an oil and gas lease auction set for the spring over concerns that fracking might trigger earthquakes, damage dams and threaten the water source for half a million Texans. The federal lands are beneath dams that store water supplies for Corpus Christi and Brenham. The public comment period for this lease sale closed Tuesday. In their letter to BLM, the Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Water Action and Sierra Club raised concerns that oil and gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing or fracking on the lands would put dam infrastructure and drinking water supplies at risk from wastewater injection underneath or near water supply lakes. Fracking also poses risks to sensitive fish and wildlife and recreational areas, including important state park resources. The BLM has jurisdiction over the leasing of all onshore federal mineral rights. All nine of the Texas parcels for sale are below or near drinking water supply lakes. Specifically, Choke Canyon and Lake Texana are two of Corpus Christis three main water supply lakes, providing more than half a million people with drinking water. Somerville Lake is a major water supply for the city of Brenham. Using earthquake data and proven petroleum industry techniques to characterize subsurface characteristics, former senior oil and gas geologist and GIS expert Gerald Bartz developed earthquake tremor risk maps for these parcels. These maps revealed multiple lineaments, or fractures, along the earths surface indicative of possible faults underlying the water supply lakes and parcels up for auction. Fracking, which involves injecting water and chemicals at high pressure below ground, could increase pressure along these fractures and cause underground rocks to shift, resulting in infrastructure damage and earthquakes. There are multiple fractures located directly in the line of the proposed lease parcels, Bartz said. Increased fracking and wastewater disposal around the dams could worsen seismic activity around Choke Canyon Reservoir. According to a map prepared by Bartz, earthquakes of magnitudes 2.5 to 4.8 occurred near the footprint of Choke Canyon and in the neighboring counties of the Eagle Ford Shale, a major center for fracking. A 4.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in 2011 less than 30 miles away and a 3.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in 2012 less than 12 miles away from the center of the lake. In other words, though drilling has occurred near Choke Canyon to date without damage to this reservoir, there is a tipping point by which added induced seismicity can cause a breach or major infrastructure damage, said Rita Beving of Clean Water Action. These water supply lakes are from 30 to almost 50 years old. They were never designed to withstand the kind of induced seismicity that additional fracking and wastewater injection could impose. A 2013 presentation by an Army Corp of Engineers senior geotechnical engineer noted potential risks that drilling, injection, extraction and fracking may pose for reservoir structures and their water supplies, including a dam breach. The BLM has never looked at whether fracking or fracking-induced earthquakes could worsen the risk of a breach on any of these lakes, or the possible contamination of these drinking water supplies, said Wendy Park, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. The BLM needs to remove these parcels from this sale and put the health and safety of Texas communities first, before the financial interests of the oil and gas industry. These lakes are some of the states most valuable assets, said Cyrus Reed, conservation director of the Lone Star Chapter of Sierra Club. In addition, they provide recreational opportunities for thousands of Texans, including families, and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, who come to hike, camp, fish, boat and bird watch. Though some drilling has already gone on around these lakes, concern is mounting over the cumulative impacts that additional fracking may have on reservoir impoundments, and over the potential links between fracking and fault slippage due to deep injection and drilling activities. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. For Immediate Release, November 23, 2016 Contact: My-Linh Le, (510) 844-7115, mlle@biologicaldiversity.org Katie Schaefer, (415) 977-5745, katie.schaefer@sierraclub.org Conservation Groups Ask BLM to Withdraw Oil and Gas Leasing Proposal Earthquake Risks From Fracking, Injection Wells Could Threaten Public Safety OKLAHOMA CITY The Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club filed a letter Tuesday urging the Bureau of Land Management to cancel its proposed sale of nine oil and gas lease parcels in Oklahoma. The letter highlighted the increase in human-induced earthquake activity in Oklahoma and the BLMs ongoing refusal to analyze those potential impacts in its recent oil and gas lease approvals. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that dangerous wastewater-injection practices cause destructive quakes, the BLM which reviews and auctions public lands for fracking failed to consider these effects in its evaluation of the April 2017 lease sale. An environmental review for the agencys most recent lease auction in April 2016 also failed to consider these effects. We dont need a major earthquake that claims lives and costs millions in damage to tell us that the rapid increase in fracking and wastewater injection in Oklahoma and neighboring states is the cause, said My-Linh Le with the Center. Its only a matter of time until these increasingly frequent quakes cause catastrophic damage. Alongside the worsening climate crisis, human-induced earthquakes are yet another reason President Obama should end the federal fossil fuel leasing programs now. Several quakes of magnitude 5.0 or greater have already occurred in Oklahoma this year, including a 5.0 magnitude earthquake on November 6 in Cushing, and a 5.8 quake on September 3 in Pawnee. The increase in the frequency of high-magnitude quakes has been linked to wastewater injection from oil and gas production, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study. Scientists warn that the spike in larger earthquakes this year could presage quakes of even greater magnitude. The environmentalists letter also warned that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on the proposed lease parcels could lead to spills and leaks from oil and gas operations, contaminating water resources. Four of the proposed parcels for lease underlie the Canadian River, including critical habitat for the threatened Arkansas River shiner, a fish protected under the Endangered Species Act. It is unacceptable to allow fracking in one of the last places where the rare Arkansas River shiner is found, and below a critical water supply for Oklahoma residents, said Katie Schaefer of the Sierra Club. Earlier this month the Center and Sierra Club called on the Bureau to withdraw 11 oil and gas leases in Oklahoma and Kansas sold in its April 2016 auction because of earthquake risks and the potential loss of lesser-prairie chicken habitat. The BLM has yet to issue the leases or respond to that request. Background On behalf of the American people, the U.S. federal government manages nearly 650 million acres of public land and more than 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf and the fossil fuels beneath them. This includes federal public land, which makes up about a third of the U.S. land area, and oceans like Alaskas Chukchi Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard. These places and the fossil fuels beneath them are held in trust for the public by the federal government; federal fossil fuel leasing is administered by the Department of the Interior. Over the past decade, the combustion of federal fossil fuels has resulted in nearly a quarter of all U.S. energy-related emissions. A 2015 report by EcoShift Consulting, commissioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth, found that remaining federal oil, gas, coal, oil shale and tar sands that have not been leased to industry contain up to 450 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. As of earlier this year, 67 million acres of federal fossil fuel were already leased to industry, an area more than 55 times larger than Grand Canyon National Park containing up to 43 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. Last year Sens. Merkley (D-Ore.), Sanders (I-Vt.) and others introduced the Keep It In the Ground Act (S. 2238) legislation to end new federal fossil fuel leases and cancel nonproducing federal fossil fuel leases. Days later President Obama canceled the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, saying, Because ultimately, if were going to prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, were going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them and release more dangerous pollution into the sky. Download the September 2015 Keep It in the Ground letter to President Obama. Download Grounded: The Presidents Power to Fight Climate Change, Protect Public Lands by Keeping Publicly Owned Fossil Fuels in the Ground (this report details the legal authorities with which a president can halt new federal fossil fuel leases). Download The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions of U.S. Federal Fossil Fuels (this report quantifies the volume and potential greenhouse gas emissions of remaining federal fossil fuels) and The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions fact sheet. Download Over-leased: How Production Horizons of Already Leased Federal Fossil Fuels Outlast Global Carbon Budgets. Download Critical Gulf: The Vital Importance of Ending Fossil Fuel Leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. Download Public Lands, Private Profits, about the corporations profiting from climate-destroying fossil fuel extraction on public lands. Download the Center for Biological Diversitys legal petition calling on the Obama administration to halt all new offshore fossil fuel leasing. Download the Center for Biological Diversitys legal petition with 264 other groups calling on the Obama administration to halt all new onshore fossil fuel leasing. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. It can be tough to be a vegetarian. You have to work harder than everyone else to make sure youre getting all the nutrients your body needs. So, when its time to take a Despite a challenging year for the MTN brand in Nigeria, it has been named the 'Most Valued Brand' in the country, in a well-known brands survey. MTN group executive chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko, has commended the companys Nigerian operation, following news that MTN Nigeria has been named. The results of the recently released 2016 Top 50 Brands survey, place MTN Nigeria ahead of other renowned local and international brands, including Coca Cola and Guaranty Trust Bank. The survey gauges brands based on the Brand Strength Measurement (BSM) Index, which uses basic qualitative factors to test the strength or weakness of a brand, including consumers familiarity with the brand, quality elements a brand possesses, market/category leadership, innovation, spread and corporate social responsibility initiatives, among others. Well done to our team in Nigeria. Being named the most valued brand is an honour for MTN, because it speaks to how we are viewed by customers and the impact that we have in their lives. In spite of recent difficulties, the MTN Nigeria team continues to focus on finding ways to enhance and brighten the lives of our customers and this acknowledgement is a positive reflection of these ongoing efforts, says Nhleko. Farmers in southern Madagascar, hit by three years of devastating drought, urgently need more support so they can plant crops in time for the December and January planting seasons, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said. Image by 123RF They stressed that more funding is required to provide this support and help address southern Madagascar's worsening food insecurity. FAO will start distributing plant cuttings and seeds next month, targeting some 170,000 farming families in the most food-insecure districts of the south. At the same time, these same families will receive food or cash as part of an ongoing WFP relief programme so they can sustain themselves until the next harvest in March/April. WFP has been distributing food to people in the areas of greatest need since June and cash in places with functioning markets since July. "The planting season offers a small window of opportunity for local farmers to restore agricultural production. Thousands of families are already facing hunger. Missing the planting season now will result in a serious food and livelihood crisis, and render their situation even more desperate," says Jose Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General. Some 850,000 people - about half the population of the south - are facing hunger and need urgent humanitarian assistance, according to latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) findings. These indicate that food and nutrition security could deteriorate even further in coming months unless humanitarian action is rapidly scaled up. Overall, some 1.4 million people are estimated to be food insecure in 2016/17 in the three southern regions of the island. FAO is sourcing sweet potato and cassava cuttings, as well as a variety of drought-tolerant seeds for smallholder farmers to plant. Tools will also be distributed and support offered to families with livestock. "As I saw recently in the south of Madagascar, farmers are in a dire situation," says WFP executive director Ertharin Cousin. "But, through a joint response, our two agencies can begin to turn this situation around, not only by providing immediate relief but by giving communities the means they need to feed themselves." While WFP and FAO have secured funds to help launch their joint planting assistance programme, they cannot reach all the drought-hit farming families without more funding. Out of $22 million needed, FAO has only received $4.5 million. WFP's drought relief operation, which runs till March 2017, is facing a $50 million shortfall out of a total of $82 million required. The lack of sufficient rains brought about significant declines in the production of maize, cassava and rice production in the south of the island earlier this year. Meanwhile, rising prices continue to reduce people's purchasing power and erode the food security of the most vulnerable. Many households have adopted survival strategies, eating less often, consuming seeds, and selling animals, agricultural tools and even land. FAO's response FAO's immediate agricultural response is targeting 850,000 people (170, 000 small-scale farming households) in the worst-affected districts. The assistance combines provision of quick-maturing and drought-tolerant seeds and root crops (cassava and sweet potatoes). Farmers will also receive tools to replace those that may have been sold during the current extended hunger season. Support to livestock production will also be provided through supplementary feeding of livestock and animal health-related activities. WFP response WFP is scaling up its ongoing food and cash relief operations to reach nearly 1 million vulnerable people by the end of this month. At the same time, WFP is expanding its nutrition programme to prevent and treat malnutrition among more than 200,000 pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under five, while continuing to assist some 230,000 school children with daily hot meals. LILONGWE, Malawi - Another milestone in the UK-Malawi partnership focusing on education and building a vibrant media was reached this week following the inauguration of a media centre that will facilitate regular convening, training, mentorship and research by media practitioners in Malawi. Image by 123RF Situated in Blantyre within the department of Journalism at the Polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi, the Raphael Tenthani Centre for Media Excellence, was named after an iconic Malawian journalist, Raphael Tenthani, who until his death in a car crash on 16 May 2015, was a Malawian correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The centre was officially inaugurated by the British High Commissioner to Malawi, Simon Mustard, alongside the vice chancellor of the University of Malawi, Professor John K Saka. A three-day workshop on investigative journalism that drew 20 journalists from different media houses in Malawi, marked the launch; and this was followed by a seminar for media lecturers and senior newsroom personnel to discuss ideas that can enhance journalism standards in Malawi. Apart from sponsoring the two initial workshops, The UK government also supported the refurbishment of the training room. The department of journalism at Polytechnic, in line with its mission to be the leading media research and training institution in Malawi and the region, plans to use the centre for regular convening, training, mentorship and research, to develop and nurture modern and skilled journalists that deliver better outputs for the strengthening of Malawis nascent democracy. Accountability The British High Commissioner to Malawi, Simon Mustard, said the changing times both locally and internationally call for journalists to be better equipped to deliver timely, relevant, and well-researched stories that benefit the populace to make informed decisions. The media in Malawi is doing a commendable job to hold politicians, businesses, civil society and local leaders to account. But there is always room to do more in your democratic duty to inform the citizens by adapting to the challenges posed by new media and a more demanding audience, said Mustard. He expressed hope that the creation of the centre would facilitate continuous reflection by members of the media of their outputs and building of capacity in different strands of journalism for the benefit of Malawis general public. For his part, vice chancellor of the University of Malawi Professor Saka, said the setting up of the centre was consistent with the universitys strategic plan on research, outreach and community engagement, and core value responsiveness. Strengthening quality of teaching and learning requires adequate and well-furnished teaching and reference laboratories. This centre will thus enhance students practical experience in the university as this centre will be used for research seminars and professional development activities such as mentorship, interaction, discussions, debates, networking and engaging the media industry for discussions, said Saka. The UK has been a long-standing supporter of Malawi media since the dawn of multi-party democracy. LONDON: An editor for the right-wing US news website Breitbart has been banned from giving a talk at his former school in Britain on Tuesday, sparking a social media storm over free speech. The school said it decided to cancel the lecture by Milo Yiannopoulos citing security concerns due to planned protests and after consulting with a government "counter extremism unit". Yiannopoulos, who is technology editor for the right-wing US news website, is known for his provocative social media posts and was banned from Twitter in July for fuelling abuse directed at "Ghostbusters" actress Leslie Jones. The British journalist is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump -- nicknaming the US president-elect "Daddy" during his election campaign -- and has become one of the faces of America's "alt-right" movement. Breitbart's support is believed to have helped Trump win the US election. "This decision was taken following contact from the DfE (Department for Educaton) counter extremism unit," said a spokesman for the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys in Canterbury, southeast England. He said staff and students at the school had been "overwhelmingly in favour" of hosting the former pupil, with 220 students signing up to attend. But "the threat of demonstrations at the school by organised groups and members of the public and our overall concerns for the security of the school site and the safety of our community," had led to the decision to scrap the talk, the spokesman added. Yiannopoulos hit out at the move, which sparked heated reactions from supporters and detractors on social media, branding it an assault on free speech. "Free speech is dead in the UK", the self-declared internet "supervillain" wrote on his Facebook page alongside an article from the Sun website. The tabloid newspaper said Yiannopoulos, seen by many as a toxic figure but a star writer at Breitbart, had been expelled from the school more than a decade ago. The Department for Education (DfE) said the decision to cancel the event "was a matter for the school". "When concerns are raised by members of the public following media coverage in advance of an event, DfE would contact the school as a matter of routine to check they had considered any potential issues," a DfE spokesman said. The school said it would "remain committed to the principle of free speech and open debate and will resist, where possible, all forms of censorship." Source: AFP Cabinet has approved a draft base case energy plan for SA, which paves the way for gas and renewables to provide the biggest chunk of new installed capacity by 2050. There has been a significant reduction in installed capacity from coal compared with the 2011 integrated resource plan, although coal and nuclear energy will contribute most of the energy mix by 2050. Department of Energy deputy director-general Jacob Mbele said at a media briefing on Tuesday, 22 November, that the nuclear energy supply would be commissioned and already in the system by 2037, with 1,000MW of hydro energy coming in about 2030. A price of $5.4m per megawatt of nuclear energy has been used for the scenario planning. Eskom head of generation Matshela Koko said that, assuming nuclear capacity of 20,000MW was built between 2025 and 2037, this would require a 10-year lead time for construction. So Eskom would continue with its request for proposals for a nuclear procurement this year to test the market. He emphasised that testing the market was not the same as entering a contract. Depending on the schedule for the retirement of Eskom plants, new coal baseload would be commissioned by 2028. Mbele said that in terms of the draft plan, 20GW of new nuclear capacity would be installed by 2050, between 35GW and 40GW of gas, 15GW of coal and 55GW of wind and solar energy. Initial new capacity would come from solar, wind and gas, with the new capacity coming in at the earliest 2022. The department's deputy director-general, Ompi Aphane, said no big capacity installation was needed before 2022 but thereafter demand would escalate sharply. Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson announced the government's revised draft integrated resource plan and the draft integrated energy plan at the media briefing. Together, the draft plans project future energy demand, the supply capacity that needs to be created to provide for this demand, and the desired energy mix to make up the supply. The 2011 integrated resource plan envisages the share of nuclear rising from 5% to 20% in 2030; coal declining from 90% to 65%, renewables rising from 0% to 9% and hydro remaining at 5%. The draft plans - which will be released for public comment - are the first to be adopted by the Cabinet, despite the requirement that they be updated annually. The draft plans were approved by the Cabinet about three weeks ago and are different from those submitted by the department as other departments and cabinets later suggested amendments. In terms of the draft integrated resource plan, an average annual increase in electricity demand is estimated at 2.17% for a high level of energy intensity and at 1.31% for a low level of energy intensity. The department's model assumes a moderate plant performance by Eskom. The public will also be asked to comment on other scenarios that ought to be considered. The department anticipates the IRP to be finalised by mid-2017. Speaking during a media briefing on the two plans, Joemat-Pettersson said the department had completed two of the four key milestones on the development of the integrated resource plan. These were the settling of key assumptions and the development of a base case. The third milestone is modelling and analysing scenarios and sensitivies, a process the minister said was currently under way. All this information will be drawn together to develop a final plan taking into account the various scenarios and policy positions. Joemat-Pettersson said the IRP and the IEP "aims to balance similar objectives which are: security of supply, cost of electricity, job creation and localisation, minimal negative environmental impact, minimal water usage, to diversity of supply sources (the energy mix) and promotion of energy access". The minister said a draft framework was being drawn up that would explore possible options for the development of a gas market. Source: Business Day Africa is undoubtedly one of Uber's most exciting markets. The continent constitutes a melting pot of rapid infrastructural development, rich cultural diversity and burgeoning entrepreneurship. As some of the fastest-growing in the world, African cities present very real challenges with congestion. jordi Clave Garsot 123RF.com While each country offers unique opportunities, Uber has found the African region to be defined by agility, creativity and adaptability. This provides the company with the perfect conditions to launch and nurture its on-demand economy in partnership with local governments and existing businesses. Car ownership in Tanzania has grown faster than anywhere else in the past decade, says the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers; faster than China, which is second. And Ghana is not far behind in third place. Africa is already home to some of the most congested cities anywhere, with places in Egypt, SA and Kenya suffering suffocating traffic, yet there are comparatively few cars on the continent's roads. As with telecommunications, where the leapfrog effect has seen investment in 4G rather than fixed-line networks, there is the potential for Africa to decrease traffic congestion and for people to move around the continent more time efficiently and productively while reducing carbon emissions. Wherever Uber is available at scale, access to a safer, cheaper, more reliable way to get from here to there becomes a real alternative to car ownership. Apart from the benefits seen from Uber in Africa, products such as UberPOOL are set to help Africa move even better. Using technology, it is quick and easy for people heading in the same direction at the same time to share their journey. UberPOOL is carpooling at the press of a button. In Africa, it could allow people going in the same direction the opportunity to share the ride and the cost, which can get more people into fewer cars and tackle congestion and pollution. Since Uber's first venture into Africa in Johannesburg in 2013, it has opened in 15 other cities across eight African nations - including a whirlwind of starting in three new places in just three weeks in June. It has also launched new businesses, such as UberEats in Johannesburg that is an ondemand food delivery app powered by the Uber platform. With any new country or city it has launched in, it has tried to do it in partnership with governments so that countries, as well as riders and drivers, can make the most of the on-demand economy Uber creates. While Uber has been engaging with the government since the outset in SA, the introduction of a new licensing category in May - specifically for people using apps such as Uber - was a huge step forward in supporting licensed, professional drivers. A month later, Nigeria's house of representatives was the first national legislature in Africa to vote unanimously in support of a resolution embracing ride-sharing. And in that same month, Uber signed a statement of understanding with the Ghanaian ministry of transport, which officially welcomed it on its launch in Accra, while the prime minister of Uganda heralded its opening in Kampala and the many economic opportunities it could create. About 60,000 drivers now use Uber across Africa - the equivalent of enabling 54 small business opportunities every day since it started. Uber believes it can do more. Egypt's capital Cairo, with historically high unemployment, is one of Uber's fastest-growing cities. Uber is now enabling up to 3,000 additional small business owners every month - and more than 40% of them were previously unemployed. With local charitable organisations, the company launched an economic empowerment programme to provide Egyptians with the resources and education needed to become drivers - with a focus on young people and women. In a country in which 99.3% of women say they have been sexually harassed including 57% by taxi and bus drivers, Uber also supports mandatory antisexual harassment education in partnership with Cairo-based anti-sexual harassment nonprofit organisation HarassMap. Entrepreneurship is flourishing across the continent, but access to vehicle finance remains a challenge. Which is why it introduced the Vehicle Solutions Programme in SA. Thanks to its partnership with WesBank, it has created lowcost access to vehicles to the value of R100m. Drivers in Kenya can even get better priced loans with Sidian Bank-based on how riders rate their service - giving access to credit in a country in which e very few people have that option. Most importantly, drivers across the continent are excited about what Uber has to offer. It is not just about creating economic opportunities for individuals, it is about helping drivers build their small businesses. Such as Mark Luyima, a driver-partner in Uganda who says his business will go to another level with the ride-sharing company. Mariam Mkumbukwa, who operates in Tanzania, thinks Uber is a good fit because she can choose her own hours of work. By bringing what has historically been a cash-in-hand trade into the digital age, the company can also help contribute to the country directly. For instance, in Nigeria, Uber has teamed up with PwC, the federal revenue service and the Lagos state revenue service to develop guidance to demystify tax for drivers no matter whether they use Uber part- or full-time. This is just the beginning of an important shift in how it moves around cities. African Uber riders have already travelled the equivalent of Cape Town to Cairo more than 36,442 times and spent a total of 621,780 days in a driver's vehicle. The total distance travelled in Africa is an astonishing 452,853,658km. What it has seen in this exciting corner of the global village illustrates Africa's potential in creating and defining its sustainable cities of the future. Source: Business Day The Forest Sector Innovation Fund (FSIF), administered by Forestry South Africa, has developed an innovative decision-making support tool for small scale forestry entrepreneurs and larger, existing timber growers. MSc forestry students Dannyboy Seboa and Daniel Graham make use of the ForEntSim for a financial simulation in their MSc research projects. The Forestry Enterprise Simulator (ForEntSim) was designed to assist small growers in evaluating the feasibility and profitability of forestry enterprises and activities throughout the rotation length. It is a joint initiative by the Department of Forest and Wood Science at Stellenbosch University, the Institute for Commercial Forestry Research and the Forest Economic Service. The simulator is an open source web-based application for small growers and entrepreneurs interested in entering the industry and helps them to calculate the net present value, equivalent annual income, land expectation value and internal rate of return of one hectare of plantation based on income and costs. It provides an ex-ante simulation of enterprise ventures to test viability and capital requirements to identify potential improvements that will increase profitability. The ForEntSim is an excellent example of how public-private partnership between the forestry industry, its research partners and the Department of Science and Technology have collectively contributed to strengthening the forest industry, nationally and abroad. It can be accessed at www.forestsim.com. Interested parties are encouraged to make use of the simulator and share their ideas regarding its functionality. It is no secret that South Africa, like many others, is fighting a war for talent. With global competition intensifying, local companies simply cannot afford to lose top talent to their overseas competitors. Although many South African companies spend a great deal of effort and resources to attract and retain talented professionals, some sectors are clearly fighting a losing battle. Arguably, IT and technology is among the embattled industries in South Africa, with a dire shortage of skilled IT professionals hindering the growth of a key sector. Marc Gordon, a developer at local custom software development firm redPanda Software, argues that one of the major stumbling blocks is a stifling corporate culture. Despite the perception that tech firms are fun, vibrant places that allow their staff to play ping-pong in the day, he says that the reality is quite different. As a developer, I have been wary of joining a South African corporate because of the traditional management style and the grey, boring culture that permeates the work environment, he explains. In addition to being bogged down by corporate bureaucracy, I have generally found that there is little space to grow and to be challenged by new and diverse projects that can enhance my skills. Creative work, creative spaces According to Gordon, local software development companies tend to be risk averse with regards to the types of projects and campaigns they take on, as well as how they tackle them. In his view, software development is both art and science, and talented developers are fuelled by projects that demand creative approaches and ongoing problem solving. Some companies do understand this, and they value that their employees are in fact human beings who require things that may not necessarily fit into the traditional corporate structure, he adds. For example, in addition to its casual dress code and on-site bar, redPanda has a creative room with musical instruments and drawing/painting materials where employees can go to decompress and take time out. This kind of break is critical, argues Gordon, to effective problem solving and to being both productive and happy throughout the working day. International exposure Another major reason why many local IT professionals feel dissatisfied with their lot is because they lack the international experience and diverse projects that many of their U.S. and European counterparts enjoy. This is one of the major reasons why Gordon snapped up the opportunity presented to him in his current role to undertake a three-month training project at a partner firm in the U.K. The experience was an eye-opener, but not in the way that Gordon had expected. As South African software developers, we tend to think that our market is immature, and that we cut corners in the way that we approach our work, he explains. Now, after having spent time working in the U.K., I feel that our local developers are on par with their U.K. rivals, and have learned to optimise the way they work out of necessity and out of a knack for resourcefulness that is quite unique to South Africans. Having only recently returned from his training abroad, Gordon is optimistic about the local industry although he says that companies should undoubtedly be rethinking their management styles in order to both attract and nurture local talent. Within reason, companies should definitely be looking into things like flexible and remote working, he adds. While it is true that not every Silicon Valley tech incubator embraces flexi-time, the most successful and attractive companies simply recognise that employees are human beings with a unique and individual set of needs and aspirations. Public TVET, private college students and industry apprentices and other employees will be competing for a spot to represent the Western Cape at the Provincial WorldSkills Competition, which kicks off tomorrow at WD Hearn Machine Tools in Epping, Cape Town. Mduduzi Manana, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training launched WorldSkills South Africa in 2013, as part of the Ministry of Higher Education and Trainings drive to make Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges and artisanal trades more attractive. The regional challenges will see 61 students under the age of 23 compete in 17 vocational skills areas. The winning candidates will proceed to form part of team Western Cape, who will go on to compete at the 2017 National WorldSkills Competition in Durban. The winners at the National Competition will represent South Africa at the International WorldSkills Competition in AbuDhabi later in October 2017. Participants are nominated to compete in: Autobody Repair, Automotive Technology, Beauty Therapy, Bricklaying, Car Painting, CNC Turning, Cooking, Electrical Installations, Graphic Design, Hairdressing, IT Network Systems Administration, IT Software Solution for Business, Plumbing & Heating, Refrigeration & Air-conditioning, Restaurant Service, Web Design and Welding. During the regional and national competitions, participants will be evaluated and judged on their technical ability to complete challenges within the prescribed time allocations and standards. Competitions will be attended amongst others by skills experts, judges, Department of Higher Training and Education officials including the principals from the participating colleges. In a briefing session Tilly Reddy, the Western Cape Sub-committee Chairperson WorldSkills South Africa, said The Decade of the Artisan supports the Departments of Higher Educations National Plan, and an integral part of the TVET College calendar. We are proud of all the finalists who are going to represent their college and province, but the hard work starts now. According to the main custodian, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the WorldSkills Competition provides numerous prospects for skills exchange, experience and technology innovation while raising awareness of the artisan sector and its career path possibilities for gainful employment. The regional challenges are open to the public, and pupils are encouraged to attend the sessions for insight into the various artisanal trades. For more information visit the Western Cape World Skills Facebook page: facebook.com/WorldSkillsZAwc Primedia Outdoor has donated more than R100,000 worth of goods, including stationery and sanitary pads, to Skeen Primary School in Alexandra, at an event attended by City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba. For the past six years, Primedia Outdoor has chosen not to have a Christmas party, instead using the money saved as the basis of a donation to a school in need. This year, they turned their attention to Tsutsumani Village in Alexandra, donating much-needed stationery, along with sanitary towels for the grade 6 and 7 female learners. Mayor Mashaba thanked the company and emphasised the importance of government working with the private sector to meet the substantial challenges facing local communities. Every year over a million children start school, but twelve years later, more than half of them disappear, he said. This is a school with an official capacity of 800 learners; today this school is sitting with more than 1,400 learners... [In addition] over 30% of these childrens parents are unemployed. For us as the new government, we believe very strongly in working with the private sector, recognising our weaknesses in government. Governments responsibility and role is to create an enabling environment for the parents of these children to have opportunities, [and] to ensure that we provide proper schools that can provide the right type of education... If we are serious about employment opportunities for our people, we need the private sector. The importance of donating sanitary towels was also highlighted, with Moabi Maropeng of the Gauteng Department of Education saying that the number of girls missing school is rising, due to a lack of sanitary ware. We want to thank Primedia for coming on board, especially with a donation of that kind, he said. This is the sixth edition of Primedia Outdoors Gift to Give initiative. Its quite appropriate that Primedia Outdoor is donating to a school here in Tsutsumani village, said CEO Dave Roberts. Prior to the All Africa Games in 1999, the company acquired billboard rights with the City of Johannesburg and made a substantial upfront payment, some of which contributed towards building accommodation for the athletes. This subsequently became the residential housing of Tsutsumani Village. Its very rewarding to be able to continue this partnership and to be at this school today, Roberts said, a sentiment echoed by Kennedy Tshabalala, Primedia Outdoor Executive: Rights & Development. The school principal, Mr Mashishi, thanked Primedia Outdoor for the donation. Today, you have made a difference in our lives, he said. To communicate and illustrate that Telkom Business Connexion's evolved offering is equipped to offer unified communications as a single vendor solution to time-starved Chief Information Officers (CIOs), iKineo used VR to present qualitative research. Wren Handman via Pixabay One of the insights that helped us develop this campaign, said iKineo business unit director, Manfred Noriskin-Ender, is that in economically difficult times, businesses cut budgets and departments such as marketing and research are the first to get the chop. We also realised that we would not be able to get CIOs to an event and, in the era of digitalisation, we built on the concept of taking these key individuals out of the office, without taking them out. We had to address their challenge of having to deal with multiple vendors and the inherent problems of integration and communication that come with digitalisation integration. Understanding the customer is the central component in any campaign, we tapped in and conceptualised this campaign using Virtual Reality (VR) to get the so-called face-time and provide qualitative research that theyd find valuable. Staying relevant to Telkom Business Connexion's above-the-line brand positioning, which is "Meet your future customer. Today.", iKineo partnered with HDI Youth Marketeers to develop a structured and objective research component. Youngsters (I.e. future customers) across two LSM groups, aged 9-13 and 14-18 were commissioned through a rigorous process. The youth were asked pointed questions looking at different verticals (industry sector) with a specific focus on banking, education, retail, healthcare and service delivery. The unscripted and unedited research was shot as a 360-degree view on a modern rooftop in Johannesburg. The shoot was also used to generate more content by including multiple experiences across each segment. In each film, different visual points of interest were added such as a juggler, drone, balloon artist, a stilt-walker to create a more immersive experience. The VR content is shared by means of VR headsets and is used to create a strategic talking point for the account manager and to add value by sharing relevant research. Customers choose the content they want to see. This interaction allows a digital readiness assessment to drive customers to view other content. The additional content that was shot was repurposed for digital platforms, such as social media and the website. Supporting the video content were tailor-made opinion pieces for each segment, which are housed on the website, ensuring that we provided not just an engaging experience but a deeply immersed content experience that gave CIO a point of view with real substance, concludes Noriskin-Ender. The campaign will run for the rest of the year. Any business dealing with external consumers or internal customers like staff and stakeholders needs to perform a few 'mindreading' skills in order to best meet its own goals and improve overall customer experience. Here's how honing your powers of influence can help you to do so. On 23 November 2016 I attended the first day of the highly interactive influencer change training course at the Protea Hotel North Wharf, run by HumanEdge. Facilitator Chantelle Solomon explained that HumanEdge owns the SA licence for the influencer training programme. Starting with an icebreaker in which all 20 attendees shared something personal about themselves and why we need better influence skills in all aspects of life, it became clear that as a group overall, we wanted to become more receptive to change, to be proactive not reactive, and learn new ways to best get buy-in from the rest of our companies. Solomon said to first make sure the business problem youre tackling is an influencer challenge and not just one of persuasion and needing buy-in for a specific idea. Thats not our cockroach good customer experience? While most of the human race already has the capacity to influence behaviour, most of us dont have a structured way to think about doing so. The solution is to understand and apply the most scholarly, proven and powerful approach to exerting influence, which is the ability to change our own behaviour or that of others. We all face these challenges in various aspects of our lives, yet there are three things influencers do better than anyone else: First, you need clear, measureable results, then you need to watch your consumers behaviour to discern what they really want and need, as well as their mood. Next, you need to know the vital behaviours to match those customer needs whether the customer has expressed them or not and lastly, you need to use six specific sources of influence to create the habits you need to get the results you want most. These include: personal motivation (values), personal ability (skill), social motivation (norms), social ability (help), structural motivation (incentive) and structural ability (environment). We were presented with two contrasting stories to show how this can be put into action. In the first, a family sat down to a meal only to find the daughters rice moving in her bowl and a cockroach leaping into her lap. Staff reacted with defensiveness and accusations, effectively shifting blame by stating: Thats not our cockroach. In the second example, a scared female entered famed restauranteur Danny Meyers establishment and explained her taxi had just driven off with her purse and phone inside, and she had a table of guests to entertain. Calming her down, the staff said not to worry about payment for now. They then asked for her phone number, and called her phone while she entertained her guests, tracked down the taxi and had the customers phone and purse returned to her. Is that a case of exceptional customer experience, or just the restaurant chains belief that food and wine are the service, the experience is what we focus on? This boils down to unpacking the true nature of SMART goals. Some is not a number and soon is not a time. Most businesses today will assert that they implement SMART goals, but they tend to skip a few aspects of making the goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. If the goal youve set is just pie-in-the-sky, its unrealistic and not fair to impose on your team as youre effectively setting them up for failure. Instead of agreeing: We want more profit, youll need to say We want to increase overall revenue by 10% in the next quarter. Thats specific, measurable (not just trackable), (hopefully) attainable, relevant and time-bound, making it more likely to be stuck to and met. The next step is to find the vital behaviours to leverage the results youre looking for and cover the six sources mentioned above from a strategic point of view. It was an interactive, practical session and quite emotional too, as we found ourselves unpacking what we really care about, what frustrates us most among the myriad influencer problems we face daily and the basics of how to influence the required change to get things on track. Read Influencer: The new science of leading change for more or contact HumanEdge to book your spot at the next Influencer: Power to change workshop! The Jaguar F-Pace has been named 'Supreme Winner' and the Women's World SUV/Crossover of the Year at the 2016 Women's World Car of the Year Awards. The awards are the latest in a line of industry honours for the F-Pace since its launch earlier this year. This includes being a nominated as a finalist in the South African Car of the Year competition, and also a Premium SUV category finalist in the Cars.co.za awards. The Womens World Car of the Year Awards judges submitted their personal shortlists and this year 294 cars were nominated by 17 judges from 14 countries. A master list was compiled and judges picked six category winners from the 32 cars that made the grade. They voted once more to make the Jaguar F-Pace the Supreme Winner from the six category winners. We are very proud of this award as female buyers were at the heart of the F-Pace design from day one. Through customer clinics and data we ensured that we created a distinctive vehicle that would appeal to all lifestyles, says Anna Gallagher, senior launch manager for Jaguar. Our teams worked hard on the features that appeal to both male and female customers, to deliver the best mix of performance, design and practicality. SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook has built a tool for geographically censoring posts at the leading social network as it seeks a path back into China, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. The New York Times cited three current and former Facebook employees, who asked for anonymity, as saying that the tool could filter news feeds at the social network in specific places. "We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country," a Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement emailed in response to an AFP inquiry. "However, we have not made any decision on our approach to China." Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has supported the effort to build the tool for censoring posts, according to the New York Times story. Zuckerberg has spent years studying Mandarin, and has met with Chinese leaders and visited that country. The social network has been banned in China since 2009, evidently due to the interest by authorities there to control information shared or movements organized using the internet. Facebook restricted content in a score of countries in the second half of last year, according to the most recent transparency report released by the California-based company. US internet companies have a practice of complying with legitimate government requests to block posted information in keeping with local laws, subject to evaluation. For example, Facebook said that in Russia it restricted content authorities there said violated "the integrity of the Russian Federation and local law which forbids activities such as mass public riots and the promotion and sale of drugs." The transparency report said that access to items in Pakistan was restricted due to allegations that local blasphemy laws were violated. In France, Facebook restricted content reported under laws prohibiting denying the Holocaust or condoning terrorism the transparency report said. Posts of an image related to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris were removed on the grounds they violated French laws related to the protection of human dignity, according to the transparency report. The software tool created quietly with China in mind would prevent posts from happening instead of waiting to follow up on government complaints to have them removed, the New York Times story said. Rather than censoring posts itself, the idea would be to give the tool to a third-party, perhaps a partner in China, to use to decide what shows up in news feeds at the social network, according to the New York Times. The sources cited by the New York Times cautioned that the censorship software was among many ideas being mulled as Facebook seeks a way back into China and may never be deployed. The story came with Facebook in the crosshairs of those who accuse the social network of not having done enough to filter out outlandish hoax news that may have swayed the outcome of the US presidential election. Source: AFP South Africa is home to a multitude of cultures and languages. Many advertisers and marketers have therefore adopted the use of local languages and dialects as a tactic to engage on a more personal level with their audiences. However, the majority of out of home (OOH) advertising is executed in English, even though this is not the first language of most South Africans. (English is in fourth place, after IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, and Afrikaans). For a number of reasons, using English may not always be the best approach. To begin with, communicating with people in their home language facilitates better understanding especially when your target audience may have limited second language proficiency, says GG Alcock, managing director of Minanawe Marketing, an expert advisor to Primedia Outdoor. Using the right terms can be crucial in getting your point across, as Minanawes work for Adcock Ingram painkillers has demonstrated: when a target audience just didnt get the original outdoor text From Ow Ow to Wow Wow changing this to From Eish Eish to Sharp Sharp made all the difference. Talk to the heart Moreover, When talking to your audience your message will be more impactful if you deliver it in the audiences home/spoken language, says MediaCom strategist, Estiaan Robbetze. As Nelson Mandela said, if you talk to a man in a language that he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to a man in his language - that goes to his heart. It also creates the perception that your brand is talking to the consumer on a personal level, rather than to the broader public. While the difficulty and cost required to reach people in their home languages can be prohibitive when using other visual media (television, for example), incorporating local languages on billboards is easy. And because a billboard is location specific, reaching people with the appropriate language is simpler. OOH offers perfect flexibility for hyper-local targeting Its geographical nature means that OOH enables marketers to incorporate regional dialects and nuances into the creative and copy of their campaigns, based on provincial or regional parameters, with great precision. For example, in Limpopo, Tsonga is spoken in central areas, while Venda is predominant on the outskirts a regional variation that OOH can accommodate. However, as Alcock points out, in some areas a mix of languages is used, and selecting just one can risk alienating the rest of the community. This is especially true for urban areas where a mix of people converge from differing cultural and language backgrounds, but there are a number of ways around this. Use phrases that reach across communities DStv is a brand that has created OOH advertising incorporating local languages. According to Arabang Makaza, head of media for Multichoice, DStv Compact uses a tonality that is humorous and taps into the aspirational nature of the middle market. The creative is executed in various and common languages, making clever use of colloquial slang and symbolism. This ensures that the message resonates well and is familiar with this audience. The tonality and this direction have been well received by the market. However, its important to use humour and slang that is current, notes Alcock: Using the formal language is often done but is incorrect, as it is not common or familiar, he says. Moreover, slapping on a local language with no attempt at creativity, humour, play on words etc. can fail, as its seen as tokenism. And often a cool term is out of fashion by the time the advertiser uses it. Its important to be topical to be relevant. Coke is another brand that has successfully navigated the challenge of incorporating local phrases into their OOH advertising: For our 2012 campaign on Primedia Outdoors Bhamuza network, which reaches out to rural communities, Coke used two vernacular phrases Lekker and Nca, says Jodie Bailey-Norris, senior communications manager: connection planning for Coke. These phrases reach across communities, rather than being specific to a given language. It doesnt matter who you are, you can understand them (provided that youre South African, of course). The campaign was very successful: an informal poll found that vastly more people recalled the Coke ads than those of the brands displayed on the reverse sides of the billboards. However, using these phrases marked a departure from the norm for Coke: If we use text on outdoor creative for brand campaigns we generally use English, as this is the global business language of the Coca-Cola Company, says Bailey. But with the launch of our global Enjoy the Feeling campaign our direction has been to utilise beautiful imagery that connects with people, no matter what language they speak. Using imagery is of course, another way to communicate across languages - and somewhere between picture and language, is the ubiquitous emoji. I Heart Emojis Emojis are a powerful evolution of language that have been embraced by the digital world, and are now making their way onto OOH. Locally, MTN has incorporated emojis in their marketing campaigns, for example by using these on their N1 LED to playfully converse with their audience, for example expressing frustration with the traffic or sharing the Monday blues. The use of the emojis was intended to appeal and speak to a public audience across LSMs and markets in what has almost become a universal language, says Pratiksha Jekison, senior manager: brand, media and communication for MTN SA. Emojis have become a way to communicate across generations. They have become an expression of how individuals feel regardless of their age or gender and are used more frequently in responses than a full sentence or word. We felt it best to create a set, not just as a communication element for a period in the year when people wind down but extended to include key milestones on the calendar, such as New Year, Back to School, Halloween, Heritage Day etc. They also give effect to a feel-good nature, to bring some light-heartedness to individuals no matter the state of mind, and bring on a smile. Universally it is an emoji that anyone would recognise. These emojis create a feel good and fun approach to advertising. In short, incorporating local languages (or even contemporary developments of language, such as emojis) into advertising enables better communication and may have more emotional impact. And OOH offers one of the simplest media with which to do this The introduction of the pan-African passport in 2018, with which African travellers can visit other countries on the continent without a visa, should see air travel spend rise by 24%. New research released by Sabre Corporation is aimed at uncovering the opportunities and challenges faced by travellers in Africa today, and to help airlines' growth by providing African travellers with an overall better journey. Travel too expensive Travellers from four countries South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt were surveyed, with those having flown in the past 24 months saying they would spend nearly a quarter more with the introduction of the passport. But despite a willingness among travellers to spend more on flights, travel in Africa still remains inaccessible to the majority, with only 23% of those surveyed having travelled abroad at all in the last two years. When asked what prevents them from travelling more, the top reasons were: 32% said travel is too expensive 31% said it is difficult obtaining visas 30% said it is too difficult to book travel 28% said there are no flights to their chosen destination Travellers also expressed a number of gripes about their current experiences when travelling: 27% said the check-in process takes too long 22% said the check-in procedure is confusing 20% dont like the food on aircrafts 19% think there is not enough to do at the airport The results suggest that while travel is inaccessible to many and is difficult for those who do travel, there is a still a strong desire to travel more, says Dino Gelmetti, vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, airline solutions, Sabre. Improved and personalised service "Additionally, most of the pain points can be addressed by airlines, and these tweaks could make all the difference to travellers. African carriers currently face tough competition from international rivals that control 88% of African airspace but, as demand for travel increases, African airlines have a real opportunity to win the lions share of bookings by addressing the pain points of travellers and going the extra mile to improve their experience. Like many other travellers globally, Africans also expressed a strong interest in experiencing a travel journey that was more personalised and appealing to their taste. Respondents said that they would be willing to spend up to $104 per trip on an airlines extra products and services such as excess baggage, cabin class upgrades, and special food and beverage if it improved and personalised their journey. Invest in technology Airlines, globally, currently pocket an average of just $16 per passenger on ancillaries, so the fact that African travellers are prepared to spend six times more than that represents a significant retail opportunity for carriers on the continent, says Gelmetti. Airlines will flourish if they invest in technology that can make sense of customer data and use it to offer passengers the right product in the right context at the right time. This technology, which empowers airlines to mirror the personalised shopping tactics already mastered by the online retail industry has been proven to increase ancillary revenue by an average of 10%, and is being used by some of the worlds most forward-thinking carriers. Rebuilding Nimrud Will Help Atone for the Sins of the West An Iraqi army officer sits on damaged carved stone slabs that were destroyed by Isis at the ancient site of Nimrud. ( Hussein Malla/AP) The destruction of the Assyrian city of Nimrud is a catastrophe for Iraq and for our shared cultural history. Peoples come and go, drifting in the mists of time. These relics were the rocks of ages. The bulldozing by Islamic State of Nineveh, the flattening of Hatra, the demolition in Raqqa and now the destruction of Nimrud wipe from the map what were the great precursor cities of the European era. There is no beating about the bush. Nothing in the history of this benighted region, no brutal king, no imperial satrap, no Ba'athist rogue, initiated anything as horrific as what came in the train of George W Bush's 2003 invasion of Iraq. By deliberately destroying order and government in Baghdad and sowing chaos, the American and British invaders created a hell on Earth. There is no truer maxim than that a lifetime of tyranny is better than a week of anarchy. In the name of "western values", hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions driven from their homes. Those values have wiped out the oldest Christian community in the world. Every church in Mosul has been demolished. And all to appease Bush's lust for revenge against Saddam Hussein's humiliation of his father -- and Tony Blair's infatuation with Bush. At least Donald Trump has rightly called it a war crime. But all is not lost. Yes, the Assyrian remains have been demolished. But what is demolished can be replaced. Nimrud and the other sites are the subject of records, surveys, films, photographs galore. Every minute detail of the sculptures and reliefs is known. Digital scanning, robot etching and 3D reproduction can recreate these monuments, to an exactness unknown to past attempts at such reinstatement. Extrusion techniques can rebuild monuments using the dust of the ruins themselves. There is no reason why the temples of Palmyra, the palace gateway at Nimrud or the sixth-century monastery of Dair Mar Elia (St Elijah) should not rise again, exactly as they were as recently as last year. The flattened Nimrud ziggurat was, after all, a mound of earth. The skills and equipment exists. The cost is not great. The moral obligation on the United States and Britain to pay is massive. It is to reverse what Isis hopes will be its lasting memorial, the visible eradication of a civilisation in the land of its birth. There is, however, an obstacle. It lies in reactionary sections of the art historical profession and the archaeology bureaucrats of Unesco. They hold any reproduction to be "inauthentic"; that destroyed sites should be "conserved as found"; that what happens in wars and natural disasters is "history", and as such should be left in place. This is sanctimonious pedantry. These people are Isis's useful idiots. The reinstatement of damaged and destroyed buildings is as old as the hills. The 19th century did not just repair, it reproduced parts or all of the Gothic cathedrals of Europe to ensure their survival. Not a medieval castle in England would exist if Unesco had its way. Hardly a Tudor wall is 16th century. When a stately home goes up in flames, we rebuild it. Even the monuments destroyed by Isis were, most of them, extensively rebuilt by later generations. Part of a Lamassu winged bull of Nimrud looks distinctly modern. Much of Palmyra was re-erected by the colonial French. Just as tourists delight in Arthur Evans's Knossos in Crete, however fake its 20th-century reconstruction, so they delight in the temple colonnades of Sicily's Agrigento, largely built by Mussolini. The cult of the ruin is now the terrorist's best friend. He knows that every time we gaze on the remains of his deeds, we will be reminded of his message. After the Taliban blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan in 2001, the local community pleaded to have them copied and reinstated after the Nato invasion. Unesco archaeologists descended on the site and declared it out of the question. It would be "brand new" and "inauthentic". All they would tolerate was the repositioning of extant blocks of masonry on a frame -- in effect a memorial to the Taliban. Something called the Venice charter forbade even the filling in of missing gaps with new material. The locals could get lost. "Western values" ruled. The idea of putting the restoration of Syria and Iraq in the fastidious but inert hands of Unesco is utterly depressing. Yet already Damascus museum's saintly director, Maamoun Abdulkarim, has had to pledge "no modern stones" at Palmyra. Why not? Why not even stone reconstituted from the dust of the old stone? Of course restoration can be done badly. But as the rebuilt churches of Moscow and the reconstructed temples of Japan attest, any restoration is better than a pile of rubble. The deep pleasure that ordinary people get from old buildings is a composite -- of the site, the design of a building and the artistry of its creators and decorators. The age of the actual building material is near trivial. The idea that it is all that matters, that otherwise a monument is meaningless, is absurd. It is rightly dubbed "substance fetishism" by critics. Yet it seems doomed to hamstring what should be the greatest effort at historic reinstatement of modern times. Unesco's various diktats emerged from an understandable need to discipline the rebuilding of Europe's heritage after wartime bombing. Modern technology has rendered that out of date. Today, if Europe wants to pickle its ruins and entomb their contents in its museums, so be it. But it should be seen as an academic cult, not a sensible or universal demand. The remedy is in the hands of allied governments. If they have any remorse for what they have done, they should go into Iraq and Syria as hostilities cease, bringing records, diggers, 3D printers and jigs, and start rebuilding. We should never forget that it was a craving to impose "western values" on Iraq that caused this disaster. It would be outrageous if more western values were used to keep in place a memorial to the barbarism those values unleashed. Ramon J. Thomas has been newly appointed as Brand South Africa's country manager to lead operations in the People's Republic of China. Thomas will be tasked with managing the reputation of the Nation Brand in China and will furthermore work with stakeholders including the South African Embassy, to position South Africa as a competitive Nation Brand. Thomas who holds a Masters of business and administration from the Ningbo University, China has a background in sales, marketing and innovation. Few people today travel without a device to connect them to the Internet and each other, whether for business or pleasure. Its no surprise, therefore, that the availability of wi-fi has become an important consideration for travelers. A recent survey of more than 1,700 mobile professionals in North America by iPass reveals that nearly three-quarters base the hotel they choose to stay at on whether wi-fi is available. Furthermore, 1 in 5 consider wi-fi availability for every hotel stay. It is not just accommodation for which wi-fi is a key factor. An airlines wi-fi functionality is also on the minds of todays traveler. A third (35%) of travelers now choose an airline based on whether wi-fi is available. In fact, the survey found that, among 40% of respondents, wi-fi is their number one daily essential. We all want to stay connected and productive in our personal and professional lives. Mobile professionals, in particular, expect to remain connected at all times, whether at home, travelling between client meetings, at their hotel or even inflight, said Patricia Hume, chief commercial officer of iPass. We all want Wi-Fi first, because of faster speeds, lower prices and the better user experience it affords. And with the population of global mobile workers standing well over one billion, employers should be prepared to meet the demands of their employees, by providing them with the connectivity they desire. Gabina VOA is designed to be an infotainment youth radio show broadcasting to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Amharic language. The show brings varied perspectives on issues concerning young people in the Horn of Africa region. Gabina in the Amharic language is a front row taxi ridesymbolic of the shows content as a fun ride that takes audiences from point A to point B. Gabina VOAs main goal is Enlightening young people, introducing them to cutting-edge technological innovations, exposing them to new processes and ideas so they can be productive, informed and self-governing citizens. Answers Africa is one of a kind platform created for Africans both locally and in the diaspora and those seeking for more in-depth information about Africa. We have always focused on creating the highest quality informational contents right from the beginning. We share the most relevant information on the latest and trending news, events, people, and places in Africa. We produce contents across various categories including Politics, People, Love and Romance, Nature, Entertainment, Technology and pretty much everything else that Africans may find relevant. 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The couple, who began dating in 2013 and have a son named York Banks Asla, has decided to end what everybody taught was the perfect relationship. Neither person has come out to give a reason for the breakup, but what is obvious right now is that ... What to Note About Dr Terry Dubrows Qualifications, TV Works and Marriage to Heather Kent In the realm of people that we expect to see regularly on our screens, medical doctors are closer to the bottom of the list. Aside from the fact that their work has little correlation with TV, they are presumably too busy to pursue life as TV personalities. Yet, a few of them have usurped this ... Jessica Goch Bio: 5 Things You Didnt Know About Ninjas Wife Jessica Goch is the Schofield-born American Social Media Influencer who has worked as a model but is now better known as a host and interviewer of prominent Electronic sports celebrities at popular gaming events/tournaments. The screen queen also serves as the manager of her famous husband Ninja aka Tyler Blevins whose exploits on Twitch and Fortnite has ... CNNs Chris Cuomo Biography Wife, Family & Net worth Chris Cuomo needs no elaborate introduction as he has starred graced many prominent Television cable networks and his voice has been heard through acknowledged radio shows. He is a television journalist and Lawyer who has previously worked for ABC News as Chief law and justice correspondent as well as a co-anchor on 20/20. If you still ... Neil deGrasse Tyson Family, Religion & Net Worth Neil deGrasse Tyson is a distinguished American astrophysicist and author who has been able to achieve so much after falling in love with astronomy at the age of 9. He has since attended and become an alumnus of prestigious universities such as Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, and also recorded numerous achievements in his field of ... Is Simon Cowell Gay? Does He Have A Wife or Girlfriend and Why is He Famous? Simon Cowell is a well-known talent show judge, TV producer, entrepreneur and one of the most popular TV personalities that Britain has ever produced. In conjunction with his company, Syco, Cowell is the brain behind hugely successful talent hunt shows such as The X-Factor UK, The X-Factor US, Britains Got Talent, Americas Got Talent and ... Everything To Know About Joanna Gaines Life With Chip Gaines, Their Business Pursuits and Kids Joanna Gaines and her husband Chip Gaines became celebrities after their television show Fixer Upper began airing back in 2013. The show which was about home renovation and decoration ran for about 6 seasons with a total of 79 episodes before the couple bade farewell to it in April 2018. Apart from their appearances on ... Who Is Larry The Cable Guy? What To Know About His Wife And Net Worth Larry the Cable Guy is a self-professed country kid renowned for his trademark Southern accent and sensational catchphrase Git-R-Done! The famous comedian who talks about anything under the sun has gone on to become one of the most memorable characters in comedy history. Join us in unearthing lesser-known facts about the former on-air-personality, standup comedy superstar, movie ... Who Is Patrick Starr, What Is His Net Worth and Gender? The make-up industry over the years has grown to become a billion dollar industry not just because there are probably more women wearing make-up but because a whole lot of men, especially the young ones, have become bold enough to wear it unlike before. A few of these men, like Patrick Starr, have even gone ... How Did Chris Jansing Become a Senior Correspondent at MSNBC and Who Is Her Husband? An award-winning American television news reporter and journalist, Chris Jansing has succeeded in carving a spectacular niche for herself in the field of TV journalism. Outstanding for not just her excellence in journalism, Chris is also cherished for her incredibly gorgeous looks post 60! For close to four decades, Jansing has continued to soar in her ... Jaclyn Glenn Biography Age, Height & Ex-Boyfriend American Youtuber, Jaclyn Glenn, rose to prominence through her self-titled YouTube channel Jaclyn Glenn. She has remained an acclaimed atheist and continues to air her views on hot issues from politics, religion, animal rights, to atheism. During the heated 2016 US Presidential elections, Glenn featured in Hump Trump: Official Donald Trump Song. Her parallel acting career ... Is Pat Sajak Married to a Wife or is He Gay With a Partner? Pat Sajak is one of the most popular TV game show hosts in America. He commenced his career as a radio disk jockey as well as a TV weatherman before being tapped to host Wheel of Fortune, the longest-running syndicated game show in the United States. Sajak has hosted the popular game show from 1983 ... 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This Is Everything You Should Know About Caroline Heldman, Her Career Portfolio and Other Facts Love it or hate it, there is no escaping the fact that feminism has come to stay in our world. The movement has continued to garner momentum over the years and this is due to the sustained push by several women, and even men, including the likes of Caroline Heldman. A Professor of Politics at ... Understanding The Enigma That Is Gavin McInnes, The Controversies He Has Stirred and All About His Wife Gavin McInnes is a polemical English-born writer and TV personality, who is best known for his racist and fascist ideologies, as well as his co-ownership of Vice Media and Vice Magazine. He is also an actor a Chin CM at Indo-Myanmar border trade point: Photo courtesy The Assam Tribune Chin CM at Indo-Myanmar border tradepoint: Photo courtesy The Assam Tribune I believe the Indo-Myanmar border trade centre will not only boost the economy of Mizoram and Chin State, but also strengthen our brotherhood. The transformation of Myanmar from a military regime into a multi party democracy will also help in the process, local media outlets reported quoting Chin CM Lianluaia. It may be mentioned that both Chin and Mizo people, though living in different countries, share the same origin. Both the communities mostly use similar language, culture, tradition and also religion. Many believe that that they are only divided nations due to political interventions. The Chin CM was welcomed by Mizorams minister C Ngunlianchunga, government officials including Zothangliana, Joseph Lalhlimpuia, J Hmingthanmawia with others at the proposed site. A bridge relating to the border trades on the Lawngtlai locality is also coming up, for which Mizoram chief minister Lal Thanhawla was preaching with the Union government in New Delhi. He made the announcement on 18 November in reply to a parliamentary question from Nan Moe Moe, Member of Parliament (MP) for Karen State Constituency-4, on whether the government intended to provide a budget for ethnic literature and culture classes in the summer. Nai Thet Lwin said: We warmly welcome ethnic people giving ethnic literature and culture classes during the summer vacation. We will make arrangements to allocate a suitable budget [for the ethnic literature and culture classes] in the budget of each state or regional government every year. He also said that there were difficulties working on ethnic affairs issues because state and regional governments had not included them in the budget proposals that they had submitted for the 2015 to 2016 and 2016 to 2017 fiscal years, even though the Ethnic Rights Protection Law had already been enacted. In her question, Nan Moe Moe Htwe also urged the Burmese government to assist the ethnic people in line with the Ethnic Rights Protection Law because ethnic literature and culture associations and religious organisations were facing difficulties in funding ethnic summer school classes every year. The Karen State Literature and Culture Association chairman, Saw Aye Mya, told KIC that though it is permitted to teach ethnic literature at government schools outside school hours such lessons are not very effective, so MPs should work to improve the effectiveness of ethnic literature classes. The Ethnic Protection Law, which was enacted by the previous government in February 2015, states that ethnic people should be allowed to teach ethnic languages and literature as long as it does not impact on the governments education policy. Reporting by Nan Wai Phyo Zar for KIC News Translated by Thida Linn Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI Sai Yi, a resident in Muse, told Shan Herald that the townsfolk had fled to the Chinese side of the border because they feared that fighting would break out again in the northern Shan State town. Business owners said they were requested to close their shops and stay inside until noon, he said. However, no one knew who had spread this information. Some said they believe the ethnic armed groups had taken control of some parts of the city. He added: Now, all the streets are empty. All the shops are closed, and there is no one on the streets. Photo by Toung Hwe Li Group- Muse residents at China border Sai Yi said he believed some 30,000 people had left their homes, and are now staying with relatives or in makeshift shelters provided by the Chinese government. Local sources told Shan Herald that electricity was cut last night from 8pm to 11pm. Some said that, during this time, they saw military trucks carrying artillery into Muse. Yesterday, the Arakan Army (AA), Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) released a joint-statement, requesting civilians in the area to take precautions. Early on Sunday, the ethnic militias launched a joint military operation against Burmese government outposts and police stations in the Muse Township villages of 105 Mile, Mong Koe and Parng Zai, as well as in Namkham and Kutkai areas. According to the State Counsellors Office Information Committee, at least eight people have been killed and another 29 injured since clashes broke out on November 20. By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN) What You Should Never Say To Your Girlfriend Beyond Love oi-Praveen Some words act like acid. They burn relationships. That is why ancient wisdom says "You don't need to be concerned much about what goes inside your mouth, but be careful with what comes out of your mouth!' It just means that you should choose your words carefully. When you are comfortable in a relationship, you tend to be a bit careless about your choice of words. That might burn your bridges. So, here are some words you should never utter in front of your girlfriend. "I have lots of female friends" Firstly, there is no point in bragging about such things. Secondly, even a secure woman might feel insecure if you talk about the females in your circle. Its a foolish thing to do. "You think too much" Never say that to any woman. Yes, a million thoughts pass through their heads when they are worried. Your words make things worse for her. "Stop talking to your male colleague" She'll feel hurt if you say so. She thinks you are suspecting her. She doesn't want your interference in her matters even though you are her boyfriend. "Let me see your phone" Her phone contains all secrets of her world. Touch it at your own risk. She may flare up or feel awkward if you ask her phone. Let her just be. "What's your password?" Gone are the days when couples shared everything including passwords. So, don't try to ask such things at least till you marry her. Even after marriage, there is no guarantee that she'll share her passwords with you. "Your Tummy is growing" She might feel like killing you if you talk about her growing tummy. In fact, it is not fair to talk about someone's body. She knows what to do about her weight. Just wait patiently instead of making her feel conscious. GET THE BEST BOLDSKY STORIES! Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, November 23, 2016, 15:51 [IST] Significance Of Aksharabhyasam Faith Mysticism oi-Lekhaka In the Hindu religion, every occasion is celebrated with auspiciousness and purity. 'Aksharabhyasam' is one such occasion that denotes the starting of writing for a child. Read along to know the significance of Aksharabhyasam. From an ancient time, education has been given the top priority in India and, therefore, every Indian believes that being educated means you are worshipping Goddess Saraswati. Also Read: Invoke The Blessings of Goddess Saraswati Aksharabhyasam is the amalgamation of two words - 'akshar' meaning letter and 'abyasam' meaning practice. The day a child is given the commencement of education is known as 'Aksharabhyasam'. On that day, people also worship Goddess Saraswati. This ritual is famous throughout many states in India, especially in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In Bengal, this ritual is also known as 'Haate Khori'. In many households, this ritual is celebrated with lots of fun and enjoyment. But, have you ever thought of the significance of Aksharabhyasam? Knowing the importance of performing any ritual makes you more dedicated towards it. So, here is the significance of Aksharabhyasam. Have a look. 1. Initiation Of Education: Education is the most important thing in every human being's life. Stepping into the world of education means that the vast world of knowledge and wisdom opens to you. So, you can celebrate the day by worshipping Goddess Saraswati. 2. Enumerate Victory: In several states, Aksharabhyasam is performed on Vijaya Dashami, as the day symbolizes victory. It can be victory over the darkness of illiteracy and nescience. This is the significant day when the three Shaktis: iccha, kriya and gyan, combine and these three are necessary to carry on your knowledge. 3. Teaching Of Alphabets: Kids are made to write letters on this day. They learn how to write alphabets and also their name. Thus, they slowly figure out how to make a sentence and finally how to express their thoughts. You can say, this day marks the initiation of giving a shape to your kid's thoughts. 4. Significance Of "Om" Symbol: "Om" is the beginning of anything and also the end. It is the sign of eternity. So, it is quite natural that Aksharabhyasam of a kid is started by making him/her write this symbol. It is also considered as 'Beejakshar' in Sanskrit, which means the origin of everything. 5. The Kid Writes On Sand/Rice: Initially, the child was made to write the "Om" symbol on sand, especially when he/she was in gurukul. Nowadays, kids are made to write on the rice grains, spread on a tray. In Bengal, kids are made to write on a slate with a chalk. In the Vedic age, the Upanayana was the time when Aksharabhyasam was also performed. Then, the age of a child had to be five to perform Aksharabhyasam. With the advancement of education system, now the kids are made to write their first letter at the age of three. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Head of the Armenian parliamentary delegation to PACE, Member of PACE European Conservatives Group Hermine Naghdalyan and the Member of the Delegation and PACE European Conservatives Group Naira Zohrabyan met with the Head of the European Conservatives Group Ian Liddell-Grainger. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Armenian parliament, welcoming the guests visit to Armenia, Hermine Naghdalyan noted that the European Conservatives Party is an important partner for Armenia, adding that since Mr. Liddell-Graingers tenure in PACE the cooperation with the Conservatives Group in PACE has become more effective and inclusive. In this context Mrs. Naghdalyan expressed her gratitude to Ian Liddell-Grainger and the members of the Group for the support during the voting of the reports Escalation of Violence in Nagorno Karabakh and the Other Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan by Robert Walter and on Sarsang Reservoir by Milica Markovic. The Head of the Delegation presented in detail the reforms underway in Armenia, touched upon the Constitutional reforms and the processes of legislation harmonization conditioned by it. She underlined that the Constitutional reforms have been implemented with the close cooperation of the Venice Commission, as a result of which, almost all disputable items have been debated and solved. We show special political will in order to hold parliamentary legitimate elections enjoying the public trust in 2017, Mrs. Naghdalyan underscored. In the course of the meeting the possibility of passing from Armenias monitoring procedure into post-monitoring procedure was discussed. The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly noted that Armenia has registered serious progress in the process of the obligations assumed before the CoE. Hermine Naghdalyan also talked about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, noting that every conflict has its peculiarities, motivations and the settlement procedure. She added that for Armenia the only internationally recognized format is the OSCE Minsk Group being involved in the NK conflict peaceful settlement and the efforts of moving to other platforms of the conflict settlement may result in unpredictable consequences. Naira Zohrabyan also referred to the electoral processes, highlighting the authorities political will in holding fair elections. The Head of PACE European Conservatives Group expressed his satisfaction with the reforms being consistently continued in Armenia, and stressed that the OSCE Minsk Group is the only body with mandate for the settlement of the conflict and should have all the conditions for the fulfillment of its work. The Conservatives also will carry on assisting the conflict settlement process within the Minsk Group framework within their possibilities. During the meeting other issues were also discussed. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. On November 24, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund will hold its 19th annual Telethon, under the slogan My Artsakh, the Fund told Armenpress. Proceeds from the pan-national event will benefit the rebuilding of war-ravaged communities in Nagorno Karabakh, emergency and disaster preparedness for Armenia and the NKR, and the construction of homes for the NKR families with multiple children. In addition to these initiatives, donor-specified projects as well as projects within the framework of the funds core development programs will continue to be implemented in Armenia and the NKR. The Telethon will be broadcast from Los Angeles beginning 10 pm Yerevan time. The 12-hour event will air live in Armenia on major television networks including Public TV, Armenia, Shant, and Yerkir Media, as well as online at www.himnadram.org. The Telethon will encapsulate the Hayastan All-Armenian Funds completed and ongoing projects this year. The broadcast will conclude with an announcement of the total amount raised through the Telethon as well as various fundraising campaigns and events carried out by the funds worldwide affiliates in 2016. You can make a donation: -By sending an SMS to the number 8000 or by calling 090008000 for a contribution of 300 drams; -In person at any Haypost branch in Yerevan or throughout the regions of Armenia; -In person at the office of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Executive Board in Yerevan; -Through a bank transfer to any of the funds account numbers at the Central Bank of Armenia: 103003215672 (AMD) or 103003615673 (USD); -Online at donate.himnadram.org YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The EU lawmakers called on suspending the EU-Turkey talks on membership during the EU-Turkey relations session in the European Parliament on November 22, reports Deutsche Welle. During the session the political factions recorded regression on democracy, human rights and law in Turkey. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn once again recalled that the restoration of death penalty will mean Turkeys alienation from European family. Manfred Weber, head of the center-right European People's Party, the largest faction in the European Parliament, said from the perspective of legal state Turkey lags behind Myanmar. He said at this moment talks with official Ankara must be frozen. Gianni Pitella, leader of the socialist group in the European Parliament, brought the lawmakers attention on the mass arrests in Turkey launched after the failed military coup attempt. He said freezing the talks it will be a strong message to Erdogan. I never thought that one day the Social-Democrats will make such proposal, however, there is no other option, he said. On behalf of the European Conservatives and Reformist Group, Syed Kamall stated that the EU must be fair both towards itself and Turkey in relations with Ankara. He said instead of membership, it is necessary to carry out works over cooperation. Guy Verhofstadt of the liberal alliance said Turkey doesnt fit with European principles. Rapporteur on Turkey Kati Piri, who was not allowed by the Turkish leadership to visit the country, said the situation in Turkey has left us no alternative, than to temporarily suspend the talks. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. As a result of labor migration, a new split or distanced family model is formed in Armenia, which according to experts cannot be considered as normal and healthy. It is already 12 years 57-year-old Hayk Movsisyan departs for Russia on a seasonal work. He is a father of three children. He has worked in his profession as mechanic-engineer for many years before the countrys independence, and as he says he hasnt faced any financial difficulties. But the situation changed after Independence, since a number of factories were closed, many people, including him, became unemployed and had to migrate to other countries for work. Speaking about his family, Hayk says during those years he and his family faced many difficulties. It was very difficult to adapt to new status of our family. I remember when I left Armenia for the first time, my oldest son, who was the studying in the 5th grade, faced great stress. He was not talking with me for a long time. My middle son became self-contained, he was trying to pretend that he is happy before my departure. Later my wife told me that he also had a big stress. They even applied to psychologist who has worked with my children for a certain period of time. Only my youngest son adapted to it relatively quickly, it is perhaps due to his age, Hayk Movsisyan said. Hayk returns to Armenia in winter and spends 2-3 months with his family. 20-year-old Emma Bojukyan is one of many children who has lived and is living in split family. It is already 6 years her parents have left for Russia to work. She said being far away from parents has both positive and negative consequences. For instance, it can isolate you from people, it can create difficulties, however, on the contrary, it helps you to become strong, independent. Speaking about this issue psychologist Naira Grigoryan says many Armenian families today face such issue. Perceptions change, technology becomes means of communication Today there are many families in Armenia where the man of the family has left for abroad to work, and the remaining members of the family become stronger and organized by this trying to somehow fill the absence of the man, or sometimes trying to show the people that they are not becoming an orphan. But this strength lies in being incomplete. All family members are getting used to being incomplete. This is the latest stage of adaptation. People are getting used to not miss when the family members are not together. In other words, the psychological issues affect persons inner world, thus changing his worldview, she said. Today the achievements of technology help to maintain families strong. This help to be constant contact with family members. Armenias migration picture in numbers The number of Armenian migrants is especially great in the CIS countries, especially in Russia. The data of Russias migration service prove this, according to which the number of Armenian citizens entering Russia was 365.100 in 2015. Meline Gyulumyan A representational photo. KOCHI (PTI): The Indian Navy said it has deployed Fast Interception Crafts (FICs) at Androth island to complement the "existing surveillance assets" at Lakshadweep and Minicoy (L&M) group of islands. "Capable of doing speeds of about 45 knots, these FICs will undertake patrolling around the Northern group of L&M islands, monitor shipping traffic and provide quick response to any developing security situation," the Navy said in a release on Tuesday. An induction ceremony was held at Androth island on Tuesday wherein many dignitaries from the civil administration as well as the Indian Navy and Coast Guard besides local population were present to receive the FICs which arrived there in the evening. The civilian dignitaries, included Sub Divisional Officer, PC Hameed, Asst Engineer PWD, MD Khaleel while military dignitaries included Capt JCS Reddy, Naval officer in Charge (L&M), Lt Cdr A B Singh, Officer in Charge Naval Detachment, (NAVDET) Androth. In accordance with the government of India directives on coastal security, the Indian Navy had inaugurated a NAVDET at Androth in April this year, with a view to extending naval presence at Lakshadweep and Minicoy, to provide communication network connectivity with mainland, enable Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) monitoring and function as an observance and reporting organisation, besides radar surveillance. The infrastructure at this island was upgraded to base these potent crafts and provide security to Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands in close coordination with all stakeholders, the release said. These FICs will function under the administrative and operational control of Naval Officer-in-Charge (L&M), it added. NEW DELHI (PTI): Vietnam Defence Minister Gen Ngo Xuan Lich will arrive here next month on a four-day visit during which he will meet with the top leadership. Defence sources said that Gen Lich will arrive on December 3 and will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar. He will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the sources said. One of the issue that is likely to come up for discussion is the possible sale of BRAHMOS missiles. Vietnam, which is involved in a territorial dispute with China, is keen to get it hands on the supersonic missiles that an be fired land, water and under water. India has in principle agreed to sell the missiles to them but negotiations are still on. Russia, which is a partner of India in development of BRAHMOS missiles is also ok with the deal. Other issues that are likely to come up include the much delayed project to train Vietnamese pilots on the Su 30, sources said. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/11/2016 (2170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Frustrated by western medias continued labelling of female suicide bombers as black widows, the seed of a book was planted in University of Alberta Prof. Andy Knight several years ago. After all, the black widow classification was not only inaccurate in many cases, but also played into the idea of gender inequity, which feminism strives to disrupt. A black widow is a woman who conducts a suicide bombing as a means of seeking revenge for the death of a husband. File W. Andy Knight, professor of political science at the University of Alberta, spoke at Brandon University on Tuesday night about our understanding of the nuanced ways in which gender, power and academic practices influence our perceptions of female suicide bombings and attempts at emancipation. Knight joined forces with co-author Tanya Narozhna from the University of Winnipeg to write a book on this subject titled Female Suicide Bombings: A Critical Gender Approach, which Knight is presently on a book tour in promotion of. What we discovered as we looked at the number of cases of suicide bombers and there quite a few of them is that most of these women were not black widows, Knight said in Brandon on Tuesday, a couple of hours before speaking to an audience at Brandon University. We cant just assume theyre dupes or are manipulated by men, he added. These are women with a specific agency and they want to do this because they feel strongly about it. We have to face the fact that theyre doing it for political reasons; because they feel this is the right thing to be doing. Like male suicide bombers, many female suicide bombers think of themselves as agents of change who are trying to help their societies out of a struggle, Knight said. This reality throws the common misconception of women as romantic dupes or black widows out the window, and is why Knight said that he found scholarly inspiration in the subject of female suicide bombers. While there are many examples of traditional gender roles being perpetuated unchecked in various cultures and societies, Knight said that this one stuck out as unique, carrying ample mainstream media attention. We wanted to point out that even though weve made some strides in the era of feminism, when it comes to female suicide bombers we tend to go back to womens traditional roles in the family and in society, he said. As one of the organizers behind Knights Tuesday night presentation at Brandon University, local political science Prof. Meir Serfaty said that hes grateful to see Knight have the chance to expand students worldview. We thought it was a great opportunity to have somebody with expertise in an area that isnt an average area, he said, adding that there arent many experts out there in the very specific area of female suicide bombers. Presentations related to the book and its conclusions have been well-received, Knight said, noting that audiences mainly students remain surprised by its findings. A lot of students were appalled because it was an affront as to what they felt women should do, Knight said, adding that he has been reminded time and time again that women are nurturers. We still even buy into this notion that women have a different role in society, he said, concluding that the overarching message female suicide bombers have had to share is: I have agency, too. While the topic of female suicide bombers is one that intrigues Knight, he found it pertinent to clarify that he in no way supports or condones their actions. tclarke@brandonsun.com Twitter: @TylerClarkePA Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/11/2016 (2170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A provincial court judge has questioned how a teenage girl who was staying in a rural foster home managed to get to Brandon, escape caregivers and wind up high on prescription pills before getting in a struggle with cops in which she allegedly bit an officer. The girl had also reportedly been assaulted prior to her encounter with police, and in Brandon provincial court on Monday, Judge John Combs questioned her supervision just prior to releasing her on bail. Im interested in learning how she came to be in the City of Brandon, Combs told defence lawyer Philip Sieklicki. My understanding is that she was not supposed to be residing in Brandon and how she came to be not in the company of staff from DOCFS or Specialized Foster Homes (SFH), and how she got her hands on the drugs involved. SFH provides group housing and foster homes to teens with troubled backgrounds on behalf of child welfare agencies. Based on the police release about the incident, she was living at a rural home at the time. What follows are allegations outlined by the Crown attorney in court. They havent been proven and the girl is presumed innocent. Crown attorney Brett Rach said that a Brandon police officer had seen the girl running on the 700 block of Victoria Avenue around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. She was bleeding from her face. Police also received a call that the girl was trying to rip down Christmas decorations in the area, and the officer caught up with her two blocks west of where hed first spotted her. The girl was hysterical and the officer suspected she was high or drunk, Rach said. She fought with police, who took her to the ground as they tried to detain her. Rach said the girl was repeatedly striking her head on the ground and the officer was trying to stop her from hurting herself when she allegedly bit him on the leg and drew blood. Police took her to hospital where she continued to try to bite officers as they held her down in bed. She also tried to spit at nurses. She was having delusions and believed she was in Chicago. She told police that shed taken five tablets of the prescription drug Gabapentin. Gabapentin is a medication used to treat epilepsy, neuropathic pain, hot flashes, and restless leg syndrome, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. When misused, the drug can produce withdrawal syndrome and certain psychoactive effects. Rach said police also learned that she was on a probation order that required her to be under a curfew of 24 hours per day, seven days per week, unless with a member of Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services or designate on their behalf (in this case, Specialized Foster Homes.) There was recently a rift between SFH and DOCFS, so its not clear if the girl remained a ward of DOCFS at the time of the allegations. Rach said the girl reported being in a fight prior to her encounter with police. She also reported a cut to her nose that needed stitches. Sieklicki described a girl with a troubled past. He said that shed taken more medication than she was prescribed, but also that shed got some of the drugs from a friend. When Combs asked how she came to be in the city and not with either DOCFS or SFH staff, Sieklicki turned to an SFH staff member who was in court. The SFH staff member said that the girl had been brought to Brandon to see a worker and for counselling. Following her appointments, she ran away from support workers. There also seemed to be confusion about the her 24/7 probation curfew, previously imposed by Combs himself. The SFH worker said a probation officer told him that probation couldnt breach the girl on the unsupervised order with the 24/7 curfew, so she was put on a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. one instead. Rach said probation didnt have the authority to change the curfew on its own. Combs granted the girl bail, given her youth and personal struggles, stating public safety was better served if she was in the community where she could access programming. I can only suggest that more diligent efforts have to be made to ensure that (she) is not given an opportunity to run and be in the community on her own, because obviously shes incapable of handling that type of freedom, Combs said. ihitchen@brandonsun.com Twitter: @IanHitchen YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan had meetings on November 22 in Geneva with Secretary of the UN Anti-torture committee Patrice Gillbert and Chief of America, Europe and Central Asia of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Gianni Magazzeni. Joint programs aimed at the development and increase of efficiency of the Ombudsmans capabilities in Armenia were discussed. At the same time, issues related to prevention of abuse and torture were discussed. Tatoyan also presented new constitutional and legislative solutions, as well as the necessity of strengthening the preventive role of the Ombudsman. The sides also highlighted the cooperation with civil society organizations and mass media aimed at prevention of abuse in correctional facilities. Thursday 24 Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade (KOB-4 9am) Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie and Al Rocker stand in the cold and read statistical facts about inflatable balloons for three hours. The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration (KOAT-7 7pm) Julianne and Derek Hough welcome Boyz II Men, JoJo, Kelly Clarkson, Flo Rida, OneRepublic and Trisha Yearwood to the Walt Disney World Resort. Christmas in Homestead (Hallmark 6pm) A cynical actress heads to the Christmas-obsessed town of Homestead, Iowa, where she falls in love with a single dad and learns the true meaning of the holiday. Anne of Green Gables (KNME-5 7pm) The childhood favorite of a lot of adventurous, adolescent girls gets a spiffy new adaptation. Friday 25 If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie (Amazon streaming anytime) Anyone whos read the book on which this is based knows that mice are greedy bastards. Ezra Jack Keats The Snowy Day (Amazon Streaming anytime) The Caldecott Medal winning picture book, first published in 1962, gets the animated treatment. Boyz II Men provide the music, marking the bands second Christmas sighting this week. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (Netflix streaming anytime) After a nine-year hiatus, the family drama starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel returns for an eighth season. Christmas List (Hallmark 6pm) You really expect me to keep this up for another four weeks, Hallmark? Savage Kingdom (National Geographic Wild 7pm) Watching wild animals maul one another? Now thats a holiday tradition I can get behind. Saturday 26 A Heavenly Christmas (Hallmark 6pm) I mean, if you can make em, I can list em. Legends of the Hidden Temple (Nickelodeon 6pm) A week after resurrecting its 80s gameshow Double Dare as a TV special, Nickelodeon turns its 90s gameshow into a scripted, live-action movie. Can a You Cant Do That on Television reboot be far behind? Sunday 27 2016 Soul Train Awards (BET 6pm) Erykah Badu hosts. Brandy, Bobby Brown and DRU Hill perform. Between this and all the Boyz II Men sightings this week, its looking more like 1996 than 2016. Journey Back to Christmas (Hallmark 6pm) And here it is, our first Candace Cameron Bure sighting of the holiday season. Monday 28 Christmas Cookie Challenge 2 (Food Network 6pm) Baking or eating? Tuesday 29 Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (A&E 8pm) Actress and former Scientologist Leah Remini discusses abuse at the hands of the church with other ex-Scientologists. ... Xenu is not gonna like this. Wednesday 30 Arrow (KWBQ-19 7pm) Fellow CW superheroes The Flash and Supergirl show up to celebrate this shows 100th episode. Christmas in Rockefeller Center (KOB-4 7pm) Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker, fresh off parade duty, host the 84th annual tree-lighting ceremony. Dolly Partons Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love (KOB-4 8pm) Ricky Schroder, Jennifer Nettles and Gerald McRaney star in this true? (I dont know) story about that time Dolly Partons dad tried to raise enough money to by his wife a wedding ring. Also there was a blizzard. And it was Christmas. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan visited the Quantum college on November 23 which celebrates its 25th anniversary of establishment this year. President Sargsyan accompanied by Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan, representatives of the education sector and the administration of the college toured the Quantum college, reviewed the renovated building of the innovative-scientific center, educational programs, and also spoke with students and teachers. In 2011, the Quantum college joined the International Baccalaureate. Graduates of the college receive state certificates, and graduates of the International Baccalaureate program receive International Bachelors diplomas, which enables to enroll in numerous leading universities worldwide without admission exams. According to Quantum administration, several elaborations of the college are already introduced in the public education field. Students of the college are actively participating in Olympiads both nationally and internationally achieving high results. At the end of the visit, President Sargsyan held a discussion with the Education and Science minister, Yerevan Mayor and the Director of the College, regarding issues of the educational field and development programs in the educational system as well as cooperation of state-private sector. The President tasked the minister of Education and Science to hold a working meeting soon with the purpose of discussing public education and higher education issues. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/11/2016 (2170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Someone has to do something Regarding that poor lady still waiting in the hospital for somebody to do something for her. Right across the street from the hospital at the clinic is a very, very well-qualified gastroenterologist. Why can she not do something? Something has to be done. The thousands and thousands of dollars it is costing to keep her in the hospital for over a month please, people! Pollsters got it wrong I find this quite interesting with all these experts we have in Canada and the U.S. How is it that they were so wrong in all their predictions in regards to the U.S. election? Are these pollsters trying to tell people who to vote for? These people should crawl back into the woods and hide. They should not be broadcasting this garbage. This is one of the reasons countries are in trouble and a heck of a mess. This is how revolutions start. Which is what we are seeing in the U.S. This should be banned. Another broken promise Brian Pallisters Tories have broken yet another election promise and have voted themselves a big pay raise. So why dont the people in Sound Off complain about that instead of the firefighters or the police getting a raise? Thanks for your respect I would like to send out a big bouquet to all the retailers who respected the fallen soldiers and stayed closed on Remembrance Day and I would like to say that I am very ashamed of all the retailers who let the all mighty dollar speak for them instead of closing for the veterans. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Deputy foreign minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan says the resignation of James Warlick from the post of OSCE Minsk Group co-chair wasnt unexpected. During a press conference on November 23, Kocharyan said a rotation principle is applied for American co-chairs. The term came to an end, thats why he was substituted, Kocharyan said. Asked whether or not the fact that Warlick will start working for a famous Russian law firm which has close ties both with the Russian President and several leaders of oil countries is of concern, Kocharyan responded by saying : Leaving that position, he is free to manage his own life. For instance, in the case of former American co-chair Matthew Bryza, his future activities showed that nevertheless, being a co-chair, we saw a somewhat partiality, which was displayed in his future work. In this case I cannot give any comment, since I havent seen his future work. Asked how the change of the American co-chair will reflect on the conflict settlement, Kocharyan advised not to overestimate the persons whom co-chairing countries appoint as representatives. It is natural that the state has its own policy, and individuals have their light roles. Yes, they have some role, but very small, he said. According to Kocharyan, the change of individual doesnt mean that a new co-chair will come and start from scratch presenting new packages. Kocharyan explained that the new co-chair will initially get to know the previously made proposals and documents and will operate in the existing stage. Update 11am: The Central Bank has said it is willing to talk to any firm wanting to set up in Ireland, after reports that it is reluctant to welcome British investment banks relocating after Brexit. It is generally hoped we could entice large multinational firms here once Britain leaves the EU, but there are fears that investment banks could be too high-risk for our economy. Irish passengers will be among those hit by today's strike by Lufthansa pilots. Eight flights into and out of Dublin airport have been cancelled as part of the 48-hour walkout. It is estimated a total of 100,000 passengers worldwide will be affected as 3,000 flights are put on hold. It is the pilots' 14th strike since April 2014 in a row over increased pay. The Cockpit union announced on Monday that pilots on Lufthansa's budget airline Eurowings, and working on all short and long-haul flights out of Germany, would go on strike. Lufthansa said: "Due to tomorrow's strike, 876 of 3,000 LH Group flights had to be cancelled." It said about 100,000 passengers would be affected, including on 51 intercontinental connections. The Cockpit union said the airline has been posting "very good numbers for years" but pilots have not seen any pay increases. It is asking for a 3.66% yearly raise for five years. Lufthansa has called the union's position "absolutely incomprehensible". A Dublin mother, who unlawfully received 15,000 children's allowance payments while she was working in Australia for three years, has been spared a criminal conviction. Clodagh Logue (aged 42) with an address at Granville Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, had pleaded guilty in a prosecution brought by the Department of Social Protection. The offence, which is under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, can result in a fine of up to 2,500 and or a six-month sentence. Judge John O'Neill heard at Dublin District Court that she received 15,618 which she has recently completed paying back. She had also complied with an order made earlier to donate 500 to Our Lady's Childrens Hospital Crumlin. Judge O'Neill struck out the case. She had been working for a computer company in Ireland but was moved by her employer to their operation in Sydney. She was there for three years while she was still getting child benefit, the court was told. Judge O'Neill heard that she has been working in Australia from July 2011 until August 2014. Her solicitor told the court the money was paid into her account in Dublin and it was out of sight, out of mind. She came back just once in the three years. Her solicitor told the court that when she returned she engaged immediately with the Department of Social Protection. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Justice Minister of Armenia Arpine Hovhannisyan on November 23 held a meeting with PACE Monitoring Committee Co-Rapporteurs for Armenia Giuseppe Galati and Alan Meale, press service of the Ministry told Armenpress. Welcoming the guests visit to Armenia, Minister Hovhannisyan expressed gratitude for the close cooperation and partnership. She presented the Justice Ministrys carried out works and achievements in recent months and said after constitutional changes Armenia launched large-scale legislative reforms, the first result of which was the adoption of the Electoral Code by a consensus. She said long-lasting discussions were held over the document with the participation of representatives of leadership, opposition and civil society, as well as with the involvement and support of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR. At the meeting the Justice Minister talked about the establishment and use of new anticorruption institutional system, the property and income declaration process of the high-ranking officials, the independence of judiciary and criminalization of illicit enrichment. The Co-Rapporteurs thanked for the warm reception and highly appreciated the ongoing reforms in Armenia, attached importance to the legislative changes in a number of sectors, as well as the efforts of Armenias leadership on fight against corruption. The sides also discussed a number of issues of mutual interest. The family of imprisoned Dubliner Ibrahim Halawa has urged the Taoiseach to increase pressure on the Egyptian President to pardon the student. President El-Sisi has recently released around 80 young people who were being held in Egypt's jails. He has indicated he may pardon many more prisoners in the coming weeks. Ibrahim, an Irish citizen, has been held without trial for three years, after being arrested at a protest in Cairo. His trial was recently postponed for the 16th time. He will turn 21 in jail next month. Campaigners, including Amnesty International, say the Dubliner's prolonged detention without trial and his treatment while behind bars amounts to torture. The student's sister Somaia Halawa said: "We're going round in circles repeating and hearing the same things over and over again. "Three years are gone from my brother's life. I dont know how long it will take the Government to realise this has gone on for too long and they have to take action." The jury in Sean Fitzpatricks trial have been told to return to court next week when it is hoped they will hear from the first witness. The former CEO of Anglo Irish Bank is accused of misleading auditors Ernst & Young between 2002 and 2007 about multi-million euro loans. This trial was originally pencilled in for 12 weeks and was due to be finished before Christmas. However, a number of legal issues have arisen since the jury was sworn in on September 21, 2016, and the prosecution has yet to present any evidence. This morning the jurors were given an update on the expected duration of the trial. Judge John Aylmer thanked the 13 men and women for their patience and told them the trial was overrunning to a significant extent. He said it would continue in legal argument until next Wednesday and they would not be needed until then. Two jurors have already been excused and Judge Aylmer said he didnt want to trespass on anyones plans over the Christmas holidays. He said it was now predicted the case could go on until the end of February and the jury said they were happy to sit until then. Mr. Fitzpatrick is facing 27 charges under the Companies Act. He denies them all. Another debate on whether Dublin City should have a directly elected Mayor will take place in the Dail later. The Green Party will bring forward a bill today to cater for the direct election of a Mayor by the people of Dublin. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has ordered the withdrawal of the Guerin report into the handling of Garda whistleblower allegations, which forced the resignation of former justice minister Alan Shatter in 2014, writes Daniel McConnell of the Irish Examiner. In a major vindication of Mr Shatter, the withdrawal of the report is a major embarrassment for Mr Kenny, who all but forced the resignation of one of his most loyal supporters at the Cabinet table. Mr Kenny, speaking at a briefing for political correspondents, said that following discussions with Attorney General Maire Whelan this morning, he instructed his officials to have the report pulled. I spoke to the Attorney General this morning and after consultation with her, I instructed the Secretary General of my department to take down the Guerin Report from the website of my department, he said. Obviously, arising from the O'Higgins report and the decision of the Appeals Court there is no reason that it should be up on the website, he added. Earlier this week, Mr Shatter said he wanted certain critical findings made against him in the 2014 Guerin report to be removed and a corrected copy handed to the Taoiseach. The former Minister for Justice was seeking a number of court orders after winning an appeal over Mr Guerins failure to give him a right of reply. Earlier this month, the three-judge Court of Appeal unanimously ruled in Alan Shatters favour following his failed High Court challenge. They agreed he should have been asked for his version of events before Sean Guerin concluded that he had not adequately handled allegations of Garda misconduct in the Cavan/Monaghan division. A declaration to say his constitutional rights were breached by the defective procedure adopted has been agreed between the parties, but Mr Guerin is contesting an application for orders for the critical findings to be quashed and a corrected report handed to the Taoiseach. His barrister told the court that the report is no longer under his control and that it is now a matter between Mr Shatter and Enda Kenny. Paul Anthony McDermott said he cannot simply quash a few sentences and that Mr Guerin had no power to rewrite it. A judgement on what orders should be made will be made at a later date. Update 8pm: Alan Shatter has welcomed the removal of the Guerin report from the Taoiseach's website and has called for further action by the Taoiseach and opposition politicians. "I welcome the fact that the Guerin Report has been removed from the Taoiseach's website. It is over two and a half years since I expressed my concern to the Taoiseach about the absence of fair procedures in the approach taken by Mr Sean Guerin in the preparation of his report. I detailed my concern on the day of my resignation, in my letter of resignation from Government, in private correspondence and discussions with the Taoiseach and ultimately, in the Dail on the 19th June 2014. Unfortunately, my concerns were entirely ignored both by government and opposition. "High Court proceedings were taken by me not only to vindicate my good name and reputation but also to reinforce an important public interest principle which is a matter of constitutional and natural justice - it is, that no individual should be criticised or condemned upon the conclusion of an inquiry, whether statutory or non- statutory, without a fair hearing. In a constitutional democracy, this is at the very foundation of the rule of law. If it were to be devalued and rendered redundant we would be perceived internationally as a Banana Republic. It is one of the first principles of law I learnt as a young law student. "I am already on record thanking Judge O'Higgins for the fair, careful and considered approach taken by him in the preparation of his report and, in particular, for his application of fair procedures to ascertain the truth or not of allegations made. I have also previously welcomed his findings that in addressing issues raised by Sergeant Maurice McCabe I showed "personal and active concern" and acted "appropriately "and "reasonably" and "took the obvious, prudent and sensible course". The O'Higgins Report clearly documents the complex background to controversies that occurred in the first quarter of 2014. "The Court of Appeal in the comprehensive judgements reviewing our law delivered two weeks ago has ensured that no body or individual appointed by government in the future to conduct an inquiry, review or any similar exercise is at liberty to criticise any individual , be they politician, public official or private citizen, without affording them an opportunity to be heard. That is as it should be. It should have not been necessary to take on the entire political establishment to ensure this does not happen again. Nor should I have been made a political pariah by those in leadership positions in Fine Gael. "It was from a journalist this evening I learnt of the Guerin Reports removal from the Taoiseach's website. While welcoming its removal, I believe such action should have been taken long ago and certainly no later than upon receipt by the Taoiseach of the O'Higgins Report. The Taoiseach has, to date, declined to acknowledge, either in the Dail Chamber or elsewhere, that Judge O'Higgins conclusions contradicted those of Mr Guerin. I now ask that he do so. The Taoiseach, the Minister for Justice, opposition leaders and independent Deputies welcomed the Guerin report and some welcomed his harsh criticism of me and placed it on the Dail record. I am now asking that the Dail record be corrected by them. The Guerin Report was laid by the Taoiseach before both Houses of the Oireachtas. I am asking the Taoiseach to take the steps required for it to be withdrawn. "It is my hope that within the coming days this long drawn out and personally stressful saga will finally end. I want to again publicly thank my wife, family and close friends whose support has been invaluable over the past two and a half difficult years." Taoiseach Enda Kenny is to meet Pope Francis in the Vatican next Monday. Enda Kenny had requested the meeting after the decision for the World Meeting of Families to be held in Dublin in 2018, which the Pope is expected to attend. "Following the decision of the Conference of Irish Bishops to formally invite Pope Francis to attend the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in 2018, the Taoiseach requested this meeting which will take place at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican at 10am," a Government statement read. "The Taoiseach will also take the opportunity to personally welcome the decision by Pope Francis to hold the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in August 2018. "He will express the full support of the Government for the invitation by the Irish Bishops Conference to Pope Francis to visit Ireland in the context of that meeting and assure the Pope that the normal state courtesies and support will be extended to him if he decides to come to Ireland. "They are also expected to discuss a number of issues of mutual and global interest, including bilateral relations, developments in the European Union and migration." Taoiseach Enda Kenny has welcomed the relaxation in the mortgage rules announced by the Central Bank today, writes Daniel McConnell of the Irish Examiner. The decision of the Central Bank is to be welcomed here. Obviously they have put in conditions in respect of second and subsequent buyers. The Governments programme of 5bn worth of investment through the five pillars is very important, he told reporters. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian side has never avoided the talks and various meetings over the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan told reporters on November 23, reports Armenpress. The only expectation was that such meetings to be productive. And we can judge on the effectiveness from the perspective that up to now there is no progress in the negotiation process. Moreover, at the moment it is impossible to expect progress as long as the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg are not implemented, the Deputy FM said. He said it is impossible to expect progress in the negotiation process as long as there is a threat of war, as long as there is no trust between the sides, as long as there are fires, provocations in the line of contact. This is the reality that has been recorded in Vienna after the April war and talks are necessary to hold on this path in order for the 1994 termless ceasefire agreement to come into force. I would like to recall that the idea of installing investigative mechanisms for incidents in the line of contact is not a new. It is Azerbaijans international obligation since there was already a talk on this mechanism in the 1995 trilateral agreement. It is obvious every ceasefire must include that element in order for the ceasefire to be maintained, Shavarsh Kocharyan said. A theme park in the Paris area was apparently among the targets listed by terror suspects arrested in France over the weekend. French media is reporting an attack was also planned at an area described as having a "high number of police officers". LONDON: Copper prices fell on Monday as rising COVID-19 cases and weaker than expected manufacturing data in China,... YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. PACE Monitoring Committee Co-Rapporteurs for Armenia Giuseppe Galati and Alan Meale on November 23 visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial. They were accompanied by Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Head of the Armenian delegation to PACE Hermine Naghdalyan, press service of the Parliament told Armenpress. The European high-ranking officials laid flowers at the Eternal Flame and paid a tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims with a moment of silence. The Co-Rapporteurs visited also the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, got acquainted with the documents on the Genocide. Alan Meale said everyone must condemn the atrocities and the Genocide committed by Turks against Armenians. The Governments must recognize what had happened in reality. People must be informed, schools must teach about the Genocide and everything must be done to prevent it. Giuseppe Galati said the Council of Europe carries out huge works on clarifying and stabilizing the relations between countries with different religious beliefs in order to prevent such tragedies. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. In recent days the Azerbaijani Presidents bellicose rhetoric reflects the fact that Azerbaijan has used the negotiation process on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict as a cover for such a long time and in reality it run quite another policy, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan said at the briefing on November 23, reports Armenpress. The Deputy FM said this is the reason that within those years no progress has been achieved in the negotiation process. Azerbaijan tries to show that it negotiates, however, in reality it carries out another policy. First of all, it is spreading its propaganda that is based on distorting the essence of the conflict, trying to show that there is no self-determination issue here, it is just a territorial dispute. Thus, Azerbaijan is trying to prepare fertile ground for further military solution, the Deputy FM said. He said it seems to Azerbaijan that during a period when it increases its military potential thanks to oil dollars, the Armenian states are becoming weak and are ready to escape after the first blow. However the April war showed that they were mistaken in their calculations. The April events showed that their blitzkrieg, that they wanted to carry out, failed. It is another thing that here we also had shortcomings, and we take steps to correct them Kocharyan said and expressed confidence that if Azerbaijan once again initiates such action, the consequences can be much worse for it. Referring to the view that the Co-Chairs continue ignoring the regular ceasefire violation cases by Azerbaijan and do not make condemning statements, Shavarsh Kocharyan said thats why it is necessary to install investigative mechanisms for incidents. Investigative mechanism means that when there has been an incident, a fire, a sabotage infiltration attempt, all these must be investigated and the concrete responsible must be identified. The fact that Azerbaijan constantly torpedoes this issue already makes clear which side violates the ceasefire, Kocharyan said. To the view that the mediators do not condemn the Azerbaijani leaderships bellicose rhetoric, the Deputy FM clarified that the mediators have never condemned any of the conflicting sides. He said the mediators have two missions: Firstly, they must contribute to bringing the sides to an agreement through their proposals and their mediation. There is also their second mission which is currently pushed forward. The mediators second mission is to prevent the restoration of military operations, Kocharyan said. The Deputy FM added that three of five UN Security Council member countries are considered mediator states for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, which is unprecedented. There has not been such level mediation in any conflict. It is the obligation of the Security Council member states to follow in order there will not be any wars, military actions in the world especially when they are considered as mediators. In other words, if there are mediators in this conflict settlement and military operations are taking place, this is a direct slap to the UN Security Council, Kocharyan said adding that this is the reason that the mediator countries showed great activeness after the April war. LAHORE: With less than a month remaining to the start of the historic Test Series between Pakistan and England, the... YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Several international companies are interested in constructing wind power station in Armenia, deputy minister of energy and natural resources Hayk Harutyunyan told a press conference in ARMENPRESS. We actively encourage and invite investors in the field of wind power, and it seems like our signals reach the target. The specificity of wind power is the fact that companies carry out resource measuring process for two years. Currently, a Polish company launched the measurement process, it installed a measuring device in Sisian in order to understand what capacity of a station it can build. Recently we negotiated with an Iranian company so that they come and carry out measurements. A 50 MW power wind station is planned to be built, he said, stressing that there is a quite good resource of wind in Armenias high mountainous terrain. The deputy minister notified that negotiations over wind power are underway with Spanish, Georgian, Chinese and Italian companies. LAGOS: More than 600 people are now known to have perished in the worst floods in a decade in Nigeria, according to... LONDON: Russian naval forces repelled a drone attack in the Bay of Sevastopol, where the Black Sea Fleet in... The Reserve Bank has promoted Luci Ellis to the position of Assistant Governor (Economic), making her to first woman to become what is effectively the central bank's chief economist. As Assistant Governor (Economic) she will move into the post held by the last three Reserve Bank governors before their promotion to Deputy Governor and then Governor. The Assistant Governor (Economic) runs both the economic research and economic monitoring departments and presents an update on the economy to each Reserve Bank board meeting. As head of the bank's financial stability department since 2008, Dr Ellis has become one of its main experts on housing, delivering speeches on the spatial as well as financial aspects of real estate and representing the bank at parliamentary inquiries into housing. While we all wait with bated breath to see how Asia responds to the prospect of Donald Trump in the White House, some introspection about how well Australia is prepared to fully engage in the Asian Century would be prudent. China is Australia's biggest trading partner. Our freshly minted free trade agreement, delivered by the Abbott government, directly links Australian expertise with China's exploding middle class and is all about job opportunities for our children. In this context, Asian literacy matters. Yet even a cursory look at figures for participation in year 12 Chinese reveals the extent of our failing. In NSW, for example, in 2005 there were around 1500 students taking Chinese; in 2015 there were only 832. Worse still, only 153 of those were non-native Chinese speakers. More students studied Latin. Enzo Maiorca, who has died aged 85, was the first man to dive 50 metres without breathing apparatus; a feat previously reckoned to be physiologically impossible. Between 1960 and 1974 Maiorca held as many as 13 world records in the "no limits" class of free diving, in which divers may use any means to go as deep as they can. The most common method and the one practised by Maiorca has divers clutch a weighted, rope-guided sled, which plunges to the prescribed depth on the end of a guide rope. Competitors then inflate a lifting bag from a gas canister to propel themselves to the surface. Having made it to a depth of 50 metres in August 1961, Maiorca surpassed his own record again and again. With the medical wisdom of the time set against him, he drew inspiration from the life of the Greek fisherman Yorgos Haggi Statti, who in 1913 had dived 77 metres to locate the anchor of the wrecked Italian battleship Regina Margherita. "A pair of doctors witnessed this and reported what they saw but were dismissed by their medical colleagues," Maiorca told Diver magazine. "As I progressed I was learning more and coming to realise that the doctors were building walls based on beliefs that were wrong." Throughout his career Enzo Maiorca enjoyed a spirited rivalry with fellow free diver Jacques Mayol, who in 1976 trounced Maiorca's previous achievements by reaching a record depth of 100 metres. Donald Trump's election as US President has triggered considerable interest in his plan to renew America's infrastructure. He promises "a bold, visionary plan for a cost-effective system of roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, railroads, ports and waterways", saying this would be in the tradition of President Eisenhower's construction of the US interstate highway system. To deliver this Trump plans to "leverage new revenues and work with financing authorities, public-private partnerships, and other prudent financing opportunities". Certainly to Australian eyes US public infrastructure can often look pretty dismal. Airports are overcrowded and ageing; many of the freeways are in poor condition; and while some cities have impressive bus and rail systems, others are distinctly underwhelming. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Head of the Parliamentary delegation in the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov on November 23 met Chairman of Russias State Duma (lower house of the Russian Parliament) Vyacheslav Volodin in St. Petersburgs Tauride Palace, press service of the Parliament told Armenpress. Congratulating Vyacheslav Volodin, Sharmazanov expressed hope during his tenure the Armenian-Russian inter-parliamentary relations will achieve new progress. The sides attached importance to the allied character of the Armenian-Russian relations, and stated that Armenias membership to the Eurasian Economic Union gave a new impetus to it. Speaking about the Armenian-Russian inter-parliamentary relations, the Deputy Speaker underlined the necessity of coordinated work of the parliamentary delegations in international platforms. At the meeting the sides discussed regional issues as well. Sharmazanov stated: We attach importance to the maintenance of peace and stability in our region. Despite the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg, Azerbaijan ignores them, continues escalating the situation in the line of contact by its unconstructive and anti-Armenian actions. It is impermissible. Everyone must understand that there is no alternative to the peaceful settlement of the conflict and nothing can force the NKR people to refrain from their desire to live in independent and free Fatherland. Former Gold Coast Titan Dave Taylor has been fined $1000 after admitting charges stemming from the NRL's drug scandal. Taylor pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a dangerous drug, namely cocaine, in August and September of 2014. Former Titan Dave Taylor pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a dangerous drug, namely cocaine, in 2014. Credit:Matt Roberts/Getty Images Taylor's sentencing at Southport District Court on Wednesday comes after fellow former Gold Coast players Joe Vickery and Jamie Dowling were handed fines and community service orders earlier this year. AAP One of the seven accused over the Logan bodies-in-the-box murders allegedly confessed to hearing screams as he threw the victims into a dam, a court has heard. Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, 25, was denied bail when he appeared in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday charged with the murders of Cory Breton, 28, and Iuliana Triscaru, 31. A crane lifts the metal box from a dam at Logan. Credit:Nine News Brisbane/Twitter It is alleged he confessed to killing the pair, whom he barely knew and had no grievance with. The victims were last seen alive on January 24 this year and their bodies were found in a locked metal box in Kingston dam 18 days later. Pharmacist to the stars Shadi Kazeme, whose Sydney hydration clinic was closed earlier this year, has been convicted in Melbourne of stealing a large quantity of prescription drugs but her chain of IV clinics at tropical resorts is going from strength to strength. Ms Kazeme, 28, was sentenced to a community corrections order by magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg on Wednesday in the Melbourne Magistrates Court. Shadi Kazeme leaves the Melbourne Magistrates Court after being sentenced for stealing prescription drugs. Credit:Jason South As part of the order she will be required to do 150 hours of community work, plus undergo assessment and treatment for drug abuse and dependency. She had initially been charged with stealing vials of Human Growth Hormone, AOD 9604 one of the drugs at the centre of the Essendon doping scandal as well as a range of other drugs worth more than $80,000 from the Como Compounding Pharmacy in South Yarra between February and June 2015. Clarence with his family. Credit:Facebook/Theystillcallmekaleve "He was a very friendly guy, not your typical bouncer." Mr Saddoo told Fairfax Media Mr Leo died at 4.30am on Tuesday after an aggressive asthma attack. "It came as a big shock. The last time we all saw him was Saturday night," he said. Dominic D'Monte posted on Facebook a photo of Mr Leo with his daughters kissing his cheeks. "I have no more words than these few, my brother, 'C-Lo' I have no comprehension of the last 24 hours. None! To think we were organising catching up next week somehow is still blowing me away! My promise is to be there forever for your family until we meet again." Earlier this year, Mr Leo posted a photo of him and his wife on Facebook to mark their three-year anniversary. "Three years ago today on the little island of Hawaii, this crazy lady made a silly little promise to stick around no matter what! It's been a trying time because im a difficult kinda guy, but shes still here by my side!" Mr Leo's brother, Warren Leo, has set up a gofundme campaign, seeking donations to help support Mr Leo's wife Amanda and their two daughters. "Our brother Clarence was a father, husband, son, and friend to many," he wrote. "We are raising money to fill the shortfall of what the insurance doesn't cover so that his loved ones can focus on remembering 'Samoan Gravy' for the life he lived." Earlier on Wednesday, 35-year-old Apollo Papadopoulos was identified as the third person to have died after Monday's storm. Mr Papadopoulos is believed to have died after suffering an asthma attack, despite frantic efforts by paramedics to revive him. Apollo Papadopoulos. Credit:Facebook/apollo.pap Friends posted tributes on social media to Mr Papadopoulos, who is remembered as a "beautiful person" who will be dearly missed. Dee Kay said on Facebook that paramedics tried to revive Mr Papadopoulos for more than 50 minutes. Michelle Angela posted: "I can't believe you're gone. What am I going to do without you. Who else is gunna be there for me the way you always were when I was at my worst and at times when I needed it most. There's no one like you. I'm gunna miss you so much Apollo Papadopoulos. God Bless you. Till we meet again." "Rip Apollo Papadopoulos you will dearly be missed," said Suzie Malek. Josephine Tzimas said: "Not only did you have one of the coolest names going around but a beautiful smile and sense of humour to always make someone laugh. Rest easy mate." Hope Carnevali, 20, died on her family's Hoppers Crossing front lawn after suffering an asthma attack and waiting more than 30 minutes for an ambulance. Hope Carnevali. Credit:Facebook Greenvale high-school student Omar Moujalled, 18, also died from an asthma attack before making it to hospital. Omar Moujalled. Ambulance Victoria was overwhelmed with 1900 calls between 6pm and 11pm on Monday and hospitals were inundated with more than 1000 people seeking help. Health Minister Jill Hennessy has ordered a review into the response to the mass asthma event. There were almost 2000 calls for ambulances in five hours and about 30 people were admitted into intensive care units across the city. Loading Ms Hennessy said on Wednesday that the Inspector-General for Emergency Management would review the demand for help and how authorities could better communicate risks to the community. A pedestrian has died after being hit by a car in Melbourne's west on Wednesday evening. The man was crossing Main Road West in St Albans about 9pm when he was struck by the car. He died at the scene. The male driver of the car was not injured and is assisting police. Anyone who witnessed the collision is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppersvic.com.au. All her life Rianna Albano has been big. But when her little girl turned one in August this year, the 32-year-old decided to do something about it. "I couldn't get on the floor and play with her. Getting up and down was hard," Ms Albano said. "When she started eating solid food, she wanted what I was eating." Since the election of Donald Trump we have been told a great many things about what it actually means. We have been told that the media misread the mood of the American public - yet more members of that public voted for his opponent, a person we were told on the campaign trail was a criminal and utterly discredited, than for Trump. US President-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with New York Times staff. Credit:New York Times We are told that media should report Trump's campaign accurately - a campaign that loudly vowed to lock its chief opponent up but now says it will do nothing of the kind. We have been told that the media needs to look at itself - by a person who complains about impersonations on comedy shows, the kind of pictures that newspapers use of him and attention to his business affairs. And for every complaint by Trump, there are hundreds of emails and social media posts that suggest the same thing in far less measured terms. Ankara: Turkey's ruling party has withdrawn for review a proposed bill allowing men accused of sexual abuse to avoid sentence, but a public uproar has persisted, with opposition parties and civil society groups calling for it to be cancelled entirely. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the draft will be withdrawn from the parliament's general assembly and sent back to a commission for review and to seek the opinion of the opposition and civil society, in line with a call from President Tayyip Erdogan for a wider consensus. It was scheduled to undergo a final vote in parliament on Tuesday Protests flared in Turkey after the government proposed a bill that would pardon some men imprisoned for statutory rape. The sign reads: "We will not let you, rape cannot be legalised". Credit:AP The proposal, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, would have allowed sentencing to be indefinitely postponed in cases of sexual abuse committed "without force, threat or deception" between 2005 and November 16, 2016, if the perpetrator married the victim. "This issue will be reviewed in commission, and if there is a proposal we will review and amend it," Yildirim said at a news conference in Ankara. "If not, we will solve the issue by taking into consideration the recommendations from the people and NGOs." Retired US general David Petraeus has indicated he would serve in President-elect Donald Trump's administration if he was offered a job, according to an interview on Britain's BBC radio. Petraeus, who resigned as CIA chief in 2012 after an extra-marital affair was revealed, was under consideration for the post of defence secretary, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Asked if he would agree to serve in the Trump administration, Petraeus said: "I've been in a position before where a president has turned to me in the Oval Office in a difficult moment and ... said 'I'm asking you as your president and commander-in-chief to take command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan'. "The only response can be 'yes, Mr President'." YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Minister of International Economic Integration and Reform of Armenia Suren Karayan received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Jassim Mohammed Al Qasimi on November 23. Greeting the guest Minister Karayan thanked the Ambassador for the meeting and hoped that similar meetings will foster the implementation of the agreements reached in the sidelines of the visit of the Armenian President to UAE. Minister Karayan expressed readiness to make efforts aimed at deepening economic relations with the United Arab Emirates. Suren Karayan suggested launching the preparatory works of the forum to take place in Dubai dedicated to Armenias investment environment, Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Ministry of International Economic Integration and Reform of Armenia. Ambassador Jassim Mohammed Al Qasimi noted that the visit of the Armenian President is highly appreciated in the UAE. He also highlighted collaboration with the Ministry aimed at deepening economic relations. The sides exchanged ideas over creating a joint investment fund, as well as other projects of bilateral interest. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Vice President of the National Assembly of Armenia, Head of Armenian delegation to the PACE Hermine Naghdalyan, members of the delegation Armen Rustamyan, Mikayel Melkumyan, Samvel Farmanyan, Mher Shahgeldyan, and Naira Karapetyan met with co-rapporteurs of PACE Monitoring Committee for Armenia Alan Meale and Giuseppe Galati on November 23. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Armenian parliament, Hermine Naghdalyan thanked the co-rapporteurs for their cooperation with Armenia and efforts to strengthen democracy in the country. The Vice President of the National Assembly introduced the process of post-referendum reforms to the guests, particularly the procedures of the debates over the Electoral Code and its adoption, noting that the recommendations of the OSCE/ODHIR and the Venice Commission were taken into account. Hermine Naghdalyan stated that thank to the cooperation in 4+4+4 format an agreement was reached over the most problematic issues between the political forces. She also referred to other legislative initiatives. In this context she pointed out the law on political parties, noting that the draft has been discussed with the OSCE/ODHIR and the Venice Commission in detail. Hermine Naghdalyan mentioned that the Armenian authorities attach great importance to the full implementation of Armenia-CoE 2015-2018 Action Plan. The Vice President of the National Assembly of Armenia provided in-detail information to guests about the local elections of September, noting that they were competitive and democratic. Referring to the activities of the PACE sub-committee on conflicts among the CoE member states, the head of the Armenian delegation stated that the sub-committee must act cautiously and tactfully. To her convictions, the co-rapporteurs should have their contribution here. Alan Meale hailed the reforms in Armenia and the harmony in the political spectrum as a result of the reforms. Armenias progress towards parliamentary governance is extraordinary, visible and impressive, Alan Meale noted. He also referred to the time frame for preparing and presenting interim and final reports on Armenia. The opportunity of Armenia to pass from monitoring procedure to post-monitoring one was discussed. Alan Meale expressed conviction that they will outline all the procedures and prerequisites necessary for Armenia to pass to post-monitoring procedure in the interim and final reports. The sides also touched upon to judicial reforms and measures to fight corruption. At a forum on banking and culture held in Melbourne on Tuesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) chairman and corporate regulator Greg Medcraft reiterated the need for banks to recognise systemic problems within their corporations, and begin revamping their culture, instead of dismissing it as a case of a few bad apples.In an article on The Age, the media outlet has cited a report published in the last month that showed that banks have been charging customers a fee for service without providing any of the financial advice services that supposedly came with it.Following the series of financial institutions scandals that involved mistreatment of customers, chief executives of major banks were called into a banking inquiry last month, during which MPs demanded explanations on various aspects of their operations such as credit card fees, bonus structures, and record profits.Medcraft pointed out that only one bank came to us and reported it, [and] the rest we had to go out and discover it, thus highlighting a deeply -rooted cultural problem. Youve got to go to the root cause of the problem and ask, what caused all of those bad apples? Medcraft said. What is the subculture thats creating that behaviour?He also continued the campaign for boards to sign the Banking and Finance Oath, as reported in the Australian Financial Review (AFR). Medcraft explained to the Banking and Finance Oath panel, every time we scratch the surface whether it be in insurance or lending or advice, it doesnt come up good. That is why this campaign is really important because it is up to them to win back trust and it is not just a matter of talking about it.Professor Paul Kofman, dean of business and economics at the University of Melbourne, backed Medcrafts statements in The Age when he explained that CEO pledges were no longer enough to assure the public.If a change is to occur, it will require more than a media appearance by the CEO.Without a complete overhaul of recruitment, internal governance, and performance development, it seems unrealistic to expect senior management to change culture simply leading by example.A panel of industry representatives also followed Medcrafts lead in calling for boards to do more, while emphasising the need for strong support from middle management, which might not have adequate incentive to step up and be involved.According to the AFR, the ASIC has already spent more than half of its $90 million special enforcement fund just getting through the preliminary stages of the cases. However, Medcraft has insisted that ASIC still has adequate funds to keep the cases going against the banks for many, many years.Meanwhile, Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has called out banks for fostering the incentives-based culture which runs counter to the original nature of the profession service. In line with that, Australian Bankers Association executive director Diane Tate said that cultural change can begin with promoting ethical behavior, [which] can be instilled by values of organizational leadership and performance management. Online home loan marketplace HashChing has announced they are set to pilot their new virtual identification system this weekend.The technology will allow brokers on the HashChing platform to scan their clients' faces via video call, along with a picture of their driver's license or passport.Speaking to Australian Broker, HashChing co-founder and CEO Mandeep Sodhi said they partnered exclusively with South African company e4 International to develop the groundbreaking new technology.We didnt develop the system from scratch, said Sodhi. They actually built the system for a South African tier one bank. So we liked the technology, but we had to adapt it to the Australian environment which is why we got involved three months ago and then it took us three months to bring it live.No one does (VOI) virtually as in the video call where you can do the biometric check we are the first one in Australia where, with e4, a mortgage broker can start a call from a dashboard and that video call will do the biometric check.The recorded video will also be held on HashChings server for seven years in case a broker is audited by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).The new system will dramatically speed up turnaround times and decrease processing costs, Sodhi said. Currently it can take one to a few weeks for brokers to validate their customers' identities.The reason being, consumers are busy, he said. They tell them to go to a branch or Australia Post, well consumers during the working hours, they are also busy.Were saying that it will cut at least one week of your time because its instant.Its as quick as someone starting a video call and saying to the consumer, we know youre at your home, lets start the call now. I dont need to send you to a branch anymore, I dont need to send you to an Australia Post anymore and guess what, you dont have to wait for a week now to be identified. Lets identify you right now, 24/7.Although they havent decided on pricing yet, he said we will come up with a significantly lower price for lenders and the brokers so that we can get this technology used by the brokers quickly.In the current VOI process, sometimes the lenders pay for it and sometimes the brokers pay for it. In this process, HashChing gives them the facility.The pilot includes 150 selected brokers and will extend over a few months before HashChing rolls it out to all brokers on their platform.Sodhi said the reaction they have seen from brokers is one of excitement, given how much time they will save using the new technology.Of course, the barrier was a geographical barrier as well brokers can only go to certain places to verify customers. With this process it should speed up the whole thing.We want to say to brokers, 'dont just see us as a lead generation platform anymore. We provide you good quality leads but we also provide you tools so that you can actually convert those leads. Were separating ourselves from all of the lead generation platforms out there.HashChing is also lining up meetings with banks to detail the system to them and work collaboratively moving forward.We dont see banks as competitors, Sodhi told Australian Broker. Basically were presenting the solution to them saying, 'we dont want the solution exclusive just to HashChing. We want you to use it as well. Of course, we have the exclusivity in the start-up world, that the company cannot work with any other start-ups but we are promoting this virtual VOI solution to the banks, so they understand it, they on-board it and lets work collaboratively.We need to shake up this industry a bit - were very behind other countries when it comes to mortgages. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams 76th Precinct Carroll Gardens-Cobble HillRed Hook Loaded Police cuffed a guy for allegedly carrying two loaded guns on him on Dwight Street on Nov. 19. Officials searched the suspect with a warrant between Wolcott and Kings streets at 9:45 am, and allegedly found he was packing two firearms as well as two rounds, according to authorities. Rogue A scofflaw drove off in a womans car parked on Hicks Street sometime between Nov. 15 and Nov. 18, police said. The victim told parked her gray 2016 Nissan Rogue between Congress and Warren streets on Nov. 15, but when she went to get it three days later, it had vanished and there was broken glass where the vehicle had once been, cops said. Tooled A malefactor swiped tools from a New York City Housing Authority storage room on Henry Street on Nov. 16. The jerk broke into the room between Bush Street and Centre Mall sometime between 7:30 and 10:30 am and stole a water meter, an electric motor, and copper, according to authorities. Julianne Cuba Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Park Slope is flipping out! The brownstone neighborhood is home to one of the largest competitive pinball scenes in the city, due in large part to a recent boom in local watering holes that cater to supple-wristed ball bashers, according to one enthusiast. Its definitely on the rise again, said Terry Van Pelt, a Sunset Park resident who travels to the Slope to play the silver ball. Its really popular now. I mean theres a pinball bar every block. Most of the nabes pinball saloons are clustered along Fifth Avenue around Ninth Street, where machines can be found at the Owl Farm, Skylark, Commonwealth, the Monro Pub, the Buttermilk Bar, and Paddys of Park Slope. But further north on Fifth and Fourth avenues, wizards also shoot for high scores at High Dive, Pacific Standard, and the Rock Shop, which recently shifted from being a music venue to a gaming bar sporting six pinball machines. Park Slopes verve for the bumper-filled arcade machine is especially evident in this years roster of the city-wide Pinball New York City contest of 38 teams, 11 are based at Park Slope bars and its New Yorks only neighborhood with its own dedicated pinball league, which runs during the off-season in the winter. But the areas flipper fanaticism is also apparent simply by bar-hopping south of Ninth Street, where its virtually impossible to grab a drink without running into somebody from the scene something that isnt true of other neighborhoods where pinball is on the rise, according to the founder of Pinball New York City. I would say that I can walk through Bushwick and not run into anybody, but its impossible for me to not run into a bunch of people in Park Slope, said Kristopher Medina. The hoods rise as a pinball Mecca began about three or four years ago, following a long-slump during which lazy operators did a lousy job of keeping their machines in good working order and hampered the arcade sport, Medina said. They werent earning, and maintaining a pinball machine is a lot of work, so they were like, why am I going to spend my money on this? Ill just do Ms. Pacman, he said. But lately, more dedicated operators who own the machines and lease them to bars in exchange for a cut of the coin have arrived in the city, and both the bars that lease their machines and their patrons have benefited, according to Medina. But just having a few decent machines only gets you so far. Ultimately, the Slope scene has grown to what it is because the locals love the tactile, throwback arcade phenomenon and it has become their go-to group activity, according to one player. Its fun and social, said Park Slope resident Sonny Farnsworth. There are some players who are really, really good, but most people around here are playing more as a social thing they can do with their friends. Dateline: China China has reportedly banned online searches for Fatty Kim the Third. The insulting but popular term for North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was apparently blocked in order to appease North Korean officials. According to the New York Post, North Korean officials conveyed their displeasure in a meeting with their Chinese counterparts. Searches for the Chinese words Jin San Pang on the government- controlled Baidu search engine and the microblogging platform Weibo returned no results this week. The term is reportedly popular among irreverent young Chinese, who tend to look down on their countrys would-be ally. Relations between the two nations have been strained lately due to North Koreas nuclear weapons program. A spokesperson for Baidu refused to comment on the development for the Associated Press. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said China, does not approve of insulting or ridiculing language to address any countrys leader. The alternate but equally hilarious nickname Kim Fat Fat Fat still brings up results on Chinese search engines, however. Dateline: South Africa According to the South African Medical Journal, doctors successfully removed a wedding ring from a mans penis. The article, published in November, said a 28-year-old man suffered a rare case of penile strangulation after squeezing his sex organ into his wedding ring for erotic reasons. The ring apparently caused the mans penis to swell up so much that he was unable to remove it. Hours after getting himself stuck in the ring, the patient was taken to a hospital in Limpopo by his mother. (This just gets worse.) At first doctors tried cutting the ring off with a tiny surgical saw, but the swelling made it too difficult to get close to the ring without causing further injury. Doctors eventually used a syringe to bring the swelling down enough that the ring could be removed. The patient was given antibiotics and pain killers. In conclusion the journal noted that, no proper guidelines exist for the treatment of this condition, so the best method is the one with a successful outcome. Dateline: California A politician is still hoping to be named city treasurer in Oceanside, Calif., even though she lost to her opponent by 6 percentage points in the recent election. Nadine Scotts claim to the seat is bolstered by the fact that her opponent died over a month ago. Gary Ernst, who was running for reelection, passed away on Sept. 23 at age 61. Despite his death, officials said that Ernst would have to remain on the ballot because there was not enough time to remove his name. Scott spent much of the election reminding voters that her opponent was dead, but she still lost by more than 2,000 votes. Capping off the unusual election was Oceanside City Councilman Jerry Kern, who continued to rally the public in support of Ernst, telling the online daily Voice of San Diego, Even though Gary passed away, he is still better qualified than she is. Scott, who has been a district treasurer for the last 20 years, is hoping the city will simply give the office to her as the only surviving candidate. If the city opts not to appoint someone in Ernsts place, it will have to hold a special election at the cost of $500,000. Dateline: Texas A Texas A&M student was arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 26, after authorities said she crashed her vehicle into the back a police car while sending a topless selfie to her boyfriend. The Eagle newspaper in College Station reports an officer had parked his patrol vehicle in the southbound outside lane of East Villa Maria Road with the rear emergency lights on while he investigated a disturbance call. Around 8:30pm, while the officer was interviewing people involved in that call, a sport utility vehicle crashed into the rear of his patrol car. According to the police report, as the officer approached the SUV, he observed driver Miranda Kay Rader with her bra unfastened trying to put her shirt back on. She reportedly told the officer she was driving back to her dorm on campus and had been sending a Snapchat picture to her boyfriend. The officer spotted an open bottle of wine in the vehicle. According to the officers report, Rader failed parts of a field sobriety test. The 18-year-old was charged with driving while intoxicated with an open container and ticketed for being a minor in possession of alcohol. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received co-rapporteurs of PACE Monitoring Committee for Armenia Alan Meale and Giuseppe Galati on November 23. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office, the President of the Republic highlighted the regular meetings with the fact-finding mission, which, according to him, give an opportunity to assess the reform implementation process in Armenia by impartial people who are well aware of European values. The President highly assessed the role of the co-rapporteurs in terms of monitoring the reform implementation process and thanked for the works done. The co-rapporteurs documented with satisfaction that the progress of Armenia towards parliamentary democracy goes on in a rather speedy and consistent manner, though, according to them, there are still some minor issues to be solved. Mr. President, your contribution to democratic processes in Armenia has been really significant during this period. We wish to officially invite you on behalf of the Council of Europe to visit the Council of Europe and speak about Armenia at the PACE, the co-rapporteurs of PACE Monitoring Committee for Armenia said during the meeting. The President was delighted to accept the invitation, stressing that it is a good opportunity to introduce the works done in Armenia and still existing problems from a high platform. The sides referred to the upcoming parliamentary elections at the meeting, the works to harmonize the legislation of Armenia with the adopted Constitution, development of cooperation with the CoE and in this context highlighted the launch of the new Action Plan. The President of the Republic and the co-rapporteurs exchanged ideas over Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process. Yardley Friends Meeting at 65 N. Main Street in Yardley will host the documentary Organic Roots on Friday, November 18 at 7 p.m. Join director Al Johnson for a showing of this film followed by a discussion of the last 50 years of this movement. Organic foods are part of our life today and a tool in our concern for... latest news October 31, 2022 Buddy TV In November, there are hundreds of new and returning TV showsit can be overwhelming to try and choose what to watch. That's why we've selected some of the best options... YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region will be honoring United States Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) with its highest honor, the prestigious Freedom Award, at the Tenth Annual ANCA Eastern Region Banquet on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at the Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel, Armenpress was informed from the press service of ANCA. We are proud to be honoring Senator Kirk, commented ANCA-ER Chairman Stephen Mesrobian. For more than 16 years, Mark Kirk has been an ardent advocate of Armenian-American policy priorities in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the U.S. Senate. From working on an official affirmation of the Armenian Genocide by the U.S. government to calling out Azerbaijans aggression as well as ensuring vital aid for the people in Armenia and Artsakh, Senator Kirk has championed principles of truth, justice, and freedom so cherished by the Armenian-American community. During the 114th Congress among other initiatives Sen. Kirk led efforts in support of Armenian-American aid priorities included in the Senates FY2017 foreign aid bill, adopted by the Appropriations committee. In April 2016, following the unprovoked aggression by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh, Sen. Kirk condemned Azerbaijani attacks against the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh calling on the U.S. Administration to hold President Aliyev fully accountable for this violence, and to support the implementation of the pro-peace steps laid out by Reps. Royce and Engel. In March of 2014, Sen. Kirk issued a statement on the anniversary of anti-Armenian Sumgait and Baku pogroms in Soviet Azerbaijan noting, Dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured during three days of horrific violence. The entire Armenian population of Sumgait fled as a result. The perpetrators of these heinous acts have never been brought to justice. As we remember the Sumgait victims, I call on the current Government of Azerbaijan to immediately halt its campaign of incitement and hatred against Armenia that threatens to de-stabilize the region. It is deplorable that the President of Azerbaijan would pardon and glorify the convicted murderer Ramil Safarov, who killed a sleeping Armenian soldier while both were on a NATO Partnership for Peace program. I strongly condemn repeated statements from Azerbaijani officials that threaten violence against Armenia and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. In 2012, Sen. Robert Menendez and Sen. Mark Kirk introduced the Armenian Genocide Resolution, S. Res. 399. In the same year, Senators Scott Brown, Diane Feinstein, and Mark Kirk introduced the Return of Churches Resolution, S. Res. 392. This years December 3rd banquet, sponsored by the ANCA Eastern Region Endowment Fund, will begin with an elegant cocktail reception and silent auction at 6 p.m., followed by dinner and awards ceremony at 7:00 p.m. The event will take place at the prestigious Westin Arlington Gateway located at 801 N Glebe Rd, Arlington, Va. 22203. For details and hotel reservations, call 1-800-937-8461 and reference ANCA. Entitled We Are #ArtsakhStrong, the banquet will focus on the ANCAs ongoing efforts in support of the status, security, and development of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh/NKR), as Artsakh marks the 25th anniversary of its independence. The 10th annual banquet will include a diverse group of distinguished honorees, including President of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan. CAD technology company, Virtual Worlds is continuing to grow with the addition of a new regional sales representative to its busy team. Leigh Townley has joined the firm to help drive sales of its 3D & 4D design software and raise awareness of the product in the KBB businesses across Scotland. Mr Townley has over 10 years experience working in the design and interior architecture business in sales and design roles. For the past three years he has been working at Luxury Home Design in Glasgow where he has been project managing, remodelling and helping with the designs and layouts for his customers homes. Now active in his new role, Mr Townley will be responsible for driving Virtual Worlds brand into the, until now, untapped Scotland region. Nathan MacLean, managing director at Virtual Worlds, said: Were delighted to welcome Leigh to the team, his work with architects and designers has given him a wealth of knowledge in the design industry and has an innate understanding about what Virtual Worlds is all about. With a solid sales background stretching over seven years, this role is perfectly suited to Leigh, and we cant wait for him to get started expanding our customers within Scotland. IKO recently supported the Worshipful Company of Builders Merchants (WCoBM) float at this years Lord Mayors Show in November. As tradition demands, IKO staff, like thousands of other contributors, donned striking costumes for the event, which dates back over 800 years. A roll of IKO roofing felt and an IKO enertherm PIR insulation board walked the two-mile length of the route alongside UK group managing director Andy Williamson, all drawing cheers from the crowds. Mr Williamson is also a Liveryman and Court Assistant for the WCoBM and helped organise the float and lead the merchants procession. We had a fantastic float that highlighted what a great industry we work in, and its importance to construction and the economy. Its a very popular parade - the streets are always full despite the inevitable rain, and we were able to use the opportunity to show just a few of the career options available to young people. We were also delighted to be featured on the BBC coverage of the event. Our IKO characters were clearly seen at the front of the WCoBM float. The Lord Mayors Show is one of the longest unrehearsed processions in the world: unrehearsed, as full assembly is not possible due to the procession being a mile longer than the route! The show is an opportunity for Livery Companies, the armed forces and the police, educational establishments and charities to show their commitment and support for the City of London. 'Ghost Hunters' visits Battleship NJ in Camden searching for spirits Ghost Hunters sent a team of paranormal investigators to Battleship New Jersey to search for lost souls. See the episode Nov. 5 on the Travel Channel. A working group from the Armed Forces of Armenia will travel to Moscow. November 23, 2016, 12:54 Armenia army delegation heads for Moscow STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 23, ARTSAKHPRESS: In Moscow, the Armenian delegation will participate in the consultations on making amendments and additions to the documents of the rapid deployment plan of the of the military contingents of the Collective Rapid Reaction Force of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) joint headquarters, the Ministry of Defense informed. These consultations will be conducted from Wednesday to Friday. Deputy Minister of foreign affairs of Armenia Mr. Shavarsh Kocharyan doesnt exclude US policy changes over the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict after Donald Trumps victory in the Presidential elections, however Kocharyan says drastic steps and turns arent likely. November 23, 2016, 14:47 Deputy FM Kocharyan says US unlikely to change policy on NK conflict Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app. Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006. Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more. Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them. 26 years of website archives. has put in Rs 31.6 crore in Stellaris Venture Partners, an early-stage venture firm founded by former Helion Advisors partners, the second such move in a venture capital firm through its $500-million innovation fund. Last year, it had invested in Silicon Valley-based Vertex Ventures that looks at picking up stake and mentoring early-stage technology firms. Stellaris, founded by Alok Goyal, Ritesh Banglani and Rahul Chowdhri, aims to back entrepreneurs building applications for global businesses, Indian small enterprises, and consumer-focused firms in verticals such as financial services, retail, healthcare and education. The innovation fund, which has a total corpus of $500 million, focuses on start-ups that work in emerging technologies. Chief executive Vishal Sikka recently said the company would continuously focus on building new capabilities as the industry as a whole witnessed a major shift from traditional technologies to emerging technologies such as cloud. Last week, invested Rs 14.5 crore in Denmark-based artificial intelligence start-up UNSILO through the same fund. Infosys said it would have better access to new entrepreneurs through its investment in Stellaris and the firm is better positioned to tap the rapid growth in Indias start-up ecosystem. The Stellaris team has significant experience working in global technology companies and a strong track record in venture capital, with investments made in firms such as TaxiForSure, BigBasket and others. We believe Stellaris with its extensive operational and domain expertise in enterprise software and services in both India and the US is uniquely positioned to leverage Indias capital efficient talent pool, said Ritika Suri, global head of corporate development and ventures at Infosys. The investment is expected to be completed by December 15. Alok Goyal, co-founder at Stellaris, said technology expertise and worldwide footprint of Infosys would be crucial for Stellaris portfolio companies. The Karnataka government has directed taxi operators and drivers plying with and Ola in the state to acquire either a state or city taxi permit after a High Court verdict backed its decision to regulate cab aggregators. The state has asked all cabs with All India Tourist Taxi permits to surrender them immediately as per Karnataka's rules for taxi aggregators. On November 10, the court had ruled in favour of Karnataka's On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules which had contested saying it was unconstitutional. Ousted chairman of Tata Sons Cyrus Mistry on Tuesday said several decisions by his predecessor Ratan Tata were taken primarily to satisfy his ego and this resulted in huge financial losses for the Tata group. Mistry also said Ratan Tata had planned to sell the groups current cash cow and India's largest software exporter TCS to IBM in its initial years but his proposal was rejected by JRD Tata on advice from FC Kohli, who helped set up the company. F C Kohli, the 92-year-old former chief executive and deputy chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has debunked the charges made by ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry that his predecessor Ratan Tata wanted to put on block Indias largest technology services company. Nusli Wadia, an independent director on the boards of Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors and Tata Steel, served yet another notice against Tata Sons, asking the Tata group holding company to withdraw its special notice to Tata Motors to remove him from the companys board. STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 23, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: The only expectation was that such meetings to be productive. And we can judge on the effectiveness from the perspective that up to now there is no progress in the negotiation process. Moreover, at the moment it is impossible to expect progress as long as the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg are not implemented, the Deputy FM said. He said it is impossible to expect progress in the negotiation process as long as there is a threat of war, as long as there is no trust between the sides, as long as there are fires, provocations in the line of contact. This is the reality that has been recorded in Vienna after the April war and talks are necessary to hold on this path in order for the 1994 termless ceasefire agreement to come into force. I would like to recall that the idea of installing investigative mechanisms for incidents in the line of contact is not a new. It is Azerbaijans international obligation since there was already a talk on this mechanism in the 1995 trilateral agreement. It is obvious every ceasefire must include that element in order for the ceasefire to be maintained, Shavarsh Kocharyan said. As many as 5,59,264 were issued this year by authorities for unauthorised parking in the capital, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said this in a written reply to a question on some roads in New Delhi area which have been "turned into parking lots". "Delhi Police has reported that regular action is taken by them against improper/obstructive/unauthorised parking of motor vehicles. Cranes are effectively utilised to tow away such vehicles which are found hampering the smooth movement of traffic," he said. "5,59,264 were issued in 2016 till November 15 for obstructive or improper parking of motor vehicles, while 1,43,220 vehicles were towed away, and 29,119 vehicles were clamped," Ahir said in the reply. With reference to Chelmsford Road, the Minister said the "Delhi Police has reported that 7,675 have been issued, 682 vehicles have been towed away, and 124 notices have been pasted against obstructive/improper parking of motor vehicles," during the same period. To a question on whether the government has undertaken any study on the problems and impact on the drivers due to such encroachment, he said, "All the three municipal corporations of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Council have informed that as per available record, no study on the problems and impact on the drivers due to encroachment have been carried out by them. "Ministry of Defence has informed that Defence Forces have not forcibly occupied any road in DIZ Area and converted into vehicular parking lot," he said in reply to another question. The minister in reply to a question relating to toll-free helpline of lodging civic complaints related to areas falling in NDMC and SDMC jurisdictions, said, the Delhi government has "further informed that no complaints relating to instances of misuse of power and negligence on the part of the government officials/staff is received on the above toll-free number". has been made mandatory for students appearing for JEE (Main) in 2017. According to a notice issued by the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development (MHRD), will be required by the students during filling the application form. The (IAF) has accorded initial operational clearance (IOC) to the upgraded Jaguar after its deputy chief flew the attack aircraft here, the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) said on Wednesday. "Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria gave the IOC to the upgraded Jaguar Darin-III twin-seat aircraft after flying it here recently," said the defence behemoth in a statement. As part of the IAF's modernisation plan, HAL is upgrading about 120 of the IAF's four-decade-old Anglo-French-built fighters, which can carry nuclear weapons like the French Mirage 2000s. "The Jaguar upgrade is one of the best for data handling and overall capabilities," said Bhadauria after flying it with test pilot Wing Commander V. Prabhakaran as co-pilot from HAL's airport in the city's eastern suburb. The upgradation includes Jaguar's cockpit being fitted with autopilots, next generation avionics and lethal armaments at an estimated cost of Rs 3,000 crore to enhance its operational life till 2030. The Jaguar fleet of the IAF is based at the Ambala air force station in the northwest state of Punjab. HAL's mission and combat system research and design centre developed the system requirement capture, software, hardware, electrical and mechanical equipment to modify the vintage fighter and extend its life. "The Jaguar is equipped with world-class avionics system and has open system architecture mission computer, engine and flight instrument system, fire control radar inertia, navigation system with GPS and geodetic height correction," said HAL Chairman and Managing Director T. Suvarna Raju in the statement. Besides HAL, certification agencies, trial team of the Aircraft Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) and other agencies were involved in upgrading the Jaguar to Darin-III from Darin-1 standard. The upgrade includes digital video recording system, flight data recorder, smart multi-function display, radio altimeter with 20,000 feet range and friend or foe identification facility. Panjab University is looking forward to Manmohan Singh's visit as his interaction with students will be a source of "inspiration" to them, its Vice Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover said on Wednesday, a day after a Parliamentary Committee paved the way for the former prime minister accepting a teaching assignment there. Singh cannot be disqualified as a Rajya Sabha member if he joins his alma mater, the Panjab University, which has offered him a prestigious teaching assignment, said the Joint Committee on Office of Profit. Grover has welcomed the development, the University's Director Public Relations Vineet Punia said. "The University is looking forward to his visit at PU (Panjab University). His interaction with the students and the faculty would be a source of inspiration to all at PU," added the Vice Chancellor. Panjab University had offered Chair Professorship to Singh as also some other personalities, Punia said. Soon after receiving the offer of Jawaharlal Nehru Chair Professorship from the University, Singh had approached the Rajya Sabha Chairman in July seeking advice as to whether accepting the position will attract disqualification under the provisions of Article 102(1)(a) of the Constitution for holding an 'office of profit'. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Army on Wednesday resorted to heavy shelling and firing at Indian posts along the line of control (LoC) in the Jammu region. Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate since 9 am on Indian Army posts along the LoC in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Naushera sectors of Poonch and Rajouri districts, Defence spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta told IANS. "They are using 120 mm mortars and automatics to target our positions, our posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply," he added. The latest comes a day after three Indian army soldiers were killed in a border action team (BAT) operation along the LoC in Machil sector of the Kashmir Valley. The body of one of the three slain soldiers was mutilated. Indian army has vowed retribution against the "cowardly act by Pakistan army". The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response of all the petitioners, who have challenged the move in different high courts, on a plea by the Centre seeking transfer of all these matters to either the apex court or one of the high courts. However, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur refused the Centre's request to stay the proceedings pending before various high courts, saying people may get "immediate relief" from them. "We don't want to stay it. There are various issues. People may get immediate relief from the high courts," the Bench also comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao told Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi. During the hearing, the Bench asked the AG, "We think you must have taken appropriate steps. What is the situation now? How much have you collected so far?" Responding to it, the AG said the situation is "much better" and more than Rs 6 lakh crores have been deposited so far in the banks since the move. "More than Rs 6 lakh crores have been deposited so far," the AG said, adding, "There is a big surge in digital use of money transaction." He said the move was aimed at removing the 70 years of "slush money" and the government is monitoring the situation day-by-day and hour-by-hour. He told the Bench that government has set up a committee which will take stock of the ground situation across the country on demonetisation move. Rohatgi told the apex court that general rule is that the cash transactions in the market should not be more than four per cent of the GDP but it is 12 per cent in India. Rohatgi told the Bench that various petitions have been filed challenging the demonetisation move before different high courts across the country and these matters should be transferred to the apex court or one of the high courts. The Bench has fixed the matter for December 2 and has directed the persons who are petitioners before different high courts to file their response on Centre's transfer plea by then. The apex court had on November 18 dubbed as a "serious issue" the long queues outside banks and post offices and expressed its reservation on the Centre's plea seeking a direction that no other court in the country should entertain petitions challenging the November 8 notification demonetising Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes. It had made the remarks after the AG submitted that any matter relating to challenge to the demonetisation issue be heard by the apex court only. However, the bench noted that people were facing difficulties saying, they are affected and have the right to approach the courts. The bench had questioned the relief measures undertaken by the Centre and asked why it had squeezed the exchange limit to Rs 2,000. The AG had then explained the situation by stating that after printing, the currency has to be moved to thousands of centres across the country and ATMs have to be re-calibrated. He had also said that Rs 100 notes are in circulation and the ATMs needed to be re-calibrated to issue new currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000. The Centre had moved the apex court on November 17 seeking a stay on the proceedings before various high courts and other courts except the apex court against demonetisation issue, saying otherwise it will create a lot of confusion. The apex court had on November 15 refused to stay the government's demonetisation notification, but asked it to spell out the steps taken to minimise public inconvenience. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a televised address to the nation on November 8, had announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes will no longer be legal tender from November 9. He had said the government has declared a "decisive war" against black money and corruption. Prices of government bonds, finite in supply, are shooting up, as banks are struggling to invest the huge amount of excess deposits coming their way. The operationalisation of the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEI) between India and Switzerland may potentially be a boon for all Indian account holders in various Swiss banks. The implementation of this agreement is fraught with loopholes that allow Indian account holders to move to other tax havens across the world before the Indian government even begins to get their information. Since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) began governing in May 2014, two defence ministers, Arun Jaitley and Manohar Parrikar, have promised --- the latter repeatedly --- a blacklisting policy that penalises arms vendors for corruption; without reducing procurement choices by narrowing down the field of vendors. Ms Sawang said the money hadn't been accounted for in the 2016 Budget and the mistake needed to be fixed. Ex Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Kessy Sawang, a candidate for next year's national election, said the budget papers show the government spending is out by about 10 billion kina. A FORMER senior Papua New Guinea public servant and political candidate claims she has uncovered a multi-billion dollar mistake in the government's 2016 budget which she says amounts to an unbelievable breach of the Constitution. "It comes back to whether the government was aware of this but didn't do anything about it," she told the ABC's Pacific Beat. Ms Sawang said the discrepancy meant the PNG National Government had engaged in unlawful spending. "If they were aware of this and didn't do anything, actually they're saying that they don't care about us people.' she said. Ms Sawang told the ABC the government ignored her when she pointed out the budget was underfunded by around 40%. She said parliament should have immediately passed a supplementary budget to cover the missing K10 billion. "It's very important for the government to realise that if the parliament hasn't approved the expenditure then technically that expenditure is unlawful, it's illegal." Paul Flanagan, a former PNG treasury advisor and director of consultancy firm PNG Economics, said that, while the hole was difficult to explain, it was most likely an error rather than a deliberate misappropriation. Mr Flanagan said failing to correct it sets a precedent in which the executive may consider it does not always need parliamentary approval for expenditure. The first in the government to take up the Maggi controversy while going against the regulator, Food Processing Minister has been in the news lately for trying to get in foreign investment in food retail. Badal spoke to Nivedita Mookerji on several issues ranging from FDI to demonetisation. Edited excerpts: The Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down the central government's plea of staying all petitions challenging its November 8 decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. This is the third time that apex court has refused to stay proceedings in the matter. An interim forensic report on the biggest data theft in the country in which 3.2 million cards were exposed to danger has said there was a compromise in the systems of Hitachi Payments Services, which runs and manages ATM network. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sudden ban on old high-value currency has notes caught investors across the globe off guard, just as Republican nominee Donald Trump's sweeping win in the US Presidential election. So, they are willing to cautiously wait before embarking on any new investment, says Raj Balakrishnan. According to the head of India Investment Banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, "investors would wait for clarity on the policy direction for the US". On demonetisation, Balakrishnan says, "It will have some short-term impact, but it will create a conducive environment for foreigners to invest in India. While discussing issues pertaining to fund raising with Vishal Chhabria and Hamsini Karthik, Balakrishnan clarified that his job as a banker is to bring fundamentally good companies to the market and he is not bothered with short-term stock movements". Aftermath of Indian Armys Punitive Fire Assaults: Pak DGMO Requests for Unscheduled Talks on Hotline In an unscheduled Hot Line interaction requested for by Pakistan, Indian Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh spoke to his counterpart this evening. Pak DGMO informed of civilian casualties on Pak side by Indian firing along the Line of Control. Lt Gen Ranbir Singh expressed grief at Pak civilian casualties but emphatically stated that retaliatory firing by Indian troops has only been carried out targeting locations from where Pakistan has initiated cease fire violations on Indian Posts. Lt Gen Ranbir Singh expressed his concerns to Pak DGMO on casualties caused to Indian civilians and soldiers due to unprovoked Pak firing. Indian DGMO further raised the issue of infiltration attempts by terrorists from Pak side into J&K and the un-ethical act of mutilation of the body of Indian soldiers close to the Line of Control by terrorists infiltrating from Pakistan. Pak DGMO was exhorted to exercise strict control on their troops to refrain from any nefarious activities. This would lead to return of normalcy along Line of Control. However, he was categorically informed that if any cease fire violations were initiated by Pak troops or any infiltration attempts were made by terrorists from Pak Occupied Kashmir or territory under its control, it would invite an appropriate response by Indian Army. Col Rohan Anand, SM PRO (Army) Enquiry about unrest in Jammu and Kashmir The activities of disruptive elements, including militants and the separatists creating unrest are kept under regular surveillance by the law enforcing agencies and action is taken in accordance with the provisions of law. To bring normalcy in Kashmir valley after the civil unrest since 8th July, 2016, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister have regularly reviewed the security situation in J&K. The Prime Minister also held an All Party meeting and Home Minister has visited Srinagar 2 times and met the Governor, Chief Minister, all the political parties, various organizations and Associations as well as the senior officials. Home Minister also led an All Party Delegation on 4-5 September, 2016 to Srinagar and Jammu that met the Governor, Chief Minister, various cross sections of people of the State including all the political parties, various organizations and Associations as well as the senior officials. Distribution of Essential Commodities like food grains, sugar, milk, fruits, vegetables, LPG, kerosene, petrol etc. was ensured to meet the needs of public at large. Sufficient stock of Essential Commodities was maintained in the Valley. Availability of Doctors/Para-medics, Medicines, Ambulances, Blood Banks etc. was maintained round the clock, team of doctors from AIIMS was also sent. The regular medical services were continued unabated. Additional companies of Central Armed Police Forces were also deployed to support the State Police. State Police has also registered 2513 FIRs in which 4372 accused were arrested. Further 2548 persons were bound down or detained. Also 525 notices under section 25 of Police Act were served. 472 persons were also detained under Public Safety Act including militants, Over Ground Workers (OGWs), Separatists, Stone pelters, instigators, criminals and others. The Government has encouraged policies to mainstream the youth, including providing employment opportunities to wean them away from militancy. Recently Government has also approved the following schemes for the employment of youths of J&K: (I)Engagement of additional 10,000 SPOs in the State. (II)Vacancies of 1206 Constables/GDs of CAPFs and Assam Rifles. (III)About 4300 posts of Constables/GDs for raising of 5 India Reserve Battalions in J&K. Besides, the following two schemes are under implementation: (I) Special Industry Initiative (SII)-Udaan to enhance skill and employability of Graduates and three year Engineering Diploma holders and under the scheme, nearly 23,676 candidates have joined training with Corporate of whom 16,576 have been trained and more than 9,500 offered placement. (II) Skill Empowerment & Employment Scheme (Himayat) - to provide options and opportunities to School/college dropouts for salaried or self employment and under the scheme 68,910 candidates have been trained and 51,895 placed in Food retail chain, BPOs, Retail Mart, Electricity, Pharma Sales Assistant, Physician Assistant etc. This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir in written reply to a question by Shri Amar Singh in the Rajya Sabha today. Group of youth from Nagaland call on MoS (Home) Shri Kiren Rijiju A group of 16 students from Zunheboto district of Nagaland attending the National Integration Tour, organised by the 5th Assam Rifles, called on the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju here today. The tour is being organized from 19th -26th November, 2016. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Kiren Rijiju complimented the Assam Rifles of the National Integration Tour for giving children from the remote region an opportunity to visit the national capital and other historic cities to discover the grandeur of India. While interacting with the youth, Shri Kiren Rijiju said that this is a good initiative taken by the Assam Rifles. He said that in future also, these youth should be engaged by direct/indirect means such as skill development oriented activities. Shri Rijiju said that these days most of the jobs are skill-oriented, so the youth should enable themselves with the skills to gain employment. The Government of India has initiated various schemes for skill development and youth should take advantage of it, he added. He also asked Assam Rifles to help youth in this regard. Shri Kiren Rijiju said that it is a good exposure for the youth and develops the feeling of brotherhood among the youth. He also emphasized that peace is very essential for the industrialization to succeed and the mindset of youth needs to be changed so that their energies are engaged in the skill development and employment-oriented activities. The aim of the tour is to promote harmony and awareness. The tour is aimed at integrating the youth with the nation and promoting concept of unity in diversity. Till now, the youth have visited places like Red Fort, Rajghat, Pragati Maidan, India Gate, Metro, National Museum, Janpath and NSG Centre, Manesar. Impact of WTO deliberations on services A two-day informal mini-Ministerial meeting of Trade Ministers was organized by Norway in Oslo on 21-22 October 2016. Ministers and officials from 25 member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Director General of the WTO attended the meeting. The meeting was convened to discuss the way forward in the WTO, including possible issues for the Eleventh Ministerial Conference of the WTO to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in December 2017. At the meeting, India highlighted the centrality of the development dimension of the Doha Round of trade negotiations in the WTO, the need to work on issues of special interest to developing countries and to prioritize the implementation of Ministerial Decisions adopted at the previous WTO Ministerial Conferences held in Bali and Nairobi, in 2013 and 2015 respectively. India stressed the importance of ensuring adequate policy space for developing countries in the negotiations and underlined, inter alia, the need for creating a level playing field for developing countries in agricultural trade by addressing inequities and distortions which are threatening the livelihood of millions of poor farmers across the world. The Ministers also discussed potential issues on which outcomes could be achieved by the next Ministerial Conference in 2017 and beyond, and the ways to develop convergence on such outcomes. They reaffirmed the importance of implementing the outcomes of the Ministerial Conferences held in Bali and Nairobi. They agreed that it is important that the WTOs negotiating function continue to deliver meaningful outcomes and discussed the need to maintain the relevance of the multilateral trading system and to find ways to update the system in line with developments in the global economy. Ministers put development at the centre of discussions and also highlighted the need to view issues in light of the interests and concerns of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Given the increasing importance of trade in services for the world as a whole and for India in particular, India has taken the initiative to launch discussions on a Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement at the WTO, as a services counterpart of the goods-specific Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). A TFS Agreement will address the key issues that are pertinent to facilitating trade in services. India circulated a communication titled 'Concept Note for an Initiative on Trade Facilitation in Services' at the WTO, which was discussed by the WTO Members on 6 October 2016. Indias initial submission on the Concept Note was followed by a more detailed communication on Possible Elements of a TFS Agreement to WTO members on 14 November 2016. The submissions by India detail the rationale behind the initiative for a TFS Agreement and the possible constituent elements of a TFS Agreement. This information was given by the Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today. Indian Warship Shardul visits Port Victoria In a demonstration of Indias commitment to its ties with Seychelles and to promote maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, Indian Naval Ship Shardul has arrived at Port Victoria on a three day visit. INS Shardul, an amphibious ship of the Indian Navy, is currently on a month long deployment in the Southern Indian Ocean in keeping with the vision of SAGAR Security and Growth for All in the Region. Accordingly, the Indian Navy will be progressing maritime security cooperation with Seychelles Coast Guard towards ensuring a secure and stable regional maritime environment for unhindered economic development in the region. INS Sharduls visit is part of its mission to carry out surveillance in the Seychelles EEZ with SCG personnel embarked onboard. During the deployment, INS Shardul would also assist local authorities in providing logistics and medical support to the outer islands of Seychelles. Calls on senior Government and military authorities, training and technical cooperation measures with SCG, sporting and cultural interactions, aimed at strengthening ties and mutual understanding between the two forces, are also planned. At the helm of the ship is the Commanding Officer, Commander Abhishek Kumar who is assisted by a team of professional and highly motivated men of the Indian Navy. The deployment adds another chapter to the strong defence and maritime cooperation between India and Seychelles. The Indian Navy regularly undertakes surveillance missions in the Seychelles EEZ, by deploying IN ships and aircraft, based on request by the Government of Seychelles. The current year has seen two such deployments, the first by the state-of-the-art, P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft in March 2016 and the second by Indian Naval Ship Trikand in July 2016. In addition, ships of the Western Fleet had visited Port Victoria in August 2016, during their deployment to the Western Indian Ocean. The current visit seeks to strengthen the strong bonds of friendship between India and Seychelles and contribute to peace and maritime security in the region. DKS/AC Ministry of Urban Development finalizes Real Estate Rules for Delhi Delhi Government, municipal bodies, other stakeholders consulted Rules same as notified earlier for Union Territories without Legislatures Ministry of Urban Development has finalized the Real Estate General Rules and Rules for Agreement for Sale for the National Capital Territory of Delhi as required under the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016. Minister Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu approved these Rules, which have been formulated after consultations with the Delhi Government, New Delhi Municipal Council, three Municipal Corporations of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority and other stakeholders. These Rules will be notified by the 27th of this month, the extended date in this regard. The Real Estate Rules applicable to Delhi are the same as notified on October 31 this year by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation for the five Union Territories without Legislatures. They, however, provide clarity on some aspects like litigation details to be published on website, provision for quality audit of projects and flexibility in agreement for sale. Regarding publication of litigation details pertaining to the promoter on website, it has been specified such details in respect of litigations disposed of by the concerned court in the past five years in respect of projects developed or being developed may be published on website. This has been considered since a promoter may not have complete information about various cases filed, at the time of providing such information to Regulatory Authorities. Delhi Rules also provide for Regulatory Authorities to undertake third party quality audit of real estate projects registered with them, to ensure quality of construction, services etc., of the project in the interest of buyers. With regard to the Rules for Agreement for Sale between the buyer and the promoter, flexibility has been proposed so as to include other elements or features besides the apartment, plot, garage, parking, if required. This has been provided to address special contingencies relating to the nature of projects to be taken up or the needs of buyers. Under Section 2(g) of the Real Estate Act, Ministry of Urban Development has been mandated with the responsibility of making Rules for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. AAR The government wanted the changes to be approved so that they will come into effect in time for the 2017 National Election in May-June. TIPNG chairman Lawrence Stephens (pictured) condemned the proposed changes which will be tabled in parliament in January. TIPNG is concerned about the proposed increase in election petition fees from K1,000 to K20,000, the increase in nomination from K1,000 to K10,000 and the campaign period being reduced from eight to four weeks. CORRUPTION watchdog Transparency International PNG has condemned proposed changes to election laws describing them as undemocratic and unconstitutional. Another change proposed to the election law by the National Executive Council is the increase in local level government nomination fees from K200 to K1,000. The democratic rights of all Papua New Guineans will be damaged if proposed legislative changes to election laws are enacted by Parliament, Mr Stephens warned. TIPNG sees the proposals as undermining the principle of equality for all. They will severely reduce the rights of citizens to participate in future elections. Mr Stephens said there has been national concern expressed at news of the proposed tenfold increase in the nomination fee for intending candidates from K1,000 to K10,000. The laws of PNG must not be available only to those with cash. We must protect the rights of all citizens regardless of their access to cash, said Mr Stephens. The right to stand for public office is enshrined in Section 50 of the National Constitution and should be protected so as to ensure equal participation in our democracy. Previous governments attempts at increasing the fee have been rightly challenged by the courts as being unconstitutional, Mr Stephens said. TIPNG said it is particularly concerned by the proposal to impose a K20,000 fee for filing election petitions. Mr Stephens said this created a barrier for citizens wishing to demand justice during elections. TIPNG called on the National Executive Council, Parliament, PNG Electoral Commission and all arms of government to insist on the protection of citizens rights to participate equally in free and fair elections both as voters and as candidates. No Proposal to acquire GSPC by ONGC The Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply today that there is no proposal to acquire Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) by ONGC. However, in one such area, namely, KG-OSN-2001/1, allotted to GSPC and its Joint Venture partners, GSPC has approached ONGC for framing out certain stake. Towards this a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between ONGC and GSPC on 04th October, 2016. YB/ Rk Regulator for Monitoring Safety Defects of Cars Pursuant to the reports in the media regarding violation of emission norms by the Volkswagen Automobile Manufacturer, a report on Conformity of Production (COP) for the said vehicle was called for from the Testing Agencies. Thereafter on the basis of report obtained by the Testing Agencies, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has constituted a panel of experts comprising Professors from IIT Delhi, IIP Dehradun and IIT, Mumbai on 28.03.2016 to investigate the findings. Car models to be sold in India are tested as per the Standards notified under Central Motor Vehicles Rules. It is the responsibility of the vehicle manufacturers to produce the vehicle in compliance to the notified standards. Testing agencies, on behalf of Government of India, carry out verification of such compliance through the process called Conformity of Production (COP). This information was given by Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Shri Babul Supriyo in reply to a written question in the Rajya Sabha today. Research Project in Gujarat Sewage Sludge generated at various sewage treatment plants in towns and cities produce highly infectious sewage sludge which could spread diseases. However, it is also a good source of carbon and other elemental nutrients useful for growth of plants. Radiation technology can be utilized to hygienise sludge and make it safer and a useful product for farmers and other land applications. Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) have commenced the implementation of 100 tons per day irradiation facility for dry Sewage Sludge Hygienisation at Ahmedabad after obtaining all statutory approvals from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). The project is scheduled to commence the commercial production in the last quarter of 2017. BARC is providing all technical and scientific support. BARC is already operating a demonstration sludge hygienisation facility in Vadodara since 1994 and supplying hygienised sewage sludge to local farmers. BARC has also undertaken project and demonstrated the use of radiation grafted materials for cleaning textile dye effluents. Pilot scale facilities which are under fabrication will be installed in Ahmedabad and Surat for demonstration and evaluation of performance and economics. BARC has provided technical support for implementation of NISARGRUNA biogas plant at Gajarawadi, Vadodara for processing of carcass of dead animals in the premises of Vadodara Municipal Corporation. Funds for the NISARGRUNA project were provided by Vadodara Municipal Corporation. BARC provided technical guidance. Funds for setting up of dry sludge hygienisation project at Ahmedabad will be provided by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. BARC will provide scientific and technical support. Radiation Source will be provided by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). BARC through Board of Research in Nuclear Science (BRNS) has also funded about Rs17.30 lakh to Directorate of Groundnut Research, Junagadh for groundnut research project. This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today. Threshold Limit for Coverage under ESIC The Government, in principle, decided to enhance the threshold limit of wage for coverage under the Employees State Insurance (ESI) Act, 1948 from existing Rs.15,000/- pm to Rs. 21,000/- pm. For this purpose, a Notification had been issued on 06.10.2016 inviting suggestion/objections from all stakeholders. As on 31.03.3016, the number of Insured Persons(IPs) under ESI Scheme were 2.14 crores. The additional number of IPs on account of wage revision are estimated to be 35 Lakhs. The ESI Corporation has taken a number of decisions to absorb the increased number of workers under its net like- Increasing hospital bed strength of ESI Hospitals by 50%, if the bed occupancy of the concerned hospital has been consistently more than 70% in last three financial years. Up-gradation of its dispensaries into 6 & 30 bedded hospitals in a phased manner. Partnering with private medical practitioners & private clinics for providing healthcare facilities in those areas where ESI does not have them. This information was given by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (IC) for Labour and Employment, in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today. Transferring Haj Affairs The work related to Management of Haj Pilgrimage, including administration of the Haj Committee Act, 1959 (51 of 1959) and the rules made thereunder has been transferred from Ministry of External Affairs to Ministry of Minority Affairs from 1st October, 2016. Cabinet Secretariat has amended The Government of India (Allocation of Business Rules), 1961" vide their Notification dated 19.09.2016. Consultations with Haj Committees and State Government representatives are held from time to time. The last such meeting with State Haj Committees was organized by Haj Committee of India on 24.10.2016 in Mumbai This information was given by Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the Minister of State (IC) for Minority Affairs, in reply to a question in Lok Sabha today. United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said the US will quit the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal on his first day in the White House. The mega trade deal involves 12 Pacific rim nations including major economies like Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. With a collective population of about 800 million, almost double that of the European Union's single market, the bloc currently accounts for 40 per cent of world trade. While the free trade deal will see tariffs slashed between member nations to boost falling trade, sections within the US has argued it will further accelerate the slide in American jobs and production. Guessing that Trump does not go back on his decision, something he is known to do, India stands to benefit in a plethora of ways if does not materialise. Here are a few of them:- 1) Access to lucrative US market to be cut for India's export competitors: The positioned textile manufacturer Vietnam and information technology outsourcing powerhouse the Philippines in a favourable position to get access to the high-value American market. India's domestic textile industry has been continuously eclipsed by nations like Bangladesh and Vietnam with cheaper production costs and aggressive marketing. "Of India's $40-billion of textile export, $9 billion goes to the US. If Vietnam gets greater market access, this figure will see a decline of $2-3 billion," says economist Atul Mishra from the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry. has finally confirmed that she will run for reappointment as German chancellor in the countrys 2017 parliamentary elections. Many have hoped for this moment, despite the setbacks of the past few years. There is a strong sense that the world needs Merkel now more than ever. She has made some unpopular decisions in her 11 years as chancellor but she is, to many, the antithesis of Donald Trump. President-elect Donald J Trump on Tuesday tempered some of his most extreme campaign promises, dropping his vow to jail Hillary Clinton, expressing doubt about the value of torturing terrorism suspects and pledging to have an open mind about climate change. When Patrick Maguire first showed his Tasmanian whisky in Paris over a decade ago, he struggled to convince European connoisseurs to taste it. Theyd wouldnt make eye contact and would walk straight past, said Maguire. The attitude when we turned up was thats very nice, but its not Scotch. Now the world is coming to Maguire after his Sullivans Cove French Oak Cask was named the worlds best single malt in 2014, the first time a distillery outside Scotland or Japan won the award. He has a 6,000-litre ... US President-elect Donald Trump has picked South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who has little foreign policy experience and who sharply criticised him during his election campaign, for the high-profile post of US ambassador to the United Nations. AUBURN A third-year student at Cayuga Community College, 26-year-old Steve Brewer has accomplished more than a degree in business administration. In his time at CCC, the nontraditional LGBT student became the student government president at the Auburn campus and worked to bring back the Gay-Straight Alliance, something that fell apart a few years before he started his studies at the college. And he led the charge in tackling the transgender bathroom issue by persuading the administration to install a gender-neutral bathroom this summer. So when Brewer heard about SUNYCON, a conference addressing some of the issues currently facing higher education in New York state, he jumped at the chance to attend. Brewer wrote several essays about himself and what he plans to do with his SUNY education, and submitted them with his application to the 2016 Critical Issues in Higher Education Conference Series. "Ideally, I want to start a school for LGBT youth who are kicked out of their homes," he said, noting that he is in the process of earning a second degree in psychology. "I want to create a safe place for kids to finish their high school degrees and get into college so it doesn't disrupt their path." As it turned out, Brewer was one of 18 students selected across the entire SUNY system to take part in the conference, and on Oct. 26, he boarded his first bus to New York City. While the two-day conference focused on the relevance of higher education particularly public higher education it also dealt with diversity, communication and public safety matters, featuring several panels for the 18 student fellows to attend. But one issue stood out among the rest, Brewer said. "They had dozens of panels and seminars going on ... but the biggest (issue) was the affordability of higher education," he said. "SUNY is aware of the problem and they're looking at multiple ways of helping solve it. ... They're really pushing the government to do more funding for higher education to help subsidize it more." As seen in the conference's agenda, there were many panels on the "debt dialogue, promise programs and current budget climate," which discussed SUNY's fight for state and federal funding and whether or not public higher education should be universal and free. Another workshop on implicit bias stuck with Brewer, as two Tufts University professors explored race and LGBT issues. "They talked about how there's problems between races right now where we're not comfortable talking about race (with) someone of a different ethnicity," he said. In light of the recent election of Donald Trump as the country's next president, Brewer said he believes these issues could get worse. "I do see higher education still facing the same issues under Trump because I don't see him investing in it like SUNY was hoping for, and I do see a lot of race issues coming up," he said, recalling a recent incident at SUNY Geneseo in which graffiti of a swastika and the word "Trump" was discovered in a dorm on campus. "That makes me nervous because we just started to make progress with some of these issues. ... I don't want to see that falling back." Luckily, Brewer said, SUNY seems to be aware of the issues facing higher education and, based on his experience at the conference, the system including CCC is working hard to fix them. "I was surprised, with how big the system is, that SUNY is so in touch with a lot of the issues," he said. "They know what's going on in their system and they know a lot of these issues are coming up. ... And CCC, I think, will do its best to keep progress going." Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid has been asked by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to take steps to commence dialogue on Khaleda Zia's 13-point charter over forming a fresh Election Commission. "We urge the president to take Begum Khaleda Zia's proposals in concern and initiate dialogue to lift the country and its people from the prevailing crisis," The Daily Star quoted the BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir saying in a press briefing held at the BNP's Nayapaltan headquarters in Dhaka this afternoon. He said, the BNP will now write to the president in this regard as the party did not get a response for a request made through the military secretary to meet the president earlier. Ahead of the next general polls, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia had proposed for the formation and empowerment of the Election Commission. The Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad's term will end in February 2017 and a new election commissioner will oversee the next general elections However, Khaleda's proposals have been rejected by the ruling Awami League. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress Party on took out a protest march from the AICC office here this evening over the demonetisation of high-value currency notes and alleged that the nation is suffering courtesy Prime Minister Narendra Modi's declaration of economic emergency. Holding placards, scores of Congress workers and supporters gathered here to vent their ire against the government's move and raised slogans such as "Modi mitra kushal, janata behaal" and "Abki baar janata ki mehnat ki kamai par vaar". Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief Ajay Maken, who led the protest march towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, told the media that Prime Minister Modi is least bothered about the poor and lower income groups. "We are raising our voice for the poor people as they are the one suffering most after the government's move. Everyone is suffering due to the Prime Minister's move but he is not at all concerned for the poor," he said, adding the Prime Minister must put forth his views regarding this issue in Parliament. Maken further said the protest is aimed at making the Prime Minister aware of the difficulties faced by the people, adding this decision has nothing to do with bringing back black money. Another Congress leader P.C. Chacko alleged that this "economic emergency" is causing hardship to lakhs of people across the nation. Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that Prime Minister Modi is following a feudal landlord system whereby he is snatching the earnings of the poor. "After coming to power, this government has paid no heed to the grievances of the people. This government has lost its credibility in the eyes of the general public and if credentials are lost then everything is lost. This government has courtesy this move brought in a feudal landlord system whereby the earnings of the poor are being snatched," said Banerjee during the protest at the Jantar Mantar here. Mamata is presently staging a sit-in protest at the Jantar Mantar here pressing Prime Minister Modi to rollback the policy in view of inconvenience caused to the general public. For the fifth day of the Winter Session, the Parliament could not transact any substantial business due to uproar over demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes as both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments amid allegations and counter-allegation by the members of opposition and treasury benches. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the government is ready for discussion on the issue. However, he also expressed concern of the repeated adjournment of the Parliament due to protest of the opposition. Earlier, Congress leader Anand Sharma alleged that the government has created financial anarchy in the country with their demonetisation move. CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the government is answerable to the House and Parliament is answerable to the people. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, while leaving the Parliament, said the grand old party wants a debate under the adjournment motion and the government is scared to allow that. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The past couple of weeks have been eventful for the country. While citizens are struggling to make peace with the decision to demonetise Rs.500 and Rs.1000 currency notes, and are queuing up in long lines to withdraw their own money legitimately from their bank accounts, politicians in the opposition are alleging that the government is helping influential people to settle their bad debts and unaccounted for cash. The State Bank of India (SBI), the largest public sector lender, earlier this week decided to wave-off the loans of willful defaulters. This amounts to a staggering Rs 7,016 crores, for as many as 63 defaulters! And amongst these, the 'King of Good Times', Vijay Mallya, managed to 'steal' the show yet again, literally. With an outstanding of almost Rs 1,201 crores, Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines headed the list of generosity extended by the State Bank of India. With the opposition uniting in what it has termed as a mockery of the the common man's plight, who is struggling to cope up with this abrupt change, while the rich and famous get away with their defaults?, entrepreneur and Congress supporter, Tehseen Poonawalla, has reportedly decided to move court against this decision of the SBI. While Poonawalla was unavailable for comment, but sources close to him confirmed the action. "Mr.Poonawalla has repeatedly said that demonetisation is the biggest scam of the Modi government. By wiping out the 1000 and 500 rupee notes and forcing people to deposit it in banks and not allowing them to withdraw their own money in an unrestricted manner, the government is ensuring that the RBI balance its books by writing off the almost six lakh crores NPAs (Non-Performing Assets) of all banks. Almost all of these NPAs are of influential people who are supporters of the Modi government. And after the SBI's call to write off loans of key willful defaulters, including that of Vijay Mallya, it is more than evident that the Modi government holds a soft corner for the defaulter, while the poor continues to suffer," said Farz Khan, his spokesperson. Another source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Poonawalla plans to file plea against the write off to Vijay Mallya and make both the SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya and the Ministry of Finance parties to his petition. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday accused the opposition parties of creating contempt of Parliament by not allowing the debate on demonetisation and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken this radical, bold and revolutionary step of fighting against corruption and black money in the interest of the nation. "You have not been allowing the debate to take place, you have been asking for the presence of the Prime Minister. He came as per his responsibilities. You don't allow the debate to go on. What is the explanation you give to the people of the country? Secondly, you are now saying that ten parties have come together. What is your strength? What is you mandate of the people? Where do you stand?" he asked. Naidu said the ruling BJP at the Centre is a protector of the poor of the country. "We represent the poor of the country. We polled maximum number of votes; we got maximum number of seats. We have the highest number of Scheduled Caste MPs. We have the highest number of Scheduled Tribe MPs. We have the highest number of Backward Caste MPs. We have the highest number of Kisan MPs. We have the highest number of Rural MPs. We represent the poor of the country and we have protected the interest of the poor," Naidu told the media here. "Keeping in view the interest of the poor and the middle-class and the lower middle-class, the Prime Minister has taken this radical, bold, revolutionary step of fighting against corruption and black money. This is a crusade against corruption and black money, the entire country is happy about it," he added. Naidu, however, admitted that there are some problems, which are being attended and addressed. "Everyday any problem that is coming to the notice of the government, the government is coming up with a solution," he said, adding that the recent surveys clearly indicate that the nation backs the government's demonetisation move. The Union Minister further said this is an attempt only to hoodwink the people's mandate. "And as far as the BJP is concerned, we are for debate, discussion and decision. We have been saying it from the beginning and same is the case now. Even in the recent by-elections also, the BJP's vote percentage and number of seats has gone up. We have snatched some seats from the Congress and then we have pushed the Communist Party into the third position in (West) Bengal," said Naidu. "We have pushed the Congress Party into the third position in Tripura and then BJP has improved its performance and then pushed the Congress Party in Arunachal also. In Assam also, we have gained at the expense of the Congress Party. The results are in our favour, the poor are in our favour and the country is in favour of the decision taken by the honourable Prime Minister," he added. The Union Minister's assertion came as a united opposition yet again cornered the government in Parliament over demonetisation. The Parliament was today adjourned for the day following uproar over demonetisation issue. When the House reassembled at noon after first adjournment, the opposition members including Congress, TMC, Left and RJD demanded discussion on the issue under relevant rule which entails voting. A united opposition today staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament against the demonetisation of high value currency notes. The major parties which participated in the protest are Congress, BSP, JD(U), TMC, AIADMK, NCP, Left, RJD and the Samajwadi Party. The MPs raised slogans and displayed posters against demonetisation. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi later told the media that Prime Minister Modi must come to Parliament and address the members over the government's decision to demonetise high value currency notes. Asserting that economy has been affected by the step, Gandhi demanded the setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the alleged selective leakage of the decision. He said that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the Chief Economic Advisor were not even consulted by Prime Minister Modi before considering the decision. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP-led NDA regime on Wednesday hit back at the opposition parties for their unwarranted protest against demonetisation and said there is no point of agitating on the streets when the matter can be resolved by discussion in Parliament. Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh urged the opposition to bring the matter to the floor of the House. "When the Parliament is in session then it would be better if we have a discussion on the floor of the House rather than protesting on the streets," said Singh. Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on his part ridiculed the opposition protest and said those agitating are raising questions on themselves. "We don't want to say it directly but only those people are protesting who have done wrong. This opposition of demonetisation does not make any sense," said Paswan. The Opposition parties on Wednesday put up a united front against the Centre over demonetisation, as they formed a giant human chain outside the Parliament chanting slogans and carrying placards, fervently demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in the House. The chain began from the entrance of the Parliament near the media stand and stretched across the Mahatma Gandhi statue. "The nation is standing in line and we are doing just that here," Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien, Janata Dal (United)'s Sharad Yadav, and the DMK's Kanimozhi were among the almost 200 Opposition MPs gathered in Parliament premises. "Not a surgical strike, but carpet bombing on people", "Stop the persecution of common people" and "Save poor people", were some of the slogans on the placards held by the leaders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda has become the latest victim of drive after the administration of the Kasturba Manipal Hospital in Mangaluru refused to accept old currency notes to clear pending bills for handing over the body of his brother. Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation Gowda's brother Bhaskar Gowda was receiving treatment in the hospital for severe jaundice for the last 10 days and breathed his last on Tuesday afternoon. When the Union Minister, accompanied by his family members, friends, arrived at the hospital to take the body, he cleared Rs 60, 000 pending bills with old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, which the hospital authorities declined to accept. When the hospital refused to accept, Gowda cited the Central government's directive, according to which hospitals have been asked to accept old currencies till November 24, but in vain. Thus, he asked the hospital management to give in writing that they would not accept the old currency notes. They finally accepted the payment through a cheque, refusing to give anything in writing. Upset by the attitude of the hospital administrators, the minister said an inquiry will be ordered. "The Central government has given clear directive that all private hospitals can accept old currency notes till November 24. If hospitals refuse to accept old notes, then the patients will face a lot of problems. The hospital's stance was not right," said Gowda. Pakistan Director General (SA & SAARC) Dr. Mohammad Faisal on Wednesday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh to register protest over alleged ceasefire violation by India. "He (Faisal) strongly condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations on 21 November 2016, by the Indian occupation Forces on the LoC (Jandrot, Nikial, Karela and Baroh sectors), resulting in shahadat of four innocent civilians and injuries to 10 others. He stated that the deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is deplorable," said a statement from Pakistan's Foreign Ministry. The Director General also condemned the violation of Pakistan's Maritime Exclusive Economic Zone by the Indian Naval Submarine on November 14, a charge that has been denied by India, in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He urged the Indian side to investigate the continued incidents of violations and instruct its forces to respect the ceasefire and international borders in letter and spirit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President's office has confirmed that it bought 360 Viagra pills to treat altitude sickness of presidential aides and employees during President Park Geun-hye trips to Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, as these nations were thousands of metres above sea level. As the revelation sparked frenzy across internet, the spokesman of the presidential Blue House, Jung Youn-kuk said the pills were not used. Viagra-style drugs are sometimes prescribed by South Korean doctors to climbers as they are supposed to be effective in preventing altitude sickness, reports the Guardian. These revelations come as Park is struggling with a massive political scandal. President Park is also accused of letting her confidante Choi Soon-sil, who does not hold an official government post, view confidential documents and presidential speeches. Local media and opposition parties have accused Choi of using her relationship with Park to accumulate millions of dollars in donations for her foundations. Opposition parties and some members of her own Saenuri party are pushing for an impeachment motion against Park. Offices of the Samsung Group and the state pension fund were raided by prosecutors on Wednesday as the electronics giant faces allegations that it had bribed Park's confidant Choi Soon-Sil to win state approval for a controversial merger it sought in 2015. Going hammer and thongs at the Centre over its "faulty" drive, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will on Wednesday stage a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar here at 12. Simultaneous protests will also be held across West Bengal, said sources, adding that the TMC has appealed to NGOs, charitable organisations, political parties, student groups, civil society representatives and others to join the protest against this "financial emergency". Before leaving for Delhi to participate in the sit-in, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday told reporters in Kolkata: "The TMC will protest against . Our party extends support to the united opposition. We will request all political parties and appeal to all farmers and shopkeepers to protest. The BJP will get a befitting reply from the people. They won't be able to get any votes this time. They were supposed to bring back black money from Swiss banks, but they have snatched away the white money of the common people." "This is a fight of the people and we need to make them win. If anybody wants to join us, I will welcome them. We will continue the protest till the matter is solved. The people will get justice. From tomorrow, we will launch a nation-wide political movement," she asserted. Addressing the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Modi said the of high value currency is just the beginning of his government's deep and continuous struggle against black money. He said such types of action will be continued to make India an honest economy. He said the decision is in the interest of the poor and the middle class. He added that his government is dedicated to eradicate the evil of black money and corruption which has affected the people for the last 70 years. Prime Minister Modi also sought the people's views on the decision to demonetise high value currency notes and asked everyone in a tweet, to take part in a survey about this on the Narendra Modi App. People can rate the decision to ban old notes on this App. The survey seeks the people's opinion on whether they believe black money exists in India, and whether they mind facing the inconvenience in fighting corruption, black money, and terrorism. The survey also seeks suggestions, ideas and insights on demonetisation from the general public. Speaking in the meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the entire country is welcoming the decision. He said the banning of high currency notes is a significant step taken by the NDA regime, adding it took a lot of courage to do so. The move will work as a catalyst to boost the digital economy, he added. The BJP Parliamentary Party also passed a unanimous resolution congratulating Prime Minister Modi for the demonetisation. Reading out the resolution, Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the demonetisation will hit the financial support of terror outfits. AUBURN Nearly 20 years ago, Chris Major had an idea. A police officer in the city of Auburn, Major had seen the negative effects of poverty on young people throughout the community. And, in 1998, he decided to do something about it, planning a simple party for local families. Now, nearly two decades later, Major's mission has gone beyond a backyard barbecue as his not-for-profit Majorpalooza Inc. runs a downtown Auburn festival every spring. And in the fall, it takes turkeys and trimmings to families in need. Majorpalooza partnered Wednesday with unions in Cayuga and Seneca counties to pack and deliver complete Thanksgiving dinners to more than 150 families. Despite a day off from school, several students volunteered to meet at Auburn Junior High School Wednesday morning to fill 110 bright orange bags with a traditional Thanksgiving feast something Auburn Police Local 195 and the Auburn Teacher's Union have helped sponsor for several years. "We started six years ago with 25 meals and we're up to more than 100 today," said Major, who is now a school resource officer with the Auburn Police Department. "Our motto is many small acts of kindness make a big difference." This year, Majorpalooza has made a difference in Seneca County as well, where Major's brother, Dave, organized a similar event with Seneca Falls Education Association and Seneca Falls Police Local 195SF to deliver another 50 meals. Teachers and police officers actually donate the turkeys while Majorpalooza provides most of the funds for the rest of the fixings, including cheese, crackers, biscuits, gravy, potatoes, stuffing, vegetables and a pie for dessert. "The social workers in the schools actually identify the families for us," Major said. "And the cool thing about it is, as school resource officers, we serve these children and their families every day so it's nice to do a little something extra around the holidays." David Oliver, the principal of Auburn Junior High School, agreed. "There are a lot of kids that are living in poverty and they need a helping hand during this time of year," he said. "We're just looking for ways we can help and there's just an unbelievable amount of support from the community to get some families a nice Thanksgiving dinner." And as Auburn's Deputy Police Chief Roger Anthony pointed out, the event has also been a great way to inspire other more privileged children to give back to their community. "I've been doing this a few years and the number of volunteers has gotten much larger, particularly in terms of the kids," Anthony said. "It's great to get kids in this kind of mindset at a young age so they can carry that on into their adult life." "We are taking the time to deliver something that others often take for granted," Auburn Police Chief Shawn Butler added. "It's important for us to realize that there may be someone who can't afford a dinner that we go home to tomorrow. ... So whatever we can do to help fill that void is great." Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is all set to be sidelined for 'weeks' after suffering a fresh injury to his knee, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed The 30-year-old, whose recent seasons were plagued by injuries, was taken off the field after being concussed during City's 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in their Premier League clash on Saturday. And now Guardiola insisted that the defender, who has recently returned to the squad following a four-month lay-off after undergoing groin and thigh surgery, suffered ligament damage to his knee. "He has a problem with his knee. He could be out for weeks. He's sad and I'm sad. It's a long time he doesn't play," Sport24 quoted Guardiola as saying. "He is in the best hands so he can recover as soon as possible. He will make the best treatment possible. The doctor told me a few weeks (that Kompany will be out). We'll see. It is ligaments," he added. Kompany has made only two Premier League appearances under Guardiola this season following on from last season when he played just 22 matches, his fewest since joining the Etihad Stadium club from Hamburg in 2008. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) If you are reeling under depression then a breathing-based meditation practice known as Sudarshan Kriya yoga will help you out. A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that yogic breathing helps alleviate severe depression in people, who did not fully respond to antidepressant treatments. The study conducted by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania bolsters behind the use of controlled yogic breathing to help battle depression. In a randomized controlled pilot study led by Anup Sharma, MD, PhD, a neuropsychiatry research fellow in the department of Psychiatry at Penn, the researchers found significant improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety in medicated patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who participated in the breathing technique compared to medicated patients who did not partake. After two months, the yoga group cut its mean Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score by several points, while the control group showed no improvements. HDRS is the most widely used clinician-administered depression assessment that scores mood, interest in activities, energy, suicidal thoughts and feelings of guilt among other symptoms. More than half of the 41 million Americans, who take anti-depressants do not fully respond. Add-on therapies are often prescribed to enhance the effects of the drugs in these patients, but they typically offer limited additional benefits and come with side effects that can curb use, prolonging the depressive episode. What's more, patients who don't fully respond to anti-depressants are especially at risk of relapse. "With such a large portion of patients who do not fully respond to antidepressants, it's important we find new avenues that work best for each person to beat their depression," Sharma said. "Here, we have a promising, lower-cost therapy that could potentially serve as an effective, non-drug approach for patients battling this disease," he added. The meditation technique, which is practiced in both a group setting and at home, includes a series of sequential, rhythm-specific breathing exercises that bring people into a deep, restful, and meditative state: slow and calm breaths alternated with fast and stimulating breaths. "Sudarshan Kriya yoga gives people an active method to experience a deep meditative state that's easy to learn and incorporate in diverse settings," Sharma said. In past studies, the practice has demonstrated a positive response in patients with milder forms of depression, depression due to alcohol dependence, and in patients with MDD. However, there are no clinical studies investigating its use for depression in an outpatient setting. Past studies suggest that yoga and other controlled breathing techniques can potentially adjust the nervous system to reduce stress hormones. Overall, the authors also note well-designed studies that evaluate the benefits of yoga to treat depression are lacking, despite increased interest in the ancient Indian practice. Millions of Americans participate in some form of yoga every year. In the study, researchers enrolled 25 patients suffering from MDD who were depressed, despite more than eight weeks of antidepressant medication treatment. The medicated patients were randomized to either the breathing intervention group or the "waitlist" control group for eight weeks. (The waitlist group was offered the yoga intervention after the study). During the first week, the participants completed a six-session program, which featured Sudarshan Kriya yoga in addition to yoga postures, sitting meditation, and stress education. The participants attended weekly Sudarshan Kriya yoga follow-up sessions and completed a home practice version of the technique. The patients in the Sudarshan Kriya yoga group showed a significantly greater improvement in HDRS scores as compared to those in the waiting list group. With a mean baseline HDRS score of 22.0 (indicating severe depression at the beginning of the study), the group that completed the breathing technique for full two months improved scores by 10.27 points on an average as compared to the waiting list group, which showed no improvements. The patients in the yoga group also showed significant mean reductions in total scores of the self-reported Beck Depression (15.48 point improvement) and Beck Anxiety Inventories (5.19 point improvement) versus the waiting list control group. Results of the pilot study suggest the feasibility and promise of Sudarshan Kriya as an add-on intervention for MDD patients, who have not responded to anti-depressants, the authors wrote. "The next step in this research is to conduct a larger study evaluating how this intervention impacts brain structure and function in patients who have major depression," Sharma said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A2Z Infra Engineering rose 5.80% to Rs 40.10 at 10:34 IST on BSE after the company said its subsidiary A2Z Green Waste Management has agreed with one of its lenders for a settlement of its various debt obligation aggregating to Rs 416.18 crore. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 48.70 points, or 0.19%, to 25,912.08. On BSE, so far 5.83 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with average daily volume of 2.50 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 41.40 and a low of Rs 38.60 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 51.65 on 1 November 2016. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 16.50 on 12 February 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past 30 days till 22 November 2016, falling 2.82% compared with the 7.87% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 2.82% as against Sensex's 7.48% decline. The small-cap company has equity capital of Rs 129.62 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10. A2Z Infra Engineering informed that its subsidiary, A2Z Green Waste Management (A2Z Green), has on 19 November 2016, agreed to a framework with one of its lenders for a settlement of its various debt obligation aggregating to Rs 416.18 crore. The settlement may include the transfer of two projects of A2Z Green namely: a 500 tonne per day (TPD) of processing and disposal unit for the purposes of municipal solid waste management at Indore city; and a 1500 TPD of P&D unit, collection & transportation facility of municipal solid waste along with 15 megawatts (MW) power plant, located in Kanpur city. The settlement would be subject to execution of definitive agreement(s) and further subject to various requisite approval(s) of its stake holders including shareholders and lenders as may be required. Shares of A2Z Infra Engineering surged 12.80% to Rs 37.90 yesterday, 22 November 2016, after the company said that a contract has been awarded to the company by Chhattisgarh State Power Transmission Company for construction of 132 kilovolt S/S Bijapur and associated EHV Line on turnkey basis. The aggregate value of the contract is Rs 41.33 crore. The announcement was made during market hours yesterday, 22 November 2016. The stock has risen 19.35% in two trading sessions from its close of Rs 33.60 on Monday, 21 November 2016. A2Z Infra Engineering reported a net loss of Rs 18.75 crore in Q1 June 2016, lower than net loss of Rs 34.21 crore in Q1 June 2015. Net sales surged 148.5% to Rs 202.70 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015. A2Z Infra Engineering (formerly known as A2Z Maintenance & Engineering Services) is a fast growing, fully integrated electrical business group (EBG) in India catering to the needs of domestic and international power sector clients in building distribution and transmission infrastructure. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A contract was signed with International Seabed Authority for Exploration of Polymetallic Sulphides in Indian Ocean on 26th September, 2016 in New Delhi. The contract provides India the exclusive rights of exploration in the area near the Rodridgues Tripple Junction in the southern part of Central India ridge and a part of South-West Indian ridge. The plan for the survey and exploration along with the environmental baseline for the first five years includes the acquisition of multi-beam bathymetric data, seabed characterization, collection of sediment and rock samples, water column sampling followed by data processing, analysis and interpretation. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 0.65% to Rs 694.20 at 9:50 IST on BSE after the company said it entered into an agreement to acquire 85.1% stake in a Russian pharmaceutical company JSC Biosintez for a total consideration of $60 million. The announcement was made before trading hours today, 23 November 2016. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 4.56 points, or 0.02%, to 25,965.34. On BSE, so far 48,000 shares were traded in the counter, compared with average daily volume of 3.49 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 696.65 and a low of Rs 691.55 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 898 on 23 February 2016. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 572.40 on 9 November 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past 30 days till 22 November 2016, falling 7.68% compared with the 7.87% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 10.50% as against Sensex's 7.48% decline. The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 240.68 crore. Face value per share is Re 1. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (Sun Pharma) announced the execution of definitive agreements by its wholly owned subsidiary, for the acquisition of 85.1% of JSC Biosintez, a Russian pharmaceutical company engaged in manufacture and marketing of pharmaceutical products in Russia and CIS region. The equity consideration for the 85.1% stake is $24 million. Sun Pharma would also assume a debt of approximately $36 million as part of this transaction. Biosintez is a Russian pharmaceutical company focusing on the hospital segment with annual revenues of approximately $52 million for 2015. It has a manufacturing facility in Penza region with capabilities to manufacture a wide variety of dosage forms including pharmaceuticals for injections, blood substitutes, blood preservatives, ampoules, tablets, ointment, creams, gels, suppositories, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), etc. The transaction, expected to be completed by end of 2016, is subject to approval of the Russian Federal AntiMonopoly Service and other closing conditions. As per IMS (MAT September 2016), the Russian pharmaceutical market recorded sales of approximately $10 billion. The market recorded a growth of 7.4% in local currency terms as per IMS. In a separate announcement after market hours yesterday, 22 November 2016, Sun Pharma said it received a letter from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Uday Baldota that he would be tendering his resignation as the CFO of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries to be effective with effect from in and around April 2017 due to his shifting to United States of America in and around April 2017 to look after the business of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries, a subsidiary of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries as its Chief Executive Officer. On a consolidated basis, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' net profit surged 117.25% to Rs 2235.14 crore on 13.21% rise in net sales to Rs 7764.03 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is the world's fifth largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company and India's top pharmaceutical company. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To provide vehicle assistance and service TVS Motor Company announced the launch of IRIDE, an intelligent, intuitive automobile post sales and service smartphone application to enhance the riding experience for customers. IRIDE monitors the ride parameters of the vehicle during transit which helps customers plan and improve the riding experience, while keeping them safe. Coming close on the heels of the launch of TVS Motor Company's 'Road-side Assistance Program', IRIDE is equipped with in-built features broadly bracketed under 'Ride', 'Safety,' and 'Social'. The prime focus of IRIDE is to provide vehicle assistance in emergency, a better ride experience and service facility coupled with some fun features to share on the social platforms. It is also a two-way interaction forum as customers can provide real time feedback of the application. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vedanta rose 4.91% to Rs 216.85 at 14:56 IST on BSE, extending yesterday's 4.90% rise triggered by the company's board approving to raise Rs 300 crore through issue of non-convertible debentures. The announcement was made during market hours yesterday, 22 November 2016. Shares of Vedanta rose 4.90% to Rs 206.70 on that day. The stock has risen 10.05% in two trading sessions from its close of Rs 197.05 on 21 November 2016. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 120.31 points, or 0.46%, to 26,081.09. On BSE, so far 14.29 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with average daily volume of 11.39 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 217.75 and a low of Rs 208.60 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 233.65 on 10 November 2016. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 58.10 on 12 February 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past 30 days till 22 November 2016, rising 2.17% compared with the 7.87% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 17.51% as against Sensex's 7.48% decline. The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 296.47 crore. Face value per share is Re 1. Vedanta announced that it has received board's approval to raise Rs 300 crore through issue of 3,000 secured redeemable non-cumulative non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of face value of Rs 10 lakh each. The tenure of the NCDs is three years and five months from the date of allotment, while date of maturity is 22 April 2020. Crisil has assigned 'AA-/Stable' rating to the said instrument. In a separate announcement yesterday, 22 November 2016, the company said that the board has approved the appointment of chief financial officer Arjun Kumar GR as a whole-time director of the company and Bhumika Sood as company secretary. The appointments reflect the focus of Vedanta towards empowering its professionals and developing in-house talent, said, Tom Albanese, CEO, Vedanta. On a consolidated basis, Vedanta's net profit rose 17.14% to Rs 1252.13 crore on 4.13% decline in net sales to Rs 15665.64 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. Vedanta is a diversified natural resources company, whose business primarily involves producing oil & gas, zinc - lead - silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium and commercial power. The company has a presence across India, South Africa, Namibia, Australia and Ireland. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) C P Pharmaceuticals gets warning letter from USFDA Wockhardt announced that U.S. Food and Drug Administration ('USFDA') has issued a Warning Letter to C P Pharmaceuticals, Wrexham, United Kingdom, a stepdown Subsidiary of the Company. Currently, there is no business being conducted from C P Pharmaceuticals to the US Market. C P Pharmaceuticals has already initiated required steps to address the concerns raised by USFDA and will be responding to the Agency within the prescribed time. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Allu Sirish has completed shooting for upcoming Malayalam war drama "1971: Beyond Borders". He says the experience so far has been physically demanding but at the same time very cherishing. "Wrapped up first schedule of 1971'. Physically demanding! Learnt so much about the army, war and history. An experience I'll always cherish," Sirish wrote on his Twitter page on Wednesday. In the film directed by Major Ravi, Sirish plays a tank commander. Calling soldiers the real heroes, he wrote, "Our country owes our jawans a lot. Extreme weather, minimum resources, no personal life. Yet they're so determined and selfless. Real heroes." Malayalam superstar Mohanlal is also part of the film. --IANS hp/nv/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three Pakistani army soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian troops at the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday, authorities said. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement, "three Pakistani soldiers valiantly embraced shahadat at the Line of Control while responding to Indian unprovoked firing," the Dawn reported. The army's media wing identified the soldiers as Captain Taimoor Ali Khan, Havaldar Mushtaq Hussain and Lance Naik Ghulam Hussain. An ISPR statement also said that seven Indian soldiers were confirmed dead in retaliatory fire, adding that the exchange of fire between Pakistani and Indian troops is ongoing. --IANS sm/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Cayuga Community Fund has announced $35,603 in funding to 12 nonprofit organizations that serve people in Cayuga County: $5,000 to ABC Cayuga to support its new Play Space, a community space for young children and their families to play and learn. $500 to Auburn Chamber Orchestra for advertising and professional fees associated with presenting "HMS Pinafore" together with Auburn Players Community Theatre and Auburn High School. $3,000 to Auburn Public Theater to purchase two JamHub stations for its Exchange Street Records music education program. $1,770 to Cayuga Counseling Services for mental health first aid training and stress reduction activities for people in its bimonthly parent/grandparent support group. $5,000 to Cayuga County Habitat for Humanity to rehabilitate a property on Adams Street in Auburn. $1,255 to the Cayuga Museum of History & Art to fund its "Exploring the Prison through Film" series. $4,362 to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County to purchase new laptops, a printer and marketing banner stands for nutrition education and health programs. $5,000 to Food Bank of CNY to purchase food for distribution through its mobile pantry. $1,000 to Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways to hold two programs for local girls not served by a troop. $553 to Maple Wood Cemetery Association to repair the face of the vault on its property to serve as a storage area for work materials. $4,770 to Rescue Mission to create an iPad station at its Auburn community center, allowing people who've experienced homelessness to search for jobs and access homework. $3,393 to Scipio Volunteer Fire Department to purchase four-finger pulse oximeters and two suction units. The Cayuga Community Fund, created in 2008, has awarded more than $260,000 to local nonprofits since 2010. It is an affiliate of the Central New York Community Foundation, which awarded $11 million in grants last year to nonprofits. For more information, visit cnycf.org. American voters want President-elect to stop tweeting, showed a new poll. The national poll by the Quinnipiac University showed about 59 per cent believe Trump should actually shut down his personal Twitter account, cbs news reported. Voters told Trump, "You've got the job. Now be a leader not a tweeter," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "We're watching to make sure you put the country, not the Trump brand, first," said the voters. Majority voters said they were "optimistic about the next four years with as president". About 52 per cent of voters said Trump's policies would help the US economy, 31 per cent said they would hurt. As for the calling to be a united American nation, 49 per cent of voters said Trump would do more to divide the country while 47 per cent said he would unite. Most of the voters believed that Trump would take the country in the right direction. The polls were conducted from November 17 to 20 when pollsters interviewed 1,071 voters nationwide. Barcelona are considering a move to sign Roma's Brazilian right-back Bruno Peres, according to media reports. Brazil's Uol news portal said on Tuesday that Barcelona scouts were in the northern Italian city Bergamo on Sunday to watch Peres play in Roma's 1-2 defeat to Atalanta, reports Xinhua. The report added that Peres has a 20 million-euro buyout clause as part of a complex agreement with his former club Torino. The 26-year-old was also said to be on Barcelona's radar during the last European transfer window. Barcelona are known to be seeking a right-back to replace Dani Alves, who left the club in the summer to join Juventus. --IANS ajb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on the Bihar government's plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to RJD legislator Rajballav Prasad Yadav, who is to stand trial for raping a minor in February this year. Reserving the order, the bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre said: "We are concerned with fair trial, because it is a case filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO) and a child is also involved. We are not going to dismiss the petition (by Bihar government) because we want fair trial." The court said that it would pronounce its order in a couple of days. The apex court said this as it was told that on its direction, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) lawmaker from Nawada was sent back to jail for two weeks and the period was coming to an end. The court on November 8 ordered Rajballav to surrender so that the victim girl could record her statement before the trial court. The court reserved its verdict on the bail plea even as senior counsel Dushyant Dave, who appeared for Rajballav, tried to assure the bench that he would stay away from Bihar until the trial in the case of minor's rape is complete. However, this was opposed by senior counsel Gopal Subramanium, who said that there are many important witnesses, including the doctor who had examined the victim, to depose before the court which was trying the case. Subramanium told the bench that Rajballav's second bail plea before the Patna High Court, in which he was granted the bail, should have come before the bench that had rejected his first bail plea. The Bihar government had moved the apex court against the grant of bail to Rajballav by the Patna High Court in September. He was accused of raping the girl at his residence in Bihar Sharif, and was suspended from the party after the incident came to light. However, he continues to be an RJD lawmaker in the state assembly. Rajballav, who was denied anticipatory bail by a local court in Bihar Sharif in February, was on the run but later surrendered in the court in March. He was granted bail by the high court on September 30. Yadav was named one of the five accused in the chargesheet filed in April. Besides Rajballav, Sulekha Devi and those accused of providing women to the RJD lawmaker for sex were named the accused. --IANS pk/nir/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) YSR Congress Party chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, popularly called Jagan, on Wednesday alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had prior information about the Centre's move to scrap high value currency notes. Talking to reporters in Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh, he said the decision to spike Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes was leaked to some selected persons, including Naidu, whose Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is a partner in the ruling coalition at the Centre. Jagan, who is Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh assembly, said Chandrababu Naidu sold shares of his dairy company Heritage Foods three days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation. YSR Congres Party leader Chandrababu Naidu's October 22 letter to the Prime Minister, seeking scrapping of high-value notes, also proves that the information was leaked to him. Jagan claimed that the leak gave the TDP president a month's time to make the required adjustments but the people were left to fend for themselves. Jagan said the government should have consulted the opposition and a cross section of people before taking the key decision. He said while demonetisation may be the right decision to curb black money, lack of proper implementation was causing severe hardships to people. --IANS ms/vgu/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three women associated with two city nursing homes were detained for questioning by the Criminal Investigation Department of West Bengal Police in a case of inter-state child smuggling, an official said on Wednesday. Eight persons, including a doctor, two quacks and a owner of a nursing home, were arrested from Baduria in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday for allegedly running a child smuggling racket. "Two women from a Behala-based nursing home and another woman from a College Street-based nursing home have been detained in relation with the child smuggling racket that we found yesterday (Tuesday)," Deputy Inspector General of Police (CID) Bharatlal Meena told IANS over phone. They are being questioned in the state CID headquarters Bhabani Bhavan. Earier on Wednesday, the CID officials also sealed the house of a doctor in Thakur Nagar in North 24 Parganas for allegedly being involved in the Baduria-based child smuggling racket and interrogated his wife and brother. "The doctor might be involved with the child smuggling racket in Baduria. We have sealed his house for further investigation," Meena said. --IANS mgr/ssp/pgh/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In pursuance of the oppositions decision to observe November 28 as 'Akrosh Divas, the CPI-M will organise various forms of protests, including a general strike against the demonetisation decision, the party said on Wednesday. "Opposition parties in Parliament have now decided, through separate calls, to observe November 28 as an 'All-India Protest Day' or 'Akrosh Divas'," the Communist Party of India-Marxist said in a statement. "The CPI-M calls upon all its units across the country to organise an All-India Protest Day on November 28 against the withdrawal of the 1,000- and 500-rupee notes, the consequent anarchy it has caused in the country and the consequent mounting agonies of the vast majority of our people, particularly the poor and the marginalised sections," the statement said. "Depending on the concrete conditions in each state, the state committees will decide on various forms of actions -- mass demonstrations, dharnas, picketing of RBI and central government offices, road and rail blockades, commercial and general strikes etc.," it said. On Tuesday, six Left parties, including the CPI-M and the Communist Party of India (CPI), announced a week-long mass movement across the country beginning Thursday. Opposition parties gathered at the Gandhi statue in Parliament complex on Tuesday, demanding from the government answers to their questions on demonetisation. --IANS and/vgu/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Almost the entire opposition put up a united front against demonetisation on Wednesday paralysing Parliament's functioning over the mode of discussion on the issue and the Prime Minister's presence during debates on the issue. Thirteen opposition parties, barring the Left and the Aam Aadmi Party, protested near Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament House premises. The Trinamool Congress held a rally at the Jantar Mantar here, attended by leaders of several opposition parties, including the Janata Dal-United, Samajwadi Party, Nationalist Congress Party and the Aam Aadmi Party. The opposition also decided on a countrywide 'Aakrosh Diwas' protest on November 28 over the November 8 demonetisation move. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who led the opposition protest, called demonetisation a "scam". Gandhi said the opposition wanted a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the issue. "We feel this decision is a scam. The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) had informed his close friends about this (demonetisation) before the announcement. We want a JPC to probe this," Gandhi said during the protest along with leaders of 12 other opposition parties. "What the Prime Minister has done is the world's biggest impromptu financial experiment. "He (Modi) can go to a pop concert and speak, but 200 MPs of the opposition are standing here to demand his presence," Gandhi said. Leaders from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, Janata Dal-United, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and the DMK protested outside Parliament. The opposition members displayed placards carrying slogans like 'Not a surgical strike, carpet bombing on common people', 'Demonetisation of hard-earned money', 'Save poor people' and 'Stop persecution of common people'. Both houses of Parliament have seen repeated adjournments since the beginning of winter session on November 16 over demonetisation, that has triggered a cash chaos in the country. In the Lok Sabha, opposition members want a debate under an adjournment motion, which entails voting. In the Rajya Sabha, which started a debate on demonetisation on the first day, the opposition is seeking the presence of the Prime Minister in the house. To break the logjam, the government has convened a meeting of floor leaders of different parties on Thursday. The meeting will be attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar. Accusing Modi of robbing the poor of their livelihood through demonetisation, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said the BJP-led Centre had completely lost its credibility. Addressing the protest rally at the Jantar Mantar, the West Bengal Chief Minister dubbed Modi a "Hitler" and said the country is not secure under his rule. "With just one decision, you destroyed the entire country. Modi-ji, do you realise how people are starving? How people are forced to shut their shops? How farmers have been ruined? Do you realise how you have robbed their livelihood and driven the common people to the brink," asked Banerjee. "The situation now is worse than even during the Emergency. This government has lost all credibility; and once credibility is lost, everything is lost. The country is not secure under Modi. This government will have to go," she said while addressing her second public meeting in the national capital within a week. Taking a stand different from party President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on demonetisation, former Janata Dal-United President Sharad Yadav participated in Banerjee's protest rally. Speaking on the occasion, Yadav flayed Modi for "evading" Parliament and demanded that the Prime Minister come to the house and account for -- what the JD-U leader said were -- the sufferings of the masses. "Come to Parliament and tell us the reasons... tell why you wreaked havoc in the houses of farmers, fishermen, the poor, the common man. And if you don't, then remember -- the Congress once had imposed Emergency and people had given a befitting reply. "You must have heard of revolution; people will show you what revolution means." In Kolkata, West Bengal Ministers and senior Trinamool Congress leaders participated in a massive protest rally organised by the state's ruling party against demonetisation. --IANS bns/tsb/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday asked banks not to accept demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for deposit in the small savings schemes, with immediate effect, an official notification said. No reason was assigned for the move. "Government of India has decided that subscribers may not be allowed to deposit demonetised currency in small savings schemes. Banks are, therefore, advised not to accept the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for deposits in small saving schemes with immediate effect," RBI said in a notification. The small savings schemes include Public Provident Fund (PPF), Post Office Saving Schemes, National Savings Certificates (NSC), Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) Account and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) among others. The government announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8 midnight. The old notes can still be used at places like government hospitals, petrol pumps, metro ticket counters and for payment of utility bills till November 24. --IANS mm/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government is reaching out to the opposition to ensure Parliament's functioning to hold a debate on demonetisation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said on Wednesday. "We are talking to the opposition and trying to break the logjam. We want both the houses to discuss the issue," the minister said. He, however, said that the government did not want the debate to take place under an adjournment motion. "Adjournment motion means censuring something. Is there a question of censuring this crusade against black money? We feel no, and they (opposition) also feel no," Ananth Kumar told reporters here. "What they (opposition leaders) are telling us is that they are not against the fight against corruption, (but) they are against the manner of implementation. If there is a voting on the issue, the message will go out that the house is divided," he said. "We must send a unanimous message to the country and the world." The minister rued that the winter session which started on November 16 has been wasted so far over the November 8 demonetisation decision of the Centre. "What are the opposition parties doing by holding up discussion (in Parliament)? They are not achieving anything. Because what is to be achieved is for speedy and smooth transition to the new economy. Everybody knows and appreciates the fact that the new economy will be more efficient and pro-poor," he said. Ananth Kumar said: "I appeal to the opposition -- please see the writing on the wall. Understand the huge signal given by the people of India. They (opposition) are holding up the house on technical grounds, and not serving the cause of the people," the minister added. The issue of demonetisation has led to repeated adjournments in both houses of Parliament since November 17. The Lok Sabha did not function on the first day of the winter session due to the death of a sitting member, while the Rajya Sabha took up the debate on demonetisation. Since November 17, opposition members in the Lok Sabha have been insisting on a debate under an adjournment motion, that entails voting after the debate. In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition has been insisting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in the upper house during the debate on demonetisation. --IANS ao/tsb/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gujarat's District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) have called for a "united fight" against the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for not allowing them to exchange defunct currency notes or have them deposited or withdrawn by customers. The DCCBs have termed this as a "discriminatory" move. "The board members of the Gujarat State Cooperative Bank, which has 18 DCCBs across the state associated with it, met to discuss the problems faced by account holders of these banks," said BJP leader Dilip Sanghani, who is Chairman of National Federation of State Cooperative Banks and was considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Over one crore account holders of these banks in the state are facing problems because of the RBI's move and majority of them are farmers and people in the rural areas. During the meeting, the board members called for a united fight against the RBI's decision," Sanghani said. The meeting was held on Tuesday. After the meeting, Gujarat State Cooperative Bank Chairman Ajay Patel said the board wants the national federation to meet the RBI and discuss difficulties being faced by the account holders of the cooperative banks and come up with a solution. "We want the national federation to convey our concerns to the RBI and discuss problems being faced by our account holders, most of whom are farmers, farm labourers and rural populace. The RBI should come out with a solution as soon as possible, before the December 30 deadline (of accepting scrapped notes by banks)," Patel said. A board member said the RBI's "discriminatory approach" should be investigated. "DCCBs operate under RBI rules and guideline, like any other banks, and it is a matter of investigation as to why they were asked not to exchange or withdraw currency notes. We want to know why the government is silent on this discriminatory approach of RBI," said Nanu Vaghani, a board member and Chairman of Bhavnagar District Cooperative Bank. The RBI has barred district cooperative banks from accepting the scrapped notes and also withdrawal of valid currencies unlike their private and public sector counterparts. The move has triggered protests by farmers in different pockets in the state. --IANS desai/pgh/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A light Thanksgiving agenda greeted a bare bones Albuquerque City Council at its regular Nov. 21 meeting. Councilors Isaac Benton, Trudy Jones and Klarissa Pena were excused from the meeting. Council President Dan Lewis along with Councilors Diane Gibson, Pat Davis, Brad Winter, Ken Sanchez and Don Harris put city business to rest in under two hours with little public comment. Grilling the Brass City Councilor Pat Davis led the questioning of Police Chief Gorden Eden and City Attorney Jessica Hernandez over a sworn affidavit recently filed in a police shooting lawsuit. The affidavit was filed by a former Albuquerque Police Department records employee. The affidavit accuses officers of altering and/or deleting lapel camera video, with the knowledge and blessings of some supervisors. Both of the citys top brass heads said the original footage from officers body cameras are automatically retained intact by the departments computer system once downloaded. Hernandez said the computer program creates an audit trail that can be viewed to show every time the tape was accessed. One Councilor asked about whether the footage could be altered prior to being downloaded. Hernandez didnt quite answer clearly but she said there has not been any solid evidence to substantiate any of the allegations in the affidavit. She did say that in some cases the department does redact copies of the lapel tapes prior to releasing to the public. Auto Theft Shuffle Dr. Peter Winograd, a former University of New Mexico professor, did a presentation regarding his $68,000 crime study that was ordered by Mayor Richard Berry. His findings show that auto thefts dominate the city in regard to crime. Winograd reports that, in 2014, there were 3,000 plus stolen cars reported; 2015 saw 5,000 plus. He said he concluded that the rise in auto theft is due to repeat offenders getting out of the local jail as the county has worked to reduce overcrowding due to a federal lawsuit. Winograds study has been criticized by the director of the Institute for Social Research who said the correlation between his data and the rise in auto thefts is flawed. Attorney Peter Cubra, who is involved in the federal overcrowding litigation, reported that the study was wrong by implying that keeping people locked up prior to conviction is a crime deterrent. As Council President Lewis gavel struck to adjourn the meeting, he wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Disclosure Agenda The consent agenda is intended to be a catchall of the citys minor, routine business that doesnt need discussion. The items are all approved with one vote, unless one of the Council members pulls an item off the consent agenda for individual discussion and approval. The vague definition leaves open a way to get around disclosure of conflicts and provides a good way to hide serious and costly decisions. Roberts Rules of Order dont help much and should probably be updated to be more specific. This Council seems to routinely pack its consent agenda with a number of items that would be best discussed individually in front of the public. This meetings consent agenda was short but tucked into it was a written report from the mayor and his aides regarding a financial plan to fund the controversial Albuquerque Rapid Transit project currently being constructed on Central from Coors to Louisiana. There was no discussion of the written report and it was passed along with a lease approval, committee appointments and a report on the proposed Edith Waste Transfer Station. Ditch Trails There was some good news for city bicyclists, walkers and joggers when the Council approved the Alameda Drain and Trail Master Plan. The Alameda drain runs nine miles from I-40 along Second Street to its northern end. The Alameda drain will join the majority of ditches and drains throughout the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District as improved recreational trails. There are about 300 miles of ditches crisscrossing the North and South Valleys along the Rio Grande. About 10 years ago a similar Ditches to Trails plan was implemented to improve other ditch banks within the city limits. Next Time Two public hearings were deferred along with an ordinance on how to deal with the growing number of vacant buildings in the city. Councilors deferred amending how the Council funds educational, cultural and social service projects. Councilors introduced a comprehensive bill expanding and outlining the availability of naloxone in public city facilities such as the zoo, libraries, the Sunport, senior and community centers along with many other city facilities. Naloxone is a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses. As Council President Lewis gavel struck to adjourn the meeting, he wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. AUBURN Cayuga County legislators passed a tentative budget for 2017 during Tuesday night's full meeting. The budget differs from the preliminary budget proposed in October by County Administrator Suzanne Sinclair through an increase in the tax levy and a decrease on the fund balance draw. Sinclair had originally thought the tax cap was a 0.71 percent increase in the levy, but told legislators at a meeting last week that the tax cap was actually a 0.975 percent increase. Legislators voted to raise the levy to meet the tax cap, making the total tax levy $39,011,955, an increase of about $104,500 coming from taxpayers. Sinclair told the body Tuesday night that this would bring the tax rate to $8.22 per $1,000 assessed value. Sinclair said neighboring counties' tax rates ranged from $6.62 to $14.16. Legislators also voted to move $25,000 out of contingency to the Cayuga County Public Utility Service Agency's budget. Legislator Tim Lattimore proposed using those funds for a solar project that the village of Union Springs is undertaking. Steve Lynch, director of the county's Planning & Economic Development Department, said the village is hoping to provide electricity through a solar initiative. The scope of the project has yet to be determined, he added, saying that it could provide electricity to the village's municipal buildings, or were it to be a larger project, it could also power the homes of village residents. The agency would act as the village's broker, working with the developers. Lynch said the $25,000 would be used to help with petitions to the public as well as funding legal assistance. Lynch also said this would be the county agency's first customer, opening up opportunities for it to work with the New York State Power Authority among other benefits. Several legislators said they supported the initiative, but wanted to know the scope of the project and how much money specifically would be needed before committing the funds. The transfer, which had no net effect on the county's budget, passed 8-6 with Legislators Ben Vitale, Aileen McNabb-Coleman, Joseph Bennett, Frank Reginelli, Patrick Mahunik and Keith Batman opposed and Legislator Tucker Whitman absent. Though the tentative budget has passed, legislators will not pass the final 2017 budget until Dec. 15. Prior to that, there will be a public hearing on the budget at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5 in the Sixth Floor Chambers of the Cayuga County Office Building, 160 Genesee St., Auburn. In other news: Gary Duckett, Superintendent of Parks and Trails and Buildings and Grounds, said he's accepted two bids for elevator repairs in the Cayuga County Courthouse. The second bid came in Tuesday, allowing for a last-minute resolution to authorize Duckett to accept a vendor. Duckett said he is still in the process of calling one of the vendor's references before making a decision, but the body gave him permission to move forward. The repairs to the elevator, which failed its inspection due to a faulty shaft, are expected to take at least three weeks. The cost, which could be $32,000 or more depending on the bidder and the final scope of work, will come out of funds already budgeted to Buildings and Grounds. Joseph F. Karpinski, Sr. and John A. Karpinski were honored with the day named in their honor Tuesday night. Batman highlighted their contributions through their various forms of service at Cayuga Community College in a proclamation read at the meeting. Joseph, now 93, said he's lived and evolved around many sayings. One he repeated that night was: "Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think." Though a public hearing was scheduled to discuss a local law that could charge county residents interest should they pay their taxes in two installments, no one from the public came to speak on the topic. That came as no surprise to legislators after none of them expressed support for the law, failing all committees before getting pulled from the agenda at Ways and Means. Batman said his view was that legislators did not see a need for the county to collect more revenue, and thus there was no need for the local law this year. Legislator Ryan Foley said the body had discussed several tax increases and fee increases this year after concern around decreasing sales tax revenue. He said he'd like the body to be more cautious next year with its proposals. Well-known Indian American Nikki Haley, South Carolina Governor, who has been chosen by US President-elect Donald Trump to be the US ambassador to the United Nations, is the first non-white female Cabinet-level official appointed in the Trump administration. Born Nimrata Nikki Randhwa in South Carolina, Haley is the state's first female and minority leader and has been governor for five years. The daughter of Sikh immigrants from Amritsar (India), Haley had been critical of Trump's several stances during the 2016 campaign, which included a proposed temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. Haley, 44, has been touted as a rising star within the Republican Party as she is the youngest governor in the US and only the second Indian-American to serve at the helm of a US state after Bobby Jindal, of Louisiana. Last week, she was elected as the Vice-Chair of the Republican Governor's Association. Haley has worked on trade and labour issues as governor but has little diplomatic experience. The Indian American Governor earlier took a public stand against resettling Syrian refugees in South Carolina and urged the State Department to ensure additional security checks were in place before refugees entered the country. She also opposed President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. She initially supported Senator Marco Rubio's presidential campaign, and then backed Senator Ted Cruz. The governor also criticised Trump and asked him to release his taxes and slammed his harsh campaign rhetoric throughout the primary election. In January she was praised by the Republican Party for her rebuttal to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, in which he had criticised Trump. "Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference," Haley had said in the State of the Union rebuttal. "That is just not true. Often, the best thing we can do is turn down the volume." Haley was elected South Carolina's Governor in 2010, riding the wave of the Republican Tea Party with the backing of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Prior to becoming the state's chief executive, she served six years as a member of the state's House of Representatives. Haley converted to Christianity when she married Army National Guard Captain Michael Haley. She has two children with him. She garnered praise in 2015 for her handling of the Charleston church shooting, when she asked the state legislature to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Capitol following the racially-charged church massacre. In that incident, nine persons were killed. The choice comes as President-elect Trump seeks to diversify his lineup of top choices. The GOP administration is likely banking on Haley's strong communication and problem-solving skills, required for the US representative at the United Nations in New York. Haley was born on January 20, 1972 in Bamberg, South Carolina, to Sikh immigrants from Punjab, India. She attended local schools and graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. Haley went on to work for her mother's upscale clothing business, Exotica International, helping to make it a multimillion-dollar company, according to her biography. In 1998, Haley was named to the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce's board of directors, and in 2003, to that of the Lexington Chamber of Commerce. She became president of the National Association of Women Business Owners in 2004 and immersed herself in a number of organizations, including the Lexington Medical Foundation, West Metro Republican Women, and the South Carolina Chapter of NAWBO. Haley converted to Christianity and sits on the board of the Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church. Out of respect for her parents' culture, she still attends Sikh services. --IANS soni/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh on Wednesday met General Liu Yuejun, the commander of the Eastern Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army, in Nanjing in China, an official statement said. Both military leaders exchanged views on maintenance of peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, terrorism and enhancing military-to-military exchanges. General Singh also extended an invitation to the Chinese General to visit India. General Dalbir Singh began a four-day visit to China on Monday. On Monday, the Army chief held discussions with top officials of the Chinese Army, including the PLA Commander, and discussed the vexed border issue. --IANS ao/tsb/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Naval Ship 'Shardul' arrived at Port Victoria on Wednesday on a three-day visit, said an official. INS Shardul, an amphibious ship of the Indian Navy, is currently on a month-long deployment in the southern Indian Ocean in keeping with the vision of SAGAR -- Security and Growth for All in the Region, a release said. "The Indian Navy will be progressing maritime security cooperation with Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) towards ensuring a secure and stable regional maritime environment for unhindered economic development in the region," an Indian Navy statement said. "INS Shardul's visit is part of its mission to carry out surveillance in the Seychelles EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) with SCG personnel embarked onboard. During the deployment, INS Shardul would also assist local authorities in providing logistics and medical support to the outer islands of Seychelles," it added. The Indian Navy on the request of government of Seychelles regularly deploys ships and aircrafts to undertake surveillance missions in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Seychelles. The current year has seen two such deployments, the first by the state-of-the-art, P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft in March and the second by Indian Naval Ship Trikand in July. In addition, ships of the Western Fleet visited Port Victoria in August 2016 during their deployment to the Western Indian Ocean. The current visit seeks to strengthen the strong bonds of friendship between India and Seychelles and contribute to peace and maritime security in the region. --IANS rs/pgh/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A suspected Islamic State militant shot a Yemeni Colonel on the street in the port city of Aden, filming the killing with a head-cam, the media reported on Wednesday. The footage of the execution of Col Abdul Rahim Aldhalaa surfaced on social media, Al Arabiya news reported. The security official worked at Aden airport in the directorate of Mansoura. In the past few months, Aden has seen a wave of bombings and shootings targeting officials and security forces. --IANS ahm/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Global professional training company Simplilearn on Wednesday collaborated with software giant Microsoft to build a talent pool of over one lakh next generation cloud professionals in India by 2020. As Microsoft's partner, Simplilearn will train IT professionals on Azure Cloud platform with cloud expert Bernard Golden as the course advisor and experienced Microsoft certified trainers on board. "We want to be instrumental in empowering professionals adapt to the changing digital technologies," said Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO, Simplilearn, in a statement. After being trained and certified, professionals will have career opportunities in the growing cloud domain as .NET developers, solution architects and so on. "By partnering with Simplilearn, we are assured of talent in India that is skilled and up to date on cloud capabilities," said Manohar Hotchandani, Director (Business Development) Microsoft India. Goldman Sachs forecasts that the cloud platform and infrastructure market roughly generate $21 billion in revenues and is expected to grow by 20 percent year after year to $43 billion by 2018. --IANS Qd/na/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Will demonetisation, touted as a measure against black money, corruption and terror financing, successfully meet the objectives set for it by the Narendra Modi government? Not really, if you listen to the man who imposed the earlier in 1978. Contending that there was no chance of ending black money "until we destroy the conditions which encourage it", eminent bureaucrat-turned-politician, H M Patel, who was Finance Minister in the Janata Party government, said that only ended in inflicting "a great deal of hardship on a great many innocent people". He termed the process "not worthwhile", a few years before he went on to impose on the instructions of then Prime Minister Morarji Desai. In an article in the October 1972 issue of Gujarati periodical "Nireekshak", Patel listed three contributing factors -- igh tax rates, controls and corruption -- to the growth of undisclosed money. He said that unless these were addressed, there was "little point in grappling with shadows". On January 16, 1978, the Morarji Desai-led government demonetised the 1,000-, 5,000- and 10,000-rupee currency notes which were largely held by the rich. An ordinance was issued and the announcement made through All India Radio's 9 am news bulletin. "Most people who have black money and who are involved in such operations rarely keep their ill-gotten gains in cash. They will have converted much of it into assets or even into white money. Only a small percentage of the total amount of what might have initially been black money is likely to exist in cash," Patel wrote. Despite such strong views, why he did not object to the demonetisation is not clear. In his autobiography, the then Reserve Bank of India Governor I G Patel says he remonstrated with the Finance Minister when the latter told him of the decision by saying that most people in possession of black money rarely kept their ill-gotten gains in the form of currency for long. "Thinking that black money is stashed away under mattresses or suitcases is naive," I G Patel wrote. But I G Patel does not record what H M Patel's reaction to his statement was. Eminent economist and former Union Minister Y K Alagh, then in the Planning Commisssion, recalls I G Patel telling Prime Minister Desai in Gujarati that it would not work as black money was held in land, gold and dollars and not in currency, while H M Patel, who was also present, only smiled away. In his article in "Nireekshak", H M Patel said that demonetisation does not work had become more and more evident from the results of raids carried out during the past few years. "Not much cash was found during those searches, though some amount of evidence may have been found indicative of the existence on the premises of black money at some time and of its translation into assets or white money," he wrote. "This is perhaps the conclusive reason why demonetisation is not considered to be worthwhile. More so as demonetisation can be carried out only at heavy cost. After inflicting severe hardship on the vast majority of people, those who have indulged in black-market operations are unlikely to be found hoarding large sums of money in cash," wrote Patel. Decades later, the situation was no different. A Finance Ministry White Paper in 2012 showed that for the period 2006-2012, cash seized during searches and seizures ranged from 3.75 to 7.3 per cent of total undisclosed income for those cases. Despite his perspicacious words, wisdom seem to have eluded the Finance Minister when the time came to impose demonetisation. An Indian Civil Service officer, Patel rose to become Cabinet Secretary before turning 40, served as Partition Secretary and then went on to hold high posts in independent India, including Principal Secretary, Finance, before resigning from service after his name came up in a scam. He subsequently joined politics, was Leader of Opposition during the Emergency and Finance and Home Minister in the Janata Party government. Citing the country's huge volumes of cash transactions, he noted in the article that agriculture is not subject to income tax and "demonetised notes declared by farmers, large, medium and even small, will have to be accepted without question. Farmers may well help holders of black money to escape the net of 'demonetisers'". The situation is no different now in Modi's demonetisation. Noting that "a little thought should convince those who demand demonetisation so vociferously that it would not achieve anything, not even uncover hoards of black money or prevent its re-emergence", Patel said: "All that it would do for certain would be to inflict a great deal of hardship on a great many innocent people and to increase corruption immensely." It was Spanish-American philosopher, George Santayana, who said that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The pain, though -- then as now -- is left to be borne by the common man. Pakistan's foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz has said that Pakistani missions abroad, including in India, are making efforts to reach out to the Indian people who are opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "extremism", the media reported on Wednesday. Aziz, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Foreign Policy Advisor, on Tuesday conveyed this to the country's Senate, Dawn quoted him as saying. "Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies," Aziz said. Aziz also said Pakistan was doing its utmost to engage the international community, including its regional partners, to counter India's efforts to isolate Pakistan in the region. At the same time, Aziz stressed the need for a "positive response" from India in order to move forward. He said that while Pakistan always conveyed a desire to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, India had chosen to attach "conditions" to the talks, Dawn reported. He said Pakistan was supportive of all initiatives for peace and stability in the region and this was evident from its decision to participate in the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, despite the Saarc summit in Islamabad being cancelled because of India. Pakistan's nuclear doctrine, he said, was clearly spelt out and due restraint was being exercised. "Pakistan continues to exhibit maturity and statesmanship despite provocative statements by Indian leadership and the continued ceasefire violations across the LoC and working boundary having resulted in civilian casualties," he was quoted as saying. He also said that Pakistan's armed forces "only returned fire when fired upon". Aziz also conveyed that a high-level committee has been formulated to "counter India's propaganda campaign" on Kashmir. The committee, to be headed by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry, consists of senior officials from Pakistan Defence, Interior and Information, ministries, the Military Operations Directorate, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB). The Ministry of Information Technology had also been asked to prepare a comprehensive strategy to highlight the Jammu and Kashmir dispute via social media. He also said the role of international lobbyists had become crucial in order to project the country's position and pursue foreign policy objectives and that Pakistani missions abroad were in close contact with the Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora. --IANS ahm/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan on Wednesday officially confirmed to India that its top diplomat will attend a global conference on Afghanistan in Amritsar early next month amid intensifying deadly military tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Islamabad confirmed that Sartaj Aziz, foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, would visit India for the December 3-4 Heart of Asia Istanbul Process event. The conference on development and security in Afghanistan is likely to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Aziz said last week that he would go to India. But Swarup pointed out then that India had received no official confirmation from Pakistan about it. The de facto foreign policy chief's participation in the Afghanistan conference comes amid heightened border and diplomatic tensions between the two countries. On Tuesday, three Indian soldiers were killed on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. India vowed revenge after one of the bodies of the soldiers was found mutilated at the de facto border in the Kashmir Valley. Pakistan rejected the allegation as "baseless". The border tension continued on Wednesday with Pakistan alleging that at least nine persons were killed when cross-border shelling from India hit a passenger bus in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. "At least nine people have been killed and seven wounded," Speaker of Pakistani Kashmir's Assembly Shah Ghulam Qadir said, accusing the Indian Army of "deliberately targeting" civilians. The bus, according to Qadir, was hit as it was travelling from Kel to Muzaffarabad in the Neelum valley region of divided Kashmir. On this side, the Indian Army said cross-border firing at various places on the LoC continued for hours on Wednesday and three Border Security Forces (BSF) troopers were injured. Firing exchanges and a bitter diplomatic war between the two neighbours have continued and grown after the September 18 killing of 19 Indian soldiers in a terror attack at a border military base in Kashmir. The attack was followed by a military surgical strike on terror launch pads by Indian commandos in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in which an unknown number of terrorists and their sympathizers were killed. Since then, at least 18 Indian soldiers - 13 army and five BSF men - have been killed in cross-border firing. Pakistan has also claimed that dozens of its civilians and soldiers had been killed in the firing. The two countries upped their diplomatic war on Wednesday with Pakistan forming a committee "to counter India's propaganda campaign" that will also reach out to Indians "opposed to Narendra Modi's extremism". The initiative is said to be Aziz's brainchild. "Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies," Dawn newspaper quoted Aziz as saying. In New Delhi, an ailing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply that Pakistan had made a "crude attempt" to tarnish India's image by leveling spying allegations against Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad. Pakistan earlier in November named eight officials of the mission and alleged they were working for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) or the Intelligence Bureau of India. "The manner in which their names and photographs were prominently published in Pakistani media along with baseless allegation ? is against the Vienna Convention and also violates the norms of established diplomatic practice," Sushma Swaraj said. --IANS sar/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US Ministry of Defense on Tuesday confirmed that a senior Al Qaeda leader was killed in a US air strike near Sarmada, Syria, last week. Abu Afghan Al-Masri, an Egyptian who joined Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and later moved to Syria, died on November 18, Xinhua quoted Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook as saying. "He had ties to terrorist groups operating throughout Southwest Asia, including groups responsible for attacking US and coalition forces in Afghanistan and those plotting to attack the West," said Cook. The US has carried out sporadic strikes in the past against veteran Al-Qaeda members who migrated to northwestern Syria from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Earlier this month, US President Obama ordered the Pentagon to deploy more drones and intelligence assets against an Al-Qaeda-linked military group in Syria, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra and now called Jabhat Fatah al-Sham -- or Front for the Conquest of Syria. The move highlights Obama's concern that it is turning parts of Syria into a new base of operations for Al-Qaeda on Europe's southern doorstep. During his campaign, US President-elect Donald Trump said he would be even more aggressive in going after militants than Obama. --IANS sku/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged he is scared of facing Parliament on the issue of demonetisation. He also appealed to President Pranab Mukherjee to direct Modi to attend Parliament. "The President should direct the Prime Minister to attend the Parliament. This is the first prime minister who is so scared of facing the Parliament," Kejriwal tweeted. The opposition has been demanding Modi's participation in the Parliament debate over the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. Parliament has been unable to function due to monetary chaos. --IANS vv/pgh/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AUBURN Allegations that the Auburn Planning Board was superficial in its review of plans to build a 150-foot-tall cell tower near a city neighborhood were dismissed in court Wednesday. Cayuga County Court Judge Mark Fandrich mostly dismissed the arguments made in a lawsuit challenging the proposed Verizon telecommunications tower, which would be sited on a property owned by the Auburn Industrial Development Authority on Allen Street. A group of residents from nearby Case Avenue moved in March to take the matter to court. Represented by the Camardo Law Firm, the group challenged that the tower will have aesthetic and environmental impacts on the area that the planning board failed to properly consider. Petitioners also argued that the project requires an environmental impact statement as part of a State Environmental Quality Review process. The lawsuit names AIDA, the planning board, the city and tower developer Crown Castle Communications, among others, as defendants. Members of the Auburn Planning Board approved the project in early March. Residents retain lawyer as planning board approves cell tower near Auburn neighborhood AUBURN Auburn residents opposed to plans to construct a cell tower near their neighborhood Following a hearing Wednesday, Fandrich dismissed the claim that the planning board did not take a hard look at the project. He also dismissed the challenge for an environmental impact statement. The court, however, will review briefs regarding a request for a discovery process to vet evidence directly from individuals involved in the site leasing process particularly AIDA board members. Through the discovery discovery, the plaintiffs are seeking the court to declare that AIDA improperly executed the site's lease agreement with Crown Castle. Camardo Law Firm attorney Benjamin Kopp said Wednesday it is unclear whether Andrew Fish, then AIDA's staff executive with the Cayuga Economic Development Agency, had the authority to sign the lease agreement. Kopp said AIDA meeting minutes from the months the agreement was formed are not a complete record of the proceedings. "We really, truly do not believe we will know what happened at this meeting without further discovery," he said. Attorneys will reconvene before Fandrich on Dec. 13 to review the request. Meanwhile, a separate petition, filed with the county Tuesday by the Camardo Law Firm, calls for the planning board to rescind its SEQR determination. The petition claims new investigations in this case, the emergence of an archaeological study of AIDA properties from August 2016 and the possible existence of wetlands near the project site require the rescission. During Wednesday's proceedings, Kopp also claimed the planning board did not fully investigate matters concerning noise levels, aesthetic impact and property zoning regulations. The board has been represented by Stacy DeForrest, the city's assistant corporation counsel. DeForrest's argument Wednesday cited the planning board's site plan review over a six-month period, which saw members hire a consultant, review aesthetic tests and conduct two public hearings. DeForrest said she could understand why the neighbors felt so strongly about the issue. "Unfortunately, that's not a basis for undoing six months of review that the planning board took on," she said. DeForrest found Kopp's argument for discovery "grasping," saying the only authorization needed in this case is the owner's consent as exhibited by the lease agreement. AIDA attorney Wendy Marsh, from Hancock Estabrook LLP., told the judge she was concerned with the motion for discovery, she said, without significant basis. She also said AIDA by-laws allow a designee other than the board chairman to authorize a lease execution. Andrew Leja, Crown Castle's counsel, said the motion for discovery is based alone on speculation. "It's an amorphous base the petitioners are raising. There's just no substance," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a meeting of Directors General of Police (DGPs) of all the state here on November 26. Accompanied by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Modi will arrive here on November 25 evening for the meeting at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy at Shivrampally. Telangana Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma on Wednesday held a meeting with top civil and police officials to review the arrangements for the Prime Minister's visit. Police and other security agencies were busy making fool-proof security arrangements for the two-day visit of the Prime Minister, who will have a night halt at the police academy. The government agencies will put in place additional security measures to prevent protests over the demonetisation issue. --IANS ms/tsb/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Qatar Airways on Wednesday said it is offering new stopover packages for Indian travellers. The airline said the new packages will allow Indian passengers to stop over at Doha while travelling to and from destinations in the Middle East, the US, Europe and Africa. "Qatar Airways is offering Indian travellers the opportunity to add another experience to their holiday itineraries, with a stopover in Doha during their next overseas trip for up to four days," the national carrier of the state of Qatar said in a statement. "This holiday-within-a-holiday is thanks to a new free transit visa scheme, which allows visitors from India to break up their outbound or inbound journey with a stay in Doha, without impacting their total return ticket fare." According to the statement, on November 1, 2016, transit visa permissions were extended allowing Qatar Airways passengers transiting through Doha to stop over for up to four days. Currently, Qatar Airways has a fleet of 191 aircraft flying to more than 150 business and leisure destinations across six continents. --IANS ppg-rv/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Rajniesh Duggall says he had his share of scary moments while shooting for the forthcoming horror film "Saansein: The Last Breath". Talking about working with his co-star Sonarika Bhadoria, Rajniesh said in a statement: "We did have our share of scary moments, but the end result is more than satisfactory. The music is a breath of fresh air and had a great time shooting with Sonarika." Sonarika is also all praise for the actor. "He (Rajniesh) is a professional and makes everyone around him very comfortable. Working with him on my first film was a great experience. On the sets, we became close friends and I think our chemistry reflects on the screen as well," she said. The movie, helmed by Rajiv Ruia, was entirely shot in Mauritius. It will hit the screens on Friday. --IANS nn/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Wednesday hauled up the government for not amending the Lokpal Act to recognise the leader of the single largest opposition party in Parliament as the leader of the opposition for constituting the Selection Committee for Lokpal. "For last two-and-a-half years there is no leader of opposition. This position is likely to continue for next two-and-a-half years. There would be no leader of opposition. Will you allow the law to become redundant just because there is no leader of opposition?" asked the bench of Chief Justice T.S Thakur, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice L. Nageswara Rao. Noting the manner government was dragging its feet in amending the Lokpal law for recognising the leader of the largest opposition group as the leader of opposition for forming a Selection Committee, the bench said: "This is an institution intended to bring probity in public life, then this institution must work. We will not allow the situation where the institution is rendered redundant." As Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi resisted suggestion from senior counsel Shanti Bhushan, who told the court that the matter could not be left to the political parties and the court should step in, Chief Justice Thakur said: "The law was notified in January 2014 and now we will be in January 2017." He told the government: "What you are doing in other enactments, you are not doing in it (Lokpal)." Shanti Bhushan appeared for the petitioner NGO Common Cause that has challenged the Rules for setting up the Lokpal Selection Committee. Doubting the intention of the government in putting in place the institution of Lokpal, Bhushan wondered what prevented the government from issuing an ordinance to say that the leader of the largest opposition party would be treated as the leader of the opposition for the purposes of the Selection Committee. Rohatgi opposed the suggestion by Bhushan that the judiciary should pass a direction to Parliament to pass the amendment, saying it would amount to judicial legislation. "We have introduced the amendment to the Lokpal Act. Judiciary can't direct Parliament. It would amount to judicial legislation," he said. At this Chief Justice Thakur said: "You are committed to Lokpal and you also say that the leader of the single largest party should be recognised as leader of opposition. You should welcome any judgment by the court saying the leader of the single largest party would be treated as the leader of the opposition (for the purpose of Lokpal Act)." As the Attorney General showed his reluctance to accept the suggestion, the bench said: "It would mean court can't give any direction, you will not legislate, how can it be done Mr AG?" The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, provides for the Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of Opposition, Chief Justice of India and an eminent jurist (to be selected by the first four) for the selection of Chairman and the members of Lokpal. The Lokpal statute says the Selection Committee, before selecting the Chairman and members of Lokpal, would set up a Search Committee of at least seven people of standing having special knowledge in different wings of administration including vigilance, finance, anti-corruption policy, public administration, policy making, insurance and banking. Rohatgi had in 2014 said that the absence of a recognised Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha would not cloud appointments to statutory bodies - Lokpal, Central Vigilance Commission, Central Bureau of Investigation, Central Information Commission and National Human Rights Commission. The AG had said this in his advisory opinion to the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The AG's opinion was sought after Congress President Sonia Gandhi had written to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking that the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha be recognised as Leader of Opposition. The court pulled up the government in the course of hearing of a petition by Common Cause challenging the Lokpal Selection Committee Rules coming in the way of setting up a committee for the last two years. --IANS pk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over two weeks after Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung rejected a Delhi government proposal to open mohalla clinics inside school premises, Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia met Jung over the issue. After the meeting, Sisodia told reporters that Jung has "almost agreed" to the government's proposal. "I talked to the Lt. Governor and told him how important these mohalla clinics are and how they can provide the best healthcare to school students," Sisodia said. "Let's see what happens now. The LG has almost agreed," he added. On November 4, Jung had rejected the government's move to set up mohalla clinics in school premises and had sent back the file related to the project. The LG's office had then said that that are some restrictions under the Delhi School Education Act according to which school premises can only be used for functioning of the school and no unauthorised person can enter the premises. Sisodia said that the proposal was for government schools while Jung had confused it with private ones. Mohalla clinics are run by the Delhi government and are aimed at providing free primary healthcare to all. --IANS vv/pgh/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand on Wednesday, police said. "Six Maoist guerrillas were killed in a gun battle with security forces in Lather district under Chhipadohar police station," Inspector General of Police (operation) and spokesperson M.S. Bhatia told IANS. All six bodies along with weapons were recovered. A search operation was, however, still on in the area, Bhatia said. Police believed that some Maoists were injured in the gun battle so the combing operation was undertaken. "This is a big success for the police. Police have succeeded in neutralising Maoists in a tough terrain," said Bhatia. All six killed belonged to the banned Maoist group, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). Maoist Guerrillas are active in 18 of the 24 districts of the state. --IANS ns/in/ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two crown jewels of Tata Sons -- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tata Steel -- on Wednesday debunked claims made by Cryus Mistry's office a day earlier. On its part, TCS rebutted claims made by Mistry's office that the company had a 'near death experience' at the hands of Ratan Tata. In a rebuttal, TCS issued a statement on behalf of F.C. Kohli, former Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of TCS. "Cyrus Mistry's comments regarding the sale of TCS to IBM at some 'unspecified point in time' are not correct," Kohli was quoted in the statement. "I was actively involved in the decision to bring IBM to India. A JV (joint venture) for hardware manufacturing and support in India, Tata IBM, was set up in 1991-92. This JV was undertaken to promote a computer hardware industry in India which was non-existent at that time." "I would like to reiterate that at no point at that time was there ever an intention of the Tata Group to sell TCS to IBM." The rebuttal came a day after Mistry's office alleged that TCS had a 'near death experience' at the hands of Ratan Tata. "When one talks about vision and near death experiences, it is worth recounting a little known fact. Midway during the TCS journey to date, F.C. Kohli was suffering from a cardiac condition. Ratan Tata was then heading Tata Industries' joint venture with IBM and approached JRD Tata with a proposal from IBM to buyout TCS," Mistry's office had alleged in a statement on Tuesday. "JRD Tata refused to discuss the deal because F.C. Kohli was still recovering in the hospital from his setback. On his return, Kohli assured JRD that TCS had a bright future and the group should not sell the company. "JRD Tata turned down the offer, demonstrating true vision. But, it was also a near-death experience for TCS at the hands of Ratan Tata," the statement from Mistry's office claimed. Tata Steel, too, debunked allegations made by Mistry's office that ego issues had caused the Tata Group to suffer a huge unnecessary premia on the purchase of Corus Steel. "The company strongly dismisses the unsubstantiated allegations being made against the company, its erstwhile board and management," Tata Steel said in a separate statement. "The acquisition of Corus Group Plc was based on the long term strategy of the company to pursue growth through international expansion and enhance the portfolio of value added products." "The performance of Corus Plc post acquisition validated the strategy till the black swan event of the global financial crisis structurally impacted the underlying demand conditions in Europe causing financial hardship to the entire industry." Tata Steel elaborated that the entire acquisition was undertaken by following due 'board governance process' under the supervision and oversight of the board of the company. "The acquisition proposal was extensively deliberated in the board and the board approved the transaction," Tata Steel said in the statement. "As a responsible listed company, Tata Steel also made appropriate disclosures at various stages of the transaction to the regulators during years 2006 and 2007. These disclosures are available on the websites of the stock exchanges". On Tuesday, Mistry's office observed that ego issues had caused the Tata Group to suffer a huge unnecessary premia on the purchase of Corus Steel. "It is common knowledge that the decision to acquire Corus for over USD 12 billion, when only a year earlier it was available at less than half that price, was based on one man's ego and against the reservations of some board members and senior executives," the statement from Mistry's office had said. "The overpayment made it harder to invest in the acquired assets which had been neglected, and thereby, placed many jobs at risk." Another rebuttal to the allegations made by Mistry's office came from B. Muthuraman, former Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Tata Steel. "I am surprised and very sad to see the speculative and biased views being fed in the media regarding the acquisition of Corus nearly a decade back in early 2007," Muthuraman's office said in a statement. "The long-term strategy of Tata Steel was well thought out after a lot of deliberation to grow the company through capacity expansion in India and internationally through inorganic growth." "The overseas growth strategy was also to focus on accessing new markets through acquisitions, enhance the technology capability of the company and develop high end premium products." According to Muthuraman, following the successful acquisition of NatSteel in Singapore and Millennium Steel in Thailand, Corus Group plc provided a natural fit for the company's portfolio especially since the Netherlands facilities which is the gold standard in competitive positioning were part of the asset perimeter. "The Board of Tata Steel was deeply involved in all the deliberations and had approved the transaction. The value of Corus increased since the initial bid in line with the commodity price boom, its underlying performance and the transaction process," Muthuraman's office said. "The acquisition was through a transparent auction process managed by the Takeover regulator in the UK and the acquisition price was 50 million pounds higher than the next bidder. In the first two years of the acquisition itself, Corus had an average annual EBIDTA of over 1 billion pounds which justified the reasonableness of the acquisition." "The sudden and unprecedented scale of the global financial crisis in 2008 had a very significant adverse impact on the industry fundamentals in Europe which also impacted the performance of Corus. Therefore, such frivolous and unconsidered comments on the acquisition should be avoided." --IANS rv/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday urged President Pranab Mukherjee to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi to redress the problems faced by the people following demonetisation. She demanded to know why Modi was scared of facing the opposition in Parliament. "The people of the country and the entire opposition is seeking answers but the Prime Minister seems to be unable to gather courage and face those questions," she told the media. "He is trying to defend the decision outside the House but inside he is deputing others to answer for him," Mayawati said. The Bahujan Samaj Party chief said Modi's failure to face the opposition in the house was an indication "something being wrong". "If he has done it (demonetisation) for the sake of the people, if he has done a good job, for curbing black money, then why is the Prime Minister scared? "This means 'daal mein kuch nahi balki bahut kuch kaala hai'," said the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. Accusing the Modi government of being dictatorial, Mayawati said the President should immediately summon Modi. "The President should also set a time frame for the Prime Minister within which he has to sort out the miseries of the people," she said. Referring to the repeated ceasefire by Pakistan and the killing of three soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir, Mayawati said the country's borders were not secure under the Modi regime. "When the BJP was not in power it used to talk a lot about how they will secure the borders if they came to power. "Now it has been more than two years that they have been in power and I want to ask the Prime Minister, are the borders secure? "Can the Prime Minister say that our borders are secure. Even yesterday (Tuesday) three of our soldiers were martyred in Kashmir," she said. Mayawati also alleged that the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh was acting under pressure from the Centre. "Instead of helping the people of the state in their miseries brought by demonetisation, the state government is inflicting more agony on them. Police are raining blows on people queuing up at ATMs and banks to withdraw their own money. "Police have resorted to baton charge in many places including Agra and Fatehpur. The SP government instead of supporting the common people of the state is working under the pressure of the central government." --IANS and-kd/ahm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Recent news flow around government imposing a fine of $1.55 billion in respect of gas migrated from neighbouring blocks is just one of the factors weighing on the Reliance Industries (RIL) stock. Despite RIL's decision to contest this penalty via arbitration, the stock has not moved much. Concerns on project delays and cost over-runs along with expectations of delayed break-even of its telecom venture Jio have also kept the stock price under check in recent times. In fact, at current levels, the scrip trades at just 1.1 times FY18 estimated book value which is closer to its 10-year low. On a price to earnings basis as well, the scrip trades at 10.5 times FY18 estimated earnings which is below its historical average one-year forward price to earnings ratio of about 13.5 times. These valuations seem to adequately capture most of the concerns around RIL, believe analysts. But does this mean the stock could rally from here on? Not quite, at least for short-term investors. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday reiterated the Opposition's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committe (JPC) probe in the government's move, claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi had informed his friends earlier. "We feel that this decision is a scam. The Prime Minister had informed his close friends about this before the announcement. We want a JPC probe in this," Gandhi said. Demanidng Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply in Parliament on demonetisation, Gandhi said, "What the Prime Minister has done is world's biggest impromptu financial experiment. He didn't discuss it with anyone. This isn't the Finance Minister's decision, it's PM's. He must come to Parliament and sit through entire debate on ." With increased reports of hate crimes across the United States since the Nov. 8 election, including several cases in New York state, public officials are rightfully condemning such acts. In one of several public responses to the situation, Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave a speech on the situation at a New York City church on Sunday. "The divisiveness must stop and New Yorkers will not be bystanders to the injustice. That is not the New York way. We will fight sexism and racism and bigotry wherever we see it. We will stand up for the rights of immigrants because we believe our diversity is a strength, not a weakness," the Democratic governor said. Governments, elected leaders respond to uptick in hate crime HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Amid reports of hate crimes and hate speech following the election of A day later, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, also a Democrat, delivered his own speech with a similar theme: "The NYPD is ready to act. The Human Rights Commission is ready to act. If you see someone in danger because of a bias attack, call 9-1-1. If you have information about acts of hatred and harassment and hate speech, call 3-1-1. But whatever you do, call so we can get to work stamping out all hatred and bias in this city." And after those two had given their speeches, Ed Cox, the head of New York's Republican Party, blasted them both Monday: "What we have witnessed from both Gov. Cuomo at the Abyssinian Baptist Church yesterday and Mayor de Blasio at Cooper Union this morning is a naked and unseemly fight to position themselves to be the 2020 Democratic nominee for President. These two scorpions in a bottle are each trying to outdo one another with slanderous fear-mongering hyperbole, rather than focusing on their respective jobs running New York State and New York City. Both officials need a strong working relationship with the federal government and with each suffering from low job approval ratings, they should get back to working on behalf of New Yorks citizens, not their own political ambitions. Later, a Cuomo spokesman said this about Cox: "Only Ed Cox would think standing up for the rights of New Yorkers is divisive. He should leave the country club once in a while. Add it all up, and what do you have? Politics as usual. Leaders on both sides of the aisle are once again attempting to score points with their bases using flowery rhetoric or clever insults. What are they not doing? Trying to work together to combat a real problem that's emerged in an ugly way the past couple of weeks. To our elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans, we ask that you get beyond the obsession for creating sound bites and figure out a way to come together on issues that the overwhelming majority of citizens can agree on. Demonstrating zero tolerance for hate crimes is such an issue. A countrywide protest call on Monday, 28 November, against demonetisation, will test opposition unity but may also cast a shadow on the Narendra Modi government's plan of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) rollout by April 1, 2017. The government, however, is hopeful that winter session proceedings of Parliament should be back on track in the coming days. Various opposition will take their protests inside Parliament against currency demonetisation to the streets across the country on Monday, as 'Jan Akrosh Divas (People's Anger Day)'. This was announced after around 200 lawmakers from 14 parties formed a human chain inside the Parliament complex, in a show of strength against the government. Demanding a parliamentary committee probe into the issue, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said, We want the prime minister who represents the country to come to Parliament. He will have to listen to us, will have to sit there. We see a scam behind this move. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefly in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, when only one question could be taken for discussion, with loud sloganeering from the opposition benches. It was the fifth day of stalling Parliament. Congress communication department chief Randeep Surjewala said all were together and each would contribute to the Jan Akrosh rallies in their own way. (Our) state and district unit heads will stage protest rallies across the country on Monday, he said, adding the banning of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8 had not helped curb black money but had adversely impacted the common citizen, the rural sector and small traders. According to a CPI-M leader, state committees will decide on various forms of actions - mass demonstrations, dharnas, picketing of Reserve Bank and central government offices, road and rail blockades and so forth on Monday, with other Left parties. Outside Parliament, the Aam Aadmi and Nationalist Congress parties joined a protest organised by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. She said: "The government should understand that whatever they did is affecting normal people. This time, nobody will support their party." A total of 1,377 URLs of social media websites/webpages were blocked during 2013-16 under the section 69A of IT Act, Parliament was informed today. "A total of 1,377 URLs of social media websites/webpages were blocked in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 (upto October 30, 2016) under section 69A through the Committee constituted under the Rules therein," Minister of State for Electronics and IT P P Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, has provisions for removal of objectionable online content, he added. Further, a total of 1,670 URLs of social media websites were blocked in compliance with the directions of the competent Courts of India during the same period. The Government takes action under Section 69A of IT Act for blocking of websites/webpages with objectionable contents, whenever requests are received from designated nodal officers or upon Court orders. The said section empowers government to block any information generated, transmitted, received, stored or hosted in any computer resource in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India and security of the state amongst others. Also, the IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011 under Section 79 of the IT Act requires that intermediaries observe due diligence and inform users of computer resources to not host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update or share any information that is harmful, objectionable, affect minors and unlawful in any way. Responding to a question, Chaudhary said that government has not directed social media sites including Google, WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter to set up servers in the country. In a separate response, Minister of Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said with widespread proliferation of new technologies like social media and mobile apps, there are some negative elements who are misusing these technologies for committing cyber crimes. "As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 5693, 9622 and 11,592 cyber crime cases were registered during the years 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively," he said. Prasad added that the government has taken various steps in the form of legal framework, emergency response, awareness training, and implementation of best practices to prevent occurence of cyber breaches and cyber crime. He said his ministry is implementing Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) project to train professionals/ government officials and create mass information security awareness among citizens. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two men have been arrested for allegedly duping a woman of Rs 6 lakh after a person, posing as a British national, befriended her on Facebook. In a complaint to police last month, the woman said that she had befriended a person on the social networking site who identified himself as Daniel Brown, a British national, said Surendra Kumar, DCP (southwest). After Daniel told her that he had sent 35,500 Pounds, she received a call from a woman, who identified herself as a customs official posted at Mumbai airport and told the victim to pay Rs 86,000 and receive the money sent by Daniel, the police officer said. The victim deposited the amount to the bank account specified by the accused. Later, on their further demands she paid more totalling around Rs 6 lakh, Kumar said. On the basis of her complaint, police launched a technical surveillance and arrested Shobhit and Pradip, he said. A large number of forged documents and IDs including 1,850 PAN cards, 900 voter ID cards, 350 mobile SIM cards, 186 passbooks, 430 cheque books and 290 ATM cards were seized from them, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Royal Dutch Shell have evinced interest in hiring strategic oil storages that India has built on east and west coasts, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today. India, which is 80 per cent dependent on imports to meet its crude oil needs, has built three underground oil storages at Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka as insurance against supply disruptions. "ADNOC of UAE, Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Shell have expressed their interest in storing crude oil in the strategic petroleum reserve facilities," he said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha here. Pradhan said under Strategic Petroleum Reserve project Phase-I, underground rock caverns for storage of 5.33 million tons of crude oil at three locations -- Vishakhapatnam (1.33 million tons), Mangalore (1.50 million tons) and Padur (2.5 million tons) have been created. "The Vishakhapatnam and Mangalore storage facilities have already been commissioned. The facility at Vishakhapatnam has already been filled up and nearly one-fourth of Mangalore storage facility has also been filled. The storage facility at Padur has also been completed," he said. These reserves as well as storages at refineries and depots are enough to meet 73.5 days of India's crude requirement, he added. "To facilitate participation of foreign investors in filling up part of Mangalore storage facility, Government has inserted Section 10 48(A) in the Income Tax Act providing for exemption from income tax of a notified foreign oil company," he said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget for 2016-17 gave tax exemption to income of foreign company from storage and sale of crude oil stored as part of strategic reserves. Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) has built the underground storage facility. But to meet the huge cost of filing the storages with crude oil, the Government is keen to meet a substantial part of the financial burden through participation of private players including foreign national oil companies (NOCs) and multinational companies (MNCs) storing and selling crude oil from outside India. However, the storage of crude oil by NOCs/MNCs and its sale in India would have created tax liability for these entities. In order to achieve neutrality in terms of taxation to encourage the NOCs and MNCs to store their crude oil in India and to build up strategic oil reserves, Jaitley amended the provisions of Section 10 of the Act to provide that any income accruing or arising to a foreign company on account of storage of crude oil in a facility in India and sale of crude oil therefrom to any person resident in India shall not be included in the total income. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Around 60 per cent people in Delhi do not feel safe in the city while 64 per cent while commuting in the national capital, according to a survey by an NGO. According to a 'whitepaper' on "State of Policing and Law and Order in Delhi", released by NGO Praja Foundation, about 67 per cent people do not feel secure for women, children and senior citizens in their own locality here while 25 per cent people do not inform police after an incident. A total of 2075 cases of rape were reported in 2014 which increased to 2338 in 2015 even as the survey stated that six rapes happen in the capital everyday. Also, in about 40 per cent rape cases, reported in 2015, the victims were minors, it said. While there were 12,913 complaints registered against Delhi Police personnel in 2015 there were only seven cases in which the police personnel were chargesheeted, claimed the survey. It also said, disciplinary action was initiated against 1057 police personnel during the year. A total of 13,577 burglary cases were reported in 2015. According to it, 67 per cent of the people did not feel safe for women, children and senior citizens in their own locality as compared to Mumbai where 33 per cent people echoed similar sentiments. In old Delhi's Chandni Chowk area, almost 75 per cent people do not feel safe for women, children and senior citizens in Chandni Chowk, claimed the survey. According to the data collected by the NGO through survey of over 29,950 households, 60 per cent of the population doesn't feel safe in Delhi and 64 per cent of people do not feel safe while commuting in Delhi. These results present a stark contrast to Mumbai where the survey claimed that 29 per cent population didn't feel safe there and 31 per cent of the people don't feel secure while commuting within the city. The maximum number of people felt unsafe while travelling in South Delhi, according to the findings. It also highlighted the fact that a close to 25 per cent of people who have been victims have not approached police as they "don't have any faith in the police/legal system" as compared to Mumbai where 13 per cent of the people had similar thoughts. Among those who had reported about a crime to police, 29 per cent expressed satisfaction with police's response. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tech giant Google today said it has selected seven startups from India that will join the third class of its Launchpad Accelerator programme. The shortlisted startups from India include an on-demand wardrobe rentals service (Flyrobe), furniture and appliances rental service (RentoMojo) and tutor help service (HashLearn). Other chosen startups include Curofy (a platform for doctors to discuss medical cases with peers), Happy Adda Studios (offers an Indian word game Jalebi), Playment (allows users to earn money for playing games) and Kapture CRM (helps businesses to do better lead management). These companies will join startups from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico Argentina, Colombia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam as part of the programme, Google said in a statement. These startups will join the six-month long intensive mentoring program from Google for mid to late stage startups including a two-week all-expenses paid bootcamp that will kick off in January at Launchpad Space in San Francisco. Additionally, each startup will get USD 50,000 in equity-free funding, the statement said. "Over the last one year, 13 Indian startups have participated in the programme and many have already gained from the programme and have successfully raised funding," Launchpad Accelerator Program Manager Paul Ravindranath G said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 70 Hindu pilgrims from India have arrived here to participate in 308th birth anniversary of Sant Shada Ram in Sindh province. The Evacuee Trust Property Board officials received the pilgrims at Wagah border yesterday. "Seventy-one Hindu pilgrims, including 17 women, arrived here yesterday to take part in festivities on the birth anniversary of Sant Shada Ram in Mirpur Khas," ETPB spokesman Amir Hashmi said. He said the ETPB, which looks after the holy places of minorities in Pakistan, has ensured foolproof security for the visiting Hindu pilgrims. He said the board has arranged the visit of the pilgrims in seven cities of Sindh. Hashmi said Pakistan had issued visas to 84 Indian applicants. Of them, 13 did not come here due to reasons best known to them. "My father who had 2,000 acre land, left his village close to Mirpur Methaleo during partition. After 70 years, I am fortunate to getopportunity to visit our ancestral place. This visit has brought me immense joy and spiritual satisfaction," one of the visiting members Bansi Lal said, adding both governments should facilitate people-to-people contacts and make visa process hassle free. The Hindu pilgrims will return Lahore on December 2 and leave for India next day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian-American Nikki Haley today said that she would be happy to represent America at the UN, describing it as "an important calling to heed" when the President believes "you have a major contribution" to make to the welfare of the nation. "I was moved to accept this new assignment for two reasons. The first is a sense of duty," 44-year-old Haley, the two-term Governor of South Carolina, said in a statement soon after President-elect Donald Trump named her as the US Ambassador to the UN. "When the President believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation's standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed," she said. "The second is a satisfaction with all that we have achieved in our state in the last six years and the knowledge that we are on a very strong footing," Haley said, adding that she will remain South Carolina Governor until the US Senate acts affirmatively on her nomination. Haley, a Republican, said this month's elections have brought exciting changes to America. "Our country faces enormous challenges here at home and internationally. Last week, President-elect Trump asked if I would meet with him to discuss those challenges, which I was happy to do. He has asked that I serve our country as our next Ambassador to the United Nations. Pending confirmation by the US Senate, I have agreed," she explained. If confirmed by the Senate, Haley would replace Samantha Power, nominee of outgoing president Barack Obama. Six years ago, Haley then a little-known was elected by South Carolina as its first female governor. After Bobby Jindal, she is the second Indian-American Governor. "In the six years that followed, our state has reached incredible heights. We made South Carolina's economic development the envy of the nation and brought new jobs to every county," she said. "We cut our unemployment rate by more than half, employing more South Carolinians than ever before. We reformed how we fund education, moving more resources to communities in greatest need. We passed landmark ethics reforms that make state government more accountable to our people," Haley said in her statement. "We still have much to do in South Carolina, and my commitment to the people of our state will always remain unbreakable, both while I continue to hold this office, and thereafter," she said. Indian-Americans welcomed her nomination. "Great for our nation and Indian Americans. Proud moment," said Shalabh Kumar, founder and president of Republican Hindu Coalition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The strife between First Automobile Works (FAW) and Changan Auto Company has intensified as Mazda 8, FAW's first multiple purpose vehicle (MPV) officially comes off the production line. Just three months ago, the two companies started competing for the car's manufacturing rights. And whoever won would have the privilege of occupying the Chinese domestic MPV market. On September 27, the mayor and secretary of Changchun Municipal Party Committee, as well as leaders from FAW got together at FAW's First Factory, anticipating as FAW's first MPV came out of production line. An employee with FAW-Mazda said proudly that in order to fill the vacancy in FAW's MPV market and also diversify its products, the company has been fasting for four years for Mazda 8's production rights. An insider with the Changan-Mazda said that Changan Auto unexpectedly failed in its fist-twist with Faw. Changan-Mazda sold 66,800 units in the first 10 months, up 22.8 percent from last year but lower than the average increase of 37 percent, making it difficult to realize the company's selling target of 100,000 units for 2010. The company which has been longing for expanding in the high-end market was hoping to vitalize its market by introducing new products. Mazda 5, the next target? As FAW and Changan Auto are in desperate need for new products for expansion, the competition between the two shows no sign of truce. And guesses are cast that their next round will befall on the Mazda 5. Mazda 5, a family compact MPV, has been sold as an imported vehicle in China for two years. Yu Hongjiang, deputy manager of FAW-Mazda said that the manufacturing of Mazda 5 in China is still away from reality, since the prospect of family compact vehicles in China falls behind that of MPVs. As to rumors that Changan-Mazda will sell the model via imports, then later on localize it domestically, He Gang, market manager of Changan-Ford Mazda Sales Company told a reporter that the 2011 Mazda 5 will make its debut at the 2010 Guangzhou Auto Show, and that details will be due at the time. It is not rare case for Mazda to cooperate with FAW in the high-end automobile market, and with Changan Auto in the economic auto market. Therefore, the likelihood of Mazda 5 falling onto Changanese hands is high. "To produce the Mazda 5 in Nanjing is geologically and economically good for both Changan and Mazda's development," an insider with Changan-Mazda said. However, as a two-year-old distributor of Mazda 5, FAW will try its best to joust for the manufacturing rights of the model. Joint Venture, the match point? Industry insiders believe that the competition of products between FAW-Mazda and Changan-Mazda is actually a direct combat between FAW and Changan Auto. "Whoever grasps the lead of new products will occupy the market," an insider said. As US Ford reduced its market share in Mazda to 3.5 percent, the company is free to form two joint ventures in China. According to Noriaki Yamada, executive director of Mazda, the company has made a five-year plan to sell 1,7 million units by 2015; 400,000 of which will be sold in China -25 percent of Mazda's global market share. Yamada said the company will enrich the variety of its products to meet Chinese customers' needs and create more opportunities to cooperate with Chinese companies. Faced with the chance, both FAW and Changan Auto are trying to establish joint ventures with Mazda. It is reported that Changan Auto and Mazda are presently awaiting for necessary approval from the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce of China and State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China for the establishment of a joint venture. Meanwhile, rumor has it that FAW is also considering to found a joint venture with Mazda, however Zhang refused to comment on the issue, saying that as long as the two companies can realize a win-win situation, the cooperation mode could be flexible. Ye Sheng, deputy director of auto research center Ipsos, said that if Changan Auto sets up a joint venture with Mazda ahead of FAW, Changan will have more advantages in introducing new models. Since Mazda only has 4 percent of FAW's market share, FAW's profits and control will decline if the market share of the joint venture is divided in half. Former Vice Chancellor of Jammu University Amitabh Mattoo, advisor to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, on Wednesday tendered his resignation citing personal reasons. "Yes, I have tendered my resignation due to personal reasons. I want to spend some time with my family," Mattoo, who was appointed as an advisor in April this year with the status of a cabinet minister, said. Sources close to him said he will be leaving for Australia in a few days to pursue a career in academics. 53-year-old Mattoo had served as an advisor to the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed in August last year but had to relinquish the post in wake of the Sayeed's death in January this year. He had earlier served as chief executive officer and inaugural director of the Australia India Institute and Professor of International Relations at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Former member of the Knowledge Commission, a high-level advisory group to the Prime Minister of India, Mattoo is on leave from prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University where he serves as a Professor of Disarmament Studies at the School of International Studies. He has the rare distinction of being the youngest Vice Chancellor when he was appointed to hold the post at Jammu University from November 2002 to December 2008. Calling upon workers to protest against "reckless" demonetisation, the central trade unions (CTUs) today demanded that the government should allow the use of scrapped Rs 500/1000 notes till the currency crisis abates. "The CTUs demand upon the government to allow the demonetised currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 to continue till the crisis is abated and arrangement is made to ensure adequate availability of new currency notes and ensure appropriate compensation for those who died owing to this ordeal," stated a joint statement of 10 central trade union. CTUs also called upon workers and their trade unions, irrespective of affiliations, to stand by the suffering people and organise agitations throughout the country to raise their voice of protest against the miseries inflicted on them by a reckless and insensitive government. Leaders of as many as 10 CTUs met yesterday to deliberate on the issue of demonetisation which caused has inconvenience to people and disrupted the economic activities, particularly in informal sector. CTUs had also raised the issue in pre-budget consultations with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday. The statement said CTUs condemn the insensitive, insulting comments and casual behaviour of the central ministers including the Prime Minister and the ruling party leaders on the sufferings of the people caused by the failed government on the plea of controlling black money, on which Supreme Court and High Courts have also made critical comments. Prescription for using credit card and other forms of plastic currency to the suffering millions from the highest position of governance is cruel joke to their daily miseries, hunger and nightmare, it said. The irresponsible and unprepared action of the government on the plea of curbing black money has in essence held the lives and livelihood of workers, peasants and common people none of them are from black money community, to ransom, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Questioning the impact of demonetisation on terror funding, Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh today said the findings of new Rs 2000 notes with slain terrorist in Kashmir has nailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "lies" on the move. "The recovery of the new Rs 2000 notes from the body of the slain terrorist, killed in Bandipora on Monday, has completely nailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's lies on demonetisation," he said in a statement here as Congress party organised a state-wide protest today to protest the Centre's demonetisation move. Capt Amarinder, who has issued directions to all district and block presidents of the party to come out on the streets in protest against Modi's "irrational" demonetisation move, lashed out at the prime minister for allegedly putting the people of the country to extreme hardship on the pretext of putting an end to terror funding from across the border. "So how has demonetisation stopped terror funding, if terrorists are entering from across the border with new notes, which even the people of India are finding difficult to procure," he asked the prime minister. Meanwhile, acting on the directive of Amarinder, Punjab Congress workers across all districts, led by the respective district presidents, launched protest demonstrations in the state on the issue of demonetisation. Shouting anti-Modi and anti-demonetisation slogans against the move, which as per protesters had brought lakhs of people around the country to the brink of disaster and also claimed scores of lives, the Congress workers, also joined by MLAs and block presidents, went around various banks, especially the cooperative banks in the remote areas. Protest marches were held in every district with the party workers and leaders going through the bazaars in each district, demanding immediate withdrawal of the irrational and absurd scheme, a party spokesman said. The protesters reached out to people queued up outside banks for hours to get a mere pittance of their own savings out in order to survive for the next day or two. At the cooperative banks, which have been barred by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from exchanging/accept old notes, they met farmers and villagers who have no access to other banks and are left with no cash to feed themselves and their families, PPCC general secretary Sandeep Sandhu said. The Congress leaders assured the hapless people of all possible help to minimise their woes and said they would continue to provide assistance in filling out forms and through tea and water provision outside banks and ATMs as part of the party's nationwide programme to ease the problems of the common man suffering the impact of Modi's ill-managed demonetisation policy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nobel-Laureate economist Amartya Sen's nearly a decade-long association with Nalanda University has come to an end with the government reconstituting the governing body of the prestigious institute. Sen, a critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was chancellor of the university and his term had come to an end in July last year but he had continued his association as a member of its Governing Board. Sources said President Pranab Mukherjee, in his capacity as the Visitor of the university, approved the reconstitution of the Governing Board in accordance with provision of the Nalanda University Act, 2010. The President also approved giving temporary charge of Vice Chancellor to senior-most Dean of the University as the current VC Gopa Sabharwal's one year extension expires tomorrow. It will be a stop-gap measure until the new Vice Chancellor is appointed. Niti Ayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya, President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations Lokesh Chandra, and Professor Arvind Sharma, Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University in Canada have been appointed as members of the GB under the category of renowned academicians. In February last year, Sen, in a letter to the Governing Board had said he will not seek a second term as Chancellor as the BJP government did not want him to continue. Trinamool Congress MP Sugata Bose and UK-based columnist Lord Meghnad Desai, who were also member of the GB, were not included in the newly-constituted board. The new governing board will be a 14-member body which will be chaired by the chancellor. It will also comprise vice-chancellor, along with five members nominated by India, China, Australia, Laos PDR and Thailand. Economist and former revenue secretary N K Singh, who was also member of the Nalanda Mentors Group, will represent India. The other members of the board will be Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, an Additional Secretary rank official of Ministry of HRD and two members representing the Bihar state government. While Sen could not be contacted for reaction, Bose, a former Harvard professor, said it was government's prerogative to reconstitute the board. But at the same time he said, "There was a need to ponder whether this is the way we maintain national prestige." Reacting to government's decision, Singh said this is for the first time the governing board has been reconstituted in accordance with provision of the Nalanda University Act, 2010, adding it should have been done much earlier. The idea to revive Nalanda University was first mooted in 2005 by the then President APJ Abdul Kalam. The university is being built near the ruins of the historic academic place by the same name in Bihar and Sen was involved with the project since 2007. A number of countries are involved in the project. Indian government had enacted the Nalanda University Act, 2010 to implement the decisions arrived at the Second East Asia Summit held in January, 2007 in the Philippines and subsequently at the Fourth East Asia Summit in Thailand for establishment of the Nalanda University. In 2007, the Nalanda Mentor Group (NMG) was formed to implement the project. The NMG was discharging the functions of the Governing Board. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Gujarat government today told the high court that two retired police officers who are accused in fake encounter cases were reappointed on contract basis because their performance in the past was "outstanding". The state filed an affidavit before the division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi in response to a PIL filed by retired IPS officer Rahul Sharma, challenging reappointment of N K Amin as SP, Mahisagar, and Tarun Barot as DySP, Western Railways at Vadodara. The past performance of Amin and Barot, as per their confidential reports, was "outstanding", so in compliance with a government resolution they were reappointed for a period of one year, said Nikhil Bhatt, joint secretary (personnel) home department, in the affidavit. Sharma said in his petition that the two officers had "criminal antecedents" and their reappointment was not in the public interest. The government rejected Sharma's contention that police officers are appointed as per the Bombay Police Act. SP and DySP-rank officers are not under this Act, it said. Government is empowered to grant contractual appointment on non-technical posts subject to conditions laid down in a resolution dated December 23, 1996, the affidavit said. Amin and Barot were appointed "after considering past ten years of their confidential reports as required under the GR (government resolution)", it said. Sharma had pointed out that Amin was arrested and listed in the charge sheet in Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Ishrat Jahan fake encounter cases. He was discharged in the first case, while the Ishrat Jahan case was still pending before the trial court, he said. Barot was named in the charge sheet and arrested in Ishrat Jahan and Sadiq Jamal fake encounter cases and later got bail, Sharma's petition said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The agency developing the new Andhra Pradesh capital has come out with several options, including creation of a Government-to-Government (G2G) Equity Fund, to mobilise the Rs 58,000 crore required for completing the project in the next three years. Of the total amount, Rs 32,000 crore is required for development of basic infrastructure like roads, drinking water, drains and lighting in the capital Amaravati, according to proposals drafted by the AP Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA). CRDA Commissioner C Sreedhar made a presentation on this at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu here today. A round-table meet will be conducted here on November 25 to explore the investment and fund-raising options. Various countries that evinced interest in partnering with the State Government in the development of Amaravati would be roped in as partners in the proposed G2G Equity Fund, Sreedhar explained. A sum of Rs 1,400 crore is expected to be raised through the Fund, which will be spent on mixed-use development and social infrastructure development in the capital. Issuing Capital Development Bonds to raise Rs 2,000 crore is another option the CRDA has come out with. "We have to appoint an investment advisor and also fulfil certain legal process for setting up the G2G Equity Fund. For issuing the Capital Development Bonds, clearances from the Finance Department and the State Cabinet are required," the Commissioner said. Already, the CRDA is in talks with the World Bank for a USD 500-million loan, while Hudco, a Central PSU, has given a "firm commitment" for a Rs 7,500-crore loan. The state and Central government is also expected to extend required financial support for the capital development. In fact, the Centre has already released Rs 1,500 crore for construction of key Government buildings like Secretariat, High Court and Legislature complex and the CRDA expects to get another Rs 1,000 crore soon. A Public-Private Partnership model is also being looked at to raise Rs 5,500 crore for creation of power distribution network, water and road network. An empowered committee will be put in place to approve the PPP structure, an official release said. Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Municipal Minister P Narayana and senior officials attended the meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Expressing concern over poor revision of electoral rolls of service voters, including armed forces personnel, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi today urged ministries to appoint nodal officers so that more and more such personnel can exercise their democratic right. He also urged all stakeholders, including the Defence and the Home ministries, not to indulge in blame game and work together to ensure that the newly-developed delivery of postal ballots to service voters through electronic means can be improved. "We are working with an open mind to improve the system," he said. He said "naysayers" who have raised concerns about the e-ballot system are being addressed by the IT experts so that a fool-proof technology is in place. Issues like hacking of one-time passwords (OTP) meant for a service voter to download the postal ballot have been raised by people sceptical of the new system. Zaidi said the e-ballot system will be "escalated" in the coming days ahead of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa to be held early next year. Addressing a seminar of stakeholders on the e-ballot system introduced in October, the CEC said the electoral rolls relating to service voters is "not satisfactory" and "not updated". He said out of nearly 25 lakh personnel of armed forces and central and state police organisations, some 14 lakh are service voters. Service voters consist of armed police forces of the central government, other forces subject to the provisions of the Army Act, armed forces of a state serving outside that state, and those employed under the government of India in a post outside India. Personnel posted in peace stations can also enrol themselves as regular voters and such people are then not included in electoral rolls meant for service voters. Zaidi said he has written to External Affairs, Home and Defence ministers requesting them to appoint nodal officers in their respective ministries so that they can regularly interact with the election machinery to help more and more service voters, posted at far off places, cast their vote through postal ballot. Speaking on the occasion, Army's Adjutant General Lt Gen Rakesh Sharma flagged a variety of issues dealing with practical problems relating to postal ballot. He said the OTP should be provided at the unit level and not to soldiers because in far-flung areas there are no mobile connections and a service voter will not get it without a proper mobile connection. He said there are logistical difficulties in sending the envelope prescribed by the EC to the service voter to send his postal ballot to the concerned returning officer. He said allowing use of locally-procured envelopes is one of the solutions. He said the Army is working overtime to correct the service voters' electoral rolls from the scratch. Three out of four service voters in Puducherry's Nellithope assembly constituency used the e-ballot to cast their votes in November 19 bypoll. The new system was used as a pilot project in the state. Accepting a long-pending demand, government has amended electoral rules to allow service voters, including Armed Forces personnel, to get their postal ballot through electronic means to save valuable time. This would mean that service voters, including personnel from armed forces, can now download the blank post ballot sent to them electronically, mark their preference and post the filled-up ballot back to their respective returning officers. This would cut short the delay experienced in the present system of two-way transmission of ballot paper by the postal services. Two-way electronic transmission has not been recommended by the Election Commission for security and secrecy reasons. Businesswoman Ivanka Trump, daughter of President-elect Donald Trump, spoke with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri when he phoned her father to congratulate him on winning the White House, officials has said. Both Trump and Macri are heirs to real estate holdings, and they worked together in the 1980s, Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra yesterday told a press conference. When Macri placed the call November 14, he asked to speak to Ivanka, whom he has known since she was a child. In addition to running a jewelry line, Ivanka Trump is a Trump organization vice president for development. of the conversation came as a report surfaced that Donald Trump had asked Macri to approve a building project by one of his companies in Buenos Aires, a claim that Macri's government has sharply denied. Malcorra said there was no discussion between Macri and Trump on real estate development. "No. Not at all. They just talked about maintaining the (bilateral) relationship and recalled the personal relationship they had years ago," she said. The also arrived in the wake of a torrent of criticism caused by official snapshots of the president-elect's first meeting with a foreign leader on Thursday showing Ivanka Trump sitting in on the talks with Japan's Shinzo Abe. She and her businessman husband Jared Kushner could be seen chatting and laughing with the prime minister's delegation at Trump Tower. Argentina's top diplomat said Macri had merely exchanged pleasantries with Ivanka, whom he has known for years. "She's right here next to me. I'll pass over the phone," Malcorra quoted Donald Trump as telling Macri. "Macri and Ivanka exchanged pleasantries," Malcorra said. The unclear role of Trump's family in his administration has raised concerns, largely due to potential conflicts of interest. Macri will travel to New York on December 10 to meet with the Trump team, Malcorra added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag today met General Liu Yuejun, the commander of Chinese army's eastern theatre, and exchanged views on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border and enhancing military-to-military exchanges. Gen Suhag, who is on a four-day visit to China, met Gen Liu, in Nanjing, capital of eastern China's Jiangsu province, an official statement said. They exchanged views on maintenance of peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), terrorism and enhancing military-to-military exchanges, it said. Gen Suhag also extended an invite to Gen Liu Yuejun to visit India, the statement added. Gen Suhag is visiting China at the invitation of General Fan Changlong, a Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC). During the visit, General Suhag is expected to discuss a host of issues including efficacy of mechanism put in place to deal with transgressions of troops aggressively patrolling the areas claimed by both the countries. While relations between the two militaries improved with visits by high-level officials including defence ministers, officials say the relations remained tenuous with steady increase of Pakistan-related issues affecting their growth. Gen Suhag has held talks with another CMC Vice Chairman General Xu Qiliang and head of China's ground forces Gen Li Zuocheng during the visit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Army today launched a counter offensive against Pakistan along the LoC after three Indian soldiers were killed, with body of one of them mutilated in a cross-LoC attack, even as Pakistani troops continued to shell Indian positions, injuring two six jawans. The offensive came hours after the Indian Army vowed "heavy retribution" to the attack on its soldier. Brigadier General Staff (BGS) of Northern Command, Brig P S Gotra said India Army launched a counter offensive along the LoC in retaliation to yesterday's offensive in Machhil sector of Kashmir. Indian Army posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply, Defence PRO Manish Mehta said. Pakistan Army also fired at Indian posts along the LoC in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nowshera sectors. Four jawan of army were injured in shelling by Pakistani troops along LoC today, an Army officer said. "Two BSF jawans suffered minor injuries in ceasefire violation by Pakistan troops along LoC in Bhimbher Gali area of Rajouri district at 0945 hours today", a senior BSF officer said. They are out of danger, he said. In the cross-LoC attack by suspected Pakistani terrorists, three Indian soldiers were yesterday killed, with body of one of them being mutilated. The ambush on the army patrol took place in Machhil sector of Kashmir, following which the Indian Army vowed heavy "retribution". The Northern Command spokesman had yesterday tweeted, "3 soldiers killed in action on LC (Line of Control) in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated." He said the "retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act." This is the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier in the same sector since October 28. On that day, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, had crossed the Line of Control and killed an Indian army jawan and mutilated his body in Macchil sector. One attacker was killed in that incident. The 2003 India-Pakistan ceasefire agreement has virtually become redundant with nearly 300 incidents of firing and shelling along LoC and IB in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani troops that resulted in death of 26 people, including 14 security personnel, since the surgical strike on terrorist launch pads in PoK. India and Pakistan entered into no-firing agreement along Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir in 2003. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Eric Herman General Manager China GE Plastics, Automotive Eric Herman is general manager of GE - Plastics, Automotive in China, a position he assumed in April 2005. Herman is based in Shanghai, China where he is responsible for GE's automotive sales and marketing strategy and for driving strategic growth in the China automotive industry through leadership in technology and innovation. Prior to assuming his current role, Herman was commercial director for GE Plastics, Automotive in Europe. He was appointed to the position in July 2003. Herman joined GE - Plastics in 1991. Herman graduated cum laude from the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands in 1989 with a master's degree in materials science and engineering. He also holds a Six Sigma Black Belt. The Seventh Edition of Series of Interview with MNC Auto Parts Suppliers New material, New design Gasgoo: First of all, thank you very much to accept the interview from gasgoo.com Eric: Thank you for inviting me today. Gasgoo: We want to invite you to briefly introduce the services and products of GE Plastics' Automotive Division. Eric: Ok. First of all, GE Plastics is a manufacturing of resins, and plastic materials, that's raw material that auto people use to make very nice products like car parts, but also mobile phones, computers, it's used in a wide variety of markets, The automotive division focuses purely on the automotive market. Where we work very closely with our customers to basically give them solutions: material solutions to the problems they face, like light weight solutions, like materials that can help them meet safety requirements, materials that are environmentally progressive, to give them good solutions to the harsh requirements that are out there. Gasgoo: Ok, thanks you. Can you also introduce what's the advantage when the users, especially the Chinese people, put the plastics on automobiles? Eric: Sure, I think one of the key advantages of plastic material is that it gives weight out for as traditional materials like glass and steel. Typically, our materials can give up a weight reduction of 30% to 50%. If you would see, our partners will be showcasing two special vehicles at the Shanghai auto show. One of them is the GM Chevrolet Volt vehicle, the other one will be the Hyundai Carmac, the "Advanced Technology Demonstration Vehicle". On those cars, for example, we have taken out 60-90 kilograms of weight for as traditional materials like glass and steel. A second very important thing is a huge drive in the industry to go to more environmentally green products because the auto makers are looking what impacts they have on the environment. We have the materials that don't contain any hazardous substances. We have materials that can be recycled. Those are very important items. Then safety, there is also a huge drive to increase safety as well as for occupants, people inside of a car, pedestrians who walk the street and who are impacted by traffic accidents. Globally there is a huge drive to implement legislation, and we have solutions, so combination of material and design solution, to help meet those requirements globally and also in China. And then design, I think we're all car buyers, you, me, one day will buy a car, and the car should look nice, and I think the opportunities we can give with plastic materials to give it much nicer shapes, and design freedom for designers, colors, shapes. That's enabled by plastic materials. Gasgoo: Ok. Generally speaking, for GE Plastics, how much percentage of plastic application in the vehicle now? Eric: I think for GE plastics, automotive is a very important segment, and we have more than 20% of our revenue all generated from automotive. Gasgoo: Ok, then how is it in the China market? Eric: In the China market, automotive is also a very important market segment for us. I think revenues are slightly lower than the number I mentioned before, and it is the market we have been predominately very much in electronics, but it is very fastly catching up, and getting close to the global average. Be closer to customers Gasgoo: Ok. Considering the automotive supply chain, for GE parts, you served as a Tier-1 supplier in direct contact with the OEMs, like Hyundai, or you just, like the Tier-2 suppliers, contact with the Tier-1 suppliers? Eric: I think in this case I need to explain a little bit better, because actually our products are grand new, right? We have plastic raw materials that sometimes we supply directly to the OEM, sometimes we supply to Tier-1, sometimes we supply to Tier-2. So actually from the supply chain perspective, we work with OEM, with Tier-1 as well as with Tier-2. Our activities might be slightly different depending on who we are working with. So, we're very close with the molders, the Tier-2 or the Tier-3, to give them support on how to mould the products, how to work with our materials to make sure they get the optimum effect of using our materials. With the OEMs on the other side, we're very much looking at future vehicles, what are the trends, what kind of material solutions are you looking for, and in that case more involvement in development factors, and coming up with new material solutions and new products. Also with some of the Tiers we are working with in the same way, we serve them all with the production side, but also on the development side. And this is also something which makes us different from a lot of other people: we look at materials the way you process materials, and how you design as one unit, and we spent a lot of time, effort and money to make sure that we can give best solutions to our customers, so we invest in understanding processing and supporting our customers, we invest in design and engineering and helping our customers. Even that we don't make parts, but we want to make sure that the customers who make the parts are really very successfully with what they do. Gasgoo: So you always put the customers' requirements as the first priority. Eric: Customer priority is number one. Gasgoo: Yeah, that's right. What's the difference between contacting with the OEMs and contacting with the Tier-1 suppliers? Eric: It depends a little bit on the specific situation. What you see in the industry that sometimes the design and engineering is done by the OEMs, sometimes for example instrument panel, can be designed by the OEM, sometimes can also be designed by Tier. It just depends the OEM you are working with, so that's different depending on the parts. Also our activities depend on what the Tier or OEM does. Brigth future of Plastic material application on automobile Gasgoo: We know that in current China market, most of the suppliers attach much importance on metals, glasses, and those traditional materials, and so can you give us some little tips on the future trend of the materials in cars? Eric: First of all, please go and visit the show this week, you will see those two vehicles I mentioned before, the GM Chevrolet Volt, as well as the Hyundai Carmac, where you will see a 60 up to 90 kilograms of the plastic materials used on those vehicles. So I'm even excluding the foam and the rubber elements on that one. I strongly believe that it will come in the future. I think we just have some way to go to help the Chinese industry, but the industry globally, to understand the benefits of the material, how it works to bring light weight, how can you improve the safety, how can you improve the performance, and how can you make sure that you meet the requirements that we as a society have, environmentally progressive solutions. Gasgoo: Can you give us little detailed programs in future strategies in China market? Eric: I think one of the things, for example, one is safety, we have for example finished the program to get with the Chongqing Chang'an Suzuki for energy absorber that is a part of the front of the car, which basically help absorb the energy and give less damage to the car, as well as people in the traffic accident. And you'll also see in the road here in China, the first cars with plastic fenders, that,s front fenders, made out of Noryl GTX, and if you look at the C4 here in the road in China. So I think there are many examples to come, that people also hear about the cars looking for light weight solutions, so we can get all the exterior body parts, and look for glazing opportunities which gives you freedom, if you look at the panoramic view, where you can look outside. Gasgoo: Yeah, that's right. Eric: And as a consumer, environmental solutions, I think people are very conscious about the materials that they use. I actually just want to take one example, talked about environment, we recently launched a new product range, which we called Valox iQ. It's basically made of these plastic water bottles we normally throw away. We have developed the process that we take these down in a chemical way to its building blocks; upgrade it again to a prime quality, very good quality material that is being used, for example, on a front part of a bumper system or being used on the doors. I think that's a very example of our environmental friendly way of giving solutions to our customers. Gasgoo: So what are the main customers in China market currently? Eric: I think at the moment we supply to all major OEMs here in China, as well as joint venture companies, and some of the local companies. Gasgoo: For local companies, like for example? Eric: I think it's very difficult to give an exact example, because we have them in front where we talked about this application, that's our policy. But I think if you look at cars, specifically domestic, look at the lighting systems on the cars, the light you see, look at the grills, look at the door handles, and it is a big chance, it's all made of our materials. Supporting Chinese Market with R&D Gasgoo: What's the biggest difference when you contact the joint venture or the local car makers during the communication process? Eric: I think the communication is essential, that's a great question. When in joint venture companies, often the reference and the frame, people understand that some of the applications are better, because they have constant information. Sometimes with the domestics OEMs we have to spent more time to train the people because a lot of people are relatively young compared to let's say, people in Europe who work in car manufacturers, or in America, I think it's our pleasure, we spent a lot of time educating, training people on plastics because I think it's also our job to tell people what's possible plastic materials, etc. Gasgoo: As for the technology, did you bring major technology into China or develop some new technology in China? Eric: We want to do both. What we try to do is to introduce all the technologies which use globally, also to the China market. But in general hand, like you said earlier, customers are number one, so our basic approach is also to understand what Chinese customers want, what is the requirement of Chinese OEM, and that might give a different solution, so we tell people this is being used globally, but we also ask our customers what do you want, what do you need, what are the requirement you have to work with, so we have both and actually, we're investing a lot in China, also the R&D resources, for motor vehicles, in China, for China, so that we can develop solutions in China, which is suitable for China market. Gasgoo: So how's your general comment on the competitors in China market? Eric: Competitors in terms of material suppliers? Gasgoo: Material suppliers. Eric: I think I can just through emphasizing the strength that we have. I think if you compare the overall scenery, I think we are known as the biggest innovator in the automotive industry. We spent a lot of time with our customers, really understand their needs, I think we spent a lot of time to help our customers not only on the materials but also how to design and engineer, with our materials, how you process our materials, and how you can basically address the key needs that everybody has in automotive, the weight out, a few efficiencies, and environmentally conscious solutions, more safety and design freedom, 'cause everybody wants design freedom. I think we are certainly on those elements, I think we are best choice for our customers. Gasgoo: Comparing with the Du pont, whats the advantage of your company? Eric: I just want to stress our strength in this case. I think we are strong, we have local manufacturing, we have local technology people, I think our approach to the market is different, we listen very carefully to our customers and really help them all the way, not just send them back and forth, and we look also in the future, see what's happening in the future we can anticipate the needs, and work together with our customers to make them successful. Eric: When we mention the application of plastic in automobiles, definitely there is an obvious gap between the China market and the major markets. Do you have any suggestions on this part? Eric: I think if you look at plastics used, in our world it's called engineering thermal plastics, where in foam or rubber, so if you spit it out, I think you are right, at the moment there are less use of engineering thermal plastics in China cars. But it is also partly due to the to mix of cars you have in China, so if you look at the CD, E-type vehicles, higher end vehicles in China, I think it is very close to what is being used in the rest of the world. If you look at the A and B vehicles, we have always seen their traditionally less use of engineering thermal plastics, so I think the mix in China are also driving those statistics. I think going forward, there will be more safety requirement in the cars, also in China and that will drive up the use for engineering thermal plastics, there is also a huge need for weight out, so that will also in back the use of engineering thermal plastics , Also the use of electronics, there is more and more electronics being used in the car, even thought you don't see them, there are all kinds of behind the scenes, plastics or plastic applications which are in a car. I think if you add up those trends, that will very soon, I think Chinese market is similar to the global market. Gasgoo: How many factories do you now have in the China market? Eric: We currently have 3 factories in China, one in Shanghai, one in Nansha and one in Zhongshan. Gasgoo: Are they joint ventures? Eric: Those are fully owned entities. Gasgoo: In future five years, how many new factories do you want to build? Eric: I think we will just expand our facilities in Shanghai, as well as our facilities in Nansha, and we will continuously evaluate where the market demand is, because our strategy has always been, to bring our production facilities as close as possible to our markets. All rights reserved. Please notify the source for any use. Army today paid rich tributes to three soldiers who were killed and body of one of whom was mutilated in "Pakistan's dastardly action" along the Line of Control in Machhil sector of Kashmir. "Rich tributes were paid by the Army today to its soldiers Manoj Kumar Kushwah, Prabhu Singh and Shashank Kumar Singh who attained martyrdom in Pakistan's dastardly action along the Line of Control in Machhil sector of Kupwara yesterday," an army spokesman said. He said Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen J S Sandhu and all ranks paid their homage to the martyrs in a solemn wreath- laying ceremony held at Badamibagh cantonment here. "All young soldiers in their mid-20s or early 30s, the trio is remembered by their comrades for their commitment and dedication to duty. "In fact, Prabhu Singh who hailed from Jodhpur, Rajasthan and is survived by his wife, would have turned 25 today. Manoj Kumar belonged to Gazipur in UP and is survived by his wife and two young children while Shashank Kumar Singh, also from the same place, is survived by his parents," he said. The spokesman said the mortal remains of the martyrs will be flown to their native places where the last rites will be held with full military honours. "The Army stands beside the families of the brave hearts in this hour of grief and remains committed to their wellbeing in future," he added. The three Indian soldiers were killed in a cross-LoC attack by suspected Pakistani terrorists yesterday, with body of one of them being mutilated in second such incident in less than a month, following which the Indian Army vowed "heavy retribution" and launched a counter offensive today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A designated court hearing cases on the chit fund scam in Odisha today ordered public auction of seized properties of Siridi Sai Estates Private Limited. The special court headed by an ADJ-rank judicial officer asked the competent authority (Cuttack ADM) to distribute the realised amount from the auction equitably among the investors in that company. The court has already ordered for public auction of properties of at least seven chit fund companies. Cases of at least two dozen more tainted companies are still pending in the court. The economic offence wing (EOW) of state police had earlier seized 1.670 acres of landed properties of Sirdi Sai Estates located in Bhubaneswar. Two luxury cars of the company and a bank account were also seized by the EOW sleuths. The designated court had ordered selling through public auction the confiscated properties of Rose Valley Group of Companies, GLP Developers, Sai Pragati Developers and the properties of Astha International Company. However, very few people are coming forward to participate in the auction of the properties of these tainted companies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two unclaimed bags with Rs 60 lakh in demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currencies were recovered from Laitumkhrah premises of Ramkrishna Mission in the city and handed over to the Income tax officials, police said today. The officials at the Ramkrishna Mission were alerted about two unclaimed polythene bags found abandoned near the temple and reported to their higher authorities who took it up with the police top brass. "We were informed of the presence of unclaimed polythene bags on Monday evening and that it contained demonetised notes," SP City Vivek Syiem told PTI. He said the bags were actually found on November 12 but the RKM officials at Laitumkhrah took time to report since they had waited for a nod from their headquarters in Kolkata. But since the RKM cannot accept donations from anonymous donors and that they had to put the same in the book of accounts, the matter was reported to the police days after. Of the Rs 60 lakh demonetised notes, in Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currencies, were found in the two polythene bags and the same was handed over to the Income Tax department officials for follow up action by the police. The identity of the person who kept the huge cash at the premises also remained untraced since the organisation installs CCTVs only during pujas. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 63-year-old prominent Bangladeshi pro-opposition newspaper editor was today released from jail after spending over three years behind bars on charges of sedition and inciting communal tension. Mahmudur Rahman was released from Kashimpur Jail on bail, officials said. Rahman was implicated in over 70 lawsuits, including one filed over plots to abduct and kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, local media reports said. A former energy advisor and pro-BNP journalist, Rahman has been behind bars since April 11, 2013. The Supreme Court upheld his bail in the case on plot to kill Joy and paved way for his release. Rahman was the editor of mass circulated Bengali daily Amar Desh, which was shut down. Rahman's release came two months after another prominent pro-opposition magazine editor Shafik Rehman was also freed from jail. The 81-year-old British citizen was a former speechwriter for the main opposition leader and was released spending nearly five months in jail. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leading banks, including ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, have waived merchant discount rate (MDR) on debit cards till December 31 to facilitate payments by customers following government's move to do away with the charge levied on merchants. Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank announced waiving the MDR on debit card transactions at all merchants serviced by its merchant acquiring arm ICICI Merchant Services IMSL. It said the waiver would be effective till December 31. Current regulations allow up to a 2 per cent MDR, which is considered by many as an impediment to electronification of transactions. The financial services industry justifies the charge saying there is a cost of setting up the infrastructure, including the point of sale machine and the switch at the backend. Country's second largest private lender HDFC Bank also announced a similar move through Twitter, saying payments on RuPay, Mastercard and Visa debit cards will be at zero MDR. Third largest private lender Axis Bank, which has one of the largest POS networks, also announced a similar waiver till December 31. It has also enabled local kirana stores, autorickshaws, vegetable & milk vendors and other small ticket size vendors to accept payment digitally through QR code which will offer convenience to customers and facilitate small vendors to make cashless transactions, a statement said. Axis Bank has also deployed micro ATM facility for cash withdrawal across corporates, police, airports and housing societies, it added. Announcing a waiver of MDR, Yes Bank said it has recalibrated 500 ATMs till now to accept the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 banknotes. State-run UCO Bank's managing director and chief executive R K Takkar said it has also waived the MDR for all cards. Banking major SBI last week waived MDR on RuPay cards. Economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das had announced earlier in the day that each bank will announce its moves individually. "The MDR (merchant discount rate) charges on use of debit cards, the charges being levied by banks and the switching charges will stand completely waived. So, there will be no charge on use of debit cards," he had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Barring Pakistani citizens, India has decided to grant Permanent Residency Status for 10 years with multiple entry to certain category of foreign investors, the Rajya Sabha was informed today. In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said the government has decided to grant Permanent Residency Status (PRS) for 10 years with multiple entry to foreign investors making investment of minimum of Rs 10 crore to be brought within 18 months or Rs 25 crore to brought within 36 months. He also said PRS will also be granted to the spouse and dependents of the eligible foreign investor. Experts feel that the move is expected to attract foreign investments into the country. The foreign investment should result in generating employment to at least 20 resident Indians every financial year, he added. However, the minister made it clear that "this scheme will not be applicable to Pakistani citizens or third country nationals of Pakistani origin". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bihar Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary today exhorted mediapersons to give prominence to positive and highlight legislators who come prepared and speak well during a debate in the House. "In addition to giving of legislators sitting on dharna or shouting slogans at the main gate, I request media to give space to legislators who speak well in the House during a debate," Chaudhary said at a meeting of Press Gallery committee of the assembly. He said the media was free to chose a legislator of any party. "My wish is that a legislator who keeps away from disrupting participates in a debate in a healthy way should be encouraged. If such a legislator finds space in newspapers others would also follow him or her." The speaker said he felt disheartened when he saw thin attendance in the press gallery in post-lunch session when debate on a topic takes place, he urged mediapersons to cover the entire session of the day with equal priority. In addition to reporting about disruption in the house it would be good if reports highlighted subjects listed in the business of the house for the day or questions of members for the day which could not be taken up due to pandemonium and disturbance by a few members or party for political considerations, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A London-based British Muslim couple has been jailed for over four years for funding their nephew who was fighting in Syria for the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group. Mohammed and NazimabeeGolamaully, originally from Mauritius, had pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey court to transferring 219 pounds to ZafirrGolamaully, who had travelled from his home in Mauritius to join ISIS. Yesterday, Indian-origin Judge Anuja Dhir at the Old Bailey jailed Mohammed for two years and three months and Nazimabee for 22 months. She said Mohammed Golamaully, employed as a hospital executive, was a "dedicated extremist" at the time, and his wife had acted under his instructions. "It's a worrying feature of this case that an intelligent and well respected family man who was regarded as a good neighbour, compassionate work colleague, and loving parent could behave in this way and hold the views you undoubtedly have," she told him. Nazimabee, a "law-abiding" former IT consultant who was born in London, made the payment. Prosecutors had told the court that before leaving Mauritius, Zafirr had spoken to his uncle on a messaging app asking for help to deceive his parents. He agreed not to tell Zafirr's parents and their money transfer was only discovered during a police investigation into a worldwide network of terrorism funding. In March 2014 Zafirr said: "Told them (parents) I'm going to get 'nursing' training and that I won't be available for next two weeks". MohammedGolamaully, 48, replied: "The story of two weeks training sounds plausible prior to undertaking humanitarian aid". Soon afterwards Zafirr was in Syria, fighting with ISIS, and attracting attention under the online alias Abu Hud, using social media to offer detailed instructions to others who wanted to travel to Syria. He told his uncle: "They taught us military stances, formations and weapons." The pair then discussed how to transfer money. In another exchange, Zafirr said he might be going into battle soon in eastern Syria. His uncle reassured him that he would not say a word to his parents. At the same time MohammedGolamaullywas having secret chats with Zafirr's sister Lubnaa, telling his niece "to revolutionise the Islamic concept amongst our close relatives". He told her that a speech by the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was a "beautiful speech and very well worded". The couple were jointly charged earlier this year with one count of fundraising on or before August 13, 2014, contrary to Section 15 (3) of the UK's Terrorism Act 2000. The Act defines a fundraising offence as inviting others to provide money or property, receiving money or property or providing money or property to be used for the purposes of terrorism. Zafirr was later linked to the'Charlie Hebdo'attacks in France in January 2015. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chiding BSNL for its inability to frame a sound land management policy for over a decade, a Parliamentary panel has said that the book value of the PSU telecom major's huge land holding has remained "understated". Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has expressed its displeasure over "inability" of BSNL for not framing a land management policy for a long period -- that is till May 2013, despite having inherited huge tracts of land from Department of Telecom in 2000. The Committee found that the state-run company inherited 12,194 plots of land, measuring 406.31 lakh sqm with book value of Rs 3,103 crore located at various places, from the DoT, as per the PAC report tabled in Parliament. The total book value of BSNL's land holding, as per Management Information System (MIS), was Rs 3,483.44 crore. This also included Rs 380.41 crore book value assigned to plots that BSNL acquired/leased after its formation. However, as per the audited accounts of the company, the value of such land was shown only as Rs 1,130.81 crore, the report said. When compared to MIS data, the book value of the land was understated in the annual report 2011-12 of the company to the extent of Rs 2,352.6 crore, it added. "The Committee noted with serious concern that in absence of sound land management policy, BSNL have failed miserably to get its huge tract of land mutated, even after a long period of more than one and a half decade. BSNL utterly failed to protect its land at different parts of the country from encroachment," the report said. Asking the Ministry of Communications to take urgent steps to formulate a "sound" land management policy to "protect and preserve" its invaluable large tracts of land at the earliest, PAC recommended that every possible step should be taken for mutation of land so as to reconcile the book value of the property. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hospitals were paralysed in the poor west African country of Burkina Faso as doctors and health workers launched a three-day strike for salary hikes and increased allowances, officials said. The powerful Syntsha union of medical workers which called the protest said hospitals had ground to a halt. Syntsha secretary general Pissyamba Ouedraogo told AFP that the protest was aimed at "making the government see reason." "There is no doubt that health services throughout the country are blocked as the personnel have not showed up," Ouedraogo said. Health Minister Smaila Ouedraogo claimed that there were just four sticking points out of the original 63 demands made by the unions and added he was hopeful they would be resolved soon. "We have visited some hospitals in the capital and have noticed a significant reduction in their functioning," he said. Patients were left to fend for themselves at the Yalgado Ouedraogo university hospital, the largest in the country, an AFP correspondent said. There was only one doctor in the emergency ward. A doctor at another medical facility in the capital Ouagadougou said he had turned up as it was "a matter of conscience." "This strike is not normal and it is not fair," he said. "When the sick are struggling to buy medicines because they have no money, they are demanding higher salaries," said Bernard Kabore, whose brother needs a second operation after an accident. Burkina Faso has some 28,000 workers, of whom less than 1,000 are doctors. They are largely based in and around the capital of the country of some 18 million people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today approved opening of one Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in each of the 62 uncovered districts. The project comes with an outlay of Rs 2,871 crore, an official statement released here said. States which will get these new JNVs are Chhattisgarh 11, Gujarat 8 and Delhi 7. J&K and Uttar Pradesh will also get 5 JNVs each. Several other states will also get these Central Government run schools. According to the statement, the expenditure for this purpose during the 12th Plan will be Rs 109.53 crore with a spill over amount of Rs 2,761.56 crore from 2017-18 to 2024-25. "These JNVs will provide good quality modern education to the talented children prominently from rural areas. It is expected that nearly 35,000 students will be benefited from these JNVs," the statement said. A full fledged Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya provide employment to 47 persons and accordingly 62 JNVs will provide direct permanent employment to 2914 individuals, it added. As JNVs are residential and co-educational in nature, it is compulsory for all the staff and students to reside in the Vidyalaya campus. As on date, there are 598 sanctioned JNVs in 576 districts spread across 35 States and Union Territories of which 591 are functional. At least 75 per cent of the seats in a district are filled by candidates selected from rural areas of the district. Further, reservation of seats in favour of children belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is provided in proportion to their population in the concerned district subject to the condition that in no district such reservation is less than the national reservation percentage (15% for SC and 7.5% for ST). One third of the total seats are reserved for girls, the statement added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Cabinet today approved the ratification of the third protocol between India and New Zealand for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the ratification and entry into force of the third protocol to the convention between the two countries for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, a statement said. The protocol was signed on October 26, 2016. "The protocol will stimulate the flow of exchange of information between India and New Zealand for tax purposes which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance. "It will also enable assistance in collection of tax revenue claims between both countries," it said. An Article on Exchange of Information of the existing Convention has been replaced with a new one in the protocol, in line with the international standard for exchange of information. Also, a new Article on Assistance on Collection of Taxes has been added, the release said. The protocol will kick in on the date of notification of completion of the procedures required by the respective laws of the two countries. The convention came into force in December 1986 and was amended through a First Protocol in 1997 and a Second Protocol in 2000. Subsequently, India proposed to further amend the Convention through a Third Protocol to update the Exchange of Information Article as per the international standard and insert an Article on Assistance in the Collection of Taxes. Accordingly, negotiations were held with New Zealand and an agreement was reached on both the Articles of the Third Protocol. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Cabinet today gave ex post-facto approval to a pact between India and France for cooperation in skill development, vocational education and training. "The skill development ministry's proposal has been approved by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," a source said. The memorandum of understanding between the two countries is with respect to cooperation in skill development, vocational education and training, the source added. India and France had signed 17 agreements during Modi's visit to the European nation in April last year. The agreements signed were in energy, culture, tourism, conservation, ayurveda, skill development and science and technology, among others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Consulate General of Canada and the British Deputy High Commissioner today observed "Remembrance Day" to commemorate the death of soldiers from Commonwealth countries during World War I and II. Consulate General of Canada Christopher Gibbins said every year, since the end of World War I, members states of the Commonwealth of Nations observe a moment of silence to remember men and women who served the countries during the times of war and peace. British Deputy High Commissioner David Lelliott Obe said, "I am pleased that we are once again co-hosting a Remembrance Ceremony with Canada. Awareness on the role played by Indian troops in both the wars, alongside British, Canadian and other allied forces, grew considerably during the World War I centenary. "Therefore, it seems fitting that we have established this tradition of coming together in Chandigarh to remember their sacrifice," Obe said. Expressing his views, Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore said the then Indian Army had a strength of 2.3 million, of which 89,000 died in military service. "As a part of our culture, we also pay homage to all our soldiers who have laid down their lives in the service of the nation," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has built a tool for geographically censoring posts at the leading social network as it seeks a path back into China, The New York Times reported. The New York Times cited three current and former employees, who asked for anonymity, as saying that the tool could filter news feeds at the social network in specific places. "We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country," a spokeswoman said in a statement emailed in response to an AFP inquiry. "However, we have not made any decision on our approach to China." Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has supported the effort to build the tool for censoring posts, according to the New York Times story. Zuckerberg has spent years studying Mandarin, and has met with Chinese leaders and visited that country. The social network has been banned in China since 2009, evidently due to the interest by authorities there to control information shared or movements organized using the internet. Facebook restricted content in a score of countries in the second half of last year, according to the most recent transparency report released by the California-based company. US internet companies have a practice of complying with legitimate government requests to block posted information in keeping with local laws, subject to evaluation. For example, Facebook said that in Russia it restricted content authorities there said violated "the integrity of the Russian Federation and local law which forbids activities such as mass public riots and the promotion and sale of drugs." The transparency report said that access to items in Pakistan was restricted due to allegations that local blasphemy laws were violated. In France, Facebook restricted content reported under laws prohibiting denying the Holocaust or condoning terrorism the transparency report said. Posts of an image related to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris were removed on the grounds they violated French laws related to the protection of human dignity, according to the transparency report. The software tool created quietly with China in mind would prevent posts from happening instead of waiting to follow up on government complaints to have them removed, the New York Times story said. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has been advised to ensure availability of children's menu through e-catering scheme, Lok Sabha was informed today. At present, children's menu is available through e-catering scheme for all trains passing through New Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Ajmer, Howrah, Chennai Egmore, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway stations, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said in a written statement. As announced in the Rail Budget 2016-17, Zonal Railways have been advised to ensure availability of baby food, hot milk and hot water at stations on payment basis. Presently, these items are available on most of the major railway stations under Janani Sewa Scheme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China today said it is planning to open a South China Sea museum to showcase its historic claim of sovereignty over the disputed region as the Philippines announced plans to declare a vast lagoon in the area as a marine sanctuary. The national museum for the South China Sea is ready to open in March with a wide range of antiques collected from China and abroad, the museum's preparatory office in China's southern Hainan Province said. The announcement came as Philippines officials said President Rodrigo Duterte planned to declare a marine sanctuary and no-fishing zone at a lagoon within Scarborough Shoal, which China terms as Huangyan Dao. The reef was seized by China in 2012. Philippines officials said the plan to create the proposed sanctuary was "a unilateral action". The Philippines' plan comes after Manila won an international arbitration ruling in July which had challenged China's seizure of Scarborough Shoal. The tribunal has struck down China's expansive claims over the areas. Reacting to the Philippines plans, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told media briefing yesterday thatChina and the Philippines have reached an agreement on coming back to the track of dialogue for the settlement of the South China Sea issue. "China's sovereignty and jurisdiction over Huangyan Dao has not and will not change," he said. Besides the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area. The South China Sea dispute was toned down by Rodrigo's recent visit to China during which he reset the ties with Beijing, putting the dispute on the back burner. China's museum, covering 10 hectares, will display artifacts about the history, culture and natural resources of the South China Sea, highlighting China's sovereignty over the South China Sea and the protection of cultural heritage, Ding Hui, head of the cultural department of the Hainan provincial government told state-run Xinhua agency. Ten valuable ceramic pieces were donated to the museum by two Chinese companies that purchased them at an auction in New York in September. The ceramics, including dainty vases, incense holders, drinking vessels, dishes, cups and saucers from the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), had been in a collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before they were bought by Hainan Zose Group and Evergrande Tourism Group. In addition, the museum's preparatory office has received 832 antiques donated by fishermen in Tanmen Township of Qionghai City, where the museum is being constructed. The newest items are more than 100 years old and the oldest date back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420 - 589), Xie Haishan, an appraiser based in Guangdong Province said. Most of them were produced in China, while others came from Southeast Asia and Europe, he said. These antiques provide valuable clues to researchers about trade and cultural exchanges along the ancient maritime Silk Road, said Zhang Jianping, an official with the museum's preparatory office. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A civil military liaison conference was today held between the Headquarters Western Command and the Himachal Pradesh government on the headquarter premises at Chandimandir. The meeting was co-chaired by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and GOC-in-C Western Command Lt Gen Surinder Singh, a defence spokesman said here. Himachal Pradesh Sainik Welfare Minister Dhani Ram Shandil along with civilians and state government officials, and senior military officers of the Headquarters Western Command attended the conference. The last such meeting was held on May 21, 2013 at Shimla. The Army commander in his opening remarks thanked the Himachal Pradesh government for its support to the armed forces and its veterans. He highlighted initiatives taken by the armed forces toward welfare of veterans and the joint achievements of civil and military forces in the field of security and disaster relief. The Chief Minister addressed the gathering and assured support for welfare of ex-servicemen and serving personnel. "The cordial discussions were exceptionally useful and would enhance the coordination and synergy between the military and civil departments," the spokesman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CleaningofRiver Ganga is a "monumental task" and requires efforts by the whole society, a top UN official said here today. "It cannot be cleaned overnight. We have to work with the local community, it is a challenging project," Haoliang Xu, director for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for Asia Pacific, said. Speaking at the UNDP organised Responsible Business Forum, Xu said "We have experience gathered from similar projects in other countries which can be used in the massive Ganga clean-up, starting with its pilot project". Xu, who is also United Nations Assistant Secretary General, applauded the Indian government's concerted efforts on the project as well as managing environmental challenges across the country. He cited an example of a river cleaning projectin Shanghai which took 10 years, saying "Ganga is a much larger development" which will take time. "It is a monumental task," he said of the Ganga project but added "We are in this together". "We are taking an integrated approach which looks at sanitation, sustainable livelihoods and behavioural change," added UNDP country director in India, Jaco Cilliers. "This brings together a range of sectors, from government, private and local communities," he added. UNDP is in partnership with India's Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation programme which aims to improve the quality of water and rejuvenate one of India's most important rivers as it flows through the state of Jharkhand. The pilot project is being implemented in 78 villages located along the river, and aims improve the wellbeing of communities living in villages. About 45,000 households are expected to benefit from this project. Ganga river is one of the longest rivers of India which passes through the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Escalating their protest against teh Centre's demonetisation move and the resultant "cash crunch", Congress workers today held a demonstration outside the regional headquarters of Reserve Bank of India here and threw vegetables and milk on road. Police briefly detained around 62 workers, including state Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi and 11 women, before releasing them all. "These Congress workers gathered outside RBI's main office building near Gandhi bridge during afternoon to stage a protest. They threw vegetables and poured milk on road, which obstructed traffic coming from Ashram Road. We detained 62 persons, including 11 women. They were released in evening," Vadaj police inspector VG Rathod said. Speaking to media persons after his release, Doshi stated the agitation was held to highlight the hardships being faced by the farmers, vegetable vendors and cattle rearers who are unable to sell their produce in market as a result of scrapping of Rs 500 and 1000 banknotes by the Centre. "Poor people are hit hard due to demonetisation. Since farmers, vendors and cattle rearers are unable to sell their produce in market due to cash crunch, we came to RBI to sell the produce to the bank. We warned the authorities that we will dump these items if the bank doesn't buy them and give money in return," Doshi said. Meanwhile, state Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki convened a meeting of the party office-bearers and MLAs to chalk out a strategy to organise more such protests against "cash crunch". He announced that the party will organise more such protests, including a 'Rail Roko' agitation, in different parts of Gujarat on November 25. "Tomorrow, our workers along with farmers would gather outside Collector's office here to demand cash from authorities in exchange of vegetables and milk," he said, adding party workers will stop trains and buses across the state on November 25 and organise bicycle and tractor rallies a day after. "On November 27, our workers will contact all MLAs and MPs of BJP and demand (from them) Rs 100 notes against the scrapped notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. On November 28, we will take part in 'Bharat Bandh' called by our leaders as well as by many other Opposition parties," Solanki said. Earlier this week, farmers had taken out protest marches in Amreli and Chhota Udepur districts of state against demonetisation and the ban on swapping of defunct notes at the district Co-operative banks. While farmers at Wadia Kukavav in Amreli district had walked shirtless to express their anger, at Chhota Udepur, they dumped cans of milk outside the collector's office and threatened to stop supply of milk to co-operative dairies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court today suggested Railways to consider starting trains from Churchgate to central suburbs like Thane, Dombivli, Ambernath and so on to reduce crowd at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). A division bench of Justices V M Kanade and Nutan Sardessai said when trains to western suburbs like Andheri and Bandra are there from CST, the Railways should consider trains to central suburbs too from Churchgate. Presently trains plying from Churchgate connect only the western suburbs of the megapolis and areas beyond. "Several commuters who have offices in Churchgate and Nariman Point area can go to Churchgate station and take trains to central suburbs instead of going all the way to CST. This will reduce the crowd also at CST," Justice Kanade said. "Let this suggestion be looked into by experts from the field. May be a separate corridor can be set up," the court said. The bench was hearing a PIL filed by activist Samir Zaveri raising the issue of increasing number of deaths due to overcrowding in trains. Railways counsel Suresh Kumar informed the court today that casualties due to crowd has reduced considerably in the harbour line (it originates from CST) after introduction of 12 car rakes but is still there in the western and central line. The court also sought to know if Railways was running into losses or was in profit. "I remember when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Railways minister the Railways was running profitably. Now we do not know what the situation is." The court will hear the petition further on December 8. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a temporary relief for NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, arrested in a money-laundering case, the Bombay High Court today asked the Enforcement Directorate to continue to provide treatment to him at the Bombay Hospital till November 29. The former Maharashtra PWD Minister is currently undergoing treatment at the private-run hospital for multiple health issues, including a heart problem and hypertension. The high court is hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Bhujbal challenging his arrest. ED opposed Bhujbal's plea to allow him to continue getting treatment at Bombay Hospital, saying it (ED) would decide this issue after getting medical reports. However, the bench headed by Justice Ranjit More was of the view that Bhujbal can continue to get treatment at Bombay Hospital where he has been admitted and need not be shifted to government-run J J Hospital or any other hospital. The court deferred the hearing on Bhujbal's petition till November 29. Bhujbal was arrested by the ED on March 14 in connection with Maharashtra Sadan scam and Kalina land case. His lawyer argued that he should be given bail, as the ED did not follow the right procedure while arresting him, hence the arrest was illegal. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for ED, denied that procedures were not followed during the arrest. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Favouring an early dialogue with all stakeholders including separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, the CPI(M) today said the reason for resentment among the people there was due to "ineffective" and "hollow" policies adopted by the Centre towards the state. "The army's job is to guard the borders and it cannot be treated as a law enforcement agency in a state. This burden has to be borne by the political leadership of the nation. "The government needs to initiate a credible process of dialogue with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir, including the separatists. Why can a dialogue not take place ...? They are separatists as they have a certain political belief," CPI(M) leader and J&K MLA Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, who is on a visit to the city, told reporters here. He said the current BJP-PDP alliance in the violence-hit state was "opportunistic", "irritating" and claims made by both these parties in the run-up to the state assembly polls have proven to be "hollow". "All Kashmiris are not terrorists. The recent upheaval is a result of an accumulated anger since decades. This has only got more intense and unprecedented now as Kashmiris feel that the commitments that have been made to them have not been fulfilled," he said. "People are being ignored and all reliance is on security forces. The turmoil among the people has to be addressed by political means, like talking to those having different ideas," he said. Tarigami said a joint delegation of opposition parties had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 22 this year, where he had assured the initiation of a dialogue with various stake-holders, which never went through. "We urge the Prime Minister to give up politics of gimmicks and take bold, serious initiatives. People had imposed their trust on him but the government has not done justice. There should be an immediate arrest of those who indulged in pellet gun attacks and immediate rehabilitation of those affected by it," the CPI(M) leader said. He said that if the government addresses the feeling of alienation among the Kashmiris and stops pursuing "wrong policies" towards them, it will create a goodwill among the people there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said today he has "no worries" about Donald Trump's election as US president, adding that he expects the businessman will align his future policies with global realities. The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner's remarks were his most extensive yet regarding the election of the real estate tycoon and reality television star who has called for putting America's concerns first and shown little interest in Washington's traditional espousal of global democracy and social justice. Commenting at the conclusion of a four-day visit to Mongolia, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism said he looks forward to seeing Trump at some point following the January 20 inauguration. Such meetings usually draw protests from Beijing, which accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to split Tibet from China. The 81-year-old monk said he has always regarded the US as the leader of the "free world" and wasn't concerned about remarks made by Trump during the election campaign. Some of those comments have been cited as offensive to Muslims, Hispanics and other US minority groups. "I feel during the election, the candidate has more freedom to express. Now once they (are) elected, having the responsibility, then they have to carry their cooperation, their work, according (to) reality," he told reporters in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. "So I have no worries." Tenzin Dhardon Sharling, spokeswoman for the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, said she was not aware of any plans for a meeting between the Dalai Lama and Trump. She said the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan exile community have enjoyed good relations with successive US presidents and expected that to continue under a Trump administration. "His holiness has always put great hope in the US as a champion of democracy. He hopes for continued support from the new president and his government," she said in a telephone interview. China had demanded Mongolia scrap his visit for the sake of the "general picture of a sound and steady development of bilateral ties." Mongolia's fragile economy is heavily dependent on China, and the countries are in talks for a USD 4.2 billion Chinese loan to help pull it out of a recession. China has apparently delayed talks on the loan in response to the visit by the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959. Mongolian government spokesman Otgonbayar Gombojav said today that China had indefinitely postponed a visit to China next Monday by Mongolian officials to discuss the loan. Development of 20 metro stations and its surrounding area under the multi-modal-integration (MMI) project to facilitate last-mile connectivity, has been approved by the planning body of the DDA. The decision was approved by Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) in its 53rd Governing Body Meeting, held under the chairmanship of Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung. "20 metro stations and its surrounding area under the Multi Modal Integration (MMI) project were approved to facilitate last-mile connectivity for the metro users," DDA said. The DDA's planning body also approved various other important road infrastructure projects for the national capital. The MMI projects consist of integrated scheme for pedestrian facilities such as foot-over-bridge, under passes and space for parking of auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws. There would also be provision for non-motorised vehicles to solve problems related to exiting around the metro stations, the DDA said today. "Master Plan for Delhi has proposed Urban Extension Road-II (UER) which connects National Highway 1, 10 & 8. This road was proposed to reduce traffic from existing Ring Road and Outer Ring Road. A major part of this road has already been constructed by the DDA. "However, part of the road alignment between Kanjhawala and NH-10, (Rohatk Road) has been approved in this meeting of the UTTIPEC. The proposed road has an under bridge at Holambi Kalan and tunnel road at Meer Vihar, Bhagya Vihar which have also been approved as part of this road. In addition, this new road has provision of MRTS and the BRT system," the urban body said in a statement. In the UTTIPEC meeting, as an upgrading proposal of the existing Bund Road along the Canal connecting Bijwasan- Najafgarh Road to the Northern Peripheral Road was also approved to facilitate local traffic movement in between Delhi and Gurgaon, in the first phase. "The Road Improvement Plan for the Mangal Pandey Marg in east Delhi, from foot of the Signature Bridge to the Delhi UP Border (Bhopura) was also approved. This will facilitate smooth traffic on this road in the east Delhi," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid the ongoing political outcry over demonetisation, the government today announced more steps to help farmers to meet their cash needs during the ongoing rabi season and directed banks to waive debit card transaction charges to encourage digital payment. To ensure quick and unhindered flow of credit and cash to farmers during the current rabi season to deal with ban of Rs 500/1,000 notes, the government has allowed Nabard to disburse Rs 21,000 crore through cooperative banks to farmers. Listing various measures taken by the government to incentivise digital transactions, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said the Railways has already waived service charges on online booking of tickets and telecom operators have agreed to make mobile banking services in feature phones free of cost till December 31. While government departments and PSUs have been asked to make electronic payment to contractors and its employees, the road transport ministry has asked automobile manufacturers to install digital RFID tag on all new vehicles to enable cashless payment at toll plazas and checkposts. Similarly, the government has doubled the monthly transaction limit through e-wallets to Rs 20,000. "All these measures are meant to promote digital penetration. It will also help farmers in the current rabi season to ensure a normal rabi crop on the back of good monsoon," he said. Das said: "Public sector banks, some of the private banks and some of the service providers that provide switching services have agreed to waive the service charges on the use of debit cards up to December 31, 2016." As of now, Rupay debit cards have already waived the switching charges. Other debit cards that operate through international card network companies like Mastercard and Visa currently charge transaction charges. "The MDR (merchant discount rate) charges on use of debit cards, the charges being levied by banks and the switching charges will stand completely waived. So, there will be no charge on use of debit cards," he said, adding that banks will make announcement in this regard individually. With regard to the farm sector, Das said Nabard will disburse Rs 21,000 crore to District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) for onward lending to farmers through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies. Over 40 per cent small farmers get crop loans from cooperative institutions. (REOPENS DEL 49) Das said RBI and the banks have been advised to make the required cash available to the District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) to ensure quick and unhindered flow of credit and required cash to farmers, especially for sowing and other agricultural operations during the current rabi season. He further said PSU banks have started getting queries from private corporates for giving prepaid cards to employees. "We expect that the private sector companies will make payment to their employees through digital payments. CMDs of several banks have told me that in last 2-3 days, there has been a huge demand for pre-paid cards from the corporate sector," Das said. He further said telecom operators have also made mobile short code messages -- used mainly for banking services in feature phones -- free till December 31, 2016, in an attempt to promote mobile banking and cashless transactions. "This will provide a very cost-effective method of digital financial transaction, especially to the poor people with feature phones (which are currently 65 per cent of the total phones in the country)," a finance ministry statement read. Das said that following the cancellation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the government has taken a number of measures for farmers like higher cash drawal limits for farmers and registered traders in APMC markets / mandis, extension of time limit for payment of crop insurance premium, purchase of seeds with old notes from certain select government centres. Steps have been taken to ensure availability of cash in rural branches of banks and 1.55 lakh post offices. Network of banking correspondents has also been activated with higher cash holding limits to meet requirements of people in rural areas, the ministry said. As a relief to small borrowers taking loans up to Rs 1 crore, RBI has already decided to provide additional 60 days time for repayment of dues. "This will be applicable to personal and crop loans, including housing and agricultural loans, taken from banks, NBFCs, DCCBs, primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS) or NBFC-MFIs," the statement added. It said Indian Railways has decided not to levy service charges of Rs 20 for second class and Rs 40 for upper classes on purchase of reserved e-tickets up to December 31, 2016. "This would facilitate and encourage passengers to buy e-tickets instead of across the counter purchase through cash," it added. About 58 per cent of the railway tickets are purchased online and the effort now is to increase the purchase of e-tickets. "It is expected that the above measure will encourage people to migrate to cashless transactions," the ministry added. In a bid to break the logjam in Parliament over demonetisation, government today reached out to the Opposition with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar holding talks with Congress and TMC leaders. Kumar and some other leaders in the government will continue deliberations with floor leaders of various political parties tomorrow. "Nothing has been achieved by holding up the Parliament proceedings. Everybody feels that there should be action against black money. The opposition parties apprehensions are about only implementation of demonetisation, we have been saying that we are ready to listen to their concerns. "I have again requested them to start discussion where they can express their view points on this issue, which government will listen and consider," Kumar said. The government's action comes in the backdrop of continued stalling of both the Houses of Parliament by the opposition which is demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence and participation in the debate on demonetisation. Government sources indicated that Modi may be present in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow. Kumar added that he has requested political parties to see the "writing on the wall" and start discussion on the issue. "I requested them that they can themselves see that public is in favour of this move. Rather than holding up the proceedings, it should be allowed to run smoothly," he added. According to sources, Kumar spoke to several leaders today, including Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge and TMC's Sudeep Bandopadhyay besides some others. Earlier Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had called a meeting of leaders of different political parties to break the impasse after she was again forced to adjourn the House for the day. BJD, TRS and YSR congress are ready for a debate under rule 193, which the government prefers as it does not entail voting. The government is also confident of Shiv Sena also coming on the board, they added. They said several BJP leaders besides Kumar will meet floor leaders of various political parties tomorrow in their bid to end the logjam. The government is hopeful about ending the impass in the next few days, sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A fortnight into demonetisation, long queues outside banks and ATMs across the metropolis saw a decline today even as citizens were apprehensive about the rush they might face again in the month-end, when salaries are due and banks pace up operations. "I successfully withdrew some cash today in 15 minutes, as against spending five hours on November 13. But we should not forget that banking operations usually slow down in the last few days of the month. Therefore, in the beginning of the next month, it would be really a testing time again," said a retired bank professional residing in Chembur. However, there were some others who were unfazed by the hardships resulting from the government's decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. According to Pratap Singh from Bihar, who once served as a district and sessions judge and now lives in Nerul, "as far as cash flow-related difficulties are concerned, they are temporary in nature and a natural fall out of such a bold step." "In fact, my spouse and I who always preferred to pass on our cards to children, are now queueing up outside ATM machines. After all, getting money does not take much time so as to tire us out," he said. The demonetisation has also pushed some medical professionals to streamline their transactions. They are now accepting payments via unconventional methods by turning to medical apps. A noted physician and director of ACS Health services, Dr Ashish Tiwari said, "We understand the hardships of our patients, and therefore, we are giving them some grace period to pay the fee. However, apart from accepting fees through services like Paytm, doctors as well as patients are turning towards android and iOS-based medical apps such as 1mg, Practo, Portia etc to cope with the situation." When asked about shorter queues outside ATMs, a leading bank executive said, "Nearly half of the ATMs have been re-calibrated and in coming days, the rush should get over." Till yesterday, out of 2.2 lakh ATMs countrywide, as many as 82,500 ATMs (40 per cent) had been recalibrated to dispense the new Rs 500 and 2,000 notes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indore Municipal Corporation has launched a special campaign and devised a novel way to stop open defecation in and around the city. Under the campaign named 'Roko aur Toko', launched to make the city open defecation free under the Centre's Smart City project, the civic body has formed 'dibba gangs' that spot the people defecating in the open and start beating metal boxes loudly in front of them, to make them feel ashamed of their act. "We have identified places in each ward, where people go for nature's call, like rail tracks near slum areas. We have constituted dibba gangs, whose members beat boxes loudly to make those indulging in such acts feel ashamed. These dibba gang members are deputed at such places between 5.30 am and 8.30 am," an IMC official said today. Women members, local residents and social activists have also been made part of the initiative, who will educate people against the menace and also inform them about its consequences. According to the officials, new toilets are also being built at these places for the convenience of people. Interestingly, rural parts of Indore district have left behind the urban pockets around ten months back and have become open defecation free. After Nadia district in West Bengal, Indore was the second in the country to be declared open defecation free on January 25. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had declared 610 villages in the district free of open defecation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Director-writer K Subash, who has helmed Tamil superhit film "Chathriyan" and also penned the story of superstar Shah Rukh Khan's "Chennai Express", died here today following kidney problems. He was 57. The filmmaker breathed his last at a private hospital here this morning, sources close to the family said. The funeral will be held here tomorrow. Subash is the son of R Krishnan, one of the two directors of the super hit "Parasakthi" that launched thespian Sivaji Ganesan in 1952. He started his career as an assistant to Mani Ratnam in "Nayagan." He made his directorial debut with "Kaliyugam" with Prabhu. His second film "Chatriyan" starring Vijayakanth was a blockbuster. The director has made over 20 films in Tamil and Hindi, and was one of the many directors of "Suyamvaram", a Tamil film which was shot in 24 hours and had a galaxy of stars. Subash also worked in a number of Hindi films. He wrote the story of Rohit Shetty-directed "Chennai Express", which starred SRK and Deepika Padukone, and also multi-starrer comedy "Housefull 3". He had earlier directed "Insaan", starring Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn in the lead roles. He is survived by wife and two daughters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi today requested the Maharashtra Government not to close down a school run by a trust linked to the banned NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), saying doing so will jeopardise the future of students enrolled there. Azmi made the request when he called on Education Minister Vinod Tawde here. He quoted the minister as saying during the meeting that the state government has no plan to close down the institute. Islamic International School in South Mumbai is operated by the IRF Education Trust, an affiliate of IRF which is promoted by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. Last week, IRF was banned by the Home Ministry for five years under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for its alleged involvement in terror acts. The ban will affect activities of all bodies affiliated with the city-based NGO. "If the school is shutdown, the future of students studying there will get adversely affected. Their parents and guardians would face immense hardship and people employed in the school would become be jobless," Azmi, also an MLA from the city, said. He claimed Tawde told him the BJP-led government "does not intend" to close down the school. "The education minister said the decision to ban the outfit (IRF) was taken by the Centre and the state government does not intend to take any action against the school run by it. Therefore, the students, parents, teachers and people working there need not worry," Azmi said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scientists have detected a dwarf satellite galaxy, believed to be the faintest yet found in the halo of the Milky Way, a discovery that provides important insights into galaxy formation and how dark matter contributes to it. The satellite, named Virgo I, lies in the direction of the constellation Virgo. Its discovery by researchers from Tohoku University in Japan suggests the presence of a large number of yet-undetected dwarf satellites in the halo of the Milky Way. Currently, some 50 satellite galaxies to the Milky Way have been identified. About 40 of them are faint and diffuse and belong to the category of "dwarf spheroidal galaxies." Many recently discovered dwarf galaxies are very faint with absolute luminosity in the optical waveband below minus 8 magnitude. However, previous searches made use of telescopes with a diameter of 2.5 to four meters, so only satellites close to the Sun or those with higher magnitudes were identified. Those that are more distant or faint ones in the halo of the Milky Way are yet to be detected. The combination of the 8.2-metre Subaru Telescope and Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) instrument enabled an efficient search for very faint dwarf satellites over large areas of the sky. "We have carefully examined the early data of the Subaru Strategic Survey with HSC and found an apparent over density of stars in Virgo with very high statistical significance, showing a characteristic pattern of an ancient stellar system in the colour-magnitude diagram," said Daisuke Homma, a graduate student at Tohoku University. "Surprisingly, this is one of the faintest satellites, with absolute magnitude of minus 0.8 in the optical waveband," said Homma, who found Virgo I under the guidance of Masashi Chiba. "This is indeed a galaxy, because it is spatially extended with a radius of 124 light years - systematically larger than a globular cluster with comparable luminosity," Homma said. The faintest dwarf satellites identified so far was Segue I, discovered by Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Cetus II in Dark Energy Survey (DES). Cetus II is yet to be confirmed, as it is too compact as a galaxy. Virgo I may ultimately turn out to be the faintest one ever discovered. It lies at a distance of 280,000 light years from the Sun, and such a remote galaxy with faint brightness has not been identified in previous surveys. It is beyond the reach of SDSS, which has previously surveyed the same area in the direction of the constellation Virgo. "This discovery implies hundreds of faint dwarf satellites waiting to be discovered in the halo of the Milky Way," Chiba said. "How many satellites are indeed there and what properties they have, will give us an important clue of understanding how the Milky Way formed and how dark matter contributed to it," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than 3,000 farmers were arrested when they staged a 'road roko' agitation at a village in the district, protesting non-release of water in the Kalingarayan Canal for irrigation. The protesters, members of Kalingarayan Canal Irrigational Farmers Association, blocked the road for nearly two hours at Vengamedu village, bordering Erode and Karur districts, police said. The farmers said due to non-availability of water, standing turmeric crop was withering in many places especially in Kodumudi area in Erode district. Unable to bear the loss of the crop, two farmers had allegedly committed suicide. In this backdrop, they had taken up the issue with the Erode District Collector three days ago and he assured them that water would released in the canal, the protesters said. However, as water had not been released, they resorted to the road roko. Police said they arrested the protesters, who would be let off later today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) National Conference President Farooq Abdullah today said autonomy to both sides of Jammu and Kashmir was the only viable solution to the nearly seven-decade old problem. "Borders cannot be changed but these can be made irrelevant and soft for people to people exchange and opening new vistas of trade and commerce for overall economic prosperity of the region. "We bat for autonomy to both sides of Kashmir and converting LoC-IB as soft border", the National Conference President said while addressing a public meeting here. Abdullah said that issues between India and Pakistan cannot be resolved by guns or cannons, which have even been proven by four wars, but these can definitely be deliberated upon for amicable solution through a sustained process of dialogue. He said the reality of LoC and International Border between the two nations cannot be challenged at the strength of military power and therefore the two parts of the state should be granted maximum autonomy. In the context of Indo-Pak dialogue, he referred to the speech of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Tanghdar, emphasising that friends can be changed but not the neighbours. He said the intermittent skirmishes on borders have only aggravated the problems of the two sides of Jammu and Kashmir. The NC President cautioned New Delhi against delaying the resolution of political issue of Kashmir, saying restoration of the commitments made in the Instrument of Accession is the only way forward in wriggling out the state from prevailing crisis. He said the state of Jammu and Kashmir had acceded to India on three subjects of defence, foreign affairs and communication, which has been re-emphasised by the former Sadr-e-Riyasat, Karan Singh in Parliament recently. He said the genesis of discontent among people in Kashmir was due to breaking of promises and said that mistrust among youth is deep-rooted. "The alienation is growing among youth, who cannot be won over by brute force or the notes of Rs 500 or Rs 1000", he said, adding that a meaningful engagement with all the stake holders had assumed immense significance. Warning RSS against furthering divisive agenda across the country in general and Jammu and Kashmir in particular, Abdullah said that the state had not acceded to Hindu India but a secular nation, a proud abode for all faiths and communities. "Nobody has right to undermine the sacrifices of Muslims in independence struggle of India", hesaid and asked the BJP to refrain from practicing the British legacy of 'divide and rule'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New age financial technologies (fintech) like micro credits and payments will help Asia Pacific achieve UNDP's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) faster by creating more jobs in micro enterprises. At the 5th Responsible Business Forum of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Singapore today, it was observed that businesses will play a greater role in new development era in the Asia Pacific. It called on business leaders to take a greater role in the new development era in order to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). New technologies promise to help catalyse the business contribution to the delivery on the SDGs, UNDP said in a statement. "An exciting array of new technologies is making the pursuit of the SDGs a commercial proposition across a range of sectors," said Mark Cliffe, Chief Economist of ING Group. "A great example is the rapid advances in fintech, combining mobile and internet technology, cloud computing and blockchain technology, which will facilitate explosive growth in financial inclusion. Micro payments and micro credits will fuel growth in micro-enterprises and jobs. In turn this will help the delivery of many of the other SDGs," Cliffe said. This assumes significance specifically with relation to India in the region as there is a heartfelt need to move towards digital transactions after the Government banning Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes two weeks ago to check currency hoarding. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and top industrialists Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and Adani Group chief Gautam Adani will be among key participants in the 'Make in Odisha' Conclave due to start on November 30 here. Besides, SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, Larsen & Toubro Chairman A M Naik, ITC COO Sanjiv Puri, JSW Group CMD Sajjan Jindal and Hindustan Coca-cola CEO T Krishankumar will take part in the three-day event. Others who have confirmed their participation included Shahi Exports MD Harish Ahuja, Videocon Ltd Chairman Venugopal Dhoot, SanDisk co-founder amd President Sanjau Mehrotra, The conclave, the first such mega investor meet in the state, aims at achieving Odisha's goal of making the state a manufacturing hub of the East and most preferred investment destination in India. Odisha, which yesterday rolled out eight policies to woo the investors, has been identified as one of the three states to host 'Make in India' shows in the country. The 'Make in Odisha' conclave is being organised in collaboration with DIPP, Government of India and CII as Industry Partner. The objective of the conclave is to showcase the manufacturing eco-system of the state to investors, highlight investment opportunities across focus sectors of the state and elicit investment intention from the companies, Odisha Industries Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said. The event is expected to see participation from key companies from across the country. One of the key elements of the conclave is organisation of eight sectoral sessions on state's identified focus sectors including smart city, chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics, tourism, textiles & apparel, food processing, skill development, electronics manufacturing & IT and defence manufacturing. The conclave will also witness holding of INNOVEX, flagship event of Young Indians -- the youth wing of CII, which will focus on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among the youth. The event will provide opportunities to participants to interact with acclaimed speakers from Silicon Valley, USA and from across the country on innovation, funding and entrepreneurial skills. Successful start-ups from the state will be sharing their experience and learnings. The state government recently formulated a new Start Up Policy with a vision to emerge among the top 3 Start-up Hubs in the country by 2020. About 100 companies have so far confirmed their participation in the conclave. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Army today said that seven persons, including three of its soldiers, were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian troops on the LoC, taking the death toll in such incidents to 14 since last week. The clash occurred a day after India had warned of retribution after losing three soldiers due to firing by Pakistani troops. "Three Pakistani soldiers valiantly sacrificed their lives at the Line of Control while responding to Indian unprovoked firing," army said. Those killed were identified as Captain Taimoor Ali Khan, Havaldar Mushtaq Hussain and Lance Naik Ghulam Hussain. The statement also claimed that seven Indian troops were killed in retaliatory fire. In an earlier statement, the army said four civilians were killed as Indian troops targeted a passenger bus near Dhudnial in Neelam valley. However, media reports said that up to 10 civilians were killed today due to firing by Indian troops. Meanwhile, Pakistan yesterday rejected as "false" and "baseless" the charges that the body of an Indian soldier was mutilated by Pakistani soldiers in a cross LoC-attack. Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Nafees Zakaria in a series of tweets said the reports about the mutilation were aimed at maligning Pakistan. "Pakistan strongly rejects the false & baseless Indian media reports regarding the alleged mutilation of an Indian solider on the LoC. These reports are a fabrication and a blatant attempt to malign Pakistan," he had said. Zakaria said as a professional force, Pakistan Army isn't involved in any such "unethical & non-professional" activity. He had said the Pakistan Army never supported any such action. However, he said, Pakistan is fully prepared and ready to respond to any misadventure across the LoC, Working Boundary or the International Border. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Using heads-up display like may slow down the brain's response time, a new study has warned. That could pose issues for people driving, when a delay of a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death, researchers said. Heads-up display offers lots of information to users in seconds, literally in front of their eyes. Access to information is critical in today's fast-paced world, but the research at the University of Central Florida in the US indicates that the multitasking needed to process that readily available information may slow down the brain's response time. "The idea here is to explore to what extent displayed secondary information might interfere with the primary task at hand, such as driving," said Mark Neider, a UCF psychology associate professor. "What our data suggests is secondary information presented on a heads-up display is likely to interfere, and if that happens while driving, it may be distracting and dangerous," said Neider. Lewis had 363 UCF psychology student participants complete a primary task similar to "Where's Waldo?" on a computer, while some wore and did not. Participants were told to complete the primary task and were given secondary instructions based on which experiment they were in. Some students were told to ignore the information that pops up on Google Glass, while were told to try to remember the information. In all the experiments, students wearing the technology, which is worn like eyeglasses and displays a small screen over the user's right eye, took longer to complete the primary task than those who were not. Potential reasons behind these findings are that humans have a natural inclination to process language, and in this case two visual stimuli - the primary task and the secondary information from Google Glass - were competing for the visual-processing capabilities in the students' brains, resulting in the slower pace to complete the primary task, Lewis said. Although Google Glass currently is not a widespread product, the heads-up it uses is gaining popularity, researchers said. Some automobile manufacturers have introduced this technology into its vehicles by displaying speed on the windshield, among other scenarios. Although the vehicle's speed is related to the primary task of driving, the technology opens doors to the possibility of information not related to driving being displayed. "The goal here is to make the case that we should be careful, and just because we can [integrate heads-up display technology into everyday activities] doesn't mean we should," Lewis said. The findings were published in the journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. The government has directed companies to sell fertilisers to farmers on credit basis in places if there are no cash or banking services in order to ensure that farmers do not face problem in buying soil nutrients in this rabi season due to demonetisation. The companies have also been told to ensure cooperative societies, dealers and retailers accept "all modes of payment" like cheque, credit and debit cards from farmers. Asserting that there is adequate supply of fertilisers in the country for the ongoing rabi season, the government said instructions have been issued to ensure smooth sale of fertilisers. At present, sowing of rabi crops like wheat, pulses and oilseeds is underway. The Centre has already allowed farmers to use old Rs 500 notes to buy seeds, but not fertilisers. "Government of India is making all out efforts to ensure that fertilisers are readily made available to farmers as per their demand without any problem," Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar said in a statement. State Chief Secretaries and Agriculture Commissioners have been directed "to ensure that all cooperative societies, private retailers/ wholesalers provide fertilisers to farmers through all modes of payments like on credit as well as through credit card, debit card, cheque, etc," he said. The Minister further said that "strict instructions" have been given to all fertiliser manufacturers and importers to ensure that all modes of payments are accepted by all concerned dealers, wholesalers and retailers. That apart, Kumar said: "Fertilisers companies have been directed to see that in case any kind of problem is noticed anywhere in the country due to non-availability of cash/banking services, farmers should be provided fertilisers on credit basis and for that all necessary arrangements be made by them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government has allowed National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) to disburse Rs 21,000 crore to cash-starved farmers, helping them sow winter crops like wheat ahead of the sowing season, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta said on Wednesday. The government's move, which swept away 86 per cent of currency in circulation, has badly hit farmers leaving them without cash just ahead of the sowing season. Das said Nabard will disburse the money to farm cooperatives for onward payments to farmers. "Nabard, for the facility of agricultural operations in the current rabi season and especially for the benefit of farmers, has sanctioned a special limit of Rs 21,000 crore to district central cooperative banks," he told reporters in New Delhi. More than 40 per cent small and marginal farmers get crop loans from cooperative institutions, he said. The move is aimed at easing liquidity crisis facing farmers who were left with very little cash to buy seeds and fertilisers for winter crops due to restrictions placed on bank withdrawals post . This has threatened crop production in a year that came after two successive years of drought. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had on Tuesday relaxed rules on loans to farmers, allowing the Nabard to disburse up to Rs 23,000 crore to district cooperative banks for crop loans. Das said that out of the total agriculture credit, institutional credit meets more than 40 per cent of the requirement of small and marginal farmers. "So the sanction of Rs 21,000 crore to the district central cooperative banks (DCCBs) will enable them to pass on or grant funds to the primary agriculture cooperatives. This will then help in meeting crop loan requirements of farmers in Rabi season," he said. This, he said, will help in the smooth flow of credit for farmers to enable them to undertake rabi requirements. "Over and above this Rs 21,000 limit, as and when the additional limits are required, they will also be sanctioned by the Nabard," he said. To ensure farmers get credit in cash, the government has advised the Nabard, the RBI and banks to make the required cash available. Banks have been asked to ensure the district cooperative banks and regional rural banks, which provide loans to several farmers' cooperatives, get sufficient cash. "DCCBs will get their cash from currency chests of banks and state cooperatives. Nabard has created a list of DCCBs and their list of requirements have been given to banks," he said. The Delhi High Court today directed the city government to provide free medical treatment to an acid attack victim who suffered injuries in a 2009 attack. Observing that the "state owes a duty to provide free medical treatment to acid attack victims", Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said the Delhi government should provide specialised treatment to the victim at a private hospital here as the same is not available at LNJP Hospital. The court also sought response of the Delhi government and Delhi State Legal Services Authority on the woman's plea for her rehabilitation and enhancement of the compensation amount. The bench said that the ceiling of Rs seven lakh for medical treatment of an acid attack survivor - under the Victim Compensation Scheme - was arbitrary and unreasonable as the victim had suffered serious injuries. In a plea by another victim before the same bench, the court directed the Delhi government to provide employment to the 29-year-old woman on the compassionate ground. She was 19 years old when a tenant in her family house threw acid on her face in Delhi's Shahdara area. She had asked the man to vacate his room. The attack left her blind and made her dependent on constant medical treatment. Sharma's attacker was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Since the incident, which took place on February 15, 2006, the victim has undergone 15 surgeries, but received only Rs three lakh from the Delhi government as compensation, an amount which she said is "grossly inadequate". Her father's income as a Group D employee in the railways is insufficient to support the rising medical expenses and hence she decided to move court for compensation, said her advocate Kamlesh Kumar Mishra. The victim had approached the Delhi High Court with a plea seeking enhanced compensation of Rs 50 lakh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Madras High court today voiced concern over the conditions in government hospitals and directed the state health secretary to file a report on programmes, to be taken up in a phased manner, for improving it. It also expressed 'pain' and dissatisfaction over a report of health department officials while hearing a PIL on hospitals functioning with insufficient doctors and paramedical staff. The report merely talked about deputation of doctors. No reason was attributed for en masse deputation of doctors,and what steps had been taken to fill vacancies at hospitals from where doctors had been deputed, a division bench of the court's Madurai bench, comprising, Justice S.Nagamuthu and Justice M.V.Muralidharan, said. On the one hand, the government was trying to fill the vacancies of doctors as per the Medical Council of India norms, and on the other, the MCI norms were not followed for other paramedical staff including nurses. There was shortage of equipment for dialysis at hospitals also. Not agreeing with the view of officials that doctors were being deputed on the basis of requirements, the court said there were enough doctors and trained paramedical staff and technicians in the state who were unemployed,and they could be provided jobs at the government hospitals. The situation in dental care wing was worse..If there were doctors..There were no lab technicians, if there were technicians,there were not laboratories, if there were laboratories there were no raw materials for filling teeth etc, the court said. "From the report presently submitted one can see only deputation of specialists from one place to the other creating vacancy in another place.This is the state of affairs in the state which was duty bound to provide health care,a fundamental right," the court said. The court did not expect government to provide adequate doctors, specialists and paramedical staff overnight. "But the government should have a programme for doing the same in the years to come.Instead the officials are talking about deputation in the hospitals." "Our heart is paining that the conditions in the government hospitals are not good and facilities inadequate and people are not getting proper health care even after the nation got independence 69 years ago," the court said. The court directed that the government should set up a full-fledged dental unit in every district hospital. It directed the official to submit a detailed report on the programmes for improving the health service in the state. The court had earlier directed the state principal health secretary to file a report on the present strength of doctors, nurses,and paramedical staff in government hospitals. The PIL was filed by one C Anand Raj. Submitting data obtained under the Right to Information Act, the petitioner said Virudhunagar district headquarters hospital and nine taluk hospitals in the district were functioning with only 99 doctors, against the sanctioned strength of 139 doctors. The Madras High Court has pulled up authorities for not revising property tax every four years from 1998. When a petition from K.Kulasekaran and K.Padhmanabhan challenging the property tax demand in respect of their shops in Koyambedu, made from 1996 up to 2015, came up, Justice N.Kirubakaran said:"It is disheartening to note that the trust and faith reposed by the voters in their Councillors have been frustrated by the conduct of the elected councillors." "The successive ruling parties, which have been controlling the Chennai Corporation from 1996 onwards is to be squarely blamed for this lapse. Once the details regarding the loss caused to the local body is placed before this court, this court would pass appropriate orders regarding slapping of the said amount on appropriate persons," the judge said. If the revision of property tax was carried out according to the rules, the revision would be 25 per cent in respect of residential buildings and 100 per cent in respect of commercial buildings, the court said. However, the successive corporation councils had failed to make any revision in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. Property tax revision has been made by all other local bodies in TN, except the city of Chennai, the court said. Saying councilors and Mayors were responsible for the negligence, the court also said, "Instead of discharging their duties, in fact, it is evident that they fight over petty issues in the council meetings, which are in the public domain." "It is being said that the so-called elected councilors promptly descend at construction sites for various reasons instead of doing their duties," it said. Justice Kirubakaran directed the authorities to answer a set of six questions such as why property tax payable in respect of city properties has not been revised and if steps are properly taken to recover the existing property tax. The case has been posted to November 30. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A heart harvested from a Nepalese-origin person at a city hospital here was transported to another hospital through an over 8-km-long 'green corridor' in nearly nine minutes in the wee hours today for transplantation in a 20-year-old boy from Bhiwani. The organ was transported from Fortis Hospital in Vasant Kunj to Max Hospital in Saket. "The donor was a 41-year-old man of Nepalese-origin. He was brought into the emergency ward after a road accident on late November 20. The patient was non-responsive and unconscious at the time of arrival, and despite best efforts by doctors, he could not be revived, and was pronounced brain dead on Tuesday," an official of Fortis Hospital said. "The green corridor was opened at 02:21 AM and closed at 02:29 AM today. The distance was covered in 8 minutes and 30 seconds," a senior Delhi Traffic Police official said. Besides, the heart, one of his kidneys was sent to Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh in east Delhi, which was donated to a 52-year-old woman recipient. "The other kidney was transplanted in a 46-year-old woman. Both women recipients were from Delhi. The corneas were sent to city-based Venu Eye Centre," the Fortis Hospital official added. Incidentally, the transplants took place ahead of the National Organ Donation Day which falls later this month. "It is extremely motivating to see a gradual shift in public perception on the issue of organ donation in our country. As per available statistics, in 2015, there were 570 donations following brain death cases in the country, resulting in transplantation of a total of 1,675 organs including 1,007 kidneys, 510 livers, 110 hearts, 37 lungs, 4 pancreas and 2 small intestines. "These are not small numbers in a country where, till a decade ago, organ donation was synonymous with the donation of a kidney or part of the liver from a living donor," said Avnish Seth, Director, Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant (FORT). (REOPENS DES66) Another 'green corridor' was today created in Delhi for transporting a liver of woman after her brain death. "The corridor was provided from Max Hospital, Saket to ILBS Hospital, Vasant Kunj. It began on 12:02 AM and completed at 12:10 AM, during which the organ was transported over a distance of 7 km in 8 minutes and 28 seconds," the Delhi Traffic Police official said. "The recipient was a 38-year-old man, who was suffering from chronic liver disease," hospital authorities said. A senior official with union home ministry today held a meeting with bankers, farmers, traders and businessmen here to seek suggestions for addressing the "problems" they were facing due to demonetisation of the old currency. Dalip Kumar, a Union Joint Secretary (Home Affairs), New Delhi, today visited the town and held a meeting with different sections of the society. Locals including farmers and traders urged the official to covey to the Union government that the cap of Rs 50,000 fixed on withdrawal of money was quite insufficient and it needed to be raised on urgent basis to save trade and industry. The Joint Secretary reportedly assured them of conveying their concerns to the government. The Lead Bank Manager V K Sharma, apart from giving out the information concerning calibration of ATMs in the district, told the Secretary that new currency notes in the denomination of Rs 500 were yet to reach the district. Meanwhile, a group of Non Resident Indians (NRI) who were on Punjab visit claimed that they were adversely affected by the scrapping of old currency. Led by Rajpal Singh, NRIs who are settled in the US, Canada, the UK, and UAE said that they were clueless on how to exchange the scrapped Indian currency which is in their possession to cater to their day to day needs here. They submitted a memorandum to the government through the local district administration here saying that every year in winter hordes of NRIs visit their motherland to meet their families, relatives and to attend marriages and such other social functions, besides visiting their religious shrines to pay obeisance. But this year they were facing grave problems due to the scrapping of high currency notes, Singh said. NRIs have urged the government to allow them the facility of withdrawing more cash from their accounts in view of their usually short stay in the country. The deputation also urged for setting up of separate counters in banks to deal with their problems. Rajpal Singh said in view of "hardships" triggered by non-availability of Indian currency while many NRIs have cut short their visit and returned to foreign countries, many others who were to visit India have started getting their tickets cancelled. He said the government must come up with a plan to ensure hassle-free exchange of Indian currency which the NRIs usually keep in their homes for emergency situations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab's two main industrial clusters -- hosiery and bicycle -- have faced almost 50 per cent drop in production in view of major slump in demand for woollen and bicycles items caused by demonetisation of old notes, industry representatives said. The "cash crunch" situation has also forced several migrant labourers working in factories to leave for their homes in the wake of "loss of jobs," they further lamented. With industry feeling that it would take some time to recover from the shock given by "cash crunch", manufacturers apprehended that the state's industrial growth would be hit in coming months. "Bicycle production in majority of factories here has plunged by almost 50 per cent as retailers and dealers are reporting sharp decline in sales of new bicycles. Customers have almost stopped buying bicycles due to cash crunch," said Ludhiana-based bicycle maker Charanjit Singh. "Common man is now more worried about saving cash to meet daily needs rather spending on buying cycles or other items which has hit our industry hard," said Singh, who owns Vishavkarma Cycles Industries. The convenor of Engineering Export Promotion Council's bicycle parts panel, Satish Dhanda predicted 20-25 per cent fall in overall production in bicycles in the country. "Dealers and shopkeepers are cancelling their orders as sales have been impacted by demonetisation of old notes," said Dhanda, who is also a bicycle maker. Industry representatives said the problem is so acute that they do not have sufficient money even to pay wages to their workers because of "restrictions imposed" on withdrawal of cash. "Workers who are not getting their wages are leaving for their homes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh as majority of factories do not have work. Some manufacturers have even reduced the workforce because of lesser number of orders in their hands," pointed out Dhanda. Similarly, the hosiery sector, which is one of the oldest and famous cluster, is also feeling the pinch due to scrapping of old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. The troubles for hosiery came at a time when it was expecting boost in sales in view of winter conditions. "Retails sales of woollen items including pullover, sweaters have been hit hard due to cash crunch situation," Duke Group Chairman Komal Jain said. "Industry is now saddled with inventory of hosiery items in light of drop in sales at retail and dealers end," said Jain while attributing this problem to restriction in cash flow. Duke, which is a lifestyle brand for apparels, sells its items through 300 exclusive outlets and 3,000 multi brand outlets. The major impact was visible on small and tiny units which supply items to big units as they lack fresh orders, said industry representative. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haryana Cooperation Minister Manish Kumar Grover today suspended the General Manager of the Hisar Cooperative Bank for not being absent in a meeting convened by him to review the bank's financial condition. Grover convened a meeting to take stock of the situation following the demonetisation of high-value currency notes and to review the financial condition of the bank, an official release said here. "Even after getting a message from the Cooperation Department deputy-registrar to attend the meeting the GM of the bank, Krishan Kumar Kundu did not attend it, even though he was present in the bank," the release said. The minister took the action against Kundu because of the "indiscipline" showed by him, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tropical Storm Otto strengthened into a hurricane in the Caribbean as it lurched toward Central America, causing three deaths in Panama and prompting coastal evacuations in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Otto became the seventh hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic season as it moved westward packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometres per hour, the US-based National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane is expected to pick up strength and speed as it approaches the coasts of Costa Rica and Nicaragua before making landfall, the NHC said in a 2100 GMT bulletin. Currently, hurricane-force winds were extending up to 10 miles from the center. Otto's rains "will likely result in life-threatening flash floods and mud slides," while "life-threatening surf and rip-current conditions" will be experienced along the coasts of Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the US center warned. In Panama, two people died from a mudslide and one was killed by a falling tree at the onset of Otto's heavy rain, the head of the National Civil Protection Service, Jose Donderis, told AFP. Nine people were caught in the mudslide that occurred west of the capital. "Seven were rescued and unfortunately two deceased people were recovered," he said. The other death was that of a boy who was hit by a tree that fell on the car he was in while waiting with his mother outside his school in the capital, Donderis said. The mother survived. Officials in the country ordered all schools closed. Government workers were told to leave offices hours early today. Neighboring Costa Rica yesterday ordered the evacuation of more than 4,000 people along the sparsely inhabited northern part of its Caribbean coast to avoid fatalities. "We will not allow people to remain in at-risk areas and loss of human life," President Luis Guillermo Solis told a conference. The order did not extend to Costa Rica's principal port city of Limon on the southern Caribbean coast. The city, home to around 60,000 people, is projected to feel the glancing force of the hurricane today. Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America, has issued a national alert and also ordered coastal evacuations. The co-director of the SINAPRED national disaster agency, Guillermo Gonzalez, said navy ships would evacuate people on Little Corn Island, a popular Nicaraguan tourist spot in the Caribbean, to shelters on bigger Corn Island. Civilian Nicaraguan vessels at sea were ordered back to port. The storm was expected to pass near Managua, Nicaragua's inland capital tomorrow. According to forecasts, Otto was to cut across the narrow Central American isthmus, losing strength as it went, before exiting out into the Pacific Ocean on Friday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Director of Marathi blockbuster "Sairat" Nagraj Manjule says he is happy that the film is being remade in different languages as it will now reach out to larger number of audience. Recently Zee Studios partnered with White Hill for a Punjabi remake and with Rockline Venkatesh for remakes in Kannada, Telegu, Tamil and Malayalam. The director says he feels honoured as it is the first time a Marathi film is going to have a remake in so many languages. "I'm very happy that remake is happening that too in so many languages. The film will now even reach out to wider audience. "It feels so great because most of the time we make films from South India and now 'Sairat' is all the way having remakes in almost all South Indian languages. It's great. It's happening for the first time with any Marathi film," Manjule told PTI. Director-producer Karan Johar has also apparently bought the remake rights of the film starring Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar. Manjule is currently busy writing the script for his next project. "I've started writing something new. I can't really disclose its genre right now because I'm still the halfway," he said. When asked if his next will be a Marathi project, the director said, "I'm writing Marathi as well but I think language really doesn't matter. I never really plan or give so much thought to a particular thing If I feel that it's kind a similar to what I want to say I just do it." Manjule said the best part about being in the Marathi film industry is that there people don't go by your film's star value. "I'm happy that Marathi cinema is doing so well. The best thing here is that we go by content of the films and not star value. Only good content works out here, which is a good thing. Here the films are more content-oriented. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telecom operator Idea Cellular today said it will continue the rollout of its wireless broadband network, expanding 4G services to 20 circles in 2016-17. "Idea has planned nearly 57,000 additional sites this year to enable the launch of 4G in nine circles and expand wireless broadband footprint on a pan-India level," a company release said. With the launch of 4G services in circles of UP West, UP East, Gujarat, Mumbai, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir, where spectrum was acquired in the recent auction, Idea will expand its 4G network to 20 circles in FY17, it added. The Aditya Birla Group company has planned a capex of Rs 7,500 crore to Rs 8,000 crore, to support the rollout of the network. Additionally, the company spent Rs 13,000 crore to acquire spectrum in the recent auction. Currently, Idea's wireless broadband network is spread across 17 circles with a population of over 880 million, with 50 per cent of this population already covered. "Idea's 4G footprint, by the end of this year, will cover our key 20 circles contributing 94 per cent of the company revenue...," Idea Cellular Managing Director Himanshu Kapania said. The company expects to launch 'Idea-branded Games' in third quarter of FY17 and 'Idea Movies and Music Services' in future. "Further, Idea's efforts are on to introduce Live TV, digital magazines and newspaper subscription, video and audio chat, rich messaging and Voice over IP services in the next financial year," the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Pakistan have withdrawn eight officials each, including senior diplomats, from their missions in each other's country following the expulsion of Pakistani High Commission staffer, Mehboob Akhtar, over alleged spying. In written reply to question in the Lok Sabha today, External Affairs Minister said, on November 2, Pakistan government withdrew six High Commission officials, whose names had reportedly appeared in media following the interrogation of Akhtar, who was accused by Delhi police of running a spy ring. Pakistan withdrew two more officials along with seven family members on November 16, she said. Noting that on November 2, Pakistani media prominently carried names of eight Indian High Commission officials, alleging they were involved in "subversive and terrorist activities", Swaraj said on November 3, at it weekly media briefing, Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs also officially released their names and designations. "The litany of baseless charges against them was repeated," she said. In view of safety and security of these officials and their family members, all of them returned to India in three batches on November 8, 10 and 12, 2016, the minister said. "The allegations against Indian officials represent an afterthought on the part of Government of Pakistan and constitute a crude attempt to tarnish the image of India. "The manner in which their names and photographs were prominently published in Pakistani media along with baseless allegation reiterated without any corroboration by Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs is against the Vienna Convention and also violates the norms of established diplomatic practice and courtesies," she added. As per the understanding between India and Pakistan, the effective strength of their respective diplomatic missions cannot exceed 110 at any point of time. Reacting sharply to firing by Pakistani troops, India today summoned its Deputy High Commissioner here and lodged strong protest over ceasefire violations causing deaths of Indian soldiers and barbaric mutilation of their bodies. Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah was summoned by Joint Secretary (in-charge of Pakistan) in the Ministry of External Affairs Gopal Baglay, who conveyed India's strong reaction to continued ceasefire violations and mutilation of bodies of its soldiers. On his part, Shah too protested "the recent spate of unprovoked Indian firing and shelling" which, he claimed, had so far resulted in the loss of more than 50 civilians lives including women, infants and the elderly, besides several Pakistani soldiers. India and Pakistan have been blaming each other for violation of ceasefire agreement and using heavy artillery and mortar shelling which have led to death of several civilians and soldiers on both sides. Yesterday, India's Deputy High Commission in Islamabad J P Singh had protested to Pakistan against the killing of Indian soldiers and mutilation of the body of one of them when he was summoned by the Pakistani Foreign Office in Islamabad which wanted to lodge a protest over "unprovoked ceasefire violations". Three Indian soldiers were killed yesterday in an ambush on army patrol in Machhil sector of Jammu and Kashmir following which the Indian army had vowed heavy "retribution". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Army on Wednesday launched a counter-offensive against Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC), a day after three Indian soldiers were killed, with the body of one of them being mutilated in a cross-LoC attack. The offensive comes hours after the vowed "heavy retribution" to the attack on its soldiers. Brigadier, Northern Command, S Gotra said India Army launched a counter-offensive along the LoC in retaliation to Tuesday's offensive in Machhil sector of Kashmir. posts are responding strongly and giving a befitting reply, Defence PRO Manish Mehta said. Pakistan Army also fired at Indian posts along the LoC in Bhimber Gali, Krishna Ghati and Nowshera sectors. In the cross-LoC attack by suspected Pakistani terrorists, three Indian soldiers were killed on Tuesday, with the body of one of them being mutilated. The ambush on the army patrol took place in Machhil sector of Kashmir, following which the vowed heavy "retribution". The Northern Command spokesman had yesterday tweeted, "3 soldiers killed in action on LC (Line of Control) in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated." He said the "retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act." This is the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier in the same sector since October 28. On that day, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, had crossed the Line of Control and killed an Indian army jawan and mutilated his body in Macchil sector. One attacker was killed in that incident. The recently-signed India-Japan nuclear agreement includes reprocessing consent and a termination clause similar to the one in the Indo-US atomic deal, the government told Parliament today. Making a suo motu statement in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said the agreement is the first of its kind that Japan has signed with a non-signatory to the NPT. In Rajya Sabha, Akbar could not read out the statement due to ruckus created by the Opposition. He then laid the statement on the table of the House. "The agreement underlines international recognition of India's responsible record. It has taken six years of negotiations and is the product of work spanning two Governments. The basic features are similar to those of civil nuclear cooperation agreement we have concluded with other partners and include reprocessing consent and administrative arrangements," the minister said. "It has a termination clause that is not new and is in fact almost identical to the provision in the US Agreement," Akbar said. The Agreement, he said, also focuses more heavily on modern safety in the light of Japan's experiences 2011, which witnessed radioactive leak from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The minister noted that 10 agreements covering diverse fields of engagement were signed during Modi's November 11-12 visit. During the talks with Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorist attacks, including November 2008 Mumbai attack and 2016 Pathankot attack. He said the two countries also agreed on a Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme. "It is first of a kind arrangement in India, which is aimed at bridging a skill gap in high tech manufacturing in India. Under this programme, Japan-India Institute of Manufacturing (JIM) will be set up to train 30,000 Indian youth over 10 years in floor shop engineering skills," Akbar said. He said the Japanese endowment courses will be instituted in select engineering and technology colleges of India. "This skill development programme could be an effective game-changer in augmenting manufacturing in India. It would also help to better integrate India in global supply chains. "One area which was of importance is joint projects in stem cell using iPS technology of Nobel Laureate Prof. Yamanaka, which holds promise for treating genetic disorders prevalent in Indian tribal belts," Akbar added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the aftermath of Indian army's "punitive fire assaults", DGMOs of India and Pakistan spoke today at the latter's request for an "unscheduled hotline interaction" during which the "unethical" act of mutilation of bodies of Indian soldiers by "terrorists" was raised. "He (Pakistani Director General of Military Operations) was categorically informed that if any ceasefire violations were initiated by Pak troops or any infiltration attempt was made by terrorists from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir or territory under its control, it would invite an appropriate response by Indian army," a statement issued by the Indian DGMO's office said. Indian DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh raised the issue of infiltration attempts by terrorists from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir and "unethical act of mutilation of the body of Indian soldiers close to the Line of Control by terrorists infiltrating from Pakistan". Pakistan's DGMO was exhorted to exercise strict control on their troops to refrain from any "nefarious activities", it said. "This would lead to return of normalcy along the Line of Control," the statement headlined "Aftermath of Indian Army's punitive fire assault: Pak DGMO requests for unscheduled talks on hotline", added. Pakistan's DGMO informed about civilian casualties on his side caused by Indian firing at the Line of Control. Lt Gen Singh expressed grief at civilian casualties but "emphatically stated that retaliatory firing by Indian troops has only been carried out targeting locations from where Pakistan has initiated ceasefire violations on Indian Posts". Lt Gen Singh expressed his concern to Pakistani DGMO about casualties caused to Indian civilians and soldiers due to "unprovoked" Pakistani firing. Pakistan Army had earlier in the day said seven persons, including three of its soldiers, were killed in an exchange of fire with Indian troops at the LoC, taking the death toll in such incidents on their side to 14 since last week. Those killed were identified as Captain Taimoor Ali Khan, Havaldar Mushtaq Hussain and Lance Naik Ghulam Hussain. The development came a day after three Indian soldiers were killed, with body of one of them being mutilated in a cross-LoC attack. Today's offensive by the Indian army came hours after the it vowed "heavy retribution" to the killing of its soldiers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Infosys today said it will invest Rs 31.6 crore in Stellaris Venture Partners, an early stage venture fund. Infosys has signed a definitive agreement to a Limited Partner investment of Rs 31.6 crore from its Innovation Fund in Stellaris Venture Partners, the company said in a statement. This investment is towards the first close of Stellaris' fund, it added. This is the second investment announced by Infosys within a week that is being funded by Infosys' Innovation Fund. Set up in 2013, Infosys had beefed up its fund five-fold to USD 500 million in 2015 to provide financing to startups and new technologies like artificial intelligence. "India's startup ecosystem is witnessing rapid growth led by areas such as cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence and big data, as well as the widespread proliferation of smartphones," Infosys said. In this environment, Stellaris aims to back entrepreneurs building applications for global businesses, Indian SMBs and consumers in verticals such as financial services, retail, healthcare and education, it added. "We believe Stellaris with their extensive operational and domain expertise in enterprise software and services in both India and US, is uniquely positioned to leverage India's capital efficient talent pool, to harness the next wave of enterprise innovation in India," Infosys Executive Vice-President and Global Head of Corporate Development and Ventures Ritika Suri said. With this investment, Infosys looks forward to gaining early access to innovative new companies in India that are inventing the future of enterprises globally, she added. Stellaris has built a robust network of successful entrepreneurs and advisors to source, evaluate and mentor the best Indian startups. "India has a vibrant technology startup ecosystem today that has the potential to create breakthrough companies on a global scale. We are very excited to partner with Infosys, whose deep technology expertise, understanding of global enterprises and worldwide footprint can be immensely valuable to the investment team as well as Stellaris' portfolio companies," Stellaris co-founder Alok Goyal said. Infosys' investment in Stellaris is expected to be completed by December 15, 2016. On November 18, Infosys had said it has invested DKK 149,20,000 (about Rs 14.49 crore) in UNSILO, a Danish artificial intelligence startup focused on advanced text analysis. Earlier this month, Infosys had also announced investing an undisclosed amount in the US-based TidalScale. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The inquiry into the Indore-Patna Express derailment was today extended by one more day even as Railway Safety Commissioner (Eastern Circle), who is heading the probe, examined rail employees, several passengers and their kin in connection with the deadly accident. The inquiry, which was supposed to be completed today, has been extended till tomorrow evening as questioning is still underway. Those having any information about the incident can depose before the panel tomorrow as well, North Central Railway (NCR) PRO Amit Malviya said. Railway Safety Commissioner (Eastern Circle) P K Acharya talked to representatives and photographers of the local media and asked them to submit their photos of the accident, he said. He questioned the staff of the office of deputy chief traffic manager (CTM) about the incident and some passengers of the train also recorded their statements before him, Malviya said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Committee to Protect Journalists honoured journalists from India, El Salvador, Turkey and Egypt with its annual International Press Freedom Awards for their commitment to a free press despite death threats, imprisonment and exile. CPJ executive director Joel Simon said threats against journalism are increasing around the world, including in the United States following the presidential election victory of Republican Donald Trump, who has branded mainstream media dishonest and who hasn't held a conference since his election. "It's a very intimidating, hostile environment," Simon said before the ceremony. "Now, we're not going to compare it to some of the things we're going to see tonight, but certainly the climate's changed and the notion that we're here living in this First Amendment paradise defending the rights of our more vulnerable colleagues around the world, that gap has closed considerably." India's Malini Subramaniam, a contributor to the website Scroll.In, has been harassed by police and members of a vigilante group for her critical coverage of human rights abuses in the Bastar area of Chhattisgarh state. She said the award was important to send a message to the government that it's being watched. "The importance is also to those journalists who are there, who feel that, OK, even if it is a small place like Bastar in Chhattisgarh the fact that this has come out in the international media, the fact that their situation has been understood, that itself is very good," Subramanian said. El Salvador's Oscar Martinez, co-founder of Sala Negra, the investigative unit of Central America's first online-only magazine, El Faro, also was honoured. Martinez was forced to flee El Salvador for three weeks after receiving death threats over an investigation into the killings of eight gang suspects by police. Turkey's Can Dundar, chief editor of the daily Cumhuriyet, was another honouree. He was arrested on November 26, 2015, after publishing an article alleging the government intelligence service sought to send weapons to Syrian rebel groups. He was charged with disclosing state secrets, espionage and aiding a terrorist group and was sentenced to five years in prison. He remains free, after spending 92 days in jail, while his appeal is considered. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Forces battling the Islamic State group in northern Iraq cut off the jihadists' last supply line from Mosul to Syria today, trapping them in the city for a bloody last stand. A day after the last major bridge over the Tigris in Mosul was bombed by the US-led coalition against IS, elite forces fighting in the east of the city also reported significant progress. To the west of Mosul, Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) paramilitary forces made a push to cut the road between two towns on the route heading to Syria, security officials said. "Hashed forces have cut off the Tal Afar-Sinjar road," senior Hashed commander Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis said on social media. A Kurdish security official told AFP that Hashed forces had linked up with other anti-IS forces, including Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters, in three villages in the area. The town of Tal Afar itself, which lies about 50 kilometres west of Mosul, is still under the control of the jihadists. Iraqi forces launched a major offensive on October 17 to retake Mosul, which is the country's second city and where jihadist supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed a caliphate in 2014. Federal forces have already entered the city from the east. Kurdish peshmerga and other forces are also closing in from the north and south, while only the west had remained open. The latest development will make it very long and dangerous for IS if it attempts to move fighters and equipment between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqa, the last two bastions of their crumbling "state". A US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance launched an offensive against Raqa on November 5 but its fighters have some way to go before reaching the city. In Iraq, almost two and a half years after IS took over swathes of the country, forces backed by the US and other partners have regained much ground. Mosul is the last major prize in Iraq for the diverse and sometimes rival forces involved in the anti-IS effort, but the jihadists have offered stiffer resistance than elsewhere. The eastern side of the city was expected to offer less resistance than the west bank but elite forces from the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) have faced a torrid time. IS fighters moving in an intricate network of tunnels have used snipers, booby traps and a seemingly endless supply of suicide car bombers to stop Iraqi forces. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israel revived plans today to build 500 new homes for Jewish settlers in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, an ominous sign for Palestinians wary of a Donald Trump presidency, an NGO said. "The political significance of this action is that it is the first plan to be promoted since the US elections," Betty Herschman from the Ir Amim NGO said. The plan for 500 housing units in Ramat Shlomo, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood in east Jerusalem of around 20,000, had been on hold since 2014, Ir Amim said. The Jerusalem municipality downplayed the significance of the new housing units, saying the plans were "not new and were approved years ago." Nevertheless, the announcement is likely to be interpreted by some as a first step in Israel expanding its settlements in the wake of Trump's upset election victory. Israeli right-wingers hailed his triumph as ushering in an administration far less critical of settlement expansion than that of outgoing President Barack Obama's. The president-elect's adviser on Israel, David Friedman, told AFP last month that he does not believe Trump sees Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank as illegal. One Israeli minister said Trump's win meant "the era of a Palestinian state is over" while Meir Turjeman, chairman of the Jerusalem municipality planning committee, told public radio earlier in November that it meant suspended permits in east Jerusalem would be given the green light. He said the municipality intended to authorise thousands of housing units that had been frozen. The international community considers all settlements illegal and sees them as one of the largest obstacles to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Ahead of today's announcement France said the planned constructions would be "illegal." "The unabated continuation of the settlement policy only serves to increase tensions on the ground and undermines the prospects for achieving a just and lasting peace," the foreign ministry said in a statement yesterday. More than 200,000 Israelis now live in east Jerusalem, as part of a wider community of around 600,000 settlers in all the occupied Palestinian territories. The municipality did not respond today to the suggestion that the construction plans were related to events in the US. While many on the Israeli right are looking forward to President Trump's inauguration in January, they are also wary of what Obama may do in his final days in office. Obama's administration has expressed mounting anger over Israeli settlement policy and speculation has grown that he could launch a final initiative before leaving. Obama has had frosty personal relations with Netanyahu throughout his two-term presidency. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It only takes a few seconds for an employee of one of the world's leading hacking companies to take a locked smartphone and pull the data from it. Israeli firm Cellebrite's technology provides a glimpse of a world of possibilities accessible to security agencies globally that worry privacy advocates. The company has contracts in more than 115 countries, many with governments, and it shot to global prominence in March when it was reported the FBI used its technology to crack the iPhone of one of the jihadist-inspired killers in San Bernardino, California. There have since been reports that Cellebrite was in fact not involved, and the company itself refuses to comment. Regardless, it is recognised as one of the world's leaders in such technology. It can reportedly take a wide range of information off devices: from the content of text messages to potentially details of where a person was at any given moment. Even messages deleted years before can be potentially retrieved. "There are many devices that we are the only player in the world that can unlock," Leeor Ben-Peretz, one of the company's top executives, told AFP in English. But privacy and rights activists worry such powerful technology can wind up in the wrong hands, leading to abuses. Cellebrite's technology is not online hacking. It only works when the phone is physically connected to one of the firm's devices. The company recently demonstrated its capabilities for an AFP journalist. The password on a phone was disabled and newly taken photos appeared on a computer screen, complete with the exact location and time they were taken. The phone in the demonstration, an LG G4 run on Google's Android operating system, is a model Cellebrite had already cracked, so the extraction did not take long. The real challenge, Ben-Peretz agrees, is staying in the lead in a race where phone manufacturers constantly launch new models and update software with ever more complicated security. In the firm's lab they have 15,000 phones -- with around 150-200 new models added each month. When a new phone is launched, Ben-Peretz said, their 250-person research team races against competitors to find a chink in its armour, a process that can range from a few days to months. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six Naxals were today killed and over 600 bullets and a dozen IEDs recovered after a gunbattle with CRPF commandos in the jungles of Jharkhand's Maoist hotbed of Latehar district. Officials said the encounter began at about 7:00 AM in the Karamdih-Chhipadohar jungles on the banks of north Koel river of the said district where a squad of CoBRA commandos of the CRPF was out for operations. "We have recovered six male bodies of Naxals in uniform, 600 bullets of various calibre, about 12 Improvised Explosive Devices, an INSAS rifle, an SLR, a carbine and three other firearms. Search operations are still on," CRPF Inspector General (Operations) in Jharkhand Sanjay A Lathkar told PTI. The IG added some more explosives and cordex wires, used to trigger IEDs, has also been recovered from the spot, over 130 km from here. Officials said the team of 209th battalion of the CoBRA along with other units was out for operation since last two days and the encounter started when the squad received fire from the Maoists side. The gunbattle continued for sometime after which the bodies of the Naxals, wearing black uniforms, were recovered, the IG said. The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) is an elite jungle warfare unit of the Central Reserve Police Force deployed extensively for anti-Naxal operations in Jharkhand and other states. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh is the main conspirator behind the attack on Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh, according to noted writer and rights activist Shahriar Kabir. Kabir, one of the key men behind the movement for trial of the 1971 war criminals and against fundamentalism and communalism in his country, said that by doing this, the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh was trying to destabilise the country and show it in a poor light. "The main agenda of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh is to wipe out non-believers in Islam. They are attacking not only religious minorities in Bangladesh like Hindus and Christians, but also secular Muslims who do not subscribe to their view," Kabir told PTI. "The Jamaat, along with Jamaat ul Mujahidden Bangladesh, are organising the attacks on Hindus. They want to portray our country in poor light. The present government is trying its best to protect the minorities. They have taken stern steps against Jamaat and JMB activists," he said. Kabir is presently on an India tour for his documentary movie "Journey to Justice", which deals with the genocide that took place in Bangladesh during the 1971 liberation war. Early this month, a series of attacks took place on Hindus and their property in Bangladesh. Miscreants had set ablaze some of their houses and damaged two temples in central Brahmanbarhia district, where several places of worship of the minority community were vandalised. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Promising to waive crop loans of farmers within 24 hours if voted to power, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy today expressed confidence about winning 2018 Assembly elections by changing BJP's parliamentary election slogan into "Abki bar, Kumaraswamy Sarkar". Participating in the debate on drought situation in the state in the Assembly here, he also demanded crop compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre to affected farmers. Reminding that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had mocked at JD(S) claim that it would announce a loan waiver once it comes to power, Kumaraswamy said he was taking it as a challenge. "Chief Minister has said that without coming to power how can we JD(S) announce loan waiver. I'm taking it as a challenge. For one-and-half years, there is no question of sleep, I will go to every village and will request people to give me one opportunity." "I promise that I will waive farmers crop loan within 24 hours after coming to power.....This will be our manifesto," he added. The former Chief Minister also said he was borrowing BJP's parliamentary election slogan of "Abki bar, Modi Sarkar" and changing it to "Abki bar, Kumaraswamy Sarkar". Kumarswamy, who is the son of Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, had headed the JDS-BJP coalition government in Karnataka for a little over 20 months till October 2007. As he criticised the Centre for demonetisation and the way in which it has caused hardships to farmers and common man, Opposition Leader Jagadish Shettar said "the Prime Minister's bold move has send shivers down to black money holders and the corrupt." Responding to this, Kumaraswamy said his party's support was there for Prime Minister's fight against black money and corruption. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 168-foot-tall Kansas waterslide on which a state lawmaker's 10-year-old son was killed last summer will be demolished once the unfolding investigation of the tragedy is finished, the water park's operators said. Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and the family that runs it said in a statement yesterday that the "Verruckt" ride at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, will be permanently removed from its tower "once the investigation is concluded and we are given permission by the court." "In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy," the statement read, adding that "all of us at Schlitterbahn have been heartbroken over the tragedy that occurred on Verruckt." The ride - billed as the world's tallest waterslide - has been closed since Caleb Thomas Schwab died on August 7 during one of its runs. The boy was decapitated in the accident, a person familiar with the investigation previously told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to speak publicly about the boy's death. Two other riders in the raft, both women, were injured. Attorneys for Caleb, son of Republican state Rep Scott Schwab, and the women are independently investigating the accident. No charges or lawsuits have been filed as of yesterday. Messages left by the AP after business hours yesterday for the attorneys were not immediately returned. Verruckt - German for "insane" - featured multi-person rafts that make a 17-story drop at speeds of up to 70 mph, followed by a surge up a hump and a 50-foot descent to a finishing pool. Riders, who were required to be at least 54 inches tall, were harnessed with two nylon seatbelt-like straps, one crossing the rider's lap, the other stretching diagonally like a car shoulder seatbelt. Each strap is held in place by long straps that close with fabric fasteners, not buckles. Riders hold ropes inside the raft. Riders are weighed to ensure each raft carries between 400 pounds and 550 pounds. States' regulations of waterslides and other amusement rides have faced scrutiny following Caleb's death. Kansas is known for its light regulation of amusement park rides, and the Texas-based company that operates Schlitterbahn lobbied legislators to help ensure that it remained responsible for its own inspections. Kansas mandates annual inspections of permanent amusement park rides but allows private inspectors to do the checks, rather than requiring a state inspection. A document released by the state Department of Labor after Caleb's death showed that all of Schlitterbahn's rides passed private inspections in June. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The year-long 25 years celebrations of Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association will culminate into a silver jubilee function here on November 30. "We have planned a grand and befitting silver jubilee celebrations. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will attend the function," Ranga Pothula, Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA) chief said in a statement today. Founded in 1991 by 15 entrepreneurs, HYSEA now has 300 members representing the software industry in Hyderabad, which has achieved Rs 68,000 crore worth of IT exports from the state (in 2014-15). "HYSEA is also working with the state government to achieve the goal of doubling IT exports from the present Rs 68,000 crore in next four to five years," Ranga said. The silver jubilee celebrations began in November 2015 and continued for a year. He said HYSEA played a pivotal role in earning Hyderabad a distinction of being the "IT Destination of India". "HYSEA has been a key contributor in facilitating the growth of IT Industry in Hyderabad," he added. KCR will unveil a silver jubilee sculpture to mark the occasion and the sculpture will be later handed over to TSIIC to preserve it at a permanent location, he said. State IT Minister K T Rama Rao will deliver a silver jubilee talk -- "Government role in catalysing value growth" and will unveil a coffee table book brought for the occasion. It will highlight, mainly through photographs, the 25 years of enabling IT industry in the state," Ranga said. "We will also launch HYSEA's Silver Jubilee Signature Program -- Disruptive Digital Intervention (DDI)." The governing board of HYSEA will felicitate Faqir Chand Kohli, in recognition for his significant contribution in Indian IT Industry, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kerala High Court today ordered issue of notice to former chief minister V S Achuthanandan on a PIL challenging his appointment as chairman of Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission. The order was issued by a division bench of justices Thottthil B Radhakrishnan and Devan Ramachandran while hearing the petition filed by Arun Thomas against the appointment of Achuthanandan as the chairman. In his petition, Thomas questioned the government's decision on the appointment contending that it was done without prescribing the qualification and inviting applications from eligible candidates. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CPIM-led LDF government in Kerala today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declined to meet an all-party delegation from the state on the cooperative sector issue and expressed strong resentment with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan dubbing it as an 'insult' to the state. "The Prime Minister had failed to understand the sentiments of the Kerala Assembly, and this is an insult to the state," Vijayan told reporters here at a hurriedly called press meet. In view of the development, he said they have cancelled the Delhi visit scheduled for tomorrow. A special Kerala Assembly session, convened yesterday to discuss the cooperative sector issue after demonetisation, passed a resolution asking the Centre to allow cooperatives also to exchange scrapped notes and accept deposits as done by commercial banks. It was also decided that an all-party delegation would meet the Prime Minister and Finance Minister on the issue. Vijayan said "When we sought time to meet Prime Minister, we were told to meet the Finance Minister instead. We then decided there was no need to go to Delhi to meet FM.' He said he had already met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley a few days ago on the issue. Attacking Modi, he said the reply showed that the Prime Minister was not prepared to accept the sentiments of the people and the state assembly. CPI State Secretary Kanam Rajendran said the PM's response showed his 'arrogance'. Describing Modi as the 'biggest autocrat' in the annals of history, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Ramesh Chennithala of Congress said this attitude was an 'insult' and 'injustice' to the state. "While Modi has time to go all over the world to meet leaders, he does not seem to keen to meet the representatives of the state," he said. However, BJP state President Kummanam Rajasekharan said the decision to cancel the Delhi visit, betrayed its "insincerity" to the issue. The matters relating to cooperatives had to be discussed with the Finance Minister, which the leader of the LDF and UDF have refused. BJP leaders from the state had met the Finance Minister and brought to his notice the problems being faced by the state's cooperative sector, he added. (REOPENS MDS9) The LDF later announced in a statement that it would observe tomorrow as "blackday" protesting the denial of permission to meet the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Cooperation Minister Kadakampally Surendran said he held discussions with a central team here on the issues being faced by Cooperative sector following demonetisation. "A detailed discussion was held with the officials," he said in a statement here. He informed the officials that those in the villages had taken a bad hit due to the crisis in the cooperative sector as they were unable to meet their daily needs. A majority of the account holders in primary societies had only a small investment in the cooperative sector and they were unable to withdraw the same, he said. The three-tier cooperative structure -- Primary, District and State, had come to a standstill resulting in hardships to the commonman, he said. Under these circumstances, the state asked the central team to take urgent steps to redress the problems. The central team assured that these issues would be brought to the attention of the government, the statement added. Lt Governor Najeeb Jung has "almost agreed" to the Delhi government's proposal of building mohalla clinics in schools, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said today. Speaking to mediapersons after meeting Jung, Sisodia said that he has conveyed to the Lt Governor the importance these clinics would have in terms of primary healthcare in the national capital. Jung had earlier returned a file pertaining to the government's proposal citing certain clauses of the Delhi School Education Act under which school premises can only be used for academic purposes. "I told him how important these clinics would be for the children of Delhi. There cannot be a better model for providing healthcare. "Let's see whether we get the approval or not. He has almost agreed, since he initially thought such facilities would come up in private schools as well which is not the case," Deputy Chief Minister said. The AAP government has identified 300 schools where such clinics will be set up, as part of its "three-tier public health roadmap" with the other two being polyclinics and hospitals. During the meeting, Sisodia also raised the standoff over the appointment of directors in power distribution companies. Jung had earlier turned down the names of a few power experts and chartered accountants recommended by the government, departing from the practice of nominating higher officials in the administration. "We told him that the Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries sitting on the board of private companies is not right in principle as they have to take decisions pertaining to these companies later. The issue will be discussed again," Sisodia said. Earlier, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had urged Jung to invite him and power minister Satyender Jain for a discussion to resolve the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Mahadayi issue is pending before the tribunal but Karnataka government is taking all measures available in law, apart from taking up the issue with Maharashtra and Goa, for an out of the court settlement, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said today. The Chief Minister detailed the developments that took place from August 22, 2000 when administrative approval was given for diverting water from tributary Kalasa andBhanduri to river Malaprabha to an extent of 7.56 TMC fordrinking water. The project was taken up since 200 TMC water was flowing down to sea without being used by any state, he said in a written reply in the Legislative Council. All the rivers and tributaries flow in Khanapur taluk of Belagavi district. Karnataka has submitted a statement of claim along with relative documents and project report for a total 36.558 TMC water share for irrigation, generation of hydro power and drinking water of 7.56 TMC, he said. The Chief Minister said he had written to the Prime Minister in September saying that the people of state have been agitating for the last one year and there was a desire for a mediation by Narendra Modi for finding an amicable solution to the pending water dispute. Siddaramaiah said Maharashtra government had convened a meeting of three states on October 21 but later the meeting was postponed due non-availability of Goa Chief Minister. The next meeting date has not yet been conveyed by Maharashtra till date, Siddaramaiah said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a show of strength, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today rallied four parties behind her with a demonstration against demonetisation and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the government must go because the country was not safe in his hands. Flanked by leaders of SP, JD-U, NCP and AAP, Banerjee addressed a gathering at Jantar Mantar where she alleged the BJP dispensation had lost all its "credentials and credibility" because of the currency restrictions. "This government will have to go...I am sorry to say, the country is not secure under you Modiji. You do things at your whims and fancies," she said. Banerjee alleged that abolition of high-value currency notes had heaped pain on people and snatched away democratic rights of almost every section of the society including farmers, youth, women, labourers and traders, besides halting the country's economic growth. Accusing the BJP-led dispensation of "looting" the common man, she wondered why those having Swiss bank accounts were "not touched at all", and warned that people will teach a "good lesson" to the ruling party in the upcoming assembly polls for implementing a "black law". "I can challenge that no one will vote for BJP. If I were you (PM), I would have apologised to the public. Why you are so egoistic? You have branded everyone in the country a black marketeer and have yourself turned into a saint ," she said. Hitting out at Modi, she wondered whether the government led by him has become more arrogant than even Hitler, asking why it did not hold consultations before enacting the measure. In his address, JD-U leader Sharad Yadav questioned the legality of the demonetisation exercise and challenged the Prime Minister to explain to the Parliament how the decision will benefit the country. "Under which law have you enforced this measure? You are stopping a person from withdrawing his hard-earned money which is his fundamental right. Demonetisation has destroyed the business of small traders. Come to Parliament and explain the logic as to how it will curb black money," Yadav said. The presence of Yadav at the protest assumes significance as Bihar Chief Minister and JD-U chief Nitish Kumar continues to support the measure. The protest was also addressed by SP's Dharmendra Yadav, AAP's Raghav Chadha and NCP's Majid Memon. The West Bengal Chief Minister also lashed out at a group of people who were shouting pro-Modi slogans, alleging that they were sent to disrupt her public meeting and wondered what the police and administration were doing. Referring to yesterday's bypoll results, the TMC chief said BJP's victory margins have come down significantly in Madhya Pradesh and that Modi has left the country in the lurch (Modiji ne desh ka barah baja diya)." She said she will support a country-wide protest called by the Opposition parties on November 28 against demonetisation. Referring to the Prime Minister's assertion that more steps to curb black money will follow, she also expressed apprehension that government may aim to get hold of the gold, land and other properties of common man. "This is not a fight for political gains. People in my state are suffering. People across the country are suffering Where should they go? This fight is for the rights of the poor and the downtrodden," she said. (REOPENS DEL 57) "People are being sent to disrupt our meeting here in Delhi. If you hold a meeting, we will not disturb it. In a democracy, we have the right to meet and discuss... This soil doesn't belong to the BJP party, but to this country," Banerjee said, as a man in the crowd, raised pro-Modi slogans. The TMC leader also dared the government to hold a poll on the issue. "And let's see who will win? Traders, farmers, students, businessmen, ask them all. If you want you can even bring a global panel of experts. You will see the reality," she said. The West Bengal chief minister said that "it is not a political fight. There is no elections in my state. Election is the biggest pillar of democracy, and people in my state are suffering. Where should they go? So, this fight is about the rights of the poor and the downtrodden." "All shops have closed. Even your malls have closed Modiji. After Independence, our economy had improved and we survived the recession too, but now our GDP will be falling, "it will become even negative," she claimed. "You spoke of 'acche din' and took the votes, then you took the notes, now elections are coming, people will not give you votes," she said, and took a further dig at Modi, saying, "Only social network bhashanbazi will not do." She also alleged that the government had "brought back feudal zamindari in the country, just like the landlords who used to snatch money from the poor. People will get to know the hidden agenda after December 30." "I do not if tomorrow I can say namaste, or satsriakal, or nomoskar. It is worse than Emergency era," she alleged. Elections are due in Punjab, Manipur, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh, and leaders from Punjab, Manipur and a representative of Hardik Patel-led outfit shared the dais with her as well. "I will go to Punjab, and Gujarat, as I have been invited by people from there. And I am planning to go to Lucknow and Varanasi too," she said. TMC leaders Saugata Roy and Dinesh Trivedi also addressed the gathering. TMC spokesperson Derek O'Brien and Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan were also present on the occasion. "Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes constituted 86 per cent of the currency in circulation. This government has raided on your money," he said. Sharad Yadav alleged that the demonetisation move has spawned a "number of touts in the market" who are changing bigger currency notes for lower ones, with profit. "After the Emergency imposed by Congress, it was routed, now this govern met will be thrown out by the people for notebandi, as that was after nasbandi," he said. In a show of strength, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, backed by JD-U, SP, NCP and AAP, today held a demonstration against demonetisation here and ramped up attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging the country was not safe in his hands. Addressing the gathering at Jantar Mantar, Banerjee alleged that abolition of high-value currency notes had heaped pain on people and snatched away democratic rights of almost every section of the society including farmers, youth, women, labourers and traders, besides halting the country's economic growth. Accusing the BJP-led dispensation of "looting" the common man, she wondered why those having Swiss bank accounts were "not touched at all", and warned that people will teach a "good lesson" to the ruling party in the upcoming assembly polls for implementing a "black law". "I can challenge that no one will vote for BJP. If I were you (PM), I would have apologised to the public. Why you are so egoistic? You have branded everyone in the country a black marketeer and have yourself turned into a saint ," Banerjee said. In his address, JD-U leader Sharad Yadav questioned the legality of the demonetisation exercise and challenged the Prime Minister to explain to the Parliament how the decision will benefit the country. "Under which law have you enforced this measure? You are stopping a person from withdrawing his hard-earned money which is his fundamental right. Demonetisation has destroyed the business of small traders. Come to Parliament and explain the logic as to how it will curb black money," Yadav said. The presence of Yadav at the protest assumes significance as his party had supported demonetisation. The street protest was also addressed by SP's Dharmendra Yadav, AAP's Raghav Chadha and NCP's Majid Memon. The West Bengal Chief Minister also lashed out at a group of people who were shouting pro-Modi slogans, alleging that they were sent to disrupt her public meeting and wondered what the police and administration were doing. Referring to yesterday's bypoll results, the TMC chief said BJP's victory margins have come down significantly in Madhya Pradesh and that Modi has left the country in the lurch (Modiji ne desh ka barah baja diya)." Banerjee said she will continue her fight till woes of the people are not addressed, adding she will also support a country-wide protest called by the Opposition parties on November 28 against demonetisation. Last week, Banerjee had addressed a rally against demonetisation along with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Banerjee said the government has lost all "credentials and credibility" and that because of demonetisation, the GDP may decline sharply. "This government will have to go...I am sorry to say, the country is not secure under you Modiji. You do things on your whims and fancies," she said. Without elaborating, she also alleged that the demonetisation measure has brought back the pre-Independence feudal system in the country as people are struggling to get cash. Referring to the Prime Minister's assertion that more steps to curb black money will follow, the West Bengal Chief Minister expressed apprehension that government may aim to get hold of the gold, land and other properties from the people in the next phase. "Almost all shops have downed shutters. Even malls have closed down. Our economy had improved and we survived the global recession. But because of demonetisation, our GDP will go down. The economy has been hit badly," she said. The West Bengal Chief Minister said her fight against demonetisation was not to gain political mileage as there was no election scheduled in West Bengal and that she decided to hit the streets seeing plight of the common man. "This is not a fight for political gains. People in my state are suffering. People across the country are suffering Where should they go? This fight is for the rights of the poor and the downtrodden," she said. Asserting that she will continue to fight for the common citizens, Banerjee said, "I am not afraid of any government. You put me in jail, I will not get scared. My struggle will continue." Alleging that people were sent to disrupt her protest, she said in democracy everyone has right to agitate, adding "this soil doesn't belong to BJP party, but to this country." The West Bengal Chief Minister said she would travel to Punjab and Gujarat to take forward the fight. She said she was planning to go to Lucknow and Varanasi, Prime Minister Modi's parliamentary constituency, too. Atanu Mukherjee, who is making his debut with Manoj Bajpayee-starrer "Rukh", says he can't thank the actor enough for believing in a new talent like him. Mukherjee says it is encouraging when big stars like Bajpayee agree to work with budding filmmakers. "When an actor like him gets ready to work with a new talent it's pretty encouraging. He is so willing to work with new directors and people," Mukherjee told PTI on the sidelines of the 10th edition of NFDC Film Bazaar. "And that is what he is also looking for. Because whenever I spoke to him regarding cinema's present scenario he is so encouraging. He always appreciates collaborations with new directors." Being a first time director Mukherjee never thought that Bajpayee would get agree to do the film. "For me, as a first time director it was quite exciting to have him in my film. I did not want to have a big star in my film, I only wanted a great actor." The director says he was unsure of getting the approval from the 47-year-old star because of his busy schedule. "I didn't know whether he'll say yes to the project but he liked the script during a very brief meeting with him. He also saw the short films that I have made and was quite impressed with it." "Rukh" is about the journey of a boy rediscovering his lost connections and family ties, through the secrets and memories he must confront on his way. The movie is inspired by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's thriller film "Rashomon". "I'm a huge fan of Kurusawa's movies so when I was developing a story, 'Rashomon' was there in the back of my mind. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Iranian semi-official agency is quoting an official as saying that more than 1,000 fighters sent from Iran have been killed in the Syrian war so far. It quotes Mohammad Ali Shahidi as saying "the number of martyred defenders of shrines ... Has passed the number of 1,000." Shahidi did not elaborate. In August, he was quoted as saying that there have been at least 400 members of Iranian brigades killed in Syria, half of them Afghan. Some Afghan Shiites who live in Iran have been fighting alongside Iranians in Syria. Shahidi runs the Martyr Foundation, which supports families of those killed in conflicts. His remarks were reported by the Tasnim agency on Tuesday. Iran has provided military and political backing to President Bashar Assad in Syria's civil war. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have topped the list of states against whom highest number of grievances were received from citizens, the Centre said today. About 2.64 lakh and 2.33 lakh complaints have been received against the UP and Delhi governments respectively between November 2014 and November 2016, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Besides these states, about 1.68 complaints were received against Maharashtra, 83,763 against Rajasthan, 83,027 against West Bengal, 76,890 against Karnataka, 76, 124 against Tamil Nadu, 73,245 against Haryana and 71,158 against Madhya Pradesh. There were less number of grievances against the governments of the northeastern states and Union Territories administration. A total of 137 complaints were against Laksadweep administration, 265 against Daman and Diu administration, 363 against Mizoram, 621 against Nagaland and 705 against Sikkim. Grievances related to state governments are forwarded to the states concerned for appropriate action. In view of the federal principle of governance, further monitoring for these grievances is to be done by concerned states, the Minister said. "The government of India is committed to ensuring delivery of quality public services to the citizens in a hassle free manner. For this purpose, a scheme known as Delivery of Services and Grievances Redressal Scheme-2016 has been prepared," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The apex tribal organisation in the state, Naga Hoho has urged the Nagaland assembly to ensure that the 33 per cent women reservation in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) does not bring divisions among the people of the state resulting in creation of an 'unmanageable situation'. Urging the Nagaland Assembly and other civil societies to exhibit magnanimity, the Naga Hoho opined that the state government's attempt to implement the Municipal Act of 2001 and 33 per cent women reservation is too hasty and will create only chaos and unwanted situations for which the present Nagaland Assembly shall be held responsible. The move by Naga Hoho followed a motion to revoke the resolution adopted on September 22, 2012 which was moved in the ongoing session of the Assembly yesterday by Parliamentary Secretary for Municipal Affairs, R Tohanba and is scheduled for consideration and passing tomorrow. The motion is to seek the adoption of the resolution by the NLA for revocation of the resolution which was passed under Article 371A of the Constitution of India on September 22, 2012 which exempted Nagaland from the application of Part 1XA of the constitution of India in ULBs elections. The Naga Hoho press communique this evening further expressed 'shock' to learn about the motion on the matter of according 33 per cent women Reservation in ULBs. "This exercise is not less than undermining the voice of the people in the state," the Hoho said. The Hoho maintained that the very fact that there is no opposition in the present NLA does not entail that the voices of the people who are concerned about protecting their rights "should be strangled". Therefore, the Naga Hoho has been stating that this is the last appeal to "all the members of the present NLA to consider with all seriousness this vital social issue". The Hoho cautioned revocation will bound to bringing severe social unrest and disharmony among different Naga tribes while imposing various provisions under the Constitution of India by discarding the rights of the Naga people guaranteed under Article 371A of the Constitution. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seeking to end the political crisis over the new statute, Nepal government will table a Constitution amendment proposal in parliament within three days, with Prime Minister Prachanda planning to split a province to meet the demands of agitating parties, including Madhesis. A tri-party meeting held among the ruling partners, the Madhesi Front and the Federal Alliance this morning agreed to amend table the proposal. An agreement has been reached to table a proposal for amending the country's main law by incorporating the issues pertaining to the boundary of provinces, proportional representation in the National Assembly, citizenship and other technical ones, media reports said. Secretary of the major ruling party CPN (Maoist Centre) Barshaman Pun confirmed the meeting understanding to introduce the statute amendment proposal to the House within the next three days. "There was an understanding in the meeting that the government would table an amendment proposal regarding the constitution at the parliament being based on the discussions held in the meeting," he said. Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ramesh Lekhak said the meeting with the dissenting parties ended into a very positive note with the agreement on tabling an amendment proposal very soon. "The tri-party meeting went through discussions in a very cordial manner and ended positively. It has created trust on public sphere that the country would head towards the election soon with seeing a greater-acceptability of the constitution." Although, the Alliance has also given a positive comment on the meeting outcome, it said that it would support the Constitution implementation process by presenting their differing views as the 'note of dissent'. Terai-Madhes Democratic Party's senior Vice-Chair Hridayesh Tripathi said that his party has accepted the agreement on registering the constitution amendment proposal in the parliament. "The Prime Minister has proposed to integrate Hill districts of Province 5 into Province 4 and Province 6. He prepared the proposal after consultation with some senior Madhesi leaders," Kathmandu Post quoted a Maoist leader close to Prachanda as saying. Re-demarcation of the provincial boundary and citizenship issue are the two major demands put forth by the agitating Madhesi parties. The minority, mostly of Indian-origin, has led months- long violent protest seeking better representation in the Parliament and the federal structure of the Constitution that divides their ancestral homeland. Prachanda's close aides said the proposal will address concerns of both Madhesi and Tharu communities. The Madhes-based parties have been demanding another province along the plains, besides Province 2, without Hill districts. Tharus have been making a pitch for a Tharuhat province. The government hopes to give final shape to the draft after consultation with the Madhesi parties. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seeking to starve controversial preacher and his organisation of funds, the NIA on Wednesday asked banks to freeze accounts belonging to him and his Islamic Research Foundation, which has been banned under the anti-terror law. Official sources said all the banks, where Naik's and his organisation's accounts were in operation, have been asked to immediately freeze those till further directions. NIA had registered a case against Naik, IRF and unnamed office bearers of the foundation under section 153-A of IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), besides various sections of anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Following this searches were conducted for three days at 20 premises during which details of bank accounts and other financial activities related to Naik and IRF were seized. The sources said the move to block his bank accounts was taken after the NIA claimed to have seized documents which showed ISIS recruit Abu Anas had received Rs 80,000 from the IRF as scholarship in October 2015. Anas, an engineer and a resident of Tonk in Rajasthan, had quit job in a Hyderabad-based company when he was arrested by the NIA in January for allegedly planning to carry out a terror strike ahead of Republic Day. The NIA claimed the probe into the IRF's funding and distribution of money showed that Anas, who was among 16 people arrested for ISIS links at that time, had received Rs 80,000 from IRF as scholarship. NIA has also written to Union Home Ministry for banning the webiste run by the IRF and as well as suspending its online activities which inlcudes videos of speeches on social networking sites, the sources said. The Home Ministry will pass on the request to Information Technology ministry for blocking the Universal Resource Locator (URL) of the website. The NIA has been conducting searches since November 19 and raided at least 20 premises in Mumbai which are connected to the prescribed IRF or its trustees. During the search operations, video tapes and DVDs of Naik's public speeches, documents related to property and investment, financial transactions, foreign and domestic funding to IRF as well as its associated companies, and electronic storage devices have been recovered. The NIA alleged that IRF, which was banned by the government last week under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), had close connections with some companies dealing in media, perfumes and some other sectors. A Nigerian national, arrested on charges selling narcotic substances, today created a flutter in a court premises by giving vent to his frustration against police and lawyers over frequent adjournments of his trial. James was arrested in 2012, when he was a student of a city college, on the charge of peddling narcotics. A case under the NDPS Act was booked and the trial has been going on in a special Narcotic court here. When the case came up for hearing today, James was produced before the magistrate, who adjourned the matter. While being escorted out of court hall, James shouted against lawyers and police blaming them for frequent adjournments and not completing the trial, police said. However, police managed to convince him and took him back to jail, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) South Carolina's Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley has accepted President-elect Donald Trump's offer to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations, a leading American newspaper reported today. The move, which will be announced later today, comes as Trump advisers are seeking to diversify his ranks and marks his first female appointment to a cabinet-level post, The Washington Post reported. Trump's plan to offer the job to 44-year-old Haley, a rising Republican star and daughter of Indian immigrants, was first reported by the Post and Courier. "The move, expected Wednesday, continues the steep political rise of the daughter of Indian immigrants that started six years ago when the Bamberg native was elected as South Carolina's first female and minority governor," the leading newspaper of South Carolina had said. Haley, who is serving her second term, has worked on trade and labour issues as governor but brings little foreign policy experience. Her views on various US military and national security matters usually fall within the Republican Party's hawkish mainstream. Trump met with Haley last Thursday at Trump Tower in New York as part of the round of meetings the president-elect has held. The Post and Courier noted that Haley has taken at least eight trips abroad since taking office in 2011, including visits to Germany. If chosen, Haley, would be the first woman and minority to join Trump's administration and would replace Samantha Power as the next US Ambassador to the UN, the Wall Street Journal reported. She would also be the first ever Indian-American Cabinet rank official in any administration. The Cabinet position would require confirmation by the Senate. Reports also said that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Haley ally, is said to be Trump's likely choice for secretary of state, a position Haley was previously speculated for last week. "The planned nomination to the cabinet-level post, confirmed by multiple sources with knowledge of the decision, is likely to raise questions about Haley's qualifications for a major foreign policy role since she has little diplomatic experience as state lawmaker and governor," the daily said. Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, was a vocal critic of the real estate mogul on the campaign trail. She later voted for Trump, lamenting that she was "not a fan" of either candidate. Born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa, Haley is the first minority and female governor of South Carolina, a deeply conservative state with a long history of racial strife. As the youngest governor in the US and only the second Indian-American to serve at the helm of a US state, she has been characterised as a rising star within the Republican Party. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India has not signed any new Free Trade Agreement(FTA) during the last three years, Parliament was informed today. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, however, said that under the India-ASEAN framework agreement, the pacts on trade in services and investments were signed in November 2014 which became effective July 2015. "India has not signed any new FTA or preferential trade agreement during the last three years," she said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. In a Preferential Trade Agreement(PTA), two trading partners cut or eliminate duties on limited number of goods traded between them. It is followed by FTA which covers bulk of goods and also include services and investments. Replying to a separate question, she said there are several factors behind negative growth in exports which include fall in commodity and crude petroleum prices. "Fall in the prices of crude petroleum resulting in decline in unit prices of downstream products (a major exports sector for India) thereby impacting export realisations," she added. The world GDP growth is not encouraging and there has been shrinkage in over all global demand and hence, slow down in world trade, she said, adding, three destinations - the EU, the US and China - account for major portion of India's exports. "The EU countries are facing problems of stagnation and deflation. The recovery in the US has been moderate. China is also experiencing a slowdown for some time," she added. In another reply, Sitharaman said the re-development of Pragati Maidan complex entails a comprehensive and integrated approach to set up a much needed world class state-of-the art and iconic integrated exhibition-cum-convention centre. "This is proposed to be developed in two phases by dismantling 23 state pavilions and 5 central ministry pavilions...And other building structures coming in the area. The Hall of Nations and the Nehru Pavilion are also included in this list," she said. She also said that representations have been received along with some international organisations with a request to save the Hall of Nations and the Nehru Pavilion, stating that these buildings are heritage buildings in nature. "ITPO has examined the representations and after due consideration informed that neither the Hall of Nations nor the Nehru Pavilion in the premises of Pragati Maidan are notified a Heritage building by the Delhi Urban Art Commission or the Archaeological Survey of India," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister Vijay Sampla today alleged that opposition parties, including Congress and AAP, were leaving no stone unturned to corner the Prime Minister on the demonetisation issue but the citizens of the country were behind Narendra Modi. The Punjab BJP president alleged that when Modi scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, declaring war against black money and fake currency, then all political parties, which earlier used to raise questions on the steps taken by government against black money, united and are crying foul. "Guilty conscience does prick the mind. Congress, AAP, BSP, SP, TMC, all the opposition parties are trying to sabotage demonetisation. The common man is facing trouble and is standing in long queues to deposit or exchange his hard-earned money, yet he is supporting Modi," he alleged. "But these people are just crying hoarse. Maybe they have lost something really dear to them. When I see them unite and oppose a just and conscientious move," he said. He claimed that according to surveys 85 per cent of the people are supporting the demonetisation move initiated by the Prime Minister. People are facing some difficulty but they are ready to do it for the bright future of the country and they firmly believe that whatever Modi does will be in the interest of the nation, the state BJP chief said. It's true that everyone has to unite for the progress of the nation or a state, he said, adding, be it at the Centre or in Punjab, the opposition has always tried to draw political mileage and divide the common man on basis of religion, society and economy. "But people are now aware of these antics and hence, are standing behind him like a rock," Sampla added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A woman in Pakistan has sued a veterinary doctor for Rs 2.5 crore, accusing him of negligence that led to the death of her two-month-old cat. Cat owner Sundus Hoorain, who is a lawyer, said she took her cat for a routine check-up to Dr Faisal Khan's clinic here. "My cat was admitted to the hospital and I was asked to return the following day," Hoorain said. The same evening, when she picked her cat up from the clinic and returned home, the cat fell sick. She rushed her kitten to another doctor where it died, Dawn reported. "Dr Rana told me my cat had been kept at a lower temperature, not suitable for mammals. This is why my cat died," the cat owner said. A post-mortem report submitted in the local court said the cause of the cat's death was its exposure to extreme cold, dehydration and starvation. The complainant accused Khan and one of his staff members of negligence, and asked for 25 million Pakistani rupees (USD 238,492) in fine. Hoorain has also sought jail term for all the accused. She made a plea to the veterinary council to install CCTV cameras in these clinics to monitor how animals are treated. The accused have been asked to submit a reply. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan today claimed that four of its citizens were killed and seven others injured when Indian troops targeted a passenger bus near the Line of Control, taking the death toll in such incidents to 11 since last week. Four civilians were killed while seven others injured in the shelling near Dhudnial in Neelam valley, Pakistan army said in a statement. The Indian side, however, said that two BSF jawans injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in Bhimber Gali in Rajouri. Meanwhile, Pakistan yesterday rejected as "false" and "baseless" the charges that the body of an Indian soldier was mutilated by Pakistani soldiers in a cross LoC-attack. Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Nafees Zakaria in a series of tweets said the reports about the mutilation were aimed at maligning Pakistan. "Pakistan strongly rejects the false & baseless Indian media reports regarding the alleged mutilation of an Indian solider on the LoC. These reports are a fabrication and a blatant attempt to malign Pakistan," he had said. Zakaria said as a professional force, Pakistan Army isn't involved in any such "unethical & non-professional" activity. He had said the Pakistan Army never supported any such action. However, he said, Pakistan is fully prepared and ready to respond to any misadventure across the LoC, Working Boundary or the International Border. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In an apparent reference to row over Indus Water Treaty, Pakistan has warned against use of water as an instrument of coercion or war and asserted that international community must remain vigilant to any sign of unwillingness to maintain cooperation on resolving water issues. "The international community must assume a responsibility to develop, nurture and protect normative frameworks, at multilateral and bilateral levels, to ensure that states remain willing to resolve water issues cooperatively," Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi said in her address to the UN Security Council during an open debate on water, peace and security. "It must promote bilateral and regional agreements on waterways; and once they are evolved, ensure that they are not undermined through unilateral or coercive measures," Lodhi said as she described the India-Pak of 1960, with the World Bank as guarantor, a model of what can be achieved through bilateral agreements. "But this Treaty is equally a good case study of what could go wrong if such agreements are not honoured or threatened by one of the state parties to be abrogated altogether. The international community must remain vigilant to any sign of unwillingness to maintain cooperation and be willing act to avert any conflict," Lodhi said. In his address, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also mentioned Indus Water Treaty, saying it withstood frequent tensions between India and Pakistan, including wars. "In the second half of the 20th century, more than 200 water treaties were successfully negotiated. International river agreements have enhanced security and stability in river basins," he said. "The 1960 Indus Waters agreement between India and Pakistan has famously survived at least two wars and numerous clashes and diplomatic crises," Ban said. The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers, known as the Permanent Indus Commission which includes a commissioner from each of the two countries. It also sets out a process for resolving so-called "questions", "differences" and "disputes" that may arise between the parties. He said management of more than 200international rivers and at least that many transboundary aquifers was especially important. Cautioning that the issue of access to water could exacerbate communal tensions, as in Afghanistan and Peru, he said, that armed conflict resulted in destruction of water supply, as seen in Syria and Gaza. The United Nations actively promotes mediation and dialogue as effective tools for preventing and resolving disputes over water and natural resources, he added. The World Bank, a signatory to the Indus Waters Treaty, on November 10 asked India and Pakistan to "agree to mediation" in order to settle on a mechanism for how the Treaty should be used to resolve issues regarding two dams under construction along the Indus river system. India took a strong exception to the World Bank's "inexplicable" decision to set up a Court of Arbitration and appoint a Neutral Expert to go into Pakistan's complaint against it over Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan had sought the establishment of a Court of Arbitration, which is normally the logical next step in the process of resolution in the Treaty. The Neutral Expert can also determine that there are issues beyond mere technical differences, he noted. Pakistan has raised objections over the design of the hydel project in J&K, saying it is not in line with the criteria laid down under the between the two countries. Pakistan has set up a high-level committee to formulate "a doable and sustainable" policy to highlight the Kashmir issue globally and is reaching out to Indians who are opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "extremist policies", according to a media report today. The move was announced by Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in Senate yesterday, according to Dawn newspaper. The committee will consist of senior officials from the ministries of defence, interior and information, Military Operations Directorate, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB). Speaking about the status of the implementation of policy guidelines, Aziz said the committee was headed by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry and could co-opt other members if required. Aziz said that another committee, chaired by the information secretary, had been formed to prepare fact sheets "to counter India's propaganda campaign and design a media strategy to continuously highlight the Kashmiri freedom struggle". This committee also includes representatives from the ministries of defence, foreign affairs and information technology, as well as members of the Military Operations Directorate, ISI and IB. Aziz said that the Ministry of Information Technology had been asked to prepare a comprehensive strategy to highlight the Kashmir issue via social media. He said that "steps were being taken to highlight Indian interference in Pakistan's internal affairs, as well as its support for subversive activities and human rights violations in held Kashmir", the report said. Aziz said that steps were already being taken to reach out to segments of the Indian public that were opposed to Modi's extremist policies. "Our missions abroad, including in New Delhi, are making outreach efforts to emphasise the extremist Indian policies," he remarked. Talking about measures to counter India's efforts to isolate Pakistan in the region, Aziz said Pakistan was doing its utmost to engage the international community, including regional partners. He said Pakistan was supportive of all initiatives for peace and stability in the region, adding that this commitment to regional peace and stability was evident from the decision to participate in the Heart of Asia ministerial conference in Amritsar, despite the postponement of SAARC summit in Islamabad because of India. Pakistan's nuclear doctrine, he said, was clearly spelt out and due restraint was being exercised. "Pakistan continues to exhibit maturity and statesmanship despite provocative statements by Indian leadership and the continued ceasefire violations across the LoC and working boundary having resulted in civilian casualties," he said. He said there was a need for a positive response from India to move forward. He said that while Pakistan always conveyed a desire to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue, India had chosen to attach conditions to the talks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For the fifth consecutive working day, proceedings in Parliament were washed out today as opposition parties continuously created ruckus, persisting with the demand for presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and debate on demonetisation under a rule that entails voting. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha failed to transact any business and were adjourned prematurely due to the uproar. In the Lok Sabha, parties like Congress, Trinamool and CPI(M) pressed for Adjournment Motion and debate under a rule that entails voting. This was rejected by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who maintained that discussion can take place some other rule as well. Modi was present in the House briefly during Question Hour, during which only one question could be taken up amid the opposition's din which led to the first adjournment. Shiv Sena, which had participated in Trinamool Congress- led march against demonetisation last week, saved embarrassment to the government as it changed its stand and praised the step besides supporting BJP stand that the debate be held under Rule 193, which does not entail voting. Sena changed its stand after its delegation met Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday. BJD's B Mahtab also favoured debate under Rule 193. However, since there was no unanimity on the mode of having a debate, members of Congress and Trinamool again trooped into the Well, shouting slogans and forcing adjournment first till noon and later for the day. Earlier, Leader of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge said his party was ready for a discussion but under Rule 56, which entails voting. "A message has gone out that the opposition is not ready for discussion. People are distressed, people are at pain and we want to discuss their problems. What we want is that the Prime Minister should be present here. You (Speaker) should allow us the adjournment motion," he said. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Kharge said it is being told outside Parliament that a few people are supporting black money. "But the fact is that ruling party is supporting black money and not allowing the discussion to take place in the House." Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the government is willing to discuss the issue any time and it may not be a short duration debate but could "go on for 1-2-3 days." "If the opposition offers any constructive suggestion, we will heed to it, implement it. We have launched a campaign against black money, fake currency and corruption and people of India are supporting Modi," Kumar said. Mahtab of BJD and Jithender Reddy of TRS, two parties which have not joined the Congress-led protests, favoured a quick resolution to the impasse so that Parliament can resume its proceedings and take up matters of public interests. BJD demanded a discussion under Rule 193. Batting for discussion under a Rule involving voting, Sudip Bandhopadhyay (TMC) wondered what was the harm in it as the government enjoys a "brute majority" in the Lok Sabha and will win in the eventuality of division of votes. Noting that over 300 opposition members from both the Houses had joined a protest in the Parliament Complex this morning, he urged Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to sit with the government and thrash out a solution. Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav (RJD) said the country was passing through a crisis. Anandrao Adsul (Sena) said his party has welcomed demonetisation as it was necessary to phase out old currency notes to remove fake currency, black money which were supporting terrorism. Referring to the relaxation for farmers announced by the government today, he said it will help them a lot. The decision is being praised in the country as well as abroad, Prem Singh Chandumajra (SAD) said. In the Rajya Sabha, opposition parties were relentless in their demand for Modi's presence for resumption of debate from where it was left on November 16. The uproarious scenes led to the adjournment of the proceedings first till noon, then till 1400 hours and finally for the day. BSP leader Mayawati went to the extent of seeking an apology from Modi for speaking outside the House when Parliament is in session, while the Congress demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to go into the "sudden announcement" of demonetisation of 86 per cent of the currency in circulation. While the BJP members too shouted slogans seeking resumption of discussion on the issue that started on November 16, opposition members led by Congress and TMC trooped into the Well of the House raising slogans demanding that Prime Minister be called to the House, forcing Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to adjourn the proceedings till 1200 hours. Soon after obituary references and laying of the listed papers, Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said when the Prime Minister says the demonetisation decision was taken in national interest, why is no compensation being paid to over 75 people who died because of hardships caused by it. Naresh Agarwal (SP) said if Prime Minister does not have the time to come to the House, arrangements should be made for an online interface, an oblique reference to Modi using video conferencing to address events held in far-off places. Mayawati (BSP) sought the Chair's protection in getting Prime Minister to speak on the issue inside the House and not outside when the Parliament is in session. By speaking outside, he has "insulted" the House and breached its privilege, she alleged and added: "Prime Minister should be called to the House... He must apologise why he is speaking outside." Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said Modi was violating the Constitution by not answering questions in the institution (Parliament) he is accounatable to. Anand Sharma (Cong) said even during financial emergency, the government cannot restrict citizens from accessing their own bank accounts like the way severe restrictions have been imposed on withdrawal from own account after the November 8 decision. "He has created financial anarchy. Prime Minister must come" and answer questions on hardships caused, he said. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today distributed crop insurance benefits among the 2015 drought affected farmers in Bargarh district. The farmers were agitating since a long time demanding crop insurance benefits following massive crop loss due to drought during the 2015 kharif season. Patnaik said a total 11.61 lakh farmers across the state will receive Rs 1,776 crore as crop insurance for Kharif season of 2015. Addressing a meeting at Bargarh, he said more than one lakh farmers in the district will get Rs 276 crore as crop insurance in coming days while highest amount of Rs 370 crore will go to the farmers of Bolangir district. While farmers of Sambalpur will get Rs 100 crore, Rs 166 crore will be distributed among the cultivators in Kalahandi district. The state government started the process for disbursal of crop insurance amounts among six lakh farmers of 10 districts located in the western part of the state, an official release issued by the CMO said. This apart, Patnaik said the state govenrment has transfered Rs 100 per quintal of paddy as the special aid for drought last year. He said the promises made regarding the special aid have been fulfilled. Patnaik said he has directed the district collectors to ensure that farmers do not face any difficulties at the procurement centres during the paddy purchase. "My government has been working to safeguard the interest of the farmers and the same will continue," he said. Referring to Mahanadi water dispute, Patnaik said Chhattisgarh has hurt the interest of the farmers of Odisha by constructing projects on its upstreamr. He alleged that the neighbouring state has conspired to supply water to industries at the cost of farmers of Odisha. Odisha government has asked the Centre to form a tribunal to address the issue of river water sharing between states, he said. Patnaik also visited Deogarh and Jharsuguda districts and launched several projects. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Foreign investors making an investment of at least Rs 10 crore will be granted status (PRS), the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. "Government has decided to grant PRS for 10 years with multiple entry to foreign investors making investment of minimum of Rs 10 crore to be brought within 18 months or Rs 25 crore to be brought within 36 months," Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said. The Minister said PRS will also be granted to the spouse or dependants of the eligible foreign investor. The foreign investment should result in generating employment to at least 20 resident Indians every financial year. "This scheme will not be applicable to Pakistani citizens or third country nationals of Pakistani origin," he said in reply to a written question. Replying to a separate question, Rijiju said there is a proposal under consideration of the Ministry of Tourism for presenting pre-loaded SIM card to foreign tourists arriving here on e-tourist visa as a tourist-friendly gesture. Delhi Police has seized over Rs 3.5 crore in high value demonetised currency notes from three persons in north Delhi's Kashmere Gate area this evening. Police received a tip-off about three men carrying Rs 3.68 crore in a Honda City car and the special staff of north district detained them, said a senior police officer. Prima facie, it has been revealed that the three men allegedly used to charge 15-20 per cent commission for depositing black money in different bank accounts, he said. One of the persons detained is a jeweller while the other is a chartered accountant and the third person is his assistant, the officer added. Police has passed on the information to IT department. On November 20, a man was detained on west Delhi's Tikri border while he was driving towards Haryana in a SUV with a bag containing Rs 49,96,000. On November 18, Nazer-e-Alam, a resident of Gorakhpur, was arrested with Rs 96 lakh in old currency notes of Rs 1,000 denominations. He was carrying a bag with Rs 96 lakh and couldn't offer any satisfactory explanation for possessing such a huge amount of cash. On November 17, police had seized 500 demonetised notes of Rs 1,000 denominations from an employee of a West Bengal-based firm, onboard Sealdah-Delhi Rajdhani train. Police had detained a paediatrician with Rs 69,86,000 in Rs 100 denominations in central Delhi's Paharganj area on November 16. The Hopi High School radio broadcast, news video and journalism clubs are raising money so they can attend the National Journalism Education Association conference in Seattle, Washington, April 6-9. The trip will cost approximately $1,500 per student. JNU students and family members of missing student Najeeb Ahmed today tried to march to Parliament from Mandi House demanding justice but were stopped mid-way by the police. Najeeb (27), a student of School of Biotechnology and a native of Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, went missing on October 15 following an on-campus scuffle allegedly with the members of ABVP, the night before. Alleging that her son has been held captive, Najeeb's mother Fatima Nafees said has been "assured" of support by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in finding her son. "Akhilesh ji has assured me of all help. He said the force (UP Police) would be sent to look for my son. He said Najeeb is child of his state. Shame on Delhi Police that police from UP is coming to find my son," she said at the protest march. JNU students union president Mohit Pandey said, "you (police) have seen him in Aligarh and Dharbhanga but you are still unable to find him. It has been thirty-eight days since he is missing and yet he is untraceable". Former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar also joined students in the protest rally. Kumar raised slogans demanding justice for Ahmad, however, he did not address students. Umar Khalid, who was charged with sedition along with Kanhaiya earlier this year, questioned claims by police of Ahmad being spotted in some cities. He alleged police was trying to build a narrative around Ahmad. "For last 10-15 days police is giving statements in media. Police never makes anything public till investigation is final because that may hamper investigation. "Why Darbhaga and why AMU? It is a pattern which they are following. Because it fits the narrative. If you look at trolls they keep saying Najeeb has joined terrorists," he said. JNU students and teachers have been agitating against the university administration and Delhi Police for their failure to locate the missing student. The protesting students had even confined the Vice Chancellor and other senior officials in the administrative building for over 20 hours. Last month, an SIT was formed to trace the missing student on the directive of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma. The SIT failed to get any actionable clues in the matter. The case was later transferred to Delhi Police's Crime Branch. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior IAS officer Praveen Garg has been given additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director of state-owned SPMCIL, which produces bank notes, coins, postage stamps, non-judicial stamps and other official documents. The Centre had in July this year removed M S Rana as CMD of the SPMCIL. Garg has been given the additional charge of the post for a period of six months with effect from July 12, 2016, an order issued today by Department of Personnel and Training said. Official sources said Garg has been holding the additional charge as the CMD of the SPMCIL after Rana's removal and only a formal order has been issued today. Garg is Joint Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs. SPMCIL or Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited, a Miniratna Category-I Central Public Sector Enterprises, is under administrative control of the Finance Ministry. The decision to remove Rana had come after the Delhi High Court asked the government to take action against him on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The PIL had alleged before the court that Rana was "completely ineligible" for the post and he managed to get appointed by falsely claiming eligibility. The petition had also claimed that Rana was appointed without the requisite clearance from the Central Vigilance Commission and sought an order removing him from the office as well as a declaration that his appointment was void ab-initio. The PIL had alleged that the then SPMCIL CMD was involved in several cases of illegal procurement which caused loss to the public exchequer and compromised the economic security of the country. It had claimed that a show cause notice had been issued to Rana for causing a loss of Rs 100 crore to SPMCIL by wrongly printing the Rs 10 note in 2014 with the signature of ex-RBI Governor D Subbarao. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A senior Congress leader today said that the present regime at Centre is not the first government which has "offs and ons" with Pakistan and suggested finding out a modus vivendi to settle the problem of terrorism. Speaking during release of his book 'Decoding a Decade: The Politics of Policymaking' here, Manish Tewari also termed the demonetisation as "illegal" and expressed fear that people may lose confidence in rupee if demonetisation becomes a regular feature. "Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, the destiny of 2.5 billion people living in South Asia is being held hostage to this (India-Pakistan) equation. And at some point of time, we have (had) this offs and ons with Pakistan for 67 years. "This is not the first government which is doing it. Previous governments have done it. But, in my respectful opinion, at some point of time, we will have to find some modus Vivendi," he said when asked about how to combat terrorism. Tewari also picked holes in the government's decision to demonetise Rs 1000 and Rs 500 currency notes, saying it is "illegal and a Tughlaqi farman" and raised questions over the move to introduce Rs 2000 note without amending the RBI Act in this regard. He stated that the government cannot also restrict money withdrawal limits without invoking financial emergency in the country. "Inconvenience (caused to people) is second leg of it (the problem). The Congress spokesperson also sought to know how the government allegedly estimated that there is six crores of black money in circulation. "...Are we going to make demonetisation a regular feature in the country today? And the danger out there is people will lose their faith in rupee (if demonetisation is done regularly). So, this move may actually undermine the confidence people have in rupee," he said. On asked about conflict between judiciary and executive, the lawyer-politician noted that the tension is created when executive intentionally tries to "appropriate" space it conceded to judiciary due to poor governance. He said, if the executive wants to "re-appropriate" the space, it should be done through better governance and not through confrontation "which is unfortunately is being seen". "It is perfectly alright for the judiciary to have a different view. But if the tension is created with the intent of trying to appropriate that space, then you have a problem. After the SC struck down the NJAC bill, the current government has to not taken it really in the spirit in which it should have been taken," he observed. To a question, Tewari suggested the need for amending the anti-defection law, restricting it to "only those instruments which impact the stability of the government". He suggested the change was required to provide freedom of expression to MPs and legislators by freeing them from the fear of loss of membership for following a line that is independent of positions of their respective parties in instances barring money bills, no-confidence motions, etc. "The anti-defection law was the step in the right direction..Yes, it has had implications in terms of restricting the legislative space for members in Parliament and the legislatures... But there is a strong case for liberalising the anti-defection law, restricting it to only those instruments which impact the stability of the government," he said. The event was attended by former Union Ministers Veerappa Moily and Oscar Fernandes, CPI national secretary Atul Anjan and others. The US today declined to comment on the impending retirement of Pakistan's army chief General Raheel Sharif, describing it as an internal matter of the country. "We have seen the reports about the chief of army staff transition. This is an internal Pakistani matter, and I would direct you to the government of Pakistan for any further information," a US State Department spokesperson said. "We have seen the statements from ISPR announcing that Gen Raheel Sharif is stepping down as Chief of Army Staff at the end of his three-year term," Dawn newspaper quoted a statement as saying. The statement noted that Raheel was "a valued and respected partner in the regional fight against terrorism throughout his years as army chief". "We congratulate him and his family and wish them well," it added. Raheel, 60, is set to retire on November 29. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today said the government is all committed to grievances of its employees in order to increase their happiness quotient. "The government has made efforts to address and settle issues pertaining to employees, including those of DPC, pay-fixation and seniority," she said at the oath taking ceremony for new executives of the Rajasthan Secretariat Employees Union here. The chief minister asked employees to work with dedication so that people remember their work. "The employees play a crucial role in executing government decisions, schemes and programmes. Therefore they will have to work with more dedication to bring happiness in the lives of people and to make the state prosper," Raje said. Chief Secretary O P Meena and other senior officers were present at the ceremony. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Home Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the security situation in the country, particularly along the Indo-Pak border where suspected Pakistani terrorists killed three soldiers. During the hour-long meeting, the Home Minister was briefed about the prevailing incident at the Macchal sector in Jammu and Kashmir after the cross border attack yesterday, official sources said. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and other top officials attended the meeting. Earlier, the Home Minister said that people should have faith in the Indian Army in the wake of killing of the three soldiers. In a cross-LoC attack by suspected Pakistani terrorists, the three soldiers were killed, with body of one of them being mutilated in the second such incident in less than a month. Following the ambush, Army's Northern Command spokesman said the "retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act". This was the second such incident of mutilation of the body of an Indian soldier in the same sector since October 28. On that day, terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, had crossed the Line of Control and killed an Indian army jawan and mutilated his body. One attacker was killed in that incident. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yoga guru Ramdev on Wednesday said he will invest billions of rupees in Nepal to create 20,000 jobs in the country as he jointly inaugurated a new venture to produce organic medicine and other items. Ramdev, who arrived here on a week-long visit yesterday, inaugurated the new factory of his Ayurveda Grama Udyog with Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari in Bara district in southern Nepal. The factory which was established with an initial capital investment of Rs 1.5 billion will be upgraded to Rs 5 billion in future and will produce organic medicine and other products, Ramdev said during an interaction with officials and members of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry here. Ramdev said he will invest billions of rupees in Nepal for producing ayurvedic products that would eventually generate employment for 20,000 Nepalese youths. Ramdev, who was accompanied by his close aid Acharya Balkrishna, also flew to Bara district in southern Nepal, where he will conduct a five-day yoga camp, according to sources close to Yoga Ashram of Nepal. President Bhandrai, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, ministers, leaders and members of the business community are among others who have been invited to attend the function in Birgunj. Thousands of yoga enthusiasts from Nepal and India have assembled in Birgunj are have been preparing for a month for the event. China has ordered residents in the restive Muslim-majority Xinjiang province to report to authorities all religious activities including circumcision, weddings and funerals as part of efforts to beef-up security, state media reported today. The requirement for residents to report religious activities to local residential committees in some places in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region will be expanded to the whole region, state-run Global Times reported. Xinjiang has established religious committees and residential communities to manage religious practises since September, requiring local residents to report their religious activities including circumcision, weddings and funerals, La Disheng, a professor at the Party School of the Communist Party of China Xinjiang regional committee, told the daily. The policy is implemented in some places in Xinjiang on a trial basis and will be rolled out in the whole region in the near future, he said. La defended the policy, saying it is aimed at helping local governments to offer better "services to religious activities" as it is in accordance with laws and regulations. The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) largely remained atheist and bars its members from practising religion. A resident from southern Xinjiang's Aksu city told the daily that a flag-raising ceremony is held every Monday in local communities and mosques, and residents who attend the ceremony are required to sing China's national anthem and salute the national flag. Resource rich Xinjiang, bordering Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK), and Afghanistan, was on the boil for over six years following unrest among Uyghur Muslims over the increasing settlements of Han Chinese from other provinces. It has witnessed some of the deadly terrorist attacks in recent years which also spread to other parts of China. The attacks were officially blamed on the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which was linked to al-Qaeda in the past and now to the ISIS. A large number of youth who managed to move out of Xinjiang have reportedly fought along with ISIS in Syria. China, which has extensively deployed its security forces, apprehends that they may return and cause further violence in the province. ETIM was blamed for suicide blast in the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan in September this year in which one person was killed and five others injured. (Reopens FGN 12) According to recent reports, Chinese and Pakistani forces have been conducting joint patrols along the PoK and Xinjiang borders to prevent infiltration of ETIM militants. Pakistan is already participating in the China-led Quadrilateral Cooperation and Coordination Mechanism which also included Afghanistan and Tajikistan to counter terrorism in their border regions. Pakistan army has also conducted counter terrorism operations against ETIM bases in the tribal regions. According to an official white paper on freedom of religious beliefs in the Xinjiang released in June the province currently has 24,800 religious venues, including 24,400 mosques, 59 Buddhist temples, 227 Protestant churches, 26 Catholic churches and three Orthodox churches. The autonomous region is home to 29,300 clerical personnel including 29,000 imams, 280 Buddhist monks and 26 Protestant pastors. The document said religious extremism has been spreading in Xinjiang in recent years, which has turned some people into extremists or terrorists involved in a series of deadly terror attacks. Xinjiang is hit by a separatist movement whose supporters claim that the region is not part of China and they oppose settlement of majority Han population in the province which could change the Uyghur character of the region. A retired Army man allegedly shot a five-year-old boy in the leg following a quarrel with the child's uncle at Surodi village in Shrigonde tehsil of Ahmednagar district today, police said. The accused was identified as Sanjay Kate. Inspector Sahebrao Kadanur of Shrigonde police said Kate and Bhausaheb Kandekar had a dispute over a path passing between their adjacent lands, and Candler lodged a police complaint this morning that Kate had encroached on his land and threatened him. Kate, who retired from the army some years ago and had a licensed rifle, allegedly shot Karan (5), Kandekar's nephew, at around 3 in the afternoon, inspector Kadanur told PTI. Karan received bullet injury in his leg. He was brought to the government hospital here and was said to be out of danger. Police has arrested Kate for attempt to murder and seized his rifle. Probe is on. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya on Wednesday claimed that nearly Rs 1.20 lakh crore has been deposited during the last 15 days after demonetisation of high denomination notes. Replying to a specific question on the impact of demonetisation on the bank's performance, Bhattacharya told reporters tonight at the city airport that about Rs 1.20 lakh crore has been deposited by the public during the 15 days. Asked about the performance during this quarter, in view of this sudden surge of deposits, she said the performance will be better and the bank would be doing good business, since one-third of the total amount deposited after demonetisation was in . About the problem of availability of Rs 100 and Rs 500 notes, Bhattacharya said as far as Rs 100 notes were concerned, there were a lot of currencies available. However, people are not not keen on spending and are bothered about exchange and depositing high value currency, she claimed. "Yes, lack of Rs 500 notes has been an issue. However, with supply being strengthened by RBI, the problem will be solved in a few days. We are going to put the 500 notes in all our recalibrated ATMs so that the people can utilise it," she said. Asked about reports of loan waiver to Vijay Mallya, Bhattacharya said time and again the bank has come out with clarification. Technical and physical write-off is not waiver and the bank was doubling efforts to recover all dues and not reducing the efforts."Those who are alleging, is doing with an intention of creating mischief," she said. PHOENIX -- The embattled director of the state Department of Economic Security is out. Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday fired Tim Jeffries on the heels of reports that he had flown to Nogales on a state plane to take several staffers out drinking at a Nogales restaurant during business hours. Jeffries was celebrating the fact these workers had agreed to become "at will'' employees who could be fired for no reason at all. But gubernatorial press aide Daniel Scarpinato said there was no single reason for the ouster, saying it came following a review of his tenure and actions at the agency. "Gov. Ducey has taken appropriate action today to move the agency forward in a way that will ensure we are meeting our mission of assisting Arizona's most vulnerable citizens,'' he said in a prepared statement. Scarpinato said the plan now to "to find a new director and bring stability to the agency.'' The firing of Jeffries from his $215,250-a-year job is an about-face for Ducey who has backed his pick for the agency now for months through a series of controversial acts. "The governor is very supportive of what he's doing there and of how he's engaging with employees,'' Scarpinato said as recently as August. That's when Jeffries came under scrutiny for emailing staffers in the 7,000-plus employee agency about his trip to Lourdes and offering to take their written "special intentions'' to the holy shrine. The governor's office also had no problem with Jeffries having a cross on the wall of his state office. A month later Jeffries found himself back in the public eye for sending a message to all DES employees on a state-owned email list with a link to a story with arguments against Proposition 205. That measure, since defeated, would have allowed for the recreational use of marijuana. But the scrutiny really intensified after it was revealed that Jeffries had fired close to 500 workers, including many who had previously received high evaluations and even raises. That raised allegations that the director was targeting women, minorities, older workers and gays. It got to the point that Ducey removed Jeffries' power to fire workers. And he set up a process allowing those who already were let go to petition to get their jobs back. There were signs the cumulative effect of Jeffries' actions were beginning to take their toll. On Monday Ducey gave his first indication he was taking a closer look at the agency. The governor told reporters he was "disappointed'' in what he had heard and read about his DES director and that his confidence in Jeffries had been "shaken by what has been reported.'' DES oversees a host of programs from food stamps and welfare benefits to unemployment insurance. It also is responsible for investigating cases of adult abuse; the child abuse functions had previously been taken from the agency, then under a different director, because of mismanagement. Scarpinato said the governor believes it is important to have the agency running properly and without controversy and distractions. "For several weeks, we have been engaged in a careful investigation of the agency,'' he said, saying the "size and impact'' of DES on Arizonans "required that level of attention.'' Ducey immediately named Henry Darwin, the governor's chief operating officer, to run the agency as interim director. The Urban Development Ministry today finalised rules under the Real Estate Act for Delhi which provides for a regulatory authority to undertake third party quality audit of real estate projects to ensure quality of construction. Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Vice Chairman Udai Pratap Singh has been designated as interim regulator. "The Real Estate General Rules and Rules for Agreement for Sale for the NCT of Delhi has been finalised by the Ministry as required under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016," an official release said. The rules will be notified by November 27. Regarding publication of litigation details pertaining to any promoter on website, the rules specify that details in respect of litigations disposed of by courts in the past five years in respect of projects developed or being developed may be published on website. "This has been considered since a promoter may not have complete information about various cases filed, at the time of providing such information to the Regulatory Authority," the release said. Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu approved these Rules, which have been formulated after consultations with the Delhi Government, New Delhi Municipal Council, three Municipal Corporations of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority and other stakeholders. The Real Estate rules applicable to Delhi are same as notified on October 31 this year by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation for the five Union Territories without legislatures. "Till a full-fledged regulator comes into being, Vice-Chairman of DDA, acting as an interim regulator, would undertake preparatory actions like setting up website and putting in place required institutional mechanisms so that the multi-member Regulator can start functioning as and when it is established," the Ministry said in a separate release. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Demonetisation has hit the rural populace in Odisha, its government told the central team here to review the scenario in the state post the announcement. "The central team discussed the problems faced by the people in Odisha. We have told them that though situation has improved a little in towns, but the people in rural pockets continue to suffer," special secretary to the finance department A K Meena told reporters after the meeting. The government requested the team, which deliberated on strategies to address problems faced by the people post- demonetisation, and RBI to supply more currency notes of lower denominations like Rs 100 and Rs 500. Appreciating steps taken by the state government in handling the situation, the team assured that it would inform the Centre about the difficulties faced by it. "The demonetisation has been welcomed by all though some difficulties exist. The state government has taken very good steps to remove these difficulties. Specially distribution of old age pension amounting to Rs 140 crore on November 15 is worth praising," said Suresh Kumar Vashisth, the joint secretary to the food and public distribution department. The state government also suggested the Central team to ensure easy payments to farmers through cooperative societies and Primary Agriculture Committees during paddy procurement. Besides Vasisth, Director of Urban Development Saurabh Jain, Reserve Bank of India officials, other bank officials and state government officials attended the meeting. The central team leader Ashok Dalwai, who is the additional secretary in the union ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare, said it will visit Berhampur, Jajpur and other places to take stock of the situation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Russian pilot was killed and a Canadian woman injured when their ultralight aircraft crashed in western Nepal today, police said. The aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from the mountain resort town of Pokhara, said Kaski district police chief Gajusiddhi Bajracharya. "The two were rushed to hospital but the Russian pilot died while undergoing treatment," Bajracharya told AFP. "Doctors said that the injured Canadian passenger is not critical." Ultralight flights are popular among tourists in Pokhara for panoramic views of the majestic snow-capped Annapurna mountains -- but accidents are also common. Last week the wreckage of an ultralight that disappeared in October 2014 with a Russian pilot and a South African tourist on board was recovered near Pokhara. In 2013 a Chinese tourist and a Nepali pilot were killed when their ultralight crashed into a hillside. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Japan and South Korea today signed an agreement to share defence intelligence about North Korea, despite protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul and strong criticism from China. South Korea's defence ministry said the accord was necessary in the face of growing military threats from Pyongyang, which has conducted two nuclear tests and more than 20 missile launches this year. "It is ready to conduct additional nuclear tests and missile launches at any time," the ministry said in a statement. "Since we can now utilise Japan's intelligence capability to effectively deal with North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile threats, it will enhance our security interests." Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement the military agreement would allow the two governments to "share information even more smoothly and swiftly". But China, already angry at South Korea's planned deployment of a US missile defence system, sharply criticised Seoul and Tokyo for what it termed a "cold war mentality". The agreement "will aggravate the situation in the Korean peninsula and bring new unsecure and unstable factors to Northeast Asia," said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a regular briefing in Beijing. "While conducting military cooperation, relevant countries should respect the security concerns of regional countries and do more things for peace and development, not the opposite." China says Seoul's earlier decision to deploy the THAAD missile defence system will increase the risk of military conflict in the region. Seoul and Tokyo currently use their mutual ally Washington as an intermediary when sharing military intelligence on Pyongyang, under a deal signed in 2014. The new intelligence-sharing agreement is also controversial in South Korea, where memories of Japan's harsh 1910-45 colonial rule still mar relations with Tokyo. South Korea and Japan were on the verge of signing an intelligence-sharing deal in June 2012, but Seoul backtracked at the last minute in response to a public outcry. Noting Tokyo's surveillance assets and geographic location, South Korea's defence ministry said the deal would be a "big help" in better analysing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes and collecting more intelligence about its submarine-launched ballistic missiles. North Korea has slammed the military pact, labelling it as "a dangerous act" that would further raise already-high tensions on the Korean peninsula and open a door to Japan's "re-invasion". The contentious issue comes as South Korean President Park Geun-Hye faces growing calls for her resignation over a widening corruption and influence-peddling scandal that has sparked huge street demonstrations. South Korea's main opposition party has called the deal "unpatriotic and humiliating" and threatened to impeach Defence Minister Han Min-Koo if the agreement was pushed through. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A group of resident doctors at Safdarjung Hospital here went on strike this evening after their colleague was allegedly manhandled by the attendants of a patient at the emergency ward. According to a doctor, a junior resident doctor was beaten up by the attendants of a patient at the emergency ward of the hospital as they wanted their patient to be examined ahead before others. The doctors demanded that security should be beefed up in the hospital in the wake of such incidents. "Last Friday, a female junior resident doctor was allegedly manhandled by the attendants of a patient at the paediatric ward. We demand an FIR to be lodged and the security to be increased in the hospital," one of the doctors said. However, police said that they are yet to receive a complaint in this connection. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Top Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu advanced to the second round of the women's singles competition at the Hong Kong Super Series badminton tournament with contrasting victories here today. Saina, on a comeback trail, was the first to take the field and she recorded a hard-fought 12-21 21-19 21-17 win over Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk in the opening round at the Hong Kong Coliseum. London Olympics bronze medallist Saina, who had lost to Porntip in the opening round at China Open after making a comeback following a three-month lay-off due to injury, avenged the defeat with her win today over the World No. 12 Thai shuttler. The fifth seeded Indian, who is looking to seal her Dubai Super Series Final spot, will next take on Japan's Sayaka Sato who defeated Chiang Mei Hui of Chinese Taipei. Sindhu, on the other hand, had an easy outing as she notched up a 21-13 21-16 win over Susanto Yulia Yosephin of Indonesia in 32 minutes. The Rio Olympics silver medallist Indian hardly broke a sweat in the first game after the two rivals were locked 2-2 early on. Sindhu left his rival way behind after that as she easily took the first game. The second game was a tight contest with the two opponents refusing to yield an inch to each other. After being levelled at 9-9, Sindhu zoomed ahead at 12-9 but her Indonesian rival fought back to tie the score at 16-16. Sindhu was in no mood to allow her opponent to come back as she took the next five successive points to take the second game and wrap up the match. In the second round, Sindhu will take on Hsu Ya Ching of Chinese Taipei, who upset seventh seed Sing Ji Hyun of Korea in the first round. In men's singles, Swiss Open winner H S Prannoy defeated China's Qiao Bin 21-16 21-18, while national champion Sameer Verma edged past Japan's Takuma Ueda 22-20 21-18 in another first round match. Ajay Jayaram then beat Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia 21-15 13-21 21-16 in a 56-minute contest to move into the second round. He will be up against Huang Yuxiang of China in the second round. B Sai Praneeth, however, lost to third seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark 18-21 18-21. Men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, who represented India at the Rio Olympics, also suffered a 15-21 8-21 loss to Korean combo of Solgyu Choi and KO Sung Hyun. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Saudi Arabia has assured India of addressing difficulties being faced by retrenched Indians who were employed with construction giant Saudi Oger and Saad Group, the Gulf country's leading conglomerate. Replying to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said Saudi Arabia has also conveyed to the government that it will extend exit visas to Indian workers, one way return ticket to India and will waive fines on resident permit. "The Saudi authorities have assured us all possible assistance to the affected Indian workers of these companies including waiver of fines on Iqama (resident permit) related violations, providing exit visas and one way return tickets to India. "The process of repatriation has already begun and 4,358 Indian workers have returned so far," Singh said. Hundreds of Indian workers, employed with Saudi Oger and Saad Group, have lost their jobs primarily due to slowdown in Saudi economy, triggered by low oil prices and cut in spending by the government. Singh said the Saudi authorities are also facilitating transfer of sponsorship, wherever possible, of the affected workers from their present company to other companies on gratis basis. "A significant number of affected workers have also availed transfer of sponsorship to other companies," he said. In reply to a separate question, Singh said an Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) in Gurgaon and an Indian Workers Resource Centre in Dubai have been helping the Indians intending to go abroad for livelihood as well as the overseas workers on all aspects of overseas employment. "In addition, five Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) have been set up in Kochi, Hyderabad, Gurugram, Chennai and Lucknow to provide information and counselling for intending migrants about the procedure for legal migration and precautions to be taken while migrating," he said. Singh said the Ministry has also approved setting up four such facilities in Riyadh, Jeddah, Sharjah and Kuala Lumpur. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An elderly man today died after suffering a heart attack outside a bank in Ranpur village of neighbouring Botad district when he was resting after exchanging his currency notes, police said. Jilubhai Khachar(70), suffered heart attack when he was sitting on a chair outside Bank of Baroda branch, said Ranpur Police Sub Inspector R B Karmatiya. "Locals told us that Khachar had exchanged his notes and was sitting in chair outside the bank to relax when his condition suddenly deteriorated. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, however he died shortly upon arrival there," said PSI Karmatiya. "Doctors informed us that he had suffered heart attack. We have learned from his relatives that Khachar was a heart patient and had suffered similar attack in the past," he added. On November 12, 47-year-old Barkat Shaikh died of heart attack while standing in a queue outside Corporation Bank branch at Tarapur town in Anand district. On the following day, 69-year-old Mansukh Darji met with the same fate when he was standing in a queue outside Bank of India in Limbdi town of Surendranagar district. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Sonia Gandhi today paid rich tributes to Carnatic music legend, the late Balamuralikrishna, saying India will always cherish his memory. The musician's death was an "irreplaceable loss to music lovers, not just in India but in many parts of the world," she said in a condolence message addressed to the vocalist's wife, Annapoorna. Balamuralikrishna weaved an enthralling web of melody, harmony and spiritual force and brought joy, solace and radiance into the lives of audiences, she said. "His voice was unique in its combination of richness and range, souful fervor and technical virtuosity," she said. "To hear him was to realise the power of great music to transcend the barriers of language and culture, and to transport listeners to a realm that evoked the highest and purest instincts of humankind," she added. The vocalist's music touched hearts and souls across generations, regions and nations, she said and asked which Indian can forget his rendition in the national integration song "Mile sur mera tumhara." "It became an enduring favourite with so many of us, including myself and (then) Prime Minister (the late) Rajiv Gandhi," she said. "India will always honour and cherish the memory of the legendary Balamurali ji and strive to keep alive his legacy," she said. The musician leaves behind a priceless heritage in his compositions, "in the bridges he built between Carnatic and Hindustani music, his artistry on the violin, veena and mridangam, and in his unforgettable renditons of much-loved classics," she said. Gandhi's condolence message was handed over to Annapoorna by TNCC President Su Thirunavukkarasar, the party said. The body of 86-year-old Balamuralikrishna, who died here yesterday, was cremated today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A senior Sri Lankan minister today said opposition groups which back former President Mahinda Rajapaksa are out to create communal tensions in the country, including in the Tamil-dominated north, for political gains. Government spokesman and Minister of Health Rajitha Senaratne said the motive was to set the Muslim minority against the current government. "They will want to create problems both in the north and the rest of the country by flaming communal clashes to try and win the next election through the Sinhala majority vote," Senaratne said. Last week, police arrested an extremist Sinhala majority activist and a Muslim religious activist for hate speech. Senaratne said the Sinhalese arrested was a member of the Rajapaksa son Namal's blue brigade. His arrest came as he openly advocated violence against the Muslims. "Muslims will never vote for the Rajapaksas, so they are trying to stop them voting for the government," Senaratne said. Senaratne had earlier charged that the Ava Group, a violent group operating in the Tamil-majority Jaffna district, was backed by Rajapaksa's brother Gotabhaya as the Defence Ministry Secretary said the group will carry out violent attacks in the north curbing the people's right to vote freely in a future election. The current government received an overwhelming support from the Tamil and Muslim minorities in the last presidential election in January 2015 when Rajapaksa was defeated. Since then the government has launched a series of action to achieve reconciliation with the minorities. The Sinhala majority nationalist groups have blamed the government for appeasing the minorities at the expense of majority's interests. They are particularly upset by what they allege government's inaction against the seemingly rising Muslim extremism in the island. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PHOENIX Independent voters, who get shut out of primary elections and are ignored by Republicans and Democrats, proved in the 2016 election that squandering their voices is politically dangerous, according to some political observers. Public officials, pollsters and university professors said in panels earlier this week that too many miscalculated the power of the independent voter those unaffiliated with either of the two major parties in predicting Donald Trump would become the nations next president. Daniel Ortega of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, speaking at a post-election discussion organized by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, said Democratic and Republican leaders shut out independent voters. Nobody calls me. Nobody comes to my door. Nobody sends me materials, Ortega said hes often told. A larger number of voters are left out there with no communication. Since independents in Arizona arent allowed to vote in closed primaries, candidates of major parties miss out on hearing from a large voter demographic, he said at Wednesdays panel. They get nothing because they cant vote in the primaries, Ortega said, adding it rigs the system against unaffiliated voters. The idea that the voting process is rigged could be true, according to several panelists at the session. Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan said the voting process is inconvenient to those who arent committed to a party. She says she is an advocate for fair access to the ballot. What does that mean? That means ballot props have an equal chance of getting on the ballot. I would love to see the county recorders be able to send early ballots out to independent voters without them having to take that extra step of having to go and request a ballot, Reagan said. Its hard to gauge how political parties can win over independent voters because the demographic is so diverse, said Omar Ali, a board member of IndependentVoting.org, a strategy center for independent voters. What does bring independents together? Basically, the issue of the process as being rigged, said Ali, a professor at the University of North Carolina. Thats not traditional left-center-right thinking. Charles Coughlin, who owns consulting firm HighGround Inc, believes open primaries will be more inclusive by allowing everyone to be involved in the political process. Candidates will also be able to more accurately gauge a communitys expectations. Rather than operating in a closed primary system where my message is to a base number of voters, I get to build an electoral coalition of my liking based on my beliefs as a candidate. I can go speak to those people, Coughlin said. Robert Graham, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, says its important to engage independent voters who feel disenfranchised by the political system. (Photo by David Caltabiano/Cronkite News) Closed primaries also decrease voter engagement, according to Arizona GOP chairman Robert Graham. He said Republicans did manage to capture their attention, helping boost Trump to the presidency and keeping Congress under Republican control. A party has stated principles and values. It helps people to make decisions, Graham said. How do we engage people to participate? Independents have grown into a crucial election demographic. About 40 percent of voters identify as independents, compared to about 24 percent as Republicans and 30 percent as Democrats, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center study. The Pew Research Center shows Democratic President Barack Obama gained popularity with independent voters in 2008, but they shifted in 2016 to Republican Donald Trump. The change shows the hearts and minds of independent voters, Reagan said. At the end of the day, independent voters are independent for a reason, Reagan said. Sometimes its because they dont like the party politics. Crunch negotiations on ending the decades-old division of Cyprus broke down with its rival leaders still far apart and no date set for a new round of UN-brokered talks. It was the second round of intensive meetings this month between Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci. The much-heralded talks in the Swiss resort of Mont Pelerin were supposed to produce a map of the internal boundaries of a future federation and pave the way for broader talks aimed at reaching a deal by early next year. But like the five days of negotiations earlier in November, the two-day session broke up in the early hours without progress, and with each side blaming the other. The spokesman for the island's internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government held Turkey responsible and said it was "not a good night for our country". "We are not at all happy and sincerely regret that as a result of the Turkish attitude it was not possible to complete a promising process," Nicos Christodoulides told reporters. The Turkish Cypriot leader accused the Greek Cypriot side of insisting on "maximalist positions" on territory and other thorny issues. The United Nations, which has sponsored 18 months of negotiations between the two leaders in what had been seen as the best hope of a settlement in years, put a brave face on the breakdown. "Despite their best efforts, they have not been able to achieve the necessary further convergences on criteria for territorial adjustment that would have paved the way for the last phase of the talks," UN spokesman Aleem Siddique said. "The two sides have decided to return to Cyprus and reflect on the way forward." Despite the failure, UN chief Ban Ki-moon "remains hopeful that a deal can be reached this year and will personally support those efforts", his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Greece, for its part, said Athens was "open" for talks with Ankara on the status of the divided island. "We think this issue is open, we will proceed carefully," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told reporters. He said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, in a telephone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last Friday, "expressed desire for a bilateral meeting", but no specific date had been set. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After a series of twists and turns, Rs 3.5 crore cash in demonetised currency notes, which had 'vanished' from the airport here, was finally seized by the Income Tax Department after frantic searches. A Bihar-based businessman, who was travelling alone in a chartered jet from Hissar, was yesterday apprehended by the CISF here following a tip-off by the Intelligence Bureau that he was carrying "suspect money". The businessman was questioned by the CISF and other security agencies, and the matter was handed over to the local income tax authorities, who let him go after he showed them some "tax exemption certificates". Alarm bells began ringing when IB wanted to know about the follow-up action taken by the CISF. On being told that they had handed over the matter to I-T authorities who allowed him to go, the matter was discussed at the top level between the IB and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), and frantic searches began for the man and the missing money. On getting the details and CCTV footage of the episode from CISF, the CBDT ordered I-T officials to hunt for the missing notes. During the searches at a few premises owned by a Dimapur businessman, the taxmen were able to locate the missing Rs 3.5 crore. Not only that, they impounded another Rs 4.47 crore in demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 bills. A case has been registered by the I-T authorities and investigation is on. A special vigil has been deployed by security agencies and the airport guarding Central Industrial Security Force in the wake of the demonetisation of the two high denomination currency notes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) today approached the Centre for remedial measures, including enhancing working capital limit by 50 per cent, to help the industry overcome the impact of demonetisation. The spinning sector was already reeling under recession due to sharp fall in yarn exports and the withdrawal of around 86 per cent of the currency in circulation has led to severe shortage of funds for regular operations such as purchasing raw material (cotton) and sale of finished goods, it said. SIMA Chairman Senthil Kumar said, a representation was sent to Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani appealing the government to announce a slew of remedial measures for mitigating the financial impact of demonetisation of high value currencies on the textile industry. The textile retail showrooms and shops across the nation have been hit by the cash-crunch and low sales as customers were "starving" for currencies, he said. The stocks have started piling up across the value chain of the industry and the textile units were not in a position to collect any receivables, he noted. Therefore, cash flow of the textile industry has been seriously affected, Kumar said adding the cotton price has also increased by around Rs 2,000 per candy as the arrivals in the market came to a grinding halt during the first 10 days after demonetisation. It has improved to the level of 50 to 60 per cent, he said adding, still "It might take at least six months for the textile industry to reach normalcy in its performance." Though the government had announced two months moratorium for loans up to Rs 1 crore, the textile industry needed at least one year moratorium period for repayment of the dues and interest, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Japanese carmaker Toyota today pushed for a lower excise duty for vehicles with pure hybrid mechanisms while seeking a clear distinction between fully hybrid and mild hybrid technologies. The company, which operates in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar group, plans to bring in hybrids and latest technology vehicles in the country as part of its long-term strategy. "The government recognises it very clearly that a strong hybrid is superior to a mild hybrid, that is recognised and we respect government's views on that and it's a consensus view even within the industry," Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) Vice-Chairman Shekar Vishwanathan told PTI. "There is no dispute on that, but where the recognition is not coming from the government is from the tax side. The excise duty structure that is currently prevalent puts both mild and strong hybrid vehicles on the same plane. So, I think it definitely needs some correction because the strong hybrid is much more fuel efficient," he added. In the current tax structure, all types of hybrid vehicles -- mild, pure, small and big -- attract an excise duty of 12.5 per cent. A hybrid vehicle uses two or more separate systems to propel the vehicle while a mild hybrid electric motor cannot actually propel the vehicle on its own. The real benefit of the mild hybrid system is it saves fuel by shutting off the gasoline engine. Currently, carmakers like Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra sell some of their models with mild hybrid technology. These models are affordable as compared to a vehicle with fully hybrid technology. TKM sells locally manufactured Camry hybrid in the country and plans to launch a new version of Prius early next year. Similarly, both mild and fully hybrid models get similar kind of benefits under the FAME scheme, which was launched last year to promote eco-friendly vehicles. FAME India scheme offers incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to Rs 29,000 for bikes and Rs 1.38 lakh for cars. FAME India -- Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India -- is part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. Besides, imported CBU models do not come under the ambit of the scheme, making them all the more expensive to own. Earlier this year, Honda Cars India had also called for a clear distinction between fully hybrid and mild hybrid technologies for equitable distribution of resources. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two weeks after his shocking election victory, US President-elect Donald Trump has indicated a u-turn on several of his key poll promises and rhetoric, including his hardline on climate change, torture of detainees and his vow to jail Hillary Clinton. During an interview with reporters and editors of The New York Times, Trump threw enough hints that he would be an unconventional president in terms of distancing himself from his business, receiving inputs from family members in his governance and relationship with the press. He held out assurances that he did not intend to embrace extremist positions in some areas, the daily said after the interview with Trump, who "vigorously denounced" a white nationalist conference last weekend in Washington. Trump made a u-turn from his campaign promise on appointing a special prosecutor to investigate into the alleged email scandal of his presidential rival Hillary Clinton. "I don't want to hurt the Clintons, I really don't," he said, adding "she went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways." During the election campaign Trump had said Clinton would be in jail if he won the elections. He now faces the consternation of supporters who took that pledge literally. On climate change, he said "I'm looking at it very closely" as he refused to repeat his promise to abandon the international climate accord. "I have an open mind to it" and that clean air and "crystal clear water" were vitally important, Trump said. Earlier, Trump had called climate change a "hoax" perpetrated by China and vowed to "cancel" the hard-fought Paris Agreement concluded last year to limit dangerous global warming. Similarly, on the issue of torture, the president-elect said that he has changed his mind after his meeting with Gen (rtd) James Mattis, whom he is considering to appoint as the Defence Secretary. "He (Mattis) said, 'I've never found it to be useful,'" Trump said, adding that Mattis found more value in building trust and rewarding cooperation with terrorism suspects: "'Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers, and I'll do better.'" "I was very impressed by that answer," Trump said, adding that torture is "not going to make the kind of a difference that a lot of people are thinking." During the election campaign, he had advocated for restoring water boarding and other sever torture methods. Responding to questions on his real flourishing estate business, Trump said it would be extremely difficult to sell off his business, as they are real estate holdings. At the same time, he said he would like to do something and create "some kind of arrangement" to separate his business from his work in the government. Responding to a question on his kids, he said "If it were up to some people, I would never, ever see my daughter Ivanka again." The real-estate mogul from New York also indicated that he could appoint his son-in-law Jared Kushner a special envoy charged with brokering peace in the Middle East. "The president of the US is allowed to have whatever conflicts he or she wants, but I don't want to do that," he said, adding that Kushner, an observant Jew, "could be very helpful" in reconciling the longstanding dispute between the Israelis and the Palestinians. "I would love to be able to be the one that made peace with Israel and the Palestinians," he said, adding that Kushner "would be very good at it" and that "he knows the region." Trump, who would become the 45th president of the US, said that he hopes to develop a "long-term relationship" with the outgoing US President, Barack Obama. A fierce critic of Obama during the presidential election when he described him as the worst ever president, Trump said "I really liked him a lot, and I am a little bit surprised that I am telling you that I really liked him a lot. Nikki Haley was today picked up by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations, becoming first Indian-American to be appointed to a cabinet-level post in the US administration. 44-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley is first woman tapped by Trump for a top-level administration post during his transition to the White House. Citing a source familiar with the decision, CNN reported that President-elect Trump has picked South Carolina's Governor Haley to be the US ambassador to the United Nations. The move, which will be announced later today, comes as Trump advisers are seeking to diversify his ranks and marks his first female appointment to a cabinet-level post, The Washington Post reported. Trump's plan to offer the job to Haley, a rising Republican star, was first reported by the Post and Courier. Haley has already carved out a legacy for herself, serving as her home state's first female and first minority governor. Haley, who is serving her second term, has worked on trade and labour issues as governor but brings little foreign policy experience. Her views on various US military and national security matters usually fall within the Republican Party's hawkish mainstream. Trump met with Haley on Thursday at Trump Tower in New York as part of the round of meetings the president-elect has held. With her appointment to the top diplomatic post in UN, Haley has become the first woman and minority to join Trump's administration. She would replace Samantha Power. She would also be the first ever Indian-American Cabinet rank official in any administration. The Cabinet position would require confirmation by the Senate. Haley was critical of Trump during the primary campaign and had backed Senator Marco Rubio in the Republican primary. However, before the general elections, she switched her position, saying she would vote for Trump. Born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa, Haley is the first minority and female governor of South Carolina, a deeply conservative state with a long history of racial strife. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Istanbul court today ordered prominent Turkish novelist Asli Erdogan and linguist Necmiye Alpay to remain in jail on controversial terror charges, disappointing supporters after earlier reports they were to be released. Erdogan and Alpay have been held 97 and 85 days respectively in a women's prison in Istanbul over their involvement in a pro-Kurdish newspaper, in a case that has caused international alarm. The court ordered the release of the pair on charges of seeking to disrupt state unity, Asli Erdogan's lawyer Erdal Dogan told AFP outside Bakirkoy women's prison on the outskirts of Istanbul. But it also ordered they remain in pre-trial detention on separate charges of membership of a banned terror organisation and thus "their arrest continues", he added. Calling the verdict "saddening", he said Erdogan was not yet informed of the confusion over the ruling. "We will inform her when we visit her tomorrow or the next day." They were taken into custody in August as part of a probe into the now shut-down pro-Kurdish newspaper Ozgur Gundem on charges of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The Turkish authorities accuse Ozgur Gundem of acting as a mouthpiece for the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The initial release order prompted reports on Turkish media that they were being set free but state agency Anadolu also confirmed they were to stay in jail. Including Erdogan, 49, and Alpay, who turned 70 today, a total of nine suspects linked to Ozgur Gundem have been charged in the case. Their detention has been criticised by fellow writers and human rights activists including the UN rapporteur on freedom of expression David Kaye. He met with Alpay during his visit to Turkey last week but was denied access to Erdogan. "Disappointed that Asli Erdogan and Necmiye Alpay not released from prison. Turkey should release them and many others," Kaye wrote on Twitter. Erdogan is due to go on trial next month and Turkish prosecutors had demanded life sentences for all nine suspects. Four of the nine charged in the Ozgur Gundem case are held in jail. Along with Erdogan and Alpay, the other two are Ozgur Gundem's editor-in-chief Zana Bilir Kaya and its writer Inan Kizilkaya. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One after another, fighter jets catapult from the flight deck of the USS Eisenhower, a thousand-foot American aircraft carrier, afterburners glowing amber above the blue Persian Gulf, on their way northwest to join the fight in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State group. The fighter jets refuel on the way before receiving from coalition partners targets like convoys, hideouts and mortar positions in IS-controlled territories such as Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, said Rear Adm. James Malloy, commander of the Eisenhower carrier strike group. From his office aboard the USS Eisenhower, Malloy described coalition success around Mosul while cautioning that victory is close at hand. "Mosul is the last large city in Iraq that is held by Daesh, but Daesh is by no means finished in Iraq, so our mission in Iraq won't end as Mosul falls," he said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. While inter-coalition coordination was "seamless," communication with Russia was limited to "deconfliction," Malloy said. "There's no coordination there because the goals are not the same," the admiral said. The carrier's captain Paul Spedero said sorties from the Eisenhower have dropped nearly 1,100 bombs on IS targets since June when the ship entered the Persian Gulf after launching strikes from the eastern Mediterranean. The ship's 5,200 sailors arm, repair, launch and recover 7-20 Super Hornet F18 fighter jets every day that drop on average 10 bombs each or reconnoiter in support of anti-IS coalition forces. The crew catapults the jets from the ship at 145mph, and they use a hook and cable to rapidly catch the fighter jets on the 500-foot long carrier deck. "For a catapult shot, if you think about a Porsche 911, zero to 60 in about 2.5 seconds, these aircraft will go from 0 to 145 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds," said commander Jeremy Rifas, the carrier's air boss, from inside the ship's control tower overlooking launches. The fighters on these sorties head north by northwest for an hour before refueling midair and then approaching coalition ground forces that provide the pilots with targets for airstrikes or reconnaissance. "They go into harm's way every single time, every single mission. I don't really close my eyes until 2300 when the last one comes back," admiral Malloy said. The US-led coalition has flown more than 125,000 sorties in Iraq and Syria since Operation Inherent Resolve began in August 8, 2014, according to the US Department of Defense. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Citing his meeting with Indian businessmen, Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns over "conflict of interest" of Donald Trump, with one Senator planning to introduce a resolution asking the President-elect to ensure that his dealings do not violate the Constitution. Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and a senior Member of Senate Finance Committee, has said he will introduce a resolution next week stating the sense of Congress that President-elect Trump should convert his assets to simple, conflict-free holdings, adopt blind trusts, or take other equivalent measures, in order to ensure consistency with the Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution. Cardin said the resolution will note that in the absence of such actions by President-elect before he assumes office or specific authorisation by Congress, the Congress will regard dealings by Trump-owned companies with any entity owned by a foreign government as potential violations of the Constitution. "This resolution is intended to prevent a crisis or any misunderstanding regarding the consistency of the President's actions with the US Constitution. Unless he takes appropriate action, Trump's many international financial interests pose a great risk of violating the Constitution once he assumes the Presidency of the United States," Cardin said. "In the two months before President-elect Trump's inauguration, he should provide the American people with clarity and certainty that he will in no way, shape, or form use the office of the President to advance his substantial personal fortune," he said. However, Trump said his presidency would not be marred by conflicts of interest stemming from his business empire. "In theory I could run my business perfectly and then run the country perfectly. There's never been a case like this," The New York Times quoted the real estate tycoon as saying. Three Indian executives - Sagar Chordia, Atul Chordia and Kalpesh Mehta - had met Trump in New York last week. The three said that they have discussed expanding their partnership with the Trump Organisation now that Trump is President-elect. In another related development, top Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee sent a letter to Inspectors General at federal financial services agencies, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Justice, calling on them to root out any potential "conflicts of interests" in President-elect Donald Trump's administration. Congressman Eliot Engel, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said that American national security requires the President to be singularly focused on what's good for the US. The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued a warning letter to Wockhardt for violating current good manufacturing practice norms at its United Kingdom-based plant. In the letter addressed to Wockhardt Chairman and Group CEO Habil Khorakiwala, the USFDA said inspectors from October 5 to 9 and October 12 to 13, 2015, had found significant deviations from standard manufacturing practices at the company's Wrexham-based manufacturing plant, CP Pharmaceuticals. The significant violations included non-adherence to appropriate written procedures that are designed to prevent microbiological contamination of drug products, the US health regulator said. Elaborating on the violations at the plant, the USFDA said, "we observed operators touching the external control panel and push carts. Without disinfecting their gloved hands, these operators then opened the Restricted Access Barrier System (RABS) and performed activities". Besides, the company failed to perform operations within specifically defined areas of adequate size and to have separate or defined areas or such other control systems necessary to prevent contamination or mix-ups in aseptic processing areas, it said. "Your environmental monitoring program did not sufficiently cover personnel in your ISO-5 area during set-up, filling, and other activities in your aseptic processing rooms," USFDA said. "Based upon the nature of the violations we identified at your firm and because you failed to correct repeat violations, we strongly recommend engaging a consultant," it added. Until all corrections have been completed and FDA has confirmed corrections of the violations and the firm's compliance with CGMP, FDA may withhold approval of any new applications or supplements, the USFDA said. In addition, your failure to correct these violations may result in FDA continuing to refuse admission of articles manufactured at CP Pharmaceuticals into the US, it added. The FDA issued the letter on November 16, and has given the company 15 days to respond. In a filing to BSE, Wockhardt said: "Currently, there is no business being conducted from CP Pharmaceuticals to the US market. CP Pharmaceuticals has already initiated required steps to address the concerns raised by USFDA and will be responding to the agency within the prescribed time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On national elections maps, Coconino County tends to get shaded a solid blue, a reflection of the liberal sway of Flagstaff and the tribal reservations. But that broad sweep misses pronounced distinctions in voters' preferences across this sprawling county. A deeper dive shows a band of red that reaches north to south across the county's middle and, after a blue streak south of Flagstaff, continues to the southeast part of the county. On a precinct level, voters in Williams, Parks, Mormon Lake, Forest Lakes, Fredonia and Kaibab West went for President-elect Donald Trump by a vote of 65 percent or more. On Nov. 9, when much of Flagstaff woke up dismayed by the outcome of the presidential election, these voters were among the millions who celebrated it. For them, a vote for Trump was a way to loudly and soundly reject a system saturated with veteran politicians. The businessman was someone they could be sure will shake up the status quo radically and without regard for political correctness. They were willing to look beyond remarks and proposals many others saw as inexcusable, for a chance to see someone truly different in the nations highest office. I would rather have a businessman and change government completely, said Parks resident Lynn Flagg, as she stood outside Parks Feed and Mercantile last week. Beside her, Carla Crook chimed in, Were sick and tired of government saying this is what you have to do and you have to put up with it...the American people stood up and said we are going to revolt. OBAMACARE A BUST The two women have lots of gripes, but health insurance is a big one, and one shared by many others in the county who voted for Trump. Both women say they havent seen any good come of President Obamas Affordable Care Act and like that Trump is set on changing it. Crook held up her left hand, encompassed in a black arm brace. She cant get surgery to fix it because she cant afford the $6,700 deductible on top of the $500-per-month in healthcare premiums she already pays. Flaggs costs are even more a $15,000 deductible with a $550-per-month premium but she and her husband make too much to qualify for Obamacare subsidies. Facing those numbers, Flagg said she has little hope of getting the knee surgery she needs anytime soon. Both women resent the resettlement of Muslim refugees in the United States, with Crook saying the majority being let into the country are here to cause trouble. When there are no children on the streets, no veterans on the streets, only then should the United States be helping others, Flagg said. Youve gotta take care of your own first, she said. That strong sense of nationalism was a common thread among Trump supporters, manifesting itself in shared opinions about the need to cut off immigration, order Muslims out of the country and turn back international trade deals. Williams resident Tom Willits, one of those vehemently against trade deals, said he ground the hub caps off his Ford truck when he found out they were manufactured in China. A retired mechanic, Willits likes what Trump says about bringing manufacturing back to the United States and blames foreign companies for leaving us high and dry. Decades younger, 20-year-old Audrianna Adragna voted for Trump for similar reasons. She has seen her peers stuck with crappy jobs, and said she believes Trump will bring more job security. She wants Trumps border wall, not as much to stem immigration but because she believes it will reduce crime and make the country safer. Even hundreds of miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, the idea of a wall came up again and again as a cure for a range of voter concerns. Those worries are economic for Danica Hissung, a stay-at-home mother who grew up in Mormon Lake and now lives there with her husband and two young children. Were already struggling as a country as it is, why let outside people come in and take our jobs? Hissung said. Others see the wall as the way to halt a looming terrorist threat. Latinos work hard, thats not the problem. Its the terrorists getting across our borders, Greg Cole said at the Safeway in Williams. Thats despite the fact that border security experts have repeatedly said that terrorist infiltration from the south is not a pressing security threat. For James Carrell, a neighborhood watch member, the wall is a much-needed barricade against drugs and narcotics flowing north from Mexico, substances that he says are creating more and more problems for local teenagers. Still others like Jenny Avechuco oppose illegal immigration largely on principle. Now retired, Avechuco once owned a third party immigration service in Phoenix and said she couldnt get over seeing pregnant women illegally crossing the border so they could have their children in the United States. The good people came in the right way. The nasty ones are what Trump said they were, she said. Its a shame theyre making us build a wall. PROTECTING GUN RIGHTS While many explained their vote for Trump by saying they could never vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton, Mormon Lake resident Aquina Babcock was more specific, saying for her it was a vow never to vote for a candidate who supports a womans right to have an abortion. Among many others in Mormon Lake, the fear that Clinton would enact more restrictions on guns and ammunition was the most talked about concern, said Larry Wallis Jr., who owns JRs Taxidermy. Among Wallis and others, there was a sense of simply not caring about Trumps stereotyping of Mexican immigrants, his belittling comments about women, the withering criticisms of other elected officials. We like the way he says it like it is, said Babcock, saying too much emphasis is being put on political correctness. As for his comments about women in particular, its just guys, and isnt anything that hasnt been said by many other men, she said. Pat Payne, a retiree in Williams, glowingly compared Trumps style to that of the controversial World War II hero Gen. George Patton. He doesnt have to be nice, Payne said. He has to get the job done and youre going to rough some people up along the way. Plus, Trumps billions mean he wont be bribed or beholden to anyone, agreed Paynes wife, Dot, and Daisy Turpin, a U.S. Navy Veteran, as they ate turkey lunch at the Williams Senior Center. In his assessment of the election, John Moore, the cowboy hat-wearing mayor of Williams, centered on the gaping divide between media coverage and issues of importance to many of the countrys more rural areas. I think President-elect Trump is campaigning on the same things people need and wanted to hear," Moore said. Part of why Hillary Clinton lost the election is because she listened to news media, news media listened to each other and none of them knew or cared about what the people were saying. Extending its upmove for the second consecutive session, shares of mining conglomerate Vedanta Ltd today surged 5 per cent after the company said it will raise up to Rs 300 crore through private placement of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The stock jumped 5.03 per cent to close at Rs 217.10 on BSE. During the day, it gained 5.44 per cent to Rs 217.95. At NSE, shares of the company soared 4.78 per cent to close at Rs 216.80. On the volume front, 15.86 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over one crore shares changed hands at NSE during the day. The stock had gained nearly 5 per cent in the previous session also. A committee constituted by Vedanta's Board approved offering for subscription, on a private placement basis, up to 3,000 secured, rated, listed, redeemable, NCDs of face value Rs 10 lakh each aggregating up to Rs 300 crore, it said in a regulatory filing yesterday. The NCDs will be listed on the BSE and will mature on April 22, 2020, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Azim Premji-backed payment technology player Financial Software & Systems (FSS) is planning to raise around $250 million during its fifth round of fundraising. The company, which manages around 40,000 out of the total 220,000 ATMs in the country, is also planning to go public. In the last hearing on October 10, DMRC told the High Court that if Delhi Metro were to raise loans to pay the arbitration award ... With several states suggesting changes in the model GST law and compensation formula, the GST Council meeting scheduled for November 25 has been postponed to December 2-3. The officers' committee of both the Centre and states, however, will meet on November 25 to finalise the three draft legislations -- CGST, IGST and compensation law. These will be placed in public domain for stakeholders' comments. The Centre proposes to introduce these legislations as money bills to ensure they are not stuck in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling NDA does not have a majority. Sources said that since the legal changes in the draft laws would take some time, it was decided to postpone the November 25 meeting of the all-powerful GST Council. "The states have suggested certain changes relating to returns procedures in model GST law. Also, they have asked for changes in wordings in compensation law. We will finalise the three draft laws at the November 25 meeting," a source said. The source, however, added that Centre is on track to introduce the legislations in the ongoing Winter session of Parliament, which ends on December 16. The officers committee would not discuss the issue of cross empowerment to avoid dual control as it would be decided at the ministerial level. Centre had on November 16 circulated the draft legislation among the states. The officers committee in their meeting on November 21-22 discussed the issue, with states giving their views. The Central GST (CGST) will be framed based on the model GST law. The IGST law would deal with inter-state movement of goods and services. Also, the states will draft their own State GST (SGST) based on the draft model law with minor variations incorporating state-based exemption. These laws deal with returns, registration and refund process as well as where GST will be levied. The compensation law will list out how states will be compensated in the initial five years for revenue loss on account of GST rollout. The Centre plans to create a Rs 50,000 crore fund for GST compensation by levying cess on demerit and luxury goods. At its last meeting, the GST Council agreed on a four-slab structure 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent along with a cess on luxury and 'sin' goods such as tobacco. Tata Sons' former chairman Cyrus Mistry on Tuesday questioned Ratan Tata's decision to buy Corus steel despite the serious reservations of some of the board members and senior executives. A five page letter from Mistry's office read: 'It is common knowledge that the decision to acquire Corus for over USD 12 billion, when only a year earlier it was available at less than half that price, was based on one man's ego and against the reservations of some board members and senior executives." Cyrus Mistry was not the only person who questioned Tata's most ambitious acquisition of Corus. A former business editor of The Sunday Times Ivan Fallon termed Tata's acquition of British steel giant - Corus - probably the worst deal ever done by an Indian company. Soon after the deal, Fallon had once asked Tata as to why did he make the deal when all was not well in British steel industry. He wrote: "Shortly after he had done the deal, I asked Ratan Tata why he bought Corus. Was steel not a sunset industry, dogged by union issues, ferocious international competition and high costs? To which Tata responded: "That was all out of date. The British steel industry after billions of pounds of state money had been poured into it, was a slim, super-efficient, highly profitable and technologically advanced industry that could take on the world." ALSO READ: What went wrong with Tata Steel UK operations Earlier in 2016, Tata Steel reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 3213.76 crore against a loss Rs 5674.29 crore in the year ago period. Some reports suggest that the Tata Steel's UK plant started losing pound 1m a day. Due to its constant loss, Mistry decided to wind up UK operations and sell it off. But even before Mistry could finalize the deal, he was sacked from the post of chairman by the Board of Directors of Tata Sons. The Group also accused Mistry of not keeping other Board members in the loop while taking crucial decisions. However, a director on the board reportedly said Mistry had kept Ratan Tata in the loop about the sale of European operations. "The decision to dis-invest in Europe was taken by the entire Tata Steel board and no one should hold Mistry alone responsible for the decision. Dozens and dozens of meetings of the board took place, including with British labour unions and British ministers, who came to Mumbai," Business Standard quoted the director as saying. The director said Rs 70,000-80,000 crore of Tata Steel's funds had gone down the drain because of its European operations but no one was asking whether the acquisition itself was right. "Was it Cyrus' decision (to acquire Corus)? Corus was a problem that Mistry inherited and he was just trying to clean it up. And, in the process of doing so, quite miraculously, he found Thyssenkrupp. If the merger with Thyssen goes through, then Tata Steel will be rid of Tata Steel Europe and that will save Tata Steel," he said. When Cyrus became the chairman in December 2012, the board finally put its foot down. "We told him clearly that Corus is bleeding and it would kill the parent. We were short of resources for Kalinganagar (the Odisha units). The Indian company was pumping in huge amounts of money in Corus. And, the losses at Tata Steel were rising mainly due to Europe. You can't blame Cyrus for this. As per me, Cyrus has done a great job," he said. It was announced today that New Ireland Assurance in partnership with Dublin City Universitys (DCU) Ryan Academy will host a funding Irelands future event with 18 35 year olds to tackle issues around the financial preparedness and engagement of younger consumers. The event will place from Friday 25th until Sunday 27th November and teams will compete for a 5,000 first prize, 2,000 second place and a 1,000 third place prize. Spot prizes will also be won over the weekend. It will involve a team-based hackathon over the weekend of November 25th, where attendees will self-identify and analyse issues which have the potential to help young consumers shape their financial future. Their proposed solutions could relate to product innovation, messaging which resonates, platforms for engagement or other ideas which could alleviate issues in the future. The hackathon, aimed at the next generation of financial consumers, provides attendees with the oopportunity to engage in a real-world challenge and put their ideas into action. The three-day event will also feature a range of guest speakers including- Paul Hayes (Beach hut PR), Paddy Quinlan (DCU Ryan Academy) and Mick Sweeney (Managing Director (Interim) of New Ireland). The winning teams will have the opportunity to work with New Ireland and DCU Ryan Academy after the event to test their solutions in a real-life setting. Discussing the event, Mick Sweeney from New Ireland said, "Todays 18-35 year olds could live as much as a third of their life in retirement. They are faced with the issue of potentially being the first generation whose lifetime earnings will be lower than those who came before them. This event will challenge participants to come up with new ideas which can shape their own future." Source: www.businessworld.ie DHL have today released the fourth edition of their Global Connectedness Index (GCI), a detailed analysis of the state of Globalization around the World. The 2016 report shows that Global connectedness, measured by cross-border flows of trade, capital, information and people, surpassed its 2007 pre-crisis peak during 2014. In 2015, Globalizations post-crisis expansion slowed but the data indicates that it did not go into reverse. Currently available evidence still preliminary in some areas suggests that the World was about 8% more connected in 2015 than in 2005. The information pillar measured by international internet traffic, telephone call minutes and trade in printed publications showed the strongest growth over the reporting period (2013-2015). The gains in capital and people flows have been more modest while the decline in the proportion of goods traded across borders which began in 2012 accelerated in 2015. The index ranks countries on their depth (intensity of international flows) and breadth (geographical distribution of flows), which combine for an overall connectedness score between 0 and 100. The Netherlands retained its top rank as the worlds most connected country and Europe is once again the worlds most connected region. All but two of the top 10 most globalized countries in the world are located in Europe, with Singapore and the United Arab Emirates as the standouts. North America is the second most globally connected region and leads on the capital and information pillars with the United States as the most connected country in the Americas. Overall, the US is ranked 27th out of the 140 countries measured by the GCI. North America had the largest gain in overall Global connectedness during the past two years, followed by South & Central America & the Caribbean. Countries in South & Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa suffered a drop in their average levels of global connectedness. Commenting on the results, Managing Director of DHL Express Ireland, Bernard McCarthy said, "It is very positive that Ireland is ranked as the third most globally connected country in the world. As a small open economy, our global connectedness is extremely important for Ireland Inc. This is especially significant at a time when we are seeking to mitigate the impact of the UKs Brexit decision and the more protectionist trade policies likely to be adopted by the incoming Trump administration in the USA." He added, "Now more than ever it is in Irelands interest to diversify and embrace our wider global relations and trade and this report very much supports the fact that we are well positioned to do so." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Ninety per cent of international students studying English in Ireland believe the Irish government should offer more incentives to attract international students to the country. This is according to a new survey conducted by SEDA College, the fully accredited Dublin based educational institution that offers English language courses for all levels. The survey was carried out to obtain insights into why international students choose Ireland as a destination to learn and what they really think about studying and living in Ireland. Operating since 2009, SEDA College has an annual enrolment of approximately 1,200 students from all over the world. This year the college welcomed pupils from over 40 different nationalities, including Brazil, Spain, Italy, Panama, Mexico, Argentina, South Korea, Malawi, Japan, Taiwan and South Africa. The survey shows that the vast majority of international students (93%) dont receive any funding from their own country to study abroad, so they have to pay their own way to travel to Ireland to study English. As a result, 90% said an incentive from the Irish government would make Ireland an even more attractive destination to study. When asked what was the most important factor in choosing Ireland as a destination to learn English, the main reason is because theyve had friends here in the past. The second most popular reason was due to Irelands close proximity to the UK and other European countries. Asked if they would stay in Ireland if the Irish Government introduced an incentive to students to remain here after their studies, 66% said they would stay, 24% said they would consider it while 9% said they wouldnt stay. 36% said they would like to return to live in Ireland at some stage in the future, while 22% have no ambition in returning to Ireland once their studies are complete. A key issue for students travelling to Ireland is accommodation, with 45% of students encountering difficulty in finding somewhere to live during their stay in Ireland. Furthermore, 86% of students commented that accommodation in Ireland was more expensive than in their home country. Thirty nine per cent of all those surveyed said the cost of living was the main difference between Ireland and their home country. This was followed by the levels of Urban Development (26%) and higher job prospects in Ireland (18%). Many of the results portray Ireland in an extremely positive light, with 76% saying they found Irish people to be pleasant, welcoming and friendly. However 15% say they had encountered some negativity from Irish people while only 8% said they did not feel welcomed at all. Overall, 30% said they had experienced some kind of racial discrimination during their studies in Ireland. That said, the survey also showed high integration levels among international students and Irish people, with 68% saying they had developed friendships with Irish people during their studies, while 44% engaged in Irish sporting and cultural activities. Principal of SEDA College, Paul Brown said, "With students from 41 different countries enrolling in our language courses every year we are delighted to see that international students have such a positive view of Ireland. Word of mouth is key among international students, so it is very important to ensure that each and every student enjoys their stay here." He added, "This will help ensure that we have a strong pipeline of international students coming to Ireland in the coming months and years. As a result, we work hard to ensure that while they are here learning English, that they are also immersed in Irish culture and have opportunities to meet new people and learn more about the country they are living in." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us A survey of Irish business leaders issued today by Deloitte and Enterprise Ireland has found that nine in ten (96%) Irish CEOs are planning to expand over the next 12 months. The survey has been issued ahead of the CEO Forum which is jointly hosted by Deloitte and Enterprise Ireland and is one of Irelands principal business conferences. It will take place today in the RDS, Dublin. The CEO Forum attracts up to 350 senior Irish business people each year providing a platform for collaborative thinking, knowledge sharing and debate with political and business leaders. Eighty four per cent are confident about their companies prospects for revenue growth in the next year. When it comes to challenges, over a third of businesses cited the availability of skills as the biggest challenge they will face in 2017. CEOs were also asked about how Irish companies are faring since Brexit and what they expected for the next 12 months. Half (51%) of CEOs said they have a Brexit strategy in place. Of those who dont, 60% are planning to develop one. Currency fluctuations tops the list of Brexit related concerns for companies with 44% of CEOs citing it as their main worry. Increased costs are a concern for 23% with attracting talent (14%) and more bureaucracy (15%) also an issue for respondents. All this said however, three quarters (73%) of Irish CEOs believe that Brexit provides a strong opportunity for more Irish companies to export to Europe. Speaking ahead of the event, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Julie Sinnamon commented, "The survey results reflect that business leaders have ambitious plans for future growth with 73% of CEOs citing Brexit as an opportunity for more Irish companies to export to Europe." She added, "Our plan is to consolidate and grow positions in the UK market, while at the same time, accelerate our market-diversification strategy, helping more Irish companies to expand market share in mainland Europe and in other high growth markets." Speakers at today's CEO Forum will include: Minister of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell OConnor TD Roger Fisk, Marketing and Media Strategist and veteran Senior Campaign Staff for Obama Breege ODonoghue, Independent NED, C&C Group plc and Shaw and Sons Ltd Aidan Brogan, CEO, Datalex Margot Slattery, Country President, Sodexo Ireland Colm Lyon, CEO and Founder, Fire Financial Services Limited Mark Roden, CEO, Ding Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland John Doddy, Partner, Deloitte Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Just like the challenge of making housing affordable in Flagstaff, making student housing complexes compatible with neighborhoods is not going to be easy. For starters, the citys ability to intervene in the housing market is limited, even if it wanted to. The city cannot require a developer to provide lower-priced housing nor can it arbitrarily set tougher height or density limits on student projects. Proposition 207, passed by Arizona voters in 2006, said that if the government wants less intensive development that reduces the market value of a property, it has to pay for it. As for forcing NAU students to live on campus or designating it as the only place in the city where high-occupancy complexes could be built, that is well beyond the purview of the city of Flagstaff. Northern Arizona University and the Board of Regents might be persuaded to build more dorms and parking garages that take more students out of neighborhoods. But they would likely want something from the city in return. And thats really what future housing policy in Flagstaff has to be about: negotiated land use and building design agreements that give landowners and developers something extra in exchange for concessions on price, height, density and parking. As we reported Tuesday, other college towns might have university neighborhood overlay zones that limit a project to the size of one lot or restrict where high occupancy boarding houses can go. But until or unless Prop. 207 is repealed, Arizona cities cannot change the underlying zoning and uses without compensating the owners. That raises the question, of course, about whether some projects as proposed are so out of place that the city might be better off buying down the density or paying the developer to put up a parking garage. That would likely require a special tax or bond to establish a housing impact fund that could be drawn on as the council deems necessary. If the Hubs building right under transect zoning turns out to be legal, how much would it have cost the city to cut the number of bedrooms from nearly 600 to 200? Or should the city use the fund to build several pedestrian/bike bridges over Butler Avenue and a tunnel under Five Points? On the other hand, the city apparently can use its control over on-street parking as leverage with developers like Core Campus seeking breaks for on-site parking. The new city parking district that restricts curbside parking in Southside can be extended to Plaza Vieja across Milton Road, making it harder to market the Hub to students with cars but no legal place nearby to park them. As for NAU, we acknowledge that it is a national leader in the number of beds on campus: 9,100 and growing. But a campus with 21,000 students on its way to 25,000 has an outsized impact on a city of 70,000. What if the city offered to subsidize more on-campus garages in exchange for a requirement that any student with a car must purchase a parking pass? That might not stop the massive boarding-house style complexes in neighborhoods unless the city also said that residents with campus parking passes must garage their vehicles on campus. More Mountain Links bus routes from new complexes built on outlying undeveloped land to campus might also be a good city investment, as would underwriting those complexes themselves. If the Mountain Campus is full and adjacent neighborhoods incompatible, the city could do worse than shuttle students from remote housing compounds. We hate to sound so negative toward students and their housing needs, but it is clear that residents in affected neighborhoods have run out of patience. Prop. 207 requires a negotiated approach among all parties. The sooner they can all come to the table the better. The IMAGE Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2016 took place on Monday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Dublin. Now in its tenth year, the much anticipated IMAGE Businesswoman of the Year Awards champions trailblazing businesswomens contribution to Irelands economy and their vital role within the Irish business community at home and abroad. The awards are run in association with Samsung, Eir, No7 and The Loop with support from Newstalk, Independent.ie, Enterprise Ireland and Marks & Spencer. Managing Director of Kuehne + Nagel, Pamela Quinn was named as the Overall 2016 IMAGE Businesswoman of the Year. Other winners on the night included: Entrepreneur of the Year: Oonagh OHagan, Founder and Managing Director, Meaghers Pharmacy Group Management Professional Businesswoman of the Year: Kay Connolly, COO St Vincents University Hospital Start-up of the Year: Kasha Connolly, Director, Hazel Mountain Chocolate Creative Businesswoman of the Year: Debbie ODonnell, Series Producer, Xpose, TV3 Social Entrepreneurship: Marian Carroll, Volunteer CEO of Ronald McDonald House Young Businesswoman of the Year: Marissa Carter, Founder and CEO, Cocoa Brown Overseas Businesswoman of the Year Award: Fiona Dawson, Global President, Mars Food Digital, Science & Technology Businesswoman of the Year: Fiona OBrien, Director, Lenovo CEO Businesswoman of the Year Award: Margot Slattery, Country President, Sodexo CEO of IMAGE Publications, Clodagh Edwards says, "Im delighted that our tenth anniversary IMAGE Businesswoman of the Year Awards has been such a stand-out one, both in terms of the calibre of entrants, and the brilliant event itself. We had more than 394 smart, successful women to consider in the judging process, and our Awards night drew 800 attendees from all sectors of the commercial, corporate and creative worlds." She added, "These awards really embody all that is positive about women in business the support, inspiration, leadership and encouragement is infectious. Its no wonder this is my favourite night of the year." Source: www.businessworld.ie Oil prices fell in Asian trade on Wednesday, reversing earlier gains, as doubts re-emerged over whether OPEC would agree to a crude oil production cut at a ministerial meeting next week. A strong dollar, which traded near the 13 1/2-year peak hit last week, also weighed on prices amid thin trading ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. International Brent crude oil futures fell 13 cents to $48.99 a barrel at 0657 GMT after climbing to $49.42 a barrel earlier in Wednesday's session on optimism OPEC would agree to an output cut. Reuters commodities analyst Wang Tao said that Brent could rise to $49.85 per barrel, a level marked by several technical resistance factors. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures dropped 13 cents to $47.90 a barrel after rising to $48.30 earlier on Wednesday. Wednesday's lethargy came after oil prices rallied earlier this week. Traders had anticipated the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would successfully implement a production cut at its Nov. 30 meeting in order to prop up prices. With oil output among OPEC members running at around 34 million barrels a day, the market is suddenly looking at substantial cuts to get back to the level of 32 million to 33 million barrels a day when production curbs were first mooted earlier this year, Spooner said. The OPEC gathering will debate an oil output cut of 4 to 4.5 percent for all of its members except Libya and Nigeria next week but the deal's success hinges on an agreement from Iraq and Iran, which may not give a full backing, three OPEC sources said Tuesday. Short-term though, analysts said that investors were currently unwilling to push crude prices to $50 a barrel or higher. "Their reticence is understandable given that longs (long positions) put on above that level have not ended well in recent times," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA brokerage in Singapore. "Tonight's (U.S.) EIA Crude Inventory numbers should provide a welcome, albeit temporary sideshow to the OPEC main event. Otherwise, we expect Asia to continue the sideways trading ranges," Halley said. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due to publish official U.S. crude oil and refined product inventory data later on Wednesday. U.S. crude stockpiles are expected to rise by 700,000 barrels, according to the latest Reuters poll, while distillates will fall and gasoline will rise. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie About us LOGAN The Chase Fine Arts Complexs main concert hall at Utah State University will be renamed for former Logan mayor Newell Daines, who recently passed away, and his wife Jean Daines. The announcement was made Tuesday by Caine College of the Arts Dean Craig Jessop and USU President Stan Albrecht. The renaming comes after planned renovations and a gift to the university from the children of the buildings namesakes. The gift from the Daines children is the capstone gift needed to finish our newly-updated facility, Albrecht said according to a USU press release. The gift is allowing us to increase the quality of the amenities used in the final phases of the concert halls renovation. Performers and patrons alike will benefit from the Daines generous donation through the finely detailed craftsmanship the gift is able to provide. According to the press release, the building originally opened when Jessop was a student at Utah State. Jessop hopes the renovations return the same awe to the current students that the building gave him as a student. The new renovations wont just be an update of the building, but a complete redesign. The reopening is planned for Oct. 18, 2017, exactly 50 years after the original first opening. Jeanne Ebaa Zibi, Technical Adviser No 2 in the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms, talks on efforts to curb corruption and laxity. ADS What is being done to curb the problem of ghost workers in the public service? There is a clean-up committee at the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms which functions with members from all the other ministries in the country. Each year, the committee meets to see which public servant is at work and who is not at work. There are civil servants who travel abroad and continue to earn their public service salary. While working with other ministries, such workers have been exposed and measures taken to correct the situation. Usually, we start by cutting the salary of such a ghost worker and later request him/her to reimburse all the money earned as a salary while abroad or working in a private or para-public sector. The situation seems to persist. What are the challenges encountered? The real problem faced is with hierarchy who refuse to denounce absenteeism workers. Some bosses protect their collaborators and do not expose the fact that they are not at their duty post. But now, we have sensitised everybody in the public service. So any worker in the public service can denounce the existence of those who earn a monthly salary but not at their duty post. This method seems to yield fruits because each year, when the clean-up committee at the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms meets to evaluate their work, there is always a good number of ghost workers that are being denounced. With such a method, many civil servants are aware and the number of ghost workers keeps reducing. More difficult is the fact that the civil service is a dynamic process with changes each day as some people go on retirement, others being integrated into the system and others asking for permission to go and work elsewhere. These changes make it difficult to set up a figure to operate within the public service. What is being done to get rid of ghost workers within the public service in the future? There is a project to put together the Antelope and SIGIPES operations of the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms. The Antelope operation is the computerisation of the salary of public servants while the State Personnel and Payroll (SIGIPES) operation handles the career of the civil servant. When this project will be put together, it will be called SIGIPES 2 and it will treat both salaries and career profile of all civil servants. When this new project will go operational we will know who civil servants are and what they earn. In this way, ghost workers will be quickly detected because they will not have a career profile besides their names. When SIGIPES 2 will go operational by the end of the year, many more ghost workers will certainly be detected. However, we will continue to carryout projects to modernise the public service in Cameroon. ADS La majorite de structures de lEtat utilisent des programmes contrefaits, selon une etude confidentielle de lAntic et du Consupe. ADS Le parc des logiciels informatiques utilises par les structures de lEtat est tres expose. A en croire une etude confidentielle menee par lAgence nationale des technologies de l'information et de la Communication (Antic) et les services du Controle superieur de lEtat (Consupe), dont CT a eu connaissance, une grande majorite des services publics utilise des logiciels non-authentiques. Sur 28 administrations controlees pour linstant, 76,40% dentre-elles ont recours a ces programmes contrefaits. En extrapolant sur les 37 departements ministeriels que compte le pays, lensemble des etablissements publics administratifs, les societes publiques ou parapubliques, les communes et les communautes urbaines, les informations que nous avons font etat dune situation alarmante , confie Antoine Ndong Toung, conseiller technique n2 au Consupe. Ce phenomene fait peser des risques graves pour leconomie et pour la securite de lEtat. Nous avons des experiences au plan local ou le developpement incontrole de certains projets et programmes informatiques a conduit a de veritables catastrophes financieres , relevait, mardi 5 mai dernier, le ministre Henri Eyebe Ayissi. Dans letude confidentielle evoquee plus haut, on apprend aussi quil y a de multiples cas de manipulations de ces logiciels pour y inserer des donnees. Exemple avec le recensement du personnel dans un des ministeres, ou seulement 28 personnels ont ete repertories, pourtant il y a 143 agents a emarger dans les fichiers de la solde pour le compte dudit ministere . Autre element de fraude, certains agents photocopient la premiere et la derniere page dun acte de nomination, reproduisent ensuite une page distincte avec la meme police de caractere en inserant leur nom . Le dossier depose au ministere des Finances, lon se retrouve alors avec des fonctionnaires qui touchent des salaires largement au-dessus du revenu legal. A lAntic et au Consupe, aucune des sources approchees na pu avancer un chiffre pour evaluer les pertes de lEtat suite a ces pratiques. Mais tous les specialistes saccordent a dire quelles sont enormes. En plus, du fait de lutilisation des logiciels non-authentiques, les administrations sensibles courent le risque dun piratage massif de leurs donnees confidentielles. Sans compter que les editeurs meme de ces logiciels peuvent poursuivre lEtat du Cameroun pour utilisation abusive de leurs produits. Avec a la cle des proces et de lourdes amendes en perspective. Autant delements qui ont pese pour que le Premier ministre, chef du gouvernement, cree tout un Comite de veille technologique et de controle de la conformite des parcs logiciels de lEtat, des collectivites territoriales decentralisees, place sous lautorite du ministre delegue a la presidence charge du Controle superieur de lEtat. MESSI BALA 80 Per Cent of Government Agencies Use Unlicensed Software Dr. Ebot Ebot Enaw, Director General of the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ANTIC) spoke to Cameroon Tribune. What is the extent of the use of unlicensed software and information network systems within State institutions? As per the provisions of the law on cyber security and cybercrime, ANTIC is charged with auditing information systems and communication networks of government agencies and departments, telecommunications operators, Internet service providers and banks. Our audit reports reveal that about 80 per cent of government agencies and departments use unlicensed software. This situation poses a security threat to our cyberspace in the sense that software have inherent vulnerabilities and security flaws. Software developers provide updates online, which are only available to licensed versions of these software leaving unlicensed software vulnerable to attacks. These well-documented vulnerabilities can be exploited by malicious individuals to gain unauthorised access to government computers and compromise the entire networks. What consequences could emanate from such use? Software piracy is a serious matter. In fact, unlicensed software is tempting, especially when it promises to save your organisation millions of francs CFA in licensing fees. However, by purchasing unlicensed software, not only are our ministries violating the law and the intellectual rights of software authors, they are also putting their computers at risk of damage and security threats. Consequences are many. Pirated software can cause computers to crash, damaging useful files and data in the process. In the worst case scenario, unlicensed software could cause irreparable damage to computers and all other software installed. Some unlicensed software contain spyware which gets installed onto your computer and reports personal information without your knowledge. This compromised data could include credit card and bank account numbers, passwords and address books, all of which can be immediately exploited by identity thieves. Software have inherent vulnerabilities which can be exploited by cybercriminal. Software vendors usually provide patches in order to fix these vulnerabilities. However, these patches are only available to licensed versions, leaving unlicensed versions vulnerable to attacks. ANTIC has established a wide variety of norms, guidelines and a computerisation master plan of ministries, amongst others, unfortunately some ministries do not comply with the norms we have put in place. How could the newly-commissioned Committee for the Technical and Compliance Control of Software Assets of the State, created by the PM, ensure that State institutions use licensed software? We hope that the committee put in place by the Prime Minister will assist in ensuring compliance. The committee should provide clear guidelines and carry out regular audits to ensure compliance. These could include adopting written policies that prohibit the use of unlicensed software. A software licensing policy that lays out a zero-tolerance stand on using pirated content or unlicensed software has to be published. Other measures could include keeping an active inventory of every software product in use and ever purchased by ministries, advising ministries to promptly delete any software found on their computers that is unlicensed or whose license cannot be verified, verifying the implementation of recommendations made by ANTICs computer security audit teams as well as verifying the application of security alerts provided by ANTICs Computer Incident Response Team. George MBELLA ADS | BY Ricki Green | Fifteen of Australias aspiring creative directors completed AWARDs inaugural Emerging Creative Directors Residential course last night. Chaired and curated by BMF creative founder, advertising legend and industry trailblazer, Warren Brown, the course is the industrys only custom-designed residential for senior creatives looking to transition into leadership roles. Says Brown: I spent over 30 years bumbling around in the dark trying to figure out what to do. With all that experience I had, I thought I should tell someone about it; all the stuff no-one thinks about and understanding how many plates youve got spinning as a creative director. Co-chaired by J.Walter Thompsons ECD Simon Langley, Rumbles creative partner Nancy Hartley and The Monkeys founding partner and ECD Scott Nowell, the course also featured DDBs CCO Ben Welsh, TBWAs COO Adrian Paul, J.Walter Thompsons executive planning director Angela Morris, Clerehan CEO Esther Clerehan, Special Groups founding partner and CEO Lindsey Evans, Jungles MD Jason Burrows, Lions sales director Andrew Coates, The Monkeys executive planning director Fabio Buresti, WPP AUNZs CSO Rose Herceg, Revolvers MD Michael Ritchie and West Eighty Seconds MP Chrissy Blackburn. Says Brown: I brought together all the people I trusted and valued to impart their knowledge, share their journey and wealth of experience; to provide more clarity, more direction and to expedite the groups pathways to becoming creative directors. Says Tony Hale, CEO, The Communications Council: The significant step change required to become a creative director cant be underestimated as it requires a completely new skill set. Until now there has been little to no formal training or specific qualifications available to ensure future creative directors are match fit. AWARD School is our industrys most respected and valued professional development programme for creatives and the calibre of those contributing to our first Emerging Creative Directors Residential is a reflection of AWARDs pivotal role in developing our next generation of creative talent. Adds Brown: Being a CD is one of the loneliest jobs in the industry. I hope the group keeps in touch and supports each other to build a stronger, better creative community because its what we desperately need. | BY Ricki Green | After 10 years with the Clemenger Group, executive creative director Paul Nagy has resigned from Clemenger BBDO Sydney and is set to depart in early 2017. Nagy has been ECD in Sydney for 5 years, following a successful 5 years at Clemenger BBDO Wellington. Says Robert Morgan, executive chairman, Clemenger Group: I would like to thank Paul for a huge contribution to our company both here and in New Zealand. He is a fantastic creative leader and a brilliant person. We wish him the very best in the future. Nagy has been responsible for highly award-winning work throughout his decade at Clemenger, including campaign for NZ Road Safety, Hungry Jacks, Campbells and most recently Dolmio Pepper Hacker, Whiskas Catstacam and Masterfoods Make Dinnertime Matter. Under Nagys leadership Clemenger BBDO Sydney has been named AdNews NSW Agency of the Year, won B&T Campaign of the year, as well as being recognised at Cannes, D&AD, Webbys, AWARD and numerous other award shows. He has also been instrumental as ECD in the success of Clemengers newest agency TKT, which currently services Campbell Arnotts and Frucor. Says Nagy: Im immensely proud of what the agency has achieved in my time here and Im humbled to have been able to work with, and learn from, some of the most talented and generous people in the industry, on both sides of the Tasman. I leave behind very close friends who I know will go on to do great things, and no one will be cheering louder than I. Says Andy Pontin, CEO, Clemnger BBDO, Sydney: Its been a rollercoaster 5 years for the industry and the agency, and throughout it all Paul has been a wonderful partner. Hes simply one of the best and nicest blokes in advertising. | BY Ricki Green | The Midas Awards for the Worlds Best Financial Advertising has announced the shortlist for the 2016 competition. Australia has scored 24 finalists led by MercerBell with seven finalists. Saatchi & Saatchi and Wunderman-Bienalto both scored five finalists each; R/GA scored four finalists, thedylanagency has scored two and Clemenger BBDO Sydney has scored one. Says Deb Ryan, executive director, Midas Awards: The Midas Awards recognizes excellence in financial marketing and advertising from entries around the globe, we applaud the innovative and creative financial service campaigns moving forward to the trophy round. This years Midas Awards grand jury, comprised of international executives from financial and creative marketing disciplines, shortlisted 278 entries showcasing creative excellence submitted from 24 countries around the globe. With an impressive 23% increase this year, prominent brands and international agencies recognize the importance of being honored for creative excellence by the Midas Awards. Event marketing was utilized by international agencies to champion causes and increase consumer engagement on behalf of prominent brands. This year 8 entries moved forward in the Events Category. McCann Erickson New York saw 4 entries shortlisted, 2 entries moved forward for MasterCard Restroom for All, MasterCards installation at Pride Fest demonstrated their support of global acceptance by installing a restroom that accepts all humans, no matter their gender identity. Additional shortlisted entries utilizing event marketing for McCann Erickson New York include The Optimist Index for Oppenheimer Funds and Stand Up To Cancer EEG Experience. McCann Londons shortlisted entry #44 Days of Crazy Sing For Your Fare for client MasterCard harnessed the spirit of international fans traveling through the city utilizing branded London taxis, riders were challenged to show team passion by singing their nations rugby anthem and see their taxi fare roll down. Publicis North America saw 2 entries shortlisted: Citi Double Cash Card DNCE Activation and Taste of the Nation. Citi sponsored the No Kid Hungrys Taste of the Nation events and donated meals to hungry kids in need, employed social posts to trigger a vending machine distributing fun food-related prizes, and utilized a canopy of social media controlled balloons. Joe Public Pty Ltd South Africa shortlisted entry Twitter Track for client Nedbank Sponsorships incorporated inspiring tweets into an encouraging running track to raise funds for children requiring prosthetics. Integrated campaigns dominated the shortlist. FP7/DXB Dubai (Part of McCann Worldgroup) saw 3 entries move to on to the next round The Beautiful After and The Fitness Account for Emirates NBD and The Anti-Antibiotics Self-prescription Idea National Health Insurance Company Daman. McCann Erickson London had 2 entries shortlisted #44 Days of Crazy and Mark Ronson Surprise, both for client MasterCard. Other integrated campaigns moving forward include: McCann Erickson New York World Card Integrated for MasterCard; Fp7 Bey Beirut The Makers for Byblos Bank; Joe Public Pty Ltd., South Africa Twitter Track for client Nedbank Sponsorships; Havas Riverorchid Cambodia Bluebird for Wing Mobile Money Transfer; Factory Detroit, Inc. USA Open The Door: TV / Doors (Radio) / Take One / CD Cover / Banner for client First Citizens Bank; Publicis North America for Dine & Do Good for Citi; Publicis Communications Switzerland UBS Retirement Campaign for UBS; and Zulu Alpha Kilo Toronto. Canada for Be in the Black for client Interac Association. The United States led this year with a total of 90 entries shortlisted. Agencies in South Africa moved forward with 37 entries shortlisted; followed by the United Arab Emirates with 32 entries moving on to the trophy round, a robust 68% increase over last year. The United Kingdom moved forward with 28 entries shortlisted and Australia saw 24. In addition, Canada had 19 entries shortlisted, followed by Thailand with 11, Lebanon with 6 entries moving forward and Brazil moved ahead with 5. Agencies from Cambodia, Germany and Switzerland each saw 3 shortlisted entries; India, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Turkey each had 2 entries move on to the trophy round. Colombia, Slovenia, and Sri Lanka each had 1 entry shortlisted. Each year, agencies from around the globe compete for number one status ranking on The Midas Report. Agencies on track for a spot on the 2016 annual ranking include: The Jupiter Drawing Room Johannesburg, South Africa with 33 entries shortlisted; FP7/DXB (Part of McCann Worldgroup) Dubai, UAE saw 32 entries move on to the trophy round; and McCann Erickson New York, USA had 31 entries shortlisted. Publicis North America, USA saw 13 entries achieve shortlist status; CJWORX, Thailand saw 11 entries move forward; McCann London with 10 and R/GA USA and McCann Worldgroup EMEA United Kingdom with 9. In addition, McCann Canada saw 8 entries shortlisted; and Mercer Bell Australia 7. The Midas Brand Report, an annual ranking report is based on points earned within the Midas Awards competition and celebrates advertisers performance in elevating the financial advertising industry. Prominent international brands in position to be included in 2016s Midas Brand Report include: Absa / Barclays, BMO, Citi, Emirates NBD, E*TRADE, Krungsri Market, MasterCard, National Health Insurance Company Daman, Quicken Loans, and Sammons Retirement Solutions Inc. | BY Ricki Green | Ogilvy New Zealand creative director Glenn Wood and Simon Mark-Brown of Republic Films are launching a new New Zealand comedy movie, based on a true story of cheating in a fishing competition, which is set to be released in New Zealand and Australia next year. Says Mark-Brown: Weve had it floating around for ten years and just thought lets make it. We went up to a tiny town in the far north of New Zealand and shot it in ten days. Its kind of a comedic eco-drama, its a fun buddy movie but it also deals with over fishing, a major problem around the world. Weve got a nation-wide theatrical release for New Zealand starting January 5th and Australia after that. Keep an eye out. Interest rates will jump again soon. What you need to know to prepare. Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at 9:00PM Volkswagen hopes to redeem and reinvent itself following the massive diesel emissions scandal the company found itself in. Now, the automaker wants to focus on making electric vehicles and part of that plan is to evolve from a niche supplier into a relevant and profitable volume producer. Volkswagen plans to start building EVs in North America starting 2021. This plan is the second part of a two-stage agenda for production on the continent. According to Volkswagens brand Board of Management Chairman Dr. Herbert Diess, they will be making considerable investments in electric infrastructure there as well as step up activities in the US, especially when it comes to large SUVs and limousines. Source: Engadget There was no evidence Connors knew of the driver's involvement in the delivery of the drugs, Justice Refshauge said. And there was evidence Connors had not left his Melbourne home in time to meet the driver, and yet did not know the driver had been arrested and that the car had never arrived in Melbourne. And Mr Abbott is having a range of policy ideas costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office, in a clear sign he intends to contribute to public policy debate in the Coalition in the months and years ahead - even if it is from the backbench, and not via a return to the cabinet. An outside legal firm will continue battling insurance providers on behalf of Gage County in the ongoing Beatrice 6 issue. On Wednesday, the County Board of Supervisors approved two new agreements with Keating, OGara Nedved, and Peter, law firm out of Lincoln. The firm was previously hired in August for the same purpose at a cost of $190 per hour. To date, the county has paid the firm just shy of $15,000. Gage County Attorney Roger Harris said the new agreements were written after the firm spent more time than initially anticipated on the case. Its kind of a hybrid contingency agreement, Harris said. Basically, there is an hourly rate, its a reduced rate. That also provides for a contingent recovery if they are successful in the litigation. I would note that its somewhat less than what you would normally see in a contingency arrangement. The debate stems from uncertainties in the countys insurance dating back decades. The agreements focus on the countys current carrier, the Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association (NIRMA) and EMC Insurance, its carrier prior to 1997. Attorneys previously said that in 1997, someone on Gage Countys behalf expressed concern about the change in carriers to NIRMA related to any coverage gaps, and theres a belief that NIRMA did provide retroactive coverage. The county approved two contracts with the law firm Wednesday, one for each insurance dispute. It was stated separate contracts were signed for EMC and NIRMA because County Board member Dennis Byars sits on the NIRMA board and couldnt vote on that issue due to the conflict of interest. County Board Chairman Myron Dorn said the contract is unique, and was developed specifically for the countys unusual situation. If theres no success, which we dont know going forward if theres going to be or not, but if theres no success then were not just paying that full amount for that pursuit of a result from the insurance company, Dorn said In July, a federal jury voted to give $28.1 million, plus attorney's fees, to the Beatrice 6 James Dean, Ada JoAnn Taylor, Kathy Gonzalez, Debra Shelden, Tom Winslow and the estate of the late Joseph White saying Gage County and the two deputies violated their civil rights. The six served a combined 77 years in prison for a 1985 murder before DNA testing exonerated them in 2008. While hopeful, Dorn said theres no indication either way if insurance will end up contributing following the ruling. We do not at this time know if theres going to be anything," he said. I will say this, both (insurance) companies have sent letters back denying any claims or responsibility. "Looking at situation they developed this fee structure and the possibility of further legal actions against those insurance companies. The agreements state that the county will make provisional payments at a rate of $100 per hour for attorney time and $45 per hour for paralegal and law clerk time. Until a resolution is reached, the law firm will submit a quarterly report to Gage County regarding the issue. Each agreement also states the county will not be asked to pay more than $12,500 in provisional payments per yearly quarter of work, nor more than $40,000 in provisional payments for a year of work. If attorneys are successful in the pursuit of an insurance settlement, they would be entitled to additional payments at the original $245 and $75 per hour rates, without the $40,000 cap. However, the agreements state that if either EMC or NIRMA make payments, a percentage-based cap would be implemented. That cap states that the countys additional payment for fees would not exceed 15 percent if a payment of $1 to $250,000 is made, as well as 25 percent of a $250,000 to $1 million payment and 35 percent for more than $1 million. The county will continue discussions on the issue at future meetings. The historic no-vote is part of a fresh wave of rejections by large public sector workforces of the Coalition's workplace policy with public servants at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection the giant Department of Human Services both voting against proposed agreements and scientists and researchers at the CSIRO knocking back a deal for the first time ever. The countrys prime minister John Keys inaugurated construction of the New Zealand-funded cable earlier today at a ceremony at the planned landing station, Bream Tail. He answered questions from Radio New Zealand about whether the country needs a further subsea connection, in addition to the existing Southern Cross network. Firstly the digital demand is so great these days, and the use is exponentially growing, he told the radio station. Secondly, these cables only last 25 years, so Southern Cross is actually coming near the end, effectively, of its economic life. Hawaiki is planned to be in operation in June 2018, connecting Australia and New Zealand to US landing stations in Hawaii and Oregon. Hawaiki is looking at adding connections to American Samoa, New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga in the Pacific. TE SubCom is building the cable. Amy Adams, who was also at the ceremony, said the future landing station could be a focus for data centre operations. Bream Tail is in New Zealands North Island, about 100km north of Auckland. Another cable, Tasman Global Access, is due to go into operation between Australia and New Zealand in 2017. It is being laid by Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks Ile de Re cable ship, and will run at 20Tbps. The move was taken to bring Vivendis holding in the group back to levels it has had for the past couple of years. Vivendi is the largest single shareholder in Telecom Italia and has long been seen as a potential buyer of the whole group. The French group said: Vivendi announces that it has purchased additional Telecom Italia ordinary shares on the market in order to bring its participation back to previous levels following the dilution of its 24.68% stake in Telecom Italias share capital to 21.91%. The dilution results from the maturity of a bond mandatorily convertible into Telecom Italia ordinary shares. In April Telecom Italia which operates in Italy and Brazil under the TIM brand and owns the Sparkle carrier business appointed Vivendi CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine as its deputy chairman. In August Orange denied a French report that there was a secret deal between it and Vivendi concerning Telecom Italia. The report suggested that Orange would take a stake of up to 20% in Vivendis pay-TV company Canal Plus and take over Vivendis stake in Telecom Italia. Vivendi sold control of its SFR mobile business in France to Altice in 2014, though it still has a small shareholding. The Second Street road construction project appears to be moving forward. The Beatrice City Council passed a resolution on Monday evening. The resolution authorized the mayor to sign the contract with a Wahoo based construction company on behalf of the city. The project had been open for bid by the Nebraska Department of Roads on November 10, 2016 and received only one bid. M.E. Collins Contracting Company, Inc., was awarded the contract for the construction to Second Street between Court and Ella streets for $837,550.66. The project will see the brick road on Second Street replaced and repaired. A state grant from the Nebraska Department of Roads will pay for the majority of the costs, with the city incurring just 20 percent of the total cost. The city will also look to begin construction on the Second street from Ella to Grant streets which will be paid for by the city. The project will be out for bid within the next couple of weeks. The city hopes to begin construction for both projects at the same time. Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has announced a new syllabus for pre-schoolers till class VIII for the next academic year. According to CISCE chief executive and secretary Gerry Arathoon The portions readied by the Board will be released at the 59th annual conference of Association of Schools for the Indian School Certificate (ASISC) beginning in Lucknow from today for subjects like history and civics, geography, mathematics and physics. The Board earlier prescribed syllabus only for classes IX to XII and most schools were following NCERT syllabus till class VIII. Arathoon considers that this step leads to upward mobility. "Earlier, we were preparing curriculum for class IX till XII. But now with having our own syllabus right from pre-school will ultimately help students to prepare for ICSE examinations in a better way. Now, students will be capable of working towards the board examinations much before," he said. As for those who want to start a CISCE- affiliated school, some norms have been relaxed. The Board has now reduced the land measurement required for starting a school. Schools can procure affiliation with 2,000 square metre of land. Initially, the rule was that schools should be at least 4,000 square metre for those situated outside metropolitan cities. In metros, the land measurement stood at 2,000 square metres. "Now, across the country, the land measurement stands at 2,000 square metres. The reduction is done in order to help the schools who are finding it difficult to acquire 4,000 square metres of land to start a school. However, schools will have to meet the infrastructure requirement and other facilities before seeking affiliation," Arathoon said. Arathoon added that the revised syllabi for ISC (class XII) and ICSE (class X) will be applicable for students taking the exam in 2018. Lessen Book Burden For School Students: CBSE The UK government is offering lucrative scholarships to boost their position in the higher education department. To attract Indian students, the UK has announced to offer scholarships of one million pounds (Rs 85.1 crore) for the academic session 2017. The new 198 scholarships is being offered under the 'Great' campaign in various subject areas including art, design, engineering, law and management. A total of 40 UK universities are participating in this programme. Studying in the UK offers Indian students three things - a world-class education, being part of an international student body and the chance to work post study," said Debanjan Chakrabarti, director of British Council East India At present UK hosts more than 400,000 international students from 200 countries. However, the stringent rules on post-study visa norms has contributed to lesser number of Indian students opting UK as their higher education destination. Read the complete story here: Why is UK losing its popularity among Indian students? According to statistics, the number of Indian students to the UK halved to 2000 in five years primarily due to restriction in post-study visa and India's refusal to treat UK's one-year master's degree courses on par with two-year post-graduate degrees back home. As per the data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, UK in 2004-05 there were about 10,000 first year students in the UK which grew to cross 20,000 students between 2008 and 2011. Whence the implementation of strict visa rules, the number of students flying overseas to the UK has drastically dropped from 2011. The number was just 10,125 in 2014-15. Also read: A career in a biobased industry such as bio-chemical industry, agrifood water companies, energy producers, logistics would be niche as well as unique. Wageningen University is offering a set of six courses packaged in a program covering Business & Management, Social Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Science and Chemistry for students and professionals. Name of the course: Biobased Sciences for Sustainability Organiser: Wageningen University and Research Key points covered: Challenges of switching from a fossil fuel based economy to a biobased economy Identifying suitable raw materials and create valuable new products Refining biomass without damaging its valuable components. Performing a functional analysis of potential methods that can be used for refining a resource. Efficiently converting biobased feedstocks into desired products Evaluating technological, ethical, societal and economic consequences in the production of biobased products Judging new innovations on their sustainability and business merits Applying the circular economy principles to a process or product chain Eligibility: At least a BSc degree or equivalent in a field closely related to the chosen MSc programme A Grade Point Average (GPA) for the relevant BSc of at least 70% of the maximum grade Proof of English proficiency by an IELTS with an overall grade 6.0 and with a minimum sub-score of 6.0 for speaking Fee: $199 per course When: January 24, March 28, May 30, September 5, October 24 and December 5 respectively Where: Online Number of seats: Limited How to apply: Online Application Last date of admission: NA Website: http://www.wur.nl/en/newsarticle/Launched-MicroMaster-Biobased-Sciences-for-Sustainability.htm RIT's Game Design and Development Programme: Online Courses on edX Sometimes its good to be reminded of just how good a car is by giving it go once more. In the case of the Mitsubishi Xpander, its the smal... Archived Results for Wednesday, November 23rd, 2016 Older Page 1 Below is a video produced by President-elect Donald J. Trump explaining his projection of his first 100 days in office: Regardless of who was your champion in this past presidential election: Will you recognize the duly elected leader of the Free World? I will never recognize President Donald J. Trump because he is not worthy. I will recognize President Donald J. Trump, providing he respects the office in which he holds. "At this point, what difference does it make?" 89 total vote(s) What's your Opinion? The last term of President George W. Bush was an unmitigated disaster. When Barack Hussein Obama, a Community Organizer by trade, took office in January, 2009, it was a fast ride, unabated, downhill, and it just would not cease.In the real World, where 'all good things come to an end', and the bad times can continue unrestricted if you can keep the right people in place, the United States is, and has been for at least 8 years, in a pretty bad place. George W. Bush took a firm swing at straightening out the mess, but fell miserably short when he succumbed to the spell of the proactive Democrat Media, in concert with a Democrat congress.George W. Bush won a mandate in the 2004 election, by Republican's winning the majority of both houses of congress and the presidency, like now in the beginning of the Trump administration, yet squandered that majority by not consolidating his power to the point that he could move members of congress to revamp, and restore the viability of America's entitlement safety-net. Also at the crux of the problem of Mr. Bush's second term was that congressional Democrats had long lost the belly for prosecuting the war on terror, giving the Democrat Media collusive cover to vehemently attack George W. Bush on all fronts, which withered the man right before our eyes to the point that his leadership became questionable; at least by Republican Standards. President George W. Bush wished to forever lift the office of the presidency above the partisan attacks of the Democrat press. This was a major mistake.Regardless of all the attacks suffered by Mr. Bush, he is a decent and good man, but: Is existing as decent and good man enough of a character trait to govern in this era of a free press that is only fair, and completely beholden to the most liberal Socialists that only play at governing this large sprawling nation?In my world, no politician is worthy of my support unless I well believe they will have the 'true grit' to defend his position in managing an administration that works with a friendly congress, and defends our nation irrespective of the whim of congress. While George W. Bush did prosecute the war in Iraq in a relatively successful manner, as the overwhelming hypocrites in a Democrat congress and media worked against that success, President Bush spent all of his personal power and political chips to do so.For the rest of his presidency, President Bush was a shell of an American CEO, which precipitated the stock market crash, just as much as a Democrat congress did, which caused the Great Recession. Appointing idiots like Christopher Cox to head the SEC, and then exhibiting loyalty to this "mimbo" is not the way a wise CEO (Corporate Executive Officer) governs.While known for his abject loyalty, there is an excellent possibility that America's next CEO, President-elect Donald Trump neither hire stupid men, an attorney by trade, like Cox, nor if he does, keep them in office. This is part of the reason, I am guardedly optimistic about a Trump presidency.I am guardedly optimistic on two levels: 1) Donald J. Trump, who campaigned against the establishment politics of not only the Democrat party, but the Republican party as well; plus, he was brutally honest with the corrupt, unprincipled Democrat Media once he was the Republican nominee; really read them the 'riot act', which will be imperative for any Republican to have a successful presidency. 2) Republican president Trump will have Republicans majorities in the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. This has never happened in modern times. The pressure for President-elect Donald J. Trump to accomplish much to restore this Republic is great.So great, it is a rather curious paradox that the President-elect would engage in a misplaced magnanimity of giving current lip-service to wish no ill will, ergo, no further investigation of the Felon L. Hillary . Below is what I wrought in a competing periodical:This is why we have a constitutional government.When Democrats ignore the Constitution (and are in control of congress or the executive branch), Republicans are forced to sue to bring government into compliance, which could take years to effect.When Republicans are in control, we have political measures that we can use to bring a rouge Republican president into compliance, and, unlike Democrats, we will do that to a rogue Republican president.That is why there will be a Democrat Fascist president before there is a Republican one.The Donald J. Trump excessive verbiage regarding an issue that is truly not within his presidential periphery, I will remain guardedly optimistic, and I will continue to pray for out Republic. As my ideas and opinions matriculate in an evolving pattern, you will continue to have the ability to read them here in BCN, so stay online with us. Honda announced the global start of the 2017 CR-V production at the at the East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio. The all-new Honda CR-V is scheduled to hit the US market this winter, offering for the first time a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine with 190hp and 179lb-ft of peak torque. This also marks the first time for Hondas Ohio plant to lead a global production launch, with the facilities also to have developed the processes and technologies that will form the manufacturing base for CR-V production at ten Honda plants globally. Our Ohio team did an incredible job as the lead plant for the global launch of this new Honda CR-V and we look forward to sharing this world-class 2017 CR-V with our customers in the U.S., North America and around the world. said Tim Myers, plant manager at the East Liberty Auto Plant. With a first-ever available turbocharged engine that is also built right here in Ohio we believe the CR-V will continue to set the standard for compact SUVs. Honda will also build the all-new CR-V in two additional plants, located in Indiana and Canada. The Ohio plant currently employs 2,350 people and offers an annual capacity of 240,000 cars and light trucks. The new Honda CR-V features a more characterful styling, adopting design elements from the latest Civic. The company has also added an automatic shutter grille system that allegedly helps in reducing drag. Inside theres a new infotainment system, higher-quality materials and more importantly more room for the passengers and their luggage. Expect Honda to release the full details on the all-new 2017 CR-V in the next days, so stay tuned. PHOTO GALLERY Legislative oversight committee says current formula spends too little on students with greatest needs and favors wealthy counties over poorer ones North Carolina's current method for funding public schools favors wealthy counties over low-income areas, according to a new study from the state legislature's Program Evaluation Division. The study recommends shifting the state's funding formula toward one that puts students first.The 135-page report , which was commissioned during the 2016 legislative session by Rep. Craig Horn, R-Union, chairman of the House Committee on Education Appropriations, looked at how the Department of Public Instruction distributes dollars to Local Education Agencies, aka school districts. The report was discussed at Nov. 16 meeting of the Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee.In addition to finding imbalances in allotments between wealthy and low-income counties, researchers also discovered that funding for children with disabilities is largely directed away from those areas with the highest number of students who would qualify for that assistance.Allocations for students with limited English proficiency are also illogically and unevenly distributed, researchers found.Given the findings, the PED recommended that the state overhaul its system and allocate funds per student - instead of assigning dollar amounts to each LEA, or paying LEAs according to the number of job positions within a district.The concept of basing funding on the number of students a district enrolls rather than the number of teachers and staff members it employs, also called "student-based budgeting," has been used by several large metropolitan school districts dating back to the 1990s. Under this model , students with disabilities, language issues, or other special needs would get a bigger, "weighted" allocation, and districts that have large bureaucracies could be forced to spend more money in classrooms.The PED study is not the first of its kind to be commissioned by the legislature. In 2010, a similar report was completed by Augenblick, Palaich and Associates Inc., a private company with experience in analyzing education systems.That study cost nearly $350,000, but largely was overlooked when Republicans took over the General Assembly in 2010 and began their work in 2011.said Terry Stoops, director of research and education studies at the John Locke Foundation.Stoops added.The lawmakers' oversight was not intentional, but is still inexcusable given the costs of the Augenblick study and the serious problems that exist within the school funding process, said Horn, who wasn't made aware of the Augenblick report until 2013.Legislators must form a task force that will take a "deeper dive" into the PED's findings, he continued, adding that he would like to see the General Assembly tackle the issue during the 2017 legislative session.Horn said.he continued.That political reality will make revamping the state's school funding system a tough task, said Horn, also noting that there is a limited amount of money to work with, and that not all districts would be happy about a funding shuffle.he said.Stoops said.Any discussion about changing public school funding formulas also will affect charter school finances, though those impacts are hard to predict, Stoops added.Horn agreed, pointing to findings within the PED study that indicate the state's current funding process complicates dollar distribution to charter schools.Horn said.he concluded. Introduced back in 2009, the XJ is now the oldest model in the Jaguar lineup and the oldest that Jaguar Land Rover still makes. That places it on deck as the next model to be replaced, and our man Theophilus Chin thinks the replacement should look something like this. The design draws elements from the smaller XF sedan and the new I-Pace concept just revealed at the LA Auto Show last week. It even carries over some visual cues from the current XJ, like the fat C-pillar but this time its been rendered in glass instead of black plastic. The jurys still out on what Jaguar will do next with the XJ line. Its the companys longest-running nameplate, stretching back to the original Series 1 launched in 1968. But sales have been in decline recently, dropping from over 10,000 units of the previous model sold in the United States alone in 2003 and 2004 to less than 4,000 the past couple of years. Last month saw Jaguar sell just 335 XJs in America, placing it far behind market leaders like the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series that moved in quantities of 2,420 and 1,133, respectively. The XJs volume still seems to be enough to motivate the likes of Lexus (with its LS), Maserati (Quattroporte), Hyundais new Genesis brand (G90), and Audi (A8) to compete in the market segment, but JLR is expected to be looking to mix things up. Weve heard rumors that the next model could be more practical or less, or even stand as a dedicated luxury hybrid. One way or another, Jaguar is sure to pour all of its tech into its next flagship, whatever form it takes. So well be intrigued to see what the Brits cook up when the time comes. Photo Gallery After winning the last Dakar, Peugeot have a lot to defend, and even more to prove, in the upcoming event. However, they seem to be ready to tackle the challenging terrain with their new weapon of choice, the 3008 DKR, which replaces the 2008 DKR. As development is almost over, and with the racer already tested, its now time to take a first look at its fancy frock that sees the colors of partners Red Bull, Sparco, BFGoodrich and Total. As for the actual car, this is (extremely loosely) based on the new generation 3008 crossover, which was showcased last month in Paris. Of course its a true Dakar racer underneath, with huge ground clearance and massive all/terrain tires. Since its predecessor managed to save a few important kilograms by lacking an all-wheel drive system, the new racer follows the same recipe that sees the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 send its output to two of the wheels. At the hands of Stephane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz, Sebastien Loeb, and Cyril Despres, Peugeot Sport are looking to add their sixth Dakar trophy next January, by taking the all-new 3008 DKR on its odyssey through Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina. PHOTO GALLERY Self-driving taxi startup nuTonomy has announced that it will soon expand its autonomous vehicle trials to Boston, after having first rolled out the technology in Singapore. The company just struck a deal with the City of Boston and Massachusetts Department of Transportation and will bring its self-driving Renault Zoe to U.S. streets. As with the trial in Singapore, one of the companys engineers will remain on-board the hatchback to take the wheel if necessary. In a statement, Boston mayor Martin J. Walsh said Boston is ready to lead the charge on self-driving vehicles, and I am committed to ensuring autonomous vehicles will benefit Bostons residents. This is an exciting step forward, and together with our public and private partners, we will continue to lead the way in creating a safe, reliable and equitable mobility plan for Bostons residents. When nuTonomy first hit the streets of Singapore, its vehicles were permitted to drive around the One-North business district with a passenger and engineer on board. In doing so, it beat Uber to the punch of testing a self-driving taxi on public roads. PHOTO GALLERY Opels new contender in the mid-size family car segment, the Insignia Grand Sport, promises to be better in every aspect than the car it replaces. By reducing total weight by up to 175 kg (386 pounds), increasing its track by 11 mm and tuning the FlexRide chassis, whose dampers, steering and propulsion can be changed automatically or via the selectable Standard, Tour, and Sport modes, the new generation Insignia is supposed to be more agile to drive. The former automatically selects the best setup based on the info collected by sensors, while the Tour is recommended for optimum fuel consumption and its said to be the best choice of the three for long distance drives. In the Sport mode, the steering provides more direct feedback, the chassis angles less when cornering at high speeds and brake dive is reduced. Additionally, the chassis and propulsion components can change automatically to Sport if the software detects a more dynamic driving style. To prove their statement, the team behind its development, led by chief engineer Andreas Zipser, traveled to the Nurburgring with a bunch of camouflaged prototypes that were pushed to their limits. You can feel that the Insignia has been developed from a white sheet of paper, as soon as you get into the car. The integration of the driver is outstanding and this provides a much better feel for the car. The Insignia has become more agile, even with the same engine, Zipser said. From previous reports we know that the new Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, which will make its way to the Australian market as the Holden Commodore and to the US as the new Buick Regal, is based on GMs new modular architecture known as E2. This provides an additional 92 mm (3.62 in) to the wheelbase and opens up the possibility of new engines, including the 1.5-liter petrol, which serves as a replacement for the previous 1.4-liter, and the range-topping 2.0-liter turbo, with 247 horsepower. Opel is expected to pull the covers off their new family sedan next March at the Geneva Motor Show. PHOTO GALLERY VIDEOS TechArt will show off their premium individualization program for the Porsche 718 at the 2016 Essen Motor Show, alongside power kit and styling upgrades for the 911 and Macan. For the 718, TechArt has prepared a new aerokit to go with the 21 Formula IV wheels. In terms of performance, the 718 will put down as much as 400 HP thanks to the new power kit. Finally, the tuner will also add a custom Racing exhaust system with 2 central titanium tailpipes and carbon fiber tips, whereas the cabin will receive significant leather, carbon fiber and lacquering upgrades. Also on display at Essen will be the current-generation Porsche 911, featuring aero kits, lightweight wheels and interior refinement options, along with a new level of individuality for all 911 drivers. As for the Macan, it will feature a distinctive bodykit as well as aero, engine performance, exhaust, suspension, wheel and interior upgrades. Visitors will be able to see these cars in person at the 2016 Essen Motor Show, at stand A155 in hall 3 between November 25th and until December 4th. PHOTO GALLERY By focusing on re-positioning the brand across various regions and segments, as well as on making huge investments in e-mobility and connectivity, VW hopes to get people back on their side. In fact, the brands new vision is Volkswagen: Moving People Forward, which the German automaker is looking to do with the help of their TRANSFORM 2025+ program, thus seeing themselves return to a sustainable, profitable growth. Our goals are high and our strategy is very ambitious, said VW CEO Dr Herbert Diess. We want to benefit from change and to take Volkswagen into the lead in the new automobile industry with determination. Over the next few years, Volkswagen will change radically. Very few things will stay as they are. In the final resort, the new strategy is a major transformation program. The brands reorientation will take place in three phases. Phase 1, leading up to 2020, will see VW restructure their core business while also developing new competences. In Phase 2, up to 2025, has the automaker taking the lead in e-mobility as long as it can regain strength as a leading and profitable volume manufacturer. The final phase will include the brand playing a key role in shaping this major transformation in the industry, which is expected to take place after the year 2025 and leading into 2030. From 2020, we will be launching our major e-mobility offensive. As a volume manufacturer, we intend to play a key role in the breakthrough of the electric car. We are not aiming for niche products but for the heart of the automobile market. By 2025, we want to sell a million electric cars per year and to be the world market leader in e-mobility. Our future electric cars will be the new trademark of Volkswagen, added the brand CEO. In terms of connectivity, VW expects to have about 80 million active users throughout the world by the year 2025 with sales revenue from services related to networked vehicles estimated to reach about 1 billion per year within the same period. In North America, VW plans on focusing on large SUVs and limousines, two segments that will be greatly expanded according to Diess. In a second stage, the automaker will take their new electric vehicles to the US, with local production of MEB cars to start from 2021. As for China, VW will start an SUV offensive followed by quickly launching multiple electric vehicles. In other major markets such as India, South America and Russia, they will push to further develop the economy segment. PHOTO GALLERY B.C. scientists are playing major role in understanding how the bodys trillions of cells develop from a single genetic template, and how those genes interact with the environment. By mapping the epigenome (a series of unique chemical compounds inside each cell type that tell the genome what to do) researchers hope to understand how genes are switched on and off in response to factors that could have important implications for cancer research. Scientists from the B.C. Cancer Agency, University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University published three papers that were part of 41 co-ordinated papers published this week around the world. They are seen as a major step forward in the field of epigenomics. One of the great mysteries in biology is how the many different cell types that make up our bodies are derived from a single cell and from one DNA sequence, or genome. The epigenome is the blueprint for those differences. Unlike the genome, the epigenome changes as cells develop and in response to changes in the environment. Analysis will lead to new ways to diagnose and treat disease. Scientists from Canada, the European Union, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the United States collaborated via the International Human Epigenome Research Consortium. Now that a baseline picture of the epigenome is taking shape, we can start to integrate information about the effects of the environment, aging and disease on the epigenome, said Martin Hirst, with the B.C. Cancer Agency and associate professor in microbiology and immunology at UBC. Hirst and colleague Connie Eaves focused on epigenomes' role in breast cancer and stem cells. A team led by Marco Marra at Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre used similar methods to identify epigenetic changes thought to contribute to the development of rare childhood cancers. Photo: File Photo Kelowna continues to trend in a positive direction as the city heads through the second half of the decade. In a report for council, city planner Ross Soward said the annual community trends study, which looks at people, home, economy and environment, builds off the positive growth shown the previous year. "The picture is a positive one," said Soward, who added there are some challenges remaining. One of the strongest trends, according to Soward, shows up in the housing development market. Stats show the city could be entering another building boom, one last seen between 2003 and 2007. In 2015, the city saw one of its strongest years in a decade. "A significant amount of that development was fueled by multi-family, multi-unit development," said Soward. "That was about 60 per cent of building permits issued in 2015. A significant amount of that has been fueled by multi-family development, and some of the student housing around UBCO." However, pressure on the rental market continues to be a concern. The report also showed a larger-than-normal influx of buyers from the Lower Mainland and Southern Vancouver Island. Normally, Soward said those markets account for less than 10 per cent of the sales market. "In 2015, that went above 10 per cent, and year-to-date, that number is up to about 16.4 per cent." Migration from other parts of the province and the country accounted for an increase in the city's population, estimated at about 127,500 in 2015. "In 2015, we were the fastest-growing census metropolitan area in Canada." In keeping with the Democratic Party's tradition of only following laws with which the liberal-left members agree, while ignoring or vilifying the laws with which they disagree, Democrat mayors and politicians in a number of major U.S. cities have fiercely and defiantly spoken out: They will not cooperate with the Trump administration in its goal to rid the nation of criminal aliens who prey on American citizens.According to the Democratic Party, so far mayors in seven of the largest cities swore to protect illegal immigrants from the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) bureau. However, Republican president-elect Donald Trump who has never displayed an appreciation for threats and political grandstanding, shot back that he would block federal taxpayers' money for those rebellious " sanctuary cities ."Although sanctuary city policies appear to be a matter of simply disobeying immigration laws, rule and regulations. The mayors and city managers are "leaning" on local police departments to refuse to assist special agents from ICE in their operations to identify criminal aliens, capture them and hold the aliens for a determination on their eligibility to stay or be deported. The mayors and police chiefs claim they will not provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants who have committed violent and other serious criminal acts.Following Donald Trump's victory over pro-sanctuary city Democrat Hillary Clinton, Democratic mayors in the cities of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Providence, R.I., among others, said they will challenge in court any Trump administration move to crack down on illegal immigration within their jurisdictions. While these political leaders have prevented ICE from taking groups of immigrants to face the judges assigned to hear immigration cases for a number of years, the Trump administration is taking an approach that's diametrically opposed to President Barack Obama But this time, the Republicans have a leader who believes in protecting American citizens from the threats posed by criminal aliens such as members of the El Salvador-based organized crime gangs known as MS-13. The FBI estimates there are over 50,000 MS-13 members nationwide.Unfortunately for these cities, their shares of the billions of dollars the feds give them is at stake. For example, San Francisco gets about $1 billion each fiscal year from federal agencies, both directly and through the state, according to Ben Rosenfield, the controller for the city and county. The city isbut support for public health and human service programs could be affected, he said.Presidents do have some limits on their powers to block federal funding for local governments. Technically - at least before President Barack Obama - such actions required the approval of the legislature, according to legal expert Michael Baker. "For example, Trump would need congressional approval to cut funding for Medicaid," said Baker, an attorney and political consultant.noted Baker.Law enforcement expert and former police commander Joseph McInerney explains that Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot be hampered by local police agencies or officers.McInerney told Conservative Base.But as difficult as they make it, sanctuary city police cannot prevent federal agents from identifying child molesters, immigrant gang members and other criminals. These criminal aliens can still be detained by federal officers in sanctuary cities by just going into the suspects' neighborhoods and through their own intelligence gathering and analysis operations.Last year, the Republican majority in House of Representatives passed legislation that would have withheld federal, law-enforcement grants from so-called sanctuary cities. President Barack Obama said he would veto the bill and Senate Democrats blocked a version in that house by calling for 60-votes to pass it. But now the POTUS is willing to sign such legislation if he believes his efforts are being hampered by the Democrats who are beholding to the illegal immigration "industry" that has become lucrative for both the Democratic Party and the activist organizations.said former police officer Iris Aquino.she added. Pregnant women aren't getting vaccinated, leaving them at risk for the flu. Health-care professionals are hesitant to administer the flu shot to expectant mothers, according to a UBC Okanagan study. The study also shows that pregnant women who were eager to get vaccinated had difficulties because health professionals turned them away. The World Health Organization and Health Canada have classified pregnant women as one of the highest at-risk groups of having serious complications following influenza infection, says Marie Tarrant, director of nursing at UBCO. She described the study results as surprising. Tarrant worked with co-author Valerie Wong of the University of Hong Kong to assess the effect of a vaccination education program targeted to pregnant women in Hong Kong, where vaccination rates are particularly low. One-to-one education significantly increased vaccination rates, yet the uptake was still low. Upon follow-up with the women, they discovered that some doctors refused to give the shot or it was unavailable. Even with the knowledge of benefits of vaccination, there still is this long-held belief that pregnant women should minimize exposing the fetus to any unknown substance, especially those injected into the body, says Tarrant. I believe this reluctance is common worldwide. Canadians typically contract the flu during the late fall and winter. Most people recover within a week, but some, including pregnant women, the very young and the elderly, are at increased risk for severe complications. Globally, the flu results in 250,000 to 500,000 deaths annually. Almost 30 per cent of Canadians were vaccinated against the flu last year. Health Canadas target is 80 per cent. Photo: Castanet Seventeen years after it was built, Prospera Place may finally get electronic signs promoting upcoming events. An application has been filed asking the City of Kelowna to approve a development permit to allow for the signs. City planner Emily Williamson said the application is for six illuminated signs on the west side of the arena, facing onto Water Street. "The proposal is to have three electronic message signs on either side for a total of six. The total sign area proposed is 25.8 square metres," said Williamson. Williamson said there are restrictions as to what can, and can't be displayed under the city's sign bylaw. "No incorporating scrolling, fading, movement of any parts, and no animation. There is also a requirement for public service information." She said the arena owners are proposing an event component for the signs, such as community events or sponsors specific to Prospera Place. The application was made Oct. 31, and while it has finished circulating through the various departments at city hall, it's not yet ready to be presented to council for approval. A date for the application to reach council chambers has not been determined. Photo: CTV Vancouver A new poll conducted by Insights West for BCAA shows the majority of drivers on the West Coast are not prepared for winter driving. Fifty-two per cent of 700 drivers surveyed felt local residents were the countrys worst drivers when it comes to ice and snow. Just over one-third disagreed. However, almost one-third admit they dont prepare for winter because they consider themselves a good driver. One third said they dont prepare until it the snow actually flies. Winter preparations include getting your vehicle serviced, putting winter tools in your car and checking weather reports before travelling. Seventy-one percent of drivers are not concerned about winter driving because they believe it "doesn't snow much where they live." 64 per cent consider themselves experienced but worried winter drivers, while 45 per cent think they are experienced but bad at driving in snow and ice. Last week several truckers were caught off guard and brought traffic on Highway 97C to a crawl by getting stuck at higher elevations. with files from CTV Vancouver Photo: Contributed UPDATE: 7:25 a.m. Highway 1 is open to single-lane alternating traffic after a crash closed it completely Tuesday afternoon. ORIGINAL Highway 1 is closed in both directions near Spences Bridge following a collision. The accident happened five kilometres west of Spences Bridge, closing both lanes. And alternate route for all vehicles is available via Highway 5 from Kamloops to Hope. Another alternate route for light vehicles only is available via Highway 99 and Highway 12. There is no estimated time of opening and the assessment ongoing. Photo: Contributed UPDATE: 5:15 p.m. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1722 president Scott Lovell remains tight lipped on a possible agreement that would end the Central Okanagan bus strike. He confirms the tentative agreement will be presented to members Wednesday morning, when it will be reviewed and voted on. In order to bring it to the membership, the negotiating committee has to recommend it... There has been substantial enough movement that it would be inappropriate not to bring it to the membership to review. It appears the City of Kelowna did in fact play a pivotal role in the two sides reaching the deal. Mayor Colin Basran said he directed the city's human resources manager, Stuart Leatherdale, to help mediate and get the two sides back together. I did this over the weekend, so he was able to get the parties together on Monday for negotiations that lasted over eight hours. As a result of that work by Mr. Leatherdale, the two side kept talking today. Basran added that he heard from many in the public who were expecting swift action from city council on the issue. Let's just say we were involved, but we were not public about it. Basran said the city wanted to be respectful of the fact the negotiations were between two outside parties. The point I'm trying to get across, work was being done even though it was perceived that there wasn't any. At the end of the day, he said its just important that service gets rolling again as soon as possible. ORIGINAL 4:45 p.m First Canada says it has reached a tentative agreement with its unionized bus drivers, potentially ending the Central Okanagan transit strike. In a release, First Canada says the tentative deal will be presented to drivers on Wednesday. The company plans to restore service as soon as possible, likely by Thursday. The employer says the City of Kelowna played a significant role in bridging the gap between the two parties. We are grateful to Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran and City of Kelowna staff, who helped broker this agreement, said John Peck, First Canada regional vice-president. We sincerely regret the inconvenience to our valued customers for the interruption of transit services, and we look forward to working with our employees as we restore this vital community service. First Canada is asking transit users in the Kelowna area for patience over the next few days while they work to restore service. More to come. Photo: Getty Images The best trades and technology students in British Columbia were honoured today by more than 200 attendees at the 22nd annual Skills Canada BC gala in Vancouver. Fifty-six students from secondary and post-secondary schools throughout B.C. went head to head with students from across Canada at the 2016 Skills Canada competition in Moncton, N.B., in June. Team BC brought home 28 medals nine gold, eight silver and 11 bronze in areas that included welding, carpentry, electronics, robotics, 3D animation and IT systems. Team BC was recognized today by Greg Kyllo, Parliamentary Secretary for the B.C. Jobs Plan, on behalf of Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour. Kyllo was joined by Skills Canada BC president Kelly Betts along with representatives from the BC Technology Industry Association, the New Car Dealers Association of BC, Kitimat LNG, LNG Canada and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Two Team BC competitors, Andrew Christensen (welding) and Judd Foster (electronics), will represent Canada at the WorldSkills competition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in October 2017. The Skills Canada national competition is the only Olympic-style, multi-trade and technology event of its kind for Canadian students and apprentices. About 500 competitors from all provinces and territories were evaluated by independent judges from the respective industry sectors. Their decisions were based on industry standards and established work practices, using specific criteria such as quality of work, safety, cleanliness, skill level and creativity. Photo: CTV B.C.'s Crown insurer is coming under fire for what critics are calling a hidden potential rate increase. The utilities commission responsible for approving premium hikes has asked the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia to provide information on possible increases through 2020, but the company has refused to comply. "The information could be taken out of context and used to prejudice ICBC and its Basic insurance policyholders and thereby harm ICBC's financial interest," the insurer wrote in a letter submitted to the commission in October. ICBC argued estimates based on assumptions do not represent a reasonable depiction of the future Basic insurance business." ICBC has already applied for a 4.9 per cent rate hike, which averages out to $42 a year. Asked Tuesday whether ICBC should be trying to keep other potential hikes hidden, B.C. Premier Christy Clark responded that she is "fighting for the rate-payers." However, NDP's Adrian Dix said the BC Liberals have transferred hundreds of millions into the province's general revenue; money paid by B.C. drivers. Dix said that money could have instead been used to help offset the kind of cost pressures that ICBC cites as a reason for needing to hike rates. Dix went on to say there is no reason not to make the estimated increases public, and charged the Liberals with making a catastrophic mistake and attempting to cover it up until after next year's election. There was no increase in 2011, but premiums jumped a whopping 11.2 per cent in 2012. They increased another 5.2 per cent in 2013 and 2014, and last year increased by 5.5 per cent. - with files from CTV Photo: CTV Two men are facing a slew of charges after being caught with enough fentanyl powder to make 263,000 tablets. Some 263 grams of fentanyl powder and 645 fentanyl pills drugs, along with cocaine, crack, methamphetamine and others, were found in an Southwest Calgary apartment. Sukhjeet Singh Sidhu, 21, of Calgary, is facing 19 drug-related charges and Amanpreet Bal, 26, of Calgary, is facing seven drug-related charges. Police were conducting a heroin trafficking investigation on November 17, 2016 when they executed a warrant on the apartment. Officers found signs of a fentanyl powder re-processing lab and evacuated the building for the safety of other residents. The following items were seized by police: 11 grams of methamphetamine 26.6 grams of powder cocaine 65 grams of crack cocaine 263 grams of fentanyl powder 645 fentanyl pills 25 grams of psilocybin 1,167 grams of an unknown powder The drugs are worth about $88,000 and the raw fentanyl powder had the potential to create 263,000 tablets. - with files from CTV Photo: Tumblr Opening arguments have been delayed in the case of three people tied to a fundamentalist polygamous sect in southeastern British Columbia as lawyers wrangled over evidence the court will hear during the 14-day trial. Brandon Blackmore, Gail Blackmore and James Oler are each accused of unlawfully removing a child from Canada for sexual purposes. The allegations date back to 2004 and involve two different minors. Oler and Gail Blackmore, who was identified as Emily Ruth Gail Crossfield when charges were laid more than two years ago, have chosen not to hire a lawyer. That slowed down proceedings on Tuesday as they were given more time to review matters that would ordinarily be routine in a judge-only trial. Brandon Blackmore, who is being represented by Victoria lawyer John Gustafson, was excused from court early on Tuesday. An amicus or impartial adviser has been appointed to assist in court procedures, but not act as legal counsel to the self-represented defendants. The allegations are mostly based on information that came to light as a result of U.S. investigations, the B.C. Criminal Justice Branch said in announcing the charges in August 2014. Oler and Gail Blackmore were accompanied by supporters as they entered the courtroom in Cranbrook, not far from the small community of Bountiful, where some residents practice plural marriage. Justice Paul Pearlman asked the pair whether they still wished to go ahead without legal counsel. They replied that they did. Oler and Winston Blackmore, another leader in the divided community, will later face a separate trial on polygamy charges, which were also announced in 2014. David Prickett, OSHR's Communications Director shakes hands with Donna Gonyeau, NCAGIO's Vice-President 2001 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-2001 news@dhhs.nc.gov (919) 855-4840 Raleigh, N.C. The Office of State Human Resources (OSHR) is getting statewide recognition for keeping state employees informed and engaged.At the NC Association of Government Officers annual seminar last week, OSHR's communications team received first place in the Internal Communications/Employee Engagement category for the 2016 Excellence in Communications Awards for the newsletter The Resource.The Resource is a quarterly electronic newsletter sent to all 85,000+ state agency and university employees. It contains articles and stories about new programs and initiatives that shows the strides that have been made in state government in the areas of efficiency and effectiveness.Paula Woodhouse, OSHR's Interim Director, said,Patty McQuillan with NCDPS and Sharon Gladwell with the Judicial Branch came in second and third place in that category. There were 106 entries submitted in 12 categories for the awards. Submissions came from all corners of the state.In July, The Resource won the Eva N. Santos Communications Award from the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE). This annual NASPE award is presented to an organization for excellence in HR communications.NC Department of Health and Human Services Photo: The Canadian Press A man who was wrongfully imprisoned for nearly three decades has had his compensation award cut by the British Columbia Supreme Court. The court ordered the B.C. government in June to pay Ivan Henry $8 million in damages after he spent 27 years in prison for sexual assault before a court overturned the conviction in 2010. Henry sued the City of Vancouver and the federal and provincial governments, but settled with the city and federal government for an undisclosed amount in 2015 while his case against the province went ahead. The province then went back to court, asking it to deduct the amount of those undisclosed settlements from the total damages award. Justice Christopher Hinkson said in a ruling issued last week that the lawsuit against the three levels of government was indivisible, so the claims should also be unified. "While the allegations against the settling defendants and non-settling defendants were based upon different allegations of fault, the relief sought was essentially the same: compensation for a wrongful conviction and some 27 years of incarceration," he wrote. The ruling did not say how much the city and federal government settled for or how much the province must now pay Henry. Henry's lawyers declined comment on the decision or whether they will appeal. They argued in court that Henry should be awarded as much as $43 million for damages. Photo: Wikipedia The Trudeau government is poised to introduce a bill on Thursday that will deliver on some of the Liberals' campaign promises to reform Canada's election laws, even as suspicion remains that they may renege on their commitment to replace the country's first-past-the-post voting system. The bill is expected to restore the right to vote to expatriates who've lived outside the country for more than five years. Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef served the required 48-hours notice late Tuesday that she will introduce a bill to amend the Canada Elections Act and make "consequential amendments" to other legislation. During last year's election campaign, Trudeau promised to impose limits on how much money political parties can spend between elections, review spending limits during elections and create an independent commission to organize leaders' debates during elections. He also pledged to repeal some of the most contentious provisions of the previous Conservative government's controversial Fair Elections Act which, the Liberals maintained, made it harder for Canadians to vote and easier for lawbreakers to evade punishment. Specifically, he committed to restoring the use of voter information cards as valid pieces of identification at the polls, remove restrictions on the chief electoral officer's ability to communicate with voters, give Elections Canada the resources needed to investigate violations of the law, restore the independence of the commissioner of elections who investigates suspected violations and increase penalties for lawbreakers. Monsef has said she'll introduce separate legislation in May to deliver on Trudeau's most significant democratic reform promise that the 2015 election would be the last conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system. Photo: The Canadian Press Federal transportation investigators say they are unable to identify an airborne object that caused a Toronto-bound plane to take evasive manoeuvres that left two flight attendants with minor injuries. A Porter Airlines flight en route from Ottawa to Toronto on Nov. 14 narrowly avoided a mid-flight collision above Lake Ontario with what flight crew said may have been a drone. The Transportation Safety Board says it has closed its investigation into the incident saying that the description and size of the object doesn't match that of a drone. They also say the incident occurred too far from shore and too high for it to be a drone. The Dash 8 aircraft with 54 passengers was flying at just under 3,000 metres over Lake Ontario at 7:30 a.m. and was about 55 kilometres from Toronto's island airport when the near miss occurred. The TSB says the incident has been classified as a near miss with an unidentified airborne object and says it will not file a full, public report. Porter previously said its two flight attendants, who were in the process of securing the cabin for landing and weren't in their seats, were pitched about the cabin, but continued with their duties. No passengers were injured during the flight and the plane landed normally. Photo: Contributed The search for a missing Trail woman ended Tuesday when the woman was found dead by search and rescue teams. The body of 70-year-old Ida Cragnolini was spotted by a helicopter crew searching the Miral Heights area above the community. Trail RCMP Sgt. Darren Oelke says the area had been covered by ground crews, but she was not near a path and thus not noticed. Cragnolini left her home near the Waneta Mall on Sunday to visit a friend, who lives nearby. Police were called when she failed to show up at the friends house. Cragnolini was suffering from dementia. Foul play is not suspected in her death. Her disappearance prompted a search that was joined by hundreds of volunteers and search crews from as far away as the Okanagan. The coroners office will continue to investigate the circumstances of her death. UPDATED: 4:20 p.m. Transit drivers stood outside the Coast Capri in Kelowna Wednesday after the union voted to accept First Canada's offer, sending them back to work. Two of them were talking on the phone with their dispatcher, sorting out what shifts they can take Thursday morning. I need OT, one said. The drivers have been off the job since Nov. 10, when the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1722 went on strike, calling for, among other things, the same pay scale regardless of bus size and an improved RRSP package. A tentative deal was reached Tuesday, which was ratified at the union meeting just before 3 p.m. Wednesday. None of our drivers wanted to be on strike, it's not that we wanted to strike, it's just that we had no choice, said one driver, who did not give his name. Was it the perfect deal? No, but I think holding out for something better was not going to be an option. The details of the contract have yet to be disclosed, but wage equality for different sized buses was reportedly a main part of the deal. A one per cent raise in the first year, followed by a 0.75 per cent raise the following year was also reportedly included. The three-year contract, which takes effect retroactively from April 1, will remain in effect until 2019. We'll be back at this again in two-and-a-half years, the driver said. UPDATE: 3:10 p.m. Transit workers have accepted the offer. Just over 60 per cent of striking employees agreed to the offer from operator First Canada with 108 saying yes and 69 saying no. According to the union, the buses will hit the road first thing Thursday morning. ORIGINAL: 8:35 a.m. Transit workers vote on a deal this morning that would see an end to the two-week-old strike. The deal is endorsed by the leadership of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1722. If union members endorse the tentative contract, buses are expected to be running again by Thursday. A vote is expected to happen at about 11 a.m. In order to bring it to the membership, the negotiating committee has to recommend it... There has been substantial enough movement that it would be inappropriate not to bring it to the membership to review, said union president Scott Lovell. The Kelowna Transit operator, First Canada, said they appreciate the patience during the work stoppage. We sincerely regret the inconvenience to our valued customers for the interruption of transit services, and we look forward to working with our employees as we restore this vital community service," said John Peck, First Canada regional vice-president. Photo: Momo El Salahi Montreal firefighters are battling a major blaze today in a building not far from the downtown core. Thick, black smoke was visible from the five-alarm fire that started in a building on Park Avenue, near Milton Street. More than 120 firefighters were on the scene and authorities are asking people to avoid the area. There are no immediate reports of injuries. The first calls to emergency services came in just after 9 a.m. Photo: Canadian Forces The Canadian military says 18 service members died by suicide last year. The findings are contained in a report published today by the surgeon general of the Canadian Armed Forces. The report says many of the 18 had sought some type of mental-health treatment shortly before taking their own lives. It also concludes that army members were more likely to kill themselves than members of the general population, as well as fellow service members in the navy and air force. The report finds that the likelihood of a Canadian Forces member taking his or her own life was even higher if the person had been deployed on a mission overseas. The military has been struggling with how to deal with mental-health injuries among its soldiers, with attempts to increase services and ease the transition to civilian life introduced in recent years. Photo: Living Oceans An environmental group says it has recycled almost three quarters of the tonnes of garbage scavenged this year from the beaches of Vancouver Island's west coast. Living Oceans says just 11.2 tonnes of the 40 tonnes of washed up trash had to be sent to the landfill after being barged to Delta for sorting. Spokeswoman Karen Wristen says the public eagerly helped sort the garbage, taking home fishing floats, barrels and other items. She says several businesses also claimed tonnes of hard plastic, drink containers, metal, tires and Styrofoam, keeping most of those items out of the dump. Sorting the garbage in the Vancouver area instead of Vancouver Island, where it was done last year, was more effective. Wristen says most of the garbage collected in the 2015 drive ended up at the landfill. The annual collections have been funded by a variety of sources, including a gift from the government of Japan following the 2011 tsunami, but Wristen says all the money from Japan has been spent. "We could not have pulled this off without the generosity of all of the partners and contractors involved, as well as our own supporters," she says. Living Oceans says 2016 costs, including use of helicopters to move loads of trash from remote areas to the barge, are over budget at $131,000 and a benefit concert and silent auction will be held Saturday in Vancouver to help make up the difference. Photo: Contributed A 168-foot-tall waterslide on which a state lawmaker's 10-year-old son was killed last summer will be demolished once the investigations of the tragedy are finished. Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and the family that runs it said in a statement Tuesday that the "Verruckt" ride at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City will be permanently removed from its tower "once the investigation is concluded and we are given permission by the court." "In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy," the statement read, adding that "all of us at Schlitterbahn have been heartbroken over the tragedy." Billed as the world's tallest waterslide, Verruckt has been closed since Caleb Thomas Schwab died on the ride Aug. 7. The boy was decapitated, a person familiar with the investigation previously told The Associated Press. Two women in the raft were injured. Attorneys for the Schwab family Caleb's father is Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab and the women are independently investigating the accident. No charges or lawsuits had been filed as of Tuesday. Michael Rader, an attorney for the Schwabs, told KMBC-TV that he had been working with Schlitterbahn and its legal team on a plan to eventually remove the slide, but said it "cannot be torn down until all investigations and potential litigation has concluded." Verruckt, which is German for "insane," featured multi-person rafts that made a 17-story drop at speeds of up to 70 mph, followed by a surge up a hump and a 50-foot descent to a finishing pool. Those needing medical treatment in British Columbia are facing a median wait time of more than 25 weeks according to the Fraser Institute's annual "Waiting Your Turn" survey, which suggests Canadian wait times are longer than ever. The report found that Canadians faced a median wait time of 20 weeks this year for medical treatment the longest yet recorded by the independent public-policy think-tank. The Fraser Institute says that 20-week wait time is double what Canadians experienced in 1993, when the organization began tracking delays for medically necessary elective treatments. The study is based on a national survey of doctors and looks at total wait times across 12 specialties, from referral by a general practitioner, to consultation with a specialist, and then to the point of treatment. For the fourth year in a row, British Columbia recorded an increase in wait times with the median now sitting at 25.2 weeks the longest ever measured in that province. Ontario recorded the shortest wait time at 15.6 weeks, up from just over 14 weeks in 2015, while New Brunswick recorded the longest wait time at almost 39 weeks. Among the various specialties, national wait times were longest for neurosurgery at almost 47 weeks and shortest for medical oncology at just under four weeks. "Excessively long wait times remain a defining characteristic of Canada's health-care system, but this year is the longest we've ever seen and that should trouble all Canadians," Bacchus Barua, senior economist for health-care studies at the Fraser Institute, said in a statement. It's estimated that Canadians are currently waiting for nearly one million medically necessary procedures. Physicians report that their patients are waiting more than three weeks longer for treatment, after seeing a specialist, than what they consider to be clinically reasonable, the report says. "Long wait times aren't simply minor inconveniences, they can result in increased suffering for patients, lost productivity at work, a decreased quality of life, and in the worst cases, disability or death," Barua said. "The experiences of other countries prove that long waits for treatment aren't a necessary byproduct of a universal health-care system," he said. "It's time for policy makers to consider reforming the outdated policies that contribute to long wait times in Canada." BUTTE For Alonzo Willis of Butte, being sprayed by a water cannon in subfreezing temperatures wasn't the worst part of a Sunday night confrontation at Standing Rock. It was seeing a woman severely injured. He said he and Butte friend Isaiah Other Bull were close to protester Sophia Wilansky when she was injured in a confrontation with police. After the water-spraying, the crowd had thinned out to fewer than a dozen people. Two of them including Wilansky were near a barricade on the highway. "They weren't past the barricade not past the barbed wire or anything," Willis said. "They were just standing there." "One of the guys got hit with a rubber bullet. The girl (Wilansky) got hit by a rubber bullet and she fell," said Willis, 23. "And then they shot a percussion grenade and it got her in the arm." Law enforcement at the scene denied using grenades and said Wilansky may have been hurt by a propane tank being used as a weapon by the protesters. But Wilansky, Willis, Other Bull and other eyewitnesses dispute that account. "It hit her and it just went 'Boom!' It blew her down," Willis said. He said he and two others "ran over there as fast as we could ... she was screaming, 'My arm is gone!' He said the police were firing tear gas canisters while she was down. "When we'd gone through action training, they were saying when someone gets hurt, it's usually best to just leave them, but we knew it was her arm and we had to get her out of there," he said. "We just picked her up. We ran until we found a car" and put her in it. "That's when I first really saw her arm. You could see bone and blood." Other Bull was also nearby, and his account matches Willis'. "They shot her with a rubber bullet and she fell. She was trying to get up and run back and that's when they threw that grenade at her. Big old wound. All open. As big as a hand." The Morton County Sheriff's Office has said authorities did not use concussion grenades or any devices that produce a flash or bang during a clash late Sunday and early Monday near the camp along the pipeline route in southern North Dakota where protesters have gathered for months. The sheriff's office suggested in a statement Monday that an explosion heard during the skirmish might have been caused by small propane tanks that authorities said protesters had rigged to explode. The North Dakota Highway Patrol in a statement Tuesday backed up the sheriff's office's version of events, saying officers during the skirmish spotted protesters with "multiple silver cylinder objects." "It was at this time an explosion occurred and several protesters ran to the area, pulled a female from under the burned vehicle, and fled the scene," the patrol said. Officers who investigated found 1-pound propane tanks "including one that appeared to be intentionally punctured," the agency statement said. Willis said he saw men get out of a giant armored vehicle labeled Stutsman County (N.D.). "They were laughing. One of them said something like 'That was a beautiful shot.' "We couldn't believe it was the police saying it. They didn't act like professionals at all. They acted like were in a different country and they were in a war. "They kept saying, 'Put that phone down.' They don't want people documenting." Afterward, both Willis and Other Bull said the event had changed them. Other Bull, 23, lives in both Butte and on the Cheyenne reservation in Lame Deer. His mother, Michaelynn Hawk of Butte, belongs to the Crow nation and is executive director of the Indian People's Action. The grandson of a chief, Other Bull refers to himself as "a traditional" and says "you can feel" the spiritual energy at the camp, where "it's all about trust." But he says "Seeing what the cops can do ... it's hard to trust them now. They do what they want and get away with it." "The camping was great," Willis, an Arapaho, said. "We were all like one big family, a community. ... we were all there to save Mother Earth. Everyone was there just to help each other. But he said seeing Wilansky hurt "made me really not understand how humans can do that to each other. "We just sat around quiet. We couldn't laugh after that." Photo: Contributed The BC Liberals are spending a lot of money on drugs. Health Minister Terry Lake has announced $13 million in funding for The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) to help improve the lives of British Columbian families by supporting the pathways drug research takes from labs to patients. Through our investments, were proud to see made-in-B.C. drug therapies reach the world stage, attracting national and international attention, Lake said. This funding will help The Centre for Drug Research and Development continue its efforts in making it easier for drug breakthroughs to reach the public. This funding builds on a previous investment of $29 million for The Centre for Drug Research and Development announced in 2012, and will support the centres goal of bringing new drug therapies to the market, benefiting patients and families. The centre is the only national drug development organization providing the expertise and infrastructure to translate basic health research from academic institutions, into products that improve human health. At the moment, the centre has several drugs in process and new therapies in development, including: Bladder cancer therapy, with new formulations of existing drugs developed to help bladder and other cancer patients receive the full benefit of their treatment; Multiple new antibody-drug therapies to treat various cancers; A new once-daily treatment to prevent hypoglycemia in diabetics. The centre has established innovation funds with some of the worlds top pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, and recruited 100 drug development and commercialization experts, while establishing more than 75 provincial, national and international partnerships that have attracted more than $60 million in international pharmaceutical sector investments. The Centre for Drug Research and Development is widely recognized as a global leader in translating research. Call him "nuts" his peers certainly have but an Italian surgeon says he's seriously planning the world's first head transplant. It sounds like something out of science fiction, or perhaps a horror movie. Valery Spiridonov, a 31-year-old Russian man who suffers from a rare type of spinal muscular atrophy, has apparently volunteered for a 36-hour, $128-million operation that would require a team of 100 surgeons and nurses. "During the transference of the head on the new body, the head will be cooled to 10 degrees Celcius and will be bloodless. It will be as dead as it gets, clinically gone," he said in a 2015 TED talk titled, "Head Transplantation: The Future Is Now." "Now I expect that upon reawakening, the subjects will report a full blown near-death experience. When this happens, we will have final proof that once you die, once the brain dies, consciousness survives." Spiridonov showed off this weekend a surgical blade and virtual reality system he intends to use in the surgery which he expects to attempt in 2017. The surgeon argues a monkey has survived a head transplant, but the missing piece of the puzzle has been the ability to reattach the spinal cord. The technology, he said, now exists. Photo: Cyclepath A Kelowna bike shop has taken to social media in an attempt to catch a crook. A thief stole a 2016 Cult Control A BMX bike on Monday afternoon at about 12:20 p.m. He's described as 5-foot-5, wearing a white, red and grey hoodie, and he has faded hand tattoos. "This is the first time in over three years we've had a bike stolen," says Cyclepath Kelowna in a Facebook post that's been shared more than 130 times. "He had been in the shop earlier talking to staff and then came back later and left us a backpack that supposedly contained his ID and wallet so he could take it for a test ride." "Shame on us for trusting him. That won't happen again." The bike he stole is unique, with visible weld points on the frame, a raw finish and gum coloured tires. If you have any information, call 250-868-0122 or contact the Kelowna RCMP citing file 2016-69394. Photo: Contributed Author Steven Galloway has issued his first statement since he was fired in June under a veil of secrecy from the University of British Columbia. Galloway confirms in the statement issued today by his lawyer that he was accused of sexual assault but says the only complaint substantiated by a former judge's investigation was that he had an affair with a student. He expresses profound regret for his conduct and apologizes for the harm it has caused. The statement says Galloway has grave concerns with the investigative process followed by UBC, including but not limited to the way the university chose to communicate with the public. He says he seeks fair treatment for all involved and an end to the scurrilous assertions and accusations that have proliferated in the vacuum of information. Last week, prominent authors including Margaret Atwood and Joseph Boyden signed a letter calling for an inquiry into the school's handling of the case, but the university has said it made the decision to fire Galloway following a thorough and legal process. Photo: KGH Foundation Premature babies at Kelowna General Hospital can breathe a little easier. Pre-term infants will benefit from advanced respiratory equipment, thanks to a $12,512 donation from the TB Vets Charitable Foundation. The funds will go toward purchase of nine Neopuff infant resuscitators for the perinatal unit. The state-of-the-art devices are used to revive infants using artificial respiration. The lungs of babies, particularly preemies, are incredibly fragile and susceptible to collapse. The Neopuff gives a more consistent measure of pressure inside a babys lungs, greatly increasing safety. It is the recommended newborn resuscitation practice in the industry today, said Bobbi McGrath, manager for women and children's services at KGH. It allows us to continue to advance the standard of care we are able to deliver to our tiny patients. More than 1,600 babies are born at KGH each year. The new perinatal unit opened in March and is the most advanced in the Southern Interior. Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer A Penticton woman with a recent history of drug-related arrests has been granted bail. Jennifer Montgomery was released on $3,000 bail with several conditions in Penticton court on Wednesday. Judge Gail Sinclair told Montgomery, who appeared by video, that he was going to release her, but she needed to make the promise that if she screwed up again, she would not ask him for bail. He further told her that she was on very thin ice. Montgomery, 30, has been in custody since she was taken in by Penticton's Target Enforcement Unit on Sept. 8 on charges of drug trafficking. She was apparently spotted by security staff outside the casino acting suspiciously when the police were called. The Penticton RCMP said they found methamphetamine, heroin, cash and items consistent with drug trafficking. Montgomery was charged with three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and possession of stolen property. Other drug arrests this year include one in January. That arrest was the result of a police investigation into trafficking at her residence on Penticton Avenue. At the time, Montgomery was found to have cocaine, morphine and methamphetamine in her possession. She was released on bail with several conditions, but she was arrested again in June when she was found leaving her residence with cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. A search warrant was later conducted at her house, where more drugs were found, along with cash and other items consistent with trafficking, all of which were seized by police. She was out on bail at the time of her most recent arrest in September. Conditions imposed Wednesday included being at the approved residence where she would be staying at all times, unless approved by her bail supervisor. There are also to be no visitors to the residence except for family members and she is not to possess or consume any illegal drugs or alcohol. Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer A man riding a scooter was rushed to Penticton Hospital Wednesday afternoon after being struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Industrial Avenue and Main Street. Emergency crews were called to the scene at about 1 p.m. and arrived to find a Greyback Construction truck on top of the scooter. Penticton RCMP Cpl. Mike Field said the scooter was travelling west on the sidewalk on Industrial, when it was hit by the pickup truck pulling out of an unmarked lane on to the street. The man was taken to hospital to be examined but the injuries do not look to be life-threatening at this time, The incident remains under investigation. with files Deborah Pfeiffer Photo: The Canadian Press A polar bear cub seen wandering around Churchill, Man., without its mother has a new home. The polar bear conservation centre at Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg says the one-year-old female bear arrived on Tuesday. Wildlife experts decided the 45-kilogram cub needed help, so a supervised transfer to the conservation centre was arranged. Head veterinarian, Dr. Chris Enright, says young cubs need to stay with their mothers for at least one winter to learn how to hunt on a frozen Hudson Bay. He says experts agree cubs this young are not able to survive on their own. The cub will be quarantined for 30 days before it is introduced to the public and seven other polar bears already at the zoo. This is a very unfortunate situation as it appeared we would make it through the 2016 polar bear season without a bear needing our help," Enright said in a release. We are happy to report that the cub is in good health and is doing well in her new surroundings. Photo: Getty Images It's a frightening image. A pedestrian in Vancouver was confronted by a masked man holding a meat cleaver at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The scene played out at East Broadway and Commercial Drive, where a 25-year-old man was threatened by the menacing man. Calls to 911 started pouring in, and Vancouver Police officers quickly found the suspect. However, he didn't comply with officers, who eventually had to shoot him with a Taser. Even after being stunned, the man continued to fight police. This is a situation that could have ended badly for everyone, says VPD Const. Jason Doucette. We are thankful this person was quickly located and no one was seriously hurt. It's unclear what prompted the violent and threatening behaviour. Jeremy Ross Lindstrom, 39, is still in custody and faces charges that include assault with a weapon, disguising face with intent to commit an offence, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, uttering threats and willfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer. Photo: The Canadian Press Justin Trudeau plans to discuss LGBTQ rights in a speech later this week at the summit of la Francophonie, where his audience will include countries that still discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or forbid homosexuality outright. The prime minister will raise the subject during Saturday's opening ceremony in Antananarivo, the capital city of the island nation of Madagascar, which is hosting this weekend's summit of the International Organization of la Francophonie. The global group of 80 governments and states from mainly French-speaking nations comprises many countries, including nearly a dozen in Africa, where sexual acts between same-sex couples are illegal. In others, including the host country of Madagascar, homosexuality is frowned upon or otherwise not tolerated. Trudeau left Ottawa on Thursday en route to Monrovia, Liberia a West African country that was hit hard by the Ebola epidemic in recent years. It marks Trudeau's first visit to the continent since becoming prime minister last year. The Liberal government plans to use the trip to highlight a promise of renewed engagement with Africa on international development assistance. With 31 of the members of la Francophonie hailing from the African continent, including several with associate and observer status, the summit offers an ideal setting for such talks. The speech by Trudeau, who is leading the Canadian delegation and will be attending plenary sessions at the summit, will also address the global fight against climate change and the empowerment of women and girls a key international development priority for the Liberal government. As part of that focus on gender equality, Canada the second-largest contributor to la Francophonie is also putting forward a joint resolution with Benin on early and forced marriage. "Forced marriage is a glaring example to work on for me, because it is an important element that limits the development of girls' potential," said International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, who is also attending the summit. BISMARCK, N.D. A New York woman seriously hurt protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline faces multiple surgeries and could lose an arm, her father said Tuesday, and protesters and law enforcement gave conflicting accounts about what might have caused the explosion that injured her. Sophia Wilansky, 21, was listed in serious condition and was undergoing surgery at a Minneapolis hospital. Wilansky's father, Wayne Wilansky, said his daughter was hurt when law enforcement threw a grenade. The Morton County Sheriff's Office maintains authorities did not use concussion grenades or any devices that produce a flash or bang during a clash late Sunday and early Monday near the camp along the pipeline route in southern North Dakota where protesters have gathered for months. The sheriff's office suggested in a statement Monday that an explosion heard during the skirmish might have been caused by small propane tanks that authorities said protesters had rigged to explode. Dallas Goldtooth, a protest organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Wayne Wilansky disputed the claim by authorities, saying "there's multiple witnesses and my daughter, who was completely conscious, said they threw a grenade right at her." The North Dakota Highway Patrol in a statement Tuesday backed up the sheriff's office's version of events, saying officers during the skirmish spotted protesters with "multiple silver cylinder objects." "It was at this time an explosion occurred and several protesters ran to the area, pulled a female from under the burned vehicle, and fled the scene," the patrol said. Officers who investigated found 1-pound propane tanks "including one that appeared to be intentionally punctured," the agency statement said. During the clash, officers using tear gas, rubber bullets and water sprays against protesters who police say assaulted officers with rocks, asphalt, water bottles and burning logs. One officer was injured when struck in the head with a rock. At least 17 protesters were injured severely enough to be taken to hospitals, according to Goldtooth. Wayne Wilansky denounced the law enforcement tactics, saying "this is not Afghanistan, this is not Iraq. We don't throw grenades at people." Morton County Sheriff's office spokeswoman Maxine Herr on Tuesday said "authorities continue to defend our tactics." A GoFundMe account for Wilansky had raised more than $194,000 in 18 hours, with more than 7,200 people contributing. It was the highest trending account on Monday night, according to GoFundMe spokeswoman Kate Cichy. The $3.8 billion pipeline to carry North Dakota oil to a shipping point in Illinois is largely complete outside of a stretch under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The tribe and others have been opposing the construction for months, saying the pipeline threatens the tribe's drinking water along with American Indian cultural sites. Protests have intensified as the dispute plays out, with total arrests since August reaching 528 on Monday. North Dakota officials may need to borrow more money to police protests, with costs exceeding the $10 million in emergency spending authorized by the state. Total state law enforcement costs related to the protests reached $10.9 million last week, according to state Emergency Services spokeswoman Cecily Fong. Morton County has spent an additional $8 million. Fong said it's "very likely" officials will go back to the state's Emergency Commission to request more money. Kelcy Warren, CEO of pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners, told The Associated Press last Friday that he made a verbal offer to reimburse the state for policing costs during an earlier conversation with Gov. Jack Dalrymple. Dalrymple's spokesman, Jeff Zent, said the governor doesn't recall Warren making an offer and that even if one was made, it's unclear whether the state could legally accept it. "The bottom line is the governor has not received a formal (offer), nor are we seeking one out," Zent said, adding that "our focus is to continue to press the Obama administration to help cover these costs." For months, North Dakota's Standing Rock Sioux tribe has been protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline's planned crossing under the Missouri River, adjacent to their lands, in part due to worries about contamination of their primary water source. As of early next year, however, the Native American tribe will be gathering their water 70 miles downstream of the oil pipeline's location, thanks to a long-awaited water treatment plant. The reservation, which spans North and South Dakota, currently gets water 20 miles away from the pipeline's planned location. While the scope of contamination of a future oil leak is difficult to predict, the distance from the pipeline to the new intake could reduce widespread contamination risks, regulators and environmental analysts said. The Standing Rock Sioux say the new supply point is not enough to ease their concerns over the pipeline. The developer behind the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners LP, has vowed not to reroute the line. "Just because the new intake is 70 miles away doesn't mean our water is still not threatened," said David Archambault, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The project, which has received little attention in the months-long fight over the Dakota Access pipeline, has been a goal for the Sioux for more than a decade. It was first funded in 2009. The $3.7 billion Dakota Access pipeline is intended to carry oil from North Dakota to Illinois en route to the Gulf of Mexico. The tribe and climate activists have been protesting for months; a final decision has yet to be reached. Complex rural project The Sioux received about $30 million from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to build a new water treatment plant, pump station, 5 million-gallon storage tank and several pipelines to feed fresh water to roughly 10,000 reservation residents. The project has taken years to complete, but federal officials say the timeline was not affected by the Dakota Access controversy. The existing intake valve is located in a shallow part of the Missouri River near Fort Yates, N.D., roughly 20 miles from the planned pipeline river crossing. The new valve in Mobridge, S.D., 70 miles from the pipeline route, came online earlier this year. Once the pipeline system is completed, it will service the entire reservation, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation. The Missouri River typically moves at about 5 to 8 mph in the upper Midwest, meaning it would take nine to 14 hours for oil to reach the tribe's new intake valve. "The new intake really does effectively reduce the concerns that this oil pipeline could impact the tribe's water supply," said Julie Fedorchak, head of North Dakota's Public Service Commission, which gave state approval to the pipeline. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would not speculate on how a leak could affect the new water system. "Circumstances related to oil releases can vary significantly," said EPA spokesman Richard Mylott. State officials have repeatedly said they believe the pipeline poses few safety risks. Regional and federal regulators look to a recent spill as instructive for Standing Rock. In January 2015, an oil pipeline leaked more than 1,000 barrels into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Mont., forcing officials to flush the city's water treatment pipes after tests revealed hydrocarbons in the water supply. That would be ominous for the tribe were the Fort Yates intake value to remain, even though Fedorchak and other regulators note the Dakota line is to be buried 92 feet below the riverbed in hard clay. Following the Montana leak, water quality tests in Williston, N.D., roughly 80 miles downstream, showed its water supply was not polluted, as it was able to close intake valves quickly. Tribal officials said the danger remains. They also say the project's construction has already damaged historical sites with religious significance to the tribe, and further construction could cause more destruction. "If this pipeline breaks, it's not only going to pollute our drinking water, but destroy the environment," Archambault said. With the Nov. 27 end of the general big game season, many hunters are turning their focus to the elk shoulder season. This winter marks the second year of Montanas antlerless elk shoulder season, which takes place primarily on private land after the end of the general elk season. Last year five hunting districts in Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 4 were open for the states pilot shoulder season. This year 43 hunting districts statewide are open in six FWP regions. Regulations differ among the hunting districts, and hunters need to know the difference. For example, some of the hunting districts are open only to holders of B licenses obtained through drawings earlier this year. A few districts are open to holders of unfilled general elk licenses. Not all districts have the same opening and closing dates. All the districts, license types and shoulder season dates are listed on page 116 of the deer, elk and antelope regulations and on the FWP website at http://fwp.mt.gov/ For the shoulder season in FWP Region 4, hunting is allowed only on private lands, federal Bureau of Land Management lands and state of Montana school trust lands. No elk shoulder seasons will occur on Forest Service lands, the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge or any FWP wildlife management areas. Because this is primarily an elk season on private lands, it is the hunters responsibility to obtain landowner permission and find a place to hunt. Occasionally a landowner will ask FWP for hunters, but thats not guaranteed. Hunters should prepare to hunt elk before showing up in a town or hunting district, said Gary Bertellotti, FWP Region 4 supervisor. I would ask hunters to do their homework. See if they or a friend have a connection in a shoulder season district; like a relative, friend or coworker who is or knows a landowner. Often hunters ask about how FWPs Block Management Program fits into the shoulder season. Block management ends Jan. 1. Some but not all of the Block Management Areas are participating in the shoulder season. To find out if a BMA is taking part refer to the rules on the back of each BMA map. FWP has also hired hunt coordinators to help hunters and landowners in hunting districts near Lewistown, Great Falls and White Sulphur Springs. In the Lewistown area, hunters may call 406-538-4658, or 406-366-9191. The other option is visit the Lewistown FWP office. Office hours through Jan. 15 will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. In Great Falls, shoulder season questions can be answered by visiting the FWP office or calling 406-548-1019, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. In White Sulphur Springs, shoulder season information is available by calling 406-403-2361, seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Prospective hunters should be aware that the hunts may not be easy, especially for those who are not familiar with the area, Bertellotti said. The majority of access and retrieval will be walk-in only. People should not have unrealistic expectations, Bertellotti said. This is not a game damage hunt. At times this will be an arduous hunt. The average American throws away more than 185 pounds of plastic each year everything from candy bar wrappers to water bottles and Styrofoam cups. There are 318.9 million people in the United States, so that means Americans alone could be throwing away almost 60 million pounds each year. Unfortunately, some of that plastic ends up in the ocean. Turtles, birds and fish eat the plastic, which can kill them. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, up to 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die each year from eating plastic. One study found 40 percent of Laysan albatross chicks, a sea bird, died from eating plastic. Why do birds eat plastic? Scientists have now discovered that ocean plastic smells just like some seabirds real food. Tubenosed seabirds, such as petrels and albatross, have a keen sense of smell that they use to hunt, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, Davis. So the scientists put some plastic out in the ocean for a while and then had their colleagues at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science analyze the ocean plastic. They found that the plastic stunk of the sulfur compound dimethyl sulfide, or DMS. DMS is released when algae is eaten by animals like krill, one of the birds' favorite meals, according to the scientists. So while the algae does not smell like food itself, it does smell like food being eaten, which is the birds' version of a dinner bell. The best thing you can do to help ease the problem of too much plastic pollution is to recycle your plastic, or dont buy things like water in plastic bottles in the first place. Many drinking fountains now allow you to refill your water bottle, so you dont have to buy bottled water. Brett French, Gazette Outdoors editor Ghana: authorities accuse Chinese ship of smuggling cement ICR Newsroom By 23 November 2016 Ghanaian customs officials have prevented a Chinese-registered vessel the Guo Tou 106 from offloading bagged cement at Tema port for which it had no import licence, the Chronicle newspaper reports. According to the article, the ships owners had initially told the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority that its cargo was steel products, but at a subsequent meeting the crew admitted that they were transporting other items, including bagged cement. The ship has been allowed to offload the steel and other equipment it was carrying but was ordered to keep the cement onboard. The smuggling cement into Ghana has been a matter of concern for some time, and the issue is particularly sensitive at the moment due to the proximity of the presidential elections, occurring next month. Published under Over the last few years, many colleges have jumped into massively open online courses (MOOCs) and online education programs for different reasons. But they didn't always take into account why students chose the online programs or courses that they did, much less tailor their programs to meet those students' needs.Many of the online initiatives that have failed did so because universities didn't realize that adults they served had a different job for them to do, said Paul LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire University who has spent a number of years asking his students what job the university can do for them. Since he became president in 2003, the university has grown from 2,500 students to more than 80,000, in part thanks to applying the jobs-to-be-done theory from Clayton Christensen, who is a trustee emeritus of the university and well known for his disruptive innovation theory.According to the jobs-to-be-done theory , customers hire products or services to do a specific job for them, and those providers can adapt their offerings by understanding the job they've been hired to do. In higher education, universities would need to understand the reasons why different students choose their online education program or a competitor's program in order to serve them more effectively."What we define as a job to be done in our book and the theory is actually the progress somebody's trying to make in particular circumstances," said Karen Dillon, formereditor and co-author of several books with Christensen, including the most recent. "It's not something functional, it's about getting them to something they want to achieve."LeBlanc gave two examples of universities that didn't correctly apply this theory in online education and struggled as a result. Take the University of Virginia, for instance. The university's governing board asked for President Teresa Sullivan's resignation in 2012 after its members determined she wasn't moving fast enough to equip the school for the future, including offering MOOCs to students."No one was asking them to do the job of giving free education to the world, which was what MOOCs promised at the time," LeBlanc said. Ultimately the board reinstated Sullivan , and the university went on to experiment with offering MOOCs on the Coursera platform. But it was a lesson in the importance of carefully considering what different students need.The University of Florida went through similar growing pains as it started an online education program last year. It hired Pearson to help build an online program designed to bring in students straight out of high school, particularly from out of state. But the university found that more students in Florida enrolled compared to out of state, their average age was 28, and one in five students are younger than 20, Inside Higher Ed reported This university didn't understand the job that specific students hired it for. Many students straight out of high school want the coming-of-age experience that goes with attending a campus in person, and that's not the same job the online program was trying to do, LeBlanc said. Instead, it performed a role that some older students with jobs and families needed done: a more flexible way to earn a degree that may help them get a better job.A year after canceling its Pearson contract and moving many operations in-house, the university is still trying to attract students straight out of high school by offering on-campus perks at an additional cost along with their online classes. It's also created the Pathway to Campus Enrollment program that lets students finish the first two years of their degree online before coming to campus. But it's also recognizing that other types of students want to attend the program too."If you don't get the broader strategy question down what am I being asked to do it doesn't matter how good you are at your operations; you're hitting the wrong target," LeBlanc said.When LeBlanc came to Southern New Hampshire University in 2003, he wanted to make sure his university understood its job. After listening to students, he saw a need for older students to quickly enroll in an online program that would allow them to take care of their family, work and earn a degree at their own pace. The university created one of the first competency-based degree programs that wasn't tied to the credit hour or regional accreditor-approved classes, and revamped its enrollment and other processes to support these students.When the university mapped out all of its administrative processes, "it looked like the schematic of a nuclear assault," LeBlanc said. "There were so many things we made students do to simply get enrolled and finish."Southern New Hampshire University cleaned up those steps and cut the time they took as well. For example, students no longer have to call the registrar's office at their previous college during business hours to get their transcript. The university takes care of that for them, which speeds up the enrollment process. And they don't spend months or years talking with the university about how they can afford to attend; that conversation takes place with the financial aid office in a few days."They totally integrated it throughout their system," Dillon said, "and it's not a simple thing to do." A Washington man who was caught with more than two pounds of methamphetamine he was going to deliver in Laurel will spend 10 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Susan Watters on Tuesday sentenced Jose Luis Santana-Saldago, 52, of Pasco, to the term for his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute meth. Santana-Saldago faced a guideline range of about 11 years to 14 years. Defense attorney Kelly Varnes recommended the 10-year sentence saying this was Santana-Saldagos first drug conviction and that his previous offenses were drunken driving convictions and driving without a license. Santana-Saldago is an addict, he said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan McCarthy requested a guideline term saying Santana-Saldago was caught with about a kilo, or about 2.2 pounds, of pure meth. Thats a large amount of methamphetamine, he said. Santana-Saldago apologized and asked for forgiveness. Watters noted Santana-Saldagos lack of violent offenses and said he needed treatment. The judge also said Santana-Saldago was acting as a courier in transporting meth from Washington to Montana but that there was reason to believe he was looking for someone to sell for him. Watters also said Santana-Saldago is likely to be deported to Mexico after serving his sentence because he no longer will be a legal resident. Santana-Saldagos mother sent him to the United States when he was 6 to get away from the drug world, she said. In 1990, Santana-Saldago obtained lawful permanent status in the United States but that will likely be revoked with his conviction, she said. Santana-Saldago was charged after a Montana Highway Patrol trooper conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in Missoula County on Feb. 7. Santana-Saldago was the driver while an occupant, who owned the vehicle, consented to a search, the prosecution said. The trooper found nine ounces of meth in a baggie in the pocket of a jacket located in the trunk. The officer also found two large plastic-wrapped packages hidden in a speaker box that was loose in the trunk. The packages contained about 2.1 pound of meth. Santana-Saldago told agents he had placed the meth in the car and intended to deliver it to Laurel. A man was charged Tuesday with beating and strangling his girlfriend in front of the couple's 4-year-old son. Christopher Cody Giron, 33, was charged in Yellowstone County Justice Court with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and misdemeanor partner or family member assault. Justice of the Peace Pedro Hernandez set bond at $75,000 and ordered Giron to wear a GPS monitor if released. On Nov. 19, a woman flagged down a Billings Police officer outside Newman Elementary School and said her boyfriend had strangled her, according to court documents. Giron had gotten angry at the woman for not cleaning the couple's trailer, according to court documents. The couple was driving from Arizona to Billings and was staying at the Billings Village RV Park. Giron punched the woman and then used his arm to strangle her, according to the charging documents. The couple's son, 4, was in the trailer during the attack and began screaming, she told officers. Giron left the trailer and came back with a knife. He threatened to cut off the woman's head, according to charging documents. The woman left to call 911. When officers spoke to Giron, he said he had not hurt the woman. Giron pointed to scratches on his arm where he said the woman had attacked him. The officer believed the scratches were from woman defending herself from strangulation, according to court documents. Giron was arrested and taken to the Yellowstone County Detention Facility. He refused to sign a no contact form at the jail and officers reported he appeared amused with what was happening. Prosecutors said they did not know the whereabouts of the woman. A mother struggling with meth addiction received a deferred sentence after being found with her infant daughter in a motel room strewn with drug paraphernalia in August 2015. Chardae Rose Warren, 30, was charged with criminal possession of dangerous drugs, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors Tuesday dropped the felony child endangerment charge and the misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael Moses followed a sentencing agreement negotiated by state prosecutors and agreed to a three year sentence deferral. Warren will be required to undergo treatment for meth addiction. Warren said her actions were connected to her addiction and she wanted to get treatment. Warrens ex-husband contacted police after Warrens two sons, ages 10 and 8, called him to say that they felt unsafe in a room at a motel where they were staying on Aug. 30, 2015, because Warren and her boyfriend were using drugs and there were needles present. The man was able to pick up his two sons, but not his infant daughter. He could not reach Warren by phone. When police went to check the room, officers heard a baby crying inside. Police entered the room and found needles, spoons and other drug paraphernalia on the floor. Warren and a man were inside the room. The man had a hypodermic needle sticking out of his pocket and was acting agitated and having difficulty comprehending police. He was arrested. Warren admitted that she smoked meth earlier in the day and appeared to be high. Warren consented to a search of the room, and police arrested her after finding meth in her purse. Two drug dealers serving life terms in federal prison for trafficking meth in Billings had their sentences shortened by President Barack Obama, who granted clemency this week to 79 people. Victor Robert Nava Sr., 70, who was sentenced in 2002 to two life terms for convictions on conspiracy and five other drug counts involving methamphetamine and painkillers, had his sentenced shortened to 22 years with 10 years of supervised release, court records said. And Lamar Webster, 48, who was from Hayward, Calif., and sentenced in 2009 to life for his conviction on conspiracy to traffic large amounts of meth in the Billings area, had his sentence reduced to 20 years, court records said. In announcing the commuted sentences Tuesday, Obama said he had determined that the 79 people were serving harsh sentences under outdated laws. The adjustments were the latest of more than 1,000 Obama has issued during his presidency. All of the sentences he shortened on Tuesday were for drug-related, low-level offenses, the Associated Press reported. Nava was 55 when now-retired Senior U.S. District Judge Jack Shanstrom sentenced him to the mandatory life terms. The judge told Nava he could show him no compassion and said he had led his family in a corrupt life of crime. The life terms were mandatory because of the quantity of drugs involved and Navas criminal record. The federal Bureau of Prisons lists Nava as having a release date of July 16, 2020. He is incarcerated at the Bureaus medical center in Springfield, Mo. Retired Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Seykora, who prosecuted Nava, at sentencing called him the Godfather of a local drug network and the scourge of Billings. Seykora said Nava controlled and directed as many as 20 people in his drug dealings and had co-conspirators steal items like food stamps so he could feed his family. Nava denied ever having been involved in drugs with family members. A jury convicted Nava of conspiracy and five other counts for activities that ran from 1997 to 1999. A search by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents of Navas home and two storage lockers found more than 3 pounds of marijuana, 1 pounds of meth, four guns, including one that had been stolen, and a pill bottle containing hydrocodone, morphine and codeine tablets. Webster was 40 when now-retired U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull sentenced him to a mandatory life sentence. A jury convicted him of conspiracy to distribute meth, possession with intent to distribute and money laundering charges. The conspiracy ran from 2003 to 2004 and led to convictions of a number of Billings residents, including some who testified against Webster. Webster was held responsible for 16 pounds of meth and qualified for a life sentence because of previous drug convictions. He also was designated a career offender. Webster is serving his sentence at a federal prison in Tucson, Ariz. HELENA A Republican state lawmaker has filed a wrongful discharge lawsuit alleging his refusal to support certain bills during the 2015 Legislature got him fired from a sales job he'd held for more than 15 years. Rep. Randy Pinocci's Nov. 14 lawsuit says the Montana Contractors Association urged him to vote for bills that would have resulted in state government spending on construction projects. He did not support those bills. The lawsuit alleges the contractors association contacted Advanced Litho Printing in Great Falls and demanded that Pinocci be removed as their salesman. He said he lost the account and was fired in December. MCA executive director Cary Hegreberg said he was not aware of the lawsuit and declined comment. Officials with the printing firm were not immediately available for comment Tuesday. The Billings Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Billings Alliance and Billings365.com are partnering in a social media effort to share positive news feeds. Called #ShareTheHappy, the effort is a response to the nations polarized political environment and a handful of recent local hate messages. Its the brainchild of Jessica Baldwin, owner and founder of Billings365.com and a leader in the chambers NextGen group. According to a chamber news release, #ShareTheHappy is a simple effort to flood the local social news feeds with more positivity while also encouraging businesses and individuals across Billings to seek out simple and meaningful ways to leave a positive, lasting impression on others. Some businesses are paying for coffee or treats to surprise patrons while also leaving them with an additional free coffee or treat to give to someone else and tag the recipient on social media using #ShareTheHappy. There is so much good in this community and it is important that we all talk about it and celebrate it with each other, said John Brewer, the chambers president and CEO. The initiative is explained in depth along with a downloadable #ShareTheHappy card and ideas to get started at www.BillingsChamber.com/sharethehappy. Montana's 2017 Legislature will convene with an unusual degree of agreement on one critical budget number: How much revenue the state can expect to collect from now until July 2019. It's not easy to accurately project future revenues, but the calculations are essential for setting the state's biennial budget. Between January and April, lawmakers and Gov. Steve Bullock must hammer out the budget for two fiscal years beginning July 1 of next summer. They rely on revenue estimates from the Legislative Fiscal Division and the governor's budget office. The LFD projects that the state general fund will receive $2.21 billion this fiscal year and that the annual amount will increase slightly in each of the next two fiscal years. The governor's budget office estimates that general fund revenue will be $2.194 billion this year and will increase by a small percentage in the coming two fiscal years. The difference between the LFD and the governor' office is 0.6 percent; thats the smallest difference in more than a decade. Last week, the Revenue and Transportation Interim Committee adopted the governor's office general fund estimate. It is important that the Republican majority Legislature and the Democratic governor agree on this starting point, because they disagree on many other points about how to spend the money. House Speaker Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, and Senate President-elect Scott Sales, R- Bozeman, panned Bullock's budget the day it was released last week, telling the Associated Press that they won't support tax increases in the governor's proposal. Bullock is calling for new tax credits for businesses that create jobs and a reduction in property taxes for business investment in new or expanded facilities. To pay for those tax incentives and other priorities, like education, child protection and senior services, he proposes to tax medical marijuana, to tax vaping liquids and to increase taxes on tobacco and wine. Bullock also proposes raising the income tax rate to 7.9 percent on personal income over $500,000. Presently, all personal income over $15,000 a year is taxed at 6.9 percent. Montana law taxes capital gains at a lower rate than other personal income. Bullock proposes to change the law so the lower rate only applies to the first $1 million in a persons capital gains. The governor's budget includes spending cuts to most agencies. The biggest cuts would be in transportation and justice where state fuel tax revenues are expected to fall short of what the state needs to draw down matching federal dollars. A whopping 87 percent of the money spent on Montana road construction comes from the U.S. government, with Montana covering the remainder from the state fuel tax of 27 cents per gallon of gas. Montana funds its highways and partially funds the Montana Highway Patrol with state fuel tax revenues. There is no proposed fuel tax increase in Bullock's budget. Neither did the interim revenue committee address the fuel tax funding gap. But other lawmakers have discussed a fuel tax hike to maintain the states transportation system and keep construction crews working. Look for the fuel tax to be debated in the upcoming session. As our elected leaders hash out Montanas biennial budget, beware of arguments about declining revenues. The general fund outlook is modest growth. Revenue for the current fiscal year has been less than projected in early 2015. However, because Bullock insisted on a budget estimated to leave $300 million in the state bank account at the end of the fiscal year next June 30, Montana is still expected to finish the biennium in the black. With moderate economic growth, Montana leaders must balance the state budget to avoid drastic cuts and unnecessary spending. Lets set a course for compromise on middle ground. While early November has passed, a most important decision of the year is still to come: How will we spend our money this holiday season? Montanans will spend $10 million more over the next six weeks than we do during any other time of the year. Ensure your hard-earned dollars make a positive impact by supporting our small businesses. I believe that Montanans share common hopes for the future. Our Montana is a place of opportunity, with access to education and health care that are second to none. In our Montana, urban amenities and agriculture alike are valued and are a source of great pride, and arts and culture flourish. One common thread uniting these desires is that our success is dependent on thriving small businesses. The economy can feel like something nebulous and distant that we cant affect. We have to remember that we are the economy. Where you spend your money counts. This is true not just for us as individuals but also for our businesses and nonprofit organizations. Keeping as many of your dollars local as possible ensures that your dollars will re-circulate to local people on average three times, helping our jobs and prosperity stay rooted in place. Why are independent businesses so important to a vital economy? They are the true job creators, more jobs per dollar in sales than their box-store and online competitors. Independent businesses invest in our local accountants and bookkeepers, our local graphic designers, print shops and restaurants. They donate to your Little League, your church bazaar and your homeless shelter. They are part of this wonderful cycle of abundance that continues as long as we support it. The Downtown Business Alliance is celebrating Small Business Saturday on Nov. 26. Small Business Saturday is dedicated to getting people in the door of small businesses the day after Black Friday. We will also be announcing the winner of our Battle of the Plans business plan competition on Nov. 26, in which one new business will receive free rent for a year in a vacant space downtown, one existing business will receive money for expansion, and one college student will win a $5,000 cash award for writing an exceptional business plan. Join me in celebrating and supporting our community this holiday season, and consider shifting your spending to small businesses. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions KALISPELL A U.S. Forest Service road has been renamed in honor of an officer who was killed by a grizzly bear near Glacier National Park. A road leading to the Hungry Horse Ranger Station has been named Brad Treat Memorial Street to recognize the 38-year-old Forest Service law enforcement officer who was attacked while riding his mountain bike in June. Treat was riding along a trail with limited sight distances, leaving little time to react. District Ranger Rob Davies says the simplicity of the new street signs reflect Treat's simple nature. They are located in the heart of the Hungry Horse Ranger District, where Treat worked for 15 years. LAME DEER Hundreds of Northern Cheyenne members assembled on Tuesday to usher in a new tribal administration. Lawrence "Jace" Killsback was sworn in as president of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe during a ceremony in which he called on residents to carry forward his campaign slogan, "We are a nation." "Our nation is in pain," Killsback said. "You feel her pain. I feel her pain. It's our duty all of us here to heal our nation." The ceremony also recognized the elections of Conrad Fisher as vice president, as well as Roni Rae Limberhand Brady and John Robinson as tribal judges. Waylon Rogers, Ernest Little Mouth Sr., Dana Eaglefeathers, Merlin Sioux and Debra Waters Charette took office as new tribal council members. The ceremony began at the tribal headquarters on the south side of town. Pickups lined up for the parade, adorned with the Northern Cheyenne flag. Some, like Dean Wallowing Bull, decorated his truck with buffalo hides and other traditional items, including his war bonnet, pipe bag and gloves. The parade moved up Cheyenne Avenue. Elected officials and women wearing traditional regalia walked behind the color guard. The pickups followed, and some carried trailer-loads of teens. Outgoing tribal President Llevando Fisher rode along on horseback. People lined the streets, honking and cheering as the parade moved by. The line turned east on Highway 212, up to the Charging Horse Casino, where the inauguration was held. Bertha Brown and Jenelle Timber Jones walked along with the parade. Both women said they'd like to see the new administration address health disparities on the reservation. Both women work for the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Board of Health. Brown and Timber Jones also spoke about giving women more of a voice in the community and holding the government accountable. "Here on the reservation, pretty much everybody knows everybody," Timber Jones said. "So we are our own watchdogs," Brown said. The Northern Cheyenne Reservation has had a tough year with violence, particularly in Lame Deer. In March, then-President Fisher imposed a curfew on tribal members after a daytime shootout that tore through the center of town. Less than a week later, the community took to the streets to decry the drugs and violence on the reservation. Less than two months later, a 21-year-old man was stabbed to death in Lame Deer. On Tuesday, Killsback called for unity. "It's time that we begin to part ourselves from a lot of negative things that have split our nation for so long," he said. The inauguration included statements read by representatives of Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. Crow tribal Chairman-elect A.J. Not Afraid gave brief remarks of congratulations, but the day belonged to the Northern Cheyenne leaders. Both Killsback and Vice President Fisher spoke about unity and cultural identity. Fisher said holding traditional ceremonies and speaking their own language are ways to carry on that identity. Fisher gave a longer speech in Cheyenne than in English. Killsback gave an emotional speech as well, and tears formed at one point. The crowd, filling the large casino room, reacted in applause. He called on each resident to look out for the spiritual health of the Northern Cheyenne. "If we help one another and care for the land," Killsback said, "we care for our nation." LARAMIE, Wyo. Wrestling with more than $40 million in budget cuts, University of Wyoming administrators want more leeway in spending tuition funds that are now dedicated to paying for faculty and staff pay raises and other college operations. Under current university policy, tuition increases automatically by 4 percent each academic year. Half of the money raised funds salary increases for faculty and staff, 25 percent goes to academic unit support budgets and 25 percent is spent on libraries and information technology. Last week, Vice President for Administration Bill Mai presented to the UW Board of Trustees a proposal to change the allocation so that 25 percent of the 2017 tuition increase would be dedicated for salary increases. The remaining 75 percent would go into the university's general fund for administrators to decide how to spend it, the Laramie Boomerang reported (bit.ly/2fO84TZ). The state's only public, four-year university faces steep budget cuts mainly because of a drop in state funding brought on by a downturn in Wyoming's energy economy. To make up for the cuts, the university is considering the elimination of some degree programs, cuts of faculty and staff positions and higher student fees. Trustee Dave True said he was not opposed to possibly modifying the distributions from the scheduled tuition increase, but he said student comment is needed. "I hate to use the term, but it's almost a bait-and-switch," True said. "Two years ago, we said, 'OK, we'll take your input, put that into the policy and that's how we'll use the 4 percent.' And everybody was willing I wouldn't say happy but willing to go along with a tuition increase policy leading us into the future. We run into some very challenging waters." He added: "But I almost feel like we're considering backtracking on that discussion." Associated Students of the University of Wyoming President Michael Rotellini said most students opposed annual increases to tuition but ended up supporting the policy because they knew how the extra revenue was spent. "That transparency aspect is something we can't support until we properly vet that. As it stands now, it does in my perspective and this is me speaking personally it does seem like a bait-and-switch," Rotellini said. Mai said he did not agree with Rotellini's and True's characterization of the proposed policy change and said it was being proposed because UW faces a financial crisis. The trustees did not act on the proposal after True recommended the board give time for others to comment on the idea. The board has until March to take action on tuition issue for the fall of 2017. In eight states and Washington, D.C., its legal for Americans to possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. Twenty-seven states and Washington, D.C. allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. In many cases, this means that residents are free in those states to smoke cannabis in the privacy of their own homes. But what happens when those people are renters, and not the homeowners themselves? For many people, renting laws are becoming increasingly murky in the wake of marijuana legalization. As more states vote to make certain kinds of marijuana legal, the stigma surrounding use of the drug has decreased. According to a Pew Research Center report in 2015, about 49% of Americans admitted to trying marijuana, with about 18.9 million people (about 7.3% of the population) saying they had used marijuana in the last month. Thats roughly in line with a Gallup poll also conducted in 2015, which showed that around 44% of respondents had tried marijuana in the past, and 1 in 10 Americans currently smoke some form of cannabis. As more people feel comfortable making their marijuana use more public, we could also see an increase in run-ins with landlords who arent crazy about pot-using tenants. With different distinctions between medical and recreational use, along with varying state laws about using and growing marijuana, its a complicated issue that many people are unsure about. Thats not to mention the elephant in the country: The federal government still hasnt removed its complete ban of the drug on a national level. Can landlords outlaw marijuana on the properties they own and manage? Heres what we know so far. Landlords, leases, and pot bans The simplest answer about marijuana laws when it comes to renting property is that private landlords are generally free to include any bans they want in a lease document. One column in the Alaska Dispatch News explores why thats the case. The law that made recreational use legal in the state also says that schools, employers, hospitals, and people in general who own and control private property can prohibit or otherwise regulate the possession of marijuana. Cynthia Franklin, director of Alaskas Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, explained to the Dispatch News that the law can be interpreted to mean the following: That means that a landlord could write a prohibition of marijuana in the lease. If a tenant had marijuana in any of these capacities on the property, they would be violating the lease in the same way as if they had a pet on a property where the lease prohibited pets, and would be subject to eviction and perhaps fines to restore the property to its pre-lease condition, depending on the specific terms of the lease or rental agreement. In many ways, its the same as writing up the terms of a lease that says you cant smoke tobacco on the property, or have dogs that weigh more than 20 pounds or whatever other stipulations landlords would like to make as a property owner. Landlords can choose whether or not to write up certain terms, and would-be tenants are free to decide whether or not they can live with those agreements. There is another aspect to the marijuana debate, however, which is that landlords by law cannot discriminate against people with disabilities. In states where medical marijuana is allowed and used for treatment, tenants could say that their medical marijuana use is a) protected, private information and b) permitted as a medical treatment, and therefore not subject to discrimination by the landlords. But this issue could be made moot by the fact that the prohibition of all marijuana use even recreational smoking will be very difficult to enforce in a court of law, according to many experts. Enforcing marijuana restrictions: Is it impossible? The growing of marijuana plants on a rental property is likely more enforceable than smoking or otherwise consuming the marijuana itself, Kevin Brady, an Anchorage attorney familiar with landlord-tenant law, told the Dispatch News. But even so, if odors and water control dont damage the property in any observable way, it could be tough for landlords to make a case and legally seek eviction. Unless a behavior produces an observable effect on the property, how would it be enforceable? Brady asked. In other words, if the growing, consuming, or smoking of marijuana doesnt damage the property in any way and the drug is legally allowed in the state in question, its likely not grounds for eviction. In the cases of growing or smoking marijuana in states where it is legal, there might be grounds for eviction if the lease included clauses about anti-drug policies or anti-smoking rules in general, which likely include tobacco and marijuana together. If your lease prohibits smoking or has an anti-crime or drug clause, the legality of marijuana use on a state level is irrelevant; you should be able to enforce the lease and prohibit smoking in the unit, Bret Sachter, an Avvo attorney, told Zillow. Blanket bans on cannabis Brady said a blanket ban on marijuana use could still have some teeth to it, since marijuana is still federally banned. However, for it to be enforced it would have to be a case that makes it to federal court, and Brady doesnt see a small possession case going that far in the legal system. If landlords are trying to control their tenants from getting high, they might have a problem of enforcing a ban like that. But if they simply want to stop smoking in particular which is where a majority of odors or other tenants complaints might come from it might be more possible. Californias legislature is considering a bill that would allow landlords to ban marijuana smoking (even for medical use, currently the only type of marijuana allowed in the state). Tenants could still use edibles or oils, but landlords could legally stop tenants from smoking a joint if they wanted to. The bill passed through the Assembly in early 2016, but was pushed to an inactive status in the Senate in August 2016. The only thing thats crystal clear about marijuana and rental agreements is that there are many unanswered questions, and a million possible scenarios that could lead to different legal outcomes. Most experts conclude that until it becomes an issue in a courthouse somewhere, it might be impossible to tell how certain state laws will be interpreted. We wont know for sure until someone sues, Franklin of the Alaska Alcoholic Beverage Control Board said. Follow Nikelle on Twitter and Facebook More from Money & Career Cheat Sheet: When Christopher Caruso of Chicago bought a $1,000 Southwest Airlines gift card online for $940, he thought he had scored a good deal. But when he went to book a vacation flight months later, he got a nasty surprise: The airline rejected the gift card because it was fraudulent, he said. Advertisement Caruso had bought the card secondhand on Raise, an online marketplace where people can sell unwanted gift cards to buyers looking for a bargain. Founded by 29-year-old Northbrook native George Bousis , Raise is one of Chicago's hottest startups. In just a few years it has grown to 250 employees and drawn $87 million in funding, the company said. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, who invested before being elected and now has his assets under outside management, is among its more prominent backers. Gift card spending is expected to total $27.5 billion this holiday season. A successful transaction on a secondary gift-card marketplace saves people money: Customers can in some cases even buy cards on a mobile device while at a store, giving them an instant discount on their purchase. Advertisement But Raise has a problem, one it sometimes passes along to customers. Gift cards provide a way for thieves to quickly and anonymously convert stolen goods into cash, making Raise and similar sites useful to theft rings and putting customers at risk of losing their money. The Illinois Attorney General's office said Tuesday it is investigating the company after receiving multiple consumer complaints about cards worth nothing or less than their stated value. In two recent racketeering investigations in Florida and New Jersey, authorities say, alleged criminal groups sold gift cards by way of websites including Raise. "Most people think of gift cards as the perfect present when they don't know what to give, but criminals think of them as a perfect way to launder money anonymously," said Elie Honig, director of the Division of Criminal Justice in New Jersey, in a July news release. In the New Jersey case, gift cards were allegedly used in a number of ways, not only resold via online platforms. Caruso complained to the Better Business Bureau about his Southwest Airlines card and eventually got a refund from Raise. But he has become more cautious about scouring the secondhand card market for deals. "Too much hassle," he said of the incident. Bousis acknowledged that fighting fraud is important to protect customers and said Raise has reduced fraud on the site. "It's something we always want to improve, and we never want to have anyone have a bad experience on our site," he said. "But the big thing here that you need to understand is, as you're trying to grow a business, as you're trying to get to scale, as you're trying to deliver value to customers we've saved our consumers many tens of millions of dollars over the past year these are just things that will unfortunately occur." George Bousis, founder and CEO, Raise (Keri Wiginton / Blue Sky) Bad cards can land on Raise and similar sites from individual consumers or bulk resellers of gift cards. These include pawn shops, grocery store vending machines and storefront operations that buy gift cards from sellers who take a loss in exchange for cash. A bulk seller played a role in Florida racketeering investigation Operation Plastic Paradise, which resulted in 23 arrests and 10,000 seized gift cards, police said. Thieves shoplifted items from big-box stores, returned the items for store credits or gift cards, then sold the cards to two Cash for Gift Cards storefronts, said Jayson Paul, an investigator with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. That investigation is ongoing. Advertisement The gift card storefront owners then sold $1.9 million worth of cards through Raise as well as New Jersey-based CardCash and ABC Gift Cards, Paul said. He said sales using Raise in the investigation from January to October 2015 totaled $1.13 million. Store owners, employees and others have been charged with racketeering and other crimes. Bousis said Raise works with law enforcement and retailers to flag attempts by sellers who appear to have suspicious cards. The company declined to name any specific investigations in which Raise had cooperated with authorities, saying it does not share information related to interactions with law enforcement. In New Jersey, six people were charged with money laundering and racketeering in July in connection with an alleged $9 million theft scheme involving stolen credit cards and gift cards. The investigation was called Operation Smiles after the strip club Smiles II in Roxbury, N.J., run by the alleged ringleader and his wife. A New Jersey Attorney General's Office spokesman said the defendants allegedly sold a "large number of gift cards through Raise.com," but he couldn't provide details about the number or dollar value of cards. Bousis said he was not familiar with Operation Smiles or any related sales through Raise. "There are hundreds of billions of gift cards that are sold every year, that are issued every year," he said in an interview. "And not to say that $9 million is not a massive number that's huge, and ultimately we want to stop it but that's still a drop in a bucket in the overall size of the market." Advertisement Raise advertises the money customers can save when they buy the cards, saying you can "give yourself a raise" by using discounted gift cards for everyday purchases. Recent listings allowed customers to nab a $250 Lane Bryant gift card for $177.50, or a $100 Cold Stone Creamery card for $77.20. Raise takes a 15 percent commission on the sale price of cards sold on the platform, unless the seller negotiates a lower rate, according to its Terms of Service. The Raise app (Raise photo ) Steve Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois, said it has received a "pattern of complaints" from Raise customers, most alleging that gift cards they purchased had a balance of zero or of less than the advertised value. This can happen when cards are determined to be fraudulent, or if portions of the value have been used by another party. Bernas said the BBB has received 283 complaints about Raise since its founding in 2013, and its rating recently dropped from "B plus" to a "B." He said the issue of fraud is not exclusive to Raise: "This type of industry will always have risk." Raise promises a money-back guarantee for cards for 100 days, according to the Terms of Service on its website. The company said it has recently changed its warranty policy, extending a money-back guarantee to consumers for 365 days if they have an issue with a card. Advertisement Raise does not hold physical or electronic gift cards as inventory. Instead, it connects the buyers and sellers, and money only changes hands when a buyer purchases a card listed on the site. Bousis said customers have issues with only a few transactions per thousand. The marketplace completes tens of thousands of transactions per day, he said. He also described steps the company has taken to fight fraud. He said sellers on the platform are required to put up a credit card that will be charged if a card they sell ultimately doesn't work. And he said bulk sellers must provide additional identification information and pass through a more rigorous vetting process when they hit certain sales thresholds. Bousis noted that individual sellers can also be at fault: They could list an electronic card for sale, then spend the value themselves before a buyer attempts to use it. Gabrielle DeCanniere said she purchased a $75 Urban Outfitters gift card through Raise in late 2015 and spent it. But this summer, she ran into trouble when she went to use another Raise gift card for Anthropologie, which is owned by the same company as Urban Outfitters. The Chicago-area resident said she was told the gift card she'd previously used had been fraudulent and she was not welcome to use the Anthropologie card, which was worth $203.04. She eventually resolved the issue directly with the retailer, she said. But she didn't appreciate the drama. Advertisement "It doesn't feel good to have the blame for a criminal act pegged on you when you didn't do anything," she said. Secondary gift card marketplaces began cropping up in the last 10 years and though they must follow federal rules pertaining to gift cards and money laundering, specific regulations for companies like Raise do not exist. To protect buyers, the FBI and consumer groups have tried to fill the gaps. The FBI's Internet Crimes Complaint Center warned customers about the potential for fraud on online gift card reseller sites in 2015. Major retailers have also warned consumers about cards from secondary marketplaces. If a card is purchased from a seller that isn't an actual retailer or an approved gift card mall, "it's very risky business," said Stephen Holmes, corporate communications director at Home Depot. "And in many, many, many cases, it's not a gift card you're buying, it is a store credit and that store credit was likely derived through theft." The gift card industry doesn't have dollar figures on the amount of fraud on secondary gift card marketplaces, said Timm Walsh, chairman of the board of the Washington, D.C.-based Retail Gift Card Association. Advertisement Walsh said the association has partnered with secondary gift card marketplaces including Raise to share information and best practices to nail down fraud. At present, he said, gift cards sold through secondary marketplaces can be a risky bet for consumers. "Just like buying a car or a TV used, there's some risk involved," he said. "The more hands it touches, the more times it's exchanged, the higher the risk." As for Raise, Bousis said the company is growing its relationships with retailers and law enforcement to squash fraud. "I think it's important just to realize that it is a really new industry, and in any industry when you're creating a new business and a new product, there is just a certain amount of risk that you have to be willing to take," he said. mgraham@tribpub.com Advertisement Twitter @megancgraham Last year, return scams cost U.S. retailers nearly $2 billion nationally during the year-end holiday shopping season and about $15 billion annually, according to industry data. (Erik Lesser / EPA) A holiday-related crime spree is ramping up and chances are you won't even notice, but many local shopkeepers already are standing guard. It is called return fraud, and it's among the fastest-growing and most expensive problems confronted by stores of all types and sizes. Last year, return scams clipped U.S. retailers for nearly $2 billion nationally during the year-end holiday selling spree and for about $15 billion annually, according to industry data. Advertisement Despite greater retail prevention efforts, few will be surprised if this year's total creeps higher. Why should you care if some stores are getting ripped off? Here's why: Return swindles translate into millions of dollars in lost or uncollected Illinois sales tax revenue, adding to the average taxpayers' burden. On top of that, be assured that retailers will make up their losses at your expense. Advertisement "Certainly there's a loss of tax revenue," says Robert Moraca, vice president of loss prevention at the National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group. "And every item stolen has to be replaced, and that's passed on to the consumer." If you're wondering how these refund dodges work, here's a primer, courtesy of the retail group's most recent survey of 62 major retail companies in 2015: Making a hot exchange. A thief steals an item and then goes back later to get the cash value of the stolen product. This con is more like Shoplifting 2.0 but there's a return fraud aspect included. The retail organization says 91 percent of stores have experienced this problem. Renting for a return. Someone buys a dress, suit, jewelry or other item to wear for a special occasion only to return it the next day or so for full credit. The industry labels this "wardrobing," and 72 percent of retailers have been hung out to dry by it. Using funny money. Scam artists pay for an item with counterfeit bills. They return it and get back real currency or a gift card that can be used like hard cash. The retail group reports that 75 percent of stores were victims of this plan. Colluding with an employee. Dishonest store workers team up with someone outside the company to falsify a return claim. The retail group says 77 percent of stores have experience with this scenario. The scamming doesn't end there. As e-commerce expands, criminal impresarios increasingly are using counterfeit or stolen e-receipts to complete their crooked transactions. Fraudulent e-receipts in 2015 were the fastest-growing category, with 31 percent of stores being involved a number that's expected to rise this season, according to the retail group. Advertisement Refund schemers are becoming increasingly adroit at using new techniques and technology to make their play. "The criminal creativity is seemingly endless and mind-boggling," says Rob Karr, CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, which represents 20,000 members. The state merchants organization successfully lobbied a few years ago for a state law to have some refund schemes classified as felony violations. That promises to increase jail time and penalties for those caught and convicted. What's more, if the refund racket action continues at last year's pace, then Illinois stands to lose between $25 million and $43 million in state retail taxes, according to data from the National Retail Federation. Meanwhile, local shopkeepers are manning the barricades this holiday season. Increasingly, store personnel are keeping a wary eye out for the aforementioned scams and especially those forged receipts, e-commerce or otherwise. Advertisement About 20 percent of store owners have raised their refund requirements for holiday purchases, including insisting on a receipt and personal identification for completing any refund transaction, the retail group says. Meanwhile, some stores are restricting their seasonal or new employees from making refunds for more than set dollar amounts. In those cases, a supervisor is called as backup to complete the transaction. Seems to me that the greatest obstacle to cracking down on refund fraud is the retailers. By design, they encourage pleasant in-store interactions and buying experiences, especially while competing as never before against brick-and-mortar rivals and online giants like Amazon. That "customer is always right" philosophy can create a holiday predicament: Get too grumpy enforcing return policies and risk losing good customers at a time when stores can least afford it. roreed@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @reedtribbiz A Black Friday shopper passes by protesters blocking the entrance to a Victoria's Secret store on North Michigan Avenue on Nov. 27, 2015. It's unclear how this year's scheduled protest will affect retailers' business on the busy shopping day. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Activists plan to again disrupt shopping along Chicago's Magnificent Mile on Black Friday. The demonstration, spearheaded by the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, is seeking more police accountability and protesting how police shootings that sparked last year's protests have been handled. Advertisement "We want justice for all those who've been victimized by police crimes in this city," Frank Chapman, a field organizer with the group, said Wednesday. Last year on Black Friday, hundreds of activists marched along Chicago's highest-profile retail street, urging a shopping boycott to protest the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager, by a white Chicago police officer. Advertisement Protesters temporarily blocked customers from entering some stores, and some retailers decided to close early. A handful of merchants said sales were 25 to 50 percent below expectations on what is typically one of the busiest shopping days of the year. This year, activists plan to gather on the north end of North Michigan Avenue at 10 a.m. Friday before walking north and south on the west side of the street, Chapman said. "We want to discourage people from shopping on the Mag Mile," Chapman said. "We're sending a message to the mayor and his supporters and the Mag Mile that we want CPAC enacted," he added, referring to a proposal to create an elected Civilian Police Accountability Council to oversee the department. While not organized in opposition to President-elect Donald Trump, "We'd proudly take on (the anti-Trump) banner," he said. It's unclear whether this year's protest will have a similar effect on retailers' Black Friday business, said Magnificent Mile Association President John Chikow. "People have a right to say what they want to say," Chikow said. "We just hope everybody respects others' rights to be able to do what they need to do." Managers at some Michigan Avenue stores declined to comment on the record on Tuesday, saying they were not authorized to speak to the media. Water Tower Place "incorporates a 24/7 safety and security team and is in close partnership with (Chicago Police Department) as well as the Magnificent Mile Association. At any given time, there are a number of professionally trained security officers on site at the shopping center," mall owner General Growth Properties said in an emailed statement. Advertisement Jerry Storch, CEO of Hudson's Bay Co., which owns Saks Fifth Avenue, wasn't familiar with the protest plans but said Tuesday the company always has security plans in place, especially with the extra Black Friday crowds. "We'll be ready for anything that happens," he said. lzumbach@chicagotribune.com Twitter @laurenzumbach Come Thursday, belts will be loosened, turkeys stuffed, pigskins tossed and millions of quivering gelatinous cylinders of cranberry sauce will be dislodged from their cans. For decades, canned cranberry sauce has been a stalwart of the Thanksgiving feast for many Americans, an early 20th-century embellishment upon the traditional meal and the easiest part of the whole shebang. Mash it up if you must, or serve in the perfect shape of the can, ridges and all. The choice is yours. Advertisement In recent years, though, more consumers are spurning the cans and making their own sauce with fresh cranberries, according to sales data and industry experts. The shift's in line with broader consumer trends toward food considered fresher, more natural and healthier. As canned cranberry sales decline, fresh cranberry sales are going up, said Kellyanne Dignan, spokeswoman for Massachusetts-based Ocean Spray, the largest producer of cranberry products in the U.S. "Cranberries still have a special place in a lot of Americans' hearts, but they may want to incorporate them in different ways," Dignan said. Advertisement Nationally, the sales volume of shelf-stable cranberries, which mostly means canned products, has declined at a compound annual growth rate of more than 4 percent over the past four years, according to Nielsen data. The $117 million in shelf-stable cranberry sales for the 12-month period ending Oct. 1 represents a decrease of more than 6 percent from the $124.8 million in the same period in 2012, the sales data show. "The decline we've seen is representative of the overall decline in all shelf-stable foods," said Jordan Rost, vice president of consumer insights for Nielsen. To offset that decline, retailers and manufacturers have promoted "meal occasions" that call for the combination of packaged food products found in the center of the grocery store with more perishable items, like meat and fresh produce, on the perimeter of the stores, Rost said. For example, the Ocean Spray website promotes a wide array recipes that incorporate cranberries, from bacon-wrapped apricots with cranberry glaze to cocktails like the Cosmopolitan. But make no mistake, Ocean Spray will still sell many tons of canned cranberry sauce this year. A privately held cooperative of more than 700 cranberry farms, Ocean Spray produces about 70 million cans of cranberry sauce a year, about 85 percent of which is sold in a six-week period spanning the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Ocean Spray sells almost $2.5 billion worth of cranberry products a year, which include juices, Craisins, fresh cranberries and sauces, Dignan said. Farms in Wisconsin produce the most cranberries; almost all of the sauce is made in a Kenosha facility. Marcus Urann, one of the founding farmers of Ocean Spray, sold canned cranberry sauce as far back as 1912, well before the farming cooperative was established in 1930, Dignan said. Advertisement Nostalgia and ease of preparation should keep canned cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving tables for years to come. "It's iconic. People love it. The ridges, right?" Dignan said. Consider Stephanie Izard, renowned Chicago celebrity chef with acclaimed restaurants such as Girl & the Goat and Duck Duck Goat, who said canned cranberry sauce reminded her of childhood. Izard is credited with a recipe for "Canned" Cranberry Sauce on Wine Enthusiast magazine's website, a dish described as "whimsical version of the Thanksgiving staple." The recipe, which was actually created by Nicki DesRosiers, sous chef for Izard's Goat restaurants, calls for cleaning out 6-ounce tin cans and using ingredients like cranberries, nutmeg, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar and gelatin to make the sauce, which takes about five hours in the refrigerator to set. Izard said she's always liked the "ribbed texture" of canned cranberry sauce, but DesRosiers' version had more acidity and tasted much "brighter." Advertisement But there are other factors to consider. Thanksgiving is Izard's day to not cook. Instead, she's hosting a potluck feast. Asked whether she's making the homemade cranberry sauce, the chef paused for a moment and then came clean. "We'll probably just buy a can," she said, laughing. gtrotter@chicagotribune.com Twitter @GregTrotterTrib Shoppers carry plastic bags from Walgreens on Nov. 16, 2016, in the Loop. The drugstore chain has said it will revert to thinner bags in 2017, when the city's 7-cent disposable bag tax takes effect. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune) The classic checkout question paper or plastic will soon pose a new dilemma for cost-conscious Chicago shoppers, who face a new tax on either choice. Beginning Jan. 1, a checkout tax of 7 cents per bag will be added at all Chicago retailers from massive chain stores to mom-and-pops in the city's latest bid to curb disposable bag use. Advertisement Chicago is following the lead of several other cities in adopting the checkout tax, which has shown promise in reducing consumers' appetite for the formerly free store-supplied bags. Americans use more than 100 billion disposable plastic bags each year. Most end up in landfills, with some invariably littering the landscape in highly visible ways. While the city and retailers gear up to administer the new tax, consumers need to get ready to bring their own bags or foot the bill. Either way, experts expect disposable bag use will drop significantly come January. Advertisement "The disposable bag taxes are incredibly effective," said Tatiana Homonoff, an assistant professor of economics and public service at New York University. "It's a low economic burden, but a big environmental and behavioral shift." A similar tax in suburban Washington, D.C., cut the likelihood of a customer using a disposable bag in half within the first two months, Homonoff said. Under the new tax, unanimously approved this month, the city will keep 5 cents per bag, while the retailer will keep 2 cents essentially the cost of a plastic bag. The charge will show up on store receipts, right next to other municipal sales tax items such as the Chicago bottled water tax. The tax does not apply to restaurants and families in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often called food stamps. The city projects the tax on disposable bags will generate $12.9 million in revenue next year $3.7 million for retailers and $9.2 million for Chicago, which will flow into the operating budget. The long-term goal is not to create revenue, but to reduce the number of bags that end up in landfills, blow down the street and dangle from tree limbs, said Molly Poppe, Office of Budget and Management spokeswoman. That is a goal shared by Jordan Parker, founder of Bring Your Bag Chicago, a grass-roots environmental group. "The less successful the tax is, the better it is for the environment," Parker said. "If everybody in the city started using reusable bags, it wouldn't generate a lot of revenue through this tax." Some experts are skeptical, however, that the fee is big enough to prompt a long-term change in behavior after shoppers get over the initial sticker shock. Advertisement John Halstead, professor of environmental and resource economics at the University of New Hampshire, said bag use has rebounded in the second year of such taxes in other municipalities, as convenience wins out and consumers rationalize a pennies-per-bag charge in the face of a $100 grocery bill. "Basically there was one year of decreased bag usage and then people just opted to pay the fee," Halstead said. The checkout tax replaces Chicago's 1-year-old plastic bag ordinance, which carried fines for stores that did not provide reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic bags. That ordinance, which had yet to fully roll out, proved less effective than hoped, according to Poppe. Retailers have the option of eating the new tax or passing it along to customers. "We'll have to collect the fee that the city is imposing, because we want to continue to offer bags to our customers," said Phil Caruso, a spokesman for Deerfield-based Walgreens, one of the nation's largest drugstore chains. Walgreens, which switched to thicker, reusable plastic bags at its Chicago stores last year to comply with the plastic bag ordinance, will revert to the thinner bags next year, Caruso said. Advertisement Chicago's largest grocery chain, Jewel-Osco, also plans to pass along the tax at its city stores, according to spokeswoman Mary Frances Trucco. At Harvestime Foods, an independent grocery store in Lincoln Square, owner Chris Dallas expects to hear some complaints from customers about the tax. "Initially I think people will be shocked and surprised," said Dallas, who also owns Edgewater Produce in the Andersonville neighborhood. "In my neighborhood we're dealing with a lot of people who may not be tuned in to what the city politicians are doing. And they are going to come into the store and get the end result and will basically take it out on me." Outside the store on a recent afternoon, Lincoln Square resident Mark Jak said he was opposed to the city's "nickel-and-dime" approach to taxation. "Just do a property tax increase," said Jak, holding several plastic grocery bags outside Harvestime. "Quit taxing us on plastic bags, on soda, on water bills. Just lump it up in one area rather than spreading it out." Jefferson Park resident Nancy Luna doesn't think the tax is high enough. "It should be higher," she said, while standing outside a Target store. "It's causing a lot of damage to the environment." Advertisement Fellow Jefferson Park resident Jeannie Strong agreed, saying the tax might help her remember her stockpile of reusable bags. "It's incentive," she said. "If I knew I was being charged, I'd put more effort to pack them in the car and make sure I have them." Before the August 2015 ban, an estimated 900 million disposable bags were used in Chicago each year 90 percent of which were plastic, officials said. The city hopes to reduce usage by 50 percent through the tax, on par with results from the Washington area. Other cities that have implemented bag taxes include San Francisco and Los Angeles, with New York and Minneapolis adding a tax next year. Revenue projections account for a significant number of bags slipping through the tax cracks in Chicago next year, Poppe said, as retailers and shoppers alike adjust to the new paradigm. rchannick@chicagotribune.com crshropshire@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @RobertChannick Twitter @corilyns When Lisa Morrison Butler was wooed away from her nonprofit job last year to lead Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services, she worried she wouldn't find the same commitment level she'd grown used to. Those who were on her team at City Year Chicago, a nonprofit that helps at-risk kids graduate from high school, where she served as executive director for 11 years, "live and breathe and eat" their cause, she said. Would government workers be as passionate? Advertisement Far and away, they are just as invested, she found. "One of the things I was really struck by was that these folks feel like a nonprofit on steroids," Morrison Butler, 59, said. Advertisement As commissioner of the city's human services agency, Morrison Butler oversees a $405 million budget that funds more than 300 nonprofits wrestling with some of the city's stickiest social challenges, including homelessness, domestic violence and at-risk youth. The agency, the biggest social services funder in the city, serves 300,000 Chicagoans a year. Morrison Butler, who started in August 2015, said she was drawn to the job "like a moth to a flame." Before City Year, she had worked in the corporate sector and as an entrepreneur who founded her own marketing consulting business, so "it felt like the natural next step to continue this multisector journey that I've been on." Morrison Butler a self-described Army brat who grew up in 10 cities and three countries as her dad, a career Army officer, followed military transfers received her bachelor's degree in public policy at Indiana University. Sitting in her West Town neighborhood office, with a clear view of Chicago's skyline one shouldn't dare pry away from her "I would fight anyone for this view," she joked Morrison Butler discussed her agency's work. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q: What was the big challenge facing the Department of Family and Support Services when you assumed the role? A: I spent my first 90 days on a listening tour. I had learned the hard way not to assume that I had the answers when I walked in the door. One of the things that stands out is that the team here wants to make sure that no matter what happens with funding in the future, that we will be able to meet the demand and need for our services. Q: What's your department's role in tackling the youth unemployment crisis in Chicago? Advertisement A: We provided more than 31,000 summer job opportunities for youth (through the city's One Summer Chicago program) this summer. We started in 2011 with 14,000 summer jobs, so to go to 31,000 is huge. (Mayor Rahm Emanuel) also launched the mayor's mentoring initiative. This is a $36 million initiative over three years focused on 22 communities and 7,200 boys and young men in eighth, ninth and 10th grades. Q: Is there anything you wish people understood about these youth? A: While we only hear about the bad news, the truth of the matter is that there are some phenomenal programs on the ground in these communities doing great work. And all of our young men and boys of color in Chicago are not troublemakers and perpetrators of violence, and I do get very passionate wanting to make sure people see these communities, and the people that live in them, for what they really are. They're just real folks like us. Q: What needs to happen that isn't happening to improve the situation? A: I think one of the things that's challenging in a city of our size is the sheer number of initiatives that are going on in any one time. The city is a big partner in this, the nonprofit sector is a big partner in this, philanthropic organizations, businesses, and there are so many conversations going on that it makes it hard to connect the dots. We spend a lot of time trying to drive people to come to one table or one conversation because we can't see each other if we're not in the same room talking together. In Chicago there are 44,500 opportunity youth (young people who are not working nor in school). How do you really ever bring the resources to bear that it would require to actually make a difference in the lives of 44,000 people if everyone wants to run off and do their own thing? Q: Why has it been so hard to bring everyone to the table? Advertisement A: Each organization comes to the relationship thinking, I'd like to have this particular outcome, I want to concentrate on this geography or this subset of the population. When we work that way it's very fragmented. It's very difficult to bring all those players together and say let's have one conversation and be transparent about what we're doing. Think about in the corporate world: Nobody expects Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar and Tesla to sit down at the table together and share information on their customer base and their production and manufacturing facilities. Q: But you see efforts moving forward? A: Just this year, Thrive Chicago (a nonprofit working to align efforts of youth service providers) convened a conversation with all of the funders and nonprofits that serve opportunity youth and they are working to create the citywide strategy that will address the problem. Q: How much does it cost to do this well? A: Our after-school programs are about $1,000 per kid. Our summer jobs programs, $1,800 to $1,900 per child. Even the mentoring program, the new one, will be about $2,300 per child. When we looked around the country to see what programs we saw that were successful with this harder-to-reach population, there was a program out in California. They run a fellowship for young men, most of whom have already had some justice-involved background. What they see is that they need not only a job, they need a job plus some wraparound supports that enable them to be successful. And the early indicators are that it's about $25,000 to $30,000 per person. That seems incredibly expensive. And yet $25,000 to $30,000 per person is a whole lot less than the average costs associated with a person once they are involved in the criminal justice system. Q: What do you think a Trump administration will mean for Chicago and the people you serve? Advertisement A: I don't think that we know yet. But I'm really glad that as a department we have gone ahead and done the work of trying to figure out how to continue to deliver the products and services that we deliver even if funding stays flat or decreases. Q: Is there a certain population that needs more attention than it's getting? A: The mayor spoke this morning and mentioned that every year 17,000 ex-offenders return to Chicago. I do think that as we think about a city of this size and the percentage of people who are living here that might have backgrounds with criminal history, trying to bring additional resources to that group is needed and very important. aelejalderuiz@chicagotribune.com Twitter @alexiaer Isabella Pitrello watches a plane approaching O'Hare International Airport on Nov. 20, 2016, from the front porch of her home in Chicago's Schorsch Forest View neighborhood. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) The airplanes soaring and roaring overhead don't rattle Isabella Pitrello. They haven't for quite some time. A resident of the Schorsch Forest View neighborhood a stone's throw from O'Hare International Airport Pitrello has an informed understanding of what it means to live amongst noise. She and her husband Antonino have lived near O'Hare for more than 30 years, in a midcentury brick ranch with a big picture window and a generous flank of concrete driveway. A middle-aged oak shades the front lawn in their tidy, unpretentious neighborhood of one-story brick homes interrupted by the occasional two-story teardown. Advertisement The house is 2 miles, as the crow flies, from the southern runways of O'Hare. Arguably everyone living in Chicago has heard a plane overhead, but not everyone has front-row seats like this. The Pitrellos also hear the beeping of the Metra train as it passes through nearby Schiller Park. Then, at night, once the plane traffic dies down, they start to hear the motorcycles on the nearby expressways. Advertisement Noise exposure and city living are certainly bedfellows, but some neighborhoods are more raucous than others. In those areas, like O'Hare, residents learn to cope, and some rely on noise-reducing initiatives. Both O'Hare and Midway airports have a program to mitigate noise pollution for nearby homeowners, the Residential Sound Insulation Program. O'Hare's effort has provided soundproofing tactics for more than 10,000 residences, and more than 8,000 homes surrounding Midway have been sound-insulated. In August, Rep. Mike Quigley of the fifth congressional district announced an additional $20 million in Federal Aviation Administration funding to provide soundproofing for more homeowners. Quigley has been pushing for more environmental studies, noise monitors and other measures to help affected residents. A plane approaches O'Hare International Airport over Isabella Pitrello's home on Nov. 20, 2016. The home, in the Schorsch Forest View neighborhood on Chicago's Northwest Side, is two miles from the southern runways of O'Hare. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) For many years the Pitrellos hoped their home would be eligible for the soundproofing program. "We waited and waited," Isabella Pitrello said. "But their boundary stopped four houses away from us." A few years ago the family finally broke down and installed new windows themselves. And over time, they've grown used to the noise. Pitrello said it hardly registers with her or her neighbors anymore. A real estate agent selling homes in the northwest suburbs, Pitrello tells prospective buyers that noise is not as much a factor as they may fear. She currently has a listing near Oriole Park also close to O'Hare which she said is a desirable neighborhood with good schools. The home has been soundproofed by the airport program. The methods used are remarkably effective, Pitrello said. "I've been there in the morning, in the evening, and it's always the same you don't hear any noise at all because of the windows they put in." The home has had numerous showings, and a potential buyer was interested but ultimately backed out because she liked to be outdoors and couldn't take the noise. If you're outside chatting with someone when an airplane goes by, Pitrello admitted, you just have to stop talking. Advertisement Real estate agent Isabella Pitrello, seen here in her Northwest Side home, and her husband Antonino have lived near O'Hare International Airport for more than 30 years. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) Still, she said, homes in the area are selling well, and have regained value since the crash. But for homes directly under the flight corridors? "I'd say they sell for a good 10 to 15 percent less." And that price cut isn't always enough to spur sales. "Reduced cost doesn't help much to reduce market time," said Mario Greco, founder of the MG Group, a real estate firm affiliated with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group. Noisy properties, he added, "tend to linger regardless of price." Noise not only disturbs residents it can also addle employees. "My office is a few minutes from O'Hare," said Jeremy Meyer, a regional vice president for Audi. "I listen to that all day long at work. (Noises) can get so loud during a conference call you have to take a break when a plane flies over. If a dignitary or (President Barack) Obama comes to town, for the two days prior, the miliary aircraft, the Osprey, they rattle the whole building." Then, after a day of work in a vibrating office, Meyer goes home to his new condo in the heart of Wrigleyville. Following transportation and industry, population density is next on the list of major noise polluters and is an undeniable factor for Wrigleyville residents. Advertisement Meyer's condo is "well within the noisy zone" according to Greco, the real estate agent who originally listed it, but noise isn't always a deterrent for buyers, or a damper on prices. There's no exact formula. "It's extremely difficult to suss out the numerical impact," says Greco, who specializes in Lincoln Park, Lakeview and Roscoe Village. Many factors come into play, he said. "But if you look at a property on the 'L' side of Sheffield, your price difference will be at least 10 percent between the noisy side and the quiet side of the street." The noise factor did not affect Meyer's condo, one of three units in a building on the 3600 block of North Fremont Street. It's in Wrigleyville, but on a block that is relatively quiet, Meyer said. The three new-construction condos sold this year in the million-dollar range. According to the listing specs, a horizontal layer of concrete between the units adds interior soundproofing, and foam insulation in the walls muffles exterior noise. However, "if I open the patio door during a Cubs game," said Meyer, "I can hear them singing the national anthem, and if someone scores, I hear a dull roar." Upstairs neighbor Meg Fensholt concurred, saying she and her husband hear the cheers outside first and then, five seconds later, again on TV. The tumult during the World Series was more exciting than disturbing, but she acknowledged that on the night of Game 7, the constant helicopters overhead got to her. She also wasn't thrilled about being beneath the flight patterns during the lead-up to the Chicago Air and Water Show. "But when we close our doors it's not like I can still hear it," said Fensholt. During the World Series, she stepped outside and found it quiet on her block. "Then I get to the corner, and people are shoulder to shoulder, and there's fireworks going off." Advertisement The residents of this Wrigleyville building seem to have hit a happy medium: noise and excitement, but at a manageable distance. But then, what homeowners can manage or ignore seems to be relative to their priorities. "It all depends on the demographic," said Greco. "Someone just out of college wants to smell the hot dogs and hear the noise. Someone who's starting a family wants no part of that." Beth Franken is a freelance writer. ctc-realestate@chicagotribune.com RELATED STORIES: Advertisement Relocating for work? You can write off moving expenses Home renovation shows: Chicago experts unravel reality TV Can a renter expect a landlord to use security deposit as last month's rent? Carol Marin has moved out of her longtime house in the Lincoln Park area's Sheffield neighborhood. There is demolition fencing around it, and appears to be days away from being razed. (Bob Goldsborough / Chicago Tribune) The 127-year-old, longtime Lincoln Park mansion of Chicago broadcast journalist Carol Marin and her husband, Jonathan Utley, is headed for the wrecking ball. Marin wears multiple hats as WMAQ-Ch. 5's political editor, a correspondent for WTTW-Ch. 11's "Chicago Tonight" and the director of DePaul University's Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence. She and Utley recently vacated their three-story, 3,288-square-foot brick neoclassical brownstone house in the Lincoln Park area's Sheffield neighborhood after owning it for almost 30 years. Advertisement Environs Development is marketing the construction of a six-bedroom, 5,200-square-foot mansion to be built on the property, with an asking price of $3.599 million. Environs has received a demolition permit from the city, and demolition fencing is in place in front of the house and in front of its garage. Marin, 68, and Utley, 74, paid $450,000 in late 1986 for their house, which dates to 1889. Both Marin and Kevin Wood of @properties, the agent representing Environs, declined to comment to Elite Street about the deal or the upcoming demolition. Public records do not yet show if Environs has formally purchased the house from Marin and Utley. Advertisement Marin and Utley's longtime house is valued at $1.38 million, according to the Cook County assessor. Even though the mansion that would rise in its place carries a price tag that is $2.2 million more than that valuation, such a home value would not be out of line with the surrounding area. For example, the house next door sold in June for $2.45 million. And a house across the street sold in 2014 for $3.45 million to a Delaware limited liability company owned by an investment banker and his wife. Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter. Late mountain lion season has begun in North Dakota after an early season hunt yielded only three lions. The early season began in September and was to be open until hunters killed eight lions or until Nov. 20, whichever came first. Only three mountain lions were killed. This is about what we expected, said Stephanie Tucker, furbearer biologist at North Dakota Game and Fish. The late season, in which hunters can hunt with dogs, began Monday and will continue until hunters get seven total lions, three females, or until the end of March if the quota isnt reached. If the late season quota is reached soon enough, a conditional season will open in which hunters will be able to try again for the additional five lions left from the early season quota. The late season harvest filled last year in Zone 1, so hunters should check for updates on the North Dakota Game and Fish website. Zone 1 includes land in western North Dakota south of ND Highway 1804 from the Montana border to the point where ND Highway 1804 lies directly across Lake Sakakawea from ND Highway 8, crossing Lake Sakakawea then south along ND Highway 8 to ND Highway 200, then west on ND Highway 200 to U.S. Highway 85, then south on U.S. Highway 85 to the South Dakota border. There is no harvest limit in Zone 2, which includes all parts of the state not in Zone 1. Hunters need a furbearer or combination license to participate in mountain lion season. The total quota this year was reduced from 21 to 15, in part because the higher quota never had been reached, Tucker said. A Game and Fish research report last year said the number of mountain lions in the western badlands has declined. Badlands ranchers and others have not been in agreement with the quota change, but Tucker advised that people who want the late season to last longer should make an effort to hunt males instead of females. That also will make less difference in the overall population, she said. The sun cuts through the smoke as workers tasked with putting out the fire in an oil well, set ablaze by retreating Islamic State jihadists, assemble a water pipeline in the town of Qayyarah, Iraq, on Nov. 20, 2016. (Odd Anderson / AFP/Getty Images) For months, residents of the Iraqi town of Qayara have lived under a dark cloud of toxic fumes released by oil well fires lit by retreating Islamic State fighters. But in recent days, oil workers and firefighters have extinguished the blazes closest to the populated center. The move has returned a small measure of order to Qayara, where complaints about government neglect have simmered since last summer, when the militants torched the oil wells as the Iraqi army drove them out. Advertisement The work is far from complete, but it could be a first step in easing some of the bitterness, anger and social fissures among people who desperately need government services and reconciliation after waves of retaliatory violence that followed the defeat of the extremists. "The atmosphere is good. The wells are almost fully under control. They extinguished most. Some of them are still ablaze, but we see the morning, we can see the sun," shop owner Mohannad Seoud Ahmad Matar said Tuesday. "Ten days ago, this sky was completely dark. You couldn't distinguish day from night." Advertisement Eight burning wells have been extinguished in recent weeks, said Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad, adding that most were located near homes. The area's 54 wells once pumped nearly 10,000 barrels a day before IS militants took the fields in their June 2014 onslaught when they seized a third of Iraq's territory. Jihad could not say how many were still burning, but from the edge of the town, at least five separate sites could be seen. The work has taken so long because of security concerns: Militants initially still had fired mortars occasionally into the area, and it also had to be cleared of booby traps and unexploded ordinance left behind by IS fighters. "The work accelerated since the security situation improved," Jihad said. "But it's still unclear how long it will take to finish, as there are still fires in wells and scattered oil pools." Droplets of oil fell from the toxic clouds on the town south of Mosul, leaving a sooty residue on clothing, houses, crops and even livestock. In one oilfield on Qayara's outskirts, blackened bulldozers pushed dirt over the burning ground at several sites to try to smother the flames. With each push of the shovel, however, black crude flowed in a new stream, making the task seem futile. Workers without masks wrapped their faces in scarves as protection from the smoke. Rays of sunlight that cut through thick clouds reflected off glass-like melted sand. Near one well, oil flowed downward from its source a river of pollution portending a costly cleanup. "it's hot, it's boiling, a very high temperature," said Hussein Saleh Jibouri, a worker standing on a moonscape where black and white clouds obscured the sun and a stream of oil flowed into a valley. Some of the oil oozed into trenches to divert it from the Tigris River and inhabited areas. Advertisement Where a burning oil well once raged, children with blackened faces played war, simulating battles between militants and the Iraqi army with fake homemade guns and using rocks as grenades. One wielded a pipe to simulate a rocket launcher, while another staged a mock beating of an IS prisoner. The Iraqi army triumphed in the end, and the children cheered atop a pile of cinderblocks they pretended was a tank. Several children ventured deeper into the smoke to get a free meal handed out by the state oil company, which was working to put out the fires. Last week, the U.N. warned that the toxic smoke, which also was coming from a nearby sulfur gas factory, will have mid- and long-term effects on the health and livelihood of residents, as well as the environment. More than 1,500 people have sought medical treatment for respiratory problems. "People usually came to our health center seeking treatment for symptoms like fever, coughing, respiratory problems, diarrhea and asthma complications," said Dr. Tayseer Alkarim, an oncologist from the France-based group called WAHA. The NGO has been in Qayara since September to help support the only hospital in the area with medicine, doctors and nurses during the crisis. "Now that the main oil fire is not burning anymore, the number of patients is down. So it's an improvement from when we first came then there was no medication or health care here." Associated Press The following items were taken from Norridge and Harwood Heights Police Department reports. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt. Norridge Advertisement Theft Gavontay Towers, 21, of the 4700 block of West Erie Street, Chicago, was charged Nov. 18 with retail theft and battery in the Walgreens parking lot on the 4100 block of Harlem Avenue. A Walgreens manager called police to report a man who punched an employee in the face. Police said Towers purchased several items, but walked out of the store with a can of Arizona iced tea and a box of Alka-Seltzer that he didn't pay for. A Walgreens employee followed him outside and confronted him, and Towers allegedly struck him in the left cheek with a closed fist, according to police. Police said he fled on foot and was arrested a short time later at the Wendy's on the 3900 block of North Harlem Avenue. He is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 23. Unlawful use of credit card Oliwia M. Gala, 25, of the 6800 block of Addison Street, Chicago, was charged with unlawful use of a credit card Nov. 18. Police said Gala charged $62 on a stolen credit card at the BP gas station on the 4400 block of North Harlem Avenue. Advertisement Burglary David Ikonomopoulos, 42, of the 5300 block of North Chester Avenue, Chicago, was charged Nov. 18 with burglary. Police said a couple arrived on the 7700 block of West Lawrence Avenue on Nov. 6 to pick up a work trailer. Police said the couple allegedly saw Ikonomopoulos walking away from the trailer carrying a chainsaw and a hedge trimmer. Ikonomopoulos told the couple, "I'm just getting my stuff" when they asked what he was doing, police said. The lock of the trailer was broken and several tools were scattered on the ground nearby. Police said the stolen items were sold to a pawn shop in Stone Park. Police said Ikonomopoulos allegedly admitted to selling the items to a pawn shop, but denied taking them from the trailer. Harwood Heights Aggravated assault Nicholas V. Quintero, 26, of the 7600 block of West School Street, Chicago, was charged Nov. 16 with aggravated assault with a knife in the parking lot of Burlington Coat Factory on the 4700 block of North Harlem Avenue. Police said Quintero threatened another driver with a knife after the driver saw him drop his phone as he walked through the parking lot and yelled at him to pull up his pants as he bent down to pick it up. Quintero told police the driver used also used a racial slur, and allegedly admitted to getting angry and pounding on the driver's window while holding a knife in his right hand. He also kicked the bottom part of the vehicle, police said. Quintero was also cited for criminal damage to property and possession of drug paraphernalia. A court date is scheduled for Jan. 3. Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. Oak Park Library Board President Matt Baron has announced his intention to run for a seat on the Oak Park and River Forest High School Board of Education this spring. Baron, 48, officially announced Nov. 21 that he would run for the OPRF school board rather than seek a second term on the library board, where he has served as the board president for the past 18 months. Advertisement "It's been an evolving process because I really enjoyed my term on the library board and I wanted to continue," Baron said. "It's been rewarding." Baron said his decision to leave the library board began more than a year ago during sensitivity training with the library board. Advertisement "It dawned on me that we have a very skewed makeup on our board," Baron said. "We have no African Americans and one Latina. All the team photos in the library board room were really white. I thought, 'this isn't right.' " Baron said he then began reaching out to minority citizens, specifically African Americans, to run for seats on the library board in 2017. "I started putting the word out, and three African American men have let me know they plan to run," Baron said. "My understanding is there has never been an African American male on the library board. I realized I wanted to create this change on the board." In seeking that change, Baron chose to step away from the library board to allow others to serve. In doing so, he said he was not ready to give up public office, and began looking at his options. Realizing his twin children, who are currently at Brooks Middle School, will begin attending the high school next year helped persuade Baron to seek a seat on the OPRF board. "A lot of the goals of the library are the same goals the schools have of educating people and helping them prepare for what's next in their world," Baron said. "It was a natural thing to consider." As he works to create his platform, Baron said he would bring his personal beliefs of inclusion, collaboration and creativity to the school board. In addition to tackling academic challenges, Baron said he would eagerly work toward a new swimming pool solution following the apparent failure of the Nov. 8 referendum. "The pool is a really big deal, and I voted against the referendum," Baron said. "I felt it was too big of a pool, too much money and that the school can solve this without going to that much expense and that much upheaval [of tearing down the parking garage]." Advertisement Baron said he will also become a familiar face at upcoming OPRF school board meetings in order to get up to speed on school issues. "I plan to attend as many of those as I can to get up to speed on what they are talking about, so if I am elected I can hit the ground running," Baron said. sschering@pioneerlocal.com Twitter: @steveschering What to do after you're done stuffing yourself with turkey: 1) Discover the wonders of ramen pasta Advertisement Intro is taking the idea that America is a melting pot and running with it. The Lincoln Park restaurant, which brings in a new guest chef every few months to cook alongside permanent chef Stephen Gillanders, now hosts former Japonais chef Hisanobu Osaka, who brings together Italian and Japanese flavors and techniques via what he calls his Japanese trattoria menu. Dishes, available a la carte, include pastas made with ramen dough, a focaccia topped with yuzu and sweet potato, and arancini with sushi rice. Through mid-February. Reservations available 5:30-10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, and Saturday, Nov. 26; 5:30-9 p.m. Sunday at Intro, 2300 N. Lincoln Park West, 773-868-0002, www.introchicago.com 2) Try some serious barbecue Advertisement Follow up Thanksgiving with a barbecue feast, because you're a champion. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Put down that Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich, and head up north to join Rub's Backcountry Smokehouse & BBQ Supply Co. for a pit-to-table dinner. Pitmaster Jared Leonard, who also owns The Budlong, will preside over the 8,000-pound smoker and hardwood-fueled fire, serving three meats, a vegetable dish and dessert from the 900-degree flames. BYOB. $39. 7-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, at 6948 N. Western Ave., 773-675-1410, www.pitdinner.com Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > 3) Shop for your food-loving friends The Spanish Square cocktail Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016. Styled by Lisa Schumacher. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) Small Business Saturday falls after Black Friday and encourages customers to take advantage of deals at local shops, markets and restaurants instead of big-box stores. Lakeview favorite The Spanish Square gets into the spirit by allowing guests to sample market items chocolates, peppers, olive oils, even wine from the attached bodega to craft custom gift baskets for loved ones. $10 to sample; ticket price applied to the purchase of a gift basket, which includes cards, ribbon, wrap and filling. 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, at The Spanish Square, 1358 W. Belmont Ave., 773-717-7900, www.brownpapertickets.com 4) Shop for your food-loving friends, part 2 Taco in a Bag will be one of the food vendors at this weekend's Randolph Street Market. (Ryan OConnor ) Peruse 125-plus local designers, makers and vendors at the Randolph Street Market to find the perfect candy, caramel or blended oil for your favorite host or hostess, and savor snacks from local restaurants on-site to feed the crowds. A complimentary trolley shuttles attendees between the market and the Water Tower on Michigan Avenue. $8 general admission; $13 admission plus tote. 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, and Sunday, Nov. 27, at 1340 W. Washington Ave., www.randolphstreetmarket.com 5) Drink wine, see a magic show Drink and be dazzled by magic at the Palmer House Hilton. Ignore the real world for a second with a dose of magic. At the Magic Parlour inside the Palmer House Hilton, third-generation magician Dennis Watkins entrances audiences with classic illusions and mind reading. While you're working out Watkins' methods, sip on wine and beer, included in your ticket price. $79. 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 25; 4:30, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, at 17 E. Monroe St., www.themagicparlourchicago.com jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com Twitter @joeybear85 Your leftovers pie can go in many directions, depending on what you have from the Thanksgiving table. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) Thanksgiving leftovers are easily turned into a post-holiday pie, as our step-by-step guide shows (See the story here.). Yet it doesn't hurt to get some advice from cooking pros, the folks whose cookbooks we read and television shows we watch, who also have to cope with the perennial dilemma of what to do with all the leavings from the feast. You'll note some of these tips call for leftovers, others ask for fresh ingredients (items you presumably purchased for the big dinner but didn't use) and there are also suggestions to use a store-bought pie shell. Make sure to read and follow the manufacturer's directions for using and, perhaps, thawing pre-made pie crusts. Advertisement Rick Bayless: "When it's time to reassemble whatever leftovers you have, remember that the hard part of cooking your feast is over. Still, you need a plan, and that plan should include using only ingredients at easy access, keeping things simple and aiming for easy cleanup." Bayless is a Chicago restaurateur, cookbook author and host of public television's "Mexico: One Plate at a Time." Advertisement Nathalie Dupree: "Keep it simple. Use a store-bought crust if you are not an expert crust-maker. The point is to avoid stress when the house is full of hungry people. (I prefer the name brand ones in a package in the refrigerator). Remember that you are not actually cooking the things in the pie. You are only cooking the crust and heating the insides. So make a good sauce, adding the turkey and other ingredients, and taste and season it. Pre-bake the bottom crust if possible. It does not have to have a top crust unless you choose to cover it. Consider making small pies instead of one large one unless it will be eaten up quickly, and freeze what won't be eaten in a day or two." Dupree is author of numerous cookbooks and a television cooking-show host based in Charleston, S.C. Donna Battle Pierce: "I've most recently enjoyed making a well-seasoned roux in which to stir in the turkey and leftover veggies, including greens, okra, red bell peppers ... a good blend. Sometimes I put it in a cast iron skillet and top the filling with a sheet of puff pastry and bake until the puff pastry turns golden ... yum." Pierce is a Chicago-based food writer and former Tribune test kitchen director, whose syndicated column "Black America Cooks" appears in the Chicago Defender and other black publications throughout the United States. She has contributed "Hungry for History" columns to Ebony.com. She blogs at www.familyreunioncooks.com and www.blackamericacooks.com. Ming Tsai: "Buy any pie dough (I've used Pillsbury in the past, and it works great) to save the work of homemade dough. In a saute pan, add 2 cups mirepoix (1 large carrot, 1 yellow onion and 2 stalks celery, all chopped), 1 large sweet potato (peeled and small diced) and 1 tablespoon each of garlic and ginger. Saute until vegetables are soft and caramelized. In a big bowl, combine the caramelized mirepoix, 2 cups of shredded leftover dark meat and 2 cups of leftover gravy. Mix until well combined, and spread into pie dough. Bake according to pie dough instructions. Finally, serve with a big dollop of leftover ginger-cranberry sauce, and enjoy!" Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > Tsai is a Boston-area restaurateur, cookbook author and host of public television's "Simply Ming" series. Virginia Willis: "My first advice would be that, after a day or so, to freeze everything for later, when you and your family aren't completely over the taste of turkey. If I were, however, to make a pie, I'd either use Dufour's puff pastry and make a pot pie or make a dumpling-style casserole. I'd suggest sauteing a fresh mirepoix and making a white sauce, then adding the chopped turkey. I like to really revamp leftovers for Thanksgiving (and just the normal weekly ones) to make it a completely stand-alone dish, not just a reheated revamp." Willis is a cookbook author, chef and Southern food authority. Advertisement Grace Young: "You could change the pie up and use Asian vegetables: shiitake mushrooms, bok choy (cut into 1-inch sections) with carrots and minced ginger. You could flavor the roux with a splash of soy sauce and a pinch of curry powder and some chopped cilantro." Young is a cookbook author living in New York. wdaley@chicagotribune.com Twitter @billdaley Count West Side rapper Twista among the celebrities offering prayers to Kanye West, who was hospitalized earlier this week for stress and exhaustion. "No one is perfect when it comes down to living life in general, so this morning I pray my homie," Twista wrote in an open letter to West posted Tuesday on Chicago hip-hop blog Fake Shore Drive. "I pray that Kanye finds that one thing that money and fame can't buy. #APeaceofMind Chicago loves you bro." Advertisement Twista, whose 2004 album "Kamikaze" features West, said it takes a "very strong-minded person" to handle the stress of the music industry and pressure from fans, record labels, friends, family, bill collectors and the media. "A clown gets paid to make other people happy, even if that clown might be going through a mental breakdown, that clown can't let the public see him cry or else he might (lose) the only job that helps him take care of his family," Twista wrote. Advertisement Before he was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Monday, West's behavior was erratic. He ended a California show Saturday after four songs and a rant about Beyonce and Jay Z, among others. The rest of his "Saint Pablo" Tour was canceled. RELATED STORIES: Kanye West hospitalized in Los Angeles, network confirms Chance the Rapper prays for 'big brother' Kanye West on British radio Kanye West says if he'd voted, he would've voted for Trump Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) Teddy bear tales are plentiful and author Patricia Thorne shared one about her grandfather in a 2012 book, The Untold Story of the Teddy Bear. (Victoria J Baxter / Getty Images) So, where is my teddy bear? It's been a while. Is he tucked into a drawer some place? Or in one of the astonishing number of boxes I have in various storage facilities all over town, with old clothes, letters and yearbooks? Or did he just split, take off on his own, around the time I stopped hugging him and started hugging girls? Advertisement These questions always arise at this time of year and though there are certainly more pressing matters to contemplate, these bear questions offer a respite for the world's troubles. It may be true, as it is said in Corinthians 13:11, "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things," but the teddy bear is not among those things for me. Advertisement MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Some years ago, in 2003 to be precise, there was a teddy bear exhibit at the Cultural Center. Organized by the city's cultural historian Tim Samuelson, it was a wildly popular gathering of nearly 700 stuffed bears in glass cases. It was called of "Teddy Bears at Home in Chicago" and many of the bears were on loan from their adult owners; Samuelson asked for mine but I couldn't find it. In addition to teddy bears, there were other varieties of the species such as Winnie-the-Pooh, Paddington and Smokey Bear. The exhibit also featured children's books, cookie jars, bear-shaped clothing hangers and a record album featuring Elvis cradling a teddy bear. "Almost everyone in their life has had a relationship with a teddy bear," said Samuelson. They have an appeal to everyone." And as a historian, his exhibition noted the importance that Chicago has played in the bears' popularity. There is no argument that the bear's name was inspired by President Teddy Roosevelt. On a bear hunting trip in Mississippi, he had failed to make a kill. So his hosts caught a bear, tied it to a tree and invited the president to shoot it. Roosevelt allegedly said, "Spare the bear! I will not shoot a tethered animal." The next day, Washington Post cartoonist Clifford Berryman captured this event in his drawing above the caption, "Drawing the line in Mississippi." But, as it often will when being consulted on factual matters, the internet offers a dizzying array of contradictory, conflicting and simply false stories about the bear. My go-to person on this matter has for some years been Patricia Thorne. She is a writer, photographer, and graphic artist. She lives in Idaho now but grew up here and began her career in advertising in Chicago in the early 1950s. Advertisement When she was a little girl, she was given a stuffed bear by her grandfather. She too long ago misplaced that bear but was inspired to write a book about her grandfather and the bear. "Anyone who has ever owned and loved a teddy bear, I think, would be interested in reading my grandfather's story," she says. In 2012, after many years of research, she wrote that story. "The Untold Story of the Teddy Bear" is a wonderful, touching, lavishly illustrated tale about her grandfather, Albion Parris Thorne. She makes the strong case that this toy buyer for Carson Pirie Scott & Co. is the person who brought the teddy bear to American markets and gave it its name, not long after a buying trip to Europe in spring 1903. There he ordered 3,000 stuffed bears from the Steiff Co. in Germany. As his granddaughter writes, "When the order arrived, the company's officials asked him why he had spent so much money on this one item. His response had been that he 'Just thought it would go over big.'" He had no idea. The bear sold modestly until 1906 and it was the Cubs that created helped create a sensation, a buying furor. "I understand from my research that 1906 was the year that the Cubs played the White Sox in the World Series," says Thorne. "It was the excitement over that which led thousands of Cubs fans to discover and buy the teddy bear, on sale at Carson's, as their mascot. "The enormous sales of the teddy bears by those fans gave the little bear the publicity it needed to set it on its course to fame. By Christmas of that year it had become a favorite toy among children as well." And it would stay that way for keeps. Of course, there are thousands of stuffed bears available for sale; again; consult the internet and be made dizzy by the variety of styles and prices. Advertisement And there you'll find all manner of stabs at explaining the bear's appeal and meaning: "Teddy bears are close enough in their general configuration to a human outstretched arms, a gentle gleam in their eyes to have an obvious potential to be a comforter, like a mother"; "It's a pure gift with no strings attached, without making any demands, because the teddy bear just says, 'I care about you and want you to feel safe and warm.'" Thorne told me that her book has made its way into the Chicago History Museum, the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at the Harvard Library and the national archives at the Smithsonian Museum. It can be had and you can read an excerpt at teddybearsuntoldstory.com. She also said, "My grandfather was a great fan of the Cubs. When my grandmother died, he took an apartment close to Wrigley Field so he wouldn't miss any of their games." So, I searched the internet. I looked on eBay. No bear looked familiar. So maybe I will be able to find it somewhere in all my stored, forgotten stuff. With all the tension, fear, hatred and uncertainty in this world, I know it would do me some good just to see that old bear again. rkogan@chicagotribune.com MORE FROM RICK KOGAN: Advertisement New Chicago fest connects podcasters with their audiences Chicago restaurant king Billy Dec thinks he ought to be in movies As Lights Festival celebrates 25th year, a plug for those who started it Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) "Beauty and the Beast" with Julie Atlas Muz, from left, Jonny Dixon, Mat Fraser and Jess Mabel Jones. The show opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Dec. 1. (Juliet Shalam photo) Mat Fraser and Julie Atlas Muz performers who fell in love after meeting at Coney Island have a critically acclaimed show, a familiar title, a run under their belts at London's Young Vic theater and the Adelaide Festival in Australia, and a certain degree of notoriety from the burlesque and alternative performance circuits. Still, very few theaters in America have dared to present their new, very adult version of "Beauty and the Beast." Like in New York, Chicago, and that's all for now, folks. Advertisement "This show just is a tough one to book," laughs the outspoken Fraser over the phone the other day. "I can only assume it's the combination of too much disability and too much nudity. It's all too much for mainstream audiences." However, Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art had the nerve. The booking was made by Peter Taub, its now-departed curator of funky live performance. Fraser and Atlas Muz (he's British; she's from Detroit) arrive Dec. 1 in a city that long has stepped up when it comes to frank performance pieces about disability and sexuality. Advertisement Fraser, an actor who has notably small arms, and Atlas Muz, a New York-based performance artist whom you might characterize in this context as the more traditional beauty of the story, are married in the show, which is directed by Phelim McDermott of Britain's Improbable Theatre Company. The two also are married in real life. "I mean even the alt-right would approve of the sex in the show," says Atlas Muz, in a separate phone interview, after expressing a certain irritation with how every journalist focuses on the controversial last few minutes of the production. "People always want to tell the punchline and not the setup of the joke," she says. And what's the punchline? "Sex, of course" she says. "What do you think?" "Joe Six-Pack loves this show," says Fraser. "You know, the dude who gets dragged to the theater by his wife. Him. Everybody just connects with what we are doing at a very deep level. It's super-truth. It's about self-acceptance. And when you can be honest about love, then everything else opens up for you." Fraser and Atlas Muz say it would be inconceivable to publish some kind of script for other people to perform this piece, or even for either one of them to work with a different performer. You might say there are no understudies. Ever. "There just would not be a show," Atlas Muz says. "Did you know we created this show in order to be together when we both were married to other people at the time?" Advertisement MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR I say that I did not know that salient fact. "Well, we did. This was our excuse to get together." And, famously in London and beyond, get together they do, in this case on the stage of the MCA. "You might say we strip down the story as we go," Fraser says. More seriously, the British actor born with phocomelia (who is known for TV work, although during our interview he kept referring to himself as "yesterday's cripple" in his home country) speaks passionately about why he and his beloved are the only ones who could do this show. "It is about me and Julie and our love for each other," he said. "My little arms are the embodiment of me. Me. We are the only two people who ever could do this." Advertisement As Fraser tells the story of their romance, he says that he initially was annoyed at Atlas Muz for exploring topics like sexuality and disability in her work, only to decide to help her do so instead. "We were hot for each other, he said, "so we decided to do this project." "Beauty in our show is a super-rebellious character," Atlas Muz says. "She falls in love with someone she is not supposed to fall in love with. A lot of fairy tales are like that. You might say that our Beauty is aspirational." I decide I will broach the delicate subject with Fraser about how I've seen shows that assert the sexuality of differently-abled persons, which needs asserting and reasserting, but that also spend a lot of time in that self-evident assertion, which ultimately is clear early in the show and therefore ... He cuts me off. "You can't say it but I will," he says. "You are saying those shows can be obvious and boring. I am a cripple. I do my art because I want to change society. But I learned early on not to tell people how to change society. So at no point do we talk about disability and sexuality. We just show 'Beauty and the Beast,' and we show the love of Mat and Julie, and we never at any point talk about disability and sexuality. We are true and honest about it all. If you want your piece of art to be about black glass, you must not talk about black glass, for that's boring. I feel a lot of disability theater has had the problem of talking about it itself. That can stop people from accessing the very point on which the artists want to work. What we've got here is something that works on a mainstream theater level." It is difficult to overstate the enthusiasm with which critics in Australia, Britain and New York have greeted this "Beauty and the Beast," which is not for children and all about married people of some distinction. Advertisement There will be a variety of accommodations for people with particular needs. "Nothing," said Atlas Muz, "is more important to the two of us." "Beauty and the Beast" will run Dec. 1-11 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Stage, 220 E. Chicago Ave.; tickets $30 at 312-397-4010 and www.mcachicago.org. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@chicagotribune.com Twitter @ChrisJonesTrib RELATED STORIES: Advertisement Nerdy Miss Bennet has her day in 'Christmas at Pemberley' Why the NY cast of 'Hamilton' was right. And the Chicago disrupter wrong. Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend (Scotland, $45, 43 percent). With a friendly, round texture, this full-bodied blend of single grain and single malt whiskies tastes of baked apples and spices, an affordable sipper or great host gift. (Great King Street) Draw a large circle, and label it "whiskey." Inside, draw five smaller circles making sure they don't intersect label these American, Irish, Scotch, Canadian and Japanese. In American, you can draw one more circle, labeled Bourbon. This is the simplest explanation of whiskey. An oversimplification, to be sure, but when navigating shelves of the stuff, all the options can be confusing. Whiskey is a world unto itself. It's easy to get lost, so it's best to have a map. Advertisement First, some 101. Whiskey describes any spirit created from grain. Look at your whiskey circles each region has specific grains, distillation methods, aging requirements and laws that ultimately provide a general flavor profile neophytes can reference. From there, you're on your own, as distillers experiment and tinker with their recipes, crafting unique bottles that have us followers returning again and again. Want to get into whiskey? Here's a quick-fire primer on that chest-warming global tipple. Our first tip, though, is to get to know the spirits buyer at your local shop for the most part, they know what's on their shelves and in the bottle. Advertisement Scotch whisky What to expect: Smoky, complex, serve neat or, in the case of blended scotch, mixed in drinks What in the world is "single malt," and why do so many people drool over it? Considered the height of Scotland's whisky production (spelled with an "e" for American and Irish whiskey; all other countries drop it), single malt scotch must be aged a minimum of three years in oak, produced at a single distillery (get it?) in copper pot stills and made with malted barley. The result is a wide-ranging, deeply flavored whisky, expressing the singular flavor sought after by the distiller that's why they're so coveted by collectors. Different areas of Scotland from the coast and islands to the Highlands to Speyside yield distinct profiles, ranging from briny to spicy to smoky. Whereas single malts are expensive and coveted, blended scotch is, by far, more available but no less special. As the name suggests, the style is a blend of single malts and standard whisky, creating a smoother, lighter-flavored products but at a more accessible price point. American whiskey and bourbon What to expect: Caramel, vanilla and peppery flavors. Rye is a great mixer. Mention American whiskey, and people will assume you're talking about bourbon. Strict requirements govern the production and labeling of bourbon: At least 51 percent of the mash (the mixture of grains used to distill alcohol) must be corn, distilled no higher than 160-proof (80 percent) or put into barrel at 62 percent alcohol by volume, with no additives. It must also be aged in new, charred oak barrels. Straight rye or straight wheat whiskeys must meet the same requirements, subbing in for the corn in the mash but they are not bourbon. Rye whiskey is currently having a moment, thanks to its spicy, zesty profile, making a robust addition to cocktails. Wheated whiskey is softer, plusher and smoother, yielding a friendly, easygoing sipper. Advertisement Irish whiskey What to expect: Smooth, easy-to-drink range, great over ice or in cocktails Irish whiskey is often generalized as lighter in flavor than scotch, and that's more or less true. The industry is much less regulated than in Scotland, so there is a diverse range of styles available. For the most part, Irish whiskey is distilled three times (compared with twice, in scotch's case), creating subtle and smooth flavors. A style unique to Ireland is the "single pot still" variation of whiskey, created from a blend of malted and unmalted barley. The Irish whiskey industry is growing, and there is a lot of experimentation when it comes to aging and grain blends. Canadian and Japanese whisky: What to expect: A lot like scotch, with less smoke; subtler flavors like citrus and grass Perhaps it's unfair to lump these two whisky styles together, but because the industries are growing, with more bottles appearing on shelves year after year, they're worth noting as rising categories. Advertisement Most Canadian whisky making it stateside is the mellow, inexpensive variety the kind of bottles you find being mixed into cheap well drinks at dive bars and the like. Canadian craft distillers, however, are looking to change their country's reputation with small-batch offerings, taking a page out of the American bourbon and whiskey playbook more attention is being paid to innovation and distilling bolder, richer flavors. Meanwhile, in Japan, whisky has a history dating to 1899, with dedicated whisky production started in the 1930s. Closer in style and method to scotch than American whiskey, Japanese whiskies are easy-to-drink, smooth like crushed velvet with faint hints of smoke and wood. For now, they are a touch more expensive than their international counterparts, but more bottles are finding their way onto shelves and are worth seeking out. RELATED STORIES: Thanksgiving inspiration: 20 trendy dining rooms How to buy a humidifier Creative ways to display your photos Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 11 The Lolla Bootie from Sorel for women is crafted with waterproof leather (for light rain) and stylized with cutouts and a two-tone stacked heel, providing comfort and style for spring and summer and obviously for Lollapalooza, it's in the name), $160 www.sorel.com (Sorel) Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 A West Loop condo situated at 659 Randolph St. Unit 614 is currently on the market for $462,900. (Rick Knoell / VHT Studios) Denvers downtown Union Station has found new life as a gathering place for eating, shopping, lounging and even sleeping. (Visit Denver) DENVER Ask anyone who has lived for at least a few years in this gateway to the Rocky Mountains, and they'll say Denver has changed. It's younger and edgier, and it bubbles with an energy wholly absent when the city was "nothing but a big ol' cow town in the early '80s," as one local said. Like most places, the change is principally seen in rising home prices (bad!) and a blossoming food and drink scene (good!). Advertisement But the food and drink explosion has come in one particularly broad and curious form: the food market. Food markets have bubbled up from coast to coast, driven by successes like New York's Chelsea Market and the Ferry Building in San Francisco. But in Denver, a city of 650,000, it's a trend on overdrive. Four food markets have opened during the last three years, and another is expected by the end of the year. Advertisement They tend to have commonalities: rehabbed old buildings, a broad variety of options, beer as a central component and McDonald's need not apply. "There's a big push for independent, local operators out here," said Mark Shaker, one of the founding partners of Stanley Marketplace, which plans to open a 140,000-square-foot expanse of restaurants, offices and retail by the end of the year. "No one wants to go to a strip mall anymore, so the question is how do you do something that creates an experience?" That question is being answered across Denver in a way that locals are embracing and tourists should not miss. The Source It's the one that came first and made Denver rethink the possibilities. The Source opened in 2013 in the RiNo (River North) neighborhood, a place that was an afterthought to much of the rest of the city at the time. It's now a neighborhood in full transformation and will include a 10-story hotel beside The Source by the end of 2017. Housed in a 30,000-square-foot, 1880s-era foundry, the building was being used for storage when Kyle Zeppelin found it brick walls, barnlike, concrete floor and spray-painted graffiti on the walls. He left the art because it tapped into the energy he wanted. Vendors include a butcher, a baker, a coffee shop, a cheese shop, two restaurants and Crooked Stave, one of Denver's most buzzed-about breweries. Advertisement The Source describes itself as a "one stop shop for elevated food from all independent businesses." Or, as Zeppelin calls it, "The new form of Main Street." 3350 Brighton Blvd., www.thesourcedenver.com Avanti Food & Beverage If a tourist wanted to visit just one of Denver's food halls, this should be the one. It's tough to beat grabbing a beer and relaxing on the second floor patio with a view of the Denver skyline. Avanti opened last year in the LoHi neighborhood (Lower Highlands they love their silly neighborhood nicknames) and, like its siblings, exists in a handsome, renovated building. Still visible in peeling paint on the outside are the words "Dodson's Variety Store: Hardware, Groceries, Furniture" with an old-time Pepsi logo. Most of the food halls also wade into nonedible pursuits flower shops are particularly popular. But Avanti is strictly food and beer. Five stalls and a bar anchor the first floor, and three more counters and another bar sit on the second floor. Businesses typically sign leases of between nine and 24 months, with a plan to start their own brick-and-mortar operations once they get things humming at Avanti. Advertisement For a late lunch, I stopped by Souk Shawarma and at the counter guy's recommendation ordered a chicken shawarma sandwich with falafel added for crunch. I was glad to hear that the order would be ready in "five or six minutes because we make the falafel fresh." I grabbed a beer and chatted with bartender Geoff Piasecki, who previously worked at The Source and said the food hall craze "is definitely the hip thing right now. People love it." It's especially popular for dates forged on Tinder. "You can always tell how it's going," he said. "We had three dates going well at this end of the bar the other night. Down at the other end, not so good." 3200 Pecos St., www.avantifandb.com Union Station For decades, Denver's downtown train station was simply a place to pass through on the way to somewhere else. But with the city's renaissance and especially the one that has happened downtown Union Station came to be seen as an opportunity. And in 2014, the old train station was reinvented as a gathering place for eating, shopping, lounging and even sleeping. In addition to 13 vendors restaurants, a bookstore, a flower shop and a coffee shop the 112-room Crawford Hotel (www.thecrawfordhotel.com) has been elegantly shoehorned into the top floors of the historic building. Dining options included one of the hottest breakfast spots in town (Snooze), a restaurant launched by a James Beard Award-winning chef (Stoic & Genuine) and a '30s-era cocktail bar (The Cooper Lounge). Advertisement Amid the people staring into laptops with steaming cups of coffee and chatting away with friends on a Thursday afternoon, Union Station was barely recognizable as a train station (other than the trains pulling up outside the building, of course). Sadly, the shuffleboard table in the center of the room sat unused. But its presence made Union Station a special kind of train station. 1701 Wynkoop St., www.unionstationindenver.com Central Market The most recent addition (for now), Central Market opened in September in the RiNo neighborhood, one mile from The Source. It's a gourmet market co-founded by Jeff Osaka, a prominent local chef, that's home to 13 local vendors, including a butcher, a chocolatier, a creamery, an ice cream shop, a cheese purveyor, a bar and a pizza place. I bellied up to the counter at The Local Butcher in the center of the room, where two things were on the menu: an Italian beef sandwich and a meatball sub. I went for the meatball sub hearty, fresh and even a touch gamy in a good way. The bread was pillowy fresh, with a slight crunch. Advertisement Business had been so good, owner Justin Herd said, that he was already contemplating another location. Few of the vendors on an early Saturday evening seemed to have grounds for complaints. The place was packed. 2669 Larimer St., www.denvercentralmarket.com Stanley Marketplace By the end of the year, the Denver area will have its fifth and arguably most ambitious food market to date. Mark Shaker initially envisioned opening a beer hall in Denver's Stapleton neighborhood (site of the city's old airport), but when he was offered the old Stanley Aviation plant a few hundred yards away in the neighboring suburb of Aurora, he jumped. As Stanley Marketplace, the massive space will be home to 53 businesses, including nine restaurants and another half dozen food stalls. There also will be a gymnastics center for kids, a yoga studio, a dentist, a day care center and a brewery called Cheluna. And Shaker is getting his beer hall, on the building's southwest corner 30 taps in a 7,000-square-foot, indoor-outdoor space. Advertisement "This kind of thing has been going on for centuries, creating community and a sense of place," Shaker said. In Denver, they're updating the model. "When people have a choice, they want to support small and local," Shaker said, "and that works best when all these businesses are together not when sandwiched between a Claire's boutique and a TGI Friday's." 2501 Dallas St., Aurora, www.stanleymarketplace.com jbnoel@chicagotribune.com Twitter @joshbnoel Advertisement RELATED STORIES: End of the ride? Tourists turning away from elephants as entertainment State Dept.: 'Heightened risk' of terrorist attacks in Europe during holidays When vacation is over, volunteers bring adopted dogs back to U.S. The recent land purchase by Dakota Access LLC of ranch land along the Dakota Access Pipeline route is in compliance with state corporate farming law, according to North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. Stenehjem said Tuesday in a press release that, in his initial review, hes determined that the purchase is temporarily necessary for commercial development and therefore meets an industrial and business purpose exception in state corporate farming law. Dakota Access, a partner of Energy Transfer Partners LP, purchased about 7,000 acres of private ranch land in Morton County in September along the route for the Dakota Access Pipeline. The company has claimed the purchase was necessary due to members of the ongoing protest movement camping near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribes reservation border, resulting in repeated interruptions to construction activities. The company claimed the purchase provided for a safer environment for construction workers to do their jobs. The land is located to the north of where protesters have been camping for months. Opponents of the 1,172-mile, $3.8 billion pipeline have argued that the pipeline could contaminate Missouri River water in the event of a leak. The project is planned to go under the river, which has led to numerous demonstrations since August and prompted hundreds of arrests. Dakota Access has entered into an interim agreement that enables North Dakota to file a lawsuit at any time to enforce the states corporate farming law if a violation occurs, Stenehjem said in the release. The agreement went into effect Nov. 10 and expires Dec. 31, 2017. During the period of the agreement, the attorney generals office will continue to monitor the companys compliance and take action if any violations are discovered. The agreement says, after the expiration of the agreement or after the project is complete, the company must use the property for some use applicable under the corporate farming law or within one years time transfer ownership of the property. North Dakota Farm Bureau President Daryl Lies said he hadnt yet seen the decision by Stenehjems office. He said on first glance it sounded to him as though a sale between a willing seller and willing buyer of private land had been upheld. He said private landowners should be able to do with their property as they wish. I think thats a positive for private property rights, Lies said of the decision. North Dakota Farmers Union President Mark Watne had just received word of the decision late Tuesday afternoon. Theres reasons why corporations cant own land and theres reasons why corporations can own land, said Watne, adding he would need time to review the decision. North Dakotas corporate farming law has been on the books since 1932. Bismarck lawyer Sarah Vogel, a former state agriculture commissioner with knowledge of the states corporate farming law, was reviewing Tuesdays decision and didnt immediately provide comment Tuesday afternoon. Vogel has previously questioned the need for Dakota Access to have thousands of acres of land when the company already has a construction and pipeline easement for the project. A Dakota Access spokeswoman didnt immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. If you're feeling grumpy this Thanksgiving, blame it on the Pilgrims. Around our holiday tables, we customarily salute them for setting sail on the Mayflower in search of freedom to worship as they pleased. But in 1620, they also cobbled together a government for their tiny colony that set our nation on course for the confusion and anger unleashed by the presidential election of 2016. Advertisement This month's election has even frustrated the winner's supporters. To them it's incomprehensible that everyone doesn't realize that Donald Trump is America's last, best hope. But that idea is equally unfathomable to millions of voters who are convinced the president-elect isn't a savior, but a charlatan. The emotional heat generated by the clash of irreconcilable views won't soon dissipate. It's a potential side effect of every election. One side wins, the other loses sometimes gracefully, but not this time. Advertisement That is our Pilgrim heritage. We call it "democracy," a term unfamiliar to them. It had scarcely been uttered for many centuries, except by readers of Greek and Latin. But the Pilgrims' cherished book was the Bible. They wanted nothing to do with anything not found in Scripture, like celebrating Christmas and Easter. So we should tell the story in words the Pilgrims would understand. First of all, they weren't "undocumented immigrants," as it has become fashionable to call them. They didn't set sail before obtaining written permission from King James I of England. Things went astray when the Mayflower reached the shores of North America. The view was sobering, as William Bradford, one of their party recalled: "They now had no friends to welcome them, nor inns to entertain or refresh their weather-beaten bodies, no houses nor much less towns to repair to, to seek for succor," noted Bradford, the colony's first governor. They were also in the wrong place. By the king's charter, they were supposed to plant their colony south of there. But they were far to the north, and storms made it chancy they could reach their intended destination before running out of food. So they decided to stay where they were which presented them with a new problem. There weren't just Pilgrims on the Mayflower. Some were tradesmen, others adventurers. When the voyage ended in Massachusetts, not Virginia, some of them perhaps hoping to make their fortune in the New World said the deal was off. They "would use their own liberty, for none had the power to command them." There wasn't a royal court to settle the dispute, and it was dangerous to let it fester. Who knew how the Indians would react to their arrival? So a meeting was called where all ultimately promised to work "for the general good" and "make just and equal laws, ordinances, acts and constitutions and offices." Advertisement The Pilgrims had signed up for do-it-yourself government an idea that was then laughable, if not downright seditious. Governing was something kings did with the aid of a duke or two. Those not born to that rank should know to keep their place. Echoes of their agreement, the Mayflower Compact, would be heard in the opening phrase of the U.S. Constitution: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union " Circa 1620, the signatures of the Pilgrims who crossed the Atlantic in the Mayflower, on the "Mayflower Compact." Included are William Brewster, William Bradford, Myles Standish and Edward Winslow. (Three Lions / Getty Images) The Mayflower Compact is suitable for framing right alongside the Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln's words about a government "by the people, for the people" nicely describes what the Pilgrims wanted. In one way, life was simpler before the Mayflower Compact. When only the king's will counted, the little people never experienced postelection blues. But they also never knew the joy of shaping their own destiny. The millions of immigrants who followed the Pilgrims to our shores seemed OK with the idea that in a democracy you win some, you lose some. They got to see the sprouting of the seeds the Mayflower's passengers planted. In 1870, the 15th Amendment said a man had the right to vote whatever his skin color. In 1920, the 19th Amendment extended that principle to women. Advertisement There were bumps in the road. In 1963, John Lewis, a young civil rights activist, went to jail in Selma, Ala., for carrying a sign proclaiming: "ONE MAN, ONE VOTE." Hearing that, thousands of good people flocked there. In 1965, Lewis led them across that infamous bridge in Selma, prompting Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act, making the federal government the watchdog of everyone's access to a polling place. Lewis was elected to Congress. So considering what the Pilgrims started, here is a suggestion: Let's put aside our frustrations with the election returns for one day. When turkey and gravy and pumpkin pie are brought to our Thanksgiving tables, let's offer a toast to: William Bradford Edward Winslow William Brewster Advertisement Isaac Allerton Myles Standish John Alden John Turner Francis Eaton James Chilton Advertisement Let's thank them and the others who, bobbing on a ship in horrible weather, far from where they wanted to be, stopped bickering. By signing the Mayflower Compact, they pledged allegiance not to a king but to "a civil body politic." In plain English, they drew up a blueprint for democracy that is as relevant today as it was revolutionary on Nov. 21, 1620. rgrossman@chicagotribune.com The Chicago Muslim community has distributed turkeys to underprivileged families before Thanksgiving for 16 years. This year, amid post-election fears of being viewed as un-American, the group more than tripled the number of birds it handed out. 5,000 turkeys were given to parents and neighbors at eight elementary schools on Chicago's South Side. (Nancy Stone/ Chicago Tribune) (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune) As a line of schoolchildren obediently marched past the canary yellow lockers Tuesday morning at Woodlawn Community School, two more lines had formed at the end of the hallway an assembly line of volunteers unloading a semitrailer full of turkeys, and the mothers and grandmothers waiting to take one home to feed their families. Volunteers also hung a banner advertising the Sabeel Food Pantry, a Muslim-run pantry on the city's Northwest Side. The mission of Sabeel an Arabic word meaning "way" is to give the poor a way to survive, a central obligation of the Muslim faith, volunteers say. Advertisement For 16 years, the Chicago Muslim community has distributed free Thanksgiving turkeys to underprivileged families on the South Side. But this holiday season, the group more than tripled the number of free birds from last year to 5,000 and expanded the project to eight elementary schools in three neighborhoods. Dr. Sofia Shakir, an organizer of the annual turkey drive, said while plans to expand the effort had been underway for almost a year, it was serendipitous that it all came together after what she considered a discouraging presidential campaign and now amid fears of being viewed as un-American by the administration of President-elect Donald Trump. Last year, just days before Thanksgiving, Trump proposed the government register and track Muslims in the U.S. as part of the nation's war on terror. Earlier this week, Trump's incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus said there would not be a registry based on religion but would not "rule out anything." Advertisement At Woodlawn Community School on Tuesday, teachers and parents welcomed the Muslim volunteers with open arms. "These are the times we're living in now," said Victoria Bowens, chair of Woodlawn's local school council. "Those things didn't come from us. We know how it feels to be discriminated against. They were able to rise up and step up to help the less fortunate, in spite of." Shakir and her husband, Dr. Jihad Shoshara, called the turkey drive a homecoming of sorts. As a student at the University of Chicago, Shakir tutored children after school in Woodlawn. Shoshara attended Chicago public schools. "The turkey drive is a small way in which I feel that I can give back," he said. "We are all part of the same," Shakir said. "We're not helping others. We're helping our own." Teachers and principals at all eight schools have embraced the effort, some using it as an incentive to bolster parental involvement. At Wadsworth Elementary School, parents who had attended parent-teacher conferences got golden tickets to go to the front of the line, though no one walked away without a turkey. The turkey drive started 16 years ago when then-special education teacher Sadia Warsi heard from a third-grader in her class that he simply wished for food in the refrigerator. "I was shocked that in a country like ours that was a child's wish," said Warsi, who is now an associate professor in special education at National Louis University. She and her husband, Chicago attorney Kamran Memon, both Muslim, called on their community to help buy turkeys for children in Chicago public schools. A teacher pointed them to McCosh Elementary School, now Emmet Till Elementary School, because it served a particularly low-income population at that time. For several years, every parent at the school got a turkey. Advertisement In 2006, Memon turned the project over to Shakir and Shoshara, longtime volunteers. Through a partnership with the Chicago-based Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America, the largest halal certifier in the U.S. that also runs the Sabeel Food Pantry, Shakir was able to negotiate a wholesale price and arrange for refrigerated trucks to make the deliveries. The council matched donations this year to expand its outreach. Shoshara said the project puts into practice Muslim teachings and fulfills one of the five pillars of Islam called zakat, or charity. For guidance, he looks to the Prophet Muhammad, who is believed to have said: "He is not a believer whose stomach is filled while the neighbor to his side goes hungry." But it's about more than feeding the hungry, Shoshara said. It's about giving families a way to make a meal and do something for their children. "If you can have the turkey in your own home and celebrate like everyone else in America, that gives them a sense of dignity," Shoshara said. Lawyer LaDale George, 52, of Oak Park, said he has volunteered for the turkey drive since the beginning. Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday because it's not political or religious, it's universal, he said. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > "No matter who you are, where you're from or what you believe, everyone is thankful for something," he said. "It's the most genuine holiday and creates a sense of giving and sharing." Advertisement Sheree Kelley-Lomax, 23, went to her son's school Tuesday morning to pick up a turkey. As a single mom expecting her third child in January, she welcomes any help she can get to put food on the table and make ends meet. "Something like this allows us to come together as a unit because we need unity," she said. "I think the election will allow many people to become humble." Gladys Tyler, 66, whose granddaughter goes to Woodlawn Community School, said until she got the letter about the turkey drive, she wondered whether there would be enough to feed more than 20 relatives planning to gather at her sister's house Thursday in Roseland. Now she will show up to the potluck with a turkey and desserts. "It's a blessing that they're contributing to people in great need," she said. "It's an added warmth." mbrachear@chicagotribune.com Twitter @TribSeeker Frustrated with what it says is a Canadian railway's refusal to negotiate, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority has filed a lawsuit before a federal regulatory agency demanding that it be allowed to run highway ramps over train tracks just west of O'Hare International Airport. The toll authority asked the U.S. Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday to decide "on an expedited basis" to allow the toll authority to build five ramps over Canadian Pacific Railway tracks, according to the toll authority's petition. The board has regulatory oversight of railroads. Advertisement "This was the last resort we had no other option," said Bob Schillerstrom, toll authority chairman. "The Canadian Pacific worked with us for a long period of time and then completely changed their position. They put the entire project in jeopardy by changing their minds." The ramps would be part of a planned beltway around O'Hare. When it's all done, Interstate 390 east toward the airport would connect with a new north-south tollway to be called Interstate 490, which would stretch along the airport's western border. The new tollway would connect with Interstate 90 to the north and the Tri-State Tollway to the south. Advertisement The "Elgin O'Hare Western Access" project is expected to cost about $3.4 billion, and supports the $13.3 billion O'Hare Modernization Program, the toll authority said. The toll authority has argued that western highway access is crucial to an expanded O'Hare airport, that shutting down the project would cost thousands of jobs and delays would cost the public millions of dollars. The U.S. Department of Transportation has described the project as of "national and regional significance," the petition said. Martin Cej, a spokesman for Canadian Pacific, declined comment but referred to a letter that Keith Creel, CP president and CEO, sent to Schillerstrom last week. In the letter, Creel said the toll authority plan would "unduly interfere with CP's freight rail operations and would jeopardize CP's ability to meet current and future demand for rail service." CP has argued that giving up part of its property would reduce its flexibility to deal with rail gridlock an ongoing issue in Chicago. A proposed western access highway to O'Hare has been discussed for two decades, and the Illinois Department of Transportation began talking with Canadian Pacific in 2008 to review ways to cross its Bensenville rail yard, according to the toll authority. The current petition said it concerns only crossing the tracks use of the rail yard could come up later. The petition argues that the highway bridges will allow adequate clearance for Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific operations, and that each bridge will require just one support pier on railroad property. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > The piers would be put on a shared property line between the Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific rights-of-way and leave "ample room for future expansion of the railroads' operations," the petition said. The petition said that the Union Pacific has agreed to the plan, and the toll authority and the railroad are negotiating a purchase price. In contrast, Canadian Pacific broke off four years of negotiations this past spring, saying it has no intention of selling any interest in the property, the petition said. Advertisement Because of CP's refusal to allow the toll authority to cross the tracks, the toll authority is exercising "eminent domain authority" to get the easements necessary for construction, the petition said. Schillerstrom said it was important for the toll authority to move forward, though he acknowledged that a board resolution could take years. "There's a lot at stake here for the economy of eastern Illinois," Schillerstrom said. Construction on the interchange had been planned for next year. Schillerstrom had said in August that a lawsuit was possible. CP sued the toll authority over the issue in federal court in 2015, but its case was dismissed earlier this year. mwisniewski@chicagotribune.com Twitter @marywizchicago Francisco Arroyo, 23, Julio Chavez, 22 and Jerry Teran, 22, are charged in connection with the robbery and stabbing of a homeless man in the Loop. (Chicago police photos / ) Three men in their 20s have been charged with repeatedly stabbing a homeless man during a robbery in the Loop, officials said. Francisco Arroyo, 23, Julio Chavez, 22, and Jerry Teran, 22, have been charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery. Teran also was charged with resisting a police officer, according to a statement from Chicago police. Advertisement They are to appear in bond court on Thanksgiving, police said. The three men came up on the 57-year-old homeless man about 9:15 p.m. Monday in the 300 block of South Michigan Avenue. Police saw the three men attacking the man and later learned they'd stolen his book bag, authorities said. They stabbed him four times with a cutting instrument before cops were able to intervene. Advertisement The homeless man suffered four puncture wounds and was taken to Northwestern Hospital in serious but stable condition, police said. Three of the state's most financially vulnerable public universities are set to receive a combined $17 million in emergency funding to support operations through the end of the year. Members of the Illinois Board of Higher Education voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the last-minute cash for Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois and Chicago State universities. Under the agreement, Western would receive about $8.4 million, Eastern about $5.6 million and Chicago State just more than $3 million. Advertisement The money was provided through a second stopgap plan to keep schools open, which Gov. Bruce Rauner signed June 30. The Illinois Board of Higher Education received $20 million from the state's general revenue fund and is able to distribute it to schools that showed they were in fiscal crisis. The board earmarked the remaining $3 million to the Illinois Community College Board, which will report in December on which community colleges qualify for the funding and how it should be divided. Advertisement Leaders of the universities said they were pleased to receive the extra assistance, which would help sustain operations until next semester, when new tuition dollars could arrive. "We are very happy there was a resolution because these funds allow the university to continue the rebuilding process and continue to provide quality education for our students," said Cecil B. Lucy, interim president of Chicago State. "Anything more than a dollar that we didn't have before helps. This helps with our cash flow. We will continue the operations of the university without interruption." Matt Bierman, interim vice president for administrative services and budget director at Western, said the money would be used to cover payroll and some operating costs. "That will take us into the spring semester and we'll see what the legislature does between now and March," Bierman said. The fiscal emergencies at Illinois' public universities are a consequence of the state's budget impasse. None of the state's nine higher-education institutions have received a full year of state operating funds since the 2015 budget year. State law required the schools to demonstrate their fiscal status was a "financial emergency" to receive the money. Each school submitted detailed financial reports, including cash flow statements showing evidence of depleting resources, cash management strategies, pending debt payments and analysis of possible use of restricted funds. The schools also had to demonstrate efforts to cut expenses, including reducing or reallocating staff and reducing programming. Deputy director Kevin Schoeben said the total funding represents the equivalent of about one month of payroll for each school. Left unknown at this point, however, is how quickly the universities will see that money. Tom Cross, chairman of the higher education board, said he had been in contact with Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger's office to help prioritize these dispersals and wanted to try to seal the deal Wednesday, if possible. Advertisement "We hope to have all three vouchers signed by today," Cross said. "They know that these vouchers are coming and we want to move it along as quickly as we can to help these schools." The comptroller's office has a $10.7 billion backlog of unpaid bills and is five months behind in paying vouchers, according to spokesman Rich Carter. So as of Wednesday, they are paying vouchers the office received June 17. The comptroller can expedite payments in the case of financial emergency, as Munger's office did for the first stopgap budget that freed $356 million for public universities in April. Carter said the office also would accelerate these new payments because these schools have the direst need. "Comptroller Munger is deeply concerned about the impact the budget impasse is having on Illinois' colleges and universities who have endured the last 17 months on a fraction of their normal state funding," Carter said in a statement. "Many of these institutions are struggling mightily, and Comptroller Munger will begin processing these supplemental payments as soon as she receives vouchers from the agencies." The additional funding, however, might not be as easy to come by as in the past. The first stopgap budget payments for higher education approved by the General Assembly in April came from the state's education assistance fund. The fund had an accumulated balance that allowed for immediate payment of the $600 million for higher education and grants to students. Advertisement But the $17 million approved Wednesday comes from the state's general funds, which are deep in the red. According to a recent financial projection from the governor's budget office, the state's general funds deficit will eclipse $8 billion at the end of the current fiscal year on June 30. Even after universities jump to the front of the line at the comptroller's office, it's unclear when money will be available to them. The emergency funding was included in the second temporary plan lawmakers and Rauner approved in June to keep universities afloat through the end of the year. Under that measure, nearly $666 million was set aside for day-to-day operations. The goal of that legislation was to give more money to schools most in need. For instance, Chicago State received $12.5 million on top of an earlier $20 million in emergency funding, and Eastern got $26 million. That was in addition to $12.5 million the Charleston-based school received earlier this year. Western got $31.4 million, in addition to $15 million approved earlier this year. That effort provided all three universities with 90 percent of funding when compared to the previous year. Most other schools received supplemental funds that equated to about 82 percent of the funding they received the previous year. But the schools must stretch those dollars over 18 months, and perhaps longer if the state fails to reach another agreement for appropriations for 2017. While administrators were happy for the cash, they warned it still resulted in tough decisions. Many went ahead with layoffs and program consolidations, and they argued the uncertainty surrounding higher education in Illinois could push a generation of students out of state. Several schools had sharp drops in fall enrollment, cutting into a crucial source of revenue. Advertisement Chicago State had only 86 freshmen this fall, and undergraduate enrollment plummeted 32 percent from 2015. Overall enrollment dropped 25 percent. To stay afloat the rest of the year, the university slashed its budget 30 percent and laid off 400 employees this year 40 percent of its workforce. Chicago State also has big expenses on tap, including a $600,000 severance agreement to former president Thomas Calhoun Jr. that must be paid in full by early January. The Far South Side school also must contend with losing a whistleblower lawsuit in which damages have exceeded $5 million. Eastern also had big declines in student population, with its freshman class shrinking by 25 percent and overall enrollment falling 13 percent. The school laid off 177 civil service employees earlier this year and mandated 18 furlough days for administrators and professional staff moves president David M. Glassman said were driven solely by the state's budget crisis. Total enrollment at Western fell 6.5 percent but the number of freshmen stayed nearly the same. Western laid off 145 noninstructional staff this year, and hundreds of other employees are subject to mandatory furloughs or salary reductions. Another 59 workers are taking early retirement, president Jack Thomas told legislators in May. "This doesn't change anything," Bierman said of the emergency funding. "I think most of us are in the situation, even with these dollars, where getting through the entire fiscal year is a challenge. There's still six months that has to be negotiated and we're pleading with them to get back to Springfield, take care of those negotiations and get a comprehensive package passed." Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > There's little indication that uncertainty will end any time soon. While Rauner and Democrats who control the General Assembly have restarted budget negotiations, the brutal campaign season has led each side to dig in further. Advertisement Rauner insists that lawmakers must approve portions of his economic agenda before he would sign off on a broader budget plan. Democrats led by House Speaker Michael Madigan argue Rauner's wish list has little direct affect on the budget and should be set aside in order to find agreement on a spending plan. Meanwhile, universities and social service agencies alike try to make do with partial funding while the state's pile of unpaid bills continues to grow. "This state is starving its universities to death," Glassman told legislators in March. drhodes@chicagotribune.com mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com pmatuszak@chicagotribune.com A surveillance photo of a woman or girl who tried to rob a 19-year-old woman on the CTA Red Line on Oct. 26, 2016. (Surveillance photo via Chicago police) Chicago police have released a surveillance photo of a woman who tried to rob another woman last month on a Red Line "L" train on the Near North Side during the middle of the day. The attacker tried to rob the 19-year-old woman about noon Oct. 26 on a train near the North and Clybourn station, 1599 N. Clybourn Ave., according to police. Advertisement She approached the woman and tried to take her cell phone "by force," according to an alert issued Tuesday. When the attacker failed to get the phone, she pulled the victim by the hair and tried to drag her from the train, instead only sending her from her seat to the floor, according to police. Police did not indicate which direction the train was heading. Advertisement The attacker fled the train with three other women or girls. Police did not provide a detailed description of the would-be robber or her companions, but the photograph shows a black woman or girl, with a heavy build and black hair parted in the middle and possibly with one braid over her left shoulder. She was wearing a pink, zip-up fleece sweatshirt and carrying a multicolored bag with what appeared to be a tan strap. Anyone with information can call Area Central detectives at 312-747-8382. SPRINGFIELD When Gov. Bruce Rauner took office nearly two years ago, he unveiled an ambitious, 44-point agenda that promised to transform state government through measures that included overhauling the sales and gas tax, lifting the cap on charter schools and giving struggling towns the ability to declare bankruptcy. The rookie Republican politician also laid out plans to gradually increase the minimum wage, amend the state constitution to make it easier to limit costs associated with the state's employee pension system, limit expensive payouts in personal injury lawsuits, and set term limits for lawmakers and statewide officers. Advertisement Several items on that agenda have since been shelved, as Rauner and the Democrats who control the General Assembly remain deadlocked on a state budget. The historic impasse has squeezed budgets at state universities, threatened social service providers and sent the state's debt soaring and there's little indication the stalemate will end anytime soon. That's because the fight is less about numbers than ideology. While Rauner's wish list has shrunk, it remains a prerequisite to a larger budget deal. The governor contends the state can't tax or cut its way to prosperity without enacting "structural reforms" to boost businesses and grow the economy. Advertisement Democrats led by House Speaker Michael Madigan counter that Rauner's economic proposals would do little in the short term to bolster the state's coffers. They argue that he's deliberately holding the budget hostage to push his political agenda, and that his ideas would harm working families. But Rauner says he's not giving up. With a temporary stopgap spending plan set to expire at the end of the year, he unveiled an updated five-point plan during a meeting with legislative leaders last week. The wish list still contains several of the ideas that Democrats have rejected since Rauner took office, plus some that have been political and legal stumbling blocks at the Capitol since long before he arrived. The governor said he's "trying to be flexible," and doesn't need all five items to clear the way for a budget deal. That's a message he's been telegraphing for months, though it has done little to entice Democrats to the bargaining table. It also leaves Rauner with options in the event budget pressures force him to walk away with less than he wants. Already, Rauner is calling for near daily meetings with legislative leaders when they return to Springfield next week following the Thanksgiving break. "I got it down to basically five things now, from 44," Rauner said. "And we can, you know, throw out one or two. It has to be significant. It has to send a message to job creators that it's a new day in Illinois, come to Illinois." Workers' compensation At the top of Rauner's list is an overhaul of the state's workers' compensation system, a form of insurance in which employers provide medical care and wage replacement for workers hurt on the job. Democrats have proved open to changes in the past. In 2011, lawmakers approved a broad overhaul of the system that was estimated to save employers, including state and local governments, $500 million a year. But Rauner and business groups have argued that effort, which slashed medical fees for doctors and hospitals, didn't go far enough. Advertisement The latest push centers around the issue of "causation" proof that an injury happened on the job and not, for example, at a weekend softball game. Currently, an employee must prove an injury "arises out of" and "in the course of" employment. Rauner wants to toughen that standard so an employee must prove his or her work was a major contributing cause of an injury. Democrats have strongly resisted that change, with Madigan arguing Rauner's plan would "send injured workers to welfare and the emergency room." Democrats say the focus should be on the insurance industry and how companies set workers' compensation rates. Property tax freeze One constant in the governor's agenda has been his call for a freeze on local property taxes, an idea that's popular among homeowners but causes stress for towns and schools that rely on funds from the levy. To offset the potential budget hit, Rauner wants the tax freeze to be coupled with a rollback of unfunded mandates on schools and consolidation of various government offices. Examples of unfunded mandates include the requirement that schools offer driver's education and restrictions on what services a school can outsource, but it also includes rules related to employee health care. Efforts to change those sorts of work rules are seen as an attack on unions, as are the governor's calls to eliminate restrictions regarding outsourcing of jobs like janitorial or cafeteria services. Advertisement Local officials have raised questions about Rauner's push to consolidate government operations. Township supervisors have expressed concerns about a measure suggested by Rauner's consolidation task force that would require townships that consolidate to adopt the lowest tax rate currently assessed by the entities coming together. The Rauner administration says that would shield residents from having to pay a higher property tax rate if townships consolidate, but officials say it could force the newly formed township to provide services to more people with less funds. Rauner on Tuesday indicated he was willing to consider other options for alleviating the revenue lost by a property tax freeze. "I'm willing to change it in whatever way we can get done with the General Assembly," the governor said. "There's no one way that it has to be. What we've got to do is bring down property taxes. There's various ways to do it. More local control of bargaining, bidding, contracting is one way. Reducing the number of units of government and government consolidation helps. There's a lot of different ways to do it." Education reform Rauner has also waded into the decadeslong debate over school funding, appointing a commission over the summer to come up with proposals to overhaul how the state doles out money to local school districts. The move was a departure from his earlier resistance on the issue, which he accused Democrats of embracing earlier this year as a distraction from budget talks. The commission's report is not due until Feb. 1 Advertisement Critics say education funding is not equal in part because more affluent towns heavily rely on property taxes to prop up their bottom line. That means some districts spend more than $20,000 per student while some low-income and rural districts spend less than $7,000. Changing the funding formula, though, is politically tricky. There's a limited pot of money to go around, and well-to-do districts don't want to have their share cut as lawmakers search for ways to boost funding for poorer schools. Rauner is also pushing for "school choice," which is typically code for vouchers that would provide students with state funds to attend private schools. Opponents say it's a way to privatize education and undermine teacher unions. Pension reform With the state's unfunded pension liability reaching a record $130 billion, Rauner has once again turned his focus to an overhaul of the state's five employee retirement systems. It's a topic lawmakers have long struggled to address. Landmark changes passed in 2013 were later ruled unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court. The Illinois Constitution contains a clause declaring that pension benefits cannot be "diminished or impaired" once they are bestowed, language that limits what sort of changes can be made as Rauner and lawmakers look to curb costs related to retirees. As a workaround, Rauner is supporting an idea backed by Senate President John Cullerton known as "consideration." Advertisement It's a theory based in contract law, in which benefits could be scaled back but only if workers agreed and were given something in return. Rauner said last week that Cullerton has agreed to draft a new bill using that model. It faces an uphill battle in the legislature, where Democrats will likely be unwilling to buck labor unions that helped finance their campaigns amid attacks from Rauner and his wealthy allies. Much is riding on the passage of a pension bill. As part of the stopgap budget passed in June, Rauner and lawmakers tied $200 million in help for Chicago Public Schools pensions to a larger statewide pension agreement. Cullerton initially agreed to hold on to the CPS pension bill while a broader pension plan could be worked out, but then earlier this month sent the CPS funding measure alone to the governor for action. That means Rauner now has until early January to sign or veto the bill, or it automatically becomes law. Term limits At the same time Rauner is asking lawmakers to help him pass his agenda, he's also demanding that they put limits on their time in office. The governor has long railed against the state's political "machine," contending legislators are too focused on amassing power and have become beholden to interest groups, not voters. It's a direct attack against Madigan, who has served as speaker of the House since 1983, save for two years of Republican control. Rauner has spent much of his time in office pushing a petition drive to get term limits on the ballot, though the courts have effectively ruled that lawmakers would have to vote to put term limits on the ballot for adoption. That's an unlikely scenario, particularly in the House where Madigan has argued term limits already exist in the form of elections. Advertisement Meanwhile, Rauner has developed a rather odd argument in support of term limits, saying they would result in more lame-duck lawmakers who would be willing to take tough votes on their way out of office. Rauner's reasoning seems focused on the possibility that Democratic lawmakers may break ranks and support his ideas, but it was during a lame-duck session that Democrats pushed through a major income tax increase in 2011, which Rauner has maligned. It's the expiration of major parts of that tax hike that have created some of the state's current money woes, a rollback Rauner supported during his campaign for governor. Chicago Tribune's Kim Geiger contributed. mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com Twitter @moniquegarcia Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday vowed to press ahead with reforms at the Chicago Police Department whether or not President-elect Donald Trump agrees with the results of an ongoing Justice Department probe spurred by the Laquan McDonald shooting. Responding to questions about whether the department needs to have in place a federal consent decree laying out new department training and use of force rules before Trump takes office in January, the mayor said "our commitment to reform will not change with the administration." Advertisement "We are on a journey of reform which we will not waver from," Emanuel said during an event at the police academy to talk about recruiting a more diverse pool of applicants to become police officers. "It is in the long term and short term and immediate term interests of the city." Trump drew the endorsement of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, the national FOP and other law enforcement groups. That has led some to speculate the president-elect would halt or reverse the investigations into police department tactics and racial profiling that the Justice Department under President Barack Obama has made a priority around the country. Advertisement After the video showing McDonald being shot 16 times by Officer Jason Van Dyke was released in late 2015, Emanuel initially said that a proposed federal investigation of the Police Department was "misguided." He changed his position days later and said he welcomed the civil rights probe as protests roiled Chicago. Emanuel has since been trying to walk the tightrope of attempting to prove to Chicagoans who distrust him that he wants meaningful reform in the department, while also convincing rank-and-file cops that he has their backs. Thursday is the one-year anniversary of the release of the McDonald video, which a judge ordered after the Emanuel administration fought against it in court. Though city attorneys had argued then that the video should not be released, the mayor on Tuesday said it helped spur important changes in the city. "I look back at this and I say, look, it revealed a truth, and when you have a truth the best thing to do is to confront it and address it," he said as Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and other department officials looked on. Trump has said he is in favor of tougher police tactics like the controversial stop-and-frisk policy to deal with urban crime, often singling out Chicago while on the campaign trail. Stop-and-frisk was found unconstitutional by a federal judge in New York because of its overwhelming impact on minorities there. "I think Chicago needs stop-and-frisk," Trump said at an event in September. "Now, people can criticize me for that or people can say whatever they want. But they asked me about Chicago and I think stop-and-frisk with good strong, you know, good strong law and order. But you have to do something. It can't continue the way it's going." "If (police) see a person possibly with a gun or they think may have a gun, they will see the person and they'll look and they'll take the gun away," he said. Advertisement Trump also said violence in Chicago could be stopped in a week if police were "very much tougher." jebyrne@chicagotribune.com Twitter @_johnbyrne The Exelon Quad Cities nuclear power plant in Cordova, Ill., is seen in 2007. Exelon says the plant is unprofitable due to increased competition from lower-cost natural gas plants and because transmission costs are higher because its sharing the same lines with wind power from other states. (Gary Krambeck / AP) Hours after Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration criticized aspects of a controversial and potentially costly energy bill, the power companies pushing the legislation on Tuesday dropped some of its most problematic provisions. ComEd gave up on its attempt to use the measure whose primary purpose is to prop up struggling nuclear power plants owned by parent company Exelon to push through an unprecedented change in the way consumers are charged for their energy use. The bills' backers also dropped a provision that would have required Illinois ratepayers to subsidize downstate power plants that burn coal from Wyoming. Advertisement The changes to the bill were a response to clamoring from consumer advocates and business groups that complained that the proposal from the energy and utility companies would cost ratepayers as much as $24 billion over 23 years. The Rauner administration circulated a memo late Monday night that said the governor was interested in finding a way to preserve the 1,500 jobs that are on the line at nuclear power plants in downstate Clinton and the Quad Cities, which Exelon has threatened to close if state government doesn't step in to help. Advertisement In the memo, energy policy adviser Jason Heffley said the administration should reject the portion of the bill sought by ComEd that would change the way consumers are billed for their energy use, labeling the new rates "insane" and saying the bill "skyrockets energy prices for working families and fixed-income seniors." Heffley also noted that the bill failed to provide a long-term commitment from Exelon that the nuclear plants would remain open if the company received the ratepayer-funded help. Heffley did not mention the subsidies for coal power plants, but environmental advocates had already pulled their support for the bill as a result of those subsidies, creating pressure from another side to do away with that idea. ComEd and Exelon announced Tuesday afternoon that they had decided to drop the new billing system, often referred to as "peak pricing" or "demand rates." The subsidies for coal were also set aside, with the caveat that the needs of Illinois coal plants would be taken up "sometime in the near future." And they adjusted the bill to ensure that the subsidy-seeking nuclear power plants would remain open for at least 10 years, instead of the original six. Left untouched in the bill is a controversial provision that would allow ComEd to finance investments in energy efficiency on behalf of ratepayers while collecting management fees and interest for those projects. Critics have said that provision would for the first time allow an Illinois utility company to build profits into ratepayer-funded energy efficiency efforts. Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office has estimated that under the proposal, $3.6 billion worth of investments in energy efficiency could yield $1 billion in profits for ComEd. "That's one of the things that's being fought about," Rauner said Tuesday when asked if the arrangement was fair to consumers. "There's, again, different points of view, very legitimate. ... We're trying to wrestle these things through." Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 6 The north entrance to the Exelon nuclear power plant in Cordova, Ill., is seen Oct. 7, 2011. Exelon says it will shut two Illinois nuclear plants after the Illinois legislature did not act on its request for financial support. The Chicago-based power provider said June 2, 2016, that it will close the Clinton Power Station in Clinton on June 1, 2017, and the Quad Cities Generating Station in Cordova on June 1, 2018. (Paul Colletti / AP) Muddying negotiations, Rauner said, was a lack of agreement on the facts of how the Illinois energy market would be affected, with or without the bill. "It's very frustrating in this process that experts disagree on the facts," Rauner said. "It's hard to move forward productively when that's going on." Advertisement Backers of the still-intact energy efficiency proposal, meanwhile, tried to beat back criticism of that idea. Environmental and consumer advocates said warnings about the high cost of the program failed to take into account the savings that consumers would see as a result of improvements in energy efficiency. The bill currently sets goals of achieving 18.5 percent energy savings by 2025 and 23 percent energy savings by 2030, said Chris Neme, an analyst at consulting firm Energy Futures Group. Advocates argue that the energy efficiency portion of the bill could produce $3 in savings for every $1 in investment. "Energy efficiency is a two-sided coin," said Nick Magrisso, of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It has costs, and it has savings, and you can't talk about the costs without talking about the savings." Proponents are hoping for a vote on the legislation when lawmakers return to Springfield after the Thanksgiving holiday. kgeiger@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @kimgeiger A free, community Thanksgiving meal will take place in Bismarck on Thursday for the first time in at least five years. A similar meal is hosted annually in Mandan, but Sister Kathleen Atkinson noticed that many of the neediest people were unable to get there or were spending the entire day walking there from Bismarck to share in the feast. Some called her over the past few years because they were hungry or wanted to volunteer. "All it needed was somebody who said we'll take the lead," said Atkinson, of the Annunciation Monastery and Ministry on the Margins. "It's just been real grassroots." The Bismarck meal will take place at First Presbyterian Church, where Thanksgiving lunch was hosted by AID Inc. for more than a dozen years. AID Inc. will still be hosting its meal at the First Lutheran Church in Mandan. On Sunday afternoon, Atkinson was grocery shopping with her top volunteers, including Duane Ehrens, chef at CHI St. Alexius Health, and Teresa Reis, an office manager at an environmental firm and longtime volunteer at the Banquet. "Homemade, homemade, homemade," said Reis, as she described the roasted turkey and freshly mashed potatoes she planned for the event. "A lot of the community doesn't get these home-cooked meals." Atkinson's team is planning for 375 people, which comes out to a dozen turkeys, 150 pounds of red potatoes and 16 giant cans of corn. There also will be pies, trays of stuffing and fresh gravy. More than 80 volunteers have signed up for shifts to cook, serve and clean today and Thursday. People will fill their plates with turkey and all the trimmings at the buffet and eat their meal at tables with live music, including a sing-along of "America the Beautiful," if Atkinson has her wish. Atkinson said she is hoping the meal will provide more than just a full belly for people who may normally eat at the weekly Banquet, which does not serve on Thanksgiving. She thinks it will provide a sense of community, as well. "It's something about being with people, having the music, having the placemats," she said, holding up a colorful, autumn-themed mat from her purse. Patti Regan, executive director of AID Inc. and host of the Mandan meal, says she is feeling excited for Atkinson not competitive. She shared recipes, calculations and volunteer sign-up sheets with the Bismarck crew. "I think anybody who feeds the hungry, you're alright in my eyes," she said. Atkinson and Regan said their lunches are open to anybody not just the poor. "It isn't just for people that are homeless. It's for people that are lonely or their kids are all moved out," Regan said. "There's just times when you find yourself alone and you just don't need to be." Jim Barnhardt, a member of New Song church, will help prepare the Thanksgiving meal with his wife in Bismarck. "We both grew up without a lot in the household," he said. "It's nice to get to a point where you can help a little bit financially or time-wise." The meal in Mandan is supported by Dan's Supermarket and the one in Bismarck is supported by Walmart, Lucky Duck's and CHI St. Alexius Health. "We just thought this is a great cause," said Lori Joritz, community involvement manager at Walmart. "We'd definitely like to be a part of it every year." In this July 7, 2016 file photo, Scott Roeder appears in court in Wichita, Kan. Roeder, who was convicted in 2010 in the murder of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, will have to serve at least 25 years of a life sentence before becoming eligible for parole. At a resentencing hearing Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, prosecutors withdrew their request that Roeder serve at least 50 years before parole eligibility. (Bo Rader / AP) WICHITA, Kan. The man who seven years ago ambushed and fatally shot one of the few U.S. doctors performing late-term abortions was given a more lenient sentence Wednesday of at least 25 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. At a surprise resentencing hearing, prosecutors withdrew their request that Scott Roeder serve at least 50 years before parole eligibility. Roeder also was sentenced to an additional two years for aggravated assault for threatening two church ushers as he fled. Advertisement Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said that the decision not to seek the added time was reached by prosecutors after examining Roeder's health, his expected life span and the likelihood of whether he would ever be released from prison alive. The family of victim Dr. George Tiller also was consulted, he said. Roeder was convicted in January 2010 of premeditated first-degree murder for the shooting death of Tiller as he was serving as an usher in the foyer of the doctor's church in Wichita on May 31, 2009. Advertisement Tiller's murder was among the most notorious acts of violence since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized the procedure nationwide in 1973. It alarmed the abortion rights community and came as numerous conservative states, including Kansas, passed restrictions making it harder for women to obtain abortions. The hearing Wednesday came just days before Roeder was set to go before a jury on Monday for what had been anticipated to be a two-week sentencing hearing. Roeder's original life sentence with no chance of parole for 50 years was among many vacated after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that juries, not judges, must decide whether to increase punishment. "I was really shocked about today," Roeder said in a prison phone call to The Associated Press after the hearing. "I was glad obviously to hear the sentence reduced, but I was looking forward to being another voice for the unborn so I was disappointed in that respect." He said he knew the consequences of his actions going in and has "no regrets" because children have been saved because of him. Roeder, who suffers from prostate problems, looked much thinner than at his initial sentencing in 2010 and was subdued throughout the proceeding. He chose not to make a courtroom statement before the judge pronounced his sentence. That was in contrast to the previous sentencing hearing that Roeder used as a forum to espouse at length his anti-abortion views in an effort to justify his killing the doctor to save unborn babies. Bennett told reporters after the hearing that "rather than putting the community and the victim's family and witnesses through another contested hearing" in order to extend a 58-year-old inmate's parole eligibility from 25 to 50 years, the state decided to withdraw the request. He cited Roeder's declining health and doubts he would live long enough to ever get out of prison. Bennett said the decision was made "in the best interest" of the community and Tiller's family. Advertisement Bennett also read a statement from Tiller's family saying nothing will change the fact Tiller was assassinated, and the family continues to grieve his loss. The family cited the "very difficult and emotionally draining trial" in which Roeder was found guilty, and thanked those involved for ensuring it was a fair trial. Tiller's family said they had decided to support the sentence of a minimum 25 years in prison without parole. "With this legal closure, the Dr. George Tiller family will continue to heal and thrive and live fully in our communities," their statement said. The abortion rights group Trust Women, which opened a clinic in 2013 in the same facility where Tiller once practiced, said in a statement its staff is grateful the doctor's family has some measure of closure and healing. Its founder, Julie Burkhart, said Roeder deserves the maximum sentence allowed by law. "Dr. Tiller's assassination most certainly left a hole in the reproductive rights movement, but we remain committed to this critical work in his honor and memory," Burkhart said. Defense attorney Mark Rudy said after the hearing that he thinks his client is relieved it is over, and no appeal is planned. The defense has already lost on every other appeal issue and this is the minimum sentence Roeder could hope to receive, he said. Advertisement "We are glad we can put this to rest," Rudy said. Associated Press MOSUL, Iraq An airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition on Wednesday "disabled" the fourth bridge on the Tigris River in Mosul, leaving the northern Iraqi city with a single functioning bridge and further disrupting the Islamic State group's supply lines amid the government offensive against IS militants. The extremist group's media arm, the Aamaq news agency, and a top Iraqi commander in Mosul reported the airstrike, which took place before dawn. It was the second airstrike to target a Mosul bridge this week and the fourth since shortly before the Oct. 17 start of the Iraqi government's campaign to retake the city from IS. The airstrike was followed by intense fighting in an eastern Mosul neighborhood where Iraq's special forces are slowly advancing toward the city center, hampered by suicide car bombings, sniper's fire and concerns over the safety of civilians still living inside the city. Mosul had five bridges over the Tigris until shortly before the start of the campaign. Targeting the bridges appears designed to disrupt IS supply lines in Mosul, which is sliced in half by the river. Most of the fighting in Mosul is taking place in the eastern part of the city east of the Tigris where Iraqi special forces are slowly moving toward the city center in the face of stiff IS resistance. A member of the Iraqi Christian forces Kataeb Babylon stands guard beneath a cross at the Mar Benham Syriac Catholic monastery in the town of Khidr Ilyas, southeast of Mosul, on Nov. 22, 2016. (Safin Hamed / AFP/Getty Images) The destruction of the bridges means that the Iraqi military and its allies the Kurdish peshmerga forces and Sunni tribesmen would have to use military pontoon bridges to cross the river when they arrive at the banks of the river. Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil of the Iraqi special forces told The Associated Press that his men were slowly pushing back IS fighters in the densely populated Mosul neighborhood of Zohour. He said their progress was hampered by IS suicide car bombs, several of which were targeted by coalition aircraft before they reached their intended targets. His men were in control of about half the neighborhood by Wednesday afternoon, he said. Mortars, artillery and automatic fire were used in the fighting, which prompted dozens of families to flee their homes to the safety of centers set up for displaced civilians away from front-line neighborhoods, according to an AP team in Mosul. Unmanned aircraft flew overhead and deep booms from airstrikes could be heard. Plumes of smoke rose above the battlefield. By the afternoon, reinforcement of about 100 heavily armed special forces troops arrived and moved directly to the battlefield. Advertisement The displaced families arrived to safety carrying plastic bags filled with personal belongings. They had walked from neighborhoods closer to the center of the city. One family arrived on a donkey-drawn cart. Across the street from where the displaced civilians were being loaded onto trucks, a wounded soldier was brought for treatment. Later, the body of a dead soldier arrived in a black Humvee. It was wrapped in a blanket bearing the image of Imam Hussein, one of the most revered saints to Shiite Muslims. Later, five members of the same family were rushed into the medical aid station. All five a man and four children were bleeding from shrapnel wounds when a mortar hit their home in the Tahrir neighborhood. Dozens of other displaced civilians also descended on the aid station but were turned away by troops, who said they had intelligence that IS was planning to send suicide bombers masquerading as displaced families there. The progress of the Mosul campaign has been slow as the Iraqis and the U.S.-led coalition avoid using overwhelming power against the Islamic State group because of the presence inside the city of some 1 million civilians. On Tuesday, a U.N. spokesman said the number of displaced people fleeing the military operation in Mosul has risen to over 68,000. Stephane Dujarric said 8,300 Iraqis had been displaced from the city and outlying districts over the past four days, citing figures from the U.N.-linked International Organization for Migration. The majority of the displaced 59,200 came from the districts surrounding Mosul and the rest from inside the city, he said. In Turkey, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and the prime minister of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Nechirvan Barzani, met Wednesday to discuss the operation to oust IS militants from Mosul, according to an emailed statement. Ankara and the Iraqi Kurds have forged strong economic bonds. Barzani later travelled to Istanbul where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Associated Press WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the first woman tapped for a top-level administration post during his White House transition so far. It will be a Cabinet-level position, and Haley has accepted, Trump said in a statement Wednesday. Jason Miller, a transition spokesman, indicated in a telephone briefing with reporters that Trump would be picking another Cabinet member on Wednesday. He said Trump has interviewed more than 60 "qualified people" for administration jobs. Advertisement "Governor Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country," Trump said in the release. "She is also a proven dealmaker, and we look to be making plenty of deals. She will be a great leader representing us on the world stage." Haley, an outspoken Trump critic throughout much of the presidential race, would become his first female and first minority Cabinet-level official if confirmed by the Senate. She's the daughter of Indian immigrants and is the second Asian-American to serve as a U.S. governor. Advertisement While Haley has limited foreign policy experience, Trump said he was impressed with her knowledge of global affairs. Miller also said the two had "a natural chemistry." Gov. Nikki Haley, (R-SC), speaks at the Federalist Society at the 2016 National Lawyers Convention at the Mayflower Hotel, on Nov. 18, 2016, in Washington, D.C. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images) South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham praised Haley as a good choice and said in a statement that he looks forward to working with her on "overdue reforms of the United Nations." Graham is chairman of the Senate's Foreign Operations Subcommittee on Appropriations, which is responsible for funding the UN and all American foreign assistance. Haley said she accepted the assignment partly out of "a sense of duty." "When the president believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation's standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed," she said in a statement. Not all presidents have treated the ambassadorship to the U.N. as a Cabinet-level position, and Republicans have tended not to grant that status. Miller said Trump is "spending significant time" weighing his choice for secretary of state. Among those he has interviewed is 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who repeatedly denounced Trump during the 2016 campaign. After secretary of state, the UN ambassador is the highest-profile diplomatic position, often serving as the voice for U.S. positions on the international stage. As part of the Cabinet, Haley would have more opportunity to shape U.S. policies, rather than simply defend the administration's positions. Yet it could be an awkward role at times. Trump campaigned on the theme of "America first" and said he is skeptical about "international unions that tie us up and bring America down." Trump has also described the United Nations as weak and incompetent. Advertisement Haley would be the third consecutive female U.S. ambassador to the UN, after Susan Rice and Samantha Power, the current ambassador. Haley's new job clears the way for Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster to step into the role of South Carolina governor. McMaster was an early Trump endorser, backing him before the state's GOP primary in February. At the time, Haley campaigned for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, before going on to support Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Bad blood between Trump and Haley was evident in interviews and on social media. "The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!" Trump wrote on Twitter in March. Haley denounced several of Trump's campaign comments and urged voters to "reject the siren call of the angriest voices." However, Haley met with the president-elect last week at Trump Tower. Afterward, she said they'd had a "very nice" conversation. A week ago while meeting with other Republican governors in Orlando, Haley said she was heartened by Trump's tone and inclusiveness after winning the election. "I hope he continues to do that, and I hope he continues to be disciplined in his comments." Advertisement Trump is spending Thanksgiving with his family at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Associated Press Injecting the first diversity into his Cabinet-to-be, Donald Trump selected two Republican women on Wednesday who had unflattering things to say about him during the presidential campaign: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education. Gov. Haley has little foreign policy experience, yet Trump praised her as "a proven dealmaker." DeVos, like Trump, is new to government but has spent decades working to change America's system of public education. Advertisement DeVos and Haley are the first women selected for top-level administration posts as the president-elect works to shape a White House team from scratch. Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants, so she also would be his first minority selection after a string of announcements of white men. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said "an announcement is forthcoming" on his role, which would make him the first black choice possibly as secretary of Housing and Urban Development but he also suggested he'd be thinking about it over the Thanksgiving holiday. Advertisement "I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly to making our inner cities great for everyone," Carson wrote on his Facebook page. Trump is also expected to select billionaire investor Wilbur Ross Jr. to lead the Commerce Department, a senior Trump adviser said Wednesday, speaking only on condition of anonymity because the adviser was not authorized to disclose internal deliberations. The 78-year-old Ross, who is white, is chairman and chief strategy officer of private-equity firm W.L. Ross & Co., which has specialized in buying failing companies. Wednesday's picks came as Trump worked to distance himself from the "alt-right," a movement of white supremacists who continue to cheer his election. He announced his two new choices in a statement released as he gathered with family behind closed doors at his Palm Beach estate for Thanksgiving. He's spending the holiday there after a week of interviews of potential appointees in New York, punctuated by announcements of members of his national security team. In a Thanksgiving message posted on social media, Trump acknowledged that the nation "just finished a long and bruising political campaign." "Emotions are raw and tensions just don't heal overnight," he added. "It's my prayer that on this Thanksgiving we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country strengthened by shared purpose and very, very common resolve." Bad blood between Trump and his new Cabinet selections had been evident through much of this year's campaign. "The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!" Trump wrote in March. Haley denounced several of his campaign comments and urged voters to "reject the siren call of the angriest voices." Advertisement DeVos, from Michigan, told The Associated Press in July, "A lot of the things he has said are very off-putting and concerning." On Wednesday, Trump said of his UN selection: "Gov. Haley has a proven track record of bringing people together regardless of background or party affiliation to move critical policies forward for the betterment of her state and our country." She said she loved her South Carolina post but "when the president believes you have a major contribution to make to the welfare of our nation, and to our nation's standing in the world, that is a calling that is important to heed." While Republicans praised Haley's selection, DeVos faced criticism from left and right. The president of the National Education Association, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, said in a statement that for years DeVos "has lobbied for failed schemes, like vouchers which take away funding and local control from our public schools to fund private schools at taxpayers' expense." And Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, tweeted, "Trump has chosen the most ideological, anti-public ed nominee since the creation of the Dept of Education." Advertisement At the same time, some conservatives warned that the longtime Republican donor, who has spent millions of dollars along with her husband to promote candidates who favor charter schools and school vouchers, also supports the Common Core education standards that Trump railed against during the campaign. Conservatives already were grappling with Trump's Tuesday concession that climate change may be connected to human activity and his reversal of a campaign vow to pursue a criminal investigation into Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. DeVos addressed criticism head-on, posting a "Q&A" statement that said directly about Common Core: "I am not a supporter period." "I do support high standards," she said. But along the way Common Core "got turned into a federal boondoggle." Just two weeks ago, Trump shocked the political world including many in his own party by winning the presidential contest. The billionaire New Yorker has yet to take any formal steps to separate from his international business empire as experts in both parties warn of potential conflicts of interest. Trump will be sworn into office in less than 60 days. Beyond his Cabinet, he must fill hundreds of high-level administration posts. Advertisement Spokesman Jason Miller said Trump now is focusing on his choice for secretary of state in particular. Among those under consideration: former New York Mayor and Trump loyalist Rudy Giuliani and 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, formerly an outspoken Trump critic. After secretary of state, the UN ambassador is the highest-profile diplomatic position, often serving as the voice for U.S. positions on the international stage. As for DeVos, her family has been active in Republican politics for decades, especially as donors. Her husband, Dick, is an heir to the Amway fortune and a former president of the company. The American Federation for Children Action Fund, which DeVos chairs, and its state-affiliated PACs invested in 121 races in 12 states in the general election, spending spent $210,000 to support "pro-school choice" candidates in Oklahoma alone. "Under her leadership we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families," Trump said. DeVos said in her own statement, "The status quo in education is not acceptable." Advertisement Associated Press Kellyanne Conway, from left, President-elect Donald Trump, New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., and vice chairman of The New York Times Company Michael Golden appear during a meeting with editors and reporters at The New York Times building, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016 in New York. (Hiroko Masuike / AP) Reporters at The New York Times tweeted details from a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump as it happened on Tuesday, contrasting it with an off-the-record session Trump held a day earlier with leaders at the top television networks. Reporters Maggie Haberman and Mike Grynbaum sent a steady stream of Twitter quotes from Trump on his decision not to pursue a case against former opponent Hillary Clinton about her private email server, and potential conflicts between his business and upcoming job in government. The off-again, on-again Times meeting came as questions swirled about how forthright Trump will be with the media and, by extension, his soon-to-be constituents. He hasn't held a news conference since his election and on Tuesday sent out a video news release about some of his plans upon taking office. His meeting with television executives and anchors Monday triggered reports that he criticized them about campaign coverage. Trump's meeting at the Times headquarters, announced Monday, was briefly cancelled early Tuesday as the president-elect tweeted that the "terms and conditions" had been changed at the last minute. "Not nice," tweeted Trump. The Times said Trump's team had tried make the meeting off-the-record, meaning details could not be reported, but the newspaper refused. A few hours later, the meeting was back on, and Trump had a private meeting with the Times' publisher before the session with the publisher, editors and reporters. The Times said that before the give-and-take on issues, the president-elect complained about some of the newspaper's coverage of him, saying "I think I've been treated very rough." A day earlier, Trump reportedly had harsh words with television news division leaders at a Trump Tower meeting, including complaints about a picture NBC used of him where he had a double chin and singling out CNN's campaign coverage. Besides news executives like CNN's Jeff Zucker, Fox News' Bill Shine and MSNBC's Phil Griffin, the meeting included on-air personalities like ABC's David Muir, CBS' Charlie Rose and NBC's Lester Holt. Even though Trump aide Kellyanne Conway briefly talked to reporters about the meeting afterward, media participants were constrained from talking publicly about it. "The symbolism was powerful and all wrong for them," said Frank Sesno, a former CNN Washington bureau chief and a journalism professor at George Washington University. "For these powerful people to be marched to the tower of Trump to get their heads cut off figuratively speaking is not the positive imagery they could have hoped for." There can be reasons for holding off-the-record meetings, which are hardly unprecedented in Washington. In Monday's meeting, media executives collectively could have delivered privately a powerful message to the incoming president about the importance of transparency and accessibility in a democracy, he said. But, he said, "under no circumstances would you let this become habit-forming." The networks would not say Tuesday whether they had requested an on-the-record session. Individual networks likely had less leverage than a single organization like the Times; if a network refused to attend an off-the-record session, for example, their leaders had to worry that their competitors would be there. "Television has always been more deferential to power than newspapers," said Mark Feldstein, a University of Maryland professor and author of "Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson and the Rise of Washington's Scandal Culture." Broadcasters require government approval of licenses, and threatening to reject licenses was one weapon Nixon wielded against broadcasters, he said. More than newspapers, television networks are dependent upon the ratings boost that a presidential appearance can bring. Trump's post-election interview with "60 Minutes" delivered one of that show's biggest audiences in years. "Trump is trying to intimidate the networks into giving him less critical coverage," Feldstein said. "The question is how are the media going to respond to him and (the network meeting) is not an auspicious beginning." Journalists are trying to encourage Trump to hold an open news conference, which has been traditional for presidents-elect shortly after their victories. Trump'srelease of a video late Tuesday talking about his early priorities was alarming to many news organizations. The Associated Press reported on the content of Trump's message but did not send the video to members of the news cooperative. Kathleen Carroll, senior vice president and executive editor of The Associated Press, likened it to the AP's refusal to take handout pictures of President Obama signing bills into law, saying journalists should be able to document the action themselves. "We believe we ought to cover the president of the United States, and the president-elect, when they are doing the people's business," she said. "Setting out policies and how you are going to govern is the people's business." Carroll noted with some alarm that both Trump and Clinton gave few news conferences in the final months of their campaigns. Public officials are obliged to answer questions on behalf of the people they serve, and not just with friendly, hand-picked audiences, she said. Associated Press Was this a "change election"? Donald Trump's victory is widely attributed to the public's thirst for something new, which he represented and Hillary Clinton didn't. It would be more accurate to say the outcome stemmed from too much change which has discombobulated conservatives as well as liberals. Trump would be very different from past presidents, and that quality appealed to voters fed up with the status quo. But his supporters were voting for something old. "Make America Great Again" is a cry of nostalgia. Advertisement Clinton stood for stability, predictability and caution. So the choice boiled down to "undo all the changes I don't like" versus "don't change a thing." The problem is that change, however disruptive, is a defining achievement of our age. The modern capitalist economy is continually adapting to serve the demands of the populace. Material progress and more choices come about through the creation of new methods and new products that make old ones obsolete. Advertisement The 20th-century economist Joseph Schumpeter called this phenomenon "creative destruction," which he argued is "the essential fact about capitalism." It has become the essential fact about modern life, indispensable to the rising living standards that Americans expect. But it carries a price: No one is guaranteed that life will forever remain as it is. Trump ran well, we are told, among working-class whites who have seen the industries that once employed them shrink or vanish. Both he and Clinton, as well as Democratic insurgent Bernie Sanders, cultivated these voters by turning against international trade. But most of the upheaval in our industrial landscape has not been caused by foreign competition. By one measure, total employment, American manufacturing has wasted away. Since 2000, 5 million jobs have disappeared. But U.S. manufacturing output is 15 percent higher now than it was then and nearly double what it was in 1987. A lot of automaking jobs have moved not to Mexico but to Tennessee and South Carolina. A lot of coal mining jobs in Appalachia have been lost to natural gas fracking operations in Texas. But politicians act as though well-paying jobs should be tenured perches. That can't be the case in a healthy, dynamic economy not with blue-collar jobs and not with white-collar ones. Law was once a lifetime ticket to a high income. Not anymore. Law firms are shedding partners, and the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics says lawyers can expect to see more price competition, more tasks going to paralegals and some work being outsourced overseas. The number of people working at newspapers has been slashed by 38 percent in the past decade. A century ago,1 in 3 Americans worked on farms. Today, it's 1 in 50. Change is something to navigate, not something to obstruct. Our lives are easier, better and longer than those of generations past, and those achievements have been built on the ruins of defunct businesses and occupations. I would prefer that people get their news on printed pages, but my preferences hold no sway with readers who like electronic transmission. Remember video stores? Economist Mark J. Perry of the conservative American Enterprise Institute notes that in 1999, they employed 170,000 people. Good luck finding one now. Advertisement But the ubiquity and familiarity of change don't make it less a source of anxiety. And the endless transformation extends to the realms of culture, religion and family life, where it's also often unwelcome. The resistance comes in different forms among different people. Conservative whites feel besieged by immigrants, whose language and customs are sometimes jarringly alien. Liberals and minorities in places such as San Francisco and Brooklyn resent gentrification and rising housing prices, which remake the neighborhoods they call home. Nostalgia for the 1950s and '60s is common across the political spectrum. Working-class whites remember them as an era when high-wage factory jobs were plentiful and the culture was less open to exotic influences. Liberals fondly recall that inequality was moderate, unions thrived and people still believed in government. Conservatives miss the low crime rate, sturdy families and cultural uniformity. (Blacks, women and Latinos: Your memories may vary.) It may be normal to cherish fond memories of the good old days, but for better or worse, they can't be resurrected, and it's a fraud for political leaders to pretend they can. Anyone who wants to stop or roll back the tide of change picked the wrong century in which to be born. Steve Chapman, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/chapman. schapman@chicagotribune.com Advertisement Twitter @SteveChapman13 www.facebook.com/stevechapman13 On Thanksgiving Day, Americans often look back on the first English settlers in what is now New England. Since these Puritans fill the earliest chapters of the American story, they make plenty of appearances in our shared imagination. But debates over who the Puritans were, what they stood for and how they contributed to our sense of national identity are shrouded in misunderstandings. Here are a few myths: 1. The Puritans established a theocracy. Advertisement As the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences puts it, "With the Puritan migration to New England during the 1630s, theocratic governments were established." And the Encyclopedia Britannica echoes the claim, stating that "the Puritans established a theocratic government." It's not true. A theocracy is a government run by religious authorities claiming divine sanction for their political leadership. In 1631, the Massachusetts Bay Colony's governor, John Winthrop, expanded the franchise to all free adult males in the colony. These men voted for their representatives to the General Court (their legislature), who then voted for the governor and his council of assistants. Advertisement None of these elected officials were clergymen, because no minister was allowed to hold political office. Equally important, anyone holding political office who was censured or excommunicated by his church could not lose his office because of his religious difficulties. While it's true that the first generation of men were required to be full church members in order to vote or hold political office, that requirement was modified in 1658 and permanently retired in 1664. The Puritan government in Massachusetts did frequently seek the advice of its ministers, but it was under no obligation to take that advice, and it frequently did not. 2. Puritans had a special hatred of for American Indians. The Puritans' supposed white-hot hatred of Indians is often invoked around Thanksgiving, as Americans reflect on the circumstances of our nation's founding. Many articles point out the slaughter of Pequot men, women and children at the tribe's village at Mystic, Conn., in 1637, during the Pequot War, as evidence of the special enmity between Puritans and Indians. Captain John Underhill, a militia leader, described the carnage in that battle: "Down fell men, women, and children. ... Should not Christians have more mercy and compassion? Sometimes the Scripture declareth women and children must perish with their parents. ... We had sufficient light from the word of God for our proceedings." It's true that Puritans mistrusted Indians, deplored their religions as savagery and devil-worship, fought them, and enslaved them. But this wasn't much different than the approach they had taken to different groups back in Europe, where some of them, like Underhill, fought in the Thirty Years' War, and many pressured King James I to send English troops to assist Protestant forces on the continent. The massacre at Mystic was quite similar to the scores of town-burnings in Europe during the Thirty Years' War: 20,000 were killed in the 1631 razing of Magdeburg, Germany, for instance. In November 1631, a visitor to another sacked village in Germany "was appalled to find the vineyards and fields red with blood, with corpses scattered in bizarre positions over a 3-mile radius." If you had to choose a group the Puritans really had a special hatred for, it would be Catholics. (After that came splinter groups, such as Quakers and Anabaptists, and then anyone else who was not a Puritan.) In one regard, the Puritans cut Indians more slack than Catholics. They preferred to try to convert Indians rather than engage in conflict, believing that, unlike Catholics who had sworn loyalty to the pope and chosen to resist Protestantism the Indians couldn't be blamed for their heathenism. In parts of New England, Puritans and Indians lived in neighboring towns, did business with each other, sometimes worshipped together and had complex loyalties. This was evident during King Philip's War in 1675-1676, when some settlers refused to fight their Indian neighbors. 3. Puritans hated sex. In the Huffington Post, science writer Dan Agin described Puritans' "dictatorial repression of daily life, mostly of sexual behavior." Anya Taylor-Joy, star of the 2015 movie "The Witch," said she learned from the film's script that "everything about being a Puritan ... seems to be going against what it means to be human." Even the word "puritanical" is usually taken to mean sexless and joyless, as in a New York Times article chalking up American prudishness to Puritan roots. What, then, are we to make of this letter from Winthrop, many times the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, to his fiancee, Margaret Tyndal? "Being filled with the joy of thy love, and wanting opportunity of more familiar communion with thee, which my heart fervently desires, I am constrained to ease the burden of my mind by this poor help of my scribbling pen. ... Love was their banqueting house, love was their wine, love was their ensign; love was his invitings, love was her faintings; love was his apples, love was her comforts, love was his embracings, love was her refreshing." Advertisement The Puritans believed that the love between married people was the closest humans could get on Earth to experiencing the joy of being united with Christ in heaven. And love in marriage had no higher expression than sex. The Puritan minister at Cambridge, Mass., Thomas Shepard, often described the passion people felt in marriage in his sermons: "In all marriage bonds there is a choice made, and, if love be great, there is little standing on terms let me have him though I beg with him." 4. Puritans came to America to establish freedom of religion. It's hard to suppress disappointment with the Puritans when one reads that they "pulled up the gangplank behind them" once they arrived in America, as one author put it, not allowing Quakers and others to worship freely especially because many works of U.S. history, including the PBS documentary "First Freedom," locate the origin of American views on freedom of religion with our earliest Puritan founders. But the Puritans didn't leave England to found a society where all religions would be tolerated. After all, they were granted the pejorative moniker "Puritan" because of their efforts to purge Catholic influences from the Anglican Church. They sought religious freedom for themselves. In 17th-century Europe, every kingdom had an official religion, and the monarch was the head of the church. There were a few exceptions, but it was certainly the case in England, where King Charles I led the Anglican Church. Since the Puritans wanted to change Anglican worship by ridding priests of expensive robes, putting an end to kneeling for Communion and doing away with the Book of Common Prayer, they were persecuted for treason for challenging the king's authority to dictate forms of worship. So they went to America to create a political entity where their brand of "reformed" Anglicanism was the state religion. 5. Puritans were relentless witch hunters. Advertisement Because of the infamous Salem witch trials, in which 20 people accused of witchcraft were executed, the New England Puritans are often framed as a wildly superstitious and persecutory people with a special hysteria for sniffing out witchcraft. "Witchcraft was portentous, a Puritan favorite," Stacy Schiff wrote in her recent book on the Salem trials, "The Witches: Salem, 1692." It's true that the Puritans believed in witchcraft, as did every society in Europe at the time. But they were not hysterical about it, and the number of witchcraft cases that made it to court is vanishingly small. From the first witchcraft trial in New England in 1638 to the last in 1697, excluding Salem, 65 people were tried, out of a population of tens of thousands. More than half were acquitted. Only 16 were executed. The Salem episode was the only time in Puritan New England's history that an actual panic developed over witchcraft. That's what makes Salem memorable: It was an anomaly. Lori Stokes is an independent scholar who studies the founding decades of Puritan New England and Congregational church history. As Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin states that once were the stronghold of the nation's industrial union movement -- dropped into Donald Trump's column on election night, one longtime union staff member told me that Trump's victory was "an extinction-level event for American labor." He may be right. A half-century ago, more than a third of those Rust Belt workers were unionized, and their unions had the clout to win them a decent wage, benefits and pensions. Their unions also had the power to turn out the vote. They did for Democrats. White workers who belonged to unions voted Democratic at a rate 20 percent higher than their non-union counterparts, and there were enough such workers to make a difference on Election Day. That's not the case today. Nationally, about 7 percent of private-sector workers are union members, which gives unions a lot less bargaining power than they once had, and a lot fewer members to turn out to vote. The unions' political operations certainly did what they could: An AFL-CIO-sponsored Election Day poll of union members showed 56 percent had voted for Hillary Clinton and 37 percent for Trump, while the TV networks' exit poll showed that voters with a union member in their household went 51 percent to 43 percent for Clinton, as well. In states where unions have more racially diverse memberships, Clinton's union vote was higher (she won 66 percent of the union household vote in California). In states where union membership is predominantly white, Trump did better actually winning the Ohio union household vote with 54 percent of the vote to Clinton's 42 percent The very economic and social wreckage the unions had warned against when they had opposed NAFTA and permanent trade relations with China ended up diminishing their own numbers and that of Democratic voters, and helped spur Trump to victory. Now, Trump, the Republican Congress and the soon-to-be Republican-dominated Supreme Court are poised to damage unions and the interests of working people, both union and not even more. Indeed, within the GOP, the war on unions engenders almost no dissent. Since Republicans were swept into office in a host of Midwestern states in the 2010 elections, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin have all effectively eliminated collective bargaining rights for public employees and subjected private-sector unions to "right-to-work" laws that enable workers to benefit from union contracts and representation without having to pay their union any dues. Previously, such laws were largely confined to Southern states, whose respect for worker rights has improved only somewhat since they were compelled to abolish slavery. As the GOP has become steadily whiter and more right-wing, those Southern norms have become national. The advances that workers and their unions have made under the Obama presidency came chiefly as a result of executive orders and departmental regulations, which Trump can reverse with the stroke of a pen. Obama's Labor Department rules that extended eligibility for overtime pay to millions of salaried employees making more than $22,000 a year, and that compelled federal contractors to offer paid sick leave to their employees, may well be struck down. National Labor Relations Board rulings that employers cannot indefinitely delay union representation elections once their employees have petitioned for a vote, and that university graduate students who work as teaching and research assistants are employees who can elect to unionize, will probably be undone. Unlike their private-sector counterparts, who've seen their organizing drives stymied by employers able to violate the laws safeguarding workers without incurring significant penalties, public employee unions have largely retained their strength, still representing more than 30 percent of workers in the public sphere. The two national teachers unions, as well as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Service Employees International Union each has well over a million members; their combined membership comes to a little more than half the total membership of American unions. These are also the most potent unions come election time, mobilizing not merely their own members but also waging major get-out-the-vote campaigns in minority communities. Within the next 18 months, a court ruling in Friedrichs or a similar case will almost surely decree that members of these and other public employee unions can receive full benefits from union representation without having to pay their union so much as a dime. Such a ruling will present a huge challenge to these unions, although they'd already embarked, while Friedrichs was still before the court, on efforts to build closer ties with their members. Although the unions' future looks anything but bright, they will continue at least, for a time to wield considerable power in Democratic Party circles and wherever liberals govern. However much their treasuries are reduced, they still will have more resources than any other progressive organization. They will remain the linchpin of the liberal coalitions that govern in nearly every large American city, the key groups behind the campaigns that have seen cities and some states raise the minimum wage and mandate paid sick days. Even among centrist Democrats previously indifferent to labor's plight, increased awareness of the nation's stratospheric economic inequality has also brought about a new appreciation of the need for strong unions one reason why a range of Democratic think tanks have turned out study after study in recent years calling for laws making it easier to form unions. This month's election should also make those centrists realize the Democrats' political need for unions, most of which remain the nation's only multiracial mass organizations. A larger, more powerful movement, articulating labor's core principle Workers' Lives Matter might have kept the Democrats from backing such economically and politically disastrous policies as normalizing trade relations with China. Polling shows that most Americans still think unions play a positive role in the nation's economy. Support for unions is strongest among millennials, who, as the Bernie Sanders campaign made clear, are among the most vehement and clear-sighted critics of American capitalism. But the growing appreciation by progressives, centrists and millennials of the indispensability of unions won't deter an all-Republican government from seeking to destroy them; to the contrary, it will only encourage them to slash more deeply. Unions were already facing existential challenges from worker-replacing technology and the increasing number of nonstandard (temp, part-time, subcontracted, independent contractor and gig) jobs. That Republicans now have the power to further decimate them only makes their challenges more daunting. While struggling to maintain their power, unions must simultaneously seek to address changes in the broader economy by incubating new forms of worker representation in terrains chiefly, cities where they retain political support. One thing is certain: If Trump's victory does indeed become "an extinction-level event for the labor movement," it would also extinguish any prospect that America could ever become "great again." No country in history has ever achieved decent working-class living standards (and the social and political stability they engender) absent a vibrant labor movement. Anyone who hopes for American greatness must also hope that labor has the strength and smarts to survive what's coming in the Trump years. Washington Post Harold Meyerson, executive editor of The American Prospect, was a Washington Post op-ed columnist from 2003 through 2015. Meetings resume at Trump Tower in New York City today after the president-elect spent the weekend meeting with prominent Republicans at his golf course in New Jersey. Nov. 21, 2016. (CBS Miami) WASHINGTON President-elect Donald Trump's flirtation with Mitt Romney as a possible pick for secretary of state has injected a sliver of hope and change into an evolving administration that could use some. If ever there were a rarer pair think Doberman and Labradoodle I can't think of one. Then again, how better to present a bad cop/good cop dynamic to a dangerous and fragile world? If Trump is perceived as unstable and potentially volatile, Romney is the face of calm, a steady hand to help guide the next president's foreign policies. Advertisement Concerns about the two men's pointed exchanges during the campaign season would seem less important than whether Romney can do the president's bidding renegotiating trade deals, for example when Trump's views are in direct conflict with his own. Romney has been pro-open trade while Trump campaigned on either scrapping or reworking trade deals. Having known Romney for a decade or so, I'm pretty sure he'd accept the job if offered, which I base on my understanding of his profound sense of duty to country. While true that Romney worked against Trump during the primaries, his personal values, including a humility rare in the political world, ultimately would prevail over self-regard. Advertisement And though Trump called Romney a "choker," hardly a recommendation for the person charged with negotiating the nation's foreign interests, Trump is Trump, meaning he moves easily from one position to another. And politics is politics. Things are said. Things are unsaid. Indeed, just Tuesday, top aide Kellyanne Conway said that the president-elect won't pursue an investigation of Hillary Clinton, despite having vowed to put her in jail and presided over many a chant of "lock her up." More than anything else, Trump is a pragmatist and a businessman. Operative question: What works? As he begins to organize his board of directors, otherwise known as the Cabinet, he's surely aware that Romney, of those rumored to be under consideration, would be most effective on the world stage. The pragmatist, by definition, is unemotional about such decisions. That Romney may not be Trump's cup of tea on any number of fronts, including the impossibility of the two settling in for some "locker room talk," the presidency confers a broader view of the world, not to mention the burden of all that follows. What would not work is Rudy Giuliani. Not only does the man formerly known as "America's mayor" act like he may have plunged his finger into a live socket but his outspokenness in defense of Trump has often seemed like the mad ranting of a man angry at the moon. We still love 9/11 Rudy, but that Rudy seems to be missing. Even if he were present, the fellow who performs best in a crisis isn't necessarily the one who performs best in preventing a crisis. By stark contrast, Romney would help relax tensions abroad as well as at home. He has international credibility and a sophisticated understanding of complex global relationships. Remember, it was Romney who, during his final debate with President Barack Obama in 2012, pointed to Russia as our greatest geopolitical foe. Obama practically laughed him off the stage, but who's laughing now, not that Romney would gloat? Romney is also well-versed in areas of international finance and economics demonstrably superior to anyone else on Trump's list. Advertisement The fact that Trump has admired Vladimir Putin's strength as a leader and has indicated a preference for working with Russia to defeat the Islamic State isn't precisely in conflict with Romney's recognition of Putin and Russia as threats to our national interests. They can be seen as complementing each other's perspectives with a balance of respect and caution informed by history. On China, Romney and Trump probably agree more than not. Again, during his own presidential run Romney spoke often of clamping down on China's currency manipulation. He is also the son of George Romney who in addition to being governor of Michigan was president of American Motors Corp. and likely agrees with Trump that the U.S. needs to create incentives for businesses to invest more in American jobs. Further to Romney's qualifications, he's an experienced deal-maker, a skill Trump obviously admires. Super-articulate and fluent in policy (as well as French, for what it's worth), Romney is a cool thinker and, not insignificantly, a non-imbiber, also like Trump. Not least, he is by all accounts a thoroughly decent human being. A wise man would look no further. Kathleen Parker is a syndicated columnist. kathleenparker@washpost.com Advertisement Washington Post Writers Group Bismarck Mayor Mike Seminary asked out-of-state visitors against the Dakota Access Pipeline to go home at a news conference Tuesday at the City/County Building in downtown. The anti-DAPL message has been heard clearly for the past 100 days, he said. The mayor also emphasized that no Bismarck officials or city staff had at any time engaged in conversations about the preferred route of the pipeline. "Bismarck has never been involved in that discussion. Not one policy maker, not one department head, not one city employee has ever been involved in a discussion with regards to a route north of Bismarck .... So move on from that subject. You are wrong and you are creating issues," he said. Kirsten Kelsch, an organizer of five demonstrations held at the state Capitol and downtown Bismarck, countered that a lot of work needs to be done to stop the pipeline's completion. "For the most part, we're not going anywhere until we can see we put a halt to the the digging," Keslch said. "No one will stop as long as they intend to continue digging .... People are really passionate about this, and it's not going to change until the pipeline is stopped." Seminary thanked Bismarck residents for their patience during the legal protests as well as when protesters crossed the line to "civil disobedience." Then addressed the protesters. "We all know what your concerns are. We've heard them. Your messages have been well-delivered. They have been loud and profound. You can't be more productive than you have been. It's time to go home. It's time to go home to your family and loved ones and celebrate what's important to you. That's what we are going to be doing here," he said. "When this passes and it eventually will, we likely will have damaged relationships we must focus on that we must repair. You will be somewhere else," he told protesters of what he described as a historic event in Bismarck. He said, according to area law enforcement reports, there have been about 500 arrests related to the DAPL protests. "Most of you don't live here, which means most of you don't care what's left when you leave," he said. The holiday season will make everyone thankful for the gifts of the city and thankful for the message the protesters have given, according to Seminary. During the press conference, Police Chief Dan Donlin assured residents that the police department is fully staffed to protect the city. "We make sure that is our No. 1 priority. After that is when we provide our support resources into Morton County," said Donlin, who advised businesses to have a lockdown plan ready. Law enforcement will allow First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, but will react to criminal activity, he said. resident-elect Donald Trump comes out to welcome a guest at the clubhouse of Trump International Golf Club on Nov. 20, 2016 in Bedminster Township, N.J. (Peter Foley/CNP / TNS) Donald Trump is notable among recent Republican presidential nominees in his talent for alienating conservatives. Those who disowned him during the campaign include three former chairmen of the Republican National Committee, House members Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Justin Amash of Michigan, and commentators George Will, Charles Krauthammer and William Kristol. It's safe to say that four years ago, none of them could have imagined refusing to vote for the 2016 GOP presidential nominee. Trump violated their sense of what the Republican Party represents, and they and many other people on the right couldn't accept him at the top of the ticket. Advertisement But he won, and he will enter the White House with the Republican Party controlling both houses of Congress. The question is how closely he and congressional Republicans will be aligned. If Trump adopts their agenda, it will be a happy and generally positive partnership. But if he goes his own way, they will have to decide whether to go with him. Power offers opportunities, but also temptations. Trump will want to define the Republican agenda according to his own impulses, which are neither consistent nor predictable. Advertisement The GOP has always been the party of conservatism, but it and its presidents have not always upheld conservative principles. Over the next four years, conservatives are likely to have many occasions when they can support President Trump because he is pursuing conservative policies. But they need to be prepared to show they won't sacrifice principles to political convenience. Much of what he has advocated in the campaign fits well with the goals of limited government, judicial restraint, free markets and strong national defense. Conservatives also should find plenty in common with Trump when it comes to reforming the tax code, making judicial appointments in the mold of Antonin Scalia, replacing Obamacare, eliminating onerous regulations and getting our allies to spend more on their military forces. But he exhibits some tendencies that are not conservative at all. Among them: His suspicion of free trade, his faith that tough enforcement can overcome the failures of an irrational immigration system, his taste for expansive presidential power and his free-spending fiscal proposals. Will Republicans in Congress and conservatives elsewhere have the backbone to resist him on issues like these? The record is not encouraging. When President George W. Bush proposed to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare the biggest new federal entitlement since the 1960s the House Republican leadership did everything it could to push its members into line, and they got it passed. Under Bush, as conservative blogger and radio host Erick-Woods Erickson recently lamented in The New York Times, "Conservatives were suddenly willing to embrace nationalized education plans, prescription drug benefits and huge increases in federal domestic spending in the name of preserving power." Why did they go along? Because they saw the electoral advantages of doling out federal benefits without asking voters to pay for them. (Billing future generations is rarely a loser at the polls.) They also found it painful to buck their own president, even when he did things that would have elicited loud Republican objections had they been done by a Democratic president. Bush was a conservative who sometimes deviated from conservative principles. Trump's ideology, by contrast, is something of a mystery, but it does not appear to be the product of any real attachment to Republican ideals. After eight years of Barack Obama, though, conservatives may be inclined to give Trump the benefit of every doubt. They shouldn't. Gaining power is a good thing. But conservatives should never forget why they wanted it. Advertisement Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. Barack Obama was a senator, George W. Bush was a governor, Dwight Eisenhower was a general. The typical president-elect comes to the White House knowing how to cash a government paycheck. Then there is Donald Trump, the nation's incoming entrepreneur-in-chief. Previous presidents have been wealthy or had business experience (Harry Truman ran a men's clothing store), but it's safe to say Trump's shift directly from corner office to Oval Office is unprecedented. He is a globally active real estate and marketing mogul who doesn't plan to shut down the family business just because he's moving from New York to Washington. Advertisement That decision brings with it a worrisome question about how to manage conflicts of interest between his new and old jobs. It is in the nature of Trump's two careers that they are going to collide. He's got property interests and branding deals around the world, meaning when President Trump makes a decision or just speaks about, say, India, there could be more than foreign policy implications at stake. There is also the value of Trump Tower Mumbai. The usual route for a high-ranking official is to sell off assets and put investments in a blind trust managed by an outsider. That offers assurances that all decisions made while in office are for everyone's good, not personal enrichment. However, presidents aren't required to do that because the office is exempt from a financial conflict-of-interest law governing other officials in the executive branch. The thinking is that being president has such wide-ranging responsibility that conflicts are difficult to avoid and to police. Advertisement For Trump, keeping official and private interests ongoing but untangled will be especially tricky, even if he never lifts a finger to actually participate in Trump Organization activities. That's because his vast empire is built in part on the value of his name, and his brand has never been stronger (OK, except among Democrats). That opens Trump to criticism of being a walking, talking conflict of interest, because he'll be the most powerful man on earth at the same time there will be Trump product for sale. Some of that product is just six blocks from the White House: the new Trump International Hotel perfect for the diplomat who needs to book rooms and also wants an easy conversation-starter with administration officials. Trump, not one for overthinking life's nuances, doesn't seem worried. The law's on his side, he said, and he doesn't care about the future performance of his company. His children will tend to that while he runs the nation. Legally, he told The New York Times, he could be president of the United States and president of his company, and even keep signing the checks. "But I would like to do something," he said. "I would like to try and formalize something." We think he needs to take concrete action, law or no law. He doesn't need to sell his businesses or place his ownership stakes in a blind trust. Trump made it clear during the campaign that he'd hand over day-to-day business affairs to his children, and the voters accepted that. If the honeymoon suite at Trump's hotels sells out, or conversely can't be given away, that will be one of many oddities of the Trump era. But Trump and his children should be careful not to use their marketing prowess to try to make any quick bucks from the presidency. That would be unseemly, which is what the family learned after an overeager employee publicized the $10,800 Ivanka Trump bracelet she wore during the "60 Minutes" interview. More broadly, before taking office Trump needs to disengage entirely from business activities and set in place ethical protocols to prevent conflicts of interest or even appearances of conflict. That should include naming one or several White House officials to keep close tabs on activity to protect the presidency and the public from unexpected trouble. Some quick extra advice: Whatever the White House and State Department did to build a firewall between the Clinton Foundation and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's work wasn't enough. Eager foreign donors to the foundation thought they were owed access to the Obama administration. If Trump doesn't separate himself from his and his family's business interests, how long before he's seen as taking action as president because it was good for Trump and not America? Those kinds of allegations would harm the presidency. Ultimately they would tarnish the rules of fairness everyone must respect. Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook. Much has been said about how we Americans, particularly we Americans in the mainstream media, should not "normalize" Donald Trump. I think it's way too late for that. Look around. Most Republicans already have normalized Trump. So have the independent swing voters and even disgruntled Democrats who helped get him elected. Either he was normal enough for those voters or those voters didn't want "normal." They wanted change. They wanted what President Barack Obama offered as a candidate in 2008: Hope and change. Advertisement It's hard to change people's minds about someone they have normalized. Yet some things need to be abnormalized. For some of us, Trump's attempts to win votes by any means necessary are jeopardizing our ability to get along across racial and ethnic lines. We must not normalize his racial dog-whistle rhetoric that appears to have fed a spike of more than 700 incidents of hateful harassment and attacks since Election Day, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Advertisement Types of incidents include anti-immigrant, anti-black, anti-LGBT, swastika vandalism, anti-Muslim and anti-woman. A church near my neighborhood was spray-painted with anti-Hispanic immigrant graffiti. An Asian-American friend was out playing with her son when an elderly white man told her to "go back" where "she came from." By the way, she's American. Coincidence? I think not. After Trump's victory, his reluctance to denounce such violence except for one brief "stop it" in answer to a direct request on "60 Minutes" is the sort of passive attitude that needs to be abnormalized, perhaps beginning with how news media cover it. But that's hard for reporters who, unlike us opinion writers, are expected to be balanced and objective. The duty to report can normalize speech and behavior that should be abnormal and unacceptable. Sometimes even straight news reporters have to draw the line. Back in September, for example, TV reporters balked at Trump's refusal to let reporters or producers tour his new Washington, D.C., hotel. He wanted to allow only photographers. That was a no-no to the news crews, which erased their video in protest. Trump's media manipulations and liberties with the truth are so frequent, they're being treated as normal. But they aren't; they're abnormal. Promises that repeatedly brought cheers from campaign crowds have been casually rolled back by the new president-elect. In a live-tweeted meeting Tuesday with a group of editors, reporters and columnists at The New York Times, he said prosecuting Hillary Clinton is "just not something that I feel very strongly about." Climate change? Previously he called it a hoax. Now? He's keeping "an open mind." Maybe he'll keep the most popular parts of Obamacare, he said after meeting recently with Obama. Maybe he won't try to round up and deport all of the unauthorized immigrants in the country maybe just the violent criminals. Maybe the wall he wants to build along the Mexican border will be part wall, "part fence." But so what if he casually rolls back on his promises as if he never made them? When he makes such claims, "the press takes him literally, but not seriously," The Atlantic's Salena Zito wrote while covering Trump; "his supporters take him seriously, but not literally." Advertisement Trump's media games took on a new significance after he resumed his pre-election habit of waging useless Twitter wars, this time with the New York cast of the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton." Trump was steamed that Mike Pence, his vice president-elect, was booed by the crowd and (politely) called out from the stage at the Friday night show. "The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated," Trump tweeted, "should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior." Never mind that Pence later said that he wasn't offended at all. (And never mind that "Hamilton" is in no way overrated.) But Trump's little Twitter feud was perfectly timed to distract the world from his $25 million settlement of three class-action lawsuits brought against Trump and his "university," the controversial for-profit venture that was not really a university, the New York attorney general said. Was Trump's anti-"Hamilton" Twitter tirade, then, a deliberate diversion from a far more damaging news story? If anything pokes holes in Trump's newfound image as a champion of ordinary folks, the Trump University scam does it. That's an important story but, alas, less tantalizing to home audiences than Trump's Twitter jab at those supposedly snooty liberal actors on Broadway. That's normal behavior for Trump. That's why he needs to be "abnormalized," in my view. His success at hiding scandals behind gossipy controversies needs to be the exception, not the rule. Advertisement Clarence Page, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/pagespage. cpage@chicagotribune.com Twitter @cptime The funding package to repurpose the former Mandan Junior High School at 406 Fourth Ave. N.W. into affordable apartments has come through, allowing the project to move forward and the 39 units to be completed and occupied by January 2018. The Commonwealth Companies of Fond Du Lac, Wisc., will move forward with the $8.3 million project after it received help from the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency. Commonwealth will purchase the property from the Mother Teresa Outreach, an arm of the Spirit of Life Catholic Church. Building will start in March and will include eight three-bedroom units, 28 two-bedroom units and three one-bedroom units. Six units will be designated permanent supportive housing for people who have experienced homelessness. It will partner with MetroPlains Management LLC, who has management background in similar projects, and Mother Teresa Outreach for support services. Building site plans include a wellness center, chapel, community rooms and outdoor playground with improved landscaping and green space. The NDHFA administers the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and the National Housing Trust Fund programs in North Dakota. Commonwealth was awarded $698,822 in credit authority through the LIHTC program and $1.02 million through the HTF for the adaptive reuse into La Sagrada Familia Apartments. The purpose of the HTF is to increase and preserve the supply of rental housing for extremely low income households. The Mandan City Commission in September approved a loan of $83,186 toward the project and approved payments in lieu of taxes for the project to help its cash flow. The building served as the former senior high, junior high and most recently, from September 2008 to December 2009, was the Great Plains Academy for sixth-grade students. Mandan Public Schools sold the property in August 2012 to GPA LLC, led by Yegen Development of Grand Forks. Yegen Development found the project unfeasible and donated the property to Spirit of Life Catholic Church. The original building was built in 1917 with sections added in 1924, 1954, 1966, 1977 and 1990. Law enforcement has reinforced a barricade with concrete barriers on Backwater Bridge, where police and Dakota Access Pipeline protesters clashed late Sunday. It is for the safety of the officers. Every time we have a protest on the Backwater Bridge, serious confrontations happen with the agitators, and law enforcement is defending that line, said Morton County Sheriffs Department spokesman Rob Keller. The bridge has been closed since Oct. 27, when opponents of the 1,172-mile crude oil pipeline were pushed out of a northern "front line" protest camp that had been established atop the pipeline route and back to the main camps near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Multiple vehicles burned there that night, and authorities have said the bridge may be unsafe for traffic due to the fires. Prior to the incident, law enforcement had admonished protesters for setting up barriers along N.D. Highway 1806 because it blocked emergency services. Now protesters are criticizing the law enforcement barricade and lack of effort to repair the bridge, saying it does the same thing. Those tensions boiled over Sunday when protesters pulled one of the burned vehicles from the bridge. The incident escalated after police said some protesters threw rocks and burning logs, leading law enforcement to respond with tear gas, rubber bullets and fire hoses in sub-freezing temperatures. Law enforcement decided to tow the other burned truck Tuesday and reinforce the barricade. While they were doing this, Keller said a person who identified himself as camp security wanted to know what was taking place. Police explained to the camp security that this was done for the safety of law enforcement and, as long as the protesters stayed off the bridge and stayed at the south end, there would be no law enforcement action. Protesters were told if they come across the bridge, less-than-lethal actions would continue to be taken. Protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline have been going on for months in Morton County, with the project's opponents expressing concerns over possible water contamination should the pipeline leak where it crosses the Missouri River. The Royal Library of Belgium, one of Brussels' main cultural landmarks, hosted a Chinese cultural talk on Monday, highlighting the interactions and exchanges between Chinese and European arts from the perspective of maritime culture. Dr. Zhang Qing, head of the Research and Planning Department of the National Art Museum of China, introduced the intricate relationship between the development of arts in China and the maritime explorations led by China, which led up to economic progress but also influenced greatly exchanges in artistic achievements between the East and the West. "Two thousand years ago, the Maritime Silk Road made it possible to exchange art and do business with the outside world. Especially since Zheng He's Voyage, China has been learning from others and developing various art forms," Zhang said. Comparing China's culture with marine civilizations, Zhang said "as we explore the essence of Chinese art and maritime culture, we are in fact exploring their history and realities, which provide us a unique perspective to understand how the Chinese and European cultures influence each other." Monica Urian de Sousa, program manager at the Directorate General Education and Culture of the European Commission, said: "From the perspective of the Maritime Silk Road, we can not only witness the abundance of Chinese art, but understand it is a valuable treasure of the whole world." "Chinese Culture Talk" is a lecture program initiated by the Chinese Ministry of Culture. The talks have been happening all around the world since 2015, aiming to introduce Chinese culture to the world. UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China UnionPay, said Tuesday it had signed an accord with France's largest hotel group, Louvre Hotels Group, regarding the use of UnionPay cards to facilitate Chinese visitors. Under the agreement, 23 hotels in the French capital managed by the Louvre group and which are the most visited by Chinese tourists will accept payment via UnionPay card from Nov. 22, a move which "will substantially improve tourists' payment experiences at the local hotels," the Chinese company said in a statement. "The acceptance scope will be further expanded to 500 franchised hotels in France" and "will serve as a good model for other European hotels," it added. UnionPay is making great efforts to improve its acceptance network and services in France together with its partners, according to Ge Huayong, chairman of China UnionPay. "We will promote further cooperation with Louvre Hotels Group to cover its stores worldwide, in order to provide more convenient and high-quality services to cardholders, as well as to bring more customers to the group's hotels, and thus realize a win-win result," Ge said. For his turn, Pierre-Frederic Roulot, president of Louvre Hotels Group, called the deal "a strategic cooperation," which will allow the group to improve its service quality, especially for Chinese tourists. Louvre Hotels Group owns six major hotel brands, including Campanile, Kyriad, Golden Tulip and Royal Tulip. It has more than 1,100 hotels across 51 countries and regions. In France, cardholders are able to pay with UnionPay cards at 110,000 merchants, including department stores, duty-free stores, airport stores, brand stores, restaurants, and hotels. According to official data, China was France's biggest tourist market in 2015, with 2.2 million visitors numbered over the period. [File photo] The price war among Chinese TV manufacturers which has been raging for nearly four years is finally approaching a truce. The first company to cease fire was Le Holdings Co Ltd. On Monday, the company announced it would raise the prices of some TV sets by 100 yuan ($14.5) and some others by 300 yuan. It was just two months since it announced a first round of price increases for its TV products in September. Liang Jun, president of LeTV Zhixin Electronic Technology (Tianjin) Co Ltd which is responsible for Le Holdings' TV business, explained in his personal WeChat Moments that they will stick to the rule of subsidizing the hardware with the help of its already built ecosystem. Meanwhile, the prices fixed for the TV sets will mean little profit for the company. With its first TV set unveiled in early July 2013, LeTV Zhixin sold nearly 9 million TV sets by the end of October. However, LeTV Zhixin registered a net loss of 56.87 million yuan in the first half of fiscal year 2016. The last straw was the higher price of LCD panels, which takes up nearly 65 percent of a complete TV set. According to consulting and research firm IHS Markit, rising demand for LCD panels, exceeding market supply, has resulted in the price increases in China. According to the latest quote in the international market, a 40-inch 1080p high-resolution LCD panel has seen its price rise by $17, while most of the TV makers in China attract consumers with sets only priced at around $280 each. Companies apart from LeTV have realized that low price is not the way out. Zhou Kun, chief executive officer of Beijing Funshion Online Technology Co Ltd, another leading market player, said in a meeting in late October that the company will no longer produce any low-price TVs. The company will no longer focus on online distribution channels. It will open 200 physical stores to compete with traditional TV makers. Traditional TV manufacturers also hold negative views regarding low prices. Liu Tangzhi, vice-president of leading Chinese TV manufacturer Skyworth Group Ltd said during a news conference on Nov 16 that the irrational low prices set by some TV makers is against economic rules. He even called for government administrative bodies to investigate unfair competition in the Chinese TV industry. Wang Jianlin, chairman of China's Dalian Wanda Group Co. [Photo/Xinhua] Billionaire Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group Co is in takeover talks with several candidates to be the conglomerate's vehicle to list its property unit, according to people familiar with the matter. Wanda is still holding talks with other potential targets for a backdoor listing of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co after Shenzhen-listed Beijing Soft Rock Investment Group Corp dropped out, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The people declined to name the backdoor-listing candidates and Wanda declined to comment on any targets. A backdoor listing is when a company takes control of a publicly traded firm to bypass the screening process involved in an initial public offering. Wang delisted Wanda Commercial from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange two months ago as he searches for higher valuations in the mainland market. Still, he's under pressure to list the property company within two years or face having to repay his investment partners more than $5 billion. The billionaire is also facing challenges for the relocation as there's a years-long backlog of companies seeking regulatory approval for IPOs in the mainland markets and the stock regulator has recently been scrutinizing backdoor listings. In another development, Wanda has signed an agreement with Shaanxi provincial government to pour 103 billion yuan ($15 billion) in investments to build theme parks and commercial centers there, including a Wanda City complex in the capital Xi'an, the company said. Wanda plans to have 15 Wanda City projects across China by 2020, betting on strength in numbers to become the biggest Chinese theme parks operator amid rising competition from overseas. In Shaanxi, projects will include the construction of 19 Wanda Plaza shopping malls across 10 cities in the province, according to Wanda. Yet the centerpiece will be the company's signature Wanda City complex, which will involve about 50 billion yuan investment in the city that's home to nation's treasured Terracotta Warriors. In addition to those in Xi'an and Changsha, Wang opened two Wanda City projects this year in Hefei and Nanchang. You are here: Home Two suspects were arrested 35 hours after a blotched robbery attempt in the early hours of Monday in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, local authorities said. A bank robbery suspect is nabbed in Mishan City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Nov. 22, 2016. (Photo/Chinanews.com) The government of Mishan City said the police received a call from a local bank at 1:16 a.m. Monday. A dead bank guard surnamed Wang and a large sum of cash totalling 3.04 million yuan (440,000 U.S. dollars) were found at the scene. The cctv footage showed a man in a camouflage coat attempting to take cash out of the vault. The suspect fled when the security guard reacted, abandoning the cash. The suspect, surnamed Du, and his partner surnamed Zhang were arrested Tuesday. Both confessed their crimes to the police. The case is under further proceedings. Three masked men robbed 81 gold bricks worth HK$22.68 million (US$2.92 million) in 20 seconds in Fanling, the New Territories in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning, which is the biggest gold heist for six years in the city. Hong Kong police investigate the crime scene where 81 gold bricks worth HK$22.68 million (US$2.92 million) were robbed at On Chuen Street, Hong Kong on Nov. 22, 2016. [Weibo.com] Hong Kong police said they are hunting for the three men who made the actual robbery and two drivers who helped them with two vehicles. But no arrests had been made. According to the police, the victim was a 33-year-old who had been hired a few months ago by a company to deliver the gold. At about 9 a.m., he was unloading three bags of gold bars from his delivery van onto a trolley outside Heraeus Technology Center in On Chuen Street, for the gold bars to be taken to a nearby workshop to be melted and turned into ornaments. He was supposed to deliver 258 gold bullions in total, worth over HK$70 million. At that time, three hooded men got out of a golden Toyota Camry, two wielding knives while the other attacked the victims face with pepper spray and grabbed the trolley. The robbers quickly pushed the trolley away taking the bags as they jumped into a white Toyota Previa in KuiSik Street, to make their getaway. "The victim tried to chase them but one of the robbers pointed a knife at him," said Superintendent Li Kwai-wah of the New Territories North regional crime unit. Luckily, another six bags of gold bars worth about HK$50 million were left untouched in the delivery van at the crime scene. Each gold bar weighs 1 kg and is worth HK$300,000. "It is possible they did not realize that there was another six other bags or did not have enough time," he said. Li described the robbery as "coordinated" and "organized," since "the whole event only lasted no more than 20 seconds," as there were two separate vehicles with fake plates to take them there and help them escape. "It appears to be an inside job because the culprits knew the route, date and time of delivery," he added. The victim was treated at North District Hospital in Sheung Shui and was later discharged. The police identified the suspects as Chinese nationals. They were either from Hong Kong or the mainland. They urged people to report to the Tai Po Police Station if they discover evidence relating to the robbery. But Superintendent Li pointed out that the driver and his company had hired no security services and zero security equipment for this delivery. He said the police were looking into why such a low-security arrangement was used to deliver such an important and valuable cargo. Li also advised those delivering large amounts of cash and valuables to employ a professional escort and security service. There were several gold heists before in Hong Kong. The last major one happened in October 2010, when 265 gold bars worth HK$90 million were taken from a Yuen Long gold trading company. Police arrested three men and recovered most of the stolen bullions. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with his Peruvian counterpart Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in Lima, Peru, Nov. 20, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] 2016 has proven to be a truly historic year for China having hosted the G20 Summit. This year will also be remembered for China's concerted effort to strengthen its ties with Latin America and the Caribbean. March witnessed the launch of the 2016 China-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Year of Cultural Exchange with the goal of promoting greater understanding among the people of China, the Caribbean and Latin America. Having travelled to Latin America in 2013 when he first took office, President Xi's current trip to Ecuador, Chile and Peru marks his third visit to the region. It is heartwarming to witness President Xi's steadfast commitment to the region as indicated by his visits to 10 countries since he took office three years ago. He is the first president from China to visit Ecuador since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1980. This gesture certainly signals that China is serious about strengthening the existing bilateral ties with Ecuador by engaging in a more strategic and comprehensive partnership. Upon his arrival in Ecuador, President Xi was quick to announce China's willingness to support Ecuadorians who were affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake through the provision of medical treatment and housing. A new hospital will be built by China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd in the city of Chone, as one of the major hospitals in this city was severely damaged by April's earthquake. The president reportedly stated that the assistance China provides Ecuador will "have no strings attached [as] a friend in need is a friend indeed." Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC), Peru and Chile During his keynote speech at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, President Xi highlighted the importance of boosting interconnected relationships through economic globalization. He noted that the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) is a tactical measure that would enhance and bring about long-term benefits for the Asia Pacific region. The president affirmed his commitment to revitalizing trade and investment through more open and inclusive free trade arrangements. China's reforms would further open the Chinese market to more foreign companies. These actions indicate China's efforts to narrow the income gap and decrease the existing polarization of wealth. These commitments were timely at the recent summit as APEC now accounts for 60 percent of the global economy and 46 percent of global trade. President Xi will wrap up his LAC trip with a visit to Chile before returning to China. Having established diplomatic ties in 1970, Chile is among the first South American countries to formerly recognize the imminent role China was destined to play on the international stage. Chile was also the first Latin American country to sign a free trade agreement with China in 2005. The bilateral trade volume has witnessed a four-fold growth such that China is now Chile's largest trade partner. What does this all mean? Since China's advance in the region, critics have been skeptical of the country's "hidden agenda;" some have referred to China's role in the region as the face of the "new colonizer" and have cited its involvement in the African continent as an example. However, I do not agree with these accusations. We are living in an increasingly diverse and globalized world, there is no country that can operate in a vacuum or with a few neighboring partners. Many in the region are concerned about the impact of a Trump led government. However, the U.S. election result has created a welcome space for China to become reasonably more active. Several Caribbean countries are also eyeing the role of Beijing in years to come as some including Jamaica, the Bahamas and Grenada have now issued visa waivers for Chinese tourists visiting these countries. In July, China based Jinquan Iron and Steel Company (JISCO) purchased a 1.6 million-tonne Jamaican alumina refinery. It is estimated that this investment will amount to as much as US$2 billion both directly and indirectly. This is by far one of the largest investments that will be undertaken by any international company in Jamaica. In 2013, President Xi visited the Caribbean Island of Trinidad and Tobago; this was a memorable event for all Caribbean leaders. While collectively, the islands of the Caribbean are miniscule in comparison to its larger Latin American neighbors, many take heart in Beijing's admission that, "China always holds that all countries, no matter big or small, rich or poor, strong or weak, are equal members of the international community." Jamaica had the privilege of hosting President Obama last year. As a Jamaican national and a firm supporter of China's role in the region, I naturally hope that President Xi will also honor the island with his presence in the near future. Thoughts from other scholars In a recent interview with Nehemias Jose Jaen Celada, a Panamanian Research Fellow at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Renmin University's School of International Relations, he acknowledged both the advantages and potential pitfalls of China's advance in the region. "President Xi's tour to Latin America is the continuation of the Chinese leadership's new approach to the region which began in 2013. Arguably, we can clearly identify two main approaches; first, Chinese commitment to multilateralism, as he is attending the APEC meeting in Lima; second, bilateralism, a main drive of China's foreign and economic policy towards LAC, as President Xi will tour LAC visiting Peru, Chile and Ecuador. Furthermore, it is important to understand that such approaches have a raison d'etre. In dealing with Latin-American countries members of APEC, China continues fostering a stark non-political but economic relation with four of the most dynamic economies of the region. It goes without saying that such economic ties have benefited China contrary to the current situation of its former and current close political partners like Brazil and Venezuela. In this context, undoubtedly, Beijing continues its bilateral agenda marked by the different nature of its relation with individual countries." However, Jaen Celada also asserts that, "To this point it is important for the Chinese to understand that this dual approach to LAC exacerbates the construction of negative perceptions in the mind of the people and the governments of the region particularly as LAC is still struggling to achieve a concrete integration path against portrayal that the Chinese presence and expansion into the Western Hemisphere in the last fifteen years has deepened its fragmentation and disintegration. Moreover, the plunge in the price of raw materials and the devaluation of certain regional currencies, coupled with a sudden shift to the political right in pro-Beijing governments have precipitated Sino-Latin American relations to enter into a transition phase. But in LAC this path can be traumatic since many have the feeling that the raw material export-led relation hasn't brought any real benefit to the economic and social development of the region. Is LAC ready to face the challenges and opportunities this new phase brings for its relation with China? In my perspective, China has lost its direction in its foreign and economic policy towards LAC. Moreover, an increasingly negative perception is growing in the region, one that believes China is clearly adopting a stand as a capital export country replacing traditional actors like the U.S., European countries and Western financial institutions." However, Dr. Niu Haibin, deputy director at the Center for American Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, is confident that the President Xi's visit will positively impact the region. "President Xi's visit to Latin America is in a critical moment not only to address the positive role of China in the region's future sustainable development but also to build China's image as a pro-globalization economy against the rising protectionism." Irrespective of one's personal views, it is evident that China will continue to become a dominant player in the region whether one likes it or not. Vicki Cann is a Jamaican PhD Student at Communication University of China, whose research seeks to explore the burgeoning relationship between China and the Caribbean region. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the Peruvian Congress in Lima, Peru, Nov. 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) Chinese President Xi Jinping is nearing the end of a three-nation visit to Ecuador, Peru and Chile from Nov. 17 to Nov. 23. His visit is part of his schedule to attend the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting from Nov. 19 to 20 in Lima, Peru. Given the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, Xi's Latin American visit could not come at a more significant time in Sino-Latin American relations, and indeed in international diplomatic relations. More than 48 hours before he arrived in Ecuador, Chinese flags were fluttering in the streets of Quito, the capital, to mark the importance of his visit. In a signed article published in the Ecuadorian press, President Xi said he brings with him the good will of the Chinese people and their best wishes for an ever-growing bilateral relationship." But more significantly, he also said: "I hope my visit will help build a new bridge of friendship and cooperation connecting our two countries." From Quito to Lima, President Xi's message of "bridge of friendship" (BoF) has a very positive resonance. Most commentators argue that the outgoing Obama administration did not have a coherent Latin American policy except for the historic rapprochement with Cuba. In the bitterly contested presidential campaign, Latin America featured negatively with President-elect Donald Trump talking about building a wall between the United States and Mexico. His opponent Hillary Clinton promised to build bridges. The reality is that rightly or wrongly, there is clear nervousness in Latin America following the election of Donald Trump. The region needs and will welcome the BoF. In spite of the region's proximity and historical ties with the United States, China is more uniquely positioned to build this bridge of friendship. Firstly China and the Latin American states are developing countries with similar historical experience and shared development goals. President Xi made reference to this in his signed article published in Ecuador when he said: "We shall be good partners for South-South cooperation. The world is undergoing profound and complex changes. Developing countries need to step up cooperation and jointly rise to challenges." Secondly the volume of trade between Latin America and China has been steadily growing. China is increasingly replacing the U.S. as Latin America's leading export destination. The evidence speaks for itself: In 2000, the Chinese share of Latin American trade was merely 2 percent. The United States accounted for 53 percent. In 2010, trade with Chinese grew to 11 percent, but trade with the United States dropped to 39 Percent. In 2016, China is now the second largest source of Latin American imports (following the United States) and the third largest destination for its exports (after the United States and the European Union). Earlier this year China announced its intention to increase its investment stock in Latin America to US$250 billion and to attain an annual trade flow of US$500 billion within the next ten years. This is important for the emerging economies of Latin America that need access to international markets. The BoF is what they need. Thirdly, unlike the United States, trade and political relationship with China does not necessarily come with political or policy conditions for loans or grants. For Latin American states that have been subject to persistent scrutiny and criticism from the United States, this is critical. What they need is a friend who is not judgemental. Finally in the Trump era with the anti-NAFTA stance, there is fear that the United States might turn inwards with adverse implications for Latin America. The door is thus open for states in the region to begin looking for options. President Xi's visit brings good tidings for a region in search of sympathetic powerful friends with whom they appear to have something in common. President Xi brings to the region much needed political and economic assurance in the Trump era. His visit to Ecuador is the first state visit by a Chinese head of state in 36 years since the two countries forged diplomatic relations in 1980. Since the conclusion of the China-Chile Free Trade agreement in 2005, economic relations between the two countries have blossomed. Peru is equally significant. It was the first country in Latin America to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership with China. Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski made his first state visit China in September. The region finds a renewed basis for cooperation in China given the apparent uncertainties of the Trump era. In 2014 China initiated a new multi-lateral forum with CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States). President Xi's APEC visit will help to consolidate Sino-CELAC relations. Xi's visit therefore has significant geopolitical implications. If the United States under Trump is going to be busy building a wall, then President Xi's BoF is what the region needs. As President Xi himself observed in his signed article in the Ecuadorian press: "Even mountains and seas cannot distance people with common aspirations." Latin America may seem far from China geographically, but Xi's BoF is set to bring the region closer than ever before. From Africa to Latin America, China's South-South strategy is working, and working well. Professor Sam Blay is a senior Australian law academic. He is currently Professor and Deputy Principal, Top Education Institute in Sydney and Professor at the Sydney City School of Law. He is a member of the South China International Economic Arbitration and Trade. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Ever since the new president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, emerged earlier this month, much of the world, especially those in the East Asian region, have been troubled by confusion and anxiety. Particularly, South Korea and Japan, which are the two main U.S. allies with whom President Obama has maintained a tight security alliance, are restless over how the defense issue will develop. However, this doesn't mean there is going to be any faltering in regard to East Asian security. As far as military tensions in the region are concerned, the main one is the North Korean nuclear issue. And, since China and South Korea are the two key players of the matter, it seems absolutely reasonable for them to cement their security cooperation; however, the two countries still seem to be struggling to reach an agreement. The primary obstacle is the lack of mutual understanding. Their fundamental interpretations on the North Korea explicitly differ. For example, China views North Korea as a rational nation making use of illegitimate means to meet its perceptions of national survival, whereas South Korea primarily perceives North Korea as entirely irrational. Such a difference in approach is hindering the dialogue to be raised to the next level not only does it fail to bear any progress; it only exacerbates the bilateral relationship. Nevertheless, it seems quite evident that China and South Korea are on the same wavelength in regard to maintaining the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and believing that North Korea's nuclear development violates international law. Further, they think they should strive to achieve better regional security. Here, not differences, but their commonality that matters. The present state of affairs in East Asian security is predominantly at the mercy of the U.S., and thus largely dependent on its domestic affairs. Since some segments of the U.S. public are showing some discontent towards Trump and seeking to discredit his election victory, it is anticipated that he will prioritize domestic matters when he takes office, and East Asia will temporarily at least have to take a back seat. Here is where the security cooperation of China and South Korea could help fill any vacuum; hence, they should take the initiative on resolving their regional concerns and replace the public good previously provided by the U.S. known as "security." There are several benefits to this security cooperation. First, it will help promote detente between China and South Korea, and stabilize the region. Also, it will reduce their security reliance on external factors such as U.S. domestic affairs. Since the two nations are the key players in the North Korean nuclear issue, the possibility of denuclearization on the Korean peninsula will be significantly increased. Lastly, their geographical proximity to North Korea will reduce the expenses necessary for maintaining security. This mutual security cooperation can later on develop into regional multilateral security cooperation, so that in case other nations such as India develop their nuclear arsenals, Asia will have a clear guideline on how to deal with such regional predicament. Undoubtedly, the biggest reward for denuclearization is a state of peace and stability in East Asia,which by itself justifies the existence of the security cooperation. Choi Yesol is an executive assistant and a researcher of East Asia Peace Research Institute. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. "Timing isn't everything - it's the only thing" is a mantra I used to hammer into my students and now into my staff. President Xi Jinping is visiting Ecuador, Peru and Chile, during which he will also attend the 24th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima on Saturday and Sunday, at a critical time for Sino-Latin American relations. Needless to say his visit may have a lasting impact on China-Latin American relations. That this is Xi's third visit to Latin America in four years speaks volumes about the priority China assigns to the region (as it happens, this is also his third visit to Chile - his first was as Zhejiang province Party chief in 2005, and later as Chinese vice-president in 2011). Why is this visit different from the ones in 2013 and 2014? During Xi's previous visits, Sino-Latin American relations were riding high on a wave of fast-growing cross-Pacific trade, a decade and a half in which China's seemingly unending appetite for the region's natural resources led to a veritable boom and much progress. Between 2000 and 2014, trade between China and Latin America and the Caribbean multiplied, growing from $10 billion to $267 billion. For several countries in the region, including Chile and Peru, China became the largest trading partner; for many others it was the second-largest. As a result of what Kevin Gallagher has called the "China boom", LAC economies grew at a fast clip, paid up their debts and saw their foreign currency reserves swell. Fast forward to 2016, and a very different picture emerges. Sino-LAC trade was down to $230 billion in 2015. For a second year in a row, Latin America will be hit by negative growth. Some argue that the "Chinese bubble" has burst, that trade with China has led to Latin America's de-industrialization, and that the time has come for the region to go back to the good old days of focusing on the United States and Europe as its main trading partners (never mind that a major wealth shift has taken place since 1990 from the North Atlantic to the Asia-Pacific, making this quite unrealistic). Until recently, this narrative ran parallel to another, the one on global governance. According to this story, while the BRICS may have been "the acronym that defined a decade" in the first years of the new century, by 2016, owing to the developments in Brazil, Russia and South Africa, BRICS was in the tank, and the North Atlantic powers, most prominently the US and the United Kingdom, were back in the saddle. After a brief disruption of the established global order by a few Global South parvenus, things were back to normal, or so the story went, and endearing photographs of cozy G7 summits around small tables circulated. And then reality hit. First with Brexit on June 23 this year. Then came the result of the US presidential election. Now it is no longer the basis of the European order that is in question. This time we are talking about the survival of the liberal order that has underpinned the international system since the end of World War II. Enter the dragon. At the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou in early September, China led the way with an ambitious agenda that put continued support for globalization, for more liberal international trade and for putting down the ugly head of protectionism. Now at the APEC meeting in Lima, a top task is to look for ways to give a new impetus to trans-Pacific trade. One alternative is the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, for which the results of a feasibility study will be presented in Lima. China should play a critical role in promoting the FTAAP, a project Chile supports. Hand in hand with greater financial cooperation and investment, it could give a big boost to Sino-LAC links. Latin America has come a long way. But it still has some way to go before it is ready to make the great leap forward to a fully developed condition. In so doing it should partner with China, which in 2016 has emerged as the last remaining great power willing and able to champion the cause not just of a liberal trading order, but also of the defense of the very survival of our planet by slowing climate change. In this partnership, President Xi's visit to South America could emerge as a real milestone. The author is the ambassador of Chile to China. The recent visit of President Xi Jinping to a number of Latin American countries during this years APEC summit in Peru signifies seemingly important developments in the international trade policy of China. Last years Chinese investment in Latin America surpassed $126 billion with enormous forthcoming prospects arising out of sectoral needs in infrastructure, network industries and information technology. Latin America represents a strategic milestone for Chinas economic plans. China has been a vocal proponent and driving force of APEC, which intends to create an institutional platform for trade liberalization outside the WTO remit. APEC envisages deepening the principles of free trade enshrined by WTO by utilizing Free Trade Agreements, which are trade frameworks that go deeper in trade liberalization than the reciprocity principle upon which WTO is founded. President Xi Jinping, during his visits, projected an image of a global power leader who is fully versed with the benefits of free trade. He said that part of his immediate priorities is to give greater access to foreign investment and continue establishing high standards pilot zones for free trade of APEC signatories in China. His plan is to guarantee the existence of an equal playing field by creating an environment in line with international standards for all businesses in China, both domestic and foreign. The 2016 APEC meeting reveals three facets of the Chinese international trade policy which are inter-linked and serve each other effectively. These facets cover plurilateralism, as a modality of structuring international trade deals, the Chinese transitory investment strategy and the agenda of renminbi internationalization. Plurilateralism Free trade between China and Latin American countries could be based upon plurilateral relations rather than multilateral and bilateral structures. This development has a significant implication: bilateralism, and to a large degree multilateralism in international trade takes into account country-specific priorities, avoiding the effort for finding common denominators which are often seen in plurilateral trade agreements, and seems to dilute free trade principles, perpetuating protectionism and non-tariff barriers. President Xi pledged a new era of economic cooperation during this years APEC summit in Peru. He has been promoting an alternate vision for regional trade by the Beijing-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). China believes that building a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific is a strategic initiative critical for long-term prosperity. China is the worlds second largest economy and stands to play a more prominent role as far as trade in Asia Pacific is concerned through a plurilateral trade mode. Transitory investment strategy We are currently witnessing the transition of a Chinese investment strategy from an economic plan which focused on traditional industries, energy and infrastructure and which has been served through sovereign funds to an economic plan which focuses on services and high value interests, which are served primarily through private capital. The modality of such transitions is the role of private equity and of institutional investors. The Chinese transitory investment strategy could be best served through plurilateralism and free trade agreements, which do not differentiate sectoral growth patterns and apply particular priorities on predetermined policies of signatory member states. This appears to be one of the most prolific trends for the years to come and reveals the private sector prioritization on investment and free trade agreements which are based on plurilateral structure. Renminbi internationalization Chinese investment and free trade policies are indissolubly linked with the agenda of renminbi internationalization. Trade deals with Latin American states and enhancing the remit of APEC can only facilitate the objective of renminbi internationalization. For the first time, the relevance of APEC has been widely felt as well as the influence of China over future international trade deals interface. Free trade is the only way to ensure sustainable growth, where market access and uninhibited movement of production factors ensure prosperity. Free trade in its genuine projection can be facilitated through plurilateral structures which are transparent, collective and inclusive. The author is a professor of EU and International Business Law at the Hull Business School, University of Hull. Flash The A350 jet of Delta Air Lines, the first U.S. airline to take delivery (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn) Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said it has seen rapid growth in China in the past few years, and the carrier is highly bullish on the potential of the air routes between China and the United States. Delta said its demand in China is growing much more than it is in the U.S., and China has become a key part of the airline's globalization plan. From 2009 to 2016, Delta saw its capacity growth on the China-U.S. route surge over 220 percent, and the sales grew at a similar pace. "I have tons of confidence in the China market, and we are committed in China. We are not worried about the demand, we just need to make sure that we perform well and the rest will follow," said Vinay Dube, senior vice-president of Delta Air Lines, responsible for the Asia-Pacific region. "Delta strives to be the most Chinese-friendly U.S. airline in China," added Dube. Currently, Delta serves direct China-U.S. flights between Beijing, Shanghai and its hub cities Seattle and Detroit, in addition to routes between Shanghai and Los Angeles. The carrier said it doesn't have plans to launch direct flights between second-tier Chinese cities and major U.S. cities in the near term. "So far, our strategy of concentrating on Beijing and Shanghai is working well. We rely on our Chinese partners like China Eastern and China Southern to help us to serve the secondary cities in China, and we plan to deepen our cooperation with them, for example, to improve the code share cooperation," Dube said. Meanwhile, Delta said it plans to use A350-a new wide-body aircraft produced by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus Group SE -for some of its routes between China and the U.S.. When it comes to customer service on its flights, Dube said Delta aims to be thoughtful, innovative and reliable. In less than one year, the company would be the world's first airline to equip privacy dividers for its business-class seats and create a suite concept, which is typically reserved for first-class seats. In October, Delta announced that it completed installation of in-flight Wi-Fi on its entire long-haul international fleet, and it charges $16 for a 24-hour Wi-Fi pass. As the only U.S. carrier that has done so, Delta said so far it has seen a growing demand of using Wi-Fi on its flights. A recent report shows that the demand of in-flight Wi-Fi has reached a new high among passengers in the Asia-Pacific, and 90 percent of the surveyed in the region said the availability of onboard connectivity would influence their choice of airlines, according to Inmarsat, a London-based provider of global satellite communication services. Chinese passengers are highly likely to use in-flight Wi-Fi, as the nation has the highest take-up of all the tested Asia-Pacific markets, and this signals strong opportunities for airlines in the China market, the report said. Flash The U.S. Ministry of Defense on Tuesday confirmed that a senior al Qaeda leader was killed in a U.S. air strike near Sarmada, Syria, last week. Abu Afghan Al-Masri, an Egyptian who joined al Qaeda in Afghanistan and later moved to Syria, died on Nov. 18, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters. "He had ties to terrorist groups operating throughout Southwest Asia including groups responsible for attacking U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and those plotting to attack the West," said Cook. The United States has carried out sporadic strikes in the past against veteran al-Qaeda members who migrated to northwestern Syria from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Earlier this month, U.S. President Obama ordered the Pentagon to deploy more drones and intelligence assets against an al-Qaeda-linked military group in Syria, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra and now called Jabhat Fatah al-Sham -- or Front for the Conquest of Syria. The move highlights Obama's concern that it is turning parts of Syria into a new base of operations for al-Qaeda on Europe's southern doorstep, local media says. During his campaign, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would be even more aggressive in going after extreme militants than Obama. Flash The White House said on Tuesday U.S. President Barack Obama would not sign any bill in his final months in office that would undermine the Iran nuclear deal. "We certainly are not going to, however, sign a piece of legislation that would undermine the ability of the international community to continue to successfully implement the international agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a daily briefing. Earlier on Tuesday, U.S. House Republican leaders asked Obama not to take new measures to reinforce the Iran nuclear deal before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January amid reports that the White House was considering such new measures. "We respectfully request that your administration take no further actions designed to bolster international investment in Iran, or otherwise change or alter the existing sanctions regime within international organizations," House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said in a letter to Obama. The Republicans also informed the Obama administration that legislation to extend the Iran Sanctions Act for another 10 years would soon be sent to him. "President-elect Trump deserves the opportunity to assess United States policy toward Iran without your administration imposing or implementing additional measures that could complicate the incoming administration's ability to develop its policy," said the letter. Iran and six world major countries -- the U.S., Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany -- reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue in July 2015 that puts Iran on the path of sanctions relief but more strict limits on its nuclear program. The deal sets limits on Iran's nuclear activities as it will take Tehran at least one year to produce enough fissile materials for producing a nuclear weapon, and allows regular inspections of the facilities inside Iran. In return, the U.S. and the European Union will suspend nuclear- related sanctions against Tehran, with the lifting of all past UN Security Council sanction resolutions. Many members of the U.S. Congress had expressed deep concern about the deal, warning that Tehran could evade inspections and use the money from sanction relief to destabilize the region. Flash The Syrian army on Tuesday renewed calls on the rebels to allow the civilians to leave rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo, according to state news agency SANA. In a statement, the general-command of the Syrian army urged the rebels in eastern Aleppo to allow the civilians who want to leave rebel-held areas to evacuate, and to open the warehouses of food for the civilians in that area. The army stressed that the Syrian government allows the evacuation of the wounded and ill out of eastern Aleppo toward the government-controlled part, west of Aleppo, through passageways the government has previously identified. This comes amid news that the civilians in eastern Aleppo have recently attacked warehouses containing food stuffs under the rebel control as a result of the tough situation in eastern Aleppo. Activists also said that all hospitals in rebel-held areas in Aleppo city have been rendered out of service as a result of the intense shelling by the government forces. Meanwhile, the Syrian army urged the civilians to cooperate with the Syrian army and avoid venturing out in the streets and to stay away from the rebel positions. The statement also encouraged the rebels to take the chance of the presidential pardon by laying down their weapons and surrendering themselves in exchange for an amnesty. A military source also told Xinhua that Syrian aircrafts dropped leaflets on eastern Aleppo on Tuesday, urging the rebels to surrender. UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, proposed recently the evacuation of the ultra-radical groups from eastern Aleppo, while other rebel groups can maintain a local administration in their areas. However, the Syrian government rejected the proposal, and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem made it clear that the Syrian administration has taken a decision for retaking all of Aleppo back. For months, the Syrian government and Russia have been urging rebels to leave Aleppo, offering them safe passages to other rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Idlib. The rebels, however, turned down all offers, which has resulted in intensified violence. Flash The body overseeing implementation of the South Sudan's peace process said on Tuesday that it has revived a process for the demobilization and integration of South Sudanese troops critical for the implementation of a shaky peace deal signed last year. Festus Mogae, Chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), said the monitors have revived and re-constituted the Transitional Security Agreements aimed at ending violence in the conflict-hit African Country. "Transitional Security Arrangement Mechanisms that I have previously described as disintegrated have now been revived and re-constituted and whilst they are not all fully representative or inclusive, they are balanced and capable of driving this critical element of the Agreement forward," Mogae told stakeholders during a meeting in the capital, Juba. Mogae who is the former president of Botswana lauded the economic reforms initiated by the South Sudanese government to fix the crumbling economy. He urged the transitional unity government to cut its work force by a significant proportion to reduce the budget deficit caused by nearly three years of conflict. He, however, warned that cease-fire violations, human rights abuses and road ambushes by armed men almost continue daily in South Sudan, urging all parties to renounce violence and tell their supporters to exercise maximum restraint in order to create a favorable environment for inclusivity and dialogue. South Sudan has been shattered by civil war which broke out in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup. Machar denied the accusation but then mobilized a rebel force. Tens of thousands have been killed, with over two million displaced and another 4.6 million left severely food insecure since then. "The people of South Sudan look to us all to resolve the differences that will end this conflict and bring about a real prospect of peaceful and sustainable national development," Mogae said. Flash Fan Changlong, Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, has agreed with Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome and Minister of Defense, Siraj Fegessa, to strengthen the two countries' cooperation in the military arena. The military relations between China and Ethiopia are currently advancing, and they have made fruitful exchanges and cooperation through personnel training, military medical care, frequent high-level visits, the United Nations peacekeeping and others, said Fan at his meeting with Mulatu on Tuesday. He added that China and Ethiopia have continually enhanced their mutual political trust, and the friendship between the two peoples has also fortified over the years. Noting that China is Ethiopia's most important and reliable strategic partner, Mulatu said the two countries have strong common interests and similar development model and China's great development achievements have provided good reference for Ethiopia. The president expressed his country's keen interest in working with the Asian country to enhance political trust, boost economic and trade ties, and push bilateral military relations to a new level. Fan also visited a military club in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa and held talks with Siraj. The two military officials agreed to strengthen high-level exchanges and cooperation in the military sector. Fan, who is in Ethiopia for a three-day official visit, also held working talks with Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Samora Yenus. Flash South Korean prosecutors have requested a face-to-face questioning of President Park Geun-hye by next week after identifying the president as an accomplice to Choi Soon-sil, Park's longtime friend indicted for multiple crimes. An official at the special investigate unit of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office told a press briefing that a notice was sent to the president's counsel to request Park's face-to-face interrogation as late as next Tuesday, according to local media reports. Prosecutors had asked Park to be investigated as late as last Friday, but Park's attorney delayed it to this week. After the prosecution office said on Sunday that Park had conspired with her decades-long friend in criminal acts, Park's lawyer said he would reject any request to question the president. The team of special prosecutor, who will independently probe the case together with four deputy independent counsels and 20 dispatched prosecutors, is forecast to be launched early next month as the motion on the team was ratified by President Park. The special prosecutor will take over the probe from the special investigative unit after the launch. Park's counsel said the president would be investigated by the special prosecutor. Under the country's constitution, a president has immunity from criminal indictment until his or her single, five-year term ends. The president can be investigated if the criminal execution is suspended by the end of presidency. Park has about 15 months left in office. You are here: Home Flash Hungarian foreign affairs and trade minister Peter Szijjarto will visit China next Wednesday to discuss cooperation and promote bilateral ties. He will attend the annual consultations between the two countries' foreign ministers and the first Belt and Road working group meeting between China and Hungary, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang announced Wednesday in Beijing. Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping left the Chilean capital of Santiago Wednesday morning after wrapping up his state visits to Ecuador, Peru and Chile, and his attendance at the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru. During his week-long trip to Latin America, the third of the kind since he took office in 2013, Xi held talks with his counterparts and decided to lift China's relationships with Ecuador and Chile both to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the highest level in China's diplomatic intimacy. China and Peru established the partnership in 2013. In Lima, Xi delivered an address Monday to the Peruvian Congress, pledging China's efforts in strengthening dialogues and cooperation with Latin American countries to better build their community of common destiny. At the APEC meeting, the Chinese president advocated reforms and innovation, openness and inclusiveness, connectivity, and win-win cooperation among the 21 member economies. On the sidelines of the APEC meeting, Xi met with U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and some other member leaders. *You Know How You Had To Explain Emojis To Your Grandma?* It's like that, but you can bill for it. *See? Justices *Can* Recuse Themselves Over The Mere A... 16 hours ago Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse characters attend a presentation on Hong Kong Disneyland's resort expansion and development plan in Hong Kong, on Nov 22, 2016. [Photo / Agencies] HK govt, Walt Disney to invest $1.4 billion in expansion due for completion in 2023 The Hong Kong government and Walt Disney Co are embarking on a HK$10.9 billion ($1.406 billion) expansion of the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (HKDL), with features that include the world's first Frozen and Marvel-themed facilities to fend off fierce market competition since the Shanghai Disneyland opened in June this year. The Frozen and Marvel-themed facilities are located at the Phase 1 site of HKDL where land formation work has been completed to enable timely commencement of the expansion works. The government will explore the Phase 2 development of HKDL as its long-term development plan. "(The expansion) would attract more high-spending and overnight visitors from more diversified market sources, hence benefiting tourism-related industries in Hong Kong, in line with fostering the development of the tourism industry in a healthy, sustainable and high value-adding manner," Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So Kam-leung said at news conference on Tuesday. The expansion and development plan will run from 2018 until 2023, and the total number of attractions will increase from about 110 to over 130 after completion. The plan will also transform the current Sleeping Beauty Castle which is expected to close to all visitors from next year until 2019. According to the financial arrangement, the government will inject HK$5.8 billion as new capital for the expansion plan into Hongkong International Theme Parks Ltd, the operator of HKDL, based on the government's 53 percent holding in the joint venture company. The remaining HK$5.1 billion will be borne by WDC. The shareholding ratio will remain unchanged after the capital injection. The expansion comes after the park's first descent into the red in five years and large-scale layoffs earlier this year. It lost a total of HK$148 million last year after three years of profitability, while the number of visitors to the park dropped 9.3 percent. Apart from the city's tourism downturn, which saw visitor numbers dip 9.6 percent in the first 10 months of the year, HKDL is also facing stiff competition from its mainland counterpart. Shanghai Disneylandwhich opened in Junehas been flooded with visitors. The mainland park is three times bigger, but ticket prices are similar to those charged by the Hong Kong park. "Since the opening of Shanghai Disneyland, actually more tourists visited HKDL because of its unique positioning and attractions," So said at the news conference. "Shanghai Disneyland helped to promote the Disneyland brand in Asia. Together with HKDL's international flavor and government investment in infrastructure, now it is the time to make long-term tourism facilities investment in Hong Kong," noted Samuel Lau Wing-kee, executive vice-president and managing director of HKDL. Chinese tourists pose for a photo with a former Soviet navy officer, during the 71st anniversary of the victory in World War II, in Moscow on Sept 2, 2016. [Photo / Agencies] Recent yuan depreciation has not dampened Chinese tourists' enthusiasm for outbound trips, but has changed what they do abroad significantly. Now, instead of going on shopping sprees, they savor their leisurely hours. Starting from the beginning of last year, the yuan has depreciated in four rounds by 10 percent till the end of October. Ratings agency Fitch expects that the Chinese currency will be allowed to depreciate gradually towards 7.2 yuan per dollar by 2018. Ctrip, China's largest online travel agency, said it has seen no withering of interest in outbound trips so far, contrary to assumptions that they will be affected by a weakening currency. It said most outbound trips are sold six months in advance. So, the yuan's depreciation will not affect travel in the short term. According to the 2016 Annual Report for China Outbound Trip Development, jointly released by UnionPay International and the China Tourism Academy in September, the number of Chinese outbound travelers will increase by 11.5 percent this year to reach 133 million. In addition, demand for overseas travel packages has been firm, Ctrip observed. As people's living standards improve, quality of life, aspirations and consumption patterns are also improving. Travel for recreation has become a trend. More importantly, a weaker yuan might further change a Chinese traveler's consumption habits. Focus is shifting from shopping to the quality of trip and a chance to experience local lifestyles and culture. Nowhere is this more evident than in Japan. There was a time when Chinese travelers would astonish the locals with bakugai or explosive buying during their shopping sprees. Now, however, they are more inclined to try hot springs, Japanese cuisine and experience local culture. Qiu Huizhen, manager of a Chinese traditional furniture and home decorations store in Shanghai, went on a trip to Kyoto in late October with six friends. Qiu invited two Japanese culture specialists to travel with the group, to explain all the nuanced details of local architecture and museums. "The trip was really rewarding. We walked from one place to another in no hurry. I've learned a lot from the trip, which I think will be beneficial to my job," she said. Even in London, where the depreciation of the pound has given a major boost to local tourism, Chinese travelers are showing greater interest in experiencing local culture. Seat reservations for musicals like Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera by Chinese tourists have surged by a staggering 2,200 percent. Similarly, Russia is seeing influx of culture-minded Chinese tourists this year. According to Ctrip, the number of Chinese travelers buying its Russia travel packages is expected to rise by 50 to 60 percent. Mid- to high-end travel groups interested in nothing else but sightseeing are likely to be the majority of tourists. Trips to watch the natural phenomena of aurora, or skies in magnificent hues of sunlight, have become another hit this year. As this year marks the end of an 11-year aurora cycle, Chinese travelers are going to every possible corner to experience, and capture images of awesome aurora. Ctrip estimates the number of visitors booking aurora trips to north Europe and Canada may have grown by 400 percent this year. The number of visitors heading to Fairbanks in Alaska has also doubled. Dai Bin, director of the China Tourism Academy, said the outbound travel market has gradually matured in China while local travel packages are the new blue ocean of the market. "From hurried sightseeing during the early years, to busy shopping of the past few years, outbound trips have now grown into a new phase where people show more preference for leisure, recreation and life experiences. In the next five years, the Chinese outbound travel market will maintain a steady growth, while travelers will become more rational, paying more attention to life experiences at destinations," he said. Chinese mainland tourists walk past Chinese and British flags at the Mall in London, Britain. REUTERS/SUZANNE PLUNKETT For a holiday marked by fashion, sales and food, Chinese tourists ride cheaper pound and bargain packages to Great Britain The United Kingdom has unexpectedly emerged as a popular travel destination among Chinese tourists, especially in the second half of the year, industry experts said. According to Ctrip, China's largest online travel agency, the UK registered the biggest annual increase during the seven-day National Day holiday in October. The number of tourists booking trips via Ctrip rose by 60 percent during the holiday. Ctrip's sales of UK packages are not comparable to those for Japan, South Korea or Thailand as the distance is longer and the cost higher. But they have outnumbered trips to another popular destination, Australia, and are approaching long-time favorites such as the United States, Italy and France. Zhu Linlin, a communications specialist at a Shanghai-based multinational insurance company, flew to the UK during the National Day holiday. Before going there, Zhang did not have very high expectations. But the trip turned out to be quite a surprise. "There is so much to seethe museums, the castles, universities and even just the natural scenery. While people used to say that tourists in the UK will be fed up with fish and chips, I would like to say that they are all wrong. The choices are plenty. I ate to my heart's content at every meal there. Since the pound has been quite low after Brexit, the whole trip was really worth the money," she said. After the peak travel season ended with the National Day holiday, Ctrip packages became cheaper by 10 to 20 percent. So, Chinese tourists' interest in the UK persisted, ready for the big Christmas-related sales in December and New Year sales in January. Li Yi, a fashion buyer based in Shanghai, visited the UK in late October. Now, as the sales season is around the corner, she has booked fresh flight tickets for January. "I used to live in London. I lived there for six years. It can be said that my understanding of the fashion business started to take shape there. There are so many fashion brands which are really chic and unique although they are less known compared to big names. It is better for me to go there and check out the latest trends. And, of course, the prices are very attractive," she said. To cater to the growing demand of Chinese travelers, hotels and airlines have come out with special offers. As the year winds to a close, the shopping season with big events like Black Friday and Christmas sales is sure to lure thousands of Chinese travelers, industry experts said. Como Metropolitan London, located in the central part of the city, provides its guests with personalized shopping guidance services at the outlet store Bicester Village. Besides, an additional 10 percent discount is provided to Como's guests at this outlet. British Airways charges its business-class passengers 14,800 yuan ($2,172) each for a return trip from Shanghai to the UK, if a group of two to five people book tickets together by the end of November. Travelers flying from Chengdu or Beijing can enjoy separate discounts. The special group packages through the year cover holidays including Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day and Labor Day. According to Richard Tams, executive vice-president of British Airways China, the UK has become one of the most popular destinations for travelers from China. The airline started to provide special group trips from this month, which are designed to provide travel plans "for the next great holidays with ample lead time and great savings". Two tourists apply for UK visa at an external application processing center in Beijing. WANG JING / FOR CHINA DAILY The rapid growth of China's outbound tourism in recent years has given a boost to many ancillary businesses like visa application processing agencies, tourist information services, photo studios, photo-copy centers and cloakrooms near embassies. Baicheng.com, one of the largest visa application agents in China, said it is bullish on the market potential of visa application services as increasingly younger consumers are traveling abroad. The demand for visa-related services is growing, it said. In the first half of this year, Baicheng.com netted sales revenues of 236 million yuan ($34 million), up 67 percent year-on-year. During the same period, it said, it achieved gross profits of 18 million yuan, soaring 127 percent year-on-year. "This year, we have provided visa application services for nearly 1 million individuals, and Japan, South Korea as well as Southeast Asian countries have become the most popular destinations, given their cheaper prices and proximity," said Sun Changwei, vice-president of Baicheng.com. "Applicants need to apply for their visas at different consular districts. For example, those who live in Hebei province have to come to Beijing to apply for visas. Many applicants consider the practice of traveling to Beijing and booking local accommodation too troublesome, thus they order the services online and mail the materials to us and wait to get their visas." The O2O (online-to-offline) travel service platform said most of its customers are those born after 1980, and are reasonably versed in English language. Visa applicants can have their documents and credentials examined online. They can also obtain other consultancy services online. Besides, they can check the progress of their visa applications online. Nevertheless, some applicants still prefer to fill up the forms and submit them to the embassies or consulates themselves. "I studied abroad before and I prefer to apply for the visas myself. I am aware of the potential dangers in sharing personal documents like passports with third parties. Risks like frauds by agents are also a factor," said Kevin Sheng, a Schengen visa applicant in Beijing. Such risks, however, are not rampant among some small businesses that provide simple services. Wang Kai, from Heilongjiang province and in his 50s, has been working near the US embassy in Beijing for 16 years. When he started, he used to distribute fliers for airline ticket agencies. As online ticketing became popular, he started a mobile cloakroom five years ago. As the US embassy in Beijing does not allow visa applicants to bring in their bags, his mobile left luggage service has proven useful. "I usually drive my car to the embassy, and applicants put their bags in my trunk for safekeeping. I charge 20 yuan per bag. There's no time limit. When the business is good, I safekeep 20 to 30 bags a day. I identify myself, give customers a badge and my contact details so they could rest assured that their bags will be safe with me. "I have made some good money from my business. Now all of my family members live in Beijing. With the help of my daughter, I bought a house in suburban Beijing, near Hebei province." Fang Wenyu contributed to this story A logo of UnionPay is pictured on its headquarters building in Shanghai, May 6, 2014. [Photo/IC] PARIS - UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China UnionPay, said Tuesday it had signed an accord with France's largest hotel group, Louvre Hotels Group, regarding the use of UnionPay cards to facilitate Chinese visitors. Under the agreement, 23 hotels in the French capital managed by the Louvre group and which are the most visited by Chinese tourists will accept payment via UnionPay card from Nov 22, a move which "will substantially improve tourists' payment experiences at the local hotels," the Chinese company said in a statement. "The acceptance scope will be further expanded to 500 franchised hotels in France" and "will serve as a good model for other European hotels," it added. UnionPay is making great efforts to improve its acceptance network and services in France together with its partners, according to Ge Huayong, chairman of China UnionPay. "We will promote further cooperation with Louvre Hotels Group to cover its stores worldwide, in order to provide more convenient and high-quality services to cardholders, as well as to bring more customers to the group's hotels, and thus realize a win-win result," Ge said. For his turn, Pierre-Frederic Roulot, president of Louvre Hotels Group, called the deal "a strategic cooperation," which will allow the group to improve its service quality, especially for Chinese tourists. Louvre Hotels Group owns six major hotel brands, including Campanile, Kyriad, Golden Tulip and Royal Tulip. It has more than 1,100 hotels across 51 countries and regions. In France, cardholders are able to pay with UnionPay cards at 110,000 merchants, including department stores, duty-free stores, airport stores, brand stores, restaurants, and hotels. According to official data, China was France's biggest tourist market in 2015, with 2.2 million visitors numbered over the period. BEIJING - China's coal prices continued to drop this week, a key price index showed. The Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index, a gauge of coal prices in northern China's major ports, fell 0.5 percent from a week ago to 601 yuan ($87.22) per ton, according to Qinhuangdao Ocean Shipping Coal Trading Market Co Ltd. It was the third straight week of price decline since the National Development and Reform Commission introduced measures to replenish coal supply as prices rose. China's Global Newspaper Sorry, the page you requested was not found. Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Chinadaily.com.cn, try visiting the Chinadaily home page Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook vice-president for the EMEA region addresses the Confederation of British Industry's annual conference in London, on Nov 21, 2016. [Photo / Agenices] Facebook Inc is to increase its UK headcount by 50 percent, hiring 500 new staff members and backing the British capital as an important technology hub. The social media company is moving to a new London headquarters in 2017, and has plans to up its headcount from 1,000 to 1,500, the company said in a statement on Monday. "Many of those new roles will be high-skilled engineering jobs," said Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook's vice-president for the EMEA region. "The UK remains one of the best places to be a tech company and is an important part of Facebook's story." At a speech on Monday given to the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry, a lobby group, Mendelsohn also said the UK needs to avoid shutting itself off to the global economy due to competition from rival tech hubs such as Berlin and Tel Aviv. She said the movement of talent across European borders is "very important" to the company. "We need to make sure we continue to look outward and not inward," Mendelsohn said. "We need to stay competitive." The announcement extends a recent string of similar promises made by major US tech companies regarding their plans in the UK. Last week Google cemented plans that it would expand in the UK, saying it will go-ahead with plans to complete a new London office that can hold as many as 7,000 workers3,000 more than a spokesman said it currently employs in the UK. Bloomberg ABA Big Year Update: Three Past the Record The end of 2016 is only 5 weeks away and the Big Year birders are not slowing down at all. The last few weeks have seen a handful of noteworthy rarities in the ABA Area that have left the four bust as they travel around the US and Canada. The biggest news of the month is undoubtedly the promotion of Laura Keene to record-breaker status, as she becomes the third birder this year to pass Neil Haywards 2013 total of 749. Since we last checked in with John Weigel at the beginning of this month, he has been on a bit of a tear. In addition to vagrant Amazon Kingfisher (TX) and Common Scoter (OR), Weigel has added McKays Bunting and Gray-headed Chickadee in Alaska, the latter a seriously hard bird to come by and one that necessitated two trips into the Brooks Range. John also picked up Harriss Sparrow in Kansas, undoubtedly one of the last resident birds left for him this year. He currently sits at an incredible 774 (+2). You can follow John at Birding for Devils. Olaf Danielson has been busy this month as well. He also added Amazon Kingfisher and Common Scoter to his list along with Ruddy Ground-Dove (AZ) and Red-footed Booby (FL). He now finds himself at 771 (+1), still just barely behind Weigel. Danielson did, however, take a flyer earlier this month and spent a week in Hawaii, after the state was added to the ABA Area at the end of October. It is worth noting that the species Olaf saw there cannot be added to his ABA Area Big Year total for 2016, nor for any other year if my reading of the Recording Standards and Ethics rules is correct. Any Big Year attempt uses the checklist for that year. Birds seen in Hawaii cannot be retroactively applied to a Big Year total for the same reason that subspecies cannot be banked to count once they are split. But what Danielson has done is set a new standard for a USA Big Year, which is pretty notable, too. You can follow Olaf at his blog, The Bad Weather Big Year. Congratulations are due to Laura Keene, who becomes the third birder in 2016 to break the ABA Area Big Year record. The milestone bird was the Oregon Common Scoter, not counting the two provisional species she has banked. Since we last checked in, Laura has been mining the southeast, adding species like Florida Scrub-Jay, Bachmans Sparrow, and Yellow Rail. She has now reached an impressive 750 (+2). As for Christian Hagenlocher, hes nearing his target of 750 as well. He describes himself as being in clean-up mode as he heads out in his car towards Lousiana with stops in Arizona, Texas, and Missouri. Like the rest, Hagenlocher saw Common Scoter and Amazon Kingfisher, along with Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Ruddy Ground-Dove and Mountain Plover. With a month left to go, he seems poised to top 750 and sits now at 742 (+2). You can read Christians blog at The Birding Project. And an addendum, I have not been tracking the attempt by Dutch birder Arjan Dwarshuis to break Noah Stryckers World Big Year record, set last year. But its worth noting here that Arjan also topped that record this past month in Panama, with a Tody Motmot as bird number 6042. He shows no signs of stopping, and his travels northward through Central America and the Caribbean see him sitting at a stunning 6336 at the moment. Arjan is heading to the US next month to pad his already incredible list. Keep up with Arjan on twitter or at his website. A LeEco uMax 85 television is displayed at an event in San Francisco, Oct 19, 2016. [Photo/IC] The price war among Chinese TV manufacturers which has been raging for nearly four years is finally approaching a truce. The first company to cease fire was Le Holdings Co Ltd. On Monday, the company announced it would raise the prices of some TV sets by 100 yuan ($14.5) and some others by 300 yuan. It was just two months since it announced a first round of price increases for its TV products in September. Liang Jun, president of LeTV Zhixin Electronic Technology (Tianjin) Co Ltd which is responsible for Le Holdings' TV business, explained in his personal WeChat Moments that they will stick to the rule of subsidizing the hardware with the help of its already built ecosystem. Meanwhile, the prices fixed for the TV sets will mean little profit for the company. With its first TV set unveiled in early July 2013, LeTV Zhixin sold nearly 9 million TV sets by the end of October. However, LeTV Zhixin registered a net loss of 56.87 million yuan in the first half of fiscal year 2016. The last straw was the higher price of LCD panels, which takes up nearly 65 percent of a complete TV set. According to consulting and research firm IHS Markit, rising demand for LCD panels, exceeding market supply, has resulted in the price increases in China. According to the latest quote in the international market, a 40-inch 1080p high-resolution LCD panel has seen its price rise by $17, while most of the TV makers in China attract consumers with sets only priced at around $280 each. Companies apart from LeTV have realized that low price is not the way out. Zhou Kun, chief executive officer of Beijing Funshion Online Technology Co Ltd, another leading market player, said in a meeting in late October that the company will no longer produce any low-price TVs. The company will no longer focus on online distribution channels. It will open 200 physical stores to compete with traditional TV makers. Traditional TV manufacturers also hold negative views regarding low prices. Liu Tangzhi, vice-president of leading Chinese TV manufacturer Skyworth Group Ltd said during a news conference on Nov 16 that the irrational low prices set by some TV makers is against economic rules. He even called for government administrative bodies to investigate unfair competition in the Chinese TV industry. A worker adjusts the logo at the stand of Huawei at the CeBIT trade fair in Hanover, March 15, 2015.[Photo/Agencies] HARARE - Chinese telecoms firm Huawei Technologies on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) for the establishment of an information and communications technology (ICT) training and practicing center at the country's oldest institution of higher learning. The university's vice chancellor Levi Nyagura and Huawei Technologies Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd managing director Yang Jiangtao, signed the agreement on behalf of their institutions. Nyagura said the UZ-Huawei telecommunications project would help students acquire cutting-edge ICT and telecommunications knowledge and enhance their practical capabilities. The project will also be a vehicle for the transfer of technology from China to Zimbabwe and would help to strengthen Zimbabwe's technological base, Nyagura said. "This ICT training and practice center will be used to cultivate ICT talents and help ICT students to improve hands-on practical skills," Nyagura said. "We particularly hope that the center will evolve into a regional center of excellence in ICT which will not only serve Zimbabwe, but the member nations of SADC, as students from the region will also join in the training programs," he added. Nyagura said the university would in 2017 launch a degree program in Electronics and Telecommunications Technology which it will run in partnership with Huawei. "I earnestly hope and desire that this partnership forged by Huawei and UZ will benefit students by providing them with lifelong knowledge in ICT that will match industry requirements and transform them into world class graduates and professionals," he said. Huawei Technologies Zimbabwe managing director Yang Jiangtao said the partnership, the first of its kind, is aimed at enhancing ICT skills development and help economic development in Zimbabwe. "Human resource is the most valuable thing here and by developing ICT talent we will make great contribution to the Zimbabwean society," Yang said. A ceremony is held in Beijing to open the space capsule of Shenzhou XI manned mission on Nov 22, 2016, unveiling the items that were carried by the two Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong during their 33-day space trip. [Photo/VCG] So what did China's space capsule Shenzhou XI carry during its return journey to the Earth? Well, the items included crop and herb seeds, biological samples used in the medical experiment conducted aboard the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, as well as experiment equipment designed by middle school students from Hong Kong. Souvenirs from different regions across the country were also part of the items. China's Shenzhou XI space capsule returned to Earth safely in central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Nov 18, with the two astronauts completing China's longest-ever manned space mission. Profound changes have occurred in Moudao, once a deserted town, since the local government brought in real estate tourism developers as part of a poverty relief campaign that made full use of the town's natural advantages: a high rate of green coverage and cool temperatures during summer. Before the tourism push began in 2011, Moudao's people could hardly harvest enough to eat from the limited farmland, which supported only potatoes and corn. Back then, few people were to be seen on the 3.5-meter-wide road in the mountain-encompassed town, according to Qin Taixiang, a local writer who has chronicled the town's development for many years. "The average per capita cultivated land in my village, Yaocai, is less than 1 mu (0.07 hectare). People think their lives are good if they have enough potatoes to eat. Almost 80 percent of the adults left town temporarily, and the terrible conditions prompted more than 10 households to relocate to other areas permanently," said the 56-year-old resident of the town, which is in the Enshi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture of Hubei province. The large number of villagers who left resulted in Moudao being nicknamed "the biggest source of migrant workers in Hubei", and Wang Houjun, the mayor, said half of the 70,000 residents were once employed in other cities and towns nationwide. But much has changed. Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, watches a simulation surgery during her visit to a Shanghai-based emergency rescue team on Tuesday. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily] Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, paid an inspection visit on Tuesday to a Shanghai-based emergency rescue team, one of three such teams that became the first to join the WHO's Emergency Medical Team Initiative earlier this year and the only one in China. Chan urged the team, capable of providing mobile emergency field hospitals and staff members in response to natural disasters and disease outbreaks, to gain more practical knowledge from rescue teams that have been to the world's hardest-hit regions. "You should communicate more with those who have participated in rescue missions in places such as West Africa, where resources are limited and sanitation conditions are poor, to gain a better understanding of how to prioritize workloads in changing circumstances," Chan told the team members during her visit to a mobile emergency field hospital, which cost 150 million yuan ($22 million) and is comprised of more than 10 large tents, during a team drill involving 60 doctors and nurses from Shanghai East Hospital. "I appreciate your contributions to the global health mission, which help the Chinese government and people to build relations with foreign countries," Chan said. Core members of the team have previously participated in rescue work after major disasters, such as the 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008 and the 7.1-magnitude Yushu earthquake in Qinghai province in 2010. "China's investment in health reaps rewards not only for its own population, but also for the rest of the world. The Shanghai team is registered with the WHO for emergency deployment when the next regional or global outbreak strikes," said Bernhard Schwartlander, WHO representative in China. The mobile hospital will serve as a comprehensive medical treatment institution after disasters when regular medical facilities are compromised, said Liu Zhongmin, team leader and president of the hospital. The mobile hospital's medical treatment area includes outpatient services, a laboratory, a blood bank, a pharmacy and an operating room, while its logistics support area includes an energy supply warehouse, catering, sewage treatment and toilets. "The capacity for outpatients is at least 200 people per day and we have 26 beds in the mobile hospital," said Chen Chunhua, a doctor on the team who is from Shanghai East Hospital's department of emergency surgery. Chan said one major issue with such field hospitals is cross infection. Liu said the entire mobile hospital is equipped with a ventilation system and the medical staff are required to wash their hands and change their clothes regularly to reduce the risk of cross infection. "The operating room is equipped with a custom-made air purifier imported from Germany to ensure air coming into the operating room is sterilized. Even heart and brain surgeries can be performed here," Liu said. Shan Juan contributed to this story. Artificial intelligence is being used to prevent costly misdiagnoses (From left to right) Robin Li, chairman and CEO of Baidu; Margaret Chan, director-general of the WHO; Baroness Joanna Shields, UK Minister for Internet Safety and Security; and Zhao Houlin, secretary-general of International Telecommunication Union, share their opinions about the application of Internet Plus in health during the ongoing Ninth Global Conference on Health Promotion in Shanghai on Tuesday. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily] Baidu CEO and chairman Robin Li called on the technology sector on Tuesday to "join hands" with the health sector to tackle more of the world's health problems. "If we can marry these two together then I think magic can happen. It's very exciting to think about the application of Internet Plus in health," Li said. Speaking as part of a panel of experts at the Ninth Global Conference on Health Promotion in Shanghai, Li suggested that health companies utilize the openness of the internet and big data to empower people to lead healthier lives. Li was joined on stage by Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, who described healthcare as "one of the most, if not the most, conservative sectors". She said the sector needs the help of technological innovators to help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set out in the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. One of the issues Li has noticed during his recent forays into the health industry is the "low expectations" of the technology sector among medical professionals. Making a medical database searchable, for example, can be solved by one server, Li said. "We have 500." More than 60 million medical and health-related queries are performed on Baidu every day, according to Li, highlighting the growing reliance on the internet for self-diagnosis. Providing authoritative information online has been a top priority for Baidu since Chinese internet regulators ordered the company to change the way it displays results following the death of a student who visited a healthcare provider found at the top of a search list in 2014. In addition to strengthening its encyclopedic database, the company has rolled out a slew of initiatives aimed at the healthcare sector, including app Baidu Doctor, which allows patients to ask doctors questions, make medical appointments online and search for health information. Earlier this year, Baidu began testing its "Medical Brain" system - artificial intelligence designed to help doctors avoid costly misdiagnoses - in hospitals across China. "In 80 percent of cases in one hospital, the Medical Brain came to the same conclusion as the doctors. But we can go much further in precision medicine," Li said. However, while China's hospitals begin to embrace innovation and big data, more work is needed to ensure they can communicate on both a local, national and international level. Zhao Houlin, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, said that countries should adopt an international standard and issue guidelines from the "top down" on how to connect hospitals with smart databases. "To connect hospitals you need to have some kind of common standard," he said. "Telecoms authorities and healthcare authorities need to work together to keep these systems safe and reliable." During the summer, about 160,000 tourists from lower neighboring areas swarmed into the mountain town of Moudao to enjoy its temperate climate and avoid the heat. The population swelled, exceeding those in a number of county-level cities, vehicles jammed the roads and tourists packed into the market. While many local businesspeople found that trade had tripled or even quadrupled, the town's public servants were forced to work hard to manage the new "city". Wang Houjun, the mayor, said he had been lucky: "I had opportunities to return to Lichuan city, as I had to attend meetings there, but my colleagues had to stay at their posts continually for more than a month during the summer." Apart from 60 government officials, Moudao has just four urban management officials and nine police officers, so village cadres were mobilized to help. "The support facilities in the town lag far behind the tourists' expectations. The town has developed too quickly and this has put great pressure on us," Wang said, adding that sometimes dozens and even hundreds of people complained to authorities about inadequate supplies of power, water and gas. He said it was fortunate that most of the outsiders who have bought apartments in the town are well-educated and understood his explanation. "Many of them come from the Wanzhou district of Chongqing. I told them that there are lots of problems in Moudao, if you compare the town with Chongqing. However, Chongqing has been developed for several hundred years, while Moudao has been developed for just five," he said. Wang said the town government "has a willing sprit, but the flesh is weak", meaning the authorities find it difficult to run the town because of limited administrative clout and a lack of law-enforcement officials. "We need to do a lot of things we are not capable of doing," he said, adding that the government is applying preferential policies to improve the situation. Chen Jianping, Party secretary of Moudao, said an estimated 300,000 people will eventually stay in the town. To cope with the influx, more roads, including two ring roads and a bypass, have been planned and construction will probably begin early next year. He added that the government also plans to build a surveillance system and tourists will be asked to volunteer and help to maintain order. The government is also building plants for the treatment of sewage and waste, and ecological protection will be a priority during the next phase of development. There are thousands of writers in China, but very few are like Qin Taixiang. The 56-year-old farmer, who had little formal education, concentrates on writing about Moudao. About 95 percent of the 3 million words he has written relate to the remote, once isolated town. Born into a poverty-stricken family, Qin didn't attend school until he was 11. He had to get up at 5 am to ensure that he would have time to walk 20 kilometers along a mountain road and arrive at school on time at 9 am. "We were never given lunch at school. The journey home took even longer than the one to school because I was too hungry to walk quickly, and I searched for wild fruit all the way home to fill my empty stomach," he recalled. Even though he had no idea what literature was, Qin was enthusiastic about the written language and borrowed all the books he could find. However, he failed the national college entrance exam twice and almost resigned himself to becoming a farmer. Hoping to change his destiny, he joined the army, only to find he was too old to qualify for training at a military academy. Desperate, Qin finally followed in the footstep of thousands of his fellow villagers and became a migrant worker. He floated around Beijing and the provinces of Jiangsu and Guangdong for 18 years before returning to Moudao in 2009. His enthusiasm for literature never waned, though. During his time away, he wrote a book of essays - The Azaleas of Sumadang - and published articles about Moudao's wild mushrooms in Wuxi Daily in 1996. A piece called Sumadang's Weed was printed in Zhanjiang Literature in 1998. Qin said he wrote about his hometown because he found it better than any of the tourist attractions he visited during his time away, including two of China's five most-sacred mountains (Huashan and Taishan): "I maintain my enthusiasm for literature mainly because I want to promote my hometown." In his novel The Sun Rises over Dongshan Mountain, Qin described an ideal future for his hometown - a summer resort that would attract tourists. Officials who read the book dismissed his ideas, with one telling him: "It would be too difficult to realize", but Qin was determined to see real change. With high-rise buildings under construction and a swath of tourists prompting traffic jams in the small town, that change has already taken place. Despite the developments, Qin wants to continue writing about Moudao. "I want to write reports about its development because there are still so many things to write about. For example, the developmental footprint of every developer and the deeds of every official involved in the town's development would be worth recording," he said. "My hometown's development is just beginning, but it's still not how I dreamed it would be. Eventually, it will be a lot better and will become a world-famous tourist attraction." A 4-year-old girl in Yumuzhai village, Moudao town, bites into a sweet potato. As I was heading to the train station after leaving Moudao the faces of many people I had met there came into my mind, one after another. The cab driver turned on the radio, which was playing a sad song: "My dear friend, please don't cry," the lyrics said. When the words came round for the second time, I tried to hold back my tears, but couldn't. A 4-year-old girl was the first person I thought about. After walking on the mountain for nearly four hours, my colleagues and I lost our way, and we met the girl accidentally in Yumuzhai village, about 20 kilometers from the center of town. It was raining, but the girl was standing in an open yard where two seniors were cleaning sweet potatoes. Another woman showed up shortly after. The women weren't related to the girl; they were her neighbors and babysitters. She had been left with them by her parents, who were looking after the 150 goats they own. She wore a pink coat, but the sleeves were so dirty they were stained black. Although she had no toys or prepared snacks, the girl smiled as she bit into a piece of sweet potato. I don't know if she has children of her own age to play with, but if so she will have to climb a mountain road with steps built from rocks of various sizes to reach them. The rocks for man uneven surface, almost without a flat centimeter, and some sections of the road are so steep I only dared move my foot forward a few seconds after my previous step had hit the ground. People have no option but to use the road to go to their fields, narrows trips of land scattered across the slopes where no machinery can be used. All the produce has to be taken home in baskets carried on the back. While resting in the open yard, I saw Zhao Xueyu, an 87-year-old woman, carrying a back basket full of potatoes. It must have weighed at least 50 kilograms, and I don't think I could stand upright for 10 seconds with that on my back, even on flat ground. Using a hoe as a makeshift walking stick, she moved slowly along the steep road. She has to work because poverty has forced her children to leave town to make a living. To a large extent, the scenes I witnessed in the village mirror Moudao's past. Just 20 kilometers away in the downtown area, once just as poor as Yumuzhai, the neon lights shone brightly in the evening dark as a result of the tourism development orchestrated by the local government in 2011. I believe, or at least I hope, that someday all the impoverished people living in the remote town will enjoy the benefits of development. File photos of Fan Xiaoqin and Jack Ma. [Photo/VCG] How to deal with the fame of becoming a cyber-celebrity is now a tough question for the 8-year-old 'mini Jack Ma'. During this year's Singles' Day, also well-known in China as the annual online shopping event on Nov. 11 launched by Alibaba, the boy, Fan Xiaoqin shot to fame soon after photos of him showing a striking resemblance to Jack Ma, circulated online once again. However, the young boy and his poor family, who live in Yongfeng County in east China's Jiangxi Province, have to tackle the burdens that come along with such fame. Local media reports say that people with various goals have swarmed the remote village, with some villagers saying they counted up to 50 visitors to the boy's house in just one day. Some people and company representatives came to offer support to Fan Xiaoqin and his family, showing willingness to help to offer financial support to pay for Fan Xiaoqin's education in the future. A businessman gave the family 6,000 yuan cash (or about 872 USD), a LCD television, and some groceries, just to help improve the living conditions of this family in severe poverty. Even more people are lured to the village with commercial interests in mind. An online streaming host from Beijing filmed his experience in Fan Xiaoqin's home, and published video clips on his broadcasting platform, only for the purpose of getting more page hits and followers on the internet. Some entrepreneurs even forced the boy to take photos with them to promote their brands or products. In this weeks Acton Commentary I weigh in with some reflections on the US presidential results: Naming, Blaming, and Lessons Learned from the 2016 Election. I focus on much of the reaction on the Democratic side, which has understandably had some soul-searching to do. The gist of my argument is that the New Left forgot the Old Left and got left out this election cycle. For further elaborations on this theme, I recommend the following: The Real Forgotten Man Of 2016 Was Bill Clinton, by Ben Domenech; Rust Belt Dems broke for Trump because they thought Clinton cared more about bathrooms than jobs, by James Hohmann; and Bernie Sanders, In Boston: Democratic Party Needs To Focus On Working Class, by Simon Rios. The only coherent way forward for the Democratic Party in America is to embrace an Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders-style approach to material inequality, to return the Old Labor vision of progressive politics. To paraphrase Sen. Sanders, going forward the Democratic Party has to be much more Piketty and much less RuPaul. Winning in politics, as in sports, can make things seem like they are better than they really are. For the GOP, it could be that holding both houses of Congress and taking the White House ends up preventing the kind of reflection and reformation that really needs to happen. In that vein, I conclude the piece by pointing out that Trumps economic message, which resonated among certain voters this time around, has its own problems and shortcomings. White working class voters have suffered materially to some extent. The benefits of globalization and economic growth are not spread evenly, and there are some tradeoffs. The Right has largely been unwilling to acknowledge even short-term domestic losers in the global, free enterprise system. But perhaps even more importantly than material losses, working classes have experienced suffering in a subjective and psychological sense, which includes feelings of isolation, purposelessness, and disrespect. Donald Trump became the vehicle for expressing this disaffection, while Clinton was the embodiment of a cronyist, corrupt Washington establishment. It isnt just the economic and material prospects for white, working-class Americans that are countertrends. The trends for these groups across a host of social measures is heading downward against the broader, more general improvement for other groups. As Gina Kolata of the New York Times reported a year ago, for instance, Something startling is happening to middle-aged white Americans. Unlike every other age group, unlike every other racial and ethnic group, unlike their counterparts in other rich countries, death rates in this group have been rising, not falling. Donald Trump put forth an economic agenda designed to cater to the relative material deprivation of working-class Americans. It is largely an agenda based on a mythical past and an unrealistic future. But it was at least and in part intended to respond to the existential situation of a whole group of people who have been left behind and left out of the political and economic processes of the last two decades. Clintons negligence of and Trumps attention to the white working class may really have been the difference in this election. Politicians ought to be concerned about the working class, white or otherwise, but not fetishize it. In such a case, the GOP would become (and some certainly say it is already) just the vehicle for the identity politics of working-class rather than old, rich white men. What we need, from our politics and from our broader culture, is a more robust and responsible populism, one that places workers and the human person within a comprehensive vision of society and significance in the world. The German economist Wilhelm Ropke characterized this as a humane economy. More and better jobs are part of the solution. And here economic growth and entrepreneurial dynamism is key. But the problems are not only material. They are cultural and ultimately spiritual. And so what we really need, and what I hope to think more deeply about in the coming weeks and months, is a proper view of the human person at the heart of this new wave of American populism. Officials in Changshu, Jiangsu province, found eight child laborers on Tuesday after an online video exposed the illegal use of underage workers in garment factories. The local government found the child workers after searching nearly 2,000 workshops and companies. The children will be accommodated in a school and sent home after the government helps them to get their salaries, China News Service reported. The government took action after a video uploaded to pearvideo.com, a video website, went viral online. It featured several unnamed sources, their faces obscured, who said agents had cheated people, including children under 16 years old, from Yunnan province by promising them high wages. According to Chinese law, companies cannot employ people younger than 16. One source said that although the agents promise a monthly wage of 3,000 yuan ($435), the child laborers sometimes make less than half of that. He also said they asked the workers to hand in their identity cards and bank cards in case they tried to run away. Workers cannot get paid if they quit before they worked for a whole year, and even have to pay for traveling and living expenses if they quit after one or two months, the source said. He also said the agents resort to violence if they failed to keep the workers in their jobs. If the children "don't obey", he said, they "will be beaten". "After they are beaten, they work fast," he said. A 15-year-old from Yunnan's Wenshan Zhuang and Miao autonomous prefecture, who was identified only as Xiaoxiong, said the boss kept his ID card and took away his computer. "I was asked to pay 3,700 yuan after I went to work for another factory and was found by my former boss," he said. Xiaoxiong said he could work on 350 pieces of clothing in one shift. But the boss asked him to increase that to 500. "I thought it wouldn't be tiring to work on clothes, as you aren't exposed to the sun. I never expected it to be so tiring," he said. On Monday, police detained the manager of an illegal clothing workshop that hired child labor. The workshop doesn't have a license, the government said. An official told China Youth Daily that there are about 4,000 clothing factories in Changshu, but such cases usually happen in illegal workshops without licenses that change their locations frequently. The Changshu government has found 211 child laborers in 107 cases since 2012, China News Service reported. Fang Aiqing contributed to this story. Senior Chinese military leader meets Russian defense minister Xinhua | Updated: 2016-11-23 13:25 BEIJING - Vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission Xu Qiliang met with visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu here on Wednesday. Bilateral military cooperation has deepened with positive achievements in recent years, Xu said, stressing that military-to-military relations are an important part of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries. Xu said China is willing to promote exchange and cooperation with Russia so that the military-to-military relationship will be pushed to a new high. Shoigu said Russia attaches great importance to developing the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries. Russia will strengthen exchange and cooperation with the Chinese military in various fields so that the two nations can continue to play a positive role in maintaining regional and global peace and stability, the Russian defense minister added. Snow covered log cabins and "snow mushrooms" in Xuexiang Village on Jan 2, 2016. [Photo/IC] Xuexiang Village, which literally means snow village, a once State-owned impoverished forestry farm located in China's northernmost province of Heilongjiang, has been transformed into a booming tourist resort, thanks to its forest resources and vision. Formerly known as Shuangfeng forestry farm, the village is located at the southern foot of Changbai mountain. The snow here starts falling in October and begins to melt in April due to the influence of Siberian cold front and warm current from the Sea of Japan. An unusual scene that is unique to the village is the "snow mushrooms", which are formed after sticky snow falls onto wood piles. Together with log cabins, pine trees and snowy mountains, the place looks like a fairy tale world. Du Xueqi and Zhao Bingjing, both former gymnasts, pose for photos. The pair of identical twin sisters who both gained places at East China's Zhejiang University have won praise and admiration after their story recently went viral online. On November 4, 2016, Zhejiang University published an article on its website announcing that Du Xueqi had been admitted with an unconditional offer, whilst her sister Zhao Bingjing had won a government-funded scholarship. The news was widely reported by medias and attracted much attention from netizens.[Photo from Weibo account of Du Xueqi] Top political advisor stresses opposition to 'Taiwan independence' Xinhua | Updated: 2016-11-23 16:30 BEIJING - Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng on Wednesday emphasized the need to oppose "Taiwan independence". Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks when meeting with a Taiwan lawmakers delegation, led by Yao Eng-chi. Yu said that mainland political advisors and Taiwan lawmakers have cooperated on cross-Straits communication and peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. The island's current authorities refused to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus and disagree that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China, gravely threatening the development of cross-Strait relations, Yu said. He stressed the adherence to the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle and firmly opposing "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and their activities. Yu called on compatriots from both sides to increase communication and strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Yu also expressed his hope for an improved exchange mechanism and more exchanges between young people from both sides of the Strait. An international Chinese ink painting exhibition will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center in August next year to mark the special administrative region's 20th anniversary. Organizers, the Young Artists Development Foundation from Hong Kong, have put out a call for entries. Dubbed "Ink Global", the exhibition aims to showcase the profoundness and excellence of contemporary ink painting from elite artists worldwide. A total of 500 pieces of art will be on show at the event, which organizers hope will attract about 150,000 art lovers and visitors, making it the largest-ever art exhibition in Hong Kong. "Ink Global is a community event celebrating the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's 20th anniversary. It aims to promote the development of ink painting and enhance its position in the international art circle," said Nellie Fong, chairman of the Young Artists Development Foundation. According to Liu Dawei, chairman of the Chinese Artists Association, the exhibition will feature modern, contemporary and 20th century ink paintings, generally classified into portraits, landscapes, birds, flowers, fishes, insects and animals. It will be open to the public and admission will be free. Central inspectors found Southwest China's Yunnan province has problems in lax implementation of environmental protection measures, and illegal exploitation in natural reserves. The inspection team sent by the central government, which inspected the performance of Yunnan province for one month on environmental protection since July 15, said some leading officials in the province and cities did not make environmental protection issues a priority and did not implement measures strictly. The province has detained 11 people responsible for pollution from over 1,200 cases that inspectors exposed, and 189 pollution cases have been transferred to judicial organs for further investigation. A total of 322 officials were held accountable, the statement said. Among the major provincial projects, 55 started construction before passing the environmental impact assessment, which goes against the revised Environmental Protection Law, according to a statement from the Ministry of Environmental Protection on Wednesday. The inspectors also found illegal construction on natural reserves against the governments' protection regulations. For example, since the provincial government released the Regulation on Fuxian Lake Protection in 2007, many illegal buildings such as hotels, apartments and villas, with total floor area of 140,000 square meters, have been constructed inside the protection zone, which are still for sale. The central inspectors also pointed out the lax treatment of heavy metal pollution in Yunnan. The central government required Yunnan to conduct 19 projects to process the heavy metal pollution by the end of 2015. However, 12 of them have not been finished yet. The central government has sent high-level teams, led by ministerial level officials, to inspect eight provincial level regions since mid-July as the first batch - Yunnan, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Henan, Liaoning and Jiangxi provinces, and Ningxia Hui and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regions. All of the inspection results have already been released, and common problems exposed involved insufficient attention from leadership, ineffective implementation on pollution controlling measures and excessive exploitation of resources in natural reserves, based on the released statements. The second batch of such central inspection teams are expected to start soon, the ministry said. WUHAN -- Peng Qiongxian, a Communist Party of China (CPC) village chief, sneaked his son's family on to a list of households entitled to poverty relief funds thinking the anti-corruption watchdog would never find it. But he was wrong. A cluster of new databases set up earlier this year by disciplinary authorities in Shiyan City, central China's Hubei Province, put paid to Peng's underhand behavior. Analysts also found that three other "poverty-stricken households" in Yueriwan, Peng's village, had used fake documents to obtain the status. "Lax supervision prevents good policies from benefiting those in need," said Hu Chaowen, head of Shiyan CPC commission for discipline inspection. China has the ambitious goal of lifting 55.75 million rural residents out of poverty by 2020. To achieve this, public funds have been allocated to provide living allowances, medical aid, and housing renovation subsidies. A five-year campaign to eliminate corruption in poverty relief was launched this year to address the growing number of officials implicated in the misuse or embezzlement of funds. Prosecutors investigated 658 officials responsible for poverty alleviation in the first five months of 2016, an increase of 53.7 percent year-on-year, according to statistics from the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Investigations by the procuratorate revealed that local-level officials were most likely to be involved in bribery, embezzlement, speculation and dereliction of duty. The databases hold information on those responsible for poverty relief funds since 2014 and their background information, including family, as well as house and vehicle ownership. Previously, data was neither unified or available to all governmental organs. The databases allow disciplinary staff to check whether funds were assigned to qualified receivers. There are also regulations in place that bans the relatives of governmental workers, or those who own an urban house or a car, from being classed as "those in need." So far, the databases have helped uncover thousands of violations. In Shiyan, a village committee returned over 6,000 yuan (870 U.S. dollars) in embezzled funds, which should have gone to villagers, to the state coffers. Following the footsteps of Shiyan, other regions in Hubei have also rolled out their own systems to supervise poverty relief funds. "'Big data' helps us find a way to strictly govern the Party, as our top leadership requires us to do," Hu said. SHANGHAI -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called on developed and developing countries around the world to join forces to fight disease and handle health emergencies. Li's remarks were made in Shanghai at the opening ceremony of the Ninth Global Conference on Health Promotion (GCHP), which began on Nov. 21 and will run until Thursday. The full text of Li's speech was released Wednesday. While praising the achievements made in health worldwide over the 30 years since the first GCHP was held in Canada, Li warned that problems still exist, citing the imbalance of resources; aging and movement of people; as well as environmental and lifestyle changes. "There is still a long way to go," Li said, suggesting that international cooperation would help achieve the goal. Calling on all countries to strengthen policy dialogue, Li said medical governance cooperation platforms should be established, and all countries should support WHO leadership, coordination and implementation. Moreover, he said, legislation on health should be improved and supervision of investment and trade that threatens people's health should be strengthened. Li stressed the principal of common but differentiated obligations to the wider health drive, which would encourage developed countries to take on more responsibilities while letting developing countries have more say. Diseases and health emergencies can be better dealt with, Li said, if there is a global public health safety control system, in addition to better dialogue, information sharing and personnel training. Li said the Chinese government would support the WHO in establishing a special team and fund for emergencies, and called on developed countries to increase support for developing countries. The premier also called for joint efforts to push forward research and development in the health sector. In addition, Li vowed to give priority to health in China's development, with preferential policies and more financial aid. According to Li, more health resources will go to the lower-levels of society, in China this would mean closing the gap between rural,impoverished regions with urban areas. More than 1,200 representatives including leading politicians from 126 countries and regions as well as 19 international organizations participate in the conference organized by China and the WHO. The conference is a platform for the WHO and member states to discuss important global health issues and set an agenda for promoting health worldwide. Exercise Aman Youyi 2016, a joint military exercise between China and Malaysia code-named Peace and Friendship Exercise 2016, was launched in Paya Indah Wetlands in Selangor, Malaysia, on Tuesday. "The military exercise serves as an important platform for the two armies to jointly tackle challenges and maintain regional peace and stability," General Fang Fenghui, chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, said at an opening ceremony for the event. "We hope the two armies take the opportunity to continue cooperation in fighting terrorism, tackling maritime challenges, safeguarding maritime security and promoting regional peace and stability," Fang said. [Photo provided to China Daily] A forum held at Beijing's National Art Museum of China on Monday commemorated a generous donation of German industrialists and collectors Irene and Peter Ludwig 20 years ago. Museum director Wu Weishan said a specific exhibition hall will display the donated artworks at the museums new building after it is open in two years, located near the National Stadium (the Bird's Nest). The couple donated 117 Western art works, including paintings, sculptures and installation of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein, Gerhard Richter and David Hockney, making one of the most important contributions in NAMOC's history. Yang Lizhou, then NAMOC's deputy director, later recalled that when Ludwig visited China to discuss about donation, he was at first not very determined, because there were doubts about a national art museum accepting Westerners' donations. "I assured him that one quarter of the world's population will support and remember him for his generosity," Yang said. Wu said the donation greatly enrich the museum's collection of contemporary Western art, opening mind of both art circles and ordinary viewers.R Related: Writer uses humor to bring Western art closer to Chinese [Photo provided to China Daily] Brand New China is the brainchild of Chinese media celebrity Hong Huang, which devotes to promoting Chinese designers' clothing, furniture and household articles. It will launch a new store in Beijing's Qianmen area in March 2017. In 2010, Hong opened the first store of BNC, which gathered more than 150 Chinese designers, at Beijing's Sanlitun area, a popular place for young people in the capital. For the new store, BNC will be transformed into a venue that combines a store, restaurants and exhibition halls. On Nov 12 and 13, Hong joined hands with an enterprise called Norlha, which is from Zorgey Ritoma, a village situated in Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Gansu province. Not just presenting designers' products, BNC has expanded into introducing the knowledge and philosophy behind the brand. During the runway shows held at BNC's store of Sanlitun, models displayed clothes and accessories made of yak wool. "Since BNC advocates China's local fashion designers, we want to tell the story from a more diversified angle," said Hong. SYDNEY -- Anti-poverty campaigners Oxfam on Tuesday released their Christmas "naughty or nice" list of clothing brands that have detailed where their apparel is made, scooping up some international giants. The Christmas period is key for Australian retail sales, however, the progressive populace are voting with their wallets to find articles that fit with their clear commitments to global social justice. Since the shocking Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh in 2013, many companies have vowed to improve their factories and worker practices. "Unless a company publishes the locations of its factories, there is still no way of checking if their clothing is being made under safe and fair conditions," Oxfam said, the impetus to be added onto the Naughty List. "There's no other way out of the Naughty List," Oxfam said. Swedish multinational H&M, US label GAP, Australian giants Pacific Brands and the Cotton On Group, among many others, have all made the nice list in 2016 for being transparent in their sourcing practices. Maybe British brand ASOS, Japan's Uniqlo and Spanish multinational Inditex, which owns fashion giant Zara, could take a lesson, as they all made Oxfam's "naughty list". Inditex and ASOS have made significant strides towards transparency in 2016, Oxfam conceded, but a full list of where products are sown or their top tier factories is still missing. "(ASOS) have promised to publish (the full list), though, so the elves are ready and waiting to move them onto the Nice List soon," Oxfam said. "It's embarrassing to be on the naughty list and companies know it." Related: Hong Huang's designer brand to launch a new store in Qianmen Goodall looks at rescued chimpanzees in July at the Sweetwaters sanctuary, Kenya's only great-ape sanctuary. [Photo provided to China Daily] Bees can use tools. So can birds. Octopuses can slither out of tanks, slink into others to gobble fish and squish back into their own, pulling the lid closed behind themhumans none the wiser, until they review surveillance footage. Clever creatures. Indeed. Especially considering the mollusks don't have brains, per se. This, says Jane Goodall, the household-name primatologist who discovered chimps use tools, makes it an amazing time for humanity's next generation to study animals. And human intelligence can be the instrument by which we blunt ecological devastation, the Briton believes. Goodall realized decades ago, upon observing the apes modifying natural objects to manipulate their environmentfor instance, using sticks to extract yummy insects from the earththat we needed to "redefine man, redefine tool or include chimpanzees with humans". So, science did. "It was very exciting for me because I was the first to learn about chimpanzees," she says. But revolutionary discoveries about animal intelligence are generating new paradigms. "In 1960, if I talked to the professors about, 'let's study the intelligence of the octopus', they would have laughed at me and locked me up as an insane person," she says. "Now, there's huge interest because octopuses are incredibly intelligent, and they can solve problems. Crows ... can make tools. They can do things even some primates can't." But experts for decades believed birds' brains' dissimilar structures meant they weren't capable of intelligence, she points out. "So, it's a very exciting time for young people to go out there and learn about animals." Bumblebees were recently taught to pull strings to earn a reward. More strikingly, others replicated the procedure after observing it, she points out. Goodall, who made the journey to Tanzania's forests as a young woman without formal training, is celebrated for revolutionizing our understanding of our species' closest kin. But her methods weren't without criticism, especially giving names rather than numbers. "(Numbers) make them objects of study rather than living beings. So, to me its very, very important, if it's possible, to know them as individuals, to name them and describe them," she says. They may not be people, yet have individual personalities. They share emotions like joy and sadness, she discovered. They're capable of empathy. Goodall first documented chimp warfare. "(It's) not only learning about the primate but also learning from the primate. There's a difference," she explains. "It's more a humility. I have a lot to learn." Goodall left the chimpanzees she loved decades agoto save them. She saw, while flying over Tanzania's Gombe in the early 1990s, deforestation had shaved surrounding forests bald. That changed everything. She realized: "You cannot do animal conservation unless you do people conservation." Protecting nature requires sustainable development that produces solutions for humans who share other species' habitats, she understood. Goodall soon after led the successful movement to reforest the area and improve locals' living standards. But her battle is global. There are about 700,000 cases of heart attack each year in China, but only 350,000 of all the patients get proper treatment in time, according to Chinese Medical Doctor Association. During a news conference recently in Beijing, Zhang Yanling, president of the association, Huo Yong, chairmen of cardiovascular medicine with Peking University First Hospital and other experts shared their opinions on how to deal with the situation, such as establishing first-aid networks. Experts and government officials also participated in the discussion through remote video conference technology. The association released three health educational videos on heart attack, which aim to improve the public's knowledge on heart attack early symptoms, and raise peoples awareness of the threat. Related: Romanian experts call for increased excise to combat smoking One of board managers of Daimler AG Responsibility for Trucks and Buses speaks at conference.[Photo/IC] A senior German executive at Daimler Trucks and Buses (China) Ltd has reportedly lost his job after he allegedly insulted a Chinese citizen in a car parking dispute in Beijing. Beijing Times commented on Tuesday: In an online post which subsequently went viral, the German driver was said to maneuver his car into a parking space in a luxury residential compound when another car was trying to back into it. He was then said to have insulted the Chinese driver in vulgar, racist terms and used pepper spray to disperse people who had gathered and grown angry at his remarks. Although local police said that the two parties involved had reached an agreement through mediation, that the German auto giant has reportedly fired the senior employee concerned suggests it too found some wrongdoing on the part of its employee. However, some unhappy netizens have conflated this incident with complaints that Mercedez-Benz, the parent company of Daimler Trucks and Buses, has ignored Chinese customers' legal interests. Since last year, there have been some complaints about the quality of some the automaker's new E-Class sedans, with claims that most of the complaints remain unanswered. Of course, the latest parking dispute should be dealt with in accordance with the law. But those netizens arguing that the misbehavior of this senior employee represents the German automaker's corporate culture are being unreasonable and unhelpful. Daimler Trucks and Buses said in a statement late on Monday that it was fully cooperating with the investigation over what it highlighted was a "personal dispute". In other words, the auto giant has no intention to shun away from its responsibility. Personal disputes like this should not be used to attack a company in terms of its culture and products. But as the incident has shown Mercedez-Benz should address the complaints of owners. One-meter-tall bushes are seen atop a 26-story building in downtown Beijing on April 22, 2015. The building came into the spotlight two years ago, when it was discovered that a luxury illegal villa was built on its roof by a top-floor resident. Zhang Biqing, the man who had the villa built, tore it down when confronted by local law enforcement. [Photo: people.cn] Residents in a vila residential community in Laishui in North China's Hebei province complain their life has been seriously disturbed by frequent explosions in the nearby mountains since April. Some real estate developers are landscaping the mountains so they can build new villas. Both the intended new development and the existing villas do not have the proper licenses. Beijing Times commented on Tuesday. The explosions are so violent that some villas in the community have been damaged, and the residents said the blasts feels like an earthquake. But were it not for the homeowners' complaints, the illegal villas and the plan to build more would not have been known to the public or the administrative authorities. The central government banned the building of such villas in 2003. But the villa community was built in 2009, and the blasting in the mountains is to prepare land for more. The Hebei provincial environmental protection bureau, and relevant governmental departments in the province related to commercial housing development do not have any files on the construction of the community or any environmental impact assessment reports. The county's planning bureau has also said the land on which the villas were built should not have been developed as it is situated near a national geological park. This constitutes a violation of the rules on the protection of such conservation areas and the relevant civil construction rules. The government supervisory officials must not sit idle in their offices any more. First of all, they should suspend the blasting in the mountains, because it is damaging the natural environment. Then, they must investigate who in the local government gave the green light to the project or have been fearless in not doing their legally bound duties. If the well-made rules and laws are not enforced, they will become toothless, weaken the government, and damage the public's interests. A man repairs equipment at the Wanglou Mine in Jining, Shandong province. [Provided to China Daily] China has, again, issued a guideline to boost the sagging economy of its three northeast provinces, a rust belt that suffers from slowing growth, outflow of investment and exodus of professionals. The guideline is welcome because Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces were once a major pillar of the national economy. Liaoning province, once a leading economy of the country, registered a minus 2.2 percent growth rate in the first three quarters of this year compared with the same period in 2015. Jilin and Heilongjiang achieved better performances, but in contrast to their industrial clout some decades ago, they have now become the economic underdogs in China. The policy's tone this time remains roughly unchanged from the previous ones. Since early this century, China has repeatedly called for boosting the northeast's economy. In 2003, it issued a new policy to rejuvenate the region, more than 10 years later, this national strategy has suffered a setback and a new way has to be found to meet the goal. Experts from both home and abroad have come to various conclusions on the causes of the region's decline and how to revive it. But they have often neglected one thing: even if the right strategy is found and seriously implemented, it will take a long time for a rust belt to blaze a new development trail and catch up with the countries' leading regions. This rise and fall of an industrial region is not exclusive to China. It has happened in much more developed economies, such as the Five Lakes region of the United States and the Ruhr region of Germany. Those regions, as China's northeast provinces, too suffered from resource depletion and failed to sustain normal growth rates after achieving glaring growth rates for decades. Take the Ruhr region for example. In the 1970s, the German economy started feeling the impact of the then global economic crisis and rocketing oil prices, with the Ruhr region, famous for its coal and steel industries (similar to China's northeast region), being the worst hit in the country. After 40 years of struggle and restructuring, the Ruhr region has recovered some of its economic health, but that is far from satisfactory, with its unemployment rate remaining high. The situation is even worse in the traditional heavy industry-centered regions of the US. Detroit, Michigan, for example, hit headlines across the world in 2013 for filing for bankruptcy, signifying the failure of the traditional industrial heavyweight to emerge out of the economic downturn. China made unsuccessful attempts to revive the northeast economy in the decade before 2012. Since 2003, the central government has given fiscal and policy support to the region, but it seems that the focus has been put on raising the region's GDP figures, perhaps unconsciously downplaying the importance of systematic and structural reform that is crucial for long-term vitality. It could be a major cause of the region's current predicament. But obviously, 10 years are not enough to solve all the problems that have accumulated in the northeast region over the past few decades. Many experts have concluded that the region needs to adjust its economic structure to achieve a more balanced growth, build a more clean, transparent and efficient administrative and legal system to facilitate business, and improve its social security network to ensure people are not deprived of their livelihoods during the difficult transition period. These suggestions are probably right, but it would take time to implement them even if local policymakers and ordinary residents reach a consensus. For now, the top priority for the region should not be high GDP growth rate. Rather, the central government should help it chart out a proper development path that fits its real conditions and ensure the region sticks to it, as consistent policies are of vital importance to businesses, investors and the long-term development of the region. The author is a senior writer with China Daily. xinzhiming@chinadaily.com.cn President Xi Jinping inspects a guard of honor in Lima, Peru, on November 21, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] In an earlier age and in a world less connected by technology, seafarers aboard Manila Galleons and others of their ilk blazed a trade route from China, through Pacific waters and to the Americas. Burgeoning demand for Chinese products, both exotic and luxurious, sustained a thriving flow of trade to Latin American lands. So when Chinese President Xi Jinping completes a three nation visit to that region this week, he is set to advance a storied commercial partnership. And in the backdrop of looming political and economic uncertainty in the United States, the potential for success in this engagement is critical. Critical to China for reasons well known and long understood; transoceanic trade with a mineral rich region has long been the bedrock of Sino foreign policy. The fact that the region now houses a growing market for Chinese goods and investments has only elevated its importance. Equally, for the many countries in Latin America, the prospect of a thriving trade relationship with an ascendant economy holds perhaps the best hope of sustainable growth. In a sign of the importance ascribed to this partnership, CELAC or the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States has engaged frequently with China in recent years to boost the quality and quantity of trade. Waning American interest in free trade has coincided with a marked increase in commercial, investment and trade opportunity for others. China alone has pledged to increase annual trade with the region to $500 billion and foreign direct investment to over $250 billion within the decade. No less significant than the commercial benefits of this partnership is the Chinese policy of nonintervention in domestic politics. Put otherwise, trade and diplomatic relations are not held hostage by demands for transparency in governance, eradication of illicit drugs or representative democracy. President Xis most enthusiastic reception was always likely to be in Ecuador so it is fitting that he began his tour with a visit to that country. There is of course a subtext to the enthusiasm and it is the fractious relationship between President Correa and the Obama administration. Ecuador hosts Julian Assange in its London embassy, at one point considered political asylum for Edward Snowden and has withdrawn from a preferential trade pact with the USmeasures that have only strained an already difficult relationship. The stop for the Chinese President is Peru and unlike Ecuador, it is a country focused exclusively on international trade and all its attendant benefits. Until recently, Peruvian authorities were pursuing the US led Trans Pacific Partnership or the TPP. Essentially a trade pact amongst Pacific Rim countries, the TPP is meant to provide a comprehensive framework for regional economic integration. Incidentally because it does not include China, the pact is also intended to act as a political bulwark against growing Chinese influence in the region. But all this was before the election of Donald Trump. US President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that he will withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership on his first day in office. Without American leadership, the pact is a nonstarter. For Peru then, the best available path to a free trade zone within Asia-Pacific appears to be membership in the Chinese led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). A free trade agreement between ASEAN member nations and countries with which they currently have FTAs, the RCEP does not include the United States or any country in Latin America. Peruvian participation in the pact is largely contingent on Chinas approval, so while it is not on the official agenda of talks for this visit, it remains a matter of interest for both countries. Last on President Xis itinerary is a visit to one of Chinas more prolific trading partners in Latin America. Chile has been home to a successful economy for some time now and at the very least, some of this success is due to its economic partnership with China. It continues to benefit from Chinese investment, the scope of which is likely to increase following a recent currency swap deal. And yet unlike many others, Chinas relationship with Chile is not entirely transactional. Chile has welcomed the flow of Chinese human resources in large numbers and has made concerted efforts to assimilate this work force in its society. And it is precisely this level of human engagement which is seen by many to be a harbinger of larger scale and more varied trade relations in the years ahead. The Manila Galleon trade lasted for over 250 years and enriched many intrepid sailors, investors, speculators and traders engaged in it. Its decline started when China began trading directly with the major economic powers of the time, circumventing the city of Manila entirely. In a very real sense, the contours of Chinas economic engagement with the world are a lot like the period directly following the Galleon era. Goods have changed and shipping routes modified, but the desire to trade remains undimmed. In an uncertain age, this is surely a boon for an aspirational continent. The contributor writes about global markets and geopolitics. He tweets @ahmed_ilahi The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of China Daily website. Although US President Barack Obama has urged other Trans-Pacific Partnership member countries to continue working to advance the agreement, the outlook for the TPP is uncertain. US president-elect Donald Trump struck an anti-TPP posture during his election campaign, and has said the United States will withdraw from the trade deal on his first day in the White House. For the rest of the TPP member countries the bleak prospects for the trade deal are a great disappointment. While they are expected to continue efforts to persuade the Trump administration to look positively at the TPP, they do not appear hopeful at this point in time. The assumption among these members appears to be that the US would not commit to the TPP at least for the time being. This is forcing the non-US TPP members to consider the possibility of having a TPP without the US. A trans-Pacific trade deal without the US is a theoretical possibility, which would increase if the US voluntarily withdraws from the TPP. At present, the TPP agreement requires ratification by at least six of its members accounting for a minimum of 85 percent of the GDP of the group. This makes it impossible for the TPP to become functional without its ratification by the US and Japan the two largest economies in the group. If the US withdraws from the TPP, then Japan and the rest of the members can ratify and implement it. But a TPP without the US the worlds largest economy would not be as significant a trade deal as it is now. The absence of the US might also lead to new discussions on many aspects of the TPP. Non-US TPP members were persuaded by US negotiators to make several concessions for suiting US business interests. These are particularly relevant for the TPPs provisions on intellectual property protection for biologic drugs and investment-state dispute settlement (ISDS) rules. Countries having made such concessions would wish to revisit them if the US were no longer in the picture. Besides, non-US TPP members would be looking forward to exploring other alternative frameworks for regional economic integration. The most feasible option in this regard is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Several non-US TPP members Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam are negotiating the RCEP. With more than one-third of the global economy and almost half of the worlds population, the RCEP is a powerful economic grouping. In addition to the non-US TPP members, it has China, India, Indonesia and the Republic of Korea and all the 10 ASEAN economies. The size of the group is large enough to create one of the worlds biggest free trade areas offering significant new economic opportunities for all of its members. As the largest economy in the RCEP, China will have a critical role to play in its growth. So will Japan, Australia and India as the other large economies in the region. Unlike the TPP, which from a geo-political perspective was a grouping of US defense allies and partners, the RCEP is not a collection of Chinas allies. There are many members in the RCEP with whom China has difficult political relations. Going ahead, the challenge for RCEP and its major members will be to overlook existing political differences and contribute as co-rule makers in the establishment of a new regional trade framework. A successful RCEP will create the momentum for the establishment of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. The problems encountered by the TPP drive home the importance of working toward inclusive trade frameworks that try to accommodate as many diverse interests as possible. Such an approach might sometimes prevent trade agreements from being too ambitious. But it will set in motion a process of gradual opening up with less political resistance. It would also help in diffusing the anti-trade sentiment sweeping across the world today. A balanced RCEP might become the model for future mega-regional trade agreements. The author is senior research fellow and research lead (trade and economic policy) at the Institute of South Asian Studies in the National University of Singapore. A performer in an opera costume. [Photo/China Daily] Chinese art and culture will be under the spotlight at London's Southbank Centre next month with the launch of a new festival of events that will include music, film, dance, comedy, theater and literature. Among the highlights of the China Changing festival will be an operatic adaptation of Hamlet, a master class by the Hong Kong Dance Company's top performers, and a film about the role of Chinese laborers during World War I. Next month's events mark the start of a Chinese program that will begin in the middle of December and extend into 2018. The launch on Friday will give audiences a taste of what will be available in the months to come and showcase the most current and innovative artists from China, as well as both established and up-and-coming British-based Chinese artists and those from Southeast Asia. Jude Kelly, artistic director at the Southbank Centre, said: "In some ways, China is changing at a breakneck pace, and in others it feels timeless." She said the China Changing festival will give audiences a chance to see "wonderful works and artists, some in the UK for the very first time, that give us deeper understanding of this vast and diverse country." Zhang Jun, one of China's most popular opera stars, will perform a re-imagined telling of Shakespeare's Hamlet, drawing on the classical techniques of Chinese Kunqu Opera. Project New Earth, presented by London-based British East Asian performance company Chinese Arts Space, tells the story of the World War I Chinese Labour Corps in two films and two live performances. Dance fans will be treated to performances by senior members of the Hong Kong Dance Company who will share excerpts from The Legend of Mulan and L'Amour Immortel. The festival highlights the strengthening of cultural ties between Britain and China following President Xi Jinping's visit to the UK last year in what was heralded as "a golden era of UK-China relations". Some 500,000 pounds ($625,000) of UK government money is being contributed toward the financing of the festival. File photo shows US President Barack Obama holds a press conference at the conclusion of the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru November 20, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] WASHINGTON - The White House said on Tuesday US President Barack Obama would not sign any bill in his final months in office that would undermine the Iran nuclear deal. "We certainly are not going to, however, sign a piece of legislation that would undermine the ability of the international community to continue to successfully implement the international agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a daily briefing. Earlier on Tuesday, US House Republican leaders asked Obama not to take new measures to reinforce the Iran nuclear deal before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January amid reports that the White House was considering such new measures. "We respectfully request that your administration take no further actions designed to bolster international investment in Iran, or otherwise change or alter the existing sanctions regime within international organizations," House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said in a letter to Obama. The Republicans also informed the Obama administration that legislation to extend the Iran Sanctions Act for another 10 years would soon be sent to him. "President-elect Trump deserves the opportunity to assess United States policy toward Iran without your administration imposing or implementing additional measures that could complicate the incoming administration's ability to develop its policy," said the letter. Iran and six world major countries -- the US, Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany -- reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue in July 2015 that puts Iran on the path of sanctions relief but more strict limits on its nuclear program. The deal sets limits on Iran's nuclear activities as it will take Tehran at least one year to produce enough fissile materials for producing a nuclear weapon, and allows regular inspections of the facilities inside Iran. In return, the US and the European Union will suspend nuclear- related sanctions against Tehran, with the lifting of all past UN Security Council sanction resolutions. Many members of the US Congress had expressed deep concern about the deal, warning that Tehran could evade inspections and use the money from sanction relief to destabilize the region. File photo shows Chinese fishing boats captured by South Korean coast guard are seen at a port in Incheon, South Korea, October 10, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] SEOUL - A Chinese fishing boat sank in west waters off South Korea on Tuesday afternoon, with seven people rescued but one still missing, South Korea's coast guard said. The maritime police was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying that Chinese maritime authorities informed the South Korean coast guard of the sinking of one fishing vessel among two boats fishing near the South Korean waters. The 81-ton Chinese vessel was sailing in waters about 167 km southwest of an island off Gusan city in North Jeolla province, but it sank at about 2:20 pm local time (0520 GMT). One Chinese sailor remains unaccounted for, but seven others were rescued. The sinking is believed to have been caused by bad weather conditions. High seas watch is issued near the site, with waves over 4 meters high and wind blowing at a speed of 18-20 meters per second. The Gusan coast guard dispatched a 3,000-ton patrol ship to the site right after receiving the notification. If weather conditions get better, it reportedly plans to send a helicopter for search operation. YANGON - Chinese Ambassador Hong Liang on Tuesday urged all parties to exercise restraint to immediately end the armed conflicts near the China-Myanmar border. Hong made the call at an inaugural ceremony of two Chinese non-governmental organizations in Yangon, Myanmar Chinese Communication and Cooperation Central Association (MCCCCA) and Chinese Enterprises Chamber in Myanmar(CECM). Noting that Myanmar is full of hope and business opportunities currently, Hong called on Chinese businessmen to work for the country's economic and social development as well as enhancement of trade cooperation between China and Myanmar. MCCCCA would also help push forward the two countries' friendly cooperation, he said, adding that it needs a good environment for such cooperation. He expressed deep concern over the current outbreak of armed conflicts near China-Myanmar border, calling on all parties to exercise constraint to immediately end the conflicts. Pledging support of Myanmar's peace process, Hong maintained that peace talks are the only channel to gain national reconciliation and eternal peace. Chairman of the MCCCCA U Thitsa said the association was formed with the aim of working for the welfare of the people based on friendship of the two countries and development and consolidation of such bilateral relations. Chairman of CECM Lv Dexing stressed that his organization would push the cooperation between businessmen of the two countries and enhance the friendly relations between the two peoples. Noting that Myanmar and China are neighboring countries enjoying traditional Paukphaw (fraternal ) friendship, Speaker of the Yangon Region Parliament U Tin Maung Tun called for doing more in economic and social cooperation. People walk in front of a poster of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at Al-Hussein mosque in the old Islamic area of Cairo, Egypt, November 9, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] LISBON - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a joint effort from the international community in protecting citizens from terrorism, during a conference at the Portuguese Military University here on Tuesday. "We must confront terrorism in a firm way and with one only voice," he said at the conference on safety and terrorism during his two-day visit to Portugal, adding that "if we don't act now, the situation will become more complicated." He also said it was important to think about the root causes of terrorism and the international community had to up its efforts to protect citizens. Portuguese Defence Minister Azeredo Lopes said Portugal supported Egypt's efforts to fight terrorism and the armed forces were a "fundamental instrument of external policy" in this domain. Earlier on Tuesday, Al-Sisi met with business people to enhance cooperation in several fields including technology and renewable energy. On Monday, he met with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa. Al-Sisi's official trip to Portugal marks 24 years since an Egyptian president last visited Portugal. President Xi Jinping and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet witness the signing ceremony of a joint statement in Santiato,Chile on November 22, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] SANTIAGO - China and Chile agreed here Tuesday to start negotiation on upgrading their Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The announcement was made during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the Latin American nation. According to a joint statement issued after Xi's meeting with his Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet, the two heads of state spoke highly of the results achieved over the past ten years since their bilateral FTA went into effect. The two countries signed their FTA in 2005. Bilateral trade volume has grown fourfold since the FTA went into effect in 2006. China is now Chile's largest trading partner, its largest export destination and the largest buyer of its copper products. Currently, Chile is China's second largest source of wine imports, with bottled wine exports to China up by 46 percent in 2015. The two countries have signed a number of quarantine agreements on cherries, blueberries and avocados. China has become an important market for Chilean cherries, blueberries, apples, grapes and a variety of seafood such as salmon. Chinese products with good quality and competitive prices are also popular among Chilean consumers. Chinese-made cars have taken up a considerable share of the Chilean auto market. Wu Baiyi, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China and Chile enjoy huge potential for cooperation in such areas as medicine, health services, bio-technology and tourism, noting that these sectors are not covered by the current FTA. Chile wants more investment from China and hopes to have broader access to the vast Chinese market, Wu said. 'True neighbors' ink deals on astronomy, finance, education President Xi Jinping and Michelle Bachelet, Chile's president, share a light moment before bilateral agreements are signed at the government house in Santiago, Chile, on Tuesday. [Photo/Agencies] China and Chile agreed to begin negotiations on deepening a free trade agreement signed in 2005, as President Xi Jinping made his first state visit to the Latin American country. The agreement was among the 12 cooperative documents signed on Tuesday to enhance cooperation in areas including astronomy, finance, education, agriculture and trade. "An upgrade of the FTA between Chile and China will give two-way economic and trade cooperation a strong boost," Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday while meeting with Xi. Chile welcomes Chinese enterprises to increase their investments in the Latin American country, she said, adding that her country is willing to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as soon as possible. The agreements also include jointly establishing and operating an astronomy base in Chile and setting up a Chinese culture center in Santiago. Xi said after the signing ceremony that he had invited Bachelet to make a state visit to China next year, as the two countries move forward to boost mutual political trust and enhance high-level exchanges. "Chile is close to China in the countries' alphabetic rank, and we are true neighbors," he said. China has never changed its confidence in the potential for Latin America's development, Xi said, adding that Beijing firmly supports Latin American countries' efforts to safeguard regional peace and unity. Bachelet said the agreements will bring more practical cooperation to the two countries. Thanks to the FTA, as much as 97 percent of Chile's exports to China are free of tariffs now, she said. In June, China Construction Bank, one of China's largest banking institutions, opened a branch in Santiago, which is the first clearing bank for renminbi transactions in South America. The bank will facilitate Chinese financing for Chilean projects, Bachelet said. Chile was the first Latin American country to sign a bilateral free trade agreement with China. In 2014, bilateral trade volume reached $34.15 billion, almost five times the amount at the time the agreement was signed. China, which was Chile's 25th-largest trading partner before the FTA agreement, is now its biggest trade partner. Last year, although overall trade volume declined to $31.9 billion because of the global economic downturn, Chile's exports to China still accounted for more than one-fourth of its total. Liu Rutao, the economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese embassy in Chile, highlighted the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. A new level of free trade will introduce e-commerce, trade in services and more scientific inspection and quarantine into the traditionally commodity-heavy trade, Liu said. Xu Shicheng, a senior researcher of Latin American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Chinese and Chilean economies are highly complementary, providing much opportunity for bilateral cooperation. China has advantages in such areas as infrastructure construction capacity, manufacturing, steel production and equipment, which are needed in many Latin American countries, including Chile, he said. Matt Roberts In this May 17, 2005, file photo, 3 Doors Down member Matt Roberts arrives at the BMI Pop Music Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. Newly unsealed court documents show Dr. Richard Snellgrove of Fairhope, Ala., is accused of illegally prescribing Fentanyl and other drugs to Roberts days before he was found dead of an overdose in August 2016, in West Bend, Wis. (AP file photo) BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- An Alabama doctor is accused of illegally prescribing drugs that contributed to the overdose death of longtime 3 Doors Down guitarist and Moss Point native Matt Roberts earlier this year, court documents show. Newly unsealed records show Dr. Richard Snellgrove of Fairhope, Ala., is charged with illegally prescribing Fentanyl, an opioid pain medication, and another drug to Roberts days before he was found dead of a overdose in August in West Bend, Wisconsin. Records show Snellgrove, 59, was named in a six-count federal indictment in October. The charges were not made public until a judge unsealed them last week. An attorney representing Snellgrove, Dennis Knizley, said Wednesday that the physician did nothing wrong. "If medication played a role in Mr. Roberts' death it was because of improper use, not anything that was attributed to anything Dr. Snellgrove did," he said. Roberts lived in Spanish Fort, Ala., near Mobile, at the time of his death; he was 38. A grand jury in Mobile returned the indictment. Roberts' father, Darrell Roberts Sr. of Escatawpa, told a Drug Enforcement Administration agent that Snellgrove was a "celebrity junkie" who his son called "Snelly," according to a sworn statement by DEA agent Michael Burt. The two were "tight" and Matt Roberts sometimes had after-hours appointments with Snellgrove, whom he had seen as a patient since at least 2004, the statement said. Roberts was found dead in the hall outside his hotel room while visiting Wisconsin for a charity performance. Roberts was wearing a Fentanyl patch like one prescribed by Snellgrove two days earlier, the statement said, and he also had pills matching ones the doctor prescribed. Agents seized records from Snellgrove's two offices on the Alabama coast in September, the statement said. Burt wrote that there was evidence that Snellgrove illegally prescribed drugs including methadone and Fentanyl to Roberts six times dating to 2011. The agent's statement said the Fentanyl and a narcotic pain medication, Norco, wrongly prescribed by Snellgrove were contributing factors in the musician's death. Fentanyl also was blamed in the death of rock musician Prince earlier this year. Snellgrove remains in private practice but is not prescribing controlled substances, his attorney said. "Dr. Snellgrove is a well-respected physician with an impeccable reputation. This case centers around one patient. Dr. Snellgrove treated Mr. Roberts ethically and professionally," said Knizley. Roberts was one of the founding members of 3 Doors Down, which formed in 1996 in Escatawpa, but quit in 2012 citing health reasons. He is credited with co-writing the band's hit "Kryptonite." Court documents say Roberts had fought substance abuse problems. Mississippi Press staff writer Warren Kulo contributed to this report. OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- It only takes about 30 seconds to realize Matthew Hammond isn't your typical 19-year-old. Dressed in the dress blue uniform of the U.S. Naval Academy as he walks into the board room at Ocean Springs City Hall for an interview, he already looks the part of a naval officer, even though he's only a sophomore at Annapolis (known as a "Youngster" in Academy vernacular). A 2015 graduate of Gautier High School, Hammond knew early on he wanted his future to include the Naval Academy. "All through school, his teachers would say there was something different about Matthew, something special," said his father, Marshall Hammond of Gautier. "We thought it was just teachers being nice. "But he's always had a strong work ethic and drive to succeed. The real change came during the summer between eighth and ninth grade. It was then he became very focused on service and began telling us he felt he was being led to the Naval Academy." Matthew had all the necessary credentials for Academy admission: a 4.0 student at GHS, 33 on his ACT, numerous school and community involvements, including earning Eagle Scout status with the Boy Scouts, attending the Mississippi American Legion Boys State, serving as school trombone section leader and drum major, captain of the school cross country team, honored as a Mississippi High School Activities Association Scholar Athlete, and other accomplishments far too numerous to mention. True to his go-getter personality, Matthew completed his application to the Academy early, earning a "Letter of Assurance" from Annapolis, meaning if he could secure the required Congressional nomination, he would be accepted for the 2015-16 school year. Each member of Congress can set his or her own application requirements. In the case of U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, that requirement was an essay, which Matthew completed and submitted, along with his high school resume. In December 2014, midway through his senior year, Matthew was called into the guidance office. "The guidance counselors were all sitting there, asking me how my college applications were going," Matthew recalled. "Suddenly, the phone rang and they said `Matthew, oddly enough, it's for you." It was Wicker calling to congratulate Matthew on his appointment to the Academy. "He already knew I had the Letter of Assurance, so once he gave his appointment, he knew I was in," Matthew said. Matthew entered the Academy in July 2015 for his freshman -- or "Plebe" -- year for the two-month indoctrination period prior to the start of academic classes in the fall. He said the indoctrination is the Academy's version of basic training. Since then, the experience has been more than he could have hoped. "It has been more than I expected," he said. "You can't really be prepared for the Naval Academy, and I think that's a good thing. You have to experience it first-hand." Matthew said the Academy looks for candidates with high moral, mental and physical makeup. Once on campus, the Academy looks to build on those traits. "I love it there," he said. "You have to be a certain type of person to go there. People who go there for themselves, just to play a sport, for example, if you're there only for yourself, you're destined to fail. "You have to know what you're getting in to. You have to know you're there to serve your country, serve God, serve your family and community. If I went there just for myself, to prove something to myself, I would ultimately fail." Initially, Matthew eyed a career in the submarine service, but has since changed his focus to becoming a Marine Corps attack helicopter pilot. To that end, he is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and plans to select Marine Aviation as his service area. He understands, however, the needs of the Navy will play a role in his career path, which he plans on extending well beyond the five years mandatory service for Academy graduates. "The path you choose is not only your decision," Matthew said. "I could be told the Navy feels I'd be the most successful as a submarine officer and be pushed in that direction. But I believe I've been designed to be a Marine Corps pilot, and that is a job I would perform very well." Matthew was on the Commandant's List both semesters of his Plebe year and plays Trombone in the USNA Trident Brass jazz band. He is also a member of the Academy's chapter of the National Eagle Scout Association, Semper Fi Society and the Constitutional Society. He is also the manager for the USNA lacrosse team. As such, he was clearly an ideal candidate for the Academy's "Op-Info" program, which grants Academy students extra leave during holiday periods to travel home and make personal appearances extolling the virtues of the Naval Academy, which he is doing during his extended Thanksgiving break this week. "I'm talking to people about the Academy," he said. "That's something I wished I had the opportunity to do when I was in high school -- hear from someone who was already there." He is doing interviews with media, spoken to a group of Boy Scouts at Camp Tiak near Wiggins and meeting with individual high school students who have applied or expressed in interest in attending the Academy. In addition to his father, Matthew's family includes his mother, Lori Hammond, and his younger brother, Aden, a student at Gautier Middle School. "It's humbling to see what he's accomplished, the opportunities he's had as such a young age," Marhsall Hammond said. "It's very humbling as a parent. We're extremely proud, to say the least." (Photo : Facebook) All priests now have the power to forgive women who committed abortion, Pope Francis announced on his apostolic letter. Advertisement Pope Francis has extended indefinitely the power of Catholic priests throughout the world to forgive abortions as the Vatican announced it in an apostolic letter on Monday. This announcement was a signal of the Pope's vision of a more welcoming and merciful catholic church. This policy extends as in making it a permanent one that Pope announced a year ago on the church's year-long Jubilee of Mercy. The Pope had already temporarily allowed all priests to give what is called "sacramental absolution" for abortion from Dec. 8 to Nov. 20, but its apostolic letter suggested that these changes would last until the end term of his papacy. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement This policy gives all priests, not only bishops or special confessors, to grant forgiveness for abortion. Women who have been guilty of commiting abortion could gain absolution of this sin by confessing it to the priest, and this forgiveness extends to anyone who is involved in abortion work or people who do the procedure. Under canon law, abortion brings automatic excommunication unless that person confesses her sins and receives absolution. Abortion is considered a "reserved sin," wherein the permission to grant forgiveness usually must come from a bishop. This bishop power to permit the granting of forgiveness varies widely by country and even by diocese. For instance, in United States, the Bishops could already delegate the authority to grant absolution to parish priests, while in some parts of the world, observant Catholics who have sought absolution for abortions have faced delays and even rejection. In some places, priests have been delegated the power to absolve abortions during certain times of the year. The Catholic Church stance on abortion as a grave sin for it puts an end to innocent life has not changed, but the Pope also reminds the church with its prevailing theme that the doors of the Church must remain open, just as God's forgiveness and mercy extend to all those who repent from sin. In the letter the Pope stated, "In the same way, however, I can and must state that there is no sin that God's mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father." The Pope's apostolic letter aims that every priest should serve as a guide, support and comfort to penitents on this journey of special reconciliation. The Pope's announcement calls on the clergy and the world's 1.2 billion Catholics to reflect and act on the message of the year-long meditaion on mercy. Advertisement TagsPope Francis, Abortion, Forgiveness, priest, World (Photo : Getty Images) A Canadian environmentalist argues that China is not sincere on the Paris Climate accord. Advertisement A Canadian environmentalist has claimed that China ratified the Paris Climate Accord just for shows. Patricia Adams, who has been involved in the Chinese environmental movement for many years, argues that China has not committed to anything else other than to cap its emissions by 2030. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "At the moment, 90 percent of China's energy, transport and some industrial processes are produced with fossil fuels," she said. "In many industrialized nations, they use 80 per cent fossil fuels for the same thing," Adams noted, adding that China is basically committing to try to get where the other industrialized countries are at the moment. Adams, an economist and executive director of Probe International, believes that China is basically saying that it is business as usual. Adams also acknowledged that China has committed to what she believes is the most renewable energy effort currently being undertaken in the world. Moreover, she holds the opinion that it would not make much difference to energy utilization in China. However, Professor Frank Jotzo from the Australian National University disagrees with Adam's sentiments that China will not meet its Paris Commitments. "Coal use has already flattened in China, so we see a decoupling of economic growth from emissions intensity, and that's really what we are aiming for," Prof. Jotzo opines. Adams has christened China's commitment to reversing global warming as 'green washing', saying that the country is simply trying to look good in the international arena. On the other hand, Jotzo who has spent years helping China develop environmental friendly policies believes that the country is well on its way to meeting its obligations. "China is genuine in its concerns to reduce carbon dioxide emissions," he said. There have also been fears that the United States could try to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement after Donald Trump's election to the White House. These concerns led to France President Francois Hollande warning Trump that the US commitment to fighting climate change cannot be reversed. "The Paris agreement is irreversible. No one can get out of it," Hollande said. Advertisement TagsParis climate summit, china, donald trump (Photo : Indian Navy) Indian Navy Next Generation Corvette (concept drawing). Advertisement The seven new stealth "Next Generation Corvettes" that will join the Indian Navy by the next decade will be armed with anti-ship missiles -- probably BrahMos -- to destroy warships of the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force (PLANSF), whose incursions into the Indian Ocean show no signs of slackening. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The as yet unnamed class of missile corvettes last week received $2 billion in funding from the Indian government. The construction of these surface combatants is part of the Indian Navy's rearmament plan to have 200 warships by 2027 from the current number of 140. The new Next Generation Corvettes (NGC) will be built under Project 28A. These warships will have a potent anti-ship missile capability; an adequate point defense missile system and will feature advanced stealth technologies. Specifications by the navy want each NGC to carry eight anti-ship missiles to attack enemy warships. Each NGC will be outfitted with a multi-function surveillance and threat alert radar for early warning and target acquisition. The NGC will also be fitted with a surface-to-air missile system and a close-in weapon system (CIWS) for anti-missile defense. Its defensive systems should be able to defeat sea-skimming missiles flying three to five meters above sea level at speeds up to Mach 3 (3,700 km/h). For anti-submarine warfare, NGC will be equipped with active towed array sonar and two lightweight torpedo launchers. NGC should have a range of not less than 7,400 kilometers (4,000 nautical miles) and a speed of 50 km/h (27 knots). It will be a 120 meter-long, single hull warship with low radar, acoustic, magnetic, visual and infrared signatures. These corvettes will have a crew of some 150 officers and men. Warship construction at Indian naval shipyards is going on non-stop where some 50 warships are being built. The intensified pace is also due to the Make in India campaign that fosters "indigenization, or the domestic construction of warships and the use of equipment and weapons made in India as far as is possible. The new Next Generation Corvettes are expected to be further examples of indigenization. The navy's newest corvettes, the Kamorta-class or Project 28, are anti-submarine warfare corvettes built to hunt down and destroy submarines, including nuclear submarines of the type operated by China. The first of four ships in this class, the INS Kamorta, was commissioned into the navy in 2014. The last ship in the class, the INS Kavaratti, should be completed by late 2017. The second ship in this class, the INS Kadmatt commissioned in 2016, was 90 percent indigenous. The Next Generation Corvettes will be the first corvettes built to destroy surface warships. Advertisement TagsNext Generation Corvettes, Indian Navy, Project 28A, People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force, Kamorta-class (Photo : Getty Images) In its latest bid to get entry into lucrative Chinese market, Facebook has clandestinely developed a new software tool to comply with country's tough censorship laws. Advertisement Social networking giant Facebook has secretly developed a new software tool that might just help the company in getting a re-entry in China, the world's largest internet market. The world's most popular social networking site has been facing a ban in China for nearly seven years owing to strict censorship law. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement New York Times, citing close sources, reported that Facebook's new software helps in suppressing posts from appearing in people's news feeds from appearing in specific geographic location. The report goes on to claim that the social networking company may hire a third party - preferably a Chinese firm - to operate the software. It must be noted that the social networking giant regularly removes or blocks contents in various countries to comply with the censorship laws of the respective government. Pakistan, Russia, and Turkey are some of the countries where social networking company has followed this practice. However, the new software will take censorship to a whole new level, since it prevents posts and contents from appearing in news feed beforehand. This invariably makes 'blocking' and 'removing' the content irrelevant. Facebook's spokeswoman Arielle Aryah did not confirm and deny the report. "We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country," Arielle Aryah said in an emailed statement to Reuters. The software tool will be seen as a latest ploy by Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg to woo the Chinese leadership. In a bid to pacify them, Zuckerberg has made several visits to the mainland in recent years. The self-made billionaire's desperation was quite visible earlier this year when he wished Chinese people in mandarin language on the eve of Chinese New Year. However, Facebook is not the only tech giant that is trying to woo China. Google Inc, the American search giant, has also expressed its wish to seek a re-entry in the lucrative Chinese market. The search giant closed its operation in China in 2010, apparently owing to tough censorship laws. Analysts say that American tech companies have no option but to accept China's tough censorship laws, as Chinese market is simply too big to ignore. Advertisement TagsFacebook, facebook china, Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Zuckerberg China, China Internet Censorship Piggly Wiggly.jpg Two Piggly Wiggly deli employees decided not to serve a uniformed Pascagoula police officer over the weekend and now, they have been suspended from their job. (Tyler Carter/tcarter@al.com) MOSS POINT, Miss. - According to the Sun Herald, two deli workers who refused service to a Pascagoula police officer has been suspended, according to assistant store manager Johnny Rogers. The allegation apparently was made in a Facebook post by Hannah Mae, fiance of Pascagoula police officer Scott Clayton. The post in question was deleted after it went viral, but was later obtained by the Mississippi Press. I just wanna inform any of y'all that shop at Piggly Wiggly in Moss Point..... As most of y'all know my soon to be husband Scott is in Law Enforcement and yesterday when he was headed home from work he stopped by there to grab a few things and get him some sandwich meat from the deli..... Well as he stood there waiting several of their employees just over looked him.... (mind u he is in uniform) so when he asked "may I get some help".... They all turned their backs and he heard them say "I'm not serving him!!!" (of course the manager already left) people this is what we are dealing with still..... Its disgusting how some people can be..... He is a daddy, a son, a brother, a friend, and MY soon to be husband..... He is still human, he breaths the same air as all of us.... Just because he is wearing a badge and gun doesn't mean he is different.... ITS HIS JOB!!!! Trust me Piggly Wiggly will no longer get my money!!!! Apparently they don't support our Law Enforcement!!!! Hope this sinks in!!! Y'all have a blessed day!!! The Mississippi Press visited Piggly Wiggly on Monday to obtain store manager Barry Carmack's side of the story regarding his employees and their decision to allegedly refuse service to Clayton, but Carmack refused to comment. Carmack told the Sun Herald that the situation is still under investigation. The Mississippi Press called Piggly Wiggly on Tuesday and Wednesday to speak with Rogers, but was told he had left work for the day both days. (Photo : Getty Images ) China and Malaysia troops launched a joint military exercise on Tuesday. Advertisement Chinese and Malaysian troops launched a joint military exercise on Tuesday. The drill named Aman Youyi 2016 is taking place in Paya Indah Region of Western Malaysian province of Selagor. As per China's state-owned news agency Xinhua, nearly 200 personnel from the People Liberation Army (PLA) and 140 members of the Malaysian Armed Forces are taking part in the joint exercise on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement A high-ranking Chinese military officer Fang Fenghui took part in the opening ceremony of the joint exercise in Paya Indah Park. He said that the Chinese and Malaysian armed forces have made significant progress in friendly exchanges in the past few years. "We've always believed that nothing is more important than the all-round growth of the friendly relations between the two countries and the two militaries as well as jointly safeguarding peace and stability in the region including the South China Sea," he said. Malaysian armed forces chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zin referred the joint exercise as a 'friendly move', saying that it will help enhance synchronization between two countries on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. "Such friendly joint military exercise will help enhance synchronization with all countries on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. It will also help increase awareness. We believe while disasters bring casualties and damages, aid reliefs provided by countries are a reflection of humanitarian spirit." The joint military exercise comes at a time of heighten tensions between the two countries over the South China Sea dispute. This is the third instance the two military forces are conducting a joint exercise on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. The first "Aman Youyi" (Peace and Friendship) between the armies of the two countries took place in 2014. Advertisement TagsSouth China Sea, china, Malaysia, joint military exercises, Paya Indah (Photo : Getty Images) The communist party mouthpiece has warned incoming US president Donald Trump of a global disaster if he initiates a trade war against Beijing Advertisement China has warned the United States that a worsening of ties between the two nations could result in global disaster," and that cooperation is the only correct choice for the two sides to manage their bilateral relations. The official Chinese Communist Party newspaper, the People's Daily, said in an editorial on Tuesday that Sino-US relationship is "too big to fail," reminding US President-elect Donald Trump that he must pitch in his share to make sure there is no breakdown in ties between the two superpowers. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The commentary said China's relationship with the US was very important and the two nations should jointly exert efforts to improve their ties and prevent their relations from deteriorating. It added that any breakdown of ties between the two nations would disastrously affect the global order. Sino-US cooperation People's Daily also reiterated Chinese President Xi Jinping's message to Trump last week that cooperation was the only correct measure for the two sides to take to maintain their ties. "It's not hard to predict that a cooperative China-U.S. relationship will bring huge benefits across the globe," the paper said. The editorial warned that if Washington and Beijing get involved in spats and confrontations, it will be disastrous not only to the two countries but globally as well. Currency manipulator The communist-backed newspaper article is China's latest move to heal its ties with its biggest trade partner following Trump's election win. President-elect Trump lambasted China during his campaign sorties, calling Beijing the "biggest theft in the world." He promised to impose 45 percent tariffs on imported China-made goods if Beijing does not stop what he perceives as unfair trading practices. The Republican billionaire, in one of his campaign speeches, promised to brand China as a currency manipulator and said he would not hesitate to bring trade complaints against the country. According to the People's Daily editorial, despite their differences, the two countries share common goals and interests and Beijing recognizes the similarity between Trump's vision of "making America great again" and Xi's "the great Chinese dream" mantra since assuming office in 2013. The paper added that economic ties between Washington and Beijing have flourished under the term of President Barack Obama and have paved the way for the improvement of relations between the two nations under the incoming Trump administration. Advertisement Tagsglobal disaster, Sino-US relations, china, US, President-elect Donald Trump, currency manipulator, global order, trade war (Photo : PLA) To be launched in December 2016: Fengyyun-4A. Jilin-1 and TanSat. Advertisement China will cap its most successful year in spaceflight in December with the launch of at least six more satellites, bringing to 25 the number of satellites orbited in 2016. This number will be a national record for the most number of successful launches in a single calendar year. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement China's latest success was the orbiting on Nov. 22 of the Tianlian 1-04 geosynchronous satellite, another satellite in a constellation of four that enables communications with its orbiting spacecraft and the Tiangong-2 space station. The four satellites in the Tianlian-class of tracking and data relay satellites (TDRS) provide close to real-time communications between ground control and spacecraft. They enhance communication coverage with manned Shenzhou missions from Shenzhou 7 onwards and are indispensable in this role. To be launched in December will be the first of six Fengyun-4A geostationary weather satellites on Dec. 11; TanSat or CarbonSat that will monitor carbon dioxide; the Jilin-1 "commercial remote sensing satellite," and three other satellites to be orbited along with Jilin-1, each with a different function. Fungyun-4A is part of China's geostationary meteorological satellite program called Fengyun-4 (FY-4). It's the second generation of this class and will replace the earlier FY-2 series. Fengyun-4A will blast-off from the Xichang Launch Center. The second Fengyun satellite, FY-4B, will launch in 2018 and the third, FY-4C, in 2020. No launch dates have been announced for FY-4D, FY-4E and FY-4F. The FY-4 sats have a lifespan of five years. TanSat is the first Chinese mini-satellite dedicated to detection and monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO2). Funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, TanSat will carry two main CO2 detection instruments. The first is CarbonSpec, a high-resolution CO2 spectrometer for measuring the near-infrared absorption by CO2 and the second is the Cloud and Aerosol Polarimetry Imager (CAPI) to compensate CO2 measurement errors by high-resolution measurements of clouds and aerosols. A spy satellite, Jilin-1 is a high-definition optical satellite equipped with a 0.72 meter resolution pan-chromatic camera and 4 meter resolution multi-spectral camera. It will operate as part of a constellation of four satellites. The other three satellites in this spy satellite constellation are LQSat, which will carry an experimental imager with a ground resolution of 5 meters and Lingqiao A and B, two remote sensing video spy satellites designed to capture videos with a ground resolution of 1.3 meters. Advertisement Tagschina, Satellites, record year, 2016, Tianlian 1-04, Fengyun-4A, TanSat, Jilin-1 Vision of Sugarplum kids.jpg Kids from the community were given the opportunity to shop freely on Wednesday as part of the Visions of Sugarplum in conjuction with the City of Pascagoula and the Pascagoula School District's 6th year of allowing children from less fortunate backgrounds to shop for items for Christmas. (Tyler Carter/tcarter@al.com) PASCAGOULA, Miss. - The city of Pascagoula along with the Pascagoula School District teamed up for the sixth year to provide 24 children with the opportunity to have a Christmas, as well buy a gift or two for loved ones. Visions of Sugarplums is the idea of Steve and Gloria Jordan, the owners of Turf Masters Lawn Care Inc. Each year, they made a cash contribution to the Pascagoula Parks & Recreation staff, which would identify a few families who needed help through the holidays. One year, though, the staff struggled to come up with names. So, the Jordans approached the city approached the Pascagoula School District about forming a partnership. Now, through Visions of Sugarplums, the eight elementary schools in Pascagoula select three recipients each. The 24 children participate in a one-day camp during Thanksgiving break, and go on a shopping trip to Walmart, where they pick out gifts for their families. Steve Jordan said he felt compelled to give back to the community since God had been more than good in his life. Kids are preparing to checkout and take home their purchases for Christmas thanks to the city of Pascagoula, the Pascagoula School District and Steve and Gloria Jordan of Turfmaster's. (Tyler Carter/tcarter@al.com) "I use to come out here and for lack of a better term, stalk people to see who was in need. And I would just give them $100 bills simply because I wanted to help somebody at Christmas," Jordan said. "We teamed up with the city and school district and they now find the children, identify those in need, and we just come out and pay it forward. God has blessed us immensely and it's just something that we enjoy doing." Jordan said he hopes the children involved also learn to pay it forward. "We mandate that they must pick up something for someone else," Jordan said. "That usually isn't too hard for them and over the years, they are so excited to buy that present for their mother, sister, brother, or father and they are excited about that so they can experience the joy of giving." Jordan became emotional when it came to talking about the joy he and wife Gloria experience from Visions of Sugarplums. "I just know that people during Christmas time struggle. My family and I have been blessed, and we just wanted to pay it forward," Jordan said. "We approached the city and we went from helping one family to 20-25 children the last few years, and we feel like we've touched between 150-200 children and we enjoy making other families' holidays special." Marrea Steward, 10, and DKayla Williams, 9, were enthusiastic about the prospect of going shopping. "I love being here because it is so much fun and I appreciate the Jordan family for doing this for us," Marrea said. "I am excited because I get to have this stuff for Christmas and I can get something for someone else as well," DKayla said. Walmart also donated snack bags and items to further assist in holiday giving to Pascagoula families. In the future, Jordan said he hopes other local businesses get involved, helping sponsor more kids. "I would love for us to help 50 kids," Jordan said. "We do what we can and we're satisfied, but we can always do more. I hope more local businesses would step in to help support this effort." Putin a threat to religious liberty, commissioners claim in USA Today editorial 23 November, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | WASHIINGTON (Christian Examiner) Two members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which advises Congress on matters related to persecution and religious violence abroad, have claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin is intent on destroying all but the Russian Orthodox Church in his country. According to Commissioners Clifford D. May and John Ruskay, Putin sees religion as key to controlling his state. He and his allies, May and Ruskay said, "wish to extend authoritarian control by subjugating alternative sources of authority." "Under the guise of national security, they allege that certain groups pose a cultural as well as physical threat to Russia. They deem the Russian Orthodox Church's Moscow Patriarchate the nation's cultural and religious repository and treat most other religious groups as rivals and dangers to Russia's unity," they wrote. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, the package includes a particularly chilling measure, especially for evangelical Protestants and others who actively share their faith. The new measure makes it a crime to engage in religious activities that range from preaching and teaching to religious publishing, anywhere in Russia besides government-approved sites. Some of the groups targeted by Russian authorities include Muslims, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Scientologists and even Baptists. For instance, Jehovah's Witnesses can be arrested and imprisoned for up to four years for distributing unauthorized literature. Baptists can be arrested for public preaching outside of a location approved by the government. Putin signed a series of laws in July which the commissioners called the "most repressive" the country had seen since the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those label peaceful actions, like proselytizing, as subversive. In some instances, activities that occur regularly in the West are equated with "terrorism," they wrote. "Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, the package includes a particularly chilling measure, especially for evangelical Protestants and others who actively share their faith. The new measure makes it a crime to engage in religious activities that range from preaching and teaching to religious publishing, anywhere in Russia besides government-approved sites," May and Ruskay wrote. The new laws make missionary work especially difficult because evangelical Protestants are wary of government intervention. For that reason, they often eschew notifying government officials of their presence. In other cases, government agents refuse to register Protestant workers or houses of worship. Violating the new laws can be costly. According to May and Ruskay, prison terms can be accompanied by large fines "approaching 1 million rubles." "The fine for organizations ranges from 100,000 to 1 million rubles ($1500 to $15,000). Since unregistered groups are considered illegal entities, individual members also could be prosecuted," they wrote. They also said prosecutions have already begun. "On July 22, Aleksei Telius, a Baptist pastor who organized a children's summer camp in Noyabrsk, was fined 5,000 rubles. On August 14, Donald Ossewaarde, an American Baptist, was fined 40,000 rubles for holding religious services in his own home in Oryol," May and Ruskay wrote. They also claimed Putin's government is in violation of Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of religion and belief. May and Ruskay said many Russians have taken notice of the increasing oppression. They are again seeing a dark, iron curtain descend over the county, they wrote. The enactment of the new laws, they said, mean it is "time for the world starting with the American people, the U.S. government, and the next U.S. administration to raise its voice against this latest retreat to a dark Soviet past." Russia did not make the USCIRF's list of Tier 1 "Countries of Particular Concern" in its 2016 report. It was, however, selected as a Tier 2 country, or one that should be monitored closely in the future. School pulls down American flag to 'mourn violence' after students burn it on Veteran's Day 23 November, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | AMHERST, Massachusetts (Christian Examiner) Students at a Massachusetts private college were so distraught by the election of Republican Donald Trump to the presidency, they decided to make a statement on Nov. 9 they lowered the flag at Hampshire College to half-staff. Then, three days later, on Veterans Day, they took it down and burned it. Administrators replaced the flag, but not before deciding they needed to placate the students and faculty feeling remorseful about the state of the Union. The flag was lowered to half-staff again, this time with the understanding that the flag would remain so for an indefinite period to protest the supposed rising tide of hatred and bigotry in the U.S. and the world. Our intention was to create the space for meaningful and respectful dialogue across the many perspectives represented in our community. Unfortunately, our efforts to inclusively convey respect and sorrow have had the opposite effect. We have heard from many on our campus as well as from neighbors in the region that, by flying the flag at half-staff, we were actually causing hurt, distress, and insult. Our decision has been seen as disrespectful of the traditional expression of national mourning, and has been especially painful to our Hampshire campus colleagues who are veterans or families of veterans. That action didn't communicate that message and, since then, hundreds have complained about the college's lack of sensitivity for veterans and its disrespect for the flag. The college's Facebook page is riddled with negative comments, many from military families and even some families of soldiers killed in combat since the war on terror began. One reader wrote he was in a position to hire young people, but "if I happen to see a Hampshire College degree at any point in my life that application is going right in the round file [the trash]." "This college cranks out entitled, out of touch, brats," he wrote. Another respondent wrote the behavior of the students and the administrators shows they are "far removed from the costs of freedom." "If they only knew what thousands have gone through, so that they can enjoy the freedoms they have. There is no doubt that our country has its warts and has, at times, done shameful things; we are all human and fallible. What we are seeing here is what I would call an extreme lack of gratitude. These students, and many of the social justice warriors who think like them, see only the warts of our country, and none of the beautiful things about it. As Alphonse Karr said, 'Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses," the man wrote. Criticism of the school has been so harsh that its president, Jonathan Lash, issued a statement Nov. 22. In it, he said the college's board of trustees had decided "some months ago" to lower the flag to half-staff periodically "to mourn deaths from violence around the world." He continued: "Last week, in the current environment of escalating hate-based violence, we made the decision to fly Hampshire's U.S. flag at half-staff for a time while the community delved deeper into the meaning of the flag and its presence on our campus. This was meant as an expression of grief over the violent deaths being suffered in this country and globally, including the many U.S. service members who have lost their lives." "Our intention was to create the space for meaningful and respectful dialogue across the many perspectives represented in our community. Unfortunately, our efforts to inclusively convey respect and sorrow have had the opposite effect. We have heard from many on our campus as well as from neighbors in the region that, by flying the flag at half-staff, we were actually causing hurt, distress, and insult. Our decision has been seen as disrespectful of the traditional expression of national mourning, and has been especially painful to our Hampshire campus colleagues who are veterans or families of veterans." Lash then wrote that some believed the action of lowering the flag was a commentary on the 2016 presidential election. He then claimed "this, unequivocally, was not our intent." Lash then said since more consultation with the campus community was necessary before flying the flag in the future, administrators had decided that they would simply pull the flag down for an indefinite period of time. The college president said he hoped having the flag out of sight would allow the college to focus its efforts on healing and addressing the "racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and behaviors" it believes are occurring in society. Hampshire College enrolls 1,400 students and costs nearly $60,000 per year for tuition, room and board. The school also does not provide grades, feeling that they contribute to an air of competition. Instead, the school claims it offers "narrative evaluations" for students. We tend to idealize holidays, but human depravity doesnt go into hibernation between Thanksgiving and New Years. One thing that will hit most Christians, sooner or later, are tensions within extended families at holiday time. Some of you will be visiting family members who are contemptuous of the Christian faith and downright hostile to the whole thing. Others are empty nest couples who now have sons- or daughters-in-law to get adjusted to, maybe even grandchildren who are being reared, well, not exactly the way the grandparents would do it. Still others are young couples who are figuring out how to keep from offending family members who are watching the calendar, to see which side of the family gets more time on the ledger. And others are new parents, trying to figure out how to parent their child when its Mammonpalooza at Aunt Judies house this year. And, of course, theres just always the kind of thing that happens when sinful people come into contact with one another. Somebody asks When is the baby due? to an unpregnant woman or somebody blasts your favorite political figure or well, you know. Here are a few quick thoughts on what followers of Jesus ought to remember, especially if youve got a difficult extended family situation. 1. Peace Yes, Jesus tells us that his gospel brings a sword of division, and that sometimes this splits up families (Matt. 10:34-37). But theres a difference between gospel division and carnal division (see 1 Cor. 1, e.g.). The Spirit brings peace (Gal. 5:22), and the sons of God are peacemakers (Matt. 5:9). Since thats so, we ought to strive for peace with everyone (Heb. 12:14). Often, the divisiveness that happens at extended family dinner tables is not because an unbelieving family member decides to persecute a Christian. Its instead because a Christian decides to go ahead and sort the wheat from the weeds right now, rather than waiting for Judgment Day (Matt. 13:29-30). Yes, the gospel exposes sin, but the gospel does so strategically, in order to point to Christ. Antagonizing unbelievers at a family dinner table because they think or feel like unbelievers isnt the way of Christ. Some Christians think their belligerence is actually a sign of holiness. They leave the Christmas table saying, See, if youre not being opposed, then youre not with Christ! Sometimes, of course, divisions must come. But think of the qualifications Jesus gives for his churchs pastors. They must not be quarrelsome and they must be well thought of by outsiders (1 Tim. 3:3,7). Thats in the same list as not being a heretic or a drunk. Your presence should be one of peace and tranquility. The gospel you believe ought to be what disrupts. Theres a big difference. 2. Honor The Scripture tells us to fear God, to obey the king, and to honor (notice this) everyone (1 Pet. 2:17). If your parents are high-priests in the Church of Satan, they are still your parents. If cousin Betty V. does Jello shots in her car, just to take the edge off the cocaine, well, she still bears the imprint of the God you adore. You cannot do the will of God by opposing the will of God. That is, you cant evangelize by dishonoring father and mother, or by disrespecting the image-bearers of God. Pray for God to show you the ways those in your life are worthy of honor, and teach your children to follow you in showing respect and gratitude. 3. Humility Part of the reason some Christians have such difficulty with unbelieving or nominally believing extended family members is right at this point. They see differences over Jesus as being of the same kind (just of a different degree) as our differences over, say, the war in Afghanistan or the future of Sarah Palin or the Saints winning streak this year. Often the frustration comes not because of how much Christians love their family members as much as how much these Christians want to be right. The professional Left and Right cable-TV and talk-radio pontificators may value the last word, but we cant. Jesus never, not once, seeks to prove he is right, and he was accused of being everything from a wino to a demoniac. He rejects Satans temptation to force a visible vindication, waiting instead for God to vindicate him at the empty tomb. Often Christians veer toward Satanism at holiday time because we, deep down, pride ourselves on knowing the truth of the gospel. The rage you feel when Uncle Happy says why many roads lead to God might be more about the fact that you want to be right than that you want him to be resurrected. Plus, we often forget just how it is that we came to be in Christ in the first place. This wasnt some act of brilliance, like being accepted into Harvard or some exertion of the will, like learning to put a Rubiks cube together in 20 seconds. What do you have that you did not receive, the Apostle Paul asks us, And if you received it, then why do you boast as though you didnt receive it? (1 Cor. 4:6-7) Satan wants to destroy you through his primal flaw, pride (1 Pet. 5:7-9; 1 Tim. 3:6). He doesnt care if that pride comes through looking around the family table and figuring out how much more money you make than your second cousin-in-law or whether it comes by your looking around the table and saying, Thank you Lord that I am not like these publicans. The end result is the same (Prov. 29:23). Unless youre in an exceptionally sanctified family, youre going to see failing marriages, parenting crises, and a thousand other shards of the curse. If your response is to puff up as you look at your own situation, theres a Satanist at your family gathering, and youre it. 4. Maturity The Scripture tells us that if we follow Jesus well follow the path he took: thats through temptation, to suffering, and ultimately to glory. Often we think these testings are big, monumental things, but they rarely are. God will allow you to be tested. Hell refine you, bring you to the fullness of maturity in Christ. He probably wont do it by your fighting lions before the emperor or standing with a John 3:16 sign before a tank in the streets of Beijing. More likely, it will be through those seemingly little places of temptationlike whether youll love the belching brother-in-law at the other end of the table who wants to talk about how the Cubans killed JFK and how to make $100,000 a year selling herbal laxatives on the Internet. Some of the tensions Christians face at holiday time have nothing to do with outside oppression as much as internal immaturity on the part of the Christians themselves. Ive had young men who tell me they feel treated like children when they go home to see their extended families. Their parents or parents-in-law are dictating to them where to go, when, and for how much time. Their parents or parent-in-law are hijacking the rearing of their children (Oh, come on! He can watch Die Harder! Dont be so strict!). Some of these men just give in, and then seethe in frustration. Sometimes thats because the extended family is particularly obstinate. But sometimes the extended family treats the young man like a child because thats how he acts the rest of the year. Dont live financially and emotionally dependent on your parents or in-laws, passively dithering in your decisions about your familys future, and then expect them to see you as the head of your house. Be a man (if you are one). Make decisions (including decisions about where, and for how long, youll spend the holidays). Teach and discipline your children.Your extended family might not like it at first, but theyll come to respect the fact that youre leaving and cleaving, taking responsibility for that which has been entrusted to you. 5. Perspective Remember that youll give an account at the resurrection for every idle (that means seemingly tiny, insignificant, unmemorable) thought, word, and deed. At the Judgment Seat of the Lord Christ, youll be responsible for living out the gospel in every arena to which the Spirit has led you including Aunt Flossies dining room table. Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com Publication date: November 23, 2016 Korean American pastors in primarily Korean American churches or multi-ethnic churches may not face language or culture barriers as they might in the Korean immigrant church, but they still face difficulties due to the differing obligations of different pastoral positions, as well as the differing life experiences of different generations. For instance, the senior pastors role is to drive the bus for the whole church, while that of the associate pastor is to drive a portion of it, according to Steve Chang (54), the lead pastor of Living Hope Community Church. Chang was part of a panel of four Korean American pastors at a brunch event hosted by the SOLA Network, which took place at Living Hope on Thursday. The panel was centered on the topic, "Building Healthy Teams," and panelists discussed the challenges senior and associate pastors might face -- though they may both be Korean Americans -- in having a healthy team dynamic. Multiple times, I had to say no to Bang, he added, referring to his interactions with Living Hopes college pastor, Steve Bang Lee (31). Chang said he understood why Lee would make certain requests, and that even he would have done the same had he been in Lees position. But I had to think of all of the implications for the whole church, said Chang. Different expectations from being in different positions may also cause misunderstandings, said Lee. On the one hand, the senior pastors drivenness to mobilize the church toward its vision may cause the associate pastors to think, Am I just a cog in your machine? On the other hand, an associate pastors desire to learn and receive mentorship from the senior pastor may cause the senior pastor to think, Am I supposed to be your therapist? Those differences also stem from differences in generation, according to Chang. When Chang had served in associate-level roles during his earlier years in ministry, he said, I didnt look for or expect emotional support from my senior pastor. I just wanted clarity and freedom. Jimmy Han (51), the lead pastor of Good News Chapel, shared that his experiences during his earlier years in ministry caused him to be more compliant, which affected the way he functioned as a lead pastor. When they wanted me to lead, I was compliant, said Han. I didnt know what I wanted to do, because for so long, Ive always said yes. In terms of resolving differences, the panelists offered ideas on how to communicate more effectively and regularly. For the younger pastors, Eugene Park (26) of Gospel Life Mission Church recommended getting to know themselves better, as well as taking time to figure out their senior pastor. Lee encouraged younger pastors to get to know the valuables of the senior pastor the things that the senior pastor values most and communicate with him based on those valuables. And Han recommended pastoral staff to have regular times of fellowship not necessarily related to ministry, such as going on retreats and having monthly meals together where not just business is talked about. You have to lead, but you also have to love, Han said. The panel was the first event specifically for pastors hosted by the SOLA Network, which was formed as organizers of the SOLA Conference aimed to resource the Korean American community through a broader and longer-lasting reach. The SOLA Network also plans to launch a website in which articles, Q&A videos, and other resources from Korean American pastors will be posted. The SOLA Conference, which has been organized by a partnership between Korean American pastors from various local churches since its beginnings in 2013, had also consistently featured a pastors luncheon with panels and Q&A sessions. A university in Wisconsin denied two students credit for the hours they spent volunteering at a church. The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire requires students to complete 30 hours of service learning activity in order to graduate. One student Alexandra Liebl spent 30 hours teaching a second grade religion class at Newman Parish, a local Roman Catholic Church. In April, however, she was notified by the university that she would not be receiving credit for her volunteer hours completed at the church due to its religious nature, citing the Service-Learning Policy, which maintains that the university does not award credit for time spent directly involved in promoting religious doctrine, proselytizing, or worship. Student Madelyn Rysavy volunteered at Sunday School Classes at the same church. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), representing Liebl and Rysavy, filed suit against the university, arguing that all forms of community service should be equally given credit and that the university is unconstitutionally showing preference to non-religious beliefs over religious beliefs. No public university should ever use a community service program as a vehicle to advance and instill anti-religious bias, said Travis Barham, legal counsel for ADF. If the University of WisconsinEau Claire wants to require its students to perform community service, it must treat all forms of community service as equally valuable. The Constitution and federal court precedent prohibit it from targeting religious community service and denying students credit for it. That kind of animosity toward and discrimination against religion is unconstitutional. Over 10,000 Indonesians rallied on the streets of Jakarta last week to call on their countrymen to unite in support of the Christian Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who is under investigation for his comments on the Quran. He was interrogated for nine hours by the police, and has officially been charged as a suspect in blasphemy case. The protesters urged the citizens to demonstrate tolerance and not be divided by chaos perpetrated by political interests. The demonstration was held at the National Monument at Merdeka Square in the capital city, with people carrying a huge Indonesian flag and shouting, "United Indonesia cannot be defeated." Earlier this month, hundreds of thousands of Muslims gathered in Jakarta to call for Purnama's arrest. Riots were also reported from the city, which led to the death of one person even as several others were injured. Radicals are demanding that the governor be arrested. However, a professor admitted that he edited the video of Purnama's comments before posting it on Facebook to make it seem like he was insulting the Quran. The video makes it look like the governor is saying that the Quran is lying to people in Surah 5:51. But the governor was known to have said, "You've been lied to by [people] misquoting the 51st verse of the Al-Maidah." The professor was questioned by National Police on November 17, and his lawyer told reporters that his client has admitted to editing the video to distort the meaning of the governor's comments. Lawmakers, religious leaders, and human rights activists were among those marching in support of Purnama. Purnama is the only currently serving Christian governor in Indonesia, and the second one in history of the country. He is contesting his re-election and in February. If convicted of blasphemy, he can spend up to five years in prison. The governor is popular among the people because of his crackdown on corruption and was likely to win his second term before the blasphemy case was levelled against him, according to a city-based survey reported by The Jakarta Post. Baby, please go get Papaw. I cant begin to count how many times I heard that simple command and ventured out to find my grandfather, who was working somewhere around the house. He was a man who was happy performing the most menial tasks. Washing cars. Painting trim. Cleaning the gutters. Spraying for weeds. But the chore I most often found him at was sweepingand singing. My, how that man loved a clean sidewalk. When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more. And the morning breaks eternal, bright and fair . . . He sang each word of the hymn in a clear baritone, accompanied by short, percussive whisks of the broom. Before I clapped eyes on the back of his seersucker shirt, I knew where he was. All I had to do was follow the cheerful sound to its source. As a child, I thought he was singing simply to pass the time, the way he did when he picked cotton for hours on end as a boy in the hot Arkansas summer. But now, a year after his passing, Ive come to realize the chores Papaw didand the way he went about themwere so much more than labor. They were liturgy. Its a concept Tish Harrison Warren understands well. As an Anglican priest and writer who also happens to be a wife and mother of two girls, she wakes up each morning facing a formidable to-do list. How does one find time to pursue holiness amid the rush of responsibilities? The answer comes in Warrens first book, Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life (InterVarsity Press). Chapter by chapter, she explains how the most routine tasks, if done with an eye on the eternal, become extraordinary. We are shaped every day, whether we know it or not, by practicesrituals ... 1 You have reached the end of this Article Preview You have reached the end of this Article Preview To continue reading, subscribe now. Subscribers have full digital access. Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here. I had the privilege or reading a pre-release version of "God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church." Here are 20 quotes from the book, which you should pick up. AirAsia direct flights to Luang Prabang in Laos were launched on 21st Nov 2016 where the airline will fly four times a week to the UNESCO world heritage city in Indochina. In the past, Luang Prabang was only accessible via Lao Airlines and with limited flights therefore connectivity was one of the biggest issues getting here. However, over the years, a number of other airlines have seen the tourism opportunity since 2008 when Luang Prabang was voted as the number one place to visit in the world by the New York Times. Air Asia Flights to Luang Prabang AirAsia direct flights to Luang Prabang in Laos were launched on 21st Nov 2016 where the airline will fly four times a week to the UNESCO world heritage city in Indochina.In the past, Luang Prabang was only accessible via Lao Airlines and with limited flights therefore connectivity was one of the biggest issues getting here.However, over the years, a number of other airlines have seen the tourism opportunity since 2008 when Luang Prabang was voted as the number one place to visit in the world by the New York Times. Pak Ou Buddha Caves Visitors heading here would be those who enjoy cultural and heritage tourism as Luang Prabang offers the best of this. For me, I was fortunate to visit Luang Prabang in 2008 just before the tourism boom and saw what it originally looked like, minus the thousands of tourists that started flocking to What makes Luang Prabang so special is that the entire UNESCO World Heritage city is preserved and free from modern development.Visitors heading here would be those who enjoy cultural and heritage tourism as Luang Prabang offers the best of this.For me, I was fortunate to visit Luang Prabang in 2008 just before the tourism boom and saw what it originally looked like, minus the thousands of tourists that started flocking to Luang Prabang in Laos One of the best attractions here is also the 29 temples and Stupas found all over the city. A must visit is also the nightly I would easily recommend visiting Luang Prabang on a weekday to avoid the huge crowds and booking your accommodations way ahead as the hotels there can get full.One of the best attractions here is also the 29 temples and Stupas found all over the city. A must visit is also the nightly Luang Prabang Night Market and also the day markets where you will find some of the most unique handicrafts, art, fabrics, and silver being sold. Luang Prabang was once French colonized, therefore, you will find a lot of French food in Luang Prabang, especially bakeries and restaurants offering casual to fine dining. Just before dinner, I would recommend you head up Phu Si Hill to catch the beautiful sunset in Luang Prabang and this is one of the best places to do it. For Lao Food in Luang Prabang , you should make it a point to try them all as they are very unique and quite similar to Thai food or Indochina food.Luang Prabang was once French colonized, therefore, you will find a lot of French food in Luang Prabang, especially bakeries and restaurants offering casual to fine dining.Just before dinner, I would recommend you head up Phu Si Hill to catch the beautifuland this is one of the best places to do it. Do keep in mind that my last visit here was in 2008, that was eight years ago before this place became one of the top tourist destinations in Indochina. Places to Visit in Luang Prabang Luang Prabang Night Market There are many places to visit in Luang Prabang, some out of the town area where you need to take a boat or even walk a bit and one of the most popular places is Pak Ou Buddha Caves in Luang Prabang At the village, they give you about 30 minutes to explore where you can see traditional homes, Lao Silk being processed, Sa Paper being made, and also sold. The journey to the Pak Ou Caves requires you to take a boat trip and most likely stopping at the Whisky Village along the way. Most packages offer this stopover at the village.At the village, they give you about 30 minutes to explore where you can see traditional homes, Lao Silk being processed,being made, and also sold. If you are a crafter, the Lao Sa Paper is said to be one of the best, therefore, it is one of the best places to buy them. If you see some souvenirs, I would strongly recommend getting them here as they could be a little cheaper than in town. What To Buy in Luang Prabang? Lao Silk at the local villages There are a lot of interesting things to buy in Luang Prabang, depending on what you are looking for. Most of the items can be used for excellent souvenirs or even for your own home decoration. The item includes; Lao Silk Sa Paper Hmong Jewelry and Accessories Lao Silver Jewelry Lao Coffee Buddha and Monk Paintings Lao Whisky Traditional Lao Whisky (With Gecko, Snake, Scorpion inside) I recommend you DO NOT buy this because it is prohibited to be brought into Malaysia and it will be confiscated at the airport. How Long To Stay In Luang Prabang? One of the main temples in Luang Prabang To be very honest, the minimum required time to spend in Luang Prabang would be at least three nights, therefore a 4D/3N trip is a minimum to really enjoy this UNESCO World Heritage City. But for me, I spent a good five days here to see most of the places, therefore, to fully experience Luang Prabang, a 5D/4N trip is recommended. Also, if you are planning to take your time, it is recommended to explore the city area on foot, therefore, expect a lot of walking. The weather here is very cooling as Luang Prabang is located on higher ground. AirAsia Direct Flights to Luang Prabang Flight Schedule for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL) Luang Prabang, Laos (LPQ) Flight No. From To Departure Arrival Flight Frequency AK 562 KUL LPQ 0645 hrs 0840 hrs Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun AK 563 LPQ KUL 0925 hrs 1330 hrs Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun Note: All times depicted are local time at respective destinations. That means, a total of one day is already gone, and you only have one full day here, where it is not advisable at all. To book Luang Prabang flights, please go to the main Conclusion Note, if you plan on going for 3D/2N, you might as well not do it due to the return flight timing at 9.25 AM, meaning you need to be at the Luang Prabang airport by 7.30 AM.That means, a total of one day is already gone, and you only have one full day here, where it is not advisable at all. To book Luang Prabang flights, please go to the main AirAsia website In one of the first surveys after the 2016 presidential election, the Pew Research Center asked voters to weigh in on what grade Donald Trump (and others) should receive, what he should do first, and whether they will give him a chance to succeed. Among white evangelicals votersone of Trumps strongest demographicsone in five (20%) graded the president-elects conduct during the campaign at an A, while a plurality (31%) gave him a B, according to new Pew Research Center data provided to CT. Meanwhile, more than a quarter of white evangelical voters gave him a failing grade of a D or F. Trumps overall campaign grade is the lowest among any presidential candidatewinning or losingsince Pew began collecting data in 1988. Its important to note that white evangelicals, like so many voters this year, had significant reservations about both candidates, said Amy Black, professor of political science at Wheaton College. Although ... 1 Three days after the election of Donald Trump, Skye Jethani tweeted #FarewellEvangelicalism and published an open letter explaining his dissatisfaction with the term. The author and pastor predicts the label will soon fall out of use: When our successors write a history of these times, I suspect the modern American evangelical movement will rest neatly within the lifespan of Billy Graham. Other Christian leadersincluding Russell Moore, Shane Claiborne, Katelyn Beaty, John Fea, and Preston Yanceyhave expressed similar frustration with the term or abandoned it during the 2016 election season. Others have held fast to the evangelical label, despite reservations. Mark Labberton and Richard Mouw released a statement defining Fuller Seminarys association with the term. They write, Because of its non-negotiable commitment to the evangel, Gods good news, Fuller Seminary will continue to identify itself as evangelical. We must understand evangelical as our commitment and aspiration: our deep desire that the daunting and urgent hope of Jesus Christ will transform us so our speech truly proclaims and our life faithfully enacts Gods good news of love, justice, and mercy. Still others believe there is more reason than ever to hold evangelical in high esteem. In a newsletter, Gary Bauerpolitician and activist of the Religious Rightdeclared the election a Victory for Values Voters: Donald Trump owes his victory in large part to historic participation by evangelicals. Many people expected evangelicals would forget about the issues and vote only on the character flaws of the two candidates, if they voted at all. But that is not what happened. The Reagan Coalitionworking class Americans, conservative Catholics and evangelical Christiansonce again proved what a powerful force it can be. So which is it? Has this years election caused a tidal wave of evangelical leaders to opt out of the term, or is this one more conversation resulting in little change to widespread usage of the E-word? To find out, we surveyed CTPastors.com readers (38% Senior/Solo pastors, 17% other pastors, 25% lay leaders, 20% business admin/other) regarding their comfort with the term. We limited our sample population to those who agreed or strongly agreed with LifeWay Research / NAEs definition of evangelical (resulting in a sample size of 440). Then we asked these respondents four questions: How comfortable do you feel describing yourself as evangelical to other Christians? How comfortable do you feel describing yourself as evangelical to non-Christians? Since Election Day, how has your comfort level changed describing yourself as evangelical to other Christians? Since Election Day, how has your comfort level changed describing yourself as evangelical to non-Christians? Are church leaders comfortable describing themselves as evangelical? Though 70 percent of church leaders were comfortable or strongly comfortable describing themselves as evangelical to other Christians, only half (52%) felt as comfortable using the term with non-Christians. Jethani finds these numbers incriminating: The fact that church leaders are more comfortable self-identifying as evangelical among other Christians, while only half were comfortable using the word with non-Christians, should be alarming. It indicates that evangelical has lost its usefulness as an identity in our culture. John Sommervillesenior pastor of City Church in Minneapolis, Minnesotarecognizes this concern in his own church: While our theological and philosophical roots are in the evangelical movement, we have not used the term with those outside the church since 2004. A word that once stood for faithfulness to historic orthodox Christian faith and a commitment to personal holiness, to the proclamation of the good news, and to ministries of compassion and justice has been hijacked by those on the right and the left who have narrowed the meaning to white Republican. Still, Daniel Darling, vice president for communications for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, isnt ready to leave the word behind. Im a bit nervous about all the talk of leaving evangelicalism by some of my peers. I hear what they are saying, but I dont think we have the luxury of leaving people whose voting patterns we dislike or whose blind spots and sins are different than our own. How has comfort with evangelical changed since the election? The majority of respondents reported that their opinion of the term hasnt changed since the election, but nearly a quarter (23%) now feel less comfortable using the term with other Christians, and a third (33%) feel less comfortable using it with non-Christians. Only 8 percent report feeling more comfortable using the term since the election. Why have one-quarter to one-third of evangelical church leaders changed their opinion of the term since the election? Mandy Smithlead pastor at University Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohiohas a guess. Im not surprisedwhat weve been talking about this election has little to do with the gospel. Jeanne Porter Kingwho heads the leadership and ministry development processes and the womens ministry at Christ Community Church in South Holland, Illinoisagrees: I and others have become so disillusioned by what appears to be the flexing of biblical standards by prominent evangelical leaders in their support of Mr. Donald Trump. And Jethani adds, [White evangelicals] record-breaking support for Mr. Trump widens the gap between them and their African-, Asian-, and Latino-American sisters and brothers who overwhelmingly rejected Trumps candidacy. Yet Ed Stetzerwho holds the Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton Collegebelieves this is no reason to drop evangelical. Thats backwards, he writes. Its not the label that supported Trump, its peopleWhite Evangelicals, primarily. Im not embarrassed by fellow Evangelicals whove voted for or against Donald Trump. And you can stop using the term, but you still have the same people, just called something else, in your Evangelical church. Other pastors reflected on the 60 to 69 percent whose opinion of the term hasnt changed. I am disheartened but not surprised that there is very little change post-election, says Kevin Navarro, pastor of Bethany Evangelical Free Church in Englewood, Colorado. I still employ the term evangelical within academic circles, but I avoid the term elsewhere. It is a polemic term. For many, it no longer represents the vibrant intellectual faith that historically was a response to fundamentalism. What difference does gender make? Across the board, women were more likely than men to report feeling uncomfortable with the evangelical label. While 38 percent of male church leaders feel at ease identifying as evangelical to other Christians, only 26 percent of female leaders feel the same way. And women were more likely than men to feel much less comfortable with evangelical since the election (25% to 15%). In an article for the Washington Post, Katelyn Beatywriter, speaker, and former managing editor of Christianity Todaysheds light on why. On Wednesday, I woke up to an evangelical family I no longer resembled. Women who have been sexually assaulted wonder if white evangelicals support of Trump means their trauma will be minimized in Christian communities. Mandy Smith adds, It reminds me of the conversation around the term feminist. Many who stand for the value of women and support their human rights dont call themselves feminist because of how its become politicized. She suggests that many Christians feel the same way about evangelical. As much as we think we decide the meaning of a word, she says, language is a living thing, determined by those who use it. Do we think all our talk about it will heal the impression left by the behavior of some of us? How does church size affect responses? According to our study, leaders from small churches (100 or fewer) tend to be more comfortable with evangelical than those from large churches (1,000 or more). Only 9 percent of small-church leaders feel strongly uncomfortable using the term with non-Christians (compared to 22% of large-church leaders). On the other end of the scale, 28 percent of small-church leaders feel strongly comfortable using the term outside their Christian communities (only 13% of large-church leaders feel the same). And a higher percentage of large-church leaders report feeling less comfortable with the term since the election (26% to 19%). Why? Kevin Miller served in a large church (1,050 in attendance) until becoming pastor at Church of the Savior in Wheaton, Illinois (attendance of 85). He conjectures why leaders of larger churches feel less comfortable using the word evangelical: As a church grows, the core becomes surrounded by larger concentric circles that Rick Warren called the crowd and community. Pastors in larger churches feel acutely that they must speak not only to the core, but also to the community, and these results show they fear the term wont work anymore in their surrounding communities. Karl Vaterspastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California, and author of the small-church blog, Pivotsays simply, Evangelical may be the latest term to fall under the weight of partisan politics. What difference does race make? One limitation of this study is that it doesnt take into account the overwhelming influence race and country of origin play on comfort level with the evangelical label. In The American Evangelical Story, Douglas A. Sweeney writes, Most black Christians, though evangelical by many definitions, resist identifying closely with the evangelical movement. Though evangelicalism has always been an ecumenical movement, its racial sins have often precluded the involvement of black Christians in its leading institutions. Jeanne Porter King raises a similar concern. A number of Christians never did or stopped using the evangelical label way before this election, even though theologically we would totally align with [the NAEs definition]. We are way past disillusionment with established white evangelicalism. But wait. The term evangelical has the opposite effect on many people of Latino and Hispanic heritage, according to Samuel Rodriguez, president of The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and senior pastor of New Season Christian Worship Center in Sacramento, California. In the Spanish-speaking nations and diaspora, evangelico carries the ideas of freedom from political compromise, religious coercion, and ideological rigidness. In other words, while the white and black churches debate the use of this term and the political implications thereof, Latinos and Hispanics stand poised to redeem the term by offering a non-political, reconciliatory, prophetic alternative: evangelico! Smith suspects the term evangelical will be less and less significant as US culture becomes increasingly post-Christian. When I lived in Australia and Britain, we didnt have the luxury to divide among various kinds of Christians because in our whole school and neighborhood there were only about four of us. Congregations that were very different theologically remained together in one denomination. She says, We have the luxury in the US to divide when we disagree, but perhaps not much longer. What conclusions can we draw? Most evangelical church leaders feel comfortable with the term evangelical, both before and after the presidential election. But according to our research, a growing slice of adherents no longer feels comfortable using the name. They leave to join the ranks of those long disillusioned by the term. As Sweeney writes of evangelicalism, We have no card-carrying membership, not even an official membership list. Distinguishing insiders from outsiders can prove to be a tricky business. Participation is voluntary. Adherents are largely self-selected. The evangelical movements strength has always been its centripetal forcethe power of its central theological and missional premises to unite those from drastically different Christian traditions. Its strong gravitational pull comes from its axis: a commitment to gospel witness and the maintenance of historic Christianity. As that definition is muddled by pollsters, marketers, and even those from within, it will lose the strength necessary to unite the movements disparate members. The evangelical label may live well into the future, but the movement will scarcely resemble its former self. The best Thanksgiving meal I ever ate was in February. A neighbor of ours who lived just down the hall from us came by and knocked on our door. He had just gotten back from the food pantry. He held up a frozen turkey, explained that he only liked to eat the dark meat, and he wondered if we might like the other parts? Taken aback, I said we would, and he thrust the entire bird into my arms. Great, he said, why dont you cook it and just give me the legs and wings? I agreed, and I invited him to eat dinner with us the next night. He took a few moments to think it over, said yes, and then returned to his apartment. At the time, we were still having a hard time connecting with our neighbors, the majority of whom were folks battling generational poverty, addiction issues, and systemic injustices. This particular neighbor was friendly but removed. He liked to sip his black coffee on the stoop outside and keep an eye on all the comings and goings, and he also liked to remark on how out-of-place my husband, small daughter, and I were. We tried to be bright and friendlyinviting him over for Christmas, giving him plates of cookiesbut the interactions were forced and our neighbor kept his distance. Until the morning he showed up with a turkey. I knew I wanted to do it all up: mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, perhaps even pie. We were smack dab in the midst of a horribly cold, Midwestern winter, and we needed something to boost our spirits. On the day of our feast, the smell of a roasting turkey filled the air, and our neighbor showed up right at dinnertime. We ate and laughed and chatted about matters both small (teasing my daughter) and large (our respective religious beliefs). Our ... 1 Texas Judge Rejects Lifting Ban on Bathroom Decree Contact: Liberty Counsel, 800-671-1776, Media@LC.org, Press Kit WICHITA FALLS, Texas, Nov. 23, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Texas Federal Judge Reed O'Connor denied requests from two federal executive branch departments to lift the ban on the Obama administration policy to allow so-called transgender public school students access to the bathrooms with which they self-identify. In his ruling against the Department of Justice and the Department of Education, Judge O'Connor stated "the Court finds that Defendants failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success or irreparable harm sufficient to justify a partial stay of the Court's preliminary injunction." Connor wrote that the federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of "sex"the scope and meaning of which the federal government agencies claim now includes gender identitywere declared nearly 40 years ago. He referred specifically to the time gap between the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and this year, when the Obama administration announced its new transgender bathroom guidelines for public schools. "We applaud Judge O'Connor's steadfast stand against the Obama administration attempts to impose its unlawful and harmful LGBT agenda on public schools," said Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel's Founder and Chairman. "The Obama directive is a lawless act and defies common sense." Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. AMD Zen Summit Ridge release date, specs news update: Upcoming CPUs to start at $200; to launch on January 17? AMD is slated to release brand-new processors next year. Earlier reports claimed that the company's new Zen Summit Ridge central processing units will debut at the 2017 Consumers Electronics Show, which will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada from Jan. 5 to 8. Now, a new report indicates that a specific release date has been leaked, along with the starting price of the upcoming CPUs. According to a post on Baidu (via Hexus), a source found information from motherboard manufacturer MAXSUN and reportedly said that the first chips released by AMD will be high-end Zen chips priced anywhere from $200 to $500. The chips are said to be part of the AMD Zen SR7 line. It was claimed that the CPU will make its way to high-end desktops on Jan. 17, 2017. The AMD Zen processors are rumored to be launched in three Summit Ridge or SR ranges, namely, the SR7, SR5, and SR3. The SR7 processors are said to be the most expensive and will be selling at enthusiast level prices. Most SR7 units will reportedly be priced at around $250 to $300, while special 95W overclock (OC) variants from the SR7 range are said to cost as much as $500. As for the SR3 and SR5, these processors are estimated to be within the $200 to $300 price range. The SR7 chips are tipped to have between 3.15 to 3.3 GHz base and 3.5 GHz booster frequencies with conventional OC speeds reaching 4.2 GHz. The premium SR7 processors are configured as 8C/16T parts and are said to be on par with Intel's Core i7-6850K processor with 6C/12T in Cinebench. It appears that the AMD processor could potentially become the preferred choice as the Intel CPU reportedly costs $600. As for the next AMD Zen releases, it is speculated that the SR5 and SR3 could be released in March 2017. Stay tuned for more news about the upcoming AMD Zen processors. Atheist Sues For Right To Say 'I'm God' On His Car Licence Plate An atheist in the United States has filed a lawsuit demanding the right to use the car number plate "IM GOD". Bennie Hart, from Kentucky, was first told that his licence plate was "obscene or vulgar". He was then advised by US motor vehicle officials that it was "not in good taste". He had used the same number plate with no problem in Ohio for 10 years but drove into trouble when he moved to Kentucky. The Freedom From Religion Foundation said in a press release that they and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky had filed the lawsuit. They are challenging regulations that allow officials to deny personalised number plates based on "good taste" or on whether they communicate religious, anti-religious or political messages. And they argue that his number plate falls within the category of protected free speech. Hart, an atheist since the age of 15, told the foundation: "I simply want the same opportunity to select a personal message for my license plate just as any other driver. There is nothing 'obscene or vulgar' about my view that religious beliefs are subject to individual interpretation." In a phone interview, Hart told the Courier-Journal: "It's straight-out First Amendment civil rights. Somebody says, 'Well, gee you can't say that.' Well the fact of the matter is, I can say that." He said the licence plate was meant to communicate that no one religion's view of God is more righteous than another's. "Nobody's been able to prove I'm not God and I can't prove I am." Foundation lawyer Patrick Elliott said: "Hart has a right to select a personalised plate message that reflects his philosophical views, just as any other driver may select an individual message for their personalised plate. Just as others may select religious messages, Ben Hart, an atheist, has a right to comment on religion." William Sharp, legal director of the civil liberties union, said: "Under the First Amendment, government officials do not have the authority to censor messages simply because they dislike them. And in this instance, personalised license plates are a form of individual speech equally deserving of First Amendment protection." Bones From Ancient Christian Settlement In Britain To Be Reinterred For centuries, their bones lay forgotten in a pit deep beneath the ground in North Yorkshire. Then they were uncovered in an archaeological dig, according to Tees Heritage, while building work took place to extend a school. Now the 19 Christians, women, men and children who lived and died in Anglo-Saxon Britain, are to be reinterred in a service at St Cuthbert's church, Kirkleatham on Saturday. The Bishop of Whitby, Paul Ferguson, will be among those attending the reinterment of the bodies. Tees Heritage said in a press release that the bodies were believed to have been buried in graves forming part of an Anglo-Saxon "community cemetery". The archaeologists were monitoring the extension to Kirkleatham Hall School on the site of the 17th century Kirkleatham Hall, demolished three years earlier. On the last day of the dig, an archaeologist spotted a human skull and several long bones lying within a sandy deposit. Over the next few weeks, more graves were discovered. There were more adults than children, thought the adults survived no longer than middle age. Most suffered from joint disease, especially arthritis in their spines. Diggers also found a copper-alloy pin with a round head thought to be be a shroud pin, a small iron annular brooch and a small hexagonal stone plaque. The cemetery was carbon dated to between 682 and 875 AD and indicates a pre-Conquest settlement and possibly the site of the first Christian Church in Kirkleatham. It makes it likely that St Cuthbert's church is of late Anglo-Saxon foundation. Christian Boy From Iraq Replicating Precious Artefacts Destroyed By ISIS A Christian teenage boy from Iraq is fighting the terror group Islamic State (ISIS) in a different way: by replicating the ancient artworks destroyed by the militants. Nenous Thabit, 17, an Assyrian Christian from the Kurdish city of Erbil, has been picking up the shattered pieces of artefacts left by the ISIS and is trying to recreate them using his talent in sculpture. Thabit only considered sculpting as a hobby a few years back. However, when he saw how ISIS militants used sledgehammers and electric drills to obliterate centuries-old archaeological gems, the Christian teenager made it his personal mission to preserve these artworks. "They waged a war on art and culture, so I decided to fight them with art," Thabit told CNN. He added that his art is also his way of standing up against the extremist group. "In Iraq, there are people who are killed because they are sculptors; because they are artists. ISIS views them as apostate," the Christian boy said. "So continuing to sculpt is a message that we will not be intimidated by those devils." Thabit was trained by his father over the past year to improve on his craft. So far, the teenager has sculpted 18 Assyrian statues and one mural, which he all created inside their modest apartment. Among his artworks are recreations of the pillars where the Code of Hammurabi, one of the earliest surviving codes of law in recorded history, was written. He also likes sculpting statues of Lamassu, an Assyrian deity. "Lamassu is my favourite statue," Thabit explained. "It is the strongest creature in the Assyrian heritage. It has the head of a human, the body of a lion, the legs of an ox and the wings of a vulture." The Christian teenager is also determined to further improve on his chosen craft. Next year, he is planning to attend an art school in the Kurdish city of Dohuk. "My dream is to become a prominent artist in Iraq to make my country proud and show the world that we in Iraq love life and cherish our heritage," he shared. Church Of England Issues Fierce Rebuke To Conservative Body GAFCON The Church of England's top lay official has issued an extraordinary admonishment to the conservative Anglican body GAFCON UK after it published a list of clergy and church leaders in same-sex relationships. The astonishing rebuke was in a letter published on Tuesday evening from William Nye, secretary general to the Archbishops' Council, a senior leadership body of the Church. It was addressed to Andy Lines, chairman of GAFCON UK. GAFCON UK's document painted a "significantly misleading picture both of the teaching and practice of the Church of England", Nye wrote. In turn GAFCON UK has released its own defence of the controversial briefing which was branded as a "name and shame" list by the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM). The group insisted it had only published names already known publicly and held back on others who remained private. "There was never any intention to 'shame' anyone, but simply to collate information that was already widely known," a statement on the GAFCON UK website read. It insisted "confusion" over the "seriousness and extent of the breaches of Lambeth I.10" prompted the compiling of the list. "The real story, the main story, and the story that has been missed by many, is that this briefing catalogues the inability by the leadership of the Church of England to maintain biblical church order, or abide by the agreements reached at the conference it itself hosted in 1998," it read. GAFCON was set up in 2008 in opposition to what it saw as a trend towards liberalisation on sexuality within the wider Anglican Communion. The UK branch has only recently been formalised but caused outrage when it published a list of church leaders who had "violated" an oft-cited landmark resolution from 1998 known as Lambeth 1.10. Nye insisted that resolution was "not legally binding" but rather expressed the "view of the attitude of the Communion" at the time. "It is not the only important resolution, from that Conference or others. It does not have the force of Scripture, nor is it part of the deposit of faith," he wrote. He added that Church teaching remained that marriage was exclusively between one man and one women. "At this point no change has been made to teaching, nor has there been any formal proposal to do so." Nye refuted GAFCON UK's claim that there had been many "violations" and pointed out clergy were allowed to enter civil partnerships and could offer prayers of support for same-sex couples. Andy Lines told Christian Today GAFCON UK had never claimed the Lambeth 1.10 resolution was binding. He said: "But it carries moral and spiritual authority because the collegial mind of the assembled bishops of Communion expresses the apostolic position as received. "It is authoritative in that it accurately articulates the biblical revelation about human sexuality." He added he was grateful Nye addressed "the real issue, ie what is the teaching of the Bible and the worldwide church on sexual ethics, and how do we apply this in the C of E". The unusual intervention by the CofE comes as the Church's senior body, the House of Bishops, meets on Wednesday to discuss next steps on sexuality. The climax meeting comes after two years of facilitated talks at all levels of the Church to try and reach "good disagreement". The bishops are expected to bring their recommendations of whether there should be any change in teaching or practice to the next General Synod in February. 'Colour Of Blood': London Turns Red For Millions Killed In Religious Persecution Palace of Westminster, the London Eye and other key landmarks were lit in "the colour of blood" on Wednesday evening for the millions persecuted for their faith around the world. The iconic home of the British parliament joined Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, St George's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral and dozens of other churches, mosques, synagogues and landmarks across the UK to be lit red to mark the day. Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders took part in the Red Wednesday campaign organised by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) to highlight the lack of religious freedom around the world. A report by the US State Department this year found 76 per cent of the world's population lives with high or very high levels of restriction on religious freedom. A double decker campaign bus toured London visiting the Imam Khoei Islamic Centre and the Jewish Liberal Synagogue in North London before stopping at St Paul's Cathedral and finishing in Parliament Square. Gathered outside Westminster Abbey's striking West front bathed in red light, the Syrian Orthodox Patriach of Antioch and All the East, Ignatius Aphrem II, said the sight was a "reminder that martyrdom is still here with us and will always be with us". He told Christian Today: "Christians and people of other faiths are being persecuted around the world and very little attention is paid to that by the politicians and by the governments. "It is important that people who are perpetrating violence in the name of religion against people of other faiths are bought to justice and told to stop so others do not do the same thing." Lord Alton of Liverpool, a Catholic crossbench peer, was behind the campaign to light the Palace of Westminster red. At the end of the day's campaign he said the support had been "extraordinary". He told Christian Today: "Millions of people are suffering because of their faith. Article 18 [on religious freedom in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights] is breached daily. "Whether you are North Korean Christian in a gulag or you're an Ahmdi living in Pakistan or Baha'i living in Iran or a Muslim living in Rohingya state in Burma or an atheist in Saudi Arabia it all amounts to the same thing. People are being persecuted in the most grievous and horrible ways." Peace between faiths means a shared commitment to love, truth and human dignity. May Christ give us grace to set an example #RedWednesday Justin Welby (@JustinWelby) 23 November 2016 Outside the Jewish Liberal Synagogue synagogue, John Pontifex, spokesman for ACN, told Christian Today it was crucial that Muslims, Jews and Christians worked together. "By coming together we do not lose our identity. We actually build our identity because we learn a lot from one another and in many cases our identity is shaped by one another," he said. "This is a sense of homecoming." He added the day was about saying "enough is enough". He said: "The violence that is carried out in the name of religion should not be carried out. We need to work together to stop this violence. "The whole notion of Red Wednesday is such that we are shedding a light on all those who have paid the price for their faith with their blood." 'Criminal Minds' season 12 spoilers: Hotch's predicament finally revealed; BAU gets new unit chief The inevitable has finally happened in "Criminal Minds" as Hotch's (Thomas Gibson) true fate has been revealed. Since news broke out that Gibson was fired from the Jeff Davis-created show, many fans have wondered who will take over his role as unit chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. To make things more complicated, CBS adamantly said that no farewell episode would be filmed in light of the situation which begged the question of how they were going to cleverly write off the character from the show. Despite not being acknowledged earlier, all these questions have been finally answered in the latest installment of "Criminal Minds." As it turns out, Hotch had to resign from his post of 12 years to join the Witness Protection Program with his son Jack (Cade Owens). Peter Lewis/Mr. Scratch (Bodhi Elfman), who was part of the prison break in the finale last season and has a considerable history with the former BAU chief, was tipped to be stalking his family and Hotch decided he could no longer take the same risk again. It can be remembered that Hotch's wife, Haley (Meredith Monroe), was killed by George Foyet (C. Thomas Howell) after Hotch refused to strike a deal with the serial killer. Haley and a younger Jack got into the program as well during the time when the Boston Reaper was still at large. Unfortunately, Foyet located the two and killed the Haley before Hotch arrived at the scene of the crime. "We need to talk," David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) told the rest of the group as he revealed that their leader was not really on a special assignment and all of this whole play was to keep him and his family safe. "He's OK, but he has not been away on special assignment. That's something we had to say as a cover for the investigation." "Peter Lewis is not going to stop, which is why Hotch and Jack have entered the program," the BAU veteran member announced. The installment also saw Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) being named as the new BAU chief which is actually part of the Hotch's last few requests. Meanwhile, "Criminal Minds" will be taking a one-week break in light of the Thanksgiving holiday which is why no new episode will be airing tonight. It will be back next Wednesday with "Mirror Image," 9 p.m. ET on CBS. Education Secretary Praises 'Hugely Popular' Christian And Other Faith Schools England's church schools are "hugely popular" and "significantly more likely than other schools to be rated by Ofsted as good or outstanding," the education secretary Justine Greening MP has said. She was speaking after the Government decided to relax selection rules for new pupils. The rules have been changed after it became clear that a cap on admissions to new faith schools, restricting them to taking only half their intake on the basis of faith, had failed. In a letter to Sir Edward Leigh MP, Greening said she hoped the end to the 50 per cent cap on faith-based admissions "will give more organisations the opportunity to establish new faith schools". It will primarily benefit Catholic pupils who were at a disadvantage, because they cap meant the Catholic Church did not take part in the government's new free schools programme. Greening said: "I see Church and faith schools playing a strong role alongside other types of school, as part of a diverse system that gives parents greater choice and drives up standards." Sir Edward, Conservative MP for Gainsborough and president of the Catholic Union of Great Britain, had written to Greening on behalf of the Catholic community thanking her for removing the faith admissions cap. He wrote: "Many parts of the country face a shortage of school places that needs addressing. The Catholic Church has been an education provider in this country for centuries, establishing its oldest universities, and now teaching many of the poorest and most disadvantaged. "I hope Catholics, our other fellow Christians, and the members of other faith communities in Britain take up the free schools with gusto. They can deliver a great education in a caring environment with a more holistic sense of what learning truly is." 'Justice League' release date, news: Ray Fisher introduced to Cyborg through 'Teen Titan' cartoon Most people would assume that Ray Fisher has read tons of comic books featuring Victor Stone/Cyborg before he got the role in "Justice League." Surprisingly, it was a different version of the character that first caught his attention. "My first encounter with Cyborg was through the 'Teen Titans' cartoon," Fisher told the crowd an appearance at the Rhode Island Comic Con this past weekend (via ComicBook.com). "You know, I was in the middle of high school [when 'Teen Titans' debuted], and I was like, 'This show speaks to me' because there were all of these characters going through these real teen issues while also saving the world. The extent of my knowledge was just about that." It's funny how Fisher never encountered the character before the "Teen Titans" cartoon came out in 2003. Cyborg has been around since 1980. Don't worry; the actor has done a lot of research since then. He said they sent him an entire library of stuff about the character after he was cast, so he has learned a lot about the comic book version as well. "I feel like I know him like the back of my hand, but there's always somebody who knows a little more than me about things," Fisher said. Well, the comic book version of Cyborg is definitely a serious character, but the "Teen Titan" version knows how to have fun. Which one will show up in "Justice League"? Since the cartoon version has influenced Fisher, it will be interesting to see if Fisher will mix things up. It's either that, or Cyborg is going to be another dark and gritty character in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Will Cyborg shout "Booyah!" when something goes his way? Because that's probably one of the most memorable catchphrases coming from comic book superhero. Well, fans will find out a year from now. "Justice League" is scheduled to premiere on Nov. 17, 2017. Should I Try To Convert My Muslim Neighbour? Not Exactly The famous Amazon ad showing the friendship of a vicar and an imam has been a resounding Christmas success for the retailer, managing to hit the sweet spot of feel-good sentiment, genuineness and commercial nous that adds up to advertising gold. Rev Gary Bradley, vicar of Little Venice, Paddington Green, and Imam Zubier Mohammad, principal of a Muslim school in Leicester, followed up their ad with a live interview on Al Jazeerah English. Were they a real vicar and imam rather than actors, as some had assumed? Yes. And were they really friends? They'd never met before the ad was filmed, but they formed an instant bond. Their warmth and mutual respect shine out of their conversation, in which there's a disconcerting tendency to finish each other's sentences. In the context of everything that's going on in the world today, the ad, and more particularly the interview, have a dislocatory quality. Especially in recent times, Muslims are often depicted as the enemy. In the UK, the government's Prevent strategy has, some have argued, the effect of portraying them all as potential terrorists. In the US, Donald Trump has made various wild statements about them and has tapped retired Lt Gen Michael Flynn as his national security adviser. Flynn has said "fear of Muslims is rational" and likened Islam to "a cancer". As well as the challenge to the "Muslims-are-terrorists" fallacy, the conversation between Bradley and Mohammad is also a challenge to the way Christians and Muslims interact theologically. And this is a far more complicated knot to unravel. In a nutshell: both Islam and Christianity are mission faiths. Christians and Muslims both believe their own faith is the right one and they are committed, in principle, to helping other people see that. They might talk the language of respect and tolerance, and there are those in both faiths who think that all religions lead to God and are relaxed about who chooses which path. Certainly Islam and Christianity have more in common than Christianity and Hinduism, say; they can talk the same religious language, though they might say very different things in it. But at the core of each faith is a rock-hard conviction: for Islam, that there is one God and Mohammad is his prophet, and for Christians, that God was incarnate in Jesus Christ. So how, especially in a multi-cultural society in which people of different faiths are likely to meet each other in all sorts of different contexts, is this contradiction to be managed? I want to suggest three things. First, respect. In WB Yeat's poem Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven, there are the lines: "I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." It's a love poem, but religion is something of a love affair too. When we meet someone from another faith and explore it with them we are treading on their dreams, and we need to tread softly. They are not our dreams, but that's not the point: no matter how strongly we disagree with them, they may feel as committed to their faith as we do to ours. That's why language like that of Franklin Graham, who has repeatedly described Islam as a religion of war and a global threat, has to be resisted. He is talking about people like Zubier Mohammad, an elderly man with dodgy knees who appreciates a gift of kneepads via Amazon. If those who stoked anti-Muslim feelings during the recent US election campaign and the British EU referendum could learn to see Muslims first and foremost as people, made in the image of God, they would be more inclined to tread softly. Second, politeness. It's an under-rated virtue, theologically speaking, but worth cultivating. A few years ago I blew a large hole in the household budget with a holiday in India. Our guide was a devout Hindu who took us to visit a temple dedicated to the goddess Kali. The congregation was waiting entranced, singing a low, repetitive chant in front of a closed curtain. The curtain was drawn back and the crowd exploded into a shout of rapture as the image of Kali was revealed: clearly it was a moving and meaningful experience for them. As we left, our guide draped garlands of marigolds around our necks and told us we shouldn't just discard them; they had been dedicated to the goddess and had to be laid beneath a particular tree. I didn't decline the garland because it had been devoted to a goddess in whom I don't believe, and at the end of the day I didn't just throw it away; I gave it to our driver to dispose of reverently, and if I could remember which tree to lay it under I would gladly have done so myself. The point wasn't what I believed, but what our guide did. And there's no possibility of a genuine conversation without genuine politeness. Third, integrity. We can be respectful and polite as Christians, but we cannot pretend to be anything other than we are. If we believe God was incarnate in Jesus and in no one else, we are making a huge truth-claim about our faith that is in the end exclusive. As the great missiologist Lesslie Newbigin once wrote: "The relativism which is not willing to speak about truth but only about 'what is true for me' is an evasion of the serious business of living. It is the mark of a tragic loss of nerve in our contemporary culture. It is a preliminary sympton of death." For evangelical Christians, witnessing to our faith is essential. But how should we do it? Newbigin also wrote this advice: "Live in the kingdom of God in such a way as to provoke questions to which the gospel is the answer." So we should be prepared to answer questions about our faith, at the same time as resisting programmes and techniques ("10 Ways To Convert Your Muslim Friend!"). Politeness means not forcing our faith on someone. Respect means having a ready answer when they ask about it. There is a large amount of faith and trust involved in inter-faith encounters. Evangelical Christians would want to affirm that Christ calls everyone to repentance and faith in him. At the same time, we can't enter a friendship with an agenda. Interfaith evangelism is not about conversion techniques. It's about becoming the sort of people who might draw people to Christ because we are like him and leaving the result up to him. Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods 'Silence': Why This Martin Scorsese Film About Christian Martyrs Is Tipped For Oscar Glory The official trailer for the Martin Scorsese film Silence has just been released, and it's got film fans very excited. On the face of it, it's an unlikely subject. Based on Shusako Endo's great novel of the same name, the story tells of the experiences of early Christians in Japan and of the Catholic missionaries who converted them. After a period of rapid growth, the government turned against them and they were savagely persecuted. Many were brutally tortured. Among the techniques used to prove their apostasy was to force them to trample on an image of Christ. Inevitably, there are echoes in Silence of another film about Jesuit missionaries, The Mission also, coincidentally, featuring Liam Neeson. In Silence his is the starring role as Father Cristovao Ferreira, who in Endo's book is faced with a terrible decision: should he deny his faith and trample on the face of Christ in order to save others from their suffering? The theological questions raised in Silence are profound. How should Christians live when God is silent? And does silence mean absence? Scorsese has been working on Silence for several years, though the project has been delayed by legal disputes. Because of budgetary constraints the actors worked for very little and the film was shot in Taiwan because it was cheaper there. Asked in 2013 why he was making the film, Scorsese told Deadline Hollywood he grew up as a Roman Catholic. "Yes, the cinema and the people in my life and my family are most important, but ultimately as you get older, there's got to be more. Much, much more," he said. "The very nature of secularism right now is really fascinating to me, but at the same time do you wipe away what could be more enriching in your life, which is an appreciation or some sort of search for that which is spiritual and transcends?" He continued: "There are no answers. We all know that. You try to live in the grace that you can. But there are no answers, but the point is, you keep looking. Because people tell you science tells us everything. Science doesn't! ...We've progressed on the outside, but what about inside? What about the soul and the heart? Without trying to sound pompous and ridiculous, I can tell you this is where my interest is." The story of Japan's near-annihilation of Christianity in the 17th century and the miraculous survival of its 'Hidden Christians' into our own times is not well enough known. The trailer for Silence promises a mesmerising treatment from a master of cinema who understands not just drama but faith. It's already tipped for Oscar wins. Silence will receive its first public screening at the Vatican, in front of an audience of several hundred Jesuits. It will be released in the US on December 23, followed by a wider release in January 2017. Syrians 'Thirsty To Know God' As Civil War Rages On Almost six years since civil war broke out in Syria, people are still coming to church for the first time and asking for Bibles of their own, a pastor in the country has said. Pastor B, from Tartus on the Syrian coast, told persecution charity Open Doors: "People are thirsty to know more of God". Through church partners, Open Doors distributed more than 12,300 Bibles, 1,600 Study Bibles and 6,800 Children's Bibles in Syria from January to September this year. It also gave out 73,792 New Testaments and other Christian literature. Some recipients were Christians who fled their homes with only the clothes on their backs, but others are people who arrived at churches having never been before. Pastor B's church has decided not to decorate in celebration of Christmas as a sign of respect to those who are suffering in the long-drawn-out war. "Because of the war there is no decoration in the church. There are no lights, no Christmas tree. There is pain in every mouth, even our neighbours, there is pain and a lot of grieving. So we as a church, because we respect their feelings, stop these celebrations," he said. Instead, his church members will visit refuge camps with gifts and put on a Nativity show for the children. "We talk to these children about how Jesus was born in a cave and how Jesus fled from one area to the other, like them, and how God protected Jesus the same way he is protecting them now," he explained. "When we present the gifts to them, the gifts are brought from the children in the church, and this brings also joy to the families in the church they learn that the true meaning of Christmas is to go and help those who are in need. Our children they have clothes, but there are children who don't have any clothes; our children have food and they have shoes, but there are children who have neither food nor shoes. "We celebrate Christmas now by bringing our church members together and bringing things to give to the children who don't have anything. This is one beautiful thing at Christmas." Since the outbreak of civil war in 2011, an estimated 11 million Syrians, half its total population, have fled their homes. Around 4.8 million have taken refuge in neighbouring countries such as Lebanon and Jordan or even further afield. The rest have been displaced internally. At least 13.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance within Syria itself, and more than 400,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, including more than 12,000 children. Pastor B's church supports 2,000 families every month with money for rent, food supplies and clothes. Across Syria, Open Doors has this year provided support, life-saving supplies, trauma care and micro-loans for 12,000 families every month. In Homs, Damascus and Maaloula, the charity is also helping to rebuild the homes of families who have been able to return home. 3 Countries To Pray For Where Christians Are Persecuted The Palace of Westminster will be lit up in red tonight to commemorate all those who have suffered because of their religion. The gesture is part of the Red Wednesday campaign run by Aid to the Church in Need. In Communion this morning, we prayed for all victims of religious violence around the world - and for governments too. #RedWednesday Justin Welby (@JustinWelby) November 23, 2016 The Catholic charity is aiming to raise awareness of the extent to which people are targeted around the world for their religion. A recent religious freedom report from the US State Department found three-quarters of the world's population lives under high or very high levels of religious restriction. Here are three countries you can pray for today: Iraq The campaign to recapture Mosul from ISIS is dragging on as thousands of civilians remain trapped. Christians, Yazidis and Muslims are trying to flee the jihadis' stronghold but are trapped by landmines and reports say they are being used as human shields by the militant group. On top of that, refugees from Iraq are not eligible for resettlement to the UK, even if they make it to the relative security of a UNHCR camp. The Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme is only open to those with Syrian documentation, but ISIS spans the border so those targeted on the Iraqi-side have no option of safety in the UK. Pakistan Persecution charity Open Doors' analysis has found that Christians experience more violence in Pakistan than almost anywhere else. The 'Forced Marriages and Inheritance Deprivation' report from the Karachi-based Aurat Foundation claims that up to 700 Christian girls are married forcibly each year and forced to convert to Islam. The country also upholds notorious blasphemy laws that are frequently used to target religious minorities including Christians. Christian mother-of-five Asia Bibi remains in prison after being sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2010. More than half a million people have signed a petition for her release from death row but the Pakistani government has yet to act. Nigeria Sporadic attacks continue against Christian communities in the otherwise Muslim-dominated north of Nigeria. Although militant group Boko Haram has suffered setbacks, Fulani herdsman frequently target villages with devastating attacks. A recent incident left 45 dead and several more injured, according to World Watch Monitor. Five villages were attacked and 12 houses, including eight house-churches, burnt down on 13 November. According to reports, even those freed from captivity under Boko Haram are frequently rejected by their home communities, especially women who have become pregnant from rape by militants. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Though it's been a controversial month on the political front, November remains the time of year to give thanks for those who fought to ensure that our freedoms remain free in a nation that welcomed our ancestors in search of a better life -- and where the American dream turns into reality every single day. As the month of November advances, a number of patriotic tributes continue to abound. And we would be remiss if we didn't shine the Advance spotlight on all the newsworthy events. On Nov. 10, the day before Veteran's Day, the nation celebrated proudly the 241st anniversary of the United States Marines Corps. And on the local level we commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Staten Island Marine Corps League Detachment 246 over in Sunnyside. FYI: The United States Marine Corps was created on Nov. 10, 1775, when the Continental Congress made a resolution stating "two Battalions of Marines be raised to serve as landing forces and shipboard security for the recently organized US Navy Fleet." And the local Staten Island Marine Corps League Detachment 246 continues to perpetuate the traditions and spirit of all US Marines who proudly wear or who have worn the eagle, globe and anchor. So to commemorate all of the above, nearly 200 guests gathered in LiGreci's Staaten, the popular West Brighton banquet hall where military tributes are staged frequently. The event commenced with the presentation of the colors by the Sixth Communication Battalion from the borough of Brooklyn, followed by ceremonies honoring the MIA/POW, as well as the departed Marines. The eldest Marine, Joe Amendolia, was asked to serve the ceremonial birthday cake -- created by Mother Mousse to resemble the US Marines Dress Blues -- to the youngest active Marine, Cpl. Michael Gatlin. Lt. Col. Shannon Shea served as guest speaker from the Sixth Communications Battalion and delighted to relate the importance of the cooperation between active Marines and veterans at the Marine Corps League. Lt. Col. Shea presented League Commandant, Al King, with a ceremonial gift for the League. An awards ceremony followed dinner, where Mark Osgood and Frank Montella were honored as Marines of the Year. And The Military Order of the Devil Dogs awarded Dave McCann Pound Dog of the Year and Rose Yarema was honored as Distinguished Citizen for her volunteer work at the Marine Corps League. And for those who may not be familiar with the term, according to the United States Marine Corps legend, the term "Devil Dogs" was first used by German soldiers to describe U.S. Marines who fought in the Battle of Belleau Wood back in 1918 -- a time when the Marines fought with such "ferocity" that their enemies likened them to "Dogs from Hell." During the commemorative, The Marine Corps League also acknowledged Butch Sarcone for his role in chairing the 2016 Marine Corps Ball. CELEBRATIONS: NOV. 25 AND 26 Happy birthday Friday to Neil Harkins, Prudence Ingram, Justin Cauldwell, Victor Reindl Sr. of New Springville, Alan Moses and Joseph B. Wilson. Happy wedding anniversary Friday to Elizabeth and Frank Palaia. Saturday is birthday time for the Rev. Michael Martine, pastor of Holy Rosary R.C. Church, South Beach, for Vito Arcabasio, Tom Gangemi, Martin Cusack, Phil Balletto, Charles John Romano Jr., who turns 16, Kimberly Arale and Kevin Duffy. US Leaders Condemn Putin's Bid To Equate Christian Evangelism With Terrorism One of American's most influential conservatives has joined with a leading member of the country's Jewish community to condemn Russia's crackdown on religious freedom. Clifford May and John Ruskay, both of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom wrote an op-ed for USA Today calling for scrutiny on Russian policy at home and abroad. The describe the 'Yarovaya Law' signed off by President Vladimir Putin in July as "the most repressive legislation since the Soviet era against the right of freedom of religion or belief." Protestants, Muslims and human rights activists were among those who protested the new laws. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, they include a "particularly chilling measure" for evangelical Protestants and others who share their faith that makes it a crime to engage in religious activities. These can range from preaching and teaching to religious publishing. Earlier this year, a American missionary became one of the first victims of the country's clampdown on religion and lost his appeal against a conviction for evangelising. Last month, a performance of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar was cancelled in Omsk following Orthodox protests. Amnesty International described the cancellation as "an affront to freedom of expression". May and Ruskay write: "Unfortunately, this is hardly the first attempt during the Putin era to equate peaceful religious behavior with terrorism or extremism. "For nearly a decade, Russian authorities have targeted innocent people of faith by deploying against them an anti-extremism law that requires neither using nor advocating violence for actions to be labeled 'extremism'." People arrested even before the new measures included the Turkish Muslim theologian Said Nursi and Jehovah's Witnesses. If convicted, people can go to prison for up to four years. The new measures make the penalties harsher and also targets missionary activity, so only religious organisations that are registered with the Russian state can evangelise. Protestants are often not allowed to register even if they try to do so. May and Ruskay say Putin is doing this in order to extend authoritarian control "by subjugating alternative sources of authority". They say that Russian authorities see alternatives to the Orthodox Church's Moscow Patriarchate as "rivals and dangers to Russia's unity." Such actions violate the universal right to freedom of religion guaranteed in international documents such as Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Specialist Isabelle de Conihout on the weapon with which poet Paul Verlaine shot his lover, an 18-year-old Arthur Rimbaud On the morning of 10 July 1873, Paul Verlaine left the Brussels hotel room he shared with his lover, Arthur Rimbaud, and bought a gun. Returning to find Rimbaud packing his bags, he fired two shots, bringing a tempestuous love affair between two of Frances greatest literary heroes to a dramatic close. The gun at the heart of what has become known as the LAffaire de Bruxelles is to be auctioned at Christies Paris on 30 November. For specialist Isabelle de Conihout, it is more than a weapon, symbolising the intense, alcohol-fuelled relationship that nevertheless resulted in some of the most beautiful literature in the French language. Verlaine had met Rimbaud in 1871, in the same year that his first son was born. Their attraction was immediate, and Verlaine found himself torn between his commitment to his wife and son, and a destructive love for the young poet, then just 17. They ran away together often, sharing a relationship in exile in London first, and later, in Brussels. When Verlaine purchased this gun, his relationship with Rimbaud had reached breaking point. He had been drinking heavily, and was in a state of complete despair, explains de Conihout. Although he fired the gun at Rimbaud, she continues, it is actually unclear whether the crime was premeditated. Indeed, its possible that Verlaine was contemplating suicide. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate For more than 60 years people have been enjoying jewelry from James Avery Craftsman, but many probably don't know that the private, faith-based company is based in Kerrville. The brand, founded by James Avery, has become immensely popular in the state of Texas and beyond since Avery began crafting jewelry inside his mother-in-law's two-car garage in Kerrville. Now production takes place inside a 42-acre complex. TEXAS ICON: 25 amazing things you probably didn't know about Buc-ee's Avery was a World War II veteran and a decorated pilot who commanded B-26 bombers and survived 44 missions over Germany. A Chicago native, Avery went to the University of Illinois after the war and received a B.F.A. in Industrial Design. Around 1951 he crafted his first piece of jewelry in his free time. A trip with his wife to her family's home in Kerrville in 1954 sparked a move to Texas and an entry into the jewelry business with just $250 in supplies. With a slim volume published in 1949 titled How to Make Modern Jewelry as his guide, he began creating. SOUPS AND SANDWICHES: Learn all about the humble beginnings of Texas' own Jason's Deli A recent return to faith after years of being an agnostic guided his spiritual designs. Avery soon began selling items via a mail order catalog. By 1957 he and his first employee, Fred Garcia, were making up to 39 items for a core group of devoted customers. The company incorporated in 1965. The brand really took off once its items began being sold in church gift shops and specialty boutiques. THANKS TEXAS: If it wasn't for Texas the world would be without these amazing things Faith-based images such as crosses, chalices, doves and fish make up about 20 percent of the company's offerings. A plain sterling silver Latin cross remains one of the brands most-popular items after all these years. You no doubt have a friend or relative with one of their charm bracelets on their wrist. Avery's Christian-themed jewelry soon found an audience, beyond the church set. The first retail store was opened in Kerrville in 1973 and sales were booming to the tune of nearly half a million dollars a year. These days the company employs just over 2,000 people and has over 70 stores around the country. You can also find the brand in Dillards department stores. WHATACHARMS: Those Whataburger James Avery charms aren't so cheap anymore Avery officially stepped down as CEO in 2007 and passed the reins to his son Chris Avery. Seven years later, for the brands 60th anniversary, they reproduced some designs from decades past, to the excitement of longtime collectors. The elder Avery is frequently asked what his favorite design is. Picking from the untold amount of designs hed helped birth couldnt be that easy. I like to say the next one, he usually replies. In late 2014, the company opened up a destination showroom in Kerrville for shoppers to visit next to the main headquarters. The showroom also features exhibits from Averys earliest days in business, even his tools and work bench. An administrative judge's decision could be the first step toward bringing back crowlers to bars and restaurants. The 32-ounce aluminum cans are filled with beer and sold for off-premise consumption. Licensed brewpubs that make and sell beer can use them, but retailers that can sell to-go beer in the more traditional glass or stainless steel growlers were prohibited by a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission crackdown in September 2015. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Another day, another unique story out of Florida. A South Florida man has been arrested for attempted felony murder after he allegedly stabbed his father in the neck, WKMG Orlando reports. The man - who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism in the past - said that he attacked because he was afraid his father would circumcise him. The police report WKMG references says that Alex Fultz, 20, approached his father as he was sleeping on a sofa in his bedroom and stabbed his father in the neck with a knife and left. HILARIOUS: See this Florida woman's mugshots before and after she learns of bail cost Later, the son approached the police with his hands up. "Don't shoot. Don't shoot," Fultz told the officers, reports say. "I'm the one who stabbed my dad." He later told the police he was scared and angry at his father for wanting to circumcise him, rather than taking him to the doctor to conduct the procedure. The 20-year-old man is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond. His father was taken to Jackson South Community Hospital for treatment in an unknown condition. HOUSTON TO FLORIDA: Ex-Rockets star Steve Francis wanted for burglary in Florida Dear Abby: I'm engaged to a wonderful man I have been with for five years. He has three children; I have four. Our kids get along well enough, and no serious parenting issues have come up yet. My concern: He and his ex-wife haven't immunized their kids. I have. All four of my children are up to date with their shots. We have agreed to disagree on this subject. With the kids living together under the same roof, is there anything I should worry about as far as kids getting sick? I have read somewhere that it isn't good to have kids who are immunized around those who aren't. Truth? Wants the Facts in Indiana Dear Wants the Facts: Have you discussed this with their doctors? According to the Food and Drug Administration: "For reasons related to the individual, not all vaccinated persons develop immunity. Most routine childhood vaccines are effective for 85 to 95 percent of recipients." If your children happen to fall into the unfortunate 5 to 15 percent who haven't developed full immunity, then you should be concerned. Dear Abby: My mother-in-law is a wonderful lady, but I'm having a hard time with how she is around my children. She is extremely obsessive over giving them baths, changing their diapers and, basically, just seeing them naked. I have talked with my husband about it because I don't think it's appropriate. I want to discuss this with her, but he thinks it's no big deal because this is "just the way she is." Am I overreacting? Just the Way She Is Dear Just: I don't know your mother-in-law, so I can't judge her motivations. She was a mother before she became a grandmother, and it may be perfectly innocent. However, if something is going on that makes you uneasy, you must remember that, as your children's mother, you have a responsibility to put a stop to anything you do not feel is appropriate. Dear Abby: My husband has a brother, "Tom," who is 10 years younger. He recently returned from college and is living with my in-laws. Tom has visited us a few times since his arrival. When he comes over, he doesn't bother to ring the doorbell or knock; he simply lets himself in. When I told my husband it bothered me, he got upset and defensive and accused me of "picking on" his family. Am I making too much of this? Ding Dong in Texas Dear Ding Dong: No, you're not. You are entitled to some privacy. That people ring the bell, knock on the door or yell to announce their presence is not too much to ask. In fact, it's considered good manners. DearAbby.comDear AbbyP.O. Box 69440Los Angeles, CA 90069Universal Press Syndicate It's become the annual Thanksgiving controversy: Should all stores (save for the ones hawking turkey and stuffing) be closed on Thanksgiving and Black Friday so that employees can enjoy the holiday with their families? Several employers think so, resulting in a growing list of stores closed on Thanksgiving and the Friday after, which has become a dreaded nightmare for anyone who works retail. Travel agent, writer, musician, map lover, and cat momma, Kat Vallera has traveled the world multiple times, visiting over 50 countries and counting. Driven to write about her experiences since she first backpacked through Southeast Asia, Kat has graduated from her blog NomadiKat to writing for Gawker, Jezebel, and Travel Pulse. She spared some time for Tours4fun to sit down and chat with us about her tips and tricks for navigating the world before her next big trip to Australia. How did you get started in the travel industry? Kat: I went to Music School. Pretty much was going through the motions and doing what I thought I was supposed to do: go to college, but my passion wasnt there. I really wanted to travel, I wanted to see the world. After I graduated I took a job teaching music in Bangkok, but I ended up leaving the job because there was some abuse problems with the kids. I didnt want to be apart of that environment and I ended up leaving and backpacking. When I came back everyone said, We want to hear your story. So I started writing, and I didnt know I was a good writer until people asked me to do it. I just started jotting stuff down and people said, This is really good! but I was just describing the experience. Then I started writing, doing videos. And I kept going, I kept blogging, kept working at it, and thats around the time I started getting picked up by Gawker and Jezebel. When I came back after my 2nd around the world trip, I came back to the U.S. and out of nowhere the owner of Foremost Travel sent me an email, Hey, you want to come work for us? Yes, okay! Youre gonna pay me to travel? And thats how I became a travel agent. Whats your advice for people who wants to travel and work? Kat: Get ready to eat ramen, because you dont get into travel if you want to be rich. Its definitely a career of passion. There have been many ups and downs. When I was working as an agent it was pretty steady and then out of nowhere I was laid off. You never know whats going to happen. When youre working as an independent contractor, theres the busy season January through March and you have all this money coming in, so much business, and then youre sitting therein September thinking how to pay bills. [My advice is] just keep tryingIts not going to be all good all the time, and thats just life in general. Theres ups and downs and you cant give up. If you get bored then you are probably not doing what you should be doing. Stick with what you love and just be prepared for the lows. That is the nature of travel in the first place: you plan a whole trip and then a flight gets canceled. You have to be able to roll with the punches. Of all the places youve been to, where do you want to go back to? Kat: Whenever people ask me what is my favorite country, I always say its like picking your favorite childbut where would I go back to? I really love Georgia. I feel like it is one of the worlds best kept secrets as far as travel, because its totally off the map. Like you go to Tbilisiits a really hip city. Theres this whole street art scene going onits like the cross between Rome and Bangkok. Theres all these cool bars where people are hanging out with hookahs on the tables, and youre not sure if youre in Europe or the Middle East. Its really great and the mountains are beautifultheres so much more to see. And no one ever thinks to go there! Hands down number one; thats probably one of the places [Ill go back to]. Where would you like to go next? Kat: Well, I want to go to Iran, thats my number one. Thats been in my bucket list for a while, because I want to go to Persepolis. That is my dream trip. I was looking at combining Iran and Iraq. Supposedly the north part [of Iraq] is relatively safe and peaceful. I want to do Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji because thats the next on the list. Any tips or advice youd give to younger you for when you first started traveling? Kat: Dont be afraid. I think fear is the number one thing holding everybody back. Turn off the TV; I havent had TV in 10 years. Be open to learning about things from a first hand perspective. Its good to see things on TV or books but things are totally different in real life. Just keep going. Like Dory, just keep swimming. What do you consider home? Kat: Home is where my cats are. Any bizarre stories are you willing to share? Kat: I am a Dont open Pandoras Box bizzaro stories [person]. When youre around people who dont travel, and youre trying to have a conversation and say One time when I was in Vietnam and blah blah blah happened they just dont get it. I remember one of the blogs I wrote about a weird Filipino gambling scam that I ran into in Saigon. I did a lot of backpacking and hitchhiking, and 99.9% of the time, people were always really great. Anytime people invited me to their home for lunch or dinner it was always a good experience. But this one time I read later it was this whole scam they were running targeting foreigners they took me back to their house to have lunch and they wanted me to start gambling with them and I dont gamble, but they were trying to teach me this game. And it was so set up. At the end, I just blew up at themI turned really Southside Chicago on them and got my butt out of there. I think I really scared them. I went on Google and read that a lot of people got robbed by them, got drugged by them, a lot really messed up stuff by the very same people. I think when you travel, when you do tours thats cool, but if youre going to be independent, youre going to have to have a really good head on your shoulders and be able to get yourself out of jams. Which I guess is part of the adventure. There are a lot of tools and sites for travelers. Which do you find most useful? Kat: As a travel agent, I have found Tripadvisor very useful, because there reviews are a little less trolly. People are always quick to complain and not to quick to leave nice reviews when they have good service. But Ive found Tripadvisor to be helpful. Rome2Rio. Its a great website for figuring out how to get from one place to another. Its like Google Maps but it takes into account public transit and compares the different options. Google Maps, Google Universitythe Internet is huge! Everything you need is there; all the tools are there. You can teach yourself to write a dissertation, how to fix a car, you can teach yourself anything from the internet, Google, YouTube. The Internet is my number one tool. So you would suggest that travelers should take a smartphone or device with Internet access with them? Kat: Ive got to admit, traveling has gotten so much easier since I got my smartphone. You can pull up your map, call a Uber, find a train schedule. Im a huge advocate for people who dont know what theyre doing to call a travel agentIf its your first time traveling or youve never been to a destination, it never hurts to call a travel agent. How many languages do you speak? How many did you speak when you started? Kat: Fluently I speak English; communicating wise I can speak Spanish. I speak a little bit of Italian, I speak a little bit of Thai, I can count to a 1,000. I speak a little bit of Bahasa Indonesia. There are about 20 or 30 languages I can say thank you. Thats always the first think I learn, because you want to be able to express gratitude to people. I look at myself when I first went to Thailand, I was just really naive, but I think I handled it. There are a few main languages that you can get around with: English, French, Spanish, Mandarin, and Arabic. If you speak 1 or 2 of those five languages, you can go just about anywhere except small villages. Alright, last question: youre stuck on a desert islandwhat are the three items you bring? Kat: Deodorant is number one. I think number two would have to be lady items, because Ive been to parts of the world where they dont have them. A desert island? Oh, I have to have a Costco, industrial size bottle of insect repellent. I hate mosquitoes. Thatd probably be it. Deodorant, lady items, and bottle of insect repellent. Mostly just to stay comfortable. I guess I probably should have a machete. Keep an eye out for new videos on Tours4fun brought to us by Kat Vallera and hear all about Kats adventures by following her on Facebook, especially in the upcoming months when shell be traveling to Australia, as well as her newest articles with Travel Pulse. If you want to get the best advice from expert trekkers from all around the world or learn all the tips and tricks to planning your next vacation, please subscribe to our Tours4fun Newsletter below. Volunteers from the new ministry at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Humble, Serenity Seniors, visited the Humble Police Department to share their thanks and a blessing at the start of the holiday season. The seniors presented officers with St. Michael tokens which were blessed by Father Felix of St. Mary's so the police office will have the best protection when they protect the streets and citizens. More than 2,000 walkers converged on the Lone Star College-Kingwood campus to raise money for the American Heart Association to combat the number one and number five killers of all Americans heart disease and stroke. Held Saturday, Nov. 5, the Greater Lake Houston Heart Walk continued with AHA's mission to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. With the help of local companies, the heart walk saw great success with Memorial Hermann Northeast and Humble Independent School District taking home major awards. "The Greater Lake Houston Heart Walk continues to grow each year and this year was no different with over 2,000 walkers," said Christi Rodriguez, Development Specialist for the Greater Lake Houston Heart Walk. "We are proud and thankful for all the local companies and individuals who took it upon themselves to fundraise, promote and advocate for our mission. I couldn't be prouder of what we were able to accomplish this year." Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital's CEO Heath Rushing will take the helm as the chair for the 2017 Greater Lake Houston Heart Walk. "It is a great honor to serve as chair of the Greater Lake Houston Heart Walk," said Rushing. "Our goal will be to continue raising awareness about heart disease and stroke as well as educate our community regarding how best they can help. Memorial Hermann Northeast has a long history of supporting this worthy cause. I look forward to rallying our community around the great work being done by the American Heart Association to combat cardiovascular disease and stroke, and in the process, meeting our financial goal." As with previous year's heart walks, it was a head-to-head battle as Memorial Hermann Northeast and the Humble Independent School District fought tooth and nail to become the top fundraising company at the walk. The Friday night before the walk, Humble ISD was shown to be in the lead, but early Saturday morning, Memorial Hermann Northeast ended up coming in first place. Since the walk, Humble ISD has taken the top fundraising torch back having raised over $33,000. Memorial Hermann Northeast's Patient Access Heart & Sole Team came in as the top fundraising team with over $6,900 raised. Humble ISD additionally came in with top awards with Summerwood Elementary, Timberwood Middle School, Quest Early College and the Child Nutrition Department coming in for top participating teams. Whispering Pines Elementary, Kingwood Middle School, Summer Creek High School and CLC came in for the top fundraising schools. While top fundraisers were congratulated for their efforts, the true reason behind the walk was the celebration of survivors, like Abigail Nieto, a 9-year-old survivor of Prolong QT Syndrome, a congenital heart defect that can be fatal if not managed. Nieto lost both her grandmother and great aunt to the disease, which has been passed down four generations. As well as 10-year-old Trenton Touchet, who had open heart surgery at four days old to correct a heart murmur. Without the funds raised at local events like the Heart Walk, neither Touchet or Nieto would be alive today to share their stories of survival. Kingwood resident Jim Pinkerton, who has lived in the area for 30 years, even had the chance to participate in the Greater Lake Houston Heart Walk as a survivor of a severe heart attack commonly known as a "widow maker" heart attack. On Memorial Day weekend 2015, Pinkerton was leashing up his bird dog to go on a five-mile walk when he experienced chest pain like no other. In classic form, he was sweating profusely, had pain down both arms and knew immediately what was happening. His wife, Nancy, loaded him in the car and made the trek to Kingwood Medical Center. At the emergency room, she honked her horn and was greeted by a large group of EMTs who were attending a training seminar at KWMC. He was rushed to the Cath lab where Dr. Lieber performed an emergency procedure to open the occluded artery. The blockage was life-threatening and he stayed in ICU for two days and then began his cardiac rehab with Tiffany Thomasson and Vicki Sheldon. They encouraged him to increase his activity and he took their advice. He credits Lieber and the Cardiac Rehab Team of Kingwood Medical Center with his success. Tiffany Thomasson and Vicki Sheldon, nurses in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Department, have known him since the beginning of Pinkerton's cardiac rehabilitation. "It was such a pleasure having Jim as a patient," Thomasson said. "He is always doing for others. He had a 'bread run' where he would go get bread that Panera Bread would toss out and take to those in need. He was determined to complete the Cardiac Rehab program. He walked in the Greater Lake Houston Heart Walk last year and returned this year. We so enjoy the relationships we form with our patients even as they graduate. Many keep us in the loop of what's going on in their life and of course thank us for what we help them accomplish and establish. We become family." Additionally, Kingwood Medical Center patients, doctors, volunteers and staff put on their team shirts to show strength in numbers while walking to promote heart health at the walk. As a hospital offering a full continuum of cardiac care from interventional cardiology to open heart surgery and cardiac rehabilitation - Kingwood Medical Center employees, staff, physicians and friends raised approximately $15,000 to help raise awareness and fight heart disease. Donations are still being accepted for the Greater Lake Houston Heart Walk. If interested in helping the AHA further their mission, donate or find out how to get involved by visiting www.greaterlakehoustonheartwalk.org. A disturbing incident on Tuesday in Piney Point is serving as reminder to residents to be wary of strangers in their neighborhood. The Memorial Villages Police Department reports that one homeowner called for a repairman for service. When a man knocked on the front door, the homeowner invited the main inside. The homeowner describes the man as being 6 feet tall with a slender build between 30 and 40 years old. He had a shaved head. The police department further reports that while being escorted around the house, the doorbell rang. "The subject told the resident he had forgotten some tools and asked if they had any. As the victim went to get some tools, it was later learned that the real repairman had arrived at the residence," according to the police report. "The unknown black male went to the door and asked the repairman to move his truck to the side of the property. The unknown male then fled the area on a bicycle. It is unknown if the subject took anything from the residence at this time. MVPD is investigating this incident and checking the area for surveillance cameras." The Memorial Villages Police Department is reminding residents to use extreme caution before allowing anyone inside your property. Contractors and repairmen should all have identification and readily be able to clearly identify themselves. Most workers wear a uniform, have a clearly identified truck/vehicle and/or tools and equipment. Anyone who is not sure who is asking to enter your house or property can call the Memorial Villages Police Department at 713-365-3700. The department will dispatch officers to check out the situation. Anyone who had a subject matching the description of the man in the Piney Point incident come to your property should contact Detective Samantha Smith at 713-365-3708. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SHENANDOAH -- An off-duty Montgomery County Sheriff's deputy working a private job shot and killed a man who was attempting to rob the Raising Cane's in Shenandoah Tuesday night, according to the MCSO. Units responded to a report of shots fired around 8:40 p.m. at the fast-food restaurant in the 1500 block of Research Forest Drive near The Woodlands in South Montgomery County. "Reportedly an individual entered the restaurant and attempted to rob the restaurant," MCSO Lt. Brady Fitzgerald said. "There was gunfire at the location. Several Raising Cane's had been robbed in the (Houston), area so that's the reason the deputy was working there." Two employees were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, he said. Tamela Lambert waited outside the Cane's Restaurant where her 16-year-old son was still being interviewed by law enforcement inside. "I'm ready for him to come to me," she said anxiously waiting. Her son said he was in the back when the robber, dressed in an all-black hoodie, charged the counter to steal money from the cash register. He heard his co-worker say they were being robbed. "Everybody started running to the back," the teenager said. "He grabbed one of my manager's hands and then another one of our worker's -- she got away and ran to the back." That's when the officer came into play asking the robber to drop his weapon, He said. "(The robber) said, 'I'm not going to hurt her,' he (the robber) wouldn't comply, so he (the officer) shot five times," he said. "But it wasn't a real gun. It was like with an air pressure gun. But it killed him because it was at point-blank range (about 3 feet away). "He tried to rob us but he got stopped in his tracks." The employees had been going through daily procedures due to the recent robberies of Raising Cane's restaurants in the area, which the employee believes is connected to the Shenandoah incident. He said the officer "saved the day." The shooting is still under investigation by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Rangers, according to Fitzgerald. The District Attorney's Office were also on scene. The Woodlands Resident Bob Meinhold rushed to the scene from 10 minutes away as his 17-year-old daughter remained inside. She and a group of friends were eating when the shots were fired. "I would have hated to see what would have happened if the officer wasn't there," Meinhold said. No information was available about the deceased robber. It was the second time in less than two months that an armed robber has been shot and killed at a business in Montgomery County. At the beginning of October, the owner of Jeff's Jewelry in Conroe shot and killed one of a handful of men attempted to rob his store. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO Seven hours before his arrest in the fatal slaying of a San Antonio police officer, capital murder suspect Otis Tyrone McKane was at the Bexar County Courthouse getting married as he was the subject of a massive manhunt, according to official records obtained by mySA.com. McKane, held in Sundays ambush slaying of Det. Benjamin Marconi, married Christian Chanel Fields, who owns the white Buick McKane was in at the time of his arrest, after they obtained a magistrates waiver from the customary 72-hour waiting period after a marriage license is issued. READ MORE: 13 things to know about the fatal shooting of SAPD Det. Benjamin Marconi County records indicate the license was issued at 9:27 a.m. Monday. He was arrested at 4:20 p.m. with a woman and 2-year-old child, who police have not yet identified, in the car. Fields, 27, has been arrested on at least two theft charges in Harris County, records show. She was sentenced to deferred adjudication in lieu of a conviction for a 2010 state jail felony charge, records show. Fields was sentenced in a misdemeanor theft case in May 2011, according to court records. Fields bought the white Buick in Houston, records show. According to public records, Charlynn Fields is the mother of Christian Chanel Fields. Christian Chanel lists a Charlynn Fields as her mother on her Facebook page, which also shows she has a young daughter. The presiding judge who signed the waiver in the heavily secured Bexar County Courthouse was County Court-at-Law No. 9 Judge Walden Shelton, according to the county clerks office. He is also performed the marriage ceremony, but refused to comment Tuesday. Marconi, 50, was fatally shot during a traffic stop near SAPD headquarters around 11:45 a.m. Sunday. McKane is accused of pulling up behind Marconi's cruiser while the detective was issuing a traffic citation to someone else and firing twice through the passenger window. LATEST: Donald Trump called son of slain SAPD Det. Benjamin Marconi, family says McKane, 31, was nabbed Monday afternoon in a different vehicle on Interstate 10 near Ackerman Road, about 28 hours after the officers slaying. As he was led past camera crews to be booked on a capital murder charge late Monday, McKane said he was upset about a child custody battle that prevented him from seeing his son and "I lashed out at someone who didn't deserve it." "I've been through several custody battles, and I was upset at the situation I was in, and I lashed out at someone who didn't deserve it," McKane said before he was booked, according to a recording made available by KENS-TV. "I just want to see my son." Fields was born in Houston and is 27 years old, according to the marriage license. Staff writers Madalyn Mendoza and Emilie Eaton and news researcher Misty Harris contributed to this report. Text "Breaking" to 48421 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com jgonzalez@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Emily Bador is a white woman. She is not, therefore, a black woman. Normally, that wouldn't be news worth reporting, mostly because it isn't news. But her race came into play recently due to the new cover of Blackhair magazine, a British glossy that bills itself as "an international bi-monthly magazine for the style conscious black woman. Packed with 100's of hair inspirations, fashion, lifestyle and celebrity interviews, we are one of the leading publications for women of colour in Europe." The magazine, which generally if not always features black or mixed-race models, used her photograph for the cover of its December/January issue. The editors have admitted they didn't know she was white. Bador's hair is naturally straight as a ruler. But on the cover, it's curly and kinked, a more Afro-centric, natural hairstyle traditionally associated with black women. In an Instagram post that has been liked more than 2,000 times, Bador said the photograph was several years old, and she never planned for it to be used on the cover of Blackhair. Furthermore, had she known, she wouldn't have allowed it. She stated embarrassment at the photo, which she said was a form of cultural appropriation - which refers to adopting elements of another's culture, generally to one's benefit. "This image is (I think, although I'm not 100% sure) about 3/4 years old, it was never intended to be on the cover of this magazine," she wrote. "If I had known it was going to be published, I would never have condoned it. I'm upset and angry I was never asked by the photographer/hair salon/anyone if this image could be used for the cover Black Hair." She apologized for any cultural appropriation of which she might be guilty, claiming she was around 15 years old at the time of this particular shoot and "didn't understand cultural appropriation or the impact it has on POC." She wrote: "Growing up in a very very white city, I had no idea the struggles black women face and how often they were persecuted for their hair. I didn't understand how black women are constantly told their natural hair is inappropriate/unprofessional for the work place, or how young girls are told they can't go to school with natural hair. I didn't understand that shoots like this support the very Eurocentric beauty standard that the mainstream media focus on which reinforce the idea that black features are only ok on white women. I didn't understand that as a white passing woman I'd be praised for this hair, but if I was a black woman I'd be persecuted." According to Blackhair's editor Keysha Davis, who wrote a note on the magazine's Facebook page, the publication runs photographs they receive from PR companies and salons. They specifically request that these photographs be of a black or mixed-race women. Davis wrote that the magazine staff didn't know Bador was not black or mixed-race. "This morning it was brought to our attention that the model gracing our December/January issue is not of black or mixed-race heritage," Davis wrote. "We were obviously not aware of this prior to selecting the image. We often ask PR companies/salons to submit images for the magazine, specifically stating that models must be Black or mixed race. We can only take their word for it, and of course, try to use our own judgment." Her post continued, "We are keenly aware of how black women are underrepresented in the mainstream media and the last thing we want to do is add to our erasure." Finally, Davis thanked Badar for noticing the cover and speaking up. For the most part, fans of both Bador and the magazine seemed pleased with the quick response. One user pointed out that, "Some mixed people do look white from hair to the complexion and she do look mixed nothing to get upset about." Though some, particularly on Facebook, have demanded the magazine change the cover. Thus far, the editor has not responded to these requests. The debate over racial diversity both on the cover and inside the pages of magazines - particularly fashion and beauty magazines - has been a long ongoing one. When Jezebel wrote in June, "Women's magazines, like the print business overall, have a notoriously poor history of foregrounding people of color, whether inside their pages, as subjects of their features, or of course, on their covers. Progress creeps along at the most marginal pace," it was far from the first publication to address the issue." In 2013, the New York Times ran a lengthy feature titled "Fashion's Blind Spot," which referred to women of color. And five years before that, Vogue published a piece titled, "Is Fashion Racist?" The answer, according to many, was a resounding "yes." The industry appears to be addressing these issues, but slowly. At the close of 2015, Fashionista reported, "cover diversity on the major U.S. publications was almost exactly the same this year as last year." The site's analysis found that, "in 2014, 27 of 137 covers featured models of color* while in 2015, 27 of 136 did. That's an improvement from 19.7 percent to 19.8 percent." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Although many of Johanna Wycoff's stories relate to when her native Netherlands was occupied by Nazis in World War II, the tales are frequently accompanied by laughter. The League City resident recalls practical jokes and youthful irreverence toward authority when she was a teen in her hometown of Nijmegen, close to the German border. In 1940, the Germans took control of Nijmegen, and Wycoff, then 14, would come of age under the immediate shadow of Nazi occupation. In her 2010 book, "Dancing in Bomb Shelters: My Diary of Holland in World War II" (iUniverse; $26 hardcover)," Wycoff tells stories of how teenage exuberance and resilience became an escape from the horror, fear and uncertainty of war and how laughter became a matter of survival. Wycoff has been speaking to local groups in area communities. She addressed guests on Nov. 11 at a Veterans Day event at Deer Park Library. "We were not allowed to say one word in English, we were not allowed to stand with two or three people in front of a window because we were not supposed to gather together," she said. Pranking the Nazis But being teenagers, Wycoff and her siblings and friends responded by making the best of their situation. "What do teenagers do? No matter how bad it is, no matter where you live, no matter what you do, you get together," she said. "We formed a club of teenagers and would get together and meet in a kind of cellar where we would dream of all kinds of nasty things we would do to the Germans. We did so many crazy things." The sound of sirens and of the boots of the SS troops as they marched through the town - these things were part of daily life from 1940-1945, and yet Wycoff and her friends would find a way to see the humor. "The bombs would be falling and we would laugh," she said. "It was a teenager's outlet, but it was also something that caused a lot of trouble for the parents." Wycoff remembers how the group would hear the SS soldiers marching from a distance and get ready. "The SS had these steel nails on the soles of their boots and so we would hear them coming, then take a thin wire and pull on either side, and that wire would go underneath the nails so that they would fall flat on their faces and we would have a ball," she recalled laughing. The youths would escape by running. Because the SS members were always looking for alcohol, Wycoff and her group of teenage pranksters would fill empty bottles with water from rain gutters and put labels on them. "All these Germans would be looking for booze and they would see these fancy bottles with fancy labels - we made a lot of money like that - and we would wait to see what would happen," she said. "When they started drinking this dirty rainwater, they turned blind. "The boys thought they had developed this fantastic war weapon," she said. "We thought we had it made." "Kind of hell" But the reality of war and occupation would always catch up to the teens. "Every night we sat up because every night the bombs would come," said Wycoff, who had nine siblings. "We all knew the plane sounds, even my younger brothers - we knew when it was an English or an American plane - we learned all the different sounds of the planes. It was a kind of hell." Wycoff remembers waiting for the alarm to go off and hoping to see if friends were still alive in the morning. In 1942, the Nazis shut down the schools, education was replaced by propaganda and restrictions became normal. Food was obtained on the black market. "We were so isolated and there was no food coming in," Wycoff said. "You had to take an old bicycle if you had one and go to the farmers and beg. That was a big part of it - the hunger. Thousands of people died from hunger all over and people just drank water. "it was an awful time," she said. Wycoff's book, published in 2009, is dedicated to United States Army Gen. James Gavin and the 82nd Airborne Division, the liberators of Nijmegen, and derives from her teenage diary, which she kept throughout the war at the encouragement of her journalist father. If the Germans had found her diary then, she believes her parents would have been killed. The threat of being captured and arbitrarily disappearing was a constant throughout the war, she said. "We saw all these Jewish stores, beautiful Jewish stores disappear," she said. "They (Germans) would come in, take these people out - beautiful people - handcuff them and then they would put a big sign in German so that you couldn't get in." Not long afterward, the Nazis would come and pillage the stores, leaving them empty, she remembers. Wycoff lost a younger sister during the war who was run over at age 4 by a German truck. "A lot of kids died, people were put in concentration camps and you never heard from them again," she said. School sheltered Jewish kids Wycoff went to a private Catholic school where Jewish children were harbored. Others in Nijmegen and throughout the Netherlands, she said, also hid these children, many orphaned by the war. "They grew up in these Dutch families, and I don't know if they ever knew who they really were because nobody dared talk about who they were," she said. "That's war, a lot of lost people." She received a business degree through the school. Wycoff believes people in Nijmegen knew of concentration camps in the Netherlands and rejects denials by some Germans who claim that citizens were unaware of the imprisonment of Jews. "Hitler trained people, they were all brainwashed ... and they were scared for their lives. A lot of Germans were killed by Hitler, too," she said. Wycoff kept her diary but did not revisit it until decades later. In 1952, she followed a sister to Montreal, Canada and met her future husband, an American engineer. The couple had children in Canada and then moved to California, then to other parts of the United States before settling in League City. The diary was never forgotten. "I had it laying there for 60 years and never opened it up because I didn't want to read the misery," she said. A friend encouraged Wyckoff to publish the diary. The generation that lived during the war is disappearing, said one of Wycoff's two daughters, Jennifer Wycoff. "There are only a few left to tell the story," she said, "and they don't tell the story until they get older because they weren't supposed to complain, they were supposed to hide their feelings. They only shared funny things." According to Johanna Wyckoff's other daughter, Anna-lise McManus, her mother spent two years translating the diary, with many tears shed during the process. "It was difficult for her to relive it," McManus said. At first, she read it all the way through, and then went back and reread it. "I laughed, I cried, I got mad - I went through all the emotions, and it was the best thing," Johanna Wycoff said recently. McManus said that even as a child, she knew that for some reason her mother had a unique perspective. "I think everybody in her family has a little anxiety disorder from the war," McManus said. "I just thought we were different from the other kids. None of the other kids I knew had a mother who grew up in an occupied city during war. You heard so much about it that it was just part our lives and we were used to it. It was the others who weren't used to it that were different to me." "We used to laugh, 'The war is over, don't save that throw that old food out' - that was our big joke," Jennifer Wycoff said. "It wasn't until we started translating the diary with her that we were, 'Oh my God.' It was much more severe than we thought." McManus believes that part of the book is about survival and finding joy in life no matter the circumstance. That, she said, is something inherent in her mother. "The remarkable thing about my mother is that she always laughs, she was always funny She was our Dutch version of Lucille Ball," McManus said. "She always had a positive attitude, instead of being miserable or depressed. She was always up." For Johanna Wycoff, the book is her way of coming to terms with part of her history. "Each life has a book," she said. "We all should write our own life story and then wait a while to read it. When you feel really bad, go to it. It helps you; it's the best therapy in the world. Every kid should be told, 'Write a book about yourself,' because everyone goes through pain, you know?" For more information on the book, visit www.dancinginbombshelters.com. Former District of Columbia Public Schools chancellor Michelle Rhee has said she isnt seeking to be President-elect Donald Trumps education secretary, but said she appreciated the chance to discuss education issues with him. Rhee met with Trump last Saturday , ramping up speculation that she would be Trumps nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Education. Heres what Rhee said on Twitter Tuesday afternoon: In light of the speculation about the Secretary of Education role, I wanted to clarify my position and whats best for Americas students. pic.twitter.com/DXRZxdAZNX Michelle Rhee (@MichelleRhee) November 22, 2016 Her statement about many colleagues warning her not to deal with Trump seems to be a response to the argument put forward by Democrats for Education Reform, which recently urged Democrats not to be Trumps education secretary unless he renounced his statements about race, gender, and religion. Rhees Tuesday statement on social media does not address those concerns directly. In a statement to the press after meeting with Rhee, Trump said they enjoyed an in-depth discussion about the future of education in our country. This included the possibility of increasing competition through charter and choice schools. They also brought up the idea of merit pay for teachers going above and beyond in their classrooms. Trump met with national school choice advocate Betsy DeVos, the chairwoman of the American Federation for Children, on Saturday as well. Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . By Alyson Klein and Andrew Ujifusa UPDATED President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Betsy DeVos, a longtime school choice advocate and Republican mega-donor, to be his education secretary, he announced Wednesday. DeVos is best known in the school choice world as the chairwoman of the American Federation for Children, an advocacy and research organization that champions school vouchers and tax-credit scholarships. And just hours after her selection, DeVos sent a tweet making it clear that she adamantly opposes the Common Core State Standards, which Trump also has denounced. Betsy DeVos is a brilliant and passionate education advocate, said President-elect Trump in a statement announcing the pick, which is still subject to U.S. Senate confirmation. Under her leadership we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families. His statement echoes DeVos own rhetoric. Back in 2013, she told Philanthropy magazine that a number of statesincluding Indiana, Florida, and Arizonahad begun to embrace school choice because traditional public schools are not succeeding. In fact, lets be clear, in many cases, they are failing, she said. The Education Department doesnt play a particularly large role when it comes to actually funding and providing oversight for school choice, however, and its unclear how much DeVos and Trump would be able to change that. On common core, Trump has called the standards a disaster and said he would like to get rid of themeven though the Every Student Succeeds Act bars the federal government from telling states which standards they can or cant use. That language was added to the law as a rebuke to the Obama administration, which used money and promises of flexibility to encourage states to adopt the common core. In a blog post , DeVos, who had previously supported the standards, said she was all for them when they were a state-level initiative, but that theyve become a federal boondogle. DeVos said she does support high standards, strong accountability, and local control. Reaction to the news was split. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate education committee, called DeVos an excellent choice for education secretary. Betsy has worked for years to improve educational opportunities for all children, Alexander said in his statement. As secretary, she will be able to implement the new law fixing No Child Left Behind just as Congress wrote it, reversing the trend to a national school board and restoring to states, governors, school boards, teachers, and parents greater responsibility for improving education in their local communities. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the committee, said she would be scrutinizing DeVos record closely. President-elect Trump has made a number of troubling statements over the course of his campaign on a range of issues that a future Secretary of Education will be charged with implementing and enforcing--from education policy, to civil rights and equality of opportunity, to his personal views on sexual assault and harassment, and more, Murray said in her statement. Right now students, parents, teachers and school leaders across the country are demanding to know how his Secretary of Education will ensure the safety and respect of all students, of all backgrounds, all across this country--and I will be focused throughout this process on how his nominee intends to do just that. But the National Education Association, a 3-million member union, is also dismayed with the pick, and the message it sends about the direction of Trumps education policy. DeVos has done more to undermine public education than support students, said Lily Eskelsen Garcia, the president of the NEA in a statement. She has lobbied for failed schemes, like voucherswhich take away funding and local control from our public schoolsto fund private schools at taxpayers expense. These schemes do nothing to help our most-vulnerable students while they ignore or exacerbate glaring opportunity gaps. She has consistently pushed a corporate agenda to privatize, de-professionalize and impose cookie-cutter solutions to public education. DeVos might not have been Trumps first pick to the head the Education Department. Rev. Jerry Falwell, the president of Liberty University, told the Associated Press Trump initially offered him the job . But he turned it down for personal reasons. Background in Philanthropy, Political Advocacy DeVos, whose father-in-law started the Amway multilevel marketing company, has been active in the Republican Party for decadesshe and her husband have given millions of dollars to GOP candidates. She served as chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party from 2003 to 2005. She and her husband, Dick DeVos, successfully pushed for the passage of the Wolverine States charter school law in 1993. However, Dick DeVos fell down in his 2000 push to amend to the Michigan Constitution to allow vouchers. DeVos and her husband gave $2.7 million to Republican candidates this election cycle and none to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. DeVos said in the Philanthropy magazine interview that she was awakened to the power of school choice during a visit to the Potters House Christian School years ago, when she and her husband had school-age children. The couple began giving to the school and pushing for similar choice initiatives. And DeVos husband launched a strong challenge against former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm back in 2006. He made a push for expanded choice as part of his platform. Betsy DeVos longtime support for school choice seems like a natural fit for Trump. The president-elect has floated a $20 billion school choice proposal on the campaign trail. He said the program would be financed through existing federal dollars, but didnt say where the money would come from, or how it would flow to states and districts. And its unclear if such an ambitious school choice proposal could make it through Congress. Alexander introduced a similar measure when Congress was crafting the Every Student Succeeds Act last year, but it failed to garner the votes needed to clear procedural hurdles. One of DeVos primary challenges at the Education Department, assuming she is confirmed by the Senate, will be figuring out a way to translate that plan into some kind of action, said Nina Rees, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. In addition to using the bully pulpit to promote choice in general, Rees also said it would be important for DeVos and the department to make sure there is support beyond Washington for expanding choice in some fashion. If we could really engage at least a handful of districts in this discussion, I think we will have made a lot of progress on the issue of school choice, Rees said. Robert Enlow, the president and CEO of EdChoice (formerly known as the Friedman Foundation), said you couldnt have a more passionate advocate for quality education and parental choice. He said private school choice would just be part of DeVos overall push for educational options. I think this signals that Trump is not going to be business as usual when it comes to K-12 education. And this issue [parental choice] is going to be one of the most important things coming out of this administration, Enlow said. Its going to be an exciting time for K-12 education. Theres going to be lots of conversations about how to give parents more options, how do we hold schools accountable. Money and Influence Trump has pledged to drain the swamp and get outside influencers out of Washington. Its unclear how the DeVos pick fits with that vision, given DeVos and her husbands status as GOP megadonors. In fact, they are among the top 100 individuals funding outside groups, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign finance . During the 2016 campaign cycle the couple gave a total of $2.7 million to Republican candidates, and $1.5 million to political action committees and other funds supporting GOP causes, including American Crossroads, a PAC started by Karl Rove, a senior White House adviser to President George W. Bush. And DeVos husband gave more than $50,000 to Right to Rise, a PAC supporting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bushs unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination. Bush put out a supportive statement on DeVos selection. She sits on the board of his organization, the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Some Democrats, however, criticized the selection. Michigan Board of Education President John Austin, a Democrat, called DeVos appointment destructive for public education. Austin lost his re-election bid this month. Under the guise of expanded choice, the DeVos have been the agents of a purposeful effort to dismantle the traditional public schools and teachers unions even if the choices that are created dont educate kids, he said. Im pro-choice and pro-charter if its quality and about educating kids. Theyre for choice for choice sake, as a vehicle to try and destroy the existing public school infrastructure. Harrison Blackmond, the state director of Michigan Democrats for Education Reform, said he was concerned about giving the private sector too much power over education under DeVos. Its rather clear that she doesnt think the federal government should have any role in education, that that should be a strictly state function, Blackmond said. I happen to think differently. And Peter Cunningham, who served as a top adviser to former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, said school choice is a tiny, tiny piece of the overall education budget, and a very, very small piece of the agenda at the Education Department. In theory, he said, the department could make federal formula money conditional on whether states expand school choice, or make competitive grants available that promote choice in some fashion, Cunningham said, as Duncan did through Race to the Top. But both possibilities are extremely remote, he said. And he said theres no way in hell Trumps $20 billion choice initiative becomes a reality. Theres no case for the feds to be funding voucher programs around the country. I dont see any argument for that that she could make, Cunningham said. DeVos biggest opportunity to promote choice, he added, is through the bully pulpit. Staff Writers Corey Mitchell and Arianna Prothero and Education Week Librarian Holly Peele contributed to this report. Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . Dear Toni: On Thursday, I read an insurance alert that John Hancock is leaving the long term care market in December. My husband is retiring next year and we are now in the process of planning for our retirement years. We need to rethink how we will pay for long term care when that situation arrives. A few months ago, you wrote about other options for long term care. Now that LTC companies are leaving the insurance market, what is one to do to pay for a long term care need? Thank you for all you do to help us understand these complicated issuesCharla from Clear Lake Area. Hello Charla: You are right. Another one bites the dust ... John Hancock is joining other insurance companies and leaving the long-term care market. Seniors and baby boomers are faced with fewer options for their retirement needs. Most Americans do not realize that Medicare won't pay for long-term nursing home or home care. Medicare typically pays only for short stays in a skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility to recover after a hospitalization. Boomers need to be aware that the cost of long term care is projected to rise from an average of $87,600 per year in 2016 to over $123,000 per year in 10 years. Amazingly, the estimated yearly cost for a long term care need in 20 years appears to be $174,000 per year. Many baby boomers are not concerned with long term care planning because many feel they have enough in their 401K to pay for a catastrophic illness. They do not realize that in 20 years when their health is failing that their savings and/or 401K could be wiped out because they failed to do proper long term care planning. There is light at the end of the tunnel because with 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 everyday for the next 15-plus years. Traditional Long Term Care policies are either raising their premiums or leaving the market as John Hancock has done. In recent years, the insurance industry has designed new products for those concerned about long term care issues and who do not want to spend their hard-earned retirement dollars on a long term care policy that is raising premiums, unaffordable or that they may never use. And so, life and annuity policies with accelerated benefits were born. Below are different ways to solve your Long Term Care retirement needs: Hybrid Life and Annuity Policies: Many life/annuity insurance policies have a provision if you need long term care; you can receive a certain amount of long term care with your life/annuity policy's face amount. These policies include accelerated benefits with chronic, critical or terminal illness benefits to assist in a long term care need. Aid and Attendance Benefits: The VA can help Veterans with Long Term Care issues. There is over $20 Billion dollars available for long term care pension money just waiting for Veterans to apply for their Aid and Attendance benefits. You need to have a Long-Term Care issue to qualify. (you must be a veteran to receive benefits and both you and your spouse could qualify.) Medicaid: Check to see if you can qualify for Medicaid. Many must "spend down" to qualify. Medicare workshop The final 2016 Medicare Open Enrollment Workshop is scheduled to be held at AutoNation-Ford, Katy, from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 29 at 20777 Katy Freeway, Katy, TX 77450. RSVP: 832-519-TONI (8664). Toni King, author of the new Medicare Survival Guide with a "Thank You, Houston" discount available for Houston Chronicle/HCN readers at http://tonisays.com/reader-special Medicare consultations are available at the Toni Says office or email questions to info@tonisays.com or call 832/519-TONI (8664). A federal judge has ordered a new voting system to select school board members in the Ferguson-Florissant, Mo. , school district. The new cumulative voting system will allow voters to cast as many votes as there are open seats on the ballot. For example, if there are three open seats on the school board, voters can split their three votes among the candidates running or they can give all three votes to one candidate. The highest vote-getters will be the winners. The Ferguson-Florissant school district, which enrolls students from part or all of 11 municipalities in the St. Louis area, has seven members who each serve three-year terms. School board elections are currently staggered and held in off-year cycles. District officials had argued to keep the at-large voting system in place. The order by U.S. District Chief Judge Rodney W. Sippel is part of a civil rights lawsuit against the district and the St. Louis County Board of Elections. The plaintiffs, which included the Missouri chapter of the NAACP, alleged that the at-large voting system in Ferguson-Florissant violated the federal Voting Rights Act and made it difficult for African-Americans to be elected to the board. In an August ruling, Sippel agreed with the NAACP and the ACLU, which argued the case, and halted school board elections in the district until a more equitable system was put in place. According to St. Louis Public Radio , the district, along with the ACLU and the NAACP, will be responsible for educating voters about the new system. The plaintiffs proposed three alternatives, but expressed a preference for the cumulative system, according to the judges order. The school board attorney Cindy Ormsby told the news station that the board will meet next week to make a decision on whether to appeal. By Evie Blad and Julie Depenbrock As families mourn the deaths of five children killed in a school bus accident in Chattanooga, Tenn., some public officials there have renewed calls to mandate seat belts in school buses. The Monday accident happened when the bus, which was carrying 37 elementary school students hit a tree, flipped on its side, and split open. The bus was not equipped with seat belts. Dozens of children were transported to local hospitals, and anxious parents waited at the scene as first responders worked to free their children from the wreckage. The most unnatural thing in the world is for a parent to mourn the loss of a child, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said at a press conference following the accident. There are no words that can comfort a mother or a father and so today the city is praying for these families. Officials charged the driver, Johnthony Walker, 24, with five counts of vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving. While parallel local and federal investigations into the accident continue, local authorities have said Walker, who was contracted through Durham School Services, was apparently traveling above the 30 mile per hour speed limit. While many details about the crash remain unclear, State Rep. Gerald McCormick, a Republican from Chattanooga, said he plans to file a bill that would mandate seat belts on Tennessee school buses . McCormick told the Times Free Press newspaper that he couldnt say for certain whether seat belts would have changed the outcome of the accident. No, I dont know, he said. But sometimes you have to look at commonsense. If the bus is rolling over, rather than having bodies flying, it would make better sense to have them strapped in. Its the same concept you have in a car. I think common sense tells us it would help more often than not. Seat Belt Requirements on School Buses Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board said their review of the accident would include exploring whether restraints would have limited injuries. We will be looking in this instance whether seat belts would have made a difference, NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart said. Its too early for us to know at this point. Just six states require seat belts on full-size school buses , but not all of them have provided funding to meet the mandate, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In many ways, the school bus safety debate in Tennessee mirrors a decades-long national debate on the issue. Lawmakers in the Volunteer State previously voted down a bill that would have introduced school bus seat belt requirements out of concerns it might cost $5,000 to $10,000 to equip a single bus, News Channel 5 reported. That legislation was introduced after a Knox County rollover crash two years ago killed two children and a teachers aide. In a November 2015 speech, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator Mark Rosekind made headlines when he said the agency believes every school bus should have a three-point seat belt, a reversal of the federal agencys previous position. The position of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is that seat belts save lives, Rosekind said. That is true, whether in a passenger car or in a big yellow bus. Rosekind did not call for federal rulemaking, but he presented a plan for further research and advocacy about the issue. Opponents to seat belt requirements have said in the past that a concept called compartmentalization, which involves carefully spaced seats and tall seat backs, are enough to keep children safe in the event of an accident. Even in states with seat belt requirements, seat belts on buses are often worn improperly or not at all , the NTSB acknowledged in a 2011 investigation of a New Jersey bus accident. That investigation concluded that buses that rely solely on compartmentalization or lap belts present a risk to riders. Full, three-point safety belts provide the greatest level of protection but they also require some training for children, officials have said. Fatalities in school bus accidents are relatively rare, federal data show. While there isnt a specific breakdown of fatalities in school buses alone, deaths by passengers in buses or large trucks represented just 4 percent of all traffic deaths in 2015, according to the most recent data from NHTSA. The National Association of Pupil Transportation has responded to calls for seatbelt mandates by calling for more research on how and whether students would use them and how they would affect overall rider safety. Introducing costly mandates may force some school districts to eliminate bus routes, channeling money away from new vehicles and toward compliance, they said. School transportation organizations said they believe the prime issue is child safety, especially in regards whether or not the restraints would be worn correctly, impede passenger evacuation in fire or water emergencies or prevent escape in cases of rollovers that incapacitate the driver, School Transportation News reports. In an email to Education Week, the director of transportation for the Columbus, Ohio, school district, said decisions about equipping school buses with seat belts are best left to state and local authorities. States and local school districts are better able to recognize and analyze school transportation risks particular to their areas and identify approaches to best manage and reduce those safety risks, said Steve Simmons III, whose district transports 45,000 students a day. Questions About the Driver Investigators will also look into the role Walker, the drive played in the accident. That includes a look at his driving history and blood tests for drugs and alcohol, officials said. A mother of one of the students who died in the accident said shed previously reported inappropriate behavior by the driver. In one incident, Walker was slamming on brakes on purpose, making all the kids hit their heads, Jasmine Mateen told local NBC affiliate WRCB. Two of Mateens children were also seriously injured in the wreck. State driving records show Walker was involved in a September accident when the bus he was driving sideswiped a Kia Soul going in the opposite direction. This reportedly happened at a blind curve in the road and he allegedly failed to yield, WMCA reported. Overall, Durham School Services has a good record for a company its size. But the companys buses have already had 17 wrecks in Tennessee so far this year, the station reports. In those wrecks, a total of 19 people were hurt and one person was killed. Depending on state and local regulations, some districts provide additional screening for bus drivers contracted through private companies, Simmons said. I would hope in every case, every driver is vetted by the local districts before theyre used, he said. Its unclear whether the district required additional driver screening beyond what Durham already provided. Research assistance provided by Librarian Holly Peele and Library Intern Teresa Lewandowski. Photo: A school bus is carried away Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, from the site where it crashed on Monday. The bus driver, Johnthony Walker, 24, has been arrested on charges including vehicular homicide, reckless driving and reckless endangerment. The crash killed at least five elementary school students. (Mark Humphrey/AP) President Obama Tuesday approved sentence commutations for 79 federal prisoners - including nine from Texas. Of those fortunate few, one hails from the Houston area. Lawrence Daro Adams was sentenced to 20 years in prison on cocaine-related charges in 2001. Currently in a minimum-security prison in Virginia, the 41-year-old was slated for release in 2018 - but now he'll be headed home in March. Hundreds of miles west in Lubbock, Tyrone Allen was sentenced to 20 years behind bars for possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine back in 2003. After Obama's latest set of reprieves, he'll be released in 2018. In 1996, Donna Sue McDaniel of Boyd was sentenced to 30 years in prison for distributing 219.6 grams of meth. After more than 20 years behind bars, she'll be a free woman in March. Other Texas commutations include Anthony Arthur of Killeen, Timothy Fields of Mesquite, Jeff Hendricks of Seagoville, Robert Moffitt of Fort Worth, Roosevelt Rayford of Sherman and Artis Sherman of Allen. One of those - Fields - was serving a life sentence. The latest round of commutations - all for drug offenders - brings Obama's historic total over 1,000. Tuesday's announcement was heralded by drug policy reformers nationwide, some of whom urged further action in the near future. "These commutations are great but there are thousands of more people being warehoused in federal prison for drug offenses," Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance said in a release. "They probably won't get any relief under Donald Trump, which is why President Obama should commute all their sentences before he leaves office." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Show More Show Less 2 of 5 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Show More Show Less 5 of 5 The Amber Alert issued for three missing children in East Texas has been called off. The children, and their mother, were recovered on Wednesday evening. Gracelyn Chachere, 1, Jacqulin Ballard, 8, and Romon Reese, 10, all were reported missing Wednesday afternoon. A Honduran man indicted on charges of rape and murder has been returned to his native country to face trial. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flew 28-year-old Alexsi Yoban Romero-Salazar back to Honduras on Tuesday, deporting him after he illegally entered the United States for a third time. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Donald Trump will have a little bit of Texas charm to bring with him to the White House in January. The president-elect is being gifted a custom-made cowboy hat from American Hat Company in North Texas. The Bowie company decided to create a hat specifically for Trump after he expressed admiration for Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's headgear. COWBOY HISTORY: The story behind Texas' favorite cowboy hat, the Stetson "We make hats for Mr. Miller. Mr. Trump was doing a press conference in Pensacola, Florida, when he said Mr. Miller wears the most beautiful cowboy hats," said Sherry Huff, CFO of American Hat Company. A hat for Trump was brought up at a post-election party, where Treasure Maddox and her significant other Andrew Graves were in attendance. Maddox is the daughter of American Hat Company owners Keith and Susan Maddox. Huff said Graves is an acquaintance of Eric Trump. Trump's measurements were taken and the hat was created. SAME EVENT, DIFFERENT LOOK: RodeoHouston in 2018 might look a bit different Huff said the hat is complete and will be given to Trump in the near future. The hat is made of mink and beaver belly. Huff said the color is called silver belly, a really light tan color. Inside the hat has the words, "President Donald J. Trump," "United States of America" and the date of Trump's upcoming inauguration. The lettering is in gold. The hat is valued around $2,800. American Hat Company began in Houston in 1915, according to the company's website. The company was sold to the Maddox family in 2003 and moved its operations to Bowie. The company has made hats for the Zac Brown Band, Lyle Lovett and the show "Longmire." A day after a San Antonio Police Department detective was killed in an ambush, a Texas legislator filed a bill to make attacks on police officers and other first responders a hate crime. Texas House Bill 429 would increase punishments for criminals who target police officers and first responders. It was filed by state Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas. CONDOLENCES: Trump called son of slain S.A. officer, family says " 'Hate crime' statuses have been long accepted by Texas lawmakers as a way to disincent offenders from acting solely out of prejudice or hate," Villalba tweeted on Monday. "Correspondingly, an offense against a first responder, specifically based on the first responder status of the victim, should also result in heightened punishments, up to and including the death penalty, to the offender." The bill looks to protect anyone in Texas who's "a peace officer, a firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel." The bill would protect first responders from threatening language and attacks. It would also prevent people from following first responders to their homes and places of employment. POSSIBLE MOTIVE: Officer's accused killer upset over custody battle The proposed legislation comes in the wake of the police killing in San Antonio. After a 30-hour manhunt, Otis McKane, 31, was arrested in the Sunday death of Detective Benjamin Marconi, who was killed while sitting in his squad car after pulling over another driver for a traffic violation outside police headquarters. Interior camera footage from Marconi's cruiser shows a man wearing a Spurs hat reaching into the driver's-side window and shooting Marconi in the face, according to an affidavit. McKane has been charged with capital murder. DANGEROUS JOB: Officers 'keenly aware' they are targets for violence Villalba's bill echoes Gov. Greg Abbott's Police Protection Act, which would extended hate crime protections to law enforcement officers. Abbott proposed the plan after five Dallas officers were killed following a peaceful protest earlier this year. Criminal penalties would increase if the victim is a law enforcement officer, regardless if the crime qualified as a hate crime. Abbott released a statement on Sunday condemning attacks against police officers and said he looks forward to signing his Police Protection Act into law. by Andrew Ujifusa. Cross posted from Politics K-12. U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. has called on states to stop allowing schools to use corporal punishment to discipline students , arguing that it is a harmful practice. In his letter to governors and chief state school officers dated Tuesday, King pointed out that the corporal punishment practiced in some states schools could also be classified as criminal assault or battery under separate laws in those same states. Corporal punishment is often used disproportionately on certain groups of students, such as students of color, King said. And he argued that the practice undermines efforts to teach students nonviolent methods of resolving conflicts and negatively impacts their long-term behavior and academic outcomes. The use of corporal punishment can hinder the creation of a positive school climate by focusing on punitive measures to address student misbehavior rather than positive behavioral interventions and supports, King wrote. Corporal punishment also teaches students that physical force is an acceptable means of solving problems, undermining efforts to promote nonviolent techniques for conflict resolution. In a call with reporters Monday, King stressed that schools are entrusted with providing a safe learning environment for students, and that it has no place in the schools of a modern nation. The continued use of corporal punishment in schools across the country violates that trust, King said, adding that a variety of groups, including teachers unions and parent organizations, oppose the practice. (The letter provides no legal guidance on the issue, the secretary noted.) When asked the biggest obstacle to changing the practice, King cited the adherence to tradition in some states and concerns about how schools can ensure safe and orderly environments. On the same call, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten called ending corporal punishment a moral matter that transcends party politics. She also said a strong alliance of parents and educators would be especially important in efforts to end the practice in schools. It should have been banned in all 50 states years ago, Weingarten said. Kings recommendation comes a few months after Education Week published the results of an investigation into corporal punishment in American schools . Our investigation into corporal punishment found, for example, that it is used in 21 states. And we also looked at the deep roots of paddling in schools , as well as the long-term consequences of an eighth-grade students paddling . You can watch Education Weeks coverage for the PBS Newshour (an Education Week partner) about the issue, featuring the projects lead reporter Sarah D. Sparks, at the top of this blog post. Michelle Rhee and Donald Trump Weingarten was also asked about the possibility of former D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee serving as President-elect Donald Trumps education secretary . (The AFT has long been critical of Rhees approach to teacher policy.) She said it was an unexpected development because, in Weingartens view, Rhee is a big adherent to things he said he didnt like. Im very surprised that he would be speaking to Michelle Rhee, Weingarten said. She was very much a creature of wanting more tests and common-core based upon tests, and the kind of top-down accountability that the country has walked away from. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate While the weather caused some air traffic issues, things are back to normal at IAH and Hobby airports. Flights arriving into Houston are clear to land as the traffic management program was lifted around 8:15 a.m.. The FAA had issued a ground stop for George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) due to the severe weather rolling into the Houston-area. Arriving flights were experience delays of 15 minutes or less, according to the fly.faa.gov website. According to ifly.com, flights destined for IAH were being held until 9 a.m.. The FAA also said a traffic management program is delayed some arriving flights, and that some departing flight schedules may be affected. Flights at Hobby Airport were also been affected by the storms. They experienced minor delays but are back to a normal flow. The severe weather is supposed to pass through the Bayou City from the early morning until around 10 a.m. as a cold front pushes through the area. If you have a flight or are picking someone up today, be sure to check the information and confirm the departure/arrival times are still the same. Take a look through the gallery above to see where IAH ranks among the airports with the most delays in America. Spencer Platt/Staff AUSTIN Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reported $119,819 in income during 2015 and paid 37 percent of that in taxes, but no federal income tax, a copy of his federal income tax return released Tuesday shows. Citing various deductions and exemptions, the Abbotts reduced their taxable income to just $4,922, and they are due a refund of $27,059, according to the filing. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Texas has a long and complicated history with the issue of abortion. After all, the case of Roe v. Wade originated in the state. And, now, a state lawmaker is stepping into the latest debate surrounding reproductive rights. Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, has filed a bill to prohibit lawsuits over the idea of "unwanted births." "Wrongful birth" is the legal concept that the parents of a congenitally diseased child may sue a doctor, claiming that the medical professional failed to properly warn them of the risk of conceiving or giving birth to a child with serious genetic or congenital abnormalities. WHAT'S COMING: 17 interesting bills filed by Texas lawmakers That failure to warn, the thinking goes, prevented the parents from making a truly informed decision about whether to have the child. Story continues below. In theory, with a ban in place, a doctor opposed to abortion could withhold key pieces of information from the parents. While there are potential medical ethics implications to outright lying to a patient, a failure to disclose would be a complicated legal issue to pursue. Simmons' office was closed Wednesday and he could not be reached for comment. Messages left for Planned Parenthood and Texas Right to Life were not immediately returned Wednesday. Parents have sued doctors for medical malpractice - with mixed results. A couple in Washington state won $50 million from a doctor in 2013, but juries in other states have tossed the lawsuits. TOP 10: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick sets priorities for upcoming legislative session This isn't the first g0-round in Texas with the issue. A similar proposal failed in the 2015 legislative session. And, the issue has Texas roots. It arose in a 1975 Texas Supreme Court case brought by a woman whose child was born with disabilities after her doctor did not tell her that she had rubella, which is known to cause serious birth defects, while she was pregnant. Nationally, about half of the states recognize wrongful birth claims. Conservative commentator Ann Coulter knows how to set off a firestorm on Twitter. Her latest: defending the American Nazi Party on the social media platform. Coulter tweeted: "Total # of deaths connected to American Nazi Party in last quarter century: ZERO. Total # of deaths connected to Al Sharpton: 9 I know of." Coulter's inflammatory tweet (and she's done more than a few) came Monday, after MSNBC's Rachel Maddow show. ANGERING THE INTERNET: Coulter ripped online for absurd tweet The show opened with video of white supremacists giving what appears to be Nazi salutes to footage of Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., at a meeting of alt-right think-tank the National Policy Unit. Twitter The group's leader is seen on the video telling the crowd "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory." In response, members of the crowd gave what is historically regarded as a Nazi salute. The meeting happened as concerns continue to swirl about President-elect Donald Trump's connection to the alt-right, which features noted Nazi sympathizers and racist groups. TWITTER POLITICS: How Twitter reacted when Clinton held brief lead in Texas One person, @Tameca_Jones, tweeted a video of a woman spraying a cartoon roach with poison and the comment: "@AnnCoulter defending Nazis? Girl you need to get the bottom of my shoe". A reply came from @Jetstream Trump: "@tameca_jones @AnnCoulter She's not defending Nazis. She's showing contrast between real threats and perceived ones. Your ghetto is showing." It went downhill from there, with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton weighing in. ONLINE CONTROVERSY: Houston TV reporter fired for pro-Trump Facebook post "Ann Coulter is now a Nazi sympathizer. Excuse me while I grab a bucket of water and hunt her down!" Hilton tweeted. Coulter didn't wait long to respond. "I have it on good authority that Al Sharpton 'identifies as' a Democrat. (NINE DEAD)," Coulter wrote. The details of what she's referring to about Sharpton are unclear. On Monday, some of the biggest names in TV news trooped into Trump Tower for an off-the-record meeting with the president-elect. It was an all-star cast. Not just on-air stars like Lester Holt, Wolf Blitzer and George Stephanopoulos but also their bosses were summoned before the Potentate of Fifth Avenue. The meeting was a huge success - for Donald Trump. Soon after it broke up, a leak to the New York Post brought on a story about how thoroughly the president-elect had taken the attendees to task. With attribution to anonymous tipsters, the Post wrote: "The meeting was a total disaster. The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing-down. ... Trump kept saying, 'We're in a room of liars, the deceitful, dishonest media who got it all wrong.'" Call it Woodshed Theater, with all the applause lines for the president-elect. Brandon Friedman, a Virginia-based public relations executive, summed it up perfectly on Twitter: "They walked into an ambush, agreed not to talk about it, then Trump went straight to the Post with his version." Then it was just a hop, skip and jump to a big headline on the Drudge Report with its huge worldwide traffic: "Trump Slams Media Elite, Face to Face." As Business Insider politics editor Oliver Darcy aptly put it, that is "how a lot of America will see this." The result for the president-elect: He once again was able to use the media as his favorite foil. Having a whipping boy is more important than ever now that the election is over and there is no Democratic opponent to malign at every turn. Yes, there's no proof that the Trump camp tipped the New York Post, but don't forget, this is someone who used to pose as his own spokesman to spread word of his romantic conquests. And the newspeople were largely unable to provide their own version of events because they had agreed to its being off the record. That's supposed to mean that nobody talks about it - a rule that was immediately broken (which also doesn't speak particularly well for them). Through anonymous leaks, participants agreed with some aspects of the "total disaster," and disagreed with others, but Trump benefited in the end. He got a lot of attention, he got to continue bashing the establishment elite, and he evidently put the TV people on notice that if they want access to him as president, they'll need to bow and scrape. Notably, Trump hasn't held a news conference since July. On Tuesday, a new melodrama arose: Trump's planned meeting at the New York Times was canceled, then restored. The Times played it right. Despite a tweet attack from the president-elect, editors refused to go the off-the-record route with Trump, which was his preference, for obvious reasons - because he wanted again to control the story. With the exception of a brief off-the-record conversation between Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger and the president-elect, the meeting was fair game for news stories - as it should be. Off-the-record was a mistake for the TV people, and it would have been a mistake for the Times.The paper successfully called Trump's bluff. As much as he professes to despise the Times, he remains in some ways the Queens boy who lusted after Manhattan success and acceptance. In many ways, Trump can bypass the traditional press - using YouTube or Twitter to take his message to the world without pesky journalistic fact-checking or filtering. He has masterfully manipulated the media for the past 18 months - bullying reporters, garnering billions in free publicity and portraying journalists as part of the corporate structure that must be brought down so that the people can triumph. That's a deeply misleading and dangerous picture. In fact, American citizens need an independent press more than ever. Journalists, and their corporate bosses, shouldn't allow themselves to be used as props in Trump's never-ending theater. For many Texans, the perception of space food has been warped by pop culture and tourist gifts - the image of a crumbling, freeze-dried ice cream sandwich almost always come to mind. But astronauts have been eating in space for decades, and their chefs have gotten pretty good about feeding them. This Thanksgiving, astronauts aboard the International Space Station will be chowing down on sliced turkey, fruit cobbler and candied yams. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A Texas fisherman recently reeled in a massive 11-foot tiger shark with an attached research tag, leading to what may be the biggest coincidence in shark-catching history. When Zack Wolk caught the female shark in Panama City, Florida, he didn't think much of the date when scribbling down the tag information found on the predator. It was a cloudy Thursday on Oct. 25, 2016, a date that would later be revealed to be exactly 10 years after the tiger shark was originally tagged as a tiny pup by scientists. NOPE: Incredible shark video shows Great White busting through diver's cage with diver inside Grind TV, an outdoor lifestyle site, spoke to Dana Bethea, a research ecologist with NOAA Fisheries and the excited scientist at the receiving end of Wolk's probing call about the shark. "I couldn't believe it when I got a hit! Ten years to the day!? I immediately called my colleagues into my office to make sure it wasn't a mistake," Bethea said. "We were ecstatic. I had a huge smile on my face. This is a big deal!" When researchers tagged the female tiger shark a decade ago, it measured only 32 inches. In addition, the shark was caught and released 74 miles from where it was first tagged. "Several recaptures are called in each year by recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, and colleagues," Bethea told Grind TV. "Most recaptures are weeks or months old. Every once and awhile we'll get a tag that's been at liberty for a couple years. This is the first recapture we've had like this!" SHARK HAVEN: Pacific nation of Kiribati establishes large shark sanctuary According to Grind TV, the unlikely coincidence dethroned the previous tag and recapture record, which was a little over five years. As for Wolk himself, Bethea said he was "just as excited as I was." "It was nice to interact with someone so helpful and genuinely interested in our research," Bethea said. "NOAA benefits greatly from citizen science like this." Click through above to see films about sharks. After the election of Donald Trump, people across the country donned safety pins as a show of support for people of color, immigrants, members of the LGBT community, and other marginalized groups. The pins, which are meant to signify a link, are a response to the spike in bullying and attacks on people from those groups since the election. Some teachers, concerned about the vulnerability of some of their students in this post-election time, are wearing safety pins in the classroom. But some administrators have found the message to be politically charged and thus, unacceptable in their schools. The Shawnee Mission district, which is in the Kansas City, Kan., metro area, issued a statement on Monday forbidding teachers and other staff members from wearing safety pins at school. Although wearing the safety pin as political speech is not the problem, any disruption that the political statement causes in the classroom or school is a distraction in the education process, the statement reads. We ask staff members to refrain from wearing safety pins or other symbols of divisive and partisan political speech while on dutyunless such activity is specifically in conjunction with district curriculum. The ban sparked outrage among educators, and the American Civil Liberties Unions Kansas chapter immediately received dozens of complaints. On Tuesday, Micah W. Kubic, the executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, wrote an open letter to the Shawnee district condemning the ban. The school districts current policy sends students a clear signal that not all students are valued or safe at school, undermines attempts to build community, and is vulnerable to a legal challenge, Kubic wrote. While a public school district is within its rights to prohibit teachers and other employees from wearing partisan and political symbols, Kubic said, the safety pins are not meant to be politicaltheyre simply a signal that the wearer will create a physical and emotional safe space for all people. It should not be controversial to say that the success and safety of all students, including members of vulnerable groups, are important, he wrote. The districts policy censoring teachers from making that statement, by wearing safety pins, suggests that the district does indeed believe it is political or controversial to say that the safety and success of all students is important. That sends a clear signal to students, parents, and members of the community that the districts leadership does not regard the safety and success of all students as important. Symbolic speech, Kubic said, is protected in public schools under the 1969 U.S. Supreme Court case, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District . In that case, the court ruled that unless symbolic speech was disruptive or would interfere with the operations of the school, it was constitutionally protected. The Shawnee Mission Post reported that the districts ban was made after the superintendent received complaints about the safety pins. But dozens of district parents have since called on the district to reconsider its ban, the paper found. As of Wednesday morning, the school district has yet to respond to the controversy. Last week, in a town near Sacramento, Calif., an Oakmont High School photography teacher was reprimanded after she provided safety pins to her students. According to the Sacramento Bee , the teacher, Danielle Michel, said she did not encourage students to wear the safety pins, but some students and parents saw it as an anti-Trump gesture and complained. The Oakmont principal instructed Michel to stop distributing the pins in class, and warned other teachers that they cannot share their personal political views in class. Educators have long wrestled with knowing how much of their own personal beliefs to bring into the classroom, especially when the issue is controversial or related (even tangentially) to politics. Just last month, hundreds of Seattle teachers wore Black Lives Matter shirts to school as a show of support for their black students. As my colleague, Kate Stoltzfus, wrote then , educators must navigate the line between personal activism, support for all students, and a varying spectrum of beliefs from parents, students, and administrators. Source: Image by Flickr user Valentine Svensson , licensed under Creative Commons Related Reading: Follow @madeline_will and @EdWeekTeacher on Twitter. The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p. Montana Oil and Gas Leases Cancelled by Obama Administration Amid the current controversy over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) that has been making headlines for the last month, last week the United States Department of the Interior announced the cancellation of 15 oil and gas leases on the land of the Blackfeet Nation, a Native American tribe. Fortunately, the lands that were leased had not been tapped for oil, nor developed, which makes the cancellation a much simpler, and much more cost effective process. The company that held the leases, Devon Energy, cooperated with the feds and agreed to accept a refund of approximately $200,000 to account for the fees and payments made to lease the land. While these lease cancellations will not stop the DAPL, the Blackfeet Nation, and many others, are happy that the land will continue to be preserved. History of the Leases In the early 1980s, as the Washington Post explains, many oil and gas leases were being sold for as cheap as $1 per acre. The land leased to Devon Energy was located in the Lewis and Clark National Forrest in northwest Montana, and covered the area known as Badger-Two Medicine. That area is the home of the Blackfeet Nation's creation story, and is considered sacred ground. Initially, when these leases were offered, there were 47 issued in the Badger-Two Medicine area alone, and the Blackfeet Nation was never consulted. However, earlier this year, the number of current leases was only 17 because many of the companies that held the leases voluntarily relinquished them in exchange for tax incentives offered by the feds. The 15 cancelled leases with Devon Energy brings the total number down to two. One company, Solonex, is currently suing because they did not want their lease cancelled, and are now seeking to drill for oil on their lease which was cancelled earlier this year. Dakota Access Pipeline Controversy These cancellations of oil and gas land leases may not have a direct impact on the DAPL, but as the controversy over the pipeline continues, protesters are not giving up. Even after the recent clash, which involved authorities spraying protesters with a water canon (despite temperatures being below freezing), shooting at them with rubber bullets, and even using concussion grenades, the protest over the pipeline is still gaining momentum. Related Resources: University of Michigan prof J Alex Halderman (previously) is one of America's top experts on voting machine security (see this, for example), and he's issued a joint statement with voting-rights attorney John Bonifaz to the Clinton campaign, advising them to ask for a recount of the Wisconsin votes. Halderman and co say that there was a discrepancy of 7 percent fewer Clinton votes in electronic-machine-counted districts as compared with paper ballot/optical counter districts (Nate Silver disputes this analysis). The discrepancy could swing the state for Clinton. This would not give Clinton the presidency (not even if Michigan were to be called for the Democrats), but would still be a significant change in the perception of a Trump mandate. In related news, a federal judge has ruled that the Republican state government of Wisconsin undertook an unconstitutional redistricting project in 2012/14 that gerrymandered the state for the GOP, so that the Dems' 2012 popular vote of 51% only won them 39 of 99 seats, while the GOP's 51% in 2014 got them 63 of 99 seats. The Wisconsin AG has vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court, and in any event, the district court judgment does not affect the 2016 vote. The White House has reportedly asked Clinton not to challenge the Wisconsin, Michigan or Pennsylvania counts, because doing so could threaten the much-vaunted "smooth transfer of power." Last Thursday, the activists held a conference call with Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and campaign general counsel Marc Elias to make their case, according to a source briefed on the call. The academics presented findings showing that in Wisconsin, Clinton received 7 percent fewer votes in counties that relied on electronic-voting machines compared with counties that used optical scanners and paper ballots. Based on this statistical analysis, Clinton may have been denied as many as 30,000 votes; she lost Wisconsin by 27,000. While it's important to note the group has not found proof of hacking or manipulation, they are arguing to the campaign that the suspicious pattern merits an independent review especially in light of the fact that the Obama White House has accused the Russian government of hacking the Democratic National Committee. Experts Urge Clinton Campaign to Challenge Election Results in 3 Swing States [Gabriel Sherman/New York Magazine] After All That, E-Voting Experts Suggest Voting Machines May Have Been Hacked For Trump [Mike Masnick/Techdirt] To follow: some *very* quick analysis which suggests the claim here of rigged results in Wisconsin is probably BS [@Natesilver538/Twitter] Court says Republican gerrymandering in Wisconsin was unconstitutional [Brendan O'Brien/Reuters] Express Entry Exclusive: Human Capital, Skills and Experience to Become More Prominent Under New System CIC News Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has provided important new information about the future of the Express Entry selection system. By drawing on the past, IRCC has learned more about its own Express Entry system and made predictions for the future following recent improvements that have been made. For example, over the first year of Express Entry being in operation, 16 percent of all invited candidates were either cooks or food service supervisors, principally because a job offer was previously weighted heavily under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). However, the recent changes to job offers under the CRS, outlined below, aim to allow a more equitable spread of occupations among candidates invited to apply for permanent residence. The new insights were revealed during the 24th Annual Immigration Law Summit, which takes place this week in Toronto, Ontario. Among the details, it was revealed that around one quarter of all candidates received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in 2016. And there is more good news for candidates remaining in the pool and individuals thinking of creating a profile IRCC plans on issuing more ITAs than ever throughout 2017. In doing so, it has stated its renewed goal to put greater weight on human capital, skills and experience. Qualifying job offers A job offer was not, and is not, required in order for a candidate to enter the Express Entry pool or receive an ITA. Until November 19, 2016, candidates with a qualifying job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) were awarded 600 CRS points. Since the improvements to the Express Entry system came into force on November 19, however, a number of changes to the qualifying job offer factor have been implemented. Notably, a qualifying job offer is now worth 200 points if the offer is in an occupation contained in a Major Group 00 of the National Occupational Classification, or 50 points for a job offer in any other skilled position. In addition, some non-LMIA-based job offers are now also being awarded points for the first time. These include workers in Canada on a NAFTA work permit or as an Intra-Company transferee. In these non-LMIA cases, the worker must have been working in Canada for at least one year and the job offer must be made by the same employer named on the work permit. Furthermore, the job offer duration requirement has also changed from indeterminate to at least one year in duration . In a presentation at the Immigration Law Summit, an IRCC representative provided a snapshot from the pool as of October 3, 2016. This snapshot revealed that about two-thirds (66 percent) of candidates with qualifying job offers claimed core CRS scores of 300 or less (core CRS indicates a candidates score without the additional points awarded for a provincial nomination or a qualifying job offer). Consequently, a majority of job offer candidates had core CRS scores that placed them among the bottom seven percent of candidates in the distribution. And yet, by virtue of having received a qualifying job offer, these candidates were well positioned to obtain an ITA. As a result, and according to its latest report, IRCC seeks to balance the Comprehensive Ranking System to put greater weight on human capital, skills and experience. As such, the CRS has changed to better reflect the empirical value of arranged employment, with the expected result that: a greater share of invitations will flow to candidates with high levels of human capital, which will improve immigrant economic outcomes and better enable employers to fill high-skilled job openings; it will likely change the occupational distribution of invited candidates, with fewer candidates invited with offers of arranged employment in low wage occupations; and while a job offer will no longer guarantee an ITA, it does significantly increase the chances of being invited to apply. CRS threshold may go up before coming down Although the number of CRS points awarded for a job offer has decreased substantially (in most cases, from 600 points down to 50 points), it should be noted that the number of candidates who may be in a position to claim these points has increased. This is because the requirements surrounding the job offer have been relaxed to include many candidates holding an employer-specific work permit in Canada. As a result, it may be expected that the CRS cut-off point in the first draw or first few draws after the changes have come into force may actually go up temporarily to allow for the fact that more candidates with job offers may claim additional points. Once this initial group of candidates has exited the pool, however, IRCC expects the CRS cut-off point to decrease. Stakeholders should note IRCCs desired and expected outcome of the recent changes, outlined above, which state that candidates without a job offer are likely to have a better chance of receiving an ITA. From January to September, 2016, 35 percent of ITAs were issued to candidates without a job offer or provincial nomination; IRCC expects this figure to increase over time. October 3 snapshot of the pool As of October 3, there had been 20 rounds of invitations (draws) so far in 2016. The snapshot of the pool on that date revealed that: There were 60,689 candidates active in the pool. A total of 20,588 ITAs had been issued to 19,088 individual candidates over the first 20 draws of 2016. (Note: some candidates may obtain more than one ITA. For example, if they receive an ITA but dont feel ready to apply, they may re-enter the pool and be issued another ITA at a later date.) From January to September, 2016, a total of 25,406 Express Entry candidates or their accompanying family members landed in Canada as permanent residents. From this glimpse into the pool, it is apparent that around one in every four candidates who was actively engaged in the Express Entry system over the first nine months of 2016 received an ITA. Indeed, there have been four further draws since October 3, and the number of ITAs issued has nearly doubled from 1,288 (September 21 draw) to 2,427 on November 16. Smoother pathways to permanent residence for students and graduates One of the most significant changes made to the CRS on November 19 was with respect to international students and graduates in Canada. IRCCs stated objectives are to increase the number of former international students receiving an ITA and provide additional incentive for foreign nationals to study in Canada. Previously, there were no additional points available to these students, and former international students made up less than 30 percent of all invited candidates. However, points may now be awarded to the principle applicant for Canadian education as follows: 15 points, to candidates who have an eligible credential from a one-year or two-year post-secondary program; 30 points, to candidates who have an eligible credential from: a post-secondary program of three years or more; a university-level program at the masters level or at the level of an entry-to-practice professional degree for an occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification matrix at Skill Level A for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required; or a university-level program at the doctoral level. Interestingly, IRCC projects that a reduction of points to candidates with arranged employment means the CRS cut-off will decline, leaving more invitation space for students. Leading up the recent changes, Canadas Minister of Immigration, John McCallum, said that International students have been shortchanged by the Express Entry system. They are the cream of the crop, in terms of potential future Canadians. As a result of the changes, IRCC expects that former international students will make up closer to 40 percent of all invited candidates in future draws from the pool. Provincial Nominee Programs When IRCC released its year-end report on Express Entry, covering the entirety of 2015, it was revealed that around 13 percent of candidates issued an ITA last year had obtained a provincial nomination certificate through one of the many Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) that contain a category aligned with Express Entry. Over the first nine months of 2016, however, the percentage of candidates who were invited to apply having obtained a provincial nomination certificate increased to 23 percent of the total, showing the increasing importance of these programs. Note: candidates must be eligible for one of the three federal economic immigration programs (FSW, FST, CEC) in order to enter the pool. It should also be noted that candidates who obtain an enhanced nomination certificate through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) category will continue to be awarded 600 points, even after the recent changes to the CRS. This makes PNPs by far the single most valuable factor under the new system. Additionally, the government of Canada plans to welcome around 51,000 new immigrants through the PNPs next year, a seven percent increase on the target for 2016. With Express Entry PNP categories opening and changing over time, it is arguably more important than ever before for candidates to stay up to date on these immigration programs. Human capital, skills, and experience The recent snapshot from the pool is a real eye-opener for many stakeholders, particularly when it comes to the fact that candidates may have a better chance of receiving an ITA than they might have thought previously. The fact that IRCC has stated its intention to invite more candidates based on human capital, skills, and experience is a boon for candidates in the pool, says Attorney David Cohen. The government has added, however, that it is looking to make further changes in 2017. These changes may include additional points for candidates with siblings in Canada or for French-speaking candidates, and it is not possible to tell if or when these changes may occur or how the distribution of points under the system may be affected. What we do know at this time is that more people are being invited to apply, that IRCC expects the CRS cut-off to decline over time, and that candidates who are eligible to enter the pool currently may never have a better opportunity to immigrate to Canada. A New CRS Calculator is Available Candidates in the Express Entry pool, as well as individuals thinking of creating an Express Entry profile, can use the new and improved CRS Calculator to find out what their score would be under the new points system. To find out if you are eligible to immigrate to Canada permanently, fill out a free online assessment form. 2016 CICNews All Rights Reserved Framed up as an ostensibly responsible thing for "maintenance" and "community improvement," the proposed City bond doesn... Fundatia de Binefacere Caritas Moldova solicita oferte de pret de la companii /furnizori de cozonaci de Craciun Donald Trumps election has roiled the country and turned the journalism world on its head. As the Trump administration and this new, unpredictable era unfolds, I plan to follow it visually for CJR, examining and analyzing key pictures. Trumps upset and his rejection of the status quo spur many questions, such as: How is the media using photography to frame and editorialize on Trump and his transition? What new trends, themes, and shifts in tone can we detect in popular images? To what extent will Team Trump embrace the visual and social media tools of the White House? Will Trump appoint a White House photographer, following the lead of every president since JFK, except Carter? Finally, what can we infer about the public mood based on Trump-related images that go viral? Using these questions as a guide, I hope to bring you regular dispatches to visually consider the new era. With that in mind, lets look at the immediate aftermath of the election and the two weeks after Trumps stunning victory. In the days after the election, New Yorkers created a wall of sticky notes in Union Square registering their reactions. This version of the wall, among many others, was posted on Instagram by widely published freelance photojournalist Ben Lowy. The comparison might seem overblown, especially weeks later, but the spontaneity, the intense feelings, and the need for expressionfrom fear and anger, to care, and solidaritydrew some comparisons to the aftermath of Sept. 11. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Even for Trump supporters, the shock of his victory made the President-elects ritual visit to the Oval Office a visually stunning exercise. Not surprisingly, news outlets focused on Trump and Obama sitting opposite each other and also shaking hands. This photo by Washington photographer Olivier Douliery, however, was particularly riveting. Given Trumps exploitation of nationalism, and his threat to bar and expel immigrants and foreigners on the basis of religion or nationality, the juxtaposition with Lady Liberty was full of irony. Related: Dear US journalists: Things are about to change In the aftermath of the election, activists and journalists have warned about treating Trumps election as normal. The concern is that his penchant for vitriol and name-calling, his embrace of far-right thinking and actors, and his disregard for protocol and conventional ethics would become accepted by traditional media, as just Trump being Trump. This concern quickly coalesced around the term normalization. Hillary Clinton and President Obama also became instant targets for their conciliatory tone and well-wishes for the president-elect. To many, the photo above by the APs Andy Harnik documents heresy, or at least, a settlement that the country, and the decisive winner of the popular vote, might live to regret. Taken on the Speakers Balcony after Trump visited Capitol Hill, the photo makes it seem like Speaker Ryan and Trump are collaboratively reviewing the political landscape. Comparing the photo and others like it against a Reuters video, however, tells a different story (one obscured by the photo caption and much of the reporting around the visit). In reality, Ryan is pointing to the Washington Monument, while the self-interested Trump is pointing to his hotel property, the former Washington Old Post Office building. In spite of normalization fears, one could instead place this Reuters photo in the clearly editorializing category. The file photo, taken last August by Reuters photographer Carlo Allegri, was included in a post-election slideshow titled: Trumps Inner Circle. The photo shows new presidential senior advisor, Steve Bannon, as a shadowy figure. The shadows outside the window and the barely distinguishable visage of a man in the background with his hand on his face makes the image almost macabre. And the caption, too, is bluntly explicit about Bannons extremist ties. It reads: Stephen Bannon has been named Trumps chief strategist and senior counselor. Before he took over as chief executive of Trumps campaign in August, Bannon headed Breitbart News, a website and voice for the alt-right movement, a loose right-wing confederation that includes hardcore nationalists, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites. What hasnt been normal is Trumps continued use of Twitter to challenge perceived enemies, confront opposition, and rail against perceived slights. That was evident in an early tweet in which he cast doubt on the integrity of demonstrations against his election, predominantly by young people. Specifically, he suggested the protests were being instigated and infiltrated by professionals. Also a popular hashtag, the phrase is indicative of a backlash that is physical as much as virtual. America at its best is inclusive and not exclusive @POTUS in today's press conference. Watch https://t.co/9JgTRwG2Sm pic.twitter.com/AZmfEPtq3Q The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 15, 2016 This photo of Obamas post-election press conference by photographer Pete Souza was posted to the White House Twitter feed. Reporting on his private meeting with Trump, Obama broadcast cautious hope, and the insistence on giving Trump a chance. Whether a non-verbal commentary or just a telling moment, Petes frame captures a thoroughly skeptical-looking press corps. President Obama assured Pres-elect Trump that he would do everything he could to help because, "if you succeed then the country succeeds." pic.twitter.com/TkRRwcvCfm Stephen Crowley (@Stcrow) November 10, 2016 In response to the long running conflict between the Obama White House and the press over photo access, New York Times photographer Stephen Crowley has, instead, channeled much of his attention and creativity into documenting the trappings and stage management of presidential photo-ops. As you can see, Crowley outdoes himself during the Obama-Trump availability. Incorporating the manager, stage left, and the phalanx of boom mikes, Crowley leverages the extraordinary drama and tension of the encounter to create a scene that would have made Fellini proud. At the same time, Obamas looseness, mirroring the body language of the manager, creates a notable comparison with the rigid and static Trump. Related: 7 photos that capture the absurdity of this election season The Obamas have worked hard to maintain a sense of humor and optimismas we see, for example, here and here. Given that candidate Trump exhibited little humor, lightness or ease, Crowleys photo foreshadows a radical change in tone at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This photo captures the reality of a president-elect and real estate scion living on New Yorks 5th Avenue, Trumps needs colliding with civic life, and the very real security threat to Americas chief executive. At the same time, it also portends a siege mentality promulgated by the president-elect as his early cabinet choices frame the religion of Islam as a threat. This photo also came from Obamas post-election press conference after Trumps victory. I cant say whether Obama was being any more physically expressive than usual, or if DC photographer Al Drago saw a visual analogy between Obama and Trump. Perhaps, however, it reflects a shift already underway in the physical and visual playing field. In other words, the photo anticipates the coming emphasis on gross gesture, and an outsized preoccupation with sizing and measuring. Related: The goal is not to fear Trump, but for Trump to fear you Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Michael Shaw is publisher of the nonprofit visual-literacy and media-literacy site ReadingThePictures, an analyst of news photos and visual journalism, and a frequent lecturer and writer on news imagery, photojournalism, and documentary photography. Follow ReadingThePictures via Twitter and Instagram. Residents of a town hit by Oklahomas strongest earthquake have filed a class-action lawsuit against dozens of energy companies, accusing them of triggering destructive temblors by injecting wastewater from oil and gas production underground. Pawnee residents filed the suit Thursday in district court against 27 companies, saying they operate wastewater injection wells even though they know the method causes earthquakes. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount for property damage and reduced value, plus emotional distress. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the town of about 2,200 in September and the lawsuit claims 52 more have hit the area since. On Nov. 6, a magnitude 5.0 quake damaged dozens of buildings in nearby Cushing, a town that is home to one of the worlds largest oil hubs. Oklahoma has had thousands of earthquakes in recent years, with nearly all traced to underground wastewater disposal. Some scientists say that the high-pressure injection of massive amounts of chemical-laced wastewater deep in the earth induces the quakes. Regulators have asked oil and gas producers to either close injection wells or reduce the volume of fluids they inject. Two of the companies identified in the lawsuit, Eagle Road Oil, LLC and Cummings Oil Company, did not immediately return messages seeking comment Friday. The other 25 companies were not identified in the suit. The lawsuit claims that companies are showing reckless disregard for public or private safety, by continuing to operate the injection wells in the area. We have clients who dont allow their children to go upstairs because theyre afraid the roof will fall in on them, said Curt Marshall, an attorney for the residents. Theres a lot of fear; when is the next big one? Marshall estimated that hundreds of homes in Pawnee have been affected by the quakes, sustaining damage ranging from cracks in walls, foundations and storm shelters to short-circuited electrical outlets. A 2015 study by the U.S. Geological Survey suggested that Oklahomas industrial activities, such as natural gas and oil production, have caused the sharp rise in earthquakes in the past 100 years. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Akron-children's-museum.jpeg The Akron Children's Museum at Lock 3 Park features interactive exhibits, games and activities, as well as special programming for kids. (Akron Children's Museum) AKRON, Ohio -- With a goal to help Akron children learn through play, the Akron Children's Museum will open its permanent home Friday, Nov. 25, at Lock 3 Park. The museum will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. During the Lock 3 Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony, Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro will cut the ribbon at 7 p.m. Friday; area kids will then cut a ribbon of their own. The Akron Children's Museum encourages learning through fun, interactive play in the core areas of: science & technology health & wellness citizenship & community arts & culture The museum features interactive exhibits, games and activities, as well as The children's museum focuses on four core areas, encouraging learning through fun, interactive play. special programming. Akron natives Betsy and Ryan Hartschuh have worked to make the museum a reality for more than four years. The couple drew from the Association of Children's Museums resources on learning through play, as well as how to launch a children's museum. The museum's regular hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Mondays. Admission is $5 for kids and adults; infants 12-months and under free. Annual memberships start at $55 and include free parking. Parking is available in the O'Neil's parking deck on State Street for $2 when your parking ticket is validated at the Children's Museum. Save Save CLEVELAND, Ohio - Customers have continued to gripe about Verizon Wireless' unexplained spikes in data overages, but those complaints have slowed in recent weeks. Cellphone users filed 1,026 complaints about Verizon to the Federal Communications Commission in October. That's a 51 percent drop from the 2,079 complaints filed with the agency in September, according to records obtained by The Plain Dealer. But while the numbers are down somewhat, the complaints filed last month remain quite high when compared to those filed earlier in the year. Consider that Verizon users drafted an average of 180 a month through the first eight months of the year. The 1,026 filings in October mark a 470 percent increase over that average. "It could be that Verizon made a fix without informing anyone,'' said Ed Mierzwinski, the consumer program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group in Washington D.C. "I've read your stories, and I've talked with Verizon. This problem was not consumers failing to understand their phones. There was something rotten at Verizon.'' Cellphone users have filed thousands of complaints this year with the Federal Communications Commission involving the nation's four major wireless carriers. Verizon is the largest, followed by AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint Corp. Verizon has seen the greatest number of complaints that specified data overages and gigabytes. In May, T-Mobile and AT&T saw jumps in complaints over data. The numbers later dropped off. Compare Verizon's numbers with those of the three other major wireless carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint Corp., this year. Those companies, unlike Verizon, did not see similar jumps in complaints in the past few months, according to FCC. In fact, for the most part, the numbers for those three businesses remained somewhat consistent, with minor dips and jumps, through the year. The only exception came in May, when customers of AT&T and T-Mobile each filed more than 1,600 complaints with the federal agency over data issues. Published reports offer no hint of why the complaints ballooned. The numbers later dropped off. Verizon led the way with 4,557 complaints through the first 10 months of the year, while AT&T had 4,012. T-Mobile customers filed 2,820 protests, while Sprint Corp.'s cellphone users submitted 647. For Verizon, the reason why its complaints increased is clear: the jump in data overages during the past few months. Jamie Susslin, a real estate agent in northern California, said she had used less than 2 gigabytes of data a month since September 2013, when she began tracking her usage. Then she went over her plan's 4 gigabyte limit by at least 2 gigabytes earlier this month, and a Verizon representative urged her to add 4 gigabytes to her plan for $3 more a month. She agreed to buy more data. But within days, when she was in Montana and hardly used her phone, she was notified that she had exceeded her data usage by 13 gigabytes. "It seems that there is an epidemic with this issue, and people are being overbilled in surprising numbers,'' she wrote in a complaint to the federal commission. "Verizon makes you feel as if it's just your issue, but it's certainly not.'' On Sept. 9, The Plain Dealer began reporting on Verizon's data overages and the complaints about billing involving Verizon. Within days, the newspaper wrote about a Florida mother whom Verizon hit with a $9,100 phone bill. The day after The Plain Dealer reported on her bill, Verizon forgave it. In its several stories about the billing issue, The Plain Dealer included a link on its online stories to the Federal Communications Commission, where customers could file a complaint. It is unclear what caused the overages, as some have cited billing glitches and new settings on apps for Android phones and iPhones this year caused many phones to use more data. Customers said in interviews that Verizon has requested and obtained at least two extensions with the agency to deal with the complaints. They said Verizon often has given them little recourse other than buying more data to solve the issue. Many customers, like Susslin, said they received notices within several days of buying the new data that they were nearly out of it. Data is what cellphones use for everything besides calls and some text messages when not connected to Wi-Fi. If you use Facebook or Twitter and look up information on your phone for about 20 minutes a day, every day while not on Wi-Fi, then you will use about a gigabyte a month. The Plain Dealer obtained the numbers of customer complaints through the Freedom of Information Act. The numbers show that customers filed 4,557 protests against Verizon this year. Of those, 3,105 - or 68 percent - came in September and October. That's when customers from New Hampshire to Arizona noticed the unexplained spikes. The newspaper sought complaints that specified data, overages and gigabytes. Steve Van Dinter, a Verizon spokesman, said Monday that he has been unable to confirm that there was a wide-scale billing issue that affect customers. His statement goes against more than 5,000 customers, who complained to The Plain Dealer about the business. "We're happy to work with people on their phone issues and educate them on what they need to know,'' Van Dinter said. To file a complaint with the FCC, go to: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron man who was convicted in 2011 of killing an Iraq War veteran was sentenced Wednesday to 28 years in prison in the 2000 rape of a woman. Efrem Johnson, 57, will serve his 28-year-sentence in addition to the life sentence in his murder conviction, Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said. A Summit County jury found him guilty October of rape, kidnapping and felonious assault. "We are pleased that the victim finally received justice and commend the Akron Police Department for continuing to pursue the investigation," Walsh said in a statement. "Victims of sexual assaults are forever impacted by these vicious crimes, but the Judge's sentence allows some closure and healing for the victim." Johnson lured the woman from Moeller Avenue into the woods where he beat and raped her in August 2000, Summit County prosecutors said in a news release. The woman had injuries to her face and head when Akron police found her. Johnson pleaded guilty in March, but then withdrew his plea in April claiming he was misled about sex-offender reporting requirements. DNA that was taken from the victim after the attack was matched to Johnson in 2014. Johnson's DNA was on file for his 2011 conviction in the murder of 24-year-old Jacob Courie. Courie was on leave from the Army when he was shot by Johnson while walking on East Exchange Street in Akron on March 24, 2010. Since Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine began his Sexual Assault Kit Testing Initiative, thousands of untested rape kits have been tested for DNA in Ohio, according to DeWine's office. Hundreds have been charged in decades-old cases. To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio - Family members are searching for answers after a man shot and killed a father of four Tuesday in a Garfield Heights barbershop. Investigators said a man -- who came to the barbershop with a child -- shot Charles Davis and a second man just before 6 p.m. at Skills Barbershop on Turney Road. Investigators do not know why the man got into an argument Davis before pulling out a gun and opening fire, Sgt. Jim Mendolera said at a news conference Wednesday at the Garfield Heights Police Department. Davis, 29, of Cleveland died after paramedics took him to Marymount Hospital. The second victim was shot in the leg and was treated and released from a hospital, police said. The part-owner of a daycare leaves behind four children ages 5 to 10, relatives said at the news conference. "My grandkids don't have a father. My kids don't have a sibling," his mother Angela Davis said. "I don't know how I'm going to bury my son." Family members who spoke during the emotional news conference asked the shooter to turn himself in to police. "I want you to come and help me explain to my nieces and nephews why they don't have a father on Thanksgiving," his uncle Thomas Beck said. Investigators believe the child who came to the barbershop with the shooter could tell someone what he saw. The child is believed to be 5 or 6 years old, Mendolera said. "[The child] is going to say something to someone," he said. "This was traumatic for him." Neither employees nor other customers in the shop recognized the shooter. Employees recognized Davis because he is a regular customer, Mendolera said. The shooter and the child came into the shop just after 5:30 p.m. The shooter waited while the child got a haircut. Davis entered the shop a short time later and got into an argument with the shooter. Investigators believe the two knew each other but do not know why they argued, Mendolera said. The shooter pulled out a gun and fired several shots, hitting Davis and the second victim. The shooter then grabbed the child and ran from the shop, Mendolera said. Investigators are working with nearby businesses to determine if any surveillance cameras caught the shooter running from the shop, Mendolera said. Detectives and the state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation were still collecting evidence at the shop just after noon Wednesday. More information will be released as the investigation moves forward, Mendolera said. Douglas Shine Jr. Cuyahoga County prosecutors say a Nov. 7 jail call shows Warrensville Heights barbershop shooter Douglas Shine Jr. trying to threaten a man who testified against him at trial. (Cory Shaffer, cleveland.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Warrensville Heights barbershop shooter Douglas Shine Jr. was caught in a jailhouse phone call just days after his conviction trying to intimidate a witness in a murder case that has already seen one witness killed, prosecutors say. Shine told a friend to post a written plea agreement from a witness against him on social media and to "get" another witness, according to court records. Judge Joan Synenberg has ordered that Shine's phone calls must be monitored by a Cuyahoga County sheriff's deputy after prosecutors argued in court filings that the Nov. 7 phone call was the latest example of Shine trying to orchestrate the intimidation of a witness. Synenberg revoked Shine's phone privileges in September -- with the exception of calls to lawyers -- after prosecutors picked up recordings of Shine directing friends and family to approach witnesses and stop them from testifying. She restored his privileges Nov. 4, the day that a jury convicted him of killing three people inside Chalk Linez Barbershop in Warrensville Heights in 2015, and for orchestrating the killing of a witness from the shootings. The same jury on Saturday recommended that Shine be sentenced to the death penalty. The witnesses referenced in the Nov. 7 phone call were both victims of the barbershop shooting, prosecutors said. Their names were redacted in court documents. One of them, a member of the Loyal Always street gang, received a deal in which prosecutors and the FBI paid him to move him and his family out of Cuyahoga County for his own protection in exchange for his testimony. Shine got hold of the written agreement. He called a woman and asked her to call Darnell "Wacky D" Hudson in a three-way call. Hudson told Shine that the witness was being called a "snitch" and that people were "on his a-- for telling," according to an unofficial transcript of the call prepared by prosecutors. Shine then read the agreement to Hudson. "I'm gonna send it to you and let you put it on Instagram," Shine said. Later in the call, after Shine had told Hudson not to do anything to the witnesses, Hudson and Shine agreed that authorities were holding Shine accountable for a spate of gun violence across Cleveland. Hudson told Shine that he didn't care if police could hear or not, and that the witness is "gonna come up stinkin'" because of the outrage over his testimony. Shine brought up the name of a second witness, and said to "get his a-- too," the transcript says. Shine reiterated later in the call that he didn't want anything to happen to either witness. Prosecutors said the conversation was evidence that Shine is plotting to retaliate against those who crossed him in court. "No sooner had the jury reached a verdict in this case than the defendant resumed attempts to intimidate and threaten witnesses against him," prosecutors said. Shine was caught in recorded jail calls in July and August of this year telling his mother and other men to find the same two witnesses and talk to them about testifying against him. Last year, Shine was convicted of orchestrating a plot with his brother, Kevin McKinney, to kill Aaron "Pudge" Ladson. Ladson was outside in his car and told police that he saw Shine walk out of the barbershop the night of the shooting carrying guns, and that Shine told him he spared Ladson's life. Ladson was killed in June as he stood in the driveway of a Harvard Road home, three days after armed intruders mistakenly broke into a nearby house and held two people at gunpoint looking for a man named "Pug." Prosecutors expressed concerns throughout the trial that media coverage of the case and Ladson's death made it difficult to convince witnesses to testify. At one point, they asked the media not to name the witnesses. Shine's aunt, Lasandra Johnson, has pleaded not guilty to an obstructing justice charge after prosecutors said she approached a juror during Shine's trial outside of court and tried to sway her to spare her nephew's life. Prosecutors posited that the Nov. 7 call may have been to either retaliate against the witnesses for their testimony against Shine, or to keep them from testifying against McKinney, who is set to face trial in January. Shine's defense attorneys did not file a response to the prosecutor's motion, and Synenberg has placed a gag order to prevent lawyers on the case from talking to the media. Shine's lawyers argued that restricting him from talking on the phone was no longer necessary because his trial was over and he had no reason to try to intimidate witnesses. To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. Business / Economy by Staff reporter Zimbabwe's fuel marking programme aimed at stamping out "dirty" petroleum products that have flooded the local market damaging cars and prejudicing the government potential revenue is set to commence beginning of next year, a government official said.Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority chief executive Gloria Magombo said the regulator had received buy-in from all its stakeholders - which include fuel dealers, retailers, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), ministry of Finance and others - around the issue."We have since received a project buy-in from all our stakeholders and expect to begin the programme in January next year."We launched with a stakeholders workshop and are going to tender towards next week. I am positive the roll-out will be January 2017," Magombo told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Energy recently.She said while Zimra had since installed trackers on fuel trucks passing the country as fuel in transit ends up on the local black market, more needed to be done."This is mostly being done by unscrupulous dealers avoiding duty obligations. And Zimra is doing all it can to track all transit fuel trucks, however, I believe that the problem will be completely solved through fuel marking," the Zera boss said.Magombo's remarks follow concerns by local motorists over the quality of local fuel amid indications that Swiss commodity trading companies are blending and dumping dirty fuel in West Africa with sulphur levels far higher than those allowed in Europe, causing health and environmental hazards.A report from Swiss watchdog group Public Eye recently revealed that the companies took advantage of weak African standards to use cheap and dirty additives to create what's called "African Quality" fuels.The practice is not illegal. The report quotes companies Oryx, Trafigura and Vitol as noting that the blends meet standards in the importing countries.Energy ministry principal director Stephen Dihwa is on record saying local traders are "adulterating diesel, paraffin and Jet A1 products" which are imported duty-free."Studies indicated that such practices were not unique to Zimbabwe but are prevalent."To stamp out these malpractices, countries have resorted to fuel marking in order to identify offenders and punish them accordingly," he said"Fuel marking will ensure maximisation of revenue collection through minimising dumping of duty free export or transit fuel in our market, smuggling and adulteration of dutiable fuel with non-dutiable fuel," Dihwa added.Magombo has in the past denied claims that the country imported dirty fuel from Switzerland. News / National by Staff reporter ONE of the five dangerous Zimbabwean criminals who last week escaped from police custody at Musina Police Station in South Africa, has been re-arrested.Bruce Hungwane (26), who was facing a rape charge, was re-arrested in Musina on Friday night following a tip-off.Hungwane, together with four suspects who are still at large, was awaiting trial.South African police spokesperson for Limpopo Province Lieutenant Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said Hungwane will soon appear at Musina Magistrate's Court on a charge of escaping from lawful custody."We have re-arrested Bruce Hungwane who was part of the five criminals that escaped from police custody in Musina. He was arrested in Musina following a tip-off. We have also intensified the manhunt for the remaining four who are still on the run," said Lt Col Ngoepe.He said they were working Zimbabwean police on the manhunt."We have roped in our Zimbabwean counterparts to assist us in hunting for the four escapees as there are fears that they could have escaped back to Zimbabwe through illegal crossing points. We urge anyone with information on the whereabouts of these escapees to contact Brigadier James Espach on +27 82 576 0743 or utilise our 24-hour crime stop number 0860010111," said the police spokesperson.The quintet is linked to a series of murder, armed robbery and housebreaking cases committed in the neighbouring country.The other four escapees are John Job Ndlovu (23) who is facing a murder charge, Samuel Lucky Tawanda Masotsha (21), an armed robbery suspect and two teenagers who could not be named for legal reasons.The two minors who are both aged 18 are facing charges of theft from a motor vehicle and unlawful entry.Lt Col Ngoepe said under South African law, anyone who is under 21 years is considered a minor, hence he could not name the two teenagers.The five escapees broke out of the cells through a brick wall a week ago.The quintet was supposed to appear in court last week. watch now The stock market on Tuesday was jam-packed with so many shocking upside earnings surprises that Jim Cramer was left astonished. "It is important to remember that the magnitude and number of upside surprises versus downside letdowns can often determine the direction of the day," the "Mad Money" host said. The best beat by far for Cramer was Burlington Stores , which had a history of blowing away the numbers and then raising its forecast, with analysts aggressively following along. However, this can be dangerous because eventually analysts will want to get ahead of the upside surprises to show the company isn't just trying to manufacture the surprise, Cramer said. "The expectations were high, but when Burlington reported this morning, it was astonishing," Cramer said. The only retailer that exceeds Burlington is Children's Place , Cramer said, which was up again for a third straight day. Dollar Tree surprised as well, as it took estimates down only to beat them the next time it reported. Its last quarter was considered a disappointment, but it changed course when it reported an earnings beat with a 1.7 percent same-store sales increase, while Wall Street was only looking for 1.4 percent. The stock roared more than 8 percent on the news on Tuesday. The golden question on everyone's mind right now is when the amazing Trump rally will run out of steam. Unfortunately, Cramer does not know the answer to that. The good news is that the market can give hints, as long as a trained eye knows how to look for them. That is why Cramer enlisted Mark Sebastian to take a look at the relationship between the averages and the CBOE Volatility index , known as the VIX for short, which measures the level of volatility that traders expect in the near future. "In times of euphoria you need a non-emotional gut-check, and as the technicals suggest that we could still be in the early innings of this rally," the "Mad Money" host said. Many investors also use the VIX as a fear gauge, as it can provide insight during times of panic or euphoria in the market. Sebastian is a technician who is the founder of OptionPit.com and colleague of Cramer's at RealMoney.com. He also happens to be an expert at reading signs for the VIX. Sebastian found that right after President-elect Donald Trump's surprise victory, the VIX fell as the market climbed. That was a sign that investors believe in the rally, and it isn't finished yet. Carol Tome, CFO, Home Depot Scott Mlyn | CNBC News / National by Stephen jakes Mthwakazi Liberation Front Spokesperson Ndabezinhle Fuyane has urged the Mthwakazians to learn from the mistakes done by Zimbabwean government to avoid divisions to rock the state to be.He warned that exposing of their members to the public and supporters may jeopardize the course of action in progress as people may not understand clearly our objectives."We may loose the test of our operations.Mthwakazi should learn from the mistakes from our neighboring Zimbabwe who have failed their missions simply by exposing their members," he said."Mthwakazians must support what they know is authenticated for that cause of our independence. We want to thank members, supporters and Mthwakazi at large for continuing to support the move by MLF. Our in house squabbles should remain ours and not for the public consumption hence the need to safe gaurd our authenticity at all levels."He said the pursuit is still on until they reach their goals."This is our independence we strive to restore. I therefore dearly appeal to the MLF leadership to solve issues amicably and constructively, we all people have shortcomings in different aspects of life hence the need yokwelulekana since we all belong to Mthwakazi." United we stand,divided we fall," he said.The remarks come after the MLF Information department senior official Edmos Khumalo recently lashed out at the former party spokesperson Magagula for continuing to use the name of he party even after he was expelled from the party. The November 8 ban on high-value currency notes has sent India's economy into a tailspin, as citizens struggle to get their hands on new bills, hindered by a limited stock of freshly-printed notes, daily account withdrawal restrictions, long queues at banks and empty ATM machines. With farmers unable to buy seeds and roadside shopkeepers unable to sell produce, the low-income population has emerged as the biggest losers from the milestone policy designed to stamp out so-called "black money." As India's poor pay the heaviest price for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bold demonetization move, many warn the current pain could eclipse long-term benefits and hurt the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Low-income earners are among the nation's most cash-reliant because many lack bank accounts or the required identity cards, so they are ineligible to swap notes for smaller denominations. They're also particularly vulnerable to the overall drop in consumer spending because their livelihoods tend to be more dependent on cash transactions. Modi has acknowledged the problems but said people were "braving it out for the larger good and progress of the nation." The government said it could not engage in massive note printing or reconfigure ATMs ahead of the announcement for fear of tipping off tax evaders. In the meantime, the Supreme Court of India has asked Modi's administration to file an affidavit detailing the steps being taken to ease the inconvenience to the general public. The frustration over the disorderly change may not bode well for the BJP, who rode to power in a landslide election victory two years ago. The sudden withdrawal of existing notes from circulation had sparked a loss of trust in government, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers commented in a blog post on his website on Monday. While the famous economist has long supported the abolition of the $100 and the 500 euro notes, he does not support the seemingly rash execution of such a move by India. "The costs [of demonetization] exceed the benefits," he said. Critics recognize that demonetization could yield higher government revenues and produce greater public goods, such as improved infrastructure, but like Summers, they warned of a greater negative impact from poor execution. "This is politically a moment fraught with great risk for the BJP. It is the first time that the people's everyday experience is in conflict with Delhi's self-assured narrative. That is not a situation any government likes to be in," Sushil Aaron, an editor at the Hindustan Times, wrote in a recent editorial. OPEC headquarters in Vienna. Justin Solomon | CNBC OPEC will debate an oil output cut of 4 percent to 4.5 percent for all of its members except Libya and Nigeria next week but the deal's success hinges on an agreement from Iraq and Iran, which are far from certain to give full backing. Three OPEC sources told Reuters a gathering of experts from the oil producer group in Vienna had decided on Tuesday to recommend that a ministerial meeting on Nov. 30 debate a proposal from member Algeria to reduce output by that amount. Such a cut would bring OPEC's current output down by more than 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), according to Reuters calculations based on the group's October production, and is towards the upper end of market expectations. But sources also said the representatives of Iran, Iraq and Indonesia had expressed reservations during talks that continued for 11 hours about their level of participation in what would be the group's first supply-limiting deal since 2008. watch now Brent oil futures were trading slightly up at around $49.2 per barrel at 2010 GMT, having lost most of their earlier gains of around $1 a barrel. In September, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to reduce production to between 32.5 million and 33.0 million bpd - an effort to prop up prices - from OPEC's own latest production estimates of 33.64 million bpd. OPEC's deal faces potential setbacks from Iraq's call for it to be exempt and from Iran, which wants to increase supply because its output has been hit by sanctions. Iraq's foreign minister said on Tuesday in Budapest that OPEC should allow Iraq to continue raising output with no restrictions. Big bargain Iran and Iraq raised certain conditions for participating in the deal, according to sources, who were not allowed to speak on the record because the experts were meeting behind closed doors. Sources said Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have signaled they were prepared to cut close to 1 million bpd of their output. The Algerian proposal would see all member countries, except Nigeria and Libya, cutting 4-4.5 percent from OPEC's estimates of their October production with the aim of reaching a total output target of 32.5 million bpd, OPEC sources have said. watch now Tourists take in a cable car take in the sights at Sentosa Island, Singapore Asia's emerging markets sold off in the wake of the surprise win for now U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, but the region's property investments may actually benefit, analysts at Colliers said. "Emerging market financial assets, including property, have been unpopular ever since the global financial crisis, whereas developed market assets, in particular U.S. assets, have been in strong demand," Andrew Haskins, executive director of the global real-estate services company, said last week. "Now, the combination of Brexit and Mr. Trump's election in the U.S. over the medium term should [serve] to remind investors that you can have surprises in developed as well as emerging markets," he said. "That should mitigate long-standing political and economic concerns about Asia." He expected that the premium returns that investors demand for the perceived higher level of risk in Asia should come down, boosting appetite for assets in the region. But while Trump's election win was broadly unexpected, Haskins said Colliers wasn't significantly changing its generally positive economic forecasts for Asia Pacific. "Growth in China and Hong Kong so far this year has exceeded expectations. Growth in India has been very strong. Growth in Australia is strong," he said. "So we are optimistic about the overall direction of Asia Pacific economies." Next week's OPEC meeting could send oil back to $50, but investors may want to curb their enthusiasm. In a note from RBC Capital Markets on Tuesday, head of commodity strategy Helima Croft wrote that OPEC would "stick the landing" at its Nov. 30 meeting and finally draw a long-awaited agreement. The main player will be the world's largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia, as Croft believes that the Saudis now have incentive to agree to production cuts. "I think the burden is going to be heavier on Saudi Arabia [because they have] key policy priorities, they want the IPO of Saudi Aramco," Croft said Tuesday on CNBC's "Futures Now." Saudi officials have been pushing for a 2018 IPO listing for Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil company. Croft believes the Saudis need oil to return to $50 to stay on track for the listing. She said Saudi officials have already began talks to cut production by 1.1 million barrels to boost crude prices. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude was at $47.65 a barrel on Wednesday morning. But while oil may just return to $50, which is seen as an important technical level for investors, Croft thinks that Saudi concerns about the U.S. will clip the wings for any higher rally. "Why I don't think they're aiming for $60, $70, or even $80 right now is they want a muted recovery," said Croft. The Saudis "keep talking about $50 oil because I think they are concerned that if this rises too fast, you'll get U.S. production roaring back." Crude has climbed almost 5 percent in the past week, but the rally came as production in the U.S. jumped. While oil surged more than 4 percent on Monday, the commodity slightly reversed its gains on Tuesday over supply concerns and worries that OPEC still won't strike an agreement to limit production. Nevertheless, Croft believes the oil cartel will find some middle ground next Wednesday. With Saudi Arabia taking the "lion's share" of production cuts, other oil producers like Iran and Iraq could also be pressured to follow suit. Crude is currently up almost 30 percent year to date, though the commodity has struggled to break too much beyond $50 this year. An employee arrange items for distribution at the Amazon fulfillment center in Spain. Getty Images Amazon.com sellers have for years e-mailed Jeff Bezos personally when they were unable to resolve their problems elsewhere. Jeff@amazon.com has evidently been overburdened by complaints. From a surge in counterfeiting and a constant fear of suspensions to sudden policy changes that left sellers sitting on mounds of inventory, it's been a tumultuous year for merchants. As consumers prepare to open their wallets for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, sellers are on edge. Chris McCabe, a former Amazon employee who now helps suspended sellers get reinstated and stay compliant, has in the past resorted to forwarding cases to Bezos when the standard seller support route failed. Elevating cases to the CEO's office no longer leads to quick resolution. "Messages to Jeff are now resulting in the same canned generic responses," said McCabe, who worked at Amazon from 2007 to 2012. "That's becoming just an ordinary queue." Welcome to holiday madness, 2016. watch now Here's the version that Amazon is touting. In a press release on Thursday, the Seattle-based company said that it's gearing up for a "record-setting" season by making more products on the third-party marketplace available to Prime members and providing tools to help sellers ship items faster. The marketplace of small businesses and entrepreneurs now accounts for half of all units sold. Amazon has rolled out tools to let those merchants submit deals, adjust pricing to meet market demand and promote items on the mobile app. Sellers include brand creators, private label owners and retailers of other people's products. "We're dedicated to making the fulfillment technology that Amazon develops available to sellers," Peter Faricy, vice president for Amazon Marketplace, said in the release. While that all may be true, many sellers describe an environment of chaos that's designed solely for the benefit of consumers. Having the widest selection at the lowest prices with the fastest shipping leaves buyers with a diminishing reason to shop elsewhere and sellers increasingly reliant on Amazon. The site accounts for 38 percent of U.S. consumer e-commerce, according to Slice Intelligence. Online sales is expected to jump 17 percent this holiday season, compared with 3.3 percent for all of retail, according to data from eMarketer. At $94.7 billion, e-commerce will represent 10.7 percent of the total, the highest ever. For Fred Ruckel, the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving have been punishing. Ruckel is the creator of the Ripple Rug, a cat activity mat. Sales of Ripple Rug, long a best seller in its niche category, have plunged 85 percent in the past two weeks since Amazon took over the listing page, altering the text and eliminating all but one of the photos. Amazon shares An Amazon representative told Ruckel the company assumed control to improve the listing. Instead, Ruckel said the changes were "immediately detrimental." He's yet to get an explanation. "I have called every single day since losing control," Ruckel said in an e-mail, adding that he's sold 10,000 units on Amazon this year. "Biggest holiday week and I cannot even say 'makes the perfect gift.' So bizarre." Amazon didn't offer CNBC.com a response to Ruckel's story. A spokesperson said in an e-mail that, "We think of sellers as customers. Our dedicated Seller Support team is available 24x7 to assist sellers by investigating issues and taking the appropriate actions." Amazon is closing out November on a tear, with the stock having bounced back from a postelection slump. The company is poised for record profit and its fastest year of sales growth since 2011. Share prices have gained 16 percent this year, closing on Tuesday at $785.33. Investors aren't paying much attention to the darker side of Amazon, the one that's rife with infringement and seller complaints so familiar to Ruckel and McCabe. Counterfeiting has become such a problem that Amazon filed its first two lawsuits ever against infringers last week. In October, Apple filed a lawsuit against a seller of knock-off chargers and cables on Amazon. In addition to legal action, Amazon has tried clamping down on infringement by forcing third-party sellers to show proof that they're selling authorized products of big brands like Nike and Hasbro. The company is also suspending sellers at a hastened pace. It's like a zombie you can't kill. Lesley Hensell partner at eGrowth Partners At eGrowth Partners, an Amazon sellers' advocate, business has doubled this month, said Lesley Hensell, a partner at the Dallas-based firm. Suspended sellers are seeking reinstatement, and other clients are aiming to get certain products relisted after Amazon booted them for various reasons. A recent development, according to Hensell, is an "at-risk" alert that sellers are seeing for items deemed unsafe or inauthentic. On their dashboard merchants can see metrics related to their performance, including how many problematic items they've sold based on user feedback. Hensell said these notifications could be helpful, serving as early warnings of what needs to be fixed. However, she said many of the alerts are referring to old issues that her clients already settled in recent months. So instead of providing clarity they're just causing confusion. "It's particularly frustrating for our clients," Hensell said. "They paid us money, we got them cleared, and now all of the sudden it's back. It's like a zombie that you can't kill." Of course, there's still plenty of potential prosperity for businesses on Amazon. The user base of 300 million-plus keeps growing, and Amazon continues entering new markets, whether its custom printed T-shirts, groceries or automobile research. watch now In 2015, Amazon introduced Launchpad, a site to help start-ups get discovered and to give customers access to a broader array of products. As part of the rollout, Amazon partnered with CircleUp, a site that independent retail brands use to raise money from investors. CircleUp currently has 141 products on Launchpad, including leak-proof reusable bags from BlueAvocado, infant cereal from NurturMe and a Belle Chevre do-it-yourself cheese kit. "Amazon has dramatically lowered the cost of distribution, enabling more small brands to reach huge audiences," said Ryan Caldbeck, CEO of San Francisco-based CircleUp. It's also forcing traditional stores to support start-ups because "if they don't, these big retailers will lose sales as people go to Amazon for a wide variety," he said. No matter the category, merchants have to be more vigilant about protecting their brand on Amazon as well as promoting it. On Cyber Monday 2015, sellers received orders for over 23 million items, an increase of more than 40 percent from the prior year, Amazon said. Competition for visibility is fierce, and consumers are increasingly starting their search at Amazon, not Google . Add it all up and Amazon is becoming a big advertising business. Ad sales are predicted to climb 9.1 percent this year to $1.3 billion, according to eMarketer, as sellers seek prime placement in a crowded market. Worldwide digital ad revenue Click to edit 2015 2016 2017 Google $53.05 $63.11 $72.69 Facebook $17.08 $25.94 $33.76 Yahoo $3.32 $2.98 $3.00 Microsoft $2.75 $3.16 $3.54 Twitter $1.99 $2.26 $2.53 Verizon $1.34 $1.41 $1.47 Amazon $0.94 $1.21 $1.32 Source: Source: eMarketer In terms of transportation infrastructure, New York City could use a face-lift, Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman told CNBC on Wednesday. Moorman, former CEO of Norfolk Southern, told "Squawk on the Street" that he hopes President-elect Donald Trump's call to improve the country's infrastructure will include helping his home city with some much-needed reconstruction. "We'd love to see him fund the so-called Gateway Project," Moorman said. "It's the new tunnels under the Hudson, which are desperately needed. It's the rehabilitation of Penn Station, which is desperately needed. It's replacing some 100-year-old bridges. And these are things that the country needs and this region needs, and that would be our No. 1 priority." Amtrak has already pledged more than $300 million to the project, also know as the Gateway Program, which is still in its early stages but aims to improve transit in New York and the functionality of the rail service's Northeast Corridor line. For now, Amtrak is looking forward to confirmed improvements including the replacement of old Acela trains with faster, higher-capacity counterparts. "I think that we could see substantial growth, double-digit growth on the corridor, certainly, with new equipment, particularly the fast trains," Moorman said. "I think our growth in the quarter has a big, big upside for us." The Acela replacements are scheduled to hit the tracks in 2021. One infrastructure improvement New York may not see for a while is the development of high-speed "bullet" trains like the ones in Japan, which can reach speeds of close to 400 mph. "Most of these routes were laid out when 40 miles per hour was an aspirational speed," Mormon said of New York's rail system. To reach train speeds like Japan's, the Northeast Corridor would require a complete reinvention. "What restricts us is geometry. Too much curvature, things like that. So to really get those high-speed trains like you have in Europe, Asia, you have to build a new right of way," he said. Moorman said that as a passenger-carrying railroad that has inevitable difficulty turning a profit, Amtrak is exploring new ways to make money that would not require raising ticket prices. "We are looking a lot at elasticity of demand versus price now to see what we can do to try to bring in more revenue," the CEO said. Brooks Kraft | Getty Images In the runup to the election, President-elect Donald Trump falsely accused Google of manipulating search results to favor Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, demonstrating how little he understands the company's technology and business, said Wall Street analysts. Wow, Twitter, Google and Facebook are burying the FBI criminal investigation of Clinton. Very dishonest media! "We will have a president who does not understand tech, does not understand how these companies work and through a single Tweet could destroy market value," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster in a note to investors on Nov. 17 wrote that Trump's suggestion that Google could rig the election doesn't take into account how Google's search algorithms self-regulate, filter results and suggest queries. Nothing has changed about Google parent Alphabet's fundamental business post-election, but investors reacted by dumping tech stocks and investing in sectors Trump seems to favor, said analysts. "The Trump administration seems to be more pro-industrials, pro-building, pro-manufacturing and significantly less favored towards technology," said Daryanani. Alphabet 's stock has rallied the past week after a postelection slump. The stock closed at $785 per share on Tuesday and is trading roughly flat year to date. The shares were down 1 percent midafternoon Thursday at around $777. The vast majority of analysts who cover the stock 93 percent recommend buying it, according to Factset and none changed their position since the election. Unlike Apple , which is headed for a clash with Trump, and Amazon , which the president-elect threatened with "such problems," Google has largely avoided being singled out. "That's not to say Trump won't go after Google at some point," said Daryanani. Google has 75 percent of the global desktop search engine market, according to Netmarketshare. Here are some areas where the next administration might effect Alphabet, according to analysts. Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes the stage during the presentation of new Google hardware in San Francisco on Oct. 4, 2016. Beck Diefenbach | Reuters Immigration for high-skilled workers Trump has said he will clamp down on immigration, raising concerns that he will neglect to increase the number of H-1B visas for high-skilled workers, a top priority for tech companies. Trump does not mention H-1B visas in his immigration policy. The government currently caps the number of H-1B visas issued each year at 65,000. Immigration reform is desperately needed to enable tech companies to hire the world's top engineers and remain competitive, Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt said at a conference Nov. 10. Google is among the top employers of the H-1B temporary visa program and many of the company's U.S. employees are immigrants, including CEO Sundar Pichai and Alphabet co-founder Sergey Brin. Trump's pick for chief strategist Steve Bannon said there are too many Asian CEOs in Silicon Valley in an interview last year. Regardless, the 65,000 cap on H-1B visas is mandated by Congress, high-skilled immigration reform is not clearly divided along party lines and Trump's website makes no mention of H-1B visas. watch now Trade and tax It is uncertain how Trump's proposed trade policies could impact Alphabet, said Wedbush analyst James Dix. Trump has said he will raise tariffs on trade and has called on U.S. companies to bring jobs back from abroad. Google and Google-powered devices are made overseas including in China and most of Alphabet's revenue comes from overseas. There is nothing in Trump's tax plan that would hurt Alphabet. In fact, the company stands to benefit. The business tax rate would be reduced from 35 percent to 15 percent, which would bump up Alphabet's net income. Also, Trump has said that he will offer a one-time tax repatriation holiday to allow U.S. companies to bring back overseas profits at a 10 percent tax rate instead of 35 percent under the current law. Alphabet holds $49.7 billion outside the U.S. "We believe, given Google's low levels of debt, this would be deployed via increased share buybacks, consistent with what investors want," wrote Munster. News / National by Staff reporter Five executive members of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association facing charges of undermining the authority of the President and insulting him through a document titled: Communique on the State of Zimbabwe's Economy, the Zanu-PF Leadership and the Way Forward for the People of Zimbabwe' have been removed from remand.Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya has ruled that the five will now only appear in court on summons if the state puts its house in order.It was all joy and jubilation for Douglas Mahiya, Victor Matemadanda, Headman Moyo, Francis Nhando, and Samuel Bhila all executive members of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association after they were removed from remand this Wednesday morning.Presiding magistrate Hosea Mujaya after hearing state prosecutor Tapiwa Kasema's submissions requesting for a further postponement of the matter to allow Acting Prosecutor General Ray Goba to issue a certificate of prosecution refused to grant a postponement.Ms Beatrice Mtetwa who is representing the accused persons together with Harrison Nkomo and Andrew Makoni convinced the court that further postponing the matter would prejudice the accused persons as one lives in Chiredzi, the other in Gokwe and another in Tsholotsho making it costly to travel.Mr Mujaya ruled that it was clear the state is not yet ready to proceed to trial and refused to further remand the matter to a later date to allow the state to put its house in order.He ordered the state to proceed by way of summons when it is ready.After the proceedings, Sam Parerenyatwa the chairperson of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association Mashonaland Central province issued a press statement which stated that the revolutionary party should desist from imposing leaders in their association.They vowed to remain fully behind Chris Mutsvangwa as their duly elected chairman among other issues. This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 23, 2016 shows a test launch of the surface-to-surface medium long-range strategic ballistic missile Hwasong-10 at an undisclosed location in North Korea. The outgoing Obama administration has told Donald Trump's transition team that North Korea is the top national security issue, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with conversations. Officials, who have grown increasingly concerned about North Korea's nuclear weapons program, are now pushing for a more assertive response, the Journal said. CNBC previously reported that North Korea's nuclear capability may be the No.1 foreign policy threat for the incoming Trump administration. Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, said the issue will be given a high priority under the new administration, Reuters reported last week citing a South Korean official who spoke with Flynn. U.S. and China have already agreed on new U.N. sanctions to impose on the isolated communist state in the wake of its September nuclear test, Reuters reported on Wednesday citing a senior Security Council diplomat. The measures would include a crackdown on North Korea's coal exports and targeted sanctions of a global travel ban and asset freeze, the diplomat told Reuters. Read the full report in The Wall Street Journal. You can have the greatest product in the world, but if you're not out there selling it, it will go nowhere. That's the lesson Peter Papadatos, owner of Southern California-based shower drain company Designer Drains, learns on this season's premiere episode of CNBC's "Billion Dollar Buyer." The custom-made luxury drain company, which has operated since 2009, is struggling. Despite its artful designs, which are made of stainless steel to serve as "jewelry for your showers," as Papadatos puts it, the business brought in only $200,000 in revenue and $50,000 in gross profit last year. The major bottleneck: too many employees and not enough sales, observes billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta, who comes to visit the company in the hopes of using its drains for his Houston hotel, The Post Oak. When Fertitta analyzes the business' financial statements, he finds that labor costs the company 50 percent of its sales, 10 percent more than he says it should. "What if he loses a big account, and his labor suddenly becomes 60 percent? 70? 80? He won't survive," Fertitta explains. Beijing is more than pleased about Donald Trump turning his back on a major U.S.-led Pacific trade pact. Ian Bremmer, president of the global intelligence firm Eurasia Group and a closely watched political scientist, said Wednesday that officials in China are excited about President-elect Trump's plan to withdraw from U.S. participation in the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership. The proposed free-trade bloc would have included 12 countries accounting for more than a third of global trade. President Barack Obama and others had argued that the TPP deal was a way for the United States to continue to assert its leadership especially in the face of an increasingly powerful China that is eager to replace the U.S. as the main power in the region. Trump's apparent killing of the TPP creates a geopolitical vacuum in the eyes of both Beijing and American allies, Bremmer said. "This means that everyone in Asia no longer sees the United States as a credible leader, so they have to go to China for leadership," Bremmer told CNBC. "There's a little bit of triumphalism in Beijing." Others have pointed out that the demise of the TPP means that China now will likely set standards for a major portion of the globe when it comes to environmental laws, intellectual property rights and labor protections all principles for which Beijing has demonstrated little commitment. President-elect Donald Trump told The New York Times he got a call from Apple CEO Tim Cook, and they talked about bringing more production back to the U.S. Here's what Trump said on Tuesday, according to a transcript from the Times: "I was honored yesterday, I got a call from Bill Gates, great call, we had a great conversation, I got a call from Tim Cook at Apple, and I said, 'Tim, you know one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States, where instead of going to China, and going to Vietnam, and going to the places that you go to, you're making your product right here.' He said, 'I understand that.' I said: 'I think we'll create the incentives for you, and I think you're going to do it. We're going for a very large tax cut for corporations, which you'll be happy about.'" We don't know Cook's side of the conversation, though CNBC has reached out to Apple for comment. In a wide-ranging interview Tuesday, Trump told Times reporters that by cutting regulations, bringing production back to the United States would boost jobs and further America's position in the robotics industry. Trump promised during his campaign to lower the business tax rate to 15 percent and allow the one-time repatriation of corporate profits held offshore at a tax rate of 10 percent. With a 26 percent tax rate and $216 billion stored offshore, Apple could be the biggest beneficiary in tech of the policies, according to Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi. Cook has said he would love to repatriate Apple's cash, if not for the "unreasonable," "backward" and "awful" tax rate. "I tell you, one thing I would say, so, I'm giving a big tax cut and I'm giving big regulation cuts, and I've seen all of the small business owners over the United States, and all of the big business owners, I've met so many people," Trump told the Times. "They are more excited about the regulation cut than about the tax cut. And I would've never said that's possible, because the tax cut's going to be substantial. You know we have companies leaving our country because the taxes are too high. But they're leaving also because of the regulations." But Trump has also proposed adding one regulation tariffs on trade with China that Deutsche Bank said could hurt Apple more than any other technology company. Apple's supplier dossier lists about 350 addresses in China, and Greater China is the company's third-biggest market, behind Europe and the United States. Cook has been credited for finding the best suppliers and talent around the world since he arrived at Apple, slashing inventory costs and halving the production time for computers, according to biographer Walter Isaacson. The feat earned him a place as one of Steve Jobs' top deputies, before being named CEO. Returning manufacturing to the United States likely a costly proposition for Apple might cause jobs to be replaced by robots, Trump said. But those robots would also be American made in the Rust Belt, Trump added in the contentious meeting with the Times. "Right now we don't make the robots," Trump said. "We don't make anything. But we're going to, I mean, look, robotics is becoming very big and we're going to do that. We're going to have more factories. We can't lose 70,000 factories. Just can't do it. We're going to start making things." For the full transcript, read the article at NYTimes.com. Tesla 's new sister company has turned a remote Pacific island almost entirely solar-powered, Elon Musk's SolarCity said in a blog post on Tuesday. The island of Ta'u in American Samoa, 4,000 miles from the U.S. West Coast, now has a solar power and battery storage microgrid with 1.4 megawatts of solar generation capacity and six megawatt hours of battery storage from 60 Tesla Powerpacks, the blog said. That was enough to supply nearly all of the power needs for the island's residents, which number around 600, according to the blog. The grid replaces the more than 109,500 gallons of diesel the remote island imported every year to power generators and would be more reliable, likely eliminating the need for power rationing, the blog said. Keith Ahsoon, a local resident whose family owns one of the food stores on the island, told SolarCity that residents relied on boat delivery for almost everything. "I recall a time they weren't able to get the boat out here for two months," he said, according to the blog. "Once diesel gets low, we try to save it by using it only for mornings and afternoons. Water systems here also use pumps, everyone in the village uses and depends on that," Ahsoon added, recalling using candlelight while growing up. "One of Facebook's biggest challenges to growth has been the fact that younger potential users often see it as not "cool" because so many older people use it. If that's the case, then how much less cool will Facebook look when it becomes known as nothing more than a boring public utility under the thumb of the positively ancient people who tend to run totalitarian countries?" For some reason, people who visit these sites are not supposed to be smart enough or trusted to know that they are basically opinion forums and not original news providers or distributors. Facebook jumped at the chance to get into this effort, promising to censor these "fake news" sites as soon as it can get a really good list of them from the wise and unbiased angels out there who will no doubt compile it. But don't expect Mother Jones or even the Socialist Worker to find its way on that list. That's just a hunch. But the witch hunt on conservative opinion sites is nothing compared to the latest and truly most disturbing news that Facebook has now reportedly created a new censorship tool in hopes it will convince the repressive Chinese government to allow the social media site to operate again in the country. The New York Times further reports that this censorship tool will be more aggressive than others Facebook uses in countries like Russia and Turkey. The only potential good news is that the same reports say the potential censorship programs may never actually see the light of day and no deal with China seems imminent... for now. But the intent here is the real problem. In the first place, it shows a decidedly broken moral compass. You know how they keep telling us that open and free trade and relations with totalitarian countries will someday soon lead to more freedom in those countries as its people become more and more exposed to our way of life? All of that goes out the window when the businesses and politicians trading and dealing with those countries agree to censor the things that make free society free in the first place. Facebook is guilty of this every time it agrees to erase even the evidence of American political free speech with censorship. Politicians are guilty of this every time a female American envoy agrees to ignore our firm belief in religious pluralism by donning a hijab when visiting even non-religious sites in a Muslim country. The list goes on, but the exchange of free ideas and principles is killed by these kinds of unjustified concessions and they destroy the very best reasons for international relations. But there's a free market financial foolhardiness involved too, especially in the long run. Sure we all get the initial financial lure of wanting to do business in China. The number one natural resource for the world's most populous country has always been the potential foreign investors see in selling their goods and services to that massive population. But there is a very serious "penny wise and pound foolish" scenario connected to all of this too. Facebook may gain a foothold in China, but how well will the company function if it jeopardizes its position in the free world by doing so? One of Facebook's biggest challenges to growth has been the fact that younger potential users often see it as not "cool" because so many older people use it. If that's the case, then how much less cool will Facebook look when it becomes known as nothing more than a boring public utility under the thumb of the positively ancient people who tend to run totalitarian countries? And of course, the biggest threat from all of this is it gives Facebook competitors a much lower bar to clear when it comes to claims that they are more welcoming of all users and all ideas. If Facebook kept its censorship efforts to cracking down on truly hateful and violent content, it would be hard for a new social media site to find a stronger free speech niche. But that's getting easier and easier. One site called Gab is promoting itself as an alternative to Facebook and Twitter and is actively courting and winning over mostly right wing individuals and groups often banned by the traditional sites. Gab counts people like Richard Spencer and Milo Yiannopoulos among its earliest users. Will Gab bring down Facebook and Twitter? It's not likely; certainly not on its own. But every little bit hurts. Still, if Facebook continues to betray free speech consistently it will fail. It will fail commercially by becoming such a tool of each and every government across the world that people will start to think of using it as being just as unwise as posting pictures of their bachelor party on the DMV website. No one will trust putting personal information on it or engage in the kind of long-running debates in the comments sections that boost user times and ad revenue. If you think the nastiness and hysteria you've seen on social media since Donald Trump was elected has made people want to take a Facebook break, wait until you see what social media would be like if no one wanted to share anything there at all. Maybe it's not the government or the incoming Trump team that needs to punish companies or curb free speech as much as the companies themselves need to ask themselves if there's a better way to expand without betraying the freedoms that gave birth to them in the first place. Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. Facebook has restricted content in other countries before, such as Pakistan, Russia and Turkey, in keeping with the typical practice of American internet companies that generally comply with government requests to block certain content after it is posted. Facebook blocked roughly 55,000 pieces of content in about 20 countries between July 2015 and December 2015, for example. But the new feature takes that a step further by preventing content from appearing in feeds in China in the first place. The social network has quietly developed software to suppress posts from appearing in people's news feeds in specific geographic areas, according to three current and former Facebook employees, who asked for anonymity because the tool is confidential. The feature was created to help Facebook get into China, a market where the social network has been blocked, these people said. Mr. Zuckerberg has supported and defended the effort, the people added. SAN FRANCISCO Mark Zuckerberg , Facebook's chief executive, has cultivated relationships with China's leaders, including President Xi Jinping . He has paid multiple visits to the country to meet its top internet executives. He has made an effort to learn Mandarin. Facebook does not intend to suppress the posts itself. Instead, it would offer the software to enable a third party in this case, most likely a partner Chinese company to monitor popular stories and topics that bubble up as users share them across the social network, the people said. Facebook's partner would then have full control to decide whether those posts should show up in users' feeds. The current and former Facebook employees caution that the software is one of many ideas the company has discussed with respect to entering China and, like many experiments inside Facebook, it may never see the light of day. The feature, whose code is visible to engineers inside the company, has so far gone unused, and there is no indication that Facebook has offered it to the authorities in China. But the project illustrates the extent to which Facebook may be willing to compromise one of its core mission statements, "to make the world more open and connected," to gain access to a market of 1.4 billion Chinese people. Even as Facebook faces pressure to continue growing Mr. Zuckerberg has often asked where the company's next billion users will come from China has been cordoned off to the social network since 2009 because of the government's strict rules around censorship of user content. The suppression software has been contentious within Facebook, which is separately grappling with what should or should not be shown to its users after the American presidential election's unexpected outcome spurred questions over fake news on the social network. Several employees who were working on the project have left Facebook after expressing misgivings about it, according to the current and former employees. A Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement, "We have long said that we are interested in China, and are spending time understanding and learning more about the country." She added that the company had made no decisions on its approach into China. Facebook's tricky position underscores the difficulties that many American internet companies have had gaining access to China. For years, companies like Google and Twitter have been blocked there for refusing to yield to the government's demands around censorship. In 2010, Google said it was directing users of its search engine in China to its service in Hong Kong, because of censorship and intrusion from hackers. Other companies, like the professional social networking service LinkedIn , agreed to censor some content on their platforms in China. The current climate for internet companies in China may not help Facebook. In August, the ride-hailing giant Uber gave up an expensive battle to crack the Chinese market, selling its Chinese business to an incumbent rival, Didi Chuxing. More broadly, China has streamlined and tightened its controls over the internet under President Xi, targeting influential social media celebrities and adding new reviews to popular online video sites. Still, some officials responsible for China's tech policy have been willing to entertain the idea of Facebook's operating in the country. It would legitimize China's strict style of internet governance, and if done according to official standards, would enable easy tracking of political opinions deemed problematic. Even so, resistance remains at the top levels of Chinese leadership. Some analysts have said Facebook's best option is to follow a model laid out by other internet companies and cooperate with a local company or investor. Finding a partner and potentially allowing it to own a majority stake in Facebook's China operation would take the burden of censorship and surveillance off the Silicon Valley company. It would also let Facebook rely on a local company's government connections and experience to deal with the difficult task of communicating with Beijing. Facebook and Chinese officials have had intermittent talks in the last few years about the social network's entering the market, according to employees who were involved in the discussions, though the two sides have been unable to reach a compromise. Facebook currently sells advertising for some Chinese businesses from its Hong Kong office. Among its customers are state-media sites that act as the propaganda arm of the Chinese government, and that operate official accounts where they post articles. Chinese citizens who wish to gain access to Facebook must tunnel in using a technology known as a virtual private network, or VPN. It's unclear when the suppression tool originated, but the project picked up momentum in the last year, as engineers were plucked from other parts of Facebook to work on the effort, the current and former employees said. The project was led by Vaughan Smith, a vice president for mobile, corporate and business development at Facebook, they said. Like Mr. Zuckerberg, Mr. Smith speaks a smattering of Mandarin. Unveiling a new censorship tool in China could lead to more demands to suppress content from other countries. The fake-news problem, which has hit countries across the globe, has already led some governments to use the issue as an excuse to target sites of political rivals, or shut down social media sites altogether. Over the summer, several Facebook employees who were working on the suppression tool left the company, the current and former employees said. Internally, so many employees asked about the project and its ambitions on an internal forum that, in July, it became a topic at one of Facebook's weekly Friday afternoon question-and-answer sessions. Mr. Zuckerberg was at the event and answered a question from the audience about the tool. He told the gathering that Facebook's China plans were nascent. But he also struck a pragmatic tone about the future, according to employees who attended the session. "It's better for Facebook to be a part of enabling conversation, even if it's not yet the full conversation," Mr. Zuckerberg said, according to employees. Paul Mozur contributed reporting from Hong Kong. General David Petraeus, one of the United States' best-known military officers and former CIA director, has hinted he would serve in President-elect Donald Trump's administration. Petraeus led U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming head of the CIA, but quit his post in 2012 after admitting an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. Now in a radio interview with the BBC, the retired general said he would have to say yes to any fresh offer to serve. "I've been in a position before where a president has turned to me in the Oval Office in a difficult moment and .... said 'I'm asking you as your president and commander-in-chief to take command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan'. "The only response can be 'yes, Mr. President'," he said Wednesday. Pressed on concerns about Trump's temperament as a leader, Petraeus said although he had never met the President-elect, he had heard positive reviews. "It's interesting that those who have been talking to him have said, you know, he's very personable, very hospitable, very gracious guy, full of questions and dialogue," he said. On the prospect of better relations with Russia, Petraeus told the BBC that history suggested Trump stood a better chance for dialogue than President Obama. "Only Nixon could have gone to China. Anyone else would have been criticized from the right," he said. "I think that the current president would have been criticized from the right had he tried some of the kinds of outreach that, in fact, President-elect Trump may pursue." The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Trump was considering General Petraeus for the post of defense secretary. However in a tweet Sunday, the President-elect praised the retired Marine General James "Mad Dog" Mattis after interviewing for the role. The intention of President-elect Donald Trump to put an end to a landmark deal with Iran may not happen given that it would need the approval of other countries, an analyst told CNBC. During his campaign, Trump pledged to scrap a deal made between President Barack Obama's administration and the Iranian government that lifts sanctions in exchange for restrictions in Iran's nuclear programme. But a full-reversal of the deal seems difficult. "We still believe that we aren't going to see a full reversal of the deal with Iran. It's not just a US-Iran deal," Wolfango Piccoli, co-president at Teneo Intelligence, told CNBC on Wednesday. "This is a P5 deal so there's only so much damage that can be done on the front by a new US president," he added. News / National by Staff reporter Ethiopian Airlines (E.T) has confirmed that it will be introducing direct flights between Addis Ababa and Victoria Falls by the end of April next year to promote the movement of tourists between the two countries.The development was announced at the 48th African Airlines Association annual general assembly which has ended in Victoria Falls.Victoria Falls will become the airline`s second Zimbabwean destination as it is already operating 11 flights per week to Harare using a Boeing 737, 787 and777-200 aircraft.The air service will become the first long haul flight from the resort town from which foreign airlines currently operate flights to Johannesburg, South Africa and Windhoek in Namibia.It will become the 4th foreign airline flying directly to the resort town alongside South African Airways, British Airways-Comair and Air Namibia.According to Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) general manager Mr David Chaota, the move by E.T is encouraging because it is a reflection that Victoria Falls International Airport now meets the standards required by the big players in the airline industry.E.T will be the first to ply the route following the expansion of Victoria Falls International Airport at a cost of US$150 million.A local low cost airline, Fly Africa is working out modalities to bounce back into the market while another local player rainbow airlines is expected to commence flights soon.The CAAZ is on a drive to lure international airlines to fly to the resort town as the airport now the capacity to handle three wide bodied air craft such as the Boeing 747-400 at any one time. watch now From now until Christmas, UPS is in peak season. This year the international package-delivery company expects to deliver more than 700 million packages by the end of December, a 14 percent jump in deliveries compared to the same time last year. To meet U.S. demand, the Atlanta-based company expects to hire 95,000 part-time and seasonal workers. To save mileage and money along the way, UPS is relying more on big data and a tool it calls Orion. "At UPS, we always say we're an engineering company with technology we just happen to have planes and trucks as well," said Mark Wallace, senior vice president of global engineering and sustainability. How to best deliver the 18 million packages UPS ships daily is the biggest question the company faces. Drivers of the company's signature package trucks make about 120 stops per day and face seemingly endless alternatives when it comes to the order in which they make deliveries. Now, using a combination of big-data analytics and algorithms, UPS is able to track packages closely enough to let customers know when to expect a package and guide drivers out on deliveries into choosing the best route. It's a challenge the company has faced after hitting snags in 2013 and 2014 as e-commerce holiday sales have skyrocketed. This year volume should peak. The National Retail Federation expects 2016 online holiday sales to increase between 6 percent and 8 percent. More from Net/Net: Silicon Valley cultivates life on family farm Legal issues for elite lawyers Pill-packing robots are on the rise The Orion computer platform, a 1,000-page-long algorithm more than a decade in the making, is the biggest piece of the puzzle. Developed by a team of 50 UPS engineers in Maryland, piloted through the end of last decade and launched in 2013, Orion stands for On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation. As a UPS delivery driver makes their rounds, Orion works in the background. considering up to 200,000 route possibilities before picking the most optimal path from one delivery stop to the next and reordering a driver's delivery schedule if necessary. "What Orion is doing is reducing miles for us," said Glenn Zaccara, a UPS spokesman. "The focus isn't so much on reducing the time to deliver but rather on reducing the number of times a package is touched by a human in our system, or the total amount of time that a package spends in our facilities." In this way, the information that flows with each package is as important as the package itself and helps not only drivers but customers. My Choice, launched by UPS in 2011, sends customers alerts on when to expect a package delivery. But if one of the 30 million UPS My Choice members uses the platform to change the time or location of their delivery, Orion will recalculate the driver's route to accommodate the change, and do so in less than 10 seconds. A UPS facility in Chicago CNBC The growing reliance on data analysis by UPS follows a larger trend in the transportation industry, where telematics and analytics are of growing importance in fleet management. "Now companies can collect unstructured data, which was not economical to store, as well as historical data," said Gartner analyst Svetlana Sicular. "Now that you can store more data, you can see longer-term patterns. The goal of this is to make decisions more consistent." During peak season, consistency is key for UPS. In 2013, thanks to snow and a deluge of last-minute, online orders, an estimated 2 million packages went undelivered by Christmas by both UPS and FedEx , but a majority of those packages were in UPS's network. The problem was solved in 2014, but at a cost to UPS, which had to lower its profit forecast for the 2014 fiscal year. Even more pressing for UPS is the changing nature of the delivery business. The e-commerce market which surpassed $340 billion in 2015, according to the Commerce Department, and is on pace to equal or surpass that level this year ensures that more packages are delivered straight to customers' doorstep. This is a challenging evolution over the last 20 years for UPS and other delivery companies used to dropping off groups of packages at retailers. Orion is meant to cut costs and make more efficient use of time as drivers are being called upon to make more stops. So far UPS has spent $250 million this decade on Orion integration across the company's 55,000 U.S. delivery routes. When full Orion integration happens next year, UPS expects to save between $300 and $400 million per year thanks to the algorithm, according to the Wall Street Journal. At UPS we always say we're an engineering company with technology we just happen to have planes and trucks as well. Mark Wallace SVP, global engineering and sustainability, UPS In some ways, UPS saw these changes early on. Starting in the 1990s UPS began streamlining operations, first by installing GPS-tracking equipment on delivery trucks and replacing handwritten delivery slips with "smart labels," bar-coded slips that are scanned as much as five times as packages move from processing facilities to delivery trucks to the hands of the customer. Trillions of pieces of data are collected along the way, which inform the Orion algorithm. It also embraced telematics early. UPS package trucks are equipped with embedded sensors to check the health of the truck's battery and count how often a driver backs up during a workday. Backing up is a key metric for determining a driver's likelihood of getting into an auto accident; for drivers who back up too much, supervisors will work with them on driving strategies to reduce the number of times they go in reverse. How revolutionary Orion will be for UPS is what the company is assessing now. According to UPS, the algorithm is saving the company $300 million to $400 million annually by helping drivers shave between six and eight miles off their routes per day. UPS is still refining Orion to strike a balance between helping a driver find the best route and maintaining delivery consistency. A business used to receiving morning deliveries probably won't want late-afternoon deliveries because an algorithm told a driver to consider an alternate route. But as the company's data capabilities get more sophisticated, UPS will try to make the Orion algorithm more predictive. While Orion finds the best routes for drivers, it doesn't yet take into effect things like traffic conditions that can change at a moment's notice, nor does it offer turn-by-turn directions like a traditional GPS system. "The next versions of Orion, we'll go into a dynamic version that really will start to take into effect things that do happen to delay drivers potentially on the street," Wallace said. "That is going to be taking place over the coming years across the globe." India's ban on 500 and 1,000 rupee notes might have sent the country into chaos, but it's opened up a new revenue stream for one Delhi-based start-up. The new rules in India has led to people queuing up in banks for hours to exchange their old currency. However, this new start-up - called Book My Chotu - lets users hire "chotus" an Indian term used for a little boy or girl who works as a helper in shops and households to stand in the queue for up to eight hours. While the company, on its website, makes it fairly clear that all "chotus" are above the age of 18 years, the website's branding has received a massive backlash on social media, with a number of users calling it "insensitive" and "insulting" to children who are still part of a massive child labor industry in India. The company's chief executive officer thinks the criticism is unnecessary. "I think any publicity is good publicity," Satjeet Singh Bedi, founder and chief executive officer of Book My Chotu, told CNBC via telephone. "There are a lot of people criticizing the name but what they don't understand is that it is a simple service to help people. It is a small step towards helping the government and helping the common man." Indians queuing to exchange bank notes after the government introduced demonetization in November, 2016 The company on its website states that "chotu" is just a name and the same is being used for branding purposes. "We have no intentions to hurt anyone's sentiments. All chotus/helpers are above the age of 18 and they have no objection with this name." But, it continues to see a great deal of criticism from users on social media who have expressed shock and disappointment over the company's choice of branding. Tweet 1 Tweet 2 Tweet 3 Tweet 4 The company's CEO iterated that the branding has nothing to do with the concept of child labor. "We are completely against child labor. It is a branding name for us. All our helpers are above 18 years. The name comes out of emotional attachment. You would call 'chotu' to your younger brother and younger sister. Ever since I launched the venture, my dad calls me 'chotu'." Earlier this month, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the radical step to demonetize the currency notes in order to tackle the rampant problem of so-called "black money" - billions of dollars' worth of cash in unaccounted wealth and fake currency notes. The government has decided to introduce a new 500 rupee note and also introduce a higher denomination banknote of 2,000 rupees. However, ever since the announcement on November 8, thousands of people have been waiting outside banks to exchange old currency notes for new ones. While analysts and celebrities across the country have applauded this move, the crowds have been getting more and more restless with every passing day. ong queues at Bank of Baroda at Shakarpur branch on November 10, 2016 in New Delhi, India. Ravi Choudhary | Hindustan Times | Getty Images Book My Chotu lets you hire a helper for 90 India rupees ($1.30) per hour for a maximum of eight hours to stand in the queue on your behalf. "Are you short of cash? Need a helper to stand in queue of the bank/ATM till the time your turn comes?" the company said in a Facebook post, further explaining that these helpers will not go inside the banks but will only stand in the queue in order to save time and effort. Meanwhile, the service, available only in Delhi at the moment, has also been applauded by a number of people who have called this a "smart way to create employment in the time of crisis." Tweet 1 Tweet 2 'Icons of Modern Art: The Shchukin Collection' is being hailed as a once-in-a-lifetime event. For the first time in 70 years, the collection of Russian art aficionado Sergei Shchukin has been brought together at the Louis Vuitton Foundation located in Bois de Boulogne. Bernard Arnault, the CEO and Chairman of LVMH , has played a key role in getting this exhibition up and running. Speaking to the "CNBC Conversation", the chief executive of the luxury brand tells CNBC's Tania Bryer how happy he was to organize the exhibition, and that he believed the Russian President would want to come and see the exhibition, after negotiations were made with the country to make it happen. Aside from hosting the Shchukin collection, Arnault is the chief of one of the most renowned luxury brands out there: LVMH. During the conversation, the CEO talks about facing critics as a business, and how the brand stays afloat despite current global macroeconomic headwinds, such as China and geopolitical tensions. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is pictured on November 23, 2016 at the Palazzo Chigi in Rome. Tiziana Fabi | AFP | Getty Images The Brexit vote stunned markets in June, and Donald Trump shocked investors in November. The Italians may be next. On Dec. 4, Italian citizens will vote in a referendum on whether to overhaul their national constitution, which probably has to be amended if Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is going to push badly needed economic reforms through the country's complicated lawmaking process. The vote is widely seen as determining Renzi's political fate, and he may resign if a "no" vote prevails. Opinion polls show most Italians opposing the proposed constitutional changes, which economists say Italy desperately needs if it's going to streamline its government and spark growth. HSBC warned in a note to clients after the U.S. election that a global surge in anti-establishment feeling exemplified by the U.K. referendum and the U.S. presidential election could embolden populist views already widespread in Italy. The elevated political risk in the country is starting to get priced into stocks and bonds. Italian stocks have been on the decline in 2016 as the country grapples with slowing growth, high unemployment and distress in its banking system. So far this year the Italian benchmark, , is down roughly 23 percent, compared with the STOXX Europe 600 index which has fallen about 7 percent. The FTSE MIB is currently trading at an eight-week low as investor concern around the outcome of the referendum grows. watch now The losses are most visible in Italian banks with UniCredit , Unione di Banche Italiane , Banca Poplare di Milano and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena all down more than a whopping 60 percent so far this year. Italian banks have been under pressure because of a high number of nonperforming loans they're holding, and their worries about whether they can recapitalize. According to the International Monetary Fund, Italian banks hold roughly $400 billion in troubled loans. Currently, the six worst-performing stocks in the European banking index are all Italian. And the situation could become even worse for those debt-ridden banks if the "no" vote wins. It could undermine the stability of the European financial system and make it more difficult for the Italian banks to turn the corner. "Raising capital will be more difficult with a big 'no,'" said Alberto Gallo, head of global macro strategies at asset management firm Algebris Investments. "Political instability might hurt the Italian finance system specifically the banks which are trying to clean up their balance sheet," Andrea Montanino, director at the Atlantic Council and a former executive director of the IMF, told CNBC. People may not have been looking seriously at this pre-Brexit (and) Trump ... but in the year of the outsiders, they sure are now. Jamie Reuben principal, Reuben Brothers Marchers in Naples, Italy, hold placards and chant slogans as they protest Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi before a reform referendum to be held Dec. 4. Stringer | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images But Montanino doesn't think a "no" vote would lead to a collapse of Italy's banking sector. However, a further drop in confidence among investors could hinder the banks from getting the external financial support they're trying to get. Whether Italy will have its own Brexit moment is a question being heavily debated. Italy's next national elections are set for 2018, but a vote could be set for sooner if Renzi experiences a tough defeat in the Dec. 4 referendum. "If Renzi suffers a big loss, he can't continue easily. A 60-40 vote means Renzi will likely resign, and then it will depend on the parliament to figure out what to do next," said Montanino. More worries about the euro zone's future Italy will continue to apply reforms regardless of the result of the upcoming referendum on constitutional powers, the CEO of Generali told CNBC on Wednesday. Investors have listed the upcoming Italian referendum as one of their top concerns coming into the end of 2016, with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi staking his leadership on a result. However, the chief of the largest insurer in Italy is not concerned over a possible collapse of the current Italian government if voters say no to reforming the country's constitution. "I'm quite positive and quite optimistic because whatever happens, in the end, the reforms will be made," Philippe Donnet, CEO of Generali told CNBC on Wednesday. A jury in Texas unanimously decided to award in excess of $140 million to oil magnate T. Boone Pickens and his Mesa Petroleum Partners. Pickens had accused J. Cleo Thompson and Delaware Basin Resources of attempting to cheat him out of profits and ownership interests regarding more than 160 wells in Texas' Reeves and Pecos counties. A spokesman for Pickens said in a statement that he is "very grateful to the jury for their time in reaching a fair conclusion to this case." "We have maintained from the beginning that Mesa's oil and gas interests were taken illegally. The Red Bull is part of what is now one of the biggest resource plays in the world, and we are hopeful that the jury's decision here will mean that the long history of fair dealings in the oil industry continues. This case emphasizes and validates important legal rights, and we are proud to have been a part of it," the spokesman said in a statement. J. Cleo Thompson CFO Paul Rudnicki said in a statement that the company is "gratified" that the "jury's award against J. Cleo Thompson of approximately $6 million is a fraction of what Mr. Pickens and his lawyers originally sought." "This verdict also followed the court's dismissal of most of Mesa's other claims before trial. We believe the evidence does not support the verdict that J. Cleo Thompson breached the joint operating agreement. For example, J. Cleo Thompson did not even drill the wells at issue in the verdict. We plan to ask the judge to enter judgment in our favor on those points. We thank the jury and the court for their service and hard work in this case," Rudnicki said in a statement. CORRECTION This report has been updated to reflect that there was a finding of breach of contract in the judgment, not conspiracy. Red tape was one of the initial hurdles to becoming a PC maker in China, Liu says, noting that merely winning approval from authorities to be permitted to manufacture computers was difficult. "As China was a closed economy then, computers were massive, but the functions were extremely limited," says Liu, in a " Managing Asia " interview. The Chinese entrepreneur founded Legend, which later was renamed Lenovo , in 1984. At the time, Liu who was a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, when he and 10 engineers borrowed $25,000 from the state-backed institute to start their own computer business. "I feel inadequate and humbled, especially when compared to past winners," Liu says about receiving the award. Liu Chuanzhi, dubbed the "pioneer of Chinese capitalism," is the winner of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award at CNBC's Asia Business Leaders Awards (ABLA). But Lui persevered and after much trial and error, in which the company reportedly tried its hand at importing televisions and selling digital watches before changing strategy to concentrate on producing its own products, introduced its first own-branded PC in 1990. The first Legend-brand server appeared in 1995 and the first laptop in 1996. By 1999, Lenovo was Asia-Pacific's top PC vendor. Now, after three decades in business and amid stiff competition from the likes of Dell , Acer and HP , Lenovo is the world's biggest PC manufacturer. From the start, Liu was adamant that the state institute should have no say in the management of the computer business it had helped fund. Having gone through the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao, he tells CNBC that he had often "felt restricted by the institutional set up in China." His lists his top priorities in business management as decision-making authority, allocation of finances and management of human resources. Although the 72-year-old entrepreneur has been steadily relinquishing his leadership role in Lenovo since 1999, entrusting the care of the company to CEO Yang Yuanqing, Liu is not resting on his laurels. Liu is now the chairman of Legend Holdings , which is Lenovo's parent company, and regularly offers advice to other entrepreneurs and business leaders in which he stresses the importance of foresight. "With the current unprecedented uncertainties in global markets, I suggest that entrepreneurs should observe these uncertainties and act before them, do what they must do to move the business forward," Liu says. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. A decision from a federal judge in Texas late Tuesday provides small business owners with a reprieve just a week before they were set to comply with sweeping changes to overtime pay laws. The judge granted a nationwide preliminary injunction halting the implementation of a new Department of Labor rule extending overtime pay to an additional 4 million-plus Americans. The rule, finalized in May, essentially doubled the salary threshold for eligibility from just over $23,000 a year to more than $47,000 a year. The regulation was introduced by the Obama administration as part of a push for better worker protections in the face of a stagnant federal minimum wage, which has not been raised from $7.25 an hour since 2009. Two separate suits challenging the law were brought by 21 states and business groups including the National Retail Federation and the National Federation of Independent Business. In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Labor said, "We strongly disagree with the decision by the court, which has the effect of delaying a fair day's pay for a long day's work for millions of hardworking Americans. The department's overtime rule is the result of a comprehensive, inclusive rule-making process, and we remain confident in the legality of all aspects of the rule." The DOL said it is currently considering all of its legal options. A stretch of stores along the base of Munjoy Hill had open signs out and were ready for business as part of small business Saturday, November 28, 2015. Gabe Souza | Portland Press Herald | Getty Images The timing is interesting for Main Street, with many business-owners wondering how worker protections will fare under President-elect Donald Trump. In a video Monday evening, Trump laid out his plans for his first 100 days, declaring "that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated." While campaigning, Trump indicated that the DOL overtime rule would be a target early on. Advocates for better worker protections are slamming the ruling. They maintain that the fight for better pay and benefits for American workers isn't over yet. "The business trade associations and Republican-led states that filed the litigation in Texas opposing the rules have won today, but will not ultimately prevail in their attempt to take away a long-overdue pay raise for America's workers," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, in a release. "Unfortunately, for the time being, workers will continue to work longer hours for less pay thanks to this obstructionist litigation." But business groups, including the NFIB, are calling the ruling a win for small businesses in particular. The conservative lobbying group said its own research found that 44 percent of small businesses employ at least one person that would be eligible under the rule. This is a victory for small business owners and should give them some breathing room until the case can be properly adjudicated. Juanita Duggan NFIB president and CEO News / National by Staff reporter ZIMPAPERS is hosting Kingstons' two radio stations, exposing the government's commitment to free the airwaves as a facade.Kingstons is one of the eight companies that were given commercial radio licences by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) under controversial circumstances in March last year.The majority of the radio stations are yet to begin live broadcasts because their owners, who have strong links with Zanu-PF and some state institutions, are broke.Kingstons - a parastatal that is struggling to survive was given a licence to run commercial radio stations in Harare and Kariba.However, investigations revealed that the two stations KE100.4 FM (Harare) and Nyaminyami FM (Kariba) are operating from the government-controlled company's Star FM studios in Harare.The agreement reached by the two companies to merge their operations remains murky, but insiders said it could be in violation of the Broadcasting Services Act that explicitly prohibits the transfer of licences."Those involved in the deal don't seem to realise that they are violating the law," said an insider who requested anonymity.Part of the Act says: "No licensee shall assign, cede, pledge, transfer or sell his licence to any other person, or surrender his programming duties to another entity outside his establishment. Any such assignment, cession, pledge, transfer, sale or surrender shall be void."Nhlanhla Ngwenya, the director of the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute for Southern Africa, said the move by Zimpapers proved that the licensing of the commercial radio stations was a mere extension of the government's media empire."For anyone who has doubted before that these radio stations amounted to an expansion of the state media empire, proof is there now," he said."The fact that Kingstons and Star FM are using the same premises can only shock those that believe that they were separate entities independent of government control."The truth is that the two fall under the Mass Media Trust, which is a public entity that government has since hijacked and turned into an extension of its own ruling party."But Information, Media and Broadcasting Services permanent secretary George Charamba played down the deal, claiming the two companies were just sharing infrastructure."We are actually encouraging infrastructure sharing. It is possible to share transmitters, studios, radio stations or vehicles," he said, adding that almost all radio stations were using the same transmitters in the country."We have done better than the telecommunication sector, which is duplicating infrastructure."Setting up different things is not actually a very clever way of handling this business as they can be handled under one roof."Charamba described Kingstons and Zimpapers as siblings, saying they all fall under the Mass Media Trust.Charamba said Kingstons was sinking in debt and could lose its properties, hence the arrangement was a cost-cutting measure.He said the government was aware any subcontracting would land Kingstons in trouble."The law does not allow subcontracting a licence. The licence must remain Kingstons' and never mind that they are broadcasting from Star FM."BAZ has come under fire for dishing out licences to Zanu-PF and government-linked institutions despite the fact they would have failed to prove their capacity to run commercial stations.The licensing has also made a mockery of calls to liberalise the airwaves. When Adelo Ramirez came to America at age five with little money or resources, no one suspected that he would, by 2000, open a successful, critically acclaimed restaurant, Los Gemelos, in Port Chester, New York. Ramirez worked three jobs, slept four hours a night, and saved up $40,000 of his own money so that he could use his passion for cooking to start a business. By 2006, Ramirez had new ambitions: to manufacture tortillas for sale in local grocery stores. Not long after, he decided he wanted to become the biggest tortilla manufacturer in the world. Unfortunately, that dream fell short. Though Ramirez's revenues approached half a million dollars shortly after he launched his tortilla line, by 2010, another large tortilla brand, Mission, had come to the east coast and "knocked us out big time," says Ramirez. Sales plummeted. Last year, Ramirez's revenue was just $220,000. Adelo Ramirez' tortilla factory, in operation since 2006, was netting the business only $196 each day and wasn't complying with U.S. safety codes. But on the latest episode of "The Profit," Ramirez redoubles his efforts to transform his struggling tortilleria into a major food brand with the help of entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis. To become a global brand, Lemonis instructs Ramirez to make some changes. First, he has to close his shabby tortilla factory, which hasn't been complying with U.S. safety standards and is bleeding money. Then he has to start a new Hispanic food company. The market for Hispanic foods is growing, according to Lemonis, and worth $18 billion in the U.S. alone. Rather than focus exclusively on tortillas, Lemonis encourages Ramirez to pick three or four products that Mexican and non-Mexican communities would love. "We want these products to be authentic but we want to make sure they appeal to everyone all over the country," Lemonis says. "We want to focus on the meat of the market right in the core, not on the fringes." To determine the products in the market core, Ramirez and Lemonis meet with food distributor Tapia Brothers, a large, west coast distribution house familiar with the Hispanic market. Based on his knowledge of distribution, Erik Tapia, vice president of sales, recommends a trio of approachable, widely beloved products: chips, salsa, and tortillas. Lemonis and Ramirez also do market research. They visit the popular grocery chain Gelson's in Los Angeles to see what Mexican products make the shelves. They find chips, salsa, and tortillas, but no mole, pan dulce or tamales so Lemonis encourages Ramirez to stay away from those. "While there may be little competition there, there is also little very demand," Lemonis explains. Partnering with actor and comedian George Lopez and using his face on all of "Ta Loco's" branding helps separate the brand from its competitors. Though chips, salsa, and tortillas are all products with lots of marketplace competition, Ramirez's offerings could still stand out, thanks to his partnership with comedian and actor George Lopez. Lopez has become a champion of Ramirez's restaurant and food business and agreed to lend recognition to the new brand in return for equity in the business and royalties. Ramirez, Lemonis, and Lopez decide to name their new brand "Ta Loco," an homage to one of George Lopez's sayings. A cartoon of George Lopez's face will adorn the packaging. The "Ta Loco" team will also create their products using fresh ingredients and home-made Mexican recipes their plan is to remain authentic while also appealing to the masses. Ramirez's home-made salsa had a richness and kick to it, but not so much kick that it would alienate people, Marcus Lemonis pointed out. Ramirez will not manufacture the foods himself; instead he'll partner with LA-based La Fortaleza, a manufacturer embedded in the Hispanic foods market. La Fortaleza already makes its tortillas with real corn and can ensure "Ta Loco" tortillas will have an authentic, traditional flavor while being able to deliver high capacity, too. By the end of the episode, after employing Lemonis' recommendations, Ramirez successfully pitches the "Ta Loco" line of foods to warehouse retail chain Sam's Club. "If you can nail Sam's Club, the sky's the limit," Lemonis says. Iran will be resistant to any agreement to cut production at November's OPEC meeting, Again Capital's John Kilduff told CNBC on Wednesday. "There's just no way the Iranians are going to agree to this," Kilduff said. "I think they see a horizon, potentially, where their oil production and exports get disrupted again by the new Trump administration, so why would they agree to any sort of cut at all right now?" Despite energy markets seeing higher volumes of trades that mostly bet on oil prices rising, Kilduff told "Worldwide Exchange" that Iran is actually in a position to ride out its production glut. The analyst said Iran could be holding out on rival Saudi Arabia, as the Saudis become increasingly desperate for higher prices. "Their desperation front and center, and to a degree, the Iranians are actually using this potentially to undermine the kingdom even more," Kilduff said. But Saudi Arabia has been known for taking strong measures to get its way before, and if Iran continues to hold out on cutting production, Kilduff said there could be a repeat. "The outlier, worst case scenario for oil producers is if the Saudis get their patience completely tried and blown and they go to a production level that is even higher than it is now," he said. Kilduff recalled the kingdom acting similarly in 1993, when it instigated a battle for market share, forcing other oil giants to raise production. That sent prices crashing. If you want to rock a job interview, don't just sell yourself and your abilities. Sell how you're a great fit for the company in terms of personality. And smile. A study published in the American Psychological Association analyzes two interviewing tactics side-by-side: self-promotion and ingratiation, which means working to be liked by others. The results suggest that job candidates who focus on ingratiation, or who were likable, have a better chance of being hired. If they are perceived as a good fit, their chances for landing the job rise even more. Self-promotion, on the other hand, has only a weak or limited impact on hiring results. News / Regional by Staff Reporter An unnamed grade six teacher at St Christopher's Primary School in Gwanda is reportedly encouraging pupils to eat lizards allegedly because the world will soon run out of food and people will be forced to eat lizards.In a complaint tip off sent to Bulawayo24.com, an anonymous parent claiming to be having a child at the school said that her grade seven daughter reported to her that some grade six pupils were recently caught eating lizards at the school and told authorities that their teacher had encouraged them to start practising eating lizards as the world will soon run out of food following Donald Trump's election as US President.According to the parent two pupils were caught red handed by other pupils sharing the live lizard during break time and implicated the teacher on interrogation. The pupils are said to have said that the teacher read to them the issue from a South African magazine.Contacted for a comment, the headmaster of the school Mr Michael Manda said that the issue was an internal matter which is not for publication in the media. Questioned if Ministry of Education officials had been informed of the incident, the headmaster insisted that the matter was an internal matter at the school which they had since addressed administratively.A member of the School Development Committee who would not be identified told Bulawayo24.com that he was not aware of the matter and that the school had not reported anything of the nature to the committee.Contacted for further verifications, the parent blasted both the headmaster and the SDC describing them as dangerous elements in the community who fail to guard the interest of the community to protect certain individuals."The SDC is either a group of incompetent over heralded persons who don't know nor care about the welfare of our children or they are just blatant liars who are also protecting their friends in the school system," she angrily responded."The headmaster can not keep such a matter to himself and say it's an internal matter. He can not deliver our children to Satanists and protect them the way he is doing," added the parent.The SDC member further refused to give this journalist the SDC Chairman's contacts referring the reporter back to the headmaster and school authorities. Donald Trump struck a chord with many voters by recognizing the anxiety they feel about their future in the global economy. The jobs created in America today look very different than before. The skills required, the type of work, and increased global competition all serve as real challenges for millions of Americans who simply want to provide for their families. But the country remains deeply divided as to how we can address these concerns. Today there are many different constituencies that face economic anxiety. But, to succeed, we need to look forward to where the economy is going: technology, creativity, entrepreneurialism, instead of backward towards closed borders, trade barriers and factory smokestacks. Unfortunately, an important constituency that represents over half of this country is still getting left behind in this new economy: women. The upshot is that with some effort the new president, congress, governors and state legislators can help bridge that gap and create new opportunities for our next generation of women to capture 21st century jobs. In 2015, there were 500,000 unfilled computing jobs in the United States, and only 40,000 new computer science graduates to fill them, according to a report we published with Accenture. This gap represents an incredible economic opportunity for Americans and a critical economic imperative for America. Yet, only 18 percent of computer science graduates last year were women. Sad! And, it makes no economic sense. In order to fill the enormous computing skills shortage, we need to educate more girls to pursue computer science and equip more schools to teach them. Today, a combination of stereotypes, lack of role models, unengaging curricula, and often lack of equipment or effective broadband all create an environment where girls' interest in computing rapidly declines starting in middle school. I believe that every girl has the potential to be a computer scientist. Connie J. Spinardi | Getty Images As a candidate, Donald Trump called global climate change a hoax, said he wanted to throw out international climate agreements and put fossil fuels at the center of his energy agenda. Though President-elect Trump stepped back from some of his more fiery rhetoric on environmental issues this week, uncertainty remains among investors. The PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio ETF , which counts Tesla as its top holding, dropped the day after the election, but has since recovered all that loss and then some. The Guggenheim Solar ETF is off more than 6 percent since the election, but has rebounded from its November low. Some analysts caution that it is too early to assume renewables are under a great political threat. The picture is more nuanced, even if some market reactions have appeared broad-based and harsh. Trump's rhetoric and campaign promises have suggested this administration will be less supportive of regulating emissions and of investing in renewable energy than the Obama administration. And many of Obama's executive orders on environmental issues could be rewritten or tossed entirely. Indeed, Trump's campaign promised to "rescind all job-destroying Obama executive actions" in the service of the country's energy goals. But as president-elect, Trump appears to have moderated some of his opinions. In an interview Tuesday, with The New York Times, he refused to repeat his promise to abandon the international climate accord reached in Paris last year and said he would keep an open mind about climate change. While scrapping carbon-reduction laws could shrink long-term growth opportunities for renewable energy, analysts say that existing policies directly affecting actual renewable energy companies, such as tax credits, do not appear to be under the same pressure. "Energy was a lower-priority sector for the Trump campaign, and clawback of the tax credits for wind and solar has never been a part of the Trump platform," FBR analyst Benjamin Salisbury wrote in a research note last week. "According to our conversations, renewables are an unlikely target, and a great deal of focus and political capital will be taken up by other agenda items." Clean Power Plan Some analysts have hinted that the Trump administration has a decent chance of rewriting, or simply scrapping, the Clean Power Plan developed by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration to require power plants to cap carbon emissions. The Obama administration developed the plan after Congress scrapped a cap-and-trade program to control greenhouse-destroying gas emissions. Ever since, there have been legal challenges to the plan, with one battle already underway in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Proponents of the Clean Power Plan say that doing away with it would almost certainly keep the U.S. from meeting emissions targets set during the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, from which Trump pledged to withdraw from during his campaign. The Paris Accord was agreed to by almost 200 countries, and many have said doing away with the Clean Power Plan or the Paris Agreement could have global political and environmental ramifications, such as spurring other countries to roll back their commitments. This could lead to slowdowns in demand for solar and wind energy power elsewhere in the world. This week, Trump chose not to restate his commitment to withdrawing the U.S. from the agreement, simply saying he is "looking at it very closely." In addition, the Clean Power Plan in particular offered opportunities for states to meet emissions targets by investing in renewable energy, so scrapping the plan will remove some opportunities for growth among renewable energy and energy efficiency companies. "For U.S. renewable power companies, risks to existing policies are overblown, but the EPA's Clean Power Plan will not be implemented nationwide, likely slowing the long-term growth curve," Raymond James analyst J. Marshall Adkins said in a research note last week. Renewable energy tax-credits Still, investor confidence in the wind and solar power sector is also being held back by concerns over the future of the Investment Tax Credit for solar power and the Production Tax Credit for wind, analysts said. These credits are the "life blood of the renewable sector," UBS analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith said in a recent research note. A government hostile to the credits could change criteria for who is eligible to receive them, or repeal them outright, he said. But several analysts, including Dumoulin-Smith, aren't expecting major changes here. "At the outset, let's underscore the fact that the vast majority of federal policies affecting various clean tech verticals are 'on autopilot' rather than changing wildly under different administrations," Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov said in a recent note. "Furthermore, most of these policies are bipartisan and non-controversial in nature. Thus, there is no objective basis for concluding that the Trump administration will be actively hostile." FBR's Salisbury said the Trump campaign and his agenda have "targeted President Obama's executive actions on climate without opposing tax cuts. As a candidate, the president-elect supported the wind credit that phases out and took no position against the solar credit." GOP's complex relationship with renewables Donald Trump Jr. had private talks in Paris last month that partly related to working with Russia to end the ongoing war in Syria, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The event, hosted by a French think tank, featured diplomats, businessmen and politicians. The think tank's founder, who was born in Syria, has worked with Russia to end the civil war and seeks a political transition with the cooperation of President Bashar Assad, a close ally to Russia, according to the newspaper. President-elect Donald Trump has been criticized for his willingness to cooperate more fully with Russia when he takes office. Tensions between Moscow and Washington rose in recent years, partly due to disagreements about how best to resolve the Syrian conflict and Russia's involvement in Ukraine. Throughout the presidential campaign, Trump and his top advisors also faced questions about their contacts with foreign powers. Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway confirmed to the Journal that the president-elect's eldest son, attended the meeting but played down his involvement in it. Read the full Wall Street Journal report here. A string of surprising political victories for those espousing right-wing policies may in part be understood as a reaction to the recent financial crisis, according to a set of German economists. "The data show us that this is the tendency voters go more to the right than to the left so one should have seen it coming, yes," Manuel Funke, a doctoral candidate in economics at the Free University of Berlin's John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies, said in a Tuesday interview on CNBC's "Trading Nation." Funke, along with Moritz Schularick of the University of Bonn and Christoph Trebesch of the University of Munich, showed in a 2015 paper that from 1870 to 2014, a financial crisis has tended to be followed by a 30 percent increase in voting share for far-right parties. "After a crisis, voters seem to be particularly attracted to the political rhetoric of the extreme right, which often attributes blame to minorities or foreigners," the authors note. Among the recent notable recent victories for right-wing causes were the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union and the U.S. election of Donald Trump, both of which came as substantial surprises to many. In France, Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front party appears to be gaining momentum; similarly minded Dutch and Austrian leaders also appear likely to win their countries' elections. To the authors' point, a seminal issue for Brexit proponents, as well as Trump, Le Pen, Geert Wilders of the Netherlands and Austrian Norbert Hofer, has been the dangers posed by immigrants. "For the average voter, it's maybe an easier solution to put the blame for domestic problems on immigrants" rather than to tackle systemic issues endemic to a country's financial system or broader economy, Funke said Tuesday. Interestingly, a similar political shift does not appear to happen after non-financial crises, the authors found. Perhaps that is, they hypothesize, because "non-financial crises are perceived as 'excusable' events, triggered by large exogenous shocks such as oil prices, natural catastrophes, or war. In contrast, financial crises may be perceived as an endogenous and 'inexcusable' type of crisis that are the result of policy failures, moral hazard and favoritism." In addition to the ballot box, the ramifications of financial crises may be seen out in the streets, the authors add. Demonstrations and violent riots tend to rise markedly in the five years after a crisis. As for why this matters: The rise in votes for far-right parties, at the expense of support for government majorities, can lead to less effective government, according to the authors. "These developments likely hinder crisis resolution and contribute to political gridlock," they wrote. "The resulting policy uncertainty may contribute to the much debated slow economic recoveries from financial crises." Of course, some may favor far-right policies, and some have even voiced support for government gridlock. Yet the history-minded German authors end their paper with an exhortation for financial regulators and monetary policymakers, "Preventing financial crises also means reducing the probability of a political disaster." Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska Universal Images Group | Getty Images Icy challenges In the wake of Royal Dutch Shell' s $7 billion entry into and hasty retreat from the U.S. Arctic last year, it's unclear exactly how many companies may have bid for Arctic leases for 2020 and 2022, the proposed leases now abandoned in the latest Interior Department five-year energy development plan. But even with oil prices low (a barrel of West Texas Crud e is currently trading at less than $50 per barrel) and exploration budgets tightening, oil and gas companies looking toward the future remain very interested in the Arctic, where the U.S. Geological Survey estimates roughly 40 percent of the world's untapped reserves lay. "People see that there will be the need for new exploration," said Dr. Charles Ebinger, a senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at The Brookings Institution. "I think if a Trump administration comes in and tries to reverse Obama's decision, two or three years into this administration we'll see some new interest in exploring in the Arctic and other deep areas offshore." Shell's $7 billion failure underscores just how difficult exploration and drilling can be under icy, Arctic conditions in the waters north of Alaska. Yet many companies still consider it less risky than operating in other oil rich regions of the world, where political instability can threaten a company's long-term investments. "You can find oil and gas and then have it nationalized overnight," Ebinger said. "[Companies] think they can deal with the technical risk better than they can deal with the political risk." Exploration options One place energy companies will naturally turn is the Gulf of Mexico, Book says, where companies face a stable regime (the U.S.), existing infrastructure, a well-understood regulatory scheme, and fairly stable returns. Though many of the more attractive tracts there are already leased, that could change within the next four years as a moratorium on leasing parts of the eastern Gulf of Mexico expires. The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA), passed in 2006, prohibits the leasing of certain areas of the so-called "Eastern Planning Area" around Florida as well as portions of the largely-leased "Central Planning Area" until 2022. If it chooses, the Trump administration could begin the process of leasing those areas for offshore oil and gas development in its own five-year plan, Book says. "The Trump administration will have at its disposal not only resources available under existing law, but could potentially slot in resources that will become available upon the sunset date in GOMESA," he said. Energy companies could also push a Trump administration perceived to be more energy-friendly toward new domestic onshore options as well, pulling the controversial debate over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) back into focus, Ebinger noted. "I think you may see the energy companies supported probably by the Trump administration look much more favorably toward onshore leases," he said "You may see the industry push to get those areas open, and I think you may also see the industry push to revisit some of the offshore leasing in the Atlantic and offshore Florida." A Russia play "A big part of our business involves meeting people," says Jean-Loup Thivet. "We go visit organizations, clubs, harbormaster's offices; we attend annual meetings where we explain the rationale behind our approach and talk up the value of using SOBAD Marine's services. That's how we serve as ambassadors for quality, providing support, service and advice. It's our way of helping to promote better energy." Environmental and financial pressures3 have helped to return the fishing fleet to a more optimal size. Ships are turning a profit once more, and new vessels are under construction. Everywhere except in the Mediterranean, "the fish are returning." 3Adopted in 1983 as an offshoot of the Common Agricultural Policy, the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is currently designed to promote sustainable use of maritime resources, maintain marine biodiversity and ensure a decent wage for industry professionals. A reform of the CFP is proposed every 10 years; the 2013 reform was the third in the policy's history. Source: www.touteleurope.eu Opinion / Columnist Hardly before the ink on the recommendations made by the recent United Nation's Human Rights Council's Periodic Review of November 2016 had dried, Zimbabwe reverted back to the poor and alarming human rights practices.On Friday, 18 November 2016, Zimbabwe experienced another abduction and torture of a high profile activist, Partson Dzamara.Other activists who were abducted and tortured by unidentified armed men who remain not arrested or prosecuted in the past few months, include Silvanos Mudzvova, Ostallos Siziva and kudakwashe Kambakunje.Partson Dzamara's own brother Itai Dzamara was forcibly disappeared in March 2015 and remains missing.Partson Dzamara was abducted after the unidentified men intercepted a convoy of cars with human rights defenders, setting the vehicles ablaze and later dumping Dzamara near Snake Park along the Harare Bulawayo Road.As long as there is no investigation done into the rampant acts of abductions and torture of well-known human rights activists, there can be no doubt that Zimbabwe's commitment to human rights remains questionable, in doubt and greatly at stake as well as in need of rectification.In clear violation of constitutional rights last Friday, the police arrested Advocate Fadzai Mahere, Mudiwa Mahere, Pastor Phillip Mugadza, Henry Munangatire, Barry Rowlings, Sean Mullens, Talent Chademana, Thobekile Ncube, and Nyasha Mushandu at Africa Unity Square in a bid to quell a citizen protest against the introduction of an unpopular surrogate currency.What is clear is that Zimbabwe's human rights violations are not stopping, but continuing in clear disregard of the concerns of the country's peers in the United Nations community.Equally in jeopardy of being continually devalued, negated and belittled by these human rights abuses are the values emanating from the will of the people enshrined in the country's democratic constitution.Zimbabwe's human rights record regarding torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and enforced disappearances as well as non-ratification of treaties, regarding eradication of the same malpractices remains worrisome.This is also given the fact that these are some of the issues for which recommendations were made by the UN Human Rights Council's periodic review earlier this month of November, but the country dithered from making a commitment and promised to examine them by March 2017.ZimRights calls upon the government and non-state actors sympathetic to the ruling party to stop victimisation of human rights defenders, not to interfere with freedoms of assembly and expression, respect the Constitution, to uphold the rule of law and honour all the country's human rights commitments.ZimRights Hotlines0773789874, 0733606797, 0718928611 BJNN File Photo of Maria Contreras-Sweet by Eric Reinhardt U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is encouraging all Americans to shop small at local businesses and dine small at local restaurants and bars as part of this weekends Small Business Saturday. It is set for Saturday, Nov. 26. Small Business Saturday is about supporting local businesses, the pillars of economic stability and job creation in communities all across America, Maria Contreras-Sweet, SBA administrator, said in an agency news release. This celebration helps bring vital activity into our nations 28.8 million independent businesses during the important holiday retail season. This year marks the 7th Small Business Saturday, an annual celebration of Americas small-business community coordinated by SBA in partnership with New York Citybased American Express Company. (NYSE: AXP) and Washington, D.C.based Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP). WIPP is a national nonpartisan public policy organization that advocates for and on behalf of women business owners in the legislative processes of our nation, according to its website. More than 95 million Americans spent a combined $16.2 billion at independent neighborhood retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday in 2015, the SBA said. Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com cp-andy wrote: Sure, let me know how can I help you. That seems a pretty clear indication that you are offering personal help. As they say knowledge increases when you share. Hello, Following code helps in navigating to particular point in vimeo videos (by adding #t=0m0s to querystring). It is working absolutely fine on firefox but not on other browsers. Can anyone point why and point me to right direction. Thanks JavaScript HTML < iframe src =" https://player.vimeo.com/video/191602887" width =" 629" height =" 356" id =" vimeo-player-1" name =" vimeo" > < /iframe > < style > iframe { display : none ; width : 629px ; height : 356px ; margin : 0 0 10px ; } < div id =" container" > < /div > < div id =" iframe-holder" > < iframe src =" " id =" frame" > < /iframe > < /div > < a style =" cursor: pointer; " onclick =" insert('0m51s');" > [0.51] < /a > < div class =" spacer10" > < /div > < a style =" cursor: pointer; " onclick =" insert('1m38s');" > [1.38] < /a > JavaScript Thanks modified 25-Nov-16 7:14am. I am working with legacy code in an old project, can someone please point me to a good tutorial on how to turn a regular Web Service into a RESTful Web Service. I have found plenty of tutorials for creating RESTful Services using WCF but very few tutorials for RESTful Web Service. Of the ones I did find, the explanation for what makes the web service RESTful is either missing or not very well explained. modified 22-Nov-16 20:56pm. http - What exactly is RESTful programming? - Stack Overflow[^] There are a few pre-baked solutions for it. As I generally work the MS stack, the two that jump to my mind are WebAPI2 and Nancy. The core component, though, is that the server does not maintain state (or session) information for the client, each connection is treated as an atomic operation. "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics." - Benjamin Disraeli I have integrate G+ but it's get error while the URl will redirect to the dashboard can anyone help me??? Hi, I have employee evaluation for and it's populating the data from database and for every element of the evaluation there is a to choose the employee rating. I want to know how can I implement this? How to name it? will all have same name? here is my code: prepare('CALL sp_web_get_employee_evaluation_elements_by_guid(:param_employee_evaluation_guid)'); $mysql_query->bindParam(':param_employee_evaluation_guid', $evaluation_guid, PDO::PARAM_STR); $mysql_query->execute(); if ($mysql_query->rowCount() <= 0) { exit(header("Location: index.php")); } while($mysql_row = $mysql_query->fetch()) { ?> ID: Element Rating : Thanks, Jassim Technology News @ www.JassimRahma.com modified 14-Jul-17 15:54pm. If the rating has been provided then you can simply fetch the record for rating (fetch that column in MySQL) and render it in HTML. There is no need for select at all, otherwise if you want to provide updating of it too, then still create a rating select, but chose selected attribute for a special one that was selected by user. The sh*t I complain about It's like there ain't a cloud in the sky and it's raining out - Eminem ~! Firewall !~ SELECT is not an array although my html output is showing correct result like this: HTML < tr > < td style =" padding: 10px;" > < h1 > Work Performance < /h1 > < p > Efficient execution of duties. < /p > < select name =" cboRating[4613]" id =" cboRating[4613]" data-native-menu =" false" required > < option value =" " > [Select..] < /option > < option value =" 1" > Outstanding < /option > < option value =" 2" > Exceeds Expectations < /option > < option value =" 3" > Meets Expectations < /option > < option value =" 4" > Needs Improvement < /option > < option value =" 5" > Unsatisfactory < /option > < /select > < /td > < /tr > < tr > < td style =" padding: 10px;" > < h1 > Technical Knowledge and Skill < /h1 > < p > Mastery of job knowledge and skills required to perform the duties of the position. < /p > < select name =" cboRating[4614]" id =" cboRating[4614]" data-native-menu =" false" required > < option value =" " > [Select..] < /option > < option value =" 1" > Outstanding < /option > < option value =" 2" > Exceeds Expectations < /option > < option value =" 3" > Meets Expectations < /option > < option value =" 4" > Needs Improvement < /option > < option value =" 5" > Unsatisfactory < /option > < /select > < /td > < /tr > here is my code: PHP if (is_array( $_POST[ ' cboRating' ])) { foreach($_POST[ ' cboRating' ] as $key=>$value) { echo " Key : " . $key . "

" ; echo " value : " . $value . "

" ; } } else { echo " SELECT is not an array" ; } Technology News @ www.JassimRahma.com Some of you know that I have been trying forever to get a simple SignalR app hosting on my server. According to the docs[^] you can Self Host, which appears to be a simple console app - not sure how THAT would work on a server), and also in a Windows Service (?? Would you install a Windows Service on you server just to do this?) Yet the docs pages says NOTHING about hosting in IIS, and any progress you make towards it is the result of hours of Googling. I have been through DOZENS of web pages & blogs about how to get it hosted in IIS. Yet I have not found a single page that actually shows or walks you through creating a SignalR server app and installing it on IIS. Some of you have pointed me to a few pages, but they fall short. I finally came across a page about creating a Web Deploy Package[^] and I was able to copy the package to my server and install it in IIS using Deploy=>Import Application... IIS reported that it was successful. So I then attempted to connect using: http://my.ip.address.:myport which gives ma a directory listing, which leads me to believe that it's hosted OK.. But when I try to connect in my code I get ""StatusCode: 404, ReasonPhrase: 'Not Found'...." If I include the Hub name in the url using http://76.91.83.141/MyHub I get "An error occurred while sending the request. Unable to connect to the remote server" At this point I am BEGGING anyone who has gotten this working in IIS to please help. This CAN'T be that EFFING hard. WTF am I doing wrong???? If it's not broken, fix it until it is. Everything makes sense in someone's mind. Ya can't fix stupid. I have tried with this code to access sms from mobile. BUt , port detecting error. Please check it. SerialPort _serialport = new SerialPort("COM4", 115200); _serialport.Parity = Parity.None; _serialport.DataBits = 8; _serialport.StopBits = StopBits.One; _serialport.Handshake = Handshake.XOnXOff; _serialport.DtrEnable = true; _serialport.RtsEnable = true; _serialport.NewLine = Environment.NewLine; _serialport.Open(); _serialport.Write("AT" + System.Environment.NewLine); Thread.Sleep(1000); _serialport.WriteLine("AT+CMGF=1" + System.Environment.NewLine); Thread.Sleep(1000); _serialport.WriteLine("AT+CMGL=\"ALL\"\r" + System.Environment.NewLine); Thread.Sleep(3000); MessageBox.Show(_serialport.ReadExisting()); VB



HTML < input id =" rdo1" type =" radio" name =" rdoTest" value =" Hello" / > < input id =" rdo2" type =" radio" name =" rdoTest" value =" World" / > < var id =" test1" onchange =" alert('2');" > Test Value < /var >



JavaScript $( document ).ready( function () { $( ' [name=rdoTest]' ).change( function () { $( ' #test1' ).text($( ' [name=rdoTest]:checked' ).val()); }); $( ' #test1' ).change( function () { alert($( ' #test1' ).text()); }); });





My code here but nothing happened



 element doesn't seem to raise the change event on its own. You'll need to trigger it manually:

JavaScript $( ' #test1' ).text($( ' [name=rdoTest]:checked' ).val()).change();





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer







HTML < var > raise the event on click or mouseover



change event.

change - Event reference | MDN[ ^ ]:

The change event is fired for  ,